//------------------------------// // Battle of the Nyrs Part 2 // Story: Soren The Alicorn Part 2: The Effects Of War // by KingNyroc15 //------------------------------// The Canterlot Caves...once home to greedy ponies who sought the gems that hid within the massive cave system. Now abandoned, the caves are empty and devoid of life, until recently that is. These caves, albeit a maze, were now the base of operations for the Shadow Horses. In hindsight, it was a smart choice for them to pick this particular location, for it is right underneath the very heart of Equestria. Now was time for their attack, now was the time that Night Wing expected Soren to show up soon, now was the time where everything ends. Soren nervously walked through the dank, creepy caves, searching for the area where Night Wing was located. As he trekked through the dark place, Soren was remembering what happened before he came here. After he and Fluttershy went to see their friends, they all had to go meet the others outside the castle so they could ready themselves for battle. At the edges of the castle where everypony was standing, Soren stood side by side with Luna and Rainbow Dash. Without looking at the two, he spoke to them. "I don't want to lose you or any of my friends today," Soren said seriously. "It will not come to that, dear Soren," Luna replied. "We will make sure no pony is maimed or worse." "Yeah, I bet these Shadow Horses won't stand a chance," Rainbow Dash added. "Just be careful, ok?" Soren asked. "I should go. I'll see you all when this is over." As Soren flew off, Rainbow watched him leave. She knew what he planned to do, all of their friends did, but it didn't mean she still agreed with his attempt. Soren flashed back to the present. The caves seemed never-ending. Lucky for him, he decided to come to the caves a little early so he could get a head start. Within a few more minutes of walking, Soren heard a very loud rumbling coming from the surface, almost like a quick earthquake struck the city. 'Sounds like the battle has begun,' Soren thought as he began sprinting through the Canterlot Caves. On his way through the caves, Soren realized that there were no guards or anything patrolling the area. Another thing he realized was that he could sense a bit of magic not too far from his current location. Soren continued to walk deeper and deeper into the caves, and the more he walked, the stronger the magic became. 'Is this Nyra's magic? How could I even sense her magic? Or is she...?' Soren's thoughts trailed off when he saw light coming out of a doorway at the end of the pathway. Soren sprinted towards it and soon found himself within a circular room. He quickly realized that this area was all too familiar. Looking around, Soren saw none other than Night Wing, horn aglow, walking towards him while grinning. Night Wing stopped a fair distance away from Soren, and within seconds, the two started slowly circling each other. Soren saw that she looked exactly like how he saw her in his dream. She had a shortish blue violet mane, a grey coat, and purple and black armor that covered most of her body. "It doesn't have to be this way, Nyra," Soren said. Nyra laughed. "Are you growing soft on me, Guardian?" she asked. 'I know you are,' Soren thought. He was the first to attack. Soren ran towards her and strained to create a total of fives copies of himself. The six Soren's all charged at her, but Nyra was very prepared. As Soren and his copies were about to impact her, Nyra created a small yellow orb and drew it near her. When the orb was in front of her, it exploded outward, creating a wall of explosions that blasted all of the Sorens back. The clones disappeared and Soren was lying on the ground. 'This is going to take longer than I thought,' Soren said to himself as he got up. As Soren looked for Nyra while getting up, he saw that she was about to jump on top of him with what looked like her hooves on fire. Soren quickly rolled out of the way. As Night Wing hit the ground, Soren saw a blast of fire shoot from beneath her. 'Looks like she learned dark fire.' "Even if you manage to kill me, you would still have to fight both of the princesses," Soren explained. "It doesn't matter. Somepony told me that everything will work out in the end if I just follow through with the plan." "Who told you that?" "A stallion who called himself a doctor." Night Wing could see the surprise on Soren's face. Deep down, Soren already knew the Doctor talked to Night Wing, but when he turned out to be correct, Soren still couldn't stop from feeling surprised. "I take it you know him." Soren nodded. "He helped me when I needed to study the Elements to fight you." Soren knew they were both thinking the same thing: Why was the Doctor helping both of them? "I don't know what the Doctor told you, but I do know that deep down you're scared and confused about what you want to be in this world." Soren saw her take a step back as she had a surprised expression. He saw her expression rapidly change from shocked to mad. "You don't know anything!" Night Wing proceeded to shoot a lightning stream at Soren, which in turn covered his entire body in electricity. Lucky for Soren, the lightning impacted his horn. If it hit anywhere else, he would most likely be dead. As Soren was being constantly hurt by this electricity, he began slowly walking towards Nyra while trying to talk to her again. "I know you have had second thoughts about this plan," Soren shouted over the pain. "And I know how you truly feel." "How could you possibly know how I feel? You don't know me! This is only our third encounter." Soren ignored her question and continued to talk to her. "I know you feel scared and worried. You're unsure what to do, but most importantly, you feel lonely." Nyra stood there and stared at the alicorn who was still being slowly brought to the ground by her magic. 'I know he could easily break out of this spell,' Nyra thought. 'So why is he just taking it?' "Fine. If you're so sure of yourself..." Nyra stopped the lightning spell, and Soren fell to the ground. She walked over to the unmoving Soren, and when she reached him, she used a dangerous spell on the two of them. The spell created a purple mist that connected their two horns. Soren recognized the spell almost immediately. "A...Trust Spell?" Soren asked between gasps as he continued to lay there. "You do know...what happens...if you...betray me?" Nyra nodded. The Trust Spell is more dangerous than one first realizes. It connects two ponies together for as long as the caster wants. If one pony were to harm or lie to the other, then the betrayer will go through pain based on what they did. Nyra used the spell on Soren to make sure he wouldn't lie to her. "I do," she said. "Not only do I not want you to lie to me, but I also don't want you to think I'm trying to trick you. You know things you aren't supposed to, and I want to know how." The two Nyrs stared at each other for a minute before before Soren spoke first. "What did the Doctor tell you?" ------------- Meanwhile on the surface, Canterlot was in the midst of battle. Ponies were tackling each other, pegasi were participating in massive dog fights, and unicorns were casting spells left and right. From the sky, Princess Luna was sending spell after spell at any and all Shadow Horses she came across that were not fighting anypony. She refused to risk hitting a pony on their side just to down one opponent. As Luna flew around the great city, a friendly pegasus flew up to her with what looked like a scroll in his mouth. "Have you news, pegasus?" the princess asked. The pony took the scroll from his mouth and handed it to her. "Yes, Your Highness. It is from Princess Celestia." Luna immediately opened the scroll and began reading to herself. Dearest Sister, I do not know where in Canterlot you are right now but I hope this reaches you quickly. A few guards and regular ponies are injured, but there are no casualties so far. I also have seen no major damages to the city. We have managed to fight this battle with all our might and magic, and now a small portion of their forces are beginning to retreat. I have already sent Twilight and her friends to seek out Soren and to help him in his battle with the Nightmare Guardian. When this is over, hopefully nothing like this will ever happen again. Your Dearest Sister, Celestia "Thank you, messenger. Fly back and help your brothers and sisters in combat." The pegasus nodded and flew back towards the ground to fight any enemies. Luna looked towards the mountain that Canterlot was built upon. The entrance to the Canterlot Caves was on the side of the mountain. 'I hope you are safe, Soren. Please be victorious.' -------------------- Canterlot Caves -------------------- 'This conversation with Nyra is going nowhere!' Soren thought. 'She is still too stubborn to listen to reason.' After she cast the Trust Spell on them and told him what the Doctor said to her, Soren tried to convince her that there was good in her. Apparently the Doctor visited her and persuaded Nyra to continue with this battle plan. He said that if she does this then she will find somepony who will care about her. Nyra had asked Soren how she could possibly be good, especially after nearly killing me and capturing the princess. Soren explained to her that in time she will be forgiven by enough ponies. Obviously she didn't believe him and then started to get angry again. As of now, Nyra stopped the Trust Spell then shot a lightning bolt at Soren. The impact was so strong that it sent him flying across the room, causing him to slam against the cave wall. Soren just stayed there on the ground, never looking up. "Are you already finished?" Nyra asked from halfway across the room. She swore she could hear something after asking that. She took a few steps closer and realized that she could hear laughing and that it was coming from Soren. The white alicorn slowly got up, and the laughing was more audible. This laughing wouldn't be heard if somepony told a joke, this was something different. "Well, Nyra, I tried to be nice," Soren said in a disturbingly calm tone. Nyra readied herself, but what came next surprised her, for she would never expect an opponent to do this in the middle of a fight. Nyra found herself stunned as she witnessed this event. "This appeared as a moral dilemma ‘cause at first It was weird though I swore to eliminate the worst Of the plague that devoured everypony it’s true I was vague on the “how” - so how can it be that you Have shown me the light It's a brand new day And the sun is high All the birds are singing That you're gonna die How I hesitated Now I wonder why It’s a brand new day All the time that you beat me unconscious I forgive All your crimes incomplete - listen, honestly I'll live Mr. Cool, Mr. Right, Mr. Know-It-All is through Now the future's so bright and I owe it all to you Who showed me the light It's a brand new me I got no remorse Now the water's rising But I know the course I'm gonna shock the world Gonna show this horse It's a brand new day And Luna will see the evil me Not a joke, not a dork, not a failure And she may cry but her tears will dry When I hand her the keys to a shiny new Equestria It's a brand new day Yeah the sun is high All the angels sing Because you're gonna die Go ahead and laugh Yeah I'm a funny guy Tell everyone goodbye… It’s a brand new day"