In the uppermost section of the palace's central chamber, Rainbow Dash tore through the air, speeding toward that hateful pegasus. She watched as Spitfire stretched out her body, spear readied for a forward thrust. Soarin's form curved gracefully, rounding to Wave Chill's right. Rainbow herself aimed to assault from his left. Wave Chill's expression did not change; he wore the same, cocky grin, as though there was nothing for him to fear. He rose into the air with measured beats of his wings, looking perfectly at his ease. Rainbow adjusted her height, seeing the other two ascend with her as they closed ranks.
As Spitfire and Soarin came within attacking distance, he dropped, falling back to the platform below. The two other Wonderbolts seemed to expect this feint, however; his change in elevation failed to throw them off. They dropped once again, Rainbow following. As Wave Chill landed, reared on his hind legs, Spitfire attacked. He parried her blow, catching the spear betwixt his sabres. With an upward motion, he thrust it away from his body, leaping up at the same time. He avoided Soarin's lowered spear thrust.
Rainbow had to stop herself just in time. If she took the opportunity to attack with her knife, which felt like nothing more than a simple shaving razor at that moment, it wouldn't have been any help. With their attempts thwarted, Spitfire and Soarin were unbalanced, leaving Wave Chill free to counter whatever Rainbow Dash dared to throw.
He had not lost his grin.
“D-Dash!” Soarin stuttered, darting backwards with a flutter of wings as Wave Chill bucked in his direction. “G-go! Run!”
“No way in hell am I leaving you, Soarin!”
Her heart was racing. The dawning realization of just how useless she was and would prove to be had closed in. After all, the Wonderbolts had combat experience; she didn't know her way around a real battle. Rainbow Dash may have had a few hoof fights in her youth and once beat up Scootaloo's birth mother in Manehattan, but beyond that, she was but a child in a street fight.
Rainbow gasped, rocketing straight up as Wave Chill turned his sights on her and pounced. The slash of cold metal caught her in the right knee. Flesh splitting painfully, she grit her teeth and swore as warm blood flowed down her fetlocks and off her hoof.
Soarin lunged forward, swinging the spear across his body, but Wave Chill looked back and wrapped his back legs around it. Twisting in midair with a flap of his wings, he pulled it from Soarin's grip. Tucking his legs to his chest, he snapped it by dropping his forehooves. Spitfire glared him down, unable to find an opening.
“Are you all so stupid?!” he demanded, rising up on a level with Rainbow Dash, his front hooves starting to glow with green magic. “You never stood a chance! None of you stood a chance!” Both of his swords began to vibrate as the magic flooded them. “You're all going to die, just like him!”
He moved so fast, she couldn't react. Both swords, which were crackling with magic, stabbed forward. The icy steel plunged through Rainbow's chest and she let out a howl of pain. It was over. Just like that, it had to be. She was going to fall over and die. However, when he pulled the swords out of her, the blades were clean, save for Rapidfire's dried blood. Rainbow Dash stared, unable to grasp what was happening.
“Wonderful, isn't it?” He laughed derisively, lost in ecstasy at her expression. “I've just enchanted them not to leave true wounds behind. Trust me, Rainbow Dash... you'll be perfectly fine...” There was a sickening hunger in his growl. He slashed one of the swords across her body, causing her to scream in pain. “All of the painful agony of a wound, none of the physical harm!” Another slice to her, this one down her face. He followed it up with a stab to her forehoof.
He was right. Though it had felt like she had been gutted like a fish, Rainbow's hooves scrabbled at her body and found no blood or wounds to speak of. She continued to gawk at him, the pain mounting inside. Completely horrified at the extent of his power. Completely paralyzed with fear.
He could evade or parry everything they threw at him. He could attack them without mercy or even torture them without the immediate threat of death. The steely-blue pegasus seemed invincible and held their lives in his hooves.
Spitfire soared upward, her spear couched. With a maniacal spurt of laughter, Wave Chill spiraled down, avoiding her attack. With a grunt, he checked his shoulder into her stomach. Leaving both of his swords floating in a green aura, he snatched her weapon, broke it like Soarin’s, and smashed his hoof into her stomach.
Groaning with pain, Spitfire fluttered back, coughing. Her teeth were bared in a vicious snarl as she got a death glare at her former ally. Soarin ascended to her side, checking mutely whether she was alright.
“So, what next?” Wave Chill asked casually, examining the bloodied sabre minutely. “What was it... Soarin, Spitfire, Rainbow Dash? How long did it take? A minute, two tops? That's all it took! You're all disarmed. Except for... ha!” He smirked at the tiny dagger still curled in Rainbow's hoof. “I've faced tougher challenges handling a toothache than crushing your pathetic resistance this day! You're children! I'M FIGHTING CHILDREN! And you're supposed to be five minutes older than me, Soarin.” He shook his head, as though disappointed. “How very disheartening.”
Rainbow Dash was starting to really panic now. Wave was smirking broadly, his eyes moving from each of them, lingering for a second longer on his brother. Neither Spitfire nor Soarin were speaking a word. Rainbow could only imagine that they were going through the same harrowing dread.
A shout met her ears. Their enemy's head jerked around and he looked below, to a lower platform of the central chamber. Looking as well, Rainbow Dash could make out a small procession of soldiers who were working their way up toward them. The skirmish with Soarin's brother had not gone unnoticed. As they vanished out of sight into a hallway, Wave Chill turned his attention back to his opponents.
“Huh. So, we're about to have company, I see. However, I'm in no mood to share my toys right now.” He thrust his swords into their scabbards and flew off, hovering above a bridge connecting their platform to the wall.
The purple tendrils of dark magic began to flow from his eyes. Holding his front hooves close together, a small orb of what looked like purple plasma formed there. It grew larger and larger until it touched either hoof, being absorbed into him. Extending the forehooves forward, he expelled it like a flamethrower. Upon contact with the magic, the marble and stone melted like ice.
“A-any ideas?” Rainbow Dash asked in a low hiss, watching the smoke rising from the bridge. She hadn't quite recovered from the shock of the slashes.
“I don't know! How the bloody hell are we even to fight him, let alone kill him?! I've got a feeling he's only been humouring us, he has to have more power hidden away to be so calm! Who knows how powerful that boon he keeps mentioning from the Voidwalker is!” Spitfire growled. “We need a plan, or else we're dead!” she added, her face screwed up.
Soarin shook his head slowly from side to side, like an elephant trying to shake off mosquitoes. Rainbow, herself, could feel the cogs in her head moving slower than usual, unable to keep her eyes off their enemy.
“Right, here's what we'll do,” Spitfire resumed, her eyes narrowing so much that her eyebrow formed a single line. “We've got to rush him, give him everything we've got! Overpower the bastard, that's what we'll do. We've got to, or we're just going to die.”
Wave Chill dropped down, landing all four hooves on the bridge, before lifting off again. His momentary weight was enough to cause it to collapse. As the debris fell to the lower levels of the central chamber, Rainbow Dash suddenly remembered the warlock. Her eyes darted back and forth, but Gwyndolin was not present. Perhaps she had left before the fight had even broken out? Aside from the group of soldiers whose progress Wave Chill had faltered, there wasn't a soul down there. Where had they gone? Where's the warlock? she wondered.
Almost as though he had read her mind, Wave Chill rose back to where they all still hovered. “Funny, I'm surprised that arrogant witch hasn't stepped in.” He looked down the chamber. “Ah, she's gone. I expect she's off with your little friend again! Yes,” he went on, in response to Rainbow's surprised look, “I already know about Princess Luna masquerading as Moonlight Sonata.” He spat, the saliva travelling the full distance down to the ground floor. “That conniving slut. But, no matter...” He again looked between them all. “To business.”
Wave Chill had dropped back down to the platform by the large windows Rainbow's friends and the other Wonderbolts had escaped through earlier. She couldn't stop glowering at him, angling her wings and rushing down as well. Soarin was panting, the effort of even looking at his brother apparently costing him the lion's share of his stamina. Spitfire gave a sharp, false laugh, landing too.
“What friggin' business do we have with you, Wave? Aside from ripping your head off your neck, of course.”
“We have five hours... Spitfiah,” he said mockingly, causing her to snarl with rage. “Oh, the look on your face!”
“You son of a bitch!” she screamed. “You backstabbing, worthless piece of crap! How dare you?! HOW DARE YOU?!”
She fluttered forward, hooves outstretched, completely lost in her grief and furious thirst for vengeance. Wave Chill simply stepped sideways as she leapt, almost lazily. He snatched her from the air, twisting her front hooves behind her back and seizing them with his wings. With his left hoof pressed against the top of her head, he wrapped his right forehoof around her throat.
“Don't move,” he said warningly, as Rainbow made to spring forward with Soarin. “You've seen my strength. I'll snap her neck. Hell, I'll probably do it anyways, but let's have a chat first.”
Spitfire struggled against his grip, unable to speak properly, just choking and spluttering. Soarin's limbs shook as he stood silently; he hadn't said a single word since he told Rainbow to run. His countenance was equal parts fear, fury, and confusion.
“Careful, Captain. Nopony wants you dead yet.” Wave looked to Soarin. “It's clear you're too stupid to speak right now, so I'll direct my attention to your little whore.”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, gripping the dagger tightly in her hoof. There was not a soul alive that she hated more than him at that moment. How could she have ever respected him as a Wonderbolt? How could Soarin or Spitfire ever dream of having friendship and love for such a devil? she marvelled in amazement. And Blaze! How could Blaze have ever fallen in love with him? The very fact that those pegasi almost had a foal together sickened her, because no child deserved a father like that.
“What exactly did you intend to accomplish by accompanying the Wonderbolts here with your little gang of friends? I mean, come now... you all must be here, in Gymkhana. Gwyndolin saw you bound for Baltimare back in Equestria, so we know that you, at least, boarded the Herodotus with Twilight Sparkle and that wimpy yellow pegasus. Her research has also showed that you and your five cohorts are the chosen champions of Princess Celestia, but so far as I know, none of you have extraordinary powers! Twilight Sparkle is a magical prodigy, but she couldn't even match my warlock!”
Rainbow Dash took a quick glance down at the red lightning bolt Element of Loyalty still resting against her chest. Wave Chill hadn't noticed, distracted with Spitfire's writhing. He looked back to Rainbow Dash.
“The funny thing is,” he continued, “your presence here with Soarin is rather beneficial to me. Regardless of whatever warnings the Voidwalker gave you, you ventured here to the desert. That's good, you know? I was very lucky to have you here. That's just how fate smiled upon me. I needed you and my idiotic brother for a certain purpose. It was essential that you both lived until I could take full advantage of the unique things that you can offer me!”
“What the hell are you talking about?!” Rainbow demanded, gritting her teeth. “What's so special about us? Why me and Soarin?!”
“However, despite my glee, I'm afraid that your position was usurped by what happened at the Amber Cottage,” he continued, ignoring her. “I think you overlooked the past tense just now. I'll explain: when I took that fool Rapidfire's life, Spitfire's grief had given me the very thing I wanted from you two. It was really a 'two for one' deal, as the Voidwalker also got to enjoy the feast that was the old stallion's soul. Fret not, my friends! I'll still get what I wanted initially from you two, but it just won't be as important as before.
“Now, where was I before Spitfire decided to act the hero? Ah, yes. We have five hours before the Voidwalker arrives in Gymkhana at long last! For the first time in forever, His darkness will eclipse the sun and shroud the land in cold emptiness! Since before antiquity, this world has had to endure without his demonic embrace... but no more. He will consume all creation and His followers will gain powers beyond comprehension!”
Finally, Soarin found his voice. “Wh-what,” he croaked, his light green eyes narrowed suspiciously, “are you talking about, Wave? The Voidwalker was here two weeks ago. We fled from it!”
He guffawed loudly, throwing Spitfire roughly to the floor as he sank to his knees, roaring with laughter. “That's right! That's right! You don't know! Ha!” He sprang back to his hooves, grinning maliciously. “Watch carefully. Be amazed! This is the greatest power granted to me by the Voidwalker.”
Once more, the tendrils flowed from his eyes. A white outline formed around his body as he took a few paces back. Wave Chill leapt into the air, his very being fading to a lavender colour before becoming translucent. He grew darker, and darker, the shimmering white outline fading to nothing. Then he burst. Wave Chill's body exploded in a dark cloud of smoky mist, growing dimmer all the time.
Rainbow Dash let out a scream. He was straight out of a nightmare; a cloud of darkness, just like Sombra had been. She moved to Soarin's side and clutched him for dear life, unable to look into the void, wanting to break down and cry as the fear suddenly overwhelmed her. Her body quaked and she was unable to control the shaking.
“The Shadow!” Soarin gasped, eyes wide.
“The Shadow,” Wave's voice spoke from the mist, sounding unearthly, “was never the Voidwalker. None of you have ever met the Voidwalker outside of the nightmares He has been plaguing you with. I prayed and worshipped Him for so long until I could finally reach Him. He granted me His boon, giving me such unique powers! I AM THE SHADOW! I destroyed the Mesa District myself, using the very strength given to me by the demon I praise! He is coming and this world will be eternally enshrouded by His aura! I speak with Him always and I know what the future holds!”
The mist swept across the platform, causing the edge to crumble to dust as it moved. It rose into the air like a pillar of smoke, twisting and rolling and drifting to the hallway that had once been joined to the platform by the bridge Wave Chill had destroyed. The guards from below had arrived, looking with disbelief at the darkness as it consumed them. Their muffled screams wound the fear within Rainbow Dash to a higher pitch.
The darkness converged in the centre of the chamber, growing larger and larger. The smouldering bridge, the glow of the moving platforms around the place, even the light of the torches, all grew dim until they were sparkles shining in the darkness. Walls, platforms, bridges, and everything else was obliterated by the expanding shroud.
Spitfire was still on the floor, gasping for breath due to her near-strangulation. Soarin seemed to realize she needed help at the same time that Rainbow managed to pull herself together. They both raced toward the downed pegasus. Seizing either of her front hooves, they dragged her away from the edge of the partially collapsed platform. If there was ever a time to escape the palace through the windows, it was now.
But something within Rainbow Dash was demanding she remain. She stood rooted, watching the terrorizing shadow drift around the room, destroying all it touched. Her insides were filling with an ugly, angry hatred. Grape Blossom, Numane, Dameer and Neighshyte... Marius, Fenuku, those three youngsters, the griffins, all of them... he's to blame. They lost their families, their homes, their... everything, because of him. It was his fault! IT WAS HIS FAULT!
The darkness rose and circled about the perimeter of the chamber, stopping beside the great windows. It pooled into a single spot, the physical body of Wave Chill reforming. Their path to freedom was blocked.
“Do you see the truth now?” he asked, looking down at his own hooves, awed at his own power.
“Of course we see it!” Rainbow stormed, throwing the useless dagger away from her in rage. “The truth of exactly what kind of jackass you are! I'm gonna tell you a story, Wave Chill! There's a filly named Grape Blossom in this city. She's twelve. She's also a single mother of a b-beautiful colt named Appleberry...” Rainbow Dash's voice cracked as the sorrowful emotion ripped through her. She punched her hooves together, shaking again. “Grape had already been through hell and back because of the deranged stallion who attacked her, but she had the support of her family! And then you took everything away from her! All she has left are her friends: a whole band of children you orphaned that day! Why?! Why the hell would you do such a thing to this city and everyone in it?!”
“I really don't have to tell you a damn thing.” Wave Chill's hoof began to glow again. “Nothing!”
He punched the floor. Dark magic spread out from the point he touched, cracking the tiles and stone as it went. The platform's floor fell away. There was nothing left standing in the entire chamber, save for the floors above them leading to ceiling. Wrapping himself in his wings, Wave Chill's whole body contracted, balling up as though shielding something. The fur on the back of her neck stood up as Rainbow quickly turned her attention on the well-being of Soarin and Spitfire before looking back at their opponent.
Suddenly, he stretched out his body and released an explosive blast of energy. Rainbow twisted in midair, attempting to shield herself with both wings. A cracking noise echoed through the air around her and she screamed. Her right wing, overlapping the left, had taken the brunt of the explosion and paid the price. It was broken. The rest of her hadn't endured the massive pulse from the blast very well, either. Exhausted and blinded with pain, she felt herself falling. With just one working wing, she couldn't remain aloft. The entire world flew upward as she heard her name being shouted, faint and distant. Before she reached the bottom, Rainbow Dash blacked out.
Aching all over, she came to on the cold floor on the lowest level. Gingerly raising herself onto her hooves, she ducked in time to avoid Spitfire's form, which must had been thrown. Rainbow tried to use her wings to steady herself, but the pain made her retch. With a smack, she collapsed to the floor again, one bleary eye surveying the scene.
“Leave them alone and answer me!” Soarin growled dangerously through a mouthful of blood. He, too, was on the ground, amongst the rubble. What had she missed? “Explain yourself, dammit! I saw you fleeing from The Shadow, like the rest of us! If you're The Shadow, then how could you be chased?! Tell me everything!”
Words Rapidfire had told them a million years ago came back to Rainbow Dash, as sharp as her groggy mind would allow.
“Dere was always a dark cloud on da horizon as we flew home. Wave Chill disappeared when we flew low through da mount'ins. Nopony saw 'im vanish.”
“D-Dash...” Spitfire moaned weakly, crawling her way over, “a-are you alright?”
“I don't know!” Rainbow replied quietly, twisting her head toward Spitfire. “What happened?”
“Like I told Rainbow Dash, I don't have to tell you lot anything. Least of all, an idiot like you!” Wave Chill shouted back at him furiously.
“That's because you're hiding something! You're lying! There isn't a Voidwalker, is there?!” Soarin demanded, trying to get to his hooves but crumbling back into a heap. “Unless it was Gwyndolin the whole time!”
“He released a... wicked burst of energy!” Spitfire explained, breathing heavily. “Me and Soarin got far enough beforehand, but you w-weren't so... so lucky, huh? Soarin tried to chase you d-down as you fell, but the bastard knocked him out of the air just as fast. Thankfully, Soarin's got Wave Chill distracted, so I'm able to check on you.”
“My wing's busted, for a start, and I can't barely move! You don't sound so peachy, yourself,” Rainbow remarked, crawling her way to the wall and trying to prop herself against it. “You must've hit the wall pretty hard.”
“I'm winded, but I ain't beaten yet!”
Both of them turned their attention back to the stallions. Wave Chill had seized Soarin mane and pulled him standing. With a crack, he smashed his hoof into Soarin's jaw. The cauliflower-blue pegasus crashed into the ground a short distance away and rolled, limbs and wings a tangled, writhing mess. He came to rest on his back, diaphragm heaving.
“Don't you dare give that witch credit for the Voidwalker's greatness, or my own!” Wave Chill spat dangerously, stamping a hoof. “You're already going to die here, why make it more painful for yourself by PISSING ME OFF?”
Rainbow roared indignantly. What she wouldn't give to launch herself at him right now and break his face! But she still couldn't move well. On top of that, sharp pains in her chest suggested fractured ribs, making it very difficult to draw in breath.
“Bah. Fine. Why the hell not? If it'll prevent you from saying anything else stupid, I'll enlighten you a little before I cut your throat.”
Wave Chill took a step back, turning his head as he did so. Convinced that Rainbow Dash and Spitfire weren't about to jump him, he strolled over to a chunk of stone and leaned casually against it, before picking up a smaller piece and throwing it over at Soarin. With a tormented grunt, Soarin rolled over after it crashed into his chest.
“Well, you should know that thousands and thousands of years ago, the Voidwalker was banished from this dimension. Many legends have sprung up about Him and His supposed return to the mortal world, but they are lies. Only I know the reality!” Wave Chill said passionately, smacking his own chest with his hoof. “The fool, King Sombra, had known it as well. He had worshipped the Voidwalker as I have, and had gained the very boon I presently posses. Those learned in demonic lore claim that the Voidwalker had been trapped with Sombra when the Crystal Empire vanished, but this was a lie. It's all lies, Soarin! All of it.
“He travels here. The Voidwalker. The only escape from the dimension he had been banished to is through the edges of the cosmos. He's had a long journey, but I have helped Him, as had that fool Sombra before me. The more souls He is offered, the stronger He grows; the more I feed Him, the faster He moves! The more Gwyndolin's dark rituals can allow Him to infect the nightmares of weaker ponies, the greater His evil grows. The Voidwalker is coming and time and space will not delay Him anymore. In fact, Gwydolin is aiding His travels with a summoning array in her laboratory.” Wave Chill shook his head. “You can't comprehend what's in store for this world.”
What he was saying was absurd; it couldn't be real. His words, his very beliefs, they had to be lies themselves, Rainbow thought miserably. Even if she couldn't exactly comprehend those words, even if it never made sense, it still filled her with cold dread. To learn that The Shadow had merely been a byproduct of the Voidwalker's power all along, rather than the demon itself, all manifested through Soarin's brother... it was terrible for her to behold. How much darker was the reality going to grow before it all burst? Would she be able to protect Scootaloo from all of this? Assuming, of course, she survived this fight...
It all made her think of the lessons her very spiritual father taught her in her youth: teaching her that 'only ponies who do good in their lives and be good ponies themselves can go to Heaven, where Mommy's waiting to meet us again.' The bad ones, the evil-doers with dark hearts and darker deeds to their names went somewhere else when they finally left the mortal coil. Hell, Tartarus, Hades, the Abyss... It didn't matter to her if these were all the same place or just different, twisted realms of existence.
All that mattered was the fear eating her from the inside out. All that mattered was that the demon and its power were real.
Wave Chill began to walk toward the fallen pony, sedately and casually. Inhaling deeply, Rainbow Dash wanted to rush to Soarin's aid, but she retched as the agonizing pain peaked once more and fell back, cursing herself. Her heart beat that funeral tattoo against her fractured ribs as Soarin's attacker drew nearer to him. Wave pulled both blades out again, using his wings to balance himself as he reared on his hinds.
In that moment, her own fears stopped mattering. She had to get there and save him! With one forehoof against the floor, she held against the wall with the other. She pushed against her knees, tracing her haunches up the wall, falling forward onto her forehooves and rising. Every muscle cried in protest and her chest roared with agony, but she fought it. Standing properly, she took another deep, torturous breath, fixing her eyes upon Wave Chill.
However, he hesitated six feet from Soarin, staring down at his brother. Soarin let out a piteous wail, shaking his head, unable to keep his emotions in check any longer. He had begun to cry.
“N-no...” he moaned, shaking his head back and forth, “That's enough. I've h-heard enough! What... what happened to you?” He buried his face in his hooves. “Why, Wave? Why? Demon worshipping, wiping out part of a city of innocent creatures, I... I don't know how you went so wrong! Were you always so lost?! Look what you've done! What's was the point?” he shouted, punching his left hoof to the ground. “WHAT WAS THE CELESTIA-DAMNED POINT?!”
“Oh, for once, just shut up!” Wave roared in exasperation. “You’re making me want to beat you to death.”
“NO!” Soarin bellowed. “Enough is enough!” He moved back into a standing position. “This can't go on! It has to stop! I'll stop you myself...”
Wave Chill sighed. With a sharp click, he sheathed the swords again and returned to all fours. He closed the distance between them with a quick gallop.
Spitfire, however got to him first. Intercepting his charge, she tackled him to the floor and wrapped her hooves around his chest. Wave Chill reared like a restrained lion, trying to shake her off. Rainbow Dash took her chance. Rushing forward through the searing fire in torso, she smashed her left hoof into his jaw. And then the right. Back and forth, she pummelled Wave Chill's face, hearing the dull thuds, seeing the expressions of shock and agony on him. A blow to his teeth left a deep cut. The blood from his mouth mixed with Rainbow's own.
“Kill him, Dash!” Spitfire barked. “KILL HIM!”
Wave Chill roared. The dark magic returned to his eyes. Rainbow Dash was beyond caring what she did next. After all, they had all come to Saddle Arabia to end this. If she had to physically kill Wave Chill herself, what did it matter? The misery he was causing Soarin justified it, she thought. And not just Soarin, either. Grape Blossom's parents, Appleberry's grandparents... She aimed the next punch between those glowing eyes, but it didn't seem to affect him anymore as the strength from the boon continued to mount. With a grunt, he threw off Spitfire, who landed on her hooves, panting. Unfortunately, she was not at a safe distance. Wave's back hooves caught her, both of them, directly in the face. Before the blood could spill from her Spitfire's snout, he slammed a hoof into Rainbow's stomach.
She hunched over. Wave Chill's other hoof connected to the left side of her head. A confused, chaotic explosion of colours, a horrible jolt of pain, darkness, and the feeling of soaring backward. Once again, she was out cold, but came to almost at once.
Rainbow's skull felt like it had been split wide open, but the surge of adrenaline brought her back to her hooves as she gasped for cramping breaths. Wave Chill's attention was back on Spitfire, who was rallying for another take down, the blood gushing from a broken snout over her chest and forehooves. Soarin leapt upon him. His physical strength did what neither Rainbow nor Spitfire could not; as Wave Chill swayed where he stood, Soarin shifted his weight to the side and pulled him down.
“Brooother!” Wings pinning Wave Chill's limbs, Soarin tore the sword scabbards from his brother's waist and threw them aside. “No more!” he shouted, pulling back his right hoof and punching Wave hard in the jaw. “YOU—” Another blow. “—WON'T—” He switched hooves. “—HURT THEM AGAIN!”
“Argh!”
Wave Chill headbutted Soarin as the latter leaned forward, panting. Soarin recoiled and, unsteady atop his brother, was thrown off as Wave's wings thrust against the floor. As he rose into the air, Wave Chill's cold green eyes darted around, landing upon Spitfire behind him and then over on Rainbow Dash. Before Spitfire could make another move, he stretched out his forehooves, pointing one to each of the mares.
“If that's how you want to play, Soarin, so be it,” he spoke in a dangerous whisper that nevertheless carried to everyone in the room.
A flash of green light emanated from him. Rainbow's body jerked roughly as she was flung into the air, sailing toward the wall. She found herself pinned to it, spreadeagled. At once, tight bands of thin green energy formed about her throat, chest, and stomach. Her forehooves remained free, but try as she might, there was no breaking the bands. Rainbow Dash was glued to the wall. As Rainbow saw Spitfire enduring the same fate on against the far wall, the bands suddenly tightened, constricting painfully against her windpipe.
“That'll keep the bitches out of the way, won't it?” Wave Chill asked Soarin, grinning. He lifted his forehooves higher and Rainbow Dash found herself scaling up the wall, the rough stone ripping feathers from her wings. “Just a bit higher... there we go.”
“Let them go!” Soarin demanded, standing up and facing his brother with hatred in his eyes.
“They're going to watch me stamp the life out of you first.”
With the same speed he had murdered Rapidfire with, Wave Chill ducked low and came up to hit Soarin with a vicious uppercut. Soarin's hooves actually left the ground. Jumping straight up, Wave twisted and planted a buck into his brother's chest. Both Rainbow Dash and Spitfire screeched his name in fear as he crashed into the ground several feet away. Thankfully, he still had his wits about him to roll out of the way as Wave Chill accelerated forward, hoof outstretched.
“Oh, no you don't, brother!” Wave hissed, flying back into the air and gathering dark magic between his hooves. “You're done.”
He absorbed them into his forehooves, launching a wave of plasma like before. As it was only slightly larger than a bedsheet, however, Soarin had managed to dodge it. Leaping aside and skidding a little, he completely avoided the blast radius. As it collided with the floor, the wave decimated the stone and sent about splashes of magic like a pool of lava, revealing a basement corridor below. Swearing, Wave Chill conjured yet another, this time leaving it as an orb and throwing it. Despite his fatigue and injures, Soarin still avoided it, blood and spittle falling from his mouth as he did so.
“Come on, Soarin...” Rainbow hissed quietly, still struggling to break those bands of magic nearly choking her throat and body.
“WE AREN'T A PAIR OF TEN YEARS OLDS PLAYING DODGEBALL ANYMORE, YOU ASSHOLE!” Wave screamed furiously, forming another ball and wheeling around, eyes set upon Rainbow Dash herself. “Look, I'll show you! Your little girlfriend won't dodge!”
“No!” Soarin yelled, flinging his wings out and leaping into the air.
Holding both front hooves together, he swung them like an axe handle into Wave Chill's head. The plasma ball dissipated and Wave immediately went on the defensive, flying backwards and trying to block Soarin's blows. He dropped, seizing Soarin's left forehoof with his own. Snapping his wings closed, Wave Chill tried to drag Soarin down and smash him into the floor like a throw, but Soarin laughed mirthlessly.
“You've been a Wonderbolt just as long as I have,” he choked, coughing up blood again. “You know how powerful my wings are.”
“That may be so,” Wave Chill chuckled, letting go and dropping to the floor, where he glared up at Soarin, “but look at yourself: you're awfully weakened. You're spitting up a hell of a lot of blood.”
Soarin dropped, too, landing a few feet from him, clutching his chest. “And I’ve noticed that you've gotten a heck of a lot slower since we started fighting,” he shot at him.
Rainbow Dash didn't miss the look of shock momentarily cross Wave Chill's features. Soarin was right, too; Wave Chill was not as fast nor as strong as he had been when she, Spitfire, and Soarin faced him three-to-one. Was it possible his reckless showing of the Voidwalker's gifted power was taking away from a limited pool? Or maybe, she reasoned, he was just starting to lose steam after being beaten up for so long. He must've had his teeth knocked down his freakin' throat as much as he's done to me...
“So what?” Wave Chill asked, shrugging and grinning. “I never pretended I was omnipotent! That means having unlimited power, you idiot,” he added, in response to Soarin's look of confusion. “No doubt you were thinking of a similar word that stallions face, being a simpleton.”
Soarin ignored this jab. “So, how much power do you have left?”
“Why do you ask, Soarin?” Wave Chill raised his eyebrows. “Not determined to kill me, are you?”
Soarin looked taken aback. In fact, he took a few steps back. “I-I'm going to—” But he stopped short, throwing his hooves in front of his face. There was a very pregnant pause. “Yes. I'm going to kill you. I-I have to!” he cried, shaking his head back and forth, stumbling a little. “I have to kill you! You don't deserve to LIVE!” Soarin shouted the last word as loud as he could.
“Surely, I haven't done that much to warrant such a sentence?” Wave Chill mused slightly with a sigh, shaking his head.
“After everything you've done and all those you've h-hurt...” Soarin couldn’t keep his composure any longer and began to sob again. “I have to stop you... Rapidfire, Wave Chill! The dead in this city! E-everything!”
“Ah well. You'll never manage it; this little chat has given me the time I needed to rest. Goodbye, Soarin.”
Rainbow Dash gave a yell of warning at the same time Spitfire had, but it was no good. The fight was over. Wave Chill surged forward, leaping and throwing out his wings. He crashed heavily into Soarin and both of them soared through the air, slamming against a fall wall. Soarin had his back to it, crumbled against the floor. His hooves were wrapped around Wave Chill's own, trying to pry them off his throat. He was being strangled.
“Don't you see, you worthless moron?!” Wave snarled through clenched teeth, digging his back hooves against the floor as though trying to crush Soarin's trachea. “I've always had you! I just had to pick my favourite time to murder you.”
Rainbow fought as hard as she could, writhing against the wall and pulling with all her might at the green magical bands, but nothing she did worked. Soarin's hooves were shaking, but he was unable to throw off his brother. He started to thrash, trying to get to a standing position, but it was worthless. He pounded against Wave's forehooves, pushed against the floor, ran his hooves along it as though hoping to find a hole to slip into.
“There's a lot I never did tell you, you know,” Wave Chill murmured with an almost loving caress in his voice as Soarin's face turned purple. “Just seeing the look of surprise on your face would've made it all worth it. Too bad, I suppose. Go to sleep, Soarin. It’s over. Sleep.” Wave Chill raised his head high and began to chant, his words sounding almost like song. Like a lullaby. “Your soul is pledged to the immortal depths. K’bwa Giza, be strengthened! Know not the restful peace of the great beyond, Soarin, but remain eternally enshrouded in His cold embrace. Your spirit siphons into that which is—”
The song had ended. Wave Chill fell quiet. With a flash, the bands around her body vanished and Rainbow Dash hit the floor with a slap. Having no idea how she managed it, she immediately stood up and started to gallop, fighting against all of the pain within her. Please, Soarin, don't be dead! PLEASE! Don’t let him take you!
Soarin wasn't dead. He looked, however, anguished as Wave Chill's hooves left his throat. With Spitfire closely behind her, Rainbow Dash reached the wall. They both of them looked down at the scene in front of them. Soarin gasped for the breath of life, not taking his eyes off his brother, who was the one shaking now.
Soarin's frantically searching hooves had found something that had proved to be his one and only hope. The small dagger Rainbow had thrown from herself in her rage was protruding from Wave Chill's stomach, held in place by Soarin's curled hoof. Whispering a faint apology, Soarin slashed it to the right, tearing a horrible wound. The floor was scarlet. Wave Chill stumbled backwards, landing flat on his back. The bloody dagger fell from Soarin's grasp as his grief spilled over him.
“I'm sorry... I'm sorry...”
Rainbow Dash watched him fall blankly. Was it over, just like that? Ears perking, she heard Soarin sobbing anew.
“You had no choice,” she said once, falling beside him and pulling his face into her chest. “S-Soarin... you had to...” It really happened, she told herself. He had to die, because he had been attempting to give Soarin’s soul to the Voidwalker, she knew it. “You had to… oh Celestia, Soarin!”
“I d-didn't want to!” he wailed like a frightened child, clinging to her tightly. “I didn't... want to… Wave, brother, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Spitfire stood aside from them, staring with a cold emptiness at Wave Chill as the blood spread over the floor, watching his surprised, angry face blanching. Several long seconds passed. They simply looked at each other quietly, as though sizing one another up. Finally, Spitfire broke the silence.
“Is this what you wanted, Wave?” Spitfire bent low on her fetlocks beside him. Her voice sounded as though she had a slight head cold, though the broken nose had stopped bleeding. “We've all been family since we were teenagers. I loved you like a brother, did you know that? Was it worth it?”
“G-get a-way from m-me... you... you st-stupid b-bitch!”
“You're dying,” Spitfire said ruthlessly, shaking her head. She picked up the discarded dagger, the blood still dripping off of it. “Rapidfire would've died for you. He was practically a second father to you, as he was to all of us. He was the closest thing to a father I’ve ever known! But you cut him down gleefully… and threw his soul to your twisted master. Nopony was going to die for you after that.” She raised the knife. “Tell me, you coward: Was it worth it?!” she repeated with a roar. “TELL ME, YOU PIG!”
“Spit!” Rainbow yelled, and Spitfire hesitated. “It's over!”
“I'm not even going to get to avenge Dad, is that it?” she demanded, jerking around to stare at Rainbow Dash, hoof still raised. “Wave Chill won't be dead for another minute or two, but I can friggin' fix that. It would be a hell of a lot kinder to put the bastard out of his misery!”
“Would Rapidfire have wanted this?” she asked quietly, stroking Soarin's mane as he continued to sob into her.
Spitfire let out a crow of laughter. “Duh! Rapidfire would've loved it.” She turned her attention back to Wave Chill. “Dad would've loved seeing this backstabbing asshole get what's coming to him, because it's precisely what Rapidfire would've done if it had been any of us to die. Including you, Wave Chill...”
“Heh... heh...” Wave Chill closed his eyes, that same grin returning to his face.
“What's so funny?”
“Ev-everything,” he moaned, still beaming from ear to ear. “I was r-right when I called you stupid. You act as though we're done here.” His dull green eyes flew open. “We're not d-done yet.”
Rainbow gasped. Wave Chill had rolled over, pushing himself to his hooves. The blood cascaded from his wound. He sighed wearily, covering the gash in his stomach with his right hoof as he straightened up.
“Congra—” He coughed horribly. “Congratulations, Soarin... you've managed to completely... completely p-piss me off!”
“How?!” Spitfire snapped, dropping the dagger and backing into the wall.
“I've gotta throw it all aside now... I can't believe this!”
“What?”
“I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!” Wave Chill raged, a swirl of green magic flooding from his eyes and engulfing him like a tornado of flame. “YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!
Rainbow Dash's eyes were wide. She felt Soarin pull away from her so he could watch, appalled. Wave Chill was completely blocked by the green flames and yelling his head off, completely incensed. How could this all be? What the hell was he talking about? And those green flames... they were so horribly familiar.
Almost like...
“No!” she croaked, jumping up. “We've gotta get away from him!”
“Wh-what?” Spitfire stuttered, completely lost.
“He's a changeling!”
“WHAT?” both Wonderbolts shouted.
“Huh. Well, very good, Rainbow Dash,” a terrible, vastly different voice shouted.
It had a hollow, almost waspish attribute to it, like vibrating strings of an instrument. The cloak of fire fell and an odd creature stood there, panting, with blood collected at his legs, though the stomach wound had vanished. He was tall and with long, brittle looking legs, with gaps and holes as though pieces had been carved away completely. A curved, jagged horn, red like King Sombra's had been, sat upon his forehead. He had deep cyan eyes, completely opaque. Otherwise, he resembled a changeling as Rainbow Dash had remembered: a coat like an insect's dark carapace, a dark gray, webbed mane and tail, and, of course, the arctic blue, insect-like wings. He was much bigger than a simple drone.
“Son of a bitch...” he groaned theatrically, gritting his fangs.
“H-how?” Soarin bleated feebly, mouth agape in disbelief. “It's impossible...”
The changeling spat on the ground. “I assure you, it isn't.” His eyes darted around the room, landing on the grand double doors leading into the Palace of King's courtyard. He looked anxious.
“Who are you?” Rainbow Dash pressed him, her breath catching in her chest as she struggled to remain calm. “And where is Chrysalis? What the hell are you doing here and what are your motives?!”
“I told you before,” he said indignantly, ignoring her last two questions, “I'm in charge, here! My name is Imago, the Regent Lord of the Swarm, and I am acting independently of the Alpha Hive. My queen is sitting comfortably at home, a failure and a disgrace! Unwilling to show her pathetic face! Once the Voidwalker arrives... we will rise to greatness with myself at the helm!”
He buzzed his wings nervously, his horn glowing briefly purple before another orb of plasma formed in his hooves. Twisting, he threw it toward the doors, which were engulfed in the burst of burning magic.
“But... you knew me...” Soarin clutched his head with his hooves. “W-were you always Wave Chill? How did you know everything?! HOW IS ANY OF THIS POSSIBLE?! WHERE IS MY BROTHER?”
Imago gave a laugh. “Dead. You killed him, remember? Minutes ago. The Voidwalker's boon had gifted me with such wondrous powers that I was able to link my own body and soul with those I had copied. I shared everything with Wave Chill. In exchange for his appearance and memories, your worthless brother quite graciously took the burden of all wounds to my body. You stabbed him. All I had to do was shed the disguise and now he's been gutted like a fish. Well done, hero.”
“You’ve got to be lying!” Spitfire appealed, flapping her wings apprehensively. “Wave was innocent… he can’t be dead!”
“No! No, no, no!” Soarin leapt up, charging at the changeling. “NO, NO, IT'S NOT TRUE!”
Imago fired a blast from his horn. Soarin was knocked aside. Rainbow Dash ran forward, but the changeling took flight, roaring with laughter.
“By the way, I lied when I joked I’d have you as a concubine, Rainbow Dash! I wouldn’t touch a filthy pegasus like you! Now, I have the rest of my plans to take care of, now that my cover is blown. Farewell, maggots!” With that, he flew off, rushing toward the demolished doors. He was fleeing.
“Wait!” Spitfire snarled dangerously, running to the middle of the room and retrieving one of Imago's discarded swords. She slid it out of its scabbard; it was the one that had slain Rapidfire. “He’s not getting away from me!”
“No, no, no...” Soarin wailed weakly, smashing his hooves into the floor.
“That cowardly bastard!”
“Spitfire...”
“Rainbow Dash,” she said, spreading her wings and lifting into the air, “stay with Soarin. I'm going after that murderous insect and I'm going to kill him before he gets a chance to do whatever the hell he just flew off to do! I mean, there's gotta be a reason he didn't just transform into somepony else.”
“You're gonna need help, Spitfire!” Rainbow groaned, trying her hardest to grind the gears in her head back into motion. So much had happened in such a short period of time and she was still a bit disoriented from passing out so many times. “We've gotta... stop and plan!”
“You’ve got a broken wing, you can’t chase him! And… listen,” Spitfire implored Rainbow earnestly as Soarin continued to wail miserably, “he probably kept Wave Chill close... so, chances are, he's still here in the palace. Look after Soarin, and—” Spitfire came up short, closing her eyes tightly and struggling to keep her composure. Rainbow Dash remembered her words about loving Wave Chill like a brother. “And find him... or his body, if we can’t still s-save him. Please… for Soarin. Besides, he... Wave Chill deserves a proper burial, like Dad.”
Without another word, Spitfire took off after Imago, leaving a burning, furious tail streak in her wake. Rainbow Dash sank to her knees beside Soarin, staring blankly after her. Like so many times before, her supersaturated brain was struggling to take it all in.