"Magic came into this world when I stole Twilight's crown. It's taken a lot for me to earn everyone's trust. If we have to forfeit the games because I can't think of a way to keep it under control..."
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CHS: aftermath
Charred smoke and coppery iron. Not a combination any logical human would prefer as their day-to-day greeting on the job.
For detective Hard case, unfortunately, he’d grown accustomed to it far too long ago from his rookie years. The same however, could not be said about whatever sight he’d be greeted to upon exiting his cruiser, a nice long cigar always packed for these types of days.
Of fucking course it just had to be a damn high school. What next, someone’s preschool daycare?
Surveying the twisted sight like clockwork he bitterly sighed through gritted teeth, inhaling as much of his drag as possible. He’d remembered when Canterlot used to be such a peaceful town, crime was expected as with every city, nothing the best of the best couldn’t weed out. But now? Terrorists, kidnappings, panicking civilian rumors, and… ugh, his old ribs were still bruised from landing on the concrete.
Any who, where was he? Oh yes, CHS.
After their elementary closed down due to legal fees and something personal revolving around one Luna Selena, it shut down until years later a high school was built by a woman named Celestia, marked with the same name. After all the heat died down concerning her younger sister’s notorious little cry for attention, the two seemed to make it work regarding their new business. Place had a good rep, charity organizations for various hospital and other wazoos regularly held under the principal’s name, it wasn’t long until the place became one of Canterlot’s most treasured landmarks.
Now as he stood before the school yard, firemen stomping out whatever trickling flame still lingered and medical staff rushing from one injured child or staff member to the other, an old icy wave of despair tried to claw its way up his chest. He shoved it back down with well renowned practice, yet the anger remained. There just wasn’t enough room for nice things anymore was there?
The more he stared at the carnage the more his stomach turned, an accidental school fire was one thing, but this was unlike anything he’d witnessed during his entire life. Overturned benches that normally weighed several tons, scratched indents scarring the school’s brick walls and dug up dirt, imagination was a deathly thing.
Another prominent quirk about CHS was its knack for getting caught under the thumb of rumors and mass conspiracies. Not a day goes by without the city stations picking up frantic calls regarding some type of psycho babble the school was involved in, only for them to finally show up finding no evidence.
He’d tried convincing the others it was probably just some punk’s idea of a regular prank, however they went along with it anyway. “No matter issue, whether seemingly implausible or dare I say laughable, CCPD has the ability to aid those in need, and we will continue to uphold that promise no matter what.” Were chief Lawbound’s exact words.
Hard case turned to the pair of principals behind him trying their hardest to ease the furious crowd of parents, he’d almost felt bad for them until realizing that a much worse sea of media vultures were reportedly on their way from the destruction downtown.
As he walked up to an exhausted looking Celestia finishing an unproductive conversation with one last screaming mother, he regarded her downcast expression empathetically.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Twisting around in a pace he was half worried would give her whiplash, the younger woman eased slightly at the sight of him before groaning, brushing a palm over her bagged eyes.
“Make it a dollar, that way it might give me the illusion I’ll even stand a chance against all the lawsuits.”
The detective huffed a curt laugh as they glanced around, almost as if checking toe see if the coast was clear.
“Have you sent any men after it?” She half whispered, folding her arms with a rare fiery glint in her eye. He plucked the cigar out and puffed out a small cloud whilst emitting hollow chuckle.
“What? No cover story this time? I’ve been waiting to hear more about those pesky construction problems your building’s been having.”
She leaned in, now glaring with dare he say murderous intent.
“Someone showed me the videos of downtown just minutes ago, that thing actively sought out my students.”
A growl came from deep within his throat.
“Kid, it’s a heartswarming miracle you didn’t receive any casualties. We’ve got dozens of crushed men, women, and children back in the city. Speaking of which, mind taking me to your little group of star students?”
Surprisingly Celestia’s expression dimmed moreso, as if exhaustion was threatening to overweigh her hidden fury. Suddenly he felt a headache coming on.
“I can’t.”
“Celestia, this is not the time for…”
“You don’t understand, they’re…”
“Kids, I know, but if this is your version of keeping themselves safe then they’ll end up having more people coming after them as time goes on.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Then take me to the-“
“THEY’RE GONE!”
He didn’t back away from her outburst, instead curling his fists inside his jacket as the younger woman shut her eyes to mentally calm her heaving breathes. Both ignored the stares aimed in their direction as he waited for the principal to recollect herself before he spoke in a calm, yet stern tone.
“What does that mean?”
“….”
“Celesti-“
“I tried to stop them…” Came a whispered reply. The twisted feeling in his gut curled into a blackish knot, she wiped a couple tears while choking out the rest of her sentence.
“…I tried to keep them with me once we all got out, kept them from running off anywhere after the thing had left but, there were so many other kids. Ditzy was having a panic attack, Lyra had her leg broken, Luna looked as though she was going to fall apart. Next thing I know, I turn my back and they’re just…gone.”
He chewed the cigar in his mouth, pieces of it hitting his tongue. Bad wasn’t even close to describing the situation, he settled for glaring.
“Where do you think they’re going?”
She gripped the sides of her arms he was sure her nails began to draw blood.
“Where else?”
Taking his piece from his mouth Hardcase swore, spitting out the residue into the grass. This was going to be a very long day, he checked his watch from the corner of his eye.
5:30pm.
There was a game on right now, figures. Taking the drag back into his mouth he placed a hand on her shoulder causing the woman to regain eye contact.
“We’ll find them.” He swore with as much certainty leaking through his voice as possible. “We will find them before they get caught in the crossfire, but the station’s main focus will be on that bastard. So the extra search party’s going to be thin.”
A hopeful smile graced her lips and once more Hardcase saw the bright young woman who’d stepped up to city hall with all the courage in the world, declaring her idea for a chance at another school filled with hopes and dreams. One of the last few decent officials in Canterlot he could respect.
“Detective Sergeant Hard case!”
Upon hearing the familiar harsh voice, his along with a couple noticeable officers jumped into a ramrod straight position. Deputy Atlas made his way across the field until reaching his intended target, standing before Hard case and Celestia with authority clear in his posture.
“Have you finished with your investigation?”
“Hard Case removed his drag a third time and nodded, albeit stiffly.
“Yes sir. Got all the answers I could out of these people, nothing too concrete but we’re guessing the creature’s attacking things at random. When it arrived here it damaged one of the concession’s fuel tanks before quickly catching on fire, probably by loose wire or spark plug of some kind.”
Celestia ignored the side glint from Hard Case’s direction, as Atlas nodded.
“We’ve got choppers in the air tracking it now, the city’s on lockdown. With most of our best people chasing this damn thing, that provides a golden ticket for crime. I want you and a group of officers on neighborhood watch until then. If you do see the creature, try not to approach, and call in any sightings. Lawbound wants this animal contained yesterday!”
“Yes sir!” Hard Case affirmed as his superior gave Celestia a sympathetic nod before marching off, rounding up a handful of officers alongside his retreating form.
Laxing himself, Hard Case sizzled the fiery end of his precious piece onto the concrete ground before shuffling his coat, ready to leave. Not before giving his younger companion one last promising look.
“Please, don’t be too hard on them. They already blame themselves for everything.” She begged. The detective in turn snorted, shaking his head as though he were remembering a faded memory while turning to follow his commander.
“Good, responsibility is one bitch of a lesson.”
_____________________
Canterlot city, downtown.
Sunset wasn’t sure what else she was expecting. The wreckage once resembling shopping centers and crossroads etched for miles, as if it’d just been under the influence of some unspoken natural disaster. If only that excuse would’ve been believable both by her and the hundreds of people who’d been present at the epicenter.
Hugging her chest the young woman held back the anxious swarm of self-deprecating thoughts trying to cloud her concentration. How? How could they, could she, have not seen something like this coming? Magic from equestrian had been constantly leaking into this world for so long, how could she not expect an actual creature to eventually fall through some random portal sooner or later. Ugh, she was such an idiot. They should’ve been prepared for situations like this from the get-go.
Taking a miniature glance down at her pendant, a new, horrifying theory came to mind. What if they had been going about this the wrong way? Memories of Dash’s accident to their treacherous hospital ride resurfaced and grotesque bile threatened to burn upwards into her throat. Had their magic, their geodes been warning them this whole time? That blackness, once a speck in the corner of her consciousness fully engulfing around the monster from earlier, she just knew they were connected.
Wiping her dewy eyes Sunset sniffed, unable to stare any further at the carnage while police filled the streets for survivors. It’s taken quit the difficult task to contact Princess Twilight herself once she and her friends were safe from Celestia’s gate, if anyone knew what to do it’d be her after all. While Sunset prided herself in magic practice and spell work, ancient, almost cryptid-like animals weren’t necessarily her specialty back in Princess Celestia’s school.
Celestia… Abandoning their principal at their first chance weighed heavily on all the girls, the older woman probably wouldn’t trust them for a long time, neither would all their classmates for that matter.
Faust, when did she become such a repetitive failure? She’d promised to keep the Equestrian magic under control following the Friendship Games, and ever since then her promise insisted on repeatedly bashing her own lying teeth in.
Ahead of her, Sunset could see Twilight, their human version, scour the outskirts of police tap for clues as though she were some form of detective herself. They’d even tried talking to a couple officers earlier, but you know, limited information is key to protecting concerned citizens and all that. When the officer wasn’t noticing she’d attempted to latch her palm on his forearm.
Nothing directly helpful, just that it was revealed the Cyclops had been in the process of robbing some jewelry store, (One of Rarity’s favorites, the headache following that conversation was surely something she’d be looking forward to), before the beast had been intercepted by non-other than the man who’d saved Fluttershy and Dash’s lives.
Another situation entirely that one. Pictures and warning signs of the guy had been posted nonstop all around Canterlot for weeks, CCPD insisting he was some sort of mole or collaborator for the terrorists. At the time both she and the rest of her friends hadn’t been too concerned, moreso focused on their uncontrolled mishaps. But now…
She was once the prize student of a monarch who surpassed all her professors’ tests and trainings, Sunset Shimmer could spend days recalculating the hardest math problem to the most pretentious potion’s required ingredients. Here, it’d taken weeks to even provide a simple theory on why her pony ears grew upon playing a regular electric guitar.
Why did these girls put so much faith in her, she was so bucking useless.
Oh, human Twi’s heading this way. Better put on a fake smile.
“Any theories?”
Ugh, she could hear her own shakiness bleed through her words. Twilight to her credit seemed to ignore it and opted for rubbing her temples in exasperation.
“Only the same amount of theories and speculations as everyone else. The big guy came, started tearing everything apart, got interested in the jewelry store before he came in and distracted it so everyone could get away. From what I heard this isn’t the only block caught between the two before he started making a beeline for CHS.”
Sunset hummed in affirmation, letting out a hefty groan while sinking into her palms. Twilight nervously adjusted her glasses awkwardly shuffling her feet, clearing her throat and pointing to the shot wave radio strapped to her belt.
“We still clear on the plan right?”
Sunset straightened with a stern look replacing her features, nodding. Upon escaping the school yard all seven simultaneously made their plan, splitting up mostly into groups with Twi and herself surveying the downtown aftermath in search of their target. At first both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had received immediate fretting on the group’s part, where the caretaker insisted she was perfectly fine with most of her major injuries having been healing in a literal flash, and RD of course refusing to be left behind.
Once they’d cornered the Cyclops again via Twilight’s telekinesis and Rarity’s gems, Fluttershy would try and calm it down the best she could. Oddly enough the caretaker had been hesitant about her assigned task at first blush, although then again ever since leaving the school she’d become twice as silent.
Should that not work as planned, either Shy or Rainbow would fly Sunset up to a safe position and use her magic to peek into the beast’s mind, hoping to pinpoint where exactly their unwelcomed guest came from. Another portal must’ve been close by in Canterlot.
Yet another whole can of parasprites, first the CHS statue, a random sand pit on some lonely island in the middle of the ocean, now somewhere here. The prospect of thousands, upon millions of portals to Equestria lying around in plain sight sent chills up her spine. Who knew what ponies, people, or things fell through them on a daily basis!
“You know what this means, right?”
Sunset didn’t feel like responding, the answer clear in her mind.
“Trust me Twilight, I know. And we’re going to figure this out.”
Her friend gave a look telling off her promise. Instead the younger girl waving her arms around whilst glaring in a harsh whisper.
“It knew Sunset. It left specifically just so it could kill us. Even if we manage to get rid of this thing, there’s still him! You saw what he did, what he’s capable of, and apparently he’s been running around Canterlot for weeks and we ignored it until it hit us in the face. How much longer until something even worse rears its head and we’ll have our back turned when it kills us! These powers are, no, we’re putting ourselves and everyone around us in danger. All because of these…these…”
Cupping her geode to further articulate her point Twilight’s expression became one of distain. Sunset wasn’t dumb, she knew the younger harbored a reasonable fear of the magic from Equestria, often opting to use her own as little as possible. But if what they discovered about their geodes being pieces of the Elements themselves were true, then Sunset was hard pressed in believing they’d been gifted the harbors of magic for a reason no matter how little in strength they compared to the ones back home.
The magic leaking into this world couldn’t possibly be solely triggered by the geodes, there had to be something more at play. They’d find the explanation, Twilight shouldn’t need to feel all this guilt that belonged more on Sunset’s shoulders. She’d fix this, for them.
“I’ll try and contact Pinkie, you try Rarity.” Sunset grumbled while detaching her radio, changing the subject before the sizzling tension rose any further. Wordless Twilight followed suite, taking a couple steps back as the ex-Equestrian sighed.
Her friend was right though, they’d completely ignored the warning signs until it was too late. Sure they’d practiced at Everfree, but all in all that was just so they would be more prepared for their own mishaps, not watching out for potential threats.
*Pinkie, you there?*
Silence for a couple seconds, until her device crackled to life.
*This is CookieCrumber003, who is this? Over.*
Sunset blinked. She could hear Pinkie clearly, was her voice not coming through?
*It’s me, Sunset.*
A pause, then the voice on the other end, while remaining cheery, held a tinge of sarcasm she immediately caught.
*I’m sorry, you must’ve called in the wrong frequency, although I am awaiting a call from my friend KetchupMustard, who’s well known for her addressing me correctly. Over.*
Biting back a snarl, Sunset tried breathing through her nose for a few seconds before starting up the radio once more, her voice syrupy yet incredibly tight.
*This is KetchupMustard, calling CookieCrumbler003 in regard to any sightings of the monster.*
*My friend KetchupMustard is also well known for sticking to radio rules, such as finishing her sentences with over. Over.*
Her deep breathes became sharp intakes as she struggled not to let her colorful brimming thoughts verbally erupt, face palming with a long drag over her eyes as Sunset mentally cursed her swirling anger. She was a hair’s length away from arguing with Twilight, so stuffing Pinkie’s own jacket down her esophagus certainly wasn’t going to result in any productive means.
*This is KetchupMustard, calling for CookieCrumbler003, have you found anything? Over.*
In a much chipper tone, Pinkie responded almost instantly.
*That’d be a negative KetchupMustard, looks like this side of town is meanie free! Although AngelLover is insisting we head north. Even though CoolestGirl is already over there. Over.*
Sunset winced, whereas Fluttershy had turned more tight-lipped then normal, Rainbow had been silent as a grave for the past hours. Only responding with blunt, short responses. The injury on her head was healed to, the source later explained to her upon her reawakening, of which somehow resulted in an unreadable expression permanently painted over her face from then on.
She knew it was a bad idea to set her off on her own, however RD simply wouldn’t have it any other way. It was like she was running on autopilot, except instead of a dull expression she looked…well, a singular word couldn’t truly explain it, none of them had ever seen her like this. Her eyes were narrowed, muscles tense as though there was some sort of invisible enemy constantly standing before her, yet her words and movements were slow and calculated. Like a hungry fox amongst a group of chickens, searching until it found the best one to finally let loose. Its was sickening, seeing her friends suffer for her own faults.
Others worried she was still under the influence of her head injury, however Sunset held her suspicions of both previously injured friends in a different regard. The terrorist, Cole…something or other, had used his powers on them, to heal her friends. Through both mannerisms and visible sight alone the offers appeared genuine, though now she was cautious on where to place her full trust. Had he come over from her Equestria, or was he another person of this world gifted them via unknown sources from her home? Whose side was he truly on?
Throughout her years Sunset Shimmer had met many people: Some good, such as Princess Twilight, her girls, Celestia. Some not, like the Dazzlings, like herself once. Then there were the misunderstood people, the grey areas who needed guidance and support. This man? Too soon to tell, more often than not media can be misleading and full of bull. After they finished with the Cyclops, she’d make it her personal mission to question him later.
And she wasn’t taking no for an answer.
__________________
Somewhere on the North side of Canterlot
Kicking a stray pebble from underneath her sneakers, Rainbow surveyed the surrounding towering buildings around her with caution. Normally a day in the big city was one of fun and untold money spending, now everything looked downright creepy with how utterly empty the place looked. Every twitch in the corner of her eye had her jumping into defensive mode, only finding lost newspapers or agitated alley cats in response.
The skyscrapers, another attraction she often found mesmerizing and full of life, now appeared moreso akin to looming mountains of concrete that were steadily closing in on her, as if she were witnessing the world’s biggest set of prison bars.
Airplane noises from above as well as leftover music coming from the city speakers helped, albeit in a smaller way. Not that she could blame the citizens, after all two ferocious attacks both from unnaturally bloodthirsty forces would have nearly anyone packing their things and ditching.
Nearly everyone.
Although her wings and ears had dissipated, Dash could still feel the magic flowing inside her body, every muscle, every bone was absolutely webbed in the stuff. It was like a comforting shield promising to protect her until the end. The geode hanging from her necklace and resting over her shirt glowed, as though reading her thoughts.
She’d broken her promise. Used her magic at the games and lost CHS any chance of a good reputation, and worse yet, no doubt attracted fugly mcgee to their school. Fists balled in her pockets, and she scowled deeply, stomping down the empty sidewalk with haste.
Her pride hurt more than any head injury she could fathom, had she put in a fraction more into her final punch then that jerkwad would’ve been knocked out cold without a doubt! Then she would at least be able to look her fellow students in the eyes after all the damage and pain he’d caused.
Only then he decides to throw in a cheap shot and next thing she knows she’s waking up on the grass with the monster having fled the scene, her friends too focused on being worried on her account to stop him. She’d made a mess, then held everyone back from rectifying it.
Whilst eternally thankful towards whatever merciful God under the sun that was out there for the rest of her friends miraculously staying in better condition, (Upon hearing Futtershy’s incident she’d nearly passed out a second time), the revealing explanation of her own healed injuries had been…For lack of a better term, unnerving.
Similar to the rest, news of the supposed terrorist hiding in their city had most neighborhood families and friends on edge, her own parents nearly returning back to their old ways of sheltering her from venturing into public outings or without serious protection. As usual she’d tried insisting she’d be fine, she was seventeen for crying out loud, and had magical powers. Some punk looking for a fight would think twice when approaching her, that is what her mind tried at convincing over the small patch of compulsive fear gripping at her heartstrings.
So when being told this particular guy had apparently been the one that’d sent the cyclops running, as well as saving both Fluttershy and herself, mixed emotions were bound to crop up. True, she of course hadn’t seen the event unfold due to her being too busy making out with the pavement, however their obviously unnaturally healed wounds and new scars provided proof.
If Equestria had finally decided to send over someone who wasn’t a total wackjob then she’d breathe easier. However with the much bigger issue still skulking around, Mr. electro would have to be placed second on her hit list for now.
She would not let that monster best her a second time, she would fix this problem of hers. She wouldn’t be the chain holding everyone back in their times of need, but rather the one to fly them towards victory!
She turned her trudge into a light jog as she made her way down the street, glancing left and right for a flash of blueish-grey hair, or a massive eye. Alley after alley she searched, each corner and every opened parking garage, nothing. But she knew he was close, she could feel it burn through her element.
“ARGH! How hard can it be to find one big stupid monster!?” Her words left her mouth raw and wavering, feeling her ears burn with embarrassment and hysteria combing her thought process.
Wait a minute. Her geode. A new thought clicked in her mind.
Her powers were the reason that thing had arrived in the first place, perhaps if she could lure him out. No, she’d already made that mistake once and dozens of people had paid the price, doing so now might result into a worse situation. But if not, he’d probably manage to reach the forest of the outskirts of town, then they’d never find him.
Shaking her head, RD pressed on with a determined scowl. No, probably best not to risk it, even if it was a tempting solution. She almost smirked, it was like Sunset had placed the thought in her mind rather than Dash herself. Still didn’t mean she was going to be the last one in finding this thing.
Suddenly she grinded to a halt square in the middle of some rando intersection. Blinking hard to make certain her eyes weren’t deceiving her, she felt a smile edge across her cheek at the sight in front of her.
Atop one of the building’s sides, three human sized claw marks had shredded the edge of the roof. Still careful as to not give herself away she continued to jog normally from the intersection until passing the wounded structure looking up to see a pattern of indents and metalwork having been crushed under impossible weight. She swore she could see marked blood smeared in handprints on certain areas, just momentarily causing her to feel sick.
Soon a harsh, yet distinct smell of something that’d been burned reach her nostrils, and her excitement began to wane towards nervousness. Even if he was injured, everyone knew a cornered animal was at its most dangerous once given left with little choice.
The athlete stopped in her tracks again, this time she nearly forgot how to breathe. Sitting in between two concrete scrapers, the gigantic mass of hair and massive arms was unmistakable. Putrid stench of charred hair and blood made her desperately want to gag if not for the fear of being seen.
Like a deer caught in a car’s headlights she felt her entire body freeze watching her enemy cradled in a fetal position, balled together as his singular glowing eye hid underneath burly forearms marred with visible scars and burns. He’d yet to recognize her, evidence from the pitiful throaty moans of indescribable pain mumbled from his swollen jaw. Instead focusing on rubbing the soreness around his body.
Acid gnawed her stomach away, reaching to her heart upon witnessing the sight. This wasn’t the same bloodthirsty monster that’d terrorized CHS hours earlier, more like an abused animal hiding from the rest of the world. Her expression softened as conflict swirled her initial plan into a mixed mass.
He’d tried to kill her, her friends, anyone who got in his way. Running around a city of innocents like it was his own playground, he’d needed to be stopped. But this? Was this going too far?
Her muscles froze upon realizing that glowing eye was staring straight into her soul now, half hidden from his arms. Seconds seemed akin to hours the longer they remained eye contact, neither moving an inch, statues frozen in shared terror and anger. What was she doing? She should be radioing the others, she’d found him! She’d…
Be bringing them into danger, danger she’d caused in the first place. A dark look shadowed her features, it was time to finish her mistake.
Faster than she could react the Cyclops jumped two stories into the air, latching onto the rooftop of the building on his right before hoisting himself out of view.
“Wha- HEY!” She sputtered. ‘GET BACK HERE!”
Curtesy of Equestrian magic, she could easily jump over obstacles as tall as a cookie cutter house roof, with a running start that is. And a five-story tower was a bit out of her skill set. Running around the front she could see the Cyclops glare down at her with a fraction of that hatred from the CHS field before he propelled from his current roof onto a neighboring one, the structure shaking and cracking under his hooves.
It didn’t take long for her to recognize the situation, though with a surprising amount of speed he’d already gone three buildings down. Fine, he wanted to play cat and mouse, she’d be more than happy to oblige.
Grasping the geode in her palm, she embraced the warmth it spread through her body and ignite into her soul, and no sooner had her foot stretched out to connect with the pavement the world blurred.
___________
Miles away
His target’s echo bolted from rooftop to rooftop at breakneck speed, impressive after being damn near cooked alive. Cole hopped over a large gap between buildings as the yellow vision stumbled in an awkward fashion, the monster obviously not accustomed to modern structure.
Blood stained many things around him, air conditioners, pipes, whatever had the leisure of standing in the cyclops’ path of escape all utterly demolished. Again, quite the feat getting this far, adrenaline was one hell of a drug.
News caught on quick after their first brawl, it was refreshing to see most of the city was devoid of anyone save for the mass waves of police searching high and low. Less chances of casualties, now if only he could somehow lure the creature into a place where there’d be no people period.
When his target’s echo eventually seemed to give in to exhaustion, sloppy movements becoming dragged feet until he finally had discovered a spot believing no one would find him in. Big mistake. Silencing his footsteps, the conduit peered over the edge to his relief seeing his target hunched with his back facing Cole. The monster was horrendously scarred, hair melted away to reveal pink flesh.
He almost felt bad, seeing him like this.
However sympathy faded away to anger as memories of the creature eagerly tossing innocent civilians away like chew toys and damn near killing a group of teens for shits and giggles reminded him of just the type of monster this was. Blue electricity danced around his arms as he stood up, his enemy still unaware, seemingly caught off guard by something out of Cole’s peripheral vision.
Suddenly the monster had leapt to his feet in such a rush the conduit had to momentarily step back in defense, watching as it dashed off from across roofs in a terrified frenzy from some unknown source.
“HEY! GET BACK HERE!”
A small voice below caught his attention, Cole glancing down to see the same multicolored haired girl he’d been asked to heal from earlier, now very much conscious and pissed off. He narrowed his eyes. Just what in the hell did she think she was doing? Abruptly he felt his body quake with uncontrollable energy, electricity popping out of his body in fits of agitation.
His question had been answered when in the mere blink of an eye, the girl was gone, replaced only by a makeshift stream of a rainbow which tailed behind her. Mind blank, he wasn’t sure the words that left his mouth were really words at all, as he gawked at the brightly colored streak chase after his intended prey.
Well, guess that explained the rainbow ring. Some part of him was surprised, another irritated it’d taken this long to finally locate the source. Leave it to his dumbass self not to immediately take notes on the literal mop of rainbow-colored hair.
With a wave of his arms the angry electricity sunk back into his skin, watching the two gain further distance. No way was he gonna keep up on foot at this rate.
Without hesitation he jumped off to the left, angling his trajectory until his shoes slammed onto the metal wires of the city telephone poles, fiery sparks igniting upon connection thus pushing him forwards. They were going way too fast, even at this pace he needed to thrust out his arms to further boost his momentum.
The monster kept going in a straight line, one Cole had a hunch led towards the forest on the end of town. He could work with that, cityscapes weren’t the only location the electric man could tussle in. The real problem was the girl, he’d need to be especially careful with her now added to the mix. In most instances civilians’ involvement in aiding him during fights only resulted in more chances of casualties.
Conduit or not, the kid didn’t belong in this situation.
Speaking of, the big bastard finally noticed his young pursuer, tossing chunks of gravel and whatever he could get his claws on towards the girl in hopes of slowing her down or landing a hit. For her credit the teen easily dodged most of the miscellaneous before openly mocking him. During which a ruined electric box was tossed, beelining straight for her head, no doubt a killing shot should it hit its mark. Using both hands he sent out a shockwave which ripped the metal box into a different direction as though it were weak foam in the wind.
She hadn’t noticed either, still picking up speed as the Cyclops continued trying to shake off its unwanted tail, apparently not even noticing Cole. He grit his teeth while blasting apart another thrown piece of brick wall that surely would’ve crumpled her skull upon impact, large chunks raining over the road.
Either this kid thought she was invincible or had a death wish. Neither a good choice.
Just his luck, the street split off into a T shape, with the cyclops easily hopping the gap and continuing onwards whilst the girl bolted down an alleyway without hesitation. Having to jump as his source of transportation ended abruptly Cole glided hastily towards the buildings as both his targets began to disappear.
Grabbing an outward jutting windowsill, he scrambled upwards until pushing himself onto the building’s roof, just in time to see the Cyclops already half a mile away with the teen nowhere in sight. Frustration threatened to release as he started running, praying he could catch up before he could fail another innocent.
__________
CoWaRdCOwArdcOWaRD
Rameses felt his muscles scream with every movement, yet they did not hold a candle to the infernal red-hot fear and humiliation scorching his soul. Eye tracing back and forth from his pursuer and his pathway, the cyclops tried to quicken his steps, familiar smells of pine and tree bark towards the distance a heavenly presence compared to this stone and glass filled tomb of a city.
There were no words to ease the rapid beating of his heart, said thing threatening to spill from his ribcage.
Could it even be considered his at all?
As the horrible Guardian began to drain his life away, Rameses had tried everything. Bucking, punching, swaying. But it was all for nothing, his own body betrayed him as an unwelcomed sensation of pained exhaustion overtook him. Were he of better thought process, he wouldn’t been enraged to be given such an undignified demise, alas it seemed as though fate was against him.
Or so he thought.
Mere moments before his eyes could close, a new sensation overwhelmed everything. Whispering of ice-cold words and claws dug bone deep through his fur and straight into his heart, a power far greater than that of the Guardian. He’d tried screaming despite his initial exhaustion, yet found his throat refusing to work, as a matter of fact his entire body stiffened as the agonizing pain of invisible blades hiding beneath his skin sliced through layers of meat and into each tendon and bone.
His mind grew hazy as though a dark cloud had engulfed his brain into a suffocating hold as his vision literally bled into blackness.
Everything’s a muddled mess after, his body is running, moving quickly yet he is no longer in charge, a living puppet. Colored blotches are later seen in an area filled with green and silver, and somehow he feels the presence controlling him shudder in vengeful rage when certain splotches continue to reappear.
There’s pain, fighting, until there are things laying below his feet as his arms are held up with something odd in his palms. A weapon of sorts?
Suddenly the back of his skull is struck, and a familiar voice calls out for attention. suddenly Rameses feels his own personal feelings begin to take wane on the dark force, (or perhaps loosens its grip for the sake of curiosity?), and he can see a tad clearer. The Guardian is beckoning him, Rameses excepts the challenge.
In seconds his body is lit aflame, the fire seems to repel whatever force was holding his body hostage, however he is far too busy howling in agony to concentrate. After what feels like a millennia the last of the oil on his body flickers out and he collapses onto muddy grass in a heap.
When he is ready, Rameses opens his eye to find himself in a field of sorts, metal work and food filling the air as he lay beside a solitary building. Hoisting to his feet, he let out a yelp when one of his arms buckled, it had been broken? With the fire turning grass to ash and his enemy momentarily distracted, Rameses retreated as fast as he could muster.
Entering the city again had been taxing in regard to his injuries but he’d finally found a decent spot to rest. The panic inside his chest did not cease, mind erupting with questions and body aching in pain. Never in all his life had the cyclops undergone such pain, the brutal punishments given to him by his own kind due to his troublesome actions were nothing to the sensations he’d undergone. What was he to do?
That’s when his eye landed on her. A youngling of the creatures that lived here, just as frozen at the sight of him as he was her. He felt it, the power radiating from her very essence. A fraction of a power from his world log thought to be a myth, and with her arrival, the darkness returned threatening to overlay his vision.
Therefore, Rameses did something he’d sworn never to do no matter the cost, he ran. He ran for his life with no intention of coming back.
She was following close behind, and it frightened him more. No matter what he tossed her way, the youngling with the powers of a god was unwavering.
“Rameses.”
He let out a growl as his hands slipped and he fell to the ground with a thud, jumping back into position to keep running.
“Rameses. Cease yourself.”
“No!” He gasped, shoving aside some form of flashing car with his non-injured arm. “No brother I cannot, there is something here! Something terrible-“
“Rameses, go back.”
He pulled himself up onto another structure, the female jumping after him only to be momentarily held back by the debris.
“Brother, please-”
“You are weak Rameses. You will not disappoint me like this.”
The forest was in sight. In one jump he’d crossed yet another gravel road to land on soft grass with the trees opposing his wide shoulders, although he continued running. She was still there.
“Go. Back.”
He kept running. Running, and running, and running, when his body suddenly went stiff on its own accord.
______________
Sprinting across the alleyways, over dumpsters, pushing aside flying newspapers, RD listened out for her target as he made his way across building to building above obscured from view. Vaulting over a chain-link fence she had to take a hard right so to not ram straight into an alley wall.
With super speed everything around her usually slowed, therefore it lessened the prospect of tripping or running into things. At her top speeds it was truly like watching the world through slo-mo, unfortunately she couldn’t seem to get that helpful tactic to work today, probably something about her injuries or whatever. All the more reason to issue some long overdue payback.
Still, she was fast enough to dodge his attempts at throwing crap in her direction, considering how easy it was to weave and duck under every projectile, his eye must’ve also been damaged. That or his aim sucked more than the punks who’d tired going after Daring Do.
Her heart lurched at the thought of her friend’s faces reacting to her current actions. They’d promised to call each other once the big guy had been spotted, but the guy took off like a rocket, how else was she going to keep up pace!? They’d understand, right after she bagged this sucker!
Upon entering another street the Cyclops had slipped up and rolled down off the rooftops to her level, where she tried to use her new advantage into getting a hit. Too bad she missed him by a mile, only getting showered in chunky brick and dust instead as he monkeyed himself back to the rooftops.
The impact left her backpedaling, hitting the concrete floor with a thud, and knocking some air from her lungs in a sharp gasp. Pushing herself off the ground she watched as the monster sauntered into Scorpan forest. Panic swelled, if he got far enough there would be no way she could find him again!
The magic swirling inside seemed to agree with her, more power being forced into her steps. Yes! just a little faster, ducking her head Rainbow neared the edge of the forest before using her momentum for one powerful jump, the Pegasus wing on her back gliding alongside the wind as her hair kicked up in waves of color.
When her feet finally touched the grass she rolled and continued to dash after the monster now just a couple feet from her. He still held his back to her, perhaps if she hitched a ride she could somehow….
Her planning was interrupted as the Cyclops suddenly screeched to a halt mid run. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she instinctively tried skidding to a stop as well, her speed betraying her as the teen slammed full body into a hairy back leg.
RD grunted at the stinging pain exploding across her bruised face and ribs while she plopped onto her butt. Holding her reddened nose in pain, her pupils shrunk as the hulking beast towering over her, once facing the opposite direction, slowly turned in the most serial killer-esc vibe possible to eventually train one hazy bloodshot eye onto her exposed form.
Any form of a retort died in her throat as a coat of inky black engulfed the Cyclops’ once healthy bluish hair, as it silently raised both curled fists up and crashed them down around the teenager.
Who in turn felt her heart sink into her stomach, the realization finally dawning on her that she’d made a very terrible mistake.
______________________
Somewhere near downtown.
“Whooohoooo! Mr. Cyclops~”
Fluttershy continued to stay silent despite Pinkie Pie practically yelling in her ear as they strolled, or skipped in the latter’s instance, further down the street towards the center of Canterlot. Although originally stationed towards the west side of the city, Fluttershy was confident in her decision to switch directions. Thankfully Pinkie had been completely willing to follow along with their new plan, perhaps seeing the promising certainty in her older friend’s expression had sealed the deal.
Silence was something pretty much everyone combined with the caretaker, her chosen perception of comfort either in a quiet room drinking tea with close friends or in a room stuffed to the brim with all types of creature comforts.
However the silence currently consuming Canterlot was vastly separate from being tranquil or peaceful. Instead the air felt suffocatingly tight with a shared sensation of danger wafting around, her skin prickled in alarm, as if she knew the Cyclops was nearby somehow.
“Heeeellloooooo~ We promise we’ll be nice as long as you don’t try to eat us again! In fact, I have much better foods you can try! Sugary cupcakes and milkshakes are way better then nasty little people!”
The ever-purifying presence of one Pinkie Pie helped dampen the unpleasant mood hanging over her mind, one she’d been eternally grateful for after so many years. Something whistled in her ear, and Fluttershy took a sharp right around a corner, her caboose trailing behind without hesitation.
A pit of worry, anxiety, and worst of all self-disappointment kept her mouth from making a noise beyond a whisper. Holding it back from the rest of the girls was wrong, they deserved to know. Yet at the same time how could she tell them when she didn’t even know what she was experiencing?
To further clarify the situation, when her wounds had been miraculously healed by the man baring electrical powers, newly odd sensations continued to tickle her soul, an itch she couldn’t scratch. Her geode burned with excitement as she could feel the magic inside her body writhe alongside something else, the Equestrian magic was wrestling over dominance with another foreign power.
Was she supposed to feel scared, horrified even? Strangely enough the implication to react in such a way didn’t seem to fit with her, because whatever separate source of power that’d entered her body gave an instinctive sensation of good will. The blue sparks had mended the open cuts over her body inside and out after all, as they had RD.
Was she experiencing this as well? Poor Rainbow, the scene of her best friend hitting the hard wall of CHS with such force replayed through her mind like a mantra. She almost prayed Pinkie’s calls wouldn’t track the Cyclops’ attention. His gaze haunting her memories with every blink.
Back to the matter at hand though, something was tugging her body towards a location she’d yet to see, pray to all the gods in existence she wasn’t leading herself and Pinkie into a trap. No birds tweeted in the sky, nor any squirrels squeaking to each other in the trees stationed around the sidewalks. Hopefully they’d been hiding alongside everyone else with the creature out here.
While her eyes strayed to the floor, she nearly swore she could catch a glimpse of yellow streaks waving a hair above the pavement like a fog. She tried shaking her head to clear it, which only resulted in a strange static sound emanating from somewhere inside her brain.
Pinkie’s gasp caught her off guard, causing Fluttershy to yelp and turned to gaze at the other in question, who was staring wide eyed at something else now behind her. Against her instinct she traced Pinkie’s gaze to stiffen herself in shock. Amongst one of the buildings in the intersection she’d apparently unconsciously led them to was scratched with painfully obvious claw marks, however there was another point of interest at play.
An acute buzzing in her brain made her squeeze her eyes shut as whatever was overwhelming her natural senses began to finally un-shroud itself. Finally gathering the courage to open them, Fluttershy found she couldn’t close them again as yellow streaks of foggy streams snaked across the street. From them the outlines of people walked along the sidewalk beside them both, as if she were watching a replay of the street hours before the state it fell into.
Backpedaling straight into Pinkie she looked at the other girl, in high hopes her friend was seeing the exact same as her. Pinkie’s worried stare confirmed she was indeed alone in that regard.
Was she going crazy? Why was this happening to her? Sunset was always the master when it came to Equestrian magic, she’d know what to do. Or Princess Twilight, hopefully she’d get their call for help soon before that Cyclops could hurt anyone else.
On cue, the yellow shadows of the past people faded and replaced with a colossal shape moving at a fast rate across building-to-building startling her in Pinkie’s hold. Said girl’s voice could barely be perceived through Shy’s muffled hearing as the shape, detailing itself to be non-other than the equestrian born animal when it moved past her gaze, one of its hands grazing the roof side right on its scratch mark.
Apparently the two powers inside of her had ultimately decided to play peacemaker, because not only could she see an electric yellow outline of their enemy, but she could hear him as well far off in the distance.
A surge of newfound confidence compelled her to snatch up her radio and click on the team’s channel.
*This is AngelLover, can everyone hear me?*
Wow, even the confidence in her voice made her briefly stunned.
*KetchupMustard here. Over.*
*FashionChic tuning in, over.*
A moment of pause that lasted too long, Rainbow Dash didn’t answer. She felt sicker as the silence grew, deciding to follow the moving echo while the others waited.
*CoolestGirl, you there? Over.*
*Rainbow? Is this darn thing not workin?!*
Her chest ached as sweat poured across her body, standing still as a frozen statue when a new echo appeared out of thin air.
*Girls… I…* She bit back a hiccup, desperately trying to ease her screaming nerves.
*I found where the Cyclops is heading, and Rainbow Dash is following him.*
___________________
Scorpan Park
The Cyclops held up a forearm to block an oncoming kick. At its velocity it would’ve surely knocked a regular human’s head clean off their shoulders, but for it the result was merely a skin deep scratch. His lack of pained emotion seemed to further enrage his competitor who dodged a barreling fist in order to gain distance again, weaving around the forest pines out of reach and circling the monster.
In a flash the teen girl bounced off one of the trees like it were made of rubber and rocketed back to the bigger foe. She nearly succeeded in landing a hit on the monster’s jaw, however he moved at a speed unrealistic for his size, ducking low to avoid her punch. Rolling once, her feet touched the ground she sped off again, circling around in an attempt for another strike, growling ferally upon realizing the beast had yet to move from his planted spot.
If this was his way of taunting her, then she’d make him sorely regret it. Still training its eye on her the beast tensed itself as she misseled towards him full of killing intent. Suddenly upon breaking several feet between them the Cyclops raised an arm and swiftly backhanded a tree next to him causing the trunk to split in half as the burly end landed right in her path. It was too close, and she was going too fast to jump over skidding to her back just before it could crush her, afterwards not having a second to spar as one fist after another came thundering downwards onto the earth. Crawling to her feet RD felt the wind and mud hit the backside of her CHS jersey when the massive hands crumpled the ground where she’d just been sitting.
Another tree was flung overhead until it landed in her front, so she bolted to the left before a closing maw filled with rows of jagged teeth could devour her whole.
She’d vastly underestimated her situation, her whole body was running on vapors at this point, each step more a hindrance rather than an added boost to her overall performance. Her enemy however couldn’t’ve been in any shape. Calm and collective opposed to his previous self. Like the eye of a storm patiently waiting for her to tire herself out before unleashing hell while she was vulnerable.
Rage seethed her mind once understanding the situation, how dare he consider her in such a punkish manner!?
That very rage was the only source of adrenaline that’d kept the girl alive this long, unfortunately she was far too exhausted and furious to see that particular fact. Pushing herself to her limits, RD increased her speed and the Cyclops was momentarily caught off guard, not sure which shoulder to look over. That’s when she made her move, changing direction at a ninety-degree angle and using her momentum to jump at an astounding height and breakneck velocity.
With her shoulder at the ready she connected into the stunned monster’s sides, probably his kidney’s considering she was low below the ribcage. As soon as it happened two results followed:
1. The Cyclops let out a sound that combined together with gasping and shrieking in agony.
2. In doing so, it swayed allowing the teenager to tumble off her shoulder, over its spine and around its back, then falling flat onto the floor.
She bounced a little, landing a few feet away from the monster as she tried standing. Bad idea. She yelled as her formerly numb arm began to burn, tiny white-hot pins and needles scalding nerve tissue causing her to stumble to her rear.
Despite their magic coming from the same source, apparently each of Her’s and her friends powers were far different from one another than once theorized. While her geode provided the athlete with speed and a good amount of strength, she was no Applejack, and still very much human.
Compare her fleshy body with the amount of speed and power behind her strike, she was more than thankful to receive a more than likely broken arm rather than being a stain on the Cyclops’ fur. Her eyes damn near popped out of her skull when said monster’s angry growls reached her ears. Despite herself Dash started to run, only to find that her legs were merely limping along in the process, a problem she’d not the time for concerning over when she was swept off the grass entirely.
In one fell swoop she was slammed against a large boulder that’d been laying nearby, but the palm wrapping around her torso and waist didn’t release. Instead she wheezed as all the air left her lungs from both the force of the connection and the claws tightening their hold into a crushing grip.
Forgetting her arm Dash stared up at the silent beast with its shadow looming over her, its one eye still crazed. As she began to question if the unblinking stare down was one of glee, anger, hunger, or all three of the above, the titan further squeezed its palm. Dash let out a cry as ten-ton muscles constricted her organs and ribcage, even her wings felt the strain of offending forces threatening to crush them to dust. Wriggling wasn’t doing the trick if anything it made her more tired. Heart pounding through her chest Dash watched tried to think of something, anything, to get herself free until hopelessly glancing upwards to see her foe lean his open mouth, hot, disgusting breath washing over her dirt-stained face.
Suddenly a blur of bright blue and white entered her vision, something constructed of metal and copper wire linking between the Cyclops’ horns and yanking his mouth away before it could close on her head. During the panic, it’d taken a minute for Dash to realize she’d been unceremoniously dropped altogether in favor of the monster furiously struggling to shake the newcomer off.
With her bruised lungs finally receiving air, her sight muddled into blurs as the combined sounds of demonic screeching and sharp snaps of light illuminated the darkening forest. Cracking tree branches, flying rocks, the battle was slowly being driven away from her location, but she needed to move anyway.
Ignoring her aching body and left arm Rainbow Dash rested her back against the boulder she’d previously been cornered on and tried rubbing her eyes with her free palm to regain her sight.
Upon opening them to see her vision filtering out the blurs, her jaw dropped at seeing her near unstoppable foe getting his furry butt handed to himself by him. The man was dressed in simple clothes, though like her made for heavy sports action, and a sling bag you’d typically see from either mailmen or hardcore athletic teachers.
The weird looking weapon sparking with electricity currently embedded into the monster’s skull was just the cherry on top. One of the Cyclops’ elbows hit the man, who elegantly recuperated by dropping to the floor and sheathing his weapon in favor of letting loose a barrage of electricity into the other’s face.
When the attack was merely brushed off the man quickly stopped to try a different tactic, blasting a ball of ice to freeze the Cyclops’ arms in favor of shooting towards a spot in a lower armpit. That seemed to really make him mad, as the Cyclops’ sprinted towards the supposed terrorist head on horns at the ready.
An attack the electric man expertly dodged by jumping up with a slab of ice spiking from the dirt in an instant in time to glide over the monster’s head as it bull rushed into the frozen sickle smashing it to pieces. Thus earning the ugly beast another couple rounds of electric rockets to the back of the head, each hit echoing out into the forest
It was without a doubt completely, utterly, incomprehensibly, undeniably awesome.
Like she was going to miss out on this action all the way over here. Squatting, RD inspected her critically injured arm, a nasty blue and yellow bruise snaking from her upper arm to the elbow making her huff once moving it a fraction. It wasn’t broken, (She had her fair share of those to understand one from a mile away), but it sure as heck wasn’t going to be much of anymore use during this ordeal.
Leaving it to her side she continued watching the pair struggle against one another, every hit the electric man gave was received by another twice as forceful. Glaring she fidgeted while waiting for the right time to strike on her own, an opening that’d provide her a chance to catch the Cyclops off guard then on turning the fight on their side. However the chances of the Cyclops accidentally making a sloppy mistake was thinning fast, considering his speed just about matched the terrorist’s in terms of parrying strikes.
The man acted like a true professional in the way he utilized his powers, each offending or defending blow calculated with practice. How long ago had he’d gotten them, and where? There weren’t any geode necklaces or magic wrist bands he was wearing, perhaps his magic was stored in his oversized tuning fork.
Everyone slips up, especially professionals. So it should’ve come to no surprise when the man made the mistake of being too distracted in firing at the oncoming Cyclops to not see the fallen tree, (the same tree that’d almost crushed her), tripping his feet.
Catching his off guard enemy the monster grasped the human in his palm, growling at the feeling of his captive electrocuting his palm thus tossing him away until he bashed into the bottom of a tree. Dash’s eyes widened in horror just as the man was rising to his feet ready to face the monster charging at him full speed.
In a split second she sprinted towards them, using both her arms to straddle the older man by his waist and tumble their way out from the creature’s path of destruction. Stopping on a dime Dash let go of the man as she winced from the pain seeping from her bruises, legs giving out and sending her downwards. Suddenly an arm wrapped under her chest to keep herself from hitting the dirt as Cole, freed from his stupor, glanced at her in worry laying eyes on her injured arm. Wordlessly he pressed a palm onto her shoulder ignoring the young teens grunt of disapproval at the added weight, until electricity zapped from his hand and seared into her wounds healing most of the bone damage.
As if a surge of shared adrenaline had been gifted to her, the young teen shrugged herself from his hold in a sharp gasp before looking down at her arm. It still hurt badly, but the worst was over.
As she looked up at him Cole turned to the sound of his enemy getting to his hooves, prepared to charge once more.
“Stay hidden, I’ll handle this.” He grunted not waiting for her shout of protest as he ran off. She gawked at his retreating form, swiftly bringing the Cyclops’ attention back to himself as the fighting restarted.
What, no “Hey thanks for saving me” or “Gee, this’d probably go a lot quicker if we teamed up”?! He really expected her to just sit by and not get payback on the guy who’d just tried to kill her whole school, did he think she couldn’t do anything of use because of a stupid injury?
Anger swelled into her shaking fists as she watched them, she’d show him what Rainbow Dash was capable of.
Dodging another fist, Cole opened his palms to shockwave the giant creature back for some breathing room and muster up the strength for a rocket as one-eye flexed his claws. Both were interrupted by a multicolored streak separate the two and a voice calling for the Cyclops’ attention.
“Hey ugly, this way!”
Scowling the Cyclops turned its attention away from Cole and back to Rainbow Dash who beckoned him to follow. Not wasting time the monster gave chase as she sped off bouncing corner to corner too fast for its eye to track. Seeing as it was distracted Cole tried blasting its temple with a rocket, and right as it reared its head two pairs of sneakers slammed down on its cranium.
Backing away from its swaying body Cole threw an ice grenade to avoid getting stepped on, the Cyclops roaring in untold fury at being ganged up on. Throwing more bolts aimed at the weak points Cole tried to get a clearer shot towards the eyeball, another hit was thrown by his ‘partner’ across the creature’s cheekbone. This time he visibly saw her stumble on the ground clutching her injuries before running off again.
Narrowing his gaze the electric man attempted returning its attention towards him as she encircled them, until heading back in to add her own two cents. Something changed in the Cyclops’ stare, one Cole didn’t like and he prepared for a heavy hit in defense of whatever their foe was planning.
He tried to block the heavy fist aimed at him in incredible speeds, only halfway easing the force sending him flying backwards as the monster swung his claws in a jumping RD’s directions. To her luck the tip of his palm only hit her feet, but still launched the girl head-over-heels in a sloppy fashion downwards for a mouthful of grass.
Spluttering she looked at the gigantic face closing its distance before Cole was practically standing on top of her, shooting a wave of electricity now filled with rows of ice spikes into the opponent’s head. Getting to her feet Dash tried to take off when an arm held her close, a line of blue escaping his outstretched palm. The lightning grapple caught on something, and she was lifted off her feet gliding easily away from the source of action.
Once the end of the grapple had been reached he held her close to stop gravity from betraying her, before steadily rising. She wrestled once more out of his grasp and glowered at the taller, who met hers with an equally displeased frown.
“What are you doing? We were winning!”
He didn’t immediately answer instead choosing to scan her some more until finally speaking in a gruff tone.
“So it’s true, you do have a death wish.”
Her rage flared dangerously to the boiling point, stepping towards him while gesturing to the Cyclops far away.
“What are you talking about, we had him!”
The older man placed a hand on his hips, rubbing his eyes to ease the headache forming.
“You’d be dead three times over already, discounting just now. You’re not in any condition to fight, physically or mentally for that matter.”
Red painted her face as steam poured from her ears, gnashing her teeth together to keep herself from screaming as the anger trampled over the thousands of other humiliating and self-deprecating judgments threatening to unwound her psyche.
“And what’s that supposed to mean! I don’t know who you think you are, but I’ve dealt with plenty of monsters like this guy before, I can do this!”
His look suddenly turned dangerous, blue eyes boring into magenta before an idea clicked.
“Really?”
Without warning he grabbed her upper arm, the injured one to be exact, and dragged her forward. Once he was certain of this being the best spot he shot out a bolt towards the searching Cyclops, the hit earning them its focus rather than doing any real damage. Once noticing them it let out a roar of fury and barraged towards them, knocking trees and rocks out of its path.
Despite this, the man planted firm in his spot while the girl started to panic, struggling to break free from his hold.
“W-Are you crazy!?” She called out, although he refused to look her in the eye as he spoke.
“What’s the matter? You said it yourself, you’ve taken on plenty of big monsters before, this shouldn’t be any different.”
“W-Wha…”
This time he looked down at her with a stony expression, eye to eye.
“I can take a hit from him, a full fist to the face and still get up like I’d just been slapped by a glove. You on the other hand, can barely walk after what I’m guessing was a stupid attempt at a shoulder punch, not to mention I found you lying on your ass unconscious the first time we met. But by all means, let’s see how well you take it a third time.”
Sweat poured down her face as RD glanced between him and the oncoming Cyclops, mind struggling to cope with the reality of the situation. This whole ordeal was hers to rectify for the sake of the girls, for CHS, for herself. She needed to prove herself to them!
But, at the same time he was right. Twice now he’d supposedly healed her of wounds far too painful to carry on the fight, all she’d been doing was getting more and more hurt while that monster continued to get more powerful.
She’d really screwed this up.
Her expression seemed to carry the message onto Cole, who softened his gaze and restructured his hold into bridal style much to her embarrassment and shock. As he ice-launched away from the beast far over its head Cole glided them safely away from its reach, where they hid behind a boulder. Setting her down Cole noted her down-cast expression and sighed to himself, getting her attention as he tried to settle with his own self disappointment.
“He’s after you, isn’t he?”
The tears in her eyes confirmed it all, making his stomach twist with anger and sympathy. She wasn’t going to stop because she felt responsible, it was a dilemma he could relate towards. Together they provided a unique edge in the battle, but the way they’d been doing things thus far was all wrong. Maybe if there was an alternative where she could still participate, yet have a lower chance at getting hurt…
“Can you still run?”
His question earned him a confused look, until realization dawned upon her, and she steadily shook her head yes.
“If I can distract him, get him in a vulnerable position, do you think you can target his weak points without getting hit?”
The kid seemed to mull his question over, however the sparkle in her eyes was obvious what her answer was. He hung his own head low, questioning why he even thought this was a good idea in the first place before rubbing his hands together.
“Alright then. Try and aim for the eye and the right armpit, he’s got an injury there from wherever he came from, I’ll keep his attention and give you the signal when to strike. Sound like a plan?”
Determination in her gaze she nodded again, fists raised to her chest like an excited child. Guess that’s because she was.
“Yeah, okay, let’s do this.”
He smiled patting her shoulder before looking in the direction of their foe, still confused as to where his prey had gone. Stepping beside her Cole’s arms crackled with electricity as he began to make way, stopping himself to peer at the young highschooler one last time.
“What’s your name kid?”
With a confidence he’d only seen in a few certain people, she puffed out her chest with a proud grin.
“Name’s Rainbow Dash. Coolest and fastest girl in all of Equestria.”
Smirking, the electric man let out a chuckle.
“Well then Rainbow Dash, start running.”