Ponyville's First Warrior Meet

by Wise Cracker

Showdown in the Ponyville Skies! Rainbow Dash versus the Shadowbolt!

The two pegasi squared off in the skies, one’s gaze focused intently on her opponent, the other’s hidden behind a visor. The air itself was cold and dark, the Shadowbolt keeping his ominous thundercloud behind him.

“Alright, then, let’s get danger-“ the Shadowbolt started, before disappearing just as Rainbow Dash lunged. “You know, it’s really rude to interrupt a guy in the middle of a catchphrase, Dashie.”

Another flash, another rainbow trail, and this time she made contact, her right hoof extended in a hook that the Shadowbolt blocked. “You know, it’s rude to keep talking in the middle of a fight, Ash,” she retorted.

She disengaged with a flap, he flew up into his concealing cloud. Taking a deep breath in and steadying the urge to shiver, she followed him.

She twisted around to kick the Shadowbolt in the gut just as he swooped past her, but ended up kicking air and dropping her guard long enough to get three punches to her chest before she could retaliate. The Ashen Blizzard disappeared again right after that. No blinking, no sounds, he just went transparent and vanished. Before she could turn and extend her senses, something struck her back like a whiplash. She twisted and turned, frantically searching for her opponent in that thick cloud of his.

This isn’t going to work, I can’t hold out like this. I can’t lose, not today.

Down below, Rainbow Dash’s friends gasped as the sky erupted with thunderclaps. Lightning went one way, a rainbow trail went the other, and every so often they’d see a glimpse of their friend locked in arms with the Shadowbolt. She had to keep looking up and down behind her, as the Shadowbolt blended in with the cloud as if he were not just concealed, but invisible.

“Whom is she fighting against?” Rarity asked.

“The Ashen Blizzard,” Twilight explained. “Rainbow Dash mentioned him when we were at Flight Camp. She said he was the strongest warrior in Equestria, that his real name was a secret. I guess she knows him personally.”

“Why are they fighting?” Fluttershy asked, covering her head with her hooves while the air above them was littered with black and rainbow-coloured streaks.

They saw the Shadowbolt duck into his cloud again, then a rainbow trail started cutting into it, shrinking the camouflage and eventually getting another shot in at the stallion inside. The two traded blows, each punching and kicking at a pace that the naked eye could barely follow up close, let alone from afar.

With one fell clap of her wings, Rainbow Dash blew up what remained of the cloud, sending a great wind over the orchard. The sky cleared, and only their friend and the Shadowbolt remained contrasted against the clear blue. Rarity quickly brushed her mane back into place, except for one errant lock that sprang up despite her best efforts.

The Shadowbolt smiled. “My, my, Rainbow, you have gotten better. Time was you spent hours peckin’ away to get me out in the open.”

“Stop messing around,” she replied. “You’re holding back, I can tell. You didn’t even punch me for real, you’re just playing at it.”

The Ashen Blizzard chuckled and shrugged. “Maybe I am, Dashie, maybe I am. But what are you gonna do about it? You know you can’t land a decent punch or a kick, not with both of us up in the air. You got no grip like this, and neither do I. So you’re gonna need one of your old tricks to put a dent in me.”

Rainbow put up her arms and turned her hind quarters to a fighting stance, making a minimal target of her abdomen like a pro.

Her opponent grinned. “That’s better, show me what you got. What’ll it be this time? That Filly Flash? Your old Buccaneer Blaze? Your Falling Leaf Kick?” He opened his arms wide, then drew an X over his chest. “Come on. Hit me with your best shot.”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and hid the confident smirk that remark elicited.

You’re gonna regret saying that.

Rainbow disappeared in another multi-coloured flash. She flew circles around the Shadowbolt, fast enough to be invisible. With a little bit of steering, she made the circles go above and below him, going in a random pattern that left the stallion trapped in a sphere of colours.

“Really now, Dashie, you know I don’t need eyes to track you. If you’re gonna do your fancy shmancy Falling Leaf Kick, I already know you’re plannin’ to hit me from behind, anyway. So what’s keepin’ ya?”

No response came but the howling in the air of a pegasus going at extreme speeds. Down below, the gang of friends couldn’t believe the spectacle of colours unfolding, or guess what would happen next.

The Ashen Blizzard waited patiently.

Let’s see… she’s going to kick me in three, two, one...

No.

All around, the winds crushed him, keeping his arms and wings pinned to his sides.

“N-no way,” he stammered. “How?”

She whizzed past him, sending him hurtling down along with the pocket of air she’d trapped him in.

Rainbow smiled all the way. “You got careless. You can only dodge magic when you’re looking out for it. You thought I couldn’t do it. I told you I’d do it one day, and I’ve had a lot of time to practise.”

He barely had time to think of a response before the ground rushed up to meet him.

Rainbow Dash pulled up.

Her opponent didn’t.

What followed was an explosion of grass and dirt, leaving a crater in the orchard that looked like the remains of an asteroid impact. Rainbow stood at its edge, the Shadowbolt lay in its centre. She heaved her head up and down, panting, he didn’t move at all.

“I did it. I did it!” She jumped up and pointed a hoof at her felled foe. “You didn’t think I could do it, but I did it! I finally did it, haha! Who’s laughin’ now, tough guy?”

Twilight came running over to check the damage with her friends close behind. “What did you do to him?”

Rainbow sighed with sheer glee at her triumph. “He dropped his guard. He wasn’t keeping a close enough eye on what I was doing, so I made a little wind cage to hold him steady while I rammed him into the ground.”

“He doesn’t look so good, Dashie,” Pinkie Pie said.

“He’ll be fine, he’s had worse.”

“I don’t believe this, Rainbow. I can understand a little roughhousing, but you hurt the guy, you seriously hurt the guy,” Applejack said, before sliding down into the crater.

Rainbow shrugged and started walking away. “Chillax, AJ. He knew the risk when he challenged me. And he had it coming.”

Fluttershy descended along with Applejack, checking the prone stallion’s condition. “I-I don’t think he’s breathing, Rainbow Dash.”

“Trust me, he’s fine.”

“Rainbow, I’m surprised at you,” Twilight said. “I thought you were just going to tell him off or incapacitate him, not brutally murder him.”

Rainbow Dash kept her back to her friends. “Really, guys, it’s fine. He’ll be back on his hooves in no t-“ She was cut short by a dark figure jumping up from behind her.

Fluttershy and Applejack didn’t even have time to gasp. Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie froze in the instant it took the Shadowbolt to close the gap. Before they even knew what was happening, he had his left arm around her neck and the right on the top of her head.

---

Derpy trotted through the streets of Ponyville, looking for something to calm herself down. She briefly considered a little trip to Sugarcube Corner, but she feared not even muffins would help in this situation. The dark clouds over Sweet Apple Acres confirmed her suspicion.

Maybe if she had a friend over to share the muffins with, that’d help. She smiled to herself. She turned towards Sugarcube Corner and, upon entering, got to a table for two, ordered a plate of muffins and put one of them outside with a note on it.

The note read: “I see you. I see everything.”

A few passers-by gave the set-up an odd look, but Derpy merely went inside and relaxed with her own little treat. She’d hardly taken a bite before a resigned grunt greeted her from the entrance.

Mister and Missus Cake regarded the stranger in their store. Derpy didn’t so much as bat an eyelid.

“How did you know?” the stranger asked.

“We put up signs,” Derpy replied petulantly.

“No, I mean how’d you know I’d be here? We never said we would attend.”

“Your master gave you away,” Derpy replied.

“Remind me to hurt him for that,” the new arrival started, before joining Derpy with the muffin she’d placed on the windowsill.

Derpy looked at the now dispersed clouds in the distance. “You might have to draw a ticket and get in line for that, actually.”

---

Twilight’s mind reeled.

Spell, now. Cast a spell. Cast a spell, Twilight, before he kills your friend. No, no, no, don’t just stand there like a stunned rabbit, do something!

He’s got his arm around her throat. He’s going to kill her. He’s going to choke her. He’s going to snap her neck, he’s going to… give her a noogie?

Rainbow laughed as the stallion playfully ruffled her mane with his free hoof. “Ah, knock it off, would ya?”

The other ponies could only stare in awe as they circled around.

“What just happened?” Rarity asked.

“I guess they’re friends?” Fluttershy tried.

The pair of pegasi broke their bizarre equivalent of a hug, and the stallion’s face got stuck on ‘goofy smile.’ “Fancy that, Rainbow, you’ve been holdin’ out on me. That was a perfect Wind Cage, when did you learn to do that?”

“A couple of months ago. Princess Luna gave me some pointers back at the royal wedding, and I’ve been practising ever since.”

The Shadowbolt chuckled. “Remind me to properly thank her for that.”

“Hey, I’m a big shot now, remember? And what are you doing here, anyway?”

He almost looked hurt at the mere mention of such a question. “Oh, can’t a guy drop in on his favourite future Wonderbolt now?”

“Excuse me, but what is happening here?” Twilight interrupted.

Rainbow smiled embarrassedly and put a hoof to her face. “Oh, right. Sorry, I meant to tell you guys, but, um-“

“You never told your friends about me?” the Shadowbolt asked. “Why, I am shocked and appalled, Rainbow.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Would you believe it never came up? And take off that stupid disguise, it looks weird on you.”

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was physically shaking with anticipation. “Come on, Rainbow Dash, who is this guy and how do you know him?”

“It is not a disguise, Rainbow Dash: it is a glamour, and you know it.” The stallion ran a hoof through his hair and flicked his tail, shaking off the black flecks that perpetually spawned from the hairs. He took off his visor and folded the top part of his costume so his face was finally showing.

Five jaws dropped, and for a very specific reason.

The reason wasn’t that this pony, who could summon thunderclouds and survive a drop from atmospheric heights, had the (very familiar) smug smile of a speedster who knew he was the best.

The reason also wasn’t that the guy had a blue streak in his mane that matched his fur coat. Nor was it that he had a green streak in his tail. The yellow, red, and purple streaks also had nothing to do with their shock.

It was the fact that he had all these streaks combined, in the same place as their friend, that stunned them.

A rainbow mane. The Ashen Blizzard, the most powerful warrior in Equestria, the Shadowbolt, had a rainbow mane.

“Everypony, meet Hurricane Hue, also known as the Ashen Blizzard. He’s the Combat Choreographer for the Canterlot Cultural Centre, the founder of the Nine Dragons style of ninja fighting, personal sparring partner for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, head of the Equestrian Warrior Society, and, well... “ She wrapped an arm around his neck to hug him close. ”My dad.”

“Howdie,” the living legend greeted.

They all stared. Pinkie Pie had already fallen over, rigid like a mannequin.

Applejack was the first to break the reverie. “Okay, am I the only one who’s not surprised by this?”

Author's Note:

Remember Applejack's snarky response, it'll come back later. Well, in about twenty weeks, I guess. Actually, don't remember it, it'll make the 'See? See? Told ya!' vibe stronger.

Some notes on inspirations: the dark cloud technique Ash uses is based on Zabuza's Hidden Mist technique, which lets him become invisible, sort of. The Wind Cage isn't directly based on anything, but I guess you could argue the Water Prison Jutsu is close.

Hurricane Hue was named after and inspired by Hugh, the father for Taz, the Tasmanian Devil, in Taz-Mania. He speaks with a slight Southern drawl and generally gets some hilarious deliveries. It's not a perfect copy, but it helps if you read his lines in that voice. Plus, you know, Tasmanian devil, hurricane? Like that whirlwind they make in the cartoons?

I'm going to say this up front: I have taken a handful of lessons in bujinkan, which is sort of ninja fighting. I have also read Path Notes of an American Ninja Master. I don't claim authenticity or expertise, nor do I claim any of my sources have those. I leave that up to the reader to decide. Some elements of ninja lore will be based on what I perceive as 'legit' ninja, and a lot of it will be deliberate aberration. Please don't think that what characters preach in a story is supposed to be 'real' ninja; it's still ponies. So when, in future chapters, I say 'this is based on that idea and that idea,' take it with a grain of salt.

Anyway, next chapter: the answer to the questions that matter. What is the Warrior Meet, why are they having one in Ponyville and... is that kid wearing alicorn armour? Yup. Next time, we get the arrival of the enigmatic Hammer, as well as his teacher: Master Lee. Dundunduuun!

As for the stranger Derpy invited in? Suffice to say I had to make some changes to that one, stupid Season...

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

I fully approve of an all-seeing Best Pony.

As for the fight scene, very cool stuff, though I knew he was going for a noogie at the end. Didn't anticipate him being Dash's dad, though.

This is definitely getting very interesting. And I'm guessing that this "Master Lee" character isn't going to spout off about the fires of youth.

[Wise Cracker]

7784845
No, no, this isn't that kind of Master Lee. It's actually a pony from the show. One you know. In fact, I'm not even sure if they use that alias early on.

Say the name out loud a few times. Who do you know who's called 'Lee'?