Iron's Revenge PT2
In a small city, ponies were enjoying their day to day lives in peace.
But then, that piece was broken. "Halt!" The townsponies spun around to see a pair of earth ponies, one carrying a sack full of something, being chased by Skybreaker and Iron Core. The Knight of the Wind and his apprentice ran as fast as they could, Skybreaker glancing up to see the many washing lines and other obstructions that kept him from simply flying after them.
As the two ponies rushed around a corner, they spotted some scaffolding infront of one of the buildings. Smirking, the two nodded at one another before reaching the construct. By the time Skybreaker and Iron arrived around the corner, the two were on the over side of the scaffolding and both kicked out two of the legs.
Doing so caused the construct to begin collapsing. And what was worse, an earth pony labourer was on top of it. "AAAHHH!" He cried as jumped off the collapsing structure, grabbing onto the ledge of the building. By the looks of it, he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.
Skybreaker saw this and turned to his apprentice, "save the worker."
Iron looked at him in surprise, "but they're gonna get away."
"Leave them to me. You focus on the civilians." He ran off after the two, climbing over the fallen metal pile, leaving Iron to growl as he looked up at the terrified pony.
"What a waste of my time." He started looking around for a way to get him down, as the pony continued to call for help. "Stop whining you baby, you're fine." He grabbed the scaffolding and started putting it together, until he eventually made a think metal pole that he lifted until one end was leaned against the edge. He then pointed to one of the ponies around him, "you. Over here." The pony walked up to him as Iron put the end of the pole into his grasp. "Hold this until he's finished sliding down it." With that, he left the barely handled situation and chased after his mentor.
But by the time he'd caught up, he found Skybreaker pinning one of the criminals to the ground. But the other pony and sack of loot were nowhere to be found, "where'd he go?"
"I lost him when I got this guy." Iron roared in frustration as he kicked a trashcan over, causing Skybreaker to sigh.
That night.
After turning the criminal in, Skybreaker and Iron had headed out of the city and were now camped out in the desert around a fire. As Skybreaker finished cooking their dinner, he looked up at a still fuming Iron. "What's up. I get we didn't get the guy, but we managed to catch his friend and we stopped a major tragedy."
"We would caught them both if you hadn't made me stay behind."
"I made you stay behind, to help an innocent who was in danger."
"Helping idiots who can't save themselves is a complete waste of my talents."
"Waste of your talent? Iron, what do you think our roles are? What it means to be a Royal Knight?"
Iron raised an eyebrow at this, as unable to believe he had to explain it. "To stop villains and bring them to justice, making them pay for the wrongs they've done." He expected Skybreaker to tell him he was right, but instead his mentor just sighed. "What, am I wrong?"
Skybreaker looked up at him. "Do you think you're wrong? Do you truly believe that that is what being a Royal Knight means? To simply fight against those who have done wrong?"
Iron didn't reply, unsure what his next answer should be. He felt that was the right answer, what else could it be? But the way Skybreaker stared at him filled his heart with doubt, causing him to not say anything and stare into the flames.
But Skybreaker kept staring at him. "Your refusal to back up your claims shows you don't fully believe that decision. And you won't truly become a knight until you make that decision and believe it with all your heart." Iron remained silent as Skybreaker finally came to his own decision, causing him to reach into his saddle bag. Iron noticed this and raised an eyebrow at what he was doing, only to go wide when he saw him pull out a case he had heard about. "Is that."
"An unbound Celestic Gear," Skybreaker placed it on the floor between them. "Your skills have reached the point where you're ready to wield it, but I have to wonder if you yourself are ready."
"What?"
"If I give you this, it'll make you one of the strongest warriors in Equestria. But the weapons shapes itself based not only on what the users best weapon skill is, but also on their own frame of mind. If you bond with this weapon before you're mentally ready for it, you could end up with something that can't keep up with the pony you might one day become.
Iron frowned, wondering if what Skybreaker said was true. If he took this weapon now, then he might one day end up being held back by it. But even so, having now meant he could do way more then he could before. "I'm ready."
"Are you sure?" Skybreaker asked, Iron nodding in response. "Very well, but promise me something. When you hold this weapon, it will be with the intent to protect the ponies of Equestria. Never swing this weapon with intent to do harm, and it won't ever fail you. Do you swear?"
Iron nodded again, "I swear."
Skybreaker nodded before opening the case, releasing the light of the crystal within. "Then claim your weapon."
Iron reached out and touched the crystal, that burst into light and blinded Skybreaker. Iron meanwhile, remained unharmed by this light and watched as it broke down before reforming into the shape of a spear. His Celestic Gear.
Iron gasped as he awoke, rapidly sitting up before flinching in pain. "Ahhh!" He looked down at his body and saw he was covered in bandages. He then looked around and saw he was laying on a bed in a bedroom of some kind. "Where am I?"
"You're in Ms Jubilee's ranch house." Iron turned to the open door and saw Flash standing in the doorway, him stepping in followed by Twilight, Springer and the rest of their friends.
"Sentry...princess...how?"
Flash laughed. "You can thank Skybreaker and Springer for that."
"Skybreaker?" Hoofsteps caused him to look back to the door, where his mentor slowly trotted in. He did not look happy.
"You idiot," he said in a voice between a whisper and a growl. He then held up something Iron hadn't noticed before, throwing it onto the bed infront of him.
Iron's eyes went wide when he saw what it was, Piecemaker. His Celestic Gear looked as it normally did, until you looked at the part connecting the blade to the staff and saw it had been crushed and flattened. "Oh no."
"You found him, didn't you? You found Longhorn and tried to take him down."
Iron looked down in shame, remembering how close he had been to beating the monster that had taken his parents from him. He then flashed back to the end of the battle, and who had been taken by Longhorn. He gasped as he looked up, "Fluttershy!"
Hearing him say this put the lot of them on edge, Twilight stepping up to him. "Where's Fluttershy?" She asked sternly, fearing for her friend's safety. Iron shut his eyes in shame. What had happened was his fault, because he had been so focused on stopping Longhorn. "Iron!"
"He has her!" Iron cried out, "Longhorn took her."
The mares all gasped while Flash, Skybreaker and Springer growled. Rainbow flew up and pinned Iron against the bed frame. "How could you let them take her!"
"Rainbow," Applejack grabbed the mare's tail and pulled her back, "calm down. Let him talk."
Flash turned to Iron. "This better be good."
Iron sighed and explained what happened. How he'd come to Dodge Junction and found he had been followed by Fluttershy, then ran into Jubilee and learned about her brake ins. How he had discovered the thief was Rickashay and followed him back to Score and Boulder, who he managed to defeat whilst Fluttershy had arrived. Then he told them about the arrival of Longhorn, who Iron had almost defeated until he'd consumed a strange liquid. And finally, he told them about how Fluttershy had tried to defend him, only to be taken by Longhorn for some reason.
Once he had finished his story, everyone shock in fear of what had become of their friend. "Fluttershy," Pinkie whispered with a flat mane.
Rarity turned to Twilight. "What are we going to do?" Twilight didn't respond, because she was unsure of what could be done."
Skybreaker moved over to Iron's bed, a hard look on his face. "This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't gone after Longhorn alone. You should have told us when you learned about him."
Iron frowned. "Would you have let me go after him?"
"Of course not. You're far to close to the situation."
Iron growled, as he tried picking himself up out of the bed. "What are you doing?" Twilight asked. "You need to rest."
"I need to find Longhorn," he was finally out of the bed and started limping towards the door. "I won't let him get away, not again." However, before he could reach the door he found it blocked by a familiar orange pegasus.
"Are you insane. You can't fight him in your condition."
"Move," Iron growled.
"No," Flash stood firm, "you can barely stand. How do you expect to beat Longhorn in your condition?"
Springer then stepped in. "And even if you somehow pull of a victory, doing it would probably kill you."
Iron simply stared at the bare of them, the anger he felt at both Longhorn and himself continuing to bubble over. "I don't care what happens, as long as I can bring the monster who took Fluttershy and my parents to justice. I don't even mind dying!"
This last outburst was all Flash could take. Before anypony could say or do anything else, Flash's hoof came up and slammed into Iron's face. They all gasped as they watched Iron fall to the ground, Skybreaker holding up his wing to stop the girls from interceding.
Flash stepped over to where Iron had fallen and knelt down to look him in the eye. "You're the only one who thinks that." Iron growled at Flash, who in turn glanced over at the others in the room. "Look around," he looked back at his fallen comrade. "There are ponies here who care about you. If you died, think about how they would feel."
Iron looked around the room, seeing the faces of the first ponies he had ever called his friend. The ones who had made Ponyville into a home, the first home he'd had since losing his parents. Then there were those not in the room he cared about, including one that was currently in danger because of his actions.
Memories of the pain he had felt when he had lost his parents came flooding back, a pain he would never wish on anyone. If he died, would they feel that pain?
Flash turned away from Iron and stared out the window, watching as the sun and moon began to switch places. "You've always worked to become stronger, but why?" Iron raised an eyebrow at this.
Twilight then spoke up. "What reason do you have for being strong. Are you working to be strong just for the sake of having strength, or is it for a greater purpose."
"In other words," Flash looked back at him. "What does being a Royal Knight mean to you?"
Iron's heart stopped, as he remembered Skybreaker once asking him that exact same question. Even after all this time, he still wasn't sure. Everything he had been through, all the fights he had fought and all the villains he had faced alongside Flash and the other knights. Had they not been fighting to stop those villains?
Before anypony could say anything else, a new pony ran into the room.
Cherry Jubilee panted as she arrived, seeing Iron on the floor and raising an eyebrow. But she quickly dismissed this as she turned to the others. "We got big trouble dearies!"
Applejack spoke up. "What's wrong Ms Jubilee?"
"Ah know what those varmints stole and it ain't good news."
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"The safe they broke into only had one thing in it, a map." Everyone raised an eyebrow at this. What would Longhorn want with a map? "But not just any map, but a map that'll show them how to find the Cursed Fruit."
"Cursed fruit?" Flash asked. "What is that, a kiwi somepony bewitched or something?"
Jubilee shock her head. "No, Cursed Fruit is just a nickname. It's real name is something to complicated to say. They call it cursed, because of what happens when you eat it."
"What happens?" Twilight asked.
Jubilee's face turned to one of worry, as she told them the legends. "It's said that consuming a Cursed Fruit will grant you incredible strength and speed. In fact, one legends states that the Ghastly Gorge was created when an earth pony ate the fruit before performing a single punch into the ground."
This statement made the lot of them go wide eyed.
"That's can't be real," Rainbow said before turning to Twilight pleadingly. "Right?"
"I'm...not sure."
Iron frowned as he remembered his fight with Longhorn, which had been in his favour until the bull drank something. What if it had been this fruit's juice? I would make sense that drinking it would give him a watered down version of what Jubilee was suggesting. "I am." He explained his theory to the others, who all turned pale at this.
"Then it must be real," Twilight said.
Flash turned to the cherry farmer. "Why is something like that not more common knowledge. A fruit that gives you the strength to crack the ground open, everypony would want that."
"Well for one thing, this fruit is rare. It only grows in very remote locations, like in this area. It's the whole reason ma'h family set up shop here so long ago. We were hoping that whatever was in the soil that made the fruit grow, would give our cherries a similar affect." The others nodded, "then there's the risks to eating the fruit."
"Risks?" Rarity asked.
Jubilee nodded. "It's said that the fruit is highly poisonous, that even eating more then one can be enough to kill ya'h."
"That's not so bad," Springer said. "Just be careful not to eat more then one and-"
"That's just the thing, the fruit is as addictive as it is poisonous. One bite can leave ya'h hooked and unable to resist eating another."
Hearing this made the lot of them gulp. No doubt Longhorn intended to find this fruit, either to consume or sell on the black market. Either way, him getting one was bad news.
The first thing Fluttershy heard was she woke up was voices.
As her eyes flickered open, she caught sight of a fire through the darkness. When her vision began clear she was able to look around the fire and saw Longhorn along with the three criminal ponies, sitting there eating canned beans. As soon as she saw them, she remembered what had happened and began to quiver.
She tried to move, only to discover her wings and front hooves were bound to her body whilst her back hooves were tied together. All she could do was wiggle, but that was hardly and excellent escape method.
Her movements had caught the other's attention, making them turn to see her and laugh. "Looks like someponies finally up," Score mocked.
Longhorn snorted as he threw his can into the fire before stepping over to the mare, who began panting heavily to show her intense panic. "Relax little one," he crouched down to her eye level. "I won't hurt ya'h." He then held up a flask of water, "drink. Ya'h no good to us if you die of exhaustion."
Fluttershy didn't want to accept anything from this lowlife, but she also couldn't deny how thirsty she was. Swallowing her pride, she also started swallowing the water. Once she was done, she looked up at Longhorn. "P-p-please, let me go."
Longhorn shock his head whilst drinking his own water, "a'h can't do that. If others like ya'h boyfriend try to come after me, a'h need some kind of leverage. Ya'll make an excellent hostage, considering ya'h one of the Elements of Harmony." Fluttershy looked down in fear, making Longhorn chuckle before returning to the three. On the ground next to the fire was a black breath case, which Longhorn opened before pulling out a syringe and a jar of the same liquid he had used to defeat Iron before.
Score watched in intrigue as the bull open the top before using the syringe to extract a portion of the liquid. "Is that the juice of the Cursed Fruit?"
Longhorn nodded as he emptied the liquid into a small flask. "Yes and it's power was well worth what I had to do to get my hooves on it. This jar holds the refined remains of the fruit and sells for half a million bits a jar. Imagine how much a dozen of the actual fruits would earn us."
Score smirked before pulling out the map. "And with this, they'll be all ours." He unfurled it and began looking over the directions, humming as he did so. "It seems it's leading us to a series of landmark that'll eventually end with us at the fruits growing spot."
Longhorn nodded as he put the jar back into the case. "Then we'll head out at first light."
Rickashay then spoke up. "What if we get there and don't find anything? That maps pretty old, so what if the trees it's leading us to died out."
Longhorn snorted. "You'd just better hope it's not." He turned back to Fluttershy, seeing her glare at him. But once she found him looking at her, her glare turned to a frightened frown. "You got somethin to say missy?" Fluttershy mumbled something under her breath, "what?"
Fluttershy took a deep breath, then repeated what she had said. "Y-you'll never...g-get away with t-this."
"Won't a'h now," Longhorn stomped over to her. "And why not?"
"I-Iron...will s-stop you."
This declaration caused Longhorn to laugh. "Iron? Iron is dead. Either from the beating I gave him, or from dehydration."
Then for the first time since meeting her, Longhorn watched as Fluttershy's stare became as solid as a rock. "You're wrong!" The force of that declaration, combined with the lack of stutter, took Longhorn by surprise.
"Am a'h now?"
"Yes. Iron would never fall to a monster like you. He'll...he'll be back. And when he does, you'll be...you'll be sorry!"
Longhorn smiled down at the mare before crouching down to her eye level, using his hoof to keep her gaze locked on him. "Iron...will never beat me, I made sure of that when he was young. His hatred for me will keep him from fighting me at his full strength."
Fluttershy's eyes went wide. So that's why he was goading him before.
Longhorn stood back up and returned to the fire. "If you're right and the earth pony does come, then you'll have the pleasure of watching me break him once and for all." He said nothing more to the pegasus, who just started crying and praying for somepony to help her.
The next morning.
As soon as Celestia and Luna began to swap their celestial bodies, the ponies were up and ready to save their friend and stop Longhorn once and for all. Luckily, they wouldn't have to walk as Jubilee had something that would help them.
"It's in here," she said as she directed all but Iron to one of the barns. Opening it up, she stepped aside and allowed the light to flood in, revealing a black and brown carriage with front wheels half the size of the back wheels. The only thing it was missing was the front part that the earth ponies would be strapped into. "Bin workin on this for a while. It's in all terrain cart that'll make it through anything that deserts gonna throw at you."
Flash laughed as he flew over to inspect it. "Awesome. With this, we'll be able to make up the distance between us and them."
Jubilee nodded. "All it's missin is the rain rack."
"Actually," Skybreaker said, "I think our purposes won't require them. Rainbow, Flash, you two are with me at the front."
"Got it," the two pegasi nodded as Twilight used her magic to tie some ropes around them and to the cart. As everypony else climb aboard, Jubilee handed something to Twilight.
"Here, a'h hope this helps you."
Twilight saw she was holding a scroll, which she took in her magic before opening to reveal a crudely drawn map. It might not have been a masterpiece, but it would work to lead them towards the location of the Cursed Fruit. "This is...but how-"
"That map's been in my family's possession for a long time. And whilst I never had any desire to find it, curiosity has had me look over the map enough times to have memorised the design. A'm no artist, but this should lead you there as well as the real one."
Twilight smiled before pulling Jubilee into a hug. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. Just save your friend." Twilight nodded and climbed up onto the cart before the pegasi began to pull it out the barn. But as soon as they were clear, they found Iron standing their weakly as he pulled off his bandages.
"What are you doing?" Skybreaker asked.
Iron looked down and sighed as the last bandage was removed. "I know I messed up, but...please, let me come with you." He looked back up at them, seeing they were all looking at him unsure. "You were right, I let hatred make me remember everything I'd lost before and forget about everything I'd gotten after. I'm sorry, that I let Longhorn take Fluttershy."
"Iron," Rarity said, "in your state."
"I won't try and fight him directly, only assist you lot. Just let me be there, that's all I ask for." He watched and waited for them to make a decision, until finally Flash spoke up.
"Alright, but don't do anything stupid. And don't leave our sides." He others looked at him questioningly, "Everypony makes mistakes."
Skybreaker sighed. "And we shouldn't judge them on those mistakes, but what they do once they make them." The others nodded and made room for Iron, who smiled before jumping up into it. Once he was seated, the pegasi flexed their wings and began to pull the cart through the orchid whilst picking up speed.
As the entered the desert, Twilight looked down at map and saw where they had to go. "Our first landmark is griffon's peak, north of the orchid." She turned to the sun and used it as a compass. "Right, sixty five degrees." The pegasi raised an eyebrow at this but just turned until Twilight said to stop. They were finally on their way towards the Cursed Fruit and Fluttershy.
Several miles away.
Fluttershy looked up at the large rock that was shaped like a griffon's head. She was still tied up and currently being carried over Boulder's back.
"Here it is," Longhorn said as he placed his hoof onto the rock. He then looked back at Score, "what now."
Score looked over the direction of the map, nodding as he understood. "We head in the direction of the beak, until we reach what looks like a Manticore." Longhorn raised an eyebrow at this, but Score just shrugged. "I'm sure we'll find out what it means."
"We'd better," Longhorn growled before walking off in the direction the beak was pointing. As the ponies followed after them, Fluttershy looked back at the griffon shaped rock and prayed that her friends would be there soon.
A ways back, the cart was speeding along the desert as the pegasi pulled it along through flying.
Within the cart the flightless ponies, and Twilight, enjoyed the comfortable right and praised the suspension system on this thing. Using several pairs of binoculars, they scanned the horizon around them for any sign of Fluttershy and the criminals.
The only one not looking for them was, strange enough, Iron. He instead was simply sitting back and staring at the crushed part of his trusty weapon. To think a little juice could give Longhorn the strength to do this, just goes to show how dangerous letting him in get his hooves on the whole thing would be.
"What's up Iron," he looked up to see Pinkie looking at him quizzically.
"I'm just thinking how we're gonna stop Longhorn. I doubt that little vial was all the juice he had. If he has more and drinks it, we might not be able to stop him."
"Don't worry about him," Flash called back. "He won't find fighting all of us as easy as just you."
Skybreaker nodded. "He's right. Even if he happen to have some more of that juice, he and his cronies will have a difficult time fighting against an alicorn magic scholar, four skilled ponies and two and half knights."
"Two and a half?" Twilight asked.
"I'm counting Iron as a half due to his condition."
"Even if that's true, you weren't there. You didn't see how much stronger a few drops made him. He he drink more then that."
"We'll handle it," Twilight assured him. "Nothing's gonna stop us from saving our friend."
"Got that right," Rainbow said back.
Applejack nodded. "He messed with the wrong ponies."
"Indeed."
"Yup, yup, yup."
"Besides," Flash said, "you could have beaten him if you'd been at your best."
Iron turned to him in confusion, wondering what the heck he was talking about. "Did you not see me yesterday?"
"I did."
"And he's saying you only ended up like that because you weren't fighting Longhorn at your full strength." Iron turned to his mentor, obviously lost. "You were angry, weren't you? When you thought Longhorn, you were attacking in a mindless rage."
Iron sighed. "Yes."
"That's what made you lose. Whilst your anger gave you a mild boost in strength, it stopped you form thinking clearly. Had you been calmer, you might have found a way to overcome his strength." Skybreaker watched as Iron looked down in shame. "I've told you before that anger can be a great tool, but only if you can control it."
"Control it?" Springer asked, "how are you meant to control it. I thought anger was something your suppose to stop yourself from feeling."
Skybreaker shook his head. "No, it's something you need to accept but not let control you." He looked up at the sky, watching as the clouds took shape. "In this world there are three types of emotion. Positive emotions like joy and love, or negative emotions like hatred and despair. Then there are the emotions that are completely blank, until they are effected by positive or negative emotions. Anger is one of those emotions. If fuelled by love and joy, then it can be an anger you can control and help make you stronger. But if fuelled by hatred, like when Iron fought Longhorn-"
"It'll make you weaker," Twilight finished.
"Exactly," Skybreaker nodded before looking back at Iron. "Only when you abandon all negative emotions, will you be able to let your anger flow without worry."
Iron took in what his mentor said, letting the thought roll around in his head.
As he did this, Skybreaker continued. "You'll find the greatest sources of power in this world are ones powered by anything but hatred. The Crystal Heart, the Elements of Harmony, even the alicorn magic that make up our Celestic Gear. They're all powered by positive emotions like love, friendship and the drive to do good. But to those who have given into their hatred, Nightmare Moon, Sombra and even Doom and his followers, only pain and loss await them."
"Look!" Everypony turned to where Applejack was pointing, seeing a rock in the distance that was shaped like a griffon's head.
"We've reached our first landmark," Twilight said before looking down at the map. "Just two more before the fruit's location." The others worried when they didn't see any sign of Fluttershy and the others, so either their had missed them or arrived ahead of them.
That question was answered when Springer's ears pricked up. "Fluttershy?" The others turned to him, "I can sense Fluttershy. She was here." As soon as the cart was meters away from the rock, he leapt out and landed with a skid. Touching the ground and reaching out for Fluttershy's aura, he turned before pointing. "That way."
Twilight looked at where he was pointing before glancing up at the rock, seeing the beak pointing the same way. "We're on the right track." Springer jumped back up into the cart as the pegasi pulled it once again, regaining speed in the renewed chase.
"Hold on shrimp," Iron whispered.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was watching as her captives began arguing.
"We've been walking in a straight line for almost an hour," Longhorn stated to Score. "How long until we reach this Manticore?"
"I...I don't know," Score looked down at the map. "If anything, we should have found it by now."
Longhorn leaned down to glare at Score. "Ya'h better not be lying to me."
"I'm not," the unicorn turned to Rickashay. "See if you can get a birds eye view of this thing."
Rickashay saluted before flying up into the air, but saw nothing of the sort. Once he said this to the others, Longhorn's glare intensified. "A'h brought ya'h with me because ya'h said ya'd be valuable. Well a'm not seeing a lot of value in ya'h losers right now." He pushed Score, making him stagger back into Boulder and causing him to rock Fluttershy off his back.
"Ahh!" She cried as he hit the ground, only to notice she was not being payed much attention since they were arguing. Seeing this as he best chance to escape, she reached down and started biting at the ropes. After a solid thirty seconds, she had gnawed them enough for her hooves to slip out and until her back hooves.
Still unnoticed, she rolled to her freed hooves and began to run as fast as she could. It was another ten seconds by the time she was noticed.
"Well why don't you just take the mare and leave us tha map," Score turned to Boulder and saw his back was now minus one pegasus. This made his eyes go wide as he looked around, spotting Fluttershy a ways off. "The...the mare." He turned to his underlings, "after her." They gave chase and quickly began to close the distance.
Fluttershy looked back and saw them gaining, making her redouble her efforts as she cried. But then the ground below disappearing, and with her wings still bound she could do nothing but fall. "Arrrhhh!" She tumbled into a ditch and landed on her front hoof the wrong way, causing pain to shoot up her leg.
Once the pain had somewhat faded, she opened her eyes and looked up to see her captors smiling down at her.
Longhorn chuckled, "nice try pet." He then looked around at the ditch, noticing it went on for quite a bit until it seemed to be suddenly filled with sand. Curiosity getting the better of him, he glanced at Rickashay. "Fly along this ditch and blow away the sand.
Though confused by this, the pegasus did as he was told began to skim the trench. A minute later, he returned from the other direction and looked at them in confusion. "It's on big loop, well actually it's to bendy to be a loop." Catching onto what Longhorn was thinking, Score ordered Rickashay to fly up and see what shape it made. He did so, flying a mile high to see the whole thing and gasped before returning. "It's a manticore!"
The unicorn and bull smiled at one another, then at the now retied up Fluttershy. "Thank you little lady. If ya'h hadn't run off, we might never have found this." Fluttershy's eyes went wide when she realised her mistake. If she hadn't run, they might have still been arguing until her friends arrived. She watched as Longhorn turned to Score. "What now."
Score smirked. "The map says to follow the tip of its tail until we reach a cave, which leads to an underground maze that leads to the spot the fruit can be found."
"Then let's go," Longhorn picked Fluttershy up and placed her back onto Boulder's back before they continued. Rickashay showed them to the tail and once there, they headed the way it was pointing. After a while, the group came across a pile of rocks with a flat slab on one side. "This must be it," Longhorn removed the vial from around his neck and drank the juice.
The ponies watched as he tensed up, veins beginning to appear on his muscles, then stepped up to the slab. With a single outcry, he thrusted his hoof into it and turned the rock to dust. Once the dust cleared, the five of them looked inside and found a downward tunnel.
Score looked down at the map, but found nothing that would tell them how to navigate the map. That was until he spotted something around the edge of the map. But before he could show the other this, Rickashay spotted something.
"Guys, we got company." Everypony turned their gaze to where Rickashay was looking, seeing a cloud of dust coming there way.
Yes, Flash and the others had caught up.
Springer had followed Fluttershy's aura trial and doing so had taken them to and passed the manticore nazca line, allowing them to now come into visual distance. "There they are!" Twilight screamed as she looked through the binoculars, "step on it."
"YES MA'AM!" The pegasi cried as they kicked their wings into overdrive, speeding the cart up.
"This is bad," Score said. He turned to Longhorn, "trust me. Dealing with them right now will not end well for us, even with a hostage."
Longhorn nodded, "into the maze." The ponies stepped in as Longhorn followed, watching as the cart came within a hundred feet of them. Knowing he only had a few seconds of strength left, he put all of it into a single hoof and used it to smash into the top of the rock pile.
The ponies watched as the entrance collapsed in on itself.
"NO!" Iron cried as the cart came to a stop next to the pile before leaping out, raising his Celestic Gear in preparation of digging the rocks away.
"Iron!" Skybreaker grabbed his spear before he could change it, "bad idea. We don't know what the damage it took has done. Using it too much could result in irreversible damage."
"But we need to get after them!"
"Don't worry," Twilight told him. "I got this." Her horn glowed alongside the rocks, which began to float up and reveal the tunnel. "Quickly!" The others didn't have to be told twice, trotting into the underground passage before Twilight dropped the rocks.
With the light blocked off, Flash ignited his sword whilst Twilight and Rarity lit their horns. They headed down the tunnel until their reached a three way junction. Springer moved to the front of the group and reached out until he picked up on Fluttershy's aura. "This way!" He pointed to the right tunnel.
"I wonder how are the others are finding their way?" Rarity asked.
"That's a good question," Twilight looked down at the map but found nothing she could use to find their way. "Looks like Jubilee forgot to add something, but what?"
What Jubilee had forgotten was a string of arrows around the end of the map. Those arrows were pointed either left, right of straight ahead. So as long as Score didn't lose his place, he would be able to lead them through the tunnel without getting lost.
"Left," they turned that way. "Right," they turned that way. "Straight ahead," they kept moving forwards. Eventually they came into a chamber with with five tunnels, making it harder for Score to figure out where to go. It didn't help that the sounds of hoofsteps echoed through the caves, even while they weren't moving.
"They're catching up!" Rickashay cried.
Score grumbled as he turned to the tunnel they needed to go down, "how are they following us?"
"It doesn't matter." Longhorn grabbed Fluttershy and hoisted her up on his shoulder before dropping his case and taking the map, then headed down the tunnel. "You three deal with them."
"Us?" Rickashay asked in shock.
Score glared at Longhorn, "that wasn't the deal."
Longhorn shot back his own death glare. "I'm changing the deal. Stop them or forget about your cut." He then nodded at the briefcase, "that should give you lot a fighting chance." With that, he ran down the tunnel and disappeared into the darkness.
Score growled, but knew he had no choice as the sound of the approaching enemy spurred him into action. Opening the case and levitating the jar out, he undid the top and turned to his flunkies. "We all drink a third," Rickashay and Boulder nodded before he brought the jar to his lips.
"I'm sensing somepony close," Springer told them as they ran down the tunnel.
"Is it Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked.
"No, but they are aura's I recognise." The answer to who they were was revealed as they ran out into the chamber and spotted the three criminals, right as Boulder finished off the last of the juice and Rickashay wiped his mouth.
As our heroes came to a stop, they stared at the trio confoundedly. "You three?" Flash asked.
"Yes," Score said smugly, "us three."
Rainbow laughed. "What, did Longhorn leave you behind to slow us down?" Hearing this got the three to frown.
Score's horn sparked. "No, he left us to take you down." With that, he fired off a magical blast.
Flash was the first to respond, leaping forwards and deflecting it with his sword. However, the force behind the attack made him stagger back. "Wow, that was stronger then expected."
Skybreaker also noted this and looked down at the jar on the floor, quickly putting the pieces together. "Looks like Iron was right about them having more of the fruit's juice."
"Yes," Score laughed, "and I've had more then Longhorn did when he beat your little friend. Show'em lads!" Boulder and Rickashay had been waiting for him to say that, the two shooting forwards ready to fight. The hoofsteps from Boulder were so strong that they made the whole cavern shake, whilst Rickashay's speed an increased tenfold.
This speed meant that when Rickashay slammed into Applejack, the earth pony farm was sent hurtling back. The others gasped as Twilight used her magic to catch Applejack before she could break her neck by smashing into the wall, whilst Skybreaker glared at the criminal pegasus.
"Come here!" He swung his Cloudhacker at Rickashay, who leapt back and was up on the ceiling within seconds. But before Skybreaker could even think about chasing him, heavy hoofsteps made him turn to see Boulder getting close.
The earth pony unleashed a battle cry as he thrusted his hoof forwards, Skybreaker barely having enough time to raise his axe to block. Though pushed back several inches, he was able to hold firm as the others attacked.
"Bone Breaker!" Springer had taken his battle form and created his energy staff, which he swung down on Boulders head only to see it shatter with no damages appearing on the target. "What?"
Flash raised his sword, ready to slash at the earth pony, but before he could a magic blast sailed passed him while making Rarity cry out as she barely managed to dodge it. Flash turned to the source, Score, only for his distraction to allow Rickashay to shoot down off the ceiling and body check him to the ground before jumping away again.
Rainbow had had enough of this and flexed her wings, flying after Rickashay as he jumped around the chamber. But with the room's confinement, she couldn't reach her full speed before having to slow down so as not to crash into a wall. Rickashay didn't seem to have this problem, able to bounce from surface to surface without issue. At certain points he pointed himself at one of the ponies and body slammed them.
"Flash!" Skybreaker cried before ducking Boulder's punch.
Flash nodded and entered his Theta Mode, looking up and seeing Rickashay about to tackle Pinkie. He kicked off the ground and met him midair, his heightened data input allowing him to see how the speedy pegasus was about to move and counter.
And so the battle truly began. As Flash and Rainbow tried to take Rickashay down, the others split up and began battling the other two. Skybreaker, Springer, Applejack and Iron fought Boulder in close combat, whilst Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity fought Score in a long range battle of magic...or a party cannon in Pinkie's case.
This battle seemed to be a complete stalemate. Despite it being one again many for each of the criminals, the juice they had consumed was allowing them to keep up. Along with Rickashay's increased speed, Score's magical power was also able to hold Twilight's back whilst Boulder seemed to take no damage from any attack he was hit with.
"This is ridicules!" Rarity cried as she fired a spell at Score's hooves, the unicorn seeing it and managed to sidestep before the magic hit the ground and caused a small crystal to sprout out.
Twilight had to agree as she launched a magical beam at Score, who respond with his own and the two locked up.
The two pushed at one another as Pinkie and Rarity jumped around Score, aiming their attacks. They both fired, Score seeing them both coming and smirking before cutting his magic and docking down. Doing so caused Rarity's and Twilight magic to collide with the confetti, causing an explosion that blinded the three mares and allowed Score the case to blast them.
Luckily, the three recovered in time for Twilight to shield herself, Pinkie to bounce up and let it fly below her whilst Rarity made a crystal shield sprout out the ground to deflect Score's blast upwards.
Rickashay had been up on the ceiling when he saw that blast coming, making him jump away at the same time Flash threw a Flash Cutter. The two magically lasers missed him and instead hit the cave roof.
BOOM!...CRACK!
Those two sounds made everypony look up in horror, as the smoke cleared and showed a large crack in the ceiling. The sounds of more cracks followed as the breakage spread, linking up with over cracks.
"Not good!" Flash said as he watched the first rock break free, falling towards them as more crumbled down.
"Everypony scatter!" Skybreaker cried as the twelve ponies and jakhowl began jumping around to avoid the rocks. Twilight and Springer had managed to put a shield around themselves and the ones around them, But Flash, Iron and Rainbow hadn't been close enough to get in it, whilst the criminals tried to run for one of the tunnels but found them getting blocked off.
"Wow!" Iron yelled as he jumped back to evade a rock, tripping up and falling into the last of the tunnels before it's entrance was finally buried.
Twilight watched as Rainbow and Flash continued to dodge, seeing Rainbow get close to her. "Get in!" She cut the shield for a moment, allowing her to jump into her range before she recast the spell.
"That was close!" Rainbow breath a sigh of relief before turning back to watch Flash cut away the rock. She and the others all panicked when they saw him slice one boulder before another almost hit him, forcing him to jump away and trip as he laded. This caused Lightbringer to slip out of his grip and be buried by more falling rocks.
"FLASH!" They all screamed.
CRACK!
Looking up, they saw the largest rock break free. It was huge, roughly twenty feet in diameter, and would crush them no matter how strong the shield they had.
It was at this point that Flash recovered from his fall and looked up to see the boulder, causing his eyes to go wide as a click went off in his brain. A mighty roar soon followed, his body suddenly exploding into a tornado of light. The other watched in amazement as the armour appeared on his body, Skybreaker and the criminals slack jawed at what they were seeing.
From within the tornado, Flash looked up at the falling rock before the spiralling light around him morphed into a bubble. It was in this form for a millisecond before Flash jumped upwards, rocketing towards the rock at intense speed. Once he was within a few feet of it, he let out a mighty battle cry before swinging his hoof forward.
SMASH!
Everypony watched wide eyed as the rock not only shattered, but was disintegrated into dust by that one punch. "No way," Skybreaker whispered.
As the dust cleared, they all looked up to see the bubble of light attached to an undamaged part of ceiling. Flash looked down from above and saw the three criminals staring up at him, causing him to smirk before he kicked off the rock. Like a bullet he shot down, his trajectory revealing his target as Boulder.
But before the earth pony could react, Flash was atop him and threw his hoof into his back with such force that it made the ground below Boulder crater as his body smashed into it. "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" He cried before losing consciousness.
Flash then leapt away from the earth pony, just as his danger sense detected something and made him spin around to see Rickashay flying at him. The criminal pegasus threw a punch at Flash, only for the apprentice knight to grab it easily in his own hoof. Rickashay's eyes went wide before feeling a tremendous force slam into his stomach and knock the wind out of him, Flash having kneed him into falling back and crashing into the ground unconscious.
"Two down," Flash turned to his last opponent. Score was trembling at the sight of the glowing pegasus, sparking his horn as he knew he was next. But before he could fire, Flash disappeared.
"What?" Score asked before feeling a presence behind him, which made his spin around just in time to see a back hoof coming right at him.
WHAM!
Score was forced into flying backwards whilst doing multiple back flips. Eventually he slammed into the far wall, which left a pony shaped crater that he found himself stuck in. He let out one final moan before blacking out.
His opponents beaten, the tornado exploded off of Flash's body, his glowing form now disappearing. He panted heavily as he swayed, just barely keeping himself on his hooves. "Man that's tiring."
"Flash!" He looked around to see the others rushing to his side, "are you alright."
"I'm fine," Flash assured them. He noticed Springer wasn't there, making him look around and saw his partner was retrieving his sword from the rubble. "Thanks bud," he said once he handed it to him.
"No problem." Springer then looks around at the now blocked tunnels, "okay...problem."
"I hope Iron's alright," Pinkie said.
"He'll be fine," Skybreaker assured her. Only then did he look at the tunnel Iron fell through and frowned, "I hope."
Iron panted as he dragged himself down the passageway.
He hated leaving the others, but he was now the only one who had any chance of getting to Longhorn and Fluttershy. He had to hurry before it was too late, even though he had no idea if they had come down this tunnel. "Hold on shrimp, I'm...I'm coming."
Fluttershy was very uncomfortable. At least Boulder was gentle when he carried her, Longhorn didn't seem to care how she felt as long as she remained on his shoulder. They had been running at fulled speed through the tunnels, all the while rumbling echoed through the cave.
No doubt it was being caused by her friends, making her worry that they might be in trouble. However, she soon had bigger things to worry about.
"There it is." Fluttershy re-positioned herself enough to see over the bulls shoulder, spotting a speck of light that signalled an exit. "Come along lass." Longhorn hit his tops speed and soon enough, the two exited the caves and were bathed in sunlight.
They flinched at the bright light, but when they adjusted they opened their eyes and saw they were now within a beautiful garden that was hidden from the world by a circle of thirty meter rocks.
Fluttershy marvelled at the wondrous oasis, whilst Longhorn search for the only thing he cared about. Then he saw it, in the center of the garden, atop a high hill covered in rocks was a single tree. It held no leaves, but growing from its branches were three milky green pear like fruits.
"Finally," Longhorn trotted to the hill and began to climb, "they're mine." When he reached the top, he dropped Fluttershy before reaching up to pick one of the fruits. "Finally, ma'h ticket to the easy life."
"LONGHORN!"
Both the bull and Fluttershy froze before slowly turning to the source of the voice. There they saw Iron trotting out of the cave, glaring up at the bull as he drew closer. When he saw Fluttershy, he breathed a sigh of relief seeing she was okay.
Longhorn's laughing brought his attention back to his adversary, who was lazily walking down the hill whilst tossing his precious fruit through the air. "So, ya'h came back for another beating."
Iron frowned before pulling Piecemaker off his back. "The only one getting a beating is you."
"Is that so." As Longhorn reached the base of the hill, he showed off the Cursed Fruit before bringing it to his lips. Iron saw this and went wide eyed before firing several Iron Lances at it. But it was to late, that one bite was all Longhorn needed. His pupils went small and his muscles became veiny, as he started to evade the projectiles and finish consuming the fruit.
"Oh no," Fluttershy whispered. She watched as Longhorn unleashed a mighty battle cry before slamming his front hooves into the ground, causing an earthquake that almost shook Iron off his feet. This was followed by a powerful wind that threatened to blow the off balance pony away.
Luckily, Iron managed to dig his spear into the ground and hold on until the wind died down. But as he pulled it out of the earth, he couldn't help but notice the slight bend that the weapon had on the damaged section. He didn't get to threat over this long, as a rumbling sound made him look up to see Longhorn charging on four hooves.
The apprentice knight leapt out of the way just in time, Longhorn missing him by inches before pulling himself to a stop.
The bull got back on two hooves and turned to Iron, throwing himself forwards before thrusting several fast punches. It was all Iron could do to block and evade them as he stepped backwards, trying his hardest to stay calm. "What's the matter, scared? A'm not surprised, after what a'h did to ya'h last time."
Iron growled. "I'm not sca-AUGH!" His distraction had allowed Longhorn to get and punch in on his shoulder, making him flinch and be unprepared for the tail that soon swung around and slapped him in the face. "Ahhh!" He fell back, sliding along the ground. As soon as he stopped, he felt a presence behind him and rolled over to see Longhorn above him.
The bull pulled his hoof back, as Iron managed to grip Piecemaker and before holding it up in its shield form. A second later, a punch made contact and created a minor dent. This was followed by several more punches, each causing the dent to grow bigger.
Iron knew he wouldn't last long, so when Longhorn pulled back for another punch he changed his weapon into a hammer and swung it for all he was worth. "Urgh!" Longhorn staggered back and few steps, allowing Iron the freedom the shift the hammer into a long rod and use it to see the bulls hooves.
As Longhorn came crashing down, Iron rolled away and jumped back to his hooves. Stepping back slowly, Iron watched as Longhorn began pulling himself up. "Iron Spike Assault!" He thrusted his spear into the ground and seconds later, metal spikes shot ready to impale the bull.
But Longhorn saw this and tensed up before the spikes struck, the metal snapping on contact. "PATHETIC!" The bull bellowed before charging forwards, Iron barely managing to hold up his weapon in time to block. Longhorn pushed him back, causing Iron's back hooves to dig into the ground.
Iron and Longhorn locked eyes, only for Iron's gaze to look down when he felt the pole of his Celestic Gear bend. This made Longhorn smirk before hooking Piecemaker with his horns and swinging his head back, pulling Iron along with for the ride.
"IRON!" Fluttershy screamed as she watched him go flying. She then looked down at the ropes and struggled to pull herself free, chewing at them in an attempt to break or even loosen them enough.
Iron moaned as he tried to pick his body up, but the damage done by the fall had irritated his previous injuries and made it so he couldn't even pick himself up. Lifting his head, he spotted Piecemaker and few feet away and tried to crawl to it. Then when it came within reach he tried to grab it, only for a hoof to stamp down on it.
Iron looked up to see Longhorn smiling down at him before kicking him in the face, making him roll away from him. "Again and again ya'h disappoint. How many times do I have to tell you that your hate is the only to to beat me?"
Iron groaned as he stopped rolling, looking up at Longhorn through a black eye and busted lip. "You're-err...lying. Hate, doesn't make you strong."
"Is that so?" Longhorn bent down to pick up Piecemaker. "Then explain how I'm the one winning, whilst you are the one barely conscious?" He started bending the spear. "Face it, ya'h goody goods are so weak because ya'h spend all ya'h time trying to help others. The only ones that matter in this world...IS YOURSELF!" With that, he bent Piecemaker beyond its limit.
SNAP!
Iron's eyes both went wide as he watched his precious weapon break in half, Longhorn tossing the pieces away as he stepped towards him. Once he was close enough, he raised one of his back hooves up in preparation of stamping Iron into dust. "GOODBYE!" With that, he pushed his hoof down.
But before he could make contact with Iron, a yellow blur shot by and rolled him to safety. "What?" He looked over at where the blur had rolled them and saw it was Fluttershy, who had escaped her bonds and had saved Iron.
"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked him as she jumped off of him.
"Fluttershy?" Iron asked.
Fluttershy looked around and saw Longhorn coming. She knew they barely had any time and looked back at him. "Listen, he is lying to you. He knows if you give into your hate, you'll be easy to beat. You have to stay calm if you want to stop him."
Iron, breathing heavily from the pain, looked over at where the remains of his weapon lay. "I...I can't beat him. He's too strong."
"Maybe, but you're stronger." Before she could say anything else, she felt her mane be grabbed and pulled. She cried out as she was lifted into the air by Longhorn, who snorted as he glared at her.
"FLUTTERSHY!" Iron tried to pick himself up, but his body failed again.
Fluttershy gasped in pain, but opened her eyes and looked down at Iron through her tears. "You're stronger then him, because you have a reason to be strong. Remember-AAAAAWWWW!" She screamed as Longhorn tossed her away, making her hit the ground and go limp.
"FLUTTERSHY!" Iron's heart beat as he stared at her motionless body, his eyes glaring up at Longhorn. But seeing the smile on the bulls face made him remember what she had said, along with what the others had said before. Hatred would not win this fight. Fluttershy told him to remember, but what was he suppose to remember?
"What a load of nonsense," Longhorn said as he glared at Fluttershy. "But, what else would a weakling say."
"She's...not weak." Longhorn raised an eyebrow as he turned back to Iron, surprised to see him back on his hooves. "She's...the strongest pony I know." He opened his eyes and glared at Longhorn. "She has overcome more obstacles in her life then I can count, growing stronger no matter the trial. So don't you dare call her weak!" Memories of those trials flooded through his mind, but they weren't the only memories.
Iron remembered when he first met his friends at the Grand Galloping Gala. He remembered fighting alongside Flash in Canterlot Cathedral. He remembered arriving in Ponyville and finding a place there. He remembered fighting against the Changelings, and the Doom Quartet. He remembered standing side by side with the other knights as they stared Doom down.
Then he remembered other moments. Training with Skybreaker, helping save Sweet Apple Acres from the Flim Flam Brothers, meeting Fluttershy's parents and helping her train for the tornado.
Then another memory flashed. This one being when Iron had been in Fluttershy's house during a rainstorm, where he told her his story. And finally, a memory of his parents flooded through him. But unlike the other memories, this one held no comfort.
Then it happened. A something within Iron clicked into place, as a mental wind washed over him mind and blew away the fog of hatred that had clouded him for so long. He knew why he had to be strong.
His mental realisation came to and end when he noticed Longhorn stepping closer to him. "What a load of dribble. She is as weak as you, and I'll prove it." He got down on all fours and shot forwards, ready to impale Iron on his horns. But Iron was ready, thrusting his hooves up and catching the horns. Longhorn expected to simply push him back, but was surprised when he actually felt resistance. "What?"
"You're...right!" Iron forced out, "I was weak. But not...anymore." He started pushing back, shocking Longhorn as they came to a stop. "Because now...I know...what I need to be strong for." Longhorn's surprise increased when he felt himself begin to be pushed back. "You took...my parents. You hurt...so many others. I will not let you get...away with it...ANYMORE!" With that he thrusted his hooves forwards and actually made Longhorn stagger back.
"What is this?" Longhorn asked, only to flinch when a bright light began to surround Iron.
Fluttershy was beginning to come around when she felt this light, making her open her eyes and see Iron glowing. A similar glow was coming from something close to her, making her looks around to see the pieces of Piecemaker letting out a shine.
Iron seemed completely unaware of the light, focusing entirely on Longhorn. "I understand now, what it truly means to be a knight. My parents taught me how true strength is forged from the trials we go through. Skybreaker taught me discipline and how to fight. Then I met Fluttershy, Flash and everypony else. They taught me about friendship." The light increased. "You took away my bonds once, but I won't let you take them away again. I'll fight...not to get revenge...but to protect...EVERYPONY!"
With that, the light enveloped his body as Piecemaker's remains exploded into millions of shining particles that flew towards Iron. Fluttershy and Longhorn were both bewildered by this, and they weren't the only ones.
Skybreaker and the rest of the Ponyville crew had finally arrived in the garden, running out the cave just in time to see the light show. "What's going on?" Flash asked.
Skybreaker only had a theory. "Iron."
Finally, the light died down and revealed Iron. Only now, he was armoured up. The armour he wore looked like a grey variant of the standard royal guard armour, only with Iron's cutie mark on the chest. Under the armour was a form fitting black rubber suit that covered everything except his head, even his tail. On the armour section between his neck and his legs were spikes, which pocked out before curving in the direction he was looking. And finally on the end of his tail was a metal end with a spearhead like attachment.
Iron opened his eyes and looked down at his new form, barely feeling the weight of the armour.
"What...just happened?" Twilight asked.
Skybreaker stepped forwards. "I'd heard stories, of knight's whose Celestic Gear change when its knight grows stronger then its current form. Could it be that...Iron has unlocked his full potential?" the others heard this and were surprised, wondering what could have caused Iron to do that.
Longhorn had finally recovered from the shock, glaring at Iron as he snorted. "You think a costume change will scare me, think again Do you honest think you can beat me!"
Iron looked to Longhorn, the flames burning in his eyes. But unlike before, these flames were not fuelled by hatred and revenge. Instead, by love and determination. "I don't think...I know." He raised a hoof and pointed at the bull. "Now, count up your sins."
Longhorn roared before charging forwards and throwing a punch at Iron, who smiled with no fear on his face at all. Instead, he easily knocked the attacking hoof away before throwing his own punch into Longhorn's chest. The force of the attack made the bull stagger back. "What?"
It was at this moment that the spikes on Iron's armour glowed. "Iron Lance Fury!" Metal projectiles shot off the spikes, flying at Longhorn and smashing into him whilst cutting his body.
"AUGH!" The bull staggered back before getting down on all fours, charging at Iron with his horns ready.
Iron smiled as he stopped his barrage before raising his tail, the spearhead glowing as it morphed into a hammer. Spinning on his heel, Iron swung his tail and slammed the hammer into Longhorn. The bull cried out as he flew to the ground, as Iron then slammed his armoured hooves into the ground caused a cage of metal spikes to shot out and surround Longhorn.
"Talk about power!" Springer cried.
Flash nodded. "Iron's unlocked a whole new level of power now."
As Longhorn picked himself up, Iron stepped towards him whilst shifting the hammer to a sword. The bull saw this and roared before charging, only for Iron to easily sidestep him as he delivered a slash to his foe. And before Longhorn could cry out, Iron had shifted to another spot around him and dealt another slash. Longhorn soon found himself enduring slash after slash after slash, until Iron leapt back after delivering the final cut to him.
Longhorn fell to his knees, unable to believe he was being beaten with the Cursed Fruit. That was it.
He looked up at the hill and saw the other fruit, which he started galloping towards. Iron saw this and knew he had to stop him, slamming his hoof into the ground and causing a metal loop to come out of the ground. He watched as Longhorn tripped over it, crashing to the ground and giving him an opening. It was time for his families souls, and that of all of Longhorn's over victims, to be put to rest.
As Longhorn picked himself up, Iron raised his tail above his head as the blade reverted back to its spearhead form before glowing. "This ends now. Iron Force...EXCEED!" At the sound of this outburst, a shrapnel laced tornado bigger and more powerful then any of the ones seen before blasted out of the spearhead. It flew over Iron and rocketed through the air, eventually striking Longhorn and shredding up his body before pushing him into the air.
"AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" The outlaw screamed before being thrusted into the Cursed Fruit tree, ripping it out of the ground and shredding the wood into splinters. When the tornado finally ended, Longhorn and the sawdust fell to the ground and landed face down with a thud.
Iron stood there, watching as Longhorn remained motionless. He had done it, he had beaten Longhorn.
In that moment, his armour glowed before turning into dust, that dust reshaping into a fully repaired Piecemaker. Iron smirked as he looked over his trusty weapon, only to feel a presence moving closer to him. "IRON!" He spun around, just in time to see Fluttershy throw her hooves around him. "You're okay."
Iron smiled as he pulled her into a hug, "I wouldn't have been without you." The two pulled back, staring into each others eyes. Nothing else in the world matter in that moment, until Rainbow ruined said moment.
"DUDE!" The pegasus punched him in the shoulder, "that was awesome."
"Err...thanks."
"No," he turned to see his mentor, "thank you. You managed to defeat Longhorn and save Fluttershy. You should be proud my boy."
Iron looked at the others, seeing them all smiling at him with pride. He smiled back, only for a groan to make him turn back to Longhorn.
The bull had come around, his body in agony as he tried to pick himself up. When Longhorn shifted his gaze, he spotted one of the Cursed Fruit. Somehow it had miraculously survived, and if he ate it. Through the pain be began to shimmy himself across the ground, before before he could get within a few feet of it a pair of hooves appeared next to the fruit.
He looked up, seeing Iron staring down at him as his friends stepped up besides him. "Did your hatred for me...really make you this strong?"
Iron frowned as he picked up the fallen cursed fruit. "I became strong," he dropped it back to the ground before crushing it. "Not through hatred." Everypony else smiled at his statement. No, he hadn't achieved this through the path of an avenger. He finally defeated Longhorn, through the resolve and conviction to protect others. The path...of a Royal Knight.
The next few hours seemed like a blur. Once Twilight had teleported the lot of them back to Jubilee's ranch, a draining effort on her part, Longhorn and the three criminal ponies were sent off back to prison as the fruit's power would get out of their system before they woke up.
Iron and Fluttershy were both checked out by a doctor, who was surprised to find both of them having only minor injuries. It seemed Iron's level up and healed his wounds, meaning the two could leave with no issue.
Now our heroes were back on the train heading home, as Iron watched the scenery fly by with Fluttershy sitting next to him. Skybreaker and Flash sat opposite him, his mentor happy to see the smile Iron had gained from his time in Ponyville back on his face. "So, how do you feel?"
Iron looked towards his mentor and thought about his question. "I feel...light. Like a great weight has finally been lifted off me."
Skybreaker smiled. "That weight was your hatred. Though you still have it, it is no longer weighing you down. Now you can truly move on with your life, because you've obtained closure."
Iron nodded as he glanced down at Fluttershy, who smiled up at him, before looking out the window. "And I'm going to use that life to keep all of Equestria safe. If I can help it, nopony will have to feel the pain that I felt for so long. I swear it."
Everypony nodded, glad that Iron was back to being the pony they had all come to love and respect. But nopony was more happy then Skybreaker. "Iron...I think you're ready."
Iron turned to his mentor in confusion, "ready for what?" Skybreaker didn't reply, only continued to smile as he let Iron figure it out himself. And figure it out he did, making him go wide eyed. "You don't mean."
"Yes."
"Arise," Celestia spoke as she tapped the royal sword on his shoulders, "Sir Iron Core. Royal Knight of Equestria."
Iron raised his head, looking up to see the four alicorn princess step back. They were dressed in their finest robes, each holding a sword they had used to knight him. A great round of applause erupted behind him as he turned to the sight of the great hall, now seeing the ponies of Ponyville and Canterlot cheering for their newest knight.
He then glanced down the stage as saw all of his fellow knights. Tidal, Ruby, Heather, First, Grand and Skybreaker were all there, all smiling up at him. He grinned back as he looked at the rest of the ponies in the hall, spotting Flash next to Shining Armor with the Royal Guard. They were all standing at attention around the edge of the hall while the civilians continued to clap. Springer, Spike and the remaining members of the mane seven were among the civilians, all next to members of their family. Three of the five mares were sobbing their eyes out, the ponies next to Pinkie needing umbrellas.
Finally, the clapping ended as everypony waited for their newest knight to say a few words. As such, he almost coughed into his hoof before he spoke out, "Thank you, all of you. I have always known the value that life has, even more so after losing my parents, but I never truly understood how precious it was. That was until I came to Ponyville, where I learned that a life without love and joy is no life at all. And now, as your newest knight, I swear to protect that love and joy...to my dying breath."
The hall exploded in applause again. And once the noise died down, Skybreaker marched up to him with a huge grin. "Well said Iron. I know you will not falter in your vow, and as such, I now dub thee Iron Core...The Metal Guardian."
Shining took this moment to call out to the guard. "Company...SALUTE!" The guards, including Flash, all saluted at the Metal Guardian. Iron nodded as they finished the maneuver, now stepping down between the six knights. He was now a part of that group, no longer the simple apprentice of Skybreaker, but a full on member with equal say.
Soon enough, the ponies in the room moved over to the gala chamber as a full blown Pinkie party broke out. The ponies of Canterlot and Ponyville all enjoyed themselves, chatting about whatever conversation they enjoyed. And as Iron stepped through the crowd, a flurry of congratulations fell upon him. "Thank you," he said as he passed another.
"Well done my boy," Fancy Pants replied back.
"Thank you."
This went on for a while, only for the knight to leave the room. There, he went the one place he knew he had to go: The Canterlot Royal Garden. He remembered the last time he was here, the night of the gala. That had been when he had first truly met the pony he was looking for, and hoped this conversation went very differently from that first time.
But as he did this, a certain orange pegasi was watching him leave the building. A glum frown graced his face as he watched the new Royal Knight disappear into the outside. It was here that he felt a purple wing tap his side, making his head turn to see one familiar purple alicorn.
"Something wrong Flash?" Twilight asked him with a tilt of her head.
"Hmm? Um...no." Flash replied as he slightly looked away. "Just...thinking."
Twilight did a small snort, "Well, don't stress yourself too much."
"Gee thanks." Flash grumbled back, only to see Twilight sticking her tongue out at him. "Hey!"
And as the two started to playfully argue with each other, Iron made his way to the garden. It was here that he finally spotted her sitting in the same spot he'd seen her in a year ago, only this time Flash wasn't there. It was just her, alone. Taking a deep breath, Iron stepped into the clearing, his footsteps catching her attention as she looked up and smiled at him.
"Hello Sir Iron Core," she bowed.
Iron chuckled back, waving his hoof, "None of that. I might be a knight now, but I'm still no different from who I was this morning."
Fluttershy nodded as he sat down next to her. "Congratulations. You deserve it."
"Thank you." Iron turned to smile at her, "For more than you know. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be the pony I am today." He then saw Fluttershy blush, making him smirk as he continued, "You have no idea how thankful I am to you."
Fluttershy's blush increased, making her almost hide into her hair. But as she did this, a small frown appeared on her face, "So...what now? Will you have to leave Ponyville?"
Iron tilted his head in confusion, only to smile as he realized what she was worried about. "As a knight, I'm allowed to go wherever I want. As long as I come when called upon, I can choose to live anywhere."
"And...where are you gonna choose to live?"
Iron just grinned at his own answer, "In the place I've made my home."
Hope shined in Fluttershy's eyes. "Ponyville?"
Iron shook his head, "No." The look of disappointment in her eyes was priceless, but not as priceless as the look she gave him when he took her hoof in his. "My home...is wherever you are."
Fluttershy's eyes went wide, only to tear up as she threw her hooves around him in a hug. "Oh Iron...I-"
"I know." Iron hugged back, the two embracing each other for a solid minute.
Then when they finally pulled away, they looked into each others eyes before drawing their lips together.
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I wasn't expecting Iron to be made a Royal Knight before Flash.
Still nothing really to say here. Great work.
While I did enjoy it...... hoo boy... how about I PM you my thoughts...
9416426 Sure.
Okay, I hate to admit it, but that catchphrase is starting to grow on me.
So, Iron has a super form now. Is it a one time deal or is it going to show up again?
9416678 It'll show up again. Wait two chapters to see it.
Wow, that was intense! Iron has his own Super Form now, kinda like Flash. I admit, I am surprised he became a Royal Knight after this, especially before Flash, but there is no doubt he has earned it. Does Flash seem a bit jealous though towards the end?
Fluttershy and Iron have come a long way. Now they have finally admitted their feelings for each other, and shared their first kiss! I bet Fluttershy's parents will be thrilled since they were hoping they would get together. I wonder what Iron will think of Zephyr, once he meets his future brother-in-law? I do wonder though, is there a limit to how many Knights can be stationed at a town at once? If and when Flash and Lightning become Knights can all three stay in Ponyville at the same time?
bite
her
Delete "was."
I think you mean "The others".
9416822
I'd wager Iron would have a hard time not smacking Zephyr, but the equivelent to Flutter Brutter in this series would be noticible shorter as Iron wouldn't even let Zephyr stay until he found a place to work. Oh man I can just see Zephyr almost p######### himself while interacting with Iron.
it would make sense to have a limit because having three knights stationed in the same area has simular bad obtics for the order as the obtics of one of them competing in the Equestrian Games, the whole can't make it look like a Royal Knight is favoring one city/area over another speech Skybreaker gave in Rainbow Falls.
while it would be convient, I doubt it on two accounts, 1)I don't think Lightning will ever become a Knight, I think his role with regards to Flash, beyond the antagonist entitled rival that did a heel to face turn, is to show that everypony can become a Royal Knight Apprentice. and 2) if he were to become a Knight, I have to go back to the answer to the previous question, it's just not good obtics on the order's part to have three or more knights living in the same city at the same time.
9416678
It's not bad, but maybe there should be a retcon that makes that phrase something like the House Words in Game of Thrones, for the Royal Knights, you know like 'Winter is Coming' are the words of House Stark, 'Hear Me Roar' for House Lannister, etc. or like 'Soaring Higher' is for the WonderBolts
My second favorite ship has sailed AHHHHH!!!
9416678
It's like Dragon Force.