Of Exotics and Radiant Shards
"If there is beauty in destruction, why not also in its delivery?"
-Feizel Crux
"Alright girls, Crota moved back to the center. Let's get to the ledge," Twilight Sparkle announced authoritatively, cautiously trotting out the large open doorway.
The other five mares, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy briskly followed behind the unicorn Voidwalker, as they knew that any deviation from the plan may result in death of the entire Fireteam, or the Oversoul being summoned. Which was pretty much death as well.
"Mind the Boomers," Twilight reminded the ponies that trailed in the back of the line. Fluttershy, who was bringing up the rear of the group, let out a tiny squeak in confirmation, keeping watch for any movement on the ledges adjacent to Crota.
Once the six mares reached the ledge, they respectively Glided, Blinked, Lifted, Triple Jumped, or in Rainbow's case, flew over the gap leading to the ledge. All of them were familiar with the ledge, as it was a spot in the Hive's hellish dungeon that would not only provide cover from Hive Thrall and Boomers, but also from Crota himself, provided that he stayed in the middle of the chasm, out of range of the six mares.
Sure enough, facing the Guardians on the opposite side of the chasm stood Crota, the Son of Oryx. The gargantuan Hive Knight just stood watching, waiting for the Guardians to make their move. Though the eldritch green energy surrounding Crota still crackled and licked at the air like a lit wick, the mares could see his multiple injuries as clear as day, even though his behavior showed little indication that he was wounded.
'Not much longer,' Rainbow thought. But even though Crota was close to death, they could not risk Enraging him.
Rainbow could've sworn he pointed at her with his free arm, seemingly mocking her for their possible impending failure. She narrowed her eyes at him, and pointed back at Crota with a hoof. To her surprise, Crota tilted his head to the side, like how an intelligent being would curiously regard an inferior being before ultimately crushing it.
Shuddering, Rainbow Dash tore her attention away from the Son of Oryx and to her Fireteam.
Though her friends' faces were obscured by their helmets, she could perfectly tell what each pony was feeling. Twilight and Applejack stood resolutely with grim determination, never letting their guard down. Fluttershy was doing her best to remain calm, shivering slightly; Crota's incessant staring and pointing was not helping. Pinkie Pie was literally hopping in place (In excitement? Or anxiety?), her Radiant Dance Machines a blurred green as a result of the rapid movement. Rarity was fixated on Crota, presumably glaring daggers at the Son of Oryx.
Crota just pointed.
"You guys see the Swordbearer anywhere?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking for the Knight that wielded the sole weapon that could end Crota once and for all.
Applejack was the first to respond. "Ah see him! Little varmint is hidin' behind the right pillar over yonder!"
Rainbow Dash squinted in the direction Applejack was pointing. True to the orange Titan's word, the Swordbearer's head crest protruded from behind the pillar, surrounded by a horde of Hive Thrall. Rainbow was about to step forward when an armored Warlock hoof stopped her in her tracks.
"Let me," Twilight volunteered. She held out a hoof and conjured an Axion Bolt grenade, sending it flying to where the Knight was hiding. As the grenade made contact with the ground, splitting into several Bolts that proceeded to sail to their target, the lavender Warlock held a Hive-reminiscent sniper rifle, Black Hammer, in front of her using telekinesis, and took meticulous aim.
As Twilight predicted, the Axion Bolts forced the Swordbearer out of cover and away from the grenade...straight into her sniper sights. Twilight pulled the trigger three times, sending a triad of devastating high-powered rounds into the Swordbearer's head. The Swordbearer, now headless, disintegrated, leaving only his otherworldly sword behind. Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash and nodded, giving her the cue to retrieve the sword.
Rainbow took a deep breath and exhaled, preparing herself for one final sword run. Victory or death, quite literally.
"Wish me luck, girls."
With a spark of electrical energy, Rainbow activated Arc Blade. The pegasus Hunter spun once, triggering her invisibility. Without another word, Rainbow jumped down from the ledge and made a beeline for the sword.
"GOOD LUCK, DASHIE!" Pinkie hollered after her.
Navigating unseen through a group of Thrall, Rainbow grabbed the sword, balancing the familiar weight of the weapon in her forelegs as she flew towards the spot where she would prepare to attack Crota. Her invisibility, to her dismay, abruptly petered out. Immediately after, a Boomer explosion aimed at her just barely missed her, but the splash damage of the blast managed to take out half of her Light shields.
"Applejack! I need a Boomer distraction!" Rainbow cried.
"You can count on me!" Applejack replied through her Ghost's comm channel.
Applejack used Lift to hover over to a pedestal in front of the Boomers. She concentrated and held her front hooves out, creating the nigh-impenetrable Ward of Dawn. In response to a newer and closer target, the Boomers turned their attention and gunfire from Rainbow to Applejack, who was perfectly safe within the purple bubble-like construct. Even Crota diverted his attention from the other mares to fire Arc bolts from his hand at Applejack. The Titan shot the Hunter a grin.
Rainbow nodded at Applejack in appreciation, and got ready to attack Crota.
"Focus fire on my mark!" Rainbow said to her Fireteam, energetically tapping the hilt of the Hive sword she recently pilfered.
"Three!"
Twilight levitated her Black Hammer sniper rifle, taking aim at Crota. Rarity followed suit with her own sniper, The Supremacy.
"Two!"
Fluttershy switched to her auto rifle, Doctor Nope, and checked the magazine. 99 rounds. The demure Hunter exhaled slowly and steeled herself. Now was not the time to be useless. She wouldn't let Crota bully around her friends.
"One!"
Pinkie Pie sat on her haunches and held a rocket launcher in her forelegs. Steel Oracle Z-11, or "Party Cannon V2" as Pinkie affectionately dubbed it. The pink earth pony Hunter narrowed her eyes. She hoped Crota was ready to have a blast.
"Fire!" The pegasus Swordbearer screeched through the comms.
Crota was immediately bombarded with gunfire, punctuated by periodic rocket fire. The two Warlocks' sniper rounds reflected harmlessly off Crota's energy shields, albeit weakening the shields moderately. Pinkie's rockets pulverized Crota's shields with the sheer impact of the explosions. Fluttershy's fast and constant Auto Rifle rounds did little to Crota's shields themselves, but they prevented the shields from regenerating in the lapses created by the other mares' reloading. Even Applejack occasionally left the safety of her Ward of Dawn, risking death by Boomer fire, just to fire her Exotic launcher, Truth, at Crota.
Under the combined firepower of the mares' weapons, Crota's shields faltered. Crota fell to one knee as he tried to recover, anchoring his sword to the ground for support.
'Time to end this!' Rainbow thought.
Expertly timed in sync with her order to fire at Crota and his subsequent vulnerability, Rainbow Dash made her move. With sword in hooves, she swiftly flew to Crota. Rainbow repeatedly slammed the sword into Crota's kneeling form.
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
...That SHOULD have been it.
To the pegasus Swordbearer's horror, instead of disintegrating like all Hive do upon death, Crota rose to his feet, his shields fully restored.
Multiple questions permeated Rainbow's mind. Why wasn't Crota dead yet? Did she time her sword strikes wrong? WHY WAS CROTA SUMMONING HIS OVERSOUL?!
True to the pegasus' plight, the Son of Oryx had his sword arm raised in the air, with evil green particles of Hive energy swirling every which way. The hellish sky was quickly becoming consumed with the sight of Crota's spherical Oversoul. The Oversoul began expanding, threatening to consume all of the Hive chasm, along with the six Guardians and their Light.
ENRAGED!
If the fevered communication Rainbow heard in her Ghost's comm channel was any indication, her friends shared her sentiments.
"What in tarnation?"
"It's Crota's Oversoul!"
"Why, that ruffian!"
If Crota could smile, Rainbow bet all her Glimmer he would have been.
Rainbow grimaced, and refocused her attention on her Fireteam's impending doom. All was not lost, not yet.
As if emphasizing the direness of the situation, her sword began phasing and blinking out of existence. She needed to do this fast.
Rainbow Dash released her grip on the sword Relic, leaving it levitating in place. The Hunter unsheathed her knife and, with a grunt, jabbed the knife into Crota's ankle. The blade uselessly plinked against the giant Knight's shield. The Blink Strike did its job, however, and Rainbow disappeared from sight.
Crota, who barely noticed the disturbance because of how little damage it did against his shield, turned his head to see the meddlesome Guardian who previously injured him was gone. He shrugged, and resumed summoning his Oversoul.
"Again, everypony! Fire at Crota!" Rainbow yelled through her comm channel. Crota didn't seem to notice her speaking over the sound of his own Oversoul.
This seemed to shake her friends out of their stupor.
"B-but, the Oversoul..." Fluttershy managed to say. She didn't bother to conceal the fear in her voice.
They were running out of time. Her sword was blinking away faster, Crota's Oversoul was expanding to insane proportions, and Applejack's Ward of Dawn didn't seem like it would hold much longer.
Rainbow bit her lip in anticipation. "Just trust me!"
That seemed to be enough for her friends. All five mares diverted their gunfire from the Oversoul to Crota. Once more, Crota was haplessly bombarded by gunfire and rocket explosions. Just as it appeared he was going to fall to one knee and allow Rainbow to deliver the final blow, he did the unexpected.
He began rotating positions, sprinting straight toward the ledge upon which the four mares stood.
Rainbow's stomach dropped into the Void. This was the end, wasn't it? They had a good run, in the Raid and in their lives. They served the Light well in their time. She wondered if the other Guardians would notice they were gone. Would they send more Guardians to end Crota? Would they fail, just as Rainbow's and Eris's Fireteams had? What of the Speaker? Would she mourn the passing of her faithful student? And most importantly, Cayde owed Dash Glimmer from a bet he lost! How would he pay off his debt if the Hive fed on her Light for all of eternity?!
A certain unicorn Voidwalker heard the panicking among her Fireteam, and decided to assuage their fears. "We're not done," she said, silencing everypony.
Twilight held Black Hammer in her telekinesis and stuck her tongue out the side of her lips. "All we need is one...more..."
The singular bang of a sniper round echoed throughout the chasm. The round impacted the side of Crota's head. Crota fell to one knee halfway to the mares' location.
"...shot," Twilight finished. She looked around and located the "invisible" silhouette of their Swordbearer, who appeared to be hyperventilating. "Rainbow! Now's your chance!"
Rainbow looked up and straightened at the utterance of her name. She blanched as she saw that Crota was down.
'Horseapples.'
She grabbed the Relic, which seemed to be milliseconds from disappearing, and flew as fast as she could toward Crota. A meter away from Crota, Rainbow concentrated all her Light and strength into the Hive sword and swung the blade downwards.
Rainbow's mind registered many things within the one second that subsequently transpired. Applejack's shield fading, leaving her vulnerable to Hive Boomers. The Oversoul beginning to consume the chasm. Rainbow's invisibility wearing off, alerting the downed Crota to her presence. A loud dramatic gasp emanating from Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. The sword Relic, infused with the Light of its Bearer, making contact with the ground in front of Crota, creating a shockwave of Light before finally winking out of existence. Crota looking up at the tenacious Hunter and making eye contact, still unable to move or point. The shockwave consuming the Son of Oryx. The ensuing calamity, then silence.
Crota howled and writhed in pain as his body began completely dissociating in thin air. The entire Hive dimension shook with his death throes. Before the last vestiges of his corporeal body faded away, he pointed one more time at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow resisted the urge to shudder.
And with that, there was only life, and Crota was silent, and lived no more.
The Oversoul disappeared. The Boomers retreated, seeing no more reason to continue the fight now that their leader was dead. The four mares cheered, squealed, jumped, and hugged each other in happiness and elation, soon joined by Applejack.
Rainbow simply stood dumbstruck where Crota once was, processing everything that had just happened.
Then came the rewards, blinking and flashing on their HUDs.
Rainbow took one sidelong glance at her HUD, saw her rewards, went wide-eyed, gasped, and promptly fainted.
The rewards were met with mixed reactions from the five mares still on the ledge.
Twilight was the first to comment. She groaned, then resigned to a simple sigh. "Radiant Shards..." She looked over to her friends, who seemed to have had far better luck than she. The Voidwalker forced on a smile and asked her friends what they got.
"Crux of Crota. It could be worse," Fluttershy said optimistically. She swapped out Doctor Nope, and cradled her Eidolon Ally with a warm smile.
"Yee-haw! Thunderlord!" Applejack cheered before removing her Helm of Saint-14, tossing it up in the air and catching it.
Pinkie squee'd like a Guardian who just got her first Exotic. "No Land Beyond! What I've always wanted!"
Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack looked at Pinkie like she'd grown a second head.
"Say what now?" Applejack deadpanned.
Dismissing the fact that No Land Beyond was just plain bad, Twilight decided to give her friend the benefit of the doubt. "Primary 'sniper rifle', right? Didn't Xûr sell that gun, what, a week ago?" Twilight inquired.
Pinkie was undeterred. "Well, yeah. But I can give this to one of my alternate Guardians! Isn't that great?!"
Having no idea what Pinkie was talking about with "alternate Guardians", her friends just decided to nod to agree and change the topic.
"So, Rarity, what did you get?" Twilight asked.
"Word of Crota."
Seeing Rarity's lack of a reaction, Applejack spoke up. "Well, that's pretty darned good. A Void Primary! Don't need to worry about them pesky Minotaurs anymore, right?"
"Well, I suppose a Word of Crota is acceptable." Rarity said before her eyes began to sparkle with glee. "But I also got this lovely new Shader that I've always wanted! Why, I think I'll equip it right now!"
Everypony turned to Rarity to see that her Warlock robes were now colored a ludicrously bright shade of blue, even brighter than Rainbow Dash's coat. It was so bright that everypony averted their eyes and groaned in pain. Well, everypony except for Pinkie, who stared with wide eyes before even she began to feel the effects.
"My eyyyeees!" Pinkie wailed. Somehow, her irises were literally sizzling just by the sight of Rarity's newfound Glowhoo Shader.
Rarity just gave an offended "hmph" and tilted her head upward. Some ponies just couldn't appreciate good fashion, now could they?
Something just occurred to Twilight. Their Swordbearer! They had all been so caught up in their victory and their rewards that they forgot about the one who made it all possible. She spotted Rainbow Dash, who lay collapsed where Crota fell.
"Rainbow!" Twilight called out in concern as she galloped to her fallen friend. Her other friends followed her, concern and guilt written on their faces.
As soon as Twilight was close, she cringed slightly. Not only was Rainbow collapsed, the cyan pegasus was rocking back and forth in a fetal position.
After quickly checking the the Hunter for major injuries, to which Fluttershy and Twilight found none, they deduced that Rainbow was, and should be, fine. But what could it be?
The pegasus continued to rock back and forth while mouthing something. The mares could barely make out what she was mumbling.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh..."
The other mares shared unsure glances. Even Pinkie was nonplussed by the whole situation.
"Um... Dashie?" Pinkie said tentatively.
"Huh?" The pegasus looked up slightly, seemingly confused.
At the sight of Dash's semi-cohesion, Pinkie enveloped her friend in a bone-crushing bear hug.
"Oh, Dashie, I knew you were okay! At first I was like GASP! Dashie's invisibility wore off! And then that big meanie Crota gave you this stare like 'Once I get up, I'm gonna hurt you and your friends with my huge ominous-looking glowing green sword, and then I'm gonna point at you for good measure!' And then that big old Oversoul in the sky was like BWOOOOOOOOSH! The sky was literally falling! But then you were like, 'Over my dead Ghost!' I'm pretty sure your Ghost would have protested but it didn't. But anyway, you did this cool shockwave thingy with your sword right when it disappeared and Crota-"
Pinkie was interrupted by Applejack shoving a hoof in her mouth.
"We all know, Pinkie, we were there. And I think you should let 'Dashie' go, she's looking a little blue." Applejack removed her hoof with a chuckle.
Pinkie gave a sheepish grin, and released Rainbow from the death grip that would even make a Cabal Colossus suffocate. Immediately, Rainbow gasped for air as she turned back to her more natural shade of blue.
Once she seemed to be okay again, she received a much more gentle group hug, coupled with congratulations from each of her friends.
"Those were some textbook Swordbearer skills, Rainbow!"
"...I'm really glad you made it out okay."
"You. Were. AWESOME!"
"Simply phenomenal, Rainbow Dash! A bit rough around the edges, granted, but phenomenal nonetheless!"
"Partner, that was some great work back there!" Applejack leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "Teach me some of those sword skills sometime."
Instead of a confident smile or arrogant boasting, as they had expected from Rainbow Dash of all ponies, a vacant expression greeted them.
"Thanks."
Now that was legitimately concerning. Not a sign of gratitude, pride, happiness, or even acknowledgement. As soon as she said her thanks, Rainbow's attention returned to whatever made her collapse earlier.
"What's the matter, Rainbow?" Twilight asked.
"I...I got..."
Wait a minute...
The rewards! Rainbow must have gotten something horrible! And for all that she's done for the Fireteam! That must feel terrible, and it explains the strange behavior and her hesitance to talk about it!
'Luckily for Rainbow, she has friends that can cheer her up, and also a friend who can empathize with her!' Twilight thought to herself with a smile.
The Voidwalker put an armored hoof on her friend's shoulder, smiling jovially. "It's alright, Rainbow! I know exactly how you feel! I mean, Radiant Shards! Really, Crota?!" Twilight said in playful incredulity, making wild hoof gestures for emphasis.
Her voice took on a more serious tone. "But even though we got less than what we wanted to get, let's look on the bright side! We won, all thanks to the fastest Swordbearer in Equestria! We beat Crota! And when you take into account the bragging rights you now have over Cayde and the others, it's all worth it in the end. Right?"
"I got it..." Rainbow said dejectedly, looking like she was not listening to anything Twilight was saying.
Twilight didn't notice, and beamed. "Great! The sooner we can acknowledge these things and trudge on, the sooner we can get set on the road to recov-"
"I got it," Rainbow reiterated, more firmly.
"What?"
"I got it!" Rainbow said with realization, as if discovering some great abstract truth. Her face lit up in an excited grin that rivaled Pinkie Pie's trademark expression.
"What do you-"
"I GOT IT! I GOT THE GJALLARHORN!"
Twilight's jaw dropped, and she stood speechless, as did the other four Guardians in the chasm. Before they could inquire or comment further, Rainbow Dash took to the hellish sky, her Cloak and a prismatic contrail following behind her.
Moments later, a sonic rainboom lit up Crota's dimension, followed by deafening boom and Dash's victorious cheer, which seemed to be louder than Crota's howls of death.
"WOOHOO!"
Twilight winced. Wherever Oryx was, he probably heard that.
Author's Note
This was originally going to be a one-shot, but I just decided to post what I have, what with the upcoming Gjallarhorn nerf and all. As such, I'll try to finish this before the update.
Comments/constructive criticism are appreciated.
