Blackbird

The smell of sulfur alerted me to one thing. Well, the yellow smog and tall spires of rock, but I guess you get the idea of where I am.

I wasn’t scared this time, so now that I have a squared head, this place isn’t as intimidating. Of course I say that now and end up pissing myself raw when that big motherfucker comes, but I guess that’s just the way things go!

My dreams suck ass.

“Come on out, Bolas,” I shouted into the dense fog, “You wouldn’t have whisked me away if you didn’t want to talk about something!”

“Are you not afraid, young human?” Nicol Bolas’s voice was right on top of me, making my eyes widen a little before I rolled them in boredom. I turned around so that the huge form of Nicol Bolas was visible to me, observing how he was perched like a bored king on a throne carved out from a mountain. His massive head was leaned up on his right fist, and his elbow was on the awkwardly cut armrest.

“No,” I stated with a shrug, “But I’m a little bored of this.”

“Really,” Bolas responded with a dismissive snort that I had to cover my face for; since the wind pressure was so intense, “So sorry to hear that, but I’m enjoying myself far too much to send you back, I’m afraid. Why do you want to go back to such a boring existence in the first place? As I recall, you were the one who cursed your existence! That was one of the reasons I chose you in the first place!” Bolas boomed.

I grimaced audibly and sucked my teeth, “Oh trust me, Bolas, I still hate Earthlings and their governments thereof; but you should know that Earth is my home. This place, this planet called Equis, is hard to get used to. Everyone is so friendly, so...alien.”

“The irony is suffocating in that statement, human. Nevertheless, I must thank you for making your life an enjoyable spectacle thus far! I never thought you had it in you to best a paladin and a strong mutt like Dreggen!” Bolas gave a deep chuckle that made me want to punch his lights out, but I was still wary of his Touch. That, and he can summon horrible monsters to fight me as well.

“And this guild you founded; Blackbird, was it? I can only wonder how they’ll handle your betrayal! On the topic of your plan, however, comes a question I know you haven’t asked yourself!” Bolas was a little excited now, and that unnerved me tremendously.

“And what is it?”

“Are you willing to kill one of your friends to keep up your facade?”

I froze up. My body literally felt like ice. I never gave any thought to that line of thinking! Holy hell! What if it really does come down to me versus one of my friends!? That’s not cool, man!

“It seems I’ve struck a point of interest. You know, I may be older than most things, but at least I take the time to calculate my plans before enacting them out. Senility is reserved for those who are weak of mind,” Bolas stated with a chuckle while using his other hand’s index finger to point at me, “Like you.”

“Fuck you, you overgrown lizard! Just tell me why I’m here so that I can go back and think over my plan some more!” I pointed angrily at him.

Bolas’s smile faltered into a semi-amused amalgamation of weariness and anger, “Lizard, am I!? Huh, I don’t know where you got this bravado, but you should take heed in realizing it’s preparing you for destruction by my hand!”

“Screw off,” I flipped him off before turning around and walking off into the smoke, “Find some other way to occupy your free time.”

I felt compacted as I was lifted from the ground sharply, watching the ground zoom by until the feet of a giant dragon occupied my vision of the ground. I gulped quietly and turned around in the ball Bolas placed me in, coming face-to-eye with the ancient dragon planeswalker.

“Your power is infantile at best, Justin. You will recognize your place here, mortal.” He growled, a chorus of lion roars and hippo grumbles that was accented by the march of a million soldiers.

“Get bent, scalehead. Put me back in my body before things get ugly.” I threatened, earning a roar from the mighty dragon in response.

“COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY THAT I’M BOUND BY THE RULES OF THE GAME NOT TO HURT YOU, FOOL!!!”

Bolas was hit in the chest with a giant ray of blue magic, making my eyes widen as his telekinetic hold was dropped instantaneously. I popped open my wings, powered up my gloves, and used them to propulse myself towards the place where the beam came from, knowing who shot it.

I turned my head from where I was facing, which was towards Bolas’s falling from through his throne, to gaze upon Princess Luna whose horn was glowing white and blue with her respective magical aura. Her eyes were a thousand jack-o-lanterns, promoting her ethereal yet overbearing appearance even more.

“The hell,” I yelled in shock as Luna’s eyes returned to normal, “How’d you get in here!?”

“Twas a simple matter, truthfully,” Luna returned with a face of pure stoicism, “I am the Princess of the Night, after all. Dream Scrying is something I do every night in order to help my subjects overcome their nightmares.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, Luna, but this bloke isn’t a nightmare,” I exclaimed while looking at Bolas’s laid-out form, “This is Nicol Bo-”

“We know very well who this dragon is, Silas,” Luna interrupted, making me wince at how commanding her voice was. She could makeGordon Ramsay feel like shit, “Which also confirms my sister’s earlier inquiry.”

I raised an eyebrow as Bolas tried getting back to his feet.

“And what would that be?”

“You’re human. Which isn’t that surprising, seeing as how you’re not the first one to come across Canterlot.” Luna explained with a shrug of indifference, making me wince again at the tone.

Me, being a smart cookie, easily pieced two and two together, “You mean there’s been others? Huh, I thought I was special,” I frowned my face up and turned my head to view Bolas, who had just succeeded in bringing himself to a knee, “Well shit.”

“An impressive strike for one so one-dimensional,” Bolas mocked with a chuckle as he raised himself to full height, making me expand my eyes just a little, “You do realize the rules don’t say anything about two “Players” facing one another in a duel, right?”

“You seem to be under the impression that I fear you, Bolas. Make no mistake, you are quite the formidable adversary, but I dare say you are a couple thousand years too soon to think of challenging me.” Luna retorted with a cocky grin, making me do a dry spit-take.

“ARE YOU MAD!!!??? That’s Nicol Bolas! He destroys powerful mages that walk across dimensions for fun!” I exclaimed at Luna, who merely batted an eye at me before chuckling.

“His power, as grand as it is, still lacks any real quality to it. The only thing he has going for himself is his size, ability to breathe fire, and his dreaded Touch; which, might I add, will be next to useless against me,” She looked back towards Bolas, who was growling at her, “Isn't that right...Nicky?” Her eyes powered up as Bolas let loose a powerful roar that seemed to shake the foundation of this dreamscape to its core. Everything shook, with even some mountains crumbling.

“Nicky? What kind of name is that!?”

“I AM NO LONGER YOUR PET, LUNA!!!”

My jaw dropped. Princess Luna owned...as in had legal ownership over Nicol Bolas!?

Luna fired another ray, my ears ringing from the deafening explosion of its expulsion. The ray was deflected by a forcefield around Bolas’s right claw.

I heard the heating of oil, and that made me turn on my power gloves and blast off to the right, narrowly avoiding the sky-blue jet of flame that came after the inhale. Luna merely flapped her wings, dispersing the jet of flame until the roaring inferno was cut off at the source. The wind from Luna’s charged downstroke hooked Bolas in his mouth, making the dragon reel back in pain from the impact.

His feet took three steps backwards as a powerful roar of pain usher forth from the giant planeswalker.

“That’s a bad boy,” Luna scolded mockingly as my face became the definition of disbelief. Here was this...this...pony, fucking up a giant dragon, “Mother never taught you to hit others!”

Another ray of magic, another impact that sent Bolas to his ass.

Bolas growled and teleported to his feet behind us both, making my eyes widen as the sound of rushing wind filled my ears.

“He’s attacking!”

I accelerated upwards and saw Luna teleport just in time to avoid Bolas’s finger. He had planned to use the Touch on her!? He’s getting serious!

I looked behind me to see Bolas flick his eyes to face me, which made me swallow a dastardly lump in my throat.

“An insect? Here? I guess you need to be swatte-” Yet another ray hit him in the face, breezing past the side of my head in order to strike him between the eyes. I was blown away by the force in his roar that followed, my body ragdolling through the air as I yelled in worry of hitting something.

“THIS SHIT CRAY!!!! THIS SHIT’S SO FUCKED!!!” I cursed as I used the power of my gloves to right myself with a powerful pulse of flame. As I hovered in the air, I instantly saw Bolas stumbling back from the last attack that hit him.

And then I saw Luna charging towards him with her body enveloped in blue and white magic, looking like a bullet of the stuff. It even left behind a trail as she impacted  on his chest, winding the mighty planeswalker and cracking his chest-scales.

Not only was he lifted from the ground, but the attack was fierce enough to send his huge ass flying a couple of feet back before thudding upon the ground with a barrage of dust clouds.

He groaned while Luna teleported back to my side with the ping of magic.

“So how are things~?” She asked me with an amused smile as her wings flapped to keep her body suspended.

I frowned and looked at the rising Bolas, “He’s getting back up.”

“Would you like me to-”

“No no,” I cut her off with a shake of my head and looked at her, “I got this.”

Not waiting for a response, I took off towards Bolas’s massive face.

“Levo.” My right glove pulsed with added power.

“Levo...Levo...Levo...Levo...” I honestly lost track of how many times I said it.

“What are you doing, gnat?” Bolas asked angrily as he inhaled, the heating and bubbling of oil audible to my ears.

I zoomed up to his left cheek, “LEVO MAXIMUS!!!”

My right glove was so saturated with magic that it was hard to lift it up, but I still did it.

Bolas chuckled, “You plan on hitting me? With your power!? Ha!”

“Guess what, Bolas?” I bit his name in half.

The planeswalker looked at me challengingly with his eyes narrowed, “...What?”

“I went to Jared, motherFUCKER!!!” At “FUCKER” my glove slammed into his cheek with the force of what felt like a landslide and a bullet-train collision combined. I knew it wasn’t enough, so I yelled the magical phrase...

“Chesto: VIS TRIPLICETUR (Tripled Force)!!!” And there he goes.

Yep, Bolas has been socked into parts unknown. I saw his huge body fly into the smoke at breakneck speeds, spinning like a Ferris Wheel as he went.

I was feeling light headed after that all-or-nothing attack, but the fact that I just sent something as big as Bolas out of the proverbial park had me smiling.

The pants were like hurdles to a new runner, making me strain with each pained inhale. It was becoming hard to stay afloat, my wings beating out of sync as my gloves powered down.

The ping of magic to my right alerted me to Luna’s presence.

Turning my head wearily, I begun what was sure to be a conversation with her, “Nice punch, right?”

Luna’s face of stoicism didn’t change, “Indeed...but the war is far from won it seems.”

I snapped my head back in time to see Bolas’s sky blue eyes cut through the smog, the black silhouette of his massive wings and body bleeding through like a living shadow.

“You’re nothing more than pests,” Bolas chuckled as he came through all the way, the ground shaking from his thunderous footsteps, “You’ve done nothing but delay the inevitable, pony. And you,” Bolas’s eyes swam to me, making a shiver go down my spine at the pure hatred hidden behind their fiery gaze, “To bite the hand that feeds you...unforgivable. Rules be damned, I will make you pay for that attack.”

“Go back to your universe, Bolas. It’s clear you’re not mature enough to partake in this game.” Luna chided strongly, taking a few flaps to get ahead of me.

“Maturity? This is not a subject you should lecture, Nightmare Moon!” Bolas mocked with another chuckle.

The sound of grating stone filled the air, making my eyes narrow in confusion. Who the hell is grating sto-

Oh.

It’s Luna’s teeth grinding.

My eyes widened.

“Oh SHIT!!! That’s Luna’s teeth grinding!!!” I thought in panic as I instantly backed off using my wings, leaning back in the air as the stroke propelled me backwards at a rate that was faster than what I would’ve liked. I came out of the tactical withdraw awkwardly, stumbling in the air momentarily.

“Never speak of that event again, Bolas. I’ll have you know that I’ve put my jealousy and anger away once I was reformed.” Luna growled as her body visibly darkened.

Sensing the amount of ass-kickery that was about to go down, I waved to get Bolas’s attention. I mean, as much as I would like to see his dumbass pummelded into a bloody, scaley mess; there’s always that chance that the asshole’s my only way back.

Yes, I know; why do I want to go back?

The truth is, I don’t. I just want the option there in case I feel like it, and having Bolas blasted into tiny bitch bits isn’t gonna exactly heighten my chances of returning home.

“Er, Luna,” I called out tentatively, half afraid that she would whirl on me and blast my dumbass halfway across this dreamscape, “Maybe we should tune back the anger a little bit, hmm? Blasting Bolas to death could kill me...”

“Nay, it will not. Slaying Bolas will only serve in severing your ties with him. He doesn’t deserve what’s at the end of the game, and his cold and manipulating heart is the main reason I banished him to the multiverse itself!” Luna stomped her hoof in the air while flapping her wings. For a moment, I wondered why she would do that, but something prodded my head to look down and I saw what looked like a large glowing spot on the ground.

It would blink bright white, then fade into the crimson ground before repeating the process again. The spot was placed two or so more steps in front of Bolas’s feet, and my ability to piece two and two together left me with a clear reason for its existence.

“It’s a mine...And a large one at that! But, what does it trigger?” I rubbed my chin before backing up a little more.

“HAH,” Bolas guffawed, “Without me being his Player, the human known as Justin will fade from existence itself after a year!”

“WAT!!!???” I screeched in disbelief. I do not like the sound of that!!!

“Your human body has been incinerated by your family, which means that if I die, your soul will have no where to run. In order to live, you would have to kill one of my power or higher and devour their soul!” Bolas broke out into maniacal laughter.

My whole world was shattered with that revelation. I was stuck in an ultimatum, seeing as how I can’t go back to my body and it’s by Bolas’s will that I’m still in this body. How the fuck is this shit fair!?

“Do not be disheartened, Silas! Although his words are true enough, I must also remind you that you have the help of two semi-immortal princesses backing you!” Luna yelled, snapping me out of my stupor of depression and hopelessness.

“It matters not if your courage is rekindled, human. Your life is already forfeit into doing my bidding!”

“Don’t listen to him!”

I cupped my hands around my ears, my eyes widened in fear at the implications of Bolas’s words. Everything was spinning and everything was yelling, tearing my mental walls to smithereens while destroying my heart piece by piece.

I felt tears come to my eyes as I envisioned my body being incinerated in a giant furnace, my family gathered around while being dressed in black. The face of my mother and brother stuck out the most, but the scary part was...

...I was looking at them as the flames danced around me...

“Blood Limit 2: Opened. Releasing restraints...”

My scream broke through the air, pushing the yellow smog away effortlessly. The draconic vocal chords chorused with my human ones, producing a shriek so high in frequency that Luna and Bolas covered their ears and gave yells of pain. A fierce quaking came about the ground and the air itself, rumbling the very foundation of the dreamscape.

The wind was rapidly leaving my body, but I could feel something else grow in quantity. It took me a while to figure out what the gurgling in my throat was about, but the screaming had become painful enough to jumble any coherent thoughts. I still, however, discerned the gurgling to stem from a mass of blood in my throat due to the iron-y taste.

And then, sweet relief. My mouth shut on its own volition, stopping the screamin instantaneously. I can’t describe how I’m feeling right now after that whole ‘Power up like a fucking DBZ character’ spiel, but I can honestly say that ‘empowered’ is the one that sticks out the most.

My body felt more muscular but lithe, and my thinking became even sharper than what it was. My eyes went out of focus, but quickly sharpened up and presented me with an HD view of everything. My body feels like it was...upgraded...

“What the fuck...” I breathed out in confusion as I eyed my bare chest, which has become barrel-like instead of fit, “...Happened to my fucking body?”

I gripped my hands as my wings flapped, feeling the muscles underneath the scales and under-skin tighten and bulge with power.

I grinned, no longer feeling the fatigue of my last attack.

“Hey, Bolas!” I boomed, my voice deep enough to make a subwoofer jealous.

The dragon looked a little miffed, but I could still see the blatant disregard for my presence in his eyes. Luna was positively stunned at my newly acquired stamina.

“And what does the gnat want this time?” Bolas mocked as his hands powered up with the power of darkness.

“I want you to scream like a whore.”