"Who or what are you calling a 'game?'" Rainbow Dash side-strafed slowly, glaring at her opponent. "You've thrown my friends around and stuffed them into metal trash bags. So not cool."
"Fugitives and deserters..." The metal mare paced across the clearing opposite from Rainbow Dash. A red light strobed from beneath the equine's dark helmet. "Their bounties will barely buy me the mana stones to power my ship beyond the Xonan Highlands."
"If all of this is about bits, then why waste your time in a losing battle against me?"
"I am only prepared to win." The pony's voice hissed from beneath her clicking mouthpiece. "Even if I die, I'll drag you down so we can be judged by the Spark separately."
"And what's the Spark gonna say about your sorry flank being kicked?"
"It'll say that I was a brave warrior, worthy of the glory of Searo." The figure crouched, its armored joints glinting in the exposed sunlight. "And it will give me your carcass as a blanket to sleep in for eternity."
"Cute. But I'm afraid you're getting me mixed up with a pony who gives a flying feather."
"For the love of oats!" Phoenix shouted from above. "Stop talking to it and beat its skull in already!"
"Outfly it, Rainbow!" Crimson hollered. "No single pony can take on a Searonese bounty hunter one on one!"
"You've obviously not seen me in action!" Rainbow Dash shouted up high.
"And the breeder never will." The mare's suit opened up panels along its flank, exposing several miniature rockets glowing with blue manalight.
"Okay, those have got to be only for show—" Rainbow Dash pointed.
With gusts of steam, two rockets launched from the pony's armor and soared towards the pegasus.
Gritting her teeth, Rainbow Dash instanly propelled herself in a flying backflip. "Crudcrudcrudcrudcrud!"
"Rainbow!" Belle shrieked. "Move!"
"I'm moving! I'm moving!" Rainbow flew up, skirted the trunk of a tree, weaved over and around branches, and came about in a feather-ruffling somersault. All the while, the burning rockets violently trailed after her, filling the air with sparks and smoke.
Eagle Eye—still pinned to a tree—watched in quivering fear as the image of the targeted flier reflected off his glistening sight.
Rainbow Dash dove low, twirling over the ground and kicking up leaves. She looked down and past her. The rockets were gaining momentum, eating at her hooves. She looked ahead—
The metal mare was preparing a heavy swing of its front limbs.
Rainbow Dash gnashed her teeth, twirled past the bounty hunter's blow, and twirled about. "Haah!" She gripped the pony from behind, spun again, and suplexed her hard into the ground.
With a jumble of metal armor, the mare rolled backwards into the path of the rockets. However, she nimbly planted two hooves on the ground and kicked against the earth. The sight of her was consumed by a brilliant pair of exploding rockets. The surrounding trees and ruins echoed from the cacophonous eruption of flame and debris.
Rainbow Dash stood in a sweaty slump, panting. As the flames dissipated, she hung her head and exhaled with relief—
A pair of metal coils whipped through the trailing flames, ensnaring the pegasus' front and ear hooves. Gasping, Rainbow Dash left loose a voice-cracking shriek as she was pulled through the smoke and into her opponent's rising metal uppercut on the other side.
Grunting, Rainbow flew from the impact. Her blue body slammed into a wobbling tree just inches below where a familiar metal shield was embedded. She slumped to the ground, wincing. The leaves around her shook from a heavy series of hoofsteps. Rainbow Dash saw them, and she looked up—
"Grrrrkkk!" The metal mare was charging her with a sparkling taser at the end of her swinging forelimb.
Rainbow Dash scooted low. The bounty hunter's sparkling hoof slammed into the tree just inches above her flailing mane.
Rainbow slid low and bucked two hooves up into the pony's armored chest.
The mare stumbled, only to have its forward body gripped in a pair of blue forelimbs. Rainbow Dash rolled up behind her, held the pony from behind, and slammed her helmet repeatedly into the tree. "Don't. You. Hurt. My. Friends!"
Before Rainbow could smash her armored skull into the tree a sixth time, she opened the rocket panels in her flank, knocking the pegasus off her suit.
"Gaah!" Rainbow Dash stumbled backwards.
The metal mare spun and fired a rocket straight at Rainbow's prone body.
Rainbow saw the incoming projectile through the corner of her eye. She twitched. Holding her breath, she spun, dodged the rocket, and flicked her spectral tail up. Several prismatic strands caught the rocket like a lasso. Finishing her twirl, Rainbow Dash effortlessly flung the rocket back at her opponent with her tail. "Haah!" she grinned devilishly.
With an errant clicking noise from beneath her helmet, the bounty hunter dove awkwardly out of the way. The rocket flew over her and soared into the tree below the lodged shield.
The resulting explosion sent splinters flying everywhere. The dangling ponies above gasped in their swaying nets. Down below, Eagle Eye winced, flinching from waves of bark flying at him. Rainbow Dash's voice shouted something indiscernible. Squinting, Eagle gasped and his horn glowed. In a telekinetic burst, he caught his shield just milliseconds before the blast sent it sailing into his skull. He winced, staring sweatily at the levitating disc.
Rainbow Dash peered through the settling debris to see if he was alright Just then, the metal mare dove down through the smoke and gribbed her from behind. Rainbow Dash hissed and struggled. Straining through the attacker's metal limbs, she flashed Eagle Eye a pained expression.
He blinked back, nodded, and fired the shield her way with look of concentration.
Rainbow held her breath, flew her weight forward, and forced the mare's metal helmet into the path of the incoming shield.
The bounty hunter's skull rang like a giant bell. She stumbled off of Rainbow's shoulder, wobbling like a living tuning fork.
Rainbow wasn't finished. She caught Eagle Eye's shield in her teeth before it could hit the floor of Foxtaur. Spinning, whalloped the mare hard across the chest, across the flank, and two final times across the helmet—sending a vicious crack down its black surface.
The bounty hunter spun twice from the final blow and slumped back against the fallen tree, its entire body spasming beneath the armor.
Rainbow Dash collapsed on her haunches, struggling for breath as she clutched the shield to her blue chest. She tossed her mane back and glared across the settling battleground at her twitching opponent. "Well?" she raspily inquired. "You sick of this dance yet?"
The metal mare reached a trembling hoof up to her mouthpiece. With a hiss of steam and hydraulics, she removed the bottom half of her helmet. A series of metal plugs framed a mouth that spat blood out before smiling wickedly. "Sickness unto death..." Another puff of steam, and she stood up straight with a reinvigorated burst of red light through her armor. "If you make me vomit before breakfast, this will be a good day."
"Yeah, okay." Rainbow Dash gripped the disc in the crook of her hooves and flapped her wings. "You're going down before you can even think of talking again." In a burst of blue feathers, she sailed at her opponent, shield-first.
Ahh an update timed for my time. Kind of unfair fighting an unarmored pegasus in armor isnt it roarke?
This doesn't usually update this early in the morning, what's up with that?
Not that I'm complaining, of course.
Bio-chemical germ warfare. Wow, those metal mares seem to be very dedicated to Bushido Ru.
Hell yeah, Dashie! Give her the ol' one-two!
Insane action and epic Dasihe, so no push-ups this chapter, ):(.
I miiiight have to call shenanigans on that tail-missile trick.
Not quite a flawless victory.
2141183
Not that that one half of you would be complaining, but....
Oh, and good lord Roarke is sounding like the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
If there is to be one takeaway from this first bout, it's the effectiveness of teamwork. A microcosm of the story, in a sense. Also, damn, Dash is awesome.
This is going to be a very evenly matched fight.
And I don't think we've seen anything from Roarke yet.
Then again, neither have we seen Rainbow's odd power she draws from her pendant, either. Rainbow's gonna have to give it everything she's got if this fight is one for her to win.
1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGd2NtdnflY/UQ5C3j9bXOI/AAAAAAAAI9U/ErAkjFd5KBY/s1600/citizen-kane-clapping.jpg
Speechless
When will ponies learn? Fighting Dash in single combat does not end well. Ever. Armor or no, Dash will beat you.
2141183
I was thinking the same thing.
Nice to see Rainbow in a near-even fight, for once :P
Not that she isn't going to destroy Roarke, of course.
Well that certainly was just as awesome as I had hoped for. Good on ya Dash! You show Roarke that no heavily armoured battle-mare bounty hunter with heat seeking mana rockets, as well as metal tentacle things that ensnare their target, can show up a bright blue, rainbow-maned pegasus....
Yeah that does seem unfair...
Go Dash!
Onwards!
State of the art battlesuit < The power of Awesome
Rainbow Dash is here for 2 things: to kick flank and drink cider...
And she is all out of cider.
2142949
I could not have said it any better.
2140938YOYOYO.
I finally made it.
2141041
Never, ever fight fair. Fight to win.
Noooo Roarke, you've got this! I believe in you. More rockets! Just...fire more rockets!
This has got to be one of the best fight scenes I've ever read. And I read Matthew Reilly!
But, now that Dashie's got that shield, I feel that Roarke is kind of screwed.
2141220
I think Roarke is more like Steelhooves from Fallout: Equestria.
2141535
Unless you're a dragon matriarch.
This is Australia...
who-hoo! time for round two~!
2143387
She still lost her entire gold hoard, and she didn't even kill RD. Talk about a phyrric victory.
ironmare over here is going to die.
th05.deviantart.net/fs71/200H/f/2012/359/7/e/rainbow_dash_aka_captain_america_by_strannytsa-d5p3rw7.jpg
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So not too much going on in this chapter, save an awesomely described fight scene. Roarke seems to be right up there with Shell and Axan - she's one of the only beings who's ever matched Dash in a fight. I'll be interested to see what happens with her after she loses...Also, yeah, she just went after the Foxtaur group for some extra money. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Ooh, can't wait for the continuation of this!
I don't want to be that guy, but I did find a typo that threw me off:
I think that should be "rear" hooves, unless the powers of Austraeoh did indeed give Rainbow hooves for her ears, which isn't actually that unrealistic.
Rainbow Dash is worthy to me. Why wouldn't she be?
"ear hooves"
Don't laugh, it's a serious genetic disorder.
"Gribbing"
Gripping by the ribs?
And DAMN, that fight scene was awesome. EE is confirmed to be Captain America.
i wonder if roarke will become an ally if she wins or loses this fight..
Like I said: epic fight scene.
2141220
Tis but a flesh wound!
So I'm guessing eventual friendship between Dash and crazy tin-can mare is out? Doesn't matter, had awesome fight scene. I'm thinking if there's anything left of Roarke after this, and she doesn't run away to recuperate, she'll either pull a "I respect your power" and possibly join the ranks of the good guys (optimism) or she'll commit seppuku with a rocket.
Three more chapters to go! Onward!
And just where is the Steel Wing during all of this ruckus? Hovering nearby, waiting to pick off the winner? Seems like that'd be Shell's style.
Throughout this entire awesome fight scene, the only thing occupying my mind was 'Even the Searonese worship the Spark?'. There simply must have been a previous Austraeoh, there is no way a simple prophecy could create such a stir!
2161129 I want to see that mare dead. You have no idea how much I want to see that mare dead. I swear to whatever people swear to nowadays, I want to see that mare dead so hard.... NO! No befriending! No harmony, no makeups! Just oily blood and metal gore and Dash screaming heavy metal anthems over Roarke's remains 'til the end of all eternity!
2245646 Shell ordered them to wait until the smoke would clear away, if I recall it correctly. That being said, the smoke has been cleared away, now that you mention it. Yeah, you're right, just where is the Steel Wing?
>the metal mare dove down through the smoke and gribbed her from behind
Does that mean grabbing the ribs?
Awesome Dash! Taking on a metal mercenary with nothing but your bare hooves (and wings). Now to see it happen four more times.
3689526
I'm going to grib you.
Okay, that was some overkill on that rocket.
4759218
Now, see, this just ain't fair
an unarmored pegasus vs a mare with a million different upgrades
Roarke's gonna get a whooping
2144638 100 weeks and still no correction
a shame
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw8107-865.gif
Eeyup
I feel like this is dashies Mane by this point With the number of times she has a few short strands of hair sliced off by an attack of some sort.
fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/269/3/8/rainbow_dash_short_haircut_by_totallynotabronyfim-d5g0wme.png
they could use a Steelteeth right about now.
6001776
Welp ... I now know Dashie looks utterly adorable with a mohawk.
Damn, this is getting intense.
Also...breeder? That one sick philosophy.
8799927
Well paint my butt and call me Austraeoh, 'Spectral' is the adjective for spectrum!
So, Roarke, a bounty hunter with tons of different features and weapons, is up against a very mad Rainbow Dash.
Roarke has no chance.
Also, nice action scene, but I’m not entirely sure if Roarke is even a pony. She seems more metal than organic matter. So, I don’t know.
6974870
Dis she ever take shell's hat off?
10619297
she took his beret when they fought at blue shelf
finally someone who can match Rainbow in combat.