//------------------------------// // Rematch // Story: Marabian Knights // by silvershad0 //------------------------------//         The large minotaur now wielded an oversized great axe in favor of his club, the head alone larger than a full grown pony. His single horn was sharpened as well, the tip needle thin. He stood in front of the now-barred door, the only way in or out of what appeared to be a large warehouse.         “I knew if I waited here long enough, you pitiful ponies would show up eventually. And it seems that there are only three of you to contend with this time around. How unfortunate for you, though I will be enjoying my revenge a tad bit quicker than I’d like seeing as you’ve kept me waiting for so long.”         “How did you get here and set all this up before we arrived?” Red asked, utterly confused by how such a large creature could travel such a great distance so quickly. Sure, they had stopped to rest along the way, but there was no way he could have traveled day and night without stopping.         “I don’t care how you got here,” Octavia interrupted as she drew her cello from her back. “It’s how you’re going to be leaving here that’s important now!” She shouted as she charged forward and swung her weapon overhead with all her might. Ironhoof sidestepped the attack with ease and delivered a kick to her chin, sending her flying back to where she had started. The force of the kick was great and she lost hold of her cello as she landed, the instrument sliding a few feet from her.         He took a step toward her and noticed one of the other two missing in the back. He grinned as he took another step forward, though all of his attention was now diverted to the rogue skulking along the wall to his left. He faked taking the final step it would take to reach the downed mare and instead kicked out in her direction when he saw the shadow leap for him. Bon Bon dove right into his outstretched hoof, the impact forcing the breath from her and nearly causing her to black out from the pain.         Red had been taking the opportunity to channel a spell and fired it straight for his eyes, only to find it reflected harmlessly into a wall by the mirrored blade of his axe. “You ponies are far too predictable. Even after a single fight with you, I can detect your moves before you make them.”         Octavia rose to her hooves, considering his words carefully. ‘If he really is able to predict what I’m going to do next then perhaps a little change-up is in order. What would Vinyl do in a situation like this?’ She facehoofed reflexively at the thought and let out a slight groan.         Ironhoof wasn’t sure exactly what was going through the little paladin’s head at the moment, but he did see a free opportunity presenting itself and decided to take it. He stepped forward and swung overhead with all of his might at the distracted pony, who in turn bolted straight towards him with blinding speed. She gathered as much of her sacred energy into her hoof as she could muster and delivered it straight into his groin. The pure physical force combined with the holy energy caused his legs to buckle and his arms to release his grasp on the weapon to comfort his poor manhood.         “Not... again,” he whimpered as his breathing became more and more shallow. Octavia knew from experience that he wouldn’t stay down from the blow for long and Bon Bon was in no condition to hold him hostage like last time, so she withdrew to retrieve her own weapon and toss his as far from the battle as possible. Redheart was already halfway through a healing spell on the downed rogue when Octavia had finished what she set out to do and returned in front of the minotaur. Ironhoof looked up into her eyes and, fighting against the pain, rose to his hooves again. He couldn’t lose again. Misira would not give him another chance, this he knew well. He clenched both fists together tightly, drawing upon his inner rage to take control. This would trade his tactical advantage for brute strength and toughness, but he now needed this form so he could ignore the almost unbearable pain. The three ponies lined up together with Octavia in front as they watched their foe grow almost a foot in size and bulk up like a professional body builder. The entirety of his eyes glowed bright red as he let out a savage roar, each of the three ponies gulping instinctively. He was nearly on top of them before their nerves returned, Octavia raising her cello as a shield to block the blow. The sound of his fist splintering the wood echoed throughout the building. The paladin’s muscles burned in agony at the amount of stress they were put under, just barely able to keep the attack from making its way to her body. Before she could fully recover from the first fist, the second came down like a hammer, smashing the instrument into her face and sending her to the ground. Bon Bon took advantage of both his arms being occupied and sunk her blade deep into his back. If he noticed the attack, he didn’t show it as he kept shoving as all his weight down on the fallen Octavia. He maneuvered the cello so that its neck was now bearing down on hers, her face soon turning blue from lack of oxygen. Bon Bon continued her assault on his undefended back, desperately trying to find some sort of weak spot that would bring him down before he choked her friend to death.  Redheart jumped right into the middle of the action and used all of her strength to help alleviate the pressure on Octavia’s neck. She pulled up as he pushed down, though the difference in size and strength was barely making any difference at all. She frantically ran ideas through her head as her teammate’s eyes began bulging from her head. With little hesitation she stepped back and channeled her light spell again, taking careful aim to hit her mark precisely. She fired the white-hot bolt of light straight for the neck of the cello, the instrument snapping into two pieces as the laser made contact. Ironhoof was thrown slightly off balance as the object he was bearing all of his weight on went two different directions as Octavia greedily took in every ounce of air she could. Bon Bon dropped to the ground and bucked the backside of his knees with all her might, sending him toppling over to Octavia’s left. The grey mare rolled out of his reach and stood up, still gasping for air and holding her tender neck. The minotaur slowly reverted to his normal size as he groaned at the renewed pain he was now feeling. They had bested him again and with two of their numbers missing, no less! He knew what awaited him when Misira found out. No more chances and no more Ironhoof. He cringed slightly before his exhaustion set in, ferrying him into unconsciousness. The door to the building suddenly exploded, pieces of wooden shrapnel flying everywhere. Vinyl and Lyra ran in through the opening the former had created with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm. They both stared at the downed minotaur before turning their to look at the three with a mix of shock and awe. A familiar golden aura wrapped itself around each of them, signalling they had once again leveled. “You guys are officially badflank,” Vinyl said as she raised her hoof to Octavia, patiently awaited her to reciprocate the motion. Octavia only sat there though, staring at the two severed pieces of her instrument-turned-weapon. Redheart trotted up beside her and put a hoof to her shoulder. “I’m so sorry I had to do that, but I couldn’t think of anything else at the time.” Octavia looked up into her eyes and saw how worried and apologetic she must have truly felt. She did love her cello almost as much as anything, even if this was just a dream version of it. “Don’t worry about it, Redheart. You saved my life and I am truly grateful for that. I can always find another weapon to use.” “Perhaps I can help with that,” an old, raspy voice from the back of the building spoke up. The group turned to the prisoners they had just rescued, blushing slightly at the fact that they had temporarily slipped their minds. Not wanting to risk going anywhere near their adversary, Bon Bon decided to just pick the lock on the cage rather than searching him for a key. A little work with the lock from the rogue soon saw results as it opened and fell to the ground. The cage door opened and the twenty or so captives all spread out around them, each offering their thanks. The former voice stepped forward and picked up the two pieces of Octavia’s cello. “I’ve done repairs on the ships outside for decades now,” he started as he continued assessing the damage to the two halves, “so I’m pretty sure I can put this thing back together in no time at all.” Octavia’s smile returned as another larger stallion approached. His age was apparent in his facial features, the rings under his eyes a testament to many hardships and sleepless nights. He was a dull grey with a thick, black, braided mane and beard. He spoke in a slow, deep voice that commanded respect. “My name is Captain High Tide. I sail the Phoenix, fastest ship in all Marabia. I imagine you must have seen her before you came here. I’d like to thank you on behalf of Port Sarim for our rescue, though I’m curious how the five of you managed to take out all of the hobgoblins out there before taking on this brute here.” “About that,” Lyra quickly spoke up, now looking a little anxious. “They’re not exactly ‘taken care of’,” she emphasized with air quotes. “We sent the illusion into a cellar and barricaded it after they all went in, but I can’t imagine it will hold them forever. We should probably be leaving now if there are no objections.” “Where is everypony else?” Redheart queried. “Surely there are more than just the few of you here.” “All of the non-sailing villagers were taken by another boat, most likely as slaves or food for the hobgoblins and who knows what else.” High Tide stated sadly. “There’s nothing we can do for them now except make sure this never happens again.” Everyone quickly started moving for the exit. Redheart felt her heart sink at the captain’s grim words. Every minute things were getting worse here, and if they didn’t do something soon then Equestria would share the same fate. Each encounter was increasing in intensity and if they slipped up even once...if she made the wrong choice even once…. She was snapped out of her thoughts as the sun caught her in the eyes as they exited the building. The group made a beeline for the large ship, the captain shouting orders to the crew long before they even made it to the docks. As they approached the ship, Vinyl suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and just stared out into the vast ocean. By the time the others had turned to ask what was wrong, she was already starting to freak out. “I can’t do this, you guys! I know this is important, but I just can’t! I don’t like the ocean and there is no way I’m riding a boat over it for any period of time!” She closed her eyes and screamed before curling up into a little ball and started rocking back and forth. The others rushed over to her wearing worried looks while the sailors boarded the ship and started preparing the ship to sail. “Vinyl,” Octavia began, rubbing her hoof through the white mare’s mane. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you know we have to take this ship to reach Rigor Island. I promise we’ll stay in the cabin the whole time if it makes you feel any better. It’ll be just like staying in a moving inn,” she reassured her. Vinyl slowly calmed down and stood up. “Okay,” she said after a moment of silence. “It’s just..” her sentence was halted prematurely as a loud rumbling was now making its way down the dock. She turned and saw the small army of hobgoblins charging straight towards them and knew with certainty that the ship was their only means of escape now. Minds made up, they quickly filed on board and within a few minutes the ship was all set. With a final word from Hide Tide, the ship departed just seconds before the monsters could reach it. Octavia led a still-shaking a Vinyl down into the lower levels of the large ship while Redheart and the others spoke with the captain about their future plans and their new destination.