Airship Mauled

by Darkonshadows

Chapter forty-six, Wheel of life and death: Rising Revenant’s Rebirth.

-Ponyville, Sugar Cube Corner, Flamberge-

“I’m surprised this party is going so well, but where are we staying tonight?!” Not that I didn’t trust my brother, but I don’t think Fortitude thought that far ahead.

Skelly at least seems to be okay for the moment and Rarity seems to be avoiding my brother entirely, which was very understandable.

“We are not worrying about that now, we are having many friends that can put us up before we have to leave in the morning.” So Fortitude had the idea that we weren’t going to be here much longer than we had to be, I could agree with that since we need to get our adventures started.

Still, he didn’t have a shield and we needed to find one for him. My brother wasn’t great with weapons, he was good at wielding shields, but he tended to break every weapon he’s ever wielded with relative ease.

Skelly eventually finished having fun with one of Pinkie’s latest games and came over to us, she seemed to be a little bit brighter at the moment. We knew that eventually she would… yep there she goes. She just sat down and her eyes went blank.

I wonder what she’s thinking when she zones out.

I think we should cover for her while she was like this, we’ll just use the explanation that she was tired and needed some rest. After thousands of years without sleep, she probably needed it.

-???, Skelly-

The Draugr were stronger, a lot stronger than those they came from had been in life.

I narrowly brought the one before me down by forcing it towards the wall with as hove where spikes sprung out to skewer it destructively.

It was in a bunch of pieces now.

I continued further down into the depths until I came to that room and witnessed the source of my home’s woes.

A unicorn, one that was using dark magic.

I surged forward… only to have several Draugr jump on top of me at his command. He gave me an insufferable grin as his minions grabbed me using their unnatural strength.

Even as I struggled against them I knew I couldn’t break free, but I’d die trying anyway.

There were far too many of them.

They pinned me down and I was incapable of bringing my axe to bear against them, they quickly wrenched it from my grasp and redoubled in my efforts to throw them off until I took a blow to the head.

I had blacked out.

Upon waking I found myself strapped to a table hanging from the ceiling, pulled at the metal around my hooves and struggled. My body was splayed out in front of the unicorn who looked me over with glee.

He didn’t say anything, but the way he leered at me was sickening given how exposed to him I was. I glared at him and he just smirked at me.

His horn was lit and his magic kept working on a strange circle below me, he was writing something with chunks of white stone held in his glow.

The circle I was within was quite foreboding, I could recognize him writing the runes for life, death and control.

Why was I still alive? What was he planning to do with me? He didn’t need the other ponies still breathing to make his Draugr.

He obviously had something different in mind for me, I just glared at him and he chuckled at my nasty look.

He would not take my spirit without a fight!

I struggled, tried to think of a way out of this, I forced myself against my bonds until I bled. It was for naught as the unicorn took several steps back and he had a large toothy grin on his face as his horn starting lighting up with a sickly grin color, the glow was becoming stronger by the second.

He closed his eyes and the glow started becoming far more intense, the Draugr around the room silently waited and stared at me. I didn’t want to become like them or something worse, with what the unicorn had in mind I could kind of guess it was worse.

I looked to the floor and saw something that the unicorn hadn’t thought of… he hadn’t bound my tail. He had bound my neck and all four of my hooves, but the one thing he didn’t do was bind my tail.

I would make him pay for that mistake and his hubris!

I flicked the long silvery tail hair forward and started to swipe at the circle, my long tail hair was enough to reach the circle and it managed to muddy the runes on it.

I had aimed for control and wiped it away completely, I didn’t have much more time and tried to destroy the circle entirely by swinging my tail at the circle several more times.

My sweeping tail didn’t destroy the runes for life or death, it instead swirled them around each other as my tail became dirtied with white dust. I could also see my tail swipe through something that I could barely recall represented the sensations of life.

That was about as far as I got before pain unending flooded throughout my body and every inch of my flesh screamed.

I know what happened next… I remembered it all now.

My memories had been shattered and I opened my eye while slowly getting up. I didn’t know where I was, who I was or what I was doing… but my first sight of my boney hoof made me reel in shock and fall onto my pelvic bone.

Something had been horribly wrong, but as I looked around my eyes flashed with red and started to glow.

I started to feel it… there was a bottomless hatred within me. It was seething at me to destroy everything here, I felt a raw fury that I didn’t understand at the time and there was only one piece of love in the room.

The need to destroy grew with every second, but the need for the axe that one of the green eyed monstrosities was holding was far greater that I could feel pain at not wielding.

I lunged forward and tore the head from the Draugr with my bare hooves, at the time I didn’t understand why I was so strong and I blindly took up the silver axe and swung it around to decapitate another monster.

The one being in the room that had my ire more than anything was a unicorn that soon stood up and laid his smiling eyes upon me. He grinned and then said something, I ignored it and started to walk toward him bringing the axe with me.

He tried to command me again, but my hatred was almost entirely centered on this one being. I swung my axe through an array of chemicals and destroyed the table, he ordered me to stop and I didn’t.

He was the one that did this to me, I knew that from the beginning without having a single memory.

The only thing in the room that could have done it was trying to command me!

I swung my axe for him and he lit his horn, in his panic he fired his magic into a gem nearby and my axe connected with his body that suddenly turned into a golden statue. I swung the axe again, it did no damage and my fury was ever growing.

Attacking the gem, I did no damage to it either. His magic was the only thing keeping him from my wrath and he was protected from me through some trickery.

One of the Draugr attacked me, I idly swung my axe recklessly at it and watched as it was cleaved in two.

I didn’t expect that my axe would work on them, but it did. My eyes narrowed on all the other monsters in the room suddenly coming towards me.

While the unicorn was trapped in the form of a statue, I unleashed my fury on the minions of this defiler of the dead. He made a mistake with me and I would never let him live it down, I would find a way to destroy him someday!

That was a vow I kept, even if it required relying on two of bravest beings I’ve ever seen to end the cycle and my torment. A dragon and yak that were brothers in blood, family even if they were not born from the same mother and they even had a third brother abroad.

The dragon had been suspicious of me at first, but he eventually started to befriend me the same way that the yak had.

There was no hostility after our fight and I was forced to join them, I had thought I would watch them fall.

I was quite surprised to see a Valkyrie, in the end of my tormentor went straight to Hel.

-Ponyville-

I blinked and I felt something soft wipe at my face, Fortitude was holding a cloth that was now wet.

“Skelly, are you going to tell us why you are crying?” Smiling at Fortitude I just shook my head, nothing was wrong and everything was almost right. I got up and hugged him and pressed my face against him.

“I don’t mean to intrude, but how is she doing that without dying from the smell?” I pulled back and looked to Rarity who had a clothespin over her nose.

“She lost her sense of smell a long time ago!” Flamberge proclaimed while raising a claw.

“Well that would explain why she isn’t currently gagging and dying off like any of the flies that went near him.” For one Rarity, I didn’t care about your commentary. And another I was being hugged back by Fortitude who ran a cloven hoof gently up and down my spinal column.

I nuzzled into Fortitude like my… did I have life? I could taste, I could touch, I could hear, I could see… and I looked normal half the time and had been in a cycle of being a normal pony and a skeleton for thousands of years.

“It is being okay, would you like another cupcake Skelly?” At fortitude’s question I curled up against him and nodded. “Flamberge, go ask Pinkie if she has another cupcake for Skelly.”

“Poor dear, she looks like she had a nightmare.” Don’t worry Rarity, that nightmare was over with and I’m still somewhat a living version of one. “Maybe I can make those boots for you after all, would that cheer you up?”

I shook my head with a vehement no. I would not separate my hooves from being able to feel the land, I waved Rarity off.

“Well okay then, if you need anything from me like another Nightmare Night costume… one that’s less realistic looking… then I’m open for making you one.” With that Rarity went over to the yellow coated winged pony who was cowered at the sight of me. “Are you alright Fluttershy, do you need me to walk you home?”

“Yes… there’s just something about Ms. Noria that I really don’t like, even if she is Pinkie’s friend.” The pony shivered and Rarity threw a hoof over her back and held her.

“It’s just a Nightmare Night costume Fluttershy. I’m not sure who the designer is, but I’m sure I could make one just as good as that one is!” Having stated that out loud, multiple ponies started to gather around Rarity asking her for Nightmare Night costumes. “Hold on… everyone calm down… one at time please!”

Fluttershy whimpered and tried to get away from the gathering crowd as they swamped Rarity with orders.

“Hey, Skelly, from here on things are only going to get better for you… you’ll see!” The pink blur herself held out a cupcake for me and I greedily took the offered treat from Pinkie’s hoof and nibbled at it. “It’s kind of nifty how you can see the mushed cupcake going down her invisible throat like that. Excuse me while I go settle things down and start closing the party up. You can use the bathroom upstairs to prepare for a sleepover tonight, I’m sure the cakes won’t mind my friends staying over. I’ll get out the sleeping mat for you after I’m done here!”

With that the amazing pink one zipped off and started to talk to party goers about Rarity’s business and them leaving for the night as it was getting quite late.

“Yes, her eating is really interesting and all, but I’m still wondering where it’s all going.” Muttered Flamberge, but I didn’t care where it was going as long as it tasted this good. I glared at him for staring the empty space occupying my midsection. “Sorry, but you have to admit that the food disappearing as soon as it hits your ribcage is more than a little weird.”

I rolled my spectral eyes and Fortitude started carrying me up the stairs, I wasn’t tired at all.

Could I even sleep or dream? If I could do everything else, then I would certainly try to find out if I could.

I watched as they prepared for bed, they even helped me get bits of the Hayburger I consumed out of my teeth. Apparently mint flavored string was what kept teeth healthy today, back then we had to use reeds or grass.

Soon we entered Pinkie’s room and the pink blur herself shot by saying something too fast for any of us to really catch. There were now several soft cushions and the large floor covering to rest upon, she had set it all up in an instant.

I was both perplexed and amazed by Fortitude and Flamberge’s friend, I guess Pinkie was now my friend too.

“Well of course I’m your friend silly!” Pinkie had only stopped for a second to say that and was faster than a hawk could fly. Also… she could read minds and I was horrified by that fact. Seconds later her voice rose up from below. “I told you I can’t read minds, you’re just being crazy!”

Who was the crazy one here?

“I’m perfectly sane thank you very much!” Pinkie retorted without being in the room with us.

I looked to Flamberge and Fortitude and they shrugged before settling down.

Fortitude patted a spot between him and Flamberge, I was a little pensive as I set my axe off to the side next to Flamberge’s sword. I approached them and laid down between them, I place my head upon the pillow and closed my eyes.

I felt Flamberge and Fortitude cuddle up to me, not long after listening to the sounds of their heartbeats slowing down things slowly fell into blackness.

-???, Skelly-

I was lost somewhere up in the clouds and I eventually saw my parents.

They were smiling at me sadly as they approached me.

My mother nuzzled me gently and my father patted me on the head, then we all came together as one.

“You still have plenty of time.” One said. “Find happiness wherever you can!”

“We will always be waiting for you.” The other intoned. “Do not destroy yourself, your legend still has room to grow our little hero!”

-Morning, Ponyville, Fortitude-

Skelly was squirming between us and she had tears in her eyes, she was back to looking like a normal pony again.

She smiled brightly as she sat up and yawned. She apparently had a very nice, if sad, dream.

Author's Note:

Finally some good news, after all the stuff I've had to deal with lately!

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Thats a very nasty way to be affected, but any assitance through which hairs went where from Harmony, to set up for the Final Battle approaching?

Pinkie is barely useing Special L Theory at the moment,

Isnt it Pinkie can understand Skelly, because, shes a freind, but also, because Pinkie speaks SQUEAK?

[Gojira_Tanaka]

I feel like Noira is a revenant