Dawn Of The Silver Sun

by Nameless Narrator

Impossible - Part VI: The New Generation

Straw's quiet prayer was at least for once heard, and when he blinked his surroundings changed from a dim diner to a messy laboratory. The cube held in his talons stopped glowing, and he stepped down from a raised metal pad. The mystery of at least one strange device in the lab revealed, Straw took one final glance to make sure Connie was standing right behind him, and a tiny see-through griffon flapped his wings, circling around.

Everything seemed in order.

"Whoa! That was quick," Twilight raised her head from a stack of notes she had been reading. She blinked several times, staring at the spirit griffon, "You know, I could start spinning theories about what happened and why is Cromach that tiny, but I'm going to wait for the whole story for once."

"This is still just the wisp, it only looks different, just like it did every time an alicorn infused it with power."

"Oh..." Twilight sighed dejectedly, "So it's still not enough. That's bad. Aside from me performing the ritual, I have no more ideas where to look. Princess Cadance and the Crystal Heart might be of some use, but I doubt we have the time to waste several days by going north and then who knows how much time by examining the Heart."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Straw came over and put the wisp on Twilight's back, "Your predecessor said we've been going about it the wrong way. I completely forgot that Void said the important part was the soul's wish to come back."

"I don't get it. Wouldn't just coming back to life be enough, or, you know, helping save the world as it seems to be necessary... for some reason which nopony wants to tell me?"

"No," Straw shook his head, "It took me a while to understand as well. You're thinking in terms of books, tales of heroes and noble sacrifice. We are ponies. We are not some avatars of good made to destroy evil and then disappear. We, and I have to thank princess Luna for helping me see this, are selfish. We have to be, otherwise we wouldn't be able to find value in anything. We HAVE to ask what's in it for us whenever we do something. Don't get me wrong, too much is too much, but a little bit is necessary. Cromach is not your story-like hero. He doesn't want to endlessly fight evil like a machine for the sake of ensuring a better tomorrow. All he wants is to be with the one he loves."

It finally clicked to Twilight.

"And so does Blaze, doesn't he? I thought they'd just band together to fight Nightmare, griffon threats, mirror Sombra, all to save Equestria and its ponies, but..."

"But that's exactly why Blaze said the Order were exhausted, overrun, and scared. You, princess Luna, even princess Celestia, all of you took that protection for granted while all they wanted was a bit of peace and each other."

"And I took it all away, just because I didn't want the responsibility. That kind of responsibility they got thrust onto them," Twilight hung her head, "Alright, Straw, you seem to have this figured out. Tell me what to do and I will do it."

"Ummm," Straw took a step back, "I mean, all I have is a theory, it might fail just like everything we've done until now, but I think we need to find Blaze. I don't have the slightest idea where, though, nor whom to ask."

Twilight shook her head.

"I don't even know what happened after I passed out during the attack, aside from Blaze disappearing. Try asking princess Luna, she's been watching Blaze ever since he came to Canterlot. Perhaps she knows something."

"Good! Connie, you coming?" Straw looked at the unicorn examining in confusion Twilight's scientific mess everywhere around.

"I'm not too keen on waking the princess AGAIN. She wasn't happy when I reported to her after getting tentacled."

Twilight blushed for some reason.

"T-tentacled? Did something escape my lab last- nevermind. What happened?"

"Blinding Light found out about us spying on him and tried to stop it," Connie rubbed her bruised spots... all over her, "Without Straw I'd be-"

"-I'd be-"

"Dead?" the hippogriff tried to help. As always, very directly.

"-strawberry jam."

And then the entire existence was deemed pointless by all three gods who united in their decision to destroy it in that single instant.

Twilight and Straw GLARED at Connie.

Can we kill her now? Pleasepleasepleaseplease!

ONCE! Just this once, I am leaning towards yes.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Their stares kept burning metaphorical holes in her.

"Fine," Connie rolled her eyes, "I thought you'd have heard worse already."

"I get your point, though, your very painfully delivered point," Straw made a mental note to visit a psychiatrist for some pills which would help him repress the past minute, "I guess we can wait until the evening."

"It will take me time to do the infusion anyway," Twilight chipped in, "I have no distinct divine abilities, so I'm going to have to prepare a way to transfer the power... if I even have any."

"Of course you do, your Highness," Straw bowed, "I'll be back in the evening if princess Luna gives me a clue. Connie?"

"Yeah?"

"I guess we're done for now. Thanks for coming with me. If you didn't agree to whatever Magnus wanted then I might have been still going in blind now."

"Oh," Contradiction waved her hoof and pushed Straw out of the lab, "Thanks for your help, princess!" she said before the door shut behind them, "He just wanted a kiss, that's all. I think he gets all weird around mares for some reason, probably because he's spending far too much time locked in his tower doing research. I guess our newest princess might suffer from similar condition later. We just talked and then I kissed him. That's all."

"Oh..."

"Don't get me wrong, I offered more for his direct help. I don't think he was expecting that, so he just laughed it off and mumbled something about him being too used to summoning succubi and stuff, and that I wouldn't be worth it. I highly doubt that, he's just shy beyond help. The personality can't be too helpful either."

"He seemed a bit strange."

"Strange or not, he did help in the end for basically free, so it's fine."

"Perhaps the kiss meant a lot to him."

Connie raised her eyebrows and her mouth twitched.

"Maybe. Hey, Straw..."

"Yes?"

"Got any plans for today?"

"Not really, I was expecting the trip to last longer. I think I'll visit a fair or something later. It seemed to help last time."

"Help with what?"

"It's getting harder and harder to keep Nightmare sitting still inside me. It got really bad during the past two days, and princess Luna told me to do what I enjoy. I went to the town with Leo yesterday to see the hustle. It was really cool, there were-"

Connie smiled as she followed Straw lost in his little world of strange costumes, tasty treats from various parts of Equestria, and ponies playing at stands providing games for the visitors.

"You really like seeing something new, don't you?"

"Of course! Most of my life I've been stuck in a tiny town at the edge of a forest. I've never even dared to hope I'd see Manehattan or Canterlot. To think there's even more!"

"How are you with movies?"

"Never seen one yet."

"Wanna go to the cinema? My treat."

"Sure. Will we be back here in time?"

"The movies usually last two hours at most. We have plenty of time. I've got one both of us might enjoy in mind. It takes place in the Holy City of griffons, the capital city of the Griffon Empire. It gets invaded by some fish creatures-"

"Isn't the city in the mainland?"

"You need to let your imagination take over for this one a little, yeah. Still, they DID film it in the city itself."

"Woooow, the biggest city in the world."

"And the most badass griffon in the world shooting a bunch of monsters."

"You really like griffons, don't you?"

Once again, there was only pure interest in Straw's voice, and Connie realized they had never 'just chatted' before. She grinned, teasing the innocent hippogriff was going to be fun.

"You know, they are so big and strong. Just the idea that one would break into my room just to find me helpless, couldn't find any valuables to speak of, and wanted me to pay in an another way..."

Straw stared firmly forward, ears burning, trying to stop the gears of his imagination...

...and failing, failing, and failing.

"Say," Connie suddenly shifted her gears, "You're part griffon, right?"

He turned to her, just to look into half-lidded eyes and panting mouth.

"Eeeep..."

"YOU'RE TOO EASY!" she burst out laughing, "Come on, let's go see a movie."

"..."

"As friends," she added.

Straw breathed out.

"With benefits," Connie gave him a playful wink, only to recieve a blank stare.

"What, healthcare and dental?"

"EXACTLY! Now let me tell you a story about the birds and the bees."

With probably the weirdest possible conversation topic between casual friends, they enjoyed a fairly mediocre movie far more than they should.

When the sun set and darkness enforced its rule over the land, Straw and Connie met once again, this time in front of princess Luna's door. They had taken several hours off, and now they were as ready for a possible long night as they could be.

"AAAH!"

As it turned out, princess Luna wasn't ready for them right after waking up.

"Sorry, your Highness," both of them bowed.

The visibly unsettled princess looked at Straw obviously dying to say something.

"What is it?"

"Do you know where Blaze might be right now?"

"No, why?"

"Damn!" Straw punched the floor, "I strongly believe we need to find him if we want sir Cromach back."

"Running out of alicorns to ask for power?" Luna scowled at the memory of her lying defeated on the floor, drained of all her strength.

"Your Highness, there is only one reason Cromach's soul hangs on and that is Blaze. If their meeting doesn't work then nothing will."

"I understand what you mean, however, I don't know why you are asking me."

"Princess Twilight said you have been watching Blaze since he came to Canterlot. Honestly, I don't even know what happened when he disappeared. Well, don't understand, really."

"I am not exactly sure either, Straw Basket," Luna shook her head, "When Blaze turned into an ice sculpture and melted, it felt like divine power leaving this world without the use of magic."

"I thought fire was his... special effect or something."

"I prefer the term 'manifestation'. The gold and pink fire you are referring to is Blaze's brighter side, the manifestation of Hope. Normally, alicorns can only hold powers which are complementary to each other. Blaze, however, due to being turned to alicorn in a very unusual way, one could say by accident, holds an another power directly contrasting to Hope which manifests like-"

"Black ice?" Straw hazarded a guess.

"Exactly. The dichotomy should have destroyed him, but he seems to be able to use both powers with the help of an entity called Mistake, a fragment of his mind which broke away under the immense mental pressure Blaze had gone through."

"Where is this going?" Connie asked, "I don't mean to be rude, but despite this being a fascinating topic we are in a bit of a hurry."

"I needed you to understand how manifested power looks like, miss Contradiction," Luna looked at her coldly, "in order for you to be able to grasp what happened. At least what I think happened. Now, alicorns can teleport without using magic by simply transferring their divine power between two points and reforming themselves. It is, of course, much more draining than simple teleportation, but requires no knowledge or preparation, and as such it is preferred by alicorns posessing great divine power which hampers their magic. For example, if my sister wanted to do that then she would disappear with a bright ray of sunlight. Blaze, being too young and inexperienced to control himself when struck with such tragedy, must have teleported somewhere... someplace which his unconscious would want him to go."

"Umm..." Straw might as well be trying to assemble a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle of clear sky.

"He couldn't keep his head clear, so his instinct sent him somewhere he could hide like a terrified foal."

"That doesn't help much, your Highness."

"It does," Connie stepped in, "Perhaps we could find some clues to where he might be in his room in the Order mansion."

Luna smiled.

"I was getting to that. I have a better proposition, though. Blaze has lived at the Order for only about a year. Before that, he lived here in Canterlot. First on his own, then with Cromach. I suggest you look in their apartment before rushing off to Manehattan."

"Where did they live?"

Neither Straw nor Connie were in the mood to ponder why the princess knew the address by heart, they just rushed off to a very shady part of the shining city.

The place they were looking for was a simple, cheap apartment complex. Anypony could enter and leave the main building, but the apartments themselves had very sturdy doors. The landlord, a chubby unicorn annoyed at the duo bothering him mid-dinner, presented them with a spare set of keys when faced with the Royal Guard badge and the Silver Sun insignia. Presumably, he had no clue what the latter was, but it was shiny and official-looking.

Few sets of stairs later, Connie and Straw entered a spartan, but functional, apartment. Turning the single ceiling light on bathed the main room in bright white glow. A single bed, a table after some recent home repairs, and several other pieces of furniture serving as a makeshift kitchen, all that in a single room, everything clean and well maintained. Still, even Straw, growing up in an orphanage, had some standards about personal belongings.

"Didn't know Royal Guards got paid THAT badly," Connie shoved her head into both smaller doors leading out of the room. One led to a bathroom and one to a small closet filled with spare blankets and household supplies.

"We don't," Straw wondered, "I could afford this place on a recruit pay, I think. If Blaze and Cromach really lived here together while they both were in the guard then it had to be for some other reason. Would you live in a place like this, Connie? I mean with, let's say, Walter."

She gave the room a once over, again.

"Yeah. I'm not really into... having stuff. If I had somepony I liked and not much money then I probably wouldn't mind staying here. To be completely honest, I used to spend summers sleeping in a dumpster so I could save some bits to afford living at somepony's house through the really bad weather. Most of the time I had to pay in more than bits, but it was still better than freezing to death, and they weren't always too abusive."

"Sorry for bringing it up."

"Hey, it still beats living with the asshat nobles I was born to," she shrugged it off, "So, found anything that could give us a clue?"

"I don't even know where to start. The whole place seems completely normal. Perhaps sir Cromach really didn't keep anything important here."

"Why don't you ask him?" Connie nodded towards his saddlebag.

"Clutching at... straws?" the hippogriff opened his bag, and the spectral griffon flew out.

"Stars above, I summon thee to smite this heathen and put a stop to his evil ways," Connie chuckled.

The griffon wisp flew around, sat down her and there, took back in the air, and generally explored the apartment. After its movements calmed down, it stayed hovering in front of the only window. It overlooked a dark alley and the side of Canterlot mountain. Aside from an earthpony smoking a cigarette down there, nothing looked out of place. Straw realized the wisp wasn't looking out of the window, but rather AT it.

Glass, wooden pane, a metal bar above it where the curtain was hanging.

An unusual, thick curtain.

Connie examined its mysterious workings.

"Who would keep a rug instead of a curtain? Geez, this thing looks pretty used."

It did. In contrast to all other pieces of furniture which might have looked banged up, but were repaired and taken care of, the stomped rug felt out of place.

"Perhaps it has sentimental value?" Straw took a guess, "The wisp seems to like it or something."

The tiny griffon touched the drawn 'curtain'...

...and disappeared.

"HEY!" Straw stared at the dirty cloth.

"Ooooh," Connie touched it with her horn. The rug rippled and sparkled, "Straw, do you trust me?"

"Yes?"

"Then jump straight through it. Don't think or hesitate."

Taking a slow, steady breath and with eyes darting from Connie to the window, Straw gathered all courage and hope, and jumped.

Connie watched him disappear into the rug.

"Hey, it DID work," she followed, leaving the apartment empty.

Straw was getting used to teleportation, and this definitely felt like one. Not like a clean one caused by Scream, or Twilight's bumpy ride, but as if he'd just left a thin pipe not wanting to let him through and failing in the end.

"Good guess, Connie. How did you know that would work for real ponies?" he asked when the mare appeared in a flash next to him.

"I didn't," she coughed, and smiled innocently, "But you've got wings. In the worst case you just jump through the window, get cut a little by broken glass, spread your wings and fly back. If I go in first and I'm wrong - tomato juice aaaaaall over the street."

Straw's eye twitched. Connie quickly continued.

"But hey, it turned out fine, didn't it?"

Never before had Straw wanted to just pick a piece of rubble and bash somepony over the head...

...wait, piece of rubble?

Somehow, he knew the ruins of tall skyscrapers, malls, and long promenades were Manehattan. Broken slabs of concrete littered the wide highways, the shop windows were a broken mess all over the streets, and overturned carriages usually dragged by ponies lay motionlessly side by side with garbage cans.

"Why did it bring us here? What happened? Did the Vigil cause this? Wait, there was nothing in the newspapers."

"Yeah," Connie stopped Straw's rant by putting a hoof on his back, "This isn't real. It's a pocket dimension just like Zephyr's diner. No clue why it looks like Manehattan, or why it seens to have eaten a punch from an unholy spawn of an earthquake, a hurricane, and a tsunami."

"The reflection of a mind belonging to a mentally unstable alicorn who grew up in Manehattan?" a different voice chuckled, making the duo jump, "I wonder what it could look like..."

"Mistake?" Connie's eyes went wide at the sight of the black, blue-maned unicorn, "What are you doing here? I was expecting Blaze to greet us with fire and brimstone."

"He probably would do so, so consider yourself lucky I noticed the two of you first," Mistake's pink eyes were calm, although tired, "Why are you here then? I doubt you are as suicidal as him, and an apology is, sadly, really not going to help."

"We..." Straw looked around, "Where is it?"

As if called, the blue griffon landed on his head.

"What is this?" Mistake's brows furrowed, then he shook his head, "I appreciate the sentiment, but a magic shadow like Cromach gave to Connie is not going to cut it."

"No no no," Straw waved his talons, "This is the real thing. I mean, sort of. This is sir Cromach's soul reinforced with divine power. Void said there was a chance to bring him back if we pour enough power into him and his wish to come back is really strong. We've already visited all the other alicorns princess Twilight knows of and they helped."

"So you came here to get Blaze's power as well, right?"

"No, we came here to remind Cromach's soul why it doesn't want to pass away. If that fails, though, Blaze's power as well."

Mistake sighed.

"Alright, I will take you to him if you really want. The thing is... if he wants you dead then I won't be able to stop him. Are you sure about this?"

Straw looked around at the destroyed city, the representation of a broken mind, and then back at the black unicorn with conviction. His next words weren't aimed at Mistake, though.

"Connie, I-"

"Oh shut it!" she rolled her eyes, "If I was too set on staying alive do you think I would have tried to cut Blinding Light into pieces instead of crapping myself and running away after what he did to Walt? If worst comes to worst I might buy you some time to get out of here."

"Come on, you can't think like-"

"I said to shut it, Straw," Connie put a hoof on his muzzle, "You are important. Not because a god is sitting inside you, but because you bring ponies together. That's a leader's job, not thinking of good plans and strategy. Anypony smart can think of a good tactic which can work in a dangerous situation, but a leader can inspire ponies not to run away mid-plan or to break down."

"Come on, Connie," Straw blushed, shifting nervously.

"Not to mention, I'm still your boss, so you're going to do what I say or I'll kick your rump back to whatever backwater village you came from."

"Wild-"

"Bastion, I know!" Connie stopped, glaring at him from just an inch away.

"Sorry, Contradiction, ma'am!" Straw saluted, smiling and trying to stop his eyes from watering. Sniffing a little, he turned back to patiently waiting Mistake, " Lead us to Blaze, please."

"I've got to admire your balls," Mistake nodded, and led them through Manehattan, "It's not far. This looks like a city, but in fact there are only several places which truly 'exist'. Blaze isn't strong enough to maintain a full dimension, so his mind creates this place as needed."

Indeed, in just few minutes of them walking through the shattered city they entered a clearing free of rubble. A small circular plaza surrounded by lush lawns with what looked like a tent and a fire pit in the middle of it. An ice sculpture of Blaze, blue and black, sat in front of the dying fire.

"What is this?" Straw wanted to touch the statue, but the frost was too biting when he got closer.

"He locked himself in a dream, reliving parts of his life when he was happy. He wants to stay like that until his divine power fades away and so does he," Mistake ran his hoof over the ice, unbothered by the cold, "To be honest, knowing him as much as I do, I sympathize."

"Then why are you helping us? If we fail here then he'll have to watch sir Cromach fade away without being able to do anything about it."

Mistake gulped.

"I didn't think of that. Still, I don't believe remaining here is the way forward," he pressed his muzzle against the statue's neck, "Wake up, buddy."

Both Straw and Connie had to try extremely hard to prevent themselves from trembling as the ice statue's black surface shattered, revealing bronze fur underneath. Both of them were fully aware of the futility of their effort.

Blaze stood up like a pony waking from deep sleep. In here, he looked different, more... alicorn-y. His coat was shiny and without any spots of lost fur or scars, his mane shifted between blonde and silver, and his wings were real, covered in his pink flames. Blaze wasn't lazily powerful like a cat toying with a mouse just like Scream felt, not somepony you could call a friend on a whim, just hiding his immense inner strength like Zephyr. Straw didn't even feel awe and an aura of caring like he felt from the royal sisters. This was like meeting Void all over again, only...

...only the alicorn of Death wasn't growing more and more furious with each passing second.

"Nightmare..." Blaze hissed, "So you've come to take the last thing I have left, my memories."

"No, sir, we-" Straw took several steps back.

Blaze's legs were enveloped in his flames, burning talons forming on the front ones.

"Mistake, why are you helping them?"

The black unicorn said surprisingly sternly:

"Pull your head out of your rump and at least listen to them! You know I don't agree with this being the right choice."

"What. Do. You. Want..." Blaze growled, fangs bared and walking towards Straw with head hung low like a predator on a hunt.

"Sir, I- we- we bring this," he looked around, "Where did the wisp go again?"

As if answering a call, the tiny blue griffon circled around the burning alicorn and landed on his nose. Blaze's flames weakened, filling the wisp and adding yellow undertones to its blue. Crossing his eyes, Blaze focused on the thing sitting on his muzzle.

"What?" he shook his head, but the wisp's miniscule talons refused to let go.

"That is, we think, sir Cromach's soul. Void said if we got enough alicorns to help and give a bit of their power to him, then he might reform his body or something. I thought that if he saw the reason why he doesn't want to die completely it would give him the strength to come back. That, and you being the only alicorn left that we know about."

Blaze stopped, took the griffon into his fiery talons, pondered for a moment, and then asked, lips trembling:

"So... if this fails... all I get to see is him... leaving me again..."

"Blaze!" Mistake barked.

Shaking his head distractedly, Blaze didn't even look up from the wisp. He whispered:

"Whoever or whatever might be listening, I know I'm not a good pony, a good friend, or a good leader, but if all I've done in my life can amount to one selfish wish... please... just please... make this work."

His wings flared, a purple and gold firestorm swirled around him, and finally died out, taking away the flames surrounding Blaze's wings and legs.

"No..." Straw fell on his rump.

The wisp was still just sitting there, staring at Blaze who looked completely and utterly crushed.

"Wait," Mistake grit his teeth, "I think it's time for me to do my part."

"I can't lose you as well..." Blaze whimpered.

"You're not losing me, I'm still the part of your head who has to kick you when you do dumb stuff. The divine power forming the body I use in the real world, on the other hoof, is a different story."

Mistake simply closed his eyes, the black in his coat drained to off-grey, and a small shower of inky dust got sucked into the wisp without any visible effect.

"Whoa!" Mistake shook his head, "Feels weird being a thought again, light," he blinked, "Crap, still not enough power?"

"Perhaps... perhaps he doesn't want to return to me," Blaze muttered bitterly, "After all, I wasn't the best partn-"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Straw yelled, "We just don't have enough power or something. There is no way sir Cromach wouldn't want to come back to you. He lived for you! Every time I talked to him the only thing keeping him from not packing his bags and running away from all the responsibility and weird mutants trying to eat him and us were YOU!"

Straw looked around in panic. There was no way it could end like this.

Oh it will.

Nightmare!

I told you you were just torturing the poor soul. I told you this was impossible.

Straw froze, his brain working overtime.

Nightmare...

Yes, yes, that is what you ponies call me.

And then he decided to flip a metaphorical coin, knowing that if he failed then nopony would come back from here alive.

No, no, NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH CONTROL! HOW? HOW DARE YOU!

What he saw before his vision blurred to the point of blindness and his legs gave out was a black bolt of lightning coming from his chest, striking the wisp in front of Blaze, and...

...blowing it up with a shockwave which scattered everypony around.

Something levitated him up.

"Heh, toying with powers far beyond your understanding. Thinking above your station, slave. Most importantly, how dare you TOUCH me, FORCE ME!"

Vision still swimming, he could make out the details of a towering creature holding him in its telekinetic grip. It was pony shaped, but that ws about it. Its surface was a shimmering purple vision of stars, galaxies, and nebulae, its eyes just white holes, and, the feature currently bothering Straw's exhausted mind the most, its mouth open in a wide, toothy grin.

"Nightmare," Straw mumbled, unable to put any fight against its grasp.

"I must thank you for bringing me into a place where the shape of a mind can take real... well, shape. However, you were being far too pushy these past few days, and thus I have decided your free will is no longer needed. I will just have to do with your body."

The darkness symbolizing the use of Nightmare's power tightened around Straw.

"I doubt anypony here will mind," Nightmare smiled victoriously at Blaze catatonically staring at his painfully griffon-less hoof, "I wasn't even expecting you to be able to completely break the one I myself had trouble with. Good job, and goodbye."

Straw knew he failed, and the darkness squeezed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" a scream rang through the ruins of Manehattan. To Straw's shock, it wasn't his. To Straw's even greater shock, he wasn't just a paste of flesh and blood...

...yet.

Connie's nose was bleeding as she strained all of her overbearing telekinetic force against the god's. She didn't know how long she could protect Straw from being crushed. She didn't know the long hours of her forcing all she had inside her against the overwhelming force were mere seconds for the others.

For her, it lasted eternity. An eternity of pain, of her magic muscles and veins tearing from the sheer volume of unfocused power inside her. An eternity of a single wish - not letting somepony worth it die. That was what connected the members of Hoof of Fate. Leo, Straw, Fortune, and her. Neither of them, no matter how messed up they were in the head, no matter how well they hid it behind the nihilism, selfishness, and pride, could stand to see an innocent pony get hurt.

After years and years of holding her own against the god, she was completely empty.

She blinked.

"That was an impressive two seconds," Nightmare hadn't stopped smiling, "I just might take you next."

No matter how much she tried, no amount of power came from her anymore, and Straw was left unprotected. All she could do was stand, barely, and watch.

"I'm sorry, sir," Straw whispered, air pushed out of his lungs by the god's pressure, "Sorry I wasn't good... enough."

Blaze sighed.

Straw closed his eyes.

"You have no idea how many times I have said that to myself. Crom wanted to give you a chance for a life when I just wanted to destroy you along with the god when I still could. If I let you die... I'm gonna have to say the same thing to him when we meet one day after Void's final judgement."

A deafening roar of agony woke Straw back up. He could see only red, blinking over and over. Warmth slowly spread through his limbs, and when his head stopped spinning from lack of air he saw Nightmare recoiling from him and the darkness around burning away in pink flames. Strength rapidly returning, he landed safely on the cobblestones.

"Well, well, well, perhaps you've learned something, alicorn, but it is not enough. My slave here has given me enough time to recuperate and squash both of you like the gnats you are!"

An eagle's cry pierced the skies.

The clouds above them boiled.

Lightning struck Nightmare straight in the back.

The god screamed.

"Anypony ever told you you love to hear yourself talk too much?"

The voice stunned Straw, making the corners of his mouth crawl up. Connie sniffed and rubbed her rapidly watering eyes. Mistake just smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

And Blaze... Blaze simply gave Nightmare a deadly, bloodthirsty stare, knowing there would be enough time to talk later.

In the middle of a lightning-scorched spot on Nightmare's back, there stood a smoldering white griffon rearing on his hind legs and holding a two-handed battleaxe above his head.

"My name is C-1000. Come with me if you want to live!" Cromach grinned, and swung.

Comments

[Anonymous Critic]

"-strawberry jam."

And then the entire existence was deemed pointless by all three gods who united in their decision to destroy it in that single instant.

Twilight and Straw GLARED at Connie.

...uhhh...

I'm trying to figure out what that is even about? I mean, are they angry at her choice of words, or... what? It isn't exactly clear.

...I'm confused...

[Anonymous Critic]

The clouds above them boiled.

Clouds... boiling... Hmm...

I wonder what that would look like...

[Twisted Colors]

9367550
I believe it's meant to be a terrible pun related to Straw's name.

[Two_Madmans]

Vision still swimming, he could make out the details of a towering creature holding him in its telekinetic grip. It was pony shaped, but that ws about it. Its surface was a shimmering purple vision of stars, galaxies, and nebulae, its eyes just white holes, and, the feature currently bothering Straw's exhausted mind the most, its mouth open in a wide, toothy grin.

Hey, it's Tantabus!

"My name is C-1000. Come with me if you want to live!"

If that model was good characters once...
Wait... it actually... was? I'm not sure about Chronicles.

[Blewfire]

The reference at the end, was so bad it was funny. And you dear writer should feel bad for writing it as I feel for reading it.

[Nameless Narrator]

9878011
It was perfect, I feel great, and you should too.
I mean, the double dose of painkillers is helping

[Teraunce]

That was a terrible pun at the end and you should feel bad for making me laugh as hard as you did.

[Nameless Narrator]

10834067
The real question is: "Was the pun as bad as Terminator 3 or the recent series?"
I didn't think so.