Chapter 8: Fight Me m8 irl.

"Come with me."

Um. Alright.

Quietly, I followed with uncertainty.

Go ahead, take me to my death again. I really want it this time. But honestly, it doesn't look like we're heading towards the courtyard at all, but rather to another part of the large castle.

We quietly moved across the long hall, passing a blacksmith's shop, an armory, and even the mess hall. I was half expecting her to push me into the mess hall as I looked inside, but she just waited until I was satisfied from looking at it, keeping her face neutral as she did so.

I wanted to ask where we were going, but some part of me didn't want to know. After all, she might just be sending me to the barracks which happened to be on the other side of this fucking fortress of a castle. I'm always expecting something like this to happen at the back of my head, because I've already come to terms that things can always go the wrong way.

I held tight to my body, covering my bare chest as I walked behind the brigadier's shadow, mind rambling with thoughts about what might happen to me. My footsteps echo louder than the other ponies in the hall, causing an unwanted attention to turn towards me. My sights caught a small glimpse of blue fur on one of the tinted windows as I walked. The sneaky fucker decided to take another peek at me once I couldn't see them again, which I only knew because of that familiar feeling you get when you are being watched. Though, that feeling might just be coming from all the other ponies around me.

We walked for a while, turning corners and going up stairs, to the point where I don't even think we're near the courtgrounds anymore. We stopped at a large, golden door which was adorned with rubies and the like. It's sheen blinded me as the sun's rays conveniently hit it, causing me to flinch for a second whilst the brigadier opens the doors.

"In." She said.

Ok.

Stepping in the room, I realise that I'm really missing out on living in this small world.

Colorful paintings covered the walls, each one with their own story. They were bordered, with the borders themselves being painted a brilliant red. The carpet I stood on felt softer than the fur on those animal jackets, which means that it was REALLY soft, not to mention the really intricate pattern on it.

A small pony mannequin was situated in the corner, alongside anything else that seemed related with the military: wands, swords, shields, you name it, it has it. It all looked rather cluttered, but I didn't really have the urge to clean them...and assort them in neat piles...and clean the dust on their surfaces with polish....not that I wanted to do that.

There was also a small table with a book and pen on it, but I didn't see much after Scarlett decided to take it away and hide it in her nightstand, which was beside the bed. On the table there were picture frames, whose pictures I really couldn't see because they were angled away from me.

Oh and her bed...that bed.

Jesus Christ that bed looked so comfortable to sleep in. It's sheets looked like silk and the pillows corresponded to the duvet's colours, which were ruby. The bed was almost three times as wide as me and as long as me, judging from my observations. There were too many pillows to count for me because they all seemed to camouflage into the bed itself.

I just stood at the entrance, gawking awkwardly at the room like a child staring at a candy store, taking my attention away from Scarlett, who was waiting for me to finish observing the room. My attention finally caught her as she undressed her armor, leaving the parts on her wings as she probably needed someone else to do it other than her. She neatly placed them beside the nightstand, angling her two sheathed swords towards her for easy access just in case any danger came afoot.

Her light tan coat gleamed of sweat as the window's rays hit it. I could see the little beads of sweat adorning her body, making it seem like she was extremely tired, but she looked like she didn't mind. Her auburn hair clung to her body like glue, stuck from the sweat as she shakes her hoof-shoes(?) off. After placing her shoes in a neat fashion, she looks at me again, flaring out her metal-clad wings.

"Fight me." She said.

My skin quickly lost it's saturation from the blood retreating from it and into my feet, which were charged with energy to run as fast as I can from this crazy bitch. My hands began to involuntarily shake just from the words she gave, and my chest began to tighten, reminding me of a harrowing experience the day before.

"Y-you're crazy...right?" I stuttered.

"I know you can fight, my guards just attacked you before you even noticed."

"I wasn't unaware about it, I was waiting for the match to start!"

"The match started the moment I gave out the requirements to lose."

"That's not fair."

"Life's not fair, now fight me."

How am I going to fight her? She's definitely too overpowered for me, as shown by her 1-hit KO moves which were demonstrated on me the day before.

"G-go easy on me...You've already seen how terrible I am."

"Now that wouldn't be fun, would it?"

I calm myself down, taking long breaths to balance out my nervous disposition. Soon the shaking stops, a cool wave washes over my body, doing the opposite of making me shiver-which was making me warm. My eyes focused onto Scarlett, looking for anything that showed weakness, but that failed terribly as I saw nothing but pure determination on her face. Her tail flicked about, ready to join the fight too.

"Alright. Here I go."

In an instant, my feet surged with power as I ran from the entrance to the end of the room, which was where Scarlett was. My fist balled themselves, ready to make contact with her cheeks. Scarlett just stood there, maintaining her position as I closed the distance, watching my every move as her wings were kept flared.

Once I was meters apart from her, I targeted the place which would cause the most harm. I've always learned that hitting the place with the most symmetry would cause the most damage to the enemy, and this would mean that I'd have to punch right under her neck (because of how tall I was), where the middle of her collarbones would be if she were human, which would hopefully disable her enough for me to get another hit in. I shouted at the top of my lungs as I lunged in for the hit, knees bending to aim low due to her small stature.

Scarlett suddenly reared up, wings flared. With a heavy stomp, her wings blew forward straight at my face, blasting air and stopping my charge completely as I was knocked back, dazed and confused.

I already knew that this would leave me open for her to attack, which was confirmed as she lunged straight at me. Due to the excruciatingly close distance we had to each other, I could only dodge by jumping to the right side, which I did barely as her front hoof connected with the tip of my left shoulder, spinning me as I flew to the right.

My sights blurred and nausea started acting up from the dizzyness, but I couldn't stop here. I could see from my peripherals that Scarlett had already turned to me, rearing back for her stomp one more.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed.

I rolled away on the soft, furry floor, hearing her stomp as though it hit just next to my ear. A breeze of wind followed after which came from her wings. I used the little time I had to compose myself as Scarlett recovered from her stomp. Fists ready, I lunged straight for the side of her body, where she could barely see me. My hit failed terribly as her left wing acted as a shield, blocking the blunt force from my fist and momentarily disarming me once more as her wing extended itself, flinging my fist away and pushing me back.

Scarlett retaliated as I composed myself, flying straight at me and pinning me down with her body. Her legs rooted themselves on my sides, allowing me an opportunity to wriggle out. That plan was shot to bits once I started to realize how easily she could catch up to me once I rolled away.

"I got you now." She panted.

My hands pushed her abdomen, feeling the soft coat and her own body as I tried to lift her off me. Again, her front legs bent them themselves, giving me the sudden realization that I was just helping her out to stomp me. That sly smirk on her muzzle said it all.

"Thanks for lifting me up."

Panicking in the last moments before I became one with the floor, I gave all of my strength to pushing her body straight off, forcing her to land on her bottom, trapping my legs in the process. I turn the tables quite literally as I became the one to hover over her, pushing her legs open and pinning them with my knees to stop her from kicking me. My hands take care of her forelegs, gripping them tightly as she struggled with great strength.

But even in this position, I struggled to keep her under my grasp as her wings hit me continuously. They blinded my sight greatly, to the point where I let in a headbutt from Scarlett straight to my forehead, which greatly debilitated me. Taking her chance whilst I recovered, she ejected my body from hers straight to the wall.

My back is hit with excruciating pain, forcing me to scream out in my fazed condition. I fall straight down to the floor, my ass taking a beating as well as gravity slams it straight down. Gritting my teeth, my sights shook as I saw the brigadier sauntering over to my weakened form. I quickly noticed that the wing I hit from before began to jerk every so often, confirming that I was able to deal at least some considerable damage.

"You've done well. But I'm getting tired, and the guards need to me to finish you off." She grinned.

I saw from the windows that most of the pegasi guards and the other races who had been lifted up by them were watching our short battle. Some jeered and some cheered as they watched their brigadier go in for the killing blow.

Wings flared, forelegs reared up high, I watched Scarlett do her final move.

"Can't you fucking do anything else than stomp me?" I grunted as my fingers flexed, relaxing my hands for the last move I can make in this dire situation.

"Oh nonono, I won't stomp you. I'll use something that I learned long ago from a mare with a rainbow mane." She replied.

My eyes watched her wings becoming fully stretched. She was almost done preparing for her blow.

"Personally, I'd call this move...The Air Cannon."

I quickly positioned myself, crouching to pretend that I can't get up as my feet eases it's tensions and get ready to give whatever energy I had left to make the highest jump I could make. If this 'air cannon' was going to hit me, it'd better miss when I jump, because this is the only shot I have left.

"FINISH HIM. FINISH HIM. FINISH HIM." The muffled chants of the royal guards only fueled my determination to get this through.

With a mighty slam, Scarlett unleashed a white mass of death that would easily crush my bones to the wall from the resounding pressure. I could only observe quick enough to see that it was a projectile which was shaped like a circle, which also had a hollow center but with a wall of white...air?

With all my might, I leaped straight to the air, my left fist raring to go as I aimed straight for her head.

The grey blob of death clipped my right foot, forcing me downwards faster than I'd expected. Fortunately, I was close enough to land a hit as Scarlett was still rooted to the ground, seemingly tired from using the move.

"Fuck you and all these fucking horses!"

Scarlett's eyes widen as my body quietly hovers over her head. She had no way to dodge this, not ever. This had to be it.

My fist comes crashing down to her back, smack-dab in the middle of her two wings. I could even see a bright blue glow on my fist as I slammed it down as hard as I could. The resulting contact was painful enough to have broken my hands, but it must have dealt more to this bitch if the ice surrounding the area where I hit her proved anything.

It worked, it fucking worked! YES! YES! YES! GOD YES!

I could hear her scream in agony as I fell on top of her, crushing her with my weight. I tried to prop myself up with my left hand but I immediately stopped as I felt my nerves getting ripped apart from the broken bones inside it, which caused me to yelp in pain. I got up using my right hand, bending my left arm in a safe position as I stood up.

Scarlett remained on the floor, her mane covering her eyes as she panted heavily, her cheeks strangely red which was probably due to her straining them too much. I could see the ringed bruise on her back from where I hit her. It was black and purple, which didn't fit with the overall color of her coat. A mixed array of red and purple veins clustered themselves in the middle of the black ring, and the thin, spiky, wall of chipped ice that formed around it added a nice touch.

"I shouldn't have gone easy on you." Scarlett chuckled, coughing up a some blood in the process. Her body didn't move a muscle after my hit.

"I wouldn't have lived if you didn't go easy on me." I replied, shivering terribly as my broken hand grows increasingly painful now that the adrenaline has faded away from my system. "You do know that your buddies are gonna murder me, knowing that I hurt their leader...right?"

"They won't come in here unless I tell them to.....heh." She scoffs at the end of the sentence.

I wonder what that meant.

"Do you want me to take you to the infirmary with me? I'll hold you while you tell me where to go." I proposed.

As much as I hated her, I can't just leave her here. My inner gentleman wouldn't allow that.

Scarlett nodded weakly. I carefully snaked my right arm under her belly, wrapping it around herself as she held onto my shoulders with her forelegs. Her muzzle was up and close to my own, I could feel her hot and heavy breath land on my cheek as she peers at me through her mane.

"That....was a good fight...don't you think?" She asked.

"Mhm." I grunted as I slowly got up, holding her waist against mine. I slowly walked out of the room, cherishing the soft, furry floor before I meet the stone cold variant in due time. The eerie silence filled my ears as I trudged to the door.

Then I saw something from the windows, past the gleam-eyed guards who stalked my every move.

"Oh look, it's night time."

We quietly walked to the infirmary, me keeping quiet as I hold Scarlett. The halls we walked in had no lights, and were only filled with the rays of the moon. I guess the ponies here are quite eco with their energy use. Scarlett spoke only when she needed to, which was usually when we came to a turning point.

Everything seemed quite awkward on our way back, as shown by the lack of conversation between us and the weird position we were in. The pain in my left hand grew ever more painful, to the point where just shivering felt like I was being stabbed there repeatedly, so I had to calm myself as we walked. The wing that I injured on Scarlet began to annoy me too, flapping me in the back each time I took a step.

I didn't dare to look at her, this is all her fault after all. I mean, why does someone ask you to fight them in their bedroom? I really don't get that. Was it some kind of initiation that she does to everyone? If it was, does that mean that I passed? I mean...not being dead means that I've passed right?

"Take a left, and then we're there." She said.

I grunted, nodding to her instructions.

I had attracted attention the moment I left her room, which is never a good thing. Everyone looked at me as though I was the culprit to whatever happened to her, eyes gleaming and snarls hidden from the wounded brigadier. Luckily for me, Jade's infirmary was right in front of me, doors open wide to display the sounds of the wounded and sick.

Jade was sitting on my bed, yawning as if she just woke up.

Oh my God.

SHE JUST WOKE UP?

"J-Jade! I...uhh.....just look over here please." I sighed. Jade turned to see me in the entrance holding the brigadier with one arm.

"Oh, there you are! You disappeared when I woke up!" She rushed over to me, encasing Scarlett in her magic as she spoke to me

"That must have been a few minutes ago." I deadpanned.

"Hehe."

I trudged over to my bed, Jade and Scarlett following suit. She placed the brigadier beside me on my bed, whilst I tried to relax. I looked at my broken hand, which looked disfigured and lumpy. Patches of purple and red littered the bumpy landscape. Some of my fingers lay in ruin, some were forever stuck in the 'fist' position because of the fear that moving anything would cause too much pain for me, and some were just bent too far.

It really looked terrible now that I looked at it, and my body wasn't in better shape.

My chest looked seemingly fine, apart form a few bruises and such. But the damage was dealt to my back, which I couldn't see at the time. Jade later told me that it was just 'red all over', like a red skin cape. The pain wasn't much from there, since I didn't really flex almost any of the muscles on my back. I was always the kind to keep it straight and not slouch, despite the life I lived back when I was on earth.

A strong migraine was already stirring inside me head from that iron headbutt Scarlett gave me. I just hope she doesn't knock out any of my memories, because I need them to remember that I actually lived in Earth once, and not here.

"Hold still Scarly, I'll heal ya." Jade smiled at her.

"What about me?" I said.

"Later, family first." She replied.

Family first?

Wait...are you trying to say that...

no....it can't be.....no....no...NO.....NO!

Scarlett's your sister?

FUCK.

Now I get why she's been watching me when I got here.

I watch the two siblings fussing about beside me, Jade being ever kind whilst her (presumably older) sister looked away with an ashamed face. Scarlett's wing was the first priority for Jade, who tapped her horn on it whilst the magic inside it covered the injured wing. I tried to keep the pain away by thinking of unrelated things, games, or even games in rule 34. Just anything to numb the pain in my hand, since my uncle always told me that your senses will feel less pain from something if another thing is attracting your attention, much like the reason why you don't smell whoever 'dropped the bomb' in class after a while.

"Hold still Scarly."

"I'm trying." She muttered.

I peeked a look to see the black, veiny ring on Scarlett's back slowly fading away, the blackness spreading across her tan body and disappearing into the coat. The light hum of magic entered my ears as Jade continued the procedure, calmly healing her sister. After Jade was done with Scarlett, she moved on to me.

"Alright, grab my horn for a sec. The magic will reach it faster than if I just put it around your palm." Jade smiled.

"Sounds good enough for me." I said.

I suddenly felt a strong, invisible aura enter my very being. Something...dark...and angry. It felt as though someone was sending a strong wave of killing intent and they were beside me-

Oh. It's just Scarlett.

Her chrome eyes gleamed with fury, opening wide and staring into my very soul.

"Don't worry Scarly, he doesn't know about it." Jade reassured her sister.

"I hope he doesn't." Scarlett growled.

What did she mean by that?

Anyways, my lumpy hand feebly grabs hold of Jade's horn. It felt warm to the touch, despite the slashed nerves in my hand telling me otherwise. Jade starts up her magic again, sending a slight chill through my hand which spreads all across my body. I grip tighter to the sudden temperature change, feeling relieved and also cold at the same time.

"This....this feels nice." I sighed.

"D-ditto." Jade stuttered.

And there I sat, grasping a mare's horn in a platonic fashion.

Hours passed, and the injuries that Scarlett and I took had finally been healed. Jade brought me a small meal at the end of it due to the fact that I hadn't eaten in more than a day...and also because my stomach grumbled halfway through the healing session.

At that point, everything felt just peachy. I felt great, my hand felt great, my stomach felt great and best of all, I haven't suffered near death in a while.  I felt more than ready to just curl up and sleep on my bed now, since it's night time, but I still had to deal with the brigadier:

Who was not moving an inch from my home.

She sat idly, staring at me as she sat on the end of my short bed. I sat on the other side, the headboards chilling my shirt-less body. My legs were spread out as far as they were able to before they hit the ends of the bed, Scarlett sat inbetween them.

"Are you going to get out of my bed or not?" I questioned.

"Why should I get out?" She replied.

"Because this is where I sleep, not where you stare at me whilst I sleep." I said.

Scarlett stood up and walked to me, her muzzle leveling with my face as she approached slowly.

"Tell me, have you ever heard of a mare's estrous cycle?" Scarlett said. Her tone deepened a little bit at the end.

The words from her sentence seemed to hit every surrounding pony within a 20 meter radius. Stallions in particular seemed to flick their ears straight up at the mention of those very words. They looked at the source of where the words came from, to see a pony sitting on a hooman's lap.

She was actually very close for comfort, like a bit too much. She was entering my own personal space, a space that can only be used by me and only me, to violate it would be similar to just slap me. But still, she stayed there, breathing my own air and expelling hers; sending her scent to me as she smelled mine; initiating contact without permission. I really didn't like any of this at all.

"No, not really. Now get off me before I slap you." I demanded.

She stayed.

"I'm too tired to return to my bedroom." She yawned.

"Fly there." I replied.

"Did you even hear what I just said?"

"I don't care, ask one of your guards to carry you there."

"I prefer to not be touched by the opposite gender, especially those who I don't know."

"Same here, chrome eyes."

She backed up a bit, staring at me incredulously.

"What did you call me?" She said. Her tone didn't really seem that angry, nor did her facial expressions support this. She looked like she was genuinely curious as to what I just called her right now. Jade appeared in my sights, carrying another cupcake towards me as she goes down the hall.

"Chrome eyes? Did that offend you or anything?" I said.

"No. It's the first time someone has given me another...nick...name...as they would call it." She replied.

"So...it's your first nickname other than Scarly?"

She nodded.

For someone who can kill me, she really seems so primitive at times. Does she have any friends at all? probably not, since she would murder them if they so much as made a light joke about her.

"Alright, this is the last cupcake....uh-" Jade pondered.

"Raijin, isn't it?" Scarlett said.

She took the hovering cake with her hooves from Jade and presented to me. I'm surprised she knew my name after all she put me through. I took it and say thanks, politely scarfing down the sweet goodness as the two watched. The icing was sweeter than I'd ever imagined, making me want more of it like a drug. After devouring the cupcake whole, I began to prop my pillow for the night.

"Alright, that's enough. I'm going to sleep." I said as I moved Scarlett of my lap and to the side of my bed. "Sleep here if you want, just don't drool on me like Jade does."

"I don't drool!" She replied.

"Liar." I said.

I turn to my side, my back facing Scarlett and my front being placed precariously over the edge of my own bed. I managed to take up more space as Scarlett began to relinquish some of hers. Jade didn't climb back in this time, since she just woke up and was probably going to take the night shift.

"Have a good night, you two." Jade whispered as she walked away.

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