The green spires of several treetrops were lopped off as a managlider skimmed overhead. Two dark shapes flew through the air, fell through the branches, and landed several meters away from the group with a flash of enchanted flame.
Pilate winced. Belle clung to him and flashed the others a look. "They're right on top of us!"
"It's a miracle they don't see us already," Zenith hissed, supporting Phoenix's stumbling weight as he glanced aside. "Captain? Any ideas?"
"I'm working on it," Crimson muttered, his eyes darting across the bomb-swept forest as he panted heavily.
"Well, work on it faster!" Phoenix barked. "We're toast here if we wait any longer!"
"We're toast if we gallop any further along!" Crimson growled. "They know exactly where we have left to go! They're trying to herd us into a dead end!"
"There must be twelve... fifteen... at least eightteen gliders!" Eagle Eye exclaimed, getting an expert headcount of the bogies overhead. "Crimson—Captain, whatever we do, we gotta do it soon!"
"I don't suppose staying in place is in order?" Pilate remarked.
"Judging from those bombs, we'd better not play with that idea." Zenith looked to Crimson again. "Boss?"
"I'm thinking... I'm thinking!"
"This is all our fault!" Bellesmith uttered, trembling. "If we hadn't trotted into Foxtaur, we wouldn't have brought this madness upon you!"
"No time for those kinds of thoughts..."
"The Enforcers who are chasing us are familiar with myself and my beloved," Belle said. She nuzzled Pilate tightly, her eyes close to tears as she stammered above the tumult, "Maybe if we exposed ourselves and talked to them, they'd reason with us and allow you four to leave—"
"Heck, no!"
Everypony looked up.
Pilate's brow furrowed. "Miss Dash...?"
Rainbow was hovering higher and higher to the tree canopy. "I did not haul you guys all the way across Lamemare just for you two to give up the first moment things got dicey!" She frowned as her wings beat the leaf-riddled air on either side of her. "What we need here is a distraction! Those jerks wanna fight with me so bad, what say I give them what they want so the rest of you can get what you want!"
"Rainbow!" Belle exclaimed. "Don't even pretend to—!"
"What?" Rainbow's ruby eyes pierced her gaze from above. "I've outflown dragons! These guys are a piece of cake!"
"You know fully well that you're not invincible!"
"I'm pretty sure I'm better than invincible."
"Rainbow—"
"Look, Belle, I'll be fine." Rainbow Dash's grin broke through her iron glare. "I'm not gonna go ten rounds with them. As soon as I'm up there within sight, and I have those clopjobs on my tail, the rest of you book it and head towards Site Balogna or whatever it is!"
"Captain?" Zenith glanced aside at Crimson. He spoke in a low tone, "What do you think?"
"We'd better split up into two groups!" Eagle Eye hoarsely added, gulping nervously as more bombs went off beyond the nearby thicket. "Just in case!"
"Look, it's not like the decision is yours to make!" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof down. "I'm gonna give them a slice of what they want, so you'd better use the window of opportunity that's at hoof! Once I've shaken these idiots, I'll make myself invisible then come and meet with you guys due east!"
"Rainbow Dash, it's suicide!" Pilate shouted.
"What makes you think you can lose them once they've seen you?" Belle asked.
"Lemme worry about that on my own."
"But—"
"I'll be darned if I let my friends bite it again!" Rainbow grunted.
Belle bit her lip. Pilate rested a hoof on her shoulder before she could summon the will to speak.
"Caps?" Rainbow looked at Crimson.
He muscular stallion slowly nodded. "We do appreciate it."
"Heh. You'd better." Rainbow began flapping her agile self towards the blue heavens beyond the canopy. "Now, promise you won't split my friends up or I'll paint your face with your namesake!"
In a clap of vaporous air, she rocketed skyward, taking several branches with her.
"Alright, everypony!" Phoenix hollered, already scampering off with the two Ledomaritans in tow. "Let's go! To the ruins!"
Belle and Pilate stumbled after them, with the chestnut-maned mare casting a forlorn glance towards the sky. Crimson, Zenith, and Eagle eye bounded off in another direction. The petite one of the group paused on a rock cropping, fidgeting as he looked towards the heavens above.
"EE?!"
"Right!" Eagle Eye bounded after Crimson's voice.
I can't decide if they will see each other again or not. Part of me wants to say that they will, but with this story you never know what may happen.
Uh-oh hot-dog!
Aww, now that's just not nice.
And "Bologna"... I would've expected Dash to spell if "baloney", but to each their own, eh?
You stay, I go. No following.
In a bit of poetic justice, Rainbow clogs an exhaust port on the Steel Wing, no wider than a flying squirrel, by chucking an apple through it resulting in a grandiose and quite spectacular explosion.
2065263
"Use the Force, Dashie."
-Pinkie Pie
Pretty grimdark, eh?
2065251 The Iron Giant for the win!
2065263 I concur.
Scolon... Every last one of them better survive, or I swear...
Still a good chapter nonetheless.
EE really likes her mane. He even stays still during an air raid to stare at it.
2065191
Fancy friendship magic will totally bring them together once again.
Unless they just die.
But that wouldn't be very nice.
Yeah Rainbow will be fiiiine
....right?
Rainbow better open up a can of color-wheel whoop-ass and show these wimps what a true flying pony can do!
i wanna see what happens next~!
The Getaway - Voivod
There are three things that are important to keep in mind if you encounter the cyan prgasus.
1. Opportunities to be awesome and kick flank will eagerly be exploited.
2. Rainbow Dash doesn't give a shit.
3. Do NOT fuck with her friends.
i can see this going in several directions. i like the one where shell gets his ass handed to him the best.
Ah, classic Rainbow Dash.
RD better not get killed again and force ponies to haul her frozen ass out. And Shell better go down in a fiery explosion. Rainnuke, anyone?
img.photobucket.com/albums/v44/lasairfion/EE-005_zps0f641324.jpg
Come on, Rainbow! Show those soldiers the power of Loyalty!
...note to self: never comment on Eljunbyro while listening to AcoustiMandoBrony
This is a pretty dramatic scene if I do say so myself.
Don't worry everybody.Rainbows' got this.
-DEAL WITH IT
And there she goes away to fly. Don't worry, she'll make it.
Clopjobs? I am so stealing that.
So, Dashie, when you read this comment, know that you have less than 10 chapters remaining before you catch up. Of course there's the extra chapters added each day but as of me posting this less than 10. See you when you catch up soon.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So we get even more Dash here being compassionate to her friends. Her line about not letting them down again was very bittersweet. And soon she'll square off with the Ledomare Armada...brace yourselves. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. 2094651I'm already here. See you on the other side, brother. Wait for me there.
Actually...there are less than ten chapters...huh.
I think we might have a Marathon on our hands for tomorrow.
Ooooh Dash that is bold. All I can do is hope that your plan works out.
And the gas, what of the gas?!?! I hope it's just ineffective, but knowing the way things work in Ledomare, they are going to be very effective.
Super effective even.
Better whip out the Max Revives.
Sorry that was a horrible joke. But y'know.
Onwards!
How do you make each fight scene (or preparation for a fight scene) even cooler? Honestly, its like you hike up the coolness ratio, and I'm all - damn, this story's version of Dash is great, it definitely cannot get any better.
And then it does.
I might have to steal some of your writing mojo. Or character developing mojo. Whichever. And yes I said that partly as an excuse to use the word mojo. Hope this whole solo Dash thing doesn't end too badly - onward!
Alrighty then, so instead of gas, Shell is about to get his ass handed to him. I won't mind if he fires that bony thing into the forest instead.
2066477 4. Try not to encounter her at all. Just don't.
This is it. The final battle.
...
It begins!
I fail to see how Rainbow's plan is any different than the one Belle had. Either way, she is showing herself to the enemy. That's kind of all that matters.
I think EE is in loooooooooooove
triggerplug.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/feel-them-jhonny.png
EE seems to be easily enamoured with those who are "awesome." It may cause some interesting situations in the future.
Looks like it's time for some
thrillingawesome heroics.So Rainbow is going head to head with the gliders. She actually has the edge here. She is smaller (harder to see), faster can break off and reengage at will, and more maneuverable than the gliders. She also has an edge regarding numbers. The reason for this is that in air to air combat, the group with LESS flyers has an advantage, as they do not have to double check to make sure that they don't shoot down their friends, whereas those with less numbers can shoot at will. It sounds paradoxical, but numerous combat situations in WW2 determined it to be a fact.
05/05/2017 14:45 UTC
Que epic sky battle scene!
RD
Versus
Skygliders and the battle cruiser!
...they should have brought tanks, and it would be even.
I’m just gonna leave my opinions on this chapter here (kind of what I’ve been doing recently, but still).
So one complaint I had with the show, if any, is Rainbow Dash’s element. She’s Loyalty, but she almost never displays it, unlike the other characters do. In these stories, she absolutely does. She is willing to fly out into open air with a target the size of the forest on her back for no other reason other than she wants to save her friends. She probably does this because all of her Ponyville friends are dead, and she is willing to do what she should’ve done to save them long ago.
So yeah, Rainbow Dash, despite her idiocy and heavy AD/HD, is great in this story. This is because Loyalty isn’t simply a descriptor, but Rainbow Dash’s virtue.
...
Wonderful wall of text there, but my mind thinks a lot at 10 PM.