Stubbornness of Pain

Chapter 2: Blood Filled Clouds

Rainbow Dash leaned against the cave wall for balance for the first couple of seconds after she stood up from the water and just tried to gain enough air for her head to work clearly again. Twilight wandered around in the cave lost and confused and Applejack just stayed in the back.
“I... I can check outside for Pinkie Pie... she maybe only went just outside the cave or something.”
Applejack said with a shaky voice and slowly went towards the exit.
“All right but be careful... and stay close... I don't want another pony to go out and look for.”
Applejack nodded and wiped of her face just before she went outside in to the rain and disappeared shortly. Twilight then made her way up to Rainbow Dash and carefully parried her way through everything in the water disgusted.
“How do you feel?”
Twilight asked Rainbow Dash who was holding up a leg against her stomach that she feared that she had broken a rib inside. Luckily the pain was nothing than a past hit that remained from the Changeling and what she answered was.
“Horrible... I did just after all let of my anger that everypony hate so much.”
It looked like Twilight was going to say and add something quick but she for some reason stopped herself from doing so.

She just decide to stare deeply into Rainbow Dash's eyes quietly with her mouth half open and when Rainbow Dash notice she wouldn’t say anything she continued.
“And why do you even care... I am like you agreed to only useless!”
“Dash... don't be like that.”
Twilight then finally said a bit sad and tried to help Rainbow Dash to stand up on her own without the support from the wall, but Rainbow Dash immediately lightly pushed away the help from Twilight and said in a frustrated sigh.
“I'm fine.”
She went past Twilight limping but only for the first couple of steps away to the dead Changeling, she then stopped and poked warily on its corpse under the water and said with a tough face.
“This must be a scout or something... he must have heard me and Applejack fighting so I assume this is my fault too... they will be looking for him when he doesn’t return so this place won't be safe for very long.”
Twilight sighed in that she felt that there was nothing she could say or do to even out Rainbow Dash's mind, but in time Rainbow Dash calmed her feelings and looked over at Rarity's dead body and asked gloomy.
“What... are we going to do with Rarity?”
Twilight went up to Rainbow Dash but kept a distance from the Changeling, she also gazed upon Rarity's poor body and then answered.
“There is nothing we can do... we have to leave her here... Pinkie Pie can be in danger so we need to find her as quick as possibly... we can't afford to lose her too... but come now... we have to go with haste and see what Applejack found.”
“Agree.”
Rainbow Dash simply added and together with Twilight they went to the exit of the cave, Twilight went first and while she passed through the small path, Rainbow Dash turned around with her head and continued to stare at Rarity empty. The feeling inside her felt awkward and somewhat painful, just like her whole body was on fire and the flames ripped her flesh apart slowly.
“Are you coming Rainbow Dash?”
The voice from Twilight came from outside in the rain and broke Rainbow Dash free from her hypnosis.

Rainbow Dash looked in a twitch over to Twilight nervous which gave Twilight a concerned face for a moment, but Rainbow Dash then just answered calmly and also exited the cave.
“Yeah... yeah I’m coming.”
In the rain outside it was completely dark, night had fallen and it would be extremely difficult to manoeuvre in the forest. Applejack hadn’t found any trace of Pinkie Pie and the three of them decided fast that the only thing they could do now, was to wander deeper in to Everfree Forest and try to find a new shelter, get rested and continue to search tomorrow for Pinkie Pie. They did this time not find any similar place like the cave from before and the darkness would pretty much make it impossible to do so. But they did end up at the foot of a small mountain were there was nothing else to do than to make a cave, which with Twilight's magic wasn’t an obstacle. The cave she manage to create was small but enough for them three, they slept close to each other for the sake of warmth but during the night, nightmares haunted Rainbow Dash's mind. Shady but strong in their image, she pushed herself up from sleep and rushed out from the little cave Twilight had made and fell to the ground immediately. It was morning and the rain had stop but the sky was still ruled with dark clouds so the whole forest stood in grey shadows. Rainbow Dash was panting on the ground, filled with panic and somehow Applejack and Twilight didn't wake up by her burst from sleep.

She was laying there on the ground for a good while till she calmed herself and when she finally did, she didn't bother to go in to the cave again. She instead slowly pushed herself up sitting and just looked up in the sky with her heart still beating fast. For a good half hour Rainbow Dash tried to gather her mind together alone, but the amount of thoughts that was flying between Rainbow Dash's ears was too much to handle. Her heart never stopped beating in its quick rating, not until a voice from behind broke her free from the tormented fog her mind was bound to.
“Dash... is you already awake?”
Rainbow Dash looked behind her and saw how Applejack had exited the cave and went up to her with a bit surprised face. Nothing did Rainbow Dash say, she just watched Applejack confused like she didn't see her.
“Dash?”
Applejack repeated and what Rainbow Dash did was to turn back her head to the sky and leave her wings to Applejack and say.
“Yes... yes I got up early.”
Applejack turned her head a bit to the side in wondering and went up to Rainbow Dash, she sat down next to her and actually looked concerned while asking.
“What's wrong... you look awful?”
Rainbow Dash smiled in a small laugh and said quickly.
“Do you really need to ask what's wrong?”
“I'm sorry.”
Applejack added and looked down to the ground, Rainbow Dash's smile disappeared immediately in a sigh and then she said quietly.
“Don't be.”
A short while with no words passed till somepony broke the silence and that somepony was Applejack.
“So... why did you wake up so early?”
She asked and Rainbow Dash's answer contained only one word.
“Nightmares”
“Do you... want to talk about it?”
Applejack added and Rainbow Dash continued to only use one word in her sentence.
“No”

After that Applejack didn't know what to say, she felt how something was heavy on Rainbow Dash's mind and very much was she right, but Applejack's words wasn't required because Rainbow Dash actually decide to speak by herself.
“But... there is something else I want to do.”
“What's that?”
Applejack asked and Rainbow Dash just knew she wouldn’t like the answer.
“I... I need to leave you and Twilight alone for a while.”
“What?!”
Applejack said loudly and stood up in a jump, Twilight right after that also came out of the cave and she asked with a normal but tired voice right after a gasp.
“Morning everypony... hope it wasn't too much of a pain sleeping in my home made cave... I think I will expand it to the coming night.”
“Rainbow Dash is thinking in leaving us!”
Applejack shouted which made Twilight's eyes to grow bigger and raising her energy.
“What?!”
She also shouted out and hurried up next to Applejack and while she did so, Rainbow Dash too stood up and said.
“Just for a while... it’s not like I going to be away for weeks!”
“But what are you intended to do... and where are you going?”
Twilight asked and left both her and Applejack curious for an answer, Rainbow Dash sighed and left her whole body hanging.

She held her head low to the ground and shamefully she answered.
“I... I need some time alone... gathering my thoughts... maybe circle around the sky for a while.”
“But the search for Pinkie Pie then?”
Applejack added which only made Rainbow Dash shake lightly at her head and say.
“I don't think I will be too much of a help there... I will only slow you down in my current state... and regardless... you two will do just fine together alone for a while.”
“But...”
Applejack started to say but Twilight interrupt her with stepping forward and talk over Applejack in a sigh.
“Well... if you have to... then go... let us take care of finding Pinkie Pie... you join us when you feel you're ready.”
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash got surprised with Twilight's words, especially Rainbow Dash, she thought she was going to need struggling her way to convince Twilight.
“T-thanks.”
She after a while manage to get out of her and all Twilight did was nodding with a half-smile.
“I promise I will be back later today... you can bet on that!”
Rainbow Dash gratefully said and prepared to take off in to the air, but before that Twilight had one more thing to say.
“And Rainbow Dash... be careful.”
“HA... you say that to the fastest pony every existed... don't worry... I'm not going to lead an army of Changelings to you!”
Rainbow Dash proudly and with a cocky smiled said out loudly, both Twilight and Applejack pulled of a hopeless smile and just enjoyed to see Rainbow Dash as her usually state of mind.

Rainbow Dash then with no more time to spill took off in to the air in a small jump and left Applejack and Twilight behind her. Twilight and Applejack was quiet for a while as they watched Rainbow Dash disappear, but at one point Applejack couldn’t resist to ask.
“You do know where she is going... don't you?”
Without turning her head towards Applejack and just continue to watch Rainbow Dash, Twilight sighed once more concerned and then added.
“Yes... she is going to Cloudsdale.”
“Was it really wise to let her go?”
“Cloudsdale's fate is yet unknown... it’s her home... every piece of hope in her heart wants to believe it's still standing... I just hope she don't have to high expectation.”
Twilight answered Applejack and another short time passed with silence.
“I hope more for her returning in one piece.”
Applejack then said extremely quiet and Twilight simply added.
“Me too.”
They then watched together Rainbow Dash as she slowly reached the ceiling of dark clouds in the sky and disappear in to the distant. Rainbow Dash however didn’t look back, not even once, she knew very well that Twilight and Applejack was safe so far in to Everfree Forest as they were. They would do just fine together without her in the search of Pinkie Pie and in a additionally to that, Rainbow Dash needed some time alone and she did get plenty of that, because when she had been flying for a while she decided to fly through the clouds and stay above them.

It must been the best thing she ever done in her whole life because on the other side of the black smoke clouds, nothing than the pure blue sky was above her with the orange sun blinding her. It was like a new world that actually contained hope and beauty, the suns beam was warm and just by imagination it felt like her whole body became lighter and easier to fly, almost like she was floating without effort. Her mind finally felt relaxed but far from completely at peach. She was thinking a lot about Pinkie Pie, where she could be and why she in the name of Celestia would in the first place walk away on her own. But her Concern for Pinkie Pie thinned out when Cloudsdale appeared and started to be visible in the distance and Rainbow Dash just knew she had to be on her edge of her horseshoes, because Cloudsdale didn't rest in its former state. It was dark and gloomy but easiest thing to note was that it was empty. Not a single living creature was in sight or a single movement could be spotted and that in Rainbow Dash's eyes was a bad sign, it literally was in the same ruins as Ponyville. Rainbow Dash lowered her position in to the clouds under her for a better chance to approach Cloudsdale without being spotted, only her head was above the soft dark smoke that passed around her body as she was flying.

She landed on a discreet balcony, connected to a small structure and in the outskirts of Cloudsdale but enough for a view and to see most of the city.
It wasn’t a question about it, the city was dead silence but Rainbow Dash knew she wasn’t alone in it, she could possibly not be it. Queen Chrysalis would never have the city total abandoned by her Changelings, not with the chance of somepony maybe returning, like Rainbow Dash.
She circulated around the whole city but at a distance and in good cover. After a couple of hours with searching for something not even Rainbow Dash knew was, she landed at a roof of a large tower, connected to the archive building for another view of the currently dead city. Her home was destroyed, not because she believed that it still stood in its glory and in its blasting white ray from the clouds it was made of. But she still found it painful to witness its fall, there were no sign of a fight nor how long this place had been like this. With a great sorrow Rainbow Dash sighted while her eyes wanted to get wet by tears and just before she had time to spread her wings far apart and was just about to take of back to Twilight and Applejack, she heard something coming from inside the archive she stood on. Like a predator she immediately lowered her body to its surface and listened carefully, the sound she had heard was only one time but it sure was real and also by somepony. After a while Rainbow Dash straighten her body and stood up again, she started to think that it maybe was a survival but it could very well be a Changeling lurking inside as well. But just the feeling of a chance to find a living be that didn't want to rip her apart was so strong she couldn’t resist and if it now was a friendly creature she would never forgive herself to not have checked.

She flew down from the tower to the entrance and entered the archives through its giant gate, she right away ended up in an enormous hall with pillars at the sides and the floor shining like a mirror in its black, polished stone blocks. The hall was weakly light up and had a dark, creepy atmosphere to it and Rainbow Dash had to go to the other side of the hall to be able to gain access to the tower. She closed the gate behind her and with her head low and her gaze flying from right and left, Rainbow Dash worked her way forward tense. Finally at the other side there was a door that would lead up to the tower but the door wouldn’t budge and that for Rainbow Dash was sort of a positive sign. That would have meant that somepony maybe had looked themselves in for protection. Rainbow Dash tried again to open the door with her whole body strength but it was stuck solid, she turned around to the empty hall behind her and saw that alongside the walls through the giant room, sets of empty armours was standing posing and faced to the middle of the hall. Moving in the shadows, Rainbow Dash went closer to one of them and stopped right in front of it.
Its feature was magnificent and it really caught Rainbow Dash's eyes, but the thing that really had got her interest was the halberd it held between its jaws.

Its rod wasn’t longer than Rainbow Dash herself in height but its blade and hook was big and harsh, thin however for mobility and lastly its spear was extremely long but thin as a nail. The whole thing was made in shining silver and decorated in beautiful pattern and symbols.
Tenderly Rainbow Dash reached her head towards it and grabbed it in a bite in the middle of its rod the axe and spear was stuck to. Light as a feather was it but still heavy enough for giving out a strong punch. She carried it over to the locked door, pushed in its spear to the keyhole and then she jumped up on its long handle with her front hoofs and pushed brutally the whole thing down. The lock on the door just completely broke of and even fell of the door, all of its lose metal parts scattered all around her as it hit the shining floor and created a long echo through the hall. Rainbow Dash looked quickly behind her as the sound of the lock made her a bit jumpy, but when she saw that she was alone as she had been for the whole time, she turned back to the door that now stood open. She left the halberd on the floor carefully without a noise and then she walked up the stairs to the tower. Nervous was she for every step she took when she didn't know what to expect to find at the top. When the stairs then stopped and she then finally stood in front of the door to the inner archive, she swallowed her worry and tried to stand still and listen if she could hear anything on the other side. But even if she placed her head and her ear against the door it was dead silence. Uncertain, she at last decided to go in and just pushed in the door gently in a creaking sound. Prepared and tense was she the whole time, she just expected that someone would jump at her and tear the tissue of her face. But what she found inside to her relief was three young ponies that had crawled in to the corner of two bookshelves and was shaking in fear close to each other. In a enormous sigh Rainbow Dash's whole body fell from its harden stance and she couldn’t resist in giving away a small smile.

The three in the corner that was one light green and two dark blue pegasus ponies gave a similar reaction and just looked happily at Rainbow Dash.
“Thank Celestia.”
Rainbow Dash said while breathing out one time heavily and right after that one of the ponies next to the bookshelves burst out and said.
“Is it safe?!”
“The only living things I seen so far here are you three... but I highly doubt that we are the only one here because of that.”
Rainbow Dash answered which led that one of the other ponies immediately said.
“Then we should leave as quickly as possibly... we haven't dared to go outside by ourselves.”
“How long have you been here?”
Rainbow Dash asked as she went up to them and helped them one by one from their corner, one of the dark blue ponies which looked like to be sister to the other one and oldest of them three then said.
“We... we don't know... probably since this... nightmare started.”
“I guess then there is no use for us in to stay any longer here then.”
Rainbow Dash added and went back to the door that led to the staircase down, she turned her head around before she started to walk down and waited for one of the three to say something.
“Agree... do you think you can take us to a safe place?”
Rainbow Dash stood still for a while quiet and leered at the ceiling as she was thinking for herself.
“I... maybe know a place... but enough with that... let’s get away from this place while we can.”
No one of the three pegasus ponies disagreed with Rainbow Dash or said anything and just followed her down stairs close to her tail. When they reached the bottom and was heading their way to the main gate, one of the dark blue ponies asked in a whisper to the other one.
“Do... you think we’re going to make it?”
“Don't worry... we’re soon out of this.”
Said the other one and then the first one added immediately after.
“I'm scared.”
All of the suddenly Rainbow Dash stopped abruptly without a word that surprised everypony and the green one asked after a short while.
“Why are you stopping... is something wrong?”
“The gate... it's open.”
Rainbow Dash simply said which immediately got one of the others to add.
“So?”
Rainbow Dash turned her head gently a quarter back so she could she them with one eye and then she coldly said.
“I closed it when I got here.”

All three of the pegasus ponies behind her didn't really have time to process Rainbow Dash's words but her words wasn’t required for them to understand the situation they were in. Because behind the first pair of pillars from the gate, three Changelings appeared quietly and each of them had an amused facial expression.
“No... no.”
Said one of the ponies behind Rainbow Dash extremely frightened but before any panic broke lose, Rainbow Dash with her eyes stuck on to the Changeling said calm and clearly.
“Stay close to each other... and back of to the door we came from... slowly... and remember... stay behind me no matter what.”
The ponies on command did like Rainbow Dash said and slowly the fourth of them returned to the broken door, leading up to the tower. The Changelings spread themselves out to cover as much space as possibly through the hall and followed them all the way. Rainbow Dash didn't really know what to do and soon it would be too late to do anything, she literally had three lives that safety rested on her shoulders and she would not abandon them. If she was alone, Rainbow Dash knew she would have been able to outrun them but now when she wasn’t, she was clueless. A strong clang then all the suddenly sang through the hall and that was caused by Rainbow Dash steeping on something.

She looked down and there right in front of her hoofs, nothing else than the halberd that she had used to open the door was laying. Rainbow Dash looked in a twitch up at the Changelings and when she did that, they lost their disturbing smile and prepare their stance for an attack. She turned her head back to the ponies behind her and saw how incredibly scared and helpless they looked, she felt bad for them and really wanted to help them. Calmly she turned her head back to the Changelings and in a slow deep sigh, she picked up the halberd with her mouth. The eyes of the Changelings turned quickly from evil amusement to pure hate, but they weren’t the only ones, Rainbow Dash took a couple of steps towards them and her eyes as well were burning with rage. Like a duel they just stared at each other for a long time but then just like that, all three of the Changelings at the same time threw themselves back on their hind legs and roared out into the hall. Then one by on one they landed on all their four legs and rushed straight towards Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash too rushed forward to them as she wanted to increase the distance of the fight from them and the frightened ponies at the broken door. When they were in reach she did the only thing she could, she swept her halberd from one side to the other but she missed the first one when it reacted so quickly and dodged under the swing. It basically lowered itself down on to the smooth floor and maintained its speed forward sliding. Rainbow Dash had to let of her halberd because otherwise she would have got the first Changelings horn in her chest, but before that happen and before Rainbow Dash lost the halberd. Her swing hit the second Changeling that didn't have the same reaction as the first one and it was its hook on the backside of the halberd that landed in its head. It penetrated its right eye and went far into its skull, it died immediately as the brain got a fatal stab by the edge of the hook.

The silence and dead Changeling together with the halberd fell to the ground and to evade the thrust by the horn of the first one, Rainbow Dash had to jump up and fast get her wings moving. The sliding Changeling missed her as Rainbow Dash flew over him, she tried to get to the halberd again but she stilled had a third on its way and that now stood right over the dead one. She accidentally rammed him in the speed with her head, right in his jaw and because the Changelings have extremely hard skin, the impact was worst for Rainbow Dash. But she did manage to push away that Changeling to deal with him later at least, he landed on his back a couple of meters away from her but left her dizzy by the hit. Rainbow Dash still regardless her blurry vision got a new grip of the halberd with her mouth and pulled it lose from the dead skull it was stuck to, but she grabbed it to close to the blade for being able of swinging well. The first Changeling at this moment was literally right in front of the three helpless ponies when it finally had stopped along the floor, but it didn't care for them, it knew they wouldn't do anything so it immediately turned around and went for Rainbow Dash again. Rainbow Dash saw that but she couldn’t swing with the grip of the halberd she currently had and she couldn't ether change it to be lower. Luckily, combined with the already smooth stone floor and the blood from that had been pouring through the eye of the dead one during the cause of time, the Changeling slipped when it got close to her and lost control of its body. But even luckier, that Changeling was heading right towards Rainbow Dash with no control and all she could do was to stand still and let the Changeling go in to the blade of the halberd by itself. It did so too, the thin blade of the halberd landed right in the neck and Rainbow Dash got a giant explosion of blood right in her face.

She by the sudden feeling of warm blood covering her whole face released the halberd and closed her eyes harshly. The blade of the halberd got stuck deep into the Changelings body and with it fell backwards. Rainbow Dash got a bit shocked and didn't do anything for a moment but she then shortly realised that one more threat remained. She was intended to pick up the halberd again but instead she thought of quickly look behind her which was a big mistake. The first thing she saw was the last Changeling launch itself towards her and hit her back, its horn scratched a medium large wound on her left side under her wing. She made a short and light scream in pain and landed right in the blood covered floor. She didn't have any time to stand up when the Changeling immediately jumped up on her back and tried to bite her neck, she did however manage to turn her body around a bit and stop its head to reach her. They both desperately were fighting for the other ones death but Rainbow Dash had more to lose than it. She had three young ones that stared in silent panic at her.
They were like Twilight and Applejack back when she was about to be drown, paralysed in to every muscle and fear struck down on their confused minds. Rainbow Dash tried to reach the halberd a short distance from her as well as keeping the wild animal to Changeling at bay.

But it was in no use, the halberd was too far away and Rainbow Dash started to feel how her body was getting tired from the struggle. In the next second the Changeling snatched with extra power towards Rainbow Dash and it actually reached her, it bite her close to her collar bone and manage to tear of a small piece of her skin. The pain was burning and in that pain she lost even more strength, she started to whimper and the situation was getting more and more grim, but in a flash Rainbow Dash saw something that maybe could save her life. It was a long nail that had came from the lock she broke earlier and it was sitting right in front of her head in the pool of blood. The Changeling was literally at this point so close to her neck, so if it had stuck out its tongue from its mouth it had touched her skin. Its warm heavily breathing was down her whole neck but in the last second of a chance of surviving, Rainbow Dash shoved her muzzle in to the blood, grabbed the nail with her teeth and drove it right in to the Changelings temple. It died slowly with its every muscle to the cost of blood entering Rainbow Dash's mouth, it was more disgusting than anything else but well worth it for making her the one still standing.

She pushed of its body and without even a second to catch her breath, she jumped up on her hoofs, ripped of the halberd from the dead Changeling and said loudly with the halberd in her mouth.
“Come on!”
The three young ponies was still in a bit of a shock after all the blood, bodies and how Rainbow Dash now looked like. They didn't move at first and in the distance you could hear how things started to heat up. The same disturbing howling like at the road to Everfree Forest appeared in the air but luckily it was far away, but that wouldn't last forever, other Changelings in Cloudsdale must have heard these threes battle cry before attacking.
“Move!”
Rainbow Dash shouted again with a furious stomp in the blood she stood in and this time with frustrated and angry eyes. The three ponies did just like she said, but she was after all covered in blood, welding a weapon just as bloody as herself and having a fearsome face. The four of them left the enormous hall and took immediately off at the entrance up in the air. They flew low as long as they still was in Cloudsdale, but right after that they came out of the city they just concentrated in to increase the distance from it. It looked fine at first, Rainbow Dash was in the back and the three young ones were right in front of her.

But they didn't come far from Cloudsdale before they discovered that they were followed by a handful of Changelings. Rainbow Dash stopped and did her best to catch her breath, she looked back at the small group of bloodthirsty beasts coming directly at them and was awfully calm.
The other pegasus ponies also stopped to Rainbow Dash's surprising, she thought they would continue forward no matter what in their fear.
“What are you doing?!”
One of them screamed out in pure panic, the other two was just as frightened, almost like their hearts was about to explode in their ribcage.
“You three continue... I stay and keep them busy.”
Rainbow Dash replied with an extremely odd tone in her voice like everything was under control.
“You die... there is like seven of them... no way you can take on all of them!”
The green one exclaim sweating, Rainbow Dash didn't really listen to what she was saying, her eyes was to focus on the Changelings that was closing in on them.
“Look... if I don't stay we all are doomed... we can't outrun them... so what I want you three to do... is to fly in to the clouds under us... I know you won’t see a thing down there but just try to stick inside them till you're far away from here.”
Rainbow Dash explain and immediately when she was done the same green pony tried to say but was just as quick interrupted by a mad and impatient Rainbow Dash.
“But...”
“Listen... Get out of here... NOW... go to Everfree Forest and then... just so far away from everything as possibly... find somewhere safe... warn others... just... GO OR YOU WILL DIE!!!”
Rainbow Dash maybe scared them as much as the Changelings did in her screaming, but they finally did what she wanted, they turned away from her terrified and also crying every single one of them.

Rainbow Dash watched them as they flew away and later disappeared in to the clouds, she smiled in comfort and knowing that they were safe now, but she at the same time made a sigh and threw a glance behind her. They started to get really close and to be honest, Rainbow Dash didn't have a clue of what her chances were, to survive that is. But regardless of that, she licked clean the piece of the halberds rod that she had in her mouth from blood for some bizarre reason and after that, it was on. In a quick loop she turned around towards the Changeling and charged right at them.
Deep inside her, Rainbow Dash actually didn't want to, but she had to make sure they were not going to follow the others, she saw this as a opportunity to actually save somepony, something she had failed earlier at. Like a well-trained attack force, every single one of the Changelings that was coming towards Rainbow Dash, lowered their heads at the same time so their horns were like lances on prepared knights. They even made some sort of formation and in that, Rainbow Dash saw something that maybe would work, something that wouldn't end with her body parts scattered on their horns. She also pointed her halberd towards them as they did with their horns but she wasn’t going to stay in that position for very long. Her adrenalin was pumping through her body and the excitement she felt was overwhelming, she wasn't scared any more, the feeling of being cover in blood did something to her, something she wasn't sure in if it was good.

A little smile somehow even manage to reach Rainbow Dash's two corners of her mouth in the grip of the halberd and why she didn't know, she was pretty much rushing towards her death. Her little plan did however closing in to take its action and what she did was that just before she and the Changelings hit each other, Rainbow Dash used her advanced flying skills and did a extreme manoeuvre and pulled her whole body abruptly straight up in the air. She past just over all the Changelings head and every single one of them missed her, she did however in her quick move do a low wide swing and it actually hit one of the many beasts she passed by. She didn't know exactly what her hit did for kind of damage, but she quickly after that stopped and looked back. The Changelings was a bit surprised and didn't really know what just happened, they also stopped and from their little group, a lifeless Changeling fell straight down and disappeared in to the clouds.
Rainbow Dash looked amazed and couldn’t believe she managed to actually preform a fatal attack in such quick moment. But now came the part she not at all had been thinking on, all the rest of the Changeling turned around and gave her a brutal gaze, just before they attacked in their second round. This time they also learn from their mistake and spread them self out in a big half circle.
Rainbow Dash got completely surrounded and she didn't have the slightest of idea what to do now.
Every second that passed was devastating for her survival but it was still just like the world stood in slow motion. Every breath, every move felt slow and balanced like in a mediation, she saw how the end was close and how there was nothing she could do turn the event, but that didn't stop her from keeping resisting.

When the Changelings was in to her and just about to throw themselves at her, Rainbow Dash simply pulled in her wings and let herself fall down like a rock. The Changelings once more missed her and in that, Rainbow Dash managed to end another life. She immediately after she got away from the Changelings and let them bump in to each other above her, thrust her way back up again with a strong push from her wing and drove the spear head of the halberd in to one of the Changelings visibly chest. It screamed in pain but its voice quickly died out, Rainbow Dash pulled lose the halberd in one flexible motion and the bleeding beast lost its ability to fly and fell down through the dark clouds. But after that it was over for Rainbow Dash, like a swarm of bees they all dived on to her from every angle and in that they disarmed her. The halberd went flying in to a random direction spinning and now it was the Changelings turn to do some damage. Rainbow Dash tried to fight back but it was futile, she could at best keep two of them away from her and that wouldn’t cut it. One of them manage to jump up on her back and bite her at the base of her right wing, it tried to tear it off with violent moves but the bones and muscles it was made of was too strong to be teared apart. It did however leave a terribly open wound and a lot of pain for Rainbow Dash, but that wasn't it. The rest of the brutal group also tried to bite her almost were ever they could like at her neck and legs.

They also kicked her at the areas that were open of her body and soon, Rainbow Dash didn't know if she could handle any more pain. Like a lone wolf against the rest of the pack, Rainbow Dash tried desperate to resist her beating but it was all over when the one on her back changed its biting target. It let her wing go and instead drove its long and large fangs right in to the wound that was created close to her collar bone, there a piece of flesh was missing. In the sound of twitching muscles and nerves, Rainbow Dash screamed out her agony to the sky and made it be ruled by her strong voice.
But her scream got a rough end when she took a orderly kick right in the back of her head with all its power by a different Changeling. Her eyes rolled back and she lost her consciousness, like a dead object she fell to the ground that rested far down beyond the thick clouds, but only because of that the Changelings didn't stop. While Rainbow Dash was falling and before she passed through the clouds, all of the Changelings one by one rammed her over and over again. Their hard and almost rock solid skin scratched her entire body as well giving her more brutal wound by their horns. But when she finally reached the clouds it was over, they lost her immediately in its dense fog and left her be.

Rainbow Dash continued to cruise unknowing her way down to the ground and all she could she was darkness, but she was still alive somehow for some miraculous reason. Rainbow Dash herself however thought she was gone, preparing to pass over to the other side or whatever awaited after death. She heard a voice shouting her name in weak echoes in her head and that actually pulled her consciousness back to wake up.
“I am... dead?”
She asked tired and confused at the same time she slowly opened her twitching eyes. Rainbow Dash didn't notice right away where she was and that she was falling in an extremely high speed, but in time after have watched a landscape upside down, her mind got back in action. The voice she had heard was nothing else than the wind passing around her body in the speed she was going in and in a explosion of energy, Rainbow Dash exclaimed and turned her body in to flying position.
“What the?!”
She then spread her wings and was just about to grab the air with her feathers but then, the pain crept up on her. Her whole body was pretty much entire covered in wounds and blood, both from her and Changelings. Her right wing that one of the Changelings attempted to rip of was pulsating in a unbearable suffering, Rainbow Dash scream freely her pain in tears but at the same time she saw how she was closing in to the ground, fast.

She would never survive the impact in her current speed and had to even it out and the only thing that could do that, was her wings. Crying she looked back at her almost completely destroyed and bloody wing and in a reluctantly roar she spread them out anyway. The pain wanted Rainbow Dash to pass out again but it was ether pain or death. But regardless her will in to surviving, she could not manage to pull up as much as she wished to. The feeling her wing gave away was like it was about to break of from her back, but some altitude she actually was able to pull off and just in time.
She braked towards the ground that luckily was a big open field, she crashed in to the ground and tore up a wide line of grass and dirt till she finally stopped. Like a dead corpse she stayed right there she had landed and just tried to gather her strength, the pain from her body was now gone, she literally didn't feel a thing from numbness.
“Why...”
She started to say after a while and slowly turned over to her back and glanced up in to the cloud filled sky and then she continued to talk to herself.
“...why I'm I alive?”
A short moment passed with nothing else than silence and the beat of Rainbow Dash's heart resting inside her chest, but she saw then something in the sky that quickly blazed in a flash of light for a second.
Rainbow Dash looked carefully at it wondering and said in time tired.
“What's that... it almost looks like my...”
But before she could finish, her bloody halberd struck down in an incredible speed and shoved down its head to the ground right next to Rainbow Dash's head. Amazed but extremely tired she looked at its way it had stuck itself deep to the field she was on and then, finished of her sentence.
“...halberd.”
A small reflection of Rainbow Dash's face was visible in the halberds blood covered blade and all she decided to do was watching herself in a deep, heavy sigh. She couldn't believe how revolting she actually looked and quietly said to herself with sarcasm in another sigh.
“Great.”