Chapter 14: Broken
When faced against overwhelming odds,
One fights with all of their might.
But, in war, no one is invincible,
Even an angel may end up falling...
Chapter 14
Broken
August 29th, 2021
1800 hrs
Manehattan, EAF Headquarters
Firefly and the rest of Mirage fliers, along with Spitfire, were still waiting for Rainbow Dash to return. While only several minutes passed since she contacted them after failing to apprehend Lightning Dust, to them it felt like hours. In vain attempts at easing the tension, Cloud Kicker tried to reassure the others that Rainbow would be back any minute. However, Medley didn’t seem so certain. She kept on walking back and forth, stopping only briefly to check either her radar or to look toward the horizon.
Firefly looked at her, annoyed.
“Can you stop that for two seconds, Kid?” she asked.
Medley looked at her defiantly, but didn’t say a word. Fluttershy felt that the tension was so thick, it could’ve been cut with a knife. She turned to Lightning Bolt.
“Lightning, um… maybe you should try contacting Rainbow Dash? She was supposed to be back by now.”
“True,” Lightning replied. “She’d return fast, even with an injured wing. Okay, let’s see…”
The white pegasus turned her communicator on and set the frequency to try to contact Rainbow Dash. However, before she even said anything, Lightning Bolt heard a screeching, high-pitched noise in her headphones. It caused her to wince and momentarily switch the communicator off. She clutched her ears.
“You okay, Thunder?” Firefly asked.
“Y-Yeah… That’s odd. There seems to be some sort of jamming. The radio waves are so distorted that I can’t reach Rainbow.”
Cloud Kicker tilted her head in confusion.
“Weird… What could be causing the jamming?”
Medley turned to Spitfire.
“Ma’am, do we have any reports about the enemy activity in this region?”
“Sure,” Spitfire replied. “The Exiles’ last activity in the Manehattan region was about a week ago, as you may remember. Since then, they haven’t conducted any operations. Nothing that would draw our suspicion here.”
“I see…”
Fluttershy still felt uneasy.
“Could you try again, Lightning?”
“If you insist…”
Lightning Bolt tried to reach Rainbow again, but the screeching noise sounded in her headphones again, even louder than before. The white pegasus squeaked in pain as she dropped her headphones to the ground.
“I can’t contact her. The jamming is too strong.”
Medley looked at Spitfire in frustration.
“What if the Exiles are preparing another attack? Rainbow may be caught in the middle! We should go and help her out!”
“No,” Firefly said sternly. “She will be back momentarily. I know it. The Exiles did not show up since last week; there is no reason for them to try an offensive here now. They were preparing another attack on Fillydelphia a few days ago. Who's to say they won’t try it again?”
“What if you’re wrong?!” Medley exclaimed.
Cloud Kicker managed to separate the two mares before they tackled each other again. Lightning Bolt picked up her communicator from the ground.
“Ease up, girls. Look, I’ll keep trying to contact Rainbow. I’ll try lowering the volume and I’ll wait until the noise gets quieter. Maybe this jamming is only temporarily.”
“I hope so... “ Fluttershy said quietly.
-----------------
Rainbow Dash’s situation was getting worse by the minute. Since the Reapers activated the Zeal, they were acting completely different. They became much faster and stronger. Rainbow had a lot of problems in trying to just catch up with them, let alone trying to attack them. They were assaulting her every few seconds, leaving her very little time to react. Just as Rainbow dodged to the side of Havoc’s tackle, Shockwave almost immediately struck her in the back, sending her tumbling down.
The blue pegasus managed to regain her balance to hear Trickster’s mad cackling. He flew directly at her, swinging his arms wildly and trying to hit Rainbow as much as possible. Rainbow blocked the majority of his attacks and cambered backward to avoid another punch, then immediately performed a backflip kick, knocking Trickster away.
Just then, Deathwing attacked Rainbow Dash from behind, hitting her in the head and briefly dazing her. Before she came to, Deathwing flew over her and delivered a series of punches in the face and ribs. The last attack caused Rainbow to bend over in pain, allowing Deathwing to send her flying downward with a strike on the back.
Despite feeling pain in her right wing, Rainbow flapped it fast enough to recover. She landed on one of the clouds, panting heavily. She tried to understand why the fight suddenly took a turn for the worse for her. At first, Rainbow had no problem handling all four Reapers, now she couldn’t deal with one of them.
What frustrated her the most was that she couldn’t effectively use any of the maneuvers she practiced with her teammates before. When she tried to perform any of them, one of the Reapers interrupted her, knocking her off course or preventing her from hitting her opponent. Not even using feints fooled Deathwing and his wingmates. It almost seemed like they were capable of predicting Rainbow’s moves before she could use them. To them, Rainbow Dash was like an open book, containing all the answers they needed to win this battle.
“What’s going on? I’m completely ineffective,” Rainbow grunted.
Looking up, she tried to ponder on her next action. Should she continue fighting against the odds or try to call her friends again? Seeing the Reapers hovering in place, Rainbow decided with the latter option.
“Mirage team, respond! I need assistance! The Reapers…!”
Before she could finish, Shockwave dove toward her, forcing Rainbow to fly up in order to avoid the attack. The jamming signal in her headphones was still there, albeit weaker.
Rainbow tried again:
“This is Mirage 1! Mayday! I’ve encountered the Reaper squadron! I need assistance! Respond, please—”
Suddenly, Havoc appeared behind the cyan flier, trying to punch her in the face. Rainbow avoided a direct hit, but her opponent struck the communicator, breaking it. Pieces of it fell down into the great water below. Cursing under her breath, Rainbow could only hope that her message would somehow reach her friends.
She delivered an uppercut to Havoc to knock him away, but the attack didn’t even phase him. The dark blue pegasus retorted by grabbing Rainbow’s mane with his teeth. She squealed in pain when Havoc started pulling her hair. He used his new strength to easily spin Rainbow around a couple of times before he released her, causing the mare to fly away several meters. Deathwing stopped her in place with a powerful punch to the ribs. The force of the blow stunned Rainbow.
She was completely helpless against her adversaries. After a series of attacks, Deathwing knocked her downward in Trickster’s direction. He also delivered a powerful punch to Rainbow’s jaw. The mare made a few uncontrollable flips through the air. Finally, Havoc dove toward Rainbow and sent her to the ground with a powerful strike.
This time, Rainbow couldn’t recover in time. She pierced through several clouds, finally landing on one of the larger ones. Rainbow lay on it for several seconds, gasping for breath and gritting her teeth, trying to suppress the pain in her body.
The Reapers were pleased with their performance.
“Your creation is indeed wonderful, Shockwave,” Deathwing praised him. “It makes this fight almost too easy.”
“Come on, guys! Let’s go skin her alive! Ha ha ha!” Trickster cackled.
Just then, the small pegasus suddenly stopped in midair, clutching his head with his front hooves and moaning. Shockwave noticed it.
“It appears you are overusing the Zeal. Decrease the power usage, Trickster. If this keeps up, your body will be paralyzed,” the purple flier warned his comrade.
“Heh… It’s OK. I can handle it,” Trickster assured him.
“In any case, we should bring this confrontation to an end,” Deathwing proposed. “The radio jammer already wore off, right, Shockwave?”
“Affirmative. We should get rid of Rainbow Dash before her companions come to her aid.”
“What’s the worry?” Havoc asked. “We can take’em all out.”
“We’ve already used the Zeal for half the designated time,” Shockwave reminded him. “Aren’t your muscles getting a little tense?”
Havoc flexed briefly.
“Maybe... A little… But, come on, man. We have such a golden opportunity. Let’s play with her a little while longer. This is fun.”
“Yeah!” Trickster agreed. “Besides, I wanna give her a special dose of pain. Something I wanted to try for a long time…”
“Fine,” said Deathwing. “Let’s make this quick.”
Rainbow Dash finally managed to stand up. She looked up; the Reapers were preparing to attack again. She knew that she couldn’t win this fight. Her opponents possessed overwhelming power and speed. This wasn’t something that Rainbow could prepare herself for in advance. She decided to put her faith in her companions. All she could do now was to hold out on her own. As long as her body could withstand the pain, she’ll make it out alive.
That was what Rainbow thought to herself before she decided to go for Deathwing and, at the very least, defeat him. Maybe then, the other Reapers would retreat. It was naive thinking, but that was all Rainbow was left with.
“Girls… Please, hurry…”
None of the combatants were aware that a single entity observed the whole battle from a high altitude, sitting on one of the thicker clouds… an adult, grey pegasus. He observed Rainbow’s desperate struggle with an annoyed expression.
“What do you think you are doing… You should leave. Do you want to die that badly…?” he said quietly to himself.
-----------------
Tension between Firefly and Medley was still tight. They kept staring back at each other. Medley was understandably upset by being unable to go and help Rainbow for the moment, as that would be acting against the will of her superior officer. Spitfire told them to stay and wait for the cyan flier to return, but the languishing minutes frustrated Medley.
“Why can’t we just go? What if Rainbow is really in trouble?” she asked.
“I’m telling you, she’s fine. Stop worrying, Kid,” said Firefly.
Cloud Kicker could only scratch her head.
“I don’t like this… Lightning, you think that…?”
When she looked at her friend, she noticed a very concerned look on her face. She turned her communicator on to try to contact Rainbow Dash once more. This time, she heard her voice in between the static. She only managed to pick up a few words, but they disturbed her.
“Mayday… en… encountered… Re… Reap… assist…! Oh, no!”
Lightning’s sudden reaction caused Cloud Kicker to jump in surprise. Firefly and Medley stopped arguing. All fliers approached the white mare.
“Lightning, what is it?” Fluttershy asked.
“I… I just received a message from Rainbow! She is in danger! She’s been attacked by the Reaper squadron!” Lightning replied with a panicked tone.
“What?! Reapers, here?” Firefly asked.
“No way! How did they get so close to Manehattan without anypony noticing them?” Derpy wondered.
Firefly squinted her eyes as she made a quick glance at Medley, then said:
“We can worry about that later! Spitfire!”
The pink flier looked at the Wonderbolt leader. She understood the situation. A single nod was all the permission the pegasi needed.
“Go! Bring Rainbow back in one piece and chase those Reapers away. Move!”
Firefly nodded back and turned around.
“Come on, girls! Let’s move it!”
Medley, Lightning Bolt, Cloud Kicker, Derpy and Fluttershy followed her. All six spread their wings and flew up, heading outside the base and toward the ocean. Flapping their wings rapidly, they hoped to make it and aid Rainbow in her fight.
“Hang on, Rainbow! We’re coming to help!” Medley exclaimed.
Rainbow was obviously nowhere near to hear her. However, it did work in making the others increase their speed. Lightning tried to track the last signal from Rainbow, but because the transmission was suddenly cut, she could only do an approximate trace.
“Lead the way, Thunder, and we’ll follow!” said Firefly. “Hurry!”
Derpy glanced toward the horizon. The sun already disappeared beyond it. Now, there was only a fiery hue shining dimly over the water, slowly turning the sky purple.
==========
1815 hrs
Ceres Ocean, Equestria airspace
Desperately trying to catch a breath, Rainbow Dash took a fighting stance and shouted defiantly in the direction of the Reaper squadron:
“I won’t go down that easy!”
She then shot upward, keeping her eyes on Deathwing. He noticed that she wasn’t flying as fast as she used to, and her flying wasn’t straight. The black pegasus figured she must be suffering from some kind of injury, probably inflicted by one of them. Yet she kept going. A little smirk appeared on his face.
“That’s sad…”
While his companions flew to the sides, Deathwing remained in place. Havoc hailed to him:
“She’s coming at you, man! Evade!”
Deathwing gave him a glance.
“... Why should I?”
Rainbow Dash yelled as she rose her right arm in an attempt to strike Deathwing in the face. He did not move; he wasn’t even trying to block the attack. He took its full force upon himself. When Rainbow’s punch connected, a satisified grin appeared on her face.
“Heh. Gotcha!”
However, in a span of a few seconds, her expression changed dramatically. The black pegasus remained undeterred when he received the punch. He slowly turned his face toward Rainbow and said slowly:
“Is… that… all…?”
Rainbow Dash was completely out of options now. Her attack did not even faze Deathwing. It looked like she punched a flying rock and it didn’t break into pieces. Rainbow tried to hit him again, but Deathwing easily blocked this one, shoving her arm away. Then, he immediately followed with an attack of his own.
A single punch in the stomach stunned Rainbow Dash, leaving her wide open for more hits. The shocked look on her face said it all: Rainbow was at the Reapers’ mercy now.
“How disappointing…” Deathwing scoffed, delivering a second punch, this time in the face.
Rainbow tried to fight back, but Deathwing would not allow her. Each strike he delivered caused a grunt of pain to escape Rainbow’s mouth. Her face and front body were already covered in bruises, but the black pegasus showed no signs of stopping.
“You…”
A punch in the face from the right.
“...are…”
A punch in the face from the left. Blood started dripping from Rainbow’s mouth.
“...such…”
Deathwing kicked her in the stomach, causing Rainbow to bend over.
“...a disappointment…!”
He then followed with a kick in the face. Rainbow was forcefully turned around and exposed. Deathwing delivered a powerful punch to her back. It was so strong that Rainbow was launched upward through the air for a moment.
Her painful gasps were mixed with Trickster laughing out loud, watching her torment and clearly enjoying it. Finally, just as Rainbow was losing the control of her wings, Deathwing's last punch knocked her backwards. She somehow managed to recover and kept herself in midair with a few ounces of strength left, but she noticed too late that Shockwave moved in, targeting her next.
He adjusted the Zeal’s power to increase it, having his eyes locked on Rainbow’s right arm. Before she could react or even put her guard up, Shockwave attacked, delivering a powerful and precise kick.
A sickening crunch was heard, followed by Rainbow Dash’s agonizing scream. With just one strike, Shockwave managed to break her arm. She wouldn’t be able to use it for the remainder of the fight… if this confrontation could even be called a “fight” anymore.
Now, the Reapers were just toying with her. Rainbow grabbed her broken arm and tried to suppress the pain, but Havoc was next to strike. He already had a plan on how to torture Rainbow a bit. He suddenly ascended and appeared right behind her. Then, he grabbed her by her arms with his own, immobilizing Rainbow and preventing her from escaping. The sudden pull on her right arm further hurt Rainbow as she tried struggling in vain to escape.
“Let… go!” she gasped out, flailing her rear legs and trying to kick Havoc. He, however, kept her in place and chuckled.
“Heh, heh… It’s time I had some fun with you. Hah!”
Without warning, Havoc bit Rainbow Dash in her right wing. Feeling his teeth sinking into her skin, Rainbow screamed in pain. The tall pegasus started gnawing on the wing, making it look like he was trying to rip it away from her body. But that was not his intent. He just wanted Rainbow Dash to feel powerless before their new might. Havoc moved his head back and then bit Rainbow’s wing again.
She stopped struggling. The pain was paralyzing her. Slowly, her right wing was getting numb. She couldn’t move it anymore. Havoc managed to effectively cripple her. Blood soon trickled from the bite wound. All Rainbow could do was scream.
Deathwing approached and was about to resume his brutal beatdown, but just then, Trickster suddenly flew to him.
“Hold it, dude! You already had fun with her. Let ME get a piece of the action, too! I’ve saved something special for her…”
Deathwing did not respond at first, but when he looked at Shockwave, the purple pegasus waved his arm twice. It meant they still had two minutes of Zeal power. Deathwing turned to Trickster.
“All right. Just make it quick.”
Cackling, Trickster approached Rainbow Dash. She was barely conscious. Havoc tightened his grip on her arms.
“Yo, keep her in place, man,” Trickster told him.
Havoc nodded. Trickster looked at the battered blue mare and his voice suddenly turned menacing.
“Hee, hee, hee… You don’t look so good, Princess. Knew you were all talk in the end. When it comes to actual skill, you can’t compare to us. You… are only worth dirt.”
He spat in Rainbow’s face. In a few seconds, his saliva slowly slid from her cheek and fell down. Havoc rose his eyebrows.
“What, that’s it, dude?” he asked.
Trickster chuckled.
“Ha, ha, ha… no, my big number is coming up now. Make sure you hold her tight.”
Havoc pulled Rainbow’s arms up some more, causing another painful gasp to leave her mouth. Trickster said to her again.
“You know what? Forget what I said. You are lower than lower than dirt!”
Then he turned around, flexed a bit and, without any warning…
“Ally-oop!”
He swung his right, rear leg backward and struck Rainbow Dash in her most exposed and vulnerable point: between her legs.
Rainbow’s eyes rolled into the back of her head. Pain shot through all of her body again. Pain was all she knew for the next several seconds. Rainbow howled in agony, trying to cover the point of impact with her rear legs, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes so hard that tears came to them.
Havoc chimed in approval.
“Huuuu… That had to hurt. Talk about cheap and effective, dude,” he complimented Trickster.
“Ha, ha, ha! In da cunt! Ha, ha! That’s so funny!” Trickster laughed. “Hey, is she bleeding?”
“Only from the wing and lips, I think,” Havoc replied.
“Damn. I didn’t kick her hard enough. Deathwing, can I get another shot? Come on!”
Rainbow grimaced, hearing those words. Another kick like that, and her groin would most likely be ruptured. This could cause her to bleed to death if her injuries were not treated quickly. Deathwing, however, said:
“You’ve had your fun, Trickster. Besides, this entertainment lasted long enough. Shockwave, how much time left?”
“Sixty seconds.”
“In that case…”
Their radars suddenly picked up six red dots approaching the area. Deathwing moved closer to Rainbow Dash. She was still coughing and whimpering in pain. He lifted her face up to make eye contact.
“Do not worry. You pain will disappear soon. Time to finish this. Consider it an honor, Princess… You will be the first victim of ‘Reaper’s Scythe’.’ Everyone, initiate Formation X.”
Havoc and Trickster widened their eyes in excitement.
“Ooohh… The big one! Finally!” the small pegasus chirped.
“‘Bout time!” Havoc said. “Ok, here we go! Aaaand… UP!”
Havoc threw Rainbow upwards without any problems. The Reapers decided to deliver the finishing blow by attacking all at once. Moments after Havoc threw her, Deathwing and Shockwave flew up and closed in on her, along with Havoc and Trickster, from four different angles.
Try as she might, Rainbow Dash could not do anything. Heavily injured and unable to escape, she was a sitting duck, waiting to be shot. She thought that, for just a moment, she saw the silhouettes of her friends in the distance, approaching…
They made it.
“Girls… I…!”
Deathwing hit her in the spine. Havoc managed to deal a blow to the head. Shockwave kicked her in the left arm, and Trickster rammed her chest with his head, breaking Rainbow’s ribs. The vest that she was wearing did nothing to reduce the force of the impact. The pain combined from all four attacks hitting her simultaneously was unbearable for Rainbow’s senses. Several crunching noises reached her ears, and that was the last thing she heard.
She blacked out and fell down.
-----------------
The rest of fliers from Mirage squadron finally managed to track Rainbow’s last location. They arrived just as the Reapers were performing their finishing move.
“Damn! We’re not gonna make it!” Cloud Kicker cursed.
Fluttershy was horrified upon seeing Rainbow Dash being struck down.
“Rainbow… NO!” she exclaimed.
Medley started flapping her wings even more furiously, trying to reach Rainbow and grab her. She stopped paying attention to anything else.
“I’m coming, Rainbow!”
“Kid, get back here!” Firefly hailed to her.
The Reapers were already aware of the Mirage fliers. Havoc snorted.
“Here comes the crowd…”
“There’s one eager to get broken,” Trickster chuckled. “She’s mine.”
Without waiting for Deathwing’s order, the small pegasus rushed forward.
Medley was getting closer to Rainbow. She saw her battered body and realized she couldn’t react. She lost consciousness or maybe even…
Not allowing herself to think about the worst, Medley dived after Rainbow. Then, she heard a familiar, annoying cackle coming from her right.
“Heya, baby! Didya missed me?” Trickster asked nonchalantly.
Medley tried to ignore him, but the yellow pegasus suddenly moved in front of her, preventing her from going after the falling Rainbow. Angered by his interception, Medley shouted at him:
“You little punk… Get outta my way!”
“Make me!” Trickster responded.
The young mare delivered the first punch to her opponent, but Trickster easily parried the attack. He wrapped his left arm around Medley’s, holding her in place. Grinning in the delight, Trickster then used his right hoof to slam it down on her arm and break it.
Medley screamed when she felt the bone shattering.
“Aaaaahh!!!”
“Aw, shut up!” Trickster scoffed.
He delivered a punch into Medley’s jaw and then grabbed her around the waist, spun around a few times and threw her away, in the direction of the other pegasi from Mirage squadron.
“Return to sender!” Trickster yelled.
Fluttershy was the first to notice something went wrong and went ahead to catch her. She managed to grab the green pegasus.
“Medley! Are you all right?!” Fluttershy asked with a concerned tone.
The first reply was only moans. Medley held her arm in place. It was dangling limply.
“Ahh… My arm… He broke it…!” the young mare whimpered.
While Fluttershy was checking on her condition, Lightning Bolt took a glance downward. She noticed Rainbow Dash falling into one of the islands below. She could see her for just a few seconds before she disappeared from her sight.
“Lost visual contact with Mirage 1,” she reported.
“RAINBOW!” Medley cried, ignoring her broken arm, but then immediately grasping it back again.
The Reapers were still under the influence of the Zeal, but Shockwave told them to turn it off. The time limit was about to expire. There were less than thirty seconds left. However, the sight of the fliers from Mirage squadron taking their battle stances created an uneasy situation.
“You will pay for that!” Firefly exclaimed. “You’re all going down!”
Havoc huffed wildly like an animal. It looked like some primal instinct was starting to overtake him.
“Heh, heh… I think you got it backwards, missy…! Heh, heh, we’re gonna mangle you, just like her!”
Trickster laughed like a psycho.
“YEAH! Come on and fight! We’re gonna TEAR YOU TO PIECES!!! Wa ha ha ha ha!”
They were both getting affected by the Zeal’s side effects. Deathwing looked at Shockwave. Suddenly, he clutched his head with his front hooves. Even he started to feel the side effects, despite using the least power.
The purple pegasus made his decision in that moment.
“I won’t take further risks.”
He moved his right front hoof to his mouth and said into the small speaker:
“Zeal, code: 1566. Disengage.”
A few seconds later, Havoc and Trickster started twitching, while Deathwing groaned loudly. He started feeling weakened. The usage of the Zeal took a toll on his body, as it did on his comrades. Their power was drained away, and now the after effects began to kick in.
Havoc turned to Shockwave.
“Dude, what did you do? Urgh… ow, dammit… my muscles hurt…”
He tried to lift his arms, but they felt heavy like iron. The red armor that he and the others were wearing only added to the feeling.
Trickster was infuriated.
“What the BUCK, man! Why did you…! Aaaagh! My head…! Feels like it’s gonna explode…!”
The pegasi from Mirage squadron observed the scene with confused expressions.
“What’s happening to them?” Cloud Kicker wondered.
“Are they sick?” Derpy asked.
Firefly burst forward, trying to attack Deathwing, but he managed to cross his arms and tank the blow, preventing the pink pegasus from hitting his face. He turned to Shockwave and grunted:
“Whatever you did… We’ll talk about it later. We have dawdled here long enough. Reaper squadron, retreat!”
Before Trickster could even argue, Shockwave grabbed him around the waist and dragged away. Havoc followed them. Deathwing broke his guard and turned away, fleeing the scene as well.
However, Firefly was not about to let them go.
“I won’t let you get away, you bastards!” she shouted after them before giving chase.
The rest of the pegasi remained behind to check on Medley.
Deathwing noticed Firefly chasing them. He told the others to keep going. In a blink of an eye, Deathwing performed a somersault and changed direction, stopping right before Firefly’s mouth. This action took the pink pony by surprise. She stopped in place, but remained vigilant and ready for a fight.
She threw a punch, but Deathwing stopped it before his face. Firefly was breathing quickly.
“Son of a bitch! You’re dead!” she grunted angrily.
“Emotions are a powerful tool… but you are not using them properly,” Deathwing replied quietly.
“Huh?”
The black pegasus stared into Firefly’s eyes.
“Are you sure you’ve made the right choice? Do you really want to fight us now…? We may be weakened… but we are still strong enough to effortlessly defeat you. Rainbow Dash couldn't beat us. Neither will you. None of you will.”
His red pupils combined with his low, ominous voice made her feel uneasy. Suddenly, she realized that she was without any support… on her own.
“Perhaps you should think your decision through,” Deathwing carried on. “Do you want to fight me? Or maybe you should go and collect the remains of your precious friend…?”
That last sentence stirred Firefly’s anger. She screamed and tried to punch Deathwing in the face.
“Shut up! She’s not dead!”
Deathwing easily blocked her punch.
“There is no way she could survive the fall from 3000 feet… Do you want to join her? You are such a fool…”
His next words stimulated even more anger inside Firefly. Deathwing decided to continue his attack, but he didn’t need to hit her at all. Words were enough to hurt her deeply.
“How does it feel, Firefly? How does it feel to lose another member of your family… because of your own stupidity?”
“Shut up…!”
“Do you feel… helpless? You could have helped her… but you weren’t there when she needed you…
“Shut up!”
“You failed her.”
“SHUT UP!”
Infuriated, Firefly tried to hit Deathwing a few more times. And yet, despite his fatigue, he still blocked all of her attacks. He then retaliated with a swift punch to Firefly’s stomach. That sudden attack stunned her, allowing Deathwing to finish her off.
But he did not. Instead, he said:
“With any luck, Rainbow will see you in the afterlife soon enough… Goodbye.”
Deathwing used the opportunity to fly away after his companions.
When they saw him returning, Trickster, still carried by Shockwave, asked him:
“Did you killed the pinkie?”
Deathwing shook his head in response. Ignoring Trickster’s mumblings, he turned his attention to Shockwave:
“Care to explain what happened back then? All armors stopped working at the same time…”
“Simple. I have used an override command,” Shockwave replied calmly. “I have specifically programmed this specific command into my unit to use it in case of emergencies, such as an occurrence of somepony not willing to shut down the Zeal before fatal consequences could happen…”
He briefly glanced at Trickster as he said that sentence. Havoc turned to him:
“And you were planning on telling us about it… when, again? Ugh…”
“You keep a lot of things to yourself,” Deathwing added.
“My apologies,” said Shockwave.
Deathwing sighed.
“In any case, I believe this was the last we’ve ever seen of Rainbow Dash. Lady Aurora will be happy when we will bring her the news. Let’s return to base.”
Firefly was left behind, unable to hear any of their words. She was gasping for breath, barely able to contain her wrath. Not only were her actions careless, they could have lead to her own death. The fact that Deathwing spared her when she was vulnerable made her frustrated even more.
Firefly started heading back to her friends. The more she thought about Deathwing’s words, the more she was torn between anger and sadness.
Was he telling the truth? Did Rainbow really…?
The pink pegasus pony suddenly stopped. Unable to contain her emotions, she let out an anguished scream.
“AAAAAAAHHH!!!”
Things couldn’t have possibly turned out for the worse...
-----------------
The remaining fliers from the Mirage squadron caught up to Firefly. The sight of her figure, hovering in midair, unnerved them. Cloud Kicker approached her first.
“We heard a scream… Are you OK?”
Firefly glared at her. The purple pegasus slightly backed away.
“Uhh… forget I asked…” she said sheepishly.
“How is Kid?” Firefly asked Lightning Bolt.
Fluttershy replied to her question instead. She was supporting Medley by hanging her injured left arm around her neck.
“She’s got a broken arm. She needs medical attention.”
Medley rustled a bit.
“Never mind me… What about Rainbow? We have to find her! She is somewhere down there, on one of those islands! Right, Thunder?”
“Yes,” Lightning Bolt confirmed. “But it will be tough to get a bead on her now… I’ve lost all means of contact with her. Her radio is most likely destroyed, and locating her in the dark will be hard without the night-vision mode. If only I had it installed in the communicators…”
Firefly looked at the horizon. It turned into a dark shade of blue and purple. The sky was already dark. She tried to come up with the right decision.
“Then we have to get back. Besides, we need to drop Kid at the hospital for treatment and—”
“NO!”
Medley’s loud squeak interrupted her.
“I don’t want to be left behind! I want to help you find Rainbow Dash!”
“You’re in no condition to help us, Kid,” said Firefly. “We need to take care of your—”
“Are you insane, Firefly?!” Medley suddenly yelled. “You want to leave Rainbow behind to die?!”
“I never said that—”
I won’t be disturbing you guys, I just want to help! You may need my eyes to find Rainbow quickly! What if the Reapers come back?! We must find her before they do!”
“I know that! Calm down!”
Fluttershy held Medley a bit tighter, trying to help her calm the emotions. Firefly thought for a few seconds about possible options. Finally, she said:
“Fine. You may come with us. First, we’ll drop you at the hospital and ask the unicorn medics to put your arm in a cast. While they will be doing that, we’ll go to the Headquarters and get that night-vision thing. Thunder, how many upgrades do you have available for us?”
“Four, I think,” Lightning replied. “I was going to make more of them, but…”
“They will have to do. Let’s move it, girls!”
As the Mirage fliers set the course back to Manehattan Headquarters, Firefly briefly looked back behind her.
“Hang on, Rainbow. We’ll come back to get you. I promise,” she said to herself.
-----------------
2200 hrs
When Rainbow Dash came to, her entire body was aching in pain. She was desperately gasping for air, and it also slightly hurt when she inhaled. Never before had she found herself in such a vulnerable state. Her ribs were broken, both of her wings crippled — she could not use them to fly away. They took the full impact of the fall. Her coat had numerous lacerations and bruises all over it. Her face was also terribly battered.
Still lying on the ground, Rainbow slowly rolled on her back, spreading her wings on the ground. She looked around. It seemed that she was in some kind of a small forest.
She looked up and noticed an opening on the trees above her. The branches had helped in softening her crash, saving her from death’s cold embrace.
Rainbow tried to stand up, but she felt searing pain in her back. Although Deathwing's attack didn't break any spinal cords, she knew that trying to get up in her current condition would be a folly. She decided to wait a bit more.
She tried moving her legs next. She was relieved when she realized that she could. However, she had to avoid moving them too vehemently, or it could amplify her pain. When she fell, she most likely bruised her legs. The skin was torn off from her body in a few spots.
She trailed her left hoof across her chest. She felt the torn material. Her vest must have been ripped by pointy branches when she fell through. It had cushioned her fall, though not by much.
She blinked her eyes several times, looking at the sky. She was trying to breathe very slowly as to not strain her lungs.
Rainbow sighed:
“Great… Rarity is gonna kill me… Wait… Girls… Where are you?”
Her friends were nowhere to be seen. Rainbow was completely alone… or so she thought.
When she finally mustered the strength to try to stand up, it took her a few dozen seconds to get up on her hooves. Her right foreleg almost immediately bent slightly after touching the ground. Rainbow remembered that it got broken by Shockwave’s kick. Her bruised rear legs were also barely letting her stand.
Shaking, Rainbow took a few steps forward, grunting in pain.
“I… got to find… the girls… They must be... looking for me…”
Before she could leave the area, she heard a loud swoosh. Somepony else was in here!
For how long…?
A low, male voice was heard in the darkness:
“I’m impressed… that fall should’ve killed you, and yet… you’re still alive. You are no ordinary pegasus, that is for certain.”
It was a voice unlike anything Rainbow heard before. It sounded more like a growling of a dog.
She frantically looked around her, but couldn’t see anything. Keeping her broken leg in mid air, she was standing in place.
“Who… Who’s there?” she asked.
“I should have been more impressed with you, Princess of the Skies… if it wasn’t for your foolish decision. What made you think you could take on four enhanced soldiers at once? Just look at you… You can barely stand, let alone fight…”
“Who are you? Are you… one of the Exiles?”
“Do not insult me,” the voice replied. “I am not one of them. But I am not your ally, either. I serve no one…”
These words did not make Rainbow feel any better. She wasn’t certain if whoever was talking to her was going to help her.
The voice carried on:
“If you try to do a stunt like that again… I’m not sure you will survive. Luck doesn’t come twice, little girl. You should’ve flewn back…”
Rainbow Dash now realized this stranger had been watching her. He must have witnessed her fight with the Reaper squadron as well. But how come neither she nor her opponents could see him…?
“They would have caught up to me… I had to fight…” Rainbow started, but the voice did not let her finish.
“No, you didn’t have to. Even if they had caught up to you, at the very least, your friends would have come for you sooner… and you wouldn’t have ended up stranded in here. You have only yourself to blame.”
Rainbow lowered her head. There was some truth to what this voice was saying. But she wasn’t going to openly agree with him.
“Come out! Show yourself!” she demanded, tired of talking to the shadows.
The stranger did not comply.
Instead, he said something that sent a cold shiver down Rainbow’s spine.
“While I was watching you… I remembered a similar situation. I, too, fought against four Exile pegasi not long ago… However, they were of little danger to me. I took care of them all… swiftly… You could say this situation was a direct opposite of yours…”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. She knew what he was talking about.
“The Exile escapees from Winterbliss Fields…! That means… you—”
“Yes. I killed them,” the voice confirmed. “As I killed another coward who tried to flee… And you made the same mistake as they did… You made a decision to fight somepony much more powerful than you… ”
Rainbow heard hoofsteps in the dark. Her heart raced. She gasped. Some leaves rustled behind her. She looked back…
“You chose poorly.”
A figure of a male pegasus pony emerged from the shadows.
His appearance startled Rainbow. Bloody, red eyes, a gray coat covered in scars, and that intimidating voice… In her condition, she would not stand a chance in a possible fight.
Rainbow Dash would not admit it out loud, but she was afraid. Her imagination started playing tricks with her.
The face of the pegasus looked to her like some sort of a winged, demonic horse. This could not be a friendly. She had no idea what this mysterious flier would do to her now.
She started to slowly back away…
“You think you can escape?” the gray pegasus asked.
Even his voice sounded demonic to her, echoing in her ears.
“Your wings are useless… You won’t get far.”
“Get away from me…!” Rainbow whimpered.
Even though he claimed to not be one of the Exiles, she wasn’t sure if she could trust him. Now that he revealed himself, it became even more apparent to her.
The blue mare turned around and tried to gallop away, but she immediately regretted this decision. She forgot about her injured legs, especially the broken one. She staggered and fell on her belly. She could nearly feel the breath of that demon on her back...
Still, she had no intentions of giving up. Rainbow desperately started to crawl on the ground, into the forest. While this put her already strained body into even greater stress, it also allowed the adrenaline to flow in her bloodstream. This gave her some of the so much needed strength. She could not walk, but she could still move.
The gray flier started slowly walking after her. He didn’t need to hurry. He was right. Rainbow could not escape him.
As she was trudging through the bushes, one of the branches smacked Rainbow in the face, leaving a bleeding mark on her cheek. After a while, she thought she saw an open space ahead of her.
She gathered all of her remaining strength and tried to stand up. She hissed when her left foreleg touched the ground. She lifted it quickly and tried to walk on only three legs. Just as she moved the branches out of the way, two more whipped her body. One hit her in the back on the head, the other in the injured leg. It struck her in the spot where her skin was torn off.
Rainbow cried in pain and stumbled forward.
She did not see a piece of wood lying on the ground before her. Rainbow lost her balance, tripped and fell down a cliff, screaming. When she tumbled down, she further wounded her body on the rocks and ultimately landed on the sands of a beach.
The mysterious flier emerged from the bushes, looked down at her from the cliff and shook his head.
“Such a shame… I was looking forward to fighting you myself, Rainbow Dash… but it seems like you will be one the aces that I won’t have the privilege of facing. It seems today, a Princess dies… Your time is short. Farewell.”
The gray pegasus then opened his wings and flew up, leaving the island. Rainbow saw him flying away and tried to call out to him, reaching her left hoof in vain. Even if he looked like a demon, he was the only one around to aid her.
“Wait…! Help… me…! Aahh…”
Her arm fell to the ground. He did not hear her.
Rainbow Dash felt a prickly pain in her chest. That fall must have damaged her ribs even more. She was breathing rapidly.
The mare felt her body slowly getting colder.
She looked at her right arm closer. It had a bleeding wound that wasn’t there earlier. She must have hurt herself on one of the rocks when she fell onto the beach. In spite of the bleeding wounds, Rainbow Dash tried to stand up, wincing and gritting her teeth. She wanted to get up and escape, even though it wasn't a smart decision, considering her state.
However, all four of her legs bent under her weight, and the blue pegasus landed on her belly, scrubbing the sand with it. Her heart was pounding in her chest from stress.
Her strength started fading away. Her vision was slowly turning darker and more blurry. All sounds around Rainbow started growing more quiet. She only heard the sound of the waves crashing against the cliff from which she fell.
“Is this… it?” she thought.
Once more, Rainbow tried to stand up, grunting in pain, but her body refused to obey her. The sand underneath her coat was itching her.
“Am I… going to die…?”
She tried to crawl forward just a little bit, to get a taste of water on her tongue. She didn’t care if it was salty. She wanted to remain conscious.
But she did not reach the ocean. She did not move an inch. Instead, Rainbow tasted her own blood in her mouth.
Terribly exhausted, Rainbow could not even move a muscle. Her body felt very heavy. The sounds were reaching her ears, but she could not hear them anymore. She could not sense the smells, either.
“No… I… I don’t want to… Girls…!”
Once more, she tried to reach her hoof out. Tears started flowing from her eyes. She was crying quietly. Her lips moved, calling for help, but her voice did not leave her throat. No one would have heard her now anyway.
Her eyes rolled backward. All she could see was blackness.
“Fluttershy… Firefly… Applejack… Twilight… Pinkie… Rarity... Medley… I... ”
Her cheek touched the sand on the ground again, but she didn’t feel that.
“Somepony… Anypony… Please... help me… Please…!”
Rainbow Dash finally collapsed from the pain, exhaustion and her injuries.
A pale moon shined through the clouds. The wind blew around Rainbow’s body, as if trying to snuff out her already dimming life. She was lying on the sand, very close to the edge of the beach. Her untreated injuries would soon end her life...
She did not hear the wing flaps as two pegasi descended down and landed next to her. They examined her carefully. One of them said with a youthful voice:
“Well, what do we have here…?”
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Brutality of war. I like it.
Jesus, Trickster is a horrible little piece of slime!
I hope he gets the most humiliating demise in the whole story.
7313986 Believe me, as bad as what he did here was, he has yet to show his WORST side.
7316712 And I'm assuming "worst side" isn't the World of Warships equivalent of showing your broadside to a battleship... is it...
Well karma will just have to hit back harder.
7316712 ...Okay, he needs to get eaten by one of the Drake Generals.
Alive. And swallowed whole.
7176396 Um, no. Aurora KILLED several ponies (i.e., her own fanatical followers) in her experiments. This was explicitly made clear when Aurora was introduced.
Aurora DID do something wrong...and irredeemable...when she used mad science to become an alicorn. No "luddite propaganda" here.
7316712 Violet's gonna be so proud...
7176396 Science as a way to "earn" a status like alicorns you say?
I disagree... since science also produced this thing
http://sta.sh/01noib1awm0b
This is most definitely a gutwrenching chapter.