Rainbow's Wrath

Rainbow's Wrath

Part 1: Suffering

Chapter 6: Confessions of a Mask

Staring down at her shattered friend, dark clouds storming with lightning above and the area surrounded by pools of lava, Applejack raised her hand in the air and it began to glow blue with aura. "I reckon this is for your own good sugar cube." Rainbow Dash growled and flapped her wings once hard to push her off her ground and to her feet, shocking Applejack. "So you can still stand eh?"

Sparks popped from Rainbow's arm stumps as she panted, glaring at her friend. "Applejack… So you can see me huh? Is that some sort of ninja technique that lets you see through that scarf you use like a mask?"

Applejack stood there unfazed, and ignored her question. "Why have you come back?" Rainbow growled and ran forward. AJ chopper her in her side of her head with her left hand, spinning around to deliver an aura enhanced underhand chop with her right that sent Rainbow back. She easily caught herself though and slid to a stop. She ran back over and slammed her left knee into the country pony, breaking her guard with her arms. She then slammed her right knee into her chest, and while she was taken aback by this she slammed her forehead into Applejack. As she went for a kick, AJ grabbed her ankle and said, "Do you wish to clear your name, you two timing pole cat?" A blue aura katana appears in her right hand and she swings underhand at Dash, he pulls her foot free and dodges. "Avenge your husband?" AJ karate chopped Rainbow in the head downward, and as her face got close to the floor AJ kicked her in it and sent her bouncing backwards across the ground. "Take back your daughter?

Rainbow Dash throws herself at her friend and sister, slamming her foot into her gut. Apple gasps and teleports to Rainbow's side, throwing a swing at her which Rainbow dodges under. "It's pointless to resist! You lost twelve thousand years ago! That was your fate, leave it at that!"

The tomboy ignores her friend as she slams her head into her gut, costing her more breath. She then leaps up in time to dodge a double karate chop, and lands behind AJ. She proceeds to alternate feet as she mercilessly kicks the country pony in the butt, making her stumble forward with a confused blush. "Even without arms I can easily 'kick your butt'!"

Fed up, Applejack twists around for a kick, and her leg meets Rainbow's. "There's no longer a place for you in this world!" She throws her other foot straight up into her opponents chin, sending Dash straight up into the air. The pegasus caught herself and dive bombed, her forehead meeting the earth ponies, both unmoving as they growled at each other. "Do you realize Derpy wasted hundreds of millions of souls just to fight you? No, I suppose not. You're not familiar with our way of life. Because of this, your existence threatens everything we have worked for!" Rainbow Dash reared back and round house kicked Applejack to the face knocking her off her feet, and then stomping her feet into the ground and bending her body back, she slammed her forehead into Applejack and sent her flipping and rolling backwards this time. She teleported behind Dash and held an aura blade to her neck as she grabbed her. "You're an evil that will throw our world into chaos!"

Rainbow Dash reached her foot behind Applejack's legs and swept them before twisting around and giving her a good punt as she fell sideways. AJ caught herself though and slid to a stop, standing straight and folding her arms as she took a deep breath. Dash ran over and slammed a foot into her stomach, but her foot met abs of steel and her leg twitched as she looked at the unfazed earth pony.  Dash flipped back off her chest, and then began to deliver kicks left and right, which Applejack sidestepped easily as she backed away. She jumped into the air to bring her forehead down on her opponent, but the orange pony smirked and slid to the side to avoid Rainbow's blow. Her foot slid against the ground as she quickly twisted around and leapt towards AJ with an upturned knee and cried, "Liar!"

Applejack moved to the side again, and watched as Rainbow Dash stumbled forward and fell flat on her face. "Pathetic. Look at you. You can't hurt me."

Twisting around to face her cocky foe, Rainbow growled and shouted, "I'll rip that scarf you use like a mask off-" She spread her legs and dashed forward with a leg reared back. "-your arrogant face!" She did a quick spin for momentum, and her heel met the side of Applejack's face so hard you could hear bones cracking in her jaw.

Applejack kept her arms crossed as she muttered, "Your attacks aren't worth avoiding." She grabbed Rainbow's leg, and threw her in the air spinning. When she came back down, she slammed her elbow with some aura backing it up into the annoyed pegasus, knocking the wind out of her as she slid backwards across the ground on her butt. She tried to get back on her feet, but wobbled and fell to her knees. Applejack charged aura in her hand again, and almost seemed to float over she moved so fast. But Dash fell back, grabbing her with her legs and pulling her to the ground, AJ's attack hitting the air by her head. Rainbow Dash pressed her forehead against her friend's with a smirk before stomping her in the gut to send her flying off her. Applejack landed safely on the ground and said, "You won't interfere partner!"

"Speak sense!" Rainbow took to the air and threw a few kicks around, showing off a little before she dive bombed both feet into Applejack hard enough to make her hit the ground and bounce off it.

As she gasped for air from the blow, Applejack managed to mutter, "Things have changed!"

Rainbow Dash juggled her forward on her knees and said, "Nothing has changed!" She twirled and kicked AJ away, who teleported to redirect herself at Dash.

Both her hands glowed with blue aura as she brought them in for scissor chop to the fallen friend's chest. Even after slamming them into her she pushed her back and said, "How would you, the fallen, know?" She stopped and kicked Rainbow with aura in her feet, knocking the girl off her own before spin kicking her away.

Rainbow rolled to her feet and ran back relentless. "I'll kill you!"

"Death didn't teach you anything!" The undersides of her wrists popped open, and she laid her hand flat aiming it at Rainbow Dash. A curved ki wave flew from the compartment, immediately growing as big as her as it flew forward past her hand. She fired off several of these like shuriken, watching as Rainbow jumped, hovered, and ran between the rapid fire ki. Her fist glowed with aura, as the two of them ran towards each other, kicking, punching, and head-butting each other as the danced about each other's attacks furiously. Rainbow Dash flew far away from Applejack, before landing with a sprint, gaining a running start before she kicked her in her side. AJ took a deep breath and endured the blow, watching Rainbow leg twitched as it once again met steel like abs. "You're only doing harm to yourself sugar cube." She grips Rainbow's ankle and lifts her in the air, roaring as she charged her palm with aura, and bitch slapped Dash hard enough to make her fly back and skid across the ground on her head. "Enough. We are bringing salvation to Equestria, and all of Gaea. There's nothing you can do." Rainbow Dash leapt to her feet, panting as she glared at Applejack. Applejack tips her hat and goes on to say, "As priestess, Zap Apple has dedicated herself to the salvation of our world. You should be proud."

"What did you say?" Rainbow's eye twitched as she stared at the floor. "Be proud… of Zap Apple suffering?!"

Applejack walked towards her and said, "Yes, and I'll say it again! Your daughter is devoted to the cause in order to save the world!"

"Who do you think you are?!"

Applejack crossed her arms and coldly stated, "God."

Rainbow's entire body trembled with anger. She stomped her foot into the ground hard enough to kick up the dirt, and flew towards her Applejack screaming her name loudly.

"What the hay?" Applejack stated as Rainbow Dash flew forward too fast for her to react, her forehead meeting the oncoming pony's as she was pushed back a little from the blow. Her eyes widened from under the mask as she realized Dash has focused aura in her forehead, and as it was let loose in the blow shooting through Applejacks face and kicking up dirt and lava alike behind her before crashing into a rock and making it explode, a shockwave erupted around the from the attack. Applejack flew back, letting Rainbow fall to the ground still sliding forward, and the cowboy ninja's scarf gently fell to the floor before her. Applejack slid to a halt, using a hand to help slow her down.

She slowly looked up at her friend with eyes filled with sorrow and pain. Rainbow Dash grinned with one eye clenched shut and said, "You're as ugly as ever."

"So is your temper. But…" Applejack slowly walked back over, Rainbow wiggling and shifting up to her knees. "…before the cause…." She raised her hand high charged with blue aura, finally ready to do what she meant to from the start of the fight. As she sliced her hand straight down the middle of Rainbow Dash she yelled, "It's meaningless!" Aura exploded from the ground like a geyser in a straight line behind Rainbow Dash, cracking the land in half and exposing the lava beneath it. Rainbow Dash cried out in pain, gargling a little before she fell flat to the ground. As the ground shattered and broke around them, the part Rainbow laid upon broke and floated away across the lava as well. Applejack watched this and muttered, "Don't come back again." Rainbow's junk of land was weighed down by her, and sank into the lava, taking Rainbow with it. Applejack stared down at her scarf, and kneeled down to pick it up, watching her friend sink before she tied it back over her sorrow filled eyes. "Witness the salvation of our world from the depths of Limbo.

She turned around and took a few steps away, before leaping off into the distance. Rainbow felt her world go black as she slowly floated downwards, into the abyss.

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Applejack slowly walked into the chamber where Zap Apple was kept asleep in her crystal prison. She stopped and stood there a moment. "This will be the second time we've taken your mother from you, won't it? When this is all over, you have the right to take my life. And I'll accept death gladly. But for now, you'll have to wait."

She looked around at the chamber that flowed with mantra, channeled by her. "This is the only way. We need your power. The world needs it. Heartless is constantly unleashing Blanks upon the world. If we don't have Mantra to fight against them, there isn't any hope for civilization. Your power to amplify mantra is our sword and shield sugar cube. We can't bring salvation to our world without you."

She turned away with a strained sigh. "Rainbow Dash… Why do you choose not to listen to reason? Zap Apple is essential to the cause. Once we defeat Heartless, Zap Apple and the world will be saved. Stubborn fool…" A tear fell from under her scarf as she walked away.

END PART 1: SUFFERING