"Nnnngh—Gah!" With much strain and effort, Eagle Eye finally wrenched himself free of the cables that had bound him to the tree. Stumbling across the clearing, he made for the trunk of the tree from which his companions were suspended, when an explosion to his right made him collapse with a gasp.
Roarke and Rainbow Dash came bursting out of the lower wall of the ruins. Tumbling amidst a wave of crumbled bricks and dust, they rolled into the glittering sunlight.
The first to get up was Roarke, but it was in an awkward, adrenalized stumble. Rainbow Dash was leaping upon her in a blink, slamming two hooves across her chest and spinning around with a dual limb'd buck.
Roarke limped back into a tree. Wheezing, she feebly pivoted her left flank of armor and fired a coil of metal cords.
Rainbow Dash easily caught them in a pair of forelimbs. "No." She yanked Roarked forward.
Roarke stumbled—wincing—into Rainbow Dash's elbow. With a grunt, she fell onto the loose soil of Foxtaur.
Rainbow Dash yanked, pulled, and tored at the cables, snapping them into brittle filaments. Taking a breath, she raised both her forelimbs and prepared to slam them down, knocking the wind out of Roarke.
But the metal mare had one last trick. Her wings shot out, and she propelled herself across the ground, kicking leaves up in a hazy flurry.
"By the Spark!" Eagle Eye stammered, galloping up to Rainbow's side. "She can fly?"
"Why not?" Rainbow spat, heaving with pain and exhaustion as she stared up at the soaring pony. "Seems like she can't die."
"You're letting her get away!" Zenith shouted.
"Nah..." Rainbow shook her head, gulped, and panted. "She's not leaving."
"How do you know that?" Eagle Eye asked.
"Cuz I'm here," Rainbow grunted, her eyes narrowing.
Sure enough—with a thunderous echo of sparkling thrusters—the bounty hunter veered around a row of trees and came diving back from afar. The unmistakable strobe of tasers flickered from her outstretched forelimbs.
Still struggling to catch her breath, Rainbow glanced all around the miniature clearing. She saw something heavy and glinting in the dark soil: Crimson's hammer.
"Give up!" Rainbow shouted, trotting forward. "I'm warning you!"
"I'll surrender—" Roarke's shouting voice flew ahead of her smirking face. "—once I'm happily wearing your skin for a coat!"
"Suit yourself!" Rainbow charged in a full gallop. The shadow of Roarke was upon her, tasers crackling.
"Rainbow!" Bellesmith shrieked from above.
"Hckkt!" Rainbow dove forward, grabbed Crimson's hammer, rolled, and came out of the somersault with a vicious upswing.
With a flash of sparks, Roarke's left wing was instantly smashed to bits.
"Gaaaah!" she shrieked, spinning uncontrollably. Like a spiraling comet, she rocketed across the clearing, beneath the dangling prisoners, and into thick brown trunk. Splinters and chunks of metal flew hotly into the air. With a sickening groan, the tree holding Pilate and Bellesmith shook—then began falling over.
Rainbow spat the hammer out and shouted, "Guys—!"
"I got 'em!" Eagle Eye ran forward, bravely skirting the edge of the falling tree. His lavender face scrunched up as a field of telekinesis enveloped the couple. He safely yanked them from the branches just as the tree slammed into the ground below. As the thunder and cloud of wooden chips settled, Pilate and Belle could be seen floating safely down besides the petite stallion. With a heavy breath, Eagle Eye collapsed between them, recovering from the mental strain.
Rainbow Dash peered up at Crimson and his fellow mercenaries. Their nets were wobbling wildly, but they were perfectly secure. The noise of the battle had almost entirely settled by the time she shook her prismatic mane straight and limped her way across the messy clearing. She dragged the hammer with her all the while.
Beyond a cluster of wooden shingles and loose branches, Roarke lay, her armored peeled off in numerous places to reveal a mesh of metal fibers tightly clothed over pale brown skin. She was curled in a pitiable fetal position, her remaining metal wing sparkling from the punishment Rainbow Dash had given her. Steam rose from the various metal plugs fixed to her body. When Rainbow arrived, one lense rotated out at a crooked angle, reflecting the pegasus in its copper surface.
"Hnnckkt... grkkk—heh... was... w-was everything... I could have ever hoped..."
"My friends..." Rainbow Dash glared, her body shadowed against the misty beams of sunlight pouring down on the battle scene. "Why did you bag them up like mulch?"
"The... bounty m-mentioned you weren't alone..." Roarke hissed. "I had to... draw you out..." Her lips curved, laced with blood. "Bait... heheheheh..."
"You would use my friends as bait?" Rainbow Dash murmured, her ruby eyes narrowing.
"I had to get to you." Roarke gulped. "I will gladly do it again—"
"My friends?!" Rainbow spat. "Have you no friggin' heart?!"
"Takes up too much space," she said with a smirk, her lenses rotating in and out. She coughed, hacked, and twitched under the shadow of the victor. "Make it quick..."
Rainbow blinked. "Make what quick?"
"Don't be stupid..."
A twitch sparked through Rainbow's ears. She felt her hoof tightening around the handle of the hammer.
Eagle Eye paused in the middle of cutting Pilate and Bellesmith loose to glance over.
"We both f-fought bravely..." Roarke sputtered. "It's what I would do for you."
"I... did not ask for a fight," Rainbow grumbled back. "I never do. It's always pieces of junk like you who start it."
"Doesn't matter, featherbrain. F-finish it."
Rainbow's brow furrowed. The hammer began to shift in the dirt.
"Take her out!" Phoenix barked from above. "She was about to have our dang heads!"
"You can't reason with her kind," Zenith grunted. "They have metal for brains."
Roarke twitched, gritting her teeth in pain. A trickle of blood ran down from her left lense.
Crawling free of the net, Belle glanced over and her expression instantly paled. "Rainbow Dash!" She broke into a gallop. "Rainbow—"
A hoof held her in place.
She glanced back.
Pilate was gripping her tail. His lips curved in a placid expression.
Biting her lip, Belle glanced back at the scene.
Rainbow breathed and breathed—and a flicker of color flashed through her skull. She slumped back on her haunches, exhaling slowly over the course in time it took for the ruby to replace the yellow hue in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and hoisted the hammer up high.
Roarke's body relaxed as she awaited the blow.
It wouldn't come. Rainbow tossed Crimson's weapon far across the clearing and turned around. "Consider yourself finished..."
Roarke twitched. Her head lifted up, wincing in the process. "You... c-can't leave me like this! I'm dying—"
"No, you're just super lame," Rainbow Dash muttered, trotting away in a firm swagger. "Don't sweat it. Something tells me you're good at putting parts of yourself back together." She paused beside Eagle Eye. "Think you can tie her up or something? Binding ponies just isn't my bag."
"Yeah, sure," Eagle Eye said with a nod. "Uhm... c-can we get my friends down, though?"
"What am I, Queen Jerkface? Totally, dude!"
Eagle Eye smiled—then twitched as Phoenix shouted:
"Are you crazy?! Finish her off! If you let her live, a ton of her sisters might come and put all our heads on a spike!"
"Hey, she said it's finished—it's finished!" Eagle Eye barked up. "Give her some credit! She just won us all our freedom!"
"She won us nothing but a severely pissed off clan of Searonese gangsters—" Zenith began.
"Stuff it, soldiers," Crimson grunted. "Let's just be happy we're not sold into slavery."
"But Captain—"
"I said quiet! Show a little gratitude for Spark's sake!"
In the meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had wandered over to Pilate and Belle. She made every effort not to limp as she smoothed her bruised coat over and slicked her tussled mane back. "Ahem." She smiled exhaustedly. "Hey."
The two equines gawked at her.
"So... uh..." Rainbow Dash scratched one forelimb with the other. "Sorry about earlier, y'know. It was one heck of a dizzy spell and—"
Belle plunged forward, hugging her close.
Rainbow did a double-take, but ultimately smiled. She patted Belle's shoulder, only to lurch from another weight to her opposite end. She looked over her should and smirked. "Really? You too?"
"Mmmhmmm..." Pilate smiled as he nuzzled her with as much vigor as his beloved. "Most certainly."
"Ugggghhh..." Rainbow Dash slumped between them, rolling her eyes. "I think I'd rather go back to receiving concussions."
And her closest friends chuckled.
Okay... despite this having gone on longer than I expected, I like it.
Also: Hammer Time! ... Can't touch this!
nice
I have a feeling we've not seen the last of Roarke.
Roarke -- We can rebuild her.
Rainbow's ability to be endearingly, adorably awesome is truly a testament to her character.
Great line. Very deep.
Fifty push-ups, ):(. Job well done. Knock 'em out!
I can sense a climatic battle between the Searonese, the Confederation and Foxtaur at the end of Eljunbyro. Oh boy!!
D'awww...warm fuzzies.
Oh, and warm blood. I think some of that warmth might be from the blood...
The great Searo appreciates Dash's choice.
This was awesome. I love the way you write fight scenes. Just incredible.
2163332
I dunno. Roarke is hardy enough, yes, but doing this is like sending thirty men into the desert with two bottles of water between all of them. It's almost certainly going to end up with them dead. But, it is good to see that Dashie, even with what she's been through, hasn't become a cold blooded killer.
This is Australia...
Dash is pretty good with a weapon in a pinch. She should consider one.
And the metal mare is DOWN!
2162824
No idea what you're talking about.
I'm talking about hand-held weaponry, spelled, "G-l-a-i-v-e".
Not worms. Of any kind.
We have the technology...
roarke might learn something from all this.
30 bits on the steel wing finding her!
I see a potential future ally in Roarke. Despite the fact that she is a bounty hunter by nature, she has a lot of (grudging) respect for Dash. Having her life spared may change her outlook somewhat, potentially leading her to see Dash as somepony to stick with for a while. If not that, then maybe a rescue somewhere down the road. Either way, not finishing off Roarke was a good move by RD.
FINISH HE-
Er. Or not.
Wow. Great end to a great "fight arc" (so to speak).
By the way... ONLY 30 CHAPTERS LEFT.
Next chapter? Encore, two chapters from now? The Rematch.
Top Ten Most Badass Characters of the Series. (So Far)
1: Rainbow Dash
2: Prince Sam Rose
3: Steelteeth
4: Roarke
5: Axan
6: Shell
7: Crimson
8: Grinder
9: Enforcer Josho
10: Fulltrot
Anyone Disagree?
ih3.redbubble.net/image.11509915.3585/poster,375x360,ffffff.jpg
2156439Well, I suppose I'd beef up too if I traveled east for a year straight. But wait...in Blue Shelf, since her body was inactive for so long, wouldn't her muscles have shriveled up or something from lack of use? I've discovered a plothole, IC...
Also, I came home a day early. Can you not sue me now?
wut?
----------
i'm actually glad the action has ended, for now at least.
it was super darn intense!
Man. Closest friends, huh? I guess that's right, what with the mane 6 minus Dash dead...
D'aww! Pilate's totally in on all the huggling. Dash likes it too, whether she admits it or not. Awesome and heart-warming all rolled into one - and Roarke is definitely gonna make a comeback, but whether its as a hostile bucket of bolts bent on revenge or an ally that returns in the nick of time to save someone (or make an epic sacrifice) remains to be seen.
And dang, I'm all caught up and there are still nine bazillion comments on the new chapter before I even read it. You lot are dedicated, that's for sure. That, or you have a semi-normal sleeping schedule and don't do your pony reading at like 2 am. Until tomorrow!
2163332 I may not sound appreciative right now, but it's possible that someday I could maybe briefly possibly somehow kind of consider forgiving Featherbrain for not finishing it and leaving me to bleed out tied up on the forest floor.
Until that day...yeah, not so happy.
All that said, envy me, sisters, for I have fought a glorious battle with an honorable opponent.
...
What am I, some sort of Klingon? Ka'plah!
2165187
Do not discout the immediate positive impact of a hug.
2164451
I know a certain unicorn mare with brown hair who would like a word with you.
FINAL ROUND!
START!
...
K.O.!!!
Finally. Thought that battle would never end.
Ended on a very chaotic note though...
2163289
But i'm just a forest! I don't have an army, unless you count the mercenaries, or maybe the timberwolves. and they're not exactly loyal to me.
Or maybe you meant that Foxtaur would be the setting? I'd kinda rather all these combative types took it outside. Do you know how long it takes to get a decent set of decaying ruins? It'll be millenia before I get new ones....
2165855
Best reply I had ever.
I was talking about the mercenaries which happens to hide inside you, that's why I label them foxtaur.
2164451
1: Obviously
2: I can agree on that
3: Heck yeah Mecha pony
4: That persistence is really uncanny.
5: I can't say I would agree there. She's an elder dragon soooo.....yeah she hasn't really done anything remarkably epic.
6: He just CAN'T die.
7: Heh! Was there EVER any doubt?
8: You...might need to refresh my memory on him.
9: No....just no, he's nothing but a drunken enforcer. He has done nothing really wortwhile
10: Aw shiiii...this makes me want to visit Windthrow again.
... I was so wrong.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
And the fighting finally comes to a close! This was probably one of, if not the, most epic battle(s) in Austraeoh history. It's right up there with the three part Windthrow smackdown and Prince Sam's dragon assault. Five whole chapters of pure epic Imploding style fighting...wow. It gives you such a rush. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
What an end to such an epic fight. Just a taster of what's to come, I hope
2164562
Well, Dash was kept in the Chaos Sarcophagus, which effectively 'stabilised' the chaos energies within her, allowing her to survive in her full-chaos state. It also had the convenient effect of healing her body. On that point alone you could argue that she was healed back to peak fitness, which is why she was such a physically dominating force straight after he release.
It's also worth mentioning that the chaos energies within her began to seep out in this fight. As we saw in the cave scene waaay back in Austraeoh, chaos energy effectively makes Dash the pony equivalent of a super-human. While she may not have had her element removed - and by extension all of her chaos energy available - the energy that did bleed out could have strengthened her.
Or maybe i'm just trying to explain what is blatantly the Rule of Awesome incarnate .
They're just going to leave her there? even if Roarke was going otokill them, she kind of is dying.
2164451
Yes to everypony but Josho. He's a drunk. What part of that makes him awesome?
2163241 We have the technology.
2181081 Well he gave Rainbow Dash a run for her money, demolished half a village and still didn't do the necessary paperwork - all while being drunk. I'd say that's awesome enough.
So you kept to your style and left her without the slightest bit of dignity. Not even the death she desired. Feels like Christmas morning to me here.
SO MUCH TASTY BLOOD!Honeytiger likes tasty blood!
Well, Chapter 2 for the day fo me, and Roarke is indeed dealt with, finally....
...alhumdalila!
But dem puns....
^That there made my day... huehuehuehue....
Onwards!
HUZZAH I JUST REALIZED I AM WITHIN A YEAR OF THE FIRST COMMENTS ON THIS CHAPTER WHICH MEANS IMPLODING COLON WROTE IT LESS THAN A YEAR AGO! HUZZAH I AM CATCHING UP!!!!!!!
And the final winner is Dash! Like you could expect anything else. But Roarke will undoubtedly be back soon...
Is it really over?
This isn't over.
Also, if it took all that to bring ONE searonesian down...i hope they have no plans of visiting those badlands
i think letting her live is a mistake. but it's in character for rainbow. though i had hoped that she lets somepony else deliver the killing blow instead of letting her get away.
Praise the Spark, Dashie beats all!
2165855 see, SOMEONE cares about the damage
don't worry pal I'm on your side
I like that she spared her, shows she isn't becoming hollow.
5797572 She almost did. But it's that struggle inside her. Chaos Vs. Harmony. But like luna said, in the end, She is ultimately a creature of harmony. Plus... She had her friends there to give her pause. A reason to hesitate and think things through.
Dashie isn't very good at receiving affection, that makes me sad.
Concussions > hugs.
The length of this sequence really makes the reader feel the same grueling tiredness as Rainbow (and Roarke) surely feel. Best actions sequence of the story yet, and that's saying something.
24 has been talking up this fight to me, and yeah, that was pretty awesome.
Going back to minimal comment mode, I'll never catch up if I continue commenting as I've been.
wheeeeeeew
That was about the most insane fight since