My Little Pony Realization

by Slendy

Episode 18 - ...Who Needs Enemies?

Act IV - Faux Hero

"<Rage Spike>!!" A crash of glass and a tinge of yellow disrupted the flow of flames, splashing the ceiling in its red blaze. Crimson Blade stumbled back from the massive gash to its throat, losing its balance under the force of its attack being parried at the last possible instance. Losing my momentum I stepped down from the motion of the skill, clutching the sword that bitch swapped for my beloved Genesis. The sword was a pale silver, it had seen better days, wrapped at the hilt with a worn bandage, obscuring a small wolf symbol engraved into the middle of the guard.

With the crisis in front of me adverted for a moment I peeked over my shoulder at the two mares below. "Man... I've been looking everywhere for you idiots." It was easy pinpointing where the Temple was roughly by tracking Rain but I had no idea where the entrance was or how to navigate the floors and hallways

I saw Rain stare up at me with a teary expression, bet she feels real dumb right now. "You came back..." Her voice was breaking and clutched in her hooves was Genesis, that alone made me ease a little knowing it was in good hooves. As for her surprising answer...

Despite my seething rage, my pink eyes through my bangs softened, offering a small smile. "'Course I did," Turning around, I drew the sword toward Crimson. "That's what friends are for, right? Oh, before I forget," I stepped back and promptly smiled ever-so-smugly in her face, flicking her forehead. "I told ya soooo~!"

She winced and pouted while Silverwing pulled herself to sit upright. "Fine! You were right, okay!" Ahh... inner peace or the steps leading to that margin had become clear as I faced the approaching behemoth that held a missing piece of Genesis under all that armor

"Now then, allow me to once again clean up your Goddamn mess you gaggle of bumbling sheep!" I declared matter-of-factly, losing my arrogant smile for a morbid frown and apathetic eyes. "Right now, however, I'm royally pissed off."

Crimson raised into a hunch, lunging forward as his sword crashed through the concrete, missing the glint of red that sliced across his helmet's cheek, followed by a radiant roundhouse kick to the back of the head as the old blade was tossed skyward, clasped in my hoof as I brought the weight of <Meteor Fall> crashing down on its nape, the force of the blast tossing me back while I curved my buckler behind me. Without a command the air condensed and dispersed from the face of the shield, propelling me under the massive blade, tearing the sword through the slit in the visor as I twisted with both hooves, the sword's edge a brilliant blue.

With two horizontal swipes, I left the monster reeling while I flipped over a hand-grab, retreating backward from two low-bearing upswings, and rolled to my right, evading the large wall of blackish-red flames that scored the earth, my ponytail nicked by the flames as I refused to let up, holding my hoof close to my chest as I flashed a series of colors. <Vitality>, <Strength>, <Stamina Up>, <Berseker>, <Evasion>, <Critical Eye>, the very surge of skills shimmered like a spectacle of colors across my aura, everything was sharpened to a fine edge that I could effortlessly navigate, such as the oncoming tip of a sword through the fire.

Pushing back on my forehooves I threw my body away from the slant of the coiled sword, twisting my buckler to brace the heavy slashes that intersected across its face. The force applied sent me flying toward the others, spotting Seraph and Gin aiding the rest in evacuating to the safety of the corridor. Riot spotted me and rushed from the crowd, both his shields unfolded as they flourished with a light blue glow. "I gotcha! <Airlock Shields>!" I pressed my back hooves to the faces, the wind blowing through my armor and fur as I tore back across the arena, bringing the blade high with a warcry, matching the light of the magma to our flanks.

A massive arc of hardlight split the seams of the knight's armor, my body's force embedding an impression into the ground as the bolts of electric blue snapped between us, the left arm having been amputated entirely while I spun round to skate my sword across his, diverting the flow of flames as we pulled back, tossing more into the ceiling while we both raised our blades high, clanking them together in the middle with a dry burst of air.

Suddenly, Crimson pulled back, his boot shoving me back by the muzzle. Lifting its coiled sword high the embers condensed across the top of the sword, extending its length with a glowing, cherry-red edge as the heat surrounding us increased exponentially. "Crap..." I sneered as it brought the weapon to its waist, spinning twice as I was forced to block both powerful; sweeps of the molten blade, this repeated a second time, dragging me closer to the fires below.

Crimson brought the sword back, then leaned for a striking thrust that almost tore through my flank had I not rolled, but his left leg was ready, snapping out to catch me as the blade's searing edge burned across my chestplate, that little chance of damage negation taking effect as it grunted, stumbling back while the force smacked me toward the doorway, many gasps and words spoken outside my hearing. Then my ears twitched, spotting the knight prodding the way forward with a wave of flames behind him, the tip of his lance-like sword buckling up against my shield while we broke apart.

He plunged his blade again, then again, each chipping my health away as I lost the momentum I once had, something kept messing with my sight, was it coming from the back wall? Dammit, I need to stay focused, whatever it was is disorientating, when I focused on it that strain prospered. Ack...!

"Merry!" Hearing my name actually snapped my thinking in place as my ear bled from the screech of metal to my right, the old sword holding up against this hell blade of the boss'. Drawing the raging sword away from me I felt my body slide back, snorting while my health dropped into the yellow. Compared to most Region Bosses this one wasn't letting up, even with one arm in the grave

"Switch!" I had to concentrate, throwing myself back Skye brought his sword clattering across Crimson's upward swing, while he was struck he managed to hold back any of its combos for a split second while I heard the faint hiss and hum of my sword crackle across my back. "Alright, switch out!"

His sword buried itself and Crimson's through the ground, an explosive chain of fire, unfortunately, knocking the Black Swordsman away as I threw myself at the boss, blade a royal blue, trailing a bountiful amount of light alongside the true edge, basking the world in a far less dark field. "<Phantom Rush>." My voice growled, bringing it across in a diagonal from the top right as I slipped under the thrash of Crimson's sword, twisting with my left forehoof I threw my sword diagonally from the lower left, twirling under the left stump while something skimmed my tail

As I came around to face the glowering knight his eyes were caught in the glare of my blade's slant, tearing through the helmet and out the right peck. Kneeling while his sword grazed my mane I skewered his abdomen and tore my sword through his breastplate, the velocity of the skill lifting me skyward, basking the two of us in a blinding light as I brought the sky down atop its charred scalp, this final, devastating sheer straight through the middle of the cracked armor brought a storm of lacerations from the ceiling, practically shredding the ground with a single halo of blue escaping the Crimson Blade as the skill came to a resounding finale.

The last inch of its health bar was drained, forcing down the knight to his knee before me, the flames however ceased to rage. To the crowd that watched from the doorway, they all gasped as our brief moment of clarity was snuffed out, my frown reaching the eyes of the knight as it brought its coiled greatsword above my head a, refusing to die, even as a mere pixel remained of its once impressive pool of health.

"No!" "Run!" "Get out of there!"

I put the sword forward the second his came down, a small brush of flames tickling my hooves as I stared up at the blade's rugged edge a mere millimeter from my forehead. "Here, this is yours, right?" "Holy crap that was close!" My hoof presented the Crimson Blade the counterfeit sword I was left with. It was a White Tier weapon, yet its stats were higher than a Blue's, and if you paid closer attention to the knight's armor, you'd see the matching crest on his empty scabbard. "You left your valuable possession to Celrus, to guard it for you."

The knight merely stared down at my rather small form compared to his own, the sword still suspended before my snout. Then my eyes twigged on to the flames that raged across the sword, rather, how they began to fade, hissing in the cool breeze that entered from the doorway, taking away the dark red flames from his body, leaving a mere, ruined knight as it lowered its twisted blade beside us in favor of reaching for the sword in my hoof.

The aged fingers lifted it by the edge, the blade resizing to fit the knight's own stature as the last of its health disappeared, the rage inside the knight flickering out while its armor began to break down, cracks formed and shards of sky-blue glass began to peel away from its back and shoulders while it merely bowed its head before the lost sword. I understood that feeling, of being reunited with your partner for what must have felt like an eternity, it was funny, both of our treasured weapons were held safely in the capable hands of a friend.

As the knight completely showered me in its shattered remains, the weight of the world lessened, and the crowd broke into a courageous cheer for their safety.

"Two down, one to go..." I sighed, a massive pressure lifted from my shoulders as I spun to greet my companions, but first I had to settle something.

"Hey, nice wo - Yah!!" Skye shrieked as my buckler slammed into his face, forcing the black-dressed player to fall back on his haunches, the rest seeing the furious look in my eyes and the fact my face felt a little hotter as I pulled him close to keep them from hearing us

"What did I fucking say about 'you know what', you dolt!?" I seethed, color fading from his face as he raised his forehooves, chuckling anxiously

"Sorry, sorry, it slipped my mind, I swear!" My eyes unwavered fury refused to simmer, freezing him in place as I threw him back. "I was worried that's-" I brought my hoof up to silence him

"...you're lucky I'm more focused on another matter entirely," I murmured, trying to rid his remark from my head while facing Silverwing, Rain having gone completely quiet all of a sudden. "So, what happened to the 'Great and Mighty Harmony Knights'?" Not a trace of sympathy left my voice

Silverwing, for once, took off her helmet, placing it beside her while her shoulder-length, light-blue mane, with a few odd ends while the bangs on her right side covered her eye, leaving the left exposed, a glistening shade of silver. Rubbing her mane she shrugged, a callous look in her eyes. "Dead, sadly I believe Bruteshot is too, shame, he was probably the most misguided among us," Her sad frown glossed over the chamber. "I am surprised you came back after what was said?"

My deadpanned face quirked a brow. "Hmm, I was tempted 'till I found out the little bitch took my sword from me," My hoof motioned to Rain, "Though it seems to be in capable hooves."

"..." She still hadn't said a word. I was about to ask what was eating at her until I heard a godawful laugh, one that excited a groan from all of us. We looked over to find a roughed up and limping Knight hobbling over to us, I practically felt my jaw unhinge

"What a fine showing of teamwork. my friends! We sure showed Malware the might of the Harmony Knights!" We all just stood with wide-eyed shock, then I snapped

"How, in all the incalculable odds, are you still alive!?" I yelled, almost whining to whoever subjugated us to this unfair justice. I just chuffed, tapping my hoof to the floor. "Fuck it, I'm gonna kill him."

"You were struck with a devastating skill and thrown into a wall, the chances of survival, even by Artorias' standards, are low!" I'd take that with a grain of salt as Silverwing lost her composure, glaring back at the blonde idiot

"And finally, what teamwork?" Rain decided to chip in, expressing the first real look of anger I've ever seen on her face. "All you did was charge in blindly and swing your sword without care, multiple times! S - Artorias did most of the work!" She snapped, her wings trembling with rage

Knight just threw his head back and laughed, "That my friends is a tale for another day," He boasted as if the past two insults never occurred. "As for now we must rebuild and fight on! For it we, the proud warriors of Harmony Knights, and as victims of this Death Game but do-!"

Silverwing just groaned irritably into her hoof. "Here he goes again... this stupid speech."

"How long does it usually last?" Skye inquired

Looking up she rolled her eyes. "Record is two hours." Then her eyes darkened on the right wall, more specifically the pillar someone occupied. "Besides, he's who I'm concerned with."

"What a splendid show, I knew you were the real deal, Artorias is it?" He was human? But how the hell is that fair? The hooded figure stood up, stretching as Knight prattled on with his speech. "Do what you will with the Harmony Knights, I don't care, my toying with them is through, I've got... other activities to attend to."

"Black poncho, trick weapon, and a strange form compared to the players..." Skye was murmuring beside me, a stricken face of fright and anger spreading through his features. "Mirin, the leader of the Veil."

"No way..." I've heard of him but he's really here? Now the strange deaths with this gaggle of idiots made sense. "Even if we take out the accidental deaths, some were too staged to not be PKs, yet everyone in this group had green cursors, so unless they got outside help." The pieces fitted the blood-stained canvass

"My party... my friends," Silverwing ground her teeth, pupils shook with pain. "You... you were the one I saw...!"

Mirin's smile was twisted, sadistically so. "That was exhilarating! The music, the metal against metal, and the sharp cries as they died, what a treat," That only made my blood boil as he turned, waving once. "Until next time, Heroes." Without a word, his body became intertwined with darkness, and his cursor disappeared

Whatever relief we felt was smashed, though now the second-to-last piece to this flaming wreck was put in place, now we only needed the truth behind the whole brainwashing situation, and that started with the bubbling idiot. "-so it is with great honor that we must uphold the hope of the weak-!"

"Sweet merciful Buddha does he ever shut up!?" I cried out loud, dragging my hooves down my face.

"Surprised you haven't tried to yell for him to shut up." Skye looked to me with genuine surprise

I blinked rather neutrally, "Oh no I've been considering what way to murder this bastard before Mirin went and gave everyone the good ol' goosebumps." Knight was still going on about pride, honor, friendship, and the like, it was really grating to hear. "I'm reeeeally considering it." My eye was twitching as Skye chuckled beside me, then I noticed something

Up above Knight, the once smooth, stone brick ceiling looked rather unstable, given all the fire that struck its foundations, and the pebbles were starting to pile up with the cracks. Knight failed to realize this. Silverwing spoke first. "Um, Knight?"

"This is it, this is the icing on my cake, what feels like a lifetime of phycological abuse and insult to my intelligence brought to a swift and satisfying end." I couldn't keep myself from smiling, it just felt like I was back on cloud nine

"-We shall take our victory and charge headlong into the unknown, cross the mountains, the forests, and sands to conquer this realm-!" He continued on with progressive nature, much like the widening cracks above his head

"Knight!" Rain spoke a little higher, and again it did nothing

"All I have to do... is nothing!" I chuffed to myself. "I mean, this is just Darwinism at work!"

"-And once we stare down the face of this world's evil, our strength shall be known across Equestria and beyond for all those that have-!"

"Knight!!" Both girls yelled at once, grabbing the pony's attention, but it was too late, even Skye looked surprised at how sudden the massive boulder moved from the ceiling to the floor, striking the nail on the head with enough force to shower us in dust and debris for a couple of seconds

"Ooooh, fu-u-u-uck!" I couldn't contain my laughter as the dust slowly settled, a drumroll battering in my head at the grand reveal. The boulder had indeed hit its mark, that much was clear, too bad he was still alive, though the golden amulet he wore clattered before my hoof. "NOOOOO!!!"

He struggled under the rock, his health rapidly decreasing into the red, and it wasn't stopping, I retract my internal wailing as suffering was a far better choice then outright death. He coughed, smiling weakly up at us. "I-It seems this i-is it, my f-friend, A-Artorias." That was all that could be said, his health just expired, and he muttered probably the first words that felt genuine. "Well... could be worse, r-right?"

His body shattered into pieces, and that look in his eyes was almost... thankful. Looking down, I saw that the amulet was resting there awaiting someone to pick it up. "His heart was in the right place, too bad his head wasn't." That was all I wanted and could say before our ears were assaulted by the glass-shattering wail of a banshee to our left. I couldn't even muster up a gasp. "Are you... serious right now?"

At the edge of the magma pool far below was nonother than the bitch who stole my sword, Radiant. Ironically, she looked about as unhinged as a door with no frame. Red, pixel gashes covered her body, tearing apart her clothing while a large portion of her hair looked singed off, leaving only a fanatical look in her eyes while her mane jutted from different angles.

"Holy crap, how is she even alive?" Skye blinked beside me, I just shook my head with wide eyes

"You... you bastards! You let my Knighty-Senpai die... you murdered him... you ungrateful idiots MURDERED my strong, hunky Knighty!" That scream and complete loss of sanity in her eyes forced us all a step back, no wonder Mirin left early. "Everything was going according to plan, help Knight-Bear slay every boss, defeat Malware, become celebrities for saving all you fucking rodents from this game!" Her veins atop her head were pulsating, even with a broken horn sparks flew with her malice

"And I thought my narcissism was bad, yikes, I ain't touching that." I gulped, rubbing my nape, having run out of patience

"I think this chick's a few... many cards short of a full deck." Skye worded carefully

"Then we'd have been married, our lives would have been perfect thanks to that amulet!" I glanced back at where it was, moving past my friends while she continued. "I would have been waited on hand and foot every day with the finest extravagances, I could do, have, say whatever I want, given the respect and authority I rightfully deserve!" Even Twilight never had a face as twistedly inhuman as hers, the very slithers that tethered her sanity were non-existent by this point. "The only one I'd allow to rule me would be my darling Knight who would love me every waking moment, and use his large sword to satisfy his beautiful, sexy wife!" I think I'm going to be sick, TMI is a thing for a reason

Whatever lustful fantasies that ran rampant in her fractured mind quickly scorched as she began to pull herself up from the edge, her hooves buckling from the strain, she was glaring daggers at us all. "But you ruined it! You mongrels took away the love of my life and abolished my plans! I'm gonna kill you all! STARTING WITH THAT STUPID BITCH WITH THE LEATHER WIN--!"

My hoof pressed to her muzzle, creasing her snout into the dirt as I grinned down at her, a fire in my heart like no other. "Threaten me all you like, but lay a hoof on her head and you'll wish I killed you," Letting go I stepped back. "You know what you bad guys suck at, if you're going to kill someone, kill them, don't stand there talking about it, speaking of..." I swung on my heels to Silverwing who approached with a dark look in her eyes, my own smug smile contrasting. "...I believe this one is all yours."

Silverwing stared down at the struggling grunts of Radiant with disgust, as if to burn the last images into her memory before finally speaking. "Aqua. Jade. V-Vermillion," That last one seemed to sting. "And for me, you really think I wouldn't have armor that decreased debuff status effects? You may have gotten them killed with that paralysis trick but not me, no," Silverwing leaned closer, shoving her hoof against the unicorn's muzzle, keeping her eyes locked to her own. "Even if you ran, I'd break myself before I'd let you get away with murdering my friends, taking away their precious lives."

"You're no celebrity, no hero, no... you're just a sad, pathetic little girl who has and will always be nothing but a sick, cringy memory," Her hoof twisted against the lunatic's face. "So do us all a favor, go-to-hell." With a simple yet forceful shove, Radiant screamed in utter agony as her body was thrown back into the pit, landing atop the pool of molten rock as her weight pulled her under, body caught ablaze before shattering into a million little pieces. After several seconds, Silverwing let out a long, tired sigh of relief. "I did it... thank you, Artorias."

I shrugged a smile. "Bet your friends are laughing their asses off right now," When she wiped away a few tears she saw my hoof waiting for her. With a small smile, she bumped my hoof as we turned to finally get the hell out of this place. "Right... with bitch-face dead, we can finally-" A rumble occurred from the entrance where a hole in the wall remained. "Can I finish my sentence just once?"

All eyes and ears followed the sound, and to mark me with surprise it was nonother than Bruteshot, his health was dangerously low, but he was alive. That actually brought a laugh between me and Silverwing. "Holy crap, man, you're alive!"

He rubbed his head gingerly. "That hurt... but I'm okay," Hey, he sounded a little less.. broken in terms of vocabulary. "I think I'm... better, yes, alot better."

"You big... stupid idiot," Silverwing left my side and quickly flew up to wrap her hooves around his neck, smiling brightly against his shattered armor. "Thank God..." This was... unexpected. The big guy seemed to be taken back himself, but ultimately wrapped a free hoof around her back to pat her gently.

"Sorry for making you worry," He winced nervously, earning a light jab from the peach mare who looked probably the happiest I've ever seen her so far

"I-It's fine, I did it though... I finally found someone who could save you," With that she placed her head on his shoulder, sighing shakily. "Without Artorias I couldn't do much of anything."

"Whatever, you did your part, I did mine, in the end, everything back to how it should be... sorta?" I returned my attention to the amulet on the floor, hearing it... whisper? "Okay, let's see just what that whore did to Knight and your team." Pressing a hoof to the amulet the menu popped up. What came next was... "Eh?"

Everyone took in the news for a solid minute, then I snapped. "Duh, freakin' hell is this!? This thing has more jacked stats than a DnD campaign!" Now everything clicked, this item, a very rare Legendary item was broken to the point it was illegal. "No wonder everyone's been losing their heads, this guy wore the Element of Gray Stu!"

"This would accurately explain many of the crazy things I've seen, and my helmet," Silverwing rubbed its cracked face. "It belonged to Vermillion, my best friend, it wasn't great stat-wise but it could nullify psychological attacks and effects." That would explain her immunity

"So all this time he was wearing an item that boosted his charisma?" Skye pondered, rubbing his chin. "Now that I think of it, whenever we spoke with him for the first time my eyes always kept looking at the element, then everything got pretty hazy after that like I had to follow him." At this news Rain looked a little uncomfortable, hugging herself

"What do we do with it?" Silverwing inquired as I pondered on the item resting in my hoof. "If you wear it you get all those bonuses but at the cost of your life if chance strikes out."

"Not to mention you become a blunt as a hammer." That was being to generous. So, with the valuable relic in-hoof, I approached the right lava pool below and cast it into the fires of Mordor. "Fuck you and your Sauron-Lord-Of-The-Rings bullshit! Yeet!" With a flick the whispering amulet plummeted into the fires below, sinking down into the neon blue inferno never to return. "Huh, believe there's an achievement for that..."

"Guess it's time to head back," Skye said after a lengthy pause, everyone inside the chamber humming in agreement, all expect for Rain, again, she just stared back at me with this look on her face that screamed 'anxiety', her hooves were trembling while clutching my valued longsword for dear life. "Hey, Rain?" She flinched at his hoof, startled from her trance

This was already an exhausting day, so, I approached her with a blunt stare. "Rain, the hell's gotten into you? Usually, you'd be jumping for joy and whatnot," She still didn't say anything, her mouth ajar. This was starting to worry me. "Look, if this is about the whole clusterfuck that's been the last two days I get it, but I don't care, it was that damn amulet and pink-haired bitch that caused this mess, so, you know, it's alrigh--"

"... h-he said your name was... M-Merry..." My posture locked up as I shot a snappish glare to Skye, the earth pony frozen with his hooves raised

"I am going to end you," I snarled at the blue pony as I shot the rest a look. "You heard nothing, call me that name and I will hurt you," That made them nod, all expect for Rain who forced out my exhausted grunt. "Yeah, that's right, but as I just said, don't call me that stupid, good-for-nothing na-"

"...my big sister..." She gasped painfully the moment the words escaped her

"Uh-huh, whatever y-" Just like that, where swords, threats, abominations and more couldn't so much as phase me, it was her, this annoying bat pony that stuck to me like glue, she was the one to finally cause a hitch in my throat. My eyes just shot open, staring back at her as she dropped Genesis, covering her muzzle quickly with tears strung in the corners of her eyes. "W-what did you just call me?" My voice was low, barely a whisper before Rain's wings shot wide and she flew with an almost unnatural speed

No one dared to utter a single word, and how could they? I just stood there, staring down at Genesis while it reflected my stricken eyes back at me. What remnants of anger and spite that bubbled and festered from the mocking display of foolish heroics by the former Harmony Knights just disappeared. All that I felt was confusion.

"...god... dammit..."

To Be Continued...