//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - A serious summon // Story: Serious Sam: The equestrian encounter // by marielity //------------------------------// Chapter 5 - A serious summon "Will she be okay?" After running through several tunnels underneath of Canterlot, Sam and the pony girls managed to catch up with remaining ponies. The medical faculties were filled to the brim with wounded ponies. They could hear nearby ponies scream in agony, either because of a deep wound they suffered or a lost beloved. A white colored earth pony with a heart as a cutie mark checked on Fluttershy's wounded shoulder."She will be fine. You are more lucky then most of our clients". She sighted deeply."Even during the changeling war we hardly had that many injuries to deal with, let alone any deaths. It's a nightmare". Twilight and her friends took a moment to observe their surroundings. In the improvised infirmary all beds were occupied. The doctors and nurses trotted hastely from bed to bed, checking the vital functions of their patients. From Twilights point of view she could see that some of them have died just moments ago, lifeless eyes opened, head tilted to the side, strains of blood dripping from a critical wound on the ground. She had to turn away and looked at Fluttershy instead. She looked like she was sleeping, but with a painful look on her face. "I hope you get better soon", she whispered into Fluttershy ear, then she turned for the nurse. „Please inform us as soon as she wakes up. We need her at Celestia's place as soon as possible." The nurse nodded and turned for her patient. Meanwhile Sam sat on the stony ground, leaning against a wall. He could see the pony girls in the nearby infirmary, but in his mind he was somewhere else. „Damn,“ he thought,“this is the first time I actually ran away from an enemy. What has gone wrong?“ He scratched his chin while pondering. „We should go through the data again“, Netricsa exclaimed in Sam's head.“ There must be something we have missed.“ „Again?!,“ Sam said, this time loudly, frightening some nearby passing ponies.“You can't be serious! All this is just ridicilous! I should be sitting in the seat of my spaceship chasing Mental instead of the ground of an underground tunnel full of frightened ponies.“ Saying this he fixed his eyes on a small group of ponies, who watched him talking to himself. They quickly left with an shocked face. „Right now we don't have many options,“ Netricsa conforted, „I'm pretty sure there is a way to get hold of this new problem. Sam. We need to go through it until we find a solution.“ „Humph...fine“ Sam grunted. He closed his eyes and watched how the inner side of his eyes changed from darkness to a series of pictures. There he was. The lonely warrior, wielding his metallic weapon into the sky. „The One“ standing on a hill, facing his new enemies in front of him. His eyes burned with fire to this new threat. He lowered his weapon, aiming carefully. With a loud voice he called: „My flaming fists of fury will destroy you fiend, ha!“ Mumbling to himself he added: „God..who writes this stuff?“ He noticed a movement in front of him. It didn't seem like the evil sorcerers tried to attack him. Instead one of them came closer with raised hands, making the remaining roaming troops collapse on the ground. Now it was only the sorcerers and Sam. „We finally meet, Sam Stone,“ the arch-necromancer adressed him. He looked like the other „eco necros“ except he was a bit taller and seemed to wear some kind of crown on his head. It reminded Sam of a Lich King. Not that he ever met one. He just happened to stumbled upon the description in a book he once read (Yes. He actually did other things in his past except shooting and killing). „Netty. Data,“ Sam demanded. „Oh. How offensive,“ the arch mage said in a theatrically voice,“I was just about to introduce myself. I think I shall do so nevertheless.“ He carefully cleared is throat, though he got no throat at all. „My name is Khenubaal. I'm the prime general of these troops.“ „Name is Sam“, Sam responded. „Serious Sam. And I'll kick your ass.“ „Oh...that's unlikely“, Khenubaal whispered with a slight chuckle. „You see. As we are talking my colleagues concentrate on shielding me with an invisible forcefield. Your weapons are useless now.“ „Damn, he is right,“ Netricsa called in Sam's head. „This shield seems to be even stronger then the shield around Canterlot. Be careful!“ „Your little computer is right, Mr. Stone,“ Khenubaal exclaimed. „Neither you nor me can engage combat now. You should listen to your ...inner voice.“ He chuckled over his own joke. „I do...I do“ Sam snapped angrily, „but give me just one reason why I should listen to you.“ „Well...it's pretty simple.“ Khenubaal began walking around Sam. „You see...my former generals tried to fight you with all they got...and lost.“ He waved with his hands into the distance. „You even managed to defeat the high Generals Ugh-Zan III and Ugh-Zan the IV. With such power on your side, what sense would it be to try to fight you like this? No. I think there is a way we can both profit from“. He stopped in front of Sam with a magical red glow in his empty eyeholes. In the meantime the ponies moved over to where Sam was to help him. They were surprised, when the remaining enemies suddenly collapsed near to him on the ground. „What the hay was that?“, Rainbow Dash called. „Ah have no idea“, Applejack responded. „Uh Uh. Maybe he used a secret weapon to put them all to sleep!“, Pinkie Pie yelled. „Definetly not,“ Rainbow Dash exclaimed. „He didn't move a finger. It must have been something else.“ „So...uhm...did we win?“, Fluttershy asked in a low voice. „Is it finally over?“ They finally came in reach of the big hill Sam was standing on. Coming up they notice another figure in front of him. A figure, which send a chill through the ponies bodies. The aura of this „thing“was cold and made them stop in an instant. „Wh...what in tar...tarnation is...this?“ asked Applejack, terribly shaking in fear. „I...I fear it's...far from...being over“, Twilight Sparkle stummered. Sam scratched his butt and was annoyed. „You better hurry it up so we can get to the good part“, Sam said, tapping on his minigun. „We will come to the 'good part' soon enough,“ Khenubaal exclaimed. „I bet your little friends over there can't wait for it to start.“ He chuckled pointing with a bonefinger to the group of ponies, who shoke in fear. Sam turned around. „Hey,“ he called, „you better get out of here. Leave this to me.“ But instead of moving all they could do was ducking and looking to the ground, eyes closed. Sam turned to Khenubaal. „What are you doing? Stop it!“ „I will, but only if you listen to my words,“ Khenubaal said. Sam looked angrily at Khenubaal. Right now he was protected by a forcefield and used some magic mumbo jumbo to scare the ponies, maybe even killing them. Out of options Sam lowered his weapon. „What the hell do you want to tell me so badly?“ If Khenubaal had a face with flesh, Sam was sure he would be grinning right now. „I want to make an offer to you.“ „What kind of offer?“, Sam snapped. „I can offer some asskicks, if you like.“ Khenubaal ignored his words and continued. „I offer peace.“ It took a moment before Sam comprehended what he just heard. „P...Peace?“, Sam stummered. „YOU?! Are you fucking kidding me?“ „I don't make jokes“, Khenuball snapped, „I laughed myself dead once and I don't plan to do so again.“ He chuckled at his words. „Get it? I'm already dead and I can't possibly...“ „For crying out loud, get back to business“, Sam interupted. Khenubaal fixed his eyes on Sam's. „Fine. I don't need to tell you what will happen to your world in the future, don't I? I herewith offer you to prevent the destruction of your planet. Humanity will be saved from annilation.“ He reached with his skeleton hand towards Sam. „All you have to do is join us.“ „And become your tool to conquer the universe for mental?“, Sam said doubtfully.“I think you're having maggots in your rotten brain.“ Taken back, Khenubaal reached with a hand into the side of his skull. He pulled out a big, red maggot and ate it with loud crunches. „Damn little beasts. Thanks for the hint.“ „Yes. You will become mental's tool in some a way, but your quest on saving your world will finally be successful. And you will still get more fighting like you always do.“ He glanced at the ponies, which already recovered from Khenubaals fearsome aura. „I also guarantee you the safety of this world. Your new friends over there will be left in peace.“ He stepped closer to Sam. „You will become Mental's new prime general. You will lead our troops into the far etches of the universe. With our masters power and your skills combined, the universe will belong to us forever.“ He offered his bonehand to Sam. „So...what do you say?“ Sam was silent. He looked at the hand offered to him. Right now he could find exactly what he was fighting for so long, saving his planet from destruction. He could also save this new world. He glanced at the nearby ponies, who looked at him with a pleading and concerned look. After a minute of silence Sam turned for Khenubaal and extended his arm. „There is one thing I want to say, before I tell you my decision“, Sam said in a calm voice. Khenubaal's breath rattled through his empty rips. „What is it Mr. Stone?“ Sam's hand reached into his pockets. „I had a present prepared for Mental when we would finally meet. I think I should waste it.“ His hand grabbed the object in his pockets and he drew it out. It was a token that looked exactly like the logo on his T-Shirt: A black bomb on yellow background, with a serious look on its face, the fuse burning. It emitted a red glow. Khenubaal needed a moment to identify the strange object before facing Sam again. „You fool...“ Sam gritted his teeth. „Time to get serious!“ He moved the token close to his chest causing it to vanish. Sam on the other hand suddenly seemed to be on fire, his skin burning like the surface of the sun. He pointed his Minigun at Khenubaal. „Let's see if your shield can handle 500 quad-damage loads of lead!“ Sam pushed the trigger and fired at the foe in front of him. The force of the „serious damage“ made his weapons 4 times stronger then usual. Taken by surprise Khenubaal moved away from Sam. The forcefield still covered him though. „Sam,“ Netricsa exclaimed, „do you remember your fight against the Mage Kleerofski? Remember how you defeated him?“ Sam smiled in realization. „But of course!“ Khenubaal chuckled. „Mr. Stone. I told you, this forcefield is inpenetrateable. Your efforts are useless.“ „Oh yeah,“ Sam shouted, „let's see what your friends say about your forcefield.“ Sam aimed with his minigun in the distance. Before Khenubaal realized Sam's doing, Sam took down several Eco Necros. He turned his head for the ponies. „What are you waiting for? A one-liner?“ The Mane six got up and readied their weapons (except for Fluttershy who was still too scared to fight; and Twilight, who relied on her magic). They charged towards the mages near the carts and fired all they got, taking down several eco necros. Khenubaal's hands made fists and shoke in anger. „That was the last mistake you ever made, Mr. Stone.“ He raised his arms in unison with the remaining eco necros. A wave of light passed over the hill. Suddenly hostile troops spawned everywhere. The fight went on like before near Canterlot. „I knew it,“ Sam called, „I knew it! Like mom always said: Never trust a man in a business suit.“ Still glowing with the force of the serious damage, Sam aimed for the new spawned troops and ran in circles, avoiding direct contact with the enemys. Khenubaal on the other hand circled his arms. They started to glow in different colors until his spell was complete. The corpses on the carts started moving and levitated in the air. Sam noticed and started firing at Khenubaal but the forcefield was still too strong to damage him. „This world is fascinating,“ Khenubaal told while casting his next spells. „We have lot of magicians in our army from many planets, but I never encountered so much mana in one world. It's like magic pours out from every being and thing. Perfect for our next creation.“ He laughed like a maniac as more and more bones and flesh started to glow and started levitating. „There is another one“, Rainbow Dash called. Applejack send a grenade exactly in the face of an eco necro, causing the undeath to shatter in pieces. „Gotcha!“ The hill was pure chaos again. The ponies made their stand, but this time they had no place to take cover; no advantage in terrain. The enemies were much closer now. Rarity had trouble using her sniper gun properly to take down the eco necros. Applejack's grenade launcher was too dangerous for melee combat and Rainbow Dash's laser was low on ammo and there was no ammo scattered around. Twilight on the other hand did pretty well. Using maigical shields she reflected projectiles away from her friends and whenever some foe got too close to her she levitated it and tossed it with full force against another foe. Pinkie's cannon was out of ammo and she only had a military knife left. She stood close to Rarity and took down all that tried to get close with powerful swings. „Those filthy ruffians are closing in!“, Rarity exclaimed.“I require assistance!“ „We got our hooves full already!“, Applejack called. „There are still too many of them.“ „What the hay is happening over there?“ Twilight looked at the magical ritual near the carts. She recognized bones and flesh of familar origin. It was mostly pony anatomy.“It looks like he uses dead parts to build something.“ Twilight gasped in shock. „He is using necromancy! Girls! We have to stop him somehow!“ „And how shall we do this?“, Rainbow Dash called, while avoiding some harpies and kicking back. „By the way...where is Fluttershy?“ Twilight looked around in terror. They havent noticed her in a while. After a few moments she saw her 20 feet away, hiding in the grass, mumbling to herself and shaking in fear. „Fluttershy!“, Twilight called. Fluttershy raised her head and looked to Twilight. She smiled a bit whith tears in her eyes and got up. She didn't notice the enemies that charged at her from all sides. „FLUTTERSHY!“, Twilight called in desperation and galloped to her as fast as she could. Fluttershy could only look around before it happened. In a splitsecond she was covered in blood and fell to the ground. Twilight fell into a trot as she saw one of her best friends fall like in slowmotion...as well as the monsters around her. „Man. Seems like I'm a teamplayer after all“, Sam called, running over to Fluttershy. He stood in front of her and hold off the approaching enemies. Twilight ran up to Fluttershy and checked her. She was fine, just shaking in fear. Clawdovic was still sitting on her shoulder, grooming his feathers. Changing the ammoless minigun against the rocket launcher Sam grunted: “You may be a cute pony Fluttershy, but you are useless in battle. You should have stayed in the castle instead of causing us trouble.“ „Hey,“ Twilight snapped,“she just wants to help. Don't call my friends useless.“ Sam gave her an harsh look.“Just look at her. She would rather let everyone die instead of acting. Now if you'll excuse me. I have got to settle a score with someone.“ Sam ran off again, continuing the fight. „He...he is so right, Twilight“, fluttershy stummered, “I'm just a burden after all.“ „Don't give me that,“ Twilight answered, „without you we wouldn't be the team we are used to be, don't you think?“. She turned around. „Let's get back to the others.“ „O...okay“. „Sam, we have a good chance at winning,“ Netricsa called in Sam's head, „the eco necros are loosing in numbers and the spawns become lesser with every second.“ „Is it enough to take down the skeleton clerk?“ Sam asked. „I fear not,“ Netricsa answered, „we need to take down more of them. Sam readied his rocket launcher.“Rocket ranger. Ready to rock it!“ The hill became more clear as most of the enemies have fallen sofar. Aiming carefully, Sam unleashed a series of rockets, each hitting an eco necro in the process and shattering it. The bones and flesh formed a huge pile and glowed in many different colors. Khenubaal still concentrated on finishing the spells for the abomination he had planned. He was interupted though. „Seems like your colleagues left already for a afterwork-beer in hell,“ Sam called. He approached Khenubaal with a double shotgun, reloading it. The ponies closed in as well, staying behind Sam. The troops have been defeated. „Humph,“ Khenubaal grunted, „they always do that, and I'm the one putting in overtime. But it doesn't matter. My efforts will pay off.“ „I bet it will,“ Sam said with a smile, “here is your payment“. Sam raised his shotgun and fired it with a loud bang. But Khenubaal was still standing. He hold out a hand at Sam. A dark grey forcefield covered him. „Was that supposed to hurt?“ he chuckled, „being in overtime really has some advantages. Like more magical power and very usefull spells and power.“ „Fire all you got!“, Sam called. And they fired whatever they had left. Khenubaal wasn't impressed and yawned. “Enough of this!“ His eyeholes started to glow red again. It didn't take long to make the ponies shiver in fear again, only Sam still standing. „You bastard!“, Sam called. „You rely on weapons too much, Mr. Stone,“ Khenubaal hissed, his voice full of hatred, „true power lies in magic. No weapon can harm me!“ The ponies felt the horror rise up in their mind again. Their weapons fell to the ground and they curled up, nightmares haunting their minds. Even Pinkie Pie didn't felt like laughing. „G...Girls“, Twlight stummered, „keep it together. We have to fight it!“ „Ah'm af...afraid...Ah c...can't,“ Applejack exclaimed. „No...stay here!“, Fluttershy suddenly called. Something moved over to Khenubaal. „Now then. Are you ready to witness our new creation, Mr. Stone?“ Khenubaal stepped aside and motioned his hands at the monstrosity behind him. It looked like a 30 feet high horse with wings, all made of skeleton parts and rended flesh. It even had a cutie mark that looked like pile of skulls. It didn't seem to be living...or unliving either. „Isn't it beautiful?“ Khenubaal exhaled admiring the grotesque beast.“It will be a pleasure to fill it with life and do what the former generals were unable to do...to crush you!“ He laughed maniacly, then turned back to Sam. „Any last words?“ „You got something on your shoes“ , Sam replied. Khenubaal took a moment before he actually looked down. „SQUAAAWWWK“, yelled Clawdovic to his feet, causing the bomb around his neck to trigger. Sam jumped back in instinct to take cover. Khenubaal on the other hand took the full load. The explosion was even stronger then usual, as the forcefield kept the pressure of the explosion inside, like a pressure cooker. The grey forcefield vanished and Khenubaal's shattered body flew away, crashing at the feet of the beast he just wanted to surrect. „And I say: Weapons rock!“, Sam called victorious, raising his shotgun. The ponies got up after the fearsome aura dissappeared. To Sam's surprise Fluttershy was the first to get up and trot up to him. „Where did he go?“, she asked Sam. „Blown to pieces“, Sam responded. „No...I mean my little green friend“ Fluttershy insisted. „He just run away. I hope he is fine.“ „He is also blown to pieces,“ Sam answered coldly,“heck, he gave Khenubaal the shock of his life.“ „What?!,“ Fluttershy screamed,“NO!“ She started to cry terribly. „Oh for crying out loud“. Sam lost his nerves.“Clawdovic is trained for combat and sacrificed himself to safe us all. You should be proud of him!“ Fluttershy didn't calm down. Instead she dropped to the ground again and cried into her hooves. The other ponies trotted over to her to confort her. Twlight looked at Sam with a grim look. Sam turned away from her and crossed his arms impatiently. „This day is getting better and better“, he said in a sarcastic voice. That's when hell broke loose. The ground started to shake. Sam had a bad feeling about this and turned for the unfinished creature Khenubaal created. „It's...not...over...yet“, Khenubaal's voice echoed. Some of his body parts levitated from the ground up to the beast he formed before.“I for myself shall become part of the greatest being ever created! You are all doomed!“ With these words his body parts went inside the mass of bones and flesh and were gone. At first nothing happened. Rainbow Dash even flew up to the head of the gigantic bonemare and tapped against its head. Then suddenly the beast's eyes started to glow in a blazing red and started moving. Rainbow Dash jumped in surprise and flew back to her friends. Again Khenubaal's voice echoed through their heads, this time in a deeper voice and full of hatred. „Watch me rise! Get on your knees and pray. Ugh-Zan the V is born!“ ---------------------------- Took a while longer then expected but here it is^^. Unfortunetly the next update will have to wait long again, as I'll be on holidays the next weeks. Hope you can last that long :)