//------------------------------// // No More Deaths // Story: Outsider: The Vengeful Changeling // by Sillyponyme //------------------------------// Bloodlust ran all the way back to the old hideout where he held the new queen hostage. It wasn’t hard when he could get there in just a blink. When he returned, he walked up to his prisoner with a pleased smile on his face. He had a few scratches on him but he accomplished his goal. Every princess was now out of the way, more or less, except for one. He still had one princess to take out and she resided in the Crystal Empire. One last strike and he would be able to focus on taking out Flash Sentry and then continue onto the main event, taking back the throne. He couldn’t just kill Sweetie Belle now, Crush was still around and while the princesses were alive and able to fight, taking out Crush wouldn’t be worth it. He would still have at least one princess on his tail, not to mention that Flash Sentry was still around, so he needed to go before Crush as well. “Hello your highness, how are you?” Bloodlust stood beside Sweetie Belle. “What?” Sweetie didn’t ask anything specifically, she didn’t feel like it. While Bloodlust was around, he beat her and without her magic, she couldn’t fight back. She was black, blue, and bloody. Her eyes were puffy and she knew that she had a concussion at some point if not still. Her vision was blurry and she was sure that her nose was broken. Her ribs were cracked and it hurt to breath. “Your highness you look horrible, you should lie down.” Bloodlust mocked. He enjoyed Sweetie Belles pain oh so much that one could say that he fed off of it. He gave his queen a small smile before he hit her hard two times in the jaw breaking it. He was ready to rip off her jaw when he felt a strong pinprick in his side. He looked behind him and to his left and then his right but there wasn’t anypony there. He looked to himself and found that he was fine. There wasn’t any blood, just a sharp pain that now subsided. “What happened, who or what did that?” Bloodlust looked around frantically in search of any signs of life. If he hadn’t broken Sweetie’s jaw, he would have seen her smiling. Despite not seeing the smile, Bloodlust still assumed that she knew something. “What do you know, tell me?” He slammed his hoof down on her left back leg and broke it. After she didn’t answer, Bloodlust calmed down. “Fine then, I’ll break every one of your legs until you tell me.” He walked over to the other side and grabbed her other back leg. “Well?” “Let her go Bloodlust!” A pony covered in a black robe said. “Who are, it can’t be. You didn’t get the power, tell me you didn’t.” Bloodlust backed away from Sweetie and drew his sword. The pony in black ripped off the robe to reveal Crush beneath. He looked at Sweetie and was angered even more by what he saw. More blood was present and it dripped from the stone that his wife lay on. “You and me will fight to the death and believe me, you will be the one to die.” Crush drew his sword and pointed at Bloodlust. “You have less experience than I do Crush in the use of the powers and in fighting, you can’t beat me.” Bloodlust shook slightly from the anger running through him. “I will kill you in a few seconds.” Bloodlust heard another voice from behind him, he knew exactly who it was. “Flash Sentry, you’ve returned to take me out have you?” “Yes, you are to be put to death for conspiring against the Changeling throne by Crush and Sweetie Belles order, for the attempted murder of both Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight, and for the murder of Princess Luna.” Flash drew his sword ready to attack. Bloodlust looked to Sweetie Belle just to see her face and she was shocked by the info, he could see that much. “Yes your highness, I’ve killed one princess and soon I will have two killed. Cadance will be the next to die by my hoof.” Bloodlust wishing to try out a power that he hadn’t bothered to use yet did just that and summoned a pony assassin from out of nowhere and then disappeared. In the Crystal Empire, the Elements of harmony were pacing around the throne room. They had been for hours. They were all nervous and upset. What would happen to Twilight and the other princesses? What would happen to them? What if Bloodlust came after Cadance next? What would happen to everypony if they didn’t stop the crazy Changeling? There were so many questions and no answers to be found. “We can’t just let Twilight fight him all alone.” Rarity continued to pace around the room. “What will happen to my sister, what has happened to my sister?” “Really Rarity, I get that you worried for her, we all are but she isn’t the only one in trouble right now.” Rainbow Dash turned toward Rarity and just stared. Rarity did the same, ready to argue. “Easy for you to say Rainbow, you don’t have a sister to worry about.” Rarity stepped closer to Rainbow and visa-versa. “I have Scootaloo that I’m worried about, she is close enough to a sister!” She and Rarity began to raise their voices. “Oh yes, a sister you can’t even technically call adopted. You don’t really have a sister Rainbow Dash so you can’t possibly understand.” “It’s not my fault that I don’t have a little sister or brother technically related to me.” Rainbow stood up on her back legs and slammed down her two front legs in front of Rarity. “Of course not darling, your parents were just too lazy to have another foal.” Rainbow yelled at Rarity to shut up but she refused. “That’s right, they weren’t too lazy, they died.” Tears formed in Rainbows eyes as she began to cry. “Enough, both of you!” Everypony in the room turned to Cadance. “I leave the room for one second and I come back to see this. What would Twilight say if she saw you two act this way and why did none of you try and stop this? I mean I understand Fluttershy but the rest of you have no excuse.” Nopony said anything too ashamed to say anything. Cadence turned to Rarity with a disapproving glare. “How could you say such a thing, it was cruel and uncalled for and not to mention so unlike you. I should know; Twilight is always talking about all of you and in great detail.” “Yeah, you tell her princess.” Rainbow said with a smile as she tried to wipe her tears away. “You don’t get to talk Rainbow Dash, you didn’t help anything. You all should-” A chill ran down Cadances' spine and a second later felt something sharp scrap her side. Out of nowhere, three ponies appeared. Flash Sentry and Crush had chased Bloodlust all the way there. Cadance fell to the ground in a bloody puddle. “This is the end of the line Bloodlust, you can’t escape and you have run yourself dry of abilities.” Flash turned to the others in the room. “Get the Princess out of here.” Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash picked up the princess and carried her away. “Oh no you don’t.” Bloodlust ran at the group but was cut off by both Crush and Flash. Bloodlust knocked them both away with some effort and continued his charge. He was within striking distance but was cut off by his two pursuers once again. Bloodlust knocked out Crush and had just enough energy to summon an assassin to deal with Flash. He had to run fast and catch up with the princess; she was almost at the door. Two guards came running into the room. “You have got to be kidding me.” Bloodlust ran faster and killed both guards as he ran. He was once again within distance of the princess and thrust forward. Instead of his intended target, he was met with the face of a small dragon. “You will not hurt Twilight’s sister in law.” Spike let his head droop. “Stupid dragon.” Bloodlust kicked the dragon off his sword and was met by Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “You two really want to mess with me?” He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Fine.” Inside the castle, Flash had just finished up his fight with the assassin. “No more, nopony else dies.” Flash ran toward the door when a purple ball of energy appeared and then disappeared leaving behind Princess Twilight. “Princess, what are you doing here?” “Thanks to Zecora, my neck will be fine but at the moment she is working on Princess Celestia. Now where is everypony?” Flash pointed out the door. Twilight grabbed one of the guards’ swords. She ran out the doors to see Spike to her left with a hole in his gut and Applejack and Pinkie Pie on the ground in front of her without their heads. “Spi, Apple, Pink, no.” Tears formed in her eyes, she couldn’t finish her friends’ names. She saw Bloodlust running toward her sister. “Oh no you don’t.” Twilight teleported right behind Bloodlust and ran him through the back of his head. Bloodlust had been too focused on his target to notice Twilight behind him. Twilight didn’t stop her assault though; she kicked him to the ground and continued to stomp on his body while cursing. Flash saw this and pulled Twilight back. “Let me go, let me go!” Twilight burst out into a tear jerking cry. Once she freed herself from Flash, she fell to her knees and cried out. The medics had arrived to take Cadance to the hospital and all Twilight could do was cry. Nopony but the medics had the strength to move.