I am stronger7,346 words
Turmoil of the Heart 7,494 words
Heart of a Fighter 9,050 words
To Move Forward7,174 words
Epilogue293 words

To Move Forward

Starburst’s day started off weird. First she had a strange dream about talking to Annie, and for some reason she was surrounded by violet light. A little further into the dream and she was suddenly behind Annie, saying something encouraging and feeling the strength of that mare increase exponentially, but that’s where the dream ended, and Starburst found herself waking up on the side of a mountain.

The pegasus mare looked to her yellow ring and saw violet sparks flying off of it. She shook her hoof and inspected the ring again, but when she did the ring released its usual surge of yellow energy.

Guess I was imagining it…

And yet she felt something in her heart, relief? Joy? Whatever it was it was like a heavy weight was lifted from deep inside her, and it somehow was connected to Annie. But unfortunately, Star didn’t have time to contemplate this feeling, because there was a rather annoying whistling sound getting closer and closer. Star looked up and saw the familiar flaming fireballs of mortar fire heading straight for her.

The Fear Lantern summoned a spherical barrier, allowing each of the shells to fall onto the area with explosive force, destroying most of the rock face. When the dust cleared, Starburst waved her hoof in front of her, creating a gust that pushed away the smoke to allow her a clear line of sight of what was before her.

Twelve dozen Empire warships littered the sky, near the ground was another force. Griffons were flying at a thousand feet, making the air thud with their wingbeats. On the ground even more arrived, the earth trembling with each armored claw and paw that dropped.

Starburst chuckled at the sight, she remembered now. She was busy herding back a battalion of griffon soldiers from a small, Saddle Arabian village. It was a simple attack run, one of which she had done many a time, but what she didn’t see coming was the ambush. It was if they were waiting for her, all of them. The warships wasted no time in opening fire on her, showering the Fear Lantern with mortar shells and slamming her into the side of the nearby rock formation.

She lost consciousness for a bit, and that’s when she had the dream. Star shrugged. “Oh well…least it was a nice dream.”

Starburst took off and soared towards the griffon ships, the ships hurriedly opened fire on her, sending flaming ordinance raining down on her. Starburst stopped in midair and formed a large shield that acted as an umbrella, protecting her against the numerous thudding explosions.

This is nothing, don’t think that this’ll keep you from –!

Just then another explosion erupted from below her, something far stronger than the others. Star looked up and saw a crack appear on her shield. At that moment another one hit and it made her stop, a third one hit, and then a fourth and a fifth. Starburst dispelled her shield and flew up higher above the shelling to see what was hitting her.

Her eyes caught sight of a blue-green flaming mortar shell that was flying right at her. Starburst created a futuristic cannon construct and fired a beam at it. The beam stopped it but the ordinance hadn’t exploded. It just pushed against the beam, and after a few seconds exploded into a shower of blue-green flames.

“Ring, what was that?!”

[Scans show that ordinance was laced with trace amounts of mana energy.]

“Oh great, now they have magic mortar shells! Fine then, let’s see ‘em deal with this!”

Starburst created two large airships on either side of her, she then ordered the ships to open fire on the Griffonian warships. Rapid energy blasts and yellow construct rockets flew out of the ships and into the armada ahead of her. Multiple explosions could be seen igniting across the sky. One by one the enemy ships were set falling down in a flaming heap onto the harsh and unforgiving earth below, getting into the troops that they were meant to help.

Just then she saw two ships among the rest that appeared with different colors. Both had an array of cannons that looked different from the ones mounted on the other warships. These cannons had oscillating rings that spun around and around, towards the mouth of the cannon were two long prongs that acted as rails, creating sparks of the same blue-green energy that laced the mortar shells.

Star looked at them curiously, but wasn’t about to find out what they could do. She redirected her ships to aim for the two odd vessels and fired a volley of rockets at them. Two other Griffonian warships quickly flew to intercept the attacks, these two seemed different as well, boasting large panels that hummed with power.

Suddenly the panels ignited with the same blue-green energy and burst out around the ships. The energy expanded until it joined with the other, creating a semi-circular shield in front of the ships. Star’s construct rockets struck the shield with resounding force, but the barrier didn’t show signs of buckling under the attack.

“Are you kidding me?! They have magic shields too?!”

[Enemy weaponry has evolved, recommend retreating to better evaluate the enemy’s new abilities.]

“Partner, what’s beyond this point?” Star asked.

[A village. Life signs indicate a populace of approximately 5,000. ]

“Right, we can’t let them cross this way, otherwise they’ll just mow down that village and every living pony in it! We draw a line in the sand here! Give me current power levels!”

[Power levels currently at 75%.]

Star looked towards the new warships and glared. I can’t let those things make it to the battlefield, who knows what they can do!

“RAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!!”

Starburst let out a fierce battle cry and sped off into the sky. The Magi-Cannon warships powered up their weapons, the rails releasing electrical mana energy as they crackled and buzzed to life, each one glowed with pent up power, ready to release it onto the Fear Lantern. The Shield-Mount warships dropped the barrier and parted for the Magi-Cannon ships.

The two Magic-Cannon warships fired one shot after another in small bursts. Starburst had her construct warships appear in front of her. The two constructs took the brunt of the blast, shattering them in a giant explosion, but Starburst flew through the smoke like a whizzing arrow, dead set on destroying the shield and cannon mounted warships.

Star cocked back her right hoof, concentrating the yellow light of fear. She then thrust that same hoof forward, creating a giant claw that balled itself into a fist and sailed directly towards the ships. The first Shield-Mount warship raised its barrier and blocked the punch with a thunderous “BOOM!” The Magi-Cannon mount fired a volley at the construct, after about three shots the claw was destroyed and turned into particles of yellow light.

Starburst growled in indignation at these two sets of ships that were working in tandem with each other. Suddenly a flaming mortar shell sped by her, making the pegasus mare fly backwards to avoid a direct hit. Without her knowing, she had found herself surrounded by the other warships, and each one was ready to fire.

The Fear Lantern spun in place, creating tornado of yellow light that roared in all directions. The warships fired their weapons at the tornado while the Magic-Cannons readied for another barrage. Deep inside, Starburst was getting ready herself, she was going to tear those ships a new one, and she was going to do it in style.

When the Magi-Cannon warships were ready they fired ten rounds into the tornado along with the remaining warships. All of them hit the tornado, exploding in every direction as the tornado shattered apart. The griffons believed they had taken down the Fear Lantern, but two glowing yellow eyes proved them wrong.

Suddenly a great roar bellowed forth, pushing the dust cloud away and revealing Starburst’s latest construct. The monster had muscular arms and chest. Its lower half was covered in thicker fur and had hooves for feet. Its tail coiled and flicked back and forth, upon closer inspection, the tail had a snake’s head at the end, hissing and baring its fangs. The constructs head was similar to that of a ram, judging from its curved horns and long muzzle, but had a thick mane that looked akin to a lion’s, along with razor sharp teeth.

The construct’s eyes shined and gleamed in the gloomy weather, brighter than the rest of its body. It then entered an attack stance, thrusting its open right hand into the air above its head. Yellow particles of light shimmered and gathered to its hand with each passing second. The beast clenched its fist and a sword appeared. It was a long, single edged weapon. A chunk of it was missing near the tip, making it look like there was a crescent in the blade itself.

The monster construct roared a second time and sped off with great haste towards the warships. The Magi-Cannon warships fired their magical ordinance at the giant monster, but to their surprise the beast moved with unnatural swiftness and speed, dodging the attacks with nimble and acrobatic skill. The Shield-Mount warships created their semicircular barriers to keep the gleaming eyed monster at bay.

The monster construct raised its sword and grabbed it with both hands. It had to time this just right, moving closer and closer. When the barrier completed itself, the monster saw the chink in the armor. Yellow light rushed towards the blade, making it shoot up and expand to gigantic proportions.

The super dreadnaught blade was brought down, slamming onto the barrier. The force of the strike was so strong it sent a shockwave rumbling through the air, forcing the other warships back and even threw some of the griffons on their rears that were on the ground.

The monster roared out its defiance once more as it showed a simple barrier would not stop its mighty will. Soon the blade cut into the barrier, the monster continued to drag downward, slicing through the barrier as if it were a stale loaf of bread. With one great push the blade broke through the barrier, severing the connection and bringing the rest of it down.

The gleaming eyed construct took off for the bridge of the first Shield-Mount warship, it stabbed the hull with its, now normal sized, blade, anchoring itself there. The beast glared into the clear glass of the ship, seeing the terrified and horror stricken faces of each griffon in there. Its body glowed brighter, feeling the fear that these griffons had and making itself stronger with it.

The monster cocked back its left fist and slammed it into the bridge, thrusting its entire arm straight through as glass was broken and metal was bent and busted. With its claws the monster ripped backwards, tearing out a good portion of the ship’s innards. It then vaulted upwards, using its snake tail to pull the blade out and throw it up high above. When the monster appeared on top of the ship it held out its right hand and grabbed the sword as it fell back down.

The gleaming eyed construct then flipped the sword around till the blade faced downwards. It grabbed it with both hands and roared out again. The blade shot down all the way until it pierced the bottom of the ship. The monster ran with great speed down the bow of the ship to the rear, dragging the blade along with it. When it reached the end the blade returned to normal and the monster jumped off and into the air once again.

The first Shield-Mount warship was split in half, falling down to the ground in two halves. The power source for the ships must’ve been nicked with the attack, because before the two halves hit the ground they exploded in midair in a shower of blue-green fire. The gleaming eyed monster turned its attention to the second Shield-Mount warship. It summoned a second sword into its left hand, flipping it into a reversed position. It then slammed both swords together, making them join at the pommels and creating a dual-edged sword.

The beast roared once again as it spun in the air and released the dual-edged weapon. The sword became a buzz saw, whirring through the air as it sped off towards the second ship. The whirling blade struck the bow of the ship and doubled in size, slicing through it at a horizontal angle. The blade continued onward until it had cut all the way through the ship and returned to the gleaming eyed construct, catching it in its right hand and separating it back into two swords.

The second ship blew up just as spectacularly as the first, and now all that was left was last two Magi-Cannon warships. But before the construct could make its move, ten shots were fired, all of them exploded around the construct, sending it flying straight down to the ground with resounding force.

The construct groaned, but it didn’t have time to deal with regaining its bearings. Grappling hooks were shot out from every direction, it looked about and saw that griffon soldiers were trying to hold down the beast; how foolish a mistake that was.

With a powerful roar the beast curled in on itself and dragged the flying griffons down to the ground. It then jumped up and out of the crater, landing on the ground and crushing a few griffons in the process. The monster looked upon the droves of griffon soldiers, each one had scary looks on their faces, but that was only the surface. The gleaming eyes of this construct could see past that and to the fear behind it.

Its roar was so powerful that it created a concussive wave that slammed into each griffon. The construct dashed forward, swiping its claws in every direction, it didn’t matter which way it struck the blow always threw up a pile of shattered griffon bodies. A squadron of griffons came up from behind it, prepared to hit it with spears in a sneak attack. They neglected to remember that it had eyes in the back of its head, or rather, on its tail.

The snake tail shot up and lashed out at each one like the angry viper it was, snatching one griffon after the other out of the air. The monster construct spun around and swiped its muscular arm through the air, bashing a few griffons, sending them falling like flies into the awaiting claws of their comrades down below. The fear was strong, allowing the construct to go into a complete frenzy and litter the battlefield with blood, torn armor, and broken swords and spears.

Just then the beast looked up, seeing the cannons prepare for a second attack. It dug its hooves into the ground and opened its mouth, collecting yellow energy. The Magi-Cannon warships fired their volley, and at the same time the gleaming eyed construct fired its beam.

The two attacks sped through the air, the beam cut down five of the glowing blue-green fireballs, but the not the remaining five. The last of the magical shells struck the construct, but it didn’t end there.

The other warships unleashed their hellfire onto the area. Some of the griffon soldiers were caught in the middle of the attack, but at this point, they were more concerned with destroying the Fear Lantern than with how many of them they would lose.

The remaining griffon soldiers all surrounded the perimeter of the crater, smoke bellowed from it along with flames. Nothing could’ve survived that. But their fears weren’t put to rest as a yellow claw shot out of the fire and raked against the dirt and rock, the gleaming eyed monster pulled itself out of the crater and went down on one knee. Soon its form cracked and within a few seconds dispersed into particles of golden light.

What was left standing in its place was an out of breath Starburst, her armor shimmering and wavering. It wasn’t long before that too dispersed. The ring’s glow was faded, and Starburst knew what this meant.

[Power levels at 10%. Now entering power save mode.]

“Lovely,” groaned Star.

The griffons all seemed to lose their fear, now seeing the unarmored pegasus mare. She was tired, vulnerable, and her power was no more. Murderous grins formed on their faces, and Star had no doubt that they’d do more than kill her, she’d be lucky if they did. But Starburst wasn’t one to go down without a fight. She saw a sword that was still intact from the attack, she quickly grabbed it and held it tight in the crook of her right hoof.

“If you think I’m going to let you do whatever you want with me then you’re dead wrong! You want revenge, then come and get it! But I hope you’re ready to die, because if I’m going down, then I’m taking as many of you as I can with me!”

Warships above her, a swarm of griffons hovering in the air, and an army’s worth of griffons surrounding her on the ground, she smirked, figuring that this was as far as she could go. Sorry Mom…Dad…Nighty…guess I’m not coming home…ever. Sorry…Del…

Just as Starburst was about to let loose her battle cry, a beam of orange energy cut through the sky and burned a groove in the form of a protective ring around her. The beam disintegrated the griffons that were caught in the blast and made the rest back up.

Star looked to the sky and watched as fiery beam shot out once more, piercing through the warships in a giant circle. Two giant cobra constructs appeared, both made of orange light. The constructs wrapped around the Magi-Cannon warships. With one twist the ships were crushed and both blew up.

The soldiers looked down to Starburst, upon which the orange-yellow mare shook her head. “Hey, don’t look at me!”

Suddenly an orange meteor descended down to the ground and in front of Starburst. The pegasus mare took a few steps back as the orange light hit the ground with enough force to push back the griffons, Star stabbed the sword into the ground and held onto it tight to keep from being blown away. When the wave ended Star looked upon the orange sphere.

The sphere disappeared and revealed the pony responsible for the chaos. At first, Star thought it was a thestral, spotting the bat wings on its back. But when the thestral tilted its head just so and Star caught a glimpse of a horn, like a unicorn. She studied the thestral’s form, the mane color, those ears, the only one it could be couldn’t be her, could it?

“Nidra…?”

The alicorn thestral turned around, her form was that of her normal stature, her body and face no longer warped by the combination of the Nightmare and Avarice corruption. She looked upon the pegasus mare with teary eyes, and without warning, she rushed towards her and hugged the petite mare fiercely. Nidra sobbed into the shoulder of her friend, catching Starburst off guard. She wasn’t sure how she should respond, considering that they were in the middle of a battlefield and the enemy was disoriented from her arrival.

In the end, Starburst patted Nidra’s back, noting the familiar pulse of energy that her orange armor gave off. The second ring?! Nidra had the second ring!

“Star…I…I bucked up…! I bucked up so bad!” Nidra cried.

“Oh…Okay, just calm down Nidra, it’s alright.”

“No it’s not! I hurt everypony! My Mother, T, Annie’s friends, and Annie, I was a monster!”

Starburst never heard her friend speak with such sorrow and utter regret before. It was almost heartbreaking. She glanced to her right and saw the hoof that bared the ring, noticing the color and insignia upon it.

One of the seven colors of the Emotional Spectrum, the orange light of Avarice. It only comes to those who are greedy and think only of themselves…Oh Nidra…what did you do, what did you want so badly that you attracted the attention of such a ring?

“Nidra it’s alright, I’m here, but we can’t do this right now. The enemy’s all around us, if we stay here too long then they’ll kill us,” said Star.

Nidra separated herself from Starburst, looking upon her with red, puffy, and teary eyes. “Okay…but, why aren’t you in your Fear Lantern getup?”

“I ran out of power, these guys ambushed me and – NIDRA LOOK OUT!”

One of the griffon soldiers hurled his lance straight for them. The lance got only within a few feet before a barrier made of hard orange light shot up from behind Nidra, breaking the lance when it impacted. A dark shadow befell the alicorn thestral, surprising Starburst. She then turned around and faced the remaining griffon soldiers.

“You tried to kill MY friend?! Tried to hurt her?! I won’t let you hurt her, she’s MINE! MY FRIEND! And I won’t let any of you lay a claw on her!!!” Nidra proclaimed.

The orange ring glowed bright with Avarice light, she then thrust that hoof deep into the ground and glared at the griffons with wicked eyes.

“Commence consumption!”

[Identity Theft: Activated!]

The ground shook and rattled violently. Suddenly fissures appeared throughout the ground, emanating from around Star and Nidra. The only patch of ground that didn’t have cracks in it was where the two of them stood. The fissures began to glow with an eerie vermillion light, making the cracks widen even more. Some of the smarter griffons jumped up and flapped their wings, but it was too late.

The ground erupted with giant tentacle mouths, hundreds of these tentacles appeared below the griffons and swallowed them whole in one bite. The griffons that took to the sky were quickly chased down and snapped into the jaws of the disturbing construct. One by one Star watched as each of the griffons were consumed within the giant maws of the construct. Even though she had sliced, diced, smashed, and blew away many griffons by now, the act she was seeing before her unsettled her a bit.

The tentacles retracted back into the ground below. The glow still remained as the next stage in the process began. Soon something else emerged from the ground, columns of orange light shot up and angled downward till they landed in a circle around Starburst and Nidra.

The lights reformed and took the shape of the griffons that were killed. The difference in these was that they looked a little more warped and demonic, with sharper teeth, and longer claws. Upon their chests was the insignia of the Orange Lantern. The constructs all bowed down to the princesses, and Nidra grinned.

“Nidra…what…what is this?” Star asked in shock and awe.

“My ring gives me the ability to consume somepony and turn them into an independent construct, with their personalities and mental capacity intact. Essentially, they can move about and fight without me giving them orders, but in the end they obey me. Isn’t that right, boys?”

~ Yes, Princess. ~The Avarice constructs spoke as one.

“Nidra, not that I’m complaining, but…how did you find me? And, why did you come to me?” Star asked.

Nidra rubbed her left foreleg, turning her gaze downcast in shame. “I’ve messed up back home, Star. I tried to…to make T mine, and I…I threw Annie into a dimension that had no sound, smell, touch, or light. I even took her magic, and my Mother’s magic to bolster my own. Annie defeated me and, I guess, did something to me that cleared my head a little…I exiled myself Star.”

The pegasus mare looked around her, the constructs were still bowing, the warships were destroyed, and the battlefield was silent. Releasing a sigh, Star sat herself on her haunches and looked to her best friend.

“You exiled yourself by searching for me?”

“You’re the only pony who ever understood me…and put up with me. You were my first friend, and I…I never let that go. Please, Star, let me stay with you! Let me fight with you! I can’t go back…not after what I did…” Nidra began crying again. “At least this way I can do something with this ring…but also…I really missed you, you’re my friend Star! Please, let me fight with you! I promise I’ll do whatever you say, whatever you need done just tell me and me and my constructs we’ll do it!”

Starburst pondered this for a moment, Nidra’s ability to create an independent, and yet, totally loyal army of constructs would come in handy. Not to mention that two ring wielders would keep the frontline better protected from the griffon attacks, the best-case scenario, the two of them could even push the Empire back.

But then again, from what Star’s ring told her, the orange ring could warp the mind of its bearer. Nidra may be under control now, but there was no telling when she could become Avarice possessed again. And in that case, she could become an even bigger threat to Equestria – scratch that. She could be a threat to Equus as a whole. Still…she came to me, because she trusts me and cares about me. She’s my friend, and now my comrade. So long as she’s by my side, I can hopefully keep her Avarice in check. Hopefully…

Starburst got up and stared at Nidra with a serious gaze. “Alright, we’ll fight together. But you have to do what I say. I know your ring’s powerful, but unless you know how to use it properly then you’re only a danger to yourself and those we’re supposed to protect. Is that okay?”

Nidra’s eyes widened as a genuine smile spread across her face. “Of course it is! I’ll do whatever you say! Thank you, Star!”

Starburst smiled and patted the mare on the back. “Okay, just let me recharge my ring, and we can get moving. I wanna know where those four warships came from.”

Nidra stood aside and let her call forth her lantern. She spotted the bandanna that was tied to it, a kind of stabbing pain struck her heart when she saw that. Del’s bandanna…she has it?

“Looks like someone else wants what’s yours.”

Shut up, I won’t listen to you anymore, not after what I did! Star’s my friend, MY FRIEND! Not my possession!

“That’s fine, friend for now. She’s our friend, a good friend. And we won’t let anypony take her away from us.”

The orange ring flared with orange light for a brief moment before going back to normal. “Yes, not a griffon, not a warship, and definitely…not another pony.”

Canterlot…

Annie groaned in her sleep, but suddenly she awoke with a start and cried out, “NIDRA!!!”

“It’s okay Annie, it’s over!” Turquoise reassured.

The dracony stallion placed his large clawed-hoof on the young mare’s chest. Annie looked to her right and saw her coltfriend sitting at her bedside, her breathing slowed as she took in her surroundings. The ornate ceiling design, the flowing drapes, and not to mention the plush, soft bed she was lying on. That’s when Annie realized something else.

“I…I can see?!” Annie exclaimed.

“You can?! Oh thank Celestia, hold on here a minute, Aunt Twilight wanted me to get her when you woke up!”

Annie watched as Turquoise scrambled out of the room and went to go find the Princess of Magic. Annie ran a hoof through her mane, feeling it flow over her shoulders and around her right hoof. Noticing that the braid that held it together was undone. She spotted the violet ring, still fastened to her right hoof and smiled in content.

“Ring are you okay?”

[All my functions are running normally, Annie. I am glad to say you are unharmed as well.]

“I don’t understand, how am I able to see again? I thought Nidra took away my magic,” said Annie.

“Perhaps I can shed some light on that.”

Annie looked up and saw Twilight entering the room, with Turquoise right behind her. The two ponies walked towards her, with Turquoise sitting on the right side of Annie’s bed, while Twilight sat next to him.

“Nidra drained most of your magic, but your magic is stronger than I thought so she didn’t get all of it. I was able to rekindle your magic with a bit of my own. Apparently it was enough to regenerate your reserves.”

Annie placed her hoof over her heart. “What about High Princess Luna? Nidra drained her magic too.”

“Luna’s stronger alicorn magic, like my own, is sealed away inside her. When Nidra drained her of her magic, it was only the magic that was on the surface. Luna’s deeper magic was untouched due to the seals in place, so when Luna’s magic was all gone, the remaining amount that was behind the seals leaked out in order to replenish her reserves.”

“Oh…” Annie looked towards the window and saw that it was still night outside. “Is that why it’s still dark? She hasn’t fully recovered yet?”

“No, it’s actually night time. You’ve been asleep for almost thirty-six hours now.”

Annie’s eyes widened. “‘Thirty-six hours’?! Where’s Nidra? Is everypony okay?!”

Turquoise decided to take over. “Amber, Lucky, and Hot Head are alright. A little banged up, but alright. The city’s fine too, not a lot ponies were hurt, a lot stuff was broken though. And Nidra…she’s gone, she flew off.”

Annie looked down at her bed sheets, she raised her left hoof and hit the mattress. “I can’t believe it…first Starburst…and now Nidra! Both times I couldn’t stop either of them!”

Turquoise placed his clawed-hoof over her right. “It’s not your fault, Annie.”

The unicorn mare sighed heavily. “I know…still doesn’t mean it hurts less…How is Princess Luna doing?”

Twilight’s gaze was downcast. “As well as you can expect…Prince Nova’s with her now. But…I’ll be there for her, in a weird way we’re both part of this craziness.”

“Okay, tell her that I know that Nidra may’ve said some things, and I know she said certain things to me. But just let her know that deep down, I can still feel love in her heart. During our battle, when I used my last attack, amidst the Avarice, I saw some of the light of Love in her heart. She still cares about her, and it’s the same with you and Star.”

Twilight had to swallow down a sob that wanted to escape, she had to be strong for Annie. “I’m so sorry, Annie. I never meant to treat you differently, I just wanted to see you excel and become the best you can be. I never knew it was making Starburst jealous of you, or making her resent me for it…”

Annie shook her head. “It’s alright, Princess. Truthfully, I was blind in more ways than one. I always try to help my friends when I can, to listen to them, to give them a kind word and pick them up when they’re down. But I’m not like Candy, she has a better sense of this than I do. That’s going to change from now on.” Annie looked to Twilight with determined eyes. “Princess Twilight, there’s something I need to ask you.”

Two Days Later, Ponyville…

Del was busy working, striking the trees and making the apples fall to the awaiting baskets below. The multiple dull thuds of the falling fruit stopped he took the first basket, hoisting it and putting it onto the cart. He wiped his brow of the sweat and made a motion to grab something at his neck, he stopped when he realized that it wasn’t there. Del looked down at his bare neck.

It was still odd not feeling his bandanna around his broad neck, the very bandanna his Aunt Apple Bloom fashioned for him out of his favorite blanket when he was too old to keep it. At times he had wondered if it was the right thing to do, of course that thought didn’t last long. He did do the right thing, Starburst was too stubborn and too dedicated to protecting others, there was no way a simple giving of a bandanna – even if it was his – would bring her back.

At the very least she’ll have something to remind her of home, he thought.

Del got another basket onto his back and was moving towards the cart, too lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the small divot in the ground. His hoof caught in it and sent him tumbling forward. But before he hit the ground a large hand made of violet-pink light shot out and stopped his fall, while another beam streaked over his head and encased the apples and basket in a protective field.

Del stared wide-eyed at the shimmering appendage, at first he thought it was Starburst’s creation, but then he remembered her light was yellow, not violet. The giant hand stood him up on all four hooves, the other beam made the fallen apples that were caught in the field return inside the basket, where it was gently placed onto the cart. When the beams retracted, Del followed them and his jaw dropped when he looked up.

Annie was flying down from the sky, suited in her Star Sapphire uniform. The pink unicorn mare smiled warmly upon her friend as she made the descent to the earth. Her hooves lightly made contact with the dirt, and once all four were firmly set, the uniform disappeared.

“Hi Del,” greeted Annie.

“Annie, yer back!” Del exclaimed. “When did you – Ah mean – we never heard –?!”

“I actually got back a couple of days ago…Do you mind if we walk and talk? You were heading back to the apple cellar right?”

Del shook his head. “Uh, yeah, sure, that’s alright with me.”

The earth pony stallion hitched himself to the cart and waited for Annie to come up alongside him. Once he saw her on his left he started walking, both the unicorn and earth pony leisurely made their way down the dirt path, through the orchard. All the while, Annie regaled Del of her exploits.

The joining of the Minotaur and Equestrian forces, and meeting the valiant and brave Prince Steel, and learning how to fight with a spear thanks to him. How the Avalon was shot down and nearly crash landed, but was saved by Annie’s power. Annie also told him of the battle with the Diamond Dog Dire Tribe, and their cruel and cunning leader, Anubis. How the minotaur three-hundred and their brave Prince battled the dogs fiercely and with no fear in their hearts.

Of course her tail turned darker, recounting how Anubis gained the power of dark magic and battled Twilight, her friends, Royal Guards, and herself. Annie had to compose herself when she told Del how Prince Steel sacrificed himself to save Twilight, but she didn’t leave out his epic punch that sent the jackal flying.

Del could hardly believe all that he was hearing, if he hadn’t seen Starburst’s power and the power of Annie’s ring, the stallion would’ve thought she was either making this up or telling him about a movie she saw. But it all happened, much to his dismay.

When Annie spoke of how Starburst saved them all and dispensed with the Diamond Dogs and Anubis, he sighed in relief. Every day he worried that she was either dead or captured by the griffons, but hearing that she was alive and actively keeping the enemy from getting closer and gaining ground was more than a little uplifting. But his elation fell a bit when Annie spoke of her battle with Star, and how she pretty much dominated her through the battle, despite her best efforts.

Annie shifted gears and told him about the incident in Canterlot, about what happened to Nidra. “So that crazy orange light coming from Canterlot, that was Nidra?!”

“Uh-huh. Star told me that two rings appeared, one was mine, the violet ring of the light of Love. The other was the orange ring of the light of Avarice, and that one appeared to Nidra. It turned Nidra into some greed possessed monster, and she wanted to make T her own, even stole her mother’s magic and mine as well.”

Del had to take a minute to let that sink in. The few times he met Nidra, she creeped him out. He wasn’t a fan of bats, so meeting an alicorn thestral, a pony with big bat wings, was more than a little intimidating. And, despite what Turquoise would notice, Del did see some sort of attraction towards the dracony whenever Nidra was around. But he never thought her crush would lead her to going to those kinds of extremes.

“Don’t blame Nidra, I won’t say she was justified, but she made some good points – both her and Starburst. My flaws…and my lack of sight, well, intuition I guess.”

“Now what does that mean?” Del asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I never knew that Starburst was jealous of me.”

“Jealous?! Star?!”

Annie nodded. “She was jealous of me, for making Princess Twilight pay more attention to me than her, and Nidra, for not noticing how much it hurt her to see me and T together.”

Del stopped walking and placed a hoof on the young mare’s shoulder. “Now hold on, Annie. Ya didn’t take anypony’s attention, Star…she…her and Aunt Twilight haven’t always seen eye to eye, but it certainly wasn’t ‘cause of you. Nidra…well she…”

Annie placed her left hoof over Del’s hoof. “I know, but it’s still my fault for not seeing it, not seeing that maybe I should’ve tried and pushed Star and her mom into doing something together, and being closer. As for Nidra…I knew she liked T, but I didn’t know how much it hurt her. But don’t think for one second that I regret falling for Turquoise. I told Nidra, I made her promise to take care of T when I’m gone.”

“‘Gone’? Gone how exactly?”

“Dead…in the ground.” Annie clarified. She noticed the shocked expression and smiled at him. “I know I may not live as long as Turquoise, eventually I’ll be an old mare and – hopefully – die of old age. T will be alone, and most of us will be gone, but Nidra will still be there. I still believe that she’s in there, the real Nidra. The Nidra that’s kinder and more loving than she cares to show.”

The two of them continued their walk, staying silent for most of it, just enjoying the rustling of the leaves and the nice breeze, coated with the sweet scent of apples. Del and Annie arrived at the main house of Sweet Apple Acres, getting close the cellar.

“So, what’ll ya do now?” Del asked.

“I’m going to continue being Princess Twilight’s student, and learn all I can. And…I also decided that I’m going to defend Equestria.”

Del nearly made the apple cart catapult over his head from the sudden stop. “Ya mean yer goin’ out to do what Star’s doin’?!”

Annie waved her right hoof dismissively. “Oh no, no, no, not like that. I realized that I can’t just accept this ring and not do something with the power I was given. I was chosen to protect those I love, and to defend love itself. I’m not a warrior like Starburst, and honestly, I can’t blatantly go out and attack others. But that doesn’t mean I won’t fight to defend the innocent. Star will be Equestria’s sword, and I will be its shield. That’s what I’ve decided.”

Del couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and the fact that it came from Annie was even more surprising. Annie spoke with such confidence, strength, and conviction, that he knew she would not be swayed in this.

“So, have ya told yer Ma yet?” Del asked.

Annie winced. “Uh…not quite yet…OH, before I forget, I have to give you something!”

“What is it?”

“A gift from Star.”

Del was about to inquire further, but Annie pointed her ring out towards a vacant spot and shot a beam. The beam punched through space, opening a dimensional hole. Within the hole, a violet lantern floated out of it and landed on the ground before her. Annie used her telekinetic magic to unravel the pink ribbon tied around it. She levitated it towards Del, who brought up a hoof and gently grasped it. He then looked to Annie, wondering if this was indeed what he thought it was.

“Annie…is this…?”

“It’s her ribbon, Del. She wanted me to tell you that she’ll come back for that, and to bring back your bandanna. And you know Star never lets down her friends…or her coltfriend.”

Del chuckled. “No, she doesn’t.”

Anthea didn’t know what the future held, for herself or her friends. There were still too many unanswered questions. Why did the rings appear? And why were they targeting her friends? Was there something else, a greater purpose that none of them could see? Would there be even more rings coming to their world? Annie didn’t know the answers, and that’s what scared her. The future was unknown and still clouded, much like her vision was not too long ago.

But they had to move forward, whatever surprises or hardships the future held in store for them, she was sure that they would face it together, and see the light of a bright future. For the night is always darkest before dawn, and, she felt, the dawn would soon be upon them.

Author's Note:

The End...?

3,010 views

119

MLDC Next Generation: Love Conquers All! Avarice Takes It All! - Michael_Ravencroft

Stats

FIMFiction

Follow & Support Us