The fierce, incandescent buzzing of thousands of wings filled her ears as she rushed to the castle, bright green fire burning all around her as buildings toppled to the ground. She had been separated from her charge as soon as the invasion had begun, and it was imperative that she return to the Shogun quickly.
She darted past the groups of guards and invaders, both sides entranced by the thrall of close combat. The screams of the innocent filled the air around her, crying out for her assistance, but she paid them no mind. Citizens were born easily.
Leaders were not.
She slammed to the ground in front of the castle gates, the impact causing the stone underhoof to crack and deform. She lifted her head up, noticing that her path was blocked by a single male Changeling, who wore dark green armor similar to hers. He held a large musket in his hooves, his sword remaining sheathed.
She stood upright, resting a hoof on the hilt of her blade. "I ask you, noble warrior, just this once... Allow me passage."
He snorted, shifting and taking aim at her. "My name is Vex'Aldan, and my master would kill me for doing so. Die well, Samurai."
BANG!!!
The sound rang clear even with the sound of bloodshed and violence surrounding them, but the changeling's eyes widened as he gazed at his opponent, unable to believe his own eyes.
Rainbow's katana was now fully unsheathed and raised to the sky, her body miraculously free of any wounds. At her hooves, a single musket ball lay, split in two. "Indeed. Die well, Coward." She spat out, before shooting forwards at speeds he had thought relegated to rumor and legend, bringing her blade down upon him. He was forced to bring his musket to bear, the blade splitting it in half from the sheer force she projected, her sword carving a large rent through his armor.
He jumped back, drawing his own blade swiftly and bringing it to bear. "Impossible..." He was forced to defend himself once more as she seemingly teleported in front of him, slashing at him wildly, sparks showering off of their blades, though she occasionally found purchase on a plate of armor. He pushed her back with a telekinetic shove, the mare recovering insanely quickly.
He closed his eyes, shrouding his horn in a green glow, and then charged her. She smirked, setting herself to receive his charge, and slashed at the approaching enemy... Only her blade met thin air, the charging warrior shattering into sparkling dust. She felt a series of cuts rake at her, her chestpiece falling to the ground as the straps were cut, and the cloth armor she wore underneath it was tattered. She looked back at her opponent, who bowed at her. "The arrogance is palpable." She thought, whirling around to face him, her sword held in front of her. "Even in honorable combat your kind sinks to the cheapest of tricks. Pathetic."
He smirked at her, his horn still aglow as the area was permeated with a dark fog. "The winners decide what is honorable, Samurai. And the way I see it? I'm the most honorable one here." His voice was warped and distorted, seemingly coming from every direction. It disoriented her, and it gave her a migraine as she tried to ascertain his position.
She was forced to deflect barrage after barrage of attacks, her speed only barely able to keep up with the onslaught of strikes and slashes. She was given relief as his stamina gave out, the sound of exhausted panting causing her ears to twitch.
She was in a bind. She could not attack what she could not see, and could not stand against this tactic forever. "What would Sensei do?" She racked her brain, knowing it was only a short time before her adversary would recover and attempt to finish what he had started.
A memory brought itself to the forefront of her mind, the sickly old mare who trained her giving one of her lessons that she had thought to be useless. Until now. "Remember Rainbow, you must maintain presence with the world around you. Feel the rustling of the leaves, and the weight of the cloud; But most importantly, Open yourself to the weather, and the vibrations of the wind."
Her eyes widened as she smirked. "Thank you, Windy-Sensei." She closed her eyes, relaxing her entire body, her limbs loose and her posture lax, any and all tension rolling off of her like beads of sweat. The air around her was suddenly much more tangible, invisible threads of which she could keep track of like a spider to its web. She felt so much more... aware of her surroundings.
And there was a massive disturbance of airflow to her right.
SHING! She slashed! She felt her blade strike a chitinous mass and a pained scream reached her ears. Opening her eyes, she smirked, seeing that she had cut off Vax'Aldans horn, the changeling clutching at the nub with a hoof, tears threatening to stream down his face. She felt no pity for him. He stood in her path, and would be knocked down like the obstacle he was.
He glared up at her, his gossamer wings flitting angrily. "You... I'LL KILL YOU!" He leaped forth, slashing at her recklessly, any modicum of precision or grace was completely abandoned as he struck blow after blow, Rainbow dodging and deflecting his attacks with the accuracy and discipline only attained by the Shogun's best samurai. Ceasing his assault for a moment, he crouched low, before springing up and flinging sand and debris into her eyes; A cheap tactic, and one that she should have expected.
She scrubbed at her eyes, before she felt a deep slash along her wing. "Gah!" Once she could see again, she cast a quick look back to her wing, eyeing the profuse bleeding. She wouldn't be able to fly like this.
She jumped to the side as the enraged changeling pounced to the space she formerly occupied, frothing at the mouth. "What's wrong, Insect? Unable to fight without your parlor tricks?" She jeered, kicking the bug in the side, launching him through the air. He landed a few hooves away, shakily reacquiring his hoofing. She could have ended it then and there with a quick slash to the neck.
But that wouldn't have been honorable.
Both of them were marred by the duel, shallow cuts and nicks crisscrossed their way across both fur and chitin, green and red blood alike staining the ground below. A storm had formed over Canterlot, the thunder booming ominously above.
The two of them analyzed each other, eager to divine any gap in the other's defenses. Rainbow herself hadn't received more than the paltry blows he was able to muster, discounting her now useless wing. But she could see that the changeling was at the end of his rope, and was certain that he, too, could ascertain such. His horn was cut off at the base, his armor had been sliced apart like paper, and his eyes were filled with fear beyond compare. She almost feld bad for him... Almost. "Surrender, and live to die another day." She said simply, giving her opponent a bow.
He growled, reaching a hoof behind his armor. "For the Empress!" He shouted, unveiling a flintlock and firing at her. She brought her blade to bear, swiping the projectile out of the air with ease.
She snorted, the sound of lightning crackling overhead causing her ears to flick irritably. "Very well then, you were given ample opportunity to abandon your fruitless task. You shall pay the price for your recklessness."
She jumped as high into the air as she possibly could, utilizing her remaining wing to further her ascent, and she held her sword as skyward as she could. Lightning burst forth out of the clouds, attracted to her blade as if it were a lightning rod. She spun around, pointing the tip of the katana directly at her opponent. His eyes widened as he attempted to dodge, though it was an exercise in futility.
And the lightning CRACKED! Impacting his form and stunning him as the electricity entered his body, and the only thing he was able to do was writhe in agony as pain overwhelmed his senses, Rainbow having struck him with the full force of the rising sun.
Rainbow landed softly, immediately kicking off of the ground with enough force to cause a sonic rainboom, propelling herself past her opponent. She landed behind him, her blade secure in its sheath. She smirked in satisfaction as a loud THUMP sounded out behind her, the sound of her opponent's bisected corpse hitting the ground was like music to her ears.
She stood up, retrieving a flask and taking a swig of sake as she walked, resuming her journey towards the castle grounds.
She had the city, and for that matter, her Shogun to save.
