Chapter 6: To Pay Off a Debt
The old door had no chance
SMASH!!
I threw my body into the back door of that farmhouse, sending wooden chunks and splinters everywhere. Without missing a beat, I dashed into the open space and down the hill the house was built on. I didn’t know where I was going and didn’t care; the father away I was the better. The bottom of the hill was the edge of the orchard itself, and as I ran up the next hill, I found the sun blinking at me as I rapidly charged in and out of all the tree’s shadows. Gravity was nice enough to help me back down the first hill.
Despite my burning lungs, my dying sides, and nearly every muscle in my body begging for rest, I continued to sprint as hard as I could up and back down the second hill. The pain grew and grew as I reached the bottom of the second hill, but the rest of the way was a small flat plane, so I allowed my self to jog, and then stop entirely just as I was on flat ground. Now out of site of the farmhouse, I sat down and rested my back on the nearest apple tree. I know it’s a bad idea to lie down after heavy running, especially if you where planning to run some more, but damnit I needed the rest!
Beyond me was the other end of the farm. The border made by a crude and unmaintained fence. Beyond that fence was a dense forest. The same forest, I presumed, I first saw when I woke up at Fluttershy’s house. I tried to hear over my loudly thumbing heart, and listen for any sign that those ponies were following. I didn’t hear anything, but I let my heart settle first before I let myself be sure. Only seconds after I caught my breath, I could hear rapid thumbing though the ground. I peaked just over my shoulder and the tree I rested on to see four ponies galloping their way down the second hill.
Break time was over. I got up on my feet, and dashed through the rest of the fake forest and towards the real one. Without looking back or giving a second thought, I vaulted over the degrading fence and disappeared the dark forest.
***
Ealier...
Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity walked out of the jail house, each egger to find the human. After traveling a fair distance and taking a break by the fountain in the town center, Rarity spoke to her friends, “Girls, does any of us even know where to look first?”
Twilight put a hoof to her chin, “Umm, I actually don’t know. I guess we’re just going to have to ask around to see if anypony may have seen him.”
“But who do you suppose we’re going to ask first?”
“Well, maybe one of the weather ponies saw something, or –“
Fluttershy shouted, “Zecora!” and ran off else where.
“I’m not sure about Zecora- wait, what?” Twilight and Rarity turned around. Surely enough, Zecora was only a few yards from them and Fluttershy was already talking to the alchemist zebra.
Zecora wore heavy saddle bags and pulled a wagon filled with various tools and jars. To most ponies, it looked like junk, but the expert apothecary always made great use of her tools. Fluttershy spoke first, “Hello, Zecora.”
“Fluttershy, how nice it is to see you; I hope things are going well for you too.”
“I’m doing fine. Oh, are you here for the potion I asked for?”
Zecora looked confused, “I don’t understand your notion; I have already given your injured friend my potion.”
Fluttershy’s face lit up, “Wait, you’ve seen Dave? Where is he? We need to find him!”
Zecora relaxed, “If Dave is your strange friend, then I last saw him in your cottage by the forest’s end. But why all the concern, why is his location what you yearn?”
Fluttershy stepped back and looked a little shocked, “Oh, umm, well.” She dug her hoof at the ground for several seconds. She slowly shook her head. “I don’t think I should really talk about,” She looked back up at Zecora, “b-but it’s really important!”
“Do not fret about my trust, kind one; I know you’ll keep things well when all is done. But I’m afraid I can not help you anymore; I haven’t seen Dave since I left your door.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, really. Thank you; at least we now know where to look.”
“It is my pleasure to help those that ask; I wish you good luck on your task.”
Fluttershy began to trot off to her friends, when she jumped and spun around in mid air; now hovering with her back to the ground and waving goodbye at Zecora. Zecora made the same silent gesture and continued hauling her wagon towards home.
Rarity and Twilight rested by the fountain with their own conversation. Each one proposing ideas to the other on how to find the elusive human. Fluttershy hovered and landed next to both of them, excitement filled and spilled from her face, “I got great news! Zecora saw Dave at my house.”
Twilight said, “Well then, what are we waiting for?” She left the fountain, and her friends followed, hopeful that they could still find Dave before it may be too late.
***
The quick trot to Fluttershy’s cottage was short and uneventful. Upon entering the quiet house, the trio of mares agreed to split up and search the house for any clues. Fluttershy looked upstairs, Rarity looked downstairs, and Twilight looked in the backyard. After their quick search, they all met in the living room to discuss what they did or didn’t find.
Fluttershy walked down the stairs towards Rarity. She couldn’t hide the worry on her face. “It looks like he took his armor; I can’t find it anywhere.”
Rarity spoke with a hint of surprise, “Armor?”
Fluttershy gently nodded her head, “Well, yes. Dave had armor all over his body.”
Rarity held a hoof to her chin and spoke almost too soft to hear, “That explains why he looked so different…”
“So have you found anything?”
“Only his strange hoofprint,” Rarity waved a hoof, pointing towards Fluttershy’s floor. “But unfortunately, I’m sure he’s already left.”
Twilight walked in through the back door. The sound of the closing door announced her arrival and pulled the other two mare’s attention towards her. Twilight hung her head low with a frown carved onto her face. A small blue bird was perched on her horn, and pecked at the poor alicorn’s head without end. “Glad you two found some kind of information. I for one only found this extremely annoying bird.” Twilight lifted her head and let out a sigh. “Fluttershy, would you be so kind?”
Fluttershy rushed to her friend. “Oh, I’m sorry, Twilight. He normally doesn’t do this unless he has something really important to say.” Fluttershy hovered in the air and picked up the blue jay within her hooves. The bird immediately began squeaking and Fluttershy held him close to her ears.
The bird continued squeaking and flapping his wings in obvious frustration. “Strange two legged creature? Oh, that must be Dave! Where did-“ The bird squeaked and chirped some more. “Oh, I don’t mind, he was probably hungry anyway. But where-“ The blue jay chirped some more. “Yes, yes, I know. But please, tell me where he went?” The bird stopped squeaking and tilted his head. After a few seconds, he made only a few more chirps. “Towards Sweet Apple Acres?!” Fluttershy began hugging the small bird. “Oh thank you, thank you, Mr. Jay. Oh, and don’t worry about that, I promise I’ll take care of it when I’m done.” The bird made a few more chirps before jumping off Fluttershy’s hoof and flying off.
Rarity stepped in, “So, Sweet Apple Acres then?”
Fluttershy nodded her head, “MmHmm.”
Twilight stomped her hoof at the floor, “Then lets go, we don’t have a moment to lose.”
***
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity found themselves panting for breath by the time they reached Sweet Apple Acres. They galloped as much as they could and quickly trotted the rest. They were so close.
They made their way strait to the farmhouse, and Twilight made no hesitation in knocking at the door.
Knock Knock Knock
Twilight stood back and took what little time they had to catch her breath. Her friends did the same. After a few seconds, Applejack answered the door.
“Hehee, Howdy Twilight, what brings ya’ ‘round here?”
“Not much. But say, Applejack, you haven’t seen the human around here, have you?”
“The what now?”
“You know, that weird thing we found at your barn yesterday.”
“Ooooh, that.” Sweat began to drip from the farm pony’s neck. “Umm nope, can’t say I have.” Applejack’s lips puckered up and her eyes darted from side to side.
Twilight’s ears dropped, “Oh, ok. I guess we’ll just look elsewhere.” Twilight began to turn around, but Rarity stopped her with a hoof.
Rarity stepped forward, stopping only inches from the farmpony. Her eyes were squinted and started directly into Applejack’s. Applejack’s eyes, however, were too busy darting around to return the gesture.
Rarity spoke, her voice seemed cold as ice, “Now I know a nervous twitch when I see one.”
Applejack stepped back into her house and rubbed a hoof behind her head, “Do ya now, hehee?”
“I do. And Applejack, I think you’re hiding something.”
Applejack’s eyes started to dart around even faster, “Well, I, uuh-“
THUNK!!
“I ‘ant gonna let ya eat ma gran’daughter, ya fancy varmint!”
Everypony gasped. Dave lay on the floor in the middle of everypony’s view. The human was quick to recover and got up on its two hooves surprisingly fast. When he turned to face the ponies at the door, despair fell into all the hearts it hadn’t already infected. He was holding the filly, Applebloom, in his hand and chocking the breath and life out of her.
For several long seconds, nobody did anything; either taking in the situation itself or thinking about what to do about it. The human was the first to act, as he spun around and sent the filly flying towards every pony at the door.
Applebloom screamed through the air, “AAAAAHHH!!!”
Fluttershy jumped in the air and caught the filly. She instantly became the motherly figure many woodland critters were so familiar with. Fluttershy caressed the filly who was already sobbing in her hooves. She slowly descended onto the floor. She nearly jumped back up in the air when a loud crash emanated throughout the farmhouse.
Nopony paid more than a second of attention to the sound and instead surrounded the yellow mare to take a better look at the filly.
Applejack’s face was filled with rage. She stomped her hoof at the floor hard, “That varmint!! By the good princess’s sun, Ah’ll make double sure that thing pays for doin’ this to ma’ sister!”
Twilight’s eyes widened and turned to the farmpony. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. This wasn’t supposed to get violent. “Wait, Applejack, we can’t-“
A loud, low-pitched interrupted her. “Go.”
All four mares turned to the red stallion. Big Mac’s face was stone cold. “Go. I’ll take care of ‘bloom.” He used a hoof to pulled Applebloom from Fluttershy’s grip. The scared filly held on to her brother’s leg and hard as she could and sobbed away.
Applejack nodded her head. She quickly turned around. “Let’s go!!”
Twilight tried to intervene again, “Wait, no!”
Before anypony could hear her, Applejack had already galloped out the now destroyed back door with Fluttershy and Rarity following.
Twilight had not choice but to follow. She whispered to herself, “No…”
She had to stop this. If Applejack fought back, that would be the end of any chance for this to end peacefully. She had to stop this.
The four mares galloped as fast as they could through the orchard. They made their way up and down the first hill. As they rounded the second hill, everypony was already out of breath. Applejack only stopped at the top of the second hill to rear up and scream, “There it goes!!”
Applejack charged down the hill. As the rest of the mares followed, they could see the uniquely shaped creature jump over the old fence that made of the border of the farm and the Everfree forest. Before even Applejack could do anything about it, Dave disappeared into the dense forest.
Twilight rolled her eyes as she reach the bottom of the hill, “How much harder does this have to get?” She jumped the fence after her friends.
None of the ponies stopped in their pursuit.
***
The mares galloped though the forest. The human they perused was just barely in their view. Applejack galloped a hard as she could and trampled any small fauna, or tree for that matter, that was unfortunate enough to be in her way. Fluttershy flew as fast as she could, trying to keep an eye on the human as he fled. Rarity and Twilight galloped through the rough path Applejack was creating. Neither of them was conditioned for heavy physical activity, and despite all their will and determination, both the human and their enraged friend slowly slipped from their view.
They dodged large rocks, jumped logs, and ducked under branches trying hard to keep up. After many minutes of what felt like endless galloping to catch the most elusive creature, they all stumbled upon a familiar sight. A small, but deep ravine lay ahead of them as well as an old rope bridge that served as the only way across. Across the ravine were the ruins of an old castle.
Twilight and Rarity made it just in time to see their cowmare friend stomp her hoof in endless frustration, watching the human slash at the rope bridge on the other side and sending it deep into the misty ravine.
Fluttershy descended from her flight and landed next to her friends. Applejack kept her gaze where the other end of the bridge should be. Her voice was cold and emotionless, “Fluttershy, fly down there an’ fix the bridge.”
“D-down their?” Fluttershy stepped toward the edge of the gorge and looked down into the mist, “B-but it’s so dark and scary.”
“FIX IT!” Applejack huffed her breath and stopped her hoof again, but still kept her gaze. Fluttershy stepped back and away from the angry pony, retreating behind her other friends.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed, “Applejack! I know you’re angry, but that’s no reason to yell at your friends.”
“It almost killed my sister; I’ll be damned to tartarous if I let that thing have the breath to try again.”
Twilight stepped forward, “Maybe so, but that still doesn’t call for such aggressive behavior.” Twilight let out a sigh. “Listen, if you promise to calm down, I’ll teleport over and fix the bridge, deal?”
Applejack filled her lungs with a deep, slow breath and let it all out just as slowly. She finally turned to her friends. Her eyes and voice were much calmer now, “A’right, Twi. Sorry about that Fluttershy.”
Twilight smiled, and then disappeared in a purple flash. Instantaneously, a similar flash appeared from across the ravine. The roped bridge glowed visibly from the mist below as it floated upwards. As she finished tying up the ropes, Twilight waved to her friends. “Its fine, I made a triple knot!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Applejack galloped over the bridge as fast as she could. Rarity and Fluttershy stood nervously as they watched. When Applejack reached the other side, she shouted back, “Come one slowpoke, we ‘aint got all day!”
Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other then let out a simultaneous sigh. Rarity slowly walked over the old bridge, keeping an eye on any broken boards or ripping threads. Fluttershy, however, chose to simply hover behind her to avoid putting anymore weight on the bridge.
When they finally reached the other side, Applejack was impatiently tapping her hoof. “’bout time,” she said, “Lets go!” Applejack started walking towards the ruined castle, this time slowing down to give her friends time to catch up.
One by one, each mare trotted under the ruined arch that once framed giant, long-decayed doors. Even Applejack’s rage finally subsided at the sight. Every chipped brick and torn curtain gave never ending reminders of the eerie history impeded here like the mold. Each mare made there way through the castle, ear erect for any sound and heads jerking ever which way.
It wasn’t long until they reached the throne room. The ceiling of the room dug many feet into the air, but even the roof was losing its battle against time. Large holes let in convenient light to see the two thrones below as well as the still dust in the air. Each throne had its own large vertical banner behind them with a unique design. The banner to the left was blue and indigo, decorated with various batters of stars the moon. The banner to the right was yellow and amber, decorated with a picture of the sun and its many rays. Columns on both sides of the giant room held the dying ceiling up and now stood as the home to parasitic vines. Smaller arches made for entrances to various tunnels within the walls to the left and right.
Twilight let out a sigh in defeat. Even if Dave just so happened to have made it to the throne room, there were so many ways he could have galloped and hid. She was too late; there was no hope to find the human. Twilight dropped her head as depression seeped in. Even if she finds them, what pony is to say he’d even listen to her? It was a stupid idea to start with.
Her friends continued to look around the room, but Twilight turned around, ready to just go home. Before she called to her friends, a sound stole her attention. It sounded like a chunk of stone hitting the ground. Her ears instantly turned to the source of the sound before she turned around to view it herself. Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity already had their focus on the same spot: the tunnel to the right.
Applejack’s rage reignited. She lowered her head and stomped her hoof at the ground. Within seconds of mostly silence, she exclaimed, “Ah’ll get it!” She charged at the tunnel.
Slash
“Auuughh!!”
Applejack was sent flying across the throne room, streaming blood through her flight path and accompanied by a menacing roar that shook the entire castle. The other mares gasped in surprise. Rarity immediately galloped to assist her fallen friend, but once again the tunnel stole everypony’s attention. From the darkness crawled out a lethal creature.
The creature most similarly resembled a lion. Its scarlet mane was shorter and extended as a goatee at the chin. Horns grew from the sides of its skull; each one was curved and rolled backwards, ending in a sharp point. Its back was covered not in fur, but in slick dark, mossy green scales. The scales extended by the spine and off its back, forming and ending into a reptilian tail. The tailed flicked around aggressively, showing off its small set of jaws at the tip. The tail itself was an eyeless snake. As the creature roared again, menacing saber fangs unfolded along with its many rows of sharp, serrated teeth, and a tongue that forked in two points at the end.
It was a chimera. Twilight unfolded her wings, lowered her head and narrowed her eyes, ready in a combatant stance. She’d studied chimeras before, but never had she seen them in real life. In fact, it was one of many creatures she hoped she never would. The chimera was much more deadly than manticores. The saber fangs could fold away into their mouths like a viper, and when extended, could inject lethal venom to its prey. The smaller fangs on its snake-tail could do so as well, but some believed the venom there was even worse. The most dangerous aspect of a chimera was not its ability to breathe fire like a dragon, but its ability to use magic. It could create arcane energy within itself and focus it through its horns, much like a unicorn could. However, what the chimera lacked in skill or intellect to properly use magic, it made up for in pure power. There was good reason as to why the chimera was so feared.
And the proof was in front of her, bleeding and dying on the cold castle floor.
Twilight’s horn glowed and charged with magical energy. A concussion spell was meant for ponies or smaller animals, but maybe, she thought, if it was heavily charge, it could work against larger animals, even the chimera. Twilight charged the horn more and more; she wasn’t going to take any chances. Sweat began to drip down her forehead, and the chimera slowly walked into the throne room, wary of what the alicorn was up to.
Rarity used her own magic to pick up Applejack and float her to the far corner of the throne room, away from the chimera. She began to slowly step around the chimera, anxiously flanking the creature. Despite all the terror and every inch of her body screaming at her to run away, Fluttershy stood by her friends and flanked the other side of the chimera. Her eyes darted from the creature to her magic-wielding friends, searching and waiting for the opportunity to do something, anything at all.
Twilight’s horn continued to hum and glow with energy. After a few long moments, her charge was as great as it would get. Sweat covered much of her body, and her eyes found it difficult to focus. Even through the numbness, she found the strength to grin.
“TAKE THIS!” Blinding light illuminated the room, forcing any other pony shade their eyes with a foreleg. The arcane energy blasted from Twilight’s horn to the chimera. It was thick enough to not only cover the creature, but overwhelm and wash over it like a wave of water. Smoke covered the area and obscured any view of it.
Twilight kept her head down and huffed her breath. Sweat continued to drip of her muzzle. Her smiled broadened in victory, the long silent seconds where disturbed by a loud roar. Twilight and Rarity relaxed at the chimera’s admit to defeat. Fluttershy did anything but relax. She knew the difference in roars. That wasn’t a roar of pain, it was a war cry. The chimera wasn’t defeated, it was just angry.
Fluttershy screamed to her off-guard friend, “TWILIGHT, look out!!” As if on cue, the chimera jumped from the smoke, flying through the air, almost reaching a dozen feet into the air, it pounced towards Twilight.
Twilight’s eyes widened through surprise and terror. On instinct, her wings unfolded and her legs spread to brace. Her horn glowed to create a pink bubble over herself. She kept her eyes on the gold and red blur as gravity pulled it towards her.
The chimera’s curved horns glowed with a crimson aura along with its eyes and paws. It pounced right on top of Twilight’s shield, smashing its glowing forepaws into the bubble. Crack deviated from the impact all over the shield. Twilight held her ground and tried to repair the shield, but it was a losing battle.
The chimera slid of the shield and stood on its paws. It roared at Twilight and her shield with thunderous fury. It swung its head and smashed its horns against the shield, again and again. Each blow cracked the shield more and more. Twilight tried desperately to hold the shield, but the chimera was too strong.
With one last swing, the shield shattered into countless pieces that scattered across the stone floor and dissolved into the air. Before Twilight could do anything further, the chimera’s horns began to glow in a thicker, blood-red aura. Twin blasts of arcane energy ejected from the horns and blasted Twilight in the chest. The alicorn flew faster than she ever did before, landing on he back yards away from the chimera, entirely unresponsive.
Rarity could only watch, paralyzed with horror. Fluttershy screamed for her fallen friend, “Twilight! NOOO!!” The chimera immediately turned to Fluttershy with its threatening gaze. It growled to itself and seemed to grin.
The chimera started its slow approach to its next prey when Rarity broke from her trance, her concern for her friends now overpowering any fear within her. She charged at the chimera, her horn lowered and glowed. She screamed, “Get away from her!!”
The chimera turned to face whoever intended to disturbed its meal. It was met with a face full of light-violet energy. Rarity kept charging at the chimera. Before it could recover from the blast, Rarity made a small leap forward, landing just on her fore hooves. She kept her momentum, spinning her body around and delivering a devastating buck to the chimera’s face. Both hooves simultaneously made contact, knocking it off balance and to the floor.
The chimera quickly stood back up, and through itself forward. An extended paw tore through the air, smashing into Rarity’s shoulder, and knocking her through the air. Rarity slammed into the leftmost throne. With her momentum stolen by the cold stone chair, gravity dragged her body to the floor. She laid there just as immobile and unresponsive as her friends. Blood spilled from her lips, pooling on the floor and staining her coat.
The chimera turned around and resumed its gaze on the tender yellow pegasus. It slowly walked to the pony, ready to counter any attempt at escape. Without even thinking, Fluttershy unfolded her wings and took flight. She had to get away, she had to get help, she had to leave her friends. If she stayed, she’d just end up like the others, if she left, there may be a chance to save them. Fluttershy pumped her wings through the air as hard as she could, tears formed at the corner of her eyes. It was the best thing to do right now, but it still brought pain to her to heart to leave her friends. She aimed for one of the many holes in the roof. The clear blue sky was just beyond her, almost within her grasp, but her vision was replaced with a bright red flash.
The chimera teleported and appeared right in front of her, its horns, eyes, and paws all glowed with crimson aura again. Fluttershy tried to stop in mid air, and pushed herself backwards with her wings. The chimera swung its massive paw and caught on her left wing. The claws tore at the feathers and flesh, leaving deep lacerations. The claws dug unto the muscle, and pulled the wing with them. Fluttershy was thrown to her right, spinning in the air. She slammed into one of the columns. Her whole body slipped downwards and collided with the castle floor with a painful thump.
Fluttershy tried to get up on her hoofs, her body burned with pain. In front of her, the chimera floated back to the ground. When it landed, it began to walk to the wounded pony again. Fluttershy limbed back and kept her eyes on the chimera. Her left wing was destroyed and hanged at her side as a useless limb. Her breath was jagged and uneven.
She whispered herself, “Help me…”
A little louder, “Help me please…”
Even louder now, “Please help me.”
Yelling now, “Help!!”
She sat on her flanks and raised her head, now screaming at the world, “PLEASE, SOMEPONY HELP ME!!”
For many long moments, the only sounds to accompany her pleas were a set of snarling teeth and the heavy beat of her own heart. Fluttershy tried to drag herself away from the creature, delaying her fate, but still hopeful that somepony, something, anything would come to her aid. The chimera came closer and closer, its fangs almost seemed to gin at the terrified pony.
To Fluttershy’s surprise, she was answered. Another voice, one lower pitch and more masculine, yelled back.
“Hey, ugly!!”
The chimera turned around to the source of the voice. A spear flew through the air, and stabbed at the chimera in its shoulder. The chimera roared in pain and used its magic to remove the spear from itself and drop it on the ground. A biped creature ran out of the shadows with a rusty long sword in one set of claws.
With sword in hand, Dave charged at the chimera. He held the sword high, and brought it down to slash at the chimera right its face.
Fluttershy could only watch in awe as the human fought to save her.
***
Earlier...
I finished cutting the rope bridge and ran inside what seemed to be the ruins of an old castle. I knew some of those ponies could fly, and others had magic, but I figured it would buy me some time anyway. When I was under the decaying roof, I finally gave myself time to rest. I continued to walk randomly throughout ruins, but at least now I could catch my breath.
Running for your own life was beyond exhausting. Because of the danger, my body let myself run faster and longer than ever before. It wasn’t the first time my body did this, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the side effects. Nearly every muscle in my body ached. I felt so heavy. My heart beat loud enough for me to constantly hear it. My liver burned as it filtered all the acid from my bloodstream.
I lost my balance and stumbled on a wall. Before I could push myself back on my feet, my stomach emptied its contents all over the ancient floor. I puked a disgusting mix of green and yellow till I had nothing left. When I was done dry heaving, I pushed myself up, only to instantly loose my balance and fall back in the other direction.
Crash! Thunk-thump-thunk…
I landed in a pile of something hard and metallic-sounding. I got back up again. I wobbled a little this time, but kept my balance. I looked down and found that I landed on what seemed like a pile of armor. I looked around the room. I hadn’t noticed before because I was more focused on my pain then where I was going, but now I realize the hall I was in was filled with armor. They were all full sets of plate armor, though rusty and probably just as old as the castle, they seemed designed to fit ponies. Each one also held a weapon of some sort. Some had swords or maces in their mouths, and others had their legs rapped around spears. There were many other rusty weapons on display, some I’d never even seen before.
I walked through the hall, past the seemingly endless rows of statue guards. I spoke to some as I walked, “Hey, how’re you doing? How’s the wife? See anything on patrol? Hey, did you get that promotion yet?” No one else was here to giggle at my jokes, so I did it myself.
I walked up to another set of armor, this one carried a spear. “Hey, you alright Jack? You haven’t said a word all day.” I laughed at myself again as I sat down next to the immobile guard.
Tink…
That was odd. It sounded like a piece of glass hitting the ground. I leaned forward and looked left and right down the hall, but no one was there. I laid back and thought about it for a second. It didn’t take me long to figure it out. I dug my hand into my pocket and pullet out a small flask filled with a strange yellow liquid.
I brought the bottle closer to myself to get a better look, “Now how did I forget about you? … Oh yeah, I was focused on getting my knife back, and then I was running for my life.” I used my other hand to pull the cork off the top. “You know, normally I wouldn't drink random ‘potions’, but a part of me kinda hopes you just kill me and put an end to all this.”
I put the flask to my lips and tilted my head. I only took a sip before I quickly retracted the bottle and put it down. I shook my head and looked to my side at it, “Eugh, you taste like piss.” A second latter, I was clenching my teeth in pain. My sides burned, but this time it felt like actual fire!
I quickly ripped the velcro off my sides to pull away my vest. I lifted my jacket and shirt to inspect my wound. The burning sensation had already subsided by the time I got to it, but what I saw was amazing. It wasn’t burned at all. In fact, the wound was smaller and shallower than ever before.
I grabbed the bottle off the floor and chugged the rest of it down. It still tasted bad, but I didn’t care anymore. By the time I was on the last sip, the burning sensation returned. I dropped the flask and looked at my side. It really felt like someone put a burning torch to my side, but I couldn’t help but be awed as my wound healed at an impossible rate. It became smaller and smaller, like a rift in the earth closing up. Within seconds, it had already sealed itself; every new tendon and muscle was ready for action. To my disappointment, it didn’t leave a scar, but I could live without that. I softly punched the area the massive wound once was; it was real, it was all real, true, flesh. I couldn’t help but smile at myself.
My personal celebration was cut short, when I heard something down the hall. It knew it was a voice, a bit high pitched, but I didn’t catch what it said. I stopped everything and listened closer.
“Help!!”
I knew that voice; it was Fluttershy, and she was in trouble. Part of me demanded I helped her. Another part was hopping she was about to die. I sat conflicted for a few seconds, but eventually, I decided to do the right thing. I reattached my vest to itself, then got up and grabbed a spear from one of the armor sets as well as a sword from another. I charged down the hall towards the voice.
My new sides worked perfectly. They no longer hurt when I ran, and now I could comfortably sprint. I rounded corners and charged onward. Just as I was about to question where to go, Fluttershy screamed again, now louder than ever, “PLEASE, SOMEPONY HELP ME!!”
I knew where to go now, and I was so close. I turned one more corner and sprinted to the end of the hall. As it ended, I found myself in a large chamber, some sort of throne room. Ahead of me was big lion looking thing and beyond it was Fluttershy. She was inching away from the lion, dragging a blooded and wounded wing.
I took the old spear in one hand, and before launching the javelin, I shouted at the lion-thing, “Hey, ugly!!” I threw the spear. Truth be told, I never done that before and was doubtful of my skills, but nevertheless it made contact. The lion-thing roared in pain. It horns glowed along with the spear in its shoulder. I took the sword in my hand and charged at it. I’ve never been in a sword fight with a lion before either, but how hard can it be?
Just as the spear was dropped to the ground, I swung the sword downward, slashing the lion-thing’s face. It stepped back, but I didn’t give it time to recover. I took the sword in both my hands this time, stepped forward again, and slashed upwards at it.
Crack tink-tink-tink
But this time, the old sword broke. Half of it flew across the throne room, but the other halve stayed in my grip. I didn’t think twice. I threw myself forward, intent to stab the lion-thing, but it had other plans. Its horns glowed with a crimson aura and exploded energy outward, sending me flying back through the air. I landed a fair bit away on my back. I used my momentum and rolled back on my feet. I quickly regained my balance and charged again at the creature.
This time the lion-thing roared at me, revealing its two fold-away saber fangs. It swung its head side to side, spewing fire from its mouth. Within a second, my path was obscured by a wall of bright flames. I quickly stopped and brought my left arm up to protect my face from the great heat.
I took a step back from the flames, but the lion-thing jumped through the blaze. It front paws were held wide, and extended its many claws. Its jaw was opened and poised for the kill. It pounced on top of me knocking me unto my back and clamping its many sharp teeth on my guarding arm.
As I hit the ground my sword was knocked out of my hand and slid out of reach. My arm fell behind the long saber fangs, but the teeth still punctured my forearm’s armor in a dozen different places, stabbing a tearing away at my flesh.
With my right hand, I punched at its face, but it didn’t help much. I could feel the air passing my arm as the lion-thing sucked in a lungful of air. The inside of its jaw heated up quick. This was bad. It was about to breath fire again, and at this range, I’d be roasted alive. I used my free hand to quick grab my knife from my side and stabbed the lion-thing in right in the side of its neck. I pulled the blade out and stabbed it again. I wasn’t until I stabbed for a third time that the creature finally let go of my arm and fell back. It roared in displeasure and held a paw up to its neck, trying to stop the blood flow.
I got back up on my feet and with the knife in my hand, charged at the lion-thing again. This time I took my blade in both my hands a lifted it above my head. I brought my knife down and stabbed it right in the skull between the horns. Bone was no match for sharp steel, but I was in the heat of the moment. I pulled the blade out and stabbed it again, over and over and over. Every time I pulled the blade out again, I threw fresh blood into the air. It flew everywhere and stained my armor.
The lion-thing was long dead, but the only reason I stopped is because I was too tired to do it again. My front was entirely caked in blood. My black blade felt like a cinder block in my hands. I sheathed the weapon and looked up. I saw the clear blue sky above me through the large holes in the room. I looked down at my heavy, tired, trembling hands and all the blood I was soaked in.
I looked forward to Fluttershy. She just stood their, trembling in fear. I didn’t say anything. I looked around and found the immobile bodies of the other four ponies that chased me through the forest. I held my damaged arm and walked away. I wished I had more of that potion, but I drank all of it already and left the bottle in that hallway.
I walked towards another one of these tunnels. Each step was laborious and my focus was slowly drifting from me. Suddenly, I could here the sound of galloping horses throughout the room. From the tunnel at the front of the throne room, pooled out dozens of armed ponies. More combat ponies flew in from the holes in the roof. Within seconds I was surrounded.
In front of me were a few familiar ponies. Directly in front was that commando unicorn combat pony with the fancy helmet. To my left was the large red pony I saw in the farmhouse. To my right was the blue winged pony with the rainbow hair. The blue pony had bandages around its head.
The combat pony spoke first. “Is that it?”
I was losing my balance.
The red on responded, “Eyup.”
Everything was turning red. A high pitched whine filled my head.
The blue one spoke, “Careful, it’s more dangerous that it looks.”
I lifted my arm and pointed at the ponies. I tried to think if some sort of fancy one-liner, but in hindsight, I guess I needed a little more blood in my head for that to work. So I just pointed at them and said, “You… stupid-ass horses…”
I fell to my knees. My head dropped forward and hit the ground as I blacked out. If I wake up from this, I might start questioning my mortality.
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Uh oh, I think the Chimera poisoned him... AND FLUTTERSHY'S WING OHMAIGOODNESS!!!
I'm loving the story, even though I'm not particularly interested in gore, you caught my attention. The long chapter was beautiful as well, I really hate when it takes me five minutes to finish a chapter but this took about 20.
I liked these long chapters and you wrote zecora. STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
Crap meant you wrote zecora well
BRILLIANT chapter. Zecora was really good and i love how all the chapters have a cliff-hanger(not really) Please release faster!!!! :flutter rage: Anyway… Keep up the good work!
Ah, much better! You wrote rhymes for Zecora's speaking very well, Dave is no longer an antagonist, and you did wonderfully on this chapter! Very, very few stories have actually got me trembling with excitement; Only about two out of thousands, and now three! Nicely done!
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I'm glad you all liked it!
3673819 I really and I mean REALLY love how Dave is the protagonist and antagonist. Intact I can't even tell you how much I love that in this story.
"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Huh, so he fought with a broken sword at some point. I had my doubts at first, but now's a good time to drop this in.
What about comments related to the MANY errors? How about comments like; "Your MC is a unlikeable Gary Stu."? Or do you only want obsequious ass-kissing comments? Well congratulations! You got them!!
But this sure as hell ain't one of them.
'Dave' should be dead, period. I'm not even talking about the chimera, that was just the final straw that confirmed you were doing it on purpose. No 'Dave' should be quite dead from complications of his pre-Equestrian wound... you know the one that hasn't affected him in anyway except when you wanted him to seem relatable and worthy of sympathy? Not to mention the massive blood loss that also has zero effect on the Mighty-and-Honorable-Asshole-Who-Will-Totally-be-Forgiven
GaryDave!!Edit: Yeah, I know. "What is someone who doesn't like this story doing all the way on chapter 6?!" Well some of us like to give the author the chance to change our minds instead of coming to a snap judgment in the middle of the first chapter.