//------------------------------// // 13 - Doom // Story: Exile’s Journey // by Meep the Changeling //------------------------------// Light Step - 13th of Chillfrost 16 EoH The Pyramid - Sapphire Hive Felling, Repose, and Blade sprinted down the hall, easily clearing the improvised barricade with a swift leap. I frowned bitterly. Yeah, there was no way I could squeeze through the doorway and the desk without them moving the desk back into place after I pushed it aside inadvertently. We didn’t have time for that. My friends raced into the room, stopping just in front of the round table beneath the arcane projection. I’d figured they would scramble to get alongside the wall on either side of the door. Come to think of it, why weren't the ponies covering there? Was the table magic proof or something? “Need a forcefield?” Blade offered turning to face back out the door. Ah, she was getting ready to provide extra fire support. That made sense. Oh! I could throw Fell my bow and- “Cover the pod and those ponies,” the armored stallion ordered. “We’re fine.” Blade’s horn began to glow, but the magic dimmed, her spell canceled as she noticed me still filling the corridor. “Come on!” She pleaded. “I have to get this up quick!” Yeah, that wasn’t happening… Bucking Tartarus I was screwed! Maybe those two could move up to the outer door? “I uh, I can’t shrink. I’m not going to fit through the barricade,” I said with resignation. Stupid bucking jerk…Who spikes punch with potions!? Let alone a concentrate... The green armored stallion nodded, just a simple head dip, like anypony making a plan might. “Can you fight?” He asked. “I’m a Prench Scout, but I’m not sure I can fight this thing, not in a place this small,” I replied irritably. I mean, maybe if I had room to maneuver or get into the air. It didn’t seem more maneuverable than me. Stronger yeah, but with a little luck, I might be able to do something to it. “Got it, you’re drafted into my little merc crew for this fight, sister,” he casually informed. “Block them off and we’ll fire around you. Don’t worry bout a thing, you’ll be okay.” I pursed my lips with worried uncertainty. Blade gave me a sympathetic look, then cast her spell, the emerald green shield forming a translucent wall to protect everypony inside the Queen’s Chambers. “I’m sorry…” She lamented. “It’s fine,” I dismissed with a hoofwave. “I’ll help as best I can.” The changeling mare stood up slightly, peering out from behind the barricade into the hallway. “If you four are the group who broke in… What’s roaring?” She asked curiously. “A Mohrg, massive undead thing, also the necromancer who made it,” Repose panted, shoulders shaking with fatigue. “Right, two hostiles,” the armored stallion noted. “How big is this thing?” “Really honestly terrifyingly big!” I warned urgently. “Twice my size! It’s a centipede with huge bat wings and preying mantis scythes made from bones and rotting flesh.” Of all the possible responses to the knowledge of the monster which even now I could hear starting to stir, I did not expect the two to squee like fillies at a colt band concert. “Dibs!” The stallion and mare exclaimed simultaneously. Followed instantly by a shared “Buck!” as they realized they’d called it at the same time. I felt my eyes widen as the flood of surprise washed through my brain. I could see the mare’s over zealously eager grin behind her tinted visor. Just who the hay were these two!? “Hoof, Horn, Wing, loser stays to guard the package?” The changeling proposed. The stallion nodded and lifted his left hoof. The Changeling did the same, the two quickly throwing a round of the schoolyard game. He threw wing, she threw hoof. “Yes!” He exclaimed, pumping his hoof once before hopping over the barricade, armor shod hooves crashing against the steel floor. With his body in plain view, I got a rather good look at his armor. The plating wasn’t covering as much as I thought at first. It was more like half plate, held on by an undersuit made from a black and orange material. Most of the plating covered the vital areas and featured odd runes carved into the metal. For whatever reason, his rear legs also had thick plating, unlike the thinner protection on his forelegs. It reminded me of older knight’s armor, just made from more recent materials and styled in a manner similar to my crossbow construction. “Buck!” The mare swore bitterly. “Ugh, fine… Film it for me?” “Sure thing hun!” He promised eagerly. “Separate and annihilate?” “Yeah. I’ll get the mage,” she grumbled unhappily. The Mohrg’s slow scraping and scratching stopped, the monster bellowed angrily. A sound like metal scraping glass stabbed my ears, and it’s hundreds of legs began clattering. “Big girl, turn your plot around and grapple that thing when it comes in,” the stallion ordered. What? So he could get a clean shot? From where? Oh, buck! That wouldn’t work! “The skulls! You need to break all of its skulls! You’ll need more than one shot!” I warned. “Awesome! Grapple it. I need it to stay in one spot and that’s a bit big for me to pin. Just ten seconds, then let go,” he ordered with an adamant voice. Hold it for ten seconds? I could do that. Probably. If it didn’t impale me in three places… But I had to try. “Yes, sir!” I exclaimed, turning around in the tight quarters as best I could. Wait, the hay was I doing? He wasn’t my CO! I didn’t have to- The Mohrg rushed around the corner like a tsunami. Its breath burned hot against my face, the lashing tongues sliced the air in front of me, the patch of rotting fur below its gaping maw crushed my heart. A winged cloud cutiemark, worn like a flesh necklace. I’m so sorry Zephyr… I didn’t stop him from doing this to you. Please forgive me. Or, I could stop being a scared little filly and rip his remains out of this monster! I drew back my hoof and threw it forward with a scream of my own. The Mohrg ducked, its serpentine body easily sliding down below my strike. Patches shrieked in terror, his monster’s dodge putting him right in line- The wet crack of my hoof striking his body and the crash he made hitting the wall seemed to happen at the same time. Huh, I didn’t know I could punch like that. Alright, maybe there is one perk too- The Mohrg hesitated, recoiling slightly as if to shield its master, then launched towards me, tongues lashing, splitting apart into three separate strands arcing out to grab me around the head. The barbs bit into my skin, dragging and scraping until they caught, and the beast could drag my head towards its maw. I slammed my forehooves into its shoulders, pushing as hard as I could to keep myself from being pulled into it’s gaping maw. The slashed ribcage teeth spread wide, revealing another skull placed at the back of its throat, it’s own jaw opened grotesquely, set as if taking a bite out of the heart held in its teeth. The Mohrg growled, pushing towards me in a desperate attempt to get its maw around my face. I felt my hooves scrape along the floor, unable to get enough traction to stop the monsters advance. But I could keep it here. A stallions pained scream slid over the Mohrg’s growls and groans. “Ahhhh! Send that scum straight to Tartatus!” Patches ordered, voice dripping venom. “That’s the plan!” The stallion called from beneath me as he ran into position. Heh, well, I guess that’s a way to mock the enemy. I spread my rear legs, trying to jam my hooves against the walls. The Mohrg took its scythe-like claws and dug them into the steel floor, using them as levers to drag itself forwards. My rear hooves gripped at the walls, but the monster didn’t care. It kept pushing me back centimeter by centimeter. Lowering my head to try and get my nose away from the smell, I saw the armored stallion grab the monster by two of it’s legs. The runes carved into his armor began to glow as if they were being heated in a forge. “Let go, now!” He shouted over an eerie shrieking howl which sounded faintly like a distant mare screaming. No chance! If I let go for even an instant, the monster would bite my head off! How the hell was he going to hold it if I could barely do- His armor erupted with orange light, the shriek morphing into a roar as the maelstrom was born Crackling bolts of black lightning arced around us. The light formed into a thick screen in the hallway, almost tangible. My guts lurched towards the light and suddenly I was falling forwards into the blazing light. “NOOOOOO!” Felling Axe - 13th of Chillfrost 16 EoH The Pyramid - Sapphire Hive The short-lived hellish gate vanished in a matter of seconds, leaving behind a jagged scar in the corridor. I stood petrified in horror as Light vanished into the orange portal, sucked into it like water into a straw. Anything touching it just flowed inwards like a liquid, including chunks of the floor, walls, and ceiling. “Ponyfeathers!” The changeling mare cursed. “Keep her safe Red…” “Worry about your own problems!” Sunlit growled, staggering down the corridor, brass hoof clanking against the floor, blood pouring from a literally flattened muzzle. How the hay was he speaking coherently? That seemed impossible with his mangled muzzle. “Well, you’re clearly an asshole and an idiot,” the mare sighed wearily. “Be smart, walk away. Wait outside for your little friends and fight them there. But cross that threshold or endanger anypony in the room behind me, and I’ll use you as a slipper.” Sunlit’s horn boiled with silver magic as a thousand shards of silver crystal exploded from the tip, embedding themselves into the walls, floor, and ceiling with a horrendous shriek of punctured metal. “Heh,” Sun smirked. “Am-” The changeling mare, who hadn’t moved at all until now, stood up from behind the crystal perforated barricade, balancing on her rear hooves, and sighed. “Yep…” She snapped her right arm forwards, the hoofcap springing open to reveal integrated arcane weapons. A blue beam lanced out of her hoof, slamming into Sunlit and dragging him down the hall where his face connected with the warrior’s left hoof right at the end of a straight punch. The instant the punch connected, she drove her knee into Sun’s guts, held him out at length, and then drove a sharp kick directly into his plot. The kick landed with an ungodly squelch, and before Sun could even scream she let go with her foreleg and slammed her hoof down, smashing his back and neck into the floor and- I winced, backing up on instinct. She’d literally jammed her entire lower leg into him, and ACTUALLY used him as a slipper! “AH!” Repose, the entire group of livestock ponies behind me, and I cried in terror and disgust as one. “Awesome!” Blade squeed in awe. Sun spat up a wad of blood, mouth open in a silent scream. “You wish I was a liar now,” the mare asked while reaching into a pouch on her belt with a hoof. “Don’t you?” Slapping a small silver disk to Sun’s chest with her left hoof, she turned around, ripped her leg out of Sun’s body with a sickening squelch, and kicked his body savagely down the corridor into the the hall. A half second after his body crashed on the hallway floor, the disk flashed red and then exploded into a bright fireball. “Well, that’s that,” the mare sighed sadly. “At least everyone here is safe.” I winced, her drooped head, the dejected tone of voice… She was honestly sad the fight was over. We changeling Soldiers loved a physical challenge, but she seemed… Psychotic. She turned around and walked up to the force shield, which Blade lowered as the armored mare drew near. “What’s your name?” I asked nervously. I saw her smile behind her helmet’s visor. “Hey, you’re okay, everyone here is. Except for that asshole,” she joked, pointing one hoof over her shoulder down the corridor. “I don’t kill willy nilly. I’m a professional who is at work. Admittedly, work I enjoy... Sorry for the rocky introduction, I’m Sa’mas and my husband Red should be back in a few minutes. “We’re a merc crew, and while I don’t mind you poking around, I’m going to have to ask you to leave this room. We’re guarding that package up there until our client can pick it up, or we can get it delivered.” “Is Light okay? What happened to her?” I asked urgently. “Uh, well… She’s probably fine. Physically at least. As long as they aren't gone too long it will be okay. As for where they went, Red can get a bit too far into things. Usually when protecting civvies he takes bigger threats into Tartarus so he can cut loose,” she explained by raising a half dozen more questions. “WHY!?” Repose, Blade, and I asked together, jaws dropping. “So shrapnel doesn't hit any of these poor little dears,” Sa’mas said with a frown, pointing with a hoof towards the small herd of pale ponies. “We were going for a simple seek, smash and grab, but these poor guys just needed so much help! Besides, they’ve been keeping queenie here alive. We might need them to move the pod.” I felt my hearts skip a beat in despair and shame. Who had been abandoned here long enough to begin to undergo metamorphosis into a Queen? Turning to look at the huddled crowd I asked. “How long have you been on your own? Chrysalis came back here after Canterlot, right?” One of the ponies, a pale lime green and pink pegasus stallion, not that you’d know it without looking beneath his tail, broke away from the herd and zipped over to give me the tightest and yet softest hug anyling had ever been given. “No! Everyling just left!” He sobbed, leaning into my shoulder. “We were locked in and things started to break and we couldn’t fix them and then we started to starve and there's been noling around who's needed anything and-” Oh gods!? It had been years alone for them!? I returned his hug, letting the poor guy just sob in relief. I had too. I should probably go give everypony else a good hug too. Our Livestock ponies NEEDED to express affection. We’d bred the instinct into them, ensuring their mental health depended on, well, giving others love. While I had been perfectly fine with that concept before… Without anyling around to care for, it was wrong. I could see that now. We shouldn’t have gone further than the normal breed for increased love output and better flavors. How any of them were more than just depressed apathetic bags of bones was beyond- The fortuneteller! Return to your bed and look within. Your bed, not literally but metaphorically. The place you make your bed is your home! Return home. This is what I had to do. I was a soldier, and these were members of my hive in need. It was my duty to help them. Yes, there is was. Purpose. Duty. It had been a long time since I felt those loving bonds. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Chrysalis is dead now. I’m the last Saphire left as far as I know. I’ll find all of you a new place to live,” I promised. “What’s your name?” “Juniper,” he answered happily, refusing to break the hug now that he was happy. They did that. Random hugs. I’d missed the random acts of affection. Oh gods! As soon as everypony here wasn’t spooked we were probably all going to be buried alive! Better cut that off at the pass... “Right, well, I want you to go and get everypony organized. Pack any belongings you have. We are going to find a way off the island for everyone,” I proclaimed decisively. “We can’t!” Juniper exclaimed, ears standing up in alarm. “We need to keep the Queen alive!” I frowned. “Okay, what Queen?” “Yeah, I second that,” Blade added. “They tend to be important.” “Jiila,” Sa’mas replied. “What?!” I exclaimed, eyes almost popping out of my head. “She didn’t die!?” Oh gods! Of course she didn’t. Chrysalis never produced the body. She said she burned it, as you would if someling was infected by cordyceps so it wouldn’t spread… “Almost,” Juniper admitted. “My grandma found her almost dead and put her in a stasis pod. We um… We think the fungus is going away.” I had to smack a hoof against my barrel to get my hearts beating correctly again. “That lying-” Closing my eyes I tried to suppress my rage, but I couldn’t. “Why didn’t you show anyling this!? We could have done something! Saved the hive!” “Um, because if we open it everyling nearby would be infected too?” Juniper asked, letting go of me and looking a little hurt. “Look, kid,” Sa’mas said with a sigh. “She’s barely alive. Comatose with a little brain activity. She could be slowly recovering, I don’t know. What I do know is that something important is in there with her, and my husband and I were hired to get it before this asshole by the name of Dawn does. If you care about her, stick around with us until we can get her, and these adorable little guys out of here.” That did seem like a good idea. The last of the threats facing us were dead now. Presumably. Blade cleared her throat. “Um, about that. I might be able to get an airship here.” I looked over at the yellow mare and frowned. “You said your ships were too busy to pick anyone up,” I protested irritably. “No,” Blade denied. “I said they were too valuable to the front to waste picking up four people. But for evacuating a good… Sixty or so, plus a Queen, and also a valuable object? Different story. Where do we need to go?” “The pod is to be delivered to Twilight Sparkle, we’ll instruct her on what to do with it from there. You don’t need to know anything else,” Sa’mas said appreciatively. “And thanks. We were having problems getting any vehicle here to even get enough power to light a cig-” A pale silver ray struck Sa’mas in the back, scorching her armor. My head snapped back down the hall, hoof reaching for my combo axe to return fire. Sunlit stood in the hallway, looking perfectly intact, as if he hadn’t been exploded, or punched by Light in the first place. Sa’mas turned as well, rearing up again to aim her leg cannon. “You didn’t die?” Sa’mas asked in honest surprise. “Inconceivable!” “HA! It worked! Who's stupid now?” Sunlit sneered. “You, ‘cause I love to solve puzzles!” Sa’mas giggled happily, leveling her weapon. I leveled my own weapon. I had a room full of my family to protect. Light Step - 13th of Chillfrost 16 EoH The Bloodspires - Tartarus With no time to react, I fell through the screen into open air. Black air. Beneath a shifting void filled with a magma like glow, and above an infinite expanse of dark purple rocky spires. The air, thicker, hotter, and more humid than I’d ever known, felt like grease against my fur as I fell. Despite any sun, the world was lit brightly, and I could see the stallion falling a short ways away from me, and the Mohrg below him. Instinct opened my wings and set me on a gliding trajectory. Fear produced a startled yelp from my lips, a full scream held in by a nagging voice in the back of my mind which begged me not to make any loud noises. Where they flying buck were we- My eyes widened in horror. ‘That’s the plan’. Oh dear sweet Faust! Tartarus. Literally. I fell into a cloud, sliding right through it like I’d fallen into a vat of slime. The cloud exploded, dripping rancid pus-like raindrops. “AHHHGH! WHY!?” I screamed in disgust, spitting violently to try and get the filth out of my mouth. It wasn’t working. Not even a bit. The stallion’s head snapped upwards, faceplate fixing on me. “Oh, come on!” He shouted faintly, my ears barely picking up his angry cry. The Mohrg’s wings snapped open, flapping frantically before they caught the air and the beast lurched upwards, bellowing a roar to the heavens. “With ya in a sec, big guy,” the stallion yelled holding his forehooves out in an odd way. A flash of orange light exploded at his hoof tips, materializing a pair of black twin-barreled guns over his gauntlets. Flexing his hooves, the leg mounted weapons fired, the thundering cracks accompanied by a pained screech from the Mohrg. The weapon’s twin barrels hinged open to throw a pair of shells away. Four smaller flashes of orange conjured fresh ammunition. The barrels snapped shut. He flexed his hooves, the guns thundered again, ripping large gashes in the beast’s wing membranes. The Mohrg’s movements slowed, it’s monstrous form lurching in the air, the large gashes preventing it from getting enough lift to ascend. The Stallion nodded in satisfaction, then twisted to lay parallel to the ground, spreading his legs wide to slow his fall. Ah! He wanted to meet up. I banked towards him, doing my best to judge how close I could get without hitting him. I hadn’t flown at this size in a long time. His body shot towards me as he caught the air, drawing alongside me in a matter of moments thanks to our combined efforts. The stallion twisted again as we drew near each other, easily maneuvering close enough to me to grab hold of my left foreleg and climb up onto my neck. “You should have let go!” He roared urgently. “Please tell me you're mental fortitude is legendary!” “I have no idea!” I replied, teeth gritting nervously. “This is Tartarus, isn’t it?” “Yeah, but it’s fine. You’re with me. Don’t let it get into your head and you’ll come out alright. Are you hearing its voice?” He asked urgently. I frowned. No, no voices aside for that single one. “Just something saying not to scream,” I answered. “That’s instinct,” he affirmed. “Nothing else? No voice laughing and saying it’s going to eat your soul? Or telling you to go stick your snatch into one of the blood spires?” My eyes widened in terror. “S-should there be?” “Yeah, there should be. Unless you’re immune to this place’s influences like me,” he said with relief oozing from every last word. “Good! So, you won't go mad and eventually turn into a demon. That's the good news. The bad news is this whole dimension hates you and wants to kill you after you’ve been used to spawn more demons. Then eat your soul, which will be trapped here.” “Um, what if I just stay in the air?” I asked apprehensively, noticing the ground below seemed to be crusty and well, bleeding. “Bad idea, I need to kill that thing and I’m your ticket out of here. There are portals out of this place. Not just to the Equestria you know, but to everywhere. That thing might reach one, but you’d be eaten alive,” he grunted. “And I m-” Everywhere? Like, everywhere everywhere? As in, other possible realities!? I tucked my wings into my sides and pointed myself down, angling to intercept the falling Mohrg. “You don’t need to fight it, just stick close,” he reassured. “It could go anywhere from here, and my best friend was used to make it!” I growled in rage. “Ha! You remind me of my daughter! I hope you fight twice as well as she does,” he laughed. “Call me Red.” The Mohrg approached rapidly, if I twisted just right I could slam my rear hooves into its face and crush the skull on its nose. Then- The crackling shriek of Red’s magic shattered the alien sky. A loud thump and roar deafened my left ear, the Mohrg’s left wing exploded into a cloud of blue flames and shards of bones. The monster screamed, plummeting downwards like a rock. “Keep it busy, while I carve us up some undead cake,” Red called jumping off my head and entering a swan dive after the Mohrg, a large tubular weapon vanishing in a flash of orange as he fell. “How the buck do you do that!?” I demanded, desperately needing any kind of anchor for reality. “I summoned it from my closet back home. Wait, how I can do that at all being an earth pony?” He asked. “Yeah!” I demanded. “Uh, tell you what,” he called. “If we find a greater daemon on the way out, I’ll kill it and you can eat the heart to absorb its magic. But for now, just pile drive this little bitch, or something!” He was right. Focus on killing that damn thing. I nodded, turned, and banked slightly, moving into a more controlled descent. We had a kilometer to go till the ground. He wanted me to keep it busy while he smashed the skulls… I could do that. Felling Axe - 13th of Chillfrost 16 EoH The Pyramid - Sapphire Hive The combined firepower of Blade, Sa’mas, and I had forced Sunlit out into the hallway. Repose managed to shield my hive mates from Sun’s assault, but the first opportunity he had, the bastard hit him with a spell that sent him screaming in a heap to the floor. Repose couldn’t help us. Not against a necromancer. It was up to us. Blade’s whips cracked and snapped, the points cutting into Sun’s silver barrier. Blade wasn’t wielding them as well as she had before, or maybe she couldn’t use them indoors very well. Regardless, she was able to keep nearly constant pressure on Sunlit who turned out was one hell of a battlemage. Droplets of molten metal rained down from the ceiling in front of me, sun’s spell having melted the steel panels overhead. I dodged to the right, moving around the burning drops, snapped my weapon up and took a shot. The harpoon smashed through Sun’s shield, deflecting as it broke through and struck the wall. Immediately Blade’s knife tipped whips sliced in, striking Sun around his remaining eye. Sun hissed in pain, his eye closing tightly. This was my chance! I sprinted forwards, axe raised in one hoof. The distance between us shrank. He opened his eye, the pupil twisted towards me, no way he could react in time! I swung my axe at Sun’s head, the axe burying itself in his skull with a solid crack. YES! It was finished! A spear of silver light slammed into my gut, punching through my armor, exoskeleton, and guts with one sickening crunch. The blast threw me back a dozen feet into the puddle of molten metal. I felt my armor begin to heat up, but couldn’t move. Paralyzed! But, how!? And how was he still moving with an axe lodged in his head!? Sa’mas’s leg cannon’s rumbling ‘thooom’ shook the hall, sending a massive blue plasma ball screaming towards Sun’s face. His horn flashed silver. The ball slowed as if moving through rubber, then snapped back, flying back down the hall. Sa’mas’s cry of pain mixed with the crackling sound of the ball detonating. Sun sneered, ripping the axe out of his head with a squelch. The gash not even hindering him for a second as he put his shield back up. “Ha! It worked! There isn’t anything you can do to even hurt me!” Sun cackled. “I can toy with you all I like!” “Funny,” Blade retorted, lashing out at Sun’s shield with her whips, seeking to wear down his defenses again. “I thought you despised litches. Never figured you’d become one.” I had to move! I had to help! Come on body, obey! “Oh please,” Sunlit laughed. “I’m superior to Rotbreath in every way. I’m not a puppet living in some jar on a shelf. I’m beyond litches! I’m far above that silly idea. I found a very very old spell… and a friend was right. I wasn’t using it properly, so I cast it on myself! Cut me into any number of pieces you want, it won't matter.” Sunlit’s magic solidified in the air, forming a cloud of daggers before flying down the corridor. A half dozen skipped off my armor, dissipating a second after impact leaving a slight gouge in the metal. Thankfully none pierced through. “Everyone who thinks they are indestructible is wrong,” Blade replied adamantly. I heard her whips clatter to the floor. A second later she shot past me like a fireball, surrounded in a nimbus of emerald flames. She slammed against his shield, vaporizing it immediately and throwing Sun backward a few meters. Then the air she displaced rushed back in with a loud crack, slapping me in the back of my head hard enough to make me see stars. Sunlit simply stood back up, head hanging awkwardly from his neck. A mist of silver energy built up around Sun, his wounds knitted back together, neck popping as it ratcheted back into place. “Your pathetic excuse for a soldier is paralyzed for an hour,” Sun taunted. “Your ally is unconscious, or maybe dead, who can tell with that tin can she’s in. And you just hit me with everything you’ve got, and I stood back up. “Maybe something can destroy me, but not any other unicorn. I’m above all of you pathetic wastes of life now!” Blade lowered her head, horn sparking slightly. She was building up for something… But what? “I used to be pretty arrogant too, let me teach you a valuable lesson in power,” Blade growled. “Please, I can see your aura. You’ve got so many enchanted doodads and spells going to buff yourself,” Sun said sinisterly, a twisting, corkscrew wrapped beam lancing out from his horn in punctuation of his sentence. Blade had no room to dodge. The spell hit Blade squarely in her barrel, splitting into a million tiny strands which wrapped around her, digging inwards before exploding in a flash of silver. “Or should I say, had! HAHA! You were so easy to dispe-” Sunlit stopped mid-sentence, eye widening in horror. Repose had been right. Blade did use illusions. He had been wrong too. Because it wasn’t just her eyes. It was her everything. Her entire body was scar tissue, with not one patch of fur, scrap or mane, or tail left. Every last inch of her had been burned, badly. Her hooves were shod with orange-bronze horseshoes etched with what even I could recognize as arcane runes, the kind ancient archmages used as a maker’s mark. Blade’s face was hidden behind a porcelain mask which covered everything save for her eyes, and her horn. Without her illusion, her eyes were a beautiful cyan color. Her horn provided the only hint of her former colors, a pale amberish yellow. Her cutiemark still graced her flanks, looking as pristine as if whatever injury had befallen her simply ignored the orange and red burning sunlike-orb mark. But what terrified Sunlit, were her wings. Her large, flesh, actual bodypart wings which were spread open intimidatingly, the tactic extra effective since each individual feather looked to be made from frozen fire. The air around Blade’s head and plot shimmered, before long, flowing a yellow and red mane and tail of fire blossomed, literally growing and spreading like a flower. “You bucked up HARD!” Blade growled in rage. “Oh no!” Sun squeaked. “Those were power LIMITERS!” Blade roared, walking forwards, each syllable taking her another step. “Do you know how hard it is to be an alicorn and NOT serve Equestria as a ruler!? I don’t WANT to rule Equestria. If this structure can’t hide my arcane signature, Celestia might sense me! I don’t hate her, but I refuse to be chained to a throne! I may have to kill an entire identity because of you!” The air around Blade shimmered and rippled with heat, sparks formed, drifting off her body as she advanced on the rapidly retreating undead unicorn. “I LIKED being Blade,” she screamed. “We had a good thing going as her! I got to help my best friend liberate a people she saw suffering. Your actions have just sentenced an entire nation to starve and DIE under the talons of sadistic warlords. All because of some stupid bucking grudge! BURN!” I felt the heat char my face as the hallway erupted into a solid wall of pure white fire. The flames churned and roared for a full minute before dying down, leaving the hallway empty, but glowing white hot, molten metal dripping down the walls, floor, ceiling… and entire ten-meter section of hallway gone. Blade remained. “If your scattered ashes are undead and can hear me, if you regenerate from this and I see you, next time, I’ll do more than incinerate you. Spacetime itself burns you know, and NOTHING survives that,” she warned. The alicorn turned around and walked over the molten pools of metal with casual indifference. Stepping onto an unslagged section of the floor she sighed sadly, folding her wings to her sides. Her horn shone a light cyan for a moment, and I felt control return to my body. “Stand up, it’s alright,” she said morosely. I stood up. Blade cast a second spell, putting the illusory from I was used to into place, her wings vanishing as if they weren't there, expertly hidden with the spell. “I won't tell a single soul,” I promised. Blade smiled slightly. “You’re a good friend, Fell. I wish I was with you more than half the time,” she lamented. I frowned, head tilting in confusion. “Ummm… What?” “‘I, am two ponies. We share the disguise… Helps build alibis. Celestia and Luna were certain that Ca- um, my friend was Blade. So I… Helped. Can we please forget all of this? Please?” Blade begged, eyes pleading with me for mercy. “I-I can’t get tied to a throne! That's not my destiny. I need to remain at my friend's side.” There was one last thing I needed to know, and I would never have another chance to ask. “Only on one condition,” I said firmly. “Name it,” Blade said equally seriously. “What the hell can burn the bucking Alicorn of Fire!?” I asked fearfully. She blushed, and gave me an embarrassed grin. “That happened slightly before ‘ascending’ as you’d call it, I sort of materialized in the air and fell into a vat of acid in an old wizard’s lab. I-I know somepony who could heal me, but that would involve getting a DNA sample taken, which would mean he’d know what I am, which means the Equestrian Crown would know…” I frowned sadly. “I’m sorry… But shouldn’t ascending have healed you?” She shook her head. “Not the way I did it. I um, I climbed out of the acid and stepped into those horseshoes while running, screaming, and trying to find a base to neutralize the acid. Then the wings happened, and no, I can’t take the shoes off. I think they are some kind of defective prototype, because I’m… Flawed. End of discussion about actual me. Come on, we need to see if Sa’mas is alright.” “Fine,” the changeling warrior moaned. “Just came too… Did he dump acid on you? Do you need a med kit?” “Don’t play coy,” Blade warned. “If you tell anyone-” “Heh, ma’am, we all have our secrets. So I say again, you got burned by acid in the current fight, and never ever before, right? So you need a medical kit, right?” She elaborated. “Ah… Thank you,” Blade sighed in relief. “But I’m fine.” “Don't worry, I hate being nailed down in one place too. After this job, my husband and I need to go pick up our Daughter and her marefriend. You just can’t have freedom to travel like that if you're nailed to a big chair,” she said pushing herself up slowly. “Man this hurts! I’ve gotta see my weapons mare about finding out how he reflected my shot… Is Red back yet?” I shook my head, “Not that I know… Will Light be okay?” She nodded. “As long as she doesn't go mad in Tartarus, Doom will keep her safe. They are afraid of us.” Looking back at the three hundred meters of melted, shredded, crystal shard perforated, spellbolt scorched hallway, and given the twenty-two times we’d killed Sunlit, most of them being her doing, I could believe that. “Doom?” Blade asked curiously. “My pet name for him,” she giggled. “Well, let’s get back to the Queen’s Chamber and wait for her. Blade, you were going to get an airship for us, right?” I asked hopefully. She nodded. “Yes… I’ll need to talk to my friend, find out if I was noticed while my limiters were down. I didn’t think any unicorn would be able to disrupt them.” “I don’t think any of us expected that,” I laughed. The post-combat triumph rush was starting to come in, soothing the pain from wounds and- Why were my guts burning? “Oh… Yes. I have a massive gaping hole in my chest.” I remembered. “Um, help?” Sa’mas picked me up, setting me on her back. “Don’t worry soldier, I’ve got you.” Light Step - 13th of Chillfrost 16 EoH The Bloodspires - Tartarus Absolutely nothing about this place was okay. The air felt like an oil, the ground felt like glass, and shattered like it when anything heavy slammed into it. Then the ground would bleed. Everything reeked, my eyes watered and burned. I’d thought the Mohrg smelled bad. Now it smelt fine. The razorblade-like flowers I landed on when after the monster threw me off its back were my new standard for bad smells. Ponies throw around the saying ‘I’d rather die then do that again.’ In this case, it was true. I honestly would rather die than ever smell these rotting meat colored buckers ever again. I rolled out of the flower patch back onto the grassy ground, springing upright, blood from a hundred little cuts and several larger wounds dripping onto the ground. The Mohrg snaked towards me, dragging the scything claw I’d nearly snapped off limply behind it, the other limb raised to strike. I braced myself. It lunged. The claw spiked towards my skull, I raised my right foreleg, smashing the claw aside like a club. Stepping forwards into the opening, I dug my left shoulder into the monster’s chest, and snapped my right leg back down, pinning its arm across my other shoulder. “GO!” I yelled, hoping Red was in earshot. The stallion replied by revving a chainsaw. I swear the sky darkened as if recoiling from the sound of the tool, but then the Mohrg screeched as the saw ground through its bony hide. Cutting away at whatever part of it Red had chosen to slice into. I had been afraid of this thing. Now I knew it was an idiot. It fell for this trick a full five times so far. The Mohrg’s tongues whipped out of its maw, sliced deeply into my right side. I screamed in pain as one of its barbs bit into one of my ribs. Bracing my rear hooves as well as I could against the glassy ground, I twisted my hips and shoulders, bones creaking under stress from the motion. Slowly, carefully, pushing against the Mohrg’s thrashing motion, I managed to lift it up enough to push myself under its front half and throw it away from me. The monster smashed into the ground, the crust cracking, forming a pool of blackish-red around the mangled beast. “Hey, dumbass!” Red called. The Mohrg looked over at him just in time to see the armored stallion playfully toss a skull between his forehooves then smash it to dust on the ground. Yes! One more, probably! We’d destroyed fourteen. No way it had more than that. Not with how many holes we’d put into it. We’d destroyed the skull on its nose first. I had no idea how the beast saw anything, but it did. And it was pissed. The Mohrg unleashed an unholy scream, louder and more bone chilling than any I’d heard it make before. Its centipedal body coiled up, bringing it’s mangled form into as much of a fighting position as it could take. A second monstrous roar thundered across the infernal landscape from my right. “Looks like someone thinks our toy is challenging him for territory,” Red said eagerly. I looked right, not wanting to be blindsided by something horrible. Clinging to one of the massive bleeding spires was a beast I could only describe as a hideous dragon. Wingless, grotesquely over-muscled, with elongated limbs too thin for its body despite the muscle on them. Its horns, claws, and fangs were black like dry blood, and it’s fish-like bruise purple scales oozed and dripped what I assumed was a poison. “A Hell Barron, eh?” Red mused. “Take out bony over there, kid. I got this.” “That thing is three times my size! How do you ‘got this’?” I asked, turning my eyes back to the Mohrg. Its head had turned, taking in the daemon which began slowly pad forwards like a tiger stalking prey. The Mohrg stepped backward, clearly thinking of fleeing. Interesting… “You’re not in frag range from it,” Red informed. “Ready? GO!” Red galloped off to my right, screaming a wordless challenge to his new target. I took a breath, steeled myself, and charged the Mohrg. I had no idea where another skull could be. Its body had been carved full of so many holes… Whatever magic kept intact when it looked like Drakeish cheese was beyond me. But if it needed a skull to work, all that meant was I had to disarm it and crush every last inch of the bucking thing. The Mohrg whipped around, hearing me run at it. It hissed angrily, remaining legs clattering as it charged as well. The uneven glassy ground closed rapidly. It opened its maw, tongues sliding out, ready to rip more chunks out of my hide. I grit my teeth, Readying my own plan. The Mohrg suddenly spat, tongues launching forwards an extra three meters. I jumped, snapping my wings open and pushing down as hard as I could. My wings caught the heavy air, and the single flap carried me up and over the lashing barbed tentacles. I twisted, spinning around to face the same direction as the Mohrg, and closed my wings. I dropped like a rock, falling atop it’s back, smashing the beast flat against the ground hard enough to crack it. The Mohrg screamed. I sat up, keeping it pinned under my rear legs, drew back my forehooves and threw a flurry of punches against its spine. Bone cracked and splintered under the assault. Chips of bones flew as three explosions thundered in the distance. The beast beneath me shook and screamed, trying to throw me off. I felt the layer of magically hardened bone give and my hoof, and then my hoof plunged into something soft. The Mohrg shrieked loud enough to make my ears ring, it’s front half dropping to the ground, and ripping away from the rear, pulling away, leaving behind a trail of rotten flesh strings. Buck! The skull wasn’t in it’s mid back! The beast wheeled around, visibly flinching as Red’s chainsaw screeched almost louder than the other monster’s angry bellow. Ha! Distracted, and I know where the last skull has to be! I jumped, left hoof drawn back for one final punch, hoof point lined to focus all my strength right on the chisel point- The Mohrg wheeled with lightning speed and stabbed it’s remaining talon through my right flank. I felt it's talon scrape along my hip bone as it punched clearly through easily as a lance. I screamed in agony, giving the Mohrg all the time it needed to wrench me into the ground, twist, and sink it’s teeth into my shoulder. Blinded by pain, I reached up with my left hoof, grabbing the mohrg by its bottom jaw, and ripped its teeth from my shoulder. If I didn’t finish it now, it had me. That realization blanked out my mind. There was only me and the enemy. Buck pain! Buck wounds! I forced my injured shoulder to work, jamming my right hoof against its upper jaw, and with all my remaining strength, shoved my hooves apart. The Mohrg gurgled, bone cracked, it’s carapace split like a log down half of its body, revealing a single skull buried deep within the desiccated monsters carcass. The Mohrg thrashed violently, barbed tongs slashing my neck and back to ribbons. I drew back my left hoof and slammed it into the skulls red glowing runes. The monster froze, and then fell to pieces, each bone parting from the others, the rotting flesh dropping as limply as uncooked steak. I’d done it. It was dead. I wanted to scream my victory to the heavens, but I didn’t have the energy. Where was Red? Did he need help? Maybe I looked dead, would be ignored, and could get a second wind. Then go over and help. I lifted my head, panting heavily. The only thing I could see was the draconic demon, bleeding from a half dozen gaping wounds, walking towards with a hunger in its eyes and a sickening smile on its lips. My eyes widened in terror. No way I could take on that thing even if I were fresh out of bed, fed, and healed! Oh buck! It killed him, he didn’t have that, why did I trust- The demon lumbered to a stop, hissing angrily. No, wait, it wasn’t hissing that was- Blood sprayed from the demon's chest as a screaming blade erupted from within the monster, slicing a line down its barrel and chest. It dropped immediately, falling onto its side in the grip of its death throes. Two hooves pried the folds of flesh aside. Red walked out, reached back in,and pulled out a large jet black heart, faint glowing orange lines shimmering between its fibers. He looked over, squinted at me, and waved. “Good job, kid! Funny thing about these big ones. They always forget to chew thoroughly. Heh… Hold on a sec.” I lay in stunned disbelief as Red calmly walked over to the beast’s horns, revved his saw and calmly cut each of them off, banishing the removed horns with a wave of his hoof and a few orange sparks. Red then walked over to me, carrying the thing’s heart with ease. Which was impressive considering it was the size of his own bucking barrel and chest. “Man I wouldn’t mind drinking a cold beer and watching some wrestling right now. Doesn't that sound great? Perfect cool down to a great morning’s work,” he said happily, dropping the heart to the ground and stretching his neck and back. “I’d rather go for a medic,” I groaned, the pain coming back now that my adrenaline wore off. “So… You’re covered in blood, fair to say you’re wounded?” He asked me evenly. I nodded. “Yeah, in a lot of places.” “Well, that’s good! You’re lying in a pool of Tartarus’s own ‘blood’, it’s seeped into you for sure, and you’re not a demon. Congrats! You’re immune to corruption,” he exclaimed in honest relief. “You should still stand up through. Tartarus might decide to sprout tentacles and cram stuff into any orifice it can reach… You don’t want to crap out hellspawn later. Trust me. That’s why my armor covers the plot.” Despite the bone claw impaled through my flank, I stood up. There was no way I was going to go through that! Thank you adrenaline. “Can we leave before anything else happens?” I asked. “I like a good fight, but I’m spent. And it looks like things here are out of my league.” Red nodded. “They are. But not by much. You show potential… I was joking earlier about maybe getting you some magic, but well, damn kid! You did great. I don’t suppose you need an Uncle do you? I think with a little work you’d make for a good apprentice slayer! And I need one of those, this place is ruled by an asshole called Dawn and- Uh… Well, I can tell you everything later. Want the job?” I’d make for a good apprentice? Huh? My surprise must have shown clearly because Red laughed. “Hey, not just anypony can come here and not go insane within a few minutes. Let alone bleed here and not mutate. You’re a rare person, you could eat this thing, gain some of that demon's magic, and have nothing bad happen to you. “Most ponies would do that and just revive the damn thing by becoming it… Which is why my wife and I haven’t let our daughter in on the family business. She's not immune. "Tell you what. How about we go back to Equis, I’ll preserve this thing, we can talk about a proper apprenticeship and job offer? Part time to start. I’m too busy to do daily training right now.” I paused for a moment, thinking carefully about his offer. In the end, it wouldn’t hear to at least listen to him in full. Right? “Sure, no harm in hearing you out. Can we get medical attention first, please? I don't know how much back I have left.” I asked politely. Red nodded. “Of course. Sam’s got a full surgical kit. Hold on tight, kid,” Red said as he reached out and grabbed my leg. His armor burned orange again, shimmering and crackling as the portal formed around us. The sharp tug on my guts felt agonizing this time like the realm didn’t want me to go. But despite its wishes, I fell forwards, sliding into the portal. We were going home. As I fell into the portal one thing became very clear. Before talking to Red about that job offer, I needed a nap.