A Herd of Ponies and Ungulates

by StatiZkyZ

The Champion of the Huoshan Empire and the Wonderbolt Rainbow

Though her destination is originally Ponyville like the rest of the champions have been sent to, Tianhuo ends up being sent to a place called Rainbow Falls. According to Princess Celestia who coordinates all the meetings for each of the champions, the pony she’s meeting caused two problems.

First of all, she doesn’t exactly have free time right now, her job takes her around Equestria, and the longma has to go where she’ll end up. Rainbow Falls is the place in this case. The second problem is Tianhuo’s lack of ability to stand on clouds. The first display of her trying to do so was… less than graceful. Maybe she’ll focus on mastering meditation until she can float on it.

As an addition, because she’s sent alone to a location pretty far from her associates, not to mention in a completely unknown land, she has received an ‘escort’, someone to keep her on the right track, and someone who’s a bit too eager to be with her.

“I wish I had those fire wings you have, they look pretty cool! Not that my wings aren't cool or anything like that.”

What’s a better companion to a half pony and half dragon race then a dragon that was raised with ponies? Spike was quite awed by Tianhuo when he saw her for the first time. She looks and acts like those wise dragons from the stories, those that have great power, but almost never show it because it’s not necessary. She also talks in a very mature way, a good balance for the young dragon. Although Tianhuo doesn’t talk as much as Spike, they eventually reach Rainbow Falls together.

“And, here we are, Rainbow Falls! Can’t miss it with all the rainbow waterfalls!”

Tianhuo scans her surroundings, noting how… otherworldly it is. As a residence of the Huoshan empire, the scene she saw at home mostly includes fire and brimstone. The clear skies, green grass, and waterfalls consisting of seven different colors flowing from white clouds are as different as it can be from a volcano. There are already some ponies here, mostly pegasus, but there’s still plenty of open spaces on the grassfield.

“What a sight.” Tianhuo said, smiling. “I can’t even compare it to my own home.”

“Oh, you don’t have air shows at home? Look at them go!” Spike said with enthusiasm.

“Hm?”

The longma realizes the little dragon is talking about something else. Following where his eyes are pointing, she sees a group of pegasus flying in the air, doing sharp turns and loops in the air. As someone who focuses a lot on one’s body and mind, Tianhuo can’t help but observe. Her kind can’t do something like that for sure. Yes, her kind can fly, but never that precise, agile, or complex. Immediately, the pegasus gains the half dragon’s respect.

“Quite the impressive display, indeed.” Tianhuo said as she continued to observe. “Are they from a certain group? They are wearing similar uniforms.”

“Oh, they definitely are! They’re the Wonderbolts, the most famous aerial acrobats in Equestria!” Spike said, his wings flapping to hover slightly over the ground.

Aerial acrobats? Could've fooled the longma. She thought they’re an elite group of soldiers with that kind of feat. If a mere group of… performers are this good, wonder how capable the soldiers of Equestria are? Perhaps this land is very peaceful because their skilled guards maintaining order. Of course, the Huoshan captain thinks even they can’t simply defeat her in a match of skills.

Suddenly, as she watches the group fly straight down, one of them flies forward alone and suddenly bursts into a rather loud yet colorful sonic boom. The ring of air seems to look like a rainbow, and said member zooms back up to their group, leaving a trail of rainbow behind them. That immediately grabbed Tianhuo’s attention, and she focused on that one member of the squad.

“You know, the Sonic Rainboom never gets old.” Spike said, watching the spectacle alongside her. “Very few pegasus can do that.”

“I expected so.” Tianhuo smiles. She probably can’t do that. Anytime that she sees someone else doing something she can’t do, that someone gains her respect, it’s just something she learned throughout her journey. Speaking of journeys…

“Anyway, when will I meet this… Rainbow Dash?” The longma was told of the pony she’s supposed to meet.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure she’ll come here soon, just after the Wonderbolts are done with their routine.” Spike said.

Indeed. Several minutes later after the Wonderbolt’s routine ended, their members seemed to go somewhere out of sight behind several tents already put up in the area. After waiting a bit more, a streak of rainbow, the same one that Tianhuo and Spike saw in the sky, come towards them, revealing a pegasus with rainbow mane and tail, wearing the Wonderbolt’s uniform.

“Rainbow!” Spike ran up to her, while Tianhuo held her ground, looking at the pegasus. “You did awesome!”

“Heh, when was the time I’m not?” The pegasus gives Spike a hoof to claw bump. She was quick to move her attention to the fiery half dragon behind him. “Is that her?”

The Wonderbolt was also informed by Princess Celestia herself to give Rainbow some time for this meeting. She knows who to expect, sort of. Something like a dragon pony that’s also a soldier. Looking at Tianhuo the first time, she can immediately see her as the one she’s supposed to look for.

“If you seek the Champion of the Huoshan Empire, it is indeed me, Tianhuo.” The longma bows down with her hoofs clapped together, her usual greeting.

“Perfect! I’m Rainbow Dash, the most awesome pegasus in Equestria!” Rainbow did a loop in the air. “Wonderbolt extraordinaire too.”

“So it was you who did the giant rainbow ring stunt.” Tianhuo recognizes the pegasus from the Wonderbolt show. Though, from the way she introduced herself, Tianhuo feels Rainbow is a bit full of herself. At least she has the skills to back her up… perhaps.

“Heh, you saw that? What do you think? Awesome, right?”

“Sure is!” Spike is the one who answered, not the longma. The dragon did nudge her with an elbow. “Right?”

“...Definitely something I have never seen.” Tianhuo said calmly, nodding slightly as she closed her eyes. She got the itch to bring Rainbow down a peg, the pegasus sounds like those who joined the Huoshan guards and think they’re the best, hotshots. The longma does not hate them, for all of them can be molded into a better personality through some means. She herself was given the same treatment when she was younger.

“By the way, you’re like… an awesome champion yourself, right? From what I’ve heard?” Rainbow asked.

“The title of ‘Champion’ means a heavy responsibility, young one.” Tianhuo said, calling Rainbow young not because of her age, but because of how she’s acting. “That is no… awesome matter.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow hovers in place, punching and kicking her hooves at the air. “You get to beat up the baddies, and save the world! I would like to do that again myself!”

Again? Maybe the little dragon did tell the truth about how his friends are also a group of heroes. The fact that Equestria looks and feels much more peaceful then Foenum must’ve thrown her off a bit. Not that she immediately disregards the story, but a swarm of bug-like shapeshifters sounds like something that comes out from a legend. There’s also the detail that Spike told her about how Rainbow defeated the most of these ‘changelings’ compared to her friends. If that is true…

“You know, speaking of beating the baddies…” Rainbow Dash lands and hops on her hooves. “How about you show me what you can do?”

To this, Spike takes a step back, seemingly surprised, but Tianhuo perked up instead. Was that a challenge?

“Whoa, you mean… a fight? Here? Now?” Spike asked.

“I mean, she’s a champion, right? And I’m a hero. That’s the thing we do best, right?” Rainbow argued, flapping her wings a few times.

The longma smiled hearing Rainbow’s confirmation. She will never turn down a test of skills with someone else, especially someone regarded as a hero. The slight pride on her side whispers that this shouldn’t be a difficult one. Judging Rainbow from her first impressions, she thinks she knows how to win already. Yet, she acknowledges that Rainbow is most likely skilled, and may have something she doesn't.

“Are you sure, hero of Equestria?” Tianhuo said. “I will not back down from a challenge myself, but are you sure you want to proceed?”

“Of course!” Rainbow grinned, giddy for being called a hero. “Just make sure that we don’t end up sending each other to the hospital.”

“If you are truly as skilled as you claim, such a thing will not happen, will it?” Tianhuo’s forehoof kicks some dirt backwards. “Very well then, come and face me!”

“Umm… b-before you girls have at each other…”

Spike holds his hands out, before taking a few steps back, then gives the thumbs up.

“Okay, I’m in the clear! I’ll, uh, make sure neither of you went too far.” Spike said. He seems a bit worried, but part of him wishes he got popcorn. Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolt member and the Element of Loyalty, against a cool looking dragon pony with fire mane and tail? This is going to be better than the Power Ponies comic.

“Then this fight will start at the count of three! ...Three!”

With little warning, Rainbow comes dashing forward, both hooves in front. The longma is a bit surprised, yet her hoof managed to block both of Rainbow’s extended limbs. It pushes her across the ground slightly, absorbing the force pretty well. The pegasus doesn’t let up and throws a jab, met with one from Tianhuo. Their hoofs clash together, neutralizing each other’s attack, something that impresses the longma.

“Quite the strength.” She smirks, before her head lunges forward. Rainbow barely retracts her hoof as sharp teeth grazed her wonderbolt uniform, tearing a bit of the fabric.

“Hey!” The pegasus whips her hoof, now exposed to the air. “So, it’s gonna be like that, huh?”

The pegasus then twirls her body, stretching her leg out for a downward aerial kick, yet Tianhuo blocks it again with little problem, this time with her fiery wing, causing a bit of ember as Rainbow’s limbs made contact. She’s not done, however, and as her kick touches the ground, Rainbow quickly spins again to the left to deliver a roundhouse with her other leg. Again, it’s blocked by the longma’s hoof, but she notes at how quick and rapid the pegasus’ attacks are.

“So, you do possess skill.” Tianhuo admitted. “But…!”

The longma turns her body to her left and rushes towards Rainbow. Even though Rainbow does spin once more, her kick is blocked by her opponent’s hooves as she turns to face the incoming kick. At the same time, the mare is knocked off balance as Tianhuo bashes her with her shoulder. The longma ends her attack with a punch with both of her hooves right through Rainbow’s body, making the pegasus tumble back on the ground.

“Gah!” The pegasus’ hooves tremble as she tries to stand up again, almost buckling, but eventually she stands up straight. “What was that…?”

“A mistake, from you.” Tianhuo taunted. “Your attacks are strong, but they are not efficient, nor elegant.”

“Yeah, yeah, It usually gets the job done!” Rainbow argued. “How do you think I saved the world? I just need to punch the bad guys!”

The pegasus switches her strategy, getting a running start before sliding her leg forward for a low sliding attack. Tianhuo simply jumped and retaliated with a roundhouse kick of her own, but surprisingly, Rainbow dodged it. It seems like the mare is indeed fast.

“Then, your opponents are simply not capable. Such that there’s little to be proud of defeating them.”

The moment Rainbow stops herself from the momentum generated from her evasive maneuver, she kicks herself from the ground for a punch. Only for Tianhuo to grab her hoof and throw the pegasus to the ground.

“Ngh!”

The wonderbolt finds herself pinned down on her chest, as the longma punches her there once. Tianhuo spreads her wings over the pegasus.
“Your victories do little to make your strength grow, yet from this defeat, you may gain much more.” The Huoshan captain smirks, having the upper hoof in this fight already as Rainbow growls under her.

“I…”

Suddenly the mare swings her legs as hard as she can, hitting Tianhuo’s own leg. Although her stance is firm, she’s surprised when her limbs buckle under her. With a battle cry, Rainbow gets up and turns her body, going for a powerful hook. This time, despite the longma quick reaction to raise her hoof, her block is sloppy, and both her hoof and her cheek received a powerful impact, making her stumble backwards, reeling from the attack.

“Am not done…!” Rainbow then does the unexpected. She starts to unzip her Wonderbolt uniform. The suit is indeed to protect the wearer from the elements and help to make them more aerodynamic, but it’s not made to help them to do hoof to hoof fighting. She never used a suit to fight changelings anyway back then. Taking her uniform and tossing it towards Spike who’s unprepared to catch it, Rainbow rears up her upper body, her hooves dangling in front of her chest.

“Uh… I’ll ask Rarity if she can fix this later.” Spike said as he put the uniform down carefully.

With her more bipedal stance, the pegasus constantly flaps her wings as she moves forward to give her more stability and speed. This change seems to alert her opponent, unfamiliar in facing someone who stands up like that. Rainbow dashes towards Tianhuo again, before throwing another hook. Her stance allows her to punch faster and more effectively, yet Tianhuo still managed to block it with her wings, barely.

However, before anything else happens, Rainbow’s other hoof strikes, delivering an unsuspecting uppercut right under the fire wing. Tianhuo is caught off guard, mostly because of Rainbow’s speed. It opens her guard, allowing the pegasus to give the longma another roundhouse kick, causing Tianhuo to reel back.

“Well done.” The half dragon wipes the side of her cheek with her hoof. “Now it’s my turn!.”

Turning up the heat, Tianhuo opens her wings, and for the first time, takes flight a couple of meters off the ground, followed closely by Rainbow. Again, the pegasus is the one on the initiative, flying forward with her hoof out, ready to strike. Unfortunately, she had become too predictable, so the longma knew the attack was coming and dodged it, one strong flap of her wing propelling her above the mare. The feisty mare tries again, but somehow, following Tianhuo blocking her charge, she manages to hold Rainbow’s hooves with one of her own.

“What the--”

The next thing Rainbow feels is a punch to her gut, then hooves on her shoulders, before she feels herself losing altitude very quickly...

“Crash!”

A burst of heat comes out after Tianhuo slams Rainbow to the ground, enough to make Spike wonder how did the longma generate fire like that. The attacker leaps away from the impact zone right after, expecting to see a defeated pegasus laying there.

Except it’s only a pegasus.

Rainbow Dash is battered, and there’s even minor burn marks on her coat, but she’s standing. Even Tianhuo is surprised, for she usually only does that move when she’s certain it would end the fight. How can she stay up after that?

“Is that… all you got…?” Despite her voice straining, Rainbow is still unwilling to surrender. Does she really want to keep going? Thankfully, Spike seems to share the same concern.

“Whoa, Rainbow, I don’t think it’s a good idea, you don’t look too good…” The little dragon walks next to her, trying to stop the pegasus.

“Heh, d-don’t worry, I won’t turn into… dust just yet.” Rainbow Dash seems stubborn as ever, but then, she smirks. “I haven’t had this much… challenge in a while, this is actually fun…!”

The longma doesn’t seem to expect that answer. She herself finds Rainbow to be a worthy opponent, even if she’s a bit predictable. Looking at Rainbow’s condition, the Huoshan champion is a bit reluctant to continue, so she asked a question instead.

“I was under the impression that you reject defeat simply because you hated it.” She said. “Then what keeps you going?”

Rainbow can’t answer right away. Indeed, she hates losing in competitions and such, but ever since she joined the Wonderbolts, that trait is slightly more mellowed out. However, one of the things Rainbow always wants to do is testing her mettle in a hoof to hoof combat. Heck, her fantasy dream is having a lot of changelings to hit. For obvious reasons she very rarely ever got a chance to do that, so to finally be able to do it with the longma awakens this fire in her, a fire she herself isn’t aware of until now.

“Heh, I thought you’ll know… To be the best! Sure, losing sucks, but being a wonderbolts taught me that… failure can make you improve!”

Hearing this, even Spike scratches his head. “Oh wow, Rainbow. If you said that before the changeling attacked, I would never believe you.”

“You know, you’re not the only one who grows up, Spike.” Rainbow chuckles as she turns her head to her opponent once more. “So, ready for… more?”

The pegasus rears up again, but Tianhuo is strangely not in her stance. Usually Rainbow would swoop in at the first sign of her opponent being slow, but she knows that the half dragon is no changeling, she’s much tougher than those bugs. Maybe her usual approach won’t work. After all, being in the Wonderbolt made her not only a bit more humble, it also gave her the ability to be willing to adept.

It’s one of the rare moments where the longma feels like she has misjudged her opponent. Though it’s true that Tianhuo is more experienced in combat, and probably her species is better made for it, she didn’t expect Rainbow to have a bit of… wisdom in her. Her main motive to engage a duel with her is to hone the pegasus’ heart, but it seems she doesn’t really need it. Instead of reengaging, Tianhuo simply lowers her head. Perhaps her pride had slipped out a bit too much.

“So, it seems you do like a good duel. I admit that I did not see that.” The longma said. Rainbow also felt taken aback by her attitude.

“Huh…? What do you mean?”

“...I am the captain of the Imperial guards of Huoshan, thus I have seen many kinds of individuals.” Tianhuo said. “Although all longma will be conscripted during their prime age, more than not, the drive for prestige shows how immature their hearts are.”

“Umm, you get what she’s saying?” Spike turned to Rainbow, giving her a little elbow nudge. The mare lowers her stance, standing on all fours again.

“...I think I do. She’s talking about… hotshots.” Rainbow said. “I know that some cadets are like that too. But what does that have to do with me?”

To this, the longma simply chuckled, not answering directly. If Rainbow is in the Wonderbolts, then she should know the answer. Perhaps her fast but reckless style isn’t limited to her combat skills.

“All it takes to humble someone and allow them to grow up to act like a proper soldier, is to learn through defeat.” Tianhuo claimed. “Including my younger self.”

Rainbow eventually puts two and two together, making her scuff. At the same time, she kinda likes how Tianhuo thinks. She didn’t exactly have a smooth entry to the wonderbolt herself, only after some… embarrassing incidents that she prioritizes teamwork over herself. It’s not a pretty experience, but look where she is now.
Two different combat loving individuals that went through the same change in the same way.

“Psh, I don’t think a rookie can punch you in the chin like I did!” Rainbow smirked. “You’re pretty freaking good.”

“That does require some skill, yes.” Tianhuo chuckled. “Something that only a worthy warrior is capable of.”

After the fight, both fighters just laugh together, recognizing each other’s strength. They found what they like, a worthy opponent to test their mettle with. The longma might have misjudged Rainbow, but she’s also glad that they share plenty of things in common.

“So, uh, that’s it?” Spike asked. “Not that I want to see more, totally not! Heh, but… who won?”

“We will surely clash again in the future, but for now, what do you say if I concede?” Tianhuo once again lowers her head.

“Fair enough, I suppose. After you rip my uniform, that makes us even!” Rainbow chuckled.

“Alright, I’m cool with that.” Spike holds his claws out together. “Hey, think I can be a good… champion too? I read Power Ponies comics all the time, so I know all their moves!”

As Spike cheesily throws some punches into the air, Rainbow and Tianhuo look at each other, before the pegasus responds by dashing behind Spike, much to his surprise. A nudge with her leg onto Spike’s knee causes him to lose balance and fall over.

“You still have quite the mountain to climb, young dragon.” Tianhuo chuckles, followed by Rainbow laughing as Spike blushes, but still manages to smile as well. He still got a lot of growing up to do it seems. Though if he needs someone to teach him, the longma will agree to be his mentor.

Perhaps all the talk about friendship in Equestria is true. Even through combat, if it’s something both sides enjoy, they’ll develop a tight bond.

Author's Note:

This chapter is much harder to write then I thought...

I hope I'm not the only one, but ever since Rainbow became a proper member of the Wonderbolt, I feel like she is indeed more mature compared to, say, Rainbow in season 1 and 2. That's quite the perfect similarity with Tianhuo.

And yes, I do believe that Tianhuo will beat Rainbow in a fight, but there's no reason for her to go all out here. Sorry RD!

Comments

[LordMentat]

Ah friendship via punching someone in the face and laughing about it 10 minutes later.

[FleetlordAvatar]

10341737

Tis the best way to forge a friendship.

[NinjaMare]

loved this chapter, and yeah in an actual fight, rather than a spar......Tianhuo is the superior fighter. Sorry RD but your now trained experienced fighter, anyone can throw a decent punch and fight, but you are only a pegasus that does stunt flying and occasional fighting when bad guys show up.

[Comickook]

VERY good job on this latest chapter. Took a while, but DEFINITELY worth the wait. The exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are ALL really well done. Yeah, really logical for Spike to act as Tianhuo's guide taking her to see Rainbow Dash. Of course, I'm guessing that one of the alternate universe details in this universe is that Spike got his wings a year sooner than in canon (since the canon cut-off point was just after Season Six and Spike didn't get his wings until early Season 8). But, yeah, enjoyed the compare and contrast between not just Tianhuo and Spike, but also Tianhuo and Rainbow.

VERY certainly looking forward to seeing which meeting is coming next (as well as more of the story in general).

[StatiZkyZ]

10342037
Well, I didn't exactly pinpoint when this happened, the only reference of the timeline is this happened after Party Pooper, and the fact that Celestia and Luna are still in charge. So it can be anywhere between Season 6 and The Ending of the End in Season 9

[Comickook]

10342638
Fair enough. Thanks for the correction.

[Cyrus Colter]

10342638
Goat ungulate is pirate.
And i find that interesting.
Dev preview stream of the character this friday.

[StatiZkyZ]

10376903
Yep, I know~
If my lazy butt doesn't finish this fic before she's released, who knows if I'll decide to include her in this story somehow

[Cyrus Colter]

10377617
Ok.

[uis]

Aerial acrobats? Could've fooled the longma. She thought they’re an elite group of soldiers with that kind of feat. If a mere group of… performers are this good, wonder how capable the soldiers of Equestria are?

Imagine how destructive Derpy is. Now imagine she is told she will be given muffins for winning.