"The first time I came back, I thought it was a miracle. By the fifth or sixth time, I knew it was a curse."
Death is a reasonable fear, but it is also a constant reassurance. A promise that no matter how bad things get, they will one day end.
That promise was broken, leaving Rainbow Dash to pay the cost.
A very last minute entry for the 2024 SciFi Contest III.
Special thanks to ScreamQueen and Rb for prereading and valuable feedback.
General content warning: Some depictions of blood, death, and debilitating injuries, but no graphic descriptions. Some existential horror.
Chapters (1)
Brutal. Too awful an experience to keep reading, but I had to know how it finished.
They crossed that line of no return when they replaced Rainbow's good eye with an artificial one.
Poor Twilight had no idea in the end, did she ?
All the best for your entry !
Great story. I was unable to put it down
Rainbow Dash, the Six Million Bits Mare.
That was horrifying.
Very well done, loved every minute of reading it.
The Ending reminds me of Robocop, just made that much darker. Good show!
I was expecting a groundhog day scenario but this...
Is so. Much. Better.
I absolutely adore how horrific and... realistic this is. Love it.
God-blessed work, dear word-smith.
Of course, no matter the hardship, the pain, or the machinations of the wicked, Harmony always finds a way to succeed in the end. As long as those who believe in Harmony, like our Rainbow Dash here, are willing to endure and stay determined through death itself, Harmony will banish the darkness one way or another.
Also, what a great twist at the end. It was a mystery story the whole time and I didn't even notice.
A good read.
I also can't help but think it was in part inspired by Iron Savior. And perhaps with a bit of Metal Gear Rising.
"What about all the good things war has done for us? Why don’t we ever hear speeches about that? Jobs, technology, a common purpose..."
You gave us hope, the savior machine/You were suplosed to be a millons' dream...
This is excellent.
Absolutely brilliant
Excellent piece. Nothing like a bit of body horror to start the day off right.
Every time I read a 'slow roboticization' story I can't help but think, unfortunately, of that one episode of Futurama where it happened to Hermes, and then they just took all the discarded body parts and put them back together again so there were two of him.
this was really good !!
loved every second of it!
this was cool
good story 10/10
Just how I'd imagine Dash in this situation; Going out on HER terms.
This went hard.
Have a like.
This was so effing brutal.
Where are the rest of Twilight and Rainbow’s friends? If Twilight was desperate enough to bring Dash back, what of the others? It’s implied they’re dead, if they died in war why didn’t Twilight try to bring them back?
Oh well, gets an AWESOME!
I have to ask... Where are the others? I could think Twilight other friends could try to stop her or notice something is wrong
Roguelite Rainbow Dash breaks a loop, good for her
Wow, amazing writing. Terrifying and amazing. Great body horror.
Minister Blue Falcon.
I see what you did there! For those at home who don't know...
Blue Falcon, is military slang for someone who royaly screws over their battle buddies.
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Well, if any of the Mane Six is easily militarized it would have to be the element of Loyalty (A core value for a soldier) that can outpace a fighter jet with her own wings.
Or if we want to get really grim about it, there may have not been enough left of the others to bring back in the first place.
I got a cross between Captain America and Robocop outta this. Nice job!
Extremely visceral, I tip my imaginary hat.
I find it a bit odd that none of her friends checked in on Rainbow, but I suppose in time of war things get lost
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You know... apropos of near nothing, you just made Dynomutt infinitely darker.
My only complaint is the fic ended where it did. I wanted to know more. It feels like I was robbed of the final chapter of this fic. On top of that I would have liked to see more about the backs and forths between Equestria and the Storm King and much more about the inner workings of Blue Falcon and how he managed to pull off his double edged act. I wonder if he planed the war. That would be interesting to know.
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I didn't know that! The whole time I thought it was an F-Zero reference.
What a read! Absolutely fantastic!
Have a Like and a Fav!