White light.
It flooded over Rainbow Dash's consciousness as she opened her eyes, blinding her with its brilliance. For an instant, unable to remember what had brought her here, she thought she glimpsed heaven. Images of her friends, Fluttershy and Gilda, looking over her from the lights like giants, only concreted this opinion. She though she could hear them, gently calling out to her. "Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash."
"Hey Rainbow Dash!" A mess of purple hair, attached to a wildly grinning face, bounded into her vision, bringing with it messages of pain from every inch of her body. Dash groaned weakly, turning over in her bed as her gown crinkled.
Bed. Gown. Definitely not heaven then. Rainbow took in her surroundings, craning her neck painfully around. A bed, not her usual one, surrounded by white curtains in a perfectly white and clean room. Beyond the curtains she could just make out more identical beds. Around her own little ward were a few cheap folding chairs, all of which had been occupied until just recently. The hospital then, somewhere Rainbow was intimately familiar with.
"Dash, you're awake!" Fluttershy exclaimed, far louder and higher than her usual register. The shy girl flung her arms around her friend, making her wince again. "Oh I was so worried. You and Applejack beat each other up so thoroughly. I was worried you weren't going to wake up at all! Oh please don't do that again. Please please please!"
"Can't breath," Rainbow wheezed. "Crushing...broken....ribs!"
"Oh!" Scrambling to leave her wounded friend, Fluttershy stumbled onto Dash's wounded leg, making her yelp. "Sorry!"
"It's fine Fluttershy. I'm fine."
"Relatively speaking," Gilda said with just a hint of sarcasm, although the grin on her rough feature betrayed her relief. Rainbow was about to make, in her opinion, a rather witty and scathing comment when she noticed again the offending orange and purple child from before sitting at the foot of her bed with a grin as wide as her mouth could stretch.
"Hey Scootaloo. When'd you get here?" Scootaloo, beaming brighter at her hero's attention, went to answer but Fluttershy beat her to it.
"Scootaloo followed us here all the way from Cloudsdale, without telling anyone."
"Really? Nice going kid.
"Rainbow!"
"I mean, that's bad. Really bad. The warden will be furious with you." When Fluttershy turned away, she snuck Scootaloo a sly wink.
"You were so cool out there Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "You were so fast and so strong, running rings around that farmer. And when your wings came out it was all 'whoosh' and 'kapow'!" Each sound effect was accompanied by an enthused waving of arms from the young sky."And that Sonic Rainboom at the end was incredible!" Talk of he match brought Dash's mind back to the contest.
"The match?! What happened at the end? Did I win?" Then realization struck home. She was in the hospital, unconscious. There was no way she could have won. Dash's body visibly drooped at the thought.
"Quit moping Dash," Gilda said. "You didn't lose."
"But I was knocked out, and the princess said that the first to fall would lose."
"Yeah, but y'all didn't fall first," a new yet familiar voice cut through.The curtain opened, revealing Applejack in a similar getup also confined to a bed. Applebloom sat besides her, her grin almost matching Scootaloo's in size and blindability. "'parently we knocked each other out with the same hit, an' the Princess is withholdin' judgement." The cowgirl grinned at her, wincing as the movement tugged on something strained or broken in some way. "Didn't think I'd be saying this so early, 'specially not to you, but ya fought well. I'd offer ya mah hand but well..." she lifted the offending appendage, revealing a well bandaged block.
"Yeah, I know I did!" Fluttershy gasped at Rainbow Dash's blatant confidence, and prepared to apologize for her, but Applejack's face silenced her. She didn't look offended; her eyes were filled with the same confidence as Rainbow's own. The cowgirl understood Dash, and knew she wasn't going to get anything better out of her. Fluttershy sighed inwardly. She was never going to understand this.
The meeting was broken up by the entrance of a doctor carrying the unconscious Twilight. Besides from the whole unconscious business and a few minor scrapes she seemed fine, but obviously no one wanted to take any chances. The doctor, who quickly laid her out on a spare bed, had the look of a good father: caring or stern when the situation called for it. He fixed everyone in the room with his sterner side.
"This isn't a viewing theatre people, this is a medical facility. Now if you wouldn't mind, these patients need rest and quiet." There was a collective 'aww' from everyone. "The next match is about to start anyway. You don't want to miss that, do you?" Grouchily, the visitors began to file out.
"Wait a minute!" Dash called from her cot. "I don't want to miss the next match either!" She tried to rise, but the doctor was quick to respond, pushing her back into the cushions.
"No you don't missy! You need your bed rest."
"But..."
"The hospital has its own screens." He gestured up above his head, where one of the glass panes was fixed in place. "You won't be missing anything." Rainbow Dash grumbled something unintelligible, but complied to the doctor's orders. Now the room was empty except for the patients and one pink haired girl. The doctor sighed audibly. "Madam..."
"Umm, is it ok if I just stay here?" Fluttershy asked in her meekest voice. "I promise I won't be loud, or get in the way."
"Well..." Despite his better judgement, he didn't feel like he could disappoint this innocent looking girl.
"Please."
"...fine." Fluttershy's eyes lit up, almost melting the doctor's heart. From the bed, Rainbow Dash fixed her with a most penetrating stare. "Wh...what?"
"That helpless act never gets old, does it?"
"What act?" Fluttershy asked, genuinely confused. Dash rolled her eyes in disbelief, but any further comment was cut short by the beginning of the choosing cinematic. With two matches down, the contestants had dwindled down to six. Once again the pictures spun around, disappearing one by one till only two were left.
"Fluttershy vs Garble!"
Fluttershy's heart plummeted. She couldn't think of a worse pairing. Rainbow Dash was quite the opposite. "Sweet, you're up Flutts. Excited?"
"Umm...yeah..." The shy girl slowly sunk down till she was cowering below the bed. "Ecstatic..."
"Something wrong?" Dash said, blatantly stating the obvious.
"Umm...well..." Fluttershy slowly curled into the fetal position as she tried to build up the courage to speak her mind.
"Fluttershy, you know you can tell me anything." Fluttershy uncurled slightly at that, a twitch of relief on her face.
"Ok Dash, I..."
"After all, once we win and our dream comes true, nothing else will matter, right? But now since I may be out, you're gonna have to make sure you win." Fluttershy squeaked at a range somewhere beyond human hearing, and bit her tongue. Leaning over the edge of her bed, Dash gave her a tremendous grin. "So what's the problem?"
"Nothing!" Fluttershy said, far too quickly. "Just fixing my shoelaces." She tried to rise from her hiding space far too quickly, smacking her temple painfully on the bed's chassis.
"Well you better hurry up, they're waiting for you out there."
"...ok..."
"Knock them dead girl!" Fluttershy merely nodded, slinking out of the sickbay. She knew she couldn't let Rainbow Dash down.
Not to her face anyway.
Applejack, who had been silently watching the entire exchange, shook her head at Dash's ignorance. Rather surprisingly, the polychromatic haired girl noticed. "What's that for cowgirl?"
"Y'all 're sending that girl out to get thrashed. She's meeker than a pansy in summer; she ain't got a chance against a guy that big.
"Brawl isn't everything AJ," Rainbow scoffed. The cowgirl still looked more than a little skeptical, which Dash countered with a confident grin. "She may seem quiet now, but Fluttershy's got this match easy. When she gets going, there ain't nothing that can stop her. Nothing in the world."
Fluttershy wandered meekly to centre stage; a deer in headlights for all to see. Her eyes constantly darted left and right, searching for cover in the desolate stadium. The giant Garble, taller than even Celestia beside him, glared darkly at her the whole way, making her pace to the centre even slower. When at last she reached the fighter and umpire, her steps were barely more than a tiptoe.With a flourish, Celestia began her introduction. "After an eventful and spectacular first two rounds, we now have Garble of the Drakes...."
"Umm, excuse me,"
"...against Fluttershy of the Sky."
"excuse me princess."
"A battle of two who have passed through the great maze. Which of these two will be victorio...." Celestia stopped as Fluttershy tugged at the end of her dress. Instantly Fluttershy pulled back, shrinking back under her curious gaze.
"Oh, I'm sorry, that was terribly rude, I really should have just waited till you finished and...." Although her lips continued moving the sound was completely lost to the wind. The Princess smiled as sweetly as she could, trying to calm the now (gabbling) girl but only succeeding in making her squeak at an even higher pitch.
"It's perfectly fine, my dear." Celestia even retained from her booming tone to try end encourage the shy girl. "Whatever you have to say, please say so." Fluttershy's mouth flapped open a few more times mutely, then, with a deep breath, she squeaked out her long awaited declaration.
"I surrender."
The stadium was dead silent, broken in delay by a frustrated scream from the direction of the infirmary. Celestia looked slightly surprised, but still addressed Fluttershy without changing her tone. "Are you sure? Once you have surrendered you will be removed from the competition entirely."
"Yes, I'm sure." There was another scream from the infirmary that faded out into a moan of despair. Celestia merely nodded.
"As you wish. Garble, do you accept this?" The Drake, who had remained unfazed by this new development, pondered for a few moments. Then a cruel, confident grin spread across his face.
"No."
"wh...what?"
"You think you can just quit to escape the wrath of a Drake?"
"Um...ye..." Garble shook his head, still grinning menacingly.
"That ain't how it works missy. I'm gonna show everyone that Drakes are the most powerful clan, and that no one can boss us around. No one!" He looked specifically at the Princess with the last words, almost making them a snarl. From the stands there was a chorus of brutish roars of approval from his gang. Fluttershy had gone as white as a sheet, her legs trembling with fear.
"Bu...but I..."
"You're going to be the first to see what a true Drake can do. You should be honored girlie. Although I suppose speechless works as well." He barked out a laugh that made Fluttershy freeze straight.
"Very well. Since Garble does not accept the surrender, the match will continue." There was another chant from the gangs, with a louder exclamation from the infirmary. "Let the third match..."
"...wai..."
"Begin!"
Swamps are not the nicest places to visit at the best of times. Their sickening aroma and notorious sink hole death traps kept most wise humans at bay. The roots of the mangroves, the only tree that seemed capable of braving the conditions, broke the muddy surface irregularly and moved with the wind eerily, giving the still waters a sense of life. Even the creatures, adapted to their harsh environment, were threatening in themselves. No one would be silly enough to venture anywhere near the centre of the bog.
Which is, of course, exactly where Celestia dropped them.
The ground beneath Fluttershy's feet squelched loudly as she landed, but thankfully it held rather than sucking her down. A small gift, considering that in front of her was Garble's massive, menacing form. His eyes glinted with the same cruel light of a child tormenting a helpless insect. With a sickening rasp, claws extended from his fingers, their sharpness matched by his bared teeth. The drake wasted no time on pleasantries, diving towards his prey with beastly ferocity. Fortunately, for Fluttershy, the mud hindered his speed enough that once he reached her she was gone.
The Drake clan are credited with many powerful traits, but eyesight is not one of them. Garble snapped back and forth, trying to spot his quarry. "Umm..." The voice came from above him. Up in a mangrove directly above him stood the shy sky competitor, her wings spread wide. They were pale yellow, as large as Rainbow Dash's and much better kept. They poked out through two custom slits in the back of her turtleneck, removing the need for clothing removal/destruction. "I'm sure there's a peaceful, calm way we can talk this out, Mister Garble. Right? Mister?" Garble remained mute, staring at her with half dazed eyes. It took a few more seconds of curious questioning before the problem dawned on her.
She was standing directly above him.
In a dress.
Fluttershy's face went bright red, a high pitched squeal escaping her lips. Her wings snapped back to her back of their own accord, catching in her jumper. The sudden set of movements knocked her off balance, and with flailing arms she fell into the bog.
Half the cameras in the arena, all those focused from Garble's point of view, had undergone an emergency censorship, leading to a collection of 'awws' from the male audience. This was quickly silenced by a series of slaps from the female populace.
Garble shook his head, trying to regaining his focus. "No distractions, no interference." he thought. "We're going to crush all these namby pamby idiots into dust. Starting with her!" he marched over to the thoroughly muddy girl, struggling to get up. Mud now coated her from head to toe, making all her movements sluggish. Even worse, her wings were completely coated in sludge, making flight impossible. With little effort he pulled her up by the neck, holding her level with his eyes. Fluttershy was by no stretch of he imagination short, but her feet dangled helplessly when brought to Garble's imposing height.
"No more cheap tricks, girlie. No one embarrasses a drake like that and gets away with it."
"But I...I didn't mean to..." Even under the coating of mud, her face was still obviously beet red. Her hands clutched at her dress, trying to make sure it didn't pull any more humiliating stunts. A few seconds of curiosity passed as Garble stared at her unusual behavior. Usually when he grabbed people they at least tried to take a swing at him, wriggle out. Then, as her embarrassment became clear, another cruel smile passed his lips.
"Oh you didn't, did you?" With one clawed finger he traced down her drenched clothes, reaching the hem of her skirt. "Well then something like this would be just terrible, wouldn't it?" He went to lift, but Fluttershy swatted his hand away. The back of her hand scraped along is razor sharp nail, drawing blood. She gasped in pain, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Hr gasps became whimpers as Garble grabbed both her hands, dangling her by them as he went for her dress again.
"Please stop," she whispered.
"Shut up! No one will challenge a drake, ever!" With a vicious laugh, he reached for her again.
His hand never reached its destination, as a massive paw blindsided him. Fluttershy dropped from her grasp as Garble flew, like a rag doll, further out into the bog. Spitting out mud, he glared in the direction of what had interfered in his revenge.
Standing protectively over Fluttershy's shivering form was a monster. I had the body and head of a lion, although larger than any true lion, with a mane of dangerous spines. Two leathery wings, as large as the trees around them, sprouted from its back, and it's tail was that of a scorpion. A manticore, one of the most feared beasts of the Everfree Forest. I sniffed once at the blood on Fluttershy's hand, and the tears on he face, then growled low and menacingly at Garble, revealing sets of teeth dripping with saliva and venom.
A normal person probably would have fled at the sight of an angry manticore. A well trained, or slightly insane, fighter might have approached the new situation with a level of caution. Garble chose the other option; he grinned with relish and charged the new enemy with a deafening war cry. The manticore roared in retaliation and met his charge.
"...wait..."
Drakes were the greatest believers in survival of the fittest. Young to old, each member earned their place through strength alone. But monsters, true wild monsters, lived that philosophy. No matter his strength and training, Garble was completely outmatched. Not that he didn't try. He met the creature hand to paw, throwing bone shattering punches into its hide and swiping with his claws. These attacks rewarded him with only long spines in his knuckles and another roar.
"...stop..."
The manticore now struck back, trying to swat him away like before. Garble manged to catch the attack, grunting with effort, and refused to let go. "That all you've got!" he taunted. The beast couldn't understand him, but it knew a challenge when it saw one. Infuriated, it snapped it's deadly jaws at him, nearly taking the young drake's head off. A second paw came out at him, Garble ducking just in time, still keeping his hold on the creature's other limb. "My grandmother can hit better than that!"
"...but..."
As was common, Garble had neglected the monster's tail. In dodging the previous attack, he'd set himself up perfectly for an aerial strike. Because of his height, the poisonous tip missed him, but the powerful appendage still came down hard on his shoulder. With a screech of pain he released the paw, which the manticore took no hesitation in swiping through him. The drake went sprawling uncontrollably over the slippery surface, falling to his knees. He hissed in frustration, pushing hard on the ground to rise. Rather than rising, his legs sunk deep into the bog; he'd landed in one of the swamp's treacherous sink holes. In a sudden panic, Garble squirmed and struggled violently, only succeeding in forcing himself further in.
The manticore, more intelligent than most would expect, observed its struggling prey, noticing how unstable the ground was. It flapped it's wings, lifting just off the ground, and slowly approached the stranded target. As it hovered just inches from his face, Garble stopped struggling. Although there was a hint of fear as he stared up into the hungry jaws, his spirit still rebelled.
"Just try it, you overgrown pussy cat!" He spat at the creature's eye, falling short into its mouth. It stared at him for a few seconds, confused. Exchanging saliva was a sign of affection, not something it shared with this infuriating human. Deciding it was insane, the manticore opened its jaws wide over his head, ready to clamp down on his neck and put it out of its misery."
"ENOUGH!"
Fluttershy landed daintily on Garble's head, her posture much straighter and stronger than before. She'd managed to clean the worst of he mud off her face and wings, which now spread out to their full extent, making her appear large and threatening. But most different were her eyes. Her gaze, which usually saw more of the floor than people, was eerily still and commanding.
"That's quite enough Mister Manticore!" Her voice was clear, strong and confident, the exact opposite of her normal self. "You've hurt this poor child quite enough, don't you think?" The manticore snarled at her, confused, but she only leveled her freakish gaze on it. "Don't use that tone with me! What would your mother think of this sort of attitude?" At that the manticore actually paled visibly, but Fluttershy didn't let up yet. "Now I want you to leave this one alone, and not interfere any further. Understood?" The creature gave one last protesting huff, which Fluttershy silenced with another glare, and then it sulked off to a safe landing, his paws hanging limply by his side. Fluttershy followed him, her tone much more comforting now. "There there. I know you were just trying to help, you just of carried away."
Not much was left of Garble now. Fluttershy's added weight during her staring contest had sped up his sinking process, trapping everything but his nose, eyes and ridiculous Mohawk. But the fire raging in his eyes was still visible. That creature had beaten him; he'd been thrown around like old garbage before being disposed of. But that girl hadn't even given him the dignity of defeat, instead she'd protected him like a wounded puppy. And all of it was being watched by millions of citizens. What wold hey be thinking now of the mighty drakes? Burning fury raged through his veins, almost literally. As his anger built, the mud around him began to steam, drying and cracking in the process until it became brittle.
With one mighty push Garble broke through the ground, an eruption of flames around him. "Patronising worm! You will fear the Drake's fire!" he screamed. Not breaking stride he dived straight for the manticore, his fiery breath streaming between clenched teeth. Instinctively the manticore fell into a fighting stance, but remembering Fluttershy's threatening stare it hesitated. This was all Garble needed to get in a solid flaming uppercut.
"He's not going to attack you!" Fluttershy called out from just above them. "We don't have to fight!" Garble ignored her, pounding further into the creature without remorse. The manticore snarled but did not fight back, refusing to disobey Fluttershy. "Please that's enough! I surrender, just stop!" Garble drew back, breathing deep and belching flames at the passive monster's face. The creature roared in pain as its mane caught alight, but still refused to do anything. "Stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP IT!"
Tears streaming down her face, something snapped in the shy girl's mind. Her pupils dilated rapidly as a shadow dashed across her face. With an animalistic snarl she dove down on Garble like a hawk, bringing her heel down hard on his head. Completely unsuspecting, Garble took the hit like a fool, but Fluttershy wasn't done. Another flash across her face and her stance changed entirely. Now grounded and hissing, her finger struck out with deadly speed into his throat and kidney, knocking the stunned Garble off balance and making him gag. Then Fluttershy's stance changed again, and with perfect balance she swept the drake's legs from under him before bringing a backfist down hard into his sternum. Battered and stunned, Garble collapsed without any protest, his mind spinning before shutting down all together.
"The match is over. Fluttershy is victorious!" For a few seconds Futtershy remained crazed, her head darting back and forth like a wild animal. Then, as suddenly as it had come, the mood disappeared, leaving Fluttershy staring blankly forward.
"What ha...how did I...?" Her gaze slowly refocused, revealing Garble's still form. "Ohdearohdearohdear. Are you all right mister? Mister?"
"Yes! That's my girl, Flutts. Show them who'se boss!" Rainbow Dash's celebration was so exuberant her wings popped out, catching the side of her bed and sending the entire cot sprawling. Dash didn't care; against all odds Fluttershy had made it through. The dream was still alive.
In the other bed, Applejack was simply staring at the screen, her mind still trying to catch up. The look of shock did not go unnoticed by Dash. "What did I tell you? Get her going and she's unstoppable!" Applejack nodded offhandedly, still puzzling not over Fluttershy's strange mood swing, but rather over the manticore. She'd been watching it during the last moments of that fight, and it hadn't been still. It had broken apart and disappeared.
And from what she could gather, it had disappeared into Fluttershy.