After a flash of magic, we end up on a cliff overlooking a valley that was at least a couple miles in size. The valley was full of trees, vegetation, and possibly wild animals. To my immediate right was a cave dug into the side of the mountain. I took in the beautiful sight while I could, since there was a chance it won’t be the same after today.
Everyone got adjusted to their new surroundings as I separated myself from them. I walked at least a dozen feet away from them before turning to them. “Are you all ready?” Celestia and Luna looked like they'd been ready, while the others I could tell were reluctant. “You can back out now. I’m sure Celestia or Luna will gladly send you back. I just need to make sure you’re ready for this.”
I could sense the anxiety and fear from everyone, Fluttershy was visibly shaking but I knew they all were. They just did their best to hide it. “W-well, it’s not like we’ll ever be prepared for a fight. Right?” Twilight said.
“You got a point.” I agreed. “Alright, be on guard and ready for anything. I can’t guarantee he won’t attack right away.” I cautioned.
They all took defensive positions as I turned away from them. “This is honestly gonna be the first time I let him out willingly.” I said to myself. It wasn’t hard to find him in my soul, nor was it difficult to bring him out. The most difficult thing about this was deciding if I should even go through with it. But I already made that choice.
I used my energy to grab his half of our soul and started pulling him out. Energy began to form from my chest, expanding outward until it began taking the shape of me. The energy detached from me and became whole with the figure in front of me. The blue from the energy faded away, revealing another me with a much darker tone of color. The double was looking away from me as it took a deep breath before turning to me, looking me right in the eyes. The double’s expression was very serious and grim.
“Well now…” His voice was slightly deeper than mine and sounded more bloodchilling. I could tell he was making it sound like that on purpose. “...This is interesting. To what do I owe the pleasure, for having ‘you’ let me out so willingly?” He asked with curiosity.
“That’s his alter ego? They look so similar.” I could hear Rarity say.
“Not really, one’s darker than the other.” Rainbow corrected.
“To talk.” I answered him.
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?” He sounded genuinely surprised. “After everything we've been through, you just want to… talk?” He asked. I could hear the suspicion in his voice.
“That’s right. Am I not allowed to have a chat with myself?” I asked sarcastically.
He stares at me as if trying to figure out what my true intentions are. “No… but it is a bit weird, talking to yourself. Don’t you agree?”
I shrug. “Maybe, but I never thought of it that way. You know that.”
He then looks at the ponies behind me, I could sense them all tensing up. “Then why are they here?” He asked.
“Well, they wanted to meet you and also to help me if needed.” I answered.
He looked back at me. If he wasn’t skeptical before, he certainly is now. “Help you? What would they be helping with?” He asked.
At this point our conversation was getting dangerously close to a point that would result in a fight. “With you. But as long as you don’t do anything bad, neither they or I will act in a violent way. I just want to talk.” I answer.
He continues to stare at me. “Is there a problem, Sarius double?” Luna asked.
He then glared at Luna. I know she was trying to help but calling him ‘my double’ wasn’t a good idea. “If you’re smart, ‘your highness’, you won’t refer to me by that name in any way.” He warned, his tone grew sinister.
“And what do you prefer to be called?” She asked, obviously offended that he mocked her title.
“Kasulis. That… is my name.” Kasulis answered. “You better remember that.”
“Kasulis.” I spoke a bit louder than usual to get his attention, which worked. “I only want to talk. I did not drag you out so you could start a fight.”
“Talk…” He repeated, annoyed. “Are you sticking with that excuse?” It was clear this conversation was about to escalate. “If you really want to talk, then talk.”
“What you said in my vision, were you serious or not?” When I mentioned he was in my vision everyone gasped.
“Wait, he was in it?” Twilight asked. “Did he cause something in the future?”
Everyone but me and Kasulis looked at Twilight, who then realized she messed up. I pursed my lips at the fact Twilight mentioned something I wanted to keep under wraps for now. “The future.” Celestia repeated. “Sarius, have you really seen the future?”
“And why didn’t you tell anypony but Twilight?” Luna added.
Kasulis gestured for me to talk to them. “Yes… I did see the future and I didn’t tell Twilight the details. I only told her I saw it and asked her not to mention it to anyone. I just met all of you and I haven’t been in Equestria for more than a day at least. If I mentioned I saw a bad future, you would suspect I have an involvement, which I don’t. Tell me I’m wrong.” I answered.
They went silent, as if they were thinking about my viewpoint. “No… you’re not wrong. But we would at least hear you out.” Celestia finally answered.
“How nice of them. In our Reality, others wouldn’t hesitate to shun or turn on us based on simple accusations.” Kasulis pointed out with a bit of disdain.
No one wanted to comment on what he said. “Back on topic. Answer my question, Kasulis.” I said, getting the conversation back on track.
“Right. Was I serious about what I said…” Kasulis repeated my question. “You’ll have to remind me what I said exactly.”
I was suddenly getting the impression Kasulis had no idea what I was talking about. “Do you not remember our dream?” I asked, not realizing my chosen word term was the trigger.
“Our?” Kasulis repeated with vexation. My eyes widened a bit. “Since when did you consider me a part of you?” I could sense his energy was slowly rising and if I could, Fluttershy could too. “For years, you considered me a villain. An evil version of you. Now you suddenly change your viewpoint?!” He yelled in anger.
I was now certain. Somehow the Kasulis in my dream was a different one from the one in front of me right now. Perhaps, a future version of him. Either way, I had to choose my next words carefully, but something told me it was too late to stop the inevitable result.
“I know it’s hard to believe. I haven’t completely changed it, but I’m willing to talk it out. Please, Kasulis.”
Kasulis’ eyes widened a bit. “You’re… pleading to me now?” He started gritting his teeth. “If this is some kind of joke, it’s not funny.”
“It’s no joke. You told me we needed to become one again for what's to come. Not to mention I made a promise to someone. We can work this out.”
Kasulis goes silent for a minute. “Isn’t this ironic? I remember a certain set of words ‘you’ used a long time ago. You remember what they are?” He asked in a chillingly low tone. “‘You’re not me.’ Those were your exact words! Now you’re going to accept it, after all these years of denying it?!” He roared so loud that me and the ponies behind me were pushed back a bit.
His aura became visible now which made us take defensive postures. “I’m really hoping to avoid a fight.”
“You’re failing pretty badly then!” Kasulis said with anger.
”I should have figured I wouldn’t be able to talk this out. I have to get him to see what I saw somehow. Unfortunately, there’s only one way to do that.” I stared at Kasulis. “Listen closely, don’t drop your guard for a second! He won’t hesitate to exploit it! Got it?!” I shouted to the girls.
“I’m going to break you and finally reclaim myself, Sarius Trusdale!” Kasulis shouted as he charged me.
Kasulis threw a punch at me to which I responded with my own punch. As our fists collided, the amount of power he put behind his punch created a shockwave that pushed the others away. It was a clear sign, he wasn’t planning on holding back against me. However, I fully intended to meet his fist with mine. For a single second, memories and emotions went through my mind. His memories and emotions and if I felt his, he felt mine.
Unfortunately, I had no idea if what he saw and felt were what I hoped for. Although, Kasulis’ eyes widened a bit and he leaped back, he looked at the claw he tried to punch me with, then stared at me with a confused look. I could only imagine what he saw, but if what I saw from him was anything to go by, it wasn’t really much to work with. Still the fact he reacted to something after our fists connected, is a clear sign my idea will work.
Kasulis soon dropped the confused expression and went back to being serious. He inhaled through his nostrils and shot a water blast at me. It was obviously better than a fire breath since he knows we’re immune to fire. I was about to defend myself when an Energtris Barrier appeared in front of me, blocking the water blast. Kasulis was shocked. I looked to my right to see Fluttershy had her hooves up.
“Are you okay, Sarius?” She asked out of concern.
“Yeah. I didn’t need the save but thank you nonetheless.” She smiled.
“So what happened? Your punches hit each other then he suddenly backs off.” Fluttershy inquired.
“Remember when I said I couldn’t come up with any ideas to convince him?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the truth is… I do have a method but it would require me to fight him. And I was trying to avoid that if possible.” I said with a bit of disappointment. “Fortunately though, since he’s engaged us in a battle I can go through with it.”
“Then we’ll help in any way we can.” I heard Twilight say as she fired a magic bolt at Kasulis, through a hole Fluttershy made in the barrier. Fluttershy’s control over the barrier amazed me. He didn’t bother dodging it and it just hit his chest harmlessly. “What?”
“You’ll have to either use different types of magic or hit him with stronger magic. Since he’s a part of me, he’s naturally very resistant to magic. We’re immune to fire so don’t bother with that. Though Celestia’s fire is a different story.”
“What about just bucking him?” Applejack asked.
“That’ll work naturally, but remember a dragon’s scales are tough. And ours are much tougher. So don’t be afraid to hit him hard. He can heal just as fast as me.”
“So what’s our objective? How do you plan to defeat him?” Luna asked.
“Our objective; is to make him exhaust his energy. Tire him out. It’ll be a long fight but it’s the best option. Fluttershy will focus on support and healing. Luna and Celestia, you will be able to hold your own against him but try to give support as well. You two are Alicorns which means you must know plenty of healing and support spells. Twilight, unless you have something that can damage him, you’ll have to be support as well. Pinkie, you can be a good distraction and force him to use his energy. Everyone else focuses on offense but stay on guard. And do not kill him, if you do I’ll die as well.”
Everyone was shocked at that revelation. “How?” I heard Twilight ask.
“He and I are two halves of one soul. I’m the light or good half, and he’s the dark or bad half. A long time ago, I severed our soul in half to prevent myself from being corrupted by negativity. Looking back on it, it was the worst decision I ever made. And I’m paying the price for it again. On that note, if you want to hurt him, try some Light or Holy magic. I’m weak to Darkness or Shadow type attacks so he’s weak to Light or Holy type attacks naturally.”
“And what about the method you mentioned to Fluttershy?” Celestia asked.
I stared at Kasulis who had long ceased his water breath attack and was just growling at us. “Let me worry about that. All of you just need to focus on making him use up his energy, I’ll focus on getting through to him. Now let’s go!” I shouted.
Fluttershy dropped the barrier, Applejack stomped on the ground creating stone pillars underneath Kasulis, who jumped to avoid them. Rainbow took off into the sky picking up speed, Pinkie started bouncing around, and the magic users charged up their horns. As for me, I ran forward and jumped towards Kasulis then did a backflip kick to his chin, sending him further in the air.
Rainbow came flying back and kicked Kasulis in the back. Kasulis let out a painful groan as he was sent flying toward Applejack, who turned around and bucked him square in the chest. I could hear his ribs crack as he let out another painful groan before he went back into the air. Not even a second after he recovered in the air, his wings were hit with Blizzard almost freezing them in an instant, but he easily shrugged it off. Before he could retaliate though, Twilight hit him square in the chest with another magic blast. This time it was way stronger since it actually affected him, but it seemingly took quite a bit out of Twilight. Celestia and Luna followed that up with a combined magic blast that created an explosion when it made contact with him. Kasulis let out another groan as he fell to the ground.
“Did that do it?” Twilight asked.
“Don’t even think it’ll be that easy.” I warned Twilight.
As I said that, Kasulis quickly got up. I knew for a fact that he’s already healed from the attacks. He turned towards Applejack and charged at her. I start running to intercept him as he reels a fist back and goes to punch Applejack in the face. I managed to get in front of him and threw my own punch, making our fists connect again. His eyes widened in surprise for a second but he gritted his teeth, pulled his fist back, and kicked me across the face with his left leg. I was sent flying toward the edge of the cliff but I managed to catch the ground and stopped just short of the edge.
As I was recovering I saw Applejack stomp her hoof, making earth spikes jut out towards Kasulis, but he used an energy pulse from his back feet to push away from the spikes. Kasulis grabs the ground with his front claws and spins around so he’s facing Applejack, then he lunges forward. Applejack barely has time to react as Kasulis shifts his momentum by stopping with his front claws, then turning and slapping Applejack hard across the face with his tail with an audible smack.
She’s sent flying towards me as Kasulis turns to follow up but he’s forced to stop and dodge a downward swing from Celestia’s Sol. He backs off as Luna charges in and attempts to run him through but he sidesteps it. I catch Applejack before she flies off into the valley below.
“Appreciate the save, sugarcube.”
“No problem.” I replied.
“That tail hurt more than Granny Smith’s paddle on the flank.” Applejack remarked.
I raised an eyebrow at her phrase. “Yeah, best watch out for that.” I say simply.
Kasulis looked at Celestia and Luna’s weapons then smirked. “Oh how cute. You have weapons. If you think having weapons is gonna make this easier, then you’ll be in for a world of pain.”
Celestia and Luna both charged him attempting to stab him but he easily sidestepped it, then he retaliated with an energy pulse to Luna’s side, pushing her into Celestia. Celestia was able to stop herself as Luna rolled over her back, Luna then disappeared in a flash of magic as Celestia faced toward Kasulis, who was flying at her. Celestia stabbed the rock and swung it forward with great strength, throwing pieces of rock and dust toward Kasulis. Kasulis started rolling to the left, completely avoiding all the projectiles. As he spun around 270 degrees, Luna appeared above him and started dropping toward him with Mani aimed right for his chest. Kasulis unfolded his left wing as he kept spinning, his wing pushed Luna and her weapon away. Kasulis then grabbed the ground and stopped as Luna landed next to him with Mani in the ground.
Kasulis smirked as he inhaled through his nostrils. Luna created a magic shield just as a funnel of fire shot out of Kasulis mouth. Celestia leapt forward attempting to slash at Kasulis’ neck but he stopped the fire and dodged to the left, then he shot the fire at her. But Celestia was unaffected by the flames, surprising Kasulis. Kasulis stopped his assault as Celestia took another swing with Sol but Kasulis just ducked under it. He then jumped forward and grabbed Celestia by the neck only to slam her into the ground. Celestia started choking as Kasulis tightened his grip. He was so focused on Celestia that he didn’t notice Luna quickly approaching as she stabbed him right through his shoulder.
He groaned loudly as he was forced off of Celestia. Luna forced Kasulis to move away from Celestia as she tried to catch her breath. Kasulis looked at Luna with malice in his eyes. He then noticed her horn was glowing and there was a similar glow on the hilt of the sword. He spun towards Luna, his maw opened wide, Luna’s pupils shrunk to dots thinking he was about to bite her face. Instead his head turned sideways as he bit her horn, surprising her and causing her to scream in pain. As he’s doing this he kicks Celestia, who was getting up, straight in the face with his back left leg, causing blood to sprout out of her nose and fall backwards.
Luna tried to keep a grip on her sword but Kasulis’ strong grip on her horn prevented any magic from reaching her horn. She lost her grip on the sword and Kasulis swung his tail around, wrapped around the sword’s hilt then pulled it out, resulting in a muffled but loud grunt. Still holding the sword, he pulls his tail back and swings it back towards Luna, aiming for her chest. Before it reaches her, a set of blunt rock spires shoot out of the ground right into Kasulis’ right side, pushing him away from Luna and forcing him to release her horn. Since he’s still holding the sword, he swings his tail towards Applejack and lets the sword go, sending it straight at her heart. I jump in front of Applejack and coat my claw in energy, then catch the sword with no damage to my claw.
Kasulis slides to a halt and is about to charge us but Pinkie suddenly appears in front of him, surprising him enough for him to reel back in shock. He gets over it quickly and slashes at her but she dodges it with surprising ease. His expression mimics mine; shock and confusion while she simply giggles. I look at Luna who’s now over the shock. She turns to me and I toss the sword back to her, she catches the sword in the air with her magic instinctively. She seems glad her magic still works, but I figured her magic was only blocked due to Kasulis’ jaws acting as a clamp to prevent magic flow.
When I turned back to Kasulis, my expression turned to bewilderment. The current exchange between Pinkie and Kasulis can be easily summarized as a fight in a cartoon. Everytime Kasulis tried to hit Pinkie, she just dodged with ease and often in a bizarre cartoonish way, giggling and laughing all the while. No matter how fast Kasulis tried to hit her, she’d just defy logic and dodge anyway. I took a quick look at the others and they all shared the same bewilderment.
I shook my head, refocused my attention on Kasulis, and ran at him. He was getting annoyed by Pinkie’s cartoon logic which I knew was a bad sign. With a roar, he lifted his front claws and stomped the ground hard, creating an inclination in the stone and producing a ground-level shockwave that made Pinkie lose her footing. As Pinkie was falling in the stone face first, Kasulis leapt at her, his left claw raising up ready to slash downward. I saw Rainbow flying in to divebomb him and save Pinkie, Kasulis looked in Rainbow’s direction and smirked. Rainbow noticed and tried to break away but she was going too fast. Rainbow’s back hoofs landed in Kasulis’ left claw. She didn’t have a chance to flap her wings to get away since Kasulis grabbed her hoof then swung his arm forward, letting go, and tossing Rainbow into Pinkie. Kasulis pulled his right claw back as he kept moving forward, ready to punch Rainbow. The pair were coming at me so I crouched down to slide under them, and readied my left claw. When they passed over me, I stood up, surprising Kasulis, and had our fists connect again. Kasulis then just stared at me for a good minute before leaping back a couple feet.
He looked at his fist then back at me, practically stunned by something. I can hear the others running to my side, so I spread out a wing, signaling them to stop which they did. Though they were confused and not happy about it, they realized why I did that when they saw Kasulis’ stunned expression. Our fists made contact three times, while he showed surprise the first two times, he shook it off. But this time, he was completely taken aback. He must have seen something that’s making him question himself. Whether or not it’s what I wanted him to see, I still had no idea but this was good progress. The inclination was in between us.
Kasulis looked me in the eyes. “What are you trying to accomplish here?”
“You already know.”
Kasulis’ eyes narrow just a bit. “Are you intelationly trying to show me something?”
“I have no control over what you end up seeing, but I was willing to do this for as long as it takes.” Kasulis goes quiet and looks at his fist again as he slowly opens it. “What did you see this time?”
Kasulis expression softened, which surprised me. “I saw… them.”
“Them?”
He looked at me with a hint of sadness. “Kalia and our twins…”
Everypony was shocked by the fact I had twins but I wasn’t paying attention to them. “Was she sitting down, holding them while talking?” I asked, hopeful.
“No, the twins were in a crib with Kalia looking at them.” Kasulis answered.
“That wasn’t the one I hoped for. But why was that enough to make you stop?”
Kasulis looked at the ground. “Because despite our differences, they are precious to us.”
“You know she wouldn’t want this.”
Kasulis locked eyes with me again. “Since you want to show me something so badly, let’s spar. Just you and me.”
Luna and Fluttershy stepped forward. “Is this a ploy to kill Sir Sarius?” Luna asked sternly.
Kasulis looked at her with a raised eyebrow then he looked back at me. “Did you even tell them how you and I work?”
I let out a sigh. “Luna, remember how I warned you girls not to kill him since it’ll kill me?”
“Yes. Are you saying it works both ways?” Luna asked.
Kasulis smirked. “Well now, she can learn and catch on.”
“Silence Kasulis!” Luna shouted. “If you weren’t a part of Sir Sarius, I would slice off that mouth of yours.”
“Oh, I like a girl with spunk and who ain’t afraid to speak her mind.” Kasulis teased.
Luna kept her glare but the fact she knows Kasulis is a part of me, made it difficult for her to not blush at the tease.
I shake my head. “Alright let’s settle this already Kasulis.”
“Very well then.”
I walk forward then Fluttershy and Luna step back not wanting to be in the crosshairs. I stop several feet from Kasulis, then he and I stare at each other. The wind blows past us as the tension gets heavy between us. The mares and Spike back up a bit more, not really sure what’s about to happen. A rock breaks off the cliff face and lands with an echoing clank, signaling for me and Kasulis to charge at each other. Our fists collide, creating a powerful shockwave that would have pushed the group back if they didn’t already back up.
Whatever Kasulis saw, I doubt he was gonna tell me or show any indication on his face. The message was clear on his intent for our spar; he wanted to settle things between us. We have a lot of bad blood between us that we’ll need to work out, but at least we can start now. He and I did the same maneuver, pushing ourselves into the air and away from each other with a strong jump. Our wings opened and flapped almost in sync.
We didn’t hover idly for long as we flew at each other. I flapped my wings to get the extra height advantage, raised one of my back legs and attempted to do an axe kick on his head. He naturally dodged by moving his head and spinning around to kick me across the face. I grunted from pain but responded by grabbing his tail with my tail claw, then I pulled his tail back and forced him to come forward. I punched him in the face with my left claw, pulled him in again for another punch, but the third time he intentionally moved forward and headbutted me. While this wouldn’t hurt me because of my tough skull, it did rattle my brain and skull, forcing me to let go of his tail. He tried to punch me but I recovered quickly enough to intercept his punch with my own. Not two seconds after, Kasulis moved an open palm towards my chest and was about to blast me with an energy pulse, but I reacted with my own, resulting in a huge pulse that pushed us both back and a shockwave that nearly shook the entire valley.
I recovered and hovered in place, very interested in what happened. “Huh, so that’s what happens when two equal pulses are used against each other. I’ve always been curious about it.”
“Pay attention Sarius!” I heard Kasulis shout as he dove at me.
“Oh, I am.” I dodged him and started flying in the opposite direction.
Kasulis and I turned around and flew at each other then our fists collided again, causing a powerful shockwave that sounded throughout the valley. We pulled our fists back and tried to kick each other, only for our legs to connect. I tried to punch him again hoping our fists would connect but he moved his head to the side and punched me across the face. I managed to grab his arm before he pulled it back and threw him. He didn’t hit anything since we were at least several stories in the air so he just recovered.
I gave him a look of displeasure. “You’re not gonna make this easy for me, are you?”
He smirked. “It wouldn’t be fun if I did.”
I smiled and let out an amused ‘Hmph’. “Fine, then I’m pulling my punches.” I quipped.
“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” Kasulis winked playfully.
As I flew at him to re-engage, I couldn’t help but notice his behavior had changed. I always took Kasulis as the more serious and angry side of me, but seeing him being snarky and playful was definitely surprising. But it was a welcome change since it meant my plan was working. I still had no idea if he saw what I wanted him to see though.
I attempt to dropkick Kasulis, he dodges by flapping his wings but I expected it as I turned in mid-air and fired an energy pulse from my feet. I slam into his chest with my elbow then quickly spin and kick him in the side. I quickly turned to him as he tried to kick me in the back but instead he ended up kicking me in the chest. I grunt as I pushed his leg aside and tried to hit him with a left hook. He moved his head to the side like last time but I stopped the hook and pulled my arm back, elbowing him in the face before he had a chance to punch me back. I turn to him and then punch him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and giving me a chance and time to follow up with six additional hits; three punches, two kicks and a hard tail slap sending him flying.
I flew after him while he recovered and threw a punch at him, he responded with his own and our fists connected again. He then flapped his wings to get some distance then he inhaled deeply. I immediately started flying as he shot a stream of lightning at where I was going to be, but with insanely fast reflexes I managed to barely dodge it. The stream only lasted for a second as he turned and aimed for where I was going to be again. Once more I dodged it, a bit more easily this time since I knew what he was shooting at me. He fired it again, again, again, and again. Each time I dodged it but I noticed how low I was flying. I realized I was about to fly between Kasulis and the group on the cliff, and he knew. He naturally aimed for them and shot another stream of lightning, forcing me to fly in front of his attack. I barely had time to put up an Energtris Barrier to block it.
I gave him a dirty look. “I thought you wanted this to be one on one.”
He shrugged. “Sorry, force of habit.” He tried to sound convincing.
I dropped the barrier and flew up trying to gain speed, all while Kasulis was still firing streams of lightning at me. I then turned and flew around still gaining speed. Kasulis had a harder time trying to fire at me. Eventually I came around him so fast he nearly lost me as I swooped in and smacked him with my tail. He fired off a shot at me but he missed since he couldn’t aim it. I swooped back around and smacked him again. I did this a few more times before flying above him then diving down and slamming into him, tackling him to the ground. A large crater formed in the middle of the valley forest as a large dust cloud shot into the air.
I jumped out of the crater and turned to it. Kasulis followed shortly after but instead he jumped to a tree. He pushed off the tree towards me but I jumped out of the way. He skidded on the ground as I leapt off the branches and down towards him to drop kick him. He grabbed my feet and tossed me into a nearby tree. I felt my spine nearly crack from the force as I almost let out a yell of pain but I only let out a sharp exhale and groan. Despite the pain, I had to jump away as Kauslis charged me and slammed into the tree. The tree fell with a loud crash that sounded in the valley, half of its roots came out of the ground.
Kasulis tried to rush me again but I quickly spun around and performed a spinning back kick, my heel connected with Kasulis’ nose and cracked it. A bit of blood flowed out of his nose as he cracked it back into place. That bought me enough time for my back to heal so I ran at Kasulis. He stood on his back legs and swung his fist down towards me. I made a sudden stop and his fist hit the ground in front of me. I quickly did a backflip and whacked the underside of his jaw with my tail with enough force to push him off the ground a couple feet. Once I finished back flipping I kicked him in the chest hard, his back hit the ground hard and he bounced then landed onto his stomach.
Kasulis got up groaning. “Okay… I deserve that, but it still hurt like hell.” He rushed at me and tried to punch me.
I threw my own punch and our fists connected. “So did throwing me into the tree back first.”
Kasulis and I jumped away from each other then we dashed into the trees. We clashed and fought within the confines of the forest, our hits connected and could be heard throughout the valley. We kept using the trees to reposition and charge at each other. To any who could bear witness, we were practically blurs of red. The only evidence of our battle was the repeating echoing sound of our blows connecting and the rush of wind we were creating from our immense speed. We went from one side of the forest to the other, focusing on nothing else but each other as we continued to spar.
“Wow. Look at them go… is what I would be saying if we could actually see them.” Rainbow remarks.
“I know right.” Spike agreed.
“They’re so fast…” Twilight commented. “If we didn’t see Sarius trade blows with the Princesses I would find this hard to believe.”
“They’re also fighting in a forest.” Applejack pointed out.
“At least we can hear them. Good heavens. The sound of fighting is so uncouth to my ears.” Rarity complained.
“Did we really stand a chance at helping Sarius?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, my faithful student.” Celestia spoke. “You’re only thinking that way because you can’t see them.”
Everypony except Luna and Fluttershy turned to look at Celestia. “Can you actually see them, Princess?” Twilight asked.
“Yes and so can Luna.” Celestia answered. “You’re simply untrained, my young student. With time and practice, you’ll be able to as well.”
Rarity turned to Fluttershy who is staring at the forest below. “Fluttershy darling, can you see them as well?”
Fluttershy can barely see them and she’s so focused on trying to see them, she almost didn’t hear Rarity. “Yes, but barely.” The rest of the Mane Six turn to Fluttershy in shock and amazement.
Kasulis and I flew out of the forest. We both inhaled deeply then fired lightning streams at each other which connected, causing lightning bolts to shoot out randomly. A few bolts hit trees, igniting them, others hit the mountains, one barely missed Rainbow as she yelped. We stopped our attack and hovered in place. Kasulis simply stared at me. I couldn’t tell what his expression was but it seemed like he was thinking about something.
For a whole minute he did nothing but hover in place and stare at me. “Am I the only one being shown things?” He asked.
I almost didn’t expect him to ask me questions. “No. I’m seeing things too but from your perspective.” He looked down toward the ground. “What did you see?”
He didn’t answer and instead flew at me really fast. I didn’t have enough time to react as he grabbed me by the face and smashed me against a mountain behind me. He let go and pulled his claw back, winding up to punch me. I moved my head to the side as he swung at me, his claw punched through the stone. I quickly retaliated with a kick to his abdomen, pushing him off me and the mountain. I rolled over to stand up as he kicked the spot I was at. I give Kasulis a right hook across the jaw then attempt to punch him in the chest. He catches it then returns a right hook and starts pushing me while repeatedly punching me. I move my head back avoiding the fourth one then headbutt him. I force Kasulis to let me go then use an energy pulse to push him back.
As Kasulis and I stare at each other panting, I check how much energy I have left. I have nearly exhausted all my energy. Most of it was used for my healing factor and I suspect the same can be said for Kasulis. This battle of ours was about to draw to a close.
“I don’t have much left in me, and if I know us, neither do you.” I said.
“Indeed. This battle of ours is about to end.” Kasulis agreed.
“Then shall we settle this?” I asked
“We shall and with the end of this battle-” Kasulis started.
“-Our Eternal Struggle can finally conclude.” Kasulis and I voiced together.
With a leap back into the air, Kasulis and I proceeded to continue our spar with the full intention of draining the last of our energy. He and I were smiling the entire time as we were able to fight each other without the desire to best the other. We were simply enjoying the moment. Our movements were sharp and fast, our attacks on each other were strong but not severe. We were making use of the entire space in the valley, both on the ground and the sky.
After some time, Kasulis and I flew at each other with our fists pulled back. With one final swing, we punched each other using all the strength we had left. We then fell down to the ground with a thud, completely spent of our energy and unable to break our fall. Kasulis and I simply laid on the ground where we landed. I felt pain throughout my entire body as I panted. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the mares and Spike getting off the cliff side, making their way towards me.
“You know… You never answered my question.” I spoke in an exhausted tone.
Kasulis didn’t answer and I thought he was knocked unconscious until he spoke in the same exhausted tone. “I believe… it was what you intended for me to see.” I couldn’t really see him but I could hear him rolling over to his side, trying to stand up.
“Did you see a destroyed town covered in ash and unnatural clouds?” I asked.
A brief silence. “...Yes.” He faintly spoke. “And the corpses of your new friends.”
I sat up. “So I was right. That wasn’t you in the vision, or at least not the current you.”
“Yes. You are correct. That was the future me, during the time the vision took place.” Kasulis looked towards me. “I was correct in saying, you and I need to work together. I don’t know what the being we saw was, but it’s clearly a powerful and ancient entity. Perhaps as old as our father.”
The Celestial Sisters along with Rainbow and Fluttershy were the first to get to me, since they could fly. The rest weren’t far behind. Luna and Fluttershy were about to check my condition when Kasulis stood up with a bit of struggle. Everypony immediately took defensive stances around me to protect me.
“Relax guys.” I said as I stood up as well. They looked at me, hesitant to do so. “He and I exhausted our energy, so we can’t fight anymore. Besides, my plan worked.” I smiled. “I got him to see what he needed to see.” Kasulis tries to act quiet and cool like he was still trying to be the villain. I chuckled. “Come on Kasulis. You were never the villain so stop trying to act like it.”
Kasulis sighs and if I didn’t know better, I would swear he blushed a bit. “By Asgorath Sarius, you’re sentimental and naive.”
“Yeah, I know.” I walked past Luna and Fluttershy who were standing in front of me.
“It’ll be the death of us, I swear.”
“Maybe, but for now that’s just who I am.” I stopped a couple feet in front of Kasulis. “And you know that.” Kasulis looked me in the eyes then gave me a genuine happy smile for the very first time since I’ve known him. “Kalia will be upset she didn’t get to see that.”
“Don’t worry, she will.”
“Only one last thing to do” I spoke matter of factly.
“Indeed. Let’s go home. Together this time.” Kasulis stated.
“Dugis us Soulva” We spoke in unison.
Our bodies shined brightly as our bodies turned to energy particles, mine were glowing white while his glowed black, then they combined and mixed together. After a whole minute, my body was reconstructed from the energy particles and the light faded. I stood there with my eyes closed for a bit.
“Sir Sarius?” I heard Luna ask with slight anxiety.
I opened my eyes and turned to look at her and the rest of the group. There were no changes to my appearance as far as I was concerned. I smiled at her. The group relaxed as they smiled back.
Suddenly, I felt a massive wave of exhaustion, pain, and mental fatigue crash over me. The second I felt it, I was already unconscious and fell to the ground. The only thing I saw before passing out was everypony shocked and horrified at my collapse.