//------------------------------// // Chapter 48 // Story: A New Dragon in the Crystal Empire // by Vedues //------------------------------// Cliff first became aware of the pain in his arm and side. It was almost like the kind of tingly pain from when a foot or a tail fell asleep. Cottony sheets pressed against his scales, an unusual sensation after living in his armor for so long. The last thing he remembered was getting hit by a Requiem Guard’s shield and being knocked into a wall. He frowned. The Shadow-form enchantment was supposed to protect against physical injuries like that. Then again, Celestia had warned that magical defenses would have little to no effect against a Guard. Discord warned me to keep my distance. I should have listened. Cliff groaned and cracked his eyes open. He was in a hospital room somewhere, never a good sign, and Spirit was sitting to the right of his bed. Beyond him, Cliff could see out a window. The Crystal Bunker was visible in the distance, illuminated by a brilliant orange sunset. Spirit noticed him looking. “Hey, Cliff, how’re you feeling?” The younger dragon gave a rather unconvincing smile. Cliff didn’t bother trying to smile back. “I’ve been better.” He tried to sit up, but that idea was quickly abandoned as a lance of pain shot through his injured arm and chest. “Don’t try to move.” Spirit got up and put a hand on Cliff’s shoulder. “Blueblood told us what happened. That shield left some residual anti-magic when it hit you, which made healing your injuries a real pain.” “I don’t think they’re quite healed yet.” Cliff grimaced. “Forget me though. Is the rest of my team okay?” Spirit watched him for a moment then sat back down. “They all had to be treated for magical exhaustion, but thanks to Luna they’ll be fine.” He must have seen Cliff’s confused face, because he elaborated. “Luna showed up to help right after you got knocked out.” Cliff nodded. “And the Requiem Guard?” “All eight of them are still active, as far as we know.” Icy bits of fear sank into Cliff’s chest. “How did you drive them off?” “We didn’t,” Spirit said. “They left on their own, but then they attacked again last night. The Empire’s getting ready in case they show up tonight as well.” A weighty silence filled the room as Cliff reflected on that. “Okay, what’s the plan for dealing with them?” Spirit looked away. “We, uh, talked about it, and decided to, uh …” He glanced at Cliff. “We asked the Element Bearers for help.” “What?” Cliff winced as the pain from his injuries flared. “You actually want Fluttershy to fight monsters like that?” “We don’t have a choice,” Spirit said quickly. “We threw every normal resource we had at them, and you saw how much good that did.” Cliff grit his teeth. “… And now you want to throw a pregnant mare at them? Who knows what that could do to Miracle?” For a long moment, the two brothers just stared at each other. Eventually Spirit’s head sank. “There’s something else I have to tell you.” Cliff wasn’t ready to let this go quite yet, but he also knew that the rest of the Everfree Platoon had been fighting those suits. There must have been some casualties, and they deserved at least a moment of mourning and respect. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to hear about the deaths of more friends. “What is it?” “Fluttershy gave birth a few minutes ago,” Spirit said without looking up. “What?” Cliff whispered. Fluttershy wasn’t scheduled to give birth for nearly two weeks. He couldn’t have been unconscious for that long. “The Rainbow Harmony Blast is the only thing that could possibly stop the Requiem Guard,” Spirit said quietly. “We’re at the Alliance’s mercy until the Element Bearers get here, but Flutters didn’t want to risk bringing Miracle into this fight, so she decided to induce early labor.” Cliff closed his eyes and bit down on the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. He pulled the Stillness around his heart, letting it wash away the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him. “How are they both doing?” “They’re great.” Spirit’s voice broke a little. “They’re both sleeping right now, but Celestia will be bringing Flutters and the rest of the Element Bearers up here first thing in the morning.” “Who’s going to take care of Miracle?” Cliff asked. “Fluttershy’s parents and Discord.” He nodded without opening his eyes. “Thank you for telling me, Spirit. Would you mind leaving? I’d rather be alone right now.” “Not a chance.” A warm hand pressed against Cliff’s good shoulder. “I’ll go berserk before I leave you alone like this. Autumn’s helping her mother through the death of her father, and both of them threatened to kick me in the stomach if I even thought about abandoning my brother when he needs me.” A few cracks worked their way into the Stillness, and Cliff felt the first tears course down his cheek. “I knew.” He swallowed. “I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go home for the birth unless we stopped the Requiem Guard right away. S-so it’s not like I lost a-anything, really. It’s just … I w-wasn’t ready for it this soon.” He pressed a hand against his face, like it would somehow hide him from what had happened. Spirit’s grip tightened, but he didn’t respond. There was nothing that could be said anyway. -_-_-_-_-_- The first rays of sunlight were just peeking over the horizon when Twilight stepped into the hospital room. “Fluttershy,” she said gently, “it’s time to go.” “… I know.” Fluttershy was still in the hospital bed with her arms wrapped around her newborn daughter. She gave Miracle a loving nuzzle before passing her to Silver Lining, who stood next to the bed. “Take care of her.” She blinked away her tears. Silver Lining nodded solemnly. “We will.” Sunrise passed Fluttershy her saddlebags. “I put some pictures of Miracle in there for you and Cliff.” “Thank you so much, Daddy.” Fluttershy hugged the bags to her chest before putting them on. Sunrise nodded and wrapped a wing around his wife and the newborn. “Please be careful up there, Flutters.” “I will be,” she promised, carefully rising out of the bed. Angel was still asleep and she didn’t want to disturb him. Her body felt strange now, so much lighter than it had been before, even with the saddlebags. Twilight’s magic had healed her completely, erasing all the strain that normally came with giving birth. Fluttershy did feel a little sad though. The same healing magic that restored her to full strength had also stopped her from lactating. Miracle needed a special formula to be healthy anyway, but she still felt like she was missing out on an important part of being a mother. There was a faint pop, and Discord suddenly appeared next to Fluttershy. He was smaller than he had been the day before, shorter even than a normal pony. “I’ve cast a powerful probability manipulator on you, Fluttershy. It will help keep you safe, but you’d still better not do anything reckless.” He gave her a firm hug. Fluttershy hugged him back. “You didn’t wear yourself out too much, did you?” He shrugged. “Chaos always comes back. Sometimes friends don’t.” Fluttershy didn’t know what to say, so she just hugged him again before walking over to Twilight. “Bye bye, girls,” Discord said. In a flash, he was wearing a dress with an apron over the top of it. A mass of curly brown hair and two large pearl earrings adorned his head. “Have a nice day at the Empire!” Fluttershy managed a weak smile as she followed Twilight out of the room. A few rebellious tears coursed down her cheeks to drip to the floor below. It was true what they said; the first step of a journey was usually the hardest. Twilight put a wing over Fluttershy’s back as they walked. “It’ll be okay, Fluttershy. We’ll be back before you know it.” “I hope so.” Fluttershy spared a glance back at the room that held her daughter. When they got outside, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack all rushed to Fluttershy’s side, offering words of comfort and support. Behind them, Zeph, Cheese, and Princess Celestia stood next to several stacks of wooden crates, which Fluttershy knew held the latest shipment of Everfree Armor. She tried not to think about that and focused instead on Cheese Sandwich. He was smiling broadly beneath a giant sombrero that read, ‘Number One Party Pony.’ Zeph was at his side, looking a bit pouty. “I still say that I should have been given a handicap for all the time I spent helping with Fluttershy and Miracle.” Pinkie giggled and looked up from the group hug she was sharing with Fluttershy and the others. “Cheese had a handicap too, silly, with all the traveling he had to do, and I gave myself a handicap by not doing pranks when you two couldn’t.” “We could always go for another round,” Cheese said. “Whoever can get more crystal ponies to smile, wins.” Zeph paused and stroked his chin. “Those ponies do need a serious pick-me-up. Deal.” “I am sure the ponies of the Empire will very much appreciate your efforts,” Celestia said. She turned to Fluttershy, and her expression became surprisingly contrite. “I’m so sorry that you had to make this sacrifice, but Equestria owes you a great debt for your selflessness.” Fluttershy just nodded, not trusting herself to speak without crying. Princess Celestia looked like she wanted to say something else, but then she shook her head and turned to the rest of the group. “Please gather together, everypony.” They all pressed a bit closer to her. Moments later, there was a flash of gold, and suddenly they were standing in a plaza of some sort, surrounded by crystalline buildings. The air was colder too, and Fluttershy felt a slight breeze that hadn’t been there in Ponyville. Only the wooden crates remained the same, sitting just to the side of the group. Princess Celestia’s shoulders slumped just a bit as the last of the magic faded. “Twilight, perhaps you could take Fluttershy to see Cliff? In the meantime, the rest of you can come with me. I have to speak to Cadance and Shining Armor about possibly giving some land to the Dragon Alliance as an offer of peace, but after that, we should visit the blacksmiths. We don’t know when the Requiem Guard will attack next, and I would like you all to be fitted for suits as quickly as possible.” Fluttershy’s wings twitched nervously. It had been nearly two months since she had last seen Cliff. Would he still look at her so lovingly, or would he be angry that she had induced labor without him? The others didn’t seem to notice Fluttershy’s misgivings. Cheese grabbed one of the crates and casually tossed it onto his back. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get a movin’.” Pinkie and Applejack each lifted a crate as well, and Rarity levitated a fourth in her magic. Zeph’s tails snaked out and grabbed six more. “Is my honor guard getting suits too?” “The ponies are.” Princess Celestia levitated the rest of the crates. “We still haven’t devised a means of allowing suits to grow and shrink with drakes as they change form.” She motioned for the group to follow and set out toward a squat building in the distance. “Take a look at Amethyst’s collar.” Zeph followed after her. “It has the kind of enchantment you’re looking for.” “I’ll have to look at it when I get a chance.” Twilight gently brushed against Fluttershy’s side. “Come on, Cliff is staying at the hospital over this way.” She pointed in the opposite direction that Celestia and the others were going. “It isn’t far, just into the civilian district.” Fluttershy nodded and followed her friend. One wing absently rubbed her stomach as she walked. A part of her expected to still feel a pregnant belly. They walked in silence for a few minutes until Twilight suddenly spoke up, “I still expect to see the Crystal Palace every time I’m here. The Empire just doesn’t look right without it.” “Maybe they can rebuild it.” Fluttershy glance back at the Crystal Bunker. She wasn’t really thinking about it, though. What if Cliff was crying? Just the thought made her tremble a little. It would be her fault if he was. They walked down a ramp into the ring of barracks around the Bunker. Off to the left, Fluttershy could see large groups of ponies attacking each other. Shouts of anger and pain echoed across the distance between them. The sight snapped Fluttershy back to the present. She gasped and grabbed Twilight. “Oh goodness, what’s happening?” Twilight barely glanced at the scene. “Oh that? All of the companies in the army are expected to run mock battles each day as part of their training. It helps improve the skills of the individual soldiers, as well as their ability to work effectively as a team.” Fluttershy swallowed. “It looks so … violent.” “Don’t worry.” Twilight put her wing over Fluttershy’s back. “It isn’t uncommon for soldiers to get hurt, but it’s nothing that our healers can’t handle.” They reached a large building on the other side of the field. The lobby was empty except for a pony sitting behind a desk, who nodded at Twilight before going back to reading a magazine. “Cliff’s room is on the second floor.” Twilight nodded toward a flight of stairs. Fluttershy found herself going back over the calming exercises that Dr. Insight had taught her during those months of therapy. Deep breaths in through the nose then out through the mouth. “We’re here,” Twilight said gently. She nodded toward a door in front of her. “Okay.” Fluttershy took another deep breath. “I’ll talk to him alone, if that’s okay with you.” Twilight nodded and stepped out of the way for her to pass. Steeling herself, Fluttershy pushed open the door and stepped inside. Her eyes immediately locked on Cliff, who was lying on a hospital bed, drawing a complex pattern of glowing lines on his left arm, which was on the opposite side from her. He didn’t notice her. Spirit sat on a chair on the closer side of the bed. He was wearing his armor, but Fluttershy did her best not to let her fears show when he looked up at her. A grin split his face. “Well, Cliff, I should go. Autumn and I are going to have a long overdue talk.” “Okay,” Cliff said without looking up. “See you later.” Spirit rolled his eyes before getting up and sweeping Fluttershy into a tight hug. He brought his mouth close to her ear. “Congratulations, Flutters. Come find me after you’ve talked with Mister Clueless over there. We need to catch up.” Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile. She had almost forgotten how warm it was to hug a dragon, even through a metal suit. “I will.” Spirit let her go and slipped outside. Fluttershy could hear him greeting Twilight out in the hallway. She turned her attention back to Cliff, who was still busy drawing glowing lines on his left arm. He seemed to look at what he was doing without really seeing it, and his eyes were red and swollen. In spite of that, his expression was blank. It was almost like he was in a trance. Fluttershy hesitated. She had seen Cliff when he was worn out before, but it was never quite like this. Why was he even drawing those runes on his arm? Eventually she worked up her courage, approached the bed, and tapped on Cliff’s right shoulder. “Cliff?” He jumped, then clenched his left upper arm and let out a hiss of pain. “I’m sorry! Let me help.” Fluttershy jumped onto his bed and gently but firmly moved his hand out of the way with her wings so that she could see the arm beneath. It didn’t have any visible wounds, but many of the scales were discolored, almost white, and the arm was definitely swollen and bruised. It looked like it could be broken. “Fluttershy?” Cliff’s voice came out in a whisper. Fluttershy pulled back so that she was sitting next to his chest, instead of leaning across it. She forced herself to face him. “I’m sorry for startling you. Are you..?” Her gaze sank. She already knew the answer to that question. “Is your arm okay?” Cliff didn’t respond. He just stared at her as his eyes began to fill with tears. It was all Fluttershy could do to keep herself from breaking down under the weight of his stare. “Cliff, I … I’m so sorry.” This reunion wasn’t at all like she had hoped. “Why are you sorry?” Cliff asked. “I’m the one that wasn’t there for such an important moment.” He sighed and gestured at his wounded arm. “I was an idiot and got too close to one of the Requiem Guard. Otherwise, I would have run back to Everfree Village to be there for you.” “You aren’t angry at me?” Fluttershy asked quietly. A weight lifted off her chest when he shook his head. “I wasn’t angry at you either. Of course it scared me to hear that you’d been injured, but I could never be upset at you for that.” She looked at his wounded arm. “Does … it hurt a lot?” “It’s okay if I don’t move it.” Cliff gently put his good hand over the injured upper arm. “The Guard’s shield left some residual anti-magic. We could overload it now that it doesn’t have a power source, but I wanted to study it a bit first. Maybe I can figure out a way around it or something.” He gave a forced smile. “It’s a long shot at best, but I couldn’t just lie here and do nothing.” The two of them stared at each other for a moment, then they both looked away. “… I have some pictures of Miracle,” Fluttershy said, “if you want to see them.” “You do?” Cliff’s expression immediately lightened. “Yes. Please.” Fluttershy opened her saddlebags with one wing. “I know this isn’t very much, but …” She lifted out a stack of photographs, and shifted them to her hooves before offering them to Cliff. Cliff’s breath caught when he saw the first photograph. It showed Fluttershy and Miracle in the hospital bed back in Ponyville, both fast asleep. “Is,” he swallowed, “is that her?” Fluttershy nodded. Cliff rubbed his thumb across the photo’s surface. “She’s so tiny.” He made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a cry. “She has your mane.” Cliff put the photo down and wiped his eyes. “Sorry, I-I don’t even know why I’m crying. I just …” This time he definitely laughed, in spite of the tears running down his cheeks. “We’re parents.” He looked at the picture with eyes full of wonder. “We have a daughter.” “We do.” Fluttershy found herself laughing as well. She couldn’t take it anymore, and leaned down to hug him. “I love you, Cliff.” Cliff nuzzled against her cheek. “I love you too, Fluttershy.” His good arm wrapped around her back and held her close. “You’re going to be an amazing mother.” The tension that Fluttershy had been feeling finally started to melt away. “You’ll be a wonderful father.” She shifted so that she was lying on Cliff’s right side, still pressed up against him, but leaving his arm free to look at the other pictures. Everything would be alright as long as the two of them were together. They would defeat the Requiem Guard and get back to Miracle as soon as possible. Fluttershy had to believe that. -_-_-_-_-_- Spirit wasn’t running. The ponies of the Empire might get the wrong idea if they saw him running through the streets. He was, however, walking a lot more quickly than usual. “Where are we going?” Twilight asked, trotting alongside him. “The Platoon is in the middle of morning training,” Spirit replied. “Which means Autumn will be there.” Twilight nodded. “How’s she doing? You said someone close to her died.” “She isn’t great, but she agreed to finally open up and talk to me.” Spirit allowed himself a weak smile. “Maybe I can actually help her now, instead of feeling useless because I have no idea what she’s going through.” “You’re a good special somepony for her,” Twilight said. “I just hope she appreciates that.” “She does.” Spirit turned one last corner, and the training grounds came into view. Everfree was already caught up in a massive free-for-all with the Wonderbolts, the Earth-shakers, and the Solar Unicorns. Units outfitted with Everfree Armor were all but unkillable with traditional weapons, thanks to the Shadow-form Rune, so that only left each other as a potential challenge for training battles. All of the groups had found creative ways to harm each other even with the rune, which kept anyone from relying on it too much. Near the edge of the battlefield, an earth pony and a unicorn stood, both wearing suits of Everfree Armor. Their faces were concealed, but Spirit would know the unicorn’s styled purple tail anywhere. It wasn’t hard to guess the blonde-tailed earth pony’s identity from there. Spirit came up behind them. “Hello, ladies. Enjoying the show?” Both of them jumped. “Spikey,” Rarity asked, “is that you?” He could see her squinting at him from behind her helmet. “The one and only.” Spirit saw a beam of energy coming at them and immediately threw out a shield. Twilight did as well, and the beam dissipated harmlessly against their combined magic. “Keep your eyes open for those.” Spirit let his shield drop. “Anyway, where are Pinkie and the others?” “They said something about settin’ up a party.” Applejack shook her head and gestured at the battlefield. “Y’all train like this every day?” Spirit nodded. “Assuming the Alliance doesn’t attack, of course. They like to pop up around sunrise, so you’ll have to be ready by then. If they don’t show, report here for training.” Rarity looked at him nervously. “It’s rather more violent than morning training at Everfree. Aren’t you worried about injuries?” “They happen,” Spirit admitted, “but we have medical wyrms on standby. Besides, the Alliance isn’t known for being gentle. It’s better to get used to it now so you don’t panic in battle.” Rarity shifted uncomfortably. “I suppose …” Spirit knelt down and put one hand on her shoulder and the other on Applejack’s. “None of us are willing to risk losing one of the Element Bearers to the Requiem Guard, so as tough as it is, just remember that we’re doing this to help.” He looked over at Twilight, who nodded. “With that in mind,” Spirit continued, “your training today is to find Big Mac’s squad and stick with them for the entire battle without getting knocked out. Have fun.” Then he surged a spell to increase his strength and shoved them both as hard as he could. The unsuspecting duo was tossed about ten feet forward. Not enough to get them into the battle proper, but definitely enough to get Spirit’s point across. Rarity turned back and glared at Spirit, but he could tell that she was mostly being dramatic. He chuckled. “Keep an eye on them, Twi.” “You too.” Twilight disappeared and reappeared next to her two friends. A shield popped into existence just long enough to deflect a bolt of lightning from a pegasus above them. Spirit generated a sphere of invisibility and plunged into the madness as well. Well, it wasn’t really invisibility. It was more like an illusion that projected everything on one side of the sphere to its opposite side. It still made him invisible to outsiders, but anyone could see him if they happened to wander into the sphere, or noticed the ripple it made, or sensed wyrm spellcasting and came to investigate. At least it was better than nothing. Unfortunately, most of Everfree’s forces were on the opposite end of the battlefield, so Spirit had to carefully wind his way through a skirmish between the Solar Unicorns and the Wonderbolts. Blasts of wind and lightning pummeled the ground around Spirit, and pegasi would sometimes divebomb nearby unicorns before retreating back into the sky. The unicorns used a combination of illusions and teleportation to keep themselves from getting pinned down and retaliated with energy rays, spears thrown with telekinesis, and balls of magical energy that exploded when they reached a certain altitude. At least Spirit didn’t have to worry about the Earth-shakers. Most of them could sense him through vibrations in the ground. Eventually Spirit broke through the group and reached the Everfree Platoon. They were busy with the Earth-shakers but seemed to be faring pretty well. Four teams were still being held in reserve, and standing in the middle of them was a tiny building made of clear crystal. It looked like a hemisphere, just large enough to hold one pony. Spirit ran up to the structure. The crystalline walls did nothing to hide the purple mare inside, and he knew that she could see him as well, now that she was inside of his illusion. Spirit knocked on the wall. “Hey, beautiful. Open up.” The wall in front of him dissolved into mist and then started reforming into a structure large enough to hold both of them. It didn’t connect to the ground, though. A crystalline shield was great for deflecting stray fire and letting the two of them focus on the battle, but they needed to be able to ditch it at a moment’s notice if something ever got through Spirit’s illusions and came after them directly. “I’m glad that you could make it.” Autumn nuzzled him quickly. Spirit barely even noticed the scraping sound of his helmet against hers anymore. “How’s your mom?” “She’s thinking of retiring and coming to live in Everfree Village once the war is over,” Autumn said. “I’d love to have her.” Spirit looked around. “So what’s the current situation with this battle? Also, is there anything else in your past that I should know about?” Autumn glanced at him and arched an eyebrow before turning her attention back to the battle. Colors of amusement danced across her tail, though. “We are keeping an eye on the Solars and Bolts, in case they try anything, and is now really the best time to talk about my past?” She reached out a hoof to him. “Why not?” Spirit gripped her hoof and cast the spells to join himself to Everfree’s command network. Status updates and requests for backup immediately began pouring into him. “I want to know everything there is to know about you. Is that so wrong?” Autumn smiled faintly. “Lucky, help Noteworthy. We have to stop that push before it gains momentum.” She turned to Spirit. “Liberty was a professional jouster in his free time.” “Really?” Spirit knew that Autumn was on her school’s jousting team, but not where she got her interested in it in the first place. “Did he coach you?” “Fire Eyes, has Twilight reached you yet?” “Yeah,” Fire Eyes sent. “Just barely.” “For an hour every day and three hours on weekends.” Autumn sighed. “They were once some of my happiest memories, but now I can’t think of them without feeling nauseated.” A tangled mess of emotions radiated off of her. Spirit felt a surge of guilt as he put an arm around Autumn. He wanted to ask for more details, but shoving her face in these unhappy memories just seemed wrong. She had proven that she was willing to open up, and for now, just one extra detail about her life seemed like enough. “Hey,” he grinned, “did you hear that Blueblood and Trixie hooked up?” Autumn’s jaw dropped. “You must be kidding.” “Oh really?” Spirit chuckled. “Watch this.” “Fire Eyes, ask Blueblood how many times he and Trixie did it their first night.” There was a pause. “Blueblood, where did you go after that last battle? … Yeah? What kind of help?” The sensation of laughter echoed through the link. “Oh Stars, you did, didn’t you?” More laughter. “Isn’t there some kind of army regulation against sharing private meals with your sparring partner?” Spirit gave Autumn a smug grin. “Told you so.” Autumn laughed and leaned against him. “I’ll tell you more about myself tomorrow, if you don’t mind waiting.” “I think I’ll manage.” Spirit leaned into the embrace as well. “You’re worth waiting for.”