The Most Dangerous Game for Rainbow Dash
This is my first fanfiction I've written. It is based on the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic universe and Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game". I would really appreciate any constructive criticism, notes on any grammar errors there were, and tips on how the characters interact. Also you can ask me anything in the comments section or just personal message me. With that stated, I hope everyone who reads this enjoys it and has a nice day. Without further ado, I give you...
The Most Dangerous Game for Rainbow Dash
"You know it's late out, right Twilight?" Rainbow Dash inquired, walking onto the balcony her friend is occupying. She leaned her cyan body against the railing as she began to study her friend. "What are you doing out here anyway?"
"Yeah I know, I was just wondering if I could catch a glimpse of the famed 'Cast Off Island'," Twilight stated as she peered into the darkness, trying to find even a shudder of the island. The night relinquished nothing for the violet mare to judge. "the charts listed it as non accessible. The ship crew seems to be a little anxious to get away from that island as soon as possible. Apparently there is a bit of superstition surrounding the island. I don't--"
"You do realize that it's completely black out here right?" Rainbow Dash interrupted. The rainbow maned Pegasus was more that confused by what Twilight had said but didn't feel like questioning. She didn't really care either. The night wasn't as black as she had made it out to be, the stars in the night sky and the beautiful moon Princess Luna rose every night illuminated the night. Dash didn't comment on the beauty of the night but only stated that there weren't any islands in sight or at least that's what she meant.
"Yes, and as I was saying I don't know why all these rough and tough sailor ponies are so frightened by an island." Twilight replied. "I've asked around but no one knows why or they aren't telling me. I looked in all the books I brought with me but there is nothing on the island and all the maps here either don't have any information or have it as not listed, uncharted area." Dash glanced at her friend only to find that her gaze was still fixed upon the dark, moonlit horizon. Twilight was determined to find even the slightest clue of the islands existence.
"Well don't fret Twilight, it's not like we are going to that island any time soon." RD stated trying to coax her purple maned friend out of her trance like condition. The ocean and night sky still appeared bare, though Dash found herself looking. Not too intently, but nonetheless she looked.
"Yeah I guess you're right. I just wish I could have at least seen it on this trip. Well, I guess I'm going to get some sleep. We have a very important day tomorrow, you know." Twilight said before breaking her stare and walking into the hallway outside the balcony. "Good night Rainbow Dash." She said from down the hall.
"I'm gonna stay out here and enjoy the nice weather for a while. You have a good night Twilight." Rainbow Dash told Twilight as her friend left the room. The Pegasus pony felt the wind brush through her mane. The salty sea air filled the atmosphere. She rested down in a chair on the balcony. Its padding and cushioned seat made it all the more enjoyable. She could have stayed out there all night.
After about ten minutes of utter silence and relaxation for Dash, there was a faint but unnerving scream. It sliced through the night like a Sonic Rainboom through the sky. The sound sent shivers down RD's back, breaking her blissful rest. Sounds of unimaginable horror were what came to mind. A cry of desperation, but it didn't sound like death. No, just desperation.
Dash stood up and peered into the darkness. In an attempt to get a farther view, she hopped upon the ledge of the balcony. In the distance she heard another scream. This one again rang through the night but it was cut short. A finale of sorts, this one had a sense of ending to it that made Dash all the more nervous. As she peered into the darkness a strong push of wind knocked her off the balcony. She had not been ready for this. Upon losing her grip on the balcony she attempted to open her wings and catch herself. Dash didn't consider the balcony and once she opened her wings, her right side got caught. She felt a terrible tear and pop before she fell to the ocean. Dash knew she had broken it.
Dash tried screaming out in pain before plummeting into the water and muffling her voice. When she managed to swim back to the surface, Rainbow Dash tried to call out to anyone on the boat but it was in vain. The boat was to far away from her at this point. The freezing water sent chills down her back, but it did help to numb the pain of the broken wing. The chilled night meant that she didn't have a whole lot of time to find land. She would be overcome with hypothermia before morning came.
Dash decided that the only options are to try and return to the port they left or head for "Cast Off" Island were those screams had come from that caused all of this. In her wings current condition and the temperature of the night she knew there was no way she could make it all the way back to the port. On top of that she also didn't know where the mainland was, but still Dash thought back to what she heard earlier. The recollection of the memory managed to make her uneasy. Though she disliked the entire idea, RD headed for the island or at least where the screams came from since she still couldn't see it.
A fear ran through Rainbow Dash's mind. One of being lost and abandonment. "What if my friends don't notice I'm gone?" Upon that thought she quickly barred any thinking like that. Dash had to be positive they would come look for her. She continued swimming towards where she had heard the screams, driving any unnecessary thoughts from her mind. Dash had to be fully concentrated at the task at hand. She couldn't afford to lose her way and get lost at sea. She would succumb to cold before morning.
Though she knew that the island was her only chance she didn't like the idea. Her wing needed treatment. It was making it hard for her to swim without wincing in pain every so often. The fatigue of the journey began to take a toll on the rainbow maned Pegasus. After about thirty minutes or so of swimming she came across the island. The only issue was that when she arrived she came to a cliff with large, sharp rocks hidden in the water. She was forced to swim along the island 'till she finally came to a point where she could get ashore.
Once ashore, Dash rested and cherished the dry land. After some time of resting she knew she had to find any occupants of the island. She tried to find a path through the forest, but due to the limited light she was given by the night Dash was forced to find a beaten path. One which many a traveler had taken. To her luck she found a path that had been recently traveled in a short time. The path looked similar to a hiking trail, with clear blank walkways surrounded by the forest environment. It had crossed with many trails like itself, making it easy to get lost. Rainbow Dash stayed headed in one direction though as to avoid getting lost or at least more lost than she already was.
As she traveled the path she noticed a matted down area of grass about the size of an average pony. Dash approached the spot and quickly noticed the faint smell of iron, actually more like the smell of blood. Dash quickly backed away from the spot, fearful of what happened and why. She examined the spot from afar. It was flattened in an unorganized fashion and had a slightly red tint to the green grass. Then Rainbow Dash thought back to the screams she had heard earlier and wondered if the two were related. Dash instantly thought "Maybe somepony got injured after falling or something." Dismissing the other thoughts running through her mind.
Out of the darkness, Dash approached what looked like a village or small town of sorts. But after she got closer she noticed that all the lights came from one behemoth of a building, a mansion of sorts. Dash noticed two extremely tall towers on either side of the building and the style of architecture reminded her of Cloudsdale a little, but instead of clouds this mansion was built of stone and steel.
"Mirage". As she approached the front gate it became increasingly clearer that this was no mirage. The entrance was quite grand. It hovered over Dash like a cloud. The aura surrounding the whole area made her a little uneasy, but nonetheless she welcomed the sight of civilization. Her wound had begun to show signs of infection and she needed treatment. The wing had turned a deep shade of purple and the cuts had shown signs of infections even though Dash couldn't get a good look at it since it was on her back and all. She didn't have the pleasure of delaying her entrance.
Rainbow Dash headed for the front door and noticed a strikingly vivid gargoyle for a knocker. It reminded her of the griffin city she had attended on a trip to see the Wonderbolts. Dash lifted the knocker and let it slam back in to the door. The sound it generated seemed unreal for the strength of the knocker. Dash reeled back, shocked by the noise. It was so immense, it would be at the least surprising if the tenants didn't notice. She waited a few moments.
"How could they possibly sleep through that noise!?". Though she thought she heard someone on the other side of the door move around, there was no response. Dash lifted the knocker again but before she let it fall and hit the door, the door opened to reveal what appeared to be Iron Will. The rush of warm air calmed Dash a bit but at the same time she was startled by Iron.
Iron stood completely still and assertive with the look of anger on his face but he didn't move a muscle. Dash sighed a sigh of relief at the sight of Iron Will, even though she couldn't figure out why he looked so angered. Dash noticed a scar running across Iron Will's throat and a few others running across his scalp, but she didn't want to comment. The scars looked a little to clean cut and accurate to be just from an accident, they looked more as if somepony had performed surgery on him or something similar.
Dash glanced past the bull to see the interior of the mansion. It was well lit, like it had electricity and all other modern amenities. The decor was quite unique. Dash could see trophies and ribbons running up and down all the shelves and on the walls. There were statues and medevil pony suits. It was like something out of a museum.
"Wow, am I glad to see a familiar face. I injured my wing" Rainbow Dash said pointing to her right side wing "and could really use some help." Rainbow tried to put as much empathy in her voice as she could, though it wasn't easy for the tomcolt. Dash knew that she needed treatment. If she didn't get help from Iron Will soon she could lose her right wing.
Still Iron didn't move. His gaze unfazed by the cyan pony's plea for help. Similar to Canterlot's Royal Guard, Iron was an immovable object. Dash became disheartened by the bull's lack of empathy. The glare of Iron Will was one of absentness. It sent a chill up RD's spine. He lacked any apparent emotion but anger it appeared.
"Hey, what's up with you? You're usually all assertive and loud. Now your just quiet. What happened to you?" Still the bull didn't budge, nor did he even attempt to speak. "Yo! Are you in there?! You're like a statue or something?" And again Dash's words just bounced off.
He only moved once a voice stated "My dear Rainbow Dash, how nice to see you." The voice was familiar. Dash knew that, but she couldn't put a hoof on it. Iron Will stepped to the side to reveal the occupant. The voice belonged to non other than to Dash's former best friend, Gilda.
Gilda walked over in cool manner, one of which suggested welcoming even though her and Dash's history would have dictated otherwise. She was dressed in what appeared to be woodland camouflage and a matching cap. Gilda's face showed no signs of aggression or anger. Dash was almost shocked as to how friendly Gilda was being. But she gladly welcomed the chance to get help addressing her wounds and get a meal.
"Don't mind him, he got in a bit of accident about couple months ago. He went mute and seemed to lose, well, all of his iron will." Gilda stated."I seen you perform your Sonic Rainboom at the best young flyers competition. I would have congratulated you if it weren't for our recent talks."
"Yeah, about that. No hard feelings, right?" Dash timidly asked.
The griffon suavely replied "Of course not, actually I'm rather glad your here. We can have a bit of fun but only after you get some food and address that injury. How'd you get that any way?" Gilda asked as she pointed to Dash's right side wing where it had broken.
Dash remembered back to the boat. "Oh, yeah I kinda... sorta... fell of a boat." she remarked bluntly.
"Haha!" the griffon chuckled. "Wait, your telling me the great Rainbow Dash fell off a boat and some how broke a wing. Ha, hilarious!"
"Hey shut it, it was dark out and I slipped on the railing." Dash shot back.
Gilda calmed her laughter. She asked "O.K. so mind me asking why you were up on the railing?" Dash thought back to the screams.
"I thought I had heard screams from the direction of this island so I tried to get a better view by standing on the rail, a gust of wind came by and I slipped. 'Nuf said." Dash replied.
Upon the word screams, the griffon turned from a happy, laughter filled emotion to completely serious. "Iron will take you to your quarters and address your wound. When your ready come back down and we'll visit for a while." On that last note Gilda left the room and Iron Will started up the stairs leading to the left side tower. Dash thought it best to comply and followed him.
Dash wondered about how her voice had changed. She only seen glimpses of the griffon she once knew. It was as if she had developed a whole new persona. Gilda had changed physically as well. She was much more stout and thicker than she remembered. The physic she had developed was a bit intimidating.
For as large as Iron Will was, he was quite proficient at tending to her wing. After about a half an hour she had washed up and was bandaged. She headed down the stairs back to the main floor. When she arrived Iron Will directed her to what appeared to be a dining room. Everything in the room was so luxurious. "How could Gilda afford all of this?" Dash thought. On either end of the table there were what appeared to be almost throne like chairs. Even Queen Celestia throne paled in comparison to the luxury of the chairs.
"Thank you for coming down for dinner Dash" Gilda stated as she walked in the room. She took a seat at the opposite end of the table as Dash.
"Yeah, speaking of, what's on? I'm starved." Dash excitingly asked. The griffon gave a nod to Iron and he left the room.
"Freshly baked hay drenched in our finest sauce for a meal. Sparkling apple cider for a drink. And to top it off some off are freshly baked cupcakes covered in fudge drizzle for our dessert." By this point Dash's mouth wouldn't close. She drooled on the table for a second before snapping herself out of it.
Iron Will walked in with two trays of food. He set one down in front of Gilda then proceeded to do the same for Rainbow Dash. He gingerly poured a glass of apple cider for each of the girls. Dash had almost drank hers before he had even finished putting the top back on it. He decided it be best just to leave the bottle with Rainbow Dash. Dash had a expression of pure joy as Iron walked away.
"Tell me Dash. Do you remember what my greatest passion is?" Asked the griffon.
Dash thought back to when they were young and remembered that Gilda was always trying to do exciting things. She noticed all the ribbons and trophies on her walls, one trophy was larger than Dash herself. "Um... excitement, I guess." She replied timidly. Gilda looked joyed by the sound of her response.
"Yes precisely, and what provides the most excitement?" The griffon asked. "Games!" Gilda stated before Dash could reply."You see I've read all the literature published on games and sports." said Gilda. "I've won everything there is to win at one point or another in my life. I have but one passion in my life and that is excitement."
"You do have quite a collection here, Gilda. That trophy is the largest I have ever seen." Dash remarked pointing to the trophy.
"Yes, won that for being the fastest, and might I say only one, to complete Equestria's hardest obstacle course. I did however suffer an injury to my skull. A slight fracture, but I won none the less." Gilda stated.
"I think I heard of that course. They say that it is the most dangerous game there is." replied Dash.
Gilda didn't reply for a while. "Your wrong, this island contains the most dangerous game of all."
"There's a game on this island? And not like chess or something boring like that."
"Yes, there is a game and it's far from chess, one I've developed in hopes to quench my thirst for excitement."
"What kind of game?"
"We will have a great time playin' my little game, won't we Dashie." Gilda stated, sipping on her apple cider. "Tomorrow, I'll take you to play my game."
"Sure, but what is the game?!" demanded Rainbow Dash.
"I'll tell you." Gilda said. "I think you will be amazed at the excitement this game produces. I have invented a new sport of its own. May I pour you another glass of apple cider?"
"Thanks Gilda"
As she filled the glasses, Gilda started "You see fate makes some ponies princess's and others work mules. Fate can make some pony talented at acrobatics while others can master chess. Fate just happened to make me a thrill seeker. My talons were made to do exciting things. I have done everything there is, from skydiving with my wings tied to extreme stunts as far as to taking martial arts and yet nothing succeeded in exciting me. It would be almost impossible to count the number of sports and activities I have competed in."
Gilda took another sip off her apple cider.
"After my injury I suffered at the obstacle course, I decided to go and try extreme survival tag. The sport demanded that all contestants get one day to get away from the predator. If the predator tagged someone they became infected and as a result, were also predators. Needless to say the sport didn't tickle my fancy. I went home to rest due to a headache and I had a frightening realization. I was beginning to become bored!" Gilda exclaimed. "I didn't want to go to shambles like some ponies who lose their one goal in life."
"Well, what'd you do?" Dash asked inquisitively.
"I didn't want to break down so I decided to compete with the ultimate game of chance."
"Which is?"Anxiously, Dash was leaning over the table, waiting for her hostess to tell her.
"Life and death, between two reasoning beings. A game of survival where the victor was rewarded with the chance to see another day. The loser, well lets just say, is not so lucky."
Dash reeled back in horror as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The screams, the blood, the shore, this even explained how Gilda had been able to afford such a nice place.
"I can't believe your serious here Gilda, I mean how could you do that. It's not sport, it's simply murder!" Dash shouted. The anger was apparent on her face at this point.
"What do you mean, I'm only producing the best motivation to try and stay alive. I never said the contestants couldn't win. It just so happens that not one has yet though."
"Wait, how do you even get "contestants", your in the middle of the ocean and it's not like ponies are just gonna sign up to be hunted to death." Dash asked. She had begun to cool down but was still very angry at her former friend.
"There is a reason that ships avoid my shores Dash, come here and I'll show you." She headed to the window overlooking the cliff Dash had initially arrived at. Reluctantly, Dash headed for the window.
"You see that cliff out there Dash?" Gilda asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Dash replied.
"Watch it as closely as possible for a second." As Dash stared at the window she noticed Gilda reaching for a switch. When she flipped the switch Dash could see a faint flash of light right above the cliff. Then it hit her. Gilda had been baiting in ships with the light at night that were lost in order to keep her supply of "contestants" up. Gilda could see that Dash had figured that part out and decided not to go into detail.
"This is barbaric!" Dash exclaimed after regaining her composure again.
"Oh, I tend to disagree. Just as you have received care and food, so do any other visitor who shows up here. I do try to treat them well, even if it's only for a short time."
Iron approached with a fresh batch of coffee and offered a glass to each patron. Rainbow Dash declined for fear she might be sick from what she has been hearing. Iron Will set the cup on the table and proceeded to leave the room.
"You see I offer them the opportunity to play a game. I give them a fine hunting knife and any garments they wish to take with them and give them a three hour head start. Come night time I go out and play with them using only my hunting knife and occasionally, if the contestant is extremely persistent, the use of Iron Will or one of my hounds." Gilda stated.
"Well what if some pony refuses to play?"
"Oh, I give them that option. If a contestant should refuse to play my game, then they get to play with Iron Will over there." The griffon stated pointing towards Iron. "And his games are much more violent then mine."
Dash was catching the drift of what she was saying. If some pony refused to play with Gilda, they were killed by Iron Will in order to keep the Island a secret.
"That's not fair!" Dash yelled out of anger.
"But of course it is, how else do you think I would get ponies to play my game if they had the opportunity to just walk away. I'de never have any fun."
"Wait, what did you say about hounds?" Dash asked.
"Yes, my hounds. They were originally Diamond Dogs, but I trained them to hunt for ponies instead of gems. I've only had to use them in a couple of occasions so far. One of which was one fellow had managed to elude me for two days and I was growing worried he would get away. I sent my best hound after him. The hound succeeded in its goal by driving the pony into "Quick Trap" swamp where he ultimately sank to death in the quicksand, but he took the dog with him." sighed Gilda. "He was the closest of all contestants to getting away."
Dash was horrified to hear the sorrow in her voice wasn't from killing her fellow brethren, but from not getting a exciting enough show for her. Dash thought to herself about how she would fair come face to face with one of those hounds.
"You see tomorrow I'll show you the quarters for my newest contestants, then we can go play the game tog--" Gilda was cut off.
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! I want to leave now!" Dash screamed out.
"Oh, I'm sorry Dash but you can't leave until you beat me in the game." Gilda stated.
It hit Rainbow Dash like a train. She now realized that Gilda had never intended for the two of them to hunt together. She had planned on hunting Dash the whole time since the moment she arrived. "Wha... what d... do you mean?" She asked out desperately even though she already knew the answer.
"We are gonna play the game together, like old times but with a bigger prize on the line. I win, you die. You win, you go free under the condition you stay ignorant to the acts that are held here." Gilda stated fairly bluntly.
"I will not! What is happening here is completely immoral and wrong!" Dash yelled out.
"Then I guess I'll have to make sure I win then, don't I." Gilda stated with a wink before departing the room.
Dash stood there motionless for quite some time before she finally headed of to her quarters. Upon arrival to her room she closed the door and less than ten seconds later heard another noise. It sounded like a lock being closed and then she realized that they had locked her in. She went over and laid down as all the memories of the past day came rushing into her thoughts like a stampeding herd of buffalo. Before losing consciousness and falling asleep the last thing that ran through mind was how did Gilda become this.
Rainbow Dash awoke to find a set of clothing, a jacket, and a sheathed hunting knife laying at the foot of her bed. She knew that Gilda intended on doing this today. She put on the clothing and the jacket. Then she fastened the blade around her side so to not lose it. She didn't have much experience using a blade aside from helping Pinkie Pie and Applejack bake different goods from time to time. She would have to learn quick if she wanted to survive against Gilda.
Dash headed downstairs to find a well done breakfast waiting for her at the dining table. Again at the other end of the table sat Gilda. She started, "Morning, Dash. I hope you had a good nights sleep. We have a big day ahead of us you know." Gilda finished with a wink. Dash's mind went to the the event's of the previous day. She thought of how Gilda had changed. How she had went from a simple thrill seeker and friend to a murderer for sport and Dash's worst nightmare.
"You truly plan to kill me today, don't you?" Dash asked.
"Of course not, I plan to play a game with you. You decide your fate, I simply have a small part in it."
Dash and Gilda remained silent for what seemed like hours.
"One question Gilda." Dash started next. "How do you handle ponies with magic and wings that could fly or teleport away from here back to the mainland?"
"That isn't a problem, here we are to far away for any pony to fly back to the mainland. It would require way more stamina than even a pony of your fitness level. And the whole magic business is to hard for the average pony to teleport that far. It is a bit improbable but nonetheless not impossible. I doubt even your purple coated friend could pull it off." Gilda was referring to Twilight when she said that.
"Now it is time for me to take a afternoon rest, I doubt you'll rest though. You'll want to get as much of a start as you can." Gilda stated. "Iron will provide you with food that should last you as long as three days if you handle it properly. Now I bid you ado, Rainbow Dash, ado." With that Gilda left the room.
Rainbow Dash didn't know how to start after the gates closed behind her. She considered that putting as much distance between her and Gilda as possible as the best choice, but after some thought she realized that there would be no way to outrun Gilda. She had to create a complicated trail. One hard to follow, one so difficult Discord himself couldn't track her.
Dash began her trek through the dense forest careful not to leave any traces or clues to her whereabouts. Often she double back in hopes that if Gilda did follow her trail she would think she had changed her direction. Night had come quicker than expected. Tired and unable to continue trekking, she thought it best to stop and find a place to hide.
Rainbow Dash noticed a tree branch hanging low enough for her to climb. She would have just flown up if it weren't for her busted wing. Making sure not to leave any scratches or nicks on the tree bark Dash climbed.. About halfway up the tree Dash decided that she was high enough not to be noticed from ground level but low enough not to be seen should Gilda decide to take passes of the island from above.
As the night carried on Dash found she could not sleep, nor did she want to. By this point the morning light had started to come up and was beginning to brighten the forest. Quiet a long time had passed before the first signs of motion had come from the direction of the mansion. It was slow at first, but as the day got brighter the pace quickened. Gilda was able to follow the trail easier as the day got brighter.
The griffon had come into sight of Dash. Rainbow Dash pressed her body against the tree limb to conceal her position as best as possible. Gilda had progressed almost to her tree. Dash's mind went to thoughts of how would handle the situation should she be found. She considered pouncing upon the griffon but knew should she misjudge the jump or her opponents awareness, she would miss. The rainbow pony also knew that her strength, speed, and combat ability paled in comparison to the griffon's. There would be no way she would win in a fight against Gilda.
About when Gilda was directly below the tree she stopped and looked down. The griffon's eyes began moving up the tree. They passed the first branch, then the second. They stopped at the third major branch, one short of Dash's hiding place.
Gilda stopped there and opened her saddle bag and grabbed out a bottle of apple cider. She poured herself a drink. The pungent smell rose up the tree. Dash's began to hold her breath as to avoid the intoxicating smell. The griffon simply poured out the rest of the glass, and with a smile turned around and walked away through the trail from which she came.
Dash let out her breath while her mind figured out what happened. Her first reaction was that Gilda had missed her by only a hair. If the griffon had even lifted her eyes she would have found her and Dash would most likely be dead by now. Why had she just left like that and not pursued a trail even further? What was with the smile?
That's when Dash figured out what had happened. The griffon had figured out where she was, but she was toying with her. She had kept Rainbow Dash alive to have another day of fun with her. A face of fear horror was on Dash's face by this point. She had never knew terror of this magnitude. "What can I do to possibly beat her? She followed that trail like it was nothing, and she did it at night." Dash thought.
Dash was tied up. "What happened?". Through the mist approached a silhouette. Rainbow Dash struggled trying to break free before Gilda got closer. Eventually, it became apparent that the figure wasn't Gilda. When she finally broke free she tried to turn and run away, but was denied by another silhouette in the other direction. Stopped, dead in her tracks she looked around and seen figures in each direction. There was an army of ghostly figures surrounding Rainbow Dash.
Even though they were getting closer their figures were all just ones of black silhouettes. Dash was looking for a way out when one of the figures tapped Dash on the shoulder. She turned to come face to face with a ghost, one of the ponies who had died here. Dash screamed just before waking up. Panting and face dripping in sweat, she sat up. "What was that all about?!"
Rainbow Dash tried to put the memory of the dream to the back of her mind. It was still day out, so Dash began leaving her trail for Gilda to follow. She began working feverishly to finish her contraption. Once finished, Dash found a log about a hundred feet away and waited.
Through the night she could hear her coming. Gilda's slow pace and her dark fear inducing eyes, catching every fault from as simple as the broken twigs to every last piece of broken grass all the slightest dip in the moss on the ground. Yes, those eyes didn't miss a thing. She was so focused on the task at hand she almost didn't notice the trap that Dash had setup. She activated it before she could get away, but was able to jump almost out of the way. The log came swinging down and grazed Gilda's shoulder, knocking her down.She arose with a laugh. Dash's mind was taken by fear for the moment at the sight of Gilda walking off the injury she just suffered.
"If you can hear me Dash," the griffon called out "as I presume you can, I must say that was pretty good. I didn't think you had the kind of knowledge to devise a such a trap. Well, I'm off for now to fix up my shoulder but I will be back. Oh, I will be back." Gilda finished with a bit of a maniacal tone of voice.
The griffon had left, tending to her wound. The cyan pony had fled now. She no longer cared about how much of a trail she left. After some time Dash had come across the swamp she had been warned about. Actually she stepped in it first only to have to pull her front hooves out. This brought about an idea. Maybe a way out of this.
She decided to try and bait the griffon into the swamp where no pony could escape due to the quicksand. After digging a pit right on the edge of the swamp, she sharpened a large amount of sticks with her knife and placed them point up in the bottom of the pit. Then, Dash covered the pit with grass and leaves in order to conceal it. She hoped either she would walk up to it and fall in or see it at the last moment and hop over it into the swamp.
Dash figured it would be best to find a hiding place in view of the pit. She found a rock to hide behind about a few hundred feet away from the pit. In the distance she had started to hear steps, but they were in a much faster pace than that of Gilda's normal walking and careful pace of the night before. "Maybe she's in a hurry to win?" Dash pondered.
When she heard her trap break followed by a muffled cry, Dash jumped up to see if it had worked. To her horror Gilda was standing next to the pit peering in. Dash ducked back down to avoid being noticed.
"Well, well Dash." Gilda started. "You've bested me again. You also claimed a prize in my hound. Tomorrow we will see how well you fare against the pack though. I thank you for an exciting night, and I'll see you tomorrow Dash." With that the griffon left.
Dash considered her options. One, she could stay where she was and wait, but that would be complete suicide. Two, she could flee and try and get as much ground between her and the griffon as she could. That would only stall the griffon. She had a thought. What if Dash simply tried to kill the griffon. She may not get away but at least she wouldn't go down alone.
Rainbow Dash headed off in the opposite of the swamp towards the cliff she came across when she arrived. While hustling through forest she noticed the tree branches to be extremely springy. This gave way to an idea. She stopped near one of the branches and set her knife up so it would slingshot around should somepony set of a trip line she devised.
After another ways toward the cliff she had begun to give into the fatigue of the last few days. She found a tree to climb as to stay out of Gilda's line of sight. The day ended and the chase started up again. Off in the distance Dash heard the familiar pattern of the griffon along with the loud plodding of the hounds she was bringing with her. There was another sound, one loud. It was Iron Will and he was being pulled forward by the hounds.
Dash could see them from the tree. They were coming across her trap any second now. The thud came as a surprise to her. She looked back out to where they had last been to see that Gilda was still standing, surprised by what just happened but still standing nonetheless. Iron Will was not so lucky. He had taken the knife to the throat and upon impact released the hounds.
They were after Dash's scent the second they got free. She knew they were coming. In a vault to try and avoid the hounds, Dash headed for the cliff.
"Come on Dash you can do this." She told herself.
Hounds hot on her trail, she made a leap off the edge into the abyss. Gilda approached the cliff with a careful eye. The griffon wanted to see if she somehow survived. After a while she concluded that there was no way she could have possibly survived.
Gilda returned home to her mansion. She went to her room and approached the window without turning on the light. As she pondered what events had taken place, she stared out the window at her hounds. She wondered if they were as disappointed at the events of the day as she was.
"Do they not feel any sense of failure like I do? Were they satisfied simply by her death or did they want to have the same satisfaction I wanted? Do they wish to win? Did I wish to win or just simply play?" She pondered herself.
After some time passed she went and turned on the light to get dressed for sleep. To her surprise in the corner of the room stood the broken, battered Rainbow Dash.
"What?! You're still alive?!" The griffon gasped out.
"Oh, yes. And I do believe that I have won the game." Dash stated.
"First, how?" The griffon asked out of bewilderment.
"I swam around. By the way you left something out in the woods." Dash held up the hunting knife that killed Iron Will. She slammed it into the table near her with enough force to tip it over for a second.
Gilda examined her. She wondered what she was planning. "What do you plan to do with that?"
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted it as a prize." Dash replied a bit mockishly. "Now about me winning the game."
"Right." The griffon regained her composure. "Well, it seems you have and I will be true to my word. I will prepare a boat to take you from this island back to the mainland."
"About that. I don't think that will be necessary."
"I see." Gilda frowned because she knew what was about to happen. "How about we make this interesting. Winner gets to sleep in my bed, loser is fed to my hounds. Lets play Dash!"...
The hounds of Gilda had never tasted a rainbow before.
O.k. I know "What!? That kinda ending!?" yeah that kind of ending. I felt it was more suiting than just following the original almost word for word, 'cause when I re-read the story it seemed like I did that quite a bit. I'm kinda saddened by my lack of overall imagination in this tale. Also if you feel you have a change that could help the story read better or if you would like to do any form of remake or sequel, feel free. If anypony would like to make music, art, and/or writings based off of this, let me know so I can check them out. You don't need my permission to do so though. I'm not a stingy person and I surely wouldn't go all troll "HEY THAT'S MY STORY NO ONE SAID YOU COULD USE THAT!" moment on ponies. I'm not that kinda person and it's not really truly my story, it's only my parody of another story. I'm pretty sure Richard Connell isn't going to come back form the grave to troll you or me for using his work. Also I hope you enjoyed reading this and have a nice day. Peace.