Feel the Need
Into the burning crimson haze of the setting sun, three manapowered transports soared. Gliding north, they banked to the left, approaching a line of mountains to the west that rose and rose to join a jagged series of white-capped peaks in the distance. To the east, the haze of a large Ledomaritan city lingered, its alabaster spires turning dark in the shadow of waning daylight.
The three vessels stopped veering, following the left aircraft's lead. Fanning out, they formed a solid line as they threaded their way north.
In the center vehicle, Phoenix sat, his forelimbs bound. A pilot grabbed the controls before him while a gunner sat at the rear, a manarifle aimed at the mustached mercenary's flank at all times.
Phoenix took a deep breath, all the while weathering the wind of speedy flight as the tight squadron skimmed the alpine forests and grassy fields of northern Ledomare beneath them. The only sound was the air continually beating against his ears. He took a forlorn glance to the left.
The flanking aircraft was filled with three Enforcers—one in the pilot's seat, one in the middle, and a third in the gunner's position. Upon noticing the movement of Phoenix's head, both the gunner and the middle stallion glanced at him through the windy currents.
Phoenix jerked his gaze straight ahead, clenching his jaw. After a few minutes of silent riding, his ears flicked, and he braved a glance to his right.
Bellesmith was slumped in the middle of her craft, her head hanging low—almost resting on the flank of the pilot ahead of her. She was too exhausted to keep upright, and yet too wrestless to give into slumber. As the aircraft bobbed and weaved, she limply shook with it. Her face was the utter definition of solemnity—every rising shadow of the dying day accentuated the grayness that had washed over her figure. There was a vacant look to her eyes, accompanied by the soft an inarticulate murmur of mute lips.
Biting his lip, Phoenix stared at her for a minute... two minutes... five. There was something stirring to the right of his vision. He turned his head.
The gunner behind Belle was yawning, stretching even. While his hooves remained tightly bound to the crystal diodes of his station, he had his head hanging—almost as if hypnotized by the limp figure of the mare before him. Fortunately for the other ponies on board the glider, he wasn't the designated pilot.
Phoenix blinked a few times. As the next ten minutes passed, he stirred anxiously, his nostrils flaring as the last shivers melted away from his figure. Suddenly, he was sitting upright, the very model of a proud soldier. He said nothing as he gazed directly ahead of the group.
As the squadron approached a thin forest of sporadic trees below, the burning-bright sunset hid behind sparse clouds. Crimson rays danced through the airspace, allowing the eyes of the pilots to relax for a brief reprieve from the glare.
Belle sighed, her entire body slumped forward against the gliding craft. She tried closing her eyes, but something disturbed her. The mare's lids fluttered open, and she stirred awkwardly, as if a strange itch was overwhelming her figure.
Curious, she flung a look down at herself. Her eyes found their way to the midnight blue saddlebag adorning her figure. It suddenly occurred to her that one of the pouches was open.
No, that wasn't it. The pouch was actually in the process of opening...
A gasp escaped Belle's lips as she saw the dimmest of dim auras encasing the clasp that fastened the pouch shut. With quivering chestnut eyes, she glanced to the left.
Phoenix was looking dead ahead, his face tense with concentration. Unbeknown to the enforcers—but not lost to Belle—was the tiny glow of light emanating from his horn.
Belle's face grimace. Her eyes darted back. She saw the gunner nodding off in her peripheral vision. A stirring sensation flounced through the saddlebag, and she glanced back at Phoenix, her body frozen in place and not daring to move.
Bulbs of sweat began forming on Phoenix's face. From several feet away—in the open air and at high speed—he nevertheless managed to telekinetically reach into the saddlebag.
Belle gulped and mouthed her disapproval, whispering it over and over again in hopes that he would see but none of the other ponies would.
All it took was one movement of Phoenix's eyes—a hardened glare—and the mare silenced herself. She nevertheless squirmed as she felt a heavy weight lifting from her saddlebag. Panting, Belle watched as Rainbow Dash's hatchet slowly, slowly slid out into the open, floating on flimsily maintained telekinesis.
The a ray of sunlight burst through the edges of the cloud and reflected off the blade.
Phoenix paused, his eyes darting to the right.
A reflection bounced off the gunner behind Belle. He stirred slightly, shook his head, and was still again.
Phoenix glowed his horn harder. He gnashed his teeth, forcing the hatchet to float a full foot out from Belle's saddlebag. She looked at him in mixed horror and anticipation. Phoenix looked back; he took a deep breath.
Just then, the faintest of confusted, grunting noises came from the gunner behind Phoenix.
The sun emerged completely from the clouds, blinding everypony for two seconds.
Phoenix wasted no time. With a jerk of the head, he flung his horn to the left.
The hatchet followed suit, ringing through the air. It sliced its way straight towards his neck.
Belle stifled a shriek.
Muscles heaving, Phoenix ducked. The flying hatchet grazed his mane. The gunner behind him, however, wasn't nearly as lucky. The weapon cleaved its way into his eyesockets, embedding into his skull.
The sun's glare faded, and the winds were full of sprinkling blood.
The pilot ahead of Phoenix was the first to look back.
Seething, Phoenix tilted his horn forward. The hatchet flew out of the gunner's gurgling head, twirled, and flew towards the front seat.
The pilot jerked to the side as the hatchet embedded into the hull of the craft. His horn glowed as he reached for a manapistol.
Phoenix was already reaching behind him with his mouth, grabbing the dead gunner's rifle with his teeth.
The pilot spun around, aiming his weapon.
With a grunt, Phoenix slammed his skull with the butt of the rifle.
The pilot flew forward, sprawling onto his controls. Phoenix leapt forward and—with the use of his conjoined forelimbs—wrestled the length of the rifle beneath the pilot's sputtering neck. The two struggled, inadverently knocking aside the controls. Phoenix's transport veered towards the left.
The enforcers in the leftmost craft took notice, but it was too late. The sharp-edged wings of the middle craft surged at them. The pilot and gunner ducked, but the enforcer in the middle was too slow. He was rewarded with instant decapitation.
Phoenix and the pilot jolted in their fight as the manacore of their vessel puttered from the blood being filtered through the engines. With an animalistic snarl, Phoenix slammed the enforcer's skull repeatedly against the control console, sending sparks and fragments of an impacted horn flying.
Meanwhile, the left craft had evened out, in time for the surviving ponies on board to arm the rear turret. The gunner swiveled the manacannon around, aimed over the headless corpse of his wingpony, and fired at Phoenix's figure.
Two hot streams of magic flew past his flank. A third made contact, however with the vessel's rear thrusters. Phoenix and the pilot gasped as the craft bobbed and weaved out of control, ultimately veering to the right.
By this time, the pilot and gunner of Belle's ship were fully awake and aware of the hellish situation. The mare shrieked as they tried swerving out of the way, but the approach of Phoenix's vessel was too swift. The two ships collided, and, with a flash of sparks, the fins built into their wings interlocked. The twin transports swayed and jostled as one, joined at the side.
No less than two seconds after the chaotic collision, the pilot in front of Belle aimed his mana pistol and fired.
Phoenix glanced over and jerked his hooves up instantly. In fortuitous fashion, the magic blast severed the manacles holding his forelimbs together. Barely registering a second thought, Phoenix let loose a war cry and dove off the unconscious body slumped in the front seat of the middle craft.
The pilot in front of Belle grunted as the full weight of the Franzington mercenary fell on him. Both stallions wrestled for the weapon, their bodies already slinging the trajectory of the vessel left and right as its thrusters fought to compensate for the massive vehicle attached to its left side.
Over the noise of the third craft's pursuit, Belle heard a shouting voice. She spun and looked behind.
The gunner was pumping his rifle and aiming a crystal bullet towards the back of Phoenix's head.
Gritting her teeth, Belle swung both of her bound hooves at him with a yelp.
The unsuspecting enforcer took the blow to the mouth, his teeth chipping. He dropped his rifle which clattered loudly over the hull of the tarnsport.
Phoenix heard it from up front. Breathless, he slapped the pilot's hooves against the craft several times until he forced the enforcer to fire a shot from his pistol. The mana blast surged past Belle and into the throat of the gunner behind her. The enforcer clutched at his throat and writhed in agony while Phoenix got the upper hoof of the pilot.
Belle, in the meantime, had her teary eyes locked on the third craft in swift pursuit.
The gunner reloaded the cannons and aimed at the conjoined vehicles. Twin barrels glowed with violent intensity.
Belle flinched, her entire body expecting to burn.
Suddenly, the pilot of the pursuing transport shouted something and pulled back on the controls. The managlider pulled up, gaining swift altitude.
Blinking curiously, Belle looked ahead. She gasped.
The edge of a sharp, rocky hill loomed directly ahead. The two vehicles were soaring straight towards a stone cliff.
She shouted and pointed ahead.
Amidst his struggle, Phoenix glanced forward. He saw it. Reaching past the angry pilot, he snaked a hoof around the controls and yanked hard. The transport's wings tilted, but the other vessel's weight threw them off balance. They pitched seventy degrees upward, angling the abandoned craft towards the earth.
When they hit the cliffside, the empty transport took the brunt of the blow. It shattered completely, tearing off the vehicle and taking a chunk of the wing with it. A buzzing alarm filled the air as Belle and Phoenix's glider roared past the hill and over dense forest, veering into an inescapable spin.
Belle flew into the side of her seat, pressed hard against the inside of the craft from the sheer tug of gravity. She shouted something indiscernible, but Phoenix was too busy trying to break free from the pilot who's flailing body was clinging to him in the cyclonic spin. Finally, the mercenary resorted to pummeling the enforcer several times with merciless bucks to the face. With one final kick—snapping his horn off—he tossed the screaming stallion into the swirling nether of fir trees.
Not affording a breath, Phoenix grabbed at the controls and yanked them so hard that the stick nearly snapped from its console. The aircraft leveled out, but not after spinning three times. When it landed, it did so in the forest canopy, its thrusters dying as the vessel's weight caused three massive trees to bow and dance. The air was full of leaves and pollen, and then—for a briefly blissful second—all of the noise and chaos ended.
Belle panted and panted, shivering in her seat. Just then, the entire aircraft lurched. She shrieked, feeling herself falling into open air. Her eyes rolled back as the fatal height of sixty feet loomed below her. Just as she plunged, an aura of silver telekinesis surrounded her figure. She hovered in mid-air, struggling for a panicked breath. The body of the dead gunner fell past her and splattered like a bag of oats on the forest floor below. Shaking feverishly, she looked up.
Phoenix was perched on the shattered wing of the ship. His face was scrunched up tight as he struggled to lift the entire weight of the mare up. "Just... don't... move..." He hissed, "I got you—"
No sooner did he say this when twin blasts of bright blue mana exploded in the tree right beside them.
Belle shrieked. Phoenix spun and looked over his bloodstained shoulder.
A dot blurred across the burning sun. With a roar of mana engines, it turned out to be the third transport coming in on its murderous approach. The pilot angled the vessel with the target suck in the trees while the gunner reloaded a final roud.
"They're coming..." Phoenix hissed above the hum of the approaching enemy, his horn glowing to the breaking point. "They'll incinerate us."
"We got t-to get down!" Belle stammered, shivering as the entire weight of the vessel lurched once more in the tree. "Please...!"
Phoenix glanced at the gunner's seat, at Belle, then back at the approaching aircraft. "There's no time," he muttered.
"Wh-what?!" she squeaked, then gasped as her floating body was flung towards the branches.
"Grab ahold!" he wheezed, at the breaking point of concentration.
Belle obediently flew her bound forelimbs forward in the nick of time. She clung to a wobbling branch just as his magic field dissipated. "Phoenix, wh-what are you doing?!" her voice cracked.
"Climb down!" He shouted, clawing his way into the lopsided gunner's seat.
"B-but... I can't! Not on my own!"
"Yes you can!" Phoenix shouted, swiveling the turret around. "I'll be right behind you!" He trained the cannon on the approaching glider and slapped the manablasters to life. "Just gotta take care of something first!"
The enemy aircraft screamed closer. Its gunner fired.
Blue streaks ripped past Belle's body, exploding a tree behind them and filling the air with sharp splinters. She fell three feet and clung to a lower branch, her golden body swinging like a pendulum. "Phoenix!"
"I said go!" he howled, returning fire with a surge of blue energy. "Climb faster!"
His blue volley ripped through the air. The vessel veered to the right and fired again.
One blast flew past him. The other impacted the wing to his right. Shrapnel lit the crimson sky as the stuck vessel lurched another twenty degrees off the treetop. "Gaaah!" he shouted, struggling to stay within the precarious gunner's seat.
Down below, Belle gripped tighter to the branches at the entire tree wobbled. Twigs and pinecones fell past her like comets. She was halfway to the bottom and struggling with every limb.
"Come on... come on..." Phoenix spat blood and wiped his chin clean. He swiveled the turret around to follow the body of the aircraft as it veered over the treetops. "One more turn. Face to face. Come on..."
Belle descended as quickly as she could, a task made difficult with her front hooves bound. Her ears filled with the thunder of throttling engines. She looked up, eyes wide.
The enemy craft angled straight once again. The cannons on board glowed intimidatingly.
Phoenix hissed and jerked at the controls, but at his precarious angle, he couldn't get a solid shot on the incoming vessel. His eyes suddenly caught sight of how close the enemy was flying to the tree tops. So, in desperation, he fired a steady stream of blue mana at the trees between him and the attacker.
Rows of wooden trunks exploded in a burning river between them. At last, a burst of splinters erupted just before the craft, blinding the pilot. An audible shriek flew through the air, and the aircraft turned at an awkward angle, coming so low to Phoenix that it almost lopped the mercenary's ears off.
The stuck glider wobbled from the proximity of the careening enemy as Phoenix spun to watch its trajectory.
The enemy craft flew into a cluster of trees, snapped into three pieces, and erupted in a violent fireball of blue energy. Chunks of Ledomaritan metal whizzed and sang through the branches, then were silent.
A gasp of relief burst through Phoenix mouth—and then he yelped as the tree finally gave way from the weight of the transport. Twirling completely upside down, the managlide plunged in free-fall towards the forest below, taking Phoenix with it.
Belle gasped and flinched, her body swallowed up by the shadow of the metal craft.
Just then, the surviving wings of the glider got wedged in the branches of adjacent trees. It snapped still in place, tossing Phoenix out of the gunner's seat.
"Augh!" he grunted, clasping onto the edge of the cannon, his lower legs dangling as the weight of the craft bobbed in its new anchorage. At a tearing noise, he looked up. His eyes twitched to see the body of Belle's tree starting to split down the middle. The craft slid and lerched, preparing to take the trunk of the tree with it.
"Ph-Phoenix!" Belle managed.
"No time!" He swung, swung, and swung his body. With a stifled growl, he flung himself onto a pair of branches above Belle and started feverishly climbing down past her. "Go go!"
"B-but!"
He grabbed her in the crook of his right forelimb and leapt the two of them completely off the tree. "Hold on!"
She clung to him, wincing as they plunged the final twenty feet.
The stallion's face contorted painfully as his horn sparked with the brilliance of an exploding star. He managed to levitate them both just enough to slow their descent. It didn't stop Phoenix legs from collapsing painfully under him as he took the brunt of the fall.
"Aaaah!" he shouted, instantly grabbing at his knees. "Ghhh!"
"Phoenix!" Belle shouted, tugging and pulling at him as the bodies of the trees and the managlider between them started to groan sickly overhead. "Are you okay?"
"I'm f-fine!" he grunted, hobbling forward while Belle supported his shoulder. "Just move! Move!"
The two limped and stumbled their way forward. The trees snapped overhead. Branches littered the ground on either side of them, followed by the massive trunks as it flung the body of the ill-fated glider towards them like a gigantic club. As soon as its mana-core struck the floor, it imploded, sending a frothing wave of hot blue energy outwards, consuming every chunk of wood in the forest.
Belle's and Phoenix's bodies were flown—screaming—by the wave of chaos. They landed separately in the grass, curling up into fetal positions as they were buried by dirt, debris...
And darkness...
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hello wonderful story
welcome to my read later list
Phoenix isn't a grunt anymore.
His name is Phoenix.
And from the ashes he will fucking rise.
Your names. They are too goddamn clever.
I can not help but notice each of the groups have been split into pairs, with the exception of Crimson, who has landed among a family not too dissimilar from the one he hopes to go back to. This excerpt also maintains some of the imagery held over from the previous installments: mana, chaos, darkness, pairs and so on.
2262113
Don't forget to read the first two.
Phoenix was a dick in Eljunbyro, but he seems to be redeeming himself here. Hopefully he and Belle both survive that implosion.
Heck Yeah!!!! Phoenix pulled a Rainbow Dash!!
It feels great to have two bad-ass character.
Phoenix tries for redemption. Good on ya, mate.
Three sets of five 8-count pushups, ):(. We're really moving now! Knock 'em out!
"Wrestless" should be "restless"
This has been Daily Grammar Nazism with cannonSpectacle. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
It's true, you know. The best fight scenes always take place on airborne craft.
Great chapter, IC. Also, I noticed this:
I think that should be "whose."
Did anyone else notice how often the word "crimson" was repeated? Perhaps there is some foreshadowing going on here...
EDIT: Obligatory title response: THE NEED FOR SPEED!
Suddenly, Phoenix is awesome!
First Roarke grows a personality, now this.
Your OC-fu is strong...
And now we finally know what has become of all our characters! A distressing number are/were on flying vehicles about to explode. I am going to look forward to see how the rest of the story is executed.
Quite a daring escape.
Well he is a Merc.
tarnsport should be transport
This has been Daily Grammar Nazism with Neon Beat. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
2262113 Don't put it off either, this updates daily
Phoenix has risen from the Ashes.
Long chapter is long. Is this the longest one we've had so far?
Good to see Phoenix doing something right. In my eyes, he's responsible for Belle's safety now, as he never stopped Zenith and struck a deal to betray the group anyway. I hope to see this newfound concern for Belle's well-being evolve into a true attempt at redemption. Maybe he can atone for his past transgressions if he makes himself useful enough to Dash's journey. It'll be a tough sell, but he should have plenty of chances now.
Redemption=tried.Forgiveness=not yet
Ride With Death - Speedwolf
Bonus Warhammer 40K:
Why do I feel that Phoenix and Belle will, at one point, fall for each other, and then Pilate arrives...
...or not, since Phoenix still has a family.
Anyway, this has been a pretty long chapter. And me likey. :3
I blame everything on Zenith anyway, and he is dead, so I don't have that much against phoenix. Besides, everyone else is alive, and likely in much safer conditions than if Shell had his hooves on all if them. Belle and pheonix would likely have been executed eventually if rainbow never shows up, so I am happy for the guy. Hopefully he remains loyal forever.
2263082
Much of this.
Phoenix's only transgression as far as I'm concerned is being too much of a pushover to stand up to Zenith. With the latter firmly and satisfyingly dead, I have hopes that the former will turn out to be a pretty cool guy.
2262856
It's the longest chapter in Innavedr, yes, but Eljunbyro gave us Loyalty's Sake, which had over 3500 words. I do believe that was the longest chapter so far in the series.
Ponies climbing trees breaks my suspension of disbelief. I'm sorry, but it does.
Still, this chapter is cool. Wondering how my character is going to fit into all of this, though, if Bellesmith isn't headed to Blue Nova.
2262113 Read later list? This story should instantly be added to your Favorites list!
That was crazy.
2262248
Not just Crimson!
While Pilate is with somebody, that somebody's not from the original group.
hmm. but by that logic, EE should technically be considered alone, since Josho's a transplant.
But we don't even know pilate's savior's NAME
argh. I give up.
2264515
Sides stopped mattering, they're all against Shell. Josho's motives are still unclear, he defied Shell on principal but does that also mean severing ties with Ledo since now he's a deserter? The bigger point is that they're all in groups of two, except Crimson who is with a family, one of his biggest motivations.
The formerly-antlered savior is named "Flodyian." It is still unclear if Floyd caught or found his new companion.
redemption is at hand for phoenix. i like where this is going!
"...from the pilot who's flailing body was clinging to him in the cyclonic spin."
Should be whose.
Phoenix showed his backbone. If he keeps it up, he'll earn his moustache of bad-assery.
"roud"
~ should be round.
"She shouted something indiscernible, but Phoenix was too busy trying to break free from the pilot who's flailing body was clinging to him in the cyclonic spin."
. In the heat of the moment, it worked, but it seriously makes no sense. First of all, remove that massive preposition at the end and we get:
~ This sentence
She shouted something indiscernible, but Phoenix was too busy trying to break free.
Too busy trying to break free - to what? Hear her? Make out what she was saying? This segues into my next point; Belle either shouts something indiscernible OR Phoenix is too busy to hear it. If you have both, it's pretty redundant, although you could argue that it helps to build the moment.
Apart from that, I thought this was a pretty damn awesome chapter
wow, he grew a pair and took care of business. this chapter was great.
parts of the chapter reminded me of Jurassic Park..
Finally he does something to help Belle and escape. It was awesome too! Almost as awesome as Rainbow Dash
.
Well that settles it. Phoenix is going to suffer a horrible death to save Belle at the end
Of the story after they become friends... Or more? (They do think Pilate is dead still...)
2262264
Zenith was the real dick.
A message from MASH-
I'm exhausted...yeah, if I were to do an evaluation tonight, it wouldn't be any good. I'm falling asleep just typing this...
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So it appears that Phienix has redeemed himself. He never truly agreed with Zenith in the first place, so we've got to give him credit for that, if nothing else. But mow where are these two going to go? Once Floyd and Pilate reach Blue Nova, Belle will be gone. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. I'm sick. Again.
P.S.S. The new layout on Finfiction now means that the emoticons take up almost all of the comment space and I can only see a few letters of what I'm typin
Those things are unstable as hell.
Well, at least they escaped. Phoenix can worry about the fact that Belle hates his guts later.
2262264
nah, Zenith was the traitor and ringleader, Phoenix was just a follower, trying to get home,
well fuck... they are fucked. Honeytiger can't think of anything else to say.
Well I guess Phoenix has redeemed himself... Ok, he totally has, considering that the people he helped sell out before are all still alive, for the moment anyway. Plus he was totally bad-ass just now and ended up saving Belle (who just sat and watched, although she did donate a hatchet to the kerfuffle, so I guess that counts as contributing
). I'm expecting bad news soon, seeing as everything is working out better than expected so far...onward!
"And the only solution was to stand and fight,
And my body was bruised and I was set alight,
But you came over me like some holy rite,
And although I was burning, you're the only light."
All the strength that Belle had was the one given to her by Rainbow Dash and Pilate. With one thought dead and the other lost, I am glad to see that Phoenix would choose this convenient moment to find his courage.
Also, since Belle has now slipped from his grasp as well, Shell is without any power and surely will not pose a threat anymore.
...right?
Right?
Again, one of those action-movie scenes that makes this series so... awesome. It was great back in Austraeoh with Dash in solitude most of the time, but this stuff is just as good, I must say. Phoenix aptly redeemed himself, despite the fact that he had little choice but to comply in the first place...
Of course, he accomplished this by being the biggest badass north of Foxtaur.
When transporting unicorn prisoners, I imagine it'd be common sense to at least blindfold them so they wouldn't know what surrounding objects can be used as telekinetic weapons.
I found some typos, but the comment box randomly disappeared and I had to refresh the page
2263699 Have you never seen goats climbing trees?
Belle and Phoenix are travelling in pair, like I had previously thought.
The pairings are now: Josho and EE, Floydien and Pilate, Crimson and Tweak, Belle and Phoenix, Dash and Roarke. 
Phoenix has finally redeemed himself!
-SPirit
uh....
implosions don't make giant shockwaves.....
Phoenix, you're fucking awesome.
Huh...that was something pheonix. Well I forgot about these two when I said that everyone was accounted for last chapter. And it turns out they're one of the most important. To sum up this chapter.
1. Sad trip and sleepy guards
2. Pheonix Noscopes noobs
3. They successfully get out of their sticky situation of being captured (barely)