CH 41.4 Dark Clouds on the Horizon
“Hay Rainbow,” Thunderlane’s voice bellowed.
“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash did not even open her eyes, not even for the new Captain of the weather team. If she did not move, she might be able to get back to sleep. Her napping perch in the old appletree still fit her perfectly. She had used it so often it had moulded to her body. The sound of wings approached. The imperfections in their strokes were like nails on a chalkboard to her.
“I know you're a fancy Wonderbolt and everything now, but can you help us out?”
“Sure, I’m not going to leave Ponyville hanging.”
“Good, see that huge pack of black clouds?”
She opened her eyes and quickly found a few months of rain clouds heading straight for Ponyville. “Yeah?”
“Their four times are big as they should be and a day early.”
“Well, somepony bucked up.”
Thunderlane nodded. “Now we need to get them under control and find where they are meant to be before we get a flood and somewhere else gets a drought.”
“Yah, yah I can get this done in ten seconds flat.”
“Well we already have a team trying to redirect them, they are just being stubborn.”
“Did somepony let some water from the Everfree into the weather factory again?”
“That was one time, and that was a few clouds as a prank.”
“We’re going to have to draft half the town's wings to get all that rain where it should be.”
“I’ll get on that, you help wrangle those clouds.”
Rainbow snapped her wing in a casual salute. She hopped down to the group and started stretching out. It would not pay to pull something, She could easily leap straight into the action, but the tightness in her left-wing still complained about how much she pushed herself to claim first place. She smirked. That Nightguard Meteor Crash and Lighting Dust were getting close to half as awesome as she was.
She inspected one wing then the next, making a few adjustments. The foul taste of the premium oil Spitfire insisted she use still grated, but she could not complain about the half a percent flight profile improvement it granted. Even if it tasted like fish and timberwolf breath. At least it did not really have a scent.
All pre-flight checks completed she launched into the air ready to show just how awesome she was.
Catching up with the weather team was foals play. Dealing with these clouds would not be. She came to a hover and watched for a moment. Every time one of the frustrated pegasi left a cloud alone, even for a second, it would slip back to the pack. They were nearly as bad as the ones Discord let lose back when he was a total jerk.
Something was seriously wrong with these clouds. It took a few seconds for her mind to catch up with her instincts. Tactics lessons Spitfire had beat into her head sometimes literally provided the answer. They were encircling the weather team.
“Weather Team, get your flanks over here now!” Rainbow shouted. The commanding tone and Rainbow’s awesomeness got almost all of the weather team to break off and head to her. One pony ignored her. “Stormfront!” Rainbow shouted as she moved closer.
Stormfront did not move, she merely looked round. Tendrils lashed out, ensnaring her. Her horrified scream assaulted Rainbow’s senses for only an instant before she was violently yanked into the roiling mass of storm clouds.
Rainbow did not think. Pegasus magic surged, and she shot forward. She could not see through the cloud, but she didn't need to. She could feel everything within a dozen body lengths.
There. She burst through the cloud, forehooves latched onto Stormfront. The next instant, they were out. Thunder erupted behind her, trailing into an inequine roar. She spared a moment and looked.
Heavy blobs of tar-like rain begin to fall as a pair of evil red eyes the size of a barn opened. They glared right at Rainbow.
Stormfront flailed. “Let me go, Let me go.”
“Hey, you're safe.” Rainbow dropped her and let her use her own wings. Rainbow turned to glare at the evil cloud, hooves crossed, putting on her best unimpressed bad flank look. “No cloud is going to defeat Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash.”
The rhythmic sound of Stromfront’s wings beating slowed. The pulsing of her flight magic started to fail. Rainbow glanced around just in time to see the mare manage a few more uncoordinated flaps before her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell.
The dark cloud roared and surged forward, rushing at Rainbow. The weather magic building in it sent tingles along her feathers.
Rainbow dove after the now unconscious Stormfront as she channelled her control of the air to amplify her voice
“Get Twilight!” The sound rattled her bones and brought spots to her vision. The weather team scattered like a startled flock of birds.
Gravity was a slouch compared to the fastest mare in Equestria. Rainbow easily outpaced her pursuers and caught Stormfront. Wrapping her hooves around her and holding her securely, she abruptly changed direction. She bit back the mocking comment a younger her would have thrown out as the roiling mass of dark clouds shot by.
She tracked her opponent and caught sight of the land below. Where the nauseating looking black slime fell, anything and everything it touched darkened, its form twisting.
More clouds closed in. They might be slow, but they were far better coordinated than the mercenaries she had faced. She was going to have to do something drastic. She did a quick spin to check her surroundings. Everypony else was clear, all falling back to town. The only point she needed to protect was in her hooves. There was nothing to stop her using her signature move.
Flight magic surged up from her core. Power, her whole body vibrated with it. The sky itself danced with her drawing closer, encasing her in a sleeve of hardened air. She smirked. “You think you can keep up with me? Get real.”
Rainbow relished the strength of her muscles as she brought her wings down. The powerful stroke of her wings almost left her stomach behind as she rocketed heavenwards, dodging up quicker than most flyers could dive.
Her wings trembled, a few flickers of lighting escaping from them, but that was only the energy she could not contain. Twilight's awesome move could be used to store raw flight magic, but not quite enough. Once she had enough clearance, she reached out, grabbing her momentum and flipped its direction.
The tendons in her wings screamed at her. Spitfire would discipline her for being reckless again. She was now diving right at the pack. One heartbeat later all she could see was the dark mass below her. “Sucker.” Rainbow surged her magic, releasing all the barley contained power in her aching feathers.
The world exploded in a glorious prismatic burst. She cheered. She only just remembered not to raise her hooves in a victory celebration. It would be uncool to drop the mare she had just rescued.
Rainbow’s flight path arched as she turned back to see if any clouds had survived. “What the?” All the clouds were still there, scattered yes, but not a single one was even diminished.
Stormfront shifted a bit in her grip. Rainbow automatically adjusted her wings to account for the shift in balance, but she could not take her eyes off those smug crimson eyes. The monstrous barn sized face imitated Rainbow’s smirk as the pack of clouds shifted, setting course for Ponyville.
“Oh no, you don’t.” Rainbow started building power for another Sonic Rainboom. Thanks to her Wonderbolt training, she had at least another six in her. Twilight had better hurry.
Her right forehoof shot out, wrecking her flight path. She spiralled in the air, the almost familiar weight of her hoof-blade altering her center of mass. The weapon that was not there a moment ago dripped black tarry blood.
Stormfront, or what had been her, was flung off into the distance. Bloody stumps, where her forehooves used to be, erupted into masses of bladed tendrils. “Help me…” She croaked before her face morphed in a snarling mass of hungry fangs.
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Well alrighty then. Sounds similar to Blacklight with those effects.
Yikes
Sapient cloud-based constructs, significant resistance to weather magic, and a corrupting curse of some kind tied to the rain. Someone's playing hard ball here.
Another rogue magus? I doubt this was the work of Noble Guide, he's busy with Canterlot politics...
Didn't Sombra work like that?
As if we didn't have enough to worry about. Hoo, boy.
10596940
Nah, this is straight out of Clouds of Cthombra, the latest O&O expansion.
When it rains it pours.
wasn't there a gen 1 evil cloud thing?
That final paragraph confuses me
10596999
May I ask what about it is confusing?
The intent is Stormfront had her forelegs cut by Rainbow's Blade acting on its own. As she is falling away from Rainbow she is turning in to a monster calling for help in the last moments she has any control of her self.
10597015
I too was a bit curious, it's what I thought but glad it was confirmed.
10596974
ROFLMAO
10597015
The switch it just too fast
10597015
10597080
Yeah, I was confused as Rainbow likely is, had to re-read it several times to get a probable sequence of events straight in my head.
10597107
Yes. Rainbow doesn't need to know nit it needs to be a tad clearer because its causes a wait what? And i looked back to see if I did miss something. We just get Rainbow pulling out the blade and suddenly Stormwond is flying without her forlegs
10596992
Pretty sure there was. It popped up in a few other stories that dug pretty deep in the monster list, but I don't remember the name.
10596999
10597027
10597107
Might I ask your thoughts on this? Would this make things clearer?
Warmth flowed over Her right forehoof as it shot out on its own, dragging her after it. The sudden motion and dropping her passenger wrecked her flight path. Rainbow spiralled in the air seeking Stormfront as she righted herself. She tried to ignore the familiar weight of her hoof-blade that had just appeared and the black tarry-blood that dripped from it.
There. Rainbow pivoted on a wing and alined on the tumbling Stormfront, or at least what had been her. Bloody stumps, where her forehooves used to be, had erupted into masses of bladed tendrils. “Help me…” She croaked before her face morphed in a snarling mass of hungry fangs.
10597544
yes, it leaves it as what going on enough for a tense cliff hanger :)
But makes sense with what's happened.
Love your work and can't wait for more.
10597544
Yeah that does work better
Ok so the Blade of Rainbow has a Mind of its own?
Or is it acting on something that Rainbow is thinking or feeling and Rainbow just can't control it yet?
Great job Twilight, giving your friend a really Dangerous Weapon that she doesnt understand and not even explaining to her how the thing works and what it can do!
Or maybe Twilight doesnt even know herself.... that would be interesting!
Ok ... 12
10597544
Yes much better
10616630
Trust me thats something I very much keep in mind , I read that chapter a BUNCH of times!
The thing about Celestias Master is : We dont know anything about him, we dont even know how he looks, and the most important thing : Celestias Master isnt there, so People don't have him to direct their Anger at, so the next best thing is Celestia!
And another thing is: Celestia seems to think that the Imperium is terrible, but Celestia herself does some pretty fucked up stuff !
Like yes, the Imperium could eat babys for breakfast, torture random ponies for fun and kick puppies for all we know, but from what little we could see so far that doesn't seem to be the case.
They probably are far more in line with "generic (evil?) empire" than we think, with probably a few interesting Details here and there.
I think we WILL learn more about Celestias Master and also her Trial!
10618336
Yeah Daybreaker seems like a red herring.
i am finished with my reread!!
It was a great experience! I noticed some things that I previously didnt, and made me think differently about some characters!
This was totally worth it and if anybody else is thinking about rereading this story , DO IT , you will not regret it!
ok so Today I thought a LOT about this story...like I sat in my bathroom for 1 hour and thought about it , then I realized I wanted to take a shower , them after the shower I spent ANOTHER half hour just standing there and thinking , and then I thought: I probably should dry my hair!
But ok , I came to the conclusion that I DONT want Celestia to die anytime soon.
I made a bunch of comments in the past that had me saying : oh I think celestia is gonna die in 20 chapter !
and at the time I actually thought that that would be the best for the story , I didnt want her to die because I hate the character , I actually Love this Celestia!
But after rereading the Story, I actually DONT think that is going to happen !!!
Celestia just conveys the themes of the story too well to just kill her off.
Now obviously I could be wrong here , there is a lot of stuff we dont know yet so I could be really wrong here , but the main 2 themes in this Story I could see, where Power and Choice [ and I guess friendship and Family but hey its mlp , so thats a given( THATS NOT A BAD THING) ]
Power is pretty straightforeward , I dont think I need to talk too much about this here , what I do want to talk a lot more about is choice because that is VERY interesting!
And there is something great that Nightsclaw did : he linked the 2 themes of the Story together: Celestia is the most Powerful Alicorn , BUT that GREATLY takes away the CHOICES that she can make.
like we learn in chapter 41.2, she does that to give the ponys of equestria a life where ponys can have CHOICE.
However , Celestia herself dictates the lives of other Ponys and takes away their choice.
All other Alicorns are affected by this.
Fragment beeing able to chose a Name and be more than what they are created for, beeing able to make CHOICES.
Hower, Celestia doesnt want her fragment to HAVE Names.
this is something that I JUST THOUGHT ABOUT: Candice , being created by the tree of harmony basically FOR Twilight and Luna , having feelings for them before ever meeting them , taking away her choice.
okay now I know i wanted to go somewhere with this comment but i just kinda sat here writing this for like an hour and now I forgot where I wanted to go with this.
Basically DONT kill off Celestia shes great for the Story and I spend way too much Time thinking about fictional horses!!
Nightsclaw I 100 % trust you with this Story, so when Celestia dies next chapter I will trust you that you have a plan and that it will all work out in the end.
And hey IF Celestia dies next Chapter I still can say I was right !
10597015
It is so unusual for swords to act on their own that it must be explicitly stated that this is what is happening.
I think the blade reacted to the threat. I think that black rain was turning Stormfront into something.
Action-horror, family drama, action, romance, romance, action, and back to horror
This fic has all the genres