//------------------------------// // Rizen chapter 6 // Story: Rizen // by Madgod Vatuu //------------------------------// In the morning of Ponyville, a loud yell echoed through the town. Near Twilight’s library, Spike was outside with the others, charging at Sapphire with his sword, which the Kobold easily deflected with a pair of wrist mounted claws. In spite of the setback, Spike continued to slash her while the girls just watched, to varying reactions. “Um Twi? Are y’all sure this is okay?” Applejack asked Twilight, who was more than a little visibly nervous at the pair currently sparring, wincing every time Spike was knocked down. “Honestly Applejack, no I’m not okay with this at all. But Princess Luna suggested we have Spike train with Sapphire, if only to teach him how to defend himself in his new body. And after everything that happened, I couldn’t say no, especially after Sapphire agreed .” That insight gave the pair little comfort as Spike was again knocked back, panting loudly as he struggled to breath. Yet even then, he persisted in spite of the situation. “How long have they been at this?” The farm pony asked only to hear Spike panting loudly as he fell to his knees tired. “For about 2 hours. Oddly enough, Sapphire doesn't seem to be tired.” Twilight looked on in amazement at the other Kobold before turning to Spike who was down on one knee and struggling to stand back up. “C-can we stop?” Spike begged as he dropped his sword, needing his hands to keep himself off the ground. Sapphire had the decency to pause and looked at his shoes, noticing that it looked worn out. The robes and the clothing, even the hat survived the test of time, however the shoes looked to be on the edge of collapsing. She even noticed that the way he moves must have been uncomfortable for him. “Yeah, I guess a break is in order, if only to swap out those worn out shoes for some new ones.” Sapphire said while Spike fell to the ground removing his shoes. He begins to rub his furry feet, unused to the sore feeling since he’d previously had sturdy scales in place of soft pads. “Hey!” Spike turned to Sapphire as a pair of socks and boots fell near him, immediately catching his attention. Spike reached out to them only to pause. “Hey, didn’t that Iron Claw guy wear this?” Spike questioned hesitantly as he slowly put them on. “Yeah, he did.” Spike and the others looked horrified at the detail, yet Sapphire didn’t even bat an eye. “No point in crying about it, those boots and socks are new. They’ll serve you better.” “Better!?” Twilight shouted, looking about ready to get in Sapphire’s face.”You just gave Spike clothes from a dead creature! That’s basically grave robbing” Twilight shouted loudly, making her disapproval known to all within a 100 yard radius. Sapphire herself simply shrugged at the idea. “It’d have been wasteful to just leave them behind, and it’s not like Iron Claw is gonna need them anyway.” Her logic did little to not unsettle the ponies, Spike himself hardly thrilled about the idea either. Sadly one glance at his utterly ruined boots made it clear he didn’t have an option. So he hesitantly slid one of the socks on and the boot quickly after, finding that they surprisingly fit perfectly. This was in spite of the fact the aforementioned soldier being larger than him, even the boots fit. Now fully equipped he stood up, and was again surprised to find how comfortable they felt, as if he wasn’t wearing anything at all. Quickly going through a few standard stretches to test it out, the feeling didn’t change, and his face broke out into a smile. “Wow, this feels amazing!” Spike hopped in place, feeling a bit more energetic now that he could at least stand up properly. Obviously his muscles still hurt like crazy, but the sudden shift helped him ignore that for the moment. “Spike.” Twilight was stunned by Spike’s determination in spite of how he’d be acting just a few moments prior. Sapphire chuckled as she saw it in his eyes. “Good, then perhaps we can resume for a bit longer.” Sapphire quickly unsheathed her sword, with Spike, seemingly coming down from the brief adrenaline rush, now waslooking a little unsure.Yet, he still picked his own weapon up, knowing arguing wasn’t an option. Both of them resumed their stances, unaware that a crowd had formed to observe them all. Or rather, they didn’t notice for a few moments before the increased noise finally got their attention. Spike turned his head seeing the crowd and slowly started gaining confidence. However, his eyes caught something else. In the crowd was a dark figure, one from his dream. Just as he was about to say something, his eyes blinked and the dark figure disappeared. “Spike?” His trance was broken with Sapphire waiting. ”Are you sure you're ready for this?” She told Spike who entered a stance. Sapphire realized what stance he used but decided to keep to herself. “I'm ready!” Spike shouted with excitement charging at Sapphire. -Hours later. “Ow!” Spike groaned while Twilight tended his wounds, applying some disinfectant to the various small knicks and cuts across his body. Yet in spite of his injuries and the sting, which was considerable, he seemed to be smiling the entire time. “Uh, Spike, most ponies aren’t this happy after getting beat up for several hours. Are you okay?” Twilight asked, causing Spike to chuckle which only worried her further. “Sure, I’m great Twilight. It was actually a lot of fun” His grin quickly shrank when Twilight sighed in exhaustion at his answer. “What’s the matter?” “I don’t like you doing this Spike. I don’t like the idea of using a sword or getting into danger.” Twilight spoke firmly, again applying some more medicine to the former drake’s wounds, causing him to wince. “And watching you today, what would’ve happened if you’d gotten more than some scratches and bruises?” Spike just groaned, not liking how she treats him like a baby. Obviously he knew she meant well, but it was still embarrassing. Slowly, he stood up, putting on his robes. “Come on Twilight, is it anything different from you or the girls? You guys are fighting monsters, changelings, and villains all the time. Compared to that, a little friendly sparring is nothing to worry about,” Spike complained at her rather narrow perspective. Heck, it wasn’t that long ago he saved the Crystal Empire. Twilight however, didn’t seem to relent, reaching out to the drake. “Spike..” “I'm gonna go to Zecora for a bit. Maybe she can help me with these nightmares and headaches I’ve been having.” He started to head for the door, Twilight quickly getting to her hooves. “Wait! If you're going to Zecora then I'm coming too. I’m not leaving you alone.” Spike just groans feeling annoyed from Twilight’s repeating concernment. Again he knew she cared but this was getting ridiculous. “Twilight, it’s fine I can just go with Sapphir-” “I’m not letting me be alone with her again! We just met her.” Twilight took a step forward, looking almost like she was pleading with him. “I’m grateful she saved our lives, but you’re putting way too much trust into somepony we just met.” “Twi? Come on, she’s a friend. Yeah, we don’t know her that well, but you felt the same way about Zecora when we met her.” Spike’s eyes seemed to narrow and his tone grew a bit more harsh. “Or maybe this has less to do with her as a friend and more because she’s not a pony.” Twilight looked as though she’d been slapped across the face, horrified at the accusation. “Spike, how can you think that?! You know I will nev-” Spike held up his hand immediately cutting her off mid sentence. “I know you wouldn’t but it just feels like it. Heck, I’m still scared about how everypony is gonna treat me now that I look like this. Even Mom and Dad, Shiny and Cadence.” Spike let out a sniff from the thought until Twilight hugged him close. “Oh Spike, I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable,” Twilight sobbed lightly as the pair hugged in silence for a moment, only to be disturbed by the sound of the doorknob turning. Once the door opened, it was revealed to be Rarity entering the house. “Hello Darlings, am I interrupting something?” They both clear their throat trying to speak as they quickly separated from their embrace.. “Oh, nothing Rarity we were just having a talk is all.” Spike clears his throat and puts on his sheathe. “Anyway, I need to go speak with Sapphire. Sorry we can’t chat right now Rarity, I’ll see you in a bit.” In mere seconds Spike was out the door before Rarity could get a word in, the fashionista only finally speaking once he was long gone. Her voice almost immediately broke into a shriek as she got up into Twilight’s face, looking positively livid. “TWILIGHT? Why in Celestia’s name is Spike going out to meet with that….delinquent? Aren’t you the least bit concerned?” Despite Rarity’s rather bombastic response, Twilight was quick to straighten herself out and speak calmly to her rather…loud friend. “Well, Spike was planning to go to Zecora’s hut and wants Sapphire to come along. Apparently, he’s been having some…bad nightmares and headaches. He’s hoping Zecora might have some kind of treatment available.” Rarity seemed to simmer down somewhat, though still didn’t look satisfied. “Well, surely he could do that without having her along. I mean really, why is he acting so attached to her.” Seeing she’d need to provide more context, Twilight quickly added the concerns Spike had revealed to her and Rarity reacted as one would expect her to. “Oh dear poor Spikey-Wikey. To think he’d fear such a thing happening…and perhaps on some level my own hostility didn’t paint the best picture.” Rarity almost looked ashamed and Twilight wondered if she’d bring out her signature fainting couch, but the alabaster unicorn refrained. “Well, then I feel it only prudent that I accompany you as well, to reassure Spike that he has no reason to believe our feelings towards him have changed.” That got Twilight to perk up a little, happy that her friend was so quick to adjust her mindset if it meant helping Spike. Now all they really needed to focus on was approaching Zecora and hopefully resolving the issues with Spike’s headaches. -Elsewhere- At a lonely road across, a carriage with no mounts roamed the sandy planes of the badlands. Inside were Lyon and Stein who remained quiet as their driver guided them to their location. As they continued to ride on, both individuals twitched, with Stein turning ever so slightly to the front of the carriage. “Sir, I think we have company.” Pulling back the curtain in the carriage, revealed multiple changelings ahead of them, already aiming their horns, looking utterly ravenous and ready for a fight. Lyon merely let out a bored sight and waved the matter off without a care. “Stein…take care of them.” Stein let out a big grin ready to step out of the window. “But don’t kill them.” Stein let out a groan from the orders before he stepped out of the carriage. Once outside his grin returned in full as he cracked his knuckles. “You better give me a good fight!” The horde hissed and charged forward, intent on goring him with their horns. Stein smirked however, grabbing the nearest one by its horn before reeling back and punching it square in the face. The poor bug flew backwards at high speed, crashing into several more before slamming into the ground, bits of green blood dripping from his lips. That attack managed to stop about five changelings, leaving around ten or so remaining, of whom appeared hesitant to attack him, all to Stein’s annoyance. “Really, all that and you back off already. Geez, you really are a bunch of cowardly bugs aren’t you? Then again what should I expect from a bunch of sentient cockroaches.” That seemed to rile them up some, with them quickly changing tactics. Immediately they started changing into several larger creatures including a Cragadile, a Manticore, and various other beasts. Stein’s grin returned, looking more excited than before. “Oh, now we’re talking. Finally getting serious I see. Perfect.” The Kobold looked ready to start, only for a voice in the carriage to stop him. “Stein, we have a schedule to keep, stop dragging this out and end it already.” Lyon’s demand made Stein groan again as his fun was spoiled. “Well damn, guess I need to cut this short. Too bad.” With little warning or prompt, he opened his mouth wide and to the shock of the various changelings, magic started to form and condense in his mouth, growing brighter and louder with each nanosecond. None of the changelings had time to react before the beam was fired, crashing into the lot of them. In a single flash, the small horde had reverted back to their original forms, bodies charred even blacker than before. All around various groans and cries of pain were the only indication they were still alive. Stein, seeing his work finished, exhaled a stream of smoke from his mouth, still looking more than a little miffed. “Well, that was disappointing, but guess you can’t expect too much from a bunch of bugs.” Shrugging his shoulders he started to head back to the carriage, only for a loud burst of fire to get him to turn around. “You dare trespass into my lands.” Stein looked at the flames with interest and excitement as a larger female changeling walked out of the flames. “You’re certainly a reckless reprobate, but now, not only have you trespassed, but have also attacked my subordinates. I can’t allow that to stand.” With this new opponent Stein looked eager to fight, only for a paw on his shoulder to get him to back off, Lyon having appeared behind him before approaching the changeling. “I suppose some apologies are in order, though there is something of interest in your lands and I’m afraid I must insist on us acquiring it,” He said showing no interest to the attacker. “Whether or not we have your consent is, I’m afraid, not really a concern of ours.” The attacker grinded her teeth angry at the disrespect. “You dare insult me! I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of all Changelings and sovereign of these lands! You will pay for your insolence!” Behind the queen a massive swarm of changelings appeared before them, surrounding them. Chrysalis quickly started to laugh, thinking she had claimed victory. However, her laughing quickly halted when she looked upon her targets. Shockingly, despite the now massive horde before him, Lyon didn’t look worried, instead he looked up towards the sky. Amidst the dark clouds with a single snowflake fell, depositing itself on the arid landscape, all of which was unnoticed by the Queen. “Now! I wi-” Her words were stopped cold…literally as in a single flash of an instant, her entire army was encased in ice. The Queen of the Changelings looked on with shock and horror as the entire area that had once been little more than rock and sand, was now completely blanketed in snow, whilst her many warriors and subordinates were trapped in massive prisons of ice. Equally shocking, her own hooves were frozen to the ground along with her wings, preventing her from escaping. Thankfully at least her head and torso were still free, though that was of little consequence given the display she’d just witnessed. Her eyes could barely contain her shock as they shifted to the two strangers before her. . “What…what is this?” No answer came to her, at least not a verbal one. Instead, the sound of footsteps drew her and the others eyes to a small creature approaching. Lyon himself smirked as he saw the creature step forward, revealing a pure white, female kobold. Her eyes were almost the color of ice, matched by her equally cold expression. She wore a uniform with the Iron Claws logo. “So you finally arrived, Dima!” Lyon said to her. The aforementioned Dima responded with a small yawn, barely acknowledging the question. “You!” She turned her attention to a very angry Chrysalis. “You dare insult me in this battle! I will take y-” She was interrupted by a punch to the head, knocking her out, leaving her head hanging limply as she stood literally frozen in place. Another female kobold was in front of them as she had beige fur with brown hair. She wore the same uniform as Dima. “Captain.” She saluted Lyon who grinned at the result. “Lieutenant Swift. He said acknowledging the kobold. We got a job to do…now let's go and bag that wanker.” As Chrysalis's eyes managed to open as witnessing her frozen kingdom, she stared at the four Kobolds wondering what monsters arrived to Equestria.