//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Fangs and Wings and other Things // by Kinetic Heat //------------------------------// The full moon shone brightly upon a blank spot in the woods, where a white pegasus stallion with long, black mane and tail stood on his hind legs, his eyes closed in complete and utter concentration. A light breeze was picking up and let the mass of hair wave in the air, creating a flow of darkness that swayed up and down. Suddenly, the eyes of the pony shot open and he moved his right arm, throwing a small stone somewhere into the woods. It struck true and not even a second later, a few dozen sharp, wooden sticks, each one measuring the length of a pony's arm, came flying at him with amazing speed. The snow white stallion ducked and evaded the encounter with the tip of half of the objects. He rolled to the side and swooped three other arrows out of the air and raised his wing to detour another one. Not a moment too early, he jumped from his position and a bolt buried itself into the ground, where he had been standing just a heartbeat ago. He flew into the trees and jumped behind a bush. Immediately he saw himself confronted with a hundred whirling branches, some on the same level with his head, others with his chest and another ones with his knee cabs. Several rings had been wrapped around the trunks of the trees, set into a channel that had been carved into the bark, from which two spiky sticks from opposite sides emerged. The obstacles stood so close together that one could only fit through when having the right composure. Left, right, duck, jump. The body of the pony danced through the wooden arms that grasped at him from everywhere. He moved through to the center and fell to his four-hoof-stance again. His deep brown eyes scanned every inch of his environment, every twist of the whirling branches, every falling leaf. Suddenly he jumped forward, this time not evading the obstacles, but attacking as hard as he could. Left punch, duck, right kick, jump, roll to the side and double fist at the wood. He made his way through the whole area, not missing a single beat, when, out of nowhere, another arrow flew towards him and pierced his wing. The shock from the pain made him hesitate and soon, he found himself tumbling through a field of whips and clubs, that beat the living hell out of him. When a massive trunk on two ropes swung down and hit him in the chest, he was just about able to cross his arms before him to prevent himself from major injuries. The trunk slammed him against a boulder and left him there. When the trunk came swinging back another time, the once brown eyes of the white pegasus flashed red, and with a powerful smack, he struck the facing end of the lumber with his hoof. The wood, almost half a meter in diameter, burst from the brute force and was sent flying through the rest of the obstacle course. The collision with the other trees shattered the instruments that had been set to the bark and cut a trail of destruction into it. Panting, the frost-coated stallion eyed his wing and bit his teeth as he pulled out the stick with his mouth. He spit it down and crushed it with his foot. Still not fast enough.... He felt the urge of his flesh and looked around, his nostrils widening as he took in the aroma of odors that lay in the wind. It wasn't far. A pathetic attempt of a road sign dangled on two string under a pole, which read ''Welcome to Dodge Junction!''. The pony sniffed. Yes, this was a place were he could satisfy his hunger. Walking through the empty main street of the western looking town, he spotted what he had sought for: a tavern. He walked up to the double opening door that was vertically divided, pushed one of the leaves inwards and walked in. The gloomy atmosphere inside the bar made him wrinkle his nose from the foul scent of alcohol, sweat and, most likely, vomit. Sitting on almost a dozen tables were the customers of the saloon, all of them nearly sleeping over their drinks. The bartender rubbed a mug with his cloth forlornly and was seemingly glad that he didn't have to serve any of the ponies in the room. As soon as he had stepped in, a silent signal went through the room, dragging all eyes on him. He was sure of everypony's attention as the pegasus walked to the counter. He sat down onto one of the nagged chairs. The bartender didn't even bother to serve him, he just stared into thin air, trying to ignore the new customer. ''Hey!'' One of the ponies, a caramel colored stallion with a brown western hat and an impressive mustache, had stood up and tottered over to the new one. He was reeking terribly of alcohol and couldn't focus his vision on one specific point. He seemed like a nice pony, but the drinks he had had had gotten the better of him. ''We dun like strangers 'round here! Where you frum?'' He was hardly understandable with his tongue always between his teeth. ''Where I come from does not matter.'' His voice was a deep, smooth growl. The other pony raised an eyebrow and then burst into a fit of laughter, what made his mustache bounce up and down. When he had could himself again, he smacked his hoof onto the back of the white pegasus and and then patted him on the shoulder, ''Yar right! Nothin' madders anymore.'' Another chuckle. ''But ya know, ya won't get eny drink here, anyways!'' he clapped his back again. ''See, that is where you are wrong.'' The voice of the pegasus had lost in noise.''I will be getting a drink here.'' In one clean move, he had grabbed the stick he had hidden under his wing and drove it into the hoof of the pony before him, nailing it onto the table. Before his opponent was able to scream, he had grasped him by his mustache and slammed his face into the counter. The pony fainted instantly. Now every other pony in the room was on their feet and ready to attack. Against him stood fifteen ponies, if he counted right. After a short moment, the first two charged. Raising to his hind legs, he waited for his opponents to close the distance. The two ponies came galloping in perfectly sychronized and when they were merely a step before him, the white pegasus stepped into action. He positioned himself between them, by placing his right leg forward and slammed his fist into the cheek of the pony on his left. Simultaneously, he kicked the pony in his back into his shoulder, sending him flying against one of the piles that held the roof. The bartender had sought cover behind the bar and was cowering on the ground. The pegasus reached out for one of the glasses in the shelf next to the mirror and already saw the bulky earth pony that was making his way towards him. With a well timed turn, the glass landed on the neck of the attacker and the sharp edges dug themselves into the soft flesh. Quicker than any eye could follow, he was standing right in the middle of the saloon, still on only two legs. Now he was facing three attackers at once, each coming from the same direction. The far right one raised on his hind legs as well, swinging his right hoof widely to punch the white stallion's face. Too wide. His arm was caught midway, as the pegasus wrapped his left arm around it, followed by a hard punch to the poor pony's chin, knocking him out. In the same move, he kicked the middle one under his head, letting his upper body rise and finished him off with another strike to his exposed chest. The ribs cracked and his body, after sliding a few meters, lay perfectly still. The last one hesitated of the ferocity of his enemy's attacks. The pegasus took the opportunity and did a front flip over the shocked pony's head. While face-to-face, he wrapped his arms around the earth pony's neck and bent it in his way. The force of the white pegasus made the earth pony follow in his track, and when the black maned stallion reached the ground, he swung his prey over his shoulder and let him crash into the table before him. At the sight of this monster of a pony, most of the customers had left the bar in a hurry. All of them, but one. This pony was the only one who hadn't risen from his seat when the fight had begun. Now he stood up and his face was a blank mask. He had a dark brown coat, a lighter, sandy mane and an ace of spades as a cutie mark. ''Do you not want to run away like the others?'' The earth pony merely shook his head. He raised to his hind legs and kept perfect balance just as the pegasus before him. The only thing that separated them was the fact that the pegasus was about a head taller than the brown pony. A quick strike by the pegasus started the fight. His fist aimed for the nose of his challenger, but was blocked with the back of a hoof. He could duck just in time to dodge the counter strike that followed. They parted. A lunge, this time from both sides, brought them together again. White elbow met brown forearm as the two fighters clashed. When the earth pony saw his chance to land a hit on his opponent, he aimed his hoof at the exposed side under the arm, but was blocked by another hoof that held his in place. He pushed the pegasus' arm away, but was still connected with him at the meeting point of his wrist. They stood before each other, eyes locked, and just breathed while the pegasus increased the pressure on the earth pony's hoof. There he saw his chance. He pulled his arm to his chest, dragging the white pegasus along and lay his other hoof in the pit of his elbow. Seeing that his opponent hadn't expected that, he jumped over his shoulder, keeping the arm locked in his grip. The way the arm was held and because of the rotation that the front flip brought, the shoulder was sure to dislocate, as the joint was not intended to move that way. When he landed he expected to hear the sharp snap of the joint, but somehow, there wasn't any sound at all. When he looked up, he saw a pair of fire red eyes staring down on him. The white pegasus had already known that trick and had countered the front with a back flip. When the pegasus landed, he was standing slightly sideways to the earth pony, and because he was still holding the arm of his opponent, the earth pony was vulnerable to the loose fist of his opponent, which was now slamming into his face. The brown pony tumbled against a pole and held against it, remaining on two legs, and spit a pinch of blood tainted saliva to the ground. He swiped his mouth clean and faced his enemy again. They ran towards each other and wedged together in a blur of kicks and punches, every side catching one hit or another. After they had wrestled for several moments, they locked their arms and when neither of them was able to take control over the other, they rested. ''You are good. A shame I have to kill you.'' Again, the brown earth pony said nothing and simply stared into his opponents eyes. After a long second, the pegasus let loose and was pushed away by the earth pony. ''Come on, hit me.'' The pegasus gestured at the pony before him, exposing his whole body to him. Not a heartbeat later, a brown hoof found its way into the solar plexus of the white stallion. He bent of the blow and was immediately greeted with a knee to his face. A set of well aimed strikes and punches later, he was sent flying into a nearby table. Rising from the ruins of the wood, the white pegasus seemed to have lost any emotion that had ever lay within him. He swiped his mouth clean and patted the dust of his fur. Then he sighed. ''Still not strong enough.'' Suddenly, there he stood right in front of the brown pony. The immense force at which the hoof struck the rib cage of the earth pony was enough to not only throw him off his feet and into the shelf behind the bar, but also to dent his breastbone in a way that the ribs pierced the pony's lungs. The sound of a gargling breath marked the end of the fight, as the slashed body of the unfortunate earth pony sunk to the ground. Then the white pegasus walked up to him and picked him up like it was nothing. In the last moments of his life, the brown earth pony saw how two fangs emerged from the gum of the white pegasus, as well as a sudden sensation of sleepiness when he saw, on the brim of his vision, how the head of his last opponent came ever closer to his neck.