“Good heavens,” Ember Speak whimpered as her legs gave out from beneath her. The sheer enormity of the draconian swarm overtook her eyesight. “I had no idea there were that many.” She gulped. “And it's only half. Could there be any of Sanctuary left?”
“I need you two to get behind me right now!” Sam Rose said, reaching for one of his many sword hilts. “I'll cut through the initial wave and the we'll—”
His breath left him when he was yanked fiercely skyward. He and Ember dangled from the grasp of four blue hooves.
Seething, Rainbow Dash tugged at the pair, pulling them with all her might. She managed to fly a good hundred feet before yelping in pain and collapsing to the fractured earth. “Ooomf!” She tumbled and rolled into a dusty ditch, her wings twitching in agony.
“Rainbow?!” Ember sputtered.
“Nnngh!” Sam Rose stumbled to his hooves, still breathless from the carnage he had unleashed on the dragons earlier. “Do not carry us both if you are not capable of it!”
“Hey!” Rainbow snarled. “Do you wanna save your kingdom or not?!”
“Of course!” Sam Rose retorted, glaring up at the stretching ceiling of winged monstrosities. “But at this rate—”
“Toss off your armor!” Rainbow shouted.
Sam Rose's eyes went crooked. “You jest! My arsenal is the only key to—”
“Dude! You got—like—a gazillion freakin' swords!” Rainbow Dash shouted over the rising tumult. “Pick your favorite one and toss your armor or I swear to all that's holy I'm leaving your angry little butt behind!”
“Your Majesty,” Ember Speak murmured nervously, her eyes warm and sincere. “Swirls. Zetta. The elders.” She gulped and said, “Even if they don't survive, all hope is loss if we can't salvage the weapon and do so swiftly.”
Sam Rose took a deep breath, gave the hulking swarm one forlorn glance, and shrugged his shoulders. The armor flew loose, with blades clattering all over the stony floor. He dug his muzzle into the metal mess and pulled a large bastard sword out by the hilt. His eyes tilted Rainbow's way.
“Rainbow, are you sure that you can—?” Ember began.
Rainbot cut her off by hoisting the two up with a pair of strong forelimbs. In a blur, she was carrying them towards the smoggy zenith. Her wings strained with each painful beat, and yet she gained altitude, brazenly advancing beyond the line of scales behind them.
It didn't take long for the first wave of dragons to spot her. With combined shrieks, at least fifty drakes dove down and gave pursuit. The air churned with cyclonic energy as their roars were replaced with fiery breaths. Soon, a veritable volley of flame was soaring straight at Rainbow's rear hooves.
“Incoming!” Ember shouted above the whipping winds. Sam Rose attempted uttering something, but his angry voice was muffled by the sword in his toothed grip.
Rainbow Dash felt the heat catching up to her curling tail hairs. Taking a deep breath, she angled her wings and dove down. The wind intensified as the three ponies felt an immense drop in gravity. Rainbow Dash barreled earthward, outflying the balls of flame. As she reached the layer of Silvadelian debris, she found the chasm that took her to the mesas. Banking a hard left, she and her two companions plunged into the ravine and took the steep passageway north. A thick group of dragons dove with them but couldn't handle the deep flight. Soon, the air filled with the leathery cacophony of crashing bodies and clattering skulls. Dust and smoke filled the air as Rainbow navigated the far end of the trench. The few dragons still chasing her fired a stream of burning energy. Rainbow pulled up again, her limbs nearly tearing loose from the tug of gravity on her friends' bodies. Nevertheless, she succeeded, and soared towards the heavens just before reaching the large dome at the end of the run. Several plumes of fire converged on the structure and shattered it to smoldering bits.
Rainbow was flying straight up, and yet a flock of dragons was faithfully clinging to her rear. As she approached the ceiling of smog above Silvadel, the pursuing group doubled in their numbers, filling the air with their echoing horror. Rainbow was hoping to outfly them and use her innate skils of navigating the higher altitudes to outlast the enemy. However, with the strain of maintaining the grip of her two companions, this was proving difficult. With each passing second, the dragons devoured the distance between them. Rainbow was sweating, aching; her eyes twitched into the frigid winds from the insane effort.
There was another muffled groan from below. Rainbow Dash glanced down. Sam Rose was squirming in her grip, frowning, piercing her gaze with his eyes. She merely frowned at him. He groaned again into his grip of the sword, his eyes turning soft and pleading. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, agonized by the strain of the high climb. She took one look at the pursuing flock and glanced at Sam again. With a regretful breath, she shook her limbs and released her grip. Sam Rose fell.
Ember Speak gasped and spun to look.
Sam flipped in mid-air, dove like a bullet, and spun his whole body blade-first into the advancing line of dragons. “Nnnnnghhh—Haaaagh!” He cleaved a skull in two, ripped two heads off, and sliced several wings as he murderously plummeted his way down the scaly line.
At that moment, Rainbow Dash gripped Ember tighter, did a backflip, twirled, and dove straight down. The two ponies rocketed along the violent path after Sam Rose. Their bodies winced as they splashed through wave after wave of crimson juices turning into crystalline clouds in the freezing air. Soon, they were catching up with Sam just as the flock of broodlings became thickest. Rainbow Dash stretched a blue hoof out and grabbed his body, forcing him to relax from the mid-air sword swings.
“Where is Sanctuary?!” Rainbow shouted above the bloodied winds.
“Straight ahead!” Ember exclaimed, but shuddered at the sight of a massive wave of leather bodies. “But... But...”
“Hold on tight!” Rainbow Dash said. From then on, no utterance could be heard, because the sheer force of the winds around them had become deaffening. She tightened the muscles in her face and angled her body like a torpedo. Speeding towards the wyrms head on, the air distorted into a sea of vapors as a billowing cone of energy formed around the three.
Ember tried saying something, but her voice was dozens of feet behind them. She gasped in understanding, her eyes catching the pendant around Rainbow's neck fluctuating. Reaching over, she gripped both Sam and his sword and braced every limb in her body.
Rainbow was hissing, straining, screaming. Her eyes teared and flickered crimson only once as Whitemane's blessing took over, encasing all three of them in platinum energy. A millisecond later, the sky exploded into color. Spectral rivulets expanded across the smog, illuminating the gray death of Silvadel with every shade of nature. Another millisecond transpired, and a grand clap of thunder burst everywhere at once, knocking every dragon out of the sky and forcing them to plummet in every direction. Through this, a rainbow streak roared towards the ground. Rainbow Dash burst into the earth. Through the sheer speed of the rainboom and the divine strength of Whitemane's blessing, the three ponies bore a tunnel through the ground, puncturing every layer of rubble that blocked their path. The gray debris collapsed and filled the unnatural corridor behind them, instantaneously sealing off any pursuers above them.
After thirty violent seconds had passed, Rainbow Dash's subterranean plunge finished, only because they had broken into a deep pocket of Sanctuary. Rainbow exploded through a crumbling ceiling of bioluminescence. She and the other two crashed into a powdery field of burnt crops and smoking farm tools. There were bodies lying around them, some dead and others dying. A scant group of Silvadelian survivors gasped and aimed crossbows at them, only to react in shock to the sight of the three.
“Your M-Majesty!”
“You've come back!”
“All of Sanctuary burns! We need...”
“Your Highness?”
“Nnngh!” Sam Rose hopped up, his body fluctuating all over in platinum energy. He dragged his sword with him. The pony's body was smoking all over and ever survivor in attendance gazed in absolute shock. “Show me...” He growled and gathered his bearings. “Show me the way to the battle!”
“Right this way, sir!” Several ponies galloped towards the distant corridors, following the sounds of explosions and screams. Sam ran with the thick of the pack.
Meanwhile, Ember Speak was trying to get up. She limped to her hooves, took one glance at Rainbow Dash, and gasped. “Rainbow! Are you...?!”
“Just g-go...” Rainbow hissed, her eyes flickering back and forth between normal and abnormal colors. She shoved Ember with a hoof and collapsed to the soil. “Just save your ponies. I've done all... done all I c-can...”
“Rainbow, stay with me!” Ember shrieked as the world above them toppeled. Rainbow's gaze fell to the side, catching burnt bodies and smoldering shards of sundered rock. The mare's voice was distant now, like a stone echoing in a deep well of cold water. In a blink, Rainbow Dash saw five piles of ash and she wanted to scream.
She fell unconscious instead.
I think we know what happened to the Mane 6...
Five piles of ash....I'm sure that has nothing to do with the mysterious fates of the other mane 6.
Yep, nothing at all.
Ok RD, now all you have to do is make the death water into some sort of close quarters weapon, melt all the dragons in sanctuary, and then go charging back into the matriarch's lair with a bloody vengeance sort of like that scene from "Aliens"
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RIP Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Applejack.
Does this mean Rainbow Dash's new title is "Sole Survivor"?
Shit, nigga.
Rainbow Dash: Bunker Buster
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It's hard to do all of that while unconscious.
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Just more evidence for the speculation pile.
I would like to point out the following, less dark, passage though:
Also, holy hell that was epic.
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Unconsciousness is a great story-telling tool, it's like a time jump but with a modicum of plausibility.
How are people just figuring out that the rest of the mane 6 are dead now? I figured it out ages ago.
Gotta wonder how well two earth ponies held up against the sound barrier.
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Didn't quite make the connection until your comment.
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Eh. It wasn't glaringly obvious.
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This is more like confirmation, it was just kinda implied before.
I had this mental image going on during Sam's fight (minus the lame music):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Bm1aOFoG2hw#t=142s
I suppose that Twilight is best pile of ash?
Good fight scene though. I wonder if RD is going to wake up during of after the fight now.
a sonic Rainboom
Lol that'll teach those Dragons not to mess with the Dash
Five piles of ash? Jesus, what the hell happened to them?
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ln7ghvUWqI1qdum5r.gif
By the time Rainbow wakes up I'm guessing Sam's going to have painted the walls of the cavern red already.
OH FU-
I mean, that's quite a surprise. Yeesh.
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
And then Dash was like:
fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/017/4/5/sonic_rainnuke_desktop_by_bigmac1212-d4mpghz.jpg
That was an awesome moment.
Physics no has get, but fuck it, Rule of Cool supercedes.
Perhaps the five piles of ashes weren't exactly the 5 others, but DID remind RD about what DID happen to the other 5.
Something along the lines of PTSD, hence the flying far east debacle.
Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously, I think I'm suffering from a severe case of mood whiplash. Well maybe not mood whiplash exactly, because the whole thing was kinda grim if you think about it, but one second I'm all pumped because Sam is kicking dragon ass midair with a freakin sword, and then Rainbow does a Sonic Rainboom/nuke (nice use, by the way. I was wondering when it would turn up and if it would be used in a unique way - it certainly was ) to bust through the ground and incapacitate a bazillion dragons, and then the fate of the rest of the mane six was revealed - and . Five piles of ash? That's just...well it was already pretty obvious that they were dead, but not even having anything left at all? What the crap happened to them? Or do I even wanna know? So yeah, epic and emotional all rolled into one. Good to see that there's at least a little bit of Silvadel left, anyway. Ready and waiting for tomorrow's update. I would give a Pinkie smiley face thing but it seems kinda inappropriate at the moment, so, um, have a random photo finish and Big Mac, because I never use them
I had a sudden thought: if the earth is a machine, what does that make the sun and the moon?
And here we are with the only way they could have possibly escaped in time. Go, IC!
So Dash is... the Lone Wanderer, out of her friends. The Mane 6 are piles of ash. And she has no mouth, but must scream.
Yep, shit-fan maximum density achieved. This—
—This is heavy, Doc.
I have a feeling Dash took "Ring Around the Rosie" a little too seriously.
another great chapter. I felt sad about the five ash she saw before she fell unconscious... =(
also, their escape was a great scene. sad about the sanctuary, though...
Intensity levels above critical. Awesomisity stabilizers failing. WARNING: immine- BOOM!
Yeah. T'was pretty epic.
Oh my... Oh my... Oh my... Five... piles...
NO SCIENCE HERE
1487077>>1462338 Discord got critical kills with a laser rifle.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So this chapter has gorgeous description, along with another vision pertaining to the mane six. Perhaps the ash symbolizes that Discord burned them. Also, the sonic rainboom was beautiful! And since Dash is unconscious, I get the feeling we'll have a dream chapter to look forward to next. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Invincibility is one effective bullet. That would be hilarious if it was an actual game mechanic: fling your body so hard it implodes whoever's in your path.
Oh wait, that's Mario's rainbow star.
As a certain Navy railgun says: Speed Destroys.
i have seen badassery in film and on paper, but it has never been as cool as an armor-clad individual slaughtering hundreds of dragons like a knife through a stick of butter in a living tower. just visualizing it puts star wars to shame.
I called this long ago.
5 piles of ash? Why? Why? Why?
5 piles of ash? Why? Why? Why?
Well I can only think of one possible good thing.
Maybe just maybe, C^2 can see the Rainboom, and maybe be reassured Rainbow is alright. Thought that remains to be seen as this chapter ends.
the pain...>_<
Well, if it wasn't obvious before, it is now. though, depending on the size of the piles it could be argued that its the elements that got vaped rather than the bearers, but alas, I believe that's just my inner optimist
A couple piles of ash? Pshh, they were far more than the bodies they lived in. Those were simply the avatars of forces and ideas powerful far beyond anything on Equuis. They are Harmony, the joining of chaos and order. With their deaths they save the world from nebulous order and allow balance to once again reign in the universe. A flat planet where the sun and moon are moved manually, of all things. Of course that's not natural, of course it wouldn't last. They'll be back. They never left us at all, really. The world as we know it is over, it will never be the same. I'm calling it now, this series ends with Dash joining them and completing the sacrifice that was needed to create a new world, a better one. They will be together in the stars.
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It will be sunshine and rainbows forever!
Also have been waiting for a rainboom since this arc started and the sky was covered
Well. That's one way to make an impact in a story .
I'm going to make a guess. From what I can remember it was mentioned at one point that she remembered Spike with the element of loyalty on him so.... They tryed to stone discord with spike as a substitute, it backfired and killed the true bearers. This might explain why Raindow talked of things turning gray, she's still tecnically discorded but fighting it. With discord, ether he's; 'not a problem', dead, stoned, something in between, no idea but the energy found a new home in Rainbow and/or made a home for himself inside Rainbow somehow and/or made a deal with her because he was left in a state of being that left him with no better option....or because he thought it would be funny.
Ether way she seems to have a not too small amount of chaos energy in here held back by ether the item around her neck and/or sheer willpower. I think she used this power to try and bring back her friends and although it worked for a time (short, long I have no idea.....yet ....) it then went on to backfire in a big way making the chaos rift.
If I was in her position I would want to scream too.
04/02/2017 17:28 UTC
BEEP. I AM RAINBOT. I AM AWESOME. BEEP.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, what Sonic Rainboom that can pierce the heavens NOT pierce the Earth?! RIGHT?! CAUSE THAT'S JUST TOO EPIC FOR WORDS— Oh. Right.
Holy Christmas Crackers
I have been waiting all story long for the rainboom. I had expected it to be more tactical, but darn if I can't say this was the most original use of it I have yet read.
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Bioluminesent gerbils.
*Sees chapter title* Fuck yeah rainboom time!
Now if witnessing a 'mortal' break the sound barrier while carrying several times her weight doesn't impress the Queen of Flame, I don't think anything will.
As for that rainbow...I wonder just how far it will travel?
A few miles?
Hundreds of miles?
Will it spread across the continent?