Chapter 104: Taking Flight
Part 1: Abysmal
TIME: 13:02 Griffon Kingdom Time (GKT/ERST)
DATE: War Day 885/9 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Griffonstone, Griffon Kingdom
So, now Grandpa had briefed us on the best way to get TO the Abyss, and some possible routes down through it. As predicted and as told by Gorcat, the route was treacherous, and worse yet, the high winds prevented flight of any kind. Not that we'd be permitted to use powered aircraft for this.
Granny Gilstone: "First time I seen a hyoomin." She leaned in to examine me. "Here." She handed me one of the Scones.
I took a bite - I could taste the cooked sunflower seeds in it, and some other things. It seems the scones were standard scone batter like you'd find in England on Earth, rolled with seeds? Interesting. And slightly sweet!
K: "Heyyyy..! Not bad!" I grinned, munching the treat.
Grandpa Gruff: "Huh! Here I thought humans'd only eat bananas!" He chuckled a bit.
Applejack: "Wuhl, mah husband loves apples. Not near as much as me, but-"
K: "Jackie, honey, I eat apples at every meal without complaint, and with longing for more. You know that." I smiled.
She blushed a bit.
Gorcat: "Anything in the legend, Gramps, about him falling in love?" He asked offhand, accepting the scones from Granny and handing one to Greta.. and not taking his eyes off of her.
Grandpa Gruff: "I'll give this'n for free: Nope! The legends aren't too specific, only that the Human needs certain things to face the Darkness." He nodded.
K: "Like the Rainbow of Light." I shrugged.
Grandpa Gruff: "Ohh.. y'already know about that! Well, that's fine." He nodded. "I say this, though - it's a good thing you're here. Tirek'll eventually come for us, once he's done with the ponies. It's a good thing you DID show up to stop him." He shrugged his wings. "Skies Above knows we can't do it."
Gorcat: "Mm.." He looked Greta up and down. "So. Still think I can't do it?" He cocked a brow at her.
Greta: "Not in the slightest!" She nodded to me and Applejack. "Even with the Human, and.. ah.. a pony!" She shook her head.
Gorcat: "Then why not come along?" He crossed his arms. "Or, are you too Chicken to come see the next King in action? Maybe share the danger of saving our people?"
Greta: "Oh, really?! Well, then, I better come with! At the very least, I can save your feathers when you get in trouble!" She snorted, with confidence.
They were flirting SOOOOOOO BAAAADDD...
AJ and I just looked back and forth at each other, knowingly, smirking, and with me running a hand along her back. She slightly bowed her head, thinking about all the flirting the two of us would do.
K: "You two done trading barbs? We have a nation to save." I shrugged a bit.
The march up there wasn't as bad as I'd expected. Gorcat was busy trading shots with Greta. AJ and I were following right behind. It struck me that so many things in this world relied on a perfect balance of mystical artifacts doing their jobs.
Almost as if they were band-aids on top of a larger problem.
K: "Hon.. have you noticed how many magical artifacts hold this world up?" I cocked a brow to her.
Applejack: "..mm! Now'cha mention it.. yeah! The Weather Rock, this Idol, the mystery Spell 'a Carefree we keeps talkin' about.." She frowned and lowered her head. "..makes me wonder."
K: "Makes you wonder what's the root cause of all this, that we need these mystical things to keep the world running on an even keel. Like, there's some over-arching disease or wound on this world." I shrugged. "And these are just bandages on that gaping wound, holding societies together."
Applejack: "Huh! Sho'nuff!" She nodded in amazement. "Y'know, it's funny, I think better out 'chere." She frowned a bit. "When ah'm back in 'Questria, it's like.. ah cain't help but be a lil' happier, but.. I ain't thinkin' 'bout the downsides 'a things." She shook her head. "Wonder if Twi'n the others've noticed this, too."
K: "I bet they have." I shrugged. "Twilight is a scientist first and foremost."
Applejack: "Whul.. here's somethin' fer ya, honey.. what if.. that spell weren't meant fer us?" She tilted her head.
K: "If not us, then who?" I asked, as I maneuvered over a boulder.
Applejack: "Foreigners. Lahk.. ambassadors 'n stuff. T'put'em in an agreeable mood. T'keep th' peace. Make'em more likely t'accept peace terms an' negotiations." She nodded to me. "An' us feelin' better 'bout things, either a side effect're.. th' spell's gone outta control 're somethin' an' its affectin' more'n it should." She shrugged a bit as she marched.
K: "Interesting idea." I gave a short nod. "You're right about one thing, though."
Applejack: "What's'at, honeybun?" She smiled a bit.
K: "That SmartyJack costume IS more than just looks." I smiled.
She blushed a bit, at the attention. I really did have the best pony wife a man could ask for.
Once we got near the edge of the Abyss, we took a detour suggested by Grandpa..
Gorcat: "According to him, there should be a fissure around here, somewhere, that leads to a small shelf inside the Abyss." He shrugged. "Shouldn't be hard to find."
K: "This terrain is very broken.. I'm not sure. Looks like a lot of false leads.." I said, walking over to the cliff face that formed the wall of the Abyss.
Indeed, the cliff face, sides, and floor were shattered. It was like a giant finger had descended from the heavens and pushed a hole in the Earth. It didn't help that we were also about a thousand feet above sea level.
My hands went across the dirt, trying to get a feel for it. It was sandy, fine, like shattered and abraised rock. It never formed into topsoil. There was no vegetation of any kind, here.
Applejack: "Bad ground fer plantin' - this soil ain't s'much soil as it is sand." She shrugged. "Don't get much rain, here, neither."
Gorcat: "Yeah. It's one of the reasons Griffonstone looks like it does. It's kinda looked that way for ages. Little rain, few crops, what we do get, we tend to eat as seeds." He shrugged. "Either that, or you go on what we've always called a Shopping Trip. Couple days to the farms down south, and bring back what'cha can carry." He nodded slowly. "Besides seeds and Scones.. lotta hungry chicks in lean years.." And frowned.
K: "We're inland and far north. The mountain ranges closer to the coast would break up most storms coming from the seas. The evaporative moisture on the ground? Might not be enough to generate storms this far north." I shrugged. "That and the Abyss, here, probably disrupts weather horribly on the shadow side." I pointed from east to west, indicating it.
Gorcat: "Hey, Boss.." He paused. "Heh. Won't be calling you that much longer, huh? Anyway.. what if.." He looked at the edifice. "..we found a way to shut it down?"
Greta: "That's crazier than going after the Idol!" She snorted.
Gorcat: "Yeah, but.. think about it. More rain, more planting, more crops. We could grow things closer to the Capitol. Instead of having to travel to get it." He gestured. "More than just bringing back the Idol, we could bring back some real prosperity."
Greta looked at the ground a moment, a finger to her chin. Then nodded slowly.
Greta: "Well, then, Future King Gorcat..? Let's do it." She got a cocky grin on her face.
What have I started?
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Depth
TIME: 14:44 Griffon Kingdom Time (GKT/ERST)
DATE: War Day 885/9 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Area near Griffonstone, Griffon Kingdom
It took us a while to find a cut in the edge and side of the Abyss, that led inside of it. Inside the wall of the deep. The path was VERY narrow. VERY narrow. I had to slide sideways to get in there, and everyone else was picking their way through, sliding along the walls.
I could already feel the wind of the Abyss, though the cracks in the rock. It left the whole slot free of dust, there was so much wind coming through. Still, bits of it came through, making me shield my eyes.
Greta: "I hope.. this.. is worth it." She grunted, trying to keep up between me and Gorcat.
Gorcat: "It's worth it. We save our people, it's worth it. Any idea what's at the bottom, Boss?" He was thicker than her, so he was on his hind legs, and pulling himself through - he was also on point.
K: "My guess? Magical.. wind.. thing." I was having a rough go myself, as the passway was so tight, I had to take off my sword and put it on AJ. "That and a flat area of rock, scoured absolutely clean with the wind - possibly to glass, so, be ready to dig in those claws."
Applejack: "MMpff.. these walls're tough, too. Cain't muscle mah way through'em." She said, bringing up the rear.
K: "We got this. It's not getting any tighter the further we go." I encouraged.
Greta: "Yeah.. gettin' steeper, though." She grunted again. "Like we're going almost straight down."
Gorcat: "Mmhmm." He grunted, making it past a bulging rock. "Watch that, babe, it's at head height."
Greta: "Babe?! Cheeky cat, aren't'hca!" She spat accusingly (while ducking).
Gorcat: "Well? You ARE!" He smirked.
I grinned at the flirting. They were both majorly attracted to each other, and it showed. If we weren't around, Gorcat probably would have tried to get her.. in the nest? Whatever the Griffon term is for a hookup.
We took the better part of two hours to get down further, where the crack opened up more.
TIME: 16:47 GKT
K: "Alright, everyone stop." I said, once the pathway opened up enough for me to stand straight and forward. "Rest, get some water, get a snack." I smiled as AJ plucked an apple from her pack, and held it in her teeth, with an eyebrow wiggle.
Gorcat: "Hmpf. Married folk." He smirked. "You look single enough." He said to Greta.
Greta: "Eh. I have high standards." She smirked back.
I slid a bit away from them and bit into the apple with AJ still holding it in her mouth. A very much substitute kiss. I then bit and held while she did the same. Sweet, crunchy apple.. it tasted so good.
We finished the apple together, like that, and I kissed her forehead.
Applejack: "Awful romantic, honeybun." She smirked a bit.
K: "Mm.. just enjoying the company of my lovely wife, the most beautiful mare in all Equus." I gently traced a connect-the-dots on her freckles to form a heart.
Applejack: "Mhm." She gave me a gentle push with a hoof. "Later, tiger. Later."
Gorcat: "So, Boss.. besides maybe meeting the Cyclops, what'cha think's down here? I mean.. you said magical wind thing.. like.. a monster?" He up-nodded to me.
K: "No idea. I don't recall, offhand, anything from previous Gens that would fit this situation. We're looking at something like a Wind Elemental, I'm betting." I nodded.
Gorcat: "Nothing we can't handle. We've faced Tirek already." He shrugged.
Applejack: "No kiddin' - could'a taken'm, too." She frowned. "Next time, we'll be ready fer his durned dirty tricks."
Greta: "Hm." She gave a tiny grin.
We had no idea who was actually down there, though. Or why. This lack of intelligence would cost us great pain..
We proceeded through the last bit of the gully, to the wall separating it from the bottom of the Abyss. We knew we were several hundred feet below sea level. One thing I did, was pass out chewing gum from one of our ration kits, to help with the ear popping.
One thing I could count on was delicious chewing gum. It seems so minor, but the flavor reminded me of Pinkie. Like, she was always there with us, no matter what. And this morale booster being part of every standard ration kit, reminded everypony of home. Better than cigarettes in World War II K-Rations.
Greta: "Mmm.. handy." She nodded.
Gorcat: "He knows his stuff. He's the reason I worked so hard to earn the right to return." He nodded sagely. "My best friend."
K: "Same." I nodded. "I'd be dead without him."
Unknown Voice: "YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE DEAD -WITH- HIM!"
We didn't even have a chance to raise our weapons before our nervous systems were shut down with electricity. My whole body spasmed and twitched, and all I could see was darkness.
Well, fuck!
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Electric Conflict
TIME: 18:04 Griffon Kingdom Time (GKT/ERST)
DATE: War Day 885/9 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Bottom of the Abysmal Abyss, Griffon Kingdom
I fell to the ground, but I fought HARD to stay conscious. Darkness was all round me, I couldn't even see pinpricks of light.. but I could feel the presence of a horse moving towards me.
That was an enemy.
I fought hard to open my eyes, to SEE.. and my hand grabbed the Sword of Rainbow's Light.
The second I did, the electricity ceased, and fired back at the one that cast it. As in, the one that was approaching me.
I forced myself to get to my hands and knees, holding the sword in one hand. I still couldn't see!
K: "APPLEJACK! GORCAT! GRETA!!" I called out.
I could hear AJ moan in pain off to my right, Gorcat grunting, but no sound from Greta. I fought to clear my vision, blinking, shaking my head..
Unknown Voice: "You.. already have the sword?!" I could hear whomever it was, stagger to her hooves.
I could start seeing again. Blurry, dark, but I could see. I staggered away from my fallen friends. I had to get some distance, keep their attention on me, let them recover. I was certain the only thing that prevented me from completely getting knocked out was that my mass was higher, and the dose of electricity wasn't QUITE enough..
I could see her, now. Dark orchid, with a scar across her face, and a broken horn. Some kind of armor.. it looked rather high tech-ish..
K: "Whoooo.. who are you!?" I demanded, leaning on my sword a bit.
Tempest Shadow: "I AM TEMPEST SHADOW!" She bellowed.
The wind around us was.. oddly calm. I just noticed that, now. Like, the point of origin of the wind, wasn't here at the very bottom of the Abyss, but some place above us.
I looked up.. and I could see.. a portal? Of some kind? I wasn't sure, but about 20 feet above the ground, the source of the wind was from that swirling portal of gusty, windy magic, spreading out to cover the chasm.
K: "What do you want with us?!" I demanded, aiming the sword at her - I could feel my rifle slap against my chest, but my hands weren't working just right..
Tempest Shadow: "I serve the Storm King." She narrowed her eyes. "I mean, of course." She shook her head. "We knew of your coming! Of your SPYING on us! And for that, you WILL die!"
K: "S-Spying?!" I stammered out. "We're here for the Idol! I HAD NO IDEA!" I waved one arm. "Who the HELL is the Storm King!?"
Tempest Shadow: "Like you don't already know." She narrowed her eyes, trying to cut in closer to me.
K: "Is..is he working with Tirek!?" I demanded.
Tempest Shadow: "HAH!" She smirked, then it faded. "Once he secures the power of the three Princesses, Tirek will be nothing to him."
My strength was returning, as the electric shock to my system subsided.
K: "Tirek will squash him. Tirek is way stronger.." I shook my head at her. "..and he'll kill you in the process."
Tempest Shadow: "Hmpf!" She snorted. "MY KING! I HAVE THE HUMAN OF LEGEND, BUT IT IS A STAND-OFF! HE HAS THE SWORD OF RAINBOW'S LIGHT!"
A face appeared at the center of the portal.. meanwhile, I found I could start flexing my fingers properly, not just death-grip the sword.
Storm King: "And you expect me to throw you a bone, do you?!" He bellowed at Tempest.
Tempest Shadow: "My Liege! Release the Cyclops!" She waved a foreleg in my direction. "We were planning to release him anyway - now is the perfect time! The Human hasn't the Elements of Harmony with him, but ONE! JUST as we were told!"
Storm King: "Indeed. But, YOU assured ME that YOU could handle him! That we may save the Cyclops for Griffonstone!" He snarled. "THAT was the DEAL! YOU want your precious horn back, don't you?"
Tempest Shadow: "Yes, My Liege! But, my limited magic is no match for the Sword of Rainbow's Light - I need the Cyclops!" She nodded to me, growing increasingly desperate.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gorcat open his, and narrow them at me, knowingly. It was on my go. I saw his hand tense around the grip of his Abrams.
Tempest Shadow: "Please, My Liege! We can cripple the Elements HERE and NOW! Then the path to taking the powers of the Sun, Moon, and Love will be yours!" She pleaded.
Storm King: "Mmm.. FINE!" He snorted.
Right about then, the Cyclops dropped from the portal itself, and landed between me and the rest of the team.
K: "'CAT, NOW!" I said, pivoting on the ball of my right foot, and charging Tempest.
I couldn't see it, but Gorcat, Applejack, and Greta all got up at about the same instant, and immediately engaged the Cyclops.. down here, at the bowl of the Abyss, the winds were light enough that the Griffons could fly. At least for short distances. It gave them a vector of attack the Cyclops didn't have.
Gorcat: "OUR LAST KING FOUGHT YOU WITH A SWORD! I HAVE THIS! EAT LEAD, YOU MOTHERFLUFFING FEATHERDUSTER!" He screamed as he let off a long burst.
I clashed with Tempest, face to face. Immediately, using the Sword to block her against my right shoudler, I reached under and punched her in the throat as hard as I could.
She TRIED to shock me, but as predicted, the Sword reflected it back into her. THIS time she, was ready for it, and the clash of reflected magic simply burst between us, forcing us apart.
What I didn't know, was, the Cyclops also had magic. A bolt fired from its eye, as Gorcat, Greta, and Applejack passed behind us, impacted above my and Tempest's heads.
This sent a gigantic boulder the size of a city bus careening from the wall, and down towards us. Flat side down. Without a moment to think properly, I dove AT her, and slammed into her, sliding into another crack in the Abyss wall, and tumbling.
Down.
Down.
Down over rocks and dirt.
Both of us hit the bottom at the same moment and rolled to a stop. I was still gripping my sword, but my rifle was gone. I got up to my hands and knees, then slowly to my feet.
She didn't move, much.
K: "..shit." I shook my head, and moved over to her.
Then, I paused. Hero Mistake - assume she's really as hurt as she seems. I held the sword up defensively.
I was right. When I reached my left arm out to touch her shoulder, she tried to fire an electric beam at me, only for me to deflect it with the Sword of Rainbow's Light..
..but instead of going back to her, it was sucked up into the WALLS of the CAVERN.
Tempest Shadow: "..WHAT?!" She suddenly looked all around her.. and tried to get up, only to almost fall over when her left rear leg gave out. "YAHAH!" She winced, and slid to her haunches.
K: "Broken, huh?" I nodded to it, backing off, and sitting on a rock. "Probably hurts."
Tempest Shadow: "OF COURSE IT HURTS!" She snapped at me, then looked me over. "WELL!? GO ON!!" She kinda.. raised her head proudly and glared at me, expectingly.
K: "Yeee.. not.. not gonna kill you." I shrugged. "You're helpless. Broken leg, cavern absorbs magic.." I gestured to her. "I'm bruised, but nothing major." I shook my head. "Nah. I'm giving you mercy."
Tempest Shadow: "MERCY!?" She laughed, incredulously. "WHY?!"
K: "Simple.." I lowered my head. "..I've killed two mares that might've been saved already in this war. Not to mention all the others I've led to their deaths." I looked back up. "I have the option, right now. Even you acknowledge that I'm in control, here. I could?" I shrugged, frustratedly flapping my arms. "But that'd be a waste." I sighed.
Tempest Shadow: "A waste?" She scoffed at me. "Of what!?"
K: "Pony life?" I said, giving her a small frown of regret. "Everyone deserves a fair chance. From what I'm looking at, you're.. something happened to you. You didn't get one."
Tempest Shadow: "SO WHAT?!" She spat. "I'm your enemy! I serve the Storm King! We seek the Magic of the Princesses! We seek DOMINATION of the Inner World!" She twitched a bit, trying not to show the pain she was in. "I.. there's no reason to show any compassion!" She looked away. "For all the lies that means."
K: "Lies, huh?" I shook my head. "You.. something horrible happened to you. You've.. just shut down, emotionally. All you think you feel is hate. But.. I know ponies. I've been here over four years. You.. that's not the truth." I nodded to her. "Your heart hurts. I can see that."
Tempest Shadow: "SO WHAT.. so what if it does!? It doesn't matter." She lowered her head a bit. "No one cares."
K: "I care? Your sworn enemy, sometimes, turns out to be the ones that care about you the most, you just can't see it at the time." I shrugged a bit. "Sometimes.. they're the ones you need to reach out to, the most."
Tempest Shadow: "As though any of that matters.." She softened her voice, and gently touched her scar with a hoof. "..other ponies will just hurt you. They deserve what we plan to do with them."
Time to get to the bottom of this.
K: "Alright. How'd you lose your horn and get scarred, and why do you hate other ponies?"
Tempest Shadow: "..I suppose it doesn't matter any more." She lowered her head. "When I was a filly, I.. I went into an Ursa's cave.. I.. it.. savaged me. Shattered my horn, scarred my face.. and after that, no one wanted to be around me any more." She just shook her head in defeat. "Why NOT tell you!? It's doubtful we'll live long enough for it to matter." She snorted. "Everyone I called friend, shunned me. For being an ugly freak with a broken horn. SO..!" She got a prideful look. "..I decided to find someone that would give it back. No matter what the cost. What do I care if a few thousand die?! They're all backstabbing, worthless traitors just barely held together by a fake semblence of allegiance, they foolishly call friendship." She gave a sour look.
K: "Want something for the pain?" I gestured to her leg, nonplussed. "And I mean something not-lethal." My tone was even. "I should also probably splint that and immobilize the fracture so it doesn't get worse."
Tempest Shadow: "Why..?" She scoffed. "Why does it matter?!"
K: "Simple enough. Unless you stay perfectly still, you're going to start screaming in pain. If I can't immobilize the fracture, you're going to damage your leg and it won't heal properly." I gestured to her. "Please?"
Tempest Shadow: "..." She lowered her head, in thought.
K: "Look. You really think that Storm King is going to take you back, after you failed to kill the Human of Legend, anyway?" I gestured to myself. "And your Cyclops was getting his jaw busted in, last I looked." I shook my head. "I know how ones like that.. reward failure." I nodded to her a bit. "Your only remaining chance is with us."
Tempest Shadow: *SCOFF!* "Like you'd take me in! Your sworn enemy!"
K: "I took in Sombra. We're best friends, now." I shrugged a bit. "Yes, Dark King Sombra redeemed himself. You can, too."
Especially since we kinda didn't really TRY to reach out to Trixie. And, while I rather killed Glimmer while I wasn't exactly myself, I felt guilt. I felt horribly guilty that I might've been able to reach out to Trixie and didn't try, because I was too focused on reacting and not acting. I felt even worse that I couldn't stop 'that other me' from simply executing Glimmer for both revenge and an abundance of fear and caution.
I knew that Trixie slipped through the cracks because, at the time she was active, our backs were against the wall. And then, Pinkamena decided that killing her was the only way. And I just went with it, because I was in the mindset of her being an enemy and this being a war.
COULD I have saved them? Maybe. Maybe not. I'd never know, and that was why I was determined to at least TRY, from now on.
I suppose I'd grown up a bit, too.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Charged Situation
TIME: 18:32 GKT
DATE: War Day 885/9 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Below the bottom of the Abysmal Abyss, Griffon Kingdom
I'd fallen down into these crystal caves with Tempest. She was hurt, a broken leg, I suspected. She was being mentally broken down by her hopeless situation - realizing that the Human of Legend, as she had feared, had bested her in combat.
And to her great terror and shame, had spared her. And worse? He was trying to talk to her.
Her emotional defenses weren't as strong as she imagined them to be.
Tempest Shadow: "I-I.." She wanted to refute me - I could see her trying to come up with something that would impeach the idea of someone like Sombra being accepted. "..Fizzlepop."
K: "Was.. ah.." No, that wasn't a curse word replacement. "..that your name?"
Fizzlepop Berrytwist: "Fizzlepop Berrytwist." She gave a small nod. "I used to love fruit drinks." She smiled a bit. "Berry drinks. And frozen berry pops!" She smiled a bit more.
I slid over to her, and fished out my morphine syrette, and stabbed it into her flank.
K: "Morphine." I nodded. "It'll help with the pain." I then gingerly fished out my Individual First Aid Kit and some stuff form my bag, and I splinted her leg. "My name's K----." I pet her mane.
Fizzlepop: "I was such a fool." She lowered her head.
K: "Yeah, but no one knows what happened here but me, my wife, my best friend, and his girl." I shrugged - foregone conclusion on the Gorcat x Greta thing. "Spin it any way you want. That you realized the magic of friendship when I first took mercy on you, or you realized the Storm King was going to go too far, but you were too scared to defy him." I pat her shoudler. "I'll back your play."
Fizzlepop: "No. No more lies!" She said with determination. "I'm going to tell the truth. If you're right, and ponies really will accept me.." She blinked. "I don't want them accepting lies."
K: "As for your Horn.." I very gently touched the edge.
She winced just a bit, like it was an exposed nerve, but not as though it was painful, just a tingly feeling, like bumping one's elbow.
Fizzlepop: "I have no.." She lowered her head. "..I was obsessed with getting it back, like.. it was my only thought for so long."
K: "I can't promise I can restore it. I mean, I honestly thought it was more like a very slow growing fingerna- ahh.. hoof nail." I gestured.
Fizzlepop: "Not when it's been damaged this badly. Other than that, it grows maybe 1mm a year. Depends on the unicorn." She shook her head a bit. "The damage was too extensive and happened when I was too young. If I'd been older.. maybe.." She shrugged.
K: "I might have an idea. No false hope, here." I put my hand on the side of her snout. "If I'm right, it'll work." I side-nodded. "If not, no harm in trying. But.. I mean this.. I will do anything I can to help you. No matter what. That's what REAL friends do - they don't shun each other for imperfectons!"
Fizzlepop: "You really do care!" She smiled.
K: "Yeah." I smiled back. "I've been through a lot of emotional trauma because of this war. I started out seeing everything so black-and-white. It largely is, but I forgot that war has a lot of grey areas. And people died because of it. I want to be the leader that all ponykind needs, but not their messiah - this is about them, I'm just here for ideas, and to be a face. A friend. And because I want to be a friend, I want to make as few mistakes as possible. I came here with a lot of knowledge, but.." I gestured. "..no friends, and no real knowledge - intimate knowledge - of how this world really works. No one's perfect. I'm trying to be 1% better every day." I smiled.
She slid her forelegs over me, and cried a little bit.. she could feel my emotions were genuine, broken horn or not. Maybe it's because I was the Human of Legend, maybe it's because she was finally receptive to the emotions around her, I didn't know.
I let her cry into me for a bit.
When she was done, she gave out a sigh, and pulled back.
Fizzlepop: "Call.. me Fizzy, okay?" She smiled a bit.
K: "Sure, if you call me K." I smiled back.
Fizzy: "You got it, K." She nodded. "Now-w-w... how do we get out of here?"
K: "Yeah, this is a new situation here." I finally stood up, and tapped at the rocks with the tip of the sword - they glowed where the sword touched them. "Huh. I think these rocks are magic absorbers of some kind. Is that natural, here?"
Fizzy: "Mmm... I've heard something like that existed in antiquity." She shrugged, and got up on three legs. "Eh. Stupid broken leg."
K: "You'll heal that." I nodded, tracing the rock with one hand. "Feels warm. Like.. unnaturally so." I shrugged. "Something's up with this, and I mean besides the magic absorbtion." I nodded to her. "Why did the Storm King pick here as his outpost?"
Fizzy: "He.. said that the Abyss was very private, and the existing wind portal would be very easy for him to take control of. That portal isn't his doing - it was here before I scouted this location." She shook her head. "He just co-opted it." She shrugged. "He did mention something beneath here is what was controlling the portal, though. Like.. he didn't explain it fully, but he did hint that whatever was creating that portal, had something to do with what was down here."
K: "I knew the winds were magical." I nodded. "Come on. Maybe finding the source of that, will get us a way out." I slid up next to her left side, and put my arm over her, to bear some of her weight. "We get out of here together or not at all. That's a promise."
Fizzy: "Well.." She smiled a bit. "..if you're as good of a friend as you seem to be, I believe you."
We moved through the cave path for a bit. I checked my watch on occasion - about half an hour. I wasn't at all worried about my friends. Between Gorcat and AJ, that Cyclops didn't stand a chance. Plus, they had Greta - she was untrained, but all Griffons are pretty tough. They'd be fine.
Finally, we ended up at the very, very bottom of the Abyssal Caves.. a huge pool of crystalline water with a long, thin pathway leading to an edifice in the center. Clearly, something mystical was afoot here!
K: "Can you detect anything?" I held the sword out, ahead of me, gently.
Fizzy: "Something very powerful is here. VERY powerful." She lowered herself close to the water, and examined it. "Don't drink the water." She raised her head up. "It's charged. I think this is where the magic the rocks are absorbing, is held."
K: "Mmmm.. the Sword would have a very bad reaction to it, then. It might cause it to explode." I shrugged as I paced over to the edifice. "Hey.. wanna hear something crazy? The words on here are in English."
Fizzy: "NO WAY!" She hobbled over, excited, and looked at it. "Yeah! That's Equestrian alright!" She looked at me. "But, why? It's so ancient. I'd expect it to be in a lost language." She shook her head. "Let's see.."
As she read the words on the edifice.. I started to feel like we weren't alone. Instinct.. I pushed her down and threw myself over her just as a bolt of magic flew overhead and was sucked into the wall.
Fizzy: "Wh-AH!" She managed to peek out from underneath me. "OH NO!"
I rolled over, sword ready.
The Storm King had arrived.. with his guards. Lots of them.
K: "OH SHIT!"
Storm King: "Well..! Tempest! It seems in failure, you've given me access to something I never dreamt possible! The magic reserves in here would be MORE than enough to conquer ALL of the Inner World, and steal ALL of its magic power!" He laughed heartily. "And on top of that? With this? Tirek would be nothing to me - I could conquer the whole planet with magic reserves like these! It MUST be tapped DIRECTLY into a Ley Line!"
Fizzy: "My name's not Tempest." She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's FIZZLEPOP BERRYTWIST!" She slid out from beneath me as I got up.
Storm King: "..you're crippled, with a broken horn, and you DARE DEFY me?! Instead of CRAWLING ON YOUR HOOVES AT MY FEET!?" He bellowed.
Fizzy: "Exactly." She nodded. "Because I have a real friend, now. Not.. you. You never cared about ME, only what I could DO FOR YOU!" She shook her head.
K: "Hey, how'd you get here, anyway?" I shrugged.
Storm King: "Simple." He smirked. "I marked her." He looked at her and grinned.
She shrunk back a bit, almost out of shame, but then moved back up with a cruel smirk.
Fizzy: "No matter. This is the Human of Legend. He's.. WE.. are going to end you. Here. And now." She nodded.
She has high confidence in a human armed with a magic sword, a PDW (my Type-33), and in the company of an injured pony he'd have to help protect, standing at the end of a long narrow pathway with nowhere to effectively run.
I was.. more thinking about how we might be able to escape alive.
This was NOT looking good.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Storm Tempest
TIME: 19:08 GKT
DATE: War Day 885/9 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Abyssal Caves, Griffon Kingdom
To say my situation was dire was an understatement. I was trapped on a small area about 4x4 meters, at the end of a long pathway, and surrounding me was magically charged crystalline water.
I had an injured Mare with me.
I had no other backup.
I was facing The Storm King and about a platoon of his Guards.
These Guards looked like giant frost gorillas, with huge spears and shields.
K: "Welp." I shrugged, grabbing the right earpiece of my headset. C> "ALPHA ACTUAL TO ALL CALLSIGNS! CODE TEAL! IT'S A TRAP!" I doubted my radio had any-
Sombra: C> "Crystal Actual, we read you five by five. We are already at the Abyss, but cannot get down to your level. Help is on the way!"
Storm King: "And what.. what was that?!" He laughed.
K: "My friends are coming. With an army." I shrugged. "Surrender now, and you'll be kept as a prisoner of the Griffons, this is their territory, after all."
Storm King: "Pft." *SNORT!* "Deal with them. I daren't sully my paws."
The guards advanced..
..I had one shot to make this work.
K: "Fizzy.. trust me?" I asked her quietly.
Fizzy: "I trust you." She nodded.
I pulled a hand grenade from my hip pouch with my left hand, sheathed the sword with my right, flicked off the safety with my thumb, drew the Type-33 with my right hand, and suddenly charged at the Guard Monsters.
I ran about 15 of the 40 meters, pulsing the trigger, aiming at their faces, but my goal wasn't the guards OR the Storm King. Once I was enough distance away, and with Fizzy hobbling her fastest close behind me, I turned and threw the grenade at the Edifice with all my might.
Storm King: "WH-!? YOU FOOL!!" He bellowed.
He got the point of what I'd just done, as the grenade landed and exploded.
The Edifice.. cracked.
Energy started coming out of it.
The guards were momentarily distracted by the shiny, and I took that as a chance to reload, and switch to a rifle grip on the weapon. I aimed down at them, and THIS time, I knelt, and aimed at their LEGS!
Two of them went down with the first burst, almost falling into the water, but once they were incapacitated, I pumped a few more rounds into them, towards the skull. The ones behind them, seeing that this barky-sparky stick was LETHAL, and clearly NOT MAGIC.. fell back a bit.
I stood, as the energy from the edifice started to POUR out of the wound in the crystal my Grenade had caused.
K: "HOW ABOUT IT?! WANNA DIE WITH ME!?" I pointed the Type 33 at the Storm King.
Storm King: "YOU ABSOLUTE FOOL! WHY?!"
K: "FOR EQUESTRIA! AND MY FRIENDS!" I put my free arm around Fizzy's neck.
Storm King: "Rggh.. WE WILL HAVE A RECKONING!" He snarled. "THAT MAGIC MUST BE MINE!"
Fizzy: "He's.. he's going to attack." She nodded, and looked up at me a moment.
K: "I'm willing to die right here if I have to." I smiled. "I'm with a friend."
I didn't see her lip quiver.. if she had any lingering doubts of what I meant about friendship before, she didn't any more.
Fizzy: "..thanks for being my friend, K." She hugged me with one foreleg. "It's time to pay you back."
She suddenly spun on her hooves, and - thanks to the Morphine killing the pain REAL good - charged (with a notable limp) back towards the Edifice.
K: "Wh-WAIT! FIZZY!" I turned, then turned back, and found I had to mag dump into the remaining Guards, as the Storm King was literally pushing them into me. "FIZZY! WAIT!"
Fizzy: "..Celestia Help Me.." She said, that I heard.
An instant later, the entire cave was lit up in blinding blue-white light.
Fizzy: "GIVE ME THE POWER!" She yelled, and cried out as the energy coursed through her body.
A massive, massive beam fired itself at the Storm King, and he was just barely able to avoid it by flattening himself on the ground. He also dropped and lost his Staff into the water. That was just more magic for the waters to drain.
He got up, and staggered backwards, shielding his eyes.
Storm King: "THIS.. CANNOT BE!" He shouted. "I WILL BE BACK!" He glared at me, and ran like a little bitch.
That gave me time to turn around, and see that Fizzy was holding her hooves into the wound in the Edifice.. that she was directly sucking Mana into her body, and had used it to try and kill the Storm King.
I dropped the Type 33 completely and rushed over to her.. I just knew she was stuck, that she'd KNOW she was stuck, that she KNEW she'd be sacrificing her life, here..
..and I wasn't going to let that happen. I took out the Sword of Rainbow's Light, and jammed it into the pulsating, magic-throbbing, gushing wound in the Edifice, and PRIED AS HARD AS I COULD.. to get her forelegs out of there.
As I predicted, this was a bad idea.. the energy started reacting with the Sword of Rainbow's Light's magic reflection powers immediately, and I could feel the overcharge start to pulsate through my body in a way that just FELT dangerous..
Fizzy: "R-Run..! K! PLEASE!" She pleaded.
K: "WE BOTH GO, OR NEITHER ONE GOES! I PROMISED!" I called out to her, as magical wind started to envelop us.
Fizzy: "BUT, YOU'LL DIE!" She cried out.
K: "SO WHAT?! I DON'T ABANDON MY FRIENDS!" I screamed in declaration.
..and then? The feedback loop detonated in both our faces.
Bright, white, pure light..
..then darkness.
Well. I seem to have done it again.
{End of Chapter 104}
