This is another crossover chapter! The Co-writer is itsmyfuneral his story is The Darkness Within Us All. I strongly urge you to go read his story! We'll be doing more work together on crossovers later on.
Chapter 41 - Burning With Rage
I wake up the next morning to the sea-men shouting commands and orders at each other, I tune everything out as I think about the rollercoaster ride that occurred yesterday. The fight that Fade and I had sunk in fast, even after I completed the terms of our contract she still wants to stay with me to the bitter end; I couldn’t have asked for a better ally to have, nor a better friend.
I’m not too surprised to not see S.K. perched on top of me, the venom I spewed yesterday was uncalled for. All she wanted was to quench her curiosity about the secret Friend filled her head with, I acted rashly and unjustly. I don’t know what got the better of me when she tried to ask her question, but I won’t let that happen to her ever again.
I push the warning that Nyuel gave me about the ‘gauntlet’ to the back of my mind as someone starts to pound on my door.
“Lunar Knight! We’re docking as we speak! The sea was a kind mistress toward this voyage and granted us a safe and quick passage back to Equestria! Gather your belongings, I’ll inform the rest of your party of the news!” I can hear him trotting off down the hallway, tail opens the door and I crawl out the room and made my way to the deck.
I’m greeted by Nyuel, S.K. and Isaac as they all wait for me on Equestrian shores. I crawl off the boat and onto the shore, I stand back up and stretch out. I’m finally glad to stop crawling around like a damn spider.
“Hey S.K. ar-.”
“We’re cool, Horror, don’t worry about it.” Her words sound hollow, I can tell there’s something still eating away at her, but there’s a time and a place for everything.
“Lunar Knight! I have an urgent message from Princess Celestia herself!” A pegasus in royal arm lands in front of me.
“What’s wrong? Speak quickly.”
“The other human, Colt. He’s rampaging through Ponyville as we speak! The Princess has requested your aid in subduing him at once!”
“Awesome... How far away is Ponyville from here?”
“By flight it’s just a few hours, by hoof it’s two days!”
“If I pushed it, I could make it there in one day, but I’ll be useless in a fight afterwards...”
“Ignorant Pegasus, forgetting about magic, I can get us there in just under a minute. I can mass teleport us to Ponyville.” Isaac says with a smug look on his face.
“I’m not too keen on being teleported... I seemed to be doomed to being injured or nearly killed after I’m teleported... Have you’ve been to Ponyville though? Can you get us there safely?” The kid looks up to me, a questioning look on his face, trying to figure out if I was serious or not.
“Just hold still.” The kid concentrates on his spell, enveloping the group that I’ve collected in Unyasi in a crimson glow.
The next thing I know, we’re standing in Ponyville, I desperately look around to make sure my feet were firmly planted on the ground. I’m relieved to see that we all made it safely to Ponyville, Nyuel’s stomach on the other hand gets the best of her and her face turns green as she attempts to hold down her breakfast.
“You alright, Nyuel?” S.K. ask as she tries not to snicker, Nyuel shakes her head sideways and covers her mouth with her hoof.
I see the commotion in front of me. Colt is ablaze and strikes Celestia, causing her to fall back and quiver in pain. I think on my feet on the best way to deal with Colt’s aggro. An idea comes to mind and I blurt out the first thing I can think of.
“Hey COLT! Your father was a saint and your mother was a WHORE!” The blazing Colt lowered his foot and turned to me. The flames increased as he began to walk towards me, leaving a small trail of dry blood in his wake.
“Aren't you just the cutest little flamer I’ve ever seen! Yes you are!” I called upon Friend’s power, scales grew on the majority of my body.
“Catch me if you can!” I laugh at him, building up aggro on me so he continues to chase me behind a building.
I duck behind a random building, after a few minutes the house starts to shakes and the back wall turns to rubble, revealing Colt. He steps through the ruined wall and my tail quickly wraps around his neck and forces him to the ground. I drop to all fours and take off running, dragging him behind me.
Fade lends me her power without me even asking, the scales on my tail raise up and stand on end, venting out its thick black fog as the vein in my tail slowly pulsed with her power. The fog quickly crystallizes around my tail, creating an ice like armor and protecting it from the flames.
The ice keeps on refreshing itself as the flames licked it, after I dragged Colt behind me for thirty yards, he wraps his hands around my tail. I can feel him focusing all of his energy into his hands, melting my armor before it can refreeze. Fade’s power numbs the pain from the Colt’s flames, I can feel him clawing through the scales on my tail, tearing off chunks at a time; eventually revealing muscle.
Tail raises Colt into the air and whips his body back to the ground, his body bouncing off the ground with a meaty thud. My scales tried to regenerate themselves but his hellish flames incinerated the freshly born scales. I come to a sliding stop, tail tries to sling him into a nearby building. But he grabs onto the end of my tail, and starts to swing me over his head. Using me like a wrecking ball, destroying a food cart. He speeds up the rotations and swings me into anything he sees, carts, wooden crates, sides of buildings, you name it.
He finishes up and throws me straight up into the air, world spins around me, like washing machine in its spin cycle. I force all of Friend’s power into my right arm and bring it down upon his head, causing him to come crashing down to the ground and creating a small creator.
My balance is completely thrown off, I struggle to even stand up straight. Tail tries to counter-act my spinning head and swings back and forth, giving some kind of balance. My arms morphed into their new forms with the pylons. The vein in my arms start to compress itself, causing the spike like elbow to increase in length. Colt gets to his feet and makes his way to me, I wait for the perfect time to strike. He gets a firm grasp on my right arm, his immolation aura starts to melt through my protective layers.
I drive my left clawed hand into his stomach, my jagged claws sink deeper into him; I look up to see a sinister look creeping across his face as he forces my arm further into himself. He wraps his arms around me, spreading the flames of his rage to me.
I scream out in agony as the pain exceeds Fade’s numbing threshold. His soul-fire burns through my scales on my chest, fusing them together. Tail wraps around his torso and tries to break his infernal hug on me; but to no avail. I bring my head back and headbutt him repeatedly with my horns. The blows seems to have no affect on him as he continues to burn me alive; my blows only splatter blood across both our faces.
Tail redirects Friend’s power into itself; its vein grows with Friend’s chaotic power. Tail tightens around Colt’s torso, squeezing him like a Rock Python. Tail finally breaks his grasp around me and I drive my right fist into his right kidney; my pylons shoot into his side, turning his kidney into swiss cheese.
I was determined not to lose this battle, my goal was to subdue Colt, not to kill him. Colt digs his burning fingers into my back and channels his energy into his hands. I let out a bloodcurdling scream as he rips right through my scales and into my flesh. Tail tears him away from me and flings his body; he smashes through a nearby door door with such force; the front half of the house collapse around him burning body. Then rubble turns to coals and he rises from them in a blazing pillar of fire like a phoenix being reborn.
I start to grow tired of this drawn out fight and call upon more of Fade’s power; the scales on my body vent off black fog. The fog freezes on my body and forms into a suit of ice armor. My jagged claws freeze over and become larger, my spiked elbows extend fully. Tail unsheathes its hidden blades and they too freeze over in ice, becoming longer. I was now the true form of the Horror, I rear up and let out a ear shattering roar, nearby windows shatter. I see Colt calmly walking over to me, I charge at him full speed.
I throw my left claws at him, he raises his arm to block it but my claws slice through his burnt flesh as if it was made out of jello; causing more blood-ash to spew from his new wound. He retaliated by grabbing me by the throat and slamming down into the ground, creating a small crater on impact.
Tail swoops around his his back and penetrates him and embeds itself into my chest, turning the two of us into a flaming and scaly shish-kebab. Colt begins clawing at my chest, melting my armor like a ice cube on a blistering hot day in August. He tears through my scales, covering his hands in a fresh coat of blood. His flames start to die out before he makes it through my scales.
“I’m s-sorry Bell. . . . I-I’m sorry. . . “ Colt says as his body goes limp and the flames finally die out.
“Rest, Colt.”
Tail retracts its blades and his body falls on top of me, I push his badly burnt body off of myself and struggled to get to my feet. Tail gently picks Colt’s charred body and cradles it, I glance over his injuries and shake my head.
By the look of it, the majority of his head and upper torso have sustained third degree burns; from your elbows up is mostly third degree burns as well; your forearms only sustained minor third and severe second degree burns. From his belly-button downward, his body is covered in second degree burns. From his knees downward only sustained minor burns.
“He’s pretty burnt up, by the looks of it he’s going to be out for quite some time. Hopefully Daimon can minimize the scarring, I doubt that any of the hospitals here in Equestria are advanced enough to do skin grafts.”
My scales and ice armor protected me from the majority of the flames. I’m thankful for Fade and her power for numbing the pain. Only minor second degree burns littered my torso, it feels like I fall asleep outside in the sun and now a bad sunburn plagues my body. It’s going to take some time for my body to heal, even with a few healing potions and Friend’s power.
My scales melted to my skin. My hands and forearms sustain the majority of the damage as the scales and flesh were burnt away, revealing blackened bones. My chest and arms both have minor third degree burns covering them, my horns protected my forehead, only getting minor second degree burns.
I look over my shoulder and sees the claw marks that Colt burnt into me, his tail slowly starts to regenerate the missing chunk that was incinerated while I was being swung around as if I was the hammer during a Hammer Throw. I turned and started to walk back to the center of town, tail cradles Colt as I walked, trying to not to cause anymore damage to his body.
I make it back to the center of town, Princess Celestia, Pinkie Pie, Trixie, Flutter Shy, and my small group waited for us. There’s a white unicorn in armor standing by the Princess’s side, I see a black mare with a jagged horn and a sickly green looking mane resides in.
“C-Colt?” The caged mare whimpers.
“What did you do to Colt you big meanie!?” Pinkie Pie shouts as she repeatedly but fruitlessly hits me before falling to the ground in tears.
I reach down to pet Pinkie Pie, trying to comfort her. But I stop and pull back as I realize I’m still in Horror Form.
“Fight today, cry tomorrow I guess.” I let out a drawn out sigh before looking up to see Princess Celestia’s injuries.
She’s the lucky one, only minor second degree burns on very little of her face and horn. Claw marks along side of her neck, she’ll need some medical attention just like the rest of us.
“Doctor Helping Hoof, see to the Princess, but not before I’m done talking to her.” I turn my head and give orders out to the Good Doctor, he simply nods in agreement.
“So, we finally meet, Princess Celestia.” My tail repositions itself, shaking Colt slightly and causing his iPod to drop to the ground, kicking on and playing a song at random. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJlN9jdQFSc - Johnny Cash
“Thank you for assisting us in stopping Colt’s rampage.” She says as she lay on the ground.
“You’re welcome, I wish we could’ve met on better circumstances. Now, please explain to me what caused this and why?”
“I sent Shining Armor to catch a criminal that was living with Colt, he refused to give her up peacefully and the rest you can guess.”
“Who is this criminal you speak of?”
“The changeling, in the cage.” I take a brief moment to think over what she just said.
I put together the pieces of the puzzle, I’ve never seen Colt literally burning with rage. Something must of really pissed him off and it’s probably the Changeling that is in the cage. Colt must have strong enough feelings for this mare, It’s safe to assume that he probably loves her. What ever dormant power that was in him was awaken by her being captured, I just hope there’s no round two. I would greatly appreciate not building any more debt with Friend right now.
“I see, I think I understand now. Now, release this ‘criminal.’” I say firmly, not showing a hint of emotion.
“Why would we do that?” Celestia scoffs.
“Obvious, If you wish for Colt not to becoming a rampaging inferno again, you’ll release this changeling. By the looks of it, her being captured lit the match to his latent powers in the first place. I won’t be around for the next time this happens.”
Celestia sighs and motions to the guards to open the door to the cell, releasing the Changeling, she immediately runs over to the girls, and hugs Pinkie Pie as she cries.
“Thank you Princess Celestia, you made the right choice. Isaac, hit the burnt corpse with some magic.”
“Why would I waste my magical powers on something that is already dead?” The kid retorts.
“Just humor me.” The kid sighs and charges his horn, the first layer goes by quick.
He charges up to the second layer and releases a crimson sphere above Colt’s body, it slams down onto his body but fizzles away as Daimon absorbs the magical energy.
“W-Why did my spell have no effect on him?” Isaac seems a little agitated by his failure.
“I’ll explain everything later Doc, see to the Princess’s injuries, Nyuel If you have a healing potion already made I would love one right now. S.K. help the good Doctor if he needs anything.” Nyuel trots up to myside and fishes out a healing potion from her saddlebags and hands it to me.
Doctor Helping Hoof rushes to Princess Celestia’s aid, S.K. helps her back to her hooves and steadied her as the Doc examines her further.
“I-Is Colt going to be ok?” Flutter Shy ask me.
“I don’t know, I need a place to examine him further... Oh, where are my manners? You girls probably don’t recognize me without Cloud here, It’s me, Subject 27.” I shed my ice armor, returning back to my normal-ish form.
“Why is it that everytime you show up Colt nearly dies. . . “Trixie asks as tears stream down her face. I merely shrugs in response.
“Wait. . .You’re 27? C-Cloud told me about you.” Bell says as she is still trying to calm down Pinkie Pie who was now making a puddle of her own tears.
“Yeah, you know Cloud? How has she been?” I hand the empty flask back to Nyuel and she places it in her bags.
The prototype potion is already taking its effect, I can feel the minor burns on my face already healing, relieving the sun burn.
“She is okay, and thank you for this, I couldn’t imagine not being with Colt.” The Changeling says as she begins to tear up as well.
“That’s good news to hear, I needed that, thanks. Okay here’s what we’re going to do, Doc, Nyuel, S.K. and Fluttershy, take the Princess back to the nearest hospital and make sure she’s okay. Girls is there someplace where we can go so I can examine Colt’s injuries further?”
“Y-Yeah, we can go to our house, it’s just down the road.” Pinkie Pie says as the torrent of tears comes to an end.
“Oh yes, the house should be good for that, the first aid kit is in the kitchen under the sink, now come this way everypony, the hospital is down here.” Fluttershy says as she leads them to the hospital.
“This is going to hurt a little, but I would prefer to get to the house as fast as possible. Changeling, Pinkie, and Isaac, hop on.” I drop down to all fours, I grunt in pain as my badly burnt hands make contact with the dirt.
Both the mares are hesitant at first, but eventually get on after they see Isaac jump on my back with a book in a levitation field. Pinkie Pie jumps on and the Changeling sits there, not knowing what she should do, until the kid levitates her onto my back and I take off running in the direction of Colt’s house with him Tail still cradling him.
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