//------------------------------// // The Other Side; Part 8 // Story: What It's Like on the Other Side // by Dimitri_Domovoi //------------------------------// THUNK THUNK THUNK "Echo, is Fluttershy still here?!" "RED? I'll be out in a minute!" Echo and Dimitri left the basement, after insuring that his swords were clipped on correctly, and wouldn't fall off. The half-dragon opened the door to a surprised RED and PK. "Dimitri, when did you return?" "Just in time for Anitchka to kidnap Fluttershy, Rarity, and Luna." "D, he took all the girls, left notes for us saying either we die or they do." PK slammed his metal fist into a tree, decimating it "I will tear out his spine and stuff it down his throat!" "He has made this personal, but he also has the power to do what he wishes." Dimitri stated. "What are you saying D, we give up?" RED looked to Dimitri. "No, but the Allicorn Amulet being in his position allows him full access to the power of an allicorn, and I don't know if he can influence the nano bots to bend to his will." Dimitri answered. "So, essentially, we're screwed. Great! Just fucking great!" Echo hit the wall. "What's got you so 'all is lost' all of the sudden?" RED put his hand on Echo's shoulder. "Twi's been hinting that she wanted our relationship to go another step farther, and the only point we haven't reached was... I... I was going to p-propose." Echo hung his head. "You trusted her that much? Then I've got two options. The one I've chosen... Just take care of her for me." Dimitri turned towards the entrance to the Everfree. RED took a step closer "What are you thinking, D?" "Get to the ruins in the Everfree, there either him or I shall remain." Before any one was able to speak, Dimitri disappeared in a flash of static. Echo and PK sprinted into the Everfree, PK leading, and smashing everything that stood between him and his party-happy mare. "Hang on AJ, RED's a'comin!" He looked down and caught fire "This landings gonna hurt like a bitch!" the air around him exploded, sending him shooting into the air, then again sending him towards his destination. Dimitri reappeared in front of the ruins "Alright! Anitchka, come out here!" The sound of wood rustling could be heard as a giant timberwolf stepped into the clearing "So, that's how you want to play it? Fine!" He spun the scythe to where he had the handle in both hands, then sprinted at the colossal wooden beast. It swatted at him repeatedly, missing every attempt. It went to bite him, missing, Dimitri saw this opening, jumping onto the head of this gargantuan wood wolf. He sunk the scythes blade into the top of its head, it fell to the ground. Dimitri then teleported into the main room of the ruins, finding the girls, and both Allicorn sisters, chained up in cages. "It seems little Fluttershy was indeed right about you." The elder sister stated weakly. "What's happened to everyone?" Dimitri took a step closer to the center of the room. "Oh, nothing, their just unconscious." Anitchka's voice came from everywhere, Dimitri looked around. "Anitchka, if you don't let them go, you will regret it!" the reptilian tone setting in. Anitchka appeared in the center of the room, an aura of glowing white magic swirling around him "Oh your no fun." Beside him appeared a light blue unicorn wearing a magician getup. "Anitchka, can I deal with Twilight?" She pouted at him. "Of course, but first I have some unfinished business to attend to." He smiled psychotically at me. "Anitchka, where did you get the amulet from?" Dimitri stepped closer. "Why, isn't it obvious? Well, when you kicked me out a week before the timberwolf incident to have fun with the shy one, who you'll be happy to know is carrying what I can only assume is your child, I met this devious little number, known as The Great And Powerful Trixie! She then told me about her past experiences with the girls, and told me about this little trinket around my neck. I then did some snooping while the town was asleep, It took me three weeks to figure out it was in Ms. Sparkle's basement." He looked over at Fluttershy, who then began to awaken. "Then you already know that for kidnapping the love of my life, I'm going to kill you." Dimitri looked to Fluttershy, she looked into his eyes and nodded. He turned to face Anitchka, teleporting behind him. Anitchka acted quickly, spinning to face Dimitri, kicking his knee, snapping it. Dimitri's knee cracked back into place while he punched Anitchka in the chest, breaking a few ribs. Anitchka disappeared and opened a portal on the floor inches away from Dimitri, who unfurled his wings and launched into the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a spear floating off the wall, it shot though the air, aimed not at him but at Twilight, as it was a yard or so from the cage, Echo fell through a hole in the ceiling landing in the path of the spear. It embedded itself into his chest, making him crumple to the ground. He stood and pulled the spear out, dropping it onto the floor. Two more spears shot through the air aimed at Rainbow and Fluttershy's cage, Dimitri appeared in the spear's paths, receiving both in his chest. He ripped them out, turned to the cage and looked into Fluttershy's eyes "I'm gonna get you out, Echo and RED are going to get you and the girls to safety, okey?" "I heard him tell you... I... I wanted to be the one to... to tell you." She looked down. Dimitri grabbed the lock and yanked it off. Using his other hand He lifted her chin, so she was looking at him once more "Listen, I may not see you again, so take care of yourself, I'm going to have PK help you rai-" Thirteen or so spears interrupted him by embedding into his back, the portal then moved onto the opposite wall. A fireball landed through the hole in the ceiling, most of the fire died, as RED stood where the fireball landed. Anitchka reappeared in the center of the room "Ah, Dimitri is dead, and your too late to help him. Heh Heh, pathetic." A wall of fire rose, hitting the ceiling, RED faced The cage containing Pinkie and Applejack. He concentrated on the lock, a second later it melted, releasing the two trapped ponies. They started to walk out but were stopped by the chains, RED then repeated what he did to the lock, freeing them completely. "Stand on my back and use me to jump out of that hole in the ceiling." AJ did as instructed. Pinkie tried but jumped to low, but before she started to fall back to the ground a massive hand caught her. "PK! Thank Celestia you got here in time!" She was pulled out of the hole, then PK jumped into the hole. He walked over to the cage containing Twilight and Rarity, lifting it he moved back to the hole and jumped but was grabbed by an invisible force "YOU. ARE NOT. LEAVING!" A blue aura washed over twilight and the cages lock, the lock snapped off, as did the chains, and Twilight was pulled out and past the fire. "Not on my watch!" Dimitri stood and sprinted through the fire. "RED! Get everyone out, NOW! PK, stay here with me, I will need your help!" Dimitri finally surfaced from the wall of fire. Twilight was just ahead of him, Trixie standing over her with a ceremonial dagger in her magical aura. He disappeared, reappearing he grabbed the dagger, and smashed it against his arm. Then went for Trixie, who was no longer there. Echo came through the fire skidding to a halt at Dimitri's side. Dimitri lifted the purple pony, and placed her over Echo's shoulders, so that he could use her legs to keep her in place. "Echo, get everyone out, now. And if I don't come out... Help Fluttershy raise our child." "O-Okey, but at least try and return, alright?" Echo walked to the wall of fire, a hole opening for him and his passenger. PK just walked through the firewall, and to Dimitri. "I can only assume that you know something that we do not, can you at least tell me?" He looked around, preparing for Anitchka's next attempt at victory. "... No." Dimitri moved to the center of the room. "Hmmmm... You seem to want to cause me harm, Dimitri. I wonder, why ever would you want to do something so... mean?" Anitchka reappeared as the wall of fire died to reveal an empty space, aside for three remaining cages and a hole in the ceiling. Before Anitchka could react Dimitri teleported behind him, slamming his foot into Anitchka's back, sending him flying towards a pissed off PK. Who caught him by the head, with his metal arm, and without stopping the motion, slammed his head into the ground. PK then threw him into the air where Dimitri was waiting to grab his head and slam him into the wall. Anitchka transported back to the center, then moved toward PK, and slammed both fists into his chest, launching him across the room. "I should probably mention, I used this trinket to alter my cellular structure. Now it will take you a lot more to cause me harm, and when I kill you I'm going to go and... Maybe torture the shy one... Until she can't scream anymore. Then I'll slowly kill h-" CRACK Dimitri appeared inches away, and punched him at full force in the face. "Say anything like that again, I FUCKING DARE YOU!" Anitchka laughed, a couple streams of blood trickled from his nose "Say what? I'm going to slowly ki-" Dimitri grabbed his throat, and headbutt him, another crack was heard. "DID I FUCKING STUTTER?!?! IF YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT CAUSING HER ANY HAR-" Anitchka slammed his knee into Dimitri's gut, then his throat, making him go down. He laughed again "After I'm done with the shy one, the pink one is second on my lis-" he yelled as a massive black metal fist collided into his face with a crunch, knocking him to the ground. "Do not think for a second, that you can threaten our loved ones and survive." PK helped Dimitri off the floor "Let us finish this fight and get home." Anitchka disappeared, a psychotic laughing resonated through the walls. "Let's see here, Trixie? Can you take them until I am healed?" "Of corse, my dear." She appeared in the center of the room. "Oh, look at them... Wait, where is that big-shot know-it-all, Twilight Sparkle?" Dimitri stepped froward "On her way to safety, and if you want to get to her," he reached back and grabbed the hilts of the broadswords, sliding them out of their sheaths "You'll have to go through me." PK stepped in between them "Dimitri, I will take care of this nuisance, you must ready yourself for Anitchka." Dimitri put the swards into the ground. "I don't think you will be able to fight this battle on your own, Project Krider." Anitchka's voice came from everywhere. Two shapes started to form. The first, the body of the giant timberwolf, alive with the scythe stuck in it forehead. The second, the dragon that attempted to consume Scootaloo, also alive. A ball of fire slammed into the ground "AJ had a bad gut feeling, so E, and me returned." RED stated as he and Echo walked out of the fire. "Celestia ordered me to apprehend Trixie Lulamoon, on the grounds of imprisoning her Royal Highness, her Royal sister, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and my future wife." Echo pointed a smoking finger at the offending mare. "This is perfect. RED, you take out the timberwolf. Echo, you obviously get to handle Trixie. PK, you and I will-" Dimitri was interrupted by Anitchka appearing next to Trixie. "Oh Dimitri, you can fight me. But to make this fun, only one battle at a time." As the last few words came out, all but RED and the timberwolf, were encased in a translucent white bubble, and stuck to the walls. "You may begin, now." RED jumped towards the lumbering creature, only to be smashed into the wall "Hay, not cool!" he ducked under the second paw, witch smashed a statue of an unknown allicorn. The air behind him exploded, propelling him towards the face of the timberwolf. The wooden beast ducked in time for RED to miss it's head, but not the scythe. Grabbing it, he used the momentum he had to make a nice slash into its back. The beast spun around, slamming RED into the wall. He started to light the massive paw holding him against the wall on fire. The beast moved it's paw back in pain, only to smash the cause through the wall, into a natural underground spring, soaking RED and extinguishing the flaming paw. "When I'm done with you, I'm going after the one who is always kicking my trees... Hmmmm, it seems my masters magic is allowing me to communicate with telepathy, intriguing." RED looked up, his normally blue irises turning bright orange, like hot iron "You go anywhere near her and I'll end you!" The whites of his eyes turned an empty black, the water around him turning to steam. He grabbed the wooden paw, the water in and on it turned to steam as it started to blacken. The beast yanked it's charred paw away, launching RED to the center of the room. "Ahhh... I seen to have hit a nerve, well how about this; she becomes my next meal?" The room started to heat up, the water on the ground turning to steam. "I'm not giving you that opportunity! I'm going straight to my one-use-only move; a burst of fire that lasts 15 minutes, but is hot enough to be considered a mini supernova!" The room went back to normal temperature, then started to get colder. "First, I suck all the heat from the room!" His skin started to look more like a charred corps with life in it. "Second, I supercharge all the heat in my body, creating a hot-spot where I stand!" The wind started to spin around him, creating a mini tornado with him in the eye. Anitchka looked over to Trixie's shield, noticing that it wouldn't hold up agains the mini supernova without him. He also knew Dimitri's crew and the dragon would survive the coming firestorm, but Trixie couldn't. "THEN I RELEASE THE FIRE INTO THE MINI TORNADO, DISINTEGRATING EVERYTHING WITHIN THE BLAST!" Just as a wall of red fire poured into the air, spinning as it spread towards the walls, Anitchka teleported into Trixie's bubble just before it burst. The timberwolf was incinerated almost instantly, and once the fire stopped, red was the only thing standing "Who's n-next?" He then fell to the floor, unconscious. "His fight is over, and for winning he gets to go home, to the orchard, of course." RED was engulfed in a white aura, then he disappeared. "Now, who is next?" "The Great and Powerful Trixie is next! She shall destroy her opponent!" "Alright, Echo, you are temporarily free." Echo, who until this point was sleeping, fell out of his bubble, and to the ground. "Hay! Hay! Hay! I'm awake! I'm awake, damn!" He slowly stood, looking as bored as physically possible. "Ready yourself, you are no match for my magic." She aimed her horn at Echo, it started to glow"This will be easy, you truly have no chance at beating me!" "Hold it for a second, I've got a proposition for ya." Trixie's horn stopped glowing and she looked at Echo with a confused look. "Sure, you could throw me into the wall, until I passed out, or you could hit me with miscellaneous items until you get the same result. But that would take hours, trust me on that one. Or you could go with my proposition, and it will only take 5 minutes." She looked as though she was thinking it through "I shall hear what you have to say." "Fantastic! Now, you must fire a magic net and catch me, but you must do it in 5 minutes, if you catch me in that time, you can go free. If you don't succeed, I will catch you, and you will be living the rest of your natural life in a cell that you won't be able to escape eas-" "Ha! No cage can hold the Great and Powerful Trixie! You may as well just let me-" "No unicorn alive can escape from a mythril cell." Trixie closed her mouth. "Then lets hear the rules to your proposition." Echo's eyes lit up, but his face stayed in a monotone look. "Great! One, your nets must go in strait paths. Two you can't stop me with levitation. Three, you must stay in the center of this room. Four, keep all focus on catching me." Trixie trotted to her standing place, then looked at Echo "I have one rule for you, only your best is allowed!" Echo smiled a sly smile that seemed too malicious for its own good "I was hopeing you'd say that."Echo's brown irises turned a glowing pale blue, the whites turning an empty black. His body and combat uniform turned translucent, but the same colors. "Before we begin, do you have any questions to ask?" "One, what is with the eye-and-body change about?" She scratched her head. "Me and the other three members of our group have what you would call, a turbo-mode, witch enhances our specialties. It causes a physical change as well." "Okey, let's begin!" She fired a net at Echo, missing as he seemed to move faster than the air could fill the space he occupied while moving. "Hay! That's not fair!" "Twilight could do it." This made Trixie furious. She fired net, after net at him as he moved in a big circle around her, two minutes passed, this being the routine. "You have three minutes left, try concentrating on where I'm going to be, not where I am." She started to get closer to hitting him for another two and a half minutes this kept reoccurring. "Stop moving!" Twenty five seconds passed, then she shot one massive final net, barreling directly at Echo. He forced himself to move as fast as physically possible, he would fail, a cone of energy formed in front of him. 'Just a bit faster, and I will break the sound barrier!' He dug his hooves into the stone floor, producing the extra boost needed. The sonic boom destroyed the magic net, and forced Echo halfway up the wall, creating an Echo-sized ring of blur to form along the walls of the room. "Times up!" Echo's voice came from every point on the ring. "You are not taking her!" Anitchka yelled as the hole in the ceiling was covered by a wall of his magic. "You think covering the only exit with your magic, is going to stop me? Wrong!" Echo yelled as a rod of the ring slid down the wall, removing Trixie from her standing place, and back up the wall, smashing through the wall of magic. A beam of energy maneuvered through the Everfree Forest, up the side of the mountain, into Canterlot, through the palace, through the prison area, where Trixie appeared in a mythril cell as the door slid shut locking into place, and into the throne room, where Echo stopped. "Where is Twilight?" Said unicorn walked up behind him "I'm right here." Echo turned and walked over to her, all her friends arriving through the throne room doors. "We thought we were going to get here before you, but we saw a blur go through the door." "Well, I've got an important question for you." "Sure, ask away." Echo got down on one knee. "I don't exactly know how it works here in Equestria, but, will you marry me?" Twilight's eyes went wide, instead of words she tackled him to the ground, and repeatedly kissed him. "I take that as a yes." Back in the ruins Anitchka was furious. He released a draconic roar "No matter. I'll just free her after PK loses this fight, and I kill you. Then I will kill Echo, RED, the princess's, and the Elements." The dragons bubble opened, and the dragon jumped out. "So, PK is the bigger one, I take it? This will be easy." It licked its lips. PK fell, landing on his hooves "We will see, I am much more powerful than I look, and I assume you believe you could even defeat me in my 'turbo-mode'." The dragon laughed "You are much wiser than I had thought. Yes, it wouldn't feel right knowing I killed an opponent, knowing they weren't at their full potential." He took a step forward, and licked his lips again "Plus the more you work meat, the better it tastes, in my opinion anyway." "Alright, allow me but a moment." "Take all the time you need, I'm not going anywhere." PK nodded then his pale grey irises turned a glowing neon green, a neon green electricity started arching along his metal arm. Six three inch long, one inch wide, cylinders slid out of both shoulder blades. Each knuckle in his living hand, and his elbow sprouted a metal covering, which the green electricity started arching across. "I am ready." His voice was more electronic. The dragon looked ecstatic "This may actually be a challenge, but I will still win." It took a step closer, causing PK to charge, moving as fast as a bull. The dragon jumped into the air, causing PK to smash into the wall. "Well it seems I am part bull, not pony." He dislodged his arm from the wall. Turning around he was hit by the dragons fire. He started to walk toward the origin of the continuos flame, when he reached the point of origin, he grabbed the dragons top and bottom jaws, slamming them shut, he launched the dragon at the wall. It connected with the wall with a loud crunch, cracking the wall. PK charged, this time grabbing a wing, with a forceful, yet fluid movement, he tore the wing from its place. The scaly beast roared in pain "Forget eating you, now I'm gonna make a feast of your loved ones!"It shouted as it grabbed PK, slamming him into the wall repeatedly, until he got loose, climes to the dragons back. He pulled his arm back and punched the shoulder blade, until it cracked, causing another pain roar. "Enough, this is just sad." PK climbed up the neck until he was at the midpoint, reaching around he started to electrocute the dragon, the only effect being the dragon getting weakened. "I will end this quickly and painfully." PK dropped from the neck of the beast, which was to weak to lift its head, and walk to the side of its head. It looked at him "If you don't kill me here, then I will kill you, your friends, your loved ones, and destroy the entire town in which you reside." "Then you except your fate?" "Indeed, I realize that it must be you who kills me." "I will grant your final desire." PK slammed his fingers into the dragons skull, around the eye, and ripped open a hole to the brain. He held his metal fist an inch away from the dragons cerebral material, a large ball of neon electricity arching across the shoulder, until it was the size of his fist. He touched the delicate material, and released all of the electricity into the dragons brain, but the electricity continued deeper into the body, frying the dragon from the inside out. PK looked up at a shocked Anitchka "My fight is over, but I willstay." "Fine." The corpse of the dragon disappeared. "Enough conversation, Anitchka, you have delayed me long enough! We fight, now!" Dimitri bubble disappeared dropping him to the floor, PK moved to his side. "Are you sure there is no other way to win?" PK gave him a look that stated 'I figured it out'. "I'm positive, there is no other way." PK turned and looked at Anitchka, who was floating to the center of the room. "Sorry, but this reunion is over, there's a fight to be won and Specters to kill." Anitchka conjured two iron katana. "Your katana, versus mine. Lets see who is better once and for all." He dashed to Dimitri, who had his own ready to block the assault. Dimitri and Anitchka traded the tittle of offense and defense, back and forth, Dimitri constantly pushing Anitchka back to the center of the room, where they just stayed equal in their constant back and forth. They got caught in a clash, where neither could move their blades, otherwise loose. "Hay, you wanna know why mythril is better than iron?" "Sure, tell me your lie." Dimitri slightly angled his blades, sliding them, slicing through Anitchka's own blades. Once the blades finished their cut, Dimitri used them to pin Anitchka to him. The blades penetrated Anitchka's back, exited his chest, entered Dimitri's chest, exiting through his back. "PK, throw us through the p-portal, now!" "S-so, that i-is your p-plan? H-ha! you m-make me laugh!" Anitchka moved his one free arm, grabbing Dimitri's mythril arm, he tore all the mechanical parts off Dimitri's shoulder. Causing a pained roar, this caused Anitchka to start laughing psychotically. PK charged, ramming them into the air, into the portal. "We will miss you... What is this?" PK lifted Dimitri's arm, noticing the forearm was cracked open, he removed the pannel, finding a rolled up parchment. He removed the parchment, finding it was a final note from Dimitri, he read it. 'Hello PK, if your reading this, we were victorious. Don't worry, the portal goes to earth. This past month, I've been trying to develop a transmitter that will allow Echo to communicate with me, to find it have the girls take you to a zebra named Zecora, she knows where the cave I've been using as a makeshift lab is. There will be a syringe, inject it into Echo, it is a nanobot upgrade. Have him state my name, it will activate the radio connection, calling me. When you do, I will explain further.' PK looked up at the ceiling "Dimitri, you are a genius." "W-where is Dimitri? I never got to thank him, or apologize." Celestia moved to PK's side. "He is gone, can you teleport us to the location of the girls?" PK looked at her, she nodded, her horn flared up. They appeared in the palace throne room, PK walked over to Echo and Twilight. "Echo, Dimitri has a final order for you." "... Wait what? He's dead? That's impossi-" "Silence yourself for a moment!" The sudden loud outburst made everypony and Echo, jump. "He left a note, saying to have the girls take us to a zebra named Zecora, that she will take us to a cave, containing a nanobot upgrade for you. To give it to you, activating a stronger transmitter, allowing you to contact him. He is back on earth." Echo scratched his head "Sorry for jumping to conclusions, lets go get that upgrade."