//------------------------------// // Beat the Rainbow // Story: A Survivors Guide to Equestria // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Ryan sat on one of the swings on the small playground, collecting his thoughts from the day's work. He had managed to make some mental notes on five of the six ponies, leaving the rainbow one out. Zecora had told him to gather some information, not to write an autobiography. What he had learned would have to be enough. He pulled himself off of the seat, one problem still nagging at the corners of his mind. It was the way the ponies added up. While he had been gathering information, he had found two regulars, two unicorns, but only one pegasi. If his math was correct, that would make the last bearer of the elements a pegasus also. But why hadn't he seen her at the party? Nearly all the ponies had shown up, why hadn't the rainbow one? She wouldn't have missed the princess on purpose, so she'd have to be... Shit. As if on cue, he felt a wall of muscle slam into him from behind. The items inside of the backpack saved his spine from being crushed, although he still had to roll to keep from face planting. He spun around in a crouched position to face his attacker, already knowing who it was. His guess was right and a pegasi with a rainbow mane was standing behind him in a fighting stance, glaring daggers at him. Rainbow Dash. He slowly rose to his feet, slipping the stun baton out of his bag. "So you're the shadow, huh? You don't look that tough," Rainbow Dash taunted, smirking at his build. What had she called him, the shadow? So, he had a nickname around these parts? Maybe he could use that to intimidate the pony so she wouldn't want to fight. It was a long shot, but he had to try. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" she continued to taunt, sticking out her own tongue at him. He said nothing in reply, but flipped on the switch to his stun baton. A small smile crept to his face as he saw the pony jump from the now bright blue baton. He swung it in his hand once and pointed it a Rainbow Dash's chest before pointing it back at Ponyville. RD got the message. "You want me to RUN? Sorry pal, but I don't run from a fight," she smirked, reassuming her fighting stance. Well, he had tried. Ryan flipped up his hood and took his own fighting stance. He began to circle her, trying to figure out his best plan of at- Ryan barely tossed himself to the ground as the blue pony nearly took his head off with a charge. He rolled and came up to a knee, not believing her speed. "I'm sorry, am I too fast for you? Tough." Ryan had to readjust his attack strategy to factor in her insane speed. He rushed towards her as a ruse and waited for her to react. When she did, by charging at him, he swept his own feet and stuck a leg where he had previously been standing. He smiled when he heard his leg connect with a whack and immediately cringed when he felt the pain rush up his leg. He landed on his back while RD landed on her hooves a good ten yards away. "Okay, Ow. I guess you can fight a little," she said with a frown, standing up on two hooves. Ryan got to his feet as well, raising an eyebrow at the ponies stance. If she was trying to fight him in a human's battle, she was in for a shock. He closed the gap between the two and went for a swift punch to the gut. Imagine his surprise when she caught his punch with her hoof and flipped him head over heels. He managed to land on his feet and swing a kick at her head, which she blocked and slammed her elbow into his bag. The pack caught the brunt of the attack and he was able to drop down and sweep her feet. While that would have knocked over a ground foe, Rainbow Dash used her wings to remain vertical. She flew above Ryan and went for a hoof dive, forcing him to roll to avoid it. He spun to his feet and spun back around to face the pony. "I’ll give you credit, you're good. But it takes more than good to beat me." To prove her point, Rainbow quickly flew between his legs, knocking him into the air. Before he could respond, she delivered another elbow into his sternum. Ryan felt the wind leave his lungs as he collided with the ground, rolling onto his stomach. He struggled to both breath and get up, trying to shake the spots from his vision. "Aw come on, don't give up. I was starting to have fun." RD said with a laugh. Ryan looked up at her, weighing his chances. He still had his baton, but she was faster, stronger and arguably a better fighter. But from watching the ponies, he had learned that they weren't dirty fighters. And that was one area humans couldn't be beat. He jumped back to his feet and resumed his fighting stance, give her the bring it sign. She snorted at him and charged straight into his stomach, which he used his arms to block. He felt his arms nearly give and he landed on his back with a thud. He lay motionless as Rainbow got back to her hooves. "Like I said, good just isn't enough," she said with a smile. When he didn't respond or failed to move, she started to get a little worried. RD began to walk over to his body, not noticing his hand grab a handful of dirt. "Hey, are you alright? Oh my gosh, you're not dead are y-?" Ryan suddenly sat up and tossed the dirt in his hand straight into Rainbow's eyes. She screamed in pain and backed up, trying to rub the dirt out of her eyes. Ryan didn't even give her the chance to do that, as he swung his baton right into her nose. She staggered back screaming and started to throw haymakers, trying to land a lucky blow. Ryan rolled back and dropped the baton into his bag, switching it for the rope that Zecora had given him. He rushed RD with rope in hand, rolling under her blind punch and getting behind her. Once he was there, Ryan tossed the rope around her neck and pulled. It was like hanging onto a bucking bronco. The pony bucked and kicked in desperation to get him off. On the other hoof, Ryan was doing everything in his power to hang on. He had to wrap the rope around her neck twice just to keep it on her and her kicking wasn't helping. He was pretty sure that she had busted on of his knees with one of her kicks and he wasn't sure if he could hold on for much longer. So he did something stupid. Ryan jumped on RD's back and wrapped his legs around her wings, using his weight to pull her to the ground. "Give up, damn you!" Ryan grunted while pulling on the rope even harder. He actually started to believe that RD couldn't be stopped when he felt Rainbow Dash begin to tire out. Her kicks were losing their strength and she had to be running out of air. After a few more tense seconds, she finally went limp. Ryan still held on, seriously debating what to do next. If he let her go, she would probably tell the other ponies about his existence and it would make his life even harder...but he wasn't a killer, even if she was a pony. He let the rope go slack and quickly unwrapped it from her neck. He checked to see if she was breathing and once he had confirmed she was, he kicked her for good measure. "Yeah...that's right...you ain't got-oh God," he half taunted before falling over. He pulled himself back to his feet and began to stagger from the battlefield. Dear God, did he hurt. His body felt like he had been hit by a truck, one he had forgotten to get the license plate number. His knee was really bad; it could barely hold him after that kick to his knee. The rest of him was bruised and battered, with a headache that would bother him for days. That pony really did a number on him. If another pony was to find him, he would be helpless to fight back. He needed to get to Zecora's hut. Fortunately, he managed to drag himself to the forest, but it was not easy. His adrenaline rush from the fight had worn off and he hurt like hell. Even the advanced training couldn't help him numb all the pain, but he clenched his teeth and continued on. He eventually reached the zebra's hut and placed his hand on the door, trying to focus through the pain. He wondered if Rainbow Dash had come to yet. If she had, he wouldn't be surprised if an angry mob swarmed the forest looking for him. An angry mob of multicolored ponies? That he would like to see...Ryan stumbled against the door and pushed it open, then immediately blacked out. {}{} When Ryan awoke for the fifth time in Zecora's hut, he noticed that like all the past time's he had awoken in here, the pain was gone. He slowly sat up from the zebra's table and looked at Zecora, who was standing next to him with an annoyed look on her face. "And here I got up to answer the door, then you collapsed on my clean floor," she said with a sigh. Ryan groaned and pulled himself off the table, not bothering with a response. He instead walked over to the table where his bag had been placed and opened it. He pulled out the package that Ditzy had given him, tearing off the tape and pulling it open. The item inside the cardboard looked to be a thin vest fitted to his size. He pulled it out and a note fell to the ground. He bent over and picked it up, reading what was written. 'Dear Ryan (it read), thanks again for saving me the other day. I had this made for you in case you ever found yourself in another bad spot. It's made of dragon scale and can protect you from most attacks. I had it designed just for you. Thanks again! From, Ditzy D. P.S. Dinky, my daughter, says thanks as well. Ryan looked at the note with a smile. Ditzy hadn't needed to go through the trouble to get him this, but it was appreciated none the less. He hadn't known that she had a daughter. He realized that if he hadn't jumped in, not only would she have died but her daughter would be motherless. He was really glad now that he had chosen to help. He folded up the note and put it in his jacket, which he then slipped off so he could out on the vest. He slipped the silver vest over his shoulders, feeling practically nothing. It wasn't heavy, it actually felt lighter than his jacket. He also realized that this vest is probably what kept Rainbow from breaking his spin. That was twice now she had saved him in one day. He'd have to think of a way to pay her back. "So how did the day go? I would like to know," Zecora asked him. He but his jacket back on and glared at the zebra. "Well, sneaking in was easy enough thanks to your advice, but there were a lot more ponies out and about than I thought. After getting onto the roof tops, I had the privilege to see that Celestia princess. I got a little bit of data on the Elements, but had to leave after a while. I think the pink one...saw me." "That Pinkie sense can be a pain in the rear. What else happened before you got here? You had multiple wounds on your face and back. Was it Rainbow Dash or Applejack?" She had known he'd run into one of them? Of course she did, she had probably planned it this way. "Rainbow Dash and I hate to admit it, but it was with dumb luck that I managed to win," he said in a small voice, not liking that he had almost been captured. "Dumb luck it could be or it could have been skill and ingenuity." He thought about that and realized that the zebra was right once again. He had gone up against a superior advisory, but by relying on his brain and tricks, he had managed to win. The medicine Zecora had used completely repaired Ryan's body. In fact, he was feeling better now than he had when he first went to Ponyville. When he brought this up with Zecora, she rolled her eyes and explained. "In order to heal you I need a higher quantity, so now my medical reserves are running empty." He knew why she was upset. His constant medical needs had been the source of her shortage of medical supplies. She had saved his life at least four times now, using her own supplies and time to heal him. Yet he continued to be a jerk. It was time to pay her back. "Can I help you replenish your stocks?" he asked. Zecora turned to face him with a raised eyebrow, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "There may be a way you can help after all. There is a mushroom I need by the endless falls. It is the last item needed to complete my medicine, but one mistake could put you in heaven." Great, another life or death situation to do more of the zebra's shopping. But he did owe her and so far all her missions had been beneficial, so he figured it was best to help her. "Fine, where is this endless falls you mentioned." The smile she gave him would haunt his nightmares. "It is near the end of Everfree, at where the forest merges with eternity. The falls are bottomless and to fall in would be your end. Down into these falls you must descend." "Fine, sure. Not like it's any more dangerous than anything else you've sent me on," he muttered. Ryan put his jacket back on and slipped the backpack over his shoulders. Zecora offered him her last medicine jar, but he declined. He had already used so much of the stuff that he couldn't let her give him more. Besides, he probably wouldn't need it. The waterfall might be dangerous, but it couldn't be that bad. {\\\\\\\\} He was horribly, horribly wrong. As Ryan started down to where the water from the falls headed, he realized that Zecora had not been lying when she had said that it was bottomless. The falls were located near the farthest northern part of Everfree, inside of a circular chasm that seemed to have no end. The water fell into sheer nothingness, how that worked he had no idea. Ryan crouched on the edge of the cliff opposite the falls and looked through his binoculars that he had brought. There was no bottom. That fact is what bothered him the most. He dropped, he died. Ryan scanned the rock wall until he found what he was looking for; a tiny cave hidden by the mighty falls. That was where he needed to get to. He stood up and put his binoculars back in his bag. Ryan let go of his sanity and swung his legs out over the chasm, beginning his descent.