A Heart Eclipsed

by Show Stopper

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

2200 years ago

3rd-Pony POV

Cinder Trueflame was a humble dragon. Of course, humble by dragon standards meant that she ate her hoard rather than sleeping upon it and showing it off. Still, she was good-hearted. She never drew unnecessary attention to herself, never picked a fight, and always told over-adventurous ponies that she had no hoard for them to steal rather than barbecue them on the spot as most dragons would. By all rights, she should have faded into history as the least memorable of the illustrious Trueflame line.

"EQUESTRIANS, FALL BACK! GRYPHONIANS! MINOTAURANS! PINCER MANEUVER AS THEY PURSUE! CUT THEM OFF, STRENGTHEN THE LINE, AND LET THE EQUESTRIANS HAVE AT THEM!"

Which made her appointment as head of the United Draconic Army rather surprising to those who did not know her well. A will of steel and a sharp mind made her the ideal leader for the recently formed army, but her strong heart was even more significant against this foe.

"VACATE THE FLAMCONO!" Cinder shouted, diving straight for the mountain's smoking mouth. The smoke camouflaged her black scales, only flashes of her purple highlights visible to the discerning eye. As soon as she saw her fellow dragons removed from around the flamecano, she thrust forward her arm, a gigantic stylized sword held in her grip. "FIRAGA!"

She turned her dive to the side as a massive fireball shot into the flamecano's mouth. She banked sharply, speeding away from the mountain just as it erupted. Great balls of fire and molten rock rained down on the veritable sea of black figures that surrounded the heart of the dragon lands, incinerating great swathes of foes. As soon as the fire stopped falling, the dragons returned with a vengeance, blasting and clawing and biting at any creatures that dared approach their mountain.

"This cannot last forever." Cinder turned to see Dragon Lord Hollow Fang hovering beside her, the old wyrm's green scales glistening in the sun. "The swarms return again and again, and every year one of our number falls. With only ten dragons born in the past millennium, I fear that these creatures will drive us to extinction."

"That cannot happen!" Cinder exclaimed, gripping her blade all the tighter. "We just need more time. I cannot be the only one blessed with this blade. Surely others will be able to summon the strength to destroy them permanently as well."

"Perhaps," Hollow Fang muttered, "but I fear for the dragons that will fall before such a time arrives. And if you should fall, we would be utterly doomed."

"Then petition Equestria for aid!" Both dragons turned to see the red-armored pegasus who hovered behind them, a constant thorn in their sides over the past two years. "We have the means to fight these monsters. We have knowledge of the blade that Cinder Trueflame carries. We can help you to put an end to this battle once and for all!"

"To what end!" snapped Hollow Fang. "So that we may be indebted to the Celestial Siblings?"

"The Warrior of Light answers to no crown," said the pegasus, his voice weary of repeated explanations. "True, he has befriended the Royal Siblings, but he swears allegiance to the world as a whole. You need only ask for help-"

"I WILL NOT BEG FOR AID LIKE SOME HELPLESS WYRMLING!!!"

"Grandfather." Hollow Fang froze as he heard Cinder's voice. "Please, grandfather. Our dragons are weary. You are weary. We all just want this war to end. Too many of us have lost brothers. Sisters. ...mothers."

Hollow Fang hung his head, refusing to face his granddaughter. "Do not ask me of this. I beg of you as I refuse to beg of anyone else. Do not ask this old wyrm to choose between his pride as a dragon and his pride as a grandfather. You know which path I will choose."

Cinder bowed her head. "Yes," she said sadly. "I do." She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Which is why, as soon as this wave is repulsed, I shall call for a Vote of No Confidence in you." She almost broke as Hollow Fang flinched, but she powered on, refusing to let her emotions cloud her voice even as tears ran down her cheeks. "As the one to propose the vote, I shall replace you as Dragon Lord until this crisis is averted." She turned her gaze to the pegasus. "And my first task will be to call upon this Warrior of Light for aid."

The pegasus shuffled his hooves nervously, glancing between the two dragons. "I'm afraid I cannot relay that request until the vote has been cast..."

"And do you have any doubt as to which direction the vote shall swing?" Cinder looked down to the battle below where the swarms were retreating for the day. "Fly swiftly for Everfree. I will be Dragon Lord long before you even cross the Celestial Sea."

Modern Day

"REDS, FALL BACK!" Sora shouted, cleaving a Wavecrest in two before shooting a Thunder at a group of Wyverns. "GREENS AND BLUES, BLOW APART THAT FORMATION! DON'T LET THEM CUT OFF THE BROWNS!"

The small group of red dragons dove away from the Windstorms that surrounded a powerful Dustflyer, tearing into a few Wavecrests as they retreated flying just over the water. Two more groups of dragons plowed through the formation, dragging the Windstorms with them as they peppered the Dustflyer with shots of acid and water. The brown dragons that the formation had been advancing on veered away, joining the reds as they swooped in on a swarm of Wyverns.

"Thundaga!" A bolt of lightning jumped from heartless to heartless, terminating as it struck the Storm Rider. "I say!" Fancy Pants shouted, the pegasi pulling the chariot pulling up alongside Sora. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of these spells!"

"Glad to hear it," said Sora, smirking. "But just wait until you find opponents that require Fire or Blizzard. You got those down?"

Fancy cleared his throat, twirling Calming Sea in his magic. "Yes, well, perhaps I should get some more practice in once this is done, eh?"

"Probably for the best." Ember dove down between them, pulling a tight loop and coming to a hover before them. "We've managed to drive off a lot of them, but there's still two of the brown ones. Not to mention the big guy."

Sora looked around, taking in the lessened numbers as most of the remaining Wavecrests, Wyverns, and Windstorms fled. "Alright. Each of you take half of our dragons and take out the Dustflyers. I'll handle Big, Bad, and Stormy."

Ember nodded, diving once again. She whistled sharply, drawing half of the dragon forces after her as she pointed Heart of True Fire at the Dustflyer. "Fira!"

As rings of fire surrounded the Dustflyer, Fancy and his half of the forces took off to combat its brother. Sora cast a quick cure on himself before refreshing his Aerora and flying off. The Storm Rider roared at him as he approached, charging up the spines along its back. Sora juked and rolled as he advanced, dodging the bolts of lightning that the heartless summoned. Finally reaching the massive dragon, Sora lashed out with Oathkeeper and Oblivion, striking at its twin horns. The Storm Rider roared in agony, shooting upward and looping around a ways behind Sora. Four walls of lightning sprang up around Sora, forming a corridor between him and the heartless. "Buy some apples!" Sora cursed, charging away from the Storm Rider as its horns began to charge again. He barely cleared the corridor and juked to the side before a massive beam of lightning shot out, a deafening boom of thunder nearly knocking Sora out of the sky. He recovered just in time to see the Storm Rider barreling towards him.

"COME GET SOME!!!" Diving from above, Torch bodyslammed the Storm Rider. He grabbed it in his massive arms, flipping it belly-up and spewing a cloud of acid across its chest. The heartless shrieked in pain as he pushed it away, coming to an unsteady hover as the heartless crashed into the ocean below. "NO DRAGON BESTS THE MIGHTY TORCH! WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, I'LL USE YOUR HORNS AS TOOTHPICKS!"

"Nice entrance," said Sora as the heartless lumbered back into the sky, "but how about you save the gloating for after the Rider is down and out?"

Torch's retort was cut off as the Storm Rider roared again, blasting upwards in a gale of its own making. It clapped the cymbals beneath its belly together, flying overhead and dropping several dozen glowing spheres.

"Bombs!" shouted Sora, darting out of its path. "Move it!"

But Torch was too slow, his size barely allowing him to turn his back to the assault before several bombs struck him. He howled in pain, plumeting to the ocean as the Storm Rider had a moment before.

Sora winced, darting a little lower to make sure he was still alive. Seeing Torch begin to swim for land, he let out a sigh of relief. His gaze returned to the Storm Rider, eying it nervously. This battle had taken longer than he'd anticipated, and his Final Form was close to wearing off. "All right," he muttered, switching out for Fenrir and Mysterious Stalker. "Don't want to get too dependent on this guy, but it looks like my hands are tied. Got to finnish this quick."

The Storm Rider glared down at the dragon in the ocean below, satisfied that it wouldn't rejoin the battle anytime soon. It turned tis gaze back to its true foe, the weilder of the balefull keyblade. It roared its fury, diving straight for Sora as it charged its horns.

Sora vanished without so much as a flash, appearing on the Storm Rider's forhead and bracing himself against the dive. He twirled his two keyblades overhead before sending them plunging into the heartless's eyes. He leapt free as the Storm Rider thrashed and spun, summoning Oathkeeper and Wishing Star. "Thundaga!" he cried, aiming for the two lodged blades. Twin bolts of lightning struck, channeled through the keyblades into the Storm Rider's vulnerable interior. It gave one final screach of agony before falling silent, disolving into darkness as it hit the surface of the ocean.

Sora sighed as he flew off to the chariot where Fancy Pants sat, having just finnished off his Dustflyer. "You all right?" he asked as he landed beside the stallion.

"Just a- a little winded," Fancy weazed, holding his hoof to his chest. "Bugger got me wi- with its tail on that last- last pass."

Sora winced in sympathy, his Final Form vanishing in a flash of light. "I hear you. Those guys are nasty. How's Ember doing?"

Fancy chuckled, pointing to where Gale was carrying them. "See for yourself."

Looking where Fancy pointed, Sora couldn't help but let out an impressed whistle. The rest of the dragons had backed off as Ember battled her Dustflyer solo. She ducked and weaved, dancing and spinning through the air around the comparatively awkward heartless. He keyblade lashed out almost constantly and from all sides, little more than a black and purple streak flying and circling around her poor, confused opponent. Ember finally put it out of its misery, slashing Heart of True Fire down and decapitating the Dustflyer. It wimpered pathetically as it fell, disolving into darkness.

"Well," called Sora, once they were in hearing range, "it's not your grandmother's brute-force method, but it works."

Ember laughed, twirling her blade. "Yeah, brute-force isn't really my thing. You did pretty well, too. Even better than Grandma Cynder's stories."

Sora shrugged, dismissing his blades. "Millennia of practice," he said. "Come on, let's get back to the mainland. Your father and the others are probably anxious to hear that the heartless are gone."

"That is it then?" asked Ember, flying alongside the chariot as the headed back. "Those heartless are gone for good?"

"Those ones, yes," Sora replied. "It's not really the end, though. There'll always be more so long as darkness continues to exist in a single heart. But they shouldn't swarm like that again for a long time so long as a keyblade destroys them when they start showing up again."

They flew on in silence for a while before Ember sighed. "I'm sorry about my father," she said. "He's always been proud and more than a little stubborn. I still can't believe that you took his throne, though."

"I did what had to be done," Sora replied. "He refused to listen to me as an advisor, so I took charge." He sighed, massaging his temples. "Only problem is, that makes me acting Dragon Lord until I can give the title to somedragon else. Know anydragon who might be interested?"

"Well," said Ember, smirking at him, "I was planning on taking on the Gauntlet of Fire my father's been preparing for when he would have stepped down in a few years."

Sora raised an eyebrow, staring at Ember incredulously. "A Trueflame as Dragon Lord? You think the Elders will go along with that?"

"Oh, let them complain," muttered Ember. "After all, they're the ones who left us alone after Torch took the the throne. If they've got a problem with a Trueflame wyrmling whipping this generation into shape, they can take it up with Grandma."

Sora winced, suddenly fealing a deap sympathy for any dragon that dared to contest Ember's qualification to be Dragon Lord. "Fair enough, I guess. Soon as we get back, I'll make Torch give you the Bloodstone Scepter. Guess that means you won't be joining my personal band of keyblade masters, huh?"

Ember shook her head. "Someone has to stay here and keep the heartless in check."

Sora just chuckled, facing the approaching land. Just like her grandmother.

2200 years ago

Cynder Trueflame shifted uncomfortably as she watched the battle unfold. "I must admit," she said, "I did not expect your aid to be so... overwhelming."

Sora shrugged as he leaned back against a large rock, hands behind his head as he watched the EKA slaughter the swarms of heartless. "We've really boosted our numbers over the last few centuries. We may be down to only a couple of masters in my little group, but the Army has been recruiting a lot. Most ponies are being tested by the time they start a trade or craft, and Pegaso- er, Cloudsdale tests all of their citizens anually. Apparently it's even more often in the Kicker clan. I swear, a solid twentieth of our pegasi are from that clan."

"I was wondering why so many were armored in red," Cynder mused. "I am sorry to hear that you have so few Masters as of late."

"Yeah, it's been rough," admited Sora. "We've barely got enough Masters to cover every region in Equestria, much less every city. And don't get me started on the minotaurs and gryphons. Their countries only have five keybladers each and they refuse to request aid!"

"And the zebra tribes?"

"Eh, they do alright," Sora replied. "They're nomadic, so that heartless aren't too much of an issue for them. Every tribe either has a keyblader or knows of a tribe nearby that has one. For the most part, they just avoid the heartless. There's one zebra Keyblade Master who wanders their country, living off of donations from the tribes that cross his path and taking out more dangerous heartless when they appear."

"Were that things were so easy for us," Cynder sighed. "I am the only dragon we know of who has earned a keyblade, and we are so scattered that individuals must rely on the local keybladers to keep them safe as well. Not to mention the problems we have here."

"So I guess that means you won't be joining my travling band of misfits?"

Cynder chuckled and shook her head. "Someone has to stay here and keep the heartless in check."

"Can't blame a guy for trying." Sora pushed off of the rock, stretching out his back as he watched the battle. The last few groups of heartless were being surrounded and destroyed by the pegasi of the Equestrian Keyblade Army. The disipating darkness of their slain bodies floated upward, joining the slowly dispersing haze of black that covered the sky.

Comments

[Regreme]

Another excellent chapter, even though short. You did well with this.^^

[Show Stopper]

7694825 Yeah, I'm starting to think that shorter chapters are the way to go with this story. My longer ones were either crossover chapters or me trying to match the length of my crossover chapters. I'll try keeping my chapters to about 2 grand for now and see if that gets me more motivated to write this thing.

[Regreme]

7695431 Well, there will be times when more is needed, but for this part of the story, this certainly fits.