//------------------------------// // Date Nightmare // Story: Returning Survivor // by Itchy //------------------------------// Mecha groaned, as he sat up and looked around his house, trying to recall what happened. Failing that, he settled for watching his friends wake up, groaning as much as Mecha. Solaris and Shining Armor were both rubbing their foreheads, both heavily bruised for some, probably funny, reason. Doctor Whooves was attempting to dislodge himself from the ceiling, which Mecha would need to fix, as well as the wall Big Macintosh was resting in. Blinking, Mecha said, “Glad Sugary Spice had that sleep over.” LINEBREAKER Smiling, Mecha stood back and took a good look at his work, the hole in the wall completely un-noticeable. Turning, Mecha's ears twitched, as he heard a faint sound outside his door. Walking up to it, he opened the door just as Sweetie Bell was about to knock. Blinking, Mecha asked, “Can I help you?” Nodding her head, Sweetie Bell asked, “Is Sugary Spice here? I wanted to talk to her for a bit.” Shaking his head, Mecha told her, “She left about a half-hour ago for some tutoring with Twilight Sparkle. Besides, didn't you just have that sleepover with her and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Sighing, the young filly replied, “I did, but something just came up, and I wanted to get her opinion on it before going to Apple Bloom with it.” “Well, sorry about that, but Sugary Spice really needs this English tutoring, and won't be back for another hour,” Mecha said. Shaking her head, Sweetie Bell said, “Sorry for bothering you then,” before walking off. Raising an eyebrow, Mecha shrugged his shoulders before walking back to put his tools away, only to spot Wolfgang stuck inside the paint bucket. Eye twitching, Mecha said, “And now I need to give you a bath...” LINEBREAKER Mecha was walking through town, trying to figure out a way to kill time until his date with Cheerilee. Maybe he could talk to Big Macintosh about... no, he was helping out with the sisterhoof social. Doctor Whooves could probably use some help with... no, he was out of town with Ditzy Do and her daughter Dinky Do for some muffin festival. Shining Armor and Solaris were out as well, seeing as Mecha didn't want to catch a train to Canterlot and back. Maybe he should just forge something until it was time to go? Except that he'd given Snips and Snails the forge for the day, with the promise to let them work unhindered. Sighing, Mecha sat down on a bench in a park, trying to come up with something, when he suddenly heard singing. Lovely, harmonious, singing. Familiar too, if he heard the words right. Chuckling, Mecha made his way towards the local pond, taking in the scene in front of him. There, resting on the shore, was a siren, the source of the singing. Surrounding her was a crowd of awestruck stallions, eyes wide and blank, caught in the trance cast by her song. Mecha merely shook his head, as he watched their marefriends try and snap them out of their trances, to no avail. Taking a seat under a nearby tree, Mecha waited for Twilight Sparkle or Fluttershy to show up, as they were possibly the only two ponies in town who'd know what to do- besides Mecha that is. And lo and behold, here came Twilight Sparkle running up to the pond, Spike on her trail. Mecha laughed, as Spike's eyes went wide and blank the moment he heard the Siren's song, slowly coming to a halt in front of her. Twilight Sparkle noticed this, and tried to snap him out of it, failing much like the other mares their. Eventually, Twilight Sparkle gave up, turning to the siren, trying to talk to her. Unfortunately, the Siren didn't seem to hear her, and continued her song. Getting frustrated, Twilight Sparkle began to build up her magic, at which point Mecha stepped in, saying, “I wouldn't do that if I were you! Unicorn magic isn't the most stable thing to mix with a siren's song.” Startled, Twilight Sparkle's concentration broke, as she turned to face Mecha, and asked, “Mecha? What are you doing here? And why aren't you being effected by the siren?” “Was bored and heard the siren,” Mecha told her. “And as for the song, you'd be surprised how much it pales in comparison to Lust's singing, and I broke out of that trance. Granted, that was only because of an... outside source, but still.” Sighing Twilight Sparkle looked between the entranced ponies and Mecha, asking, “What would you suggest then? If magic doesn't work, the only other solution I know of is...” Eyes widening, Mecha waved his hooves in front of him, saying, “Nonononononono! We don't have to go that far, she doesn't plan on eating them or anything!” Blinking, Twilight turned to Mecha, and asked, “How the hay do you know that?” Shrugging, Mecha pointed at the siren, and said, “She's asking for some directions.” Stunned, Twilight said, “Once again, how the hay do you know that?” Deciding to demonstrate how, Mecha cleared his throat, while turning to the siren. Cracking his neck, he sang out in the language of the siren, “Madam, if you'd be so kind as to be silent for the moment, so that we may remove those effected by your song.” Blinking, the siren turned to face Mecha, before replying, “Of course! I'm sorry about that, I didn't realize they were under my spell.” Nodding his head, Mecha waited a moment for the stallions and Spike to snap out of their trance, before having them pulled away. At this point, only he and Twilight Sparkle remained, so he started singing again, saying, “Thank you. Now, if you don't mind me asking, where are you trying to get to? After all, it's not everyday that a siren winds up in your town's pond.” Nodding back, the siren said, “I'm looking for a town named Ponyville. It's suppose to be quite nice, as well as understanding of unique situations.” Quirking his eyebrow, Mecha told her, “This is Ponyville. Although, you've peaked my interest when you said unique situation. Might I inquire as to yours?” Smiling, the siren told him, “You may. My name is Synge, and I'm a vegetarian.” Eyes widening, Mecha replied with, “That certainly is unique. No offense, but I wasn't aware that it was possible to survive as a vegetarian siren.” Shaking her head, Synge said, “It's possible, but difficult. I just couldn't bring myself to eat anything with a face, and since the common diet includes ponies... well, you can see why I left... I'm sorry, but I don't know your name.” Giving himself a face hoof, Mecha replied, “That would be my fault. My name is Mecha, local handypony and metal worker. It's a pleasure to meet you, although I must ask if you intend to live in the pond?” Nodding her head, Synge told him, “So long as the town will let me. Although, I should probably learn how not to put every male into a trance whenever I speak.” Chuckling, Mecha told his new friend, “Don't worry about it, I can pull a few strings with my aunt to allow you to stay. As for the trance thing, my friend here would probably love to teach you Equestrian in exchange for you teaching her Siren Speak.” Smiling, Synge clapped her hands while replying, “Oh thank you! I'd love it if you could arrange that, and I'd be more than willing to teach your friend!” Shaking his head, Mecha turned to Twilight Sparkle, who was staring at him in shock. Lightly slapping her face, Mecha asked, “Are you okay?” Giving her head a shake, Twilight asked, “What's going on?” Laughing, Mecha told her, “Meet Synge, a vegetarian siren who just moved into town.” Blinking, Twilight Sparkle looked Mecha dead in the eyes, and said, “Vegetarian siren?” Nodding, Mecha continued, “She wants to know if you'd be willing to teach her Equestrian in exchange for her teaching you Siren Speak.” Looking between the hopeful looking siren and Mecha, Twilight Sparkle asked, “Is that what you two were chatting in?” Getting a nod in response, Twilight Sparkle sat down to think. After a couple of minutes, she finally sighed, before saying, “Okay.” Smiling, Mecha turned to Synge, and gave her a nod. Squealing with joy, Synge leaned forward and gave both ponies a hug. LINEBREAKER Mecha did one last run of his checklist for his date. Picnic basket? Check. Sugary Spice dropped of at Fluttershy's? Check. Food in basket? Check. Wolfgang fed? Check. Flower carefully placed to surprise Cheerilee with? Check. Everything seemed to be in place, so Mecha waited by the road out of Ponyville for Cheerilee. He didn't have to wait long, as he spotted Cheerilee walking down the street, giving him a wave. Smiling, Mecha picked up the basket, and began to trot down the street with his marefriend. Coming to a stop shortly after a turn, Mecha gestured to the field, saying, “A lovely field for a lovely lady.” Giggling at Mecha's antics, Cheerilee spread out the blanket she'd brought, upon which Mecha placed his basket. Sitting down, Cheerilee asked him, “How was your day?” Chuckling, Mecha pulled out a daisy sandwich, while saying, “Interesting. Had to help Twilight Sparkle deal with our newest resident.” Raising an eyebrow, Cheerilee opened the basket, gasping lightly at the rose. “You shouldn't have!” she told him, putting the thorn free flower behind her ear. “Although, you have me intrigued about this new resident.” Swallowing a bite of his sandwich, Mecha said, “Her name's Synge, and I had to help with the language barrier.” Pulling out a sandwich of her own, Cheerilee asked, “Language barrier? Where was she from, Camelidaeia*? Or Bovidaeia*? No, with a name like Synge, she's probably from Cervinaeia.*” Shaking his head, Mecha told her, “Nah, she's from the coast.” “Really? Then why was there a language barrier?” Cheerilee asked. “Because Synge is a siren,” Mecha replied, finishing his sandwich before reaching into the basket for another. “A siren? As in the sing an enchanting song, eat the entranced sailors kind of siren?” Cheerilee said, looking at Mecha dumbfounded. “Nah,” Mecha said, “The, asking for directions to the town she's in, not realizing she's enchanting all the guys in town, while hoping for a veggie burger kind of siren.” “She's a vegetarian?” Cheerilee asked, grabbing a slice of apple pie from the basket. “Yeah, and is now living in the town pond,” Mecha told her. “So you know Siren Speak?” Cheerilee asked, quirking her head to the side. Nodding his head, Mecha replied, “Learned it from my old man. You'd be surprised how useful it is, although I wouldn't recommend using it as a talent show entry.” Raising an eyebrow, Cheerilee put her cleared dish back into the basket, while asking, “Why not?” Helping Cheerilee clean up, Mecha told her, “Because the enchanting effect only works on stallions and lesbians. I ended up running out of the auditorium while being chased by by a horde of stallions who wanted to... ugh, thinking about it makes me shudder.” Chuckling, Cheerilee's response was interrupted when an arrow flew by Mecha's face, leaving a small cut on the tip of his nose. Blinking, Mecha looked at the arrow lodged in the tree, before his eyes widened. Turning towards the forest where it came from, Mecha yelled to Cheerilee, “Run!” before he opened his Mechanical leg to reveal two swords, grabbing one with his other foreleg, shifting into a battle stance. Eyes widening at the tone Mecha used, Cheerilee turned towards town, running as fast as she could. When she was out of sight, Mecha spoke up, saying, “What does the Nightmare clan want with me?” His question was met with silence, as he stood, waiting. Finally, several ponies in extremely dark blue, borderline black, cloaks walked out. The largest one, most likely the leader, spoke up, saying, “How did you know we hailed from the Nightmare clan? Not that it matters, you'll be dead soon enough, but I'm curious.” Snorting, Mecha motioned to the arrow lodged in the tree, saying, “Only the Nightmare clan would be willing to use a metal as expensive as Nightmare metal for arrow tips. But I digress, what do you want with me?” Chuckling, the leader replied, “Your death. After all, you are in the way of returning our princess to her true form, and we can't have that!” and he drew his sword, made from Nightmare metal just like the arrow head, signaling for the other three to do the same, revealing a crossbow user as well as two ax wielders. Frowning, Mecha charged forward, spinning pass a strike from the leader, and continued moving towards his target. Getting close to the ax users, he dove under the top blade and above the lower one, leaping out of it towards the figure with the crossbow. Startled, the figure tried to back away, firing a shot off in an attempt to keep Mecha away. Instead of stepping away though, Mecha knocked it away with one of his blades, before lunging forward with his other blade, glowing black with the magic he was channeling into it. Closing his eyes, the figure was startled when, instead of decapitating him like he thought Mecha was going to do, his blade shattered the ebony crossbow held in his hooves. So shocked in fact, that he failed to notice Mecha's kick that threw him straight back into a tree, knocking him out. Turning, Mecha's eyes went wide as he suddenly bent backwards, a pitch black ax chopping through the air where his neck used to be. Snapping forward, Mecha lashed out with his blades, trying to slice the ax in half, only for them to be caught by the leader's sword. Growling, Mecha started to swing rapidly, only for his opponent to match him blow for blow. Suddenly, the leader ducked down as an ax strike came from behind him, catching Mecha off guard. Thankfully, the ax didn't have that long a reach, leaving a light gash running across his chest. After the ax finished its swing, the leader leapt up with an uppercut, which Mecha barely caught with his swords, before he had to duck under another ax attack. Turning, Mecha noticed that he'd been surrounded by the three figures, causing him to tense up. Taking in a deep breath, he channeled his magic into his limbs, before moving in a rapid blur, striking the cultists as fast as he could, attempting to break the circle surrounding him. Unfortunately, they were all well trained, and were able to either block or dodge each of his strikes, causing Mecha to growl. Building up as much magic as his swords could hold, before releasing it in a circle around him. Caught off guard, the two ax wielders took the full blast, weapons braking as they flew through the air, unconscious. The leader, however, was able to leap back in time to avoid the initial burst, and thus leap over the remaining magic as it approached him. “Impressive,” he told Mecha, gesturing to the damage he'd done. “You'd make for a fine addition if you'd join us, possibly head of your own unit. What do you say, live and join, or say no and die?” Snorting, Mecha replied, “Thanks but no thanks, I like princess Luna the way she is.” Sighing, the remaining attacker said, “Very well,” before charging forward with a diagonal slash. Blocking that by crossing his blades, Mecha threw the attack back before slashing at the leader's stomach, missing when he took a step back. Grasping his sword with both hooves, the assailant lunged forward in an attempt to stab Mecha in the chest, which Mecha span around, swinging his blades at the cloaked figure's neck, who'd foreseen the attack and ducked down. Turning around, the figured stared down Mecha, as both ignored the glows surrounding them, similar to the time Mecha had fought the wendigo. The glows slowly lifted into the air, creating a giant light version of the two, as they charged forward, swinging their weapons. Overhead slash with horizontal strike, sidestepped and ducked under. Lunge to the chest, knocked away with a counter thrust. Twisted around while swinging sword at side. Leapt over while twisting mid-air. This continued on, neither fighter giving an inch, sweat dripping down their faces. They were so focused on this fight that both missed the appearance of Celestia herself, followed by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, as well as Cheerilee. Neither noticed as Celestia looked up into the sky, eyes widening at the sight of their fight being projected into the air. Although Cheerilee noticed her look, and asked, “What's going on princess?” Eyes locked onto the images fighting in the sky, Celestia replied, “They've locked themselves in magical combat, meaning we can't interfere.” Eyes widening, Twilight Sparkle flinched as Mecha managed to leave a cut in the figure's arm at the price of a gash under his earlier wound, saying, “You're the most powerful pony in Equestria! Surely you can do something?!” Shaking her head, Celestia told her most faithful student, “Magic itself is involved in this fight. The only way anypony could do something would be for a third combatant to join, which would only make things worse. No, the only thing we can do is wait for this to end.” Neither of the two fighters had heard this of course, and continued their bout. Ducking under a swing from the hooded figure, before releasing another wave of magic at him. The attacker responded by ducking underneath it and lunging forward, lodging his blade in Mecha's stomach. Grunting, Mecha released the blade in his non-mechanical hoof, using it to grab the blade. Caught off guard by this, the assailant attempted to pull the blade out, only to stop when Mecha stabbed him, before pushing him off his blade. Landing on the ground, the figure looked up as Mecha walked towards him, blood dripping from his mouth. Laughing, the figure said, “Finish me!” Raising his blade, Mecha stared him straight in the eyes, before saying, “No,” and knocked him out with the flat of his blade. Pulling the blade out of his chest, Mecha threw it onto the ground, before facing the group of ponies staring at him. Smiling, Mecha said, “Would one of you take the Nightmare metal weapons to my forge please?” before collapsing onto the ground. *Homelands for camels, goats, and red deer respectively. Note: red deer lands are independent of the rest of the deer lands.