Fire and Brimstone, Book 2

by BluePhoenyx

Chapter 32 - Crimson and the Last Stand

The purple and red coated ponies didn't move after their violent tumble down the hill. Twilight looked back at the broken prison cell that once held the mighty and fearsome Temethyst. The king groaned angrily, his attention now focused on the two who prevented him from using the Elements of Harmony.

"Can your deficiency in rulership handle another crushing loss, failed goddesses?" The king took a step forward toward the princesses, who continued their focus on the elements.

"Keep at it, my sister," Celestia commented through gritted teeth. "We must sap the element's power as long as possible."

Painfully, Luna nodded her agreement.

The mighty king looked at the web of soldiers, then stomped his hoof against the ground. A shockwave of earth shot out, Temethyst as the focal point, and hit every pony in the area. They were all knocked off their hooves, the princesses included, and the magical web was broken. "Your magic is pathetic," he taunted. "All of you are weak and pathetic."

A ray of gradient color shot passed Temethyst, and the king took a step to the side to recover from the surprise hit.

"I'm tired of standing by," Rainbow Dash proclaimed as she hovered at a distance from Temethyst.

"As am I," Applejack added as she got to her hooves. "I think it's about time we kicked this pony down a notch."

"Let's get this party pooper!" Pinkie Pie said, joining in on the regroup.

One by one, the six ponies stood and circled the mighty king of underponies. The tall pony stood calm, eyeing each of the ponies one by one. "Your champion has failed. What makes you think you will prevail?"

"Because I believe we can," Twilight said.

"You are all fools," the king replied. "Come, then. Feel your oblivious in the clutches of my hooves."

Rainbow Dash took the initiative and zipped in to try to catch the king off guard once more. She was swatted away with a left backhoof from the king and flew back. Applejack landed a bucking kick against the right side of Temethyst - a blow that was mostly absorbed by the armor he wore. Twilight paused when he saw the hit from Applejack, and the painful wince the king made. Though it shouldn't have really done anything, the slight, yet obvious, expression of pain was clear to Twilight.

"He's hurt," Twilight whispered. She stayed mostly defensive, using her magic to protect her friends over trying to attack the mighty king. During that time, she studied the giant pony, watching his movements to confirm her suspicions.

Temethyst's wing opened suddenly, hitting Applejack and throwing her back from a buffet. A beam of light hit Temethyst as Rarity shot magic from her horn while in a trot. The beam stayed on its target while her movement made her a more difficult target to hit. That didn't stop the king from stomping his right hoof on the ground to activate his magic. He twisted his hoof, and the ground under Rarity turned to soft sand. She looked down as her hooves went in the sand, which slowed her movements. When she looked back up, she was met with a downward slash of a red flame whip. She put up a barrier just in time, but the impact made her fly back and slid on the ground.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy joined forces and charged at the king while his attention was diverted. Pinkie's face turned a deep red as a steam whistle bellowed from her ears. Meanwhile, the angry Fluttershy glared at their target, ready to ram the large king pony. They slammed into the right side of the large pony, then fell to the ground as if they ran into a stone wall.

At the two fell to the ground, Twilight paid close attention to the king. She saw the same wince, and her suspicions were confirmed. As the king knocked back Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, Twilight started to form an idea. First, she needed to regroup with her friends.

* * *

A cough from the petite purple coated pony sounded under a burrow of dirt. The makeshift tunnel moved, then was shoved aside as Demi pushed up against her wounded brother, who was on top of her not moving. She grunted, using her horn's telekinetic power to assist her in the struggle, then finally slid from under the red coated pony. He groaned, easing her nerves, thinking that she had lost him.

She looked around at the field to assess the situation. Indeed, the situation was grim. The army of ponies that surrounded the circle were laid out. Dead or wounded, she couldn't tell. Then, she saw the six friends battling the mighty king, always nearly getting swiped with a brutal attack from his claws, or barely blocking or dodging a ferocious attack that would have crippled them if it hit. She looked at the two rulers of Equestria, seeing that they were getting to their hooves as well, obviously recovering from the strange and sudden hit. She looked down at Crimson, who remained motionless and gravely wounded. She noticed large splotches of blood on her robes, which made her nearly panic. She inspected the blood, finally coming to the conclusion that it wasn't hers. That's when she closely inspected her brother, and saw the grievous wounds that were inflicted upon him. She paid particular attention to the deep holes that were punched through his neck and shoulder that allowed pools of blood to gush freely into the open. She gasped in horror at that sight, then she felt the strange magic that the surface enchanted her with inside her heart. Water started to form in her eyes as she ripped a piece of leather from her robes to tend to the wound.

"Brother?" She choked. "Come on, you fool. Don't die on me." She look around to find a solution to the desperate problem, but found no answer to her problems. Her attention snapped to her brother after he groaned. She wasn't too educated on medical topics, but she knew that he was in bad shape. She took a deep breath, focusing her will on her innate abilities. Her eyes turned white as she looked into the possible future for her. Many moments passed before she blinked in confusion, her eyes returning to their normal color.

Out of nowhere, the earth violently shook, and the sounds of breaking stone was heard from all directions. Demi turned to look at the king, who was once again ripping into the earth with his overpowering magic. She looked back to her dying brother, and a burning rage swelled deep inside her. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she started to breath heavily. She buried her head in Crimson's chest, her shoulders sobbing in sorrow and pain.

* * *

Twilight got up after a heavy hit that knocked her down the hill. She panted and winced as it felt like every muscle in her body ached from any and all movements she made. Then, Applejack and Rainbow Dash crashed next to her, giving her the opportunity she needed.

"Are you two okay?" Twilight asked, helping them to their hooves.

Applejack slowly got up and rubbed her head. "Uh, maybe."

Rainbow Dash rolled over and stayed on the ground for a moment longer. "What do we do? He's too strong."

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Twilight announced.

"About time," Rainbow said and she stood up.

"Yeah. We could use a darn tooting plan right about now," Applejack added.

Twilight turned around to see the status of her other friends. Rarity was on the opposite side of the hill, recovering from a slid in the mud. Fluttershy was in the air, looking angry at the mighty king. Pinkie Pie was on her hooves, patting the ground with her hoof to get ready to charge. The king was turned toward Fluttershy, and returned the angry glare.

"Watch," Twilight said.

The girls waited as Pinkie Pie charged in with all her party might. She leapt up and smacked belly first at the king's side. Then, she blew up like a balloon, going maybe three times her size. The push made the king stumble a step, then he swatted Pinkie Pie to the ground, making her bounce like a ball.

"Did you see that?" Twilight asked.

Applejack blinked, confused at what was going on. "What? That Pinkie Pie bounced like an apple on a trampoline?"

"No. Look at his face."

The girls looked at Temethyst's face, and at his slight wince as he turned to his side.

"His right side is hurt." Twilight turned and addressed the two. "Probably when he crashed through those stone columns. That's our chance - exploit his weak spot"

"I think I see it," Rainbow Dash commented. "Okay, hit him where it hurts. Got it!" Rainbow Dash shot up in the air, leaving a vanishing rainbow in her wake.

"Try to tell the others, but only in a way he doesn't see you. We can't let him know we're on to his injury."

"Gonna be tough."

"Don't worry," Twilight confidently commented. "I have an idea that will make him pay close attention to me. And when his focus is on me, you and the girls hit him hard."

Applejack nodded. "You be careful, now."

Twilight smiled, and looked at Applejack. "You too."

When Applejack trotted back into the fight, Twilight narrowed her eyes, growing more confident in her plan.

* * *

The mighty king telekinetically threw a boulder at the blue pegasus, but was dodged as she continued her charge. Before the attacker got close, Temethyst made an arc in the ground, then stomped a hoof. When he lifted his hoof, a wall of stone came up from the ground, which the charging blue pegasus crashed into. After the pegasus was grounded, Temethyst swiped at the air, throwing the wall toward the pearl colored unicorn. She defended herself by erecting a barrier, protecting herself from the falling slab of stone. The wall crumbled on impact, burying the pony in boulders.

With no attacks imminent, he reared his head back and brought out a whip of flames to finally strike at the failed goddesses so they could unlock their hold on his newly acquired weapons. Just before the whip lashed forward, a beam of bright light came from his side that stung his eyes. The whip flung wildly, missing its mark by far. He lifted his hoof to block the blinding light as he turned to see the cause of the strange, intense glow. He took a deep breath, then bellowed a cone of flames at the source of the light - the purple coated allocorn. Just as the flames were unleashed, he felt a hard bludgeoning hit on his right side. The armor clanked and soaked the impact, but the sharp pains that were from under the armor were keen in their abilities to deliver agony to the mighty king. When he turned to use the breath weapon on the attacker, no pony was in sight.

With the anger rising in the mighty king, Temethyst stomped his hoof on the ground, then lifted his head toward the source of the light. A spike shot from the ground, barely missing the purple coated allocorn. Considering it was a blind shot, he was close enough to have the light removed from his eyes. Again, another impact came from his side. This time, it was a hard hitting impact - one that knocked him off his hooves. He rolled over to go with the fall, then rose to see the orange coated pony leaping up onto him. Planting his hoof on the ground, he lifted his free hoof and swatted toward his attacker. A rock was ripped from the earth and slammed into the earth pony. She fell to the ground in a hurmp.

Trying hard not to hold onto his injured side, Temethyst looked around to find the rest of the targets. He turned his head left, then right. Suddenly, a loud pop was heard and small objects of all colors splashed into his face. He reared back in surprise at the sudden attack, all while unleashing his breath weapon once more. From his left to his right, his flames bit at the ground, lighting the massive amounts of colors confetti on fire. Again, he felt the hit on his right side. When he turned to look at his attacker, he saw the purple coated pony firing a magic beam at him. He met her beam of magic with a beam of fire, overpowering the magical attack and making a fiery explosion where the allocorn stood. He groaned in pain and anger, then decided that it was time for him to get his weapon back.

A large boulder smashed into Temethyst's side, but he paid it no heed. He reared back, then slammed both hooves into the ground. Ignoring the intense pain that went through his body, Temethyst poured more of his seemingly endless amount of energy into the earth. His horns lit up, then he reared up once more. The ground split, and a spiraling column of earth and flame shot up. He wasn't attacking any of the small ponies, but at the failed goddesses that dampened his powers. The column struck the white coated goddess, then exploded. Rocks and flames shot in every direction, raining all over the battlefield. The blue aura around the elements vanished, allowing him access to the black magic once more. Once the smoke cleared, the dark and white allocorns were on the ground, steam coming off their coats. He looked around at his attackers and saw they were at a safe distance. The armies were recovering from their energy sapping experience - a risky move considering the opponent they faced.

A primal, angry shout or pure rage sounded from the side took his attention away from the recovering princesses. Before he could see what the sound was, he suddenly a sharp pain shot through the right side of his chest. Almost instantly, he crumbled to the ground. With a might backhoof, he knocked Demi away, splashing blood in her wake. She flew far away, and crashed hard into the ground near the purple coated allocorn. When the king tried to stand, he felt a sharp object dig into his ribs. He looked, and saw a broken horn deep into his side. His eyes widened as the horn glowed, and the magical energies from inside exploded, ripping his armor apart and blasting a huge hole in his side. He was launched off his hooves and slid a dozen feet on his side.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle watched Demi's body fly up and over her to crash behind her. She looked up at the king, noticing his surprised expression. Feeling he was distracted enough, Twilight turned and ran up to the fallen seer.

"Demi! Are you ohh..." Her voice faded when she looked down at the blood oozing from her head. Her horn was gone, looking as if it had snapped at the stem. She blinked for a moment, then was nearly blown off her hooves from a sudden explosion from behind her. She turned to see the king slid on the ground away from the two, then turned back to face her friend. She has never seen a wound like this, and she didn't know what to do. Finally, Demi's eyes opened.

"Did I... get him?" She whispered in a weak tone.

Twilight meekly smiled, and nodded. "Better than any pony," she replied, holding back a tear.

"Crimson..." Her head went to the side, gesturing toward a small hiding spot not far off. "Tell him..."

Twilight knew what was happening. She had read it many times in countless stories. "No!" She snapped, a tear falling from her eyes and onto Demi's bloodied cheek. "No, you tell him."

"Shut... Shut up, fool." She said with a smile. "Tell him... I would have been honored... to be... his... lila’vah." She let out an exhale, then went limp in Twilight's arms.

Twilight Sparkle, Element of Friendship and Princess of Friendship, watched one of her bitter rivals, yet a brave noble friend, die in her arms.

Comments

[BluePhoenyx]

Chapter 32 - Crimson and the Last Stand
The battle continues as Twilight's plan starts to come together. Then, a surprising and grim event unfolded which may turn the tides one way or the other.

Thanks for reading. Maybe Thursday will be the next chapter. We will see.

Enjoy