Respawn

Rainbow Dash led Trixie through the trees and the brush until some sort of Jeep-looking off-road vehicle came into view. It had two roll bars on top going from front to back on either side as well as two roll bars going from side to side at the front and back. Probably to help it roll back over in case it started to flip. Dash helped the unicorn into the passenger seat before getting into the driver’s seat.

“We’re not that far,” Dash said as she turned the engine on and sped off.

“Hey, Rainbow?” Trixie asked. “That red bar I’m seeing under the map... Is that my health?”

“Yeah...” the driver replied nervously. “Why?”

“Just, it looks...” Trixie mumbled. “It looks pretty low... It’s supposed to be like this,” she said, reaching out and pinching the floating health bar that Rainbow couldn’t see. “But, it’s like this...” She then brought her fingers so they were almost touching.

“Shit...” Rainbow muttered. “I have to get you back fast. Here, I’ll put our base on your map in case we don’t make it.”

“Ooh, that’s encouraging...” Trixie said, sounding out of it.

Rainbow suddenly noticed a red door on her map. It was moving right towards them. “Oh, no...” she muttered, before there was a gun shot from up above. Swerving the vehicle to the right, she dodged the attack and looked up.

Above them was a pegasus mare in thin, black armor and a jet pack. She had a helmet on and was packing two handguns with scopes and an extended magazine. She then started firing at them again.

Rainbow growled and sped up. “I have to lose her before we head to base...” She then squinted her eyes. “There should be that jump close by...”

"We're goooooing so faaaaaast..." the loopy mare sings, her head falling back.

"Hang in there..." Dash said, reaching over and patting Trixie's shoulder. "Just stay with me." She then marked a spot on her own map and turned on the vehicle's Autodrive function. Taking her hands off the wheel, she pulled out her assault rifle and aimed it at the attacking pegasus. Firing up at her, the pegasus flew side to side to dodge the bullets. "Just fuck off, already!" Rainbow yelled.

Their attacker flew a little lower before throwing an explosive at them. Rainbow went wide-eyed and slammed on the gas. The explosive hit the ground and sent the back of the vehicle flying upwards, causing it perform a forward somersault. Due to the roll bars, it managed to land perfectly on all four wheels and continue driving.

“That’s my girl!” Dash exclaimed gleefully as she patted the steering wheel.

She then heard a thunk as the flying mare landed on the back of the vehicle. Rainbow gasped and quickly blocked a kick before jumping up onto her seat. When the armored mare started to pull out a gun, Rainbow leaped at her and tackled her. The two rolled off the back before the cyan mare grabbed the bumper. The armored mare then grabbed her leg. Due to the vehicle’s Autodrive, it kept along its designated path, expertly navigating around trees and rocks.

Rainbow got two good kicks in on the other mare’s face before she knocked the helmet off. Letting out a soft gasp, she saw who the attacker was. “Lightning Dust?!”

“Hey, Rainbow,” the turquoise mare said with a grin, before using her jet pack to rocket herself forward. She grabbed Dash along the way and pinned her down once they landed back on top of the vehicle. “Long time, no see.”

“Dammit, you bitch,” Rainbow growled. “There’s more going on here than your fucking stupid, petty-ass grudge.”

“Don’t try and talk your way out of this, Rainbow Dash,” Lightning hissed. “Finally, I’ll get the chance to prove I’m better than you.”

“But, not right now!” The cyan mare yelled in irritation. “I have to get Trixie back to base so she can build bed with us there. Her HP is almost gone.”

Lightning scoffed. “Like, I give a shit what you’re up to? I don’t think so. I’m gonna put a hole in your fucking head whenever our paths cross so that you’ll always remember who the best of the best is.”

There was a sudden beep from the GPS, making Rainbow smirk. She quickly managed to slip her arm away while Lightning was distracted before she elbowed her in the face. While the turquoise mare was temporarily stunned, Rainbow managed to get her handgun out. She only had time to aim before Lightning knocked the gun from her hand and grabbed her neck.

“Die, bitch,” the turquoise mare growled.

“Hey,” came Trixie’s exhausted voice, making Lightning look over at her. The unicorn was holding Rainbow’s gun. “Go away,” she mumbled as she pulled the trigger. The gunshot made her shriek in surprise as the bullet hit Lightning in the shoulder.

Rainbow took this opportunity to kick the mare off her and climb back into the driver’s seat. Sure enough, the GPS beep was letting Dash know they reached their destination. The jump across a large ravine was coming up. The ramp was just a somewhat flat rock sticking out of the ground.

“Hold on, Trixie,” she said as she sped up.

Lightning was doing her best to hang on, but lost her grip when the vehicle hit the ramp at an angle and started to flip over on its side. While airborne, Rainbow took her gun from Trixie and fired a couple times at Lightning Dust. The turquoise mare let out yells of pain as she pulled out her own gun and fired once in response before she fell onto the rock ramp and rolled back onto the ground.

Rainbow smirked and looked ahead as they were almost over the ravine. Then the vehicle hit the ground, it tumbled and rolled but ended up on all four wheels, just like before.

“Yeah!” Dash yelled triumphantly, before looking at Trixie. Gasping, she slammed on the brakes. There was a bullet hole through the blue mare’s head. “Shit,” Dash grunted, slamming the steering wheel. She then continued making her way back to base.

Lightning got to her feet with a grunt and let out a chuckle. "Heh... If I can't beat you... at least I can set you back..." Looking over her shoulder at her wings, she saw status text pop up that read Crippled. "Shit," she hissed, before watching Dash drive away.

Rainbow swerved around bushes and trees as she made her way into a large clearing. In the clearing was a long, 3-story building, about the size of an elementary school, with garages on the first floor and landing pads out front for aerial vehicles. On some of the pads was a helicopter and most garages had a land vehicle of some kind. Around it all was a tall, concrete wall with gates on all four sides of the complex. There were guards all around the perimeter with guns and some even had rocket launchers. On the roof of the building and wall were a snipers.

When Dash came into view, all the guards in the area turned to her. Seeing who she was, they opened the nearest gate for her. Once inside, Rainbow swerved to a stop before hopping out of her car. "Someone get Twilight!" She yelled.

Soarin came running over with a concerned look on his face. He had a bullet-proof vest on, cargo pants, and a helmet, and was carrying an assault rifle with a scope. "What's going on?" He asked, before seeing Trixie's body. "I-Is that Trixie?"

"Just get me Twilight!" Rainbow yelled frantically. "We have to hurry!"