//------------------------------// // Chapter 19. Return Of The Crimson Terror Part 1 // Story: Tales Of An Outcast // by PrismStrike //------------------------------// The next week just seems to fly by. After my return to Ponyville the residents there actually started to warm up to me. I guess once you have been given an award for service by the Princess herself ponies look at you differently. Mostly the change was in how they saw me. No longer would I get looks of fear from them as I walked down the streets, some of them would even stop to say hello or to simply say thanks for helping to free their town. The biggest thing though has been getting used to not having my wings although Dash bless her heart came up with a way for me to still get some feeling of being off the ground. See even without my wings I am still able to walk on clouds so Dash whenever she has the chance gathers up a cloud big enough to hold me, she brings it down letting me climb on before taking it up into the sky. Today though is different even though it starts off so innocently. "Your on all the way right" Comes dash voice from just off to my side. "Yeah Dash I'm on" is my reply before the cloud she has brought down is lifted up towards the sky high above ponyville giving me the pegasi eye view of the town. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for doing this for me Dash" "Oh please. Were friends Prism and I never leave my friends hanging" Dash says as she flies up into my field of vision striking a pose mid air. I clap when she poses then scoop her out of the air pulling her in close against me. "It really does mean a lot to me Dash. You going out of your way like this to make me still feel pony" The flush of red that brightens her face as she blushes makes me smile, with a giggle I give her nose a boop at which point she threatens to throw me from the cloud. "Do that again Prism and your going to take the express route back to the ground" is her threat although the way she says it makes her just so cute. Sadly our moment is ended when whipped cream begins floating up from our shared cloud. "Ok this is different" comes my shocked response as I grab a dollop of the rather sweet stuff floating up towards the sky. "Only one pony I know would do this. Discord come on out" is Dash's rather irate response to the same thing. "Oh hehehe you know me all to well Dash" says a voice from thin air before a pair of teeth materialize before us. "Just thought id have a bit of fun with the new hero of the hour" The creature known as Discord laughs out merrily as the rest of his twisted and mismatched form arrives within the bonds of reality. "What do you want Discord?" Dash asks the nearly all powerful god of chaos in a tone i would have personally reserved for a much less powerful being yet to my surprise Discord simply does several flips in the air before pulling out a scroll. "Well Princess twilight wants to see our scaled friend here and asked if I could come and get him since I just so happened to be around the castle today" Comes Discord's quick reply as he himself scoops up a handful of the whipped cream floating from our cloud stuffing it in his mouth. "Soooo uhhh whats with the whipped cream then?" Dash asks him confused as I sit there just staring at this creature that simply exudes power almost every cell in my body yelling at me to run from it. "What pony doesn't like whipped cream" Discord says with a grin and a laugh that sends chills up my spine. "Now then come come Princess twilight is waiting" with that he simply grabs my wrist teleporting away with me leaving Dash alone on the cloud. Both me and Discord pop into existence through a cloud of confetti that bursts from the air as The chaos lords teleport finishes. Not in the least being used to this and probably because of the chaos master himself I quickly double over throwing up what amounts to a liquid stream of glitter right into the face and mane of the Princess of Friendship. "Oh what perfect timing" Discord laughs hovering up just out of my reach. MEANWHILE ON EQUESTRIA'S SOUTHERNMOST TIP Life in the small town of Trotz was simple, nothing ever happened. Everypony knew everypony, no monsters ever attacked life was boring an uneventful. That is until it appeared shattering the calm of their peaceful lives with the crack of a powerful teleportation spell. "Hah finally I am free. Free once more to grind these ponies to nothing." The creature laughs after the flash from the teleportation ends, several ponies within the small marketplace at the center of town watching frozen in fear. The creature a nearly 8 foot tall biped covered in red scales from head to toe begins to scan its surrounding, thick cords of muscle twitching underneath its layer of thick armour like scales. The first pony to enter its view as it pans its pony like head is rushed then grabbed in the creatures powerful arms and torn in two before its pieces are tossed aside like garbage. This sends the rest of the citizens nearby into full on panic mode each of them screaming and running around haphazardly. "I see the ponies are just as weak as they once were." The creature looks up to the sun as it says this "It would seem you have not yet learned dear sister. It appears you need another lesson in the laws of nature" With that the creature goes about laying waste to the town leaving not a single soul foal, mare or stallion alive.