//------------------------------// // 1-7 Im'ma Blow Up // Story: Renegade // by Slendy //------------------------------// W stood at the top of a large control tower that overlooked the ruins in the mobile city below. People believed the catastrophes were the worst the world had to offer yet compared to human nature it can be just as toxic if not more. While the chaos reined, W had her chance, however risky it may be. Call it a foolish hunch or roll of the dice that dictated her actions in life. Most of it could be seen as crazy, but that was W incarnate. To say the current conversation was anything she wanted would be a lie, like listening to a banshee's venomous cry, "-To maintain this mutual benefit relationship between us, I will keep modifying our future plans. Can this slightly increase trust between us W?" The woman herself, the blazing dragon that could level entire streets with just her fingers, a living inferno. Talulah turned to the mercenary smiling so confidently in the face of the Draco, her tail swishing with a mixture of anticipation and fright. Another thing a mercenary remembers, forgetting to feel fear will get you killed. Especially this bitch. "Really? Then I'm quite touched by it," W smiled, playing dumb, acting the role of a deranged Sarkaz who should've died long ago. But what right did she have to say if her sanity was whole? She's a 'Devil' that is all there is to say upfront, the rest remains her own convictions. "Of course..." Talulah began but W's mind was elsewhere. "It's true." Talulah's face barely registered W's silence, a fraction of time between them. Slowly, her hand rose. W's eyes barely flickered, muscles tense. "Ah, I know that move." She's seen it before a million times and still gets a rush. Talulah played the part of an assassin all to obviously, although, why would she need to hide this strength? The air in front of W snapped and hissed, the air growing hot within seconds. "I just made you mad, but you shouldn't be that mad to an extent that you'd want to kill me right?" Her face stretched with a crocodile grin, retrieving a grenade from her belt, the pin pulled. Bright orange cracks of lightning began to form at her fingertips, W hunched down with a sharp smile, feeling the hot wind comb through her hair. W flicked the grenade forward, hopping back herself to put as much distance as possible between them, the grenade erupting into flames and shrapnel, a blaze outright devouring the world and the Arts that warped the floor a mere second prior. W blinked, shaking her head as it pounded slightly from the interruption of the memory. Although now her whole body felt hot for a solid minute. Over the hill, a new town came into view under Equestria's sun, pressed up against the side of the mountains cutting in the way of W's journey to Hollow Shades. Keeping on hand around her duffle bag's strap she grinned at the small town similar in architecture to Ponyville, large plains between the forest's edge and the new destination. "So, what's so important here that'll help us cut our time in half?" W was curious ever since they woke up this morning, whatever Sora knew it was enough to put a skip in his and Astra's step, leaving W utterly perplexed to whatever revelation laid ahead. Sora smiled, motioning to the mountain peaks. "Hard Rock's a strange town but it has exactly what we need to cross through the mountains into the roofed forest - then it's just a day's travel to Hollow Shades, simple," Now Astra shared W's skeptical look, both shadowing the Aasmiar who led the way. "The locals are a little much but I think you'll like them." "Why's that?" W smirked with a knowing look as he hesitated. "A-ah, what I mean is, they'll accept you, like Hoofprint," He shyly scratched his head. "To explain, there's alot of old relics from Equestria's past, one such relic is called the Stepping Stone," He lost his positive demeanor once meeting W's blunt stare. "Really? 'Stepping Stone'. What's a window cleaner called, a 'Wishy-Washy'?" She snickered at her joke, Sora deadpanning momentarily until they reached the outskirts of the first few homes and farms, grabbing W by her cheeks to tilt her head forward and up slightly with a sly smirk. In no time her laughter hitched, and she swore her eyes bulged. "Woooow!" Astra beamed at the sight, hoping to hang from Sora's right shoulder for a clearer look at the spectacle Poking up about the rooftops against the face of a sharp cliff was a large, dark-stone archway, angled and cubic in manufacturing with strange, white cracks dividing pieces of the archway's spines. "That's the Stepping Stone, or a fancy way of saying, 'Gateway through to the other side of the mountains', any questions?" Her ember eyes met his humorous look before jerking her face free, pouting cutely while tugging her bag closer against her cloak. "...lucky you're cute..." No one really heard what W said, not even W herself as she took the lead in groveling through town. The whole town was as Sora described, not a single pony cared for her arrival, some even waved with alot of hearty energy than Ponyville. The strange thing that caught W's eye was the significant amount of pony-sized holes in the walls, though she didn't particularly care, this place was kinda out in the middle of nowhere. Once through the small town, the trio stopped before a small, cobblestone wall overlooking what appeared to be an old dig site nestled against the town. Wooden staircases led down from several points around the cliff into the old quarry. Centered at the base against the mountain was said Stepping Stone. The massive, basalt spines rising higher than the buildings and thicker than a tree trunk, strange, mystical energy flowing through cracks in the faces, almost like runes. All of this was illuminated with crystals that looked to have been mined from where the Rambling Rock Ridge. "Huh, so that's what they're used for...?" W murmured before something suddenly exploded behind them, Astra scampering behind W while Sora facepalmed with a groan. "What the hell?" Blinking with her brow raised From the dust of a new hole in the building behind them emerged an autumn-furred mare with her disheveled, amber mane tied into a tough ponytail, her tail medium-cut and messy too, eyes a smooth black. After dusting herself off, she waved a hoof back at the two ponies inside what appeared to be the side of a shop the trio had passed. "Haha, hope that helps with the reservations, guys!" Shaking loose bits of brick and dirt from her mane, the mare turned to the group, slowly beginning to smile. "Hey there, Travelers, passing through? Sorry 'bout the scare, gotta make room for expansions somehow, yeah?" "Um... yeah?" W murmured, unable to vocalize a reply before smiling excitedly. "I like this place already." "Of course you do..." Sora sighed defeatedly, he alone drew a gasp from the mare who zipped closer to him with a smile. Both Astra and W's brow rose when the timid Aasmiar scratched his freckled cheek. "H-hey, Onyx, nice meeting you again." "Well-Well-Well, if it isn't our little Prince - mmfph?" Her muzzle was clamped by Sora's hand, W looking around quickly, thankfully, not many ponies were nearby. Pulling back, Sora pressed a finger to his lips exciting a curious smile from Onyx. "Oooh, what's the troublemaker gone and caught himself in this time, hmm?" "Erm, about that." His eyes glanced over to the girls and Onyx followed, eyeing up the shy wave from Astra who still hid behind W's intimidating posture, the woman tucking her grenade launcher behind her cloak. "Onyx, this is W and Astra, girls, meet Onyx, a bit of a demolitions expert." "Hey-hey-hey, it's 'Professional Anarchy' I'll have you know," That brought a grin onto W's uncertain face when concerning the strange mare. "Heh, see, she gets it - destruction is an art," That then drew a parallel grin on Onyx's muzzle, chuckling loudly at the Sarkaz's words of the wise. "Took the meanin' out of my mouth!" She shuffled closer to Sora's legs, nudging his knee. "You should've told me you had a friend like this - might have dropped by sooner." "Sorry, W's... the reason I can't have ponies see me," His point of tucking his face behind his own hood was very indicative of that need to remain concealed. Spotting how anxious he was Onyx nodded slowly, waving her hoof. "Come on then, I got a place that'll give us time to clear the air - tell me, she one of those Aas-i-mar's like you?" She broke apart the word horribly, W just snickering under her hand. "And what's with the pointy tail and antenna? And the horns - *gasp* is she a dragon!?" "Onyx, just... *sigh*." Since the moment W met Sora, she never once saw him this flabbergasted by one person before, other than herself, of course. It was funny to see it from a different perspective. Since they knew each other W let her defenses down ever-so-slightly until they found a way to activate that gateway. "Oh, this'll be good," W commented, meanwhile Astra kept staring at Onyx though, only for the mare to smile once she caught the curious filly's stare. It didn't take the group long at all to debrief Onyx on the ordeal presented to them. Onyx was as Sora said, a demo with a strange gift to bust down walls and such with just her body, something about her talent resulting in her increased durability. She was one of the lead demolitionists in Hard Rock, the many holes in town were their way of expanding without the tedious need to gradually pull walls down. Onyx was deliberate with her destruction, and 'Art' as W saw it. She could cause chaos and control it to an accurate degree. "Woooah, so you're all from other worlds - gotta say, thought Prince here was the only one," Onyx rubbed her forehead, smiling slightly over the news. "Lemmie see if I got it straight. You want to get to Hollow Shades to look into some rumor of a pony that could tell ya where to find the jerk that put ya three in this situation, BUT, in order to do that you're lookin' to use the Stepping Stone, that about right?" "You're not certain, Miss. Onyx?" Astra pipped up. The group sat overlooking the town from a small, grassy ridge. At the formal greeting the filly gave her, Onyx lost her smile a little, apologetic. "Sorry, squirt, but things work a little differently here than in Equestria's towns - gotta prove yourself worthy of passin' through ol' Steppy." "'Steppy'?" Astra's head titled left, echoing the word as Sora added with a motion towards the quarry. "She means the Stepping Stone - as I told you, this town's strange - e-erm, no offense." He caught himself, Onyx just waving away. "No harm here, Prince!" "R-Right, as I said, they respect the ponies of old that built the archway, it's the landmark of their town, they don't let anyone use it on a whim unless they prove they're tough enough to handle whatever they're wanting to find on the other side," Sora elaborated, W nodding slowly while taking a bite of an apple, brow knitted against her forehead. "If we want through we gotta show these ponies we're the real deal?" "Exactly!" Onyx hopped to her hooves with a toothy grin, patting her chest. "Luckily, I kinda owe Prince here - I can rope a few favors in, all you have to do is show these ponies what you're made of! Sounds fun, right?" Even without Astra's help, the radiance of anticipation rolling off of Onyx was enough of a hint she was itching to plot this out. "You're really going to help us out?" W was skeptical, sure, Hoofprint was alright but so was Hard Rock? That only solidified the idea the Merchant only affected a certain number of ponies, but how long would that last? Cliffheart was still hot on their trail too and they'd all be caught up in the crossfire. It was a strange and conflicting situation W had to play far more delicately than prior to her arrival. "I... don't know." "W, we have to try," Sora patted her shoulder sternly. "There's no other way, Cliffheart won't stop but if we can use the Stepping Stone we have a chance to finally pull him off out tails - or yours." He joked slightly, seeing her smile struggle to lift but he understood, trust was a dangerous thing with W. "I'm going to regret this somehow..." W's bitter thoughts aside she smirked slightly though it was forced. "Well, what's the fun in taking the easy road? Alright, Miss. Boom, bring it." Her face lit up at the title. "Oooh, I like this girl - alright, gather at the Dust Pit in an hour, I'll round up a few representatives to make it all official!" With that, the mare stood up and... literally leapt off the cliff, hopping across the small points jutting from the wall like a mountain goat. "She's really good at that," Astra added, head tilted to one side in fascination while Sora pinched the bridge of his nose. "Honestly, she's the reason I've nearly had a heart attack." That alone was enough for W to chuff, but again, she found herself staring back toward the outskirts of town. With every minute Cliffheart was drawing closer to finding them, if they wanted to escape, they needed that portal. "Hey, W?" "What's up?" She blinked, glancing over her shoulder at his wary face. "If it's about how I'm feelin' don't get yourself twisted about it, my problems are mine alone, don't need you worrying your pretty little head over me." Her tail rose to pat his forehead as she rose, stretched out her arms. "Right! Let's give these ponies a show - wonder how we 'show what we're made of'?" "Can we move here when my job's done?" W was buzzing with anticipation, a first in a long time in Astra's and Sora's eyes. They made it to Dust Pit. An old, and small quarry that had been outfitted to serve as a fighting pit. The only other level of the quarry used as an observation wing for all onlookers. Down in the center of the rectangular pit was the object of their 'Trial'. A big, black rock. "So, what's the rock for?" Onyx sat atop said large obelisk of rock with a cheeky grin. "This here's your opponent. Using whatever methods you want, the three of ya have to destroy this here boulder to prove to all these lovely patrons you're worth lettin' through ol' Steppy, get me?" The three nodded slowly, so the autumn mare clopped her hooves. "Sweet! Alright-Alright-Alright! How's everypony doin' today, feelin' thirsty for some mayhem!?" A massive chorus of cheers resonated across the Dust Pit, fueling the air with a strange sense of competition, all to see a big rock be reduced to rubble. W had some strange expectations for these ponies, so far, nothing she could possibly conjure could come close to this turnabout, not that she didn't like it, these ponies knew how to turn chaos into entertainment. Onyx turned back to the trio. "This here's a big chunk of obsidian left behind from the old mines, stuff's harder than most rock you'll find around here, all you got to do is break it, simple, right?" Of course, her words caused many to start doubling over in laughter. Sora stood there, rigid at all the attention under his hood with Astra sat between his legs looking around in wonder. W was still grinning like a child on Christmas Day, her fingers taut against her grenade launcher. "Well, good luck to you three!" With Onyx now away from the blast zone, W turned and did a curious bow to Sora. "After you, Prince." She winked, seeing him stifle a response while tucking his hood closer to his head. Switching places to look after Astra, the girls let the so-called royalty do the dirt work first. "Have fun~" "Good luck, Sora!" Astra blurted out sheepishly, earning her a small, relieved smile from the timid Aasimar who withdrew his twin silver swords. One of which gleamed a little brighter due to it being the original he fell into Equestria with. Sucking in a breath, he took his stance, wide, and strangely unique to what most ponies would call effective. The wind gathered around his body, bristling through his cloak while he solely focused on any weak points his sharp eyes could discern. Both longswords were enchanted with a radiant, pearl-white glow before streaks of light trailed behind Sora. W was surprised to have missed it for a second, his speed, regardless if he had wings or not, was spectacular. Sora struck the obstruction with several clean, divine slashes of light from his blades, leaving gashes of pure light on the surface of the obsidian behind him. Turning around, the light faded, and sadly only a few scars were left in the chunk of volcanic glass, the bits taken from the face littering the dirt. "Damn..." Slumping, he sheaved his blades, walking back around to W and Astra with a solemn face. "Sorry, compared to you I'm only really good at flight and casting light." W didn't blink, simply stepping past him while patting his shoulder softly. "Leave it to me, and thanks," That last part confused him but before he could ask W threw her own cloak into his arms, tugging the strap of her rucksack around, unzipping to reveal the plentiful bounty she had stored up over the many weeks of her tinkering away by her lonesome. "Hehehe..." No one understood what W was doing, why she inspected the boulder, sticking strange, rectangular boxes to specific points with putty. First, there were three, then eight... then twelve... then a dozen more. By now, Sora's face began to pale, eyes growing wider and wider with each additional C4 the mad-woman added to the pile. "U-Um, we... should probably step back - like, right now!" "M-Miss. Onyx, w-we should really move a-away!" Astra nervously called to the perplexed mare. By then, Astra was scooped up in Sora's arms while he ran for a small ditch close to the walkway that led down into the Pit. "Hit the deck!" He screamed, diving down with himself covering Astra protectively. Up above, W stepped a comfortable distance from the obsidian with a manic smile that only matched her crazed eyes. "CONTACT!" She held out her detonator and pushed the big red button. ... ... ... Sound completely ceased to exist for a split second, only an ear-racking ringing and sudden galeforce battering the stands as W's chained explosion set of a bright, burning orb of fire and debris before her shielded eyes. The heat expanded, blowing dust and dirt everywhere while the big kaboom finally reached everypony's ears, practically splitting the earth under the Dust Pit due to the sheer magnitude of explosives used. W's jacket and scarf flapped behind her antenna and hair, revealing her fanged grin and broadened eyes at the miniature mushroom cloud left in its wake. Once everyone's hearing and the visible plume of smoke passed. Astra poked her head out alongside Onyx and Sora, the trio staring, eyes wider than plates at the state W was in. She had survived the blast, standing there to bask in its glory with a proud smile and her hands stretched down at her sides, welcoming the aftermath, and the almost nonexistent remains of the obsidian obelisk. Her clothes were covered in dirt and scratched up in many places but she was smiling. "Ah... hail to the queen," Licking her chalky lips, the crowd was quick to burst into a roar of pleasure over the display of high explosive ordinance. Turning around, W put one arm over her now bare chest due to her shirt and part of her jacket being incinerated. The sight alone made Sora turn away with a maddening blush while W giggled through her teeth, fishing out a new shirt and jacket from her bag, itself unscathed. "Well, Kool-Aid lady, did I pass or what?" Onyx was caught between wonder and laughter, blinking as if the sight was a trick or ploy. But no, she truly witnessed the very thing her life was worth living for. A power unlike any other, beautiful as it was deadly. "Hehe... hahahaha! W-well how about it folks, think our traveler from the woods passed with flying colors!?" *APPLAUSE* While the town was in an uproar of jubilation, Astra smiled slightly. "She's happy." Hearing this, Sora leveled his eyes to the filly who continued to watch while W balanced putting on a T-Shirt while holding up her fist to accept the praise of the masses. "You think so?" He wasn't uncertain, W's smile spoke volumes of that, but it was clear her mind was still plagued with alot of questions and uncertainties herself. "Mmhm, her smile is real." His eyes followed forward. W grinned for all the world to see, a tiny blush on her face while waving her grenade launcher in her free left hand, scarf, and shirt flapping in a warm breeze left by her destruction. W felt it, her heart racing, skin crawling with excitement, this was what she had always wanted to feel, to be a part of. For the first time in a long time, Aoi felt like she belonged here. Sometime later, with the approval of Hard Rock's locals, the trio were free to travel between the Stepping Stone. Down by the archway, a small raised platform etched with runes and ancient scripts remained dormant as Onyx hopped up the old steps. "Well, guess this is farewell - sure you don't wanna stay the night, place can get real crazy after a display like that?" Her offer was tempting to them all, to finally have a place to rest that wasn't under a canopy. "Sadly, Cliffheart's going to have seen that and think it was W, so..." Sora trailed off, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Onyx." Her hoof waved while the pair stood away from Astra and W who investigated the archway further, Astra pointing at the runes with a confused W listening closely, brow furrowed. "Quit fussin', always next time - oh, and bring her too, I like her," Again he nodded before adding. "So... another human like you, bet that's a lucky draw for you, eh Prince?" "Wha?" Sora's face was ajar at her wiggling brow. His head turned to W, seeing her arms crossed with a funny serious face trying to follow whatever Astra was saying. "Hmph, dense as always," Onyx shook her head, patting his leg. "You'll figure it out, bud - now!" Clopping her hooves, Onyx drew their attention to the central circle on the platform. "Right, to trigger ol' Steppy you first got to stand here, then, say the name of the place you want to go, easy-peasy." "I see," W murmured, stepping onto the rune with Sora and Astra in toe. "On three I guess, ahem, One." "Two..." Sora drawled. "Three!" Astra squeaked. "Hollow Shades!" Together, their voices caused the ground to shift and groan like an ancient dragon emerging from slumber. Many half-buried stones removed themselves from the earth to rotate around the Stepping Stone's newly defined orbit, the runes cast a bright azure that swirled, gathering between the ribs of the doorway. The sound of withered gears turned under their feet, causing the outer rings to turn and align, spelling out words and phrases in a forgotten language. All eyes were wide alongside the winning smirk on Onyx's muzzle before her face fell, spotting a group of ponies alerted by the gateway above. "Uh, you guys might want to pick your hooves up and fast!" Her warning drew them to spot those above. To W's scowl, it was Cliffheart and his merry band of idiots. "He's quick, I'll give 'em that." She huffed before grabbing Sora's shoulder. "Ladies first," With a shove, he was thrown headfirst through the vortex with a yelp. Astra nodded to W and leapt after him, leaving W to give Onyx and Hard Rock one last look. It sucked, she really wanted to see more of the town but sadly that would have to wait. "Thanks for the show, love this place." Onyx winked, brushing her amber bangs from her face. "Anytime - Keep the Prince safe for us!" "Will do - hey, Captain~!" W waved over to the scaffolding, spotting the know-it-all Captain from afar, his attention drawn to the silverette who threw up her middle finger and stuck her tongue out. "Bleh~" Skipping back, W threw herself into the swirling vortex, vision twisting and spiraling among the colorful stream of blues and whites that pulled her through a vast tunnel of light, hearing Astra and Sora squealing not far from her ear. It was hard to tell where she was going, spinning around without gravity's support made her dizzy but she was more than happy to finally have escaped the Royal Guard's eye. Somewhere underground the dull thud and rumble of the earth kept most subterranean creatures at bay. The caverns were extraordinarily hot before the Merchant's silent pause. His hand whisking away a small vision of W and her team vanishing into a vortex he had not seen before, its design and architecture old, perhaps older than he was. Looking forward, a large, molten trail of rock hissed, tinting the path forward a hellish orange, a large, moving form of magma shifting out of sight with an almost grotesque growl. "Here, this should provide some assistance," Lifting out a small clump of charcoal fur he had ascertained from the group's stop at a hot spring he held out the fur to a skeletal snout as it sucked in the lingering odor of its owner. The jaws split with a hollow growl, many more howling or snapping at the familiar scent. "Go, while my little hunter recovers, go finish the job." His words were cold and direct, shooing away the beasts that scampered off through the caverns, leaving red contrails in their stead. "This is the beginning of the end Aoi," A pair of lifeless, purple eyes reflected the flow of molten rock ahead. "I cannot wait for you to see it." To Be Continued...