//------------------------------// // Sparklers // Story: Autumn // by canonkiller //------------------------------// Discord was wedged painfully between Spike talons as the dragon glared down through hate-filled eyes. The spirit was terrified and slightly embarassed - he hadn't screamed for decades, at least, not in terror - and his life could be ended at the merest flick of a claw. "Hear me out!" He yelled, rubbing his hands together nervously. "If you kill me, she'll... well, she won't die, but she won't care about ANYTHING. It'll be like a full-body numbness. She'll break her leg and not even notice until somepony sees it bend the wrong way and dragging on the ground. You've got to help me!" The claws lifted slightly, letting the pinned draconequus breath a little bit easier. "I'm not doing this for your son, or you. I'm doing this for Sunrise." He took a deep breath, snorting a plume of smoke. "What do you need?" Discord stifled a nervous laugh, and petted the missing hairs on his tail. "Well, I lied. I don't need a book." Pivoting back towards his previous personality, he struck a pose. "The fate of Equestria is in your claws!" The nervous laughter stopped at Spike's glare. The purple dragon grabbed Discord by the tail and started stalking out of the cave. The dragon that Discord had last seen as a mere hatchling had grown considerably in the last hundred-odd years. His scales were sleek, and shone in a way that made it seem impossible that they had once been dull. Of course, his sheathed claws had been shown to be dangerous, and the tooth-filled maw holding Discord's tail was kind of nerve-wracking, but they were travelling faster than any other mode of non-teleportation. The draconequus, however, greatly disliked being held upside down against his will. It was not a very pleasant experience. And in the cosmic sort of way karma finds hilarious, what they were about to see cresting the horizon was not much better. Spike's wingbeats grew stronger, pushing him far past the speed he should have been able to go. The air streched around, and for a second Discord thought they were about to pull off a sonic dragonboom, before Spike's angry roar filled the sky and his claws dug into the ground. It was oddly beautiful. This was not a thought that would have crossed Obsidian's mind in the normal circumstance, but trapped inside his own body with no means of control, it was peaceful. The sky, once a shimmery dawn pink-orange, was coated in thick grey fog, the random lances of light flickering through mesmerizing when one could look at them instead of the ground that was now littered with- No, this was not a thought Obsidian was allowed to contemplate. The great power now possesing his body cut the train tracks short, sending the engine hurtling into neverending space and leaving Obsidian's huddled spirit back on the thought of how pretty it was, leaving no remnants of speculation of what had just happened. It was oddly beautiful. The sky, flickering in the smoke pluming from the fires of his - The sky, flickering in the fog, felt warm on his skin, almost as warm as the burning wood that he - "Would you shut up? I'm trying to concentrate." Obsidian's spirit reeled in fright at the sudden ability to hear, before realizing the power in his body wanted him to be quiet. I like being thoughtful. See, it's so pretty, now that everything I love is going down in fla - "I said shut up! Do you want me to make you braindead as well?" No, that would not be nice. I'll be quiet. Mostly. "Start now, then." Okay. Oh sorry, I forgot, I'm still thinking, sorry - The creature that was once Obsidian rolled it's eyes and continued stalking through the burning fragments of the dome. There would be bodies, corpses, really, but if there were some still alive, burning under the wreckage, he should at least cut their agony short. He was quite happy that he was not the benovelent spirit, like his sister, and did occasionally wonder how she survived without any maiming. Pushing Obsidian's feeble spirit into the deepest cores, he looked around, slitting his eyes against the ash blowing in his face. Nothing had to seriously think about how stupid these ponies must have been to not fireproof their homes. It was the first spell any unicorn learned - other than basic telekinesis - especially those along the dragon borders or who would raise a hatchling, like Twilight Sparkle did. Ugh. He loathed that unicorn. No, stay on track. You're here to kill survivors. What are you going to do if you find Sunrise? The power paused, kicking a small peice of tent away from Obsidian's senstive hoof. "There is no need to worry about that. I have no fear in knowing that your pitiful father will soon be returning, and will attempt to defeat me." What if he does? Will I be in control again, or will I die with you? "That's not your problem." Nothing growled, and sent another train spiralling into shadow. "Now please, let me kill something without your incessent babbling!" The not-Obsidian froze as a loud whistling sound came from the other side of the smoky roof. Spinning to one side, he drew back his lips and hissed, glaring at the foggy blanket. The flame pulse hit down right where he had been before, and the dragon - carrying it's reluctant passenger, slammed into the earth. Pivoting to face the demonic creature, Spike narrowed his eyes and roared. Nothing looked like he was about to go primal and fling himself at Spike's face, but regained control and stood up, brushing soot from his front paws and letting his snarl drop into a simply dissatisfied frown. "Must we be so aggrivated?" Spike's eyes narrowed further, but he fanned his wings to clear some smoke and sat down. "What have you done to the town? To Ponyville?" "Is it not obvious? I set it on fire, you retarded reptile. That would be why you're sitting amid burning wreckage instead of cute little pastel houses." The not-Obsidian made a gagging face, before rolling his eyes and glaring up at the draconequus hanging from the dragons' jaw. "Oh, you again. Are you really stupid enough to think you might kill me with a mere dragon?" Discord was unnerved. He had expected something to look different - larger claws, darker fur, blazing red eyes - anything, just to show it wasn't his son anymore. But his powerful grandfather had even resized the eyes, making them just as equine as they had been before. And the voice, all pronounciation and pitch intact, made no change from the way it had been before. There was no denying that somewhere in there, his son was still living. And despite the circumstances leading up to this fateful, feiry meeting, he felt a small shard of hope. One hour earlier... "Hey, Obsidian, wait up!" The draconequus turned around to look at whatever had been calling his name, and quickly smiled. "Oh, hi, Sunrise. Were you looking for me?" "Yeah, I was wondering if you'd want to come out with me for a while, you know, it is a nice day and all." "Sorry, I can't. Have work to do today. Maybe you should take Tigerjay out, break it to him that we're dating... he was sweet on you..." She looked downfallen, but forced out a smile. "Yeah, I'll tell him. Can we go out tomorrow?" "Yeah." Obsidian lied through his smile. There would be nothing to walk out of by tomorrow. He really hoped she would take him up on the idea of bringing Tigerjay out... he didn't want to hurt her... or him, at the moment. As she bounded away, Obsidian glanced back at his hands, feeling the power inside of him regain control. Thanks. Will she be alright? What about her books? Could you move them someplace safe? A void opened in space time, and the entire bookshelf - including a few novels hastily collected from the bedside table - reappeared in Twilight's library, safely inside Spike's cave. The dragon was sleeping, and the flash of light was silent. Thanks. She'd be devastated if she lost her books. Yeah, that's fine. Sunrise will stay in love with me, right? Nothing had to keep his laughter from entering his voice. Mortals were hilarious! Current time... "There's nothing you can do!" Tigerjay bit down hard on Sunrise's tail, locking his jaw despite the flurry of scratches he was receiving. "We have most of the townsponies, and it's summer. We can rebuild." "You're wrong! Obsidian's in there!" Tigerjay struck out with one paw, knocking the dragonness sideways and keeping her rolling until she slid painfully into a tree. She opened her eyes, tears sparkling in their depths, as he stalked up in front of her. "This is all Obsidian's fault! He set the stupid thing on fire! He killed whoever was inside! He hasn't killed himself, because I know he's going to kill us too, and he would have planned too far ahead to be killed by his own fire! This is all his fault, Sunrise! If he's dead, it means we'll still live!" "No! He's not like that! He's not a murderer!" "Sunrise, please. Don't make this harder than it is. He is a murderer. The best thing that could happen now was that he's dead." "NO!" She swung her tail, smashing it into the side of Tigerjay's beak. He screeched and backpedalled, shards of bone falling through his claws. "He's not a killer! He can't be dead..." Her anger was replaced by a deep sadness that seemed to rip apart her very soul. "I... I loved him..." Not-Obsidian lifted his paw, jerking it quickly to the side. The wreckage lifted itself or was absorbed into the earth, and the fire went out as the dust settled. Discord found himself reliving something he had wanted so desperately to forget. His failure, replaying with not six ponies, but his own son, and a barren circle of dirt as the newly-cleared battlefield. This time, he wasn't the powerful overlord. He was Twilight, fearing for her friends, her life, her country, and seeing everything she had grown to love ripped away by a drconequus of unimaginable power. This revelation made Discord's eyes sting with tears. They didn't help, didn't block out the gruesome reality, just made him look weaker. Swiping them away with his claw, he glared at the thing that had once been his son. The younger draconequus tucked his elbows in, letting his hands glow with a spectral red light, levitiating slightly into the air. Discord flicked his tail as a signal to the dragon behin him to get clear, and began channeling his own magic, shining with a yellow hue. Surrounded by smoke and dappled sunlight, the two spirits of chaos charged.