//------------------------------// // The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend (Chapter 8) // Story: Subject Delta - Rapturous for Equestria // by TheMightyT //------------------------------// Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria *TheMightyT* Chapter 8: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend A Basilisk. Mythical creature that died out long ago, before the Reign of the Royal Sisters, [...] It is said that the look of the King of Snakes can kill, although no evidence of this can be found, [...] [...],extremely poisonous, the venom residing in its glands toxic enough to burn through rocks, [...] -Excerpts from ‘Mythical Creatures of Old Equestria’, Author unknown. *** The creatures of the Everfree Forest avoided the King of Snakes, as it slithered through the woods; occasionally letting its forked tongue flicker in and out its mouth, picking up the scent of its prey. It was in an unfamiliar part of the forest, as it mostly resided in the deepest reaches of the Everfree; where no one would ever dare to venture. But now it found itself between the still growing trees of the always creeping forest, slowly taking more and more ground from was once a place of peace; no longer held back by the ancient magic that had contained it so long ago... The enchanted veil had worn off, the ancient wall was a tale that had been forgotten even by myths and legends and the forest was on the rise; never stopping to seize the change to spread out. The Basilisk, however, didn’t leave its sanctum in the chasms deep in the forest without a reason... It smelled it in the air and could almost taste it on its tongue, hints of that ancient magic that had banished it deep into the forest. The same magic that had reclaimed the land and pushed back the mighty oaks, that destroyed the homes of many; leaving only the waving grass on the empty meadows, suited as a safe haven for the influx of Equi from the north. But that wasn’t the end of the battle against the forest and its creatures, as a castle was built where the heart of the forest once was. Two beings of great power resided there, with them came an army of servants; beings that were nor death nor alive... A wall was built to protect the land from the always growing forest and keep her many creatures away from the Equi; but even more so to hold back the taint that had taken its home in the forest, a being of darkness, a shadow that moved freely below the heavy canopy... An enchanted veil was placed over the wall, so that in the event that the wall would fall the forest would be held back; her creatures would still be forced to remain to roam their diminished habitat. After years of banishment, the forest once began to slowly rise back from behind the wall; allowing her creatures to, once again, roam freely over its domain. But things had changed... A battle had been fought between the godly beings that resided in their castle and the shadowy taint that had taken the forest for its own. Their servants slain and the mighty wall breached, the veil damaged beyond repair and their castle besieged; the beings of power made a choice that no one should take to lightly, a sacrifice to defeat the being of darkness... And then it went silent... for a while. The forest began to take back the land that had once belonged to it, giving her creatures more room to breathe; but the forest wasn’t entirely free. The castle still stood strong in her domain, the godly beings once again settled in their dwelling; but things had changed once again... The wall wasn’t rebuild and the veil wasn’t restored; their servants stayed dead, buried below the wall they once built. A statue was placed to hold five stones, carrying a great magical power; five elements of the six pointed star, the sixth lost for even their makers. But the Equi kept living their lives, like nothing had happened. Soon another evil creature descended upon the lands, this time causing chaos; leaving the forest alone in her march to subdue the land. The battle was eventually won by the Equines and their godly protectors, pleaded upon to help heal the land of the chaos that had erupted from that mangled creature; a being that was called a draconequus, although it was nor a pony, nor a dragon. Captured in stone, the peace finally was restored; even for the forest, now that the godly beings had taken their place on the throne in the capital of the Equi. The forest was finally freed and was given a name, although her name tasted bitter for her creatures that were kept chained for so long. Peace and harmony ruled the land of the Equi, now called Equestria; the Everfree Forest once again ever growing and expanding... And now the creature that was considered extinct roamed through the forest, a creature feared by everyone that had laid their eyes on it; its eyes carrying a look filled with death, its mouth showing fangs with a poison that could kill in an instant... The Basilisk of the Everfree was on the hunt, searching for revenge... Searching retribution for the day it followed its master in battle and they lost the struggle for power; their master defeated and his followers punished... The day it became the last of its kind. As the white moon shone upon the concealing canopy of the forest, so did the eyes of the Basilisk shine with anger. It felt the ancient magic, the slayer of its kind, leave the forest in a powerful blast of magic; leaving behind two beings whose magic felt familiar. Making haste, the King of Snakes rushed through the forest, its scaled skin leaving tracks in the grounds. With another two flashes the forest seemed devoid of magic, but the Basilisk smelled that one remained; coming closer to the clearing it already had made its decision... After all, one was better than none. Circling the clearing where the Mare of the Moon stood alone, without guards to protect her, the Basilisk observed her closely through its once bright yellow eyes. After all these years it finally would get revenge... The Mare moved back, she already had noticed the rustling that gave its position away; but another noise behind her made her turn around. A figure clad in a strange kind of armor, a heavy helmet set upon its head, slowly emerged from a pile of trees. Slowly the Basilisk came out of the shadows, pushing itself up in the sky as it was trying to touch the moon itself; towering over the Mare below it, ready to attack. When her horn began to flare a dark blue the Basilisk attacked with an angry hiss, its scaly tail hitting her and throwing her in the air. She flew over the figure that seemed familiar to the Basilisk; the unfaltering stance it showed, while it seemed to carry no weapon to defend itself. Like the summoned servants that once built that wall and fought it and its kind... The Basilisk slowly lowered down, its scales glistening in the moonlight; showing various scars all over its body. Looking straight at the golem, trying to pierce through the yellow light emitting from his helmet, the Basilisk hissed; showing the row of its sharp teeth and flickering its tongue out, studying the golem closely. It could taste a hint of salt, overpowered by the smell of blood all over his armor. He seemed so familiar, but at the same time so strange. He kept standing still, staring back in its eyes; something no creature could do and survive... This was a strange golem indeed. But if he stood in its way to revenge, he would share the punishment... *** The residents of Ponyville remained in their careless slumber, sleeping in their warm beds and houses; all bathing in the light of the moon. Everything was completely silent... almost everything. On the edge of the town, Ponyville Hospital showed signs of activity. Doctors and nurses were preparing beds and operation rooms, the normally small night shift receiving help from all doctors and nurses that worked there. When the message came that the Princesses with the Elements ventured into the Everfree Forest to search for Twilight Sparkle everypony began to work feverishly to get everything ready, as they all expected the worse. Only two seemed to remain calm in the chaos, one a nurse that had been quite familiar with the adventures of the Elements and the wounds she had to treat afterwards; one a small dragon, bored out of his mind. Sitting down on one of the many seats in the reception of the hospital, Spike skimmed through the book he had brought to Princess Celestia. Feeling tired and bored, he only slowed down if he saw interesting drawings of mythological creatures; most of them seeming like they came straight from the old ponytales Twilight used to tell him. Using a light purple finger to flip a page showing an old chart of Equestria, his green eyes finally stopped on a very interesting picture. A sketch of a snake, seeming enormous against the referential pony that was drawn next to it, captured his attention. Looking up from the dusty book in his hands, he quickly observed his surroundings before going back to reading the curly writing of the author; the text describing a being that was called a ‘Basilisk’. He and the pony behind the reception desk were the only ones present in the cozy, but still clinical looking room, various pots with plants scattered around; the comfortable chairs not helping him to stay awake. The pony behind the desk seemed to be busy filling in paperwork, her sapphire blue eyes skimming over the papers; her white coat and pink mane seeming dull against the colourful painted walls. Her nurse’s hat depicted her Cutie Mark, a red cross with a small pink heart in every corner. Spike recalled that her name was Nurse Redheart, the nurse he often saw when he visited one of his friends in the hospital; something he had to do fairly often, as his friends always went from one adventure to the other. Concentrating back on the book that laid on his lap, he ignored the worry that made him feel a bit nauseous. ‘Twilight will be okay, the Princesses and my friends are searching for her.’ Spike thought, while beginning to read the first line under the sketch of this ‘Basilisk’. He wanted to go with them, but he understood that he wouldn’t be much more than a burden to them. He couldn’t really fight, except maybe use the fire that burned inside him; although he often struggled to use it when he wanted too. He did help in his way, by alerting the staff of the hospital of the situation. Now the only thing he could do was wait... and maybe read a little about those mythological creatures. “A Basilisk. Mythological creature that died out long ago, before the Reign of the Royal Sisters...” Spike began to read, having some trouble deciphering to florid hoofwriting. “This ancient being is believed to live up to a thousand years, never stopping to grow in both length as width. Once a year it sheds it skin, leaving behind a empty husk made out of its scales. This process of moulting is needed as the King of Snakes grows larger; while it also believed to cause the change of color of its scales as it becomes older.” ‘So, it changes color... Maybe I’ll change color too as I grow older.’ Spike thought, while skipping some paragraphs, one handling about the speculated mating process of the Basilisk. “The King of Snakes is most known for the way it kills its prey, a single look into its eyes causing death. Although not needed, if its deadly gaze should fail, it is able to constrict its prey and kill it with its poisonous bite.” A shiver ran over the spikes on his back. Spike was very happy that this creature went extinct long ago, as he had thought that a Hydra was the worse that the Everfree Forest had to offer. Skimming some more paragraphs, telling him more about the toxic that the Basilisk carries and the habitats it was speculated to live in, Spike finally came to the last paragraph; which seemed to be added later, as the hoofwriting was less florid than before. “The act of killing a Basilisk is near impossible, as its scales are almost completely magic proof. Although it has it weaknesses as well. Scurrying away as the sun casts it first rays, the Basilisk keeps itself concealed in the darkness t[...].” A smudge seemed to have swept out the rest of the text, although a last sentence has be added in pencil below. Holding the book closer to his eyes, Spike began to read the last sentence that seemed to be even more recent. “When facing the Basilisk there is only one thing to do, run away and never look back; pray to the Sisters that the sun will soon emerge from behind the horizon...” A strange thing to say about a creature that went extinct long ago... With a sigh, being too tired to investigate this further, Spike turned some more pages in search for entertainment. Just as he saw another interesting drawing of a creature that was called a ‘Human’, Spike almost dropped the book on the ground as he was blinded by a gray flash. When Spike finally began to see clearly through the blur he recognized Twilight, laying on the back of Applejack. Quickly Nurse Redheart rushed forwards, judging the situation correctly and she began examining Twilight with her keen eyes. “She is seems to be dehydrated, and she shows some signs of trauma from magical whiplash...” Nurse Redheart said to nopony in particular, “We'll have to get her scanned by one of the doctors, but I think she’ll be fine after some good night’s rest.” She finally concluded, Spike feeling relieved; the same feeling the rest felt when they heard the good news. Quickly examining the rest of the teleported ponies, Nurse Redheart beckoned for Applejack and Rainbow Dash to follow her; Spike finally realizing that Rainbow’s mane was dishevelled and that a red streak could be seen on her throat. Spike remained behind with the rest, all watching Twilight slowly breathing on the back of Applejack; as they disappeared behind a door, that Nurse Redheart held open for them. With a sigh Spike look around, making sure that everypony was okay; actually, one pony in particular. He saw that the guards spread out, those that carried the armor of Luna’s Guard going outside, while Celestia’s Guard remained inside. Three of them went through the door that Twilight just disappeared behind. His friends all slowly sat down on the comfortable chairs, their coats dirty from traversing the forest. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie quietly talked, Pinkie’s mane was hanging down as her otherwise always joy filled eyes were slightly wet of tears. Rarity sat a bit away from them, for once not caring about her otherwise pristine coat; sticks, leaves and smudges of dirt soiling her light gray coat. Spike slowly came closer and sat next to her, not sure what to say. “She’ll be fine, darling.” Rarity said to him, her voice missing strength. Spike looked up at her, seeing the toll that this night had taken on Rarity in her eyes. “What happened?” He asked, already knowing the answer. “I’ll tell you later... For now I just wish for a warm bed to sleep in.” And as on cue, Nurse Redheart returned and told them that Twilight was asleep; announcing that they had prepared beds for them all to sleep in. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie immediately stood up and followed Nurse Redheart through the door, while Spike stayed put; his eyes staring at the floor. Rarity used one of her hooves to force Spike to look her in the eyes, she saw that he too was tired; but she knew that he would have felt worthless as he could do nothing more to help. “Let’s first see if Twilight is sleeping comfortably, shall we?” Rarity said with a small smile, a smile that Spike returned. Slowly they both left the room, the dusty tome Spike had read in left behind on one of the chairs. Tomorrow... Tomorrow he would hear their story and after that everything could go back to normal. Nurse Redheart returned, offering the Guards some coffee and snacks, something that most of them accepted. The peace returned to the hospital, as Nurse Redheart trotted back to her desk. However, before she could return to her administrative work, another gray flash filled the room. Nurse Redheart turned around, her mouth agape when she saw Princess Celestia; her royal posture overshadowed by a look of weariness in her eyes and various wounds on her body. Swiftly breaking out of her shock, Nurse Redheart went to tend to the Princess of the Sun; curious to hear what happened, but concentrating on treating her patients first. Whatever happened in the Everfree Forest, as it managed to wound the Princesses... Nurse Redheart just felt relieved it just were simple wounds and nothing more. The newly arrived guards quickly joined the others, taking turns in patrolling the hallways of the hospital; with groups of three or four guarding the doors of the rooms where the Elements and their Princess were resting. With another gray flash some more guards arrive, although Princess Luna couldn’t be seen; the other guards didn’t ask any questions, as they all believed that the Princess would have her reasons for it. Luna’s Guard followed their commander outside, joining the other three that were already guarding the outside of the hospital. Shadow Stalker looked up in the sky, noticing that her Princess’s Moon finally was descending. She would wait one hour and if Princess Luna hadn’t returned by then... Shadow Stalker just hoped with all her heart that the Princess of the Moon knew what she was doing... and that she was safe. *** Subject Delta stood completely still, trying to not even move a single muscle; while staring into the eyes of the snake before him. They had stood there for what felt like minutes now, the snake not seeming to attack; giving Delta some time to think about what to do. He quickly remember what he had learned in Rapture, the one-two combo; daze them, then drill them. He carefully closed his left fist, feeling the familiar sensation of electricity circling it; while trying to glance to his right, where his drill laid on the muddy ground. Without any warning he reached up with his left hand, hitting the snake right in its mouth with a bolt of electricity; while he used his ‘Telekinesis’-Plasmid in his right hand to reach out and retrieve his drill. Before the drill even slightly moved, the scaled tail of the snake hit him in the chest; sending him, once again, soaring through the air. Subject Delta had the feeling this was happening too much lately, a feeling that became even stronger when his short flight was interrupted when he hit a tree. Laying on the ground he tried to slowly get back on his knees, while preparing to be attacked by the snake; but nothing happened. He looked up, seeing that the snake had taken interest again in the pony; she seemed to shakily stand upright on three legs, while her horn was engulfed by a dark blue glow. The snake rushed forward, but came to a stop in mid-air. Subject Delta could see a dark blue shield surrounding the pony, little waves going over its surface from where the snake had hit it. The Basilisk attacked again, this time almost breaching Luna’s shield. She wouldn’t be able to hold him off much longer, as with every blow to it she struggled more and more to keep the shield intact. She felt her strength slowly leave her, as she was getting tired; trying to keep her weight of her left foreleg, as when she tried to stand on it a jolt of pain almost made her lose her concentration. The Basilisk pulled back, showing its teeth and preparing to break her shield; but before it attacked, a hiss of pain and anger reached Luna’s ears. She looked up briefly, while still avoiding the deadly gaze of the Basilisk; and she saw that the golem was attacking it. It was a frightening sight, as his one hand seemed to be filled with electricity; while his other blasted ice on the Basilisk. Delta attacked, time after time; while trying to avoid the attacks of the Basilisk. His plan had changed slightly, when he saw that the snake was trying to attack the pony. Wielding electricity in his left hand and ice in his right, he hit the snake wherever he could. The electricity seemed to daze it for a moment, while the ice didn’t seemed to be too effective. Barely avoiding the sweeping tail of the snake, that was blindly trying to hit him; Delta finally reached his drill, but before he could pick it up he saw a shadow towering over him. He looked up and saw the snake, mouth agape; the moon behind it already sinking behind the horizon. He saw the sharp teeth and the flickering tongue in its open mouth, but before he could move the snake pounced downwards; and after that, darkness seemed to surround him. Luna followed the fight closely, as she saw the golem attacking the Basilisk; skilfully dodging the blind sweeps of its tail, while he tried to reach it weapon. She felt strangely relieved when the golem reached its weapon, but her heart missed a beat when the Basilisk reached for the sky and attacked the golem; its mouth seemingly making him disappear. The Basilisk turned around, preparing to once again to attack her; but before it could reach her, the Basilisk opened its mouth, a burp of fire emerging from it. “What...? B-but... what?” Luna muttered to nopony in particular, as she didn’t believe what she saw. Standing upright in the Basilisk’s mouth was the golem, his back turned to her. She could see that it tried to lift his hand again, but stopped when the Basilisk tried to push him into its throat with its tongue. The golem struggled to keep its mouth open, while still trying to move around; slowly making it so that his back was now turned to the deep, black hole behind him. With a punch that could break rocks, the golem hit one of the Basilisk fangs; causing it to hiss angrily, while it was mostly muffled by the golem that now had managed to set his heavy boots on the Basilisk’s tongue. Luna looked away from the two fighting, searching for a way to take the Basilisk out. And she smiled, as a idea came to her. Delta tried to stay upright in the slimy mouth of the snake, while searching for ways to escape from certain death; as he hadn’t planned to get eaten anytime soon. He had already used fire to get it to open its mouth, but that had done almost no damage. He tried and punched against one of the fangs, hoping to break it off; but only a muffled, very angry hiss was the response. He firmly held his boots on its tongue, as it almost had managed to knock him into the gaping throat behind him. When he had hit the fangs of the snake a viscous fluid had come out of it, now burning on his right fist; Delta could see that the fluid was beginning to burn through his glove, before he wiped it off on the slippery palate of the snake’s mouth. Thinking quickly he used both his hand to send jolt after jolt of electricity through the snake’s mouth, but he stopped when it only shook its head; being nothing more than a little dazed, while the shaking almost knocked Delta loose. Suddenly a dark blue glow surrounded the upper jaw of the snake, pulling it up so Delta finally had his hands free; and in front of the snake, surrounded in that same dark blue glow, his drill floated. Without a second thought he jumped forwards, reaching for his drill; while still preparing for the impact with the ground below. Luna strained to keep the mouth of the Basilisk open, giving the golem a change to escape; while levitating his weapon to him. The golem jumped out of the mouth and before he even hit the ground, he already had managed to attach the weapon to his right arm. Slowly he stood up, the weapon spinning around; while flames surrounded his left hand. Luna’s magic finally failed and she felt to the ground, hoping that the golem wouldn’t kill her when he was finished with the Basilisk. She followed the fight, while laying on the ground; the golem dashing forwards with his drill and hitting the Basilisk in its chest, while dodging its attack and responding with fire. It was more than fighting, it looked like the golem and the Basilisk were dancing; the golem gracefully dashing around the Basilisk, while it attacked brusque and without thinking. She already knew who would win, but she hoped he would spare her... Delta dashed forwards again, using his drill to hit the snake in the chest for the fifth time; while dodging out of the way, when the snake tried to bite him. He hit the snake’s head with fire, causing it to be temporarily blinded by the licking flames on its head; shrieks of pains and hisses of anger filling the air. The pony that had helped him, laid on the ground; she seemed very tired, but still she held her head upright, following the fight. Delta dashed forwards again, but this time the snake was faster and managed to hit him; making Delta fall on the ground, his drill laying mere centimetres from him. The snake moved quickly and came down again, ready to bite Delta; but Delta rolled on his stomach and quickly stood up. He reached for his belt and pulled out the ceremonial knife, which he never had thought about using before; and Delta jumped forward, hitting the snake in the head with the knife. With a shriek of pain the snake pushed him back, giving Delta the change to reach his drill. He looked back up to the snake, a whirring drill in his right hand; ready to attack, but he stayed put when he saw the snake rearing backwards from him. Luna saw the knife, that the golem had jammed between two scales just above its eyes, jutting out from the Basilisk’s head; the revealed part of the knife reflecting the light of the rising sun. The Basilisk reared away from them and with one last angry hiss and look at the brightening sky, it slowly disappeared in the shadows of the Everfree Forest. With a sigh of relief she looked up at the sky, thankful that her Sister’s Sun had just risen; while still surprised that the Basilisk just had backed off. She looked to her left, seeing the golem slowly making his way back to the forest. “Wait!” She yelled, immediately regretting that decision when the golem slowly turned around. He looked at her, that yellow light still obscuring his face from her; if he even had a face. “I-if you w-want to get out of the f-forest, you need to g-go the other w-way...” She said quietly, while slightly struggling to speak; strangely feeling not threatened when he came closer to her. Delta looked from the pony to the forest, her hoof outstretched to where he should go if he wanted to get out of this place. Her eyes were big and she was shivering, making Delta feel guilty when he trudged past her; his mind only set to find Twilight. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and turned around, returning to the night blue mare; his heavy steps pounding on the muddy forest floor, while she stayed where she was, not even trying to scurry away. He went through one of his knees, while resting on another; and he reached out with his hand. Looking from his helmet to his hand, she slowly laid her hoof in it; without any effort Delta pulled her upwards, and into his arms. His drill rested on its normal place on his back, he had defeated the snake that stood between him and getting out of this forest. Delta felt he had accomplished much today... He would make his way out of this forest and find Twilight, with the help of the guide that laid comfortably in his arms; resting her horn on the biceps of his right arm. He would rescue Twilight and nothing could stop him, not even the one that had previously buried him beneath a pile of trees. He only hoped that this was the only creature he had to fight to get out of this cursed forest... Or that it at least was one of the largest creatures this forest harbored and that the rest stayed out of this way. While trudging off in the shadows below the heavy canopy, exchanging the light of the sun for the darkness of the forest; he had this strange feeling occur to him... He had the feeling that carrying ponies around would become a everyday thing for him in the future. *** “[...]The ancient tale of an old wall, being guarded by golems conjured out of powerful magic, has always been considered to be an old maretale. Although if one would want to see for oneself if this myth is truth, they should search in the heart of the forest; where dangerous creatures are found...” *** Author's Note: An update, finally! I hope this chapter was worth the wait and that you all like it, of course... So yeah, see you all next chapter!