//------------------------------// // A reason to Fight // Story: Broken Wings // by LuckyBreak //------------------------------// Broken Wings Chapter 7 : A Reason to Fight I was a prisoner once more. This time there was no bars, no cell. The only guard was myself. I was trapped inside my own mind, A prisoner of my dark half, a creature that called itself 'Psychoshot'. Each day a fought against that thing, each day I was beaten down. It had been almost two months since the dragon. A time of suffering as I was forced to see the hateful side of me try to destroy my friendships. To see Page hurt and cry out for me... I needed help, I needed it soon. I was slowly losing myself to Psychoshot as I was forced deeper and deeper into the back of my own mind. He had cut me off from my senses, I couldn't feel my limbs, taste, touch. All I was left with was my sight and hearing. He enjoyed my suffering, enjoyed hearing me silently scream for help to those I called friend. My body was imprisoned, legs shacked together. My horn was wrapped in those weird anti magic rings the guard used on dangerous unicorns. No less than three Archons and ten unicorn guards watched the monster in control of me at all times. I watched my eyes turn to the still form of Night Feather, one of today's Archon guards. “So, You're a cute little thing. How about you an I have some fun? You do owe me for saving you from that dragon after all.” Night Feather glared, “I don't owe you anything. I owe Starshot and you are not him, As much as you pretend to be, you are nothing like that great pony! He earned our respect! HE saved me not you!” Me? A great pony? I don't see it either, you are weak and pathetic. Shut up and leave my thoughts alone, You took my body already so you can at least leave me my mind. You still don't get it? I am you! I am what you always secretly wished to be, powerful, confident! You had the potential to be as powerful as an alicorn but your doubts and weakness held you back! I don't have your faults, That's why you will never take this body back. That's why I will always beat you. My eyes snapped to the opening of the cell door, as the majestic form of Princess Luna and the beautiful Page trotted in. You can do better than a nerd with glasses. No, I really can't. The sight of Page was tearing me apart, her mane was a mess, her eyes red and puffy. I watched as she turned away from my sneering body to the princess. “Luna, please tell me that's a changeling there, Please tell me its an imposter...” “I'm sorry Page, but all of our tests prove it. that is Starshot.” “That thing is not my stallion!” No... Page. you don't deserve this. You cant suffer for me. Gag, how a weakling like you ever won a fight I'll never know. Did you sweet talk them until they gave in? You cant be me, I do not take joy in suffering. The very idea sickens me. Maybe not, but what I am is what you also fear, power personified without the guilt to hold me back. Luna was giving my body an odd look, after a moment she pressed her horn against what was once my head. “Your still in there, aren't you?” “No pretty filly, That weakling is gone forever.” Luna's eyes lit up, her voice became deafening as she bellowed into my mind and the world. “Silence monster! I do not speak to you!” Luna... Help me... “I can hear you my friend, I'll find a way.” She heard me? She actually heard me? Page's eyes lit up, “Luna? he.. he really is in there? Starshot isn't gone forever?” Luna looked back at my body with a frown, her eyes clouded in thought. An odd smile came across her face as she turned back to the mare I love. “I felt the pony we know inside that creatures mind. Starshot is still alive in there but trapped. That thing has him imprisoned somehow.” “Please Luna...” Page's tear filled eyes tore at my soul, “I'm begging you... help him... I cant do this without him...” Do what? Is she hurt? I rattled at the cage of my mind, desperate to gain enough control to see if Page was hurt. To ask her what was wrong. Psychoshot enjoyed my struggles. Luna seemed lost in thought, then she spoke almost as if to herself. “There may be a chance... I can create a mind scape, a world inside a ponies mind. I will have to control it myself so my own mind will not do and I cannot ask my sister. This may take days and she will need to raise the sun and moon for me. What I need is a unicorn of some power... somepony who Starshot considers friend to host us in his mind.” Page almost tripped over her own hooves in excitement, until Luna dashed her hopes. “Page... this will be very dangerous, the host could die. I will not lie to you, Starshot must fight this dark creature for control, the battle could destroy the host unicorns mind. I know how you feel but your just not strong enough to deal with that kind of strain.” Page dropped to the floor, sobbing into her hooves. “I'll do it.” Everypony turned to face the door as a largely built, ash grey unicorn with an insane mane trotted in. Firewall pulled one of his paper rolls from somewhere and lit it with a spark from his horn. “I said I will do it. I have some power and I'm tired of seeing Storm Wing and Winter Sky upset. I don't like seeing my friends hurt... besides, I want my newest friend back.” If I had any control I would have hugged him. The crazy unicorn was one of my closest friends and I was honoured he felt the same about me. Luna magicked up a scroll and quill, with quick strokes of the quill, the moon princess wrote a message. The scroll rolled itself up and floated over to one of the white pegasi guards that filled the castle. I guess I should have learned what they were called. after all, how long have I lived in the palace? Luna smiled at her colt friend, Firewall gave her a wink, then before anypony could react her magic lifted my bound form and slammed it into the floor with stunning force. Even with that thing in control, my mind was almost concussed. Luna's voice shook the castle, the terrifyingly loud power of the Royal Canterlot Voice shaking the very stones. “DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL MONSTER? DID YOU THINK I WOULD NOT GUESS YOU HAVE THOUGHTS TO STOP THIS?” Luna's eyes shone with light, the magic of the alicorn princess erupted from her horn. three beams of light shot forth and linked us all together, three more beams leapt from each of our horns. The magic of Luna connected each of us to two others. There was a weird sensation of being pulled apart as the world turned black. <====0oxo0====> I was not in Equestria any more... I lay on my side staring at the sight before me. Grass plains stretched away into the distance as far as my eyes could see, snow capped mountains ringed the grass fields, broken by strange triangular buildings and a green statue of some bipedal creature holding a torch aloft. Rectangular structures, sheeted with glass, reflected the bright sunlight of the cloudless sky. I pushed myself to my hooves and froze, I was moving my body... Sweet Celestia, I was moving! I danced around, flapping my wings in excitement before muffled giggles interrupted me. I turned with a sheepish grin to the three ponies smiling at me. I sped to Page, all but ignoring my friends as I swept her into a hug. We both sat there in that strange place, crying onto each others shoulders. After a moment Firewall nudged me with a hoof. “As much as I love seeing you crazy kids back together, you have an issue to deal with here. I don't know much about this spell but I'm guessing you have to beat the Equestria loving friendship out of your other half.” Luna gave a frustrated sigh, “Firewall, you stole my big moment again. Starshot, I apologise for the sudden switch. but for you to have any chance succeeding with this, 'Psychoshot' cannot have any time to prepare. We cannot help you here, you must win this fight alone.” “Win? This weakling will be lucky to land a hit on me.” I spun about, my eyes searching skywards for the source of the voice. For the first time, I saw myself as anypony else did. Red eyes, seeming to challenge the world. A coat as black as the night, huge wings. A long mane of rippling silver hair. a long scar over one eye, giving a look of danger. but the look of mine ended there, the muzzle was twisted into a sneer and those blood red eyes stared down at me from with contempt. “You really wish to fight me? just surrender control of the body to me and we can skip yet another beating you took. let's face it, you could not stop me inside your own mind!” My wings spread out, shielding the ponies behind me. he will not get to them. I reached out with my magic to summon my armour, against this monster I needed every advantage I could get. “No little pony, you are not strong enough to wield my power. This other you is, I give the magic of the stars to him alone.” Luna was looking around, something in her eyes seemed haunted. “Alganon? is that really you old friend?” “Ah! little Luna is all grown up, how I missed our talks.” “Please old friend, don't give your power to this creature. he is a danger to Equestria and all around him.” “Luna, still so concerned with those who struggle and fight when the world beats them down. I am sorry but my power will remain with this dark one unless Starshot proves he is worthy. my heir must be freed or killed and I am not convinced the little pony has the will to do this.” Psychoshot sneered down at me, “As I said, he is a weakling. the power is mine and once I destroy Starshot, I will have complete control of all of his power. there is so much he could achieve, the dormant power within that body could rival and defeat that of the alicorn's. but don't worry princess, you will be spared. I will need servants after all.” The impact of my hoof across his muzzle caught Psychoshot by surprise. star powers or not, nopony threatens my friends. I span, my back hooves connecting with my dark halves face with a a loud crunch. my eyes narrowed as Psychoshot slammed into the ground. “I don't care if you are a part of me, I don't care if you are stronger than me. nopony threatens my friends!” Psychoshot pushed himself to his hooves and rubbed his muzzle with a hoof. “So the weakling has some fire after all. there's hope for you yet. unfortunately it will not be enough.” With a flash of silver, my dark half summoned the twisted version of my starlight mail. the shining metal armour seeming to glow with power. the face of that twisted version of me sneered with contempt. with a sudden flash of light, Psychoshot flew at me with a blur of speed. Hooves wreathed in silver fire smashed me from the air. the impact with the grassy field of Firewalls mind scape knocked the breath from my lungs, On instinct I rolled to my right. a stream of sliver flame burned the grass to ash where I had lain but a moment before. Painfully, I pushed myself back up to my hooves and looked up at the smiling face of my dark side. “Do you understand now Starshot? you are too weak to hurt me. you cant even keep up...” I never even had time to blink before the blows connected, ribs broke under the impact of his hooves and I felt my back left leg snap as I bounced and rolled across the grasslands. I lay there, unmoving, staring at the cutest pony I had ever seen. Page stared back, tears in her eyes. “I'm...s-sorry Page..., I'm not strong enough... I failed you...” Luna was nudging Page incessantly as the metal clad form of Psychoshot stalked towards them. “For Equestria's sake Page, Tell him!” Pages eyes locked with mine, her voice was so low I couldn't hear but I read the words on her lips. “I... I'm pregnant, your going to be a father.” Luna smiled at me, “It's a boy Starshot, you're going to have a son.” I... I'm going to be a Dad? I'm going to have a son? My mind was reeling, this was my personal fantasy, to give my own child the life I never had. to give my son a safe world to grow up in, free from the misery I had dealt with. “A child? excellent! I will see him raised in my own image, he will inherit the world I create from this pathetic excuse for a kingdom.” My son... he wants to twist my son into being like him? Something inside me stirred, something old and neglected. from my heart came the true source of my strength. not the power of the stars, not the ice powers taught to me by the Sky Archons. what stirred was the spell given to me by my first love, by the pony who made me who I am. the magic of Sunspot roared through my veins. Finally, the Guardian spell truly awakened. My broken bones pulled together with faint clicks as I slowly stood up. I felt my mane whipped around myself in the still air, caught in its own gale. the grass around my hooves rippled away from me in rings. every muscle on my body trembled with the raw magic roaring through me. This was my son! My child! this mutant monster thinks I would lay down and allow him to corrupt my child? he thinks I would let my boy become a monster? being a member of the Archons, friends, my new family... everything took a second place to the unborn child within Page. I threw my head back and screamed, the raw magic sparking from my horn. I almost passed out as the magic Sunspot had given her life to infuse in me ran wild. Finally, with my whole body feeling like it was burning, a bolt of raw magical lightning erupted from my horn, striking the ground between Psychoshot and my friends with enough force to leave a crater. My dark half turned back to me with genuine surprise, after all he had beaten and broken me in seconds. why would I be on my hooves? What shocked me though was the mare who climbed out of the crater. purple coat with a violet mane, haunting golden eyes looked into my own. The mare smiled at me in such a familiar way, with a smirk, she turned, showing the cutiemark on her flank. a heart, surrounded by a sunburst. “Sunspot?” “Hello silly filly! goodness you got big! I'll speak to you later Starshot, right now I have to speak with your fillyfriend, oh and be a dear and get rid of that thing will you?” Without even a backwards glance, my first love trotted over to Page and before long I could hear giggling. I had to smile, the two ponies who opened their hearts to me, both chatting about the strange buck they fell for. “Sweet but pointless, each one of you will soon be dead. and once I'm free, Equestria will be mine for the taking.” “Back away from them, now!” Psychoshot turned back to me, with a weary sigh the psychotic Pegasus flew over to me and stared straight into my eyes. “Why do you even bother with this? you don't have any hope without the magic of the stars. just surrender the body to me and you can be a part of me.” It was a blow I would always remember, it was a blow many times stronger than anything I had ever threw. with the raw power of Sunspots spell behind me, I spun and planted both back hooves under his jaw. the glass of the structures surrounding the fields shattered from the shock wave. Psychoshot sailed through the air, before crashing to the ground some distance away. “I don't care about the magic of the stars, I don't care about your goals. but you just threatened my unborn son...” The ice powers taught to me by Winter Sky went wild, spikes of ice exploded from the grass around me, many times my height. My eyes closed as the magic of my friends focused inside me. Guardian and ice magic rushed to me as I focused both with my limited control. frost spread from my hooves, shimmering in the sunlight. my eyes narrowed as I snarled at the prone Pegasus, I will fight and I will beat anypony who threatens my son bloody. Psychoshot slowly stood, then spat out a mouthful of blood. the dark Pegasus seemed pleased for some reason. a grin spread across his muzzle as he took to the air. “So you do have some power beyond that of the stars? show me what it is capable of, I wish to see all this body has to offer me.” I never had time to even blink before that streak of silver smashed into my face, sending me crashing through one of the spikes of ice. I rode the hit as Bright Shield had taught me and landed on my hooves. Psychoshot hovered above me, a look of strange happiness on his face. his wings lit with silver light and swept forward. an arc of silver magic swept towards my, I threw myself to one side. the odd magic sliced through an ice spike like it was a hot knife. I launched myself at him, silver speed and starlight strike flashed, the two spells making the sadistic monster dodge my attack and smash me from the air like it was nothing. I struggled to rise to my hooves and before I could even stand, Psychoshot dropped onto my back with all four hooves. something broke inside me and I screamed with the pain. my vision began to dim slowly, the pain was too much to bare. “I want to name him Orion...” Almost whispered, Pages words reached me. it wasn't me I was fighting for, it was not even for Equestria or my family. I was fighting for my unborn son, I pulled everything I was, everything I could ever be together and smashed it into the wall Alganon had raised to block me from the power of the stars. the wall held... I couldn't do it, By myself I'm not strong enough... Before unconsciousness began to claim, me I heard my friends call out to me. to this day I'm unsure if it was a dream but I saw them all. Winter Sky, Storm wing, Firewall, Luna, Hotshot, Redwing... Sunspot. Each reached out to me, laying a hoof on my own, giving me a portion of their strength, their magic. with my friends and my family behind me, the combined strength smashed through the wall. the magic of the stars flowed through me. “The little pony is stronger than I thought, I may have to change my choice of avatar. this pony took the power I removed from him when it was needed... impressive.” I pushed slowly to my hooves, ignoring the pain, my body was quivering with raw magic. Every lesson from Luna, each of Page's tutorials, every lesson learned. each flowed to me. my starlight mail surrounded my body, the usual glow of magic now roaring silver fire. Psychoshot began to back away slowly as my mane and tail were engulfed in the silver blaze. every magic I was forced to bear came to my call, guardian, the ice magic of the Archons, the starlight magic of the last true Dragon mage. it was more than I could bear, I took a single step and the mind scape quaked with the raw power flowing through my body. “Lets not get carried away here Starshot, you need my skill to control Alganon's magic!” I roared with the pain of all that magic, my muscles were on fire. pure agony swept through me as I stared at the pony who had taken my body and stolen my life. “Wait! without me you will never harness the power of the stars!” The fear in his voice was obvious, all the magic roaring trough my body was tearing me apart, I felt my muscles burn, my nerves fray from the strain. With all this power I could stop Nightmare Blaze... but at what cost? It was intoxicating how much power I could draw from at that moment, the raw magic behind me. I could challenge even Celestia if I so wished. one word kept me from becoming a bigger monster that Psychoshot. Orion... My wings spread out, ice magic filling the air with hundreds of icicles. the look of raw terror on Psychoshot's face was horrible to a gentle soul like mine. “Kick his flank Starshot!” The words of encouragement from my friend Firewall, spurned me to action. each icicle lit with the starlight magic tearing me apart from within. two words came from my lips as I finally named a spell of my own. “Starlight Stream.” The icicles flew forward, each moving in a streak of light. each glowing icicle seeming to follow the monster I faced as he tried to run, the landscape was engulfed in a roaring sheet silver flames, seeming to shake as everything burned in the multiple explosions of silver fire. after a minute of glaring flames, the fire receded. the grass was burned to ash, stretching away from my hooves, charred away into the distance as far as I could see. in the middle of it all was a blackened body. Psychoshot lay screaming with pain, one wing burnt away completely while the other was nothing but charred muscle. his skin was split and bleeding under the burns. Luna called out to me, “You have to end it Starshot or we will be trapped here forever.” The horrific burnt body of my once captor lay before me, I don't even remember walking over to him. my own red eyes stared up at me, filled with pain. “P...please...end it...” I reared up, my hooves burning with silver flames. I shuddered from the crunch that came from under my descending hooves. Slowly I paced back to my friends, swaying as the uncontrolled magic within me tore me apart from inside, bloody hoof prints followed my every step. I felt like I would explode from the raw powers tearing through me. Sunspot trotted to me and pressed her horn to my own. the magic seemed to drain away from me as my first love saved my life a second time. her horn flashed and a bolt of magic flew into the distance, striking the odd green, two legged statue with the torch. silver fire annihilated the statue and the buildings around it. Sunspot jabbed me in the ribs with her horn, making me shriek with surprise. “How has my big and brave guardian been? did you miss me?” “Sunspot, how are you a mare? when I died a few months ago you were a filly!” “That was just to save some time, silly filly! would you have believed it was me if I looked like this?” She had me there. as much as I wanted to talk with Sunspot, another mare grabbed my attention. Page stared at my bloody and swaying form, her eyes staring into my soul. “Is it true Page? I'm going to be a dad?” With a smile and tear filled eyes, my true love gave me a small nod. I rushed over to her and swept her up into a hug. “I love you so much Page.” “I love you too, you big, stupid lump.” Luna watched with a smile and gave Firewall a nudge. “Why cant you show affection like that?” Firewall gave a big grin, “One word princess, troll.” Luna swatted at Firewall with her wing. all smiles. Firewall broke into song, “Maybe I didn't troll you Quite as good as I should have Maybe I didn't annoy you Quite as often as I could have Little things I should've said and done I just never took the time Luna is inside of my mind The troll is inside of my mwf!..” Luna had jammed a hoof into Firewall's mouth. Sunspot let out a loud sigh, “Looks like my time is up, take care Starshot.” she pointed a hoof at Page with a grin, “And you, keep an eye on this buck will you? he has a habit of getting in over his head, trying to help everypony.” Page smiled and nodded. The golden eyed mare began to fade, slowly turning transparent. “Goodbye my dangerous looking colt...” Her eyes widened for a moment as my first love almost vanished from sight. “I almost forgot, Starfall and Skyshot asked me to give you a message. you make them prouder every day...” her words were barely a whisper. And with that, she was gone. Page gave me a curious look, “Skyshot and Starfall? I know those names, they were the ponies who died stopping the dragon who almost destroyed Trottingham... why are they sending you messages?” I stared up at the blue sky above me, “They were my parents...” “The son of heroes, looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree!” Firewall gave me that wide smile of his. I gave a sigh, “I'm no hero.” Luna tilted her head to one side, “There is over a hundred ponies that I found who owe you their lives, you saved the life of a sky Archon. you protected Equestrian citizens from timber wolves, diamond dogs and even beat back what could be the greatest threat to the kingdom in Equestrian history... yes, no hero like actions there.” Why was everypony so sure I was a hero?, all I was doing was keeping my promise and helping those who needed it. this time it was me who needed help, my friends all came to my rescue, each came to my aid without hesitation. without them Psychoshot would not be gone at last. I'm not gone. Wait what? you're dead! I killed you myself! Your not very bright are you? none of this is real, what you did was defeat me, the body is yours once more. I will always be a part of you, for now you have control. all I can do is advise and hope you will listen. So your always going to be a part of me? Think of me as your anger, that dark rage that let you kill those timber wolves when you first met Summer. I will always be here, bubbling under the surface... ah, our mutual friend makes an appearance at last. I felt the air begin to ripple as the winds began to bend around something unseen. glaring silver light blinded us for a moment as something revealed itself. filling the plain was the most terrifying sight I had ever seen, the beast was of such immense size that even its claws were bigger than me. I jumped in front of my friends, wings spread. the colossal dragon leaned down and placed its huge silver scaled head on the grass before me. eyes bigger than Page stared with an almost bored expression. Luna pushed me back and smiled up at the silver dragon. “Hello old friend.” It all clicked for me then, I knew who the giant dragon was. a chunk of his skull was lodged in my head after all. “Alganon? you're the dragon voice in my head?” Vast black eyes stared down at me, I'm no coward but I was terrified. it was strange, other than the monster that had killed me I had not met another dragon but I could read something within this creatures eyes. pride. “Little pony, you never fail to amaze me. your bonds are your strength it seems. when any are threatened, you tap into the vast pool of magic around us all. you transcended all challenges I set. I lived for thousands of years yet your raw potential astounds me. with the right catalyst, you could harness all the power of the stars.” I stared into those eyes, feeling like I was being judged for my worth. “I'm sorry Alganon, as much as I want to be some kind of hero... an heir to your powers... I don't want that power, I don't want ice magic or the guardian spell. but I will take them and use them all to protect my son, my mare and my friends. Equestria has guardians much more suitable than me for the job.” “That is what makes you a hero little pony. you do not wish for power and strength. you wish to live with your partner in peace. you will fight if required, that is what makes you special. I, Alganon, the Starlight Dragon, do bequeath unto you, Starshot of Trottingham, all my power.” The great beast breathed out, silver fire roared from the muzzle and engulfed my body. Page screamed in horror, even Luna seemed shocked. oddly I felt no pain, the flames showed me so much. Alganon's magic, one of the most powerful of the Dragon Magi who ever lived, flowed through me. I saw it all, the magic was like water. it flowed, all it needed was for me to channel it, to shape its flow. My Starlight Stream was one way I had created, all that was stopping me from harnessing an almost unlimited source of power was my own morals. I could bring Equestria to its knee's with the raw power I was shown, but all I saw was new ways to protect those I care about. My eyes grew hot as the flames began to force their way into my skull, knowledge and experiences flowed into my mind against my will. I screamed as the knowledge of thousands of years forced its way into my skull. finally, the flames died down, leaving me standing untouched in a sea of ash. In my friends eyes I could see my reflection. dragon like metal plates covered my body, my eyes and mane were engulfed in silver fire, my wings were clad in scaled plate mail, giving me dragon like wings. my hooves, usually shining like a star, burned with fires of starlight magic. Seemingly in perfect sync, both the giant dragon and myself threw our heads back and roared, blasting out roaring streams of white fire. I lowered my head, feeling like I had gone five rounds with Storm Wing. the silver magic of my new armour flaked away, taking the fires of my eyes and mane with them, my strength failed me and I fell back to my side. Luna looked from my shivering form to the colossal dragon. “Alganon? what did you just do to him?” Alganon crossed his claws and rested his head on them, “Little Luna, do you recall I once spoke of my magic as a part of my soul? this brave pony is bound to me through similar magic. one who loved him poured her very soul into saving his life. his horn is a part of me, he has been tapping into my magic when he fights, tasting a little at a time. now the limit is what he calls upon.” I looked up from where I lay into the eyes of that ancient creature. “Why give your power to me? I'm not anything special, just a buck with a rough life.” “That is exactly why I chose to give you power, you have had life beat you down to the point you should lay down and die. any other creature I have met in my existence would have given up, you instead fought back. you took the terrible life given to you and made it something special, you helped those in need, you did what needed to be done with no thoughts of reward. you have no idea how rare it is to find a creature like you.” Page wrapped her front legs around my neck and actually gave the giant monster a cross look, “Keep your claws off him! Starshot is mine!” The dragon actually laughed? Luna and Firewall gave each other a look of confusion. I felt myself smile, then the sheer ridiculousness of that moment hit me. a small unicorn was telling an ancient dragon of incredible power, to back off... I couldn't help it, I tried to stop the laugh from coming out but the image of the glasses wearing librarian, staring down a dragon that big, it was too much! I roared with laughter, getting odd looks from everypony and a light beating from Page. I lay there while everypony watched me laugh my plot off while Page beat me with her front hooves. it took some time but I finally composed myself and pushed Page away as gently as possible. “I... I know I'm not what you wanted for an heir. I know you hoped to pass on your knowledge to the dragon the Nightmare is possessing... I swear on my soul, I will keep your power safe until you can pass it onto one more deserving.” The great beast stared down at me with a sad smile, then just as my magic armour does, broke up into a shower of silver flakes. I watched, unblinking, as my dragon mentor faded away. is this the last we will talk? “I am still here little pony, we will still talk when you need it.” Thank you, I'll need your council in the days to come. Blaze will come and I don't know if I can stop her... “Little pony... Starshot. you have all you need to lay my descendant to rest, what you lack is the conviction. you obsess over your closest friends and your mare friend. you don't see the bigger picture around you. when you see the world as it is you will finally gain the true power bestowed on you..” Firewall looked around with a wide grin, “so we won? this things over?” I smiled and gave a nod back. “Great, I've been dyeing to try this!” Firewall balanced an his back hooves and pulled his front hooves to his left side. “Ka-me-ha-meeeeeeeeeeee...” Luna swatted him with a wing. “Enough of that, we should leave.” The look the lunar princess gave my ash coloured friend booked no arguments. I struggled to laugh as Firewall pouted at Luna, then summoned a table and flipped it over. The princess winked at me and gave a smile. with a flash the world disappeared. <===0oxo0===> The light seemed blinding when I opened my eyes. my limbs felt sore but it was a good pain. being able to feel anything but despair again was amazing. I could feel the magic given to me still, flowing through my veins yet still just out of reach, like an itch I could not scratch. with a lurch, I rolled to my hooves and stretched out. odd metallic sounds made me glance down. the chains... I had been bound with enchanted chains to keep Psychoshot from running loose, somehow I had broken them without even noticing. my eyesight chose that moment to clear, Winter Sky and Storm Wing stood before me, blocking me from the still unconscious forms of Luna, Page and Firewall. Unicorns spread out around me, horns glowing with magic. “Um... private Starshot reporting for duty, captain.” The feelings of hostility around me did not seem to lessen, I gave a sigh and lay down, folding my legs underneath me. “I know you're not convinced its me in here so I'll sit here like this until the others wake up.” Everypony stared at me like I had gone mad, then again everypony thought I was still that sadistic monster. Firewall chose that moment to leap to his hooves, scaring the hay out of everypony. the ash grey unicorn pulled one of his paper rolls out of nowhere and lit it with a spark from his horn. Firewall inhaled deeply then blew out a long stream of smoke, “Ah sweet nicotine, how I love thee.” I smiled as my crazy friend smiled up at the vaulted ceiling with a look of contentment. “Hey Firewall, did Luna explain how long she would be out to you after this? I think we will need her for this.” Firewall gave me a grin. “Not a clue Star, you know as much as I do.” A groan made us glance over to the mares still out behind Firewall, Luna sat up and rubbed her eyes with a hoof, Page woke a moment later, and with speed that would have made an Archon proud, barrelled past every guard and tackled me with a hug. A pale green glow surrounded Page as one of the unicorn guards tried to pull her away. I stomped a hoof down, the Archon magic coming into play. a spike of ice erupted from the ground, the point stopping just under the unicorns chin. My voice was as cold as the ice, “Let her go now, nopony touches my mare.” Winter Sky was giving me an odd look, “Its really you in there again isn't it?” “I can attest to that Captain, Starshot has regained control in no uncertain terms. in fact, if he can control the powers he displayed in that battle, we may just have a secret weapon against Nightmare Blaze.” Firewall gave a grin, The Starlight Archon is back in town!” The what? why did I get the feeling that nickname will stick? Firewall leaned back towards Luna and staged whispered to her, “I don't know how to break this to you princess, but you have a bad case of bed mane.” <====0oxo0====> It was around an hour after Luna had finished beating Firewall, Luna had insisted that I was back to my old self but to be safe I was being brought before Celestia for some kind of final test. The throne room was crowded with guards and the entire force of the Sky Archons. if Psychoshot was in control and tried anything, there was no chance of him escaping. I was impressed with how much care was being taken, even the windows had magic screens covering them. Winter Sky stood next to Celestia and Luna on the raised platform the thrones sat upon. Luna was arguing with her sister about something. “Tia! you cant do this, he is not a threat!” “Luna, you know what his power is, you know what would happen if his other half took control once more.” “Please Celestia. don't do this to him, he has sacrificed too much for Equestria already...” “Luna... I understand but I cannot let this be a threat hanging over us, not in times like this.” I was getting more than a little scared, if what Celestia had planned upset Luna like this then what was going to happen to me? Images flashed through my mind, being banished to the moon, turned to stone. if Celestia considered my magic to be a threat, then she would do whatever was necessary to protect her subjects. I sat at the steps, looking up at the two princesses. Luna looked down at me with sadness in her eyes. I could not read Celestia at all. after a moment the princess of the sun spoke. “Young Starshot, you have suffered so much. you sacrificed everything, even your life and mind, all to protect the ponies of Equestria. that is what makes this so hard.” Celestia's eyes seemed to almost tear up as she laid down her decision. “As much as I hate myself for doing this, I cannot let such a threat to my little ponies continue, it is my decision that your draconic magic's will be sealed away. you will still have access to the magic gifted to you by Sunspot and the pegasi magic you have learned from the Archons. but its my judgement that the starlight magic is far too dangerous to be left loose.” I felt betrayed but I understood, if Psychoshot ever got complete control of me then Equestria would suffer. I bowed my head and closed my eyes as Celestia aprouched, Luna followed he down the steps, still pleading. “Tia, please don't do this! we need him for when Blaze attacks!” “Luna, we have Twilight and the rest of the Elements of Harmony. one young pony will not be equal to their power.” I looked up into Celestia's eyes, seeing sadness and regret echoed back. “I am truly sorry my little pony, but for the good of Equestria, this must be done.” Celestia's horn touched to my own and there was a flash of golden light. my body filled with warm light, then it slowly faded, leaving me feeling incredibly cold. I lost my balance and fell to my side, shivering uncontrollably. Page wrapped her hooves around my neck and hugged me tight. my teeth chattered as I shook. Celestia looked down at my shivering body. “The coldness will pass, it is a side effect of losing such a strong magic.” Page stared at the sun princess, her eyes flowing with tears, “He suffered all his life, he gave up that life to save me. all those years of pain and suffering, all for your kingdom and you do this to him. I hate you...” Page's words cut at me, I tried to speak but all I could manage was a grunt through the shivering. Celestia stared at Page, a single tear ran down her face before she turned from us and slowly trotted from the throne room. Luna seemed shocked, I don't think Celestia had ever had anypony say she hated her before. I was desperate to call Celestia back, to tell her I understood, to explain to Page why it had to be... but all I could do was lay there and shake uncontrollably. <====0oxo0====> Three days had passed, I had been laid up in the medical wing while my body adjusted to the loss of the magic I had held since I was a young colt. the voices in my head had been oddly quiet, both Psychoshot and Alganon had been sealed by Celestia's spell it seemed. my shaking had stopped but I was still unable to talk, my voice was simply gone. The medical ponies seemed at a loss to the reason, on the plus side, it meant I had improved my hoof writing as I wrote out my conversations with everypony who came to visit me. I was walking to the Hall of the Archons, nothing else could be done to help me in the medical wing so I went back to training. “Private Starshot! Front and centre!” There was no mistaking that voice, Winter sky stood next to Lt. Silverheart in front of the lined up Sky Archons. I galloped over and stood before him and saluted. Winter Sky stared down at me, his eyes unreadable. “Private, I have spoken with each Archon involved in the dragon indecent and it is my opinion that something must be addressed.” Now I was scared, with Psychoshot in control I had attacked other Archons, killed that dragon and disobeyed orders. “During that fight Silverheart tells me you displayed skill and teamwork on par with seasoned veterans. however, you disobeyed orders and broke formation to protect a fellow Archon.” What did he have in mind? was I going to spend a month cleaning armour? scrub the halls? a hundred laps of Canterlot? “After discussing this with the Archons I have reached a decision...” I lowered my head, awaiting my punishment. I just hoped it didn't take me away from Page too much. “You are hereby promoted to Corporal.” I looked up, blinking in surprise. “Corporal, you put the life of a fellow Archon before your own. the mission is important but if your team mates die, then there will not be another chance if the mission fails. in my Archons you look after your partner or I boot your flank out. you continue to impress me with your dedication to protecting everypony who needs it, regardless of their strengths.” The thundering of hooves made me look behind me, the lines of Archons applauded me. at the far right of the lines, Night Feather smiled and whispered something. I read her lips with ease. “Thank you.” I tried to thank everypony but my voice was still missing. being mute was tough. We spent the next few hours training in the Archon style of hoof fighting, the way the slightest change of your bodyweight was enough to redirect a strike or send a much bigger opponent sprawling was amazing. Silverheart trained with me as I needed a crash course, though I must say being tossed halfway across the hall by a pony half my size and a mare no less with very humbling. Still, she took it easy on me and my ego took a bigger bruising than my body. Winter Sky dismissed me until dawn. I was tired and hurting but it was a good kind of hurt, I found myself glancing down at the grey band around my leg, the two bands picked out in gold. Corporal... Page was going to explode with excitement when she saw it. I glanced into the library as I passed and froze. Celestia was talking to a lavender coated mare. for a moment I thought it was Sunspot, then I took in her large purple eyes and a straight blue mane and tail with violet and rose streaks. Celestia vanished with a flash of light, I began to turn to leave when a voice called out. “Perfect! just the pony I was looking for.” I turned back and looked at the mare from before, her eyes shone with excitement. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia has asked me to find a way to give you your voice back... you are Starshot right?” I nodded, Twilight smiled and trotted to a nearby table. two light blue saddlebags lay on top. rolls of parchment had spilled out across the tabletop, along with quills and bottles of ink. “If you need to say anything please write it down, I'm so excited to meet a pony with dragon magic! I have so many questions!” Twilight was quite the excitable pony it seemed, I grabbed a quill in my mough and scribbled a message. The princess... does she hate me now? “Princess Celestia doesn't hate anypony... but you does feel guilty.” I want to tell her I understand, that I agree with her choice... but I cant even speak, I cant find the words to say that she was right. Twilight gave me an odd look, “Then why don't you write her a letter?” That was such an obvious thing it had never occurred to me, it took several hours but with Twilights assistance I had a letter I could be happy with. during that time I learned a lot about the purple pony mare, she was the bearer of the Element of Magic... whatever that was, she was Celestia's personal student and a genius in magic. she reminded me so much of Sunspot it made my heart ache a little. It was dark outside so I bid Twilight a goodnight and left for my room, I hoped Celestia would read my letter and forgive Page... Dear Princess Celestia. Today I learned that sometimes to do the right thing you must make the hard choice. You must consider the kingdom before your own feelings even if it means breaking your own heart. I know what Page said hurt you but please understand that she never meant it, she was just upset. I want to thank you for giving me a chance to become the pony I am today. The crimes I was accused of, the dark side of me that killed that dragon... You were right to bind them away, any other ruler would have simply banished me, instead you have taken me into your home, let me join the Sky Archons, helped me find true love. You and your sister have made me happier than I could ever have dreamed possible. I know you must be hurting now for what you had to do, just know that I forgive you. Your faithful subject Starshot.