Children of Chaos

by shirotora

Chapter 12: The Frozen Sun

Chapter 12: The Frozen Sun

“So...” Autumn looked between Snow and Specter. They had just finished explaining what happened and who he was. “You had him inside you?”

Snow rolled her eyes and Specter's mane shifted to pink.

“Why does your mane do that?” Oak asked. “It's shifted color a couple times already.”

“O-oh, um,” the demon stuttered, suddenly finding himself the center of attention. “It... um, changes according to my mood. Like if I'm angry, it turns red, or if I’m getting irritated, it turns yellow.”

“That's kind of weird,” Blaze commented, laughing at the embarrassed nightmare. “What does pink mean?”

“It means, he doesn't like ponies he doesn't know hinting that he took advantage of a injured mare,” Snow defended, snorting in anger.

“Okay, jeez,” the pegasus held his forehooves up in a placating gesture.

“Why are you getting so protective?” Autumn asked.

“Really?” Snow deadpanned. “What part of 'my intestines were hanging out and he fixed it' did you not understand?”

“Good point,” Autumn conceded. “I guess we owe ya our thanks, Specter. You saved our friend's life.”

“Yeah, I guess you're a good... demon.” Oak admitted then let out a chuckle, shaking his head, “First I make friends with a changeling and tiger-pony, then a dhampir, and now a void demon. Next thing you know, I'll be keeping a Tartarus chimera as a pet.”

“That would be awesome,” Blaze laughed. “Find one with a griffin head for a foot and at least one tentacle.”

“It would fit right in in Ponyville,” Autumn chuckled.

“Yeah, your life was doomed to strangeness the moment you began hanging out with Ponyville ponies,” Tiriel commented as he patted Oak on the back.

“Speaking of strangeness,” Snow looked around for a moment, “Where's my nerdy brother and his nympho fillyfriend?”

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

“Hand me the 7/8 inch,” Razor requested.

“H-here you g-go,” Surprise said as she passed the wrench, her teeth chattering in the cold.

The tigony took the tool and tightened the mana valve's casing before pulling himself out from under the plane. They were parked in the snow about a half mile from a cave entrance that they believed was the one they sought. Razor got to his feet and rolled his shoulders.

“Alright, the jet's fixed. You want to go inside and warm up first, or just head to cave now?”

“Cave! The f-faster we f-find the shard, th-the faster w-we can g-g-go!” Surprise stuttered.

“It's not that cold,” Razor commented.

“Yeah, well, y-you're part tiger. Y-you're built f-for cold.”

“You're a changeling,” Razor deadpanned. “Change your coat or something.”

Surprise stared at him dumbly, “I... um... oh yeah.”

A ripple of green light shimmered around her. Razor stared at his fillyfriend with a slack jaw, the pegasus he knew no longer there. Instead, stood the lithe, predatory form of a winged while tigress. Surprise opened her eyes and gave him a sultry look.

“I was saving this for your birthday,” she said. “How do I look?”

“Words,” the stunned tigony began, “don't exist...”

A blush spread across the changeling's face. “Thanks. I still can't use these very well, though.” She wiggled the digits on her paw awkwardly. “Last time I tried this, I got a claw stuck in my cheek. You sure I look fine without a mane?”

Razor nodded, still entranced by the beauty before him.

Surprise giggled. “Well, geez, I didn't know you'd take it like this.” She bit her lip, looking back at the plane. “Well, how about a quickie before we go in?”

Razor nodded vigorously.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

3 hours later

“You ready to do this?” Razor asked, standing at the mouth of the cave.

Surprise swallowed hard. “Yeah. I just wish Kataya would have told us more about this place.”

“She might not have known,” Razor pointed out.

The changeling rolled her eyes and countered with, “She knows everything. I mean, you realize she probably knew all of this would happen.”

“All of what?”

“Everything!” Surprise exclaimed. “Think about it. Even Rarity at least popped up to give a wave goodbye as we were leaving. Kataya and Paruk were the only ones that didn't at least give us a quick farewell. Even mom sent her's with me, but Kat? Not a word from her. Why?”

Razor thought for a moment before he said, “Well, I'm sure she had a reason to not tell us if she knew.”

Surprise sighed, “I hope so, but what reason could she have had to let almost everyone she knows die?”

“Well... you're still assuming she knew,” Razor reiterated. “Remember, she can't control her sight very well, yet.”

“Maybe,” Surprise conceded. “Let's just go get this sun shard so we can go back and ask her.”

With a nod, Razor led the way into the frozen cave. Both were nervous, memories of the last cave they explored were far too fresh. Surprise noticed the suddenly glum expression of her boyfriend.

“Are you okay?” Surprise asked.

“Yeah, just thinking about Snow,” The tigony said as he marked a fork in the cave with his claw. They took the left fork. “I'm worried about her.”

“I’m sure she’s okay. She’s a tough mare.” Surprise offered.

“Yeah, well, she was still blown up. She's probably scared and in pain right now.”

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

The burly stallion fell hard into the training mat, unconscious like the seven before him.

“Alright, who's next?” Snow called, her smile bright.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

“After we find this shard, we'll ask Kat to tell us where she is, so we can visit her,” the changeling reassured him.

“Alri...” Razor trailed off as his eyes widened in awe.

Surprise looked at him in confusion before following his gaze to what appeared to be a door.

“Is that..?”

A smile grew on Razor's face. “That's a door, but not just any door. This is a ruin of the Crystal Empire.”

Surprise gasped, “Oh no! Sombra might be in there!”

Razor just rolled his eyes. “Really? This isn't that stupid show. The Crystal Empire was destroyed along with Sombra two thousand years ago.”

“I know what happened to the Empire. Second, the show isn't stupid, you only don't like it because your mom isn't in it.”

“Well, she should be! Inkie and Blinkie were shown, and Applebloom and Sweetie were a big part of it, but Mom isn't even referenced! She even helped confront Paruk when he was smoking up the town, but she was cut from the whole episode!”

Surprise giggled, “Don't be such a cry baby. Come on. Let's see what's behind the door.”

“It's a repository,” Razor said, earning a curious look from his love. “See the symbol on the door? 'Repository'. I wonder if anything is left inside?”

“Well, let's take a look!” Surprise bounced to the door and pulled.

“It's doubtful there's much of importance,” Razor warned. “Last time mom took me with her to one of these ruins, she was excited because we found a book with ten intact pages. That's a big find in these places.”

Surprise pulled with all her might, Razor soon joining. Eventually, the door budged and then came loose. The sudden release of the wall's hold, sent the two stumbling back, twisting around each other. After untangling themselves, the pair made their way to the door, peeking inside. The entryway was adorned with broken, but still beautiful vases and sculptures. The two made their way through the short hall and entered a large room, bigger than both their houses put together.

Instantly, Razor and Surprise were in awe at the sight that greeted them. Crystals and artifacts filled shelves, and displays along every wall, but more than those, one thing drew Razor's attention. One shelf held what looked like three pristine books.

“No... way...” Razor drifted to the shelf, eyes locked on their target. Gingerly, he reached a paw out and grabbed one of the tomes. The sensation of shattering magic erupted around the book and a massive smile spread across the tigony's face. His mother had said they used stasis spells to preserve their writings, but never had they been intact before.

“Razor?” Surprise tried to get his attention, but her boyfriend was already opening the book. With a huff, she sat on her haunches. They were going to be there a while, so she figured she’d play with her new paws while she waited.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Shadows grew and darkened as a sinister magic filled the air. A figure rose from the unnatural darkness as if it were water. The being appeared to be a zebra stallion. Several charms and trinkets dangled from necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, the most notable was the large crystal alongside a unicorn horn, on a rope of braided pony leather around his neck. The striped equine gazed at the mouth of the cave.

“My lord, I have found them,” the zebra said to seemingly no one.

“Take them alive,” a voice replied from a crystal earring. “I have questions for them.”

“Of course, master.”

The zebra's eyes seethed with dark energy as he began mumbling under his breath. Slowly, what could only be described as a hole into nothingness began to open.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

“Timas,” Surprise uttered, the crystal in her paw responding to the magical command by glowing softly before fading again. “Timas... Hey, Razor, teach me another!”

“Alright,” the tigony said, turning the page of the book he was examining. “Try 'Il'su tu notima'.”

“Okay... Il'su tu notima. Cool...” Surprise smiled at the pale blue rod of solidified magic that grew a good two feet from the crystal. It only lasted a few seconds before it faded away and the crystal she was using shattered. “Hey, what happened?”

Razor glanced up at his fillyfriend. “The crystals in here are old and fragile. They can't take too much stress.”

“Aww, oh well. Il'su tu notima.” Surprise used up another crystal.

“Hey, don't waste those. They might come in handy.” Razor closed the book and put it in a newly materialized bag. “Alright, let's start looking for that sun shard. I'll finish looking at these later.”

“It's about time,” the changeling cheered. “I was getting bored.” Surprise looked around, noting the massive amount of crystals scattered around. And he said I was wasting them.

“You search over there, I'll look over here,” Razor recommended.

“Okie-Dokie-Lo-” Surprise was cut off by a low rumbling that was steadily growing. “...what’s that?”

As if to answer, the wall beside her burst open, spewing rocks and debris. On instinct, Surprise's wings shimmered and reverted to her natural insect-like ones, propelling her backward at an angle that feathered wings could never achieve. The jaws of a massive black snake snapped shut inches from her side.

“Mmm, you smell like chaos,” came a voice from the dust cloud. As it cleared, a zebra could be seen standing atop the unnatural looking serpent. “Do not resist, and you will not be harmed, at least for now. Resist, and I will break every bone in your body. Please resist.”

“You're... Nakara, aren't you?” Surprise asked cautiously.

“Oh? You've heard of me?” the zebra grinned.

Surprise pointed an accusatory paw. “You're one of those generals Kataya told us about.”

“Kataya? So she is alive,” Nakara said, shock seeping into his voice. “Then I cannot waste time torturing you. You will come, now.”

With that, the snake lunged at the changeling. “Tolta vu sary!” A bolt of lightning slammed into the demonic reptile, knocking it back several feet. The crystal in Razor's paw crumbled under the stress of the spell. Acting quickly, he grabbed another crystal and took am. “Tolta vu sary!” Again, lightning struck the snake, pushing it into the wall.

“Surprise, run!” Razor shouted. “Get to the plane and get it ready! I'll hold him here!”

“But-” Surprise began to argue, but another bolt of lightning told her he had this. Surprise took off, back down the path they followed to get there.

“Tolta vu sary!” The snake dropped, the newest bolt slamming into the wall above it.

Razor scrambled back, grasping for any new crystal he could get his paw on. Grasping the first crystal he felt, he whipped it around and shouted, “Tolta vu sary!”

For a second, the only thing that happened was the fur on the tigony's neck stood on end. He felt the power, even before it erupted in a massive blast of lightning. It slammed into his slithery opponent, searing its flesh and melting its organs, as it let out a horrifying screech. The zebra on its back wailing in pain as well, as the electricity arced through the beast and into him.

Finally, the lightning subsided and Razor was able to process what happened. He tried to regain his bearings through the ringing in his ears and the dust in the air. Razor looked down at the crystal in his singed paw. It radiated a faint glow that felt as warm as a summer morning. It was almost like-

“...ome on!”

His train of thought was interrupted by the sudden return of awareness, and Surprise grabbing him around the waist, and taking off toward daylight. The shout of rage behind them brought him back to the moment as he spread his own wings and flew under his own power. The loss of her burden allowed Surprise to pick up speed.The couple burst from the cave like a pair of snowy bullets, heading right for their transport. They were thankful that guy didn't find it.

“Get it started!” Surprise shouted, casting a fearful glance behind her for any sign of the zebra.

Either he was too focused to hear her, or he just didn't bother responding, but Razor just threw open the side door and rushed to the cockpit. Flicking the ignition, the engines whirred to life, kicking up debris and dust around them.

Surprise gasped and pointed to the cave, where a massive twisted gorilla broke out of the stone. Razor ignored the beast and took hold of the throttle. The flying machine took to the air as their enemy could only watch.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

“Forgive me, my lord,” Nakara said, his earring glowing slightly. “They had located a fragment of Celestia. They knew it was here.”

“What!? How!?” came the angry response from the other side.

“Kataya.”

There was a moment of silence. “Are you sure?”

The zebra looked back at the retreating form of the aircraft, recalling the image painted on the bottom of the elder dragony, sticking her tongue out and extending her middle claw, mocking him.

“I am positive.”

Author's Note:

I love writing for crazy future Kataya.

Comments

[All is Dust]

I love reading crazy future kataya

[Timstro59]

Crazy future Kataya reminds me of myself in 10 years.

A time traveler told that I'd go a bit batshit.

[Fayte]

A nice 'Fuck You' to the enemies if I say so.
I can't wait for more.