//------------------------------// // A Dying Legacy // Story: Pegasus Feathers // by Vanilla Mocha //------------------------------// Irothrust slowly opened up her left eyelid, enough to see what was happening. The grass had turned a dark shade of green without very much saturation, almost like a dark grey in color. The air had a dark purple fog, that had obviously come from Loviatar's magic. The tree trunks surrounding the middle of the Sorcerer's Field were nowhere to be seen- there were black ashes in their places, as if they had been disintegrated while she was knocked out. The only tree close to the ponies was the United Sorcerer's Tree, which was turning from white to dark grey on the trunk. The orange leaves had almost completely fallen off, and about half of the blue ones were still on. The purple colored ones, however, looked very healthy, and not a single one could be found on the ground with the other leaves. Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon sat in the back near the Sunset Gates, worried. Sweetie Belle was still crying, and she sat next to Scootaloo, who looked like she wanted to cry. Her eyes did not once leave Ryon- he lay on the ground, breathing heavily. His tired, bloodshot eyes looked panicked as Loviatar approached him. "One down, two to go." She smirked as she talked. Using her magic, she picked up Ryon. Looking back behind her at the Tree, her smirk grew wider. A psychotic laughter once again came pouring out of the monster as she flew towards the tree. "What are you-" Scootaloo yelled, now crying. "SHUT UP!" Loviatar snapped back, anger rising in her voice. Scootaloo cowered down, afraid of what might happen to her, to Ryon, to everypony... Using her magic once more, Loviatar created a rope-like object. She tied Ryon's left front leg to the left branch with the blue leaves, and the snowflake design in the branches. His right front leg was tied to the right side of the tree, where the orange leaves had once been. All that remained on that side was the sculpture of fire the branches created. His neck was tied to the middle branch- the one covered in purple leaves, and the twisted sticks to look like wind. His back hooves were tied together, and his wings had been spread out. He was being hung. "Wh-why a-are you d-doing this-s t-t-o me-e...?" Ryon choked out, saliva flying. Loviatar only smiled at him. Turning around to face the others, she bellowed, "As the Tree withers, the sorcerers will wither! I shall have dominion- I shall take control! The sorcerers are a dying legacy- and my reign of revenge against you shall begin, you shall all bow down unto me, because I am powerful- I am worthy of such praise!!!" "NO! You can't kill him!" Scootaloo's emotions took over her mind. She stood up- and ran, towards the murder. "S-scoot-t-aloo, d-don't-t..." Ryon choked, grasping for air. His breathing had become heavy, and his eyes were even more bloodshot than before. "I love him, and you're not taking him away from me!" Scootaloo, although crying, yelled. Cold, salty tears ran down her face as she screamed. "You can't, you- you evil monster! Who are you?! WHO ARE YOU?!" "Haven't I already said?" Loviatar smirked. Her white teeth against the pitch black fur shone brightly through the forest. Ryon's heavy breathing continued as he gasped for air, and it was equally hard trying to exhale. Bloom, Tiara, and Spoon remained in the back, scared of what their "friend" might do to them. Loviatar, however, payed no attention to them as her eyes met Scootaloo. "Well, haven't I?" Loviatar asked the orange pegasus again. Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say. She could tell that this wasn't who Loviatar wanted to be... but why? Why that feeling of deceit? Wasn't this who she claimed to be- wasn't this the personality Loviatar that had been destined for? Scootaloo's mind lost its train of thought as her ears picked up the sound of Ryon. His breathing had turned into a scratchy whistling sound, and his neck was dark red- almost purple. His cheeks were turning red, and his eyes were still bloodshot. Saliva fell from his mouth as he tried to remain alive- the rest of his body was limp- his front hooves were still tied to the branches above, and his back hooves were tied, like as if they were cuffed together. His wings seemed to dangle in the air, following the breeze as it swept by. His fur was pale- almost like the shade of Irothrusts'. Dark red, watery blood dripped out of the wound from Loviatar's spear that had struck his side earlier. It made a puddle of red water on the ground, next to the tree's dark grey roots. Irothrust's mind whirled. This can't happen... she'd never murder her brother... she'd kill me, but not... Ryon... her thoughts faded as she watched in fear as the black pegasus took one last look at the dying Ryon. The red fog pouring from her eyes left a red tint on Ryon's pale brown fur as the evil pegasus glared at Scootaloo. "You knew him for a week! And you love him? What kind of sick, twisted generation is this?!" Loviatar spat, lowering her tall neck to be level with the orange filly. "W-what kind of sick, t-twisted pony are you... m-murdering your brother like this?" Scootaloo whispered, afraid. "What was that? I'm terribly sorry- I didn't hear you. The choking sounds of my passing brother are muting our conversation." Loviatar grinned, her sharp, pearl-white teeth glistening. Scootaloo had enough. Inhaling heavily, she said with all seriousness in her tone,"What sick, twisted pony are you?!" "Sick, t-twisted- ha!" Loviatar broke into laughter once more. "S-scootaloo, you crack me up! And I thought- ha, oh Celestia that made my day! Actually, no- murdering my brother did... and I also assume that Irothrust is dead. I mean, she isn't moving." Hearing this, poor Sweetie Belle cried harder. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, and her nose was pink. Scootaloo stood up taller, angered yet scared. Ryon choked again, loudly- wheezing his breaths as he fought death. "Dear brother... would you like to say a few last words before you pass?" Loviatar made her signature face- the soft, comforting eyes, the small, almost loving smile, and relaxed, compassionate eyebrows... all destroyed by the deviously evil tone in her voice. "I-I... l-love... all... of... you... e-spe-caill-y... Scootaloo... a-and... if... I... never... see... her... ag-gain... I... want... her... t-to... know..." his voice faded as his eyes began to close. "Ryon! Ryon, I love you too... what was it, that you wanted me to know? You're... you're strong. Please tell me." Scootaloo ran up to the tree, hugging it. "Th-that... I..." his harsh, whisper choked. "Noooo! You can't go! You can't die! I love you too much for that! Ryon! RYON!" Scootaloo clung to the tree tightly- Ryon was too high up for her to touch. Sobbing, she looked back at Loviatar, speechless. As the Tree withers the sorcerers will wither... I shall have dominion... I shall take control... the sorcerers are a dying legacy... These words that Loviatar had spoken ran through Irothrust's mind as she lay on the cold, hard ground in the Sorcerer's Field. The lush, green grass that had once thrived had died. Irothrust slowly picked her head off the ground, and tilted it back, looking behind her. Her black cape- one curse from her evil cousin- was still hiding her back. Sighing, she stood up. To save Ryon... to save everypony... and to kill myself. She trotted towards Sweetie, who noticed her right away. "I-Irothrust?" The weak, caped pony didn't reply. Instead, she continued walking slowly towards the tree. "Get off! I command you!" Loviatar, using her magic, grabbed Scootaloo and tore her away from the tree, throwing her onto the ground a few yards away. "Noooo! NOOOOOO!" Scootaloo yelled, tears flowing down her face. Irothrust, acting like as if she had saw nothing, continued walking. "Irothrust?" Apple Bloom whispered, squinting her eyes to get a better look at the pony that was so far away from her. "What do you mean?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Wait- is that Irothrust?" Silver leaned forward, looking at the pony. "She's dead, you cowards! You nerdy, geeky insults! You- you..." "...Friend. Best friend. I thought that's what we were... until you started bullying. Then I followed you to avoid being hurt... now look at Apple Bloom. She's my new friend... but I can't be lukewarm with my decisions any longer. I'm sorry, Diamond... but it's all over. Unless you stop being like her," Silver pointed at Loviatar, "you'll never be my friend again." Diamond was quiet for a moment. "I'm not going to turn evil and murder ponies, Silver- you're overreacting and-" "She hurt them, hurt us- you and I did the same thing. It doesn't matter what we did- pain is still pain, no matter how gruesome." Silver Spoon stood up and gave her old friend one last look. "Goodbye, Diamond." She trotted slowly into the purple fog. "Wait, Silver! ...Silver?" Diamond Tiara's voice faded into a whisper. "...Silver?" Apple Bloom watched the two ponies. Diamond stared into the dark mist as the grey filly walked away, leaving the both of them behind. A warm tear fell down onto Bloom's left cheek. It seemed to comfort her... she missed Silver Spoon. She didn't want to feel abandonment anymore. She had forced her friends to leave her behind when she befriended Diamond, Loviatar, and Silver Spoon... but the grey filly wasn't whom she looked like. She was bullied. She was scared. She was sad... and now, she stood up to the pony that was known as her best friend... her only friend. The only pony that anypony would see Silver with... and it was all done. Everything... over. Then Apple Bloom noticed something. Diamond Tiara... was crying. "You can't take him away from me!" Scootaloo screamed, jumping back onto her hooves. "Don't... move!" Loviatar slowly yelled, making sure the pegasus filly got her command. "He needs me!" "He's dying!" "We need each other!" "What do you want? To die along with him?!" Scootaloo stopped. "N-no..." "Really? I was hoping you'd say 'yes'..." Loviatar grinned. Scootaloo backed away slowly. "T-that was a joke, r-right?" "Nope." Loviatar moved closer to the nervous pony. "B-b-but Ry- Irothrust?" Scootaloo then noticed the caped pony walking. Irothrust was about five yards away from the tree, two yards away from Scootaloo and Loviatar. "Irothrust... IROTHRUST?! What the heck?! She's dead! Shut up, you ignorant-" Scootaloo didn't say a word. She only pointed at the pony. Loviatar stopped yelling, and looked at where Scootaloo was directing her. "...Irothrust?" The caped filly only looked at her cousin, before sprinting. Running as fast as she could, she jumped into the air. Only about five feet away from the United Sorcerer's Tree, she was airborne. Long, pale wings stuck out from under her cape. The strange thing is that her wings... were folded. The tips were bent under, hiding the end of all of her long feathers. All eyes were on the pony as she flew up to the top of the tree. She didn't stop. Continuing, she flew about fifteen feet above the top of the wilting tree. "...Irothrust has WINGS?!" Sweetie Belle broke the silence, wiping a tear from her eye. "Irothrust isn't dead?" Diamond Tiara whispered, watching in awe... smiling. "Irothrust... will pay!" Loviatar yelled. Singing her evil song, she absorbed more of Ryon's magic, forcing him to choke even more as he was getting closer to death. A black and extremely dark purple fog surrounded her as she screamed hysterically. Irothrust didn't pay any attention to her evil cousin. Instead, she closed her eyes, and whispered, "As the world lights candles, and the friction collides, and bronze and the gold seem to combine, these are the colors of fire, and the fire is mine..." As she finished, she opened her wings all the way, and fell backwards. Her feathers unraveled, and inside was a bright orange light- the last, remaining magic Irothrust had. As she fell, every eye was on her... except for Loviatar, who was still being consumed by the darkness. The magic fell from her pegasus feathers, and like a comet, made a streak in the sky as she fell alongside the huge tree. While Irothrust was falling, her fur turned as pale as it could get. Starting at her back hooves, which were facing up, she began to disintegrate, turning to black ash like a phoenix. The magic landed on Ryon, eating away the rope that hung him. Trying his hardest to defeat death, he didn't know how to react to the sudden action of being free. Seeing this, Scootaloo, not thinking, ran up to Ryon as he fell from the tree, weakened... and flew, catching him. "I'm- I'M FLYING! Oh my Celestia, Ryon..." Scootaloo, like many others, didn't know how to react. She was flying, holding Ryon as he looked tiredly into her eyes, smiling weakly. His eyes, though still bloodshot, were still very loving. The way they just calmed her... she'd never felt anything like this type of emotion before. His pale, cold, weak face... "I've gotta get us down... you need to breathe!" As the filly touched the ground, Ryon said, "T-thank you, Scootaloo... I... wanted... you... t-to... know that..." He was hushed by the sudden realization of the crowd around them. Silver Spoon leaned in, waving all the other ponies away. "Don't worry... I studied cardiopulmonary resuscitation, remember?" Everypony looked at her, confused. "CPR." She said, lowing her eyelids in irritation. A low mumble of 'oh's and 'ah's was heard from the crowd around her. "Now, please- let me do this. It could save his life." Silver said, kneeling down towards Ryon. Scootaloo, though jealous, was glad that Silver Spoon was doing what she was. Though she wished she could touch Ryon, see his face, be around him just a little while longer... at least he'd survive. At least he wasn't going to die tonight. Everypony watched Silver in amazement... except for Sweetie Belle. She sat alone... in the cold, crying over Irothrust's ashes. Everything had disintegrated- the cloak, the pony... all that was left of her friend. Diamond Tiara, who was standing at the back of the crowd, noticed Sweetie and walked over to her... with a smile on her face. Nothing mean looking, or even angry... an expression that Sweetie had never seen the pink pony make to her before. It was a friendly expression. All attention was drawn back to Loviatar as she emerged from the fog... because she wasn't a pegasus any longer.