Don't Steal Her Thunder
"Nightshade...?!" Rainbow droned.
"Hold on!" Nightshade chanted, galloping a little slower now. The horn-less unicorn led the group forward, over bridges and pedestals, past conveyor belts and looped chains. An elaborate labyrinth of machinery and metal mesh lingered on all sides of the lavender beacon that Kera was carrying towards the rear of the group. "It's all coming back to me..."
More shells went off overhead, even making Zaid tremble in mid-trot. Dust and sediment fell over the group as they took right and left turns at random.
Rainbow gulped. "Nightshaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade..."
"Just give me a moment!"
"We haven't got a moment!" Rainbow grumbled. "In case you haven't noticed, it's friggin' Ragneighrak up above us and here we are acting like a bunch of idiotic tourists on a stroll!"
"Only, we're not." Nightshade suddenly came to a stop. She took a few panting breaths and pointed ahead of her. "For there we are..."
Rainbow Dash, Kera, and Zaid looked on.
Upon the very edge of the book's lavender glow, an elaborate cylindrical pedestal stood. It marked the center of a long, narrow, golded bridge stretching over the black heart of the metal ravine.
"That's it?!" Rainbow cackled.
"Look, I promised you a destination, not a spectacle!" Nightshade instantly galloped forward. "Come! We're almost there!"
"So, we just gotta put the book on the pedestal, r-right?!" Kera cried out from Zaid's backside.
"Something like that!"
"Rainbow Dash! I thought you've done this before!"
Rainbow nodded in mid-glide. "I have! Only, there wasn't a book involved previously!"
"Uhm..."
"Look..." Rainbow hovered low above the pedestal, shrugging. "How hard can it be?" Nightshade, Zaid, and Kera caught up. "Okay. So, like, let's do this crap already! Zaid?"
"Right!" The stallion nodded. "I hoof you the book!"
"No..." Rainbow glared. "You hoof me the filly who then hoofs me the book!"
"Alright! Alright!" Zaid gently let Kera off, careful not to desposit her too close to the bridge's precarious edge. "It's all cool! I'm pretty self-aware of my supporting characterness!" He nudged Kera Rainbow's way.
"You ready for this, Rainbow?" Kera held the book out.
"Look, I've never been much for ceremony." Rainbow grunted as she grabbed the book from the foal's hooves. "At my Hearth's Warming Pageant, I bucked Chancellor Puddinghat off the stage."
"Really?"
"No, but that would have been a lot more awesome." Rainbow pivoted, faced the platform, and shoved the book at it. "Zoop!"
Flassssh! The book bounced off.
"Gaaah!" Rainbow reeled in midair. The tome went plunging towards the black abyss below.
Nightshade gasped heavily. She dove for the thing, catching it in a pair of jittery hooves before it could fall out of sight. She teetered on the bridge's edge, flailing, falling over—"Aaaaaaaa—!"
Rainbow caught her, levitating the Madame safely onto even ground. "Relax! You're not pony paste! Not yet..."
"Whew... praise the Spark..." Nightshade hugged the book to her chest—only to have Rainbow Dash wrench it out of her grip.
"What the crap happened?!" Rainbow sneered, ruby eyes digging ravines in Nightshade's forehead. "I thought the flame was supposed to leap out of the book or something?!"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"Not exactly what I wanna be hearing right now!" Rainbow pivoted and pressed the book towards the pedestal again... and again and again and again. A splash of lavender light erupted each time, propelling the book back and knocking Rainbow off-center. "What gives?! It's not going in!"
"What do we do now, Rainbow?!" Kera whimpered.
"Ahem." Zaid cleared his throat and raised a hoof. "If I might butt in—not to steal your sexiness or anything."
"What is it?!" Rainbow snarled at him.
Zaid gulped and pointed nervously at Kera's horn.
Kera blinked, feeling the shimmering band on her forehead.
Rainbow gulped. "Odrsjot..."
"That thing is keeping the book in check, right?" Zaid said. "Stands to reason that maybe if you take the doohickey off..."
"Then the tome will regain full power," Nightshade muttered. She gazed at Rainbow Dash. "Seems simple enough."
Rainbow took a deep breath, hovering in place. "Yeah, okay."
"Rainbow, no!" Kera squeaked, shaking her head furiously. "Right here?! In the middle of this mess?! You'll be crippled!"
"Kera..."
"I won't do it!" The foal gripped the band around her horn and frowned into her tattoos. "We need you! I'm not about to let you become limp like a noodle again!"
"Kid, listen..." Rainbow dropped down and stood before her. She rested a hoof on the filly's shoulder and said, "This world needs the flame more. If we don't get that energy out of the book and into the pedestal, this machine world won't come alive, and it won't have anything to guard it against Nevlamas and her nasty chaos breath. Ya hear me?"
Kera's eyes watered up as she shook her head. "You'll be vulnerable! I won't let you take the risk! I-I've gotta bring you back to Belle and Pilate in one piece!"
"Hey..." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and leaned in. "You wanna know a secret?"
Kera merely blinked.
The pegasus smirked devilishly. "I'm at my awesomest when I'm vulnerable. Heck, we all are. How else do we manage to put on a spectacular show unless we have no choice to?"
The filly bit her lip.
"You gonna steal my thunder or what?" Rainbow gestured at the foal's horn. "Come on. Let's lose the bracelet. Who knows?" She shrugged. "As soon as we put the book in its place, I'll probably be fit as a fiddle, cuz the flame is where it belongs. You dig?"
Kera took a deep breath, nodding. "I-I dig."
"Okie dokie lokie." Rainbow Dash stepped back. Without losing her smirk, she stealthily whispered aside to Zaid. "Anything happens to me, you get the kid on the glider and out of here. Got it?"
"I hear ya." The stallion nodded.
"What?" Kera's eyes twitched. "Hear what?"
"It's now or never, child," Nightshade said, fidgeting slightly.
Kera closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, and then—with careful telekinesis—she slid the Odrsjot band off her tiny horn.
The book instantly fluctuated with bright lavender energy, flooding the chasm with light.
"Guhhhh!" Rainbow Dash instantly stumbled, quivering all over.
Zaid gripped her tightly. "Steady there..."
"Friggin' A..." Rainbow hissed, shivering from head to tail. "Tastes like vomit and m-molasses..."
"It's not over yet!" Nightshade shouted. "Everypony, hang onto something!"
Kera winced as the book shimmered in front of her, sending a pulsating wave of lavender energy through the ponies' bodies and into the walls of the ravine beyond.
From afar, a band of bright energy could be seen shooting out of the ravine.
Nevlamas saw it. She turned, her jaws clenching shut as she hissed in surprise.
"Hrackkkkkkttt?!" She hovered in place, decrepit leather wings kicking at the heated air. As the sounds of battle echoed below, she gasped, then sneered with aquamarine menace. "Austraeoh..."
She gazed at the ravine for far too long, giving Khao's ship the opportunity to blindside her from the rear.
"This may be our last opportunity for a good shot!" Khao shouted into the the cockpit's communication console. "Let's make it count!"
"Scrkkkkt—Missiles loaded, Sister! Are we making the final approach?!"
"Already on it!" Khao gripped the controls tighter. She pivoted the diving vessel until the Dark Divine was clearly in their sights. "Glory to the Harbinger—"
At the last second, Nevlamas' snout turned. She glared into the ship's swift approach.
Khao's pupils shrank. "Angels, spare us..."
A plume of aquamarine fire consumed the entire bow.
"Graaaugh!" Khao yelped, flames erupting through the bulkheads and singeing her forelimbs. "Hold our fire—!"
It was too late. The missiles exploded, causing pieces of the hull to collapse inward.
A brilliant fireball consumed the Heraldite vessel. Scraps of skystone flew into the air as the burning sip hurled towards the earth.
Basso and Zetta and their fellow soldiers gasped, watching as the ill-fated ship slammed into the ground, rolled, and slid to a grinding stop in the distance. Nevlamas roared, filling the air with chaotic song before hovering over the smoldering wreckage.
Before anypony could stammer forth a response, a brisk shadow surged over them. Basso looked up in time to see another skystone ship hovering above their heads. An elk, a zebra, and a unicorn with a shattered horn peered over.
"Mr. Basso... Mrs. Zetta, I presume," Pilate remarked.
"You came for Roarke," Basso replied with a nod. Zetta slid the sound stone away as the large stallion shuffled over to the limp metal mare in question. "Not a second too soon. I fear we may have just run out of time..." He gulped while picking the Searonese invalid up. "For everypony."
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ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh—
ahem...
uh...i wanna know what happens next! >.>
Ooo. Hurry up, you goddamn purple flashlight. Get in the freakin pedestal. There be Dragons.
Heh. Ragneighrak.
>Scraps of skystone flew into the air as the burning sip hurled towards the earth
Le typo?
Ain't no magic like Austraeoh magic.
Huh, I thought I'd be happier when Khao bit the dust...
3784482
It's strong, and it's sudden, and it's cruel sometimes, but it might just save your life.
Wait, no. I'm thinking of something else.
Book power ACTIVATE!
Zoop!
Really? "Ragneighrak"? You just had to do that?
3779844 Steel would be difficult.
What I do see is a flipped around version of this P-51.
talismancoins.com/catalog/P51D_Mustang_in_Fight.jpg
Either finished or unfinished shiny aluminum like on an older AA MD-80
aa.com/content/images/aboutUs/ourPlanes/S80_Ground.jpg
Brass fittings on joints would also be called for, the interior would be dominantly wood, similar to a Jenny.
farm5.staticflickr.com/4028/4397755352_5aa4062b22.jpg
The front (because of the rearward facing jet) would look something like a vampire.
warbirdalley.com/images/vamp-01.jpg
Battlecry of the victors warns the enemy nd lets them take action. Shouldve fired teh missiles just to get them away from teh ship.
Now it cunts as to how fast teh flame can transfer to the machine word, activate it, and for some reason stop affecting Dash to mess her up and instead boost her like previously.
It all comes down to the narrow death bridge over the abyss.
Well... okay then. Kind of a sudden, vaguely anti-climactic end for Khao. I mean, yeah, she came through in the end, distracting Nevlamas and giving our heroes a chance to get where they need to go, but... I guess I kinda figured she and her minions would be a bigger part of the story. I would say she might have survived, but after Shell living through all kinds of crazy shit, I'm tempted to say we'd be pushing our luck.
So, it seems, farewell Khao. You got less obnoxious before you died, so there's that.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/11/18/475241__safe_solo_rainbow+dash_unicorn_pony+creator.png
Rule of cool Dash, just chuck the fucking book at the altar and hope for the best.
You probably don't have time to crawl across the bridge.
3784477
I misread flashlight as fleshlight and that made things very different indeed.
3784755
Hey. No body. I don't care if you say she was incinerated by the fire, we ain't got no body.
3784985
Yeah, had to double check my writing for a moment too.
damn. Was really liking khao..she survived quite the beating from rainbow so maybe alive after fire flame crash? probably not.
3784482
'Cuz evil chaos magic ain't shiiiiiiit!
So, the book is at the altar. Let us pray that this works.
Is Khao going to live? Explosions don't mean death, especially when this story is involved.
Oh, by the way, Zetta, Basso, Roarke, and the Nancy Jane? Run.
3784515 Khao was a good gal now. Heck, if she survives, she'll probably be going with Austraeoh, and bringing everypony she can with her.
We've gotten Nevlamas's reaction, but not Seclorum's. Maybe if he sees his plans falling to ruin he'll scream something that sheds light onto what his goal was. (Or maybe Seclorum couldn't see the ravine from where he is.)
Of course Khao's ship would get engulfed in flames and then implode.
She was starting to be useful.
shit's startin to get real
...again
This is the part where Khao's ship's remains land on Seclorum's head.
And on a similar note, she asks for the angels to spare them just as the machine world reactivates. I'm not suggesting divine intervention, but I'm just trying to find a more logical justification for Khao being alive in the next few chapters than "Corpse or it didn't happen".
Oh frak, am I freaking dead now?
Just when I started liking myself...
That sounded a lot less angsty in my head for some reason.
Remember, no one's head exploded. They'll probably be alive when the other party members go to inspect the wreckage.
Khao's not dead yet! Possibly severely burnt and in agony right now....but no body = not dead!
I get the feeling that Rainbow Dash is about to become even more awesome. ...If that's possible.
3786517
So Rainbow's an Alicorn now? Who knew!
Why do these chapters have to be so short?
getmightynow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/url-14.jpeg
Hrm. Now for Rainbow to kick mules and take names, and then absorb the flame, and be conked out for a few hours.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Hmm...good chapter, I think. It really just builds suspense for the next one, though. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Should've listened to Rikku and moved the airship away. If she didn't die by this, she most certainly went Khao.
I am sorry.
3784659 gateworld.net/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/QMx_DeathGlider_02.jpg These are mana-powered suspected-to-be-antigrav vehicles after all, they don't have to play by reality's rules.
3784567 I just realized now that Twilight's magic color is coming from a book.
This feels like a drawn out lame joke.
I felt bad after laughing at that.
Now then, considering many chapters ago how Nightshade went superpony with the book in her possession. This energy may finally be at RD's command rather than she at its mercy.
3790715 I suppose the material doesn't matter.
I am more of a fan of the conventional (human) fighter shape though.
So how many explosions are there gonna be?
Now it's time to activate the machine world on the battlefront...
...sooooo...Zaid is Deadpool then? That explains SO much!
3784478 I see you caught up here. You are the guardian against typos!
3793377 BOOKS!
4080431
This is bad. Or good?
-SPirit
Zaid is leaning on the fourth wall pretty hard XD
Khao . . . I actually hope something more comes about from her. I know that she can't be dead. But let's hope that this book did something.
Interestingly enough, the Ponyville version never had the chance to happen, because of the whole Discord business.
And dammit, Khao and the heraldites were just starting to be helpful. Thanks for nothing, Nevlamas!
Zaid knows he's a supporting character... the story is becoming self-aware.
6284319
Or Zaid's just that secretly awesome.
Auuugggghhh!!! Just get that book on the petastool already!
8576890
You would think saving the world would be an easy job - but jooooo it just has to have chaos dragons and evil monsters.
You know, this is the most dramatic "machine world flame" scene yet. Makes you wonder what the future has in store for us and them.