//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Suffering // Story: The New Generation of Spike the Dragon // by Wrangle Wolfe //------------------------------// The New Generation of Spike the Dragon Chapter 5: Suffering Darkness stared down at the smoldering pile of debris in front of him. Once again, he’d done quite the number on Canterlot. It would probably be harder for the current residents to fix things this time too. He was sure they were seriously running low on supplies to make a livable shelter. Not like he cared. “I’m such… a fucking idiot.” Darkness mumbled to himself. “How, could I have let this happen…?” He sighed, and turned to the abandoned tunnel. He had looked inside and found nothing. They’d gotten away. He… let them get away. Despite how he had flown as fast as he could, they slipped between his claws like it was nothing. He felt a burning sensation deep within him. She was all he had. The only one who cared. The only one who stood by him for years. Love did what she could for him because she wanted to. Even as a small filly, after he’d snatched away her parent’s lives while she was there and separated her from her brother, she loved him anyway. He never understood why or how. He didn’t know what he had done to earn this. But he cherished his time with her. Every minute. And yet she was just snatched from him. But he was right there, watching it. He watched the one person who truly cared leave him. He absolutely hated himself for letting it happen. He let out a scream of rage that echoed throughout the entirety of Canterlot and beyond. Love fell to the ground in a heap and gasped as waves of pain coursed through her body. The Captain was serious about taking advantage of his newly developed power. Some of the things she experienced were sensations that she never could have begun to imagine. The Captain chuckled. “You held out for such a long time, dear. But that just gave me more incentive to try out more of my wonderful spells. What a perfect little lab rat you are!” He said with a proud smile. “Now, I could do even worse without killing you. Or you could just comply with my orders and tell me what I want to know. You have a choice. Trust me, even after an entire hour, I’m nowhere near bored.” With a small thud, Love’s head fell to the ground in defeat. She couldn’t endure this for too much longer. Reluctantly, she accepted her fate and decided that whether she complied or not, things would still continue to go downhill. Or perhaps it was the throbbing pain covering every inch of her body that was doing the talking. “Fine then, asshole,” Love mumbled. “Such a shame, I had a new spell ready. It seemed like a fun one...”Love shuddered a bit. “Now tell me, why are you so loyal to him? For years that has stumped me, and I intend on knowing. Now.” Love sighed and frowned. “I have been taught for years to be loyal and obey. So that’s what I do,” she answered. “Oh, but it’s more than that, isn’t it? All of those young soldiers he has obey him with stoicism. But you… you WANT to help him. You willingly help him, and it’s not because he tells you to. So don’t try being vague.” Love looked down. She couldn’t avoid him. They weren’t on the battlefield, clashing swords as he tried to obtain whatever little information he could her. Pain coursed through her body, she couldn’t move… he had her in front of him, weakened and unable to stop anything. She grunted. Admitting that to herself was one of the worst things she’d experienced. To think that after years of scars, blood, yelling and tears… after outmatching him in every single battle…. She was there paralyzed with pain, unable to do anything but do what he told her to do. “He is… my friend,” she mumbled, the fact that she was opening up to him put a bitter taste in her mouth. “And just like with any friend, I’ll stick by his side and help him however I can. I know he’s done… lots of bad things. He killed so many ponies…” She thought back to her parents’ lifeless corpses on the ground, the green fire surrounding them, their faces twisted into looks of pain. Their petrified eyes haunted her. For years, the image had never left. “He… he tore so many away from happiness…” The nights that she had spent crying flashed in her mind. “But dammit it’s because the world tore away his own. He wasn’t thinking… he wanted the rest of the world to feel his agony too!” “Your friend…” The captain mumbled, looking away from her for a moment. “Somehow, you see that monster… that vicious, murderous BEAST… and you see a friend.” He turned back and looked back with anger and confusion in his eyes. “Just how… HOW does anypony look at that scum who killed hundreds, destroyed the homes of thousands, devastated millions of lives… and call them their FRIEND?!” He yelled, slamming a hoof. “How sick and twisted, how disgusting and pathetic does a pony have to be to stand by, help and be a loyal friend of such an EVIL-” “HE IS NOT EVIL!” Love interrupted, her face contorted in rage. “He is not a monster, he is not a beast, and he sure as hell isn’t scum! I think… that title belongs to you.” She looked him in his cold blue eyes. “He is scared, hurt, confused… he’s locked away the kindness in his heart because he’s been in pain! But it... hurts less when you lock it away. I know this… so very well. For years he’s vented his rage. I can see it all! The self-loathing, the pretending to be heartless, the fear of being hurt again! And what do you do? YOU MAKE THINGS WORSE! It’s like if you were to kick a dog repeatedly. You just keep attacking it and of course it’s going to bite back! Instead, you should befriend it and show it the right path. But no, you just have to keep kicking it! You see this violent animal, and then, in their eyes, I see something that is trying not to be kicked anymore.” It was silent for a moment. They both hadn’t stopped glaring at one another. Finally, the captain huffed. “That’s like being nice to a prisoner… and just letting them go around making everyone else’s lives shit. No, they have to pay for their crimes.” The captain argued. “I refuse to let a killer do what they want. They will swiftly be met with a harsh punishment. I shall defend the people!” “Dear god your stupidity is just painful to listen to.” She mumbled, letting out a small groan. “Say that all you want. But I will be victorious and all will look up to me as a hero. The one who stood up to do something when nobody else would or could. And I’ll be damned if I let someone like you get in the way of that!” He stamped a hoof against the floor to accentuate his point. “Now, let’s get you out of here. I’m sure my good friends out here would love to have fun with you.” “That’d be fairly simple if I could move.” Love said with a small angry snort. “Oh, yes, that.” He said in a bored voice before lighting his horn. Love suddenly felt numb. But the pain was gone and she could move better now. “Come now, don’t keep them waiting,” He said, pushing them forward roughly after they got up. The door closed behind them and they were off to where they’d keep her captive.