The Ranger's Journey

by Silentpegasus

Chapter XXIII: So Many Books

Chapter XXIII

So Many Books

The last few students completed their fights. Ivory managed to easily dispatch her opponent. The spectators started to funnel out of the stands and find a place to eat. The three Princesses were walking with Twilight and the other five girls when they were approached by the red mage. Twilight felt her face flare up. Crimson approached the pink winged Princess and gave her a nod.

“Nice to see you again Cadence.”

“You as well.” Cadence smiled.

“Mind if I talk to you in private?” Cadence looked at him in surprise. She saw the seriousness in his eyes and smiled.

“Of course.” She said as she followed the red haired mage. The group of girls looked at Twilight who’s face had returned to its normal color.

“Sorry everyone,” Celestia said. “but Luna and I have some important duties to fulfill. We shall see you all tomorrow.” She said before the two Princesses vanished. The six girls made their way out of the stadium and saw a kiosk set up.

“Step right up folks and get your one of a kind collectables.” The man had dark brown hair and was wearing an apron that was splattered with dried clay. The group saw several figurines on the racks. The group looked in surprise as they saw the four warriors they knew. Ivory even had one along with the cane wielding mage with a crow perched on his shoulder.

The man saw the six and felt his face flare up. They were the six prettiest girls he’d ever seen. “H-hey there. How can I help you girls?”

“Whatcha ya selling here partner?” Applejack asked.

“These are 100% original crafted sculptures of Academy students.” He said with a smile.

“You make them?” The man nodded at the pink haired girl “Cool!” Pinkie said with a smile. Twilight spied one Ivory and the other mages she’s met.

“The ones of the Horsemen have been selling out like crazy along with Team Saint.” He said as he pointed to the team leaded by the white haired mage.

“Think you can do one of me?” Dash asked.

“Honestly darling why would you want a statue of yourself?” Rarity said in surprise.

“These are special.” He said as he picked up one of the green flyer. He set it on the table and shot a small bolt of magic into it. The statue hopped off its stand and took flight. The six girls were awestruck as they looked at the small figurine get back on the pedestal and return to its frozen state.

“That is so awesome!” Dash yelled as she reached into her pocket and puled out the money.

“Excellent.” He said as he pulled out a handful of clay. “How big do you want it?”

“I guess the size the others are.” Dash said with a shrug. The man nodded and placed both his hands over the slab of clay in an ‘X’ formation. A brown burst of magic shot down and the block of clay took the form of a person.

“Good, now I need one other thing from you Ms. Dash.”

“How did you know my name?” She asked.

“Oh everyone here knows who the elements of harmony are.” He said with a smile.

“So what do you need?”

“Either a strand of your hair or one of your feathers.”

“Why?”

“You see, in order to move them it has to feed off of your own aura.” He said as he looked at the figurine. “It will also take on the rest of your physical characteristics. Like eye and hair color.” Dash shrugged and plucked one of her feathers from her wing. “Thank you.” He said as he took the feather in his hands.

The man put his hands together with the feather in between his palms and made another bolt of magic strike the clay doll. The small figurine then grew a rainbow mane and cyan wings sprouted from its back. The dark brown dirt then shifted to the flyer’s tan skin. “There we go.” He said as he picked up the figurine.

“So awesome!” Dash said in a fan girl voice.

“So awesome!” The figurine said in the same voice. The girls looked at it in amazement. The clay figure then stopped moving and reverted to its motionless state.

“How much?” Dash asked as she pulled out her bit bag. The man held up his hand.

“My policy is that the first one is free.” He said with a smile. He put the clay figure in a bag and handed it to the flyer. “What about the rest of you?” He asked as he looked at the girls.

“Maybe later.” Twilight said with a chuckle.

“Sure you don’t want one of Crimson?” Dash said as she nudged the purple mage who blushed bright red.

“Not surprising.” He said as he pulled out two that were covered by a cloth. “Crimson’s is pretty popular.” He said with a smile. “In fact I have two new ones of him.” He said as he removed the cover. The girls gasped as they saw the man with the hand like wings and horns sprouting from his head. The other showed the mage holding his scythe over his head and what was supposed to be streams of blood swirling around him.

Twilight made a fist and bit her lip. A small bit of rage then made the scholar glare at the man with daggers in her eyes. She reached forwards and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

“How dare you!” She yelled. The man gulped and looked into the burning eyes of the scholar. “Do you have any idea how Crimson feels before you make those things?”

“Well, I-”

“Exactly! You don’t think!” The orange farmer put a hand on her arm.

“Easy there Twi.” She said in a calm tone. “Ah’m sure he didn’t mean any harm.” Twilight looked at her friend and sighed before releasing the man. The crafts man sighed and looked at the girls.

“Look, I sell these things to help raise money like everyone else.” He said as he put the cover back over the figurines. “Besides, these two are only the prototypes and they need to be approved before I can sell them.”

“Approved?” Dash said.

“Yeah, the deal is that I’m allowed to make these figures of the students, but I need to get their and the Headmaster’s permission on which ones I can sell.” He said as he crossed his arms. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I take it you’re a close friend of his?” Twilight blushed.

“Um, something like that.” Twilight said as she scratched her head. “Sorry about the freak out.”

“Its fine. Besides I don’t want to get on Crimson’s bad side.” He said with a shiver.

“Yeah he is pretty strong.” Pinkie said.

“No, Crimson really doesn’t care if someone messes with him.” He said with a gulp. “Ivory, Angel and Ivy on the other hand will beat you to a bloody pulp.” The three looked at him in surprise.

“Why Ivory and Angel?” Twilight asked. The man checked his corners and motioned for the group to come closer.

“You didn’t here this from me okay?” The six nodded. “I’m fairly certain that Angel has a crush on Crimson.” Twilight gulped. “As for Ivory, those two may be rivals, but they look out for each other.”

“So does Crimson like Angel back?” Rarity asked as she put a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“Nah, its completely one sided.” He said as he waved his hand. Twilight felt a small wave of relief wash over her. “Besides Crimson is Angel’s mentor. It would be extremely inappropriate for him.” He said with a sigh. “Not to mention that Crimson is too shy to actually ask anyone out.”

“Really?” Rarity said in shock. “The man has beaten an Ursa Minor without breaking a sweat.”

“He’d rather face twelve at once then do something social like that.” He chuckled. “Kinda sad really, especially when there are quite a few girls that have their eye on him.” Twilight gulped.

“Wait, Ivy told us that most of the girls here hate em cause he’s a conduit.” AJ said.

“Yeah most of them do.” He said as he rested his head on his left palm. “Doesn’t mean everyone here hates him.” He said with a sigh. “In fact he’s saved a lot of the members here on multiple occasions. Including myself.” The man then noticed three familiar mages approaching. “Hey guys whats up?”

“Not much G.” Ivy said with a smile. The group saw that she had bandages around her legs, arm and a wrap around her head. The group looked at her in surprise.”Relax it looks worse than it is.” She said with a nod.

“Seriously Ivy,” Rouge said. “you should be back inside your pod. You just woke up from a coma and you need your rest.” The girls looked at the flyer in shock.

“Pfft, I’m fine.”

“How can you call a coma a big deal?” Fluttershy asked in a worried tone.

“Yeah, why were you in one anyway?” Dash asked.

“I take it you guys saw my little transformation?” The green flyer said as she crossed her arms under her breasts. The girls nodded. “Well, it works like this, dragon slayers such as myself are able to use Dragon Force. Its considered the ultimate spell a dragon slayer can use. It literally gives you the strength and power of a dragon.”

“Cool.” Pinkie said.

“Yeah, but there’s a catch. It uses up a massive amount of magical energy and I can’t maintain it for very long. Even if I activated it at my full power I still would be in the same condition I’m in now.” She said as she looked at the bandages. “So that’s why I was in a coma my body needed to recuperate and I can’t shift into that for more than once a day.”

“If its so dangerous then why use it at all?” Rarity said.

“It was either that or become one of Angel’s ice sculptures.” Ivy deadpanned. The group remembered how Ivy was nearly beaten by the conduit. The green flyer noticed the statues of Crimson and the scholars blushing face. “Ah getting a Crimson figure eh?” Ivy said with a smug grin. Twilight’s face went red even more.

“N-no, I was just browsing.” She said as she avoided eye contact. The mages all chuckled.

“Whatever.” Cobalt said as he put his arms over his head. “We’re headed to the lounge for some grub.”

“Right behind ya.” Pinkie said.

“I could go for a bite.” Dash agreed.

“I am also quite famished.” Rarity nodded.

“Ah could go for something to eat.” AJ said. The group shrugged and made their way towards the Ranger’s lounge. When the arrived at the door the three mages stopped and looked at the farmer and cyan flyer. “What’s up?”

“Need I remind you of what went down last night?” Rouge spat out. The farmer sighed and looked at the Changeling.

“Yeah, ah know what ah gotta do.” She said with a sigh. “Dash?” The cyan flyer shifted uncomfortably.

“Fine.” The farmer then slammed her foot into the flyer’s shin. Dash yelled in pain as she hopped on her good foot. “Okay, okay. I know.” She said as she rubbed her foot. “Jeez how are you able to kick so hard?”

“Years of apple bucking, good food and steel toed boots.” She said as they went inside. When the rowdy group of warriors saw the farmer and flyer they all fell silent. Most were giving them dirty looks. A few were even reaching for their weapons.

Applejack led the way up to the bar where the golden haired Changeling was cleaning some glasses. The woman gulped and was visibly shaking as she saw the two. The farmer sighed and took her hat off.

“Look Sunny, ah want to apologize for the way ah acted yesterday.” The crowd all raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t right of me to pass judgement on ya just cause yer different.” The Changeling felt a small smile creep across her face. “Ah ain’t too comfortable around Changelings yet, but Crimson and his friends seem to trust ya so that’s good enough for me.” The orange farmer extended her hand. “Think we could start over?”

The Changeling smiled and gladly gave it a hard shake. The farmer was taken by surprise at the frail looking woman’s strength. Applejack tipped her hat and coughed as she made room for Rainbow. The cyan flyer rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Yeah what AJ-” The farmer then slugged her in the arm. “Ow! Okay, okay.” She said as she rubbed the sore spot. “I’m sorry I said those things to you. It was far from cool and you didn’t deserve it.” She said with a sigh. AJ coughed again and Dash extended her hand. Sunny smiled and gladly shook it.

“Peace at last.” Crimson said as he sighed.

“I’ll forgive you both on one condition.” Sunny chimed. The two looked at her in surprise as she pulled out a black bottle of liquor and three shot glasses. Crimson and the rest of the bar were biting their lips trying to stifle their laughter. The barmaid poured a small amount of the liquid into the glasses. The three took up the glasses and clinked the glasses together before slamming them back.

The farmer and flyer were taken off guard by the strength on the alcohol. The two of them looked towards the ceiling and flames shot out of their mouths. The bar erupted in laughter as Sunny chuckled and gave them each a glass of water. The two hastily drank the liquid in an effort to cool their burning throats.

“What was that?” Twilight asked.

“Pure, uncut dragon liquor.” Cobalt said. “That stuff is potent enough to wake the dead.” He chuckled. “Everyone goes through that and-” He was cut off as Pinkie grabbed the bottle and chugged it.” The entire bar fell silent and looked at the pastry chef in shock. Pinkie’s whole body started to shake and a massive pink flame shot out of her mouth.

A belch heralded the flame’s end. Followed by a hiccup.

“Spicy!” She said as she licked her lips. The lounge then shifted back to its rowdy state as everyone raised a class to the crazy pink haired girl. Crimson rubbed his chin and started to walk away.

“Hey where are you going?” Ivy asked.

“I gotta look up something in the library.” Twilight’s ears perked up. “See ya later.” The young scholar immediately bolted up.

“Wait up.” She said as she caught up to the man. “I want to see this library you told me about.” She chimed.

“Very well.” He said as he led the way out of the lounge. The red mage walked ahead as Twilight followed close behind.

“So what did you and Cadence talk about?”

“She says that she’s been having difficulty dealing with Angel as of late.” Twilight nodded as she remembered how the ice mage almost stabbed the flyer in the back. “I’ve been trying to help her, but she can’t seem to let go.” He sighed. Twilight put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

“I’m sure she’ll come around.”

“The fact that makes this whole ordeal harder is that she’s infatuated with me.” He said as he rolled his eyes. “I’ve explained it to her at least a dozen times that I don’t look at her like that.” Twilight smiled at the words. The two stopped as they came to a large door. Crimson pulled out a badge and put it in the door slot. The scholar heard the large doors clink and the doors swung open.

Twilight’s jaw dropped when she saw the seemingly endless rows of books. As she walked inside she saw that the library extended at least four stories up and five stories down. A large hole was in the center of the room that went all the way down to the bottom. “Um Twilight, you’re drooling.” The scholar felt light headed and propped herself on the counter. “You okay?”

“Yeah its just,” The scholar looked around with a massive grin on her face. “there are so many books.”

“Can I help you two?” The two looked over to see an elderly man with long teal robes on his frail form and a pair of silver glasses matched his short hair. He looked at the red haired mage and smirked. “Well, looks like the king of Castle Knowledge has returned.” The red mage’s face turned bright scarlet.

“Quill! Not that! We’re just here to look up some info.” The man said as he tried to hide his blush.

“Okay okay.” He said with a chuckle. He then noticed Twilight. “Who’s this then?”

“Twilight Sparkle, this is Quill Vellum. He’s the librarian here.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but are you not Celestia’s pupil?” He said as he looked at the woman.

“Yes I am.” She then looked towards the ceiling and saw that there were several railings like the ones you see on suspended roller coasters going up in a circular formation. Crimson walked over to a rack that had some odd glove like device. “What are these?”

“I call them hooks.” He said as he handed her one. “These are what we use to get around the library.”

“How do I use it?”

“Just jump and stick your arm out.” He said in a flat tone. Twilight looked at him in confusion. Crimson rolled his eyes and jumped up. A red aura then seemed to attach his arm to the railing and the man rocketed up the rail system and landed on one of the upper floors. “Just like that.” Twilight gulped.

“Um...okay.” She said as she copied the man. She then felt a force grab her arms and ripped her off the ground and up towards the ceiling. “Help me!” She yelled as the man took a couple steps back. Crimson got a running start and jumped off the railing just as Twilight zoomed by.

The scholar felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and rip her from the magical grasp. She felt herself flying through the air before hitting the hard marble floor. She opened her eyes to see that she was laying on top of the man. Their faces were only inches apart. Crimson’s face turned bright red when he realized his hand was on the scholar’s right breast.

The two quickly got off one another and gulped. Twilight’s face was bright red and couldn’t help but feel a little aroused by the contact with the man.

“Sorry, should have known you wouldn’t have known how to do that.” He said trying to calm himself down.

“I-its alright. I kinda liked it.” The scholars face grew redder. “The hook thing.”

“Yeah, its a lot of fun.” He said with a gulp. He looked at the directory that had the list of floors. “Okay we’re on floor three in the alchemy section.”

“But we’re only one floor up from the main lobby.” She said as she looked over the edge.

“There’s nine floors in total. Four that are on the bottom and five on top.” He said as he pointed down. “The place I’m trying to get to is on the bottom and in order to get there I need to get to the top.”

“Why?”

“Follow me and you’ll find out.” He said as he stepped near the edge.

“No way am I going back on that thing again. Are there stairs?”

“Nope.” He said as he cracked his shoulders. “If you’re not coming then I could drop you off on the ground floor.” He grinned. “Quite a few students have gotten lost for days in here.” He teased.

“That would be awesome.” Twilight said.

“Oh yeah for starters. Until the guards come alive.” He said in a nonchalant tone.

“Guards?” The scholar said with a gulp.

“C’mon Twilight. We have some of the most dangerous and powerful spell books known to mankind and you think that we don’t have a security force?” The scholar gulped. “Oh and the guards don’t play nice.”

“What will they do?”

“If they find you...then they’ll crush you. If they find you with me then....your rate of survival goes from none to slim.” He said as he offered his hand. “Still wanna go it alone?” Twilight sighed and took hold of his arm. “Hang on!” He said as he jumped off the edge with the scholar clinging on to him for dear life. The two soon reached the top and Twilight was feeling dizzy.

“I think I’m gonna hurl.”

“Trash can’s over there.” He said as he pointed to the waste pail. Twilight groaned and levitated it over to her side. The two looked to see a swirling vortex of pages appear in front of them. When the small twister subsided they saw the librarian standing before them.

“Ah yes, I never forgot my first time on the hook line.” He said as he looked at the sickly scholar.

“What’s up Quill?”

“Oh just came to let you know that the your reserved copy of the Red Jewel of-” Crimson quickly coughed and made a slicing motion across his neck. His red eyes were wide with fear as he motioned towards the scholar. Quill grinned as he saw the man’s blushing cheeks. “Anyway, I have it downstairs. So pick it up whenever.” He said with a chuckled. “Stay safe your majesty.” Crimson face palmed as the man turned back into paper and flew away.

“What was he talking about?” Twilight asked as she got to her feet.

“Nothing. You okay?”

“Yeah, so long as I don’t do anything like that for a while.” Crimson bit his lip. “So what exactly are you looking for?”

“A book on demonology. Problem is, its at the bottom.” He said as he pointed down.

“So how are we going to get down there?” The scholar looked down and saw that they were directly above the hole in the floor. The scholar was filled with fear as a thought came to her. “W-we’re not gonna jump are we?”

“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.” Twilight let out a sight of relief as the man put an arm on her shoulder. “We fall.” Twilight felt the man’s arms wrap around her and a sense of falling over came her. Twilight looked down and saw that she was rocketing towards the floor.

The main doors to the massive library swung open to reveal the cane carrying man. His green eyes scanned the room and saw the old book keeper.

“Ah Headmaster. How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Crimson. Do you know where-” He was cut off as he saw a red/purple blur fall through the center hole and a woman’s voice could be heard screaming. “Never mind.” He said as he shook his head.

“Ah young love.” Quill chuckled.

The two mages rocketed down the floors and the light started to fade. Twilight looked down to see the stone floor.

“Are you crazy?”

“Yes, yes I am.” The scholar then felt them slowing down. The two then stopped just above the floor where a levitation rune was scribbled on the hard stone. Crimson leaned forward and stepped onto the hard stone. Twilight followed suit and stumbled as the red mage caught her. Twilight stood up and glared daggers into the man.

“Don’t ever do that again!” She yelled.

“Shhh! We’re in a library.” He said with a chuckle. Twilight stuck out her bottom lip and pouted.

Daww. He thought as he looked at the scholar who’s face bright red. “Anyway, welcome to the Academy’s Highly Evolved Literature Level.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at the man.

“You do realize that spells hell right?”

“Yeah, I realized that too.” He said as he grabbed a nearby torch. Twilight then saw a marble statue of a man holding a sword over his shoulder and his right foot was above a demon skull. Next to him was a man with a long beard and donning a long cloak and wizard hat with a large staff in his hand. Twilight bent down and read the plaque.

“He who fights monsters should beware lest he become one himself.”

~Spoken by Damien Carmine (Left) and Starswirl the bearded (Right)

Crimson noticed that the woman stopped and was looking at the statue. He walked back to her and looked at the two marble cut figures.

“Starswirl the Bearded and Damien Carmine. The two founders of the Academy.” Twilight looked at him in surprise. “Those two stood their ground as the world crumbled around them and fought back the legions of hell itself.” He said as he stood with his arms folded. “Damien, at least according to legend was the only conduit who was able to fully master his demon.”

“Can’t you?”

“No, I’m not even in his league. I doubt even Crow is.”

“He was that strong?” Twilight said in shock.

“Legend says that he bested the demon King himself in combat.” He said as he looked at the two statues and sighed. “C’mon we gotta be careful down here.”

“Why?” Twilight asked as she followed the man.

“This is the black magic section.” Twilight gulped. “Everything you want to know about demons, blood mages, anything that’s labeled as ‘deviant or evil.’” He said as he made quote marks. Twilight then remembered what Crow had told her.

“Yeah, Crow told me about your blood magic.”

“Did he now?” Crimson said as he started to look through books. “Well, cats out of the bag as they say.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I’m already a conduit. I didn’t want to give people another reason to fear me.”

“Why is blood magic considered forbidden?”

“Its-”

“Its usually the precursor to dark magic.” The two looked back to see the can wielding man coming out from the shadows. “Most blood mages, save a few turn to dark magic and hunger for more power.”

“What are you doing down here?” Crimson asked.

“I could ask you the same thing. This area is off limits to students of your rank.” Crow stated. Twilight glared at the red mage who scratched the back of his head. “Anyway I wanted to let you know that the fight lineup for tomorrow is about to be posted in the lounges.” Crimson’s ears perked up.

“Alright we’ll head back there now.” Crimson said as he started to make his way back to the lift.

“Ms. Sparkle, a moment of your time?”

“Of course sir. What do you need?” Crow chuckled.

“Please, I hate formalities. Crow will do.” He said as he raised a hand. “I want to know how Crimson has acted during his time stationed in Ponyville.”

“Acted?” The man nodded.

“Yes, an overall report if you will.” Twilight gulped. The scholar gave a detailed report about the red mage’s exploits. The bandits, nightmare moon conduit and other exploits he and the other warriors contributed to the small town. Crow face palmed and sighed.

“Something wrong?”

“Looks like it was a waste of time.” He groaned. Twilight looked at the man in confusion.

“How is that a waste of time?” She asked as she put her hands on her hips.

“I sent him there to avoid trouble. Not find it.”

“I’m not following.”

“Since Crimson joined the Academy and started taking on missions he hasn’t stopped.” Crow said with a sigh. “Every other student has taken off at least five times more than he has. Even when I try to send him somewhere that is supposed to be peaceful the boy finds something to fight.”

“Isn’t that good? He wants to do his job.” Twilight said.

“I know that, but there is a limit as to how much one person can take before they break.” He said with a sigh. “I’ve seen men tough as dragon iron crack like an egg if they were sent on some of the missions Crimson has done. I’m worried that he’s going to burn out if he keeps up this habit.”

“I see your point.” The scholar said as she bit her lip. “He seems capable of handling pressure and working under harsh conditions.”

“Thats what I’m trained to do.” The scholar yelped as she heard the voice coming from behind her. She spun around and saw the red mage standing with his arms folded. “I don’t plan on breaking. You know what they say, ‘the harshest fires forges the best iron.’”

“It can also melt it.” Crow said. Crimson rolled his eyes and was about to retort when he felt his communication gem vibrate.

“C’mon Crimson,” The blue flyer said. “they’re about to announce tomorrow’s line up.” Cobalt said.

“I’ll be right there.” He said as he and the other two made their way back to the seal. Crimson stepped on the seal which glowed a bright red.“Lobby.” He said before he was shot up to the surface. Twilight followed and staggered forward. Crow arrived after her and gave them each a nod before leaving the library.

Twilight and the red mage quickly made their way back to the lounge. As they opened the door they saw that everyone was standing in anticipation. The screens flickered on and the image of the green eyed man filled the screen.

“For those of you that have passed the past few trials, congratulations.” He said with a smile. “I will now announce the matches for tomorrow’s semi-finals. These matches have been determined by what you have done so far in your time here at this school and your power level.” The students all watched in anticipation as a board with several slots on it appeared beside the man.

“First round is.” He said as he snapped his fingers.

Cobalt Striker
vs
Ivory Knightwalker

The blue flyer gulped and several students laughed at the flyer’s match. He looked over toward the white haired woman who sighed in disappointment. As the next two names were shown, everyone fell silent. No sounds of cheering, no playful laughter, just the look of pure shock was on every one of the student’s faces. A few even dropped their glasses.

Crimson Storm
vs
Ivy Evergreen

The two friends immediately looked at one another and gulped. The cane wielding man even looked shocked. He called the last of the names and the screen went dark. Silence still hung in the air around the lounge. As quickly as it came the silence ended and the rowdiness resumed. Crimson sat down and face palmed. Ivy sat across from him and held her head low. Her green hair covered her eyes.

Twilight and the others sat down next to them and saw them both shaking. Twilight put a hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Hey it’ll be okay guys.” Dash said. “I mean you guys will go easy on each other.” The shaking increase and the group heard the two chuckling that soon turned into loud laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“This is gonna be interesting.” Ivy said with fire burning in her eyes.

“You guys want to fight one another?” Twilight said in surprise.

“I think its fine time to decide who the strongest horseman is.” Crimson said with a smirk. The whit haired woman then approached the two. Cobalt gulped as he saw the woman.

“Best of luck to you two tomorrow.” She said with a nod. “You as well Cobalt, you’ll need it.” She chuckled.

“Y-yeah, you too.” He said as he nervously sipped his drink. The woman smirked as she saw his violently shaking hand. Ivy bit her lip and looked at Rouge.

“Hey Rouge, mind if I stay with you tonight?” The Changeling looked at her friend in confusion. “I don’t want Crimson jumping me while I’m sleeping.” She said in a teasing tone.

“Y-yeah sure. I don’t mind.”

“Looks like I’m bunking with you Crimson.” Cobalt said.

“Terrific.” Crimson said with a sigh.

“Cool, I’ll get some stuff.” Ivy said as she ran out the door. The hour grew late and the warriors made their way back to their dorms. Crimson arrived before the flyer and sat down at his desk. The man hung his head low and pulled out a picture of himself and the green flyer standing side by side when they both became Rangers. The man clenched his empty fist and slammed it into the desk leaving a large dent.

“Its not easy is it?” Crimson looked up to see Cobalt standing in the doorway with a glum look on his face. “Being captain I mean.”

“It never is.” He said with a sigh. “I mean...I’m going to fight my best friend tomorrow. No offense to you or Rouge.”

“None taken.” Cobalt said as he sat on the empty bed. “I know the four of us are tight, but you and Ivy have been through a lot together.” He said with a sigh. “Truth be told, I’d rather fight Ivory and Angel at the same time then fight you or Ivy.”

“Yeah.” Crimson said as he quickly got changed and climbed into his bed. “Better get our rest. Tomorrow we both have a difficult fight.” Cobalt nodded and climbed into the other bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Rouge asked as she took of Ivy’s bandages.

“I’m fine Rouge.” The flyer said with a sigh.

“Ivy I know when you’re lying to me.” The Changeling said as she raised an eyebrow. “I mean, sure I care about Crimson too but you guys are more like family than friends.” Ivy cracked her knuckles as she formed a fist. “I mean, you even let him touch your hair. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve never let anyone else-”

“I get it! So just get off my back damn it!” Ivy yelled. “How would you react if you were in my position?” Rouge bit her lip and sighed. “I’m sorry Rouge. I just...I just need to think.” Ivy said as she grabbed her pajamas and walked into her bathroom. The flyer quickly stripped down and entered the shower. The cascading streams of hot water relaxed her aching muscles.

The flyer sat down against the bathroom wall and hugged her legs. The flyer rested her forehead on her knees and thanked that her tears would be washed away with the warm bath water.

Author's Note:

Monster quote originally by Friedrich Nietzsche.

Comments

[MC BR0N3]

Well that's going to be an interesting match to witness.

“Oh just came to let you know that the your reserved copy of the Red Jewel of-” Crimson quickly coughed and made a slicing motion across his neck. His red eyes were wide with fear as he motioned towards the scholar. Quill grinned as he saw the man’s blushing cheeks.

I wonder what kind of bool that was?

[Tenshi no Yami Honoo]

Those hooks in the library are from Bioshock Infinite
Excellent work once again

[Blackshadow of Abys]

oooooohhh shit getting real can't what fore the semifinals

P.S like the story

[Jman796]

Bioshock Infinite reference. NICE!

[BronySquidiness]

This is one of the few stories that causes me to pause and react to something mid-story. Continue mate!!!

[Shadow Bolt]

Even though I haven't played the game, I still got the Bioshock Infinite reference.

It's a shame that we all know that Cobalt is gonna lose his match. But things are gonna be intense when we see Crimson fights Ivy(I guess this is where we find out on how they resolved their issues(or will this bring it back?))
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/11/2/462737__safe_solo_animated_discord_reaction+image_season+4_spoiler-colon-s04_popcorn_3d+glasses_dis+gon+b+gud.gif

[Silentpegasus]

3579248 Bingo!

[TheFirebird]

Ivory: Erza
Crimson: Natsu

[KawaiiPotato]

3623769 Eh,maybe Guildarts,I never finished the show,I plan to go back and finish it eventually.

[DuskShadowx]

Ok why does crimsons seal remind of narutos?