Equestrian Monsters and how to deal with them

by Zeitless

Old Memories

Author's Note:

So in the comics Rockhoof and Fizzlepop make a really cool team so I want to write this fanfiction now.
I am a sucker for dark themes and want to make this a slow burn, but I try providing enough comic-relief (Please give all feedback you've got for that since I tend to drift too much into darkness!! hehe)
Anyway, enjoy reading and make sure to leave a nice comment and tell me your thoughts later!

"Tsk. Out of all the possible monsters haunting these plains, why does it have to be this one?" Tempest ridiculed herself, her voice growing partially anxious towards the ending.

Usually her vast experience in martial arts and kicking butt gave her a lot of confidence. She would just take a breath, follow up with a few quick moves and the foe would be vanquished - no matter how strong, Tempest would at least retain her laid back attitude and stay rational.

But this time it was different. Rationally she knew she'd be fine and there would be no need to hesitate or even fear what's towering in front of her, however after the last time she encountered such a beast it scarred her for life. Literally.

That time, albeit it had happened more than two decades ago, one of its kin had taken what made her very being: Her horn.

Ultimately this single event lead her down the path of leaving her home city, adventuring through the wild, being rescued by the Storm King's soldiers and eventually becoming the very villain which nearly would have destroyed Equestria's harmony for ever.

So it really wasn't about which swings and swipes the blue translucent bear was actually capable of, but the rush of adrenaline and anticipation - that at any moment another overwhelming growl, another flash of what's shoved away deep into her minds vast treasury of scars - could strike her offguard... it kept her on edge.

She tried to shrug it off, convincing herself this cave would just be unusually cold and that anypony would start to shake at this point. At least it bought her enough time to refocus and - on the brink of being crushed by her foes' left paw - to tumble underneath.

Now facing its exposed shoulder Tempest's muscles reacted in routine as she accelerated, charged her magic and stormed towards its shocked visage.

A bolt of lightning elicited from the remains of her horn and headed straight for the head of the baffled Ursa.

Narrowly removing its head from the blast the bear was shook off balance just long enough for Tempest to leap onto its back and send a kick through its whole body. "Take that!"

The bear jolted its head right up and against rocks falling from the roof, crumbling from Tempest's earlier bolts.

Another flurry of kicks and punches later she sent it collapsing to the floor.

Tempest shed the last bits of distractions from her mind and raised a cold gaze while strutting across its back, then jumped in front of the bear's face, looked into his eyes and smirked.

"Revenge truly is a dish best served in brute force. And don't you dare threaten this or any other village ever again."

She didn't shout or raise her voice, yet every single word carried control and content.

The bear nodded hastily, then carefully creeped backwards.

Tempest was already about to turn around and call it a job well done when her opponent bumped against something. As it lit up in purple, a translucent sky of stars came into view. It wasn't simply a rock or the cave's walls - instead it had furry texture and as its eyes opened... "Aw fuck."

Behind the apprehensive Minor reigned a vastly larger purple version of itself. Sharper claws stuck out of its strong paws, larger fangs hung from its teeth and bigger eyes flared. And they stared straight at Tempest.

If not before, now her limbs definitely trembled in fear. And this time she was well aware that it was not because of the cold atmosphere.

Without a thought her attention focused on one thing only as her survival instinct kicked in. In an instant she sketched possible ways the Major's enormous paws could strike and attempted to prepare a counter for each of them.

This time it was the right paw smiting down from the top of the hall.

Tempest tumbled to her left, barely evading the attack. But the ground shook in a horrifying rumbling.

Thrown off balance Tempest's experience told her it wouldn't be long before the other paw would join in on the action. Anticipating what was coming she lit her horn and raised her head, caught sight of the bottom of the predicted paw and put all her might into another lightning ball.

And after firing she kept pushing. It wasn't enough yet, she had to make it stronger! A continuous ray of sparks followed trail.

An image flashed before her eyes.

Ever since she met Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends Tempest understood that friendship is something to be valued and that everypony and every creature would have its reasons for what they do. And thus that she should respect other creatures and not cause serious harm to anybody. But with the sakes of her own life in the hooves of fate, or rather in the paws of an Ursa Major, she was more than willing to risk damage.

However, as luck would have it, it proved surprisingly difficult to push against what was coming from above. Albeit dampening the initial impact with her lightning balls explosion, the pressure stacked on top of her laser and grew heavier with each passing moment.

Slightly shifting her angle to her left the built up tension exploded as the paw flicked, smashing into the ground right besides her. Her laser only scraped the Major's left shoulder before blasting a crater into the ceiling.

This time the entire Cave tembled.

"Screw this damn bear. I'll be buried before it kills me!"

As the first rocks smashed into the ground the Minor winced and saught cover in the arms of its mother. In reaction to it's cries and bruises she completely disregarded the intruder, took her child to her arms and ran for the exit.

Tempest was more than happy to follow the same plan. While trapping the bears six feet under would make her job a lot easier, she was not reckless enough to risk her own burial aswell.

Also to be fair she didn't want to kill these animals. After all Ursas aren't born with an aggressive or harmful nature, they only want to slumber in their caves and gaze the stars during nights. Actually Ursas are a quite peaceful species which seeks to keep trouble out of their territories - which on the other hoof causes nearby villages to live more peaceful aswell.

However sometimes Ursas also attack peaceful villages. May it be because of their overprotective nature regarding their cubs or because somepony from the village acted foolishly and tried to challenge them, whenever it happened the villagers only had one choice left - fight or flight.

And that's where Tempest stepped in. With the cave collapsing there would be no home for the bears in the close area and they would be forced into another territory further away. Now she only needed to get herself out alive so she can collect her paycheck.

Taking cover behind the Major she found it to be quite easy. In front of her the bear would destroy or punch aside any falling rocks, so all she had to do was keep up with its unnaturally fast pace.

Occasionally a stone or two did fall behind the bear and threatened to hit Tempest or block her path, but with most of the danger taken care of by her frontier it wasn't too big of a deal to zap and destroy them.

She had barely seen rays of sunlight when the Major escaped and struck the top of the entrance, sending it down much quicker.

Fearing what seemed inevitable Tempest put all her strength into her legs and sped up for a finishing sprint.

The exit was only a few dozen skips away but Tempest knew it would be a closer call than she'd like to admit. Rocks fell and the ground still trembled from each of the Major's steps. But she had to make it. She had to.

Zapping another rock she saw the light getting closer with each moment as the exit closed in.

Jumping from one clearing to another she rebuilt her pace. 'Just one more jump, one more skip, another zap, just keep pushing. Keep Pushing!'

Then - in a moment of fate her ankle gave way to her weight as it couldn't stretch its limits anymore. It hurt like hell, her entire body did from all the pebbles bludgeoning her along the escape. Her adrenaline still pumped through her veins, her eyes were still focused on the light ahead, only her one cursed ankle had deserted her.

Then the next moment followed. Tempest watched in disbelief, unable to change a thing of what's about to happen. 'Get up! Get up, goddamn it!' "GET UP!" She screamed.

But time wouldn't wait for her to recover. It all unfolded slowly around her, unmerciful, without any regard for her will or determination what-so-ever.

The last rays of light faded away as the entrance collapsed.

Behind her the stone-hearted rumbling approached like a growling cat closing in on a cornered rat.

She was trapped. She was doomed and there was no way out.

In a desperate last attempt she charged her horn once again. It was tough holding it in but she had to make this blast count.

A few seconds later, each of which feeling like an eternity on its own, a large ball of lightning had formed above her and unable to keep control she put all her remaining energy into blasting it off.

And much to her surprise it sent a shockwave through the wall and bursted a large portion of it away. A small hole appeared and weak rays of sunlight immediately found their way through.
It were only a few more steps, just one more rush of energy, one more surge of power, one last push.

But her body would not listen.

Exhausted from the fight, barely able to stay conscious and bruised from debris the shockwave of her own blast gave her the rest. Her legs wouldn't move. No matter how much she ordered them there was no response.

Catching a last glimpse of the sunray she fell to the ground, closed her heavy eyelids and let consciousness fade to darkness.

---

CHUG

THWAP

CHUG

THWAP

CHUG

THWAP

..

Regaining her senses Tempest heard muffled sounds. Opening her eyes she realised the entrance must have collapsed even further; there was no light at all. Happy to somehow have survived she sent stray sparks across the room.

THWAP

CHUG

It was hard to make out anything. Pain coursed through her limbs, headache worse than any hangover she could remember and a constant ringing in her ears.

THWAP

CHUG

The area she found herself in was barely big enough to stand up, not that she could anyway. Something heavy laid on her right hindleg and it just would not come off, no matter how hard she pulled.

THWAP

CHUG

"Ugh," Tempest groaned. She did not like what she would do next but given her situation she had no choice. She raised her voice, coughed in an attempt to catch her voice and finally shouted: "Hello? I- Is somepony out there?"

A male voice with rusty accent responded: "A small earthquake and an Ursa running wild where nopony knows what set it off? I knew there would be somepony left in trouble." And another THWAP and CHUG later Tempest was finally blinded by the light of hope.

"Here ye go. Ah've got yer back."

"Thanks," she said, slowly readjusting her eyes. Before her stood a tall earth pony with light blue coat, orange mane and a full beard who leaned a shovel between his leg and neck. Tempest slightly shook her head, flinched, inhaled slowly and continued: "That bear just had to kick the cave shut right before I could make it."

"Don't worry, Rockhoof is here to save the day," he struck a heroic pose, "But you must have put up quite a fight to deal with a Major all by yourself. What's your name strong one?"

"Teh- Dembhesd," her voice shook.

Yes she was relieved to be rescued, and of course she was going to be grateful for the rescuer. But this Mr. Jolly No-Worry? Really?

Rockhoof let out a wholehearted laugh: "Haha! Let's get you back to the village."

Tempest grinned and collapsed as the ringing drowned and her mind blacked out.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Instead she sticks with what she does best: Beating up enemies. But from now on she puts her efforts to good use and deals with various monsters threatening the lives of civilians across Equestria.

On her way she also meets another pony who prefers to live similarly and who can relate to her on a unique level.

I didn't know Rockhoof enjoyed that kind of thing. Or, for that matter, was any good at that thing.

[Zeitless]

10709459
Oh! I must've accidentally ommitted a word 😅
It's supposed to say 'similarly adventurous'.
Thank you for pointing it out 😁

Also as depicted in Rockhoof's episode where he finds his place in modern society he does tell stories about his adventures from long ago.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

No romantic tag?

[NagaShark]

I am all for it!

[Zeitless]

10709615
Not sure yet

10709720
Glad to hear, thank you for reading!

[Saced]

Oh am i excited to see more of this story!

[Zeitless]

10710397
Thanks for the kind words, appreciate it

Chapter two will follow soon!

[Little_Draco]

It took me like a minute to get the reference and why you crossed it off.

[Zeitless]

10729523
Funny thing: Originally I meant to delete it before publishing the chapter, but I forgot to do that and a friend told me to just leave it in xP
Thank you for reading the story!