It was the next day, few distractions came during last night, making me question why I had to lose half my sleep for only a single gremlin that wandered over. A mere level 10, so easy to kill.

It was breakfast now, and I was roasting some grilled goblin when Flaze looked at me like I was crazy, a madman. Madhorse.

What? I neighed, tilting my head.

Instead of answering, she stormed out of the room and towards somewhere. She took her clone with her, we'd already checked the nearby units. It should be safe.

More for me then.

I took a bite out of the green roasted flesh, a putrid flavor like pork that had gone bad. But this was necessary, for a horse needs its sustenance.

Aren't I supposed to be a herbivore anyway?

Flaze came back at that moment. I paled when I saw the slab of meat on her hand. A glistening ball of ham.

Where'd you get that? I whined.

She rolled her eyes. "Everyone's dead, remember? Free real state. Everywhere. Everything."

Fuck. Well, at least I confirmed monsters were edible, and that I had no problem with meats. That was what I meant to do all along.

I gave her a piercing judgemental look. Stealing's not a good look on you.

Flaze threw the wet slab of meat to my face. I did not deserve that.

"End of the world. Who cares, Jackal?"

I shrugged. I was just needling you. As if I actually care. I stuck out my tongue. Stupid.

We ate the the ham, and it tasted so much better than goblin.

Who knew?

~~~

We arrived at the fifth floor. Lair of the demon, imp of the Apocalypse.

We stalked the hallways. Craters on concrete, charred stone.

Pieces of corpses littered the area, from goblins to wolves, bite marks visible, Flaze deduced them to be from the same source.

The demon.

Probably.

Flaze sent her clone out, upon my prompting. I noticed that she was all too eager to just jump into battle with nary a plan.

Please don't be stupid. That's my thing.

"Sorry, Jackal. I'm a bit out of it right now. If I'm about to die, then you may leave me behind. I'll hold back whatever monster proved too much for us."

I felt like crying.

No... I neighed sadly. Live. You gotta live. We'll get through this.

She chuckled. "Yeah, I know. I gotta find out if my little siblings survived. Don't worry. I'll self destruct once I know they are dead."

Flaze...

Not the time to be having that conversation, Flaze's clone was able to uncover the demon's whereabouts right at that very moment.

She motioned for me to follow, and we crept across the corridors until we managed to meet up with her clone.

I peeked over the corner, and saw our enemy. An impish face, on a large and round body, about seven feet tall. A demon in red skin, tiny horns atop his head, no shirt, tattered slacks covering his privates

"Eat..." He spoke. Grating, like nails on chalkboard, an unworldly sound. But more importantly, he's intelligent?

"Eat..." He repeated. Well, maybe not intelligent...

"Roast, and then eat!" Bright orange light, a disturbance in the air. A ball of fire manifested, I and the two Flazes immediately ducked for cover, getting behind a nearby wall.

A loud impact resounded, and the concrete wall collapsed, into flaming chunks, sending us flying to the next wall over. I realized finally, that the attack was no mere fire, but a meteorite, and it had smashed through the walls of stone.

The demon was already creating another one.

Flaze's gaze met my own, we stared at each other for but a split second, both of us already understood.

The demon may speak, but negotiations have never been on the table.

A mere monster.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!" The fight began, with Flaze Clone's scream. The demon's attention was diverted at her, a cast of taunt mixed in with her shouts.

The real Flaze hopped onto my back just before I bolted off running.

[Trailblazer]!

I ran, curving to the side just as the demon sent his second meteorite against Clone Flaze. She held up her shield, the meteorite crashed into it with such force that she was flung back, her figure sent crashing against solid rock, strong enough for it to crack.

She got up slowly, standing on broken bones. That single clash had wrecked her shield, the arm holding it limp and unusable. Fires clung to her form, the metal of her armor very slowly melting.

I think getting hit by that is a terrible idea.

Deciding that offense is the best defense, I sped up further and shot a fully formed Hellish Fireball unto our enemy.

The imp screeched as it was set ablaze, sending another meteorite crashing into our direction. I dodged the attack and saw the demon reel a tad from violating the taunt of Fake Flaze, still active despite the damage she'd taken. I doubt the taunt's doing much damage, considering the gap in levels.

It was still enough to create an opportunity.

I seized the moment and circled around the creature, spreading my Trailblazer, a glowing path of white and blue light. I gave the large demon a few cheeky kicks armed with Horsekick Gambit as I passed, knocking the creature over in a shower of light and fire.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The demon hissed, angrily, before swiftly making another meteorite to slam at me from point blank range. I winced and veered left, not enough to dodge, but thankfully the real Flaze was there to catch the projectile with her shield, the danger deflected away.

The impact was still enough to rattle, I lurched and nearly fell as wisps of flame scorched parts of our forms. I quickly cast a heal on the both of us, and then on the injured clone.

Flaze wasted no time and disembarked from myself to stand on the trail I'd left behind, now buffed by my skill.

[Hellish Fireball]!

The devil turned his attention back to Flaze's Clone, but my well timed counter caused the imp to burst into flames and completely miss his target.

I was standing too on the trail of light I'd left behind. My testing has proven that the skill has a slight delay. It typically doesn't work on myself, nor my rider. But if I circle around, it is possible for myself to get buffed by my own skill.

Not that it's all that impressive yet. A boost to running speed and toughness. The former being useless for whomever rides me. Which won't be many, unless if they got a death wish.

The monster snarled, as our three figures circled around it. It was still burning, but my flames were beginning to dissipate, back to a pale orange color instead of a vibrant red.

"I WILL EAT YOU ALL!" The demon proclaimed, and he created three meteorites simultaneously. Both Flazes jumped on him while I fell back, dodging. A meteor whisked past me, missing, but another hit home.

The spell impacted my side, by the shoulder. The weight of the meteor pushed me out, and the flames spread over my fur, setting me ablaze.

I panicked.

[Blessed Heal]!

[Blessed Heal]!

[Blessed Heal]!

[Hellish Fireball]!

I spammed my heal on myself, desperately trying to put out the flames as I also conjured my own Hellish Fireball to replace and snuff it out. I wobbled, and staggered, the world a hazy blaze. I heard shouting, screaming, some familiar, others unworldly. I remembered where I was, but not what I'm supposed to be doing. I vomited, clearing my vision, the tears shook away from my eyes. I looked back up, and saw the death of Flaze.

The world paused for a moment, before I realized that it was just a clone. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but the real Flaze's string of curses and shouting brought me out of my reverie. I watched as she charged at her enemy in her knightly armor, caring not for the damage done to herself. The demon was bloodied, bruised, and broken, bleeding from a dozen cuts, a paltry few digging deep.

Flaze summoned another clone, but it promptly died. The state of the creation reflected its master, a doppelganger born out of a body already broken.

It still sufficed to buy a precious few seconds, enough for Flaze to blind the red monster in one eye, an unfair slash to his privates.

I got my breathing back under control, focusing on the magic within me, banishing away the tiredness from using my spells.

The monster panicked, he had no time to create any big attacks, instead opting for the smallest of meteorites, pebbles on fire. They assaulted Flaze's body from every corner, each one too weak to prove a threat, but in great numbers they crumpled her armor. The metal softened by the heat, the person inside was cooked alive, and the blood that leaked out from the gaps evaporated very quickly.

"Sorry, Jackal. I'm a bit out of it right now. If I'm about to die then you may leave me behind, I'll hold back whatever monster proved too much for us." I remembered the words she spoke to me before. An issue I chose to shelve, instead focusing on the current threat at hand.

I should have delayed the mission.

I screeched and charged, ramming the creature. I slammed a heal on Flaze just as the demon retched and formed a meteorite right above my head.

"Jackal!" Flaze shouted my name. She jumped to my back and blocked the meteorite with her shield. I felt the her metallic boots sink into my skin, but it was far better than burning rock.

That attack, however, was the last one her shield could take. It had crumbled to pieces along with the arms that held it up.

Another Blessed Heal brought her limbs back to a functional state, but I couldn't spare much more energy to fully heal it.

I felt myself buckling on top of the demon, his ugly face snarling below me. My vision once again grew hazy, but memories flashed of yesterday, a last desperate struggle, every drop squeezed out.

A compromising position, just like a long dead Hamster's.

[Horsekick Gambit]!

[Horsekick Gambit]!

[Horsekick Gambit]!

My hooves slammed down onto the demon's hideous face. A storm of stomps, a barrage like punches. It all still counted as kicks, therefore summoning fireworks, of light and flames.

The imp flailed under me, I was nearly thrown off many times, but Flaze helped me pin the creature down with her sword, much of the approaching meteorites blocked by her body.

[Hellish Fireball]!

That set the demon's head ablaze one last time as I heard the fanfare of victory. The monster never stopped struggling until it was dead.

This fight has given me a lot to learn.

[You have defeated a Level 52 Mage!]

[Your Level Has Risen to 29!]

[Your Level Has Risen to 30!]

~~~

That last fight was definitely more my blunder than Flaze's. I realize that now, once I'm more... sober. I panicked, I got dazed. Just like when I fought that hamster.

Yes, she probably should not have been so aggressive, but we were in the middle of the fight and I'm the one who checked out. At least she kept on doing what we were supposed to be doing. Fighting.

I thought I'd gotten over it by now, after it'd happened with the the hamster, enough resolve to not fall apart in the direst of moments. I even ran all the way here, from my own place to Flaze's apartment. Emergencies were dealt with, without growing too frantic to function. But I can still slip up, I did. Next time it might cost my life, or that of Flaze.

"Jackal," Flaze called, and I looked at her. Dressed in her casual clothes, her wounds had healed by themselves before I had woken back up. We were sitting down beside the demon's corpse. "That was a really stupid move back there."

Ah crap. I know!

"But!" She quickly amended, "I know you don't want me to die. And I'd only get you killed if I continue acting like this. So I'll try not to..."

No, no. I'm the one who panicked! That was more my fault than yours! I neighed, frantically waving my horse arms around.

She laughed. "You've always talked with your hands. It's not perfect, but I think I can interpret you better like that."

Yeah... Maybe I should write this down... I eyed our enemy's carcass, and felt a faint buzzing in my head.

"Anyway," Flaze clapped one, with cheer. "Still, feel free to abandon me if it comes to it. I won't hold a grudge, I promise. In fact, I'll feel relieved."

No! I huffed, and shook my head vehemently.

"Hmm, I think that's a yes."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

She laughed. "Alright, alright. I'm kidding. And yeah, you're here, others yet may have survive. I know that. I'm keeping it in mind. But it's just new, you know?"

I tilted my head.

"When I fight, when it gets really frantic, it's like I just forget everything else. My body just moves on its own, like I'm in some sort of high. Nothing else matters but indulging in the most senseless of violence."

Ah. Well, that's nearly as bad as my panicking.

Okay, she's still fighting instead of crying in a corner, so maybe not. But still!

"No. That's not right." She shook her head, solemn. "I have the opportunity to forget everything. That's what battle gives me. To instead replace all the pain, all the worries, with bloodlust and carnage."

"And I take that option. Every. Single. Time."

A quiet moment passed in between us.

"So I'll uh, work on that. And you should also work on not panicking. Cry after the battle."

Wha--!? Well, I think you should stop getting off on blood and gore.

I didn't know you were a sadist Flaze! Maybe the apocalypse isn't the best time to to be discovering that side of yourself!

I mock cried, neighing.

"Kidding. I'm kidding." She grinned, "And 'I should also stop pleasuring myself in the middle of a fight' is what you're thinking, isn't it?"

I gasped, slack-jawed.

"World's most predictable horse."

_______________

Name: Jackal Dolmer

Level: 30

______________

(Unassigned MANA: 20)

Vitality: 50

Strength: 30

Magic: 90

Agility: 80

Intelligence: 30

_____________

Class:

[Thy Blessed Pony]

[Hell Baby]

Skills:

[Foal Blessing] (Level 1 / Integration 25% -> 30%)

[Hellborne] (Level 1 / Integration 30% - 36%)

[Hellish Fireball] (Level 1 / Integration 40% -> 50%)

[Trailblazer] (Level 1 / Integration 4% -> 20%)

[Blessed Heal] (Level 1 / Integration 32% -> 45%)

[Longstrider] (Level 1 / Integration 41%)

[Horsekick Gambit] (Level 1 / Integration 45% -> 53%)

_____________