//------------------------------// // 00 - 07 // Story: Whispers // by destinedjagold //------------------------------// "Get out!" Spike yells by the door. Ignoring him, Flurry continues to channel magic to her horn and fires a beam of magic at one of the thrones. ...at Twilight's throne. Growling, Spike marches toward the teenaged alicorn. "Stay the fuck away from that chair!" Flurry keeps firing spell after spell, hoping that something happens. She channels magic into her horn— Spike grabs her by the horn and yanks her away, glaring directly into her piercing eyes. "Have you gone deaf?!" "At least I'm doing something instead of just moping around!" Flurry yells back as the magic in her horn intensifies. "Let me go!" Spike doesn't let go. He starts dragging her out of the map room. "I'm warning you!" "Calm down, you two!" Applejack yells, panting by the door, the others arriving one by one. Eye twitching, Flurry yells and fires a bolt of magic, making Spike yelp and letting her go. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" "Flurry, what the hay?!" the farmer exclaims. Hissing, Spike is holding his darkened claw with the other, glaring at it. "Now Spike," Rarity carefully says, taking a bold step towards him. "Let's not allow our emotions to take control over ourselves." A bolt of magic. Spike's eye twitches. Another bolt of magic. Flurry's not stopping. Rarity is saying something. He cannot hear her. Pinkie Pie gallops by him. He doesn't notice. Flurry ignores Pinkie and fires another bolt of magic. "Seriously, Flurry, stop!" Pinkie yells, trying but failing to pull and/or push the alicorn out of the room. "You can't just fire random magic at it and hope she comes back!" "But that's exactly what I did back then!" Flurry yells in frustration. "You don't know that!" "You're an earth pony, so you wouldn't understand!" "Racism aside, you really should stop—oh no, uh Spike?" That catches the alicorn's attention. She takes a glance at the dragon, whose crimson eyes glaring daggers at her. "Get," Spike growls lowly, yet dangerously. "I don't like the looks of this," Starlight comments. She turns to Fluttershy and Rarity. "Get Cadence and Shining Armor here, quick!" "Right!" "O-okay! Eep!" "Out," the dragon growls, taking a step forward. Pinkie Pie gulps and hides behind the glaring alicorn. "Flurry," Applejack calls. "Now's not a good time to be stubborn." Another step. "Flurry," Pinkie Pie whispers. "Applejack's right. Maybe we should leave for now." Another step. "He's getting cloooooooooser." "Darn it, Flurry! Get the hay out of here already!" Another step. Starlight suddenly teleports herself in between the two, glaring at the dragon. "Spike. Calm down. Please... Twilight wouldn't like this—" Spike's glare instantly shifts to her. Starlight stands her ground. "—and you know it." She turns to the alicorn. "You too, Flurry." Spike closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He's angry... Too angry. Starlight is right; he needs to calm down. No amount of good will ever come out of this if he continues. "So that's it?" Flurry asks, disappointment in her voice. "You just give up, just like that?" "Flurry..." Starlight slowly, venomously says. "No wonder Auntie Twilight isn't back yet—" "Not another word," Spike growls, eyes glowing like burning rubies. Flurry glares at him. Not another word? Fine, then she will not say anything, as she lights up her horn and fires a beam at the thro— Starlight yelps as Spike shoves her aside and quickly grabs the alicorn by the tail. With a startled yelp, Flurry looses her footing as Spike violently tugs, pulls and drags her out of the room. Ignoring Pinkie helping Starlight up, the young alicorn throws her horn's aim up and fires a bolt of magic at Spike's head. The pulling stops, and everyone holds their breaths as they watch the cloud covering the dragon's entire head. Applejack doesn't notice her hat sliding off of her. "Awwwwwwwww shi—" A ferocious roar. Flurry jumps out in time to avoid a fast jab, Spike's claws jabbing through the hard crystal floor. Violent red eyes glaring, he growls and dodges a beam of magic before swiping the alicorn with his claws. Flurry flaps her wings to keep distance— A fierce wave of green fire swallows her entire form, her fur and feathers burning. With a cry, she summons a magical barrier around herself— A razor claw swipes and breaks her barrier, the claw digging into her shoulder and throwing her to the other side of the room with a loud thud. The sharp pain blurs her vision, ears twitching to the series of rapid dragon steps approaching her. Flurry Heart screams as she blindly fires a shockwave of magical aura. Caught in the blasts, the rampaging dragon is pushed back. He crouches low, digging his claws on the crystal floor. Her entire body glows as a powerful surge of magic flows through and around her, levitating herself up. "Everypony get away!" Starlight screams through the violent sounds of magic. "What's going on here?!" Shining Armor yells as he and his wife enters the room, and collectively gasps after seeing their glowing daughter. Spike covers his eyes with a claw as he tries but fails to see his target, the crimson colors of his eyes slowly fading. A deep groaning sound pierces into everyone's ears. "What was that?" Pinkie Pie asks as she looks around. Suddenly, cracks start to form on the crystal floor, walls and ceiling. "It's the castle!" Starlight yells. "Flurry!" Cadence calls. It falls on deaf ears. The young alicorn, filled with uncontrollable magic, concentrates it all in her horn and— Silence. Flurry Heart blinks. She's standing inside the map room. She and no one else... ...except for a purple shadow by the door. "Hello?" the young alicorn calls. Slowly, wearily, Flurry Heart approaches the shifting shadow. And then she stops. Something's not right. Where is everypony? She blinks. She gasps and immediately touches her shoulder. ... ...There's supposed to be a wound there. Ignoring the shadow, she looks around. "He-hello?" No answer. Her ears droop, and slowly she turns to the shadow by the door. Head low, she slowly approaches it, until she's a hoof or two away. "Hello?" she calls quietly. The purple shadow shifts... ...shifts... ...and shifts some more. ...and smiles. A genuine one. A loud snap, and everything crashes around her. Flurry, with a yelp, suddenly finds herself falling back on the crystal floor. "Oof!" "Tsk," Discord says, frowning. "And here I thought it would be boring around here." Flurry shivers and cries at how painful her shoulder is... ...and then yelps as a claw grips her by the neck. "Spike!" Shining Armor shouts, his horn glowing. Through her hazy vision, she sees Spike growling at her father before sliding something on her horn.