The chapter was intended to be posted all at once, but it's over 70,000 words long and there is only one fight scene left to be made. I'm going to post the fight scenes that are completely done as of (2/2/14). There are eight fights in total, not counting the ending, so I say...every five days I will post one until it's completely done. So Thursday at around 4:00 Central time is the next part.
Chapter 16 F Forgotten Past (part 2.3) Well...sort of...
About three hours passed until Night Shadow and his group entered the field and gazed at the tower. They were completely unaware of the situation as they clueless walked to the tower.
"This is where the map leads us to...but something seems dark about it." Night Shadow commented. "We've made it this far, so this will not stop us…however, the map never mentioned a tower for the sixth element."
"If this is where the element is the there's no point in waiting." Elegit said, walking forward.
A large flash of fire burst before the group as none other than Blaze emerged from the flames. As the group drawn their weapons, they were instantly thrown to the ground with magic.
"Don't take another step forward! What you see before you is a trap and a weapon threatening the entire world! A trap designed for all those seek to stop the mad pony from within!" Blaze said with concern.
"SILENCE YOUR MOUTH YOU IMMORTAL ABOMINATION!" Night Shadow screamed, charging forward.
Blaze jumped to the right to dodge before pinning Night Shadow to the ground roughly with his hoof.
"Listen to me for once in your life! I warned you about Herus and yet you didn't heed the warning. You will make the same mistake if you try to slay me now." Blaze yelled.
"Then chose your words carefully before I change my mind!" Night Shadow yelled with anger.
"Herus surrounds this place with an army as massive as the sea, turning the nations around him to his cause under the lie of bringing an end to Blue and his weapon of destruction. Midnight is on the verge of turning the world into glass with his magic and armies without mercy. You are the only one that can stop Blue before he uses his weapon to end the world as we know it."
"And why should I trust you! You killed Sapphirine's mother in cold blood and deceived thousands under your lies!"
"Because I will show you're the truth!" Blaze yelled, picking up Night Shadow by the neck and placing his horn onto his head.
Night Shadow's eyes suddenly turned white as images were flashed across his eyes. He saw everything Blaze did and knew, saw what he tried to do to defend Sapphirine's mother, saw the horrors of the war that he participated in, and most importantly, saw through Herus' deception for the first time in his life. Once the visions ceased, Night Shadow realized what he had done for the last sixteen years and slowly started to shake.
"How could I have been so foolish…" He whispered.
"Now do you see why we fight? We fought because we had no choice. Please, Night Shadow…I believe the one that was prophesied as those years ago, don't fail the world and those around you like others have before." Blaze said with rising hope.
Blaze put down Night Shadow and glared at the other seven before him.
"You bear four of the six elements, at this point; you are the only ones I can trust with them. Blue waits for you to bring them inside so he can take them from you.
Be on your guard in there for the path before you will be a treacherous one. If you don't succeed...then no one will..."
The other ponies were hesitant at first but slowly nodded in agreement.
"Now go, before-
"Blaze...it's so nice to see you after all these years." A dark pony said, emerging from the shadows.
The pony removed his cloak, revealing a mane and tail that looked like live fire and fur as black as space. His horn glowed dark purple as his wings flared out like a large switch blade.
"Solaris?! What are you doing here, you should be with Celestia doing-
"Doing what, serving...SERVING YOU ARROGANT FOOLS LIKE A SLAVE! I'M AN ALICORN LIKE ALL OF YOU, BUT I WAS GIVEN THE DUTY OF A COMMON HOUSE MAID! IDIOTS, I HAVE DOMINION OVER THE ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM AND YET YOUR KING TREATED ME LIKE A LOW CLASS TRASH!"
"Solaris...what are you saying?" Blaze said, becoming frightened. "We treated you with respect and honor."
"No...I have a new master now!" Solaris shouted as his eyes glowed dark purple and started to emit black smoke. "ONE THAT UNDERSTANDS TRUE POWER!"
The Night Shadow and the other seven ponies started to back away as Blaze stood his ground.
"Solaris, what happened to you, this power you're giving off isn't your own? What has taken over your mind?!"
"It's not what has taken me over, but rather what has freed me from my prison." Solaris said in a dark tone.
"Well whatever it is, it's the same power that Herus gives off when he's about to fight." Night Shadow said with concern.
"Go, this fight doesn't concern you." Blaze said, standing his ground.
Night Shadow looked at the others before darting to the entrance of the tower.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!" Solaris yelled, laughing evilly as his magical aura exploded into dark purple fire.
Solaris dashed forward, leaving behind a black streak of color as he went. Blaze jumped in front of him and stopped him in place in an burst of flames.
"Your fight is with me!" Blaze said as a magical aura of yellow and red emerged from his body.
As the two alicorns started to battle it out, Night Shadow and the others slide into the entrance of the tower. It was dark and surrounded by stone, yet grass seemed to be growing on the inside. The area was lit by torches that shed little light in the room as their eyes had to quickly adjust. Just when they thought they were safe, the large door to the entrance fell and sealed them off.
Night Shadow looked ahead to see three paths they could possibly take.
"Guys, get your weapons loaded, the foes you will face are no fools in combat. One slip up and it will be over. You will split up into groups of two to cover more ground. Remember your training in hoof to hoof combat and don't rely on guns or gadgets to save you. Put your trust in your skills and your partner. May God be with you." Night Shadow said, reloading his gun.
They all nodded quietly as they prepared physically and mentally.
"Ready." They all said in unison.
"Sapphirine, you're with me so stick close." Night Shadow said, facing her.
Sapphirine slowly walked to the red pony and looked up at him.
"I need a weapon."
Night Shadow reached into his hair and pulled out a colt M1911 with a laser pointer. Sapphirine held out her hoof, allowing Night Shadow to put it into her hoof.
"Only use this when you have a clear shot on your target and remember what I taught you." Night Shadow said, turning back to the door. "Ok guys, let's do this!"
(Mico and Légio vs. Ruby and Wither)
The dark cold air brushed against Légio and Mico as they entered into a massive maze. Hieroglyphs had been carved into the walls for centuries and rest on them in a decaying display. History was refreshing and the ruins only brought a pleasant feeling of awe to the two. Moss was on the ceilings of the walls that formed the maze, as the ground had picked up dirt and grime in the tight cracks of the cobblestone walkway...or what was left it.
The ceiling was dark, but the signs of life in the massive place were ominous and mysterious. Who was to say that anypony made it out alive when they built the ancient place? The two, however, had no time to react quickly enough when the ground began shaking and the walls started to shift in many places.
Soon, they all submerged into the ground revealing a small rusty town. It expanded a mile away, but its existence behind the walls that gave passage to them was mysterious. As they walked into the town, they came across the thoroughfare of the town and were greeted with Blue's group.
Ruby stood on the left where Légio faced and Wither stood on the right where Mico faced. Ruby made sure her Manticore puppet was by her side as she stood on top of its mane, glaring at Légio with a menacing grin while Wither stood there, looking at Mico with disgust.
"You made it, enjoy the beautiful show Blue gave to the country of the Manticores?" Ruby asked.
Légio kept a calm look as usual while Mico had a large smirk on his face.
"Give us the element we came here for and stop this madness before it's too late." Mico ordered.
"Why bother, they want our elements as well and they have the advantage at the moment. All they want is blood and destruction." Légio said.
"Destruction...blood...how messy," Wither said as he started to chuckle lightly, "If we wanted the elements, Ruby would have taken care of y'all from the beginning. We have no need for those; instead, we have the weapon made by the great ones; the weapon to end all wars!" He laughed.
"So this is your idea of stopping it!" Mico yelled.
"Enough talk, Mico...they will only entice you to strike when you are most angered." Légio informed.
"Oh, Légio, have you brought your tools for art!?" Ruby called out as her manticore's tail started to twitch and soon raise itself into the air as the puppet beast opened its mouth.
"I have...and I will be happy to demonstrate my tools of "art" to you." Légio said without emotion.
"Wither!" Ruby called out.
"I know, I know!" The pegasus said clapping his hooves together. "REANIMATION!" He yelled as the ground started to shake.
Mico had a look of shock as he went off balance but then decided to hover above the ground with his wings. Légio, on the other hand, was unaffected.
"I will bring out two of my favorite art!" Wither said, proudly as two coffins rose from the ground.
Soon, when the wooden doors opened and fell to the ground, two stallions wearing rusty armor and wielding swords emerged. Their eyes were pure white and their coats were dirty and gray.
"Say hello to history's finest Samurais!" Wither laughed as they readied their blades.
They were both earth ponies, but their blades gave off a red glow.
Without warning, the manticore named Fluffy fired a poison bomb straight at Légio. Légio quickly threw a dagger forward, slicing the bomb in two as the pieces flew passed him. The dagger, strangely enough, came back to the unicorn as he grabbed it once again and put it into his robes.
"Mico, test them." Légio said softly.
The orange pegasus smirked as he whipped out a pistol and shot one of the warriors in the face.
Wither chuckled as his reanimated subjects came continue to still stand.
"You can't kill what is already dead." He said sitting on the ground.
The two samurais swung their blades, launching a large beam of fire straight towards Mico.
"Now's my chance!" Ruby yelled, as magical strings appeared on her horn.
Her manticore fired two more poison bombs before running towards Légio at breathtaking speeds.
"Let's see what you got!"
Mico rolled to the left, dodging the beam of fire while Légio sliced the darts thrown at him. The pieces of poison bombs Légio sliced caused Ruby to giggle as they soon exploded, spreading fire across the area. The two fighters looked at each other and nodded before switching places. Mico flared his wings and flew straight at the manticore while Légio removed a bowie knife from his robe and dashed forward. Wither gritted his teeth before flying back as his Samurais readied themselves.
"Watch your damn poison!" He yelled.
"No! I want to fight Légio!" She yelled, as her manticore swung its scorpion tail. "Get aspyxia from the poison smoke and die by mutilation!" She laughed.
Légio rolled under the first samurai and sliced his leg, causing it to fall. As the second swung down its blade, Légio blocked it with his knife but it was slowly burning through the metal. He forced the sword to fall to his right and he spun around to the left and stabbed the second samurai in the neck. Légio then witnessed Mico retract his wings quickly as he avoided the scorpion tail. This causing him to slide across the ground but this was according to plan.
Mico rolled onto his back as he slide under the manticore, pointed his machine guns up and opened fire until he slide safely under the charge beast. Ruby was surprised before smirking. Spikes began bursting out from the belly of the beast each laced with poison.
"My puppet is a weapon in every part of its body!" She laughed.
The Samurai started to regenerate as it grabbed Légio's throat. His brethren quickly thrust the sword through other samurai's back, but missed, getting Légio's right shoulder instead. Légio winced in pain as he took another blade from his robes, sunk it into the undead before him, and kicked forward.
During this, Mico quickly took fight, avoiding everything he could while firing at the deadly abomination of a manticore. Ruby made sure to move her Fluffy side to side before using it to leap onto a rooftop, launching multiple poison bombs. While she did that, Wither grew annoyed that his subjects were not finishing Légio off.
"Hurry up! I want you to end him now! A and I do your job!"
A quickly regenerated, before unleashing two massive fire beam while his brother, I, ran by the beam's side, readying his katana in his mouth.
"Know my art! KNOW DESPAIR!" Wither yelled, beginning to laugh.
Légio couldn't help but smirk as he swayed to the left and tossed a blade into A's muzzle before countering I's attack by punching it to the ground and stabbing his damaged knife into his jaw, breaking it as he pulled it out. I quickly swung his blade, launching a blade emission beam of fire towards his brother and Légio.
Ruby stopped on the rooftop and looked at Mico with an angry expression. Fluffy's tailed raised before pointing straight at him. It soon fired the head of its stinger straight towards him. Mico barrel rolled out of the way before flying right at the manticore and blasting his guns at full speed. He landed on the beasts head roughly and pulled out a grenade, but the beast bucked him off as quickly as he came, forcing him to drop the live bomb.
Ruby gritted her teeth and leaped off her manticore as the grenade exploded, taking it in the blast. The filly landed on the ground, rolling a few times, just before she got back up on her hooves and glared angrily at Mico.
"FLUFFY!" She cried out.
Wither clapped his hooves together as A and I leaped back to his side.
"I'm surprise; you must be really good with blades, huh?" The artist complimented. "That means, what Ruby said about you is true, you are an artist, which also means...you'll be perfect for my collection." He said.
"I have no intention to be what you are, and I plan to fight till you are defeated." Légio said as Mico landed next to him.
Ruby quickly landed next to Wither as the Samurais readied to attack the two. Ruby took out a scroll from her saddle bag which caused Wither to look at her surprise.
"You're using your second puppet already?" He asked.
"No, I'm taking out only 98% of them." She said, grinning at the fellow artist.
"Heh, it seems pretty overkill." He said.
"I know, but it does not matter...I am going to make Mico pay for destroying Fluffy, do leave Légio alive. I called him first." She said.
"No can do, I want him for my collection." He said, brushing back his mane.
"Let's just see how far we can go. The first one to kill their target can get Légio, deal?" She asked.
"Deal, but I will continue fighting Légio you deal with that worthless art over there." He said, looking at Mico.
"Alright." She said as began opening her scroll, causing smoke burst out, covering the entire area.
"Mico, let's make them pay for what they did." Légio whispered.
The two ponies unbuttoned their capes and took off their robes, revealing to the two artists what arsenal they had behind their cloths. Légio practically had a display of knives and daggers all across his body while Mico had plenty of ammo clips to last for days. The two cracked their necks and popped their hooves as they glared at their enemies before them.
"Yeah, let's do this." Mico said, smirking and reloading his Mac-10's
When the smoke cleared, above the two artists were all of Ruby's puppets that eliminated Trottington; all either were dragons, ponies, or other beasts of prey. Ruby stood there, grinning as magical strings from her horn were attached to all the ponies.
"Let's see if you can take them out...all at once!" She laughed as all the puppets swarmed down.
"HEY, NO FAIR!" Wither yelled.
Mico and Légio both looked to each other before nodding.
"NOW!" Both ponies yelled.
The two ponies suddenly started to spin around in a tornado like fashion as Légio threw out daggers while Mico unloaded his guns on everything around them. Ruby gritted her teeth as her eyes were trained on Mico. Wither chuckled as he started flying away. A and I readied themselves and ran towards Légio, preparing to both launch an attack at the same time.
"You can't simply think that will work?" Ruby said as her dragon puppets both fired hot breaths of fire and the other puppets launched out poison darts in all direction.
Légio's horn glowed sliver as the two ponies suddenly vanished from view. Ruby eyes narrowed as her dragons scanned the area along with her other puppets.
"Where did they go?" She wondered, beginning to lick her lips with anticipation in gaining Légio. "I will destroy every hiding spot you have here!" She yelled as her dragons both fired blasts of fire at the homes nearby.
"That crazy filly is nuts when it comes to those puppets. A and I managed to make it out of there by my side quickly at least. I need to find a safe spot where I can stay out of her crossfire." Wither said flying through the streets as his samurais kept up with him on both his sides. "I might have to resort to that technique if I am put in a tight corner."
It was at that second that Légio appeared behind Ruby, grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the ground, keeping a blade pinned to her neck.
"If you want me so bad, then fight me one on one!" He ordered.
It took a few seconds to realize that the one pinned to the ground was not Ruby, but a filly puppet with an explosive equine symbol on its forehead.
"EXPLODE!" Ruby yelled as she was riding on top of a black puppet dragon.
The symbol on the filly's forehead started to glow as its body began shaking but Légio had other plans. The silver pony quickly stabbed the puppet with a throwing knife and chucked it right at the little red mare. The small filly gasped and leaped off her dragon once the puppet exploded, sending her puppets all over the place. Through the smoke, Ruby yelled, clutching her poison knife in her mouth heading down towards Légio.
Légio took out his two, black, Bali-song blades and took a defensive stance before unfolding them quickly. Soon, the filly crashed down, causing her blade to break on impact as she bounced on the ground before regaining her footing. There were some strings of magical energy attached to her horn as few puppets rose to the air, half broken, but full of poisonous weaponry.
Légio became angered at the fact the she was still trying to retain the upper advantage with her puppets. He ran forward and threw a knife at the ground mere inches away from her hoof to distract her before punching her horn with all his strength. The small puppet flew back as the rest of her puppets fell to the ground. When she slowly started to get up, she glared at Légio with a menacing smile.
"So...can you understand their despair as I turned them all into art?" She asked.
"Yes, that is why I will set them free into the afterlife." Légio declared, flipping his blades around his hooves. "Including you."
"Who said they wanted to die, if they are perfectly fine being alive just like they always wanted to be since I met them?!" She yelled, taking out two scrolls.
She frowned and soon began glaring at Légio angrily.
"You must not truly understand...true despair."
Soon, she opened the scrolls and two puppets appear out of the cloud of smoke, one being an old stallion with a brown coat and green eyes and the other being an old mare with a white coat with emerald eyes that matched her mane along with the stallion beside her. Both ponies were unicorn and each had strange equine symbols on them.
"These two..." She became emotionless as her gaze grew ominous, "are special."
"Then let them prove themselves to me." Légio said with rising anger.
Wither stared at the two samurais as they regenerate, forcing bullets out of their bodies. He looked at Mico and started to laugh.
"It seems you are only wasting bullets on dead things; do you even know how to kill them?" He asked, standing in front of his dead minions. "It's only if I give the word, they go away. If not, even if I die, they will continue to live and you will surely become exhausted and get killed."
"By then I will be long gone while Herus and the others you threatened cleans up the fact that I'm giving you a hard time without supernatural aid proves my point even more. It's only a matter of time before you go down." Mico announced with courage.
"Heh, if only you knew that until Blue dies you can never leave this place." He said, starting to chuckle. "Let me give you a warning if you continue to play around with my toys too much. If this takes too long...Blue is going to bring down a meteor and wipe away everything in this place." The artist grinned.
"Same with you then...so nobody wins in the end." Mico said, grasping his weapons tighter. "However, I don't plan on being slow."
"Our orders were to kill you or stall you. No matter what...the war will end and peace will be brought forth unto this world! That art may seem difficult at first, but I respect any artist that finds a way to perform such actions!" Wither laughed as A and I ran forward swinging their swords, unleashing another beam of fire.
"This is getting old." Mico declared. "It's time for a change!"
He put up his guns and flipped over A's head, kicking it in the process. While it was down, he yanked the sword from its grasp and sliced I's fore-leg off as he attacked, grabbing it's sword as well. He flipped the swords around and stabbed the two bodies at once while they lay on the ground.
"It's over for you; now fight me like the stallion you're supposed to be!" Mico shouted, pointing a sword at him.
Wither stared at his artworks in disgust before clapping his hooves together.
"You are getting annoying." He said, glaring angrily at Mico. "But if you insist, I will make your body into art, too." He said as a coffin rose from the ground.
When the door came out, a black alicorn with a blank flank emerged from the coffin. His mane was jet black and his eyes were gold.
"I...am alive?" He muttered in shock. "Where am I?" He muttered, before looking at Mico. "Peasant, what is going on? Where am I?" He asked, not aware of that Wither was walking towards him with a menacing grin on his face.
"YOU THINK IT'S THAT EASY?" Mico shouted, running towards him.
The alicorn's horn glowed as gravity shifted causing Mico to fall flat on the ground.
"...What's going on? I did not want to do that?" He gasped.
"That's because...you are under my control, Hollow Void, Ancient Alicorn of Space." Wither said laying his right hoof on the dead stallion's shoulder.
"You...used my forbidden technique, how?" The old stallion asked, staring at the stallion in pure shock.
"I am the only pegasus that ever managed to surpass you and your student's forbidden magic. Now, become my vessel!" He laughed as his body began fusing inside of Hollow.
"You..." The alicorn said, staring at Mico. "Forgive me, whoever you are; you must keep your distance! I used a heavy gravity spell that caused you to fall like that. It is not the only thing I am capable of doing, but you must be careful at all times! Stop me anyway you can!" He yelled as his eyes became white.
"Enough, you old fool. I took over your brother and now I have taken over you! I am an alicorn, my power is threatening, no element can stop me!" He yelled as he glared at Mico. "So, what did you say about this one on one, hmm?"
Mico kept a plain face as he tossed his sword into the air and quickly shot Wither with his gun.
"Repel!" He yelled as the bullet was blown to the other side. "Heh, it seems that this alicorn's magic is simply up to its name. Gravity magic. I can push...I can even pull." He laughed.
"That's..." Mico said, grabbing the sword in the air and spinning them around to show off, "What she said..." He said, smirking as the swords burst into flames. "Now shutup and fight me."
The alicorn Wither smirked at Mico and flew towards him, laughing. His horn began glowing as he soon slammed his hooves into the ground.
"Grand Push!" He yelled, sending a volley of the terra towards Mico.
The pegasus flew back several feet before dashing upwards into the sky and disappearing in the darkness above.
"Heh..." Wither's horn began glowing brightly, "Grand..." He began.
This was when he saw Mico flying rapidly around in a circle, creating a flaming tornado with his blades before dropping down like a dive bomber towards the alicorn.
"Push!"
He performed the magic spell that blew away the flames and knocked Mico back through a few trashcans. Wither began laughing again as he found the new found power incredible.
"What a dirty trick!" Mico shouted, shaking off the garbage from his head.
"Dirty? You are the dirty one. You are decaying, rotting slowly in life while I continue to live on and on!" He said as his tone grew grim. "My art, is preserving life."
"By making them slaves?! Did they ask to be imprisoned by your curse!"
"What they want does not matter to me. Only living and showing more of my art to the world does." He said as his wings opened wide.
"Then you will die a lonely death." Mico declared, dashing forward.
"I was already alone...when I discovered these spells." He said as his tone became grim.
Ruby and her puppets remained still as she waited for Légio's next move. The two were in a stalemate so far, but during the stalemate, the small filly was studying his moves carefully. She soon felt that it was necessary to launch a surprise attack, but she remembered that her openings were dangerous and would leave her open to be killed.
"Heh, you lasted longer against these puppets than the others. Amusing that you take my art at least to some extent, perfectly."
"Enough of these games. Give up and leave, it doesn't have to end like this."
Ruby scoffed as her puppets rest on her shoulders as if they were hugging and protecting her.
"Games, no, this is no game! This is ART! You...you seem to have not understood that from before, but now you will when...when I end this!" She said when the male puppet looked at him and opened its mouth.
It quickly fired a massive fire blast while the other puppet swirled around it, firing multiple bombs of poison smoke that exploded on impact.
"AND I WILL AVENGE THOSE THAT YOU'VE SLAYED!"
Légio's horn exploded with bright silver magic for the first time in his life and at that same moment, he pointed forward and fired a beam so massive that it lit the entire room in color and power. Ruby eyes widened as she moved her puppets back, watching the attack wiped away everything before it. She soon ran across rooftops, quickly dodging the blasts.
"That was close." She muttered in shock. "You almost died Daddy." She muttered, smiling at the male puppet.
Légio summoned a dagger to his side and threw it in a burst of silver magic at the filly. Rubies eyes widened when the father puppet blocked her and took the hit. The knife blew a hole through its chest, sending chunks of wood everywhere as it fell flat to the ground. The knife that went through it was pinned to a wall with its heart impaled through the wood.
The filly remained quiet, sitting on the ground, staring at her "father". Légio stood with an angered face as silver aura revolved around his body.
"Walk away while you still can..."
Her eyes lowered as she looked at him.
"Kill him, auntie." She said as her puppets body equipped needles laced with poison all over its body.
It soon began to fire poison darts rapidly as it headed straight towards Légio but he remained calm. Légio put his hoof out, forcing the darts to stop only inches away from his face. He dropped his hoof as the darts fell to the floor.
"For a child...you truly are sickening." Légio said, with sorrow. "But you're still just a child..."
The auntie puppet stopped firing its darts and soon began rotating rapidly equipping large blades. As it did this, Légio shut his eyes, reaching for one of his forbidden daggers he promised himself never to use. Ruby smirked as her Auntie puppet's limbs detached from their body and headed towards Légio with knives pointed straight at him at the edge of the limbs.
Légio reopened his eyes, took out a black knife with a dark purple aura and dashed passed the puppet in a blinding flash of light. As Légio put the blade back into its sheath, the puppet exploded, sending a shockwave across the field.
"It's over, please, give this up!" Légio yelled, panting.
Ruby remained silent as she tossed aside her saddle bag.
"I...will not give up...no...not by a long shot!" She yelled, starting to grin as she grabbed the collar of cloak.
Légio grit his teeth, knowing that it was fruitless try to convince her.
"Nothing else matters anymore?" She said, licking her lips. "Not when I have my eternal art." She started to laugh.
"The only thing living is your beating heart, the source of your life. Don't make me end it..."
"As if you can." She laughed, beginning to unbutton her cloak. Once it was unbuttoned, she pulled off her cloak and grinned brightly. "Now...witness my artwork at its finest."
"So, is that all you got you rotten piece of flesh?" Wither asked, walking towards Mico. "You can't stop me with your pesky attacks and those guns are pointless since they require gravity to keep them bound."
"You're just like an alicorn…stubborn and talkative to the point of death." Mico mocked.
"You talk too much, too." He stated as his horn started to glow.
He stared down and spotted the fire enchanted blade and started grinning.
"Now...time to shut you up." He said, glaring at him.
Wither levitated the sword and pointed straight at Mico.
"Grand...Pull." He said, causing Mico to fly towards the blade.
Wither's right eye soon returned to normal causing him to lose his focus. Mico flew into the blade that impaled his stomach, but not near his organs. The alicorn growled in anger as he clutched his head.
"This damn fool is stronger than his brother, trying to gain control of his own body, but I know his tricks...I MASTERED THE SPELLS DAMN IT!" He laughed before glaring at Mico.
"Fool...you're own pride is what brought you down, brought you so close to victory but yet so far from the point." Mico whispered, impaling one of the blades he had into the alicorns neck, spilling his blood. "Pride that you could live forever and not be defeated by any mortal or immortal warrior. It is what got you this far...AND IT WILL BE WILL ENDS YOU FOREVER!" Mico shouted, impaling the last blade into his neck and igniting them on fire.
Wither coughed out blood staring into Mico's eyes in shock before grinning.
"You fool, my technique...is pure beauty! MY ART IS AMAZING!" He yelled as Wither came out from the alicorn's mouth laughing madly while his coat was drench in saliva.
Strangely enough, another Wither came out from the sides of the burning stallion, falling into the ground. The pegasus punched Mico back and exited out of Hollow's corpse that fell to the ground.
"This is art!" He laughed, glancing at his other body that remained still on the ground. 'I don't have much magic left. If he manages to get me when I least expect it again, I won't be able to survive. I need a new body.' He thought, grinning at Mico.
He started running towards him, laughing madly as his wings opened.
"I will have your body, you will be my new vessel!" He yelled.
Mico took his swords and put them in an X formation as he charged forward.
"And it is because of what you have done that you will meet our creator today...NOW...WITHER...FACE THE WRATH OF ALL THOSE THAT YOU HAD SLAIN!"
A and I quickly took the blows from Mico's blades as Wither laughed.
"It's over!" He yelled as he flew over them, tackling into the other pegasus.
He pinned his forelegs down and started laughing as his body started fusing into his.
"Now, you are going to be mine!" He laughed. 'Damn it, I need to hurry this up, I am almost at my limit.'
Mico laughed lightly as his wing flared out and started to emit a strange sound.
"Remember what I said about us not having special powers..." Mico asked with a smirk. "Well...I sort of lied."
"W-what is this?" Wither asked, unable to detach from Mico's body.
"Something I never told anyone until now...my father...was Dark Storm...THE ALICORN OF LIGHTNING!" With that said, a large bolt of lightning came down from the ceiling and struck the two ponies in a loud and large explosion of pure power.
Wither cried out in agony as his body was burnt from the inside.
'Damn it, how did I not see this coming! I was so close...so close!' He thought when he felt his muscles give away and his body detached. The pegasus fell to the side, breathing slowly, gritting his teeth angrily. 'No...I can't die. I must preserve my life. I must continue on living like she wanted me to.'
Mico got up from the ground, glowing bright yellow as sparks flew around his body violently. It soon faded as Mico retrieved his sword and pointed it down to wither's face.
"I...must live...longer than a clover in the winter." He muttered.
Mico put his hoof onto wither's head roughly as he angled the sword behind his back.
"I...can now see it...myself as that clover. Slowly dying the entire time. It was pointless, was it not? Tell me? Was it pointless to even work my way for 35 years to preserve this young body? To live long enough so that the world may remember my art. Was it pointless? Was my art worthless? Was I...a disgrace to it?" He asked as his tone grew soft.
"No...you were just deceived…."
Mico plunged the blade through wither's heart and closed his eyes in sorrow.
The town was in ruins as fired spread across, burning away the homes. Ruby grinned as she emerged from the smoke, but when she did her body was not of any normal filly. Her body was that of a puppet, with an equine symbol on the right side of her chest. Sharp swords attached to steel rods were equipped on her back while poison dart guns were attached to the sides of her fore-legs. "This is art to its finest!"
"I see nothing but an abomination." Légio said, holding the enchanted dagger in his hooves.
"Abomination? You know...I used to call myself that all the time ever since I was created and brought to life." She said.
"And now look at you...nothing but a puppet to yourself."
"Wrong...I was always one to begin with!" She stated as cable wires laced with poison came out from her stomach swaying around in a tail-like fashion. "Now..." She opened her mouth, "Burning Bird!" She yelled firing a large blast of blue fire.
Légio took the blade and sliced the ball of fire, but it exploded in front of him, sending his back several feet into the dirt. Ruby then emerged from the smoke with a grin on her face, aiming her poison dart gun. She fired one dart that cut his right cheek, but failed to get his head when she had to move to the right, dodging a knife attack. She slid back and launched one of her cable wires that turned into spikes. Légio rolled to the right just as the wire hit, flinging dirt into his back. He quickly bolted to a building and jumped through the glass.
"You can't take cover...when you know I will just blow it away with my art!" She stated firing another Burning Bird attack.
The building exploded from the attack as a wave of fire flew out from the building. Légio then appeared behind Ruby and tackled her to the ground.
"Stop this now and i'll let you walk away."
"You shouldn't pounce on me unless...you wish to be my art, too." She said turning her head all the way around, grinning at him as her blades pierced his stomach, tossing him to the side. "I'm sure you suffered enough damage from these blades, but...what about the poison coursing through your body?" She asked, unsheathing her poison blade that was chipped. "If at least one small oz. of my special poison gets into your body, it will be nerve racking and soon fatal." She giggled lightly before staring at him with an apathetic expression.
Légio muscles started to clench as he held the knife in his hooves.
"And so will this!" Légio jabbed the dark blade through Rubies chest, grunting in pain as he did so
Ruby stared down at him and chuckled.
"You missed." She said as her cables pierced through his shoulders, lifting him in the air. She soon lowered him to her eye level, giving him a mocking grin. "This body can't feel pain; it is immune to every ailment you can possibly imagine. Unlike you, I am not even an actual pony. I'm...a puppet. A puppet that was given life by the very puppet you destroyed with that knife." She said, gently grabbing his face with her hooves.
Légio started to shake in pain until he let his head fall. Ruby lifted his face up again and leaned close to him. "Art is beautiful."
"Art is priceless..."
She paused and looked at him shocked.
"And it could never be taken away..."
Without warning, a large, flaming, wooden stake impaled the puppet to the side of her body, pinning her into the building besides them. Légio fell to the ground roughly as he clenched his eyes shut. Ruby stared in shock at the stake that went through her equine symbol.
"You didn't miss that time..." She smiled softly.
She soon glanced over at Légio and moved her cable wire towards him.
"For so long...so, so long...my art...has finally been acknowledge by the very pony I loved at first sights." She soon stopped her cable wire that had a hidden slot. When it opened, a small capsule with purple liquid was inside of it.
"I was trained...to be a helper for my father's work. He was a poor stallion with a terrible sickness, but he had a love for puppets and performing sweet plays for the young foals. He lost his wife and daughter during childbirth; however, he brought me back to life using his very soul. When he died on his deathbed, I did the same, but...it worked in the opposite way. Anything that was living turned into a puppet and any puppet that was not turned into...this, was lost." She frowned and started pushing herself out of the stake, falling hard onto the ground.
She started crawling towards him, pushing her broken legs forward to him.
"I had nowhere to go, I had no clue how to take care of myself. Then...I met Auntie, who taught me how to make poison and use my puppet, father, as a weapon. It was the only way to survive in a world full of war. But when she died on a mission, I lost myself again; nothing else matter anymore. So I turned her into a puppet like him and started doing it to anybody who doubted their life and threaten mine."
She finally made it to him and took out the capsule. Opening it, she looked at Légio and softly smiled.
"I've been doing this for 24 years...only because...I did care for something. The goal that I made myself suffer to find...was..." She took Légio's lips and put liquid into his mouth before, without hesitation and warning, pressed her lips against his, forcing it down his throat.
When a few seconds passed she broke the kiss and felt her body become still, causing her to lay on the ground peacefully, "was love."
Légio reached over and brought the filly close to his body and hugged her tightly, kissing her fore-head.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you...I'm sorry you went through so much trouble and pain...I'm sorry that I couldn't save you know...but we will see each other again..." He said, slowly tearing up at the sight. "And I will be there for you forever."
"Please...don't cry for a doll. You will only make me feel sadder from the fact I can't cry. This body...is a curse, but...I'm glad you acknowledged it and I…I knew you were perfect, from the second glance I took back in that city, I knew that you will grant me the gift I had searched years for." Her tone started to soften as she soon softly smiles. "So, don't cry, just...rejoice and enjoy my last work…of art..."
Her eyes slowly closed as her life faded away before Légio. The silver pony couldn't help but shed a single tear for her as she left the world forever.
"We will meet each other again…but this time through fields of rubies…instead of tears…"