Challenges Ahead
"Any ideas now?!?!?!!?!?!" Big Macintosh barked as he barely avoids the strike of the burning behemoth. The camel did not answer him in any way, silently observing everything within the room for a way to defeat this avatar of hate. It was then that he heard Big Macintosh's warcry of desperation. Big Macintosh decided to just run and pull on the chains as hard as he could, and to the Janissary's surprise the flaming monster was lifted off the ground and slams hardly towards the ceiling of the chamber, causing several small cinders of flame falling down upon the chamber.
The force yanks the Janissary off the ground and with battle sense forged over thousands of battles, Amanar brandishes his sword and points it forward. Like a speeding bullet, Amanar speeds towards the avatar's head and with his blade pierces the eye of the avatar. The behemoth roared as molten metal gushes out from its wounds, causing the blade to light up in a bright fiery yellow and melts away. Without even hesitating, Amanar slices the chains above him with the molten slag that was once his sword.
The chains immediately melted away and the Janissary falls down towards the ground with great force. The Janissary could feel a very sharp pain coming from his shoulders as he slowly rises up, realizing that his shoulder is now dislocated. Alas, he knows that his slowly cooling slag of a sword is the only way that Big Macintosh could ever escape the clutches of the avatar and he started to move towards the stallion.
Enduring the pain, the janissary ran towards the red stallion and using the acceleration of his run, he slashed the molten slag downwards towards the chains. With a single clean cut, the chains are separated from Big Macintosh. The tension of the chains loosens up suddenly and the two ducked for cover as the chains flayed around wildly as it retracts to the ceiling. A loud, thunderous thud echoes around the room and the ground trembles with a great amount of force, a signal that the behemoth has made contact with the ground in a rather unpleasant way. A moment of uneasy calm descends upon the room, and it was then that the Janissary decided to give in to his injuries.
“Hhhhrrrnnggggggggg...” Amanar groans in pain. Big Macintosh immediately rushed to the camel’s aid. As the red stallion tried to find out the cause of Amanar’s suffering, he gives some words of comfort.
“Easy there pardner, Everythin’ gonna be alright….”
Suddenly a loud roar shatters the moment of calm, and Big Macintosh watches in horror as the fiery behemoth rises from the ground. Fiery molten liquid seeps from the severe cracks upon the automaton and as it takes its steps, the cracks only grew larger and more molten slag drips down on the ground.
The ‘thing’ is wounded… , Big Macintosh thought to himself, but now he has to answer another riddle in his mind; how does he stop this juggernaut? He is unarmed, and bucking it with all that fiery liquid flowing out from its wounds is a death wish. Now he wished that he is one of the Elements of Harmony so that he could shoot rain rainbow death upon the monster.
“T….try……this….. Now ‘thing’ got cracks, can use to ‘boom’ it from inside. Go!” Amanar answered, his voice filled with pain, and he drops something in the stallion’s hooves. Big Macintosh looks down and in his hooves are several black, cherry-liked objects, and the stallion immediately knew what they are. Big Macintosh looks back at the Janissary, but the Janissary is now unconscious.
“Will do, pardner.” Laying Amanar down on the ground, the stallion stands up and watches as the wounded monster slowly increased the pace of its steps, coming ever closer to them. Big Macintosh could not help but to be reminded of the stories of how the ancient heroes of old bravely charges the monster that terrorizes the kingdom, and how he is in the exact same situation. The red stallion slowly takes his step, and as his pace turns from a walk to a gallop Big Macintosh can only scream incoherently and charges forward to the iron monster. The monster bellowed back in reply and charges forward to the red stallion. As the two adversaries meet each other head on, the stallion knew that there can be only one chance for him to do this right or both of them will be doomed.
The beast swipes its arm to deal the finishing blow, and with only moments to act, Big Macintosh did the only thing he could. The stallion jumps up in the air and did a barrel roll, surprising both the creature and himself. The stallion threw all of the cherry bombs at the creature, hoping that they will fall inside the cracks. As the stallion crashes and skids on the ground, he can hear several loud explosions but he fails to see if they have hit their mark.
His vision starts to darken, and before long everything is pitch black…..
Big Macintosh opened his eyes to see two clear blue eyes looking down on him and the haziness of his vision starts to solidify, he recognizes those eyes as belonging to a certain white, pink-maned mare.
“Big Mac…Thank goodness you are alright.” Redheart breathe a sigh of relief. As Big Macintosh gets up on his hooves, he sees the other members of their group around him, even the unconscious Amanar as he was held afloat by the ever mysterious elemental. The stallion immediately turned around to see the lifeless titan, smoldering on the ground. The burning red molten liquid is slowly cooling down and hardening even as he watches.
“What happened? How’d y’all get in here?”
“WetriedourbesttoopenthedoorandthensuddenlyitopenedupandwesawyoulyingtherewiththatbigthingbehindyouVinnyaskedforZephytosearchforAmanarwhilewerushedinto helpyououtYoulookedlikeyouweredeadsoRedwentonaheadandcheckuponyaThatiswhenyouwokeup.” The little filly said in one breath without pausing. The other ponies just looks at the little filly, and all of them are thinking that perhaps Pinkie Pie’s got a match when it comes to saying things all at once without pausing.
“What ‘bout the big guy?” Vinyl points at the Janissary. As soon as Zephyr gently lay Amanar on the floor, Nurse Redheart immediately tended to him. Soon enough, realizing the condition of the camel, she went ahead with some rather unconventional methods of joint manipulation, as the rest watched to their discomfort. As the nursepony bandages the camel’s shoulder, she breathe a sigh of relief once more.
“Fortunately for us, he did not seem to have any internal injuries or fractures. I managed to mend his dislocated shoulder and he will be fine for the time being. I would prefer that we can follow up with a physiotherapy to reduce the chances of repeated dislocations.”
“Dudette….what you did to him…..doesn’t it hurt?” Vinyl said, cringing as she completed the sentence.
“Fortunately he is unconscious, which is as good as it comes. Usually I tend to do it under some anesthesia, but I have done it without the anesthesia.” Nurse Redheart said with a straight face.
“That’s good, he messed up his arm fer me. Saved mah hide with his courage there. Lemme carry ‘im the rest of the way, it is the least Ah could do.” Big Macintosh said.
“Why don’t we all help out in turn?” Nurse Redheart smiled.
As they scaled up the great flight of stairs while towing the camel warrior, Big Macintosh soon heard about the scripture on the door from the little filly.
“Wow, ya like a dictionary or sumthin’.” Big Macintosh said to the little filly. The little filly could not help but to giggle at the way the red stallion describes her.
“Thanks I guess.” Fatimah said politely, careful not to correct the stallion about the correct definition of a dictionary.
“So Ah guess we just punched the livin’ daylights outta one of ya folk heroes. Ah am truly sorry for that.” Big Macintosh apologize, despite the fact that said folklore hero attempted to kill both Amanar and himself.
“No worries, I never liked Horakhty to begin with.” The filly smiled.
“So mind me asking….Can you tell us more about these other characters. It might help us if these challenges are linked to them.” Nurse Redheart asked.
“Well, Djehuty is considered to be a rather cunning and sly character, whose intelligence is unrivalled throughout the lands of Saddle Arabia. His sorcery is also without equal for he once decimated an entire army and opened the lakes surrounding Aqabasta using only his magic.”
“So it is a test of the mind when it comes to him I guess. What about this Anput?”
“He is a Vizier, but at the same time he is also a holy pony. Nothing much is said about his exploits, but he is the pony that allowed Emir Asar to pursue his destiny and also allow all the other Saddle Arabians to accept Emir Asar as the ruler of Saddle Arabia without question.”
“Sounds like he is the last person in the line then. He sounds mighty badass if he was the one who decided to make this place and stuff.” Vinyl said with a rather excited smile on her face. Everyone else stared at her, seriously doubting her optimism.
“Well, come onnnnnnnnn…….it is like the core boss-level progression of all video games here.” Vinyl said with a pout. Everyone else just gives a groan, except the filly as she has no idea what video games are. But the unicorn does have a point, for Anput is perhaps the most enigmatic of the guardians of the tomb, and perhaps the most powerful.
The figure in the tattered robes looks upon the cold, lifeless husk of the juggernaut. Suddenly the metal pieces started to hover in the air and floats gently towards the smoldering throne and the pieces reformed itself to its former glory.
"Good to see you back in shape." said the hooded figure with a smile on its face before exiting the room.
The Lord Eternal is unsure about why he being recalled to the capital, and the warlord is not pleased when his plans for war are interrupted in such a way, especially when the entire nation is now engulfed in a conflict unlike those seen since the early days of Saddle Arabia.
As soon as he entered the throne room, he was utterly surprised by the sudden appearance of a bronze statue of a bull within its halls. Beside the odd structure stands the Emir, his gray piercing eyes looking upon this structure. Several servants entered into the confines of the throne room with some wood. The warlord notices that all the servant are pale and fearful. The Lord Eternal's curiosity however did not override his adherence to royal protocols.
"Milord." The Lord Eternal bowed down, but with a single gesture, the Emir called for the warlord to come by his side. The old gray stallion gives a reassuring smile to the Lord Eternal. As the servants start to line up the wood around the odd statue, the Emir asked his commander a rather odd question.
"What is an illusion, Suleiman?" It is rare that the Lord Eternal is referred to by name, for his rank requires him to embody his role and throw away all semblance of his former life. Surprised by the odd question, the Lord Eternal could only answer it the best way he could.
“Something that isn't real, Milord."
"An illusion is neither a lie nor a mirage, as they are hope and desperate dreams combined to create new truths. However, these new truths are only visible to us and no one else. Just like our memories through our eyes....."
"Why would you say that milord?" The Lord Eternal asked his master, not seeing the point of this conversation.
"Because life is an illusion, Suleiman. There is one part of life however that is not an illusion."
"What would that be Milord?"
"Death."
With a clap of his hooves, several of the servants started to light up the wood surrounding the bronze statue and immediately disperse once the deed is done. Only the Lord Eternal and the Emir remained in the throne room, watching the fire under the bull burn.
Suddenly from within the bronze bull, muffled screams could be heard within. The Lord Eternal could not help but to be shocked beyond compare, for the cruelly creative way of punishment overwhelmed his senses. Noticing his subordinate's reaction, the Emir immediately turns around to the Lord Eternal, and this time his gray eyes are now glowing with a bright red crimson. The Lord Eternal could not resist looking at this manifestation of evil, and he is frozen at the place in which he stands.
"You see Suleiman, I do not take failures kindly. What you see before you is the punishment I have decided to give to some of the generals that had failed me. I do not want to send someone like you within the Brazen Bull, but if you so choose I will be more than willing to accommodate you within its hollow structure. Do you understand me?" The Emir's gives a rather kind and nurturing look towards the Lord Eternal, but his voice is nothing short of pure evil.
"Y...yes Milord.” Suleiman answered, with a slight tremble in his voice.
"In order for our plan to go on ahead, I will require a particular deed to be done. It is time that the 'piece' would play a part in all of this." The Emir tells the warlord, the reedy voice of the Emir replaced by the dark, serpentine voice. The Emir smiled sinisterly.
“I will arrange for 'that' to happen as you wish, Milord.”
"Good, Suleiman, good......I expect nothing less from you. Do what you were asked, and I will see to it that you shall be read you shall be rewarded beyond compare. Now leave me be and return to your duties." The monarch said chillingly. The screaming only intensified, and it was not long before the Lord Eternal could smell the nauseating smell of roasting flesh. One by one, the screaming subsides and soon the smell of charred flesh clouds the whole room. The Lord Eternal bows down and starts to walk towards the entrance of the throne room. It is time for him to pay a visit to the Chief Healer for the 'piece' to be mobilized.
As the Lord Eternal enters the Halls of Healing, the Chief Healer is taking minute measurements of liquid to be used in his concoction. The alchemical greenhouse is now filled with even more diagrams of pony anatomy and even some modern photographs of something that the Lord Eternal could not see. Before the Lord Eternal could even take a step forward, he was greeted by the old wizened healer.
"What do you seek Milord Eternal?"
"On behalf of the Emir, I am here to inform you that we are to mass-produce 'Djibril's Feathers' by tonight." The pause slowly turns into an eerie silence between the two parties.
".....The Emir has truly deemed it necessary?"
"Yes." The warlord briefly replied.
"I always hoped that we never use the feathers, especially not using it against our own people even if they are on the wrong side of the rebellion. However, I am but a humble servant of the Emirati and thus I will comply." The old stallion said with a heavy heart.
"It is a day of wrath, and it shall consume the world in ashes as prophesied by Hafa and the sibyl. What trembling is to be, when the Judge is to come." The Lord Eternal replied.
"A scripture from the Holy Book I see.......but do you truly believe it, Milord? Do you?" Another silence descends upon the room once more, the silence broken only by the whistle of a boiling kettle.
"See to it that it is done, Chief Healer." The Eternal turns around and hurriedly exited the sanctum.
Once he is out of sight of the old apothecary, the Lord Eternal lets his mind be flooded him with the images of what the 'piece' can do to the future of Saddle Arabia. He can only tremble in fear as he thought about it.
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Hey! You're not dead!
Good to see you writing again
Good chapter
glad to see an update
Well, I read the story from chapter 1 to 33 in a day.
I have to be honest: the writing quality is lacking. When I noticed the seemingly random tense changes from past to present I almost quit right there.
I stuck with it because of the admittedly unique plot, and I'm glad I did. This is some interesting stuff, and you really take the time to build your characters. That's worth a lot.
The only other "complaint" I have is that this story is tagged with both comedy and romance, and there's been very little of either. Arguably, a dark tag would have been more appropriate than either of those. Oh well.
Considering what a barrel roll actually is, a giant loop-de-loop through the air that's rarher hard to do without wings, I would be praising him as the god of agility if he did that. I think you mean that Star Fox barrel roll, which is actually an aleron roll.
Yeeees. Finally, someone who uses a poetic quote I know well. I'm thoroughly familiar with the Dies Irae- I was just not expecting to see a verse in here.