Ancient Wings, New Soul

by Kowlickkid


Chapter 12: Old Enemy, Cold Revenge

Old Enemy, Cold Revenge

"Trent, what happened to you?!"


"Bah! Trent is of a bad dream, a wisp of the past. I am Vex!"


I guess some explanation is in order, huh?
Trent was one of my tormentors. But he wasn't successful. Oftentimes he would go to a lot of trouble to impress the other bullies, and then get in trouble with the teachers or the cops.
The tormenting started when he came into the orphanage. I was the kid to be picked on. I never even saw my parents. Everyone else lived with them at least a little. Trent came in way after I did. His parents fed him on base of the phrase: 'If anything tastes really good, it's gotta be good for you.' Not surprisingly, he was a ginormous kid, and he kept on growing. Heck, you couldn't see his neck. Or his wrists. Or ankles. He practically rolled. His parents died, almost at the same time, of cardiac arrest. Big surprise there, huh? To get over his parents' deaths, he decided to help torment everyone's favorite punching bag: me.
The problem to him was that he wasn't too subtle. How could he be sneaky, with all of that fat? He got punished more than half the time he did something to me, and he hated me all the more for it. Soon, it became personal. He wasn't playing to forget his parents. He wanted revenge on me. But the story kept happening the same way. He would hurt me, he would get in trouble, he would get mad.
He considered himself friends with the other bullies, but I could see past that. They secretly mocked his obesity and silently laughed when he got punished.
Apparently he had found himself in this new world. With a new body. And he. Was. Mad. I got whacked again by a pulsing orb of energy that just felt... evil. And dark. Evil darkness. He laughed. Just like Fawful. A quick, high-pitched, deranged giggle.


"With happiness I hug this day like a little girl embraces a cat. You suffer your defeat at the hands of Vex!"


His new body was quite a change from the old one. He was still humanoid, but he wasn't fat. In fact, he was very fit, and looked strong. His skin was completely black, and he had ears like a dragon's. A maniacal grin filled with surprisingly bright teeth was stuck on his face. His hands had fingers that looked like blades, black, long and sharp, and his feet were rather talon-ish, having two long toes going forwards and one going backwards. His eyes, evil semicircles inclined in an angry way, were a bright red and glowed. And one of his most defining features was that his whole body, except for his hands, ears and feet, seemed to be cracked open, revealing glowing red light in intersecting jagged lines. He levitated off the ground and produced an evil-looking black ball coursing with red energy.


"Are you liking it? Vex' new body? It is rather... powerful-looking, do you not think?"


With a tremendous speed, he alighted on the ground, ran behind me, leaving a red and black trail, and threw the orb of darkness at me, which exploded on contact, sending me flying. Then he crouched down, inserted his fingers in the ground and tore out a big mass of earth bigger than him and me put together, easily holding it above his head. He laughed again.


"I HAVE CHORTLES!!"


He then flung the boulder at me, and I barely dodged it. Not seeming to be discouraged by this, he executed a double-back-flip and levitated once more.


"Oh, what a joyous occasion this is, better than a birthday with a chocolate-cherry cake of goodness. My new form is strong, agile and fast. It is perfect revenge on your face!"


I shakily stood up.


"Tell me, Trent. Revenge for what? We both know that it was you who got yourself into trouble. You started it, and it came back to bite you in the butt."


"I AM NOT TRENT!!!"


He extended his right arm in front of him and a trail of huge obsidian spikes began to sprout from the ground, heading in my direction. I hastily took flight, avoiding damage. He himself flew(lucky dog has levitation powers and doesn't need wings) up until we were looking each other in the face.


"And the cold dish? I will be telling you. Of course you remember the catastrophe you were caught in. Nearly the whole city showed up, like fishermen to a stream full of overly-large salmon. And the police did too, of course. They blamed me. They were thinking in their twisted brains that I planted a special bomb because I was close to the scene! I was marked for trial, you being the only witness. I was let free until the trial. But when you disappeared, they immediately put me in jail! Said something about eliminating the witness. Then the trial came. And my friends, my buddies, they were saying that I did it! They claimed that I had bragged about it beforehand!"


"Just goes to show that you were hanging out with the wrong people. They never were your friends. They bad-mouthed you whenever they could."


He screeched in anger and pummeled me down to the ground.


"I HAVE FURY!!! I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR LIES!!! I WILL DESTROY YOU WITH MY NEW BODY!!! FOR YOU ARE WEAK!!"


He stepped toward me again with intent to damage, but I looked up at him angrily and grabbed him by the throat.


"Correction: I was weak. You weren't the only one who got a costume change."


I sent an electric shock through his body, which he convulsed to, before flinging him away. Thunderhilt found himself in battle position. Seeing as how he stood up, I shot a large lightning bolt at him. Immediately he swept both arms up as if lifting something and a curved triangular wall of obsidian sprung up and deflected the beam. Somehow, he managed to jump over it and fire a large red and black beam of his own at me. Holding Thunderhilt in a defensive position, the beam hit it right on the dragon scale, and the magic('cause what else would it be?) pushed me back, though no damage was inflicted upon me. I grunted, but held my position until he stopped.


"So, care to give me an evil monologue of how you actually got here, or do we go straight to the part where I destroy you?"


He growled. Touching down, he began pacing, as I did as well.


"Your jokes are as funny as five-week old moldy cheese. I was in jail. Yes, the cesspit of odorous stink filled with ungoodness. But then, I slept like a teeny baby, and I met the one of excellence. REVENGE! She gave me an opportunity to make a body of newness according to my dark desires, and I made me."


"So you got to build your own body. Lucky dog."


Quicker than the eye, he ran towards me and punched me.


"I WILL BE HAVING VENGEANCE!"


I picked myself up again, wiping a bit of blood from my beak.


"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen. Flare!"


The young dragon executed an impressive jump, did a front flip, and landed on Vex, stabbing him with Viper deeply, before somersaulting off.


"A minion of pain you have found."


Then he was overcome by the poison and screamed. I let him stew in his agony for a while, but when the effect began to wear off, I flew towards him.


"Accelero"


My speed increased greatly. I socked him into the air with the flat of Thunderhilt, then proceeded to combo him upwards using my fists and claws. When we got to a sufficient altitude, I whacked him down with the flat and prepared a spell. In a second, it was ready.


"WIND IMPACT!!"


One of the more simple spells I had found in the library of Mount Mistpeak, wind impact served to generate several discs of wind that propelled themselves against the target, mostly sending it flying in one direction, but also giving a bit of blunt damage. Vex impacted into the ground. A huge dust cloud rose. I landed right next to Flare.


"Think that did it?", he asked me.


His response was a slap upside the head.


"You jinxed us."


Darkness started emanating from the dust cloud. Before I could react, he came out and punched me. I tumbled against the ground and while I was there, he picked up Flare and threw him away. As I started to get up, he punched me again, and then started whaling on me. He finally stopped and stepped over me in a triumphant pose. I groaned, in too much pain to attack.


"I HAVE VICTORY!"


He held both hands high above his head and began to charge a powerful spell.


"It is a pity you were not putting up more of a fight. I shall have to use my energy on this village of puniness."


But before he could kill me, something surprising happened. A little bird flew in his face. Just a tiny little bird. A sparrow, if I was correct.


"What... Be stopping... Stop scratching!"


The ball of magic energy flew up and exploded, firework-style, in the sky. I seized the moment and punched him off of me.


"You. Are. Dead."


The sky began to cloud up, lightning occasionally striking. Energy flowed around me, threatening to shock anything that came close. I used my wings to balance myself and stood on my two hind legs. I swirled my front claws around and then made a quick gesture, holding them out in front of me.


"SANDSTORM!"


Dust began to pick up, and with a boom, a terrific gale flew against Vex. The sparrow had flown away beforehand. Sand accumulated on his black figure. He lost his grip on the ground and flew backwards, out the gate. With a quick gesture downwards, I slammed him into a pit in the road. Immediately, a loud explosion sounded, and Vex went flying.


"Explosive watermelons. You don't see it coming until it's too late."


My enemy crashed down in front of me.


"This ends now."


Thunderhilt flew to my grip as I prepared to swing. Suddenly, it felt as if I was moving in molasses. I looked to Vex, who was holding a hand in my direction.


'A chronal distortion?'


'That's just cheating!'


'For once, I agree with you, Thunderhilt.'


He slowly stood up, in very bad shape. His body was even more cracked, and some pieces of his skin were badly positioned or even completely off. His eyes seemed to be cracked lenses.


"V-vex will come back. V-vex w-will have vengeance."


That said, a black swirling portal opened up behind him and swallowed him. I began moving normally again.


"AW, COME ON! How many stinkin' powers does he have!?"


Slowly, the clouds cleared up. Then I started panicking.


"Flare?! Are you alright?"


I started looking around frantically.


"I'd say never better, but I've been better than this."


Looking down, I saw him. He was dirty and was favoring his left arm, but he had a smile on him.


"Well, now that we're not in mortal peril, I think I'll just take four hundred wink... Zzzzzzzzzz..."

*********************

I woke up with a splitting headache.


"Did anyone get the number of that tank that hit me?"


"Nope. But at least you're still alive."


"Hey, Flare. How's your arm."


I turned my head from the comfortable mat it was laying on and looked at the dragon. He had his left arm bandaged in a cast.


"Meh, could be better."


Thunderhilt floated from a corner into my hand.


"Sauna"


He winced as the magic started knitting his bones together, then looked with wide eyes as he wiggled his arm around.


"It's all better."


"Yes, that was a healing spell."


What came next surprised me. He burned the cast off his arm. More accurately, he torched it and then it shattered off, but it was unexpected. Soon after, Torom walked in.


"Ah, it is good to see you awake, Truenis. And hatchling, what happened to your cast?"


Flare flexed his arm.


"Don't need it. Truenis healed it."


"You are full of surprises, Truenis.


"I suppose so. I must apologize for attracting Vex to your village."


"Don't worry. No harm was caused. We're just thankful that the area wasn't destroyed."


I stood up.


"Thank you, Torom. You've been an excellent host."


"How could I not be? Anyone able to have power like that and still be civil and decent is good in my books."


At that moment, the two twins came in, carrying rope.


'What the..?'


'No idea.'


Me and Thunderhilt's questions were soon answered as they began to climb over me, occasionally pausing to rip out a feather and cause me to squawk.


"Hey! What's up with... Where... Come here... OW! Why you little..."


Soon, they had me trussed up like a bull, legs tied together and on my back. They gave each other a high five. Flare started chuckling and Torom held in his laughter. I wasn't amused.


"Oh, it's so funny I forgot to laugh. Oh, wait, ha ha, you happy? Now are you going to let me out of this?"


The twins exchanged a look and then shook their heads. I smiled maliciously.


"Your loss. Thunderhilt, come here."

********************

From what I could tell, the twins were not amused. I had floated Thunderhilt over to cut the rope in a few places, then tied the kids back to back and stuck a couple of apples in their mouths. All that was done with me going at top speed under the influence of the speed spell Accelero. The look on Torom's face was priceless. He pointed to the twins, then to me, then back at the kids, then at me again, then back at the twins, and then slowly backed out of the hut. Flare was content to just roll back and squeak, not taking enough air in for laughter.


"So, if I let you out, will you be good?"


They grudgingly nodded. I simply pulled a little cord and the whole thing came apart.


I felt something alight on my shoulder. Turning, I saw that it was the sparrow. I gently ran a finger across it's back.


"Hello there. So you're the little one who helped me back there. Thank you. You know, that was very brave of you. A mere sparrow, going up against that predator. I'm proud of you."


The little bird chirped and hopped up and down. I chuckled.


"All in all, I think a reward is in order. I read something about this once back at the castle. Thunderhilt?"


My weapon floated into my hand. Electricity sparked around me and began flowing into the bird. It chirped, confused. It began to glow. I was exhausting a good amount of energy. Slowly, it began to grow and change shape. It stopped when it was about the height of an eagle, but a good deal slimmer. The glow died down. Standing on my shoulder was a beautiful bird with purple feet, a yellow beak, purple-blue eyes and a colorful plumage, of blue, purple, and some slight yellow marks. He opened his beak and a sound that could be described as awesome filled the room. You know the sound of the phoenix from the first movie of the Chronicles of Narnia? That, but a little bit more electric.


"Congratulations", I said. "You are now a Thunderbird."


The new Thunderbird spread it's wings and flapped off my shoulder. He then flew around the room, screeching happily. Once again, he landed on my shoulder.


"You need a name. How about Electron?"


The bird nodded.


"Then Electron it is. Live well, but come when I call. Farewell."


Electron nuzzled into my neck for a moment before flying out the door and disappearing, leaving a blue and purple streak.

**************

I stood outside the gates with Flare. Torom and Jurida were there to see me off.


"Well", I said. "This seems to be goodbye for now."


"Farewell, Truenis.", said Torom. "Have a safe trip to wherever you're going."


"We're going to Stalliongrad next. It's the nearest city. See ya later, Juju."


"Don't call me that. But all the same, goodbye, and thank you. Goodbye to you too, Flare."


"Ciao, Juju and Torom."


A facepaw graced us with it's royal presence. Flare got on my back, and I flew up and away. As we were flying away, I asked Flare for a newspaper. Easily enough, he handed one to me.


"Let's see... *snort*"


"What's funny?"


"Hehe. This can't be right. 'Princess Celestia names Griffin the Griffin Best Pony'. I don't know what exactly it means, but I do know that Captain Griffin wouldn't accept that. From what I hear, he doesn't like stuff like that. More of a tough guy who doesn't like snootiness, or at least that's what I gathered. Oh, hello... Curiously enough, the changeling called Knightmare was not around for the ceremony... Flare, definition of changeling."


"Sort of a cross between a pony and a bug. Has both a horn and wings. Usually shunned in pony society because they feed off of love, often replacing a pony in a relationship by shape-shifting into it."


"Yup, that's definitely a changeling in that picture. It seems Celestia and Griffin have a troll battle going on. Well, off to Stalliongrad!"





Hey everybody, I'm really late this time, aren't I. *insert lame excuse which you guys probably won't buy anyway*. Heh, ya bought it. Suckers. NO WAIT! Just kidding. So for those of you that are wondering what a Thunderbird looks like, think Philomeena with a bit more jagged feathers, kinda like lightning, and blue, purple and slight tinges of yellow instead of red, orange and yellow. And I bet you thought Vex was gonna bite the dust, huh? Not so. Thanks for reading, and keep your stick on the ice.

P.S.: Here's Vex. Not perfect, but not bad either.