With Chaotic resurrected, it's up to Discord, Twilight, and the Warriors of the Gods to quell his brand of chaos which seems to bring nothing but carnage and destruction through out the world.
Chaotic the God of Chaos has been resurrected and it's up to Twilight and her friends to stop him, but when her friends, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence are captured. it seems all hope is lost until Discord tells Twilight they must gather the Warriors of the Gods to fight Chaotic and stop him from spreading utter carnage across the world.
“Where-where am I?” the Unicorn stallion asked himself as he looked around the inky darkness. It was so thick and heavy he couldn’t tell if he was looking left or right. He froze when a voice echoed in his mind: Find your prize. The stallion looked around and asked, “Hello?” again the voice echoed in his head: find your prize. The stallion attempted to illuminate the darkness with his horn, but when he tried. No magic seemed to come from his horn. He strained for several more minutes before he let out a sigh and set out to find this Prize the voice mentioned.
The Unicorn stallion traveled through the inky blackness, but it felt like he was simply walking in place. He began to trot, but still, he felt like he was still standing in place. He then began to gallop, but once again he felt like he was simply staying in one place. The darkness felt so thick it was choking him. Then, he saw it: a light like a spotlight illuminating something in the distance. He started walking towards it and for the first time since coming here. He felt he was actually moving. The Unicorn started to trot and then gallop towards the light as it began to get larger.
As he finally drew to the spotlight, he stopped and his mouth dropped at what it was showcasing. A large Dragon skeleton lay in the middle of the spotlight. It lay in a way like it had died in its sleep as its skull was close to its tail. The stallion walked into the light and his golden armor shimmered in the light. He slowly walked towards the skeleton when a voice echoed all around him.
“Who disturbs my slumber?” the voice questioned all around the stallion. The sheer volume of the voice shook the stallion to his very core. He swallowed and said nothing. This prompted the voice to ask again, “Who DARES to venture into my domain?!” the voice, then ordered, “SPEAK!”
The Unicorn stallion jumped and spat out, “I'm Shattered Blade. An Equestrian Royal Guard.” There was a long pause before Shattered Blade added, “I was told of a great being that could help in times of need. He was said to love Pony kind.” This made the voice burst out laughing. Shattered Blade’s ears bend back and his legs quivered as the laughter seemed to grow louder.
“Why would she send one of her puppets to request his," the voice began before it corrected it's self, "I mean my help?"
“She does not know I’m performing the ritual,” Shattered Blade said. Assuming the voice meant Celestia.
As though the voice could read his thoughts, it said, “The Princess does not care for me. Unfortunately, she got that from her mother: the Queen."
“You mean Queen Aurora?” Shattered Blade said in astonishment before he explained, “Queen Aurora has been gone for several millennia now. Her Daughters, Celestia and Luna now rule over Equestria which is in great turmoil.” Shattered Balde then cocked his head and looked at the skeletion before he asked, "Queen Aurora was not fond of you? how? I read that Ponies adored you and held you in high regards. just like how you adored us." There was a long pause as though the voice was thinking before it spoke
“Never mind that. Tell me of this great turmoil your land is in,” the voice said. trying to change the subject.
“Equestria is waging war with the Changelings who want to control Equestria and use its love to fuel the conquest of the entire world. The Jackals and Satyr refuse to interfere, the Griffons want a ridiculous amount of bits before they even will consider helping us, and the Dragons want the total control of Equestria for their help. Our forces are suffering heavy casualties and the Hive continues to pump out more and more hoards of Changelings,” Shattered Blade explained. There was another long pause before the voice would ask another question.
“What have you heard of me?” the voice asked from behind Shattered Blade which made him jump and turn to the inky darkness behind him. He then turned back to the spotlight in the sky and explained.
“My grandfather told me of a great being that would help Equestria when it's needed. The being was said to hold supernatural powers to destroy the enemy. He said the being loved Pony kind and favored us over the other races,” Shattered Blade explained.
“Your grandfather is wise to respect the old legends,” the voice praised before it added, “How did you find the ritual young Pony? It should have been lost in your world.”
“My grandfather was a great Unicorn who kept all the old tombs and as a colt, my grandfather would tell me all the old stories in his archives. I had found a Ritual Tomb, but noticed a page was ripped out. I asked my grandfather and he said it was how he found it. As I started to get older, the old stories were just that: stories. That is until I found an old tomb hidden behind a secret wall in the Royal Library. It was like the Ritual Tomb my grandfather had, but it only had one page. I remembered the page that seemed to be removed and assumed it was that page. The page seemed to speak to me, so I kept it in my room and memorized it,” Shattered Blade explained.
“I see,” the voice interrupted his story before he added, “As you are well aware of: this ritual requires a sacrifice. What are you willing to sacrifice?”
“My life,” Shattered Blade said without a second thought.
“No,” the voice echoed before it added, “I require your magic.”
“My Magic?” Shattered Blade questioned.
“Yes, all of your magic,” the voice said before he warned, “But know this: once the ritual is complete. You will no longer have magical abilities. You will no longer be able to use the simplest of magic. Are you willing to go through with this?” Shatter Blade stared at the spotlight and then at the Dragon’s skeleton.
“I agree to your terms,” Shattered Blade finally said. He felt his body be lifted up, and he felt magic be violently forced out of his horn. It felt like shards of glass were scraping inside his horn. He screamed in pain as tears welled up in his eyes. The magic slithered towards the Dragon skeleton and into the bones.
After the last bit of magic was dragged out of his body, Shattered Blade fell to the ground. He was breathing heavily as he slowly looked up towards the Skeleton. For several seconds it stayed stationary until the bones began to rattle and an amethyst glow came from the eye sockets before the bones were engulfed in a mixture of coral orange and ruby red flames. The bones began to move as the Dragon skeleton stood up. The voice now began to laugh as it seemed to be coming from the Dragon skeleton. Its skeletal wings of the Dragon opened and the voice yelled, “I have finally been REBORN!”
The spotlight disappeared and Shattered Blade felt his body start to fall into the inky darkness. He felt his mind spin as he started to drift off into sleep, but before he did. He heard the voice say, “Thank you, my friend. For allowing me to once again pour Chaos into this world.”
Shattered Blade felt something shake his body. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a Unicorn mare calling to him, but couldn't hear her voice. As he began to fully awaken, her voice started to sound muffled, then it got clearer and clearer before her voice asked, “Blade, BLADE! Are you ok?" Shattered Blade groaned as he rolled onto his stomach and shook the cobwebs from his head.
"Were you able to get in touch with Void? Did the ritual work?" the mare asked. Shattered Blade nodded, but then remembered the last words he heard before waking up: Thank you, my friend, for allowing me to once again pour Chaos into this world.
"I think the ritual was a mistake," Shattered Blade admitted before he got to his hooves and observed the carnage surrounding him. He saw a group of soldiers heading towards the medical tent. several limped as blood oozed from their open wounds, some had bandages already wrapped over various parts of their bodies to keep from bleeding out, and one was carried as another used her magic to keep him from losing too much blood from his amputated back hoof. He heard somepony yelling and turned to see a mare giving a stallion CPR. she would breathe into the stallion's mouth before starting the compressions. After three compressions she would go back to breathing into the stallion's mouth.
"Come on, come on!" the mare yelled as tears started to roll down her cheeks and she started another round of compressions before she cried, "Damn it do you die on me!"
shattered blade wouldn't admit it, but he wished to be placed back into the inky darkness where he found the Dragon skeleton. There was an explosion that tore his gaze from the two ponies to the large dark green Speyer that resembled a cocoon jetting out of the ground. Shattered Blade let out a long sigh, we might not have the favor of the Gods, but we'll lay down our lives for Equestria Shattered Blade thought.
"They're breaking through our front lines," the mare said.
"Then we better get down there and lend a hoof," shattered Blade said as the mare nodded and prepared to advance. The two stopped as the earth shook violently. The surrounding battle suddenly stopped as both Changelings and Ponies stumbled to keep from falling to the ground. A large red circle began to tear into the sand of the San Palomino Desert. Glowing Amethyst symbols began to edge into the sand on the outside of the circle as more lines began to stretch and expanded inside the circle until the Amethyst lines created the shape of a Dragon's skull atop the Chaos Star. The circle and symbols glowed before it spat out a massive amount of large bones into the air. The bones began to connect to one another and created a large twenty-foot-long Dragon skeleton.
Both armies looked in awe at the skeleton before an Amethyst glow came from the skull's eye socket. Its skeletal wings extended as the Dragon skeleton was engulfed in coral orange and ruby red flames. The heat of the desert was intensified with the flames erupting from the skeleton. The flames began to intensify as they began to conceal the Dragon skeleton until the flames took the shape of a Dragon. Flames began to form on the outside of the circle before a massive fire tornado erupted into the sky.
Celestia stood on the balcony of the castle and watched the tower of flames erupting into the sky. Her magic diminished as her cup of coffee fell to the ground and shattered. Her eyes widened as she saw the tower disappear as small plumes of fire floated in the air.
"No," Celestia uttered as her body stood stiffly in shock and fear.
The tower suddenly disappeared as plumes of flames fell to the ground. Changelings and Ponies all stared at the massive Dragon standing in front of them. Its pearl white scales were woven tightly together with what looked like sickle-shaped gold plates between each scale. Icicle-like black spines went from the back of the Dragon's head to it arrow-shaped tail. Amethyst eyes with black slanted pupils scanned the desert until they fell on Shattered Blade. He gave him a toothy grin filled with yellow dagger-like teeth.
"Time to repay the favor," the Dragon growled. Smaller circles appeared around the Dragon as much smaller bones were spat out from the circles. They connected and created a small Pony skeleton army. An amethyst glow appeared in the eye sockets of the Pony skeletons before they were engulfed in coral orange ruby red flames. The Dragon looked towards a massive group of Changelings and Ponies before ordering "kill all but the Unicorn named Shattered Blade."
The skeleton Pony army let out a bone-rattling battle cry before charging towards the armies of Changelings and Ponies. Once they were in full charge, more red circles appeared around the Dragon again as more bones were spat out from the circles. However, instead of Pony skeletons, they were Griffon skeletons. An Amethyst glow appeared in the Griffons skull's eye socket before they were engulfed in flames. They let out a bone-chattering war cry as well before they took to the air and attacked the two armies.
The armies of Changelings and Ponies who were once fighting each other, now found themselves working together to stay alive as the armies of Pony and Griffon skeletons descended on to them. A Unicorn stallion shot a magical beam at one of the Pony skeletons. The beam hit the skeleton and reduced it to ash. However, underneath the ash, another red circle appeared and the ash began to swirl and glow before flames erupted from the ash and morphed back into the Pony skeleton.
"Why is it attacking us? It should be helping us?!" the Unicorn mare questioned as she shot a beam of magical energy at a Pegasus skeleton trying to dive bomb her. The skeleton erupted into ash as the wind caught the ash cloud and it swirled in the air and dissipated. Shattered Blade winced as he heard the war cries mixed with the cries of pain and gurgling of death. The ritual was a mistake Shattered Blade thought.
There was a scream and Shattered Blade looked up to see four Pegasus skeletons around a Changeling. The skeletons teeth had dug into each of the Changeling's hollowed hooves and pulled in opposite directions. The Changeling's voice hit several octaves before it was torn apart. Green blood rained down on the sand as more and more screams echoed around Shattered Blade.
"Look out!" the Unicorn mare cried out. Shattered Blade turned in time to see the mare intercept a Pony skeleton that seemed to charge towards Shattered Blade. The mare and skeleton collided. She screamed in pain as the flames licked her hooves and burned at her flesh. Then, it happened: the Pony Skeleton lunged and dug its teeth into the mare's neck. Her screams turned to gurgles as the skeleton tore out her jugular. Her lifeless body flopped to the ground in front of Shattered Blade. He looked at the dead body and then the Pony Skeleton and saw part of the mare's neck still in the Pony's mouth. The bits of flesh sizzled in the flames as it began to turn black and charred.
Shattered Blade couldn't take his eyes off the Pony Skeleton for what felt like an eternity. His gaze was broken when the still silence caused him to look around. Lifeless bodies of Ponies and Changelings lay on the desert sand. Red Pony blood mixed with green Changeling blood. As he looked around he noticed the skeleton Ponies and skeleton Griffins were standing all around him. The Amethyst glow in their eye sockets seemed to not only stare at him but stare into his very soul. Shattered Blade then saw the Dragon. It was staring at him with its Amethyst eyes. The Dragon gave him a toothy grin before its wings unfolded and with one mighty beat. Shot into the air. Then, Shattered Blade felt something slam into the ground behind him, He felt something grab his body, and lift him into the air. He was soon facing the Dragon he had summoned from the inky darkness.
"Why?" Shattered Blade uttered before the full force of what had happened hit him, and he screamed, "WHY! You were supposed to help them. Not slaughter them! You were a legend of great power in Pony lore! You were a being of benevolence to Pony kind! So why would you kill them Void" white-hot rage was in every breath as he scolded the Dragon.
"Void?" the Dragon questioned before he burst out laughing and added, "Oh my little Pony. You should know: Void does love you creatures and would probably come down to help with this little skirmish of yours if you asked him. However," His toothy grin grew before the sands of the desert began to twirl and twist up into the air as flames erupted from the sands and large bones began to grow from them. the Dragon let what fel like an enternity pass before he continued, "It wasn't Void you game your magic to and it wasn't Void you summoned."
"What now? Are you going to kill me? Was that it? Make me watch my comrades die before killing me?" Shatter Blade hissed. The Dragon shook its head.
The flames, sand, and bones began to morph and form into a massive castle, big enough to house the Dragon and his army of skeletal monsters. He looked at the castle before looking back to Shatter Blade and admitted, “You set me free. Why would I kill you? No, I have much bigger plans for you.” the Dragon turned and laughed before the massive gates of the castle opened and allowed the Dragon and his captive inside. As the gates began to close the Dragon then mused, "Besides, you're my guess. I need to make you." the dragon pused again before adding, "Comfertable" before the gates slammed shut.
The small plate lifted with the teacup on top of it before Discord grabbed the handle with his Griffin Talon. Its pinkie stuck out before he sipped at the hot chocolate in the teacup. When Discord placed the cup back on the plate, his whole body quivered as a chill went through it.
"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah," Discord said before he added, "Not sure what that was all about." Just then Angel bunny stormed through the bunny door and jumped onto the table. He lifted the rolled parchment above his head towards Fluttershy.
"Thank you, Angel," Fluttershy said as she took the parchment from the bunny's paws.
"What's that? A letter from Twilight?' Discord asked.
"No! It's from Celestia," Fluttershy announced before she began to read the letter. Her eyes scanned each word before she explained, "Celestia wants me to come to the castle and to bring you with me."
"Me!" Discord asked before he quickly looked around and whispered, "If she asks: I've been here since last week."
"What did you do?" Fluttershy asked as she cocked an eyebrow. Discord let out a nervous laugh as he quickly picked up his hot chocolate and loudly sipped it. Fluttershy's flat expression didn't move as she asked again, "What. Did. You. Do?"
"I may or may not have filled the royal pipes with chocolate pudding," Discord admitted into his teacup. Fluttershy let out a sigh and shook her head.
Fluttershy walked towards the train station and saw the rest of her friends were there as well. She walked up to Rainbow and asked, "did you all get a letter from Celestia as well?'
"Yep," Pinkie chimed.
"Why is discord here?" Rainbow asked.
"Celestia asked me to bring him with me," Fluttershy said.
"I wonder why she called us," Applejack questioned.
"Bet you 30 bits she'll tell us about some great evil that's awoken and only the Elements can vanquish it," Pinkie said to Rainbow who seemed eager to take her bet.
"I don't think so Pinkie," Rarity said before she added, "Her letter didn't seem to indicate any distress."
"So let's go and ask her," Discord said.
"That's what we're doing. We just need to wait for the train," Twilight said as she tried to spot any sign of the train. Discord rolled his eyes and snapped his lion's fingers.
Celestia paced back and forth waiting for Twilight and her friends. A large flash caused her to jump. When the flash disappeared, Twilight, her friends, and Discord all stood in front of her. Rainbow shook her head and looked around.
"Could you at least warn," Rainbow was about to say before she suddenly vomited onto the marble floor of the throne room. One by one each Pony began to vomit as Celestia watched in utter shock.
"Oops, forgot you Ponies aren't adapt to my brand of teleportation," Discord said with a little laugh in his voice.
"You think," Twilight hissed.
"Double fudge cake doesn't taste good coming up as it does going down," Pinkie said before her cheeks puffed up, and she belched out a whole cherry. It landed on top of the chocolate-colored bile in front of her.
Celestia placed her hoof to her mouth to keep her from vomiting when she was sure she wasn't going to. She began, "Thank you all for coming so quickly." She held back another bout of vomit as her horn glowed and all the bile on the floor disappeared.
"Why did you call for us?" Twilight asked.
Celestia let out a sigh and began, "I fear a great evil has awoken."
"Told Ya," Pinkie said to Rainbow.
"Shut it," Rainbow said as she handed Pinkie a bag of Bits.
"Has Tirek come back?" Twilight asked.
"No," Celestia said as she shook her head and added, "A malevolent being called Chaotic."
Shattered Blade tried to escape the Dragon's grasp, but found no purchase. The Dragon laughed, "Persistent aren't you"
"What do you want with me?" Shattered Blade demanded. The Dragon let out another laugh as they descended further down into the depths of the castle.
"I've done my time and served my sentence. So now I'm taking back the crown that was once rightfully mine," the Dragon Explained.
"Celestia will never give you the crown," Shattered Blade said matter-a-factly.
"Her crown is not what I'm after! I'm after what was once rightfully mine before I was betrayed by my own kin," the Dragon growled. At the end of the long dark hallway was a single spotlight. The Dragon dropped Shattered Blade onto the floor. White chains quickly crawled out from the light and wrapped around each of Shattered Blades hooves and his torso. The Dragon looked down at Shattered Blade and joked, "Don't go anywhere." With that, the Dragon started back toward the top floors of the castle. Shattered Blade struggled to break free from the chains, but found no leeway.
The Dragon walked out of the castle and smelled the hot air of the desert. A smile formed on his face before his wings extended and with one large leap. He was in the air, heading towards Canterlot.
"Chaotic?" Rarity asked.
Celestia nodded and began to explain, "He was once one of the eleven great gods."
"Eleven? I thought there was only ten," Twilight questioned before she listed them off, "Aqua, Terra, Cyclone, Inferno, Chrono, Metallic, Tempest, Eclipse, Luminous, and Void."
"Yes, he is the eleventh god. The God of Chaos," Celestia continued.
"Some god," Discord snorted before he added, "I'm the only true being of Chaos."
"His brand of Chaos was once like yours. Playful and joke-like, but something changed in him. He became corrupted and his magic became twisted. His brand of Chaos became dark and destructive. The other gods could not interfere since they took an oath to not interfere with each other," Celestia explained.
"How did you stop him," Applejack asked.
Before Celestia could answer a large shadow was cast in the stained glass window as a voice called out, "Celestia! Come out to Play-e-ay."
Celestia's heart skipped a beat before she ordered, "To the shelter underneath the castle, Chaotic can't get his claws on the Elements!" the group turned and was about to leave when they saw a circle began to carve into the marble of the throne room. Glowing Amethyst symbols began to edge into the marble floor on the outside of the circle as more lines began to stretch and expanded inside the circle until the Amethyst lines created the shape of a Dragon's skull atop the Chaos Star.
The circle glowed and bones spat out of it. They floated in the air before they connected before forming a Pony skeleton. The air was still as the Pony skeleton stood in front of the group. An Amethyst glow appeared in the eye sockets of the skull. Flames erupted from the bones and engulfed them in flames. They began to roar louder and became more intense as the skeleton disappeared into the flames. As fast as the flames appeared, they disappeared to reveal a white Pegasus with Dragon-like wings standing atop the red circle. He opened his eyes and stared at the group with slanted Amethyst eyes. He smiled a toothy smile filled with dagger-like teeth. Flames shot from the back of his head and flank to create his mane and tail.
"My oh my, how you've grown Tia," the white Pegasus laughed.
"You do not have the right to call me by that name," Celestia growled. The Pegasus let out a low chuckle before he began to slowly walk towards the group. They began to walk backward, all except Discord who had his arms folded in front of him.
"So you're this God of Chaos?" Discord asked. The Pegasus stopped and looked at Discord who snapped his Griffin claw. A large pink cloud appeared above the Pegasus and then rained down chocolate rain onto him. It seemed there was a magical barrier around the Pegasus because the chocolate rain seemed to fizzle away as it got three inches away from his body.
"So, you're the thing that replaced me?" the Pegasus asked before he added, "I see the Gods still love their tricksters." Discord let out a definite snort as he glared down at the Pegasus. The two stood there in a staring contest before a toothy grin formed on the Pegasus's face. His wings suddenly phased into ash that swept in the air before dissipating. A small spark of flames formed on his forehead as a horn grew on his temple. The horn glowed and an Amethyst aura formed around Discord. He was lifted violently before the Pegasus hissed, "Be gone you filthy copy." Discord felt his body suddenly be jerked to the left. He screamed in shock as he slammed into one of the stained glass windows. It shattered and he flew through the window and down towards the pavement.
"Discord," Fluttershy and Celestia screamed in unison. Fluttershy suddenly froze and felt a pair of eyes staring at her. She shakily turned to see one of the stallion's Amethyst eyes staring at her. She recoiled and hid behind her pink mane as he turned to face the rest of them. Celestia quickly stepped in between the stallion and the group as she hissed, "Stay away from them."
"Ho, ho, ho, so these are what the Elements have turned into?" the stallion laughed before he closed his eyes, bowed, and added, "Hello Elements of Harmony. I am the God of Chaos: Chaotic." Chaotic's eyes shot opened and his slanted pupils stared at the ponies. Celestia's horn glowed and a golden orb wrapped around each Pony behind her before they disappeared in a golden flash. Chaotic stood up and let out a loud, bellowing laugh, "Do you honestly think that will save them? I saw her, your new Alicorn. Does she even know what she's signing up for or did you forget to tell her?" his smile grew as he began to walk towards Celestia. His horn phased into ash and dissipated before flames erupted from his sides and his Dragon-like wings extended before folding back to his sides.
Celestia moved to the side and watched as Chaotic walked past her and began to ascend the small steps to the throne. He turned and stared down at Celestia before he sat down. He smiled another toothy grin towards Celestia who seemed to just glare at him. She didn't make a move or even try and stop him from planting his flank onto her throne. She had a plan and it required Chaotic to keep his attention on her.
"My sweet Tia," Chaotic said as he shook his head and added, "You can't pull the wool over my eyes." An Amethyst glow appeared behind the throne and a massive skeletal fist engulfed in flames shot up from behind the throne. There was a shriek of pain and Luna flew through the air before she corrected herself and landed next to Celestia. She hit the floor and crumbled to her knees as steam rose from her right wing. Chaotic's smile grew again as he laughed, "Oh my, is that little Lulu?" Luna seemed to find the strength to stand as she shot up to her hooves and glared at Chaotic.
"You do not have permission to call me by that name!" Luna yelled. The voice boomed on the marble walls around the throne room.
"I thought us Gods were on good terms with you two?" Chaotic mused.
"You are no God!" Celestia roared. Chaotic raised a hoof and placed it where his heart should have been and looked hurt.
"Oh, that hurt," Chaotic said before his hurt expression turned to a sly smile and then turned to an aggravated expression as he stated, "I am a God you worthless walking glue stick." He stood back on all four hooves and his body started to turn to flames.
"Be ready Luna!" Celestia said as her horn glowed and in a golden flash, her halberd appeared in her magic and floated around her body. A golden glow appeared on Celestia's body and when it dimmed, she wore her golden battle armor. Luna nodded and her horn glowed as well. In a dark blue flash, five crescent moon-shaped cutlasses appeared and floated around Luna's body. A dark blue aura appeared on Luna's body when it dissipated. She wore her dark blue battle armor. The two sisters steadied themselves before charging towards Chaotic.
The Golden light illuminated the large shelter underneath the castle. Each orb disappeared and dropped each Pony unceremoniously on the metal floor. When Twilight hit the floor, she let out a groan as she slowly stood back up.
"Ok, that's the second time we've been suddenly teleported," Rainbow ranted.
"At least we didn't puke this time," Rarity said as she stood up.
"Why did Celestia send us here? If we use the Elements, we could take out Chaotic," Fluttershy said.
"Maybe they won't work," Pinkie said.
"That's preposterous, the Elements always work," Rarity said matter-a-factly.
"No, Pinkie's right," Twilight said as she examined the steel door in front of her. Her horn glowed, but when the magic hit the doorknob, it faltered and disappeared. She let out a frustrated sigh and attempted to open the door again as she explained, "The Elements are used against creatures of great evil. However, the Gods are neither good nor evil. They are a neutral entity."
"Then explain that to Chaotic," Rainbow said as she sat on her haunches. Twilight's magic wrapped around the knob, but suddenly faltered again. She did this over and over and over again for thirty more minutes.
"Celestia Damn it!" Twilight cursed aloud as her magic faltered for the fiftieth time and she slammed her right front hoof into the door.
"I think you should give it a break Twi," Applejack said as she walked over to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. Twilight didn't say a word or even look at AJ before she fell to the floor and began to sob. AJ quickly knelt and ask, "Twi, TWI!? Are you alright?"
"Spike," Twilight sobbed before she continued, "Spike and my brother and Cadence."
"What about them?" Rarity asked as she and the rest of her friends now walked over to Twilight.
"This shelter, this bunker is only used when Equestria is in utter shambles," Twilight sobbed again as she continued to explain, "I read about it in one of Celestia's journals. It was built if Equestria cannot be saved." Twilight looked up at AJ with tears streaming down her face as she added, "Celestia sent us here because she knows Equestria will fall. She saved us, but left everyone else outside to die." Applejack stared down at her before her eyes began to widen. In a split-second Applejack's back hooves bucked at the steel door. She winced and once again bucked at the door. The thought of Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Big Mac in harm's way made the pain nullify as she continued to buck at the door.
The door shook, but not from Applejack. She looked up in time to see Rainbow slam her body full speed into the door. Rarity's horn glowed as she tried to turn the knob, but like Twilight. Her magic dissipated when it touched it. Pinkie bounced around the shelter before she bounced and delivered a dropkick to the door. The steel whined but didn't falter. Fluttershy suddenly slammed her fragile body into the steel door, let out a whine, and backed away before charging at the steel door again.
The thought of Tank, Scootaloo, and her parents still outside pushed Rainbow to slam her body against the door again. Rarity gave up with magic and began to charge with Fluttershy. Sweetie Belle, her parents, and opal clouded her mind as she slammed against the steel door with Fluttershy. Angel bunny, the rest of the animals, and her parents made her cry as she charged the door again. Pinkie bounced around the shelter like a cannon as Gummy, the cakes, and their two babies, and the thought of a world without sweets made her bounce even faster before she collided with the door. However, no matter how much they pounded and charged at the door. The magical metal would repair itself and continued to keep them from escaping.
The shelter suddenly shook violently and caused the group to look up at the ceiling. They turned their attention back to the steel door and charged once again. Praying that this time the door will break open.
A tower of flames exploded from inside the castle and broke through the ceiling and into the sky. Ponies that saw the tower panicked and began racing to their homes or shelters. Floating around the flames were two orbs: a dark blue orb and a glowing golden orb. The orbs floated around the tower before they floated away as the flames began to take the shape of a large 20-foot Dragon. The fire dissipated and the Dragon: Chaotic let out a massive roar to announce its presence. Chaotic had pearl white scales that were woven tightly together with what looked sickle-shaped gold plates between each scale. Icicle-like black spines went from the back of Chaotic's head to its arrow-shaped tail. Amethyst eyes with black slanted pupils stared at the two sisters.
Celestia's halberd floated close to her body as Luna's five crescent moon-shaped cutlasses circled her body. Chaotic let out a roar of laughter as he said, "Oh I've seen that look before." Chaotic's smile grew as he added, "It was the same glare your mother gave me." Celestia's rage overflowed as she let out a war cry and flew towards Chaotic. Luna followed suit as her five cutlasses suddenly shot towards Chaotic. The blades collided with his scales and bounced off with a clang. Luna's magic grabbed her blades and pulled them back towards her.
Celestia's halberd came down on his scales, but the blade collided and ricocheted off. Celestia flew backward as one of Chaotic's claws swiped at her. The two sisters continued to dive-bomb at Chaotic and slashed at his scales, only to have sparks fly from the impact and their weapons ricochet off the scales. The two sisters continued their attack as their weapons did little to scratch the surface of his armor. Chaotic let out a bellowing laugh as he swiped at Celestia. She weaved and flew around his large claw and swung her weapon. It clanged against his wrist and sparks flew from the impact.
"We can't penetrate his armor," Luna called to her sister.
"Then we use our magic!" Celestia called back. Her halberd disappeared in a flash of gold before her horn glowed and shot a beam of magical energy. The magical beam hit the scales and scorched the spot of impact. Luna's swords disappeared and she began to fire off rapid magical energy at Chaotic. Chaotic's laughter turned to roars of pain and anger as he began to swipe at the two sisters as they weaved and serpentined around Chaotic's large swings.
"It's working!" Luna yelled. However, her excitement turned to dread as Chaotic's roars of pain, turned to laughter. The scorch marks on his scales seemed to rise and swirl in the air like ash.
"You two should know by now," Chaotic said before he spun like a twister and his whole body changed to flames that turned into a twister. Celestia and Luna felt their bodies be sucked towards the twister. They screamed in shock as they tried to get away from the vacuum, but found that fruitless as the vacuum of the twister intensified and the two sisters whirled towards the cyclone. Chaotic's voice laughed as he added, "it's no use!" The two sisters were sucked into the flame twister as it suddenly changed into a large orb. It sparkled for a moment and then exploded sending fire through the sky. From the blanket of flames in the sky, fireballs rain down and slammed into the ground creating smoldering craters. From the craters came skeletons engulfed in flames. Ponies scream in shock and fear as the skeletons start charging towards anything living.
The blanket of flames suddenly receded and shrunk back down to the orb before it rocketed towards the ground. It slammed into the ground and suddenly disappeared. For several seconds there was a stillness in the air before a popping noise and a massive explosion was resulting in a tower of flames erupting into the sky. Any Ponies close to the explosion were incinerated and left as a smoldering pile of ash. The tower disappeared and Chaotic stood with a smile on his face as Celestia and Luna lay on the ground, panting as pain surged through their bodies. Chaotic's smile grew as red circles with amethyst symbols on the outer radius appeared underneath them. The two sisters began to sink into the circles.
"Luna," Celestia wheezed as she reached out her right front hoof towards her sister. Luna lay unconscious as her body was fully absorbed in the circle. Celestia's eyes filled with tears as she looked up at the smiling Chaotic before darkness took her. Once the two were fully absorbed into the circles, Chaotic took to the sky.
"Bring me the Elements of Harmony!" Chaotic bellowed as he added, "Kill all who stand in your way!" His smile grew as he swung his body and flew away while saying, "Now to obtain the final piece to complete my plan."
The steel door whined and bent as the metal began to repair itself. A large dent popped and the door once again became smooth and clean. The six mare's lay on the ground wheezing as their bodies filled with searing pain. Twilight began to stand, but the pain in her right shoulder shot from it all the way to the tip of her hoof. She bit her lower lip to keep from screaming as she fell back to the floor. Applejack's back legs quivered as the pain shot up to her flank and she winced.
"Twilight, look!" Rarity cried. Twilight turned to her and saw her hoof pointing towards Twilight's flank. She looked and her eyes widened. On the right side of her Cutie Mark was Celestia's sun Cutie Mark and on the left was Luna's crescent moon.
"Oh no," Twilight panicked.
"What does it mean?" Applejack asked.
"It's a failsafe. After the attack by Tirek, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and I performed a ritual. Should three of the four be put in danger, their magic would be transferred to the safe one," Twilight said as she lowered her head.
"But, what about Cadence? Why would their magic transfer to you?" Fluttershy asked.
"Because," Twilight choked before she continued, "Cadence is in danger and I'm the only one who is considered safe."
"Does that mean?" Rainbow began before Twilight nodded and tears began to swell up in her eyes again.
"Shining Armor is also in danger," Twilight admitted.
The steel door whined and cracked which made the group of mares jump. The door continued to wine and crack before a loud click came from it. The silence was deafening but was broken by the steel door creaking open. A figure stood outside the doorframe before it walked into the light.
"It's about damn time," Discord said as he walked in and examined the shelter and added, "Didn't even know this place was under here."
"Discord!" the six mares yelled in unison before Fluttershy found the strength to get to her hooves and lunged for the draconequus. He grunted as she collided with him and hugged him.
"How did you find us?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, we thought you were a goner after that Chaotic guy chucked you out the window," Rainbow said.
"Well so did I," Discord admitted before he explained, "After I was thrown out the window. I tried to teleport, but his Aura somehow kept me from teleporting. Like it could control my own brand of Chaos magic, but luckily he didn't see where he chucked me. I landed in some bushes that cushion my fall. However, they were a bit thorny." Discord bent over and pulled a large thorn from his backside.
"We need to get going!" Rainbow interrupted before she added, "We have to help everypony else."
"Are you sure, it's utter Chaos outside," Discord said.
"I thought you were ok with Chaos?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, but this type of Chaos is dark and corrupted," Discord admitted before he added, "Celestia was right, this creature's Chaos is something out of a nightmare."
"Celestia!" Twilight shouted before she asked, "Discord Celestia, and Luna."
"I know," Discord interrupted grimly before he added, "I felt their magical presences disappear a little while ago."
"You don't think?!" Fluttershy asked.
"No, Celestia and Luna are just captured," Discord said before he looked down the long hallway before he turned back to the rest of them and added, "But I won't let my friends get captured." He quickly started down the hallway and stopped when he heard groans and cries of pain behind him. He looked back to see the six limping and crawling towards him as pain riddled their bodies and made them unable to run. He rolled his eyes and snapped his Griffins claw. In a flash, the six mares stood on all four hooves. Their bodies felt no pain as their bruises, scrapes, and cuts all disappeared. He motioned for them to follow and they began to run towards the entrance to the underground bunker.
They ascended the stairs towards the secret door that lead to the bunker. As Discord placed his lion's paw on a small square plate Twilight's eyes suddenly glowed and she lifted into the air several inches above the ground. Then, her eyes dimmed and she was softly placed back on the ground. She shook her head and placed a hoof on the side of her head.
"What was that?" Pinkie asked.
"Oh no," Rarity said as she placed her hoof over her mouth in shock. Twilight looked at her before she looked at where she was staring. Her blood ran cold as she saw the newest addition to her Cutie Mark. Along with Celestia's sun on the right side of her Cutie Mark and Luna's crescent moon on her left. In the middle of her Cutie Mark was a crystal heart. She began to hyperventilate as tears began to swell in her eyes. She heard muffled voices around her, but all she could focus on was the new Cutie Mark she acquired. She felt her body be lifted and shook before she felt a sharp pain across her right cheek. She slowly turned and looked at Discord.
"Damn it Twilight snap out of it!" Discord yelled and smacked her again before he roared, "Do you honestly think Luna, Celestia, or even Cadence would want you to sit there and cry? They gave you their power, now use it!" Twilight slowly looked into Discord's eyes and then looked down at the ground in sorrow.
"I'm sorry," Twilight muttered. Discord sighed and gently set her down on the ground and turned to once again place his Paw on the small square on the wall. He pushed it in and the wall shook before moving up into the ceiling.
"It's alright, but you need to understand if Chaotic gets his claws on you, it's all over," Discord explained.
"I know," Twilight sighed before she stood up straight and added, "I'll take out that bastard and save everypony Chaotic has captured."
"That's the spirit," Discord praised before he stopped and sighed, "Before we head out. I have to warn you: what you're about to see may shock you to your very core." The six stopped before they took a deep breath and followed Discord through the threshold to the outside world. The outside world was not just filled with Chaos, but utter carnage.
The world was filled with screams of pain and panic. Skeletal creatures attacked everything that moved and the group ran into three Pony skeletons. The flames engulfing the skeletons crackled as they turned to stare at the group. the middle Skeleton had charred flesh in its mouth as the Amethyst glow in its eye sockets stared at the seven. It let the flesh drop to the ground lifted a skeletal hoof and pointed towards Discord and the six mares before letting out a shrill, bone-rattling screech. The other two Pony skeletons lifted their heads to the sky and let out the same shrill, bone-rattling screech.
"Quick, this way!" Rainbow said as she pointed towards the train station as the world filled with shrill, bone-rattling screeches. As they ran she asked, "Discord, can't you teleport us?"
"I could, but we don't have the time to wait for you all to empty your stomachs all over the ground," Discord yelled. He suddenly slid to a stop as a massive group of skeletal creatures engulfed in flames block their way. The six stopped as well and turned to run in the opposite direction, but were cut off by more creatures cutting them off.
"Do you think now you can teleport us?!" Rainbow yelled. Discord nodded and was about to snap his fingers when a chain wrapped around his Griffin claw by the wrist. He yelped in pain as the flames engulfing the chain burned at his skin.
"Oh, don't go," Chaotic's voice begged. A red circle with glowing Amethyst symbols edged its way into the ground quickly before bones spat out of it. The bones connected creating an 18-foot long skeletal boa constrictor. An Amethyst glow came from the eye sockets of the boa's skull before the skeleton erupted into flames. When the flames ceased, Discord and the six mares stood staring at the large pearl white boa constrictor. Its large Amethyst slanted eyes looked to each pony as its large icicle-like spines rattled with anticipation. His ruby red forked tongue flicked from his mouth as he hissed, "Wouldn't want you to miss out on the fun."
Discord quickly glanced to his left to see a wolf skeleton engulfed in flames had the chain that was wrapped around his wrist in its mouth. It growled at him as it pulled the chain tighter. Rainbow seemed to sneak closer to Discord and whispered, "What now?" Discord looked from Rainbow to the rest of the mares.
"We can't fight him alone," Discord whispered as he added, "For us to succeed, we need help and for that, we need Twilight's Alicorn magic, but." Discord then looked towards Fluttershy who looked back and simply nodded.
"We trust you," Applejack said. Discord nodded and knew what had to be done.
"What are you planning?" Chaotic mused with a flick of his tongue. Discord let out a sigh and prepared himself for what was coming next. Rainbow Dash in one swift motion brought her right front hoof down on the chain. the bones making up the chain splintered and shattered as it phased into ash. Discord's lion's paw quickly snapped and he was gone in a flash. There was another flash and he was next to Twilight. He quickly scooped her under his Griffin's claw and in a third, final flash, the two were gone. Chaotic hissed loudly in anger and his Icicle-like spines rattled much louder before he took in a sharp breath and let it out slowly. The rattling started to slowly dissipate and in its place was Chaotic's low, disturbing chuckle.
"That's fine. They can't hide forever and besides," Chaotic said matter-a-factly before a smile grew on his face and he mused, "I love the thrill of the hunt."
"I need to go back!" Twilight screamed. After they had teleported away from her friends, Chaotic, and his skeletal army she had vomited like before and attempted to teleport back. However, Discord placed her inside a large pink bubble. Now every time she teleported, she ended up back inside the bubble. She grunted and screamed again, "I have to go back! I can't leave them like that!"
After Discord had placed her inside the bubble, he had let it float with him as he walked through the snowy tundra. Her ranting and raving were starting to get on his nerves and he finally snapped. He turned to her and roared, "How do you think I Feel!" Twilight jumped at his outburst as he continued, "I had to leave Fluttershy, my only friend with that demon! You're the only one with enough Alicorn magic to get who we need to help fight Chaotic." He was breathing through gritted teeth after he finished. Twilight just stared at him in shock for several minutes before she could respond.
"I-I'm sorry," Twilight admitted. Discord didn't respond. He simply snapped his fingers and let her out of the pink bubble. He turned on his heels and stormed off. Twilight watched him for several seconds before she quickly ran towards him to catch up. For a long time, the two traveled through the snowy tundra in silence. It seemed Discord was looking for something and Twilight finally broke the silence by asking, "Who are we getting to help us?"
"WHAT!" Twilight shouted and quickly trotted backward before saying, "Why are we getting him?"
"We need powerful allies to help us fight Chaotic. Since Luna, Cadence, and Celestia are captured. We have no choice but to work with him and the others," Discord explained before he added, "If the Gods won't help us, we'll get their Epitaphs."
"Epitaphs?" Twilight asked.
"Warriors of the Gods," Discord admitted before he continued, "Since the Gods can't interfere with the world or each other. They give a small portion of their power to beings they see worthy of it. I am the Epitaph of the former Chaotic. The one before he was corrupted."
"But you acted as though you'd never heard of him when Celestia brought him up," Twilight said.
"This Chaotic I refuse to acknowledge. When I first met him, he was a fun-loving God who said he might be the God of Chaos, but he actually felt like the God of pranks. That's why my Chaos magic might seem playful," Discord said as they continued.
"So what happened to make him change?" Twilight asked.
"I'm not sure," Discord admitted as he shook his head and added, "I felt his magic change and then he broke the oath and attacked our plain. Queen Aurora asked the Gods for help, but because of the oath, they could not interfere. However, they sent their Epitaphs to aid her."
"Which side did you fight on?" Twilight asked.
"I was torn between Aurora and my God. Should I help my friend who had treated me like I was one of her dear Ponies or my God who gave me these powers and who trusted me with it? However, that's when I heard it," Discord said.
"Heard what?" Twilight asked
"Chaotic's voice," Discord said before he added, "the old Chaotic. His voice told me to stop this corrupted version of himself. He allowed me to keep his power and I aided Aurora to banish Chaotic from this plain or the Gods plain. We then hid the ritual to call for him. You see every God has a ritual you need to perform to call to them. We didn't want anyone calling to him, but it looks like someone did."
"So Sombra is one of these Epitaphs of the Gods?" Twilight then asked.
"Yeah, he's the Epitaph of Eclipse. He felt her power and wanted more and she obliged until her power corrupted him, but I believe we can help bring him back to his normal self," Discord said before he admitted, "I hope."
The two continued through the snowy tundra until they found a large ice block sitting on the surface of the snow. Discord wiped away the snow to reveal Sombra's curved red horn. He turned to Twilight and explained, "Since you have all three of the Alicorns magic, you also have their knowledge and memories. You can see the resurrection spell and use it to bring him back."
Twilight nodded and closed her eyes. Images began to swirl in her mind. The images of books, papers, and parchments flashed in her mind until a single book appeared. The latch clicked and the book opened until it stopped on a single page. She saw the words as they glowed in her mind. Her eyes shot open and glowed as did her horn. A thick lavender aura seeped out of her horn and into the large block of ice. The lavender magic quickly changed to pitch black just before it swirled inside the curved horn.
The ice block began to violently shake before a crack rippled up from the bottom all the way to the top. The ice block then split in two before each side fell in opposite directions to the snowy ground. The curved horn hovered in the air before black smog seeped from the ground before it exploded from the ground in a vortex. When the vortex disappeared, Sombra hovered in the air several inches off the ground before he was lightly placed on the snowy ground.
He slowly opened his eyes and then blinked several times before he shook his head, place a hoof to the side of his head, and asked, "What happened? Where am I?"
Twilight's eyes dimmed and she stared at Sombra before she slowly backtracked and asked, "Will he?"
"No," Discord said as he shook his head and added, "Whatever you and your friends did the last time completely cleansed him of Eclipse's corruption."
"Discord?" Sombra asked before he looked around at the snowy tundra and added, "Where am I?"
"Outside the Crystal Empire," Discord admitted before he asked, "Do you remember anything?"
"I remember making the pact with Eclipse and then I remember simply floating in darkness," Sombra said.
"So you don't" Discord said before he sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"You were corrupted," Twilight admitted before she explained, "According to Discord: the first time Eclipse corrupted you. Celestia and Luna had to use the Elements to defeat you. That was a thousand years ago and then five years ago you came back and attempted to destroy the Crystal Heart, but" Twilight stopped before she added, "my friends and I restored it and defeated you a second time."
Sombra nodded and bowed to Twilight and said, "I'm grateful for you and your friends. I'm grateful that you helped cleanse me of her corruption, but why have you resurrected me?"
"Chaotic has been resurrected," Discord said flatly.
"So you're getting the God's Epitaph to once again fight your God?" Sombra deduced.
"He is not my God," Discord growled.
"I did not mean to disrespect. I only meant the Chaotic before he became corrupted," Sombra said.
"How did he become corrupted anyway," Twilight asked.
"I'm not sure and I'm sure Eclipse will not share unless we present a gift to her," Sombra said before he thought and then added, "Maybe Void might know."
"I was thinking the same thing," Discord said before he admitted, "Void and Chaotic were always close like brothers."
"So where is Void's Epitaph?" Twilight asked.
"You didn't tell her?" Sombra asked Discord who shook his head.
"I knew if I told her she'd not go along with this," Discord said before he turned to Twilight and said, "You're going to need to find another spell."
"Who are we getting? What spell will I need?" Twilight asked.
"You'll find out soon, but you'll need a spell to open a door to Tartarus," Discord explained.
"Tartarus? Why would we need a door to," Twilight began before the dots connected and she realized who they were going after. She began to back away and repeat, "No, no, no, no." she shook her head and continued, "We can't release him! He nearly destroyed all of Equestria."
"Don't worry," Discord said before he added, "I've got this. Trust me."
"You helped him!" Twilight retorted.
"Yeah, but I felt bad about it and he took my magic too," Discord said before he sighed and added, "I'm not making the same mistake twice. I've got a plan to keep him from trying to take over the world. So trust me." Twilight glared at him for several seconds before she let out a sigh and nodded.
She closed her eyes and more images appeared in her mind. More books, papers, and parchments swirled in her mind before a parchment unfolded in her mind and the words glowed. Her eyes shot open and glowed before her magic surged. A stream of lavender magic mixed with gold and dark blue magic shot out of her horn and slammed into the ground a few feet away. The ground shook before a large 40-foot tall door rose from the ground in front of the three. Twilight's eyes dimmed and she stumbled before she looked up towards the door.
"Sweet Celestia," Twilight said in shock as she saw the door. The large doors had depictions of Ponies, Griffins, Dragons, and other types of creatures being wrapped in chains with meat hooks digging into their flesh and dragging them down while the top of the door had the depiction of a city in the clouds as rays of light beamed down towards those being dragged down. The frame around the door was made of different creatures' skulls seemingly letting out a soundless scream.
"A little excessive don't you think," Discord said as he walked up next to Twilight.
"Indeed," Sombra said as he walked up on the other side of Twilight and added, "Hate for this to be the last thing you see before you get dragged into Tartarus."
The two doors slowly began to part before they started to open. The hinges began to scream and the sound of tortured souls echoed as it began to open. Twilight's ears bent back as their screams came to the crescendo before finally stopping as the door fully opened. Twilight stared at the door and into Tartarus as she swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and with Discord to her right and Sombra to her left. Walked into Tartarus to find Tirek.
The doors slowly began to close and the sound of tortured souls screaming echoed throughout Tartarus before the doors fully closed. Twilight watched in horror at the door before she turned towards Discord and Sombra and asked, "So how will we find Tirek?"
"We need a little help with that," Sombra said. On queue, Cerberus came from somewhere high up and slammed into the ground. The three heads growled at the three before setting eyes on Sombra. Cerberus suddenly sat down and panted happily as he barked at Sombra. Sombra trotted up to Cerberus and patted the three-headed dog under the right head's chin. The dog flopped on his back and Sombra began to pet Cerberus on his belly while saying, "Who's a good boy, who's a good boy." Cerberus's right back leg thumped on the brimstone walkway as his tail wagged rapidly. Sombra stepped back from Cerberus who looked at him with pleading eyes to continue. Sombra turned to the other two and saw Twilight's jaw opened in shock and Discord holding his lion's paw to his mouth stifling his laughter. Sombra cocked his head and asked, "What?"
"I'd never picture you act like, like this," Twilight said still in shock.
"Well, when Void took over the responsibility of Tartarus. He asked the other God's for a guard dog. Eclipse obliged and offered Cerberus. I've known him since he was a pup," Sombra explained. Twilight watched as Sombra went back to petting Cerberus. She pictured the evil king she saw back in the Crystal Empire and couldn't comprehend how normal Sombra now acted.
"Alright boy, we need you to take us to where Tirek is being held," Sombra said. Cerberus sat up and cocked all three heads at him and whined. Sombra petted the left head behind the right ear and added, "Don't worry; I know what I'm doing." Cerberus looked down at Sombra before crouching down. Sombra climbed on Cerberus's back before ushering Discord and Twilight to climb on as well.
Twilight walked over to Cerberus and looked up at the three-headed dog. He seemed to give Twilight a friendly smile. It seemed there was no hostility towards Twilight who flew up and landed behind Sombra. Discord walked over and floated up. When he set foot on the back of Cerberus the dog began to growl. Discord sighed and rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, alright. I'll just sit on Twilight for this ride." Discord snapped his fingers and he disappeared in a flash. There was another flash and he appeared as small as a doll on Twilight's back.
"Well this isn't awkward at all," Twilight said a little annoyed.
"Alright boy, let's get going," Sombra said as he patted Cerberus. Cerberus stood up and suddenly bolted towards the inner workings of Tartarus. Twilight screamed and wrapped her front hooves around Sombra to keep from falling off. Discord laughed as he gripped Twilight's mane as he whipped a cowboy hat around. Cerberus charged through a river of lava-like it was nothing. Cerberus suddenly jumped and landed on another brimstone walkway. He then crouched down and let the three down. Twilight was still clutching to Sombra violently shaking. It wasn't just the travel that scared her, but the cages hanging from the ceiling they had passed with beings reaching out towards them moaning, crying, and screaming for Twilight to let them out.
"Where here Twilight, you can let go," Sombra laughed.
"Yeah," Twilight stuttered as she let go and shakily stepped off of Cerberus's back and onto the brimstone.
"Yee-haw that was amazing!" Discord said as he appeared next to Twilight with a cowboy hat and doing his best Applejack impression. After Twilight was able to stop shaking the three began to ascend the brimstone stairs. The stairs seemed to ascend all the way up towards the ceiling. After 20 minutes the three reached the top, out of breath. Twilight caught her breath and looked across the platform. There, standing in the middle was Tirek. Chains protrude from the floor and shackled around Tirek's wrists and hooves. One chain was protruding from under his body and had shackled around his horse's abdomen. Another chain was coming from the floor behind him and had shackled around his neck.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Tirek said as he moved his arms. The chains rattled as he did this. He then snarled, "What do you want?"
"You know exactly why we're here," Sombra said.
"Yes, Chaotic has returned and you're gathering the other Epitaphs to fight him," Tirek said before he added, "but why should I help you?"
"He'll throw the world into utter Chaos," Twilight said before she continued, "You're the Epitaph of Void. You have to help!"
"I don't have to do anything," Tirek said matter-a-factly before a smile formed on his face and he added, "I'm here in Tartarus so his Chaos should be able to reach me. I'm safe, even if I'm here in utter hell, and because of this: you have nothing you can offer me to help you."
"Your freedom," Discord said flatly with his arms folded in front of him. Twilight and Sombra looked at him in shock before Discord continued, "You help us and I will help you gain your freedom." Tirek looked at Discord with an eyebrow arched before he started laughing.
"How can you offer something you know you cannot do?" Tirek laughed before he continued, "Your Chaos magic can't release these chains or get me out of this hell. You have nothing." Discord rolled his eyes and extended his Griffin claw. A sphere of swirling magic appeared in it.
"I'll give you enough magic to break the chains yourself. This magic will allow you to help us outside of Tartarus without anyone knowing. Once you've helped us, I'll help you," Discord explained.
"Discord!" Twilight yelled in both shock and anger. She had trusted him and now he was once again helping Tirek. She wanted to obliterate him then and now, but felt a hoof on her shoulder. She saw Sombra shake his head and mouthed trust him. Twilight stared at him for several minutes before she nodded.
Tirek stared at the sphere and slowly reached out towards it. Before he could grab it, Discord quickly retracted back before shaking his lion's finger and saying, "Now, now. Unless you agree to my terms, I will not give you this." Tirek snarled but soon a smile formed on his face.
"You have no choice, you said it yourself: you need my help and without me. You can't beat Chaotic," Tirek said.
"True, but wasn't Void the one that said you can be replaced?" Discord retorted. Tirek snarled and glared at Discord who still had his smug smile on his face. Discord then threw the sphere from his Griffin claw to his lion's paw waiting for Tirek's answer.
"Fine," Tirek said through gritted teeth. Discord smiled as the sphere landed in his Griffin's hand. A bat appeared in his lion's paw just before Discord flipped the sphere into the air and watched it fall. As the sphere fell towards the ground, Discord swung the bat. With a loud crack, the bat hit the sphere and shot it towards Tirek. Tirek lifted his hands to protect his face and when he didn't feel the sphere he moved his arms away to see the sphere floating in front of him. The sphere lowered and seeped into Tirek's chest.
Tirek felt the surge of magic and he began to grow. The chains whined as they tried to contain him. Suddenly the chains snapped releasing Tirek from their grasp. Tirek had grown to about ten feet tall. Tirek looked at his hands before a sly smile formed on his face and he quickly grabbed Discord by the throat. He lifted Discord and laughed, "You stupid Pony-loving abomination. Now that you've given me the means to fight, I'll simply take your magic and the other Epitaph's magic and kill Chaotic, and then I'll rule this pathetic world."
Discord didn't seem amused or even scared. He seemed annoyed and impatient. Discord snapped his Griffin's claw and a surge of electricity shot through Tirek's body. He screamed and let Discord go. Discord floated back down to the ground and brushed his fur. Discord sighed and explained, "I knew you couldn't be trusted so I infused my own magic into the sphere. This way I will send a surge of electricity through your body if you disobey me. If you venture too far away from me the sphere will detonate and boom. We'll have a downpour of Tirek." The electricity had ceased and Tirek lay on the ground breathing heavily before he finally stood back to his hooves. Discord's sly smile grew as he asked, "Do we have a deal?" Tirek snarled before he nodded.
"Good," Discord said as he turned and walked towards Twilight and Sombra. He suddenly stopped, turned, and added, "Oh and one more thing"
"What?" Tirek said with a bit of venom in his voice.
"We'll need you to get in touch with Void," Discord said. Tirek narrowed his eyes and Discord quickly said, "We just need to ask for information nothing more." Tirek continued to glare at him before he nodded.
He placed his hands close together in front of him as a small orb of white and black appeared between them. Tirek took a deep breath and began to chant, "I call an audience with the God of Oblivion who surveys from the empty blackness between all plains. For I wish to be taken to the nothingness where all life begins and all life ends. For we are born of the nothingness and die in the nothingness." Tirek slammed his hands together and squashed the swirling sphere before a blinding light erupted from between his hands and engulfed the four.
Twilight covered her eyes with her right hoof as the light intensified before suddenly disappearing. Twilight removed her hoof and looked around. All around her was thick inky darkness. She felt something above her and looked up. Her mouth dropped at what she saw. Glowing, swirling black smog spun around in the air with glowing yellow light with it. The swirling smog began to take shape as it lowered towards them. The smog soon resembled a 400-foot long snake. Its body resembled the night sky with glittering stars. Many of the stars had started to resemble constellations. Its large white forked tongue flickered from its mouth as twelve ruby red slanted eyes shot open and all looked down at Tirek.
"My dear Epitaph, how long has it been since you've contacted me?" the large snake asked. His voice did not reverberate from his mouth but seemed to echo in everyone's mind.
"God of Oblivion," Tirek said.
"Void," the snake said before adding, "You should know I don't like anyone being that formal."
"Void, I've contacted you because my companions wish to ask you a question," Tirek said as he motioned to Twilight, Discord, and Sombra. Six eyes moved to Discord while the other six moved to look at Sombra.
"I see," Void said before he lowered towards Discord and added, "Epitaph of Chaotic. You wish to know why your God became corrupted."
"Yes," Discord said as he knelt and bowed to Void.
"Rise Epitaph of Chaotic," Void said as he continued, "Like I told my Epitaph: I do not like those around me to act so formally." Void then let out a sigh and admitted, "I do not know why my friend became corrupted, but one of the other Gods might know. Find the other Epitaphs and ask the other Gods."
"Where are the other Epitaphs?" Twilight asked. All twelve eyes suddenly shot towards her. Void slowly moved towards Twilight as his white forked tongue flickered at her.
"I smell the two princesses on you," Void said before he lightly blew a small puff of black glittering smog. The smog swirled and took the shape of a map with eight glowing dots. Void moved away and explained, "This map will help you find the other Epitaphs." Void then blew another puff of glittering smog that engulfed all four of them. Twilight coughed and felt her body grow dizzy and feel faint.
Twilight's eyes shot open and looked around. She was back in Tartarus with Discord, Sombra, and Tirek. She looked down and was shocked to see a map lying on the ground at her hooves. Her horn glowed and the map levitated up to her eyes.
"Looks like we're going on a wild goose chase," Tirek said as he walked up to Twilight. She jumped away from him and he simply sighed, "Calm yourself; because of Discord I can't hurt you."
"So, who do we go after first?" Sombra asked.
"I think I know who to get," Discord said as he pointed to a bright brown dot. Tirek let out an annoyed sigh and simply nodded. Discord smiled and said, "Alright let's go." He was about to snap his Griffin's claw.
"No!" Twilight yelled stopping Discord. She let out a relieved sigh and added, "I'll teleport us there. I don't have enough food in my stomach for another vomit fest." Discord let out a sigh and simply nodded. Twilight's horn glowed and a lavender aura wrapped around Discord, Sombra, Tirek, and Twilight before they disappeared in a flash of lavender. Cerberus looked up at the long staircase and whined not seeing the red circle being etched in the brimstone behind him.
There was a flash of lavender and the four stood in a clearing of the Everfree forest. Twilight looked around and her horn glowed and the lavender aura lifted the map to her face and said, "So, if the dot is bright brown then would I be wrong to assume this is the Epitaph of the God of Earth: Terra."
"Yes, this is where we'll find Butterfly," Sombra answered. Twilight nodded as Discord walked away from the group and looked around.
"Butterfly! Butterfly it's me Discord. I brought Sombra with me and another friend," Discord yelled in hopes for Butterfly to show herself. When there was no response a sly smile formed on his face as he added, "I brought Tirek with us."
"Rexy!" a voice cried. There was a whoosh that passed by Twilight and towards Tirek. Twilight looked up towards Tirek and saw a breezy snuggling against Tirek's right cheek. She let out a satisfied sigh and added, "How I've missed you Rexy."
"Hello Butterfly," Tirek said annoyed. His glare never left Discord as Discord tried his best to stifle his laughter. Tirek's glare intensified as he mouthed, I'll kill you. Discord let out a snort and almost busted out laughing, but was able to stiffen it.
"I would have never guessed the Epitaph of Terra was," Twilight said before Sombra suddenly teleported causing her to jump. He appeared behind Tirek a good hoof ball field away. Discord suddenly disappeared and reappeared next to Sombra laughing.
"Oh, you did it now," Discord laughed. Twilight stopped and looked at Discord quizzically. She then looked back at Butterfly and saw her loving demeanor suddenly changed to anger and rage. Tirek seemed to even be scared of her as he slowly backed away.
"Was what?! Tiny?" Butterfly hissed. She was floating in the air but slowly started to float down towards the ground. She landed daintily on the ground, but her anger seemed to grow as she roared, "You were going to call me Tiny weren't you!" the earth rumbled and pillars made of rock, dirt, and gravel erupted around Twilight as Twilight looked around scared before looking back at Butterfly.
"I was going to say a Breezy," Twilight cried before she yelled at the top of her lungs, "I was going to say a BREEZY!" the pillars suddenly retracted back into the ground and Butterfly's angry demeanor changed back to her loving, happy demeanor.
"Oh, sorry about that," Butterfly said bubbly as she floated up to Twilight's face and added, "You should say what you mean otherwise you might be misunderstood." She smiled and quickly floated back to Tirek and began to snuggle against his cheek again. Sombra teleported next to Twilight who was staring at Butterfly with her mouth hung open.
"Yeah, probably should have warned you: she hates the words T-I-N-Y and S-M-A-L-L," Sombra explained as he spelled out the words so Butterfly wouldn't react.
"Just because you spell it out doesn't mean I don't know what you're saying," Butterfly said as one eye glared at Sombra who slowly backed away chuckling nervously. Butterfly giggled before Discord appeared next to Twilight. Butterfly stopped snuggling up against Tirek's right cheek and looked at Discord and asked, "Getting all the Epitaphs I see. Going to fight Chaotic?"
"Yes and we were hoping you'd join us," Discord said.
"If Rexy is going, I'm going," Butterfly said before she started once again snuggling up against Tirek's right cheek.
"Hurray," Tirek said in annoyance.
"She knows he's," Twilight whispered to Sombra.
"Nope," Sombra interrupted before adding, "Like everyone says: Love is blind."
"Also dumb and deaf," Discord whispered to the two before he looked back to Butterfly and asked, "Could you get us in touch with Terra? We have a question to ask him." Butterfly nodded and floated from Tirek's right shoulder towards the ground. She then stopped midway as her eyes started to glow and a bright brown sphere appeared underneath her.
"I call to the God of the earth. To the being that molded and shaped this world. To the being that tore open the earth and let the tallest mountains reach to the sky while plowing the soil to let the lakes and rivers settle," Butterfly chanted. She suddenly floated into the sphere and a bright light engulfed them all.
Twilight removed her hoof and saw they were in a large rock quarry. She looked around in awed at how large the rock walls were. Butterfly floated off of Tirek's right shoulder and called, "Terra, Terra where are you?" the others began to search for Terra in the quarry.
"What happened to the darkness we saw when we met Void?" Twilight asked as she continued to look for Terra.
"Every God has their own Plain they live in," Tirek explained before he added, "Void likes the nothingness. He says it feels homey or some crap." Twilight nodded and suddenly stopped. She narrowed her eyes and began to walk toward one of the walls of the quarry. As she drew closer the shape of what looked like a closed eyelid started to form on the wall. She stopped and cocked her head at the shape. The eyelid suddenly opened and a pus yellow eyeball stared at her with a large slanted emerald pupil. Twilight screamed and rapidly backed away from the eyeball.
The Rock wall shook violently as a large pincer rocketed out the wall before three more pincers came out. All four pierced into the ground and began to pull out the creature. Twilight watched as the large 30-foot creature resembled a scorpion. Its armor was a plum color with three rock spikes shooting from its back. It had two arms on either side, each with a large pincher that snapped. Five long legs on either side bent and let joints pop as it bobbed and knelt. Its three long tails curled and each had a large stinger at the tip. Its large eye looked at Twilight before one of its pinchers lifted and Butterfly landed on it. The eye then turned to look at Butterfly. It narrowed and then opened again.
"My Sweet Butterfly, how have you been?" the large Scorpion asked. Like Void, his voice did not reverberate from the scorpion but inside all their minds.
"I'm sorry Terra, did we wake you?" Butterfly said.
"No," Terra said lazily as he admitted, "I was simply resting my eye."
"That's sleeping," Butterfly said before she sighed and floated from his large pincer back to Tirek's right shoulder. She turned back to Terra and added, "I've brought some guests who wish to ask you a question."
The large pus yellow eye looked at each being and said, "Epitaphs of Void, Eclipse, and Chaotic. Please step forward." Discord, Sombra, and Tirek all stepped forward and bowed.
"Oh great God of the earth, we wish to ask how and why Chaotic became corrupted," Sombra asked.
"How should I know," Terra lazily said before he added, "Why not ask Void. He and Chaotic were like brothers."
"We did, but my God does not know why he became corrupted," Tirek stated.
"Interesting," Terra said before his eye landed on Twilight. A pincer suddenly jabbed in the air and pointed towards Twilight and Terra added, "You step forward." Twilight jumped and quickly stepped forward before bowing.
"Y-yes oh, Great God of the earth," Twilight stuttered.
"The three alicorns have graced you with their powers. Did something happen?" Terra said.
"Yes," Twilight admitted sadly before she added, "Chaotic captured Luna, Celestia, and Cadence. I wish to rescue them."
"But you don't know if you can stop Chaotic," Terra interrupted. Twilight looked up and simply nodded. Even though he had no facial features, Twilight felt his expression soften as he stated, "Do not underestimate yourself little Pony. I sense great power within you. Do not forget that." Twilight stared into his eye and a smile formed on her face.
"Thank you," Twilight said. Terra seemed to nod and suddenly all four of his pincers pierced into the ground and the ground shattered. The five felt their bodies fall into darkness.
Twilight's eyes shot open and she found they stood in the clearing in the middle of the Everfree Forest. She looked around and found Sombra, Tirek, Discord, and Butterfly were slowly opening their eyes.
"So, where to now?" Butterfly asked as she stood on Tirek's right shoulder.
"Oh, Oh I know!" Discord said with a smile as he snapped his fingers and the map appeared in front of him. He examined the map and his smile grew before he said, "Time for some fun." and snapped his fingers again.
"Wait!" Twilight said but it was too late. The five suddenly disappeared from the clearing in the middle of the Everfree.
Void was curled up and let out a sigh. His long snake body was curled over itself and he was about to fall asleep when all twelve eyes shot open. He lifted his head and stared into the inky darkness of nothing. His forked tongue flickered before he called out, "Who's there. Show yourself." Void waited and saw a shadow slithered and grow in the nothingness. Void's head lifted higher and bared his glowing white teeth waiting for whoever or whatever was coming. A low hiss came from his throat but soon subsided when he saw who was coming from the nothingness.
"Calm yourself, my friend," Terra said as he walked into the light. All ten of his spear-like legs tapped on the ground. Void let out a sigh and lowered his head so it rested on his body.
"What brings you to my plain my friend," Void asked.
"I've come to talk, nothing more," Terra said as his large eye lazily and slowly blinked.
"Very well," Void said. The two sat in silence for what felt like an eternity before Terra broke the silence.
"You and Chaotic were as close as brothers. So how can you not know what happened to him?" Terra said before he added, "We God's were stunned as to why he had been corrupted. We thought Eclipse had done it since she corrupted her own Epitaph, but you know the real reason. Don't you?" all twelve eyes looked at Terra before they closed and Void let out a sad sigh.
"I do and I feel terrible for lying to them, but I did not want to alarm them while they gather the other Epitaphs. So I lied, but I plan on letting them know when they gather all the Epitaphs. However, I'm not sure how they'll take it. Especially Chaotic's Epitaph," Void explained. Terra looked at Void and his large eye slowly blinked before he turned around.
"I hope you know what you're doing my friend," Terra said before he walked off into the nothingness. The outline of his body suddenly disappeared.
"I've been asking myself that ever since they left," Void sighed before all twelve eyes closed.
Two Jackals glared at one another as they sat across from each other. Their hands clamped together in a struggle as the two continued their arm-wrestling contest, not giving the other an inch. Their muscles bulged under their black fur as both bared their teeth. A flash caused one of the jackals to look away from the other and loosen his grip. The other took the chance and slammed the back of his hand on the table. The loser looked back at the winner and growled before he lunged at him and the two began to fight as their fists found purchase against their bodies.
Twilight vomited to the sandy ground, but nothing but yellow stomach bile came out. She dry heaved for several more seconds before she looked up at Discord and said, "This is why I wanted to teleport us."
"Oh you'll get used to it," Discord said as he looked around the village. Its huts were domed-shaped and made with a combination of clay, sand, and large cube-like rocks. Discord heard a commotion and turned to see two Jackals fighting and rolling around in the sand. Their anthropomorphic forms mangled with one another as they threw punches at each other.
"Where are we?" Twilight asked as she wiped a little bit of bile from the corner of her mouth.
"I believe this is Crypt Seven of Nine," Discord said before he added, "It's a small Jackal village several miles away from Appaloosa."
"Don't Jackals live in the underground city of Crypttopia?" Sombra asked as he stopped and looked at a produce stand. The Jackal manning it was asleep. His arms folded on his stomach while his head rested on his chest.
"Yes, but because of an increase in population. Some of the Jackals moved from the underground city and took up shop in small villages above ground," Twilight explained before she added, "What I give to see the underground city."
"The city is very breathtaking," Sombra said as he walked up to her. The produce stand owner snorted awake and began yelling at three Jackal pups who had taken some of his product.
"You've seen it?" Twilight marveled.
"Yeah," Sombra said as he nodded and continued, "Went to visit a friend there. That was before." Sombra stopped and sighed, "Before I became corrupted."
Discord talked with an elderly Jackal who nodded and pointed down a long dirt pathway towards a much larger dome hut. Discord thanked him and trotted back towards the group and said, "We need to go there." Discord pointed to the large dome hut.
"Why?" Butterfly asked as she stood on Tirek's right shoulder.
"That's where we'll find the next member of our rag-tag party," Discord said before he joked, "Also need to save our progress." The four looked at him funny as he laughed and lead them towards the large hut.
"They don't seem too worried about us huh?" Butterfly said. Every Jackal, like the two who were wrestling, had short black fur, pointed long ears, and long spindly tails. They wore loose, colorful clothing with an assortment of colorful jewelry embedded in the stitching. Butterfly watched every Jackal they passed and even though there was a 10-foot tall Centaur, a Breezy, two Ponies, and a draconequus. They simply waved or nodded hello as they passed. The Jackal pups ignored them as they continued their games around the village.
"Jackals accept any form of creature," Sombra said before he added, "They trade with so many creatures they probably don't care what we look like."
They reached the large hut and stopped. Discord turned and said, "You might want to stay out here Tirek. You might not fit in here." Tirek snorted and nodded as Twilight, Sombra, and Discord walked inside while Butterfly stayed with Tirek. The dome interior resembled a large bar with a stage in the back. Its red curtain was down, but many of the Jackals were seated at tables seemingly waiting for something to happen. Discord looked around and pointed to a table close by and said, "There, sit there and I'll get us something to drink."
"Discord, what are you planning?" Sombra asked.
"Trust me, you'll like this," Discord said with a smile. Twilight and Sombra looked at each other in worry but Discord waved his hand to have them take their seats. The two looked at him suspiciously before they walked towards the table. They sat down and stared at the stage. Even though they were far in the back, they still had a clear view. After several minutes Discord floated back and placed two pints of apple cider in front of them as he placed his own in front of him and pushed his chair towards the table.
"Really Discord? We need to find the other Epitaphs and you want to drink?" Twilight said annoyed.
"Oh Please," Discord said with a wave of his lion's paw and added, "It's non-alcoholic, plus this is Appaloosa apple cider. They trade with Appaloosa and I wouldn't miss this for the world." Discord sipped his cider with a smile.
"Don't let Applejack hear you say that. She'll argue her apple cider is the best," Twilight joked and took a sip of her own cider. Even though a break in this time of peril was Ludacris, Twilight enjoyed it. Sombra seemed to agree with her as he took a long sip of his apple cider.
The lights dimmed and the Jackals inside the bar howled, whistled, and hooted as the instruments in the small trench in front of the stage began to play smooth music. A light clicked on behind the curtain to outline a curvy figure behind it. Howls, whistles, and hooting grew as the figure's right fingers began to snap with a low beat of a drum. When the figure stopped, the light clicked off and then the music exploded to life. Discord's neck extended over to Twilight and he whispered, "Keep an eye on Sombra. Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face."
The curtain split open and Sombra's mouth dropped. Dancing to the quick pace music was a Jackal. Her hips swayed and jived as she seduced the crowd watching her. A thin, pink lace mask covered her face as her anthropomorphic body continued to seductively dance around the stage. Her pink lace short skirt was decorated with gems, jewels, and other assortments of jewelry. The large golden bracelets clanged together as she continued to dance faster and faster as the music started to speed up. Her golden breastplate glimmered in the lights that started to change from red to pink, to blue, and back to red.
She started to dance towards the edge of the stage and as the music slowed and became softer. She knelt and ran her index finger under another jackal's chin. He moved closer towards the stage and he suddenly fell off his chair. He quickly and embarrassingly got up and moved his chair back before he sat back down. The dancing Jackal got back to her feet as two more female Jackals walked out and placed two large vases on right and left sides of the stage.
Twilight watched in utter shock at the dance routine and then turned to Sombra and saw his expression never changed. He was staring at the dancing Jackal in utter shock just like her, but he seemed to be more shocked than she was. She then turned to Discord who seemed to be trying to hide his laughter but failing miserably. She turned back to see the Jackal's dance change as her arms weaved around each other and the vases began to rattle. Slowly, snakes made of water slithered out of the vases dancing with the music. The snakes slithered out the vases and began to dance around the Jackal. The snakes then fell to the ground before they rose into Water copies of the Jackal. The three danced in unison as the music started to get faster and faster.
As the music hit its crescendo, the water copies once again fell to the ground before a large flock of water birds rose around the Jackal and then flew around her body as they began to rise higher in the air. The Jackal suddenly extended her arms on either side of her body as the music stopped and the water birds exploded. The water rained down on the Jackal as it made her fur glisten in the lights. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tilted her head up, closed her eyes, and felt the cold rain on her body. The room was silent, but when the curtain closed. The room erupted into cheers, howling, and whistling.
Discord used one of his Griffin claws to slowly push Sombras mouth closed while laughing, "It's not polite to stare with your mouth open." Discord moved his claw and Sombra's mouth once again dropped open. Discord rolled his eyes and got up as he added, "Come on, let's go meet with the star." This caused Sombra to break from his gaze. He shook his head and stared at Discord. Sombra said nothing as he slowly sat up and followed Discord and Twilight towards the back of the bar.
Guarding the door to the back were two large, seven-foot-tall built Jackals. Each one stood on either side of the door with their arms folded in front of them. The door was an oak wood door painted lime green and had a star etched into it with the words Lady Sheik etched into the star. They glared at the three as Discord asked, "May we speak with sheik?" the Jackal on the left snorted and shook his head without speaking. Discord sighed and snapped his fingers. The Jackals suddenly changed to Jackal pups. They stared up at Discord and quivered before they ran past Discord towards the front of the bar in panic.
"Did you really have to demean them like that?" Twilight asked.
"Don't worry, they'll be fine. They get to experience childhood again," Discord joked before he knocked on the door and called, "Mrs. Sheik, may I come in?" there was no response behind the door for several minutes. Twilight thought that she might not be in her dressing room, but then she spoke.
"Come in," Sheik called out.
"Stay here," Discord told Sombra before he added, "We might need you later." He winked and Sombra stared at him before he nodded. Discord grabbed the knob and pushed it open.
The dressing room was large enough to house a large mirror, couch, two recliners, and three large iron clothes racks filled with different outfits. The first clothes rack looked to be formal outfits. The second seemed to have normal street clothes. The final rack housed her dancing outfits. Sheik was letting gold coins drop into a brown sack as she looked up and her crystal blue eyes fell on Discord. She smiled and set the remainder gold coins on the table that housed the large mirror. She spun in her chair and faced Discord before she crossed her legs and said, "Discord, what a wonderful surprise. Did you get to see my show?"
"I did Sheik and I've got to say you've really honed your dancing skills rather well," Discord praised.
"Oh please," Sheik said with a wave of her hand as she uncrossed her legs and recrossed them so her right leg was on her left. She let out a laugh and added, "with a body like mine, I could simply stand on stage and the masses would throw the coins at me."
"I still see you have your massive ego," Discord said. Sheik let out a laugh before she looked at Discord and her playful expression turned into a serious one.
"I'm going to assume you didn't stop by to have a friendly chat?" Sheik stated.
"I think you know why I'm here," Discord said as he folded his arms in front of him.
"Oh I do, I do," Sheik said amusingly before she added, "Some fool resurrected Chaotic and now we Epitaphs are the only ones capable of stopping him."
"Perceptive as always," Discord said before he asked, "Can we count on you to help us?"
"No," Sheik said as she turned her chair back to the table and continued, "I've already lost my dear Sammy and I've got no reason to try and stop him. Dancing is giving me enough gold coins to live comfortably."
"Even if Chaotic throws the world into utter chaos?" Discord asked.
"I'll survive," Sheik said before she went back to counting the gold coins as she dropped them in the brown sack. Discord sighed and walked over to the door. He poked his head out and ushered Sombra over.
"Ok, now we need your help," Discord said before he added, "Convince her." Sombra looked at him and let out a sigh. He swallowed hard and walked into the dressing room. He looked around the room before he took a deep breath.
"Sheik," Sombra said quietly and a little timid. Sheik let out a frustrated sigh as she placed the remaining gold coins onto the table and spun her chair towards Sombra.
"I thought I told," Sheik said before she stopped herself when she saw Sombra standing there. He let a nervous smile form on his face as her eyes widened and she screamed, "Sammy!" she lunged off her chair and hugged Sombra.
Twilight watched the event before she turned to Discord for an explanation. Discord looked down at her and explained, "Sombra and Sheik are good friends. They see each other as family. That's why he looked so shocked when he saw her dancing on stage. I knew Sheik might not want to help us so I figured she'd help Sombra since she sees him as a brother."
"It's nice to see you too," Sombra wheezed as Sheik's hug started to constrict around him and make it hard for him to breathe.
"I thought I lost you forever," Sheik sobbed with joy as she let him go and stood back to get a good look at him. She smiled and added, "You haven't changed a bit." She wiped a few tears from her eyes.
"Yeah, that's what happens when your body gets obliterated twice," Sombra admitted.
"Twice!" Sheik said in shock.
"Yeah, wasn't fully cleansed until the second time," Sombra said before he turned to Twilight. Twilight looked around and let out a nervous laugh. Sheik looked up towards Twilight and her eyes narrowed as she walked over to her and folded her arms in front of her as she seemly glared down at her.
"What are you doing with Sammy?" Sheik said sternly. Twilight looked up at her, but Sombra interrupted.
"She and her friends were the ones who cleansed me and then brought me back to help fight Chaotic," Sombra explained. Sheik looked back at Sombra before looking back at Twilight. Her expression softened as she knelt and extended her hand.
"Thank you for bringing back my dear brother Sammy," Sheik said. Twilight extended her right front hoof and Sheik shook it before she stood back up and said, "Alright, let's get going."
"Just like that?" Discord said before he added, "What changed your mind." even though he knew the answer.
"Really Discord?" Sheik said before she added, "If Sammy's going, I'm going to make sure I don't lose him again." Discord nodded before Sheik then turned to Sombra and asked, "Can you wait outside? I have to get changed and let my manager know he'll need to cancel the rest of my tour." Sombra nodded when Twilight and Discord left the dressing room. Sheik closed the door behind them.
As they walked down the hallway towards the exit. Twilight looked at Sombra and said, "Sheik seemed to know you even before you became corrupted, but how can that be. that would make her over a thousand years old, but she looks so young."
"We've known each other long before I was even leader of the Crystal Empire and as for her age. She has Aqua to thank for that," Sombra said before he explained, "When Sheik became her Epitaph. Sheik was able to sense special types of water around the world and because of this. she found the fabled Fountain of Youth. This is why she looks so young. Aqua wasn't too happy and made Sheik promise never to tell its location to anyone."
"She actually found the Fountain? I have to ask her about it," Twilight said before she quickly added, "For research purposes of course."
"Sure," discord teased which rewarded him with a glare from Twilight. When they left the bar and walked outside. they found Butterfly floating in the air letting out awes. Discord stopped and nearly busted out laughing.
Tirek stood in front of the bar, arms folded, right eye twitching, and a pissed look on his face. Around him and atop him were Jackal pups that played as they ran between his legs and climbed on his back while some swung on his curved horns.
"Why is he being so, passive?" Twilight asked.
"I wager because of Discord. Remember the sphere of magic. I wonder if Tirek fears Discord would activate it," Sombra said.
"Alright, alright," Butterfly said as she added, "Time to leave Rexy alone." Butterfly shooed the pups away and they let out whines of protest but did as they were told.
"But Lady Sheik you can't leave in the middle of your tour!" they heard a voice cry. The five turned to see Sheik walking out of the bar. She had changed to tan jeans that hid the tips of her brown boots and a bright green T-shirt that ended at her belly button. She was strapping the Velcro to her ruby red glove that ended at her knuckles to her right hand. Following her was a waddling, pudgy short Jackal in a slick black suit with sweat rolling down his face. He started to cry, "Your fans will be outraged, think of the coin we'll lose."
"Correction: the coin you'll lose," Sheik said as she turned on her heels and jabbed a finger at the pudgy Jackal and added, "I've been paid well enough that I don't have to worry about finishing my tour. I'm sure you have enough coin to keep you satisfied until I return."
"But what about my kids!" the pudgy Jackal cried.
"Oh please, you and I both know you don't have any kids," Sheik said before she added, "Unless you're referring to the street urchins you pay for every night. If that's the case then you are a sicker mutt than I thought." She turned and stormed off. The pudgy Jackal stared at her and fell to his knees before he began to beg her to come back.
"Please Lady Sheik, please don't leave!" he cried.
"Alright, we all ready to go?" Sheik asked the group as she ignored the crying pudgy Jackal.
"Are you sure it's ok for you to leave," Twilight asked as she stared from the crying pudgy Jackal to Sheik.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Sheik said before she added, "He'll pay some Jackal to help his sadness and when I come back. He'll act as though I was never gone." Twilight nodded and felt Discord gently poking at her head. She looked up and then rubbed the spot where he had poked.
"You'll thank me later," Discord whispered with a smile.
"Sheik!" Butterfly squealed.
"Butterfly!" Sheik squealed back as she cupped her hands and Butterfly landed on them.
"How are you," Butterfly said. Twilight suddenly heard Butterfly's voice echo in her mind: My god you look like a whore. Twilight gasped and looked at Discord who was shaking as he tried to keep from laughing.
"I'm doing well how about you?" Sheik asked. Twilight now heard Sheik's voice echo in her mind: you tiny damn insect. The two seemed happy to see each other, but a closer look showed that the two wore fake smiles and each had a bit of venom in their voice.
"The two hate each other," Discord whispered which caused Twilight to jump.
"Why?" Twilight whispered back as she watched Sheik and Butterfly talk. She could feel the hatred between the two and continued to hear their insults Towards one another in their minds.
"Butterfly has a crush on Tirek, but he has a crush on Sheik. The two know this and Sheik tries to provoke Butterfly because she loves watching her get steamed," Discord explained.
"What was your tour about?" Sombra asked, hoping to stop the inevitable fight before it started. Sheik turned to Sombra and let out a laugh.
"You didn't see my show?" Sheik asked. Sombra's face went red as he remembered her dancing. Sheik let out another laugh and added, "I entertain the masses with my dancing." She lightly bumped her hip against Sombra's body and he stammered back.
"Alright, now that we got another member, let's get going to gather the others," Discord said as he clapped his lion's paw and Griffin's claw together.
"What about getting in touch with Aqua?" Twilight asked.
"Why would you want to get in touch with Aqua?" Sheik asked.
"We wanted to ask her if she knew why Chaotic became corrupted," Sombra explained. Sheik nodded and extended her right arm. A crystal blue sphere appeared floating a few inches above her opened hand.
"I call to the God of Water whose life-giving blood flow through the rivers and streams. Whose sadness rains from the sky and whose anger would capsize and destroy any who venture out into her vast oceans," Sheik chanted before she closed her hand over the sphere. A bright glow came from in-between her fingers and as she opened them the light engulfed the six.
Twilight moved her hoof from her eyes and saw bubbles pass by her. Then she began to panic as her hooves began to kick and try to propel herself through the water, but no matter how hard she kicked, she didn't move. She held her breath but felt her lungs burn and cry for air. She fought to keep from gasping for air, but as she continued to kick she lost that battle and inhaled. She found that water didn't rush into her lungs, but air. She floated there several seconds letting the air fill her lungs before she heard laughing. She turned to see Sombra, Butterfly, Sheik, and Tirek staring at her while Discord was hunched over laughing. Sheik let out a chuckle and swam towards Twilight.
"Sorry, probably should have warned you," Sheik apologized. Her voice sounded clear even though they all were underwater. Twilight then realized what Tirek told her before: all Gods have their own plain they live in.
"It's ok," Twilight said as if accepting it. something triggered and she was able to freely swim through the water without the feeling of weights strapped to her back hooves. As she swam she saw something in the vast blue of the water. It swam far out so all she saw was a dark blue shape further out. Then the large shape shot towards the group and Twilight let out a scream. The others looked at Twilight and then at the shape. As it drew closer, they were able to make out what it was.
A large 80-foot serpent-like dragon with lime green scales slithered through the water towards them. Its eight webbed, stubby feet propelled it through the water as its large sail cut through the water like a hot knife through butter. It swam around the group before descending into the depths. Twilight watched as it disappeared in the dark blue of the depths before suddenly shooting back up and nearly slamming into Twilight. It slithered up and then twisted towards the group. Its Barracuda mouth opened and closed revealing large needle-like teeth. Three eyes sat atop its head as all three scanned the group and fell on Sheik.
"Sheik!" a female voice echoed in everyone's mind which caused Twilight to wince in pain. Sheik shook her head before she swam up to the large serpent-like dragon and let a smile form on my face.
"Aqua, how are you," Sheik asked as sweetly as she could.
"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!" Aqua's voice boomed in everyone's mind. This caused a sharp pain to shoot through Twilight's skull. When the pain subsided, Aqua continued, "You are my Epitaph. So act like it!"
"What do you mean?" Sheik asked.
"Your dancing," Aqua bellowed and then continued, "It's unladylike and completely provocative. Something my Epitaph shouldn't do!"
"Oh please, you're not my mother," Sheik argued.
"That is beside the point!" Aqua roared. The two glared at each other for what felt like an eternity.
"Um, God of the Water," Twilight timidly asked. All three eyes shot towards Twilight. Aqua lowered her head and looked at Twilight. The three eyes all blinked at separate intervals before Twilight asked, "We ask Sheik to get us in touch with you to ask you a question."
"Aw, a girl who actually has some manners," Aqua praised as one of the three eyes shot a glare at Sheik who stuck her tongue out at the serpent-like dragon. The one eye looked back at Twilight before Aqua asked, "What is your question young Pony mare?"
"We wish to know how and why Chaotic became corrupted," Twilight asked. Aqua pulled back and all three eyes looked from Twilight to Tirek. She moved towards him and all three eyes looked directly at him.
"I assume you asked your God the same question," Aqua asked. Tirek looked into the middle eye of Aqua before he nodded. She retracted back and then said, "How can Void not know what happened to his so-called brother?"
"Maybe Void wasn't that close to Chaotic," Sheik said flatly.
"I believe Void is lying to you all," Aqua said.
"Why would he lie?" Tirek asked.
"I'm not sure, although Void isn't known to lie. Maybe he truly doesn't know or maybe he's protecting some sort of knowledge. I truly don't know, but if you're gathering the other Epitaphs to fight Chaotic then ask their Gods. One of them might know," Aqua said. Her mouth suddenly opened wide and the six began to be sucked into her open maw. Sombra, Discord, Butterfly, Tirek, and Sheik all seemed to just accept being sucked into Aqua. However, Twilight started to swim away from her maw, but she found this a fruitless effort. Aqua's two forked tongues shot out of her mouth and wrapped around Twilight's body. They violently pulled her into Aqua's mouth just before her jaw slammed shut.
Twilight's eyes shot open and looked around. She was standing In the Jackal village with a small group of Jackal pups watching her like she was a play. She looked around and saw the others starting to open their eyes. Twilight walked over towards Discord who had just snapped his fingers and the map appeared in front of him. She walked over to him and asked, "So where to next?" she then added quickly, "I'll be teleporting us this time. I can't stand the taste of stomach bile."
"Fine, fine," Discord said as he pointed towards a glowing red dot. Twilight nodded and her horn glowed. Seconds later the six all disappeared in a lavender flash.
Several hours had passed since the six had left and the pudgy Jackal sat at the bar sipping apple cider from a large pint. He let out a sigh and thought about what he was going to do next. He felt someone sit next to him and he cocked his head towards the Jackal. He took another sip and said, "Never seen a Jackal like you before. Did you dye your fur that way?"
The Jackal sitting next to the pudgy Jackal had to pearl white fur with what looked like golden highlights in parts of it. The bartender gave the Pearl Jackal his pint and left to help someone else at the end of the bar. The Jackal turned to the pudgy Jackal and smiled as he let out a breath and the pudgy Jackal felt the room start to heat up.
"Why no my good friend, my fur is all-natural," the pearl Jackal stated as he stared at the pudgy Jackal with amethyst eyes that had slanted pupils.
There was a lavender flash and the six appeared in a lush green rainforest. Twilight looked around and then asked, "Why would the Epitaph of Inferno live here?" She had seen the burning red dot and assumed it was the Warrior of the God of Fire.
"Oh, you'll find out," Discord said as they began to walk through the large rain forest. As they began to walk through a thick part of the forest Discord swung his Machete and sliced several vines blocking their way. Discord let out a sigh and wiped away some sweat from his brow.
"I'm kind of surprised," Sombra spoke up as he followed behind Discord before he continued, "I thought Chaotic would try and stop us, but yet we haven't seen any of his hellish skeleton creatures." Suddenly, a large tower of flames shot out from the middle of the forest.
"You just had to say it didn't you," Butterfly scolded.
"That came from where Ahuizotl lives," Sheik yelled.
"What!" Twilight said in shock as she remembered Ahuizotl and how he tried to control the sun.
"Shit!" Discord cursed before he snapped his fingers and the thick trees and vines in front of them bent and folded to create a tunnel towards the exit. He turned towards the others and ordered, "Come on, Ahuizotl can't fight them alone!" the six suddenly darted into the tunnel and towards the large light at the end.
They reached the end of the tunnel and found themselves in a large clearing with a large temple built with golden bricks and reaching up towards the sky. The top of the temple had been blown off and had black smoke billowing out like a smokestack. In the clearing was Ahuizotl surrounded by Pony Skeletons. They stalked around him readying for another pounce, but before they could. Ahuizotl's tail whipped up and the hand at the tip snapped its fingers and flames erupted inside the palm. Ahuizotl then shot fireballs towards his attackers. The flames slammed into the Pony skeletons and turned them to ash. However, the ash didn't reform into the skeletal Pony. It simply sat there until the wind picked it up and swirled it into the air, but when one Skeletal Pony fell and turned to ash. A red circle appeared on the ground and spat out bones that connected to create a Griffin Skeleton. It was engulfed in flames and the skeleton attacked Ahuizotl.
"Sammy," Sheik yelled.
"Got it," Sombra said as the two sprang into action. The two ran towards the group of Skeleton Ponies and Griffins. Sheik extended her arms to either side of her. Thin strands of water from the river running parallel to her and Sombra rose wrapped around her wrist and formed into water whips. Sombra's shadow extended under him and he suddenly sunk into it as the shadow disappeared into the ground.
Sheik spun around and cracked one of her whips towards a Pony skeleton. The tip of the whip grew jagged barbs just before it pierced into the skeleton's skull. She then pulled the whip back as the Pony skeleton was reduced to ash. She then spun like a twisted as her whips spun with her and she collided with a group of Pony and Griffin skeletons. The barbs on the tips of her whips extended down several inches as she continued to spin and sliced through every skeleton before they were reduced to ash.
A large black mass appeared on the ground behind a group of skeletons just before Sombra slithered up from it. He smiled and his shadow suddenly turned into tendrils and attacked the group. The tendrils wrapped around the skeletons and began to constrict before The Pony and Griffin skeletons let out bone-rattling shrieks just before they exploded into ash.
"We can't let them have all the fun," Butterfly said to Tirek before she floated off his shoulder and added, "Throw me." Tirek nodded and used his magic to levitate Butterfly. He spun around and chucked Butterfly towards Ahuizotl, Sombra, and Sheik. She spun through the air and passed the group of skeletal monsters stalking closer to the three. Her wings extended as she stopped in front of Sombra and ordered, "Sombra, Crystal Dome. NOW!" Sombra nodded as his horn glowed as Crystals exploded out of the ground and coated the three in a dome. Just as the dome closed, the earth rattled as it split and splintered before it exploded and sent up sharpened rock spikes into the air. The rocks looped and rained down on the skeletons. They let out bone-rattling shrieks as the spikes pierced into their spines. The skeletons began to run around trying to keep from being hit by the rocks. Once the final rock spike hit the ground, the dome shattered as Ahuizotl, Sombra, Sheik, and Butterfly all looked at the ash that coated the ground.
"Are you alright Ahuizotl?" Sheik asked him as Tirek, Discord, and Twilight all walked over to them.
"I was hoping you'd leave some for us," Discord whined.
"You'll have your chance Discord; this was just a small group of his minions. When we fight him, you know he'll summon an entire army," Tirek explained.
"I'm fine," Ahuizotl growled to Sheik before he added, "I didn't need your help."
"Oh please, cut the tough guy act," Butterfly scoffed. Ahuizotl growled at her and stepped forward only to fall from the pain in his right arm.
"Ahuizotl!" Sombra said as he tried to help him up, but Ahuizotl swatted him away.
"I'm fine!" Ahuizotl yelled. He tried to stand but fell back down.
"Cool your jets Ahuizotl," Discord said before he snapped his fingers. A light flashed on Ahuizotl's arm. Ahuizotl stood up and felt no pain in his arm. Discord then sighed, "There, now can you cool your hot-headedness." Ahuizotl Growled at him.
"Calm down Ahuizotl," Sheik said before she added, "We need your help to fight Chaotic. We're gathering the others and need your help."
"I'm going to guess he's going to be difficult," Discord whispered to Twilight.
"If you're going to fight that bastard count me in," Ahuizotl said before his tail whipped and the hand at the tip pointed a finger towards the temple and added, "Look what his damn minions did to my home!"
"Huh, I stand corrected," Discord said.
"Good, then let's go get the others," Butterfly said.
"Maybe we should stop and rest," Sheik said as she pointed to the setting sun and continued, "It's growing dark and we don't want to exhaust ourselves."
"How is the sun going down without Celestia?" Sombra asked.
"Another failsafe," Twilight said before she explained, "Should she and Luna be captured: the sun and moon will act on their own as if Celestia and Luna were controlling them."
"If we're going to spend the night somewhere, we can spend it in what remains of my home," Ahuizotl said as he turned and led them into his destroyed temple.
The fire crackled as Ahuizotl threw another log into it just before he lay back down. Tirek slept next to a crumbled pillar with Butterfly sleeping on his shoulder. Sheik slept against one of the walls while Sombra and Twilight sat near the fire with Ahuizotl.
"So why did you bring this one," Ahuizotl asked Sombra as he nodded towards Twilight.
"She resurrected me and she also has the powers of the other Alicorns," Sombra explained.
"Great, so we have to babysit her," Ahuizotl sighed.
"I can hold my own just fine," Twilight argued.
"I'm sure you can, but I highly doubt you can fight against a God," Ahuizotl said.
"I was able to take down Tirek with my friends and he has the power of a God," Twilight retorted.
"Tirek was stripped of Void's power," Sombra said.
"What!" Twilight said in shock.
"Must be since Void always favored Ponies over any other species," Ahuizotl said.
"He can do that?" Twilight asked.
"Yes," Sombra said before he stared into the crackling flames and explained, "Even if we are the Warriors of the Gods. They can take that power away. They can then give that power to another. Void does favor Ponies and when he saw his Epitaph attacking Equestria, he must have stripped Tirek of his power. That's why he didn't attack the skeletons."
"But he has his magic. He could have used that," Twilight said.
"Yes, but his magic wouldn't banish those creatures," Ahuizotl said before he explained, "Destroying those creatures with normal magic won't banish them. Just incapacitate them until they can reform. Only the God's magic can banish them."
"But we need Voids power to fight Chaotic. If we don't have all the power of the other Gods how can we defeat him?" Twilight asked.
"That's true," Sombra said before he added, "I believe Void will give Tirek his power again when we get all the Epitaphs."
"Power," Ahuizotl scoffed before he added, "Don't most of the Gods call it their blessing?"
"Indeed. I know Eclipse calls her power a blessing and I assume Inferno deems the same thing?" Sombra said and Ahuizotl simply nodded.
"Speaking of Inferno," Twilight said before she added, "would it be alright to get in touch with Inferno? We wanted to ask why Chaotic became corrupted."
"Why not ask Tirek to get in touch with Void," Ahuizotl stated before he added, "Every God and Epitaph knows how close Void and Chaotic were."
"We did, but he doesn't know why Chaotic became corrupted," Sombra said.
"And you believe him?" Ahuizotl questioned as he narrowed his eyes.
"According to Aqua: Void is well known, to tell the truth," Twilight said before she continued, "What would he gain by lying to us?"
"Maybe he's the reason Chaotic became corrupted," Ahuizotl theorized.
"Preposterous! God's cannot corrupt one another or even impede each other," Sombra retorted.
"Why can't they?" Ahuizotl asked.
"The Oath! The Gods cannot interfere with each other or this plain," Sombra explained.
"The Oath?" Ahuizotl said flatly before he shook his head and continued, "The Oath holds no merit."
"How do you figure?" Twilight chimed in
"Think about it: the Oath is to protect this plain from the Gods and protect the Gods from each other. However, how can Chaotic still have Godly power after breaking the Oath? If it held any power, the Oath would have stripped him of the power, or the very least the other Gods would have stopped him. The Oath did nothing to stop Chaotic because the other Gods follow the Oath. They refused to stop him and we are the only means to actually stop his tyrant," Ahuizotl explained
"But by your own explanation: another God wouldn't corrupt Chaotic," Sombra argued.
"Yes, but since the Oath holds little to no merit may be another God saw this and corrupted him," Ahuizotl said before he pointed towards Sombra and added, "You of all beings should know how a God's power can corrupt."
"I do," Sombra said before he sighed, "Maybe you're right. Maybe Void corrupted Chaotic and is covering it up."
"It's only a theory," Ahuizotl stated before he added, "Void is the last God I would think to corrupt him since the two were like brothers. However, I wonder why he would cover it up if he didn't corrupt him." Ahuizotl let out a yawn and added, "We can talk about this tomorrow though. Inferno might know something, but I highly doubt it." Ahuizotl curled up and began to fall asleep. Sombra got up and walked over to Sheik and lay down next to her with a small toppled-over pillar between them. Twilight looked up at the blown-out ceiling and stared out into the starry sky before she curled up and fell asleep.
The sun glared over the treetops in the early morning. Sheik let the small orb of water drop onto the still smoking pile of wood. She then turned tail and walked out of the large hole in the side of the temple and called out, "Alright, fires out." Ahuizotl nodded before he turned to the others.
"Are you ready for this," Ahuizotl asked Twilight.
"I've seen three other Gods, I'm ready," Twilight said before she turned to Sombra and asked, "I do have one question."
"What is it?" Sombra said.
"Last night you said the Gods can give their power to another. Why would a God take their power and give it to another? Wouldn't that make two Epitaphs?"
"No," Sombra said before he explained, "Unlike the Gods, their Epitaphs do not share their immortality. When a God takes his powers and gives them to another it usually means their original Epitaph has passed on. We are not the first beings to be given the God's power and we won't be the last."
"But would you have lost the power of the God when you were obliterated?" Twilight asked. She then realized what she had said and added, "Sorry."
"No worries," Sombra said before he continued, "When I was cleansed a second time. Eclipse kept me inside her plain in hopes I could be resurrected. It seems out of all her Epitaphs, I'm her favorite."
"So are we going to get in contact with Inferno or not?" Tirek said as he walked up to them with Butterfly on his right shoulder.
"We're just waiting for you two," Sheik said before she looked at Ahuizotl and added, "You're up." Ahuizotl nodded and stood on his back legs. He placed his two front hands in front of him several inches away from each other. His tail moved forward and the hand at the tip hovered over them. A red sphere appeared between the three hands.
"I call to the God of flames. Whose burning rage can turn this whole world to ash and whose single spark can awaken even the most dormant of volcanoes? Allow us to feel the protection of your white-hot flames," Ahuizotl chanted. The burning red sphere began to quiver between his hands before it suddenly shrunk to a speck and then exploded. Engulfing the seven in brilliant white light and causing Twilight to cover her eyes with her front hoof.
After the experience with Aqua's plain Twilight knew that every God had their own unique plain and that some would confuse and shock her. However, knowing all this didn't stop the scream coming from her as she quickly trotted backward from the edge of the rock. The large rock she and the others stood upon floated in a large lake of lava. Twilight looked up at the large cavern walls surrounding them and as the fog above them began to dissipate. She saw they were standing inside a volcano.
"Whoa," Twilight marveled before she heard something behind her. She turned to see something slip under the lava. She slowly began to walk backward and asked, "What does Inferno look like?" she heard something else to her left and turned to see a large dorsal fin made of igneous rise from the lava and then sink back down.
"Welcome Epitaphs of the other Gods, my Epitaph, and one that reeks of Alicorn magic to my parlor," a voice boomed in all their minds. Twilight winced at the volume and then felt an unusual sensation: like she could feel the Voice's hot breath inside her skull. The lava suddenly began to rise before it exploded up into the air. Twilight let out a scream as globs of lava began to rain down towards her and the others. Twilight tried to use her magic to create a dome to protect them from the falling magma, but her horn wouldn't spark. She panicked and raised her front hooves to protect her face. She waited for the searing pain and feeling of lava melting her flesh, but she felt nothing. She moved her hooves and saw the lava was covering her arms, hooves, and back, but she didn't feel it burn or melt her skin. In fact, she didn't even feel the lava on her body. She let the lava fall to the large rock she stood on and watched as the lava sizzled on the rock.
"Do not fret Little Pony. Your physical body is still in your plain, protected by my magic should some idiot try and cause you harm while you're here. Your spiritual self can only visit my plain and therefore any hazard you might think will cause you harm. Will simply either phase through you or ignore you completely," the voice reassured Twilight. Twilight nodded and looked up. Her eyes widened and her ears bend back as her mouth dropped at the sight before her.
Hovering in the air was a large 100-foot bull shark made of lava. Parts of its body had chunks of igneous rock floating through the lava making up its body. Its Pectoral fin, Dorsal fin, and tail were made of igneous rock that had small holes that oozed out lava-like blood. Its mouth was partly open and Twilight saw large arrow-shaped teeth made of igneous. There were no eyes that Twilight could see on the shark's face.
"Oh, great Inferno, God of flames," Sheik said as she bowed. The other followed suit and Twilight quickly bowed as well before Sheik continued, "We've requested an audience with you to ask you a question."
"Ah yes, you want to know about Chaotic," Inferno assumed before he continued, "That's why you've come to see me isn't it?"
"Yes," Sheik said simply. Twilight looked up and watched as Inferno flipped back and dove back into the lava.
"I do not know why he became corrupted," Inferno said as part of his body broke the surface and swam around the rock they stood on. He swam for several seconds in silence before he added, "Why not ask Void?"
"We did, he does not know why " Tirek started.
"Oh please," Inferno interrupted before he sunk back down and then exploded out of lava and once again hovered in the air them and added, "Void knows why he became corrupted but chooses to keep it secret. That idiot would rather watch the world burn than help you."
"But what would he gain by keeping it a secret?" Sombra asked.
"The nothingness," Inferno said as he swam around them in the air and continued, "If Chaotic continues, think of all the souls that'll get trapped in the nothingness. Void must be lonely and want some company on his empty plain."
"Might? So do you mean you don't know why he would want creatures in the nothing?" Butterfly said.
"It is true I cannot pinpoint why Void is keeping this a secret, but he has his reasons and even our Gods do not ask why he keeps quiet. Maybe once you get all the other Epitaphs, he'll let you in on that secret, but you know you'll need to visit him again. So his Epitaph can use his gift," Inferno said.
"You seem to know something," Ahuizotl said. Inferno didn't respond as he dove back into the lava. Suddenly the rock shook violently as a whirlpool began to form in the middle of the lake of lava. The rock began to crack and crumble as the seven fell into the lava and were swept towards the whirlpool. Twilight tried to swim and get out of the lava, but it felt like the lava was like glue. She gasped one final time before she was sucked deeper into the lava.
Twilight gasped as her eyes shot open. She looked around as the others began to come too. After several seconds Twilight walked up to Discord and asked, "What do you Think Inferno meant?"
"I'm not sure," Discord said as he shrugged as he looked at the Map. He handed it to Sheik and added, "Alright, your turn to choose the next party member." Sheik nodded and examined the map. She then pointed to a bright green dot. Twilight nodded and her horn illuminated before the seven disappeared in a flash.
Void let out a sigh before his twelve eyes opened and he hissed, "Show yourself." Void watched as a large shadow began to form in the nothingness. Soon a creature walked out into the spotlight where Void now lay. The creature was something out of a nightmare: It had pitch-black skin that shimmered in the spotlight. It was 60-feet long from its hoof-ball-shaped head with a mouth filled with razor-sharp fangs and glowing blood red eyes to its arrow-tipped tail. the red spines on its back rattled as its two blood-red eyes stared at Void who relaxed and added, "Eclipse, to what do I owe this visit?"
"Void, how lovely it is to see you," Eclipse said as her feminine voice echoed around the nothingness. She stalked back and forth before she stopped and asked, "What are you planning?"
"Planning? Whatever do you," Void began.
"Cut the bullshit," Eclipse snapped as she stopped and stared at him. Black slanted pupils appeared in her blood-red eyes. She narrowed them and continued, "You've been keeping it a secret from all of us for some time now. However, did you think I wouldn't find out? I know why you refuse to tell the other Gods or their Epitaphs why he was corrupted."
Void rose up and now stared at her as he stated, "You cannot tell the others." His forked tongue flickered from his mouth.
"And why not," Eclipse asked as she examined her left claw with blood-red hooked nails. Her smile seemed to consume her whole face as she added, "What could you offer me in return for my silence?"
"How about your life," a voice answered. Void snapped to the left where the voice resonated from. Eclipse suddenly stood up and began to growl as white mist poured from her slightly opened maw. There was a laugh and then a 20-foot Dragon walked out of the nothing and stood in front of them. Its pearl white scales were woven tightly together with what looked like sickle-shaped gold plates between each scale. Icicle-like black spines went from the back of the Dragon's head to its arrow-shaped tail. Amethyst eyes with black slanted pupils looked from Void to Eclipse before Chaotic spoke, "My dearest friends how are you?"
There was a flash and the seven appeared in a small village high in the mountains. Twilight shivered as she asked through chattering teeth, "W-w-w-where are we?" Discord shivered as well but snapped his fingers and a flash appeared over his body. When the flash disappeared, Discord wore a large puffy orange coat. His face was covered in several scarves. He let out a satisfied sigh as he tried to put his arms down, but couldn't.
"I believe this is Hedonist a small Satyr village near Yakyakistan," Sheik said before she added, "We should find Gnel here."
"Sheik!" a voice yelled before a young Satyr ran up to them. In a blink, he was standing in front of them smiling wide. His legs were covered in gray goat's fur as he wore a sky blue cloth over his top half. His horns had just barely broken the surface of his head. His long black hair went down to the middle of his back. He suddenly rushed to each member and shook their arms before heading to the next. He was moving so fast it was like he was teleporting to each person. "Discord, Sombra, Butterfly, Tirek, Ahuizotl! How are you all?
"Doing good, how about you Gnel?" Sheik said as she patted him on his head.
"I'm doing well." Gnel said before he added, "I'm guessing you're here because of Chaotic?"
"Yes, I know this is asking a lot of you, but could you come with us to stop him?" Sombra asked.
"It's not a lot to ask. It's my duty," Gnel admitted.
"Wait, wait," Twilight interrupted before she continued, "We can't take him, he's still a child!"
"He is the one who chose the Gods blessing," Ahuizotl stated before he continued, "He knows the risks."
"But still!" Twilight argued.
"No worries. My family has always been given the blessing of Cyclone. It's like a right to the next generation. It means I've become an adult," Gnel said as he smacked his fist against his right chest. He then cocked his head and stared at Twilight before he asked, "Who are you?"
"This is Twilight Sparkle. She has the magical powers of the Alicorn princesses and will be helping us for the time being," Sombra introduced.
"Oh, ok," Gnel said before he shook her hoof rapidly before he looked at Sheik and asked, "So are we going to get Shuckle next?"
"No, he won't help us until we get all the Epitaphs," Butterfly said.
"Ok then, who's next?" Gnel asked excitedly.
"We had hoped you get us in touch with Cyclone," Sheik said.
"Yeah, I can do that. I love visiting her. She's really nice and kind," Gnel said with a smile. He held out his hand as a light green sphere appeared in the palm. He let it drop before he bounced it up from his knee and then his hoof while chanting, "I call to the God of the wind. Whose gale-force wind can topple the sturdiest of statues, whose breath can bring life to the lifeless, and whose Mistral can cool the most intense of flames." Ahuizotl rolled his eyes just before Gnel leaped up and kicked the sphere into the air. It hovered above them before it exploded into light.
The light dissipated and Twilight moved her hooves and expected something shocking and scary. However, she awed at where she was. The eight were standing in a large windy plain. The short grass swayed in the wind and Twilight let out a sigh as she felt the cool wind brush against her coat.
"Finally, a peaceful plain of a God," Twilight said with a satisfied sigh.
"I'm happy you like my plain," a female voice said in everyone's mind. Unlike the others, this voice was soothing and didn't cause Twilight's head to feel like it was going to split open. Fog began to seep from the ground and rise into the air before it slithered ten feet away from the group. As more and more fog began to seep from the ground and swirl in the air. It began to take shape and form into a 30-foot tall Sabertooth tiger. Its white fog body swirled and twitched as black smoke made up its stripes, claws, and long saber teeth. Two eyes on either side of its face glowed silver as it stared down at the group.
"Cyclone," Gnel said as he ran towards the tiger. The tiger's right paw turned over and let him hop onto its open palm before it lifted Gnel towards its face. Gnel smiled and asked, "How are you?"
"Gnel," Cyclone said before she added, "How much you've grown. I'm deeply sorry for your father's passing this summer."
"Thank you," Gnel said before he then hopped and began, "I brought some friends to see you." Cyclone placed him back down on the ground and he skipped and jumped towards the group before he motioned to them and added, "These are my friends."
"Epitaphs of the other Gods and Pony princess, I welcome you to my plain," Cyclone said before she bowed to the others.
"It is a great honor to meet you Cyclone," Sombra said before he began, "We've come to ask you how Chaotic became corrupted." Cyclone let out a sigh and fell to the ground. Her fog body simply sent a cool breeze around her. She placed her right arm over her left and placed her head atop of them.
"Unfortunately I do not know why he was corrupted," Cyclone admitted before she added, "I assume you've asked Void, correct?"
"Indeed, Void does not know either," Tirek stated.
"What do Inferno, Aqua, Terra, and Eclipse think?" Cyclone asked.
"They all think Void is hiding something," Sombra stated before he added, "We haven't asked Eclipse, but I'm sure she thinks the same."
"Eclipse might know, but I do understand why you haven't asked her," Cyclone said before she shook her head and added, "How some Gods can corrupt their Epitaphs is deplorable."
"Why can't all Gods be like you?" Gnel asked as he patted her large right paw.
"I sometimes wonder myself," Cyclone said with a laugh. She then looked down at Gnel and in a serious tone added, "Please be careful Gnel. I've watched countless members of your ancestors run into battle only for them to perish. Please, I beg you to be careful."
"No worries," Gnel said as he placed his fist on his right breast and added, "You can count on me to keep safe and deal with Chaotic. I'll return in one piece and after that, I'll visit for a nap."
"Your ancestor said the same thing before he passed to the spirit plain," Cyclone said before she stood up and she continued, "Please bring Chaotic back to his normal self. The other Gods will not admit it, but we worry that he might not be able to return to his normal self."
"We promise we'll stop Chaotic and bring him back to his old, playful self," Discord reassured her. Cyclone nodded as she let out a long breath.
"Now close your eyes and I'll return you all to your plain," Cyclone said. Twilight and the others nodded before they closed their eyes. Twilight remembered how all the other Gods brought them back in strange and scary ways and she nervously closed her eyes and waited for whatever Cyclone was going to do.
As she waited, she suddenly felt a gust of wind against her coat and the smell of freshly cut grass filled her nostrils. The gentle gust of wind turned cold and the feeling of snow on her hooves caused a shiver to go through her body. She slowly opened her eyes and saw they were back in Hedonist. The others slowly opened her eyes and Twilight let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Why can't the other Gods bring us back that gently," Twilight asked.
"Be thankful we haven't needed to talk with Eclipse. Do you think the others are bad? Think of your worst nightmare and then amplify it by a thousand. That's what you'll see before you're brought back," Sombra said. Twilight felt another shiver as she thought of her worst nightmare and how it could be amplified.
"So, where to next?" Gnel asked.
"Why don't you let your mother know where you're going first," Sheik said before she added, "Don't want her to worry." Gnel nodded and quickly ran off.
"He's really fast isn't he?" Twilight admitted.
"Yeah, he's like a ball of energy amplified with lightning," Butterfly laughed.
"Most Satyr children are full of energy, but he's a special case. It's like his energy is endless," Sheik said before she added, "Maybe we should go and meet his mother. Better to let her know he'll be in good hands." The others nodded and followed where Gnel had gone.
Eclipse slid across the nothingness as her claws sparked and carved into the floor. She let out a roar as her bottom jaw split in two. Her roar sounded like a work glove being pulled down a stringed instrument. Tendrils shot out of her body as the tips formed into snakeheads that let out silent screams as they raced towards Chaotic. A smile formed on Chaotic's face before his wings carried him through the air as he swayed and serpentine around the tendrils. He spun around and reared back before unleashing a stream of flames with sharpened bone spikes towards Eclipse. The tendrils detached from Eclipse's body before she lept to the side as the flames slammed into the invisible floor of the nothingness. She looked up and growled as Chaotic's smile grew. Her body convulsed and bat-like wings ripped from her back and with one mighty leap she was in the air soaring towards Chaotic.
Chaotic let out a laugh before he flew away from Eclipse who gave chase. Eclipse let out a snarl, "Where is the cockiness you showed earlier. Why are you running?!" Chaotic didn't respond as he continued to fly away from Eclipse. She narrowed her eyes and let out another angry roar as she tried to catch up to him. Chaotic led her up into the nothingness before he looped and flew down past her. Eclipse had to maneuver her large body to keep from colliding with him. She let out a growl before she descended towards Chaotic.
Chaotic's smile began to grow bigger as he flew towards the invisible floor. A red circle with glowing Amethyst symbols began to carve into the Invisible floor. More lines began to stretch and expanded inside the circle until the Amethyst lines created the shape of a Dragon's skull atop the Chaos Star. Chaotic maneuvered his body to keep Eclipse from seeing the glowing circle. From the circle, a Dragon's skull rose and looked up. Unlike the other skeletal creatures, this one didn't become engulfed in flames. Its mouth opened and flames began to form and swirl in its open maw. Chaotic watched the flames intensify as sharpened bone spikes began to form in the flames. Chaotic quickly flew to the left just before the Dragon's skull unleashed the flames with the sharpened bone spikes.
Eclipse couldn't react in time and the stream of flames slammed into Eclipse as the bone spikes pierced into her body. She let out a shriek of pain as she fell to the ground and slammed into the invisible floor. When she made contact with the floor, the whole plain seemed to shake. Eclipse lay on her back breathing heavily as she turned to Void who had been simply watching the battle and asked, "Why do you simply sit there? Do something!"
"He obeys the Oath," Chaotic answered as he hovered in the air Eclipse. His underbelly glowed coral orange as plumes of Amethyst-colored flames pranced around his maw before he continued, "But do not worry my friend. You will make an excellent addition to my army!" he reared back and unleashed the stream of Amethyst colored flames towards Eclipse.
Void who had been simply lying on top of himself let out a sigh before all twelve eyes shot open. He slithered towards Eclipse and faced the raging flames heading towards him and Eclipse. He opened his mouth wide as the top part of his jaw and the bottom split into four sections. Black lightning sparked in the middle of his maw before a black hole appeared in it. The flames were sucked into the vacuum and the final plumes disappeared. Void closed his mouth and stared at Chaotic.
"Oh, my," Chaotic laughed before he continued, "Has Tartarus frozen over? Did Void break the Oath?" Void continued to glare at Chaotic as Eclipse began to get up, but fell back down as her right leg gave out on her. Void whispered something and Chaotic cocked his head before asking, "What was that?"
"Leave," Void whispered again. Chaotic let out a laugh and asked him again what he had said. This caused Void to scream, "Begone!" Eclipse and Chaotic suddenly disappeared in a puff of glittering black smoke. Once the two had gone, Void let out a sigh and slithered his body into a pile before he lay his head on top of it and closed his eyes.
"Don't worry my friend, breaking the Oath isn't the end of the world," a voice joked in the inky blackness of the nothingness. Void's eyes shot open and his head lifted as he saw six glowing eyes from the darkness.
"How much did you see?" Void asked.
"Enough," the voice answered with a metallic twang.
Shattered Blade sighed as he moved to his left side. The chains rattled as he did so and he felt them chafe against his hooves and neck. There was a boom in the inky blackness that the spotlight didn't touch and caused Shattered Blade to jump. He looked around and it seemed he saw something slither through the darkness around the spotlight. He narrowed his eyes and swore he saw a tail slither back into the darkness. He continued to stare into the darkness in hopes to see what was stalking inside the inky blackness.
"How do you like your accommodations?" Chaotic asked as he walked into the spotlight from the inky darkness. He looked down at Shattered Blade and gave him a toothy grin. Shattered Blade glared up at him not saying a word.
"The bed's stiff, there was no mint on my pillow, and I was promised a continental breakfast, "Shattered Blade said. Every word, every syllable, and every letter was oozing with venom. If it was possible, Chaotic would see venom oozing, pulsing, and foaming from Shattered Blade's mouth. Chaotic looked at him before he reared back and busted out laughing. His laughter lasted a good half a minute before he wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I'll have to fire a few of my staff members, but don't worry the rest of your stay will be complimentary," Chaotic Joked before he turned and slipped into the Inky Blackness. Shattered Blade watched as his tail slipped into the darkness before his voice came from within it, "Oh, and one more thing: I need room for some trinkets. I have no room in my Trophy room for them. Hope you don't mind me storing them with you." Shattered Blade heard him snap one of his claws and the inky darkness exploded with light. Shattered Blade winced at the bright light before his eyes slowly adjusted to the light. When his eyes fully adjusted to the light, his mouth hung open as he saw the trinkets Chaotic mentioned.
Around him were skeleton hands holding orange liquid that had taken the shape of an egg. The skeletal hands were engulfed in flames, but it wasn't the skeletal hands or eggs that shocked him. It was what was inside the liquid that shaped the eggs. Floating inside the liquid were Ponies that seemed to be in suspended animation. Bubbles would now and again come from their open mouths as their chests rose and fell like the liquid allowed the Ponies to breathe while submerged inside. Shattered Blade looked around at the Ponies. There were mares, stallions, colts, fillies all floating inside the liquid eggs. He looked back at Chaotic who had been watching his reaction. Chaotic's smile grew as he walked back towards him and asked, "Confused?" Chaotic looked around at all the Ponies before he looked back at Shattered Blade and continued, "To call them trinkets is kind of a lie. They serve more than just simple decorations."
Shattered Blade watched as Chaotic reached over to an egg with a filly whose tiara floated inches above her head. Two claws gently grasped the egg and the skeleton hand fell to ash. He watched as Chaotic lifted the egg high into the air above his head and saw Chaotic wearing a sadistic smile. Shattered Blade watched in horror as Chaotic looked up at the egg and opened his maw. Chaotic let the egg drop down towards his open mouth and when the egg was feet away from his tongue. His jaws snapped shut and Chaotic swallowed loudly so Shattered Blade could hear the egg and filly go down his throat. Shattered Blade stared at Chaotic with wide eyes before he violently vomited.
"I'll have a staff member clean that up," Chaotic joked as his tongue licked his lips before he turned tail and walked away from the still vomiting Shattered Blade.
"Mom. Can't. Breathe," Gnel uttered as his mother hugged him tightly, not wanting to ever let him go.
When Gnel first came barreling into the hut his mother thought he had found another misshapen rock. As he skipped past her, she wiped her wet hands and placed the damp dish in the strainer before following him. She expected Gnel to pull his box of misshapen rocks from under his bed and they'd organize the newly found rocks in their places. However, Gnel seemed to be gathering objects from his room like he was going somewhere. She leaned against the door frame and asked, "Spending the night at Zreol's?" Gnel shook his head and began to explain. As he told her his plan, her happy demeanor started to slowly change to confusion and then to utter terror.
"You can't," She cried as she grabbed Gnel's wrist and she felt tears start to form in her eyes.
"Why not, it's my duty. Like dad and grandpa," Gnel said.
"But you're too young. I can't lose you like I lost my dad and your father," she sobbed.
"Don't worry mom," Gnel said as he confidently admitted, "I'm the Epitaph of Cyclone. She'll protect me."
"But that's what your father and grandfather said before," She said before she sobbed again, "Before." Gnel looked at his mother whose head hung down as more tears began to form in her eyes. He placed his hand gently on her right shoulder causing her to look up at him.
"Don't worry mom, I'll be fine. I have friends who will watch over me," Gnel reassured her. She was going to object, but a knock at the door caused her to look out and quickly wipe her eyes.
"Hello," Sheik called out into the home as she knocked on the already opened door. Gnel's mother walked out of his room and greeted Sheik and the others.
"May I help you?" She asked with a warm smile.
"These are my friends," Gnel chirped as he skipped past her and motioned towards Sheik and the others. Gnel's mom looked from him to Sheik and the others before Gnel added, "You should hear them out mom. It will ease your mind." She looked at her son's gleaming eyes and gave in to his request.
"I'll make us some lemonade," She said.
After explaining everything to Gnel's mother, she felt a little bit better having him with others like himself. She helped him gather what he needed and now hugged him tighter before she let go and said, "Please be careful. I can't have you end up like your father. I can't lose you too."
"Don't worry mom, I'll come back to you. I might have a few scrapes and cuts, but I'll be back," Gnel said. Gnel's mother laughed at her son's sense of humor and patted him on the top of his head. She let him walk out of her hut and watched as the others followed him. Sheik stopped in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I promise we'll bring him back to you," Sheik promised. Gnel's mom hugged her and thanked her before Sheik followed the others to the middle of the village. She saw Twilight examining the Map with Sombra. She walked up and suggested, "How about we head to Aeolus's shop?"
"That's not a bad idea," Discord said before he pointed down towards a glowing silver dot on the map. Twilight nodded before her horn lit up and the lavender aura wrapped around the group before they all disappeared in a flash.
There was a lavender flash that caused the Griffin to fly off course and crash into another Griffin. The two began to bicker and then started fighting. Other Griffins seem to stop and watch the two fighting while others avoided the crowd and seemed not to notice or care about the commotion.
Twilight looked around in utter awe at the large buildings that seem to stretch high into the sky. She saw Griffins flying around and some knocked on windows before the windows opened to let them in. She turned 360 degrees before she uttered, "We're in Hippogriff!"
"I take it you've never been here," Ahuizotl said before he turned to two Griffin children staring up at him in awe. He growled at them and they let out a yelp before they ran off.
"No," Twilight admitted before she added, "I've always wanted to see the Capital of the Griffin Kingdom."
"Yeah well, we can't just take a week of visiting the sights. We have to find Aeolus," Tirek said before he swatted at two Griffins who were talking, not paying attention, and nearly flew into him. They cursed and yelled as one flipped him off before the two flew around him and continued on their way. Tirek scoffed, "I hate Griffins. They act all high and mighty like they're above other creatures."
"You're one to talk," Sombra said before he looked around and pointed towards the middle of the city and added, "This way. His shop should be in the middle of the city."
The group followed Sombra as they walked down the street toward the middle of the city. As they continued down, many Griffins standing behind wooden stands tried to get the group to buy one of their items.
"Fresh fish. You won't find any fresher," a Griffin called out
"Two for one sale, I've got the newest movies while also having cult classics. Two for one offer," another Griffin called to them.
"I've got mint condition Falcon Rangers. Red, white, blue, pink, yellow, and black Falcon Ranger. Three hundred bits for the bundle or fifty bits each," a third Griffin called. Gnel saw the action figures and started towards the Griffin. Sheik quickly grabbed his right wrist.
"Don't get caught up in their heckling. They'll drain your Bits dry," Sheik explained as she shook her head before she added, "Plus: you can't guarantee those action figures are the real thing or counterfeits."
"Hey!" the Griffin yelled before he argued, "These are guaranteed mint-condition action figures." The Griffin slammed the action figure on the wooden stand. A second later the right arm of the action figure popped off. The Griffin looked at the arm and then at Gnel and sheik before he nervously laughed and began to try and placed the arm back on.
"See," Sheik said. Gnel nodded and the two caught up with the group. As they continued down the street, other Griffins tried to get them to buy their products and knock off trinkets. After several minutes of listening to Griffins yelling at them, they arrived at the center of the city.
"Whoa," Twilight said as she saw the massive statue. In the middle of the city was a large Griffin statue standing on its hind legs with its wings extended. Its two claws were outstretched and between the two was a large golden clock made to look like a pocket watch. When the clock reached the top of the hour, the Griffins beak slowly opened and from it let out a recording of a Griffins war cry. A Griffin unfortunate enough to be flying near the beak jumped and suddenly began to spiral out of control before she corrected herself. She poked one of her talons into her right ear to try and stop the ringing in it. She shook her head and limply flew away.
"So he lives there?" Twilight asked
"Nah, he lives there," Discord said as he pointed his Griffin claw towards a small shop at the base of the statue. The group headed towards the shop while Twilight continued to gawk at the sheer size of the statue. When they reached the shop, Twilight saw a hanging wooden sign that read Clockwork Talon. Discord walked up to the wooden door that had a large clock embedded in it. Discord knocked on the wood with the back of his lion's paw before he stepped back. For a long while, the only sound coming from the shop was the sound of ticking from the clock embedded in the door. Discord was about to knock again when static began to come from hidden speakers around the door frame before a voice came from them.
"May I help you?" a voice asked from the speakers.
"Aeolus," Discord asked as he looked around before he continued, "It's me Discord, I brought the others." He waited for a few seconds before Aeolus's voice came back from the speakers.
"Please press the button under the speaker," he said. Discord looked around at the doorframe before he saw a small white panel with a speaker and a red button on it.
"Hello?" Discord said again as he pressed the button.
"Yes, hello now please tell me what you need. I'm expecting company. If you have a clock that needs service, I'm unfortunately not accepting any more orders for my shop will be closed for an unknown amount of time," Aeolus explained.
"Aeolus, it's me Discord. I brought Sombra, sheik, Tirek," Discord began before several loud clicks came from the door.
"Please come in. I've been expecting you all," Aeolus interrupted. Discord let go of the button and looked at the others before he shrugged and started to open the door.
"I guess I'm staying out here. I don't think I can fit inside his shop," Tirek said.
"Why? Just shrink down and join us inside," Discord said as he held onto the door handle.
"I don't think you get how my magic works. I absorb magic and when I do my body grows to contain that magic. I can't just shrink and grow at will," Tirek explained.
"Yeah, but that magical sphere I gave you back in Tartarus had part of my magic in it. You can use that magic to shrink and grow," Discord explained before he added, "Try it out. Shrink to the size of Twilight and Sombra. Then you can join us inside." Tirek narrowed his eyes at Discord before he looked at Twilight and took a deep breath. Tirek then began to shrink which caused Butterfly to fly off his shoulder. After several seconds he had shrunk to the size of Twilight. He examined himself and marveled at his new feet. Then he suddenly glared at Discord.
"Wait a minute! Does that mean I could have shrunk down and gone into that tavern with you, Twilight, and Sombra at the Jackle village?" Tirek asked a little annoyed.
"Yeah, but I highly doubt you'd stay shrunk after the performance we saw," Discord admitted before he pushed the handle down and opened the door. Sheik let out a high-pitched laugh before she placed her hands over her mouth to stifle it. She snorted as she tried to keep from laughing again.
"Good one Discord," Sheik said as she followed him through the threshold. The others followed suit with Tirek bringing up the rear with his arms folded in front of him mumbling something. Butterfly was on his shoulder and she was glaring at the back of Discords and Sheiks head.
The shop inside was filled with working, non-working clocks. Walls, tables, even the floor were covered in different styles of clocks. Some tables had clocks gutted and their contents scattered around the table and even the floor. Twilight marveled at the many clocks as a voice announced, "Welcome my friends." Twilight looked up to see a Griffin standing on a high balcony looking down at them over the railing. He jumped from the balcony and his silver wings unfolded and he lightly floated down to the first floor. He was a combination of a silver falcon and cheetah.
"You must love clocks Aeolus," Butterfly said as she looked around the room.
"Well yes, I'm a Clockmaker and have a degree in Horology," Aeolus admitted as he motioned towards a wall with awards and degrees on it that were surrounded with more clocks
"Horology?" Gnel asked as he swayed left and right on his hooves in motion with a swinging pendulum of a grandfather clock.
"It's the science of measuring time," Twilight explained.
"Exactly, this is why I have so many Timekeeping devices like Clocks, watches, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, and time recorders. This shop is my family's legacy. I inherited it from my dad, who inherited it from his dad, and so on," Aeolus explained before he blinked and asked Twilight, "And who are you?"
"No, no. she's one of Equestria's princesses. She'll be accompanying us throughout our journey," Sombra explained.
"Oh, so she can use Alicorn magic. That will come in handy when we fight Chaotic," Aeolus said with a nod. He turned and headed towards a door in the back and offered, "Since you've come this far. Why not have a drink of water and something to eat before we head out. You all must be hungry and parched from your travels." None of the group objected as they followed him into the back room which was a large kitchen with a round marble table in the middle.
The coffee maker whined as the final strands of coffee dripped into the large coffee mug. Aeolus grasped the mug's handle and placed it on the table in front of Sombra before he went to make himself a cup. Tirek took long gulps of his water before he reached the water jug and poured himself more water. Butterfly sipped at her water in a bottle cap. Sheik and Gnel drank their milk and laughed when each sported a milk mustache. Ahuizotl dripped a few drops of hot sauce into his chocolate milk before he took another sip, smacked his lips, and then added more hot sauce to it. Twilight watched as the coffee maker spat out more coffee while she sipped at her tea. Discord let his teacup of hot chocolate float to his lips as Aeolus took his cup of coffee and sat with the others.
"So, what's the plan?" Aeolus asked.
"Well, before we head out, we were hoping to ask Metallic why Chaotic was corrupted," Twilight answered.
"He may not know that and I'm going to assume you've all asked your own respective Gods," Aeolus said.
"We understand, but it doesn't hurt to try," Sombra said.
"That's true, so once we're all ready and filled with food and drink. We'll speak to Metallic and then head out. So, since Shuckle will be the last one we'll get. Who are we going to speak with next?" Aeolus said.
"I would say Rampage," Discord said.
"Rampage!" Gnel said in both shock and excitement before he added, "Rampage the Heavyweight Champion? That Rampage?!"
"One in the same," Discord said with a smile.
"Heavyweight Champion?" Twilight asked.
"Rampage is a wrestler for Labyrinth Championship Wrestling. He's the Heavyweight Champion," Discord explained.
"He's three weeks away from breaking the record for holding the championship. He'll beat Iron Wills record," Gnel interrupted before he added; "I've been watching LCW since I was a kid with mom, dad, and grandpa."
"You're still a kid," Butterfly joked.
"Ok, and then we get," Aeolus started before Discord started a coughing fit and interrupted him.
"Let's focus on talking with Metallic and speaking with Rampage before we go any further," Discord said after he was able to stop his coughing fit.
"Discord, what are you hiding?" Twilight asked as she narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "Who is the other being we need to get besides Shuckle and Rampage?"
Discord looked around for support but found none. He picked up his teacup and admitted into it, "Chrysalis."
“How are you shocked about this?” Ahuizotl asked before he motioned towards Discord, Sombra, and Tirek and added, “You’ve seen the other bad guys.” He did this with air quotes before continuing, “You’re honestly shocked at Chrysalis being an Epitaph?”
“Well yes, most of the Epitaphs are creatures who’ve attacked Equestria,” Twilight admitted.
“Creatures?” Ahuizotl growled.
“Oh boy, here we go,” Discord sighed before he snapped his fingers. Ahuizotl started raging and yelling at Twilight but there was no sound coming from his mouth. Discord shook his head and added, “I had to place him in a silence bubble, so we didn’t have to hear his ranting.”
“Ahuizotl hate’s being called a creature,” Sombra explained.
“I’m just confused as to why the Gods chose who they chose,” Twilight admitted. Ahuizotl said something before he glared at Discord and pointed to his throat. Discord snapped his fingers to let him speak.
“Let me guess: you would rather have the Epitaphs be nothing but Ponies?” Ahuizotl asked.
“Well,” Twilight said ashamed.
“That will never happen,” Aeolus said before he explained, “Along with the Oath. The Gods have a second rule: only one race can be bestowed the blessing of the Gods. Therefore, this is why each Epitaph is a different race.”
“If that’s true then why didn’t Void choose a Pony for his Epitaph?” Twilight questioned.
“Eclipse beat him to it,” Sombra said.
“Yes and Void had to choose another race, so he chose the Centaurs race,” Sheik said.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Tirek said.
“So, each God must pick a Race and if they do. No other God can choose an Epitaph of that Race,” Twilight asked.
“Indeed, but sometimes they don’t have a choice in the matter,” Aeolus said before he continued, “Like Void: Tempest and Luminous had to choose a Race not yet chosen. Tempest took the Minotaur Race while Luminous chose the Changeling Race. However, they seemed to have found members of those Races they’ve come to like.”
“But, what about Dragons? Why haven’t any of the Gods chosen a Dragon?” Twilight asked.
“That’s simple: The Gods hate the Dragon Race,” Butterfly chimed.
“Why?” Twilight asked.
“You haven’t noticed?” Discord asked before he added, “Dragons act as though they’re as powerful as the Gods.”
“Yes, their arrogance caused the Gods to create an unspoken law to never give their powers to a Dragon,” Aeolus said.
“So then why does Chaotic look like a Dragon most of the time? He must like them?” Twilight pointed out.
“That isn’t his true form,” Discord admitted before he added, “He uses that form because he knows how much the Gods loathe the Dragon Race.”
“What does he truly look like then?” Twilight asked.
“I remember his true form before he was corrupted. Even then he was intimidating, but he never used his true form when meeting with me. However, his corrupted form is something out of the deepest parts of Tartarus.”
“Now that we got that out of the way,” Aeolus said as he drank the rest of his coffee and added, “Let’s get in touch with Metallic and set out to get Rampage.” The group nodded, but before Aeolus could begin to chant. Every Epitaph at the table felt something sharp in their mind as they looked at one another.
“What’s wrong?" Twilight asked as she saw the others sitting like a statue.
“They’re here,” Sombra said before a loud siren began to echo throughout the city.
“Quick,” Aeolus said before he led everyone out into his workshop. He stopped in front of a large wardrobe tore it open and reached inside. Seconds later he threw a sword towards Discord who easily caught it. He examined the Rapier as two more swords were thrown towards Tirek. He grabbed both Claymore swords before Aeolus closed the wardrobe.
“What are these for?” Tirek asked as he examined the Claymores.
“Since you still don’t have Voids power and Discord’s might strengthen his minions. You’ll use these to fight whatever Chaotic sent our way,” Aeolus explained.
“Normal weapons won’t work on them,” Sombra said.
“Yes, but these are made with Metallic’s blessing, so they’ll do the trick,” Aeolus explained before he looked over at Twilight and added, “Your magic won’t work on these creatures. So stay here and wait for us to come back.”
“What! Why can’t I fight?” Twilight asked.
“As I said, your magic won’t affect these creatures,” Aeolus said again.
“Then give me a weapon,” Twilight argued.
“Have you used weapons before?” Aeolus asked. Twilight hesitated and Aeolus got his answer. He placed his right claw on her shoulder and added, “Don’t worry. You’ll help us soon enough. Just save your strength.” Twilight looked at him before she nodded and watched the group leave the shop.
The group ran out of the shop with Aeolus leading the charge. The siren had ceased and in its place were screams of panic and bone-rattling shrieks. Skeletal creatures engulfed in flames chased Griffins while others tore apart those unfortunate not to escape their grasp. The sound of screams and bone-rattling shrieks were overpowered by a loud horn as the sky was filled with Griffins in plated armor.
“The Claw Guard,” Aeolus said before he added, “They’ll do little to stop these creatures.”
“So we’re going to do ground control and get rid of these creatures,” Butterfly said.
“Yes, make sure these creatures don’t harm the civilians. Destroy them and make sure the Claw Guard doesn’t make things worse,” Aeolus explained. The group nodded and split to face off the monstrosities attacking the city and its inhabitants.
Sheik ran up towards a group of skeletal Ponies slowly stalking towards a Griffin and her child. She called out to them, “Hey, boneheads!” the skeletal Ponies all turned to her and let out bone-rattling shrieks before they began to slowly stalk towards Sheik. She knelt and placed her hand on the ground. There was a groan from underneath the concrete before it exploded and two large pipes rose from the ground. She smiled and added, “Why not cool down.” Water rushed out of the pipes and slammed into the Pony Skeletons. The flames were extinguished and the bones were reduced to ash.
There was another bone-rattling shriek and Sheik looked up to see skeletal Griffins dive-bombing towards her. She quickly jumped out of the way of one of the skeletons before cartwheeling away from the rest of the group. She skidded to a stop before she saw the group of skeletal Griffins start to land and begin to stalk towards her.
“Oh, so you brought some friends? Mind if I bring some of mine?” Sheik said before she slapped her palm on the soaked ground. The surrounding water began to rise and spin before they took the shape of five water clones. Each clone brandished a different weapon. Sheik stood back up and smiled as water slowly slithered up and wrapped around her wrist to form water whips. Without a word, Sheik and the clones charged towards the skeletons that let out bone-rattling war cries and charged as well.
One of the water clones jumped from Sheik’s back and into the air. From its right hand, an arrow made of water morphed from its palm. The clone placed the arrow between the tips of its bow before it pulled back the water string and let the arrow fly. Its barbed tip spun before it pierced into one of the skulls of the skeletons. The flames suddenly ceased and the skeleton was reduced to ash. The clone then produced more arrows and fired them at the charging group of skeletal creatures.
A second Clone ran full speed towards the group of Skeletons engulfed in flames. It swung its mace up as it froze solid and shattered one of the skeleton's skulls. It spun and smashed another skull while a third clone thrust its spear into another skeleton's rib cage. Two skeletons slowly stepped back as their heads were severed from their bodies. The flames ceased and the bones turned to ash. The clone holding two hatchets let a smirk form on its watery face before it charged towards two more skeletons. Three Skeletons flew into the air before exploding into ash. The fifth clone looked from the puffs of smoke to the skeletons now circling it. It raised its fists that were covered with gauntlets made of ice. There was a thunderous crack and three of the skeletal creatures puffed into ash. The clone watched as the real Sheik landed on the ground and cracked her two whips again and the barbed tips pierced into one of the skeleton's skull. The clone smiled as it stood next to the real Sheik and the two charged towards another group of skeletons.
Explosions erupted as bone-chattering screams echoed through the large booms. Ahuizotl stood in a cluster of scorch marks as ash littered the ground. His tail hand had a fireball in it and his two front hands were engulfed in flames. A group of skeleton Griffins surrounded him as the Amethyst glow in their eye sockets glared at him. A skeleton Griffin let out a bone-chattering war cry before the group charged towards Ahuizotl.
Ahuizotl quickly shot flames towards the ground to propel him into the air. The flames expanded across the ground causing the Skeletons to backtrack. Ahuizotl then spun around while the hand at the tip of his tail shot fireballs at the surrounding group. Fireballs slammed into the ground around the skeletons causing them to run around like chickens with their heads cut off to try to avoid the attacks.
Ahuizotl was missing them on purpose to cause panic. When he was sure the panic was at its highest: He punched the air and sent flames shaped like crows towards the skeletons. The crows slammed into the skeletons and merged with the flames that engulfed them. It seemed Ahuizotl’s flames did nothing to his adversaries. However, the skeletons exploded in flames as they let out bone-chattering screams. Their skeletal bodies suddenly puffed into ash that started to char and blackened in the flames.
He landed on the ground and smiled as he saw all the charred ash around him. He suddenly spun around and breathed fire at the skeleton trying to sneak up behind him. It let out a bone-chattering scream as it disintegrated to ash. Ahuizotl scoffed at the ash and stepped on the small pile. He turned towards a small group of skeletons trying to sneak up on him. A wicked smile formed on Ahuizotl’s face which made the skeletons stop and slowly back away.
A Claymore slashed through the middle of a Griffin skeleton before both halves puffed into ash. Tirek spun around and pierced the tip of the other Claymore into a second Griffin skeletons skull. The strength of the thrust went through the back of the skull and into a third skeleton's skull. The two let out a low bone-rattling hiss before they disintegrated into ash. Tirek looked around at the Griffin skeletons that surrounded him. They let out low bone-rattling hisses, but before they could act. The ground behind one of them exploded as a tiger shark made of a combination of dirt, stone, and concrete flew from the ground and sunk its jagged teeth made of stone into the bones of one of the skeletons. It let out a high-pitched wail before it exploded into ash.
The shark lay on the ground for several seconds before tendrils drilled out from the shark’s body causing it to convulse and crumble to the ground. The tendrils spun across the ground carving into the concrete as they went before they spun upwards around Tirek and suddenly stopped. The tips of the tendrils started to crack as they formed into snakeheads. Triangle-shaped spines rose from the back of the tendrils before a sickle formed at the other end of the tendril. The four tendrils transformed into eight-foot-long sickle-tailed snakes.
“Don’t worry Rexy, I’ve got your back,” Butterfly stated as she stood on Tirek’s right shoulder. Tirek nodded just before Butterfly pointed towards the Skeletons and the sickle-tailed snakes let out a gravelly hiss before charging. Butterfly lightly floated off Tirek’s shoulder as he charged towards another group of skeletons. Tirek slammed one of his Claymores down and slashed a Griffin skeleton in half before he spun around and sliced two more skeletons trying to sink their hooked talons into his back.
One of the snakes spun around and its sickle tail decapitated one of the skeletons. Another used its fangless mouth to grab one of the skeletons and flung it upwards. The Snake collided up and sprung upwards towards the Griffin skeleton. It spun around and slammed the back of its sickle into the spine and sent the skeleton slamming into the ground. A third snake hooked the tip of its sickle tail into one of the skeleton’s eyes sockets and spun it around. It hit each skeleton around it, sending them flying into the air. The fourth snake spine like a wheel and ran over each skeleton as its triangle spines cut and broke the bones of each skeleton. Each skeleton’s flames extinguished and puffed into a cloud of ash.
“These things are weak, but it seems what they lack in power, they make up in numbers,” Tirek admitted. More skeletons surrounded the two as Butterfly agreed with him before the two attacked the new set of Skeletons now including Pony Skeletons. However, before Butterfly, Tirek or even the skeletons could act. There was a blur that passed by each skeleton before they exploded into ash.
“Now this is quite fun,” Discord laughed as he held his Rapier in his lion’s paw. There was a bone-chattering war cry which caused Discord to turn to see more skeletons charging towards him. A smile formed on Discord’s face before he stood in a fencing stance. He waited for several seconds before he charged. within seconds he stood in front of one skeleton and rapidly jabbed the tip of his sword into their bones. Small holes appeared in the bones of the skeleton before it let out a bone-chattering wail before it puffed into ash.
Discord leaped into the air just as a second Skeleton skidded on the ground before Discord twisted and plunged his Rapier’s tip into the skull. He then spun on the hilt and kicked several skeletons away. He jumped from the hilt and landed on the ground before his tail slithered around the handle and flung it into the air. He caught it and stood in another fencing stance. A skeleton stalking behind Discord pounced, but before it could find purchase. A Claymore cut the skeleton in half. Tirek lifted the Claymore and said, “Leave some for us.” Discord nodded before he, Butterfly, and Tirek attacked another group of skeletons.
Black tendrils of shadow slammed a Pegasus skeleton into the ground before another tendril pierced into its skull. The flames engulfing it went out before it hissed and turned to ash. Sombra looked around at the skeletons surrounding him before a smile formed on his face and more of his shadow rose from the ground and formed into more tendrils. They shot towards the skeletons around him as they fought off their advance. One skeleton broke from the pack and charged towards Sombra.
Before the Earth Pony skeleton could pounce, three knives made of compressed air slammed into its skull. It started to slow to a trot and then fell to the ground and puffed into ash. Gnel skidded to a stop next to Sombra with a knife made of compressed air in each hand. Sombra turned to him and commended, “Nice work.” Gnel gave him a thumbs up and a wide grin before the two stood back-to-back ready for the next wave of attacks.
“Can’t you do more than just those tentacles?” Gnel asked with a smile before he joked, “Shouldn't just be a one-trick Pony.” Sombra rolled his eyes before he crouched down and readied himself. The tendrils started to twist and morph together to form three thick tendrils. Two long spindly arms grew from either side of the tendrils, each arm ended with long four appendage claws, and the tip of the tendrils grew a large perfectly round sphere the size of a hoof-ball. A long crack edged its way horizontally in the middle of the sphere. It stopped near the back of the sphere before the mouth with jagged teeth let out a growl followed by a gurgling high-pitched wail.
“Nice,” Gnel said before the two knives made of air morphed and shift into two small spheres before Gnel mashed the two together to form a much larger sphere. He let it drop before he began to kick it up in the air: First from his knee, then the middle of his leg, and finally his hoof. The final kick shot the sphere high in the air. Gnel crouched down letting the muscles in his legs flex before he shot up towards the sphere. He spun around and slammed his right leg into the sphere of compressed air. It bent around his leg before it shot towards the group of skeleton creatures engulfed in flames.
The sphere soared towards the charging group of skeletons. It passed through their ranks and disappeared with a popping noise. Seconds later a massive dome of swirling compressed air appeared, trapping the skeletons inside. They let out bone-chattering wails as the wind inside sliced at the bones leaving long, deep fissures. As quickly as the dome appeared, it disappeared and there was nothing left of the skeletons but ash on the ground. Gnel landed on the ground and a smile formed on his face. He snapped his fingers on both his right and left hand before two disks made of compressed air appeared hovering in his palms.
“Try to keep up,” Gnel joked before he charged towards the remaining skeletons that didn’t get trapped in the dome. He threw both disks that cut through the air before slicing through two skeletons. One disk sliced through the top of the skull of one skeleton, while another sliced through the maw of another cutting the bottom jaw from its skull. The two exploded into ash before the disks flew up and then soared towards two more skeletons while Gnel produced two more disks made of compressed air.
“I still got a few more tricks up my hooves,” Sombra said with a smile. The tendrils that formed into spindly stick figures shot towards another group of skeletons. When they first started fighting them: There were only Griffin Skeletons, but as they continued to destroy them. More Griffin skeletons began to appear, but along with them came Earth Pony and Pegasus skeletons. One of the tendrils spindly arms reared back with its claw open and twitching. The stick figure shadow brought down its claw and pierced into the spine of an Earth Pony skeleton before spinning around and piercing two long claws into each eye socket of another. The second stick figure tendril’s right hand morphed into a hammer and it caved the Griffin Skelton’s skull in. The final stick figure tendril had wrapped around a Pegasus skeleton and constricted. The skeleton let out a bone-chattering wail as its bones began to snap, break, and splinter. The stick figure tendril had its two claws on either side of the skull as they pushed inward towards one another. With one final wail, the skeleton’s spine broke and its skull was caved in on either side. The stick figure tendril let out another gurgling high-pitched wail before slithering towards another skeleton.
A javelin pierced through the air and into the skull of a Griffin skeleton. It puffed into ash as the javelin fell to the ground. The ash swirled in the air before it flew into a red circle that appeared in the air. The ash went in one end and a Pegasus skeleton engulfed in flames soared out the other. The Griffin that threw the javelin narrowed his eyes at the skeleton before reaching for the hatchets strapped to his sides. The Griffin had silver feathers and a dark brown lion’s flank. His right claw was replaced with a mechanical claw and so was his right-wing and tail. His beak was replaced with the same machinery and a large scar covered his left eye which had a white film over it. A group of Griffins flew up behind him and await the Pegasus skeleton as more skeletons joined it.
Before the Pegasus skeleton could attack, Aeolus flanked the skeleton and slammed his right fist into the side of the skull. The Pegasus skeleton tumbled to the side before it corrected itself and let out a low bone-rattling hiss. Aeolus ignored the skeleton and turned towards the Griffin who threw the Javelin and ordered, “Your weapons are no use against these creatures Rip Jaw. Take the Claw Guard and help the civilians get to safety. My friends and I will take care of these monsters.”
Rip Jaw narrowed his eyes at Aeolus. He remembered how his Javelin caused the skeleton to change into ash, to only reform into a new skeleton. Rip Jaw nodded and turned to the group of Claw Guards. He used his left claw to press down on a hidden device in the skin of his neck. His beak opened and a monotone robotic voice ordered, “Take any civilians to the underground shelters. Do not engage the skeletons. Relay this message to the others.” The group didn’t answer as they flew off. Some relayed his orders over walkie-talkies to the other Claw Guards around the city. Rip Jaw removed his claw and his beak snapped shut. He turned towards Aeolus and nodded before flying off. He stopped before he got any further and pressed the device again. His beak once again opened and the monotone robotic returned said, “Don’t do anything stupid. Mom can’t take another son being badly deformed.” With that, he flew off.
Aeolus watched him fly off before a low bone-chattering hiss made him turn to face the group of skeleton creatures that patiently waited for him to finish with Rip Jaw. They might be monsters, but they do have manners. Aeolus thought before he placed his arms behind him. His claws clamped around his wrists as he coldly stared at the creatures and stated, “I’m happy you let me finish my conversation, but I must warn you: should you attack me. I. Will. Kill You.”
A few of the Griffin skeletons looked at one another. A Pegasus skeleton in the back slowly started to fly backward. The Amethyst glow in the sockets of the lead Pegasus skeleton seemed to glare at Aeolus. It pointed a bony hoof towards Aeolus and let out a bone-chattering war cry. The group of skeletons seemed to mimic his cry before they charged. Aeolus let out a sigh before he moved his claws on either side of his body. A small flash appeared in each claw before a small silver cube appeared hovering in each. He looked at the group of skeletons and said, “So be it.”
The cube in his right claw began to spin rapidly before it began to morph and grow until it changed into a large war hammer. The cube in his left claw spun as well, but as it morphed it thinned and slithered around his wrist and up to his arm. The other end of the thin metal rope hanging in the air had a four-talon Griffin claw. The thin metal rope then changed to a chain and Aeolus threw the chain with the metal Griffin claw towards one of the skeletons. The claw opened and slammed into its spine before the claw clamped down and Aeolus pulled the Pony Skeleton towards him. He brought down his war hammer and the Pony skeleton soared down and slammed into the ground. Another Pony skeleton flanks Aeolus and it lunged towards him. The Griffin claw chain quickly glowed and morphed around his arm and changed into a Griffin gauntlet.
He whirled around and let the Pony skeleton bite down on the gauntlet. Three of its bony teeth chipped causing it to rear back and let out a bone-chattering wail. Aeolus pulled back his left arm before he punched the Skeleton on the right side of its face. The metal fist of the gauntlet sent splinters across the skull before the Pony Skeleton exploded into ash. Aeolus slowly turned towards the rest of the skeletons before charging towards them.
Discord rapidly jabbed his Rapier into another Skeleton as tiny holes appear in its bones before it explodes into ash. Tirek slammed one of his Claymores onto another skeleton while a hooked tailed snake wrapped around another and constricted.
“These things won’t quit,” Butterfly ranted as Gnel backflipped from Griffin’s claw swiping at him. He landed next to Sheik as her whip made of water cracked and pierced into Griffin’s skull causing it to explode into ash. A stick figure tendril slammed a Pony Skeleton to the ground as Sombra bucked its skull. He winced as the flames licked at his hooves before he limps back next to Sheik.
“Well that was a dumb idea,” Sombra admitted before he continued, “Chaotic isn’t pulling any punches' huh?” the joke fell on deaf ears as the group stood in front of a massive army of skeletons engulfed in flames. Ahuizotl growled as the skeletons slowly stalked closer towards them. Aeolus slams another Pony skeleton to the ground before he jumped next to Ahuizotl.
“Where the hell are all these damn monsters coming from?” Ahuizotl growled.
The skeletons soon stop their advance before the middle of the massive army started to part and let a Pony walk through the ranks and toward the group of Epitaphs. Each one felt a massive shiver down their spines as Ahuizotl started to growl even louder. The Pony didn’t stop as he continued to walk towards them. He was a white Pegasus with Dragon-like wings folded on the sides of his body. He had a shit-eating grin on his face as he drew closer. He stopped at the front of the large skeleton army and stared at the group with slanted Amethyst eyes.
“How wonderful it is to see you, my friends,” Chaotic said as he gave them a toothy grin filled with yellow dagger-like teeth.
"You all seem to be displeased with me,” Chaotic said.
“What gave you that impression?” Discord mused with venom in his voice.
“Come now, I’ve only come to help,” Chaotic admitted.
“Help?!” Sombra scoffed before he continued, “If you call this help, I’d hate to see what you consider hindering.”
Chaotic waved a hoof at him before he explained, “I know you’ve been on a quest to get the other Epitaphs to try to stop me. However, I’m not too worried about your interference. I’m simply here to help you with the main question you’ve all been asking.” Chaotic let his smile grow before he added, “you all think I’ve been corrupted, but I’m here to let you know: that’s simply not true.”
“Lies!” Discord yelled before he continued, “Chaotic would never resort to this much destruction.”
“I hate to disappoint you, but that is the truth. I’ve simply embraced how deadly my Godly power is,” Chaotic said.
Ahuizotl who had been slowly crouching down as Chaotic continued to talk suddenly sprang into action and charged towards Chaotic while yelling, “I’ll end this with one strike!” his right paw exploded into flames and created a large three appendage claws. He lunged for Chaotic and swung his right paw towards him. Chaotic’s smile faded as he lifted his right hoof and easily stopped Ahuizotl's attack. Ahuizotl's right paw slammed into Chaotic’s hoof and the flames engulfing his paw suddenly extinguished.
“I commend your bravery, but you must understand,” Chaotic said before he brought his left hoof up and slammed it against Ahuizotl’s lower jaw making Ahuizotl fly into the air before Chaotic followed suit. As Ahuizotl soared into the air Chaotic continued to slam his front hooves into Ahuizotl's body to keep him airborne. When Ahuizotl was high in the air, Chaotic flew above him and kicked Ahuizotl back down. Ahuizotl soared to the ground like a comet and slammed into the concrete of the street. Chaotic lightly floated back to the ground while saying, “You’re nothing but a Gods lapdog while I am a true God.” Ahuizotl lay on the ground twitching as he let out a wheezing groan with each breath.
“Ahuizotl, Ahuizotl! Are you alright?” Sheik asked as she and Gnel raced towards their friend. She glared at Chaotic who simply stared at the three.
“Pathetic,” Chaotic said flatly before he turned and walked away from the Epitaphs. As he did, he ordered, “Kill them and bring me the last princess. Alive.” Chaotic stopped and smiled before he turned towards the group and added, “Limbs are optional.”
“Bastard!” Sheik yelled as the skeletons engulfed in flames slowly advanced towards her and the others.
“Fire!” a monotone robotic voice ordered. There was a whistling whirling noise before two groups of the skeleton creatures exploded. Chaotic stopped and turned just as two Griffins landed in front of the group of Epitaphs. Both were holding large cylinders with eagle heads at the end. Rip Jaw landed between the two Griffins and quickly pressed the device under the skin of his neck and ordered in a monotone robotic voice, ‘FIRE!” the two Griffins pointed the cylinders at the massive army of skeletons. The eagle heads opened their beaks and each fired out four rockets. They screeched through the air as smoke trails followed them. Eight more explosions rang out within the massive army's ranks.
The skeletons engulfed in flames let out bone-chattering wails before they exploded into ash. However, the ash swirled and then flew into red circles before forming into more skeletons engulfed in flames. Rip Jaw turned to Aeolus and ordered in a robotic monotone voice, "Run. We’ll deal with these undead monstrosities.”
“But your weapons will do nothing,” Aeolus warned.
“I know,” Rip Jaw’s robotic monotone voice admitted before he continued, “But if we lose the Epitaphs. This world is doomed.”
“But,” Aeolus said.
“And besides,” Rip Jaw interrupted before he continued; “We don’t need to defeat them, just slow them down.” Rip Jaw pointed up towards a massive amount of the Claw Guard, each with rocket launchers like the two Griffins on the ground. He turned towards the large army of skeletons and added, “No go, we’ll keep them busy until you can get as far away from the city as possible.” Aeolus stared at Rip jaw before he turned towards Discord and the others.
“Let’s go,” Aeolus said before the group nodded and retreated towards his workshop. Aeolus was about to follow before he stopped and added, “Please be safe brother.” He then ran off to catch up with the group.
“It’ll take a lot more than these monsters to take me down,” Rip Jaw stated before he looked up at the large group of Claw Guard and ordered in a loud robotic monotone voice, "FIRE!”
Aeolus busted through the door of his workshop, scaring Twilight. She jumped and watched the group run in. She galloped towards the group while asking, “What happened, what’s going on?” she jumped again as a massive boom echoed outside.
“We need to leave now,” Aeolus explained before he continued, “The Claw Guard are distracting Chaotic's army to let us escape.”
“What?!” Twilight yelled before she said, “Didn’t you say normal weapons won’t destroy his minions?”
“Yes, but they don’t intend to win, just distract them until they know we’ve escaped,” Aeolus said.
“How will they know we’ve left?” Twilight asked.
“The Claw Guard has a ten-minute distraction order. They distract the enemy for ten minutes before retreating. That’s how much time we have,” Aeolus explained.
“Alright, I can teleport us,” Twilight began.
“No!” Aeolus interrupted before he continued, “That leaves a magical trail to which Chaotic can follow. I have a non-magical way to get us out of the city.” Aeolus took the group back into the kitchen and placed his right claw on the back wall. A green light scanned his claw before a small part of the wall opened to reveal a number pad. He quickly put in an eight-number code. The wall shook before it split to reveal a staircase that descended into a hidden bunker.
“Whoa,” Gnel said in awe.
“No time to explain,” Aeolus stated before he ordered, “Move!” the group quickly descended into the dimly light staircase. Aeolus quickly slammed the side of his left claw into the wall in the hidden hall and a keyboard flipped down as a small portion of it revealed a computer monitor. He quickly began typing as lines of text appeared on the monitor. After several seconds a robotic female voice said, “Security system now in critical mode.” He flipped the keyboard back into the wall before following the group down as the wall closed behind him.
“Holy cow!” Gnel said as he looked around at the massive underground bunker. It was a massive space that could easily house all the Griffins in the city and still have enough room for a small army of Ponies. He turned to Aeolus who entered the bunker and asked, “When did you install this?”
“A long time ago,” Aeolus said before he added, “It was going to be used should another great war come around and devastate the land.”
“Do you honestly need this much space?” Ahuizotl asked.
“I’d let in the Griffins living in the city to save as many lives as I can, but we need to head further down,” Aeolus stated as he trotted towards a steel door in the back of the bunker. He motioned for the group to follow before he descended the second set of stairs.
“There’s a whole deeper level?” Sombra said in shock. There was no answer as the group continued to follow Aeolus deeper down. They stopped at a massive door that looked like a door to a bank vault. He grabbed the steel wheel and tried to rotate it. When he couldn’t, Discord and Tirek ran up to help him. The wheel whined as they spun it counterclockwise and pushed the door inward. The open door revealed a large cavern with a massive boat floating in the calm waters.
“Into the boat, this will take us to the port of Icarus where we’ll meet up with Rampage,” Aeolus explained before he added, “This way Chaotic can’t follow a magical trail.” The group nodded as they piled into the large boat. Aeolus quickly untied the rope before he hopped into the boat and added, “Everyone down into the cabin and stay there. I’ll be there shortly.” The group didn’t object as they went down into the cabin below. Aeolus quickly trotted over towards the bow and pushed the button next to the steering wheel. The boat roared to life and it echoed off the walls making the engine sound like a dragon's roar. He pushed the throttle up just a few inches and the boat slowly moved forward. Aeolus then pushed the throttle forward a little more and the boat started to accelerate.
The boat cut through the water towards a wall. Aeolus pressed another button and the rock wall split open to reveal a vast ocean behind it. Aeolus eased off the throttle and when he was sure the boat would fit through the wall. He pushed the throttle forward and the boat once again cut through the water and the open wall. Aeolus quickly pressed the same button once they were out and the wall slowly closed behind them. Aeolus flipped a few switches and opened a small glass box on the dash before pressing down the large green button. Aeolus waited before the green button turned red before he activated the autopilot and entered the directions to the Port of Icarus. He then headed down to the cabin below. To everyone on the boat, all the switches and button presses seemed to do nothing. However, anyone outside the boat wouldn’t see the boat at all.
“Alright, we should be good until we reach the Port of Icarus. It might take a day or two, but it won’t leave a magical trail for Chaotic to follow us,” Aeolus said.
“But won’t Chaotic see this boat in the water?” Twilight asked.
“No, I activated the cloaking device. We’ll travel undetected by both eyes and radar,” Aeolus said. When he saw the quizzical look on Twilight's face he began to explain, “It’s like an invisibility spell, but instead of using magic. The device bends electromagnetic radiation to bend the surrounding moonlight to make us invisible. It doesn’t use magic, so Chaotic can’t track us.”
“So does that mean we look like we’re floating on the water?” Gnel said.
“No, anything in the boat will be invisible. As long as you’re on this boat, no one or thing will find us,” Aeolus said
“Wait, so you don’t need magic for this?” Twilight said in shock before he added, “How?!”
“While Ponies use the wonders of magic,” Aeolus stated as he did air quotes with the wonders of magic before he explained, “Other races have to find other ways to sustain life. Griffins don’t have the capability to create magic, but we can build, and create technology. That’s how the clocking Device came about. However, not every device just works on the first try. Usually, it’s trial and error.”
“But I thought the Griffins used Alchemy?” Sombra interjected.
“Back before I was even born, yes. The first Griffins who lived in what is now Hippogriff used to be great Alchemists, but as the years passed. The cost of Alchemy outweighed the reward so my ancestors turned to technology,” Aeolus said.
“I would love to see the blueprints of the cloaking device,” Twilight admitted.
“I highly doubt this is a good time to go all tech-fan-mare with Chaotic still out there,” Discord said as he walked out of one of the four rooms in the cabin before asking, “How long until we reach The Port of Icarus?”
“A day and a half. That’s if we don’t run into any detours,” Aeolus said.
“Detours? We’re out in the middle of the ocean. What detours could we possibly run into?” Sheik said.
“You never know what lurks under the surface of the water,” Aeolus said before he added, “oh, I just remembered. You wanted to get in touch with Metallic right?”
“But, if we contact him. Chaotic could follow the magical trail,” Twilight said.
“Contacting the Gods will not cause a magical trail. In fact, contacting one of the Gods will place whoever is trying to talk with them in a protective bubble. Undetected by anyone or anything,” Sheik explained. The group then looked towards Aeolus who nodded before they all stood around a circular table in the cabin.
Aeolus extended his right talon and a glittering silver sphere appeared above it. Aeolus took a deep breath and began to chant, “I call to the God of Metal. Whose Ore allows us to create our homes, our utensils, and our weapons. Whose, metal skin protects us from the outside terrors.” The sphere quivered and floated towards the ceiling before it soared down towards the table, slammed into the middle of it, and the light engulfed the group.
Twilight moved her arms away from her eyes and looked around. The group was inside a large factory. The light illuminated from oil-coated windows as the machines sprang to life. Large metal cubs moved down conveyor belts towards machines as their long metal arms with claws reached out to the cubes. When it entered the machine the sound of buzz saws, gears, and drills whirled inside and from the other side came smaller cubs.
“Welcome to my home,” a voice said with a metallic twang in its voice. The group looked around to find the source of the voice, but it seemed it bounced and reverberate off the walls and machines. Unlike the other Gods, this voice didn't echo in everyone's minds. Twilight scanned the large factory before she saw something at the edge of the lights. She drew closer and Its shape began to take form. She stopped at the edge of the darkness and peered into it. Six eyes suddenly glistened in the darkness. Twilight let out a high-pitched shriek as she trotted backward. The shadows moved and out crawled a massive silver centipede. Its large sickle-shaped legs clacked against the factory floor. Its joints creaked and groaned as metal scraped against metal. It rose and stood 14 feet tall while the rest of its body was still submerged in the inky darkness behind it. Its mandibles snapped shut several times as their collision mimicked the sound of a hammer slamming into an anvil.
The centipede lowered its head as silver liquid dripped from its maw. As the liquid hit the floor, it sizzled the ground like acid. Twilight’s ears bent backward as it lowered its head to look at them eye to eye. She saw down into the creature’s maw and down its throat. Long metal arms hung from the top of the centipede’s jaw. Each arm ended in different tools like claws, drills, hooks, saws, etc. Its throat was a tunnel of whirling blades. A low chuckle with a metallic twang came from deep within the centipede as it said, “I see you got past Chaotic and his little hellions.” Its voice also had a metallic twang like someone flicked a metal strand.
“Barely,” Aeolus spoke up before continuing, “However, we might have ended up in a worse fate if we didn’t have your weapons Metallic.” The centipede rose back up and looked down at the group.
“Yes, but your Claw Guard will not win against those creatures. Not with those primitive weapons,” Metallic stated.
“Then why not allow them to use your metal to make their weapons?” Twilight asked. Metallic’s six eyes all looked towards Twilight and his mandibles clanged together several times. The booming sound reverberated off the walls and machinery around them.
“They use too, but once they began using machines to craft their weapons. They thought they no longer needed my metal. So if they decided to disregard my gifts. I won’t produce any more metal for them. Their ancestors worshiped my gifts, but this new generation only cares about coins and ways to lower cost intake,” Metallic said.
“Sadly yes, the Griffin race has traveled down a very bumpy road,” Aeolus said.
“Enough with the formalities. We’ve come here to ask him a question,” Ahuizotl pointed out.
“Indeed you have,” Metallic said before he submerged himself back into the inky darkness. The sound of metal legs echoed around the group as Metallic’s voice reverberated all around them as he continued, “You’ve come to ask why our brother was corrupted.”
“Indeed,” Aeolus said before he continued, “It might be a long shot since the other Gods don’t know the reason why.”
“The other Gods have lied,” Metallic stated as his voice reverberated around them.
“That can’t be, Cyclone wouldn’t lie to me,” Gnel stated mater-a-factly.
“As much as you wish it not to be true, your Gods have lied to you all. They know why Chaotic was corrupted, but they respect the one who asked them to keep silent,” Metallic said. Twilight quickly spun around as she saw something out of the corner of her eye slither through the inky darkness.
“So you do not respect the one that asked you to keep silent?” Sombra asked flatly.
“Hold your tongue!” Metallic snapped before he slowly came from the darkness and rose. His eyes glared at the group before he continued, “I hold him in high regards, but I also know to lie to you all might cause you to suffer.”
“So then why did Chaotic become corrupted? Sheik asked. Metallic turned her attention to Sheik before letting out a metallic twang sigh and submerging back into the inky blackness.
“Once all Epitaphs have been gathered, the first half of your journey will have ended. Once that happens, you will find out the answer to your question,” Metallic’s voice said as his metallic twang reverberated all around them.
“Do you really need to now be speaking in riddles?” Butterfly ranted before she added, “and that riddle didn't rhyme” Metallic paid no mind to her as the sound of metal legs clanging against the factory floor.
“The one who first sent you on this journey will be the one that reveals the answer you seek,” Metallic said. With that, the factory suddenly roared back to life. Machines whirred and conveyor belts began to move. The lights exploded on and for the first time, the group could see the endless machines all around them. Twilight looked around at the machines that seemed to surround them. She heard something above her and looked up. She let out a shocked squeak. Above the group, Metallic clanged to the ceiling. Twilight figured Metallic was half out of the darkness when he first appeared from it, but he was easily one thousand feet long. All Six eyes seemed to stare at her before she felt something wet hit her face.
She wiped at her face and examined the silver droplet that had landed on her face. She looked back up and her ears bent backward. More silver droplets began to fall from Metallic’s body. Suddenly, Metallic’s whole body changed to silver liquid and it roared down like a waterfall towards the group. It splashed down on the factory floor swapped up the group and pulled them towards a single spot in the factory. Twilight tried to escape the liquid, but it acted like glue as she tried to escape, but it only stretched and pulled her back into the roaring silver liquid. Twilight felt her body turn and her ears bent backward as a large hole formed in the floor and the silver liquid rushed towards it. Twilight struggled even harder but found no give in its sticky texture. She let out a scream as she was pushed over the edge and fell into the large hole.
Twilight let out a gasp as she looked around at the common area in the cabin under the boat's deck. The others soon came too as Butterfly began to rant, “Really, why wouldn’t he just tell us instead of speaking in riddles!”
“I don’t know, but what I want to know: why did the Gods lie to us?” Sheik said as she sat down on a sofa and placed her left leg on top of her right leg.
“Cyclone has never lied to me or any of our ancestors? Who would she be protecting?” Gnel asked as he hopped up on the sofa next to Sheik.
“Void,” Sombra said aloud. Everyone in the cabin looked towards him as he continued, “If you remember Metallic’s riddle: The one who first sent you on this journey, will be the one that reveals the answer you seek. Void was the first myself, Discord, Tirek, and Twilight talked with before we started this journey. Also, if I’m correct: the other God’s hold Void in high regards.”
“Oh please,” Ahuizotl snorted before he added, “Inferno just tolerates Void. He doesn’t respect him.”
“I highly doubt that,” Sombra said before he continued, “I bad-mouthed Void once. Eclipse tore into me and defended him.”
“When I asked about the other Gods, Cyclone seemed to give Void the highest of regards when explaining,” Gnel said.
“I think Inferno puts up that act because he knows how you get,” Sheik joked.
“What did you say?” Ahuizotl hissed.
“If Void does know why Chaotic became corrupted. Why keep it from us or even his Epitaph?” Aeolus said. The group then turned their attention to Tirek.
“What?” Tirek asked.
“Why not ask Void ourselves?” Butterfly said. Tirek nodded and held his hand out. He began the chant, but the orb never appeared above his hand.
“I-I can’t get in touch with him,” Tirek said. He tried the chant again, but like before. Nothing happened.
“Do you think he won’t talk with us until we gather all the Epitaphs” Gnel asked.
“That might be the reason,” Sombra said.
“Then we’ll find out another way,” Ahuizotl said before he began the chant to contact Inferno. However, like Tirek. The orb didn’t appear. Ahuizotl tried again and again and again. After the fifth time, Ahuizotl ranted, “The hell?!”
“It seems none of the Gods want to talk right now,” Discord said before he sighed and looked over at Aeolus and asked, “What do we do now?”
“All we can do: is let the autopilot guide us to the Port of Icarus,” Aeolus said before he walked over to a cabinet, open it, and pull out a few board games. He placed them on the table and added, “We can always pass the time with these.”
“We have a psychotic God and his skeletal armies destroying the world and you want to play board games?!” Ahuizotl ranted.
“What can we do?” Sheik spoke up before she continued, “We’ve got a day and a half on this boat. Might as well pass the time with a board game or two. It's better than worrying about where and what Chaotic is doing.”
“You can use Aqua’s power to move the ocean under us and make this oversized bath toy get there much faster!” Ahuizotl argued.
“And in turn, that will let Chaotic know where we are,” Sheik retorted back before she got up and examined the board games. Gnel joined her and looked at each game on the table. Ahuizotl scoffed at her response and headed up the stairs and onto the boat’s deck.
“How about this?” Gnel said as he picked up one of the board games.
A Griffin skeleton engulfed in flames slowly crept up to Chaotic, still in his Pegasus form, and let out a low bone-rattling hiss. Chaotic looked from the desolate city to the skeleton and said, “So, they got away. No worries. They’ll soon come to me.” The skeleton let out another low bone-rattling hiss. Chaotic let out a laugh and added, “Worried? They are mere Epitaphs while I am a full-fledged God.” The skeleton said nothing as it slowly backed away. Chaotic paid it no mind as he started walking towards the large Griffin statue. It had lost one of its arms and the pocket watch it held had fallen and crushed Aeolus’s workshop. There was a group of skeletons surrounding the workshop as Chaotic walked towards them.
The group of skeletons parted and let Chaotic through until he stood in front of the fallen Rip Jaw. His Right claw was severed at the wrist, his left-wing was crushed and the machinery making it up was spitting out sparks and oil. The bottom of his mechanical beak was torn off as a mixture of blood and oil dripped from the open wound and the speaker hung from its wiring. Rip Jaw shakily looked up and used his bloody right stub to press the button under his neck skin. The speaker crackled to life as static filled the air between the two.
“You-you-you-you won’t win-win-win-win-win,” Rip Jaws robotic monotone voice said as several of the words repeated themselves like a broken record. The robotic voice was hard to hear because of the rising and falling volume and static that accompanied it. Rip Jaw took a deep breath before continuing, “A-a-a-a-a-Aeolus and his friend’s will-will-will-will-will-will-will-will-will-will.” The robotic voice finally cut out and nothing but empty static came from the speaker. Rip Jaw let go of the button and the speaker died. Rip Jaw simply glared up at Chaotic.
“You think so?” Chaotic said as a smile formed on his face. He lowered his head closer to Rip Jaw and continued, “Your loyalty to your brother is commendable.” The underbelly of his Pony body began to glow coral orange. His wings extended before they propelled him into the air. Chaotic’s smile grew as plums of amethyst flames sparked from the corners of his mouth. Rip Jaw looked up shakily at him as Chaotic roared, “That’s why I know you’ll make a great general!” before he breathed amethyst flames towards Rip Jaw.
“Are you INSANE!” Cyclone yelled as she stared at Metallic. After the Epitaphs met with Metallic, he was summoned to Void’s plain. When he arrived he found Cyclone, Inferno, Eclipse, and Aqua all there waiting for him. Cyclone growled loudly as the fog making up her body flared up as she paced back and forth. Her glare intensified as she added, “You promised you’d keep Chaotic’s corruption a secret until the time was right!”
“I didn’t give any information on his corruption,” Metallic stated with a metallic twang.
“Really?” Inferno said before he added, “you told them about Void’s plan!”
“I did no such thing,” Metallic said before he rose and his mandibles snapped several times before he continued, “I never mentioned Void or even why Chaotic was Corrupted!”
“Oh yeah, and that little riddle you gave them was so subtle,” Aqua stated.
“They needed to be aware of their fate Aqua. They are going in blind and have no idea what will become of them,” Metallic hissed.
“We believe in our Epitaphs and know they can defeat Chaotic,” Eclipse said.
“This coming from the God that corrupted her own Epitaph,” Metallic retorted.
“What did you say?” Eclipse growled as she slowly stalked towards him. Metallic’s mandibles snapped shut several times as the long-hanging arms came to life in his mouth. Silver liquid dripped from his maw. Eclipse then growled again, “What I do with my Epitaph is my own business!”
“Enough!” Void finally spoke up. He had been lying in a large pile of himself and just before the two came to blows. All twelve of his eyes opened and he lifted his head. Six eyes stared at Eclipse and the other six stared at Metallic. He let out a sigh and added, “We cannot change what has already been done. Also, Metallic is right. He didn’t disclose how our brother was corrupted.”
“He is not our brother!” Eclipse hissed as she added, “He lost that title after he killed.” She stopped herself from going any further as the thought made her anger subside.
“I understand your anger, we all miss them. However, Chaotic’s corruption was too strong to keep him from killing three of our kin. Somehow his corruption even erased their presence from the physical plain. Once all Epitaphs have been gathered, they will finally be given the reason why Chaotic was corrupted,” Void said.
Aeolus eased off the throttle and let the boat's engine slowly shut off as the boat gingerly floated into the Port of Icarus. As they slowly eased into one of the docks Sheik tossed a rope to a waiting Minotaur who tied the rope to a post. Gnel did the same to a second Minotaur who mimicked the first. A third Minotaur grabbed a small ramp and placed it on the side of the boat before the first Minotaur walked onto the boat.
“Welcome to the Port of Icarus. How long will you be staying?” he asked.
“Hopefully only a day or two,” Aeolus said.
“Okay, let’s say two days. That’ll be five bits. If you only stay a day we’ll give you back three bits,” the first Minotaur said. Aeolus nodded and retreated down into the cabin beneath the boat. He then returned with a large pouch. He reached in and pulled out eight bits and handed them to the Minotaur.
“Keep them. I’m not worried. You three seem like good, honest working folks,” Aeolus said. The Minotaur tipped his captions hat to Aeolus before he turned around and walked off the boat.
As the group walked off the boat the second Minotaur looked up and asked, “What brings you all the way out here?”
“We’re here to see Rampage,” Gnel piped up.
“Ah, you’re here for the show. Hopefully, you got your tickets early because I read they’re all sold out,” the second Minotaur said.
“No worries, we got our tickets months ago,” Discord said before he ruffled Gnel’s hair and added, “It’s his first time seeing a live show. Wouldn’t want to disappoint.” The Minotaur nodded before he headed off with the other two. Once the three had left, Gnel swiped at Discord to get him to stop.
“So how are we going to get in to see Rampage if all the tickets are sold out?” Gnel asked.
“Easy, I’ll just conjure up some more tickets,” Discord said as he raised his Griffin claw. Sheik quickly grabbed his claw before he could snap his fingers. Sombra sighed and smacked his forehead with his hoof.
“Were you even listening?” Sheik scolded. Discord looked at her quickly before she sighed and explained, “If we use magic, it leaves a trail. Chaotic can track that trail and find us!”
“Oh, right,” Discord said before he smiled sheepishly and added, “Sorry. Forgot about that.” Sheik let go of Discord’s Griffin claw and let out a relieved sigh.
“So how are we going to get in to see Rampage?” Twilight asked.
“We’ll just have to see what we can do when we get there,” Aeolus said before the group headed from the Port, into the large bustling city.
Twilight looked in awe at the large city. Its buildings were like walls of a maze and the streets felt like a pathway through the maze as some streets ended in dead ends. Many of the cities inhabiting traveled by Rickshaw. Sheik looked around and found a group of Minotaur’s standing on the sidewalk talking with one another.
“We should be able to get there with them,” Sheik said as she pointed to the group and their Rickshaws.
“What can I do for you little lady?” one of the Minotaurs asked Sheik as she walked up to them.
“We need to get to where the Wrestling match is tonight,” Sheik said as she motioned towards the rest of the group.
“Oh, you want to go to the Theseus Dome,” another Minotaur said before he added, “We can take you all there. It’s not too far.” Sheik thanked them as the group got into each Rickshaw in groups of two. Discord and Tirek with Butterfly on his shoulder in one, Gnel and Sheik in another, Aeolus and Ahuizotl in the third, and Sombra and Twilight in the final one. Each Minotaur grabbed the two poles of the Rickshaw and checked the street to make sure it was safe before they began to pull their Rickshaw down the streets of the labyrinth-style city.
They started slow before they picked up speed and soon the group was racing down the streets of the city. Only stopping at an intersection with a Minotaur standing in the middle of the intersection. He held a red card towards them while holding a green card for the other Rickshaws. After a while, the Minotaur showed the green card to them and the group was again racing down the streets.
“Whoa,” Gnel said as he saw their destination up ahead. It was a massive dome with large bull horns on the roof. Flames flickered at the tips of the horns before they suddenly shot into the air like a dragon breathed its flames out each horn before they died down and the flames went back to flickering.
“Yeah, cool isn’t it?” the Minotaur pulling Gnel’s and Sheik's Rickshaw said before he added, “they only use the flamethrowers when there’s an LCW show at the Theseus Dome.”
“That’s so cool!” Gnel said with a childlike laugh. The Minotaur’s soon slowed and stopped in front of the sidewalk in front of the dome.
“How much do we owe you?” Aeolus asked as he climbed off the Rickshaw with the others.
“Two Bits per cart please,” the lead Minotaur said. Aeolus nodded and reached into his pouch before he gave each Minotaur two Bits. They thanked him and the four Minotaur’s went their separate ways. One of the Minotaurs stopped close to the dome where an elderly Minotaur shakily climbed into the Rickshaw. She then shakily pointed her cane down the street and the Minotaur grabbed the two poles and guided the Rickshaw to where she wanted to go.
“Now we just need to figure out a way in,” Twilight said as she watched the Minotaurs leave.
“I guess I didn’t need my magic after all,” Discord said amused. The group turned to see a Minotaur in a black suit and red tie holding a sign with each of their names on it. Twilight’s name wasn’t with the other Epitaphs, but after the last name was a plus one. Discord laughed again and added, “Guess Rampage thought of everything.” The group walked up to the Minotaur who greeted them each with a handshake. He then led them into the dome and to the VIP room.
“Here's where Mr. Rampage will meet you after his match. Now please feel free to relax and have something to eat until the start of the show. I’ll bring you to your seats before it starts,” the Minotaur said before he left the room. The VIP room was massive with a large TV on the wall and three tables, each with various types of food and drinks atop them. Gnel hopped over to the tables and took a long whiff of the food. He let out a sigh before he grabbed a plate and began to fill it with food.
“Slow down Gnel. You ate on the boat so I highly doubt you’re this hungry,” Sheik said as she too picked up a plate and began to choose from the variety of food. Gnel looked up at her with a piece of shrimp in his mouth. He swallowed it without chewing before he answered.
“But I’m a growing boy,” Gnel whimpered as he gave her puppy dog eyes. Sheik laughed and shook her head before she ruffled his hair and went back to picking out food. Gnel swatted at her hand and added, “Why do you all do that. You know I don’t like it. The only one who doesn’t do that is Ahuizotl.”
“And I never will,” Ahuizotl hissed as he walked up next to Gnel and his tail-hand took a plate before he scanned the food on the table. He then filled his plate with a variety of meat. The others followed suit, but Twilight skipped all the meat and filled her plate with fruit and vegetables. Once they had filled their plates, they sat down at a round table and began to eat.
“You didn’t get any protein?” Gnel said to Twilight and Sombra as he bit into a piece of sausage roll.
“I’m a vegetarian,” Twilight admitted as she dipped a piece of cauliflower into a small lump of ranch dressing before popping it into her mouth. Sombra nodded as he bit into part of a spinach roll slice.
“Vege-what?” Gnel asked.
“Vegetarian: means she doesn’t eat meat,” Sheik said as she placed a slice of pepperoni on top of a small slice of cheese before finally placing it on a cracker and popping it into her mouth.
“Everyone in Equestria is a vegetarian,” Discord said as he rolled up a piece of cheese in ham and ate it.
“Discord!” Twilight coughed as she choked on a carrot stick. She cleared her throat and added, “I thought you were a vegetarian too!”
“What gave you that idea,” Discord said as he popped a deep-fried clam strip into his mouth and chewed.
“I’ve only seen you eat cucumber sandwiches!” Twilight pointed out.
“Well yeah. Fluttershy made them and I do like cucumbers, but that doesn’t make me a vegetarian. I wouldn’t make Fluttershy cook meat with all the animals she cares for. It would scar her for life,” Discord explained.
“Not everyone in this world eats the same thing as you Ponies,” Ahuizotl said as he bit into a piece of beef jerky.
“Don’t worry Twilight, I can’t stand meat either,” Butterfly said as she bit into a grape tomato. She then floated over to a cucumber slice and broke a part of it off so she could eat it. The group ate in silence for several minutes until Gnel let out a belch to break the silence.
“Oops, excuse me,” he said sheepishly before he took a handful of hey-fries and shoveled them into his mouth. Again they ate in silence as the TV screen spun the letters LCW around in the middle of the screen.
“That was amazing,” Sheik sighed in satisfaction as she patted her stomach.
“For once I agree with you. That was prepared beautifully,” Ahuizotl said. Gnel slumped in his chair as he let out a belch again, but only sighed in satisfaction as he smacked his lips and tasted the freshly eaten food on his breath.
“Everything was very fresh. Guess Rampage knows how to treat his guests,” Sombra said.
“I’m glad everything was to your liking,” the Minotaur in the suit said before he added, “The show will begin shortly. If you would please follow me and I’ll take you to your seats.” The group got up and followed him through hallways until they exited into the large arena with a large square wrestling ring. The Minotaur in the suit showed them to their seats which were in the front so they would be sitting on the other side of the barricade.
“Whoa, we got front row seats. Nice!” Gnel said excitedly as he took his seat.
“Thanks, Mr?” Twilight said trying to remember if the Minotaur gave his name.
“Canvas,” the Minotaur said before he bowed to them.
“Thank you Canvas,” Aeolus said as he reached into his pouch and produced three Bits.
“No tip necessary,” Canvas said before he added, “Oh, before I forget. The vendors here have been told that anything you order is comped so don’t worry about payment of popcorn or other snacks and drinks.”
“Are you sure?” Butterfly asked.
“Yes, Mr. Rampage likes to take care of his guests,” Canvas said before he asked, “Is there anything else you need?” the group shook their heads and Canvas nodded before he left the group.
“This is so exciting!” Gnel said as he hopped up and down on his seat before he added, “I’ve only seen these shows on TV. I’ve never seen them in person.”
“I’ve never heard of these shows before now. What are they about?” Twilight asked. Gnel stopped bouncing in place and looked at her in shock
“WHAT!” Gnel yelled.
“Damn it Gnel. Not so loud!” Ahuizotl said as his ears lay flat on his head from his scream.
“Sorry,” Gnel said before he turned back to Twilight and added, “Oh I can’t wait until you see this. You’ll love it!” he began to bounce excitedly again in his seat.
“I think I remember seeing a show like this once,” Sombra said as he rubbed his chin and thought before he remembered and added, “Yeah, it pitted two competitors together in metal armor. They fought one another with weapons until one of them couldn’t fight anymore. Then, one of the nobles either let the victor spare or kill the loser.”
“Wait. What!” Twilight said as she looked at the group in shock.
“How long ago was it you saw this fight?” Sheik asked.
“Over a thousand years ago,” Sombra said as he thought some more.
“Yeah, let’s just say those types of fights aren’t around anymore and these fights are more family-friendly now,” Sheik said.
“Have you seen the Rage in the Cage match from last year?!” Gnel asked before he continued, “Mace lost almost a quart of blood!”
“Yeah, but that’s tame compared to what these fights were before,” Sheik said as she placed her right leg over the left.
“I’m guessing you're not a fan of this,” Discord said.
“Not really,” Sheik said before she ranted, “It’s nothing but large muscled brutes groping each other while they use the opposite sex as nothing more than trophies.”
“That’s rich coming from the exotic dancer,” Butterfly said with a sly smile. Sheik quickly shot Butterfly a glare as Butterfly shot her a glare right back.
“Not again,” Sombra said as he sighed and placed a hoof on his face.
The arena started to come to life as more beings started to pile into the stands and take their seats. Vendors started walking around yelling their products and seeing who needed or wanted them. Gnel called to a cotton candy vendor who saw him and started over to him.
“Do you really need more food?” Sheik asked before she added, “Especially more sugar.” Sheik then looked at the cotton candy vendor and shook her head. He stopped, nodded, and continued on his route.
“Yes mom,” Gnel said sarcastically before he folded his arms in front of him and huffed in frustration.
“You’ll thank me when you’re not puking your guts out,” Sheik said.
“Oh come now, let the kid have his fun,” Discord said as he handed Gnel some cotton candy. Gnel’s eyes widened as he greedily took the treat and devoured it.
“Thank you Discord,” Gnel said with a mouth full of melting sugar. Sheik rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat. More and more beings came into the arena as more and more vendors walked around the aisles calling out what they had. Discord called to three vendors and got the group warm pretzels, sodas, and cups of what the vendor called: Dip and Dots.
As the arena finally filled a Satyr walked out from the ramp and into the ring in the middle of the arena. He held a microphone in his right hand and looked around the arena before he started; “Good evening to everyone who has come to the Theseus Dome. I, as always will be your announcer for tonight. For those who are new here. My name is Jukebox. Now, who's ready for tonight's episode of Labyrinth Championship Wrestling!” the crowd erupted into cheers. Gnel cheered as well and soon began to chant Rampage’s name. Soon, a few behind him chanted his name as well. Then, the whole arena was chanting Rampage’s name.
“Rampage, Rampage, Rampage, Rampage, Rampage,” the crowd chanted in unison. The Satyr in the middle of the ring nodded as they chanted the wrestler’s name.
“Oh yes, Rampage is here tonight and will put the title on the line against his archrival,” Jukebox said before he paused for dramatic effect and then added, “Car-ni-vore!” the crowd exploded into cheers just before the lights shut off. The titantron over the stage beamed to life as it showed the intro package for the wrestling show. Once over, the stage exploded to life as pyrotechnics shot from the stage, sides of the titantron, and rafters. Booms, screeches, and whistling filled the arena and overpowered the cheering crowd. When the pyrotechnics ceased, the arena was filled with white smoke, but the crowd didn’t care as they screamed and cheered louder.
“The Tag team match is scheduled for one fall!” Jukebox said as the crowd fell silent. Music erupted from the speakers around the arena and the crowd began to cheer loudly as Jukebox continued, “First, they weigh in at a combined weight of eight hundred and fifty pounds. Devastator and Crush, the Swines of Doom!” the entrance to the ramp filled with fog and as it grew thicker and the music hit its crescendo. Two large anthropomorphic boars stormed out of the fog to the cheers of the crowd. The two stood seven feet tall with ragged, ripped pants and on their shoulders were pads with three diagonal spikes shooting from each pad. The right boar had face paint over his right eye. The face paint resembled a large red Dragon’s Claw. He had body paint on his large gut that hung over his pants. It was a description of a boar’s skull with the same face paint over its right eye socket. The left boar had face paint as well, but it was a depiction of a star spider between his eyes. Its legs dangled down to the top of his lips. He too had a boar’s skull with the same face paint as he did on it.
The two walked down the ramp towards the ring not glancing at the crowd. They parted and walked up each of the steel stairs on the corners of the ring before they climbed into the ring and raised their arms to the cheering crowd. After parading around the ring, they unhooked the straps and took off the shoulder pads as new music exploded out the speakers as Jukebox announced, “and their opponents: Weighing in at a combined weight of three hundred and thirty pounds: T-bone and Razor. The S.W.A.T Kats!” a roar of an engine erupted through the speakers before a guitar riff and pyro exploded from the stage and two anthropomorphic cats were propelled from under the stage, through trap doors, and into the air. They landed back down on the ground and kept crouched down for several seconds before they stood up straight.
One cat was an orange tabby while the other was a tan tiger with light blond stripes. Both wore the same large black jacket with tan pants and their paws were wrapped in athletic tape. Both wore aviator goggles, but the orange tabby on the right had them resting on top of his head while the tiger had them around his neck. As they walked down the ramp they high-fived each claw, hoof, and hand of the audience that sat near the ramp. They stopped in front of the ring before they hopped up onto the apron. They pointed to one another before they hopped over the top rope and onto the second turnbuckle in opposite corners. They saluted the crowd as a mixture of cheers and boos erupted from the crowd.
As the two cats took off their jackets and goggles a Unicorn Pony stallion galloped from the stage and down to the ring. He wore a black and white striped shirt and an earpiece in his left ear. He slipped into the ring as Jukebox climbed out of the ring and looked at each of the four competitors. The boar with the star spider paint who Gnel said was named Devastator went through the middle rope and let his partner Crush face-off with the Tiger cat named T-bone. Gnel told Twilight that the Pony with the striped shirt was the referee. The Pony pointed one hoof to Crush who nodded before he pointed to T-bone who nodded as well. The referee then pointed to Jukebox who used a small hammer to hit a ring bell.
T-bone and Crush grabbed one another in a collar and elbow tie-up in the middle of the ring. Crush was able to place T-bone in a headlock for several seconds before T-bone was able to escape and deliver a standing dropkick which caused Crush to stagger back, but not fall. Crush snarled before the two once again grappled in another collar and elbow tie-up. Twilight watched in shock as the two continued struggling and Twilight saw that T-bone was a little more built than his partner who was thin with a bit of muscle on him. Crush was able to grab T-bone and pick him up before slamming him down with a scoop slam.
T-bone lay on the mat as Crush rushed to one side of the ring, letting the ring ropes spring him forward before he leaped into the air. His senton hit an empty mat as T-bone rolled out of the way of the maneuver. Crush started to get up, but T-bone was able to get to his feet first and deliver a superkick to the side of Crush’s face. A loud smack echoed as Crush fell back to the ground. T-bone helped Crush to sit up before he ran to the ring ropes. He bounced off them and delivered a running dropkick. Crush’s head snapped back as his body fell to the ground again. T-bone hopped back to his feet and dragged Crush towards the corner where Razor waited with an outstretched hand. T-bone smacked Razor's hand and Razor quickly climbed the turnbuckle as T-bone positioned Crush on the mat. Razor leaped from the top turnbuckle and slammed his feet into the stomach of Crush. Crush gasped and rolled around on the mat as he clutched his stomach in pain.
T-bone climbed between the ropes and stood on the apron as Razor helped Crush to his feet. Razor then quickly jabbed his right forearm into the side of Crush’s face before Razor ran to the ropes, bounced off them, and slammed his shoulder into Crush’s chest. Crush staggered back before he fell into one of the side corners. Razor ran to the opposite corner before he ran full speed at Crush before he flipped forward and slammed his back into Crush’s body. Gnel said that that maneuver was called a cannonball. Twilight nodded as she continued to watch the match. She took a hoof of popcorn and popped it into her mouth as the match continued.
Razor got back to his feet before picking up the limp body of Crush. He tried to fling Crush into the ring ropes, but Crush seemed to not budge. Razor tried again, but Crush quickly whipped Razor into the ropes. Razor bounced off the ropes and towards Crush who performed a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
The sudden move caused Crush to fall back into his own corner as Devastator slapped Crush’s chest before he climbed through the rope and grabbed Razor who was trying to crawl his way to T-bone. Devastator deadlifted Razor before he delivered a backdrop. Razor bounced off the mat and rolled around in pain as Devastator slowly started to get back on his feet. Devastator quickly grabbed Razor and Irish-whipped him into one of the corners before charging towards him. Devastator performed a scorpion splash and found nothing but turnbuckle. Devastator stumbled back as Razor leaped and tagged in his partner. T-bone, surprisingly was able to leap from the apron to the top rope and jump towards the staggering Devastator. T-bone drove his forearm into the side of Devastator’s face.
The two fell to the mat before T-bone quickly got back up and ran towards Crush and dropkicked him off the apron. T-bone got back up again and quickly helped Devastator back up before quickly slamming his forearms into Devastator's face before he spun and slammed the back of his right hand into the side Devastator's face. The large boar staggered as T-bone quickly tagged Razor who had just now climbed back onto the apron. Razor quickly climbed through the ropes and help T-bone with Devastator. The two powered Devastator into a suplex and slammed Devastator into the mat. Devastator arched his back as pain shot through his lower back as T-bone and Razor quickly got back on their feet. The two nodded towards each other before they went to different sides of the ring.
The two climbed on opposite turnbuckles before they pointed to one another. The two jumped off their respective turnbuckles and in unison slammed into Devastator’s body as T-bone hit him with a body splash and Razor landed a leg drop across his chest. T-bone rolled off Devastator as Razor rolled on top of Devastator for the pin. The Pony referee started his count. His hoof came down once, twice, but before it could come down for the third time. Crush seemed to come out of nowhere and push Razor off Devastator to break up the three count. Crush got back up and both he and T-bone started punching one another. They began to draw closer to the ropes. T-bone staggered back towards the ring ropes as Crush clotheslined him and they both tumbled over the top rope, onto the apron, and down onto the concrete floor below that had a thin padded mat covering it.
Razor and Devastator slowly started to get to their feet. Razor threw a punch and Devastator staggered back before he threw one of his own. Razor staggered back but then threw another punch. The two did this for several seconds before one of Devastator’s punches caused Razor to fall back onto the mat. Devastator picked up Razor and slammed him down onto the mat. According to Gnel, the move Devastator performed was a spinebuster. Twilight simply nodded as she didn't take her eyes off the match. she sipped her drink without looking at the straw.
Devastator got back to his feet before he slowly walked over to one of the turnbuckles. He climbed to the top and raised his arms as the crowd cheered just before Devastator leaped from the top of the turnbuckle and performed a frog splash. His large frame slammed into Razor's body and Razor let out a gasp. The Pony Referee quickly started his count. His hoof went down once, twice. T-bone began to crawl back into the ring, but Crush quickly grabbed his leg to keep him from stopping the count. The Pony Referee slammed his hoof down a third time and a bell rang out as the crowd cheered. Twilight suddenly let out a cheer of excitement before she stopped mid-cheer and saw Discord snickering at her. Her face went red as she composed herself and sat back down in her seat.
“Here are your winners! Crush, Devastator: The Swines of Doom!” Jukebox announced. The Referee’s horn glowed and his magic raised both Crush and Devastator’s arms. Twilight watched as the two large boars climbed between the ropes jumped from the apron to the floor and walked up towards the ramp. Razor and T-bone soon followed as T-bone helped Razor walk up the ramp.
“Did you see it?” Discord asked with a sly smile.
“See what?” Twilight asked. Discord snickered a little before he snapped his fingers and a small screen appeared in front of Twilight.
Chaotic lay in the massive throne room of his castle atop a large pile of bones and ash. Smoke shot from his nostrils with every exhale as he slept. His eyes suddenly shot open as he lifted his head and looked up towards the ceiling. A toothy smile formed on his face as he chuckled, “There you are.”
The screen showed a replay of Devastator and Razors punching match before the end of the match. She watched the replay before she turned to Discord and asked, “What am I supposed to see?” Discord rolled his eyes and sighed.
“Look closely at their strikes,” Discord said as he pointed to the screen as the replay started again. Twilight looked more closely at the replay and saw it. Their punches never connected. The two would throw a punch but stop a few inches away from the others face. The other would act like they were hit and then throw a similar punch. Discord saw her realization and mused, “It’s all fake.”
“No, it isn’t,” Gnel said in a protective and somewhat angry tone. Twilight looked towards him and noticed he had accumulated more food than before. She remembered he had cotton candy before the first match started, but now he had a large tube of popcorn that seemed to be half empty, a drink in the holder of the chair, and a half-eaten pretzel in his right hand. He took a small bite of his pretzel before he continued, “It’s not fake, just preplanned. That’s why it’s considered entertainment.”
“Yes, because watching brutes grope each other is so entertaining,” Sheik said sarcastically.
The next match started with Jukebox announcing the next wrestlers. The first was an anthropomorphic shark named frenzy who didn’t get his own music and simply walked down the ramp to the ring. Then, music blared from the speakers and a large, built red earth pony stallion walked onto the ramp as Jukebox announced his name as Tank. Tank trotted down to the ring and quickly climbed through the rope. Twilight marveled at Tank’s frame and thought that even the stallion was much larger than Big Mac. When the bell rang, Tank overpowered frenzy and dominated most of the match until Tank pinned Frenzy and the bell rang. According to Gnel, the match was known as a squash match where one wrestler would dominate over the other to show just how strong the dominating wrestler is.
The next match was between a masked Satyr and a much smaller Pony. Gnel explained once again that this was a cruiserweight match. Gnel then explained the different weight classes in the LCW starting with the cruiserweight class, then the light heavyweight, heavyweight, and finally super heavyweight. As he finished explaining, Jukebox climbed into the ring and announced the next match.
“This eight-man elimination tag team match is scheduled for one fall!” Jukebox announced as the lights suddenly died and the arena was engulfed in darkness. Small lights began to flicker to light around the dome as creepy country music started to come to life from the speakers. Jukebox waited for several seconds before he continued, “Introducing first: at a combined weight of eight hundred and forty pounds. Father Courtland, Brother Braeburn, Brother Macintosh, and Brother Empire. The Apple Family!” Twilight’s ears perked up as she looked towards the ramp.
There was nothing at first, but then a large stallion walked out with a glowing lantern with the handle firmly between his teeth. A small cloud of mist emanated from the glowing glass. Then, she saw three more pony figures behind him. The stallion holding the lantern soon walked down the ramp towards the ring with the three other Ponies behind him. When they reached the end of the ramp, the stallion removed the lantern from his mouth and held it with his right fore-hoof before he blew the light out. The arena was once again engulfed in darkness. The lights exploded to life causing Twilight to wince and shield her eyes. The crowd cheered and Twilight squinted to see the Ponies in the ring. Her eye’s widened when she saw who was standing there.
Holding the lantern was a large steel-gray stallion with a thick brown bearded and mane fashioned in dreadlocks. On the stallion’s right side was Braeburn. His vest seemed to be patched erratically with different types of fabric and what looked like Pony’s skin since some had cutie marks on them. He wore his usual cowboy hat, but along the rim, small Pony figures hung from small nooses. Braeburn stared out into the crowd with an occasional eye twitch. On the other side was Big Mac. His large frame, mane and tail color, and fire engine red coat were unmistakable. However, he wore a sheep’s mask over his face. The mask looked disheveled and had pipes and weird metal fragments protruding from it. Big Mac let out a long breath and white steam poured from the pipes in his mask. Finally, behind the three was the largest Stallion Twilight had ever seen. He easily towered over Big Mac and was far more muscular than him. She knew that if Big Mac cloned himself and had his clone stand on his back. The two would only reach this stallion’s chin. The large stallion in question was a dark brown color with a thick orange beard and tail and a shaved mane.
“That’s father Cortland,” Gnel whispered to Twilight as he pointed to the middle stallion holding the lantern. He then pointed to Braeburn, Big Mac, and the large stallion and continued, “That’s brother Braeburn, brother Macintosh, and in the back is brother Empire.” He smiled and added, “They’re like the weird, creepy hick family.” Twilight nodded and suddenly jumped as a crackle of thunder echoed throughout the arena. The crowd cheered as more crackles of thunder echoed through the speakers.
A lightning bolt shot from the rafters and towards the ramp with a crackle of thunder. When the bolt hit the stage it exploded in a massive wall of flames. When the flames died down the sound of several Theremins with low chanting started to slowly creep out of the speakers as Jukebox announced, “And their opponents: From the deepest pits of Tartarus; Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. The Four Ponies of the Apocalypse!” When the chanting and Theremins hit their crescendo. Another crackle of thunder echoed and a cackling Pegasus shot from the entranceway of the stage. He had a sickly green coat and dark brown mane and tail. He had face paint on the right side of his face which made it look like the right side of his smile stretched all the way to his right ear. He let out another cackle and flew back towards the stage and landed on the right side as another Pony walked out from the entrance. He was a large blood-red earth Pony stallion with his whole face painted like a Pony skull. His mane was colored and done up like flames were shooting out the back of the skull. The stallion joined the Pegasus on the right side as the feeling of suffocation started to fill the arena. Twilight took a sip of her drink and instantly spat it back out. The drink tasted like old mulch mixed with mold.
“Sorry, should have warned you not to drink or eat when Famine comes out,” Gnel apologized. Twilight looked at him and then to the newest Pony on stage. He was a flamboyant white Unicorn stallion with a puffy red mane and tail. The right side of his face had a ruby red diamond painted with what looked like small cracks in the paint. From his horn emanated a pink cloud that seemed to disappear in the air. Gnel leaned over to Twilight and whispered, “Apparently his horn produces a gas cloud that makes all food and drinks taste terrible.” Twilight nodded before she jumped again as a much larger crackle of thunder echoed throughout the arena. The lights suddenly died and the arena was coated in darkness. The chanting started again but seemed to be altered and distorted. Twilight felt a cold chill run down her spine as a spotlight exploded to life at the entrance of the stage. The light illuminated a Unicorn standing on the stage who was surrounded by a white mist. Twilights jaw dropped as wings unfolded and extended on either side of his body.
The lights exploded to life as the Alicorn walked out from the mist and stood at the edge of the ramp. He was a black Alicorn with flames painted from his hooves to his shoulders and flank. His mouth was painted in a way that showed he had long fangs protruding from his mouth. His eyes seemed to glow blood red with emerald-slanted pupils scanning the arena. Around his horn was painted a red inverted star with what looked like trickling blood from parts of the radius. The Alicorn walked down to the ring with his wings still extended as the other three followed suit. He stopped in front of the ring and glared at the four stallions in the ring before both wings folded to his side. The sickly green Pegasus cackled and his wings opened wide and he took flight, circling the ring. The Pegasus let out another cackle before he dive-bombed towards the ring. He landed on the top rope and cackled again before he licked his lips and a large toothy grin formed on his face.
The large blood-red earth Pony stallion leaped up and stood on the apron of the ring and glared at the Apple Family in the ring. The sickly green Pegasus let out a much louder, much more annoying cackle. This made the Blood Red Stallion turn his glare at the Pegasus. His glare then turned back to the Apple Family before he climbed through the middle rope and stood in front of the four Ponies. Famine, the flamboyant white Unicorn stallion let his horn glow as pink glittering stairs appeared and he walked up the stairs and into the ring. The lights suddenly died and a second later, they came back alive and the Red and Black Alicorn stood in front of his three partners and his glowing blood-red eyes stared at the Apple Family. The two groups stared at one another as the Unicorn referee gingerly walked between the groups. His horn glowed and a light blue aura wrapped around the red and black Alicorn and Famine’s horn.
“What are they doing?” Twilight asked Gnel.
“The Referee is using his magic to keep Famine and Death from using their magic,” Gnel explained. Twilight nodded as the Referee slowly climbed out of the ring. When the bell rang, the ring was filled with utter carnage.
According to Gnel, the tag-team match should have one person from each team in the ring fighting one another and would tag their teammate in. However, the two teams didn’t care for the match rules and simply attacked their respective opponent. The fighting spilled out of the ring and onto the floor. Even though Twilight knew their blows were fake, she still cringed whenever she saw them get hit. She quickly grabbed the back of her head as a loud smack echoed through the arena. The sickly green Pegasus called Pestilence delivered a kick to the back of Braeburn’s head that Gnel called an Enziguri. Big Mac faced off against the large blood-red stallion called War. The two seemed equally matched in strength and durability since Big Mac delivered a backdrop onto the thinly padded floor. However, War got up and delivered a powerbomb to Big Mac. The two continued this power struggle while their other teammates fought their opponents. Famine quickly dodged Brother Empire as he tried to get his hooves on Famine.
He would dodge and then strike, but his strikes didn’t seem to affect the massive stallion as Empire tried to get his hooves on Famine. The only two Ponies not fighting were Death and Father Cortland. They just stood in the middle of the ring glaring at one another. It seemed they were in an intense staring contest. Neither one flinched when the crowd cheered or chanted “holy shit” as Big Mac speared War through the right corner barricade. The two continued to stare at each other before a toothy smile formed on Death’s face. Father Cortland brandished a similar smile before the two suddenly attacked each other.
Death kept Father Cortland in a headlock for several seconds before Father Cortland was able to break free and capture Death in a headlock. The two did this over and over again before Father Cortland, while trapped in Death’s fourth headlock was able to lift him and deliver a backdrop causing Death to loosen his grip on Cortland. The two lay on the mat as their teammates climbed onto the apron on the outside of the ring and edged their respective teammates on to tag out. The two crawled slowly to their own corners and both simultaneously leaped and tagged one of their teammates into the match.
Pestilence cackled as he jumped over the top rope while Brother Empire stepped over the top rope. Pestilence galloped towards Brother Empire and delivered a running dropkick to Brother Empire’s side. However, the kick didn’t seem to register with Empire as he stood tall while Pestilence fell to the mat. He looked up at the massive Stallion and cackled before he rolled to the left just before Empire slammed his front hooves on the mate where Pestilence once was. Pestilence got to his hooves quickly and galloped towards the ring ropes. They ricocheted him towards Brother Empire. Since he was so tall, Pestilence was able to slide underneath his frame. As he passed under Empire he kicked at all four of his legs causing Empire to wobble, but not fall. Pestilence once again let the ropes ricochet him towards his opponent and once again slid under Empire as he kicked at each of his legs. This time the attack made Empire fall to his knees as Pestilence once again used the ropes to ricochet towards Empire again. This time, however, Pestilence spun 180 degrees and delivered a kick to Empire’s face. He fell to the ground as Pestilence began to cackle and trot around the fallen Stallion as he did a crude dance.
However, the attack only seemed to anger Empire because while Pestilence continued his dance Empire stood up and snarled. Pestilence turned to Empire just as his right front hoof slammed into Pestilence’s face. Pestilence spun 360 degrees, stopped, stumbled, cackled, and finally fell to the mat. Empire snorted at the fallen Pestilence before he dragged him towards his corner. He tagged in Braeburn who quickly climbed through the middle rope and bolted to the middle of the mat before he charged at Pestilence who sat in the ring corner that housed the Apple Family. Braeburn jumped and pulled his back legs close to his chest. The way he soared through the air made it seem he was in slow motion before he delivered a dropkick to the chest of Pestilence.
Pestilence convulsed from the corner to the mat as he let out wheezing cackles trying to catch his breath. Braeburn got back to his hooves as he deadlifted the still wheezing Pestilence into a suplex. Pestilence once again convulsed on the mat as he arched his back from the pain. However, Pestilence never let up on his cackling as he wheezed out each breath of laughter. Braeburn’s right eye twitched before he helped Pestilence back to his hooves. However, Pestilence took this opportunity to strike. Quick as lightning Pestilence was able to leap and deliver an enziguri to the back of Braeburn’s head. The two fell to the ground and lay there for several seconds before Pestilence started to crawl towards his corner, cackling all the way there.
Pestilence suddenly leaped towards his corner and tagged in War as Braeburn was able to roll and tag in Father Courtland. The two met in the middle slamming their forearms into each other’s face before. War suddenly ducked under one of Courtland’s blows and got behind him before he lifted him and delivered a German suplex to the leader of the Apple Family. Father Courtland rolled out of the ring as Brother Macintosh quickly climbed into the ring and charged only to have War duck under his clothesline and deliver a German suplex to him as well. Braeburn climbed back into the ring only to get caught in another German suplex. Finally, Brother Empire slowly climbed over the ropes and stared daggers at War who stared daggers right back. The two were like statues as they continued their staring contest before they charged towards each other.
Even though Twilight knew their blows were fake she still winched with every fake strike. War was able to duck under one of Empire’s strikes and got behind him, wrapped his fore-hooves around his abdomen, and to everyone’s surprise was able to lift Empire and deliver a German suplex to the massive stallion. The Ring shook and quivered as the massive stallion slammed onto the mat. The crowd erupted into cheers at the massive feat of strength as War got back to his hooves and let out a war cry. He didn’t see Courtland slither back into the ring and before he could notice. Cortland blindsided him with a forearm to the back of the head. War stumbled back towards his corner. Famine tagged War without Cortland noticing as Courtland grabbed War and flung him towards the ropes.
War ducked under Father Cortland’s first strike, bounced off the ropes, ducked under his second strike, and finally, suicide dived through the ropes and collided with Empire on the outside of the ring. Famine was able to sneak behind the distracted Courtland and delivered a standing dropkick to the back of Courtland’s head causing him to crumble to the ground. Famine then tagged in Death before he ran towards the ropes letting them slingshot him towards the opposite side and suicide dive through the ropes only to smash into Braeburn on the outside.
Death climbed the turnbuckle and stood on his back hooves as he wobbled to keep his balance. He extended his wings before he leaped into the air, performed a front flip, and slammed his back hooves into the abdomen of Father Courtland. Death fell to the mat as Courtland rolled around on the mat clutching his abdomen. Death quickly got to his hooves and pinned Courtland as the referee moved from the corner to start the count. His hoof came down once, twice, and before it could come down a third time Brother Macintosh came from nowhere and tackled Death off Courtland.
Macintosh tried to throw Death out of the ring, but Death was able to counter and throw Macintosh out of the ring instead. He then grabbed Father Cortland and held him up from behind as Pestilence quickly crawled back into the ring and slammed his back right hoof onto the mat as the crowd began to count: 3…2…1. Pestilence galloped towards Death and Cortland before he attempted a superkick. However, Courtland was able to escape Death’s grasp at the last second and Pestilence’s superkick hit Death on the right side of his head. He stood up for several seconds before Death fell to the ground.
Pestilence cringed when he saw who he hit before he was speared out of the ring by Braeburn as the two fell through the middle rope and onto the floor. Courtland was laying on the bottom turnbuckle of his corner as Empire quickly climbed to the apron and tagged himself in. Empire quickly grabbed Death and deadlifted him into a running power slam. The whole ring shook as Empire quickly went for the pin. The referee, trying to stop the fight between Macintosh and War turned to see the pin and quickly started his count. His hoof came down once, twice. As it was raised Famine quickly climbed into the ring to stop the pin, but was intercepted by Braeburn who leaped from the top rope and slammed his forehoof into Famine's face as the referee's hoof came down a third time.
The bell rang as the crowd exploded into cheers as Jukebox announced, “Here are your winners: Brother Macintosh, Brother Braeburn, Brother Empire, and Father Courtland: the Apple Family!” the crowd cheered again as the ponies lying around and in the ring looked like they were in a war zone. Twilight watched as Macintosh helped Braeburn up while Empire helped Courtland up the ramp as he limped. War and Famine seemed to be able to walk on their own while Pestilence helped Death towards the back.
“How can I meet,” Twilight said before she cringed at the name, but added, “How can I meet Death?”
“I’m sure Rampage will let you meet him after the show,” Discord said before he stuffed a hand full of popcorn into his mouth. He coughed as a kernel seemed to get stuck in his throat before taking a large gulp of soda to wash it down. The lights suddenly died and a spotlight illuminated Jukebox in the middle of the ring. He had a large smile on his face as he surveyed the darkness around him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the main event!” Jukebox yelled as cheers exploded in the darkness.
Outside the stadium, two large Minotaurs stood on either side of the entrance of the stadium. The Minotaur on the right yawned as the one on the left asked, “Hey, do you see that?” the right Minotaur looked out into the darkness and saw something running towards them. It seemed to dodge and weave around the street lamps. The two tensed up as the Minotaur on the left slowly reached behind him towards his staff. The Minotaur on the right continued to have his arms folded as he narrowed his eyes to see what was coming through the darkness. The two relaxed when they saw a young Jackal run out of the darkness towards them. He stopped in front of them and hunched over to catch his breath.
The Minotaur on the left quickly walked over to the jackal and said, “Deep breaths son, what’s the rush?” as he placed a hand on the back of the jackal to console him
“Am I too late,” the young Jackal wheezed with each word. The Minotaur looked at his buddy before he turned back to the Jackal.
“Late for what?” the Minotaur asked. The jackal lifted his VIP ticket for the show. The Minotaur grimaced as he broke the news to the young jackal, “Kind of, you’ve missed a majority of the matches.”
“Have I missed Rampage’s match?” the jackal wheezed. He was finally catching his breath and stood back up. He took in another long breath before letting it out slowly. The Minotaur looked to his friend who used his walkie-talkie to relay the jackal’s question. He listened to the responder on the other end before he placed the Walkie-Talkie back on his belt.
“Rampage’s match is just about to start,” the Minotaur at the door said.
“Oh thank the gods I didn’t miss it,” the jackal said before the Minotaur led him towards the entrance. He opened the door for the young jackal. He thanked the two and quickly ran inside.
“Hey kid,” the Minotaur on the right yelled. The jackal turned as the Minotaur added, “Have fun, you deserve it after running all this way.” the jackal nodded before the Minotaur closed the doors.
“I’m glad he was able to make it,” the Minotaur on the right said with a smile.
“Yeah, but when have you ever seen a white jackal?” the Minotaur on the left said.
The young jackal looked around at the stadium and a sadistic crooked smile formed on his face when he remembered the Minotaur’s words: Have fun. He let out a chuckle as he licked his yellow dagger-like teeth and said, “Oh I will, I will.” The pearl white Jackal walked towards the entrance to the ring seating, his crystal blue eyes changing to Amethyst with black slanted pupils.
Jukebox stood with the spotlight still on him as he listened to the crowd chant either Rampage’s name or Carnivore’s name. His smile only grew as he made them wait for what they craved. He lifted the mic in his hand and announced, “This match is scheduled for one fall!” the crowd exploded into cheers as the lights exploded to life as Jukebox continued, “And it’s for the LCW World heavyweight championship!” The crowd’s cheers grew louder as a large tiger's roar echoed out the speakers as heavy metal music followed.
At the entrance of the stage, pyrotechnics emerged from either side of the entranceway creating a brilliant golden mist. Jukebox watched the mist for several seconds before he announced, “Introducing the challenger: he weighs in at 356 Pounds. He is the Apex Predator: this is Car-ni-vore!” the mist of pyrotechnics dissipated, and standing in the middle of the entrance was a large, Muscular 6 foot 3 anthropomorphic tiger wearing black boots, ripped tan pants, and black gloves. He stood with his face down and eyes closed for several seconds before he lifted his head and opened his eyes to stare out at the cheering crowd. He snorted and white smoke bellowed out his nostrils before he let out a war cry and began punching and kicking the air. With every strike, Pyro exploded from the floor of the stage. After the fourth strike to the air, he stormed down the ramp to the ring. As he reached it, he began to stalk around the ring before he hopped onto the apron as Pyro exploded from each corner.
Carnivore climbed through the ropes and stood in the ring surveying the cheering crowd before he turned towards the ramp and waited for his opponent. The lights suddenly died and submerged the arena in darkness for several seconds before a ruff, gravelly voice yelled through the speakers, “OOOOHHHHHH YYYEEAAHHH!” a spotlight appeared from the rafters to illuminate the middle of the stage that was billowing white smoke as a combination of rock and techno music blasted out of the speakers.
“And his opponent: Weight in at 325 pounds. He is the LCW World heavyweight champion. This is Rampage!” Jukebox announced. From the stage rose a 6 foot 7 tan Minotaur with a dark brown beard. He was wearing yellow and red tights with yellow boots; a glittering yellow and red jacket with long yellow and red tassels hanging from the sleeves, and atop his head between his horns was a yellow and red cowboy hat. Once he was fully out of the floor, the spotlight disappeared and the arena lights exploded to life bathing the crowd in red and yellow lights. As Rampage walked down the ramp his arms were raised and he spun around to show off his attire to the crowd. Around Rampage’s waste was the championship: the belt was a coral orange color with the plate in the middle shimmering gold with the depiction of a bull's head with smoke billowing out of its nostrils. In the shape of an arch, the top half of the plate read: Labyrinth Heavyweight Championship. Under the bull's head was Rampage’s name.
Rampage made his way to the ring but stopped when he spotted Twilight and the others in the front row. A smile formed on his face before he made his way over to them. Rampage took off his hat and placed it on Gnel’s head. Gnel squealed as he grasped the hat on either side of its brim. Rampage’s smile grew before he turned and made his way to the ring. He climbed to the apron and turned to the crowd before he bellowed out, “Oh Yeah!” Twilight recognized it as the same voice that yelled through the speakers. Rampage then turned and climbed into the ring before he made his way to his corner and unzipped his jacket, removed it from his body, and threw it towards the crowd. Two anthropomorphic cats grabbed either side of the jacket and started a tug of war as to which one of them would claim the merch while their boyfriends egged them on.
Rampage reached behind him and unhooked the championship belt before he handed it over to the Unicorn referee. His magic wrapped around the belt and he held it up high above his head so the whole arena could see it. The referee then brought the belt to jukebox who stood outside the ring. He took the belt and brought it back to the time keeper’s table. The referee then walked over to Rampage and his horn glowed. In a blue flash Rampages, horns disappeared.
“It’s for safety reasons,” Gnel said before Twilight could ask. Gnel then added, “they don’t want a wrestler going for a spear and accidentally goring their competitor.”
“But then why not do it for the Unicorn’s horns?” Twilight asked as she remembered the referee never removed Famine’s and Death’s horn. Gnel went to respond but stopped before he thought.
“You’re right; I’ve never seen them do that to any Unicorn horns. I wonder why that is?” Gnel said before he was drawn back to the match as he squealed, “It’s starting!” Once the referee removed Rampage’s horn he returned to the middle of the ring and pointed a hoof to Carnivore who nodded without taking his eyes off Rampage. The referee then pointed a hoof at Rampage who let out another, “Oh Yeah!” the referee pointed to the timekeeper who hit the ring bell to sound the start of the match.
The two circled the ring, not taking their eyes off one another. They did this for several seconds before they met in the middle in a collar and elbow tie-up. They tested each other’s strength before they separated and once again circled the ring. They met in the middle again, but this time Rampage got Carnivore in a headlock, but Carnivore was able to push Rampage towards the ropes to escape. Rampage ricocheted from the ropes and slammed into Carnivore as the two attempted a shoulder barge. They staggered back before Carnivore snarled and ran towards the ropes. He ricocheted off the ropes and slammed into Rampage. Rampage fell to the mat and as Carnivore ran towards the ropes again. Rampage rolled onto his stomach as Carnivore leaped over Rampage and ricocheted off the ropes again. Rampage was able to get to his hooves and as Carnivore ran towards him Rampage performed a standing dropkick that knocked Carnivore to the mat.
The two quickly stood back up as the crowd cheered and clapped. They slowly began to once again circle the ring without taking their eyes off one another. Then, they met in the middle in another collar and elbow tie-up. This time, however, Rampage got Carnivore into a headlock. He was able to lift Rampage and slammed his body to the mat in a backdrop. Rampage quickly rolled out of the ring and winced as he rubbed his lower back to try and ease the pain. He didn’t see Carnivore run towards the opposite side of the ring, let the ropes ricochet him towards Rampage, and to everyone’s amazement: Carnivore leaped over the top rope and slammed his body into Rampage who just now turned to see Carnivore falling towards him. The two fell to the thin matted floor and lay there as their bodies racked with pain.
The referee quickly ran out of the ring to check on the two wrestlers before sliding back into the ring. His horn glowed and a crystal blue glowing one appeared over his head as the referee shouted, “one!” then it changed to two and the referee shouted, “two!” he continued this as the numbers three, four, and five appeared above his head. By the time he reached six both Carnivore and Rampage had gotten up and rolled back into the ring. The two lay on the mat catching their breath before Carnivore started to get up with the help of the ring ropes. Rampage still lay on the mat before Carnivore helped him to his hooves and slung him towards one of the turnbuckles.
Carnivore ran towards Rampage, but before he could hit him with a clothesline. Rampage quickly bent down and lifted Carnivore up and over the ropes in hopes to hear him crash on the mats below. However, Carnivore was able to maneuver his body so he landed on the apron so when Rampage turned around to face him. He was met with a right hook. Rampage stumbled back as Carnivore climbed the turnbuckle and leaped into the air to perform a crossbody. Carnivore’s body slammed into Rampage and the two fell to the ground, but Rampage was able to roll back to his hooves and with the help of both his and Carnivore’s momentum. He was able to perform a fallaway slam that caused Carnivore to fly halfway across the ring and slam into the mat.
The two lay on the mat as the crowd cheered either Carnivore’s name or Rampage’s. Rampage suddenly kipped up and let out a war cry as he quickly helped Carnivore to his feet before he slammed him back down the mat with a snap suplex. He then rolled over Carnivore’s body and lifted him again before slamming him back down with a falcon’s arrow. Rampage then quickly got back up and helped Carnivore to his feet before he flung him towards one of the turnbuckles. Rampage ran to the opposite turnbuckle before he ran full speed towards Carnivore.
Carnivore suddenly grabbed the referee and moved him in the way of the charging Rampage. Rampage, not able to stop slammed his body into the referee. He quickly tried to help the fallen stallion but was stopped by Carnivore who spun him around, kicked him in the abdomen, and delivered a DDT to Rampage. The two lay on the ground for several seconds before Carnivore rolled out of the ring and began to search under it. After several seconds, Carnivore removed two steel folding chairs from beneath the ring.
Carnivore brought both chairs into the ring and placed one under Rampage’s head before he took the second one and lifted it over his head.
However, before Carnivore could slam down the chair on the back of Rampage’s head. Music blasted out of the speakers causing the whole arena to erupt in cheers as a wrestler ran down the ramp towards the ring. Twilights Jaw dropped as she saw Iron Will slide into the ring to save Rampage.
Carnivore swung the chair at Iron Will, but he was able to duck underneath the chair. Carnivore turned around to swing again, but before he could try a second time. Iron Will performed a dropkick causing the chair Carnivore was holding to slam into his face. Carnivore fell to the ground as Iron Will checked on Rampage and helped him up. The crowd cheered as Iron Will helped Rampage to his hooves. Gnel Squealed in delight before he began shaking her and yelling, “They’re back! The Bull Force is back together!”
“The Bull Force?” Twilight asked.
“It was the name of their Tag Team,” Gnel said before he added, “Before Iron Will was Injured by Carnivore.” The crowd cheered again causing the two to turn to the ring.
Iron Will had raised Rampage’s arm and began clapping trying to get the crowd to cheer louder. Iron Will helped Carnivore back to his feet and placed him at one of the Turnbuckles and Rampage stood at the opposite Turnbuckle. Iron Will pointed towards Rampage who let out a war cry before Iron Will flung Carnivore toward Rampage who in turn ran towards Carnivore and delivered a spear. Carnivore lay on the mat as Rampage jumped up and let out a loud, “Oh yeah!” which caused the crowd to cheer even louder.
While Rampage hyped up the crowd. Iron Will dragged the limp body of Carnivore and placed him face down on the chair on the mat before he grabbed the second chair. He yelled for Rampage who turned to see Iron Will hand him the second chair to perform the same move Carnivore was going to do to him. Rampage Shook his head and told Iron Will to do it since Carnivore was the one that put him on the Shelf. Iron Will Nodded before he looked down at Carnivore and lifted the chair over his head. Rampage hyped up the crowd as he did this before he walked over to him.
However, as he did Iron Will Spun and slammed the chair into Rampage’s head causing him to slam to the mat. The Crowd was shocked at the sudden event and started to boo as Iron Will began to clean up the scene in the ring. He took Carnivore and placed him laying an arm across Rampage’s chest and then he took both chairs and left the ring as the crowd boo’s escalated. At that moment, the referee finally came too and climbed back into the ring. He saw Carnivore on top of Rampage and began his count. Hit hoof came down once, twice, and just inches away from his hoof hitting the mat a third time. Rampage kicked out causing the whole arena to explode in cheers.
Twilight cheered along with Gnel as the crowd began to chant either Rampage’s name or Carnivore’s. Discord stuffed popcorn into his mouth before offering the popcorn box to Tirek who also took a handful and stuffed it into his mouth, Sombra tried to get Sheik to chant with the crowd. She sighed and started to chant with the crowd to appease her friend, Aeolus simply marveled at the sheer passion the two presented as they entertained the fans in the arena, and as for Ahuizotl, he had fallen asleep in his chair in the first hour of the show.
As the crowd continued to chant the two combatants started to stir. Carnivore and Rampage got to one knee before Carnivore threw a punch. It connected and Rampage wavered back before he responded with his own punch. The two did this as they began to get to their feet. Their punches started sluggish, slow, and sloppy. However, as they started to rise and get to their feet their blows began to steady, sped up, and become deliberate. Once to their feet, their punches became forearms to their opponent’s chin.
Carnivore started to get the upper hand as he slowly pushed Rampage closer to the ropes with each forearm shot. Once Rampage was at the ropes, Carnivore Irish whipped him towards the opposite side of the ring. Rampage ricocheted from the ropes towards Carnivore who lifted him and slammed him down onto the mat with a spine buster. Carnivore jumped back up and roared before he backed up to one of the corners and crouched down demanding Rampage to get up. It took a while for Rampage to stir and start to get to his feet. Once he stumbled and turned towards Carnivore, Carnivore charged and speared Rampage before once again getting back up and lifting Rampage. Carnivore lifted Rampage into what looked like a suplex before performing a jackhammer maneuver and pinning him.
The ref slid close and began his count. His hoof came down once, the crowd cheered trying to get rampage to get up. His hoof came down a second time and the crowd grew louder. In a split second, the ref's hoof hit the mat for the third time and the bell rang as the crowd roared with a combination of cheers and boos.
“Here is your winner and NEW! LCW champion,” Jukebox announced before he finished, “Car-ni-vore!” The referee took the belt from the timekeeper and handed it to Carnivore before raising his arm in victory. The celebration lasted for several more minutes before Carnivore rolled out of the ring with the belt resting around his shoulder. Rampage stayed in the ring a little bit longer waving to the crowd who cheered and clapped before he too rolled out the ring. As the Crowd started to leave the arena, Canvas came to take the group to the back to meet Rampage.
“This is so Cool,” Gnel raved as he continued, “I can’t believe I’m meeting Rampage in person!”
“Pro tip kid,” Ahuizotl said as he yawned and added, “Never meet your idols.”
“Can it Ahuizotl,” Sheik snapped.
“Geez, just trying to help,” Ahuizotl said before he added, “Don’t need to bite my head off”
When they walked into the backstage area, they saw all sorts of creatures mingling and breaking down part of the stage while many of the wrestlers seemed to be conversing with one another even though many had faced one another that very night. Twilight looked around before she asked Canvas, “Can we make a detour? I was hoping to meet” Twilight stopped herself since uttering his name felt wrong, but Discord finished for her.
“Death, she wants to meet Death,” Discord finished.
“We’re walking by the dressing room, so We can make a pit stop. Rampage is probably still with his agent being begged to not leave,” Canvas stated before he continued, “We’re all sad to see him go when he’s at the peak of his prime as a wrestler, but we all know if he didn’t. who would watch the program?”
“First sound thing I’ve heard,” Ahuizotl said which got him a nasty look from Sheik. “What? I’m not Lying, am I?”
“No, you got a point,” Aeolus said before he added, “can’t broadcast to fans when all of them are dead.”
“Glad we’re all not doom and gloom,” Butterfly said.
“The world's gone to shit Butterfly, we all can’t be happy and holding hands,” Ahuizotl said.
“Being a little cheery once in a blue moon wouldn’t kill you,” Sheik said.
“Do they always Bicker like this?” Canvas asked Gnel, Sombra, and Twilight
“Pretty much whenever they are around each other,” Sombra said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen either one of them say a nice thing about the other,” Gnel added.
“There's just some,” Discord said before he snickered and added, “tension between them. You’ll learn about it when your older Gnel”
“CAN IT!!!” Sheik and Ahuizotl simultaneously yelled.
After a while, the group stopped at the dressing room and knocked on the door. T-bone opened it with a duffle bag around his shoulder. “Oh, hey Canvas, what brings you here?” T-bone said.
“Is Skyline available?” Canvas asked.
T-bone cracked a smile and nodded before he turned into the dressing room and yelled, “Yo Skyline, Canvas is here looking for you!”
“For the love of! What the hell did I do now!?” a voice yelled within the dressing room. A few seconds later Death walked up to the door. The right half of his face still dawned the black and red paint with the glowing blood-red eye with the emerald slanted pupil while the left side of his face was a light shade of grey with a Crystal blue eye. He looked at Canvas and asked, “Please don’t tell me someone else is mad at me? How many times do I need to tell parents, it’s just a gimmick?”
“Not an angry mother this time,” Canvas said before he moved to the side to let Twilight walk forward.
“Princess Twilight!” Skyline yelped before he bowed and added, “It’s an honor to meet you.”
“It’s a greater honor to meet another Alicorn,” Twilight said before she added, “Celestia never told me about any other Alicorns in the world.” Skyline looked up in confusion before realizing what she meant.
“Oh right, that,” Skyline said before he reached up and fiddled with his chin before his horn fell to the ground. Twilight gasped and backpaddled before Skyline explained, “I’m not a real Alicorn. I wear a Styrofoam horn to make myself look like one. All Unicorns you see are fake”
“Wait, but then how did Famine make all the food taste nasty?” Gnel interjected.
“We have Unicorns in the crowd that mask their magic use and cause that. They’re like the fans you see antagonizing wrestlers. We plant actors there to make the show more entertaining. It works and then it works a little too well and we get real fans trying to antagonize wrestlers,” Skyline explained.
“Oh,” Twilight said defeated.
“I’m sorry I dashed your hopes,” Skyline said before returning to the dressing room.
Discord clapped his hands together and said, “Alright, let’s get to Rampage, shall we?” Sheik glared at Discord who sheepishly said, “Sorry”
The group continued down the hallway until they reached a golden door with what looked like an outline of a star that had been taken off on the wood. On the right of the door, leaning against the wall was a platinum star with Rampage on it, and on the left side of the door was another platinum star with Carnivore on it. Canvas knocked on the door and from the other side came a gravelly voice that yelled, “OOOOOOOOH YYYYYYYEAH! Come on in!”
Canvas opened the door and ushered the group into the large dressing room. Near the back, Rampage spun around in his chair and yelled, “OOOOOOOH YYYYYEAH!” before he noticed who it was and let out a relieved sigh and added, “Oh, it’s just y’all, thank the gods. My throat was starting to sting with all the yelling.” His exaggerating gravely tone was replaced with a southern drawl accent.
“Told you so,” Ahuizotl whispered to Gnel causing Sheik to smack him on the back of the head.
“I’ll leave you all to catch up,” Canvas said before he left the group.
“It’s nice to see you again Rampage,” Sombra said.
“Yeah, it’s nice to see y’all. It’s been a coons age since we’ve seen each other,” Rampage said before he sighed and added, “Wish it was on better terms though.”
“We need to catch up when all this is over,” Discord said.
“Whoa…whoa…WHAO!” Gnel said making the group stared at him before he added, “You all know each other!”
“Well yeah,” Butterfly said before adding, “We all just don’t meet up to save the world. We sometimes get together to play cards and shoot the shit.”
“When we can actually meet with one another,” Sombra said as he looked back at Tirek.
“Or wanted to join,” Ahuizotl scoffed.
“Oh stop,” Butterfly argued before she added, “You’ve shown up once or twice.”
“Did your dad ever tell you where he went every couple of months?” Sheik asked.
“He would just say he was visiting some friends,” Gnel said before it hit him and he yelled, “My Gods, you all were the friends!”
“Is he Gerard’s son?” Rampage asked. Sheik nodded and Rampage stood up and extended his hand before adding, “It’s an honor to meet you.” Gnel trotted in place in excitement before shaking Rampage’s hand.
“I’m a huge fan,” Gnel said.
“I hate to break up this touching moment, but we should get in touch with Tempest before Gnel dies of excitement,” Ahuizotl said before he added, “Or wets himself.”
“Hey!” Gnel yelled.
“No, No, it’s alright,” Rampage chuckled before he added, “I have time before I can leave so contacting Tempest will be no problem.” Rampage stood up and let out a long breath before holding his hand out in front of him. A dark grey orb with streaking blue zig-zags sparking through it appeared in his hand.
“I call to the God of Storms. Whose winds can topple buildings and thunderous roars can strike fear into the bravest of mortals. Allow us into your realm and bring down the thunder!” Rampage chanted. The smell of ozone filled the dressing room as the orb started to violently vibrate before the group was engulfed in white blinding light as the sound of roaring thunder erupted around them.
When the blinding light dissipated the group found themselves in another grassy plain with dark grey clouds in the sky. Twilight looked up into the rolling dark clouds and quickly jumped as a boom of thunder erupted from the clouds as a crackle of lightning skated through the sky and slammed into the ground. The wind started to pick up as though a tornado had just touched down. The group clutched at the ground as the wind roared around them. Clouds started to slowly descend towards the ground as they took the shape of long tendrils, 12 in total. Connected to the tendrils was a large group of clouds that rolled as though they were trapped within an invisible dome making the cluster of clouds look like a large 40-foot jellyfish.
Lightning sparked around the tendrils as they quickly zipped around each tendril until finally resting on the dome and creating 6 eyes made out of lightning. The wind started to die down as the jellyfish made of dark grey clouds floated in front of the group.
“Is that,” Twilight said before she added, “Tempest?” in a flash one of the tendrils shot towards the group and wrapped around Rampage before it took him towards the dome with the 6 eyes.
“What were you thinking!!!!!” a female voice boomed as thunder exploded around them and lightning scattered between Tempest's remaining tendrils before she continued, “Why him? Why not Falcon! Hell, I’d take that idiot Rachet over Carnivore!!!” another boom of thunder echoed.
“Is she mad about Carnivore winning the title?” Gnel said a little shocked.
“And you’re not!” Tempest roared as another tendril pointed towards him as more thunder boomed.
“It makes for great Television Tempest. Viewers will toon in to see who is going to try and take the title from the heel,” Rampage explained. Tempest sighed before she placed Rampage back on the ground next to the group.
“I just can’t stand the guy,” Tempest admitted.
“Are we done talking about wrestling? Can we get back on topic please?” Ahuizotl asked.
“Right,” Rampage said before asking, “You wouldn't happen to know why Chaotic was corrupted?”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve heard this from the other Gods, but I have no inkling as to why he was corrupted,” Tempest admitted.
“Of course, you wouldn’t know! Why the hell are we even wasting our time with this!” Ahuizotl raged before continuing, “How many times have we had some flashy entrance for a God to only have them not have the answer to our question. The only one who could give us the answer refuses to even be contacted!”
“I see you are as hot-headed as Inferno,” Tempest said before adding, “However, there is a reason for all this. An epitaph must invoke the Rite to access all the abilities their Gods have blessed them with.”
“The Rite?” Twilight asked.
“First I’d ever heard of this,” Aeolus said.
“Every epitaph has access to some of the Gods powers they represent, however, to get the full power the Gods have blessed you with. You must invoke the Rite. Which is to call to your respective God and have them judge if you are worthy of the full God’s blessing,” Tempest explained.
“Was there ever someone who was judged and refused God's blessing?” Gnel asked.
“There was one, who invoked the Rite and was refused not only the full scope of the Gods Blessing but also stripped of what little Gods power they had,” Tempest said before adding, “Isn’t that right Tirek?”
“By the Gods yes, alright! Yes, I went to Void and asked for more power to take over the world and he refused and stripped me of my powers,” Tirek ranted before he continued, “He went on to say I’ll get it back when I earn it.”
“So that’s why you’ve been all buddy-buddy with us,” Discord said.
“That’s one reason,” Tirek said.
“Wait, what’s the other?” Discord said before adding, “Oh right, that.”
“So, we’ll need to speak with every God before finally confronting Chaotic?” Twilight stated.
“Indeed,” Tempest said before adding, “However, you might be seeing him sooner than you think” thunder boomed around them before a flash of lightning appeared between the group and Tempest. When the bright light disappeared, the group found themselves back in Rampage’s dressing room.
“What do you think she meant when she said, we’ll see him sooner than we think?” Twilight asked just as the door to the dressing room swung open as Canvas stood in the doorway breathing heavily.
“We have a slight problem,” Canvas said after catching his breath.
Inside the ring, smoldering ash was left on the mat as the outlines of Ponies, Griffins, and Minotaur scorched the mat. The ring ropes had been taken and all there was left was a single turnbuckle and sitting atop it was a young Jackal with pearl white fur with what looked like golden highlights in parts of it and amethyst eyes that had slanted pupils. The young jackal had a smile on his face showing off his yellow dagger-like teeth. The jackal chuckled, “Well, time to let them know I’m here.” A reddish black aura started to seep out of his body, as his smile widened.