And Then... My Life Changed

by frutineo

Chapter 11: Part 2

A hoof stroked the back of my head. “WATCH YOUR MOUTH MISTER!” It had been Pinkie Pie chastising me for the sudden use of an insult… maybe I shouldn’t have thought them what those words meant in the first place.

On the other side of the shield the leader spoke to his group, I needed to think of something but what? “Girls…” I start saying uneasily. “We better get back inside and prepare”

We all entered the library. “At the very least they still think that Twilight is still here…” I managed to say quietly. “Now we need to see if we can keep it like that”

“How are we s’possed tah do that sugarcube? Them cultists seem pretty d’termined right now”

AJ was right; we needed to think of something. Before that I could start thinking a yell came from outside. “HEY!” The voice said. “Somepony talk to me!”

I signed my friends to stand down. “Let me handle this” I stood up and looked through the window. “What do you want?”

“Where is Twilight Sparkle? I didn’t see that damned unicorn when we arrived”

‘Wait a minute…’ I thought, realizing that I may not have to make an effort to fool them. “She would have been here had it not been for you stupid Earth Ponies!” I said using the venom and wish to hurt feelings I had learned from my youth. “Maybe if you had put two unicorns to do the job she wouldn’t be recovering from her injuries”

My friends all started asking what I was doing until Arcane stepped in and calmed them. “I think I know where this is going so please don’t interrupt him”

“TAKE THAT BACK!” the cultist group leader yelled. “WE, EARTH PONIES ARE THE DRIVING FORCE OF EQUESTRIA!”

“No” I said. “You are just the farmers and workers; you really should come to terms that you are nothing more than the peons of Equestria”

He just needed a little push. “Maybe you should help your unicorn break this shield, because being honest you Dirt Ponies stand no chance against us”

“THAT’S IT!” He yelled. “We don’t need no stupid unicorns to take you down and I will gladly make sure your head becomes my next trophy… But first” he said as he turned around facing his unicorn companion. “I will show you the might of the Earth Ponies”

With that he did something unexpected, he used his forelegs to hit the unicorn mare relentlessly, and soon enough she laid on the ground with her face covered in bruises. “We don’t need your help, you are dismissed” he then stood facing me and from his garments he carefully withdrew a vial with a strangely looking crimson liquid. “I bet you are wondering what this is…”

“An explosive” I said calmly.

He looked flabbergasted, not knowing what to say. “I am currently living in a library you fool, checking out a book of weaponry and dangerous materials was a must in my to do list… just beside your mother of course”

“Keep laughing you Minotaur wannabe, I will make sure to make you beg for your death” with that he slowly backed up.

I knew that I had little time before all Tartarus broke loose. “Arcane check the knock out spell and redo it, after that throw this guys down the basement, Trixie barricade everything and hand out the swords for everypony to defend themselves, you and Arcane are going to have to defend the rest of Twilight’s friends with everything you got, Swift Strike you are with me fighting outside, we must make sure to defeat as many as we can as fast as possible”

Then an explosion came, the shield shimmered and started cracking. “HURRY!” I told them and they began preparing.

Then another explosion came and the shield shattered completely, Swift and I hurried outside to confront our aggressors.

Once outside the door we stood in front of the library and once the smoke dissipated we saw the cultists taking positions. “Remember boys, that thing is mine” the leader said. “The rest of you take care of the Pegasus and the fillies inside and do not harm the element of magic, she is necessary”

“Let Arcane take care of the other 2 earth ponies” I told Swift, he nodded.

We saw the enemies take up battle positions… and so it begun.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Battle start: Foraneo’s Side -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I ran to my left getting some distance between me and the other ponies, but the leader was actually faster than I had thought, but it did not matter, I had gotten myself away from the rest and that was what I wanted.

We stared at each other for a few seconds and then he ran to confront me; I stood waiting for him to strike and thinking to myself ‘How am I going to survive this?’ last time I had been lucky to have Twilight to help me but now…

He parried and retaliated advancing one step after another as all I could do was retreat little by little, it took me four steps to notice that he was trying to corner me against a wall. I locked swords with him in an effort to drive him back but he is stronger than me.

We fight for every inch of distance between ourselves and the wall behind me, he pushes me back and I can only hold out for so long. I suddenly got an idea; in our struggle I spin my body to my right sliding his sword and in the surprise he slid as well, with my left elbow I hit the back of his head and try to stab at his haunches but a bolt of magic threw my sword from my grasp.

I saw that the unicorn of the group had woken and was starting to cast magic bolts, but her beating left her groggy and she could not shoot a direct shot, at least not immediately as she was taking aim and charging another bolt.

I staggered for the briefest of moments and then remembered that I was fighting alone, turning around I saw the leader turning to look at me, I clenched my right fist and jumped at him hitting him in the eye as hard as I could, I then heard the bolt being shot.

He barely noticed my fist connecting with his eye and that made him whip around his head; I immediately jumped above him and hid behind him using him as a shield.

“WAAHHHHHHHH!” he wails in pain as I pushed him and allowed the bolt of magic hit him in the place I was going to stab.

In the midst of his pain he released his blade from his grasp; taking that as a sort of an advantage I delivered a quick punch to his other eye and I grabbed his blade sprinting in the direction of the unicorn as fast as possible.

If memory served me right, no weapon is able to withstand a magic bolt unless it has been properly enchanted and seeing how my sword did not break the moment it was hit means that had I had a better grasp on it then it wouldn’t have bounced off my hand.

I just hope their swords are enchanted as well.

She just stared at me and shot as many bolts as she could many missing their mark due to me dodging as quickly as I could with my lack of physical condition. All of the sudden I tripped with my own feet, the unicorn took notice and shot at me.

I could only use the blade in my hand in hopes of fending off the magic attack; maybe it was sheer luck, but the sword did indeed reflected the magic attack back at her, she tried to use a shield but with her constant use of magic she had exhausted herself and the moment her shot and her shield met each other they overloaded and pushed her back a few feet behind.

I rose to my feet and ran to her as fast as my feet would allow me; she was shaking off her dizziness and was starting to rise to her hoofs just as I was reaching her, she saw me and began preparing her magic but she was too late, the blade I took sliced her horn cutting it cleanly, she wailed and yelled in pain and horror as she realized her horn was cut, blood flowed from the stump on her forehead until she entered a state of shock and passed out.

I saw the horn falling to the ground and without a thought I picked it up, I looked back at the unicorn and started reaching for her but I stopped myself from checking on her as I ran to the library. “Please be alive, please be alive” I muttered as I ran hoping my friends made it out ok.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Battle start: Swift Strike’s Side -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The human had taken off to run to his left after he told him to leave the earth ponies for Arcane to take care of… Both of them knew she was capable, but she is defending the Elements of Harmony and Swift Strike didn’t know if they were going to be any help, though he had no other choice but to thrust the human, the Pegasus in front of him seems like serious business and it would keep him busy.

He rose up in the air leveling himself with the cultist; they were little more than 12 hoofs up in the air facing each other. For a moment none of them said a word… mainly because both had their mouths occupied with their respective swords but even then they literally had met at that moment so it’s not like they had anything to say to each other.

In a blur both of them clashed their respective blades and stared at each other, anger and impatience clear within the eyes of each other. They separated and clashed again and again each time in a different angle which at a distance it could be mistaken by a frightening and yet mesmerizing choreography.

Both then started flying side by side reaching at each other and separating with the sound of metal clashing, circling the area surrounding the library. ‘This guy is no pushover’ Swift Strike thought. ‘And I really don’t have time for this shit’ he dodged downwards to avoid a stabbing movement that almost took him for surprise.

‘Damn that was sloppy, I need to focus’ he looked back at the offender flying trying to match his pace, Swift could easily out-speed him but maneuvering had been one of his weaknesses when flying at high speeds but he wasn’t trying to outrun the cultist, he just needed to get in a good slice to the wings or a sudden stop for the royal guard to show the real meaning of his name.

Unfortunately his opponent’s awareness was top notch and so the fight dragged on for what seemed like an eternity; with none of them gaining the upper hoof then from out of nowhere a sword flew in between them nearly decapitating the guard, the cultist who didn’t seem to have any training at all foolishly looked to the direction were the sword came from and Swift Strike took this as his chance to end the battle.

He flapped his wings as hard as he could and in less than a second the distance between the two pegasi became non-existent; before the cultist could react, Swift Strike started doing what he knew best: martial arts.

In a flash Swift Strike used his hoof in the solar plexus of his opponent knocking the air out of him; it was then that time slowed for the guard, in a blur he used his right hoof against the cultist solar plexus yet again beating the air out of his lungs and sword from his mouth, then a barrage came down like a downpour on the cultist’s body who at first felt pain but soon enough it is just a numbing sensation that overtook his body before he passed out.

Unceremoniously dropping the unconscious pony in the middle of the street Swift Strike sped up to the library just in time to see the earth ponies sprawled on the outside of the library with deep hoof marks on the sides of their bodies and faces.

Swift Strike Glided down to see everypony alive and well, even the human to some minor dismay, but it was still a welcomed sight.

“What took you so long?” the human asked.

“Rookie mistakes, nothing mayor” the guard answered. “Had any trouble?”

“My sword flew from my grasp mid-battle and I need to retrieve it”

“Here” a new voice said and we all turned to look.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Foraneo’s POV

There in front of us stood a young stallion with three horseshoes in the flank with my sword on top of his back. “I think that is my sword, thanks for bringing it here… your name is?”

The stallion rolled his eyes. “Caramel, and this thing here flew through my window and I thought you could need it”

I nodded at him. “Thanks”

“You are welcome, though I need to ask something”

I walked up to him and took my blade. “Sure, what did you want?”

His expression turned serious. “Why was Twilight Sparkle taken?”

The question took me by surprise. “She…” I sighed unable to respond to such a simple question. “What you need to know is that the town needs to form a perimeter, there are a few more ponies inside the library and they are dangerous, we need to put these mares” I motioned at the elements of Harmony “Under heavy protection as soon as possible”

He looked at me warily. “That doesn’t answer my question”

“And I don’t have much time right now so that will have to suffice” I look away from him and look at the still unconscious stallion in the middle of town and see several citizens looking at me expectantly, I sincerely can’t take all of this shit happening at the same time.

I still needed to go find Twilight and to make sure to enter the castle without being noticed and scurry through the forest without being seen, I needed an antidote, I needed a plan… I needed help.

I huffed and look up to the sky above as if waiting for an answer to come to me… and then it hit me.

Everypony jumped back a little when I whipped my head looking at the ever free forest and then back at the clouds above. “Rainbow Dash I need your assistance”

She stood before me. “What did you want?”

I explained my plan as quickly as possible.

27 minutes since the poison was injected.

I hope I can make it in time.

Author's Note:

So this is a pre edit version of the chapter that I have decided to divide in several others... mainly because my blocking and work won't allow me to write at a more hurried pace.

Hope you like it and I will be sending more as I can write them.

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