Ponyserk I- Egg of the High Queen

Rainbow Dash

She didn't know how long she had been running, and in truth she didn't care. Briefly she looked back at the large bulky creature standing tall over her. She had no armour in this place of shadows and darkness, her wings having all but disappeared and forcing her to have to run to try to escape the beast chasing her. Worse still, she had reverted to being a young filly again, leaving her with no strength to swing that sword she carried with her. She found the creature pursuing her was familiar, it's silhouette reminding her of another pony due to it's large size and bulky build, but she couldn't place the monster due to it's features being obscured by the shadows. All she knew was she had to run as far from it as she could. Spotting the creature reaching out towards her from the corner of her eye, she turned and swung the sword in her grasp at what looked to be it's hoof. Her blade was heavier now, her swing clumsy and short when before she had been able to swing it effortlessly. The beast stumbled back slightly, her blade having successfully cut deeply into the limb, allowing herself to smile slightly at the injury she inflicted. Unfortunately, she saw the creature heal from the injury.
She could cleave a pony in two with just one swing, send grown colts flying through the air and onto their backs. But that was when she had been older, stronger, when she had wings. Oh how she wanted her wings, to just fly away from all of this and be forever out of the monsters grasp. But that would have been to easy, and something told her that this monster didn't like to make it easy. All she could do was stare in horror as the creature repaired itself, mentally screaming at herself to move. But she was frozen, utterly petrified by fear of what this beast would do to her. She looked around, hoping to find something: An exit, a crevice to hide in or even some high ground she could use to escape this monster for just a moment. A pile of bones greeted her young eyes, the skulls and disembodied limbs of what could only be thousands of long dead ponies stacked one after another atop each other to create the edifice. But, that wasn't what caught her eyes most. It was the figure sitting atop the bones of those long dead, in that same seat he had been confined too and that dog he had loved so much.
“Gambino!” She called out desperately to the colt, the filly finding the resolve to move over towards her as quickly as her small legs could muster.”Gambino! You have to help me, this monsters too powerful!” Gambino just continued to pet the dog he had before him, almost as if hhe couldn't hear the fillies cries for help.”Gambino?”
“Don't be such a dumbass..” A sinister grin made it's way across the colts face, pointing one of his hooves at her.”You took my leg, remember? I can't exactly fight without a leg you know”
She wanted to ask what he meant, why he was denying her aid until she noticed her swords grip felt strange in her hoof. Looking down, a sense of disgust and horror welled inside her as she found her sword had been replaced with Gambino's back leg. It looked old, half rotted through with just barely any flesh hanging from the severed limb. She screamed, dropping the limb to the ground in shock as she looked at her gore stained hooves with utter horror. No! She hadn't taken it! It wasn't her fault what happened that day.
“Besides stupid, not like I could do much anyway”. She watched as Gambino turned his head to face her directly, that grin still plain to see on his face.”I'm dead remember?” The colt grabbed the back of his own head, pulling on it sharply. This had the result of a large amount of blood spurting from the colts neck as his head fell back. The colts neck had been sliced open, blood still pouring from the large open wound, his damaged windpipes seeming to still work to take in breath as he spoke.”You stabbed that sword of yours right through my neck..”
“Gambino, please, you have to listen to me!” Rainbow Dash pleaded desperately, hoping that it would somehow convince her step-parent to try to save her from the beast. Unfortunately, the creature had already long recovered and moved to forcefully pin the young and wingless pegasus to the ground. She watched in horror as the shadows now moved away from the creatures face, revealing a face she knew. No! It couldn't be him! He had died so very long ago, she had seen to that. So why was he here, still grinning that horrible grin and looking down on her as though she were some kind of toy.”Help me, please!” The young pegasus' voice broke in desperation as she cried out to the griffin, wanting to this pony turned monsters grasp. She knew what he wanted, of all the pain he would cause and she wanted none of it. Not again, never again.
“You should have died a long time ago, Dash”. Looking up, she saw that Gambino was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the bones and skulls of the various ponies seemed to have repaired themselves, standing around in a circle and staring down at her. Although their mouths didn't move, she could hear the words they spoke growing louder and louder. You should have died. The chorus continued to rise, the voices all having the same low and growling tone while repeating the horrid phrase over and over again. You should have died. She whimpered, trying to free herself from the ponies grasp. You should have died.
“I'm sorry!” She screamed feebly.”Gambino, please forgive me”.

She woke suddenly with a start, letting out a small sigh as she found herself far from the shadows and monsters of before. With the brief respite, her fear had now been replaced with a keen curiousity at where she was. She was laying down inside a tent that had various crates and chests, her sleeping mat having been placed in the centre of the small indoor area. The brown leather of the tents walls looked old to her eyes. The brown leather was faded and full of holes, looking as though it could be torn apart like a twig at any second with how brittle it seemed. The crates contents remained a mystery to her, but only drew her back to one important question. Where was she? Last she remembered she had been attacked on the road by bandits: Surprisingly well equipped bandits, but from how they had attacked her without provocation she knew it was the only profession for ponies such as that. She remembered there had been another pegasus among them, and also another pony in white armour.
Finally moving to sit up, she felt a sharp pain in her side. Looking down, she saw that her chest had been bandaged up, suddenly remembering her injury: She had been stabbed there by that other pony, whoever she was. Her name escaped her, but in truth she didn't care. She was alive, and that was all that mattered.

Getting to her feet slowly, being careful not to cause to much pain to her injury, she walked towards the opened flap of the tents entrance, seeing herself out. She winced at the sudden light that blinded her, having not realised or prepared herself for the fact it was daytime outside. Her vision clearing, she saw countless other tents just like her own: Some larger, some smaller, some even in much better shape then hers but all of them were located close together..except for hers. Countless ponies also greeted her outside: Some sharpened swords, others made conversation by the various camp-fires scattered around that appeared to be cooking food and some even gambled. She noticed some were carrying crates or other objects, one or two stopping to direct a glare in her direction as if suspicious of what she would do. Finally, her gaze rested on two ponies: A pink one that seemed to be listening to the cries of a gold coloured one who had a lighter shade of pink for hair herself. She couldn't tell what they were talking about, but she could tell the yellow one was angry about something. This came to a stop as soon as the pink pony noticed Rainbow dash staring at her, prompting the yellow pony to flare her wings and quickly start moving over.
Wings? Pink hair? Blue eyes...she had been the pegasus she'd been fighting before. And now, she was heading right in her direction with fire in her eyes at a brisk pace. Rainbow dash didn't even have time to speak before she was in-front of her, that same glare directed at her that she had given during their fight. One of the other pegasus' hooves, Fluttershy if she remembered correctly, quickly slammed her forehead directly into her own. Rainbow Dash stumbled back with a cry, whilst the other pegasus seemed slightly dazed and thrown off by the action. If only she knew you never went for the head first, let alone open with a head butt.
“Good morning!” The other pegasus hissed, quickly turning.”If it had been up to me, you'd have been left to die back there”. She walked off as Rainbow dash got to her feet, silently curious about just what had prompted that outburst. If she'd wanted her dead so badly she could have easily killed her before.
“Don't let it get to ya”Another voice to her left spoke suddenly, her accent giving away that she was from somewhere south. “Fluttershy's always been a restless kind, always rebellin' against her life as a mercenary. Probably cause she's just so much better then the rest of us”. The pony in question had blonde hair and was coloured dark orange, a defining feature being the wide brown leather hat she wore on her head. She appeared to be busy whittling away at a piece of wood with a short curved knife as she sat back on a wooden crate, the various carvings around her of things from cats to even small birds showed she was no amateur at the craft.”Still, don't go to hard on her. It's because of her you were able to make it through those last two nights”
“What are you on about?”Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
“Pinkie pie gave her the order to lay down with you fer two whole nights: You'd lost a lot of blood from the fight and you were shiverin' pretty bad, you woulda died if not for her” The pegasus believed her despite a mild passive aggressive tone to it. Still, the pony seemed to be rather honest, a surprising trait for what seemed to be a group of bandits. She didn't exactly know why this detail came to mind upon seeing her, but something in her heart told her she could trust this pony. It was then the orange pony continued.”Pinkie pie said that she should look out for a fellow pegasus, what with you lot being so rare and everything” She swiftly flung the knife in her hoof that she had been using to carve wood right passed the rainbow haired mares head, the blade lodging itself into the wooden support just next to the head of a nearby pony sharpening his sword.
“What the hell Applejack!?”
“S-sorry! Didn't see you there” The pony chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.
“Hey you're up!” A fourth voice spoke, noticing the pink pony from before now trotting over rather quickly with a big grin on her face.”Good! I was starting to get worried, and I mean really worried! You were out unconscious like that, and then you started shivering due to the lost blood and all. So it's great to see you're up and alive!” The speed at which the mare spoke and how energetic she seemed utterly threw the pegasus off, just staring with a raised eyebrow.”So anyway, now that you're up we can get a party started up! I mean, we've been stuck in the same spot for the last two days with nothing to do..that's just so boring, I thought i'd just die! Besides, wouldn't be right to just send you off like that, cause I know every single pony in this band of-”
“Hey hey!”Rainbow Dash's head was spinning from all the details of this hyperactive pony, barely able to keep it in. And yet, strangely, this whole exercise seemed incredibly familiar to her somehow.”Look, first off..i don't do parties. Second, I don't even know who any of you are !” She was finding this pony before her to be rather trying to her patience and if she had lost two days it meant she had lost time both in travelling to the next city or town and also in finding work.
The pink pony blinked in surprise, her smile faltering for but a moment before it returned.
“Oh! That's right, we havn't even been introduced have we? Silly me” She giggled, her smile returning to her face in full force.”I'm the leader here, Pinkie-Pie. And you?”
“I'm Rainbow Dash” She replied bluntly, watching the pony before her remove a large blade from her back in a clumsy manner. A blade she knew all to well.
“This sword you got is great! A bit to heavy for me though”. She held the weapon up in-front of her for the Pegasus to take, which rainbow dash promptly did.”Come on, this way!” The pink earth pony ordered suddenly as Rainbow Dash returned her sword to it's proper spot on her back. She was suspicious at first but, finding she needed answers, proceeded to follow after the strange pony. She found it incredibly odd to see someone who had been so calm and composed on the field of battle before to be so energetic and cheerful like that. But, she also knew that Ponies acted differently in certain situations, particularly in the heat of battle where such acting could get a pony killed. So, she decided not to question it, still unable to shake the reason why this whole situation felt so familiar to her.

Rarity

All the Purple haired unicorn could do was look at Pinkie Pie and the pegasus walk away towards the nearby clearing, curious about what their leader would want with someone who had killed their comrades. All she knew was that she didn't want to be in that ponies hooves at that moment, for she knew all to well how deceitful Pinkie pie was in how she portrayed herself to others: Sure, she was known to be energetic and incredibly hyperactive around her comrades but, when placed onto the battlefield, it was like she became someone else entirely. Time and again she had shown how brilliant tactically she was, and her skills with a blade were always a joy to see. But even now she didn't know which side of her was the real pinkie pie, all she knew was that if she was to gain any glory she had to stay by her side. She had learned the hard way that to do so on her own was utterly impossible.
“So, what do you suppose Pinkie Pie is up to?”She spoke as she made her way over to her comrades, settling down near a tent.”In my opinion she should never have spared that Ruffians life”
“I think she wants her to join us” A southern voice, younger and softer then that of applejacks spoke up beside Rarity. It belonged to one of the scouts siblings, Applebloom, who was busy working on assembling a crossbow that she had been tinkering with.”We saw just how strong she was back there. I think if we had her with us, we'd be a lot stronger!” The filly proclaimed happily, making the unicorns anger come back full force. Using one of her hooves, she struck out and knocked the still incomplete weapon from the other mares' grasp.
“Never! Don't say something so ridiculous Applebloom”. She frowned at the younger mare, noticing how shocked and upset she looked at her previous action.”In case you happen to have forgotten, let me refresh your memory: That ruffian cut off Dan's leg and killed Earl! She would never be allowed into our midst, not after that!” She blamed the pegasus fully for what had happened to her own forces: Idiots though they might have been, they had still been her comrades and she was not going to forgive their murder.
“You're the one that asked Rarity..”The younger mare spoke in a disheartened manner, moving to try and gather up the pieces of her now scattered crossbow.
“I won't rest soundly if that...beast is able to become one of us, and neither will anyone else. Isn't that right Macintosh?”She asked the third and eldest of the siblings who had gone over to help the youngest of his siblings gather the remaining pieces of her crossbow. He said nothing, just giving a shrug as he set to work on the task before him. “Urgh!” The unicorn cried out in frustration, storming away from the group of her comrades.

Rainbow Dash

“Who are they?” The pegasus asked, referring to the numerous ponies, colts primarily, that seemed to be leering or glaring in her direction. Their unabashed staring at her made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, but she knew she couldn't show it. After all if they got even a whiff of unease from her, she knew they'd be all over her in under a second.
“The band of the pheonix”The earth pony replied cheerfully, making the Pegasus come to a hault suddenly.
“The Band of the Pheonix!?”She uttered in surprise. She had a feeling they were more then simple bandits but..for them to be one of the most feared and ruthless mercenary bands in the whole of Equestria? Even she hadn't expected that. She moved to quickly try to catch up with the pink mare, having to trot slightly to catch up.
“I'm gonna guess you've heard of us?”Pinkie grinned happily back at her.
“Yeah, I've heard of you”. Rainbow Dash spoke. She had heard stories of The Band of the Pheonix. They were a mercenary company known as 'Death on the Battlefield', and had been the ones she had fought against back in the castle two days ago. The castle took so long to break into because they had been holed up inside: They had predicted that the group wouldn't last three days before the walls were breached, instead they had lasted three months and solidified their reputation as a group of warriors no pony wanted to meet as enemies. When she had fought them she hadn't noticed, but upon closer inspection it had become clear: All of them were not older colts in their later years or retired soldiers looking for work. No, most of them were still rather young, just a bit older then the Pegasus herself. She wandered if the youth of the soldiers had been a key part to the bands success, the thought lingering even as she passed through the clearing with Pinkie pie.

Seeing the other pony give a stretch as they walked out onto a small hill, another question suddenly filled the Pegasus' mind.
“Why?” The question hung in the air a moment before Rainbow dash continued.”You could have easily stabbed me right through the heart back there, so why didn't you kill me?” She received only silence from the puffy haired pony.
“I want you Rainbow Dash”. The response made the pegasus' face scrunch up in annoyance and disgust, backing away slightly.
“You'd better not be coming on to me or I swear i'll-”
“No, not like that silly!” She giggled again, shaking her head as she stared at her again. Once more the pegasus felt her blue eyes gazing right at her: It was strange how they bore into her, as if she was again the only thing in this other ponies world. It was an odd feeling, to feel so important yet also totally insignificant next to her at the same time.”I watched your duel with Bazuzo, and you were absolutely amazing. But..that fight was very close. If Bazuzo's axe hadn't been cracked, it would have been you that lost their head rather then him”.
Rainbow Dash shrugged, in truth not really caring. She had won, he had lost, that was all their was too it.”Yeah, I guess..”She sounded utterly unimpressed with the memory of the duel.
“From how i've seen you fight, it's almost like you value winning above even your own life” She sounded surprisingly insightful all of a sudden, almost as if the bubbly and cheerful airhead from before had all but faded once again.”You never yield, even when faced with someone as monstrous as Bazuzo or Rarity and her men. You throw yourself into danger, as if testing yourself and preserve an existence you don't fully understand”. She spoke so confidently then, as if she had read the pegasus like an open book.”You are very interesting, actually you're completely perfect for me..exactly what i've been looking for” That same calming smile was on the ponies face again.“I want you to join me Dash”.

Anger started to bubble up inside of the Pegasus: Here was a pony, who had just two days earlier tried to kill her, now acting so happy and acting like she knew her like an open book! It irked her, even more so with how casually and quickly she was able to change from an utter hyperactive child to a calm, focused philosopher.
“And if I refuse?” She growled, making Pinkie pies smile fade.
“Huh!? You mean...you don't wanna join us?” She asked, mild disappointment heard clearly in her voice.
“Of course I don't want to!” She roared, wincing as the pain from her side returned, making her grasp at her bandaged side for a moment. Her mouth curled into a snarl as she glared daggers at the pony across from her.”Stop acting like you know so damned much about me! You've never talked to me, so how the hell could you possibly know one single thing about me!? For all you know you could be utterly wrong”.
“You're right, I don't. But..i just have a feeling. Stick around me long enough, and you'd learn to trust my feelings too!” She smiled at her, that same stupid smile!
“You bitch! Don't think I can't see through your bullshit!” The pegasus pointed at the pony before her, anger now spilling fourth in full.”You stab me in the fucking chest, and now you try and act like we're old friends!? Don't think I won't forget about what you did to me, and I can bet you aren't going to forget so soon either!” She spat on the ground, her glare not softening.”We are enemies”.
“So, what do you want?”
A dangerous smirk crossed the pegasus' face, a hoof grasping at the sword on her back.
“That's easy” She drew the blade, holding it out in-front of her in a ready stance.”To settle this, once and for all. If I win, I'll carve a hole in your chest just like you gave to me!”
“And if I win?” The ponies voice was calm, her pink and puffy hair slightly fluttering in a small breeze that wafted through.
“I'll be your partner, your soldier..whatever you want” Rainbow dash scoffed, the pegasus utterly confident that her victory was assured.
“Pinkie Promise?” There it was again, that childishness from before had returned once again in full force. Again and again this pony confused her.
“What!?”
“Promise. If you win i'll let you stab me through the chest. But if I win, you are mine”. She seemed oddly serious about this incredibly childish act, her gaze hardening slightly as if fully expecting her to take it at face value.
The Pegasus winced, utterly embarrassed by this before sighing.”Ok fine, I..”She shuddered.”Pinkie Promise” The words just felt wrong to her, making her feel dirty and unclean just by conceding to it. She watched pinkie pie perform a cross over where her heart would be before pointing a hoof to her forehead. She looked at the pegasus after she did so, as if expecting her to do the same. Rainbow Dash sighed, closing her eyes in embarrassment before copying her actions by crossing her hoof over where her heart would be before pointing it at her forehead. She resumed her attack stance, her anger now increased from that embarrassing little display.

It was then Pinkie pie once more unsheathed her sabre, the pegasus just now noticing she had been carrying it at her side despite not wearing any armour this time, raising the blade up to her face.
“I kind of like solving things this way, much more fun” The ponies expression remained calm even in spite of what she was getting herself into, but another voice crying out briefly disrupted the pegasus' focus.
“Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy cried out, seeming to have been following both the pegasus and her leader.
“Stay back Fluttershy”. The pink ponies smile returned as she pointed her sword at the pegasus across from her.”I will have what I want, don't worry”.
The words that calmed the pink haired pegasus only further angered the one across from her, with Rainbow Dash feeling that she was being looked down upon once more.
“Will you just shut up!?” She roared, bringing the two handed blade up and swinging it down at the pink haired pony across from her, hoping to cleave her idiotic head in twain as she had Bazuzo. But, she seemed to have expected this, quickly using her own short sword to block and redirect the blade away from her. Blinking in surprise, Rainbow dash stumbled only to find her enemies blade swiping at her foreleg, making her growl in pain at the small gash as she fell forwards.
This Pinkie Pie was fast, effortlessly reflecting a blow that should have cleaved her weapon in two: The pegasus knew she could slice through solid steel with her sword, so why was this pony able to reflect her blows, let alone with just one hoof? This Pinkie Pie seemed to be more skilled then Rainbow Dash initially thought.
With a roar, the pegasus got up and swung her blade once again, her opponent skillfully blocking and redirecting the incoming blow. The rainbow haired pegasus growled, following up with another slash only for the process to repeat. She had to win, she always won. She sped up the swings of her swords, she had to be faster, she had to be stronger. Then, and only then, could she beat this artful dodger. But, it seemed that her enemy was always one step ahead, the pony dodging, weaving and redirecting the sword swings with ease. After three more dodged swings, the pony locked blades briefly before manoeuvring to the left. Using the butt of her short blade, she smacked Rainbow dash in the forehead, throwing the pegasus off balance before lunging the tip of the weapon passed her cheek, leaving a graze.
More ponies had shown up by now, distracting the pegasus due to talks by a purple haired unicorn in 'saving' their leader. It was the same unicorn that had attacked her that day, and for a moment the pegasus readied herself for a second opponent. However, it appeared Fluttershy had calmed that sentiment by proclaiming that this was their leaders fight and they should stay out of it. Her attention was jarringly returned to the fight by a sharp pain at her other cheek as the pink pony lunged her blade passed her face again. Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed, quickly resuming her barrage of attacks. They were unfocused now, fuelled by anger and rage, coming in far quicker then they had before at the cost of the brute strength. But still her enemy dodged and redirected her blows, not looking the least bit flustered in the greater speed of the assault.
“You know if you're still not feeling well we can postpone this” Pinkie Pie Spoke calmly as she continued dodging the blows, almost as if the fight had already ceased and she was just conversing normally.”You haven’t fully healed yet so you're at a disadvantage”
“I said shut up!” Rainbow Dash pulled her blade back behind her, swinging forwards once again. This time though, she dragged the tip of her great sword in an arc through the dirt, causing a large cloud of dust to be sent flying into her enemies face. This lead to cries of foul play and horror as Pinkie Pie begun to cough and splutter, but Rainbow Dash ignored them. She had her prey now, she knew she had won this little duel. She raised her sword up over her head, swinging the weapon downwards on where her enemy stood.

There was no resistance as her blade spiralled down towards her foe, not even a cry of agony from her foe. In-fact, there wasn't even a sound made as her swords edge hit the earth below, leading to Rainbow Dash to realise very quickly that her blow had not made contact. Looking up, she saw Pinkie pie just to the left of where her sword was, the pony again smiling happily right at her. The pegasus moved to raise her sword, but to her horror watched as her enemy jumped up onto the edge, her hooves keeping a sizeable pressure on the weapon whilst her own sword was pointed at the pegasus' neck.
“I like you even more now. You're prepared to go to any lengths to win” The females head tilted to one side, her smile taking on a more mischievous look.”But now you can't move that sword without me cutting open your throat. I wouldn't mind if you post-poned this”
“You Talk too much..”She smirked, looking down at the blade being pointed at her. She knew this was going to be risky but, right now she didn't care: If it meant she could win this duel and wipe that stupid smirk from the other ponies face, it would be worth it.”Let me show you how you should be using your mouth!” She quickly opened her mouth, biting down on the tip of the sabre, throwing her enemy off guard. It hurt, the tip of the blade cutting at the side of her mouth and causing some blood to seep down from in between her teeth due to the blade cutting into her cheek. The action had caused her enemies eyes to widen, throwing the other mare off guard and eliciting a few shocked cries from the crowd of onlookers.
The pegasus grasped the hilt of her great sword, pushing it up with as much force as she could manage. The action succeeded in pushing her enemy off, but also ended up throwing the pegasus off balance as well and sending both combatants down the edge of the small cliff. The sabre fell free from her mouth as they both fell, her own grip on her great sword loosened and the weapon lost as they hit the ground that was thankfully not steep enough to cause damage.

Helping herself to her feet, she spotted Pinkie pie gradually trying to get her own bearings, seeing an opportunity once again. Flaring her wings, despite the pain it caused, she propelled herself forwards, sending one of her hooves into the other ponies face as she made the pass. It connected, sending the other pony onto her back with a cry of pain. Rainbow dash quickly followed up with three more strikes with her hoof while her opponent was still dazed by her other attack, reveling in every single hit. She had been annoyed with how her enemy continued to evade every single strike, embarassing her with the grace and speed she had outdoing her own strength. She would be damned if she was going to lose to this childish mare again: She'd gotten lucky once, something she'd ensure wouldn't happen again. Sure, the pegasus didn't have her sword anymore but wielding that weapon had it's advantages, namely in granting her incredible upper body strength. Her opponent, from what she had observed was quick but she wasn't very strong, her advantage coming from redirecting blows. But she didn't have a sword anymore either, and without that she was useless.
She unleashed one final kick, this one to her enemies stomach, causing her to fall down amidst loud spluttering coughs. Some blood left the pink ponies mouth as she did this, quickly moving one of her hooves to try to stop the obscene display
“How do you like the taste of your own blood?” Rainbow Dash smirked, spitting on her enemy. Some of her blood, namely from the cut on her inner cheek, mixed with the saliva and stained her enemies back as it made contact.”What's wrong, never gotten hit before?”She teased, the insult feeling so satisfying: It was her turn to hold the advantage, and she was enjoying every second of it. The feeling of satisfaction only grew when her opponent got to her feet, her expression surprisingly serious. No longer was she smiling so cheerfully or confidently, her mouth was curled back and her eyes instead narrowed. Whether it was in anger or concentration, she couldn't be sure, but the bleeding lip and puffy cheeks certainly made her seem less confident.”Shame your little minions have to see you get your ass kicked, but this is it...this is where I win!” She again lunged forwards, swinging her hoof right for her opponents face. However the blow didn't connect, her opponent moving to the side and quickly grabbing ahold of the outstretched leg before pulling it back. She used her weight to press down on the pegasus' back, sending them both down into the ground below.
Cheers rang out from the crowd of onlookers above, the mercenaries cheering as their leader managed to get the pegasus into a body lock.
“Phew! That sure made me dizzy. But you were right about something...this is it” She could spot that smile back on her opponents face again from the corner of her eyes, that damned stupid smile.”Now, you have a choice. Are you going to surrender, or let me dislocate your shoulder?” The pony asked, surprisingly calm for someone who just moment ago had the daylights beaten out of them.”Choose” She spoke after a brief moments silence
“Fuck...You..”

Rainbow Dash let out a cry as a sharp pain ran throughout her whole leg, the small crack signalling it's dislocation and a large roar of praise and laughter to erupt from their audience. The crowd of ponies all came down the hill, many rushing over to congratulate their leader on her 'victory'. The only one that didn't was the purple haired pegasus, who chuckled mockingly down at her before kneeling down to be slightly more level.
“Aww, did that hurt? Guess it must feel rather bad to lose twice in a row like that, mustn't it Ruffian?” She taunted, the rainbow haired Pegasus wanting to reach out and choke the unicorn then and there, but the pain in her leg was just too much to bear. Fortunately, Pinkie Pie gently placed a hand on the unicorns shoulder, causing her to move back in silence as the pink pony moved to take her place. She gently reached out, her hooves gently reaching the sides of the rainbow haired mares head and softly making her look into her eyes. Her expression was different now, the smile more welcoming and the eyes slightly softer, not unlike the look a mother would give to her child. It was an odd look but, oddly enough, all Rainbow Dash could feel by it was comforted.
“And now, you are mine..” She spoke softly, still appearing to be deathly calm yet the tone still held some measure of comfort to it. Pinkie Pie slowly got to her feet, her expression remaining unchanging.”Welcome to the Pheonixes”
“Y-you really mean it?” A younger voice spoke, the southern accent not as pronounced as the one the pegasus had spoke too previously but still present nonetheless.
“Yes, from now on she's one of us”. And with that the matriarchal, calming feeling had gone only to be replaced by the childish smile from before.
This elicited a cheer from all of the surrounding ponies, the aggression and rage from earlier now replaced with an eager cheerfulness. Only two didn't join in: The first was the unicorn, who just stood their with a look of utter shock and dread, as if her brain was unable to register what had happened. The second was Fluttershy, who looked decidedly bothered by the ordeal and turned to walk away, as if something was on her mind.

The pain in Rainbow Dash's leg from the dislocation suddenly returned full force, gently caressing the limb. This was all so strange: She had never been so forcefully brought into any mercenary group, but it was the leader Pinkie Pie that grabbed her attention most. She acted so foolishly and like a child, but could command all of these men. She seemed to be so innocent, and yet she could calculate movements and figure out how to best someone like herself. This was just too strange, but first thing was first: Relocating her shoulder.