//------------------------------// // A Face Full of Dashie // Story: Utaan // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// “Haaaaugh!” Skagra charged forward and kicked Rainbow again. “Ooomf!” She winced, rolling across the steam-dripping bulkheads until she came to a stop beneath a wall of metal grates stacked against one another. “Monster from beyond the Blight, hmmm?” Skagra's good nostril flared as he loomed above her, twirling his dagger up and over his fetlock. “If this is what the west is made of, then they're as good as bloat.” His green eyes glinted—bright, uneven, twitching. “A rogue like you can't even faze a top dredger like me. I sprinkle death on toasted misery every morning and nibble. You're just a bubble on a turd... and I'm about to pop you...” “Dear Celestia...” Rarity blanched, hovering close to Rainbow Dash. “He's actually monologuing.” “They all do,” Rainbow wheezed, pushing up on all fours. She stared up at the stack of grated metal sheets. Her brow furrowed. “But there's something else they do as well.” “What's that, Dashie?” Pinkie whimpered. “Lose,” the mare exhaled, bringing a hoof up to her pendant. “Rrrrngh!” Skagra grabbed her mane with one hoof and raised his dagger with the other. “Shut up, muckheap! You got voices in your head?! Huh?!” Schiiiiing! The knife sang through the air. “Lemme empty it for you—” “Now, Rainbow—!” Twilight shouted. Grunting, Rainbow brought a hoof back, expertly catching the fetlock of his knife-wielding hoof. With a twist of her muscles, she shoved his limb forward until the blade got caught in the bars of the metal crates. Cl-Clank! “Augh! Shit!” Skagra spat, trying to yank the blade loose— Whump! Rainbow's forelimb locked around his. She pulled herself up on his weight, facing the stallion muzzle-to-muzzle. “You wanna see what the west is made of?!” She finished rubbing the Element, then thrust the ruby-lightning bolt straight into his two-faces. “Take a good long look!” FLAAA-AAA-AAAASSSH! “Gaaaaaaa-aaaa!” Skagra's eyes burned from the direct blast of bright energy to his sockets. He would have stumbled back, but Rainbow's grip anchored the dredger in place, prolonging his torment. She seethed through clenched teeth, tightened the muscles of her forehead, and—WHAP!—headbutted him savagely. Skagra stumbled back, tripping, pratfalling. He panted and hissed and yelped, clambering left and right like a skewered cockroach. When at last he got back on his hooves, he continuously strafed around like an idiot, banging against the bulkheads on either side of him, limbs scuffling... scraping the water-slick rust. “Rrrrghhh-raaa-haaaugh!” He shook his head left and right, eyes clenched tightly shut, the skin twice as burnt around the edges. “Mrfnngnh... shit... shit! Mrmmmg-gaaaaaughttt!” Rainbow stood up, brushing her bruised self off. “Hmmmm...” She spat, speaking out the side of her muzzle without looking. “Fluttershy?” “He's...” The spectral pegasus gulped, covering her muzzle... and then her eyes. “He's lost control of his senses.” “Don't have to tell me twice.” Rainbow cracked her neck joints once... twice... and charged forward. Th-Th-Th-Th-Thap! WHAM! She uppercutted the stallion hard. “Woooo!” Pinkie pumped her hoof. “Go for the glory, Dashie!” “Hrrttt!” Rainbow leapt up, collided with his body, and brought him down in a full-body press. WHUD! “Aaaugh—Bloat! Bloater...” Skagra wheezed and spat, his body spasming. “Grnnntkkkt... Goddess... whiskey...” “Nuh uh...” Rainbow hoisted him up by his shoulders. “You ain't getting numb to this.” She raised both rear hooves. At last, Skagra's eyes opened, squinting. But it was too late to avoid—WHAP! He stumbled back from Rainbow's bucking, then yelped as she came in with a savage knee to his chest, followed by another uppercut, this time sending him sailing through a barrel full of metal scraps and debris. Cl-Claaaack! Skagra collapsed across the rust, shuddering, rolling and fumbling over a sea of random nick-nacks. At last, he stood up again, supporting himself with a flimsy strip of metal. His pained eyes spotted a cup full of nuts and bolts resting on a shelf. In desperation, he picked the thing up and spun around, tossing the tiny debris. “Haaaaaugh!” “... ... ...” Rainbow Dash stared, deadpan, as the miniature pellets splashed harmlessly across her chest and rolled to the floor. “Hrmmffff...” Skagra slumped back, exhaling. “Yeah, well... I'm still prettier.” WHAM! Rainbow answered with a hoof to the face. “Ooof!” He sprawled across the floor again, spitting up blood. Even the girls were wincing at this point. Rarity and Twilight exchanged glances, then looked at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow took a deep breath, stalking the pained dredger from behind. “Fluttershy, is he dying?” “I... I think he even he knows that he's lost the fight by now, Rainbow—” “Is... he... dying?” Fluttershy gulped. She closed her eyes, already wincing. “No.” Rainbow took a deep breath, galloped, and punted her hoof straight into Skagra's gut. “Oooomf!” Skagra flew up two feet, then came down in an arc, tumbling limply across the corridor. He even rolled by Keris as the griffon came strolling in from another juncture. Keris' hawkeyes calmly glanced aside, catching Skagra's bruised, haggard figure. He strolled in, standing by Rainbow's side. “Well... I see that my concerns were unwarranted.” “Was a different story minutes ago,” Rainbow muttered, slowly trotting after Skagra. “I appreciate your support, regardless.” “For what it's worth.” She kept her eyes trained on the top dredger. “How's the mare?” “Blonde.” “Lieutenant Dude...” “Blonde and bruised and unconscious,” Keris emphasized. “Figured I would spare you the details.” “Mmmhmmm. Thanks.” Keris followed her steely gaze. “I don't get it. Isn't the fight finished?” Rainbow shook her head. “What are you waiting for?” “For it to get pathetic enough,” she said. As if on cue, a panting, hyperventilating Skagra scrambled up to all four hooves. “Rainbow...” Fluttershy gasped. Eyes aimed ahead, she leaned in and whispered close to Rainbow's ear. Rainbow blinked, nodding. Skagra broke into a limping gallop, heading due north through the mists. “He's running...!” Keris uncoiled his wings to fly after him— Rainbow held her hoof out, anchoring the griffon. He turned towards her, blinking. “But I can catch him in an instant—” She shook her head. “This way's cooler.” She nodded. “Just look.” Keris observed. Skagra ran and ran. He looked back once, eyes twitching at the stationary figures far behind him. It was approximately then and there that he cleared an intersection of looming bulkheads... ...and a light pink hoof stuck out from behind the corner, tripping him. “Ooof!” Skargra face-planted, rolled forward, and came to a bumpy stop against a set of pipes. Seething, Croche came out of hiding. She stood above him, overcome with shivers... shivers that turned into growls. “You... you...” Her sunken eyes flared as she rushed up and kicked the scarred stallion again and again and again. “I hate you! I hate you! My parents woulda been safe from the pirates if you didn't send them out during the raid! Stupid monster! It's all your fault!” “Rrrrnngh... mrmmmff...” Skagra weathered the tiny kicks and bucks. He gnashed his teeth. “Damn... seafoam—” The next kick found its way to his groin. “Aaaaugh!” “And don't call me that!” Croche's voice cracked. She seethed and seethed. “The only sea foam around here is you! Stop using us all as stepping stools so you can smell the fumes better, you fr-freak!” Next, she aimed for his half-faces— “Alright, child...” Keris hoisted her wriggling figure from behind. He held her close with his good talon, giving Skagra a wide berth. “That's enough therapy for now.” “Rrrrgh! Lemme go!” Croche panted and panted, eyes moistening. “I'm not done—” “Oh, it's done alright, Scampette,” Rainbow Dash said, strolling in on cold hooves. “All of it. Finished.” Croche blinked, watching breathlessly. “Rrrnnngh... you... you h-haven't...” Skagra wheezed, scooting painfully away from Rainbow Dash. “...h-haven't... won anything... mmrmfff... bloat bitch...” Twilight's ears folded back. “Yeesh... does he ever quit?” “Isn't that the whole point?” Pinkie said. She opened her muzzle to say something else, but stopped upon seeing Rainbow hoist the top dredger up again. This time, Skagra found the energy to resist. He kicked, punched, and gnashed his teeth at her muzzle—amounting to nothing but a raving, slobbering mess. “Rrrrggh—Raaaukkt! Hrmmmnngh—Hraaaugh!” Rainbow held him at forelimb's length, emotionlessly observing his struggles. “His... his heart's racing...” Fluttershy stammered. “Rainbow, must you—?” “Stay still,” Rainbow droned. Skagra fought and bit at her. Clenching her jaw, Rainbow shoved him—CLANG!—against a series of pipes. She pressed her weight into him from behind, snarling into his ear. “Stay. Still.” Her nostrils flared. “I will not tell you one more time.” “Get... bent...” Skagra gargled. “Piss harpy... grnnnghhh...” Twilight bit her lip. Pinkie fidgeted in mid-hover, sweating. Rainbow took a deep breath. She glanced at Keris, then back at Skagra. She raised her free hoof up high as if to whallop his skull again— “Ahem... Rainbow, darling.” Rarity floated in. Rainbow glanced at her. Rarity swallowed a lump down her throat, then pointed at Skagra's lower half. “His... his lower left leg is fragile. About two-thirds of the way above the fetlock.” She cleared her throat. “From a previous fracture, I suspect.” Rainbow muttered, “How fragile, Rarity?” Rarity stared back. “Fragile enough.” Twilight floated sideways, holding Fluttershy close, steadying her. Rainbow frowned. Her muzzle tightened as she pressed her hoof down to the back of the dredger's leg and—CRACKKK! “Aaaa-aaaaaa-aaaaugh!” Skagra let loose a wailing yell, his voice rippling the scant mists above them. Croche flinched in Keris' grip. Fluttershy buried her face in Twilight's shoulder. Rainbow Dash stepped off the savagely-bent limb beneath her. She let go of Skagra, and the top dredger slumped to the rust. His cusses and shouts had been reduced to a torturous, hissing breath as he clutched his broken leg. In the next breath, Rainbow grabbed him by his other leg and started dragging him across the decks. Skagra yelped instantly, then draped in her grasp, his body repeatedly knocking into pipework and the edges of bulkheads as Rainbow drew him swiftly north across the strut. Keris blinked curiously. He let down Croche and broke into a swift jog. Croche followed after him, her wide eyes locked on Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow...” Twilight gulped, floating forward to catch up. “Where... are you taking him?” “Where else?” Rainbow grunted, then narrowed her eyes as... ...she cleared the north edge of the misty clouds, approaching the Central Platform in a brisk blur. Swab did a double-take. Whony and the colts behind him gasped at the sight of the limp dredger in her gasp. All across the bulkheads behind them, the gathered citizens of Red Barge rolled into sharp, astonished commotion at the sight of their lamed leader. Wide eyes and dropped muzzles marked the populace. High above, Chandler practically deflated. His coat paled, and his ears drooped as he backtrotted from the sight, shaking his head in disbelief. At last, he bumped into the opposite ledge of the balcony, trembling all over. With a gulp, he looked north—at the struts where his steamship was moored. Panting for breaths, he hiked up the hem of his bejeweled cloak and began scampering down the central structure... desperate to make a quiet exit.