Breathe In the Air
"Y'know, Dashie..." Pinkie Pie rubbed her nose, smiling as she trailed after her anchor. The landscape shook and quivered over the next limestone ridge behind them. "I've noticed something! When everything's dull and quiet, you're a real sour flower. But when things get back to being crazy and dangerous, you return to the normal witty bitty that we all love!"
"Can it, Pinkie," Rainbow grunted amidst her sweat.
"Whoops!" Pinkie backflipped, performing a "zipping" motion with her hoof across her muzzle.
Rainbow threw a look over her shoulder. "Twilight..." She strained to push the wagon evenly over the craggy landscape. "Please tell me we're getting closer to a signal. Any signal."
"Nnngh..." Twilight clenched her teeth as her ghostly horn flickered. "I almost got a lead for a second there, Rainbow. All can tell you is that Flynn's probably located somewhere directly Omega."
"Twilight..." Rainbow gnashed her teeth. She nearly tripped—then flapped her wings harder to stay positioned behind the enchanted wagon. "Take a look! There's nothing towards Omega!" She pointed at the clouds of rising dust and debris that devoured the immediate horizon. The immense entity's shifting figure could be heard thundering amidst the fresh rubble. "If Flynn's over there, then he's dead! Can a dead unicorn still give out a signal?!"
"No." Rarity frowned, muttering out the side of her muzzle. "But a living unicorn can be dead to gratitude."
"Shhhh!" Fluttershy insisted.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow. There's just so much to t-take in." Twilight rubbed her aching skull. "I'm trying my best to scan in that general direction—"
"Then scan harder!" Rainbow growled.
"Now Rainbow," Applejack spoke sternly. "We're just as concerned for yer friends as you are. Just because we're headless dun give you no excuse to nip at our necks all ya like."
Rainbow sighed heavily. "It's been nearly half an hour! Shouldn't we be picking up—guh! She nearly slipped from her grip of the wagon. With wings blurred, she resumed her pace. "Shouldn't we be picking up something b-by now?!"
"You must have faith in the rresilience of yourr everr trrusty Herrald, Rrainbow One," Kepler said, staying balanced atop the wagon.
"But—"
"And the intuition of yourr spirritual companions!" The wyvern calmly gestured in her direction. "You've surrvived this long on morre than merre platitudes. Shouldn't you be a example of calm and centerredness of mind?"
Rainbow's voice cracked. "I don't do calm, Keps!"
"Ach...!" He winked through his spectacles. "But who arre you to back down frrom a challenge?"
Rainbow slowed ever so slightly. She closed her eyes... inhaled... exhaled... and breathed just as deeply once again.
"Verry good." Kepler nodded, fumbling with a series of vials and chemicals. "That's the Austrraeoh we all believe in!"
Rainbow's eyes reopened. She pushed the wagon along at a far more controlled pace. "I won't be much of an Austraeoh if I can't pull Eljunbyro out of this mess."
"Would it help you morre if I werre to take turrns pushing the wagon?"
"No, Kepler. I need you in the wagon, doing... doing..." Rainbow's eyes crossed briefly. She blinked up at the center of the vehicle she was pushing. "Just what are you doing, anyways?"
"Attempting to concoct a special mixturre," Kepler said. He mixed two compounds and swirled a vial before his glasses. "I'm prroducing a brrightly colorrful gaseous marrkerr. If I combine it with an enchanted rrune frrom the rremaining arrsenal gifted us by Bleak's Plummet, I might be able to crreate a lunarr spell capable of—"
"In shortclaw, Keps, please," Rainbow insisted. Fluttershy giggled in the background.
"Ahem..." Kepler pointed at the open vial. "I should be able to enchant the powderr herre to take to the airr and seek out the heat signaturres of ourr lost companions."
"Killer!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Her friends frowned at her. "Erm... I-I mean, Drop Dead Stupendous!" Harder glares. "Errrr... I-I-I m-mean—"
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Rainbow found an easy breath amidst her labors. She pushed the wagon towards the crest of a steep embankment. "Fire it up!"
"It will take a few morre minutes of prreparration, I'm afrraid," Kepler said, mixing two containers' worth yet again. "But, frret not, dearr frriend. I should be able to accomplish this task unimpeded so long as therre isn't a—" FWOOOSH! A gust of air blew at the embankment, taking along with it the entire powdery contents of his open vial. "... ... ...brrisk wind." He blinked. "My starrs and garrterrs..."
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Rainbow grimaced. Her mane and tail rippled like a windsock towards Omega. "...Kepssss?" She struggled to steady herself as the downdraft continued to pelt the two mortals clinging to the arid earth. "What gives?"
"I too am alarrrmed, Rrainbow One." Kepler glanced all over. Twilight glinted off of his spectacles as he spoke past the tufts of his billowing mane. "This is no naturral wind."
"Then, what—" Rainbow blinked, for the air turned deathly still midway through her sentence. "—gives?"
The rumbling stopped. The columns of rising sediment stopped. The Omega horizon fell dead silent.
"... ... ...where did that breeze come from?" Rarity stammered.
"That was no natural wind," Rainbow muttered.
"She's right!" Fluttershy squeaked. "Any pegasus worth her merit in star stickers would have learned that from Cloud Kindergarten!"
"It's... it's almost the air was forced past us," Rainbow muttered.
"Orr inhaled," Kepler postulated.
Rainbow flung him a look.
He glanced back.
In putrid silence, both souls looked at the empty chemical vials in the wyvern's grasp.
"Kepler..." Rainbow gulped. "A creature that friggin' huge... could it even detect the scent of things as small as us?"
"No. But..." Kepler likewise swallowed a lump down his throat. "...alchemic chemicals..."
"Just how pungent is that crap?"
"Compared to pony and wyvern flesh? About... one hundred times more..."
Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumbbbbbbbble!
"Oh goodness!" Fluttershy yelped.
Rarity pointed at a suddenly rising column of smoke and debris. "The earth is being split straight towards us!"
Pinkie Pie flopped all over, quivering from head to tail. "Whaaa-aaa-aaat waaa-aaa-aaas yooo-ooo-ooourrr firrrrrrst cluuu-uuueeeee?!?!"
Twilight Sparkle steadied the ghostly pony and flew a worried look over her shoulder. "Rainbow?!"
"Gotta go fast!" Rainbow shoved against the wagon with all her might, rushing it back towards Alpha. "Hold on, Keps!"
"Ach!" The wyvern nearly fell off. Flapping his wings, he glided backwards and pressed his claws to the back of the wagon besides her. "I think I shall prrevail to help you now!"
"Not gonna argue!" Rainbow wheezed as the two gained a smidgen of speed with the wyvern's help.
"Y'all better hurry!" Applejack pointed towards the exploding horizon as it exploded closer. "A big bad un-mountain of mean is amblin' towards us!"
"Hmmmm..." Pinkie Pie found the time to scrunch her nose. "Somehow the cataclysm arrival of a death wyrm loses its menace when you put it that twang—whoah!"
Twilight was practically sprawling over Pinkie Pie to shove her face into Rainbow's view. "Rainbow, what are you doing?!"
"Trying... to... get... away... from the death turd... Twi!" Rainbow hissed as she and Kepler pushed the wagon.
"But you're going uphill!"
"Going back the way we came will take us too close to Omega!" Rainbow sputtered, pushing the vehicle towards a painfully distant goal. "We gotta crest this ridge and then it'll be smooth sailing!"
"She's right, Twilight!" Rarity exclaimed. "This is the only way to make it through with the wagon—!"
"Then ditch the wagon!" Twilight exclaimed. "It's not worth you and Kepler losing your tails to—"
"But Twi!" Pinkie bit her lip. "What about all the kablammo runes and tools they've got?!"
"Without them, they're dead out here!" Rarity said.
"With them, they'll be even deader in less than a minute!" Twilight pointed at the entity's violent approach, spitting up more smoke and rubble. "It's coming, Rainbow! Do something!"
RUMMMMMMMMMMBLE
Rainbow and Wyvern looked worriedly behind them. "Gotta..." Rainbow panted. Sweat dribbled across the breastplate of her rattling armor. "Gotta do this. No other way. Luna, please—"
Fluttershy gasped breathily. "Rainbow—!"
A streak of silver. Glinting claws.
"...?!?!" Rainbow looked up.
Swooooooooooosh! Seraphimus sailed in like a missile and—Cl-Clank!—clamped her claws over the rear of the wagon between Kepler and Rainbow. "You push forward and I'll provide lift!"
"My st-starrs!" Kepler spat.
Rainbow blinked. A deep breath. "If we can just clear the ridge—"
"Yes, damn it!" Seraphimus flashed her an angry, charcoal glare. "I saw from above! Now flap!"
"Uhhhh..." Twilight grimaced, eyeing the former Talon Commander nervously. "Rainbow?"
"Better do it, sugarcube," Applejack said.
That was all Rainbow needed. "On three."
Seraphimus nodded. "One."
"Two..."
"Thrree!"
And all three flapped their wings as once. While Kepler and Rainbow pushed upwards, Seraphimus applied downward pressure. With a combined boost, the two rapidly ascended the hilly crest, approaching the ridge—just as the thunderous wave of destruction devoured the brittle stone behind them.
"Clearing it—!" Seraphimus hollered.
Rainbow was already leaping forward. "Hop on!" She yanked Kepler after him as Seraphimus joined suit. "Quick—!"
"Ooh, a cliff!" Pinkie grinned stupidly as the wagon shot past the earthen ramp. "You know what that means—"
THUDDDD! A wall of rocks exploded over her, followed by a monumental wall of shifting, chitinous flesh.
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Friggin BOO-YAH!! I love sera! and just when Kepler was going to be useful it all blows away.
Seriously Pinkie, when will the fourth wall catch a break?
And I'm glad to see Seraphimus is on the side of "not dying a brutally gruesome death"! It's actually so relieving and satisfying to see Seraph working together with Rainbow.
smashbros.com/images/og/sonic.jpg
Changlings return.
...did Changelings just explode out of the fucking walls?!
Sonic uses Spin Dash attack.
Dash uses Sonic Boom attack.
Seraph uses we stuck on this crazy train.
Kepler goes, the monster could smell a mere handfull, but where are we going to get a mountain of similar dust at this time of night, Brain?
And Brain goes. Im sorry Mr Tracy, but Im not in this story.
Live and learn!
Hanging on the edge of tomorrow
Live and learn!
On the works of yesterday
That was unexpected...but greatly appreciated.
If Seraphimus keeps this streak up she'll be MVP of this whole damn arc in no time.
Looks like Kepler needs to put a cork in the stuff he is making, quite literally, to prevent it from being smelled from afar.
Seraphimus to the rescue! Never thought I would be glad to see her.
8441667
Hahaha thank ye kindly. What a time to be alive! And please rest assured that your talents extend far beyond researching grilled-cheese-based farts. (Though personally, I'd put that as bullet point #1 on my resume.)
PTSD warning?
Best Pone providing some(very) necessary comic relief. I'm starting to wonder if everyone's even alive, and if so then if they're functional.
I'm not sorry
Its official. Any other protests and accusations of heresy are now purely for show. Welcome to the team, Sera.
8446756
Beaten by two hours. Dang it.
Gosh darn it pinkie! Stop calling it!
Break out the climbing gear!
I get the situation is hardly ideal Dash, but lighten up, be nicer to the ghosts.
-Through the path long forgotten, into the darkness long begotten. Ofolrodi.
Gandalf: "This is not the weather of the world..."
durandal.dnsalias.net/Cloudsdale/Pictures/Macros/7g9CYvD.jpg
"... The chapter's over!"
Someone wanna explain how the death noodle can smell anything through all the earth it's kicking up? Biology ain't my forte'.
Gotta go fest
You know what Keps? Good try man. Almost had it.
Sera helps out two times in a row voluntarily. It's like a small miracle.
And maybe, just maybe she stops to see Rainbow as blight while they are in the presence of carnivorous tentacle forests attached to the skin of oversized killer worms.
8446758
8446803
I think it might just be the giant death worm...
8446758 8446803 It's the worm.
8447450
I think it's because the worm is just used to the smell of dirt. You know that weird smell you can smell when you go to a friend's house? Your friends don't smell it, but they'll sure as heck be able to pick up on when some new smell wafts in.
I'd speculate that the reason she's so much herself during moments of decision and action is because she can act on pure instinct and not have to think of the ramifications all that much. Where as during lulls in said action packed Adventures, during moments of introspection and quiet, she's faced with the existential Terror that is her own reality. The realization that her actions dictate the Fate of all things, and more immediately the lives of all those she loves...
Damn.
8447628
Well there's something I bet we didn't consider. This worm is some form of massive Changeling bio-weapon.
It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door...
Long you'll live, and high you'll fly
Alternate Chapter Title:
It's an Alaskan bull worm!!!
That there'll be a hanger?
I bet the herald's the first food this thing has sensed in who knows how long, no wonder it's super persistent in trying to get its meal.
I'mma hangin' on that chiff something fierce.
The monster is so large, it's smashing cliffhangers through the fourth wall.
Seraphimus is rather eager to help, but is it to save them, or to save herself?
10/30/2017
14:24 UTC
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I don't think even she knows
Wait just a minute, where did her armour come from... I could have sworn she transformed into a beast several times her size which ought to have broken it...
Oh so many questions about Seraphimus right now. Why is she helping? She coulda disappeared. Does she believe the herald and refuses to show her opinion? I know Seraphimus can be convinced of a few things as I've seen with her interactions with Keris, but this just seems so outta character. Hopefully there's a good reason other than her blaming it on the Blight.
Dang it Pinkie! Leave that wall at least partially intact!
Pinkie, stop using the fourth wall against us!
Also hey Sera, lovely to see you.