Yuta, with a determined look on his face, took a calculated step back. He gripped his sword tightly, and with a swift motion, he sliced through the swarm of curses that lay ahead of him. Each curse seemed to be lashing out at him, but Yuta was too quick and agile to let them get the better of him. He moved with confidence and precision, his sword cutting through the air and the curses like a hot knife through butter.
He exhaled calmly. A breath of hot, warm air left his lips. Clouding the space in front of him slightly.
'It's freezing.' Yuta thought.
Suddenly, dozens of curses slugged forth from his rear, making the air around them heavy with malice. But before they could even react, without missing a beat, a ghostly hand cleaved through the horde with lightning speed. Swatting away bodies like weightless, pointless flies, the hand left a trail of shimmering energy in its wake. Rika, taking Yuta's side, snarled at their foes.
With a shimmering light, a tiny portal no larger than a dime opened to Yuta's side. His eyes widened, sliding back while Rika covered its trajectory with her opened palm.
Cursed infused water jet with killing intent, slicing Rika's palm and fingers clean off while the stream continued its trajectory, nicking Yuta's cheek in a bloody furrow.
He stumbled back, clutching his face, the metallic tang of blood coating his tongue before his cheek steamed with Positive Energy.
"I knew these pieces of shit wouldn't be enough to hold you."
The words dripped from their lips like venom, each syllable laced with mocking contempt. Stepping through a more prominent portal, Usowamoto revealed themselves. Their gaze flicked to Rika, lingering on her pain with a predator's cold curiosity. A toothy smirk drew upon its face.
"Nice hand."
This jab caused Rika to pop a bulging vein, her anger teetering to the edge—a cursed spirit of all things embarrassing her in front of her lover.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!"
Rika's cursed energy surged within her almost uncontrollably. Her hand pulsed and beat before repairing its mangled state like it was brand new. She felt the power of her energy coursing through her veins, and she involuntarily unleashed it. With a mighty scream, Rika raised her hand high above her head and brought it down with a force that shook the ground beneath her feet. The earth shattered, sending a shockwave through the air as if a bomb had gone off and flinging Usowamoto upward into the sky.
With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Yuta quickly dashed forward and grabbed a nearby light pole. With all his might, he ripped the pole out of the concrete and crystal flooring and hurled it towards Usowamoto, lamp first. The metal pole whistled through the air, its sharp edges glinting in the sunlight as it hurtled toward its target.
Reacting quickly, the curse apparition summoned a portal as a makeshift shield. The portal opened up just in time to swallow the lamp and its entirety, leaving no trace of the metal pole behind. As another portal opened up to the side of Rika, Usowamoto seized the opportunity to strike. The portal pinned Rika to the building wall, leaving her helpless and vulnerable as it burst into flames.
While Usowamoto smirked at the downed Rika, Yuta lunged at the curse with an earth-shattering leap. Grabbing them by the ankle with a death grip and hurling them downward onto the streets with maximum strength.
The speed tore a hole through the winds, but Usowamoto tore another portal through space to counter that right before they hit the ground. Popping out to Yuta's side and sucker punching him in the jaw using the momentum he hurled them down with. As they glide past the bleeding boy, Usowamoto reaches its arm back, grabbing him by his slightly bloodied white jacket and flinging him forward.
With a flourish, Usowamoto's hands snapped open, their fingers splayed wide. Ten sigils, each a swirling vortex of light, pulsed to life behind the unsuspecting sorcerer, hungry to carve him apart. But before they could unleash their jets of salt water, a sickening crunch echoed through the air. Rika's fist, imbued with raw power, connected with Usowamoto's side, sending them spinning through the air like a ragdoll. They slammed onto the pavement with a pained grunt, a gout of purple blood erupting from his mouth like a macabre fountain.
Not letting up, Yuta sprints forward towards Usowamoto. His hand instinctively dove into his jacket, retrieving the promise ring he'd clutched close to his heart. As he neared Usowamoto, he raised his right hand, the katana glinting in the orange light of the setting sun, the ring held aloft beside it, poised to claim its rightful place on his left ring finger. But just as he was about to complete the gesture, the world around him shimmered and warped. A gaping maw tore open in the air, a swirling vortex of colours promising escape or perhaps oblivion. Without hesitation or choice, Yuta plunged forward, swallowed whole by the portal.
Usowamoto, still sputtering blood, cackled with a high-pitched glee that grated on the ears. They conjured another portal, a shimmering tear in the fabric of reality beside him. Bowing low like a performer playing out their finishing act before their hand sprung up, flipping the bird to Rika in a mocking manner before letting gravity do its trick and pulling them down to the portal—their egotistical smirk dancing across their face.
Coming out the other side, Yuta came to a grinding halt. The portal snapping shut behind him like a hungry maw denied. He stumbled, disoriented. Then, silence. An unnatural silence, broken only by the soft whinnies and panicked snorts.
Yuta blinked, his gaze adjusting to the sudden white light, and his breath hitched. Ponies. Hundreds of them, their coats shimmering in every imaginable colour, their eyes wide with fear.
It was the aura, the palpable miasma of terror, that clung to Yuta like a shroud. His killing intent, the residue of the battle he'd just left behind, hung heavy in the air, amplifying their fear tenfold.
Their bodies instinctively started to shiver, tremble, and shake. Only just recently had they escaped from the terrifying curses rampaging outside. Now, another being stood before them, Yuta's cursed energy reserves making the curses outside look like cute babies in comparison.
Without warning, a fist accompanying a portal boomed open to the side of his face, punching him clean in the jaw. Another portal shimmered and opened beside his arm, holding his katana and ring and threatening to swallow it whole.
Acting quickly, he shifted the ring to his thumb. Using it as a fulcrum, he flicked the ring with a flick of his wrist and caught it with his other hand as the portal closed. Severing the limb and warping the space around it.
Blood flowed freely from the wound, and his muscle fibres twitched sporadically, being exposed to the freezing winds. The bony edge of his radius and ulna were dripping with blood as the searing pain shot up his arm. Some trickles of blood landed on his cheek, a small crimson puddle forming underneath him and fuming the area with the raw smell of iron.
The stump starts to steam as he surveyed his surroundings for the curse. Ponies around him began panicking while the guards, clad in armour that clattered with their brand of fear and hesitation, spears drew but trembling in their hooves and surged forward. But before they could reach him, portals materialised beneath their feet, swallowing them whole with muffled yelps. They reappeared above Yuta in a shower of startled yells, only to have the sorcerer himself leap nimbly out of the way of their fall.
A searing pain lanced through his back as a blade materialised out of thin air, pinning him for a horrifying moment before vanishing. A guttural grunt escaped his lips as he ripped the kitchen blade free, leaving a gash that bloomed scarlet on his white clothes—warmth, slick and metallic, spread across his skin, rolling down his back.
A swarm of light fixed on him from his side, executing a backflip; he narrowly avoided a volley of razor-sharp water jets that erupted from miniature portals beside him. He landed hard, the world tilting around him for a moment, bloodied and bruised, missing a limb and without Rika nor his weapon.
The jets, missing their target, sliced through the air, leaving terrified whinnies and panicked shrieks in their wake and decapitating two unlucky ponies that stood in their way. Their heads rolled onto the floor, staining the beautiful marbled flooring a deep red with their dead blood. Screams erupted from mothers and friends in the holding hall, panic setting in for the crowd.
Yuta furrowed his brows, 'I see. It's got me in a populated area to force me to limit my cursed energy output. This means I can't summon Rika, or else bystanders will get involved due to their sensitivity to my cursed energy output—All the while, it's trying to force me into unfavourable positions. Which mean...' he got up, wiping the blood from his cheeks with his sleeve.
'I have to exorcise it alone.'
Rainbow flew forward, slamming her body weight into Rockhoof and wrapping her front legs around his thick neck, hooves interlocking.
"Wake up Rockhoof!"
Rockhoof snarled, tossing his shovel in the air with a spin. He grabbed it with his teeth. Using the blunt side and angled it to the back of his neck before jabbing it backwards at scary speeds. The blunt edge dug deep into Rainbow's stomach, compressing her diaphragm and forcing the air out of her lungs.
Rainbow released her grip and stumbled back on her back legs, her wings and front legs clutching her stomach—the feeling of wanting to vomit grew more and more.
Rockhoof snapped back, directing the edge of his shovel towards Rainbow's cranium; he drove it down, intending to sever her head clean off her shoulders.
Galloping, Applejack dived between the two. Catching the metal tool with her teeth, her grip just enough to stop him in his tracks. Craning her head back, they got into a deadlock, trying to rip the tool from the pillar.
Rockhoof jolted the weapon to the side, causing Applejack's grip to falter a little as she felt the cold metal dig into the side of her cheek, cutting into her. A pint of blood filled her mouth, accompanied by the taste of salty iron, dripping out and down her lips.
"Mmph—! He's ain't here, Dash!" Applejack grunted through gritted teeth, "We gotta knock 'em out!!"
Rainbow hoisted herself back onto her hooves and quickly made her way over the best she could through stumbles and groans. Using her wings, she ran the tips of her feathers along the ground, collecting dust and launching the gritty projectile towards Rockhoof's face. The sudden onslaught stung his eyes, forcing him to shut them tight and roar in a fury. Blinded and disoriented, his powerful grip on the shovel faltered, reeling back with a bellow and leaving himself wide open.
Seizing the opportunity, Rainbow whipped her leg with velocity, hooves blurring in a crescent arc. She had learned to perform a roundhouse kick from watching Yuta fight. The kick connected with a resounding thud, sending Rockhoof flying through the air like a ragdoll. He landed with a groan, dust billowing around him.
Taking advantage of the situation, Applejack pointed the shovel at Rockhoof, throwing it with all the force she could muster. The shovel whistled through the air, and its tip sank into Rockhoof's leather vest, pinning him to the ground with his underside facing up and an unceremonious thump.
Rainbow launched herself skyward, wings catching the air like sails. She flipped mid-air, a blur of blue against the dusty twilight, before twisting her body with a somersault and aiming her hindquarters like a battering ram. Rockhoof, momentarily blinded by the dust she'd thrown, saw only a streak of azure descending with terrifying speed.
The impact was earth-shattering. Rainbow collided with the stallion with a thunderous crack, the force enough to knock the wind out of both of them. The sudden halt of motion made Rainbow literally sick to her stomach, the blow to her abdomen from earlier still humming a painful aura inside her. She buckled slightly, sweat dripping down her chin.
Rockhoof grunted, his body driven into the ground like a stake. Coughing up a spray of dirt and spittle, he writhed beneath the impromptu landing cushion, his face scrunched up, eyes burning with purple fury, clearly pissed off. Reaching over for his shovel at his side, he swung it at the blue mare, which she dodged with a flap of her wings.
From nowhere, a chilling shadow stretched across the combatants, momentarily swallowing both Rainbow and Rockhoof in its black embrace. Rainbow snapped her neck back only to be greeted by a giant ass colossal boulder – easily the size of Rockhoof himself – hurtled towards Rainbow and Rockhoof.
Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks, and with lightning reflexes, Rainbow whipped her body aside, wings blurring in a frantic beat. The boulder grazed her flank, the wind of its passage nearly ripping her off her hooves before burying itself deep into the earth with a shuddering groan.
Landing, not gracefully but safely, a few strides away, Rainbow spun around, tail bristling with indignation. "What in Celestia's—no, Twilight's name, Applejack?!" she shrieked, hoof pawing the ground. "Are you TRYING to turn me into a pancake?!"
Applejack, unfazed by the near miss, blew a raspberry as she trotted nonchalantly towards Rainbow. "Now why would Ah do that, Sugarcube?" she drawled, "Ah just knew you'd be quick enough to dodge that bad boy."
Rainbow's scoff was laced with disbelief, about to launch into a retort, but was silenced by a sudden crack. The boulder, lying motionless a few feet away, split open with a sound like a disgruntled giant cracking its knuckles. A zig-zagging fissure ran down its length, culminating in a gaping maw in the centre.
From the rubble, Rockhoof emerged with a bewildered grunt, dust coating his fur like a disgruntled earth pony.
He thrust his shovel into the ground and picked up half of a split boulder. With a powerful throw, he launched it back at an even greater speed.
Applejack and Rainbow barely had time to register the danger as they sidestepped out of the way before it whooshed past, the deafening crash from behind shaking the ground beneath their hooves. Dust and debris kicked up, momentarily obscuring the sight of their attacker.
But Rockhoof wasn't done. He charged forward into the air; the other half of the boulder rested precariously atop his shovel, held secure by his teeth. Sending it hurling downward like a meteor.
Thinking fast, Applejack spun around, her eyes widening at the boulder hurtling towards them. This wasn't the first time she'd faced brute force, and it wouldn't be the last. With a powerful kick, she connected with the descending boulder, the force of her blow shattering it into a shower of fragments; pieces of stone rained down harmlessly around them.
Rockhoof landed beside Applejack, swinging his shovel at her head.
Applejack crouched down swiftly, dropping low and unleashing a powerful sweeping kick. Rockhoof, however, wasn't caught off guard. He contorted his body with surprising agility, performing a cartwheel over her leg, leaving her momentarily exposed.
He wasted no time. As Applejack struggled to regain her footing, Rockhoof launched an uppercut with the strength of a battering ram. Her head snapped back with a sickening crack, the world momentarily tilting on its axis. Stars danced in her vision, replaced by a thick cloud of dizziness.
Taking advantage of her daze, Rockhoof roared and brought his shovel down with earth-shattering force. The metal head connects with her skull, violently bringing Applejack down to eat the dust-riddled crystal ground.
The impact on her face caused her nose to bleed, flowing down her nostrils. She struggled and squirmed under the crushing pressure of Rockhoof's strength. His weight felt like a mountain pinning her down, pressing the shattered world around her even further into the abyss. She clawed at the ground, desperate for any purchase, any leverage to escape the crushing pressure.
Her vision swam the familiar browns and greens of the orchard, replaced by swirling colours of agony.
But then, amidst the haze, a flash of blue streaked past. A thunderous crack echoed, followed by Rockhoof's enraged bellow. The pressure on her back abruptly lessened, and she gasped, sucking in a lungful of dust and pain.
Blearily, she looked up to see Rainbow hovering above, blood oozing down her forehead and past her eyebrows, splitting into two streams at the bridge of her snout. Sainting her Rainbow bangs with a single colour, her eyes spoke with murderous bloodlust. AJ turned her attention to the mind-controlled stallion; a large gash was now present above his eyebrow. His blood mixed into his cyan fur to form a purple crimson.
"You alright, AJ?" Rainbow inquired, her eyes not leaving the pillar.
Applejack spat out a spray of dust-flecked blood escaping her lips to her side to clear her mouth. Taking a breath in, she forcefully exhaled through her nostril, sneezing out congested blood. The metallic tang stung her tongue, a harsh reminder of the blow. Slowly, she rotated her shoulders and hindquarters, a wince escaping her gritted teeth. Each movement sent fresh waves of pain coursing through her body.
"Never bett'a," she rasped, the words laced with defiance. It wasn't a lie, not entirely. "Maybe a tad worse for wear, but ah ain't down for the count."
The two mares charged forward, and Rockhoof met their aggression in kind. He galloped forward, his massive form shaking the ground, his shovel trailing behind him like a deadly pendulum.
As they closed the distance, the setting sun cast the scene in long, dramatic shadows. Rainbow, wings buzzing like hummingbird wings, swooped low, aiming to flank Rockhoof's side. Applejack, eyes narrowed, focused on the stallion's centre, ready to meet his charge head-on.
Just as they neared a collision, Rockhoof reached top speed. With a guttural roar, he reared back on his hind legs, bringing his shovel up in a wide arc from the ground up. The sun glinted off the metal head, momentarily blinding Rainbow. In that split second, Rockhoof sent an uplift wave of earth and shattered rock hurtling towards the mares.
Rainbow swooped to the side with a spin. However, Applejack had the platform she was running on blasted upward.
"Applejack!" Rainbow called out behind her, only to have her call cut short by a shovel swing at her front.
Blocking with both her front legs and a wing, Rockhoof sent her smashing downward with a crack. Rainbow landed with a thud, shockwaves reverberating from her back. That said, she managed to cushion the blow enough that nothing was broken.
Gripping onto wooden length with both her hooves. Rainbow pulled, forcing her body upward and twisting her hips. Her hindleg swung a 180, propelling it with high centrifugal force and connecting with Rockhoof's lower jaw with a sickening crunch.
The impact resonated through the dusty clearing. Rockhoof's head snapped back, a guttural moan escaping his lips. His eyes glazed over for a moment, the world tilting drunkenly around him. Vertigo spun him in place, his massive form teetering on the edge of collapse.
From above, Applejack, having navigated the treacherous rock platforms, took her leap of faith. She plummeted towards Rockhoof, but just before impact, she shifted mid-air, leaning to her right side and tapping her elbow in a swift, practised manoeuvre. Her right front leg extended outwards, forming a perfect L-shape as she yelled,
"GERONIMO!"
She landed a devastating People's Elbow directly onto Rockhoof's broad back. Another sickening crunch reverberated through the earth, bending the stallion's back in an unnatural arch. A groan of agony ripped from his throat, his legs buckling beneath him. He crumpled to the ground, dust billowing around him like a defeated flag. His grip on his shovel weakened to the point he unintentionally forgoes the weapon as blood pooled in his mouth.
Not missing a beat, they lunged for the finisher. Rainbow positioned herself on the left while Applejack took the right.
Rockhoof roared in pain, but their assault wasn't over. Rainbow continued the combo and transitioned seamlessly into a left uppercut, barely giving him time to breathe before Applejack's jumping axe kick struck his frontal cortex. At this point, blood was streaming down his nose and chin, but RD and AJ knew Rockhoof wouldn't go down so quickly.
Undeterred, Rainbow's left hoof shot out like a bullet. It dug deep into Rockhoof's right cheek, twisting his head towards Applejack's waiting hoof. Her roundhouse kick landed with a sickening crunch, sending him reeling leftward, directly into Rainbow's waiting grasp.
With surprising strength, the pegasus seized his head, using it as a pivoting point to fling him back towards Applejack. He came at her like a bucking bronco, and she met him with her own headbutt, the clash echoing through the clearing.
But they weren't done with Rockhoof. As he swung past again, Rainbow slid down his flank, her leg whipping around in a devastating Manji Kick that connected squarely with his jaw. The impact rattled his skull, momentarily stunning him yet again.
Applejack sent a punch to his knee, then to the side of his body. While Rainbow sent a flurry of hooves his way. The succession of blows sent Rockhoof ping-ponging between the two mares for several moments, his head flinging side-to-side and up and down.
AJ's punch slammed into Rockhoof's side, followed by Rainbow's hoof connecting with his flank. He stumbled, momentarily off-balance, but even in that disoriented state, his eyes landed on his discarded shovel. With a bellow that shook the very ground, he lunged, scraping past Rainbow's outstretched hoof and seizing the weapon in a single, powerful motion.
The air screamed as Rockhoof brought the shovel down in a vicious arc. Applejack, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his focus, couldn't react in time. The heavy metal head connected with a loud tang, her cry swallowed by the impact. Blood, a macabre mix of hers and Rockhoof's painted the air crimson.
Her body was ragdolled, propelled with horrifying force. Houses crumbled under the fury of the blow and became splintered testaments to her flight. She crashed through rooftops, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake, before finally coming to rest in a heap of dust and debris within one of the shattered buildings.
Silence descended, heavy and suffocating. Rainbow, wings catching her mid-strike, hovered motionless, the echo of the sickening sound ringing in her ears. Her gaze followed the arc of Applejack's flight, horror twisting her features.
Then came anger.
With a single, earth-shattering flap of her mighty wings, she launched herself skyward, a blur of sapphire against the bruised twilight. Higher and higher, she ascended, vanishing into the thinning light until Rockhoof couldn't discern her form against the darkening canvas.
A bloody chuckle escaped his lips as he turned, relishing the silence that had descended with Applejack's fall. His gaze landed in the direction of the fallen farm mare, a cruel glint flickering in his eyes. This victory would be savoured, then finished.
But before he could take a single step, a thunderous BOOM echoed from above, splitting the darkening sky. Rockhoof's head snapped upwards, his jaw slackening in disbelief. There, suspended in the fading light, bloomed a magnificent spectacle – a Sonic Rainboom of unparalleled brilliance.
Colours of every spectrum danced across the clouds, painting them in vibrant hues. In the heart of this breathtaking display, a single arc of rainbow light arced across the sky, drawing Rockhoof's gaze like a shooting star streaking across the skies. It grew closer, more comprehensive, and faster until the air itself sang with anticipation.
Rockhoof squints his eyes, trying to get a better look in the distance. The rainbow streak touched the distant buildings, brushing rooftops and avenues with its luminous touch. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.
Blinking once, he opened his eyes to see Rainbow Dash in his face, her skin stretched from the sheer speed she was travelling. Her front hooves were outstretched and connecting with his chest. Shoving him backwards onto the ground.
Before he could even react, her front hooves connected with his chest with the force of a fighter jet. The impact stole the air from his lungs, breaking his ribs on impact and sending him sprawling onto the dusty ground.
A choked cry escaped his lips as Rainbow dragged him across the cobbled streets without breaking stride. Houses blurred past, their windows flashing like startled eyes. He tasted gravel and blood, the world dizzying around him in pain and fear.
The metallic taste of blood mingled with dust in Rainbow's mouth as she skidded to a halt, Rockhoof's unconscious form a crumpled heap at the intersection.
Her chest heaved against her ribs, each breath a painful reminder of the fight. Her body thrummed with exhaustion, every muscle screaming at her to stop. She really pushed herself way too hard. Even with Twilight and Yuta's warning, she went past what her body was capable of and performed a Sonic Rainboom. Damn, near past the breaking point.
Staring at the motionless, bloodied pillar before her, the blood from her forehead staining her white eyes sadistically.
Looking around, a wave of despair washed over her. The once serene orchard resembled a warzone. Houses stood gutted, their windows vacant, stares reflecting the dying embers of the sunset. Debris littered the streets. As if sensing her vulnerability, the shadows at the edges of the crowd writhed. Curses and jeers, venomous and hungry, slithered from the darkness, a chilling chorus sung by the town's underbelly and sprung up like maggots to greet the pegasus. Crawling to her with a hungry fever.
Pain ripped through Rainbow's wings as she tried to lift them, the seizure-like cramp leaving her grounded. With a warrior's stance, hooves planted firmly on the cobblestones, she met the rising tide head-on. Her voice, though hoarse and strained, challenged the crowd.
"Bring it on."