The Dragon's Abyss

by DarklordAxel20

Guardian

Inside the Griffon Royal Palace Throne Room

Before Shade could utter another word, the griffon encased in the massive crystal began to grow violent within its crystalline prison, struggling within it angrily, causing the exterior to crack. Shade readied himself for the armored sentry, " I know you're gonna bust out any second metal head...so do it, make my day!!,". As if reacting to his voice, the armored griffon erupted from the crystal, immediately spreading its metallic wings and flying towards Shade at breakneck speeds. " Whoa!," being able to just barely evade the aerial rush, " For looking so heavy, you're a fast one,".

The metal griffon flew back towards the throne, landing in front of the king, " GO!! destroy that abomination my adamantine sentry!,". With an ear piercing shriek, the charged right at Shade, this time on it's legs, but even then it was no slouch when it came to movement, " Show no mercy!!," the king shouted.

The throne room floor trembled as the rushed towards Shade like a wild animal, " Oh no you don't!," Shade grabbed the metal griffon by it's plated shoulder, using his own physical strength to stop it in it's path. The floor under his clawed feet cracked from the force between the two, the griffon placed its own metallic claws onto Shade's own shoulder, seemingly bringing the two crystal children to a stalemate. " You're pretty strong, but let's see how strong you are when I unwind!!!," with his own incredible strength, Shade lifted the metal griffon above his head, standing on his hind legs, " Have a nice flight!," with a mighty toss, Shade hurled the sentry straight through several marble pillars, and into a solid stone wall.

Those who witnessed the battle couldn't help but gawk, the two had just barely begun fighting and things had already started heating up. Twilight stared in awe as Shade fearlessly faced down the metal sentinel fearlessly, as he had done when he faced the golem from before. A single thought went through every member of the main six's mind, " Please...base safe Shade ,".

With a single push form his powerful legs, Shade leaped right for the downed griffon, fire spewing form his mouth onto the sentry. Shade's eyes slightly widened as the griffon spread it's wings within his flames, before taking off at mach speeds past him, shooting through the roof," He's fast, but I'm faster," the glare on Shade's face sharpened, he spread his large wings, began to flap them, which in turn kicked up a strong gust of wind. " HERE I COME!!!!," with one last flap of his wings, Shade rocketed after the metal griffon, managing to catch up to him in a matter of seconds, " There's no running form me bird brain!!,".

Applejack managed to catch a glimpse of two figures flying at speeds that she had only seen Rainbow Dash reach, it didn't take being as smart as Twilight to know who one of the figures was, " Go get em' Shade,". With all the chaos from the two aerial combatants, Applejack saw the perfect opportunity to sneak into the throne room to save her friends, " Looks like it's my turn,".

Both Shade and the Adamantine Sentry were locked in a fierce air fight, clashing with one another as they dodged buildings and other obstacles while still managing to keep near sonic flight. Shade managed to match the razor edges on the sentry's armor by using his magic to envelope his wings and create blades out of them, and using his own claws to counter the griffon's. Bystanders watched as sparks filled the sky, magic met metal, claws met claws, the sheer speed of the two made it hard for the fight to be seen at first. With both combatants making a rapid u-turn, they had been set on a course to hit one another head on, to avoid the oncoming collision, Shade did a mid-air roll, be slightly cut in mid-roll by the sentry's razor sharp wings, " Damn....that was close...alright buddy as much as I love flying, it's about time you got grounded!!,". With a swift change of direction Shade ascended at a sharp angle, positioning himself above his metal foe before dive bombing him at rapid speed, sending it flying down towards the ground.

Using Shade's battle as a diversion, Applejack managed to quietly sneak her friends out without being noticed. Before they could get out the door however the large metallic griffon he was fighting came flying right over their heads, making impact on the ground behind them. " Hurry up everypony, move!," Applejack shouted, she didn't want her or her friends in the middle of a battle, or the destruction it brought.

The adamantine griffon picked itself up, glaring at Shade from where he was, a glare so sharp it could cut diamonds, with an earth shaking scream the metal griffon launched towards Shade so fast that the only member of the mane six who could keep up with his movement was rainbow dash.

However the griffon wasn't the only one flying right at someone, Shade had made his own aerial charge, " HERE I COME METAL HEAD!!!," both flying at speeds where the sound barrier had already become visible around them.

Rainbow Dash knew what was going to happened when those two collided, causing her eyes to widen, " Everypony get down!!!!," she managed to get all her friends to the ground before getting on the ground herself.

" Rainbow Dash what's wrong with you?!," Twilight shouted in confusion at her cyan friend, but her answer was soon given to her.

Both Shade and the griffon collided in the air, creating a mighty shock wave, kicking up gale force winds and shaking the earth below them. The collision had also managed to send both Shade and the griffon hurdling towards the ground, both slamming into the stone streets that sat below them. " Not bad..you hit harder than I though," Shade said as he sat up, wiping a little blood off of his face. several meters away from Shade, the metallic griffon also sat up, his razor sharp glare never leaving his face for a moment, it was clear that at this point he wanted Shade dead, and he wanted him dead now, " Yeah I can see that glare of yours!," Shade shouted from his position. " Doesn't bother me one bit, " he climbed out of the hole he had made upon impact, " I've gotten worse glares from a rabbit," a cocky grin spread across Shade's face, the sight of the grin infuriated the metal sentinel.

The griffon's glare grew sharper, it's rage began to surge through it's body, causing a red hew to seep out of the it's armor, giving off a red glow. With a mighty roar the griffon charged towards Shade, it's razor sharp claws being swung right towards the hybrid.

" Whoa!," Shade exclaimed as he dropped to the ground, just barely dodging the blade-like claws, " That was close," this however left him wide open for the next attack.

With another roar, the griffon brought down it's front legs onto the ducking Shade, slamming the dragon into the ground.

" Shade!!!," Twilight shouted in fear for him, she could only stand and watch as the metal monstrosity repeatedly slammed her friend into the ground. " Her lips quivered as she felt something welling up inside her, she realized that during Shade's last fight that she wasn't much help. With a stamp of her hoof, Twilight's facial expression turned from a frightened one, into an angered one, she gritted her teeth as she watched the griffon pummel Shade. " LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!," she shouted as she took off towards the griffon, her horn glowing brightly before firing several powerful magic blast at Shade's attacker.

The metallic griffon stumbled as the barrage of magic slammed into his exposed side, he quickly turned towards his assailant, the enraged princess Twilight Sparkle. He Rushed towards the attacking princess, shrugging off the magic blast that she fired at him, winding up another claw swing, only to be evaded and bombarded by magic once again.

" You're going to pay for hurting Shade!!," Twilight continued her assault, despite doing little damage, the least she could do was try. Her friend's stood in awe, they've seen the princess angry before, but never to this extent, and violence is something Twilight would hardly ever resort too, the only villain to cause her to use it before was Tirek. Twilight could feel her strength draining rapidly, she was putting more power into each blast she fired, and even though this made them more effective, it meant that she could only fight for so long before she was spent. " I...have to.....keep fighting!!! " she clenched her eyes shut tightly as she forced more and more magic out, her anger pushing her further than she could have normally gone.

The armored griffon became progressively angrier with ever blast that hit him, to the point where the same glow form his armor was coming from his eyes. It wasn't long before it stood over the weakened princess, letting out a vicious snarl as it glared down at her. Twilight tried her best to fire another blast, but to no avail, she had used up all of her magical energy. The griffon began to lift up it's front right leg, spreading his claws apart as he did, before letting bloodthirsty roar and bringing it's claws down toward's the winded princess.

" Leave Twilight alone you big bully!!," shouted a small voice, followed by the owner of the voice hopping atop the griffon's head, covering it's eyes.

Twilight opened her eyes at the sound of the voice, looking up to see Spike atop the griffon's head, " Spike?!?!," her voice was full of shock. " Spike get down form there now you're going to get hurt!!," she tried her best to build up the magic to lift him off the griffon's head, but it was taking more effort than she thought.

" No way Twilight!!, this creep hurt my dad!! So I'm gonna teach him a lesson!!!," Spike clung to the metal beast's head for dear life, being able to just barely keep a grip. With a loud gulp, thoughts began racing through Spike's head, the main thought being what would happen if he let go. However that thought soon became a reality as the griffon reached it's claw back, grabbing the small nuisance that was attached to it's head, " Tw..Twi..TWILIGHT HELP!!!!!!," Spike screamed at the top of his lungs as the metallic griffon tossed him right towards the cold hard ground. Spike's eyes clenched shut as he was about to make impact, but he never touched the ground, " What the ?," he soon saw it was Twilight who saved him, she had managed to muster enough magic to catch him and move him over to her.

Give the baby dragon a weak smile, Twilight gave him a hug, " ..I'm glad you're OK Spike..," it was easy to tell just how exhausted she as. However their seemingly happy moment was soon ruined by their same assailant, the metal menace stood high up on it's back legs, raising it's front legs high into the air, readying itself to crush the two underneath it.

"..Twilight..I'm sorry..," tears began leaking from Spike's face, in an attempt to comfort him before they met their end, Twilight gave him a tight hug, keeping him close.

The sentinel quickly brought it's claws down towards them, however, Right as it was about to make contact with them, Shade burst through the ground beneath them, headbutting the griffon on it's lower jaw, not only knocking it back, but also causing it to lose it's balance and fall on it's back. " That was for driving me into the ground!!," before the gs unexriffon could get a chance to stand up, it was quickly lifted above Shade's head, only to be brought back down onto the ground with great force, " It doesn't feel too good does it!!!,".

Both Twilight and Spike smiled at the sight of Shade, "...Thank you Shade...I...I was sure we were done for...," Twilight said in her weak voice, tears welling up in her eyes, "....and I don't want to die yet....there's something I have to tell y..," She was cut off by a quick kiss on the lips from the half-breed, causing her to blush the deepest Shade of red anypony could imagine.

" You can save it for when we get home, for now, I've got a tin can that needs to be opened," Shade turned his attention back to the rising griffon. " Screw being opened, I'm gonna melt him!!!," after taking in a deep breath, fire began building up in Shade's mouth, quickly changing form it's usual color, to a light shade of blue. " Feel the burn!!!," Shade let loose a powerful stream of flames from his mouth, meeting the griffons adamantine carapace, causing the beast to shriek in pain. Shade continued to shower his foe with fire, drawing closer to it as the intensity of the heat increased by the second, and the hotter the fire became, the louder the griffons shrieks became.

Right as Shade was a mere yard away from him, the griffon lout out a loud bellow, cracking the ground with the sheer sound of his cry. This unexpected noise caused Shade's fiery shower upon the griffon to cease, allowing the autonomous griffon to rise, his armor singed badly from the fire that was bathing over him, but other than that no real damage seemed to be done.

Shade growled out of frustration as he watched it stand up, " You're a tough nut to crack I'll give you that," without hesitation, he lunged towards his rising foe, teeth and claws readied to tear away at it's metal hide. However the metal griffon wasn't having any more of it, with swift movement he latched his claws onto the lunging dragon's throat, lifting him into the air, "..Grrr..put me down you big tin can!!," Shade's eyes had begun to glow a deep red, similar to the griffon's own eyes. Fire seeped out of the edges of Shade's mouth as he looked his foe in the eyes, he could feel as it attempted to crush his neck, but he wasn't going to give it the chance, Shade opened his maw wide, releasing a torrent of flames into his attackers face, causing him to be dropped, and giving him the chance to swing his tail at the griffons legs, knocking him to the ground once more.

While Shade was keeping the autonomous griffon at bay, Twilight's friends rushed over to her, helping the weakened princess to a safer spot. " Are you alright sugar?," Applejack asked Twilight in a caring voice, " We're sorry we didn't help ya...it's just we didn't think we'd be much of any help, I mean it's not like we got the elements of harmony anymore,".

A frown formed on Twilight's face as she looked at the regret in her friend's eyes, " ...It's alright Applejack, really...it is...besides, it isn't like I did much myself...anyways...Shade's got it covered from here...j..just look at him,". Twilight and her friends turned their heads towards the battle, watching as Shade swiftly dodged attack after attack, evading every blow the griffon attempted to deliver.

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth as she watched them fight, she wanted more than anything to help Shade, " It's just not right...we should be helping him! he's already saved our lives once!!," she began to hastily flap her wings, the rage that she had pent up had begun to take over.

" Darnit Rainbow Dash! would ya listen to reason, what can we do, the tow of them are tearin this city apart," Applejack scolded her friend, but not without reason, she didn't want to lose her friend just because she was fired up.

Rainbow lowered her head, she knew Applejack was right, but she still wanted to help Shade, it wasn't until Twilight placed her hoof on her shoulder did she regain her focus. " ....It's OK Rainbow...I know how you feel...that's why I did what I did...but..we need to leave it to Shade from here, just look....he seems to have things under control," Twilight turned her friend's head back towards the battle, this time Shade was on the offensive.

With an earth shaking roar, Shade stood on his hind legs, just being a few heads shorter than the metal menace, he could care less the damage his body would endure, but he would not allow this griffon to harm his new friends. " YOU'RE DONE FOR!!!!!," he tackled his adversary, latching his claws onto the edges of it's armor, making sure he had a tight grip on it. He spread his large wings, and with a single flap he had taken off with the metal monster in his grip. Despite the weight of the griffon, Shade had still managed to fly as fast as he did, not stopping until he had risen beyond the clouds, " Going down!!!," and without warning he took a nose dive, keeping the sentinel close to him before beginning to spiral in mid air, increasing his speed in the process.

The armored griffon fought violently to get loose, but to no avail, Shade had managed to dig his claws into the spots of it's armor where it couldn't shake. It's eyes widened as it saw how quickly they were nearing the ground, and out of nowhere it began to muster what sounded like words out of it's feral voice, " L...L..Le.. LET GO OF ME!!!!!,".

Shade's eyes widened slightly, until now the only noises that came out of the griffons mouth we're shrieks and roars, he hadn't expected it to speak, but this minor surprise didn't halter his flight, in fact he seemed to fly faster upon hearing the voice. Letting out a loud grunt, Shade's facial expression turned from frustration, to a toothy grin, "..With pleasure!!!," just mere yards form the cold hard ground, Shade go of his foe, letting the metallic griffon slam into the ground at high speeds, creating a shock wave on impact along with burying the griffon under several feet of rubble. After making a quick landing, Shade turned to see the overall damage of the battle zone, " I realize I'm more than likely ruining the lives of hundreds of griffons, but I won't stand for anything that tries to hurt my friends!,".

Twilight and her friends rushed over to Shade, albeit she was assisted in the whole aspect of rushing towards him. She gave Shade a hug, keeping her hooves wrapped around his neck, "...Shade..you did it...I never doubted you for one minute...I knew you could do it," she looked to be on the verge of tears, she wasn't sure why though. Before a single tear could drop, she felt Shade give her another kiss but this time on the forehead, "..Sh..Shade..,".

" It's not over yet...down in that hole...he's still alive and boy is going to be pissed when he digs himself out," he let out a gruff chuckle, " And when he does I'll be raring for round two,". Right as Shade spoke the ground where the griffon had been buried began to quiver, " Right on time, I want you girls to get to safety again, I'm gonna end this,".

Rainbow Dash and Applejack helped move Twilight to a safe distance, followed by the rest of her friends, " Shade, please be safe, I don't want you lose you before I get a chance to confess ," a single tear dripped from her eye as she prayed for his safety.

With his anger welling up again, Shade directed his glare toward's the hole, his grin never leaving his face for a moment, " Come on big boy, I know you're down there, get up here and give me the match I want,". And as if responding to Shade's words, a large metal claw shot out form the rubble, Shade's grin grew wider as he witnessed this, " Round two metal head,".

Author's Note:

Hey there ladies and gentlecolts, did you miss me, because I sure missed you. I am so sorry for my hiatus, for those of you who read my blog update, you know why I was absent, for those of you who didn't, allow me to fill in the blanks. I recently started working which has begun to take up a lot of my free time, and on the days I'm off I'm working on moving in with my girlfriend, and also I've recently begun playing my new favorite game, Monster hunter, which has given me a wonderful idea for a future story. Anyway I've started working on pieces of art for my story, and I got to thinking, why not let the readers submit their own art, so if any of you would like to show me your own art, send it to my deviantart page, my user name is DarklordAxel35, I'll be sure to put any art submitted into the end of each chapter along with the name of whoever submitted it. Also, the question of the chapter this time is this, Shade is a pretty strong character, but as some of you might be able to guess, he isn't at his maximum this early into the story, guesstimate what you think his maximum power would be, and after doing that, who do you think Shade would be on par with, the character of you're choice can be form any series, in any media. Well I thank you all for your patience, I've made time to begin writing in the middle of work and moving, so I should be able to get a few chapters out before I'm busy again, but I'll make sure to leave a blog update before that happens, so keep an eye out, alright? Until then, I'll see you all really soon buh-bye!

Comments

[Azrael the alicorn]

I don't know exactly which character choose to make an example of. But it should be enough to make him powerful enough to take on the whole FIM-verse all togheter if necessary. No rainbow power should be capable to take him down.

[dargonax]

Beerus the destroyer. Hands down..