Charge of the Loyal Brigade
Ebon lay sideways on the infirmary's cot, twitching feverishly. Perspiration fell down his muzzle as his glazed eyes swam across the walls of the tiny compartment.
Eagle Eye squatted by his side, reaching in with a hoof to stroke and caress the stallion's mane. The look on the ex-mercenary's face was dull and melancholic. He was just inches from his partner, and still their eyes couldn't meet, as if they were thousands of miles away from one another.
Nevertheless, Eagle Eye leaned in and kissed the stallion's cheek, then nuzzled his neck. Ebon shuddered slightly, his legs curling inward.
Eagle Eye sniffled. He glanced worriedly out the starlit porthole as he rested his chin atop Ebon's shoulder. Tears collected at the edges of his eyes, so he closed them, murmuring indecipherable words into the stuffy air of the place.
Rainbow Dash had to squint against the cold, pelting winds. The air above the mountains punished her without remorse, and her only choice was to glide faster through the unpredictable drafts.
Before her, the northeast horizon was a series of black jagged shapes against a celestial canvas. Gradually, with each minute of high-speed flight, the stars disappeared while a foggy ceiling overtook the heavens.
Rainbow had to blink—a dangerous thing at her speed with nothing but misty mountains dead ahead. Constantly, she ascended, angling herself skyward with feathery lift. There was a flicker of light in her peripheral vision. She glanced left.
A veritable squadron of black shapes hurled through the air alongside her. The changelings' green eyes flickered like zeppelin beacons in the cold, cold clouds.
Rainbow Dash looked to her right. Several more black shapes knifed through the air alongside her, their glowing eyes like headlights in the thickening mists.
With a deep breath, Rainbow reached down and rubbed a hoof across the ruby lightning bolt dangling from her neck. After a few sparks, the pendant pulsed with a persistent crimson glow. A swath of red light swam across the haze directly in front of her. Rainbow's trained eyes made quick judgments of the directions in which the mists were moving, and she plotted her flight accordingly, ascending rapidly to reach the peak of the mountain lingering beyond the densest part of the looming miasma.
The onyx squadron's flight was chillingly silent. They soared like black missiles into obscured starlight—a rainbow streak acting as their center.
At least a good hundred instruments beeped, flashed, and clicked across the Noble Jury's cockpit. For the first time in weeks, Floydien did not preoccupy himself with them. Instead, he sat back—slumped—in his seat as his red eyes stared dully through the windshield. The elk took a deep breath, reaching a cloven hoof up to scratch just beneath a twitching ear. His muzzle clenched and unclenched, a strangely wordless occasion.
Brow furrowed, Floydien rotated in his seat and glanced out of the cockpit.
Starlight bathed the top deck of the Noble Jury. Its dim glow glinted off the metal braces of a mare standing port side, her lensed-eyes locked towards a fixed point along the northeast horizon. For minutes... even hours, Roarke did not move from that one spot. She remained leg-locked on her hooves, motionless, faithful.
Rainbow gritted her teeth. At the altitude that they were reaching, a tempestuous wind had picked up, assaulting her from every direction. The roots of her feathers twitched and tugged as her wings dealt with the brunt of the turbulence.
It didn't help that it was next to impossible to see more than fifty meters straight ahead, especially at her speed. The fog was so dense now that Rainbow Dash could almost smell something in it. There was a haunting rust to the scent, like dead ash blowing in a circle and then mixing with her tears. Rainbow wheezed, and she instantly felt a shudder to her lungs—like that of a sobbing pegasus in a land far, far away.
Still, her muscles were fully complying with her. Every limb was working perfectly, and the mare didn't feel the slightest hint of dizziness. She took deep breaths, reveling in the strength she was being afforded thus far. There was no telling how bad things would get if she were to spontaneously—
The fog suddenly cleared.
Rainbow Dash blinked, for she suddenly saw the jutting spire of a familiar mountain straight ahead of her. In the twinkle of starlight, she could see gray clouds rolling down from the snowy heights as if melting from a volcano's invisible eruption.
"What... wh-what's happening—?"
"It's clearing!" one of the many changelings shouted into the wind. Rainbow turned to see the flying creatures' eyes pulsing with an emerald cadence on either side of her. "They're fleeing their hold!"
Rainbow gritted her teeth. "Ah jeez... here we go..."
"Prepare yourselves, brothers and sisters!" another changeling shouted. Green tufts of flame erupted and billowed between them. "No matter what happens, Rainbow Dash must get to the mountain!"
Rainbow Dash shouted, "I know it's a teensy bit late to ask, but do we have a plan or something?!"
"You get yourself to the mountain!" a closer metamorph hollered. "We will take care of the rest!"
"'Take care of the rest?!' But—"
"There's no time!" A changeling pointed. "Here they come!"
The world exploded with a high-pitched siren.
"Aaaugh!" Rainbow slowed slightly, clamping hooves over her ears. Her eyes teared as she struggled to glance ahead. As she did so, a gasp escaped her lips.
Like swarming insects, a solid worm of deathly creatures spilled out of the north side of the peak. The ethereal serpents branched out, spreading in every directiong through the air.
Rainbow stared and stared. She winced as—suddenly—a pulse of dark energy ripped through her. Her eyes flickered red-on-yellow.
Almost instantly, the branching monsters coalesced together as one. With a combined howl, they bent around and sailed due south, heading straight for Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow took a deep breath. "Alright..." She cracked the joints in her neck as her pendant flickered brighter. "...let's dance."
"Together!" Changelings hollered; changelings shouted. They pressed themselves together—wingtip to wingtip—and formed a solid, buzzing wall right in front of Rainbow Dash. Between their dangling limbs, Rainbow could see the glinting fangs of the chaos creatures as they drew closer, closer, shrieking. "Together as one!"
A hellish thunder wracked the heavens at this point. The air heated up, pulsating with every roar and growl of the otherworldly serpents. By the time the two flocks converged, the equines could see their own sweat in the abominable glow from the chaos spawn.
The changelings let loose a collective shout. Rainbow knew that her yells were joining the chorus, though she couldn't hear it. She didn't care. She flew straight into the maelstrom of limbs and fangs as both flocks converged over the mountains.
Loud static.
Props stared dully into the communications array atop the table in the corner of the Noble Jury's engine room. Her peach hoof lazily turned and tugged at the foremost dial across the instrument panel. There was no hint of Prowse's voice, no hint of anything. All was dead and noisy.
She sighed, her whole body deflating. A chill ran through the mare, and she trembled slightly.
A blanket draped over her suddenly.
Props' head jerked up. She blinked, and she smiled gently.
Zaid smiled back, tucking the blanket tightly around her body. He leaned down and nuzzled her forehead.
She tilted her head up and kissed his chin, then his muzzle. A lasting breath, and she clenched her eyes shut, sniffling.
Zaid squatted beside her, holding the mare close. Quietly, with a dull expression, Zaid turned and glanced across the compartment.
Inside its iron cage, the runed tome flickered with bright lavender light, ever persistent.
All around Rainbow, changelings were yelping and monsters were howling. The staccato bedlam thumped like dull thuds against the heartbeat in her ears. Rainbow darted left and right, breathless, as she sought to punch her violent way northeast and towards the mountain peak. This was more than just a little bit challenging, with nightmarish serpents plunging at her with every turn. She could even see their clear eyes flash, brimming with lightning as they hungrily intercepted her.
Just milliseconds before each abomination could impale her, however, a changeling or another darted up, plowing into the bodies and knocking them out of the air—out of range of ripping Rainbow asunder.
Rainbow gasped, glancing left and right. In brief flashes of chaotic luminescence, she saw changelings tangling with serpents, morphing their hooves into hooks and pinchers as they ripped the creatures to ethereal strands. The air had become so thick with clashing bodies that Rainbow briefly lost her bearings. There was no up and down, only the spark-bright collisions of unearthly monstrosities in every direction.
The mare held her breath, squinting through the meaty battle. Beyond the mayhem, Rainbow spotted the ever-present glow of 'Yaerfaerda.' She locked her vision on the beacon, uprighted herself, and propelled her body forward, threading through the massacre as scales and sinew ribboned around her.
Soon, the dark body of the mountain drew closer, and Rainbow's nose tickled from the chilly proximity of its snowy peaks. She glanced down—and she gasped. In the flickering glow of the chaos beasts, she spotted several shadows converging on her.
Rainbow looked straight up. All she saw was fangs and teeth.
"Hnnnkkt!" Rainbow spun, swinging a foreleg up in a mighty kick.
One serpent's skull instantly collapsed. Two of its kin darted down, shrieking. One looped around Rainbow's flank while the other entangled with her forelimbs.
"Gnnngh—Mmmfng!" Rainbow snarled, struggling with the creatures. She hooked her wings at an angle and spun savagely. With a shriek, the monster clinging to her lower body was flung off. This gave Rainbow the strength she needed to wrench the other from her hooves. "Yaaugh!" She gave the thing a heavy punch to the face.
As it dissolved in wispy gray bands, a bigger, angrier flock came streaking her way, lunging for her neck.
"Aaaugh!" Rainbow clamped her hooves around the foremost creature's jaws, fighting it, holding its fangs just inches from her muzzle. Two more latched onto her body, slowing her down. Rainbow felt herself descending—breathlessly plunging towards the treeline below. She wheezed, panted, and twirled as she wrestled with the lashing monster in her hooves. Suddenly, she was sailing straight into a thick line of fir trees. "Hrnnnnnngh—!" She used every ounce of strength to push the monster's skull at forelimb's length, meanwhile she strafed sideways into the trees, smashing through branch after branch.
Thwp-Thwp-Thwppp!
One limb after another, the creature was torn in several places. In a pitiable shriek, it slinked out of Rainbow's grip. She was now imbalanced from the weight of the monsters clinging to her lower body. Rainbow toppled through the trees, ricocheting off a trunk or two. Grunting through the pain, she flapped her wings hard, pulling herself off and disorienting the creatures before they could bite into her flesh. She punched and kicked at them, struggling—panting—to get them off. As she fought, three more dove down and latched onto her with drooling fangs and rock hard scales. Rainbow wheezed as she felt herself plunging earthward, bound by the reptilian cocoon—
"Raaaaaaaaugh!" A quartet of changelings plunged down from the main fight. Their shells hardened like granite with a flash of green flame, and they knocked the serpents off of Rainbow's body.
"Guh!" Rainbow spun, twirled, and uprighted herself. She drifted in a breathless glide, glancing down as the changelings tangled with the monsters in separate scuffles across the forest floor. She heard shouting, pained voices, but they were all too soon out of her line of sight.
Steeling herself, Rainbow flapped her wings and ascended once more, scaling the southern face of the mountain. Above her, the skylight was blotted out in thicker and thicker shadows. Within seconds, she made out the pinprick specks of abominable eyes leering down at her.
Rainbow was ready with a rising growl. She soared upwards, forelimb thrusting like a pike. WHACK! She broke a serpent's neck with one punch, bounced off its limp body, kicked off another, and plowed her way through three more creatres. WH-WHAP! The line of monsters grew thicker and thicker, their fanged mouths like converging hydra heads. Holding her breath, Rainbow twirled through their biting jaws and ascended faster. WHUMP! Two bodies pounced on her shoulders. Grunting, Rainbow twirled and twirled until she swung them to the front of her body. She uppercutted one and gripped the neck of another. Its jaws thrashed and chomped at her muzzle, forcing her to jerk her head to the left and right. Several more crowded around, threatening to squeeze Rainbow in from all angles.
Her eyes flickered red. "Rrrrrrghhh—" She bravely slipped a hoof free and clasped her pendant tightly. The air around sang with static, followed by a bright ruby glow. Then, in a solid beam, Rainbow unleashed a wave of harmonic resonance straight from her lightning bolt. "—haaaaaaaugh!"
The crimson light sliced through the chaotic lot like butter. Ethereal entrails melted in a bursting circle around her. Rainbow sailed triumphantly through the translucent gray efflugence, but not for long. A cold sweat ran across her body, and her eyes constantly pulsed with a sickly yellow hue.
"Nnngh... mmfff..." Rainbow panted, hyperventilated. Her muzzle hung open in a weak expression as her coat paled. "Oh no..." She wheezed... she whimpered. "Please, Celestia, no..." It was too late. The world spun. The mountain twirled towards her as she lost all grip on up or down. "Mmmmfnngh... please no... n-not now... not—hnngrkkt!"
She tried flapping her wings, only to zig-zag in random, hopeless directions. Branches and needles pricked her neck, but that was just the start of it. Wham! Her body pinballed off a tree trunk, broke through a mess of twigs, and plunged towards a rocky mountainside.
"Grkkk!" Rainbow gritted her teeth, forcing her wings out at the last second. She pulled up, twirled, and struck the ground at a shallow angle, grinding to a stop across her aching shoulders. "Grnnngk—Augh! Mmmf!" At last, her body rolled to a stop, pulsing all over with numb pain.
She shuddered, struggling to get up. Every breath was tainted with bile, and she whimpered into her clenched teeth.
Howls lit her ears, like a pack of jackals rushing in through the trees. She squinted her eyes open, instantly regretting it. She could barely see the skies from the serpentine bodies plunging down at her. Clinging to the earth, Rainbow rolled up into a tight blue ball, waiting for the inevitable.
Josho sat at the end of the mess hall's table, digging his spoon through a bowl of fruit salad. He blinked unenthusiastically at it, not taking a single bite.
At last, with a bitter sigh, he leaned back and stared blankly at the empty seats before him. Scratching his stubbled face, he finally turned and looked over his shoulder. He gazed quietly across the room.
In the lounge, Pilate and Bellesmith sat on the sofa, their legs curled beneath them. Sandwiched between the two ponies, lying down with fitful, sniffling breaths was Kera. She laid her chin on Belle's forelimbs, clenching her eyes tight to dam the tears.
Belle slowly and gently caressed the mare's emerald bangs. She swallowed a lump down her throat and gazed forlornly out the nearest porthole.
Pilate tilted his head her way. Without hesitation, he leaned in and gently nuzzled her cheek.
Belle closed her eyes, accepting his embrace. She dropped her head low enough for the stallion to rest his chin over her soft mane. Holding in quiet sobs, the couple's necks locked together, keeping close to Kera the entire time as the minutes lurched by.
Bellowing howls.
Like banshees, the beasts pounced on Rainbow's body. They grabbed legs, limbs. Their fangs brushed and raked her skin. She could already smell blood. Her blood. A knifing pain from beyond the numbness—
Thwooosh! A solid mass of dark carapaces sailed out of the immediate treeline. Within seconds, the changelings had plowed the monsters off of Rainbow's body.
The pegasus rolled over, sputtering, wincing. She fought dizziness to turn and glance.
Across the lopsided world, she saw the abominations reeling from the unexpected blow. With instinctual resilience, they uprighted themselves and began flying and slithering straight towards Rainbow Dash's body once again.
In a blink, the changelings had formed a tight circle around her.
"Rainbow—!"
"I... I-I can't..." Rainbow wheezed. "The ch-chaos..." Her tearing eyes flickered yellow. "Too much..."
"You will make it to the mountain!" another shouted. Its body flashed green, and suddenly Keebroo was standing in front of her. "They will not harm you!"
"What..." Rainbow gulped, sputtered. "What are...?"
More flashes. Suddenly, a solid ring of Amulek villagers stood tightly around the pegasus. Gone was the glossy black nakedness of every changeling, replaced by living and breathing doppelgangers.
"Fly as soon as you get your strength!" they hollered in separate voices. "Exorcize this land of Mother's curse!"
"Wait... w-wait!" Rainbow fought to sit up, waving a weak forelimb. "No! D-don't do this!"
"Hey!" one changeling shouted and whistled, followed by another. "Over here!"
Swiftly, the abominations twitched, their attention falling on the flesh-and-blood "ponies" situated in front of them.
"It's us you want!" Several Keebroos and Drakshaas galloped away from Rainbow Dash, heading back into the forest. "Come and feast!"
With slowly rising hisses, the serpentine monsters coiled up their bodies.
"Dang it—Don't do this!" Rainbow hollered.
It was too late. The monsters all abandoned Rainbow Dash, converging like sharks on the mass of unprotected changelings. Not just the creatures in the clearing—but the abominations in the sky and the far corners of the mountaintops. In the center of the hellish feast, Rainbow spotted flashes of green light. Muffled screams rang across the fangs and limbs, and soon the rocky mountainside was oozing with emerald juices.
As strength finally returned to Rainbow's body, she threw it all into an anguished scream. The dizziness returned the very instant that a gigantic flash of green light emanated from the massacred changelings...
...the very same flash of light pulsating across Ebon Mane's eyes at that exact moment.
"Aaaugh!" He fell off the cot and collapsed on the floor of the infirmary, gripping his skull. "Aaaaaaaaaaaugh!" He threw his head back, howling in agony. Slowly, like a dark curtain unveiling, his burgundy coat morphed into a black carapace with hollow hooves and webbed ears.
Trotting down the hall, Eagle Eye gasped. He dropped the tray of food he was carrying with a loud clatter and galloped into the hallway, taking a sharp right. There, he froze, staring wide-eyed into the infirmary.
"... ... ..." Eagle Eye gulped hard. "Ebon..." He winced. "Ebon, sw-sweetie...?"
The stallion—or what was once the stallion—was sitting on his haunches, staring into a mirror that had fallen to the floor from his violent shaking. He stared long and hard into the tiny sheet of glass, and a frail insectoid thing stared back, its clear eyes blinking beneath a sheen of perspiration.
Eagle Eye grimaced.
Slowly, the creature tilted its head up. Thin, green tears collected around its pulsating eyes. "EE..." As soon as it heard its own distorted voice, it shuddered. A dull pulse flickered off its horn, startling it even further. It stared at its porous hooves as a deep hyperventilation rattled across its shell. "EE... what... wh-what am I?"
"Ebon... I..."
"What am I?!" The thing hugged itself, collapsing into the corner of the infirmary. "Oh Mother... Mother..." Its fangs clattered as it sobbed hysterically. "Mother, no... pl-please no! No no no no no..."
"Please, Ebon..." Eagle could already hear himself crying. With violent shivers, he crawled over, reaching a loving hoof towards the changeling. "Ebon, y-you must stay calm. Ebon!"
It was too late, for the creature collapsed into wailing hysterics.
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only six more chapters u guys
Wow, who could have seen that coming?
That was the biggest plot-twist in the entire Internet.
Woah.
DOES EBON KNOW YET? HAVE YA FIGURED IT OUT YET, EBON?
God, my heart is breaking worse than the ring world...
IM BACK BITCHES! Miss me?
NO. NOT THAT TITLE. ANYTHING BUT THAT FREAKING TITLE.
Man, if only there was a GIANT DRAGON MATRIARCH that could save her now...
I had Ave Maria playing in my head during that whole chapter...not gonna lie, it was pretty epic.
Couldn't the changelings have all turned into copies of Dash to confuse/outfly the chaos monsters?
And Ebon. It was only a matter of time I guess.
Poor, poor Ebon. I mean, we all knew it was coming sooner or later, but...
I wonder how this will factor into things. I can't help but think it will serve a purpose within the next six chapters, but...
"Aaaugh!"
"Hnnnkkt!"
"Gnnngh—Mmmfng!"
"Yaaugh!"
"Aaaugh!"
"Hrnnnnnngh—!"
"Raaaaaaaaugh!"
"Guh!"
"Rrrrrrghhh—"
"—haaaaaaaugh!"
"Nnngh... mmfff..."
"Mmmmfnngh... —hnngrkkt!"
"Grkkk!"
"Grnnngk—Augh! Mmmf!"
Man, you could make an entire chapter out of these.
Here we go finally the secret is out. Really wish EE had told him, because now this is about to get really damn messy.
So... Can Ebon be King?
My body is ready for the end of book chapter flurry.
Here's a fun factoid!
Changeling drones have no nostrils and no sense of smell. Presumably, this persists while
impersonating pastel ponies.
So it seems Ebon might not even be able to smell the food he prepares... and yet he's a fully capable cook.
Seriously how impressive is that?
Fight on, Rainbow. Fight on.
And it looks like the truth has finally been revealed to Ebon. Not gonna lie, I think this is gonna be a bit catastrophic.
Jesus
I don't know how to deal with all these feelings
This literally cannot be updated fast enough. If ):( posted all 6 remaining chapters tomorrow, it wouldn't be fast enough. I need more NOW or my heart and brain might explode
Well, that went well.
......
well f***
4984961 source? I thought bees and ants and other hive insects had very good senses of smell to pick up pheromones, which some speculation Chrysalis uses to control/influence changelings in her vicinity.
Such amazing heroics! Some of the best of the "book"
Everything reeks of goodbye. It is good to feel this series getting to me as much again.
4984835
Now that it's been said, this will almost certainly become a chapter in the future
C'mon rainbow, you can hold it in together, show this chaos energy who's in control of your body!
I know of the Charge of the Light Brigade, but when I read that, I think of the Yugioh card.
Well, there's a weight off my chest.
4984771
Nice to see you again! Now get back to Austraeohaiku already.
Wow... Damn Changelings. You certainly know how to protect and serve.
westerngreatlakesdistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/number-6.png
Please excuse me as I take a vacation and come back to read these in a 5 chapter bulk, because no. Not doing this. Sorry.
Wait, Ebon is a changeling!? There's no way I, or anyone else, at any point in this series, could ever have guessed that! I mean wow, plot twist.
On another note, holy shit the changelings got themselves purposefully devoured to save Rainbow some time. That is so metal.
that is one fat cat out of a huge...HUGE...HUGE bucking bag...
and LOL @ this guys sarcasm
|
|
V
Plot twist. Ebon is a changeling.
Also, not the changelings! 
Rainbow Dash, avenge them!
-Spirit
Even at the end, nothing can go right. Now I wonder what's up with Chryssi all of a sudden . . .
The overall mood of the Noble Jury. In the beginning of Urohringr, they were all disconnected and depressed; and now, here at the end of Urohringr, they are all back to being depressed, but in a different way. Even though they are all still sad like they started, the biggest difference is that they are all CONNECTED this time. And that makes a big difference. Fly on, Noble Jury. Fly on.
Should've told him sooner.
holy shit
valiant changeling sacrifices
Rainbow Dash struggling to fight the power of chaos to make it down to the machine world to seal herself away
Ebon finally figures it out
holy FUCKING SHIT
Ebon feeling pain shared by changelings reminded me of an older comic. A dentist tests technology that allows him to feel the pain that his patient is feeling. He pokes the patient's gum accidentally and then feels that pain. The pain causes him to jolk causing an increasing cycle of pain that ends with the dentist throwing the patient out the window and then realizing what he will feel in a few seconds.
I just realized that this has nothing to do with anything really.
Lot of stuff coming to a head in these final chapters. Changelings being amazing, Ebon finally figuring out the truth... just hope Dash can save the day.
~SolidFire
My pulse. It is freaking pounding.
4984785
Ours is not to question why.
Changelings to left of her
Changelings to right of her
Chaos ahead of her
Volleyed and thundered.
(I feel bad for the horses in that poem. The soldiers too, but the horses didn't even know what they were getting into.)
And the changelings made the ultimate sacrifice, Hope Rainbow honors that sacrifice.
06/13/2017
01:31 UTC
Oh hello, I nearly forgot about you.
Kinda sad to think all the changelings sacrificed themselves like that.
Fitting that Rainbow sets out with a weird variant of the Wonderbolts.
dies a little more inside
Yup, it finally broke bad.