//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: From Nothing To Something // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// “Trixie?!” shouted Rainbow Dash in surprise before she let out a growl. “That two bit con artist was the second-in-command? After Twilight let her get a second chance?! Ugh, I knew I should have pounded her face in the last time we met.” “I take it you’ve met her before?” asked Lighting Dust, sipping her drink. “Yeah, first time was when she came out lying her flank off about being a great magician when she was just mediocre. Then she came back with a powerful amulet that caused her to go insane and hold our town hostage till we got it off. Twilight let her go both times as an act of mercy, but it looks like it was a waste,” grumbled Rainbow Dash. “At least she’s dead now, you got her right?” “Somewhat, but you can say it was her own fault...” *** Lighting Dust had never been more freaked out then when she saw ponies that were clearly dead start moving again. From what little of magic she knew, raising the dead was one of the big taboos that was classified as dark magic. Dark magic was powerful, but it was always at a price; usually your own soul or sanity. Judging by how that unicorn is laughing her tail off I’d say the latter. Trixie ordered the zombies to stand aside while ordering the other cultists to bring more of the dead bodies. Lighting was about to whisper to Slade on what they should do next when she felt two hooves grab her by the wings. Going back to being limp, she felt her worries creep up when she was placed on the ground, smelling the real dead ponies next to her. Not good, thought Lightning Dust. “Rise zombies! Rise for The Great and Powerful Trixie!” Lightning Dust cracked her eye open a bit to see the dark magical wisps flow over them. Despite the cold and dread feeling that came over her, she didn’t feel any problems and hoped that the rest of the team would stay still. When it was over and she began to hear the reanimated corpses moan, Lighting Dust let out her own and began to act sluggish like the zombies next to her. Rising to her hooves, she kept her head down to avoid eye contact with Trixie who ordered them to head back with the others. When she was positioned in line, Lightning raised her head a bit to get a better view at her target. Trixie wasn’t that far away as she began ordering more dead bodies. Her hidden knife to the neck would end this, but most likely the guards would strike her down with their magic just as fast. Not to mention some of them had crossbows already knocked and prepared to fire. Lighting bit her lip. If Trixie raised more of the dead and used them as an army, then she would easily win the battle and it would bring more problems. If she went after Trixie and managed to kill her, the guards would shoot her down. It all depended on her speed. There were the others, but they were a distance away and piled below dead bodies and every second counted. She tried to think what her dad would do. How would he solve this problem? That’s when things went bad to worse. One of the cultists walked over to the zombie line and stopped right in front of her. “Hey, I’ve never seen this armor before. And I worked with the Royal Guards before.” Horseapples... “Yeah, your right. What armor is this?” asked another coming forward. Crud. Crud. Crud. Crud. Crud! “Hey, is she still breat-” His question was cut off when Lighting’s hidden hoof knife came and stabbed him in the throat. Before the other guard could react, she had taken it out and sliced it across his neck for a quick kill. She flew up just in time to avoid getting hit by two crossbow bolts and magical blasts that hit the zombies right next to her. “Spy! Take her down!” shouted Trixie, pointing her staff at Lightning Dust. Those who were pegasi began to chase after her. At the same time, the others erupted from the cart and gave out a war cry before engaging with the enemy. She looked down just in time to see Shade pull out his wing blade and decapitate one of the cultists. An arrow that nearly nicked her ear alerted Lighting Dust to focus on her current situation, rather than her boyfriend’s. Getting an idea, she headed for the dark clouds above where the cultists foolishly followed her. Taking the time to slow down, Lighting hid among the clouds while the cultists zoomed past her and went through them. Looking around they argued about where they saw her go before Lightning struck first. She dragged one down into the clouds with her before sending her knife into his neck and dropping him. Bursting out from above, Lighting then dived for another and sliced his neck while rolling off him to avoid a spear in the back. She kicked his legs underneath him and slammed her knife into his face before pulling it out. Grabbing the spear he no longer needed, she used it to block an axe blow from the remaining one. The cultists screamed as she continued to attack with blow after blow. Taking her time, Lighting waited until she saw an opportunity and dodged a heavy looking blow, causing her attack to her lose her focus while flying. Spinning the spear around, she cut the stems of her opponents wings which let out squirts of crimson as they fell off. Distracted by the pain and sight of her wings being cut off, Lighting finished her off with a double kick that sent her off the clouds, her screams to her doom echoing in the distance. With her chasers taken care off, it was time to deal with her target and rescue her friends. By the time she arrived, Lighting could see that Shade and Whisper Daze had already taken out most of the cultists and were currently dealing with the zombies. All the while, Trixie was firing magic at them while using the staff to reanimate more bodies. To Lighting’s sorrow and anger, a close-eyed Red Storm was lying on the ground with two bolts in his stomach. Seeing as she had the element of surprise, Lighting Dust dived down towards where Trixie was and positioned her knife ready for a final blow. However, a magical shield saw an end to that and forced Lightning Dust to bounce off it and into the dirt. “Foolish pegasus! You think you can defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie?!” “You sure it’s not the Great and Big Mouthed Trixie?” joked Lighting Dust, getting back on her hooves. “Insolence! You shall pay for that! Zombies, destroy her!” commanded Trixie as she waved her staff. The zombies made an effort for Lighting Dust, but she rolled her eyes and floated above them as they vainly tried to grab her. Even the pegasus ones were unable due to their wings being too damaged. “Any other tricks, Trixie?” “Grrr, shut up!” shouted the unicorn, firing a blast from her horn, which Lighting easy dodged. She began to fly around, avoiding blasts while keeping an eye on her horn. Got one shot, thought Lighting Dust as she reversed her direction while narrowly avoiding a blast to her head. Aiming the knife connected to her hoof at her opponent, Lighting Dust quickly pressed a hidden button in her gauntlet that allowed the knife to shoot out like an arrow. Trixie didn’t even have time to dodge, but she did have time to scream as the knife stuck her horn dead center. It cut deep into the bone, causing her head to bleed like mad. Without her magic to levitate it, the staff fell to the ground as Trixie shouted curse after curse, all while trying to wipe out the blood in her eyes. That’s when her hoof stepped on the glowing skull at the top of the staff, smashing it into dust. All of a sudden, the zombies stopped moving or fighting before turning their attention towards Trixie.   Falling down on her haunches, Trixie finally managed to wipe out the blood only to look up in horror as the zombies she once controlled were now coming down upon her. Lighting looked away in disgusts as Trixie’s screams echoed across the area before they were silenced by the horde that had piled upon her. Once all the zombies were in one area, feasting and gashing as a pool of blood began to form, Shade took out a small red potion that was on his belt and threw it at the horde. In an instant, they were on fire, but they continued to feast without care until they were nothing but dust. The three Shadowbolts watched as the staff, Trixie, and abominations were wiped out by the flames. They then sadly turned to their fallen comrade. “I’ll dig the hole,” whispered Shade as he went to find a soft spot of dirt. Shadowbolt regulations stated that any dead members were to be buried or burned without any markings. Secrecy was their greatest weapon as a unit. Thus, any bodies needed to be disposed of in an instant. Once Shade had dug the deep grave, Lighting and Whisper placed him inside and said a silent farewell before burying him. “We should head back,” said Shade, wrapping a wing around Lighting who looked at the buried hole with sorrow. “We can have a proper service for him later.” “Hey, guys,” alerted Whisper Daze as she gazed at the battle nearby. “Looks like we’re winning. Better get out of here before someone sees us.” Lighting and Shade nodded before they flew off with their comrade. *** “Man... what a way to go,” whispered Dash, shivering. “I guess a part of me pities her. Still, that sounds like it was an awesome mission.” “I’m sure you’ve had plenty too. You were there when Twilight defeated Starlight Glimmer and ended the cult for good, right?” asked Lighting. “Yeah, lost some good ponies that day,” sighed Dash, before chuckling. “Of course, that’s when Soarin proposed to me and I said yes in a heartbeat.” “Shade actually popped the question not to long after the war too,” commented Lighting Dust. “Of course, I had to face something even more challenging than the war not to long after.” “What was that?” “Motherhood.”