//------------------------------// // Part 7: Soliloquy Part 2: - IXA Rise Up/A Tempest Fury // Story: MLP-Destiny's Play // by The Bricklayer //------------------------------// Come morning, the papers had the whole sorry and sordid affair on full display, or at least what they thought was the truth as ever. Kiva, she was once again taking the blame for the massacre at the hospital sadly. The papers were running wild with theories and speculations as to what exactly went down that night, they differed in some aspects but mainly came down to the exact same thing in the end. And that was Kiva being responsible for the deaths at the hospital that night. As for one Tempest Shadow, she was in a bit of a bind honestly. One, she could tell the populace about what she saw that night even if she didn’t quite understand it herself honestly or two she could play the fool and pretend to know nothing -at least in public- and prevent mass panic from arising. Honestly, both sides made equal sense to her really. There was that part of her, the part that played the friend to Fluttershy to just throw back the veil and let the populace know of the Fangire Race’s existence and see what happened next. At the very least, it would throw a lot of heat off the poor pegasi as it is. But there came that second little issue. Namely, the part of her that was loyal to Equestria’s Royal Guard and the nation’s safety and security and keeping things under control. If the Fangire race’s continued existence was to be revealed, the only possible outcome Tempest could honestly imagine was mass panic and rioting. Not to mention paranoia. Ponies would be questioning their neighbors, and others would go even farther in their foolishness and perhaps get scared enough to try and kill whoever they believed to be a Fangire even if that wasn’t the case. Witch hunts, that’s what there’d be. Tempest groaned and rubbed her temples. She liked a more than just a smidgen of order along with a little bit of control to go along with that. Given she’d spent over half her life as the right-hand mare to a tyrannical dictator and was now personally guarding a mare whose mane got all bent out of shape if even one of her books went missing this should have come as no surprise to anyone. Taking a sip of coffee and then balling up and tossing aside the morning newspaper in disgust she continued eating her bagel. Tempest had found a liking for Ponyville’s mom and pop restaurants along with the local breweries, and while even she didn’t know quite exactly why she liked them she had a theory. She supposed places like this, the Cafe Du Monde kept her balanced. Made her remember what exactly she was fighting for in the first place. Safety, and solitude. The brewery bit, that was probably in no way related to her and Twilight’s shared love of late-night coffee. Right now though, even as Tempest listened into nearby conversations from the other cafe-goers she found herself wishing for something a little bit stronger than just a brew. “Heh heh… Well, can’t see how Kiva’s going to get out of this one really,” came one the voice of Silt Water, playing a game of chess alongside his friend Brick Dust. Tempest was surprised the two had enough intelligence between them to actually play the game. Faust knew she’d broken up quite a few bar fights between the two and thrown them in the drunk tank enough times. “I mean, killing over half the patients and staff of Ponyville General? I’m surprised there’s not a manhunt already!” Brick Dust nodded in agreement with his friend. “I’ll agree with you there, been wondering the same thing myself really,” he put in. “I mean, what is the Royal Guard doing? What, are they sitting on their asses waiting for Kiva to kill again? Who next, the Mayor? The Princess?” Tempest’s fist clenched. No, they were not ‘Sitting on their asses’ as Brick Dust so kindly put it, they just didn’t know what to do really. Suspicion was already running rampant that Kiva was one of them, given that he seemed to be able to get out the area right before the Royal Guard showed up. It was all Tempest could do to keep her soldiers from turning on each other. Briefly, Tempest’s gaze found itself wandering to the far side of the cafe, where she saw this scraggly black-maned stallion wearing this leather jacket eying everyone in this -Tempest really couldn’t describe his gaze as anything other than- predatory manner. Made her fur stand on end really. She’d ask Star Hunter and Flash Sentry to keep an eye on that one. Made her nervous really. Picking herself up off her chair, her bagel going ignored Tempest marched over to the two idiots that called themselves Silt Water and Brick Dust and slammed her hand on the table with a loud thud. “You two have something to say?” Tempest asked, going for Mean Look #4, AKA the one that she generally reserved for idiots or populaces about to be invaded by her former boss. “No, seriously. Please do continue. I’m ever so fascinated about your little powwow about the capabilities of my Guard and its troops.” she asked in the sweetest tone she could muster, barely holding herself back from electrocuting these two idiots with her magic. “Uh, no ma’am!” Brick Dust stated, shaking his head rapidly with his friend doing the same. “We were just discussing the competence of your men, that’s it! That’s all! Weren’t we Silt Water?” “Complete and total confidence in your troops Madam Tempest!” Silt agreed. In the background, Tempest had noticed the stallion in the leather jacket had vanished from sight. “Seriously, if there’s anyone who’s going to catch that bastard Kiva it’ll be you and your men!” Tempest barely fought back a growl when she heard what exactly Silt called Fluttershy. “Doing a Hell of a lot more to protect Equestria than you are…” she grumbled mentally. Whether it was to herself or to Silt Water, she wasn’t quite sure. “That’s Captain Tempest to you Silt,” Tempest corrected. “And that’s nice to hear you have such faith in us,” she stated, letting her horn crackle with sparks long enough to let the two idiots know she’d heard every word they’d said. Unsurprisingly, they very quickly paid their check and left the establishment. Tempest groaned once more. Yeah, she was definitely going to try and find something stronger to drink. Across town at Sugarcube Corner, life for Fluttershy wasn’t going much better really. Even while she met up with her friends along with Vinyl for breakfast a few of them were voicing their complaints about Fluttershy’s ‘other life’. As much as Fluttershy would liked to have held it against them, or get angry and decry them for being idiots, she just couldn't. It wasn’t like they knew any better, and it wasn’t like Fangires generally left any evidence behind to prove them otherwise. “Ohh…” Pinkie hissed out even as she placed a cup of coffee in front of Fluttershy and Rarity. “I’d like to get my hands on that meanie Kiva, and when I do…” She let out a few kiais and battle cries, before busting out a few terrible variations of kung-fu moves. Or at least what she probably thought were kung-fu moves. “He’s going to learn why you don’t mess with the Pinkie… Pie!” “Pinkie dear, please stop that before you hurt someone… or yourself,” Rarity commented, taking a sip of her tea. She then turned to Fluttershy, giving her a look of sympathy. “I’m sorry dearie, I know how you like to try and see the best in everyone and I adore you for that -I really do- but even I can’t see how this Kiva is a good stallion. Not after what he’s done,” she sighed and thought ahead to the many funeral dresses and suits she was going to have to make. If anything and as much as Rarity hated to think about it like that, Kiva was keeping her business booming. But she had to think of this as just another order to fulfill, it kept her distanced from the hard reality of what type of order she was actually fulfilling. “Yeah…” Fluttershy whispered, even as Vinyl placed a hand on her back in support. Both of them wanted to say something on how Kiva wasn’t a killer, and that it was the Fangires who were committing all these atrocities but neither of them had any proof to back up their claims. So, they just held their tongue. And as much as they both wanted to hate Twilight and Tempest for keeping their own mouths shut, they knew neither could say anything either really. Not without inciting mass panic anyways. “Celestia damn it!” Rainbow exclaimed even as she slammed a balled-up fist down on the counter cracking the countertop, and making more than a few patrons yelp out in shock. “Can’t see why we can’t just go grab the Elements and hunt down Kiva before going all Friendship Laser on his ass!” She continued to rant. “But no, Twilight says we can’t just remove the Elements of Harmony from the Tree just any old time we like and use them willy-nilly!” the pegasus yelled, throwing up her hands in the air in frustration. Fluttershy smiled to herself in relief, at least Twilight was supporting her in some way. Making up excuses as to why the Elements couldn’t be used. She just wished Twilight could do more. But the Princess hands, at least for the moment, were tied. She wanted to get angry, she really did at Twilight for being a coward and not saying exactly why Kiva wasn’t the real villain here but she knew Twilight was just looking out for the needs of the many, not just the one. Even if that one happened to be one of her best friends. And she knew deep down Twilight hated herself for doing it, having caught her crying more than a few times. And as much as Fluttershy even hated to admit that, she took a small form of pleasure in Twilight hating herself for being inactive in proving Kiva’s innocence as she was. “So Flutters, what was that you were saying about proving Kiva to be a good pony?” Rainbow asked. “How… How can you still maintain that Kiva’s on our side even after all of this?” “Security cameras were down that night, we still don’t know what really happened,” Fluttershy replied curtly. “For all we know, Kiva may not be behind this.” “Open up your eyes Fluttershy!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Ponies are dead, good ponies! And Kiva was found running away from the scene of their deaths! How can you still believe Kiva to be a good pony after that?” “Well, for one,” Fluttershy stated with her voice raising slightly in anger. “He could been running, hypothetically at least, from the Royal Guard.” “Yeah, who were out to get him!” Rainbow retorted before taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. “I’m sorry Flutters, but I agree with Rarity. Unless you can come up with evidence to back your claim of Kiva being on our side like say someone else who could potentially be a killer, I still see him as an enemy.” “The trouble is Rainbow,” Rarity put in, after taking another sip of her tea. “Even if we were to take the Elements from the Tree, we’d have no way of tracking Kiva. He, or she for that matter only shows himself or herself at seemingly random times. No rhyme or reason to it really. Well, I suppose there’s a rhyme or reason to it all in Kiva’s head, but it’ll only make sense to them alone.” “Great, so you’re saying basically, either way, we’re screwed. Gee, thanks for nothing Rares,” Rainbow muttered crossing her arms. “Well, I’m not saying that exactly…” Rarity trailed off. “So what, you’re saying we’re supposed to just sit around on our butts while Kiva continues killing off ponies right and left? Twilight’s thinking of starting up this Friendship School y’know? How are we supposed to invite creatures from other nations if there’s a killer running loose?” Rainbow reminded her friend. “Not exactly a reassuring prospect to parents, sending their kids to a town where there’s this masked serial killer is it?” she asked pointedly. “Just ignore them Milady,” Kivat reminded Fluttershy, who was fighting back tears. “They don’t mean to be cruel. They just don’t know any better, that’s all.” “Doesn’t make it hurt less any though…” Fluttershy told her friend. “I… I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I know I have to, but is it really worth being a hero to Ponyville, when all you’re going to get is just scorn?” “Honestly, you’re a stronger mare than I probably would be in your place,” Kivat admitted. “Though it shames me to admit it, -shames me greatly- if I was in your position I would have just said: “Screw it!” and left these ungrateful ponies to rot. Father would probably lay a curse upon my soul or something, but I wouldn’t stick around in this town really. I’m only sticking with you because I have a debt to pay, and because it’s what my father would have done. That’s the end of it.” “I’m… I’m glad you’re here Kivat,” Fluttershy told her partner. “Just want you to know that. Without you, I don’t know what I would have done at times…” “Well, it’s what I’m here for at times,” Kivat replied. “I’m here not just to be your partner, but to be a friend and if needed a shoulder to cry on. Or wing in my case I suppose. But you get my point. No matter what happens, I will never leave your side. Long ago, I swore an oath to your father to see you through thick and thin, and I will never betray his memory. Because if I did, what kind of Kivat would I be? I’d bring shame to my species, and to the Kivas who came before me. Let it be said, you’re not the first Kiva, and nor will you be the last if I have anything to say about it!” “Have… Have any of the other Kivas before me ever had it like I do now?” Fluttershy asked, not sure if she really wanted to know honestly. “Well, yes to be frank. Excluding King, -the bastard- all of the other Kivas before you have had a rough go of it, always mistaken for the villain. There’s always been another Kamen Rider or two by their side, sometimes as a partner from the shadows. Sometimes as an enemy. But one thing’s always been consistent. They never gave up on protecting the ponies under their care until they were dead.” Kivat stated. Just then, the bell above the front door jingled and Pinkie Pie looked up from her waitress duties to see Octavia walking in. The cellist let out a sigh of great relief when she saw Vinyl, and pulled her friend into a hug. “Oh, thank Faust you’re still alive…” Octavia whispered, tears in her eyes before dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “When you went missing, I was out of my head with worry.” “Relax Octy, I’m fine. Completely and utterly fine,” Vinyl stated. “Been staying with Fluttershy since Neon vanished in an attack by Kiva.” She sent Fluttershy an apologetic look, and Fluttershy gave a faint nod of understanding. Octavia was as likely to believe in Fangires as everyone else, after all. Meanwhile, all heads in Sugarcube Corner turned to face Fluttershy, and more than a few mouths dropped at the possible implications. “Ooh, secret lovers?” Pinkie asked, getting up much too close in Fluttershy’s personal space for the pegasus’ liking before she was gently shoved away. “Fluttershy, didn’t know you had it in you!” Rarity exclaimed in shock. “Really, you must tell all!” “Ha ha, looks like you’re finally growing up! So, when’s the wedding?” Rainbow laughed. “It’s… It’s nothing like that, I assure you…” Fluttershy mumbled, pressing her fingers together nervously. “She just needed a place to stay, was afraid to go back to her own house that night. That’s all…” “For one night maybe yes,” Rarity replied with a gleeful tone. “But for three? Now, don’t tell me there’s something going on there!” “Nosy little things, aren’t they?” Kivat muttered to himself. “And they call me a pervert!” Thankfully, before Fluttershy’s face could turn any redder Vinyl stepped in having had enough of her friend being embarrassed and put on the spot. “If there is, it’s none of your business,” Vinyl stated firmly. Truth be told, she wasn’t quite sure why exactly she hadn’t headed on back to her shared apartment with Octavia and felt rather guilty on making her friend worry so much. “So, can you just stop bugging us about it?” Rarity blinked, and sighed to herself. “Fair point. If anything’s going on between you two let it be said you have my support but I won’t ask for details.” “Lips zipped!” Pinkie added, and made a motion with her hands to imitate this. Then everyone turned to Rainbow. “Ugh, fine. I promise I won’t pry you for any information on your sex life Flutters,” Rainbow muttered before doing the sacred motions. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” “I’ll be keeping you to that promise, and watching you…” Pinkie commented, doing that little motion with her fingers putting them up against her eyes and then turning them to Rainbow. “Because you never break a Pinkie Promise unless you want to lose a friend FOREVER!” Rainbow shuddered, not inclined to find out exactly what happened to those who actually did break a Pinkie Promise. She’d heard rumors of Pinkie chopping them up and using them for baking materials, but that was just a rumor… right? “Oh, that’s the pie I was baking for Green River’s birthday!” Pinkie exclaimed as a timer went off in the kitchen. “Be right back!~” she said with a small wink before dashing off. Twilight’s Castle: Tempest punched a wall in frustration, having had no end of comments questioning not just her and the Guard’s competence, but those kinds that decried Kiva as a monster that needed to be put down like a dog. She knew these ponies didn’t really know any better honestly, but it still made her mad all the same. Furious really. If they knew the actual truth, they’d be groveling at Fluttershy’s knees probably. “Tempest, any reason you’re picking a fight with my castle?” Twilight asked, making her presence known as she entered the hall. She had a weak smile on her face, hoping to bleed some of the tension out of the conversation. “Why do you think?” Tempest replied, not bothering to look at her Princess. “I’m frustrated. You’ve seen what’s going on outside, or at least heard about it right? I’m surprised we haven’t had a mob going up to our castle door already. Ponyville wants answers, and they want them now.” “Our castle?” Twilight repeated, giving the taller mare a slight bump to the hip, before her serious expression returned. “But even with Fluttershy’s help, answers aren’t something we have a lot of.” “Oh, don’t give me that. Tatsulot explained the same thing to you as he did to me. Fangires, long lost race out for pony blood once driven out of Equestria by Princess Luna AKA Kamen Rider Kuuga the Second now returning to try and reclaim Equestria for themselves. That’s what we were told, correct me if I’m wrong?” Tempest replied, raising an eyebrow. Her IXA Knuckle was attached to her hip alongside IXA Calibur. Twilight sighed, nodding weakly at Tempest. “Yes, that was what we were told. But how much of that can we tell without causing a panic throughout Equestria? Ponies would start becoming suspicious of one another. Mobs would likely form and innocent ponies could get hurt… or worse.” “Yeah, don’t you think I know that Twilight?” Tempest asked. “Just this morning, been thinking about that myself even as I had to chew out two idiots for questioning what we’re doing. But every hour, every day we spend keeping our traps shut…” she sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Well, you’ve probably seen the effect it has on Fluttershy’s psyche right?” “Of course I do,” Twilight replied, looking down as she thought about her friend. “I’ve heard my fair share of angry rants about Kiva too, even from the rest of the girls. But if we want to tell the truth about Kiva at the very least, we’d need her go ahead. She trusted us with her secret, we can’t just tell it to the world because we think it’s the best course of action.” Tempest sighed again. “You ponies always choose self-preservation over the greater good, most of the time, with the belief that self-preservation is the greater good. I’ve noticed how single-minded you can be, even if the best solution or the most obvious answer is staring you right in the face and you refuse to accept it,” she grumbled. “Decry me if you will Twilight, but personally… I think you’re being an idiot. Surely spells can be performed by any competent unicorn worth his or her salt, ones specifically trained to seek out fangire blood. You put me as captain of your personal guard for a reason, just this once can’t you trust my judgment?” Twilight’s look softened, her mind struggling to come up with an answer. “Fizzlepop, please don’t talk as if you aren’t a pony too. Almost sounds like you think you’re a robot or something,” Shaking her head, she continued. “You’re right, I did make you my captain for a reason. If we had fangire blood to study, we might be able to identify them while they’re disguised. Might even be able to find their current Bishop. But, it’s not yours or my place to divulge Fluttershy’s identity. She has to agree to this. Please don’t make me make that an order from your princess. I’m speaking to you as a friend,” Twilight said, placing a hand on the side of Tempest’s face. “Please, don’t make me speak to you as your boss.” “I… I understand,” Tempest mumbled, shuffling her hooves slightly before she grimaced. “But I’d say Fluttershy would be all too happy to let everyone know she’s Kiva, if the populace at large wasn’t so damn stupid. They so believe if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck then… well, it’s probably a fucking duck. And right now to them, it looks like Kiva’s a killer. Something I might add you’re not exactly helping to discourage.” she pointed out “Hard to assuage worries when all the evidence of Kiva’s innocence is eaten by a dragon carrying a castle on its back,” the princess pointed out, retracting her hand from Tempest’s cheek. “I’m not one for emotional appeals, Fizzlepop. I like to be able to back up what I tell ponies.” “...I suppose you’ve got a point there,” Tempest grimaced. “Speaking from my position, I’d agree with you. It’s just speaking as both you and Fluttershy’s friend… well, I suppose I’m letting my emotions get the better of me. Hard to balance the two things, not when a case is this personal to me,” she sighed. “Emotions getting in the way of decisions?” the smaller mare questioned, an impish grin spreading across her muzzle. “Why my dear captain, that almost sounds like a pony flaw to me.” “Please don’t start…” Tempest muttered, blushing slightly under Twilight’s gaze. “Faust above, you know sometimes as much as I hate to admit it, I do long for the days when I was just Tempest Shadow, the Storm King’s right-hand mare. So simple then, just carry out his orders without question. Subjugate populaces left and right. Conquer this land, conquer that land and so forth. You get the idea,” she continued. “Yes, but did your last job come with the benefits this one does?” Twilight inquired, winking at the other mare. Tempest tried very hard to hide her blush, and to her credit, she mostly succeeded. “Simpler times, Twilight. Simpler times,” Tempest muttered, taking a swig out of a nearby bottle of whiskey. Twilight didn’t quite know where she got it but decided it was best not to question it really. “Honestly, that’s what I’m wishing for. Or at least, something easier than pretending not to know the full truth about Kiva and her doings. Almost long for when I was hunting her down. I knew right from left then, or at least I thought I did…” “You still do, Fizzle,” Twilight pointed out, gently taking the bottle and getting a swig for herself. “It’s good that things with fangire aren’t as simple. Fluttershy has shown us that not everyone with their blood is a menace. There might even be some who want nothing to do with harming ponies and following the Bishop’s doctrine,” Tempest smiled at the thought. “Ever the optimist, aren’t you Sparkle?” she laughed. “And drinking on the job? And here I thought you were more professional than that. At least stick to wine, not this cheap whiskey I bought from the nearest drugstore.” “Hypocrite,” Twilight commented. “You were holding the bottle and drinking from it first weren’t you?” “Point to Sparkle,” Tempest laughed before her expression turned serious again. “I… assume you’ve worked out the IXA system’s little flaw? Because if Fluttershy’s going to be fighting the Fangire, I want to make sure she at least doesn’t do it alone.” “I did you one better,” Twilight assured, puffing herself up. “I pulled the data off it from your last use and I’ve now tuned it to you. Not only is that little flaw gone, but now whenever you use it, it’ll feel like you’re fighting in nothing at all. Reaction time, the power behind your punches. Everything should be improved.” “Nice to know,” Tempest smirked. “Rest assured, next time one appears, I’ll be getting you that fangire blood.” “May not have long to wait!” Tatsulot exclaimed as the tiny gold dragon flew in through a window. “Spotted two ponies on the edge of town, at this warehouse. Behaving rather off I thought. Could be worth looking into.” “Well Tempest?” Twilight asked. “I assume you know what to do?” “Yeah, I do,” Tempest smirked. “Fluttershy may not be in any physiological condition to fight right now but I’ll be doing it in her stead. High time I redeem myself, and make a few things up to her.” she stated, before heading for the castle doors. “Good luck!” Twilight called out, hoping she hadn’t just overstated the upgrades she had made on the IXA system, nor had she overstepped her boundaries between Princess and her Captain of the Guard. “Celestia, why must friendship with her be so hard?” Twilight thought. “Come back safe Fizzle…” Tempest panted out as she followed Tatsulot to the location in question, beads of sweat trailing down her face. That little dragon, he was fast. She’d give him that much. She also hoped she was in fighting condition. It had only been the day before she’d gotten out of the hospital as it was. Twilight would have been right if she called her crazy really. But she had a job to do, and it didn’t involve any rest for the weary. No, not just a job. A duty to Equestria and the lands beyond. “I swear Fluttershy, if I’d known all of this to begin with,” Tempest thought to herself even as she neared the warehouse in question. “Things might have been so different. Hell, we might be fighting as allies even now, instead of foes. Celestia knows if you hate me, you’d have every right to. Put a manhunt on you, and nearly killed you. Consider this my repentance.” Kicking in the warehouse door, Tempest’s eyes widened when she saw two ponies change into a rat-like Fangire and a blue Sungazer lizard themed Fangire, with twin shields on either arm. Tempest winced even as she slammed the IXA Knuckle down on her palm making it proclaim: “Ready!” Those two shields looked like they’d be tough to break though. She’d make do though, she had to. “Fangires, return those lives to Faust,” Tempest stated as she fired a blast of hot wind at the two monsters, executing the Broken Fang attack. “Or I’ll be forced to help you along in that regard.” Even as the two Fangires rolled out of the way of the attack and Tempest slotted the IXA Knuckle into her belt, making it state: “Fist on.” they shared a laugh. “Oh look, a hero! My favorite!” the Rat Fangire chittered. “Hey, don’t you have better things to do, like laying in a hospital bed and thinking up new ways to kill Kiva?” Before Tempest could complete her transformation, she faltered and took a few steps back in shock. “What, don’t think we didn’t hear about your little fight with Kiva. Did us all a favor I say,” the Rat Fangire continued. “One, it put more pressure on our dear wannabe Queen, and two it let us know that we weren’t the only ones with power going after her.” he sneered. “I don’t do favors for those who harm the innocent,” Tempest replied, snapping out of her stupor. “Henshin!” She shouted. In a quick motion, she pressed the knuckle to her belt and an intense wave of heat blasted out of her body even as it was covered in IXA’s armor and the facemask opened up to reveal two gleaming red eyes. Even as the Rat and Sungazer Fangires circled her, the Rat Fangire continued to laugh. “Funny, that’s not the way I heard it. You attacking Kiva? I think she’s an innocent isn’t she?” “I’m done talking to you,” Tempest retorted, pulling IXA Calibur off her belt and firing at the two fangire. The Sungazer reared back his head, and spat out a few darts and Tempest leaped behind a metal container for cover, noting the slightly melted area where the darts had hit. “Right… Based on a lizard, some of which I know are poisonous. As if I didn’t have enough problems…” she thought to herself. In her mind’s eye, she saw how the Rat Fangire had escaped his destruction at the hospital. Fluttershy, a short time after Tempest had recovered from IXA going berserk had explained that this particular fangire had the ability to duplicate himself, so it wasn’t hard to imagine him using a clone to cover for his own destruction. Even as she leaped out from behind the container, Tempest fired IXA Calibur several times, the bullets bouncing off the Sungazer’s arm shields before Tempest forced him back with a blast of fire from her palm. She yelped when the Sungazer took a swing at her, the claws just barely missing her torso. Tempest pulled back a fist, and struck the Sungazer across the face and smirked when he was sent reeling from the punch leaving himself open long enough for Tempest to pump his chest full of shots from IXA Calibur. Seems Twilight had been right, IXA was showing a definite increase in strength. And if it was strong enough to keep up with Kiva before, Celestia only knew how powerful it was now. Guess she could consider this new fight a test run of this version of the system. She then backflipped across the room when the Rat Fangire pulled out what looked to be a shotgun, and fired several times. Tempest kicked a metal drum towards the fangire before diving once more behind cover. She couldn’t help but smirk beneath her helmet as she saw the dent in the drum. The armor was faster too. She’d give Twilight a full report of the battle when she got back to the castle. The purple bookworm would certainly appreciate it. Right now, Tempest reminded herself as a dart from the Sungazer nicked her in the shoulder, she had to get through this fight first. Fangires, Tempest had theorized had come into being as a natural balance between nature and ponykind. Ponykind liked to think themselves at the top of the food chain at times, and superior to every other creature considering they’d managed to cure almost every known form of diseases, get themselves out of their violent roots before any other creature and such. Fear of the Fangire race was simple self-preservation instincts kicking in once more. They’d finally found something that was as dangerous as they were, they just didn’t want to admit to it. Fangires had come into being as a natural balance to ponykind’s own arrogance. And yes, Tempest was quite well aware of her being a pony herself, but the simple truth was that’s what the Fangires were. Nature’s balancing act. Ponies, they had this inherent desire for control over every aspect of the natural world, and that even extended to their own celestial bodies if Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were any indication. Hell, it was even before them, considering Starswirl and four other great unicorn sorcerers whose names had been lost to history were any indication. It disgusted Tempest, really. Her own kind’s arrogance. Simple fact was, they weren’t any sort of superior race, they were just as infallible as any other. The Fangires served as a reminder of that. “Hell, even I acted so smug and superior to everybody else, and I’ve been paying for that ever since the Storm King knocked me off my little pedestal. For that at least, I can thank him. Probably the only thing I can thank him for really. Soon as he showed me just what kind of power any other race can hold over the other, my little arrogant streak broke,” Tempest thought to herself. “Good riddance to bad rubbish. As much as I hate to show support to that bastard, I think I now know what the King of the Fangires was supposed to do. Knock us off our pedestal, and keep us from evolving further or at least faster than we should have.” Tempest was brought back to reality when another poison dart from the Sungazer went just past her head, very narrowly missing her head by inches. Pulling out one of the fuestles from her holsters, she slammed one into her belt. “Dogga Hammer!” the belt exclaimed, and a shattering of glass was heard as the weapon flew into Tempest’s grip. She smirked as she gripped the weapon tightly. “Now, about those shields of yours…” she stated, looking at the Sungazer Fangire with a downright evil smirk under her helmet. With a loud battle cry, she swung the hammer into the ground, cracking the concrete flooring beneath her and sending out a wave of electricity towards the two fangires. Now normally, she’d probably be using her horn if she wanted such a thing, but the trouble was it was hidden directly behind the upper parts of her helmet’s head crest. Vaguely wondering if Twilight could fix that little issue at a later date, she watched both the Rat and Sungazer go flying backwards before hitting the ground. As the Sungazer stood up, Tempest noted one of his two arm shields being cracked and looking ready to shatter to pieces. Hefting her hammer over her shoulder once more, she charged running as fast as the weapon and its weight would allow her. When she closed in on the Sungazer, she adjusted her momentum into her arms and brought the warhammer down in a mighty swing on the weakened shield. A crack, and then it shattered as the Sungazer roared out in pain. Tempest smirked, and readied herself for the finisher blow, before her eyes widened as the Rat Fangire pulled out his shotgun again and fired blasting the Dogga Hammer out of Tempest’s grasp. “Right, forgot about you…” Tempest frowned, before whirling around and spinning in midair before throwing a kick at the Sungazer who raised his other arm shield to block. Tempest anticipated both this and the newfound power in the IXA armor working to her favor, and the gambit paid off as the other arm shield cracked and then shattered. Tempest smirked, she was always good with her legs as any one of the Princesses could attest to, but the IXA armor only just increased her kicking ability. “Damn you!” the Sungazer roared out, his arms smoking, and blood dripping to the floor. “Thanks, always love a good compliment,” Tempest chuckled as she met another of the Rat Fangire’s shots with a blast of her own from IXA Calibur. “Just wish it wasn’t from scum like you.” The Sungazer roared out in rage and slashed Tempest across the chest making her stagger and drawing blood. The fangire licked his lips in anticipation knowing there was more where that came from and watched as his fellow fangire surrounded Tempest with doubles of himself. Tempest rolled her eyes, and sighed. “Really, is that the best you can do? Seriously…” she sighed, before retracting her face mask briefly allowing her horn to become visible before she fired a veritable storm of lightning bolts all over the room shattering the clones. Her mask opening up again, Tempest shrugged. Guess that’d do for now. “Got any other little tricks?” Tempest asked as she summoned the Basshaa Magnum into her grasp. “Or are you two all out? I’m almost disappointed. Almost.” She let the two Fangires have it, pumping them full of a combination of pressurized water and machine gun bullets from her two weapons. “...This time, there’s no getting away. One drowned rat, coming up!” She then activated the Basshaa Magnum’s Wake Up feature, and letting the Rat Fangire have it sweeping him away into the roof with a swirling cyclone of water before he shattered, the shards tinkling as they hit the floor. “Now, there’s only you…” Tempest smirked at the Sungazer tossing the Magnum aside and pulling out IXA’s personal fuestle. Slotting it in, she pressed the knuckle to the fuestle. “IXA, rise up.” the knuckle stated in that electronic voice Tempest knew so well by this point. Tempest leaped forwards IXA Calibur in hand and in blade form, flipping in midair and for a brief moment the Sungazer could have sworn he saw a blazing sun behind her. Letting loose a battlecry, she used both hands to swing the sword down from the top of the Sungazer’s head to the bottom of his pelvis bisecting him clean in two before the remains shattered. Panting and sweating, Tempest canceled her transformation. It was so good to be back, she thought to herself. No, not just back. Better than ever. “Fluttershy, were you watching?” Tempest asked herself. “I hope you were.”