//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: Life and Death // by Timstro59 //------------------------------// Dashing and Luna continued speaking about his past (what little there was to speak of) and other topics of interest. Luna asked “How are you able to read and perform spells without formal training of any kind?” Dashing replied “I haven’t a clue.” Luna then asked “And about your accent? Where exactly are you from?” He replied “Southern area, mostly rural and agricultural in that area. I spent half my life raised in a mid-sized town and the other half in the country. So I can imagine that I have a strange way of talking.” At that moment and guard walked in and said “A Lyra Heartstrings is here with a package for Dashing Light.” Lyra walked into the room, and bowed. Luna motioned, the guard left and Lyra rose. “What’s the package Lyra?” She replied “It’s a book, Twilight asked me to bring it to you once she found out where you were. The town was in a bit of a panic. Princess Celestia had to step in to calm the town. It was worse than when Twilight enchanted her doll.” Dashing laughed at the thought. “So what’s the book?” Lyra floated the package over to Dashing who opened it up with his magic. “Oh, it’s this one.” Luna looked over and noticed the picture of Dashing on the front. “What is this book?” He replied “I’m not quite sure, but I have an idea.” He opened up to a page with a book marker. “Lyra, you can stay. I have a few questions to ask you.” Said Luna Luna looked over the pages as Dashing concentrated on a section of text. “I cannot read this strange language. It’s written in a very unusual script.” Dashing said, “Good, This text was meant for my eyes only. It seems fitting that it’s in a language only I can understand.” Luna and Lyra looked at Dashing with looks of confusion on their faces, he noticed and said “When I was in the other world I developed a language of my own, and created a script for it. I developed an entire language within the course of a month, simply because I could. I made myself memorize it, not caring that I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone in it. It seems destiny had other plans.” Luna made to ask a question, but was interrupted by Lyra, who gleefully asked “SO YOU WERE HUMAN?!?!?!?” He stepped back a step and replied “I was at one time, but I’d rather not talk about it too much more. Lest I remember what I left behind.” Lyra asked “What did you leave behind? Your fingers?” She smirked. “No, my family was left behind, my friends. Everything I ever cared for, gone.” He started to tear up at the thought of never being to see his friends or family again. Lyra shrunk back, and felt a tear drop down her check too. She walked over to Dashing, who was fully crying at this point, and draped a foreleg over him. “Shh, it’s okay. You have new friends and a new family here. There are ponies here who can and will care for you, no matter what.” said Lyra. Dashing looked at her, and with tears in his eyes, wrapped her in a warm embrace. She returned the gesture, and she heard Dashing whisper into her ear, “Thank you.” They stay there holding each other in an embrace for what seemed like an eternity from Dashing perspective, Lyra made a motion to release and he complied. “I would’ve let you hold on longer, but Bon Bon is the jealous type.” They shared a laugh at the Earth ponies expense. Princess Celestia entered the study and saw Lyra, Dashing and Luna. She asked “Am I interrupting anything?” Soliciting blushes from the 2 former. Luna replied “Nothing happened, just a tender moment between two friends.” Celestia responded “We have some bigger problems. The rift has shifted its location.” Dashing looked at Celestia, “Shifted? To where?” She replied “To the top of that tower. I’m going to send for the Elements of Harmony.” Dashing spoke without thinking, “That’s not going to work.” Celestia looked at him, “What do you mean?” He replied “I don’t know. I don’t even know why I said that.” Celestia shook her head. “It’s our best option.” She left taking Luna with her. “I need to finish studying that book.” Lyra asked “Is this really this best time?” He replied “Maybe not, but this book may be our only hope.” And he turned himself back to the book. After a few moments of studying the rest of the pages Dashing asked her Lyra to go back to Ponyville, spend time with Bon Bon and to stop obsessing over humans. “It’s not healthy to obsess like that.” She replied “What would you know about obsessions?” He shot back “Are we really having this conversation again?” Lyra shrugged, “I need to get back anyway. A new couple just arrived in Town before I left. Somepony named Dark Wing with a white Unicorn mare in town. Her horn was broken.” Dashing replied “That’s got to be the. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING.” mimicking Rarities accent. soliciting a laugh from Lyra, who quickly subdued herself. “Yeah, I was going to talk to her about it, but I’m not sure I can.” Dashing said “Just act naturally. Oh wow, I can’t believe I just said that.” Lyra asked “Why?” He responded “How do you act naturally?” He laughed for a moment before subduing himself, when he felt a terrifyingly familiar tingling on his next. “Lyra, RUN!!!!!!!” Several creatures appeared in flashes of light, the same kind that attacked the party. They started firing bolts of magic in Dashings direction. They impacted a field of energy shortly after. He could feel his next still tingling, he knew this was it. “Do or Die time now.” After taking down the 3 creatures that had blinked near him, Dashing went back to the castle from the Train area and found it under attack. He let lose a volley of magic missiles that tracked and took down at least a dozen of the abominations, but doing little good as there was thousands of them. He took the air alongside the Pegasus guard. Weaving in and out of the fight, shooting magic homing missiles taking down the creatures one at a time. Occasionally one would try to send a missile his way, only to find a hoof in its face from a Pegasus guard. Eventually one managed to shoot a missile at Dashing. He could tell something was wrong when he made to dodge and it changed its trajectory and turned back towards him. His eyes narrowed as he realized that this isn’t an ordinary missile, he threw up a shield wall to stop it, and it passes through with ease. He began to try to fly away from the missile, only for it to get closer to him. Eventually finding its mark in his belly. He was knocked unconscious from the spell and was thrown onto the platform the rift was on. He lied there unconscious for an hour. Eventually waking, groggily asking to nopony in particular “Did we win?” He looked at the battle still raging in the sky, “guess not”. The Pegasus guard appeared to be losing. He looked over up the rift, and cast a shield spell on the platform allowing enough room for a pony to walk along the outside perimeter of the shield. He began calling up every ounce of magic in his body for the last spell he’d ever cast.