//------------------------------// // Confrontation and Conflagration // Story: Dark Corners of the Mind // by DontBeThatGuy //------------------------------// The adage goes: ‘time flies when you’re having fun,’ apparently it also flies when you do everything in your power to prevent it from passing. Rainbow Dash had spent the last two days dreading the Parents Party, intentionally ignoring this monstrosity for as long as she could. No matter how hard she tried, ignoring something does not necessarily prevent it. Needless to say, the two days had sped by faster than she would have liked, leaving her here, in the middle of the decorated park, watching the pairs of parents show up, most often accompanied by their daughter and/or son. She noted Applejack and her folks walking up the path, immediately behind Bon-Bon and her family. It seemed the entire town had their parents with them, and were now at the entering into the area set aside for the gathering. Rainbow dash heaved a sigh of stress, stepping from the growing darkness of night into the light perimeter of the party. Twilight had arrived with her parents a few minutes earlier. She surprised, to say the least, when she discovered Pinkie Pie was setting the party in a more serious mood, and could only speculate as to why Pinkie Pie was taking this approach instead of her usual extremely cheery and youthful game infused party. Nevertheless, Twilight welcomed the change of pace. Pinkie had certainly sold the mood, setting the party in the middle of the park at night, lit from a chain of torches a meter off the ground or so. Tables dotted the lit area, with a buffet table sitting at the physical center of the party grounds. Was… was that Rainbow Dash? Way over there on the other side? What was she doing over there? Geez, she sure wasn’t in the party mood. She must have had a bad day at practice. Twilight turned her attention away from the cyan pony, redirecting her focus back to her parents, making introductions, and in general making more friends. Applejack trotted over to Rainbow Dash, who was half-hiding behind a table. “Hey there, Sugercube.” “Wassup?” Rainbow’s voiced sounded entirely lackluster. “Are you gonna be ok?” “I don’t know. I swear to Celestia, if he starts anything—physical or verbal—and I’ll snap. If I do, you, Pinkie, and Fluttershy will have to stop me.” “No problem, we’ve caught you after Discord, and we’ve seen you angry before. Piece of apple pie.” Dash sighed. “Even the anger you’ve seen I’ve controlled somewhat. This will be different.” Something in RD’s voice made AJ stiffen in anxiety. “Don’t worry about it, we’ve got your back. Now go join the party, you need to get out there and relax!” Rainbow Dash slowly rose, regretting every step closer to the cluster of ponies. “Rainbow Dash!” The sudden voice at her side startled her, causing her to jump sideways. “Gyah!” Twilight stood there, apologetic. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I just wanted you to meet my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all Equestria!” Twilight said, with a touch of pride for her friend. “Oh, it is so nice to meet you!” The purple and white mare said, “Twily’s told us so much about you!” Twilight smacked her hoof to her face in embarrassment when her mom used her pet name. “The Rainbow Dash? The winner of the recent Best Young Flyer competition? It was the first time that a Pegasus from Ponyville had won that competition in over 50 years, if I’m not mistaken. Your victory there made headline news even at Canterlot,” the solid blue stallion said. “It did?” Rainbow made a nervous laugh. “I did not know that. I’m glad that someone finally recognized my skill.” Rainbow stood a little straighter. “You really have a lot going for you, I wouldn’t be surprised to see you joining the Wonderbolts in the next few years. It’s quite the honor to meet you. I hope I can get you to sign a copy of your rookie card,” “You have my rookie card?” Rainbow asked, surprised. “I do indeed, I have always been a fan of Flyer Card collecting. I always try to grab the rookie cards each year, usually pretty cheap and every few years or so, one or two ponies will stand out from the crowd and make the value of that card skyrocket. After your Sonic Rainboom and victory at the Best Young Flyer, your card went from a five bit card, to almost four hundred bits, and your rookie card even more. If you land a spot on the Wonderbolts, it’ll surely at least double.” Mrs. Sparkle’s eyes glazed over as Mr. Sparkle went on about his Flyer Card collection. Rainbow was still stuck on the beginning part though. “I didn’t know anybody really saw me as an up and coming star.” “Why of course! The racing community sees you as the best in the amateur tracks right now, and we’re anticipating you going pro any year now, and expect you to surpass the majority of the pro circuit in your first season. Your victories at the Las Pegasus Invitational and the Manehatten Open really made it obvious for us.” Rainbow fumbled for words, completely taken by surprise that someone had even followed those races. “I… uh…” “See what you’ve done? You’ve gone and flustered her!” Mrs. Sparkle said, gently reprimanding her husband for his over-zealous behavior. “I’m sorry. I was just so excited to meet such a talented mare!” “Talented, but lazy. Note how little she’s accomplished with her life.” Rainbow recognized that voice. Twilight noticed Rainbow stiffen, and her face transformed from pleasant to disagreeable faster than a normal mare should. “Twi, Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle, I’d like you to meet my father,” She said deliberately, sounding to Twilight like she was suppressing a lot of emotion. “I beg to differ, sir. I’ve seen a lot of racers in my day, and I think your daughter has the makings of a spectacular racer.” Mr. Dash chuckled mirthlessly. “Maybe she has the physical make of a racer, but not the guts. Not the spine. She dropped out of flight school when things got tough, and she’s in Ponyville of all places. She should be in Cloudsdale training with the best flight trainers in the business. No drive, I tell you.” “But that’s what’s so spectacular about-” Rainbow couldn’t take any more, she could feel herself coiling up for a strike, opting to instead back slowly out and exit the conversation before she did something she regretted. Or did something she wouldn’t regret, but would say she regretted. Still fuming, she walked her way towards the cider bowl in the middle of the park. Maybe a cool drink would calm her down. She quickly poured herself a cup, downing the glass in a single swig. Wow, that was tasty. While certainly not a situation fixer, it helped calm her down a bit. “Oh hello, Rainbow darling.” Rarity strode up with her parents in tow. “Hey Rarity. What’s up?” “I’d like you to meet my parents,” she said, motioning towards the mustachioed stallion and pink mare to her side. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Rainbow Dash.” “We’ve heard much about you. You’re the mare that works at the orchard, right?” Dash chuckled. “No, that’s Applejack. I’m the athlete.” “That was you? Oh.” Surprised by the abrupt shift of mood, Rainbow became inquisitive. “Why, is that bad?” “What? N-n-no!” Rarity’s father backpedaled, “It’s just that from what we hear from Rarity, you’re an accomplished athlete, plus it seems like you’re in the sports column every week. We were just surprised to come here tonight and hear one stallion discrediting all that you’ve done. It was just odd, we’d heard nothing but good things about you and your achievements until we came here. We thought he was off his rocker, for the record.” Rainbow stiffened, and then spoke very slowly and deliberately. “This stallion, was he about this high, a dark blue color with a red mane?” She motioned a height slightly taller than herself. “Yes, that was him! Do you know him?” Rainbow’s demeanor went from cautiously inquisitive to livid in a manner of milliseconds. Her eyes narrowed in anger, completing the transformation to a mare completely unrecognizable to Rarity. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” Each word packed with venom, and said in a slowly and barely contained manner. Rainbow backed out of the conversation, leaving the family confused as to what was happening. This was the last straw. She approached a group of ponies, her father and Mr. Sparkle still in a heated debate over Rainbow Dash’s future as a flyer. She passed a torch, pulling it in all its meter-long glory from the ground with a quick motion. Her father noticed a light approaching rapidly, and shifted to the side just in time to watch the fiery brand come whizzing by his face, scorching the ground in a flurry of sparks and fire, leaving a harshly scorched mark behind. The Sparkles were caught off guard, and jumped back in surprise. Mr. Dash dodged a few steps back, chuckling. “What, you want to fight me after all these years? Had you been worth fighting for or against, you would have stood up for yourself years ago.” “What can I say, I’m making up for lost time.” Dash lunged forward again swinging the torch low at her father’s legs, which he deftly avoided, a smirk never leaving his face. All the ponies were too shocked to do or say anything as the fight continued. Dash brought the brand back across, the shifting light crackling close to his face before zipping past his head doing no damage. The torch stopped, impacting a table with another burst of sparks. Before anypony could blink, the sparks lit the thin paper tablecloth on fire, which rapidly spread to the others, turning the place into a blazing inferno in the split second. Panicked screams arose from all around as they ran for the exit, most with no idea of what started the blaze in the first place. “Now you’re trying to kill everyone in order to get your ‘revenge.’ How cute. I should have known that you or your dumb sister would try to cause mass damage, since you won’t take me head on.” “Shut up!” Rainbow swung the firebrand again, aiming for the chest of the arrogant stallion. He moved swiftly, trapping the stick with the burning end well away from his body, bringing down a hoof that swept the stick from her hand, leaving the blazing weapon in his hands. “Want to know how real ponies fight? Watch and learn,” he said, his signature grin never wavering. Most ponies would have been afraid of a towering stallion with a flaming weapon, but Rainbow Dash was beyond that. Fury overrode her every sense, and all she could do was follow what her body told her to do. At this point, everything rode on instincts. With a rage-fueled bellow, she charged her opponent, jumping over the scorching end of the torch, swinging a kick at his head. At the last second, he ducked enough to allow the kick to skim through his mane. The brand swung back rapidly, catching and burning Rainbow’s back left leg. Pain had no bearing in her motivation anymore, fighting was going back to the cave-pony days. She reached down, ripping up a piece of flaming table. Mr. Dash paused for a second, unsure of himself for a second. The plank his daughter held was entirely engulfed in flame, her hoof had to be getting severely burned where she held it, but she seemed not to notice it. Whatever, she’d pay for her stupidity later. Finally, someone he didn’t have to hold back on! This was a day he’d enjoy for the rest of his life. Rainbow swung the flaming debris like a massive sword, slashing downwards savagely. The blow was parried by the torch, casting a blaze of sparks into the sky, lighting the two in a devilish red glow. Rainbow followed through, smashing her weapon into the torch her father held. The two locked eyes past their locked staves, both sets of eyes reflecting the fire around, enhancing their hellish appearance. Muscles strained as the two pushed each other with their blazing sticks. “You know how real ponies fight? They don’t do it by beating on fillies, you son of a bitch,” Rainbow snarled, voice sizzling through the flames towards her target. Mr. Dash shifted his weight, letting the mare tumble past him. She spun as fast as she could, ducking to avoid the blazing stave that swung perilously close to her head, catching her mane on fire. Rainbow shifted her hooves, twisting to send the plank in a stabbing motion towards his stomach. He easily batted the attack away, swinging the brand around and down at Rainbow’s back. Rainbow spun as fast as she could to avoid the back-breaking blow. The sound of her wing breaking meant nothing to Rainbow, the fight wasn’t over until somepony lay dead or dying. Having both wings broken just meant she wouldn’t be flying for a few weeks, but she didn’t care at this point. Still, the blow sent her skittering across the floor, landing on her back. Her father reared over her, stabbing down with the torch. Rainbow noticed for the first time that the end that had been stuck in the ground had been sharpened to a point. She pushed herself to the side with her wing, bones popping and snapping further, a few jutting from the skin. The stick swung down and stuck deep into the ground. She got to her feet, as her father struggled to pull the stick out of the ground. She bellowed at the top of her lungs as she swung the flaming stave at the surprised head of her father, still pulling up on the embedded torch. “Yeargh!” - - - - - Applejack ran out of the conflagration, coughing and smelling of a singed hair and smoke. “Whoo! That’s quite the blaze. Is everypony ok?” She said finally, coughing every few words. “No I’m not alright! Look what happened to my party!” Pinkie Pie wailed, gesturing wildly towards the burning decorations. The blazing inferno continued to consume her hard work, sending dancing flames, bulbous plumes of smoke, and shimmering heat waves skyward. The triad almost entirely obscured the party grounds and beyond from view. “Is everypony ok except Pinkie?” Applejack asked, mildly annoyed. Everyone nodded their heads. “What happened in there,” Rarity asked after it was confirmed that nopony was injured. “It was the strangest thing!” Twilight said, jumping into the conversation! “I’ve never seen Rainbow Dash act like that! She came in really upset, swinging a flaming torch at her father. In her flurry, she set the tables alight. Honestly, someone should reprimand her for her behavior!” Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy froze. “What did Rainbow Dash do, again?” Applejack said gravely. Twilight recounted the story for them briefly. The three excused themselves, making bad excuses for their departure. Twilight watched the trio run away, wondering what was the matter with them to set them off like that. Did they know something she didn’t? She’d have to investigate. “Anypony see her?” Applejack whispered to the other two fervently, as they scanned the crowd for a hint of a rainbow colored mane. Fluttershy shook her head. “I do hope tha-” “Yeargh!” The trio’s head snapped back towards the inferno. In the midst of the blaze, two ponies were locked in combat. Wordlessly, the three turned towards the blaze, setting off at a dead sprint. - - - - - Her father jumped sideways at the last second, the flaming debris swinging past, leaving a trail of smoke and sparks, temporarily obscuring Rainbow’s view of her target. She gritted her teeth, dropping to a knee and swinging horizontally. The impact snapped the torch in half, and sent Rainbow’s weapon spinning off into the blaze. The two stood up and faced each other, readying for the next flurry of attacks. Rainbow set her hooves, preparing herself for her move. She tensed every muscle in her body, preparing herself for her strike. She pushed off, using every muscle in her body, tearing across the empty space in record time, her flaming mane whipping into a twirling, snapping frenzy behind her, giving her an other-wordly trailing a mixture of fire, smoke, and sparks. Ducking low at the last second, she came up under his guard, wrapping him into a tackle, pushing him before her. The pair impacted a wooden table, the impact with her father’s back shattering the charred wood. Rainbow was the first to recover from the ensuing tumble, snapping to her body upright, her boxing finally paying off. Jabs followed each other mercilessly, interspersed by a few severe crosses and finishing with a hook to the head. Rainbow watched with savage glee as he reeled from the blow. Her enemy stumbled to the ground, regaining his balance rapidly, grasping something from the ground. He brought himself back toward Rainbow, immediately punching her in the shoulder. Had someone poured water on her shoulder? It immediately felt wet and sticky. She glanced down, noting the blood pouring from a gash down over her arms, falling to the charred grass moments later. Wounds meant nothing. Blood is expendable. She knew from her athletic training her heart was strong, and she could survive for about 30 seconds without, enough time to maim and destroy this hated man if he did stab her heart. She glanced back up, noting the hellish fire glinting off the small blade clutched by his hoof. His signature smirk shone even brighter, with the flickering light reflecting off his teeth, making them stand out from his coat. The two circled each other slowly, each watching every aspect of their opponent. Stance, posture, hoof placement, each and every motion was judged, both trying to figure out who was going to move first, and what they would do. Rainbow set her jaw in place, she was going to end this now. Rainbow jumped forward, testing his reaction. The blade swung swiftly at Rainbow’s forward arm, slicing a decent size gash. She dodged forward, jabbing at the stomach, but the knife came down, slashing another chunk out of her body. She knew she’d have to retreat and get a stick or something else; she couldn’t do anything to this defense. Her father took advantage of the momentary lull, snapping forward, the knife whistling through the air in downward motion towards Rainbow’s neck, his own hoof being singed by the blaze in Dash’s mane as she ducked the motion. He recoiled, thrusting forward with the blade again. Dash gritted her teeth. She batted the blade away from her body, stepping up to the shoulder of her father. Boxing came back in to play, beginning her punch with the her hooves firmly planted on the ground, accelerating it through the swift twist of the hips, and finally coming out her hoof, smashing the where the skull and spine collided. Her father collapsed, instantly unconscious. Victorious. At last. Now to finish this day the way it was meant to be finished. She grasped the knife from the ground where it lay, and rolled her father over, readying a strike. She paused just long enough to tilt his head back, fully exposing the neck. “Die, you abusive, worthless piece of filth.” The blade came whistling down, impacting a pink blur, Dash finding herself spinning sideways. The knife stuck in Pinkie Pie’s arm as she pushed the weakened Rainbow Dash to the ground. “Dashie, don’t!” “Get out of my way Pinkie, I have to kill him! I can’t let him live!” “Rainbow Dash, what do you think you’re doing?” Applejack came sprinting up. “Doing what I should have done years ago, now let me finish the job! What… what are you doing? Fluttershy, stop!” Rainbow Dash pleaded with the other Pegasus to stop attempting first aid on the fallen stallion. “He’s not worth it, leave him be. Just let me kill him!” She screamed. “I’m sorry, Sugarcube. This is for the best.” “Applejack, what are yo-” Applejack kicked Dash in the head. Rainbow’s vision went black as she left consciousness. “Let’s get these two to a hospital.”