At about that same time, or at least a few minutes earlier, Rainbow Dash was spitting out her own blood. This came at the end of a nasty tumble she made across the edge of a steep cliff covered in pebbles and frost. Quivering, she tried pulling herself up on four limbs, but ultimately slumped back down with a groan.
All the while, Lady Pestiferous lurched towards her on creaking, groaning spider legs. Her metal limbs were covered all over in scrapes and scuff marks from the joint roll down the mountainside that both mares had endured. Vapor vented from her mask and mixed streams of mana energy and crystal pony blood leaked from her battered armor.
"It hassssssssh taken every resssssshource that I have left, but I shhhhhall end you, outssssshider..." Her eyes narrowed. "And it shall be a good death."
"Frickin' wake up, Lady!" Rainbow Dash spat, snarling up at her. "You've already lost! Your body, the Hold, all of your so-called 'daughters in blood!' They're all gone!" At last, Rainbow got up on shivering limbs in the cold mountain air. "They were gone long before you went overboard with all of this vengeful, bloodlusting nonsense!"
"You think I haven't planned for my end?!" Pestiferous raised a glistening forelimb in the snowy air. "I have—Hckkkt!!—whittled away the rubbissssh and narrowed it down to the only mare capable of carrying on my legacy..."
Rainbow Dash blinked. "Roarke?" Pestiferous' limb clamped over her, shoving her hard against the clifface. "Aaaugh! Nnngh... nutsauce..."
"Roarke may be a rarity..." The Top Spear leaned her frail head over, practically spitting onto the limb-locked pegasus. "But her loyalty is questionable..."
Rainbow merely twitched. "Oh r-really?"
"Ssssshearo's legacy must run on a true warrior's sssssshpirit, not the guile of a pony who reliessssssh on cunning and deception alone..."
"Deception?" Rainbow winced. "For cr-crying out loud, lady! That 'Terra' mare will backstab you the first instance she gets!"
"And after ssssssshe doessssh, she will be true to her sssssshisters and they will be true to her. Of thisssssssh, I am convinced. I have seen the roots of loyalty in her heart..."
"Th-that thing you call a heart...?" Rainbow spat. "It's really nothing but a huge, throbbing ego!" She gulped and wheezed forth, "At least Roarke would turn your daughters into something reasonable—"
"Raaaughkkt!" Pestiferous raised Rainbow high, clamping the ends of both forelimbs over her throat as the metal mare stood up on the mountainside like an enormous tree sloth. "Roarke would poissssshon the legacy of Sssssshearo with emotionsssh and pretenssssshe! What does sssssssshe posssssssshess that could possibly improve the might of my sssssshisters and daughterssssssh?!"
Dangling, Rainbow Dash nevertheless managed tos putter, "She's kind... and sh-she's generous... even when she doesn't want to be..." Rainbow's eyes rolled back, but she fought for the strength to speak some more. "You see, ya big rusted cicada, loyalty isn't everything." She glared at the Top Spear. "Especially when dealing with a huge walking turd like you..."
Pestiferous' slimy eyes narrowed. After a wheezing cough, she tightened her grip on Rainbow's neck. "Ssssssshince you are such an expert on excrement, let ussssssh see you ssssssplatter like it!" With that said, she let out a grotesque yell and flung Rainbow deep into the valley beyond the cliff.
Rainbow Dash disappeared below, her warbling cry dwindling in the snowy vacuum between mountain peaks.
The Top Spear took a deep breath, as if having relieved herself of an enormous burden. She turned to scurry back up the rocky mountainside and return to Searo's Hold. Just then, a thunderous noise rumbled through the air. Vexxed, Lady Pestiferous spun around. She had to squint in the resulting flurry of snow and frost that was being kicked into her face.
Rainbow Dash was levitating back up, though none of her limbs were moving. Then, directly beneath her, there lifted the glistening body of Roarke's manaship. The pegasus stood perched on the top of the bounty hunter's vessel as it levitated off the clifface, hovering evenly with Pestiferous' form.
The mutated mare's eyes twitched.
Rainbow Dash blinked. With a goofy blue smile, she gave a prolonged shrug.
A loud thud rolled across the mountain as Pestiferous slumped limply to her metal haunches. "Hckkkt!" Her head and torso hung in a slump. "At leasssssht it wassssshn't from a breeder in bed...."
Two massive mana cannons extended from the bow of the ship.
Rainbow Dash saluted.
Then the air filled with thunder and shrapnel.
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw9352-crisisaverted.gif
Rainbow's speech on loyalty serves as a nice reminder, one we've seen in Dash throughout, that each element (or elemental trait) can not stand alone. They need the support of the others to function, and to be an embodiment of such requires practice in each. Dash has exemplified each element multiple times, all through the lens of loyalty. Roarke has shown her own strength through the lens of generosity, twisted as it may be.
Moreover, it once again speaks to the elements being something less tangible than a pendant and more important and innate than perhaps even Dash realizes.
Oh I do love a good bit of Karma.
Well noted on the Generosity point. What does that make the others then? (Crimson, Pilate, Bellesmith etc)
I'm starting to wonder how Roarke could have planned that so perfectly..... nevertheless, its about time that bitch was shut-down!
CHA-CHING!
Dashie does seem to be inadvertently reforming the Elements.
There is a symbolic-ness between those choice of words and Roarke's inexplicable generosity.
She also possesses a better understanding of the phrase Deus Ex Machina than my old Theatre teacher.
Run My Course - Pentagram
At least the chapter title told us what to expect. Roarke definitely didn't run away, but coming in the middle of a battle with a ship that inexplicably still works after CRYSTAL POWER was used is a bit much. Ah, whatever.
I actually cheered a little bit. I was wondering where our favorite metal mare had gotten herself to! And it was awesome.
Now with the late Pestiferous having expired and gone to meet her maker, Dash & Co. only has Turbo Butch to deal with down in the hangar.
Also:
Where does Dash come up with these?
2512966
I was thinking the same thing, especially on the term deus ex machina.
pest is an idiot.
2512633
You mention Roarke displaying 'twisted' generosity. I think it's just another step in a larger transformation.
Given that Roarke is (was) one of the highest ranking metal mares in Searo's Hold, I think it's safe to assume she grew up being spoon-fed their violent culture, eventually taking it to heart as any metal mare would. At some point in her career, though, she began to differ from the stereotypical metal mare, taking a bounty hunter role for personal gain. That's the first step of her departure from Searonese culture Along the way, she meets/captures Imre and "saves" her. That would be something else a typical metal mare wouldn't do, marking a second step in her departure. Finally, Rainbow Dash comes along to speed her transformation into a decent pony who displays potential to be worthy of "generosity". Dash has had a profound impact on a lot of ponies along her journey, but they all held some kind of discontent with the world around them and only required a stimulus to undergo a serious change. Roarke fits that model better than most, going from self-centered bounty hunter to saving RD's life.
Roarke's current generosity may be a bit twisted, yes. But I don't think it's the end state for her. I think there's lots of potential for her to become a true embodiment of generosity. It would be almost poetic, given her previous employment. Who better to understand generosity than one who had to learn it from nothing?
2512989 well her armor and ship have already been pointed out to do so, which means it's intentional
Roarke's pulling a Terezi, eh? The unestablished villain becomes a hero once the spotlight turns to her.
There are exactly 2^(2^3) upvotes on this fic. 2+2+3=7, a most auspicious number. Coincidence? I think not.
2513273 Are you speaking of Terezi Pyrope? If so, I don't remember that happening.
Also, someone speculated a while back, at the start of Eljunbyro, that each story name corresponded to an Element of Harmony? I think Innavedr is Generosity.
Thanks for the warning, Scolon.
DAMMMM I would go back and quote myself, but i don't want to take too much time. As I said somewhere in an Eljunbyro chapter that dash was beginning to reform the Elements of Harmony.
I'm not going to say I told you so.
I think my land might just get a new Top Spear.
and we will now be returning to what the hay is going on with Terra, Crimson and Tweak. :3
I do love an ironic end to a villains life.
A certain Lt. is going to enjoy that line. Also, I notice the comments about Dash reforming the elements, but to be honest, I don't see that yet. She has been spreading their virtues and finding people with them, but she's so far abandoned every companion along her quest when the time came, and I expect her to do it again when it is called for to Belle and Pilate, and even Roarke as well.
Huh, the day was saved and the villain defeated by someone other than Dash.
Has that happened before?
I would have suggested killing her with fire but cannons work, too.
Talk about some big ass magnifying lenses
2513595
I don't mean this chapter's events in particular, I just mean the seeming alignment switch as the character was brought into focus.
[youtube=-zIzLRgwdxA]
Ow.
The cavalry has arrived!
That's sure as hell one way to take care of a problem.
2515921 That's what I meant too....
2516556
You know, the plotline where she almost killed John when her character still wasn't really established?
2517148 And then Dave turned into an orange feathery asshole and trolled her? Yeah, I see what you mean now.
2514996
ColdSteel?
this is regime #4 dash has had a hand in ending.
And Roarke in for the save! Even if I still can't figure her out, Roarke is good people.
I must say, that iis an incrediy badass end scene.
It's particularly funny considering that earlier, she explicitely stated that Loyalty is everything that remains of Harmony, being the last Element and all that...
Ceterum censeo Searinem delendam esse.
welllp.
Big guns for big bugs
A message from MASH-
I can't evaluate tonight. I'll explain tomorrow...
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
I knew it! I knew that Roarke wouldn't just kill herself like that! Although I seriously must question how good of a pony she is if she just killed her own leader...ah, who cares. It was an epic scene anyways. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. I really am sorry about last night. It was one of those times where I was just too tired to evaluate. Anything that I typed would not have been good, believe me...
Haha, yeah! I kept expecting Roarke to show up again, but when it actually happened I was still surprised (thought maybe Dash would Discord it up to defeat Pestiferous). Great to see this conclusion - now its just the others and Terra we have to worry about. And all the other story arcs going on. Onward!
2516179
Nice to see I'm not the only one who noticed that!
Never mind. Also, yay Roarke! Die, Pestiferous, die! Is she dead yet?
-SPirit
You know, I love how this still doesn't fit as a normal deus ex machina.
VI:
I've been spotted. I may have lost them but I can't be sure, not yet.
If this journal is found and this is my final entry...
Nevermind. I don't know what advice or request I could give. I just hope you don't face this too.
The sun will be up soon, they're more active then.
Ah, what a fucking beautiful way to end a chapter. Apparently that spidercunt forgot dash had wings.
5337334 What's this? A journal amongst the age-old ruins?
I'll be keeping this for later...
Excellent timing as always Roarke.
Indeed, those loyal can still be monsters.
Never toss your mortal foes off of high places when there's a missing manaship about.
So long you nightmare of a mare.
6204208 Honestly, in this story, don't bother tossing them off at all. It never seems to take.
I have weapons, but I'll let gravity decide this
(ding).