Malice, after leering in delight, turned away negligently. “Do what you will with that.”
Starlight struggled to support herself upright. “No!”
“Make this easier on yourself and just stop. Watching you struggle makes my teeth hurt.”
His magic aura encasing Tempest cut off, and Tempest immediately galloped to Starlight's side. She knelt by her and tried to support her in her lap. "Hey, hey, Starlight. Come on, stay here. Be with me!"
"You can do what you like," Malice dismissed, grinning. "It doesn't change anything. Ease her pain, why don't you?"
Tempest didn't even respond to his goading. She just began to cradle Starlight's limp, weak body. Pinkie Pie crawled towards them as well, her eyes wide, unblinking, and wet.
“Malice!” Ajax yelled, stamping towards him. His floating Black Blade still held Venom in place.
The monster in question groaned in exasperation. "Oh, what now?" he asked. "Going to accuse me of lying? That's what happens in plots, my little pony. Don't act so surprised."
"What will happen to Thragya?" Ajax demanded.
"Oh, that?" Malice said. "It's done for. Suppose your little ordinances are worthless now. Don't you worry your pretty little head, though." His claw patted condescendingly on Ajax's headdress. "You and I share the same goal, and it's close to fruition."
"You will not claim the credit for our devotion!"
"That's assuming Solaris actually cares about you to begin with. I mean, you're ponies, and I'm his closest servant. I'll remind him, though. Stop fretting."
Meanwhile, the stone embedded in Starlight's chest swirled with a blacker hue of green. Starlight made a groan and craned her back. "Get it out!"
Tempest's armored hooves scraped and pulled at the edges of the exposed crystal, but there was too little leverage. She kept on prying at it, though, but with each jiggle, Starlight winced.
"Stop it!" Pinkie pleaded. "You're hurting her!"
"This can't stay in!" Tempest refused, pushing it some more, ignoring the small scream that came from Starlight. "If I can save her-!"
She gave a harsh tap on it, trying to dislodge it, but Starlight gasped and whimpered as tears formed at the edge of her eye. Tempest, after a hesitant moment, tapped hard on the Element again. Then a third time.
"Stop!" Pinkie cried again, gripping Tempest's arm before it could scrape at the embedded Element again. "Just… stop… please."
Tempest, after seeing Pinkie on the verge of tears, relinquished her efforts. Starlight panted for breath, holding herself across the chest.
Pinkie's arm draped across Tempest's shoulder, and her other arm caressed Starlight's chest, circling the spot around the Element's wound. Pinkie and Tempest’s heads were bowed.
"It would be heartwarming if it wasn't so hopeless," Malice remarked, off to the side. “And it would move me to tears if I had any tears left to shed.”
"We must kill them now!" Ajax insisted.
"No," Malice slowly disagreed. "I did not come all this way just to kill them. It's so much more satisfying once they realize just how hopeless they truly were, especially when they thought they were winning. Let them stew in their misery a bit longer. We have no need to rush. The Ten Elements are impossible to reconcile. We've already won."
Malice then cocked his head. He turned it to the west curiously. Ajax, spotting him, strained his senses as well. And soon, a dull roar could be heard, no louder than a distant rumble.
"What is that?" Ajax asked.
"Could be an echo," Malice dismissed. "Nothing I'd worry about."
"But… it's getting louder," Ajax said, squinting over the lip of the volcano. "Is it an earthquake?"
"What earthquakes do you experience that don't cause this volcano to blow?" Malice proposed. "No. Not an earthquake."
"It's still getting louder," Ajax repeated, taking a cautious step back. And it was true; the audience of alicorns were tilting their heads and squinting into the sky. It was clear, and loud, and undoubtedly coming their way. "We must take cover!"
"For what?"
"A thunderbolt!"
"Those appear without warning. You are a crazy old pony." Malice jutted his claw into the sky behind his head, where the black clouds in the distance were imperceptibly parting. "Whatever it is, we can handle it."
"Look!" Ajax shrieked, pointing.
Malice exasperatedly turned his head, and he immediately widened his bloody eyes and focused in. The end of the parting clouds was growing closer, and the roar was growing undoubtedly louder. It sounded like a jet, or a firework.
"Duck and cover!" Ajax bellowed to the crowd, which promptly obeyed with screams. Malice, however, ignited his twin horns and growled.
Rainbow’s face was pulling behind her. The shield of electrifying air in front of her was growing more tense. Her main concern right now was not dropping the golden sword in her front hooves, plowing the air apart and crackling harder with each beat of her wings.
A whistle was building up in Rainbow’s ears. The shield of air became tight, like a drawn bowstring. And with a final push of her wings, Rainbow broke the sound barrier.
A rippling explosion of rainbow colors surged from her center, right above the mile-high mountain, and Rainbow, streaming colors, streaked across the peak.
But strangely, at the same time, a long whip of violet lightning snapped all around her as well. A series of concussive booms erupted as one purple lightning bolt after another zipped past her face.
If Rainbow knew anything, it was meteorologica. The lightning was just a result of the particles tightly concentrated in the smoke colliding together and creating static electricity. Rainbow’s presence just exacerbated that.
Rainbow controlled the wild lightning, however. Even without her Element, she had Stormkeeper. She felt unrestrained, free, and powerful. Her goosebump-covered skin rippled in the air. The wind peeled her lips into a smile. Her eyes had to narrow to avoid getting pressurized, and the smoke in her way was simply blown aside. Her mane flapped wildly like a war flag. And the sword in her grip was humming and shaking. It had to be released, and soon!
Rainbow adjusted the angle of her wings, taking her almost vertical. She flapped as hard as she could, straining with all her strength, when an uncanny similarity impressed upon her: it was just like the fight in the hurricane with the Storm King.
The thought almost made her freeze up. Had she gone back in time? If she squinted, could she see his outline among the dark clouds?
Her heart hammered in her chest, and she no longer felt free. This was the fight for her life. She could not fail! Not now!
So she flapped harder, faster. Twilight needed a beacon!
And after a few more seconds of this, she emerged from the cloud line, and her muscles went limp. She turned her head to the side. The slight curvature of the world could be seen, almost straight, even. Above her, the vast mysteries of space. Black, bespeckled with drops of white paint.
How many of Faust’s children were out there? Were they going through conflicts like she was? Perhaps Rainbow was the only one of her kind.
It felt like she was floating in a pool. Which way was up? She didn’t care.
Oh, right. She needed to know. For Twilight.
She thrust the sword up. The energy contained therein screeched before exploding in a torrent of blinding lightning as thick as a tree trunk. The sheer force of it flung Rainbow backward like a catapult, back to the surface again. She plunged into the dark clouds, and she was drowning once again in mists of blackness and evil.
But the lightning was still discharging in one spurt after another, booming in her dull ears and plunging her down more and more. Rainbow clung to the weapon for dear life.
Finally, the lightning stopped. Her wings straightened out, correcting her path, and Rainbow shot out of the smoke belching from the mountain and began to encircle it.
Rainbow finally got a good look at her target. It was solid and thick, like a chiseled tower. There were two smaller mountains to the north and south. It was all surrounded by an orange river far below, and beyond that river was an embankment. The top of Nevermore was open-air and crowded. It was too far away to get more detailed.
She also noticed, for the first time, miniature winged beasts gathered around the peak. Rainbow hadn’t given them much attention. But having seen them, Rainbow started to get closer. They had to be Malice’s guards! Which meant Malice was definitely there!
Then a white bolt of magic sizzled past her axis, making her swerve. It had originated from the peak of the mountain, and two more were already firing at her.
Rainbow adjusted her flight pattern. Taking evasive action, she stopped encircling the mountain, halting midair, and gunned right for the open-air assembly.
The sword began charging up again the faster she flew. It trembled, threatening to escape her grasp. One bolt flew at her face, and she had no choice but to swipe the sword before it could melt her skin. The white laser bounced off the pristine gold sword and shrieked behind her before exploding.
The sword continued to spark and throw electricity behind her as Rainbow approached at an unsafe speed. Rainbow adjusted her wings the tiniest bit, and she leveled out. She swirled the sword behind her head before swiping down with a scream, and a white arc of sizzling energy flung out like a fishing line.
It impacted among the multicolored assembly of alicorns with a blast that rattled Rainbow’s ears and sent rock flying everywhere. She quickly peeled away to get some distance, and as she did, she looked behind her one last time. They still weren’t firing back, but Rainbow didn’t put it past them to start soon.
A pink swirl appeared high in the air to the west of the mountain. It was rotating and churning, shimmering like a mirage. Rainbow couldn’t help a smile grace her face. It worked! Twilight saw her beacon! All she needed now was-
A concussive blast made Rainbow swerve, and right where she had been, a tongue of scarlet magic snaked by, scorching her coat and making her face glow red. It shot like a bullet way past her and disappeared into the developing pink portal with a squish, like it was hitting gelatin. The laser was coming from the peak of the mountain.
“Whoah!” she yelled, diving beneath it and shooting right at the portal. “Did not sign up for that!”
With a splash, she also disappeared into the wide portal.
Malice widened his three remaining eyes and lowered the Bloodstone Scepter. The unstable laser firing from the tip cut off and ended, resulting in residual swirls revolving around the red gem.
“That’s her,” he whispered. The portal hanging in midair, after absorbing the laser blast, shrunk into a pinprick and disappeared. “Twilight is on her way!”
“And she’s going to bring an army!” Ajax added. He turned to the alicorn assembly, which had been scattered by the impact of the lightning bolt. Ajax lifted an arm. “My people! War comes quickly to this holy site!”
Whispers and outbursts came from the crowd at large. The alicorns had been brought up to live comfortable lives far away from the world’s concerns. Very few of them were prepared to handle actual combat, even with their alicorn powers.
“They will crash upon this rock like the waves of the sea! But it will never falter! No matter how hard the wind howls, the mountain will not bow!”
Vehement yells came from the crowd, pumping hooves into the air.
“We are alicorns, the divine creatures in Solaris’ image! Preserve your way of life, and never kneel to these heathens, these Godless usurpers of power and privilege! Pray for strength, and we shall be at peace in our hearts as we meet Him!”
More yells came from the crowd. Some alicorns were already flapping in the air or charging their multicolored horns.
“Prepare for death, my children, and make the invaders wish they had done the same!”
Pinkie Pie wisely said nothing as all this unfolded. She just held on to Starlight tighter. She was still growing weaker, taking more inhales of breath as the green stone firmly planted in her chest began to spread multiple black tendrils across her flesh. They were little more than three inches long, but Pinkie knew they couldn’t be stopped, and she knew if they went unstopped, they’d destroy Starlight completely.
The very thought of it made Pinkie’s throat close up. This wasn’t supposed to happen! Starlight was still supposed to be there for them all, to learn under Twilight!
Pinkie bowed her head. She felt a hoof lift her chin up, though, and it was Tempest. This close, Pinkie could see every mark of distress etched into her.
“Can I ask you to do something?” Tempest whispered. Her eyes traveled down to the sickly Starlight. “You helped me once before. On the train from Appleoosa. So if you can help me again… I know you can help her… smile. Please.” Tempest’s pleading eyes were wide. “Make her final hours… happy ones. I don’t want her to die cold and alone.”
“Don’t,” Starlight started, lifting a weak hoof.
“She’s not going to,” Pinkie refused.
“I know how you feel,” Tempest admitted. “I’m not sure if I’d be able to make her smile if I was in your position. Heck, I know I can’t make her smile at all. So I need you to do this. Muster up enough of that bubbly happiness in you and... make sure she’s taken care of.” Her eyes squeezed shut.
“There must be something more,” Pinkie insisted.
“No, Pinkie. It’s the best we can do for her.”
Pinkie’s eyes traveled up. The hungry jaws of Solaris loomed above them all. Glinting between them was a hint of gold.
Pinkie’s wet eyes narrowed. “You’re wrong.”
Almost as soon as the pink portal had opened in the sky, a glowing red line of pure flame blasted through it, shrieking past the entire assembly of dragons and ponies. Every head simultaneously turned to regard its path. It continued until it impacted the ground far in the cloudy distance.
A small ball of flame blossomed on impact, and two seconds later, the blast was heard like a cannon. The ground vibrated, the air reverberated, pebbles leaped into the air, and every creature instinctually covered their ears. Some of the smaller dragons were knocked to the ground. This included Spike.
The red laser did not disappear for more than five seconds, lingering in the air. Then the end of it trailed through, disappearing in the rapidly-growing fireball in the distance.
Through all of it, Twilight did not relent keeping the portal up. This would ordinarily be a herculean task, but the crown atop her head, snugly on her ears, kept it relatively simple. And, turning herself to the portal, she found herself thanking her lucky stars she kept it open.
Rainbow Dash was zooming out as well. She was still trailing residual sparks of lightning. Instead of heading for Twilight, she headed for the gargantuan Torch’s ear. She halted in place and began to talk. She was too far away for Twilight to hear.
Several seconds later, Torch straightened. “That’s bad news,” he grumbled.
“They’ve seen the portal!” Twilight realized. Quickly, she shut off her magic, and the portal dilated to a pinprick before fading away.
“Twilight!” Spike cried, running up to her and pointing into the sky where the portal had been moments ago. “That was the Bloodstone scepter! Malice is there for sure!”
“We now know that much,” Twilight acknowledged. “Our plan worked. All we have to do now is… destroy Malice, rescue our friends, and assist Starlight.”
“How are we going to draw him out?” Spike asked.
“I’ll challenge him,” Freedom Fighter answered, coming closer. He had overheard their conversation. “He won’t back down from the opportunity.”
“Can I be there too? I want a piece of him!” Spike declared.
“Get in line,” Freedom muttered.
“I want to be there as well, Spike,” Twilight assured him. “But I’ll be in the sky monitoring the battle. You, Freedom, and Garble’ll be together on Torch.”
“What about Rainbow?” Spike asked.
“She’ll keep a lookout for our friends and pick them up whenever she can.”
“Will they know about that?”
“It’ll be an entire army assaulting the volcano, Spike. If they don’t get the message, that’s on them. As far as the army goes, they’ll thin out the enemy forces and draw them away from the mountain so we have a chance for pickup. Once we’re all together again, we can combine the Elements and use them to summon and destroy Solaris.”
“You do realize that things might not work out according to this plan?” Freedom Fighter asked.
“We at least need a frame to stand on,” Twilight replied.
“HEAR ME!” Torch suddenly bellowed.
Every head snapped to look at him on the giant basalt throne.
“We fly,” Torch simply said. “To war. This war is not like our petty squabbles in the past amongst ourselves. This is about the preservation of our world! Enemies have invaded for the sole purpose of summoning an evil that will destroy all life!”
Torch adjusted his spot on the throne. “We dragons are autonomous creatures. Ordinarily, we care not for the deals of the rest of the world. But now, we are the last line of defense between the world and a fate worse than damnation! And we care about ourselves, don’t we? So if you care about your livelihoods, fight to preserve them! This world may have others on it, and you may like that or not, but I’m one of the creatures that lives on the world! The world, and our lives, are our birthrights! So throw it away if you wish! But as for me?” His wings, hundreds of feet wide, emerged from his back and slowly unfolded. “I will fight!”
His audience was listening with rapt attention, with no signs of dissent. Perhaps they were afraid to speak their mind.
“If any dragon here does not wish to fight, I understand that. We fly into the most sickened blemish on the face of the earth. So you may go back to your families, to your caves and homes. But know this: you decided against them. If you love your family, or your homeland, you cannot abandon it just for a few more moments with your family before your end.” He took a deep inhale, then let it out in resignation. “I already lost one of my family. I can’t afford to lose more. Not now! Not here at the end!”
Garble, nearby Spike, choked and clenched his fists.
“The way to rebel against this great evil, against this torturous present, is to live--to fight! Will you live, my people?”
Billowing flames came from the lips of the dragons in response. In a growing wave, the entire assembly area grew orange and bright from one little light after another, until it covered the earth.
“Rise!” Torch urged. “Rise! And become creatures the world fears!”
Twilight’s horn chimed to life, and in a flash, all four of them disappeared.
Spike, Garble, and Freedom Fighter dropped onto the top of Torch’s skull. Spike and Freedom Fighter gripped onto the edges of Torch’s scales, but Garble flapped off his father’s head and hovered between his father’s eyes.
“Come on, dad,” Garble urged. “Let’s take from him what he took from us.”
“Everything,” Torch growled like a bulldog, his maddened eyes beetling together.
Twilight’s horn chimed to life once more, and the air once again churned and swirled into a wavering, transparent circle. The portal was hundreds of feet wide and bright pink. Beyond those doors lay Twilight’s doom.
Torch’s wings flapped hard, and he rose off his grand throne for the final time.
“Fear them not!” Torch bellowed. “Put fear into them! My people, charge! My people, scream!”
Dozens of dragons followed his example, rising into the air and following close behind him. The last thing heard before he passed through was one final line.
“My people, RAGE!”
And perhaps there were plenty among the faceless, nameless horde who did feel fear. Or reluctance. But none of them could in good faith return to their normal lives. And the thought of Torch charging alone into that hell was too much for them to bear.
In droves, dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colors willingly absorbed themselves through that shimmering portal. Twilight knew a lot of them would die. Which meant their sacrifices needed to mean something.
Twilight had a job to do.
With a strong puff of her wings, she glided into her own portal.
It felt like pushing through a gelatinous wall, but it also effortlessly slipped past her body. Once it passed, Twilight dipped a little in the air and straightened her course.
Mount Nevermore loomed in the distance. The air was already alive with colorful laser bolts streaking into their path from the mountain’s peak.
Twilight couldn’t just blast the mountain away like a blowdryer on snow. They needed to make sure their friends were safe first. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t return fire.
Building up a ball of laser fire, she could feel her magic lock on to the other signatures in the area. They were all clustered together on the peak. She adjusted her buildup to a precise degree. Then she gladly released it, and a streak of violet shot through the air into the midst of the enemy.
With a loud tinkle and crash, a violet laser bolt impacted the back of Solaris’ stone head. It shattered, sending pieces of stone toppling to the ground below, but his head remained attached to his neck, and the statue only tremored.
Malice, who watched it happen, grew a grin. “She’s here!” he rejoiced. Then his grin vanished into a grimace. “She’ll pay for defacing my father. Venom! Come!”
Venom carefully maneuvered himself away from the Black Blade. Then he stooped down, picked up his own, and followed the already-rising Malice. With several hard flaps, both draconic beasts disappeared into the smoky sky.
Pinkie looked around. Most of the alicorns in the assembly (which meant most of the alicorns in the mountain) were flapping above the surface of the volcano’s edge, shooting one magic blast after another at some target that Pinkie couldn’t see.
Ajax, however, lingered behind, and after the last alicorn was in the air, Ajax turned to regard the three ponies huddled together on the edge of the semicircular stage.
“Malice is a fool to think you will do nothing,” Ajax spat, tramping over to them with harsh stomps. “Better to kill you now than allow you to destroy our intentions.”
Pinkie’s eyes locked on Ajax’s eye holes. They were a cloudy grey, dull and lifeless. “Don’t,” Pinkie said.
“I think I will,” Ajax refuted, igniting his metal-covered horn. His Black Blade swooshed to him and swirled beside his head. “Your life is a fate worse than death. You should be thanking me on bended knee for releasing you!”
Pinkie brushed her tangled, flat mane out of her face and tucked it behind an ear. There was still a jagged lock covering one eye, though. “Don’t,” Pinkie warned again.
Ajax’s eyes grew lines around them as he took one more defiant step.
He was in range.
Pinkie bounded from her spot and bashed her forehead into his mask, staggering him back. Pinkie screamed a high, out-of-control shriek and struck her hoof into his throat next, bending his head and sending Ajax into a terrible coughing fit. His magic cut off, and the Black Blade tumbled from his grip and clattered to the floor.
Pinkie pulled the heavy headdress over his mask, and as he struggled to adjust it, she gripped his shoulders and delivered a knee into his chest, doubling him over. Now enraged, a powerful red laser erupted from the tip of his metal-plated horn, but Pinkie was well to the side of it, and, gripping his flowy robes, she swirled in place and released them.
Ajax flew onto his back, spreading his limbs. Pinkie lunged for his fallen knife, and after missing it the first time, gripped it and turned her head to the needle-jawed stone mouth of her eternal Father.
"No!" Ajax bellowed, getting to all fours.
Pinkie leaped into the air much higher than any pony ought to with a cartoonish boing, bounced off one of the statue's upraised hooves, and hung from his bony jaw, holding for dear life onto the cage of his teeth.
Ajax roared and fired a laser up at the statue, but it missed Pinkie and broke several of Solaris' teeth instead. Ajax, suddenly horrified by his action, took a step back.
Pinkie's arm came up over her head and came down, chipping and chopping away the stone teeth. Nothing could stop a Black Blade.
Finally, the Elements in his mouth were uncovered after Pinkie sliced off several teeth. Before they could slide out, Pinkie dropped the Black Blade and caught them. The weapon clattered to the ground more than a dozen feet below.
Ajax immediately picked it up, looking up at Pinkie. In the time it took him to do this, Pinkie had already attached both necklaces around her neck.
A pink glow emanated from Pinkie's entire frame. She let go of the statue’s peeled lips and dropped to the ground, but the impact didn’t hurt her. She just immediately shot at Ajax like a bouncing ball.
Ajax swung the knife at her with his arm, but Pinkie’s arm came in the opposite direction, stopping his knife mid-swing and throwing it out of his grip. Ajax screamed in momentary pain, and Pinkie’s other hoof launched into his golden face, instantly denting it inward and forcing Ajax to stumble back and adjust it.
The mask glowed pink. Ajax gasped and peeled the broken thing off, and he threw it at Pinkie. But it only went a foot in front of him before exploding in his face, throwing him onto his back once more.
Pinkie materialized from the pink smoke and approached slowly, seeing if he would make any move. Sure enough, Ajax was already sitting up. His exposed grey face was singed, and there was even a red, sore burn covering most of his left side, forcing one of his eyes shut. He looked to be old, in his 50s at least, although that was probably more of a cosmetic choice, since alicorns were immune from aging. His thin white beard and mustache had been blackened and burnt away. His one remaining eye was thinned in fury and pain. He tried to ignite his horn, but he hissed and clutched the open, sore wound covering his face. He then screamed, waving his hooves in front of him.
Pinkie backed away until she came to some of the broken rocks that had fallen from the statue. Picking one up, she hefted it, tossed it behind her, kicked it into the air with her hind legs like she was playing Buckball, and finally bucked it into the air, disappearing in the smoky skies.
Only a moment later, it exploded in a cloud of pink fire, shedding its light upon them all in a short break from the oppressive orange lighting.
“You… fool!” Ajax yelled in between hisses of pain.
“You became the fool when you tried to hurt us,” Pinkie deflected. She adjusted her mane so she could see better, looking into the skies. “Rainbow’s bound to notice that.”
And sure enough, a rumble cut through the air, and a spot above them grew brighter and brighter with white lightning. The dozens of alicorns hovering above the lid of the volcano panicked collectively and flew out of the way, unwilling to risk the wrath of that mysterious offspring of lightning again.
Soon Rainbow breached the smoke, shot down to the surface, and screeched to a halt three feet above the ground. She was way different than Pinkie remembered. There was a substantial lock of her mane that was gone, and in her right hoof was the crackling golden sword of the Storm King. Her eyes met Pinkie, and their grim appearance changed to one of joy. “Pinkie! You really are here! I never thought…” She looked past Pinkie to Ajax, then to Starlight and Tempest. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
“Just on this arm,” Pinkie replied, showing where Ajax had pierced her skin. It was black. “Starlight has it worse.”
“Worse? How?”
“Please, after you take me, get a message to Twilight. She can’t come here!”
“That’s ridiculous!” Rainbow objected. “Pinkie, what’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you on the way!”
“What do you mean? Where do you need to go?”
“Take me to the north mountain!” Pinkie replied. Rainbow hovered over her and picked her up under her shoulders. “I have to find Applejack!”
As Rainbow took off and hovered into the air, Ajax gave a snarl of frustrated hate and ignited his horn. Tucking in, Ajax swirled in place, and he spiraled into a pinprick before popping away.
Firestorm, after no one made a move, casually tossed one of his flaming swords behind him to Noble, who fumbled with it for a second. “I want that once you get yours back.”
“Fine by me,” Noble agreed, encasing the hilt in his dark blue magic. “Orange isn’t my color. We’ll take Brimstone together. The girls can handle Warcane.”
“Gladly,” Applejack accepted, narrowing her eyes at the red mare.
“With pleasure,” Rarity agreed, swirling the green dagger around her head. Warcane deserved no mercy.
“Oh, I can’t wait!” Warcane screeched. “I am going to have so much fun with you two!”
Brimstone gave her a side-eyed glance before staring down Noble Blade. Both of their blades were in front of their faces. “To the death.”
Firestorm sprang like a lion, and Noble charged like a rhino. Tongues of flame came from them both. Brimstone kept his ground, firing at the pegasus before deflecting a stroke by the unicorn. But he was pushed back not even five seconds later as the two Guardians pressed their assault.
Meanwhile, it was Warcane that pounced at the girls, who parted to the left and right before she met them. Rarity’s crystal dagger sang for Warcane’s eye, but the alicorn knew her trick. She leaned her head back, and instead of killing her, it just sliced the tip of her snout.
As she leaned back, she fired her horn at Applejack, who was rearing up to strike, and Applejack flew a few feet before tumbling on her side.
But it left Warcane’s underside exposed to Rarity, who fired her own magic bolt into Warcane’s chest, which made Warcane double up in pain and drop to the ground.
Before Warcane could recover, Rarity had already flung herself at Warcane, grappling around her arms and head. Both ponies tumbled to the ground, Rarity holding Warcane’s head into her chest.
Rarity tightened her grip, screaming. Warcane’s neck bent down more and more.
“Now!” Rarity yelled.
Applejack was back up, picking up a loose rock before rushing to Warcane. Her arm came up, about to crash on Warcane’s nape.
Warcane twisted in Rarity’s grip and flung both of them to the side. Applejack’s arm was already coming down with all her force, though, and it caught Rarity on her horn. Rarity screamed in agony and let go of the alicorn to massage her head, while Applejack, horrified, backed up, scanning Rarity for any damage.
Warcane shook herself, brought her horn around, and fired into Rarity’s chest, then turned to face Applejack and pounced. Before she came down, though, Applejack was already bucking up, and the twin impacts of her rear hooves caught her in the face, flipping her in midair and slamming her back into the ground, crushing her wings in an awkward position. The bleeding Warcane gasped on impact, a tremor overcoming her body. Thin blood ran from her nostrils into her open mouth.
Rarity, meanwhile, tried to levitate her green dagger off the ground, but it dropped as she hissed and put a hoof to her aching horn. She clenched her teeth in both pain and fury.
Applejack appeared over the prostrate red alicorn. Warcane tried to sit up, but Applejack’s hoof rested on her chest and pushed down.
“You’ve made too many enemies, missy,” Applejack warned her.
Warcane’s head lunged for Applejack’s leg, and her sharpened teeth sank into her flesh and began to gnaw.
Applejack yelled in disgust and pain, brought her other hoof up, and slammed it into Warcane’s skull, knocking her back and taking a small chunk of Applejack’s flesh with her. The front of Warcane’s head was a darker shade from fresh blood.
Applejack picked Warcane’s head up once more, locking her throat in a choke hold from behind. Applejack’s muscles flexed, and Warcane began to wheeze for air, pulling at Applejack’s arm desperately. But Applejack was a hardworking farmer, built up with honest strength and resilience, and Warcane only had the power her magic afforded her. Warcane flopped in her grip, trying with all her strength to break free.
“Ah really don’t wanna do this!” Applejack let Warcane know as the alicorn struggled.
“I… was an earth pony… once!” Warcane hissed between desperate breaths.
She flung herself back, taking Applejack with her, and Applejack’s back hit the ground. A piece of rock was slightly higher than the rest, and it impacted the center of Applejack’s spinal column.
With a start, Applejack let go of Warcane, and the older mare took the opportunity to release herself, scramble to her hooves, and lunge her horn at Applejack before she could get off the ground. Applejack put up her right foreleg in the nick of time, and the sharp lance pierced her bicep instead of her lungs.
Applejack yelled once again, adjusted her body while lying down, and shot out her hind leg, aiming for Warcane’s back right knee.
It was an unstoppable force meeting a breakable object. Her leg cracked in half, bending backwards, and Warcane dropped with a shriek of pain. Applejack smacked Warcane’s face away, and Warcane fell on the ground, while Applejack slowly scooted away.
As she lay there, a shadow loomed over her. Warcane, groaning in pain, slowly brought itself up once again.
Rarity was staring her down. From this angle, she rose like a shadowy tower. Between the loose locks of violet hair in front of her face, fury was in her thin eyes.
“Don’t get up,” Rarity warned.
So Warcane defiantly did. One hoof at a time, slowly, she got into a wobbly, painful standing position.
Rarity, instead of using her horn to wield her weapon or fire a bolt of magic, just punched her in the face. Warcane staggered back until she hit the edge of the cave wall, which wasn’t far.
White crystal seeped from the ground beneath Rarity and coated the bottom of her front hooves like horseshoes.
“I might not be an earth pony,” Rarity darkly said, “but this is a business I’ll have to do close-up.”
Warcane snarled, wiped her wet face with a hoof, and lunged at her once again. Rarity batted her thrust to the side with one armored hoof and punched with the other, sending her crashing back into the wall once more. Warcane winced and gingerly touched her face. Her right eye had dilated inward. Warcane stumbled in place, woozy and weakened.
“You don’t even realize where you are, do you?” Rarity asked. “This isn’t a cave, darling. This is a tailoring shop.”
Her left hoof shot into her chest and stayed there. Warcane gasped.
“And I’m the tailor.”
Her right wrapped around Warcane’s horn and pressed it to the side until the tip connected with the wall. But even then, Rarity kept pushing.
“Hey!” Warcane protest weakly, wincing. “What’re you…” Her bruised eyes widened. “No!”
One of the disadvantages of having a longer horn meant there was more leverage to break it in half. Rarity wasn’t even trying all that hard.
“Stop it!”
Rarity’s mouth thinned and applied more pressure. The horn grew a hairline crack.
“Stop it!”
One desperate spell after another shot out of Warcane’s horn and impacted the curvature of the wall further down. But Rarity kept on pressing her horn sideways into the wall. The crack only widened. Warcane stopped casting them after sparks erupted from the crack. Rarity did not relent, however.
“PLEASE!”
The crack extended all the way around the circumference of her horn, only an inch above her skin. Then it spidered out and up the length.
“STOOOOOP!”
And Rarity did stop pushing, only to immediately deliver a hardened blow to the weak spot.
Warcane’s horn shattered like a cheap clay pot.
An orange wisp blew from the base like smoke from a chimney. The uneven pieces clinked and bounced at Warcane’s broken leg.
Warcane’s shivering, bloody eyes traveled from the pieces to Rarity’s stone-hard expression. They began to leak down her cheeks, mixing with the blood on them, as her mouth twisted and wavered in agony. “M… my horn…” Her lips peeled back in unbearable fury, and every breath coming from her was ragged and shallow. “I’ll-!”
Rarity turned her around and bashed her face-first into the rock. With a scream, Rarity pulled her back and did it again, then threw her to the ground. Warcane lay there, amid broken horn pieces and droplets of blood. Warcane was sobbing, in a mix of pain, rage, and despair.
“Don’t. Get. Up,” Rarity repeated.
Warcane shrieked in response, pounding the ground. But she didn’t get up. She just curled in place.
Rarity let out a breath, then turned her attention to the rest of the inhabitants. Applejack was lying down, examining the patch of flesh Warcane had bitten out. Noble, Firestorm, and Brimstone were still engaged in their intricate little dance of orange and blue fans. Rarity couldn’t make out the details.
She came to Applejack, offering a hoof. The farm mare didn’t take it, though.
“How hurt are you?” she asked.
Applejack sat up a little straighter, wincing. “Everythin’ hurts. If Ah had that doggone Element, Ah mighta had her sooner!”
“It all worked out in the end.”
“Ah’ll say.” Applejack was eyeing the broken, bleeding, collapsed Warcane. “Ya sure did a number on ‘er.”
“For sure,” Rarity slowly agreed. She sighed. “I really don’t like doing that.”
“Gotta be prepared anyway.”
Rarity did not respond. She just watched the fight unfold.
Noble wasn't trying to overpower him by any means. He simply kept him busy.
Firestorm was the one attacking from every angle, rising a few feet into the air for high ground, only to get bombarded with a spell from Brimstone’s busy horn.
That horn was their target. All magic-users had their limits. Since Brimstone could not touch the sword directly without dying, he had to use magic to levitate it all times. Between dueling Noble and fending off Firestorm’s attacks at the same time, Brimstone’s magic would tire out eventually.
Brimstone, to his credit, was doing the best he could. But he could not go forever. And very soon, the opening Noble was looking for happened. After firing five consecutive lasers in a row at Firestorm, he clashed blades with Noble seven times and brought the sword back. As he delivered a heavy swing, his horn sizzled, sparked, and went out.
The blue blade flew away, landing with a clatter on the rocky ground.
Immediately, it levitated once more, and it zoomed like a magnet towards Noble’s upraised hoof, smacking solidly into his grip. At once, it exploded in a brighter, more magnificent color, temporarily blinding everyone but Noble.
Once the glare died down, Noble was pointing the tip of his sky-blue sword at a weaponless Brimstone lying on the ground.
“To the death,” Brimstone reminded Noble Blade. His head was bent forward to glare at him.
“I never agreed,” Noble reminded him back. He hefted the blade in his hoof while holding Firestorm’s sword out to him, which was immediately taken. “I just wanted this toy back.”
“Playtime’s over,” Firestorm agreed, lifting his swords.
“Don’t,” Noble said, throwing his other arm to the side to stop him. “Let’s hear what he knows.”
“About what? What does this scumbag know that we don’t?”
“He may have gotten something out of Applejack,” Noble said. “Or he knows about an imminent attack. Or a way to quickly reach the temple at the peak, or a secret about Starlight’s Element. We need a foundation before we make our next move.”
Firestorm gave a long, drawn-out sigh. Then he sheathed his swords. “He’s gonna have to die sometime, Noble.”
“All things die,” Brimstone agreed. “Even stars burn out.”
Noble gave him an inquisitive look. “What does that mean?”
Brimstone only grinned.
Noble enveloped the alicorn in a deep, berry-blue magic aura. “Tie him up,” he ordered Firestorm.
“But he can still use magic,” Firestorm pointed out.
“He’s exhausted right now.”
“What if he recovers?”
“I’ll knock him out.”
“Can’t we just do it now?”
“We need him to talk.”
“Does that look like the face of a pony that’s going to talk?”
“He will if he knows what’s good for him.”
“How about this?” Firestorm swiftly tapped the butt of his right sword on the tip of Brimstone’s horn, and Brimstone hissed and clutched at his head. “Ooh, I’m sorry, so sorry. Here, let me just-” He bashed the hilt on his horn again, and Brimstone yelled, gripping his bony protrusion.
“Cut it out,” Noble told him irritably. “He’s down. Just restrain him.”
“Rarity!” Firestorm called. “Get over here and hold him down with some crystals or something.”
Rarity accordingly trotted over. Firestorm stepped back to give her some room to work, and as purple crystals sprouted beneath Brimstone’s legs, forming gradually around him, Noble looked at Firestorm more directly.
“Got something more to say?” Firestorm shortly said.
“Something’s wrong with you,” Noble observed. “Seriously wrong.”
“I don’t see it.”
“Recently you’ve gotten… more temperamental. And more willing to hurt. When did it start?”
“Glad to see you’ve accepted it.”
“When did it start, Storm?”
“Black Fang Redoubt,” Firestorm answered. “I think. I was just so angry at the Noxxa, and at Blueblood, and when you came out with Rarity and Spike, I was ready to just fly out there and obliterate you on the spot. You looked so much like him. And then, when you told us to burn it to the ground, I was so happy. I had something to do with all that drive, that buildup. When I… destroyed it for good… I was staring into a mushroom cloud of my own work. In those flames, I think I saw something deep within. And since then, I guess I…”
“How did it make you feel?”
Firestorm took a moment. “I felt good.”
Noble blinked.
“It was so cathartic, Noble, seeing those torturers and murderers, spawn of the devil, all burn. They hurt you! I felt sick to my stomach, but not because I hated seeing them die. Because I loved seeing them die.
“I felt confused about it. Should I feel that way? So I wanted to be alone to figure things out. I was still kind of on edge. And then Rainbow decided right then was the best time to try and seduce me for the third time! Right about then… I got really frustrated. How many times do I have to spell it out, you know? Am I not respected by her? Am I respected by anypony? Then it hit me.
“I feel like… nopony listens to me. Like anything I have to offer is of no worth. All throughout the journey, I felt sidelined, even when I had to get my own Element! They think of me like a buffoon, Noble, or a tool they can break out in a tough spot. I don’t always want to be the silly one. I want to be taken seriously. As a fighter, a lover, a… a pony. There’s a reason I’m a Guardian, up there with the likes of you and Freedom Fighter.”
“Don’t talk to yourself like that,” Noble chided him. “Of course we take you seriously.”
“No,” Firestorm flatly refused, unblinking. “No, you don’t.”
A pregnant pause began. Noble released a deep sigh through his nose. Firestorm’s face was a silent urge to prove him wrong. Rarity, awkwardly overhearing it all, trotted over to Warcane to restrain her in a similar manner. Brimstone’s limbs were held to the ground in a spread-eagle position.
Noble finally took a breath. “Listen-”
“Just-” Firestorm interrupted, holding up a hoof. “Forget it. I don’t know what else I have to do before I feel complete.”
“Oh, so you tell me a problem and you expect me to forget it?”
“I don’t know what else you can do,” Firestorm reasoned. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“That’s a first.”
Firestorm’s eyes narrowed. “What was that?”
“It wasn’t sarcasm, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know you’re in complete control of your faculties. I know that most of what you do, you choose to do. I want you to use that brilliant mind of yours and choose something else now. Choose to do something positive to change that opinion you think we have of you.”
Firestorm, after a moment, nodded and turned away. “Okay.”
“I trust you,” Noble assured him. “You’ll come through. You always do.”
“Yeah,” Firestorm muttered, swishing his tri-colored tail. He sat on his rump, slumping his shoulders.
Noble approached him, holding out a hoof. “If it makes you feel any better, Black Fang was horrible for me too.”
“That much doesn’t need to be said.”
“And I really wanted to kill Blueblood myself when I found him.”
“But the job was already done by then, huh? Whoever did it, he’s lucky.”
Noble stiffened uncomfortably. He recalled Applejack, and how she accepted his admission. Perhaps Firestorm could see things better if he admitted the truth.
“I suppose I’m really lucky, then,” he admitted quietly. “But I didn’t feel lucky when I did it.”
“What are you… talking…” Firestorm’s head slowly swiveled around and up. Between their eyes was an intense feeling of bewilderment and confusion.
“You… what?” Firestorm asked, bug-eyed.
Noble’s gaze went to the floor.
“What happened to trust?” Firestorm demanded. “Why’d you feel the need to keep this a secret?”
“...I didn’t want you to think any less of me,” Noble admitted.
“Of course I wouldn’t have thought any less of you!” Firestorm refuted. “Blueblood was scum! I’m happy he died! And don’t tell me you would have left him alive, either--you ordered us to firebomb Black Fang immediately afterwards, anyway, so even if you left him alive when you found him, he still would have died! So what’s your problem? If you’re so against killing, what made you ultimately decide?”
“He had an Element around his neck!”
“He was also unconscious! You could have just taken it off!”
“You just said you’d be happy if he died!”
“I wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him. But you did. Why?”
“Because I don’t like killing helpless ponies, Storm!”
“You think the enemy would? They would, without question, so the only option is to destroy them before they have the chance.”
“Faust Herself was the one who told me to kill him.”
“Faust? So you were even in disagreement with the Goddess?”
“I didn’t want his death to be made into something personal, Storm! That’s it!”
“Be consistent here! Stop making up these excuses! Something’s wrong with you, Noble, and I’m not sure what, but you’ve got to fix it. Why would you hesitate to destroy evil? The Noble I knew would do anything possible to triumph. But not you. You’re always thinking about understanding the enemy’s point of view. This isn’t a difference of opinions! This is good and evil! I’m not interested in seeing things from their point of view. You cannot reason with that which seeks only to destroy. I’m not about to sit down and have a pleasant chat with Blueblood, Malice, a Nox, Solaris, Cookie Cutter, or the Storm King about relative morality. I want total. War. Total war. And if there’s an alarm going off in your head, you need to seriously reconsider what matters most to you.”
“I just don’t see what the problem is with not wanting to kill another pony, Storm! Valuing life is not weakness, and disregarding it is not strength.”
“So because you can kill the other person, it means you’re weak? Everypony has power, Noble. Making use of it is strength.”
“I can’t just go around killing everypony I don’t like! We have a plan beyond that! We have to save the world here!”
“Then when you figure out another way to save the world, I’d love to hear it!” Firestorm exploded, and with a puff of his wings, he shot into the air and settled on the rafters far above like an agitated parrot.
Noble’s stomach twisted in agony. The ground beneath him swayed, and he had to sit down on his rear, putting a hoof into his face.
Rarity and Applejack couldn’t decide where to look. Everything about it hurt.
“What have I done?” Noble bemoaned quietly. “What else could have happened? I thought…”
He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular. But it felt like it was directed towards the Goddess.
Firestorm’s arms were crossed as he furiously pondered over the implications of what he had just uncovered. His legs swung from the rafter far above the others.
Why did Noble feel the need to lie about his death? Was there something between them that Firestorm just didn’t get? What was Noble hiding?
Wisdom.
Firestorm blinked, looking around. “Who said that?”
I did, Firestorm. Faust.
Firestorm was suddenly not where he once was. He was in the eye of a storm of fog, swirling around him and obscuring his hooves. Circling in place to make sure he was alone, he looked up. Nothing but darkness.
“Where am I?” he asked aloud.
In the fog of lies, Firestorm. The world is a foggy place, full of sin and evil. I can help you discern the truth.
“Where are you?” he asked.
I am the Goddess, am I not? Am I not everywhere and nowhere?
“I dunno,” Firestorm said, shifting his eyes in every direction. “Whenever I saw you, you were in a body.”
That is how your mortal eyes perceive me. Your eyes cannot look upon my true glory unless you are transfigured in that moment as well. Mortal eyes are unreliable; they cannot see through the lies of those closest to you.
“Why are you here?”
I want to help, my son. What if I could show you the truth of your circumstances? About Noble Blade?
“...I lack learning,” Firestorm admitted, hanging his head. “Whatever the truth is, I’ll believe it. Where else can I turn for peace but you?”
Spoken like a true follower, the voice commended. In front of Firestorm, the fog stopped swirling, and it formed into a crystal clear picture, gradually adding color and shape.
It was a fancy ball in Canterlot, and Blueblood and Noble Blade were together in identical suits near a table of food, looking proud and tall. As Firestorm watched with wide eyes, he saw them hanging on each other’s shoulders, laughing with stemmed glasses of wine nearby. The scene shifted into them dancing with lime-green and turquoise mares in swirling black and white dresses. It shifted once more into their hooves clasping around each other in fierce agreement about something.
Noble Blade is Cadence’s nephew, the voice explained. Which means he and Blueblood are the only ones in the royal bloodline who can succeed Celestia and Luna. On the outside, they are amiable to each other, but within, deep darkness stirs in both of their hearts. Which of them will attain ultimate power?
“I thought that Noble didn’t care about these things,” Firestorm pointed out.
That’s what he says. But it is impossible for him to deny his identity. Whether he likes it or not, he is a viable choice for Equestria’s successor.
The fog shapeshifted into Blueblood, hidden away behind a corner of a hall, peeking on Celestia and Luna’s quarters. A horrified look was upon his face.
But Blueblood learned that he was not his aunt’s first pick for the throne. So he hatched a daring scheme to undermine his rival.
Blueblood’s face grew into a wide, sinister grin. Firestorm’s eyes widened.
He would support Noble wholeheartedly--until he was secretly killed. Then, heartbroken, he would innocently, even reluctantly, rise to the throne in his stead.
“Why would he go through those motions?”
Because their friendship was a cruel but necessary one. To everyone else, they were rivals, but in secret, they were close friends--until Blueblood decided to use him for gain.
“I thought…” Firestorm halfheartedly said. “They were… why’d he keep a secret from me? From the rest of us?”
Because politics is a dirty game, Firestorm. When Noble was urged to go on this quest, he saw it as a way to gain political power. As an Element bearer and a savior of the world, who else but him could be appointed to the throne? Noble became fixated on the end result more than his friends.
“So that’s why he’s so invested in this?” Firestorm asked, a tremble in his throat. “For politics? Not for his friends, or saving the world--just for building up himself?”
Noble Blade is a prideful pony, Firestorm, and self-righteous. This is not an indictment upon his character; this is a simple fact. He always has to be correct, the one the morals agree with. He has to always be the only one that matters, doesn’t he?
“Now that you mention it…” Firestorm agreed, nodding.
What else had he to gain from this mission but a certified spot on the throne? This displeases me, Firestorm. My servants should not seek for power except to tear it down. Noble Blade is the Element of Honor, but he cares about the honor of the world. He adheres so often to his ambiguous morals that he neglects my commandments to be humble and patient.
It couldn’t be. Noble Blade, an unworthy servant? A traitor to their cause? He had known him all his life.
Hadn’t he?
Every pony had their little secrets. Exhibit A was Freedom Fighter. It was entirely possible that whatever this voice--Faust--was saying... it could be true.
“I…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to think… What more can you show me?”
You mean I haven’t shown enough? the voice asked. Fine. Let’s examine the case of Blueblood’s death.
It was far too convenient, wasn’t it? That they just happened to meet up in the middle of nowhere, and Blueblood just happened to have the Element, and Noble Blade just happened to kill him and lie about it.
The fog shifted once more into the shape of Black Fang Redoubt, swiftly showing him one scene after another of the outside, inside, and, gradually, of a meeting between Noble and Blueblood in his well-lit cabin. Both ponies looked uninjured and alone, greeting each other as old friends.
“That bastard,” Firestorm hissed in fury. The scene was so real, so visceral. How could it not have happened? It was far too detailed and elaborate. It just made sense.
Blueblood stole the Element that Celestia was hiding in her own castle, the voice relayed. He brought it to Noble as a sign of good faith and to keep up the facade of his friendship.
The fog showed Noble’s face, and it held a gleam in his triumphant eye.
But Noble betrayed him first.
Noble reached for Blueblood’s saber.
And killed him.
Blueblood’s body dissipated as Noble took a hard swipe at his neck. Noble himself disappeared soon after.
He was telling the truth when he said he hesitated. Blueblood had been his closest friend, after all. But it was the perfect opportunity to become the only option for the throne. And he took it. All he had to do now was lie to the only ones who would have questioned it.
“Th… this isn’t real,” he breathed, kneeling. The ground couldn’t be seen behind all the grey in his vision. “I know him. I-”
Do you?
Firestorm couldn’t respond immediately. His breaths came hard and fast, his stomach churning at incredible speed.
Fools look on the outward appearance, but the Goddess looks upon the heart. I have judged his heart and found it wanting. He maneuvered for worldly gain behind your backs. He is manipulative, judgemental, scheming, and proud, and such beings have no place in my ranks. Just as he took the Element from Blueblood, so will his inheritance be taken from him. And be given to another who is more worthy.
“He… can’t be. He just can’t! He loves us! He protects us!”
To hold up his own heroic appearance, so you can testify of his worthiness for the crown. He might have even fallen for his own disguise a few times. But the Noble Blade you thought you knew disappeared in Black Fang Redoubt, and never came back.
Firestorm was short on words. “But Fluttershy…”
Ah, his blushing bride-to-be, the newest princess of the land. The instant he saw her, he started making advances. Because of true love? No; such a thing does not exist. So he could make his claim even more legitimate. A royal wife, and an Element Bearer to boot, would solidify his legitimate authority as a prince of Equestria if all else fails. Noble is nothing if not dedicated. He wants to make absolutely sure that he gets what he wants without others questioning his unbreakable honor. And Fluttershy, poor, weak, and inexperienced as she is, could not help but give in. After all, she was the easiest target.
“No,” Firestorm whispered, stepping back. So that was the only reason he’d gone after Fluttershy?
And the way he and Rarity interact… it’s a little close for casual conversation, don’t you agree? Rarity herself admitted that she would have gone after him if she could. Do you think the thought’s left her? No. And Noble is completely aware of her previous feelings, and gradually thought he could have better prey. Over the course of this outing, she and Noble became closer than friends ought to be. Imagine what the news would do to Fluttershy if she found out just how far they’ve grown...
“NO!” Firestorm yelled in horror.
The image in the fog twisted into a horrible image, an unseemly one: Noble and Rarity, their lips violently locked together, arms around each other’s heads.
Firestorm yelled and pressed his eyes into the side of his arm, squeezing them shut and shuddering for breath. “He can’t…”
That’s the typical reaction when a politician turns out to have more skeletons in their closet than you thought. But yes, I’m sure Noble Blade is the very first pony of his kind.
The sarcasm in Faust’s remark just made Firestorm’s sadness turn into genuine frustration. His teeth gritted between deep breaths.
There is one unworthy bearer of his Element right now, the voice declared.
“What do I have to do?” Firestorm dejectedly asked.
It is better that one evil soul should perish than for my creation to be brought to a premature judgement.
Firestorm’s arm came down, and Firestorm could see once more. Rarity was gone. The foggy image of Noble Blade was alone in his vision. But this time, instead of joy, a seething hatred squeezed his heart and spread its tendrils through his veins, making his entire body tremble with fury. The very image of Noble Blade sickened him. Annoying, stuck-up, secret, proudful trash! Some ponies would be better off dead!
Go and do, my son. Make me proud.
And the next time Firestorm blinked, he found himself sitting on the rafter once more, back in the damp grey light. He took a deep breath, patting himself down and tapping the rafter. It was definitely there. He hadn’t moved an inch.
So what was he just in? A vision? Faust had heard his plea for understanding. And the truth… stung. It choked him. But it was truth. Truth held no allegiance to what made you feel good.
He adjusted himself and looked behind him. Noble Blade was still sitting dejectedly, Applejack holding the three alicorns prisoner. And Rarity… right beside him, patting him on the back.
Loathing. Unadulterated loathing made his lips curl in complete disdain for his friend--his former friend.
No. Not even that. Friendship had to be authentic. Noble had been false this entire time.
“Hey, Noble,” Brimstone called out from the ground.
Noble lifted his dejected head from his arms. “What do you want?”
“When are you going to interrogate me? You have a job to do, right?”
“Not right now,” Noble snapped back.
“Of course,” Brimstone conceded. “Far be it from me to interrupt an emotional meltdown between two close friends over a misunderstanding.”
“What’s with ya?” Applejack asked suspiciously, squinting. “Askin’ ta be interrogated?”
“You know what that means, right? I have nothing to hide. Nothing to be of value. I just want somepony new to talk to. Warcane can be a little... abrasive.”
“Like we’re going to give you that pleasure,” Rarity replied darkly.
“I understand,” Brimstone acknowledged, jiggling his head, as he had nothing else to shake. “You’ve had a long day. You don’t care. You’re not the only one, right?”
“Ah don’ particularly feel like bandyin’ words with an alicorn psychopath,” Applejack bitterly said. “Shaddup if you know what’s good fer ya.”
“I get where you’re coming from especially,” Brimstone said, tugging momentarily on his crystal restraints. “I don’t think Stockholm Syndrome is going to kick in anytime soon for either of us.”
Applejack stubbornly kept silent. So did the others.
“Fine, then. Guess I’ll talk to myself. Not responding doesn’t mean I won’t stop. Why can we not talk civilly? You have me where you want me. Why not behave like civilized ponies?”
“ ‘Cause you’re not a civilized pony!” Applejack bursted out, coming closer to him than Rarity or Noble. “You’re the furthest thing from civilization I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, dear, why must you hurt me in this way? I’m only trying to be polite.”
“You don’t care ‘bout nopony but yerself. What makes you feel entertained. And ya still can’t find it. Wanna know why? Ya ain’t done nothing in yer life worthy of recognition, ‘cause ya spent it all in a cave in th’ middle o’ nowhere! Yer evil, plain and simple, and there ain’t no other way ta spin it!”
“I’m glad we can have this little discussion,” Brimstone gladly said. “It’s good to know where we stand on issues, how we see the truth.”
Applejack’s emerald eyes narrowed. “That’s th’ way ya want to twist it? That truth differs ‘cause of th’ way ya look at it?”
“What else is there to say?” Brimstone asked. “I think of myself as a simple pony searching for meaning by focusing on myself first. You think I’m a selfish fool. Who is right? Whoever says it. The truth depends on who’s asking.”
“I don’t know who you think you are with that pretend wisdom. Ah happen ta be th’ leading authority on the truth ‘round these parts,” Applejack replied darkly. “Yer mistake is thinking the battle between good and evil is a difference of opinion. There is good, and there is evil. There is truth, and there are only ways of lookin’ at the truth. Some of those ways are wrong. Noble killed Blueblood. That’s truth. But why did he do it? Only he knows, and our mother. If you say he did it out of maliciousness, that’d be how you see the truth, but it ain’t th’ right way.”
“A wise answer,” Brimstone complimented.
“Ah ain’t ashamed of callin’ things like it is, same as you. Difference is, I know things you couldn’t possibly know from living in this rock.”
“Really?” Brimstone asked, interested. “Tell me.”
“That’s up ta you to find out,” Applejack refused. “Truth’s gotta be experienced in yer heart. Even if I tell ya truth, you won’t accept it.”
“You know, you’re a liar,” Brimstone noted. “After saying you won’t bandy words with me, you proceed to lecture me. What a bad example you are, Applejack.”
Applejack’s teeth gritted. “Ah tried ta let you see yer failings! Make you better!”
“Oh, but I am better,” Brimstone cheekily replied. “From my point of view.”
Applejack snarled and turned around. “Be that way.”
“Gladly!” Brimstone accepted.
Applejack trotted back to Rarity and Noble, jerking her head at the prostrate figure. “He’s worthless. Ain’t got much use apart from gathering dust now.”
“That shall be his duty, then,” Noble agreed. “We have our next target anyway. Firestorm can tell us where Fluttershy is. Rarity, be a dear and fetch him. I have a feeling he’s unwilling to listen to me right now.”
Rarity looked up. To her surprise, Firestorm was slowly flapping down anyway. Rarity assumed he’d heard Noble talking. So Rarity patiently waited for him to reach the ground.
Once he touched down, though, Rarity noticed a crease in his forehead, and his entire frame just screamed an image of despair. It immediately worried her. Knowing how volatile he had been recently, Rarity took a step back before speaking.
“Good to see you, Storm. We’re going to need to rely on you once more. Let’s rescue Fluttershy, and then we can all get out of this horrible mess!”
“There’s been a change in plan,” Firestorm emotionlessly said.
Rarity tilted her head. “Hm?”
Firestorm drew one of his swords, standing on three legs. “Sorry, Rarity. You have no idea what I must do to end this conflict.”
Noble and Rarity exchanged worried glances. “What are you… talking about?” Noble slowly asked.
“What am I talking about?” Firestorm repeated, glaring at Noble. His gloomy contemplation was replaced with one of fury. “What am I TALKING ABOUT?!”
The mood of the entire group had flipped completely after Firestorm had yelled as loud as he could. Firestorm, instead of lunging at the forms of Warcane or Brimstone, seized upon his closest friend, grabbing him by the shoulder and forcing him back.
“You know exactly what I mean! I know the truth!” Firestorm yelled, jabbing his sword into Noble’s chin, and Firestorm advanced on him further. “Scheming little prick! You never cared about any of us! All you wanted was to look like a hero!”
“Storm!” Rarity gasped.
“Don’t get involved, Rarity!” Firestorm spat, swiveling his head. “Unless you want to end up like him.”
Noble’s heart pounded. Never would he have ever anticipated this. Why was Firestorm so riled up? Was he really being serious?
Rarity lunged for him anyway, but Applejack flung her hoof out, shaking her head. Noble understood why. It was personal. And Firestorm might turn on her as well. Best Noble could do is contain the situation.
“Tell me, Noble. Were you going to cut me down after I testified of your boldness and you seized the throne? Or maybe I would die here, an honorable death, giving my all to the cause?”
“What?” Noble repeated, growing more outraged by the second. He’d gone crazy! “I don’t care about the throne! I don’t want it! What’s going on, Firestorm? What’s driving you to say these things? Why do you hate me all of a sudden?”
“All right. I’ll tell you. You are the worst pony I know,” Firestorm seethed. “You constantly acted like a sticky-uppy nice guy to Twilight when we first rescued her. She gave you a spot to sleep in her castle, and this is how you repaid her? And to add insult to injury, you did the same thing when you romanced Fluttershy! And you’re such a dope, with your thees and thous and forasmuches and gentlepony talk. You always keep insisting to do things for the girls, but their opinion of you hasn’t changed! Ooh, someday, I’ll improve, but that day never comes! And I think what I really hate about you is you pretend you’re this deep guy who seeks for true love, when all you do is stalk the most vulnerable one! Yeah, I go for the best pick too, but at least I’m honest about it! I don’t feel the need to constantly kiss her at the worst times to build conditioning, or use her just to compete with my enemy. Yeah, I know about all that. I know why you hate Blueblood so much. He’s you.”
“I’m not like that!” Noble protested, scooting back until he hit the wall of the cave. How could he address everything at once? “I let that Noble die long ago!”
“You’re so pretentious! And you delude yourself by thinking you’re the one who everyone wants to have lead them. I should have known you weren’t actually good enough to follow when everything you’re in charge of ends up with us getting captured! And I think what I hate most about you is your textbook I’m too good for you personality, how you actually hate killing even though you fight so much, how you deserve sympathy because you can’t even live up to your own expectations, how you had a tragic past because your dad was a little hard on you. I came from a broken home in Cloudsdale! All I had was my sister and you! And don’t even get me started on Freedom Fighter. Never seen you hurt yourself! You want to cry? Cry for us!
“And just because you pretend you’re humble, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re still playing politics behind our backs. But oh, wait! You hate the Canterlot nobility, because playing that game is for the proud! Well, who are you to talk down on anyone? You think you’re above those nobles in the first place, not to mention that stupid name of yours. Hey, how does it feel being reminded of that every time somepony says your name? But that could be forgivable--all of it-- if you weren’t so boring! That’s the worst part. Being around you is so unimaginative. You’re a bit-a-dozen, unsympathetic bore!”
The longer it went on, the more Noble could feel his gut clench and his throat close up. He could say nothing in response. It just kept coming, relentless and unforgiving. There were several lies in there, but it was mixed in flawlessly with the truth. Noble knew that if he tried to explain the truth, Firestorm wouldn’t listen, and it would be drowned out in all the other things as well.
Noble’s head was spinning and throbbing. It couldn’t be! Firestorm, his closest friend, who transcended the meaning of the word--he really hated all of this about him? But why would he unleash it all right now?
And who could have planted the lies in Firestorm’s mind and mixed them expertly with truth?
It clicked.
“Storm,” he croaked, on the verge of spilling over. “Solaris has been getting in your head! You’re being manipulated!”
“I’ve been manipulated,” Firestorm refused, jabbing the sword into his chin once again. “But not anymore. Don’t try to lecture me about righteousness! I’m the one that’s been destroying the servants of evil! You’ve only lusted after power!”
“You’ve opened your heart to evil!” Noble cried. “You’ve invited Solaris to twist your memories and sell you lies, until now… now you’ve turned your back on the one thing that could save you.”
“You mean you?” Firestorm yelled. “You’re the savior, huh? I knew it. I knew it!”
“I’m not your savior, Firestorm!” Noble interrupted. “I can’t save you. You turned your back on your own trust! You’re the only one that can snap yourself out of this!”
“Snap out of what? I saw the truth.”
“Then let’s talk about the truth you saw. We don’t have to fight, Firestorm. I… don’t know if… if I got into battle with you…”
“If you’d be able to beat me?”
“If I’d have the strength to follow through.”
Firestorm’s lips thinned before parting once more. “If I agree to talk, will you agree to die? I just want two things in life right now. Our mission to be complete, and your final judgement.”
“What about what this’ll do to everypony else? What about Rainbow?”
Firestorm lowered his blade a centimeter. Then it raised again. “What about her? Don’t try to get my guard down like that. Betcha thought by bringing her up you’d be able to escape like a fish once more?”
“Then if you really think I’m so evil, why’re you talking with me like this in the first place?”
Firestorm’s eyes went to the ground. “Because I wanted to know… if when I’d face you, I’d start begging for forgiveness if you said I was wrong. But…” His wide eyes went back to Noble’s, his sword between them both. “Seems like I’m fine.” He exhaled from his nose. “I want to remember you as my fellow Guardian after you’re dead. I can’t bear thinking of you any other way.”
“You… actually believe all those things about me?”
“I’ll simply follow what Faust told you. It’s better for you to die than let the world fall.”
A chill straightened Noble’s spine. “Storm?”
The flame on his blade cracked into existence. Noble felt intense heat wash across his cheeks and eyes.
“Don’t call me that,” Firestorm whispered, both sad and furious. Fiery light flickered on his downcast expression. “We’re not friends. I can’t be anymore.”
Never did Noble think he’d hear those words coming from him. “I love you.”
Firestorm bowed his head. “So did I.”
Noble’s horn ignited. A blue swirl shot across the room. It was his sword, spinning end over end. Firestorm heard the crackle of its energy only a second before it sliced him in half, and he lept into the air. The chromium handle of the blade smacked into Noble’s hoof, glowing several degrees brighter than before.
Noble turned around. Firestorm was in the air, pointing his own sword down at him. His other hoof went across his back and whipped out his other sword, immediately igniting it. He swirled them twice, then brought them down to collide on Noble’s blade. Their orange and blue faces were shining in the opposing colors coming from each other’s weapons.
Noble couldn’t stand the sight of his snarling face. It tore his heart in two.
Rarity and Applejack had to physically hold each other to prevent them from intervening. It was so sudden, so unthinkable, however, that neither of them was sure if it was real. Perhaps this Firestorm was an imposter, or he was being mind-controlled. Or perhaps he indeed did believe all those horrible things.
Applejack wasn’t sure of the truth.
The fight was fast and violent, intricate and colorful. It quickly moved to the entrance they came into, where Firestorm kicked Noble in the chest to make him stagger back. But Noble gave ground on every exchange anyway.
“What are we going to do?” Rarity pleaded. “I can’t just-”
“Yer gonna get killed!” Applejack cautioned. “Best we can do now is look fer Fluttershy on our own.”
“Then how are we going to get out of here?” Rarity followed up with. Firestorm was pressing Noble into the tunnel, and the two of them quickly disappeared into its depths, although flashes of orange and blue still flew out.
Rarity was right. Their only way in or out was through that tunnel. So until they could create a new exit, or the hallway was empty…
“Let’s keep watch over th’ prisoners,” Applejack suggested. “It’s the best way-”
A sucking and draining sound materialized behind them, and Applejack and Rarity, their legs trembling, slowly turned around.
An old priest in royal robes, his creased face half-burned, was standing beside Brimstone like a guardian angel. With a snarl, he swept his head in an arc, and a whip of red energy flew out of his horn and smacked into Rarity and Applejack, flinging them back and making them tumble on the ground.
He jabbed his head at the crystals holding Brimstone’s arm and fired a laser, shattering them. Then he whipped his head to the broken and battered form of Warcane. “GET UP!” he roared. “FIGHT!”
“Ajax!” Warcane wailed, lifting her head slightly to expose her ruined face. “Help us!”
“Get up first!” Ajax ordered gutturally. “You can’t live if you don’t fight!”
Warcane, not daring to look at Rarity, took a tentative step forward as she rose on her other legs. Her backwards knee joint made her stiffen, but by closing her teary eyes and jerking that leg, it bent back into its correct way. Warcane wailed once again, almost falling over once again. But she was once again on all fours.
Meanwhile, Rarity and Applejack were also standing up. Applejack saw Brimstone free of his restraints, ready and able once more. Warcane slowly got into a crouch. And Ajax’s teeth clenched as his metal-plated horn chimed red.
Rarity was already fashioning an amethyst rapier from the ground. But Applejack knew they realistically couldn’t take on all three of them, let alone without her Element.
Boom.
Rarity looked up. It was distant, but it came from above.
Boom.
The cave trembled. Ajax, Brimstone, and Warcane looked up as well.
BOOM!
With a mighty crash and a pink cloud, the roof of the mountain caved in and collapsed in a spectacular rain of rocks and boulders, making all five ponies head for the holes carved into the sides of the wall. The boulders shattered on impact with the ground, bouncing and clattering off each other. Through the hole shrieked a lightning bolt, striking the rocky ground and throwing pebbles in an impact like a grenade. Everypony in the cavern flinched away and, peeking from their refuges, looked up once more.
Rainbow Dash was descending in the new pillar of faint light, carrying a familiar pink pony by her armpits. Around her neck was her own Element and Applejack’s.
Applejack’s chest lurched. She was back! But she looked really bad. Gone was the spark of joy in her sapphire eyes. She and Rarity emerged from their hole in the wall
Pinkie flipped away from Rainbow’s grip and landed on the ground far below. “Remember! Tell Twilight!”
Rainbow saluted and shot up, disappearing in a flash.
With a fluid motion, Pinkie clipped off Applejack’s Element from her neck and tossed it behind her, which Applejack hastily caught. The Element felt warm in her touch. Without hesitation, she clipped it around her neck. Immediately, Applejack’s aches and sores felt relieved. Strength flowed into her legs and head. And perhaps most of all, she felt confident once more.
“Come to save your friends?” Brimstone asked with a sick smile. “Hope you aren’t as weak as they were.”
“Three for the price of one,” Warcane hissed, regaining some of her bloodlust despite her broken horn. “This must be my lucky day.”
“Make peace with your false Goddess now,” Ajax ordered Pinkie Pie. “This is your final hour.”
“Bring it,” Applejack told Brimstone in particular. Her Element glowed, and an orange whip extended from her right hoof.
“I’d be happy to share more with you, darling,” Rarity told Warcane, swirling the violet rapier beside her.
“You’re no fun,” Pinkie bleakly said, crouching.
A moment later, they rushed.
Brimstone and Applejack collided. Warcane’s sparking, sizzling horn shot lighting at Rarity, who caught it along her thin sword edge. And Pinkie leaped at High Priest Ajax with a scream.