Chapter 9 Descendant

I’ve missed it, so twisted
and unsurpassed in my head
This sense of power has awakened in me
I feel like I could take on the world a day like this,
my rage is brewing like a storm

There are those who words cannot reach. If you ever face such an individual you’ll have to make a choice. Will you try to break through the shields they have put up around themselves, to make them see reason? Will you ignore them and carry on with your life? Or will you make an enemy out of them? The choice is yours, although know that you will be judged by the people around you. But as long as you can live with your decision do not condemn yourself.

Princess Celestia was not happy. No she was a prisoner in her own home and it did not feel as if she was royalty, lord of the sun, the wrath of the morning star, reigning cake eating champion for the past 400 years… The titles went on and on, but what could one expect from a life spanning millennia? But back to what was truly important, she was being held in her old quarters, but no matter how glorified the cell was she was still a prisoner. This was not what she had expected when she returned.

It had all started out normal enough; cries of joy, exchanges of hugs with her sister and friends but when she had mentioned Cloud everything had changed. Suddenly the faces of everypony had started to display concern. They had told her that Cloud was evil and that he was responsible for her disappearance, when she had tried to wave their fears away and explain what had really happened they had locked in her room claiming that it was for her own good. What had happened during her absence? Nopony wanted to give her a clear answer. While she was used to dealing with politicians and nobles and their dodgy way of presenting cases and tax reforms she was not used to being denied a clear answer from her guards.

Sighing to herself she turned her thoughts to Cloud, hopefully things were better on his end. Yes it had to be, he was probably safe and sound in the Ponyville area at this very moment. Well if this keeps up it will be more than a couple of days before I can start to repay my debt to him. She thought to herself as she looked out over Canterlot from her bedroom. The sky was full of motion as pegasi zipped about, building a large storm. The setting sun occasionally broke through the clouds basking parts of the snow white city in a golden glow. Luna had done well mastering how to control the sun during the two weeks that had passed. However she would rather had lowered the sun herself this day. Sure it had been a welcome break to not have to do it for a couple of days, but now that she was actually home and more than capable of doing it she almost felt compelled to command it.

One of her personal guards, Light Keeper she thought his name was, entered levitating a tray.

"Princess," he began inclining his head with respect "It’s almost time for dinner so the guards thought you might be hungry."

The guard set the tray down and moved to leave but stopped before he reached the door.

"I just wanted to say that your guard is still behind you ma’am, nothing has been normal ever since that Dreamcatcher mare showed up. But we are still yours to command. Now if you excuse me princess." He said inclining his head again and with that he spun around and left her alone once more.

Dreamcatcher? She had no idea who her guard was referring to. It heartened her though that her guards were still on her side; it was a breath of fresh air in this situation of paranoia.
With a sigh she moved over to the tray Light keeper had left there. The smell of fresh honey bread filled her senses as she sat down to enjoy her meal. Beside the bread there was an assortment of fresh fruit and a small slice of cake.

While she ate she pondered her situation. Hopefully this madness will end soon. I am still not sure what has Luna so spooked but it has something to do with this Dreamcatcher. It was quite ironic really that somepony with the name Dreamcatcher had influence over the princess of dreams. She looked out over Canterlot once more, the sun no longer visible through the heavy clouds. But she could feel it still slowly setting in the horizon.

Normally she would have been on the balcony now watching the fiery orb as it descended. But no, Luna had placed a grade five barrier around her quarters among the “safety” precautions she had taken. While she could break it given enough time, it would be counterproductive to do so in her situation. She gave her tail an irritated flick, causing a ripple through the ethereal strands of hair. They better hurry up and decide that I’m not under some spell, because this is really frustrating.

She sighed to herself and wiped her muzzle with a napkin. The food had been good, no doubt about that. For some reason though it had just felt lacking. It’s probably just due to my mood. She finally settled on, before standing up once more her meal finished. Well not completely finished, she had saved the best bit for last. Allowing herself a small smile, despite the circumstances, she lay down beside her fireplace. Moments later the slice of cake was levitating in front of her, encased in the trademark golden glow of her magic. The cake was soon joined by a book. Opening the book she started reading while a fork encased in her magic presented a piece of delicious cake. Outside her window the rain had started to fall.

Lightning flashed once again, illuminating Celestia’s room for a second. The storm had picked up during the last few hours and she had abandoned her book long ago. Now she just sat by the glass doors leading to the balcony, watching the storm unfold. The heavy rain pelted the windows and her since long drenched balcony. Normally she would have gone to sleep long ago but she still felt restless. She wanted to do something, anything, just not stay in her room any longer.

With a bored sigh she started to rise, she might as well head to bed since there was nothing to do. That’s when the screaming started. Her eyes snapped back to the windows, a huge constellation dragon much like the ursas was rapidly descending through the storm clouds. The ground shook as the dragon touched down and started to spew fireballs over the rain drenched streets of Canterlot. Without wasting a second she rushed for her door.

"Canterlot is under attack lieutenant, gather the guard and mobilize at once." she ordered, motioning toward the dragon that was clearly visible through her window.

"Fog Light head to the lower barracks and rouse any guards that are off duty this is a code crimson." he barked to the other guard by the door.

With both her door guards heading in separate directions in the hallway outside her room she started to work on breaking the barrier. There was not a chance in Tartarus that she would sit by idly as Canterlot and the lives of her little ponies were threatened.

I leapt into the sky, the storm still calling out to me. Within seconds my coat was drenched by the pouring rain but I barely noticed it. My body moved on autopilot, finding paths through the whipping winds. How much of what Dreamcatcher said was true? I flew like in a trance. Soon the only thing I knew was the howling wind, the pelting rain and the rumble off thunder.

The cry jolted me out of my trancelike state and my eyes started scanning for the caller. They quickly found a pony running for his life from a pair of constellation creatures. I locked my wings to my sides and dove, flaring them at last second so that I could touch down safely between the creatures and the fleeing pony. I started to rise to stand on two hooves, and by the time I had assumed a fighting stance my emotions were gone and my muzzle was locked in a humorless smile.

The two creatures appeared to be a diamond dog copy and an earth pony, neither slowing down. Instead they both threw themselves at me. Unlike the previous fight I had in Equestria, I had nothing holding me back right now. Beneath the emotional control brought on by my mask, my anger toward Dreamcatcher and her masters still smoldered. I struck aiming for the throat of the d-dog apparition and was rewarded by the feeling of the windpipe caving in. The d-dog hacked as it tried to draw breath and then dissipated into mist. The earth pony had not been inactive during my attack on the d-dog and now it came charging from the side. My response was to side step while simultaneously striking its head. The apparitions head whipped back but made no sound of pain. Before it could recover its bearings I closed the distance to deliver an elbow strike with all my weight behind into its neck, causing it to dissipate.

Without dropping my mask I took to the sky once more in search of more ponies that might need help. I didn’t have to look for long before a group of ponies running from more apparitions presented themselves. I repeated the process of diving between the ponies and the apparitions once more. And came face to face with a d-dog, two ponies and what looked to be a smaller dragon. This time I attacked first, starting with the d-dog. Before it had time to react I had delivered a snap kick to its abdominal area causing it to double over. I quickly closed the distance and placed one front hoof on each shoulder before driving the knee of my left rear leg into its face. As the apparition started to dissipate I began to turn to face the remaining threats only to receive a tackle from the side.

One of the pony things had blindsided me and now I was locked in a grapple with the blasted thing. The situation was looking grim for me. The problem being that I didn’t have enough knowledge about equine body to effectively break holds and counter efficiently, had the opponent been humanoid it would have been a different story. So here I was on the ground fighting for control with one of the apparitions while another circled around us waiting for an opportunity to strike at me.

Then the goddess of luck seemed to favor me for once as the pony-apparitions grip slipped on my rain soaked coat giving me a small window to act. In one desperate attempt to get my attacker off me threw my head upward. My vicious head-butt caused the apparition to disperse, but before I could breathe a sigh of relief my vision was filled by two spectral hooves bearing down on me.

Reacting on instinct I rolled to the side, the third apparition missing my head by inches. I scrambled up into a fighting stance once more, coming face to face with the third apparition that was preparing to buck me. I quickly stepped out of its reach, my eyes trying to find the dragon apparition in the constant rain.

I didn’t have time to search for long though as the third apparition continued its assault on me. Side-stepping a particularly wide swing, I once more found myself in a familiar position. Following the principles that my teacher had indoctrinated in to my muscle memory through hours of training I unleashed a flurry of strikes mostly aimed to disable limbs and/or incapacitate the opponent.

I released a sigh of relief as my fifth opponent for the night dissipated in front of my eyes. I had grown overconfident and as a result almost lost. If I was to continue doing this I had to learn from this experience. The adrenaline was slowly leaving my system and with it came a dull ache from where I had been tackled. After confirming that the dragon specter was nowhere to be seen I took to the sky once more. I was determined to help in any way I could, but I would have to pick my fights more carefully.

The fight was going badly for the ponies of Equestria and I did not fare much better. In the past hour I had acquired an assortment of different injuries fighting the apparitions. None of them particularly impairing alone but together they made moving around unpleasant. Yet I had suffered worse injuries before, injuries that actually made impossible to move without an aid like crutches. I wasn’t a stranger to broken bones and bruised skin, not even the small cut above my left eye fazed me too much. It’s just something you get used to as a martial artist; injuries come with the life style.

Now where the hay where the Elements? I wondered angrily, letting go of my mask for a few seconds. I knew that I could not go on like this for much longer. I had engaged a multitude of smaller groups since my near fatal encounter earlier. I was starting to learn the limitations of this body, such as reach and the distance I could cover with a single step. But I wasn’t learning quickly enough if my bruised body was any indication of my success. What was worse I was growing tired. I wasn’t used to prolonged engagements such as this one, and my opponents did not suffer from the weaknesses of flesh. They weren’t much of threat in single combat but they never grew tired.

I threw a glance toward the large constellation dragon that had proclaimed himself to be Rage. Smaller spells were fired at the large beast but were stopped by an unseen barrier before they even hit him. Small arcane circles could be seen flaring for a second as the spells were absorbed. I returned my gaze to streets below me as I continued to search for more ponies still trying to escape to a safer part of Canterlot. I spotted the silhouettes of two ponies slowly backing into an alley with three apparitions following them in. Locking my wings to my sides I killed my emotions once more as I dove.

Her normally poofy mane was sagging, heavy with rainwater, as she backed into the alley, Fluttershy hiding behind her. They had been trying to make it back to the castle for the past hour but had kept being diverted by these star-thingies. Now though, things were looking pretty bleak. Her trademark smile was replaced with a scowl as she growled at the aggressors. They certainly weren’t friendly as she had first assumed, no sir-e they were the meanest of meanie pants. One thing she was certain of though, they were going to have to go through her first if they wanted to come near Fluttershy. No pony hurt her friends and no pony hurts Fluttershy! The pink mare thought angrily as the star-thingies slowly forced them further into the alley.

There were three of them in total, two looked a bit like diamond dogs and one looked vaguely like a pegasus. Had she been on her own she could’ve easily escaped them, it would have been as easy as saying candy cupcakes in Canterlot. But she was no fighter she couldn’t just stand up to these things. I wish that Rainbow was here right now, she would be able to deal with these things. She thought as the pegasus-thingy prepared to pounce. I’m sorry Fluttershy. She thought bracing herself for the impact.

She instinctively jumped back only to see a pony slam down, back hooves first, on the evil Pegasus-thing, making it dissipate into dark smoke. As the smoke cleared around the pony its features became more apparent. It was a pegasus, the wings gave that away in an instant, however it wasn’t just any pegasus pony. She knew this pegasus, for before her with his back turned to her stood Cloud. But this wasn’t the Cloud she remembered from the sleepover in Ponyville, no this Cloud scared her. She couldn’t see his face but something felt wrong.

Before she had time to ponder on the situation Cloud had thrown himself into a fast paced melee with the two diamond dog thingies. She couldn’t do anything but watch as Cloud fought the d-dogs with seemingly no emotion in his eyes. It’ll be okay, he’ll go back to what I remember. She thought frantically, hoping that this was all a bad dream. Her eyes widened with fear as she saw one of the diamond dogs land a glancing hit on Clouds head, but it was what followed that truly frightened her. Cloud was laughing.

She was the element of laughter, so she knew better than anyone what laughter was supposed to be about. What Cloud was doing shook the very foundations of her being. It was wrong, that low chuckle without any emotion felt like a polar opposite of all she stood for. No perhaps a perversion of her element was a better way to describe what it felt like. No matter how she would try to make sense of it one thing remained certain, that chuckle sent shivers down her spine and were it not for the rain her coat would be standing on end right now.

With increasing dread she watched as Cloud fought while maintaining that horrible chuckle. Even though he was clearly injured he was winning against the d-dog copies. With a burst of speed he defeated the first of the two dogs making it disappear in smoke just as the pony copy had. His focus turned to the remaining opponent and with a small amount of effort the last d-dog dissipated within the following minute.

For a few seconds Cloud just stood there on two hooves breathing heavily. Then a scream for help in the distance caught his attention and he took to the sky once more, soon to be swallowed by the curtains of rain. For a minute she just stared up into the sky were Cloud had disappeared, something that was very out of character for her, as her thoughts raced. A small whimper behind her brought her back to the alley again. She rushed over to Fluttershy, to see if her friend was okay to continue toward the castle. Cloud had helped them, did that mean that he wasn’t working with the stars? Even if he wasn’t evil as Dreamcatcher had told them he had a very dark side that he hadn’t revealed to her before. Was this what had spooked Dashie?

I was growing weary and it was showing in my movements, they had slowed down even further during the past few encounters. My entire body ached as I struggled to remain airborne while I searched for more engagements where I could lend my skills. And just where the hay are the elements? I thought they would have been employed ages ago! I ranted angrily in my head. Perhaps Dreamchaser had something to do with the absence of tactical rainbow strikes. If she did I could only hope that the girls were bright enough to figure out just what side Dreamchaser truly fought for. Otherwise there’ll be little hope for this city. I thought grimly.

As if to answer my dark thoughts a bright light suddenly flashed in the direction of the castle, but it was not lightning. I turned midair to watch what this new phenomena could be, only to witness a massive ray of rainbow colored light shoot off in a huge arc toward Rage. Yes, eat friendship cannon you overgrown lizard! I mentally cheered as the beam struck the constellation dragon head on. His protective enchantment flickered wildly, but my elation soon turned to dismay though as the shield refused to break, and as the beam ended Rage could be seen laughing his head off.

"Is this all your Elements of harmony has to offer little ponies? I can’t see why Nightmare lost to this. Did she not bother with her shields?" He challenged the world around him as he started to slowly make his way toward the castle.

Nononono! This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen! Elements get used, bad guy loses and then everything ends on a happy note. My mind screamed as I observed the dragon create a path of destruction as it moved through Canterlot. Was it all over, or was there some hidden trump card that would tilt the odds in the favor of the ponies? I couldn’t fight Rage that would be suicide. Even if I weren’t exhausted from prolonged combat already, I couldn’t bring down something of that size no matter how skilled I was in martial arts. I felt despair start to settle in, the Elements had been used but they hadn’t had any effect on Rage.

The storm around me rumbled loudly, making me turn my eyes skyward. The storm was still calling out to me. I tore my gaze from the dark skies above me and back to the abomination I knew as Rage. A crazy plan was forming in the back of my head, well more of a gamble actually. Flapping my wings hard I headed up into the thick blanket of storm clouds, and for the first time during my time in Equestria I attempted to consciously feel the storm, to become one with it, to find out where the next lightning bolt would strike, just like I had felt that bolt that had almost hit Rarity.

So naturally I began to strain my senses, desperately trying everything that came to mind in an attempt to connect with the storm. But no matter what I tried the storm denied me. In rapid succession I experienced hope, anger, sadness and ultimately despair once more, until my emotional state was as violent and fluctuant as the storm around me. Why did I have to fail? Was this the limit of my pride, was this its way of saying that it would carry me no further? I might as well just give up right here…

"Are you going to throw away everything just because the truth is too painful for you?"

I blinked as my mother’s voice rang out in my head. Why was I remembering that now?
I knew this memory very well. It was the day my mother had forced me to stop lying to myself. The very reason I had created my masks in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, I still lied on a regular basis but it was this moment that had forged me into what I was today. I wasn’t an actor, nor was I what you could call a trickster. However I did know exactly who I was, that was the gift my masks had granted me. Behind all the barriers I had raised, my core was secure and that were who I truly was. Before I knew what was happening the turmoil of emotion had settled. Even when you’re in a different dimension you pull me back from the brink huh? I thought as I shook my head, a small smile grazing my muzzle.

In this state of calm I closed my eyes and listened to the storm. No longer was it calling out to me, begging me to throw myself without abandon into the wailing wind and whipping rain. The calling had changed, now it felt more like an invitation, an offer to be a part of something greater. Lowering my masks I exposed the essence of my being to the storm, and the storm welcomed me. Resonating with the blood I had inherited throughout centuries passed, forming a connection beyond my comprehension. I could feel the static in the clouds directly around me, the subtle changes in the howling wind and know where the raindrops would hit my battered body. It was at this point that I finally accepted Dreamcatcher’s words as the truth.

My temper flared for a second as my thoughts returned to the notion of being used like some tool that was to be discarded, the storm rumbled with me. Letting my anger go I steeled my resolve, whether my plan would work or not it was highly unlikely that I would pull it off unscathed. Ears splayed backwards I flapped my wings hard, propelling me through the clouds. My gamble was simple, stupid and quite possibly fatal. I would seek out the lightning strikes in the storm until my body was charged to the limit with electricity and then ram the bloody dragon. I did not want to die and this would be many steps in the wrong direction, but if Equestria did not prevail in this fight I wouldn’t have a way to return home anyway. So I would gamble everything on this one chance.

Taking a deep breath I darted toward the closest buildup of static I could sense. With a deafening bang and a brilliant flash of white I sensed the bolt how the bolt struck me, its energy coursing throughout my body. …I can tell that your nervous system has been put through an incredible strain recently. The words of Swiftmend echoed in the back of my head. Going through with this would damage me and adding more energy than that of one bolt could potentially burn me out from the inside, yet I dared not stop. Throwing caution into the wind I guided myself toward a second lightning buildup. As the bolt struck my body numbness started to spread from the point of impact, slowly dulling the pain my injuries were giving me. I realized that if I was already losing my sense of feeling, seeking out a third bolt was out of the question.

I flapped my wings fast so that I could ascend over the clouds before my motor functions and muscles gave away under the strain the energy was causing. I closed my eyes and drew one deep breath of the fresh night air above the clouds and for a moment I hung motionless under the star filled skies. My eyes snapped open as I exhaled, and then I dove. Once more I plunged into the clouds, the world crackled around me as my descent tore more electricity from the clouds. Using my wings to make small adjustments I locked onto Rage’s hulking figure before surrendering to the numbness that was now spreading faster than ever.

Twilight felt her resolve begin to break as Rage taunted their attempt to stop him using the Elements. She had been so certain that when Fluttershy and Pinkie had finally arrived at the castle that this nightmare would end. But instead the star spawn had just shrugged off the EoH attack. This was their only plan at this moment to defeat Rage and Grief, and Dreamcatcher had assured them that the Elements would work so there had been no need for any other plans. But here she stood now, everything crumbling around her. She could have understood that the Elements wouldn’t work if they had been divided like that time Discord had turned them a few months ago. But to outright cancel the effects was unheard of.

What was she supposed to do now? Try to fight regardless of the situation? Order the girls to retreat so that they could fight another day? She scoffed at the last thought. Where would they flee? The city was overrun and she doubted there was anything left to do. Yet something in her mind told her to have faith, that not everything was lost. They had pulled through in tough situations before and she knew better than most ponies that there was always hope. But what am I supposed to hope for in a situation like this? To wish for a miracle to happen is not only illogical, it is improbable as well. With a defeated sigh she turned her head to address her friends but she couldn’t find any words to say.
She could see her own dejected expression being mirrored in the faces of her closest friends.

She swallowed and opened her mouth once in an attempt to speak, to reassure them that they would somehow pull through, but Pinkie beat her to it.

"Girls I think something is happening, it feels like a twitchy tail but I think there’s more to it. It almost feels like a-"

Was all the pink party pony had time to say before her body went through a series of weird convulsions and morphs all while her tail was twitching madly. Just as quick they had appeared the strange effects left Pinkie, leaving her swaying on the spot as her eyes literally spun.

"Woo that was a doozy." Pinkie said as she shook her head slightly, in an attempt to clear it.

"Well what is the doozy going to be? Please tell me it’s good news." Twilight asked almost pleadingly.

"Oh silly Twilight, if I knew what it was about it wouldn’t be a doozy now would it?" Pinkie said, smiling at her.

"Now didn’t I say this to you the last time it happened because I’m almost certirific that I did!" Pinkie continued in a sing song voice.

"Oh it’s almost like that time when-" the party pony was interrupted by an orange hoof being shoved into her mouth.

"Ah think somethin’s happenin’ Twi." the owner of said hoof exclaimed, nodding toward Rage.

Twilight turned to once more look at the approaching dragon and a second later the largest bolt of lightning she had ever seen shot out from the clouds above Rage. That lightning trajectory doesn’t look natural, it’s too straight and it’s rather slow for lightning. She couldn’t help but think as the bolt reached the dragons shield. For a second the bolt seemed to slow down and come to a halt, as arcane circles flashed over the area of impact. Then the bolt exploded, sending a shockwave of electricity to wash over Rage and the immediate area around him. The barrier faded out of existence for a quarter of a second and then flashed brightly before it started to crack and crumble.

As one they started to concentrate on their elements for another attack on Rage. The process of activating the Elements was a familiar one for them by now, but sometimes Twilight wished that it wouldn’t have to be the case. She resolutely pushed that thought aside without the Elements she would have never met her friends and she couldn’t imagine life without them anymore. By now the air around the six mares was glowing with a bright light as they were lifted into the air by the ancient energies of friendship. Then as they hit their peak of ascension a beam of rainbow colored light shot out for the second time that night. The beam arced over the buildings that were still standing between them and Rage striking the dragon in his chest. Shock played over his features before he opened his mouth in an attempt to say something. But before he could utter a single sound the mighty Star spawn was obliterated into smoke.

Twilight allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief they had pulled through somehow. Now only Grief remained, but hopefully that was a battle for another day.

"How could that not be all of the doozy?!" she exclaimed starting to grow frustrated.

"I don’t know but I think there’s more for us to find out." the pink pony said with a shrug.

Letting out a tired groan Twilight finally conceded herself to the inevitable, whether she would like it or not they were going to find out exactly what this doozy was.

"And what are we supposed to do if we want find out what the doozy is Pinkie?" she asked, already dreading the answer.

"Well duh, we could go to the spot were Rage was defeated for starters. Here I thought you were the logical one Twi." Pinkie said with a raised eyebrow, before starting to trot down the rain soaked street in the direction where Rage had stood moments earlier.

"But that doesn’t make any sense what so ever!" Twilight groaned as she facehoofed.

She felt a hoof being placed on her shoulder and turned her head to see Rarity with a knowing look in her eyes.

"Don’t worry darling, we know. Let’s just follow her so we can get out of this dreadful rain sometime today."

With a final sigh Twilight nodded and then trotted after the party pony, the remaining four following behind her. It took them roughly ten minutes to reach their goal, and when they did they just stopped and stared. All around the rubble of the buildings destroyed by rage sparks of electricity played in the falling rain, giving the area an eerie feel. It was as if the very air itself in this area had been electrified by the massive lightning bolt. Curious about the phenomena she reached out with her magic to try and grasp a bent piece of rebar that was letting off consistent sparks as the rain hit it. Nothing could have prepared her for the shock when her magic flickered and died. What? Why won’t my magic work? She tried again, this time on a brick but the result was the same as before.
There’s no way that the lightning blast could be the cause right? I mean there are ways to create Electro Magical Pulses to temporarily shut down magic, but only exceptionally strong unicorns such as me should be able to produce something this large.
The bolt had clearly come from above, so it had to be natural. Twilight finally concluded.

"Girls spread out and look for anything that could be the doo-" Twilight began, but was cut off as she heard a pained groan from a half collapsed building.

She and the rest of the girls stared as a heap of rubble started shift and move. Out of the bricks and splintered wood crawled Cloud. But this wasn’t the Cloud she had left in the cell hours before the attack on Canterlot had begun. No this Cloud was beat up for a lack of better words. His right wing was clearly broken if the strange angle was anything to go by, his mane was ruffled and filled with dirt from the rubble, he had multiple small lacerations across his body that were all bleeding lightly and he seemed to have a slight limp on his right hind leg. The thing that stuck out the most however were the small sparks running across his coat on occasion as the rain struck him, just as everything else in the immediate area.

Without seeming to notice them at all, he took a step and winced in pain as he tried to put weight on the injured leg.

"Buck my life, I thought I couldn’t feel pain anymore." Cloud cursed before trying to take another step, still oblivious to their presence.

"Buck my life, I thought I couldn’t feel pain anymore." I cursed as pain flared throughout my body, my right wing felt like a massive searing spear had replaced it and the right hind leg was sprained badly.

If the pain in my left side was anything to judge by I had also broken a rib or two in addition to all the other injuries. If I could still feel pain that was good, right? I thought desperately. Oh, who am I trying to fool? The fact that I could feel pain in my broken state was most likely only an indicator of how bucked up my body was.

I groggily turned my head to see who had just made their presence known, only to find the mane six in all their glory with elements and everything. Well except for the fact that they were as drenched by the falling rain, which had slowed to a drizzle, as I was.

"Oh this is just rich." Twilight sneered at me, as she recovered from seeing me here.

"Would you mind not doing this right now? I really don’t feel like arguing right after what I’ve just sacrificed for you." I cut in before she had a chance to continue. I was tired and I felt like crap. I do believe I was justified when it came to being a bit irritable.

"What you’ve sacrificed?! You’ve done nothing as far as I can see!" Twilight growled at me.

I let out a frustrated sigh before I started to turn away from them. Even if I had previously thought well of them that was quickly changing with each harsh word directed my way. They’ve been lied to by Dreamcatcher, but I’m too tired to deal with this crap right now.

"That lightning bolt from earlier was you, wasn’t it Storm?" Rarity asked, making me pause.

Ever an eye for detail that one. I thought when I realized she had made the connection based on our first meeting.

"There’s no way he could’ve have done that he would’ve had to contain the energy of a lightning bolt inside himself to even get-" she ranted before I cut her off once more.

"Look, we can stand here and debate whether I did something or not for the rest of the night, you don’t trust me I get it. What I don’t get is why you blindly trusted Dreamcatcher."

Twilight glared at me and I met her gaze refusing to budge this time. Finally she looked away and I took a few seconds to observe the other mares in front of me. Rarity seemed to be the calmest out of the six, while Twilight stared at the ground and Rainbow glared angrily at me. Fluttershy and Pinkie seemed apprehensive and refused to look at me when they thought I saw them. Lastly Applejack was giving me a contemplative look, as if she was trying to decide who she should listen to.

"Look I’m in no position to fight you even if I wanted too, so can’t we just get back to the castle and try to clear this up?" I asked, as most of my initial anger had already started to ebb away. I was far too exhausted to maintain any sense of anger.

Everypony assembled turned their heads to see Spike come running down the street at full speed coming to a halt in front of his caretaker. The young dragon took a few seconds to collect his breath before speaking once more.

"Twilight, Princess Luna sent me to tell you that Dreamcatcher fled the Castle the moment Rage was defeated. She might’ve been working for the stars all along!"

I opened my mouth to simply tell them I told you so, but before I could form a single syllable a cold haunting female voice rang out from everywhere at once.

"You cannot begin to fathom the grief you have brought me! So now, you will share it, Element bearers!"

Out of the shadow of a ruin building a catlike silhouette started to form, or rather the shadows themselves started to take the form of a large feline. Within seconds a panther like creature made out of swirling shadows and two completely white eyes was staring at us from the shadows. My senses were telling me to run, to get away from the predator in front of me. However my body refused to respond to the simple command of flight over fight. The catlike shadow lifted one of its paws and pointed in the direction of Twilight. From the paw shot a black bolt of energy which Twilight responded to by trying to use her magic for some kind of defensive spell.

Only the strange bolt hadn’t been aimed at the purple unicorn. No it struck the young dragon standing next to her, and as her intended spell flickered and failed her assistant turned to look at her.

"A brother for a brother seems fair right?" Grief taunted before vanishing back into the shadows.

For a few seconds Twilight just stared at her assistant’s lifeless form, her brain most likely refusing to accept what had transpired in front of her. Then all the realization came rushing in over her face as it transformed from shock into comprehension and from comprehension into panic. Until she finally uttered a heart piercing cry, tears mixing with the falling rain.

I myself was in shock; I hadn’t thought that something like this would ever happen in Equestria. My view on this world had been a pure paradise, even with the memories I had gleamed from Celestia my mind had told me that such horrors were a thing in the past in this world. But here in front of me was a heart wrenching scene were all the ponies that I had come to admire from my home back on earth were crying. I could feel my resolve start to crumble as Twilight kept trying to use magic, presumably to teleport Spike and her somewhere where he could receive help.

I had been partly responsible for this. The thought struck like a hammer, causing me stumble as my legs almost gave out under me. If the area hadn’t been affected by my lightning stunt, Twilight might’ve been able to teleport or shield him. So here I found myself, staring at the ground while I tried to desperately tell myself that this was a bad dream. Spike had been one of the few individuals in Equestria that I had gotten along with from the beginning.

Heart not beating? That single detail made the cogs in my start to turn. I could see the electricity on my forelegs still sparking. There was still a chance, a small one, a crazy one, but I had to try. I willed my body to move. Come on don’t break on me yet. Just one more act before I could rest.

I started to stumble towards the crying mare and her lifeless assistant ignoring the screams of protest from my body. My pulse increased with every step as I struggled to suppress the pain from moving again. How had I even considered walking all the way back to the castle? As I reached Twilight’s side I stopped for a second, my pulse was now a crescendo that pounded in my ears.

"I know you don’t trust me Twilight, but please move out of way. There’s still a chance." I spoke softly.

Twilight turned her head slowly to look at me, her eyes filled with tears and doubt. She opened her mouth and for a second I thought she was going to berate me once more, name me the reason that Spike was balancing on the edge. Then she nodded slowly moving to the side. I don’t know what made her change. Perhaps it was something she saw in my eyes, or perhaps she just wanted to take every chance offered. Whatever her reasoning was I was glad. Glad that I now had a chance to try and save the life of someone who still had an entire life in front of him.

"Twilight you can’t be serious! You can’t trust hi-" Rainbow cried out before being slapped in the back of the head by Applejack.

"He was sincere in what he said Dash. He truly want’s tah help." the orange mare sternly told her friend.

I barely heard them argue as I had already closed my eyes and had started to focus on current running through me. In my mind’s eye I imagined the electricity to gather in my fore hooves. I could feel something shift inside me as my pulse rose higher than ever. With a sharp exhale my eyes snapped open and I guided my hooves towards the young dragon’s chest.

It all happened in the span of a few seconds. Spike’s body arched as the electricity leapt from my hooves into him in a desperate attempt to jumpstart his heart. The electricity in my body flickered one last time and then vanished, leaving Spike’s still lifeless body on the wet cobblestones. I hung my head in defeat. I had tried. I had tried and fail- I was interrupted as Spike’s eyes snapped open followed by him inhaling deeply before breaking down into coughs.

"Wha… What happened?" he managed to croak out between coughs before he was swept up in a bone crushing hug from Twilight.

I allowed myself a smile, I had done it. Against all odds I had done it. I rose shakily, thinking that I best allow them some space before we moved on.

I stumbled away from the group; all of them now busy hugging the dazed Spike. The heartbeat that had thundered in my ears was getting quieter rapidly. Thinking was growing harder for each second that passed as I slowly started move down the street. The world lurched.

I suddenly found myself swaying on the spot, everything was spinning and my heartbeat was barely noteworthy. Darkness was creeping into my peripheral vision making it hard to see anything except what was right in front of me. The world lurched again and I found myself lying on my right side, on the broken wing. No… pain. I thought sluggishly. It was becoming so hard to think coherently.

Suddenly something was in front of me, because the world turned cerulean. My eyes lazily traced upward until they came to rest on Rainbow Dash’s face. She was shouting something at me. But I could not hear a thing; the world had gone deathly quiet except for one sound. No longer could I hear the rain or the wind, nor could I hear my own breath. All I heard was faint *du-dun* that kept growing fainter much like an echo that was about to end.

A smile slowly formed on my lips. Rainbow was frustrated over something concerning me. It was almost like the time when I had first met her, and for some reason this amused me.

Of Stars Descending

by Taldaer

Ch 9. Descendant