My Little Pony Fan Fiction ❯ A Walk Among Spirits ❯ Chapter 35

The black saber-toothed panther jumped back as the sickly green manticore's scorpion tail jabbed into the dirt floor. The manticore roared in both anger and pain as its stinger cut through the dirt and jabbed into the metal underneath.

The panther roared and the dirt leading towards the manticore was carved and sliced like invisible blades soaring towards the creature. The manticore's leathery bat wings folded in front of it to cover its face as the blades cut into its sickly green gas body. Once the onslaught was over, the manticore's wings extended and it bull-rushed the panther. The panther was about to roar again, but the manticore's amber eyes flashed yellow and the manticore suddenly disappeared. The panther quickly looked around to find the manticore.

The Manticore suddenly appeared behind the panther as its right paw was raised. It slammed its right paw into the Panther's ribs. The panther let out a wail of pain as it was sent flying into a wall. It hit the wall with a thud and slid down to the floor. The panther lay there for several seconds before it slowly stumbled back to its feet. It roared and charged towards the manticore.

The manticore's eyes flashed yellow again and it disappeared again just before the panther leaped through the air with claws twitching to find purchase. The panther slid on the ground and growled as it once again searched for the manticore. The panther was suddenly flung into the air before it felt like an anvil slammed into its back and sent it crashing into the ground. The panther slammed into the ground as it roared in pain. As the dust settled, the panther struggled to stand up. Something hit the panther on the right side of its face, then its left, then its side. The panther kept getting hit by an invisible force for several seconds before it finally roared into the air.

A dome of sound expanded around the panther as invisible blades sliced at the ground and air around it. A roar of pain came from the right side of the panther as the manticore appeared holding its right arm at the wrist. Its right paw had been severed and lay on the ground at its feet. The sickly green severed paw morphed into a small sliver of green gas that rose up and slithered into the open wound on the manticore's right arm. The gas morphed and reformed its right paw as it growled. That panther roared and charged towards manticore as the manticore roared back and charged towards the panther.

The rattlesnake tail of the black fox rose up and quickly shot a lightning bolt at the three-headed sickly green grizzly bear. Its three heads wailed in pain as the lightning hit its gas body and lightning sparked around it. Its three heads shook before all three heads shot lightning back at the fox and its snake tails. The banded cat-eyed snake tail shoved the rattlesnake tail to the side and opened its mouth in a silent hiss. Three feet in front of the fox, the three lightning bolts slammed into a blue transparent turtle shell shield. They ricocheted off the shield and two slammed into the ground, while the third slammed into the top of the dome. The lightning crackled against the glass dome, but the magic holding it together never faltered.

The copperhead snake tail shoved the banded cat-eyed snake tail and unleashed a stream of flames towards the three-headed grizzly bear. The right head opened in a silent roar as the blue transparent turtle shell shield appeared in front of the bear and blocked the flames. The flames spread across the shield as the blue glow slowly started to change to red. Once the flames ceased, the copperhead tail hissed in frustration and spat a plume of flames to the side.

The shield disappeared and the middle head of the grizzly bear vomited out a stream of flames. The horned desert viper quickly slithered up and unleashed a stream of water that collided with the flames. Steam exploded between the two creatures as the fox stepped back from the steam cloud. The three-headed bear walked through the steam, stalking the nine tailed fox as its nine snake tails hissed in unison. The bear emerged from the steam and the fox crouched down and waited for the bear's next move. It had an idea of what the bear was going to do next, but it waited to see the results. The left head of the grizzly vomited out a stream of water, but before any of the snakehead, tails could act. The fox quickly jumped to the side as the stream blasted past it. The nine snake tails hissed in protest, but the fox glared back at them to silence them.

The pit viper started to slowly open its mouth and bluish black smoke began to slowly pour from its mouth. The fox quickly turned towards it and barked in protest. The pit viper quickly closed its mouth and the smoke started to fade. The fox turned back towards the three-headed grizzly as the left head mimicked the pit viper. Bluish-black smoke slowly poured out its slowly opening mouth, but it quickly snapped its muzzle shut as the smoke cleared. The fox snarled before charging headlong towards the bear. The grizzly bear did the same. Before the fox reached the grizzly, it quickly skidded to a stop and spun so its tails were facing the bear. Its nine snakehead tails detached from its body and slithered through the air. Their mouths open, ready to bite down into the grizzly's sickly green gas body.

The grizzly jumped back before any of the snakes could find purchase. Each snake hit the ground and hissed towards the grizzly as it began to convulse and two of the grizzly's heads flew off its body. Sickly green gas erupted from the decapitated heads and formed two more three-headed grizzly bears as two heads replaced the ones the original grizzly lost. The grizzly did this a few more times before there were nine three-headed grizzly bears. The nine snakes hissed as the nine grizzly bears roared before the two armies charged toward one another.

The sickly green millipede lunged towards the fiddler crab. Its mandibles twitching as black mud dripped from their sharp edges. The fiddler crabs large pincer morphed into a shield and the fiddler crab slammed the bottom of the shield into the ground. The millipede collided with the shield and ricocheted up. It shook its head before it lunged for the crab again. It's hard armored head continuously slammed against the fiddler crabs shield. The shield wavered and creaked with each hit.

The millipede reared back and slammed its hard armored head against the shield again. The force of the blow pushed the fiddler crab back several inches. The millipede rose up and eight of its front legs morphed into flintlock pistols. One after the other, the flintlock pistols fired out small black spheres of mud towards the fiddler crab. Each sphere slammed into the crab's shield and pushed it backward. When the fourth sphere slammed into the shield, cracks formed in the middle of the shield. The fifth sphere forced the cracks to grow.

The fiddler crabs small pincer morphed into a revolver before it moved it to the side of the shield and fired off six shots of blue spheres. Two missed the millipede completely; two skimmed across the sides of the millipede. However, two hit their mark: one hit a flintlock pistol that had already fired. The blue sphere entered the flintlock's barrel before exploding. The force of the blast ripped the leg from the millipede's body. It let out a shriek of pain as the final sphere slammed into the underbelly. Blue mist rose from the point of impact as the millipede let out another shriek of pain. The shield morphed into a large battleax before the fiddler crab charged towards the millipede. The millipede's flintlock pistols and the rest of its legs morphed into sickles before it charged towards the fiddler crab.

The black Minotaur crossed its battleaxes in front of it as a round sickly green shape slammed into its weapons and pushed it back as sparks flew from the collision. The Minotaur pushed the sickly green round shape back as it unfolded into the sickly green crocodile. Its maw opened and it let out a gurgled hiss. The Minotaur snarled just before it charged towards the crocodile. The crocodile jumped into the air and folded itself as it clamped down onto its tale. It spun like a wheel as its serrated spines on its back cut into the ground before it charged towards the Minotaur.

The Minotaur swung its right battleax towards the spinning crocodile. The ax collided with the spinning crocodile and sparks flew from the collision. The Minotaur quickly dropped its right battle ax and gripped the left handle of the battle ax with his free hand. The Minotaur struggled to push the crocodile back as sparks showered its brow. The Minotaur let out a snarling battle cry before it began ax. The Minotaur used all its strength to push the crocodile backward. It flew backward for several feet before it skidded on the ground and charged towards the Minotaur again.

The Minotaur raised its battleax over its head before it slammed the ax blade into the ground. A fissure crawled through the dirt floor like a large invisible blade was cutting through the air and towards the crocodile. The crocodile and invisible blade collided in the middle and sparks exploded from the collision. A shockwave rocked The Arena, making the dome ceiling creak and wine. However, no matter how much it shook, how much it wailed or creaked. The dome ceiling showed no signs of breaking. The Minotaur snorted in anger as its right hoof slammed into the ground next to its fallen battleax. The ax kipped up into the air and it hung there for several seconds before the Minotaur took it in its free hand before charging towards the crocodile.

The two-story creature with a reptilian visage, robust build, an upright posture, long tail and rows of serrated fins along its back made of thick white fog spun around. Its tail cut through the air and slammed into the large two-story tall turtle. The turtle staggered back and let out a war cry before its right claw clutched into a fist before it swung for the reptilian creature.

The reptilian creature was able to step back and dodge the attack, but the turtle was able to jab its elbow into the chest of the creature. The elbow jab wasn't too effective, but the red mist jagged spine that tore out of the turtle's elbow and into the reptilian creature's chest was. The reptilian creature let out a roar of pain as it staggered back before it glared at the turtle and charged. The reptilian creature rapidly slammed its right claw that was curled into a fist into the underbelly of the turtle. It's left fist jetted up and delivered a massive uppercut to the turtle.

The turtle's head snapped back as the turtle once again staggered back. It shook its head to clear its cobwebs and saw the reptilian creature's right arm swinging towards it. Its claw was open and aiming for its exposed neck. The turtles head retracted back into its shell as the reptilian creature's claw cut through the empty air. The turtle's limbs also retracted back into its shell as its body slammed into the ground. The reptilian creature backed away, waiting for the turtle to act. However, after several seconds: nothing happened. The reptilian creature lifted its right foot and began to stomp onto the turtle's hard shell. However, no matter how hard the reptilian creature slammed its foot into the shell, it didn't give.

Coral orange mist exploded out the turtle's limb holes as it began to spin like a top. It began to rise up as it began to spin faster. It suddenly soared towards the reptilian creature and slammed into its abdomen. The spinning turtle shell began to push the reptilian creature back as the reptilian creature began to slam its fist into the turtle shell. Shockwaves emitted with each strike, but the spinning turtle shell didn't stop.

With one last ditch effort, the reptilian creature's tail flipped up and slammed into the ground. The force propelled the creature a few feet into the air. As it fell back to the ground, it clinched its right claw into a fist and using both its strength and gravity. It drove its fist into the spinning turtle shell. The force of its strength and gravity slammed the spinning turtle shell into the ground. The ground shook as the steel floor under the dirt groaned and creaked, but never buckled.

The reptilian creature stepped back as the dust cloud rose into the air. As the dust cloud settled, the turtle slowly rose up and shook the grogginess from its head. It glared back at the reptilian creature and let out an angry roar. The roar was a combination of a trumpet and an elephant's war cry. The reptilian creature reared back and roared. The sound of a leather glove amber down a stringed instrument mixed with the trumpet and an elephant's war cry.

The two glared at one another as the serrated fins on the back of the reptilian creature began to glow blue. Coral orange mist began to slither from the side of the turtle's mouth. The turtle reared back before its head snapped forward and let out a massive ball of mud engulfed in flames. The reptilian creature reared back before it vomited out blue flames towards the flaming mud ball. The two collided in the middle and exploded in a shockwave that sent blue flames and chunks of flaming mud across The Arena. A dust cloud rose up between the two and as it began to settle on the ground. The two creatures roared in unison before charging at one another.

Skyline let out another war cry and charged towards Splice. Again, like before: Splice danced around Skyline's attack. With every attempt, Splice would trip up Skyline with her magic or with her hooves. She was simply toying with him as he continued his charge. The tenth time her magic wrapped around Skyline's back legs and caused him to trip she sighed and said, "Come now, darling. How long are you planning on keeping this up?"

"I won't stop until you die and I can stop this torture of innocent Ponies," Skyline hissed as he began to get back to his hooves. He snarled and charged at Splice again while letting out another war cry. Splice rolled her eyes and sighed before she skipped towards Skyline. Her horn glowed and her magic wrapped around Skyline as it flung him up and over her body. Skyline flailed at empty air as he flew over Splice before he was violently slammed into the ground behind her. He gasped for air as if felt like the oxygen was sucked out from his lungs.

"Just give it up darling. You can't win," Splice said with a chuckle. Skyline wheezed and coughed as he began to rise to his hooves. Damn it. She's toying with me. Like a cat that just found a mouse. Skyline thought before something popped into his head. A mouse! Skyline took a deep breath and let out a horse war cry before he charged towards Splice.

Splice rolled her eyes and said, "Such a disappointment." She skipped towards him. However, before she could reach Skyline or have her horn light up. Two robins made of thick white fog flapped in front of Splice and squawked angrily at her. They corrupted her line of vision as she began swinging her hooves to get the robins to disperse.

"Damn it, get away from me you fucking pests," Splice screamed as her horn glowed and sent two telekinetic bolts towards the robins. However, the bolts soared through the two robins as they dissipated into swirling fog. Splice let out an aggravated sigh before she looked forward. A smile formed on her face as she saw Skyline had vanished.

She began to walk towards where Skyline once stood and sang, "Oh where, oh where has my little Pony gone. Oh, where, oh where can he be?" Splice snickered and continued singing the same verse over and over again as she continued to search for Skyline. She turned tail and walked backward as she continued to scan The Arena. She then turned forward and began, "Oh where, oh where" she didn't finish her song as Skyline jumped on her back, grabbed a mouthful of mane, and pulled.

Splice screamed as she reared back and began to buck, twist, and jump to try and get Skyline off her back. Skyline pulled hard on her mane as he hung on for dear life. Just like how he did with Saproling. In a fit of rage, Splice roared, "Get off of me!" her horn glowed as her magic wrapped around Skyline's body and flung him into the air. Splice's eyes widened and tears started to form in her eyes as she felt a large patch of mane rip from her scalp.

Skyline flew through the air and once again slammed hard into the ground. He found himself gasping for air once again. Splice reached back and ran her front right hoof through her mane. Her left eye twitched as she felt a large bald spot. She glared at Skyline and angrily hissed, "Enough of this foolishness. This ends now!" her horn glowed again and her magic slowly slithered towards Skyline. The magic slithered over Skyline's body and stopped at his right flank. The magic lightly tapped at his flank.

A sudden surge of electricity coursed through Skyline's body. He convulsed on the ground as he screamed in pain and surprise. The white fog and black smoke creatures roared and wailed in pain. Splice snarled and said, "This foolishness ends now! You've wasted enough of my time." her magic once again lightly tapped on Skyline's right flank and the electricity intensified. Skyline screamed even louder as the white fog creatures let out a roar and wail of pain before they exploded into white fog. The fog began to dissipate just as the black smoke creatures exploded into swirling smoke and dissipated as well.

The electricity finally stopped and Skyline lay on the ground for several seconds. Skyline tried to stand, but he fell back down as he looked up at Splice, the red mist creatures, and the sickly green gas creatures. Splice sighed as she turned and walked towards the exit. Coral orange mist began to seep out the corners of the turtle's mouth. Splice turned towards Skyline and stated, "Such a disappointment and waste of a good magical infusion." With that, the turtle shot out a ball of black mud engulfed in flames.

All Skyline could do was close his eyes and wait. There was an explosion that shook the glass dome ceiling. A dust cloud shot up as Splice stopped and looked back. She sighed again and turned tail to walk out of The Arena. She stopped when she sensed a surge of magical energy. When she turned she saw small strands of lavender light cutting through the dust cloud.