A deep throb covered every square inch of Pinkie's body, muffled voices and faint sounds of movement surrounding her at the edge of her senses. The throbbing started to fade as a sharp stinging sensation shot through her shoulder every few seconds. A harsh gasp came out of her when she felt some of her ribs snap back into place, her eyes fluttering open as she came back to the waking world. Blurry shapes moved around her frantically, some letting out cheers while others fussed over other blurs laying next to her. A pink and yellow blur leaned over her, two points of red staring down at her like a pair of eyes as more stings hit her shoulder. Slowly, the blur turned into the familiar face of her friend Fluttershy, her red eyes filled with worry and tears as she jabbed a glowing claw into her shoulder in brief intervals.
"Hey," Pinkie smiled weakly.
"Don't talk," Fluttershy sniffled, her glowing hands moving to Pinkie's right arm. "You're still in really bad shape."
Pinkie chuckled then cringed as a sharp pain shot through her chest. Considering what she had just been through, it would've been an insane miracle if she wasn't. As Fluttershy worked on her, Pinkie let her eyes wander around herself. From where she laid, she could tell she was still on the bridge's main residential platform. Next to her were the still unconscious bodies of the CMC with their sisters and sister figure holding them close. On the other side of Fluttershy laid Derpy, streaks of blood leaking from her closed left eye with bloody shards of broken glass laying next to her. On one side of the platform stood the rest of the group, all of them staring at a large mirror that shined wildly as explosions could be heard from it. Given Pinkie's angle, she could not see what the mirror showed, but she could guess from the sounds of Sunset's roars and Lily's wailing laughter.
"How is everyone?" Pinkie asked, letting her gaze shift towards the night sky.
Fluttershy paused, then grimaced as she said, "Everyone was almost dead when Discord pulled us out. It's only thanks to Mrs. Hearths Warming that we are all okay right now. The CMC are still asleep, but are perfectly fine otherwise."
"No surprise there," Pinkie smiled. "Wraith Cores take time to fully merge with people. It's hard to remove them safely, but if you can do it quickly, then you can stop them from doing anything permanent."
Her smile wilted as she asked, "And Derpy?"
Fluttershy flinched, then swallowed a lump in her throat before she answered.
"She...she pushed herself too hard and since her eye was linked to her magic, it broke from the strain. Discord managed to take the shards out with his magic, but even Ms. Hearths Warming's magic can only do so much. I've been alternating between healing you and her while she kept the gab between here and Lily's dimension linked."
"She's stable now, right?" Pinkie asked, worry heavy in her tone.
"Yes," Fluttershy nodded, wiping some tears out of her eyes with a free hand.
Pinkie let out a relieved sigh at that. A relief that doubled when she felt a now familiar string in the back of her mind.
Are you okay?
"I have been better," Tattle groaned. "But what about you?"
Ditto, she thought with a small chuckle. Do you have enough power to manifest?
"I think so. Let me try."
A moment of silence, then a faint snoring echoed through her mind before she felt a small shift in her magic. A little gasp came out of Fluttershy as a small violet cat with silver specs covering it appeared. Two small wings were tucked loosely at its side that fluffed worriedly as it walked onto her chest, its blue eyes scanning Pinkie frantically.
Pinkie simply smiled at the small creature and said, "Hey honey."
"Don't 'hey honey', me!" the cat frowned. "Do you have any idea how bad you scared me?!"
"Yeah," she sighed. "Sorry."
"Apology accepted," he sighed. "I know we didn't have much of a choice, but I was still scared."
"Me too," she smiled, leaning forward to kiss the cat on the nose. "I'm glad you're safe."
"Uh, Pinkie? Who is this?" Fluttershy blinked.
Pinkie and Tattle both looked at her, before an understanding smile graced Pinkie's lips and she said, "Right, I should probably introduce you. Flutters, this is Tattle, my husband."
***
Sunset roared as she flew towards Lily, flames coating her fists as she brought them down on the Archwraith. Lily just continued her manic laughter as she met Sunset's fists with her own, her own fists covered with shadowy dark energy. An earth-shattering explosion echoed through the void like an atomic bomb, but Sunset didn't care. Red hot rage flooded her mind as she gave in to the fire that ran through her very being. A small cluster of thoughts were the center of her mind as she slammed a flaming fist into Lily's gut. The first was simply "kill Lily", but the others were a lot more detailed and held a lot more meaning to her. She remembered how helpless she felt under the force of he Archwraith's power. She remembered the limp forms of her friends as she was toyed with. Most importantly, she remembered what happened on the bridge when Pinkie jumped into the fray. That, and the raging inferno that was born from it.
***
Sunset gasped as all of her senses came back to her, hacking coughs bursting past her lips as she forced herself into a sitting position. A flickering gold and red light drew her attention down to her chest as a feather placed there faded out of existence. Panic pounded through her heart as she frantically turned her head around, a panic that slowly faded when she fully processed her surroundings. She was back on the bridge, each of her friends laying near her with similar glowing feathers on there chests. A trace of movement out of the corner of her eye pulled her attention to her left, a large circular shimmer in the space on the edge of the platform over the water below. Both Discord and Mrs.Hearths Warming stepped out of it onto the bridge. She watched with wide eyes as they laid the now human again CMC out on the bridge next to her.
"Wait," Sunset stammered. "You're my world's Hearths Warming!?"
The Therapist laughed good naturedly at that, kneeling to Sunset's level and placing a hand on her shoulder as she said, "Technically. She did die here at least once as far as I know."
Sunset let out an annoyed groan, her shoulders slumping as she stared down at her lap. Many would think that she would be numb to things like this happening to her at this point, but revelations such as this still staggered her from time to time. A groan from her right caught her attention as her friends each started to come to. Her nerves slowly started to settle as she watched them all sit up, bruised and battered, but still very much alive. When Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash regained their senses, their eyes locked directly onto the three downed family members laying next to Sunset. Tears ran down their faces as they scrambled towards them and held them close.
"They should recover soon," Hearths Warming smiled. "My students did an excellent job ridding them of the Wraith Cores before they could completely merge."
Sunset didn't understand what she was talking about, but decided not to voice it. The girls were back with their families and that was all that really mattered in the end. Feeling relief for the first time in days, she looked around at her tired friends, searching for one in particular. When she failed to see her, her peace slowly turned into dread.
"Where's Derpy?" Sunset gulped, giving Hearths Warming her full attention.
A deep frown marred the High Royal's face, an agonizingly long pause coming from her as she tried to find the right words. Discord denied her that privilege as he knelt down to Sunset's level and held out a hand to her. The normally jovial spirit's stoney expression filled her with dread as she took it and allowed him to bring her to her feet. Her body felt stiff as he guided her to the back of the cluster of girls, most of them already staggering to their feet in spite of their daze. Her heart froze in her chest at what she saw. Laying with three feathers on her chest was Derpy, blood leaking from her closed left eye in small streams.
Sunset's mind froze, half of her wanting to scream while the other wanted to cry as she fell numbly to her knees at her girlfriend's side. She watched with unshed tears as Discord snapped his fingers over the girl. Derpy's left eye slowly opened, the sight bringing a strangled gasp out of Sunset. The socket looked like it was full of red wine, shards of glass floating in it like jagged pieces of ice. Slowly, the shards floated out before falling to the ground with a faint clink, but to Sunset they sounded like the pounding of falling boulders.
"There's only so much we can do for her," Discord frowned. "My magic isn't meant to heal things like this, and sis' magic has a hard time working around things that aren't meant to be in a body to begin with. Her feathers can make Derpy's body heal around the shards, but that can lead to even more problems further down the road."
Sunset nodded, barely paying attention to what he said as she took Derpy's hand in her own. Derpy felt warm, a wide contrast to the frost that consumed Sunset from the inside out. If she ignored her eye, she could trick herself into thinking Derpy was just a sleep, that she'd wake up any second now and give her a wide smile. She could feel Derpy's heartbeat, faint against her palm. A reminder of how close her girl was to never waking up. Dull clinking echoed in her head as Discord extracted the remains of Derpy's false eye from her damaged socket. Her vision blurred as tears finally forced their way past her defenses, thick sobs shuddering sobs ripping themselves out of her as she collapsed inside. It was too much. The pain was too much for her to bare. It was that night on the bridge all over again, only this time there was no one to pull her back from oblivion.
Just when the pain was about to consume her, a set of glowing green nails tapped Derpy's shoulder. She looked up to see a determined Fluttershy, her red eyes almost glowing as she directed as much of her magic into Derpy as she could manage. Both Sunset and Discord watched with wide eyes as a few shards floated out of Derpy's socket, each of them coated in the glow of Fluttershy's magic. After a few seconds of this, Fluttershy nodded to herself before she brought Derpy's arm to her mouth and sank her fangs into the girl's flesh. Sunset let out a startled yelp, hand reaching out to push her friend away from her love, but stopped when a green glow surrounded Derpy. The girl gasped as Fluttershy's magic coursed through her veins, her pulse springing back into action as more shards floated out of her. Slowly, the glow faded away, Fluttershy pulling Derpy's arm out of her mouth as her magic added to the power in the feathers on Derpy's chest.
"My magic is linked with blood," Fluttershy sighed, a small smile gracing her lips as she gently lowered Derpy's arm to the ground. "When it heals, it removes things that are dangerous to the body. I can't give her back her old eye, but I can make it so her false one won't do any permanent damage."
Sunset nodded, joy pouring out of her like a fountain as she tightened her grip on her girlfriend's hand. The whole world blacked out around her, Derpy her main focus as she took in her girlfriend's unconscious form. Slowly, the shock that had a strangle hold on her faded away, new emotions taking form in her by the second. While a large part of her was over the moon that Derpy was going to be okay, a steadily growing other part of her ran over what led to Derpy's condition. Not just her, but all of her friends as well. The pain Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow had to go through because of the monster that put them all in this situation in the first place. If it wasn't for Lily, none of them would be in this situation in the first place. Derpy wouldn't've almost died. The CMC never would've been taken away from their families. None of them would be on this god forsaken bridge, fighting for their lives against a monster.
A familiar flame started to grow in her, a dull ember at first that little by little grew into a wild inferno. Sunset's magic raged through her as her anger grew, her will barely keeping it in check as it tore at her restraints. A roar fermented at the back of her mind as her Dragonic instincts demanded attention. Someone tried to take her horde away. Someone tried to take her mate away!
A deep growl escaped her lips, steam pouring off of her body as she fought against her instinct's demands. A hand on her shoulder tore her seething attention away from her thoughts and towards Discord.
"Easy girl," Discord smiled, seemingly unphased by the heat in both the girl's stare and body. "No need to burn the world down. Right now, Pinkie and Tattle are making Lily regret she was ever born."
Sunset's rage retracted, confusion taking its place as she asked, "Pinkie and who?"
"Luna's boy," he chuckled. "Great boy. You should really get in touch with him when this is all over. He's a total scream to be around!"
Sunset blinked dumbly at that. She didn't know her Aunt had a son, let alone that he had befriended Pinkie. Then again, the time spent in Equestria was largely a mystery to her, allowing the girl's family to have priority over their visit with her in the hospital. It ashamed her that she never tried to reach out to her while she went through rehabilitation, a slight she resolved to fix when this was all over. Hopefully she wouldn't hold it against her too much.
When the rest of Discord's words registered to her, she jumped to her feet. The fire inside her spiked just as quickly as she desperately grabbed ahold of his suit caller.
"Pinkie's fighting Lily?!"
He nodded, still smiling.
"Send me in there!" she demanded. "She can't fight that monster alone!"
"Oh, trust me," Discord chuckled wickedly. "She's more than got this covered."
With a snap of his fingers, a large mirror appeared next to him. With a wave of his hand, the mirror's reflective surface warped and a new image came into view. Pinkie stood her ground, casually holding her own against Lily's attacks. The sight made Sunset's jaw drop, the red-hooded teen making Lily look like a rank amateur as she traded blows with her. A well dressed boy, the mysterious Tattle she assumed, lent what assistance he could before jumping into the fray himself. The rest of the girls gathered around the mirror to take in the show, a proud smile spreading on Hearths Warming's face as she took in the sight. Everyone let out cries of surprise when Pinkie pulled a mini gun out of one of her portals and blew Lily apart with it.
"She's amazing," Sunset gaped.
Discord laughed and said, "She should be. She spent forty years preparing for this!"
"WHAT!?" everyone squawked, momentarily taking their eyes off of the fight to give Discord wide stairs.
"It's true," Hearths Warming chuckled. "While a few days passed for you all, Pinkie was training nonstop in my pocket dimension. Time flows differently there with food, drink, and even sleep not being needed for everyone inside it. I taught her everything I know. Everything from hand to hand combat to mass demolition. I even gave her little friend some new spells to play with while he was there."
"I even added a few things for her to deal with when I could," Discord bragged, playfully buffing his knuckles on his chest and studying them. "After everything we put her through, not only could she fight a war all on her own, she could win it a hundred different ways over."
Sunset gave them wide eyes before she shifted her attention back to the fight before her. As much as she wanted to think Discord was exaggerating, she couldn't deny the proof standing in front of her. They all watched with bated breath as Pinkie and Tattle fought Lily, the duo showing just how far their training had taken them. When they fused together, everyone let out loud cheers. Even from here, they could feel the power their friend was giving off as she resumed combat. When Pinkie cast Thirteenth Hour, Sunset dared herself to hope that this was finally over. That a spell of that extremely high level would be enough to finally put an end to this nightmare once and for all. It looked like it would be at first, but as Pinkie was looking around for something, a cold dread settled in her core. She didn't know why at first, but then she realized something critical; Lily wasn't screaming anymore.
Pinkie seemed to notice it as well, but when she turned to face Lily, it was already too late. Pinkie's spell collapsed and a loud roar filled the air as Lily's domain blew apart. Sunset watched in horror as Lily, now in a more horrible form, turned the tables and started beating Pinkie into the ground. She was dimly aware of Discord and Hearths Warming yelling, both of them doing something with their magic, but all of her focus was centered on Pinkie's battle. That same fire from before surged through her again, her restraints slowly crumbling like a sand wall before a rising tide. Gradually it grew stronger and stronger, her vision slowly turning red as the last tether of her resolve started to buckle. Just before it finally snapped, she heard Hearths Warming say something that tore her eyes away from the mirror.
"Found it!" she said, using her magic to rip open another gap into Lily's ruined world. "When I get Pinkie out, close the gap behind me!"
"Are you stupid?!" Discord snapped. "She'll kill you!"
"I'll come back!" she yelled.
"But sis-"
"For once in your life, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!!!"
Before he could disobey her, a single word cut through the air like a bolt of lightning.
"Move."
The weight it held made the two High Royals freeze, both feeling like a claw had been placed at their throats as they turned towards the voice's owner. Sunset slowly rose to her feet, wild magic surging around her in a burning blue aura as she turned towards them. Everyone nervously stepped away form them, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack moving their less abled charges as far back as they could. Something that they would look back on as a wise decision in the future. A brief flash was the only warning they got before Sunset's magic tore free from her control, a high-pitched roar and torrent of gold fire blasting into the heavens as she transformed. The teen glowed as power and heat radiated off of her, her flaming wings spread wide in their multicolor glory. Her eyes shined a solid blue, the whites completely devoured by it. Sunset let out another roar before she flew towards the portal, Hearths Warming barely having enough time to get out of the raging Dragon's way.
***
A small part of her conscious mind was grateful that Fluttershy managed to get Pinkie out of this place, but it was a single drop of rain in the raging hurricane that consumed Sunset's mind. Rage, pure and devastating filled her like molten lava as she charged towards Lily. The Archwraith continued to laugh wildly as she met Sunset's blows, dark energy coating her fists like corrupt mockeries of the flames that enveloped Sunset's owns. Explosions echoed all around them each time their fists met, flames and dark energy swirling around them in a destructive maelstrom. Sunset took to the air and roared as she let loose a blast of golden fire from her mouth. Lily countered with a dark tornado before she hurled a hazy spear of dark energy at her. Sunset knocked the attack aside with a wide backhand before she dove down at the Wraith. Lily's smile widened as she willed a pair of dark claws onto her hands and tried to take a swipe at the flying girl, but Sunset managed to avoid all but a small glancing cut to her left side before she grabbed ahold of Lily's head.
Her hateful roar echoed through the void as she dragged Lily off of the island they were fighting on and slammed her head into the side of another one not far away. Another roar flew past her lips as she flew across the island's surface, dragging Lily's head into the jagged rock the whole time. When Sunset finally flew up and away from the island, only a mangled mass of meat and blood was all that was left of Lily's head. Sunset's grip on the doubled before she savagely threw Lily's remains into another island. The body hit the stone with a thundering crash, a wide crater marking the point of impact.
Sunset wasted no time landing, her rage far from sated as she added a flaming crater to the island. Wet laughter could be heard as Lily rose to her feet, a new head already halfway done reforming on her neck. The two titans stared each other down, one acknowledging the other as a predator worthy of respect while the other just wanted to see the other burn. Lily twitched spastically, her instincts and madness running high as some part of her that was still capable of it tried to consider her next move. Sunset was doing the same, her wild mind struggling to decide how she wanted to end the monster.
A heavy silence settled between them, Lily's manic giggles and Sunset's ragged breathing the only signs of life in that twisted world. Then, each of them uttered one word, one with twisted glee while the other held barely restrained rage.
"Break...."
"Burn...."
"Break!"
"Burn!"
"Sunset!" Lily screamed, dark energy surging behind her like a tsunami of shadow.
"Lily!" Sunset roared, a similar wall of gold fire behind her.
"I WILL BREAK YOU APART!!!"
"I WILL BURN YOU AWAY!!!"
https://youtu.be/15JCb6P60Vw
With that, the they charged towards each other, the waves of power they summoned not far behind them. Total chaos filled the ruins of Lily's domain. Fire and dark energy whirled wildly around the two fighters as they traded blows, their energies spreading to the other islands that floated around them. Sunset's claws ripped into Lily like a not knife through butter, but the Wraith's body continued to heal no matter how much damage was dealt to it. Lily's attempts were just as fruitless, her attacks incinerated by the heat coming off of Sunset's body long before they touched her skin or scales. They screamed in frustration as they continued, the island they shared cracking and cratering under their constant assault on each other. Eventually, it became too much for the landmass to handle and with one last exchange of flame and dark energy, the island exploded. Lily quickly teleported to a nearby burning island while Sunset relied on her wings to save her, though that wasn't the only thing she did. She sank her left claw into a bolder ten times her size that happened to be floating by at the time, her magic making it combust on contact. She dragged it with her as she flew swiftly towards her foe.
"DIE!!!" she roared as she slammed the stone down on Lily, the burning rubble exploding on impact.
Lily let out a furious scream as she reached out towards Sunset, ignoring the intense pain shooting through her hand as she grabbed ahold of the girl's throat. She pulled her close as she stood back up, conjured a ball of dark energy into her free hand, and jammed it into Sunset's gut. The Dragon Girl let out a surprised gasp as the ball exploded, the force sending her to the other end of the island. The two combatants traded glares for a brief moment, then let out battle cries as they summoned their elements around themselves, searing golden flames for Sunset and writhing dark energy for Lily. They thrusted a palm at each other and their powers responded in kind. Dark energy clashed with raging flames, the force sending the two forces to neighboring islands fifty miles away. Balls of fire met spears of darkness. Spikes of darkness that sprouted from the ground were met by falling balls of fire that rained down from the heavens. Waves of fire met waves of dark energy like water from two separate worlds. As these two hurricanes of power clashed, their crafters stood at their hearts with noting but a taste for blood keeping them standing.
The two storms parted as the two fighters let out another furious cry, both breathing heavily from the toll this fight had taken on them. They knew that they didn't have much left to give and that their opponent was far from willing to give up. Both of them knew that the time had finally come. It was time to end this.
At the same time, they gathered as much of their remaining power as they could, Sunset gathering it into a single deep breath while Lily focused it into an outstretched palm. The air hummed as their power built, the tension thick enough to steal a person's next breath. Then, when the strain finally built to a breaking point for the two of them, they let loose their final gambits.
With a mighty roar, Sunset let loose a truly titanic blast of fire from her mouth, the flames covering her half of the island like a searing tsunami of gold as it rushed towards Lily. The Archwraith unleashed an attack of equal scale and power, the dark energy pouring from her palm moving like water straight from the River Styx itself. The two attacks met with a massive thunderclap, both of them trying to push back or devour the other. Neither combatant gave an inch, pouring everything they had into their attacks. More and more they added, every scrap of strength and will they had to spare going into this last push for victory. For a fleeting moment, it looked like the attacks would cancel each other out, but a final roar of defiance from Sunset put that fear to bed. With the absolute last drop of power she had behind it, the flames overwhelmed and devoured Lily's dark energy. A look of fear briefly covered the Archwraith's face before she was taken by the flames.
Lily's half of the island exploded as the sheer force of Sunset's final spell made contact with it. The teen fell to her knees, exhaustion and a near severe lack of magic forcing her back to her human form as a panting mess. Her vision blurred as she stared at the destroyed remains floating before her, a tired smile gracing her lips.
"That....was for Derpy," she panted, a tired smile spread wide across her face.
That smile fell when a wet scream filled the void.
The debris shot away like small fish before a large predator as a near destroyed Lily floated before her fifty feet away. Most of the Wraith's body was gone, all but the left half of her face reduced to black slime in the rough shape of her normal body. That slowly changed, as little by little she returned to her original form.
Sunset tried to get up. She tried to gather some scrap of magic that she could use to defend herself. Nothing worked. She was too tired to do more than breathe and she used up all of her magic already. She had nothing left to give.
Lily wasn't that much better, her stride unsteady when she set foot on Sunset's scrap of land, but she was still in much better shape than Sunset. With heaving breaths, the Archwraith summoned a spear and leveled its point down at Sunset's head.
"Never before has anyone made me work for a meal as much as you have," Lily growled. "Take some pride in that. You are now so much more than a name and face for me now."
Lily pulled the spear back, priming herself to bring the weapon down to land the finishing blow. Sunset closed her eyes and waited for it to come. And waited. And waited. And waited a few minutes more. Confused, she finally opened her eyes and sighed as a familiar sight greeted her. She was in an infinite black void, empty of all but herself and the cold chill of death.
"I must not've felt it," she frowned, still on her knees. "I guess she wanted to kill me before the others could get in the way."
"Not quite," a familiar deep voice boomed.
Sunset blinked, then looked around for the Dragon she knew the voice belonged to. A bit of movement in the distance caught her attention and what she saw filled her with even more questions. A man walked towards her, his skin and long wild hair a shining gold that complimented his blue slit pupils perfectly. He looked to be in his late fifties with a build most bodybuilders his age would kill to have. He wore a suit of silver plate mail, its surface covered with scars from countless battles with a lion's hide cape draped over his shoulders with the beast's head covering his right shoulder plate.
"I might as well be," she sighed, head lowered in shame where she knelt. "I threw everything I had at her and she's still standing. I even used my dragon magic and it still wasn't enough."
Booming laughter filled the void, snapping Sunset's head up to the Elder Dragon with a look of incredulity.
"You thought that was Dragon Magic?" Polaris laughed, wiping a tear from his eye.
"It wasn't?" Sunset blinked. "But that form-"
"A result of the magic you inherited from your mother merging with what few Dragon traits you inherited from me," he smiled. "My dear Little Sun, did you really think the seal would give you my gift to you all at once? No, it only let out a little of my blood's attributes to you to ease you into the true power of a Dragon. Training wheels I believe is the term mortals use these days, correct?"
Sunset nodded, following so far before she asked, "But how is that any different from Dragon Magic?"
Polaris' smile grew more mischievous as he said, "The difference, my dear, is the source."
"How?" Sunset asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Polaris laughed, then said, "For ponies, your magic comes from wells within you that are drawn to focal points in your bodies and enhanced by your emotions. Add that to a Dragon's barely restrained emotions and you have a pony with power rivaling that of an Alicorn. Dragons are different. We draw strength from something that takes years to grow that we nurture almost as carefully as our young."
"And that is?" Sunset asked, an eager edge filling her tone.
"Our hoard," Polaris beamed.
Sunset visibly wilted at that, her gaze returning to the ground as she muttered, "Then I must be a pretty weak Dragon, huh? I barely have anything of my own. Aside from my journal and a few outfits, everything I have is something someone gave me."
Again, Sunset' attention shifted back to the man before her as he laughed.
"I forget how ponies see our kind sometimes," he sighed with a smile. "Yes, we hoard treasures such as gems and gold, but would you say those Dragons are truly mighty? No. Just immature hatchlings that have yet to find the kind of treasure to truly become great! To become Elders that rival even the Dragon Lord! Only those that can hoard more than food and shiny trinkets can claim that kind of power!"
"What kind of hoard can do that?" Sunset asked, shocked by the Elder Dragon's proclamation.
Polaris held out a hand in front of himself as if he was holding something, his smile never leaving his face as a familiar object faded into existence in his palm. A shimmering phoenix feather, the very thing keeping her powers sealed away shined brightly in his palm, only now, half of it was burning in gold fire.
"Let me show you," he said, tone as soft as silk as he waved his free hand over the feather.
Small trails of gold fire branched off of the feather, each as thin as thread and moving like vines through soil as they spread all through out the void. Every now and then, a thread would stop growing and a rectangular gold panel of flame would form at the end. Soon, they were surrounded by a web filled with similar golden portals. Sunset rose to her feet, mesmerized by what surrounded them, before a bit of movement from one of the structures caught her eye. A blurry image appeared on the flame panel that slowly shifted into a familiar scene. It showed Derpy pulling her to safety the night she tried to kill herself. Another panel showed the time she spent with Bonbon at her house when her mother tried to hug the life out of her. Another showed the time she helped Lyra make magic charms, one such charm sitting safely on her nightstand at home. Each portal showed similar scenes, some from just after the Fall formal to more recent adventures. Memories of time spent with her friends, both old and new played around her like a moving scrapbook that warmed her heart more than the first rays of summer.
"A Dragon's hoard can have many things," Polaris intoned, his smile soft as he stared at the many memories surrounding them. "But nothing is more valuable to us than those we hold dear, and that value becomes our strength. Friends, family, your mate, those are your hoard my Little Sun, and a Dragon's hoard is their true strength. That is, if you are willing to accept it."
As he said that, he presented the feather to her. Sunset stared at it with wide eyes, a part of her scared of what she was being offered. A long time ago, she would've jumped at the chance to gain more power. She would be lying if she said that part of her was gone. For a long moment, she looked around at the different memories presented to her and that worry slowly melted away. Dragon, pony, or something in between, she was going to do whatever it took to keep those she loved and cherished safe.
"Yes," Sunset smiled, taking the feather from Polaris and holding it close to her chest in a small embrace. "I accept them."
A bright flash was the only warning they got before the feather burst into flames, golden fire surging past Sunset's hands and filling the infinite void. Polaris knelt down to her level, his smile taking on a pained hint as is eyes locked with Sunsets.
"This will be the last time we see each other in this life. I want you to know that I am so, so, proud of you and that I wish I could've been there for you when you truly needed me. I will miss you my Little Sun."
"Yeah," Sunset sniffled. "I wish I could've gotten to know you. I'll see if Mom can tell me more about you when this is all over."
"I'm sure she has a few stories," he chuckled. "Sweet Celt always did have a steel-tight memory when it came to those kind of things."
"I hope so," Sunset chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. "I will see you again someday, I hope."
"Not too soon," he frowned. "I want you to leave behind at least one grand kid for Celt to dote over. Neither of us will be happy if she doesn't have a youngling to spoil rotten soon."
"I'll get around to that, eventually," Sunset sighed. "Assuming her and Discord doesn't give me a sibling before then."
"All the better!" he said with a bark of laughter. "So long as those I left behind are happy, then I can rest at ease."
The two shared a smile as the flames consumed the darkness, Polaris' form slowly fading away with a peaceful grin.
"So long, my Little Sun."
"Goodbye....Dad."
With that, they both vanished, the last of the darkness consumed by Dragon fire.
***
Lily froze, spear just inches away from impaling her prey's neck. A strange pressure surrounded her, setting off alarm bells in the Archwraith's head. Trusting her instincts, she jumped back, giving a twelve foot distance between herself and the girl. A wise decision as a ring of golden flames surrounded Sunset, a strange gray crystalline substance covering the girl from top to bottom in seconds. The flames shined brighter as they morphed into a golden pillar and the sound of shattering glass echoing through the void.With a bright flash, the pillar blew apart to show what laid within.
Sunset stood eyes closed and a content expression gracing her face. Scales covered her body in its entirety, small flares of red mixing with the gold when the sun hit them just right. Her horn was an inch longer with its curved point as sharp as a spear with a glowing gold spiral crossing through it from the tip all the way to the base. While ominous, those features weren't what put Lily on edge. What were once wings made of flame were now flesh and blood, the new appendages bright red with wavy golden patterns covering the inward facing membranes. When Sunset opened her eyes, glowing blue slit pupils took in the world with mild interest.
Lily looked upon Sunset with an emotion she hadn't felt in a very long time, fear coursing through her as she leveled her spear at the girl. In contrast, Sunset felt as if she had just woken up from a deep sleep. She could feel her magic running through her, not as a force to command, but as a physical part of her body. When she moved, so did it. She couldn't feel the scope of what she had at her disposal anymore than she could tell the strength of her muscles without a weight to lift, but she knew that it was immense. She drowsily stared at her new wings, the feeling and actions of moving them so natural to her that she almost believed that she had always had them. Her gaze shifted towards Lily and a small frown formed on her lips. A part of her told her that she should be angry at the Wraith, that she should hate her, but a larger part of her disagreed. The foolish creature was not worthy of such things, just destruction.
"This is it Lily," Sunset said, her tone even as she assumed a stance. "You're done."
(hidden battle track unlocked: The Grand Finale) https://youtu.be/pZ3gFlg6IDs
"We'll see about that," Lily frowned. "I have faced countless enemies for hundreds of years. No matter how many powers you may have, I will never fall!"
"Yes," Sunset sighed, pointing an open palm at Lily. "You will."
Less than a second after she said that, a narrow beam of orange light shot out of Sunset's palm and clean through Lily's chest. Lily stared at the hole in herself in disbelief for a second before she began healing it. A cold stone settled in her gut over how much of a strain doing so put on her. She poured as much power as she dared into her weapon before she threw it at Sunset. She knocked the projectile aside as easily as one would a fly before she spread her wings wide and with a single flap closed the gap between them. Lily had just enough time to reel back in shock before a punch to the gut sent her flying. A pained gasp and a few streams of black blood flew past her lips as she slammed onto another island. Again, she tried to heal the damage, but what little power she had left could only do so much. Desperate, she tried to tap into what energy she could from her domain, but with so much of it broken and burning there was next to nothing to harvest. Staggering and cursing in pain, she came to a very unfortunate conclusion; she couldn't win this.
Some movement above her caught her attention, the sight of what towered over her chilling her to the bone. Held aloft by her new wings floated Sunset, the girl's distance making her look like a figurine that could fit in the palm of her hand. Even from that distance, Lily could see the girl's glowing eyes as she passed judgement on her.
I need to get out of here!
She tried to open a portal out of her destroyed domain, but before it could properly manifest, stellar chains bound her where she stood. She struggled against them, desperate to escape before a stinging golden aura surrounded her, halting all movement beyond her eyes. It was only then that she noticed a gap had opened near her, three figures and a stellar cat present. Pinkie, Derpy, and Fluttershy glared at her, the healer of the group holding the two girls up with glowing hands while derpy and Pinkie channeled their own magic in a similar manner, each pointing a glowing palm in Lily's direction.
"Nice try," Pinkie gasped, then turned her head towards Sunset and yelled, "We've got her! Hit her with everything you've got!"
Sunset nodded, then spread her will out to the countless fires covering all of the islands in the domain. With less than a thought, she willed the flames to come to her and they did. More and more fire gathered around her, the flames eventually hiding her from view as she sat at the heart of their radiance. Those not holding Lily in place took in the scene with wide eyes and slacked jaws as their friend had seemingly turned into a small sun. The irony of such a thing was not lost on Sunset, a small smile spreading across her face as she let out a faint giggle. For years she had hated being called Little Sun, but now the nickname had become something of a prophesy. Perhaps it was time for her to own it, both literally and metaphorically. She pointed a finger in Lily's general direction and again willed the flames to gather, only now to the tip of her finger. There was no resistance from the element as it gathered there, its master finally coming back into view of her friends as a result. She forced the fire to compress, squeezing it down as tightly as she could with just her will. In the end, a small golden ball of fire no bigger than a golfball hovered at the tip of her finger.
"I guess Sunset's Little Sun is as good a name as any," she smiled.
She carefully aimed the Little Sun at Lily and with a roaring cry, fired. In an instant, all of the fire Sunset gathered was released as a massive beam of white hot flame. Lily screamed in agony as her whole world was consumed by searing heat and white light, her restraints completely destroyed by the attack. She barely felt it as she was blasted clean through countless islands. In a twist of fate, she stopped when she landed in her throne. Clutching her arm rest with one hand and reaching forward with the other, she screamed Sunset's name as what was left of her power faded away and she was consumed by the fire.
With nothing left and an exhausted sigh, Sunset once again returned to her human form, the world around her literally fading away by the second as she fell. She didn't fall for long, as Discord appeared and got them both out of there with a quick snap of his fingers. The second she was back on solid ground, she was met by cries of victory, but a simple barrier from Discord kept them from mobbing her.
"Thanks Discord," Sunset slurred, eyes heavy as she leaned against him for support. "As much as I want to get a few hugs and all that, I really want to get some sleep. So...if you'll....you'll....excuse...."
With that, she nodded off, Discord barely managing to catch her in time.
"You heard her folks," he chuckled, cradling her in his arms as she snored away. "Rest first, party later."
"I think a lot of us can agree to that," Lyra smiled tiredly, giving her ragged friends a passing glance.
A chorus of agreement came from the group.
A loud metallic bang made everyone still conscious jump and turn towards the source. A rusty girder laid on the ground where the noise came from, but that didn't hold their attention for very long as a loud series of groans echoed through the bridge.
"Well, that's not a good sign," Discord frowned. "Time to go!"
With a snap of his fingers, the group vanished and reappeared on the coast of the stream running under Canter Bridge a safe distance away. Not even a second later, the sound of metal rending broke the evening peace as the great structure collapsed in on itself. The girls watched with a mix of shock and relief, the structure holding no good memories for any of them and glad that its twisted legacy could finally come to an end. Both its, and that of the monster that called it home.
"It's finally over," Hearths Warming sighed, a peaceful smile spread across her face as she stared at the wreckage.
"Yeah," Discord sighed, his gaze drifting down to the girl he held in his arms with a proud smile gracing his lips. "It really is."