Chapter 11: Tent fight motherfucker

Big Mac slowly woke up and saw Stygian sitting by the campfire. Big Mac said, “Hopefully, you didn’t stay up all night.” Stygian looked up and went back into deep thought. Stygian, thoughtlessly, replied, “One of us needs to guard the group.”
Big Mac retorted, “I need you to trust my leadership.”
Stygian, now listening and pissed, said, “Why should I trust your leadership? We got here to the temple area and now what?”
Big Mac shook his head and replied, “I was told by Mason to wait here for a few days. Mason also told us that I was in charge remember.”
Stygian frowning got up and walked away. Big Mac sat down and said, “Why is it so difficult to be a leader and how did Mason make it look so easy?”

Soarin and Grill Cheese came back from scouting ahead. Big Mac looked up and saw them both. Big Mac asked, “How was the scouting party?”
Soarin said, “It was good, nothing within a mile of here.”
Grill Cheese replied, “Naturally, we found food and other stuff you should want to see.”

Big Mac, interested, said, “What did you guys find?”
Soarin took the bag and showed all the food they collected, and Grill Cheese handed four different colored gems with runes on them. Big Mac confused looked at the gems, said, “Let's hold off on fiddling with these and hand them to Mason. He is the expert on rune knowledge and information.”
Soarin and Grill Cheese put the gems into the bag and gave Big Mac the food. Big Mac dividing the food properly and figuring out some of the stuff. A portal opened up and Mason and Spike walked through.

Big Mac, confused, asked, “Why couldn’t she accept the world?”
Mason said, “What?”
Big Mac pulled his sword out and said, “Who the fuck are you pieces of shit?”
Mason’s eyes flickered dark green and said, “Hey what the fuck it’s me you shit.”
Soarin and Grill Cheese, both ran in between both of them, said, “What is going on?”
Stygian appeared behind Big Mac ready to fight and said, “Answer the question Big Mac asked you Mason or you will be killed.”

Mason and Spike sighed and said, “Ok, you got us…...”
Mason and Spike ran and then disappeared almost as if they turned invisible. Stygian, Big Mac, Soarin, and Grill Cheese went searching for these imposters for the next few days. Mason and Spike teleported in and Big Mac with his sword out asked, “Why couldn’t she accept the world?”
Mason, instantly, replied, “Because her delusions paved the way to false reality.”
Big Mac dropped his sword and said, “Sorry, we are dealing with imposters looking like you two.”
Mason laughed and said, “Now you understand why we have the question now right.”
Big Mac nodded and Stygian and the other guys appeared with their weapons drawn on Mason and Spike. Mason without flinching said, “Move your weapons before I melt them with my runes.”

Stygian asked, “Why was Big Mac chosen to be the leader and not me?”
Mason replied, “Because I knew he would piss you off with his nonchalant attitude and carefree demeanor.”
Stygian, pissed, retorted, “Well, it worked so answer did you send those two doppelgangers?”
Mason, confused and not understanding, replied, “Though I've tested you guys before I wouldn't send doppelgangers.”

Stygian sighed and said, “Ok, we need to find those two imposters. They seem very suspicious and creepy.”
Mason and Spike both looked at each other and said, “They clearly don’t have the information we do and don’t have the power we do.”
Mason wrote a rune and immediately said, “Come out! I can see you, imposters.”
This creepy Mason and Spike came out of the wood line. Mason, not impressed, said, “This is great now we have some test subjects for Spike's true power.”
Creepy Mason smiled toothily and without moving his mouth replied, “I don’t think you will be able to beat me and Horn so easily.”

Mason, smiled confidently, asked, “Why’s that?”
Creepy Mason replied, “Because we were handcrafted specifically to kill you both.”
Mason’s smile widened and nodded to Spike. Spike transformed into a semi awakened form and tackled the creepy Spike. Mason walked up to creepy Mason and stood in front of him. Mason said, “So you going to swing at me or am I going to swing at you.”
Creepy Mason drew a rune and then socked Mason. Mason taking the punch and not even flinching smiled and wrote three runes in rapid succession and punched creepy Mason in the stomach. Creepy Mason flew through the forest line and disappeared. Spike stabbed this Creepy Spike with his bone spikes. Spike picked up the Creepy Spike and Spike got to the highest point and dropped Creepy Spike and impaled him on a tree and as Creepy Spike slid down the tree and stopped on the first big branch.

Spike landed next to the Creepy Spike and fully awakened and spat hell flame onto Creepy Spike who melted. Mason walked into the forest line and saw Spike dropping Creepy Spike. Mason looked around and noticed Creepy Mason on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. Mason looking down on Creepy Mason waited for him to wake up. Creepy Mason after he passed out woke up tied to a tree with an apple on his head. Mason with a bow and arrow in hand. Mason asked, “Who created you?”

Creepy Mason said, “I’m not telling you shit.”
Mason aimed at Creepy Mason and pulled the string back and released the arrow and it nearly missed Creepy Mason's head by less than a centimeter. Mason replied, “How about now. Because I won’t miss a second time.”
Creepy Mason said, “Go ahead they just make us again and three times as strong.”
Mason, smiled, retorted, “So you're a test tube creation then.”
Creepy Mason noticed Mason’s look darkened, and the Smile Mason had could silence angels. Mason got up to Creepy Mason and said, “My next question is where were you created?” Creepy Mason felt a rune placed on his stomach and tried to lie but no sound came out. Mason replied, “I see you realized you can’t speak only when you tell a lie no sound will come out of your mouth.”
Mason stabbed Creepy Mason in the kneecap and Mason asked, “So where did you come from?”
Creepy Mason trying to say random places blurted out, “Crystal Empire!” Mason’s smile grew more wicked. Mason whispered, “I already knew where you came from, I just wanted to torture you a little.”

Creepy Mason, almost in a river of tears, was about to scream in pain at that moment Mason stabbed Creepy Mason in the head killing him instantly. Mason stood up and went back to the campsite. Mason coming out of the forest line holding Creepy Mason’s dead body in his hand. The group stood up and were about to attack Mason and then noticed Creepy Mason’s dead body.

Stygian asked, “So, He’s dead. are you ok?”
Mason threw the body into the fire and replied, “Whether I am, it doesn’t matter we need to get the next couple of items for you guys.”
Big Mac retorted, “What items?”
Mason replied, “We need several items from the temple. There is a necklace, ring, bracelet, and the last one is an earring.”
Soarin asked, “What will these items do?”
Mason put his finger to his lips and stood up and headed north and came back with Zephyr Breeze.

Mason tied Zephyr up and had Stygian hide him in his shadow. Mason said, “I need you guys to find the items. While I distract her.”
Grill Cheese, confused, said, “Her?”
Mason before explaining teleported all of them. Mason sat down next to the campfire and looked in the direction of footsteps. Princess Cadence came out of the forest line with perfected evil clone copies of Mason and his friends. Mason smiled and asked, “Come to get your lap dog?”
Cadence, pissed, said, “Let him go and I’ll be out of your hair.”
Mason looked at these evil versions of Mason and his friends and retorted, “Like how you're leaving us alone now.”
Evil Mason scoffed and in a darker tone said, “Let’s just kill him now honey!”
Mason did a series of runes and in that moment the evil clone group behind Evil Mason and Cadence were forced teleported out of the camp site. Mason chuckled and responded, “Looks like you should keep a better eye on me and my friends. then trying to make me look like some dip shit. Shamefully, I must inform you that. You guys are dumb asses and this will be the last thing you see.”
Evil Mason growled and his eye color changed to a bright red. Cadence put her hand in front of Evil Mason and replied, “Give me back Zephyr Breeze and I’ll stop the evil cloning, how's that?”

Mason stood up and wrote a rune. Evil Mason wrote a rune to shield Cadence from the attack. Mason before sending the rune spoke a few words into the rune word. The color of the rune changed color to a slightly invisible looking rune. Mason sent the rune at Evil Mason's shield, Evil Mason smirked and said, “Like that's going to pass through my shield.”
Mason, still smiling, pointed at the rune. The rune passed through the shield and kept moving. Evil Mason moved in front of the rune and as it hit his body, Evil Mason felt his body melting like a scoop of Ice cream.

Cadence watches Evil Mason go crazy over the rune and started convulsing. Cadence, unimpressed, asked, “Really an illusion rune? That's just childish.”
Mason laughed and replied, “I didn’t send an illusion. Look at his ear.”
Cadence saw Evil Mason's ear and noticed brain matter was being forced out. Cadence shot a spell at Evil Mason's head, healing his brain. Mason sat back down and said, “Go home and take the loss or stay here and lose more than one spy.”
Cadence in an act of desperation showed Mason a video of Celestia strapped to a bench and the Storm King and a few other Stallion anthro nobles started raping her and other stuff.

Cadence laughed and started gloating saying, “If you think you're getting a pure princess think again. You are a fucking idiot! I mean how dumb can someone be……….”
Cadence could only hear her laugh and nothing else. She stopped laughing and noticed Mason’s faceless expression. The calm before the storm was almost impossible to not feel. The ground around Mason started to shake, the flexing and cracking of muscles from Mason’s body could be heard. Evil Mason woke up and could feel the aura of pure rage growing around Mason, but the expression of his was that of no emotion. That's when Cadence looked at Evil Mason and asked, “Can you teleport us out of here?”
Evil Mason tried to write a rune but the aura around them was Mason’s magic, so nobody could leave or enter. Cadence through Evil Mason at Mason to block the waves of raging aura. Evil Mason’s body started to disintegrate slowly and painfully. Mason was still watching with no emotion and tears started falling down his face and that's when he realized the bubble around him and that’s when Mason looked at Cadence and disintegrated her. But the Princess turned out to be a changeling. The video finished with Celestia changing into Chrysalis. The bubble fell and Mason on his knees crying and in a greater pain than anyone could understand.

In the temple Soarin, Grill Cheese and Spike were all in a maze searching for the ring and bracelet. Soarin asked, “So, you're the Dragon King then?”
Spike, walking with them, replied, “Yep and I’m pretty sure I’ll be a father in a year.”
Grill Cheese responded, “Good for you my dragon brother!”
Spike, flustered, said, “Thanks, I hope we can find the items quick.”
Spike was surprised to see Evil versions of themselves appear in front of them. Spike said, “We need to get ready to fight these guys.”

Evil Spike looked around and said, “Come out, come out, wherever you are, little half dragon awakened.”
Evil Soarin said, “Yeah you loser I was wondering if you could try and fight me since you are a lazy piece of shit.”
Evil Grill Cheese, frowning, said, “I wonder how lonely Pinkie has been without you there to comfort her.”
Soarin, Spike, and Grill Cheese in a pissed tone responded, “Nice try, You losers can’t bait us with cheap tricks.”

The evil group ran at the other group. Spike tackled Evil Spike and started fighting using their semi awakened forms. Soarin and Evil Soarin were moving fast enough to create after images. Grill Cheese and Evil Grill Cheese were fighting using the same cooking utensils. Spike fighting Evil Spike with bone claws and stabbing each other at the same time. Spike got pissed, bit Evil Spike on the throat. Evil Spike stabbed Spike multiple times in the abdomen. Spike in a fit of pain and rage tore out Evil Spike’s throat. Evil Spike and Spike both fell to the ground and in a pool of blood. Spike on the ground in pained breath said, “This fucking hurts.”

Soarin in pain, looked around and thought to himself and said, “I need to find the ring and bracelet. Quickly these wounds and cuts are causing bleeding and maximum damage.” Soarin with a few cuts and bruised hole punches from Evil Soarin who wielded draggers with spiked brass knuckles. Soarin flew around and saw the ring and bracelet on a stand. While Evil Soarin appeared behind him and said, “Such a weak pussy. At least throw a few jabs in between my cuts and right hooks.”
Soarin dodged the dagger slice and appeared behind the Evil Soarin and retorted, “Coming from you, you're moving slower than a fucking snail to me. I’m not even going my fastest.”
Evil Soarin, confused, retorted, “What! That’s a load of bullshit.”
Soarin proving his speed was greater, Soarin disappeared and reappeared with certain items in hand. Evil Soarin noticed his gum and the vial he had in his pocket. Soarin repeated, “Slow as a fucking snail to me buddy.”
Soarin disappeared again and then reappeared with Evil Soarin's heart in his hands. Evil Soarin looked down and saw a hole where his heart used to be. Evil Soarin coughed up blood and then slammed into the temple wall completely smashing his head and body like a test dummy. Soarin stopped and dropped to the ground and sat by the stand with the items and passed out.

Grill Cheese was in an intense battle with the evil version of himself. Grill Cheese stepped back to catch his breath. Evil Grill Cheese, breathing heavily, said, “You're not as easy to kill as I thought.”
Grill Cheese replied, “I have been training to be the best version of myself…….”
Grill Cheese felt the eerie rage coming from the campsite and Evil Grill Cheese stepped back next to Grill Cheese and started to shake in fear. Grill Cheese felt the pain and anger. After a while the aura dropped, and Grill Cheese and Evil Grill Cheese went back to fighting.

Evil Grill Cheese asked, “I’m going to end you with this final move. I’m putting everything into this move.”
Grill Cheese, tired, replied, “I’ll show you the same respect as a martial artist and a cook and go all out as well!”
Evil Grill Cheese and Grill Cheese charged at one another and did their final cook cut and they both stood facing away from each other and the Evil Grill Cheese felt the cut down the middle and Grill Cheese felt the slash cut him in the stomach. Grill Cheese fell to his knees and passed out due to pain and shock.

Meanwhile Big Mac and Stygian were on the other side of the temple maze. Big Mac asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you were annoyed with my leadership skills?”
Stygian rolled his eyes and replied, “Simple, because Mason made you the leader so you could get better at it.”
Big Mac retorted, “I got it. I'm relaxed and not very coordinated. But you could’ve told me how to be better.”
Stygian was about to then he felt two people closing in on their position. Big Mac felt it too and used his horn to grow a couple of roots to hide both Stygian and himself. Evil Big Mac looked around and grunted at the roots. Evil Stygian smiled devilishly and lit the roots on fire with a lighter. The roots burned and Big Mac and Stygian could be seen and realized that they could be seen.

Big Mac drew his buster sword and Evil Big Mac took out bracers made of steel. Evil Big Mac lunged at Big Mac and started throwing punches at Big Mac who was blocking him with his buster sword. Big Mac tried to look for an opening and couldn’t find one. Stygian frowned and looked at Evil Stygian who was wearing a white business suit. Stygian pulled out his single-handed thin sword. Evil Stygian pulled out two sickles and got a more wicked smile. Evil Stygian teleported behind Stygian and tried to slice at him and in that moment Stygian blocked the sickle with a short sword.

Big Mac, pissed, stabbed the buster sword into the ground and put his fists up. Evil Big Mac stopped for a second and chuckled and then grunted and lunged back in without taking off his steel bracers. Big Mac and Evil Big Mac went blow for blow bruising and cracking and fracturing each other's bodies. Big Mac feeling the weight of each steel bracer’s full blow. Big Mac imbued his fists with aura. Big Mac with his full power of aura fist bumped Evil Big Mac. When Big Mac’s fist collided with the other. Evil Big Mac’s arm cracked and shattered, and Big Mac’s fist kept going through the arm and into Evil Big Mac’s chest and some small piece of bone from Evil Big Mac’s arm and punctured into his heart. Evil Big Mac not moving and clearly dead, Big Mac after that punch collapsed due to fatigue and pain.

Stygian with a couple of cuts on his body and unable to move properly because of the poison on Evil Stygian’s sickles. Evil Stygian, laughed menacingly and said, “I can’t believe how weak my clone is, there's no way……….”
Mason’s rage and pain could be felt from the area Stygian was in. Evil Stygian looked down at his hands and was shaking. Evil Stygian blushed and laughed more menacingly and responded, “Yes, I love it. The only feeling that we should feel is the sweet feeling and emotional status of inferiority and fear. It’s like a drug that I can’t get enough of. You feel it as well, don’t you? other me! That sweet taste of fear that drives us crazy.”
Stygian replied, “That pain and rage is the emotions of someone sad and hurt. How can you stand here and say it’s fear and inferiority to what? A joke clone that can’t even touch our leader.”
Stygian uses his shadow powers to slowly eat away at the poison in his body. Evil Stygian still focused on the aura Mason was emitting could still feel Stygian shadow energy acting up.

Evil Stygian got an idea that would help him and be a better spy. Stygian still trying to eat the poison felt an eerie wave of calm from Evil Stygian who was looking at him now. Evil Stygian walked over to Stygian and started humming a sad tune, asking, “So do you think your group will notice your change in emotion?”
Stygian now realizes Evil Stygian’s plan to swap out each other started feeling the effects of the poison going away. Evil Stygian stuck his sickle in Stygian’s right shoulder and said, “Don’t want you pulling out a miracle or anything.”
Stygian hiding his shadow aura slowly ate all the poison and before the poison entering his shoulder took effect grabbed Evil Stygian by the throat and before he could snap Evil Stygian’s neck, he teleported into his shadow and popped back up a meter away. Evil Stygian about to say something noticed Stygian was holding something. Stygian in the moment of Evil Stygian moving into his shadow slit the throat of Evil Stygian.
Stygian, smiled, replied, “And yes, they would notice a personality change and I was never hoping for a miracle.” Stygian fell over in the loss of blood and Evil Stygian with half his throat tried to cut Stygian one last time only to fall over dead.

Mason with tears in his eye teleported to the first group and saw Spike, Soarin, and Grill Cheese bleeding out. Mason put a field of healing magic around Spike, Grill Cheese, and Soarin. Mason walked over to the stand Soarin was sitting under, Mason grabbed the ring and bracelet and then teleported them back to the campsite while they were still being healed.

Mason teleported to Big Mac and Stygian and saw Big Mac laying under Evil Big Mac dead and still standing and Mason moved his gaze to Stygian who was on the ground with a sickle in his shoulder. Mason made a few rune spells and melted the sickle without hurting or burning Stygian then took out the other half. Mason had the healing spells over Stygian and Big Mac. Mason teleported them both to the campsite as they were both being healed as well.

Mason, thought to himself, said, “Well, when it comes to desperation and quality of fighting my group will fight with their lives on the line.”
Mason grabbed the buster sword and put it on his back and looked around to find the necklace and earring. Mason made it to the stand with the necklace and earring before Mason could grab them a weird anthro pony with grayscale hair and an adventuring yield out, “Don’t you touch them!” Mason watched her flip over a few traps and do a bunch of other style points.
The female adventurer said, “I was here first and have been for a few days.”
Mason, uninterested in this conversation, grabbed the necklace and earring while the adventuring girl was ranting. Mason, with a wave of bloodlust, replied, “If you keep going down the hall and dodge the traps and take a right after the first door. You will find all the treasure so leave me alone.”
The scared female backed off a bit and Mason teleported away.

Mason at the campsite sat by the fire and the group was in each tent with healing runes all around them in their tents. Mason walked into Stygian's tent and ripped his hand into Stygian’s shadow and pulled out Zephyr Breeze. Mason holding him by the throat left the tent and tied Zephyr with magic runes. Mason dropped him on the log on the other side of the fire.

Mason, with a dark expression, asked, “Spill it, dick cheese. I want to know what he’s planning?”
Zephyr, thinking Mason wasn’t going to hurt him, replied, “Spill what the last time I checked I’m holding all the cards losers.”
Mason, not taking any shit stood up and tightened one of the magic rune ropes on his legs. Mason took a rusty blade and used a rune to heat the blade and slowly cut off Zephyr’s ankle. Zephyr, in a girly scream with a gurgle and feeling the pain was crying like a bitch, said, “Ok! ok! I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Just please have mercy on me. Please!”
Mason pointed the hot with boiling blood on the rusty blade at Zephyr’s eye and repeated, “Then spill it bitch. What is Sombra's plan?”
Zephyr, confused, replied, “What do you mean? Sombra died a little while back.”
Mason retorted, “You do realize he’s taken control of…….”
Zephyr’s body combusted into black flame. Sombra, in control of the dying Zephyr body, said, “Nice try, loser. I’m always a few steps ahead.”

Mason replied, “And yet, you still can’t beat my group. It’s sad how you're resorting to cloning my friends and me.”
Sombra, with a pissed look, retorted, “That video may not have been real, but I’ll make it real and force you to watch.”
Mason wrote a rune and Zephyr’s body disintegrated instantly. Mason laid back against the tree and relaxed. That's when the adventurous girl, still pissed, showed up and said, “I’m not done with you. I staked out this place before you and I’m pretty sure you know it.”

Mason looked at her and replied, “My group’s been her for several weeks. So, if you're going on who got here first it was us. Look I’m in no mood to debate this with you. Get the fuck out of my campsite or die. Choose now?”
The girl, pissed, flew away as to not wanting to die. Mason sat back and passed out after putting up a barrier using runes.

Mason woke up sitting next to the campfire out with smoke. Mason looked into the tents and saw Stygian, and Big Mac still out although their wounds were gone. Mason moved to the other tent and saw Spike, Soarin, and Grill Cheese sleeping with their wounds healed as well.
Mason left the tent and images of Celestia getting raped entered his mind. Mason’s mood soured and he left to go deeper into the forest.

Mason in a fit of rage and more and more of those images flashing in his mind force Mason to start punching shit out of a cliff face on a mountain in the jungle. Mason kept punching the mountain cliff face and in a blood curdling cry of pain and rage. Mason slowed down and brought to his knees with tears running down his face in an uncontrollable stream. Still pissed and in raged thought to himself, “Why can’t I get those images out of my head?” Mason started ripping into the cliff to the point of making a cave. Mason sitting in the darkness against the side of the cave wall with tears streaming down his cheeks harder.

Mason heard a voice say, “You really do love her?..........don’t you?”
Mason still sitting looked out of the cave and saw Grill Cheese in front of the cave along with Stygian, Spike, Big Mac, and Soarin. The group watched the darkness and heard Mason moving out of the cave still crying. Mason couldn’t hide it any more he nodded his head and replied, “It’s the thought of her endanger and possible being raped, murdered, or abused that forces these emotions out of me and that’s probably because of my past.”
Mason sat down by the created cliff face cave. He slowly breathed in and out and said, “When…... I was in high school. I loved this girl, who was very talented, smart and the world where I come from people like that have a lot of fans and haters. One day these haters decided they had, had enough of her superiority and wanted to drop her down a few pegs. So, they got a few grown men to kidnap her and rape her and after that. Her haters released the video to the whole school for everyone to see. She ended up taking her own life and her haters got away with the shit they pulled.”

The group listened intently and had expressions of disgust and rage. Mason continued, “When she hung herself the whole school was under investigation and her haters were prime suspects. But that went nowhere and were later released clear of all crimes. All because the parents of these hater’s had some power in the school system and police departments. But I knew what they did so I did the only thing I knew how, when a hunter is hunting they create bait to lure their prey to the target area and to be killed. So, that's what I did, I hacked into my crushes social media and computer and started sending messages to each and every one of the haters. I knew they would track the messages back to her computer and phone so I used it as bait. Each one fell into my traps like moths to a flame.

The group now with smiles and happy to see retribution coming to the haters noticed Mason’s expression get darker and gloomy, continued, “I wanted to kill them and in the worst way possible to. But in the end, I knew it’s probably not what she wanted. I ended up going into witness protection because I sent the files of the Haters miss deeds and how all of them did it and sent it out to the public and FBI. I naturally stayed in the shadows and was never caught.”

The group realized why Mason is the way he is. Soarin, with the look of determination, said, “You love Celestia. Right?”
Mason replied, “Yes I want to love her and be with her with everything I have in my heart and soul.”
Soarin, nodded, said, “Then let's stop the wedding and fuck up the Storm King so bad his grandkids will look like that cave over there.”
Mason smiled, stood up and said, “Ok, but first let's make you guys stronger.”

Author's Note

I lied happy earlier April fool's day. not really, I just couldn't shut my brain off this week and needed to type. hopefully, this chapter isn't ass. I know cloning tropes are cliche. but I wanted to make it obvious that the group isn't immune to damage albeit physical or mental. now yes, I know Mason's an immortal, but damage is damage no matter what most see. so, enjoy and I never got the chance to say this earlier, but I really appreciate how many read this dumbass story. I also love the criticism so just tell me if I fucked something up or miss spelled something, you can also tell me how much you hate the story to. I would also like to point out how it's hard for me to type. I mean I'm basically crow pecking here."