Chapter 11
I was standing with my back to the pedestal, facing an Alicorn that looked like she had just found out her boyfriend had just cheated on her.
'Ok. I think I regret staying here now' I thought to myself.
-Yeah, she don't look to happy about something.-
Luna lowered her head and struck the ground with her right forehoof twice before charging at me.
'What did I do!' was all I was able to think to myself as I threw my arms over my head and tensed my body, preparing for the impact.
Only, I felt something soft go around my body. I opened my eyes and was immediately greeted by a field of dark cerulean blue. I pulled my head back and saw that Luna was... Hugging me?
"Orion. Please come back to Canterlot. My sister wishes to speak to you." Luna asked.
"Why? So she can kill me like she did the rest?" I asked sarcastically.
"She dose not. She just wishes to talk to you about your future here in Equestria. And captain Shining Armour also said he had something he wishes to show you" she said.
"Oh GOD no!" I shouted as I got up, picked up the PDA and began to run again. I only made it out the door before I was caught in a blue aura and started being dragged back the way I came. "NOOOO!!! HE WONT TAKE ME ALIVE!!!"
"Calm down already Orion. I'm sure it wont be that bad" Luna said in a 'DUH' sort of tone.
"Not that bad! I called his wife a whore in my anger!" I shouted back to Luna, and in her shock she dropped me.
I began to make a run for it again, but was once again caught in the blue aura and dragged back, no matter how much I struggled.
"And what, pray tell, influenced you to call my niece a whore!?" Luna shouted at me.
"It's not my fault. I was angry, then I notice her trying to manipulate my mind with her magic!" I shouted as I hung upside down and continued my thrashing against air.
"Well it's too bad for you that there coming here."
"WHAT!!!" I shouted louder that I was already shouting as I doubled my thrashing efforts.
-Suck's to be you right now.- Halex said but I just ignored him. I was to busy trying to get free.
"Well I said I wanted you to come back to Canterlot. They are bringing transport. How did you think you were going to get back?" Luna inquired.
"In all seriousness. I wasn't going to go back, no matter what you said!"
I looked to Luna, trying to formulate a plan. I still had full movement, so maybe I could use that.
-For crying out loud. If you want to get away, just flick her horn and run like the wind.- Halex told me.
'And you're telling me this now!?' I shouted at him, but before he could respond, I quickly reached out and game the Luna's horn a flick, causing her to gasp and drop me.
The second she did, I ran. But not to the door this time. No, this time I ran to the left side of the crumbling castle and through a doorway that led to some stairs leading downwards.
Not caring where they went, I ran down them as fast as I could. I just hoped that they would hold my weight.
I reached the bottom and found myself in a hallway type deal with doors lining the sides. I sprinted down the hallway and picked a random door on the right and opened it.
Inside was bare.
I closed the door and continued to run and eventually opened a door on the left. Inside this door was a statue of a pony. I walked up to the statue and examined it.
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Princess Pelia.
Mother of all pony kind.
Giver of life.
Protector of Peace.
And,
Creator of the Element's of Harmony.
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"Bull Shit!" I said in an angry tone.
I heard the door begin to open and jumped to the other side of the statue and hid just in time.
"Orion please. Stop this and come out." Luna's voice came from the door.
"Auntie Luna! What are you doing down here?" came the voice of Cadence.
'SHIT! Why the fuck is SHE here?' I thought to myself.
-Maybe she wants to say hi?" Halex suggested sarcastically.
"Princess. Where is Orion? I was informed that you said he was here?" came the voice form Shining Armour. A.K.A. The guy who wants to kill me.
I peeked over the edge of the statue and saw the two alicorns and the unicorn. Oh, and the group of guards behind them.
"He is, or was. He... got away" said Luna.
"How?" asked Cadence and Shining Armour in perfect sync.
"That's not important" she ordered.
"Sorry" Shining Armour said. before clearing his throat. "So... What did you want us to do?" he asked.
"Well. I don't think he would have come down here. He would have trapped himself if he did." I just looked forward with a 'really' expression. "But just in case, I want you to post three guards down here just in case while the rest do a search of the surround area of the ruins."
"Yes princess!" Shining said. The next thing I could here was the sound of many hooves in armour walking away.
I carefully walked out from behind the statue and toward's the door. I found a piece of glass and picked it up.
As I reached the doorway, I used the glass to look around the corners. Luna was right, only three.
Time to see if all those video games I played back when I was a test subject has taught me anything.
Lets play Assassin's Creed.
I guessed that the closest guard was about 7 metres from the doorway. I rested up against the doorframe inside of the room, quietly placed the PDA in my lower right leg pocket (Cammo pants have huge leg pockets) and zipped it up before I gave off a light whistle from my mouth.
Next thing I know is the the sound of the gullible guard go "hu?" before he makes his way to the source of the noise. I may not have eagle vision, but I sure as shit could hear him coming.
As he peered his head in the doorway, I grabbed his head and pulled him the rest of the way while holding him in a sleeper hold, and after a few seconds, he stopped fighting. I then carefully placed him against the wall and checked his pulse.
Thankfully, he still had one.
Then the excitement kicked in.
'Holy shit! I just pulled of a move from a video game and it worked. THATS FUCKING AWESOME!!!' I shouted in my head.
-You stole that from Connor Kenway. But that was pretty cool.- Halex complemented.
'Thanks man. And thanks for telling me about the horn weakness too.' I said.
-You're welcome.- he said in a boastful tone.
'Alright then. One down, two left.'
I looked back out the doorway and saw that there was no door to the room adjacent to the one I was in. I looked around until I found another piece of glass. This piece was about the size of a head.
I quietly picked it up and took it to the doorway before hurling it into the other room. It landed with a smash.
Both of the other guards came running at the sound. I heard the first one go into the room, but as the other one got outside of the doorway to the room I was in, with him facing the room where I tossed the glass, I quickly reached out and grabbed him the same way I did to the first guard.
After a few seconds, he too was out like a light, so I placed him against the opposite side of the door frame to his friend before checking his pulse.
-That's two.-
'Just one left now, and I might be able to get out without touching him.'
-We'll see.-
I rolled my eyes. 'Thanks for the vote of confidence man.' I thought as I used the piece of to see if I could spot the final guard.
I did. He was still in the other room, using his horn as a flashlight to look around.
'Time for a high profile fistycuff assassination' I thought to myself as I got ready.
I waited until he was facing away from me until I sprinted around the corner and toward's the final guard. He heard me coming, but he was too slow.
By the time it took him to turn around, I managed to get to him with my arm out and clothes lined him. Winding him to the point where he passed out.
After I made sure he was ok, I stealthfully made my way back out of the hallway, up the stairs and back into the throne room with the pedestal. But before I made my way out, I looked around.
Luna wanted the Shining Armour and his guards to search surrounding areas for me.
-Got any ideas?-
'Well I know this. Once they realize that I'm not out there, they are going to come back for their friends I left down in the basement, they are going to know that I am still here.'
-Well I would recommend that you get as far out as you can before hiding. Then when they go to return to the ruins, they should pass you without even noticing you. And you can even use rocks to lob like you did with that piece of glass earlier. Use them as distractions.-
'Alright, I'll try.'
Seeing that the ruin's were clear, I quietly ran up to the main doors and scoped the area out.
I couldn't see a single guard, so I presumed that they were a distance out already.
As quiet as I could, I exited the ruin's and made my way down the dirt path back to where the rope bridge was before it broke.
I looked to the left before looking right down the chasm, trying to see if I could spot another way across.
Seeing only one way, I turned away and walked about 30 metres from the bridge before turning and facing it again.
-You're not going to do what I think you're going to do are you?-
'Yep.'
-Well good luck then. If we die... Nah, I'm not doing a speech.-
'Alright then.' I said as I got ready by stretching a few muscles.
When I was ready, I got into a position ready to sprint. I took a few quick breaths before launching forwards. I sprinted as fast as I could to the bridge. As I reached the cliff, I jumped with all my might and reached out for a single rope that still hung upon the bridge support on the other side. As I began to fall, my hands wrapped around the rope and I squeezed to stop me decent.
I did manage to stop, but not without a price. What I didn't anticipate was the extreme rope burn I just caused myself. I very quickly wrapped and tied the rope around my feet in a way so I could let go.
When I completed the knot, I hung upside down and I vigorously shook my hands, trying to cool the burns while doing everything I could to suppress a scream of pain.
I looked at the palms of my hands. They both had great big gashes cutting across them and they were shaking.
-Are you ok?- Halex asked.
'I will be. I just have to find a way back up now.'
-How are you going to do that?-
'I'll think of something.'
After a few moments of just hanging there, I lent up and grabbed the rope, only to have my hand scream in pain and cause me to let go again.
'Fuck it! My shit is damaged enough as it is' I said to myself as I pulled of the sleeves off my shirt and began to bandage my hands with them. After I completed my bandaging, I tried to grab the rope again. It still burnt like all hell, but it was now bearable.
I began to pull myself up the rope, hissing in pain as I did so. But as I reached half way, I looked up and saw pegasi flying overhead toward's the ruins.
-They must be coming back now.-
Redoubling my efforts, I reefed myself up the rope, agonizing pain was burning through my hands as I did. But fortunately, I made it to the top and pulled myself up over the edge. I quickly untied the rope from my feet and began to jog in the opposite direction of the ruins.
I took a glimpse back and saw a mass of guards entering the ruined castle.
'Hey! Maybe now I can be left alone.' I said to myself.
-Yeah, but for how long?- Halex asked.
I shrugged and continued to jog away. This time, I had no intention of being found by ponies.
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I continued to jog for what felt like hours and the sun had actually begin to set. I needed to find a place to crash for the night.
As I was running. I thought I heard something so I stopped and looked around. Only, Just as I looked behind me, I was tackled.
Me and whoever tackled me rolled for about 10 metres and the attacked in question latched onto my back and hugged me before throwing a forehoof around my neck and trying to strangle me.
In a panic reaction, I jumped up and went to land on my back, but instead landed on whoever was hugging me and causing them to loose their grip of both me and my neck. I quickly scurried to my feet and looked at who it was.
"Oh for crying out loud. Don't you have others that you can follow and then accuse them for being annoying!?" I shouted at my attacked.
"Call this pay back for getting that song stuck in my head."
That's right. The attacker in question was Star Wind.
"Now how the hell did you find me?" I asked her.
"I saw you climb out of the chasm of where the rope bridge use to be. How you got across, I don't know. But I quite frankly don't care. My job now is to kick your sorry flank and then drag it back to the Captain!" she shouted at me while getting into a fighting stance and spreading her wings.
"What? No peace offering?" I asked sarcastically.
"Nope" she responded with a smirk before she shot at me. I didn't have time to blink let alone react to her attack and she ended up tackling me in the stomach and we both hit the ground.
As she stood over me, I shook off my stupor and kneed her in the stomach. I didn't like to hit women, but this was in self defence. When my knee made contact, she coughed and keeled over onto the ground while I rolled to the side and got ready to counter whatever she threw at me next.
She wheezed a bit, but after a few seconds, she got up and got back into that ready stance.
She shot at me again, but this time I anticipated it.
I lent to the side and she flew past, but I grabbed her left hind leg and brought her back to the ground. It hurt my rope burn, but I had other things to worry about.
"You give?" I offered.
"Nope" She said before rolling onto her back and kicking me in the head in the process.
My vision blurred and I stumbled back. A few seconds after, I felt myself get tackled again.
With my eyesight still blurred, I grabbed the closest thing near me and swung it at her.
The log that I had grabbed had crack when it made contact with her torso and sent her off me again.
I shook my head a few times and put my hand up to the spot where she kicked me. There was warm fluid running down the side of my head.
"Ow" I said while holding my hand to my injury.
I went to get up, but fell over. I was feeling light headed from the injuries that I had sustained over the past two days. I clenched my eyes shut tightly as the headache kicked in.
Star just simply walked up to me and pushed me back down to the ground. I tried to struggle.
"Oh shut up and just let me look" she told me.
I felt something cool and wet go along the side of my face, starting from my chin and making its way along the blood trail and to the spot where she had kicked me in the head.
I hissed when whatever she was doing mad contact with the wound, but almost immediately after, the pain was gone. and my eyesight began to return.
The first thing I saw when I could see properly was Star Wind pulling her head back from mine. She had blood on her fangs.
I began to freak out at what I thought she just did.
"Shut up! Bat ponies saliva has healing properties" she told me.
"So you just lick my head and all is good?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. She just nodded. "That's disgusting."
"Fine. I'll just leave you to bleed out next time" she huffed.
I rolled my eyes. "Look thanks for healing my injury, even if you're the one who caused it. I, in some weird way, appreciate it" I thanked her.
"You're welcome. Now, back to what we were doing" She said as she got into her ready stance again.
"Do we really have to do this? All I want in life is to be left alone" I told her.
"Hey! I have better thing to do than to sit here and negotiate with you. If you want to be left alone, that is something you're going to have to take up with Princess Celestia" she explained.
I felt my eye twitch when I heard that name.
Celestia. Daughter of Pelia.
And together, they destroyed my race.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
-It's alright Orion. She dosn't know.-
'I know that. It's not like I was going to blame her'
"So are you going to come back peacefully?" Star asked.
"I-I can't. And if you don't know why, it's better to keep it like that." I said.
"Then I must do this. Sorry" she said as she got back into her ready stance yet again.
I sighed while drooping my head and shoulders. But as I looked up again, there was a roar in the distance. I looked over in the direction of the noise.
Whatever it was, it sounded big. And it if was getting closer.
I turned to face the direction of the noise. So did Star. I waited a couple of seconds but nothing happened.
I looked back to Star and she looked to me. She had a determined look on her face.
But that look quickly turned to one of horror.
I heard something behind me. It sounded as if it was right there.
I turned around, but was struck upon the head and my vision went black as I yet again fell unconscious.
This was getting old.