"But Dogs CAN Look Up!"
Pinkie Pie floated up... up... up—FLASH!
“Unnffies!” She winced, squinting one eye after having flown into a lavender barrier. Rubbing her head, she peered down at the tops of the mountainous columns that Rainbow Dash was climbing. Hovering as high as the anchorage would allow, the spectral pony looked around in a full circle. She peered through the fog, watching as other chunks of earth shifted in and out of the tapering mists.
“Do you see any of them, Pinkie?!” Twilight called from below.
“Nope!” Pinkie shook her head. “Looks like the coast is clear!”
“They're close by,” Fluttershy said. “I feel them buzzing all around us.”
“Then maybe Rainbow Dash should stay put!” Rarity exclaimed, hovering close by the struggling, flightless pegasus.
“If we stay here forever, then they'll just zero in on Rainbow,” Twilight said. “They must know she's around here somewhere.”
Pinkie looked down. “Hey Dashie! In what direction is AJ's beacon?”
Rainbow Dash paused. Panting, she clung to the rockface and looked around. At last, her head tilted to the right. Beyond the thick fogs, she spotted the distant glow of Yaerfaerda. Clenching her teeth, she nodded her head in that direction.
Twilight pointed east. “That way!”
“Oh! That's good!” Rarity's voice lifted. “This particular ridge stretches northeast! She could use it to scale this part of the Mist Cliffs!”
“You hear that, Dashie?!” Pinkie called down from above. “Just climb a little bit further, and you'll have a walkway through the clouds!”
“Take your time, Rainbow,” Twilight said, levitating beside the sweating, breathless mare. “There's plenty of mist here for cover. Just... try not to make any noise.”
Rainbow nodded. Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself up, inching icily towards the top of the spires.
“Just a little more...” Pinkie waved towards herself with both forelimbs. “That's it. Thaaaaat's it, Dashie!”
“There're a few impressions to the upper right,” Rarity said, pointing. “Your hoof should hold.”
Rainbow nodded, silently stretching her forelimbs as directed.
Twilight looked across from her. “How are we, Fluttershy?”
“They... seem to be keeping their distance,” Fluttershy murmured. “Their flight is very cyclical.”
“Could they come back at any moment, then?”
“I... I'm not sure.” Fluttershy gulped. “Right now, Rainbow Dash is above them.”
“Well that's a good thing!” Rarity said. “This just might be the opportunity we need for Rainbow to evade their combined gaze!”
“You made it!” Pinkie exclaimed, grinning wide as Rainbow Dash pulled herself up onto the top of the ridge. “Woohoo! Three cheers for Dashie!”
“Shhhh!” Twilight insisted. “Pinkie, please.”
“What?” Pinkie blinked. “They can't hear me!”
“Still, Rainbow's nerves, darling,” Rarity insisted.
“You okay, Rainbow?” Twilight asked in a breathy tone.
Rainbow Dash hugged the surface of the summit, panting and wheezing. She tilted her head up, eyes meeting Twilight's. She nodded weakly, gulped, and pushed herself up onto all fours.
“Bet you're glad that you took your nap now, huh?” Pinkie remarked.
Rainbow kept quiet. She tightened the straps of her backpacks, took a deeper breath, and shuffled forward.
“Just take your time, Rainbow,” Rarity said. She floated ahead of the mare. “The top of the ridge careens a bit to the left. So, look for a slight turn after the next bed of clouds—”
All of a sudden, Pinkie gasped. Her eyes widened. “My stomach's gurgling!”
“How can you be hungry?” Twilight murmured. “We've all been spirits for as long as we—”
“No! It's not that part of the stomach!” Pinkie grimaced. “Hold onto something, Dashie! The wind is shifting—!”
Rainbow looked back. Just then, a strong gust of air blew at her right side. She teetered off balance.
“Oh no!” Rarity squealed.
“Rainbow!” Twilight hollered.
Rainbow shifted, flailed, and plummeted off the northwest edge of the summit.
All four mares gasped. They shot towards her.
As they phased through the sandstone, they found Rainbow Dash clinging precariously to the cliff on the other side. The mare grunted, hissing through clenched teeth as she struggled to pull herself up.
“Okay... okay okay okay...” Twilight hovered in a circle, fidgeting. “The key thing here is not to panic.”
“Relax your lower muscles, Rainbow,” Rarity insisted. She gulped. “Try to conserve your strength.”
“And whatever you do, don't look down!” Pinkie said.
Rainbow was already glancing past her dangling legs. All she saw was surging mists and the hint of bone-breaking rock looming far below. Her body shivered from the inside out, and she scuffled her rear legs against the wall of rock to find some hoofing—
Swoooooosh! Th-Thap! A silver body of armor suddenly perched beneath her.
All four of Rainbow's friends sucked their breaths in.
Rainbow froze, dangling like a blue icicle.
Directly beneath her, Raptr stood on an outcropping of rock. Mist drifted between the griffon and his prey. He peered left... then peered right. His armored plates glistened with moisture and humidity.
Rainbow Dash's limbs tightened. She fought the urge to squirm. Her muscles ached and ached.
“... … ...” Raptr reached up. He removed his helmet. With a panting breath, he wiped the sweat from his feathered brow. He lingered there, his body still. Muscles twitched. At last, his head started tilting up.
Rainbow flinched—
“Sergeant!” Seraphimus' voice rang out. “Keep your helmet on!”
Raptr jolted. He slapped the article back on as two griffon bodies flew in from the mists, hovering right in front of him. “Ma'am, yes, ma'am! I'm sorry, Commander—”
“Shhhh!” The Commander moved in close, bringing her voice to a low murmur. “There's no telling how susceptible this environment is to rock slides and avalanches,” Seraphimus said, hovering just a ten meters below Rainbow Dash. Streams of cloud billowed occasionally between the Talon and their dangling prey above. “The safety of my wingmates is my top priority.”
“Yes, Commander. Of course.” Raptr bowed slightly. He glanced at Starstorm. “Any sign of her?”
“She's around here somewhere,” Starstorm said. “The Commander discovered her tracks.”
“You did?” Raptr remarked.
“But they disappeared halfway up a narrow pass,” Seraphimus droned. “She's trying to hide from us.”
“Or... or could she have regained her ability to fly?” Raptr remarked.
“Doubtful.” Seraphimus shook her head. “According to the Lieutenant's descriptions, she's far from recovering from her injuries.”
“So she must be nearby,” Raptr remarked. “How likely is it that we've given away our positions?”
“I think that happened long ago,” Seraphimus said. “The only way she's eluded us is because she knows where we are.”
“Her powers?” Starstorm fidgeted in midair. “Like Keris described?”
Seraphimus clenched her beak tightly.
Gulping, Rainbow Dash slowly... carefully climbed her way up onto the top of the ridge. She made sure not to knock or brush any pebbles loose. Some sand and dust fell free—but the high winds blew them far away before the Talon could detect it.
“Commander...?”
“Whether or not she knows where we are matters little,” Seraphimus said. “We have greater numbers, and she can't outrun our flight. We should focus on pressuring her into exposing herself.”
“You suggest we flush her out?”
“Perhaps... or perhaps something more advantageous...”
“Like what?”
Keris' magenta eyes reflected wave after wave of dull gray mists. A contemplative sigh escaped his beak as he glided north.
Beside him, a thoroughly bandaged Windburst whistled. “Will you just look at that mess.” He waved a talon at the dense fog covering the lengths of Stone Prefecture beneath them. “Heh... friggin' Mist Cliffs. I really don't envy the Commander's task right now.”
“There really isn't a point in envying it,” Keris murmured. “While I have full faith in Seraphimus' experience and abilities, I'm afraid that Rainbow Dash is nothing like we've ever faced before.”
“Do you mean to suggest that she'll actually evade the Commander, Lieutenant?”
“You of all griffons felt the full brunt of what the Rainbow Rogue is capable of,” Keris calmly said. “What other prey have we chased that could boast of such luck?”
Windburst's beak clattered. “Mrmmmfff... she's just one pony, though...”
“And yet she alone stands for far more than any of us can imagine.” Keris took a deep breath. He lifted his gaze, focusing on a snowy plateau looming north of the misty ravines. “Even without her unearthly abilities, she has a stubborn spirit beyond that of mere mortals. I fear it will take more than just the five of us at our best to subdue her.”
“You really don't believe that we can catch her, do you?” Windburst squinted. “I catch you making snide remarks to the Commander all the time.”
“Now's not the time to question my allegiance to our Commander, Sergeant.”
Windburst shruged. “Who's questioning anything? I'm just starting to wonder...” His eyes narrowed. “Could we be in over our heads?”
Keris stared forward as he glided along.
“... … ...Lieutenant?”
“That is not up to me to decide, Sergeant.”
“But if it was...?”
Keris sighed. “I'd bring in an army.” He glanced aside. “...and then I would negotiate with the rogue.”
“You really think it would come to that?”
“I think of a lot of things. But, as of right now, I have a job to do. And so do you.” Keris waved a talon. “There. That's the entrance to Ivory Prefecture.”
“Is that Braum in the distance? Beyond the ridge?”
“Affirmative.” Keris nodded. “You take position along the east edge. I'll guard over the northwest corner of the pass. Keep our eyes front and center.”
“Aye, Lieutenant.” Windburst veered right.
Keris hollered over the shifting clouds. “Give a shout when you see the rogue! We'll converge on her location! Hold her until the Commander and the other Sergeants meet with us!” Looking ahead, he sighed to himself and muttered, “Assuming everyone's still sane by the time they catch up...”
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Oh you have no idea
Ask Ledomare how well that worked.
Keris: I have an army!
Rainbow: We have a FlutterHulk.
Seraph is always precariously close to that fine line Keris, you know that.
Even that wouldn't work Keris.
She fought a one mare army to a stand still and managed to take out a few platoons of ledomaritan soldiers non lethally.
Still, he wants to negotiate, that makes him smarter than most of the others that have been after her,
-Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
Yeah, you know, just hangin around.
Wait, I thought Pegasi could walk on clouds.
Huh.
I think Keris has the right idea, numbers can drag dash down. Individuals, regardless as to how skilled, she can outfight or outsmart. Though what would they negotiate?
Also, that title had me worried when I saw it. But we're still good.
man, if somebody just doesn't say something to each other for like 10 seconds, somebody will end up catching Rainbow.
This is beginning to teeter on slapstick. Not that I mind, particularly.
Keris practically worshipping at the altar of east-horse is cute. Tentative pattern emerging between antagonists: Skagra delusional in his power, Chandler in his intelligence, Seraphimus in her divinity . . . Keris is still the only one with any real idea what's going on, largely because he had an open mind.
I can't imagine those would be very intense negotiations:
"What are your demands?"
"To go east... and a hammock"
Rainbow should really invest in a Ghillie suit at this point(anyone know how to mod images so that the whole image can be seen, and not just the left side of the image?). Or make one for herself, one of the two, if her pursuers are going to get this close to her....
I am guessing that she is carrying a lot of gear, because she should have little difficulty in pulling herself up onto a branch. Unless only one of her hooves has a grip, then I would understand.
Keris is right they really would need an army and then some to capture her at this point. Actually an army might work in Dashes advantage it could make the searchers over confident and make them miss her.
The best kind of cliffhanger.
Talk about a literal cliffhanger!
Keris probably has the right idea, though I wouldn't even bother with bringing an army to deal with Dash, as that's just asking to suddenly be short one army. Though again, to be fair, you wouldn't really think that just by looking at her. Not as if she has a giant flashing sign over her head that says, "Warning; Main Character. Please either assist, provide food, or move out of the way."
Yes, Commander, please share with the group. Just what are your plans?
6814776 unfortunately, I suspect the Talon would notice a small, slightly fluffier cloud than the surrounding fog/mist, even without a rainbow tail sticking out.
Quality chapter
Yeah, that's not happening. The Talon are going to be at least very spooked by the time they finish with this.
6815164
what about making clouds surround her feet? so she can walk, and run, on air?
Wow, Seraphimus really is good at messing serendipity up
6815209
Ive been wondering that myself. I've settled for the notion that she's relying on the mist for cover and it would be too risky to use enough to make a cloud that could carry her.
"Sergeant, fetch me a dozen beautiful mares from the nearest settlement. That should lure her out"
Seraphimus truly is becoming a leader of questionable capabilities. Just how did she make it to her position?
Just realised.
Dash cant sleep while being tracked.
She Snores.
Ahh, I see Keris is heading to close the North West Passage. Many have attempted that route.
None have succeeded.
Heh heh heh. The Talon are soo doomed. Except Keris. He needs hugs.
Keris must be the smart one.
6815643
seraphimus got the raw strength and the charisma, keris got the analyzing and the cunning plans. and she may have forgotten how to be careful after only chasing low level terrorists the past few months
Jeez...Rainbow has only avoided trouble because the Talon didn't look up. I don't know how much more I can take of this...
They can also catch the scent of a frightened rogue from over 15 yards away!
6815643
At least she has the safety and presentation of her comrades in mind.
If this was unicorns or something okay, but what's up with a flier not looking up? I mean, that's something that develops a good sense of tridimentional space, instead of the bidimentional understanding that most non-fliers have.
No, Keris. That would be doing something that makes sense. That's not allowed in Rohbreddon.
https://youtu.be/Urhw_kPDkoo?t=11s
I wouldn't let Big Al hear you saying that.
6814833 http://oaklawnchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Mission-from-God.jpg
Seraphimus has her conviction and professed divine will on her side. Her subordinates obey her through dedication, loyalty, and the belief that she is, by proxy, an extension of Verlaxion's will. Already, one of their number has his doubts about their mission. Seraphimus is stubborn and strong of will, to a fault.
Rainbow has her conviction and, canonically, the most powerful force in existence, friendship, on her side. Her friends aid her because she would do the same for them. Their loyalty to her, however tested in the past, has become stronger over time. Rainbow Dash is stubborn and strong of will, to a fault.
Rainbow Dash is on a quest to save her friends, herself, and the world. Seraphimus is on a mission to bring her to supposed justice.
Has ever the metaphor of an unstoppable force and immovable object been more apt?
I'm Back! just mummified...
Still way too close for comfort. Does anyone have any idea what Rainbow's going to do once she gets out of the mountains and mist vis-à-vis hiding from the Talon? Because from where I'm sitting, she'll need about a dozen miracles in order to stay free.
And again, Seraphimus is refusing to see what lies in front of her. The truth will come to light eventually, i'm just worried for her sanity when it does.
I think Seraphimus's iron grip leadership is being a bit detrimental to the search right now.
And now the girls fully understand how ridiculous this journey can get. If only they had been around for everything that happened before.
6836748
Well thankfully she has Keris around to help the poor griff. That and getting pwned by Dashie seems to have positive effects for the most part on non-villains.
Gotta love that short segment with Keris in this one. He knows how truly in over their heads they are with this task. I just hope it doesn't come to a point where they need that army that he would have proposed bringing. For now... keep on hiding, Dash. You'll get to where you need to get eventually.
~SolidFire
But what about catbirds?
Holding my breath for most of this chapter.
... Her luck can't last, can it? There's no way she just makes it all the way to AJ without getting captured again, considering how much story is left.
I almost wish they’d catch her already just to let the suspense stop killing me!
I love the comments in this chapter.
OOOHHHH NO.
Yeah, Sera is getting more and more angry by the chapter.
6815348
Make as many if them Earthponies as you can.