Ponywalkers

Chapter 2

Ponywalkers?

The birds were pleasantly chirping a welcoming song to the morning as Kris looked around franticly.  The grass was green, check.  The sky was blue, check. He had four legs, not check?  They say drugs can lay dormant in your system for years and Kris had partied his fair share before the navy scooped him up but this had never happened before.

“Holy shit! What the hell am I?”  A voice behind him cried.

“Yarborough?”  questioned a second, This was followed by the incomprehensible mumbling of a third voice.

Kris turned to view his acquaintances, although the entire action took a bit more effort and time than he would have preferred as he figured out how to shift this new body into the standing position and then turn without falling over.  He finally completed his one-hundred eighty degree turn and saw four stallions, one was sitting on the ground hyperventilating, two were now exploring their new forms and the fourth stood staring at the ground.

“So how many of us had acid on the ship?” Kris asked the confused group. “Just me? Okay got it.”

“Okay,” came Messer’s voice from the largest stallion, who bore a dark red coat and black mane cut into a traditional military fade, “we have Sarcasm, Stupid, Shy, Bald, and Badass, where’s the sixth element?”

“Oh my god I’m impressed” Kris smiled “you knew there were six elements.”

“You always talk about the elements of harmony or whatever they are how could I not.”

“Correction it’s the Hellements of Armory, but I’ll let it slide.”

“How are you guys joking we aren’t human,”  Yarborough gasped “What did you do to us.”

“Listen this is obviously a dream bro I’d ask you to pinch me but…” Gray laughed holding up a hoof in Yarborough’s direction.  “By the way when you said bald…”

Kris lost it and burst into a fit of laughter coming to the realization.  Grays shortcomings had continued on in this world unlike his hairline which had just receded further back along his head.  His laughter was cut short by a soft hoof being shoved into his mouth.  Hmmm these hooves really were like plush no wonder nothing was ever fazed by being kicked in the show.

“Does anybody-“  Gray was cut short as his head gave a few quick twitches “anypony else hear that?”  He asked removing his hoof from Kris’s mouth.

“No nothing, why?” Kris said raising himself to his feet.

“Exactly weren’t the birds chirping before?”

“Are you sure they said five sparks ignited here?  There is no way five sparks would ignite at the same time and carry them to the same place.” Came a voice from the nearby tree line.

“Jade I already told you the boss said he picked up five and has-“  The voice cut short as the head of blue mare with purple curls falling around her horn and garnet colored eyes popped out from the tree line mouth ajar.”Okay, well that answers that question.”

“Let me see” came the first voice as a green mare presumably Jade pushed past the blue mare.  “ooh five stallions,  no cutie marks they must be new Ponywalkers.” When she came into full view Kris saw that he body was fully covered by a long black robe.  The garnet eyed mare stepped out next followed by three stallions each a unicorn and wearing identical robes.

“Sparks? Ponywalkers? What is this some kind of bullshit My Little Pony/ Magic the Gathering crossover?”  Kris laughed.

“I know you may think of running but please don’t, the boss doesn’t want us to kill you.  We lost the last three new members we were supposed to recruit because they tried to run,” said one of the nameless stallions.

“Now you see that’s not what the good guys say.” Gray said “I’m just saying ‘We don’t want to kill you’ not the best opening line when trying to recruit someone.  Kris I thought unicorns were supposed to be able to do magic you’re the pony expert how do I do magic?”

“Honestly I don’t know,” Kris replied.   “Normally they just kind of focus then their horn glows and things happen.  They supposedly have spells and such but there aren’t incantations or any of that.  Maybe you should write Larson about publishing a How To guide on unicorn magic.”

“Are you quite finished?” the mare who appeared to be in charge asked.

“Would you give us one god damn minute woman? Seriously we are trying to talk here.” Messer said unfazed by the threats given.  “This is a kids show right they can’t actually kill us.  Can they?”

“M-M-Maybe we should go with them” Wilcox piped up.

“No I refuse” said Yarborough.

“W-What Why?”  He stammered.

“They tried telling me what to do I don’t take orders from them.” Yarborough laughed “I don’t even take orders from the people I’m supposed to take orders from.”

“That’s because you’re a dirtbag sailor bro,” Kris said.  “But I agree, screw them.”

“So we are fighting?” Gray asked “How about I take the girls and you guys divide the sausage how you want.”

“A fight it is,” Jade said stepping forward licking her lips.  Her horn glowed a dark black and shadows swirled around the ground below her.  The shadows rose into the form f a pale earth pony holding a gnarled staff between its jaws.

“Oh I see how this works,” Gray whispered as his horn lit up with a red energy.  “so lets just get rid of that one.”  A bolt of lightning flew from his horn and collided squarely with the earth pony’s chest. “Careful what you don’t know might shock you.”

Messer moved in circling one of the stallions while the other two moved in toward Yarborough and Wilcox.  “Looks like I’m first,” he said his horn also taking on a red glow. “I’ll start with a quest.”  With these words the glow erupted into a flash and before Messer sat an empty throne.

“So it’s you and me huh,” said Kris looking toward the blue mare.  “I’ve gotta warn you though I’m more of a lover than a fighter.”

“Enough,” her horn lit up with a black flare as the same pale earth pony appeared before her.

“You seem original now don’t you?  This may seem like a bad time to ask questions but how do I do this exactly?” Kris asked.  “Because this seems kinda-“ Before he could finish his thought the image of seven cards appeared in front of him.  Two of them bore the image of a tree while the others read names that Kris recognized.  What he did not recognize were the images upon them.  Where his once familiar elves had been now stood unicorns with extended ears.  “Now this is good, who made this game is this that new VR system I was looking at because it is fantastic.”

“VR? I don’t understand,” the blue mare looked at him “If you wish to fight have on with it.”

“Yeah, yeah fine um I’ll play a forest and a llanawar mana dork, then its your go but tell me where are we?” As Kris touched each card nothing happened.  “I don’t get it what’s wrong?” he pondered “Oh I see, they concentrate their horn glows then shit happens.”  Kris concentrated and the image of an eighth card appeared.  He had been so caught up in the situation he had forgotten the basic rules of his familiar game.  He then played the moves he had previously stated seeing a small unicorn appear in front of him.

“Ha I guess I got stuck with the slow one, no matter I’ll make quick work of you,” laughed the mare.

Kris took a moment to steal a glance at the others, Gray had called to the field three vampiric ponies two were pegasi surely representing the Magic rule of flying.  His opponent however answered this with a flying creature of her own.  Kris watched as the six ponies before her raised their staves into the air feeding into a orb of fire which then formed into a four legged horned centaur of a creature.  It raised its hand and a beam of dark energy flew from its fingertips striking down one of the pegasi in flight.

Messer now had an assortment of five diamond dogs in front of him and a larger one sat upon the throne.  Wilcox appeared to have gotten into a stalemate.  His opponent had three earth ponies on the field each with their staff and in front of Wilcox stood two large earth ponies adorned in silver and blue armor.  What about Yarborough?  Kris chanced a glance to the other side as he felt a pain strike him just below his left knee.

He jolted back from the strike looking up to see that the blue mare had called two more earth ponies to the field and one was retreating back to join them.  “Damn that hurt yo.”

“Did you not expect it to? Why did you not defend yourself?”

“Ok listen let’s hash this out no one needs to be hurt here,”  He laughed.

“Take this seriously.” The blue mare yelled at his sarcasm

“Trust me lady I take nothing more serious than games.”  A smile crossed his face. “My turn?”

If the rules held true he could take nineteen more hits just like that one.  As he focused and drew a card he glanced towards Gray’s fight after quickly dispatching the demon his enemy had been left defenseless to his assault of blood sucking vampires.  Each now had blood dripping from their gaping jaws and his enemy had it more or less spilling from her neck.  Messer had went from an assortment of diamond dogs to an army.  Now they swarmed his adversary looking to make quick work of him.  Wilcox had moved about as far as a conversation would have with him.  Just one more to check on Kris thought as he turned his head to Yarborough and found that the sailor had been torn limb from limb.

“Yarborough!” Kris yelled trying to turn his body away from the battle to no avail.  His legs wouldn’t move he could only move his head.

“Forget your friend I am your opponent.”  The blue mare had a look of pure hatred in her eyes.  “You should have expected death when challenging us you were warned not to fight the Seam Rippers.”

“Listen lady,” Kris pleaded “I don’t know what this has to do with sewing, but dying is not on my to do list.”

“Make your move so I can finish you,” scoffed his opponent.

“Fine, fine,” Kris said looking over his hand.  He had drawn another land which he played his horn taking on a green tint.  “Annother mana dork, followed by a heritage druid.  I will use the combined power of my elves to call forth an archdruid as well”  As he said this the first two unicorns appeared before him a green light linking between them from the center of the light another unicorn rose an aura radiating from it stretching covering them all in a faint glow.

“Petty tricks used by the weak,”

“You really are quite the charmer.”  Kris chuckled this couldn’t be real Yarborough wasn’t dead.  That pain though, it felt real.

“Prepare to feel true power” Laughed the blue mare a black glow encompassing her horn and spreading down her face and body.  Three more earth ponies appeared in front of her.  “I call to the power beyond the void hear your master and show my enemy the fear inside their heart.”  A black glow illuminated on the end of each staff held by her small army of ponies shooting from one to the other like torches.  The light began to swirl and shift as each staff was lifted pony and all into a rotation forming a whirlpool that pulled the light into its center leaving nothing but pure blackness.

From the blackness two hands reached out each one at least twice as big as Kris himself digging their pointed fingers into the ground the hands pulled forth the face of his demonic terror.  Its eyes held within them the despair of a hundred souls crying out their voices echoing in his ears begging for freedom.

“You know maybe we should just call this a tie,” Kris said the humor fading from his voice.

“You see now that it is hopeless soon my servant will finish you and your pathetic little soldiers.”

Kris looked to his friends, Gray’s opponent lay drained of life Messer’s also lay still multiple marks stretched across his body surely the result of the onslaught of diamond dogs.  Wilcox stood with his opponent staring at each other completely oblivious to the ongoing battle.  Gray and Messer however now stared at the daunting beast which loomed over Kris just waiting to carry him to his eternal suffering with the other trapped souls.

“Come on gaming god you can’t even beat this hack?”  Messer yelled laughing and nudging Gray on the side.

“Yeah come on I thought you refuse to lose at anything.” Gray shouted “Maybe you aren’t all your cracked up to be.”

Kris couldn’t help but laugh.  “You’re right I’ve got at least one turn.”  He focused and pulled another card before his eyes.  This was it he only ran one of them but this was it.  A smile worked its way across his face.  “Hey darling have you ever seen one pony cut by a hundred swords at once?”  His played his forest his horn glowing green before a beam shot from it into his elves, his archdruid dropped to its knees providing the beam with more energy as the other three also lent their strength.  “Primal surge”

“Excuse me?” the blue mare question as a ray of green light shot into the sky.  Unicorns began to appear around him at a rapid pace many wielding swords.  “What is this? How are you calling upon all this power?”

“This is the strength of an entire army,”  Kris laughed a staue of a large alicorn appearrd causing his army to begin floating.  “My entire army is entering the fray ready to thanks to a statue to the battle angel Akroma.  But let’s not forget about a craterhoof behemoth to give an extra kick.”  With those words a large hoof broke the ground near him as a beast larger than the trees stood overhead of the army at his side.

“No, no this can’t be…” The blue mare gasped.  Wilcox’s opponent called back his units and turned tail following Yarborugh’s killer into the woods.  “Mercy please show me mercy”  begged the mare.

“Like you showed to him?” Kris yelled pointing with his front hoof to the remains of Yarborough’s body.  He looked to Messer and Gray who now stood mouths ajar at the image before their eyes.  “What do you say guys?”

“I say we still need some answers.” Messer said looking to the timid mare who had pulled back her demon. “Besides She scooped.”

“Mercy it is then” Kris said lowering his horn and letting his army fade.  “Stand up and tell us who you are and why you were looking for us.”

"I’m am Azure Rose, I am a member of a Seam Ripper team so were the others.”

“What are the seam rippers?” Gray asked

“WE work to protect the real world.”  Azure Rose explained. “There are many other worlds than these.  The false worlds continue to repeat themselves.  We rip out the vital seams so that they can’t repeat. They are predetermined but one, one is not yet figured out its end is still up in the air but it can’t continue if all the others remain.”

Then the world went black.