Rise from the Ashes: Book 1 - Canterlot

by Sparklecat

A New Threat Brewing

The voice rang around all three of them, “Well well well, looks like Ms. Cowgirl has pride.” the voice said in a teasing tone. The group looked around in surprise and in confusion, “Letting them go will only guarantee you getting your element taken away and a life in prison!” the voice continue to go on as finally they spotted a pony lurking in the shadows. The appearance wasn’t clear at all but the figure appeared as a stallion due to his size and he was wearing a cloak.

“And who the hay might you be!?” Applejack shouted at the figure that was lurking over them. The male only chuckled in return and stared at the three in confusion.

“Aren’t I just a humble little thief like Firebelt over there? Whose only doing this so he doesn’t die, to which I’m sure he is dead afraid of it.” he said with a nasty smile. It was at this point they realized that the figure had an eerily similar voice to Firebelt, and yet he had info about him. Firebelt was a bit shaken but not much.

“Hey! How about you come down here and say, or else I’m gonna-!” he shouted irritated at him, but was cut off.

“Going to? Going to what?” the figure said as he jumped down and a bit of red hair moving down to the right side of the figure’s head with a creepy grin forming on his face. Firebelt couldn’t help but feel he was staring in a mirror. Lightning was about sick and tired of this stallion’s attitude.

“He would say if you didn’t cut him off! Now explain yourself or you’re gonna feel like the idiotic thieves I’ve beaten in the streets!” she shouted angrily at the figure trying to put down her cousin. The figure actually only laughed in return, and gave her a sadistic look.

“Oh contraire Lightning…” the figure said pulling down his hood. Firebelt’s eyes went wide in surprise and fear.

“WHAT THE DEUCE?!?” he thought out loud in confusion. Applejack and Lightning stepped back a bit in confusion as well, “Y-y-y-you’re….” Firebelt stammered as he found himself shaking and his voice beginning to stammer more and more.

“...do you really want to beat up your own cousin?” the figure finished as they saw clearly the figure had the exact face and voice as Firebelt, only with a dark haze around his body that seemed similar to the Fire Imps that had attacked the town.

“I knew….black magic….and this pony is crawling with it….” Lightning thought as she examined the haze around it.

“What in tarnation!? Are you a changeling?!” Applejack shouted out, wondering if he was and how did he get past the guards and wall around Canterlot.

“No way you’re Firebelt...you don’t have any of his annoyance or of his odor.” Lightning said with a growl, Firebelt would retort this but now was not the time for an argument between the two. The figure pulled violently on his face before letting go.

“Well there’s no mask so I can’t be an impersonator and if I was a changeling I’d be dead before I could get inside...” the fake said with a chuckle and smile before looking back at Firebelt, “...besides Firebelt you couldn’t leave me behind, that one little fear of being worthless? Trying to prove you're somebody rather than just another rat on the streets? It will follow you all the way to your grave.” the fake Firebelt with a big grin as he approached step by step. Firebelt couldn’t help but quiver and stepped back a bit.

“Okay really you’re not scary just freaking creepy as hell!” he shouted at the double with a bit of a stutter. The double just seem amused by Firebelt’s fright despite him trying to cover it up.

“Oh really? Going to try to hide behind somepony else when you can’t handle something? Typical, just typical.” the double said with just another smile, as Firebelt just kept shaking. Applejack finally had enough of this and let off a snarl.

“That does it! Yer goin down!” she shouted and attempted to tackle the double only to strange phase right through him and hit the dirt. She looked back in plain confusion as she rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. The double smiled as he looked back at Applejack as the haze weaved around it.

“Trying to defend a vermant? Come on, from the bottom of your heart you of all ponies should know this.” it said with a teasing grin. Applejack only snarled like a bull in retaliation and got up and dusted herself off.

“The only vermant ah see here is you.” she said with a determined look. “Ah don’t get it...I could beat the Imps like a tree, but ah can’t even touch ‘im?” Then the double looked back at Firebelt, ignoring the irritated mare.

“You’re still not convinced I’m that one part of you that you left behind? Then how about I know for a fact that you just hide your wings in shame, because they’re nothing now but worthless weights on your sides! Just to hide your pitiful reminder than you’re just a worthless pegasus who can’t fly!” the other Firebelt shouted in the quivering one’s face.

“No no no no no!!” he shouted as he finally cracked and attempted to run away from the group, only for multiples walls of black magic surrounding the group to trap them all in town square.

“Aww...can’t accept the truth Firebelt? Oh that’s right, you’ve always hated it…” the other Firebelt said teasingly, the real Firebelt only shouted and swung his blade at him that only kept going through him.

“Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!” he shouted now trembling completely with small bits of tears coming from his eyes. “You’re not me! You’re not me!” he shouted as he kept swinging uselessly at his doppelganger. The clone only started laughing as it got a sadistic smile on it’s face.

“Come on Firebelt! I didn’t hear you!~ Or do you really want me to spill what would be one of the best things you could do the second you got his hands on a certain somepony!~” he said teasingly, with Lightning realizing the haze around the fake was steadily increasing. Lightning blinked and raced to her cousin.

“No! Don’t say it! I have a very bad feeling if you do!”

“THERE’S NO WAY IN TARTARUS THAT YOU’RE ME!” he shouted loudly in the doppelganger's face. Instead of getting a sense of victory, the doppelganger gave a freakishly wide grin for the feeling of making a very big error. The fake only floated up in mid air without any sort of wings, as if the haze was lifting him off of the ground.

“Hehehehehe….. ehehehehehehe…. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” the fake Firebelt shouted out with a terrifying shriek of laughter as the haze seemed to form a cocoon around itself. The three backed up away from the cocoon, with Firebelt having nothing but fear on his face. Suddenly two giant copper weights attached to chains shot out of the cocoon and crash landed right next to the group, on the weights ‘0 tons’ were engraved on them and two giant rotted wings stuck out the back of the cocoon.

“What in tarnation is this thing…?” Applejack thought as she prepared herself for a rough fight. Suddenly a large sword stabbed out through the back of the cocoon and the head of a pony with it’s face burnt off stuck out the front, the rest of the cocoon dispersed to reveal all the pieces were attached to the body of a massive serpent, with the chains wrapped around it’s throat and the wings out his back and a sword stabbed right through it. The beast also had two skeleton arms stick out of it’s sides with two claws at the end of them. Lightning got up though was slightly cringed from her broken wing, though she didn’t have the time to complain about it. Firebelt was only shaking in his hooves but slowly got out his blade. Applejack looked at him, realizing his condition from the doppelganger spilling all of his secrets.

“Ye sure yer up for this sugarcube?” she asked seeing his breakdown beforehand.

“Yeah...yeah...I’m fine.” he replied, attempting to hide his fear. The beast charged at the group with a terrifying screech, the three of them barely got out of the way in time as he rammed the barrier which he set up and accidentally broke it.

“Come here you little shit…” the monster said with a grin, but as he turned around Applejack kicked him hard in the face and it crashed on the ground.

“Quick sugarcubes! Run for it!” Applejack shouted as she leaped off the monster’s face and the two other ponies shortly followed it.

“Okay, one why are we running and two, why aren’t any other guards coming down here to help kill this thing?!” Firebelt shouted at Applejack as they ran.

“One, we’re in no condition to bring down this freak! Second, this thing ain’t as tall as the buildings so I doubt they can see it!” she shouted back as they saw the monster chasing after the three.

“Maybe if we get it to make enough noise I’m sure they’ll have no problem seeing it!” Lightning shouted back and then looked at Firebelt. “Where is Scorchhop?” Lightning asked out of concern, wondering since the monster was after Firebelt it seems if it might go after Scorchhop as well.

“She was down town helping the other ponies put out the fire!” Firebelt shouted as he looked back at the beast as the burnt off face of it had purple and black aura glowing from it, and it shot out a laser at three. “Lasers?! It has lasers?!” Firebelt shouted as the group made a quick right in another street as the laser brought down the side of a building. “How come that darker version of me has lasers?!....wait that isn’t me right?” he added, on.

“Of course that ain’t you featherbrain! That’s gotta be a minion of that vermant the princess encountered!” Applejack reassured him out of annoyance as the monster got closer and closer. The three turned another corner, only for the road ahead to be blocked by a collapsed building that was destroyed in the fire. “You gotta be kiddin me!” Applejack shouted in aggravation.

“Um...ponies..?” Firebelt said in a nervous voice as the beast raced towards the three. The three braced themselves, when out of nowhere a blast of magic hit the side of the creature’s face causing it to crash into a building.

“And what disgusting freak of nature may this be?” A familiar voice spoke up, to which Applejack recognized.

“Rarity! What you so long?” she shouted as she saw her using magic to maneuver over to the three. Firebelt then saw Rarity had a long scratch over her right eye that was now blinded, which was her toll from the war that took place.

“I was help putting out the fire around the stores, when I heard a loud bang noise which I bet came from this putrid creatur-” Rarity said as she looked back at where the beast laid. “Um….where did it go?” she asked shortly after. The three spun around to see that the creature that chased them had vanished into thin air from the rubble.

“What in the hay?!” Applejack shouted as she ran over and looked about. “Somethin’ that big just can’t get away without makin’ a sound!” she complained. Then they heard the sound of guards coming in to investigate the disturbance, “Ya’ll better run now and I hope ye change yer ways!” Applejack shouted to Lightning and Firebelt as she ran off and dragged Rarity behind her.

“Wait darling what are you doing?!” Rarity shouted, still having no idea that Applejack was trying to let the two go free. Firebelt and Lightning quickly ran down another alley, when suddenly they bumped into another mare; Scorchhop.

“Heya guys!” she said taking a quick bit of air, “Gotta keep running! Guards are on me!” she added as she ran off, with the two quickly going right behind her.

“Scorcchop, you won’t believe what happened to us!” Firebelt said as he ran beside the two, when suddenly a group of guards cut off the route in front of them.

“Quick! Other way!” Lightning shouted as they ran back only to be cut off by another pair of guards and a few more stallions covered the roof above them as spears were pointed at the group.

“Well sorry pals, but I think we’re out of places to run.” Lightning growled as they backed up into each other.

“Yes...yes we are.” Firebelt responded with a sigh.

Author's Note:

I'm not the greatest in grammar, if you pick out any errors in this chapter please point them out to me! Thank you. :)

Comments

[Sparklecat]

4939250
Afraid not actually.

[Sea_Swirl]

I really like this story it's so AWESOME! also... you kind of missed a word

"Rarity! what took you so long?"

you missed the word took good luck on the next chapter can't wait to read!

[Sparklecat]

4941056
Fixed, thanks for pointing that out to me! I am also glad you are really enjoying the story so far! The next chapter may come out later today.

[PaulAsaran]

Hehehehehe….. ehehehehehehe…. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Please, for the love of Celestia and all things holy, don't do this. We don't need to know exactly how many 'he's and 'ha's were in this guy's laugh. It looks crappy. Just say 'he laughed' or something similar, we'll get the message.

“Of course that ain’t you featherbrain! That’s gotta be a minion of that vermant the princess encountered!” Applejack reassured him

how the hell does Applejack know Luna encountered Sol? She wasn't there and I seriously doubt news spread that quickly.