Hunter In Equestria: Chapter 18

AN: Extremely sorry about the wait, a combination of writer's block and work had me stall this for far longer than was fair.

 

That said, enjoy!

---

 

Your eyes snapped open and you bolted upright, looking around wildly. Your heart was pounding, your head was spinning, and your various bruises and wounds ached...

 

You calmed down with titanic effort, remembering where you were...sort of. You knew you weren't dead (or so you hoped), but where you were exactly was a mystery. You were under pure white sheets, with soft down-filled pillows. The mattress was a spongy material, not too firm or soft. You briefly wondered if it was made of Ludroth, until you remembered you were still in Equestria...at least, that's where you remember last being.

 

The room itself was medium sized, and a large window was allowing the sun to come right down on you. The headboard prevented the sun from getting in your eyes. There was a large wooden door in front of the bed, and it was currently closed, preventing you from seeing into what you presumed was a hallway.

 

To put it bluntly: You didn't have a fucking clue where you were.

 

The door clicked open, and Princess Celestia strode in, looking absolutely and completely drained. She perked up a bit when she saw you awake, that same warm smile gracing her features. At least you found out where you were.

 

"Ah, Anonymous, I'm so glad to see you awake." She came over to your bedside and sat on the floor.

 

"Celestia...how did I get here?" Your voice was cracking from disuse, and you found your mouth very dry. You licked your lips almost instinctively, trying to keep them from splitting as well.

 

"I found you on the outskirts of town, in a pile of timber and other rubble. I couldn't get into Ponyville, there was a black dome just...radiating evil preventing my entry." She kept her voice soft and low, seeming to want to keep this private. "Anonymous...What happened?"

 

You were silent for a moment, which she took as you refusing to answer. "You don't need to tell me right now."

 

"No, no, it's fine." You looked around on the nearby nightstand, seeing a cup and grabbing it. You let out a small disappointed huff when you discovered it was empty. "Damn. Can I get some water before I talk? Throat's dry."

 

Celestia nodded and left, before coming back moments later with a pitcher of ice cold water in her magical grip.

 

She gave you the pitcher itself, and you greedily poured the soothing liquid down your throat, putting out the burning sensation. The Alicorn chuckled at your expression of relaxation afterwards, waiting for you to continue.

 

"Okay, here's what I know. Some unicorn named Trixie came into town, beat Twilight in a duel, and forced her out of town. I only found out about this when the nosy little b-uh, mare barged into the Library, claiming it was hers. I kicked her out, then Twilight's friends came in looking for the amulet Trixie was wearing."

 

You took a breath, letting the princess absorb the information. She nodded at you, waiting.

 

"I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to go on some recon work. I searched around a bit before some black beam split the dome and rained glass on the town." You deliberately left out the part where you had been practically impaled by a shard of glass.

 

"After a bit, I stood up and went towards an explosion at the town center. Twilight was there, wearing some sort of red talisman on a chain around her neck. She petrified Trixie after shattering that silver pony pendant."

 

"The next few days were uneventful, until I tried to get Twilight to take it off. We almost came to blows over it, and I left to cool down." You again tactfully left out another part, what Rainbow Dash did in your forge room. "A few hours later, I return to town in time to have to fight off a mob, including Twilight's hypnotized friends. I remember being hit with, uh..."

 

"The Elements of Harmony, yes. It's a wonder you're even speaking to me right now,  I suppose your resistance to magic was a great boon in that instance."  

 

"Why...do you say that?" You asked slowly, morbidly curious.

 

"The last being to be hit by the Elements of Harmony is sitting in the castle courtyard, encased in stone."

 

Oh. Fuck.

 

"It still nearly killed me. I destroyed my own home when I hit it." You looked around. "How did I get here, anyway?"

 

"I carried you. Twilight never left the dome, though she did glare at me the entire time I was saving you."

 

"That's not Twilight."

 

The sun goddess gave you a curious look, then gestured for you to continue.

 

"You said it yourself: She's still in there. Something is using her body, while keeping Twilight locked in a corner."

 

"Hmm...how do you know?" Celestia sat on a nearby cushion, staring intently at you.

 

"I saw it. She told me she couldn't keep the other being away for too long, and told me to...end it." You sighed, burying your head in your hands. "I can't do that, I won't do that."

 

Celestia was silent, looking past you. She directed her attention out of the window behind you, sighing heavily.

 

"That would be another student I lost to the darkness..."

 

You blinked.

 

"What?"

 

"Anonymous, over my long, long life, I have had many students. Most stayed my students until their time to pass, but...some did not. They were either lured by darker powers, or took those powers themselves." Celestia turned back to you, a hard look in her eyes.

 

"Twilight Sparkle is not the first to fall, but she WILL be the last. Despite what you might have heard from her...it is simply safer to assume that she is gone. My previous student fell the same way, taking control just long enough to sacrifice himself to stop a seal on a terrible evil from being broken too early."

 

You went numb.

 

"I'm sorry, Anonymous. I need to speak with the Royal Guard on the plan to take back Ponyville, perhaps we can save the other Element Bearers."

 

You didn't hear her leave. You only heard your own breathing, and the pounding of the blood in your ears.

 

Enough laying around. You had a mare to save, before Celestia made a terrible mistake. You stood from the bed, noticing a glimmer nearby. Golden Falchion was leaning on the stone wall, away from anything flammable. You picked it up and left.

 

She had been wrong about you. She was wrong about Twilight.

 

You limped through the hallways, careful to avoid any attention from guard's ponies. A few saw you, but they either didn't care or weren't under orders to keep you in the room. After wandering for nearly an hour, you found the exit and left without another look.

 

The sun and moon had swapped places, and the silver orb hung in the air, casting a pale light onto Canterlot. The various ponies made way for you as you walked past, out of fear from the ones that didn't know you and respect from the ones that did.

 

You arrived at the train station to see it open, but with the train to Ponyville 'delayed indefinitely'. Good thing you had the 'permission' to override that. You stepped onto the train and went into the control car. Not a soul was there, but that was your problem: You needed someone to get the train moving.

 

You heard hooves behind you, and a gasp. You spun and saw who you assumed to be a conductor, frozen in place.

 

"Wh-who are you!?" The Earth Pony squeaked out. "What are you doing here?!"

 

"Trying to get to Ponyville. Can you get this train moving?"

 

"I can, but...why do you want to go there? The entire town's been closed off for travel, anyone found going there is slapped in irons and sentenced to a month in prison." The stallion replied, his fear replaced by curiosity.

 

"I need to get there before the Equestrian Army rolls the place over. I need to stop Twilight Sparkle." You answered. "Can you get me there or not?"

 

"No! I'm not gonna risk a month in jail for some...THING I know nothing about!"

 

"Then tell them I threatened you!" You shouted. "Are you part donkey, perhaps?"

 

"H-how dare you! I'll have you know I'm a thoroughbred Earth Pony! My entire family line is!"

 

"Really now? You're sure acting like a stubborn ass to me!"

 

That's it, Anon. Perfect way to win him over, insult him. Bravo.

 

"I'll show YOU stubborn! Get out of my way!"

 

Well, uh...bravo indeed, Anon.

 

The pony pushed past you and into the engine room. A second or two later, and the train was pulling away. Curiously, not a single guardspony tried to stop it.

 

Some part of you insisted Celestia wanted you to do this. It was the only explanation as to why you were getting away so easily. The rest of you was certain you'd be lynched when the sun princess found out what you were doing.

 

The sad bit was that both parts of your mind agreed on that second point.

---

 

You rode for an hour in silence, the conductor only looking at you once or twice. You stared back at him when he didn't look away.

 

"What?" You finally asked, fed up with the gawking. He looked away, before answering with a question of his own.

 

"Why do you need to get to Ponyville?" He hesitated before quietly asking another. "Are...are you going to kill somepony?"

 

"I need to help my girlfriend...and no, not if I can help it." You replied. "I want to make this as painless for everyone involved as I can."

 

The stallion was silent again, deep in thought.

 

"Can you please...try to save my special somepony?" He looked back at you, tears brimming in his eyes. "I lost her in that Celestia-forsaken town, and she was only visiting. Earth Pony, pink coat with orange mane. It's the only reason I let you convince me to take this train down..."

 

"I'll do what I can. Hopefully I can get this taken care of in one fell swoop."

 

The pony mulled this over for a bit, before nodding. He turned back to see the covered town looming in the distance.

 

"This is as close as I can get you." The pony told you. You were roughly a mile outside of town when he pulled on the brakes. Twilight had to have seen you, the train wasn't exactly stealthy. "I wish you luck. Please, get her back for me."

 

You nodded, then hopped off the train. It took you only fifteen minutes to walk to the entrenched town, but it wasn't your target at the moment.

 

You walked around the stronghold that was Ponyville, adding an hour onto your travel time. Still, it was well worth it. You wanted the comforting weight of your Rathalos Soul armor on you before you even considered going in there.

 

You came to the edge of Everfree, quickly discovering the wreckage of your home. It looked like a cannonball struck it, timber and glass was everywhere. You noted small droplets of blood on the edges of what remained of a window, you must have hit that one dead-on.

 

That brought up a question that you swiftly answered yourself. If you were as fucked up as the damage to your home suggested, you shouldn't even be walking around right now, let alone moving the wreckage about. The answer was simple enough; Celestia. She must have helped speed the healing process along by a great deal, it was the only solution you could think of.

 

You shuddered, she was probably gonna kill you for practically hijacking a train. Still, it was a necessary evil. You just hoped she saw it that way.

 

"Aha!" You cheered, finally seeing the familiar midnight blue scales of your chestplate. You briefly lamented the loss of your helmet, before figuring you wouldn't need it. The ponies would have a hard time reaching your head anyway, simply due to the size difference.

 

That, and your skull must have been thick as a fucking rock. It was the only explanation for your lack of brain damage. That alone would keep you mostly safe, you thought with a chuckle.

 

You dug the rest of your armor out, noting the small amount of damage on the gauntlets and tasset. Nothing serious or compromising, but something that needed to be fixed eventually. When you got the parts, at any rate.

 

You donned your armor with some difficulty, your lingering bruises making the task that much more difficult. You seriously needed to stop getting your ass kicked so hard, you might not get up next time. Chuckling to yourself again, you turned and headed to your workshop. Maybe there was something you could scavenge. You picked Golden Falchion up out of the dirt and strode over to the building.

---

Your search in your workshop was fruitless, only finding the sheathe to your Falchion. You quickly put the fire-elemented sword away, eager to keep it from igniting something by accident.

 

You were on your way back to the town, this time ready for the fight you knew was coming. It was funny in a twisted way how that seems like that's all you've done here. Then again, it was something you've done all your life, you supposed you'd be bored without it.

 

"None of that." You chided yourself.

 

Approaching the black, transparent barrier, you took a walk around it while looking for a weakness or opening of some sort. A pointless task, Twilight's shields usually didn't HAVE weakpoints. It would have to be overwhelmed with sheer brute force. You took note of some dark crystalline structures dotted throughout the town, you might be able to use those as cover when you managed to get in.

 

You drew your weapon and struck it, and it was like you had just hit a solid steel wall. The blade deflected off the surface, causing you to recoil before you caught yourself. The explosion of flame hadn't even caused a small hole, like it would have in lesser shields. Whatever had the unicorn under its control was giving her immense power.

 

A crashing sound followed by heavy cursing distracted you, coming from the side of the barrier. Curious, you sheathed Golden Falchion and walked around to where the sound was originating from. There, in a set of silver armor bearing a symbol you didn't recognize, was Shining Armor. Behind him was an army of ponies almost one hundred strong, a flag bearing the same symbol in the center of the cyan-colored cloth.

 

Taking a closer look, they all looked different from your typical pony. They were semi-transparent, which was interesting. They were also more earthy-toned than most ponies, they almost reminded you of geodes. Now that you were looking, Shining Armor had that same semi-transparent appearance as well...

 

"Twilight, let me in!" The stallion shouted, slamming into the shield again. No motion came from inside. "This isn't funny anymore!"

 

"Shining!" You called, and he looked at you, fury burning in his eyes.

 

"YOU!"

 

In an instant, he had you on the ground, the tip of his horn in your face. His full weight was pinning you down, so you couldn't really try to move away. "What did you do to my little sister?!"

 

"Nothing!"

 

"LIAR!" His horn lit up, ready to hit you with a spell. "Tell me what you did to her before I bring the entire weight of the Crystal Empire down on your head!" As if to reinforce that point, several ponies from the army came over to help Shining Armor. They pointed spears in your face, but Shining waved them off.

 

"I didn't do ANYTHING, you stubborn mule!" You shouted back, answering his glare with one of your own. "Twilight attacked me! She's brainwashed her friends and the entire godsdamned town!"

 

"Right, because that sounds SO MUCH like something Twilight would do!" Shining's sarcasm was thick enough to cut. He pressed his horn against your throat, the tip piercing your skin ever-so-slightly. You winced before rolling over, forcing him off of you.

 

The Unicorn charged you as you stood up, which you caught out of the corner of your eye. You lowered your shoulder as he approached, then quickly tossed him over your back and into the barrier. It crackled and repelled the pony, flinging him into the dirt.

 

"I'm not here to fight you, moron." You growled, before turning back to the barrier and putting your hand to your chin. "I'm trying to figure out how to get in there."

 

As if on cue, the barrier dropped. You weren't sure whether Twilight ran out of power or not, something seemed...off about this. Shining Armor charged in, causing you to curse aloud.

 

"Dammit!" You rushed in after him, and the instant you crossed into the borders of Ponyville the shield came back up. Suddenly, ponies, lots of ponies, and from all directions.

 

Son of a bitch. You walked right into a trap, like an idiot.

 

Shining Armor was nowhere to be seen, and the brainwashed ponies were closing in on you. A pegasus launched the first attack, which glanced off of your shoulder and caused you to stagger. That was the signal the others were waiting for. They lunged at you as a group, and you just started swinging.

 

Your armored fist connected with an Earth Pony's temple, knocking him out in an instant. That same pegasus came in for another run, and you lashed out. Your elbow met her face with a wet crunch, and she very abruptly stopped and fell. Your elbow was a bit sore, but nothing you couldn't deal with.

 

A unicorn tried to grip you with telekinesis, with no effect. You effortlessly broke his magical grip on you and kicked him in the neck, the lightweight pony lifting off the ground and slamming into a crystal structure before slowly sliding down it. You noticed a trail of blood leading down the hard mineral wall with a twinge of guilt.

 

Two Pegasus mares attempted to flank you, and you quickly backpedaled to keep them both in sight. As they rushed you, you reached out and grabbed their wings, slamming them into each other and letting them both collapse into an unconscious heap.

 

As well as you were doing this time, you couldn't fight the entire town. They would overwhelm you with sheer force of numbers, you needed to find an out before that. Shining Armor wasn't helping you, and his army was stuck outside, desperately trying to get in.

 

You saw a golden glint out of the corner of your eye. Quickly turning around (and getting a pair of hooves in your back for your trouble), you saw your shield lying exactly where Rainbow Dash had left it. You picked yourself up off the ground and sprinted for it, leaping over an overturned cart. You slid on contact with the ground, turning into a roll as you grabbed your shield and equipped it with practiced ease.

 

You planted your feet and skid to a stop, picking yourself up and facing down the horde with your Gold Rathian shield glittering in the pale sunlight of dawn. Charging in, you placed the steel and scale between you and the group of murderous ponies.

 

You felt repeated impacts as they attempted to move out of your way but simply couldn't, packed together as they were. You kept running, towards the Library...when Shining Armor came sailing out of the window, his silver armor leaving a trail of smoke as he flew through the air and slammed into a house.

 

One part of you screamed to help him, the rest of you said to end this, now. You followed the latter, bashing into the Library door and shattering it under the sheer force of the blow.

 

"TWILIGHT!" You roared, and the corrupted mare responded immediately with a show of arcane might. You rolled instinctively, the orb slamming into the floor and setting it alight with strange purple flames. Something told you that you didn't want to know what those would do if they touched you.

 

"Oh, look girls. It's Anonymous! I almost didn't recognize him, what with him being in one piece." Twilight mocked, and her friends laughed as well. They seemed more in control than the ponies outside, and had the same strange black mist-like streams coming from their emerald-tinted eyes.

 

You growled in response, not dignifying her with a response.

 

"What's wrong Anon? Not going to say anything?" A smug grin was plastered on her face.

 

"The time for words is over." You drew your sword, the air rippling around the golden blade. "Shut up and fight."

 

"Why should WE fight you, when there's an army of my oh so faithful slaves outside just waiting to play?" Twilight laughed, and you heard hooves behind you as the group you rolled through returned with a vengeance.

 

A raspberry colored barrier sprung up between you and the group outside. Your confusion was laid to rest when you saw Shining Armor pulling himself out of the wreckage, horn alight and a snarl on his face.

 

"Anonymous! I'll deal with them, you focus on Twily and the girls!" He shouted, planting himself inside his magical defense and standing directly in the way. The ponies began assaulting him and his defensive magic, but Shining Armor was having little issue deflecting the attacks. You nodded, then refocused your attention on the others.

 

Just in time to see Applejack's hooves come for your face.

 

Time seemed to slow as you reflexively reared your head back and pulled your shield in place. You weren't quite quick enough, her hooves making contact before being roughly shoved upwards by your arm. You recoiled, hissing and clutching your rapidly swelling jaw while feeling around for breakage. Intense bruising and pain, maybe a small fracture, but no actual break...you got lucky again.

 

The earth pony picked herself up from the floor and attacked once more, leaping into the air to buck you in the head again. You countered with a bash from the golden defense on your arm, catching her in mid air and tossing her light frame into the opposite wall. She rolled over and stood up, growling at you. In reply, you bashed the side of Golden Falchion against your shield and causing a burst of flame and sparks to shower all around.

 

A challenge that Rainbow answered personally.

 

The pegasus slammed into you faster than you could react, tossing you out of the nearby window. Your armor broke the glass and kept it from harming you, and you tumbled through the air before righting yourself and skidding to a stop. You barely had time to pull your shield up before the pegasus was on you again, assaulting you with ridiculously powerful blows. The sound of metal denting and warping was all you could hear, you had to get her off before it broke.

 

You thrust the guard at her, striking her in the face as the cyan pony continued her unceasing onslaught. You heard a wet crack as she tumbled through the air, and a brief twinge of guilt coursed through you. You shook it off, staying focused as the other five closed in. You blocked low as AJ came for your ankles, before hitting the dirt to avoid the two murderous pegasai. You dropped your sword and slugged the orange pony in the face, causing her to reel back.

 

Pressing the advantage, you picked her up and tossed her at Rarity, who couldn't react quickly enough to avoid the airborne pony. They collided, ending up in a twisted and growling pile of limbs. They struggled against each other, trying to untangle themselves and get to you at the same time.

 

You staggered as your vision blurred and pain as a heavy rock hit the back of your skull, aided of course by Twilight Sparkle. You ducked as you saw a rainbow in the corner of your eye, narrowly evading Dash once more. She stopped and immediately reversed direction, and you jumped into the air to meet her.

 

Her magenta eyes widened as you grabbed her around the torso and pinned her wings down, robbing her of any mobility and causing you both to crash into the ground. Rolling to a stop, you lay there for a moment. Your head was spinning, and it took a moment to regain your bearings. The three remaining ponies closed in as you recovered, and you threw your scale-covered arms up to protect your head from Pinkie's hooves. You only had to block two attacks, before she backed off. The bubblegum pink pony suddenly grew an evil grin, and galloped off somewhere.

 

Wasting no time, you stood and readied yourself again. Fluttershy struck you in the head...and it felt like you had been hit by a marshmallow. You immediately crossed the yellow pegasus off as a realistic threat after that, blatantly ignoring her.

 

This was a mistake.

 

Fluttershy proceeded to fly into your face and glare at you. You froze in your tracks against your will, eyes locked to hers. Despite your best efforts, you couldn't look away from the murderous gaze the yellow pegasus was keeping you entranced with.

 

"Hit yourself." Her voice cut through the air like a knife, and your fist came across your jaw as hard as it could. You heard a crack as fiery pain shot across the now fractured bone. You didn't scream, however. You couldn't.

 

"Again." Her voice was like steel, and you struck yourself again, this time breaking your nose. It was a fight to regain control before you did something more serious, a fight you were not winning.

 

"Stab yourself."

 

You could only watch in horror as your body replied automatically, drawing your knife and stabbing at your stomach. The armor deflected the weapon, which you were thankful for. It was only nicked slightly as well, which meant it would take a lot more strength than you had to break through.

 

The rest of the girls, sans Pinkie, merely watched as Fluttershy made you tear yourself apart.

 

"Hmm. Use your sword." She flitted over to you, said weapon in her hooves. You grabbed it, and she pointed right where your heart was. "Right here. Stab."

 

Your arm complied, poised to deliver a definitely fatal blow. As your arm came down to end your life, two things happened.

 

One: Pinkie came back.

 

Two: She immediately blasted you with the Party Cannon, hitting you in the back and sending you sailing down the street. You bounced twice before coming to a stop, but you didn't care. You had never been so happy to have been shot with military hardware. Your back was aching and your armor was damaged again, but you were alive and, more importantly, not under Fluttershy's control anymore.

 

"That's it. No more games." You growled through your injured jaw. You mentally gave yourself a contract.

 

Urgent Quest: Defense of Ponyville

Target: Mane Six

Quest Fee: None

Reward: Liberation of Twilight Sparkle and Ponyville

 

As you stood, you collected your sword and brandished it against the ponies closing in on you. Fluttershy closed in again, showing a confident smirk as she slowly walked to you. Her hooves clopped against the cobblestone, and you waited.

 

She fluttered up to eye level, ready to give you the Stare again. You reacted, the flat of your sword striking the pegasus. A blast of flame and a scream followed, and the yellow pony tumbled out of the air. Her wings were ruined and her side sported a massive burn as she fell to the ground and lay still. She was still breathing, at least.

 

You turned away from the burned pony, watching at the others weighed their options. You didn't give them any more time than you already had.

 

You charged forward, golden sword flashing in the darkness. Twilight quickly threw up a defensive barrier to keep you out, and your weapon intercepted and shattered it like cheap glass. The ponies inside scattered, trying to keep away from you.

 

Pinkie turned her cannon on you, and you instinctively leapt to the side as a thunderous boom echoed across the town. Golden Falchion lead the way as you slashed the cannon's left wheel to tiny pieces, then sliced the cannon itself in half. Pinkie 'eeep'ed in panic, before galloping away. You let the pink pony escape, not interested in actually harming her.

 

Applejack came at you at full tilt, which you were expecting. You dropped your sword and punched her straight in the face. A sickening crack was your prize as AJ's snout broke on the steel and scale of your gauntlet. Her nose bled freely as she picked herself up from the ground and rushed you again, leaping to the side and bucking you in your armored thigh. Your response was a boot to the neck, and she dropped like a lead weight.

 

Retrieving your sword, you continued closing the distance between you and Twilight, who was teleporting away every time you came within ten feet. You kept a wary eye out for the rest of her friends, satisfied AJ and Fluttershy were down for the count.

 

Your vigilance was rewarded when you heard a high-pitched whine closing incredibly fast. You didn't even turn around, you just dove to the ground as Rainbow Dash broke the sound barrier and missed you by mere inches. She soared into the sky again, likely to try again when you were distracted.

 

She wouldn't get another try, of that you were certain.

 

A quick check showed Shining Armor effortlessly holding his own against the horde of ponies trying to climb over one another to get him. He looked at you and simply rolled his eyes, before turning his attention back to his task of keeping them distracted. A few ponies broke away to attack you, but he reigned them back in by extending his shield slightly to keep them interested in him.

 

A few shards of gemstone glanced off your armor and cut across your forehead, causing you to reel and refocus your attention. Rarity was standing off in the ruins of her own Boutique, hurling gemstones at you. You brought your shield up to cover your face, occasionally lowering it to make sure she was still there.

 

You closed the distance and the white Unicorn retreated inside the dilapidated building. You warily followed her in, only to be trapped as a wall of crystals sprung up to cover the doorway.

 

"Dammit, I'm an idiot!" You growled to yourself, hitting the barrier with your shield. It cracked, before mending itself almost instantly. The faint royal-blue glow showed Rarity was controlling it, so you struck it again. As before, it mended immediately.

 

You grinned.

 

You hit it again and again, almost positive Rarity wouldn't be able to keep up with the repairs. You were right when you hit it a final time and it didn't repair, the blue glow gone. Instead, you were roughly shoved against it as she bucked you in the back, and you went through the sharp crystals when she bucked you again. The razor edges cut across your face, drawing more blood but thankfully not harming your eyes.

 

Rarity jumped on your back before you could get up, kicking you in the back of the head. Your vision immediately blanked out, and it slowly came back before she did it again. You weren't expecting the fashionista pony to be so...strong and brutish, frankly. You tried to roll over, only to be kicked again. Warm blood trickled down the back of your head, and you were getting so tired...

 

A surge of adrenaline hit your veins, and you felt like you had been struck by lighting. You quickly rolled, throwing Rarity off of you and leaping to your feet. Your sword came out again, threateningly heating the air around it.

 

"Come on! I know you want some!" You roared, letting the adrenaline fuel you. The unicorn didn't disappoint, charging at you much like AJ did. What AJ didn't do, however, was throw razor sharp projectiles at you as she closed. You struck one out of the air with your sword, then closed in as well.

 

Sword and unicorn horn met, and sword won.

 

Rarity's severed horn was simply incinerated in the resulting blast of fire, and she screamed. You hit her in the face with the flat of the sword, another blast of flame immediately downing the pony. Rarity's head smoked lightly, her hair and head somewhat charred. You were pretty sure you hadn't killed her, though. Mostly sure, though at the moment you didn't particularly care.

 

Four down, two to go.

 

You heard the familiar whine of a stressed sound barrier, and you whirled on the spot and swung with your shield. You hit SOMETHING, which in turn sent that momentum to YOU. You were sent hurtling down the road, bouncing on occasion before sliding to a stop on your back. Golden Falchion's shield had a huge dent in it now, and the cause was lying in the middle of the road, picking herself up and clutching at her head.

 

You slowly stood, wobbling slightly as your adrenaline wore out. Rainbow Dash slowly picked herself up and stumbled, before hitting the ground hard.

 

"TRAITOR!" She screamed at you, her magenta eyes practically on fire. "After EVERYTHING we've done for you, you turn around and run to Canterlot for help from that coward "Princess"!" Dash spat, taking a few menacing steps forward. Her left wing was bent at an odd angle, and the pegasus occasionally winced as she came closer.

 

Wait, magenta eyes?

 

"Dash, list-"

 

"SHUT UP!"

 

She charged you again, and you didn't move. Instead, you dropped your weapon and crouched into a wrestling stance. Unable to use her wings, Rainbow was moving at a speed that was far, far more manageable.

 

She tried to tackle you, only for your arms to snap her up and pull her into an Aoashira-hug. The cyan pegasus struggled to get away, but simply couldn't. Her back hooves struck your armored thighs over and over, so you wrapped one arm around them to keep them still. The other arm trapped her forehooves, and she was effectively immobilized.

 

Ever defiant, she began biting at the gauntlets. Her rounded teeth had no effect, of course.

 

"Rainbow."

 

The pony ignored you, gnawing on your armor and struggling in your grip.

 

"Dash. Stop."

 

Her response was to headbutt you in the face, and you recoiled as your nose broke. You reflexively let her go, and she took the chance to lash out, catching you in the jaw with a powerful right hook. You hit the floor, spent.

 

"GET UP!" Rainbow screamed at you, but you didn't respond. Your body was fighting to get itself back together,  a fight it was winning at an excruciating pace. "GET UP YOU BASTARD!"

 

"...please...get up..."

 

That was...different.

 

"What am I doing...Anon...?"

 

You felt hooves gently rest on your cheek, and an ear went to your neck. "Good...a pulse, he's alive."

 

She rolled you onto your back, and you heard her struggle to get your canteen open. Lack of hands was a bitch sometimes. Cracking your eyes open slightly, you saw her trying to bite the cap off, but was having no luck.

 

"Dash..." You groaned. You extended your hand and flexed your fingers. "Gimme."

 

Her ears perked up, and she dropped the canteen in your hand. Unscrewing the cap easily, you drank half the canteen before stopping for breath. Rolling over onto your side was difficult, and Rainbow put a hoof on your shoulder to stop you.

 

"Easy big guy, you don't look so good." The pegasus said gently, smiling slightly and just happy she hadn't killed you. You merely groaned in response, before slowly standing up. Dash gave an unhappy huff at your stubbornness, but you ignored it.

 

"One to go..." You mumbled tiredly. Your entire body screamed for sleep, or at least a break. You couldn't stop though. The more you delayed, the closer Celestia came to leveling the place and the closer Shining Armor came to being overwhelmed.

 

The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, which meant one of two things.

 

Number one: Twilight's hold on the sun and moon had been lost.

 

Two: You were running out of time, and fast.

 

You half-marched, half-limped to the Treebrary.

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