Forged Anew

by Vermillion Prose

Single Combat

Ponyville square was an absolute mess. What was not drenched was most often marred by clashing neon streaks of paint or frosting, as were the ponies that had entered the fray as tempers flared and patience was exhausted. Only now, as each side paused to reload and recover, was there a window of calm in the midst of the amusingly violent storm.

Stepping from cover, a relatively dry and unmarred Hesperos strode into the open, bolter held across his front in a familiar and relaxed stance. His vox speakers boomed across the still plaza as ponies leaned out from cover to observe him, either with curiosity or suspicion. Twilight herself was too distracted replicating a flamer capable of instead spewing paint to pay him much mind.

“Warriors of Sugarcube corner, let us end this. I challenge the boldest, most capable of you to single combat,” his voice droned, almost monotone, to reach every pony within half a kilometer. He knew of one pony that would be unable to resist the call to prove herself, and was rewarded with a squealing cry of protest he knew to be Pinkie Pie as a multi-hued blur streaked out of the confectionary shop and ended with a cyan pegasus standing before him, wings spread and a cocky grin on her muzzle.

“Oh you are so on!” the tomboyish mare shot at him, eyes alight with the prospect of strutting her stuff. Rainbow Dash knew he was tough, but that would not be enough. She had taken on dragons and demigods before. One metal man? Easy-peasy.

Hesperos was counting on this.

He nodded, and all was silent as the eyes of dozens of ponies gazed intently at the two representatives. Rainbow spoke up once more. “So if I win, my whole team wins, right?” She received another slow nod. “Awesome. Let’s do this!”

The moment she took wing, the bolter was brought into a ready position, and soon ponies were ducking for cover again as paint and what now appeared to be fruit punch were exchanged back and forth. Rainbow made good use of her agility to outpace his aim, but her speed also ruined her own accuracy as the wind she kicked up scattered her sweet liquid fury almost anywhere but her target. Hesperos simply sidestepped what few sprays nearly caught him.

To the onlookers, it appeared as if Rainbow had the upper hand, her speed eclipsing the power and precision of the rubricae. However, Hesperos made no indication that he was troubled, instead carefully placing shots in what appeared to the ponies as almost desperate snap shots.

Twilight had finally finished constructing what she now dubbed a Friendship-pattern painter, and had begun observing the duel as she recognized the significance of single combat. As soon as she did, she noticed a pattern emerging from the seemingly stray shots. She almost shouted a warning to Dash before remembering who started this whole mess. Instead, she waited, and when the moment came, smiled smugly.

That moment arrived when a burst of fire caused Rainbow to veer into a new course, one which was immediately intercepted by a gauntlet snapped into her path. The ceramite fingers clamped down on the end of her tail, arresting her flight with a yelp as he held her before him, dangling with the barrel of his bolter pointed right at her muzzle. Twilight, and a good number of the other ponies present, stiffened in alarm. A shot at that range would certainly not bode well for a pony, paint or not.

Rainbow Dash stared wide eyed down the barrel of the massive weapon before flicking her gaze furiously and defiantly at the faceplate of her opponent. He simply cocked his head to the side and poked her nose with the massive weapon, and she groaned as she got his point.

“Alright, alright, you win...” she huffed, crossing her forelegs across her barrel.

As Hesperos raised his bolter smoothly and triumphantly above his head, the plaza erupted into cheers as distant moans of disappointment filtered out of Sugarcube Corner.

---

Some time later, after cleanup had been mostly completed and the last of the party enjoyed, Hesperos found himself accosted by Rainbow Dash. She rubbed one hoof against the opposite foreleg nervously before she blurted out, “Thanks!”

When he looked down at her and said nothing, she blushed slightly, before adding, “For, you know, not blasting my face. You were kinda awesome, even if that wasn’t fair.” He tilted his head towards her, which she immediately recognized as skepticism. “Okay, whatever. Just don’t think this is the end of it!” she hastily added, delivering a half-hearted punch to one of his vambraces before darting away.

He watched the prismatic trail fade away before shaking his head slowly in amusement and making his way back to the castle.

Comments

[sgtnolisten]

You've done the impossible and turned Warhammer 40k warfare into a cute and cuddly game for ponies.

I salute you good sir!

[Vermillion Prose]

6733608 [bows] The absurd is simply one of my favorite tastes, one I'd love to share. This just happens to be the most entertaining way here.

[verypeeved]

this is pretty much the only story on this site that updates more frequently than the frequency of which a snail can circle the earth

[Dreadknight garen]

This story is fucking adorable. Shoot it at the fucking nazis, weaponized cuteness