Soren the Alicorn Part 3: A True Hero?

by KingNyroc15

An Unexpected Visitor

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Canterlot,
Ten days after the Gala
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Soren and Rainbow Dash were in downtown Canterlot, enjoying donuts at Donut Joe's shop. The pegasus and alicorn have enjoyed their time in Canterlot so far, yet Rainbow knows that Soren is still not entirely the same. Almost two weeks ago, Soren finally snapped, at least according to his friends. His mind is barely handling the stress of everything that is happening to him. Princess Celestia hoped that Soren would feel better during his 'vacation' in Canterlot. Even with Rainbow Dash by his side, the alicorn still hasn't changed much since the Gala. Today, Rainbow decided to bring Soren to Donut Joe's shop so she could confront him about this topic.

"Hey, Soren?" she started after swallowing a bite from her glazed donut.

"Yeah?" he replied, putting down his chocolate donut.

"Has this vacation made you feel any better?"

"Not really."

"What happened to you at the Gala? I know the stress finally got to you, but specifically what happened?" Soren loudly exhaled.

"It's exactly what you girls think: I snapped...or more specifically, I cracked under the pressure. You all know how I hate putting the ponies around me in danger, yet it always happens. I try to run, but events like the Gala always drag me back. I'm tired, Rainbow Dash, so very tired...of everything."

"I'm sorry, Soren, but I don't know what to tell you. If this is what your destiny is, I think you're going to have to push through. That's one heck of a destiny, though: Saving ponies on a daily basis. Can't you at least agree on that?"

"I suppose I can, but there's a fine line between saving ponies and causing them more harm than good." An annoyed frown appeared on Rainbow Dash's face as she slammed both of her hooves on the table, leaning closer to Soren. Loud, most muffled, voices could be heard outside.

"You listen to me, Soren. You're not a threat, you're a Celestia-damned hero! I don't know if you know this or not but ponies look up to you; they expect you to help and protect everypony. They need you, our friends need you...I need you. I need you to be stronger than this; I need you to be that Soren that defeated Coyote Colt in Appaloosa. Please...I want the real you back."

Soren opened his mouth to respond, but he couldn't find the words in time because he got distracted by the commotion outside.

"What the...?" Donut Joe sounded from behind the counter. He then ran out the front door of the restaurant. Rainbow Dash and Soren watched the stallion through the window as he stood outside. Within seconds, Joe's face went from curious to scared. Upon seeing this, Soren and Rainbow Dash ran outside to join him.

Donut Joe, along with Rainbow standing to his left and Soren standing to his right, looked upon the horrific scene that was occurring down the street. Small explosions, along with ponies running away from said explosions, could be seen not too far from the shop. Rainbow gasped when she saw what was creating the explosions. Soren turned towards her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Soren...look." He did as he was instructed but nearly fainted as a result. He immediately recognized who was causing the explosions.

"No...It-It can't be her! How?!"

Grinning evilly while walking calmly down the street...was Nyra. The Nightmare Guardian casted a few explosive spells at nearby doors. The doors flew inside their respective buildings, causing the ponies inside to scream and panic. The Nightmare Guardian scanned the area, looking for more havoc to cause. She smiled when she saw three unmoving ponies standing further down the street, watching her destroy the area. She teleported away from their line of sight, thus leaving them worried. Soren and Rainbow Dash checked everywhere so Nyra couldn't surprise them. A crack of air was heard nearby...very nearby. Soren and Rainbow turned around to see that Donut Joe was gone and in his place stood Nyra.

"Hello, Soren," she grinned as she casted an explosive spell to send both Soren and Rainbow flying away.

The couple slammed against different walls a few yards away from each other. Slowly getting up, Soren saw Nyra advancing on him. He found something curious as she walked towards him. 'Why is she grinning so much? She wasn't evil when I last saw her.' Soren quickly found himself being levitated by magic and was pulled towards the bat pony. Once he was close enough, Soren began speaking with her.

"Nyra, why are you doing this?! This isn't you! What happened to the mare I convinced to be good?" The evil guardian laughed at him. She pulled him in close enough for their noses to touch.

"She vanished when she was betrayed," Nyra growled while staring at Soren with soul piercing eyes. Soren felt a part of his heart break upon hearing that. Being smart, Soren used his own magic to teleport out of Nyra's aura. He reappeared next to Rainbow Dash, who was just starting to stand up. Soren helped his marefriend up with a hoof as he instructed her.

"Come on, Rainbow, we gotta get out of here. We need to lead Nyra away from Canterlot."

"Alright...Sweet Celestia, that blast was powerful," Rainbow groaned.

"I know it hurts, but..." Soren looked in the direction of Nyra and saw her, horn aglow, sprinting towards them. "...FLY!" He grabbed Rainbow's hoof and rocketed upwards.

Nyra rushed past the area they previously occupied and charged straight through a wall. The Guardian quickly flew out of the hole in the building and aimed for the escaping couple. Rainbow Dash was flying on her own at this point, and her and Soren tried to fly as fast as they could away from Canterlot. Rainbow looked behind herself and noticed that Nyra was catching up.

"How is she so fast?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "We're almost flying fast enough to do a Sonic Rainboom!" Soren continued to look straight ahead. He knew that if he looked back, he may falter at the sight of a vengeful Nightmare Guardian easily catching up to them.

"We just need to get to Ponyville without Nyra knowing. Start heading in the direction of Appaloosa. I have a plan." Rainbow turned her attention forward again and nodded.

The two of them continued to fly ahead of Nyra for a few more seconds before the grey alicorn decided to send more spells at them. Bolts and streams of magic whizzed by Soren and Rainbow, narrowly hitting either of them every time. Soren's horn began to glow; Nyra knew what spell he was going to use. She stopped her chase as she watched Soren and Rainbow teleport away.

"Hide and seek..." Nyra smiled. "Even more fun."

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The cracking of air disrupted the silence of the area that Soren and Rainbow Dash were now in. Dust picked up all around them, so the two began to cough and wave their hooves in the air. Once the dust was mostly cleared, Soren looked around to see where his spell took them. He smiled as he saw a familiar blue object right in front of him and Rainbow.

"Oh how I missed you!" Soren exclaimed. Rainbow also smiled upon seeing the TARDIS.

"So you managed to take us all the way to Twilight's basement? Good job."

"Thanks, but we're not safe yet. I don't know if Nyra will be fooled by that stunt. She could be on her way here as we speak."

"Couldn't she just teleport here?"

"She hasn't been through much of Ponyville last I checked. We need to find—"

"Soren? Rainbow Dash? Is that you?" Soren and Rainbow turned towards the entrance of the basement to see none other than Twilight Sparkle walking through the doorway. "It is!" Twilight rushed over to give both of them a hug.

"It's good to see you too, Twilight, but—" Rainbow started but was interrupted by the happy unicorn.

"All of us missed you two so much. First, you two decided to leave, then you came back for the Grand Galloping Gala only to be separated from us again because—" Twilight's mouth was blocked by a cyan hoof.

"Twilight, I know you missed us and all, but something happened in Canterlot." Twilight backed away from Rainbow's hoof.

"What happened?" Soren took a step forward.

"We need to gather everyone first. Let's just say an old friend came to visit." Twilight arched an eyebrow at the two. She then nodded and led them upstairs.

The three of them split up to gather their friends. Rainbow flew off to find Fluttershy, Soren went to get Applejack, and Twilight was to remain in town to get Pinkie Pie and Rarity. By 2 o'clock, the team of three soon came together into a group of seven as they gathered in the library. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie looked back and forth between Soren, Rainbow, and Twilight. The three didn't say why they needed them, they just urgently brought them here.

"Does uhh...does anypony wanna explain what's happenin'?" Applejack started.

"Please do," Rarity added. "I was in the middle of a very important design that I have been dying to work on."

"And I was making cupcakes to send to you and Rainbow Dash," explained Pinkie Pie.

"I wasn't doing anything important," Fluttershy whispered. The four mares began talking all together as they continued to question why they were brought here.

"NYRA ATTACKED CANTERLOT!" Soren blurted. It was as though he stole all of their voices, for they were instantly silent. Everypony, including Twilight, stared wide-eyed at Soren. Rainbow Dash hung her head in response.

"He's telling the truth," she explained. "Nyra isn't dead. We saw her rampaging down the streets of Canterlot, then she started chasing us. Soren teleported us to Ponyville after we led her away from the city."

"Nyra...is alive?" Twilight whispered at first. Her voice then became a lot louder as she couldn't comprehend the situation. "How?! We saw her die! Soren held her as she passed away."

"Twilight, calm down," Soren interrupted. "I don't know how it's possible, but it is. Right now, the best course of action would be to alert the princesses." Twilight took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"Ok. I'll go get Spike. He's probably taking a nap upstairs." As Twilight trotted up the staircase, Soren sat down and buried his head in his hooves. Rainbow Dash sat beside him and draped a fore-leg around him.

"Is Soren alright?" Fluttershy asked Rainbow.

"I don't know," Dash answered softly. "What I do know is that Soren is probably going to have to deal with Nyra again, and I doubt he has it in himself to even think about that."

"Well I hope the princesses can do something about her this time...for Soren's sake," Rarity commented. Minutes passed before Twilight and Spike descended the staircase and joined their friends. Twilight saw that Soren had his face buried.

"Soren?" she called. "Can you look at me, please?" Soren obliged and removed his hooves from his face. Twilight was surprised to see an emotionless expression. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," he answered. "Did you send a letter to Celestia yet?" His unicorn friend nodded.

"We told her that you and Rainbow saw Nyra attacking Canterlot. I asked her to respond to me as soon as—" Spike groaned loudly before Twilight could finish talking. Everypony looked at the dragon as he burped up a scroll, which landed in front of him. Spike picked up the scroll and handed it to Twilight. "That was fast..."

"A little too fast," Pinkie Pie added as her eyes narrowed. No one could tell if she was being serious or just being Pinkie. Twilight used her magic to unravel the scroll then she began to read aloud.

Twilight,

I regret to inform all of you that my sister and I will not be able to help with the nearly impossible return of the Nightmare Guardian. This morning, Luna began to act strange. The guards and I issued for her to rest, but she became agitated. By noon, it was clear that something was wrong with her mind. As I write this letter, Luna is attempting to bash down my bedroom doors. I enchanted my entire room so no magic could be used to enter. I am so sorry to leave you all on your own, but I must help my sister.

Good luck,
Princess Celestia

Twilight dropped the scroll.

"So does this mean...?" Fluttershy started.

"We're on our own," Twilight stated.

Author's Note:

I am way ahead of schedule so here ya go. Plus I really want my friend to see this. Shout out to Shayden and the reactions he will have after reading this chapter.

PS: Sorry Part 3 is so long. This is the last arc, so it's almost done.

Comments

[Shayden]

Well, that's one way to show you're back from the dead... not the best way, but certainly a viable choice. Can't wait for the next one!