Cross Realm Raiding
Chapter Twelve
Bishibosh sat on the edge of Ponyville, the border of town and field. The night sky was lit by the stars and a full moon, as if to give him light in this dark time. His face was soaked in tears, but his gaze was stern and proud. The celebrations in town called for him but he felt no reason to celebrate. The battle on the dragon's roost had a great cost, and everyone knew how much it wayed on the ponies mind.
A soft presence made itself known by a crack of a twig, a slight squeek, and then a sigh. Bishibosh knew who it was already, but he was lost in the past... not but a few hours ago was one of his most trusted ally's taken from this world...
"I told you we should'a waited!" Screamed Applejack as the flames continued to cook the six ponies. "Now look at the mess we're in!"
"I know! I'm sorry!" Twilight shouted back visibly torn. Her friends were stuck in this mess with her and if she didn't figure something out soon then they would all be cooked under this heat. Fluttershy was cowering on the ground soaked in tears, Rainbow was right beside her angrily staring down the mountain path looking for a break in the flames. Rarity was also screaming in terror. Even Pinkie Pie respected the danger that they could all be fried in an instant.
The six ponies stayed there, mainly without choice. The dragon's breath was unlimited it seemed, for there was no stop to it. Twilight knelt her head down and covered it with her hooves, praying that somehow, somepony would save them. If they were to perish here, the thought flooded her mind and she too began to sob. All the faces of her friends, present and not flashed through her head. All of her six friends here, Celestia, and Spike... Spike would be all alone... She wanted to change her thoughts but with death just overhead it was hard. finally she looked up and saw sheer terror. The rock that had protected them for this long was cracking and melting beneath the heat. Red ooze came pouring down from the overhanging edge. How long would it be before it finally gave in, and as if the rock itself heard, it shattered under the flames. Twilight closed her eyes...
Death wasn't so painful, she thought, her eyes still closed. She felt a warmth surround her, a protective shield of some kind. It lulled her to sleep, tempted her to go into that long endless dream, but she refused. opening her eyes she saw the mountain again, still bathed in the purple-blue fire of the dragon above, but the rock was gone. Shattered or incinerated by the heat. So what was keeping the flames from burning them alive? She looked up to see a golden figure with a White Gold shield warding off the flames. This being was so regal, rivaling even the princesses in magnificence. The flames didn't make impact on his shield, they danced around it. What was this strange magic that protected the regal knight? not long after did the flames depart completely, and Twilight saw what she wished not to see.
Bishibosh was knelt down beside the smoking pony that was his brother. His bright red armor now black as charcoal. A soft panting came from inside the mask. Bishibosh pulled the mask off of the black shell of armor, to reveal the dark coat that was his brothers face. Eyes barely open, and his mouth softly panting. Korin raised up a burnt hoof to his brother.
"Bro...ther... They... are... safe..." Korin struggled as he breathed. Bishibosh struggled to keep himself from falling apart at his brothers struggling.
"Hush Korin, brother. Save your strength. We will get you back... back..." The shaman trailed off as he saw a scroll half burned in his brother's open prayer book. "Divine Intervention... brother..." Bishibosh's eyes filled with tears and he pushed his head against his brother's.
"Do... not... blame your" Korin was inturupted by a cough of blood spurting onto his brother's now close face, his brother was too tormented to notice "self... These po... po... ponies... they are pure... I had... to... pro....tect..." At this Korin's eyes rolled back. The Divine Intervention spell complete. He sacrificed his own life to shield the ponies from certain death. The act was honorable, but Bishibosh wouldn't see... He couldn't see... His own brother... now gone...
The dragon raised it's head and released what could be confirmed as a sick laughter. She drew in her breath once again to finish the group of ponies invading her lair. She drew in and released and the fire raged down the mountain side towards the mourning shaman.
The shaman stood up and slowly turned to the oncoming inferno. Twilight noticed the sky darkening for a storm, but hadn't noticed any other pegasai in the air. No, this storm was something else completely.
Lightning crashed down near the shaman, time seemed to slow down to a stand still. The scorched rock turned itself over into fresh brown and grey stones. They raised infront of the shaman and piled and piled into a mountain of themselves. They inferno made contact with the stones but instead of rushing around as water would a boulder, the flame was consumed into the earth. Reclaimed by the burning core. The dragon noticed and stopped it's burning carpet of flames. When the last of the flames were consumed by the stones, they rose in the air, red with energy. They then coalesced with the shamans body. The storm over head grew more violent. Lighting struck and rain poured, putting out the flames remaining. The stone form rose, and in a way that Twilight had never imagined, formed a bipedal creation of molten life. This creation released an emotion Twilight recognized. Rage...
The elemental monstrosity seemed to levitate as it extended it;s rock like arms, but before he made it's next move a mudslide poured down the side of the mountain, rain water and debris filled the mud that picked up the six ponies and rushed them to the surface. All unharmed, except Rarity who was frozen in shock as her entire mane was covered in mud.
The stone like hands reached for the ground, the dragon was extending outside of the cave and had itself halfway out of the exit. Bishibosh knew now was the chance. Inside the stone ascendant he screamed for justice of his brother and he forced all of his rage imbued energy into one burst of power into the mountain. A single earthen spike ripped into the dragons soft underbelly, spilling the rotted entrails over the ground. The dragon screeched in agony but still continued to pull from the cave, splitting itself apart. Before the dragon could spill itself over the edge of the mountain the energry Bishibosh released convulged in the core of the mountain. The entire formation of rock collapsed inward, sucking the dragon back into the cave, and crushing the life out of it, but Bishi didn't stop there. He continued to release energy into the mountain, imploding it, crushing all life inside. Drakonid, egg, drake, all... The Twilight Flight was no more in Equestria, and Bishibosh wanted them to feel the wrath of the earth.
Shedding his shell of earth and magma, he stumbled his exhausted body to his brother's still laying corpse, protected from the convulsion of stone by a barrier of rock formed in the process. He knelt down and squeezed himself under his brother's body, and carried him on his back. He walked the entire way back to Ponyville, the seven other ponies following silently.
Fluttershy approached Bishibosh and sat down beside him, he had just lost a friend. No he just lost a brother, The Element of Kindness sat there silently before she finally worked enough courage to unfold one of her wings and wrap it around the shaman's back. Bishibosh broke down into tears at this, turning towards Fluttershy he fell into her chest and wept liken to a child weeping unto his mother. Fluttershy was shocked but raised a hoof to pat the shaman on the back. Silently she whispered "There there, just get it all out". Bishibosh sat there and wept for hours on end before he finally fell asleep in the arms of the kindest heart he had ever felt.