Silent Artemis

by Hokusai3211

10) L’Enfant Sauvage: Part one

---

Rainbow couldn’t remember the last time she had gone this fast, perhaps she never had.

She never really needed to in all honesty. Even her most lacklustre performance was too much for most ponies. In fact, if she thought about it, really thought long and hard, she would say she never actually knew how fast she was, because she had been saving her real speed, her real power for when she was standing in front of the Wonderbolts.

She imagined her dream every day as she pushed clouds back and forth in the sky. Every inch of her dream refined and detailed to the very second. Captain Spitfire would be standing in front of the parade grounds, looking down at the rookies, bored and tired eyes surveying the flops and the grunts, like she’d seen it all and done it all before. She would even mutter something about the sorry state of candidates these days to her second in command before sighing and shaking her head in dismay.

Then she’d see something move so fast that she would think her mind had played a trick on her, some blur in her eyes, a trick of the light, maybe even a shooting star?

But no, it would be Rainbow Dash, breaking the sound barrier as casually as Celestia rose up the very sun and settled the moon. She would see the impossible broken before she could even break for breakfast and all eyes would be on Rainbow Dash. Standing there, brushing her hoof against her chest like she wasn’t even aware of just how momentous a feat she had just committed.

Then they’d know she was the fastest mare in the world. Then they’d all know she was worth something.

Of course the dream also called for all her former math and silence teachers that told her (frequently) she would never amount to anything there as well, but really she’d take just the Wonderbolts these days.

The point of it all being that she honed and saved this speed all her life, to use in a decisive moment, to fulfill her lifelong dream. But right now, she had just used it, not for the Wonderbolts, not for her dream, but to catch up to some damn crazy naked pink giant who had just escaped from a hospital, and the funny thing was, Rainbow could not have cared even the slightest bit.

In fact right now, this was her new dream, her only dream. One in which she was quite happy to step over Spitfire, the Wonderbolts and Mr Nomenclature from third grade to achieve it. She was going to get her hooves on this smirking mare, smack her upside the head and drag her back to the hospital if she had to.

And Rainbow was a mare who followed her dreams.

Rainbow made it across the fields from the hospital to the edge of the woods before She could even breach the canopy. Sending plumbs of dust and chunks of sod up in her wake as she closed the distance between her and the fleeing creature.

She watched with a growing smirk as She turned, eyes widening and mouth agape as it dawned on the creature that the mare she had left tied to a building was suddenly a lot closer than she anticipated. With effort She seemed to force herself to look forwards again to the forest and her supposed salvation, almost tripping over the dew-covered grass as she fled from Rainbow's tenacious acceleration.

However, the creature was smart, or at least, quick-witted enough to recover quickly from the shock of seeing Rainbow blazing like an arrow fired right at her back. It seemed also that She was working out just as quickly that her own speed would not help her chances of escape.

Because speed was on Rainbow's side and she was now playing in Dash’s Element. Rainbow wasn’t ashamed to admit she enjoyed the momentary look of panic as the creature floundered for the half a second it took for her to close the gap between them.

Forelegs extended Rainbow’s hooves grasped at the long flowing ashen blonde locks on She’s head, as they danced across the tips of her hooves, almost tauntingly close. But then She dived left, throwing herself almost bodily into where the foliage had grown the thickest and the thorns longest.

Pulling branches with her, She turned, upper body reaching back with her arms extended and lossed the branches backwards towards Rainbow. But this was Rainbow’s game now and she dodged out of the way with relative ease, taking her trajectory slightly higher up as she pressed on towards the pinkish giant.

Still it was quick thinking on She’s part, Rainbow had to admit and Rainbow had not come out of that little plan completely unscathed. She winced at the slightest pain from the tips of the branches that had caught her underbelly, unable to completely avoid them all. But she didn’t care, in fact she was annoyed at the nanosecond she had lost dodging it.

Nice try, but too slow. Rainbow thought, as the creature below her wasted no time to check if her plan had worked. She turned on the ball of her leg end thing and raced through the undergrowth. For a creature that had been strapped to the bed for almost a week, she was frighteningly agile.

A part of Rainbow’s thoughts wondered just how fast She would have been if she hadn’t been injured and tied to a bed for a week. But Rainbow didn’t have the time to truly contemplate just how concerning that thought was at that moment. Right now she was only thinking about what would happen if she failed, and she wasn’t a mare that took failure well.

Rainbow dived back in towards the woods, keeping just above the creature, weary of any other tricks she might pull out. Rainbow might have been faster than She was, but she knew this was not her environment. The swaying branches and hook-like arms of the trees that sailed around her, looked ever poised and ready to catch a wing at a moment's notice. Pegasi were built for wide open spaces, not the ever condensing maze of branches that a forest provided.

If she knew anything it was flying, but even she knew the limitation of her skill, or at least knew the pain of a broken wing. Rainbow was not going to end up in the hospital herself, if she could help it. Which meant at that moment, even as she serpentined through the treeline, she was only going at half the speed she had wanted.

It seemed that She was playing up to this weakness. Finding and diving towards the thickest parts of the foliage, keeping herself as close to each branch, trunk and stump as she could. Skin and bark only ever a hair's breadth apart as she coiled and danced around difficult turning spots with sharp jutting branches, that would have taken a less experienced flyer out of the air, and perhaps out of consciousness itself.

Something told Rainbow this was not the first time She might have run from somepony with wings.

Rainbow took stock of her position, she still had the advantage over the creature. She couldn’t out run Rainbow, She couldn’t hide from her and She definitely couldn’t take a break from her. No matter what She did, Rainbow was right behind her. All Rainbow had to do was pray that running forever was not on the list of potential superpowers.

Alright, let’s see what you got!

Flapping her wings hard, Rainbow pressed forwards until she was a few yards in front of She. Then she turned on a dime, arching her trajectory around until she was directly in front of the creature, hooves upright and facing the creatures chest, she aimed her whole body at She’s midsection.

She’ll chicken out first. Rainbow thought as she gritted her teeth and lent in towards She.

But She pressed on, not slowing the slightest concern or showing any inclination to slowing down. Despite Rainbow coming at her like a speeding train.

Rainbow seemed to rethink herself for a moment, she was not about to flinch away from a game of chicken, but she didn’t exactly want to put She back in the hospital again. At least not for medical reasons.

Stop you idiot! Rainbow screamed internally as she winced and nearly shut her eyes.

But just as Rainbow was about to think about pulling upwards, She pressed one leg outwards, bent low on the other and skidded under Rainbow's body. Her back made an impossible curve that was almost painful just to look at from a ponies perspective.

For a moment Rainbows face and She’s were mere inches from one another for only the slightest second as they flew in opposite directions.

Rainbow blinked as she turned her head and watched mouth agape as She recovered quickly, and sprung back into the undergrowth almost redoubling her efforts.

Turning just as fast, Rainbow spun around, eyes wide as she took in what the hell just happened. Then she shook her head, taking a moment to wipe beads of sweat from her brow, before she narrowed her eyes and shot back towards her.

Been a while since anypony gave you this run for your bit, eh? A voice inside Rainbow's mind teased unhelpfully as she grunted some form of acknowledgment, squinted her eyes and choosing to ignore it, but it continued none the less...

frickin hell is she quick, haven’t seen us build up a sweat like this in... like forever?

Except for Gilda, she was fast.

Nah she was strong, good in a storm, but not fast not like this.

When's the last time we ever had to do more than hold our breath and count to ten until it was over?

Yeah, normally we just wait by the finish line and squint until we see somepony.

Nah Guilda was fast!

Oh shut up, just because she was your first crush back in flight school, let it go already.

That is so not true!

Rainbow grunted as she desperately tried to shoo the voices from her head, they were getting in the way of the important stuff, but she couldn’t deny that some of them were true.

She hadn’t ever actually felt this feeling of competition in her life before, this sense of challenge or need to out do somepony in her life. Everything that she had ever earned had been given to her the day she realised she was the fastest there was and ever would be, and that had been pretty early in her life.

But right now She was putting that all to the test, She was actually making Rainbow work for that title, and despite what she was doing and the significant importance of what would happen if she failed to do what she was doing, she shouldn’t deny that in some way… she was kind of enjoying this.

And that worried her a lot.

In fact, it was only in that moment that she actually realised that despite it all, she had some semblance of a smile on her face. That had almost caused her to lose control, as she gasped and skidded just shy of a gnarled tree branch loosed one of her feathers as she fought back control of flight pattern.

She gulped as she glanced back at it, her wing. Too close.

She inhaled deeply and set her eyes forward, she was here to capture somepony dangerous, she was here to do her duty, whatever that meant.

Alright focus filly, time to end this, longer you wait the more distance you got to drag this mare back to Checkers. She chided herself, frowning down at the pinkish creature.

Rainbow lifted her wings up and ascended further up again into the tree line. Feeling the burn in her wing ligaments. It had been at least a week since she had had anything close to this kind of exercise and the lactic acids in her muscles were starting to remind her of the price she was going to pay for that little vacation. Even now she could feel the pain that was promised behind the minor ache.

But to Rainbow, nothing worthwhile, wasn’t worth a little pain.

Breath hard in her throat, Rainbow mind worked quickly to find the angle she needed. She had tested the waters before, but now it was time to try out the real thing.

Rainbow drew back just far enough to be outside of the creatures line of sight and it looked for a moment like She had thought she lost Rainbow, that had been a rookie mistake as Rainbow divided again from above, feigning to take her head on, She braced herself as best she could, but before it could get that far, Rainbow curved at the last moment, shooting further down, she flew in an almost 'V' shape back upwards just before she hit the floor. She reached out, pretending to take the left arm and instead grabbed the right one.

She was sure based on the widening of She’s eyes that if she had the ability to draw a gasp she would have, loudly as Rainbow hooves clenched around the arm, pulling her backwards.

“Gotta ya this time, you friggin smirking ass!” Rainbow yelled through gritted teeth, feeling the momentarily triumphant of proving she was both the faster and smarter of the two.

It was short lived however, as instead of pulling backwards like Rainbow had expected, Shedrew forwards instead and brought the back of one of her hands to Rainbows face. The blow caught Rainbow off guard and instead made her draw back instead loosen her grip. It turned out to be her saving grace as before Rainbow could work out what was about to happen, She spun around, leg extended towards Rainbow's face.

Lucky for Rainbow, that last moment's hesitation gave her the few inches needed to save her two front teeth. Teeth she very much valued and wanted to keep if she could help it, as she stared at the dirt smeared sole of the bottom of her frankly odd looking flat end of her leg before it connected with her chin.

Rainbow gasped, as she flung herself back the rest of the way, catching the briefest flash of a smirk on She's face, before she flew back and raced through the undergrowth.

Not willing to be undone in a game of bravado, Rainbow smirked back though she was feeling less than happy, now that She had managed to get away from her twice already. She grit her teeth as she righted herself in the air landing her hind hooves against the tree and used the power in them to spring board herself back into the chase.

They pressed on further, She narrowly in front, Rainbow hot on her tail. Rainbow’s eyes darted around the forest for some way to attack, something to give her the edge she needed. Thankfully it found her first, as the tree line suddenly ended, leading them both into an expansive flat land of long grass for at least a couple hundred yards.

Swaying wheat and barley like an amber ocean covered the plain. Each as tall as a pony standing on hind hooves danced with the gentle morning breeze. Offshoots of cross pollination from the farms around Ponyville had left a vast expanse of untouched grain in a near perfect circle for yards around.

Rainbow saw She, frantically looking around, realising her little plan to stay where Rainbow couldn’t get her had vanished as quickly as the field had appeared. Looking over her shoulder, She hunched down further, perhaps trying to obfuscate her location in the long grass, but it was pointless. Even if she wasn’t at least seventeen hooves tall, every movement of her body bending the barley stalks and sent ripples through the field, like a rock thrown into a pond.

Rainbow looked down smirking manically, Now I got ya’ she thought chuckling. But even still Rainbow had only one more shot at this.

She arched up yet again, much like she had done back at the hospital and launched herself at the creature, near dive bombing towards her. She turned around to look at her, eyes widening yet again at the speed that gave Rainbow her proud second name.

Yeah, that’s the look, that's the look every pony gets when they realise just who they challenged. Rainbow thought, feeling a smirk pull at her lips, her eyes drew to narrow slits as the wind bit against. She watched as She, catching the trajectory tried desperately to keep away, but there was no stopping this.

Gazing upwards, most likely at Rainbow, who was already once again diving down at her. She caught her footing on crumpled sod around the field and fell bodily onto the ground, dust scattering across her sweating pale skin giving it a almost tanned grimy effect, her fingers dug into scorched eroded dirt and held it into on hand, clutching at the dirt as she tried to rise, but it was too late. Rainbow's next plan was already in effect.

She had never actually attempted what she was about to do for real, oh she had tried a few times for the hell of it. But really, it had all ended in failures or near disastrous crashes, but to be honest, there had never been a real reason to really give it her all, except maybe to impress a mare or two, but now she only had one mare in mind and her approval was the last thing on Rainbows mind.

Rainbow’s ached parabola was quick and precise, as she cut in through the stems of the wheat, sending the tips of each stalk flying into all directions. She rose on shaky feet, raising her arms up, readying herself for what she probably assumed was the same attack twice, but instead, just before Rainbow reached her she turned, and began to circle the ashen haired creature like a hungry shark.

She stepped backwards as a prismatic wall of light coming from Rainbow's flight pattern blocked her egress and She turned to flee backwards but it was as if a wall was all around her. Rainbow circled over and over again, getting faster and faster each time until light and pegasus were almost impossible to tell apart.

Rainbow watched as She tried to follow with her eyes, but squinted them shut after a moment, and clutched her head, dizziness clear on her expression. She reached out vainly, perhaps testing the water of her new prison cell of multi coloured light. Rainbow ducked her outstretched arm, tapping it playfully with a hoof almost like a high five but with a far more force.

“Too slow.” Rainbow called out with a chuckle, as She pulled her hand back and grimaced from the pain of it. She narrowed to slits and reached out again, this time Rainbow hit her elbow, and She nearly turned boldly from the force.

Now who likes being played around, have some of your own medicine!

Slowly, like a creeping storm, Rainbow began to fly closer, bringing her flight pattern inwards and eroding the closing the gap on places She could stand. She flinched backwards as best she could, keeping her limbs out the speeding mare's path, arms held up, fists clenched to guard her body.

Rainbow continued her assault, occasionally tapping the sides of the creature, jabbing gently in some cases and not so gentle jabs in other cases, catching She wherever the blue eyed creature was least guarded.

“On your left!” Rainbow called and She turned, facing where the voice had come from, but Rainbow was already behind her, slapping the back of her leg and making She buckle slightly, more from the shock than the actual force of it.

“My bad, I meant my left!” Rainbow chuckled, as she caught sight of She’s face redden, teeth bared, in frustration. Rainbow had not seen it on the creature before and it felt good to finally see the expression She had made Rainbow feel for the better part of a week on her face for a change.

Okay, enough playin' around, gotta' end this. Rainbow thought, but hesitated when she looked back at She’s face, which had no trace of anger anymore and in fact it was almost serene in a way, as though she was basking in the sun rather than set in Rainbow's trap.

What is she so calm about?

But even as Rainbow tried to finish her thought, She sprang into action. Lifting her hand up gently, her clenched palm relaxed open to reveal a pile of dried dirt.

Rainbow looked at her open hand for a moment then despite herself, began to chuckle, “You okay lady, didn’t jab you too hard did-”

But before she could even finish her sentence, She sucked in a deep breath and blew it directly into Rainbow's face.

Rainbow had no time to react, she tried vainly to lift her hooves up to shield herself with her hoof, but by then bits of sod and dust smacked into her eyes and open mouth. She tried to scream out, tried to rub it away with her forelegs, but the damage had already been done.

She slowed, unable to see anything and not wanting to collide with the ground, and gasped as she felt her hooves being pulled away from her. Rainbow tried to struggle, tried to open her eyes again, but before she could get her bearings, she felt something hard collide into her stomach, she let out a gasp as the air left her lungs and for a moment she was almost grateful she hadn’t eaten that morning,

Rainbow kicked out with what little strength she could, but it wasn't fast enough as She side stepped it with ease. Grabbing hold of Rainbows hind hoof before she had time to drag it away. With one desperate flail Rainbow kicked with the other hoof and felt it connect with the underside of She's chin.

Rainbow caught She head turn sideways, as a streak of red dropped from the comer of her mouth, before She turned and looked into Rainbows eyes, blue ice like iris's narrowing at her.

Oh crud. Rainbow winced as she felt a hand reach out and grab hold of her neck another reaching for her flailing leg that was trying to reach out vainly to break away. Rainbow flailed around, trying to punch or grab hold of She but it was like trying to grab a snake. She's limbs where too long for her reach and she was pinned at that moment in her embrace.

She forced Rainbows face towards her, fingers digging into her chin until Rainbow was faced to look back into those blue endless sapphires.

Oddly enough, in that moment, Rainbow couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed by her traitorous body as the feeling of the two of them pulled together, made her face blush the slightest bit red. Even though she was most likely going to get pulverised all her mind was interested in doing at that moment was reminders of that stolen kiss on the hospital grounds coming unhelpfully flooding back to the forefront of her mind.

Then suddenly before the final blow could be dealt, She let go of her. Rainbow nearly dropped onto the ground, saved by the last minute intervention of her still flapping wings as she watched She stumble to the ground landing hard on her backside.

She's eyes widening as she pushed herself backwards across the floor, face turning pale and her mouth hanging open as she stared just over Rainbow shoulder, before finally she lifted herself upright, turned and fled into the undergrowth.

What the heck, she had me dead to rights? Rainbow thought before she turned.

But all she saw was long grass and the gentle beams of the sun dancing across there heads.

Instinctive Rainbow flapped her wings forward determined to go after, but the stabbing pain in her chest forced her back down to the ground.

Rainbow groaned as she doubled over herself, landing on her side in the dirt as she clutched her stomach, for all the good it did her.

She's getting away! A voice unhelpfully reminded her as she bit her lip, but it was no use. Even if she caught up to her again, what was she going to do.

She needed to chase after her, she needed to find her she needed to bring her back. But al Rainbows body and mind was really telling her to do was close her eyes and sleep. Five minutes, just give me five minutes. She told herself, eyelids growing heavy as she lay her face against the cracked and dry mud.

Slowly the world decreased in scope as her eyes blurred and her vision decreased with each blink until it was all black, feeling the world grow numb to the pain and ache. This was what she needed, just a little rest.

Giving up so soon, where is the chase, where is the thrill of the hunt?

The voice caused her to crack one eye back open, the sound of creeping down her spine like claws against her fur, "huh?" She groaned, startled by the sudden voice of another out of nowhere.

She uses the forest to help her, that doesn't seem very fair, does it?

Rainbow blinked, the unknown voice jolting her from the pain wracking her body as she muttered, "Who, who's talkin'?"

Lifting her head up she tried in vain to scan her horizons. But just like before, all she could see for the most part was swaying barley stalks and clouds in the sky.

What the heck was going on, she closed her eyes, trying to will the pain away when the voice came back again.

Why not use it against her?

"Hey, I don't know who's doing that, but stop it!" Rainbow half yelled, half groaned as she flicker her gaze around to find the voice. Fear propelled her upwards, despite the feeling on nausea as she got back to all four hooves. But she'd rather that than not know what it was that was talking to her.

But the worrying part was that even as she tried to kid herself, it didn't sound like a noise that came from a spoken voice, but one from inside her own mind.

She shook the idea away, she was just tired, and in pain...

Yeah, that was all it was.

But despite all that, she couldn't help but find some logic in what was being said. Which also wasn't great, but then she supposed if she was going to start hearing voices in her head, they might as well be useful.

"Use the forest against her?" Rainbow thought, as she looked around for what ever the heck that even meant. "What'd ya want me to do, throw a tree at her." she joked with a bitter sardonic tone, picking up a rock and lazily flinging it across the ground.

But even as she threw it into the distance, she couldn't help but listen as it fell away over the long grass and thudded across the ground out of sight.

She thought about the sound for a moment, then she began to smile, as a thought entered her mind.

She didn't know if that was what the voice had meant exactly, but she could work with that.