Rainbow Dash had barely gotten out of Aatxe sights when she suddenly remembered the fight taking place upstairs. The first reminder was a burning diamond dog's body being flown viciously past her, yipping in pain.
"Oh right..." Rainbow winced. "The party."
THUDDDD! Blood Fire plowed through several shrieking squirrels as he reared up on his hind quarters and inhaled. "This castle does not belong to you!" He then exhaled, vomiting flame and plasma. "EMBRACE THE ASHES!"
"Quickly, comrrades!" Brucie hollered from a bulwark, waving his gun. "Scamper avay frrom burning belch of unsexy death!" Several rodents joined him in a massive sprint, outrunning a wave of flame that trailed after their bushy tails.
Rainbow nervously backed away from the burning scene. She bumped into a rattling chunk of machinery. "Ooof!"
"Hey, watch it!" Flim sputtered, his coat covered in sweat and soot. "That stuff is super sensitive! Mother's design—" He froze in place, eyes wide. "You!"
"Uhm... hi..." Rainbow smiled.
"Get her, brother!"
"Right-o, chap!" Flam pivoted the mana-powered catapult and loaded the launcher with a smoldering chunk of broken brick. "Taste a piece of your own medicine, traitor!" THWOOOSH!
Rainbow backflipped, narrowly avoiding the projectile. They flew across the violent fight and into the furthest stairwell just as Aatxe was coming up. With a yelp, the dragon whelp zapped the burning bricks with his Flame Staff, turning it into a kaleidoscope of butterflies. "Grrrr!"
"Them's murder in his eyes, Sparky!" Lancie pointed.
"Yeah, I see. Nice color for this season—"
"RAAAAUGH!" Flam charged up.
Rainbow spun about—gasped—and ducked in time to avoid a steam wrench to the skull.
"I've got her, brother!" Flim dove forward, spearing Rainbow in the chest. Both rolled and wrestled across the floor, with Rainbow ultimately kicking Flim off her.
"Nnngh!" Rainbow jumped to her hooves. "Listen! Your mother died cuz you threw her sick body through fartspace! Get over it! She wouldn't want you—"
"What?! Starving to death in a strange wasteland?!" Flam spat and charged forward with the wrench again. "Well, it's what you've done to us—!"
Rainbow flipped over him, twirled, and landed atop the catapult. "Like you gave me any choice, you crazy psychopaths!"
"You keep telling yourself that, murderer." Flam grunted aside. "Now, Flim."
"Happy landings, chump!" Flim grinned as he jerked a lever.
"Huh?" Rainbow looked down to see that she was perched atop the catapult's launcher. "Aw sh—" FWOOOOSH! Voice cracking, she flew a shrieking path across the battle. She ricocheted off a henchstallion's backside, knocked through two squirrels, then rolled to a tumbling stop against a clump of debris. "Unnngh..."
The area around her lit up with a sickly green glow.
"Uhhh..." Lancie nervously tapped her shoulder. "Don't look now, Sparky, but..."
"Huh?" Rainbow sat up. She smiled dizzily. "Oh hey, Squidgy. You're looking good for—"
Flasssssh! The eyeball in its jar stared at Rainbow Dash.
"Guh!" Rainbow winced. She looked back with a gasp to see that the bottom half of her tail had turned to stone.
"Finally!" Lancie chirped. "A sleeping buddy!"
With a growl, Rainbow spun briskly around. WHAM! Her hardened tail knocked Squidgy's jar off-blance. The basilisk eye spun around with an indecipherable squeak.
In a flash, Rainbow's tail turned to normal. She rushed over and grabbed Squidgy's jar, shaking it so that the eye spun away from her.
CLANK! A spear embedded inches from Rainbow's body.
She gasped, looking up.
"Hrrnnnngh!" Top Dog—bloodied and battle scarred—loomed above the pegasus. He picked up another spear and held it over his head threateningly. "I am going to rip your guts out and feed them to your stinking ponyyyyyy friendsssss!"
"Uhhhhhh..." Rainbow Dash winced, then held the jar straight up. "Hold that thought!"
"Grkkk!" Top Dog jerked in place. Overcome with a green glow, he glanced down to see his body turning to stone from bottom to top. "Hrkkkt... no fair..." He hissed with the last breath he had. "I... haaaate... poniessss..." At last, he was all stone.
Seconds later—SMASSSH!—Aatxe landed through the canine statue, sending the granite pieces of Top Dog flying every which way. "Gotcha!" He pointed the Flame Staff, eyes burning bright. "End of the road, morselander!"
"Erm..." Rainbow gulped and held the jar out again. "Squidgy, I... choose you?"
FLASH! Chaos magic flew.
Rainbow winced... then found herself holding a tall, tall bottle of Dr. Pony in place of the basilisk jar.
"Hahahahahaha!" Aatxe smirked. "What's wrong, pony? In the wrong story—?"
Rainbow shook the bottle of soda vigorously and popped its cap off. Spltltptptttt! Its carbonated contents exploded in Aatxe's face.
"Mmmfffff-Aaaaugh!" The dragon whelp stumbled back.
"I dunno..." Rainbow dropped the bottle, smirked, and sprung forward. "Seems like a good ending to me!"
WHAP! She bounced savagely off Aatxe's head, sending him—and the staff—flying to the ground. "Ooof!"
Rainbow twirled around and reached for the Flame Staff. FLASH! A red force field shook her off, although not quite so forcefully this time. "Hmmm... not good enough, but getting there."
"Mrmmmfff..." Aatxe struggled to his claws. "Get back here..."
"Time to put this in full gear!" Lancie held on as Rainbow darted towards the edge of the ramparts.
"I said get back here!" Aatxe hollered at the top of his lungs. "Nnnnngh... BLOOD FIRE!"