The Strikers

by Civviq Writer

The Firestone: Part II

The two stallions had no trouble at all finding Nightshade, even though it was so late in the evening. Snipit, wearing a black cloak to hide his wings, had tracked him down as soon as they had entered Dodge Junction.

“Snipit,” Carbon hissed, “Now is not the time to get wasted! We need to find Nightshade and the see if he has found the key!”

Snipit shooed his worries away.
“Oh, come on, they have the best apple cider of the region here. Two days on that train is no picnic. Besides, there is no key! Warpath said it himself. I’m pretty sure this ‘thief’ is just a stuck-up boaster.”

“Actually, I wouldn’t be so sure that that key doesn’t exist. Plus,” Carbon continued, “That’s no reason to go to a saloon and get drunk!”

Snipit laughed. “If you want to get some info, the saloon is your first choice.”

As they entered the greasy saloon, they were greeted with loud yelling and drunken laughter. Carbon sighed. “Oh, brother…”

“I am *hic* THE most frightening thief of ALL!” a drunk voice shouted. A unicorn stallion, with a dark green coat and vibrant purple eyes, was surrounded by several empty mugs and a lot of other drunks. Stallions were laughing boldly and telling drunken tales, while the mares were all around them, having a few drinks and sharing some giggles themselves.

Snipit shot Carbon a look of ‘I told you so’. Carbon only rolled his eyes.

The two stallions walked over to the counter and both ordered a drink. Carbon glared at Snipit’s big mug of cider. He himself had only ordered a small glass of cider - but cider nonetheless.

“Like I said,” Carbon hissed, “we’re not here to-”

“Do I *hic* know you?”
A drunk mare sat down next to them at the bar.

Snipit smirked. “No, but I wish I did.”

Carbon sighed annoyed. From the corner of his eye he saw Nightshade throw some money on the counter. He tried to stand up, but he swayed on his hooves, unable to keep his balance.

The mare blushed and giggled. “You can get to know m-”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Carbon interrupted the mare. “Snipit, he’s getting up.”

Snipit pouted, a bit tipsy. “Ah, come on. I haven’t even finished my drink!”

Carbon tried to snatch Snipit’s drink away, but Snipit stopped him. Cider splashed on the Alicorn’s blue coat.

“I’m not done yet.” he said, darkly. Carbon retracted his hoof, surprised.
“I haven’t…” he took another sip, “finished yet…”

He stood up, lightly swaying on his hooves, but not as much as Nightshade. He pulled the hood over his head, leaving his face in the shadow. He made his way to where Nightshade was standing.

“Say!” Nightshade slurred, when he noticed the cloaked figure, “What are YOU do… doin’.. I wanned…” He blinked when Snipit took another sip from his drink.

“Lo-look at HIM!” Nightshade pointed at Snipit, his hoof trying to find the right position.
“What are ya trying to do? Pi-*hic*-ick a fight?”
The mares around him giggled, stallions laughed. Carbon shrunk even further away, but Snipit didn’t even budge.

“Actually”, Snipit took another sip, “I’m looking for some answers.”

“A-hanswersh?” Nightshade started to laugh like mad. “I’m not gonna… *hic* give ya any!”

Snipit surprised even Carbon as he stood up as quick as a flash and held a blade against Nightshade’s throat.

“Answers”, he said, “like, how good is your fighting when you’re sober?”

“But…” The stallion sobered up immediately. “How… How dare you…?”

“Like this.” He pulled the blade away and hit him right under his chin, sending him flying across the room and crashing into some chairs. With a loud splash, a mug of cider spilled over his face.

This only sobered Nightshade up even more. He grunted, trying to get up, but he only got another chair over his head. A round of rather mocking laughter filled the air - and it was all towards Nightshade.

“Come on! Get up and fight like a stallion!” one of the stallions shouted.

The bartender sighed. “Okay, lads, that’s enough, could you please…”

A loud clash, and a chair flew towards the bartender. He ducked right in time, to see the chair splinter on the wall behind him, spilling all the bottles of alcohol over him.

Carbon leaned towards him, with a dubious expression in his eyes. “I changed my mind. The strongest cider you have left, please.”

The bartender only sighed. “I just refurnished after the last fight…” he grumbled under his breath, but nopony heard. “You should be bartender, they said. It will be fun, they said. Well, they’ve obviously never been to a saloon before… those darn drunks...”

~

Nightshade had gotten up successfully and now stood before a very smug looking Snipit. He had put away the knife and was now waiting for Nightshade to attack. Nightshade knew he had to do something now, or else he would be ridiculed and he would never be the greatest stallion in Equestria! So, what was he going to do?

Nightshade cocked his head at his opponent, who was watching his every move very carefully. He knew what he was doing, obviously, Nightshade thought, and he should know exactly what he was doing as well - or the fame could end right there and then. So, how was he going to do this? Fight and then tactical retreat? Yeah, that could work.

He stood up tall and brushed back his dark brown mane, slightly messed up by that fall earlier. He huffed and took one step forward, pulling out his favorite weapon: a poisoned dagger. It was long and slender, for a dagger. One side, the poisonous side, was purple, and drenched in the juice of his namesake, Nightshade. A very, very poisonous berry.

On the other side, the blue side, were other herbs mixed to make a very weakening potion, one that would cause a lot of pain. It would go over eventually- but nopony knew that except for him. Snipit’s eyes narrowed when he saw the two sides. Nightshade smirked and dashed towards his opponent.

Snipit stepped out of his way and tried to slam him to the ground. But Nightshade managed to stay upright and with his dagger in his magic, he pushed it towards Snipit.

Snipit saw the dagger coming in his direction and lifted his own knife with his magic to par. The two blades clashed. Snipit grunted of the sheer force Nightshade was putting into his attack, and he had to do all he could to make sure that blade never met his throat. He tilted his knife a bit so Nightshade’s dagger slid off his.

Nightshade smirked and attacked with his dagger again, and again, while circling around his enemy. Snipit kept dodging, letting Nightshade’s dagger slide off his again and again with a clang and a oud hiss. There, he saw an opening in his attacks! He aimed the knife and swung it at him. Nightshade couldn’t dodge in time. A long, red slash covered his side. It wasn’t deep, but it hurt for sure.

From that moment on, the fight became even. Both opponents leaped forward and backwards, attacking and dodging, all the while trying to slice each other open.

Snipit glanced at Carbon, who was drinking a big mug of hard cider, seemingly unfazed about the situation. Carbon met his eyes and they shared a smirk.

“So”, Snipit started, “Been doin’ this for long?”

Nightshade was taken by surprise, but he didn’t cease his attacks.
“What? Yes, of course! What do you think, that I just learned this overnight? No, ever since I was a colt, I knew I was destined for greatness!”

Snipit huffed. “Yeah, swinging with a kitchen knife is ‘greatness.’” he said, sarcastic.

Nightshade gasped. “It is ponies like you that will suffer in the flames I will set. Upon. You!” To emphasize his words, he swung his dagger at him extra hard, from different sides, making it extra hard for Snipit to block. The last one even ripped his jacket! A small stream of blood trickled over his shoulder. The blue side had cut him.

He staggered, but he didn’t feel any pain. He continued to question him.
“Flames? What flames?”

“The flames of the Firestone, you idiot!” he said, confused because his opponent hadn’t dropped to the ground screaming yet. “I’m really close, I already have the key! That is how great I am! Now why aren’t you already dead?”

“The Firekey? It’s… It’s real?” Snipit said, surprised.

“Yes, of course it’s real, you idiot! Didn’t they tell you?” He picked a shiny, flaming key out of his pocket for Snipit and Carbon to see.

Snipit frowned. “No… No, he didn’t.”

Nightshade smirked, amused. “And you trusted him, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Snipit said, “Yes, I did.”

“And you’d think he’d tell you the truth he obviously knew.” Nightshade replied.

Snipit lowered his knife. Slowly, he started to frown. His breathing became ragged. His pupils dilated. “Why… Why are you telling me all this?”

Nightshade’s expression turned to one of relief. “Ah! There it is! You see, drunks and dead stallions tell no tales, and since there are no sober stallions left except us two… well, that’ll leave me, because you’re going to be in so much pain, you’ll beg me to finish you with Nightshade!” he said, merrily. The taste of bile filled Snipit’s mouth and pain started to come in.

“A-Argh!” Snipit yelled in pain. Nightshade laughed.
“Now you will be one of the many to succumb to my greatness! Hah!”

Snipit dropped to the ground, still yelling.

Carbon’s eyes widened in shock. With the hard cider coursing through his veins, he stood up in the shadows and lit his horn. A neon-blue aura enveloped himself. With his illusion-magic, he stepped out of the shadows as Nightshade himself. The only thing different were his eyes, though; instead of vibrant purple, they were bright blue. Nightshade was stunned. He dropped his dagger out of shock.

“H-how...?”

Carbon-Nightshade took the dagger from the real Nightshade and before Nightshade could dodge, he cut him with the blue side. He cried out
in pain.

“Give me the antidote.” Carbon-Nightshade said in Nightshade’s voice. “Now.”

Nightshade quickly grabbed in his coat, searching for the right bottle. Finally, he got the right one and presented it to Carbon-Nightshade.

“You drink first.” He enveloped the bottle in his neon-blue aura and put it to Nightshade’s muzzle. Nightshade shied away.

“No! No! No! It’s poison! It’s poison! Argh!”

“Then what is the antidote?”

“There is no antidote! I told you, it’s not deadly!”

Carbon-Nightshade huffed. “You’re pathetic.”

“I’m… Not...” Carbon heard behind him. Snipit had gotten hold of his knife with his magic and was pointing it at him.

“No, Snipit, it’s me, Carbon… ARGH!”

Before Carbon could stop him, Snipit had slashed his back leg. He dropped the illusion out of the pain.

“Pathetic.”

When their eyes met, Carbon knew Snipit couldn’t think straight through the pain. Then he realized it was a bit more than that.

Even though he could clearly see Carbon, there was still rage and hurt in his eyes.
“Why didn’t he tell us it was real? Why telling us it was fake?”

“I don’t know...” Carbon started.

"Don’t lie to me!” Snipit yelled. Carbon shrunk back and looked away.
“What happened?”

“I had done some research first, and I went to him and asked him if he knew about this. He said yes. I asked him why he hadn’t told us before...He told me... he didn’t trust us anymore, because...“

“Why?”

“Because… Because of that fight… where we…”

Where we almost killed him.

Snipit’s mind reeled back to that fight. He was under Mörks command, so the memory was filtered by a dark haze - but he did remember that moment he and Carbon threw the spear, and they both remembered who it hit.

They were pulled out of their train of thoughts by the bartender’s cough. Nightshade was nowhere to be seen.
“So… Who’s going to pay for the damage you guys made?”

~

They spend the night at the inn, above the saloon. The next day, they decided to split up and that Carbon should go back and fill the others in. As Carbon boarded the train, Snipit was on the road again, after Nightshade. He followed his trail until he found out where Nightshade was headed: Fire Mountain, in the middle of the Badlands.

Two days later, Carbon was back at HQ and Snipit had almost reached his destination, at only a nose-length ahead of Nightshade.

~

Those darn colts, Nightshade thought, when the stallions he hired to take out that pony in black came back empty-hoofed. They can’t do anything right, but still think they’re the best in their jobs. Just like his brother, Wolfsbane. That good-for-nothing momma’s colt was always better than me. Well, not for long! As soon as they see me standing among the flames, they will finally raise their heads and realize I was the better stallion all along. That I wasn't that low scum that had betrayed them, like they think I was.

He lifted his head and stared towards the horizon. Rocky cliffs cast long shadows against the plains. Almost there, he thought. They will see.

~

“Soooo.” Swift said, back at the base. “When are we finally going into a real fight?”

Enerjack raised his eyebrow. “A real fight?”

Swift moved his hooves, pretending to fight. “Yeah, you know, on the field, against real bad guys… Maybe we can help Carbon!”

The dragon sighed. “You know these still need to heal, right?” He pointed with his claw to his half-outstretched wing. “Until I can fly properly, I’m not going anywhere.”

The changeling smirked mischievously. He buzzed his wings and lifted himself off the ground. Then, a bright green flash and another dragon stood before Enerjack. Swift-Enerjack spread his dragon’s wings and hovered off the ground.
“I can fly,” he said in Enerjack’s voice, “so I’m going places.”

The real Enerjack just looked at him. He found this really strange and creepy. “Uhm… this is really weird. Can you change back now, before I beat the snot out of myself?”

Another bright, green flash and changeling Swift was rolling over the ground with laughter. “You should’ve seen your face! I should do that more often!”

Enerjack sighed. “Ugh. I’m really going to regret this, am I?”

Swift only grinned. “Now that’s settled, let’s find Carbon, shall we?”

~

Carbon sat at one of the tables of the HQ’s food court. (Well, food court. More of an oversized, all-around kitchen). He was just staring in front of him, contemplating on what he should do next. Sneak out and go after Snipit today, and ignore Warpath’s orders to wait? Should he just say the truth?

His ear twitched. He heard rumbling coming from behind the double doors. Probably Swift and Enerjack, judging from the heavy footsteps Enerjack made and the buzzing of Swift’s wings. The door flung open and they came in.

“Hey, Carbon! Long time no see!” Swift said, with his usual cheery voice. “What happened in all that time? Tell us! Did you fight with Nightshade?”

“No”, he replied emotionlessly, “but Snipit did.”

“Speaking of Snipit,” Enerjack said. “Where exactly is he?”

Carbon only shrugged and said nothing.

“Well, wherever he is, go tell him that we’re going with you to help him! You know, fight Nightshade…” he made some fighting movements with his hooves. “Give him the proper beating that he deserves!” He did a backflip, and with a powerful stomp he blew the last invisible intruder away. He winced a bit when a sore hoof hit a nearby table harder than it should.

Carbon looked up to the dragon towering over him. “You would really help us? Even when Warpath says not too?”

Enerjack looked at Carbon. “Do you really think Warpath would abandon Snipit?”

Carbon opened his mouth, but closed it again. After a moment of thought, he shook his head.

“Darn right you are!” Swift said, buzzing into the air. “We’re a team! We’re not going to let anypony down!”

“Even when we almost killed you?” Carbon retorted darkly. Swift’s mood decreased visibly as he thought back to that fight.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for that.” Enerjack said. “Mörk made us do it. We couldn’t fight it, it was too strong.”

“Well, Warpath…”

“If Warpath holds a grudge, he’s a hypocrite.” Swift said bluntly. “He tried to kill me as well. Like I said, Mörk is the cause of all this. Now let’s just let it all go and focus on the task at hoof: help Snipit!”

Carbon’s expression became determined.
“I think I know where he is.”

Author's Note:

All right, that was Chapter Two! Please give me your opinion on this chapter.

Especially on the fighting scenes, I need to work on those.