My Little Pony Fan Fiction ❯ Chaos Reborn ❯ Chapter 11

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

There was a lavender flash and the six appeared in a lush green rainforest. Twilight looked around and then asked, "Why would the Epitaph of Inferno live here?" She had seen the burning red dot and assumed it was the Warrior of the God of Fire.

 

"Oh, you'll find out," Discord said as they began to walk through the large rain forest. As they began to walk through a thick part of the forest Discord swung his Machete and sliced several vines blocking their way. Discord let out a sigh and wiped away some sweat from his brow.

 

"I'm kind of surprised," Sombra spoke up as he followed behind Discord before he continued, "I thought Chaotic would try and stop us, but yet we haven't seen any of his hellish skeleton creatures." Suddenly, a large tower of flames shot out from the middle of the forest.

 

"You just had to say it didn't you," Butterfly scolded.

 

"That came from where Ahuizotl lives," Sheik yelled.

 

"What!" Twilight said in shock as she remembered Ahuizotl and how he tried to control the sun.

 

"Shit!" Discord cursed before he snapped his fingers and the thick trees and vines in front of them bent and folded to create a tunnel towards the exit. He turned towards the others and ordered, "Come on, Ahuizotl can't fight them alone!" the six suddenly darted into the tunnel and towards the large light at the end.

 

They reached the end of the tunnel and found themselves in a large clearing with a large temple built with golden bricks and reaching up towards the sky. The top of the temple had been blown off and had black smoke billowing out like a smokestack. In the clearing was Ahuizotl surrounded by Pony Skeletons. They stalked around him readying for another pounce, but before they could. Ahuizotl's tail whipped up and the hand at the tip snapped its fingers and flames erupted inside the palm. Ahuizotl then shot fireballs towards his attackers. The flames slammed into the Pony skeletons and turned them to ash. However, the ash didn't reform into the skeletal Pony. It simply sat there until the wind picked it up and swirled it into the air, but when one Skeletal Pony fell and turned to ash. A red circle appeared on the ground and spat out bones that connected to create a Griffin Skeleton. It was engulfed in flames and the skeleton attacked Ahuizotl.

 

"Sammy," Sheik yelled.

 

"Got it," Sombra said as the two sprang into action. The two ran towards the group of Skeleton Ponies and Griffins. Sheik extended her arms to either side of her. Thin strands of water from the river running parallel to her and Sombra rose up and wrapped around her wrist and formed into water whips. Sombra's shadow extended under him and he suddenly sunk down into it as the shadow disappeared into the ground.

 

Sheik spun around and cracked one of her whips towards a Pony skeleton. The tip of the whip grew jagged barbs just before it pierced into the skeleton's skull. She then pulled the whip back as the Pony skeleton was reduced to ash. She then spun like a twisted as her whips spun with her and she collided with a group of Pony and Griffin skeletons. The barbs on the tips of her whips extended down several inches as she continued to spin and sliced through every skeleton before they were reduced to ash.

 

A large black mass appeared on the ground behind a group of skeletons just before Sombra slithered up from it. He smiled and his shadow suddenly turned into tendrils and attacked the group. The tendrils wrapped around the skeletons and began to constrict before The Pony and Griffin skeletons let out bone-rattling shrieks just before they exploded into ash.

 

"We can't let them have all the fun," Butterfly said to Tirek before she floated off his shoulder and added, "Throw me." Tirek nodded and used his magic to levitate Butterfly. He spun around and chucked Butterfly towards Ahuizotl, Sombra, and Sheik. She spun through the air and passed the group of skeletal monsters stalking closer to the three. Her wings extended as she stopped in front of Sombra and ordered, "Sombra, Crystal Dome. NOW!" Sombra nodded as his horn glowed as Crystals exploded out of the ground and coated the three in a dome. Just as the dome closed, the earth rattled as it split and splintered before it exploded and sent up sharpened rock spikes into the air. The rocks looped and rained down on the skeletons. They let out bone-rattling shrieks as the spikes pierced into their spines. The skeletons began to run around trying to keep from being hit by the rocks. Once the final rock spike hit the ground, the dome shattered as Ahuizotl, Sombra, Sheik, and Butterfly all looked at the ash that coated the ground.

 

"Are you alright Ahuizotl?" Sheik asked him as Tirek, Discord, and Twilight all walked over to them.

 

"I was hoping you'd leave some for us," Discord whined.

 

"You'll have your chance Discord; this was just a small group of his minions. When we fight him, you know he'll summon an entire army," Tirek explained.

 

"I'm fine," Ahuizotl growled to Sheik before he added, "I didn't need your help."

 

"Oh please, cut the tough guy act," Butterfly scoffed. Ahuizotl growled at her and stepped forward only to fall from the pain in his right arm.

 

"Ahuizotl!" Sombra said as he tried to help him up, but Ahuizotl swatted him away.

 

"I'm fine!" Ahuizotl yelled. He tried to stand but fell back down.

 

"Cool your jets Ahuizotl," Discord said before he snapped his fingers. A light flashed on Ahuizotl's arm. Ahuizotl stood up and felt no pain in his arm. Discord then sighed, "There, now can you cool your hot-headedness." Ahuizotl Growled at him.

 

"Calm down Ahuizotl," Sheik said before she added, "We need your help to fight Chaotic. We're gathering the others and need your help."

 

"I'm going to guess he's going to be difficult," Discord whispered to Twilight.

 

"If you're going to fight that bastard count me in," Ahuizotl said before his tail whipped and the hand at the tip pointed a finger towards the temple and added, "Look what his damn minions did to my home!"

 

"Huh, I stand corrected," Discord said.

 

"Good, then let's go get the others," Butterfly said.

 

"Maybe we should stop and rest," Sheik said as she pointed to the setting sun and continued, "It's growing dark and we don't want to exhaust ourselves."

 

"How is the sun going down without Celestia?" Sombra asked.

 

"Another failsafe," Twilight said before she explained, "Should she and Luna be captured: the sun and moon will act on their own as if Celestia and Luna were controlling them."

 

"If we're going to spend the night somewhere, we can spend it in what remains of my home," Ahuizotl said as he turned and lead them into his destroyed temple.

 

The fire crackled as Ahuizotl threw another log into it just before he lay back down. Tirek slept next to a crumbled pillar with Butterfly sleeping on his shoulder. Sheik slept against one of the walls while Sombra and Twilight sat near the fire with Ahuizotl.

 

"So why did you bring this one," Ahuizotl asked Sombra as he nodded towards Twilight.

 

"She resurrected me and she also has the powers of the other Alicorns," Sombra explained.

 

"Great, so we have to babysit her," Ahuizotl sighed.

 

"I can hold my own just fine," Twilight argued.

 

"I'm sure you can, but I highly doubt you can fight against a God," Ahuizotl said.

 

"I was able to take down Tirek with my friends and he has the power of a God," Twilight retorted.

 

"Tirek was stripped of Void's power," Sombra said.

 

"What!" Twilight said in shock.

 

"Must be since Void always favored Ponies over any other species," Ahuizotl said.

 

"He can do that?" Twilight asked.

 

"Yes," Sombra said before he stared into the crackling flames and explained, "Even if we are the Warriors of the Gods. They are able to take that power away. They can then give that power to another. Void does favor Ponies and when he saw his Epitaph attacking Equestria, he must have stripped Tirek of his power. That's why he didn't attack the skeletons."

 

"But he has his magic. He could have used that," Twilight said.

 

"Yes, but his magic wouldn't banish those creatures," Ahuizotl said before he explained, "Destroying those creatures with normal magic won't banish them. Just incapacitate them until they can reform. Only the Gods magic can banish them."

 

"But we need Voids power to fight Chaotic. If we don't have all the power of the other Gods how can we defeat him?" Twilight asked.

 

"That's true," Sombra said before he added, "I believe Void will give Tirek his power again when we get all the Epitaphs."

 

"Power," Ahuizotl scoffed before he added, "Don't most of the Gods call it their blessing?"

 

"Indeed. I know Eclipse calls her power a blessing and I assume Inferno deems the same thing?" Sombra said and Ahuizotl simply nodded.

 

"Speaking of Inferno," Twilight said before she added, "would it be alright to get in touch with Inferno? We wanted to ask why Chaotic became corrupted."

 

"Why not ask Tirek to get in touch with Void," Ahuizotl stated before he added, "Every God and Epitaph knows how close Void and Chaotic were."

 

"We did, but he doesn't know why Chaotic became corrupted," Sombra said.

 

"And you believe him?" Ahuizotl questioned as he narrowed his eyes.

 

"According to Aqua: Void is well known, to tell the truth," Twilight said before she continued, "What would he gain by lying to us?"

 

"Maybe he's the reason Chaotic became corrupted," Ahuizotl theorized.

 

"Preposterous! God's cannot corrupt one another or even impede each other," Sombra retorted.

 

"Why can't they?" Ahuizotl asked.

 

"The Oath! The Gods cannot interfere with each other or this plain," Sombra explained.

 

"The Oath?" Ahuizotl said flatly before he shook his head and continued, "The Oath holds no merit."

 

"How do you figure?" Twilight chimed in

 

"Think about it: the Oath is to protect this plain from the Gods and protect the Gods from each other. However, how can Chaotic still have Godly power after breaking the Oath? If it held any power, the Oath would have stripped him of the power or the very least the other Gods would have stopped him. The Oath did nothing to stop Chaotic and because the other Gods follow the Oath. They refused to stop him and we are the only means to actually stop his tyrant," Ahuizotl explained

 

"But by your own explanation: another God wouldn't corrupt Chaotic," Sombra argued.

 

"Yes, but since the Oath holds little to no merit may be another God saw this and corrupted him," Ahuizotl said before he pointed towards Sombra and added, "You of all beings should know how a God's power can corrupt."

 

"I do," Sombra said before he sighed, "Maybe you're right. Maybe Void corrupted Chaotic and is covering it up."

 

"It's only a theory," Ahuizotl stated before he added, "Void is the last God I would think to corrupt him since the two were like brothers. However, I wonder why he would cover it up if he didn't corrupt him." Ahuizotl let out a yawn and added, "We can talk about this tomorrow though. Inferno might know something, but I highly doubt it." Ahuizotl curled up and began to fall asleep. Sombra got up and walked over to Sheik and lay down next to her with a small toppled over pillar between them. Twilight looked up at the blown out ceiling and stared out into the starry sky before she curled up and fell asleep.

 

[hr]

 

The sun glared over the treetops in the early morning. Sheik let the small orb of water drop onto the still smoking pile of wood. She then turned tail and walked out of the large hole in the side of the temple and called out, "Alright, fires out." Ahuizotl nodded before he turned to the others.

 

"Are you ready for this," Ahuizotl asked Twilight.

 

"I've seen three other Gods, I'm ready," Twilight said before she turned to Sombra and asked, "I do have one question."

 

"What is it?" Sombra said.

 

"Last night you said the Gods can give their power to another. Why would a God take their power and give it to another? Wouldn't that make two Epitaphs?"

 

"No," Sombra said before he explained, "Unlike the Gods there Epitaphs do not share their immortality. When a God takes his powers and gives it to another it usually means their original

 

Epitaph has passed on. We are not the first beings to be given the Gods power and we won't be the last."

 

"But would you have lost the power of the God when you were obliterated?" Twilight asked. She then realized what she had said and added, "Sorry."

 

"No worries," Sombra said before he continued, "When I was cleansed a second time. Eclipse kept me inside her plain in hopes I could be resurrected. It seems out of all her Epitaphs, I'm her favorite."

 

"So are we going to get in contact with Inferno or not?" Tirek said as he walked up to them with Butterfly on his right shoulder.

 

"We're just waiting for you two," Sheik said before she looked at Ahuizotl and added, "You're up." Ahuizotl nodded and stood on his back legs. He placed his two front hands in front of him several inches away from each other. His tail moved forward and the hand at the tip hovered over them. A red sphere appeared between the three hands.

 

"I call to the God of flames. Whose burning rage can turn this whole world to ash and whose single spark can awaken even the most dormant of volcanoes. Allow us to feel the protection of your white-hot flames," Ahuizotl chanted. The burning red sphere began to quiver between his hands before it suddenly shrunk to a speck and then exploded. Engulfing the seven in brilliant white light and causing Twilight to cover her eyes with her front hoof.

 

[hr]

 

After the experience with Aqua's plain Twilight knew that every God had their own unique plain and that some would confuse and shock her. However, know all this didn't stop the scream coming from her as she quickly trotted backward from the edge of the rock. The large rock she and the others stood upon floated in a large lake of lava. Twilight looked up at the large cavern walls surrounding them and as the fog above them began to dissipate. She saw they were standing inside a volcano.

 

"Whoa," Twilight marveled before she heard something behind her. She turned to see something slip under the lava. She slowly began to walk backward and asked, "What does Inferno look like?" she heard something else to her left and turned to see a large dorsal fin made of igneous rise from the lava and then sink back down.

 

"Welcome Epitaphs of the other Gods, my Epitaph, and one that reeks of Alicorn magic to my parlor," a voice boomed in all their minds. Twilight winced at the volume and then felt an unusual sensation: like she could feel the Voice's hot breath inside her skull. The lava suddenly began to rise before it exploded up into the air. Twilight let out a scream as globs of lava began to rain down towards her and the others. Twilight tried to use her magic to create a dome to protect them from the falling magma, but her horn wouldn't spark. She panicked and raised her front hooves up to protect her face. She waited for the searing pain and feeling of lava melting her flesh, but she felt nothing. She moved her hooves and saw the lava was covering her arms, hooves, and back, but she didn't feel it burn or melt her skin. In fact, she didn't even feel the lava on her body. She let the lava fall to the large rock she stood on and watched as the lava sizzled on the rock.

 

"Do not fret little Pony. Your physical body is still in your plain, protected by my magic should some idiot try and cause you harm while you're here. Your spiritual self can only visit my plain and therefore any hazard you might think will cause you harm. Will simply either phase through you or ignore you completely," the voice reassured Twilight. Twilight nodded and looked up. Her eyes widened and her ears bend back as her mouth dropped at the sight before her.

 

Hovering in the air was a large 100-foot bull shark made of lava. Parts of its body had chunks of igneous rock floating through the lava making up its body. It's Pectoral fin, Dorsal fin, and tail was made of igneous rock that had small holes that oozed out lava-like blood. Its mouth was partly open and Twilight saw large arrow-shaped teeth made of igneous. There were no eyes that Twilight could see on the shark's face.

 

"Oh, great Inferno, God of flames," Sheik said as she bowed. The other followed suit and Twilight quickly bowed as well before Sheik continued, "We've requested an audience with you to ask you a question."

 

"Ah yes, you want to know about Chaotic," Inferno assumed before he continued, "That's why you've come to see me isn't it?"

 

"Yes," Sheik said simply. Twilight looked up and watched as Inferno flipped back and dove back into the lava.

 

"I do not know why he became corrupted," Inferno said as part of his body broke the surface and swam around the rock they stood on. He swam for several seconds in silence before he added, "Why not ask Void?"

 

"We did, he does not know why " Tirek started.

 

"Oh please," Inferno interrupted before he sunk back down and then exploded out of lava and once again hovered in the air above them and added, "Void knows why he became corrupted but chooses to keep it secret. That idiot would rather watch the world burn than help you."

 

"But what would he gain by keeping it a secret?" Sombra asked.

 

"The nothingness," Inferno said as he swam around them in the air and continued, "If Chaotic continues, think of all the souls that'll get trapped in the nothingness. Void must be lonely and want some company on his empty plain."

 

"Might? So do you mean you don't know why he would want creatures in the nothing?" Butterfly said.

 

"It is true I cannot pinpoint why Void is keeping this a secret, but he has his reasons and even us Gods do not ask why he keeps quiet. Maybe once you get all the other Epitaphs, he'll let you in on that secret, but you know you'll need to visit him again. So his Epitaph can use his gift," Inferno said.

 

"You seem to know something," Ahuizotl said. Inferno didn't respond as he dove back into the lava. Suddenly the rock shook violently as a whirlpool began to form in the middle of the lake of lava. The rock began to crack and crumble as the seven fell into the lava and was swept towards the whirlpool. Twilight tried to swim and get out of the lava, but it felt like the lava was like glue. She gasped one final time before she was sucked deeper into the lava.

 

*************************

 

Twilight gasped as her eyes shot open. She looked around as the others began to come too. After several seconds Twilight walked up to Discord and asked, "What do you Think Inferno meant?"

 

"I'm not sure," Discord said as he shrugged as he looked at the Map. He handed it to Sheik and added, "Alright, your turn to choose the next party member." Sheik nodded and examined the map. She then pointed to a bright green dot. Twilight nodded and her horn illuminated before the seven disappeared in a flash.