The Descent into Madness

by FenrisianBrony

The Remnants of the Swarm

The swarm entered the system with no fanfare, simply appearing in the depths of space as they finally came within range of the scanners on Rainbow’s ships. They would have been approaching the planet for years, maybe even decades, and yet when they arrived the world had barely even had a fraction of that time to prepare.

Just as Rainbow had said, Barank had no void defences, the only ship on the world belonging to Rainbow, but even if it had been the finest warship in the arsenal of the Triumvirate of Half Formed Hope, it would have been destroyed by the swarm in a heartbeat. So, the swarm came on, swimming inexorably towards the planet. It took them yet more weeks to reach the world itself, the ships almost blotting out the sun as they prepared for the consumption of the world.

Then the first wave came, and everything began in fire.

Small organisms, Gaunt’s as they were known, rained down in seemingly disorganised packs in giant pods. Alone the pods were hardly dangerous, but none could be ignored, the swarm growing inexorably more dangerous as their numbers swelled. It was a simple tactic to delay the defenders, to stop them striking at the true landing zones, those areas that would be the first to be terraformed to suit the Tyranid swarm.

For some, this tactic would have worked, few forces having the numbers required to both defend themselves from the smaller creatures and simultaneously strike at the landing zones, and that was also true of the Exodites, but it was also true that they were led by someone who was more willing to accept losses than most.

Over the weeks Rainbow had pressed her authority, breaking the power of High King Scoval bit by bit, never enough to raise suspicion and certainly not enough to depose him completely, she did not have anywhere near the time for that, but with just the right application of persuasion and assassination, his power had faltered, and Rainbow was the sole commander of this world, no matter what Scoval may have wanted to believe.

When the Gaunt’s landed they were opposed of course, but not the warrior clades, not for the most part. Civilians armed with whatever weapons they could muster fought the beasts, dying in droves to ensure the pods contents never linked up to form a more dangerous opponent. It was distasteful, but it worked, and the true Warriors, most importantly the Dragon Riders, were free to act as they needed.

Rainbow smiled as she surveyed the force she had assembled as her own, three hundred of the finest Dragon Riders on the planet, backed up by two Stallion Knights from clan Scoval. All of them were moving fast, though for Rainbow they may as well have been travelling at a snail’s pace. She wished she could break out her Jetbike, to feel the rush of true speed once more, but alone she would be more of a liability than an asset, and so was stuck with her wings.

Dust was thrown up behind them as they charged, it was inevitable with moving a force this large, this foe would see them coming, but they had no choice. A large cluster of pods had come down together, no movement outwards, meaning only one thing. The terraforming was beginning, the true invasion. They wouldn’t stop it this way, already reports were coming in about dozens more such sites and they barely had the forces available to hit half of them, but every one that was destroyed was time brought, no matter how little it may end up being.

“Ninety seconds!” Rainbow roared, not that many in the host would hear her, this pathetic backwater world swore off a lot of technology when they joined the Exodite clans, but the Knights would hear. “In and out! No heroics, no funny business! If your friend dies, you leave them, we do not go back!”

The Tyranids were visible now, hundreds of dark shapes skittering before them, a few larger shapes seeming to direct the swarm. It didn’t look like they were anything larger than warriors, but Rainbow was not taking any chances. If they met staunch resistance here, they’d fall, it was as simple as that.

Nothing else mattered to Rainbow as her vision focused in on the swarm, tunnelling in until she could see nothing else but her foes. She let out a screech that she couldn’t hear, nor could she hear the hundreds of megadon howls or the thunder of their feet.

Sound was leached from her world as suddenly she was clad in Exodite armour once, flying over the plains of Hannibal, not Barank. The skies had already darkened from the Tyranid spores, but she could still make out the distant forms of fighting Eldar. And if she really squinted, she could make out a Carnifex with a little blue creature flitting around its head, trying to defeat a god with a flower for all the good it had done her. That was her trial, a simpler time, where good and evil were simple, where everything made sense, where she still knew her own mind. Those days had long since passed.

The two forces slammed into each other, sound rushing back to Rainbow in a deafening thunderclap, and like that she was back, clad in her bodysuit, talons already ripping out the throats of Tyranids on reflex as she was forced back into reality over memory.

Letting out a screech she renewed her charge, her muscles bulging and her pupils widening as drugs flooded her system. She became a blur dancing through the lines of Gaunt’s, occasionally using her knives, or the splinter pistol she carried, or the remnants of Ravenous, but no matter what she used, she killed. Low level Tyranids were no warriors, their only strength was in numbers and the coordination of their psykers beasts, and Rainbow had already spotted the first one.

It was a Warrior Organism, a lashwhip and bonesword in one set of hands while a massive venom cannon spat death from its second set. Faster than any of its lesser it turned to face Rainbow, bringing its cannon round and lashing out with its whip, the tendrils moving with a mind of their own.

One grazed her as she barrel-rolled over the tendrils, driving her claws through the creature’s eyes before it could swing its sword at her. The wound stung before the pain rolling from the battle washed over her, knitting her skin closed in a facsimile of the Dark Eldar’s own abilities.

The creature died with a scream, echoing through Rainbow’s head as the Gaunts around her reeled backwards from the psychic backlash, giving Rainbow a split second to look around before another Warrior reasserted control over them and sent them back into the fray properly.

They had carved a huge gouge into the Tyranid lines with their charge, the bigger megadon’s simply crushing Gaunt’s underfoot, and that had driven them in deep, but already the swarm was reacting, forcing the charge to a halt and beginning to wear down the Dragon Knights with sheer numbers. The Stallion Knights were faring far better, every shot of their prism cannons carving lines through the Tyranids, and every swipe of their spears cleaving dozens of them in tow, but there were only two of them, and given time they too would be worn down and destroyed. They had to move, fast.

Taking to the skies, Rainbow let out a screech, magnifying it with a bead built into the neck of her bodysuit. At the signal the Dragon Knights turned, no longer trying to push through the horde and instead rushing to the feet of the two Stallions, beginning to run circles around them, forcing the Tyranids away from the machines, defending them from all angles.

They were surrounded now, the swarm having closed in, but with the riders no longer standing still and fighting downwards the Gaunt’s struggled to overwhelm the riders. The few who did get hit died quickly, falling from their mounts only to be trampled to deaths by their fellows. Nothing would stop the circle as they closed on the capillary tower the swarm was doing its upmost to protect.

“Time to firing range five seconds,” one of the Knight pilots called across the communicator. “Beginning calibrations now.”

The two Stallion’s cannons began to glow, the crystals growing brighter until it hurt to look at. When the first one fired it wasn’t at the enemy, but at the other Knight, the beam of energy striking the second Prims Cannons crystal, the glow increasing even more, blinding any who looked at it. The Exodites had been forewarned about this, but the Tyranids hadn’t, thousands screeching in pain as their eyes were irreparably seared away. The injuries barely slowed them however, spurned on as they were by their superiors, they were Psychically guided forwards.

The Hive Mind had realised what was happening now, the swarm moving into a thrust of its own, trying to break through the circling megadons. Slowly their push bore fruit, Dragon Knights falling, while the others were forced to swerve around the intrusion, creating a bulge in the circle. In a few moments the bulge would become a breach and they would be overwhelmed. Luckily for them, they didn’t need a few moments.

The second Knight fired, its weapon still being charged by the other cannon as the shot lanced across the sky, striking the capillary tower squarely at its base, slicing through hardened cartilage and bone with ease. This shot would have felled titans and used against the tower it had the same effect.

With the wet, sticky sound of tearing meat the tower began to fall, a visible shockwave pulsing from its base as the Hive Minds connection was severed. Rainbow’s head felt like it was on fire, but for the Tyranids it was infinitely worse. Gaunts simply died as the shockwave hit them, or else collapsed in pain as their minds were burnt from the feedback. Even the larger creatures faltered, the Hive Mind working furiously to bring them back to full strength. It was the only chance at retreat they would get.

“Pull back!” Rainbow roared, amplifying her voice once more. “Break out and reform beyond the swarm!”

The Dragon Knights moved with a grace few would think possible atop their feral mounts, the Stallion’s following behind. It took them over a minute to break out, cutting down or crushing any Tyranids who stood before them as the swarm recovered. Just before they broke free control was re-established, screams sounding from the back of the pack as riders were pulled from their mounts and consumed. Their deaths were not quick or pretty, but Rainbow cared little for them as the majority of the force punched their way out, heading onto the plain, away from the swarm. A few Gaunts tried to follow them, but they could not match the megadons for speed and soon gave up the chase.

“A fine day,” a Dragon Knight approached Rainbow as they ran, the crest on his helmet marking him out as a rider of consummate skill and authority. “We made them bleed for coming to Barank.”

“Yes, we did,” Rainbow mused, barely paying attention to the conversation as she flew. “How many did we lose?”

The Dragon Knight responded, but once again Rainbow could not hear a word that was spoken, her mind fleeing to the past. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes she was in the armour of the Exodites once more.

Around her were not the Dragon Riders of Barank, but a battered squad from Hannibal. They all wore helmets, but Rainbow knew them regardless.

Aranel, Dorgolmar, Egarion, and finally Elarique.

They had been the first Eldar to take her in, Elarique had found her and saved her from a Hormagant when she had first appeared on Hannibal. There had been others too in that squad, once upon a time. Elensar, brother of Aranel, had died on the fields of Aspoh, the doomed defence by the Exodites standing alone. Rainbow hadn't seen him die, but she had seen the final member fall. Talvan, Eldar arrogance made manifest in a single Warlock, but she had saved Rainbow in the end, even though it had cost her her life.

They had been proud warriors once, but now they were running for their lives, leaving behind the slaughter they had barely escaped from. Twisting around, Rainbow saw the monstrous forms of the bio-titans finishing off the last remnants of the Wind Rider host, an army capable of laying waste to whatever they set their sights on being taken apart in the space of a single battle. They had lost badly, there had been no glorious last stand for them. Hannibal had died screaming to the warp, hearing only the laughter of capricious gods in response.

Even though she knew she was not there, that Hannibal had perished long ago, as had Elarique, Rainbow had to fight the urge to turn and face the horde, to stand and fight for as long as it took for more to get off world.

She didn’t turn, rationality winning out as she was pulled back into the present day, but even as she flew clad once again in the trappings of a Succubus, she could not shake the feeling that she was retreading ground that better commanders had already covered with less certain forces at her disposal, and yet somehow she had to pull victory from this mess.

Her vision began to swim as the drugs started to leave her system, and with a thought she pumped a controlled dose back into her veins. She could not afford withdrawal now, even if her reserves were running low. As the drugs entered her system once more, all thoughts of Rainbow’s past battles faded from her mind. They had been weak to let the world fall, it was as simple as that. She was not weak, she couldn’t be weak. She had to remain strong until there was nothing left to remain strong for. Until she and Applejack were safe back on Equestria, with the Elements of Loyalty and Honesty firmly around her neck, she could afford no weakness, no mercy, no respite from war.

Succubus Dash flew on, her mind racing as she planned for the next stage of her plan for Barank.

Author's Note:

I forgot how difficult battle scenes are to right, please excuse the shorter chapter

Also, 200,000 words!! :D

Comments

[the other sans]

and that also true of the Exodites
Dust was thrown up behind them as they charged, it wad inevitable with moving a force this large
echoing through Rainbow’s head as the Gaunt’s around her reeled backwards
The Stallion Knights were fairing far better
Taking to the skies, Rainbow let out a screech, magnifying it a bead built into the neck of her bodysuit
striking the capillary tower squarely at it’s base
Gaunt’s simply died as the shockwave hit them
Just before the broke free control was re-established, screams sounding from the back
A few Gaunt’s tried to follow them
Rainbow seen him die, but she had seen the final member fall

1. And that was also true of the Exodites.
2. Was.
3. Gaunts.
4. Faring.
5. Magnifying it with a bead.
6. Its.
7. Gaunts.
8. They.
9. Gaunts.
10. Umm... Rainbow hadn't seen him die?

Congrats on getting a fifth of a millionth the way on this story! Though if I had to guess, it would've been much less combined for all your other stories too. Probably over. Still, a nice round number to end on so far. Take a picture/screenshot for the heck of it.

[FleetlordAvatar]

Are these visions Rainbows old self trying to break through her current state of mind? Or are they simply her madness finally manifesting? Only time will tell.

[FADM Nova of The Fleets]

You seem to be making up for lost time, No?

[Bazing]

Love it! I'll take a short chapter with these quick updates anytime!

[SixColoredDeath]

it has been a few years since the "gang" left equestria... I wonder how thing changed? I wonder what they expect to come back to and what they will find when (if) they get there...