Author's Note
Howdy fans of Without You, today I bring to you the first What-if scenario in a series of What-If story ideas for the Snowverse I’ve been working on, just something that came to mind that I’ve been seriously considering for the past half-year or so.
Now, again, this is a What If, it is in no way canon unless I decide on going through with what I have in mind. This fic is merely to test the waters of my writing ability and gauge interest, and I will have a poll listed in a Blogpost that I really really want you guys to partake in, cause it will directly influence the universe.
The What-If scenario is this: what if Rainbow Dash appeared in Raccoon City, but instead of being a regular pony, she was anthro instead?
You guys know I love anthro and I write it, I even have a few anthro fics.
I’ll write and explain it some more in the blogpost that will be at the end of the fic, so please check it out when you can and enjoy the fic!
AGAIN, THIS FIC IS IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, CANON, IT IS JUST A WHAT-IF SCENARIO UNTIL A DECISION IS MADE.
Nemesis
After escaping the devastation of Raccoon City Hospital heralded by Leech Man, the meet-up and change with Robert Kendo, as well as surviving the Main Street Massacre and the eventual conflict inside of the Raccoon City Police Department, Rainbow Dash and Dee fought their way to Raven’s Gate Bridge in a bid to escape the nuclear bombardment of Raccoon City.
However, their escape attempt is thwarted by an old foe who has returned from the burning hellfires of the city in a bid to halt their escape.
Project: Nemesis.
The pickup’s engine roared as they blasted a path up the on-ramp to the city’s sole exit, past groups of undead feasting on the unlucky souls who had the same idea, only to fall. The failures of dozens spurred the duo’s desperation to not meet a similar fate, survival was the only option right now.
“Is this really it? We’re finally escaping the city?”
Dee wiped the sweat from his brow before casting his gaze over to his friend, the mare called Rainbow Dash. A brief moment when they first met flashed through his mind, when he arrived in the ruins of the city and she had crash-landed nearby, covered in bruises, scratches, and a gunshot wound she suffered from a rooftop sniper somewhere.
The mare was not what he expected; standing a whole meter and a half high in her humanoid equine form, certainly a sight to behold. To see one of his favorite fictional characters appear and she was not only real but humanoid? Was mind-blowing, especially with how… good she looked, something that made his mind wander from time to time, at least during this entire journey of theirs.
They had suffered quite a bit, and Rainbow herself had to replace a lot of her clothing with scavenged wear from a shop they had passed by after escaping the RPD; originally she wore an athletic outfit consisting of a workout two-tone grey/black leggings, a modest sports bra and a loose blue hoodie over top of that alongside some sneakers.
After several encounters with clawed creatures and teeth bearing monsters, she had to replace a lot of it; now she wore a pair of jeans underneath some armor taken from the RPD, standard knee-pads to couple with the vest she wore over top of her bra to give her some protection from the monsters. It was almost similar to Dee’s own outfit, albeit mixed pieces here and there, and for a weapon? She didn’t like it… but she was given a handgun, Dee’s old Browning handgun, an RPD standard issue firearm.
She took a bit to get used to it, but she was a crack shot, and it terrified her.
Looking back out onto the ramp and the bridge leading out of the city, Dee let out a long and much-awaited sigh of relief when he saw it wasn’t as blocked off as he expected it to be.
“God I fucking hope so, I’m so burned out from all of this.” He gripped the wheel and looked behind at the snarl of vehicles blocking the freeway further into the city; densely packed vehicles everywhere with little room to move, let alone drive around, one had to go on foot.
The sight of the undead told him all he needed to know.
“We get out of the city, and we’re finally safe. I don’t know what’ll happen once we’re out though…”
Rainbow sighed and looked out of the window and at the horizon, where a small amount of sunlight could be seen slowly rising above the mountains to the east.
To think little less than a week ago she had been flying around her hometown, enjoying the scenery and practicing her skills, and improving what she already had ingrained in her. Her dream was the Wonderbolts after all.
All that changed when she achieved her Sonic Rainboom, somehow tearing open a hole just big enough for her to cross over into this world; a horrible world full of mutant horrors and greedy creatures who kill and fight. It was a place that reeked of bad energy and even magic, and she had no choice but to adopt the ways of her human friend merely to survive.
Fighting and killing, her acrobatic martial arts and speed allowed her an advantage against the slow yet strong undead, but even then there were too many close calls.
She looked down at her gloved hands and the small amount of blood covering the leather. She noted the light shaking, the tremble in her fingers, the dried crimson under her nails, the bruise on her wrist, and the scratches and bandages from wounds won in battles for her life.
The magic of her world seemed to pale as the reality of other worlds set in again. Did her ancestors feel this way in the past when they fought against Nightmare Moon? Did Firefly suffer similarly in the siege of Pegasopolis?
Murder was no new concept, but the ‘brutality’ of her world paled in comparison to this one.
She still didn’t understand how humans did this every day.
Dee’s lips opened as he began to say something, but he stopped. Something didn’t seem right, a prickly feeling coursed across his skin and his heart jumped in his chest as he sped down the freeway to the exit, the huge gate at the end was where Umbrella locked down the city and only let out people who weren’t infected. It was a failure, many no doubt slaughtered and forced back into the city at gunpoint, a fucking travesty.
Dee wasn’t paying much attention to that, instead, he was focused on what looked like a lone figure standing in the middle of the road.
A single man, almost, but his poor eyesight didn’t help.
“D-Dee… what the fuck is that?”
Her eyesight had to be ten times better, no wonder why she was such a crack shot. “W-what do you mean?”
“I-it’s a monster, and he’s got something huge… wait, why is it spinnin-?”
Dee barely reacted fast enough once the thundering boom of a chaingun nearly tore the truck into two.
The exploding armor-piercing rounds ate up the engine like a shark to an injured diver, tearing factory steel and metal into twisted gnarled bits of scrap metal that swiftly caught flame. Some lucky rounds went further, devastating the chassis and ripping into the axel, the steering column, and tearing the tires from where they were bolted into place.
The truck swerved, the engine exploded, and caught flame, quickly engulfing the windshield and the smoke choking out the duo in the cab as they lost control. To the left, the right, until the truck flipped over into a harsh barrel roll.
The glass shattered and rained down on the two as they spun. Their screams were lost to a cacophony of explosive gunfire and the roar of a monster that finally clicked in Dee’s mind.
Nemesis.
Shards of glass cut up and lacerated their bodies, and despite their best attempts, they were rattled around like they were in a blender, until finally, they came to a stop.
The intense heat barely registered in their dizzied minds, blood rushing all around from the violent rollout and destructive force of Nemesis’ chain gun.
Smoke was quick to fill the air as Dee woozily pulled a knife from his shoulder holstered, and cut the seat belt loose, not even thinking of hitting the quick-release button. The young man fought the urge to puke and glared out of the broken and shattered windshield at the approaching form of a two-meter tall titan armed with enough hardware to start a small conflict.
The sharp taste of iron and bile hit his tongue and he fought to pull himself free from the gnarled wreckage of the truck.
Rainbow was to his right, cut up from the glass across her face and exposed arms, but the armor did a good enough job protecting some of her vitals. She held her head, groaning and wincing. “Gods…”
“We g-gotta get out, Dashie, n-now!”
Dee reached over to Rainbow’s seat belt and slashed it free before putting the knife away, and trying the door handle to his left. It didn’t budge, and slamming his shoulder into it didn’t achieve anything but more pain.
“Fuck.”
He heard Rainbow’s attempts to open her own door, but to no avail, she had no luck opening her door either.
“D-damn it!”
Looking behind, Dee noticed the back window was busted out, no fire, it was their only escape. Grabbing his shotgun and assault rifle, he turned and scrambled to it. “Out the back window, now, g-go!”
He climbed out as Rainbow got out to follow, looking dizzy and worn out.
Once they climbed past broken glass and warped metal, the duo landed in the bed and jumped out as the engine exploded further, causing the fire to finally engulf the cab. Rainbow yelped as she jumped from the bed, her foot nearly caught in the blast.
Dee slung the shotgun around his back and aimed his rifle at Nemesis as it continued to approach, every stomp accentuated by a tremble of the ground. To his right as the duo backed away from the truck, Rainbow pulled out the handgun she was given.
“W-what the hell is that t-thing?!” Rainbow screamed over the fire.
The sight of Nemesis' approach was not something Dee wanted, he hoped for a quick escape into the wilderness, to the surviving world outside of Raccoon, but no, it was alway fucking something. “Nemesis T-Type, an Umbrella bioweapon… just our fucking luck that he’d show up here of all goddamn places.”
He flicked the safety off and gripped the gun tighter.
“C-can we beat him?”
“Highly doubtful, I’m a crusty guy from the south and you’re a magical flying horse versus a bioengineered weapon specifically designed to kill, but we’ll give it our best shot, yea?”
Rainbow’s expression dropped a bit. “Dee… you’re really bad at instilling confidence.”
“Oh I know, I’m just trying not to cry right now at the impending doom standing fifteen feet in front of us, armed with death.”
Rainbow swallowed and tried to steady her hands for the fight ahead.
“A-any weaknesses?”
“Short of a violent experimental weapon we sadly do not have access to? Not much, unfortunately… I doubt our small arms are going to do much against the fucker.” Dee cursed, and Rainbow could see the sweat across his face and the terror in his eyes. “The one thing we need to actually kill him is too far away for us to run, and considering how violent he is? We’re not going to do much damage against him.”
It was certainly a problem, and seeing Nemesis with his armament and looking ready to fight did not help matters any.
The chaingun quickly spun up and he quickly fired off a burst of rounds before darting to the left, bolting out of the line of fire before they could catch him.
Dee’s heart nearly leaped in his chest as he felt the air bypassing him from the speed of the rounds, and looking at the spot where he stood revealed torn apart concrete.
Rainbow’s inhuman speed allowed her to avoid the rounds with ease, coupled with her natural flight, she was a difficult target to hit.
He wasn’t worried about her too much, but he kept an ear out regardless as he began to devise a plan.
We have to take him down and keep moving, but he’s standing in our way and the only thing I know of that can destroy him is that experimental weapon the Army made. It’s nowhere near here, it’s underground… we’re really fucked here.
In the air above, Rainbow Dash watched as Nemesis chewed up whatever little cover there was in search of Dee, and she grimaced as she circled around in the air. She desperately clung to the handgun given to her as protection against the horrors of the city.
A brief moment caused her to think back to when she crashed here, granted now was not the time but she couldn’t help it.
So much blood was spilled as they fought their way out of that street, away from constant death looming in dark alleyways and around narrow corners.
Her fingers tightened around the handgun and she took aim at Nemesis, prepared to pull the trigger to try and give her friend a path to safety.
Something long, wet, and slimy wrapping around her ankle from below caused her shot to miss the second she pulled the trigger.
“W-whoa!”
The strength of the appendage pulled her from the air and she was yanked to the ground, but her powerful wings helped her stay afloat just enough to avoid being snagged by claws.
A glance down revealed a Licker, a freakish quadruped mutant that had a long tongue and razor-sharp teeth, one of the most hated of the mutants she had to encounter. Fast, agile, and their long tongue almost negated her flying abilities, meaning she was almost at a disadvantage, but she was far faster.
Rainbow struggled in the air and reached down to pull the knife from her boot, and with a yell slashed her way free!
“Get off me!”
The knife cut cleanly through the tongue, severing it from the mutant and causing blood to spurt from the now out-of-control tendril.
The mare shook her leg to dislodge the dismembered thing and shuddered before her eyes locked onto the beast, and she noted there were several of them! She cursed and checked her gun, before gripping the knife in one hand and her handgun in the other.
Firefly, I hope you’re watching, cause I’m not dying here today!
Rainbow’s wings tucked in at her sides and she dropped down fast, and she landed on the ground in a crouch and quickly darted to the right to avoid a leap from one of the monsters. The mare’s agility was unmatched by even the most peak human, so avoiding these monsters even in their altered state was child’s play.
She approached the first of the trio of monsters and ducked a slash and retaliated with one of her own across the expanded chest cavity, sinking her razor-sharp blade into the flesh and rending it.
Speed and instincts had her spinning to avoid another slash from a monster from behind, and she allowed herself to fall in order to aim her pistol, and she pulled the trigger in three quick successions, sending three rounds right into the chest, neck, and head of the monster, killing it.
Falling onto her back, Rainbow rolled and jumped backward to fly off of the bridge momentarily as the monster fell, dead, and the first began to bleed profusely from its wound. The third and final one roared defiantly and shot out its tongue, to which Rainbow responded with force.
She darted left and right to avoid their deadly tongues firing out of their jaws to try and catch her or whip her. A mixture of her knife slashes and handgun shots combined with her speed and flexibility quickly became a deadly dance of death, one that would have made her ancestors proud.
She closed the distance and leaped onto the ground in front of the monster, and avoiding another slash and jump, she dropped forward and twisted her body so that her back faced the ground and she emptied her magazine into the monster, spreading her wings to glide under the jumping beast.
Now dead, it flung itself into the barrier and went over with a wet smack.
The last one, bleeding from its chest, stood no chance as Rainbow spun her body hard, using her fantastic speed and bringing her leg down into a violent leg drop that cascaded all of her force into a brutally devastating kick, bringing the monster down to the concrete and snapping its neck in two with a loud crack, and its spine, all but shattered.
As the mare recovered and adopted her combat stand, making sure she was alone now, she quickly turned to face down Nemesis.
The rounds paved a path towards the car Dee was hidden behind and it only took a few seconds before the deafening sound of metal being chewed into by high-powered explosive rounds decimated whatever thoughts he had.
A curse muffled by gunfire and he scrambled away from the hood and towards the barrier over the highway before jumping over, just as the rounds caused the vehicle to catch fire and then explode; another burning hellfire to choke the air around them in black smoke. The rounds chased after him and chewed into the concrete, and he had no choice but to continue running as they grew closer.
“Son of a bitch!”
Nemesis roared and followed Dee’s trail, trying to nail him, but the human was too fast and agile for him to get a bead on. A roar of frustration and the mutant beast stopped firing before stomping towards Dee, his long legs and powerful stride causing him to easily reach the human before he could run.
Caught by the beast, Dee turned and pulled the trigger on his rifle, sending a full burst of rounds into Nemesis’ face, tearing into mutated flesh and even his teeth.
A hand shooting out and grabbing onto him caused him to drop the gun. The air was taken from him and he was brought up, hoisted into the air several feet as the monster tightened his grip around his windpipe.
“Grk!”
Desperation drove Dee to drop his now empty assault rifle and pull his knife free, and slash and stab at Nemesis’ hand, his arm, into the tight wraps and gloves the beast wore. His strength was sapped from him with each action, each motion taking away what little he had left.
“F-fuck yo-grRKRK!”
His vision flashed white, pain rocketed through his body as he grew weaker and weaker to the point he couldn’t even grip his own blade anymore.
His shotgun and handguns would do nothing, he had no chance.
Until a blur swooped in from above like a thunderclap.
Dee watched as Rainbow’s kick collided with Nemesis’ head, and her speed and magically enhanced strength were enough to cause the titan to stumble and loosen his grip on the human.
“Grrr! Y-you fuck-!” Newfound strength filled the human and he reached around his back to pull his shotgun free, loaded with twelve-gauge slugs as opposed to buckshot. As Nemesis roared in distress, he shoved the shotgun into its opened mouth. “Eat lead!”
Pulling the trigger sent an entire slug exploding down the barrel, and into the enclosed mouth of a mutant monster, even he couldn’t withstand the destructive force of the round shattering his teeth, and tearing through flesh and bone before exiting through the back of his throat.
The monster’s grip loosened, and Dee would have fallen had Rainbow not flown back around to catch him just in time.
“I got you!” The humanoid mare cried before flying away from Nemesis.
Dee held onto her and with their speed, was able to soar alongside her, probably a better way to escape the city if they choose to.
Nemesis crumpled to the ground as blood exploded forth from the exit wound, overflowing his mouth until he hit the ground face first. Blood quickly pooled around him and he appeared to be dead, but Dee knew better.
“Is that it? Is he…?”
“No, not by a long shot,” Dee replied as they flew, and he looked to the mountains in the distance as the sun rose over the horizon. “But… we’re flying right now, actually… we should probably get the fuck out of here before the bomb drops.”
Rainbow blinked and began flying towards the exit as the fires consumed the vehicles down below, and Nemesis remained unmoving. “Why didn’t we do this earlier?”
“Ya know? I have no idea… but let’s get the fuck out of here and to safety.”
Letting out a long-awaited breath of relief, the duo soared away from the burning city towards the Arkley Mountains, away from a city doomed for destruction. Was this the end of their story? No, it was only the beginning.
IMPORTANT BLOGPOST
