//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: A Different Kind of Monster // by AzelTheMantis //------------------------------// "..and then she made Trixie do all those humiliating but necessary chores in front of everypony. Can you believe that? Humiliating me in front of the townsfolk" Trixie ended her "sad" story on a disgusted note. Fortunately, the tracking spell she casted wasn't dispelled by her rant and we continued on our journey. "Huh...what? You were saying?" I asked in a rather impolite manner. "Were you even listening to what Trixie just said?" Trixie steamed, apparently ticked off because she thought I had ignored her ten minute monologue. "You hate Twilight and her friends for some bloody reason. End of story" I shrugged as we passed another clearing. It was really disturbing to know that she was getting bolder around me, even to the point of having the audacity to yell at me. And to think this was the same mare who was begging before me just a few hours before. "What about you, Bālor?" Trixie inquired, "Why do you want Princess Celestia and her family dead?" That question brought back the disturbing memories again. The trio of Celestia, Luna and Chris teleporting away from The Hive, leaving a gruesome scene in their wake and my mother for dead. If it wasn't for their blasted interference, I would've still been with mother and my friends back in my home. "I lost my mother because of them" I simply replied. I hated talking about the subject especially since I needed to sever all ties with The Hive. "How?" Trixie asked, surprised by my answer. "Be careful" I warned her. "Why? I want to know" she insisted. "Be careful. You're gonna step on a manticore's stinger" I finished the sentence, pointing at a protruding stinger coming out of a thick bush. "Whoo! That was a close one" Trixie chuckled nervously, "If Trixie had stepped on that, the manticore would have defin.." she said before she was interrupted by a roar. An unmistakable roar from a manticore, that is. In one move of what I can only describe as lightning fast swiftness, my companion dashed right behind me as soon as she saw the red mane of the manticore. Her story about having problems with creatures in the wild may have been true after all. She trembled as she hid behind a tree, not even daring to sneak a peek. As anticipated, the manticore did jump out of the bush and in front of this unicorn who was quite freaked out to be honest, mainly because of two disturbing things. One, the manticore was a big one, at least two feet taller than your average manticore, a fact which made it seem arguably more fearsome. And two, it had this..."rabidity" disease judging from its partially foaming mouth lined with sharp teeth built to rip and shred tender pieces of meat like me and Trixie which was a deadly combination you definitely would want to watch out for. "What the hay is wrong with you? Get away!" Trixie whispered loudly after noticing that I hadn't moved an inch. "I think that's not an option, mare" I replied with my sight still fixed on the huge beast. It appeared to be in perfect health and aside from the crazed look on its face, the manticore definitely looked normally fit enough to out run us or out fly us. "Can't you teleport us out of here?" Trixie asked again out of desperation as the growls coming from the manticore became louder and more menacing by every passing second. "Don't talk to me about pony spells, mare!" I shot back. I've never been one to enjoy being asked to cast non-changeling spells, "Can't get us out of this mess? You're a unicorn for darn's sake!!" "I can't!" Trixie retorted, "And you destroyed all my smoke ball recipes!!" she raised her voice. "Smoke balls? Why the hell would a bloody "powerful" unicorn need smoke balls to escape?" I countered. "Oh, excuse Trixie if she never went to fancy schools like you probably did. Now that Trixie thinks about it, you probably can't even levitate a small rock" "I lived the life of a freaking changeling!! And if we're gonna talk about skills then can your "Great and Powerful" magic do this?" I asked, transforming into a changeling. "Rrragghhh!!!" the manticore roared, annoyed by the lack of attention we gave it. "Shut up!!" we yelled at it. "Show off" Trixie scowled as she came out of her hiding. "Says the mare who spent her entire life showing off pathetic tricks to pathetic ponies" I smirked as I turned to her. "Pathetic?" she gasped before a look of pure rage took its place, "Trixie will show you pathetic!" she growled, charging magic on her horn. In a split second, a glimmering blue beam of magic exploded from the horn, its power almost surpassing that of a typical alicorn blast. A good fifteen centimeter radius around the beam was charred in an instant and I could smell the burning grass almost immediately. Fortunately, I managed to dive to the side before the beam, which was directed at me, could make contact with me. If that blast had made contact with me, there was gonna be one badly burnt pile of chitin on the ground and I definitely didn't want that. Unfortunately for our big friend, he noticed the beam a little too late and wasn't able to jump out of the way. A roar of agony filled the silent woods as the manticore staggered back from the impact, leaning on a conveniently placed tree for support. A large, smoking red circular burn mark was imprinted on its chest, a reminder of Trixie's potential. What followed the look of pain on the manticore's face was that of anger and rage as well as a desire to rip us limb from limb. It really came as a surprise to us seeing the beast still upright after that powerful blast. "What!?....im...impossible..." Trixie panted from the exhausting effort, trying her best not to faint. "No, it isn't" I replied grinning, showing off a row of teeth which had left many a victims dead. Before the manticore could react, I lunged forward with new confidence after seeing the vulnerable state of the creature. Its eyes widened in shock as my fangs neared its throat with every intention to gnaw through the orange flesh. And they did. In one swift movement, a dozen sharp teeth found themselves buried deep inside the beast's neck, one large fang managing to rip the manticore's vocal chord, causing it to only manage a low squeak of terror. Blood squirted from the multiple gashes, some hitting me on my face. Ignoring the shocked expressions and gasps coming from Trixie, I dug deeper, tightening the hold I had with my teeth until its breath stopped and it fell to the ground, dead and in a bloody mess. Slowly, I pulled my fangs out of the carcass, careful so as to prevent any teeth for breaking loose. Trust me, you do not want your tooth broken and lodged in someone else's body, dead or alive. It hurts like hell...for the biter, not the bittee. I licked my fangs clean of any residual blood, savoring the taste. As much as I hated to admit it, I still had my old changeling predatory instincts but thankfully, ponies were optional omnivores so it didn't bother much....but it definitely took Trixie by surprise. I turned to the mare and found her staring at me with her mouth hung open, almost like she had seen a ghost. "What's wrong, mare? Never seen a damn animal being put out of it's misery before?" I asked indifferently as we trotted past the body of the manticore. Deep inside, I was smiling like a mad pony for breaking the unicorn's mind. Poor thing just had to witness that. "W-Wha..but you're a pony...that was so...so..." she stammered, trying to process what had just transpired. "Vicious? Brutal? Heh! Wait till you see what I'm gonna do to Celestia and Chris" I chuckled. To be honest, it came as a relief to me knowing that she was back to her scared state again. "W-We should head North. We'll find him quicker, if that is okay with you?" Trixie asked, reactivating the tracking spell from before. "Whatever" I shrugged. We reached the North Everfree in twenty minutes and surprisingly, a conversation hadn't sparked up between me and the magician. She had kept quiet for most of the time, occasionally muttering words like "killing", "teeth" and "blood" but it didn't bother me. Scared Trixie was most tolerable Trixie. Though I really found the silence quite enjoyable, her presence felt like it was going to be a nagging pothole in what could've been an unblemished road. I contemplated disposing of her but then again, I couldn't go against my promises. Changeling's Honor!! Finally, I decided to talk to her. "Are you feeling alright, mare?" I asked her "Err...Trixie's okay heheh" she smiled nervously. "I rather not attempt to raise my voice in front of a prince again if I were you" I told her sternly. "Sorry for that..." she mumbled. "And I'd know better than to piss you off" I said under my breath as the brilliant blue light Trixie casted still flashed in my mind. "Huh?" she asked quickly, catching what I said. "Where Tirek? Can't you find him?" I said aloud, a bit too louder than I expected. "That's just it" Trixie replied as we stopped, "He should be..." "Around here?" a sinister chuckle completed the sentence. Both of us turned around slowly before we came face to face with the great, the powerful, one of the most evil minds in this realm and the former adversary of all ponies : Lord Tirek. "He's...he's.." Trixie gasped, "So small!" her lips curled into an expression of mirth. "Thought he'd be bigger" I scratched my head, "...and younger", I added. The Bad Lord was a little, old hobbling centaur who wore a tattered cloak to conceal his wrinkled and frail physique. He had a nose ring and some broken shackles around his hooves and hands, probably a reminder of his time in Tartarus. "Ah! The Changeling Prince and the Magician" he coughed while managing to grin a little, "I've been waiting for you". "Say what? How the hell did you know who I am, centaur?" I demanded. "I've been watching you, Bālor. You think that manticore was just at the wrong place in the wrong time?" he asked. "You put a beast in our way?! How despicable! Trixie almost got killed!" Trixie yelled, enraged to know that the manticore was an intentional obstacle. "You passed the test, you two" Tirek offered his hand calmly. "Are you really powerful as they claim you are, centaur? How do you know you're even Tirek?" I asked back. I still had my skepticism about this shady character. "You'll know soon enough" he chuckled before I accepted the hand-hoofshake. "I feel I'm goona break his damn hand" I whispered to Trixie who responded with a giggle. I felt no muscles or grip on the slightly shaking hand of Tirek which only increased my suspicions. "Where to now?" Trixie asked. "Manehattan" Tirek replied. And then, the new stable of evil....or anything that isn't necessarily good was formed.