//------------------------------// // Microburst // Story: Master of the Sky // by maxxxxxx //------------------------------// “Twilight Sparkle! face me now!” The thundering voice boomed, making the air itself tremble. Twilight struggled to get to her hooves, leaning against Dash's shoulder for support. They watched as the pegasus descended, the clouds thinning as she approached, allowing enough sunlight to penetrate the overcast for them to clearly see the pegasus. She was a mare with a pale blue coat and a dull gray mane with dark wisps that looked that a powerful storm was brewing within it. Her eyes were a piercing and cold icy blue, but a fierceness burned behind them as she glared at Twilight and Rainbow Dash. She landed, her wings never moving as she approached the earth, the moment her hooves touched down, a powerful gust of air blasted out in all directions, Twilight and Rainbow bracing themselves against it. Fear swelled up in Twilight's heart, her instincts telling her to run, she began to take a staggering step back, but felt Dash's shoulder against hers. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her strength. “W-what do you want!?” Twilight commanded, gritting her teeth through the pain of her broken ribs. “What do I want?” Her eyes softened and a disingenuous, cocksure smile spread across her face. “Well first, let me introduce myself. My name is Storm Breaker. I presume you are Twilight Sparkle right? Hero of Equestria, champion of friendship, master of magic and all that? That is you right?” “Why do you want to know!” Rainbow Dash growled, baring her teeth. “I wasn't talking to you.” Her smile vanished and a terrifyingly cold expression took its place as she glared at Rainbow Dash. Suddenly she launched herself forward, neither Twilight nor Rainbow Dash saw any more than a blur before she came to a dead stop, her face only inches away from Dash's. A powerful gale proceeded, whipping debris and dirt towards towards them. “I don't like being interrupted.” Dash opened her mouth, not sure what to say, half awe struck, half terrified, she couldn't find any words. A barely audible, chocked sound slipped through her lips as she struggled to find something to hide her obvious fear. The next moment a loud explosion slammed into Rainbow Dash, the force of its impact compressing her body and knocking the air out of her lungs as she was flung back by a powerful concussive shock wave. She tumbled rapidly through the air like a rag doll before coming to a painful stop as she plowed through a thick tree. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight spun around, eyes clouded with tears as she looked at the small crater where Dash's body laid crumpled up and limp in the mud. Rage surged through her as she turned back towards Storm Breaker. Her cold, frightening gaze briefly turned into a look of surprise as she saw the burning fury in Twilight's expression. “Oh, I see!” Storm Breaker began to chuckle. “That was your friend right? Good, this is good! Now you have a reason to fight me!” “Why are you doing this to us!?” “Us?” Storm Breaker glanced to the crumpled pegasus lying motionless on the ground a ways away before turning her attention back to Twilight. “It's not my fault she got in my way, I'm just here for you.” “Why!?” Twilight shouted, her rage bubbling over. “Like I said, you're the champion of Equestria. I take you down, no one will stand in my way, they will bow. After I defeat you, I'll finish off the other alicorns and then this land will belong to me. I am the most powerful being alive, not you, not Celestia or Luna, not the other masters, me, I am the strongest and I'm going to use my strength!” “You're crazy! How could you do all this!?” Twilight growled, tears forming in her eyes. “Enough semantics.” Storm Breaker deadpanned, her expression becoming cold a steely. “If you surrender now, you won't end up even worse off then your weak friend over there.” “Never!” Twilight snarled, her horn erupting into a bright violet glow. “good,” a chilling smile broke the stoic and cold expression on Storm Breaker's face. “That's just what I wanted to hear.” Suddenly large boulders violently burst from the ground, surrounded by Twilight's aura. Rain again began pounding the earth and the dull roar of thunder rolled over head. With all her might Twilight hurled the boulders at Storm Breaker, some easily the size of a small house flung with enough force to fly through the air at incredible speeds. They landed less than a second later, the ground quaking from the powerful impact, landing squarely where her adversary stood only a moment before. Horror and shock filled Twilight as she stared at the pile of rubble that crushed her. D-did I just… kill- “Too slow!” A voice called playfully from Twilight's side, she began to turn as fast as she could, but before she could even bring the source of the voice into view, an impact like a wrecking ball slammed into her side along with a loud boom as a powerful explosion sent her skidding across the ground like a stone across water, each impact compressing her rib cage, painfully tearing at her already cracked ribs. Her body came to a sudden stop, the sheer force of her halt nearly made her lose consciousness. Her vision went dark and her hearing faded. “Is this the best you have to offer me? Is it really? It's almost pitiful.” Storm Breaker stood over Twilight, her hoof pushing down against her chest. “L-let me go…” Twilight words gurgled out from her throat. I've got to do something… Oh Celestia it hurts, this hurts so much. Come on Twilight, you can't let everyone down, she's truly a monster, I can't let her beat me! Twilight's horn again began to glow and in a blinding flash of light she vanished, Storm Breaker's hoof fell to the ground in absence of the body that was beneath it. Her eyes stung from the flash, she held her eyes shut tight as they recovered. “That won't work on me!” Her cold demeanor was now a fiery rage. She stomped her hoof hard against the ground and another explosion rang out followed by a shrill but weak scream. “You can't hide from me Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight lay on the ground, the cold rain numbing her crippled body as she she too in deep but labored breaths. She… she knew where I teleported? How!? I- I can't can't beat her, she's unstoppable! No, no you can't let everyone down! Get up Twilight! “Get up!” Twilight forced herself up, ignoring every pain signal her body was giving her, shakily she got to her hooves. If the indirect way didn't work, I'll have to use brute force. I just hope I have enough strength left. Her horn lit up again, glowing brighter than ever, penetrating the heavy rain, she poured everything she had into it. This has to work! It has to work! “Finally getting serious? Good. If you can't put me down now, you're finished. Your life and the lives of everyone rest on your shoulders. Don't mess it up!” Storm Breaker lunged forward, a sonic boom left in her wake as she tore through the air barreling down on Twilight. Twilight released it, every drop of strength she had left, a massive ray of pure magical energy shot out in an instant, the two forces met. 'There's no way, no way she could- “No… no!” Twilight desperately tried to keep up the pressure, tapping into reserves of magic she didn't even know she had as she frantically tried to keep the beam up, but at the receiving end of the beam, she saw Storm Breaker fast approaching, surrounded by a tangle of lightening that only grew bigger and more fierce the more power Twilight pumped out. It's barely even slowing her down! “No!” Twilight gave a final frenzied scream, but it was too late, the beam faded as Storm Breaker closed the gap until she came to a dead stop, hovering just off the ground before Twilight. “T-that's impossible!” “No, it's not… not for me.” Suddenly, a powerful vortex of wind began to flow around the two of them, binding Twilight in a swirling current of air, her body was too weak to fight it and her magic had been exhausted, without being able to fight, Twilight succumbed to the wind. They rose quickly into the air without a single wing beat. Storm Breaker looked into Twilight, her expression one of smug superiority. “Now that you know how inferior you are to me, you'll surrender, and everyone else will soon follow.” “Let her go!” A belligerent voice screamed from below them. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight's eyes brightened and she saw the pegasus rapidly approaching. Storm Breaker followed before her eyes could tell her what she saw, a massive rainbow explosion lit up the sky and a shock wave ripped through the air. “Well then.” A smirk came to Storm Breaker's face as Rainbow Dash quickly closed in on her. Dash's face contorted with rage, blood stained her fur all over but her eyes burned with a terrifying fury. They were only feet apart when- BANG! Rainbow Dash ricocheted off an invisible force as Storm Breaker swatted her hoof down, backhanding Rainbow Dash out of the sky, shooting her down towards the earth even faster than she had flown to achieve her rainboom. Storm Breaker stared at her hoof, a look of surprise and tepid excitement glowed in her eyes. I didn't expect that. I underestimated her. She shook her head, dismissing her thought before turning back to Twilight. “Your friend is-” She stopped speaking, gritting her teeth, her jaw balled beneath her pale fur as powerful anger swept over her, Twilight was nowhere in sight. She looked to the ground, following Rainbow Dash's trajectory, but neither her body or her remains were there. “Damn it… Celestia!” ****************************************************** “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight screamed, her voice trembling with terror as she frantically looked scanned her new environment, her mind hazy from the beating she received at the hooves of Storm Breaker. There, on the other side of the room, she saw Rainbow Dash, lying unconscious, her fur and flesh sheered off her body, leaving raw, bloody patches all over her, still, she could see a faint rise and fall of her chest, she was alive… barely. How could I let this happen to you? S-she completely overwhelmed me, there was nothing I was able to do… now look at you. Tears streamed down her face as she dragged herself across the cool, smooth floor towards Rainbow Dash. Every muscle in her body screamed and burned, her ribs felt like they would snap off in her chest every time she moved, but she wasn't crying for herself, the closer she got, the worse Rainbow Dash looked. Twilight was amazed she was still breathing. You shouldn't have tried to save me… You shouldn't have had to save me. “T-Twilight...” A soft and broken voice whispered. Twilight stopped, staring at the ravaged figure in front of her, only a hoofs length away. She watched as Dash's body painfully convulsed as Dash forced herself to move, every bone in her body protesting. It took everything she had to lift her head and look up at her friend. A delicate but pain filled smile came to Dash's face. “You're alright…” “How… how are you still-” Twilight began when the sound of hooves clicked against the marble floor, and they were coming closer. Twilight's heart raced as she pictured the monstrous pegasus. “I'm afraid no one is alright.” The gravity in the familiar voice sent chills down Twilight's spine as she gingerly turned to face the voice. “Princess Celestia...”