A Flare of Light

by NightSky

Solutions

Discord's eyes darted back and forth between the two Flares. Even for the Lord of Chaos, this was impossible. The dragon Flare and Chrysalis seemed to support that opinion as well, looking at the pony with disdain.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the dragon Flare beat him to it.

"What are you?" He asked, staring in disbelief.

The pony laughed. "Really? Are you so messed up in your part of the head you don't recognize me?" But there was no scorn or anger in his voice, his voice was peaceful and happy.

"'Your part of the head'?" Discord echoed, watching the pony Flare with curiosity. He didn't act like his dragon counterpart, he stood tall and proud, and seemed very benevolent. "You mean there are multiple parts of your mind?"

The pony looked at Discord. "Yes. Most beings have two minds, the conscious and subconscious mind. It is simply more so with our situation. Since we are a mixture of two physical bodies, our minds are a bit more... special. Usually the conscious is in charge of voluntary actions and the subconscious just does mundane involuntary actions. But in our case, its like being bipolar, except its not a sickness. For the most part, I just sat back in my corner and let the conscious mind do what it wanted." He said, indicating the dragon. "And look where it got him."

"So you are the subconscious mind." Chrysalis said, more of a thought said aloud than an actual statement. The pony appeared not to notice that.

"Very good. Before I simply observed the world from the nether reaches of the mind, and to be quite honest, reality sucks."

The dragon Flare finally seemed to be coming to grips with the situation. "So why are you now suddenly taking so much control?"

"Isn't it obvious? Because you, the conscious mind, just went through enough trauma to kill both of us. When your side of the mind went into lockdown, I took over to keep us alive."

The dragon furrowed his brow, opening his mouth to try to protest, but the pony raised a hoof and stopped him.

"Don't even try to use one of your little stories on me that she gave you." He said, pointing to Chrysalis, but still without menace. "Her version of your life probably contradicted everything I just said."

The dragon still seemed to be struggling. "What do you mean?"

The pony sighed. "As Discord told you," He said, indicating the draconequus who had remained silent through most of the conversation. "Your mind has been altered quite a bit. You don't see the world the same way we do, because she forced those changes upon you to try to hurt you. You're lucky Discord saved you, or we both would be dead now.

The dragon suddenly snarled at the pony, moving in front of Chrysalis. "Don't talk about her like that." He growled.

The pony brought a hoof to his forehead slowly. "Ugh, that was always your big problem, wasn't it? You're stubborn as a mule, and you can't see reality when it's sitting right in front of your black scaled face." A hint of anger slipped into his tone.

"You're going to regret this if you keep talking." The dragon said, his eyes burning with anger.

The pony simply smiled and laughed. "Come at me bro."

The dragon did.

____________________

Snap.

The noise woke Luna, who had decided to sleep in a room adjacent from the dungeon where Flare was kept. She looked around. What was that noise? Then another thought hit her.

She quickly rose from where she was sleeping and briskly walked across the hall to the dungeon chamber where Flare was. She peered through the window in the door... and froze.

The shackles that had held Flare were shattered, snapped like rubber bands. She immediatly backed away from the door, turning to see the guard on duty come marching down the hall.

"Guard! Get my sister immediatly! Flare has broken from his restraints."

The guards eyes went wide as he spun on his hooves and darted back down the corridor. A psychotic dragon on the loose had to be one of his worst nightmares.

Luna waited for what seemed like an eternity before Celestia came down the hall, followed by several guards.

These guards were not the usual white or grey guards. They black, with matte black armor and spears that had sparks emitting from the tops. One was carrying a square object.

"Luna, step away from the door." Celestia said in a stern, serious voice, pulling her sister from the door.

"But Tia! What if they hurt him?" Luna said, as the guards took up positions around the door. The guard placed the square device firmly on the door, clenching a wire in his mouth and stepping back.

"They have been ordered to only if he attacks them." Celestia said, watching the guards.

"Three, two, one, go!" The guard snapped, yanking the wire back. The device exploded, demolishing the door. The guards poured through into the room.

"Clear!" They finally cried, and Celestia entered, Luna hot on her heels. They both gasped at what the saw.

Flare lay on the floor, convulsing. Both eyes were open, but one looked normal, while the other was still dilated. His mouth was drawn back in a vicious snarl, and his limbs were quivering.

"What did you do to him?!" Luna exclaimed, pushing her way through the wall of black armor.

"We did nothing to him, ma'am. This was as we found him." One of the guards said, cold and emotionless.

"Tia? Whats wrong with him?" She said, looking into Flare's eyes. He did not look back, it was as if he was in some kind of trance.

Celestia's horn glowed slightly as she did some sort of evaluation on him, her eyes shut in concentration. "He seems to be having some sort of internal struggle. His mind is fighting with itself. We can do nothing to help him, only hope he recovers from it."

Luna looked down into his eyes again, full of concern. She was hoping, praying that he would come back to her.

____________________

The dragon charged at the pony, shooting flames at it. The pony simply sidestepped this attack. Discord and Chrysalis moved farther away from the two fighting creatures. As the dragon charge past, the pony raised a hoof and expertly jabbed the dragon on the back of his head. He snapped around, trying to bite the pony, but he rolled under the dragons head and hit him in the eye.

"You can't win this, dragon." The pony said, dodging another attack. "I know everything about you." He ducked under a clawed hand. "The way you think and the way you fight. I know what you'll do before y-"

He was stopped as the dragon lashed his tail around and smacked him with it, hard. The pony flew across the garden and crashed into a flower bed. He rose, spitting out a chunk of dirt. "I stand corrected."

The dragon simply opened its mouth and breathed another torrent of flame. The flower bed where the pony stood was enveloped in flames. Discord watched in horror, the pony was nowhere to be seen. Chrysalis simply smiled.

"Stop now, we don't want to destroy the garden."

The dragon ceased without a word. The flames slowly dissipated, revealing a ball of ice within the cloud of smoke. An opening appeared in it, and the pony walked casually out of it. He stopped and applauded. "Very good, very good indeed. I didn't see the tail coming, but the fire was a bit predictable."

The dragon looked ready to rip him apart, he opened his mouth again, flames stirring in his maw.

"Enough." The pony said, then suddenly, with a flash of light, the pony was face to face with the dragon, his horn digging into his scalp.

In an instant, Flare sorted through memories that belonged to him but were not his, filtering what was true and what was a lie. The corrupt mind began to retaliate, pushing against the sane part of his mind. Almost there. He thought, setting the lies aside and putting the truth back where it belonged. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled back from the corrupt mind by another force.

In a dazing flash, he was back in the pony body, lying in a patch of purple grass. The dragon lay before him, his eyes wide, confused and shocked. Discord lay crumpled where he had been standing. Chrysalis stood over them, looking at Flare with wicked eyes.

"What do you have against what I am trying to do, hmm?" She said, lifting the pony with magic. There were no riddles or games now. She was furious.

"You tried to kill me, corrupt my mind. I think I have the right to protect it." Flare said, ignoring the fact that Chyrsalis was the one in control of the situation.

"No, I haven't tried to kill you at all, I want you, that's why I have come after you so much."

Flare was genuinely caught off guard by this. "What?"

Chrysalis touched her horn to his, and Flare's mind was filled with visions, memories of hers. Recent memories. Horrifying memories. Changelings returning to the hive after the attack, wounded, dying. The feeling of thousands of different beings starve and wilt was overpowering.

"This is what has become of my people. After we were defeated, we did not have enough food to support us. The wounded died first, then the weak, then the old, then the young. The hive is doomed, I am doomed." Sadness flowed into her voice like a tsunami, and Flare felt it was all genuine. "We have no hope left, no love to sustain us. All I wanted before I died, was to feel true happiness and affection. For myself, not for whomever I was impersonating. Can't you understand that?"

Suddenly, they were pulled apart. Discord threw Chrysalis to the ground, pulling one hand back and clenching it into a fist, ready to smash it into Chrysalis's face.

"Discord, stop!" The pony cried. Discord froze, stunned to hear that come from him, of all things.

"Don't tell me she screwed you up, too."

"She didn't. But I...I..." Flare said, looking down at the broken form of Chrysalis, she looked up at him, begging him without words. Only then did Flare see her for what she truly was, a sad broken mare, deprived of the will to live yet desperate for comfort in death. "I understand, finally, I understand what she wants. Let her go."

Discord looked at him like he was crazy, he probably sounded like it. But he could tell he was serious, and he reluctantly released her. She rose to her feet slowly, tears flowing freely down her face. She embraced the pony tightly.

"Thank you." She said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I only have one request." He said. "Turn him back to the way he was, then I will swap our minds. He is the Flare that has already lived and loved, I am the blank canvas. Keep me, not him."

"Of course." Chrysalis said. She seemed purged now, almost happy. "Give me a few minutes, and it will be done."

She walked over to the dragon, lowering her horn to his forehead. It glowed slightly as she did her work on him.

Discord watched this all with a look of pure confusion, which Flare suspected was the first time it had happened to him.

"Care to tell me what the buck is happening here?"

"First off, she's not as evil as you think, Discord. She is merely desperate."

"Desperate for what? Revenge?"

"No, she's deprate for love. She is dying, Discord, so is her hive. She simply wants to have some genuine comfort in her dying days, and I am willing to give her some. Its an opportunity most beings will not have."

Discord's mismatched eyes flashed with revelation, and his tone became somber. "Well, I would have never of guess she of all creatures would make such a request. But why didn't you just take your other mind back and leave."

"Because I am not a monster who would leave a lonely being to die like that. And besides, I hvae experienced too much of this body, this feeling of living, I could never back down and go back to being the backseat driver of the mind."

Chrysalis opened her eyes and rose, the dragon following suit. "It is done. He is ready."

"Good." The pony said, turning to Discord. "Whenever you're ready, we'll be on our way."

"Aren't you going to swap minds?" Chrysalis asked.

"I will back when we are back in reality. I suspect I will need to do some explaining before I do anything."

Discord clapped his hands together, regaining his chaotically lighthearted appearance. "Well perfect, now I can send you all on your way and clean this place up again."

"See you soon." Chrysalis said, kissing the pony Flare on the cheek. Discord snapped his fingers and she vanished.

"So now what?" The dragon said. He sounded different. His voice seemed deeper, and more controlled. Discord turned to the two Flares.

"Now." He said, raising his hand to snap again. "You get the buck out of here." He snapped twice, and they were gone.

____________________

Flare's form had stopped moving and become relaxed for over an hour, and Luna was getting worried. She feared his mind had been ruined, and he would never wake again. She lay beside him, his head resting on her lap. Celestia and the guards stood around, attentive but trying not to look too awkward.

Finally he began to stir. Slowly he opened his eyes, and Luna was initially filled with relief that they weren't the hostile slits they were before. But it soon faded as she realized his eyes were filled with fear and confusion. He scrambled to his feet and against the wall, his eyes glued to the guards. The movement was so sudden that the guards readied their spears, pointing the electrified tips at Flare. His eyes darted around the room, looking for a way to escape.

Hoovesteps were heard coming down the hall.

"Stop! Wait!" A voice called. Luna recognized it instantly, but even so, she froze. When the pony entered the room, everyone was confused, looking back and forth between the two Flares.

"Now I know you are all confused by this, but lets calm down here." Flare said, indicating the guards.

"Stand down." Celestia said, and the guards reluctantly raised there spears. She then turned to Flare, her eyes all ice. "You have some serious explaining to do."

"I'll explain everything later, but for right now I just need to get him out of here." He said, indicating the dragon. He waved for him to follow. "Come on, lets get you where you need to be."

Before he could turn to exit the room, Luna was upon him, embracing him with fierce compassion. Flare quickly broke off. "I missed you too, but we have a more pressing matter at hand."

"Of course." Luna said, stepping back and blushing profusely. Flare waved again to the dragon and they moved to leave the room, the others following close behind.

"Nice move, Romeo." The dragon whispered as he passed through the door. Flare smirked and led them down the hall.

Celestia soon caught up with Flare. "Care to explain what the buck is happening here?" She hissed. "You have done a lot of things over the past few days I should imprison you for."

"And I have also done several that you should praise me for." Flare said back, matching her tone. "Including this, so could you please just shut up and let me do what I need to do."

Celestia's face turned purple with fury. The dragon was obviously trying to stop himself from laughing but failed to restrain a smile. Flare simply kept walking as if nothing was happening.

"And what exactly do you need to do?"

Flare stopped and turned to face Celestia. "I need to get outside so I can leave this city and go where I need to be."

"Where you need to be? Not the dragon?"

"Yes. When we get outside, I am going to swap our minds, since mine is the one that needs to leave and his is the one that needs to stay."

"And where exactly are you going to go?"

"The changeling hive." Everypony gasped at that, and Celestia's eyes went wide.

"What?"

"The changelings are dying, Celestia, the entire hive should be gone in about two weeks. During my little mind trip, my soul was split in half, and since it would never peacefully be whole again, I am giving half of it to Chrysalis so that when she dies, she can at least have some genuine company."

"But she is a monster, she tried to imprison my citizens and-"

It was the dragon's turn to be angry. He turned to face Celestia, his smile gone. "And what did you do to her in return? You murdered an entire species." His voice was cold and full of intellect. "All she wanted was food and survival for her hive, and what did she get? Destruction, death. An entire species will be wiped off of this world because of your actions. Who is really the monster here? Think that over before you spit on them like that."

And with that the dragon stormed off down the hall, the pony following close behind. Celestia did not pursue them, but watched them go. Luna and the guards stood still, stunned by the brashness of their words.

Many ponies stopped and stared at the two Flares as they walked down the halls. Finally they exited the castle and stood alone in the garden. The pony looked up at his dragon counterpart.

"All right, come here." The pony said as the dragon lowered his head. He touched his horn to the dragons forehead, and suddenly they were together again, one form, separated only by their own thoughts in a fluid motion, their essences flowed from one body to the other. Finally, they had completely switched bodies, and Flare broke his connection with his other self for the last time. The pony looked up at him.

"So where do you go now?" He asked.

The dragon hesitated, tilting his head as if listening for something. "West. The hive is to the west. And they are waiting for me."

"Well I guess this is the end of the line for us."

"I guess it is." The dragon paused. "I'll be sure to come find you again before your time ends, brother."

Yes, they were brothers, in every sense of the word. But his words also raised another problem that Flare never realized. I'm no longer immortal.

"I'll be waiting, brother." The pony said as the dragon turned and leaped into the sky and flying westward into the setting sun. Flare watched until his brother was gone, then watched as the sun set and the moon rose. Another quick goodbye, just like with our parents. He thought, a tear rolling down his face.

He became aware of a rustling sound behind him.

"I'm sorry for what I said to Celestia earlier." He said as Luna glided up behind him and rested a wing over him.

"It's ok. Your other side was...close to them, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, every bit of me that liked the changelings is in his conscious. I can't blame him for being defensive."

"I'm glad to have you back." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad to be back." Flare said, turning his head and kissing Luna on the forehead. They sat together, watching the night and the stars. Flare could wait to tell Luna about his aging problem. For right now, it wasn't that important.

Comments

[Cortex]

Incoming transmission. Cortex 'Sixteen' connecting.

This wa beautiful and heartbreaking, except that I do not have one.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Anyway, I commend you for this chapter.

And I wouldn't be worrying in Flare's place about his lost immortality.

His brother said that he will return before he dies of old age, and obviously only together they are immortal, so I conclude that the other Flare will return and merge with ours again so he can be with Luna, forever and ever.

Also, this was beautiful. Take the word of a synthetic being hell-bent on destroying the world.

Logging off.

-Sixteen, The Binary Scourge

Transmission terminated.

[reader of the night]

Beautiful chapter, really touching.

[Forsaken139]

"Welp, that happened."

[Deathpony]

good chapter cant wait for the next

[Aziraphael]

Why does this always have to happen? Every time a character in a story has some kind of awesome ability that makes them truly one-of-a-kind, either their parents get killed and they become a super hero, or they give the ability up........I just hope Cortex up there is right. I don't think he is, but I'm gonna keep on hoping. It was well written, and I'm gonna keep tracking to see what happens, but srsly....dat cliche....

[-Brutus]

882620 Perfectly said- And I wouldn't be worrying in Flare's place about his lost immortality.

His brother said that he will return before he dies of old age, and obviously only together they are immortal, so I conclude that the other Flare will return and merge with ours again so he can be with Luna, forever and ever.

Same thing as I was thinking :P

[Relevant Heavy Metal]

Clean My Wounds - Corrosion Of Conformity

Totally called it.

[Midnight Blues]

Welp this is annoying. I hate when suddenly a guy splits in half. It makes no sense whatsoever. Also, he lost his awesome power for no real reason and his immortality so he can't be with Luna. Did this guy seriously trade thousands of years with his beloved just for a miniscule amount of time with a evil changling queen. It makes no sense.
1. People don't 'split' they are one entity and will forever be one entity.
2. You just screwed him over for a chance with Luna AND broke her heart again which is unforgivable.
3. Chrysalis could have tried to unite the two kingdoms instead of invading on a fools hope. What was she thinking? You can't force love.
4. Mind games are just plain unfair. Your mind should always remain untouched.