Chapter 28- From Ashes
Big Macintosh walked slowly over to the bleachers, where only Otacon remained. The spectator ponies had left the area, either to check on family in town or move out of town limits. Granny Smith was looking around, trying to find Applebloom.
“Sir, you alright?” The big red stallion asked. At the moment, the male member of the Apple farm was chewing on a long stalk of wheat.
“Oh, hello” Otacon replied, picking up his head. Talking ponies now. The scientist smiled, moving to sit straight and bring his hands to rest over both knees. Changelings were not all that different from these creatures. But it was a nice change from seeing green and black. “Well, once again others must go forward while I stay behind.”
“Feelin’ ah can relate,” Big Macintosh said. Even though he was a male and most likely among the strongest ponies in town, it was often up to her sister and friends that ended up saving the day.
“Really? You look like you have can save the day by yourself...”
“Eeyup. But Ah’ve come to terms. We can’t all be heroes. And if somepony else is a hero, it means others do not have to. Rather let everything be safe at home, and let mah sis know she can come home and know all is safe and sound” Big Macintosh said. He walked over to sit down, looking over to the makeshift arena. It was really a noisy day in the farm today. It was nice from time to time, having adventures.
“Your sister?” Otacon asked, tilting his head to the side. Spike had opted to stay behind, keeping Otacon company. If he was going to be Twilight’s so called champion, he would have to get to know this guy better.
“Eeyup. The one with the gallon hat,” Big Macintosh said. Unlike the Dovahkiin who was friendly and quiet, the red stud found more in common with this fellow.
“I think I saw her. Can you tell me more about ponies? If that’s what you call yourselves.”
“Well, like what?” Big Macintosh asked. While he did not mind speaking, he was not a teacher. He wished Cherilee was here, she could explain things nicer than Twilight could.
“For starters, can you tell-” Otacon stopped talking, lifting his head at the sight of the Doctor walking over.
“Come Dr. Emmerich. Time to make yourself useful” Said the Time Lord with a smile.
“How?” Otacon asked, picking himself to stand. Big Macintosh also stood, turning to look at the two humans.
“I hear you are something of a scientist and good with robotics. I think I have something you can work with...” The Doctor said.
“Really? There is technology in this land?”
“Well, not like what you expect. But at least we can rig a satellite for you. And those nanites, can you replicate them? And Big Macintosh, you may want to stay around. A human woman is coming for you...” The Doctor grinned, leading Otacon around the bleachers and into the Tardis.
“Female?” Big Macintosh asked, lifting his eyebrows. Spike followed after the humans, wondering if he was going to get a partner.
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“Allons-y! Move aside” Blue Spy said, moving his arms up. “Give him room,” the masked man said. Rainbow Dash slowly stepped back, water starting to form in her eyes. The Crusaders, blinked quickly, got out of the way, more in shock. This was the first time they had ever witnessed something like this.
“Hey guys! That dragon is coming back!” Sokka said, lifting his right arm to point at the sky. He had narrowed both eyes, seeing Alduin circle around a few times at a distance.
“What’s it doing?!” Dan asked, moving to get to the side of Sokka. This kid was new, but at least, he was paying attention.
“It must be debating if it should flee or stay and finish us off,” Dovahkiin said. He lowered his head to look around. “We have to spread out! He can pick us up from the sky easier if we are in a group!”
A few of them, Nate and Rarity quickly moved to the side of Phoenix. Zecora, who had standing at the side of the masked man, quickly rushed to join the Spy. Both of her eyes narrowed, looking over the fallen human. She could treat him, but had a nagging thought if humans would respond to pony medicine.
“Umm, masked guy? How’s Phoenix?” Nate asked, quickly getting down to kneel with Spy. He looked down at his friend. Both of his eyes had narrowed, trying to spot anything.
“You! Are you a medic?” Spy asked, lifting his head to look at the new human.
“No, but I have had over dozens of certified hours of deep sea diving. I can give CPR” Nate said. Spy nodded, moving aside to let this fellow take over. While Spy was no slouch, he was not the best one to call for emergency treatment.
“We have to spread out! We can’t let them near Nate and Phoenix!” Soma said, quickly moving to sending himself south from the group. “Fluttershy!” Soma said, motioning for her to get close. The butter yellow pegasus picked up her head, hearing her name. She nodded and quickly joined him.
“What’s the matter, Soma?” She asked, hovering a few feet close.
“For now, I got a potion that can help Phoenix, but we can’t give it to him unless we know he’s safe. Stay with me. Once Alduin or whatever it is, is busy, you can give it to him.”
“Why not stand over them and use your shield?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m out of magic, I used most of it up while shooting off that beam. Also, if I stand over there with a shield, it’s a big giveaway that we are vulnerable” Soma said. How he wished he had some mana prisms, they could restore magic points. But he had little use for them since he had heavy duty weapons, so he sold them to Hammer some time ago. She nodded, looking over at the group. So far, Zecora, Blue Spy, Nate, Rainbow Dash and the Crusaders were near Phoenix.
The other humans quickly begun to move out. Ash and the mayor headed north, getting closer to the dragon. With any luck, the chainsaw would be able to finish the job. Knowing he was a prime target, Dovahkiin begun to head east, away from the buildings. He did not want the ash dragon to land on a building and start breathing fire or cast one of his spells. Applejack turned to look at her sister a moment and scowled. She was going to have a long talk later with that little troublemaker, but for now, she went to backup her partner.
“Come Twilight Sparkle!” Princess Luna said. Twilight frowned, looking at the sky. While she could try to peg that awful dragon with a spell, she needed it to get closer. Luna and Travis quickly moved to her side. “We must prepare to shoot blasts if we can. Our healing magic may not work on the humans” said the night princess. Travis frowned, not sure what he could do. He had to wait until Luna could play the slots again. The trio moved north-west.
“Shouldn’t we at least try?” Twilight asked. She had some success with Phoenix in the past.
“After the fight, Ok?” The pony and the alicorn looked at the assassin, shocked. “What? You want to paint a big red cross to the dragon that says “Easy target”?” Travis said, looking at the sky. Alduin had moved over to land on the top of City Hall.
“Oh no, we just had that roof fixed...” The Mayor said, frowning a bit. She could see some debris slide from his landing and a groan escape from the pressure of the beast. Ash raised an eyebrow at the mare.
“That’s your concern? We can’t reach it from down here!” Dan yelled out. He had stayed close to the new humans, trying to get a feel on them. Snake, Spy, Otacon, and now another kid and a guy that belonged in an 80’s action flick.
“Want me to use my party cannon and fire you up there?” Pinkie asked with a smile. Her jewel gave her a deceiving, evil smile. Dan turned to look at her and shut both eyes.
“Let’s not. Maybe we can find something else in town to put into it,” Dan said with a sigh. They had party cannons but no cannonballs? How fair was that?
“Maybe bowling balls?” Pinkie suggested.
“Now you’re talking! To the bowling alley!” Dan shouted, lifting his finger up as he hopped on Pinkie Pie again.
“Oh no mister! Its your turn!” Pinkie said. She bounced to get Dan off her, and then moved to get on his back, her hooves resting on his shoulders.
“Are you serious?” Dan said, finding her weight almost pushing him down.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy get rides from humans. It’s only fair since I already gave you rides!” Pinkie Pie said to grin.
“Inconceivable! In the middle of a dragon attack! Just, point me to the bowling alley!” Dan said, struggling to move forward with his fiance on his back. “You are going to cut back on cupcakes, young lady!”
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As people begun to spread out or move to the city hall, Sokka turned to look at the toddler ponies. While he knew life saving techniques, maybe it was better to let the more experienced adults handle this kind of situations. He was almost useless if it came down to an aerial fight as well. The youngest teen moved to rush over and towards the kids.
“Ralf! We have to get the Crusaders out of here!” Ralf looked around a bit and then nodded to Cherilee. Children were no place for the battlefield. Of course the teacher would be looking out for the kids.
“Girls! Get over here!” Ralf yelled out as he begun to walk west. He begun to look at the buildings and try to spot one that had some sort of cover. The Crusaders turned to look at their teacher and the soldier and then looked at each other.
“You better go with them,” Rarity said as she got closer. The white unicorn had moved to the side of her sister when they all begun to run off in different directions. Sokka came from behind, looking at them all.
“Ok, we better go” Sweetie Bell said. She looked down at how Spy was cutting off Phoenix’s shirt with his knife. The Crusaders and Sokka ran off towards the teacher and the big guy.
“Please watch over them” Rarity said, looking to Sokka. The young man nodded in response, looking at this little hosey things. He wondered if that gray pegasus and her child were alright.
“I think that place should be safe,” Ralf said, finally spotting a building that looked alright. It was a blacksmith shop. Least, he hoped so. There was a picture of an anvil on the sign outside. He pushed the front door open to look inside. No one home. “In here!” Ralf shouted, moving to the side to let the others in. The Crusaders went in first, followed by Cherilee and Sokka.
“Oh, a smithery,” Sokka said to look around. With any luck he could find spears or any other kind of throwing weapon. He quickly frowned, seeing nothing that could even look dangerous. Sure, there were pots, pans, knives, and other cooking utensils. No armor or weapons though.
“I figured, if anyplace in town had reinforced walls or anything, it would have to be a blacksmith’s workshop” the human soldier said. He stepped in to close the door and look around. Cherilee had walked over to the little ponies, hugging them to herself. They look frazzled.
“Calm down girls, we are safe here...” She said, smiling down at them. An angry face would not help things, though they deserved a strict lecture. Them and their caretakers.
“Will Mr. Wright be ok?” Applebloom asked, lifting her head up.
“I’m sure he will be. He’s..” the teacher stopped talking turning to look at the other humans. While she had heard of Wright during the whole trial, she had never met him.
“I don’t know him” Sokka said, shrugging. He had a pot on his head, testing it if he could use it as a helmet.
“He got the other humans and ponies looking after him. I’m sure he’ll pull it through,” Ralf said, trying to smile. “I mean, you saw him using that giant blue finger in the tournament, right? I’m sure he’s no slouch.”
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As the babysitting group were moving to the blacksmith’s workshop, some of the others finally got into attack position. “I wish I had my Nikita,” Snake said, having to rely in his pistol. He had taken cover at the side of the building, peeking over the corner to look up at the dragon. The guy that looked like a viking had moved to the side of the building, moving to drink some sort of potion in his hand. The young man with white hair had moved to the side... and pulled out a god damn RPG from nowhere and took aim. “Really?” Snake asked, taking out his pistol and start shooting. He stopped though, picking up his head at the sound of heavy breathing.
“Finally!” Trixie said, huffing and puffing. She still had the gear tied on to her by the changelings.
“What are you doing here?” Snake asked, moving back behind the wall to look at her.
“Did you expect to leave me behind like that?!” Trixie shouted, feeling better that she could breath. “No one stayed behind to take this off me!” Snake moved his right hand up to rub the spot between his eyes. Raving lunatics? No problem. Shamanistic warriors, yeah been there done that. Man that had his brother’s soul in his arm? Had trouble with that one. Now ponies and unicorns and all that was missing was rainbows.
“Don’t move. What were you carrying anyway?” Snake asked, kneeling to get the straps of the saddlebags off her.
“Trixie is not sure, she was blindfolded a lot until they started to march your friend and-” Trixie moved her head suddenly to the left, as Snake struck her with the reverse of his right hand. “Why do you keep hitting Trixie?!” Once more, she was welcomed by another palm.
“If you refer to yourself in the third person again, I will do worse than hit you. I don’t have time for this” Snake said, drawing his hand back. He had no idea why he wanted to hit this unicorn so much. But even other terrorists had never referred to themselves in third damn person. His head turned back, turning to look at the contents of the saddle bags. Thanks to Trixie’s reactions from getting hit, the bags fell to the ground and deposit the contents on the ground.
“What is going on?” Trixie asked, opening her good eye. Snake had stopped, and was looking over the things on the ground. “What was... I carrying?” She asked, finally getting a clue.
“With any luck, some help,” Snake said. Books, tools, and a few chemical compounds. He smiled. “Quickly, tell me what kind of magic you can do.”
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Once Rarity had seen her sister and the other Crusaders safely with the others, she turned back to see what Spy and Nate were doing.
“I don’t see anything blocking his nostrils” Nate said, his face down to look at Phoenix’s face. “But the blood from his mouth worries me” Spy moved the shirt out to the sides and then moved his head up and down to inspect Phoenix’s body.
“Ze man had taken a blow from a” Blue Spy stopped talking, shaking his head to the sides. “By ze dragon’s tail.” The espionage agent had not believed those words came out from his mouth. “Are ze ribs broken and lungs punctured?”
“God, I hope not. I’m more worried about his spinal column. If he took damage there, we can’t move him” Nate said. Both of his hands moved to Phoenix’s chest and slide them to feel the rib cage. “Crap... some of the ribs feel broken from the side.” Rainbow Dash picked up her eyebrows, tears now starting to fall from her face.
“Is that bad?” She asked. Zecora said nothing, but nodded in response. It was not a good time to rhyme.
“Really bad, if ze ribs punctured ze lungs, blood and water will drown him from ze insides,” Spy said.
“Let’s just try to get him breathing first, and hope that he just cut his mouth. Spy, left or right handed?”
“Both” Spy said. Nate raised his eyebrows, but then quickly shook his head to the sides.
“Ok, pick a hand. Get your other hand over the top. Have your fingers lock around your palm, like a claw between your fingers. Place them over his collarbone, but low. Be careful with the ribs. We have to hurry, Phoenix will suffer from oxygen deprivation if we don’t do it!” Nate said. He turned to look back at Phoenix’s face and moved. Using his left hand, he held the lawyer’s chin up. The right hand moved to hold down Phoenix’s nostrils and then pull the mouth open with his other hand.
“Better you than me” Spy said, clearing not liking the man on man action there. Nate frowned but then took a breath of air into his lungs and then kiss Phoenix to blow hot air into the former lawyer. Rarity blushed a bit, not sure how to think of the motion. CPR was nothing like this, at least for pony kind. But a kiss between a stud and a stud...
“Go!” Nate said, lifting his head up after the breath of life. Why did he taste coffee? Nate turned to look at Spy, who had begun to place pressure into his hands to bounce Phoenix’s chest up and down. Spy could not help but grunt and smile. His job was to kill people, and here he was, saving the life of a stranger.
“All you are doing is blowing air?” Rainbow Dash asked, moving closer back to the other side of the two humans. Nate picked up his head, turning to Rainbow.
“Well, yes, but-”
“Let me do it” said the element of Loyalty. “I’m a pegasus, I can hold more air than normal.”
“Well... Alright. Dude, stop” Nate said, turning to look at the masked man. Spy nodded, withdrawing his hands. “Get air into your lungs, as much as you can. Make sure you cover his entire mouth. Blow the air in, and I will hold his mouth open.” Rainbow nodded, and then drew air through her mouth and held it. Nate moved to open Phoenix’s mouth with both hands again. “Go!” Rainbow Dash lowered her head, easily covering Phoenix’s lips with her own. She blew out, sending all the air she had gathered into her lungs. There was so much air that it made Phoenix’s prone chest to swell up.
“Iz that much air safe?” Spy asked, lifting his eyebrows to look at Nate.
“I have no idea, no one has actually been able to do that to a person!” The treasure hunter felt a bit weirded out by that. “It should at least help clear out-”
Phoenix raised his head, almost immediately coughing out all the air being blown in. Rainbow Dash immediately picked up her head, eyes opened wide as she found her own lips being brushed by her partner’s. Phoenix moved his left arm up, covering his face as he tried to stand.
“Nix?” Rainbow asked, lowering her head to his level. The human lawyer raised his head a bit, trying to clear his lungs. A bit of blood was seen on his white sleeve. “What happened?”
“Phoenix!” Nate said, moving his hands to his own lap. He released a sigh, feeling a lot of tension release. The Spy moved his own gloved right hand to the ground and help himself stand up.
“You have been, shall you say, unconscious, comrade” Blue Spy said. Once they got out of the way, Rainbow moved her head in to rub against Phoenix’s neck.
“I was so worried,” she whispered, eyes closed as she smiled.
“Hey hey, I am not that easy to kill. You mind getting off my legs though? I can’t feel them” He said in a low voice. It was hard to breathe.
“Phoenix... No one is on your legs...” Nate said, moving his head to look at lawyer’s lower half. Phoenix in turn, blinked once and turned to look back at the other human. Spy closed both eyes a bit, turning his head away.
“What?” Phoenix asked, moving his head to look down at his legs. Both hands went to touch his thighs, only to stop and wince. Why was he having trouble breathing? The cyan pegasus once more took a step back, turning to look over at Zecora. The Zebra nodded, as if to confirm Rainbow’s concerns. For a pony to lose their legs forever was like killing them.
“Is Mr. Wright ok?” Fluttershy asked, having run over to the group. With the mean dragon busy with the others, she had taken the potion given to her by Soma. Nate bit his lower lip, turning to look at the newcomer. “What’s wrong?” She laid the potion on the ground, turning to look at her friends.
“That is a potion of most strange sight, will it make the human alright?” Zecora finally spoke, turning to look at the strange red colored liquid.
“I don’t know, Soma just said to give it to Phoenix” the yellow pegasus explained. Phoenix at this point had managed to sit up, Nate lending assistance.
“I thought we are not to give people zuffering from spinal damage food or drink...” Spy asked, lifting his eyebrows.
“What choice do we have? I am not sure how long we can stay in the open, and we have no idea how much internal damage Phoenix actually has” Nate moved out to take the potion and opened it up for Phoenix. The lawyer nodded, moving out to take the tonic. He leaned his head back, starting to drink the concoction. It tasted horrible, but the lawyer forced himself to drink the whole thing. When he was done, he lowered his head and released a sigh.
“That tasted horrible!” Phoenix said, tossing his head to the side. He frowned, letting the empty bottle fall from his grasp.
“Are you ok?” Rainbow Dash asked, lifting her head to look at her partner’s face. Nate moved back as well, standing up.
“I.. I feel better actually” Phoenix said. He could breathe, and the pain felt by his body was gone. He moved his hands back to his legs, only to frown. “But my legs aren’t responding...”
“No!”
Nate closed both of his eyes at Rainbow’s reaction. She had narrowed her eyes, turning to look around for help from others. The rest of the humans and ponies had moved away, either hiding from the fight or taking it to that dragon. “I.. I won’t let it happen!” The cyan pegasus narrowed her eyes to look at Phoenix. “Everyone get back!”
“Rainbow Dash, please think about the warning!” Rarity said, moving in front of her friend.
“What is she talking about?” Nate asked, turning to look at his partner for an explanation.
“She wants to shoot Phoenix with her Element of Loyalty!” Rarity said, looking up at Nate. “Please, make her see reason!”
“Loyalty iz a weapon, like ze Peacemaker gun?” Spy asked, confused about the whole shoot part. Rainbow shut her eyes. Loyalty, right? She begun to close her eyes and remember the trial of how Phoenix was at his best. The time’s her friends needed her, and she was there. The jewel on her neck started to glow.
“Damnit! It doesn’t look like she’s stopping!” Nate said. He quickly got out of the way, not sure what to do.
“Rainbow! I- Should I be doing something?” Phoenix asked. He knew better than to try to stop Dash when she was like this.
“I don’t know... Focus on Hope?” Rarity suggested, also stepping back. Phoenix frowned, but closed his eyes. Hope, huh? He closed his eyes and remembered the time Maya had been kidnapped, and the hope that he would one day find her and did. He thought back when Miles career and liberty were at risk, and he had hope that he could save his friend. The cyan pegasus flared her wings out to the sides and released the gathered energy into Phoenix’s chest.
Once the blue beam connected, Phoenix begun to glow. Like Dan, the aura had started to collect and spread along his body. This felt warm to Phoenix. Almost familiar. The Magatama he was wearing also started to shine in blue. The others simply watched, not sure what was going to happen. Rarity studied the lawyer hand, expecting a Cutie Mark. Instead, the human begun to float from the ground a bit.
It started with his shoes, which had signs of dirt and grass stains. They were cleaned, returning to their black polish. The pants followed, turning from their haggard and torn appearance back to almost new blue. The shirt which had been cut open, begun to close back around Phoenix’s chest and button up properly. Spy perked an eyebrow, not sure how to take clothing being fixed by a magical blast. No one was prepared though, when his old blue dress jacket appeared back over the lawyer’s upper body.
“What the...” Nate said, looking from head to toes at Phoenix’s transformation. Rainbow stopped firing her blast, hoping it was enough. When she opened her eyes, she threw her head back as her mouth fell open. Phoenix also opened his eyes, looking down at his body. He could feel his legs again! And he was back in his old suit! And it was clean. Both of his hands were raised to his chest feeling the material over his form. It even felt new. After a moment, he picked himself to stand and face the others.
“What?” Phoenix asked, tilting his head to the side. As he stood up, a thin red tie begun to appear and finish the ensemble. Even his once attorney badge again appeared back on his collar.
“Phoenix... you look- well, sharp,” Nate said, taking a moment to look recover his thought process.
“Indeed, you got back to your fabulous self!” Rarity said, clearly impressed. Everyone though, picked up their eyes at a sudden red flare on his left hand. Phoenix shut both of his eyes, wincing a bit at the sudden light. When he opened them, he spotted an mark similar to Dan’s on his skin.
“A phoenix to a Phoenix?” Rainbow Dash asked, walking over to her partner. At least he looked alright. The others turned to look at each other, wondering what that mark meant.
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Back at the fight, Snake and the others with guns were having a tough time. Alduin had been spewing fire. A beeping in his ear made him stop. “The codec?” He stopped putting things into his cardboard box and raised his right hand to the side of his head to answer. Trixie blinked, turning to look at what the human was doing.
“Snake! Snake! Come in, this is Otacon.” The codec had sprung to life, but there was still no radar. It was a start though.
“Otacon? Is the codec working? I can hear you, but I got no map yet” Snake said. The light blue unicorn turned her head to the sides, looking for the human that had worn glasses. He was nowhere to be seen.
“Well, The Doctor and I having been trying to whip something up. The codec works via satellite, so right now we are just bouncing the signal with his Tardis” Otacon said. He was next to the Doctor, who was listening in via a screen. It was audio only.
“Still a few kinks to work out here and there” said the Time Lord. Behind them, Lyra and Sephiroth were standing. Sephiroth had stayed quiet, putting his suit back on. Lyra was just surprised she could listen to Snake.
“This is not from a radio?” Lyra asked, looking around.
“Can we keep the chatter to a minimum?” Snake said, frowning a bit. Trixie shut both her eyes. Had this human totally lost it?
“Snake, what’s going on in your end?” Otacon asked. He turned to the others, moving his finger over his lips to keep them quiet.
“It’s bad. We got at least one man down. That dragon thing has perched itself on top of a building and spewing fire at us. Most of us have no projectiles, and if we can’t get it down we’re sitting ducks” Snake said.
“Who are you talking to?” Trixie asked. Snake took a moment to look at Trixie and moved his finger to his lips. He then open his right hand, motioning to Trixie’s muzzle. She quickly shut up.
“Snake, can you keep it busy? We have some back up on the way” Otacon said with a smile. He turned to look at Big Macintosh, who was walking in with his partner. It was a human figure inside what looked like a yellow space suit with giant ball shaped shoulder pads. The right hand had been missing, instead it had a green looking barrel. A red helmet with a green visor hid the human’s face.
“Name’s Samus Aran.”
Author's note: Yes, first female human champion appears. Samus is from the Metroid series. Chapter once again proofread by LyonAzakura