• Published 10th Mar 2012
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Guilt and Hate - Mindblower

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Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

*******

Shadows began to flicker before finally drawing themselves in toward Hate and being absorbed by her own. Darkness began to cocoon her in a black tar before evaporating off in a steam of noxious gas. Olly looked up to see an upside-down funnel cloud forming over them, with the suction strong enough to lift up various bits and pieces of debris, and getting stronger with every passing moment. Hate’s ragged breaths slowed until she was hardly breathing at all, and time itself seemed to pause. The funnel cloud ceased its twirling for just a moment.

“Twenty... five... thousand... years...” Hate struggled through the gap in time.

A shockwave sent the group flying backward. Hate’s wings dissolved into ash and feathers as the winds accelerated. The edges of the cloud slammed into the ground, encasing all of Ponyville in a sandy arena. Twilight rubbed sand out of her eyes, then looked up at Hate in shock and awe.

Hate’s wings were now only stumps on her back, though they weren’t bleeding or otherwise injured. To replace them was a web of energy--little strings of bright yellow light that wove together to form brilliant polygonal wings. She flapped them once, as a test, and a wave of acrid smoke blew through the area.

Pinkie yelled a word in Ancient and tapped into her Elemental powers. A pulse of blue energy shot from her eyes and shorted out Hate’s transformation for a moment, forcing her to land. Tendrils of energy still hung off of her incomplete wings, but she didn’t seem fazed.

“Surrender and I’ll kill you quickly,” Hate offered, grinning.

“Like we’d ever give in to you!” Dash snarled.

“I know, I know; I just always wanted to say that,” Hate replied nonchalantly. She flexed her outstretched wings again, examining their wingspan, which could have been no less than three meters.

“Ready?” Applejack asked, more to her friends than to Hate.

“It’s now or never,” Twilight stated, gritting her teeth. “And I’m not about to make Hate’s only mistake.”

Hate chuckled. “You learn fast, for a twerp.”

Twilight struck first. She warped out of existence, but instead of reforming behind Hate, she reappeared at Hate’s side, catching her off-guard. Still, though, Hate’s power reflected her kick and sent her tumbling to the ground. Hate wrapped cords of energy around Twilight’s leg and lacerated her before throwing her into Applejack.

Celestia gathered her strength, though she tried to keep it under control. She examined Hate’s movements carefully, but didn’t see an opening. Ugh... if I use the full extend of my power, I’ll make some stupid decision and get us all killed. We have to work as a team to defeat Hate.

“I’m waiting,” Hate taunted as the others tried to formulate their strategy in the heat of battle.

As Twilight tended to her wounds, Pinkie glanced at Rarity. They nodded slightly to each other, a little movement that Hate didn’t catch.

Pinkie fired a quick burst of blue light at Hate, and although it was easily deflected, it exploded on her hoof in a cloud of gas and smoke. Rarity fired a purple beam at Hate’s hooves simultaneously, and the resulting explosion sent Hate into a shattered wall of a former home. Catching on, Dash sent a ring of rainbow flames into the wreckage.

“Nice going!” Dash told Rarity earnestly.

“It was spur of the moment, really,” Rarity said, smiling slightly.

“Um, over here,” Hate laughed.

Rarity sharply turned to see Hate standing behind her and her friends, but it was only for a brief moment before she felt a crushing force on her shoulders. She made the mistake of gasping in reaction to the impact, inviting Hate to send her tendrils into her mouth and down her throat.

Luckily, they couldn’t do much damage before Olly fired shards of broken glass into Hate’s nostrils. She stumbled backward, snorting and trying to rid her airways of the sharp crystals. Rarity gasped for air, alive, but unable to fight with her lungs slightly damaged. Fluttershy, who was nearly paralyzed with fear, snapped into action and got Rarity out of the way of battle.

Applejack grabbed some nearby pieces of plastic twine and quickly made a lasso while Celestia bolted in and out of Hate’s vision. Dash joined in, as well, while Olly continued to look for rubble that was sharp enough to lob at Hate. Twilight prepared a spell designed to pierce through Hate’s defenses, coating her hooves in a glowing, magenta metal.

Hate twirled in midair, and nopony on the battlefield was spared a cut or a scrape by her outstretched wings. As she reoriented herself and looked for a target, Twilight teleported in and kicked her in the neck.

It had only been an illusion, though. Hate reappeared above Twilight just as her decoy was vanishing, and, after slamming Twilight into the ground, smugly said, “Too slow.”

Take this!” Celestia yelled, trying to swat Hate aside. A black spark leapt from Hate to her hoof, and she howled in pain as it rocketed through her system.

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Hate laughed. She lost interest in Twilight and instead approached the stunned Celestia.

Ugh... Celestia thought. She tried to shake herself out of a thick haze that was developing in her mind, stumbling backward in the process. “Go away!” she yelled, swiping blindly at the air.

“Oh, sure. ‘Cause this would be the best time to retreat,” Hate said, rolling her eyes. She stepped on Celestia, forcing more dark energy into her already shaken system. Celestia howled in pain. “Let’s see how long you last.”

“No! Stop it!” Fluttershy shrieked, flying toward Hate. Her necklace was pulsing brightly as she saw the battle wear on, but she saw no way to help her friends win it. Hate held up her hoof, and Fluttershy was instantly suspended in mid-air, as if she was frozen in a block of ice.

Hate tossed Celestia aside and turned to glare at Fluttershy. “You think you’re tough, huh?” she asked. “Figures as much.”

Fluttershy yelled as the telekinetic force that held her in place started to crush her. Hate’s grin widened as she saw Fluttershy’s life force start to flicker.

Dash saw what was happening and leapt up to try and stop it, but before she could even get close, a massive gale forced her onto her knees. It was a wind that was centered around Hate, but it didn’t appear to have originated from her; rather, from Fluttershy. The pulsing in Fluttershy’s necklace sped up, but Hate was too focused on the tears running down her cheeks to notice.

Celestia, Twilight, and the others tried to get to her, but the wind was too strong. Anything Olly threw came right back at him, and Applejack resisted the urge to throw her lasso in desperation.

“If you had just tried to save me, Kindness, it might have been different,” Hate hissed. Her voice was almost silent, but Fluttershy could hear every word she said. “Now I have to kill you in order to set things right. But this won’t be the only time. No, I have something much greater planned. Depending on what happens right now, it’ll happen either sooner, or later. Honestly, as long as you die, then I’m willing to do whatever it takes!

Fluttershy regained some movement in her limbs, but she was still too feeble to do anything but flail and howl a little louder. She thought of her home, of Angel, of her friends, anything that would make the pain go away. She summoned all her memories of warmth, friendship, and life back when it was free of worry.

“So get ready, Flutters, for the greatest fight of your life!” Hate snarled.

No!” Fluttershy screamed, and her necklace abruptly stopped pulsing. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work!

Hate sneered, tossing Fluttershy aside. She fell to the ground like a rag doll. “I’m not done yet.

The gale stopped for a brief moment before Hate started it again of her own accord. She glanced around before her gaze rested on Pinkie Pie. “Oh, what’sa matter, Pinkie Pie? Sugar crash?” Her face lit up with a sadistic grin.

Dash leapt in front of Pinkie Pie to shield her, but Hate flicked her hoof to the side, gesturing to somepony. There was an awful noise, something that sounded like rusty metal grinding together, before Guilt leapt out of a portal in space and slammed into Dash, knocking the wind out of her. They scuffled, rolling over one another as they tried to pin each other down.

“Called it,” Hate smirked. Pinkie tried to shield herself in a blue eggshell of magic, but it wasn’t enough. A bolt of darkness from Hate was able to subdue her.

Just then, Hate was wrenched backward by a rope that had wrapped around her neck and tightened. Applejack flipped Hate onto her back and started to drag her away from Pinkie, gripping the end of the cord between her teeth, but Hate simply cut the cord and tossed a green sphere of energy toward Applejack’s hooves. After a moment or two, it exploded in a rush of green fire and hot air, leaving Applejack scrambling to recover herself.

“No more distractions,” Hate snarled, the cord around her neck dissolving into dust as she turned to glare at Pinkie. However, she had vanished, and as Hate tried to look for her, she leapt out of a gap in space and slammed into her adversary, knocking them both to the ground.

Forcing a smile, though it was a sincere one, Pinkie bit down on Hate’s ear and held on, though she was barely able to endure the pain Hate’s aura was forcing onto her system.

“Get off!” Hate yelled. She finally managed to pin Pinkie down and deal a near-fatal blow to her abdomen. Hate paused. “If she can do that...” she muttered. Louder, she stated, “It’d probably be best if I started to wrap this whole thing up.”

Fluttershy weakly looked up to see Hate’s wings latch onto Pinkie and lift her into the air, cocooning her in a shell of razor-sharp tentacles. Pinkie screamed in pain, and Fluttershy thought she saw a small trickle of blood dripping from the bottom of Pinkie’s hooves.

No... Not her too... Fluttershy thought. She tried to move, but her muscles failed her, and all she could do was pull herself up onto a tree stump and sob as her life burned to ashes around her. Everything... Everything I love is gone...

*******

The first pony I lost was Apple Bloom... I didn’t have the skill to protect her from disease, even when I’ve worked with it all my life. The second was Saphira, because I didn’t have the foresight to stop Deception from manipulating Applejack. The third was Centime, because I didn’t have the strength to save him from his doom... Then Scootaloo... Everypony in town... It’s too much. All that I knew, all that I could call home, is gone, because nopony has been strong enough to protect it. I haven’t been strong enough to protect it.

No. I won’t take this anymore. I won’t stand on the sidelines like a coward, Fluttershy thought, her necklace gleaming bright pink as her pupils disappeared. This time... This time, I fight! I fight for those who can’t fight for themselves! “Get... away... from my FRIENDS!” Fluttershy yelled, pointing at Hate.

A bright pink field formed around Pinkie, pushing Hate’s wings back and allowing her to slip out of their grasp. She fell to the ground, barely breathing and steadily bleeding to nothing. As Fluttershy’s magic worked, however, the cuts and scrapes disappeared, and Pinkie fell into a comfortable slumber.

Hate glanced back at Flutttershy. Instead of wearing a grin or a look of shock, though, she appeared cool and determined, as if she was finally beginning to take the fight seriously. “So, you’ve realized your Potential. Whoop-de-doo. But at the end of the day, I’m still gonna win this.”

Twilight leapt up beside Fluttershy, but a magical field gently pushed her back.

Stay away,” Fluttershy said calmly, turning her head slightly to look at Twilight. Her pink irises were glimmering slightly, and Twilight could see the surrounding fire reflected in her eyes. Her voice was overlapping with somepony else’s. “This is my fight.

“So, you’ve finally got a spine,” Hate laughed, flexing her wings. “Well, guess what, Flutters. I’ve got one, too.”

Dash looked up at Fluttershy in awe, and her momentary lapse in concentration allowed Guilt to slip into the shadows once more. Twilight stepped back and used telekinesis to move any other injured ponies out of the way of battle. So far, Pinkie and Rarity were the only ones incapacitated.

“So, what’s your big speech this time?” Hate asked, looking bored.

You shouldn’t be so quick to look down upon those who outmatch you,” Fluttershy said.

“If you only knew,” Hate chuckled, rolling her eyes.

You clearly outmatch all of my friends, true,” Fluttershy observed. “But you’re not strong enough to handle me now. I’m going to finish what my friends have started and make sure you never murder again!

“Bra-vo,” Hate sneered, disgusted and clearly unimpressed. “You said you can protect your friends, right? Why keep them out of the battle?”

Because they run the risk of getting hurt, while I do not,” Fluttershy stated. “My powers aren’t completely in my control yet. However, I can safely take you on by myself without killing you or anypony else.

“Fine, fine,” Hate snickered. “If that’s what you want to believe, go ahead, by all means. I’m going to win, though, one way or another.”

Then let’s see how well you stack up against your big sister!” Fluttershy smirked.

Applejack saw Twilight motion toward a somewhat stable barricade of rubble, and joined her safely behind it. Celestia, Dash, and Olly were there, as well.

“You all right?” Applejack asked Twilight and Celestia after ducking behind the barrier. They nodded as they combined their magic and formed a barrier to protect themselves and the others.

Hate inhaled, and as she breathed out, the vortex slowed once more. Reality started to bend, with time flowing faster in some regions than in others. Hate’s originally golden wings started to blend with her magic, turning a swampy green color in the process.

The wreckage of Ponyville was nothing more than a pile of waste at this point, but it was all Fluttershy stood for, and she was going to protect it. “Ready?” she asked, gritting her teeth.

“As I’ll ever be, sister,” Hate growled.

Fluttershy crossed her forelegs in front of her face and leapt up into the air. She began to spin, and as she did, rings of light pink energy started to form around her. She flapped her wings, and the circles split into fragments. The resulting blades flew toward her adversary at speeds almost impossible to quantify, but Hate was able to deflect them off of her wings. Confused, she glanced at herself for a moment.

“You can touch me?” she asked as Fluttershy landed in front of her. They both carefully watched each other. “Huh... Well, it’d be kind of boring if my powers still applied, I guess.”

“Now you see why I’m going to win?” Fluttershy asked.

Hate shrugged. “Depends on your definition of ‘win.’”

Hate leapt up and latched onto Fluttershy’s wing, but Fluttershy slipped out of her grasp effortlessly. Flipping in midair, Fluttershy slammed her back legs into Hate’s snout, plowing her into the ground.

Hate coughed, wiping off her nose. She glared up at Fluttershy, then yelled, and a bright beam of green magic shot from her mouth. Fluttershy managed to dodge, but it still grazed her left ear, tearing a chunk of it off. She tried to repair it quickly, but the residual acid on the wound prevented her from fixing it.

“So much for your looks,” Hate remarked, taking to the air.

Fluttershy turned to glare at Hate angrily. “You should be thankful that I don’t hold grudges.”

“Coulda fooled me,” Hate retorted. She pointed at Fluttershy, and another beam of magic blasted from the tip of her forehoof. Fluttershy responded in kind. The beams hit each other head-on, and, for a little while, Fluttershy and Hate battled with intense magical force, each of them trying to overpower the other. The mixing pink and green energies exploded, throwing both of them high into the air. However, Hate quickly recovered and flew past Fluttershy, her wing scraping Fluttershy’s left leg and cutting it, though not as deeply as Hate would have liked.

Fluttershy quickly mended the scrape, turned, and dove to the ground, slamming into it with as much force as she could muster. Columns of earth rose up underneath Hate as Fluttershy used magic to direct the underground pressure, but Hate simply dodged the pillars until she saw one in a good position to topple over her adversary. Fluttershy had to fly out the way of the falling rocks, but Hate predicted her movement and kicked her into the ground once more.

Dash was becoming antsy. Bruises were beginning to appear on her pelt due to the earlier battle, but she didn’t seem to notice them. “C’mon, Fluttershy...” she murmured, urging her friend on. She turned to Twilight. “Can’t we help her?”

Twilight shook her head. “She’s the one who asked to fight alone, Dash.”

“But we’re her friends, we’re not supposed to abandon her even if she’s going up against Vengeance herself!” Dash argued.

“You have a point, Dash, but we shouldn’t go and fight until it’s absolutely necessary,” Celestia stated. “If Fluttershy is up against Hate, then Fluttershy will win, no questions asked.”

Fluttershy grunted in pain, her vision blurry. Not one to waste time, Hate tried to finish the fight by plowing into her weakened foe, but Fluttershy summoned a barrier at the last second to fend her off. It was a translucent pink force field, and all of Hate’s energy was reflected back at her when she collided with it.

“Ow...” Hate groaned, rubbing her nose. She shook her head. “You don’t realize your Potential often enough, sis. I can never remember all your abilities.”

Before Fluttershy could respond, Hate vanished. A dark force tugged at Fluttershy’s heart, and she gasped as she saw tiny spider-veins developing directly over her heart and travelling down her side. She snapped out of Guilt’s illusion just as she saw eyes forming on her pelt, but she wasn’t quick enough to avoid Hate headbutting her, which was almost enough to knock her unconscious.

Guilt melted out of the shadows, grinning at Hate proudly.

Hate shrugged. “Not your best, but it’ll do.” She glowered down at Fluttershy, who was trying to regain her bearings after her mind was assaulted by Guilt. “Let’s end this the boring way.”

Guilt flinched, then opened his mouth as if he were screaming. A spike had embedded itself in his neck, and his glasses tumbled to the ground as he tried to pull it out.

Olly!” Twilight hissed from behind a different pile of wreckage.

“What? It was two-on-one,” Olly argued. He was about to say more, but Hate had already used a psychic pull to drag him across the battlefield and to her hooves. Olly chuckled nervously as she glowered upon him and said, “Oh, never mind me; I’m just, you know, passing through, heh.”

Hate’s wings wrapped around Olly and lifted him into the air, but they didn’t cut him like they did Pinkie. She smiled slightly. “Tell ya what. I can cut you open now, like I did Pinkie, and be done with it, or you can try your hoof at fate and risk me stumbling across you later, when I’ve lost all control. Your choice.”

“Never do today what you can do t-tomorrow,” Olly managed through the constricting grasp of Hate’s wings. She let him fall to the ground, where he was quickly recovered by Twilight.

What did you think you were doing?!” Twilight hissed.

“Saving the day?” Olly suggested, wheezing slightly. Sharp pain assaulted him from one of his ribs, but he wasn’t sure which one. “If you were a proper lady, you’d embrace me warmly and smother me with kisses.”

Twilight ran a hoof through her mane, turning away from Olly and shaking her head in exasperation.

“Maybe I’ll ask Rarity about that when she wakes up,” Olly mumbled to himself, slightly dazed.

Meanwhile, Hate was advancing on Fluttershy. Guilt had retreated into the shadows, the spike not having dug deep enough to bleed him to death. “Well, well, well,” Hate said. Fluttershy was gathering herself in preparation for the second round of battle. “Guess you needed your friends after all.”

“You did double-team me,” Fluttershy pointed out, flexing her wings anxiously. I can’t hold anything back this time. Hate means business.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Let’s get this over wi-”

Fluttershy leapt up and plowed into Hate’s gut with more force than she had originally intended, stopping Hate cold. Stumbling backward, Hate raised a protective force-field, but Fluttershy smashed it with one hoof and smacked Hate in the nose with the other.

Blood leaked from the corner of Hate’s mouth as she laid on her back and stared upward, dazed. Fluttershy was concerned for a moment, out of instinct and nothing else, but her pause allowed a weak presence to invade her mind.

Go AWAY!

She flinched backward, clutching her head. Across the battlefield, Guilt, blood trickling down his neck, was pointing directly at Fluttershy, his hoof trembling slightly as he kept the spell active.

Go... AWAY!

Fluttershy yelped, and her limbs failed. She fell onto her side, spasming as Guilt took total control over her nervous system. Desperately, she started charging energy for a different attack.

“That’s it; I’m going in!” Dash yelled, despite Twilight’s protests. She shot toward Guilt, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.

“She’s going to get herself killed,” Twilight complained.

“Then we’d better go help her,” Celestia muttered, taking wing.

Twilight considered arguing, but when she realized there was nopony around left to argue with, she adjusted her crown, sighed, and followed Celestia onto the battlefield.

Dash, meanwhile, was almost upon Guilt. She would have been battling him hoof-to-hoof sooner, but the harsh winds of the funnel cloud forced her down onto her hooves as she raced toward her foe.

Take this!” Dash shrieked, her hoof glowing with crackling ruby energy as she slammed it into Guilt’s face. Striking him was like hitting a stone block; he simply absorbed the force and crumpled to the ground, barely alive. Dash suffered severe knockback due to her attack, though, and she fell to her knees, the sheer force of her assault completely numbing her forehoof. It felt as if little pins and needles were poking it.

Fluttershy regained control and began to release her energy through a piercing scream, but as she saw her friends rushing toward her, she frantically tried to contain it.

She almost succeeded.

A ripple spread through the air and the ground as everypony’s hearing was slowly peeled away. Friends and enemies alike were tossed aside like rag dolls as Fluttershy’s powerful sonic boom rattled the rubble and debris, shaking and breaking it into even tinier pieces. Even Celestia had curled up into fetal position once she had landed, and was clutching her head.

The wind accelerated briefly, then stopped altogether, with the funnel cloud dissipating. The dust began to clear.

*******

Twilight’s ears were ringing, but it didn’t appear as though the explosion had caused any permanent damage. Fluttershy must have tried to contain that attack as soon as it started, otherwise we’d all be deaf.

“Is everypony alright?” Twilight asked, before remembering about Pinkie and Rarity. She got to her hooves and clawed through the rubble, looking for them. Thankfully, they were resting side by side, though they were both covered in a thin layer of dust and soot.

Celestia and Applejack walked up, holding Fluttershy. She was barely conscious.

“Where’s Hate?” Celestia immediately asked.

A faint cough answered them, and then a few words they didn’t recognize. Then, faint laughter. Twilight’s ears swiveled toward the noise, and she was suddenly alert. Was... Was that the Ancient Language?

“Show yourself!” Celestia commanded while Applejack went to look for Dash.

As the dust thinned out further, a lump that must have been Hate began to appear just about twenty meters away. For some reason, Twilight began to feel uncomfortably warm.

Celestia cantered over to Hate and flipped her onto her back. She was wearing a dull smile, and laughing slightly.

“What’s so funny?” Celestia hissed.

That only increased Hate’s laughter. It clearly pained her to laugh, but she did it anyway, and with increasing vigor once Twilight came into her view.

Is he laughing at me...? Twilight thought, her mind cloudy. She shook her head. I feel... weird.

“Tol-...” Hate began, coughing blood before continuing. “Told you I’d win.”

“M-Maybe I hit him too hard,” Fluttershy said anxiously. She turned away from Hate at the sight of blood.

Hate continued to deliriously laugh. Turning to glare at the sky, she began to howl with laughter before it dissolved into a fit of bloody coughing. Celestia flicked her tail to the side in disgust.

“Twilight, use your spell. We need to finish off this cretin once and for all,” Celestia commanded. When Twilight failed to respond, she turned and asked, “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“J-Just give me a moment,” Twilight said, trying to recall the words to the spell. Her breathing was labored.

“Maybe you should rest first,” Celestia suggested. “Hate isn’t going anywhere, Twilight, and you don’t look so well.”

Hate erupted into another fit of laughter. Angrily, Celestia turned, ran up to her, and swatted her aside. “Shut up!

Hate yelped in pain and tumbled a few meters across the battlefield, but when she came to a stop, she was still laughing.

“Twilight?” Olly asked. “You’re pale.”

Twilight only caught snippets of the words. She stumbled a bit on her hooves, struggling to maintain her balance. “Olly--something’s wrong,” she mumbled, falling her to knees.

Olly rushed next to her and tried his best to steady his wobbling friend. “Celestia!” he called.

The goddess saw from across the ruined town what was happening, and turned to Hate furiously, her anger increasing by the second. “What did you do to her?”

“I could ask... ask you the same question, ‘Tia,” Hate chuckled.

Celestia’s eyes widened. It can’t be. Not yet!

Hate uttered a low chuckle, her fractured gaze turning to Twilight, whose horn had begun to glow. “Time for... for the fireworks.”

“Ahh...!” Twilight moaned groggily as golden cracks began to form on her horn. She felt as if she was stranded in a midday desert. “...Help--!”

“I’ll be right there!” Celestia yelled, rushing over to Twilight. It wasn’t soon enough.

Twilight’s horn disintegrated, and a overwhelming burst of pent-up magic, all of Twilight’s reserves, exploded into the atmosphere. Olly was tossed up into the air, as were Applejack and Dash. The magic was wild and uncontrollable, and as it passed through the surroundings, all gravity seemed to vanish for a moment. Applejack landed softly despite the fact that she had been thrown almost five meters up in the air, as did the others. However, the inanimate objects which had absorbed the magic remained suspended in their own anti-gravity zones, floating daintily through the air without direction.

Only a round ivory patch remained on Twilight’s forehead where her horn once had been. She had been knocked unconscious by the escaping magic.

“What?” Olly breathed. He crawled back over to Twilight. “That’s... impossible.” He laughed a little bit, out of shock. Guilt... he must be in my head, or something, because this just can’t happen... I’ve never...

“Twilight!” Celestia gasped, rushing over to her. She’s still breathing... but what happened to her horn?!

Hate must have been roaring with laughter on the inside, but only a faint chortle escaped her injured body. “Feeling guilty, ‘T-...Tia?” she coughed.

Celestia stared at Twilight’s horn for a moment or two as her horror hardened into hatred. “You,” she growled, turning to face Hate. “You did this!”

“I... I only sped up the process,” Hate wheezed, grinning maniacally. “It could’ve... could’ve happened in a week, in a year, in a century... but there’s a spell to speed up the process. Deception... she found it. It was like a little fast-forward button. But you’re the one who gave us the remote... You’re the one--you did it. You did it all!” Another fit of maniacal laughter.

Celestia was trembling with rage. Dash thought about trying to calm her down, but she realized that she was furious, as well. “Not. Cool,” she hissed, but the only response she received was the same, inane cackling. Applejack was busy ushering Twilight to where Pinkie and Rarity were resting, but she had a scowl on her face, as well.

“Isn’t there a way to heal her?” Fluttershy asked. “There just has to be a way to fix this...”

“There’s... no... fix,” Celestia stated. It was clear that she wouldn’t be able to control herself for much longer.

“Good luck beating Vengeance now,” Hate murmured.

That was the final straw. Celestia leapt at Hate and flung her into the air, blasting her with magic as she fell. Hate yelled in pain, but after the pain had faded somewhat, she began to laugh incoherently once again.

“That’s not going to work, Celestia,” Dash said.

“Just try and stop me!” Celestia barked, preparing to crush Hate’s skull.

“Dash is right, C-Celestia; this really isn’t the best way to handle things, i-in my opinion,” Fluttershy said nervously.

“Sure it ain’t,” Applejack seconded. She walked up to Hate, her eyes expressing a cold, calculating anger. “If we wanna hurt Hate, we need to hurt Guilt. They’ve been actin’ brotherly this entire time while they caused us trouble, an’ if that little friendship’s worth two bits, Hate’ll have a fit if Guilt’s hurt. Jus’ sayin’.”

Celestia nodded, her expression, although still furious, beginning to resemble a grin. “Fine. Dash, do you know where Guilt is?”

“Um, that’s not really...” Fluttershy trailed off when she realized nopony was paying attention to her.

Hate stopped laughing, and was suddenly alert. “If you hurt my brother, Celestia, you’re going to regret it,” she warned.

Celestia poked Hate between two of her broken ribs. “You try anything at all, and Fluttershy’s going to finish you off. Right, Fluttershy?”

“Um... yes?” Fluttershy squeaked. “But I don’t think this-”

“So keep your mouth shut,” Celestia ordered at Hate. “This is merciful compared to what I want to do to you right now.”

“Look at yourself, Celestia,” Hate said seriously. “You’re doing the exact same thing you’ve always criticized us of before.”

“Found him,” Dash called from across the battlefield.

“I don’t care,” Celestia told Hate. “As long as you get what you deserve, as long as you feel the pain of the thousands of ponies that you’ve murdered, then I don’t care if I have to take the life of just one.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Hate muttered, though Celestia could easily hear her.

Dash dragged Guilt about three meters in front of Hate. He was barely conscious, but breathing steadily despite his numerous wounds and gashes, some of which were still bleeding.

“Let’s get this over with,” Dash said, turning away from Guilt.

“Don’t do this...” Hate trailed off, slowly realizing that the Elements of Harmony were going to follow through. “If you kill him, I... I might destroy...” she shook her head slightly, too weak to wipe away the tears welling up in her eyes. “Please, just let him die peacefully.”

“Celestia, this isn’t a good idea,” Fluttershy stated, getting in between the goddess and her target. “If we end Guilt’s life, w-we’ll be no better than they are!”

“What about the tens of thousands of lives that the forces of Discord have ended? What about the thousands of lives that Guilt and Hate ended personally? What about everypony in Ponyville?” Celestia challenged, striking where she knew it would hurt. “Why should we show them mercy if they’ve taken away so much?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Fluttershy stated, looking up at Celestia with shining pink eyes.

She only received a glare. “Get out of my way,” Celestia ordered, tired of arguing.

Fluttershy’s confidence faltered. “O-Okay... I just don’t want to watch.”

“You should listen to her,” Hate said, spitting blood mixed with phlegm to the side.

“Enough stalling!” Celestia shouted, positioning herself in front of Guilt.

“Are you positively, one-hundred percent sure about this, Celestia?” Olly asked nervously. “Because if things go south and Hate actually, um, has leftover power, we can’t really defend ourselves all that much.”

“By the time we ported them to Fillydelphia for a standard execution, Hate would have recovered almost all of his strength. Luna has no idea where we are, and if Twilight were awake, I could have her send Luna a message, but we all know where that idea went,” Celestia spat. “It has to be done now.”

“You’re making a mistake...” Hate cautioned, an edge in her tone that, although it was mysterious, didn’t seem to faze Celestia.

Guilt was still only half-conscious, so when he looked up at Celestia and his breathing quickened, Celestia wasn’t sure if it was due to fear or not. She chose to believe it wasn’t, and summoned her energy.

“Please, don’t do this,” Hate begged, trying to crawl toward her brother. “I... I don’t want this to happen, not yet...”

“You better know what you’re doing, Celestia,” Dash said, picking bits of debris off her damaged wings and trying to distract herself from what Celestia was about to do.

“Trust me,” Celestia replied, her hoof sharpening as it absorbed her magic.

“Please, I’ll do anything...!” Hate cried. “Don’t do this, not again...!”

Celestia ignored him. As her spell finished, she thrust down her hoof and made a clean slice through Guilt’s neck.

NO!” Hate wailed as her brother’s soul leaked out of its body. “I can’t take it... I can’t take it anymore!”

“It’s done,” Celestia growled, wiping blood off her hoof. “Now let’s deal with-”

I can’t take this anymore. I... I give up.

Celestia turned around, but Hate had vanished. “...Huh?”

“Where... Where’d he go?” Applejack asked.

A small hum ran through the air, and the temperature plummeted. A puddle of indigo sludge was pooling where Hate had been, and it started to spread. Fluttershy leapt into the air to avoid it and yelled for Celestia to do the same, but the sun goddess seemed frozen in panic. The sludge began to swallow up the remains of Ponyville and was steadily approaching Celestia’s hooves.

“Um, Celestia? Now might be a good time to, uh, evacuate?” Olly asked tentatively, edging backward.

Celestia turned sharply around. “Whatever that is, it wants me. Take the others and go, now!”

“We’re not leaving you behind!” Fluttershy stated, pulling Celestia backward. She turned toward Dash and Applejack. “Right?”

Neither of them responded, and Applejack turned guiltily away, trying to hide her expression.

“Do... Do ya think we’ll be able to help much like this?” Applejack asked. She had cuts and scrapes up and down the side of her face, and blood was trailing from a scratch on her leg.

“I can’t even feel it,” Dash mumbled as she paced away from the chunky indigo liquid. She shook her head and asked, “First: What’s going on? Hate vanishes and is replaced by goo lagoon? Or is it something else?”

A ripple spread through the sludge. It was a low, hissing sound, as if water were sizzling on a frying pan, but Dash thought she heard a word or two being said.

“Hate’s spreading his darkness and won’t stop until he gets an Element of Harmony... that much I know,” Celestia explained. “But... I’m hearing something, like Hate’s saying he only wants me. Maybe I can buy you some time to get to Luna, or at least get away from here. I don’t think I’m in all that much danger, though. I am immortal, after all.”

“But there are ways to remove immortality. You said so yourself,” Fluttershy pointed out. “I’m your friend, Celestia. We all are. I know the others aren’t in fighting shape, but I am, and the least I can do is back you up.”

“You might want to hurry up an itsy-bit,” Olly muttered nervously.

Celestia thought for a moment, but finally said, “Okay, Fluttershy. I guess I can’t really turn down help. But I’m not sure what this is, or where we’re going... Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. Neither of us might make it home if we go see Hate when he’s like this. Whatever ‘this is.”

“...I guess I don’t have much of a home now, anyway,” Fluttershy mumbled sadly. “I can handle Hate. Let’s go.”

With a final look at the lowering sunset, Celestia and Fluttersy took a breath and dived into the darkness. The spreading of the sludge halted, and it began to recede into a single dot in the middle of the wasteland.

Dash shook her head. There was a funny feeling deep in her chest that she couldn’t quite place. “I feel... weird.”

“Yeah, I feel it, too,” Olly said solemnly.

“Feel what?” Applejack asked.

“That weird feeling when you know you’re never going to see somepony again,” Olly said, almost at the same time Dash did.

=====================================================================

*******

Celestia and Fluttershy opened their eyes.

They were back-to-back in a grayish-white space that seemed to shift and bend, as if they were underwater, though they could both breath with relative ease. There was an odd chill to the air that suggested a cave or an underground city, yet it had a sinister nature that made the terribly empty feeling surrounding the two of them all the more appropriate. Wraiths and what looked like ancient Windigoes were circling overhead, yet they were completely and utterly silent--there was no noise or sound of anything in this realm, which is probably what made it so alien.

Two of you. One I expected, the other merely an inconvenience.

Neither Fluttershy nor Celestia heard these words--they simply appeared in their minds, as if placed there by telepathy. A shadow appeared in front of them. It was simply the outline of a pony, colored several shades of indigo. Its eyes were a pure emerald, as if they were cut gemstones, yet they had a distinctive glare that could only have come from one source.

Fluttershy gasped inaudibly and tried to leap backward, but invisible bonds held her in place. She was completely immobilized, and it seemed that Celestia was in the same situation.

Yes, my eyes are much prettier now, aren’t they? Thank you for noticing. They’re nothing like they were before--the single slit seems to make all the difference in the Equestria Celestia has procured.

The shadow sneered, its eyes narrowing. The soundlessness of the atmosphere was pronounced.

I shall end that today, for my brother... and for myself. For today, I shall end myself. Liberate my soul from its slavery. And I will also use large words. I hear they made ordinary ponies--ponies such as you, or I--sound much more fearsome, as well as believable.

The shadow zipped to Celestia’s side.

I think I will start with you. For you started this war. You obviously didn’t, of course--but if I say it over and over again, it will suddenly become true, as you have clearly demonstrated. You started this war. You started this war. You are the one that started this war. See? Now I can kill you without feeling any guilt, for you were the one that started this horrible tragedy.

The shadow speared one of his forelegs into Celestia’s abdomen, and her back arched as pain rocketed through her body, yet no sound was produced. Her scream was utterly silent.

The feeling that Celestia was in immediate danger set something off in Fluttershy that she couldn’t quite place. It was similar to times before where she had boiled over and gained strength she ordinarily wouldn’t have, but different in that it was more of a slow boil, like magma, instead of a sudden explosion of fury. He’s hurting Celestia... I’m here to stop him... So why aren’t I?!

Bursting out of her bonds, Fluttershy turned and swatted the shadow away. As her hoof connected with what remained of Hate, the shadow dissipated, and sound resumed. Fluttershy exhaled as a peculiar pins-and-needles feeling washed over her for a moment.

“Are you alright?” she asked Celestia. She noticed she didn’t need to flap her wings to stay aloft; concentrating seemed to be all the lift she needed in this strange, unstable dimension.

Celestia glanced at the place Hate had stabbed her. She didn’t seem to feel any pain from the wound, which was in the process of being sealed due to her immortality. “I think so, but... What’s going on?”

“I was hoping you would know,” Fluttershy said. She felt odd, but it wasn’t anger this time; it was something else. “Was it just me that couldn’t hear?”

“No, Hate looks like he’s attacking our senses. Probably why I can’t feel anything right now,” Celestia muttered, testing her limbs.

Fluttershy was shocked to realize she couldn’t feel anything, either--her entire sense of touch had disappeared. “This is really weird.”

“We don’t have all that much time to think about it, though,” Celestia warned, preparing herself for battle. She looked at Fluttershy. “Hate probably converted himself to Elemental energy, just like Guilt does when he takes ponies into this place. He won’t be able to touch you directly, but he’ll try to kill me before he goes after you, okay?”

“How do you know?” Fluttershy asked nervously. I’m going to have to protect Celestia? That’s... really, really strange. Everything’s been seeming really backward lately. But I guess I’m going to have to try. Hate shouldn’t be any more powerful than I am, anyway.

A foul stench, that of a briny swamp, emanated from below the duo. The Windigoes emitted a long, low screech that, and the wraiths’ awful howls would have crushed Fluttershy’s courage had Celestia not been beside her.

You two are awfully annoying.

*******

The shadow reappeared in front of Celestia. Its eyes were intense, heated almost, and the only warmth in the entire dimension seemed to radiate from him. Fluttershy steeled herself, her hooves glowing pink as translucent Elemental armor wrapped itself around her body. Celestia exhaled, gathering the reserves of strength that had been replenished by her immortality.

I would say that you’re pitiful. I would say that your lives are worthless. But that would only strengthen your resolve. So no, that is not what I’m going to say.

The shadow rose its forehooves over its head, its unblinking emerald eyes somehow staring down both Celestia and Fluttershy simultaneously. A deathly choir of wraiths and Windigoes, with their dissonant, yet beautiful chorus, was to be the undertone of the battle.

No... You two, you both have conviction. You have strength that I do not, for I gave up, you see. I gave up my form in exchange for this one, in hopes that it might end you. You two, you are friends... You are greater than I. You have always been greater than I.

Hate bent backward, staring upward as the grayish, watery horizons darkened to a pure black. The visual forms of the spiritual choir faded away, but their voices remained. A thin, white line appeared where the horizon once was, and it was the only source of light that pierced the darkness.

But you have started this war. I have said it, and I have said it a thousand times over, so it must be true. These are the ideals on which you have founded Equestria. Two values. Right and wrong. Good and evil. None of us are able to escape definition. We will always be labeled, you and I.

Hate lowered his head, once again staring at the pair, but this time he offered his hoof to them.

But I can free you from that, Celestia, Kindness... I can free all of us. Liberate you both, just as I have done for myself. We can escape from the society you have created. Abandon it in search of new ideals. Leave it to rot in an empty cell, without guidance, without love, and leave it to be tortured eternally.

Fluttershy sensed a dark undertone to Hate’s words even though he was speaking without a voice. His speech was unnerving, and she was suddenly afraid. She inched closer to Celestia.

We can leave society. Abandon it. Blame it for our woes. We can escape from all responsibility. All of our troubles would simply disappear, because that’s always what happens. Nothing would come back to haunt us. We could forget about everything. We could forget who we once were. Wouldn’t you like that? Isn’t that what everypony wants?

“N-No. That’s not what I want,” Fluttershy mumbled, desperately trying to hide her fear with little success.

...You could have fooled me, Kindness. Element of Irony. Element of Irresponsibility. Element of Idiocy. Element of Abandonment. You can pick whatever title you please. They all fit perfectly.

“You’re wrong!” Fluttershy snapped. “I don’t know why... but I just know that you’re wrong!

Must I repeat myself to prove myself correct? It doesn’t matter. I will liberate you... both of you. The world will be better off without us. Any of us. We are monsters. We are Elements. We are destruction, war, and bloodshed. There is no point to our existence.

Hate’s hooves glowed, and four curved indigo blades appeared on the ends of each one. The front ones were akin to large sickles, the back ones more along the lines of scythes. The stench grew stronger, and Celestia recognized it as the scent of blood.

So... I will end it.

Hate vanished. Celestia predicted his movement and caught him in the jaw, knocking him backward and allowing Fluttershy to follow up with a buck in the leg. Hate dissolved, reappearing behind Celestia and latching onto her with indigo energy wrapped around his hooves. Celestia felt nothing; she simply felt her consciousness begin to drift away as she struggled to break from Hate’s grasp.

Fluttershy doveunderneath Hate and pried one of his hooves off the sun goddess. His hoof vaporized in her grasp, and Hate hissed, though he still clung to Celestia. Fluttershy quickly caught on and smacked Hate’s chin in a fierce uppercut, though his body had melted away before she was able to hit him again. The stench of blood faded away as Hate’s aura receded. The chorus quieted slightly.

Celestia tried to recover, taking deep breaths and trying to retain her courage. “He’s coming... coming after me.”

“I know that much, Celestia,” Fluttershy said, her eyes darting from side to side. It would be nearly impossible to see Hate’s swampy pelt in the darkness. “Just stay strong. I can beat him.”

A pins-and-needles feeling washed over Fluttershy, and the cold of the realm once again shot through her, stunning her for a moment. Hate was taking away another of her senses and giving back her sense of touch. She turned back to Celestia, who was bent over, grimacing and clutching her midsection.

“He hit me pretty hard.” She coughed, and a trickle of golden ichor ran down the side of her mouth. “But I’ll... I’ll be fine.”

“Well, it wasn’t sight, and it wasn’t sound... Where is he, a-anyway?” Fluttershy asked shakily, trying to ignore the fact that Celestia was already injured and probably unable to fight.

“He’s reforming. You’ve damaged h-” Celestia coughed again. “You’ve damaged his spirit. We only have a few more seconds.”

“Okay. Do you have a plan?” Fluttershy asked, glancing behind herself to check for Hate. The chorus upped its demonic vocals.

A tingle ran up and down Celestia’s spine as all her battle instincts activated at once. She bucked behind herself and hit something that was more or less a solid. Hate flew backward before vanishing into the shadows once more.

“Not to die,” Celestia mumbled. She turned to Fluttershy, who still hadn’t noticed, and snapped, “Look sharp!”

Fluttershy was momentarily confused before she saw Hate rise up over Celestia again, preparing to strike. She fired a beam of pink energy that cut through the darkness and clipped Hate’s spiritual manifestation, which snarled and faded away again.

“How didn’t I notice him...?” Fluttershy asked aloud.

“Because Hate’s stolen our sense of smell,” Celestia muttered. “As well as our sense of his aura. He could be anywhere.”

Why hide? This is fun. In fact, this is the most fun I’ll ever have, for I do not plan to battle either of you ever again. For better or for worse.

Indigo ropes shot out of the darkness and entangled Fluttershy and Celestia. Fluttershy cut through the first set, but another immediately took its place. Celestia struggled, but a blow to the forehead from Hate was enough to knock her unconscious.

No!” Fluttershy yelled. She summoned her Elemental energy and wrapped herself in a pink cloak, dissolving the ropes and allowing her to fly toward Hate. He simply stared at her.

Just before Fluttershy hit Hate, he shrouded himself in indigo energy. When they collided, Hate’s barrier held, and Fluttershy was ground to a halt.

“I don’t understand!” Fluttershy wailed, glancing behind Hate to see the life gradually being wrung out of her mentor. “Why can’t I hurt you?!

Hate simply stared.

Why couldn’t you save me?

Fluttershy yelled in frustration and dug her hooves into an unseen ground, slowly forcing Hate backward. His indigo barrier was failing, but it was too long a process for Fluttershy to afford. Leaping backward, Fluttershy fired an artillery round at Hate, blowing him backward and into the darkness. The chorus quieted, and the scent of blood spiked for a moment before gradually fading away. However, when Fluttershy ran up to Celestia, she found that the sun goddess had vanished. In fact, everything had vanished.

Hate had stolen Fluttershy’s sense of sight.

“No! This can’t happen!” Fluttershy wailed, her fear finally overtaking her. She bucked the air and swatted nonexistent foes, her energy gradually wearing down as her frustration cooled. Hate made no attempts to attack her. Fluttershy was left to flail about in an endless darkness all by her lonesome, which, in the end, hurt more than anything else could have.

In one, final moment, the rage of all past Elements of Kindness compounded in Fluttershy at once as her fury at Hate reached its peak. The warmth from her body defeated the cold of Hate’s realm, and Fluttershy knew her pure pink eyes were glowing as she concentrated all of her energy into a single pinprick of light.

I am... the Element... of Kindness. And nopony... messes... with me... or my friends!

Her mental beacon seemed to further disrupt the already unstable dimension. Fluttershy couldn’t see, so she couldn’t be sure, but gravity seemed to distort for a moment, and Fluttershy felt like she was free-falling even though there was no way to prove it without flowing air.

After the dimension shaking rage was over, though, and Fluttershy’s sight was still gone, she curled up into a ball and cried, shutting her eyes tightly. She was defeated. How am I supposed to win if I can’t even fight?

...Nopony wins, Fluttershy. Both of our lives have been ruined.

Everything seemed to slow down, and Fluttershy’s rapid heartbeat settled as she began to relax. Her eyesight began to return, and the deathly chorus and stench of blood slowly faded into memory.

*******

Fluttershy felt a cool wind on her back. She wiped her eyes, looking up. The darkness of the dimension had been absorbed by the light. Celestia had vanished, but the realm appeared to be stable. An alicorn colt sat a few meters away.

He was a dark brown color, though with a hint of green, just enough to make his pelt look like he had just taken a bath in a muddy pond. His mane was a deeper shade of brown, and messy, as if he hadn’t cut it in a while. He was facing away from Fluttershy, so she couldn’t see his eyes.

“Where did you take her?” Fluttershy asked.

“She was never anywhere,” Hate stated. He had the voice of a child. “As soon as the two of you came to my dimension, I did what I needed here and then released you back into yours. Everything you saw was my struggle to do so. My sacrifice. You’re only still here because I wanted to speak with you.”

“I don’t understand. Why fight us if you knew you would win?” Fluttershy asked, approaching him.

“...I needed to exhaust myself. I needed to get rid of every last bit of energy that I had. The battle you saw... it was an excuse,” Hate said quietly.

“To do what?” Fluttershy asked. She walked up next to Hate and saw that his eyes had reverted to their original slitted, swampy green color. They weren’t full of hostility, though, like they usually were. They were filled with pain.

“Fluttershy, I’m immortal. But I don’t have any reason to live. I don’t even want to anymore. Guilt... he made his choice to stay, and I respect that. But I don’t have any reason to keep struggling. You get what I’m saying?” Hate asked.

“...I think so. So why am I here? Why can’t you just let me go?” Fluttershy asked.

“Because I’m not going to let either of you off the hook so quickly,” Hate chuckled. He looked up at Fluttershy. “I think I deserve an apology for all you did to me back then.”

“I think I deserve an apology for all you did to me and my friends!” Fluttershy retorted. She lowered her voice and added, “You hurt all of them. You can’t deny that, so say you’re sorry.”

Hate paused. “Fine. Yeah, I made a bad mistake when I chose to mess with you in the beginning, and I ended up hurting a lot more than I thought I would have. So I guess I am a little sorry, because I lost my purpose when I started trying to deal with all of you, to, y’know, get you out of my life forever. But... I guess, since you grew up without much influence from Obsidian or Celestia, you’re a little better than the originals. So maybe, just maybe, there was a chance we could have been friends. But it was only a chance. I still hate you,” he finished, glaring at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy expected his gaze to be impudent rather than outright fearsome, but Hate somehow still managed to achieve that while still in the body of a young colt. It reminded her slightly of Centime.

“O-Okay,” she managed. “And, if it’ll make this end any quicker, I am sorry for what I did to you, Hate. But it’s hard to apologize for something you didn’t have anything to do with,” she added.

“Hmf. I guess I’ll take what I can get,” Hate said.

They sat in silence for a few moments.

“So... What now?” Fluttershy asked.

“You’ve grown a lot as a pony, Fluttershy. I’ll give you that much,” Hate said earnestly. He paused before adding, “You’re a lot stronger than you once were.” There was a darkness to his tone that put Fluttershy on edge.

“Ye-Yeah,” Fluttershy began, backing up. “So?”

“Well... I still have this teeny little bit of energy left,” Hate continued, turning and grinning maniacally at Fluttershy. “And... you said you wanted to end this quickly, right? That can be arranged.”

Instantly, cords wrapped around Fluttershy’s neck, choking her and raising her off of the ground. She was too startled to react properly, and she was rapidly suffocating. She tried to scream, but no sound escaped.

Just as Fluttershy’s consciousness vanished, she heard a voice whisper, “I wish I could have saved you.

=====================================================================

Celestia stumbled to her hooves, her eyes half closed. Her body was numb, and she wheezed when she breathed, coughing out the dust she inhaled.

She felt odd, content, almost, as if she were full whereas she was previously hollow. Her bones ached, but it was a gentle throb rather than a stab of pain. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she was completely exhausted. Yet she forced herself to get up and take her first few, clumsy steps.

She was able to walk about ten meters before collapsing.

Something was drawing her forward--the same push-and-pull momentum that enabled her to shake herself out of the half-conscious, dreamless sleep-state that she had been blasted into during the final battle with Hate. She dragged herself forward, half-crawling to the destination that was seemed to be calling out to her.

It was Fluttershy, who was lying on the ground with her eyes shut. Celestia raised a hoof to her neck. There was a pulse. Fluttershy was in front her her, nearly dead, but alive. Still alive. That... That’s good.

Contenting herself with that thought, Celestia once again fell into a deep, seemingly endless sleep, lying on her belly in the glassy desert where Ponyville once stood. A wasteland was all that remained.

=====================================================================

“Sister, s-stay with me!” Luna’s powerful, yet oddly unsteady voice rang clear in Celestia’s mind. “You’re going to be alright, just hold on! Please, hold on!”

“Ugh...” Celestia muttered. “Fluttershy?”

There wasn’t a response. Fluttershy must still have been unconscious. Celestia wouldn’t allow herself to think of any alternative. She was lifted up carefully, levitated by magic onto a soft, pure white cot. Her eyes were tightly shut; the initial shock of her injuries had worn off to be replaced by pure pain, agony so powerful that it could have been condensed into liquid form.

“Your friends are alright. They’re all alright,” Luna said numbly. “Twilight, Fluttershy... everypony is accounted for. Even Sweetie Belle. Even Sweetie Belle.”

Celestia was too dazed to process her sister’s odd speech pattern. All she could do was think of how soft her cot was, and how pretty it looked tinged red.

=====================================================================

[Note]: I do not own anything in this story that already belongs to someone else.
This story takes place BEFORE season two, but AFTER season one.
Please let me know if a link doesn’t work.