Only One Speck of Dust

by TheMareWhoSaysNi

Chapter 39

It was easy to get lost in the maze of secret doors and underground passages of this damn castle. Disoriented in the dark, Rainbow Dash had probably bang into walls of stone more than twenty times, before finding the way out.

Beyond the fortifications surrounding the indoor yard, she had seen by flying over that the Cavalry had arrived as backup. It was no part of the plan that the royal guard would help their way through victory, right the opposite actually, but it seemed that a smarter pony had the good idea to call on to them.

All this time, she had been scared Prince Blueblood had time to escape. It was leaving aside the fact that he was greedy and materialistic… The stallion unicorn had not helped but gathering many precious items, trophies of his almost victory on the established order. It probably was in order to make his travel easier, without an army to defend him.

Rainbow Dash found him in front of a defensive wall, in a part of the yard where it was easier to hide. The snow on many bushes had started to melt, letting naked branches appear. The layer of frost around the huge fountain representing the King Sunset Sunrise and his spouse, Queen Harmony, had started to split, and the soft sound of water running down was rocking the silence of the night.

Prince Blueblood, holding a bindle full of trinkets clinging against one another, wearing one of the white cloaks from his Army, was trying to flee by jumping over the fortification, but because he still not had access to magic, he wasn’t able to climb high enough.

Her own cloak half in pieces, and her sword ready to be unsheathed, Rainbow Dash landed on the wet snow, a few inches behind the stallion. He kept on trying to climb, out of breath…

“Stop tiring yourself”, she told him with a hint of pride. “No one from The Militia could have jumped over here without wings, or the help of another pony. And, you wouldn’t get very far… The Cavalry’s right behind.”

At the sound of her voice, though he had already sensed her presence behind him, he stopped his attempts to go over the wall, and sighed in resignation. He should have known… This damn Twilight Sparkle had a brother who was leading the Cavalry, and betting on the shame he probably still felt about her for being banished after trying to play it smart was not enough to make sure the famous Royal Guard would not stick their oar in this matter.

If the incompetent Trixie had killed him as he had ordered her to, maybe the issue of all this would have been different. He hoped she would pay the highest price for this, but doubted it would depend on his only will.

Since there was nothing else left to do, Blueblood let his bindle fall and turned to Rainbow Dash who was patiently waiting for him to decide to come to terms with his fate. She was not in the same state than a little earlier, when she was pointing a sword at the mare he should have married. Bruises and injuries sprinkled her hooves, her face and the visible parts of her body. His Army had given her a hard time, obviously.

It was nothing but benefits for him. He was not tired by the fight yet, and all his energy was complete. In fact, he meant it sincerely, if he was able to beat her, nothing would stop him from getting rid of the Cavalry as well after that. In this case, success still was worth considering.

“Fine”, he said pushing away his bindle with his hind hooves. “But I’d rather warn you, dear little Rainbow Dash… I’ve been trained during foalhood by the best Royal Fighting Masters. And I can tell you it’s quite something, conversely to this miserable Crimson Moon of yours.”

He did it on purpose. It was a dangerous bet which she could not understand. If he outraged her and made resurface her Black Blood Infection, she would turn uncontrollable, and would only stop once he would be dead. Even begging had no impact whatsoever on her decisions at these moments… Or, he was only trying to make her act on impulses, since this was her deep nature.

In no way Rainbow Dash had the intention of being trapped like this. She would never let herself be guided by impetuousness, it was too important. More than ever, instructions taught by both Time Stellar and Master Crimson Moon echoed in her mind, and she would follow them without bowing. He would never win without a good real fight. So he would sweat blood too, for a once.

“We’ll see that. I’m more than ready, personally”, she answered, unsheathing her sword already soiled by the blood of ‘unavoweds’.

Well, she probably thought it would impress him to show how merciless she had been with those fighting in his name. it could have worked if Blueblood did have compassion for them. But he did not give a single care. Even the fate of his favorite ones barely mattered to him and more than anything else, he hoped someone had pierced through the immaculate coat of Rarity.

In his turn, the stallion unsheathed his sword.

In reality, he knew he would not be that easy. Even worn out, Rainbow Dash remained Equestria’s best fighter, and no one had beat her yet. His own training was rather far, though he had practiced a bit in sight of his coming campaign, since he had wanted more than anything else to kill his aunts with his own hooves.

They both threw themselves in at the same time, with the same flame of determination burning in their eyes. They both knew that, right now, the number of losses of each clan no longer mattered, and that the issue of their dual would determine the Equestrian future.

Prince Blueblood was taller than Rainbow Dash, yet, he had not been able to touch her. For so small a filly, she knew perfectly how to play with her sword so her small size would not be a disadvantage. This was at least something he could admit about her…

If he touched her first, in his mind, it was clear he would take the lead. This small tired metabolism would never stand a serious injury.

But the energy she displayed caught him off-guard. Without no real difficulty, she was able to avoid the attack he had succeeded to initiate, thanks to her agility and quickness of reaction. Her wings… He had to wound her wings to have a chance. It was her big advantage on him, who could not even use his magic.

Rather proudly, the stallion also succeeded to avoid one of Rainbow Dash’s attacks. She was fierce, did him no favors, faithful to her reputation. It was not enough to scare him, and he tried to reached her again, this time targeting her wings.

And so, during long minutes, one like the other tried attacks they avoided, with a certain sense of dexterity. What he was worth with a sword, Rainbow Dash did not it yet, on the other hand, she realized he mastered the art of sidestep. And this, undoubtedly, would give her a harder time than she had first thought.

But it did not matter. Hard or not, nothing could stop her. Ponyville and Equestria were what mattered to her, and she refused to even envision what this earth she loved so much would become with a pony such as Prince Blueblood at the lead, since he did not even possess a single hint of filial piety.

Her mind might have been distracted for a few seconds because of that. A few seconds enough so that, against all expectations, one of the attacks from her opponent was able to touch her. With uncontrollable tears in her eyes, she felt the fresh blade burying inside her right thigh, the scald of the wound, her blood draining slowly against the immaculate snow.

As soon as he took off his sword, Rainbow Dash tried to step back, but pain had her stumbling, and allowed Blueblood to reach her again… This time, at the very spot he was targeting since the beginning.

The Fallen Heir Apparent’s blade had just swept her right wing lengthwise, sketching a neat crimson print in the middle of the blue feathers.

A knee down, out of breath, Rainbow Dash had to bite the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood, in order not to scream from pain and frustration. From her mouth escaped a thin white smoke, replicating the rhythm of her messy exhalation, and of her thumping heart.

This were the same wounds she had got recently, at the same spot, which both had barely healed, especially the one at her wing. It was this that made these injuries so unbearable and difficult to accept.

“Moron. Despite everything that’s said about you, you’re too self-confident, too emotional… That’s what killed your precious Time Stellar and what is going to kill you as well. When I’ll be done with you, I’ll embellish the chimney of the throne room with your head.”

Obviously, this might be of an incredible gloating for him. Her chances to win were now fewer, and because she had thought for a while that her love for her family was a strength he would never possess, he had been able to harm her, and thought he had already won.

It was not by evocating Time Stellar or by mocking Master Crimson Moon like he did a bit earlier that he would get rid of her. Too emotional, he said… However, it was by thinking about all those fighting right now and that she loved deeply, by thinking about her own parents as well, that Rainbow Dash found enough strength to prove him wrong.

For them, for the oath she had claimed when she had become the Head of the Militia, she had to carry on and not to let go until one of them was dead and gone.

He was a moron too. When winning, it was not recommended to stay gazing it the victory for too long, but to keep on acting until being in the right. She was not dead, after all…

Her sword between her teeth, Rainbow Dash did not hesitate long. He was the one to blame, he had stayed close to her to play the smartass… So, she buried her blade inside his lower hoof, the deepest she could. Feeling the metal popping out of the other part, she outlined a slightly arrogant half-smile, and curled up in order to step back, while he bended his knee in his turn.

Knocked out too, this time, Prince Blueblood had to admit he had underestimated her. The mare Pegasus had seen worse… Two wounds, as deep as they were, were not going to be enough to stop her and allow him to be the winning one. He had been trapped by his excitation from triumph, just like it had happened to August Charmer, who had tasted what the Black Blood Infection had of worse.

Conversely to this little boasting at the beginning of the fight, he admitted it would be quite a bad idea to stimulate the infection… Although, he also had to admit, it seemed she was able to control it better than what had been told him.

Rainbow Dash had stood back up, and her earlier roll in the snow had been able to anesthetize the pain from her wounds at least a little. She knew it kept on draining, but decided to flout it, in order to focus on the essential – to make sure her opponent would never harm her again.

This time, she did not wait for Prince Blueblood to be ready, and rushed in before he could recover enough. However, he was able to avoid her once again, narrowly, rolling in his turn behind one of the bushes of the yard.

Never mind! Although it was really painful, she used her wings and flew to his hiding place, before harming him again, this time at the shoulder.

This strike was not as violent as the one at his lower hoof, but was enough to make him go out of his hideout, trying to confront her again. She landed a few inches away from him, and for a while, they both stayed motionless, catching their breath.

This short truce was welcome, for the both of them. Now both injured, they were even. There no longer were exhaustion in the scale, no comparison to make between royal methods and the ones of the most competent Fighting Master of all Equestria. What would happen next would define the future of their lands, and both knew that.

It was an essential moment, where each reminded what has been done, and tried to teach themselves the right lessons in order to give another dimension to the rest of the fight. And, they had to admit their judgement about the adversary’s skills had been a little incorrect… though Rainbow Dash remained convinced she was better than him. Because that was the way she was and nothing would ever change that.

Prince Blueblood started to scratch the sticky snow at his feet, and she regarded this gesture as the signal that the fight could now resume back. Her aim was to be able to harm him again without being harmed as well, but she knew in advance it was not going to be as easy as it sounded.

They rushed in at the same time, like they did at the start of the conflict, each with something on their minds. It would be up to the agilest one, to the most strategic one, to be able to reach for their goal first. None of them doubted to succeed.

At the other side of the wall, the Cavalry probably waited for a precise signal before going into action. That was fine with Rainbow Dash, since she wanted to be able to kill the Fallen Heir Apparent, without any kind of help.

More determined than ever, she rushed in with her head low and a plan in mind she hoped to be able to accomplish. For this, she needed to understand what kind of fate her opponent had in store for her. Despite her wounds, she was able to take off in the air when she felt Blueblood’s blade brushing her back without harming her, and with a few flap of her wings, lowered her own blade towards the stallion’s neck, almost offered.

Abruptly, and with all her strength, she felt the metal doing its work. It seemed to her Blueblood had understood one second too late what was going to happen to him, but nothing came to confirm her intuition since the second after, the lifeless – and headless – body of the white unicorn stallion fell back against the snow, painting the immaculate with a slimy and scarlet liquid.

Exhausted, Rainbow Dash let herself fall back as well. It all happened so fast she still could not really believe it had happened. Prince Blueblood was dead, killed by her own sword. Ponyville was now saved and so was Equestria, and all her deceased had been avenged, as well as Surprise’s wing, and Big Macintosh, and Double Diamond…

Yet, she felt no joy nor despair. Not even a real satisfaction. Only exhaustion. What had to be done had been done. The price to pay for peace was high, and seemed absurd for a short while. Life was a struggle of every second, for each of the ponies of this earth, however it seemed to her that existence had to be determined in other words.

To soothe her wounds, still as painful, she rolled again in the snow, again and again, by the Fallen Heir Apparent’s headless body, not having a care about the blood sticking at her coat. It was nothing that mattered in this very moment. She was suffering, and it needed to be soothed. If only the Cavalry had brought Physician Mares with them!

Sounds of hooves in the snow obliged her to stand back up abruptly. If one of the Unavowed Army’s minions was around, she hoped he would not demand a fight in order to revenge the late True King’s honor.

Her relief was huge when she saw Applejack appear in the half-dark. She was in a bad state and suffered of many injuries as well, bandaged hastily with pieces of fabric, but she was alive, and that was everything that mattered. Her Second-in-Command, her best friend, her sister.

They both gathered what was left of their strength to run to each other, and hold each other in their hooves. They had made it. They had made it and it was only now that joy could finally reach Rainbow Dash’s heart.

Now they only hoped the damages were not too important for The Militia, which they both ignored, focused as they had been on their own fights. They also had to dispense another kind of justice to the survivors of the Unavowed Army, dissolved by the death of their leader.

He had fought bravely, but it had not been enough in front of Rainbow Dash, who remained unvanquished. And who wanted things to stay this way.

Author's Note:

Well, guys... We're almost there ! Already only one chapter left

Comments

[Dusk_Writer]

Yes! I'm happy to finally see Blueblood's end. It makes me so happy xD

one chapter left? Nuuu