Equestria Fighter(revised)

by GenerousGhibli

Conflicts Emerge!

Rainbow soared above Camp, with Dahlia in her arms, who was screaming in excitement. In all honesty, it hurt Rainbow’s ears a bit, and it was a wonder the mare wasn’t going hoarse. Suddenly, she adjusted the way she was holding Dahlia, causing her to panic and grab a hold of her carrier’s clothes. “Please don’t drop me, Miss Rainbow!”

“Don’t worry! I’m just adjusting your weight a bit. Makes it easier to fly straight!” she hollered back, looping and her arms around Dahlia’s middle. Now she rested a bit more parallel to the Pegasus, and all her weight was closer to the center. Dahlia wrapped her arms around Rainbow’s neck and nestled in close. It might have bothered a unicorn or an earth pony to be this close, but it was different for pegasi, they viewed physical contact differently than other species. It was not uncommon to see two pegasi preening one another’s wings, be they friends, lovers, or family. For RD, it was just Dahlia holding on so she wouldn’t fall, and she was okay with that. A thought occurred to her.

“Dahlia!”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to go higher!” she said, and flapped her wings harder, ascending at a rapid pace. They were just below the clouds now, and Dahlia reached out and let her hand run through one, pulling it back and licking the moisture from one of her fingers. “Look down,” she said, and the gypsy did.

She could see camp in it’s entirety, a massive cluster of buildings, intermingled with tents here and there. Dahlia looked sideways, and spotted the city of Sirenis in the distance. The view from this height was breathtaking. “Let’s never land… this is just so wonderful, I don’t want it to end.”

“We’ll have to land in a few hours, I’m sad to say.” The look on Dahlia’s face tore at RD’s heart, and she had to admit, this was a nice time they were having. “But I’ll take you flying again in the morning, I promise.”

“Okay,” was her reply. A small peck on the side of her cheek told Rainbow that she had succeeded in making her new friend very happy.

Three hours passed, and they found themselves in a completely different city. A sign on the outskirts said ‘Welcome to Sirenis.’

“Uh, I think maybe we should have stayed in Camp.” Rainbow hesitantly followed Dahlia down a street and into the front door of a hotel. “Dahlia, why are we in a hotel?”

“Because no matter how nice this city is, it is one place we cannot sleep on the streets. One room please,” she said, stepping casually up to the counter.

“All we have available is single beds.” the stallion there said, not really caring.

“That will be fine.” She was handed a key and pointed down the hall. The place seemed pretty swanky, but it wasn’t much compared to Rainbow's quarters in Cloudsdale. Dahlia pulled Dash into a small room with a twin bed, a couch, a bathroom, and not much else, really.

“Uh, won’t somepony miss us?” Rainbow asked hesitantly, wishing she could tell what was going through the gypsy mare’s mind. Was this going somewhere, or were they really just here to stay the night?

“No. The troupe is quite lenient with me, especially since my sister is the leader,” she replied casually, and flopped down on the couch. “And there is also the fact that I do more work around the campsite than most stallions.”

“You do look pretty strong. Honestly, you remind me a lot of my friend, Applejack,” Rainbow stated, and chuckled at the thought of them meeting. AJ was huge, taller than Princess Twilight, and she was even taller after coming to Equinus. “AJ’s a farmer, so she’s pretty tough, and the size of a Clydesdale, to boot.”

“I could likely take her. Great-Uncle Roma trained me to fight himself. But, you may be shocked to know that he does not like to fight,” she said, stretching out along the couch. “Miss Rainbow?”

“Sup?”

“Why did you take me flying?”

“Um…” she thought for a minute, and then thought some more. Why did she take Dahlia up? “I guess, I wanted to see you smile.”

“I see,” she commented, almost critically. “That is very kind of you.”

“Not the answer you expected?” Rainbow asked, sitting on the edge of the couch.

“Hmm… I am not sure what exactly I expected. I know I did not expect you to declare love for me, or say you wanted to engage in coitus!” she said with a giggle. “But I suppose I had hoped for… something...”

“I see. It would never work with us.”

“Because I cannot fly?” she snapped, and immediately turned away from Rainbow.

“No. Because I’m from another world. Equestria, it’s not some place you can go without changing yourself. Where I’m from, we don’t have hands. We have four hooves, and walk on four legs; it’s a completely different dimension,” the blue mare explained solemnly.

“I know. Great-Uncle Roma told me of it when he came back. I was at the well, waiting for him to come through.”

“Are you two close?” Rainbow asked quietly. The way she talked, it sounded as though they were like father and daughter.

“He and my sister are the only blood kin I have. My mother died giving birth, and my father… I never met him. The way Amaranth tells, he hitched a ride with the troupe, and abandoned them when he found my mother was pregnant. Amaranth is our fortune teller, and a damn good one. She practically raised myself and Champaign, so I believe what she says.” She sighed, and sat up to look at her friend. “Miss Rainbow, what were your parents like?”

“My Dad, Spectrum, He was pretty cool, totally okay with the whole FF thing. He wasn’t really a great flyer, kind of directionally challenged. My Mom though, she was an ace flyer. Her name was Firefly,” Rainbow said with a faint smile, and let out a pleased sigh. “I haven‘t seen them since I dropped out of school, when I tried to get Surprise to run away with me. She’s a lot like my friend Pinkie Pie, always ready for a party, and definitely as hyper. But she didn’t have the same issues Pinkie has; the mare’s literally standing on the brink of psychosis.”

“Did she not wish to come with you?”

“No… Surprise is two years younger than me, and kind of a wimp. She would’ve never made it on the road, so I told her to go home, and I set off on my own.” Rainbow froze as Dahlia’s hand cupped under her chin, and turned her to face the sweet gypsy.

“Why did you leave them? You had a family, a wonderful one, by the sound of it. You had a mare that was willing to run away with you… what happened?” Dahlia asked, leaning in closer, resting her forehead against RD’s.

“I couldn’t face them. I was ashamed of myself, of wasting their money like that. I was ashamed that I had let them down.”

Dahlia whispered to her now, stroking her cheek, and putting her hand around Dash’s neck. “And Surprise? What of the would be runaway?” Rainbow put her hands on her friend’s shoulder, and gently pushed back, trying to escape her comforting hands.

“I tried to see Surprise, but she went ballistic.” She grabbed Dahlia’s hand, and brought it up to her scalp, and ran it over a small scar in front of her right ear. “She threw an alarm clock at me, and broke down in tears, screaming, ‘I loved you, bitch, I loved you!’ I left her alone after that.”

“Rainbow, I think when you go home, you need to make amends with them. Your parents, and Surprise, they deserve an apology.” Dahlia stood, and went over to the small bed. “I believe the term is ‘dibs?’”

“You sneaky little… Fine, take the bed,” the blue mare said as she stretched out and splayed herself out on the couch. “Hey, Dahlia?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Good night.”

“Night.”

>X<

Applejack stirred reluctantly from her sleep, looking around the barracks. She had opted sleep in a chair, sitting up, so she could be ready for anything. Troops were up, and dressing themselves in black uniforms. Some were already dressed, and were strapping guns and knives to their waists. There were all kinds of creatures in the barracks. There were two griffins, a diamond dog at the end of the long room, a zebra a few bunks over, and she spotted a silhouette in one of the shower stalls, with what appeared to be antelope horns, and several crystal ponies, though their coats were somewhat dull. She silently chuckled to herself. How had Roma done this? It had taken Celestia millennia to bring harmony across Equestria, and it seemed like he had done it in a few centuries.

“Hey.” She raised her head as the zebra came up to stand in front of her. “You got a problem with zebras?”

“Nope. Pretty good friends with one back home, actually.”

“Seemed like you were eyeing me. Watch yourself, not everyone’s as friendly as me,” he said, and walked back to his bunk and pulled on his shirt and gun.

“Thanks for the advice,” she muttered, and stood to wake the others. She froze, and her eyes widened. Rainbow, Pinkie, Twilight, and Lyra, were all gone. Fluttershy’s pillow looked wet, so she had been crying, and Rainbow was an early riser, so maybe… There were plenty of things to consider, but one thing kept surfacing in her mind: Roma did this. He did something to her friends.

“Hey, zebra fella, what’s yer name?” she asked bluntly, catching a glare from the aforementioned zebra.

“Maan. Don’t ever address me like that again.”

“Sorry, Meant yuh no offense, just needed yer attention.” His expression seemed to soften a bit, but he still looked a little ticked. “Know where Ah can find Roma?”

“Big house, bout eighty meters away. Why?”

“Ah’m supposed to meet him later. ‘Preciate the help,” she said, tipping her hat. “Name’s Applejack, By the way.”

“A pleasure.”

>X<

Roma trotted quickly down the stairs, Octavia and Sonata hot on his hooves. There was a continuous pounding on the door, and it was starting to piss him off. Grabbing the knob, he pulled hard, and snatched the door off it’s hinges, letting it fly back against the wall behind him. “What in the names of the Dearly Deceased Queens do you want?!” he shouted at the four Equestrians at his doorstep.

“Where are our friends?” Rarity demanded, grabbing him by the collar, only to be tackled by Octavia, who raise a fist, ready to smash the unicorns head.

“You don’t touch him!” she screamed, and brought her hand down a few inches away from the taller mare’s head, making a three inch deep crater. “You don’t ever touch my Sire!”

“Then I’ll skewer his throat!” the dragon all but roared, and raised his longsword, poised to thrust the blade straight through Roma’s neck.

“Oh, Please. If that could kill me, I would have been done in a millennium ago,” the vampony said with a sneer, and gripped the blade between his forefinger and thumb, then snapped the tip off. “Poor craftsmanship. I’ll have a better one made for you.”

“You gonna answer our question, or am ah gonna have to pound you to dust?” the orange mare asked, taking a stance. It appeared that their new bodies were influencing their instincts, Roma thought. The stance she took was one natural to bipeds, fists raised and legs wide, ready to strike and to take a strike.

“I will. Princess Twilight is in my library, presumably asleep atop my history tome, and Lyra is aiding my engineer. As for the other two, I cannot say for sure. I was told that Rainbow Dash flew off with my Great-Niece, Dahlia, and Slick reports that, after he disobeyed my orders to lock it up, Pinkie Pie donned my Cloak of Internal Strife, and was whisked away to Queens know where. Satisfied?” He crossed his arms and stared the country pony down, meeting the intensity of her gaze, if he did not double it.

“Uh…” AJ was left speechless.

“Rest assured, while I have been monitoring you movements, I have not harmed any of your friends,” he explained, uncrossing his arms, and gesturing for them to come inside. “Octavia, I’m sure Lady Rarity, and Sir Spike, would appreciate it if you dismount the poor mare.”

“But she… Sorry Roma.” The filly hung her head in shame, and trudged back inside. Even at thirty-two, her mentality and emotions remained to be those of a child.

“It’s alright, Dear, you wanted to protect Roma. Let’s go make some waffles for everypony,” Sonata said, and held out a hand, which Octavia gladly took. “I think they might like that, don‘t you?” She was answered with a slight nod, and pulled the small vampony away.

“Now, let’s get this started. We will deal with your missing friends in a moment. First there is the matter of summoning those we require at the meeting,” he explained, and retreated into his home.

Minutes later:

Five Generals had been gathered in Roma’s study, along with Twilight‘s court, the latter of which groups stood opposite Roma. His own generals, Bulk Biceps(male, pegasus, whit coat), Orange Crème(male, earth, pale tangerine coat, grey mane), Lemon Drop(female, unicorn, cut off horn, pale yellow coat, blue mane), Vinyl Scratch(female, unicorn, white coat, blue mane), and Rose(female, earth, off white coat, raspberry mane) stood in a line beside him.

They all wore strange clothes and equipment. Rose wore a mask with a canister in front, and one filter on each side, and her outfit was an orange and red sweater, with a denim skirt, and a long white lab coat.

Lemon wore a black turtle neck shirt, and a shoulder holster, with a pair of black jeans.

Orange wore ponyental clothes, a red shirt and black pants, with a Jian on his waist.

Bulk was dressed the same as his hologram, and Vinyl had her jumpsuit pulled halfway down and the sleeves were tied around her waist, leaving only her halter top to cover her chest.

At least one of the missing Equestrians had returned; Captain Dash had sped back to Camp an near mach speeds, with Dahlia in her arms. Unfortunately, the pink one had not. This is what the two groups now debated in earnest.

“No, Roma, you don’t understand, Pinkie is unstable! If she slips into an episode, there’s no telling what could happen!” Twilight shouted, slamming her hands on the wooden table.

“You keep saying, ‘episode, episode, episode,’ what does that even mean?” Roma countered calmly, leaning forward.

With a sigh, Twilight stood up straight and ran a hand down her muzzle. “Pinkie Pie, she’s… special. She suffers from a mild form of psychosis, and increasingly severe chronic depression. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that those things should never, ever meet, but they have. The first time Pinkie slipped, I hardly recognized her. The second time, she nearly killed me. I never saw it coming; she’s a special ops genius. The third time, she nearly killed herself. This last time, she could have likely killed you if she had caught you.” Roma nearly interjected, but a raised hand from the Princess silenced him. “I’m aware of your condition, and I’ve taken that into consideration. When we fought, well, I don’t need to explain the results on my part. But you have mostly healed, and I feel that you would’ve had an advantage there. I know for certain, I broke your jaw, knocked out some teeth, and broke your arm. Now consider, if I was able to do that, and pinkie was nearly able to kill me, what could she have done to you?”

The vampony’s eyes widened in realization. “Queens… Are all of you that dangerous?” he asked, looking across the seven.

“Ah can kick down a forty foot tall tree.”

“I can hurl a needle with, well, needle point accuracy. Using my magic, of course.”

“I can fly at mach seven.”

“I‘ not really good at anything like that...”

Spike sneered at the vampony. “I held my own against you didn’t I?”

“I took out nineteen of Princess Twilights guards, without using magic, three days after my surgery. In the end, she herself had to come to stop me.” Even the other Equestrians turned to Lyra with shocked expressions.

Roma simply stared. It seemed like these extra-dimensional visitors were stronger than even the generals at his side. “I… I see. It’s possible for nearly any one of you to kill me then. My apologies. I will have Vinyl scan for a magical signature in the closest cities. Miss Fluttershy, were you and your wife having any marital problems?”

“Um… she seemed pretty upset when I told her I had wanted foals a while back… but I can’t think of anything else…” she paused for a moment, thinking. “No, that’s it. We support each others careers fully, and we never argue, except about her diet. Too much sugar and such. Could she… could she really have been that upset about it?”

“There is an orphanage… Shit!”

“What?! Roma, What’s wrong?!” Twilight exclaimed, leaning back over the table.

“It’s very likely that she is in enemy territory. There is an orphanage in Pyre City, domain of the Phoenix Queen,” Roma growled, clutching the edge of the table so hard that it broke a chunk off the edge. “We have to find her, immediately. I’ll send Lemon and her task force in, they’ll locate her, and monitor her. If anything should go wrong, they’ll know, and they’ll assist.”

“We need to bring her back!” Fluttershy cut in, holding her hands close to her chest.

“We can’t. She needs to heal, and the Cloak won’t stop until she has. It’ll keep pulling her away until she comes to terms with what she needs to understand,” Roma said, clenching his teeth together, causing a loud crack to sound through out the room. His jaw had snapped back open. “I Showwy. Buh we cahn’t brung huh bahck.”

“Here, Sir, drink,” Rose said, holding out her arm. “You need to heal.”

“Yo blood ish toshic, membuh?” he deadpanned, and Vinyl left the room, returning in a moment with a bag of blood, which she promptly held over Roma’s face, and stabbed a whole in it with a kitchen knife. The red liquid poured all over him, but quickly turned to mist as he inhaled it all. His jaw creaked back into place, as he began coughing violently for several minutes. “There we go. Thank you General. Rose, I know you want to help, but there are too many chemicals swimming around in that body of yours. You serve me best by making medicine.”

“Right. Sorry, Sir,” she said, moving back to her prior position.

“Why are there chemicals in your body?” Lyra asked, crossing her arms. The General frowned behind her mask, really not wanting to talk about it.

“General Rose specializes in chemical warfare, most of which is based on botanical toxins. When denied field testing by King Sombra, she requested a transfer to my forces.” He stopped to look at the general, who nodded in approval. “During the transfer of her lab equipment, there was an accident, and every single one of her projects were released, killing fifty-three workers, and nearly killing her. Vinyl designed the mask she wears, which medicates the oxygen she breathes, and that nullifies the chemicals in her blood.”

“If I remove my mask, I would die within the hour,” Rose cut in, and hugged her chest. “It… It makes it hard to sleep some nights.” The statement was double-true. Firstly, the mask was very uncomfortable to sleep in. Secondly, the deaths of those workers still haunted her. Broken ponies like her was the reason Roma had ordered the cloak to be locked away.

“However tragic, Rose’s work yielded results. Those results may serve us in the future.” Roma hung his head. “I have seen too many wars, and I do not wish to see another.”

“Sir, I’ve located a small magic signal in Pyre City. It’s earth pony magic, Sir.,” The pale engineer said, fiddling with a device attached to her wrist.

“Give the coordinates to Lemon, and Lemon, take five soldiers. No more. Deploy immediately,” Roma said, waving his hand. Lemon took a sheet of paper from Vinyl and saluted, before running out the door. “Now, for the matter of teachings: you need to learn how things work here. To aid in this, General Orange Crème.”

“Let us start with government. This is a simple matter. At the top is Emperor Tirek, and beneath him, six Monarchs. Queen Chrysalis, Queen Adagio, King Sombra, King Discord, King Nightmare, and Queen Philomena. Monarchs that have allied with Camp include Queen Adagio, and King Sombra. King Nightmare is still weighing his options. Each Monarch rules a state, comprised of several cities, one city of which is the capital. The capitals are Shifter City, Sirenis, Darkbourough, the so creatively named Chaos, Dreamscape, and the place your friend resides, Pyre City.” Orange stopped briefly to clear his throat, and take a sip of water. “Each Monarch has absolute rule in their capital, and near absolute in the state itself. As such, only three states are run properly. Sirenis, Darkbourough, and Dreamscape are all run with equality and justice. Now, there are actually no legitimate borders between states. A number of cites, scattered through out the land, qualify as a state. As such, territories often cross over. Any land that is not ruled by a Monarch, is ruled by Tirek’s enforcers.”

“Sounds relatively simple. Do you have any authority among the Monarchs, Roma?” Twilight asked, crossing her arms and putting her hand to her chin.

“Formally, no. Though, they know not to trifle with Camp, or me for that matter. Decimating an entire city tends to earn you some, uh… what was it you called it, Vinyl?”

“Street cred, Sir.”

“Decimating an entire city tends to earn you some street cred,” he said with a dark hint of humor. “Also, destroying a knight of harmony did help my case, a bit.”

“What are the knights of harmony?” Rainbow asked from where she stood, at ease, beside the table,

“Something you would approve of, Captain Dash,” Orange cut in, adjusting his glasses. “They were a group of knights that would be deployed anywhere there was disharmony in Equinus. Despite their title, they were not just warriors, but peace keepers. There were six of them, King Sombra, King Discord, Sir Grogar, Roma, Sir Therion, and King Nightmare. However, some five hundred years ago, Roma and Sonata-”

“Five hundred, thirty-seven years, six months, and twenty two days ago, at seven-thirty a.m.”

“What he said, that time frame ago, Roma and Sonata became engaged. Sir Grogar was displeased by this, as Roma was in service to the late Queen Celestia at the time. By law, the Knights of Harmony were rarely allowed to marry. While Roma was a member, Grogar believed himself to be Roma’s equal, in status and strength, and thus asserted to the Queen that she not allow Roma to be wed. The Queen denied his request, so he took matters into his own hands.” Orange stopped as Roma held up his hand.

“He attacked Sonata, and whilst protecting her, he devoured my arm. He was a vampire, similar to myself, however he was a different type. He was severely outclassed,” he said, pulling his sleeve up to show the scar around it. “I slaughtered him in a fit of rage, beating him to death with my one fist. After that, I left the Queen’s service, believing her to have ordered the attack.”

“Roma, have you ever thought of counseling?” Twilight asked, smiling humorously. “Seems like you’ve got some anger issues.”

“I deal with them appropriately. Waffles are ready.”

“Waaaaffles are readyyyyyy!” Sonata sang as she danced into the room, gracefully setting two platters stacked tall with the food on the table, and Octavia hesitantly followed, passing out plates and utensils, and a few bottles of syrup. “Please, everypony enjoy, Tavi and I worked hard on them.”

“They look delicious, Lady Sonata,” Rarity stated politely, taking a waffle off the stack.

“Oh, please! It’s just Sonata. Contrary to what you may have heard, I’m not a noble. I’m just a wife to an old storyteller,” she said with a giggle.

“Oi, you’re older than me!” Roma piped up, poking Sonata playfully in the side, making her ‘eep!’ in surprise.

“Wait, Storyteller?” Twilight leaned forward curiously. “This is news to me.”

“Aye, before all this,” he said, gesturing around him, “Before I served Celestia, and for a while after I married Sonata, I was just a traveling tale weaver. I’ve been all over the land, and parts of some others, collecting and telling story after story.”

“It was a wonderful life, seeing so many wondrous things! Remember the time you cut your own fingers off when you forged Titan-Pierce? I just couldn’t stop laughing!”

Roma’s face turned beet red, and he crossed his arms defiantly. “Well, you deal with an razor sharp, red hot blade, and let’s see how you fare.”

“Ah, but sir, she has, remember when you got shot a few months ago? She used a burning scalpel to dig the bullet out!” Orange chimed in, taking three waffles. “That was amusing, to watch somepony as legendary as you scream like a child.”

“Hm, I tik ofnfe to vaf!” Octavia cut in, before swallowing a large chunk of waffles, and taking a deep breath. “Hey, I take offense to that! Rose had to dig a bullet out of me, and I didn’t scream nearly that bad!”

“Oh, my, it seems Mr. Roma isn’t quite as tough as he claims to be,” Rarity stated playfully.

“Well, maybe not, but I’m still-” Roma stopped as he looked at his engineer. “Vinyl, what’s wrong?”

The unicorn had been standing completely still, tears were beginning to form in her eyes, as she stared at her wrist mounted device. “Sir, do you think the Equestrians can handle Miracle?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then we’re bucked. Her signal’s changed direction, and she’s headed for Camp.” Vinyl said, and fell back against the wall, promptly sliding down. “Sir… Sunset didn’t lift a finger and she was destroyed… What’s she gonna do to us?”

“Nothing. If she wants a fight, I’ll give her one.” Roma turned and walked briskly out of the room, heading up the stairs to his room, returning a moment later with a sword at his waist, and a gold colored gauntlet on his left hand. “Rose, contact Redheart, and tell her I’ll be needing a room.”

“Yes sir.”

“Principessa, can you teleport?” Roma asked, his accent changing slightly to a more antiquated Bitalian one.

“Yes, I’ve already checked the coordinates. We can be there in a matter of seconds,” she replied, deactivating her horn’s cloak, and grabbing his arm.

With a loud PEW, the Princess and Roma found themselves face with a unicorn whose coat was blood red and whose mane was an oily black. Her cutie mark was a gothic cross, with thorns around it.

“Out of my way, I have business at Camp!” she snarled, revealing jagged, yellow teeth. “If you do not move, I will destroy you!”

“That’ll be the day. Allow me introduce myself and my friend. I am Roma, leader of Camp, and this is Queen Twilight, an Alicorn Goddess from Equestria,” he said, bowing slightly. “Any business you have, I will deal with personally.”

“Lies! You want to stop me!”

“If I wanted to stop you, the Queen would have obliterated you, or I would have shot you with a sniping rifle,” he replied casually.

“Roma… I think you are going to get us killed…” Twilight whispered to him.

“Nonsense, your majesty, I think Miss Miracle would make a wonderful ally. Shame on you for suggesting otherwise!”

Miracle’s face softened a bit as she eyed the vampony cautiously. “What do you mean, ally?”

“Just that. A pony to fight alongside us, and our comrade. What do you say?”

“I say… No.” Her horn began crackling as a lightning-like aura gathered around it. In a split second, she had gathered a massive amount of magic, and unleashed it at Roma.

“Well, Buck.” was all he could manage before the blast overtook him. The blast lasted for nineteen seconds, Twilight had counted, and when the magical tide subsided, Roma was left standing tall, with his left hand outstretched. Part of the skin on his face was burnt away, as were his legs, and most of his torso. “Queen Celestia’s anti-magic gauntlet. I knew this thing would come in handy.”

“Look at your skin though!” It took a lot for Twilight to keep her gaze on Roma. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Oh of course! It’ll take a few days, but I’ll heal,” he said with a chuckle.

“How are you alive?! That should have decimated you! Burnt you to a crisp!” Miracle screamed, clenching her teeth, causing one of them to chip. That would explain why they were so jagged, Roma thought.

“It’s quite simple, I’m no mortal. I am a vampire, and the moment you attacked me, you sealed your fate.”

“Sealed my fate? Like an earth pony could kill me!” Miracle laughed hysterically at the vampony’s threat, clutching her chest dramatically. “Your pathetic general said that my power exceeded that of one of the kings! What hope do you haugh!” the last word was cut off as Roma seemingly teleported in front of the Unicorn, his right hand closing around her throat.

“That too, is quite simple. I was the one who gave Sombra his powers, and his powers do not begin to compare to my own. Now, you list-” BOOM! Another arcane blast washed over his face, burning his skin completely off. “-en to me, child. You cannot kill me, how could you hope to defeat Tirek? Not even I am capable of bringing him down. Hmm? I asked you a QUESTION!”

The unicorn remained motionless as she stared, horrified, at the mass of charred muscle and bone that served as Roma’s face. The last blast was more powerful that the first, and he took it point blank! How? She knew how. “M-Monster! That’s what you are! You aren’t a pony, you’re a demon in a pony’s form! Let me go!”

“Monster? Fair enough, but I’m not the one who slaughtered a peaceful ambassador, now am I? Not even I have gone that far. You bear a cross on your flank, but you are no savior, you are a fool,” Roma growled, closing his hand even tighter. “Now, why don't we settle down and talk this over like civilized ponies?”

“Never!” Another blast, washing over his torso, eliminated the rest of his skin, and bits of his musculature, as well.

“Too bad. You could have been a great ally.” Roma drew his sword with his free hand, and plunged the long blade through Miracle’s heart. In a moment, she stopped struggling, and fell limp. “Apologies, Your Majesty, but it had to be done. I think, they did something to her mind, during her training oversees. Let us return to camp.”

Twilight happily obliged.

Author's Note:

Another chapter edited. Yet again, I find myself only changing a few things here and there. It seems like the closer I get to the last chapter I published, the more satisfied I am with the quality of writing I displayed. I didn't even really change the title much. I hope you enjoyed this revised chapter!