Rainbow Dash's head shot up out of the water, gasping for breath. Her armor rattled soggily as she frantically glanced left and right across the cavernous hollow where she had suddenly found herself in.
In the distance, the sound of Tweak and Imre's firefight continued, stabbing at the pegasus' ears. She looked every which way, but couldn't find the exit... or a sign of her foe.
“Where in Celestia's name...?!” She looked everywhere with panting breath. Seething, she galloped forward, trying to find an exit or some other way back to the aqueducts that had stretched overhead before. All she found was a widely stretching wall of curved earth and stacked granite.
Rainbow Dash paused, squinting at the tall wall looming above her.
The pony's shadows were dancing wildly from some ethereal light source. Suddenly, her shadows shrank with wicked speed. She heard several splashes.
Rainbow Dash spun around.
Shell was charging her with a glowing horn. “Nnnnngh!” The air between them exploded with violent telekinesis.
“Aaagh!” Rainbow Dash flew back, slamming hard against the wall. Before she could fly away, Shell slid up to her, planting his hooves hard into the muck from the distance of six meters. He thrusted his horn forward, pummeling the mare with a wide, swirling vortex of vaporous magical energy.
Rainbow hissed for breath as she was planted hard against the granite behind her. The pony's limbs stretched out and her armor buckled from the steady, pressing punishment.
Shell hissed, covered in sweat and filth as he forced the telekinetic waves harder and harder against her. “I have spent fortunes... wasted ammunition... and lost the lives of countless stallions... all to put you back in your cage.” He spat through a snarling muzzle. “And all you can think about is two measly traitors to the Confederacy?!”
Rainbow struggled to whimper, “H-has anypony t-told you that you're ugly when y-you're angry?!” She was answered with a heavier press of the telekinesis. The wall behind her cracked while many similar fractures formed in her armor, causing her flesh and muscles to twitch in pain.
“There is nothing here that belongs to you!” Shell shouted. “You weren't born here! You never had a reason to sign off your fealty to the continent in blood! You're an alien, a splinter, a disease and a pest!” His horn glowed brighter as he stabbed a knife of telekinesis towards the middle of her pendant. “For once, I am going to drive out whatever equine spirit dwells inside of you. If all that remains of the experiment is a husk, at least it'll be one that obeys Ledo—!”
A lavender figure blurred in, stabbing hard into Shell's flank with a pair of sparkling tasers.
“Aaaaaugh!” Shell yelled to the ceiling. His horn flickered, and the telekinetic cloud between him and Rainbow Dash exploded. Water splashed a hundred feet high while chunks of granite flew left and right. Rainbow Dash slumped forward in the sloshing currents while Shell hobbled backwards, his uniform sizzling from head to hooves.
Eagle Eye, panting, twirled both tasers with a grunt and prepared to stab again. A veritable whip of telekinesis spun three times around his neck. His violet eyes widened, tearing, as he was lifted up in an angry grip.
Shell stared up at him, his one eye wider than a harvest moon. Blood dribbled coldly down the scar on the other side of his face. “I don't know who you think you are, but you've just cost yourself your skin.” He twirled one of the two tasers around and began a deep incision to the right of Eagle Eye's chest.
The stallion squealed in pain, thrashing his neck back.
Rainbow Dash's face flew up. With a single burst of thrusters, she gritted her teeth and shot across the arena, her hooves boiling the water underneath. She came up from beneath Shell with a rising uppercut.
The stallion flew back in a spray of water and blood. Eagle Eye slumped backwards from the exchange, but Rainbow Dash wasn't done. She jumped up, grabbed Shell's body in two hooves, spun six times, and flung the enforcer mercilessly into the wall, where an impression had been made where he was previously torturing her.
He slumped down, shuddering all over. A bright crack had formed in his mana-powered cast, and he winced from it as he tried to stand up—
“Haaaaaugh!” Rainbow Dash flew into him with a massive drop kick. The air vaporously exploded around them from the impact. Time slowed down, all the while Rainbow's lower hooves shoved Shell through the breaking brick like a hammer would drive a nail through a wall. His cast shattered completely, and as the structure behind him gave way, it exposed a body of water beyond. Soon, a gasping and sputtering Shell was shoved into the cavity of a water main behind him. A deluge exploded past his flailing limbs, rocketing into the cavern until it overtook Rainbow Dash herself.
Time resumed, slamming into her along with the monsoon of liquid. Rainbow Dash flailed, spinning several times over in her water-logged armor. She nevertheless found her balance and rocketed towards the top of the flood, which was rising rapidly with each passing second. Panting, she looked all around, her ruby eyes squinting into the depths. She saw a hint of lavender. Taking a deep, deep breath, she dove down into the depths.
Five seconds passed. Ten...
With a splash, Rainbow Dash lifted up out of the pool with a soaked stallion in her grasp. She hovered up and landed on a dry ledge, dangling the petite pony in her grasp.
“No freakin' way...!” She stammered. “Eagle Eye?! EE!”
“Unnngh...” He coughed and spat up water.
She shook him. “Say something! Talk to me!”
He looked up at her with a sad face. “I sm-smell horrible...”
“Ha! Kickflank! It totally is you!” She gave him a vicious side hug, ruffling his silken mane with the other hoof. “Way to drop in out of friggin' nowhere and save my skin, pal!”
“Ow ow ow ow ow...” He winced. “Your armor's poking me.”
“Seriously, though...” She planted him down in front of her. “How'd the hay did you get here?! I thought you were dead!”
“If 'dead' counts as 'being attached to the hip of a big, fat, slobbering oaf with a golden heart,' then sure.”
“Buh?”
“Never mind,” Eagle Eye muttered, wincing from the bloody laceration below his shoulder. “Ungh... it's a long story.” He gulped and looked up at her. “What was that ship I saw above the heights of Blue Nova earlier? Is Roarke here?”
“Yes, she's with Crimson, distracting the baddies while the rest of us—”
“Crimson?!” Eagle Eye's body leaned forward at a forty-five degree angle, weighted by a painfully grinning face. “He's alive?!” he gasped. His eyes instantly welled up with tears. “Oh blessed blessed blessed blessed Spark!” He sniffled and smiled deliriously. “That's so amazing and wonderful and spectacular and—Whoah!” His body slipped away from the rising waters lapping over the surface of the platform.
Rainbow Dash hovered up and grabbed him before the drink could sweep them away. “Erm... let's save the tears of joy for later. We gotta rendezvous with Tweak and Imre in the upper part of the sewer.”
“Uhm...” Eagle squirmed in her grasp as they flew around, looking for an exit. “Who and who, now?”
“You're not the only pony with a long story. Here!” Rainbow Dash shot them towards an exit before the rising waters could drown them inside. “This way!”
Eagle Eye cast a nervous glance back. “I don't suppose that creep is really dead, huh?”
Rainbow grumbled, “The world should be so lucky...”
And together, they were gone.
*lets out breath*
I'm glad EE could make it. Shell is hopefully knocked senseless for the moment, so let's check up on the others...
Fuck yeah, Eagle Eye!
Forty crunches, ):(. Make sure you hold the up position for at least two seconds. Knock 'em out!
It usually takes three phases to beat a boss, so we'll be seeing Shell again I think.
Besides, his head didn't explode.
Never let a villain like Shell get away. One bad bit later and he will be shooting at you again.
Property damage! Damnit guys, what did the mayor or Nova ever do to you?!
Never saw his floating corpse. Ergo, Shell is still alive (despite how much we all want him in giblets). Though he's gonna be walking with a heavy limp with that cast shattered and probably numerous broken bones. I can't see how one can get blasted through a wall without getting several, though ponies seem to be much more durable than these meatbags we call humans. I can't say the same for the sewers though. Something is going to be screwed up from the damages their underground fist fight caused. Oh well. Was hoping to see Shell get punched through the roof, but getting kicked though a wall works too.
[Random anecdote: I tried picking up my brother once. If I ignored the fact that he was squirming around and he was warm, it felt like carrying a large slab of meat. I understand why robots occasionally call us that.]
You do not fuck with Rainbow's friends.
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That is all.
No, he is definitely not gone yet, unfortunately...
And he's going to be very mad when he returns.
Major baddie's not gonna be gone so easily. They better hurry up before Shell comes back.
2996799 I didn't let him but he did it anyway!
Shell,why you no die?
Well, Shell is going to be absolutely boiling next time we see him. I get the feeling that his fury here is but a fraction of his true potential for vehemence.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Im so scootahappy right now!
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Because Belle isn't there to slap his shit with her new awesomeness.
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And now EE knows that Crimson's alive! Good for him. I think somebody should make a chart of who thinks/knows who is alive. It's getting confusing.
protip: he's not dead, morons
Oh, Shell. What did you just say about becoming obsessed with a single target?
Here's to hoping shell finds his demise while trying to force Belle, at the hands of Kera. Kera killing Shell would just be the sweetest thing. *sighs*
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*sigh*
No one's gonna let me forget that, are they?
He's probably never going to go down unless Roarke unloads her ships payload on him like she did for Pestiferous.
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Even then, I'm pretty sure the bastard would find a way to survive. No, I don't think Shell is destined for something as relieving as death. I think he'll be driven either to madness or undeniable defeat. Either way, I see him walking away, utterly broken and uncaring to the fate of his self-imposed challenge/charge/experiment/bane of his existence.
2998174
As far as I can figure, the proceeds stand thusly (listing each main character's knowledge like a web, so there will be redundancies):
Rainbow Dash: Knows that Bellesmith, Pilate, Tweak, Imre, Roarke, EE, and Crimson are all alive.
Pilate: Is certain that Bellesmith is alive, Knows Ebon, Floydian, Props and the other one (I never remember his name) are alive.
Bellesmith: Knows that RD and Kera are alive, but is uncertain of Phoenix.
Phoenix: Haven't heard from him since he dashed in valiantly to stall for time, so I can't give anything for him.
Crimson: Knows RD, Imre, Tweak, Roarke, and Josho are alive.
Imre: Knows Tweak, Roarke, Crimson, RD, Bellesmith and Pilate are alive.
Tweak: Knows Crimson, RD, Bellesmith, Pilate and RD are alive.
Josho: Knows EE, RD and Crimson are alive (hasn't met Imre yet)
Props/Ebon/Anon(name?)/Floydien: All know Pilate and their respective allies are alive.
Eagle Eye: Knows RD, Josho, Roarke and Crimson are alive (is about to meet Tweak and Imre)
Roarke doesn't give two shits.
If I missed something, let me know.
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Or if Dashie breaks out the chaos mode.
Shell will reappear with the whole of Ledomare's military behind him.
'Cuz, y'know, he's the ruler of the whole place or something.
I get the distinct impression that Belle, Rainbow, and the foals will be the only ones to escape this last fight.
I dearly hope I'm wrong in Eagle's case. And Roarke's.
Told you Eagle Eye would come to the rescue. He was most efficacious in his administery of out-of-nowhere-at-the-last-minute convenient heroism.
Well, since Rainbow Dash, Imre, Tweak and Eagle Eye know where Roarke, Crimson and Josho are, and since both of those parties know where Pilate is, who knows where Floydien, Ebon, Props and (Clark, I think? Not sure), the only ones who are cut off from the rest now are Belle, Kera, the foals and Phoenix.
I suppose they will run into the Enforcer blockade (if there still is one) since they were just outside of the city the last time we saw them, or witness Roarke's ship flailing around and have Belle recognise it, but otherwise I can't really see how they will come back into contact when their current priority is storming the Nightshade building.
Eagle Eye gets his Big Damn Hero moment.
And this has got to be the end of Shell. Even if he lives, he's bound to be court martialed and dishonorably discharged at this rate. He has failed three times now, and has wasted countless lives and resources on a wild pegasus chase. My suspension of disbelief will take a punch to the balls if he's somehow still in charge of anything but a desk job after this.
Shell's gonna come back for one last ditch attempt to stop them at all costs.
2997644MOTHER OF CELESTIA WHAT IS THAT HIDEOUS CREATURE?!
A liberator, a messiah, a light, a spark.
Shell most likely isn't dead. No eulogies yet. I'm guiltless! She ran, I pursued and I- no, wait, wrong movie.
2998679 The easiest way to forget it would be removing your brain. Say, by explosion.
Plot Twist! Shell is actually dead and we'll be waiting the entire time for him to return...and he just doesn't.
Or you know, he pops back up like one of those annoying and distinctly horrifying inflatable boxer-clown-thing-a-majiggs.
Also - EE and Dash have been reunited, at long last! We need a temporary ceasefire so snugglehugs can be exchanged and stories swapped.
Onward!
IIIIIt's Dashie's First Get-Backing Adventure!
Well, it's certainly good to see EE back in business. And with and awesome intro to boot! I still don't think Shell would have have truly won if EE hadn't shown up, but it saves Dash a lot of wear and tear. Needless to say, Shell isn't dead yet, but it's good to see that the party is slowly but surely congregating in Blue Nova. We might even get everyone back together by the end of the story. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. That's right, guys. It's my first Get-Backing Adventure! Not a Marathon - an Adventure! 5+ chapters a day for every day until I'm caught up with the latest chapter. Let's start the Adventure!
P.S.S. For those of you wondering, no, it's not because I'm "getting back" to the latest chapter. It's a reference to something that no one will get.
Damn it Shell, why can't you die?!?!
PLEASE BE DEAD. IC I will PAY YOU to kill Shell. Bring in another bad guy! Hell, he can be even more annoying! I just can't stand the one we're dealing with now.
EE did something useful! Blasphemy! And at least Dash is cottoning on, if you don't see a badass die, then assume that they're not dead. And if you do see them die, double tap for good measure.
Have to add, I'm really enjoying the quality of writing here. I'm pretty much able to picture everything vividly, which makes confrontations like this many times more awesome.
Shell, bursting up from the water: You can't kill me, I'm Prime Enforcer Shell!
3012304 That's a wild brony in its natural habitat.
3072856 get back? referencing a beatles song?
EE is here!
-Spirit
EE!!! Fuck yeah!
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Man, I think Imre is going to need a friend to hug here soon.
Thank you, Eagle Eye, you flamboyant badass!
Dammit IC just kill the prodigy villain and be done with it!
I see what you did there.
Be a good chap and drown, Shell.
Please?
I'm pretty sure that even under the laws of cartoon physics both of them should've been suuuuper dead by now.
6781457
Nah! The Elements help keep their hosts alive in situations that'd kill other ponies. Other than this AU's one time when they did the opposite.
And EE is protected by being Twilight's doppelganger. So it's not that far fetched.
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And we're barely three books in here!
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What's AU?