As Black finished his glass, his ears perked at the sound of metal coming through the TV's speakers. He widened his eyes slightly upon seeing Raven on the screen. Wow, she must be confident, he thought, realising that she would be battling Az. It was sure to be an intense fight.
"One more thing," Asmo added. "No rounds, and no timer. This one is going to knockout or submission! If you got a problem with that, suit horses, you know where to find me!" After making sure a generic referee was in the ring, the timekeeper rang the bell. The two circled and studied each other for a good few moments before they moved on each other. Azrael made the first move, aiming to grab her, but Raven ducked under his grip, quickly launching both hind legs up and blasting him in the chin, stumbling him back a couple steps. The crowd gasped, as Raven had landed the first strike. Then Raven got cocky. She hopped back up and launched a spin kick with her hind leg, but Az caught it, and swung her 180 degrees, and hurled her up against the chain-link wall. Before she could even slide down and hit the ground, he dashed forward and shoulder-rammed her, the blow hard enough to loosen the chain-link, before mercifully letting her fall. The referee began his count. "One, two, three, four..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maya cringed, watching from the bar. "Bad idea, Rave..." "Maya... You are seeing this, right?" Dusty walked into the bar from the main entrance, slightly concerned. He was escorting Moondust, who looked more tired than aware of anything, quietly looking for a soft spot to take his nap.
Maya nodded. "Yeah, I'm seeing. I knew she was gonna do it, just not on a stage that big. No problem, Selena." "Oh..." Dusty nodded to Selena. "Hello. Long time no see."
"A couple years, at least," Dusty answered. Moondust nuzzled against Dusty's side to get his attention. A tiny, high voice came from his mouth. "Daddy, can I go sit in the chair?" Dusty nodded. "Of course you can, just stay where I can see you." Moondust waddled along to the nearest booth, pulling himself up onto it with a bit of struggle.
Selena: (starting to dry off, however the feathers of her wings are all misaligned, she wouldn't be flying for a while) Wow. For me, it's actually been about the same amount of time, mostly spent surfing along waves on a 90% water planet, with three moons. Big waves, all the time.
Nightshade watched the spectacle quietly. She knew what Raven could do. She'd even helped her train. The little mare was tough. She was strong. She had a good mind for tactics. But that wouldn't help her here. Az was stronger, tougher, and more experienced. Nightshade believed that Raven's best advantage was her speed. She was easily the fastest bat pony Nightshade had ever seen. Probably the fastest anypony had ever seen. If she could land a blow on Az at full speed, without injuring herself in the process, it would be like blasting him with a cannon. Nightshade also knew what Az could do. If Raven slipped up, even a little bit, and let him land a solid hit, the fight would be over. ******************************************************************************************************************** "No trouble," Blackheart replied. "I should mention that my sister may be aboard the ship. I believe you have met her already. I warn you to take cover if her mood is foul."
Rep: Well, how flexible and how complex are the spells defending this place? I could probably brute force my way through in order to hide, but I don't want to cause said spells to unravel if I did so I could probably just get away with ducking around a corner.
"That's a lotta surfing," Maya commented. "Hey, your wings are a little... messy. Need somepony to help you with that?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raven kipped back up at five. After making sure she was okay, the ref allowed the fight to continue. Azrael swung his hoof for her head, but she ducked it, the force knocking the chain-link wall out completely. Raven used her position to again attack Az from below, jabbing his throat with her wing. Az stumbled back with a gag, and before he could react, she launched another spin kick, clocking him right in the jaw. This dazed him. She was stronger than he remembered. Raven used this stun to her advantage, hopping up on his back and launching a fast flurry of left hooks, each smashing into his temple. The audience could see her whispering, "No hard feelings." The crowd erupted with cheers and dueling chants. "Let's go, Raven!" "Az-ra-el!" Az went down eventually, and Raven stepped off to allow the ref to begin the count. "One-" He was back to his hooves in no time. Raven gave a shocked look. "Oh, shi-" And then she was caught. Az had managed to grab her, drop to the ground, and force her into his wicked gogoplata hold. She should have taken note, he was known for being able to slap one of those on from a standing position. Only a few ponies had managed to break it, and even then, with the exception of Cannonball Run, they were too hurt to keep the fight going. Raven wasn't about to tap out, but she looked like she was starting to fade, and her repeated blows to his side were doing nothing. "Just submit," Az could be heard saying. "I don't want to keep hurting you." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dusty sighed, watching the screen at the bar. "I hope she can still sing after this. Raven, I love you, but this was stupid..."
Damn, their kid's grown, he thought upon noticing Moondust briefly. Better not give him a Lemmy by accident...
"Give him a Lemmy, and I'll have you lashed," Dusty said quietly. Moondust spotted Blackened, perking right up. "Hey! You're Bl... Blaa..." He looked to be struggling with the name.
"Nah, wouldn't dream about that..." He then turned at the sound of Moondust's voice. "Oh, hi there," he said to the foal calmly. "Blackened." He spoke his own name slower than usual to help the young colt speak.
"Bla...ckened... I did it!" He clopped his hooves together in pride. "Daddy says you're very pretty!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in the arena, just when it looked like Raven was about to pass out from the lack of blood to her brain, she opened her mouth wide, baring her fangs. Anybody with particularly sensitive hearing would hear a high-pitched shriek, while other ponies would hear nothing. A diamond dog in the stands covered his ears, pained expression on his face. Azrael could be seen wincing at the sound. He started shaking, and then loosened the hold just long enough so Raven could slip out. Rave stumbled back several steps, gasping, trying to get herself refocused. Azrael laid on his side for several seconds, grasping his ears, ref counting up. On the count of five, he regained composure and stood back up. But by that time, there was already a pair of rear hooves charging for his head. They made contact with his muzzle, breaking it in all sorts of ways, stumbling him back and causing embalming fluid to pour from his snout like a small waterfall. Again not wasting any time, she wrapped her foreleg around her stunned de-fact uncle, hitting him with her own spike into the mat, snapping his horn clean off, eliciting a gasp from the crowd. He rolled onto his back, and Rave mounted his chest, unleashing a flurry of wing jabs, striking his ribs, temple, muzzle, jaw, wherever they decided to land. The jabs were far too fast to clearly see happening, he couldn't block without his magic. Eventually, after several bones could be heard breaking, Azrael stopped trying to guard, going limp in the ring. Raven stood and backed away, pointing to the horrified ref. "Do your job!" The referee began the count. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six." Asmo had his forehooves up on the chain-link at ringside, and eyes hidden around the arena, disturbed by what he was seeing. "Come on, come on, get up..." "Seven. Eight. Nine." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back at the bar, Dusty was watching intently. "She didn't just..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "TEN!" And then the bell rang. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maya dropped her drink, eyes wide. "M-m-my daughter just... she just took down..." Dusty stared with a similar expression. "It took four of us to... to even stun him. She just defeated him!"
"Good job!" he congratulated him. The foal's remark took him aback, but in a rather amusing way. "He said that? How nice of him."
Nightshade's jaw dropped. The best she'd hoped for was that Raven would last at least five minutes. A good publicity stunt, nothing more. It never even occurred to her that Raven could actually win. ****************************************************************** "This facility is protected by the best magic and technology Equestria has to offer. It was built shortly after the Battle of Godsfall to develop defenses against another Apophis-level event." Godsfall referred to Godsfall Lake, the lake created when the giant snake god Apophis fell from the sky.
Raven raised her hoof to roaring applause from the crowd. This had probably solidified her as one of the most metal ponies to ever live. She did what had become a signature during shows, sliding out and flicking her long, split tongue. Asmo fell back onto his flank, jaw agape. Raven trotted out of the ring through the wall they had busted open, ran up to Nightshade, and gave her a tight hug. "You see that?! I BUCKIN' DID IT, GIRL!" Azrael didn't move.
Rep: Good to hear. I'm going to take a look at the general structure of the spells if I may? I might have some extra additions to make. But that can wait until after a tour of the ship. Selena: (Starting to warm up ((autofill)) )
"Rave just beat Az clean," Maya finally choked out. "Never been done before. Even I can't do that..." "It's official," Dusty said. "Our little bat is a badass. And she's outdone us."
