Chapter 14
Datenapped
Grim, also known as the Grim Reaper, is a shadow dragon created by Alexei that can regenerate parts of his body at will. He was also Alexei's battle strategist during the Dark Ages. In terms of rank, Grim is the number two ranked general in Alexei's army, ahead of Maximus, but below Draco. In addition to his high IQ, Grim is ambitious, greedy, confident, relentless, and insensitive. Grim has always believed he deserved to be ranked above Draco, but no matter how hard he tried, Draco was always Alexei's favorite. Even though Grim absolutely loathed Draco with a strong passion, he hated the Elemental Warriors even more, and tried his best to cause as much pain and suffering to them as possible. The battle between Flareon and Grim would soon draw near. During another afternoon in Death Valley, Alexei was admiring the landscape outside the cavern. He suddenly flexed his right claw and smiled. "It looks like I can now bring back Grim." Discord, who was reading a book, quickly put it down and walked over to him.
"Lord Alexei...you're going to resurrect Grim?" Discord asked.
"I always like Grim. He was a brilliant battle strategist. I don't know what I would have done if I never created him," Alexei replied as he chuckled. Alexei then held out his right claw as he began to gather power into it. Soon after, he shot the energy into the ground before him, and a few seconds later, it dispersed and a skeleton dragon was seen standing before them. When Grim saw Alexei, he kneeled down.
"Lord Alexei...it is good to see you again," Grim said as he kept his head down, "Sir...may I ask what happened? The last thing I remember was heading back here after destroying Fort Dreamwood...that was it. Alexei then walked over to him and put his right claw on his shoulder as Grim began to stand back up.
"After I was sealed by the Elemental Warriors, all the dragons I had created, including you, disappeared. It has been 10,000 years since then, but do not worry Grim, our goal has not changed. We will take over Equestria!" As Alexei laughed, Grim looked around the room and spotted Discord, but noticed someone else was not here.
"My lord...where is Maximus?" Grim asked.
"Maximus was recently killed by the chosen one Flareon, who is the descendant of Nova," Alexi replied, "Maximus overestimated Flareon and that in return was his downfall."
"No disrespect Lord Alexei, but Maximus was always an immature, foolish little kid. I'm not surprised he was finally killed, by Nova's descendant no doubt," Grim said as a smirk appeared on his face. Alexei then held out his right claw again, gathered power, and shot the energy at the ground. Soon after, five shadow dragons appeared before them. He slowly turned to face Grim.
"I want you to take these dragons with you and go after Flareon. He lives in Ponyville," Alexei said.
"You want me to kill him my lord?" Grim asked.
"I have something else in mind," Alexei replied. He then began to laugh mischievously as Grim and Discord began to laugh along with him. Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Flareon and Twilight were walking through town.
"Twilight," Flareon said, "How about I take you out to dinner tonight? It'll be just you and me. How about we agree on 8pm at the park?"
"That sounds lovely," Twilight replied.
"Really?! Ok...but, can you go to one of our friend's house for a while? I...uh...have to set everything up first. Once I'm done, I'll have Spike come get you," Flareon said. After Twilight told him she was going to Fluttershy's house, Flareon quickly flew home to begin preparing for their dinner date tonight. Later on, Spike came to get Twilight as planned and brought her to the park where Flareon was eagerly waiting. As Spike headed back home, Flareon quickly ran up to Twilight, and walked her up to the candlelit table he had set up. He then moved Twilight's chair back so she could sit in it. After Flareon pushed her chair in, he ran to his chair and sat down. Twilight was absolutely amazed. On the table before her was every type of her favorites foods.
"Flareon," a baffled Twilight said, "Did you make all this?!" Right away, he began to blush embarrassed.
"Yeah...but, I'm not that great of a cook. Most of this stuff took me about five times to get it perfect enough for you," Flareon replied.
Twilight began to smile and said, "I think you did a fantastic job! By the way...isn't this all a little too extravagant for just a normal dinner date?"
"Well...you know...I wanted to do something for our one year wedding anniversary," Flareon replied as he smiled. Immediately, Twilight's eyes began to tear up as she gasped happily.
"You remembered!" Twilight exclaimed as tears ran down her face. He then grabbed her left hoof with his right hoof.
"Of course I remembered!" Flareon replied as he tried to hold back his own tears, "How could I forgot the day when I got married to the most beautiful, caring, and amazing girl I have ever meet in my life?" Twilight couldn't help but blush as she wiped away her tears of joy. Soon after, they began to eat the food Flareon had made. Thirty minutes later, they had finally finished eating.
After Twilight used a napkin to wiper her mouth, she looked and him and said, "It was amazing Flareon, thank you."
Flareon smiled and replied, "Anything for you Twilight." Soon after, they moved towards each other and attempted to kiss. Unfortunately, the kiss never happened as something big and black fell from the sky right onto the table. The force of the impact from the object was so strong it smashed the table into pieces and sent Flareon and Twilight flying backwards. As the black object stood up, it was none other than Grim himself.
"I'm so sorry," Grim laughed, "Did I interrupt something important?" He then turned to the group of shadow dragons on his right and pointed to Twilight. "Grab her!" Meanwhile, a dazed Flareon was trying to recover from the blast when he heard Twilight's voice. He turned his head to see shadow dragons trying to restrain her.
"Let...go...of...me!" Twilight exclaimed. Flareon quickly got up and began to run over to her aid, however, Grim suddenly appeared behind him.
"I hope you don't mind us taking your precious little wife chosen one!" Grim yelled. Unfortunately, Flareon was only able to turn his head slightly to see part of his face as Grim quickly hit Flareon on the back of his head, knocking him out cold. Later on, Flareon began to hear voices desperately call his name. When he opened his eyes, Flareon saw Spike and his friends with worried looks on their faces. As he got up, Flareon looked around and noticed he was back home.
"Flareon!" Applejack exclaimed, "What in tarnation happened?! Spike here went to check up on you guys and found everything destroyed and you unconscious on the ground. He then got all of us together and we brought you back here. Please...tell us what happened to Twilight!" Soon after, Flareon began to remember what happened. He told everyone about how his black, skeleton-like dragon crashed their dinner date, ponynapped Twilight, and knocked him out. Suddenly, Flareon began to feel a deep sense of worthlessness.
"It's my fault...it's all my fault," Flareon muttered, "I swore I would protect Twilight and let nothing bad happen to her." Fluttershy walked over to him and put her right hoof softly on his shoulder.
"Don't blame yourself Flareon," Fluttershy replied, "You tried your best."
"We don't have time for a pity party!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "We have to save Twilight!"
"How do you expect we do that? We don't even know where that dragon took her!" Applejack yelled. As everyone looked down at the ground disappointed they couldn't do anything for more for Twilight, a rock suddenly flew through the window and landed near them. Rainbow Dash quickly opened the front door and flew outside in anger. Meanwhile, Flareon noticed that there was something tied on the rock. It seemed to be a piece of paper. As he took the paper off the rock, Rainbow Dash came back inside.
"I didn't see anyone outside," Rainbow Dash said as she closed the door, "Whoever threw that rock is long gone."
"Hey look everyone!" Flareon exclaimed, "There was a note tied to the rock!" As he smoothed-out the paper, Flareon began to read the note aloud. "Dear Chosen One, I have ponynapped your wife Twilight and are holding her hostage. However, I'm willing to offer you a deal. Bring me the Elements of Harmony and I will release Twilight. You have till midnight. I'll be waiting in Desire Cave. It's located in Everfree Forest, under the waterfall at Moonlight Spring. -Grim." After he finished reading the note, he quickly felt a surge of fury, however, Flareon wasn't the only one who felt that way.
"That bastard!" Rainbow Dash yelled, "He's not getting away with this!"
"What should we do?" Rarity asked, "Princess Celestia entrusted us with the Elements of Harmony. We can't just hand them over to Grim!"
"This may be risky, but I think I have an idea," Flareon replied as the looked at the case near the wall that containing the Elements of Harmony. Meanwhile, in Desire Cave, Twilight was attempting to use her magic to break out of a hanging cage she was locked in. For some reason, Twilight wasn't able to gather any magic. Grim, who was resting on a rock structure, began to smile.
"I wouldn't bother if I were you," a smug Grim said, "That's an anti-magic cage that prohibits you from using any types of magic. The only way you're getting out is if I let you out."
"You're not going to get away with this," Twilight replied, "Flareon is going to come save me!" Grim quickly began to laugh at her.
"That's just what I'm expecting!" Grim said as he smiled. Later on, back at Golden Oak Library, Rarity had finished tying a silver case on Flareon's back.
"That should about do it," Rarity said as she backed away, "Are you sure this is going to work?"
"Don't worry," Flareon said as he looked at his concerned friends, "My plan is to rescue Twilight and get her to safety. Once I do, I'm going to make Grim pay." Soon after, he walked outside with the case strapped on his back, and flew into the air. "Hold on Twilight!" Flareon yelled as he flew towards the Everfree Forest, "I'm coming!" A couple of minutes later, as he made it to the Everfree Forest, some shadow dragons appeared out of nowhere from the trees and knocked him out of the air. As Flareon got back up, he found himself surround by five shadow dragons. "Get out of my way!" Flareon yelled as he began to fight the dragons. Later on, Grim was using a toothpick to pick his teeth when he suddenly heard a voice. It was Flareon.
"Flareon!" Twilight exclaimed, "You came!"
"I have the Elements of Harmony," Flareon said as he took the case off his back.
"Very good," Grim said as he stood up, "Give them to me and your wife goes free."
"Here! Catch!" Flareon yelled as he threw the case at Grim. Suddenly, the case flung open and a bright flash emitted from it. It turns out Flareon didn't bring the Elements of Harmony and instead put a flash bang inside the case. As Flareon quickly headed for Twilight's cage, Grim appeared before him, smiling.
"You actually thought I didn't see this coming?!" Grim said as he reared back his right hand and punched Flareon in the face, sending him flying into the ground. As Flareon got back up, Grim landed before him. "I knew you would try something like this. Your plan was to rescue Twilight, bring her to safety, and then come back here because you didn't want her in harm's way." He began to laugh manically. "You're so predictable!"
"Let her go!" Flareon yelled as he got into a fighting stance.
"Not gonna happen kid," Grim said as he also got into a fighting stance, "I'm going to enjoy breaking every bone in your body as that girl watches in that cage...helpless, scared, and worried!" As Flareon flew into the air, he charged and shot a huge fireball towards Grim, and the battle between Flareon and the Grim Reaper began. Unfortunately, Flareon was letting his anger get the best off his as he shot fireballs at Grim without thinking. Grim most of the time didn't need to dodge as the fireballs went soaring past him. "What's the matter chosen one?" Grim laughed, "Are you letting your anger get the best of you?" Flareon then cloaked himself in fire and charged at him, but Grim simply moved out of the way. As Flareon turned around, Grim smiled and said, "You're just like Maximus. Young, immature, hot-headed, and overall just plain easy to read. You're not even worth a challenge!"
"Try this on for size!" Flareon yelled as he cloaked himself in fire once again, and after he created a Fire Tornado, kicked it towards Grim as hard as he could. Suddenly, a smirk appeared on Grim's face as he simply stood where he was and let the Fire Tornado hit him. "How do you like that?!" Flareon exclaimed. After the Fire Tornado disappeared, Grim was still seen standing, but he was missing his chest, left arm, and part of his right arm and shoulder. The Fire Tornado wasn't strong enough to kill Grim as it did Maximus.
"That was the best you could do?" Grim asked as he smiled, "Such a shame." At that moment, the parts of his body that had been destroyed slowly began to grow back. A few seconds alter, Grim was seen standing as if nothing had happened to him. He had recovered from all the damage he had received. As Grim looked at a dumbfounded Flareon, he began to laugh. "How do you like my special ability chosen one? Thanks to Lord Alexei, I can regenerate parts of my body at will, hence why I'm nicknamed the Grim Reaper! I can't die!" He then began to smile mischievously. "I think I've wasted enough time on you." Grim suddenly teleported and reappeared right in front of Flareon, and punched him in the face, sending Flareon tumbling backwards through the air. Grim then teleported again, this time behind Flareon, and yelled, "Shadow Boxing: 8-hit combo!" Grim quickly began to punch Flareon like a fighter hitting a punching bag. Every time Grim would punch Flareon, he would teleport and reappear in the direction he hit Flareon at. After seven hits, Grim let Flareon fall to the ground, but before he touched the ground, Grim slammed down his right foot, which sent Flareon flying high into the high. As Flareon began to fall back down, Grim reared back his right arm and clenched his fist. "Uppercut Finisher!" Grim yelled as he punched Flareon hard in his chest. The force of the punch was so powerful it sent a shockwave traveling through Flareon's body, all the way to the ceiling of the cave. As Grim lowered down his arm, he looked at a limp Flareon and laughed. Grim then threw him towards the ground. Flareon quickly tumbled helplessly across the ground until he finally stopped. Flareon wasn't getting back up. It was too much for Twilight as she began to cry.
"Flareon!" Twilight exclaimed, "Please get back up!" At that moment, Grim began to laugh manically.
"This was the best the fabled chosen one could do? How pathetic! It's hard to believe you were the one who killed Maximus," Grim said. He then turned Twilight who was in complete shock. "Once I bring you and Flareon back with me to Death Valley, Alexei will finally acknowledge me as the brilliant tactician I am! I'll finally be rewarded for all the hard work I've done for him. For the first time ever...I'll be ranked higher than Draco!" Suddenly, Grim heard a weak voice speak. When he turned his head, Grim saw Flareon beginning to stand back up.
"I'll say this one...last...time," Flareon said as he struggled to stand on his own hooves, "Let...Twilight...go!" Unfortunately, Grim began to laugh again.
"What are you doing to do if I say no again?" a smug Grim asked. As Flareon finally managed to stand back up, he closed his eyes and began to charge up his fire magic. "Just give up Flareon! You aren't strong enough to kill me! It's over!" Flareon then flashbacked to when he was resting in the park one day. He was watching two kids playing with a Frisbee. As it traveled back and forth in the air between them, Flareon started to get an idea for a new technique. He knew that the Fire Tornado wouldn't be strong enough to defeat Alexei. Flareon had to develop stronger, more powerful techniques. Flareon opened his eyes again and created a fireball on his horn. Flareon then began to spin the fireball in a circle at high-speed until it grew six blades. The fireball soon took on the appearance of a giant shuriken as quickly began to emit a loud screech-like noise. The smile on Grim's face suddenly vanished as he stepped back a few steps. "No! That's impossible!" Grim exclaimed, "That power...it's...it's...how have you been able to hide this me from me?! Soon after, Flareon dug his hooves in the ground and smiled.
"Go! Fire Shuriken!" Flareon yelled as he sent the giant shuriken flying towards Grim, who tried to dodge it, but Grim was surprised when the Fire Shuriken expanded to hit him on his side. As the shuriken exploded, Grim began to scream in pain as he was quickly engulfed in the blast radius. Grim's body began to slowly deteriorate as he disappeared inside the blazing inferno. The blast radius from the Fire Shuriken didn't stop there as it continued to grow bigger and bigger. Unfortunately, it was heading right for Twilight's cage. Twilight began to scream and she shielded her face with her hooves. Soon after, a loud explosion erupted from inside Desire Cave and two figures were seen escaping. As the two figures flew into the sky, it was none other than Flareon and Twilight. Flareon was flying through the air as he was holding Twilight in his hooves. When Twilight opened her eyes, she saw Flareon's face. He then looked at her and smiled.
"Don't worry Twilight, we'll be home soon. So just relax ok?" Flareon said. Twilight smiled as she put her hooves around him and held on tight. A tear of happiness could be seen running down her face.
"Thank you," Twilight whispered as she quickly fell asleep in Flareon's hooves. As they headed back home, the stars in the night sky sparkled brightly as the full moon shined down from above.