//------------------------------// // Episode 54: The Final Fight Is Here! The Hooded Offender Vs. Flag Burner! (Die Horde Finale) // Story: The Life of a Wanted Changeling Season 2: Debt to a Doctor (Comment Driven Story) // by Down with Chrysalis //------------------------------// This is serious. This is very serious. The last time you fought an element bender, you got your ass whooped, and rewatching the anime constantly has taught you all too well what these ponies can do. They can lift tanks, make weapons with ice, burn villages to the ground. You've got to... cut out this crap. You're going to psych yourself out. As you and the Element Benders begin to circle each other as Flag looks on with a smug smile and your Nightmare Tails swish menacingly behind you, you think, This is serious. VERY serious. The last time I fought an element bender, I got my flank whooped, and that was just my daughter! If the serial is accurate, these guys can lift carriages, make weapons with ice, burn whole villages to the ground- Focus bug, focus! You're gonna psych yourself out at this rate... Your twin tails swing behind you threateningly as you say, "I'd advise you all to back down now. I'm only here to beat Flag Burner into the ground and then throw him into a nice, dark, spider-infested cell. If you all leave now, we can just pretend none of this ever happened." While three of the Benders growl, the only mare in the group (the waterbender) smiles smugly before saying, "Sorry, but I've been paid alot of bits to beat you into the ground. And while these other guys are mindless follows, I actually want to walk away with some moolah. Nothing personal, just business. I hope you understand." You stop walking in circles as you look at Flag in confusion and ask, "Wait, you hired a waterbender mercenary but the rest of these idiots are Fanatics?" Flag just shrugs as he says, "The Revolution was coming and I needed a water manipulator to complete my S.M.A.S.H. and Aqua just so happened to be in the area when I needed one. She certainly wasn't cheap, but as the rightful Offender, I must have a full circle of manipulators to protect me." You growl in anger as you say, "You're not the Offender! You're just a madstallion who needs to be placed in a nice padded room. Besides, Puddle over here won't be protecting you for long- Wait, what the hay is SMASH?" "Special Manipulators Allied for Social upHeval." He answers while emphasizing the 'h', "My elite guard and personal sword in changing this world. In all honesty, I really wanted an acronym that spelled out something." The waterbender mercenary glares at you as she says, "The name’s Aqua, try to remember that before I drown you." You smirk slightly as you look over to her and say, "Bring it on... Puddle." And with that you and the benders charge at each other, While you have the raw power, they have the numbers and refinement to go horn to horn (Minotaur expression) with you in fight. Brown-Cloak's earth bending made moving around the terrain very hard when he's not pummeling you with boulders. When taking the high ground with your parkour, White-Cloak took that route away by making it near impossible to be a viable option. Seriously, while that wind bender only does peanut damage, his crowd control was nothing to sneeze at. Dark Blue-Cloak just adapted to whatever move you do. If this were a fight with only ONE element, then maybe you could at least pry at the weaknesses and push your advantages. Well, at least you can still teleport. Can't forget about teleport. While you have the raw power, they have the numbers and refinement to go horn-to-horn (Minotaur expression there folks) with you in fight. Brown-Cloak's earthbending made moving around the terrain very hard when he's not pummeling you with boulders. When you try to take the high ground with your parkour, White-Cloak took that route away by making it near impossible to be a viable option. Seriously, while that airbender only does peanut damage, his crowd control was nothing to sneeze at. Aqua just keeps adapting to whatever move you do. Luna, if this were a fight with only ONE element, then maybe I could at least pry at the weaknesses and push your advantages. You barely dodge a fire-air blast as you think, Well, at least I can still teleport. Can't forget about teleport. Speaking of teleporting, you should do that now since a gigantic boulder is coming your way! Thinking quickly, you teleport to a nearby building just before the boulder could squash you like... well like a bug. You sigh in relief and are about to dive back into the fray when... Dodge! Doing just as Selena says you dodge just in time before Aqua could smack you with her water whip. You look at her in surprise as you think, What the!? How did she get up her-oh wait... she's a unicorn duh! Now's not the time for this! Fight you fool! Right right, okay bring it you-what the...! The water bender lashes out first, their whip aimed for your head. Their speed is astounding. You move as quickly as you can, ducking around their lash and maneuvering behind them. "Eat fire, you maniac. FALCON PUNCH!" Your Punch sends the waterbender flying into a building, smashing into the side. Aqua lashes out another water whip at your head with outstanding speed. As you barley dodge another one of Aqua's water whips, you can't help but ask, "Why are you doing this!? For a few- Whoa! -measly bits! You do know what Flag Burner is planing right?" Aqua responds to your question with another whip attack, this time hitting you on the back, before she says, "Sorry buddy, the pity is when I'm paid, I always follow my job through." You dodge a few more whips as you can't help but think, Why are all the mares I fight INSANE! OR AT THE VERY LEAST SUPER STUBBORN! You move as quickly as you can, ducking around another one of her whips and maneuvering behind them. You get a opening soon enough so, smirking, you charge at her from behind and yell, "Eat fire, Puddle! FALCON PUNCH!" Your flame-covered hoof slams into Aqua's face and sends her flying onto the side of a building. You quickly follow up with, "Would you kindly ELECTRIC BOLT!!!" causing lightning to hit Aqua dead on. It wasn't enough to knock her out, but it did send her flying into a nearby building with a smash. You smile at you hoofy work, but frown in panic as the building you were on starts shaking and falling to the ground when rock pillars smash into the base! You quickly teleport to the ground, but sadly for you... You are focused in the battle with Flag Burner when somepony throw you a glass bottle that break after hit you "Hey! Don't throw things!!" Shout Bugzee As he say that another pony throw a jar of a strange yellow liquid transforming the hooded offender in the yellow offender. As Bugzee smell it. "Agggh!!! Jarate!!! Who the hell throw me Jarate?" Shout Bugzee confused but no one answer *shatter* You are hit with a glass bottle that breaks after it hits you. You look around in confusion as you shout, "Hey! Don't throw things!!" As you say that another jar with a strange yellow liquid shatters on you. Somehow it transforms your nightmare colored cloak into a yellow one and you smell your cloak in suspicion, but you reel back in disgust as you shout, "Agggh!!! Jarate!!! Who the hay is throwing Jarate?" As you glare around hatefully for whoever threw that Jarate at you, the Earthbender (let's call him Rocky, okay?) manged to shoulder-tackle you to the ground before bending a boulder at you. You barely dodge it before, "FALCON PUNCH!" You punch him straight into a nearby boulder, but before you do anything else you notice... Red-Cloak... You're fire proof, and ended up helping you. Looking at yourself, set on fire courtesy to Red-Cloak, you sigh in longing over the memories it resurfaced. You looked at the fire bender and smiled. "Thanks for the bonus points in fire damage~!" The fire bender could only gape. You grin, before you realize that the fire on your hoof hasn't died out yet. Suddenly, it spreads, engulfing your entire body. You scream in surprise. The firebender laughs, probably taking it for pain. Snarling at him, you use one of your tails like a spring, launching yourself at the laughing douche. You tackle him to the ground, hefting the power glove in his face. "You should know that I've fought a dragon," you gloat. "I'd have to be fireproof." "Perhaps," the bender replies, his voice unnervingly soft, "But there are ways around that." The ground beneath you suddenly explodes in a blast of fire that sends you flying. You crash into the ground, rising slowly to your hooves. That the fire on your hoof hasn't died out yet. Suddenly, it spreads and engulfs your entire body! You scream in surprise causing the firebender to laughs (probably mistaking it for pain). Snarling at him, you use one of your tails like a spring to launch yourself at the laughing jerk and tackle him to the ground before grabbing his face with your Power Glove, "You should know that I've fought dragons," you gloat. "Of course I'm fireproof." You then smile as you say, "But thanks for the bonus points in fire damage! Now hold still so I can punch ya!" "Perhaps," the bender replies, his voice unnervingly soft, "But there are ways around that." Suddenly, his back hooves kick into your stomach and sends you flying with a twin-leg-blast of fire before smashing through a window. As your fiery form slowly gets up, you notice that S.M.A.S.H. has regrouped and is now circling you, but once you see that you're on fire, you smirk... insanely. The benders begin to charge at you... *smack smack smack smack* But you whip your two tails around and smack them all away as you start to laugh insanely, "MWAHAHAHHAHAHWAHHAHHAHWHAHAHHAHHAHAHAH!" Aqua looks at you creeped out as she asks, "Uh...why are you laughing like that?" Your head down that they can't see as your horns begin to grow slightly larger, you say, "Why you ask..." Your head shoots up as you smile crazily with insanity in your glowing eyes as you yell, "IT'S CAUSE I'M GONNA RIP YOU ALL TO SHREDS! THEN I'M GONNA RIP FLAG'S HEART OUT AND MAKE HIM EAT IT HAHAHAHAH!" And with that you begin to charge at the nearest bender (fire) when... SnapDrakeGames comment The debris of the explosion suddenly begin to float, swirling around you. "Bucking earthbenders," you growl as the rocks start zooming towards you, one by one. You blast them with volleys of magic, but each time a rock breaks into smaller pieces and those pieces just shoot back at you. Before long you're being pummeled from all directions, "Enough of this," you cry. "FUS RO DAH!" Your roar of power disintegrates all the floating debris and knocks back all the benders. The earthbender recovers first and sends a pillar of concrete rushing in your direction. You hold out your forelegs and take the attack (thanks goodness for Armor Shell), but still get pushed backwards, your hind legs dragging along the ground as the pillar pushes you backwards. With a cry of rage, you dig your nightmare tails into the earth, slowing your backwards movement to a stop. Wrapping the tails around the pillar, you tear it from the ground and take aim, preparing to heft it at the benders when Aqua rushes forwards, coating the ground you stand on in a sheet of ice. You lose your footing and crash to the ground, the pillar landing beside you as well. You struggle to your feet, but Aqua creates a blade of ice and jumps at you with intent to decapitate, "Would you kindly Burn, motherbucker!," you cry as you shoot a burst of fire from your hoof, knocking her backwards and melting away her blade. The jet of fire continues, though, snaking around until it impacts a building behind you. The firebender laughs again as debris rains down from above. You cast your forcefield to ward off the falling rocks, before you balance yourself on your tails to spring forwards, Your hoof lighting aflame as you cry, "FALCON-" Suddenly a blast of wind knocks you off course and you slam to the ground. You struggle to your feet, glaring at the airbender, who makes another series of gestures as the firebender lights a small flame in his hooves and the smoke suddenly expands, the gusts billowing it out so it swirls around you. You glance this way and that, trying to see through the obscuring smog, before suddenly a pillar of rock shoots from the mist. You dodge around it, only to find a pillar of ice launched at you next. Weaving and ducking as beams of stone and ice spring out from every angle, you begin to grow tired until finally a pillar of earth catches you unaware, launching you out of the smoke ring and to the feet of the firebender. "I am going to enjoy this," he sneers before detonating the ground beneath you with a furious fireblast which sends you flying through the air towards Aqua who conjures a baseball bat made of ice before swinging it at your flying figure, "Home run!" she shouts with glee as she slams you another direction, this time aimed at the airbender. By now, your glowing eyes are shut, giving you the appearance of a lifeless corpse. "I've got him," the airbender grins as he fires a blast of wind that fires you towards Rocky, "Time to wrap this combo up!" "Nope!" you suddenly say as you twist around midair, your eyes snapping back open, "Time for the combo-breaker! Psycho Crusher!" You slam into Rocky, knocking him from his hooves and you both skid to a stop beneath the shadow of a tall building. "I've had enough of this. Time to even the playing field," you declare as you pin the earthbender to the ground with one tail. You wrap the other around your fist as you say, "I think one-on-three sounds much more fun. FALCON... PUNCH!!!" ...Except you slam your fist into yourself, the attack launching you over the earthbender and closer to the building's base. "Ow," you groan as you rise slowly to your legs. You look at your hoof in confusion as you ask "Is that what those feel like?" Suddenly your body turns on you, your fists throwing punches at your face instead of the opponents. You cry out in confusion as you pummel yourself, no idea what's happening. Suddenly the Water bender lets out a cold laugh and you understand, "Hey! No fair!" you cry. "Bloodbending is immoral, wrong, and totally cheating!" you manage to get out between punches. The waterbender lets out another laugh and continues with her assault before she says, "I know that! But desperate times call for desperate measures, now hurry up and die!" When the punches finally stop, you slowly rise to your feet, barely conscious. A shadow falls over you as Flag Burner towers above your cowering form. "Good fight, Offender. I don't suppose you have any last words?" "B-buck you," you stutter. "Really? That's the best you can come up with?" Flag taunts before backing away. At his signal, She then continues to make you bite, kick, and even punch yourself in your private place for the next couple of minutes. She even says "Why are you hitting yourself?" the entire time! Finally, the assault stops and you collapse on the ground and a shadow falls over you as Flag Burner towers above your pained form, "Good fight, Offender. I don't suppose you have any last words?" he says in a faux-friendly tone. "B-buck you," you stutter. "Really? That's the best you can come up with?" Flag says before he then bends down next to you and whispers, "Remember this as you go on to the skies above, you could have join me in bringing on the new world." With that he gets up an begins to walk away, and as he does he throws his hoof into the air. When he does Aqua and the other benders, The four benders unite their powers into one massive attack/combo, which leaves you buried under rubble. Cue the transformation to three-tail form. The dust clears slowly, and Flag and his personal guard slowly approach the mound of debris. "Is he dead?" the waterbender asks. All unleash their full power at you resulting in a blast of dust and derbies. As the dust starts to settle, Aqua asks, "Is it dea-?" Nightmare Scream to make everypony grab their ears in audio pain before unleashing three tails. The Benders all hit you with their most powerful attacks in a barrage that leaves a big cloud of dusty smoke where you were. When the smoke clears, you're still standing there with 3 tails waving unstably. Suddenly a piercing scream is heard and everypony nearby starts to grab their heads and cry out in audio pain. When the scream stops, the dust is settled and there is a monster standing there, three midnight cloudy fox-like tails swishing behind you crazily, two devil horns on your head, and your large fangs shining from beneath your faceless hood. You glare insanely at the benders and Flag with glowing orange eyes as you say in a distorted, cold-hearted, legion-like voice that sounds like a mix of your voice and Selena... "Hhehehhe...You all just made a very, very, deadly mistake, now..." You then take a step forward, but you notice that, You take a step forward and notice that your front leg is dislocated, but with a shrug you wrap one tail around it and nonchalantly pop it back into place while saying something badass/threatening. "Who want their Hearth Warming present first?!", you say in a demonic voice from your new transformation as your opponent steps forward. You're front leg is dislocated, but with a shrug you wrap one tail around it and nonchalantly pop it back into place without breaking stride while saying to the (now intimidated) benders, “Now..." *POP* "Who want's their Hearth Warming present first?!" Aqua and the other Benders begin to back away in fear, but Flag Burner shouts at them, "WHAT DO YOU FOOLS THINK YOU'RE DOING? KILL HIM!" With that 'piece of wisdom', the Benders charge at you. Which only causes you to give a feral grin as you say, "Bad move Flag. Looks like I'm gonna have to break your toys...BY RIPPING THEM APART HOOVE BY HOOVE!" With that you shout "Would you kindly FEEL HEAVEN'S WRATH!!!" as you extneded the Power Glove at the sky and shoot off nightmareish-blue lightning into the sky before bringing your hoof down, causing lightning bolts to come out of the sky and hit the benders. "Would you kindly FEEL HEAVEN'S WRATH!!!" you yell as you point the Power Glove at the sky and shoot off nightmareish-blue lightning into the sky, the display causing the benders to pause in their tracks. You then bringing your hoof down in a sweeping-motion, causing lightning bolts to come out of the sky and hit the benders, knocking them all back with blasts of lightning. With that, Flag Burner just looks at you in fury as he yells, "Damn it, why won't you just lay down and die?" Thoughts of Nightshade, Fluttershy, and Selena cross through your mind before you answer. "Because I have so much to live for," you say before wrapping a nightmare tail around your power glove-bearing leg. The burst of flame you shoot is infused with darkness, bright red and orange mixed with charred, molten black, and with a whoosh it blazes around the group in a ring of fire. "Darn it, why won't you just lay down and die?" Thoughts of Nightshade, Fluttershy, Cadence, the true Horde, Zecora, Braeburn, Spike, Selena, and even the Deadly Five enter your mind as you say with some sanity, "Because I have so much to live for... AND I'M NOT ABOUT TO GIVE THEM ALL UP FOR YOU! SO PREPARE TO FEEL THE WRATH OF A TRUE NIGHTMARE!!" And with that you start wrapping a nightmare tail around your power glove-bearing limb. You glare at the Benders and Aqua as you shout, "Would you kindly, be engulfed IN A RING OF FIRE!" The burst of flame you shoot is infused with darkness, bright red and orange mixed with charred molten black, and with a whoosh it blazes around the group in a ring of fire. Flag looks around in anger before he turns around to the fire bender and says, "Get rid of this, you idiot," Flag yells at the red-cloaked firebender. "I'm trying, my liege, but there's some outside force blocking my influence!" he yells back as you leap from the tip of the mound and tackle the firebender to the ground. You snatch him up in your tails before flinging him in the air. You leap up as well, and, wrapping a tail around your foreleg, you fire not a freezing blast, but a solid chunk of darkened ice at the bender. He is sent flying outside the circle of fire and crashes to the concrete ground, unconscious. You land with your back to the remaining benders and, like a badass, turn your head to face them. "Who's next?" you whisper. Fire: "You think you're powerful? Everywhere I go, I leave destruction in my wake. The more bodies that get in my way, the more damage I do. I am fire, boy!" "Get rid of this, you idiot!" "I'm trying, my liege, but there's some outside force blocking my influ-*wham*" he yells back but is interrupted when you launch yourself forward and tackle him into a lamppost. You then grab the firebender with one of your Nightmare Tails and start smashing the other benders with him as you declare, "You think you're powerful? *smash* Everywhere I go, I leave destruction in my wake.*smash* The more bodies that get in my way, the more damage I do. *smash* I AM fire, punk! *SMASH*" Bringing your tail up high, you smash him onto a carriage before leaping in the air and declaring, "NOW WOULD YOU KINDLY CHILL OUT!" causing a pillar of ice to rise from the ground and smash the carriage to pieces as it launches him screaming into the air, "FALCON PUNCH!" Before you Falcon punch him hard enough to send him smashing into the ice pillar, shattering it and knocking him unconscious. You land with your back to the remaining benders and turn your head to face them. "Who's next?" you growl. Before you can even do anything else, Rocky smashes a boulder into you causing you to go flying away, which is increased by the air bender bending very painful air blast at you. You smash into the upper floor of a nearby building, leaving a you-sized crater on the wall. You growl in anger as you get off the wall and your about to charge at him when you get water whipped further into the building. You growl in anger at Aqua as she says tauntingly, "Oh, is the 'Nightmare' afraid of getting wet? Well have some more." With that Aqua... The water bender charges you, a blade of ice forming in his hoof as he swings it at your head. You catch his hoof in a nightmare tail. "You're gonna have to try harder then that," you say as you toss him into the air. Leaping up as well, you position yourself to deliver your next attack. "No Shadow Kick!" you cry as you unleash a flurry of kicks to the water bender's vulnerable stomach. Grabbing him with a tail, you spin midair and fling him to the ground, where his impact leaves a shallow crater. "Do you feel shocked?" you scream as you slam your hoof into their prone body, delivering a blast of purple lightning. Charges at you, a blade of ice forming in her hoof as she swings it at your head, but you nonchalantly catch her hoof in a nightmare tail. "You're gonna have to try harder than that." you taunt before whirling her around and slamming her through a glass sculpture in the building. Getting up, she makes some movements with her arms. You slowly reach into your cloak and shakily pull out a Molotov Cocktail from your Potion Sash, causing Aqua to smile as she throws her arms to the side... *shatter* "PSYCH!!!" you yell as you smash your Molotov Cocktail against the side of her head, setting her cloak on fire as she runs around screaming before finally putting herself out with waterbending, but when she looks back at you, you grab her horn with one of your tails to negate her magic before you wrap one of your tails around your arm and scream, "SHADOW SHORYUKEN!" Your tail-covered hoof slams into Aqua's midsection in a vicious rising uppercut (you feel several ribs cracking under your hoof) followed by midnight-colored afterimages that launch her into and through several ceilings at high speed, but you lash out one of your Nightmare tails and grab the waterbender before using the momentum to viciously slingshot her in the opposite direction through several more floors. Aqua coughs up blood as she weakly reaches out a hoof towards a puddle of water, *thud* but you jump down to her level and viciously land-stomp on her limb at the elbow causing her to whimper. Vindictive hate clouding you thoughts as you remember how she beat you up the most out of the benders (including making you beat yourself up with bloodbending), you grab her hoof with one of your nightmare tails as you sadistically taunt, "Hi, I’m kinda new at this whole ‘bending’ thing, so tell me if I’m doing it right. *crack*" Before pulling back hard, viciously snapping her arm as she screams in pain. You're about to continue when a gust of wind knocks you into the wall. Taking this opportunity, Aqua gets up and cradles her broken limb before coughing up blood and saying, "NO AMOUNT OF BITS IS WORTH THIS!!!" And with that you see her horn light up as she disappears in a bright flash. You growl in anger as you insanely pounce where she once was and begin to claw the ground. But Selena snaps you out of it as she says, Let her go. She was only a mercenary so we'll see her again. Now let's deal with the blowhard! You look up in shock as you see that Selena was right as the airbending pegasus is now in front of you preparing a large blast of wind, but you laugh as, You rush towards the airbender, running at ludicrous speeds. A blast of wind knocks you off your path, but landing on your tails, you use them to spring forwards once again. Another gale launches you the other way, but you bounce back, now almost upon the bender. You leap towards him, preparing your attack, until a sudden burst of wind throws you high into the air. Air: "They say you can't catch the wind. You're not really the wind, are you? I can catch you. I can ground you! Permanently!" Above the airbender, you flatten your legs against your body as you streamline yourself. As you fall, flames develop around you, both midnight blue and bright green. "Psycho Meteor Impact!" you scream as you slam into the airbender, a massive explosion following. You rush towards the airbender, running at ludicrous speeds, "They say you can't catch the wind, but you're not really the wind, are you?" A blast of wind knocks you off your path, but landing on your tails, you use them to spring forwards once again. "I can catch you..." Another gale launches you the other way, but you bounce back, now almost upon the bender when he blasts you through the ceilings and hurtling high into the air. He takes off after you, but you manage to use your tails to stabilize yourself in midair as you lash out two tails and grab the airbender's wings before screaming, ”…which means I can ground you!" With a vicious twin whip of your tails, you snap the airbender's wings causing him to scream in pain as he starts tumbling in the air as you roar, "PERMANENTLY!" You flatten your back limbs against your body as you streamline yourself with your front limbs pointing at the broke-winged pegasus. You use your tails to pull the airbender towards you by his broken wings before you cry out, "PSYCHO CRUSHER!" With that, midnight and green flames develop around you as you spin and smash head-on into the Pegasus and send you both crashing through several roofs (Pegasus-first) before you both smash into the unconscious firebender. As the dust settles you growl, "And then there was one-" *CRUSH* The Earthbender charges at you, ramming into your side like a bull. As he continues to carry you with his charge, you wrap two nightmare tails around him before jamming a third into the ground. Using this as a fulcrum, you turn the earthbender's momentum against him, flipping him around you and flinging him towards a building with your tails. Earth: "I've endured more than your precious stone could. You can bend that, but I can break you!" Hit somepony with No Shadow Barrage. A giant boulder suddenly smashes you into the side of a building. As you smash the boulder with your nightmare tails, the large earthbending earth pony smashes into you like a bull and rams you through the walls of the building. As Rocky continues to carry you with his charge, you say, "I've endured more than your precious stone could..." Before you wrap two nightmare tails around him and jam a third into the ground. "You can bend that, but I CAN BREAK YOU!" Using this as a fulcrum, you turn Rocky's momentum against him, flipping him around you and flinging him towards a building with your tails. He smashes into the side of the building but just as he gets back up, you launch yourself at him and cry out, "NO SHADOW BARRAGE!!" Before you hit the big earth pony with a rapid flurry of kicks and tail strikes, smashing through the multiple walls of the building with each kick. On the final kick, the earthbender is smashed out the opposite side and slams into a escargot cart in the Prench Quarter. You land on the ground and look back up to see... that he's still standing back up! He's using the smashed cart to support himself as it looks like he has a black eye, his front limb is broken, there's blood in the corner of his mouth, and it looks like a few ribs are smashed, but even then he just smirks as he says, "Tis but a flesh wound." You growl like an animal as you… Reaching out with telekinesis, you grab him inches from impacting the building before whipping him around and hurling him at another building, farther off. Though you don't see him impact the building, you see the explosion of glass and dust as he slams into the side, and then, when the building begins to collapse. Turning to the airbender, you smile, your fangs contorting into a sadistic grin. "And then there was one..." "Would you kindly GO BOOM!" before destroying a building with a cluster of explosions from your Power Glove. Lash out with a nightmare tail to grab the battered earthbender before violently smashing him into two walls when you notice a (particularly stupid/brave to still be there) mime doing the "trapped in a box routine". You say, "Must be a K7 forcefield. Don't worry little guy, I'll break you out of there!" *SMASH* Before smashing the earthbender onto the mime with a downward whip of your tail. As the mime twitches while whimpering a pathetic "Ow..." from beneath the large pony you say, "Glad I could help." I don't think he was actually trapped... Selena comments. Meh, I never liked mimes anyway I concur. Mimery was a low art form even in my time. With that, you then whip the large earth pony towards a three-story building. You smile sadistically as he crashes into the building and then falls into the ground, but you see him struggle to get up from his position so you quickly shout, "Would you kindly JUST GO BOOM!" as you point the Power Glove at the building, creating a series of explosions that send the building crashing down on the Earthbender, but you then teleport over to the buildings rubble and you use your tail to grab him out of the rubble. After checking to make sure he's unconscious (and smashing his face into a steel mailbox just to be sure), you toss him onto the unconscious fire and air-benders. The dust clears and the airbender lies unconscious on the ground, the circle of fire snuffed out by the huge shockwave. You laugh semi-madly in delight before glancing around. Something was missing... Suddenly you spot a hooded figure sprinting away from the destruction around you. "Flag Burner!" you cry. "Get back here!" The benders lying unconscious on the ground before you in a heap, you laugh semi-madly in delight before glancing around and seeing ponies, (Guards and Fanatics) looking at you in fear while some are still fighting and you hear things like, "What... what is that thing!?" "Dying ain't worth 1,000 Bits! I'm outta here!" "I joined the guard to catch bad guys, not fight unstoppable monsters!" "The true offender joins us! We can steal 40 more cakes!" "Is he the true Offender?" But somepony was missing... Suddenly you spot a hooded figure sprinting away from the destruction around you. "FLAG BURNER!!!" you roar. "GET BACK HERE SO I CAN JAM THAT CLOAK DOWN YOUR THROAT!!!!" With that, you chase after Flag, your four tails swinging around you wildly behind you. As you use parkour to maneuver around the obstacles Flag throws in your path as he weaves through ruined buildings and rioters you see out of the corner of your eye… Coco! It looks like her and some other ponies (who you assume to be either civilans and/or Horde members also leaving) are escaping the city though a smashed sewer pipe sticking out of the ground. She gives you one last look and mouths the words “Thank you” before she follows the ponies into the pipe. I hope she finds a good life after this, but for now there’s a flag that needs burning! With that, you continue chasing Flag until he runs up the side of and into an apartment building full of fighting Guards and Fanatics. Seeing how it’ll take too much time to chase him through that you roar, "FINE! IF I CAN'T CATCH YOU, THEN I'LL BUCKING SQUASH YOU!" With that you... End the Fillydelphia fighting once and for all with a Meteor Impact which levels several buildings (which were conveniently evacuated and already damaged by the riots) in the area you smash into and grab EVERYPONY'S attention and makes them stop fighting to pay attention to the destruction in your wake. Raise your nightmare tails in the air before smashing them to the ground with earth-shaking force, knocking down ponies still standing and launching yourself high into the air. As soon as you're at the height of your ascent you start to cast a midnight forcefield around yourself as all the ponies stop fighting (some in mid punch/bite/kick) to look up at you. Shining (recognizing this move from the Gala) quickly fires up a shield spell around his guards as he yells in a panic, "EVERYPONY HIT THE DECK!" You then descend at high speed to the streets and yell out, "METEOR IMPACT!!!" And slam into the streets in an explosive shock wave which knocks down nearby damaged buildings, throws ponies away from the blast site, and kicks up dust and debris. After the dust settles, all the conscious ponies (including Shining and Flash) reorient themselves look over to see your four tail form standing, while Flag is looking like he's seen better days. You glare at him in hatred, but soon he starts laughing like a maniac as he says... "It's happening... it's really happening!" One of your tails wraps around his throat. "Yes. This is happening. You're going to pay--dearly!" He laughs. "Do as you will. It doesn't matter. He told me this would happen." "Who?!" Flag Burner keeps laughing. "He came to me. He told me how I could help him. How I could help him help this world!" "HE?! WHO?!" "You know who he is." You see two tears slip down his cheeks. "He says he knows you. You've spoken with him. You rejected him, and so he came to me." You glare at him and tighten your grip. "You will tell me his name, or you will scream it. Your choice." "He gave me two names." Flag Burner sneers. "One was yours, Mr. Tennant. It didn't make sense until you showed up, but then I understood what he wanted." "Being cryptic won't save you." "He wants your power! And he made sure I could unleash it. Did you tell your daughter good-bye before you left her?" "What..." *snap* "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" He laughs uncontrollably. "The second name! Nightshade! My boys were on the last train to Ponyville before this storm hit!" Rip Flag Burner's coat off and expose him "It's happening... it's really happenin-urk!" One of your tails wraps around his throat and another one tears off his fake awesome coat, exposing him as an earth pony stallion with a grayish coat and black mane/tail whose body and limbs (but not his head) is covered in black armor. You growl, "Yes. This is happening. You've been exposed for the impostor you are, and now you're going to pay... DEARLY!" He laughs, "Do as you will. It doesn't matter. He told me this would happen." "WHO?!" Flag Burner just keeps laughing, "He came to me. He told me how I could help him. How I could help him help this world!" "HE, WHO?!" you roar. "You know who he is... He says he knows you. You've spoken with him. You rejected him, and so he came to me..." You glare at him and tighten your grip, "You will tell me his name, or you will scream it as I crush your skull. Your call." "He gave me two names." Flag Burner sneers. "One was yours, Mr. Tennant. It didn't make sense until you showed up, but then I understood what he wanted..." "Being cryptic won't save your life. Speak NOW!" "He wants your power! And he made sure I could unleash it. Did you tell your daughter good-bye before you left her?" In shock at this, you tighten your grip as you roar, "What... WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" He laughs uncontrollably, "The second name! Nightshade! My boys were on the last train to Ponyville before this storm hit!" Your roar in anger as a fifth tail explodes from your back as you throw Flag across the entire street as you roar, "YOU BUCKING PIECE OF S#%^! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY!!!" His flight stops when he slams into a discarded radio from the fighting, which causes it to start playing this, which causes you to laugh insanely as you... sing? "On the 12th day of Hearth's Warming Eve, my special somepony gave to me..." Sing/Use this somehow,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZLh4CaXwzM You leap at Flag Burner and his him with a flurry of kicks, "12 No Shadow Kicks" Some of Flag's Fanatics try to come to his aid, but they aren't much help... "11 Thugs a smacking." *smack* "10 Throats a chopping." *chop* "9 Knees a breaking." *crack* "8 Arms a snapping" *snap* "7 Carts a smashing" *smash* "6 Falcon Punches" *POW* "5 NIGHTMARE TAILS!!!" "4 Psycho Crushers" "3 Shoryukens" "2 Fus RO DAHS!" With the Horde fanatics now blasted away, you grab Flag Burner with your tail and finish singing, "And the Hooded Offender smashing your FACE!" And throw him into a statue of the mayor of Fillydelphia. After that you glare down at his fallen form as he slowly gets up and says, "I shouldn't have lost faith," Flag Burner said, gasping for air. "You're as strong as I first thought you were!" "What? I have Blue eyes and suddenly you take me for a chump?" you snarked. "AFTER plowing through a ton of guards, have everyling in the entire stadium go flying with my voice, fight my way through a flipping riot to get to you, you're telling me this NOW!?" You began to punch faster and wilder. "SOME BIG FAN YOU ARE!" you snarled. "I shouldn't have lost faith..." Flag Burner says, gasping for air, "You're even stronger than I first thought you were!" "What? I have Blue eyes and suddenly you take me for a chump?" you snark. "Even AFTER plowing through a ton of guards, having everyling in the entire stadium go flying with my voice, fighting my way through a flipping riot to get to you, you're telling me this NOW!?" Your right next to his kneeling form as you yell, "SOME BIG FAN YOU ARE!" As you kick him hard enough that his body goes flying a few feet. He weakly gets up as he says, "Even so," he began before forcing you back with a literal hoofful of pure energy. "Even so, that doesn't mean I can't beat you in combat," he finished. "I have orchestrated all THIS!" He gestured to all around you, the destruction, the mayhem. "No one would expect it all to be planned by ONE pony!" "Are you bucking telling me that you literally planned all this chaos? A riot? All these buildings to fall apart?" "That's besides my point." FB became composed. "If I can cause this much damage, than I can most certainly be able to beat you." "It's not like you did any of that damage." "You still don't understand." He shook his head in disappointment. "It takes more than raw fire to burn a flag. It'll take the Winds of Change to feed the flames so that it'll burn much more brightly." "Even so-" he begins to say as he slowly gets up, "That doesn't mean I can't beat you. I have orchestrated all THIS!" He gestured to all this destruction around you, "Nopony would expect it all to be planned by ONE pony!" "Are you bucking telling me that you literally planned all this chaos? A riot? All these buildings to fall apart?" On cue, another lamppost falls down. "That's besides my point." Flag Burner shrugs as he becomes more composed. "If I can cause this much damage, than I can most certainly be able to beat you..." "It's not like you personally did any of that damage." you point out. "You still don't understand." He shake his head in disappointment. "It takes more than raw fire to burn a flag. It'll take the Winds of Change to feed the flames so that it'll burn much more brightly." "What ever you say crazy-go-nuts." Flag just chuckles as he says... Grey Rebl comment "Don't you see?" he began. "A world without weakness! A world where the strong will prevail! If everypony was strong, then nopony has to struggle! Those who can do labor can progress with nothing holding them back. The useless would never freeload on what's theirs alone. The distinction between Noble and Peasant would be no more; Only the strong exists. Anypony will be free to be their own pony! The Horde Nation would make Someponies out of Noponies! None would be lesser than their peer. No monarchy to rule over them with tyranny, but the ponies will rule themselves. No weaknesses that'll keep you from protecting your family! No more ponies like Iron Shield!" He sputtered that name in disgust. "THIS is the world that it must be!" His ears and eyes twitched in madness as you say in a low voice, "I misjudged you. You're not crazy,.." At this, Flag Burner lit up in delight. "Have I finally gotten through to you my enlightened liege?!" He holds out his hoof for a shake which you hold out your hoof to oblige... by wrapping your nightmare tail around his limb and throwing him down the street. "You're just an idiotic, judgemental bully!" you screamed. He reared back, and felt over his face to see the damage. You interrupted his checking with a hoof to the face, your mind burning of the days after the wedding invasion, "You don't know what it means to be weak! You don't know what it feels to be alone, to cheat, steal, and lie just to survive, day and night!" Flashbacks of the Deadly 5, "To live in fear, helpless to what the future had in store for you!" Tears are forming on your raging eyes at this point. "You don't know what it feels to see hope, but for it to be taken away by misfortune when you thought you had reached it!" Memories of the Grandbuggy whom you loved and lost... RCV activated. "YOU DONT KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE HIT DOWN TO THE GROUND AND HOW MUCH IT HURTS TO LET GO OF THE PAST AND MOVE FORWARD! YOU WANT TO STOP WEAKNESS?! GUESS WHAT: IT'S REALITY! IT'S LIFE! DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SOME KIND OF BUCKING GOD TO CHANGE THAT?! BUCKING DEAL WITH IT!!!" Flag Burner stood up after that screamo-rant and muttered, "Everpony wants change, but nopony wants to change. History has proven that blood is the best lubricant for the wheels of change..." Suddenly all you see is red as you... “Flag!” you yell as you charge him. You see past his cloak and into his eyes, and finally, FINALLY, you see fear. You hold him up by his throat. "Say your Prayers..." you growl He blindly flails one of his hoofs and punches you in the nose...which briefly startles you because it actually hurts. It actually feels like your nose is sizzling. You drop him and rub your snout in discomfort. You look to Flag and see he is as surprised as you are. You see a charm bracelet around his ankle, it's a smiley face made of some sort of greenish metal, and it's sizzling. "You Shouldn't have done that..." you snarl as you break his hoof. You begin laughing crazily as you enter your final faze and begin to smash him pretty fiercely and your flurry of hits are too fast for him. You give one final “Falcon Kick!” and kick him right in the face and into a street lamp, bending it in the process. As he slumps over, bleeding, you start walking over to him and just keep chanting. "Blood...blood....blood...BLOOD!" "CEASE!" Selena shouts within your mind causing you to stop "The Battle is won, victory is yours my friend." You shake your head clear of your dark thoughts as you calm down, and the Nightmare Cloak disappears. "Thank you..." you whisper to her. "No Problem my friend, just honoring a promise." Charge him and grab him by the throat. You see past his leader facade and into his eyes, and finally, FINALLY, you see fear. "Say your prayers imposter..." you growl He blindly flails one of his hoofs and scratches you in the face, but you stumble back with a cry of pain as that actually hurt! As you put a hoof to your face and see blood, you look to Flag and see he is as surprised as you are. You see a charm bracelet around his front hoof, a smiley face made of some sort of greenish-gold metal, and it's sizzling. "You Shouldn't have done that..." you snarl as you grab him with a nightmare tail and just start laughing crazily as you commence smashing him pretty fiercely around the area, knocking away even the few Guards and Fanatics dumb enough to try to interfere. With a finally give one final “Falcon Kick!” and knock him right in the face and into a street lamp, bending it in the process. As he slumps over, bleeding, you start walking over to him and just keep chanting, "Blood... blood... blood... BLOOD! I WANT MORE BLOOD!" "CEASE!" Selena shouts within your mind causing you to stop, "The Battle is won, victory is ours." You shake your head clear of your dark thoughts as you calm down, and the Nightmare Cloak starts to disappear. "Thank you..." you whisper to her. "Just honoring a promise..." You stare Flag down before you begin to walk towards him in the ruins as you say... “I learned that kick from my daughter” you taunt him. He puts his head down and spits out blood, “My daughter taught me things as well…like how this world is broken…that it needs someone to fix it…we learn a lot from our children don’t we?” You put two and two together and finally realize who it is he lost. And now you feel sympathy for this monster, just a little bit. “I learned that kick from my daughter.” He puts his head down and spits out blood, “My daughter taught me things as well... like how this world is broken... that it needs someone to fix it... we learn a lot from our children don’t we?” You put two and two together and finally realize who it is he lost. And now you feel sympathy for this monster... just a little bit. Deciding to try and talk some sense into this mad pony, you try to talk some sense into him... your way at least... Grey Rebel's Comment You closed you eyes in thought as you say, " ...Ever since my faked death, I was ready to be another blurred face in history, a villain better off forgotten. But when the Horde appeared, I was so happy! Finally, I wasn't alone, there were people who understood me! You were right, the Hooded Offender does want to be a hero." You're eyes opened, glowing orange, "But if all this—" you gestured to all the destruction around you "—is what it takes, if this is what I have to sacrifice to be hero, if villainy and all these atrocities must exist for a hero to even be called, then I won't have any part of it." The revolutionary's eyes turned of that of rage, "Then you're weak either way! There has to be sacrifices for there to be change! If you are not willing, then NOTHING changes, and things'll one day go rotten!" "Then my fan club must've overstayed it's welcome. I guess that makes YOU the corruption," you said coolly, and that only fanned the flame within Flag Burner. "You fool-!" "There is, in fact, one sacrifice I'm willing to make..." That interruption made him stop. "Do you know what this hood is? What reference it originally was? This is the hood of a Nobody! By donning it, you were prepared to be nobody, along with many others. You don't know this and yet you call yourself one of my biggest fans?" "I don't understand!" he yells. "The Hooded Offender was never real. It's just a wishful dream. Who you thought the Hooded Offender was, what you thought the Horde was all about, is just a dream. Instead, it's your worst nightmare. I'm your worst nightmare." "N-no! That's a lie! You're a liar!" You shook your head and stepped forward. "Don't you see? I AM a lie, and you're just a fraud who wants to use that lie for his own ends! And that is the last truth you'll ever hear out of me." You grabbed him by the collar of his armor and shouted, "Now tell me: Who do the hay do you think I am NOW?!" Flag Burner, who was once full of conviction, was now nothing but a pathetic, sputtering mess, "N-no! No! The Nightmare has Come. The Nightmare has to Come! You can't kill me!" He pushes himself off you and starts yelling at the ponies that have gathered around you two (you didn't notice before because you were too preoccupied with beating some sense into Flag Burner), "To preserve the Horde's honor, to free Equestria from the alicorn tyrants, I must live! I HAVE to live! The true Hooded Offender will NOT die this way!" He then turns towards you and insanely yells, "I WILL NOT BE KILLED BY YOU!" The Nightmare Cloak begins to disappear even more as you chuckle and say, "Who said I was gonna kill you?" It is then that Flag Burner notices that he is surrounded by Royal Guard ponies. He sees his men being hoofcuffed (many of them surrendering after you've exposed Flag Burner) and led away. Shining is approaching with a pair of hoofcuffs and you chuckle again as you... but he smugly smiles and reveals his true plan... Brown Dog's Comment Begin to walk away as you say, “It’s over Flag, you've lost. The bomb in the stadium is gone and Armor here is still alive... bruised (and that's kinda my fault...), but alive." Flag then starts laughing at that, apparently gaining some of his strength (and insanity). You stop walking away, turn to him, and ask in confusion, “What?” “I’ve lost? Oh that’s rich... did you honestly think that I would put all my crates on one boat?” Flag taunts, “Wha...” “I wanted everypony’s focus there, that’s where my trap was and thanks to you, everypony’s focus was on this fight.” he smiles. “What are you saying?” Shining demands. “There were more evil places to clean, like a government building full of corrupt politicians, a mall built from racketeering funds, the penthouses and mansions of said racketeers, and let’s not forget the dirtiest place of all... the guard station.”\ All of a sudden, the ground shakes as you hear explosions going off all across the city. You hear screaming and glass breaking and debris falling. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!” you and Shining scream in anger. “I won...” he simply says with a smile. You rush at the terrorist and start throttling him, "WHY?! Why you Bucking Psychopath, Why?!" "Because they let my daughter die... and all they said Sorry!" he then coughs up some blood and looks at you in anger, "And sorry doesn't cut it!" "How many others have to die?! Huh?! HOW MANY?!" you scream in his face. "As many as it takes to fix this country... THE NIGHTMARE COMES!" You choke him harder, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!" "We'll... find out... soon enough," he struggles to say. "aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" With your rage at it's peak, the Nightmare Cloak explodes back with five tails as you... And with that you start to beat his face in, breaking a few of his teeth, before kicking him across the street and into a fire hydrant, breaking it. Shining tries to hold you back. “Wait! He’s beaten Stand Down!” he implores. “Not enough he’s not!” you scream as you point the power glove at him and give him a shock. You then point your glove at Flag who is grogilly getting back to his hooves. "For...The...HORDE..." he calls out with fading strength. In a rage, you beat down Flag Burner (even viciously knocking away Flash/Shining when they try to intervene) before smash two of your tails into the ground in front of you to your left and to your right before third tail to smash Flag Burner into the wall i front of you with enough force to launch yourself backwards. When your tails reach their maximum stretch, you slingshot yourself towards Flag Burner and charge up a Falcon Punch (which is now midnight-colored instead of fiery color) with a scream of, "YIPPIE-KI-YAY MOTHERBUCKER!!!" Time seems to slow down as your midnight-flame covered hoof slams into the side of Flag Burner's face, seemingly imploding it before the pure force violently smashes him through the wall and another building before he smashes into a building which collapses on him. And with that you smash him in the face with a "Falcon Punch" which breaks a few of his teeth as it sends him flying far across the street, smashing through the assembled remaining guards like a bowling ball, before finally stopping by slamming into a steel wall. You launch yourself with your nightmare tails and hit him with a "No Shadow Barrage", each hit made even more damaging in spite of Flag's armor with the fact he's against the steel wall. As he coughs up blood, you reel your hoof back for another strike when you feel it being restrained. You look to see Shining's magic on your hoof as Flash Sentry is grabbing it, “Wait! He’s beaten!" "Stand Down!” Flash and Shining implores/orders. “GET THE BUCK OFF ME!!!” you roar as you powerfully sweep your nightmare tails which violently knocks back everypony around you (including sending Flash slamming into Shining and causing them both to smash through a taxi carriage. Flag Burner wobbles as he struggles to stay standing up as he weakly says, "For...The... True Horde..." With another yell of rage, smash two of your tails into the ground just behind you to your left and to your right before your remaining three tails smash into Flag Burner against the steel wall to his back with enough force to launch yourself backwards. When your tails reach their maximum stretch, you slingshot yourself towards Flag Burner, wrapping your limb in a nightmare tail and charging up a midnight-colored "Falcon Punch", but as you fly at Flag, you hear several ponies shouting, "OFFENDER STOP! HE'S ALREADY DOWN!" "YOU’RE GOING TOO FAR, STOP IT YOU FOOL!" “SLAY THAT FALSE MESSEIAH!” "BUGZE, DON'T DO THIS!" You ignore them as just before impact you give a rage-filled cry of, "YIPPIE-KI-YAY MOTHERBUCKER!!!" Time seems to slow down as your midnight flame-covered hoof slams into the side of Flag Burner's face, seemingly imploding it before the pure force violently sends him smashing through the steel wall and several carriages before he smashes into a riot-damaged skyscraper which then collapses on top of the terrorist with a series of explosions, setting the rubble on fire. Seeing this, you let out a final roar of rage that echoes throughout Fillydelphia. As you breath heavily and the rage dies down, you're struck with the full realization what you just did. You look at your hooves as they shake in horror as you say, "I... I just... oh dear Luna I just..." The Nightmare Cloak dissolves as you stand there shaking in horror, not noticing that the guards are cautiously approaching and they look both angry and terrified. "FLEE YOU FOOL!!!" Selena roars in your head causing you to quickly, but shakily, pull out the... Drink the "Murder of Crows" vigor and use it to escape. "Murder of Crows" vigor bottle. Your shaking hooves fumble to get it open and you hastily down it, quite a bit spilling all over your face and coat. A few moments after emptying the bottle, you feel pulsing pecking pain shooting through your Power Glove arm. You hastily pull back the sleeve to see crow feathers growing out of your arm and crow heads peeking out and cawing from inside the changeling holes in your limb. Suddenly, a huge murder of crows shoot out of your changeling arm holes and start to swarm around you in a storm of feathers, driving back everypony around you as they try to deal with dozens of pecking beaks. In the confusion, you charge up a telport and quickly teleport outta there, and then the crows vanish in a tornado-like fashion. Eyewitnesses would later say that the Offender vanished in a whirlwind of crows... A FIELD IN THE EVERFREE FOREST You pant slightly as you look around in fear, as if the shadows themselves were going to jump out and attack you. After making sure noling was here in this field (which is curiously clear while there's snow around it) you- *Blurg* Throw up into a nearby bush. After you continue to throw up for a good couple minutes you slowly back away and fall to the ground as you shake and cry, "Dear Luna... I just killed someling! I just bucking killed someling with my bare hooves! And all those ponies are dead because of me! What is Nightshade going to think of me? What about the original Horde? Oh Luna, when Cadence finds out, and Fluttershy... Oh Luna WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!" During your lamenting, you don't notice this sound behind you... What do you do?