Valley Of Rainbows: Seeking Solutions

by Sparx

Into The Storm

Into The Storm

Can’t breathe! Need to run! Gonna die! Gonna hurt! No air, NO AIR! Rainbow was shaking so hard her bones ached. She was hyperventilating, sucking down the boiling rain and slashing wind.

He was more terrifying than ever. Simply existing near her threatened to drop the weight of the world down on her head and leave a gooey, red, rainbow mess. Electricity sparked all around him, illuminating the rain-splashed shine of his scales; a creature deserving of his legend and worship. Teeth like swords and claws thicker than trees, but nothing could compare to the horror of his bright, piercing eyes.

None could question the palpable fury in the air, looking up at the mountain of scales and lightning. “I’m taking everything from you now, life, limb, and land.” Bestial growling rumbled in his throat as he spoke. “I am sand and wind. I am storm and sky. Tempest Commander, Owayix!”

“YOU OWE ME A BOAT, YOU FUCKER!” Gilda flew directly into the dragon’s face, smashing her club into his nose as hard as she could manage.

Owayix didn’t flinch. His eyes looked to the gnat that had stung him and a surge of blue lightning jumped out of his scales and into Gilda, causing her body to seize and jerk about before falling to the earth again.

His gaze returned to Rainbow Dash as he brought his head slowly down to her paralyzed frame, mouth threatening to open. Again he was interrupted as his nostril ‘tinked’ from the impact of a small boulder and two arrows. His eyes followed the source to see the three dogs armed with bow, crossbow, and a new stone.

“Irksome pests!” he grumbled. His eyes glowed for a second before the rain around his face coalesced into a floating orb and blasted forth in a cylinder, throwing the three backwards and into the mud.

He turned his head before a third attack could be made by a leaping Pinkie Pie, spinning her ring blade around a hoof, and put her back in the muck without more than another flash of his eyes. A rush of wind as hot as fire slammed the pink pony waist deep into the soft earth.

“I’ve no patience for any more games, or any desire for a struggle to take what I want. Leave now and live moments longer.” Owayix’s agitated voice physically shook anyone still standing.

Dash tried to move but her fear fed her curse, keeping her pinned to the ground. Everything began to move slowly before her, blurring once again as illusions of snow fogged her vision and a chill slowed the flow of her blood. The contrast of hot rain on her face and freezing bones churned her stomach, threatening that the next visible cloud of her breath would instead be vomit.

Owayix moved to swallow her once again before his snout was met with another smash, strong enough to force an inch of movement. Applejack jumped back to avoid the striking lightning that followed her attack and crouched into another leaping position.

The dragon opened his maw and the pink flesh of his tongue and cheeks began to light up to the bright electric blue of sparks gathered. Applejack readied herself to jump before the voice whispered to her once again. “He will not strike you.”

Owayix’s focus shifted without warning from Applejack to the now advancing Rarity, firing a giant bolt towards her. She was quick enough to avoid the attack, but well intimidated by the trench that now smoked beside her, catching her off guard enough for a sudden rush of wind to lift her into the sky and away.

Applejack looked back in shock, wondering why she wasn’t targeted.

Dash felt helpless as each of her friends were swatted down like flies one after the other. The serpent turned to face her once again, but his next interruption didn’t take the form of an assault. Dash was taken aback to see Lyra marching up and standing proud and smiling in front of her, facing the dragon without any trace of fear upon her face.

“Each hero must overcome great difficulty, and we are no different, Rainbow Dash. We’ve reached the climax of this adventure and you’re shivering in the mud.” Lyra shook her head. “Forgive me if I take some artistic liberty when I write this scene later. We have to do our ancestors proud after all.”

Dash looked on as Lyra’s body started to glow in a golden light, spontaneously drying as her mane and tail began to float in the air. Her brow furrowed and the fur on her chin began to grow, drooping down before curling up. Her tail narrowed as the hair began to vanish, leaving a small tuft on the tip, resembling the tail of a lion. Her hooves sprouted tufts of hair on the back ankle, becoming cloven. She became thinner and taller, her horn spiraling upward and outward to a longer, thinner alicorn.

Owayix grumbled. “Borrowing the power of your long dead relatives? For what purpose?”

“For kickin’ yer butt, doofus!” Lyra’s mane stayed dry in the rain, flowing elegantly. “You should know ponies were stronger before Equestria was at peace! And here’s the kicker, Pegasi were expert monster hunters and dragon slayers. Remember that?”

Owayix’s eyes narrowed in serious focus, snarling and sparking electricity all about his face.

“You can do that to me?” Dash whispered from behind Lyra.

“Of course not, I’m bluffing my ass off right here trying to think of a better plan!” she whispered back in a panicked speed. “Hurry up and shake that curse off. I’m being an idiot and trying to intimidate a fucking dragon!”

Lyra’s loss of composure was erased the moment she turned back to face Owayix, a convincing cover of confidence. Unamused, the dragon swung his front claw into the air above them, brimming with blue energy, and let it fall towards Dash and Lyra.

A bright flash of amber light and the land beneath the two of them had changed. Dash looked to Lyra again to see her horn still fresh with the light of a spell. The dragon was nowhere near them, shifted to a small lizard on the horizon.

“How’d you get us this far so fast?” Rainbow Dash asked. She struggled to lift a leg up, managing to budge it slightly.

“I guess ancient unicorns were more powerful than I guessed them to be,” Lyra answered. “Gonna need to get used to this, quick.”

With another spirited effort, Rainbow lifted a leg and placed it forward, her breath clearing up and her vision smoothing. “So, if you cast that on me and make me like the old pegasi, I can fight him?”

Lyra frowned. “I said I can’t do that. I’ve only ever performed this spell once before this and only on myself. Plus, in order to use it I would have to trade one of your memories.”

“What?” Dash was shocked.

“Trade a current memory for an ancient one, every spell has a cost, and not every cost is simply magic,” Lyra explained. “To do this, I have to give up a memory of someone I’ve met in my life. I’ve spent long years travelling, so I have a number of faces with no names I can spend.”

“But—”

“There isn’t any time for objections,” Lyra interrupted. “There’s a dragon attacking Equestria and he wants you dead. We all need to fight him off and it’s going to take all we got. You have to move. Spitfire is going to want to see you, and we could really use that element of yours.”

Rainbow Dash looked back to Owayix. Lightning burst from the clouds around his head. She thought of her friends back down there, knocked aside from trying to defend her. A glimmer sparked in her eyes before a final shake of her head pushed back her affliction. She pulled out the necklace of loyalty and slung it around her neck. “Get me back there. Let’s make that wyrm wiggle!”

---

Rover stood up. Wet, caked in mud and still gripping his bow, now splintered in half. With a frustrated grunt he tossed the useless weapon back into the muck. Spot and Fido rose to his sides, looking to him for answers on what to do next. A typical dog would run under such odds, but something kept Rover planted, grasping the hilt of Stormbreaker.

“Dogs will stand. Dogs are loyal.” Rover grinned and held a paw across his heart. “And I have a bone to pick with the dragon.” Emerald flames burst forth from the sword, reaching to twice the length of the blade and unyielding to the torrential rain.

Fido took tight hold of his axe as Spot loaded a new bolt into his crossbow, the two of them nodding in agreement.

Rarity marched up beside them, throwing aside her now torn and soiled clothing with a fire in her eyes. “I hold a grudge of my own now, darling. You’ll have my support.” Her horn sparked violently as she brandished her rapier next to the large diamond and a collection of her other various gems.

Owayix’s eyes scanned the area in search for his prey. His eyes narrowed in anger. “You flee yet again? Have you learned nothing?” A flicker in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He turned to see the dogs and Rarity all staring up at him with weapons ready and determined expressions. “It seems I shall only fuel my own annoyance by ignoring flies instead of swatting them,” he grumbled. Stamping his claws upon the ground, a series of blue bolts crackled around his body as he let out a mighty roar that shook the earth they stood on.

Rover and the dogs snarled back at the monster before them, not allowing the fear they felt to overpower them. Rarity tossed three emeralds towards Owayix, sparking with magical energy. The dragon’s greedy nature drew his eye towards the gems before their violent eruption. The explosion and shards did no damage to him, but it did cause enough hesitation for the dogs to make their move.

Flinching, he turned his head to the sky, exposing the tender flesh of his neck into sight of Spot’s crossbow and he let two bolts fly in through the scales under Owayix’s chin. The bolts did little to damage the beast, but their true purpose became clear soon as Rover stood on the flat of Fido’s axe blade. He gripped tight to the axe’s edge as the larger dog began spinning faster and faster before releasing the weapon, sending it and Rover flying after the bolts. The axe left only a minor cut, not intended as the true threat.

Rover grabbed hold of one of the bolts and placed a back leg on the other, pulling his sword arm back with a bloodthirsty battle cry. The force of his plunge pierced the softer scales, hilting the blade in the monster’s chest. The flames burned hot and Rover could see a glow from it as he twisted the blade inside the tough flesh.

Owayix didn’t flinch or cry out; refusing the satisfaction to the insect that had stung him. He snarled and brought a claw up to scratch away the annoyance.

Rover was quick though, sliding the blade back out of the giant lizard and dropping to his arm just before he was impaled upon one of the giant nails. He sunk his blade once again into Owayix’s wrist, earning another snarl for his efforts. He was lifted up as the dragon brought his arm towards his mouth, waves of drool and teeth as long as spears eagerly anticipating to bite down.

His tongue instead met the sharp sting of dozens of tiny emerald shards, flinching just quick enough for the dog on his claw to leap onto his shoulder.

Rover climbed the azure scales as quick as he could manage with sword in hand, struggling to not be flung off as Owayix shook hard. With a roar the dragon’s scales sparked with small blue bolts of electrical energy. A score of the bolts stung Rover as he climbed, taking great care not to let one of them strike his chest and halt his weakened heart.

He finally found himself on top of the dragon’s head where he hung on desperately to one of the horns as he was flicked and flung and shaken about. He couldn’t find a moment to attack, stuck clinging to the thrashing head.

Rover’s attempts weren’t fruitless, distracting the dragon well enough that he didn’t notice Rarity aiming her large diamond lens towards him. She fired her magic through the lens, letting loose all the power she could manage. The beam exploded in size, crashing against Owayix’s breast and even managing to force him to howl in pain.

Rover took the moment of stillness to lift his blade high and plunge it down once again. Instead of the expected sinking sensation of his previous stabs, the metal sword bounced back upwards and forced Rover onto his butt.

The strength of dragon’s scales surpassed even the diamonds Rover’s kind so greatly desired; thick, flexible, and harder than any metal. Frustration surged through the dog and he grabbed hold of one of the blue plates, pulling at it with all his might as he slammed his weapon over and over again against the lizard’s armored hide.

Rarity’s beam expended and she began breathing hard, dropping the lens before her. Owayix placed a claw where her blast had hit, checking but finding no physical marks from the pain and burning the attack had left. The dog on his head was annoying, throwing its fit, but not the threat this unicorn had just proven herself. Fido and Spot continued tossing rocks and firing bolts towards him, more mild annoyances. He lifted his claw once again and brought it above their heads, bringing its weight down to crush them into paste. Rarity was too exhausted to move, and the dogs couldn’t carry her away quickly enough, but refused to leave her.

His claw made contact, a slight feeling of satisfaction popping into the back of his mind, but it was fleeting as he felt the surface he’d stepped on begin to repel him. He pushed back harder before the surface forced his claw back into the air. A clear red platform floated above Rarity and the dogs, protecting them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Scalebutt!” Owayix’s head snapped up, forcing Rover to stumble down to the dragon’s nose, as he turned toward the voice. Rainbow Dash and Lyra had reappeared standing on top of a hill not too far off. The same red glow of the platform glimmered above the center of Rainbow’s chest. “You wanted a rematch?”

The storm clouds above Owayix’s head began to rumble even louder, dropping rain harder and stabbing the earth with jagged lightning bolts. He roared viciously enough to crack the earth and nearly deafen anyone nearby. He took aim at Rainbow Dash and Lyra as he inhaled, the familiar blue light of energy forming in the back of his throat, promising death.

Dash and Lyra prepared themselves to run, but Owayix let out a shriek of pain again as Rover stabbed hard at the giant, standing inside its nostril. His breath weapon had stopped charging and he flailed his head even harder than before, sending Rover flying out his nose towards the ground below. Before he fell too far, Rainbow summoned a new platform to catch Rover softly, bringing him back to the ground quickly and safely.

As soon as her friend was back on his feet, Dash looked back up to the beast and a wave of familiar, sickening fright washed over her. Those eyes were the very furious pools of blue that she had seen just before Gilda’s ship and crew were attacked, later to vanish in a furious flash of light.

They had angered him, and he wasn’t going to simply swat absently at the flies below him anymore.

Owayix spread his mighty wings, covering the clouded land in even darker shadows. Blue light flickered like a dying star as larger sparks flew from his hide and the glowing in his eyes intensified, leaving streaks of electric blue glow when he raised his head. He stood upon his back legs, breaking the black clouds with his horns before they parted to allow his towering majesty to be seen in full.

With a roar even more powerful than before, the sky flashed a blinding bright blue as lightning blasted the ground, making craters and smashing trees and boulders. Everyone was forced to close their eyes and cover their ears, but it did nothing to quench the unbearable heat that the lightning brought with it. Even when they allowed their senses open once again, sights were blurred and noises were muffled. The hot rain became pounding hail that resisted the scorching winds, pummeling the party repeatedly.

Only Lyra, in her own new magnificence, could find her voice. “Truly, a creature that is worthy to have been worshipped as a god!” she called in admiration. “I am gonna have one HELL of a climax when we’re done!”

Comments

[Dusk_Writer]

Things are gettin intense!

[Freefallin]

We need someone to get hurt bad so Dash can go all crazy and super-sayan on him. Need MORE!

[AotheOverGod]

I love this story. Wish you would continue.

[SonicStreak5344]

I think Rainbow is somehow following Sonic's footsteps and she doesn't realize that she's becoming more like him. It would be awesome if Super Sonic and Super Rainbow teamed up and defeated the villain with the combined powers of the Elements of Harmony and the 7 Chaos Emeralds that would be enough to blow an entire army away.

[Sparx]

9494663
Nothing about this has anything to do with Sonic, this is not a crossover, this will never BE a crossover.

[SonicStreak5344]

9495752
Ok. Sorry about.