//------------------------------// // Filler #3 // Story: Fangs and Blood and other Things // by Kinetic Heat //------------------------------// It was like Rainbow's right hind leg was gliding through honey or another material with similar density. Hazel could count every little hair around her hooves, see the small cracks in the keratin on the bottom of her foot and the tensing of her muscles that shifted from the leap before. Rainbow had bent her other leg closer to her loins, her fists rested in a not unlikely position before her chest and her wings were clutched tightly to her back in order to reduce friction from the air and to be more aerodynamic. He stood there, his right arm behind his back, the other half-raised on shoulder height, his hind legs slightly spread and his wings halfway opened. One arm. That was all he needed to show his disrespectful student her limits. The tall pegasus waited patiently until her foot was close enough for him to reach, then he began his assault. With the pit of his elbow to her knee, he wrapped his arm around her leg, securing his hold by pressing the lower part of it firmly into his arm pit, whilst holding her tightly in his grip. Like a sword to its sheathe, Rainbow's leg slid into Hazel's grasp and she would be unable to remove it against his will. Rainbow floated in front of his face and Hazel used the force of her attack against her, taking a quick step to the right and slightly turned his left shoulder behind, while dragging her with him. Fighting followed the simple laws of physics; by changing the way of the force Rainbow created by moving the mass of her body, said force would throw her out of the path she wanted to move. Or simply: By grasping her leg and turning around his own vertical axis, Hazel threw Rainbow into the same place she had started her attack from, being assisted by Rainbow's own force. The whole action didn't even take a whole second, the leap, the turn, the throw, the fall and at last the sharp gasp as Rainbow's lungs let out their air when she hit the floor. The shock only lasted for a few moments but Rainbow quickly recovered and let her wings snap, rocketing her back to her hooves. She stared angrily at Hazel, her magenta eyes shooting daggers, while she readied herself for another jump. Rainbow had fought long under Hazel's guiding to know a few of his tricks, but so did he. It was almost too easy to predict what she was going to do next. She had cowered lowly, her chest almost brushing over the ground, and was slowly, for Hazel even slower, approaching her opponent. With a fierce strike, her wings unfurled and she used the boost to take a high jump, aiming her right hoof towards Hazel's forehead. It was a feint. Hazel remembered what he told her about surprising her enemies in battle and how they had practiced her improvising. It looked like she was going to punch him into his face, but actually she wanted to land in front of him with her hoof to the ground and then land a forceful uppercut at his chin, that would hopefully knock him out. The whole scene had played in his mind when Hazel saw her attack. She was fast, one of the fastest he had ever seen, but not nearly a match for him. What came next was a tactic for winners: making the enemy think that he is doing just right. So instead of catching her midway, he let her do as she pleased. When her right hoof was about to strike his snout, he stepped back by a tiny bit, his nose almost touching her arm and saw her hoof smashing the ground only centimeters before his feet. He awaited the next punch patiently, like a spider waiting for a fly to get caught in her net. The second strike followed briefly after her landing. She used the drive that she gained by stretching her legs as fast as possible to put an immense force into her strike, which she aimed perfectly onto the tip of Hazel's chin. Meanwhile, Hazel was almost done with his plans how to end this fight. He stretched his head backwards, the fist striking only air and with the tip of his hoof, he hit a single, tiny point at Rainbow's arm, right were her biceps connected with the joint of her elbow, followed by a lighter hit with the whole hoof to her chest, sending her tumbling back a few steps, where she fell on her back. It was a technique, only the elite of the crimson army of the council was trained for. By hitting special points on the body of an opponent, one was able to completely suppress any movement. The cause were trails of nerves, one only had to find them. Hazel had used quite a time to adapt to the bodies of ponies, but came to a conclusion, the ponies had even more of those 'Ki-pools', as they were called. Rainbow stood back up onto her hind hooves, holding her left arm. When she tried to put her weight on it, it bent and she almost fell. Staring in disbelieve at her now useless and completely limp limb, her eyes widened understandingly. She was a fast learner after all. What is she doing now? Rainbow had reared up and was trying to stand on her hind legs just like Hazel, although it was obvious that she had huge problems with doing so. Not only did she lack balance, but also was her injured arm dragging her down and she used her wings to support her stance by resting the tip feathers on the ground. It was a lost fight, she knew, but she didn't give up. In some way, Hazel was proud of her, he wished more of his recruits would have been of her kind. She tried to walk forward, but all that came out were a few clumsy steps, that ended with her falling to her hooves again. Rainbow pulled her useless leg closer to he body and eyed her opponent with much more awareness than before. She finally came to see that she had overestimated herself quite a bit, but backing down was no option for her, she was Rainbow Dash! Suddenly, it seemed like an idea had sprung to her mind. She took off the ground, her wings flapping rather slowly, but with power to maintain her balance in mid air. Rainbow hovered to the side, slung her right arm around her shoulder and slowly approached the white pegasus before her. It was a move Hazel recognized on first sight. This move was one of his trademarks. One would begin to spin around one's axis at a ridiculously fast pace, and while doing so, the user had to calculate how gravity would drag down one's limbs and pick up the movement to transform it into a punch or kick. Remarkable was, that he had shown it only one single time to Rainbow, he hadn't even thought about teaching her this move. The problem was, that the speed would make any normal pony dizzy in no time, but because of his supernatural senses, speed and strength, Hazel could use it with both deadly precision and grace. Rainbows disadvantage quickly showed when he could see her legs flail harder than they should. It brought up another problem to her: Now that she was throwing her legs and arm at him, he could just stand there and wait for them to hit, dodging them with ease and then simply knocking her out with one single strike to the back of her head. Just wait and- What the he-? What is this feeling? Ugh, I'm feeling tired..... With a shock Hazel realized that his focus was gone and he was no longer able to see his opponent through the slowing sight that lay over his eyes just a heartbeat ago. The sharp sight of his surroundings had faded to a blurry kind of vision, where edges were softer, the light dimmed and his whole body felt like lead. He had problems keeping his hoof before his body and threatened to fall down on his hooves again. And then, a blue hoof was suddenly only a hairs breadth away from his nose. Hazel hadn't got the time to think about a graceful maneuver, so he did something he almost hated himself for. He rolled to his side, giving in to the heaviness of his body and made a rather clumsy roll to the side, escaping Rainbow's hoof just in time. First his hoof, then his shoulder, his wing and then the bottom of his spine connected with the ground, the drive sending him standing on shaky legs again. That this was happening again was no coincidence, of that he was sure now. He lacked something vital, the essence of life, so to speak. Hazel needed blood, as well as relief from the pressure that had built up in the area around his loins for the past three weeks, aching him to to let go of the pain with one- No, not now. He had to focus on the fight, his other problem could wait a little longer, they just had to. If he faltered now, not only would his state of invincibility go down, but also what would a single hit from his student look like on him after his great speech a few seconds ago. This fight had to be a stomp, if he wanted to show Rainbow where she belonged. But Rainbow was fast. Really fast. She had noticed that something was out of line with her mentor and exploiting every weakness was part of Hazel's curriculum. Her strikes, kicks and punches grew in fierceness as she mercilessly brought down a shower of wild hits on Hazel, who had lost too much energy as to try to counter her attack. He spent the next fifteen seconds with dodging, rolling, jumping and turning around to evade the rather discomforting encounter with the front side of one of Rainbow's legs or hoof. The closeness at which he escaped her every strike decreased with each dodge, letting him move back ever more and still the exhaustion of his shortage on blood was not gone yet. A light blue hoof came flying with immense speed towards his white muzzle and Hazel didn't have the time to move to one side or another. Like a fling, he bent backwards, his wings supporting his weight and his forehooves resting on the ground, while his legs still touched the floor with its tips. Rainbow almost tripped over him, but could remain balanced as she flapped her wings, what prevented her from falling down on him. Suddenly, as quick as the feeling had arrived, the down-pressing exhaustion was gone. The sensation of overwhelming spirit flooded Hazel's mind and he almost gasped at the shock that followed quickly after. He dove into his state of mental acceleration again and the whole world stopped for a moment. He grinned. He was back, he knew it. The knowledge however mustn't reached his multicolored opponent. With a quick back-flip, he stood on his legs again, his left hoof before his chest, the other firmly pressed against his back. He watched Rainbow approach and let his shoulders hang lowly, giving him the aura of tiredness. She flew towards him, her right arm already slung around her neck to gain momentum and released a hurricane of twirling kicks and punches on him. This time, there was no way she could win. He waited for the perfect moment to strike and when she turned her bare chest and belly towards him, in that fracture of a second, he struck true. Many times. To the surrounding watchers, his arm was hardly a specter, maybe a whiff of a white blur between his shoulder and Rainbow's stomach. Rainbow stooped in her movement for not even half a second, but when she saw Hazel lift his hoof to force a powerful uppercut onto her chin, she jumped back in midair, landed on three hooves- And collapsed. It took the watchers a moment to realize that the fight was already over. A pink something rushed towards the fallen pegasus mare and held her head tightly in her hooves, tilting it from one side to another. When Rainbow Dash didn't respond, she looked at Hazel, her crystal eyes starting to fill up with tears. ''What did you do with Dashie?! I admit, she wasn't quite nice, but why did you beat her up like that?'' She looked at her friend once more and gasped. ''Is she.... dead?'' Hazel sighed and raised an eyebrow. ''No she is not, look at her chest, she is breathing. Her body just has finally caught up with the 128 punches which I disrupted her whole Ki-flow with, shutting her physical functions down completely. Every strike was to take out one knot of energetic stream, from the top where her breastbone meets her neck, down to the top border of her loins, above her bladder. She will be unconscious for less than a few hours, but when she wakes up, she is going to have the worst headache she will have ever had. I put her internal organs into a complete mess, so her brain will have a lot to do by bringing order into the contradictory signals that her body is sending. Exactly what she deserved for a punishment, if you ask me.'' Pinkie Pie still cowered next to Rainbow Dash, carefully caressing her scuffled mane with her hoof. The mood had changed from cheery into a darkened, worried gazing on the past spectacle. The party guests stared at the Hazel, Rainbow and Pinkie with mixed feelings, murmuring among them. Some of them mumbled about the great show, even though it had lasted only a bit over five minutes, others were of more reservation, pointing out that it was quite brutal to watch. ''Alright, everypony, party's over!'' Twilight had stepped into the middle of the crowd, gaining everyone's attention, and her fierce expression made clear that she wouldn't take no for an answer. Some of the guests grumbled on their way out, but instantly shut up when they noticed Twilight staring at them. Now there were only seven ponies and a purple and green dragon remaining inside the library. Twilight levitated one of the sitting-beans over to them, resting Rainbow's sleeping body on it and examined her thoroughly. She turned over to Hazel. ''It's like you said. She's merely unconscious, though her internal organs are in an uproar. But she's far away from dying, so I think that's a good thing, but seriously, Hazel, did you really have to go that far? She admires you after all, you know? No day passes where she doesn't brag about what she's learned from you, it's almost getting annoying! I know, she lost her manners in the mug, but was that really a reason?'' Hazel looked around, taking a deeper sight into each face. Except Applejack, who looked away when he wanted to meet her gaze, all of them seemed to have the same opinion. His face hardened as he warranted his doing. He sighed. ''She misbehaved, and as her tutor and mentor, it is my obligation to correct her where she needs t be corrected. Furthermore, as I already told her, did she not only abuse her knowledge for a very unfitting purpose, but also did she hurt Applejack, which I can hardly forgive.'' His face seemed to be carved from stone as he walked over to said mare and took a closer look at her face. The area over her left eyebrow had swollen to an ugly bruise and he could smell the blood she had quickly swallowed down when it had started to ooze from the little wounds inside her cheeks where Rainbow's hoof had made a rough contact. He stroked over her neck, carefully watching out not to touch any other sore spots, as she settled down. Now it was, out of the blue, Rarity to take word. She walked over and looked firmly into the white stallion's eyes, which wasn't as simple as it sounded, given the fact that he was already as tall as her when he was sitting, and raised a hoof to put on his shoulder, then rejected the idea and remained with staring at him. ''Darling, I may not know you very well, but I know Rainbow quite a lot. Yes, she is boastful, a show off, uncombed, a real ruffian, clearly needs a makeover-'' ''RARITY!'' The white unicorn was interrupted by her friends, shouting her name in unison. With a slight blush, she continued. ''Alright, to the point. Rainbow may not be the fine lady that I am, but she's got her heart in the right spot. What I said about her bad habits is true and the alcohol only made it worse, but she still is your pupil after all! Every pupil makes a mistake once or twice, gosh, just ask Twilight how many spells she messed up!'' An angry growl from her purple friend stopped her in talking on and she quickly took on a sober expression again. She chuckled about the little comment alongside her other friends and then turned to him again. ''What I mean to say is, only because your pupil makes a disadvantageous step, it doesn't mean that you can just throw them out! Look, as soon as she wakes up, we make her swear that this will never happen again, what do you say?'' Hazel looked up, gazed at her for a moment and then turned to Applejack. ''What do you say? You are the one who got hurt, after all?'' Applejack glared at him with one eye half shut, but determination shone through her. She smiled cockily and shook her head. ''Boy, if y'all thinkin' that these little scratches are gonna put me down, then ya'll have another thing comin'! Ah'm tougher than Ah look! If she says she's sorry, Ah'm okay with it, and seriously, ya were acting a bit too dramatically, to be honest!'' Hazel couldn't resist but to smile back. Yes, this really was the mare he adored. He got up on four legs again and walked over to Pinkie, who was still stroking Rainbow's mane. He looked around once more. Everyone's attention was sure to be his. With a quick poke in between her eyes and a little snap to her chin, she jolted from her improvised mattress and stood in a fighting stance in a heartbeat. Like a hounded animal she glared around until she noticed where she was. Rainbow loosened up and sheepishly rubbed the backside of her head. Only a moment later, her eyes widened and she clutched both hooves tightly to her head, sinkin down on the pillow and wincing in pain. Shocked, Pinkie turned to her once more, patting her head. The others just looked at each other, more mildly surprised than Pinkie's show of affection. They looked at the white pegasus. Said stallion only shrugged.''I told you.'' He went over to Rainbow, lay a hoof onto her shoulder and softly shook her. ''Hey, stop crying, you have gone through more painful situations, if I recall correctly.'' Rainbow's ear perked up and she looked at her mentor guiltily. Her trademark grin appeared on her face, though it was betrayed by her faltering eyebrows, witnesses of the still current pain. ''What time is it? Is that a hangover I got there? I mean, I don't think I drank that much...'' A nervous laughter echoed through the now empty library. When she noticed that none of her friends laughed with her she let her eyes travel down to the floor. ''Rainbow Dash, are you aware of what you have done?'' Hazel's strict voice let her raise her shoulders instinctively as she was scolded like a school filly. ''I think I kinda messed up?'' ''Indeed you did. But can you remember what I said before you dared and challenge me to a fight?'' Her gaze shot up and her magenta eyes widened as the memories slowly dribbled into her mind. The fight with Applejack, how her leg hit her friends forehead, the moment when Hazel had sent her flying, his sudden reservation and the blackout when his hoof hit her. ''Oh, man, I did screw up big time, huh?'' ''Is that all you have to say to defend yourself?'' ''Wait!'' Another memory came to her mind: Hazel, standing before her, saying something.. What was it? Something about expelling somepony, her? But expel her from what? He couldn't mean... ''I remember you saying that you would...'' ''That I would what?'' Rainbow hesitated. ''Expel me... as... your student?'' The words were like thorns in her throat. By the complete lack of movement in his face, Rainbow could tell that she wasn't anywhere near being wrong. As soon as she had proof, tears rolled up in the corners of her eyes, daring to spill down her blue cheeks, but she quickly blinked them away. Rainbow rubbed away the sadness and took on her most confident and determined face she had. ''Fine then. I know I screwed up and I know that I deserve punishment. I just want you to know that you were the best teacher I ever had, and I hope ya can forgive me someday, but until then, well.... Thanks anyways and, that maybe doesn't sound like much, but, I'm sorry ..'' ''Oh by the stars, Rainbow, quit the drama, please!'' Hazel chuckled hard, small fits of laughter escaping his muzzle then and there. Rainbow stared blankly at him. She had reckoned with a disappointed shaking of the head, a stern nod that she was to go now or any other sign of disapproval from his side, but not that he would laugh at her. ''Rainbow, I know I said that you would not be my pupil anymore, but on second thought, after your friends made their point clear,'' he waved his hoof to the surrounding ponies, ''and after that speech right now, I am willing to see over your mistake, if you promise that something like that will never happen again.'' He reached out his hoof as a sign for making amends and was almost tackled to the ground by the storm-ish hug Rainbow gave him. ''Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll do everything you say to me, Pinkie Pie promise!'' When Hazel raised an eyebrow inquisitively, Rainbow jumped back and sat up on her haunches. ''Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!'' The rest of their friends fell in and what started out as a little embrace became a huge group hug, downright suffocating Hazel. ''But you are still going to do a lot of extra rounds next time.'' ''C'mon, hurry up, or we're not gonna make it in time!'' Applejack's bell-like voice clung through Hazel's ears as they ran up the hill behind the barn house at Sweet Apple Acres. The sun had already set and the moon began it's journey across the star filled sky. ''Where are you taking me anyways?'' He yelled back, already beside her, his long mane flowing like it was fluid. She just smiled and nodded towards at tall tree on the top of the hill, the long, thick branches spreading in every direction, the leaves building an impenetrable ceiling of wood and bark. Applejack settled down next to the massive trunk and signed him to do so as well. He sat down next to her and she looked firmly up into the air. He followed her gaze and noticed the birds flying in a strange pattern. Wait, that form... Is that an.... Oh come on, you've got to be kidding me! Is everything on this farm shaped like an apple? ''Soon.'' Hazel swung his head around. ''What?'' ''Soon it'll be time.'' ''In the name of Celestia's horn polish, would you please tell me what we are waiting for?'' ''Hey, ya teased me the same way when ya showed me those lights back in the Everfree, now it's you who's gonna wait, ok?'' Hazel tried for an answer but rejected the idea quickly, following the instructions he was given. But might as he tried he couldn't see anything special apart from the birds, not even with his heightened senses. Wait, now there was something coming. A breeze? Strange, it seemed like the wind was carrying some kind of energetic- With a zap, all the blossoms on the Zap Apple Trees sparkled and became gray fruits. The whole scene was over in mere seconds but it left Hazel deeply impressed. He felt how Applejack rested her head on his shoulder, her ear tickling the bottom of his chin, watching the last wave of apples throwing sparks and humming a foreign tone. They sat there for a few moments, none of them wanting to break the peaceful quiet between them, where they just sat next to each other, listening to the others' breath and enjoying there company. ''Ah know,'' Applejack finally said, ''it's not as amazing as seeing souls, but, Ah wanted to show you something in return.'' She rubbed her cheek at Hazel's neck. He wrapped one leg around her, giving her small nibble at one of her ears, which made her giggle, and whispered into her ear. ''Do not be so modest, I never experienced something even similar to that. It was amazing in it's own, very kind. And even so, a relationship is not a trade, you do not have to give everything back to me, or return anything I do for you. You are my partner, payment is not needed.'' Applejack looked up at him, inching closer to his mouth and eventually slung her hooves around his broad neck. They kept sitting there for a few more minutes, when Applejack, once again broke the silence. ''Ya know, we got a lot o' things to do tomorrow. I'd like you to help Applebloom build up the CMC Headquarters. Ah don't need ta mention that you're not allowed to use any of yer superpowers, do I?'' ''Of course not, I will do as best as I can.'' They started their way down to the farm again, but one thing kept bothering Hazel's mind. I really have to do something against these strange attacks of weakness. Though I know the source, I cannot ask her, or can I? No, the time is not ripe yet, I have to hold on... Only, for how long will I be able to do so?