Totality
The dark dragoon stayed atop the deck of the Intrepid for extended periods of time, only briefly going below deck to check on the engines and bound crew. Kain was patient, in a matter of hours, he’d finally get what he wanted, either another chance at finding Rosa or to be given the peace of oblivion.
As he made his way once more above deck, he noted the colors of the sky changing. Soon, he’d get his answer.
“Just a little while longer.” He said.
Rarity and Midnight Oil were still bound to the mast of the airship. The mare, despite having not literally to have been fighting, looked dreary and battle worn.
“What did any of this mean?” Rarity asked. “For all the work you put into getting over your past, only for you to become the very thing you despised once more. What did I do? Why did I allow myself to even consider having feelings for such a pony?”
“I am no pony.” Kain replied. “If I can get home, I can finally be rid of this diminutive body. Understand this pony, I could never have feelings for an animal.” Kain spat out venomously.
Rarity could only look up at the dragoon with the utmost sorrow, eyes welling up with tears.
“You’re complete scum.” Midnight Oil said. “Couldn’t you see how much she cared about you? I saw it the first time you two boarded this airship. And now you’re throwing it in her face? You make me sick!”
“Enough!” Kain shouted. “Speak more of this, and I will find a way to silence you without taking your life!”
Hoof beats clopped onto the front of the airship.
The dragoon that was threatening the two unicorns turned around. “I warned you ponies on prematurely coming to this vessel, now-“ he stopped himself as he observed the intruder. “What devilry is this?” he asked.
The pony that had landed stood with the wind whipping his cloak and mane.
“Leave them be.” The cloaked interloper said.
The armored dragoon lowered his weapon and turned to face this intruder. Both unicorns stared in bewilderment at the situation.
“Is this some sort of ruse?” Dark Kain said as he approached his other side. “I’m going to enjoy killing you and tossing you off this airship. It’ll be their one warning. Now tell me, who are you imposter?”
Kain then noted his dark side approaching with an air of caution.
“I am you. We are the same person.” Kain said.
“Don’t joke with me!” Dark Kain said. “Even if you are the pink one in disguise, I won’t hold any reservations about making an example of you!”
“Our father is Ricard Highwind, former captain of the Baronian Dragoons.” Kain said, to which his doppelgänger stopped in his tracks.
“We took an oath to the dragon of the name Baron and Deist of this world. In our past, we’d fallen in love with Rosa Joanna Farrel.” The cloaked dragoon continued.
“Impossible!” Dark Kain said.
“After all that we’ve experienced, this is hardly the most outrageous thing to befall us.” Kain said.
“Enough!” Dark Kain said. “Illusion or devil, I will slay you!” then he attacked the hooded dragoon.
Kain used what experience he gained from his first battle using Canterburn against Gilgamesh, he counted himself fortunate to have been challenged on the bridge yesterday.
Dark Kain lunged, and Kain rotated along the side of the spear thrust to deliver a powerful buck to his armored counterpart. The attack jarred Dark Kain, but otherwise left him unharmed.
“Right, the armor.” Kain said.
Dark Kain swung his spear in a sweeping motion. The hooded dragoon needed to fight around the ranged weapon. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed being a dragoon. Keeping your opponents at a distance was the main perks of using a spear.
Fighting with a sword against a spear was part of his early practice against dragoons he trained with, but this was no practice, and this was someone who probably knew his every move. To make matters worse, Dark Kain had his shield, offering limited openings to exploit.
For the battle, Kain needed to fight patiently and around his opponent. Since he didn’t have any armor, he was much more nimble than normal, but it also meant that he couldn’t afford to be hit, not even by a glancing blow.
When the dark dragoon thrust his spear forward, Kain instinctively went in close in order to get into range, however his adversary then attempted to bash him with his shield to the face. Kain was forced to duck and withdraw from his push. When he’d dealt with his fellow dragoons from before, it was as simple as dodging to the left and going for their attacking angle, but fighting his reflection as different.
It wasn’t so much that he was fighting himself, Kain was well practiced in combat and could change tactics if necessary. The problem was that he was fighting another left-handed, or rather hooved, opponent.
Kain realized that he’d need to mirror his own learned movements in order to compensate. The dark dragoon then made another swing; this time the hooded dragoon leapt over and to the right to deliver a double buck before the armored dragoon could spin up another attack.
Once again having left his opponent recoiling from a kick, Kain seized the opportunity for a follow up. He spun around and made a move to kick off his opponent’s head with a somersault.
Dark Kain grunted from the strikes, but was able to react with a low sweep of his spear to trip the recently landed dragoon.
Kain was tripped and knocked to his side. Dark Kain continued by attempting to plunge the spear straight down through Kain. The hooded dragoon barely rolled out of the way when the spear was driven into the deck of the Intrepid.
Kain regained his stance and kept his distance from his dark self.
“So you aren’t some copy or illusion.” Dark said.
“Hardly.” Kain replied.
“Then why do you impede our goals?” Dark Kain asked. “Can you not see where our weakness has led us? No more I say! It is time we take charge of our life!”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Kain said, entering a combat stance. “You’ve governed our decisions for far too long.”
Dark Kain twirled his spear around and pointed it at the hooded dragoon. “I see it now. You’re the reason why I was so weak.” He then charged with blinding speed.
Kain sidestepped to avoid the attack, but Dark Kain stopped once he passed the hooded dragoon and spun his weapon in a circle, striking his intended target.
Kain was close enough not to have been skewered by the business end of the spear, but was sending sprawling across the deck.
It was only a few moments before he realized that the armored dragoon was airborne and coming down upon him. The hooded dragoon rolled onto his hooves and then side jumped the crash landing which shook the Intrepid and pointed the airship’s nose downward.
Both dragoons stumbled and slid with the change in the incline. Kain then made a rush for the controls. He managed to put the Intrepid into an ascent, but before he could level the airship, Dark Kain charged him, leaving the airship rising and the two dragoons fighting on another incline when the hooded dragoon had to leave the controls in order to dodge.
Kain then saw that he was at the higher part of the tilted airship and decided to counter attack by running down the incline.
Dark Kain readied his lance, waiting for gravity and speed of his opponent to do the work for him, but then Kain leapt high over the dark dragoon and landed on the lower part of the incline behind him.
Kain didn’t hesitate, by the time the armored dragoon could turn around; he leapt diagonally and crashed straight into his opponent. He then used the opportunity to return to the controls and re-align the airship, which by this time had gone up by a substantial distance. He then looked to see where his dark side was, only to note his absence on deck.
That only left one place for Dark Kain to be. The hooded dragoon briefly looked up and then jumped up to intercept the dark dragoon in midair.
Without an advantage in range, he was risking a lot in this move. Indeed the dark dragoon did have the spear pointed and ready for his ascent. Kain then angled his ascent slightly to the right just before both knights collided. Dark Kain lurched to his left and was dragged back into the air before he could launch himself downward. Kain had caught the spear in his hooves and was attempting to wrestle control of the weapon away.
Though the move took Dark Kain by surprise, he eventually regained control of the spear and kicked Kain down, at an angle way from the Intrepid’s deck. For Kain, his descent was slow despite being sent at an unbelievable speed downward.
The dragoon looked at the deck of the Intrepid and at Rarity, still tied to the mast. There was only a look of horror on her face as she saw him being sent downward.
He looked around in the sky for any signs of Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and her balloon, but it appeared they weren’t in position yet.
He’d failed.
There wouldn’t be enough time to catapult back onto the airship after falling, even if he came out of the fall uninjured. His dark side was plotting out a do or die scenario. He was planning on killing anyone who stood in his way.
Kain wanted, needed, another chance to stop the darkness. He looked up at the airship, its distance from him ever growing. His legs screamed in anger; all Kain needed to do was get back up there, but he needed ground to jump off from.
At least he thought he needed ground.
The dragoon then kicked off the air itself as if he were jumping of the ground normally, it felt as if the air beneath his hooves solidified to support him.
The hooded dragoon shot straight up and over the intrepid. He landed in front of Dark Kain.
“What does it take to be rid of interlopers?” the armored dragoon asked.
He then charged to re-engage Kain.
There weren’t any more tactics for the hooded dragoon to employ, he took to the air. The dark dragoon jumped up to meet him in combat, but Kain immediately dove downward to interrupt the ascent.
With a powerful strike, Kain slammed straight into his dark self and sent him crashing down onto the deck of the airship.
Dark Kain then kicked his hooded opponent off and made another blindingly fast charge.
Kain jumped up a bit and then launched himself off of his adversary’s head and into the air once more. Dark Kain could only try to meet him in the sky. This time, weapons clashed as spear and sword were swung.
The dark dragoon deflected a blow from Canterburn and knocked Kain away from the engagement, but the hooded dragoon was able to propel himself forward and jar his opponent.
It looked as if the dark dragoon would plummet away from the Intrepid, but it was not to be. The armored dragoon also propelled himself forward to meet Kain.
“It figures as much.” Kain muttered to himself before once again being locked in combat.
The two dragon knights clashed once more before they realized that they were losing altitude and were falling beneath the airship. Both shot upwards and onto the deck to continue the fight.
Apart from their gear, both dragoons seemed evenly matched. Kain noted that he was closer to Rarity and Midnight than the controls. He attempted to make a break for the hostages, but Dark Kain made a move as well.
Instead of a follow up attack, Kain saw his dark counterpart kick the controls, causing the Intrepid to shake and point downwards. The airship was pointed straight for a crash landing in Ponyville.
The dark dragoon then brandished a fire fang and threw it onto the front of the ship, igniting the deck.
Kain got to his feet, but was almost immediately swept into the air.
“Why do I even bother?!” Dark Kain said. “Every single time I try to do something to help me, there’s always something to stand in my way.”
Kain could only stare back at the emotionless helmet of his dark side as he spoke, both being carried upwards.
“Now it seems that fate has enacted the greatest cruelty by putting me in my own way.” Dark Kain said, and then looked at the hooded dragoon. “But no matter, you will help me. Once that pony you’ve deluded us into liking dies, you’ll have no choice but to help get us back to Rosa.”
The armored pony then clasped over Kain in a vice grip. “You will not save her!” the dark side said.
Kain struggled to break free of the grapple, all of the while looking off into the distance and seeing the Intrepid falling closer and closer to the earth. The sun had completely set by this time. The fire burning atop the airship being the only thing still visible from how high up they were.
“You will not save any of them.” The dark dragoon lamented. “You see the Intrepid is quite literally a powder keg now. It was a good thing we saved all of those magic shards wasn’t it?”
Kain recalled that he didn’t have all of his items after he awoke from the crash into the mirror pool cave. Then he realized that the dozens of fire and thunder fangs he’d collected must have gone with his dark side.
Kain then tried desperately to break free, but the armored dragoon didn’t even budge. More alarming was the smoke that appeared to emanate from his dark side. Despite all the wind in his ears, Kain could hear a hissing sound.
To his horror, he then saw the cause of the smoke and sound. His dark side was binding the two of them together. The hooded dragoon soon felt all of the history once more from past to present, all the anguish, rage, and envy suddenly returned to him.
It was everything that embodied his dark side. It was every fiber of that armored pony’s being. It felt strangely comforting to feel those emotions so strongly once again. They’d been pried out of him only hours before, but he hadn’t noticed until now how profound they were.
There was a strange force at work, sudden clarity, but also as if Kain was losing himself. He wanted badly to go back to Rosa now, or was that his dark side? The hooded dragoon glanced once more at the nose diving airship and reality set upon him once more.
Kain kicked himself off of his doppelgänger’s body and launched himself far higher than his assailant. Not a second later did he maneuver himself into position for a dive bomb.
Kain then “jumped” downward back at the armored dragoon; he crashed into him and began to pummel him with his free hoof, hoping disorient him or even knock him out, all the while dragging him downward to the Intrepid.
It just didn’t seem like he was moving fast enough to reach the airship; Kain kicked his legs again, and the two dragoons sped down even faster.
Another kick, and soon they were plummeting at break neck speed. Kain had only one chance to get it right if he was to save Rarity and the Intrepid’s crew. When the dive bombing dragoons made impact with the deck of the airship, they crashed through the floor of the deck and sent the vessel into a spiral.
Amid the interior wreckage of the airship, Kain slowly got up and looked down upon the pony he’d used to land on. His dark side was knocked out, or maybe even dead, but he didn’t have time to check. The hooded dragoon then checked his adversary’s belonging and found that he still indeed had ice fangs.
Kain used one of the magic shards on the area to prevent the flames from spreading deeper into the intrepid. Ice spread around the gaping wound of the airship, including over the armored dragoon.
Kain leapt out onto the deck, landing uneasily due to the erratic motions of the Airship. He brought out more ice fangs and shattered them over the deck of the Intrepid and then bolted from the controls.
Kain stabilized the airship before it could crash mere meters from Ponyville.
He then ran to the mast and cut the captives free. ”Rarity, are you alright?” Kain asked. “I’m sorry that this happened, I’d no idea that-“ he was cut off by the white unicorn now embracing him.
“Thank goodness you’re alive!” Rarity said. “I just knew that horrible monster wasn’t the same pony I had feelings for. But it’s over now right?”
“A few repairs here and there, but I think she’ll be okay.” Midnight said. Both Rarity and Kain stared at the pilot. “Oh sorry! I’ll just head below deck and untie Cosine and Codex.” The engineer moved below deck hastily.
“So, is he, the dark side, gone?” Rarity asked.
“No, he’s out, I’m almost sure of it, but,” Kain said before gasping out in pain. The dragoon shuddered as well, attempting to move.
“What’s wrong Kain?!” Rarity asked.
Kain felt a sharp stab of cold go through his chest. No one had actually attacked him, but the pain felt real. The dragoon looked back at where he’d left his doppelgänger and then jumped back down.
He saw the other dragoon beneath the ice, and used Canterburn to break through and pull out the armored dragoon. Kain landed on the deck only a short distance from Rarity.
Rarity recoiled and stepped back she saw the dark dragoon. “What are you going to do with him?” she asked. “Princess Celestia has places where the most horrible of villains can be confined.”
“There is only one thing to do.” Kain said. “For as much of a miserable and wretched creature he is, I cannot kill him, nor can I cast him off.” Kain knelt down next to his dark self.
Wisps of light then began to stream from both ponies. The intensity increased ever more until Rarity had to look away. When the light faded, she looked back and saw only one stallion standing.
It was Kain, clad in his armor with sword and spear holstered. The dragoon helmet was at his hooves, letting the wind whip his mane. He stood smiling at Rarity.
“That dark side is as much of me as my light. If I destroyed him, I’d have destroyed everything that has led to me being who I am today. He was the past I’d tried to run from for so long, but now I realize that it should never be forgotten.“ Kain said.
“He has his place. As a memory now.”
~Belligerent Bindlestiff