Issue Two: The Mugger and the Mare
A flash in the darkness. A glimmering sweep through the shadows, slicing the air with deft ease; inching closer and closer to the victim’s exposed neck. She shouted out in terror as loud as she could, hoping someone could hear her. Her voice passed through her trembling lips seconds before a heavy fist slammed into her, silencing any sound.
The attacker stared at the unconscious woman for several seconds, making sure everything was going smoothly. As far as back-alley muggings went, it would probably rate somewhere around a B+. As he rooted through the woman’s purse, a small figure slowly approached from behind.
*****
Rainbow Dash spotted the creature as its back was turned. It was fumbling with a saddlebag, grabbing items and throwing them onto the cold ground around him. In the shadows of the alley the beast’s features were hidden, only allowing a silhouette to be seen. Rainbow tentatively approached him, attempting to muffle the sound of her steps as quietly as she could.
The beast suddenly began whistling a tune, the surprise of which caused Rainbow Dash to nearly jump out of her skin, yelping out in terror.
“Shit!” the beast shouted as it spun around to face the confused pegasus. He had risen to his feet and towered above Rainbow Dash by nearly two feet. It was clothed in some sort of a tough, black material that squeaked slightly as he moved. His face was covered in tiny uneven hairs, obscuring the beast’s lower features and chin. Its long, lanky limbs shot out, trying to catch his balance as he reeled backwards at the sight of Rainbow Dash.
“Thank God...” he sighed in the darkness, “It’s just a dog. Scram!”
“Dog? I’m no dog!” Rainbow said, deciding that the best thing to do at the moment was to argue.
She watched as the beast nearly fell onto his backside, opening and closing his mouth as he attempted to speak. Acting more out of instinct than anything, he reached for his knife, holding it out in front of him. Rainbow slowly walked forward, oblivious to how dangerous the man was.
“Were you screaming? ‘Cause I heard a scream and-”
Rainbow’s eyes fell to the woman on the ground. With some mental strain, she eventually came to the conclusion that she was unconscious, and that the man before her was more than likely responsible. With the amount of time it took for Rainbow to connect the dots, the attacker had snuck behind her, knife at the ready.
“What in the hay hap-” Rainbow began before getting grappled from behind. She struggled against the muscular restraint of the monster, kicking and waving her arms wildly, much to the detest of her aching muscles. The cold metal of the blade pressed harshly against her side.
“I don’t know what the Hell you are,” the man said, his breath stinking of alcohol and other disgustingly foreign smells, “But I gotta make sure you don’t go nowhere.”
The pressure of the blade increased as he attempted to slide it between her ribs, but made no headway. Rainbow looked down at her side as the man brought the knife in fast. It hit her skin, but went no further. He tried a second time, with the same results. No matter how hard he stabbed the pony, nothing happened.
Rainbow took her momentary opportunity to take the man off-guard. She brought her wings out, dislodging the man’s hold on her. As she fell to the ground she kicked her hind hooves back as hard as she could, remembering just how Applejack had taught her. She felt them connect with the torso of the man, and heard snapping sounds as his ribs were crushed under Dash’s strong legs.
Dash hit the ground hard and immediately started running, her muscles spiked with adrenaline. Behind her, the man was cursing and gasping for air, but not completely incapacitated. A quick peek behind her showed that the man was still able to pursue Rainbow, and hobbled after her.
Rainbow’s hooves hit something and lost balance, spilling her over the cold ground. She scrambled to stand, and as she did so noticed the woman lying on the ground. Her breathing was uneven and shallow, and she appeared injured. At first, Rainbow’s only thoughts were about herself and getting away from the knife man. But as she lay on the ground, staring at the helpless victim of injustice, something awoke within the pegasus. A burning sensation in her stomach, reminding her of her duty as the Element of Loyalty.
Heavy, ragged breathing approached behind her. Acting quickly, Rainbow rose to her feet and faced her aggressor.
Only to find the long metal barrel of a revolver pointed straight at her.
The first shot exploded forth, nearly blinding Dash and making her ears ring. The impact rocked Dash’s chest, throwing her back to the ground. Out of the silence that followed the gunshot, a single sound could be heard; the sound of a small metal object clanging to the floor. Rainbow rubbed her chest at the point of the impact as she rose back to her feet, eyeing the melted bullet on the ground in front of her.
Taking no time to stall, Dash rocketed forward, headbutting the man in the gut. He was driven back into a wall as Dash continued her relentless assault, throwing punches, kicks and the occasional headbutt. The man showed no sign of fighting back, and resorted to cowering behind his arms, letting them take the front of the attack. But as the fight went on, Dash found a way past the man’s blockade, and delivered a crushing right hook to the man’s jaw. He went slack and fell to the ground in a thud, dropping his gun into a murky puddle of water.
Dash stared down at the monster, breathing heavily. A knot formed in her stomach as she stared at the creature on the ground. It was the first time she had seen him clearly in the light, and though he was much larger than the pegasus, something about him made him seem small and weak. Was it how easily he was beaten? Or was it how physically inept he was when it came to a straight on fight?
Dash was left puzzling as her attention focused back again to the woman. Her saddlebag was lying strewn across the alley, the contents haphazardly tossed in every direction. The woman herself was exactly the same as Dash had left her, but now that she had the time to investigate her, she was able to take more careful observations. Her eye was blackened and bruised, and a thin trail of blood leaked from the edge of her mouth.
“What are you...?” Dash asked herself as she lifted the human’s arm with her hoof. She was lighter than Dash expected.
“Oh well,” she said, her voice laden with tiredness, “You’re safe now. Twilight’s gotta know what you are.” she gently rest the woman’s arm on the ground.
As she turned to leave, her eyes shifted to the glinting metal of the revolver. Her mind raced as she imagined the repercussions of what would happen if the man awoke earlier than the woman. He might hurt her! Or... considering how much of a wimp he was in a fight, she might hurt him! She couldn’t let that happen to either of them.
Sighing at the two unconscious humans, Rainbow trotted over to the woman. Clumsily shifting the human’s onto her back, she slowly walked out of the alley, into the dim light at the end of the alley.
*****
Twisting and turning through the seemingly endless chain of alleys had begun to take a toll on Rainbow Dash. To make it worse, she had to carry the weight of a fully grown thirty year old woman on her already aching back.
“It’s okay... Rainbow...” she said to herself, “Only... a few more... steps! Look, lights!”
The end of the alleyway was in sight, beckoning Rainbow like a white fluffy cloud after a long day working. She increased her pace to a near trot, bouncing up and down with the excitement of freedom. The rancid odor of the air and the gloomy shadows of the alley disappeared as Rainbow emerged on the other side.
The new sights made the alley seem like a picnic in the park.
Bright lights shone harshly through the night, bombarding Dash’s head with an instant headache. Loud mechanical noises filled the air as giant metal monsters veered on the road in front of her. All the while, hundreds of similar creatures walked to and fro, not noticing the pony and the unconscious woman for several moments. When someone finally took their sweet time to notice the two, Dash had already began to sink into a degrading fetal position.
Many of the monsters around her looked very similar to the knife man. They were tall and loud, not caring for the space of anyone else as they occupied the crammed sidewalk. Even in the dead of night, they approached Rainbow with a ferocity that was unmatched in Ponyville, even by the most irritable of ponies. They reached at her with their long, slender hands, wanting to touch her. Or worse.
Without thinking, Rainbow flung the girl onto the sidewalk and bolted into the air, soaring past the high buildings. Tears stung at her eyes as she climbed higher and higher into the sky, taking in the massive expanse of scenery.
It went on for miles and miles; lights as far as her eyes could see. Even past the sheen of tears she could make out impossibly tall buildings and endless plains of housing. In the sky she could see half a dozen blinking lights, slowly descending towards the metropolis below her. Red and blue lights flashed on and off below her, accompanied by high pitched, warbling sirens. More lights. Everything was lights! Lights! Lights!
Gotta get outta here!
Nowhere to go!
It never ends!
Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could, picked a random direction, and flew as fast as she could. She wouldn’t stop until she was in her friends’ arms in Ponyville.
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I'll just leave this here. I doubt the next chapters will be this fast, or this short.
Iron Dash? I think that the Pony Torch would be better.
"I AM THE IRON PONY!"
Suuuuuuper Dash! (She should now be able toooooooo REVERSE TIIIIIME!)
Dash comes from an alien planet... she's super strong and invulnerable to damage... DASH IS SUPERPONY!
Good work
1021722 Sorry, that meant to say... per second? I feel ashamed to call myself a man of science now; it must have slipped by me. I'll get it fixed.
How does one-thousand miles an hour sound?
1015329
NO! You MUST go on!
Actually, this story was amazing, and the ending wasn't enough to end with!
It's too into the story to stop now!
I will even cheer you on as more chapters are added!
1025438 Thanks, hopefully I'll get another chapter out tonight. Bad news is I just bought the complete set of Centennial, which, if you don't know, is 21 hours of the best Western show of all time. So that's taken a bit of priority over writing.
But fear not! I shall continue writing no matter what!
1026011
(Not trying to sound like I'm trying to boss you)
Oh, so glad to hear that!
And I know how it feels to like a show... what else am I on this website for?
Anyway, like I said, I will cheer you as you add on to the story!
Good luck writing it! I await the next chapter... with patience, of course.
Here is (the only MLP cheer I can find) my cheer to you!
Mother of Celestia. This. Is. EPIC!!!!!!
[img]C:\Users\nikki\Pictures\NATO PICS\MLP emots\Have_a_cookie.jpg[/img]
This sums up my reaction
I'm a little confused about this. Revolvers don't eject empty casings, so that can't be what the sound was. In the next sentence, however, you say a melted bullet fell from Dash's chest. I didn't think molten lead really makes a clanging sound.
Mare Of Steel FTW
Nice book reading my third pony book and it sounds good!