• Published 11th Nov 2013
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Gladiator - Not_A_Hat



Human in Equestria? Check. Trying to find his way home? Check. Surrounded by clueless candy-colored equines? Check. Magically soul-bonded to Twilight Sparkle using dread necromantic magic and an evil artifact? Check.

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53 - Rifts

Author's Note:

Not making a habit of this, but... Recommended Dubstep

"Wake up!"

"Huh?" My eyes snapped open. We'd laid our plans, and waited for Phoresy and Glisten to complete their spell. Onyx claimed changelings slept less, so we'd eaten quickly and left him watching while we napped behind the banister, shielded under a mute zone. I rose cautiously, stretching and yawning discretely. I felt miles better.

"Is it time?" I pulled on the new pair of gloves I'd commissioned, before all of this. They were black felt to match my boots, reinforced on the palm and studded on the knuckles.

"Close!" Onyx answered. "They're igniting a few blocs. I think they underestimated the setup time."

"It always takes longer and costs more." I grinned. "Speaking of which." I retrieved a handful of vials from my pack, and split them roughly in half. "Take these." I held out three.

"More of Bit's…" He looked up.

"Yeah, his emergency reserve. If this doesn't count, nothing does."

"Heh." He downed the vials one at a time. "You're right." He started ripping bandages off, his carapace underneath healed completely. "This is a lot of condensate for an Agent like me." He grinned. "For a little, I'll be a force to fear."

"Sweet." I grinned back, and checked my watch. "Shoot!" We’d used the break well, but it was barely past midnight. I reviewed my estimates on how fast my SOS would navigate the command chain. We'd taken weeks to outfit an expedition to Wraith's hive, but this was different. I'd been optimistic at six hours, but we weren't even there. "Looks like reinforcements won’t be here." I grimaced. "We're doing this the hard way."

"Oh well!" Lyra grinned. "Dibs on Phoresy!"

"Right. As we planned." I shuffled through my pack, withdrawing pieces of metal. I quickly assembled them into something like an umbrella with a pistol-grip.

"That's your heavy hitter?" Lyra looked skeptical.

"Yup." I patted my pockets for the jewel case I'd grabbed off my dresser. "I've done better, but I wasn’t expecting to use it so soon. Wait till you see it work, though." I slotted the case into the center, and peeked over the railing again. Every changeling horn was glowing. Magic arched through the air, aimed at the stage.

"Get ready, team. Drop in on my mark." I rose cautiously, wary of being seen, but no-one noticed. My team stepped up behind me. Phoresy took a central position on the stage, and power began focusing on her. Glisten stood by, face impassive. I heard Sunset gasp as the spell started to ignite, circuit after circuit flaring in a flickering ripple. My heartbeat accelerated as I tensed for battle. We were ready, and any second -

"Now!" I leaped onto the railing and jumped off the edge, trying for distance. Onyx caught and lowered me gently. Sunset and Lyra plummeted. They hit like meteors. A wash of cyan blew away bugs near Sunset. Lyra blurred on contact, a thousand strikes blasting her opponents clear. By the time I'd landed, battle was in full force. There was none of the chaos a normal army would suffer; most bugs didn't even turn. Nearby ones just formed a phalanx and pressed in.

I heard Phoresy yell. An impossibly huge bolt sizzled overhead. We'd barely gotten down fast enough. Onyx risked flying, but stayed low and moved fast. Light swelled over the stage, and Glisten moved on us with a crunch and a clatter.

I forced distraction away, and returned to my weapon. I hadn’t actually charged it, for fear we'd be spotted in the open on the balcony. Now in the fight, I could power it up; it was almost ready. I'd never test fired it, but it would certainly work.

"Hurryhurryhurryhurry…" My fingers flew as I carefully adjusted the wire struts and focusing runes.

"Weeees! Get your thumper going!" I looked up. Lyra was viciously thrashing small-fry. The press was strong, but she easily held them back. Still, as good as she was, she could only hit one at a time. I saw the new-style windigolems approaching over the crowd.

"Working on it!" I shouted. "Lasersound needs precision!"

"Work faster!" Sunset yelled, hovering just above shoulder level. Her cyan aura flowed like water, flaming mane and tail floating gently in the wash. As I watched, a dozen tiny projectiles whipped off with dazzling speed. Each hit a flying bug; each bug dropped.

"How the hay did Tweed manage to stop you?" I carefully adjusted the last fitting.

"Simulcasting! Which is why we need you ready five seconds ago! There's a bloc about to get their act together!"

"Onyx has the grenades!" A second later I heard a blast, and smiled grimly. "Alright!" I snapped the final piece into place, and flicked open the jewel case. "Charging!" I raised the gun, and forced a dab of magic through the carefully constructed framework. The center flickered fitfully green, and a discordant shriek rent the air.

"Here!" I drew a bead on a windigolem. "Eat this!" I squeezed a shot off. The unleashed power circled through the spreaders in a flash, focused back on the jewel-box. Inside, they hit a green gem; the only Screaming Emerald in existence. Each tone rang back, a dozen tortured voices. The frame caught, focused, and returned them. Again. And again. In a split-second, the shriek soared through the audible registers. The Emerald flashed brilliantly and a lance of solid magic, heterodyned onto a beam of tightly focused and phased sound, slammed into the hapless golem.

It blurred briefly, before bursting in a shower of shattered glass.

"HAH!" I jigged victoriously. "Booyah!" I sighted on another, and dropped it. But I wasn't here to snipe; this gimmicked weapon wouldn't last long, and we needed a path. We planned to hit Phoresy hard. I leveled the gun, flicked the selector from 'burst' to 'continuous', and fired again.

It ROARED.

A bar of solid sound slammed across the room. Bugs were tossed. Golemns disintegrated. I played it back and forth; a corridor quickly cleared. I grinned, let up on the trigger, and stowed the unwieldy contraption. I dashed for the path.

Glisten stepped into it.

"Heh." My smile returned, widened. Hands blurred as I whipped the gun up. The selector flipped from 'continuous' to 'eleven'. I braced myself, shoved all my free magic into the gun, and squeezed.

It screamed.

A lambent rod of sound, incandescently white with magic, howled across the room and scattered off Glisten. This was no Arglefraster; I'd built it as a proof-of-concept, and brought it on a whim. Lasting this long meant it succeeded, and it hit even harder than expected. But Glisten shrugged it off and marched on.

My eyes narrowed as the guides began to smoke and curl, the beam de-cohering as they overheated. Its lifetime was over. I released the trigger, barely taking time to snatch the Screaming Emerald before dropping the empty frame.

I unslung my hammer, leveled it at Glisten, and charged.

I had no idea if the bosses knew our purpose here, and I frankly didn't care. I would shut them down, rescue my aide, and bug out. But Glisten knew an attacker when she saw one. Thankfully, she was no Glory.

I dashed straight down the corridor at her. Sunset and Lyra moved up behind, protecting my sides. Onyx carefully supported us, working so we wouldn’t be surrounded. I reached Glisten in a flash. She was smaller than me, and clearly not much of a fighter. My hammer connected with her chin, nearly flipping her backwards.

She shook it off and came back faster.

I frowned, dodging. I clobbered her again, shattering a knee. She grinned as it re-formed and tried to buck my head off. I grimaced and broke her back. She got up and kept kicking.

This was a losing battle.

"Lyra! Tag!" I yelled. I could supplement my blows with metamagic, and re-balance my energy for better strength, speed, or defense. But I couldn’t manage Lyra’s fancy tricks with projection and penetrating strikes. I landed one last blow on Glisten as I slid past. I barely glanced back as Lyra engaged with a vibrating crunch.

As soon as I stepped past Glisten, a dozen changelings swamped me. I grit my teeth and piled in. My hammer wrecked them, but more came. I dodged magic bolts, blocked hooves and horns, parried strikes and kicks.

I was winning. I laughed in exultation. My body moved smoothly. I could feel new instincts, built carefully and honed methodically, carrying me through the battle. I instinctively dodged, effortlessly pivoting into a graceful kick that snapped a neck. Momentum carried me on, logically and beautifully spinning into a strike that blasted my target backwards. I calmly withdrew, fell back into a balanced stance, and started a new flow.

The stage flared.

The flash yanked me back to reality. I stumbled, nearly falling, as one of the giant windigolems struck past me. The blow hit my hip and I hissed. That would hurt later. I swung my hammer, putting all the weight and power I could into the blow. The pointed head crunched deep into its chest. It quietly collapsed. I'd lucked onto a vital point. My eyes flashed to the stage.

We'd taken the 'low road' to surround ourselves with interference, and keep Phoresy from blasting us with impunity. It had worked so far. Unfortunately, we couldn't simply strike at her, either. That was driven starkly home now. She'd activated another section.

I was winning fights, but we were losing the battle.

I glanced backwards. Glisten had fled to the stage. Lyra was talking urgently with Sunstet, while they carefully worked forward. I rejoined them, drawing our lines inward.

"The stage!" I yelled. Somewhere above me, Onyx buzzed by, the drone of his wings obvious.

"Right!" Sunset nodded. "I'll take point! Here we go!" She lowered her horn, and started throwing spiraling lances of magic into the crowd. A scattering of bombs fell, threshing our tightly-packed opponents. Onyx was doing his job. We moved quickly; we were nearly half-way across the room by now. I slowly let my grin return; we could make it!

THUD.

A lump of crystal, like a giant shining egg, landed suddenly before me. I frowned and moved to step around it, but it uncurled and stood. I groaned as I got a good look at my opponent. Another type of windigolem. This one had four legs, but also two viciously spiked arm-like appendages.

It was fast.

I barely dodged the first strike. The second grazed me. I skipped back, and Lyra stepped in. She ghosted through and buried a hoof in its belly. It crunched, shattered, collapsed.

"Wish I still had my gun." I frowned, breathing heavily. It was a startlingly simple design; stable base, speedy weapons. It had cut me. Blood trickled down my arm. I grimaced. No time for bandages.

"You've still got the stone!" Lyra smirked, and blew another bug away. " Work with it!"

"Hmm." I followed, taking rear position. Lyra claimed point. Sunset stopped floating, content to lob balls of explosive force at any knots of changelings. For the moment we mainly faced golems, and Lyra made quick work.

I thought as hard as I could. We needed every advantage we could scrape together. I glanced around. While we were OK personally, we were moving slowly. I frowned as the stage flashed again. We needed to move faster. Too late, and we'd be adrift in the inter-real. Again. I fumbled the emerald out, tucking it between my fingers. My fist muted the noise. I felt the power. It had magic. How to use it?

I absently kicked a nearby bug. It tried to block, but my foot blurred and it fell back. I winced as my bruised hip twinged, but forced myself to move on. Ahead, a dozen cyan spheres wisped off Sunset's horn, lazily circling her head like the coins I practiced with.

Hmm, magic practice. I thought of the green energy my sonic lance had thrown, my metamagic, and considered the emerald. It was hard to hear in the din, but the noise was there. I could work with noise. I frowned, examining my train of thought. Was this a good idea?

Probably not.

I glanced at the stage. It was brighter. Every moment we delayed, Baltimare was closer to being ripped in half. I had no idea how many ponies were targeted, but I had some idea what was in store for them.

I firmed my resolve, and pulled a tiny bit of the emerald's magic into myself. I gasped. Cool fire filled my veins. A green aura flickered around my fist. I swung at a nearby golem, shifting my power as I'd been taught. The pulse moved up my arm as I struck. With surge of will, I forced the dissonance back down, into the golem.

It crunched and shattered.

"Yes!" I whooped with joy. It wasn't as powerful as Lyra's, but would do for now. I dashed forwards, leaving the rear to Sunset. "Lyra, let's move!" I jumped into the fray, and we surged forwards.

"Wes!" She glanced at the green energy I was pulling from the emerald, and grimaced. "That's beyond reckless! Never pull external magic into yourself!"

"It's fine!" I demonstrated, throwing a sonic lance at a nearby changeling. The power wasn't a fraction of my gun, but I still managed to disorient it to land a blow with my hammer. "It's echonarchy!"

"Really!" She bucked a golem back into the crowd, and gave me a speculative look. "Well, desperate times! But if you feel a numbness or tingling in your arms, stop immediately! You could cripple yourself!"

I frowned. That was sobering.

But I was fighting effectively. I still marveled at the difference she'd wrought in me. Although I was cut and bruised, breathing hard and struggling to hold my own at times, I was still fighting better than ever. I crushed a skull with my hammer, sweeping past another bug.

The fight dragged on. Not long, but it felt like hours in the press. Tense, dangerous hours. My arm tired from swinging my hammer, and I ran low on magic. I cut back, sparing my power to squeeze every drop of amplification I could from the emerald. Still, without power in, no power came out. I tried to leave the golems to Lyra; she flattened them efficiently. I faced down bug after bug, concussing, maiming, and killing quickly and efficiently with hammer, fists, feet, and force. Their tactics were simple, and attacks straightforward; Phoresy really was distracted.

Sunset came behind, throwing scorching orbs of crackling blue power. Onxy dropped in as we neared the stage, carefully supporting us as opportunities arose. His accurate kicks and bolts saved me several times, but I still gathered wounds. As fast and furious as I was, each of us faced a thousand enemies. My friends weren't doing much better, though they were less wounded.

The press suddenly broke. I fell into a defensive stance as my opponent unexpectedly drew back. Looking around, my friends were just as puzzled. The changelings and golems both stepped away, leaving an expanding circle of free space. I glanced at the stage; we were close. I realized what had happened when I saw the spell-circles.

We'd been too slow.

"You fail!" Phoresy's voice hit like a kick. I swayed as the last bugs withdrew, exposing the stage. She stepped forward confidently, purple eyes victorious. "My spell is complete! No-one can stop me! No-one will find me! I'll have a castle like Chrysalis and Wraith couldn't imagine, and more thralls than I ever dreamed! You are too late!" As she spoke, power arced from her long jagged horn, and the last rune-ring lit. Crystals glowed. Candles flickered to life. Bowls of liquid bubbled. Mist billowed across the patterns. Pendulums began marking complex orbits. A dozen soft noises rang out. The construct was honestly beautiful, but I couldn't appreciate it. Not when it was aimed at thousands of unwary innocents.

"That's not actually why we're here." I forced myself tall, battle-filth spattered across my abused body. "We came to rescue the one you've taken." I forced my eyes off the spell. We'd deal with that as we could, but Phoresy needed full attention. I glanced backwards. Although we'd cut a swathe of destruction, most of the blocs hadn't even moved. They still beamed power to their Queen, who stood squarely in the powering position. At least she was gloating and not shooting, now our meatshields were gone. We were close enough to surprise her.

"What?" There was confusion in her voice. "Who?"

"Heh." I rubbed a hand on my forehead. Something smeared. "You know? It doesn't even matter. We're here to reclaim. Prepare yourself."

"Reclaim?" The Queen threw her head back and laughed. "Hilarious! You're weak; like insects to an insect! How do you plan to collect, little avenger?"

"Me?" I smirked. "No, not me." My breathing began calming and I started feeling my wounds, a niggling distraction. I'd had worse. They weren't life threatening. For now. I forced my mind back to the plan. The spell fully igniting was bad, but done is done. I snapped my fingers, liquid noise shattering the quiet of a thousand eyes. "Lyra?"

"Yes?"

"Make her pay."

"Gladly."

A blur, and she was gone. Onyx moved to support.

Down to the wire, Lyra was our strongest duelist. Sunset had more power, but Lyra had years of one-on-one experience against the toughest she'd found. She consistently wiped the ring with Canterlot's finest. I'd side with her against anything short of an alicorn. She'd been hobbled in the crowd, earlier. She was a high-caliber fighter, but could still only land one hit at a time.

Phoresy smirked, about to make another smart comment. Lyra hit like a ton of bricks. I grinned at the surprised Queen; the blow connected solidly, nearly lifting her off the floor. Lyra was barely half her size.

"How-" She recovered with shocking speed, snapping up shields. Lyra stepped through.

She'd explained the theory behind that; she called it phasewalking. Some shields could be penetrated at exactly the right speed. In a few years, I might master it. Shining's reaction would be priceless. Phoresy's eyes popped as Lyra's horn brutally gashed her barrel. She only avoided disembowelment by buzzing her wings. She dropped the shields and wised up, lowering her head and taking an actual defensive stance. Lyra, purplish ichor dripping down her face, smiled slowly. I turned away. If Lyra didn't kill the Queen in the first few seconds, she couldn't easily pull a decisive victory. I glanced around. Glisten, jaw slack, was frozen in shock.

A unicorn who could take on a Queen, even a distracted and unprepared one, should have that effect.

"Sunny." I elbowed my adopted sister.

"Yeah?"

"Keep Glisten off me. I'm going for Bit."

"Sure."

I turned and casually walked along the edge of the phalanx. The guarding agents didn't even notice until I was nearly on them.

"Run." I pointed my hammer; no time for revenge. They didn't argue.

"You came." Bit looked up at me calmly. "I knew you would."

"I heard." I smiled. "Your loyalty impressed me." I dropped to my knees, and drew Bit into a hug. I don't know if it needed one, but I felt a little better. It's smooth carapace was warm.

"Warranted."

"Bit…" I inspected it quickly, checking for wounds. It had obviously taken some subduing, but wasn't cracked. "Ooof." I winced as a particularly powerful blow behind us shook the floor. "I wish I could say everything will be OK. I wish we could go home and put this behind us." I grimaced. "But, Phoresy started this spell - "

"Yes."

"What?"

"You're asking me to risk my life. Yes."

"But you don't even…"

"Let me help. Like your friends. I'm following." Its pearly eyes glimmered, ears stubbornly set.

"Blech." I almost rubbed my eyes, saw the ichor on my hands, and wiped them with a sleeve. "I'm not -"

"Wesley!" Sunset yelled. I whipped my head around. She'd surprised Glisten, who'd keyed on me. Tendrils of cyan magic wrapped the lieutenant. "Faster!"

"Right!" I yelled back, scooped Bit up and slung it over my shoulders in a fireman carry. "Sorry, Bit. We'll finish this later. Sit tight, and harden your shell if you can."

"Yes sir."

I gripped my hammer, and dashed into the center of the spell construct, barely noticing the added weight. Lyra and Onyx fought Phoresy. Sunset stalled Glisten. I was in charge of breaking stuff. Unfortunately, the magic powering the ritual might hinder that.

I swung at a nearby crystal. My hammer rebounded with a clang. Yup, spell-tension. The reality of the entire construct was being strengthened by the magic pouring through it. This wouldn't be easy. I aimed at a delicate silver chalice. No effect, except a numb palm. The power here was ridiculous!

"You can't!" Glisten called. I heard a twang as a thread of Sunset's magic snapped. "We've won again, Wesley! You'll never beat Sombra!"

"Oh yeah?" I yelled back. "Ask Glory about that!"

"Hah!" Glisten rolled her eyes. "Sombra knew Glory would fail! He sent him there so you'd remove an aggravation for him!"

"Cool story!" I yelled, but frowned all the same. She was probably lying. Sombra wasn't really that good… right?

"You can't stop the spell!" Glisten stepped towards me, dragging Sunset. Across the room, Phoresy was trying to trap Lyra with planes of force. I smirked as my teacher contemptuously stepped around them, moving with unreadable hoofwork. The unicorn was a much better fighter than the Queen, who was forced to rely on her superior magic to fill the gap. Still, the fight was slowly escalating.

I couldn't tell who was raising the bar. Lyra started at the highest level she could, and Phoresy had barely managed to get serious in time. But Lyra was ramping even higher, seriously pushing the envelope. I watched in awe as she snapped off a scything attack, distortion whiplashing towards the Queen before chunks of nearby walls and columns started crumbling. Phoresy scrambled backwards, trying to stay clear. Lyra pushed in close. Phoresy would be unstoppable at distance.

I didn't have time, but couldn't stop from admiring Lyra's skill a moment longer. Move by move, the fight grew more unbelievable. I was began wondering if she could actually take Phoresy. We'd moved first; she was still unbalanced. Lyra was still pulling out new tricks. She once told me she never did certain things, because they were simply too lethal. I whistled softly as she blurred, seeming to divide into three, and pounced.

She was repelled again, but every attack ratcheted up. As long as she pressed hard and controlled the flow, Phoresy kept underestimating. I winced as she released a technique with a rumble of thunder, throwing the Queen hard against the wall. The real question was how long her meager power would last. Her entire philosophy centered around being more dangerous for a reason; she just didn't have reserves for a protracted battle. Phoresy kept getting up. The walls were in worse shape than the Queen. Her most decisive strike, the gash on the Queen's side, had even stopped oozing.

I briefly wondered how Lyra would have fared against Wraith, a Queen who specialized in fighting. I remembered the blurring incomprehension of her fight with Luna, and winced. Lyra wasn't that good. Yet. I wrenched my gaze back to the task at hand, and kicked over a nearby bowl. Water splashed, puffing into mist and accelerating the spell. Glisten laughed.

"This isn't working," I mumbled, half to myself. Change tactics. I stopped, crossed my arms, and carefully canvassed the construct. There had to be a pinch-point. Something was being stressed instead of strengthened. If I found a pinch, I could affect it.

My eyes drifted till they hit the central ring. A crystal heart, rough-hewn and dull, hung above a silvery mirror.

"Oh." I stepped forward. "That'll work. Rot seven years bad luck."

"What?" Glisten glanced at me and her eyes popped. "No! You can't!"

"Watch me!" I powered through a barrier.

"You'll kill us all!"

"Worth it!" Sunset yelled back. I paused at that, feeling Bit's faithful weight on my shoulders. I didn't want to risk even one innocent life. Bit had volunteered, but… I still didn't quite believe it was ready to make that decision. But no matter Glisten's words, I didn't believe survival was impossible. I'd gamble. I'd take responsibility.

"Sunset, can we make it through this?"

"What do you think?"

"I fully expect to!"

"Heh!" The orange unicorn tossed her mane, and wrapped another restraint around Glisten, who was now frantically struggling to escape. "If you expect us to survive, then I'll try for one better!"

"Slammin'." It was all bravado, but it strengthened me. I stepped into the center. Power frazzled my hair. It wasn't even directed nearby! I dropped to one knee, and raised my hammer. "Here goes! If we survive, run!" I flipped my weapon to bare the spike, and swung fiercely.

It landed with a wrist-jarring clang. I thought I'd failed. My eyebrows crinkled in worry. But with a tic, a hairline crack appeared.

"Run!" I rose, whirled, and demonstrated. Sunset abandoned Glisten to join me.

Behind, I heard the mirror shatter. The noise started with an odd reverberation, and it ended strangely; instead of fading, it stretched, vanishing in a crackle. I glanced back. A dimensionless black rift hung above the shards. It pulsed once, jagged, before exploding. I flung an arm around Sunset before it engulfed us.

There was a crackle, like the rush of water on a dive. A disorienting wave of color hit, with a sudden pain in my chest.

It felt like rats were gnawing my skin. I looked down in surprise, as lilac fire flared through my shirt. I ripped it open. The normal dim glow of my gem had grown to brilliant radiance. Suddenly worried, I barely noticed that both Bit and Sunset were gone. I hung in dimensionless emptiness. I touched my wand, trying to sense.

Purple mane. Slightly neurotic. Driven, unselfconscious except when she was; then extremely. Prodigy. Librarian. Compulsively organized, except when she wasn't; then a disaster. Awkward at times, but never let it hinder her.

Twilight.

A rush of impressions deluged me. At first, they overwhelmed; a thousand thousand pieces of a friend I knew and loved despite flaws. But they slowed. The torrent diminished, narrowing to a river, dropping to stream, a trickle, till just one was left: shock and worry, bolt upright in bed, moonlight over castle towers.

That lasted longest, before vanishing with a high thin sound.

Sorry, Twilight. I had no idea if she heard.

The fire flickered and flared before fading.

Only chaos was left.

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