Odrsjot

by Imploding Colon

A Most Perfect Dawn

Shell's cries fell on deaf ears as Rainbow sailed into the hollow belly of the Lightning Bearer. Beams of the sunrise bled through the burning cracks, filling the interior with an otherworldly brilliance that bounced enchantingly across the battered bulkheads.

Rainbow landed on grinding hooves, kicking up dust and soot as pieces of lumber crackled and collapsed around her.

"Lasairfion!" Rainbow hollered. Her voice echoed across the bulwarks, flouncing the limp manes of dead Xonan maidservants. She trotted over bodies and pools of blood, the wages of the Xonan monarch's sins. "Lasairfion, it's over!" Rainbow yellowed, teeth bearing. "Come out and face me, you coward! You'd better still be alive, because I want the chance to beat you senseless!"

There was no reply. More wooden beams collapsed. Sparks of a half-stifled flame erupted to Rainbow's left, then smoldered into nothingness.

Rainbow began panting, her seething breaths reduced to an emotional hyperventilation. Turning and glancing—she suddenly jerked in place.

There, besides a fractured window with a bent metal aperature, the monarch stood, tall and proud, gazing into the eastern light.

Rainbow Dash hissed as she slithered closer to her target. "Only someone as lame and pathetic as you would find a way to cause all of this!" She slammed her hooves down and spread her wings. "Look at me, you stuffed-up, murderous melon fudge!"

Slowly, coolly, Princess Lasairfion pivoted around. Her leering eyes stood out within the shadow that the window's lit frame made.

Rainbow stood in the silhouette of her shadow, snarling angrily. "Look at this! Look at all this carnage that you've caused! And just what have you gained, huh?!"

Lasairfion was silent. Her eyes narrowed on Rainbow.

"I know you aren't on the Xonans' side! So whose side are you on?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed. "And bringing Nevlamas into this! Creating a monster of pain and agony?! Turning two gigantic armies full of angry ponies on each other?! What was it all for, you moron?!" She dashed an inch forward, slamming her hooves against the cracked wood for emphasis. "Answer me! Why did you have to bring chaos and hatred to this stinkin' continent?! Hasn't it suffered enough already?"

Silence.

And then... Lasairfion smiled.

"Hmmmm... you're as feisty as my children have told me, Rainbow Dash. It's a miracle you've survived this far without Applejack to bite onto your tail."

Rainbow Dash's eyes bulged. She limped backwards, one hoof raised, as if dealt a frigid slap to the face. "Who..." Her ruby pupils shrank and her voice cracked, "Wh-what are you...?"

A pair of fangs slid out of Lasairfion's mouth. Her voice took on a deep, vibrating tone, "It's all rather simple 'Austraeoh.' Hatred is just a very passionate form of love." And with that, her eyes flashed green. A ring of fire flashed around her as her mane lifted up, revealing a zig-zagged horn that fired a blast of emerald energy at Rainbow's body.

Rainbow Dash flinched. Her vision flashed, and in her next breath she found herself being blown a hundred feet back in the span of two seconds. Her body slammed hard against a wooden wall, sending pieces of brunt splinters flying everywhere. The moment she slumped to the ground, she heard the flitting sound of gossamer wings. Looking up, she saw a black body levitating over the spot where Lasairfion was. With the flicker of a vomit-green mane, the equine was gone, tearing its way out the hull of the Lightning Bearer and sending a climactic shiver throughout the entire structure.

The ceiling buckled. The walls were collapsing.

Rainbow winced, and that wince turned into a fuming snarl as she shook the cobwebs out, spread her feathers wide, and took wing. She blurred out of the hall of corpses just as the ship began its dreadful implosion.

---

On the outside, Shell clambered over a wall of debris to get to the exposed interior of the Lightning Bearer. Something sleek shot out the edge of his peripheral vision. He gasped, spinning about. His eye caught something soaring east, the sunlight pouring through its dragonfly wings and porous leg-joints.

Before he could react, a second body zoomed out of the ship beneath him. He gasped, spinning towards the prismatic blur. He levitated the scimitar above him, growling deeply as he attempted to skewer the figure in mid-air.

However, the structure of the Lightning-Bearer rumbled beneath him. He could hear the wooden cross-beams tearing. With something resembling a sob, the battered Prime Enforcer leapt clear off the side, just milliseconds before the deck beneath him collapsed. He fell—flailing—into the dusty mountain's edge as both the Lightning-Bearer and the Steel Wing succumbed to their combined weight behind him.

Comments

[Wobble]

THE RIDE NEVER ENDS

[AppleTank]

Knew it. Lassie's a changeling

Also, Shell, don't worry. You survived worse falls.

[Pilate]

How regal of her, knowledgeable, megalomaniac. Changeling.

[Snublock]

This story just exploded.
Shit.

If this is somehow Chrysalis I will probably scream.

[Jonathon Smythe]

Shell's not dead yet. He has a little bit of time left before Imre sets him straight.

Hmm... Changelings... Separated loves... Zaid! Get Kera back to Pilate and Belle, stat!

[destinedjagold]

wow...she even knew about Applejack. o.0
this is totally Chrysalis...maybe? <.<

[zaponator]

Well fuck. Chrysalis.

[Lightning Bearer]

Yep, changeling queen. Damn.

Also, I wouldn't worry about Shell. He'll probably just surf down the mountain on the wreckage.

"It's a miracle you've survived this far without Applejack to bite onto your tail."

It probably would've just broken off anyway.

[Cynderfall]

Applejack? Oh...

[Nevlamas]

I'm going up and down the rollercoaster with every single chapter. I personally do not like this new changeling element at all. Much too close to the show for my own tastes.

But I could imagine that all this is happening just to prove another bunch of character speculations wrong.

[kihutaja]

Relevant link

So is this actually Chryssie or just her sister? Did she find out about AJ by reading Dash's mind or does she have a network of spies all the way to Equestria?

[That_one_guy]

OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.

[not_a_rainbow]

aawwwwww yyeeeeaaaaaa

now get both armies to shoot at the changeling(queen?)!

and did Axan leave?

[Vandratha]

Shell, I don't know where you keep finding all of these fate points/bennies, but you have to stop. It's just ridiculous.

[Literature]

3795628
He has, but this one he doesn't want to survive...

[dafiltafish]

If this is Chrissy, I will have to hit something... hard.

[dashie76]

IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!

Well, enter Chrissy. Is she going to end up taking the torch from Shell and chasing Dash and co. for another 250 chapters? Only time will tell. These are my thoughts so far.

-MASH

[Psyco Josho]

This queen sure does know a lot.

[Hap]

Once again, I know this may have already been revealed/disproved in the chapters I've not read yet, but it makes sense that changelings would be able to read minds (or at least access memories) in order to take the place of anypony in particular. So this doesn't necessarily have to be Chrysalis.

[Future Regret]

I think she has a spy network, and I think Ebon is a part of it, even if he doesn't know it. Best prediction I've made in the series.

[Super Trampoline]

How delightfully evil.

[YoshiFawful64]

This dawn is going to be perfect…

[whizzball1]

Lasairfion is a changeling...

-Spirit

[Thumper]

Poor Shell.. Always so close, yet so far.
Even though he's the bad guy, he is still one of my favorite characters of all time.
The very definition of bad-ass!
I hope he doesn't kick the bucket quite yet.

[remnants]

Wait... could Lari-whatshername be...Chryssy?

[JustAnotherTimeLord]

God dammit, AppleTank! I will never take comments to heart for character spellings. I was spelling Lasairfion right this whole time . . . I think. Anyway, now that we know this is Chrysalis, I am want to know why she is all the way out in Ledomare, why she knows about Applejack, and why she is even around.

[aRestlessCreativeGamer]

Hmmm. i don't think im going to like the part where Rainbow has to face these changelings...i can tell it will be full of the feels. In all of the worst ways. Mind you, im not saying the story wont be good, im just saying I probably wont enjoy it. too attached for my own damn good *grumble*

[Regidar]

FUCKING CALLED IT (maybe).

She might not be Chrysalis (she totally is) but definitely a changeling higher-up.

[**Beert]

Hi Chrissy!

And I think it may all come down to Ebon somehow, because y'know...obligatory feels.

[Chewierulz]

Nope. No fight.

On the bright side, a familiar face! How long until it's broken into pieces...

[Tim the Planes-pony]

"Hmmmm... you're as feisty as my children have told me, Rainbow Dash. It's a miracle you've survived this far without Applejack to bite onto your tail."

Dick Move, changeling queen, Dick Move.

[Hazard]

Aha! Perpetrate a war and feed on the results. It's all starting to make sense.

[Rudy45]

EFFFFFF YOOOOOOUUUUUUU, CHRYSALIS

[Nonchalant]

Shell is totally fine. The guy is made of hate and sham-wows. Those are impressive.

[arancaytar]

"Lasairfion, it's over!" Rainbow yellowed

It's a combination of a yell and a bellow, and so loud that your opponent temporarily turns into a timid pink-maned pegasus in fright.

[arancaytar]

Applejack

Lassairfion has pretty good intel... of course, she seems to have deeply infiltrated both sides with spies, and RD's background has been an open book to anyone with access to Bellesmith's sequencing records from Blue Shelf.

Also, I'm about 99% certain this is not a changeling queen we know. Equestria is thousands of miles away, and she doesn't seem to have had a reason to travel there. If it is Chryssie, then it's a version of her that has nothing to do with the canon character.

(Unless Discord's canon defeat somehow made her lose the gig she had going here so she would seek out Equestria in revenge. But how would that happen? Unless the EoH somehow happened to cure Nevlamas from a distance... okay, now I'm only 80% sure.)

[Toksyuryel]

Hmm... she's said to have shown up only a few months ago, which coincides with when Rainbow Dash began her journey east. But the war itself has been going on for decades. So I really don't know what to think right now.

[FOXTrot2]

8085113
QUEEN CHRYSALIS CONFIMED!!!

[FOXTrot2]

Airfion means "wine made from flame"

[SnowOriole]

It's a miracle you've survived this far without Applejack to bite onto your tail.

I kind of died a little inside.

[Luminous Tune]

To all who are rereading. This is where we wish Shell died. You all remember what he does next