Chapter 34: Healing the heartache pt 2
*Ronin POV*
As Tak led me to his girls house, the feeling of dread that I had felt before only strengthened with each step.
"You sure you know where her house is, kiddo?" I asked him as he turned to me but stayed on course as we passed by the Apple farm.
"Indeed, Ronin. I do. Now quit hanging back, we have to get there quickly!" He said as he started into a gallop towards a hillside that seemed waaaay less alive than the neighboring field. I followed behind with a quick jog until I came to a stop next to him in front of a hut.
Now, considering I live in a house with spikes jutting out of it, I shouldn't be one to judge when it comes to home design. But the atmosphere around here reeked of...death. And the dying grass and plants around the place weren't helping that fact.
A door opened and Scootaloo walked out of the hut. "Tak, you came...and you brought Ronin too." She seemed less than enthused by my presence.
Tak, oblivious to the negative vibe, answered happily. "Of course I came, and Ronin was just escorting me here." He said as Scootaloo smiled, yet it didn't reach her eyes.
"Well, c'mon then. The thing you need to see is inside." With that, she turned and walked inside the hut, Tak close behind and myself a taf more cautious.
As I walked in, Tak had this look of shock on his face. And as my eyes adjusted to the dark room, I couldnt blame him.
The whole place was way bigger on the inside than the outside, and it had changeling, pony, and what looked like some sort of giant eagle species chained to walls and the roof. In the center of the room was a scepter that had a glowing orb on its head.
Scootaloo turned to us and smiled as she took steps backwards. "So, Tak. Like what I've done with the place?" She said, but the voice didn't belong to her, it was the voice of...oh no.
"What..." Tak could barely manage to speak as I took a step forward and drew my blade.
"Drop the act, Dadiolus." I said with clenched teeth as 'scootaloo' got enveloped by black smoke and was replaced by the skeletal body and mind of the same guy who had sicked the spider on Nick.
He turned to Tak and frowned. "My boy, your a prince, don't let your jaw hang like that." He sneered as Tak recovered from his shock and growled at him.
"Where is Scootaloo?!" He screeched as Dadiolus smiled and pointed to the wall on the far side of the room, revealing a cacoon with said filly inside.
Tak ran to try and free her as I glared at the skeleton. "So, what's with the bodies, and why did you pretend to be that girl?" I asked him as he kept eye contact with me while we circled each other.
"Each of these bodies were victims of the similar experience changelings can do, I simply drained the love from all of their bodies. However, unlike a changeling, I drained enough to have more...fatal consequences." He chuckled softly. "As for the girl, I've been pretending to be her since the attack with Volt. I needed a pure source of love energy, and little Tak was the perfect candidate." He finished as Tak turned to him with rage in his eyes, along with traces of sadness.
"That means that the night of the bonfire, the kiss, and everything in between was a lie?!" He stated, barely able to believe it. Dadiolus sighed and turned away.
"It was a necessary evil to kidnap the girl and take her place. And it wasn't all lies, she did lose her mother. But that happened years ago alongside her father. She has scarcely been able to live here alone for over 6 years." He turned to me and I felt a rush of regret from him. "I have had to kill many beings to gain the magical power you didn't let me get back in canterlot, but it will all be worth it soon enough." He said as I growled, having heard far enough.
"Don't you dare pit this on me. No one said you had to kill these innocent bystanders! And to act like you care about what you've done makes this all the more sick!" I yelled as he roared loudly.
"You think I want to kill these innocents ponies and griffons? All of this is for the good of Equestria. And since you couldn't allow me to use dark magic to charge my scepter, I resorted to love magic instead." He said as he turned to the scepter, which was now glowing brightly. "Finally, I will have the strength I need." He said as he reached out to the scepter.
That Staff is overloading with love, Get to the prince, NOW! I heard Melfesia state in my mind as I rushed over and swung my arms around Tak, feeling my wings extend around us just as Dadiolus touched the staff.
BOOM!
I felt the surrounding earth give way as we were sent flying across the field. I sat up slowly and looked at Tak and the passed out Scootaloo. As I got up, I looked at my wings and saw they were made of metal now.
"What the hell?" I stated as I looked them over.
After you bonded with the pink one, your bodies enhancements were modified slightly. Your wings are now a defensive mechanism made of the same metal in the cannon the pink one uses. Melfesia said as the wings disappeared.
Wait a sec, how was I able to fly before if these were metal?
You didn't fly, you were carried by an updraft. You can glide with these wings, but you will never fly again. Think of it as a defensive mechanism for your more...brutish hobbies.
Ok then, that's actually kinda cool. I looked to Tak and smiled. "You alright, kid?" I asked as he got up and put scootaloo on his back magically.
"Yes, but Dadiolus must be stopped. I will take Scootaloo into town, but you must stop him from using that power against all of Equestria." He said as he started a slow gallop away. I heard a laugh from the crater as Dadiolus rose from it, scepter in hand.
The guy was no longer a skeleton. Instead, he had skin that was purely silver yet no hair on his head. He looked down at me and grinned wickedly. "I am suprised you survived the explosion. I was banking on that killing you and your pesky prince for me."
I scoffed and got into a battle stance with my blade. "Your not the only one with tricks up your sleeve."
He stopped smiling and raised his scepter up high. "Indeed you do. Regardless, I have the power to kill even those alicorn sisters now, so killing you should pose no problem." He said with a loud laugh.
I smiled darkly in return. "Then lets go, old timer!" I said as my armour encased my whole body, leaving only my mouth visible to the onlooker.
https://m.
Dadiolus smirked at me and lowered his staff towards me. "No more am I the weak sorcerer I was before! I am made anew by the sacrifice of innocent blood! I AM DEATH INCARNATE!!!" He roared as a a bullet hell of small beams erupted at me.
I swung my blade quickly, my visor analyzing which ones to deflect and which ones to dodge. As the rain of beams stopped, Dadiolus appeared in front of me and landed a magic infused kick that sent me through a tree or two.
As I got up from the blow, I coughed up a bit of blood into my hand. Damn, that hurt like hell! I thought as I dodged a blast of lightning from his scepter.
If you keep this up, your death will be guaranteed! Melfesia yelled in my mind.
Well, what do you want me to do? I can't get close enough to get a good hit in and there is no way I'm tanking another hit like that. I thought as another bullet hell started, causing me to dive behind another tree.
Up till now, you have been fighting with only half of the dark power inside you. If you wish to live, you must let it run freely through your heart and soul. She stated matter of factly. I closed my eyes as I thought it through.
If I do this, I might lose the last piece of humanity in me, if I don't do this, then Dadiolus destroys Equestria. I jumped to another tree as the last one burned up in a fiery explosion. I sighed and sheathed my sword.
Do it I said as I felt the armour start to meld with my skin. I let out a strangled cry as the helmet fused itself to my head. I could feel the venom coursing into the untouched parts of my body, my brain, and my heart.
The tree I was hiding behind was thrown far off by magic as Dadiolus looked down on me. "Well look at that, you've completely lost your mind. Not a suprise, all things considered." With that, he infused his hand with lightning and rushed to deliver the final blow...
Just to have his hand caught by my own.
"WHAT?!" He yelled as the armour cracked up and broke off, leaving hardened black skin in its place. I laughed and removed my helmet with my free hand, revealing pure white hair with glowing blue eyes. I grinned widely, showing off the new fangs I had gotten.
Right now, only the hunger to kill was on my mind. And this guy would make a pretty great way of satisfying that hunger.
I kicked him back several yards and felt felt newfound power surging through my body. "Your time is up, Dadiolus!" I rushed forward and swung a left hook, which was blocked by his right arm.
"Don't you see boy! This isn't about us or those foolish princesses! You should be on my side!" He screamed as he starting trading blows with me. The flow of punches gets interrupted as he roundhouse kicked me to the side of my head, sending me backwards onto the ground.
I shake away the dizziness from the blow before it threatens to consume me as he pins me down with his legs as he sits on my chest, punching my face with each word he says next.
"I am trying to save this damned world from a threat Celestia created eons ago!" I catch his fist on the last word and pull him in, connecting with a punch to his throat that causes him to sprawl out onto the ground.
I get up slowly, still shaken by the kick earlier. "Why the hell should I believe the guy who tried to have my brother killed!" I yelled at him as he recovered and pulled the orb off his scepter and threw the stick aside, holding the orb in his right palm.
"That boys power will be the death of this world! Do you think it mere coincidence you just happened to show up in Equestria just before my plans were enacted? No, you fool! You were summoned!" He said as his face becomes etched with...fear? "And if I don't defeat you now and kill that child, then this world will perish!"
The mage has gone mad, kill him now. Melfesia said and I drew my blade, ready to finally end this once and for all.
Dadiolus sighed and sent a destructive wave beam at me the size of a building.
Charge through it! Destroy Him!
I ran forward and swung my blade at the beam, connecting as the wall of dark light started pushing me back.
Don't you even consider failure! A king never gives in to the whims of the weak!
I started make headway against the beam, slowly pushing forward as I felt bits of my hardened skin start to peel away due to the sheer power emanating from the beam.
Push, young one! He is almost in your grasp!
At last, I made it to the orb. I yelled loudly and slammed the blade on the black ball, causing it to shatter into nothing. Dadiolus staggered backwards from the blow, give me enough room to deliver my blade straight inro his heart with a ungodly *SCHLINK*.
I pushed it as far as it would go, forcing me to be face to face with the man who had caused so much pain over the past month and a half. The guy who had murdered hundreds of changelings and ponies.
Despite the blow, he smiled weakly and coughed up some blood before reaching out his hand and placing it on my shoulder.
"He...he...heh." He chuckled softly. I frowned and pushed the sword deeper.
"What's so funny, mage?" I asked in a low voice as his eyes lit up in pure hysteria.
"This world.....your friends.....all shall freeze under the heartless embrace of the....windego queen." He spat out as his whole body slowly turned to dust, my sword clattered to the ground covered in red blood.
I...did it. I destroyed him.
That you have, child. That you have. Melfesia said with warmth as the whole world started to go black. But as I blacked out, I swear I saw something that shouldn't had been there since we were in the middle of spring.
A small snowflake slowly drifted by as everything went dark.
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Eww
So that is what he meant the last time we saw him?
What does he mean by the good of equestria?
It can do that?
That sounds so bad.
So he’s a changeling now?
At that moment I would have stopped the fight and got answers.
Wait a minute, she’s a little too blood thirsty, even for a changeling.
10717605
Question answering time!
Yup
He believes he was needed to stop what he believes to be the upcoming threat.
Its more of Melfesia showing him what to deflect.
Oh yeah, hes about 90% changeling at this point.
As for Melfesias bloodlust? to be explained later...hehehe
10717627
Ok
A little late on reading this one but OMG I didn't even think of a changeling not gust replacing someone who is in love, but replacing someone and creating love.
PURE GENIUS!!!
10722799
Thanks, it was a mind blower when I realized it too.
When I read this single POV, I got the feeling that someone is cheating on Ronin and using him for personal gain.
The fight itself gives rise to the feeling that you are watching some kind of anime cartoon. The Japanese motif and effects described in this chapter are very tangible.
10805534
Glad you noticed both the puppeteer AND the japanese fighting set up I have for this chapter