DATE: February 25th
LOCATION: Appleloosa

[Perspective: Arrell]

“Hadoken!”

I grinned. This time, I was ready.

I rolled to the side, avoiding the deadly blast, and dashed forward. He turned to me and began preparing for what I could only assume would be one of those uppercuts. Rather than give him an easy shot, I waited until I was just within range, and then jumped.

His attack missed, while I landed behind him. I turned, but he turned at the same time and tried again. This time, he connected, and I was launched into the air.

Plan B! Plan B!

Before I could fall back down, I regained my balance as best as I could while floating in the air and angled my head downward. As soon as I was aimed at him, I let loose my voice attack.

...well, I tried to. Nothing came out.

...I feel like there are a lot of immature people laughing right now.

I plummeted to the ground, right on my face. Knowing there wasn’t any time to sit and comically rub my nose, I rolled to my hooves and kept my eye on my foe. He was already running at me again.

Now what?! All my powers are gone! How the hell do I fight without them?!

He fired another Hadoken. I jumped to the left to avoid it.

Bloodbath’s ax is too cumbersome to use against a fast guy like him, and even if it wasn’t, I’m not trying to kill him...I just need to get that headband away from him...

He tackled me. I went flying several feet with him until we hit the ground. I managed to use my strength to push him off, but he just darted away before I could deal any actual damage.

...wait...do I still have...?

I had roughly two seconds. I used them to remember that I left my saddlebags back by the saloon.

...mother-

“Shoryuken!”

I went flying again. This was really starting to get old.

Headband...headband...gotta get that headband. Think, think! There’s got to be some kind of chekhov’s gun you can pull out of your ass here!

…

...

“Shoryuken!”

...well, I got nothing.

His hoof was aiming right for me, going too quickly for me to dodge. I braced myself for the impact, hoping I’d come up with a better plan during my next little flight.

And then, with me barely even controlling it, my hoof grabbed his.

The uppercut was halted, inches from my face. The pony’s eyes widened briefly in surprise. And I had no idea what was going on.

But, hey, I wasn’t gonna pass up a chance to gain the upper hand.

I pushed with my hoof while forcing his own upwards, continuing the uppercut for him before slamming him back down to the ground. He tried to get back up, but for once, I was faster than him.

Jumping onto him, I slammed down onto his back, forcing him to stay down. I made a grab for the headband, but his strength outmatched my weight, and he pushed me off. I didn’t give up that easily, though, and grabbed at his neck before I toppled away, pulling him with me.

I got to my feet while trying to hold him down, but he forced himself into a standing position as well. Now with his hooves free to fight back, he threw a punch at my gut, knocking the air out of me. Nevertheless, I kept my grip, even bringing my other hoof over. I didn’t even know what I was doing until I began strangling him.

He swung his hoof again, this time nailing me in the snout. I knew I was bleeding, but I ignored it as I kept my tight grip, trying to cut off his air. Just to unconsciousness...just to unconsciousness...

One more punch came, again at my face...only for him to hiss and pull his hoof back in pain as it made contact with the blood already leaking out. I couldn’t help but smirk.

It kills plants, it poisons ponies, and it’ll burn your skin if you touch it! The blood of your enemies can sometimes be your own pain! Windigo biology rocks.

He let out a grunt as he tried to fight for air, no longer using his hooves in his struggle. His eyes shot open, and for a split second, I saw something new in them.

Previously, when I looked in his eyes, they just seemed stoic and lost. Now, I saw genuine fear and confusion.

The article...it’s actually controlling him...

I loosened my grip. He collapsed, gasping for air. He looked up at me, still seeming afraid.

“...h...help...me...”

I grabbed for the headband again. I managed to take hold of it, but yelped as I was treated to an electric shock coursing through my body. Shaking my hoof to get rid of the sensation, I looked at the pony again to see his eyes shut and his breathing becoming ragged.

Crap! He’s losing control again! Do something, do something, do something!

Bracing myself for pain, I grabbed the headband a third time. The surge of electricity began again, but I refused to let go. That turned out to be a very painful decision, because rather than just a single zap, I was now being continuously shocked.

I grit my teeth, trying to pull the article away. I could hear the pony screaming in pain, and I knew the electricity wasn’t just harming me. Part of me wanted to join him in screaming, but instead, I held my breath and kept pulling.

It felt like it took hours to get it to move just a tiny bit. My body protested greatly, already starting to feel paralyzed in some areas. My back legs gave out, but my front legs still worked, allowing me to keep pulling. I couldn’t let go now.

“You...won’t...win...!” I hissed, images flooding my brain. Images of the ponies who had been hurt already. Of the one who was killed by this article. Of the other ponies in town who were only safe until now.

Of Asylum, barely getting out of the way of one of several lethal Hadoken attacks.

“I won’t...let you...” I opened one eye. “Hurt...another...PONY!”

With one final pull, the headband came off.

The electricity died down. The pony collapsed, unmoving. I fell onto my hindquarters, my entire lower half not responding to the signals of my brain. The red cloth of disaster hung limply in my grasp. Anyone who walked in now would never suspect it of being so dangerous.

My vision swam. I tried to stand, but for obvious reasons, I just fell down again.

I heard somepony yell my name. Risk. It must have been Risk.

I think I replied. It probably sounded like “got headband I hurt”, if it was even that coherent.

No clue what happened next. I just remember darkness.

[Perspective: Risk Reward]

I sighed as I looked over at the only one of us who wasn’t currently in the hospital. Nimble continued to sleep.

We were back in Ponyville, two days later. We took the train back after finding False and Asylum. Neither of them were in good condition, and Appleloosa couldn’t provide any medical help past a few bandages to tide them over. Arrell, while not visibly hurt beyond a few bruises, was being checked for any signs of permanent damage or paralysis. The desert heat didn’t help him either.

Ryu’s headband was thrown into Alterspace as soon as Nimble found Arrell’s saddlebags again. The pony who was wearing it died; the electricity was too much for his body to take. Hell, the only reason Arrell survived was because his body was built for taking more damage, and even he was in pretty bad condition.

“He’s awake.”

I looked up at the nurse who had approached. I smiled weakly. “Thank you.” Standing up, I cast one quick look back at the sleeping colt, who had somehow gotten a small pillow that he decided made for a good cuddle buddy.

...how can a pony capable of snapping necks look so adorable?

Chuckling lightly, I walked down the hall until I reached the room I knew a certain Windigo was in. Carefully opening the door, I looked inside.

While Arrell was definitely conscious, the jury was still out on whether or not he could be classified as “awake”. His eyes were maybe a quarter of the way open, his body was limp, and his breathing was slow and steady. He didn’t even move his head when I walked in.

“Hey there,” I greeted quietly, closing the door behind myself. He finally looked over, eyes opening a bit more. “You okay?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but a yawn got out first. He let that finish before proceeding with his actual sentence. “...could be better, could be worse.”

I sat beside him. “Any news from the doctors?”

“Said I’ll be jes’ fine...in a day’r two...” Either due to being tired or an effect of the electricity, his mouth didn’t seem to want to enunciate properly. “How’re th’ girls?”

“They had a few injuries, but nothing too serious...Asylum won’t be flying for a week or so, but other than that, they’ll be out tomorrow.”

He just nodded a bit, returning to silence afterwards. After a few moments, just when I thought he had fallen asleep again, he spoke. “...I can’t do stuff...”

I tilted my head. “Pardon?”

“Can’t fly...or use my powers...think something’s up...” He sighed. “Feels like I’m gettin’ weaker...”

“Well...maybe you could talk to Styx about that...?”

He snorted derisively. “Wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one doin’ this...”

...something tells me the two of them are not on very good terms.

“Whatever...I’ll be fine...” He yawned again. “Think I’m gonna sleep more, though...”

I chuckled. “Good idea. Get that done now while False isn’t around to wake you up early.”

He gave me a look that, if he had the energy to form one, would likely have been a glare. “Not funny.”

“...sorry.”

He didn’t speak again. He just returned his head to the position it was in when I first entered and closed his eyes - not like they weren’t pretty much there already. I took that as my cue to leave, standing up and heading for the door as silently as I could.

All that happened while fetching just one article... I sighed. This is going to be interesting, to say the least.