//------------------------------// // I Hate Rum Raisin // Story: My New Life // by Ark125 //------------------------------// My New Life Chapter 12 – I Hate Rum Raisin The Next Day – 11:57 PM I was on the sidelines with the rest of the academy. Scorched Earth and Red Rum were in the middle of the field with White Rush between them. “This is a closed aura shield match.” White Rush said into a megaphone. “This means that in order to protect the well being of everypony else, Captain Shining Armor will surround these two in an unbreakable force field. Once it is up, nothing can get in or out.” He took a pause. “This is an anything goes death match.” We all gasped, then the crowd began to murmur. “The match will end when there is only one pony left standing or somepony surrenders.” He turned to Red Rum and Scorched Earth, who were staring each down. “Once the shield is up, you may begin.” With that, White Rush flew off the field and landed next to Captain Shining Armor. He gave a nod and Captain Shining Armor's horn began to glow. The pinkish aura field began to encase a large portion of the field, Red Rum and Scorched Earth standing at the center. “Oh, I hope Scorch knows what he is getting into.” I said to no pony in particular. 3rd Person Perspective The sun reached its peak in the sky as the shield just barely closed. As soon as it did, Red Rum shot several beams of black energy at Scorch who began to dodge them. Scorch began to concentrate and the ground started to shake. Suddenly, a large crack opened up underneath Red Rum. Red Rum jumped and reached for the ledge, but as he was about to grasp the edge of the abyss, black spikes emerged from the ground right at the edge. In his startled state, Red Rum completely missed the edge and fell in to the fissure as the black spikes retracted back into the earth. Everypony in the audience gasped, thinking that the match was already over. Scorch smirked, “Too easy.” He turned and began to walk away. “You didn't think a hole would stop me, did you?” Came a voice from within the gorge. Before he could react, Scorch was tackled from behind. Somepony in the audience yelled, “Red Rum is alive!” The rest of the crowd gasped at this realization. “Oh please. Shocking how a unicorn can use magic to save himself, right?” He said in a sarcastic voice. He cackled as he stomped down hard on Scorch's chest, causing a sickening crack to permeate through the air. Scorch cried out in pain from the feeling of his rib cage being broken. “Hah! How does that feel tough guy? Why don't you just surrender and crawl back to that whorse of a ruler?” Scorch opened his eyes and glared at Red Rum. “How dare you!?!” Scorch then wrapped his legs around Red Rum's chest. Then he began to concentrate again and the earth around them began to rise. As it rose, the rock started to surround them and spread out and continued to do so until they were completely encircled in a massive cone of earth. “What are you doing?!” Red Rum screamed. Scorch kept a solemn face. “I thought you looked cold, so I decided to start a fire.” Then several spurts of magma shot out of the ground. “Wait, you can't do that! You can only control things of rock type nature.” “Oh poor, ignorant Red Rum. Don't you know that lava is just molten rock?” He smiled. Suddenly, he let go and a black spire shot out of the ground, knocking Red Rum off from on top him. Then it retreated into the ground and more spires emerged and effectively snared all of Red Rum's limbs, hold him in place. “You know, there are other ways of destroying diamonds.” “What are you talking about?” Red Rum said through gritted teeth, as the spires began to tighten around him. “I mean that even unbreakable diamonds tend to explode under intense heat.” Suddenly large spikes of diamond began to erupt from the ground, covering the floor in glittering time bombs. Scorch smiled as he summoned a platform to emerge from the rock where his body laid. “Have fun burning!” Scorch laughed and began to ascend the side of the cone of the makeshift volcano on his stone platform. He had gotten about half way up when he stopped. He heard pleading coming from the molten pit. He descended and saw that Red Rum was crying hysterically. “What are you whining about?” “I give! I surrender! Just don't let me die in this hell hole!” Scorch's expression softened. “Fine.” The black spires that held Red Rum bound dispersed back into the ground and he was free. “Thank you.” “You can thank me by leaving this place and never coming back.” Scorch said with an edge in his voice. He began to stand up slowly. He then turned and continued, “Now to stop these lava jets.” “Actually, that won't be necessary.” “Why not? You have some use for th–GAH!!!” Scorch screamed as a black bolt of energy pinned him to the ground. Red Rum laughed maniacally. “You didn't actually think I would ever surrender to you, did you? Pathetic.” “You just condemned yourself as well. You have no way of getting out of this crater.” Scorch said as a matter of fact. “Are really that stupid? You forget that I am a unicorn. And unicorns can teleport.” Red Rum smiled evilly. “Thanks for being so gullible.” Then he teleported out of the crater to the far side of the field. The crowd gasped in surprise when they saw Red Rum appear next to the edge of the barrier closest to them. “The match is over. I won, now let me out.” Vapor Sky began to tear up, “You don't know that! He could still be alive in there!” “Oh, it is a definite possibility. But even if he is still breathing, he won't be for much longer.” Red Rum laughed like the crazed lunatic he that is. “Wha-” She began to ask. But she was interrupted by a large explosion that shook the entire academy. She looked up and screamed in horror at the sight she beheld. The volcano had erupted, spewing a geyser of lava out of its top as smoke and ash began to spread like a blanket of death. Red Rum laughed even harder, his victory evident. The crowd went completely silent. The only sound being the aftershock of the explosion, the bubbling of the lava that was pooling at the base of the volcano and the soft breeze whistling through the grass. Vapor Sky's POV I continued to cry softly at the loss of my comrade and best friend. The only thing I could hear is my sniffling. “Vapor Sky, shh. Listen.” Shining Armor said as he wrapped a leg around me. “It's not f-fair. H-he was so young. A-and...” “No I mean be quiet.” I stopped and looked at him. “Do you hear that?” I wiped my eyes. “H-hear what?” “Exactly.” “Wait, what?” I looked around. Everypony was staring at something. “Hey, what is happening?” Somepony in the crowd asked. I looked up and gasped at what I saw. The volcano had ceased spewing out lava and the glow of the remaining lava slowly began to go out, leaving the field in complete darkness provided by the thick haze of smoke that remained. This was soon remedied by a small light that began to shine through the dark, though it was not the burning orange glow of lava that permeated the heavy shade. It was more like a single pinnacle of red light that seemed to grow brighter by the second as it descended. “What is that thing?” “It's a ghost.” “No, it is obviously an alien.” The crowd began to murmur these things as the light became brighter. The now radiant red light was beginning to cut through the haze like a lighthouse. It was joined by another red light that was even bigger than the first one and then the smoke was suddenly cleared away from the source of the light. “Hey, that is no ghost or alien. It's a pony!” Someone shouted. I blinked, rubbed my eyes and then blinked again. It was definitely a pony, though it did not look like either of the ponies that had been in the ring at the beginning. This pony that descended the down the slope of the now dormant volcano carried a large black sword that glowed red and was a glistening black color with wings... and a horn! “Wow! I had heard about his crystal armor, but obsidian! My uncle sure knows how to pull a fast one, huh?” I turned towards the captain. “Uncle?” “Yep! Oh and look at that sword. It looks just like his old.” “Wait, back up. Uncle?” I asked again. “Yeah. I'm married to Princess Cadence and she is the niece of the princess. And since she is married to him, that makes me his nephew by marriage.” “Princess Celestia is married?!” “What? No. I'm talking about Princess Luna.” “...Holy crap! That's Pure Heart!!!” “RED RUM!!” Came a bellowing voice from the supposed figure of Pure Heart. “YOU ARE CHARGED WITH THE CRIMINAL ACT OF TREASON! I NOW PASS JUDGEMENT BY THE POWER OF THE THRONE AND DECLARE YOU GUILTY! YOUR SENTENCE: PENALTY BY DEATH!!!” “No! Please have mercy!” He pleaded. “YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS TWICE! YOU NOW WILL NOW PERSISH!” He flapped his molten glass covered wings and rose into the air. “SPLIT!” The black sword turned into several hundred shards. “Awesome, now we get to see his finisher!” Shining Armor said. “You are really enjoying this, aren't you?” I asked. “Who doesn't enjoy a good fight?” “True.” “TEN THOUSAND NEEDLES!” Pure Heart thrust his hooves forward and the shards of obsidian shot towards Red Rum. “NOOO!” The needles of glass ripped through his flesh, leaving him dead on the ground with puncture wounds all over his body. The shield immediately went down afterward. White Rush stood up and put the megaphone to his mouth. “Scorched Earth, or I should say, Prince Pure Heart is the winner!” The crowd started to cheer really loud. They surged out of the stands and headed towards Pure Heart, who slowly descended to the ground. Of course, I was right in front them, going full speed towards Pure Heart. “CEASE!” We all stopped in our tracks and stared at him, wondering what was going on. “White Rush! Shining Armor!” They both came forward and saluted. “Yes sir?” Without turning towards them, Pure Heart said, “Captain Shining Armor, please send everypony back to their living quarters except for Red Rum's associates and Vapor Sky.” “Yes sir.” Shining saluted again and did as he was told. “Captain White Rush.” Pure Heart said without moving a muscle. Actually, he didn't even move his mouth. “Yes Prince Pure Heart?” “Please detain Red Rum's gang and bring them here.” “If I may ask, why? Red Rum is dead. They are no longer a threat to Equestria.” “I'll explain in a minute. For now, just do it.” “Well, okay.” He turned towards the group of flunkies. “Hey, get over here.” The lot of them came over to where they stood. When they got there, I could tell they were scared out of their minds. “Where is the last member of your group?” One of the them stepped forward and said, “Last night, after our meeting, Red Rum asked Fletch if he could talk to him. We haven't seen him since. We assumed that Red Rum had just sent him on an errand.” Pure Heart sighed, and then said, “How big is Fletch?” “Um, about as tall as Red Rum.” “And what color is he?” “Black.” “And what is he?” “A unicorn.” “Exactly. Now go look at that body, I believe you will find your friend.” “Prince Pure Heart, are you saying what I think you are saying?” White Rush asked. He nodded. “After they identify the body, take them into custody for further questioning.” Captain White Rush saluted and dismissed himself to do as commanded. The whole time, I just stood their like a deer in the spotlights. Strangely though, so did he. “Ms. Sky.” I stood motionless. “Vapor Sky?” I was still shocked from the events that had just occurred. “KATE!” “Huh, what?” I came out of my stupor of thought. “Please come here.” I did as the prince said. As I approached, he stood completely still. He didn't even seem to breathe. “Y-yes s-sir.” I was very nervous because I was actually in the presence of hero. “You okay?” His voice was full of concern. “Of course.” I grinned. “I'm more concerned about you.” I said, reaching out to touch him. “Don't touch me!” He exclaimed. I pulled back in fear. “I am so sorry. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay...” “No, no. I'm sorry I yelled. I didn't want you to get burned.” “Burned?” “This obsidian shell, it is still cooling. I didn't want you to get burned from it.” “Wait, doesn't that mean you are being burned by it as well?” “No, I have a layer of dirt underneath that is stopping the heat from burning my skin. Right now I just really warm.” “So, then why are not moving?” “The shell has cooled to the point where it has completely hardened and so is restricting my movement. Hold on, it's just about done.” “What?” Suddenly, there was a large cracking sound. “Please stand back.” Another loud crack sounded and I realized that it was his obsidian shell that was making that sound. I quickly took a a couple steps back. His shell began to show cracks all over it and then all at once, it shattered. I turned my head as to not let any shards get in my eyes. “'Kay, it's all good.” I turned back to see my hero in his true form. He walked towards me, “Now then, I haven't properly introduced myself.” He smiled and bowed. “My name is Prince Pure Heart.” I squealed, “Oh my gosh! I have been sharing a room with my hero for the past 3 weeks.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, let's not ever say anything to Luna about that, okay?” I nodded. “Awesome. Now then I think you have some questions for me.” I did have several questions for him, but at the moment my mind was a large blank. “Why?” “...You are gonna need to be a bit more specific.” “Why did you hide your identity? Couldn't you have just come inhere and start asking questions?” “Well, yeah. I could of done that. But where is the fun in that?” “Fun?” “Yeah, this has been a fun experience. I haven't had a fight like that in what seems like years.” “Wait, so this was all just a game to you?” I started to get tense. “Now, I didn't say that. I really did just kill an innocent pony.” “Red Rum is no where near innocent.” “Oh, I forgot. You don't know.” “Know what?” “That wasn't Red Rum. That was Fletch. Red Rum most likely brain washed him into thinking he was Red Rum.” “Very observant you stupid foal.” Came a voice. “Red Rum. Show yourself!” Pure Heart yelled. “No thanks. I think I will stay hidden for now. But don't worry, this is far from over.” He laughed and the voice faded. I looked around and thought for an instant that I saw a silhouette fly off. “You saw that, too?” Pure Heart said. I nodded. “You know what that means?” I shook my head this time. “It means I need somepony to be the head of royal security, because of now, we have a psychopathic alicorn on the loose.” “Who will that be?” “Well, let's see. I know this one pegasus. She is very smart and she happens to have a knack for protection.” My eyes lit up. “You mean?” “Yep. Come on, we need to report what has transpired to Princess Celestia.” “Alright!” I squealed with joy.