Jump to content

The Caribou Plague: The Crucibal (Hulkers)


Recommended Posts

On the edge of the hold of Askr rested a training ring. It was surrounded by a wooden arena of logs and steps. It was used by the fighters of the grey hold, sorting the wheat from the chaff. Though it once held the mightiest of bou, now it was beset by those who set the ring ablaze with their ravenous desire to destroy.

"AAAAAaaaarrrr!"

The enraged bellow emitted from the beast as it charged blindly.

CRACK!

Splinters and chunks of wood scattered across the slush covered mud as the beast backed up. The hulking brute's breath ran ragged as it lowered gored and cracked antlers towards another pine log. 

Forward it charged, steam billowing in its wake. Frenzied hooves churned the ground into melted slop as it neared the target. 

CRACK!

Red eyes, constantly dripping, rolled back on the beast's head as it bulled into the trunk of a giant of a pine. This same tree had earlier been ripped from its berth by corded muscles and sinuous fury.

"AAAAaaarrrr!"

The beast bellowed once more. It snorted, sweat and saliva dripping from its chin onto its grotesquly barreled chest. As there was hardly a neck to speak of the massive creature turned as another equally as horrendous berserker came into view. 

Deep inside the hold guard turned berserk cried out for release from his plague induced prison. It was to no avail. An insidious need to crush bone and limb had over taken him. To grind tree and stone and earth and beings to dust was the beast's only desire. It ached as it courses through its blood. The jaw clenched more tightly as it sized up the monster that charged towards it.

Mad with a frenzy brought on by plague the beast hardly felt the massive gash the recent blow with the tree trunk had afforded. As it turned to face the oncoming giant the wound sealed itself over with searing heat. 

Just as they were about to clash a sound met their ears. Both skidded to a stop, their senses locked on whatever or whoever had moved outside their arena.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stormstride stood on the tree branch well above them. Watching them. She was stayed motionless. From working in Fet Loch, she knew exactly what a caribou could do to a pony in a bar fight. IF these poor blokes were out of their minds with rage, she was wondering how well her armor would save her. True it was a custom job. tougher and lighter than standard ware. It amplified magic, allowing her to perform feats she was not normally able to do. But in this instance... she was not so sure it would hold. So she kept silent.

After a moment she teleported down to view. She had half a plan. Something she could use to keep herself and any other being in the area safe. As she stood there, her nostrils flared with the scents around her. This was bad. the two she saw, but the others that may still be around she could not see. As she shifted her stance, her horn arched. The lighting energy cascading down her armor, Glittering and flashing as she let the gems reflect and collect the light. The armor glistened with a sheen that was not of the normal wear for Fet Loch guards. This mare was different. A mage. 
 

Her eyes locked onto the closest one and she sighed softly. "Alright. You want to dance? Try a more nimble partner." she said softly. Her mane and tail were coiled into buns, kept tightly curled against her helm and flank plates. full Plate armor. Head, back, flank, chest, and shins were covered in thick plates of metal. Her neck, underbelly, legs, and anything else was covered in chainmail. The only actual visible piece of her cloudy gray coat was her face and the emerald green eyes that offered an open challenge. She shifted stance again, this time, aiming her horn right for the two. It glowed in a pale gray light, one that soon resonated from her armor as well. "Well.... come on then," she muttered. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the segues of peace, the lei-lines of war will always remain planted. True Peace cannot exist without the ever thriving prospect of war. Where there was a war, there would always be those who seek to take advantage of others in some what shape or form. Ice Storm didn't want to believe the reports that had been brought in about the Askr Caribou Clan. Having met the jarl herself only but a short while ago, she could easily glean that the clan was an Equestrian Ally in the forefront with the Sombra war. Their actions spoke louder than their Red Jarl Counter parts in maintaining a prosperity in Equestria that the Red Jarl spoke by trying to apprehend their princesses. Those actions were not those that Ice Storm would soon forget, nor did she believe that anypony else that was there would either. She could still remember the screaming from the ponies in the ball room as they fled as the explosion from within the vault crippled the room. She could remember the princess being unconscious on her back while she worked on getting the defenseless out of the combat zone.

 

Remembering a bit further after the destruction that the Red Jarl caused, it was the Askr clan that stepped forward to aid in the recovery efforts that had been dispatched throughout the empire. She could remember the largest part was trying to find the ponies that were unable to get out of the top of the spire before the top of it collapsed. She herself wasn't consious for most of the efforts, as she had spent the next three days in the hospital recovering from magika fatigue and nursing a hefty wound of her own. She woke up just to where they were housing a banquet both in honor of the fallen, and of those who had helped serve and protect those who needed it. From that day, Ice Storm knew what her true mission in Equestria was. She wasn't meant to be in a snow cone shop the rest of her life, she was meant to be out on the front lines, making sure that everypony at home had the ability to live their lives without interruption or fear of anything disrupting the harmony that was through out the land. She may not bear an element of harmony, but that didn't mean that she couldn't not help preserve what was already there...

 

It was then that Ice Storm had opened her eyes from her reflection, looking into the frozen land that was Whitescar. To most ponies, the cold would be extreme and something that they would have been highly vulnerable to as they would not have been used to the exposure to such temperatures. Ice Storm however did not have this setback. Despite the near constant snow and ice flowing around them, Ice Storm felt right at home. While her nerves on the outside showed steel, inside she had hear doubts. She had seen first hoof what these bou were capable of in the Crystal Empire. The thought that this frenzy poison that had been administered to them was making them stronger was bothersome. However, any thought that she might have had for the matter was erased rather quickly. Two of the infected had started fighting under the tree that was just a bit in front of her. This wasn't new from what she had heard from the reports. Things like this happened with more and more regularity each day since the plague had been contracted. The difference was, this would be the first one that she would be responsible in helping contain.

 

Before she could think of any sort of plan of action on how to subdue the two fighting cows that were in front of her, one of the other Unicorns in the recon group for today was already starting and engagement. Ice Storm didn't know her directly, but she had read the briefing before the mission to know that the armor around her was hoof crafted and would amplify the magic that she was casting. Ice Storm gave a small smirk. That armor was pretty, but the natural environment here would play a role in amplifying her own magic towards the bou. She heard the comments from her unicorn companion talking about them trying to dance with a "more nimble partner". The thought was good, however with two of them there, it might prove to be a bit more than they bargained for. Especially considering that the reports said that the plague was spreading faster and faster every day. The likelihood of these two being the only Caribou around that would be subject to this stage of the plague was almost completely nonexistent at this point.

 

With that in mind and little more action to prepare she figured it would be best to try to create a barricade and force the two bou in front of them to split of and focus them one on one. She knew that if it was going to come down to straight up physicality then her and her companion wouldn't have much of a chance, but that was where hopefully their armor would come in to play, as well as their magic. Knowing what she felt she needed to do, Ice Storm jumped from her position in the tree just behind the mare that had already entered combat before doing a small flip, using the time to charge one of her spells. Her spell detonated upon landing with the ground shooting a flowing, growing, sharded wall of ice towards the Caribou just beside the mare in front of her, more importantly not aiming directly at the Caribou. Their orders were to subdue them and if she could do that without causing too much physical harm to them, then that is what she was going to do. After all, she knew that their experts were already working on a cure, and if one is found, it will take them long enough to recover as it is without having to recover from unneeded unjuries by those who are in all reality trying to save them from themselves.

 

As the wall grew and expanded, her own armor of ice began to flow around her, each plate of ice forming around her into a fully fitted set of ice plate armor that contoured to her body and joints for complete freedom of movement. "It will be a lot easier to fight them one on one, rather two of them and one of you," she spoke to the other mare as she stepped forward. "What's your plan from here?" she asked presuming that the mare next to her had one and wasn't just charging into a battle without a plan to execute as well as a back up if the execution of plan A failed. She had a few ideas of her own if the one that this mare had backfired, but she knew that she may or may not have to adapt on the fly here. If there was one thing she was most definitely sure of in combat, was that things rarely end up going as planned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What was a city guard doing on this deadly mission? Surely such a dangerous task was reserved for those with strong magic abilities. Case in point her team of, from what she could tell, two hardened battlemages. She didn't have fancy wizardry, and it was times like this she had to remind herself everypony was equal. Even disregarding magic powers, this sort of thing was more the routine of REA spec ops, some of which were no doubt already on it. So what was she doing here? Cyclone was a respected and experienced member of the military. She just happened to be real good at her job, and her job was to protect folks. Caution be damned, she could do with some action, and it wasn't her first rodeo - far from it.

The colts down at the armoury had a field day with it, furiously scribbling req orders and probably a few bets when she was gone too. Like in the army, she had to bring the suitable gear. Suited up and ready to rock - cropped wool for the cold climes, with an up-armoured foreleg guard for your standard practical shield. Function over form - though the plate barding also made her look dashing. Hooves crossed, these metal sheets could make a difference against berserk infected vikings.

So she and her battlemages set out from CP, and as the winged one in the squad Cyclone put her scout goggles on played their eyes from on high. She was helpful for recon at least. As the 'older' one in the squad she also acted as their source of unwanted sage advice.

They saw a couple of ragebous having a quiet disagreement. The guard respected Strider's courage to interrupt them. Very brave. Only a little bit daft. Who was ambushing who, right? Ice Queen's backup was smart, precise. She only put up a barricade, but it was handy. Foes like this it was standard to try eliminating one at a time. Ice armour as well, a neat trick, but brittle she imagined.

Back to the infected caribous, they had to be weakened first. The storm brigade couldn't go bagging any 'bous at full strength. "Remember the virus heals them immediately," Cyclone barked, "my guess is the healing and the buffs must take a ton of their energy. One plan is we exhaust them to subdue 'em." If the zombous were running at 200% non-stop, their stamina would take a big hit. Of course that plan was useless if they turned out to be getting all of that energy through some other means. The crew could do with a secure containment facility, but here they were in the outlands...

Lacking the long-ranged powers of the unicorns, the pegasus drew her blade and stood ready to fly, but just watched and examined how the ragebous moved. One more thing to keep an eye on - it'd be good to get to know the weather around here, the environment was sometimes your best weapon. Might not be a conjurer but she could sort of physically harness the climate with that pegasus magic, if there was a need.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Red eyes rolled in crazed fury as a rumbling of ice came towards the pair of chargers. The huge bull in the forefront snorted, sending steam billowing upwards and snot cascading over the ground. It dropped down to all fours, stamping a fore-hoof into the ground, and gouging out a rivet into the earth. The movement of the ice flow captured its senses completing, engaging its being into the need to attack and destroy. Saliva dripped from its sharpened canines as it shook its huge head and then charged!

Deep inside the beast Halkalla screamed for mercy.

The mighty bull was a personal guard to the Lady of Askr herself. Those in his line had long served those in power in the hold of the mightiest bou in Whitescar. Though he was strong, not even that could protect him from what was carried in the water of the drinking cistern in the courts of the Jarl. He had just finished sparring match with a fellow guards bou on their break and was about to return to his place in the entrance of the main hall. Halk was dripping sweat and needed to get himself cooled down quickly. After taking a few large gulps he dripped a bit over his head and shook himself to dry. He was ready to take on his sworn duties. It was not long after that the plague had over taken him.

Corded muscles waxed as he succumbed to the first stages. Later as the sickness progressed the guards bou fell from his bed in writhing agony. His body strained and contorted in awful ways. He screamed until his voice was gone and even then his maw formed into a silent shout of horror. His neck seemed to shirk down as huge unnatural muscles overcame his frame. The heat had been intense, sweat pouring from every facet of his body. It was so hot his fur fell from him in clumps. What did not shed off, was ripped from his body by hulking clubs that had once been his cloven hooves. He had truly become a monster.

He was not in control...the plague was. He was still in there...somewhere...begging for mercy...

The hulker charged the ice wall, shattering, crashing, blasting it in every angle. Back and forth he ranged, venting unending fury on the wall being sent by the unicorn. The ice was of such interest that as of now, he paid no heed to the ponies behind the icy blast.

The other hulker was Verrangen, the partner guards beast of Halkalla, his position had come on him the same way as the fellow guard. Both had been tainted by the water from the drinking cistern in the courts of Askr. This beast flicked his eyes away from the ice wall for one moment. There was warmth behind the ice. There was other creatures there! If there was one thing a hulker desired more than crushing, rending, tearing, and destroying anything in its path...and that was crushing something that had life within it!

The hulker crashed forward into the ice, its senses locked on the ponies behind it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stormstride teleported a distance away from the hulker, keeping some space open. If he kept pounding that ice... he might just break through it, providing he didnt snap his own neck in the process "Plan is simple. I can manipulate the charged particles in the air. My main power is light, but that includes lightning. And lightning is nothing but a large gathering of charged particles. As long as the snow and Ice keep rubbing together, I can keep making lightning bolts and other magical effects without draining my own magic reserves." Hearing the pegasus speak she nodded, "Yes Commander!" Stormstride moved a few step away. "Alright. See if we can get the ice wall thicker. I dont want them breaking through. Try to encircle them. Once we have them pinned in, I can make some clouds for the commander to use at will. Then I can draw in the power from the surrounding charged air. I can rain dozens of small power lightning bolts on them. If nothing more, I can get them to tire a little."

Stormstride stretched some. Her armor glittering softly from the gems embedded into it. As she moved, the hard clack of her hooves on ice gave it away. Those shoes were not the usual clip on kind. There were permanently mounted to her hooves with nails. She moved herself into position and began casting magic, moving toward the nearest tree. The glow on her hooves crackled with energy as she began walking up the tree. Using her magic to create a massive static charge to hold her too the tree. Walking up she got on a high enough branch even the hulker couldn't jump and reach her. 

"I Have a clear view from here. Just make sure you both stay out of my line of fire. I dont want either of you hit. Trust me... This spell hurts when it hits. They may not feel the pain, but if they have some nerves in their bodies they will get a jerk out of it for a few moments." She hurled a few balls of light down between the bou. They glittered and danced about. illuminating their side of the ice wall enough to make shadows from the other side almost impossible to spot. There were at least five balls of light. Thankfully light had no substance the hulkers could smash, so those balls would last at least five minutes on their own. Unless Stromstride drew them in to power another spell. "Alright. I think we can begin wearing them down now. I can hit them har enough to at least knock them off their feet. But even we Honor Guard of Fet Loch have our limits. Oh and if you hear music, lay on the ground and stay there. Trust me. you do NOT want to get in my brother's way if he actually came."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Ice wall seemed to work a lot better than Ice Storm had anticipated. Instead of separating the two caribou, they both started focusing on the wall of Ice. It was intriguing as she was expecting them to charge directly at the source of the ice, however, it appeared that they took it as a challenge to see which one could break the ice first. Not that either of them would succeed. The ice that she used to create the wall was about the density and consistency of steel. They would keep bashing at it all they wanted, but having pure control over the ice and snow around them, she could condense the wall to whatever strength that she needed. The one thing that the wall wasn't though was malleable. She could see bits and pieces cracking off of it from time to time from the impacts with the bou.

 

She looked up to the other Unicorn in the group as she mentioned that the plan was simple. She could manipulate the charged particles in the air, making clouds, localized blizzards, and even evaporating the water that was in the air, or make it hail. "While I can't do anything with the charged particles, I have the ice and snow covered," she said stepping forward. She heard the lone pegasi in the group that was also the commander make mention that any damages that they caused to them would likely be healed by the plague. So damaging them alone would not be enough to bring them down. They would have to tire them down if they wanted to contain them. Ice Storm gave a nod before using her Ice Wall once more locking the bou in with the balls of lightning that were racing though the air around them. The extra ice around them, and the refractions off of the oppsing Ice walls and the particles of ice and snow that were falling around them should be enough to create a near blinding light inside the zone. That should be more than enough to disorient the bou.

 

"Once we get them to collapse, I can restrain them with Ice. One of the main symptoms of the plague is the excessive rise in body heat. if I can make the ice thick enough around them, then it should cool their body temperature back to normal and delay the after effects of the plague from setting in," Ice Storm said before she used a bit of her ice to reposition herself back into a tree that was just outside of her Ice wall. If she wasn't on the ground, then she wouldn't fall victim to whatever the other unicorn was planning. She didn't hear any music yet, but she didn't want to be in the way when it came. "Storm, if you supercharge those orbs, the electricity will start flowing through the ice that is within theri containment as well. You could overload their senses, causing them to black out," she added remembering what bit she did from the college on how electricity worked. With a flick of her horn, she made a much thinner layer of ice on the ground under the bou to collect more of the charged particles from the air and distribute to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So far, so good. One of the transformed caribous seemed fairly confused and exasperated with this new turn of events, and made the decision to deliver his rebuttal in the form of charging at the barrier; a headbuttal, if you will. His peer soon followed, while the storm brigade observed. And Cyclone was the commander of this storm brigade. Yay.

 

It was shaping up to be a decent fight, but the really great fights often were ones you learned something from. And to hear Strider talk, where better to teach a science lesson than during combat? “Uh, nice. Sounds good. I reserve the right to make the 'shocking' puns." Lightning, eh. Cyclone's daughter explained this magic and science stuff to her countless times, usually ending up in some strange analogy or tangent. Anyway, even tiring them a little would add up if this turned out to be a battle of attrition. She didn't expect they could really trap the ragebous within walls of ice for long, but anything was worth a shot.

 

They have some nerve, that's for sure," she chuckled, before grimacing as she realised her filly may have rubbed off on her. Hold on, here was something Strider didn't fully elaborate on. Her brother? What music? Music was harmless. Well, maybe not that music the youth listened to these days… which she, uh, knew all about, because she was absolutely still young and cool.

 

Whoa. Was that barrier really made of ice? The bous were knocking down trees just before, while the wall didn’t break easily at all – not so brittle, then. That was some major sorcery, it beat her blade by miles. She had to remember, at least earth ponies and pegasi overall sustained life in Equestria with their magic.

 

Cool them down, sounded fine. Slow them too. Would it be enough to incapacitate? They'd see. So... yeah... hanging back some, staying out of the line of fire; she might be doing this a lot in the next few minutes. Couldn't interfere with the wizardry, so there was nothing she could do. It was as she expected. Once again she looked to the weather to get an idea of how it was around here. Were there a lot of clouds? Perhaps some other environmental feature that she could possibly use, on the chance that the unicorns didn't have this under control?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The Hulkers continued for a time, there tremendous strength vented somewhat on the unyielding walls of ice. Shards and splinters rained in every direction as they rammed themselves head on into ice, again and again. Steam rose from their coats and nostrils as they paused for a moment. Orbs of light were descending towards them. Red eyes rolled as the light came closer...soon it would be within reach.

 

Though they could make the ice shatter and crack, it seemed no matter how it was attacked the walls did not diminish. There was also electricity flowing through the air. Super sensitive to such energy, the bou reeled from their position. There were other near by. Though destroying inanimate objects brought a relief of sorts, nothing was better for this sort of release than venting fury on living, breathing beings!

 

Both Hulkers began seeking to get beyond the ice walls. They could smell life, blood pumping through bodies. They would no be satisfied without ripping life from whatever was around.

 

"AAAAAaaaaarrrrr!"

 

Howls of frenzy escaped their plagued maws as vise like claws gripped into the ice walls. Before a blink of the eye both were out of the confines of the ice walls and pounded the ground towards the three ponies. Their eyes locked on various targets and they roared as they charged. One made its way towards those on the gorund while the other rammed into the tree where the other was perched.

 

With a great groaning the tree was wrenched from the earth. The frenzied Hulker swung the giant tree around once and chucked it towards the ice walls.

 

All was chaos and destruction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Storm was knocked from her tree. In her tumble she reeled herself around and her magic shot out. acting as a cushion to catch her landing. The moment she landed she warped away. Her nostrils flaring in anger. The orbs of light shot back toward her and danced around her now, each arching energy to the next and growing in strength as he horn glowed violently. Her armor ached and sparked in all directions as she screamed. "Blast you all to Tartarus!!!" Her spell was drawing energy form the surrounding air. Taking the charge from the particles and forming a literal wall of light around herself. It arched with energy. Powerful enough to knock even a pony out cold and still growing in power. 

her armor seemed to be concentrating it more as she let the energy just flow. Increasing in strength, and violence. The energy bushed against the tree closest too her and ripped the bark clean off, soon followed with splinters of wood as the pure electrical energy ate through the very bonds of the atoms the tree was made of. Stromstride was enraged and showing her true colors now. Her legs spread some as she shifted her stance. The energy focusing forward and at the bou that rammed the tree she was in. "you can heal. I know that. But how well can you stand if every bone in your body gets shattered by the sheer force of a pure wall of energy?" So... her trump card was on the table now. The energy around her increased more, burning the ground around her as she drew in more and more from the charged particles of the air and snow and ice. It was getting out of hoof now. Everything it touched was being ripped apart. If she didnt cast that spell soon she herself might suffer some backlash. But the rage in her face told it all. She had fought battles like this before, and she had no intent of being on the losing end of this one. "HEY!! Come on!! Right here is your prize! Right here! Come and get some fun!!!" Her magic was barely containing the amount of energy she had collected. 

 

The strain was showing on her face as she aimed her horn at the first bou. Her eyes locking onto the target as she fired off the first volley of lightning bolts. Near a dozen of them all streaking forward at speed. And right behind it was a second, more widely spread volley. Storm had concentrated the energy in her orbs. Keeping them floating around her and linked to keep the energy flowing. But it was easy enough to see there was no way she could keep this kind of power up for more than a couple minutes. Just keeping the energy contained was straining her body. And the crack in her horn was glowing brightly. She managed to let off another volley at the first bou before she had to let the energy go. It scattered away harmlessly but the bolts would not be so harmless. If they actually hit their mark. 

Having used up some of the charged energy in the area, she was thankfully still able to use her own magical reserves. Though, her horn hurt like it was on fire. The crack in it sparking on it's own, as if angry. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

(Apologies for the delay, been hectic here with)

 

So far so good. The caribou seemed to have been distracted with the wall of ice long enough for them to get to a safer vantage point. Or at least one that she had deemed safer. The other unicorn seemed to be focusing on the electrical current trying to numb the beasts into submission. It was a good thought, but with their regeneration pumped to the max, the nerves would be regerenating faster than this mare could burn them off or numb them. Against most targets, Ice Storm would have found that to have been a solid strategy, but, it appeared that as expected, the only thing the electricity was make them angrier than they were. And that was saying something! She watched from the tree above as the bou did, almost exactly as she anticipated and broke through the ice. IT did make her fear their strength a bit because of how thick and strong she had made that ice, but even then, she had to remember that it was still just that, ice.

 

She paid note that the commander was hanging back and making shocking puns. Likely because she was trying to not get in the way of the magic that was being cast. It was a wise idea... minus the puns part, and proved to be invaluable when the bou broke through the ice and charged the trees. Having a bit of time to prepare, Ice storm made a few small bands of ice around her hooves and her armor to hold her in the tree that she was in. The jolt startled her but she remained in the tree, a luxury that she couldn't say was shared by her unicorn counterpart. She had gotten knocked from the tree, and unlike the commander, she appeared to be throwing everything she had at these two bou.

 

Ice Storm herself was concerned about that very fact. A lot of magic had been cast already, and while Ice was still mostly good to go, after watching the other unicorn fire a very large being of ionized energy at the bou in hopes that it would slow them down. She could already see the strain on the unicorns face and body after she released the spell. This was bad... This unicorn was using too much magic too fast.... She herself had learned the hard way on the attacks during the Crystal Faire, what happened when you used all of your magic too quickly. She was magicless for about three days while her body healed and recharged. "Storm... Don't us too much all at once like that... we don't know if these are the only two or not... You don't want to suffer from Arcane Fatigue, trust me, it's not fun," she said as she tried to figure out what she could do next to help. She already knew that her ice wouldn't be able to completely restrain them, so it would take a group effort to stop them from hurting anypony else. She had an unlimited supply of snow and ice and her disposal, but at the moment, she had no idea what the most effective course of action would be in this situation. She did however leap down in front of the winded mare to hopefully by her some time to regain her wind and hold off the bou from going after her now that she was on the ground.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A look around identified the typical clouds up a ways. Those might serve as safe platforms, if she got creative as fog devices, or with effort and favourable conditions as impromptu batteries. She also noted a frozen pond. That'd make for a good trap, it may get one of these things to chill out.

 

The ice wall was solid but with a howl of fury they finally broke through. One lumbered the way of Cyclone. It was filled with seething rage and, she anticipated, not prepared for the speed of a pegasus. As it charged, she went from its path to its side almost in the blink of an eye and braced her blade in to lacerate its flank. The momentum would do some of the work for her, and she tested how durable they were. No doubt it should heal quickly, but have a bit less energy after, that was the plan. When the damage was dealt she flapped and hopped away, a backstep to put distance between them.

 

"We're fighting back..." Another real clash at last. Adrenaline surged, and a grin spread across Cyclone's face, obscured by a helmet. It was a familiar sensation. She felt incredibly alive and spirited.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The two bous took blows from the onslaught. The first rammed straight towards the lightening bolts, heedless to the injury such bolts could cause. Steam rose from the beast as it bellowed and charged. Slobber, ripped tree roots, mud and filth flew in all directions at the beast shook its head in terrible rage.

 

"RRRaaaaaGGGGG!" The enraged call resounded. "RRRaaaAAA-!" The bolts hit the beast, knocking it flat.

 

The cold hard ground resounded with a thick THUD as the beast fell with its back down. Its body writhed in torment as its very bones were shattered. Arms and legs flopped in grotesque fashion as the still tormented beast tried to rise on bones that for the moment did not exist in form to raise it. Flesh let loose acrid smoke as the body of the beat was seared by the lightning's force.

 

The other bou charged straight for the one wielding the blade. Though its reflexes were fast, the pegasus moved a moment faster. The blade sunk into the creature's flank, causing black blood to flow forth. The beast staggered for a moment on one leg. The other was held up as the wound began to steam. In the next moment the wound had sealed itself and the beast was charging again!

 

The first bou's body twisted from side to side.Snapping and crunching were audible as its body reformed at an alarming rate. It was up on its hooves all too soon, though some parts of its body did not seem to fit. Though bones had reformed leaving odd deformities to the creature's body. This caused even more rage. In the next moment it charged at the two ponies before it!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stromstride fell one knee. Panting she used her free hoof to push her helmet off. There it was. The inside of the armor was padded with thick furs and wool lining to keep the cold away. But dotted inside were gems. They arched a bit before dispersing their energy. The armor was meant to be a battery for magic. But it seemed Storm was having more issues than the availability of energy. Her horn was glowing and sparking. The crack running from tip to root was leaking power. A lot of power. And it seemed to hurt enough that she was gritting her teeth. "Magic Fatigue is the least of my worries. I have..*pant*..been using the charged energy of the air.A little magic and I can get lightning bolts out of it easily." Her horn arched to a branch over her head softly. little more than static discharge but it seemed to lessen the pain she was in.

 

"The armor was not made to be front line wear...*cough*..especially not in somewhere this far from supplies. Its Mage armor. Its like a battery and an amplifier all in one. The draw back is that it weighs a bloody ton." She locked her eyes on the bou. "Bloody fools dont stay down....*wheeze* IM too old for this..." Stormstride spit as she caught her breath. "Well.. It slowed him. Not much else." Slapping her helmet on, she sighed. "Well. As long as we can stay out of their reach they cant hurt us. Just going to be one long game of keep away if we try that." 
 

The thing was charging them! "Gah!" Stormstride shoved Ice aside. And that cost her. The mare screamed as an antler found it's mark under her shoulder plate. She screamed as it tore through the chainmail and into her body. and the momentum carried her off and to the side. She landed with a thud and a yell. Her horn glowing as a thick barrier went up around her. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The way that the lightning arched from the bou, and the way that it had crumpled to the ground only to get back up again... it was a sight that Ice Storm wish she could forget. When the bou collapsed, it appeared that many of it's bones had broken in response to the muscles constricting from the shock that had been delivered to them, however, the healing magic that was in the plague had caused the bou to heal in ways that... were simply not natural. It was at that moment she realized that this bou would not survive, and also showed them that brute force alone won't do anything but cause the inevitable deaths of many innocent bou that had been afflicted. However, her attention was quickly turned back to Storm, as she landed next to her. It was them that she noticed something for the first time, something that.... was somewhat horrifying.... When Storm spoke up and told her that Magic Fatigue was the least of her problems at the moment, it was far from an understatement. Somewhere within the fight, she had used so much magic, that she had apparently cracked her horn! Ice Storm could see the magical energy leaking from it, and could only imagine how painful that would be.

 

"Fall back! You're only going to..." she started before getting cut off as the bou that had been deformed now charged towards them. She had almost no time to react before Storm had pushed her out of the way, only to take the hit herself and get flung to the side. "Storm!" she said pushing herself back up to her hooves, only to watch her land with a loud yell before a barrier went up around her. She knew now that there was no longer any time they could waste, and while she knew that she was technically a subordinate, she'd had very recent experience in keeping ponies safe and knew exactly what needed to be done. With a charge of magic, she created another wall between the beast and Storm, however this wall was a bit different. This wall was designed to either kill, or seriously injure anything that decided to charge at it. On the back side of the wall that was facing Storm, the wall was smooth as glass, between it and the barrier that she had created, it should be more than enough to keep her safe. However, on the side that was facing the bou, many sharp spikes protruded though the wall in many different directions that were a good bit long.

 

That said, what she knew was based so far on an enemy that wasn't regenerating injuries as fast as they could be injured. Even as strong as they were though, they had to have a weak point. There had to be some way to take them down without causing them any more undue harm, or at least, the one that wasn't already deformed. As much as she disliked the idea of using lethal force for what's supposed to be a savior mission, this bou was beyond saving. Even if they rid him of the plague, he would never be able to live a normal life again. She looked back to the bou again that had ran past her panting and watched the other bou going after Cyclone... Now was the time when she needed to take a risk. They had to incapacitate one of them, or they would pick both of them off with ease.  While the bou fighting Cyclone was distracted, she charged at it herself, attempting to land on it's back while she fired an icy blast straight down into the bou's back. She wasn't sure what was going to come of the blast. The tip of it was shaped as a point, but she wasn't sure if it would go through, she only hoped that the direct blast of cold on the spine would be enough to disrupt it's attacks at Cyclone. "Go for the neck! We need to disable it! Don't worry about killing it! If that lightning blast didn't kill that one," she said pointing to the other deformed bou, "then a neck wound won't kill this one, but should incapacitate it enough for me to freeze it!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...