A New Tale In Equestria.

by Sylif Daring Doo

Last Spark of Hope, Part eight: A battle of revelations.

____*continuing from before.*____

Fang was still pissed off, but that didn't slow him or the others down as they made their way through the lava area, they soon reached an enormous area that was safe from the lava, it was too good to not be a trap, and as they walked on the safe area, spikes shot up and locked them inside, with only three entrances available, but they were sealed by gates. "Well, this is just great." Golden said as he looked around.

A deep laugh was heard and the three gates shot open, and soon, strange hound like creatures rushed out and gathered around the wall, followed by soldiers of all three pony races.

Lyaroa drew her blades and Roxanne did the same, Golden drew his staff while Fang and Shade readied themselves for combat. "Did you really think you could come HERE and not be noticed!?.....Sentinel!?" A loud voice shouted mockingly.

The soldiers banged their weapons on the floor in a war drum style fashion, soon, from the middle gate, came an enormous Earth Pony in heavy armor, he carried two iron rods that looked like they could destroy bones on contact. "You arrogant fools, entering this place spelled your doom!" The stallion declared. [1]

As if on cue, the hounds charged with the soldiers, and the Earth Pony marched up and faced Fang, he smirked and pulled out his metal rods as he stood up on two legs. "Let's see how you fare against me, puny wolf." He said as he marched forward.

Fang charged at the Earth Pony who then began to swing the metal rods, Fang slid under them just barely, he then attempted a rear assault, only to be forced to fall back as the Earth Pony flipped around in an instant and begun swinging.

Fang dodged the metal rods quickly and soon he managed to throw a punch, his fist impacted on the Earth Pony's chin, but it only served to make him stagger backwards a little, and on top of that, Fang's fist hurt now.

As the Earth Pony and Fang recovered, Fang found himself asking something. "What is your name?" He asked.

The Earth Pony chuckled deeply. "I am Spire, Champion of Dalcorus!" He declared proudly.

Fang readied himself for combat again. "I am Fang.....The Herald." He replied calmly.

Spire laughed heartily, not unlike a Viking. "You should wear your name with more pride boy!" He said, as if scolding. "But what, I ask, are you the Herald of?" He asked curiously.

Fang grinned. "That.....would be telling." He taunted.

Spire grinned as well. "Ha ha!...this shall be a worthy battle indeed!" He declared before charging at Fang. [1]

Fang dodged the rods carefully, as Spire was now fighting in a more complicated attack pattern, it was brutal, but clean and efficient, meant to inflict crippling blows before finishing off its victim.

Spire then suddenly changed his attack in the middle of his next swing, instead of swinging downwards, he rammed Fang with his body, catching the wolf completely off guard at the unexpected attack.

Fang flew back a short distance as Spire got himself standing up again, he growled and forced himself back to his feet.

Spire marched slowly toward Fang, who was readying himself for another round. "You had best do something different, I'm not even breaking a sweat." Spire taunted.

Fang growled and held his right hand out to his side. "Fine then.......Hydra!" He shouted.

Spire watched in awe as a weapon soon materialized in Fang's hand, it was a short black spear with a metallic Hydra head at the end, it's pattern was that of a Hydra's scales, and inside the Hydra head was a small blue Crystal shining faintly, at the other end of the spear, was the actual spearhead, made for stabbing, it was made of gray steel and had a razor sharp edge.

Fang charged, this time, intending to take the offensive, he quickly made a spear combo, spinning and striking at Spire, who was forced to defend against the relentless assault.

Spire defended against the attack, and as he did, he couldn't help but notice that the crystal in the head was shining brighter than before, and every time that the spear struck, it glowed slightly brighter. 'I had best keep an eye out.' He noted in his mind.

Fang struck blow after blow, and as he did, he noticed that Spires weapons were slowly cracking from the pressure, informing Fang that they were meant for pure offensive, not defense, as he noted this, he felt a surge of energy from Hydra, he blinked and he continued his combo. "Surge!" He called out, his eyes becoming black pits all the while.

Spire had to disengage as both Fang and Hydra were surrounded in lightning and shadow, he braced himself as Fang charged.

Fang ran up to Spire, unleashing a torrent of shadows, followed by lightning, but as the shadow covered Spire, the Lightning arced out to the hounds, shocking them until they died.

Spire dissipated the shadows with a spin of his weapons, to his dismay, the first thing he saw was Fang charging back in, thankfully, the Lightning and shadows were gone, so victory was a possibility.

Fang quickly unleashed another combo, but he made sure it was slightly different than the last one, Spire could block it slightly easier this time, but that was the plan.

Spire was once again forced back onto the defense, but he was soon able to take the offensive once he saw a gap in Fang's attack, he quickly went after Fang's right arm, aiming for it precisely, but it wasn't obvious, not immediately.

Fang saw Spire's entire plan on that first swing, the Earth Pony had intended to break Fang's arm, forcing him to drop Hydra, and without a weapon and missing an arm?....it would have have been over quickly, however, Fang knew from experience that Spire had tricks up his sleeve, so he did the sensible thing, he relieved some ground to Spire.

Spire swung just as Fang jumped back, he was caught off balance for a moment, and that was all Fang needed, in a moments notice, Fang lunged at Spire, he swung the spear up at Spire's head, forcing the Earth Pony to dodge, causing him to drop one of his weapons.

Fang then slid down and kicked at Spire's right leg, the Earth Pony dodged again, this time, incredibly off balance, and to end it, Fang said one word. "Surge!" He called out.

Spire looked down, he noticed that a carving of a Hydra head had been made around him, his eyes widened as the carving lit up and unleashed waves of lightning, electrocuting Spire to a crisp.

When the lightning stopped, all that was left of the once mighty Champion was a burnt corpse in armor, and the weapons he wielded.

Fang looked around and saw that the others had finished up with the soldiers, he sighed and walked over to Spire's body, he then collected the weapons and placed them on the corpse, he then carried it over to the edge as the gates lowered, freeing them from the trap.

Fang then dumped Spire's body into the lava, he turned around and saw that everyone was staring at him. "Yea yea, so I have some skills, it's nothing big." He said calmly as he dematerialized Hydra.

Roxanne shook her head. "No, your eyes are black pits." She said.

"Just like Golden!" Lyaroa added teasingly.

Golden nodded. "Yea......HEY!" He then snapped his head at the Sentinel.

Fang sighed and blinked. "They gone now?" He asked.

Roxanne gave a thumbs up. "Let's get moving then." Fang said as he walked to the entrance Spire came out of.

Shade scratched his head. "What did I miss?" He wondered quietly.

____*ten minutes later, the next section of the city.*____

Shade looked around, they were now in a aquatic section of the city called 'Feral Shores' It sounded like a tourist trap, and as the group moved through the section, more and more evidence appeared to reinforce this theory, such as food stands, surfboards, a beach which probably shouldn't have existed.

Upon seeing the beach, Lyaroa sighed. "Oh great, it seems I DID forget something." She muttered.

Roxanne looked at Lyaroa as the Sentinel moved to the beach. "What's the problem?" She asked.

Lyaroa sat on the sand and looked out to the water. "Think about it, botanic, volcanic, oceanic, mountainous?.....doesn't that strike you as weird to find them in the same place?" She wondered.

As everyone took a break on the beach, Lyaroa talked. "This was a sandbox, literally, I used it to test environments, it would seem that I forgot to get rid of it, and that whoever these people are, they took up residence here." She explained.

Fang sighed and looked out to water as well. "I'm no fan of the idea, but wouldn't it be a better idea to just destroy the entire mountain?" He suggested.

Lyaroa shook her head. "And where would I put the remaining energy?" She wondered.

Fang shrugged. "Not my problem." He replied.

Soon, the group moved on, and they soon reached a small beachfront town, but it was deserted. "Be on guard, they might be waiting for us." Golden said calmly as he drew his staff and used it as a walking stick.

Lyaroa and Roxanne pulled out their weapons.

Shade didn't pull a weapon out, he looked at Fang. "Aren't you going to pull your weapon out?" He asked,

Fang shook his head. "No, what about you?" He asked.

Shade crossed his arms. "I don't need nor have one." He replied easily.

"Then don't ask me about it." Fang said as he walked.

Shade gave Fang a questioning glare, but said nothing, he looked away and saw something out of the corner of his eye, it was a shadow moving behind one of the huts. "We're not alone." He said quietly.

Golden let his staff touch the ground again, as he did, he released a small amount of psychic energy which traveled in all directions, revealing the terrain and everything around it to him.

Three more times later, Golden stopped walking suddenly and faced a nearby shack.

Everyone else stopped and looked around. "What is it?" Shade asked.

Golden raised his staff towards the shack, he then slammed it to the ground at full force, a powerful wave of psychic energy erupted, it rippled through the ground, it soon reached the shack and caused it to launch into the air and crash back down on the ground, this all happened in three seconds.

Everyone jumped from the sudden action except Fang, who was just as calm as ever. "What the hell was that about?" Shade asked.

Golden did not budge, he scanned the area again with his powers, but found nothing. "Get ready to fight." He said as he raised his staff.

Everyone quickly got ready for another battle as they looked around carefully, Lyaroa however simply sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Here we go again." She said as she took her position.

Golden slammed his staff down again, but this time, torrents of psychic energy went everywhere, this time it was so strong, it was visible, the entire area around them soon erupted, causing it all to crack and fall in on itself, all the buildings became rubble, the ground broke apart, and soon, the shadows that were surrounding them were revealed to be more soldiers, and they were now charging at them.

They all started fighting in the now destroyed town, it wasn't long before Golden sensed the presence of another powerful fighter, he quickly dispatched the soldiers harassing him and looked to face the new opponent.

The newcomer was big, it was a Minotaur with tough leather armor, it was definitely a male, due to the sheer size, and he carried a large halberd in his hands, but he had a sword and shield on his back.

Golden and the Minotuar approached eachother and faced off. "And you are?" Golden asked.

The Minotuar readied itself for battle. "Granite, you?" He asked, in a very deep voice with a thick as hell accent.

Golden did the same as the Minotuar. "I've been called many names, but Golden is the most common.

Granite said nothing as he charged, clearly not as talkative as Spire.

Golden did not charge, instead he merely defended, as they fought, Golden soon discovered that Granite had an immunity to psychic attacks, which simply made Golden grin. 'Finally, someone with immunity.' He thought.

Granite soon disengaged. "You are immune, you must have great psychic power." He said deeply.

Golden grinned. "Same to you, tell me, how did you get it?" He wondered with genuine curiosity.

Granite pounded his chest. "Unless you defeat me in honorable combat, I cannot reveal that information to you." He answered.

Golden changed his stance from his usual one, before, he would slouch slightly forward and hold his staff close to his right arm while the left arm dangled, now, he stood up completely straight, his left foot just barely behind his right, he held his staff out in a diagonal posistion as both hands held it, his right in the center, and his left by the head. "Very well." He said.

Granite threw the halberd away, pulling out the sword and shield. "Let us see who will be victorious." He said before moving at incredible speed.

Golden grinned again, this speed was the kind that most fighters would be horrified by, but Golden was no ordinary fighter, he quickly slammed his staff into the ground, and just as Granite was about to reach striking distance, Golden suddenly let go of the staff and kicked Granite straight in the jaw with an uppercut, he put a lot of force into it, but not enough to cause death.

Granite flew back, he had dropped his sword but not the shield, but just as he was about to recover, Golden had moved again, he ran towards Granite, grabbing his staff along the way, at first glance it would appear that he was going to strike Granite before he could get back up.

Instead, Golden did something different, he channeled some psychic energy into his staff and it changed, all of the metal plates on it moved to the head and took a shape, soon enough, it formed into the shape of a war hammer, he swung it at the shield with all of his might.

Just as the hammer impacted on the shield, a loud crack was heard, and the shield soon broke apart, Granite was also forced back down by this, the metal plates then started to return to their normal positions on the staff.

Golden then stopped right In front of Granite who was just starting to get up from the previous hit, he took the same stance as before but this time his eyes glowed slightly. "Never ending strikes." He said calmly.

Granite stood up and tried to get away, but it was too late as Golden unleashed a barrage of strikes.

One after another, Golden swung his staff at Granite, the blows continually struck him causing him to be unable to move at all.

As the attack went on, Granite soon realized what was going on, Golden was somehow using his powers to enhance his own physical strength and stamina, by sending a continuous stream of power through him, he literally could make this attack last forever if left uninterrupted, but in the posistion that Granite was in, he could not act, only attempt to defend, and hope someone assisted him.

But it never happened, and Granite soon knew why, he had sent one last psychic charge through the earth, and discovered that everyone else had been defeated, it was just him. 'Only one thing to do.' He thought.

Just before another strike hit Granite, he spoke. "I yield!"

Golden stopped the strike just before it impacted on Granite's rib cage, he eased himself and backed off.

Granite dropped to the ground and held his side painfully. "I cannot best you." He said truthfully.

Golden put his staff and o the ground and looked down at Granite. "Then talk, tell me everything you know about this place and what happens here." He ordered.

Granite looked up at the group of five. "This mountain was discovered three months before the fall of Discord, it was untouched by the God of Chaos, so the original survivors saw it as their salvation if they could survive it, they were known as the outcasts of Null, the first city to be completely destroyed." He paused and looked at Lyaora.

"They discovered the truth of this mountain, and they believed that it was untouchable by the world around them, a belief they still hold, however, they see you as a monstrosity, one that must be slaughtered and never allowed to rise again, that is why they hate you so." He continued.

Granite then rested his other hand on the ground. "As for my powers, they discovered a place of power, one that was overwhelmed by all forms of energy, magic, psychic energy, you name it, I was infused by concentrated psychic energy, making me almost unbeatable to all but a few." He chuckled and looked at Lyaroa again. "But the most intriguing find of all in this entire mountain occurred at the beginning of the year, we discovered something." He grinned. "Do you want to know?" He asked mockingly.

Golden sent a small blast of psychic energy at the ground, soon enough a large rock impacted on Granite's back. "Speak, and you shall live." He said in an oddly calm tone.

Granite shook his head and looked at Golden as his arms started to bleed. "Live?...no, it's to late for that, but I will say this....." He looked at Lyaroa. "We.....can kill you." He laughed madly before falling back and turning to ash.

Golden said nothing as he looked at Lyaroa, her eyes were completely wide and she seemed to be in shock. "That's two that said that, I'm beginning to think its not a lie." He said as he looked to Granite's halberd, the weapon seemed to be deteriorating at an alarming rate. "Hmm, I wonder." He walked over and took hold of what was left of the weapon, it was deteriorating, that much was certain, but why?....it shouldn't be doing it this quickly. "Unless..." He is voice trailed off as he quickly scanned the weapon with his powers, it soon became obvious as to what was happening, and as he looked back, he saw that it was happening to the soldiers as well. "Their bodies can't hold the power." He muttered.

Golden walked back over and Lyaroa was now sitting down, obviously having some thoughts about all of this. "Will you be alright?" He asked.

Lyaroa held her sides and looked up at Golden. "I just found out that they have the means to murder me, no, I'm not alright." She said shakily.

Fang felt a surge of anger and clinched his fist, then looked at Golden. "Alright, I've had enough." He stood up and looked Golden straight in the eyes. "Since Lyaroa is out of commission, and you obviously don't care, tell me what the fuck happened around here Golden!" He ordered.

Golden growled and headbutted Fang, the wolf fell to the ground. "Back off pup!....I am not your enemy so stop treating me like I'm going to stab you in the back!" He countered.

Fang chuckled and moved incredibly fast and kicked Golden square in the jaw. "And you need to get over yourself." He taunted.

Shade went to stop the fight but stopped as Roxanne stopped him. "Trust me when I say this......you do NOT, want to get between that fight." She warned.

Golden threw a strong wave of psychic energy at Fang and quickly drew his staff. "You had best calm down boy." He warned.

Fang's eyes switched to the black pits "Hydra!" He called, the spear rapidly appeared and he spun it quickly, forcing the energy to dissipate. "Make me.....dick." He taunted.

Golden slammed his staff into the ground, forcing a torrent of energy into the earth, causing rocks to launch at Fang.

Fang continued to fight back, he struck the rocks and as he did, Hydra charged up, and soon, it was ready. "My turn." He chuckled. "SURGE!" He called.

Golden soon found himself defending, as Fang attacked, he was forced to put almost all of his power into defending against the brutal onslaught, with Fang combining his already incredible might with shadow and lightning, it was amazing that Golden even had the strength to fight back.

Fang struck blow after blow, each one impacting on Golden's staff, soon, he found himself thinking of something. 'Wait, how did this start?....where did that surge of anger come from?' He backed off and dematerialized Hydra. "Call it a tie, at least for now." He said.

Golden blinked but returned his staff to his back. "Agreed." He replied.

Fang took a few deep breaths and rubbed his eyes. "I think I deserve to have an explanation regardless." He said calmly.

Golden walked over to the others and knelt down, he looked at Fang. "Well, get situated then, there's no enemies around here so we have time, I guess it started when we fell down that hole....wait, what DO you remember?" He wondered.

Fang shrugged. "I remember landing in that pile and that's it." He replied.

Golden sighed and shook his head. "Oh boy." He muttered.

"This is going to take a while." Roxanne pointed out.

Author's Note:

Ok, so the plot thickens am I right?

With two powerful fighters down, and a horrifying truth revealed, normally, I would continue, but first, you must know the past, a,k,a, the four unrevealed chapters between two and seven, so yea, this should be fun.

See you next time....or before?......nevermind.