Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS

So Are You Not Yet Convinced That I'm Invincible?

“You’re a real clown you know?” Rainbow Dash said to him.

“If that’s a joke about the name I’ve heard it a million times at this point,” the three said.

“No, it’s just me calling you a clown because of how dumb and annoying you are.”

“If I was facing any other pony I’d think you were stalling for time with this inane conversation to think of a plan. But we both know you aren’t smart enough for that.”

“I’m not a fan of thinking, I admit it,” Rainbow Dash shrugged.

“Well then please keep doing until you tire yourself out and die at my hooves.”

Rainbow Dash grimaced slightly. Thinking wasn’t her strong-suit but she knew she was going to have to do some more of that if she wanted to beat him. If she could just wrack her brain and figure out the mystery she knew she could take him and finally end things between the two of them. What was the secret? What was his power? What did she know about him?

Unfortunately there was nothing consistent she could think of. All the random times she had seen him, his different appearances, the things he had done. Not to mention that weird, writhing, thing she saw in the smoke when she confronted him under that weird circus. Unlike any of the villains and monsters she had fought on her journey, he was more like-

Rainbow Dash blinked. Discord.

Chaos magic. She remembered now. He was chaotic. Even though he professed to hate chaos that was the perfect word to describe him in form and feeling if not in action or attitude. But he wasn’t quite as absurd as Discord. He couldn’t just do anything could he? Otherwise this wouldn’t be much of a fight.

There are limits to what he can do… Rainbow Dash realized. She had finally figured it out. But I still need to know what those limits are and why he has them.

The three Harlequin Greys continued to stare her down. “I’m waiting.”

“Grrr! Nuts to this!” Rainbow Dash yelled in frustration and flew at them.

The earth pony jumped in front of her and pivoted on his front legs to turn and buck her with all the strength he had in his body. Rainbow Dash held her hooves out in front of her as she flew and met his back hooves. The two collided and the impact blasted away all of the loose snow around them while their limbs both shook from trying to overpower the other. Rainbow had to give up when the pegasus came flying from above and tried to land on her head. She flew backwards and then up as a laser blast came from her left.

Rainbow Dash started frantically rubbing her head and tugging at her mane. “This is making me so mad!”

She flew low across the snow and started flapping her wings hard to kick up a snowstorm and a whirlwind she could send at the three Harlequins. If she couldn’t punch them then maybe she could still do something like this? It was worth a shot.

The powerful winds she kicked up carried all of the snow on the surface level of the frozen ground towards the Harlequins. They were all in the path of it and Rainbow Dash watched with no small amount of expectation on her face to see what would happen. It washed over them and for a moment they all disappeared inside the snowy tornado she had created. But just as quickly the pegasus Harlequin shot out from inside it and started beating his own wings to clear away the weather. On the ground the bottom of the tornado was destabilized and blown apart by a red dome of magic that held the unicorn and earth pony Harlequin inside it.

Before Rainbow could do anything else the dome crackled and vanished while the unicorn inside threw a wave of magic at her. Rainbow Dash flew above it and immediately had to fight with the pegasus coming at her. He punched at her head and she moved to the right to avoid it before throwing a return punch at him. Pointless, as he just let it go right through him. He swung his wing towards her and Rainbow Dash brought up her own to block it—the two appendages crossing in the sky for a split second before they both flew back.

Rainbow glared at the opposing pegasus. She was back to not being able to hit him it seemed. And she still didn’t know why. Thinking wasn’t working out well for her so far but she still had to do it.

He came at her again and they traded more and more punches, every single time she tried to go on the offensive her attacks hit nothing but air. After she ducked under another wing slice aimed at her head she also had to fly to the side to avoid a laser. The frustration inside her was building more and more as the unfair fight continued. Rainbow flew higher to avoid the next laser, now at a pretty safe distance from the unicorn and with the pegasus still below her.

At least they aren’t all Alicorns right now… She thought to herself. And then stiffened as she realized something. Wait… why aren’t they all Alicorns? He just showed me he can switch between earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. He could be three of one at the same time even. So why hasn’t he transformed into an Alicorn again?

She frowned, looking at her three opponents. Her one opponent in the three bodies of the pony tribes.

Why wouldn’t he be an Alicorn? His magic is weaker, he’s slower, he’s not as strong. It has to be because he can’t be one. And he hasn’t been one since I punched him in the face-

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. No… it was right before that. When I said there was no way he could be an Alicorn. When I said that, he changed. I don’t know what he is, I didn’t know what he was then, but I knew there was totally no way someone as rotten and wrong as him could ever be an Alicorn. Is it really like that? What I don’t know is just as important as what I do? What I believe, maybe even if I’m wrong, might be the big deal here as long as I really believe it myself.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help herself—a smile came to her face, she slowly started to giggle, and then burst out in laughter. “Hahahahahaha! I get it! I totally get it now! I was doing this all wrong, I knew thinking was stupid!”

Harlequin Grey was perplexed as he stared up at her. His pegasus body dropped back down to the snow and they once more stood as a trio together. “What are you going on about?”

“I don’t need to think at all! I should’ve just been believing,” Rainbow Dash wiped a few tears of laughter from her eyes. “I get it. What you are doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know that. I just need to know what you aren’t. Heh. I spent all this time confused about which one of you was the real one, how you were doing what you were doing, when I should’ve known that none of you are the “real” one. Nothing about you is real, is it? You’re not really a pony so how could the pegasus body be your real body? Or the unicorn or earth pony one? They aren’t—and it doesn’t matter what you really are beneath them—because it’s just as good knowing what you can’t be. All I had to do was believe in myself when I was attacking you. That’s why you can’t be an Alicorn anymore, because I know for a fact that you could never be an Alicorn. But every time we met around the world you kept changing yourself so I never knew what you were for certain… so I’ve been stuck fighting a phantom the whole time. You made sure to do that on purpose, huh?”

The three Harlequin Grey’s eyes twitched.

“When I really thought the pegasus body was the real one I could hit it. You had to dodge. It doesn’t matter if I was actually right so long as I believed I was right,” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Oh man—I was totally wrong! Twilight would have a miserable time fighting you! She’d overthink everything and get stuck because she’d have to know for certain what was going on and you’d never let her figure that out. But me? I’m too dumb to get caught in your stupid tricks. Anymore at least. Forget thinking! I’m taking you down and all I have to do is believe in myself to do it, and believe I’m stronger than you. And that’s something I definitely know is true.”

She pointed her hoof at them. “And another thing I know for sure is there aren’t three of you.”

Rainbow Dash blinked and only one Harlequin Grey, as a pegasus, was standing there in the snow.

“Whatever you are. It’s just you,” Rainbow Dash said to him.

A disinterested huff came from him.

“A setback is just that—a setback. This doesn’t help you as much as you think,” Harlequin Grey shrugged.

“Oh?” Rainbow Dash confidently folded her hooves in front of her chest and smirked down at him. “Care you explain why?”

“Knowing, or thinking you know, what I can’t do or be isn’t good enough. The slightest doubt, confusion, or ignorance is enough for me to worm my way through your mind and reality. It’s not the same as truly knowing what I am or what is real about me. And that isn’t something you can lie about or convince yourself of either. Even for a pony like you who so often likes to deny reality and act like her ego stands above the logic of the world,” he explained.

“Well guess what? You’re wrong. And I’m done with thinking and trying to figure you out after this. You’re just trying to trick me with words, words, words again. Knowing and all that stuff? Doesn’t compare to believing in myself,” Rainbow Dash stated and flew at him, her wings propelling her at high-speed while she pulled back a hoof.

He stood there, unflinching.

Rainbow Dash brought her blue hoof forward in a powerful punch—as strong as any she had delivered before in her entire life—and punched him square in the face.

He exploded the moment she made contact.

Not a fiery explosion.

And not into a cloud of smoke like last time.

He exploded into dozens of writhing, shadowy, serpents. Some of them fell to the ground while others slithered through the sky. A few briefly took the form, or at least appeared to, of other animals and even ponies before changing right back into serpents. Rainbow Dash had to back away from them all, not wanting any to touch her.

Now I’ll make you regret not turning back all those times I told you to. You’ll see why I was never afraid to fight you.

Rainbow Dash set down on the snow and scowled at the voice as it came from all around her. “You’re still not fighting me for real!”

Is that so? Let me show you what I can do when unfettered by anything. So what if I’m not an Alicorn or any sort of pony at all? I will not be tethered or limited by what you know I’m not. Willful ignorance is no help to you. If you won’t think, then we can both simply act.

The serpents sunk into the ground and disappeared, or flew off and vanished from sight while clouds appeared in the sky. Thunder and lightning crackled as the clouds darkened, the ocean off the shore of the south pole began to rage violently and the colors of the world kept shifting hues, looking as if a blue, then orange, then green, white, pink, red, black, etc. filter was being put over her eyes. It never lasted more than a blink but she could still see what was happening.

Beneath her hooves the snow and ice started to rumble and crack and Rainbow Dash braced herself, ready for anything.

Comments

[RoboRed]

Time for battle phase two.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

Are you trying to make 1,000,000 words as the stories main goal?

[MagicS]

11585320
No, it's probably only going to get to 975k.

[redmar]

It's obvious that Harlequin Grey is bluffing since he is afraid of fighting Rainbow Dash but the moment she realizes that he has lost.