A Random My Little Pony Fan Fiction Story 3: John's Kingdom

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Chapter 4: Ignis

The Eternal Night was quiet now. The sounds of terror and a new reign over Equestria grew only louder once it had started. No pony could escape from the noise of a dead kingdom. There was an echoing throughout the land that ringed without resistance.

No words needed to be spoken. A single pony could feel it through a chill up their spine of the dire situation that their lives were in. No pony could unhear the sounds of defeat. All who had ears could hear it and see it without eyes. There was a sorrow to many as all wailed and moaned for their land. Some sought redemption and repented for their sins against their own kind as their soul felt like the end was near.

The end of days was coming as some tried to dig deep underground to hide. And some simply took their own lives along with their loved ones, even down to mere infants, to escape from the horrors of Lord Chernobog's coming reign. The noise was too loud to ignore. But suddenly it had all died down by now. Either all of the ponies had ceased to exist, or a sense of hope still lingered in the air.

No matter which one it was, the lives of many were uncertain. And John could feel all of this through his bones as he continued walking down the path; deep into the forest towards The King's Crystal. The band of heroes walked on their trail. Glacio felt like he had redeemed his own soul and couldn’t be more happier than ever.

The others however still felt a little down on themselves in some way. Ignis was irked with many thoughts on his mind. Terra had a heavy heart while her older brother felt a little light. TK on the other hand did not feel anything. He was only annoyed on how much time it was taking to get to his prize. He was thinking to himself how easy it would have been if he went simply on his own. He could take down Lord Chernobog in the process within the hour as well. And no one else would have to lift a finger.

He was made for it. He built himself to be the demons of demons, something the devil himself to be feared by on the darkest of days. Yet he restrained himself to simply guarantee he will get what he wants from this little quest. However, he still grunted every now and then, holding himself back from killing everyone there due to sheer annoyance.

John however was more or less the same. As much as he looked, deep down he felt like he could do anything. Even if it was destroying some alien race looking to conquer the planet; but somewhere within his own mind, he knew that was a little too silly for it to actually happen. Yet somehow and in some way it had already happened. Between time and space, John knew it all.

The night still felt young despite it lingering on forever. The Knights of John were surrounded by what it looked like to be endless rows of trees and foliage. There were no animals in sight, not even an owl hooting and eyeing for some prey. However the sound of crickets could be heard somewhere in the deep background of it all. It wasn't much, yet it was calming at the same time. John was calmed by it as it sounded like a symphony to his little pony ears. It was almost a beautiful thing to hear; especially in time of crises and uncertainty.

Ventus also smiled towards the sound of the night. The ambiance was overwhelming in a way that could only be described as wholesome and warming. There was something about the feel of it all that just made him smile a bit. Glacio looked back as he led in the front and could only see some of the group looking a bit tired.

But he knew they must keep going forward. Lives of every one of both their kinds hanged in the balance on succeeding their mission. Glacio then noticed John who was hanging back in last place. He could only smile at him even if he wasn't looking at him. He only had so many words without being over dramatic to thank him.

Glacio started to slow down his pace and then let the others get ahead of him. Ignis didn't think of it much and just let Glacio do what he had to do. Glacio let everyone else pass him up but John who he then kept the pace up with him. As the two lined up right next to each other, Glacio felt a warm of comfort pass over him as he looked down and smiled at him. John didn't look towards his direction, almost as if he didn't notice him walking right beside him. Glacio however figured he is listening to whatever he had to say to him, even without his precious eyes for attention. John may have been a pony of few words, even if those words were a garbled mess at times. Yet somehow Glacio had a feeling John knew what he was doing. And somewhere deep within him laid the potential to be a True King as much as Glacio had his potential.

Glacio said to John as the two slowly walked side by side, "I just wanted to say thanks back there John. What you did for me was... well I don't know what to say."

John just kept on walking, yet his right ear perked up just a bit.

Glacio continued to smile and say with a grateful heart, "Your words of wisdom truly made me realize that I was the problem. And that I shouldn't put myself down for something that wasn't my fault.”

Glacio lowered his head while eyeing the ground with a lowered tone in his voice, "Still... back home in my world, I still felt sorry for what happened to all of my men. They didn't deserve to die the way that they did. And for the longest time I believed I was the case for their deaths. I thought I didn't deserve forgiveness for my sins."

Glacio however then raised his head back up and looked towards John with a ray of hope on his face, "And in my hour of need, I was blessed by your presence as you gave me hope. I didn't think I needed to be saved. Yet there you were, by my side and you helped me. I know your words were a bit... mixed... but yet I can tell that you're smarter than what you look like. Somewhere deep down I knew what you meant."

John never responded back to Glacio. He was simply acting like a mute with his crossed eyes like before as he kept his pace steady. However, despite the echoing silence of the night between the two, Glacio still smiled at him. The silence from John was a response enough for him.

Glacio said to John with a heartfelt tone in his voice, "Don't worry John. We'll get your home back... and the one that you love the most. I know we will make it through together all as one. We're friends after all. And as your friend, I'll be with you by your side like how you did for me; and we'll see this through to the very end and vanquish the evil at hand. You'll see. Thanks again for being there for me my dearest friend."

Glacio started to pick up the pace and head to the front of the pack. John continued to limp behind the five companions. And while John may not have reacted to what Glacio said unlike how most would, one could tell just by the look in his crossed eyes that he was saying 'You're welcome'.

The group continued to walk further into the forest before them. Some of the members were starting to grow weary as their feet scraped along the floor of the forest floor. Ventus was starting to break a sweat while Terra started to ache in her legs. TK and John however were completely fine and could go on for centuries. Ignis however was somewhere in between. He wanted to rest, but the fire inside of him wanted to move forward. He knew the more he pushed himself, the closer he would be to fighting Lord Chernobog once more.

As Glacio lead in front, Ignis was right behind him and asked kindly, “Glacio… you think we can stop for a moment and take a break? I think some of us need to rest for a moment at least.”

Terra spoke up while wearing a glum face, “You said it. I think my legs are ready to give out.”

Glacio looked back as all continued to trudge forward with a small smirk, “Why stop now? We’re making good time!”

As Ignis was about to respond back to his king, he spotted something off into the distance. He squinted his eyes as he wasn’t sure if he was seeing it correctly. Glacio noticed as Ignis’s eyes wondered off.

At first he wasn’t sure, but once he knew what it was, Ignis had a little curious look form across his complexion, “Is that a cabin over there?”

Glacio looked towards where Ignis was looking at. At first he couldn’t see it as the darkness covered the land in front of them. However as soon as his eyes were able to adjust correctly to the low levels of light, he was able to see what Ignis saw.

Glacio smiled with glee and hope in his heart while saying to the rest of the group, “It is certainly a cabin over there. I wonder of anyone might be home?”

Ventus then exclaimed to the group in a wimpy kind of tone as he hanged his head low, “I-I don’t know if that’s a good idea to do you guys. What if they’re not friendly? It’s not right to disturb someone’s home like that…”

Glacio only looked back with a cheerful look on his face, “Nonsense Ventus. Surely these creatures are kind. And besides, if anything happens, we can just leave I’m sure. We’ll be ok. Don’t worry Ventus.”

Ventus only slightly looked back with a look of fear in his eyes as he said, “Well ok then… if you say so…”

Glacio said to all in the pack, “Don’t Worry. I’ll move up on ahead first just to make sure we’re in the clear.”

TK butted in as he disputed, “How about we don’t? We don’t have time to make a pitstop. We should just keep moving.”

Ignis only gave TK a side glance as he tried to put him down, “Pfft… you’re no fun are you TK?”

TK only fired back, “No… no I am not. I was not made that way.”

The group only remained confused by TK’s words, as it made no sense at all to them. However they assumed it only meant something to him and that was all that had mattered.

Glacio proceeded to move up quickly and reach the cabin before the others did. As soon as he made it to the front door of the little wooden home, he noticed that there was a slight fog building around it that was low to the ground. There was a little outhouse nearby along with a shed. A broken cart laid nearby as well along with a little personal garden that was growing some tomatoes and carrots.

He even noticed that the door was slightly smaller than most of them were. Other than the little details, Glacio could only look upward to get a clear open view of the moon above them as it shined upon them dearly. The night might have been forever, but it still deemed in their favor. Almost as if the night had chosen them over Lord Chernobog.

The others were coming at their own pace as Glacio looked back on them with hope. Glacio then looked at the wooden, self-made door to the cabin and gave it four loud knocks. After a few seconds had gone by, no one was there to answer. For a quick second, Glacio had thought no one was home, or worse, someone had died in it.

Anything could be inside after all he had thought, especially in these trying times. However to their fortune, an old stallion walked up to the door and opened it. He had a light brown coat with a gray beard and mustache along with a short tail. He wore a dark grey flat cap and had a little dark green vest on along with the appropriate colored coat to go along with it. He had a warm, welcoming smile while he wore small, circular glasses on. His tone of voice was that of a happy yet lonely and wise old man.

Even though the creature standing before him was from some other universe, he wasn’t stunned or startled by what he saw. In his mind, he didn’t care who it was, as long as they had a nice story to tell and was willing to keep him company in his older days of living.

The old pony looked up at Glacio and asked, “Well hello there. And who might you be?”

Glacio looked down at him with a friendly smile as he put his right hand to his chest and slightly bowed to him while calmly saying, “My name is Glacio. Well King Glacio that is.”

The old pony wasn’t put off by this as he looked interested in what he had to say, “Oh… a king you say? Well then it is an honor to meet your acquaintance.”

The old pony then noticed the others walking up behind Glacio and then asked him, “Well are those your friends?”

Glacio explained, “Yes, they are my friends. We are on… a mission you could say. And we’ve been walking for a long time now and we wondered if you had anything that could aid us on our journey? Perhaps some water or even a bit of bread that you can spare? We won’t be much trouble, I promise. We just need to rest up a bit is all. We can stay outside if that is what you wish.”

As soon as the others were closer by, the old stallion said in a joyful tone, “Nonsense your majesty! You and all of your friends can come inside and out of the cold. I’ve just made some hot soup! Join me will you?”

Glacio said as the old pony walked back to his little kitchen, “We would be delighted to.”

Without a fuss, everyone in The Knights of John gathered inside as they indeed their head and took their place at a wooden table that was made by the old stallion himself. It was a decently sized table too, fit for a big family, although it was rather small for the humans, but the right size for John. The human however were able to manage and deal with the size differences. Decorated around the home lied pictures of what was assumed his wife and children and their grandchildren. However it seemed rather empty as all there was left was a bookshelf filled with some books and trinkets and a bed made only for one. It seemed rather small, yet lonely.

As all of the pack was waiting at the table for their food and the old pony was stirring the soup, Glacio started off the conversation, “So, is it just you out here?”

The old pony answered back as he gently stirred the pot and giving a sigh, “Yes sadly. I used to have my darling Flower Bloom, but she sadly passed many moons back. And ever since then I’ve been by myself here. My children don’t even come to visit me anymore. They packed up their bags and left for the city. I haven’t even seen my grand children in a very long time too. This was a place that was meant for them but… they didn’t want it. But wherever they are I just hope they are happy and safe. That’s what matters. And hopefully I’ll see my beautiful Flower again. She was such a sweetheart to me.”

Glacio had his mood killed as he looked at the old pony with a sad face, “Aww… I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything that we can do?”

The old pony only had a small smile on his face as he looked back without a care, “No need to worry about me. I’m fine here. Sure it gets lonely sometimes. Even my dog died only a few months back so no pony is here to keep me company. But at least the birds still sing their songs every morning and I’m free to do what I wish with the rest of my life. That’s all I can be thankful for at least. Besides, you’re all here. That’s help enough; but enough about me, what about you folks? What is this mission that you are on? And where are you from? I’ve never seen your kind here before? I’d like to hear all about it since news from outside doesn’t really travel here that much.”

Ignis spouted out as he put his elbow on the table, “The mission is an only need to know basis.”

Ventus looked at him with displeasure and said, “Ignis, don’t be rude. It won’t hurt if we tell him.”

Terra gave a cheeky little smirk back to Ignis as she said to him, “Yeah, let loose a little bit Ignis. Stop having a stick up your ass.”

Ignis could only look disappointed as he said, “Oh ha ha, very funny Terra.”

Glacio said happily to the old pony, “Please excuse my friends, they aren’t the most polite when it comes to conversation.”

He then cleared his throat and started to tell a brief summary of their quest to him in a way that he could understand without shattering the old pony’s world.

Glacio started to talk as if he was telling a bedtime story to a youngling, “We’re from a land far, far away from here. And there I am king. And everyone else here is a servant to the crown and a good friend. But we also had a rival kingdom nearby. He was ruled by a man who had no heart, let alone to give one to someone he loved. He was ruthless and always eyed our kingdom as his. We were on the edge of war, constantly in fear of him attacking us at any moment. There were peace talks, but all failed as none could satisfy his greed for more. But even if he did attack, we would have the best defenses at least. He was strong but as strong as he could be. So one day, it was told he went looking for The Dark Crystal. It was only of legend told to children in bedtime stories. None of us had thought it was even real and at most only a half truth. But it was more than just real. It was a nightmare. As the story goes, he found The Dark Crystal, thinking he could use it”

His friends looked at him, as they all hanged their heads low to the ground; reflecting what happened in their past as Glacio continued the story, “But little did he know, it was alive and wouldn’t allow to be used, but rather use the man. And so The Dark Crystal took hold and enveloped him from head to toe. It changed in him from inside and out. And even though we were never allies, we noticed a change within him. He was more broken than a god that he wanted to be. But with The Dark Crystal corrupting him, he was nothing more than a beast. And he sought no more than control and to rule over anything he saw. And so surprised attacked us and we fought back. We were able to survive with a crystal of our own, but now it is lost and we must take it back before he gets it, or else all is lost. And so, with the help of our companion TK here, we are in search of The Kings Cristal. And we have employed John here to lead the way and to find the crystal.”

Glacio pointed towards John, formally introducing him to the old stallion. John just looked at the old pony and just said the word “beep” out loud.

The old pony didn’t see this as weird though as his ears were intrigued by the tale that was being told to him. Glacio had finished telling his little tale and the old pony could only smile with glee like an innocent child.

The old stallion said as he was fixing the bowls of soup, “Oh well that sounds like quite a tale. And is everypony else back where you from alright?”

Glacio said with a humble smile on his face, “Yes, we’re quite alright. We just need a bit of a brake is all to pick up the pieces.”

The old stallion just smiled back with a little hum, “Well at least you have your health. Maybe one day I can travel to your land and visit perhaps. I have been thinking of at least taking a little vacation at least once. Although I’m afraid of leaving this place unattended. It was me and my dear’s pride and joy after all.”

Glacio said with a welcoming smile, “We would love to have you back in my kingdom anytime.”

The old stallion was glad to hear that he had made new friends and even an invitation to find a welcoming home if chose to move for his final days. However the air in the room was interrupted when Ventus’s stomach notably growled for all to hear in the room.

Ventus had an embarrassed look on his face as he tried to hang his head low and said, “He he… sorry. Guess I didn’t eat in a while.”

The old stallion said to Ventus as he was finishing the fixing the bowls of soup, “Well not to worry there young lad. I have a nice hot bowl of soup ready for you.”

The old stallion grabbed a bowl with his right hoof and one by one placed them on the table. He then slid the bowl to each of his new guests. And as the bowls was placed in front of everyone, all took a nice long whiff of the aroma emanating from the soup.

The smells hit the nostrils and sent a pleasant signal to their brains. Glacio, Ignis, Terra, and Ventus all had warm and comforted smiles. They were eager to dig in as they had not eaten in quite some time. They were just glad to get a nice warm meal in a place of bliss: a nice cozy cabin, a calm atmosphere, a welcoming old pony, and some delicious food ready to be eaten. It was as if they were in heaven. TK on the other hand didn’t eat. And so he had no plans on eating, but did stare at the bowl of soup given to him.

John on the other hand wasn’t thinking of any of this and just instead eyed the soup and everyone else, thinking about other things that may or may not have been sinister. As everyone was taken care of, the old pony fixed himself a bowl of soup and placed it at his spot at the table. As he was able to sit down, he too was happy to have nice companions at his table for once.

And as he was about to dig into the hard earned meal, a noise came from outside. It was a strange noise that grabbed everyone’s attention and one that could not be ignored. And soon before anyone could process it in their minds, a flash of light burst through the windows and tore the cabin into pieces.

A force strong as the winds in a storm blew everything in its path away as the members of the group were knocked out for a brief moment. Once they all had come to, they all slowly awakened, as they opened up their eyes and came to recognize their aching bodies. Somewhere on their backs while others on their sides. Some had small cuts on their face while others had bruises on their arms and torsos. Regardless of the damage they took, they all did their best to push themselves and get up from the debris filled ground. Once they found their energy to push themselves up, they noticed a bright, burning light blocked their paths.

In fact it wasn’t just one direction, but all around them. It was the Fire of Fate, and it had surrounded them. What was once a beautiful, cozy, peaceful cabin was now nothing but a pile of rubble. Not a minute ago did they have smiles of happiness and joy in their hearts.

Now they can only muster up a face that was in shock that was left speechless. Everything was destroyed with nothing left intact in sight. It had looked like a war had been going on and the place they stood in was the result of a canon being fired on them. TK was the only one not affected by the sight of disaster as he simply stared at the others, waiting to move on. He had seen this many of times before, and at times have even caused something like this, if not, even more. John on the other hand was only left speechless as he just stared off into space and started to feel a little something in his heart for once.

However Ventus was affected the most as he adored the cozy nature of the cabin and liked the old stallion that gave them all comfort. And it was Ventus who out of the corner of his eye, spotted a lifeless pony lying under a pile of broken wood and what used to be his bed now broken into pieces.

All he could do was simply point with his right finger and start to whimper, “L-L-L-Look…”

Everyone started to see what he saw, and while they barely even knew the old pony, inside they wanted to cry. A moment of bliss was torn from them so suddenly that words could not begin to describe their emotions. They only wanted to know what happened.

But before they could even figure out what to do next, a deep, growling familiar voice echoed in the distance, “How sad… are you going to cry now?”

Everyone stood at attention when they heard it as their eyes were wide with shock to hear that voice. They looked around them but could not see who had said it and only saw The Fire of Fate that trapped them. No one said a word as everyone just kept looking.

Ignis then spotted a large shadow from his view of the Fire as it walked towards him as the voice exclaimed, “I’m right here you fucking idiots.”

Emerging from the fire was no one other than Lord Chernobog himself in the flesh. They were all shocked, wondering where he had even come from to begin with.

Terra then said to herself,” Lord Chernobog… but how?”

Before anyone could take their arms up, Ignis immediately walked forward with anger and without a doubt and said towards Lord Chernobog, “You and I aren’t finished! We still have a score to settle!”

Terra tried to reach her arm out and said to Ignis in a concerning tone, “Ignis you idiot, come back here!”

But TK put his left arm out and stopped her as he told her and the others, “Don’t. This is his fight. His trial to proof his soul and to cleanse it.”

Terra was irked by this action and she looked at him with annoyance, “What the hell are you even talking about!? We need to stop him before he gets himself killed.”

Ventus then calmed Terra down a bit when he spoke up with very little in his voice, “He’s right Terra. This is his fight, and his fight alone. Didn’t you notice, we’re surrounded by The Fire of Fate again. But what I don’t get is what is it doing here?”

TK then said to the others, “Whatever it’s doing here, we cannot interfere. This is Ignis’s fight, and all we can do is watch.”

With everyone standing back far from the other two, Glacio and Terra were worried for Ignis’s soul. Ventus and TK had some faith in him though. John on the other hand though, he was starting to think a little bit about something that he couldn’t say out in words, but just like the others, he sat and watched.

Ignis walked up towards what appeared to have been Lord Chernobog, but stopped from only a few feet away from him. And so did Lord Chernobog did too, as if he was trying to show some respect towards Ignis as he had an evil smirk on his face. Ignis on the other hand gritted his teeth and looked like he was ready to fight as he was before back in the castle.

Ignis said to Lord Chernobog, “You’re not getting away from me this time! I will end you! I swear I will!”

Lord Chernobog could only but tease at him with a little laugh and mocked him, “It appears that you have the drive to do so. But your heart weighs heavy Ignis? What’s the matter?”

Ignis could only fire back as he strained his neck pointed towards him with a growl in his voice, “You know what the problem is you son of a bitch! I almost had you back home. I could have finished you right then and there, BUT YOU PLAYED DIRTY!”

Lord Chernobog shrugged his arms and said with a teasing tone of voice, “And what? Was I supposed to play by the rules or something? Ha ha ha ha… tell you what Ignis. You want a rematch with me so bad? Then you shall have one. First one who hits the ground loses; perhaps a best two out of three? The loser must accept their fate: their own suffering and the death that comes with it. So… what do you say?”

Lord Chernobog leaned in closer to Ignis’s face, wearing a dirty evil smile across his face. Ignis could only look towards the ground, pondering to himself if he should take the bet.

There was a brief moment of silence between the two until Ignis spoke up and said with confidence in his voice, “I’ll take you up on your offer. And I will make you pay for what you did to my home you scumbag.”

Lord Chernobog stood up straight while laughing at Ignis’s words, “Ha ha ha ha… if you say so Ignis. Let us begin…”

A gust of wind busted through the air. A sense of dread fell upon the group; a feeling of something is wrong, yet nothing to worry about at the same time. No one wanted to say it, but the matter of the fact was that Ignis and what was apparently Lord Chernobog was going to fight once and for all.

The two combatants stood their ground, staying a few feet from each other almost as if they were in a boxing ring of some sort. Lord Chernobog simply stood by and eyed Ignis as he put his arms and fists up. Ignis was doing the same, but trying to map his attack towards Lord Chernobog. It wasn’t going to be an easy fight due to the size between the two. But Ignis knew he had enough strength within him and his magic to put him down if he hit him in the right spot and at the right time.

Ignis then yelled out, “Try this one on for size!”

Ignis quickly sprung his arms back and threw like a stone a ball of intense fire. The ball of fire burnt brightly as it flew across the space between the two and directly into Lord Chernobog’s face. Lord Chernobog flinched, but he wasn’t hurt, but simply gave a small grunt in the process.

All Lord Chernobog could say to him in a disappointed tone, “Really? A small ball of fire?”

Ignis had a little smirk on his face as he said to the towering beast before him, “That’s what you think.”

Ignis then jumped back and cupped both of his hands together and pulled back, gathering as much energy as he could then pushing it forward. From there, a stream of hot fire came out of his hands that was much bigger and powerful than the ball of fire from before. This caught Lord Chernobog off guard and caused him to raise his arms up to try and deflect the fire off a bit. This only irritated Lord Chernobog, but it was starting to get to him as all he could do was perform a louder grunt this time.

Lord Chernobog looked like he was pissed as he said while trying to lunge for Ignis, “Why you little…”

Ignis however interrupted him by then putting up a giant wall of fire between the two of them. This certainly distracted Lord Chernobog as he didn’t expect this and was confused as to where Ignis was at now. As Lord Chernobog became a bit dazed and confused, Ignis went for the final blow of the round by running and jumping through the fire and flames, while using the fire as balance and for height, kicking Lord Chernobog straight across his head. Once he delivered the hard pounding kick, Ignis landed safely and securely on the ground and walked right in front of him to see his work.

As soon as Lord Chernobog was kicked sharply and painfully across his head, he became a little dizzy before plummeting to the ground; indicating that Ignis had won the first round of the fight. Ignis couldn’t help but put a big prideful smile on his face.

But the fight was far from over as Lord Chernobog, while a bit hurt, quickly got up from the ground and saying in an annoyed tone of voice, “Fine… you won the first one. But can you do it again?”

As the two were eyeing and circling each other, Ignis taunted, “Of course I can Chernobog. Who else would I be if I couldn’t kick your ass and take my name back into pride and glory?”

Lord Chernobog could only shake his head towards him and say, “Your hot headedness will only be your downfall boy. You think you have what it takes to defeat me, yet what you have inside of you couldn’t beat me the first time. What makes you think that you can do it now?”

Ignis then said smugly, “Because I know I can.”

Terra from a distance could only rolled her eyes to that statement. Ignis was a master fighter back in their universe, but he wasn’t the best. But whenever he would win fights, he would gloat about it, especially towards Terra who could see past his ego.

The two continued to walk in a slow circle, eyeing each other until Lord Chernobog said with a tired voice, “Enough of this teasing! How about you try some of your own medicine!”

And without warning or even the slightest hint, Lord Chernobog charged towards Ignis. Ignis tried to at the last second protect himself, but he was too little, too late. Lord Chernobog used his open, black crystal filled hand and punched Ignis straight in the gut, sending Ignis flying a few feet away.

But Ignis caught him at the last second as he tried to get his footing and do a little unexpected back flip in the air and land on his feet. However while he didn’t fall down, he had trouble keeping it together and keeping his balance. Once he was able to recover, he looked towards Lord Chernobog who was already coming at him with all he had. Lord Chernobog was rushing towards him with his left arm raised up high, giving Ignis only a second to respond quickly. Ignis frantically raised his right arm up and put it in front of him to raise his guard.

Soon Lord Chernobog and Ignis clashed and entered a state of constant force between each other. Ignis started to struggle as he gritted his teeth and tried to hold his ground while desperately trying to hang on to what he had. Lord Chernobog could see the fear in his eyes and could tell Ignis was not ready to give his all.

Lord Chernobog could only smile back and laugh as he said to him closely, “I can see that you’re ready to break. Why don’t you give up now and forfeit your life to live?”

Ignis yelled out as he closed his eyes tight while trying to hang on, “NEVER!”

Lord Chernobog said in a sneer tone, “Then so be it then.”

Lord Chernobog proceeded to raise his free arm and bring it down with a thundering force towards Ignis’s face. Ignis saw this and quickly acted by making a small wall of fire to act as a temporary shield. Lord Chernobog wasn’t deterred from this as he simply repeated the process again with his left arm and then with his right over and over again.

The constant force of Lord Chernobog’s punches were small, yet significant as this forced Ignis to slowly back up with each strike. The wall of fire protected him briefly, but it only made Ignis sweat as it was not enough to fend off Lord Chernobog. After a few feet of Ignis backing up and holding off Lord Chernobog’s several strikes, Ignis was worried that he might lose.

Lord Chernobog then stood there as he was keeping his right arm raised while giving a slight gaze to Ignis and said, “Last chance to back down. There is nothing to be ashamed of to cower in fear Ignis.”

Ignis could only look back in anger and yell, “I’D RATHER DIE THAN TO GIVE INTO YOU!”

Lord Chernobog then said in a mocking tone, “Your wish is my command…”

Lord Chernobog swiftly grabbed Ignis with his right hand like a toy and quickly turned around and threw him high into the air like he was nothing. Lord Chernobog then quickly raised his left hand and aimed a black crystal straight at Ignis’s body. And with no notice, Lord Chernobog fired and hit directly at Ignis’s torso. This black crystal however did not pierce through his body, but simply hit him like how one would throw a really big rock at him. This in turn cause Ignis a great amount of pain and threw him way off course as he flew through the air and landed harshly, face first, on the ground. Lord Chernobog had won the round and smiled devilishly about it.

He then teased Ignis, “It seems that I have won this time. Ready to give up? The pain will only get worse the more you try to fight it.”

Ignis said as he struggled to raise himself from the ground beneath him and looked on with anger towards his opponent, “I-I…I-I will not give up. I will not.”

Ignis stood up tall and firmly as he puffed out his chest and continued to say, “I know I may not be as strong as I want to be. I know I can be weak at times. But right now, I cannot afford to lose, and I will not lie down and die like a dog! I will defeat you and I will show you what happens when you mess with me, my home, and my friends!”

Lord Chernobog pushed his left back while moving his upper body slightly forward and said, “Now that’s what I want to see. I want to see the fire rise in you and see the flames within your eyes.”

Ignis said while looking at him deathly, “Then you’re going to get it!”

Ignis proceeded to mirror what Lord Chernobog did. After a couple of brief seconds, the two started to charge at each other while yelling a little war cry while both raised their arms and ready to hit each other. Ignis had his fist charged with fire as Lord Chernobog had the look of death in his eyes. As the two ran towards each other, Lord Chernobog was going to surprise Ignis as he jumped forward towards him, trying to punch him and catch him off his guard.

But Ignis could see his dirty tricks as he then reacted sharply by sliding under him at the last second and doing a quick 180 and using his right leg to kick him in the rear end brutally. This caused Lord Chernobog to spiral out of control and caused him to roll. But Lord Chernobog was determined and did not let this deter him from defeating Ignis.

He simply rolled a bit and was able to gain control again as he grabbed hold of the ground with his hand and feet. He was down, but not entirely out of the fight just yet. He looked like a bull seeing red towards Ignis and was just missing the puff of smoke from his ears. So Lord Chernobog then started to charge at Ignis once more, this time tanking him head first. But the look in Ignis’s eyes said otherwise as he rasied his arms left and right quickly and frequently, producing horizontal blades of fire towards Lord Chernobog.

This harmed Lord Chernobog, but only for a little bit. This attack only enraged him more and then pushed him to take his right hand and quickly snatch Ignis and hold him tight. He started to squeeze Ignis as tight as he could, trying to squash whatever life that he had within him.

Ignis started to scream from the pain as he started to lose breath. However this only caused him to push himself over the edge as his entire body started to glow of an orange color. This caught the attention of Lord Chernobog as he looked a bit confused. But soon before he knew it, Ignis’s whole body became ablaze and was one with the fire within him.

Ignis started to gain control of the flaming blaze inside of him as he stared deep into Lord Chernobog’s eyes. The temperature of the fire around only grew hotter and soon Lord Chernobog couldn’t hold him much longer. He abruptly let go of him as is reflexes took hold. However Ignis saw this as an opportunity and as soon as he was set free, he used the monster’s right hand and used it to leap off of it and into the air. As soon as he was as high as he could get, he raised his right hand and formed a bigger ball of fire from before as soon as he could. Right before gravity brought him back down, and he threw the ball of fire directly at Lord Chernobog’s head.

As Ignis fell back down to Earth, Lord Chernobog was struck by the big fire ball as it exploded like how a big bomb would go off. This did it for him as Lord Chernobog was pushed onto his back and down for the count. Once Ignis had landed on his feet, he was panting, trying to catch his breath as the dust settled around him.

He was feeling a bit of pain and was bruised on several places, but he was going to be alright. Once he saw Lord Chernobog was down for the second time, he could only smile with pride. His ears then started to perk up as he heard the others nearby as they clapped and cheered for him. He looked over to them and could only see them as his faithful friends.

He could even hear Ventus say to him, “You did it Ignis!”

However, before Ignis could celebrate with his dear friends, his parade was going to be rained very quickly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lord Chernobog rose from the ground with a small smirk on his face as he said to him, “You’re not done yet boy. I’m not dead yet.”

Ignis looked over to him and only pointed at him and said, “Hey! You said I only needed to beat you twice!”

Lord Chernobog as he was standing all tall and mighty with a sniveling tone, “Why yes… yes I did say that. But you never said there couldn’t be a fourth round… or cheating…”

Lord Chernobog then suddenly went for the dirty move and quickly uppercut Ignis with his left arm, stabbing him with the pointy end, but not fatally wounding him either. This sent Ignis back a bit though as he fell on to his side on the hard ground. Ignis clenched his stomach while trying to take the pain that he received. He started to have a sad and tired look on his eyes as he struggled to give up.

As he slowly got up from the floor, he looked up to see Lord Chernobog with no scratch on him alongside a big evil smile he was wearing. There was also an aurora surrounding him that he could feel. It was a sense of dread and doubt. All Ignis could do was look up at him and know that he was defeated this time… again… He then collapsed and got onto his knees as he hanged his head down low to the ground.

Lord Chernobog looked down on him as he smiled away viciously, “Why, what’s the matter Ignis? Can’t you fight anymore? Just accept your end Ignis. You are no match for me; you never were to begin with. Your home is mine now. And there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

Ignis was ignoring his words a little bit as he only wept to his own soul, “He’s right. I can’t do it. I’m done for. I tried so hard… but I-I just can’t do it anymore. I’m sorry you guys. I-I tried my best… I hope you can forgive me…”

Ignis closed his eyes, hoping for the pain to all go away and to be left in peace.

However, his spirits was raised as well as his curiosity as soon as he heard a familiar voice right next to him, “Bad Doggy!”

Ignis looked up as he opened his eyes with a hint of curiosity. He knew how it was, yet was confused on why John was standing right next to him. John was eyeing him down, almost as if he disappointed in him. All Ignis could do was stare back at him, almost as if he was looking towards him for an answer.

John talked back to him, “Bad Elephant! No, no no, no! You do the trick right now kitty cat!”

John then started to hit him over the head with his right hoof while almost yelling towards him, “Do it now or else big the Red Bull can will eat you tonight in your sleep!”

John then put his right hoof down and just stared off into space like he usually does. To Ignis, this was stupid. What he said was stupid. Every word that came out of his mouth and the way he mouthed it was stupid. It was all stupid. But then Ignis started to think for a quick moment. He read in between the lines and regardless if it was intentional or not, he came to a realization. He got up from the ground and stood tall and mighty. His looks went from hopeless to filled with rage and power. In his mind, he knew what he needed to do, and John stood right next to him to guide him.

John, as the best he could since he was merely a pony, jumped up on to his hind legs and punched the air with both of his hooves in succession with one another. And repeatedly he would switch from both left to right, ending with crossing both his arms, almost as if he was finishing off a move. As Ignis kept his eye on Lord Chernobog, he could still see John off from the side and started to imitate John’s movements down to the little details. Lord Chernobog saw this and only raised an eyebrow towards the two, curious as to what silly, useless idea they had in mind.

John proceeded to perform a second move, where he punched the air once with his right hoof, kicked twice with his left leg the best he could, and then end it by swinging it around over for a roundhouse kick. Once more, Ignis followed the movements from John, moving to it like beats to a drum.

Lord Chernobog started to become annoyed as he yelled out to the both of them, “What are you doing!? You are only wasting time till the inevitable!”

However Ignis did not care and simply ignored him, concentrating purely on his soul and mind. John then went ahead and did a third move set. He started with sliding his left leg across the ground, making a half circle. From there, he punched in the air in front of Lord Chernobog, before then jumping a bit backwards and ending in a pose as if they were ready to strike. Ignis then followed suit once more and followed as if he was a student and John was his master. Lord Chernobog was only growing more and more impatient by the second; wanting to just squash them already like a bug and move on.

Lord Chernobog said as he grew angrier, “DO YOU NOT EVEN HEAR ME!? EITHER FIGHT ME NOW OR FORFEIT YOUR LIFE!”

John performed a fourth and final move set. John started by swaying his right hoof towards the ground and moved it to the other side. From there, he crossed his chests with both hooves the best he could while standing on his hind legs and looking downward. From there, he then brought both his arms swiftly to his side while keeping his head down and waited for a couple of seconds. Ignis didn’t wait though and simply imitated him. As he was in the pose of crossing his arms, Lord Chernobog kneeled down to get close to Ignis as he only gave him a nasty look of disgust.

He squinted at him and said with a tone only he could give, “You’re hopeless. No wonder you couldn’t beat me the first time. You can’t even lie down and die and accept that you have lost.”

John then abruptly raised his right arm and did a straight uppercut into the air. Lord Chenrobog didn’t see this as he simply kept looking at Ignis instead. However, deep down Ignis was concentrating on himself as he put his arms down at his side, closed his eyes, and focused. And within seconds, he set his soul free; his right arm was on fire and swiftly jumped into the air, upper cutting Lord Chernobog.

However, he didn’t do it with his fists. As Ignis jumped into the air and his hand was on fire, he created a huge fist made out of flames and hit Lord Chernobog hard. This launched Lord Chernobog into the air and hard on to the ground. From here, this Lord Chernobog was done and out for the count. He simply laid there, dazed and uncertain. Ignis knew he had won the fight as he had a huge smirk on his face. The others cheered for him from a far as he only could look on his work with pride. He then looked down towards John as he smiled at him. John could only give him a blank stare with his crossed eyes, but John was listening.

Ignis looked at John and said, “You know John… you weren’t half bad.”

John only responded to him, “Good doggie!”

John then tried to reach out and pat him on the head like a pet, but only managed to pat his knees. It was good enough for him as Ignis simply nodded in approval towards him. The Fire of fate started to die down and extinguish as Ignis looked towards the others with their smiles for him. Ignis looked as happy as he could be. He had finally freed himself and his soul.

He then started walking towards the others and said, “So how about we get this show on the road huh!?”

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