My Little Pony Fan Fiction ❯ A Walk Among Spirits ❯ Chapter 21

The creature's tail flipped up as the fins on its tail glowed blue. The glowing climbed up each fin until it reached the fins on the back of its head. The creature took a deep breath and breathed out blue flames. The Hornets caught in the flames turned to ash. Honeycomb screamed as she was caught in the flames. Her skin melted off, her muscles exploded into flames, and her bones were charred.

Once the flames ceased, there was nothing left of Honeycomb and her hornets but a scorch mark on the ground. The flames had burned away the dirt to expose the steel floor underneath. Skyline smile grew as he stated, "Your turn." Before he turned his attention to the skybox. The reptilian creature's right arm rose up and its four talon claw grabbed the skybox. Its razor sharp claws cut into the metal of the skybox. Nip Tuck staggered as the skybox shifted and shook.

Electricity coursed through Skyline's body. He winced in pain and through gritted teeth, he looked up at the skybox and grunted, "No! Not when I'm so close!" the reptilian creature's left arm lifted and pulled back as its claw formed a fist. Even through the pain, he forced a smile. Face the monster you created Skyline thought.

Nip Tuck's magic quickly grabbed a walkie-talkie next to her chair and yelled, "Increase the discharge to full power!"

"But ma'am, we don't know the repercussions of the device at full power. It could," the mare on the other end stated before she was interrupted.

"JUST DO IT!" Nip Tuck screamed.

The electricity intensified and Skyline screamed in pain. If felt like someone injected him with pure lightning. His blood felt like it was boiling through his veins, his muscles felt as though they were melting away, and his skin felt as though it was being scraped off by a cheese grater. The creature let go of the skybox and roared in pain as it began to swat the air like an invisible swarm was attacking it. The creature let out one final massive roar before it exploded into thick, black smoke. The smoke covered The Arena.

Nip Tuck quickly grabbed her recliner in her magic and chucked it at the cracked window. The already weakened window shattered and the chair and glass fell into the smoke below. She looked out the window and frantically searched for Skyline in the thick smoke below. The wall opened and lights pierced through the smoke as a group of Ponies searched the ground for Skyline as well. Nip Tuck levitated her walkie-talkie back to her and asked, "Does anyone have eyes on Spirit Walker?"

"No Ma'am. This smoke is really thick. We're doing all we can to see three-feet in front of us," a stallion on the other end stated.

"Well try harder damn it!" Nip Tuck demanded. She was so frustrated she threw her walkie-talkie out the window and watched it fall into the smoke below.

She continued to scan The Arena below. She hoped she could see an outline of Skyline in the smoke to direct the search party. She continued as the smoke slowly dissipated and she could make out the ground below.

"I have eyes on Spirit Walker!" one of the stallions yelled. Nip Tuck saw Skyline and her eyes widened. He was violently convulsing on the ground and foaming at the mouth.

"Take him to The Clinic now!" Nip Tuck demanded. Two stallions rushed over to Skyline and gingerly picked him up as a third rushed over with the cart. The two placed Skyline on the cart and wheeled the cart out of The Arena through the open wall. Nip Tuck quickly pushed the button next to a speaker and said, "Jukebox, cancel the rest of the battles for today." She didn't wait for a response as she rushed towards the door.

Her magic torn open the door and she galloped out into the hallway. She rushed down the stairs and lost her balance near the bottom and tumbled to the floor. Some of the stallions walking through the hallway leading to The Lounge saw her fall and rushed over to help her up. She got back to her hooves and pushed through the small crowd that had formed while yelling, "Get out of the way you fucking bastards!" the crowd gave her a wide berth as she galloped past them towards The Clinic. She stormed through the double doors and scared two of the nurses. The stallion in the lab coat simply turned towards her. He was a platinum blonde coated stallion and his white mane was in a ponytail.

"How is he?" Nip Tuck asked.

"He's stable for now," the Stallion stated. Nip Tuck walked past him and stood on the right of Skylines bedside. He had a mask on to help him breathe, an I.V. in each of his arms, and now and again he would twitch.

"I need you all to leave," Nip Tuck ordered calmly. The stallion nodded and ushered the two nurses to follow him out. Once they had left, Nip Tuck stood on Skylines bedside watching his chest rise and fall. Nip Tuck's horn illuminated and her magic wrapped around a scalpel sitting on a steel tray that rested on a table next to Skyline's bed. She lifted the scalpel close to her face and examined it before she flipped it so the blade was pointing down. She then moved it slowly down towards Skyline until it stopped inches away from his chest. She then stood there for a better part of an hour contemplating on what to do.

Her goal was so close she could see it. She could see herself sitting on the throne of Equestria. She could feel all the Ponies she would be infusing with magic. However, this colt that lay before her posed both a threat and a tool for her goal. After his attempted attack on her life. She could see the true strength of his abilities, but also the terrible darkness that lingered in said abilities.

Her goal was within reach, but this colt could potentially hinder that goal. He was supposed to lead her armies against her foes, but she feared he'd lead her army against her. She wanted to pick up the broken pieces of his mind, but it seems he had already picked them up and placed them back in a jagged order. His strength was crucial to her goal. She could kill him now in his weakened state, but that could push her goal back weeks, if not months. However, she could let him live and have him lead her armies to the castles doorsteps.

She didn't want to push her goal back any longer, but she didn't want to reach her goal just to have it taken away by this colt. The scalpel continued to hover over Skyline's chest as she took a deep breath and sighed.