Trial and Error

by Kiernan

Chapter 19: The Final Link

Chapter 19: The Final Link

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Akaitora climbed higher than he had before, now having more energy, but mostly out of need. He cut straight through a cloud, and still climbed. The clouds grew thinner, and thinner, until he could see the full moon before him. One of the benefits of not being a born pegasus was that the clouds had no solidity around him, and could breeze right through them, if he didn't mind getting a little wet, which he didn't.

Bloodstain, on the other hoof, was slowly making his way back through the clouds, having not climbed this high very often. The clouds were thick, tonight. the entire town would be shrouded in darkness if not for the street lamps. Akaitora used his momentary ceasefire to focus another spell, this one to cripple his foe in such a way that he wouldn't be capable of climbing back up.

It took mere moments for Bloodstain to burst from the clouds, being master of them, and he turned to face Akaitora, hovering int he air, his eyes shut tight. He sped toward his prey, forelegs outstretched, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.

The world seemed to slow as Akaitora opened his eyes. He could see the beating wings of his foe as he flew toward him. He could trace the particles of the cloud that had recently been broken back to where they had been before the breach. He could trace back the blood running from Bloodstain's mouth back along his neck, some tracing to his shoulders. 'Just a few more seconds,' he thought. 'Come on, come on!'

Bloodstain was mere inches away when the spell was ready, and Akaitora had no time to aim, or dodge for that matter. He lost his concentration on the energy sapping spell; it didn't matter now. one of the two would be horribly crippled after this, and there would be no energy to transfer, or no one to transfer it too. His wings stopped beating, he would need to conserve any energy he had left if he was going to make it out alive. The spell cast, being almost impossible to miss at point blank, and hit its intended target, before the intended target hit him.

Bloodstain embraced Akaitora, and hurtled down toward the town, flapping his wings to pick up as much speed as possible. "I've said it before, I'll say it now! You didn't have to die! Now, you will!"Akaitora writhed inside of Bloodstains forelegs, trying to escape, but to no avail. The ground was drawing ever closer. Fifty yards, forty, thirty. At roughly fifteen yards, Bloodstain Released Akaitora and tried to pull up. Now free of his grasp, Akaitora shut his eyes and waited to make contact with the pavement...

But it never happened. He had heard a loud thud, of a body hitting pavement, but it wasn't his own. He opened his eyes, and looked out behind him A rainbow trail sped out behind him, coming from the mare that had caught him, and saved him from his fall. She stopped, and he rolled off onto his hooves. They were incredibly sore, especially his right flank, which still held a few shards of broken glass. He leaned against a nearby building for support, still amidst the back alleys.

"Where'd you learn to fly?" joked Rainbow, not having seen his wings yet. He had kept them tucked in, to save space, and protect them from damage. now they helped support him, having taken the least damage from the airtime fight.

"I guess you could say that study is no substitute for experience..." huffed Akaitora. "Come on, we need to go check on a few of the other ponies." Akaitora limped along the path he had just come down, staying in the shadows as much as possible to avoid being seen. at the very end, he ran out of darkness, and the alley gave way to a street lamp. He slid down the wall, the pain in his leg excruciating. "Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you go find... Turnkey, and tell him to bring my cape here?"

"Turnkey? The locksmith? What makes you think he'll be here, and not in Ponyville? And why would he have your cape? And why would having your cape make any difference?"

"Rainbow, please. I'll explain when you get back, it's urgent."

"Okay, I'll see if I can't find him..." she took off, heading out of town.

"Rainbow!" she turned around. "He's here in town, and he's in the other direction. He should be near the grocer."

Rainbow scratched her head, and took off once more, this time the other direction. Akaitora turned his attention to his leg. It was difficult to concentrate while in pain, and this was no exception. Earlier, his life had depended on what he could muster, now the need was gone, replaced with want. There was no way for him to eliminate the pain, but at least he could stop the bleeding, until he got to see a doctor, or some other healer. He slowly pulled the glass shards from his leg. they were tiny, but they burned as the inferno upon release. He breathed heavily through his teeth, as one by one, they met the ground beside him. a small pool of bloody froth had formed next to him, and dripped into a storm drain. after about a minute, that felt like an hour, he had removed all the shards from his leg, and waited for Rainbow to come back. He didn't have long to wait.

"Found 'im! Here's you ca--" she held out his cape in one hoof, but what caught her eyes was the small pool of Kai's blood. "Oh my gosh, you're bleeding." she stated.

"That's one of the reasons I had you get my cape." was all Kai said as he pulled it over and fished out a cloth bandage, one he used when he cut himself working with the sharp metals of the castle grounds. Though recently, it had more purpose than in the past. He didn't say it, but the other reason he wanted his cape was to hide his wings once more.

"Fluttershy got back today. She said you needed help with something in Hoofington, but refused to say what. I never knew you needed this much help."

'Well done, Fluttershy. Now, if you'll just explain to Twilight...' "There, that should do it, for now." He threw his cape back over his shoulders and tied it back on. His leg was now fully wrapped, and the profuse bleeding stopped. a small amount still trickled out with each step, but it was minimal, and wouldn't cause any major harm. He went back to limping down the street, still a bit unsteady, but coping with his pain he was almost used to it by the time he made it back to Bloodstain, who lay on his stomach, barely breathing, and coughing up blood.

"I didn't want this... I only acted in self-defense. I'm truly sorry for this."

"No... don't give me your pity. I don't need you looking down on me... Just leave me to die here."

"If you had stayed on your noble path, this wouldn't have happened. I used to look up to you, you know. Usu couldn't stop raving about how good you were at what you did, and how just your cause was. You could have stayed there, and lived comfortably. But yu turned. That is why I now look down on you."

"Leave me be..."

"Fine. Just giving you something to think about before the end." Akaitora trotted off, as Bloodstain was left, alone, in his own rot.

It didn't take long to get back to the alley where Frostbite was still struggling at the lock around Tundra's neck. Tundra had lay down on the gravel, and looked out into the street. "You're back," he said, standing up and trotting slowly to where Akaitora and Rainbow were standing. "I take it then, that Bloodstain is..."

"Dead." finished Usutora, stepping out of the shadows behind Rainbow. "Drowned in his own blood, from the glass shards in his mouth and throat. His death was of his own accord."

"Headstrong fool," muttered Tundra. "From this point forth, my loyalties lie with you. What would you ask of me?"

"First, I need my chest back. Where is it?"

"Tis here, behind me. I'll bring it right back to where we found it, if you'll remove this collar."

"Yes, please!" chimed in Frostbite. "I can't get the accursed thing open."

Akaitora pulled a small, three-pronged key from one of his pockets. he slid it into the lock, and the tumblers clicked open, and the collar slid off. A soft glow encompassed Tundra's horn, and the chest behind him glowed. in a flash, it was gone. "It is done." said Tundra.

"Good. Now, I turn you over to Usu, and he is your new charge."

"It will be so. Would you and your friend like a faster journey home, though? I must offer you this before I leave your service."

"Very well." said Akaitora, ans a soft light engulfed himself, Rainbow, and Tundra's horn.

"I'll see you around, Kai," said Usutora, waving. A split second later, Kai and Rainbow dash arrived in Ponyville.

Comments

[Kiernan]

105127, 105291, and 106747.

He's not supposed to be an easy kill. That aside, I could have easily brushed off half of what hit him (not all at once, mind you). Besides, these parts were the most fun to write. I couldn't put down my keyboard.

[Balancer]

107476Don't you just hate end of level boss fights, AIM FOR WEAK SPOT KIA

[Bronies new zealand divison]

what happens when the gard find's bloodstaines body?

[Kiernan]

108677Who ever said the guards actually found bloodstain's body?

Okay, it was me. Just now. They found it in the river, about twenty miles downstream of Hoofington. Unfortunately, the body was so mangled by the rocks and rushing water, they were unable to trace the body back to Kai. It's a cold case, no longer under investigation. Good thing cutie marks help determine identity, or the forensics team wouldn't have been able to connect him to all his crimes.

Tundra and Frostbite were ever more scarcely seen after that, only during failed thievery missions, which I am happy to say wasn't often. The economy was a bit better balanced, too, because poor rock farmers started finding small stacks of bits outside of their doors to help them pay for necessities.

Usutora spent his days disguised as the famed Locksmith, Turnkey, helping ponies get back into their houses, and installing locks to keep thieves away for a very low cost. He still lives in a tent, though he doesn't need to, and could afford a rather large estate with the 20 florins Kai had left him. The rest had gone to the castle, to help pay off the royal debts.

Rarity opened a new line of summer wear featuring pockets. It was a huge hit, and three quarters of the funds went to Applejack to help her replace a saggy old plow, a saggy old barn, and a saggy old hip, with plenty to spare.

Pinkie Pie opened Sugarcube Corner one day to find that Mr. and Mrs. Cake were already at work, starting a new day. The bear claws were delicious.

No more happy endings yet. I just put in the last two for fun. Pinkie didn't even show up in the story. Sad, really.

[SunStone]

threadbombing.com/data/media/2/applause.gif

[Bloodstain]

108734 You just loved killing me, didn't you? You made me sound like an idiot in front of everyone.

Ah, well. I edited that part, didn't I? I could have changed it, but instead I just left it. You're welcome, by the way.