Not immediately, of course. It took a few minutes, but hell definitely broke loose. I was the only one to tread the sick looking grass of the courtyard, so I gave my mind a little time to wonder as I sat on the stone steps.
My most romantic kiss was with a horse. Love comes in all the strange places. Take this one for example. With a talking, multicolored pony in the middle of a war with shape-shifting assholes. That would been one hell of a story. This entire experience is going to be one hell of a story to anyone when I get home.
Home. That was another thing. It felt like ages had passed since my 'abduction' into this dimension. I wondered how much time had passed in my world and how to explain to my commanding officer where I was. I could picture it in my head. And it wasn't a pretty picture. Except his face when I tell him about the talking ponies, oh my god, that would be priceless. I probably wouldn't tell him the truth, though. After all, I didn't want to be thrown into the insane asylum. Or as George would so elegantly put it, 'getting shacked up in the whacko-basket'. I chucked lightly at the thought.
"Glad to see you made it." A warm and intelligent voice came from a slight distance away.
"Yes. It would be futile to fight Chrysalias without you." Luna's voice sliced through the air clearly.
"Darn right, it would! Yer our ace in the hole!" Applejack chimed in. I looked up from my spot on the steps of the enormous castle and saw Twilight walking towards me with Luna and Applejack in tow. I frowned.
"You too, but where are the others?" I addressed Twilight with a little worry.
"On their way." She answered simply.
"Do we wait for them, or go in now?" I asked Luna.
"We wait." Luna announced. There was a drawn out pause of tension, so I decided to try and lighten the mood.
"Kill count?" I asked abruptly.
"Ninety-Seven." Twilight said proudly and, to my surprise, without hesitation. Luna let out a light laugh.
"One hundred and forty-three." She said. This time, it was my turn to laugh. Heartily.
"Three hundred and four." I said. Luna and Twilight looked at me with faces that asked 'How the hell?'. Before they could actually ask, I answered. "The walk here was... Eventful." I smirked. Luna and Twilight nodded, satisfied with the answer. Applejack could no longer contain her laughter.
"Five hundred and thirty-eight!" She laughed out. When we gave her an astounded, and slightly worried, look, she laughed even harder and nodded at her mini-guns. We all cracked up at that.
"Whoa! I wasn't the first one here?" A cocky, but confused voice asked from the sky.
"Glad to see that you made it out alive, Rainbow Dash." I called up to her. She landed on the steps beside me, pouting.
"Yeah, but it's still disappointing that I wasn't the first one." She said, "By the way, who was?" She asked. I was about to answer, but Pinkie Pie randomly erupted from the bushes beside me, nearly giving me a heart attack.
"That would be me!" The hyper pink mare sung out and landed on the ground beside Twilight. And now, all hell breaks loose. Twilight gave a light smirk. I caught it, only barely. A second before it happened. It was much to late to stop. Twilight snapped her head towards Pinkie, and my heart stopped when I saw a flicker of blue in Twilight's iris.
"Pinkie!" I cried the warning to little, to late. Her pupils shrunk to the size of pea's and her mouth fell agape in surprise as her eyes widened in shock. Her mane deflated and became a dull, flat, bubblegum color as the Changeling impersonating Twilight fired a magical bolt into her chest.
"NO!" Applejack bellowed in deafening rage. She bucked the Changeling's head so hard that it flew all the way back to the front line, landing in a hole. And thus, the game of Golf in Equestria was invented. The body stood there for a second, then convulsed and collapsed in a black heap.
Applejack clicked her helmet off and dropped down beside Pinkie, small tears forming in her eyes. Pinkie was still alive, but barely. It was a miracle that she was conscious at all. But I guess that was just Pinkie Pie. Even in the end, she fought physics.
"Hang on, sugarcube."
"Applejack..." Pinkie breathed out.
"It'll be jus' fine." Applejack said desperately, her tears growing larger.
"Applejack..."
"Y'all will be better in no ti-"
"Applejack!" Pinkie interrupted again, this time a little more forcibly. But her voice was still incredibly weak. Applejack didn't look like she could accept her friends death. A tear crept down my face. Pinkie's changed into a pained smile of acceptance as she put a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "It will be okay... For you." Applejack began to shake her head. "I'm so sorry... I got careless." Pinkie added softly.
"No..." Applejack shuddered.
"The pain will go away."
"No..."
"Eventually, the wound will heal."
"No..."
"You will find somepony else."
"NO! There is nopony else! You're the only-" Applejack was cut off as Pinkie used the last of her strength to pull her down and silence her with her lips. Man, things sure do escalate quickly here. Applejack fell into the kiss, but tears streamed even more profusely down her face.
It seemed that I wasn't the only one shocked by this move, as I heard a gasp from Rainbow Dash beside me and saw Luna look like she had just been hit with astonishing news. Their lips parted and Applejack slowly drifted up from her marefriends face.
"Sugarcube..." She said in defeat.
"Don't worry, Jacky... I will always be with you." She said quietly and put a hoof on Applejack's chest. "Right here." I didn't care how cliche it sounded, that was freaking sad. Her voice was fading. Getting weaker. It wouldn't be long now. "I'll tell Applebloom, Babs, your parents, Granny Smith, Big Mac, and all of your family how brave..." She coughed a little, "And how amazing of a mare you grew up to be... Now, if you'll excuse me," She put on a light smile, "I have a party to plan... For the heavens..." She breathed out as the vibrant life of Pinkie Pie faded from her body, and her eyes closed. She looked to be sleeping, but we knew better.
"N-No..." Applejack said in unbelieving shock. "No... No, no, no, NO!" She screamed into the air as tears streamed from her face. I felt hot liquid fall from my eyes and I knew, under that helmet, Luna was doing the same. Even Rainbow Dash shared tears at the loss of her friend and the heart breaking scene before her.
I clicked my helmet onto my head to try and get away from it. It didn't work. Applejack brought her hooves into the air, then down onto Pinkie's chest in a desperate, but futile, attempt at revival. My entire being wanted it to work. So badly. Yet, I knew that it wouldn't.
"I-I've never seen her like this before..." Rainbow Dash's voice quivered to my ears through the communications speaker as Applejack pounded Pinkie's chest.
"It's quite unsettling..." I said. I had to assume that the prismatic mare nodded, because she never answered.
Applejack slammed her hooves down one more time before she gave up, or couldn't hold back the flood anymore, and collapsed onto her marefriends body, sobbing loudly and very profusely. That was even more unsettling. But I couldn't exactly blame her for it. She had just lost her significant other.
"Guys!" A book-smart voice called as she was running to the gate. I immediately checked her iris for even a hint of blue, but found nothing. Applejack instantly shot up and pointed the mini-guns at Twilight.
"Stay back! Step even a hoof more forward and Celestia help me, I will grind you to dust!" She shouted as they locked on to the trembling mare and began to spin-up. At least she was honest.
"Applejack." I said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Stop, it's okay. She isn't a Changeling."
"How d' ya know that?" She asked with skepticism.
"Her eyes are the same purple they have always been." I reassured. Applejack relaxed, but only slightly.
"What's going on here?" Twilight asked, still a bit shaky from one of her best friends threatening to kill her. Applejack dropped her head and stepped to the side, revealing Pinkie's body. Pinkie still had a faint smile playing on her lips. Twilight's mouth dropped and her eyes widened in shock.
"P-Pinkie?" She asked in fake hope. "Th-This isn't funny!" She scolded the body while stamping a hoof. Applejack walked over to Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. Applejack rose her head up and looked into Twilight's shocked and unbelieving eyes with her own tear-filled ones.
"Ah wish it were a prank, Twi..." She said sadly. Tears welled in Twilight's eyes as the fact sank in. She shut them tightly, forcing the tears down as she threw her head into the air.
"FLUTTERSHY!" She screamed. The yellow Pegasus materialized in the entrance.
"T-Twilight? What's wrong?" She asked, then her head trailed down to Pinkie's body. Not a second was wasted as Fluttershy sprang into action.
"Helmet off!" She yelled mid-flight. By the time her helmet was half-way off, she was already preforming CPR. "Damn you, Pinkie, live!" She huffed through sad tears and worked limbs. I think everypony there was a little put off by the vulgarity, including me. You know, minus the pony part.
"S-Sugarcube..." Applejack said, still choked up, but acting bravely. Fluttershy made her no mind. Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder. "I-It's over." She said painfully as silent tears streaked down her face. Those words hurt more than anything that had been dished out so far. Maybe it was because of Applejack's acceptance. Luna trotted up to us all.
"Now is a sad time. But we must not let Pinkie die in vain. We will mourn our fallen comrades after the battle is won. But for now, we must move on." She said, trying to cover the sadness in her voice. It wasn't working.
"Luna is right." I said, finally stepping in, "We have to finish this."
"How adorable." A horribly familiar voice cackled out. All of the ponies gasped and turned their attention to where the voice had come from. Behind me. They jumped into a battle-ready stance, helmets clicking over their heads with a barking command. I slowly turned my head around to see a tall, greenish-black Changeling with a sickly aqua colored mane. I quickly followed the actions of my friends.
"Chrysalias!" I yelled and drew my blade. She began to laugh.
"You think something as puny as that can stop me?"
"Well, yeah. I was kinda hopin-"
"FOAL!" She yelled, cutting me off. "This is the great Jack Halok? The 'last hope of Equestria?' You ponies are really scrapping the bottom of the barrel here." She mocked. As much as it should have sent overwhelming anger through me, it didn't. If anything, it amused me.
"Shut your mouth!" Rainbow Dash shouted aggressively.
"How about you make me?" Chrysalias teased and shot a bolt at the cyan mare. I threw my wings into action and dashed up to the bolt. With a downward, vertical swing from my sword, the blast was severed and sent to the ground below me. Chrysalias growled and stamped her hoof in a pattern of four. Changelings teleported all around her, at least a thousand appeared by her side.
"Luna? Shy? Twi? Applejack? Dash? You guys take the Changelings." They all nodded. "I'll take Chrysalias." I said, narrowing my eyes in the helmet.
"There is a fine line between confidence and foolishness, Jack." Luna said in warning.
"I know were I stand. Trust me." I said confidently. Chrysalias put a hoof forward.
"Kill them all." She commanded her minions. A sea of black, green, and blue flowed like a tsunami towards us and I readied my blade for combat. It connected with two Changeling necks and their heads were sent flying as four more fell to the Grave Digger. The fight was now full on. Bullets and magic flew endlessly and relentlessly as bodies of Changelings hit the dirt.
I looked over to see how my friends were doing. Not very well. Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked thoroughly exhausted and Fluttershy had hidden in a bush, waiting for the first sign of injury. The only reason that I even knew that she was there in the first place was the com chatter. Applejack was fighting full-heartedly, but was being overwhelmed nonetheless. Luna was doing the best out of them all, probably due to the fact that she was a Princess... And an Alicorn. Changelings flew in the air, swirling uncontrollably in a torrent of dark magic. her magic began to rip every one of them that was caught in it to shreds.
I should have been paying attention to my own fight, though. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw a hint of green. My head whipped over to the direction of the massive blast. I only had a split-second to narrowly avoid it. I snapped my wings back and the bolt took off a small piece of my armor. Too. Close.
"You scared to fight me man to Changeling, Chrysie?" I taunted a pet name into the crowd of Changelings as I killed a few more. Another blast came from the side, but I was expecting it this time and had enough reflex to completely dodge it. "Just gonna take shots at me from behind your lackeys? Using your own kids as a shield? That's a new low, even for you." I yelled. I needed to lure her out, I couldn't do much otherwise. I noticed something else, though. No more Changelings were charging at me. Not one. They were just flying around me, obscuring my view, but not attacking me.
Another bolt flew, but not at me. I looked at it's destination. A struggling Applejack. She was being pinned down by more Changelings. They were holding her there with no regard to their own lives. They had one mission. Subdue this pony. I flew in to try and stop it, but another blast blocked my way, along with a few Changelings.
"Applejack!" I shouted into her coms as warning. She snapped her head up and spoke softly through everyponies com channels.
"Ah-Ah don't wanna go..." Was all she could get out before the green orb consumed her, exploding in light. Only static came after. Time seemed to stand still. All of the ponies faltered as Applejack's final words reached them. I opened up my own coms channel to the four left fighting... Or rather three fighting and one hiding.
"Applejack has... Fallen..." I said. Rage filled every inch of my body, and by a quick downward glance, I could tell that everypony had the same feeling. They began to fight with full-hearted fury, killing double the amount of Changelings than before. Even the timid yellow Pegasus joined the fray in rage.
"CHRYSALIAS!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I saw another bolt of green, but instead of dodging it, I charged forward and cut it clean in half. I kept charging and cut a rather large swath through the Changeling blockade, ripping a hole in it. I burst out of the side and, I am happy to report, took Chrysalias by complete surprise. I slammed into her with my shoulder, knocking the breath from both our lungs. Her green eyes flooded with rage as she snapped to me.
"You're going to pay for that, miserable human!" She seethed and teleported beside me, bucking me in the ribs. I flew a good distance and hit the wall. Ouch. Ouch was an understatement, actually. Agony spiked through my body and I coughed out a little blood.
I silently thanked Luna for that shielding spell. It's saved my life on more than one occasion. I couldn't take another hit like that one, even with the shield. Chrysalias charged forward to hit me in the chest for a finishing blow. My eyes widened and I rolled over at the last second. She slammed into the wall. Too. Close. I kicked off of the wall and sheathed my sword. I whipped the Hail Fire off of my back and aimed down towards where she had impacted. Highest caliber, highest damage. I fired the entire clip of ten into the place where she had smashed into the wall. The building crumpled into a heap of rubble.
"Well, that was disappointing." I said and turned back to the others, who were finishing off the last of the Changelings.
"It's not going to be that easy, boy." Chrysalias's venomous voice came from the dust. I whipped my head back around and saw her standing upright in mid-air. Hovering like humans stand with a thick, cracked, green shield of pure magic in front of her, trailing dust as she moved towards me. I swear, it looked like something out of a badass anime.
"Jack!" Luna's voice flowed through my coms, "Keep her busy until I give you the signal to kill her! I must charge my spell to rescue Celestia!"
"Understood." I said to Luna before turning my attention towards the evil queen. "Good." I smirked at the challenge. I threw my sniper to the ground and whipped the Grim Reaper off of my back. I emptied the entire clip into the shield in its most cracked spot, and, before the smoke had a chance to clear, I unsheathed my sword and dashed forward with an insane amount of speed with the tip of the blade aimed for the, now severe, crack in the shield. Physics and momentum did the rest. I felt the blade pierce the shield all the way up to the hilt as my assault rifle fell to the ground.
"I was hopping not to run you through so easily." I said with a cocky smile.
"Good." Was her simple reply... From above me. The smirk quickly disappeared and my eyes widened before I side stepped, barely escaping her hoof's powerful downward smash. Thank god for adrenaline. The beaten shield shattered completely and rained down, beautifully gleaming in the orange glow of afternoon before it fizzled into nothing.
I leapt back a few steps, getting a small distance between us. "It saddens me that you underestimate me so." She said. Frustration flared. It didn't last long though, as Chrysalias dashed forward. Sparks flared as I rose my sword in a last second defense. I looked down to see that her hoof had changed into a blade. Well. That complicated things. She began to laugh. "Don't even try! I defeated Celestia herself! Twice! What do you think you can do, human!" She sneered.
"Remember what you just said? About underestimating your opponents?" I smirked, "Don't be a hypocrite." I added coldly while kneeing her in the gut. Hard. Her eyes widened and she coughed up a little black blood as the air left her lungs. I took my opportunity and grabbed her hoof where the blade was not. I flipped it over and trusted my blade forward into her chest, running her through. She roared in pain, but ended in laughter.
"The head, Halok." She mocked in Luna's voice, "Aim. For. The. Head." She said with a smirk. My eyes widened as her horn began to glow green. Then I heard a shot from a very massive sounding gun. Chrysalias teleported away and I saw an enormous streak of yellow pass in front of my face where she had been.
"Jack!"
I faltered and my eyes widened. I knew that voice. Again, time seemed to slow, along with my heartbeat, as I turned around to see a blonde-maned mare.
"Dinky! Get the hell out of here!" I screamed as I made my helmet descend from my face.
"Not a chance, 'sir'." She said playfully. Her suave, but stubborn attitude made me feel a little better. A little.
"This is not a game! I won't let anypony else die! Especially you." I added the last part extra seriously. She smirked again.
"You're catching the lingo." She laughed, avoiding my point.
"Aww. Isn't that adorable?" Chrysalias's taunting voice came from behind me. I whipped around to face her. "The human has fallen for the Unicorn." She teased. It was surprising how good she was at reading faces and reactions. And honestly, it was a little scary too. She teleported again. This time, I heard Dinky cry out.
"Dinky!" I shouted in worry filled rage and snapped my body back to her. Chrysalias was holding a gun to the back of Dinky's head. A gun that was big enough to make Dinky not have a head.
"Dinky, Dinky." She mocked my voice with a whine. "What would you do, Halok?" She asked, becoming more serious. "What would you do if I killed this mare?" She taunted. Dinky's cool, suave attitude was now completely abolished. Gone. Zip. Nada. Her face was now filled with fear. Mine, however, was filled with rage.
"Chrysalias. Let her go." I said and narrowed my eyes viciously. I could feel the fire behind them. "Now." I added in a deadly tone. I swear I saw a flicker of fear across her face, but, it didn't last.
"You didn't answer the question. What would you do. If I. Killed her?" She repeated slowly, her hoof getting closer to the discharge mechanism.
"I'll kill you." I said coldly and without hesitation. Then I brought my blade up to where it was just under my eyes for effect. "Slowly." I added with malice. Her lips curled into a malevolent smile.
"I can't wait." she said and slammed her hoof down on the discharge mechanism. Dinky screamed in fear and tears blinded me.
BOOM!
"NO!" I yelled. I felt my heart cave it two with painful sadness, but only for a second.
"Fluttershy!?" Dinky cried out in shock. What? My heart fluttered in hope that Dinky was still alive. I blinked away the tears to see Dinky on the ground. Alive and away from Chrysalias. Relief flooded over me. Then my eyes darted over to where Chrysalias had stood. She was now sprawled across the ground, a smoking gun feet away from her.
Fluttershy stood above the Queen of the Changelings with fire in her eyes. "Stop. Killing. My. FRIENDS!' She started quietly, but finished with a yell of anger that was loud enough to scare a fully grown Manticore away. She brought her hoof down on Chrysalias's chest with enough force to shatter her sternum. If that mattered at all. My eyes widened in surprise at the normally gentle Pegasus's sudden change in mood.
The only word that came to mind was 'Hulk'. Except, you know, she wasn't giant. Or green. A tear of pain forced its way into Chrysalias's eyes as the air left her lungs in an agonized cry. The pain turned to anger and she bludgeoned Fluttershy heavily in the side with her hoof, sending the yellow Pegasus into the stairs with a loud crack.
"Foolish mare!" She spat in malice.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash's voice echoed. The cyan Pegasus was at Fluttershy's side in an instant dash of rainbow. "Don't you even think about dying on me!" She said with tears welling in her eyes. Fluttershy put on a gentle smile as drops of blood crept down her face from under her mane. Her eyes were dull.
"D-Dashie..." Fluttershy called her the pet name, "Tell Scootaloo that..." She coughed a little, "That I-I'm sorry..." She said as tears rolled down her face. Scootaloo? Who was that?
"No! Fluttershy, no... Not like this!" Tears began to run more vigorously down her face than before. "W-We were going to win this war... Win and g-go home... Sp-Spend time together... Grow old together... D-Damn it, Fluttershy, I love you!" She yelled, more in helpless desperation than anger.
"I-I love you... too... Dashie..." She trailed off into unconsciousness.
"Hang on." Dash said and gave Fluttershy a gentle peck on the cheek. She scooped the smaller Pegasus up and bolted for the camp. Loyal to her marefriend until the very end. Admirable.
A massive green blast was fired at the fleeting Pegasi. I dashed in front of it and preformed a powerful upwards vertical sweep with my blade, cutting the blast in two. A piece of metal on the sword chipped. I couldn't keep this up.
"You're not going to kill another pony." I said seriously and looked over to Dinky. "Run. I'll meet you in the camp when this is all over." I barked. She opened her mouth to retaliate, but I narrowed my eyes. She frowned, but nodded and ran.
I looked down to Twilight. "Get her out of here safely. Luna and I can handle this pest." I spat. She put on a determined face and nodded, bolting after Dinky. "Now." I said and turned to Chrysalias. "Let's finish this." I said with a smirk.
"Gladly." She said and charged forward with her hoof now a blade. I side stepped and raised my sword, but faltered at her smirk. "Gotcha." She said. My eyes widened as they looked down to see that she had formed her other hoof into a gun barrel. I dropped like a boulder, with a small boost from my wings, and a shot rang out.
"Too close." I muttered to myself.
"Quick thinking." She said and blew the rising smoke away from her hoof-gun.
"Halok! Now!" Luna's voice shot through my coms. I dashed forward and sparks flew as our blades clashed. I uncliped my handgun from my side and shoved it into her chest, firing a shot.
"When will you idiots-" I slipped my blade down hers and ran her through, only suffering a minor armor chip on my end. "Learn that that doesn't work!" She said, almost in exasperation at my 'stupidity'. I smirked and pulled her to me tightly and removed the gun from her chest without her noticing. I saw a blush run across her face along with confusion.
"I live and learn from fools and from sages. And you, my dear Chrysie, are a fool." I said and pressed the gun to her head. Her eyes widened and her pupils shrank to the size of peas. I pulled the trigger.
"And so..." She said as her pupils dilated, "I am..." Her voice faded as her head fell back. I let go of her body, letting it fall to the ground. As she fell, a massive shock wave emanated from her, causing all of the Changelings that were fighting to fall to the ground. Dead. It looked exactly like when Isildur killed Sauron in the beginning of The Fellowship Of The Ring from the Lord Of The Rings series.
I was so caught up in awe, that I hadn't noticed Luna's disappearance, that is, until she reappeared with Celestia's body. It looked the same as the day she perished. They had kept it well preserved. And why wouldn't they? She was their Princess, after all. Luna's eyes glowed with dark energy as she forced Celestia's soul down into her body. A teal aura consumed Chrysalias and it swirled around the body, reaching deep into Chrysalias. A large white light glowed in the body's horn, then escaped it. It created large, pearl ribbons that shone as brightly as the sun. I hovered down to the ground and landed lightly, sheathing my sword. A massive light show was underway as midnight blue, Luna's advanced magic, to put the rampet pearl, Celestia's advanced magic, into its place.
"Ten years is... A long time to practice!" Luna huffed to the pearly magic as it started to weaken. Strips of light danced fiercely across the sky until the white disappeared into Celestia's body. There was a pause of silence as a weak smile played on Luna's lips, then Celestia's chest began to glow brightly. Luna sighed in relief and collapsed onto the ground.
"Luna!" I cried in worry and rushed to her side.
"Jack..." Her weakened voice said. She floated out a small vial of black liquid with the last bit of her sputtering magic. "The Ambroci... Take it to Celestia." She somehow got out. It looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. Months even. But that wasn't the case. She was simply weak. All that magic had taken its toll.
"But what about you?" I asked after hesitantly taking the vial.
"I... I will be fine... I just... I just need rest is all..." She said and nodded off to sleep.
I got up and began to walk towards the pearl Alicorn. My mind was racing. It was over. The war was won. Chrysalias was dead. Celestia was alive. But this all came at a cost. Pinkie and Applejack, that stallion that I had bumped into at the camp, and all the ponies that lost their lives to the evil hordes. They would all be remembered. I could only hope that Fluttershy and Mist Free had made it. It seemed like an eternity had passed since I had been awoken in my tent at the sound of gunfire, but in reality it had only been a few days. Two at the least.
That was another thing. Home. Earth. After all of this, I was finally going to get to go home. But there was one problem.
I didn't want to.
Call me crazy, insane, ludicrous, etc. But I had nothing left back there. My whole team was dead. All of my friends and even George were gone. I would probably be branded a deserter and coward for randomly disappearing without a reasonable, and sane, excuse as well. I had joined up after high school, so I didn't have a wife. No high-school sweetheart either. And, luckily, no kids.
Then there was Dinky. I had girlfriends before, but this was different. It felt real. But there was one problem. She was a pony. And I was a human. It couldn't work. At least not the physical part. Actually. Maybe it could. The only difference was a little anatomy. It wouldn't really be that different. Sort of like a dwarf or an elf. Not human, but sentient life forms nonetheless. With personality and feelings.
I was halfway to Celestia, who's chest had begun to rise and fall, signaling life, when I heard a few cracks. My eyes widened as torturing agony ripped through my nervous system. I collapsed in a crumpled heap as my muscles seized up and tore randomly.
What had happened? Did Chrysalias manage to survive that? Now, she couldn't have. Then Twilight's words floated back to me through memory. 'You have three hours.' Shit. Ding, ding. Three hours were up. I let out a strangled gasp of pain. It was worse than when Luna had healed me.
"Jack!" Twilight's worried voice reached through my sense-killing pain. I tried to speak, but the pain forced my teeth to clenched. Darkness ate at my vision as a numb feeling started to spread through my body. Enough pain was numbed for me to speak.
"Ambroci... Celestia..." I got out before darkness consumed my pupil and I slipped from consciousness.