Returning Survivor

by Itchy

Two Terrible Beasts In One Bad Week

Mecha was in his back yard, working at his forge. Pulling a sword out of a bucket of water, Mecha inspected before grinning. Perfect. Sitting down to sharpen it, Mecha took a glance at the time. Seeing that it was close to seven, Mecha sighed. After sharpening his sword, he'd have to go to the library to get his punishment from Twilight Sparkle for causing a mess at Pinkie Pie's party. To be fair though, all five of them were being punished. Solaris and Shining Armor were both stuck escorting the nobles of Canterlot for a week, a punishment that was more than cruel in Mecha's opinion. Big Macintosh was stuck with all the chores on Sweet Apple Acres for the week, and Doctor Whooves... actually, he didn't know what his punishment was. All he knew was that if he wasn't at the library in time he'd have a ticked Twilight Sparkle to deal with. Sighing, he put his completed sword in it's sheath, slung it on his back, and started walking. He'd put it into his shop latter, most likely after lunch.

He'd not taken more than three steps onto the street when he heard somepony shout, “MANTICORE!”

Blinking, Mecha swore, “Lust's panties locked in Greed's treasure chest!*” before running down the street, quickly spotting the manticore. Thankfully, nopony had been hurt, and it was a fairly small manticore, but there was one major issue that Mecha saw right off the bat. The manticore's mouth had foam coming out of it, showing why it had decided to attack Ponyville.

“Of course,” Mecha said out loud, standing on his hind hooves while drawing the sword on his back. “It had to be rabid. By Sloth's hammock, couldn't it just be cranky or something! At least I get to try and see if my upgrades work...” Mecha muttered out that last piece, whilst sticking out his mechanical leg straight in front of him. At this point, the leg split open, allowing a sword, smaller than the one in his other hoof, to swing out, before his leg fused back together.

Nodding his head, Mecha was about to charge in when he head, “STOP! What are you doing?!?” Turning his head, he saw Fluttershy running over.

Knowing about her love of animals, Mecha realized she wouldn't let him do what needed to be done unless she knew what was going on, so he quickly briefed her by saying, “It's rabid.”

Stopping short, Fluttershy's eyes went wide, tears slowly building up. Looking over at the manticore, she saw what Mecha had seen, and then looked back at Mecha. Having seen for herself that the manticore was rabid, she nodded her head at Mecha, tears beginning to fall. Knowing that she'd need counciling later, Mecha turned back towards the manticore, and charged forward.

Seeing the pony charging at it, the manticore turned around, roaring, before swiping at the pest that would dare charge it. Leaping over the swipe, Mecha lashed out, barely reaching above the right eye with his longer sword, while leaving a minor gash up the arm that swung at him. Howling in pain, the manticore tried to bite Mecha, only to be stopped by Mecha's crossed swords. With the beast's massive head in front of him, and his efforts to make sure that none of the foam landed anywhere where it could infect him, Mecha almost missed seeing the beast's tail lunging towards him.

Twirling out of the way, Mecha felt the tail brush his cheek, before he slashed his swords in an X manner, cutting through the tail. Maddened with pain, the manticore lashed out faster than Mecha could react, slashing him across the chest, throwing him back due to the force.

Groaning, Mecha stood back up, and stumbled a bit before getting settled. At this point, Mecha noticed he'd gathered a crowd that was watching him fight, and running towards him was Big Macintosh, his giant sword with him.

“Hehe, good to see ya,” Mecha told him.

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh said, quickly getting on his hind legs while drawing his sword.

“Be careful, it's rabid,” Mecha warned, before running back into the fray.

At this point, the wound above the manticore's eye had bleed to the point that it had blood running into the eye, forcing it shut.

Seeing this, and knowing that Mecha was injured, Big Macintosh took its good side, swinging his massive sword, only to swing at air when the manticore leaped to the side, right into Mecha's swinging blades, causing several more lacerations across the rabid creature's front legs. Growling, the manticore tried to swing at Mecha again, only to stop when Big Macintosh distracted it by cutting off one of it's wings, leading to blood bursting out the stump were the wing was once attached.

Roaring wildly, the beast started to thrash in a wild manner, forcing the two fighters to step back. Unfortunately, Mecha didn't move fast enough, and got caught by the remaining wing, throwing him back. However, in mid flight, Mecha started to spin, before releasing the sword that he finished that morning at the beast, which managed to land in its chest. Stopping, the beast merely looked at the piece of metal lodged in its chest, never even seeing Big Macintosh, who swung with the entirety of his might, cutting off the creature's head, ending its misery and madness.

A cheer rose from the crowd, that was quickly cut off when people noticed Mecha wasn't getting up. Running over, Doctor Whooves was the first to arrive, and quickly looked him over. Seeing a scratch on his cheek, he instantly knew what was wrong. “Quickly!” He ordered, “Get a doctor and some anti-venom!”

LINEBREAKER

Opening his eyes, Mecha was blinded by a bright light. Blinking, he looked around the room he was in, taking in the white ceiling tiles, the smell of cleaners, and his aunt by his bed. “Oh thank goodness!” She hollered, quickly moving forward, taking him in a tight hug.

Mecha's response was short, and to the point, “OW!!!!!!!!!!”

Quickly releasing him, Mayor Mare blushed, saying “Sorry, forgot about your ribs.”

Looking down, Mecha realized two things. One, his chest was bandaged, and two, his metal leg wasn't attached. Looking around, he saw it on the floor, laying next to his bed, the sword still out. Sighing, Mecha was about to ask questions when Doctor Stable walked in. “Ah, good,” he said, walking over, and taking the charts from the foot of Mecha's bed. “You're awake. Let's see here... the manticore venom has been treated, your blood showed no sign of rabies, so the only issues you currently have are your three broken and eleven cracked ribs. Ouch. But, on the bright side, you can leave.” Nodding his head at his own analysis, the pony left, leaving Mecha and Mayor Mare.

“So auntie,” Mecha started, “I take it Big Macintosh took care of the manticore after I was KO'ed?”

Nodding her head, Mayor Mare told him, “Just after you were knocked unconscious. By the way, the sword you threw has been put in your house, and Twilight told me that you don't have to do the last of your punishment. Do I want to know what you did to earn it?”

Shaking his head, Mecha replied, “No, you don't. But I managed to hit the blasted thing? Wasn't expecting that. Anyways, how long have I been out?”

Looking at the clock on the wall, his aunt said, “About a day and a half.”

Blinking, Mecha laughed, and said, “Longest I've been asleep in over two years.”

LINEBREAKER

Having checked himself out after re-attaching his mechanical leg, Mecha walked down the streets of Ponyville, only to stop when he saw a crowd. Blinking, he walked up, and heard someone screech, “Such an awful, awful color!” followed by what sounded like crying. Finally reaching the crowd, he was about to ask what was going on, only for Twilight Sparkle to run past him. Staring for a second, he turned around to try and get answers, only for the crowd to disperse. Shrugging his shoulders, Mecha walked down the street, heading home.

LINEBREAKER

Looking at the sword on his newly purchased table, Mecha's left eye started to twitch. “Why didn't they clean it off first?” he muttered to himself. “Don't they know how hard it is to get blood off a sword without cutting yourself is once it dries! Not to mention the blood is all over my table now!” Sighing, he grabbed a rag, and started cleaning his table.

LINEBREAKER

Mecha was in his shop, working on cleaning off the blood from the sword normally sealed in his mechanical leg. Hearing the bell ring, Mecha put the rag in the bucket he kept nearby, and sealed the sword. Smiling, Mecha said, “Welcome to my... why are you two looking at me so closely?”

Staring even closer, Snail asked Snips, “Are you sure?”

Looking Mecha over, Snips said, “Psh, of course I'm sure!”

Blinking, Mecha asked, “Can I help you two?”

Still leaning close to Mecha, Snips asked, “Is it true that you used to be a scout?”

Blinking at the unexpected question, Mecha merely nodded his head.

“Oh goodie!” Snail said, jumping a little. “Then he can help us, eh?”

“Most certainly!” Snips said. “Good sir, could you by chance tell us where to find an Ursa Major?”

Surprised, Mecha gave a stern look, and asked, “And why do you want to find an Ursa Major?”

Snail started to say something, only for Snips to cut him off, saying, “To see how big one is!”

Blinking, Mecha gave them another hard look, before relaxing and scratching his head, saying, “Well, I don't know of any dens nearby... No wait, I might be able to help you.” Going into the back room, Mecha looked around, and pulled a map, before walking out. Spreading it out, he looked it over before pointing at a cave marked on the map. “This here used to be an Ursa Major den. It's unlikely that anything is still there, so it's perfectly safe. Just walk in, and take a look at the size of the cave, and you should give you a good idea of their size. Will that work?” Looking up, Mecha was greeted with silence, as the two had already left. Sighing, he put the map back, and got back to cleaning his swords.

LINEBREAKER

It was several hours later, and Mecha had just finished getting the blood off his swords. He put the one not attached to him up in the display case, when the door opened for the second time that day. Looking over, he saw Spike, and walked over to him. “Can I help you?” he asked, hoping that he was actually going to buy something.

Spike disappointed him when he asked, “Yeah, can we talk?”

Sighing, Mecha pulled out two chairs, and sat in one asking, “What's the issue?”

Spike sighed, and explained the situation to Mecha, before finally asking, “What should I do?”

Taking in a deep breath, Mecha told him, “You let her stick to her decision. If she's not comfortable with using her magic in front of her friends, then she has to be the one to work it out for herself. However, if it makes you feel better, I'll talk to her myself. That okay?”

Sighing Spike just nodded his head before walking out the door. Looking at the clock on his wall, Mecha sighed, changing the open sign to closed, and locked up, mumbling to himself, “I need to put up a sign or something, saying no entry without purchase or something.”

Giving a final sigh, Mecha started to walk home, hoping to get started on forging the next piece to sell at his shop. Maybe some armor or something would attract some costumers, or better yet, maybe...

His thoughts were cut off when he heard a loud roar, causing him to turn around. Looking up, he saw a giant blue bear whose fur looked like it was made of stars rampaging through town. Blinking, Mecha just said, “Okay, I'm not dealing with that!”

LINEBREAKER

Thankfully, he didn't have to deal with it, as Twilight Sparkle did so. Walking up, he wondered why Snips and Snails were looking so bashful, when he heard Twilight say, “For starters, you can clean up this mess.”

Startled, Mecha asked, “These two caused the Ursa Minor to rampage?”

Looking over at Mecha, Twilight said, “Yes, all so they could see someone vanquish it.”

Going wide-eyed, Mecha turned to the two, and yelled, “YOU TWO LIED TO ME!!!”

Shrinking into themselves, they stared at him with fear in their eyes.

Surprised, Twilight asked, “What do you mean?”

Still glaring, Mecha told her of their visit to him earlier. “Had I realized their true intentions,” he said, “I wouldn't have told them about the apparently not so abandoned Ursa den.”

Looking over the two, Twilight told Mecha, “Then I think it's only fair that you pick last bit of their punishment.”

Still glaring, Mecha told them in a short tone, “You two are working in my shop to pay for the damages you caused with this stunt. Got it?”

“Got it,” the two said.

“Wait a minute,” Twilight interrupted, “your shop is open?”

Blinking, Mecha said, “Yeah, why?”

The crowd around them muttered, since this was apparently news to them. “Because I never got the news about it,” Twilight said, speaking for the crowd. “What exactly is it?”

Sighing, Mecha said, “Mecha's Metalworks, were you can find anything made from metal, or I'll make it myself. In fact, the sword I used on the manticore is up for sale their. Now, if you don't mind, I've got to get home to start on my next project for the store.” Turning Mecha started to walk home, having finally gotten an explanation to his lack of customers, only to be stopped by Fluttershy in the street halfway there.

“Um... excuse me...” she started, living up to her name. “But I was kinda.... wondering how much... the uh... sword...” here she stopped for a minute, obviously struggling with the request, “that you used cost?”

Caught totally off guard, Mecha said, “It costs 450 bits**. If you don't mind me asking, why do you want it?”

Gulping, Fluttershy told him, “To remind me... that sometimes... even kindness can't save everypony.”

Nodding his head, Mecha said, “Walk with me, and I'll get it from the store for ya. You can pay me tomorrow.”

Nodding, Fluttershy walked with him, completely silent.

*Compound cursing: A popular way in Hell to swear when highly distressed. These curses are considered even worse than singular curses, and the worst one can do is chain the 7 deadly sins together with the overall ruler of Hell.
**Using the earlier bit value I mention, this would be $472.50

Comments

[Dusty Sage]

This is going somewhere interesting, though you really don't need to toss in these David Foalsitter Wallace-esque footnotes. Inasmuch as none of us will be exchanging currency any time soon, the bits-to-dollars ratio is really not germane to the story.

Then again, I have to admire the very concept of a rabid manticore - as though a healthy manticore wouldn't be scary enough.

[TheCarrockPony]

Reading this is causing me to procasinate on my story...

BECAUSE ITS JUST SO AMAZING!