The winter had apparently been unusually harsh this year, in part due to the wild weather resonating from the Everfree Forest. Most of Fluttershy’s animal friends were now hibernating or otherwise gone until spring returned, and the shy pony was all bundled up muzzle to tail as she tried to clear the path from the cottage door to the nearby road.

The winter had been particularly bad in the forest itself this year, causing the overall temperature to drop really low and making the snow in nearby areas to become exceptionally deep. After bundling up as best she could, Fluttershy ended up having to leave her cottage through the living room window in order to clear her walkway and make sure her front door could open.

Her chickens were currently over at Sweet Apple Acres, sharing warmth and safety in the farm’s larger coop, along with many of Ponyville’s other free range chickens, ducks and geese that were either not able or disinclined to travel south for the winter. It simply hadn’t been plausible for her to keep them in their own coop this year as the snow kept drifting right up and over the short chicken-wire fence, effectively removing any security her hens had from the foxes, weasels, and other small predators that lived in the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy might get along with all sorts of animals, but even she had difficulty convincing non-hibernating predators to not eat her chickens when their normal prey had become abnormally scarce.

So while she was sad that she had to send her chickens away this winter, she was happy that they would be warm and safe on Applejack’s farm. And it wasn’t as if she couldn’t visit them any time she liked. In fact, after she was done clearing the walk way, she’d have a nice little chat with Wild Pony as she brushed the statue off, and then go right over to Sweet Apple Acres to visit her chickens and help out with the extra animals the Apples were taking care of this winter.

Between the thick insulating blanket of snow and the bundle of layers the shy pony had wrapped herself in, she could barely even hear the shovel in the preternaturally silent winter air.

The bundled up Pegasus couldn’t hear the manticore as it left the cover of the all too near Everfree Forest.

Nor could Fluttershy hear the sound of the chips and cracks rapidly spreading across the statue she had long since dubbed Wild Pony.

That, Fluttershy heard, as stone shards and granite dust flew everywhere as a shadowy silhouette crouched menacingly within and hissed territorially. She stared as a pair of eyes seemed to glow menacingly in the haze of the dust before a brief gust of wind cleared it away, revealing a brown mare with angry blue eyes, red mane and tail, and a grey sword-on-shield cutie mark on her flank. The stance the former statue took was eerily reminiscent of a cat trying to make itself look bigger in order to scare off a threat…

Whipping around, the pale yellow Pegasus saw the hunger maddened manticore that had been stalking her, and her heart nearly stopped as she let out an involuntary (if barely audible) squeak.

Fluttershy collapsed in a faint as twin roars echoed over Ponyville as Wild Pony and the manticore leapt at each other with death in their eyes…

“That sounded mighty close!” Applejack stated as she got up from the table. “Apple Bloom, stay here and mind Granny, y‘hear?”

“None of that now! If’n hunger’s driven one ’r more of th’ big critters out of th’ Everfree, then it aint safe out there. Ah’ll be meetin’ up with Big Mac at least, an’ maybe some of th’ other farmers too so we can drive whatever came outa th’ woods raht back in. Ah know y’ want t’ help, but it just aint safe for a little filly out there raht now.”

“Okay…” Apple Bloom kicked the floor with a fore hoof. “Ah’ll stay with Granny…”

“Good. Ah’ll be back soon ‘nuff.” And with that, Applejack grabbed a rope and headed out the door. As it shut behind her, she couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “Ah hope…”

Big Mac left the snow plow where it was as he thundered down the half-cleared roads of Ponyville. It would take too long to turn it around, and that set of roars sounded entirely too close to be wasting any time trying to bring it along.

Other stallions that had been out clearing the lanes joined up with the big red stallion as he passed by at a full gallop, barely slowed at all by the portions that had yet to be cleared. Those that hadn’t joined right away were teaming up with those whose plows happened to be facing the right direction so that a sort of mobile barricade could be brought into play sooner rather than later.

Hopefully, whatever was fighting had remained in the Everfree Forest itself, and everypony would just be in for a long day maintaining watch where the forest met the town. However that hope was faint at best, as the roars had sounded far too close for either critter to remain in the woods, assuming they hadn’t entered one of the outlaying neighborhoods already.

The Ponyville Weather Team was not officially part of any of the Equestrian military forces, air or otherwise. Ponyville was too far from any of the nation’s borders and at the same time too close to the capital to merit a dedicated military post of its own. Technically, the town didn’t even have much in the way of a local militia either. Not currently at any rate, as there hadn’t been call for maintaining one in recent years. Just a handful of volunteers consisting mainly of retired soldiers trying to stay active and young idealists not quite old enough to actually enlist in the military yet. And, by default mostly, the Weather Team.

Largely unarmed and unarmored, the militia could fight fires, perform rescue and scouting duties, and assist in setting up or moving barricades if needed. The Weather Team added the ability to respond quickly to emergency situations, and if need be, bring weather magic to bear. They also acted as swift couriers, alerting the staff of Ponyville General Hospital to get ready, or summoning aid from the Air Brigade in Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash was new to the post of Captain of the Weather Team this year, hoof-picked by her immediate predecessor, Rolling Thunder, who had retired and gone off to Los Pegasus to be with his family, who had moved there last year, and spoil his grand foals. He picked Rainbow Dash to replace him because, while she was admittedly young, relatively inexperienced, and a bit lazy, she was also capable of completing her responsibilities quickly and efficiently once she was motivated to do so, and she had yet to leave anyone who counted on her hanging.

Which is why she was up and out of her cloud-house the moment she heard the twin roars echoing over Ponyville, when she’d much rather be sleeping in.

She was quickly joined by some of the other Weather Team Pegasi as she flew towards the Southeast corner of Ponyville.

“Whoa…” Raindow Dash took in the devastation she found as she and her team got close enough to see what was going on. A clash of titans was happening, for all that one of them was no bigger than she was. A chestnut mare with crimson mane and tail fought in single combat and equal savagery against a monster five times her size, and for the life of her, Rainbow Dash could not tell who was winning, for both of them were bleeding from several sets of gashes!

“Wild manticore attack! Thunderlane! Go to the hospital and tell them to get ready for a medical emergency! You guys! Go help the road crews bring the snow plows over to form a barrier! Teams of at least four to a plow if you want to carry it, otherwise just help push! The rest of you, harassing tactics only! Do not engage directly if you can help it - not even to pull that pony out of combat. Don’t give me that look, did you even see what she did to that rock?”

Two wild, feline based, creatures faced off against one another. One, the smaller of the two by far, was actually a former human boy now turned pony mare. Oddly enough, despite having hooves instead of hands, this change actually worked in the Neko-Ken’s favor as the body it was using was now properly four legged. Her ‘claws’ did not require paws after all, and not having to contort the body as much to better fit cat-like postures and stances just meant that she could bring more speed and power to bear.

Her ‘natural’ weapons were few but formidable. Chi claws that could shred hard wood into strips as fine as excelsior paper or carve stone into smooth slices, albeit their effect against living flesh seemed to be muted in comparison. A menacing feline aura that just screamed out ‘Hey! MY territory! Hear MY roar and Fear ME!’ Cat-like grace, reflexes, and battle instinct. And a near complete disregard for the comparative size of the opponent.

The other, a manticore. A mythical powerhouse of super-leonine might and draconic constitution, with sharp teeth and claws and a scorpion-like tail ending in a poisonous stinger. Few things, even in its own size range, were considered to be much of a threat to one of these majestic monsters. Fewer still were those that were smaller that could cause it much concern unless there were many of them. A prey creature such as a pony acting like a rival apex predator defending its territory might have given this one pause just from the sheer absurdity of the situation.

In truth, this particular manticore was too maddened by starvation to really care. It was small, it was edible, and as soon as he could kill it, it was meat.

Coincidentally, what passed as their thoughts as the two titans battled amounted to pretty much the same thing, consisting mostly of the emotions of rage and terror, the sensation of unfamiliar pain, and one shared perplexing question:

Applejack and Big Mac arrived on the scene at roughly the same time and quickly paired up to approach the ongoing battle more cautiously.

“Well dang… Outa all th’ things Ah excpected when Ah hear this here commotion all th’ way back at th’ farm, I never expected the likes o’ this. Y’ever see the likes, Big Mac?”

“Like watchin’ two wildcat’s fight, fer all that one’s a monster and the other’s a pony less’n half his mass. Wonder how she’s doin’ that - Ah don’t see no weapons on her…”

“Prob’ly specialized Earth Pony magic,” the normally laconic stallion observed. “Pretty rare ability though. Th’ only pony that Ah ever heard of that could do anythin’ close these days is an Earth Pony from Neighpony that goes by th’ name Spruce Tree. And he don‘t fight nothin’ like this from what Ah seen…”

Deep in the Neko-Ken, Ranma wanted to do little more now except run away. Her opponent was proving to be especially resilient despite the harm she had already inflicted upon him, and the fight had already lasted far longer than any other she could recall. She was faring far worse than usual as well, having been raked several times by vicious claw swipes, and stung more than once on top of that, and she was in more pain than she could ever remember being in since she first emerged to protect the Other.

Ever before, she had come to shield the Other. To become that which he feared the most and assert her dominance so that they would know that she was Dangerous and not to be trifled with. But now, for the first time she had ever known, she wasn’t enough.

She wanted to run. To get away and hide. To lick her wounds and take comfort in the safety of a Warm Lap.

She needed to be more, like the Other could be. To be able to reach deep inside and find what was needed to win the fight. To find that special something, whatever it may be, that had let the Other overcome impossible odds.

To power through Prince Toma’s illusions, so authentic that they caused real damage…

To kill Saffron, the Pheonix King, who could recover instantly from all injuries, no matter how severe…

Power that the Other could call on in times of great need. She didn’t understand it. She was incapable of comprehending the combination of intuitive tactics and desperate determination that allowed the Other to reach deep and pull victory from the jaws of defeat. She just knew that the Other did so.

So, for the first time ever, she did so herself, despite not knowing what to do. Reaching deep into herself, she found the Other, but he would not be enough. Reaching deeper still, she found the Power, but there was something more. Some connection that was not there before, so she reached even farther and caught hold of it and everything else, pulling it all up in one tangled mess in hopes that it would sort itself out and help her protect Little Mother…

Those who live in Equestria and the world it is located on were familiar with the phenomenon of Heart Songs. Times of great emotion in somepony’s life that somehow caused appropriate music to play as he or she sang about whatever was inspiring them at the moment. Occasionally, these Heart Songs were powerful enough to draw other ponies into them, leading them to dance, march, or sing as required. They were almost always beautiful spectacles to behold, uplifting and awe inspiring.

So the gathered ponies of Ponyville were a little taken aback by the harsh, beating rhythm that suddenly carried over the battlefield.

And then, the strange brown pony who was fighting the manticore like a mare possessed began to sing…

“Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi!”

And then Applejack and Rainbow Dash joined in the odd chorus, followed shortly by the rest of the gathered mares.

“Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi!”

“OI! OI! OI! OI! OI!”

And then everypony fell silent once again as the crimson maned mare sang and fought on…

“When I was stone, and all alone,
“She found me in the Everfree,
“She brought me home and talked to me,
“So I could help her dream…”

The manticore paused briefly in confusion, as this particular situation had simply never happened to it before.

“Then hunger drove you from the woods,
“And then she caught your sight,
“Ain’t got no sword, ain’t got no knife,
“Don’t you start no fight…”

And then the mare and the manticore were back at it again, tooth and fang, claws and hooves, even more violent than before. And against all odds, the savage fury of the pony was now beginning to actually force the monster back…

“Cause I’m Wild Pony, I’m dynamite!
“Wild Pony, and I’ll win the fight!
“Wild Pony, I’m a power load!
“Wild Pony, watch me EXPLODE!"

Again the two combatant’s paused, the larger breathing heavy, ragged breaths as the smaller sang on…

“I’m dirty, mean, and mighty unclean,
“I’m an untamed mare…
“Martial Artist Number One,
“Understand?”

The fight started up again as the two took careful measure of the other. Both were bleeding heavily, even more so from the last exchange than at any point prior, but this time it was the monster who took the greater amount of damage.

“I’m tough as a boulder, sharp as a knife,
“Go back to the forest, and run for your life!
“The mare is back in town,
“Don’t you mess around…”

Probing attacks once again burst into a frenzy of hoof, tooth, fang, and claw as the two ripped wildly into each other!

“Cause I’m Wild Pony, I’m dynamite!
“Wild Pony, and I’ll win the fight!
“Wild Pony, I’m a power load!
“Wild Pony, watch me EXPLODE!”

All the ponies watching the fight started stomping their hooves aggressively as they sang the next stanza.

“Wild Pony! Oi! Oi! Oi!
“Wild Pony! Oi! Oi! Oi!
“Wild Pony! Oi! Oi! Oi!
“Wild Pony! Oi! Oi! Oi!”

And then, as the fight was winding down and the manticore started backing away towards the Everfree Forest, his opponent gathered up for the final rush as she once again sang out, each line followed by the crowd shouting out three short syllables…

“Wild Pony, I’m dynamite (Oi! Oi! Oi!)
“Wild Pony, and I’ll win the fight! (Oi! Oi! Oi!)
“Wild Pony, I’m a power load! (Oi! Oi! Oi!)
“Wild Pony, watch me EXPLODE~!”

And then the manticore broke and turned, sprinting as fast as it could back into the Everfree Forest, where it continued to run long and hard, until it eventually collapsed from exhaustion.

The chestnut mare with the crimson mane stood there and watched as it disappeared from her sight, waited a moment or two longer before turning and heading back to where a certain path had been left half cleared of snow.

Her gate was slow, almost stumbling, easily allowing the surrounding ponies to cautiously approach her as she reached her destination. Once there, she carefully nuzzled Fluttershy’s unconscious body until the pale yellow Pegasus stirred.

“That’s good. Thanks for finding me in the woods and keeping me company and all.”

“You’re welcome?” Fluttershy replied, confused for a moment before suddenly realizing that this pony had been her lawn statue. “Eep! Sorry…”

“Hey, none of that now. It really meant a lot to me, you taking care of me when I couldn’t do anything at all. I was glad to help by giving you somepony to talk to.”

“Anyway… Sorry about this…” and then the strange brown mare simply collapsed on the spot in a dead feint.

Fluttershy looked over the unconscious pony, taking in all the blood oozing from numerous gaping wounds and the shallow, stuttering breaths that grew weaker and weaker until they gasped to a shuddering stop…

Checking as well as she could, terror gripped the Pegasus’s heart as she could find no signs of life in the fallen pony…

A Wild Pony in Equestria

by Tangent

Winter Catfight, Winter Catfight~