Chapter Fourteen: Battle at the School

私の小さい馬：大きな鉱石の物語

MY LITTLE PONY: THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT CRYSTALS

Daijuushishou: Gakkou de Tatakau

だいじゅうししょう：がっこうでたたかう

第十四章：学校で戦う

Chapter Fourteen: Battle at the School

It was early the next morning. The sun had barely begun to come up above the horizon and Fluttershy woke up, seeking water, as her throat was dry. As she walked down the stairs into the main room of her home to get some water from her kitchen, she noticed that Gash was awake. A  next to him was dimly lit as his eyes scanned across his spellbook.  She cocked her head and approached him, keeping her hoof steps as quiet as possible so Chrysalis wouldn’t wake up.

“Um…Gash? You’re awake early,” she whispered in her lowest voice. He looked up at her with a tired look upon his face.

“I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t fall back asleep,” he explained in a soft voice.

“How long have you been awake?” she asked.

“About two hours, maybe two and  half. I’m not quite sure when I woke up,” he answered.

“I see,” she mumbled. “Would you like me to help you fall back to sleep?” she kindly offered.

“You can do that?” he quizzed. “How?”

“I can sing you a lullaby,” she suggested, softly pushing a fore hoof under his head. She sat on her haunches and smiled at him.

“A lullaby?” he inquired.

“Yes, Gash. It’s a song that has a soothing tone to it, and is supposed to help calm yourself,” she informed.

“Oh. Well, I suppose that’s alright,” he accepted. With that, Fluttershy started to sing her tune.

"Hush now, quiet now; it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now; it’s time to go to bed," she sung.

The tune calmly cooled Gash’s senses as he felt his anxiety swirling around in his heart before alleviating into a warm sense of serenity that wrapped around him. He could feel a sense of drowsiness that he longed for drown out the stress that prevented him from sleeping the past few hours away. A yawn escaped from his mouth as he felt his eyes become heavier. Fluttershy continued her tranquilizing melody.

“Choo-choo off to sleep, the exited day behind you. Choo-choo off to sleep, let joys of dreamlands find you…”

Gash couldn’t maintain his consciousness as the theme finally blocked out everything that brought him his daily strains, creating a mental barrier in his mind that prevented them from attacking his sense of serenity. He soon found himself putting his red book on the table behind him with one hand as he pulled the plaid cover over his body, bringing the much needed warmth that finally allowed him to shut his eyes and drift off into the world of his dreams.

Fluttershy slowly retracted her hoof from under the boy’s head and used it to rub his shaggy, brown hair. He cooed in his sleep as he almost curled up on the leather couch. She smiled, bringing her head up. She reached herself over to the candle behind him, blowing it out and letting the darkness of the night consume him. She felt at ease, knowing that he was at a much calmer place within his mind.

She walked up the stairs leading into her bedroom and walked through a small doorway into a kitchen. Then, she pulled out a small glass out of her cupboard. The sound of her tap turning on quietly filled the small room as she slipped the glass under, allowing it to fill with the clear substance. Turning the small lever on the counter next to the sink, she removed the glass out of the sink and set it on the counter; a towel found its way into her hooves as she dried them off. The glass was lifted from the top as Fluttershy took a sip of it, relinquishing in the wet feeling that couldn’t elude her throat any longer. Once she finished, she rinsed the glass off, placing it on a small rack next to the miniscule basin. Now finished with her momentary tasks, she wandered back into her bedroom, allowing herself to rest on the cotton sheets that covered her mattress. She quickly fell asleep, falling into her own dreams.

Gash was walking alone in a small, rural-looking town. He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing little more than ragged pieces of cloth around his body, strewn about with no fluidity in the white and brown tatters. There were torn, blistered straw sandals on his feet, of which dug into the soles. Dirt and dust lined his skin. His eyes had visible rings under them; his hair was long and shaggy, coming down to his waist.

As he was walking down the cobble street, he encountered strange stares as other people walked by with their light-green and yellow straw umbrellas that shielded them from the pelting rain. Gash had his hands over his head in futile attempt to not get wet. There were visible tears rushing from his eyes as he started running, trying to escape the hell he was living in.

Gash saw a crack in between two of the wood and paper houses that he could hopefully find shelter in. Seeing this as an opportunity to get out of the harsh rain, he immediately went there, attempting to fit his frail body inside the opening. He struggled and struggled, not being able to fit his weakened form into the tiny space.

Suddenly, he could feel a tug at his clothing, pulling him away from the much-needed shelter. He turned and looked at the beings that took him. He saw nothing in these three people. They were but mere silhouettes that stalked him, creating a cloud of darkness around him that completely blocked out all of his senses.

Gash tried to shout for help as the shadows mercilessly beat him down, but no sound could escape his throat. He continued to be bashed and cut all along his body, failing to provide any sort of defense for himself as he collapsed to the ground, curling himself into a ball. His head instinctively was wrapped into his hands as he cried. He almost felt his life force draining away as he gave a final, silent prayer to his gods and goddesses, wishing for a more peaceful life wherever he should next be reborn.

Before the darkness could kill him off; however, a light shined through, reaching Gash’s body, giving him one final spec of hope that he could survive this encounter with fate. He opened one eye to look at his assailants, and he saw that there were lights shimmering out of their figures, eventually destroying them. The light shone through into his body, spreading all across his mutilated form and overtaking him.

Gash found himself waking up in a cold sweat, shooting straight up in his bed as he grasped his head in what felt like a terrible pulsing sensation in his forehead. He felt confused through the pain, like he had been experiencing something he had already seen before. The feeling in his head was horrible, and he couldn’t explain what had just happened to him in his dream.

“Whoa…what a dream…” he sighed, rolling his eyes upwards.

He brought his hand back down and looked around the cottage. Chrysalis was still sound asleep and he could hear her slow, soft snoring. The clanging of pans and the clinking of glasses in the kitchen rung in his ears, signaling to him that Fluttershy had awoken and was making breakfast. He smiled.

His eyes searched around the room until he saw a clock on the far wall. He focused his vision in on the clock and viewed that it was 6:45, a couple hours before school. He silently nodded his head as he twisted his body off of the couch, heading toward the kitchen.

“Good morning,” he said as he stretched and yawned. Fluttershy, not hearing him coming, nearly jumped when she heard him.

“Oh, my!” she cried. She gasped, turning toward him. “Oh, good morning, Gash,” she returned. “You scared me.”

“Heheh…” he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Gash, I’m almost done with breakfast. Why don’t you go get ready for school while I finish?” she suggested.

“Okay,” he agreed, shrugging his shoulders a little.

Walking back into the living room, he opened up his saddlebag, making sure that everything was in there. There was paper, quills and the homework he had finished the previous night. He found that there were no inkpots in there, however.

“Huh, I’m out of ink. Oh well,” he sighed.

He flipped the cover back down on the bag and stood back up, stretching another time. When he finished, he stepped over to the small table in the center of the room, sitting down and relaxing before Fluttershy came back in. She placed a plate of eggs and an apple in front of him, as well as a tall glass of milk.

“Thank you,” he appreciated, giving a small bow to her.

“You’re welcome,” she smilingly said to him.

Gash ate his breakfast quickly, chowing  down on the eggs and munching on the apple, chugging on the milk. He placed his glass down with a loud exhale as he took a few deep breaths. Fluttershy graciously took his plate and glass into the kitchen and washed them. Coming back out of the kitchen, she noticed that Gash was staring at her.

“Um…do you need something, Gash?” she asked.

“Yes, actually. I’m out of ink,” he explained.

“Oh, that’s not good. Let me see what I can do…” she trailed, thinking for a moment. “Well, I don’t carry my own inkwells, so the best thing that I can think of is…”

“Yes?” Gash asked.

“Here, let me go get you some bits so you can buy a couple inkwells,” she requested, walking up her stairs and bringing back a small bag of bits. “This is twelve bits. That should be enough for two inkwells.”

“Thank you,” he gratified, accepting the sack as he walked over to the couch. He placed the sack into his saddlebag and finished preparing to go to school.

“Is that all that you need?” she asked.

“I believe so. I have paper, quill and my homework, which is all that I should need…” he informed, lifting the saddlebag up off of the ground and over his shoulder.

“Are you ready to go?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ll get going.”

“Oh, okay. Have a nice day, Gash!”

When Gash arrived at school (having bought inkpots on the way), he assumed his normal spot in the classroom. As the classroom filled up, he saw that the other Crusaders had arranged themselves around him. Scootaloo sat behind him, Sweetie Belle sat to his right and Apple Bloom sat behind him, to the right. After exchanging their greetings, class started soon after.

Today, the class learned about how to read and write basic sheet music, as well as the notes in some of the basic chords. Gash thought this lesson was the most interesting lesson he had been taught thus far in the class, as he enjoyed the complex terminology and the structure of the music. It was just something about the way the symbols managed to all flow together while still being able to confine complexity into small characters on the page that sparked his interest. Overall, he rated that lesson as great.

Fluttershy was still at home, doing chores around the cottage in attempt to tidy some of the clutter that had accumulated after the past few months. She had already finished feeding the animals and she was reorganizing her books on the bookshelf. Chrysalis was helping by washing the dishes in the kitchen. Glancing over from the shelf, she noticed that Gash’s book was still sitting there on the end table where he had left it earlier that morning.

“Hmm…Well, I do need to run a few errands in town anyway…” she thought out loud, continuing to reshelf the books. She set a few books she had checked out of the library for Gash in a small stack in front of the other books. “Maybe I should stop by the school to give Gash the book back…” she mumbled.

Once she finished with the books, she quickly ran a dust cloth over the tables. After she ended doing that, she placed the dust cloth in a basket that had a few other dirty towels in it. Then, she pulled out the rented books from the bookshelf and collected Gash’s spellbook.

“Umm, Chrysalis?” she called out. The changeling poked her head out of the kitchen, cocking her head slightly.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I’m going to run some errands.”

“Okay!”

Fluttershy walked out her front door, journeying into Ponyville.

The other lessons, being basic order of operations problems and basic physics/chemistry had concluded, and it was now time for the recess period to begin. Gash went outside and sat under the tree, per usual, and was soon joined by the Crusaders.  Together, they started creating plans to make their marks.

“Well, I think that you should start with things that you’re good at. What are they?” Gash suggested.

“Well, Ah’m good at livin’!” Apple Bloom stupidly stated. Gash lost his focus as his brain tried to process what she had said.

“Uh…” he started, unsure of what to say. “I’m pretty sure that any creature that’s alive is good at living. I meant to say things that you enjoy doing that you’re good at, like a hobby or sport.”

“Ah know. Ah was just makin’ a joke!”

“Well…Wa. Ha. Ha,” Gash laughed in the dumbest voice he could muster. The other two Crusaders giggled at his silly chuckle.

“Well…Ah did fix up mah sister’s old tree house. Maybe Ah’m meant to be a fixer-upper kahnda’ pony!” she exclaimed.

“You mean a ‘carpenter?’” Sweetie asked.

“Yeah! That!” she shouted.

“You fixed up that tree club all by yourself?” Gash seeked the answer.

“Mhm,” she confirmed.

“That is truly impressive. If that isn’t a ‘special talent,’ then I don’t know what is,” he applauded. A blush formed on her face as she turned her head.

“Aw, shucks Gash. You’re too kahnd,” she humbly stated.

“Well, if you have a special talent, you should be recogni-“ he started.

Right then, he felt a great uneasiness around him. He felt like there was someone-or something-watching him and his every movement, which made his stomach churn. A deep gulp slid down his throat as he cut himself off in the middle of his sentence. His eyes immediately shot forward; he lost all of his focus on the conversation. He shot up to his feet, immediately looking around for the source of his sudden anxiety. He looked around the tree, still seeing nothing.

“Gash, you okay?” Scootaloo asked, feeling a sense of mild concern.

“You don’t feel that?” he shot, not looking at her.

“Feel what?” she confusedly questioned.

“That feeling...” he accidentally began to shout.

Suddenly, laughter could be heard echoing throughout the playground of the school. It rung through everypony’s ears as the creepy sound made them flinch slightly. Gash narrowed his eyes slightly.

‘A demon.’

“Who’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked, pointing her hoof to the entrance of the school.

Approaching Gash was a gray Pegasus mare. Her eyes were a deep cerulean color that resembled the color of skyflowers. Her mane was a blood-red rose color, likewise with her tail. On her flank was the picture of a single red rose, of which had silver trails leading down the petals and the stem. There was one silver petal that was detached from the flower, of which was hanging slightly above. With her she carried a hibiscus colored book, of which had the patterns and markings of a demon spellbook.

“Get back,” Gash demanded.

“Why-“ Apple Bloom started.

“Get back!” he shouted, forcing the three fillies to recoil backwards.

“What’s going on?” Sweetie asked.

“I think I have a challenger,” Gash explained.

“A challenger? What do you mean?” she questioned.

“It doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that you three get out of here, now!” Gash ordered.

The tone in his voice had a seriousness the three had never heard before. Not thinking twice, they ran off toward the other end of the schoolhouse.

“You were correct when you said that you have a challenger,” the mare confirmed, opening the book and setting it on the ground in front of her.

“Hold on. Not here. There’s too many-“ he started.

“No. We will fight where we stand now, no objections,” the mare declined.

“Oh? And who says?” he interrogated.

“I am Silver Rose, from the Rose family of ponies,” she introduced.

“Okay, Silver Rose. Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?” he asked down to the mare in frustration.

“The bringer of your end,” she coldly stated as the book glowed.

“Rozugaron!” she cried.

From the ground in front of her erupted multiple, large plant roots. They looked much like normal roots, except that there were strings of metal that were coiled and spiraled around them. At the tips were solid metal spikes, of which looked like they could easily impale skin.

“I’ll just cast a ‘Rashirudo' and block i-“ Gash started, reaching for his book. Reaching into his mantle, he noticed that he couldn’t find his book. “Why can I not find it?” he asked. He looked down into the mantle. “It’s not there!” he shouted, eyes growing wide.

Before he could do anything else, he felt a deep pain in his left shoulder. He yelped in pain before two more vines shot out of the ground toward him. Looking up at them, he could tell based off of their movement that they were aimed for his head and his upper torso. He looked over to the vine in his shoulder and saw that it wasn’t piercing as far as he thought it would-it was but a flesh wound. There was only a trifle amount of blood that dripped from the small opening, which surprised him. He pulled the vine out of his shoulder, then used it to tactically block the creeper that was headed for his chest, sending it toward the other, which knocked it off course into the other vine. All three spiraled into the ground, creating a small cloud of dust and debris. Silver rose had a look of shock for a moment, but that look quickly turned to cockiness as she approached him.

“I’ll admit-I’m impressed. Any other creature that would’ve faced that attack would be a pile of mush by now,” she boasted. Gash smirked, standing up from the tree.

“Thanks, I guess. Well, to be honest, that attack was telegraphed. I could tell based off of the position of the vines where they would be heading for my chest and stomach. It was so easy to guard that attack. Try again with something more challenging to dodge,” he shot back.

“Grrr…” she growled, a scowl forming on her face. “Alright. If you want something bigger, here you go!” she shouted, putting more energy into the book.

“Ganzu Rozugaron!” she shouted.

Three small, metallic flowers rose up from the ground in front of her, each the exact same size with the exact same physical details. There were six petals on each flower, each of which was a few meters in length. In the center of the petals was a large, cannon-like opening that contained six smaller chambers that spun rapidly.

In an instant, the flowers started to shoot miniature bullet-like projectiles at Gash. For a moment, he dodged the bullets, but soon found that this strategy was pointless as he was pelted by the shells. Many small wounds littered his body as he jumped behind the tree, using it as shelter. In the next few moments, he contemplated his next move.

The idea of jumping out into the frenzy of projectiles was a suicidal move. Gash realized this in an instant. He took a few seconds to try and think of an idea, but the recognition of reality hit him-there were no other strategies he could implement. Without the use of his book, he had no power to repel the attack. Even if he could get close to the Mamono, she would probably use a body-enhancing spell and stop him in his tracks. Knowing that he couldn’t do anything, he stood there behind the tree, waiting for the spell to die down.

“Hey, you coward! Why are you hiding! This is a battle!” she roared out. “If you won’t come out, I’ll make you!” she bellowed. Her book shined once more.

“Rozugaruku!”

Metal vines shot out from the ground around the mare, encasing her entire body in overgrowth that drowned out her entire form. Growing out of the vines were her four hooves, of which were dark pink and steel. Spikes grew from her hooves. Next to appear from the creepers was her head, which had a thorny coat, with a long thorn bulging from her forehead. It resembled that of a horn. The mass of vines that was in between her hooves and head tightened, creating a thick, heavily armored torso covered in thorns and roses. There was a single metallic rose growing behind her left ear.

The crowd of horrified ponies looked on as Silver rushed forward into the tree, completely uprooting it and sending it flying skyward. A cloud of dirt covered the surrounding area as Gash was lifted off his feet and also thrown into the air. Before he could see anything through the billow of dirt, he was hit from the right side, sending him flying back toward the school. When he landed, a horrible crunch sound was heard as he landed on his right wrist, causing it to bend in a direction it was not meant to bend in. Gash could make no sound as he bounced on the ground, rolling and finally coming to a stop right outside the door to the school.

Soon, Cheerilee was at the side of the child, looking down in terror as she saw his damaged form. She looked over his body, and the sight of so much injury over a child made her want to throw up. She could barely stand violence as it was, and this was horrific to the gentle-hearted mare. Looking up at the playground, the disastrous appearance of the uprooted tree that had landed tens of feet away made her eyes nearly bulge out of her head in shock.

“W-What is happening!?” she cried out.

Gash turned his head upward to her, attempting to get back to his feet. He accidentally put all of the pressure of the push on his right hand, causing him to immediately recoil and shout in pain; he dropped back down to his stomach. He looked at his wrist, noticing that it was bending in the wrong direction.

“Damn it all!” he painstakingly muttered. Using his left hand this time, he struggled to get back to his feet, finding it very difficult due to an intense cramp in his right hip.

“Gash, are you alright!?” she demanded.

“Cheerilee!” he shouted, grasping her by the collar with his right hand.

He looked deep into her eyes, as if to beg something from her. There was a rage, a conflagration raging in the blond. She had never seen eyes like this before in her life, and she had seen some very angry parents and guardians that had demanded answers from her. This was nothing like that, not even comparable. This was greater, vastly superior to those times.

“G-Gash…?”

“You need to go and find Fluttershy, now! When you get to her, ask her for the ‘red book!’ She’ll understand what you mean!” he ordered, gaining a wide-eyed stare from her

“But-“ she started, but was cut off.

“No! We don’t have time for ifs, ands or buts! You need to find her at this moment! You will not argue with me!” he detested, pushing her toward Fluttershy’s cottage. “Go-“

Before he could say anything else, he was hit from the left and sent flying toward the crowd of students that had assembled. He slid along the grass, leaving a trail of dirt as the green plants were uprooted in mass. He stopped right in front of the group, causing them to all gasp, save for Diamond Tiara who relinquished in his pain and grinned. He tried to lift up his head, but dropped back to the ground as he entered a sub-conscious state.

Silver Rose was now standing in front of Cheerilee, looking her dead in the eyes. She saw the same thing she saw in Gash’s eyes, except this had a much more malignant feel to it, as if it was piercing her soul. The rage she saw was terrible, and it locked out her legs. She was trapped from fear, and she felt helpless to do anything.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she spat, causing Cheerilee to recoil backwards onto her haunches from fear. “If you think that you’re going to run, think again. You’re not going anywhere!” she yelled, putting a hoof on Cheerilee’s head and pushing it into the dirt. Cheerilee screamed out of pain as she felt intense pressure in her head.

Upon the scream of agony, Gash’s sub-conscious mind reentered a state of consciousness as his eyes opened wide. He looked back to Silver Rose, who was still crushing Cheerilee. When he saw this, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

‘She’s hurting Cheerilee!’

‘That coward…’

‘She’s hurting *Cheerilee!*’

‘That monster…’

“She’s *hurting** Cheerilee!’*

‘That bitch!’

All of these thoughts floated around in his head as a rage greater than that of any he had felt before came through. This rage was one not of his own selfish frustration, but one of a greater feeling. One that could not be put into words. One that was impossible to express. His body shined bright-red as he forced himself up to a kneeling position.

A deep, guttural growl was projected as he stood, up, launching himself at the demon. He landed on the ground halfway there, taking another huge bound at her. With all of he strength in his left arm, he yanked it back and thrust it forward, punching Silver Rose on the side of the face and sending her flying off in another direction away from the school. His hands had multiple scratches along them from the thorns. Immediately after, he ducked down to Cheerilee.

“Hey, are you alright!?” he shouted, shaking Cheerilee. She looked up at him, giving a pained nod.

“Yes, I am…” she gasped, lifting herself to her legs. She took a few deep breathes before looking Gash in the eyes. “You…saved my life. Th-Thank you…” she said, astonished.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Can you still gallop?” he asked.

“I should. She only attacked my head, and I have a headache now, but I think that’s all that happened,” she explained.

“That’s good. Now, go and find Fluttershy and fast. I don’t know how hard I hit Silver Rose, so she may still be conscious. I’ll need to hold her off. Remember to ask her for the ‘red book,’” he told.

“Okay. I’ll be back as soon as I can!” she promised, turning tail and galloping off into Ponyville.

“Good!” he yelled, sitting down against the schoolhouse. He took a few deep breaths before closing his eyes momentarily to rest.

It wasn’t more than ten seconds before he felt the ground underneath him tremor. An enraged Silver Rose emerged from the ground underneath Gash, sending him into the air. She leaped upwards toward him, smashing him downward with her head. With a swift movement, her body turned into a drill, shooing down into the ground and burrowing. There was a crater in the ground of which he lay in the center of. It took all his strength to push himself back to his feet. He could suddenly feel the ground shift underneath him once more, telling him that she was ready to strike him once more. He tried to jump out of the way, but failed as he tripped over pebbles and dirt, causing him to be sent skyward once again. She leaped up at him, slamming him down with her hoof. He hit the ground in another crater.

“Won’t you learn that you can’t win? I think it’s clear to everypony that you’ve lost,” Silver Rose bragged. “You could never stand against my strength. You were such a disappointment,” she said down to him as he attempted to stand. She jumped down into the crater, throwing him out toward the generality of foals.

As he landed, his body fell limp as blood ran from all the wounds he had accumulated. From his shoulder, both sides of his hips and his mouth were the streams of warm, red liquid as small pools formed on the ground, staining it, as well as the colt’s and filly’s memories. They all looked on in horror as he couldn’t move, bludgeoned and beaten.

“Hm-hm-hm…Ha! It looks like I can claim my victory now,” she bolstered, cackling.

“O-Oh…? A-And what makes you think you’ve w-won?” he stuttered, looking up from the ground at her.

“Enough of your talk. It’s clear that you’ve lost. Now, hand over your book before I finish you off for good,” she demanded. Gash just chuckled at this.

‘Time to buy some time.’

“S-Sorry,” he slyly remarked, a small grin appearing on his face.

“What do you mean ‘sorry?’” she asked, frustrated.

“I don’t h-have the book with m-me,” he shot at her.

“You’re an idiot,” she insulted. When he heard this, Gash’s slyness quickly turned to anger as he scowled at her.

“Oh, r-really? B-Because I can g-guarantee that I have infinitely m-more knowledge th-than you,” he mocked.

“For one like you that claims that he knows so much, he seems to have forgotten that having your spellbook with you at all times is the most important thing you can do.”

“Okay. S-So the one day that I leave my spellbook at home marks me as an idiot? Just look at yourself.”

“Oh? And by that, you mean…?”

“You came here t-to fight me. ME. Of a-all the creatures you could want to fight, you choose me. A peasant. A weakling. Why would you do that, when you know there might be a demon of greater challenge for you to fight? It seems incredibly idiotic to me,” he put down, looking back at the group. “R-Right guys?” he desperately said to the others. “Play along,” he whispered to them, looking over each and every one of the foals. To this, they all looked around at each other, nodding their heads and saying ‘yeah,’ and ‘totally.’

“Oh, is that so? I happen to think that knocking out the inferior is the better tactic, and then saving the skilled for later on. It seems simple to me.”

‘Damn.’

“Well, it appears we have conflicting viewpoints.”

“It seems that way. In any case, I have places to go, ponies to meet up with, so I’ll just be killing you now.”

“Really? Only a coward kills another.”

“Oh, is that so? I know from experience that it takes a lot of strength to kill others.”

Upon hearing this, Gash’s left eye twitched.

“W-What?”

“Killing is a great art of this world. It marks the strength of a pony, measures the brevity of one’s sanity, and defines their character as one of power, one of courage. It shows that they are a creature of many forms, that they have the wit to succeed in battle. Or, in my case, the stealth it takes to conceal one’s body into the shadows...”

“You’ve…killed others before?”

“Yes, I have. It’s quite fun.”

When he heard this, Gash let his head sink to the ground.

“The joy of seeing another’s blood on your hooves…”

His left fist scrunched up.

“...creates a delightful sensation that arouses the senses.”

His body glowed with red aura.

“There’s no better feeling that one can get other than that. It’s truly wonderful.”

The ground cracked out from underneath where he was laying.

“It causes a feeling of true beauty that makes one feel pure and charmed.”

A fiery plume of red energy shot up from the ground as rocks and dirt lifted up into the air. Crimson sparks of pure rage flew out from his body. The area around his body became darker as lightning cracked the sky. Dark-blue lightning bolts struck the ground, causing any grass underneath it to be completely obliterated. He clenched both fists as tight as he could, disregarding his broken right wrist. He grasped the damaged wrist and twisted it, making a horrible cracking sound as it spun back into place. His teeth were completely fangs, and his body had turned completely blood-colored, save for his eyes, which were entirely white. His now silver-streaked hair was raised up, as if he was standing in a wind tunnel.

“You bastard!” he roared with murderous intent.

“What’s this!?” Silver Rose demanded as Gash stood up to his feet.

His body seemed to be on fire as the violent energy swirled around him, creating a rippling effect around him. The energy could literally be heard as it pulsated.

“How can you still stand!? I will not tolerate this!” Silver cried.

She launched herself at him at full force. Gash didn’t even bat an eye as he put his right index finger forward. She ran into his finger, but it had no effect as he easily stopped her. A ring of black energy erupted from his left fist and brought it backward. As he launched it forward, a cracking sound could be heard as his fist landed straight into her chest, causing her to fly back into a building. He walked forward, the ground shattering under his every step.

Silver Rose dropped off of the building as she deformed into her normal self. When she got back to her hooves, she looked up and all she could see was the crimson red of Gash’s aura. Before she could react, she found herself being picked up off of the ground and thrown in another direction. She bounced off the ground a few times before sliding to a stop. She shook her head and looked to where he was, but saw nothing there. In an instant, she felt a swift jab enter her side, knocking the breath out of her. The next moment, she was struck on the face and sent careening further into town. His body transformed into a veil of red mist as it traveled at lightning speeds down the street.

Silver hit the ground and came rolling to a stop in front of Cheerilee and Fluttershy, who were galloping in the direction of the school. They both stopped and looked in horror as a red cloud appeared in front of them, turning itself back into Gash’s enraged form. They didn’t know this was Gash, and just his presence made them lock up in fear.

Upon Gash seeing them with his spellbook, his anger level decreased dramatically as the aura died down. His body still had a dark-red coloration in it, but it wasn’t as noticeable. His teeth, hair and eyes were also back to normal. The wounds he had suffered during the battle had all been removed from his body.

“G-Gash!” Cheerilee shouted. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” he said. The demonic intonation in his voice was there. “The book, please,” he demanded.

“Is it still necessary?” Cheerilee asked.

“In order to burn her book, I’ll need it. So yes,” he clarified.

“What will burning her book do?” she questioned.

“It will remove all of her magical abilities,” he explained.

“I see. Here,” she said, throwing the book over to him.

“Thanks. Now for you,” Gash said menacingly, looking down at his opponent. “It’s time for some payback.”

“I don’t think so,” she grimly said, looking up at him with a smile.

“Huh?” Gash confusedly asked.

“Gouganzu Rozugaron!” she shouted.

“Get behind me!” he ordered. The two looked at him in shock, but didn’t dare question him as they galloped toward him.

“Rashirudo!” he shouted, raising his shield.

In front of the barrier was the same flowers from the ‘Ganzu Rozugaron’ spell that had been cast earlier. The only difference was that instead of shooting six smaller bullets, it shot one large cannonball.

The cannonballs collided with the shield, which tried to repel them. However, as more and more cannonballs hit the barrier, they didn’t fly off; they stayed attached. The pressure of all the cannonballs caused the shield to crack and ultimately break. A wall of cannonballs dropped down in place, nearly flattening Gash as he recoiled backwards. More and more cannonballs came at him, and he cast more spells.

“Zakeru!”

“Zakeru!”

“Zakeru!”

The multitude of electric shots wasn’t enough to repel the mass of artillery headed his way, so he tried a different approach.

“Jikerudo!” he shouted.

The magnetized sphere of energy shot from his hand as he was hit from a few of the shells that flew at him. In an instant, all of the shots that were currently out were encased in a golden glow as they all came together in one giant clump, creating a barrier in front of Gash.

“That was perfect, Gash!” Fluttershy cheered.

“Have you always been able to do this?” Cheerilee asked.

“Maybe! I don’t actually know!” he shouted, caught in the excitement of the battle. “Sorry, we’ll have to continue this conversation later!” he yelled, flipping his book to the newest spell. “Now, since I have some time, let’s see what you do!” he commanded, the book glowing.

“The fifth spell: Gireido!” he bellowed, putting his hand out.

A multitude of golden, spiky balls shot rapidly from his hand out in rows of five. The spheres were about the size of a soccer ball, which was the perfect size for this occasion. They were spread out about a meter apart, and they traveled at nearly the speed of a slowly moving carriage. Every three seconds, a new row was sent out from his hand.

The spheres slammed into the mass of cannonballs, canceling out the ‘Jikerudo’ spell and causing them to fall to the ground and disappear. Once the cannonballs had disappeared, his spiky balls continued onward. Silver Rose, apparently having cancelled her spell, didn’t expect his spell and was immediately hit by the mass of spikes. Her book flew out of her fore hooves as it was struck by one of the orbs, causing it to catch fire.

“No!” she cried.

Gash cancelled his spell, seeing as he had won the battle. He walked up to Silver, who had dropped to the ground.

“Your blood shall stain the ground where you do lay,

for the pain you have caused must be repaid;

and the sorrow you have brought shall be claimed

with screams of agony that are the same.”

Gash’s verse caused a look of intense fear in the mare’s eyes as he lifted her up from the collar, growling with murderous intent.

“Wait! Please, don’t kill me!” she cried, gaining a raised eyebrow from Gash.

“Why shouldn’t I?” he shot back.

“Because, I…I…” she tried to say, but chocked up from lack of air.

“Well?”

“I…can’t…breathe…” she gasped. With furrowing eyebrows, he threw her back down to the ground.

“You know what? You’re blood is not worthy of my hands,” he said, cracking his knuckles.

“I-I-…” she tried, but still need breath.

“What?”

“I’ve seen another creature that looks like you,” she revealed, gaining wide eyes from Fluttershy and Cheerilee.

“What!?” he shouted. “What do you mean?”

“I saw it just on the base of Canterlot Mountain. It looks like you, except not like you,” she tried to explain.

“What does it look like!?” he demanded.

“It has a rather short, pink mane and green eyes. It seemed to be wearing a light-blue, large piece of clothing over its body and a dark-gray piece of clothing over its legs. On its hooves were light-green shoes. It stood on its hind legs like you, and its skin is the exact same color,” she explained.

“I see…Why are you telling me this?” Gash asked as she began to sparkle. Her voice started to become echo-ey, and it was a bit harder to understand her.

“I fought this creature. By its voice, it seemed female, but I couldn’t tell. I lost and ran away. In any case, it was ridiculously powerful. If you see it, beware.”

“I see…Thanks, I guess. I’ll make sure of it.”

“One more thing.”

“Huh?”

“It called itself ‘Mizuko.’”

“’Mizuko,’ eh?”

“Yes.”

Before any more conversation could happen, the sparkles around her swirled around her body, causing it to elongate vertically and fade out of existence. Gash just stood there, thinking about what she said.

“Gash? Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked.

“If what she said is true, there is another human running around in Equestria. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing, so I think we should ask Twilight to send a letter to Princess Celestia,” he suggested.

“That’s a good idea, Gash,” Fluttershy said.

“I know. And Cheerilee?” he asked.

“Yes, Gash?” she answered.

“Can I take the rest of the day off? I’m really tired,” he questioned.

“Yes, you may.”

“Thank you.”