The Muay Tiger

by Onomonopia

Flaws

"Tiger uppercut!"

With a blow that sounded like a roaring tiger, Rainbow uppercutted the griffon she had been facing into the heavens. Rainbow Dash let out a cocky laugh before she spun around to face the rest of her foes, knowing better than to let her guard down during a battle royal. Another pegasi and a deer stood across from her, the both of them having made an unseen pact to deal with her before they would fight each other. They nodded to each other before they lunged towards the pony. Rainbow wouldn't let that happen.

While she had nowhere near the speed she once had, Dash was still pretty quick on her hooves. Her hooves pounded on the concrete as she dashed towards the oncoming threat, a wild smile on her face as she closed the distance. The deer lowered his horns to ram Rainbow while the Pegasi wound up for a punch, but neither of them scared Dash in the slightest.

"Tiger knee!" she roared as she leapt over the deer before driving her blazing knee into the face of the pegasi. The pony let out a gurgle before he collapsed to the ground, twitching a few times before going limp. Dash took a moment to make sure he was still breathing before she turned to face the deer, who was glaring at her with rage and fear in his eyes. Dash raised a single hoof and motioned for the deer to bring it, unable to hide the smile that was spreading on her face.

The deer let out a bellow before he charged towards Rainbow, tearing across the concrete to close in on his foe. Rainbow shook her head slightly at the oncoming threat before she channeled her rage into her forehooves, knowing this fight was over.

"Tiger shot."

With an explosion mimicking the roar of a tiger, Rainbow unleashed an eruption of rainbow fire towards her oncoming foe. The deer had just enough time to register what was coming towards him before the flames consumed him, ripping him off of his hooves and hurling him across the arena. He bounced once as he landed before he skidded to a stop, barely moving as the flames went out.

"And it's over! The winner and the pony moving onto grand finals is...Rainbow Dash!"

"That's right! I'm the best! Or I will be, once I beat Zangief!" Dash cheered. The crowd roared with approval at her words and stamped their hooves in applause. Dash spun around, taking in the cheering crowd like it was the first time she had drank water after being in a desert. This is what she longed for. This is what she needed.

She waved to the crowd one last time before she headed towards the back, noticing that the locker was now far more empty than when she had first came in. In fact, the only being back there now was Sagat, who had his eye closed as he leaned up against the wall.

"So you won," Sagat said.

"Of course I won. With this power, I can best anyone!" Dash smiled, before staring down at her hoof. "And this is only the beginning. Once I've mastered this power, I will be unstoppable. Zecora, Ryu and even Zangief...none of them will be able to defeat me. I'll be the greatest once again!"

"Hmm, so you will," Sagat replied, but his voice was too calm for Dash's liking.

"You got something to say?" Dash asked.

"Nothing that you will listen to. Once you have won this tournament, we will be heading out to our next destination," Sagat informed her. "But seeing as we have a quick break in between now and the finals, I believe this a good time to teach you about a few of the tiger styles flaws."

"This style has flaws? You've got to be joking me. I've swept every foe I've fought and you have no openings. This style has no weakness," Dash laughed, only to be silenced by a glare from Sagat.

"Every style has a weakness. Do not trick yourself into thinking otherwise," Sagat warned. "The weakness of the tiger style is that each move has a purpose. When used for that purpose, my techniques are near unbeatable...but if used wrong, you leave yourself open for a world of hurt."

"What do you mean?"

"The tiger shot. Powerful, all consuming and capable of ending a fight on its own. However, its weakness is that is takes a moment to start up and launch. It may only be a moment, but if your opponent takes advantage of that moment you are at their mercy. Believe me, I have been caught once or twice myself."

"Don't use it wildly. Got it."

"The tiger uppercut. Raw, merciless and stops all approaches from the air and makes for a great surprise counterattack. However, the move has a long recovery. If you miss or your opponent can summon the strength to block it, you will be vulnerable to whatever attack they can think of on your way back down."

"Okay, knock em out of the sky or just straight up knock em out."

"Finally, the tiger knee. Good for ending a fight or pushing a foe back. But just like the other two, spacing in everything. To close and your opponent can counter. To far and you'll miss, leaving yourself open. The difference between victory and death can come down to a single step."

"Watch where I'm standing and knee them in the face. These are the weaknesses? I thought you were going to say something like if I use these too many times my arms will blow up. Just have to be careful and watch where my opponent is. Please, I can handle that no problem."

"Hmm, I see that your arrogance has returned with your confidence," Sagat noted, before the sound of the crowd roaring alerted him to the finals starting. "Go. Show me that you understand what I told you. If you win, perhaps I will allow you to walk to our destination. Lose and you walk on your hands."

"That's fine with me. I don't have hands," Rainbow smirked at Sagat. The Master of Muay Thai gave her a look, but she was already heading towards the entrance towards the arena. She drank in the roaring of the crowd, before turning to face her opponent. Standing across from her was a zebra who wore nothing but a bandanna. The zebra narrowed their eyes at Rainbow as she entered, before they took up a fighting stance.

"This is going to be a slobberknocker, folks! Rainbow Dash verses Whisper! The Ambassador of Loyalty verses the silent striker! i have no idea who's going to win this one, but I know it's going to be good. Combatants at the ready? Of course you are, so let's get this fight started!"

"Ready to get your face kicked in?" Rainbow Dash asked. Whisper, who had been dubbed the silent striker, lived up to his title and said nothing in reply, opting to take up a fighting stance that Rainbow Dash didn't recognize. But it didn't matter. She would win this.

The zebra started the fight by leaping forward and doing a twirl in the air, before sticking out a hoof and coming down with a high jump kick. Rainbow smirked at her foes foolish move, before her hoof crackled with fire before she leapt up with a roar of, "TIGER UPPERCUT!" her blow slipped past the kick and caught the zebra straight in the chest and sent them tumbling backwards, before they crashed onto the concrete.

"Let's end this!" Rainbow roared, bringing both of her forehooves back and filling them with rage. Whisper got back up to his hooves and narrowed his eyes at the mare as she charged her final attack. "Roaring tiger shot!" she bellowed as she thrust both hooves forward. An eruption of fire launched from the end of her forehooves and tore across the concrete towards Whisper, who had just enough time to realize what was about to happen before the fire consumed him. The explosion generated by Rainbow's tiger shot launched him clear out of the ring and down into the murky water below, which worked out well for him since it put him out.

"Mares and Gentlecolts, we have confirmation that Whisper is indeed alive! That means your winner. Is. RAINBOW DASH!"

"Yeah! I'm the best!" Rainbow roared along with the crowd. She pumped her hooves into the air, firing off tiger shots towards the heavens. "Nopony can best me now! Here that Ryu and Zangief?! I'm coming for you and there's nopony on this planet that can stop me! I'll be the best once more!"

The crowd roared in a frenzy, most of them glad that they were there when Rainbow started to reclaim her title. The announcer's words, Rainbow's cheers and even her own thoughts were drowned out by the roaring of the crowd. All Rainbow could hear was the crowd cheering for her, praising her. This was what she had needed.

And yet, for a brief moment, even over the roaring of the crowd, she could have sworn she heard Sagat sigh.

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Great job Sagat, now she's even cockier than she was before. If you were trying to bolster her confidence, you've definitely succeeded.

Now he's going to have to go and find something that can beat the arrogance out of her, so that he can start over. Again.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

Yeah, this was to be expected.

Gonna need to be broken down again, and maybe even again, before the lesson will really stick...

[badninja]

Rainbow Dash has always had a problem with humble pie. I bet Scootaloo would be able to knock some sense into her. But will it come quick enough to stop Rainbow Dash from making a fatal error?

[Forevergent777]

I wonder if Sagat is getting any deja vu because of his decision to throw the fight against Dan filling the latter with boundless arrogance.

[AMuffinlover]

"Of course I won. With this power, I can best anyone!" Dash smiled, before staring down at her hoof. "And this is only the beginning. Once I've mastered this power, I will be unstoppable. Zecora, Ryu and even Zangief...none of them will be able to defeat me. I'll be the greatest once again!"

Zecora? have they fought before?

"The tiger shot. Powerful, all consuming and capable of ending a fight on its own. However, its weakness is that is takes a moment to start up and launch. It may only be a moment, but if your opponent takes advantage of that moment you are at their mercy. Believe me, I have been caught once or twice myself."

It's like grabbing in super smash, you get punished

I can definitely see rainbow's arragonce being ber down fall again. hopefully this time she'll learn