The Kings' Legacies
Chapter 18: Recreation
Previous Chapter Next Chapter"Um, I don't know if this is such a good idea, Indoraptor."
"What's there to worry about, Blackjack? You've told me a few times that you never got any real good lessons back in your home. Plus, she's the one pony who knows more about magic than anypony else."
"Yes I get that, but I'm not exactly the best at learning things. Back in my home I had trouble paying attention in my classes. Ponies would most times find me passed out and drooling halfway through each lesson. Plus, my horn isn't exactly suitable for learning new magic."
Indoraptor had noticed that compared to other unicorns, Blackjack's horn was a great deal smaller. For a unicorn of her age, her horn would have to be the same size as Rarity's or Twilight's. The fact that it was smaller than most and closer to that of a teenage pony confused him. Also the fact that her horn was made of metal did make more sense why he hadn't seen her doing any other spells besides levitation spells and her telekinetic bullets. So he thought that Blackjack deserved the chance to learn some more spells that could help her further down the line, and he knew the one pony that had the prowess and smarts to teach her.
"Are you sure she won't mind?" Blackjack asked as they walked up to the library.
"If the last time we saw her is any indication, I think Twilight could use some excitement in her life. Also, please don't tell her anything about our trip to Canterlot, ok?"
"Don't worry Indoraptor, I made the same promise as you and your family. I won't breathe a word about Ra to anypony."
"Good. Now let's see if she's up for giving you a magic lesson," Indoraptor said as he knocked on the door.
Indoraptor could hear the sound of her hooves from inside the library before Twilight had even made it to the door. Once again, Blackjack could see the slight glimmer in her eyes once she saw the hybrid raptor again.
"Welcome back, Indoraptor. Is there a new ability you need to have studied again?"
"Not this time, Twilight, and it's not for me. I was hoping you could help Blackjack out with a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
Indoraptor nudged Blackjack to get her to say what was on her mind.
"Well, if you're up for it Twilight.....I was wondering if you could teach me some magic lessons?"
"You want to learn new magic? But you're a full grown unicorn, surely you got plenty of lessons back in your old town."
"Not exactly. Most of my time was spent learning security protocol and trying to reinforce it. I, heh, had trouble keeping myself awake during most of those classes, and it's gonna sound really embarrassing but, I didn't even know the spell of how to undo hoof cuffs."
"Really?" Twilight asked, surprised at how ashamed Blackjack sounded about something so simple.
"Yes. I had to ask my mom to undo them for me in front of the entire security team. It's not one of my best moments. Especially now that I have this metal horn, I'm not even sure that I CAN learn new magic."
"That sounds like a challenge. Lucky for you, I have enough knowledge and books to teach you any spell you'd want to know."
"Seriously? Thanks Twilight, I really appreciate you willing to give me a chance. Though I hope you can handle my habits and potential dozing during these lessons."
"Not to worry Blackjack. Rainbow Dash had habits that are very similar to what you've told me about yourself. Trying to teach her about the Wonderbolts for her big test was one heck of a hassle. So I'm prepared for that kind of scenario and more importantly, I can find you a method that works in your favor just like I found one for Rainbow."
"Sounds like you've got this handled, Twilight. I'll be on my way and I'll drop by again later to see how things went."
Blackjack headed inside the library and Indoraptor was about to take off when Twilight tugged at his tail. He caught the blush on her cheeks again and thought about what Viper had told him last night after their time with Echo. He would have to be careful about how he handled this situation.
"Yes, Twilight?"
"Um, Indoraptor? I know that you've still got a lot on your plate, what with Neighsay's thing against your family, those hybrids attacking Viper and all, but do you think that there could be a day where we could, hang out together? Just the two of us?"
Twilight was rubbing her foreleg nervously as the blush got deeper on her face. Blackjack was enjoying the whole moment, it was almost like all the times she had asked out or hit on the mares back in her stable. Only Twilight wasn't offering Indoraptor a fun time in bed or steamy hardcore pleasure in return like she had done numerous times.
"You mean like a date?" That word got Twilight stuttering hard.
She was nervously trying to come up with a response, but was instead tripping over her own words and unable to come up with a response. Indoraptor glanced over at Blackjack for some kind of help with this situation. She gave a wink back at him and mouthed the words "go for it." Indoraptor gave a slight nod, then bent down and nuzzled against Twilight's neck to calm her down.
"It's ok, Twilight. I'd love to spend a date with you."
"Y-You mean that?" Indoraptor nodded his head and happy tears were streaming down Twilight's cheeks.
She hugged Indoraptor's face and nuzzled against him, trying to dry her tears as the overwhelming emotions flowed out of her. He noticed Blackjack had a satisfied, yet smug grin on her face from seeing the alicorn's reaction. Part of him wondered what was going through her mind with telling him to accept Twilight's offer, despite how he felt towards Blackjack. Then again, he had Pinkie's sister and a bat pony crushing on him as well, so there really was no clear way to think about any of it.
"Would a few days from now be enough time for you?" Indoraptor asked gently.
"Yes, that's plenty of time. Any longer and I might go a little Twily-nanas."
Both Indoraptor and Blackjack giggled at the silly name.
"It's something my brother called me when I had these moments where I freaked out too much."
"I think it's cute. I'll see you around Twilight, and good luck with your lesson Blackjack."
"I'll be fine Indoraptor, now you go out and get some grub."
"Will do," Indoraptor replied before heading back into Ponyville and Twilight closed the door to the library with a very content and happy smile on her face.
"Somepony's pretty happy now that she's got a date."
"I didn't think he'd say yes. I thought for sure he would've turned me down since he has you."
"What? There's nothing between us, Twilight."
"Wait, really? You haven't seen the way he looks at you? Whenever Indoraptor's around you he always seems so happy and relaxed. You've been living with him and his family for at least a week now, how have you not noticed in all that time?"
"Because I'm not a smart pony, Twilight. I'm not bright, I have mental and physical scars that would scare anypony out of their living minds, and I still have trouble wondering if I'm still all pony or just a machine now. I don't notice what's going on around me because I'm too dumb and thickheaded to see it."
"Now that's not true," Twilight said as she put a hoof under Blackjack's chin and brought her face up. "You're not dumb, you've just been away from Equestria for a long time. Your time was different because you never had peace or time to focus on anything else. Here, you can become a better pony and see how much you mean to those that care about you."
"But how, Twilight?"
"Patience and time, Blackjack. That's all you'll need to see how important you are, but for now, let's focus on something easy for you to do. Like teleporting."
"I hope it's easier than it sounds," Blackjack said as Twilight began her first lesson.
"Just watch first."
Twilight ignited her horn and in a burst of magic, she disappeared from Blackjack's view. The unicorn looked around the library, trying to see where Twilight was, until she heard the magic burst right behind her and nearly jumped at being surprised.
"See? It's easy. All it takes is a little focus and concentration on where you want to be."
"Alright."
Blackjack tried to pick a spot in the library that she could teleport to without knocking into something in the process. She set her sight on the upper portion of the library, closed her eyes and focused on igniting her own magic. Twilight saw a white aura form around her horn and magic was crackling along it. She noticed that Blackjack was straining in her efforts to try and perform the spell, sweat was sliding down her face and veins were starting to bulge on her forehead. Blackjack let out a frustrated yell as the magic enveloped her body and she disappeared in a burst.
Now it was Twilight's turn to start looking around the library for Blackjack, though she didn't have to search long when she heard the sound of one of her shelves being slammed into and books falling out of place from upstairs. Twilight flew up to her bedroom and found Blackjack laying on the floor in a heap, her eyes spinning from the impact and coming out of the teleportation itself.
"Ugh....was your first time this nauseating?" Blackjack asked as her eyes tried to adjust to her surroundings. Twilight chuckled as she helped Blackjack back to her hooves.
"Not exactly, but teleporting does take a lot of magic to use. So the first one can be exhausting, though I'm surprised you managed to get up here on your first try. It took me twenty tries or so to get the hang of going that far."
"Really? I was trying to get a little further than this, but all I did was mess up your books. Just like I said, I don't exactly have the best control or the best kind of magic either."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Blackjack," Twilight said as she used her magic to put all the books back in their places. "Everypony starts out somewhere, and you definitely have potential. We just need to strengthen your horn and magic so doing spells like this will become easier over time."
"Y-You really mean that, Twilight?"
"Of course I do. I promise you Blackjack that by the time we're finished, you'll be able to perform more spells than you've ever thought possible."
"Like my own personal teacher?"
"Yes."
A warm smile started spreading across Blackjack's face and Twilight used one of her wings to wipe away a stray tear before the unicorn got too emotional again. As they walked back downstairs to try more spells, Twilight had a realization of her own. She finally understood how Rainbow Dash felt when she took Scootaloo under her wing. She had her own student in Blackjack and could give her knowledge and experience to the willing mare.
Indoraptor decided to use his free time to wander around Ponyville while Blackjack was getting her magic lesson from Twilight. Now that he no longer had to worry about hiding himself or everypony trying to hunt him down, he was far more laid back and easygoing with everypony he saw. Ponies everywhere were waving at him and giving genuine smiles whenever he passed by, and it definitely warmed his scaly heart to know that what he and Viper had done that night hadn't been forgotten. He only wished that he had more time to make a bigger difference in Equestria, but thinking back to what Echo and her kind had taught him helped the hybrid push those thoughts out of his head.
He passed by the schoolhouse just in time to see his sister having fun playing with her friends. He called out to her and she turned at the sounds of his call.
"So brother, is Blackjack having her lesson with Twilight?"
"That's right, sister. I left her in capable hooves, and Twilight is the best pony that can teach her."
"You should've given me and my dad a chance to teach her some of our magic," said Screwball. "She could have so much fun learning our trade secrets."
"I don't think she's the kind of pony that would want to know chaos magic, Screwy," said Precious. "Besides, that's not something you could teach outside of your family."
"She's right, Screwy. Besides, Indoraptor's only doing this because she admitted to him that she never got to learn any new spells," said Viper.
"Once this is done, Blackjack just wants to get used to having a peaceful life. She even promised to tell us what her life was really like back in her time. That's something I personally have been wanting to know since I brought her home." Indoraptor said with eagerness.
"Wait? Doesn't she know tons of spells like most unicorns?" Cozy Glow asked.
"No, she doesn't. Blackjack's told me that levitation and her special bullets are the only spells she knows," said Viper.
"Really? Well that's a real shame for her," said Cozy Glow.
"Which is why it's such a sweet thing that you're doing this for her, brother." Viper said as she nuzzled her hybrid brother. "Oh, before I forget, the girls and I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"After school we were going to see about helping Viper and Precious find their cutie marks, since they're the only ones who still haven't gotten them yet," said Screwball.
Screwball had earned her cutie mark from spending quality time with her dad at a baseball game. They ended up making some friendly chaos that was good enough to make the front page, much to Fluttershy's dismay and annoyance. Indoraptor and Viper had heard of Discord telling Indominus about how badly he and Screwball had been told off and punished for their mischief. Yet in all the time they had spent together, the rest of the hybrid trio hadn't done anything particular or special that could earn them a cutie mark. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were part dragon or part dinosaur, it simply was that neither Viper or Precious had discovered their true talents.
"Would you be up for joining us afterwards? The Crusaders are meeting us here and taking us to their old clubhouse to show us what they did to earn theirs," said Precious.
"Hmm, I don't see why not. I gave Blackjack the whole day to learn all that she wants from Twilight, and I don't have to be anywhere. So count me in girls, it might be nice to see what big sis Scootaloo did when she was a filly."
"Excellent! Then we'll see you here later," Screwball said before Indoraptor went back on his walk through Ponyville.
"So, the half machine pony hardly knows any spells and is trying to learn from Twilight Sparkle. I wonder if Sombra knows about this. I'll have to ask him when I see him again."
Neither Indoraptor nor Viper had any idea that the little pegasus was scheming behind their backs with one of the deadliest unicorns in Equestria's history.
Ironically, later that day Cozy Glow would receive a number of unexpected visits from ponies that she thought had been chased out. It began after school got out and Indoraptor had just arrived at the schoolhouse after the Crusaders. She told them that she would meet up with them at the old clubhouse later because she had to let her parents know that she would be home late. But it was really just so she could sneak off to the post office, write a letter to Neighsay and Sombra and see if there was anything for her from either of them. Scootaloo drew out a map to the clubhouse and gave it to Cozy Glow so she could meet up with the hybrids later.
She flew over Ponyville until she was sure that none of them could see her and began making her way towards the post office. Cozy Glow had just gotten passed the old abandoned house where Indoraptor had been held captive when she felt two different auras of magic holding her in place. She saw that one was purple and the other was light green as they pulled her into an alley that was shielded by barrels and crates. Before Cozy Glow knew what was happening, she was pinned against the wall with four sets of angry eyes from four marked mares glaring at her.
"You didn't tell us that thing actually had friends," Swoon Song seethed. The claw marks left by Indominus had healed, but they left behind sickly scars down the length of her face.
"We nearly got what we needed from him, and then his monstrous father stopped us, nearly destroyed our home and marked us for life," said Dear Darling.
"You promised us that nopony would find him. YOU said his family would never manage to find us. YOU nearly got us killed by that abomination of a king, and now YOU are going to pay for what's been done to us," Scorpion raged with fury.
Cozy Glow just then realized the predicament she was in. The ponies she had told about Indoraptor and had sent after him to carry out their sick desires had returned, only permanently marked for their actions. But this time it wasn't just them, the four mares had returned with a small army of mares hidden away behind them. She had to come up with something quick or else they were going to tear her apart.
"Now girls, I know that you're thinking this is all my fault, but how was I supposed to know that he'd actually bond with ponies?"
"You told us yourself that there was nopony in all of Ponyville that would ever care for a filthy beast like him," said Dear Darling.
Scorpion raised her tail and had the end of the point aimed right for Cozy Glow's eyes.
"Any last words before I gouge out your eyes and do to you what that monster and his followers did to us?"
"I do, Scorpion. You really don't want to do this, because if I'm gone, how else are you going to get revenge on Indoraptor?"
"We'll lure him to us and exact our revenge on him."
"And how do you plan on doing that? Going to his castle? Baiting him into coming out and not getting one of the dinosaurs to see you? The second any of you try to set foot out there somepony will alert them and you'll be found out again."
Now Scorpion was the one who felt at a loss for words. She and Dear Darling set Cozy Glow down as they soon realized that there wasn't much that they or their small army of mares could do. Against the family they stood no chance, and Cozy Glow could see that she had managed to gain some small control over the situation.
"We hadn't thought that far ahead," Scorpion admitted.
"We were just so looking forward to making him suffer and then renewing our delightful experiences," said Swoon Song.
"Well there is a way that you can draw him out, and he'll come running to you, completely oblivious to your trap," said Cozy Glow.
"What do we have to do?" Dear Darling asked.
"Strike him in the one place where it will hurt the most and draw the most pain: his heart. You go after a pony he cares about above all others, and he'll run headfirst through a vortex to bring her back."
"Like the pony who found out about our operation and alerted his father?"
"Oh no, Scorpion. This is a pony that he truly values and has stuck by ever since he found her and brought her to his castle. She's a pony with metal limbs and she's been out of place for so long it seems."
The mares all started cracking up laughing, leaving Cozy Glow perplexed and rather insulted.
"Stop laughing at me."
"What did you expect us to do? There's no way a mare like that can exist," said Fond Feather.
"I can believe that dinosaurs are roaming Equestria, but there's no way that ponies could ever look like what you've described." Fond Feather said so smugly.
"Uh girls, if that were true, then what do you call that pony who's walking alongside Princess Twilight?" Scorpion asked.
Cozy Glow and the mares ducked behind the crates and barrels in the alley to avoid being seen. They peeked around to see Blackjack walking through town with Twilight beside her. The mares' jaws hung open and Cozy Glow glanced at them with a satisfied smirk on her face.
"What did I tell you." She whispered while trying to hear what the girls were talking about.
"You were right, Twilight. You do have a method for anypony that's willing to listen."
"Just like I said, Blackjack, you didn't have anything to worry about. Your magical strength does need some improving before it gets to where it should be, and your talent is rather raw, but you're making progress."
"That's a nice way of saying I have to practice more, on account of all the times I slammed into your bookcases from all those teleportations." Blackjack said nervously.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of. When I was a filly, I couldn't even make an egg hatch without help from a sonic rainboom."
"Are you kidding me? I wish I could do something that impressive. My magic couldn't even open a lock back then."
"Yes, 'back then.' But you've managed to undo knots, levitate about ten books and you can fire stronger magic blasts. That's definite improvement as far as I'm concerned." Twilight reassured her.
Blackjack smiled at Twilight's compliment and had to admit that she was right.
"Who knows, you keep this up and it might impress Indoraptor enough to make him give you more affection."
That comment caused a blush to form on Blackjack's cheeks.
"Turnabout is fair play after all those little thoughts you tried slipping into my mind," Twilight teased. Blackjack chuckled in response.
"Looks like there's a little naughty mare in you after all, Twilight Sparkle. I may actually bring out your bad side yet."
"We'll see. Now let's get a quick bite and then get back to practicing."
"You're on. Last one to the Hay Burger is a rotten ghoul!"
Blackjack took off ahead of Twilight as she got momentarily bewildered by the strange reference.
"Wait Blackjack, what's a ghoul?" Twilight shouted as she ran to catch up.
Once she were certain the girls had moved ahead, Cozy Glow resumed her little chat with the mares.
"Now do you believe me?" They merely nodded their heads, they couldn't argue against seeing Blackjack in the living flesh.
"That's the pony Indoraptor has fallen for?" Scorpion asked.
"Oh yes, when he first brought her here he was sticking to her like glue. During a fire that nearly burned down a boutique, he jumped through the flames and fought two other hybrids just for her."
"But if he could fight off two hybrids like him, how are we supposed to bring him down?" Fond Feather asked.
"Last time we had the element of surprise on our side because he hadn't seen us before, and we used Scorpion's venom to paralyze him. Now he can recognize us if he sees us, but he doesn't know we've returned with backup." Swoon Song said.
"What do you think, Scorpion?" Dear Darling asked.
"It's actually rather simple, girls. All we have to do is wait for that pony to be out alone at night, ambush her before she can alert anypony, one of us leave a message for Indoraptor to find, and he'll come running to us just like Cozy Glow said."
"Couldn't have said it better myself. Then once you've had your fill of pleasure with him, you ponies can do whatever you want with the bodies, just like before. My only advice would be to choose a place where it'll be hard for Indominus or any dinosaur to pick up your scent."
"I know the perfect place where we can hide her."
"Where, Swoon Song?" Scorpion asked.
"Their hunting grounds: the Everfree Forest. We'll take her there after those animals have finished their hunting for the day and carry out the plan from there."
"And that's why you're second in-command Swoon Song. You do have these incredibly ingenious ideas sometimes." Scorpion said.
"Everypony's gotta have moments like that at least once in a while."
"Very well. We'll wait out in our old home for the moment to strike, but remember this, Cozy Glow. Should this plan fail and the dinosaurs stop us again, we will come back for you."
"Only next time, you won't get a chance to say any last words." Fond Feather warned.
"Girls trust me, you have nothing to worry about. You've got numbers on your side this time, you have a much better plan than before, and you still have the element of surprise. Indoraptor wouldn't dare attack you if she's in your clutches. He'd rather give his own life before he ever laid a claw on her precious face."
"For your sake, you'd better hope you're right." Scorpion said as she made her way into her ruined home with the mares following in one by one after her.
Cozy Glow waited until she was sure that all of the mares had gone inside and were out of earshot.
"Phew. That was too close for comfort."
"A very close call I'd say." The dark voice caused her to spin around on a dime and she saw Sombra's head floating mere inches from her face.
Only his head was visible, the rest of his body was gone. There was a small trail of black smoke emanating from his head. Cozy Glow thought he was crazy for choosing to come all the way out to Ponyville in broad daylight.
"Sombra!? What are you doing here? Don't you know that ponies will go crazy if they see you?"
"I merely came to see what I've been missing out on in my absence. Looked to me like you got yourself into a little pickle with all those ponies."
"Oh them? Oh that's nothing, Sombra. They were just the ponies I hired to try and take out Indoraptor."
"You hired....those mares...to try and take out a dinosaur? Please tell me you're joking Cozy Glow, cause that sounds like child's play."
"It's not child's play, Sombra, and they're not the first ponies I hired either. I tried to have Indoraptor and his sister killed when they were first born." Cozy Glow said.
"Really? Like as in the very day they were born." Sombra was sure he'd misheard her.
"Uh huh. When I found out about their birth, I hired two ponies to sneak into the hospital after closing and finish them off before they could become a problem. I thought a couple of grunts could do the job, but somehow Indominus found out about them and killed them. So once they got bigger I had to think bigger. I happened to overhear about those mares wanting a stallion that could give them what they wanted: a lifetime of kids."
"Seriously?"
"Mhhmm."
"I'll never understand how some mares could think like that."
"Oh that's not the half of it. They apparently had their sights set on Indoraptor, but didn't have the courage to go after him until I convinced them to try."
"So what did they do?" Sombra was getting more and more interested in the story with every minute.
"The one with the sharp tail has some kind of venom in her. She drugged a drink with it, they lured Indoraptor to them and got him to let his guard down and drink it. The venom drugged him and they dragged him back to their home.....and they raped him."
Hearing that word brought a strange silence to Sombra, which confused Cozy Glow. She was expecting him to be glad or praising the mares for what they did to him. To see him unusually silent and almost horrified at the mention of the word was too strange to understand.
"What's wrong, Sombra?"
"N-Nothing, Cozy Glow. I just didn't think that anypony would find pleasure in something that....cruel."
"Well it didn't last. Indominus Rex found them and marked them with his claws before he literally threw them out of town."
"Honestly, that's one thing I'm actually glad that this dinosaur did for his son." Sombra thought to himself.
"So now that they've returned, you've sent them after Indoraptor again?"
"Yes Sombra, and this time they'll make him come to them in the Everfree Forest, where nopony will be able to help him."
"What kind of bait are you using?"
"I told them to go after Bl-" Cozy Glow slapped her hooves over her mouth before the name could escape her lips. For a moment, she had forgotten how triggered Sombra got whenever Blackjack's name got mentioned.
"What were you about to say?" Sombra said with dark lightning starting to crackle around his horn and his eyes glowing dangerously red.
"N-No Sombra, I-I wasn't going to say her name. I just tripped on it by accident, what I meant to say was they could lure Viper into the forest and draw him in so they could have their revenge."
"That's what I thought you said." The dark lightning dissipated around his horn and the glow dimmed from his eyes.
"I promise you, Sombra. I wouldn't put her in any kind of danger." Cozy Glow said in a nervous attempt to keep Sombra from getting suspicious.
"I should hope not. You're too young to see what the full wrath of my power can do to a filly. Now as for this plan, do you really expect them to be able to take down a dinosaur that fought my hybrids to a standstill?"
Cozy Glow motioned for Sombra to come closer, paranoid that any of the mares could listen in on their conversation.
"Of course not, Sombra. I don't expect them to take down Indoraptor at all, but.....say somepony of high stature finds out about this massacre, like Neighsay. He'd have legit leverage against them, Celestia and Luna wouldn't be able to bail them out, and there's a chance they could be under watch or locked away."
"Hmmm, so......sending desire-driven ponies to the slaughter, to set up the dinosaurs and paint them as savage animals so Neighsay can actually try them for a crime they did commit. Check out the big brain on you, Cozy Glow. There may be a genius in you after all."
"Thank you King Sombra, I always try to think big."
"Now I'll relay this little plan of yours to Neighsay, and to prove that somepony is there to see it, I'll disguise Sheer Cold or Spoiled Rotten as a citizen of Ponyville. Then they'll be present to witness the carnage, and Neighsay can use them as a witness to add more leverage towards the crime."
"Great minds think alike, don't they?"
"That they do, child. But don't get ahead of yourself, you're not in a position to take more risks than you can handle." Sombra's head dissipated from the alley and Cozy Glow was finally by herself.
She could finally catch her breath after the close calls she'd had, and almost blown it. Now she was really hoping that neither of Sombra's servants caught the mares luring Blackjack into the forest. Cause if any of them found out, she'd be in serious trouble with Sombra or worse.
"I have to be more careful with my word choice around him. He's too dangerous to provoke without any power to protect myself," Cozy Glow said as she pulled out the map and flew off towards the clubhouse.
But Sombra didn't leave to head back to his hideout, he stuck around Ponyville for a little longer because there was somepony he wanted to check on. Sticking to the little shadows he could find, Sombra scoured the town for signs of Blackjack. He didn't have to search long when he found her and Twilight heading back from their burger run.
"I gotta tell ya Twilight, I never knew you had such an appetite for burgers."
"Well I sometimes forget how hungry I get when I'm so focused on my magic. Though it's hard to say which of us had more, you were gulping them down almost as fast as me."
"Heh heh, call it being raised in a stable and never knowing what real food tasted like. I can safely say that I wasn't disappointed."
"Glad you love it so much, now let's get back to your lessons."
The warm smile on Blackjack's face touched something in Sombra's heart.
"That's the first time I've ever seen her look so happy. In all the time I had her at my castle, she never showed me anything that lively. I need to see what they're up to," Sombra thought to himself as he trailed the two mares back to the library.
He slipped inside through one of the upstairs windows in Twilight's bedroom, and tried to make himself as small as possible to avoid being seen. From behind a bookcase he could peek out and watch Twilight teach Blackjack several magic lessons. Rather than trying to teach her through books and writing down lessons, Twilight's method to teaching Blackjack was more of a direct approach. It was about getting Blackjack to mentally focus on each spell she was attempting to perform, and when she needed to, thinking about Indoraptor gave her more motivation.
Incredibly, the method allowed Blackjack to perform more powerful blasts, her levitation was strong enough to lift a desk, and she learned the one trick she never did learn: how to undo a lock. Aside from that, Twilight taught her some simple healing spells, how to create shields for defense, and even something as simple as using her magic to make bows or tie knots. Blackjack felt they weren't really necessary, but Twilight was always quick to remind her that she didn't have to worry about war or battle breaking out everywhere. Sombra couldn't bring himself to interrupt such a bonding experience and slithered out the way he came in.
"Alright Blackjack, I'll let you have your lessons and bonding for now, but I will be back to remind you that we have a deal to complete," he said before disappearing from Ponyville and heading back to his lair.
Cozy Glow followed the map til she could see the clubhouse in sight. The Crusaders, Rumble and his colts, along with Rexy, Indoraptor and the hybrid trio were waiting for her. Tyrannosaurus could make out the frazzled mane and the scared look in her eyes before she touched down.
"What's got you spooked?" Rexy asked.
"Yeah Cozy Glow, you look like you've seen a ghost," said Viper.
"Wha-? No, no Viper. I just thought I saw something that really shook me to my core."
"What did you see?" Precious asked. Cozy Glow had to come up with something really clever or else the hybrids might catch onto her.
"Uh.....I think it was some kind of mutated timberwolf."
"Huh, I've seen a lot of creatures around here, but I've never heard of timberwolves straying too close to Ponyville," said Screwball.
"Ah wouldn't be so quick to assume that, Screwy," said Applebloom.
"After what happened to your family years ago, I wouldn't be surprised if they're getting bold again," said Scootaloo.
"What are you talking about, Scootaloo?" Rumble asked.
"Years ago when we were still fillies and the dinosaurs were still new to Equestria, a massive pack of timberwolves attacked Applebloom and her family one afternoon."
"Our hunting had driven them out of their territory and they wound up going into Sweet Apple Acres," said Rexy.
"But the dinosaurs drove them away, and Charlie defended Applebloom from most of that pack herself," Sweetie Belle added.
"Well that's quite surprising that they managed to drive away a pack, though I imagine it must be harder in your old age to hunt now," Rumble said.
"What do you mean by that, Rumble? Rexy is still a very capable hunter and a guardian of Equestria," Scootaloo said defending T-Rex.
"Yes I get that, but all those scars and signs of ages are showing on him. Before long, he'll be too old to hunt or protect you, and then he'll just be a liability."
"Do you really want to test me, Rumble? Cause I can still make you fear for your life again," said Rexy while baring his massive teeth at the colt.
"It's alright Rexy, don't worry about what he says. I've seen you hunting lately and you're still able to crush those manticores."
"Maybe, but how much of that was only possible from your father helping him?"
Indoraptor could tell that Rumble was intentionally making jabs at Rexy. He made a mock lunge at Rumble and the colt jumped at the sight of the numerous teeth.
"Don't talk that way about him, colt. Tyrannosaurus can do plenty on his own, more than you ever could on your best day."
"Now that's saying something considering he showed ya up in front of yer friends," Applebloom added.
"Don't remind me of that," Rumble grumbled. "Anyway, let's get going. We don't want the day to slip away before we do anything fun."
"Fair point. I'll see you back at home later sis, and just remember to follow our advice on how we tried finding our talents."
"You got it sis," said Viper.
"And I'll see you later too, Rexy."
"Sure thing Scootaloo."
The Crusaders went off with Rumble and his crew, and Viper could tell that something wasn't right with how T-Rex was watching them as they left.
"Uncle Rexy? Is something wrong?"
"No Viper, it's nothing you need to worry about. Just something that I need to deal with on my own. I'll see you later."
Rexy started walking away and made his way towards the Everfree Forest. From the slow pace of his steps, Indoraptor could definitely tell that not everything Rumble had been saying was a complete lie. He had noticed that sometimes during their hunts, Rexy would fall behind Indominus and have some trouble catching the manticores that were ahead of him.
"Do you think he's gonna be alright, brother?"
"I think Rumble may have touched on a personal subject for Tyrannosaurus. I won't deny that he was completely wrong. I've seen how he's had trouble catching up with dad, and seems more out of breath lately after our hunts."
"Sweetie Belle did tell me how exhausted he looked after doing a flying show with Scootaloo," said Precious.
"You don't think he's getting too old that fast, do you Indoraptor," Screwball asked.
"I can't say for sure. All I know is that he and dad have been in this world longer than any of us, and all that time is indeed showing on Rexy. I don't want to assume the worst case scenario, but I think Tyrannosaurus is no longer in his prime anymore."
"I hope he won't be too hurt when he realizes that for himself," said Viper.
"Hey c'mon girls, I wouldn't worry too much about Tyrannosaurus Rex. He's too strong and tough to let age slow him down," Cozy Glow said hoping to brighten the mood. "And besides, we still have to figure out how to get these two their cutie marks. That's why we're here, isn't it?"
"You're right, Cozy Glow. Rexy's still been able to crush every animal he's hunted, and he can still smash apart the trees of the Everfree Forest like they're nothing," said Viper.
"Now that's the kind of positive thinking I like to hear," said Indoraptor.
"Let's get to work girls, and see if your sisters' advice can help us like it helped them," said Screwball as she teleported inside the clubhouse and the others followed her inside.
Rexy didn't stop until he was deep in the heart of the Everfree Forest.
"That stupid colt doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm not old, I'm the king of the dinosaurs. I'm a thousand times stronger than he will ever be."
The dinosaur needed something to take out his building anger at Rumble's words, and the solution came wandering into a clearing. A lone manticore had wandered into the area and Rexy growled viciously at the poor beast. As he prepared for the attack, he heard Rumble's words echoing in his head.
"Before long, he'll be too old to hunt or protect you, and then he'll just be a liability."
"I'll show you, Rumble. I'll show you how wrong you are."
Tyrannosaurus roared across the forest as he chased after the manticore. The poor creature turned tail and fled into the forest with the enraged dinosaur in pursuit. Rexy was closing the gap on the manticore and gaining more ground, he opened his jaws ready to crush the animal in them. But as he lunged forward to bite, the manticore leaped aside and pulled ahead of him. Outraged at how he had missed a simple kill, Tyrannosaurus continued pursuing the manticore. But as he tried to close the distance, he felt the same exhaustion that had happened during his flight with Scootaloo starting to take effect.
He could hear his breaths getting louder and his pace was starting to slow down. What shocked him most was that the manticore was actually gaining ground on him, which never happened before. Tyrannosaurus refused to believe that he couldn't hunt down and catch a single manticore, so he pushed his tiring legs harder to try and keep up. The sound of his thundering footsteps accompanied the sound of his own heavy breathing and his pounding heart. His legs and muscles were burning from the exertion but he fought the pain as he drew closer to his prey. The manticore looked behind himself to see that despite the tiring effort, T-Rex was within jaws reach of him. With his prey within range of his teeth, Tyrannosaurus lunged forward again, but that was right when his body made the worst mistake at the worst time.
He felt something in his right leg crack from all the effort and his body started going down. With his arms to small to cushion the impact, Rexy reacted with the only thing he had that could save him: his wings. He sprouted them in a split second and used one might flap to pull himself off the ground and avoid crushing his arms or ribs. Unfortunately, he couldn't see where he was being propelled towards and ended up crashing through dozens of trees. His body tumbled several times as he smashed through tree after tree until he finally collapsed in a crumbled heap. The manticore made a beeline for safety as the once proud dinosaur king was now what he had always been afraid of: a broken shell of the hunter he used to be.
After what felt like hours passing, Rexy regained consciousness from the fall. Night had fallen upon the Everfree Forest and he was sure that the others were wondering where he was. He struggled to get back on his feet, but as he put pressure on his right leg, a sharp pain rain through his body. Something in his leg had cracked or worse, been broken in the fall. There was no way he could hide something so noticeable or hunt like he used to anymore. Rumble's taunting and mocking had become a reality, and now T-Rex was certain that he would never be able to protect Scootaloo again. So he limped back home with the painful reminder stinging him the whole way.
Luckily he didn't get very far before he was found. As he drew close to the edge of the forest, he picked up the sound of something running through the foliage. He turned slowly, trying not to injure his leg anymore than it already was and bared his teeth. But to his surprise, when he picked up the scent of what was running in his direction, he lowered his guard as Blue stopped in front of him.
"Rexy!"
"Hey Blue."
"What are you doing out here by yourself? Indominus has been trying to find you for hours and we were starting to wonder where you'd gone when you didn't show up....for the...hunt..."
She trailed off when her keen eyes spotted the odd way T-Rex was attempting to balance his leg.
"What happened to your leg?"
"It finally happened, Blue. I can't hunt anymore and I can't protect Scootaloo."
"What? Rexy, that doesn't sound like you at all." Blue rose to meet the tyrannosaur's size. "I may not have known you as long as Indominus has, but you've never been one to just give up like this. Besides, a little injury like this is nothing Discord can't take care of."
"Even if he did, I'd still just injure myself again, Blue. I'm past my prime and there's no denying it this time. I may have been able to fight Black Death and the Wonderbolts, but my age is catching up with me. My body can't handle what I was capable of doing, I broke this leg trying to outrun a manticore."
"That's just one time, Rexy."
"No Blue, it's been happening a lot lately. You haven't noticed because your pack is always so focused on the kill and charging ahead of me. I just have to face the facts, I'm done."
"That's nonsense! Are you really going to just give up and sulk for the rest of your life? Where did all this come from?"
"Do you know about Scootaloo's feelings for Rumble?"
"You mean that colt she's been hanging around?"
"That's the one."
"He got into my head that I won't be able to look after her or Viper for too long, and look what happened."
"So you're telling me you're going to give that pathetic colt the satisfaction of knowing he managed to force you out of Scootaloo's life?"
"No, I don't want to lose Scootaloo to him, but-"
"No buts, Rexy. There is one thing you can do that he can't; YOU are the only one out of all of us, besides Indominus, that will always been there for Scootaloo. No matter how old you'll get, you'll still remain as strong as you are. You didn't let Sheer Cold or Spoiled Rotten have their way with Scootaloo, and there's no way in hell some colt is gonna do that either."
"Wow Blue, when did you become the voice of reason?"
"Since I helped Indoraptor realize that he shouldn't give up on himself, and neither should you." She said sternly.
"Well, thanks. I needed to hear some solid reason for a change." Rexy said as he gently nuzzled the velociraptor.
Blue stayed by Rexy's side as they walked back to the castle together, hopeful that her words would have the same impact on him as they did on Indoraptor.
When they returned to the castle, everyone was in the foyer and turned to the sound of the door opening. They had been wondering where Rexy had been since he hadn't shown up for the hunt or dinner. Discord was among them, he had shown up in the hopes that he could bring Indominus along for their annual guys' night.
"Hey guys, guess it finally happened."
"Tyrannosaurus! How'd this happen to you?" Rainbow asked as she looked over the broken leg.
"He got into an accident while hunting, and wounded his leg in the process," said Blue.
"Discord, think you could fix that up for him?"
"No problem my scaly friend, this is a simple fix compared to your devil issues," Discord said before snapping his fingers and the leg was fixed at once. Blue stepped back so Rexy could stand and he found that there wasn't anymore pain on his leg.
"Thanks for the help, Discord," Rexy said before walking off.
"Hey, where are you going, brother?"
"I just need some time alone, brother. It's been a long day for me."
Everyone was transfixed at how down Rexy seemed, he never let anything get him down or ever showed depression at any point in his life.
"What's gotten him so blue?"
"I resent that, Discord!" Blue snapped.
"Oops, my bad. It's just that there hasn't been a day where I've ever seen him like this. How can a simple hunting accident make him look like he's lost his spirit?"
"I might have a theory," Rainbow said as she looked over at Scootaloo.
"What?"
"We'll need to have a talk about this, Scootaloo. I've been silent about the matter for now, but if what I'm thinking of is the reason for Rexy's accident, then you'll have to make things right."
"What did I do? I didn't say anything to him, Rumble was trying to agi-" Scootaloo's voice dropped away as the words caught up with her brain.
"Uh huh. We're going to get this set straight. Indominus, I'll tell you after you guys get done with your night."
"Ok Rainbow," Indominus said as Rainbow walked towards another room with Scootaloo trailing behind her.
"Now Indominus, shall we be off?"
"Hold on, Discord. There's something I want to ask Blackjack first."
"Oh alright. But don't take too long we're burning moonlight."
Indominus pulled Blackjack away for a minute and Viper saw a perfect chance for her brother to get a little help from Discord. She nudged Indoraptor to get his attention.
"Yes, Viper?"
"Why aren't you asking Discord, ya big doofus?"
"Ask him what?"
"Don't tell me you've already forgotten about what Echo said to you."
"But I never told him anything," Echo replied.
"Not you sis, the bat pony that took care of Indoraptor."
"Ugh, this is gonna get so confusing getting our names mixed up like this," said Charlie.
"We'll just have to deal with it girls. Now what's this about, brother?" Delta asked.
"Well, she told me that if I didn't have these teeth at the front of my mouth......she would've given me a full kiss."
All four raptors got devious smirks on their faces. They started circling Indoraptor with teasing tones.
"Why didn't you just say so?" Charlie said.
"You should by all means, ask Discord to help you with this. It could lead to moments you'd never forget," Echo teased.
"Moments with girls like this bat pony, Twilight, Marble, or maybe even, Blackjack?" Delta teased.
Indoraptor tensed at the mention of her name and Blue circled closer to him.
"There's a part of you that wants to do it so badly with her, isn't there?"
"Yeah, I-I can't help it. Whenever I'm around her I've been thinking about it," Indoraptor admitted.
"Then you should ask Discord, you'd love it afterwards," Viper said.
"Ask me what?"
They all looked up to see Discord hovering above their heads.
"Uh, how much of that did you hear?" Indoraptor asked.
"Oh I heard enough. You'd like my help so you can have a better time with the ladies. So what would you like the all powerful Lord of Chaos to do to spruce up your image, lizard boy?"
Indoraptor whispered into Discord's ear while keeping an eye on his dad and Blackjack, who were on their way over after finishing their conversation.
"Really? That's all you want me to do?"
"Yes. It would make things easier for me."
"Alright, if you say so kiddo."
Discord snapped his fingers and a small flash appeared around Indoraptor's mouth. Though nothing seemed to have changed, he knew better than to question Discord's abilities.
"So Discord, are we ready to go?"
"Absolutely. Did you and Blackjack enjoy your chat?"
"Yes. Actually, Blackjack will be joining us tonight."
"Really?" Discord, Indoraptor and Viper said in unison.
"Of course. I told her about what our nights are like and asked if she wanted to join us for tonight. I thought it'd be a fun way to get her out of the castle for the night and see what we do for fun."
"The more the merrier my friend. Though if you'll be joining us on our night of fun miss Blackjack, I think you'll need these to keep up with us."
Discord conjured up a bag of gems and floated a few over to Blackjack.
"How'd you know?"
"Call it a hunch. Now can we pleeeease get going? I've been looking forward to this for weeks."
"Yes yes we can go, mister impatient draconequess," Blackjack said with a mouthful of gems.
She bid the raptors a quick farewell before Discord teleported her, Indominus and himself out of the castle.
"You think she'll have a fun time with them?" Viper asked.
"Knowing what my dad and Discord do on their nights' out, I'm sure she'll have a blast." Indoraptor said as he headed off to his room.
"By the way brother, what exactly DID Discord do for you?" Blue asked.
"Oh just a little something that will help me get closer to all of these mares that have feelings for me. I'll get the chance to try it out one of these days, I'm just not sure which one will be first."
Discord transported the three of them to his infamous Dark Sanctuary castle, the same castle where he and Indominus had held their first day of bonding. Blackjack's eyes were the size of dinner plates at the size of the massive castle.
"Welcome to my domain and our humble little arena where we have an arousing night of slaying demons, monsters and all the grotesque creatures a hybrid could want."
"You may be laying it on a little thick, Discord, but you're mostly right. This is Dark Sanctuary, Blackjack. A wonderful castle that caught my interest and helped us bond the first time we met," said Indominus.
"A castle? You think that a fucking CASTLE is humble!? That's not the word I'd use to describe something like this! It's almost more menacing than anything I encountered in the Wasteland. Don't you think this is a bit much?" Blackjack said while taking in the blood red sky, the creatures flying around the castle and the lakes of lava on either side of the bridge.
"Why Miss Blackjack, you're perfectly safe with us," said Discord.
"SAFE? I never felt safe once in my whole life. Why in the world would I feel safe in a place like this?"
"Because this domain was created by Discord himself. If he wanted to, he could take everything away with a snap of his fingers," said Indominus.
"Oh. That's actually quite comforting."
"You're never in any real danger here. I have complete control over everything that happens. I've never had to stop anything because Indominus tore his way through everything the first time he came here. I felt more sorry for all of my creations that got killed or devoured by him," said Discord.
"Heh, I was having too much fun at the time," Indominus admitted sheepishly.
"Ok, but if it's alright with you Indominus, I'd like you to stick close to me during this. Just in case my mind starts having flashbacks of my old experiences and I shut down."
"Allow me to make it easier for you." Discord said before zapping Blackjack with his magic.
Blackjack saw that she had become almost as big as Indominus. Everything suddenly seemed so much smaller and weak by comparison.
"This way we'll be able to stay close to each other and everything won't be so intimidating for you."
"Wow, thank you Indominus. I really didn't expect this," Blackjack said while rubbing her metal foreleg nervously. Indominus took the leg in his hand.
"I would never let anypony willingly get hurt. I protect every pony in this world from threats, and I certainly wouldn't let you get hurt. Not after how much you've cheered up my son." Blackjack blushed slightly.
"Ugh, can we get on with the slaughtering, Indominus? There's only so much sap I can take."
"Just hold on one more minute, Discord. So Blackjack, any preferences before we begin?"
"Powerful guns and a deadly sword," Blackjack said with glee.
"Ah, now that's more like it. Heavy artillery and the perfect sword for carving bodies, coming up."
Discord snapped his fingers and Blackjack found tons of firearms and guns surrounding her and the sleekest sword she'd ever seen.
"Now I'm ready, boys. Let's tear apart some bitches."
"CHAAAARGE!!!!" Indominus roared out as they stampeded towards the castle.
The creatures that were flying overhead dove for the group. Discord was ready to strike them down, but the sound of a thousand bullets echoing across the land stopped him. Blackjack was lighting up the skies and sending a storm of bullets into every body they could impact. Bodies were dropping out of the sky like flies and cooking in the lava below. Indominus was destroying everything on the bridge with one blast. Screams of agony enveloped the domain as more bodies continued to drop off the bridge or be crushed under metal hoof or claws.
Then the castle doors were right ahead of them.
"Watch this, Blackjack," Indominus said as he charged ahead, roaring out at the last remaining creatures guarding the door.
"Oh no, not again," one of them said before Indominus plowed straight through the doors.
Blackjack had to stop in her tracks to be sure she wasn't seeing things. She had just watched Indominus ram right through the door and everything around it like they were nothing to him. Discord had a paw over his face in shame.
"How often does he do that?"
"Every. Single. Time. I mean, I'm all for having some good chaos, but would it kill him to open the door at least once?"
"But that's so boring, and his idea makes me wish I'd done that a few times myself. Now come on Discord or we'll miss all the fun."
Blackjack ran through the hole in the doors with Discord behind her, and once they were in the castle, they dove into a fighting frenzy alongside Indominus. The hybrid dinosaur was tearing apart every creature within reach of his claws, Discord was throwing blasts left and right, incinerating all that were caught in the blasts. Blackjack was alternating between slicing and dicing with the sword, sending hails of bullets and punching anything close to her with her metal hooves. Just from seeing the gleeful look in her eyes, Indominus could easily tell that she wasn't nervous anymore and having a ball.
Once the foyer was cleared, they made their way up the stairs. Indominus stayed close to Blackjack as he promised, but the tight quarters made it hard for them to move effectively. Then as another swarm started walking towards them from the shadows, Blackjack got a devilish idea.
"Say Indominus, Discord, ever wonder what happens to bullets when you coat them in power?"
"Indominus, this girl's a real daredevil."
"Yeah she is. Just say when Blackjack."
Blackjack steadied her guns and aimed them all at the advancing horde. Indominus gathered power in his mouth while Discord prepared two orbs in his hands. They brought their armed powers right alongside Blackjack's guns and waited for the signal.
"FIRE!!!!"
A humongous torrent of bullets, energy and power exploded upon the horde, annihilating every living thing in the way. The trio charged down the hallway before them as they continued laying waste to every soul in sight. They didn't stop until they reached the main door, which led to the infamous boss Indominus had slaughtered the first time.
"Ready to face the ultimate fiend, Blackjack?"
Now fueled by adrenaline and no longer nervous, the confident mare emptied out her guns and reloaded them all simultaneously.
"Let's do this," she said before kicking in the door and pressing onward.
"This is gonna be fun for sure," said Indominus.
"Oh you know it pal," Discord added as they followed after Blackjack.
They walked into the main boss room where Indominus had claimed multiple kills and slaughtered the head monster several times. He wasn't sure how well Blackjack would fare against him since this would be her first time fighting him, but given how pumped she was, it obviously didn't matter what she'd be facing. So when the Ultimate Obedient Fiend stood up to confront them, Blackjack licked her lips at the challenge.
"Back for more, Indominus?" The Fiend called out.
"Always ready to kill your sorry hide, Fiend. But Blackjack's gonna get a crack at the chance to tear you apart."
"A pony? Oh please, she's not worth the time."
A surprise telekinetic bullet shot through his shoulder and the Fiend stumbled back from the surprising power behind the attack, and seeing the gaping hole in his shoulder.
"There's something you should know about me, Fiend," Blackjack said as she aimed all her weapons at him. "Every creature that's ever underestimated me, has always wound up dead."
Blackjack let loose with every gun she had until they were all empty. The hordes of bullets went into the Fiend's hide, but they didn't draw blood like everything else she'd killed in the castle. They merely dropped off his skin and fell before him. He retaliated by unleashing a fireball from his mouth, and Blackjack answered by firing a magic blast at it. Indominus and Discord were expecting the fireball to overwhelm Blackjack's magic, but they were surprised to see that she was holding it at bay.
But while Blackjack did have the magical strength to hold the fireball off, she couldn't destroy it. Frustrated that his attack wasn't getting anywhere, the Fiend prepared another fireball. Before he could fire again, Indominus fired his own blast upon the Fiend's face. While he was stunned from the sneak attack, Discord used the chance to seize the fireball Blackjack had been struggling with, rolled it up in his hands and threw it at the Obedient Fiend like a fastball at a baseball game. The second explosion sent the monster flying headfirst into the wall and Blackjack almost collapsed from the effort.
"That was some pretty strong magic, Blackjack. Looks like my son's idea payed off after all," said Indominus.
"Yeah, it did pay off. But Indominus, how are we gonna stop this guy? I used most of my magic trying to stop that one attack."
"Simple Blackjack, Indominus is gonna give you the chance to fight alongside him," said Discord.
Indominus parted his jaws and golden flames flowed out of him. Blackjack watched awestruck as the flames started going inside her metal limbs. The Obedient Fiend noticed too and charged towards them, unaware that the process was already finished.
"Now for my favorite part," Discord said as he stood back and waited for the show to begin.
The Fiend raised a fist and aimed it right for Blackjack. She put up both of her forehooves to block the attack, expecting to be knocked back and hitting the wall. Instead, she was shocked to see that she hadn't budged an inch and the Fiend couldn't force her back at all.
"H-How..?"
"You've got to be kidding me, you gave her that power?" The Fiend said in anger and shock.
"I said she wouldn't be in any danger, and just a small portion of my power is enough to make that possible," Indominus said confidently.
The Fiend stopped his attack and tried to go for Indominus, but Indominus was already transforming into the Immortal WorldBreaker. The explosion of golden flames from the transformation was enough to send the Fiend skidding back and singe his body. Blackjack was awestruck at the golden form as Indominus roared across the room, her eyes sparkling at the sight.
"I know you must get this a lot Indominus, but this form is just so amazing."
"I'm glad you're such a fan of this power, Blackjack. Part of it is currently flowing through your metal limbs, making you far stronger than you've ever been in your life. As you've already seen, just a small taste is enough to overpower a beast like him. Now the three of us will use our combined might to bring him down, right Discord?"
"I always look forward to this part, Indominus. Time to cut loose," Discord said as his hands crackled with lightning.
With the Lord of Chaos and the Immortal WorldBreaker by her side, Blackjack felt more safe and confident than she'd been in the longest time. The golden color of the phoenix flames glowed throughout her metal limbs as she prepared to attack.
"Let's do this, boys!"
"Charge!" Discord yelled out as they stampeded towards the Obedient Fiend.
Blackjack was the first to reach him and plowed her metal fist right into the set of jaws on the Fiend's chest. The teeth broke apart from the combined strength of phoenix power and metal. Before he could retaliate against her, his body was bombarded by energy blasts from Indominus and lightning strikes from Discord. From there it was a brawl of swinging limbs, blasts rocketing all over the room and savage roars. The Fiend was throwing fireballs and attacks all over the place, only to have them evaded by Blackjack, disintegrated by Discord or simply taken by Indominus with no effect.
As they fought, Indominus noticed how much of a brawler Blackjack was. She would alternate between her telekinetic bullets, slashing away with her sword and punching the Fiend hard and fast with her borrowed strength. He could even pick up the laughter coming from her as they attacked the monster together, she was enjoying herself at long last and having fun. Discord fired a blast at the Fiend's face, blinding him and giving Blackjack and Indominus a chance to nail him right in his damaged chest. He smashed against the wall and nearly collapsed from the combined effort. It wouldn't be long before he would lose the fight again, and Indominus knew that time was close. So he decided to finish the brawl with an idea Blackjack had given him on the way to the fight.
"Hey Blackjack, remember how you wanted to see what bullets do when coated with power?"
"Yes, but I ran out of ammo, Indominus."
"Not those bullets, your other bullets."
"Oh, now I get it. What do you have in mind?"
"We're going to finish him by combining your bullet spell with our attacks and seeing what it does to him."
"What an idea Indominus. The results should be quite devastating," said Discord.
"And I want you to channel the power I gave you into the spell, Blackjack."
"But how am I supposed to do that?"
"Just focus on creating the spell and channeling your strength into it. Then you'll find how easy it is."
Remembering the lessons she had learned from Twilight, Blackjack closed her eyes and focused her thoughts on following Indominus's instructions. The aura formed over her horn and Indominus could see the glow from her limbs traveling up her body and into the horn. The intensity of her magic started crackling and became brighter, which made Indominus glad to see that she had improved from just one lesson. Indominus gathered a bright red blast in his mouth and Discord conjured up a blast of his own, all aimed at the wounded monster.
"Ready Blackjack?" Discord asked.
"Kill it!" Blackjack yelled as she fired her most powerful telekinetic bullet yet.
Indominus and Discord fired their blasts in sync with hers and the three attacks combined into one super blast. The exhausted Fiend could only watch as the massive blast closed in on him, flowed over his entire body and consumed him. His body was disintegrated as the blast left an enormous hole in the castle wall and streaked off into the distance. Indominus changed back to normal as he looked at Blackjack with a proud gaze in his eyes. He gently placed a hand over her back and she looked up to see the calm look in his eyes.
"How'd I do?"
"You did exceptionally well, Blackjack. You kept pace with us during that brawl, and I couldn't help but notice that you were enjoying yourself in all the excitement."
"Heh heh, the adrenaline got the better of me during the fight and I have to admit, it was a lot of fun. You even kept both promises you made to me. I really have to thank you for helping me feel safe and still made this more enjoyable than I thought, Indominus."
"Oh don't just thank me. Blackjack. This entire castle wouldn't be possible without Discord."
"Why of course, they don't call me the Lord of Chaos for no-"
Discord was cut off when he felt Blackjack wrapping her hooves around his waist. He was taken aback at first but gently ruffled her mane after seeing how happy she was.
"Thanks a million for putting this together, Discord. I know I said I wasn't sure about this at first, but you two made it more fun than I thought it would be."
"Why, you're very welcome Blackjack. It's been a long time since I met somepony that enjoys my chaos as much as Fluttershy does."
"Now, how's about we chill and talk about this some more at the bar, Discord?"
"Certainly my scaly com padre." At the mention of the word 'bar,' Blackjack had a giddy expression on her face and the biggest smile since Indoraptor's surprise breakfast.
"Did you say bar? As in drinks, lounges, card games and the like?"
"Yeah, something like that, just a little different than what you might be thinking," said Discord.
"Doesn't matter, any bar is a bar as far as I'm concerned. Let's go boys! I've been missing the old joys of home for too long!"
Discord wasted no time in teleporting them out of Dark Sanctuary and off to his bar, where Blackjack would get the chance to relive some of her better memories.