Ch.61 Feral
Pinkie scanned the massive flower field, Lily's agonized wails behind her as she tried to find a portion of the Wraith's domain that was thin enough for her to safely leave her dimension. She didn't know how much longer Lily's healing powers would last and it would be a lot harder to leave her domain when she did finally die. While doing that, she couldn't help finding the Wraith's domain oddly beautiful in its own kind of way. Even with all of the damage it had acquired from all of the fighting, the clear night sky and full moon gave the flower field a somber feel that was almost therapeutic. It reminded her of the empty school she visited in her dreams in her earlier days spent in Equestria. A cold peace that was just a breath away from a tomb's in comparison.
"Are you okay, my love?" her sword asked.
"Yeah, Tattle," Pinkie sighed. "Just thinking."
"About?" he asked, playfully.
"The School Dream," she answered simply, staring at the moon.
"Oh," the sword audibly frowned. "I suppose this place is rather similar."
"Yeah," Pinkie sighed, closing her eyes. "The same kind of quiet too."
She let that very silence wash over her like a cold blanket, it's peace chilling her just as much as it soothed her. Her eyes flew open when a sudden realization hit her. It was quiet and Lily's domain was still standing. If the Wraith was dead, than the whole pocket dimension should've began deteriorating. That just left one question sitting on the front of Pinkie's mind, why wasn't Lily still screaming? She turned and what she saw filled her with even more dread. Still on her knees at the center of a pillar of destructive light was Lily, the Wraith reduced to nothing more than a black silhouette as her body struggled to keep that much of her together.
Slowly, Lily raised her head towards the sky, a dry series of snaps accompanying the movement like logs in a fire. Pinkie assumed a stance, every cell in her body on high alert and ready to attack or flee in a moment's notice. A faint noise came from the burning Wraith, too small for Pinkie to properly register what she was hearing. In time, it gradually grew into dry laughter. As the seconds ticked by the laughter became louder and louder, a level of insanity becoming more pronounced along with the increase of volume. Soon, manic wailing laughter echoed through the whole field, pure insanity making it almost a shriek to the heavens. As this was happening, a dark aura shimmered around the Wraith, the energy seemingly corrupting the light magic surrounding her.
Seeing this, Pinkie added more magic to the spell, but it did nothing to stop the destructive energy's path. Still laughing, Lily slowly turned her gaze towards Pinkie. Swirling pools of dark energy where her eyes should've been locked onto Pinkie with clear malevolence at their core. The laughter stopped, but a wide twisted smile remained on the Wraith's face as she said three words that turned Pinkie's blood into ice.
"We ArE DiSpAiR."
Darkness exploded out of the spell, completely devouring it as it poured out into the world. Everything from the sky to the ground shook titanically as everything violently tore itself apart. Pinkie fell to her knees, stabbing her sword into the ground to give her something to hold onto as the land broke away and flew off in the howling dark winds. Then, just suddenly as it came, the hurricane vanished, leaving a sight that added to Pinkie's fears. What had once been a vast field of flowers was now a collection of massive islands covered with flowers floating in an infinite dark void. Even the moon was not spared in the chaos, glowing Islands drifting by as the only evidence that it existed in the first place. On an island at the heart of the ruined world stood the monster Pinkie now faced. It was a sight that scared her to her core.
The creature had the general shape of a woman, but that was the only similarity she shared now. Her lower half was a mass of long jet-black vines, clustered together in a manner similar to a dress' train. Her upper-torso retained her slim and modestly endowed build, but was made of constantly shifting dark energy, screaming faces fading in and out at random places. Her head was the same as it had been before from just above her nose and down while the top half was a cluster of flower petals arranged like a half blossomed lily. She slowly turned her head towards Pinkie and smiled widely at her.
Pinkie felt a pair of eyes boring into her in spite of her opponent's lack of them. She gulped as she staggered to her feet, her whole body trembling as she processed what had just happened. Lily had willingly gone Feral. Her mind instantly jumped to what Hearths Warming told her about Wraiths that go into this kind of state and what this meant for her. They didn't leave her with any optimistic thoughts on her current odds.
***
Three figures sat on the ground in Hearths Warming's pocket dimension, the realm's owner in a more dignified manner while the other two held each other in a more intimate way as they sat cross legged across from her. Each of them had a silver tea cup set in front of them with an ornate ivory teapot between them. While they did spend a good portion of their time fighting and practicing, these quiet moments were also necessary parts of Pinkie's and Tattle's training. They calmed the mind, but most importantly they allowed the more experienced Gapwalker to pass on knowledge to her students. This one in particular was vital both in the battle to come and the many that were likely to follow.
"Listen carefully my students," Hearths Warming intoned, her voice a careful mix of calm and firm. "What I am about to tell you could be the difference between life and death if you are not careful."
They both nodded, lips pulled into resolute frowns as they gave Heaths Warming their full attention.
"You are both fully aware of the kind of powers Wraiths have. Regeneration. Increased strength. Dark energy manipulation. Typical abilities that all Wraiths possess to varying degrees. Naturally, Archwraiths like Lily Bouquet have a higher level of control and power levels compared to Normals, as well as the ability to create semi-sapient Seeds that can serve their needs. In addition, they have an ability that they seldom tap into, a taboo of sorts that they only use as a sign of desperation."
"And that is?" Tattle asked, raising a brow.
"All Archwraiths have a well of power that they keep in reserve that is separate from the kind that they wield. This power is several hundred times stronger than what they use normally, but using it takes away what little sanity they have. We call this going feral."
"Going feral?" Pinkie asked."
Hearths Warming nodded.
"There are only two ways for an Archwraith to go feral. The first is through starvation, in which their mental controls over their power becomes so compromised by their hunger that they give in to the power and go on a murderous feeding frenzy. This is often the cause of the high scale massacres found in news reports and history books. The other is to do so willingly, a capital taboo among their kind as it implies that they couldn't win a battle through their own power. Regardless of the trigger, a feral Archwraith is a force of unimaginable destructive power that is nearly invincible. Should you encounter one, you must do everything in your power to escape them and save only those that you can from the carnage."
"Have you ever fought one?" Pinkie asked.
"Several actually," she sighed. "And that is exactly why I am telling you to flee instead of fight."
"Why?" Pinkie asked, a faint nervous tremble entering her tone.
"Because, unlike I, you won't come back when you die."
***
Pinkie's mind ran in a million different desperate directions as she tried to think of a way out of her situation. With Lily's nest fractured as it was, any hope of finding a way out quickly was thoroughly thrown out the window. The crushing unstable energy she sensed coming off of the Archwraith was far to intense for her to withstand, even from the great distance between her and the monster. She could send out some of Tattle's magic to help her find a way out, but that would mean dividing her focus between the spell and Lily. She did not like how that could affect her odds. That was, of course, assuming Lily gave her a chance to cast such a spell in the first place. Tattle picked up on Pinkie's fear and quickly started to envelope her in a shimmering violet aura, the only thing he could do in his current form to protect her from what was to come.
As he did, Lily continued to stare at them, her tongue lazily licking her lips as if she was tasting their fear. Pinkie slowly assumed a fighting stance. While she hated to admit it, there was only one option at her disposal. She needed to wait for Hearts Warming and Discord to find an opening in Lily's nest and get her out of there themselves. Given the state of the nest, Pinkie didn't hold out much hope that it would be a speedy rescue.
A small twitch from Lily made her flinch, every nerve on edge as she stared at the twisted monster. Then, in a literal blink, the monster was right in front of her. Pinkie had just enough time to yelp before a punch to her chest sent her flying. The wind whistled past her ears before she slammed hard into another floating island, her Earth pony durability and Hight Royal magic the only thing keeping her from becoming a red smear on the ground. She forced herself to her feet just as Lily appeared in front of her. Pinkie summoned a gap below herself and allowed herself to fall through it just in time to avoid another punch. When she came out of the next portal on another Island fifty feet away, she watched Lily vanish in a puff of black smoke before she reappeared on the same island ten feet away from her. Lily laughed maniacally as she threw another punch at her. This time, Pinkie opened a gap in front of the fist with the opening aimed at Lily's head. The monster's head exploded the second her fist made contact, only for a new one to replace it seconds after she pulled her arm back. Pinkie's eyes widened at that and she produced a violet barrier just in time to avoid a barrage of punches. The strain of maintaining the shield took it toll on her, each punch feeling like she was holding back a falling skyscraper. At the same time, Lily's wailing laughter echoed around her like a twisted orchestra. As she felt her barrier start to buckle, Pinkie prepared to open a gap to escape the second it broke. That was thrown completely out the window when black vines sprouted from the ground and grabbed her. Pinkie barely had time to respond before a vine gripped her head and slammed it into her barrier, shattering it along with her focus. Lily stared at her, still laughing wildly as her vines tried to squeeze the life out of her opponent. Pinkie glared defiantly at Lily, her teeth gritted in an attempt to keep herself from screaming.
Two can play at that game!
While Tattle struggled to maintain the aura keeping Pinkie safe, Pinkie summoned the very same chains Tattle had used previously to bind Lily. Granted, she knew that they wouldn't do much to her now, but they could at least distract her long enough for her to escape. Lily surprised her by casually shrugging the chains off, not once turning her head away from Pinkie.
"B-B-Break," Lily giggled. "Break! Break you! BREAK YOU!!!"
The vines stretched twenty feet out of the ground and slammed Pinkie back down, the impact knocking all the air out of the girl before the action was repeated. It happened again and again, over and over for what felt like an hour before the vines threw her onto another island. Pinkie hit the earth like a rag-doll, a dull groan her only sign that she was still alive. Sore and bruised, she staggered to her feet and assumed a combat stance. The second Lily teleported to her, Pinkie swung her sword at her. The blade passed easily through her, but the wound healed as the it did. Unwilling to admit defeat after everything she'd been through, Pinkie continued to attack the Wraith. Lily just laughed, almost seeming to mock the girl as she let Pinkie attack her. Still laughing maniacally, Lily eventually went back on the offensive, grabbing Pinkie's sword arm at the forearm. With a loud snap, she crushed the bones with her grip alone before she tossed her aside. The pain was beyond anything Pinkie had ever experienced as she staggered to her feet, but she refused to let it distract her from the monster before her. She willed her sword into her other hand as she tried to put as much distance between herself and Lily.
The Wraith didn't give her that as she teleported to her yet again. Pinkie tried to open a gap, but Lily was too quick for her. She grabbed Pinkie's throat and slammed her into the ground, cratering it and sending a spiderweb of cracks into the stone surrounding them. Pinkie gasped, both from the pain and the firm grip Lily had on her windpipe as the monster smiled down at her. Pinkie stabbed her sword into Lily's chest and sent a blast of pure magic into her, the attack making Lily's upper body explode in a wild mass of gore. She wasted no time yanking the now limp hand off of her neck before she gapwalked to yet another nearby island.
Stellar magic enveloped her broken arm, Tattle doing everything in his power to mend the wound while they still had time. It was soon seen to be a moot point as Lily appeared in front of them yet again. While Tattle healed her, Pinkie expanded her focus to her surroundings to prevent her opponent from catching her off guard again. A wise decision as more of Lily's vines sprouted from the ground around her a second later. Pinkie dodged and slashed at them before avoiding another of Lily's earth-shattering punches. The two stayed like that for several grueling minutes, a deadly dance as Pinkie did everything she could to avoid getting caught by the vines or crushed by Lily's fists. As soon as Tattle had finished healing her arm, she quickly switched her sword back into it before she gapwalked away from Lily to another island.
The second she set foot on the floating rock, a burst of dark energy shot out of the ground and blew the island into rubble. The shock stunned Pinkie, her body falling limp as she plummeted towards the abyss below. She tried to summon a gap, but her magic refused to listen to her as her shock kept it locked. A cluster of vines from a nearby island grabbed her and slammed her into the ground, knocking both her air and a pained groan crawling past her lips. Lily laughed maniacally as she stood over the downed girl, her impossibly wide smile growing even more by the second. The girl's vision swam as she felt a hand grab her head and drag her to her feet. Lily forced her to stare into her face as she pulled her free hand back, made a fist, and slammed it into Pinkie's gut. Strangled gasps escaped Pinkie's muzzle as Lily repeated this, each time saying a single word with wicked glee.
"BREAK!....BREAK!....BREAK!.....BREAK!!!"
After ten more iterations of this, Lily let out another wailing laugh as she bent down and slammed Pinkie's head into the ground. A two toned scream filled the air as Tattle's protection finally shattered, her form shifting back to her normal Ponied-up form. She was barely aware of Lily's fingers releasing her head and Tattle's voice begging her to get back up in her mind, but her body refused to move. Her vision blurred as all of the damage she had sustained finally took its toll on her, her magic barely high enough to maintain her Ponied-up form. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as she was rolled onto her back, Lily's blurry image standing over her as the Archwraith raised a fist. Dark energy enveloped the fist as she prepared to finally put an end to this battle. A part of her tried to get up, to do anything to prevent what she knew was coming, but all she could do was smile as Lily brought her fist down towards her. As she closed her eyes for the last time, she gave a mental apology to Tattle for not being able to keep her promise to him.
A furious high pitched roar and searing heat startled her eyes open, bright golden flames burning around her and a figure standing over her. A pained wail and distant thud told her of the fate of her attacker, but in that moment, Pinkie's attention was aimed more at her savior. At first, she thought it was Hearths Warming, but as her vision slowly cleared, she saw that another had come to her rescue.
Standing over her with wings shielding her like a flaming angel was none other than Sunset Shimmer. Her eyes were a solid blue and glowing with a rage matched only by her fanged scowl, one hand still held in front of her as a flaming fist from the punch she gave Lily. Pinkie flinched when Sunset turned her head towards her, a small hint of worry present in the blinding fury they held. She watched, mesmerized as her friend slowly turned her head towards the staggered Archwraith, let out another roar, and flew towards her with claws of raging flames at the ready. A whirlwind of golden flames exploded around them, preventing her from seeing what happened next. It was when a pair of gentle hands grabbed her shoulders that she let her weariness take her, a sharp sting in one of them the last thing she felt as she faded off to sleep.
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OP sunset incoming
10477588 Yep.
And one soon-to-be FORMER ArchWraith goin' down.
Permanently.
10477600
We are so close to the end it’s been a wild ride and I am ready for some annihilation
10477663 Yep, and so am I.
And here we go, title round, dragonrage vs despair, fight!
We need a Sunset emoji.
Also, that's a cool Feral Archwraith theme song. Never heard them before.
Note: I worded my comment on the last chapter poorly. After thinking about it, Pinkie saving the gang still follows the rules of the story about friendship, but this was Sunset's duology, and so it is more right to see her storm back into the fray in a raging conflagration.
So that went well!
Song suggestion for a battle
I hope nothing is going to happen to Pinkie. That part at the end has me worried that she could be carrying a way for Lily to survive or turn Pinkie into a wraith.
Nice chapter and song. Odd the Author's note is colorless. Wonder what that signifies.
10477667
Hehehe the end is ni
10478063 Yep, it is.
Don't know just how many chapters are left, but we're getting closer to the end.
Thank God for that rescue that Pinkie so desperately needed after holding off that devil for so long
10478284
If I had to guess I’d say around five more chapters One chapter foe archwraith annihilation one chapter for derpy X sunset final chapter wrapping up the story with Celestia and then an epilogue set years in the future With Derpy and Sunset having Kids and them telling them the story
10478655
There is a sequel to this in the works. Take that as you will.
I hope that when the final blows are traded, that Lily will get a moment of clarity with the feral upgraded fading away and she ends with full knowledge of her end. it's seems too "easy" for her to end in a mindless state with no "Oh F*uck!" moment.
10478655 Five sounds about right.
Dunno about the rest of all that.
10478681 Well, I can't speak for 10478655 (or anyone else but myself, for that matter), but but that's AWESOME news, and I take the news of a sequel with a great deal of joy!
Can't wait to see what you have for Sunset and her Hoard (as well as the rest of us!) in it!
10478723 That makes TWO of us, my friend!
thx for this awesome chapter but if what you say happens this will be in a trilogy
10479501
You'll just have to wait and see.
Maybe....
10478681
Well I change my prediction for the epilogue get rid of the far future idea change it to a teaser for the sequel also I can not wait for a sequel it’ll be great
Oh yeah Sunset's Gonna BREAK HER!!!!!