Remnants

Arc One: I Burn
Part Four

A constant, dull yet irritating headache kept Applejack awake. The hospital had erupted into chaos once she had burst through the front doors with a bleeding pony on her back. Honestly, it was a miracle she even made it to the hospital. Big Mac was a heavy stallion.

There was a constant noise, never stopping and never quieting. Doctors and nurses rushed about from room to room as they prepared to operate on her brother. A nurse had recommended that Applejack get some rest, so that's what the farmer was doing. Trying to rest. But the clatter of the hospital made it nearly impossible to nap.

AJ sat in a chair that was uncomfortable but suitable. To Applejack's right was Granny Smith, who despite all odds had managed to slip into slumber, much to Applejack’s irritation.

“Excuse me, miss?” A mare asked. Applejack turned her head to look at the pony, a nurse with a light pink coat and yellow mane. “Would you like to, um... Clean off?”

The farmer simply stared questioningly, unsure of her meaning. “What do ya mean?” Applejack asked. The nurse coughed lightly, and her eyes held an emotion that the farmer couldn't place.

“You- your back has some... Blood on it.”

Apprehensiveness. That was the emotion in the nurse's eyes. And cranking her head back to look at her shoulders, Applejack could see why. Her normally orange coat was half-drenched in red, right where she had been carrying her brother. “Oh.” Was all Applejack could muster.

“If you'd like, I can show you to the restrooms?” The nurse offered, managing to look away from the red that caked Applejack’s back. She also smiled sweetly, tilting her head to the side.

A sincere smile appeared on Applejack’s lips. “No thanks, sugar cube. Ah need ta be here. Jus’ in case somethin’ happens ta Mac.” Her voice was weary, despite the fact that she had plenty of energy left. “Ah need ta be here.”

“No offense, miss,” the nurse interjected. “But you won't be any good to your brother when you're all dirty and tired. Please, go get cleaned up?” She stepped forward, placing a hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “I promise, I’ll keep an eye out. If there’s any change, I’ll let you know. Okay?”

“Ah-” The farmer started to object, but closed her mouth and tilted her head down. “... Okay.” She said simply as she started walking to the restrooms. Before she walked too far, Applejack stopped to face the nurse once more. “Thank ya, ma’am.”

The nurse nodded as Applejack began walking again.

Manticores. A cross between a lion, a bat and a scorpion. And according to Big Mac, there was an entire pack of them waiting for her, with Apple Bloom in harm's way.

As Yang ran, her vision blurred. Her irises had turned completely red, her anger fueling her sprint. She'd save Apple Bloom. Despite the fact that she had been in a coma for a week, her endurance hadn't suffered any. She was just as fast as before, and if she were willing to bet she'd be just as strong.

She wondered what would happen if she used Ember Celica on something without an Aura.

Just ahead, Yang saw them. Three hulking figures with brown coats, red manes and bat-like wings on their backs. They were growling and snarling at something in the center of the circle they had formed... And it didn't take a genius to figure out that their victim was Apple Bloom.

Yang should have stopped running and assessed the situation. She should have waited for an opportune time to strike. That's what a tempered person would have done. But no one ever said that Yang Xiao Long was a tempered person.

With a snarl of pure, unadulterated rage, Yang pushed her legs to carry her faster than ever before as she pointed her gauntlets behind herself. She had twenty shots. She’d need to be careful. With a crack the Ember Celica’s left gauntlet fired, propelling its owner forward and into the air slightly.

Nineteen shots left.

Yang twisted, spinning her body around as she soared towards one of the manticores as the animal lifted a law to strike Apple Bloom. Yang screamed in absolute fury, rearing back a fist just as her body came within arms reach of them.

On Remnant, people had Aura which protected them from most deadly attacks. Even the Grimm, who did not have Aura, possessed durable bodies that allowed them to keep up with even the robust Huntsmen. On Equus, Aura did not exist and the creatures were much more fragile.

Yang didn't even need to waste a shot to do significant damage. The speed her body was traveling, plus the fact that the Ember Celica was made out of very durable, very hard steel made for a perfect storm. The manticore’s skull nearly caved in from the force of the impact, its bones cracking with a sick crunch. Yang ignored her shock and disgust as the manticore’s blood was now speckled across her gauntlet and face.

The manticore growled in agony, stumbling to the side as Yang brought her feet up to the side of the creature’s head, pushing and propelling herself away. She landed on the ground just as the first manticore managed to recover somewhat, regaining its footing though one eye was caked with blood, forcing it shut. Yang smiled to herself. This may just be easier than she thought.

The other two members of the pack roared at the human, slowly stalking forward as their stingers inched above their heads. The injured manticore opted to stay behind for the moment. Good for him.

The manticore on the left snarled and leaped forward, taking a wild swipe at Yang who crouched and rolled to the side. She immediately jumped to her feet, launching a blast from her gauntlet towards the beast. The explosion impacted the manticore with enough force to knock it over on it's side, a gaping hole in it's body. Blood poured and intestines hung out, but the creature stood albeit weakly.

Eighteen shots left.

Yang's eyes briefly widened when the injured manticore stood, being much more durable than she judged. Even with it losing blood fast and it's innards clearly visible, it still managed to stand and growl at her. If there was anything Yang liked in a man, its persistence, but even that can get annoying after a while.

“What, you want some more?!” She shouted in a fit in rage. “Come get some!” The uninjured manticore let out a fearsome roar as it charged forward, it's paws digging into the ground as it ran. Yang frowned and began sprinting, rushing to meet it halfway. The beast licked it's lips and leaped, paws extended forward with it's claws pointing directly at her.

Yang threw her legs out, falling to the ground and sliding under the manticore, who sailed right over her head. She then kicked up and sprang to her feet with the intent of blasting the thing away... But completely forgot about the manticore’s stinger. The beast brought his tail swinging back, the sharp tip colliding with Yang and clashing against her Aura, The blow caught her off guard and knocked the air out of her lungs as she was sent tumbling forward.

Another growl was her only warning of another attack- and the most she could do was raise an arm in a pathetic attempt of defence. One of the other manticores pounced on her, using one paw to pin her to the ground. Yang struggled and wiggled trying to break free, but to no avail. The manticore’s claws dug into her skin, inflicting a dull pain in her abdomen. Growling, Yang lifted an arm and was about to fire off a blast, but another of the manticore’s paws swiped her across the face. She grunted as the claws caught one of her eyes, but thankfully did no damage thanks to her Aura.

“Now you’re just pissing me off!” She exclaimed angrily as she curled up her knees, lifted them and placed them firmly on the manticore’s stomach. Then she used as much force as she could muster to push the monster off of her, flipping backwards as the manticore yelled as it crashed to the ground in a giant heap. Yang came to a stop on one knee, though she quickly jumped up and saw the other two manticores rushing her.

“Uh-oh.” Bracing herself, Yang closed her eyes and awaited the impact

One manticore slammed into her, sending her rolling along the ground until she hit a tree. Her head bounced against the bark, causing her vision to go white for a split second. “Ow...”

Her head throbbed slightly, a slice of her Aura having been sliced away with the beast’s attacks. Their claws and stingers failed to even scratch her skin- but Yang knew that wouldn't last if this kept up. Snarling, she clenched her fists and fired one shot at the ground, launching her forward.

Seventeen shots left.

One fist impacted a manticore’s face with tremendous force, and like before its bones were like tissue paper as the gauntlet’s steel broke the monster’s face. More blood splattered onto Yang, who ignored it and brought her other fist crashing into the red blob that was once a face. The manticore thrashed and snarled, but failed to shake off the human.

Firmly grabbing handfuls of fur, Yang pulled and pulled, slowly but surely ripping the manticore’s skin off its face. Then yellow steel rammed into the skull again and again, the bones caving and muscles tearing as Yang's gauntlet impacted it repeatedly.

A single shot from Ember Celica was enough to completely shatter the creature’s head, sending blood and brains everywhere. Yang’s hair had bits of flesh in it, speckled with red that also dirtied her clothes and weapon.

Sixteen shots left, and two manticores to go.

Yang pushed herself away from the falling corpse, landing on her feet. The manticore’s body crumpled in a bloody heap, causing the other two to stare at it in what Yang could only assume was a mixture of shock and anger.

Glancing over, she saw that Apple Bloom was still there, cowering in fear as she held her legs against herself as she trembled. “Apple Bloom!” Yang called, grabbing the foal’s attention. “Run!”

It took a second for Yang's words to register, but when they did Apple Bloom’s eyes widened as if she were only just now recognizing the danger she was in. Scrambling to her hooves, the pony quickly darted away... But towards the Everfree Forest. Apple Bloom disappeared beyond the thick treeline.

“Uh-oh.” Yang mumbled as she glanced back at the manticores, who were slowly stalking towards her with their tails raised as they growled.

“Applejack?”

The familiar voice knocked the farm pony out of her sleep, eyes snapping open to reveal her emerald irises. Applejack’s eyelids were heavy, weary, and refused to open more than halfway, but it was enough to see who stood before her.

Her friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle. The purple alicorn stood with worry on her face, a hoof slightly raised as if to reach out to her friend. “I rushed over as soon as I could.” Twilight assured her. “I would have been here sooner, but something came up... I'm sorry, Applejack.”

“Ain't nothin’ to be sorry for, Twi.” Applejack said as she slowly stood, careful not to wake up her grandmother who slept just to the side of her. “Ah understand that bein’ a princess can get ya busy sometimes.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, Applejack, it wasn't-” she cut herself off, biting her tongue to keep herself from talking anymore. Sighing to herself, the princess looked at Applejack with unreadable eyes. A small smile crossed her lips. “Doctor Stable told me that Big Mac is going to be fine. He had to get a lot of stitches, and he definitely won't be doing any apple bucking any time soon. But he's okay, Applejack.”

The orange pony visibly deflated with a relieved sigh, her muscles finally relaxing as she hung her head low. “Thank Celestia...” Applejack muttered. “Ah was afraid that Ah didn’t... That Ah didn't get here in time.” Her emerald eyes locked with Twilight’s lavender ones as she lifted her head. “He lost so much blood, Twi. And all because-” suddenly, Applejack’s breath hitched in her throat, her eyes widening in fear. “Apple Bloom!”

Twilight furrowed her brow, reaching out a hoof to stop her friend from rushing away. “Applejack, settle down! What about Apple Bloom?” She asked, concern filling her voice.

“She’s in trouble! Manticores cornered her in tha orchards! Mac got hurt helpin’ her! Ah gotta find her!” Twilight’s body blocked the way to the exit, and her foreleg kept Applejack from pushing past the princess. “Let me go! Ah need ta help her!”

“Applejack, please, stop!”

“No! Ah need ta rescue her!”

Suddenly, Twilight’s horn flared causing magic to encase the apple farmer in a lavender aura, preventing her from moving. “Applejack, sit.” The magic forced Applejack back into her chair, despite her visibly trying to break free of her magical ensnarement. “You are in no condition to go anywhere, much less take on a pack of manticores. Stay here, rest, and I’ll set up a party to rescue her. Okay?”

Applejack struggled futilely against the magic, still trying to resist. “B-But Ah-”

“No, Applejack! If you go now, you won’t be able to help Apple Bloom. Please, AJ, trust me.” The alicorn’s eyes turned from a hard glare into a soft, pleading gaze. Her lavender eyes met Applejack’s emerald, and the farmer’s struggles immediately ceased. Applejack closed her eyes, sighed and lowered her head.

“Alright, Twi. Ah trust ya.”

“Oof!”

Another claw found its way across Yang’s face, knocking her to the ground just before the manticore leapt forward, grabbing her and slamming the human into the ground. These two did not like the fact that Yang had just killed their friend.

She had taken a few good hits- and these manticores could hit hard. She already felt her Aura taking a significant dive as the beast on top of her opened its maw and closed its jaws around her head, biting into Yang with all of its strength.

The manticore’s mouth was repulsive. Smelly, wet and the teeth hurt like a bitch against her neck. Growling in frustration and in pain, Yang lifted an arm and punched the manticore’s face, breaking nearly all of its teeth and its lower jaw. The monster yowled in pain as Yang quickly moved away, her stomach about to lose its contents due to the smell of the manticore’s mouth still lingering in her nostrils.

“I’ve seen some disgusting things,” She began as she cocked Ember Celica. “But you guys are probably at the top of the list.” As the other manticore held its jaw in pain, the other charged at Yang with its stinger pointed directly at her.

“Bring it.”

With only fifteen shots left, Yang could not afford to waste any more time. Sprinting toward the beast, Yang leapt into the air and twisted so that her feet pointed directly to the manticore’s face. The two collided, Yang’s feet impacting their intended target and earning a surprised yelp from the monster. Before Yang could follow up on that, though, she felt the tail of the stinger wrap around her midsection, trapping her arms at her sides unable to wiggle out.

“Whoa!” Yang exclaimed as the manticore used its tail to bash her into the ground, leaving a Yang-sized hole in the ground. It then lifted her yet again into the air. Yang’s vision blurred as the manticore swung her body through the air, loosening its tail’s grip on the human and letting Yang soar uncontrollably through the air and directly into a tree.

Even with her Aura, she felt that.

“Ouch...”

As Yang sat at the base of the tree, pain rocking through her skull and the manticores slowly advancing towards her, two thoughts ran through her mind. First was the fact that the tree really fucking hurt. The second was that her chest burned. Not in the bad way- but in a good way. With each hit, the burning became stronger. The flame inside her raged hotter. In her time on Equus, that flame had been flickering, threatening to die at any moment... But now it was an inferno.

The pain brought burning. As her Aura fell, she climbed. As the phoenix died she rose through the ashes.

She burned.

With a deafening roar, Yang stood and slammed her fists together. Her beautiful golden hair erupted into a spectacular blaze, the orange and yellow dancing together as Yang’s now red eyes burned with a fiery intensity. She allowed herself a small smirk- after all, this fight was over.

To an outsider, the next few seconds would appear to be nothing but a yellow blur. To the manticores, time seemed to slow as their would-be prey suddenly erupted into flames and charged at them. With a yell of pure rage Yang brought a fist over and rammed it into one of the manticore’s sides.

The beast barely had time to whimper as its life ended in an explosion of blood and guts, showering the immediate area in red. Yang didn’t bother to care that her hair was now filthy and instead focused all of her rage on the final manticore. Wiping some blood off of her face, Yang jumped at the final beast, who simply stared at her in wide-eyed shock, and began pounding away at its face.

One hit broke the bones. The next caved in its skull. The next killed it, destroying the brain as blood leaked through its eyes, ears and nose. The next hit, and the next, and the next, were completely overkill. Blood showered down to the ground and Yang pounded and pounded her fists into the manticore.

“Die! Die! Die! Die!”

Yang figured that it was probably already dead- but things with Aura didn’t die so easily. And there was one person she would have preferred to be on the receiving end of this beatdown. The man who killed her sister. In the place of the manticore’s beaten and bloody stump that was once a head, Yang imagined Roman Torchwick screaming in agony as retribution for taking Ruby away. Yang knew it was a fantasy. But she didn’t care.

It wasn’t until the corpse of the manticore fell over did Yang stop her fists from flying. She rolled on the ground, ending up on her side, and took several shaky breaths. Her chest heaved up and down as the quick breaths did nothing to calm her. The blood was everywhere. Never in her entire life had she seen so much red. She was drenched in it -her hair was drenched in it- and that only caused her breathing to quicken even further.

Yang slowly stood with her legs shaking, her eyes having faded back into lilac. She looked around at the carnage around her: body parts, blood and guts... This kind of stuff never happened back on Remnant; Grimm didn’t leave behind bodies. They didn’t have blood, or intestines. The Grimm were mindless beasts. The manticores could think. A bit of blood dripped from a stray strand of hair, dropping past Yang’s eyes before splattering to the ground. She simply gulped and turned towards the Everfree.

Arc One: I Burn
Part Four End