Chapter 2

Out for Revenge

After that my mind was made up. I gathered up my weapons, which had thankfully not broken, and set out with my companion Locksley to destroy the Renegade Tribe. We had been journeying for some time. We passed through the ruined village and have fought and destroyed countless Renegade Tribe. From the information we collected, we had found that the Gaust had been controlling the Renegade Tribe for some time now. The Gaust was a hazy figure as it was now; all we knew was that he was very evil.

And now we come upon the present time. Locksley and I are travelling through a jungle of some sort, continuing on our hunt for the Gaust.

As we walk through the somewhat thick jungle I see a splotch of red."Lock, do you see that?" He nodded. I pulled out my Sword and held out my left hand which had the Volt on it. The red splotch came into view.

It was Equine for sure. It was colored bright red and had grey glasses on. It was as tall as Lock and had a long black mane and tail. It wore a green shirt of some sort as well as green shoes on its hooves. It looked at me curiously and said, "Who are you?"

"Ok Lock, are you hearing this? A talking horse? Is my head playing tricks on me?" "No, I can hear it clear as day." Lock looked at the horse and said, "Who and what are you?" "Well, I am a pony, and my name is Shrike." Shrike looked at Lock curiously and asked, "How can I hear you in my head?" Lock answered, "Telepathically."

Shrike nodded and then asked me, "Well, I still haven't gotten your name yet." I recoiled somewhat before answering, "My name is Grimm, and I am a human." I looked at Lock, slightly annoyed. ""come on lock, he'll only slow us down. Let's just go" Lock shook his head. "He could be helpful" Shrike stood there, fishing through his saddlebags for something.

Lock said, "Shrike, My name is Locksley. We were wondering if you'd like to come along with us." Shrike pulled out a small locket with his hoof. Wait… hoof? As he opened it, a blue-greenish light was emitted from the center, and it created something flat and screen-like. After a few moments, the screen disappeared and Shrike put it away.

"What was that?" Shrike shrugged. "It's a magic-imbued locket that allows me to keep in touch with my brother." The jungle was suddenly filled with light as something congealed beside Shrike. It was another pony. It was smaller, green, and had a horn on its head. Shrike hugged him and said, "Hey Hedge. Meet Grimm and Locksley." Hedge bowed his head slightly and said in a much lighter voice, "Hey! My name's Hedge." He held out his hoof.

I was, by now, officially annoyed. I didn't want to waste any more time here, and it was showing. Lock took Hedge's hoof with his paw and shook. "Locks, can we just go now." I turned and began to walk away, hoping he would follow. But he stayed, instead saying, "don't mind him, he can be a bit grumpy sometimes." I walked back, mumbling under my breath.

Hedge looked at his watch and said, "Hey Shrike. I need to go, and I can't bring you back with me. There's a large force blocking you because you're not a unicorn. If you need my help though, just call." And then he was gone. Shrike turned to us and said, "You don't happen to know where this power might be coming from, do you?"

I nodded, beginning to be slightly intrigued by his calm manner. "We are heading to destroy the leader of the Renegade tribe as well as the self-crowned king of this land." Shrike nodded. "Just where I need to go." I almost laughed out loud. "You? You can't help us stop him. You're just a pony." "Not just any pony…" Suddenly two bright red wings unfolded from his back. "A Pegasus."

He took off into the air as he pushed something on his right saddlebag. It suddenly unfolded and a bow came into place in front of his right hoof, attached to his back. He turned and neatly shot four arrows in rapid succession on the ground in a straight line. He landed before us, the bow retracting back into the saddlebag.

I was stunned, to say the least. Lock spoke up and said, "We have wronged you, Shrike. You are indeed worthy of helping us." Shrike shook his head. "Thank you, but ponies think I'm helpless a lot. It's no big deal." I stood before Shrike and held out my hand. "Shrike, I would be honored to have you join us." He took it and shook heartily. "Well, then let's go."

As we headed off into the gloom, I was heartened that we now had three in our group. It was time to dethrone the Gaust.

Together.

We continued on our lonely path for many days, overpowering many hardships as a team, and growing closer to each other as friends. When we had finally entered the domain of the Gaust, we were ready to stop him. We could see the Castle in the distance, but in between us and it were swarms of Renegade tribe. Thank the gods that they were only human.

We hid behind a rock and prepared ourselves for a frontal assault. We were going to sneak as much as we could, but if we were sighted it was going to be a run and gun. I stood up and held my hand aloft. When I was to give the agreed signal, Shrike was going to fly over to the other side of camp and create a distraction. And then come back to us. We were going to run as fast as we could while under an invisibility spell. I gave the signal and silently dashed off with Lock at my side.

Not a few seconds later there was an explosion from the other side of camp, causing most of the soldiers to scramble around, trying to help put out the flames as they spread. Shrike flew overhead, archers trying their shot at him. As we ran I took a small chance and put a small shield around him that would deflect arrows. As it was, a small green light emitted from my staff and rendered us visible for a split second. A few Renegade saw us, but when we disappeared moments after, the rubbed their eyes and continued on putting out the flames.

We sprinted away and after a minute reached the foothills of the castle. I opened the gate with my magic and we stormed in. a few guards saw us and charged. They didn't last two seconds. I dispatched them with a wave of my staff. We got all the way up to the top floor of the castle, and we saw the Gaust. He was human, but he was a master of the dark arts, allowing him to transform into any beast or thing.

We braced ourselves.

He stood from his chair and told his guards to disperse. "Well, now this is certainly an interesting sight. "A boy with his pet cat and his pony." Shrike pushed the side of his saddlebag and brought out his bow. "You've killed your last subject, you self-crowned whelp!

The Gaust's eyes narrowed and he raised his hands. The sky darkened and his eyes burned red. "You dare call me a whelp?" he launched a fireball at Shrike, and he nimbly dodged it. "Ha! Is that all you've got?" Then the real battle began. I unsheathed my sword and readied my Volts. Lock's fur stood on end and his claws slipped out. Shrike started firing arrows rapidly. Each one would have its mark, but the Gaust dodged them all.

I charged him with my sword, and he materialized one and blocked my blow as I struck. He roared with fury and Changed into a bear, Swatting at me with its claws. I barely dodged one and Then Lock joined the fray. He jumped onto the great bear's back and ripped it to shreds. The Gaust knocked the cat off and changed back into a human.

Blood was streaming down his back, but his eyes glinted as it healed. He again roared inhumanly and charged Shrike with his sword. Shrike pulled out his own short sword with his mouth just in time to block his blow. I came up behind him with lock, but he jumped into the air. When he hit the ground, waves of energy rippled outward, knocking me down. Lock gracefully jumped over it and in front of the Gaust again.

They grappled for a moment while I regained my footing and Shrike tried to get a clear shot. They rolled back and forth across the floor and Then Lock gave a savage kick, throwing The Gaust against the wall. Shrike saw the opening and shot an arrow, and as it left the string I imbued it with power. It struck the Gaust's midsection so fast it went completely into him and into the wall.

He gave a loud scream and the building shook. I hesitated no longer. Pulling out my sword, I ran up to him and looked him right in the eye.

Then I sliced his head off.

The world went silent as the evil power of the Gaust was drained from the castle. It started to tremble and cracks began to riddle the floor. Shrike picked me up and put me on his back. "Pick up Lock with your magic!" he took off as I did so. He flew right toward the roof and rammed a section that was coming loose. It fell down and we flew out of the shattering castle.

We landed outside in the castle gardens. It had completely broken, and chucks of cracked rock were everywhere. Not a soul was alive. Each one had been killed because the Gaust's power had left them.

They were then Teleported back To Equestria, Shrike's home world, never to return to the desolate place. There I met the Princess of light, Celestia, and the Princess of darkness, Luna. Together, they gave me the ability to live forever. I was immortal. And I always will be.

Now I have eternity to spend with them as well as my friends and companions, Locksley and Shrike, for they were also granted immortality.

And my dreams and hopes were restored. I'd lived up to my Father's Expectations, and I had loved and protected my mother and siblings as much as I could. Now can finally Relax, Free of all my duties….

At least for now….

The End.

Story written By Giovanni Sepulveda Jr.

Special thanks to my friend River Morris for Inspiration for the main character, Grimm and Locksley.

I got some of my ideas for the weapons from the game Zenonia, and all rights go to them for those.

Thanks for reading!