Fires of Reprisal

No I WILL not be stopped here!

With a scream, I could feel my throat tearing from what felt like my mouth to my stomach and with blood spitting between my clenched teeth, fighting my way up to my hooves like a drunken pony. My numb limbs were the only part of me that didn't hurt... that's pretty powerful medicine right there. I kept screaming and pushing, forcing myself up on sheer willpower alone. Finally getting to a sitting position I sat there. Only one thought went through my tortured mind now.

Cant stop.

I don't think I'll die if I sleep but I don't care anymore. Fuck her. If I stop I die. Damn her. Don't die. I can't stop till shes dead. Can't die till shes dead.

Cant stop.

Getting up on all four hooves, I noticed bloody footprints on the ground that were mine.

Cant stop.

I turned around and started to head back for the first time since I got banished here by her, it would be a long journey.

Cant stop.

The running was getting easier. I could feel life coming back to my legs, also more pain now that they weren't numb anymore. More pain than I've ever felt.

No.

Don't stop.

Pain is my friend, its the only thing that's let me know I'm still alive. Pain is my companion and death is my freedom. Cant die yet though, gotta kill her. For a split second I wondered if there was any part of me, both inside and out that didn't hurt. Before I could even answer that thought it was replaced with my mantra as if something had pushed it there.

Can't stop.

As repeating and dependable as my heartbeat it kept me going, kept me focused. Pain and the one thought clouded my mind as I sprinted back through the desert, covering vast quantities of land nearly instantly.

I no longer had any concept of time. The days stretched on as endlessly as they always have. Pain and my mantra were my only constant as I ran for what seemed like an eternity. It probably was an eternity. It could have been days or even years I no longer cared. All I knew was that if i stopped I would die and that I couldn't die before that bitch is dead too.

Don't slow down.

I sprinted and sprinted, not slowing down for a single second. My existence was the pounding of my bloody hooves, my old friend pain and my one thought. Seeing the landscape start to change around me I saw the volcanoes that marked the entrance, where the gates were. Where the way out of here was.

I thought I saw things, little weak things standing around and looking at me blitz past where the sands turned to rock. I couldn't spare them a single thought. I was on my way to kill the white one. I couldn't stop now.

Even when I hit the ground made of cooled lava and the blood and callouses on my hooves started to smoke and sizzle I didn't even notice. All I cared about was that the exit was just right over there. I didn't even consciously realize it, I just knew it.

"SUNSET SHIMMER" a loud roar to my left made me whip my head around and flatten my ears. The sound was loud enough that it broke my concentration. Fuck you whoever you are, I'll have to teach you a lesson. Seeing drops of blood fall and sizzle on the ground I realized my ears were bleeding. Now you're really going to pay.

A gigantic red and black centaur was standing a ways off to my left, surrounded by monsters that seemed to be little tiny ants around his hooves. He had to be a good distance away but because of his size he seemed a lot closer. What was his name again? I didn't care, I could tell he obviously wanted to stop me, to get in my way. That's one thing though... I cannot be stopped any longer, not by you, or that sun, or these gates, by her, or even by me. I am unbreakable.

Without a pause I swerved to my left as I made a dash towards that monstrosity, this will be a good time at least to test out my new strength. I felt my lips crack open again, my lips bled and my tongue lolled out as a manic grin came out of nowhere. Everything became redder as i felt a pressure behind my eyes and blood rush to my head, no thoughts now. Just a dull pounding in between my ears as everything fully turned red.

Jumping up as high as I could mid sprint, I sailed easily twice as high up as the loud one. Without even thinking, only wanting... I charged up a detonation spell as powerful as I could manage and let it go. I wanted to blast everything away and keep going...

Don't slow down.

A blinding light and a thunderclap immediately assaulted my senses. Instantly I was blown backwards through the air as it ripped into the ground and shook the earth, blasting everything near it away. Hot, searing bits of rock and ash spewed everywhere and the shock wave flattened every creature in at least a 2 kilometer radius.

What am I doing? That one thought managed to sneak in as the shockwave disoriented me. I could see myself falling from quite a height, falling fast. I landed on my legs hard enough to hear a loud crack. New pain jolted up my legs, a sharp and piercing feeling. Ah pain my old friend, I could feel my thoughts center and stabilize on my normal mantra. I didn't care about the jagged needles I could feel in my legs. Why should I care? I won't stop.

Looking around I cant see anything, much less the loud one through all the smoke that covered my entire field of view. With a growl and a flick of my horn I sent a shock wave in all directions, blowing away the smoke. He will not stop me.

I could see I was standing on the lip of a massive crater where my spell had hit, the big one and the remains of the little ants were in there at the bottom. The live ones at least. The crater was easily as large as a small lake and the shockwave had apparently pushed me far enough back that I was on the edge of it.

Without even a thought I felt myself jump down into the hole, my legs screaming in agony. With a surge the rest of his army came and jumped towards me, howling and screaming like a horde of of the dead. Soon enough they would be a horde of the dead anyways. Purely on speed and instinct alone I bowled into them, careening through their weak, pulpy mass like a train.

I lost track of myself and my surroundings as I decimated his army. Not even capable of thinking anything more complicated than one phrase I powered through everything on pure instinct and overwhelming power. Kicking a goatman so hard in the head exploded in a red mass. A punch so hard to the chest of a timberwolf that it shattered on the spot. A fireball from my horn causing a few hundred to boil alive where they stood, screaming in terror.

If I could think I would have thought that I was beautiful.

All of a sudden nothing was in hooves reach so I stood there panting and confused. Where is everyone? Looking around with bloodshot eyes I saw I was surrounded by more of the puny things but they wouldn't come close. None dared approach me. Everything seemed to stand perfectly and serenely still for a moment.

With a howl I put a lot of magic into a spell, I wanted them closer! A vortex appeared next to me, sucking everything around me in towards my reach. The growls of the horde turned into shrieks of terror as they were brought to me, within reach of my hooves. Feeling my lips tear again with a smile tore into them with renewed fury and I kept massacring every creature until there was none left, none but him who looked like he was hanging back and waiting.

With a loud bellow that hurt my ears he charged me, shaking the ground with his weight. I could see him lowering his head and charging up a powerful spell. Not feeling the least bit impressed I stood my ground until he shot an impressive bolt of energy right at my face. Instinctively I jumped in the blink of an eye right over the beam and in an arc that would take me right to his face. Right before I got to him I scythed through the air with magic, cutting off his horns and his source of magic. This would be close and personal as payment for ruining my focus.

Good, I wanted this to be messy anyways.

With the shriek of a banshee I landed on his face, gripping his fur and holding on tight despite his bellowing and shaking of his head from pain. I don't think hes noticed me on him yet I thought with a smile. With very quick punches, as fast as I could throw them I started to beat into the center of his face. I could hear his bellow change into a howl of fear and I noticed that his hands were reaching up to swat me away. Faster and harder I swung my hooves, pouring every ounce of strength into my work.

His head was surprisingly thick and tough, even so it only took half a second of sustained beating to knock him out. Before he could topple over I managed to cave his face in and punch through to his brain, landing the killing blow. As we hit the ground the force knocked me off and I fell onto my side in the scalding crater. Standing up, my breath coming in ragged and bubbly bursts I flicked my horn and tore off his mess of a head and threw it to the other side of the crater. With one last scream I roared to the sky, primal and fierce. I felt the last of my vocal chords rip, the scream being cut short with a silent moan as red bubbles popped at the corner of my parched and cracked lips.

Standing there in the bottom of my crater with a growing pool of blood and bodies I suddenly felt very tired, my magic nearly depleted and my body refusing to move. Before I realized it I had fallen down on my side, why am I on my side? Darkness crept in the edges of my vision and fear caused my mind to finally start thinking again.

DONT SLEEP

Lurching back to my hooves on sheer willpower alone I opened one bloodshot eye and looked around at the nightmare hellscape that surrounded me, that was caused by me.

DONT STOP

I was standing in a slowly rising pool of blood. My fur was matted with it on one side and I couldn't see any movement all around me, just a sea of corpses slowly bleeding into the crater that I was in the bottom of. Bodies lay mangled everywhere, creatures of every type and of varying degrees of lethality... all dead.

KEEP GOING

One eye was covered in matted blood so thick I couldn't open it. No need, I only need one eye to see the white one.

The thought of her made me spit out a mouthful of blood in disgust, I fleetingly wondered if it was my own blood or someone else's. Stop thinking about that. Focus. You're not done yet.

Wont stop.

Shakily taking a step toward an edge of the crater my eye swiveled around and spotted some silhouettes on the lip of the crater. Its not important. Nothing down here can stop me now.

Painfully and weakly limping, trying to not pass out with every step I took. All I could think of now was not passing out. If a little something like this was enough to bring me down I would never be able to land the killing blow on her. That would be a critical moment and I can guarantee she wont be as forgiving if I don't land the killing blow first.

I'll never stop again, I wont let my body die till they're all dead and nothing remains. I reaffirmed to myself. Before I knew it I was repeating again and again in my head, the mantra that defined my existence now.

Cant stop... Wont stop...

Nearing the lip of the crater I saw the figures I saw were stragglers of his army, with fear and terror plastered all over their faces they quickly backed off and gave me a very wide berth. A few knelt down in front of me.

My body moving like it had a will of its own I started limping in a direct line to the gates of... whatever this place was called. I callously killed one that was kneeling directly in front of me, not able to see that they were in my way. Nothing will get in between me and her now. Another limp and another jolt of pain. No... nothing would now.