Crimson Bow and Arrow
Thomas was not exactly pleased with the events of the day. Being fired from your job tended to do that. He was not a lazy worker. Hell, he was probably the hardest worker at the store! If not, he was at least dedicated. He'd just needed time off for the funeral, and he told his boss over a week prior about this. Apparently, however, his boss didn't tell the manager.
Grumbling childishly at the unfairness of the situation, the brunet barely noticed when the ground began to buck and tremble in a steady rhythm. Even as others began to flee and hide in fear of what they thought was coming he continued on his path down the sidewalk. That is, until a blue pillar slammed down a hundred feet in front of him. It was at that Thomas finally halted and started paying attention.
The pillar in front of him was almost perfectly round and sleek. Gritting his teeth and gulping, the young man allowed his eyes to trail up what he feared to be a leg, and watched as the clothing covering it changed from dark blue, to light blue, to gold, and back. High above him was a barrel that reminded him of a horse, but the shape was slightly off. It was just a small fraction flatter than it should be, almost like a human torso. Here, the behemoth's suit was much more flashy and impressive with symbols and shiny gold trimming. There was even a diamond cut-out over the creature's gut, exposing fine peach fur and a surprisingly cute belly button.
Thomas was almost hypnotized watching the belly of the beast rise and fall, as it breathed. He was again snapped out of it by the giant's movement, as its rear hoof filled his vision. Shouting in surpise, he fell over just as the limb dropped. Countless tons of muscle powering the hoof downward caused the pavement to crack, as it stomped down into the ground. Thomas was safe however. It appeared that God had smiled on him. For instead of being splattered upon the ground he found himself sheltered in the frog of the hoof.
Even at the creature's immense size there was not enough room for him to move in the small indentation. This close up he could easily see the grooves in the cloth, as odd looking fibers weaved over one another. He could also feel the heat coming off the fabric, and the heartbeat of the enormous seemingly equine beast. The deathly-awkward moment of personal space invasion was quickly ended, as the behemoth continued on its way.
It lifed its hoof off of Thomas, and as he quickly sat back up he watched the beast. Its skintight suit clung tightly to its large posterior and limbs. With each movement he could see the clothing ripple and deform with the shifting of muscle beneath, and from behind it he now noticed a turquoise tail and mane, the latter of which looked more like human hair in that it was not restricted to the neck. While the creature's head was topped with large ears the same peach color as the belly.
The massive horse showed little concern for where its hooves fell, but it did not seem to purposefully try to harm anyone or thing. Not to mention the clothing it wore had to be made specifically for it by someone. Awestruck by the three hundred foot behemoth and confused over what to do in the situation, Thomas did the stupid thing. He followed it.
Ultramare paid only a little heed to where she stepped. She had been told by the company not to care about preserving human life, even if Doctor Dad grimaced when he instructed her of that, and so she left it up to the humans beneath her to get out of the way in time. Still, while she was made to deal out justice to the monster Orchid and any other of her ilk that may be lurking about, she was also meant to keep humanity alive as a whole. Plus, she didn't particularly care for the crunching feeling of their bodies beneath her. Their powerless forms crumpling beneath her left a foul taste in her mouth, and set off some confusing emotion in her brain. Vehicles weren't as bad. They weren't so wet and sticky, and while there might have been people inside there was no evidence of this to her. So, while she didn't watch much where she stepped she tried to move slowly, even as agitating as it was, to allow any humans in the way a chance to run. Some idiots still didn't move out of the way, though, as could be attested to by the red stains on the soles of her hooves. Hopefully they could be cleaned off of the suit when patrol was over.
Of course, if Ultramare had thought about it she might have realized how much of a sight she was. Until now, the only thing at her scale that these people had seen were that massive predator Orchid and that horrible waste of scrap P.O.N.E. She was entirely new to them, and many were likely afraid that she was going to eat them. After all, her cartoonishly equine shape was quite similar to Orchid. Though she was privately thankful for her silky peach fur and turquoise mane and tail. Having nothing but a tough scaly hide seemed ugly even to her.
One might assume her suit was also there to add beauty to her, but in truth it was quite practical. While its mixture of blues and gold were quite appealing Ultramare really only wore it because she needed to. She didn't understand the science behind it, that was for her father to do. Something about nano-tech...or was it bots? She could never remember that kind of stuff. What she knew was what it did. The gems on her rear knees and on her collar provided a power source for her growth, so she could change her size without blacking out a couple city blocks. It grew with her to avoid being shredded, and most importantly it absorbed and efficiently depleted the heat caused by her rapid increase in size. Thus ensuring she wouldn't be reduced to a pile of pony ash after a full few minutes of walking around at sizes like her current one. Granted, it wasn't perfect. It couldn't eliminate the heat fast enough, and the larger she was the more heat she put out. Thus, it was inevitable that she'd have to shrink back down to her normal three feet eventually to avoid burning to a crisp. Nevertheless, at most sizes she would use she would have plenty of hours in the day to work with.
The giant mare did not allow herself to be distracted by what she knew already, though. She was on patrol. Her first patrol. She needed to prove her worth and ability to protect the city. So her ears perked up to listen for suspicious sounds, and her eyes scanned the buildings about her carefully. There was no sign of anything wrong, but most of the buildings around her were on eye level, and the oddly bothersome screaming of the stupid panicked people below made it harder to discern other sounds.
Sighing in agitation, Ultramare remedied the situation. With but the most minute bit of concentration she began to change. The screams below ceased in shock, and the sound of those still panicking soon faded to a mere whisper. The gems on the pony's suit began to glow brightly, as they poured out their energy into the mare. Mass began to shift and bulge evenly. Bones thickened, and muscles stretched thin before regenerating and compacting upon their larger frame. Cars were displaced, as booted hooves grew staight into them. Skin and fur lengthened in order to keep the pony's body covered, and frabic strained and warped itself before suddenly increasing its fibers and snapping back into place without tearing. Ultramare's height soared up another fifty feet, and the pavement below sunk in under the stress of her greater weight.
With her head far above the screams below and rising over the buildings around her, the peach mare could now observe her surroundings far more efficently. As her eyes roamed the horizon she did not seem to spot anything, but she could swear she heard something in the distance, like the beat of a heavy drum. Narrowing her gaze, the giant pony began to make her way towards the sound, her own heavy hooffalls joining the distant booming.
In an attempt to make her way to the noise as soon as possible, she turned off the major road onto a smaller one between two buildings. The passage apparently took offense at her girth, as the moment her shoulders entered they began to dig into the sides of the buildings. Ultramare paused. She did not want to do this, but she had to investigate that sound as quickly as possible. Steeling herself, she proceeded forward. Glass shattered, even ahead of her, from the force her flanks pressed against the weak concrete and steel structures. She could feel the buildings crack where she rubbed against them, and feel the rubble roll off her sides. Once she came out on the other side she paused to glance behind her. The buildings still stood, if just barely, but now with two massive gouges running straight down their sides.
Pleased that she had not simply brought them down, Ultramare smirked, only to be brought back to reality by the booming in the distance. Turning down the new major street she was on she was greeted by the welcome sight of an empty road full of abandoned cars only. Now, she could hurry. With a leap, the enormous mare broke into a gallop, and the earth thundered with the sound of her hooves and the uprooting of pavement.
With her great stride and speed it took only a few minutes for the blue giant to arrive at the source of the sound. She had not seen it until she was right on it, for the thing responsible was crouched low to the ground, its nose at work sniffing about for more prey. The peach mare froze at the sight of it. Its dully green grey scales. The neon blue glow to the ends of its hair, antennae, and up the spiral of its horn. The long thick tail coming off its body, and its hard shell-like hooves. All of it filled Ultramare with disgust, but what made her withers tingle in rage was the equine shape of its body and those...DAMN eyes! At her own appearance they paused to stare back up at her, and even through the glow the peach mare could see her reflection in eyes so similar to her own. Ultramare knew this monster. This was the one that had started everything. The only one identified so far. The one that she had been ma--....This was Orchid.
Ultramare snarled, her muzzle twitching, but before she could do anything Orchid apparently decided she wasn't worth paying attention to. Going back to sniffing, the monster trailed her nostrils up the side of a building, before promptly smiling like a child who had found freshly baked cookies. Eagerly, her head shot into the structure, maw clamping down inside of it. When she pulled out of it Ultramare spotted amidst the rubble stuck to the beast's lips like crumbs mangled and mashed human bodies that had been caught between Orchid's powerful lips. Yet the monstrous equine's true prize was evidently in her mouth as without chewing she simply swallowed. Slowly, a lump of who knows how many live humans descended the beast's the throat. Ultramare tasted bile, and as Orchid licked off the rubble and human viscera from her lips the blue giant had to force this morning's oats back down. THAT was it.
Rearing up on her hind legs, the giant struck an impressive pose and pointed a hoof accusingly at the monster before her. “Orchid!” She shouted, and the beast returned its gaze to her curiously, ears perking up in recognition of the name its friend P.O.N.E. always addressed it by. “For your many crimes of wanton destruction and repulsive gluttony I am here to bring you to justice!”
Orchid tilted her head and furrowed her brows uncomprehendingly. At the lack of response Ultramare's face only contorted more. Did this dumb beast not realize what she was here for?! Did it think she was just going to sit back and watch it wreak havoc across the city like that failure P.O.N.E?!
At that thought, something inside the giant servant of justice snapped, and she charged forward on her hindlegs. As she reached her foe she cocked back a foreleg to deliver what she thought a harsh blow directly into Orchid's side, falling back down onto her other foreleg in the process. The monster's body barely budged, and it merely continued to stare at Ultramare in confusion. Then suddenly its face lit up in joyous realization, and it raised a hoof in response. Caught off-guard by the fact that her opponent was unfazed, the peach mare did not respond quick enough. Orchid's hoof slammed into her cheek, and knocked her into a building.
While the smoke from the debris billowed toward the sky, Orchid hurried away from the spot. With a growl, Ultramare heaved herself back up, ignoring the stinging of her bruised cheek, and quickly spun her head about in search of her target. In the distance, she spotted the monster. It had stopped to wait and watch her. Abruptly, the beast stuck out its tongue and blew a raspberry at her. Ultramare's jaw dropped. This monster was taunting her!
With a scream of rage, the giant pony galloped after the beast, only to come skidding to a halt around a corner. The street was packed with humans running about like chickens with their heads cut off. Their panic had them heading in all directions and smacking into one another, all while running right over the dead masses left from Orchid's run through the crowd. Cursing their stupidity, the peach mare's gaze darted between them and the beast in the distance. She needed to hurry, but if she did she would crush who knows how many people.
Thinking quickly, Ultramare crouched low and jumped over the buildings to the side. Unfortunately, her judgement was off. As large as she was, the enormous mare weighed too much to clear the distance without a running start. She had barely reached over the buildings, before she crashed down on top of three of them. The concrete structures crumpled like houses of cards, spilling rubble and the blue giant herself onto the streets on either side of them. Ultramare did not waste any time in climbing back onto her hooves once more, nor did she dare to assess the collateral damage. She only prayed that the sticky wet spots upon her thighs were not as numerous as they felt.
When the peach mare neared her target Orchid bowed its front down, and shook its hind end playfully. Angered by the imagined insult, Ultramare threw another punch once she was close enough, but the beast narrowly dodged the blow by prancing away again. “Stop running, coward!” The angered giant hollered after the monster, quickly taking off in pursuit.
Orchid promptly halted and turned around curiously at the scream. Ultramare sneered viciously, and hastily kicked her back end up, balancing her whole weight on a single hoof. As her momentum continued to carry the rest of her body forward the blue giant gave herself one final push with her foreleg. This launched her the rest of the way to her foe, and with a crash that sent vehicles into the air she landed sitting on the back of Orchid's neck, pinning the monster beneath her.
The beast cried out in a pained and distorted voice, like a whale trying to speak english, “CCHHUUUIIITEER!”
Heedless of her opponent's word, Ultramare laid into behemoth beneath her. “ORAORAORAORA!” She blurted in nonsensical fury, pounding her hooves into the monster's back as quickly as she could.
Orchid groaned uncomfortably, the blows beginning to cause a dull ache in its back. Desperately, its massive tail shot forward to wrap around Ultramare's throat. The infuriated peach mare gagged, as her air supply was cut off. She reached up to try to pry the slimy mass of muscle off, but her hooves sadly provided no purchase. Rather abruptly, the strong member jerked her off of her opponent and released her throat, sending the enormous pony flying into a building down the street. Though the one structure was not enough to stop her. It crumpled and broke into nothing but rocks under the force of the flung giant, and she came down into the road behind it, cutting a groove straight through it, only to slide into the next building. This one too broke and had similar results. So the blue giant continued to slide through buildings until her head crashed into the fifth one in a row, bringing down its roof around her.
Orchid stood back up with an unhappy whine. Looking behind itself it gasped in worry, and hurriedly galloped over to the mare it had thrown. When it arrived the peach pony was moaning tiredly, and just beginning to open her eyes. Searching around quickly for something, Orchid smiled upon spotting several humans trying to escape the street. It hurried over to them, and scooped them up in one of its hooves before heading back.
Ultramare cracked her eyes open, as she recovered from the harsh throw. Only to find that infuriating monster hovering over her, and...pressing...something to her lips? Looking down, the servant of justice's eyes widened in shock at the sight of Orchid trying to feed her humans. This THING thought she was like it?!! Her initial reaction was to retort with an attack, but if she did the humans would be killed. There was literally nothing they could do to get away at this point either.
Trying to keep them alive, Ultramare gently pushed the hoof full of people away. Orchid tilted its head in confusion, but moved its limb away. Promptly, however, it popped the screaming treats into its own mouth and swallowed. Ultramare's eyes shrunk, and her blood ran cold. She tried to be gentle, to keep them safe, and this abomination had just decided to kill them itself!
With a vengeful yell, the blue giant pulled in her hind legs, and bucked Orchid right in the chin. The monstrous pony was knocked back a few steps with a pained whine, and stared at Ultramare in even more confusion. The infuriated pony did not show a sign of caring, though. In an instant she was on her hooves again and charged straight for her foe, hoof raised to strike. Orchid did not react in time, still not comprehending the situation, and the blue giant's hoof slammed into its cheek, throwing her whole weight behind the blow. The punch knocked Orchid to the ground, and slid it a short distance down the street.
Ultramare was breathing hard now, her anger beginning to take hold, and as her foe climbed back to its hooves with an unhappy frown she charged again. Taking the offense once more proved to be her undoing, however, as Orchid finally decided to fight back. Once Ultramare was close enough Orchid spun around, bringing its tail to bare. The infuriated mare was caught by surprise, and her opponent's heavy limb smashed her through the buildings to her side.
The enormous pony quickly rolled to press her hooves into the ground and slow herself to a stop, digging grooves into the pavement. Ultramare shook her head in an attempt to regain her focus, but she then noticed a small crowd of deathly quiet humans whom she had nearly hit. She froze-up, her brain slowing down to process their presence. At that moment, Orchid ran through building behind her, and headbutted her back.
Ultramare barely registered the tear in her suit from where the monster's horn rubbed against her, nor the short bloody cut itself. What she did register was the squish of the bodies beneath her, as she was rolled onto them. Bodies she was forced to crush. People she was made to kill by this abomination!
Something inside of her snapped. Ultramare's eyes lit up, her teeth growing into fangs, as she let out a howl of hatred. Her size began to shoot upward, and she swatted at Orchid with a foreleg, hitting it full force with the energy of her growth. The impact sent the monstrous pony through several buildings, but Ultramare was far from done. With a grunt the titanic pony pulled herself onto her hooves, now standing twice as tall as her foe, and reared onto her hindlegs neighing in rage.
Before Orchid could recover the berserk mare galloped straight for her opponent, crushing and knocking any buildings in the way aside. Brutally, Ultramare kicked the monster upside the head, knocking it out of the building, and slammed her enemy into ground hard enough to press it through the pavement. Orchid desperately clambered to its hooves to run, but the towering blue giant stepped onto its tail, drawing a pained cry from the already teary-eyed monster. With a menacing growl, Ultramare stomped straight down onto the abomination's hind-leg, and broke the limb into pieces.
Orchid slumped to the ground in agony, and looked behind it at the bully that had beaten it down. The berserk mare stared back, and through eyes so similar to her own she could see herself clearly. She froze. This...wasn't her. She...wasn't that...thing in reflection of Orchid's eyes...was she? Worriedly, she stepped off of the beast, and the monstrous pony took its chance to flee as fast as it could on three legs, the sound of its crying and sniffing trailing behind it.
The glow in Ultramare's eyes dimmed, as she watched the creature go. Reluctantly, she turned her head away to look around. The destruction wasn't...too great, all things considered, but the bodies were everywhere. All over the streets. All over her suit. All these people...dead. And why? She had tried to be careful of them. To avoid them, give them chances to flee, to PROTECT them! But they had all died anyway. Would they have died if she hadn't been as careful? Surely, if she had nipped things in the bud then Orchid would have been defeated, before the monster had reached so many of them. Hell, the beast would probably be dead instead of escaping, and she wouldn't have become that...thing.
Ultramare's face twitched, but she kept it stern. She hated that thing. She loathed it far more than she did Orchid. The company had warned her too! They told her not to focus on protecting people, and look at how things had gone when she had tried anyway! No. There would be no more questioning orders.
