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"Who are you?" Sorin asked the ponies at the opposite end of the hallway.
"My name," A dark stallion approached from behind the lines of the others. "Is of no value to your knowledge." He finished with a laugh. "Go on, get them. Yet," He said, stopping the group from rushing forwards. "take your sweet time capturing them. Like the others."
They all then just started trotting, their faces hidden behind the darkness of the robes.
"Can you fight?" Sorin asked Twilight.
"I don't know, I've never had to seriously fight like this. I can use my magic!" Twilight stated, as her horn started to glow, picking up a nearby rock. Sorin laughed a little, then got serious.
The ponies were now really close. Not close enough to attack, but close enough to talk. Sorin prepared himself for any attack. Twilight then did the same, yet she also prepared for a magical attack. Neither of them could see any horns, but they didn't want to take a chance.
They all said something to one another quietly, and braced for combat themselves. Then they jumped forwards.
Sorin took the first blow before dealing the next to the same pony that hit him. He was never one to hit before being hit. Twilight however took the trajectory of the pony flying towards her into calculation and dodged to the side. After she stabilized herself, she used her magic and slapped the rock onto the pony's head, knocking him unconscious immediately. They were cornered, but they had knowledge and strength on their side.
It didn't take long for those goons to be defeated, as they were both only panting by the end. They looked towards the leader, who just stood still. "What," He started. "are we going to have a big chase scene of sorts?" He asked comically. "Because we all know that the only direction you can go is towards me." He continued to taunt.
"Here, allow me to do something for you." He stated, moving a hoof to his head. He removed the hood, revealing his face. He was a unicorn, fairly tall, as well as being a darker shade of purple than Twilight.
"Tell me," Twilight started. "I want to know why you are doing this." All she got in response was a deep, genuine laugh. He retreated back into the darkness, hiding himself from view. Twilight rushed forward in search for the enemy. She thought she knew exactly where he was, yet somehow he was gone.
"Gah!" Twilight stomped her hooves to the ground. "He must have teleported."
"We need to find where all the others are." Sorin stated, already starting to move. It wasn't long before Twilight followed him. They walked through the castle for several minutes, until they arrived in the main kings hall. It was a massive room, filled with long tables, old candles and all sorts of decorations.
"Please tell me..." A voice echoed around the grand room, unable to be heard from a certain direction. "There will be a bigger challenge than this." They could tell that it was a mares voice, but they couldn't tell from where.
"Above." Sorin said bluntly. Twilight just froze, locking her eyes in place and blinking a few times.
"Wha..." Twilight was dumbstruck, trying to think about his conclusion. There was nothing going on anymore. Everything was silent.
"D-doesn't mean you're right!" Exclaimed the same voice from before.
"I was right." He whispered into Twilight's ear. She still just stood there, wondering how he did that so quickly. "Let's just say," He started again, louder. "Instinct." He said with a smile.
"L-like I said-"
"Don't start." Said a deeper, more stallion-like voice. "The last thing we need is you giving out our position."
"You just said he was right!" The mare retorted angrily. "You're worse than me!"
The bickering between the two ponies continued for a few moments longer. What stopped them was their plan being put into motion. The first hint was the sound of several hoofsteps, all walking in the same area near the others. Still being out of sight of Twilight and Sorin, they execute the next part of the plan. The suspended walls come crashing down, immediately blocking the exit of the two ponies.
"Great." Twilight exclaimed. Just after she said that, more ponies stepped into view from the darkness. These ponies however didn't wear any dark cloaks or anything. Sorin moved closer to Twilight, whispering into her ear. "Get ready for a big fight. I can sense it."
Not a moment after he said that, one of the ponies launched himself forward. The first attack was extremely swift, not giving a chance for Twilight to dodge, or for Sorin to step in the way. The first strike landed directly on her head, making her step back and stagger while Sorin returned the favor ten-fold to the pony.
The first opponent was dealt with, but there were several more left to go. Before either of them could properly regain control of themselves, another pony launched forwards. This time focusing on Sorin instead. He turned his body, tensing all of his muscles and preparing for impact.
The impact was deadened by his preparations. Pony after pony launched towards them, weakening them down and dealing cuts and bruises on both of them. Twilight had been separated from her stallion, causing her to be in more danger than ever before. She was receiving more hits than ever before, as her body experienced more pain than it had in her entire life. There were cuts all across her body, as she was still forced to fight.
Sorin tried everything to get closer to his mare, but nothing worked. Mainly because of the number of ponies in his way. He had kept himself calm until this point, desiring to get closer to her in order to protect.
Moments passed as ponies dropped to the floor, but the main ones that were standing were the two fighting all the rest. Sorin had finally had enough, as he yelled loudly and dove through all the ponies, blinded by his anger and desire to protect Twilight. He reached her in time to save her from a hit to the head.
Everything stopped as the leader stepped from the shadows. He ordered all of the ponies to stop, as the preparations were done.
The dark stallion and his goons had surrounded them both now. Both Twilight and Sorin were out of breath already, yet they still had a lot to do. Twilight had been slowly weakened by the cuts on her body, leaking blood still. It was hard for her to stand, let alone fight.
Sorin knew he was going to get in a big fight soon. His muscles and all of his nerves had a good amount of time to get accustomed to everything. His body was more ready for a fight now than ever before, even with the bandits all those nights ago.
"Well," The dark stallion leader started. "Are you ready to give in? Are you weakened to the point of desperation?" He asked with a sinister tone. He believed that he had won this battle, but he's never seen the determination, strength and endurance of this Earth Pony.
"I think..." Sorin started. "You should... Try to be more aware... Of WHO YOU HURT!" He finished, catching the falling mare before she hit the ground. She had nearly fallen unconscious due to the blood loss and exhaustion. Sorin quickly set her in the corner and kissed her.
The awkward time for it, as well as the loving length of the kiss... It was one of the random things that he did that she loved about him.
"Twilight... Stay here. I'll take care of them..." He said coldly, his stare into her eyes being soft, yet turning to a murderous, ice-cold, terrifying look of determination as he turned to face the rest of them. He stood proudly, and yelled at all the ponies surrounding him with one simple phrase that belonged to him alone. Ice in his eyes turned to a bright, burning rage as he looked into each of their eyes.
"I HAVE NO FEAR OF EXPRESSING THE EXISTENCE OF MY HATRED FOR YOU!" He stated furiously, his mind was overwhelmed with rage and the desire to protect. Whenever it came to anyone doing anything to Twilight, he always acted protective, but this was another side of him.
"RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN, OR I WILL MAKE SURE YOU BREAK DOWN IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!" He yelled as he started to charge towards the entire army he was against. It was him alone against a possible several dozen goons. He knew he would stand no chance, yet he still strives to protect those he loves.
"IF YOU HURT SOMEONE THAT I CARE ABOUT AS MUCH AS HER, I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE SURE YOU SUFFER!" He shouted as he head-butted the first pony he ran into, rage boiling the blood coursing through his body. His blind desire to protect had nearly shattered his mind. The only thing holding him from breaking like this was Twilight. His protection was broken, as was she.
She was still laying in the corner, a small pool of her own blood beginning to show itself. She watched as she could, as she was laying on her side with her head up. She couldn't see or hear very well at this point. Her head fell flat as she heard that he cared about her as much as he did. She closed her eyes fearing that she wouldn't wake up again, yet she had no choice in the matter as she blacked out.
The fight was raging as Sorin was taking more hits than he was dealing. He had multiple small knives imbedded into his skin as he kept fighting. He was given a chance to breathe as all the ponies in the room except for the leader, backed off. Sorin was in such a bad condition right now.
His breathing was quick, as he was nearly hyperventilating. His entire body was shaking as he was struggling just to stand. The leader laughed at his victory over the stallion, however that laugh reached his victims ears.
Sorin suddenly fell still, barely breathing, standing with all of his legs spread wide apart. His head was bleeding, as to cover half of his face with his own blood. He looked up to the leader with a cold determination in his icy stare. His eyes nearly glowed with new-found power, strength beyond a normal stallion.
"That will be the last laugh you'll ever manage." He said loud enough to catch the leaders ears. His surprisingly calm voice, yet dripping with resolve and an insatiable hunger for revenge. His voice alone made the leader cringe in fear and other mixed emotions.
His eyes were nearly glowing with determination and an icy, murderous look. His hair seemed to wave around, as a type of what seemed to be magic flowed from his body. His willpower, determination to protect and endurance all worked together in one moment. His eyes glowed separate colors, his right eye glowed an icy blue, while his left eye burned in a furious, wavy red.
The two colors seemed to have collided in the middle of the air above him. His hair was flying everywhere, and his wounds had stopped bleeding. The stare on the leader continued as Sorin started to walk forwards slowly.
Meanwhile, right when the outburst of energy reached Twilight, she immediately woke up. She rose her head and watched her stallion get enveloped halfway in magic. She couldn't believe her eyes, or what she was feeling. This was stronger than Alicorn magic.
The leader was stricken with such sudden fear. Unimaginable fear. His icy stare mixed with his burning passion to kill the one who hurt his closest friend so badly.
Sorin had somehow moved fast enough to move directly in-front of the leader within a second.
"Don't worry..." He started coldly. "I'll make it quick, yet..." He delayed with the last part, striking curious suspension into the leader's fear, toying with him.
"I'll make you suffer." As soon as he finished talking, he stood upright suddenly and pounded both his fore-hooves into the chest and neck of the leader so quickly and forcefully that he nearly flew backwards.
Sorin looked around to the rest of all the ponies and said three words. Three words that made the entire group run in absolute, unimaginable, overwhelming fear.
"Run or Die."
Immediately after he spoke, they all started running for their lives. The leader's ribcage had a visible dent in the middle of it where Sorin's hoof had struck. He was also still gasping for air whenever he could gather the strength to breathe. The sudden initial shock was dying down, yet the fear was still present.
He was so easily overwhelmed in power, despite the numbers being in his favor.
Sorin's power dissipated as he closed his eyes and fell to the floor, having pushed himself further than ever before. The loud roaring sound of the stone doorway shattering made the leader shoot up in shock. He looked around him as he saw that the stallion was laying on the floor, barely alive. There was more blood surrounding him than ever now. However.. Something odd appeared from one of the holes where a knife was.
A glowing, bright green seed of magic. He looked to the mare that was at the wall. She had been awake and seen everything that happened. She still wore the expression of shock. She never imagined that her stallion was capable of such feats of strength.
The rushing hoofsteps and shouts of the others rushing to aid had gotten louder, and they now burst into the scene. They saw the blood on the ground, the defeated stallion as well as Sorin laying in a pool of his own blood, barely alive. They had Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack go to help Sorin.
"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew over to her friend to examine the wounds. Pinke was quick to follow, however they were both too late. Twilight's head fell to the ground as she fell unconscious again.
Would she ever wake up again, after all this?
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