Pinkie jumped out of the way just as a raging bull was rushing past her. She gasped as she barreled out of the way, the encounter being one that was far too close than it ever should've been. She kept at it though, her persistence not letting up in the slightest as she began goading the beast into charging at her a second time.
The fans were left awestruck and gaping at the narrow escape she had just made, many of them cheered and applauded at her actions. Pinkie turned towards her audience and adoring fans, letting off a big smile as she waved back at them. They were the one thing that made her want to get up and face a brand new day.
It was quite a long road that ended up bringing her to this point, and it was an even longer one to how she achieved her now prominent title: Pinkie Pie, the great bull tamer. Behind the scenes, many ponies often spoke of her in whispers, afraid to be caught in the awe of just hearing the name altogether. It was not just because of who she was the brought amazement into their hearts and minds, but of her great skills that were passed down from generation to generation.
Fighting Fever, her father and teacher, was as equally as famous as she was. He taught her everything there was to know about bullfighting from the utmost basics, to the most advanced of maneuvers... but alas, he'd soon met an untimely end dying the way he'd lived; against a bull that has already defeated her family's great heritage for a multitude of generations.
La Furia Negro. The Black Fury... he was feared for his unrelenting rage and unchallenged strength. Many had tried to take up the challenge of taming the mighty beast, but many had failed, some narrowly escaping with their lives in the process.
...But Pinkie was going to change that, she was going to defeat it. Fueled by the determination of avenging her father's death and defeat, the bull would stand no chance against her.
Pinkie turned her attention back to the bull, who was recovering from its charge; La Furia Negro was furious. Pinkie grinned at the mighty beast as the two locked eyes. She enjoyed the rush that came with the bull missing her by mere inches, of the wind against her face when she'd run, and of her iconic red cape held in her mouth. With a deft piece of hoofwork passed down to her from her father, she'd be out of its way in an instant, aggravating it even more, and providing a show for her wonderful audience.
"Give me all you've got!" she yelled as La Furia Negro huffed heavily back at her. From where she was, she could hear the mighty beast's long and heavy breaths.
It was getting tired, and that was a good thing. No bull can fight without the energy to do so. However, the downside was that she felt as equally exhausted as the bull looked, sweat dribbling down her face like sap does with a wounded tree. But she wouldn't let her exhaustion slow her down, she had a score to settle with it.
Pinkie shook herself out of her thoughts, now realizing that the bull was stampeding across the dirt towards her. She reminded herself that there was still an audience watching, so simply just stepping out of the way wouldn't cut it for them. She'd have to show them a bit of that flair to admire.
Pinkie waited until the bull was within hooved reach and jerked her cape upwards, effectively throwing it over the bulls head. La Furia Negro was caught off gaurd from the sudden move and thrashed around her cape, trying to break free before ripping a piece of the silky material off and running to the end of the ring where they were fighting. The cape that was torn off was now impaled on his horn.
“Hey!” Pinkie yelled at the bull, her anger almost matching the beast’s. La Furia Negro simply huffed, smoke flaring out of his nostrils as he scraped a hoof against the dirt before setting out on another charge. Pinkie was ready for it though, and had already planned her next move.
Right before the bull could slam into her, she hopped out of its path a couple seconds ahead of time and waved her now ripped cape into the air, distracting the bull and causing it to tumble past her.
The crowd roared with laughter as they watched the bull stagger to correct itself in its path. He only got more furious with the humiliation he was exposed, renewing him with a newly found source of energy and rage.
The crowds laughter only made the bull angrier when he got up from the ground.
Wiping some sweat forming at her brow, Pinkie watched on as the bull locked its fierce gaze upon her, readying itself for another pass against her. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves, letting the cape sit against her sides as she waited for him to strike. She'd have only one shot at getting out of the way, for simply trying to distract him was well out of the question now.
The bull set out once again at the mare, aiming for her center-mass as she lazily watched on.
The audience watched with bated breaths as the bull drew near.
A step; a stagger. The bull nailed her in the stomach, sending her flying overhead and landing in a heap in his wake. The crowd fell silent as the great mare lie fallen in the dirt, seemingly meeting the same fate as her father.
Ponies dressed as clowns immediately rushed into the ring, distracting the bull as the medical personnel mobilized to get the fallen bullfighter out of there. They went as fast as they could, using what time was provided by the rodeo clowns as they rushed to the fallen mare's side, attempting to get her out of there.
Not even a moment after they began peeling her off the ground, the bull came at them, sending the bullfighter sailing through the air once more, and slamming into two medical personnel.
There was a stabbing pain in Pinkie's back as she lie against the dirt. Stars flooded her vision as she was beginning to realize she was experiencing a concussion. With her eyes growing heavy from all the trauma she experienced, a deep voice spoke in her mind, pulling her back from the brink.
"Don't give up my hija," the voice said. "I believe that you can beat La Furia Negro."
"Papa?" Pinkie thought back, recognizing the voice, "is this truly you?"
"Yes, Pinkie. I've been watching you since the day of my defeat, I know you can beat him. Avenge me my hija, avenge your family's defeat against this bull. I know you can do it," the voice spoke, each word growing louder as though commanding her.
"Yes, Papa." Forcing herself back into the conscious world, her eyes snapped open. Her once weary and defeated gaze had been replaced, a deep fire now burning brightly behind it as she pulled herself up from the dirt.
Her eyes darted from every corner of the cage, seeing the many rodeo clowns and medical personnel pausing as they stared back at her. Her gaze settled on the bull near an unconscious rodeo clown, who, by now, was staring back at her.
His eyes were filled with pure fury and malice, now dead set on making her his primary target. With a quick scrape of the hoof, it was on.
Pinkie smiled as the bull came for its final charge.
What she did next was something no bullfighter would've ever dreamt of. Most thought it was crazy or downright suicidal, others said that there was so much that could go wrong... nopony dared to do it. Nopony.
With the bull closing the distance at an alarming rate, it was her turn to start running at it. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as, when she was close enough, she fell to the ground, sliding under the bull and completely dodging its charge.
She grabbed the bull's tail as it came into view, hoisting herself onto the mighty beast's back using her momentum. La Furia Negro started thrashing wildly about as she held on for dear life, the bull making multiple attempts at ridding of its rider.
After what only seemed like a blink of an eye to her, but perhaps longer, it was over. The bull fell to the ground in a heap, now completely exhausted of its energy.
She had done it.
The mighty La Furia Negro, killer of bullfighters, lie defeated. Defeated by the hooves of Pinkamena Diane Pie, daughter of one of the greatest bullfighters in history.
Pinkie herself was exhausted as well as she rolled away from the beast and settled on her back, looking to the sky. She closed her eyes and drifted to a very welcome sleep. She could hear the fans scream her name in the distance. Pinkie smiled, she liked making other ponies happy.
With the last vestige of her energy now expended, she fell off the beast's back and rolled onto her back, now staring up at the clear and sunny sky. She felt the welcoming embrace of sleep begin to overtake her. She didn't fight, not this time.
"Thank you, father."
Author's Note
Hey everybody! VX here.
Hoped you like this story here. I will try to make more "shorts" in the future!
"Black Fury" was pre-read by a very talented Sprite.
