Empty Darkness

by GigaBowser

Beast of the Darkness

Chapter 12 - Beast of the Darkness

Luna was a strong pony with a nigh-indomitable will. After a lifetime of torture, torment and war, her mind and body had been hardened like steel. She had fought through armies of overwhelming numbers. She had battled demonic creatures that were over a hundred times her size. She had fought against a demon that had poisoned her from the inside out, and had even fought her own sister.

But few times in her long, chaotic life had she been as scared as she was right now.

Luna stared up at the dragon, or what little she could see of it. There was simply a dark 'presence' that she couldn't see except for the huge glowing eyes. It was growling deeply, and Luna knew it was just moments away from gobbling her whole. She needed to run away, but her legs felt like jelly.

"Luna look out!!!"

Her companion's panicked cry was the only thing able to snap her out of her stunned trance. She flapped her wings to dodge back, missing a claw swipe from the dragon by moments and millimetres. Her mind hastily made the change into battle mode, but panic and worry were overcoming her.

Everything in this world was ten times harder to deal with because she couldn't use her magic to fight. Wolves, snakes, bears; she had only just barely managed to get away. How could she possibly fight a dragon? She had at least been able to see her previous opponents. This one was so large that it was completely enveloped by the darkness.

She backpedalled frantically, her breathing fast and heavy. She couldn't see what the creature was doing, but she heard the loud sounds of its movement. She had to think of something or they would both be dead within seconds.

Luna let out a cry of horror and quickly threw herself to the side. The powerful stream of fire from the dragon's mouth shot past at blinding speed, singing the tips of her wings. She landed on the ground in a heap, only barely able to keep herself from landing on top of Sweetie.

She scrambled to her hooves, feeling the filly hold on for dear life. She backed off, staring with terrified eyes into the glowing pair of yellow ones that were following her every move. Luna knew she had to do something bold and daring. There was no way she could win the fight like this.

After another quick flap back with her wings, Luna focused a great amount magical energy into her horn. It glowed brilliantly, sending waves of aura through her mane and tail and whipping past Sweetie like a strong wind. The bright shine of her horn grew and grew, expanding outwards like a ball of light. She kept her eyes open the whole time, watching the dragon, which as definitely no easy feat. Finally, after enough magic had built up, she tossed her head skyward and launched the ball of light into the air.

Luna panted heavily as the sphere sent out its light and illuminated the area around. She had been worried that this light wouldn't pierce the darkness but luckily it was doing its job. The sphere floated above the ground like a miniature sun, lighting up an area about the size of a hoofball field. Her spell had been successful, though it had drained more than half of her magical reserves.

The two gazed up at the magnificent creature, terrified at what they beheld. It was covered in jet black scales and had to be at least ten storeys high. It was built up with powerful muscles and is hide looked strong as steel. The dragon's four limbs and even its tail were covered in sharp claws that looked like they could cleave boulders in two. It was staring down at them, growling and baring its razor-sharp teeth in its huge, hungry maw. Large, imposing wings were spread out behind it. They too were coloured a deep black and looked quite strong, not at all like the thin membranes that were usually one of a dragon's weaknesses.

The creature was constantly moving, shifting its position to try to find the easiest way to end both ponies' lives. Luna was constantly backing off, keeping her eyes trained on the creature. Thanks to her spell, she could at least see the thing now. Still, though, she was fighting the urge to quiver all over. Luna was unashamedly terrified.

"Luna…!" The princess saw Sweetie's hoof thrust out and point at something in her peripheral vision. She allowed a brief millisecond to follow it, and saw that she was pointing at the glowing cutie mark. Sweetie must have seen whatever was beneath it. Something was there. She was certain that she would not be able to defeat this thing, and was even unsure if she would be able to successfully escape. The only viable option was to try to make her way up to the cutie mark and hope there was something good there.

Luna quickly dashed in the opposite direction, trying to draw the dragon's attention and move it away from the cutie mark. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, but she tried to swallow her fear and keep it suppressed. She had a mission.

Luna continued dashing to the left, keeping her eyes on the dragon. She dodged swipes from its claws successfully, bringing it a few steps towards her. Good, she thought, I can circle around and-

"LUNA LOOK OUT!!"

Luna turned her head and only barely had enough time to slam on the breaks. She came to a skidding stop, teetering over the edge of the sheer cliff. She flapped her wings a few times, just barely regaining her balance. The princess stared down into the black abyss, her heart jumping into her throat. The cliff spread out in either direction, across the field from the cutie mark.

The ground rumbled, bringing Luna's attention back to her opponent. She span around and put herself into a battle position, only to immediately be swatted away by one of the dragon's claws. The two both cried out, Sweetie in terror and Luna in pain. She tumbled on the ground a bit, but was quickly able to regain her stance.

Before she even had a chance to catch her breath the dragon was reaching for her again, its claws glistening in the light. Luna stepped back, growled in exertion, and let loose a powerful kinetic spell. Though strong, it was only large enough to impact its claws. The dragon pulled its arm back, but the effect was as if another dragon had slapped him on the wrist.

Luna was still suppressing her panic, trying to carefully plan and find a way to get up to where the cutie mark was. The dragon remained close to it, although it didn't seem like it was specifically guarding it. Luna just had to drive it away, perhaps incapacitate it for just a moment.

She gulped, not liking her chances.

The dragon, angered by her kinetic spell, let loose another deafening roar. Luna felt Sweetie tighten her grip around her neck, hugging her close and shivering. Having Sweetie on her back as a passenger was doing nothing to help her nerves. She was incredibly anxious about the filly's safety having her ride around during this battle, but she was just as anxious about leaving her to fend for herself.

The huge creature advanced again. Luna made a feint to the left and then dashed to the right, trying to put herself in between the dragon and the cutie mark. It was no use, however. The dragon was simply too fast. Before she could get any closer, its spiked tail swung around and nearly decapitated her.

Luna was panting heavily. She was running out of options and she had barely begun. Both she and her sister had fought plenty of dragons throughout the centuries, but never without the aid of magic! A severing spell to clip its wings or a water spell to quench its flames. Fighting one on one's own was considered suicide.

And this was no ordinary dragon.

Luna once again fought through her fear to analyze the situation. She took stock of what she knew and recognized the dragon's one weakness; it was slow to move its position. When swinging its claws or moving its head it was very fast, but actually changing position on the ground it was very slow. Luna had no idea how to use this to her advantage, but she kept it in mind.

She then began to slowly circle the dragon and face off against it. She kept her distance and managed to parry a few swipes of its claws, but she never let her guard down. Sweetie held on tight, quivering and nearly hyperventilating. The filly's terror was what started to fuel Luna's own determination. She couldn't let this thing defeat them, especially after they had come so far. She had to do it for Sweetie's sake at the very least.

Luna slowly but surely tried to bring herself closer to the gigantic cutie mark. As she drew closer, she began to see that there was a rocky escarpment to the right with a few steep, rugged paths leading up. Just as she had suspected, the cutie mark lay at the top of these hills sitting high above them. She would have to find a way to drive the dragon away enough so that she could climb the hills, as she knew all too well she couldn't fly up.

The dragon roared and glared at her, meanwhile, seemingly annoyed that its pray was so difficult to catch. Luna made a spectacular leap to the right when it lunged forwards with both claws and its teeth. The miss left it sprawled on the ground, giving Luna brief moment.

She approached the bottom of the hills and gazed up. She could just barely see the purple glow of the cutie mark above her. Her eyes were wide, however, as something else had caught her attention. There was a familiar tingling sensation in her horn. She had felt the faint tickles of it before, but now that she was closer to the cutie mark it was much stronger and recognizable.

Luna could feel the resonating waves of powerful magic coming from above her. Dimensional magic. The two of them were standing beneath a portal.

"Luna!!"

Sweetie's cry once again recaptured her attention. She whipped her head towards the dragon and was greeted by a pair of glowing yellow eyes. She also saw, however, a wide open maw and a throat that was glowing a fiery shade of orange. Luna's pupils shrank to dots as she quickly threw up the most powerful shield spell she could muster. It covered the two of them just barely in time.

The incredibly powerful stream of fire rushed past them and pushed against the shield, nearly knocking Luna off balance. It was so strong that it managed to drag her along the ground a couple of meters, pushing her further away from the cutie mark. The dragon's fire breath ran out and Luna let the shield drop, panting heavily. After that, she was feeling incredibly drained.

The dragon was just getting started. Before Luna's vision even focused on the creature, it was lunging towards her. She tried to back herself up and out of harm's way but she simply wasn't fast enough. At the last moment she tried to call up another shield spell to soften the impact. The dragon collided with her, shattering her shield and sending the two of them sailing back into a tumble along the ground.

Luna got to her hooves in a panic. She had felt Sweetie being thrown loose during the fall and quickly scanned the ground for her. She found her laying a few metres away. Her panic was abated slightly when she saw Sweetie try to get up, but her heart still thumped in terror. She had precious few seconds to get to her before the dragon did.

The frantic princess galloped forward as fast as she could directly towards the fallen filly, hoping to scoop her up with her magic as she passed by. Sweetie hadn't landed all that far away, and so Luna was upon her in a matter of seconds and ready to pick her up.

That's when the dragon batted her away with its claws. She cried out in shock and pain as the world became a spinning mess. She flew nearly a yard back through the air before impacting painfully with the ground, where she rolled to a stop in a crumpled heap. She groaned and quickly tried to get to her hooves, though it was quite the challenge. Blood oozed from where the tips of its claws had punctured her skin.

She heard Sweetie scream in horror, which brought her to her hooves in a flash. She looked across the way to see the hulking dragon leaning down and growling at a tiny white body. Even from this far away, Luna could see the absolute terror in the little filly's eyes, and she knew she had to move now.

Thankfully, Sweetie had not been frozen on the spot by fear. She was backing away as quickly as she could, keeping a close eye on the dragon and its sharp claws. She cast a few split-second glances at Luna. The princess met her gaze as she galloped back to rejoin the fray, ignoring the pain in her body.

She was forced to come to a quick stop as the dragon suddenly swung its tail directly into her path, almost causing her to skewer herself onto the spikes. She tried to dart around it, but the tail continued to hold her off. She continued trying, but the appendage was not only managing to keep her at bay, but was also obscuring her vision. In her panicked state, she tried to force it away with an attacking spell before she remembered that magic didn't work.

Luna couldn't see what was going on. She could only hear Sweetie screaming as the dragon continued to move. She didn't sound like she was in any pain, but Luna took that fact as no consolation. She considered leaping over the tail with a brief flap of her wings, but that would leave her underside exposed to the very sharp spikes. Still the dragon moved its tail to intercept her. It was as if it had realized that she was the stronger of the two and wished to deal with the easy prey first.

"LUNA, HE-HE-HELP!!"

The filly's terrified cry rang through the air, invigorating Luna. Sweetie needed her help. Luna knew that Sweetie was quick on her hooves, but against a dragon she didn't have a chance.

Luna quickly darted far to the right, nearly reaching the edge of the cliff. Because of its current position, it didn't seem like the dragon would be able to block her with its tail here. She circled around it, giving it as narrow a berth as she dared. She saw Sweetie backing away in terror and running from the dragon's claws, one of which was about to reach her.

The alicorn gave a war cry and dashed forwards. She dug into her drained magical reserves, intending to pick up Sweetie with levitation magic as soon as she could. The filly saw her coming and tried to move towards her. The dragon continued to try to attack them, but Luna managed to hold it off with small bursts of kinetic energy. The two were moments away from reuniting.

Then the world exploded into stars and Luna lost consciousness.

***

Sweetie screamed in horror as she watched Luna sail through the air above her, knocked away by a direct blow to the head from the bulk of the dragon's tail. The spiked tip hadn't hit her, but the sound of the impact had made her cringe. She looked over her shoulder to see the princess fall to the ground and collapse into a heap. She didn't move.

A loud stomp of the dragon's feet brought her attention back forwards. The gigantic creature was towering over her, baring its teeth almost as if it were grinning in victory. Its claws and its tail were poised to attack, ready to end her life should they connect with her.

Sweetie could barely breathe. Here she was, a tiny young unicorn filly who had just barely begun to learn magic, and she was facing off against a dragon! More than that, this was a fully-grown dragon who seemed very strong and powerful, who was immune to magic, and who came from a weird, nightmarish realm where all creatures within it were stronger and more dangerous. It was a miracle that she was still alive.

She backed away quickly, moving as fast as she dared while keeping her vision locked on the advancing monstrosity. It reached out a number of times with its claws, attempting to slice or squish her. She ran as fast as her little hooves could carry her to get out of the range of danger. The thing was fast, but she was small and nimble.

Sweetie had never been more terrified in her entire life. Nothing she had been through during these many past days even came close to what she was feeling right now. She was on the verge of hyperventilating and she had to fight to see through the tears welling in her eyes. Though she tried her best to keep her mind focused and alert, she could still hear the same phrase repeated loudly in her mind.

I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!

The filly continued to run around, barely dodging swipes and attacks from the dragon. She felt like a tiny little ant trying to avoid the hoof of a cruel colt. As she darted back and forth, using up all of her energy, she continued to be pushed further and further back as the dragon advanced. A moment later, one of her back hooves slipped off the edge of the cliff.

Her eyes shot wide open and she cried out in surprise, hastily trying to bring it back up onto solid ground. The dragon gave a loud growl and her eyes shot up to it. She realized that she was trapped now. She couldn't go back, and the dragon would easily intercept her if she ran to the left or the right.

The dragon got down on all fours and stepped towards her, coming uncomfortably close. It opened its wings and held them slightly forward, forming a sort of cage and further cutting off her escape. It leaned its head down closer to her and let out a mighty roar, nearly deafening the poor filly.

Sweetie trembled violently where she stood, utterly out of options. So many tears streamed from her eyes, but not a single sound escaped her throat. The dragon took a deep breath, letting a warm orange glow build in the back of its throat. In just a few moments, her life would be over.

It would all be over.

"I'm sorry Rarity…"

The world around her erupted suddenly into flames. At the same time, something collided into her and rolled with her along the ground. The whole experience was dizzying and painful, but she felt a pair of powerful hooves hugging around her. She felt it get incredibly hot, but she felt no horrible singeing or dying. Somepony else was panting and groaning in exertion as they stood over her, shielding and protecting her.

"Luna…!"

The fire stream ended and Luna's shield spell shattered. The princess looked like she had been through Tartarus, and Sweetie knew that was not far off the mark. The alicorn quickly scooped her up in her hooves, held her to her belly, and took off into a speedy low-altitude flight.

The world became a black and white blur as Sweetie became a passenger on Luna's rollercoaster flight. Though she couldn't get very high off the ground without succumbing to the strange effects of the darkness, she still managed to turn Sweetie's head for a loop with her wild acrobatics. She heard the sounds of the dragon roaring and even the wind whooshing by as its claws barely missed them. Sweetie immediately wanted to vomit, but she didn't care. Every moment alive was a blessing at this point.

Finally the dizziness stopped. Sweetie found herself riding on Luna's back without any idea of how she had gotten there. The two of them stood at about the same place they had been when this whole battle started; facing off against the dragon with the cutie mark to their right and the cliff to their left. Thankfully, Luna's light orb was still burning brightly.

Sweetie could feel the princess breathing haggardly. It was clear to her immediately that the alicorn had taken some damage. Glancing down a little, she saw dark red blood draining from Luna's face. Her wings were frayed as well.

The dragon roared and approached, and Luna pushed it back with a kinetic spell to the snout. "We…" she panted, "We have to get past this thing…" She pointed out the cutie mark with her horn. "We have to climb up there!"

Sweetie glanced up at the huge glowing star. It was such a strange sight to see the cutie mark of a pony she knew very well proudly on display in this strange world. "What's up there?" she asked.

"I…I don't know…" The sound of Luna's panting was alarming her. "But…I can feel…dimensional magic…"

"Dimens…" Sweetie murmured. She didn't understand what it meant but she knew that whatever it was it had captured Luna's attention. Perhaps it was the way home!

Luna grunted in exertion as she continued to hold the dragon back with multiple kinetic strikes. She cried out in pain, sounding as if she had been stabbed.

"Luna, are you okay??"

Luna panted some more. Sweetie could feel her trembling just slightly. "No…" she breathed, "I'm running out of energy. That light…took a lot…"

Sweetie glanced up at the glowing orb, now beginning to realize just how much of a strain it must have been to form it.

"We have to…"

The princess didn't get to finish her sentence as the dragon made a bold move and approached quickly. Luna was forced to leap over a swipe of its claw, hit it with a fairly strong blast, and move to another position. They were now closer to the hillside that the cutie mark was on, but so was the dragon.

"Augh…" Luna groaned in pain, "We can't defeat this…"

"We just have to get past it," Sweetie said, trying to be helpful, "We need to make it leave."

"It seems to be focused on us. It's not going to leave until we're in its belly…"

Sweetie shivered. "Can we…distract it? We just need to make it go away so we can get up there!"

"I…I don't…" Luna leapt back again, the ground shaking as the dragon's fist impacted it. When she landed, her ears perked up and she gasped. "Oh! Oh, skies above, I've got it!"

"What?"

The princess didn't respond. She leaned down to the ground and spread her wings wide. Sweetie held on tight. She could see the determination and battle readiness in Luna's eyes. Something had changed in the princess' mind. Something had happened that seemed to have suddenly sapped away all of her fear and trepidation.

When the dragon made another move towards them she suddenly took off to the left, away from the hillside with the cutie mark. The dragon had to quickly change its trajectory so that it could still hit them. Sweetie stared up in fear as the looming dragon fixed its horrifying eyes on her and reached out with its deadly claws.

However, after Luna had taken no more than five strides, she suddenly changed direction and began going to the right instead. Sweetie had to hold on as tight as she could to avoid being thrown off. The dragon, already slightly off-balance from her earlier feint, was forced to steady itself before it could attack them in this direction instead.

Sweetie caught a quick glimpse of Luna's victorious grin. As Luna ran faster than ever before towards the bottom of the hillside, Sweetie kept her gaze trained on the dragon. She was incredibly terrified as she beheld it, but they did seem to be safe for the moment. She knew the moment would be brief, however. It would take only seconds before the dragon was upon them once again.

Luna successfully reached the foot of the hill, the cutie mark burning brightly above them. As she turned around to face the dragon, Sweetie saw the alicorn's horn light up. She quivered slightly as she felt a weird sensation cover her body for a brief moment. "Ah!" she blurted out, "What was that?"

The princess was staring the dragon straight in the face. It had steadied and reoriented itself, and now stood glaring at them. It was hunched down, poised to strike. Sweetie felt her heart skip a beat, hoping and praying that whatever Luna was thinking of would work.

"Foul beast!!" Luna cried out. She lit up her horn and pulled something out from seemingly nowhere. "Feast thine eyes on this!!"

Sweetie looked at what the princess was holding up with her magic. It was a rather sizable pile of vile-looking meat. She gasped in recognition. It was the meat from that creature she had accidentally killed, the same horrible stuff that had almost been their food supply.

The dragon, which had been raising its claws up to attack, paused as soon as the meat had been produced from Luna's pocket dimension. Sweetie saw its nose twitch a few times, and then saw it angle its head towards the disgusting pile. It completely froze in all its movements, even lowering its claw back down to the ground.

Sweetie saw the princess smirk. Luna moved the meat back and forth a bit through the air, and she was astonished to see the dragon mirror the movements with its head. It was completely transfixed!

"It…It's hypnotised."

"All right. Hold on tight, Sweetie," the princess said, not once taking her eyes off of the beast.

"Huh?"

"We gotta go," Luna spoke, taking a few steps up the hill. Sweetie noticed that the dragon seemed to be making moves towards the meat to try to take it right out of Luna's grip. Every time it did, Luna moved the meat to the side quickly, making it jerk its head back to follow it. Sweetie couldn't believe it. It was as if the dragon had turned into a little puppy.

"You have to be my eyes," Luna continued, "I have to watch it."

"Um…O-okay…"

"Just tell me where to put my hooves."

It was difficult for her to force herself to look away from the dragon, but she turned and looked at the path ahead of them. It was mostly fairy steep dirt hills, but there were also a number of spots where they would have to climb over rocks. It was far from a smooth path. "Just keep going…Okay, stop. Now we gotta get over this rock. It's not very big."

A low growl recaptured her attention. The dragon still seemed fixated on the meat, but its expression had changed. Sweetie knew what was going on right away; it was getting annoyed.

"Sweetie…!"

"Okay! Um…Put your front hoof down…Yeah, okay. Keep going straight to the right."

Luna moved at fairly fast pace, despite not being able to see where she was going, but it all felt agonizingly slow to Sweetie. She could feel the dragon's gaze boring into her, and it made her shiver. She couldn't stop thinking about how something that could eat her was this close and she wasn't even looking at it.

"Lift your forehoof up. Okay, you're over it. Now the other one."

The two continued like this for a minute or two, slowly working their way up the hill towards the cutie mark. The dragon continued to follow the meat, acting as if it were skittish prey that could get away from it at a moment's notice. It was slowly starting to get bolder, however. Every time Sweetie glanced up she saw its demeanour change. It was shaking off the hypnotism and getting angrier.

Eventually they had made it a third of the way up. "Put your hoof way up and climb onto this rock…" Sweetie then cried out in surprise as Luna suddenly darted in the opposite direction. She whipped her head towards the dragon and came face to face with its wide open maw closing in on the two of them. Her heart stopped.

Only seconds away from death, the dragon was batted back with a rather powerful-looking kinetic spell. Sweetie's breath returned to her in a stifled gasp, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest.

Luna then began to move. She forewent listening to Sweetie's instructions and instead tried to split her focus between the hill and the dragon. The creature was getting more aggressive, making moves towards the two of them to get at the meat. Sweetie held on tight for her life, watching as the princess waved the meat back and forth away from the dragon's reach, keeping it at bay with kinetic spells. Even as a first-year magic study, she knew just how taxing it was to perform two magic spells at once, even if one was just a simple levitation spell.

Luna stumbled a few times on the rocks, but she kept herself moving. Sweetie tried her best to let the alicorn know when obstacles were in her way, but for the most part her eyes were locked on the jet-black beast, fear completely consuming her.

The dragon kept lunging forwards to get at the meat. Every time it did, Luna cried out in exertion as she batted it away with yet another kinetic spell. Though they were ascending the hill and had made it nearly half of the way up, things were quickly going south.

Luna slipped a little. Following this, the world exploded.

Sweetie's senses were overloaded as there was the incredibly loud sounds of crumbling rock. She was vaguely aware of herself impacting the ground painfully, but for a moment her vision was blurred beyond comprehension and her ears were ringing. She grit her teeth and pushed herself up into a sitting position, shaking her head. It took a moment for the pain to catch up with her.

When she could finally see, she realized that she was no longer on Luna. She was further up the hill, having apparently been thrown up there, but Luna was not with her. A loud roar brought her attention to where the dragon was, and there she found Luna. The princess was off the ground, hovering before the great beast. She was zipping back and forth, trailing the meat behind her and making the dragon's head spin.

Sweetie's whole body ached. Though she couldn't tear her eyes away from the dragon, she knew that she had been injured. She could feel the blood slowly trickling down her body. Luna too was sporting some heavy injuries. She realized that the dragon must have attacked her, and she had been flung off in the process.

"Go, Sweetie!!" Luna shouted frantically, "Climb!!"

"Luna!!" Sweetie cried out in horror.

The dragon lunged towards the alicorn, and she was barely able to dart away in time. "I've marked you so I can teleport to you! GO!!"

The entire hillside shook as the dragon impacted it after missing the princess. The numbing sensation of panic overcame the little filly's body, sending quivers down her spine. For a moment she was immobile, unsure of what to do. However, all it took was another deafening roar from the massive dragon to make up her mind.

Sweetie turned and ran up the hill, scrambling as fast as she could over and around the rocks. She ran like her tail was on fire. All of the urgency that had been building up before burst forth all at once, letting the filly move faster than she ever had before.

She glanced back briefly as the sounds of battle reached her ears. Luna was flitting around the dragon like a housefly, staying low to the ground but moving through the air quickly. The dragon still could not tear its gaze away from the pile of meat, but it was getting more and more agitated. It chomped down and swiped its claws with frightening speed, but Luna was always a step ahead. It wasn't a very large step, though.

Sweetie nearly tripped and had to return her attention to the terrain. She had to climb this hill as fast as she could. She needed to reach whatever was at the top. That was her only mission right now, besides staying alive. After a short bit of climbing, she came upon a group of large rocks that she had to clamber up.

She cried out as the hillside shook again, something having impacted it not far from her. She scrambled with her hooves to get a hold and just barely managed to pull herself up on top of the rock. She glanced behind her and her throat nearly jumped into her mouth. Luna was only a few feet behind her, and the dragon's claw was even closer.

Luna waved the meat in front of the dragon's face and took off in the opposite direction, leading it away from her. It took a few moments for the frightened filly's heart to restart, but she was soon off again and climbing even faster. Not a second later, the dragon's tail swung round as it rotated and slammed directly into the spot she had just been.

Sweetie couldn't keep herself from crying as she struggled to pull herself further and further up the hill. She kept glancing back, her eyes wide with panic. Luna was doing her best to distract the dragon, but the enticing spell of the meat was nearly broken now. The dragon seemed to be more interested in the alicorn carrying it.

The filly pushed herself more than double past her limits. She was more than halfway up the hill now, but her panic was only increasing. She continued to slip and stumble quite a bit, but she never slowed down. Pointier parts of the rocks dug into her and gave her a few cuts, but she pushed herself forward. If she stopped, then she would be dead.

A rather loud cry of pain from Luna made her gasp and turn back. She saw the princess still hovering, but it looked like she was faltering and her face was screwed up in pain. A lot of blood was dripping from her foreleg, coating the fur around it a deep, dark red. Before she could even react, the dragon reached out with its claw again, swiping through the air. Luna moved back to dodge, but the dragon caught the edge of her wing. There was more blood and Luna cried out again.

"Luna!"

Two sets of eyes turned to look at Sweetie, and her blood ran cold as she realized her mistake. The princess shot her a look that simply said Go!! before rushing directly into the dragon's field of vision. It growled and reached up to swat her away, but it kept its eyes trained on the little unicorn.

Sweetie turned and ran. Milliseconds later, the ground quaked as the dragon bit down on the rock she had been standing on. She screamed, panted, and scrambled her way higher up. She was barely thinking about what she was doing now. Instead her brain was in a blind panic and she was just trying to stay alive.

She heard the dragon make a strange sound that was like a mix of pain and annoyance. She didn't dare look back, knowing that any small delay would result in immediate death. There were the sounds of scuffles and growling, and a voice cried out in exertion. Still alive, Sweetie pushed herself further.

Her worn little legs carried her upwards even further. The gigantic cutie mark glowed brightly above her, as did Luna's light sphere. Sweetie could see the shimmering purple magic that made up the mark, and she was now close enough to see the faint trail that connected it to something at the top of the hill. It must have been whatever Luna had seen. Sweetie remembered that she had said 'dimensional magic'. Was it a portal home??

Now three-quarters of the way up the hill, Sweetie's young body was finally beginning to give out on her. Surprised though she was that she had made it this far, she knew she couldn't stop now. She both groaned and cried as she pushed through the pain in her chest and the difficulty she had breathing. She gave a few short screams of adrenaline, pushing her higher and higher up the hill, closer and closer to her destination.

Luna suddenly flew into the hillside beside her, throwing up an explosion of dirt and dust. Sweetie cried out in surprise and shielded her face from the debris. She heard Luna coughing and letting out a guttural groan of pain. Sweetie opened her eyes just in time to see Luna grit her teeth and light up her horn. The shield spell took form only moments before the dragon's fire breath reached them.

The alicorn was not looking well. Sweetie could see the signs of extreme fatigue simply from the expression she made while maintaining the shield spell. One of her wings was crumpled and bloodied, making Sweetie wonder how she was still flying. Her whole body was covered with lacerations and blood. To say the princess was not faring well would be a tremendous understatement.

The fiery stream ended, as did the shield spell. Sweetie felt herself being lifted into the air by magic and tossed not-so-gently to a point higher up on the hill. She landed on her side rather painfully, but she was uninjured. Before she could even get up, Luna had reengaged the dragon.

As she stood up, Sweetie briefly reflected on just how much Luna was dedicating herself to her own safety. She couldn't see, but she could hear the battle, and Luna's grunts of exertion and pain were impossible to miss. The princess was throwing herself into the heat of an unwinnable battle, all to ensure that Sweetie remained safe. Her immense respect for Luna grew even further.

Back on her hooves, she continued to climb as quickly as she could. Her body was tired and wanted to slow down, but she didn't let it. She had to keep climbing and she had to make it to the top. If she didn't make it up this hill, then all of Luna's struggles would mean nothing. Furthermore, the two of them might never make it home.

So, she continued to ascend, willing herself not to look back as it would only slow her down. She just had to trust that Luna would be able to distract the dragon and keep it from attacking her. There was little else she could do, and so she just focused on climbing.

Every time she heard Luna cry out in pain she whimpered and had to force herself to keep going. She had to be nearly at the top by now. The amazingly bright cutie mark was closer and closer within reach. In fact, as she crested the next rock, she began to see what was awaiting her at the top.

She could see something swirling, but it was not black like the prevalent darkness. It was a shade of deep navy blue, close but not the same as the blackness. It was swirling around in a circular pattern, and the thin trail connecting to the cutie mark was flowing right through it. Though she couldn't tell for sure, the filly's eyes grew wide as she drew closer to it. She had seen this sort of thing in video games, books and drawings.

It was definitely a portal.

With a burst of energy, Sweetie began to crest another rock. She was now at the steepest part of the hill, but the top was only meters away. All she had to do was get over this rock and climb up a little bit more of the hill and she would be there. She had almost made it.

The mountain shook again as something impacted it and Sweetie slipped off of the rock. She cried out in pain as she tumbled to the ground. She had landed on one of her rear hooves poorly, and it had bent awkwardly in the wrong direction for a few painful moments. She bit her tongue and tried to keep herself from crying as pain shot through her entire rear leg. She observed it through strained eyes, but it didn't seem to be broken. It was incredibly difficult to move it however.

A loud cry caught her attention, and she looked out in the direction of the battle. She found Luna staring up the dragon in a faltering hover. The princess' wings didn't seem to be flapping in sync and she kept drooping in altitude, constantly having to beat her wings harder just to stay aloft. Her tongue was hanging out as she panted, her vision stained with blood. Her four hooves dangled below her, and in all she simply looked out of energy.

It looked like she was ready to give up.

"Luna!!" Sweetie had seen the princess go through a lot, but there was something new and frightening about her expression at this moment. There was no longer any fire in her eyes as she stared at the dragon, and every part of her body looked dead or ready to die. Sweetie's heart hammered hard in her chest from an entirely new kind of fear.

"Luna!" she called again, "Luna I'm almost to the top!!"

She saw the alicorn's eyes briefly flash towards her, up to the top of the hill, and then back to the dragon. She could almost see the little, tiniest bit of strength being pumped back into her. Her wings synched up and her muscles tensed.

In response, the dragon reared back slightly and then let out a tremendous roar directly at the relatively tiny alicorn.

For the briefest moment, Sweetie saw something in Luna's eyes. There was a brief, almost magical spark that she could see. In that one short moment, less than a second, everything seemed to change. The princess' demeanour suddenly shifted back into a battle-ready state, and somehow Sweetie felt a tiny surge of hope. Luna hadn't even looked at her, but somehow she felt as if the princess had been telling her that everything would be okay now.

Then, Luna shot forward through the air and propelled herself directly into the dragon's wide-open mouth.

Sweetie screamed in utter terror. She could only watch, horrified, as the dragon quickly closed its mouth in reaction. It didn't chomp down, but she could clearly see the beast's teeth dig themselves into Luna's hind legs and wings, which were sticking out. There were a few muted crunches, and a river of red began trickling down the dragon's chin.

The filly couldn't move. She was frozen in place with her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

But something more was happening. The dragon's eyes were clenching up and it made a few strange noises. Its head was twitching about slightly. It took a step back and held up one of its claws to its face, but did nothing with it.

Its eyes closed completely, and Sweetie was able to identify the kinds of sounds it was making. The dragon was growling and groaning in pain. As seconds ticked by, it began to sound more and more painful. Its cries were very low and guttural, and somehow they seemed to sound bubbly.

More blood began to pour out of the dragon's mouth. A lot more blood. Sweetie watched in morbid fascination as the dragon pitched its head forward slightly, a near-waterfall of blood falling loose from the back of its mouth.

From its throat. Sweetie gasped, a combination of shock and understanding, as she realized what was going on. Luna had flown directly into the open mouth of the creature, horn first.

The dragon raised both claws up to its neck and held them there, but by now it was staggering. Its wings were drooping and its one open eye seemed almost drunken. It pitched to the side, barely able to move its hind leg in time to remain balanced.

A jolt of electricity shot up Sweetie's spine briefly and then there was a bright flash next to her. In the wake of the teleportation spell, Luna appeared and immediately collapsed to her haunches.

"Luna!!" Sweetie cried out, a mix of relief and panic in her voice. It looked as if a bucket of red paint had been dumped all over the princess' body. Her wings were bent at sickening angles and much of her body was damaged and torn up. Her entire form shivered violently.

Luna didn't respond to Sweetie's outcry. She slowly raised her head to stare up at the dragon, defiance in her eyes. Blood slickened her mane and her face, but her gaze remained strong and a fire still danced in her eyes. Sweetie got a sensation of awe just looking at her.

The dragon, meanwhile, was still staggering around. Incredibly, more blood was still pouring out of its mouth. They could hear its strained breathing, and it was clear that it wasn't able to get much air. It made disgusting, suffering sounds as it struggled and thrashed about.

Luna turned to gaze at Sweetie just slightly, and the filly caught her eye. "Over the edge," was all the alicorn said in a low, raspy voice.

Sweetie's eyes opened wide as she remembered what was just behind the dragon now; the cliff. Luna's horn then lit up brightly, she groaned in exertion for a few seconds, and unleashed a kinetic blast directly towards the dragon.

The spell impacted the creature, catching it off-guard and knocking it back ever so slightly. Luna barely paused to catch her breath before she lanced forth another blast. For a brief moment, Sweetie could only gaze in admiration at Luna, seeing all that she was still doing despite the deteriorated state she was in. She then aimed her horn at the dragon and unleashed a spell of her own.

The dragon tried to growl in retaliation, but all that came out was a bubbling strangled sound. The two ponies continued to buffet the dragon with their spells, keeping it off balance and pushing it back ever so gradually. Sweetie tried to time her spells so that they hit the dragon during the pause between Luna's. Her spells may have been much weaker, but the timing was enough to prevent the dragon from any sort of recovery. Together, they formed an unbreakable force.

The dragon tried to raise up, and Sweetie could see the pain in its expression. It was having enough trouble standing up, and possibly even staying conscious, much less being able to fight back against the kinetic spells. She watched in fascination as slowly but surely they were able to push it back to the edge of the cliff. The dragon barely had enough strength to react.

Luna sent forth one more powerful blast, catching it straight in the chest. This upset its balance and caused it to teeter over the edge. It spread its wings to try to balance itself, but Sweetie could see in its eyes that its head was swimming. It was a feat that it had managed to get them open in the first place.

Sweetie heard a sound next to her. When she turned, she saw Luna collapsed on the ground, eyes closed. The worried filly gasped and shouted, "Luna! Luna are you okay?"

The alicorn didn't respond.

She then heard the dragon make a strange noise; a strangled mix of pain, rage and even panic. She turned back to it, seeing it still teetering precariously on the edge. It was moving its forearms and wings haphazardly in an attempt to keep itself from falling off. Blood was still coursing from its mouth.

The filly then stood tall, aiming her horn directly at the dragon's chest. She focused all of her energy, concentrating on what she wanted to happen. Her horn began to glow brightly, though she didn't close her eyes. The look on her face was not one of confidence or defiance. Deep down, Sweetie Belle was still a terrified little filly, scared and lost in a strange new world. All she wanted to do was to go home. Sweetie knew that in order for that to happen, this dragon needed to…

"GO AWAY!!"

The kinetic blast was launched. It was paltry in comparison to any of Luna's, but it was still the biggest one she had ever produced. It whizzed through the air at blinding speed, reaching the dragon in seconds and knocking into it directly.

The dragon's eyes shot open, it grabbed at the air with its claws, and it made one more strangled sound. One leg was already in the air, and the force of Sweetie's spell had been enough to knock the other one off. The air was filled with a loud roar as the dragon fell back and careened off the edge backwards. The roar lasted for many seconds until it echoed into the distance and faded to nothing, leaving only blissful silence.

Sweetie fell to her haunches, panting heavily. Adrenaline was still pumping through her body. It took a few seconds for the realization to sink in that they had won. They had beaten back the dragon!

Her gaze immediately turned towards Luna, finally having a moment to truly observe just what the princess had gone through. She gasped and moved herself closer.

"Luna…!"

The alicorn was in really bad shape. Not a single spot of blue fur could be seen; it was all coated a deep red. Sweetie winced and shivered at the sight of Luna's torn, mangled body. Fresh blood still seeped slowly from a few of her wounds. Her wings were crumpled and possibly broken, and her eyes remained closed.

"Luna, we…we did it…" Sweetie whispered, nudging the princess with her snout. "C'mon…"

Luna's body was frighteningly cold. She didn't respond to Sweetie's prodding even a little.

Sweetie stared at her expressionlessly. "L- Luna…Luna, we're safe now. We…We beat the dragon." Sweetie paused. "A-and now we can go home…!"

Still Luna did not stir. A concentrated sensation of panic was building up in Sweetie's chest as she stared at the comatose princess. The filly continued to prod and jostle the alicorn, but she did not wake.

She got really beat up… Sweetie heard a voice in her head, but it's okay! Alicorns are made of super tough stuff! She healed herself when she almost died before. She got snake poison out of her body…

Sweetie felt herself turn and glance up at the portal, only a short distance away. It was so tantalizingly close. Home could be just a few steps away.

The filly got up and circled around the princess, whereupon she lowered herself to the ground and squeezed herself underneath her body. She pushed hard, using whatever strength she had left to lift the princess off of the ground, even just a little bit. She ended up with Luna's chest resting on her back, with the rest of her body still dragging on the ground.

"Luna…" she groaned, "C'mon…We're almost there…Don't give up now…"

Sweetie took a few difficult steps forward, just barely able to move the heavy alicorn along. She pushed herself forward, dragging Luna up the hill. The pace was excruciatingly slow, but Sweetie never stopped. She faced a difficult obstacle when she needed to get Luna over a couple of rocks, but she persevered.

After much lifting and pushing, the two ponies were on the other side of the rock, faced with only a steep path between them and the portal. Sweetie's whole body ached as she sat there panting next to the princess. Every breath was like fire in her chest, but she still could not give up. As soon as she was physically able to, she was back on her hooves.

"Come on, Luna…" she whimpered through her tears, "Please…"

Sweetie continued to drag the princess up the hill. The further they went, their pace slowed even more. There were quite a few times when Sweetie was sure she wouldn't be able to go any further, but still she pushed on.

Less than a yard remained. The two were almost to the portal. She could feel its magical energy now, as if gentle electricity was dancing over her fur. Luna's light spell had gone out a while ago, but Twilight's cutie mark was still burning brightly above.

Only a few steps away from the portal, Sweetie collapsed in a coughing fit. Her strength had completely given out. Her body just wanted to shut down and go to sleep, so she had to fight to stay awake. She felt Luna's heavy body laying haphazardly on top of her. Was she even breathing?

She's fine…She'll be fine…

Sweetie struggled to pull herself out from underneath the alicorn so that she could breathe again. Every movement was a nightmare for her.

Once we get home…She'll be fine…

Sweetie had to blink to see through all of her tears. She moaned loudly in pain as she tried to stand up. She stumbled a few times before she was finally able to get to her shaky legs. She stood now, between the princess and the portal, and Luna still did not move even a little.

"Please…" she whispered as she reached for the last remaining stock of energy she had; her magic, "I can't lose you now…"

An incredibly faint magical aura appeared around the princess' forehooves. Sweetie groaned and grunted in heavy exertion as she tried to drag the princess into the portal. She could hardly walk and could barely stand, and so this was her last resort. It felt like her horn was going to fall right off. Luna was only halfway to the portal.

"We…made it…" she whispered between heavy breaths, "We…made it…together…"

The tips of Luna's hooves were millimetres away from touching the portal when Sweetie's magic gave out. She collapsed to the ground, heaving incredibly heavy breaths and feeling like her lungs and heart were both on fire. She was openly weeping now, crying out into the night as pain wracked her entire body. Everything hurt so much. She realized just how easy it would be to just go to sleep and let all of her problems simply vanish. All she had to do was close her eyes.

The tiny filly pushed herself more than triple past her pain limits as she got to her hooves once more. She made her way behind the princess, put her hooves on Luna's blood-soaked body, and pushed as hard as she could. For a couple of minutes, she was only rewarded with mind-numbing pain in her hooves.

Finally, mercifully, Luna began to slide forward along the ground. Sweetie watched in exhausted relief as the alicorn's hooves began to fade into the swirling portal. As soon as this happened, the act of pushing her became a lot easier. She threw her entire weight against the princess, with more and more of her body disappearing into the churning magical entryway.

Sweetie smiled. A warm golden feeling of relief overcame her as the last of the princess fell through the portal. Though she had pushed herself impossibly far, her energy was now absolutely depleted. She stumbled forward almost drunkenly without the princess' weight to brace her any more, until she too fell through the portal.

The last thing Sweetie felt before she drifted off into blissful, calming sleep was that she was still smiling.

We made it…

Author's Note:

This is the end. This is where the story ends. This was how I envisioned it from the very beginning, and it's how I'll always remember this story years down the line.

But I do know that some of you might not like such an open-ended and ambiguous ending. If you desire something a little more concrete, then feel free to read the epilogue.

• By the way, did you enjoy what you read? If you did, I humbly ask you to consider sharing this story with your friends and acquaintances. Sharing my story is, without a doubt, the greatest way to help me out, and I will always appreciate it. Thanks!!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[GigaBowser]

4565338 I'm Canadian

[The Nightmare has Come]

Yay! Epilogue!

[BlinkyPony]

This is a very nice story.

And yet... I feel like I've seen this before...

EDIT: The dupe has been removed, and the accounts of the thief permabanned after it was reported to the mods. Hopefully this serves as some justice for you, and I'm sorry your work had to be ripped off in such a way. This is, as I said, a very nice and severely underrated story. I wish you luck on your future writings.

~Blinkie