Pony vs. Pony

Pony vs. Pony: Rainbow Dash Versus Applejack

"What. The. Buck. Did you just say to me?" Rainbow growled, her voice low and her eyes dark.
"Ah said," Applejack repeated "that Ah'm goin' to tell every pony in Ponyville what Ah heard coming from Twi's house yesterday, and show 'em the proof, you freakish filly-fooler!"
"How dare you! I thought you were my friend! I thought I could count on you!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her legs spread in defiance, mere inches from the face of her once friend
Yeah, Ah was, but Ah'm the Element of Honesty, sugar, and that means that Ah tell the truth!" Applejack emphasized by stamping a hoof on the ground. "An' that means that Ah tell you when I think what you're doin' with that mare is sick!"
Snap.
Before Applejack knew it was coming, Rainbow Dash's lightning fast hoof found Applejack's jaw, Rainbow roaring in a fury that would have even a dragon shaking in its scales.
Laid out flat on the ground, Applejack lifted her head to look her attacker in the eye.
"You really shouldn't a' done that, Rainbow." Applejack whispered darkly. "Now you've gone and pissed me off. Ah really hope you know what you're gettin' into." She finished, standing and turning on her heel and began to walk toward the barn.
"What are you afraid of, you bucking bigot?! Afraid I'll kick your country pony ass to next Tuesday?" Rainbow jeered after her.
Applejack grinned menacingly at the clueless Pegasus. "Not quite, Hun. Just grabbin' a little somethin'." she called back, disappearing behind the door as she rummaged in a pile of what sounded like metal.
When Applejack returned, she was wielding a sword. A Zwiehander as longer as she was tall, held in her hooves by magnetic hoof covers.
The awkward looking weapon appeared to be very old, the pattern etched into the blade vaguely resembling the branches of an apple tree. A green trim, miraculously preserved through the ages, outlined the branches, which all flowed toward the hilt, the handle of which was bound in worn leather from repeated use, ending in the pommel, which had set within it a flawless ruby shaped like an apple.
"This," Applejack explained, "Is the sword, Wingless, passed down from mah great-great-grandpappy, who was a warrior in the Pony Wars back when Equestria was still in disharmony. It was created for one purpose, and that purpose was to ground a Pegasus, to make them fight on our terms. Or to make it nice and simple for you, the magic that lets you fly no longer works." Applejack said, a grim expression washing over her face before setting her mouth into a determined line.
Applejack stood, battle-ready for the coming battle, taking on the determined stance her brother had taught her long ago, the sun glinting off of her similarly patterned gauntlets and armor, making the brilliant greens and reds in the light armor she wore shine all the brighter, the weightlessly forged steel glinting in the sunlight.
"Impressive," Rainbow Dash lightly commented, her expression remaining neutral, save for a raised eyebrow in consideration of her lightly armored foe. "but fortunately for me, your precious sword only stops the magic that makes me fly."
"That's the idea. And that's all that you've got. Even your weather magic doesn't work unless you're in contact with a cloud." AJ spat.
"True enough," Rainbow relented, a sly smile creeping over her lips. "but Pegasus have a magic that you don't know about." Rainbow said, her smile having grown into a deadly grin.
"And that would be?" Applejack queried, keeping her face neutral as beads of sweat grew on her back.
"Teleportation of inanimate objects." Rainbow revealed, raising her hoof to a previously unnoticed rain loud in the sparsely clouded country sky.
Suddenly, the white cloud flashed black, shortly before a bolt of lightning shot from within, striking Dash's outstretched hoof, blinding Applejack.
When she had finally cleared the spots from her eyes, AJ couldn't help but stare at the scene before her. Walking from within the crater created by Rainbow's teleportation magic, was Rainbow Dash, dressed and armed for battle, electricity snapping throughout her armor, glowing blue as it worked its way to the ground.
The armor, simple and light to be fair to her opponent, had no outstanding design other than the black lightning bolt pattern that traced its way from her gauntlets to the shinguards she wore, respectfully omitting a helmet and boots for an even match to the similarly armed Applejack.
Rainbow's weapon of choice glinted in its sheath, the shine refracting into the colors of her rainbow mane, clinking lightly against the Cloud Steel on her back.
Rainbow drew her sword, allowing Applejack a moment to marvel at the craftsmanship.
The single handed sword, styled after a classic broad sword, had a design as intricate as that of her opponent's.
The pommel was inlaid with a hollow crystal filled with liquid rainbow, shimmering it's colors through the facets of its container. The whole of the blade seemed to possess an aura that glowed with more colors than AJ had ever seen.
A dim blue glow caught Applejack's attention emanatimg from Rainbow's armored gloves, the one in contact with the blade glowing slightly brighter than the other. Applejack thought they were just magnetic like her own, until she noticed the glow: it was electricity. Crackling blue energy sparked between ridges on the gloves and between the sword, flowing into the weapon to give the white steel a dim blue glow.
"What a coincidence," Rainbow smiled. "my sword has a story too. It was given to me by Black Storm, the decendant of the greatest warrior ever to live in Cloudsdale. Meet Silver Lining. Legend has it he gets sharper the more I use him... Still wanna do this, or are you finally gonna back down?" Rainbow finished, a dangerous spark in her eyes.
"Hell yeah, Ah've been meanin' to set you straight fer a long time, but now with this..." Applejack glared at the right armored Pegasus. "All bets are off!" Applejack screamed, launching herself at her target.
Deftly avoided by Rainbow, Applejack turned with speed that rivaled Dash to block her counter, causing the Pegasus' arm to bounce back before she was ready, knocking her off balance.
Her blade pointed at the ground from the block, and wanting to take advantage of her opponents weakness, AJ wasted no time in smashing the mare with her upturned pommel, putting the weight of the weapon behind the strike, knocking the dazed Pegasus down.
As Rainbow's rattled mind still spun from the farm pony's powerful strike, she realized that she was swiftly coming down with a full force thrust to the spot where Rainbow still lay.
A wild swing of Rainbow's blade, which deflected the large blade was all that prevented Applejack's blade from skewering the dizzy mare on the spot.
As Applejack's blade buried into the ground, it stuck fast, giving Rainbow time to role away from the infamously strong legs that tried to kick at her ribs while withdrawing the weapon.
Regaining her sense of balance and coordination, and allowing her head time time stop spinning, Rainbow realized that her opponent was able to recover their weapon faster than expected, and was coming for another attack.
This time, Dash was ready, guarding with the base of the blade to put as much of her power into the block as possible, stopping the heavy blade dead in its tracks, and, bracing herself with one hoof set back, delivered a kick straight to Applejack's chest, causing her to grunt from the impact and take a half-step back before regaining her balance Inctime for Dash's flurry of high speed strikes.
The hits came so fast to Applejack that they felt like someone was simply pushing with all their might against her heavy sword, as she blocked each strike in turn, barely keeping up with Dash's strikes by watching only the angle of her wrist, the only thing moving slowly enough to be seen.
Suddenly, just as AJ was about begin to tire, a huge explosion blew the two warriors away from one another, a plethora of colors washing over Applejack upon landing.
"What in the hay was that?!" Applejack demanded, buying time while her ears stopped ringing.
"That, my dearest Applejack," Rainbow said, a devious sparkle in her eye, "was a Sonic Rainboom!"
"What? I thought that that could only happen while you were flyin'?" Applejack shouted in frustration, glancing at the area leveled around them.
"No, I just need to go fast enough." Rainbow bragged. "I used to need my wings, but now I can do it with any part of my body." this brought a smile to Rainbow's lips. "It means that you don't have a chance of winning. You may as well give up."
"Ah don't think so!" the powerful pony roared, coming at Rainbow with a renewed strength, furious that it was even suggested she'd give up with out a fight. Now it was really personal.
Rainbow had never seen her friend move so fast. Applejack was keeping up with Dash's strikes, blocking each while focused only on her eyes, a furious fire burning within.
When she saw Applejack rearing back to put her body weight behind her strike, Dash saw an opportunity for her secret weapon, and took it, her free hand clapping with her sword hand as she took the full force of the blow, allowing it to throw her back, while still staying on her feet.
"Now!" yelled the Rainbow Pegasus, clasping her sword with both hands, the contents of the hollow crystal clearly draining into the hilt.
Applejack barely registered Rainbow's words, until the sword began to glow brightly.
Obviously suspecting a trick, AJ's attack faltered, giving Rainbow the time she needed.
Pulling with all her might, the secret of Silver Lining was revealed: a second, ethereal looking blade that phased out out of the first, this blade looking like rainbow weaponized. The total width of the two swords was equal to that of the original, and while on looked like a thinner version, the other appeared as though the colors of the rainbow had been weaver into a blade.
"Now... With the help of Clear Day... It's time to DIE!" Rainbow screamed, a feral look in her eyes as she no longer fought with the blades, and it appeared the blades simply fought while her body danced behind them like flowing silk, a deadly dance of flashing steel, her mane and tail flowing behind her.
Applejack was exhausted now. More so than she had been in any work day. The long minutes of battle felt like hours, and after her emotions running so high, her reserves were dwindling. Rainbow did not seem to be tiring, and the sweat from Applejack's efforts was dripping out of her armor. She wasn't giving up, but she was definitely slowing down.
Rainbow was tired. Actually, she couldn't think of a word for how tired she was. She couldn't think at all. She could see AJ was slowing down, but she wasn't sure it was fast enough to keep from dropping from exhaustion. The Sonic Rainboom had taken a lot out of her, speeding her up as it may have done, and now she was regretting it. The sweat had matted her mane, and the only thing keeping it out of her eyes was her gyrating motions and high speed attacks. Someone was going to win, and they were going to win very soon.
Suddenly, Applejack dropped her blade. She had simply lost her grip, but with the blade went her will. She was done.
Rainbow stopped, her muscles screaming in pain, worked to breaking. AJ had dropped her blade, and now she could stop and rest. There were nicks and scrapes from close calls all over Applejack's exposed skin, but Rainbow's were worse. Though she was not hit nearly as many times, each hit had been made to count. She could feel blood in her chest plate where an especially hard hit had pierced rhe left side of her armor only to stop at the rib. Her ankle was sprained from the frantic kicking she had received while on the ground, and a cut on her cheek from when she had first been rushed. She wasn't nearly as fast as she thought she was.
Applejack was definitely happy that Rainbow had decided to let her live a while longer, but she couldn't understand why... That is until she noticed the trickle of blood making trails down her face and a red line on her leg armor.
Applejack wasn't in such good shape herself. She was exhausted, and so cut up by mostly superficial wounds that her cost was tinted a darker orange than normal.
"Well, are you gonna buckin' kill me, bitch? Cause Ah'm done. Ah can't fight no more." AJ said, finally letting her exhaustion show through, gasping for breath.
"Yeah, I think I just might." Rainbow said, walking to just outside of Applejack's range, in case she had more strength than she was letting on.
"You know, you could just.... Let it go. We can walk away from here, and no pony needs to know. You can leave me and Twilight alone, and you can just go home. " Rainbow sighed. As insanely angry as she was, she knew the pony would be honest and tell her what she needed to hear, one way or another.
"No." the powerful pony whispered. "If Ah do that, that would be me acceptin' what you do, and Ah don't. Ah can't, in any fashion, justify just lettin' go. Ah'm sorry Rainbow, but it's not gonna go down like that. You knew that from the start."
"Yeah, I did," Rainbow snarled, "I also know that I'm not gonna kill you. Not here, not now. You're in no condition to go anywhere for a while, so I figure that I can at least wait around for a day or two to see if you won't change your mind." Dash answered, turning her back to walk away from the paralyzed opponent still bleeding into her armor.
Without warning, in one smooth motion, Applejack got to her feet in one last push, tightened her muscles, and lunged at her target, screaming like a wild beast.
In a motion too fast for either to react, Rainbow whipped around and threw Silver Lining into the charging mare's windpipe, stopping her breathing and her charge.
Before she could even slow down from her rushing attack, Rainbow tackled AJ, ripping out the blade, which had miraculously not hit either of the main blood vessels.
"God. Damn. It. Why. Did. You. Have. To. Be. So. Bucking. Stubborn?!" Rainbow screamed in rage, punctuation each word with a thrust into AJ.
Standing up, Rainbow walked silently to the farmhouse where the family wasn't. It was their vacation this week. AJ had promised to take care of the farm while her folks were away.
Cleaning her wounds with her shaking, now unarmored hooves, she began to dress her cuts and bruises. She then proceeded to clean up the mess.
She went to another town. She wanted to start a life of her own. She wanted a different life. All of these were the different explanations that Rainbow had thought up to explain AJ's disappearance. She'd decide later. She had a funeral to go to.

The End

Author's Note: Wow, that took on a whole lot darker tone than I though it would. I honestly though I would be able to stick to the script I'd come up with. I believed that I could keep it as a straight up fight, but that pre-fight simply evolved on its own. Afte that, the story literally took on its own life and grew all on its own. It's not what I expected, but I'll stand by it. This is mine, no matter how you look at it. I'll use this as my case in point when I say that you shouldn't make sacrifices for the reader. Don't censor yourself for the weak stomached ones. This is my real message to you guys.
Sorry about the emotion there guys, but I felt all of that. I really do want you guys to never hold back in your writings, and never not write it just because someone else has done it doesn't mean you can't do it too.
Now that the sad bits are handled, here's what some of my thoughts were while writing this fic, as far as concepts go.
As I felt the whole fight was very one sided in favor of Rainbow Dash's generic rendition how she is in the show, I decided to just blow it out of proportion with the some of the weapons designs that popped into my head reading Crimson Night, deciding that if Hasbrohoof had given a very Soul Caliber feel to his Celestia vs Luna fight, I felt I was well within my creative rights to do the same, however with a crazy twist of magic. I gave the two characters the insane weapons I'd designed, converted Dash's Sonic Rainboom into something a little more combat related, and went from there. And for those not familiar with weapon terminology, a Zweihander is a large, two handed sword, the design in my head of which took after the Zweihander held by Nightmare in Soul Caliber in terms of size, though not much else... The most difficult thing, I have to say, was giving appropriate names to the weapons. Yes, I know Clear Day was kinda lame for the rainbow sword, but two things played into the choice. It had to compliment the name Silver Lining, and it was 1 in the morning. I haven't stopped writing since I started this thing. I have literally been writing for the past four and a half hours since nine. Ugh, I sooooo need to sleep now, but this has been fun. I havent been this inspired since a year ago when I wrote the first two pages over two hours of a story that simply appeared in my head that night. This was REALLY FUN.

P.S. believe it or not, this is my first venture into melee combat, or at least with weapons, and my second otherwise. I really hope that the battle and the descriptions were as awesome as they were in my head, and I hope yu enjoyed the weapons just as much as I did, what with my probable fetish for any variety of weapons. But there is something admittedly different about hand to hand. It has a flow and poetry to it that I simply find difficult to do with bows and guns or magic. It is a very intimate variety of combat that can be easily filled with emotion and suspense, or at least that's what I feel while writing.
Also, to Hasbrohoof, I thank you for giving me at least the opportunity to write this and taking my publishing virginity. Hahahahaha. I don't know if I can do this kind of work consistently, but I sure hope so! Thank you again for giving me permission to mess around with your idea and do my thing.