//------------------------------// // Elite Eight: Scoot Scurry City // Story: Atlas Strongest Tournament // by Bico //------------------------------// ATLAS STRONGEST TOURNAMENT ~BICO PART 5: ELITE EIGHT ACT I: SCOOT SCURRY CITY “Well, if—and that’s a big if—I make it past Derpy, I’ll be fighting either one of Celestia’s royal guards or one of Luna’s. I think I’m pretty well boned.” “Hey, at least you have a little hope of beating Derpy,” Spike said as they made their way down the hall. “I’m up against Applejack. Did you see her fight against Rainbow? Snowflake was one thing, but anypony who can go hoof to hoof with your master is way out of my league.” “What?” Scootaloo said incredulously. “Come on, you’re a dragon. Diamond hard scales, fire breath, lifeless, beady eyes, clawed feet, huge grotesque wings. Even fangs!” “I don’t have wings, Scootaloo,” Spike said flatly. “Oh, right,” she responded sheepishly. “Anyway, you’re totally radical, Spike!” “Do foals even say that anymore?” “No, but that’s not the point,” Scootaloo said. “Listen, Rainbow Dash lost because of a fluke, but you’re just as cool as she is. You just have to harness the power of your inner badass and you can avenge my master.” “Yeah,” Spike conceded. “But I’m kind of Master Lao Wu’s student, so wouldn’t that just be proving his school to be better?” “No way,” Scootaloo said. “I’ll just have to avenge my master when I defeat you in the final match!” Spike laughed and rolled his eyes at the comment. “You have a lot of faith in my abilities, Scootaloo. Hey, you don’t mind if I check how Ran Biao is doing, do you?” “No problem,” Scootaloo said. “My match is about to start, anyway. I feel really bad for her, though. Give her my best for me, will you?” “Sure,” Spike said as she trotted off to the competitors’ area and he made his way to the infirmary. “The next tier of the tournament is about to begin, everypony,” Pinkie said excitedly. “Scootaloo showed off her amazing tricks in her match against Lulamoon, but can she overcome the devastating techniques of a Zui Quan master?” Scootaloo cracked her neck and bounced lightly on her hooves. “You can do this, girl. Just remember what Rainbow Dash taught you.” She narrowed her eyes at Derpy, who was at that moment face-planting as she stumbled up the steps to the stage. “Remember Berry Punch.” “Hey, Scootaloo!” Derpy said cheerily. She reached her hoof out to shake with Scootaloo, but as their hooves touched, she tripped again and ended up on the ground. “Ooh, how did that happen?” Scootaloo helped her up and huffed. “Yeah, I wonder. Hey, Derpy, you can cut the act. You’re not fooling me.” Derpy’s eyes rolled in opposite directions. “Oh, well… that’s good. I don’t want to fool anypony.” Scootaloo’s eye twitched. She wasn’t sure what was with this mare, but she wasn’t going to let her guard down. She withdrew to the edge of the heptagon opposite Derpy, and waited for the bell. Pinkie raised her hoof and struck it against her head, and the sound of a gong echoed through the stadium. Scootaloo’s wings began to buzz as she lifted off the ground. She wanted to get a little distance between herself and Derpy so she would have plenty of time to observe the way she moved on approach. Much to her chagrin, however, Derpy didn’t follow, but instead flopped over on her side and began to blow a snot bubble out of her nose, giggling merrily. “Oh, come on!” she growled. “Hey!” Derpy shouted cheerfully, seeming to just notice the filly for the first time. “You’re flying great, Scootaloo. It must have taken so much hard work with your flight aura. You may not know this, but I have a bit of a disability, too.” She looked around furtively, and then leaned toward Scootaloo—a pointless gesture given that they were several meters apart—and whispered loud enough for the entire stadium to hear. “When I was younger… I couldn’t fly without crashing into something.” “No kidding…” Scootaloo said, her face flushed with embarrassment at Derpy’s casual mention of her own disability. It had taken a lot of hard training to overcome it, and she would never be able to fly with the same kind of speed and power that Rainbow Dash could. “Listen… Mrs. Hooves… um… I don’t suppose you could, y’know, come over here and fight me?” “What?” Derpy said. “Did I do something wrong? Why do you want to fight me?” Scootaloo remained silent for a moment before answering flatly, “This is a fighting tournament. We’re contestants. We… we have to fight each other.” “Oh, right!” Derpy said with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, sometimes I forget when I am.” “You, too?” Pinkie said with a laugh. “Wow, I know what you mean. Sometimes I think I still live back in Ponyville!” “Pinkie, you do still live in Pony—augh, you know what? Nevermind!” Scootaloo shouted angrily. “I’m going to finish this right now!” With a cry she charged at Derpy, she landed on her forehoof right in front of her and dipped her head while spinning with her hind legs spread out. One of her back hooves struck Derpy—or, as Scootaloo realized, merely seemed to strike her, but instead she moved fluidly with the kick so that while the hoof was touching her cheek, no actual kinetic energy was transferred—and she reeled away from Scootaloo, tumbling on the floor. Scootaloo landed on her back hooves and jumped toward Derpy, punching at her swiftly, but when Derpy came to a halt on her rump with her back turned, she seemed to randomly snap her wings open while exclaiming “Whoo! That was fun!” One of the wings just so happened to deflect Scootaloo’s punch, and then a flap of those same wings struck Scootaloo on either side of the head, causing her to pull back, momentarily stunned. “Whoa!” Derpy said stumbling backward as she tried to get to her hooves, and rolling so that one of her back hooves planted itself into Scootaloo’s stomach. Scootaloo choked as her lungs desperately tried to fight for oxygen, but she had no reprieve. Derpy was on her again, her limbs flailing wildly and seemingly at random. Scootaloo couldn’t detect a single tense muscle telegraphing the next move. No change in expression or tell-tale glance gave her any clues as to Derpy’s intent. It was as if her body parts were completely disconnected from each other. To make things worse, as Scootaloo attempted to strike back at Derpy, the gray pegasus would take the strike perfectly, acting as if she had been truly staggered, but would come back from what seemed like an irrecoverable fall to backhoof her across the muzzle again. It amazed her how Derpy was able to wobble and sway at such extreme angles and yet come right back to butt her in the head. Or was it so amazing? Scootaloo’s eyesight unfocused, and her mind began to process the input from her peripheral vision. She saw how Derpy leaned to the side, seeming as if she was about to fall, but there was her wing outstretched slightly over there, and her hind leg bent over there. It was so subtle, and the movements were so natural that she had missed it at first. She saw now what Berry had meant about Derpy being a natural. Berry’s counterbalancing was quick and deliberate, so that with enough of a keen eye, one could tell that she was about to correct herself. Derpy’s moves, on the other hoof, all flowed into each other. Scootaloo leaped over the sweep that came next and blocked a foreleg chop that was followed by a roundhouse kick and retaliated with a double-hoofed punch to the chest, causing Derpy to skid back several meters from the impact. “Gotcha!” “Whoa,” Derpy said, her eyes rolling in opposite directions. “That really shook me up.” She belched loudly and seven bubbles came out of her mouth. She giggled and covered her mouth with her forehoof. “Oops.” A smirk spread across Scootaloo's face and she snorted with satisfaction. "Surprised, Mrs. Hooves? I can see!" Scootaloo charged Derpy with all six limbs swinging. Ran Biao’s barrel rose and fell with a regular and healthy rhythm. White smoke wafted from her nostrils as she snored lightly. A hoof fell gingerly over hers, the movement behind her lids began to increase. They fluttered open, and her ruby red eyes fell on the pony beside her. “Welcome back, Ranny,” Rarity said softly. “Rarity A-yi,” Ran growled weakly. She tried to get up, but Rarity pushed her back down to the bed. She was still exhausted from the match and thus too weak to resist. “What are you doing here? You won, yes?” “Yes,” Rarity said. “But I don’t care about that. I care about you.” Ran’s face flushed and she looked away, stammering, “Y-you don’t c-care. How could you?” “Of course I do, Ranny,” Rarity said. Her eyes were shimmering with tears. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t do much good, now, but if I had known what was really going on I would have stopped it right then and there. You were the most important thing to me, far more than any silly drake.” “How could you not know?” Ran asked, black smoke bursting from her nostrils. Rarity hung her head. “I… I suppose I’ve never been all that good at reading ponies as well as I like to think I can. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve rolled right over my loved ones’ feelings and didn’t even notice until it was too late. Why, my own dear sister nearly disowned me due to my boorish ways.” She sighed and looked away. “It’s a wonder anypony can stand to be around me at all. If I didn’t do my friends so many favors, sometimes I wonder if—” “S-stop!” Ran said. “You… you won’t get any sympathy from me.” Rarity looked at Ran Biao, her jaw open slightly in shock, but then she looked away again, wounded. “R-right. I didn’t really expect…” “You’re right. You have always been very dense,” Ran continued. “But if you think that the only reason ponies like you is because you are generous, you are denser than I thought. You always care about other ponies, even they do not deserve it. You always do whatever you can to improve ponies’ lives, even they do not ask it. You have so much life in you and you spread that life to everypony near you. You are beautiful, not just because your makeup, but because beauty pours out of you from the inside. That’s why… that’s why I…” She choked and dropped her gaze, unable to meet Rarity’s own awestruck stare. “Ranny,” Rarity said in a tinny voice. “Oh… thank you. I’m so glad that you—” She was cut off as, with the speed of a striking snake, Ran Biao’s lips found hers and pressed fiercely against her. Forelegs wrapped around her shoulders and she found herself melting—quite against her will—into the dragon-pony’s warm, scaly barrel. “Hey, Ran, I—” Spike said as he opened the door. “Can see that you’re doing well; I’ll see you later.” He turned and closed the door behind him. Derpy stumbled and swayed around the strikes at an even greater speed than before, but now Scootaloo could see what was going to happen. Apparently, however, so could Derpy, because when Scootaloo tried to attack from both sides at once, she managed to see both attacks coming and blocked them before delivering to her another doozy of a headbutt. Scootaloo staggered back from the attack. “Tee hee,” Derpy said, pointing to her rolling eyes. “Sometimes it’s good to have eyes that can point in two different directions. Hey, yours are doing it, now, too…” “Uugh,” Scootaloo protested, feeling as if all of Equestria was on a spinning plate. She realized something new, however. The way she was stumbling and staggering did seem remarkably like Derpy’s movements. Her body was already memorizing that feeling, and she had seen how Derpy had used some fundamental understanding of her center of balance to pull off her incredible feats of clumsiness. She had amazing balance, too, though. It’s what had made her able to do so many stunts on her scooter, and what had made her so good at pulling off dance moves. It’s what would help her win this match, she determined. Even though the dizziness had faded, her body still moved as if she was severely concussed. In this state, she lurched forward, tripping moments before she reached Derpy. Derpy reared back on one hind hoof and spun her forelegs around for a moment as if attempting to aid her balance before toppling backward a moment before Scootaloo’s rear leg connected with her gut. She rolled out of the way of an awkward faceplant before springing upright to grapple with a head-standing Scootaloo. “Wow, fillies and gentlecolts,” Pinkie said cheerily. “I haven’t seen a fight like this since Rainbow had too much hard cider on Hearts and Hooves Day. Needless to say, she’s not allowed into Frosty Mug’s Bar anymore…” The two grappling pegasi spent the next minute tumbling on the ground, performing feats of acrobatics that few could match, pummeling each other with hooves, wings, heads, and tails. A midair buck from Scootaloo finally disentangled the two combatants, and they rolled to opposite sides of the ring to regroup. Scootaloo was panting heavily, and sweat glistened on her coat as she studied her opponent. Derpy didn’t look anywhere near as winded as she was, and in fact was casually batting at a butterfly that had wandered toward her as if they hadn’t just been locked in an epic duel. However, Scootaloo’s keen eye spotted the profuse perspiration and the way Derpy’s heart was pounding against her ribs. She was wearing down, too. Scootaloo chuckled to herself. She never thought she’d see the day when that ditzy mare would actually scare her. She looked up at the Royal Box where Luna sat, who was pointedly looking right back at her. Yeah, she thought with a smirk. I know the drill. She had to end this quick. Even though Derpy was certainly getting worn down, the fact that she was able to control herself so well even with this level of fatigue told Scootaloo that she wouldn’t be able to outlast this grandmaster of Zui Quan. She had to find a way to put off-balance a mare who thrived on it. What did she have in her arsenal that could do that? She couldn’t use her trump card in a situation like this. It had to be something simpler. Scootaloo’s eyes wandered into the stands, and she spotted Apple Bloom with her apple cart. She saw that her scooter was still strapped to the side of it where her friend had put it when they had met up earlier that day. Even after learning to fly, Scootaloo still preferred the scooter as her primary mode of locomotion. She smiled as she realized exactly what she could do. “Apple Bloom!” She shouted, her voice fierce and booming. Apple Bloom’s head jerked away from a customer and her eyes fixed on Scootaloo’s distant form. Her brows crinkled in confusion, not knowing what reason her friend could possibly have for calling to her in the middle of a match. I hope she doesn’t try to propose or something… “My scooter!” Scootaloo boomed, rising up to her hind legs and reaching out with a forehoof. “To me!” While it was a bit of an overly dramatic way to ask for it, Apple Bloom understood instantly. She zipped over to the side of her cart and pulled out the folded scooter and, using her years of experience beating the pants off of the colts at school at hoofball—which was quite a feat, on reflection, given that most colts didn’t wear pants—she hurled the small tool of conveyance at her friend, who leaped into the air, wings buzzing, and caught it, unfolding it in midair to land wheels-first back in the arena. “Such a showoff,” Apple Bloom said to her customer, who nodded his head in tacit agreement. Scootaloo posed dramatically in front of Derpy, who cocked her head to the side upon seeing her newly acquired “weapon.” She pointed a hoof at Derpy and said with steel in her voice, “Alright, Derpy Hooves. It’s over now. You’re going down.” “Um…” Derpy said, seeming for the first time to be genuinely taken aback. “With a scooter?” “That’s right!” Scootaloo said. She pawed the ground with her left hind hoof as her right remained firmly planted on the scooter while gripping the handlebars with both of her front legs’ pasterns. Her wings buzzed insistently, hungry to once again taste the freedom of rolling wheels. With a kick to the ground she shot toward Derpy. Derpy jumped into the air as Scootaloo approached, but was caught off guard when Scootaloo lifted herself above the handlebars to deliver a devastating kick to Derpy’s skull as the deck spun around in a modified tail whip, allowing her to land on the other side and whiz away. Scootaloo turned sharply and saw Derpy bumbling after her. She knew she couldn’t let up. Just as she had gotten used to Berry’s and even Derpy’s random style, Derpy would catch on to the unique ways of the scooter eventually, so she had to finish the fight before that happened. With a downward beat of her wings she ollied high off the ground and transitioned into a turndown frontflip, spinning her deck again so that it collided with an unsuspecting Derpy’s head. Her scooter then returned to the ground and she delivered a parting backwing slap followed by a supermare which gave her the opportunity to buck Derpy with both hind legs. Truly discombobulated at this point, Derpy tumbled across the arena and off the stage, but remained floating backward while she shook her head in a daze. “Whoa, what just happened?” “Looks like Scootaloo’s got some ‘sick [sic]’ moves, everypony!” Pinkie expostulated. “It looks like she’s about to perform an ollie all the way to the stands, fillies and gentlecolts. You know, the ollie was actually invented by an earth pony named Ollie Pop, but it was only for bowls and groovy grooves on the ground. A ram named Rod Mutton actually invented the flatground ollie that Scootaloo is using now.” Scootaloo cleared the chasm that separated the edge of the ring from the front railing of the stadium seating, and, beating her wings to give her momentum, ground across the bar, sparks flying from the bottom of the deck as she made her way around to Derpy’s location. She dismounted from the rail and lifted her hind hooves off the deck as if to flip over the bar again. Derpy dipped down, but Scootaloo then returned a hoof to the deck and rolled her scooter across Derpy’s face, causing her to backflip. She landed on the corner of the ring and ollied again, kicking out while holding onto the bar and sending the front wheel smashing into Derpy’s chin. Derpy reeled back, her eyes rolling around until they both focused on a single insect fluttering above her. She grinned dreamily. “Pretty… butter… fly…” Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she landed on her back in the midst of the crowd, unconscious. Scootaloo buzzed back to the ring and stood heroically, scanning the crowd. She saw Berry Punch high up in the stands and gave her a little salute, which the slightly inebriated mare returned in kind. In a sudden flash, Luna appeared beside Scootaloo. “Don’t think to celebrate just yet, young filly.” “Oh!” Scootaloo said, nearly jumping out of her coat. “Princess, I didn’t…” Luna leaned in close to her and gave her an unamused look. “You left the ring, you know.” “Well, my body didn’t touch the ground, did it?” Scootaloo said defensively. “Hmm,” Luna said with a dismissive snort. “I’m not sure I approve of your retrieval of a weapon in the middle of the match either. I would greatly prefer it if any weapons you use are brought in at the beginning of the match.” “Uh…” Scootaloo said nervously. “Sure, ma’am.” “We shall let it slide,” Luna sniffed. “This time.” Then she gave her a warm smile and said, “Congratulations on your victory, as well. It truly was well earned.” Rarity broke the passionate kiss, and panted heavily, intoxicated by the cinnamon-like scent of Ran Biao’s breath. They were on the floor, now, and Rarity realized that she had somehow ended up on top. She didn’t know how long their lips had been locked in ardent battle. It had only seemed like a few seconds, but her face ached like it had been hours. She shook her head and got awkwardly back onto her hooves. “I… ah… I don’t know what…” “Rarity,” Ran said huskily, lying on her back with her leathery wings splayed out and a longing look in her eyes. “Your face has turned so rosy…” “I’m not sure what just happened, to be quite honest,” Rarity said. “Oh, Ranny… I... believe me, I understand your feelings, now, but…” “You will never understand,” Ran said. She turned over and, wincing with pain, stood. “It has been a torture all these years. My feelings have never diminished. I could only turn them into anger.” She sat back on her haunches, and exhaustion seemed to wash over her. “I cannot be so angry anymore, it seems.” “I…” Rarity started, reaching a hoof out to touch Ran Biao’s cheek. Then she withdrew, her brow knit with conflicting emotions. “I should go, Ranny. But… but I’ll be back, okay? I… I do care about you…” She went through the door, shutting it gently as she left, and she took off at a gallop down the hallway. So quickly did she move that she didn’t notice the figure watching her leave melt from the shadows. Ran sighed and climbed back into bed. The dejection felt worse than the pain of the wounds she had received from the match, she felt, but within her breast there a was new spark among her bitterness. The door creaked open, and Ran’s head shot up. “R-Rarity?” she said, hope coloring her voice. Then she saw the newcomer and her eyes widened with surprise. “No, it’s… you?” “Two forces stand before us,” Pinkie said with much aplomb. “One: a champion of the Celestial Empire; the other: a dark general of the Lunar Republic. Will we have our Day in the Sun, or will Darkness return to have its vengeance upon us all?!” “Pink one!” Luna bellowed grumpily. “We do not appreciate thy attempts at levity in this instance.” “Oh,” Pinkie said with a grin. “Sorry, ma’am. Shining Armor versus Argent Lance: Fight!” The two unicorns squared off, smiling amicably at each other, but with a competitive glint in each of their eyes. “Argent,” Shining said as he maintained his friendly glare. “I’m worried about you, buddy. It’s been a few years since your girlfriend left you for a rock. There are other fish in the sea, you know.” “Well,” Argent said. “If you don’t mind, there’s always your sister…” Shining’s face fell slightly, but he managed to keep up his jovial expression. “Yeah, but I don’t know if it would work out. See, generally two ponies ought to be around the same intelligence level to be in a successful relationship. I mean, my sister would probably get bored and start looking for somepony with more smarts, kind of like when Glory met Tom… ohhhh…” “Haha, that’s cool, that’s cool,” Argent said, one of his eyes twitching. “Hey, speaking of rocks, how’s it feel to be married to one?” Shining gave Argent a genuine, beaming grin. “Wonderful.” “Ghk,” Argent choked. “Well… you… I… Silver Bullet!” His horn flared and a beam of concentrated light shot straight toward Shining. Moments from impact, it struck a pink field of energy and exploded, cracking the ground and sending dust flying. Argent panted heavily as he narrowed his eyes at Shining standing there encased in his protective bubble. “Made you attack first,” Shining said with a wink. “You owe me a cider after this.” To be continued…