Chapter 13
Princess Luna yawned as she crawled her way out of her bed for another long day of boredom as she continues catching up on everything she had missed over the years. Wearily rising to her feet she levitated over her robe before slowly plodding in the direction of her bathroom. Finishing her morning ablutions she the made her way to meet with her sister for what was lunch for Celestia but breakfast for the moon princess.
Entering the room where her sister was she nodded to her as well as the other blurry figure in the room before taking her seat at the table. “Coffee?” At her nod the figure slid over a cup of the steaming drink to which she drained before lifting it for another refill. It was only when she was halfway through sipping her second cup that she noticed just what the second figure in the room was.
“Tia? Why is this thing in here during our personal dining period with you?” She shoots a glare at the monster that was sitting nearby with a plate of cake and ice cream while reading a newspaper. Moments later she just sighs and puts her head down on the table as one of the kitchen servants brought in her usual morning fare. “Oh never mind. It is way too early to have to deal with him right now.”
Once the servants had left left room she used her tongue to grab something from her plate and drag it into her mouth. Celestia just rolls her eyes at her sister's lazy habits before sipping from her teacup. “It is just another one of his habits he picked up while you were gone, Lulu. Whenever he does something that causes more trouble than he expected he hides out around the castle for a few days as he tries to fix what he caused.”
Luna raised an eyebrow at this. “Do we even want to know what it was he did this time then?”
The solar princess looks in the direction of Ponyville for a moment before she explains. “I am sure you remember that voice the echoed up from Ponyville a couple days ago? Well my student sent me a letter with the full description of what happened and it appears that it originated from Rarity, the Bearer of Generosity. It appears that her younger sister and her friends got into her beauty products and used them on her while she was asleep and well...”
As she paused in her explanation Luna brought her third full cup of coffee up and took a drink as Xellos popped up from behind. “And now Rarity looks like the worlds largest chihuahua!” This caused Luna to picture the image in her mind and proved to be too much for her as the coffee she was drinking started shooting out of her nose. The monster continued speaking though as if nothing had happened. “I still don't know how they managed to to make a hair removal remedy with things that are meant to help it grow, but if anyone could do it it would be them. At least I was able to sneak in and save her mane so I could turn it into a wig.”
Celestia just shook her head at him as she turned her attention to her sister who was rolling around on the floor in pain. “Oh sweet nectar of the gods, why must you betray us so!?” Looking between her and the monster that was nonchalantly reading through the newspaper again as if nothing happened.
Looking around at the rest of the room her attention was drawn to the window as a wisp of smoke that she recognized as from Spike came floating in. As it coalesced in front of her Xellos moved over next to her while folding up the newspaper with a specific article on top. “I'm going to have to make sure everyone's plans for this day are cleared. So what does the neurotic mess of your student have to say now?”
As Xellos read over her shoulder his smile slowly faded until a frown was plastered across his face. Luna looked up from her position on the floor to see this and a thrill of fear went through her as his perpetually closed eyes opened to reveal the lavender eyes behind his lids before he vanished from the room. Looking over at her sister she became even more worried at the look of terror on her sister's face as the magic around the parchment in front of her faded and Celestia rushed towards the doors. “Guards! Emergency Mobilization Procedures Cumulus Six Solar! All available troops prepare for departure in ten minutes!”
Luna was swiftly on her hooves and following her sister out the door but she was able to glimpse a bit of what had thrown her sister in a panic as it dripped off of the scroll onto the floor. Even without getting close enough to visually confirm it she could smell the scent of blood wafting away from it.
<><><><><><><>
Hours Ago
“Come along now Spike. The sooner we finish out here the less likely it is that somepony sees me like this.” Spike nodded as he looked over at Rarity's bundled form as they walked through the barren area where they were hunting for gemstones. He was still reeling from what had happened to her and he vowed once again to get back at the fiend that did this to her somehow. He had yet to see the full extent of what had happened to her though but, if what he heard was true, he was glad for it.
“I can't believe that Sapphire Shores showed up with me looking like this. I was so embarrassed to have to show her my best works while not being remotely presentable for it. When I get my hooves on that monster he will pay for this travesty.” Spike stepped away from Rarity when he hears the venom in her voice, but said nothing as he had no arguments with her reaction.
After nearly an hour of work they had finally filled up the wagon they had brought with gemstones of various colors and sizes. After nearly doubling their load with their last find they were preparing to leave when Rarity's magic alerted her to another source of nearby gems. After a small scuffle Spike was left yelling out in frustration as the covered unicorn was dragged into the earth.
“Unhand me you brutes! Where do you think you are taking me?!” Rarity struggled as the diamond dogs pulled her through their tunnels to some unknown destination. As they led her towards their lair she noticed things about them that she had missed before in the confusion of their ambush. The three dogs were rather ragged looking and had a starved appearance to them. The gems they had were also of some of the lowest quality that she had ever seen before and they barely had any on them. As they moved deeper into the tunnels she even noted that they seemed to be scared of something and their fear only got worse the further they went.
Eventually the four figures entered a large cavern that contained a throne with a large pile of gems behind it. Rarity was confused as to what was going on as the gems in the back looked to be of a very high quality compared to what her three escorts had and she was so focused on them that she failed to see the figures in and by the throne until he spoke in a high-pitched voice. “Why have you three returned without gems like I ordered you to? And not only that but you bring an intruder into my domain as well?”
Rarity cocked an eyebrow at the diminutive figure that was sitting in the throne as well as the reactions of her escorts. What she was now assuming was their leader was small; about the size of Spike which made him half the size of even the smallest of the trio. “Forgive us boss, but we thought she would help find gems. She-” The larger dog froze as their boss leapt out of the chair, while remaining in the shadows, and he started to back away with the others. What she didn't expect though was for the runt to slam his fist into the ground and the earth to start trembling towards them.
Her eyes widened in shock as the ground around her started to erupt with spikes of rock which tore at the clothing she was wearing. With the proximity of the spires she wasn't able to turn to see what was happening behind her but she heard quite a few yelps of pain from the three though. She could only stare as her outfit was fully removed revealing her denuded body with the light purple stubble of where her mane and tail had started to grow out from again.
“I don't remember telling you to think when I gave you my orders! If I wanted a thinker when I sent you out I would have gone myself you incompetent mongrels. Next time when I give you orders I... I... So pretty.” The entire room froze as the diminutive leader said the last bit as they looked around trying to see what he was talking about. Even Rarity was confused until he came up and starting circling around her, the stone spires having vanished without her noticing, and he started stroking her side.
“Excuse me!? As flattering as your words are I do not appreciate being pawed at, thank you very much.” With a twist of her body she knock the tiny boss away with her rear as she turned away from him in a huff. This, unfortunately, left her unable to see his smirk as he waved a paw to a figure in a dark corner of the room.
“You say that like you have any choice in the matter. What I want I get and my patron Caine will do everything he can to see that it happens.” Rarity started to turn at his words, but the last thing she saw was a wall off leathery wings before she let out a scream of pained terror.
<><><><><><><>
Later
“I can't believe they just let us walk in like this. You said that the diamond dogs kidnapped Rarity but where are they hiding?” Twilight looked around as the five mares and Spike walked through the tunnels completely unopposed. Both her and Fluttershy were worried about all of this while the others seemed unconcerned about it all.
“They probably heard that I was coming and just tucked their tails and took off running. We'll find Rarity and be out of here before you know it.” There were a couple eye rolls at Rainbow Dash over this but no real arguments. Most them were just glad that the cyan mare didn't fly ahead like she normally would in this situation, but being underground did make it hard to fly in the first place.
Spike lead them through the tunnels as the path that Rarity was taken through was easy to identify as the hoof-shaped scuff marks were easy to see among all the paw prints in the sand and dirt filled corridors. The dragon was worried for the mare he adored and he was starting to wonder about Twilight's question as well as the diamond dogs had been pretty persistent about grabbing Rarity.
Eventually they came to the cavernous room with the throne and gem pile where they looked around warily. The area was dimly lit so most of them had trouble seeing, and Spike's eyes were only on the pile of gems, so they didn't notice any of the figures in the room. “Again with the intruders. Why is it that not once, but twice I see something come before me that I didn't ask for? And where are my guards that should have been keeping them out?”
All eyes focused on the throne area, which was the origin of the voice, to see the small figure nearly buried in a pile of cloths and furs that decorated the throne. The mares got a better look at him as he leapt off of his throne to stand before it, which soon brought a laugh out of a certain pegasus. “Really?! After all this way this is all that is standing on our way? I didn't even know that diamond dogs came in the puffball variety.”
Her comment brought a few chuckles from her friends as the diamond dog leader stepped into the better lit area in front of the throne. The pomeranian diamond dog growled cutely at their reaction to his look and raised a paw in the air before shouting out in a squeaky voice. “Minions! Why are you just standing around back there?! Get out here now!”
Nothing happened at first, but when he snapped his fingers after a few seconds a taller figure appeared next to the throne before it bowed and vanished again. Shortly afterwards there was a yelp from a cavern in the back and soon a group of diamond dogs came streaming out of a tunnel to the rear to gather in front of the mares. There were only a dozen of them there which brought a frown to the pomeranian's face, but he still proceeded as if nothing was wrong. “Kill them!”
The dragon and mares reared back in shock at this order but they recovered quickly as the diamond dogs charged them. The fight ended quickly without much of a fuss as the diamond dogs were completely dominated due to the injuries and malnourishment that they had been suffering from. They all quickly ended up in a pile against a wall leaving the mares to stare down the miniature diamond dog. “All right partner, give us back Rarity and we'll let ya go unharmed.”
The pomeranian just glared at the pile of diamond dogs for their failure before raising his hand and snapping his fingers again, summoning the figure they saw earlier as well as one other. The six invaders gasp as they recognize one of the figures but there was something that was obviously wrong to them. “What did you do to her?!”
Rarity didn't react at all to seeing her friends and it was obvious as to why as her eyes were glowing a bright solid azure. The dog boss just smirks at their reacting as he runs a paw over her body possessively. “My queen may have been a bit hesitant at first but, thanks to Caine here, she is now completely loyal to me.”
The six are frozen in shock at his claim but when they start to recover it is the most reckless one of the group to do so. Rainbow Dash charged directly at the dog boss and Rarity without even bothering to pay attention to the third figure in the room. Of course it didn't even need to do anything as the leader just slammed one of his paws into the ground sending a spike of stone up on front of the pegasus gouging a path of blood from her right cheek up through her eye, sending her reeling to the side. All her friends gasp in horror as she clutches momentarily at her eye before reaching a bloody hoof towards her friend. “Rar- ity.”
The bare mare just continued to look sightlessly forward as if she hadn't heard the cyan mare and was blind to the world around her. The boss dog just continued to smirk at them all as he nodded towards the injured mare causing the unicorn next to him to lower her head. The dragon and mares all let out a yell of 'Rainbow!' when Rarity unleashed a large pulse of magic from her horn sending the pegasus crashing into the wall on the other side of the room with a load crack.
The mares all ran back and gathered around her unconscious form as Fluttershy knelt next to her and examined her injuries. Her hooves trembled as she peeled back her eyelid to see the clean cut through her eye with a notch in her eyelid and it was obvious that her sight would be lost in that eye. She let out a gasp though as she rolled her friend over and saw the angle of her wing which was the source of the sound that they heard when she had impacted the wall. “Oh dear this is bad. We really need to get her back to town fast or else she may not make it.”
All heads turned back to the main threat in the room as the sound of laughter rolled out of his form and echoed through the cavern. “You should worry more about yourselves since you will all soon be joining her. Caine! I think you were right about how worthless those mutts were so you may go ahead and bring in their replacements.”
The figure in the shadows nodded to the leader before finally stepping out where the others could clearly see him. None of them knew how to react to seeing what appeared to be a bulldog-like diamond dog that had a jaw that looked to be made of steel as well as large bat wings. Unlike the others he stood ramrod straight until he bowed at the waist with an arm across his chest to the opposite shoulder to the other. “As you wish, my lord.”
Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie took a defensive stance around their injured companion as he stepped forward though they hesitated when a score of other bat-winged figures appeared from out of the air. The odds didn't look good for them as one of their companions was already down and the other was arrayed against them. Twilight turns away from the demon-looking figures towards her assistant who was still staring at the blood dripping from Rainbow Dash's eye. “Spike, send a letter to to the Princess and then do what you can to protect Rainbow.”
This snapped him out of it enough for him to turn and nod at her as he scrambled around his scales for what he needed. While he found a roll of parchment easily enough he couldn't find anything to write with when his eyes settled on the blood polling on the ground. With a shudder he dipped a claw into the blood and quickly wrote out a message for help before sending it of with a burst of flame. As soon as it was sent he was shoved against the wall as Applejack was knocked into him which drew his attention to the fight.
Applejack was looking roughed up as she was scorched by the multitudes of flaming arrows struck her body that the demons were firing. In fact none of the three were able to do much against the barrage as Pinkie was focused mainly on dodging everything while Twilight had a shield up to block the attacks but couldn't get an opening to return fire. He started to get worried as only the demon-like creatures had been attacking this entire time and the two leaders hadn't done a single thing yet.
Soon Applejack was forced back against the wall as she collapsed from all the burns that she received from the attacks which allowed the demons to focus on the other two with her out of commission. With Twilight still under her shield they all chose to bombard Pinkie Pie and, even with her Pinkie senses, she was still caught by surprise as the attacks against her suddenly doubled. At first she was able to keep up but all it took was for one of the attacks to clip her leg and she was soon caught under a barrage of flaming arrows and taken out of the fight as well.
With Twilight's friends knocked out of the fight all the demons were allowed to focus their efforts completely on her. With a score of creatures unleashing everything they had on her there was little chance for her to go on the offense as she had only shielded herself the entire time. With the strikes scattering over her shield she was able to hold them off for a few minutes but when they started to focus their strikes on the same point her efforts proved for naught as it fell as soon as she was struck by an attack that slipped through the barrage.
With all the mares defeated the only thing standing between them and their deaths were Spike and Fluttershy. Fluttershy wasn't sure where to focus as on one side were her injured friends and the other was a whole mob of monsters that she was terrified by. As she was working up her courage a ball of flames hurtled over the heads of the demons and struck the ground in front of her sending her headfirst into the wall behind her forcing her unconscious.
Spike looked back at the five injured mares before turning back to face the creatures that had taken Rarity from him and he put on a brave face as he steps forward and blows some smoke out of his nose. The dog boss just looks at him and laughs at how ridiculous the sight before him was of a baby trying to protect a bunch of grown mares. “Oh this is just priceless. The wittle baby thinks he can do what the grown mares couldn't.” With a twitch of his head he signals to the demons. “Finish him!”
As the demons started unleashing the arrows of flame at Spike there was some movement behind his as Twilight reached towards his form from behind. “Spike, no!” She was forced to lay there and watch as Spike took attack after attack as he crossed his arms in in front of himself in a defensive posture. Soon a cloud of smoke and dust was kicked up and started to obscure his form to the mares horror as a tear started to roll down her cheek.
Eventually the attacks stopped leaving a shifting cloud of debris and all attention was focused back on the mares. Taking a moment to mock them; the pomeranian strode to the front of the group and posed. “Foolish ponies thinking they could do whatever they want in my lair. Once I finish you all the world will know not to mess with Lord EEEEK!”
His speech was interrupted as a stream of emerald flames erupted out of the cloud and missed him by a hair, catching one of the demons behind him and turning it to ash. The few mares that are awake gasp in shock as Spike charge out of the cloud of dust and starts breathing fire indiscriminately over the area catching a couple more demons on fire and sending the dog boss retreating to the rear again. When Spike stopped his assault three of the demons in total were down and there wasn't a single mark on him to the incredulous stare of the pomeranian. “How?! How could you idiots do nothing to a baby?!”
Spike took an aggressive stance and fired a bit of flames out of his nostrils in anger. “That's baby DRAGON to you bub!” The few conscious mares looked confused for a moment before the fact that dragons are not only naturally fire resistant, to the point of Spike cooking using only his claws, as well as being highly resistant to magic. They were a bit shocked that Spike was magically the natural enemy of the demons and started to feel hopeful about the situation.
Lord 'Eeeek' just frowned at the dragon's cockiness and the looks that were appearing on the faces of the mares before he slammed his paw into the ground as he did when Rainbow Dash charged him. Spike was busy focusing on the demons so he didn't see the attack coming until the spire of stone burst from the ground impacting into his chest, sending him flying back into the mares. The attack didn't break through his scales but when he started coughing up blood it became obvious that he had a major internal injury and they all started to fall into despair.
The diamond dog leader advanced on the group, waving back all the others, and glared at them in anger over the humiliation he almost suffered. He didn't even feel like saying anything as he cracked his knuckles in an attempt to look threatening. With an exaggerated motion he reared back as far as he could before leaping into the air and slamming his fist into the ground. As Spike tried to step forward to take the blow the conscious mares huddled together with tears in their eyes as they awaited the end.
They flinched when they heard a loud cracking sound as they tried to brace themselves for the impact of the stones spires to pierce into them. When nothing happened they tentatively looked up to see what went wrong before they gasped at the sight of a familiar object in front of them. While the were cowering a gem-topped staff had fell from the direction of the ceiling into the path of the attack, dispelling the fore out to the sides. The pomeranian just gawked in shock at yet again being interrupted that he failed to do anything, even order his minions, as a voice shouted out from the darkest shadows. “Shadow Web!”
A multitude of tentacle-shaped shadows burst out of the shadows towards the demons and dog. None of them were ready for this surprise attack so they weren't able to dodge before they connected with their own shadows, paralyzing them all in place as a biped walked over to retrieve his staff. “Well isn't this an interesting situation I find you all in. I would have thought that old sun-butt would have been more active at keeping stronger level monsters out of her kingdom as well as teaching her student how to deal with the weakest. I mean come on! The baby dragon did more than all five of you combined.”
Twilight shook off the shock at seeing the self-proclaimed monster to send a feeble glare at him though it's hard to keep it at the feelings of relief flowing through her. “Princess Celestia was a great teacher! Why would she have even thought that I would need to fight something that I had never even heard of?! Why are you even here and if you saw what Spike did then why didn't you help?!”
Xellos just brushed off her bit of anger as he turned back to the paralyzed creatures as they tried to break free. His eyes were on the Caine fellow that was hiding in the back as he just blew off the others. “I as with Celly when she received the letter from you all up in Canterlot and arrived when Spike stepped up. And why would I need to help out when it looked like he had everything under control. He really should have just ignored all the brass demons once he found that their magic did nothing to him and focused on the real threats. Besides if I stepped in before you had a chance to help yourself then how would you ever learn?”
Twilight tried to growl at him over this but it soon turned into a wince as the pain of her burns hit her again. She noticed that only one of the figures arrayed against Xellos wasn't reacting at all through all of this and it was the Caine figure that hadn't assisted throughout the entire fight. She stared at him for a moment but turned her attention back to Xellos when he started chanting in an attempt to figure out how he was doing it. “Holy wind, which flows gently across the land; let all things be filled with your pure breath. Van Rail!”
Through all of this Xellos had his palm flat on the ground and when he ended it threads of ice burst out from under his hand and advanced on all the paralyzed figures. Twilight watched in awe as the spell formed and she jerked back, biting off a yelp of pain at the movement, as the threads started wrapping around all the figures encasing them in ice. In an instant the battle was over as their enemies were trapped in ice leaving only the controlled Rarity standing alone and unharmed. Something looked off to her though as she looked over the figures until she noticed that one was missing but before she could point it out Xellos turned around again with one of his arms behind his head.
“Well isn't that embarrassing? The monster behind it all must have run away and I didn't even notice.” This earned a few rolls of various eyes before he looked a bit more serious as he examined them all. “Hmm, looking closer there is a bit more damage to all of you than I could handle alone. Good thing I brought a helper along with me.”
Reaching into his bag he pulled out a white figure that was familiar to them all who looked really confused about being there. “Huh? Where am I?” She looks up to see what was holding her and her confusion only grew. “Mr Xellos? Where am I? I was just in school just a moment ago.” The mares look confused for a moment but their heads turn to Pinkie Pie as she lightly claps her hooves together in applause.
Xellos sets the filly down before explaining. “Well you do remember that healing spell I taught you, right?” At her nod he continued. “Well your sister's friends were hurt on their recent adventure and need help. The more you can do the better but you should probably start on Spike first.”
She looks confused for a moment before she turns around to see how badly injured they are and lets out a gasp at what she sees, especially when Spike starts coughing up blood again. After examining him and, finding a broken rib, she casts the healing spell she was taught to the dragon's relief. While not instantaneous the pain slowly recedes from his body and he softly thanks the filly as his body is repaired.
Through all this Xellos was examining the others and he determined that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were in the worst shape but it was hard to determine which was worse between the potential internal damage of the cranial injury of Fluttershy and the obvious broken bones and bleeding of the cyan mare. When Fluttershy regained consciousness and tried to get up to help the other mare he made a decision and held her down with one hand. “Don't worry, I'll help her out.”
With his words she calmed down and settled back again as he motioned over one of the other mares to support her before turning towards the half-blinded mare that was still unconscious. After taking a moment he glanced over towards the filly who was about done healing the dragon and made a decision. “Sweetie Belle? Can you hold up a second and come here for a second?”
She paused and looked at Spike questioningly and he just nodded before waving her over to the biped. When she arrived she let out a bigger gasp than her previous one as she found that Rainbow Dash was in a much worse condition than she had thought. “You remember when I taught you that spell I wold you some of the problems with it? Can you tell me why it would be a bad idea to use it on her right now?”
Sweetie Belle gulped as she averted her eyes before reciting what she could remember. “The Recovery spell doesn't directly heal the target but helps the body heal its wounds a a rapid pace taking minutes instead of days or even weeks. Because it uses the body's reserve it takes a heavy toll so there are limit to how much the spell can do.” She pauses for a moment before adding something. “You also said something about it not working on sick ponies as it makes it worse but I forget why exactly.”
Twilight listened through all this and she was surprised that it sounded almost exactly like what medical personnel use in hospitals. She wasn't sure what he was going to do about Rainbow Dash's injuries but she paid attention herself as whatever he did would be something the Princesses would want to know of.
Xellos nods nods to his young student as it was a good enough explanation for the spell as he decides to show her the next level of the spell. “Right, that spell would help some here but it would be risky with all the blood she had lost. There is another spell that is better in this situation though but it works much differently even if the casting technique is much the same.”
Turning back to the severely injured mare he holds out his hands to her and focuses on the spell. “Blessed, humble hand of God, life and breath of Mother Earth, I pray thee come before me, show your great compassion to this person and deliver them back to us! Resurrection!”
Sweetie Belle cocked her head as she listened to the chant as it was almost exactly the same as the one she was taught with only slight differences. Her eyes widened though as light gathered in the gauged out area of Rainbow Dash's eye and the wound began to mend itself. Much the same happened with her wing as it visibly realigned itself and mended itself before it reflexively folded back into a neutral position. Once he finished casting all that remained of her injuries was a scar where her eye injury was and the slight notch in her eyelid.
With the rainbow-maned pegasus in a near pristine state now, Xellos turned back to his student and saw the look of wonder on her face. The others that were watching weren't much better though Twilight was the worst as she mouthed the word 'impossible' to herself. “That is what is called the Resurrection spell which can heal almost anything short of death, despite the meaning of the name. Even lost limbs can be restored if you are good enough casting it. The reason why this spell can do this is because, instead of using internal energy, draws energy from all living things in the area at the cost of taking longer to cast.”
He was about to say more but a loud cracking sound rang out behind him and he paused before turning to Sweetie Belle once again. “Excuse me a moment, but it seem I'm not done dealing with a certain problem here. Please continue healing them as much as you can while I go and deal with this, Ms Belle.”
After receiving a nod from the filly he turned back to the frozen figures to find that the diamond dog was breaking his way out. When the upper section of the ice shattered, leaving the pomeranian's lower half still encased, the dog began to shout at the monster. “Do you think that this is enough to stop me?! Caine has given me the power to take down all my enemies and something like you won't stop me from ruling these lands!”
While he was ranting and trying to free his lower body Xellos took a moment to consider his form before chanting a new spell. “Source of all power. Raging thunder from the sky. Gather in my hand and grant me power. DIGU VOLT!” Raising his arm out to his side and pointing his palm at the diamond dog he fired a blast of lightning at the creature. When it connected he screamed out in pain but when the spell stopped the only changes to him was that he was free of the ice and all his fur had puffed out from the electricity.
Xellos raised an eyebrow at this situation as the diamond dog struck the ground in rage sending a tremor of energy towards him. He watched as the energy reached him and spires of stone came up from the ground around him in enough numbers to obscure him from view. Most of he mares that were watching let out a gasp at seeing this but Pinkie Pie was instead watching the panting diamond dog and the figure behind him.
“Hmm, that is rather weak for a stone spiker spell, especially if that little bit can tire you out.” The diamond dog let out a yelp of shock as he leaps away and turns to the monster that had popped up behind him without him noticing. “Of course there are better ways to work with the earth if you know how.” With a grin and a slight opening of his eyes he starts casting a new spell while pointing both arms at the diamond dog who takes a step back.
“Infinite earth, mother who nurtures all life, let thy power gather in my hand! VLAVE HOWL!” With a yelp the dog boss lost his footing as the ground around him in a good radius melted away into a pool of lava. After a moment of flailing he sank from sight leaving the dragon and mares to stare in open-mouthed shock at what happened.
Xellos took that moment to leap over towards the group as he brushed a speck of dust off of his shoulder. “Well he was a bit tougher than I expected but-” He was cut off as a overly cute roar of rage sounded out behind him as he turned to see the seemingly immortal diamond dog crawled his way out of the molten rock unharmed. When a certain word ran through his mind he realized what the problem is as he smirks while the diamond dog actually chants out another familiar earth shamanism spell.
“Well this was rather unexpected. Tell me Twilight, what do you know of the Pledge of Immortality?” At her confused look he knew that she knew nothing at all about it causing him to sigh. “The Pledge of Immortality is a pact between a monster and another being where that beings soul is sealed inside of a Pledge Stone.” At hearing what is essentially a variant of how a necromancer becomes a lich, Twilight lets out a horrified gasp. “I see you get the point of that at least. With this the being doesn't age and instantly heals from all injuries. There are only three ways to kill someone that goes through this process.”
Turning back to the diamond dog as he finishes his spell with a shout of 'Vu Raywa' he fully opens his eyes and hold his staff out to the side like a sword. “First, you have to kill the monster that made the pledge, which we can't do since he ran.” He started to advance as a pair of draconic look statues rose out of the ground and began to rise to their feet. “Second, you destroy the Pledge Stone which would take more time than I want to use.” With a look of effortlessness, Xellos swings his staff twice, decapitating both golems before they reach him causing the dog boss to freeze. “And third, you hit them with a power stronger called from something stronger than the monster itself. Luckily for you I have yet to meet a monster in this world that comes close to even half the power that I hold.”
At his last final sentence his voice dropped into a sinister tone which sends a shiver down Twilight's spine and cause the diamond dog's eyes to widen in terror. Before he could blink his vision was obscured by Xellos' palm as he was slammed back into the wall behind him. A moment later both figures vanished from sight as Xellos shifted them to the astral plane. The mares looked around in confusion except for Pinkie made a few wincing motions before she covered her eyes and whimpered at what she saw. The others wanted to ask but knew better than to do so if it affect the party mare like that.
Moments later Xellos appeared again looking as carefree as usual and began assisting Sweetie Belle who had ignored everything as she worked on healing them all. None of the others said anything as they weren't sure how to react to what happened so things finished up in silence. Once they were all standing, except for Spike who was being gone over by the filly again, they looked over at Rarity who still stood where she was sightlessly.
“Why hasn't Rarity done anything yet? Is there anything we can do for her?” The others let out a small sigh as Fluttershy was the one to speak up since they were all trying to avoid the monster. He doesn't say anything though as he steps over towards the alabaster mare and looks closely into her eyes while humming to himself before raising his hand and flicks her horn hard with a finger. When the mare let out a yell of pain and fell to the ground he straightened up with a grin.
“Oh there's nothing to worry about. It looks like it was only a simple mind block and suggestion spell so a good shock to the brain is all that's needed to cancel it.” They all watched with a bit of joy as Rarity rubbed her head and rose to her feet. She froze at hearing his voice though and her eyes locked on him, with them back to normal again, as the narrowed in anger. He seemed unconcerned as she let out a roar of rage and tried to tackle him which he effortlessly dodged.
“Well it seems that everything is fine here now so I guess I should be going. Oh and say hi to Celly and Loony for me please.” With that he disappeared from sight and it was obvious he was gone as Rarity roared in fury towards the ceiling at missing her chance at getting her revenge. Moments later the roof around the throne collapsed as a hole was blasted through it from above and squads of the royal guard funneled in through it, followed by the two princesses moments later.
“Stay where you are! Surrender and you shall not be harmed!” The dragon and mares winced at the impact of the Royal Canterlot Voice from Princess Luna before they gave her a deadpan stare. The guards looked around to find that there was nothing to fight and both princesses looked towards Twilight and crew questioningly. Before they could say anything a groan from behind them sounded at forcing all eyes on the groggy pegasus that was only now waking up.
“Oh my head. So did we win?” Both Applejack and Twilight facehooved at Rainbow Dash's question who just looked around in confusion at everything that had changed. With a sigh Twilight started to explain to everyone exactly what they had all missed, to the shock and consternation of those that had missed out on everything.
<><><><><><><>
Later
“I am so glad to be home after that horrible experience. I still don't like that brute but I can't fault him teaching you those spells Sweetie, especially with how useful they were today. I can't even remember anything after that monster grabbed me but I'm proud to hear what you did for everypony else today.” Her younger sister just blushed at the praise as the she rode on her sister's back into Carousel Boutique. She was confused though when Rarity stopped just inside the doorway and she peered over her head to see what was going on.
Rarity's eye started to twitch as she took in the forms of the three diamond dogs that had initially started all of this day's problems as well as the cartloads of gems they had behind them in her home. She was about to scream when she saw them but she paused when the three started groveling at her hooves which confused her. “What are you filthy creatures doing in my home? And what are those carts for?”
The larger of the trio peeked up at her a moment before he started whimpering out in a whiny tony. “Master Xellos told us that with boss dog gone that you are in charge, Mistress Rarity! If we don't follow you he'll come back to punish us. He sent us with all this as tribute as well as these'”
Rarity wasn't sure what to expect from them but this wasn't it. Looking closer at what he thrust out towards her she grimaced as she recognized what used to be her mane and tail which were now fashioned into a wig and tail clip. Her sister on her back let out a sound as she also recognized the items before she leapt off her back and escaped upstairs while Rarity was distracted by everything.
The fashionista juggled everything around in her mind as she tried to come to terms with what was happening before letting out a sigh of exasperation. Taking the two objects she put them on and decided to go a little bit easier on Xellos even though she wasn't near ready to forgive him for what had happened yet. As for the diamond dogs she considered them for a moment more before she got an idea which caused her to grin lazily at them.
The three weren't sure what to do when they saw her expression, but at her next words they weren't sure if they would rather deal with her, or take their chances with the monster that had taken out their leader. “Well if you gentledogs are going to be working with me there are going to have to be a few rules. The first of them is that you are all going to need a bath before anything else.” The three looked at each other with a whimper of fear before the mare started to drag them all off in the direction of the Ponyville Spa.
Stats
Page generated in 0.033 seconds
Total duration
1,088 users online
1,321,140 hits today, 1,822,946 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Watching Xellos kick ass is always awesome.
At least Xellos wasn't angry with all the dogs. Just the one. Who he took the courtesy of dragging to the astral plane to demonstrate why you do not anger Xellos. If it has a smell in that area, its probably excrement, terror, blood, and urine. Maybe some hydrochloric acid mix, maybe some rotting organs...
There are SOME beings that it's just not worth being on the same plane as, ESPECIALLY if you just TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY P*&^%D him off!
Considering whatever he did made Pinkie cringe.
Sweetie for the save!
6417424 Who says he is pissed off? This is just his normal ruthlessness that balances out his carefree side.
Notice how Pinkie didn't 
at all over what she saw, just a bit of cringing. 
A Bath.....
The biggest fear of every living (Diamond) Dog.
So does that mean that she can't see on the one eye now?
I love those villain name jokes!
So they are working for Rarity now? They probably get some nice clothes then too! I really like how that turned out. It is quite an interesting outcome. I mean, Rarity, Mistress of the Diamond Dogs? I'm thrilled to see how that will work out!