//------------------------------// // Chapter 38 // Story: War in Equestria: The Tale of Bright Blade // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// Chapter 38:Death The battle had been going back and forth, neither side giving an inch, fighting to the last. The army's numbers had been cut down considerably in the last few hours of the battle; Major Broadside was unrelenting, back-to-back with Sergeant Big Mac. Above them Ballista and her private squadron were busy taking out one winged Daemoni after the other, and at the same time providing support for the soldiers down below. During the course of the fighting the Mage Corp. moved in and started initiating close combat, utilizing teleportation spells and quick-fire magic bolts. Led by Amethyst Star, her platoon was effectively taking out many Daemoni forces, some of the other Mage Corp. platoons stayed back, continuing their long range support, and casting wide range spells to boost the stamina, speed, strength, and endurance of the Aerial and Brawn Corp. Major Broadside was carefully using his war lance to cut down one Daemoni after the other, piercing three in the neck one right after the other, then slashing in a wide arc lopping off the heads of the horned Daemoni that foolishly tried to engage with him. Big Mac used his large broad half shields to block any incoming magic bolts, since the shields were enchanted it made it easier for them to take both indirect and direct hits. Big Mac would use the defensive weapon to smash and ram into ground Daemoni, the red earth pony would chuckle from time to time, the ground Daemoni thought themselves strong and Big Macintosh took delight in showing them just how weak they were compared to him. "Father, do you read me!? Come in Major Broadside!" The Major quickly rammed the blade of his lance into the body of a ground Daemoni; after it disappeared he used his free hoof to quickly tap the Iris Caller crystal. "Sorry Ballista, I was a little busy, what's wrong?" "Our numbers are starting to dwindle father, and the enemy's starting to amass again, overall it's not looking good," said Ballista. "Oh I don't know –!" Major Broadside quickly clothes-lined a Daemoni that was galloping at full speed, making the creature's neck catch at the shaft of the war lance and snapping its neck immediately on impact. "I think things are going quite well! It's a rather nice day, wouldn't you agree!?" Big Mac reared up and used his shields to punch one Daemoni in the head with his left hoof, while bringing his right hoof down like a hammer at the base of the skull of another Daemoni. He then turned to Broadside, panted for breath for a moment, and then gave him a smug smile. "Eeyup!" "Father, I haven't seen any sign of the reinforcements, if we fallback now we can better assess the situation!" "I'm not giving them one inch do you hear me!? Our friends are up there fighting the enemy of the world, and our beloved Princesses! Abandoning them now, to deal with these things, and fight Tikara Balak, that is not going to happen! I know we don't have special powers like they do, won't even dare compare us, but by Epona we will show that our determination and strength of will can topple any would be god!" What Major Broadside didn't know was that Ballista had activated the public broadcast function of her Iris Caller, which meant that the entire army heard his little speech, exactly as she planned. "Thank you Major Broadside." Just then a trumpeting horn sounded, Ballista turned in the direction of the sound. From the valley that cut through the mountain range, emerged an army, at first it was hundreds of thousands of UEA soldiers. But then another army emerged standing beside the UEA forces. Their faces had war paint with a feather sticking out from behind their left ears. They were large beasts, with horns and thick brown coats, snorting and mooing as they raked their hooves upon the ground in anticipation. Ballista smiled widely, it was the Fort Caliburn forces, with backup! "Father, I think we're going to make it!" Upon the valley hill overlooking the battlefield, stood Shining Armor in full battle gear. On his right was his wife, the beautiful alicorn of love, Princess Cadance in a sparkling gold and silver suit of armor. Next to her was the leader of the Buffalo Tribe, Chief Thunderhooves, along with one of his bravest warriors, Little Strongheart. The buffalo were offered armor before the start of this battle, but respectfully declined, choosing to not to be hindered and fighting as true buffalo warriors would. Little Strongheart stared out towards the battlefield; a worried expression darkened her face. "Are you afraid," asked Chief Thunderhooves. "Yes, not for my life, but for the lives our friends, they fight for all of us and yet we cannot offer them aid," said Little Strongheart. "Have faith Little Strongheart, Twilight and her friends are stronger than you might think," said Princess Cadance. "I know that, but I'm still worried." She wasn't the only one, Shining Armor was tense. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was just a bad thought, maybe it was his brotherly connection, but whatever it was he knew that Twilight was in trouble. He had to mentally order himself not to go charging recklessly into battle. Getting killed now won't help, he reasoned. This did not go unnoticed by Cadance, knowing when her husband was agitated was easy enough to spot, for her at least. "Honey, it'll be alright, we're here let's go and help our little sister," said Candance. Shining Armor smiled and the two nuzzled. He then turned his attention back to the battlefield, his demeanor shifting gears. "SOUND THE HORN!!!" The war horns all sounded as one, signaling that the time had come. The Buffalo Tribe warriors all snorted and reared up, mooing with fierceness not many ponies have ever heard. "TO VICTORY!!!" The two armies charged as one, galloping at full speed, the Aerial Corp. forces zoomed off in formation. The air was roaring, and the ground shook, as the thundering gallop of the five hundred thousand strong UEA ponies charged with the four hundred strong Buffalo Tribe warriors. It came as no surprise to the UEA soldiers that the buffalo were pulling ahead of them, despite their large size the buffalo were incredibly fast, their stampede attack style would serve as a battering ram for the UEA. The Daemoni and UEA troops from Fort Avalon looked to the west as the army headed right for them. At this point the Fort Avalon forces pulled back just a bit, knowing that they didn't want to be in the middle of what was about to come. The Daemoni saw the new army that had just appeared, and dimwittedly, rode out to meet them. The buffalo lowered their heads, exposing their finely honed horns at the demon ponies. With a bone shattering crash, the Daemoni, ground and horned alike, were trampled, gored, and thrown about. They stood no chance against the raw strength of the Buffalo Tribe as they cut a path straight through the now ten billion Daemoni still left. They had no time to recover as the UEA troops came up from behind the buffalo and blitz attacked them, launching magic bolts and hurling javelins at them. In the sky above the Aerial Corp. of Fort Caliburn, who was now being led by Spitfire of the 01st Squadron, fired crossbow arrows at the winged Daemoni, dropping them out of the sky! The other half of the Corp. dropped bombs on the ground forces, being especially careful to only hit the black masses, which with ten billion Daemoni was not hard to do. Spitfire was garbed in her armor, with a patch on her breastplate that had the Wonderbolts insignia on it. Spitfire caught site of a flock of three winged Daemoni chasing a navy blue pegasus mare. She dive bombed straight for them, her blades gleaming as she descended on two of the Daemoni, slashing them at the sides and staining the air with their blood. Spitfire then climbed out of her dive and shot back up to take out the third, but that was unnecessary. The navy blue pegasus increased her speed, she then turned around on a collision course with the winged Daemoni. The demon creature readied its steel talons for the kill, but at the last second the mare dropped low and raised her right blade, gutting the Daemoni and flying away before the creature knew what hit it. Spitfire flew up next to the navy blue mare, and gave a congratulatory punch in the foreleg. "Nice moves hon, what's your name," she asked. "Ballista, Captain Ballista. And may I say, I'm glad your forces arrived," said Ballista. "No need, we're all in this together, but why are you flying alone don't you have a team?" "I did, one of my flyers, Cloudchaser, got injured. So I ordered my remaining two to get her medical attention." "You got a lot a guts, I like that –!" Just then an arrow shot between them, luckily missing both the Captains. Spitfire tapped her Iris Caller crystal and looked off into the direction of the arrow came from. "Damn it Soarin how many times do I have to tell you, it's a hair trigger, very sensitive! And watch where you're pointing it too!" "Sorry Spits," said Soarin over the Caller. At that moment a giant roar echoed across the battlefield. Both mares turned to the east, wondering what caused that roar. They watched as ten large figures flew past the mountain range, behind them was a fleet of winged creatures whose identity they couldn't make out. But after a couple of minutes the figures became clearer, Spitfire's jaw dropped at the sight of what she was seeing. "Hon, tell me, am I seeing ten dragons leading a fleet of griffon soldiers," asked Spitfire. Ballista nodded. "Good, so I'm not crazy." Indeed it was true, ten different colored dragons were out in front, growling and roaring as they flew. The dragons then broke off their formation, five stayed in the air and engaged the winged Daemoni, while the other five dive bombed and landed on the ground behind enemy lines, ravaging the enemy with their powerful claws and fire breath. The fleet of griffon soldiers wasted no time and started fighting the winged Daemoni, slashing at them with their swords or just using their own claws as weapons, choosing instead to fight hand-to-hand. One of the still airborne dragons was leading the attack group, remarkably casting spells, and bellowing green dragon fire. This large dragon seemed to spot Spitfire and Ballista; it then started to fly in their direction. "Whoa, okay now!" Spitfire started to prepare her blades for combat, should the dragon prove hostile. Ballista recognized this dragon, his purple scales, green eyes and membrane wings, yes she definitely recognized him. "Captain Spitfire hold on, this dragon is on our side, his name is Spike," said Ballista. Spitfire looked at Ballista in confusion; she remembered this name, during her trip to Ponyville when she oversaw the tornado water transfer. A little dragon by the same name sounded the starting horn at the event. Surely Captain Ballista wasn't implying that this was the same dragon, could she? Spike flew up in front of the two pegasus mares, smiling confidently. "Hey Ballista, nice to see you again, Spitfire, I didn't know you were joining the fight!" "Uh-huh…" was all that Spitfire could manage to say. Seeing the once baby dragon in his now fully-grown form left her speechless. "Is she alright," asked Spike. "She'll be fine, I think. I can't believe you got the griffons to fight with us as well! I didn't even know you went to get them," said Ballista. "I made a little side trip to the Griffon Kingdom, after hearing Tikara Balak's little announcement they were more than happy to help us. I'm only sorry that I couldn't bring more dragons, these nine were the only ones willing to fight," said Spike disappointment heavy in his voice. "Are you kidding me, just take a look!?" Spike did as she asked; the tide of the battle was quickly changing for the better. The Daemoni forces were being pushed back, back into the waiting claws, fangs, and fire of the five dragons. While in the sky the winged Daemoni were being taken out, slaughtered by the droves. "Thanks to everypony here, the reinforcements you brought, and additional forces of Commander Shining Armor, we're going to win!" "Thanks Ballista, but still, this whole thing with the black sun, I don't like it, and I can't shake the feeling that Twilight and Bright Blade –!" Before Spike could finish a series of explosions flared up around the Altar of Calamity, each one colored either black or gold. Following the explosions were many thundering impact pressure waves, all of which came directly from the Altar. Spike, Spitfire, and Ballista watched as this continued, they could only imagine what sort of battle was going on atop that dreaded structure. ***Altar of Calamity*** Bright Blade and Tikara Balak were battling it out in the air above the Altar platform. Their speed and power was incredible, the only thing visible to the untrained eye were two streaks of light, one gold, one black, constantly colliding with each other or crossing the others path only to return back. Bright Blade stormed forward, slashing with Excellion, Tikara Balak intercepted his strike with Umbara. The two magic swords grinded against each other as sparks flew about. Bright Blade broke off from the attack, immediately turning around; he then released Excellion and caught it in the crook of his hooves. He raised the sword up, after ascending, and then brought it down on Tikara's head. The dark alicorn saw this coming, and used his telekinesis to maneuver Umbara to counterattack. Bright was now fighting Umbara itself, parrying the blows, thrusting, and slashing, taking any opening he saw to cut down Tikara. "You've improved since our last encounter," said Tikara. "The first time you lashed out at me I felt no need to dodge Excellion's blade, but now, I genuinely believe that you can injure me with my old weapon!" "You didn't think that was full extent of my powers, did you!?" Bright swiped Umbara to the side and charged forward with a thrust. Unfortunately Tikara gave a strong flap of his wings, propelling him upwards and over Bright Blade. Umbara returned to his side, still being telekinetically wielded. "Aren't we eager to end this, what's the rush? Do you fear for your friends, or are you just getting tired?" Damn it he knows something, I felt Twilight's and other's power increase drastically a few minutes ago, and now it dropped sharply, I can barely feel their presence! Not to mention that weird energy spike and the black sun, what in Equestria is going on down there!? "Seems hardly fair, one Element, versus seven, you have me at a bit of a disadvantage," said Bright Blade. "These Elements are only a reflection of my inner turmoil, a manifestation if you will. But make no mistake, these Elements of Darkness exist within all creatures big and small, so in essence they are connected to every living thing!" Bright Blade shifted his stance in midair, bringing Excellion's blade close to his right cheek, his image reflected in the alabaster white blade. "And so to are the Elements of Harmony, still, creating them– manipulating so many just to create those things, have you no shame!?" Tikara began to laugh boisterously. "Oh this is rich, the absurdity of it all!!!" Tikara then grasped Umbara in the crook of his hooves and flew towards Bright Blade. The evil alicorn slashed at Bright, left, right, side to side, up and down, from one angle to the other, all his attacks had force behind them, creating a localized shockwave that buffeted the Element of Hope. Tikara Balak slashed horizontally from the left, Bright Blade quickly intercepted the attack, the resulting impact reverberated throughout his forelegs causing him to wince in pain. "Stop stalling, I know what you are up to. You think by defeating me you can save them, your friends!? I'll tell you now, my siblings have used the power I gave them to merge into one, hence the black sun! The moment they combined their powers those six mares' chances of survival dropped to zero, they are going to die!!!" "NO!!!" Bright Blade pushed back against Umbara's blade and flew away, putting some distance between them. He let go of Excellion as he faced Tikara's direction, the sword then began to spin till it became a whirling blur. The blur then became a magic circle. Bright Blade gathered his energy into his horn and prepared to unleash it. Tikara took notice of this and matched his opponent. Umbara floated in front of him and started to spin, just like Excellion. A magic circle appeared shortly after; black in color, in the center was a flaming star arching like a rainbow. Tikara's horn shined with dark magical energy, ready to fire. "Magna Blast!!!" "Desolation Wave!!!" The two alicorns fired their beams, one made of golden light and the other of dark magical energy. The two beams collided with each other halfway between them, creating a shockwave that blew out in all directions. They were locked in a power struggle, one beam fighting against the other. Bright Blade willed more energy into the attack, to which Tikara Balak did the same. Both warriors continued to pour their power into the beams, at the center the energy started to build up, becoming a mass. The mass of mana energy continued to grow and grow, finally, after withstanding all it could, the mass exploded in a shower of black and golden mana. Both Tikara and Bright wasted no time, quickly recalling their swords, and readied themselves to unleash their next attack as their respective magic circles appeared yet again. "Shooting Star Strike!!!" "Dark Nebula Slayer!!!" As they passed through the circles, swords gripped tightly between their teeth, they both transformed into a dozen streaking comet lights. The twelve black lights clashed with twelve golden lights, both zigzagged in and around each other, weaving to avoid or to intercept. Mini-explosions and impact pressure waves resounded as the comet lights crisscrossed in the air; the entire spectacle looked as if a colorful web was being woven in the sky. The lights eventually all started to rise higher into the air above, gradually merging into two individual streaks of light. The lights started to take shape, becoming two alicorns, the energy then elongated in their hooves, becoming swords. The two light forms swung their swords at each other, buzzing and crackling sounds coming off of each clash of the blades. After a minute the energy shattered revealing Tikara and Bright. They continued to duke it out, still ascending higher into the air. After a few swings of the sword Tikara Balak vanished from sight, but only for a split second. He then reappeared above Bright Blade and buried the flat part of Umbara in his face. The hit knocked Bright's lights out as he began to go into free fall. Like a lead weight Bright Blade continued to descend rapidly, with no sign of stopping. His altitude was quickly decreasing as the platform of the Altar was coming into view. After a few seconds Bright Blade was starting to become aware of his surroundings, it then dawned on him what was happening. He was only a few feet away from crash landing into the platform below. Bright Blade sprawled out his hind and forelegs, grabbed Excellion with his teeth, and then flared out his wings. Concentrating, Bright called on his magic to create a force wave below him, the pressure from the blast bounced off the platform and rebounded towards him, instantly halting his descent. He floated gently down to the Altar platform groaning as his head still throbbed from the pain. Tikara Balak landed a few feet away from him with Umbara floating beside him, the look on his face silently saying that he was mildly impressed. "Quick thinking, superb skill, and unrelenting determination, were we not enemies I would consider you a worthy rival! I'd like to continue this fight Bright Blade, but sadly play time is over, now recall Excellion and surrender!" Bright Blade used his telekinesis to grab Excellion and have it float beside him as well. "Surrender, I'm still standing Tikara," shouted Bright Blade. "You may be, but they are not," said Tikara Balak. Bright quickly turned his head as a blinding flash ignited from behind him. There, on the ground, lay the bodies of his friends. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight, all still, breathing, but still, in front of them was a tall alicorn mare, Bright Blade didn't know if this thing was real or an apparition. "Six of the Elements have been neutralized brother, we did not know if you wanted us to kill them or if you wished to have the honor yourself," said the being. "No, you did great Eclipse. Come to me; let him see your handy work." Eclipse trotted towards Tikara, leisurely, like it had not a care in the world. For a brief moment, when Eclipse passed Bright Blade, their eyes locked. Bright instantly felt a cold chill run down his spine, as if somepony was trotting on his grave. Eclipse took her place at Tikara's right side, leaving the others alone. Bright Blade took this opportunity to check on the mares. He gasped in horror at their conditions, Rainbow's wings were shattered, AJ's hind legs were broken, Fluttershy was cut up and bleeding, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were beaten and bruised, but the worst was yet to come. Bright Blade released his telekinetic hold on his sword, letting it fall to the ground with a loud clang. Twilight's horn was gone, sliced off at the middle, magical plasma bleeding out from the open wound. Suddenly Twilight started to stir; she lazily lifted her head up and gazed at Bright Blade. He quickly crouched low as to not make her strain herself. Her eyes were glazed over, she looked disoriented. "Bright…Blade…" said Twilight weakly. "Twilight…what have – what have they done to all of you!?" Hot tears started to fall from his eyes, his friends were badly injured, more than that, they were broken and hurting, and he could do nothing to stop it. "Phantasma Sun…Nightmare Moon…they became one…" Twilight was struggling for each word, the wound did more than rob her of her ability to use magic, it also affected her mental processing, making it harder for her to think, a sort of barbaric lobotomy. "Used the Elements…but they didn't work…she's too powerful…the others…they…they…" "It's alright Twilight, they're still alive, I can feel it, I can see them breathing! I should've tried harder, I'm the damn Element of Hope, I was created to defeat him! This shouldn't have happened to you, any of you!" "Don't cry…we…we all knew…what we were getting into…all of us knew that we might…" Bright Blade closed his eyes; he then gently kissed Twilight on the forehead where her armor didn't cover. She watched as Bright Blade rose up and trotted halfway between them, across from Tikara and Eclipse. When Bright Blade opened his eyes he narrowed them, clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth. Bright Blade's body began to glow as his aura erupted. Like golden fire his aura raged, his emerald green eyes shining with intense anger. "TIIIKAAAAAAARRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! YOU ARE DEAD, DO YOU HEAR ME!!!?" Excellion stood erect; the magic sword then flew towards Bright Blade, catching it in his teeth. The raging alicorn charged for Tikara! The evil one also charged for Bright Blade! The two of them then quickly ascended into the air once again, Tikara then took Umbara into his teeth and began clashing blades with Bright. The golden alicorn's attacks were fiercer, more powerful, and full of fury. The two of them broke off their close proximity and flew off in different directions. Bright Blade did a somersault in the air, allowing him to quickly turn around and chase down Tikara, lobbing one magic bolt after another at the target of his hate. It ends here! "FLASH BLADE!!!" Bright disappeared from sight. Tikara looked behind him and saw that Bright Blade was gone, at that moment the golden alicorn reappeared in front of Tikara. Everything happened in slow motion; Bright jerked his head to the left, slashing with Excellion. A streak of white light slowly appeared, Tikara's expression turned from amusement to sheer terror as the light cut through his midsection. Bright Blade managed a smile as he watched the object of his fury being sliced in half, but something was off. Where's the blood, why isn't he screaming in pain, and why is he smiling at me!? It was peculiar, one moment Tikara had a horrified look on his face, the next minute he's smiling wickedly at Bright Blade. The two halves floated in the air for about thirty seconds before they started to fade away. "WHAT KIND OF – *SQULECH*!" Bright lost his train of thought his body suddenly became cold, a sharp searing pain emanated from his chest. He looked down and saw the cause of his pain, the black blade of Umbara had pierced his chest, now stained with red blood. "Nifty little technique don't you think?" Bright Blade glanced over his right shoulder, and there he was, Tikara Balak, unharmed, still wearing that wicked smile. "I call it Last Shadow. I create an afterimage of myself using the free floating mana in the air, part of my consciousness still lingers with the afterimage so it's able to react in much the same way I would. Now if you don't mind, kindly remove yourself from my sword…" Tikara lowered the blade, letting Bright slide off with a sickeningly wet squelching sound. The golden alicorn was in free fall once again, but there was nothing he could do to stop himself. His body was limp, his consciousness barely holding on by a thread. A trail of crimson blood spilled from the gash in his chest as he fell. In just a matter of seconds Bright Blade crashed into the platform with a powerful thud. Twilight and the others felt the impact vibrations. Each of them, painfully, raised their heads to see what caused it. Their pupils reduced to the size of pinpricks as they saw what laid before them. Bright Blade was laying there, blood pouring from his wound, and some trickling from the corner of his mouth. Excellion finally landed beside its fallen master, the normally glowing sword quickly dimmed and darkened, losing its sheen. Twilight's mind was becoming clearer as her body adjusted to the sudden loss of her magic, but at that time she wish it hadn't. "Bright Blade…No, no it can't be! BRIGHT BLADE!" Bright Blade heard Twilight's voice, his head drifted in the direction of her voice. "Twilight, I-I can't see you…" "I'm hear Bright Blade, we're all here right in front of you!" Bright Blade reached out a hoof towards Twilight; it was shaking, trembling as he struggled to lift it. Twilight woozily rose to her hooves, and started to make her way to him. All of a sudden Bright's body began to break down, like sand being blown away by the wind, particles of golden light started to drift away as parts of him began to disappear. It was at his wings, then his tail, and then his hind legs. "This can't be happening, don't you dare die, I'm coming!!" Bright Blade felt no pain, he was vaguely aware of what was happening; the only thing that registered in his mind was gradual numbness. His eyes started to dull, a lavender blob was moving towards him along with a very distant echo. Twilight reached out her hoof and tried to grab Bright Blade's hoof, but as soon as she did so it passed right through. The foreleg then started to break down as well. It only took a few seconds before Bright Blade's entire body disintegrated into particles of light. The only thing left was a smooth stone orb, with Bright's cutie mark etched into it. The orb then began to crack as fissures started to spider web around it. At that moment the stone orb, the Element of Hope, shattered like fragile glass. The six mares had tears flowing down their eyes, mouths agape. The unthinkable had happened. "Y-y-you're kidding me right!? You've nearly had your wing ripped off; shot in the heart by Trixie's spell, and survived getting poisoned by a hydra! You said the Element of Hope wouldn't let you die, so why…" Twilight started breaking down into wailing sobs, the pain in her heart was worse than the throbbing pain in her head, all too clearly did she now understand her feelings toward Bright Blade, a realization that had come too late. Tikara Balak landed on the platform; Umbara's black blade was still stained with Bright's blood. The six mares looked upon him, now beaming with pride; his greatest foe had been felled. The blood red sky started to change; the color was quickly shifting to a dark gray color that spread out in all directions, with the black sun shining in the center. No clouds were present, but then it started to rain. ***Battlefield*** "What in Equestria is going on here," shouted Spike. The sky started to rain heavily as the gray color spread over the land. The cloudless rain radiated something as it drenched all under it, a sense of loss, joylessness, a hopeless feeling. Suddenly the Daemoni all started to bray and growl triumphantly. Their fiery manes all flared up, as if invigorated and empowered by the cloudless rain. They began to attack, no fear, relentless, they attacked. Ponies, buffalos, and griffons were being slaughtered and the dragons were starting to get overwhelmed as the Daemoni started to swarm them, like a plague of locusts they pushed forward, killing and devouring all that came near them. Major Broadside and Sergeant Big Macintosh were fighting more intensely than before, as their forces started to pull back. What the blazes, we had them on the ropes and now it's as if they caught their second wind or something¸ thought Broadside. In the skies Ballista, Spitfire, and Spike were busy providing cover for their fellow flyers, trying to regroup their forces now that the Daemoni had become emboldened. "This can't be good, the battle at the Altar must've gone south or something," said Spike. He stared out into the direction of the Altar of Calamity, with a determined look and snort of dragon fire, Spike made his decision. "Ballista, Spitfire, I'm sorry but I gotta go! They might need my help!" "Don't worry big guy we can handle this," said Spitfire. "Go, help our friends Spike," said Ballista. Without any hesitation Spike flew towards the Altar, not knowing what he was about to encounter. ***Altar of Calamity*** Eclipse and Tikara watched as the sky let loose its deluge of cloudless rain, almost as if the heavens themselves were mourning the passing of the Element of Hope. Tikara looked at the crying mares, the rain water mixed with their tears so none could tell where tears ended and rain water began. "And so it is done, let it be known throughout the land and beyond the seas, for today hope is dead!" …...War in Equestria.....