Blazing Battle: Pie vs Phi

by Fireflower

Rating: mature
Tags: Crossover, Dark, Alternate Universe, Anthro, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Adventure
Length: 8529

Oneshot: an unfamiliar face from long ago wishes to settle an old score in regards to the family name; inspired by Akira Toriyama's ever famous Dragon Ball saga and dedicated to the late great Chikao Ohtsuka, the father of Akio Ohtsuka himself.

Igneous Rock is known for many things than others closest to him could think of right off the bat: a leader, a provider, a husband, a father, and a farmer; unbeknownst to the circle of ponies that had seen him, he was also a war veteran from long ago.

Of course, just when it seems that his life on a rock farm would give him peace and quiet, it wouldn't last in the very least whatsoever; outside in the cold distance, a wild stallion with a love of battle and a hate of himself seeks to take revenge for what happened over many years ago.

A normal pony would rather not be bothered by the thought of such thing; nevertheless, one thing is clear: the stallion couldn't afford to lose this fight if he wishes to see another day.

Cover art belongs to mayorlight.

Published 2016-06-27 14:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-06-27 14:20:01 UTC

Old Flames Found

Author's Note

I'm Fireflower and this is my new fanfic using a canon background character from the show as an anthropomorphic being instead of their normal forms; however, this is a Mature-rated fanfic with at least several instance of violence so unless you're in eighteen plus panel, stop right now and hit the back button.

Anyways, I just want to state for the record that My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic along with its setting and characters belongs to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, Tau Pi Phi belongs to me so don't steal him, okay...?

Enjoy it if you can; I hope you like it.

Old Flames Found

The golden sun arose to pierce the heavens with its light, heralding in the start of a day when the surface became illuminated by the afterglow. The clean cut skies that were housing it were clear as a shiny crystal lake, free from murderous entities that would rain down on an observer’s parade. The air was crisp and cool enough to commute many aromas from all walks of life across the entire environs for people to sniff at and about. The floral arrangements composed of many colors slowly started to take a stand upon it where the soil had resided below them. A wild assortment of animals took in a fresh breath upon awakening by sounding off their cries in the distance, regardless of where they were. The only thing that would potentially complete the look would be at least one person to immortalize the scenery with a certain set of skills at their disposal.

One area in particular had stood out and about: it was the quickly growing phenomenal homestead that was free of stereo. Instead of the copious yields filled by a potential golden harvest, it was perhaps rather barren save for an abundance of rocks coming in all shapes and size and some dead trees in the mix. Also, there was a wooden fence overlooking the area nonetheless as it sat still on the solid ground planted neatly all around the way and keeping the stones away from the house and silo. Only a single solitary windmill stood by them alone as it provided the residence with its own brand of gentle breeze like a magical sentient tree stump with a desire for some true friends. Lurking about on the opposite end was a mountainside that was devoid of any majestic significance whatsoever as the golden sun was rising about from that very side at this moment.

For what it was worth, there would be at least few, if not, dozens of people traversing throughout this environment, much less inhabit it; of course, one figure had the distinction to do so: a stallion was found trotting upon the dirt and gravel. His brightly blond mane was neatly tied up into a long braid with its own end hanging down to the waistline; the tail never even bothered to touch the soil beneath his own hooves in the very slightest. The lone stallion’s dark beady eyes above the thin mustache had already matched his otherwise light green coat, bearing nothing but venom inside of these pupils as they were both fixed onto the homestead right in front of him directly. A thick dark midnight blue longcoat was found to be adorned upon most of his own body, its white buttons already opened up to see a part of the owner’s abs exposed to the elements all around him. The stallion’s legs were covered up with a pair of thin bright yellow shorts that ran down to halfway past the cannons in the process, leaving the rest to be sheltered within the preceding fabric thereof.

“Hmm… so this must be where that old geezer lives, the famous Magma–Colt; you better watch out: today’s the day I, Tau Pi Phi, Mercenary Extraordinaire will best you…!” he announced while moving forward on towards the building.

It wasn’t long until Tau finally reached the house upon the land underneath the rising sun; soon, he took some time to study the structure of it. The uniform roofing upon the very abode was drenched in an abundance of straws with the inherent looseness completely nonexistent. The foundation was adorned in a bright bleachy color, save for some large pieces of wood that had stood at every corner of itself to hold it altogether. Sticking up and out of the top was a stony pointed smokestack that rose from the inner corner of the home and touched the log horizon seamlessly.

As the equine had walked to the blue door right in front of him, he had quickly learned that it was opened; this made him winced in curiosity but not as much as the fact that someone else was standing away from the entrance.

For what it was worth, the smiling proud mercenary had now locked eyes upon the inhabitant: it was another stallion found standing upon the ligneous floorboards. Unlike Tau’s golden mane and tail, the tenant in question had some sideburns with at least up to fifty shades of gray in every follicle; the latter’s tail was short, bearing rough edges. The elder in question had widen eyes already matching his dark brown coat, showing no sign of emotion whatsoever inside of these pupils as they were both fixed onto the invader already. A thin white long–sleeved shirt was found to be adorned upon the tenant’s own torso, already covered up by a black vest matching his tie and hat. The elder’s legs were covered up with a pair of thick brown trousers that ran down past the cannons in the process, leaving the rest to be sheltered within the preceding fabric thereof.

The tenant that Tau now had bore witnessed to started speaking at once, “I hath figured thine arrival were to be no sooner than the morrow; at least mine wife and daughters had been sent away up north for the day…”

“Ah yes, Igneous Rock, the once brave Firebrand of Equestria, now a lowly rock farmer of the south…” the mercenary chuckled grimly, “I find it surprising that you’re still wasting your days away in the background like a sitting duck in the pond; shame that you’re going to die real soon…”

“Don’t get too haughty; thou shan’t underestimate me on the fact that I’m more aged than thee…!” Igneous shot back, complete with a deathly glare worn upon his slightly tinted visage no less.

Tau stretched his hands outward and then sighed happily, “you’re right on the dot; after all, you should’ve already known why I’ve arrived here today: does the name Tau Xi Chi ring a bell, Iggy?”

“Tau Xi Chi…?” the tenant repeated what the mercenary had said, eyes widening before shrinking back down, “ah, now I remember; ‘twas at least twenty years ago: the uprising in Stalliongrad…”

“Exactly… you were the stallion that served alongside him at least until you’ve killed my father of course…!” Tau spat out instantaneously.

Igneous remained still for a few seconds before replying, “vengance is on thy mind, no…? Thou must understand: his mortal fate was merely beyond mine control; besides, ‘twas not mine intention to cause any of it whatsoever…”

“Liar…!” the mercenary interjected without warning, “do you have any idea how it was like to grow up without a father?! He was a good stallion, a brave soldier that protected Equestria from rabble–rousers that still challenged the crown after all the good that Princess Celestia had done. I’d looked up to him and you cut him down like he was some rutting tree in a forest. The minute the royal guard gave me the news, I was crying like a damn foal; after all, you should know already that I would meet you one day: the stallion who stole my father’s life. Even since that day, I swore to myself that I will avenge his death by taking you out of this world for what you did. And now, after all this time the two of us meet in person: the Magma–Colt vs the Legendary Mercenary that is I.”

“Thine plan of revenge willst not work in thy favor; after all, ‘tis not wise to undermine me either way…” the tenant warned, keeping his dark eyes onto the invader in a firm grimace no less.

An earsplitting laughter erupted into Igneous’ presence, originating from Tau who removed his jacket and said, “you’re right about that; besides, you will soon know why nopony calls the Legendary Mercenary for nothing…!”

“As is with the moniker of Firebrand others wist me from the past…” the tenant retorted, removing his hat and revealing the bald spot upon him, “prepare thyself if thou canst handle me…”

“Gladly…” the mercenary replied as he suddenly threw a knife out at his target within earshot no less.

Sure enough, Tau came to find how straightforward his knife’s flightpath has gotten instantaneously interjected: a hat held up by Igneous’ hand stopped it in place, the owner’s tight grip minimizing the object’s initial inertia; at that point, the latter surely snorted at once, “thou canst not possibly trow that I be extinguished by a mistempered weapon from thy hand, no…? I may be naught but a rock farmer of the ages but I wist better than to let thee subject myself to such a pudh fate with a foul pece far too soon.”

“You’re right; I would have settled for blowing this dump to smithereens but where’s the fun in that…?” the mercenary had laughed before taking out another bladed weapon from his back pocket all at once, “besides, I usually get hard when I kill at least dozens of targets this way, not one stallion such as yourself…”

“Don’t be too sure about thyself; the decades long fruits of mine family’s labor willst not be in vain…!” the tenant growled as he began to take up the knife that was in his own hat; at that point, the heat of battle was like of that name.

Slowly and steadily but surely nevertheless, the two stallions in question had now become instantaneously locked into combat with one another: both armed with blades and with a fierce visage upon themselves capable of devastating the whole world; the differences were still there anyway. The clashing of transitional metals and the shuffle of dragging hooves were almost like an enharmonic battle orchestra of the once near future, one reminiscent of flying cars and alien invaders ironically from not too long of a time ago no less. The sweltering heat that had now radiated from this thriftless desperate struggle ended up rising onward in the process, turning the cool gentle breeze flowing throughout their coats into a rather combustible aura of room temperature.

A drop of red soon came falling down Tau’s knife, evoking a grin from the owner’s visage who replied at once, “see, I knew I be able to savor the fight, Iggy…”

“‘Tis only a mere flesh wound; ‘twill only taketh much more than one for me to perish at thy hands…!” Igneous spat out in anger, trading blows with his adjacent opponent in an exasperated equivalent exchange, “truly, thou should not favor such a madness from such strife, no…? Thy feelings art evoking vulgarity from me…!”

“Don’t be like that, Iggy; at least, I can still see you in action one last time before I end you…!” the mercenary laughed snidely as he blocked and parried the tenant’s striking motions here and there.

As the blades clanged and clinked throughout every step of the way whatsoever, the two stallions started to move away from the living room. It wasn’t long until the knives held in their hands quickly breaking into pieces in a mere several seconds after the four scores and seven strikes. The steel shards that were once held together into a sharp shape collapsed onto the wooden floorboards their users still stood upon them.

Igneous had instantaneously discarded the hilt at once and said to Tau, “return from whence thou hath arrived while there is still time; the tempestuous path of revenge will conclude with thy own demise…!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Iggy: I’ve gone a long way to track you down and avenge my father’s death; I refused to turn away from my goal…” the mercenary shot back at once, cracking his knuckles in the process, “besides, Tau Pi Phi doesn’t run away from a fight; he’s finishes what he starts: swordfighting, poisoning, spell–blocking, gunbattles, maiming, killing, you name it…!”

“When is this twisted desire of thee going to cease; canst thou not realize the pointlessness of this fight?!” the tenant had bellowed, wiping away some blood off of his chin slowly and carefully.

Sure enough, Igneous had found his answer: at that point, Tau then said, “when I manage to finish you off the face of Equestria…!”

“Very well then: I hath wished to go easy on thee and not harm thy state of welfare; yet, it appears that thou hast forced mine hand…” the tenant sighed before maintaining his composure at once, taking up a firm stance as well, “if a confrontation be what one wishes for, then, by Providence, so be it.”

“That’s the spirit, Firebrand; soon, I’ll be able to watch it seep out of your body when you’re through…!” the mercenary snickered at once.

A dead air of silence had slowly returned to the room within the homestead they were all in, the tense atmosphere all around notwithstanding. Both of the stallions’ eyes were already locked in onto one another as some diminutive beads of perspiration poured down nearby them slowly. Some rays of sunlight that had pierced throughout the transparent windowpanes now started to illuminate the area all around their very hooves. The only sounds that were playing into the spatial fold were but the balanced respiration of the two very occupants already all at once no less.

As soon as the first drop of sweat showered the floorboards, Tau charged up towards Igneous with a dagger quickly. The tenant had prepared himself for the sudden impact and dodged the first few strikes without any effort whatsoever. Needless to say, the evasive maneuvers that Igneous had executed only served to drive Tau in fighting on even harder. Sure enough, the edged weapon had gotten a taste of blood from the defensive tenant, bringing a smile upon its owner.

Igneous sent a swift kick into Tau’s abdomen, causing the latter to roll back and bend down; the former placed his hand over his right shoulder and grunted, “this tempestuous Tartarus thou art raising, surely thee jest not…”

“Like I had said: I’m only holding back for you, nothing more…” the mercenary chuckled, savoring the fruit of his labor, “besides, it’s been a long time since I have tasted my target’s blood…”

“Dear Providence, thou preferreth the taste of one’s own peers over water?!” the tenant exclaimed in shock, eyes widen in a set piece.

As Tau cleaned his blade, he gave a reply to Igneous, “very, I was curious as to what yours would taste like before I end your life…?”

“Art thou mad; thine pursuit to murder me is to consume mine flesh like some common cannibal?!” the tenant yelled, the bile within his stomach started to rise up and reach the extraction point, “what kind of equine art thou?!”

“Mercenary Extraordinaire, just like I had said before, Iggy…!” the beleaguering attacker replied before effortless returning to attack the aforementioned stallion at once, showing no sign of mercy.

Like before, Tau attempted to draw more blood from Igneous, forcing the latter to counter and returned the preemptive strikes from the former. The tenant refused to let the concern of his wounds get the best of him as the mercenary fought onward and sought for an opening in the process. Overall, the two stallions were putting up a fierce defense with neither of them showing any signs of receding in any form or fashion whatsoever. Needless to say, for all the carnage they were potentially capable of, the fighters kept their cool and continued onward; still, they were at it though.

It wasn’t long until Igneous felt his own heart beating deep into chest; this caused Tau to kick him into the chest, emitted a pained cry, “thy dastard…”

“You’ve underestimated the power of Equestrian endurance, you old relic…!” the mercenary had cackled as the tenant in front was sent down onto the ground, “and now is the time you finally die…!”

“Not this morrow…!” Igneous had grunted painfully, tripping Tau up with little warning whatsoever.

The dagger that was once in the mercenary’s grip had now fallen away from it; while the tenant didn’t see it fly out from the hand, he didn’t waste any time in retreating from the former all at once.

With Tau lying flat on his back, he grunted, “for an old dirty bastard such as yourself, you sure don’t disappoint me.”

“Hah, that fiend fights like a vampony; I must retreat to the kitchen at once…” Igneous thought to himself as he struggled to get off the floor as soon as possible, “I refuse to let this foul wretch of a pony succeed in his vile game against me…”

Sure enough, the tenant crawled away from the mercenary just quickly enough to escape the onslaught all at once. Tau had regained his stance in due time and found that Igneous was absolutely nowhere within eyesight whatsoever. Despite this otherwise sudden discovery though, a wicked grin had curled up into the mercenary’s visage.

“Playing hide and seek already, my little Iggy; why waste your time in prolonging your own death…?” Tau taunted tersely as he was taking his time in searching for the titular target all at once.

At first, the mercenary couldn’t even hear so much as a reply from the beleaguered tenant anyway, let alone a singular gasp. For a moment, it would seem that the golden silence had quickly returned here once more with feeling to this very residence. Despite being occupied by two stallions present and accounted for at once, the near lacking of sounds made this homestead desolate.

As Tau took a few dozen diminutive steps from where he and Igneous had fought, a sharp click was heard into the very distance; following this, a loud boom had resonated nearby the former, complete with shards of wood flying away from the point of impact where uniformity had once stood.

Resting behind the newly formed hole was none other than the tenant himself, now armed with a fowling piece in his grip saying, “last chance, thy vampony chameleon: retreat from the path of vengeance or suffer at mine hands…!”

“Never, I refuse to give up to the likes of you, Iggy…!” the mercenary had just snarled back almost instantaneously as neared the damaged partition, “not until I go and get what I had came for!”

“Don’t saith I didst not warn thee…!” Igneous had declared quickly as he cocked his gun and eyebrows at Tau and in an obtuse angle, focusing in on the objective at hand within that moment in time.

The mercenary gathered a few knives from underneath his coat pocket and took shelter from the ambiguous trajectory prepped up by the deterring tenant, the former simply retreated to his thoughts and said, “I gotta admit: Iggy still has another trick or two up his sleeves, just like me; shame that they won’t be effective anyway though…”

“If thou wishes to end mine life, then face me already…!” Igneous declare as his finger was still on the trigger at the newly broken wall in front of him.

As the tenant remained vigilant, he heard hoofbeats nearby and took aim at the direction they were coming from; the moment the fowling piece was fired off, several blades flew at the shooter at once, no doubt originating from the intended target who laughed, “so much for the perfect aim, huh Iggy…?”

“Dastard…!” Igneous grunted painfully as a few cut into his skin across his face, “such an underhanded move no less…”

“Not my fault if I happen to stay in one place with a shotgun in tow; you should know better than that…!” Tau had laughed as he tossed a wooden chair at his victim’s stationary position within due time no less.

While the tenant was fortunate enough to escape the point of impact, the gun on the other hand was knocked far out of his hands; this made him snarl in pain and fury, “what is that fiend trying to accomplish from mine torment…? If I don’t cease his reckless desire to end mine life, then it’s like mine wife and daughters will be in the eyes of the crosshair in due time. He has to be dealt with at once.”

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, Iggy…!” the mercenary sang brightly as he walked into the slightly damaged room in a steady rhythm, “no use in hiding any further when I’m about to kill you…”

“Must… replenish… mine… weapon…” Igneous grunted quietly as he noticed the fowling piece still in front of his sights.

With Tau hot on the trail, all that the tenant needed to do was reclaim his weapon; of course, this went unnoticed by the former who taunted, “wow, you’re really are desperate for such a measly old rock farmer.”

“Nay, ‘tis thee who art the desperate one…!” Igneous spat back as he crawled towards the fowling piece slowly but steadily nonetheless, “thou art willing to forgo slumber until thy hands art soiled with mine blood…!”

“All the more to kill you dead…” the mercenary had replied as the tenant was at least several inches away from reaching the gun at once.

It wasn’t long before Tau finally discovered Igneous at the ropes; by then, the latter had reached the fowling piece and began to take aim. With the pull of the trigger, a lightning cloud of powder exploded from the barrel, intertwined with a thunderous boom in a set direction. Even though it was just quick on the draw, none of the two stallions had absolutely taken the time to see where they had gone whatsoever.

When the pellets pierced a hole into a nearby wall, Igneous muttered quietly but quickly, “confound it…!”

“What’s the matter, Iggy; out of ammo already…?” the mercenary had snickered at the tenant who was still nearby one another despite the heated turmoil, “I thought that you were better than this…”

“Just wait and see, thy rapscallion…!” Igneous snarled as he had just emptied two shells out of the barrel at once.

As the tenant attempted to reload the fowling piece, Tau snatched it away and sent a punch into the former’s stomach; following a sudden thud onto the ground, the latter wagged his finger and taunted, “uh uh uh, can’t let you do that right now…!”

“Not again…!” Igneous grunted as he struggled to get off of the ground beneath him at once, “I refuse to let him succeed…!”

“What’s wrong, Iggy; can’t handle a simple kick?!” the mercenary jeered as he stamped his hoof into the tenant’s abdomen almost instantaneously.

Despite being nothing more than light taps, Igneous could feel every single one of them being fast and heavy like pistons; within the intervals of the sixth and seventh blow delivered by Tau, the former coughed up saliva and blood with some words to go alongside, “why must thou sting me with foul play; has thy desperation gotten the best of thee that fairness is sent into exile?”

“Who said that it was going to be a fair fight in the first place…?” the mercenary had snidely replied, stopping his own kicks at once to crouch downward and grab onto the tenant’s ears tightly all at once, “I have already made it clear that I’m going to kill you now for what you did to my father…!”

“And… then… what?!” Igneous spat out into Tau’s muzzle, earning nothing but scorn and derision in the process.

A dead calm had returned to the battlescarred room as answer was heard from the mercenary, “it’s real simple, I go on my merry way and wait for the next job to come rolling by; of course, that will be right after I end you of course…”

“And that’s all thou hast planned out for the rest of thine livelihood: senseless bloodshed after another with no semblance of restrain whatsoever…?” the tenant counterattacked with another argument, traces of red escaping out into his very lips all at once, “have thee no sense of shame or guilt from such vile deeds…?”

“Only accomplishment, nothing more; you are not my soldier, my comrade, or of this army now, understand…?” Tau responded, sending off a glare from his visage all at once almost instantaneously.

Igneous struggled to stand on his hooves, only to earn himself a punch to the face; nevertheless, he spoke up, “and yet, thou canst not see the truth: how canst one pony refer to thyself as a soldier? Thou art nothing more than a common brute stricken with such madness; even I cannot tell if thou hast cared for Equestria simply out of something not pertaining to sheer vengeance alone. ‘Tis as if thy sense of decency had been sacrificed to quench thy venomous hunger of mine life on the account of being determined to see it come to an end. What will thou hope to accomplish from mine murder…?”

“It seems that you have turned into a broken record after all this time…” the mercenary responded, licking the wet blood off of the tenant’s chin; amidst the latter’s disgust, the former continued onward, “let me elaborate on what I mean by ‘accomplishment’, Iggy: you killed my father and I can ill afford to let you get away with the act thereof. I have spent the entirety of my life training for this very moment and now that I have succeeded the only thing left for me to now is torching the damn place with you inside it of course. Of course, I’ll take some time out of this fight to freshen up before I end your sorry sad sack excuse of a minuscule life so stay right where you are and don’t you dare fucking move.”

“A pox on thee, Tau; thy evil will be remedied soon, I say…” Igneous had slowly gurgled up in disgust.

A slap pierced the sound barrier as a bruise ended up on the side of the tenant’s cheek, leaving the mercenary to chuckle, “well, it seems that you don’t have any much chance to survive; I hope you make your time while you still can.”

Igneous paid absolutely no mind to the cavalier demeanor that Tau had expressed, snorting about under breath, “you… fiend… may this path end with thee; may whatever conscience thou hast weigh heavy upon thee for the rest of thine life… and may Providence have mercy upon thine soul…!”

Sure enough, the tenant now found himself left alone, receding unto his very back to stare at the interior ceiling with anger deep within the burning orbs. His situation as of that moment in time was already made clear just like the very room itself: stripped down of its style to the bare minimum and torn to pieces. Although that Igneous’ hands were as free as a bird, he’d struggled to touch her very muzzle all at once; this made the anger cement itself further within as one of them slowly turned into a fist. The tenant noticed how little time he had deep within his grasp and what awaited him: such memories of halcyon days and nights were becoming a remaining thing of the distant past; in its place, a subdued reality.

“Goodbye, Iggy; you were the last of the Company…” the mercenary spoke as his presence dwindled about, “everything seems to be in order…”

It wasn’t long until Tau was completely out of the room, his very presence no longer bearing some weight upon the tense atmosphere. Sure enough, Igneous now freed to use the rather finite time upon him, soon carefully contemplated on his next move already. Although that both of the stallions within the very house had a simple plan, none of them were even aware of each other’s current state.

“Finally, I must restock my weapon before he returns…” the tenant thought to himself as he looked over the fowling piece nearby him.

Using only a modicum of stamina within, he then crawled over to the weapon and clutched onto the stock of it. As Igneous carefully looked at his surroundings, he was able to procure a pair of shells from his pants‒pocket. The beleaguered tenant had loaded them both inside the fowling piece and closed it back up already at once.

At this point onward, he soon had taken a stand and began to stumble out of the room with the weapon in tow as well. A pained look deep within Igneous’ visage had turned into determination as he trotted quietly into the narrow hallway. The tenant had remained wary of the mercenary’s presence and made sure not to gain some of his attention in any way. He kept on going throughout the very corridor and held onto the fowling piece tightly with his own two hands at once.

It wasn’t long until Igneous had finally found a large stairway locked deeply within his line of eyesight. A flight of steps totaled to at least two dozen; a normal being would’ve no problem climbing all of them. In the tenant’s case however, the matter of effort rested on his body which had undergone such stress. Aside from the numbers thereof, he didn’t forget that Tau hadn’t left the homestead yet or his next move. Complicating matters is the possibility that whatever plan that Igneous had could fail in any form whatsoever.

The moment that the tenant placed his hooves onto the first stair, he then heard some laughter from nearby: now standing above far away from him was the derisive clapping mercenary, “I knew that you would still be awake after all this time; it’s seems that after all this, nothing can stop an old dirty bastard like yourself, Iggy…”

“Don’t underestimate me; I wilst not let thee satisfy thy senseless bloodlust…!” Igneous spat out in anger, cocking his eyebrows and weapon at the same time, “as long as I’m still standing upward today, I refuse to fall to thine schemes…!”

“Oh, but you will fall, just like all the others before, Iggy…” Tau retorted as he then made his way downstairs at once.

The tenant took aim at the mercenary already and fired away within an instant, creating another lightning cloud of powder in the process. Despite being at close range, all of the scattering pellets from the very fowling piece had failed to impact the quickly approaching target. Rather than making contact with the flesh and fabric, the blast only ended up creating another hole within the house like the one before.

When Igneous had noticed that Tau was still unhurt, the former muttered in anger, “it cannot be…”

“You let your guard down again…!” the mercenary said as he sent a punch towards the tenant’s muzzle, causing the latter to fly down on the ground, “what’s the matter, Iggy: afraid that you’re going to die today…?”

“Absolutely not…!” Igneous had instantaneously regurgitated as he regained his stance all at once.

Against all odds, Tau watched as his target stood back up on his hooves once more and fired again, this time barely scratching the surface of the former’s mane by the top. While the tenant was fortunate enough to make his point across, the sheer fact that the mercenary was still okay nevertheless failed to even put a dent within the former’s body. Basically put, the absolute turn of events has put a change of perspective upon one another as they both had their own shadows intersecting each other’s bodies at this time.

Needless to say, the defiance within Igneous’ eyes had made Tau comment on the fire within them, “it’s kind of sad really, knowing that you had came all this far enough to perish at once after everything that happened of course.”

“Don’t be too sure about thyself…!” the tenant warned, “it’ll take a lot more than a kick to mine stomach to end me, foul one…!”

“We shall see…” the mercenary had replied as he still remained wary of his adjacent opponent already.

Silence had dominated the wide room within the homestead they were still in once more, the tense atmosphere growing around and about into immeasurable densities thereof. Both of the stallions’ eyes that were locked in onto one another like before had now varied in such extreme temperatures refusing to clash or mesh with one another’s states. The golden rays of sunlight that pierced throughout the transparent windowpanes were no longer in sight, save for the occasional faint sidelines that stuck around in another room. The balanced respiration of the two very occupants even had their share of differences in frequency and timing, cementing the typical juxtaposition amongst themselves. Another factor that went into the spatial fold was the smoke cloud emitting from the weapon in Igneous’ hand currently thinning itself out as of this moment in time no less.

As the dust was beginning to resettle itself, the tenant muttered to himself, “I missed the scoundrel again…!”

“You know, you don’t have to keep shooting at me like that Iggy; besides, you’re too good a fighter to make such a lousy shot here or there…” Tau snickered as he had charged at his target with little warning, “am I right or what…?”

“Worry not mine skills as a sharpshooter in the moment but rather of thy own wretched livelihood instead…!” Igneous had quickly spat back as he soon begun to counterattack with the stock of his very fowling piece all at once.

Every step of the way nearby the stairwell, the two stallions traded blows with one another as each punch exported by the mercenary was met with either air or substance. None of them, especially the tenant, was willing to recede as they had fought onward; nevertheless, it was a matter of time before one of the stallions made a mistake. The fire within their own eyes now burned bright like the hot plasma within the sun complemented by the instantaneous glint reminiscent of a lightning strike. Dioxide being snorted had maintained a rather uniform tempo within their battle orchestra, complete with the crescendos of punches, kicks, and chops followed by melee.

The sweat that osmosed throughout the forehead slid down to Tau’s nose as he panted to Igneous, “for an old relic, you’re good; but, I’m better…!”

“Focus on the present, thy wretched brute…!” the tenant had snarled already, “thou mayst be young, but I am not of the ignorant masses…!”

“You’re right, but you are going to be among the dead carcasses soon…” the mercenary instantly retorted.

Igneous ignored Tau and smacked the latter in the shoulder while saying, “don’t count on it, you fiend!”

“Typical Iggy, is that how you talk to other ponies these days…?” the mercenary replied all too dryly to the tenant, “it’s no wonder that you’re going to be left in the dust when I’m done with you…”

“Focus not on the dust but on me…!” Igneous warned as he attempted to strike Tau in the process.

Suddenly, the mercenary dodged the next blow and countered with a fast punch to the stomach, sending the tenant back by a few inches. Despite the tenderized sensation within, Igneous still held firmly and remained steady, standing his ground upon the ligneous stairway. The fact that his opponent hadn’t fallen over yet made the mercenary’s eyes widen with feelings of seedy intrigue and compound interest.

As such, Tau leered over and asked, “what’s the matter, Iggy: afraid that I’m going to end you here and there…?”

“Nay…!” the eponymous tenant coughed up, “it’ll taketh much more than a simple strike for me to perish off the face of Equestria…!”

“You’re right; besides, we haven’t been able to get to the favorite part of the fight…” Tau laughed.

Only then when Igneous regained his stance and inquired, “the part where thy consume mine flesh…?”

“No silly…!” the mercenary snickered uproariously, “I just simply disembowel you after you die…”

“Thou will not dare such barbarism…!” the tenant snarled as he refused to look away from the opponent in front of him.

Tau soon had moved forward and began to retort within earshot, “don’t worry about the cannibalism thing; that’s something only savages do, not civilized Equestrian like you and me here…”

“We art Equestrians but thou art instead a savage beast; this land hast done away with such murderous foul play yet thou hast not…!” Igneous instantaneously spat back in return, tossing away the weapon a bit too calmly, “thy kind doth not hast the right of way to exist any longer…!”

“You old ponies are all the same; you talk about how Equestria should lay off the bloodshed yet you forget one thing clearly: you killed my father…!” the mercenary said as he threw a punch at the tenant with little warning whatsoever.

Surprisingly, Igneous dodged the attack and kicked Tau’s hand away while saying, “’twas not my intention to do so; hast thou forgotten what had been said…? Thy father’s death was beyond mine control…!”

“Do you even think that matters to me…?” the mercenary snarled as he returned the counterattack at once, “even if that were the case, the fact is you didn’t bother to stop him from dying in the slightest; for somepony like the Firebrand of Equestria such as yourself, that was cold…!”

“And thou thinks that ending me will return the fleeting flame back in thy dark and twisted heart, just like that; does thou not see the fruitlessness of such a vile folly?!” the tenant bellowed as he landed a punch into the target’s chest quickly.

At that moment, both stallions were now panting and fuming as they looked at one another with suspicion deep within their visage. Their eyes, although filled with weariness, were clinging to grab life by the very horns that threatened to cause them death. Hands were been stretched far apart from their bodies as they started to widen their stances with a side helping of such a vigilance.

Tau wiped the sweat off of his brow and answered calmly all at once, “I guess that’s why your old folks named you Igneous Rock: you’re strong like a boulder; but, like all things, even they have their share of weaknesses. My father’s name has its place in our native tongue, a land further from your home sweet home; it’s like yours but with an emphasis on family itself. Of course, why should I be talking about such petty things like nomenclature in regards to genealogy and whatnot when I’m about to kill you…?”

“Why must thou insist on such deeds anyway…?” the titular listener had asked already, still focusing inward already, “thine life shan’t be wasted on such frivolous affairs such as this: I have already made my choices carefully and served the homeland well; thou canst doeth the same as I have…”

“My mind has been made up, Iggy; I’m not going to leave until I get what I have came for: your life in mine hands…” the mercenary spat out.

Sure enough, Igneous couldn’t believe what Tau had said yet it did nothing to strike fear in the listener’s heart; as a matter of fact, the former thought to himself at once, “methinks that at the rate he goeth at, I wilst surely be slain unless I achieve something that would sendeth him out of the family abode. The shells of mine weapon art nearly depleted and I’m too far close to reload them with him ready to screw his courage to the sticking place with that spleen no less. A pickaxe is mostly likely going to provideth me some assistance against this foe yet its too far away nestled within mine sleeping quarters; perhaps I must make do with what I have for the time being.”

“What’s wrong, you doddering old man: about to fall asleep in the middle of a fight…?” the mercenary had inquired snidely to the tenant all without hesitation, “that’s okay, you’ve already lived a long life anyway…”

“Hold thy speculations in check, vile caricature; I’m still standing on the stairway already…!” Igneous snapped in an instant as he glared at Tau intently.

Despite the recalcitrant determination in the tenant’s stance thereof, the mercenary was far from deterred as the latter replied, “yes, but for how long until the fight is over? That’s the big question that many could be asking had there been such a number no less; wouldn’t you agree, Iggy?”

“Cut the meaningless banter already and confront me if thou darest to…!” Igneous retorted intensely as he pawed the wooden surface beneath him, “thou hast done little to bringeth me to mine knees, thy wretched fiend…!”

“That’s what I’ve been intending to do since day one…!” Tau replied before charging in at the opponent once more with feeling.

The tenant saw it coming anyway began to respond in kind following the attempt no less, preemption and retaliation already now in full swing. The wounds and bruises the were once emotional within these words were now starting to bubble at the surface with each blow becoming thicker soon. The two stallions’ collective cycling between offense and defense was easily equal and opposite within their reactionary reprisals towards one another. The heat from their very hands still remained under control as not a single drop of sweat was found upon the integumentary systems themselves.

Now, Igneous found himself closer to the top of the stairway than he was before and then thought silently once more, “finally, now for mine stratagem to unfold; may Providence provideth me favor over him.”

“Are you finished stalling for time already, Iggy…?” Tau called out to his target as he reached into his clothing in hopes of pulling out an item, “we’re already overdue for one morning and already this is putting a dent in my schedule…”

“I agree with thee; besides, this be thy ultimate morrow thou hast ever troubled the likes of myself…!” the tenant replied before he did the unexpected in front of the mercenary in attendance.

Sure enough, Tau was flabbergasted to find that Igneous has fled from the stairwell at once and by extension the battle again; as the former regained his composure, he’d called out to the latter, “did you learn anything from last time, Iggy…? Hiding isn’t even going to save you from the likes of me…!”

Like before, all that the mercenary could listen to in reply was nothing but complete and utter silence following the tenant’s departure. The only information that was true to the matter thereof was that Igneous had taken refuge into adjacent floor the stairway led them to. The small abundance of doorways standing in front of Tau also had provided a mystery concerning his opponent’s whereabouts. While that last time’s discovery was rather explosive to say the very least, it did answer the question pertaining to the tenant anyway. Needless to say, given the small size of the domicile, it was almost certain that the mercenary would find who he was looking for soon.

Tau’s very own hooves were now tapping the wooden floorboards with each and every step that he made in the search for Igneous. The mad mercenary had to guess that the tenant in particular would at least be nearby deep within the latter’s domicile as a whole. He could take a guess that the bedroom is where his opponent would be in since the familiarity thereof had set in for him anyway.

“HAVE AT THIS, VAMPONY…!” a nearby voice screamed as Tau attempted to enter the doorway in front of him, only to find a pickaxe jammed into his cannon, “HOW IS THAT FOR A CHANGE?!”

“AAUGH, THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT…!” the mercenary exclaimed as he fell down onto horizontal surface, clutching onto the wound at once.

At that point, the source of the sudden surprise originated from none other that Igneous himself, slinging a new item over his shoulder replying, “quote the dastard furthermore; now then, dost thou understand me…?”

“Huh…?” Tau replied in confusion as he sat down away from the pickaxe and the owner that struck him just recently, “what do you mean…?”

“I mean thy vengeful ways, they wilst consume thee unless thou forsake them in place of forgiveness; thine father’s demise, though tragic, shan’t be the reason to risk the quality of one’s own life to be weathered by hate…” the tenant had explained, outstretching a free hand towards the mercenary.

Tau looked at the hand that was offered up by Igneous and replied, “but what must I do to forget about them? He was a father to me and I can’t let his legacy be forgotten so easily yet I mustn’t–––”

“Just because thou art the axiom of the family name doesn’t mean that thou shouldn’t go down the same path thy father had went…” the tenant suddenly interrupted as he had pulled the confused mercenary up from the wooden floorboards beneath their very hooves, “thou art an original being with free will and alternatives; thou canst maketh the choice not to continue this. I hath said it before and I wilst repeat myself: I regret the fact that Tau Xi Chi was slain in the uprising one score ago; nevertheless, there’s no need to continue onward with this vengeful path of thee. Besides, thou canst redeem thyself from all the mortal carnage born from thy vexations and be a better stallion than thy father hath lived…”

“Do you really believe that a pony such as myself could truly change even after all that I have done…?” Tau had asked as he looked into Igneous’ weary irises, befuddled by the sudden turn of events.

Releasing the tight grip from the mercenary, the tenant threw away the pickaxe and answered, “place thy trust in Providence: I used to be a wayward pony myself yet mine father hath never given up on me…”

“Well, I got some bad news for you, sir: I can’t just up and do that…” Tau retorted, shuffling away to throw a pin in Igneous’ direction, “besides, I’ve already pulled the pin from this time bomb; in a few seconds, this little house on the prairie will be nothing more than a pile of smoke and ashes and you’ll burn alongside me in Tartarus…!”

“No…” the tenant chattered timidly, causing him to trot away from the mercenary and head for the stairwell that they were once standing on.

Tau had taken notice of the fact that Igneous was fleeing from confrontation once more with feeling so the former tailed the latter and said, “I knew you would do that so I’d packed a hanger–on as an insurance policy; I hope you can handle ten thousand Tarts toasting you alive, Iggy…!”

It wasn’t long until the mercenary pulled out a small steely orb and chucked it into the tenant’s direction; while it was quickly out of sight, it wasn’t out of mind either. The only sound that could be heard currently was the rapid stampeding of hooves from Igneous, despite being fainter and fainter; soon, they had stopped all at once. At first, a smile had appeared upon Tau’s face and he began to turn away; suddenly, something appeared in the corner of his eye: the item was attached to a black vest. Sure enough, the mercenary’s green coat became lighter as he then decided to take shelter from the impending results brought upon by the sudden reversal of fortune.

Almost instantaneously, a great flash of light and heat were emitted from the devices before they were consumed in a blaze. The homogenous oxygen that had separated the substances of solid barriers became doused by an enormous conflagration. The hot and heavy harmony of red, orange, and yellow had now painted the very hallway, licking away the wooden surface. All the coldness and its calculations within the upper atmosphere had now quickly descended into an unpredictable inferno. Also, there was smoke sifting out from the newly forming wreckage brought about by the weapon of mass destruction.

“Hah… so much for this humble family abode here; yet aside from that, I must away to mine wife and daughters at Ponyville lest I’ll be consumed by this inferno…” the downward onlooker thought silently, none other than the troubled tenant whom was now down to his shirt, pants, and hat, “Providence, kindly grant me the fortitude to vacate from the conflagration.”

What had started out as a prompt canter from Igneous became an almost thunderous sprint over the wood as the fires raged on. With the impending doom descending upon the structure, the tenant’s had no other choice but to leave while there was still time. Whereabouts concerning Tau had now metamorphosed into bouts of determination as Igneous had scurried off to a nearby exit. Wanting to avoid the consuming blaze, the tenant refused to stop for anything, not even for so much as a single second no less. Without any warning whatsoever, a piece of flaming debris fallen right behind; while it didn’t crush him, the fabric started burning. Wasting no fraction of time at all, Igneous crashed through the egress and out of the gluttonous disaster that escalated therein.

It wasn’t long until the tenant’s face had made contact with the solid earth beneath him as he rolled away from the fiery furnace that was once his own homestead. While the small sparks upon his very shirt were snuffed away by the soil, the inferno raged on as the strong structure of the abode was devoured from the inside out. Only the scars of battle were found upon Igneous’ back as he removed the shirt completely to find scorches and some blood where the white textiles had once been.

The tenant stood back up on his hooves to watch what was remaining in that place that he’d escaped from just only recently. Such deadness of its surroundings became a witness to the loss of livelihood when the smoke clouds climbed up into the sky. Unlike the afflicted area in question, the gangly silo was but fortunate despite being rather nearby by a mere dozen meters. Not even the windmill remained alone as the very airstreams that it had produced earlier were now keeping the flames at bay.

He couldn’t help but wipe the sweat off of him as the spectacle went underway, powerless to do anything about it to stop. Using the recently damaged clothing that had been removed, Igneous tied it around his torso tightly and held firmly. Needless to say, all that the tenant could do now was leave and never look back at the conflagration adjacently.