//------------------------------//
// 40 - And they all Died 
// Story: A Dangerous Sparkle 
// by David Silver 
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And so it was that our heroes lay broken and def-"Hey!"eated, their bodies shat-"You're forgetting about me!"

Look, who's telling the story here?

"You are, badly," challenged the pink pony. "I'm still here! Mr. mean golem didn't smash me at all."

And just what are you going to do about it? You're trapped on a pyramid in the middle of the love dungeon with a scared little satyr and a bunch of thrashed friends.

"I've got them right where I want them," said Pinkie, rubbing her fore-hooves together. "Just give me a chance. I'll bring this right around! Just one scene! Don't make me come up there, I'll do it! You know I will!"

Since  I'm fairly certain my homeowner's insurance doesn't cover pink party pony related disasters, I'll give you that, one scene.

Pinkie did a hoof pump of victory before assuming her position on the pyramid, taking a soft breath before the scene resumed.





Pinkie hurried down the pyramid, grabbing Soft Mane with a quick hoof around the back and guiding her towards the top of the pyramid. "There's no time to lose," she explained quickly. Despite the girl's shock, she at least kept her hooves under herself as she was shepherded close to the book. "Now follow my lead." At the girl's nod, Pinkie took a deep breath.

"Love can be a little rough, but that's when we just gotta get tough," began Pinkie, "A good heart's not something to assume, it takes time to nurture and bloom!" She reached out a hoof towards Soft Mane's dangling hand, nudging it and looking at her expectantly.

Soft Mane looked confused, but did her best to sing along even as her eyes closed to avoid the sight of her fallen allies, "When... things look really dark, all we have left is... what's in our heart. Our friends and family will pull us through, and we'll know the power of love a...new?"

Pinkie flashed a bright grin and squeezed Soft Mane encouragingly, "On a sunny day there is no  better, on a dark day it is your sweater, keeping us warm and toasty all the time, love's the word that always rhymes. Now throw your hooves up into the air, let's get three cheers for the love of a stallion or mare!" She danced away from Soft Mane and reached for the book, still parked on its pedestal of wings. As her hooves got within inches of it, the golem appeared, though much smaller. The pony sized golem grabbed her at the fetlock.

"You think your rhymes are so tough, but I am here to call your bluff. You know nothing of love's true power, before its might you will beg and cower," grated the golem as it began to shove Pinkie back.

She rolled with the shove, dancing around the golem and pulling it along with her, "You may have a shell of stone, sitting on this lonely throne, but you come along and dance with me, and I'll show your heart to be free." She planted a firm smooch on the golem's ruby heart even as she ducked a wild swing from it. A faint glimmer began to glow from within.

Soft Mane peeked open an eye to see Pinkie dancing with the deadly, if smaller, golem. She wrung her fingers worriedly, but let her voice free despite it, cracking as she sung, "Golem won't you learn to love, instead of giving your friend a... shove." Her words were less smooth and rhymes slower to form, but Pinkie seemed to appreciate the effort, giving a subtle hooves up as Soft continued, "We all want to be your friend, so let this... fight come to an end?"

The golem suddenly pulled Pinkie close, squeezing her as it sung against the both of them, "You know nothing of the dance, your last sight will be this romance. I will leave you broken and shattered, and none of this nonsense will have mattered."

Pinkie ducked down, slipping free of the grip with her trademark slipperiness and a soft giggle, "Now don't be silly, my dance partner, a little Pinkie love will shatter that armor. We'll be good friends, just you see, if only you'd dance with me instead of against me." She darted in, smooching either soft stone cheek as she danced around the golem in gleeful gyrations.

"You can't defeat love!" cried the golem.

"I don't want to!" replied Pinkie before giggling as she ducked the next swing and came up between the golem's legs, now standing behind it. She threw her arms around it and hugged it fiercely, nuzzling the back of its neck, "Hugs are much nicer when you don't break bones."

The golem's ruby heart began to glow brighter, but was snuffed from sight as Soft Mane joined Pinkie in the embrace, hugging the thing from the front. The golem went limp between them, surrendering to the love they offered. The brightness of its mineral heart grew to the point that it shine out in the gaps between them. Stone hands wrapped around Soft Mane. She tensed, but did not flee, even as it began to squeeze her.

"Is this love?" asked the golem.

"Eh, friendship," said Pinkie, "But it's almost the same thing."

With a parting, grating, sigh of defeat, the golem fell to dust, leaving only a large ruby heart behind on top of the pile. Pinkie and Soft Mane fell into each other without the golem between them. Pinkie gathered Soft Mane up and swung around in a circle with her, "See, I told you! I did it!"

"You didn't tell me anything," said Soft, "But you did it. Before... we get too happy, what about our friends?"

Pinkie set Soft Mane down and tapped her chin before she hefted up the large ruby heart, "Well if it works like it does in the stories," she mused, approaching the book with the heart, "These two things have to go together."

Soft Mane raised a hand quickly, "Before you do that, maybe you should use your magic to heal them?"

Pinkie looked confused a moment before she shrugged and set the heart down. She quickly moved around to inspect her friends. Soft pats on the back roused Twilight and Long Road, but Dawn Event and Spike refused to stir despite her efforts.

Twilight blinked open her eyes, only to have the body of Spike be her greeting. She collapsed into tears over him, curling around and not acknowledging the others. 

Long Road rose stiffly. "I feel as if I was standing in the way of the Lightning Rail," he muttered, shaking off some of the grogginess  When he spotted the bawling Twilight his ears fell and he moved to her side, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Pinkie continued moving, refusing to be tied down in any one spot. She was soon back at the heart, lifting it up again on her fetlocks in a careful balance. "Alright, now heart?"

Soft Mane nodded hesitantly, "I guess it won't hurt anything more than it is."

Pinkie flashed a bright grin before she ambled up to the book. She looked over the book a moment before she leaned in and nudged the book off its stand. It hit the ground with a loud slap. On its cover was an imprint in the size and shape of the heart. Pinkie nodded knowingly before she dropped the heart into place. It landed with a dull thud of stone against paper before it settled into place. A soft click rang out as the hooks in the book snapped into place around the ruby securely. The book began to shine with the same light that came from the golem as it floated into the air at face level with Pinkie.

The book threw itself open and flipped wildly until it settled on a page. Pinkie peered at the page. "I can't read this," she said with annoyance. She moved over to Twilight and began to poke her.

"What is it?" snapped the distraught alicorn, "Can't you see I'm busy." Busy crying and being a mess.

"Twilight. I think this is important." Pinkie nudged her again, "C'mon! Pinkie promise it's worth looking at."

Twilight punched the ground fruitlessly, "Fine! Fine... Just stop poking me." She rose up listlessly and followed Pinkie to the book. Twilight rubbed tears from her eyes before she blinked owlishly at the strange letters, "It's the same language that's been all over this... place." She settled on her haunches and dug out some writing supplies, starting to translate diligently.

Soft Mane sidled up to Pinkie, "What are you going to do about the others?" she asked, extending a finger at Spike, then Dawn Event. "I think they're ..." She didn't get to finish, Pinkie slapping a fetlock over her mouth.

"Shhh!" hissed Pinkie, "Let the magic of the event finish before we go declaring who is what."

Long Road remained by the fallen Spike, as if standing guard, only leaving for a moment to bring Dawn Event over to join them. "Adventuring is a lot harder on the bones than I figured it would be."

Twilight began to read from her notes, "I am the caretaker of love. You will know me as .. Laaa Shhh tada. Lashtada. I will bind families, bring lovers together, and fill your life with meaning. If I am forgotten, this book will remind you. If there is still love in the world, call out my name and I will return."

Pinkie clapped her hooves together, "Alright! So let's call her!"

Twilight frowned a little, "Pinkie... I think this is a god. Are we really going to call an unknown god and hope for the best?"

"Yes?" said Pinkie. "It's what the script demands."

"Pinkie," said Twilight, "You were very... clever? however you defeated that golem, but what on Equestria are you talking about? What script?"

Pinkie tapped her chin thoughtfully before she nodded, "You're right, Twilight. There is no script. We're making it up as we go, so what do we have to lose?"

Twilight opened her mouth to explain what she had to lose, but remembered the bodies of her friends behind her and slumped in place. "I... suppose very little."

Pinkie suddenly nudged Soft Mane, "You're kind of love incarnate, you should call her."

Soft Mane squeaked, "What? How?"

"Like, duh," said Pinkie, "You're a love that goes bigger than a species, that brought a human and a pony together. You also love Spike. You're practically exploding with love!" She threw her arms out wide as she spoke.

"I guess," said Soft Mane, sounding quite unsure as she stepped up to the book. She took a slow breath before shouting at the book, "Lashtada!"

The book snapped shut abruptly, falling to the ground with a thump. From where it struck, warmth seemed to spread out across the room, banishing wounds, brightening the stone. As it reached the darkness, it pushed it away, revealing a wide open space with other tunnels that led away. Dawn Event raised his head with a soft groan that was echoed by Spike. Both looked dizzy, but alive.

A soft voice spoke from nowhere, "You have called me back. Is there still love in this world?"

Pinkie was the first to reply with an enthusiastic, "Yepperooni! Look at her!" she directed a hoof at Soft Mane.

"You are not of this world," spoke the voice, "But this one is, and glows brightly. You will be my first messenger, an oracle of love to deliver the good news to all of Everglow."

Soft Mane suddenly shrieked, her hands covering her eyes as they clouded over, divine power flowing powerfully through her small frame.

"I claim your destiny for my own. You are mine, my first oracle. Teach the kindness and strength of love." The voice then faded, leaving the sore and dizzy adventurers alone.

Spike was at Soft's side quickly, but his attempt to comfort her was interrupted by an almost flying tackle from Twilight. She began sobbing anew as she held him tightly, overjoyed to have him back.

Dawn Event reached Soft first as a result, and brushed her fingers away from her face to look at her eyes. "You have been chosen," he spoke, "A high honor, to be the first word of a god. I admit jealousy, but my soul is already dedicated to enough."

Soft Mane shook her head, looking around, "Everything's darker, and I can't... see that far." she said with a whimper. "Am I going blind?"

"No," spoke Dawn, "Your eyesight will improve with time, to a degree, but it is a price. All oracles pay a price, but with it comes the power of the gods. Come, claim your book. It is yours by right."

With quivering  hands, Soft Mane carefully lifted up the book and held it to her chest. "I... didn't ask to be chosen."

"Few do," agreed Dawn Event, "But it is so. Come, we should depart. We have what we came for."

Long Road raised an ear at Dawn, "How do you figure, after all that? You can't give away the book to Luminace, the way I see it."

Dawn shook his head, "I cannot, but I have done something more important. A new god walks the face of Everglow. I wonder if she had a tribe once? The book will reveal, but I can see why Kara did not wish us to have it."

"One love god against another," spat out Long Road, "The dark side and the bright side of it."