The Battle of Wethoof: Part 3
Second Arc: Delay of Game
I found myself at my parent’s ranch, the barn next to me covered in a thin sheet of ice. I sat up and shook my head groggily, the familiar weight of my horn now gone. Frantically I reached up and felt the top of my head, only to be greeted with a short cushion of
hair and a distinct lack of a horn and horn stub.
I brought my hands into sight, wiggling my five fingers in awe. I did a check of my body, and found that I was indeed human again, and clothed in the same garments that I had been in the day of my rebirth.
“Was it all a dream?” I asked to nobody in particular. I glanced at the night sky, and found that the stars weren’t nearly as dazzling as they had been on Equis. The moon also didn’t hold the same collision patterns as the one from the other world.
It all felt so…alien
“Daniel?” A voice asked from behind me.
I turned and saw my mother standing behind me with a flashlight and a worried expression.
“MOM!” I yelled, and quickly stood and ran to her. Although I lacked the immense strength, I still could lift and twirl her easily.
“Daniel, you’re crushing me.” She managed, bringing me out of my revelry and into reality.
Once she got her breath back she continued.
“You’ve been out here for hours. Me and your father were getting worried.” I looked back to where I had been laying, finding hoof marks in the snow leading to the barn. I followed them, and found Mack standing in the large wooden building.
“Mack! Holy shit I thought you died!” I exclaimed, runnin up to him and pattin him on the head. He gave a whinny of approval before wonderin off to his stall.
Just as I was about to leave the barn and head back up to the house where my family was waitin, I heard somethin that made my heart stop in its chest.
“Hello Daniel.”
My head nearly spun off as I swiveled to find the speaker. When my eyes rested on him, they squinted with hatred.
“What are you doin here?” I asked the old man.
This time he was wearin a lion’s pelt as a cloak, the fangs of said animal’s maw hangin just above his dark eyes. He didn’t have pants on, but instead wore a loincloth and fur boots. In his right hand was a spear carved of dark wood. Its point made of glasslike stone that had intricate carvins rutted in it. His left hand held a cross with a circle on top. His skin gleamed like obsidian in the low light of the barn.
“I’m here to talk.” His deep voice reverberated off the wooden walls despite its low volume. The sharpness on his tongue gave away darker meanin than just mere words.
“About what?” The air dropped ten degrees as his eyes burned with a green flame.
“ABOUT YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS!!” He yelled, causin the barn to shake, sendin loose dirt from the ceilin beams downward.
I stumbled back with fear, the look in his eyes givin me pause.
“Wh…what transgressions?” My voice was shaky, and barely heard after the thunder that had erupted from the god.
“You have aligned yourself with the wrong people! I send you into bar after fucking bar, in hopes that you would find the brotherhood, and yet you constantly find the wrong people.” He said, as if it were obvious.
“Who’s the brotherhood, and why do you want me to meet them?” I asked, the quiver of my tongue stilled.
“They are the means that I will enter Equis. Damn the other gods and their rules!” He shook his fist at the heavens, which only seemed to make a couple of pigeons upset at him.
“What are you talkin about?” I asked, still unsure of his purpose.
“Have I not told you?” He seemed to recall the past, only to find a sour answer. “Well, it seems I was hasty in sending you to Equis without proper instruction as to your task.”
The world rippled around me, turnin the barn into a large cavern with a crevice carved down its middle. The meager light from the barn was gone now, replaced only by glow stones hewn into the rock around us. We were maybe twenty feet from the pit, which the old man covered in great steps, comin to a stop just before its grasp took him. He turned to look at me, then nodded for me to join him. I did so slowly, wary of the fall that could end my existence.
Somehow I knew that what went into the pit, never came out.
“I sent you here for one purpose, Daniel. I wish for you to free my children.” He motioned with his hand towards the pit, which I hesitantly looked into. I was greeted with only the smell of stale air, of stone that has stood idle for centuries as the world above it stirred.
“What will happen if I do?” I asked, earnin a look of anger from the deity.
“They will sweep this world like a plague of locusts. They will assume the mantle of leader of all sentience on this planet, as it should be!” He bellowed, causin dirt to fall from the roof of the cavern.
“I would never let you destroy Equis!” I hollered, gainin a smile from the old man.
“Do you know why I chose you as my champion?” He asked slyly, his words like acid upon my eardrums.
“You said I had heart.” I said hesitantly.
“Yes, the heart of a killer.” He smiled once more at me, but seein my expression of disbelief he frowned.
“Perhaps you would like to see the reasons I chose you. Maybe a refresher of your life will pull you from these prissy thoughts of disobedience, and put you once more on my path.”
I started to refuse, my past was somethin that I never wanted to revisit. But before I had a chance to say no, the god pushed me into the abyss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gear and Nar-Kuth stalked through the alleyways, careful to avoid drawing any attention from the few guards that remained around Bucky’s. Even though they were off of the main road, the bodies of various citizens and guards were strewn about.
Gear had to watch his step lest he fall and draw attention from the rebel guards.
Nar-Kuth slinked down the alleyway that led up to the gem store, his padded paws causing no sound.
“Do you think this will work?” Gear asked in a hushed whisper.
“Not if you alert them to our presence!” Nar-Kuth hissed.
The unicorn smiled sheepishly before following Nar-Kuth to Bucky’s backdoor. The cat motioned for him to stay put before ascending the side of the building.
Once up top, Nar-Kuth dropped down a rope that he had been carrying, allowing Gear to shimmy up. The roof was flat, save for an air duct and roof entrance to their left. The back of the giant pony on the sign, the one Gear assumed to be Bucky, was all a grey metal.
The Bath motioned Gear towards the door, the meaning already known to Gear. He silently walked up to it, and scanned it with his magic.
Gear’s special ability was that of figuring out how things worked, including locks. He quickly found the locking mechanism, and set the bolt free. Once he was done, the cat opened the door without a sound.
The pair shuffled inside the building, closing the door before the light attracted too much attention.
As Nar-Kuth had guessed, the stairway to the roof led to the back of the first floor, out of sight from most of the rebels. The only one that stood guard was an earth pony that had drifted off somehow.
The cat drew a knife from under his trench coat, and slit the poor bastard’s throat. When the pony’s eyes shot open, and the gurgling began, Gear turned away from the sight. Once the noise had stopped, Nar-Kuth patted him on the shoulder, signaling that they should advance.
Gear went first, using his magic to move away the curtain that led into the front of the store. Through the eyehole that was created,
Gear saw that two unicorn guards stood in front of the door watching for any who would come in.
Unfortunately for them, the threat was not coming through the front.
Nar-Kuth once again dispatched the guards with knives, this time opting to throw them into the base of the two pony’s necks.
Before they could slump to the ground, and cause a sound, Gear caught them in his telekinetic grip, slowly lowering them to the wooden floors of the shop. Nar-Kuth swiftly did a scan of the building, walking silently along the wood floors in hopes of finding what they had come here for.
The Bath soon found what appeared to be a hatch leading down to a lower level. Gear came over to him, cautious of his horseshoes on the wooden floor. Once they were together, Nar-Kuth gripped the metal ring that acted as a knob for the panel.
Gear readied himself, charging his horn to grip the dragon scale shards in his saddlebag.
Flashbacks of his bout with the giant beetles played in his mind as he nodded to Nar-Kuth.
The cat nodded, and lifted the hatch, revealing a blackened stairway that led into an underground chamber.
They slowly descended, making sure no one was near the entrance to notice them coming down.
The walls of the secret base were made of roughhewn stone and dirt for a floor. Torches lit the hallway dimly, casting eerie shadows that flickered on the walls. Wooden support beams were placed in regular intervals in the tunnel that led down about twenty feet before taking a sharp turn to the right. The place smelled of dirt and sweat, with voices conversing around the bend about unknown subjects.
The two steeled their resolve, and made their way down the tunnel towards their opponents.
Nar-Kuth took the lead, making his way swiftly down the tunnel before coming to a stop before the turn.
Light from a torch unseen casted shadows of two ponies walking down the corridor, unaware of what waited for them.
As the two got closer, their conversation was heard more easily by Gear.
“I don’t feel right with this new change of plans. I was fine with knocking them out, but killing our friends for a couple bits seems wrong.” A soft, yet male voice said from around the bend.
Gear facehoofed quietly.
Of course it was wrong to kill your friends you moron! Especially for a couple bits.
The two were getting closer, and with nowhere to hide, Nar-Kuth gave Gear a nod. The unicorn swallowed hard with fear of the impending confrontation.
He had never enjoyed taking life, as many of his kind found it below them and a sinister act in general. Maybe he should just let Nar-Kuth do the dirty work…
No!
He mentally slapped himself out of it.
If I am to accompany him into this hell-hole, then I am to help stop this madness, whatever the cost.
“Steel yourself youngster, we’re not just fighting for bits, but to rid this town of whelps like Flower Founder! Equestrians are above those other species.” Gear heard the new, rougher voice say. “Diamond dogs, Griffins, Minotaurs! They’re all worthless scum that deserves to be rid from this earth.”
That made Gear mad. Equestrians weren’t above the other species. Everybody had something to bring to the table, no matter what species they are.
The two were getting close to the turn, but seemed to have stopped just before the bend.
“I still don’t agree. The only reason I’m doing this is to pay for Chime’s surgery back in Canterlot.” The younger voice said, earning a smack to the head from the sounds of it.
“You just do as you’re told boy. Or I’ll see that all of your pay gets spent on booze and hookers!”
I looked at Nar-Kuth, who also looked at me. We seemed to have come to a sort of agreement about how to continue. We gave each other a swift nod, and turned back to the bend that was now quiet.
We knew where the guards were based on their shadows on the wall, and the even interval the torches were set into the stone.
Nar-Kuth put up three fingers, and slowly counted down to one. Once the final finger was down, the two of them surged into the hallway, taking the two rebel guards by surprise.
Immediately Gear knew which voice belonged to whom. One was wearing an old, beat up set of armor. He had grey stubble around his muzzle. His azure eyes were surrounded with wrinkles, as was his forehead and body in general. His wings had several blank splotches where the feathers had fallen, and no new ones took their place. The old coot must have been at least sixty.
The other was a young unicorn stallion who wore a bright and shiny set of armor, obviously much newer than the other’s. His violet eyes were wide with shock at our sudden intrusion on them.
Before either had time to raise an alarm, both were taken down, one by Nar-Kuth, and the other by Gear.
The old Pegasus had had his throat slit courtesy of the Bath, while the young unicorn was only knocked on the head by a large rock Gear had found on the floor.
“What now?” Gear asked as they both dragged the bodies into the darkness of the entrance tunnel.
“Now we find and kill the leader.” The cat said as he deposited the body out of sight.
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I sat alone on my cot, my head buried in my pillow. No tears came, even though I wished they would. Tears would be comfortin right now instead of dry eyes.
I never liked the desert, too hot, too clammy, too barren.
I flipped around, careful not to rip the stiches from my dressin. I had already done that when I was given the news, and the nurses were not all too happy with me.
Flashes of the ambush raced through my head.
The sound of the gunfire….and the screams.
My patrol and I were just west of Bagdad, returnin back to base from a raid on a suspected arms dealer. The whole thing was a hoax, as we ended up raidin an illegal livestock auction.
I had turned to my friend Quin, who was rantin about how he wanted to see battle.
The bastard was my same age, nineteen, and was always lookin for blood to spill. Me and him were bunk mates during basic, and ended up in the same squad when we were deployed. He was like a brother to me, he would watch my back, and I his.
“I still say we should’ve taken the chickens. Just imagine some fresh meat tonight!” Quin said through the comms.
“You do realize that we’re only supposed to use this for official correspondence, right Private?” I asked through the mic, only to have him scoff back at me. From my seated position in the passenger seat I wacked Quin on the Leg where he jumped back, holding onto the 30.30 mounted machine gun that was placed on the roof.
“Yeah. But like it matters. Who goes over the recordings anyway Corporal? The NSA?” This earned a round of chuckles from the men.
“Just keep your eyes on the ro…” I was cut off by a sudden explosion. The lead Humvee was tossed in the air like a toy, its occupants thrown around like ragdolls.
“Contacts! Contacts! Thirty meters east!” I heard over the mic, only to find another attack coming from the west.
“They’re surroundin us! Get us out of here!” I yelled over to Davis, the driver.
He floored it, only to catch a stray bullet to the temple.
My eyes shot open like dinner plates at the sight of his brain splattered across the visor on my helmet. I looked behind us to find that the three remainin Humvees were taking fire, but returnin whatever they got.
Fire erupted from the mounts, rainin a hail of lead onto the turbaned fucks that attacked us.
I snapped out of my stupor once the tell-tail ping of bullets wrackin the armored plating reached me.
“Quin, Open Fire!” I yelled, causin the Humvee to shake once he squeezed the trigger.
I grabbed my carbine and started shootin out the driver’s side window, having already been shattered from the first barrage.
I lined up my sights on a child that was carrying an AK-47 and sprayin the Humvee behind me.
“God forgive me.” I whispered as I pulled the trigger.
The boy’s head snapped back, and his body fell.
I heard Quin’s yells of fury as he laid into the contacts, screamin with all his might to push back the sandy bastards.
I almost smiled, before I noticed the towel-head holdin an RPG, and pointin it at us.
“RPG! Down!” I hollered.
Too late.
The asshole had already fired, and while I was able to find cover in the area under the dash, Quin was left undefended.
The grenade struck true on the rear of the Humvee, sprayin liquid fire into the inside.
A gas can caught spark and ignited, sendin a fire ball that blew open the doors.
I was sent sprawlin into the sand, burn marks and shrapnel coverin my body.
It was then that I blacked out.
I later learned that Quin didn’t make it, and that the injuries I sustained were enough for a forced medical discharge with honors.
That didn’t matter though, my best friend was gone.
A single tear found its way down my cheek.
“Do you require more?” A dark voice asked from beyond the curtain. The realization that this was all just a memory hit me.
“Fuck you old man!” I yelled.
“Hmm, perhaps so.” Once again the world faded into a black nothingness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick had just killed another rebel while Toni stood guard around Bronze’s body.
He looked into the eyes of his prey, wondering how it all came to this.
Once he and Toni had heard the explosion, they had sat together for a while until they decided to view the damage.
What they had come across they didn’t expect.
Bronze, instead of being blown to bits by the onslaught of the unicorns, had his body intact.
The unicorns around him seemed to be unconscious, probably due to the shock wave that emanated from their own attack.
Quick made short work of them in their state.
To both of their surprises, he was still alive.
How was beyond both of them, but just as they were trying to escape with him, the rest of the guards attacked.
They immediately withdrew from the courtyard and into one of the rooms where they were able to bottleneck the attackers until Bronze came to.
Luckily the first couple of rebels had been stupid enough to try and bum rush the door, only to be cut down by Quick’s sword.
His latest victim, a Pegasus who looked to be around mid-to late twenties, was currently bleeding from a stab wound to his barrel.
The griffin sighed, and relieved his sword of the guard.
“Did you try smacking him!?” Gear yelled over the noise the other fifty or so guards were making as they formulated plans and yelled
obscenities to the trio.
“I’ve tried everything! He won’t wake up Quick! Maybe he’s in a coma. What should we do?” Toni asked, tears rolling down her cheeks and onto the wooden floor of the room.
“We hold out until the Princess gets here. Should be later tonight, and the sun’s almost down by the looks of it.” He yelled back, only to be met with another wave of rebels.
Three ponies charged into the room, the first, an earth stallion, was met head on by polar ice.
His other two friends, another earth pony and a Pegasus, tackled Quick to the ground.
Although the earth stallion seemed to be stronger than the griffin, and the Pegasus faster, Quick still had his armor and sword.
Bucks and punches bounced harmlessly off of his dragon scale as he swung at the Pegasus who deftly dodged the attacks.
With his attention of the flying rat, Quick didn’t see the earth stallion readying himself for a buck somewhere a male should never touch another male.
Once Quick looked down, and saw what was about to happen, one noise escaped his lips.
“Toni.”
She looked just in time to see the large stallion deliver a critical kick to her griffin’s groin. She flinched as the audible crack reached her ears, which flattened in both parts pity and anger. Quick fell to the floor, clutching his jewels in agony.
The two rebels looked over at her, smirks etched upon their faces.
Toni felt something in her snap as she witnessed the griffin she loved being treated so.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” She said, barely audible through the background noise of the rebels outside.
The stallions looked at each other, amused that the little pony would threaten them so. They dropped their guard and advanced on her, only to find a battle axe swung at them.
Toni smirked as she saw the fear in their eyes. She had kept the axe hidden just in case something like this would happen. The dark wood of the axe left a funny taste in her mouth as she gave it another swing. Although it was fairly heavy…scratch that, very heavy,
Toni willed through the weight and protected her friend, just as he had protected her.
After a few minutes the guards became bored with the little game of step back, swing, step back. The Pegasus flew over Toni’s head, and landed behind her. Toni went to strike, but ended up having the Pegasus grab the handle just below the dragon scale.
The Pegasus gave Toni a wicked grin, only to have it be replaced with one of fear.
Toni looked to where he was staring and saw Quick holding the body of the earth stallion, a gash cleaved into its skull.
She ducked as Quick chucked the lifeless corps at the Pegasus, catching him in the chest and sending them spiraling into Bronze’s unconscious form, and were skewed on his one good horn.
“HA! Even from the dead Bronze is helping us.” Quick said with a triumphant whoop.
Just as he was about to celebrate more, a fireball flew through the door, and impacted the far wall.
“Toni!” Quick yelled, only to have the mare in question jolt up from next to Bronze’s body.
“Its fine, both of us are immune to fire. You however are not.” She said just as another exploded onto the floor next to Quick, searing some of his feathers.
“We need to get out of here, they’re going to burn the whole building down!” the griffin said, dodging another ball of flame.
“Bronze is too heavy to fly out of here without the guards catching up!” Toni shrieked over the noise of the flames around them.
“He’ll be fine! We need to move!” Quick yelled grabbing Toni by the hoof and breaking the window with his sword.
“No! If we leave him they could come in and kill him!” Toni screamed, resisting the griffin’s attempts to pick her up out of the window.
“I can’t just leave you with him here.” Quick said, deflating a little by the thought.
“You have to. I’ll be fine. I’ll get some metal and build a barrier around me and Bronze so the debris can’t hurt us.” She said, the tone of her voice absolute in purpose.
Quick fidgeted for a moment, fighting about whether or not to take her against her will. One strong glare from Toni was all it took for him to give in.
“Aarg! Fine! But I won’t be far away.” He said, climbing out of the window swiftly before hovering before the window.
“I know you won’t.” Toni said, grabbing his head, and pulling him into a kiss.
Once she broke it off she looked at Quick, and stifled a giggle. He was still making a kissy-face, hovering above the ground with his eyes closed.
“Go on! Get!” Toni said, pushing him away from the intense heat.
After a second or two to regain his senses, Quick nodded solemnly and took to the skies.
Once he was out of her mind, which was rare, Toni started looking for metal that wouldn’t melt in the fire storm.
Although her choices were few, she ended up finding a filing cabinet, a bed frame, and couple of swords.
Thinking quickly, she dragged Bronze’s body over to the far wall (which wasn’t on fire) and the other bodies as well. She surrounded
Bronze in a barrier of death.
She then bit down on the filing cabinet and dragged in over to him as well. She laid it down, spilling its paper contents over the room.
Next she stacked the swords on top of one another. Finally, she laid the bedframe over Bronze, making what appeared to be an odd cocoon of sorts.
She then snuggled in between Bronze and one of the other ponies, and prayed the roof wouldn’t cave in.
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Three years had passed since Bagdad.
Another hospital, this time with tears.
I sat in the waitin room, surrounded by doctors and nurses as they rushed about their days.
The only one I cared about was the one with Brittany.
Earlier they had pushed me out of the delivery room, sayin somethin about complications.
This was supposed to be the day I became a father. The day I could love somethin more than life.
Eternities seemed to pass before a doctor came up to me with a solemn look.
“I’m sorry Mr. Hoof, the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. We tried, but it was too late.” I began to sob, only to catch somethin he had said.
“My last name isn’t Hoof…” I said to the doctor, who just smiled at me with menace in his eyes.
“Very good Daniel, you caught on this time. But don’t you remember this day?” Montue asked.
“I’ll never forget this day you old bastard!” I yelled at him, risin from my seated position.
“Maybe you need a refresher.” Was all he said as he turned to look at the chair I had just stood from.
In it sat another me, lookin at Montue with horror in his eyes. I watched as he jumped from his chair and ran to the delivery room.
“What’s happenin?” I asked as we followed him.
“This is a memory, you can’t effect the outcome.” He said as if that explained anythin.
We entered the room to find the other me cryin with a dark skinned women. She had a beautiful face, and what seemed like a nice body despite the obvious baby weight. Her straight black hair was done up in a bun with a few loose strands caught on her sweat drenched forehead. The usually dark brown eyes that I used to find so much solace in were red with tears.
Between the two was a bundle.
I watched, morose with knowledge of what was to come.
The other me stood, fists clenched in barely contained rage as I screamed to the heavens.
When the doctor, who Montue had been impersonatin came up to offer condolences, I socked him in the jaw.
Brittany let out a shocked gasp, only to have my fury turned towards her.
“Why did you do this!” I screamed, “Why did you kill our baby!?”
She flinched as if I had physically smacked her, only to begin sobbin anew.
“WHY!?” I asked her again, punching the wall behind her and leavin a large crater in the drywall.
She only held onto the bundle tighter and sobbed harder.
I continued my rant before security came and “escorted” me out of the building, and into a police cruiser.
I looked over at the old man, who had taken up his old visage of loincloth and spear, tears in my eyes.
“Why are you showin me this?” I asked.
“To remind you of what you are. You are a beast Daniel. The losses you have suffered have molded you into a monster!” He said, his voice rising until he was yelling at me. “I can give you power! The power to kill any who oppose you.”
“I just want to be a good man.” I said, tears now freely flowin down my face.
“Why be good when you can be GREAT! Join me, free my children and rule this world.” He said, laughin heartily. “I have already bestowed many gifts to you child. Think. I made you invincible to fire! Then, once you claimed your first life, I gave you the sight of a dragon!”
“I thought that was from the blood drippin into my eyes.” I said, the question fallin off my tongue.
“Ha! Usually if dragon blood enters into your body, no matter the orifice, you become addicted, and would have been dead in days. Only with my power did you survive. Continue to kill in my name, and be rewarded with more gifts.”
“What do you mean?” I enquired.
“The more you kill, the more powerful you become! With your first kill, I gave you dragon sight. You are coming up to your fiftieth, a great mark. Kill three more in battle and see your power grow.” He said, nudging me on the arm with his spear.
I took a second to consider this.
I could live like a king. Those that I hated would be cast down, burned in the hell fires of my fury while growing stronger all the while. I could distance myself from everyone, never to feel hurt like I have in the past. Everythin I could ever want would be handed to me on a silver platter. No one would rival me if I set this asshat’s kids free.
Then I thought of my friends.
Toni, Gear, Quick, even Nar-Kuth. What would happen to them?
“What if I say no?”
“Then I will kill you.”
“Right now?”
“No, gods can’t directly interfere with pawns, even if it is their own. But I will find a way to end your miserable life.” He hissed the last part out.
“Would you take my dragon sight and resistance to fire?” I asked, gettin a questionin glare from the god.
“No.” He said, startin to circle around me, “However, these pale in comparison to the gifts I will give you if you kill yet more in my name.”
Although I hated this wana-be-Ares, I thought of the cool new powers I could get for killin the bad guys. I decided that I would continue to kill for him, as long as I chose the targets.
“Alright boss, you got yerself a deal.” I said.
“Then you can go back to your petty war.” He said, still eyein me as he snapped his fingers, sendin me into blackness…again.
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Gear and Nar-Kuth had made their way back into the hallway, and further into the hide out.
Sweat was starting to pour off Gear, being claustrophobic was something that was really a hindrance on this mission, but he pushed through.
They came to another curve in the hallway.
Nar-Kuth slowly looked around the corner, before signaling to move forward. The duo inched up the hallway, and found, much to both of their surprises, another hallway that intersected their own.
Nar-Kuth pushed Gear against the wall, and took a look down the branch-off. He then signaled that they continue on the path they were on. Judging by the amount of hoof prints in the dirt, they were already on the main path.
As they were passing the branch-off, Gear looked down, only to be greeted by the sight of swords and spears hanging from the walls and resting against them.
Huh, so found the armory! Gear thought.
They continued to duck around corners and slink down passageways for another ten minutes. Branch-off rooms became much more frequent as they made their way down the hall; a couple of sleeping quarters and what appeared to be a bathroom and a kitchen. Oddly enough someone was cooking what appeared to be eggs.
They came upon two more patrols, but ended them much swifter then the first they came to. They slid the bodies back down the hallway, and into the armory after each kill. It took a long time, but if they needed a quick escape, they could book it back without worrying about tripping over bodies.
Eventually they came to a bend that led to more stairs leading down.
Gear mentally sighed.
Who dug this shit out?
He watched as Nar-Kuth snuck down the stairs, returning after a moment with his finger to his lips.
Nodding, Gear followed him down the flight, equally as silent. When they got to the bottom, Gear saw why they were being extra sneaky.
The stairs led to a large room that appeared to be the control center of the whole thing. Two tables were present in the room, both had maps covering their every inch. Five ponies were standing over them and talking about strategies. Three were regular looking rebel guard’s ponies, or maybe officers, Gear couldn’t really tell.
A unicorn was adorned in more regal looking armor, and was one of the ones who was standing and talking over the map. He looked to be very well built, although aged given the wrinkles around his eyes. Blue plumage came out of his helmet which was rested by his side, giving Gear the chance to see his military cut electric blue mane. Just as many of the other guards, his cutie mark was hidden under the enchantment that made all the guards look alike.
The last pony in the room was the oddest out of the bunch. He was an earth stallion with a tan coat and black mane. His cutie mark, barely visible from under the business-like clothes he wore, was almost undistinguishable.
Gear gasped as he saw the reason why.
Overtop of the stallion’s cutie mark, which might have been a coin purse at one point, was the brand of a snake’s eye that winked at Gear through the portal to the room.
Nar-Kuth gave him a hard look for the gasp, but let it go as soon as he saw it went unnoticed.
“The minotaur is here, at the barracks. Most of the other guards left are here, in the town square.” The older unicorn said while pointing to the map when he said here.
“Then we should snuff them out.” Said the well-dressed earth pony in a suave and controlled voice.
Gear mentally growled. This guy was a business pony, who dealt in the lives of others. Definitely the bad-guy.
“Fine. But do you mind telling me why we keep her alive?” The guard asked, pointing somewhere where Gear couldn’t see.
“Oh, don’t worry. I have plans for her.” The tan pony said with a wicked grin.
Gear looked up at Nar-Kuth and nodded.
They retreated back up the stairs, where they formulated a plan.
Both agreed on the plan while readying their weapons. They gave each other a nod, and ran down the stairs.
Gear was first, screaming as he entered the room, gaining the attention of everyone in it. There was a moment of silence before the unicorn guard at the table spoke.
“Kill him.”
The three guard’s ponies, all earth ponies, started after the new menace.
Gear turned tail and ran, screaming to high heaven that he didn’t die. As he ran up the stairs, and into the hallways, so did his tail of pursuers. What they didn’t notice however, was the cat-man hiding in one of the branch-off rooms out of sight.
Once the entourage passed, Nar-Kuth ran out from behind his cover and towards the two leaders.
He heard Gear practically jump up the stairs before being followed by his three new friends.
Nar-Kuth chuckled at the thought before ducking behind the wall that led down to the large room. He listened for a second, making sure that none were coming his way before looking down in the room.
“That was odd.” Stated the business pony.
“Eh, that kind of hero shit happens a lot. Just got to keep ‘em in check. Now, where were we?”
Nar-Kuth watched as they returned to their plans.
He heard a cough from outside of his vision, and watched as the guard disappeared and smacked something loudly.
“So the bitch awakes? How nice.” The cat heard him say to someone.
“Wha…huh?” The voice was female, and familiar.
“How was your nap sweetheart?” Asked the rebel guard.
“Burning Tree? Is that you? You’re behind all of this!?” The female voice yelled. It took Nar-Kuth a second to place it, but once he recognized who it was, he knew he needed to act fast.
“Close enough sweetheart.” The gruff voice said, “The only reason I haven’t killed you yet is because my employer here wants you for another reason.” To this the business pony, still in Nar-Kuth’s sights dipped his head in hello.
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance. However I need to go check on how my eggs are cooking, so if you’ll excuse me.” With that the pony started for the stairs.
The Bath hid behind the corner, and waited until the pony was turning the corner before reaching out and snapping his neck. He then grabbed the body, and made sounds of him walking off towards the kitchen.
Nar-Kuth doubled back, and again listened to what was going on. He was just about to head down there when the rough voice started talking again.
“Well, I suppose he’ll be a while. Might as well get you talking.”
Nar-Kuth started down the stairs, careful to watch for the guard as he descended.
Once he came to the bottom, he looked around the corner, and confirmed what he already suspected.
Flower Founder was tied up in the corner of the room, hooves bound by rope, and horn clasped in some kind of iron. Her usually tidy mane was in a mess as she laid in the corner, bruises and cuts covering her body. Her armor was off, discarded in the armory probably, revealing her matted coat underneath.
Burning Tree, as the unicorn was apparently named, was standing over Flower. Although his back was turned to him, Nar-Kuth could tell he had a smile on his face.
“Now, Mrs. Flower. You’re going to tell me where the messenger is that carried the message to the princess.” He said, going into a bag that sat in the corner and carrying it to the table closest to Flower.
“Why would I do that?” She asked, shaking from fear, but too prideful to voice it.
“So I can get him to tell her that all is well.” Burning Tree said with a hint of malice in his voice.
“In your dreams asshole!” She shouted.
“Oh, in my dreams, I’m doing much different things to you.” He said as he extracted some pliers from his bag.
With that Nar-Kuth readied his knife, he wasn’t about to let this piece of shit hurt that young girl. He aimed, and threw the knife only to have it be deflected by a shield brought up around Burning Tree.
Shocked that his assassination attempt had failed, Nar-Kuth watched as the guard turned, revealing his manacle grin.
“I knew you’ve been there the whole time kitty. I’ve been meaning to kill that snake shit for a while now, but thanks for saving me the work. Now if you don’t mind DYING!!” Burning Tree hollered as he charged at the Bath.
Nar-Kuth was never very good with open conflict, but given that he towered over this pony by at least three feet, he thought he didn’t need to worry.
He was wrong.
Burning Tree stopped his charge abruptly, turning on his heel and delivering a buck that threw Nar-Kuth back onto the stairs.
Never mind, he needed to worry.
Nar-Kuth shook his head, clearing the stars that had found their way to him. Just as they left he noticed the unicorn charging up a spell on his horn, the temperature dropping at least twenty degrees.
Nope.
The Bath leaped from his position, running along the walls with master-like agility.
Behind him, the wall began erupting from impacts. Of what, Nar-Kuth didn’t know, but had something to do with icicles. Wherever Nar-Kuth previously was, the stone wall erupted in a shower of debris.
Need to end this quickly before you get skewed Nar-Kuth.
During his run around, he passed Flower’s position. When he heard an explosion behind him, he looked back to see if she was
alright.
Although she didn’t seem bloody, she was definitely knocked out. Luckily the metal on her horn, which Nar-Kuth guessed was a magic blocker, was knocked off.
Just need to keep Burning Tree busy while she wakes up.
He passed the stairs again, this time reaching into one of his pockets and retrieving a knife.
He chucked them at the unicorn bastard, only to have him conjure up a shield. The Bath took the opportunity to throw several more, hoping that his opponent would drop his shield, only to receive a bloody end.
No such luck.
Burning just laughed as his knives bounced harmlessly off his auburn shield. Then, drawing another aura around his horn, started again with the blasting.
However instead of icicles being shot at him, they began sprouting from the ground around his feet. Nar-Kuth danced around them, narrowly avoiding several impalements.
Just as he jumped from his standing position, and onto one of the tables, a large spear of ice surged from the ground where he had been.
Sweat had begun to pour from the cat’s forehead, blurring his vision as it sunk into his eyes.
The rebel guard wasn’t fairing any better. The spells he was casting must have been high level considering they were taking such a toll on him. He too was sweating hard, his smug grin gone replaced with a sneer.
“Hold still you overgrown pussy!” Burning Tree commanded.
“Why don’t you come and get me.” Nar-Kuth shouted.
The room was roughly a 25x10 rectangle, but due to the little skirmish parts of the walls had begun to crumble from Burning Tree’s attacks. Several of the support beams had been blown away, causing dust to fall from the ceiling.
Nar-Kuth feared that the room may soon collapse, especially with the new ice stalagmites and stalactites littering the room.
Another roar escaped the enraged pony, only serving to further shake the room.
More icicles sprung from the earth, causing Nar-Kuth to do a couple of backflips to avoid getting impaled.
The pony no stood between the Bath and the exit. Flower was stirring from her unconsciousness, moaning in pain as she came to.
Only have to stall for time. Nar-Kuth thought.
“Why do you fight cat! You are outmatched and will soon succumb to either fatigue or my ice!” Burning Tree yelled.
“You know, I actually have a question.” Nar-Kuth said, causing the pony to take a step back from shock.
“A question?! With your impending demise starring you right in the muzzle?”
“Well, yeah.” The pony took a second to consider this.
“Very well. Ask your last question.” The light on his horn dimmed slightly, the look of hatred never wavering from his features.
Nar-Kuth thought quickly. He had to ask something that would make him angrier than he already was, then, maybe, he’ll lose control and make a mistake. Until now, neither of them had received any injuries, and the feline was looking to cause him to slip up so he could land a blow.
It had to be something personal. Something that has made him miserable his whole life.
He looked at the icicles surrounding the room, their light blue shade reminding him of a cool river.
“Why is your name Burning Tree, when you excel in ice magic?”
Bingo.
The face of the guard’s pony twisted in a snarl as he emitted a low growl. The light on his horn grew until three chevrons of energy coalesced on it.
“For years I’ve been tormented by this question! Even when I tried to change my name, people laughed at me. Even after I joined the guard, nobody understood the meaning!”
He released a shock wave of telekinetic energy into the room, sending everything in front of him hurtling into the far wall, including Nar-Kuth.
“The only place a tree doesn’t burn is in the ice!” He yelled sending another wave of energy that nearly broke bone.
Well, this didn’t turn out like I’d hoped. Nar-Kuth mused, trying to think of a way he would escape.
Out of the corner of his eye, the cat saw Flower untying her bonds. She stood just as the enraged unicorn sent another blast emanating throughout the chamber.
Nar-Kuth heard a *crack* before the wave of pain blossomed throughout his arm.
“Now you will die you miserable CUR!” Burning Tree screamed as he summoned a dozen icicles to his side.
He flung them at Nar-Kuth, just as he saw Flower release a bolt of pure energy into her once called friend.