A Rather Large Adventure

by BradyBunch

Chapter Eighty-seven: The Battle of Heaven and Earth, part 3

“Dad!” Garble yelled, scanning the dark sands below for something, anything. “Dad! Dad, where are you? Dad!”

The battle was far above them. Down here, there was nothing happening. It was almost eerie, how muffled the sounds of battle were. The only light came from the glowing ring of lava encircling all three mountains.

“There he is!” Spike noticed, pointing. There was a lighter patch of color against the sloping pitch-black embankment surrounding the entire lava river.

Garble swooped in that direction, following Spike’s pointing finger until he could see him too. Then he descended gradually until he was at a height where he could drop Spike onto the rocky and uneven ground. Spike stumbled while running, but Garble’s priorities weren’t on him. He instead flapped over to the unmoving body of Dragon Lord Torch.

Garble looked miniscule next to the sheer size of his father’s inert form. When Garble touched his forehead, Torch’s bleary eyes barely opened like a slot.

“Dad,” Garble whispered. “Are you…”

But both of them knew the answer already. Torch was dying.

“H-hold on,” Garble shakily reassured his father. “I’ll go get some help. You’ll be okay, all right? Don’t go off and die while I’m gone!”

“Stay,” Torch rumbled. His jaw barely moved, and the word was breathy and wispy.

Garble gulped, but he didn’t fly off. He looked behind him. Spike was running up to them, but he was still a ways off. The red dragon petted his father’s head some more. “Dad?” he asked.

“Did you… fight him?” Torch breathed.

Well, technically not. All he did was give support for Freedom Fighter and Spike. When he tried to fight Malice face-to-face, he was tossed aside like garbage. But Garble had been there nevertheless. He had done his best. So Garble decided to indulge him.

“I did,” Garble said. His stomach twisted uncomfortably.

“Th… thank you,” Torch got out. His eyes closed. “For everything. I wish… I knew sooner. How much you mean to me.”

“Hey, st-stop,” Garble insisted, flapping up and gently prying the eyelids open again. “Don’t talk like you’re about to die. Please, just… hang on!”

“I can’t,” Torch croaked. “I’m… too weak. You must be strong for me.”

Garble’s eyes filled with water. “You’re the strongest dragon I’ve ever known, dad. I can’t live up to you. I’m… not like you.”

“Son,” Torch said.

The tears spilled at that one word. Garble pressed his head into his father’s and wept.

“Forgive me,” Torch whispered.

Garble silently nodded as his tears kept coming.

“I’m… proud of you,” Torch continued. He sighed and de-stressed his body. “I could not ask… for a more worthy son.”

Despite his years, Garble watched him with wide eyes. When Torch’s frame didn’t rise up again, he took a step back. He audibly gulped--and it hurt, too--and said, “Dad?”

His father didn’t say anything.

“Dad!” Garble exclaimed through his tears, gently pounding him. “Dad, come on!” He tried to force his eyelid open. “We can still win this! Just hold on!”

Torch didn’t respond.

“DAD!” Garble yelled. “Please! You gotta get up!” He pounded on his thick skin a few more times. “We gotta get help!”

But Torch was unmoving.

Garble’s lips twisted as more tears leaked out. He bowed his head once more in the presence of the Dragon Lord.

Footsteps signaled the approach of Spike. They were slow, and careful. Once he was beside him, Spike was silent for a few more moments. The death of a Dragon Lord, and especially one of Torch’s caliber, was sobering.

Garble risked a glance at Spike to see if he would notice his tears. Spike’s eyes were determinedly focused on the corpse before them.

He’d definitely seen his tears. Or at least heard them. Garble seethed and clenched his fists. It was just another display of weakness.

“Beat it, runt,” Garble said, but it lacked the authority it usually had.

“Everypony cries,” Spike tried to reassure him. “And your father deserves them. He was very strong.”

“So why aren’t you?” Garble accused.

“I haven’t lived in the Dragonlands,” Spike reminded him. “And I’m not his son. I’m here to… pay respects.”

“Funny way of showing it,” Garble icily remarked.

“I’ve seen a lot of dead bodies,” Spike said without blinking. “I can’t cry over them all. I save them for the ponies that mean the most to me. You should cry if you need to.”

Garble’s lips pursed. But he didn’t go any further.

The leathery sound of flapping wings drew both of their attention. Garble and Spike looked up. A thin purple dragon was encircling them, just out of reach and looking for a clear spot to land.

Garble snapped. He was precisely the wrong creature to show up.

As soon as the purple dragon alighted nearby upon the black soil, Garble snorted in anger and began to stomp over to him.

“Who’s that guy?” Spike asked, tailing him. “Didn’t he save-”

By the time Spike got to that point, Garble had already reached the purple dragon and socked him in the face with all the strength he could muster. The purple dragon did nothing to prevent it. He just stumbled onto his butt and rubbed his crooked snout.

“Garble!” Spike exclaimed.

“In case it wasn’t clear,” Garble huffed, barely restraining himself, “this snot-nosed prick killed Ember! I saw him, Spike! He’s worked with Malice from the very beginning! He’s the reason my entire family is dead!”

The purple dragon bowed his head in shame. He made no movement at all, as if he was paralyzed.

“I…” Spike started. He swiveled from Garble to Venom. “Garble, what about when he freed us? He would have killed Malice, the same as we would!”

“You think a cut on a wing makes up for killing my sister?” Garble bellowed at Venom, clenching his fists once more. “What, think you’re worthy to help out now, huh?”

“I want to,” Venom quietly replied. He still made no threatening moves, but he did lift his chin up. “Everything I do… everything I’ve always done… has been because I want it to happen. I don’t want to fight for Malice any more. I want to help you! I want to make up for what I’ve done!”

“I knew it! It’s always about what you want!” Garble yelled, jabbing at him. “Me this, me that. What about me? Why isn’t it fair in my favor? I wanted my sister to live! I want my dad back! But you took that away from me because you wanted it. So if all of a sudden you want to make it up to us, how about you respect what I want for the first time, and go off and die in a hole?!”

Garble kicked sand in his face and stomped away. Venom bowed his head once more.

“Garble,” Spike started, tapping him on the back as he came beside him. “Listen. Um, wouldn’t he be better off doing something? He wants to help out. Let’s allow him the chance to make up for it.”

“I don’t… want him to, Spike,” Garble replied, his stiff frame becoming limp. “I can’t just let him walk away after all he’s done! Why should I allow him to just…”

“You’re right,” Venom mumbled.

Garble was finally able to look him in the eyes. “What was that?”

“I said, you’re right,” Venom repeated. His claws gripped the black soil tight enough that it dripped between his digits. “All you have is my word. But I have nothing else to give! You have every right to distrust me. You could kill me right here, and I would accept it. I mean it! I deserve it, after all I’ve done to you. But before I die… I want to make sure my death isn’t meaningless! Don’t you want that too? My death has to mean something in the end! I don’t want to just do nothing!”

Garble’s teeth clenched tightly, and flames broiled between the cracks in his teeth. But he turned away and closed his eyes. “What can you do?”

“...I have a special knife,” Venom relayed hesitantly. “It can pierce anything.”

“You mean a Black Blade?” Spike clarified.

Venom nodded while gesturing at him. “Yeah. And up on the peak, there’s some evil stone that’s taken hold of one of the ponies!”

“I think I get it,” Spike said. “If that’s really something only you can do, then by all means, do it.”

“I will!” Venom encouraged, getting to two feet. “Thank you.” He turned to Garble, who was side-eyeing him. Venom hesitantly extended his hand. “Hey. Are we okay?”

Garble’s mouth twisted in response. “Do your job first.”

“Of course. Of course.” Venom backed away. He picked up his Black Blade, made eye contact with Spike, and gave a small, sad grin. “I’ll make you proud. You deserve that much.”

He flapped his wings while turning around, and made a gradual ascent up to the peak.

Garble and Spike watched him as he went, until he disappeared in the hazy darkness and the fog of faraway war.

“You think he’ll do it?” Garble gruffly asked.

“He’d better,” Spike said. “We’ve got enough to worry about.” He quickly jogged over to a mound of sand and began to swish away the stuff. Garble watched him curiously. Did Spike know something he didn’t?

Spike swished away a clump of black sand, and it revealed a thin twig. He picked it out of the sand, and Garble froze in place upon noticing the jewel on the end. It was-

“The Bloodstone Scepter,” Garble whispered. In the hands of Spike. His eyes narrowed. “How did you know?”

“I planted it there,” Spike answered.

“How? When did you have time?”

“When you dropped me,” Spike replied. “I was running along to catch up with you when I tripped over it. I could barely believe it myself. I didn’t want to just show up to you with it, but I didn’t want to just leave it, either. That’s what took me so long.”

So Spike found it before he did? Garble mentally ran a hypothetical; what if he had stopped and picked up the scepter first? It meant… he wouldn’t have been with his father.

In other words, if Garble knew about the scepter, he would have chosen between his father and the throne. Which would he have done?

It wracked Garble’s brain. In the quick moments that followed, Garble pondered. The two options were equally appealing, fighting for control over his conscience. And he hated the temptation to snag the position of the Dragon Lord from Spike. It was so strong over him. He wanted it.

He wanted it more than anything in the world.

But even more than Torch’s final moments…?

Garble took a deep breath to steady himself. The words that would follow would never have come from him a week earlier. “You should have it.”

Spike jolted and looked up in surprise. Garble really couldn’t blame him.

“I’m… not certain I’m really… stable enough. Even if dad didn’t…” He stopped right there. “Even then… I remember what we talked about by the throne.”

“You don’t think you deserve it,” Spike related somberly.

“Well-”

“Hey, you said it, not me.”

Garble rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Look. I want to be ready. But… I’m not. Until I am… I think you should handle it. I don’t want to mess this up. Besides, you’re the one that tore out Malice’s eye. Maybe you’ve earned it.”

“I understand,” Spike assured him. He adjusted the scepter. “You know, admitting that much means you might be mature enough to be ready.”

“So can I have it?”

“...On second thought, I don’t think we’re quite there yet.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Hey, what happened to all that angst?”

Garble let out a sigh. “Just take the darn thing and shut up already. I already made up my mind.”

Spike stared into the head of the scepter forlornly. He nodded, then looked into the sky. “First things first. We’ve got a battle to win.”

“Yeah, hard to be a Dragon Lord without leading the dragons,” Garble remarked.

“What’s even going on up there?”

“Should I describe it for you?” Garble asked, cracking a grin. “Or do you want me to give Spikey-Wikey a wittle piggyback ride?”

Spike monotonously glared back. Then he cracked a smile of his own. “Piggyback time.”

---

It was getting worse. Tempest hated it.

She couldn’t do a thing. The Element would kill her. Starlight was literally dying in her arms, but nothing Starlight could do could slow down the vile darkness in Starlight’s body, crawling like a sludge.

To an extent, it made her own heart lurch. She definitely couldn’t say it eclipsed Starlight’s pain, but Tempest felt sick to her stomach. It was an unfamiliar and alien feeling. Tempest had never before had anypony close enough in her life where she would weep for them. She hated the unfamiliarity of it.

Was it fear? Tempest wouldn’t dare admit it to anypony. But if it made Starlight feel any better…

No, it wouldn’t. She had to be strong. Make her final hours more secure.

“Hey,” Tempest probed, adjusting the tilt of Starlight’s head. “Talk to me. Got anypony waiting for you back home?”

Starlight coughed, and it was ugly and hoarse. “Why does it… matter?”

“Happy thoughts,” Tempest hesitantly said. It was childish, but many things were, and it was a rare source of joy. “Got parents? A, uh... boyfriend?”

Starlight’s colorless eyes rolled in thought. “Mmm… His name’s Sunburst. He’s kinda… cute.”

“What’s he like? A bad boy?” Tempest pressured, knowing fully well he wasn’t. “A singer? A silver fox?”

“A nerd,” Starlight said, and smiled.

Tempest managed to laugh. “Not surprised.”

“Look, he’s got the… the beard, and glasses, and… Look, he’s got this… appearance, you know? Of a master wizard… I think it’s the potential. And he cares. Wants the best.”

“I get it,” Tempest reassured her. “Think about him. He’d want you to.”

Starlight’s eyes shifted to their horrible surroundings of the temple, resting on the wicked black face of Solaris carved high above them. “Kinda hard.”

“Try to,” Tempest urged. “Tune it all out. You’re here. You’re safe.”

Starlight sighed. “If you say so.”

Tempest tilted her head, somewhat confused. Where had she picked up this knack? Was it just instinctual? Perhaps she had a bright future as a counselor somewhere.

The sound of flapping wings drew Tempest’s head up. Tempest stood up and adjusted Starlight so she was behind her. There was someone coming for them through the foggy air, and Tempest didn’t like the look of him.

Tempest recognized him before he even landed. He was the dragon who had accompanied Malice!

“Stay back!” Tempest yelled, sparking her horn to life and stomping the ground. “Don’t you dare-!”

“Wait!” the purple dragon shouted, putting up his hands. The Black Blade clattered to the floor. “I’m with Spike!”

What kind of excuse was that? That didn’t mean anything. “GET BACK!” Tempest bellowed.

“I’m here to help!” the dragon insisted. His foot adjusted the fallen weapon. “I think I can destroy that Element!”

Tempest knew about the weapon’s ability to pierce an Element of Harmony. But why did she need him? What was preventing her from just taking the weapon and doing it herself?

“I don’t want any of you to get hurt,” the purple dragon promised. “If something goes wrong, I can take the blow. If I end up dying, I’d be happy with it. I’ve… always done what makes me happy.”

“But what if that kills Starlight instead?” Tempest asked.

Venom’s eyes roamed over the mortal, blackened wound in Starlight’s body. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but…”

Tempest didn’t want to face that truth just yet. Neither did she want Venom to know that she felt that way. But Venom was willing to take action. And if there was any way for this parasite to be removed...

“...Just be careful!” Tempest relented. She stepped behind Starlight’s body, gripped her around the pits, and propped her up at a gentle recline.

Venom crossed the floor over to Starlight’s limp body and knelt beside her. He held the knife upside down near his face.

“You’ll be okay,” Tempest reassured Starlight, even as Starlight panted for breath. “It’ll be over soon. Just hang on!”

“Blood,” Starlight whispered. “My blood.”

Tempest drew her head up. She was right! It was what Ajax had done to Pinkie, after all. But the thought of defiling Starlight even more…

Starlight, however, held her hoof up beside Venom’s face. There wasn’t any hesitation.

Venom’s lips twisted in anguish, but he did press the tip into her skin. Thin blood soon coated the tip of the Black Blade. Starlight’s left hoof was permanently marred by the black scar.

Venom then examined the spot in her chest. His breaths were heavy and slow, and the grip on his knife was trembling.

“Forgive me,” Venom uttered.

And he plunged the bloodstained tip into Starlight’s Element.

Venom was immediately thrown back as a concussive blast erupted from Starlight’s chest, making Starlight scream some more. Two distinct sounds were also heard: a crack and a shatter.

The blackening Element was deeply scarred with a fractured and cracked puncture wound. The stone sizzled and sparked, flickering black and green from the open depths.

It came at the cost of the Black Blade, which had shattered into about a dozen little pieces. The force of the eruption had thrown the pieces backwards, and four of them had embedded themselves into Venom’s face. Blood flew out from the wounds and streamed down his face.

“Oh, my gosh,” Tempest breathed. She didn’t dare go over to Venom, not with Starlight still in her arms, but the body of Venom didn’t look like he needed it anyway. Tempest had been involved in war and mercenary work before, but the sight of the shards stuck in his skull was one she got squeamish at.

To get her mind off that, she examined her dying friend. “Starlight? You any better?”

Starlight was done squeezing a few tears out of her eye ducts, which ran down the side of her head, and she gasped, “Fine. Just… gah. Hurt.”

“What do you say? You think we can destroy this thing?” Tempest followed up.

Starlight took a few deep breaths. “The only one… who could… is Twilight.”

Which was precisely the wrong pony they needed right now.

---

Twilight was sweating. The stuffy, smoky air was difficult to see in. But she could clearly make out the silhouette of a dozen ponies materializing from the dark clouds. To her amazement, their flapping wings were not the only feature on them. A long, sharp horn was on each of their foreheads.

They dared to defile the form of immortals and cheapen Faust and Celestia? Twilight felt pent-up anger gather inside her chest.

"Hey, lookee there!" drawled a shrill teenage mare in front of her. "An alicorn princess, crown and all! That must have been what Malice was talking about!"

So Malice was here, and in cahoots with the worshippers of Nevermore. And she was needed for the Corrupted Element. That told her all she needed.

The rest of the alicorns, fat and thin, disgustingly ugly and numbingly beautiful, were debating.

"Do we kill her? She's gonna give Malice what he wants!"

"What if she can bring forth Solaris? We need her alive!"

"I don't care what she can do! She looks pretty! So I want to have her!"

"Whatever we're gonna do, let's do it now! She looks pissed!"

"Yeah, well, we're alicorns. We're powerful. We are the children of Solaris, and so we are awesome. What can she do that we can't?"

Survive, Twilight bitterly thought. A ball of pink energy gathered on her horn.

"Get her!" was the cry uttered by several of them.

Six glowing pink missiles erupted from the tip of her horn and encircled her, each one catching the beams of magic some of the alicorns had shot, before seeking out those targets, smashing into their chests, and disintegrating them on the spot. Their dust joined the ashes already in the sky.

Twilight, by then, had already fired thrice in quick succession. The amplified magic was strong enough to punch holes in the alicorn mares directly in front of her. Two spiraled out of the sky, chunks blasted from their singed bodies.

The remaining four alicorns shrieked and got some distance from Twilight, but they were still charging up their horns to attack.

Twilight wasn't in the mood for this anymore. Igniting her horn once more and rearing her head, all four alicorns halted in place, surrounded by pink magic.

"You want me?" Twilight dared. "Come and take me!"

With a concussive shockwave, Twilight blasted them backwards, flinging their tumbling bodies through the dirtied air.

Twilight wanted them to come to her, of course. She could provide a distraction to the alicorns so the dragons would only be concerned about fighting themselves.

But still, knowing they were alicorns had aroused Twilight's anger. Twilight had earned her right to be called one. Through years of trial, she had fulfilled her destiny and ascended into the same form as both her master and her Goddess. And they got it for free by serving the devil?

It was a cheap copy, an imitation of real power. Twilight would show them real power.

"Everyone!" Twilight heard someone call. She squinted into the dark heavens until she saw in the distance a hovering lime green alicorn, her horn glowing red, screaming the words. She glided over.

"All alicorns! Converge on the violet star in the heavens! It's the alicorn princess! It's our key to unlocking Thragya! All alicorns, converge!"

The lime green alicorn finally caught Twilight alighting upon a black cloud nearby, about ten feet away, and she shrieked and fell a few feet in the air. "Converge!" she bellowed. "Converge! Con-"

Her final words were interrupted by the golden tip of a sword splitting her chest open from behind. Her scarlet magic fizzled out, and her body became limp and fell off, tumbling all the way down to earth far below.

Rainbow Dash was there, her mane noticeably singed and frazzled, and her golden sword marred by hard blood.

"Not that you needed help or anything," Rainbow admitted. "I just… wanted to keep an eye on you."

"Why?" Twilight wondered.

"Uh… because you're my friend," Rainbow uncomfortably responded. "Even if you can take 'em all by yourself… I can't just leave you alone."

And perhaps there was a large part of her that truly felt that way. But Twilight knew that Rainbow knew of her intent regarding the Element of Redemption.

The biggest obstacle in her way was Rainbow's loyalty. Her friendship might be their undoing.

---

Spike wasn’t exactly sure how to work it. The only time he had held the scepter’s awesome power was when he won the Gauntlet of Fire. He was unaccustomed to such a feeling--the rush of power in the palm of his hand.

“What does this thing even do?” Spike asked Garble as he rode on his back. They were ascending in the midst of the battle. All around them, dragons tumbled and clashed with other dragons, or with alicorns. Bright colors flashed in his peripheral vision.

“That holds the allegiance of every dragon’s soul,” Garble relayed loudly, over the wind. “Or something. I dunno. But it’s the mark of the Dragon Lord. The dragons should all recognize you as the rightful ruler.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Your rule is at an end. As if it wasn’t long enough already.”

Garble finally reached a suitable altitude and leveled off. Spike looked around. There weren't any fights going on near them, but the sounds and glows of roaring flame echoed everywhere.

Spike’s attention was soon drawn to the swarm of miniature alicorns, coming from every area of the sky, breaking off their individual battles and flying up, up, up into the sky, converging on one point hidden among the clouds. It was dark up there, but it only made the distinctive violet glows and streaks of white lightning booming in their midst all the more poignant.

“Get ‘em!” Spike urged. Rainbow and Twilight were outnumbered, but not outmatched. For now.

“What’re you waiting for?” Garble asked in irritation. “Let’s do it!”

Asking the right questions. What was Spike waiting for? This was his moment. Was he still afraid to fulfill the role laid out for him?

No. Spike had been scared before. This feeling wasn’t fear. It was still hesitancy, but not borne from the world around him. The worthiness inside him was in question.

Until he was reminded--urged by some entity Spike had never before felt--of Rarity’s romantic choice, Twilight’s trust in his abilities, his comradery with Firestorm and Noble, his inexplicable budding friendship with Garble, the staff lying in his path at his feet. Was he really unworthy?

Perhaps there was still some small part of him that felt overwhelmed by his role. But that just made his acceptance courageous, and made him worthy to bear this burden.

He hefted the staff in his hand. The absurdly large jewel reflected his expression--fractured and split. But upon Spike’s face was determination. Absolute will. The will of many different ponies in his life had shaped him. And now it was his turn to shape them back.

It took quite a bit of courage, didn’t it?

They seemed to be spoken words in his mind--still and quiet, but unmistakable: Get their attention.

Spike thrust the Bloodstone Scepter into the air and bellowed.

A torrent of scarlet energy erupted from the tip, almost tipping Spike off Garble’s shoulders and making them both tumble in place, spinning for a little bit before righting themselves. The red beacon shot into the sky, splitting the dark clouds hanging over and around them all. It revealed the individual fights of dozens of multicolored dragons tumbling and wrestling with each other in midair. The glow set the entire sky on fire, creating a swirling cloud of fire around Spike and Garble.

“Come on!” Spike yelled, and inexplicably, his voice seemed to boom across the skies like Torch, or even Ember’s. “Hear me, dragons!”

To Spike’s astonishment, all activity seemed to cease. Dragons, both the bare-chested militia Torch had gathered and the home defense force armored in crude iron, stopped their fights and put their eyes on Spike.

Suddenly, Spike’s chest constricted. All the attention was so unusual. Perhaps--

“You heard him!” Garble assisted, unprompted. “Listen up, losers!”

And somehow, having Garble on his side gave his shoulders strength. Squaring them, Spike cut off the beacon and held the scepter on its side.

“How many of you are loyal to the Dragon Lord?” Spike asked. “And how many are just loyal to Malice?”

The dragons collectively shifted. The position of Dragon Lord always seemed to shift as of late. But who else could they rely upon?

“It is the will of the Dragon Lord that you stop fighting,” Spike continued. “You’ve only been fighting because it was the will of the Dragon Lord before you. The Dragon Lord whose eye I have put out, and whose scepter I now wield!”

“Why should we take the word of a child?” a chubby orange dragon challenged, in the front row of the assembly.

Spike leveled the scepter at him. “You took the word of a devil. What makes a child worse?”

The chubby orange dragon sullenly shut his mouth.

“We are dragons!” Spike insisted, raising the scepter once more. “We have no enemy among ourselves. If we are to survive, we must unite in purpose against those who would destroy us!”

“Like who?” a bulky blue dragon asked. There was a distinctive female lilt in the words, and there was a crude iron chestplate on her, marking her as a member of the home defense force. “If not us, then…” She slowly raised her head to the commotion higher up where Twilight and Rainbow were fighting hordes of alicorns.

“Look at us!” Spike urged. “Look to your neighbor. We’re one and the same! Same species, same blood. Too much of it has been spilled this day already. I don’t want us to lose any more. But if your blood is boiling for a fight…” He gestured firmly at the abyss above them, flashing white and pink and every color of the rainbow. “...then make theirs run cold and spill!”

“YEAH!” Garble yelled encouragingly. The word shouted and spread among the rest of the dragons gathered tightly around him.

“Fight, dragons!” Spike yelled at the top of his lungs. He reared on Garble’s shoulders and jabbed the Bloodstone Scepter into the horde of alicorns. “FIGHT!”

And a torrent of energy blasted out. It cut an instant red wound across the clouds, incinerating dozens of alicorns in the distance.

With the first blow dealt, the dragons erupted. Five or six of them flew out first, then twice that number, and not long after that, every dragon assembled was flapping their way over to the alicorns.

“Come on!” Garble yelled to Spike. “Let’s go and cut ‘em up!”

“”Hyah!” Spike cried.

“Don’t do that!” Garble yelled. But he was flapping as hard as he could anyway.

“Wait!” one of the dragons yelled, pointing at Mount Nevermore. “What’s that?”

The dragons that had been lagging behind turned and looked. Spike and Garble craned their heads around.

Arising from the tip of Mount Nevermore, and flapping towards them like their lives depended on it, were even more dragons. It was another miniature swarm, on track to join up with them.

“Where’d they come from?” yet another dragon asked.

“Who cares? They wanna help, I got no problem!” came a response.

The lead dragon, far faster than the others, reached Spike very soon. He was green, and bent over slightly. Deep within his eyes were unbridled fury, and his twitching claws were shaven down to stumps.

Those furious eyes glanced at the Bloodstone Scepter in Spike’s claws. He gasped, and those eyes glittered in astonishment. Then they narrowed. “Where’s Malice?” he demanded. His voice was deeper than Spike expected; it was low in anger. “Is he dead?”

Spike’s gaze was drawn past the green dragon, and the green dragon swiveled his head in response, giving a growl in the back of his throat.

There was a mostly clear area in the boundless sky that all the combatants had avoided. It was in the airspace above the Daughter. In it, the only two beings clashing were the Unforgiven and the Pale Rider.

---

Both of them were exchanging blows at an incredible speed. Not all of them landed, but when they did, it dazed them briefly. Every strike from the Unforgiven was sharp and quick, although not as hard as Malice’s swipes and lunges.

Freedom Fighter suddenly dipped in altitude, as if he had fainted, and Malice looked down to track him. As it turned out, he just did it to get to the level of Malice’s more tender underside, and he abruptly changed course and rocketed into his chest. Malice sprawled in the air, but his many legs curled inwards to embrace Freedom Fighter in their cold touch.

The Unforgiven expected it.

He wrapped his arms around him first. They only reached halfway around him, but it squeezed him anyway. Even as half a dozen stubby white legs dug into his back and drew blood, Freedom Fighter just gritted his teeth and squeezed tighter.

“You utter fool!” Malice cried, and laughed. “What do you think you’ll be able to do? You’re just giving me more and more strength!”

Freedom Fighter ignored the steady pressure from behind and focused everything he had into cracking Malice’s terrible body. Every muscle in his arms and back flexed at the same time, and Freedom Fighter let forth a gargled yell.

There came a hairline crack from Malice’s bones. Malice yelped. His own bones felt strained to their limit, but Freedom Fighter didn’t relent.

The crack widened and grew. With a renewed effort, Freedom Fighter squeezed once again, harder than before.

“You’ll die first!” Malice swore. The legs began pounding into his back and scraping the flesh open, and Freedom Fighter couldn’t take it any more. He adjusted his grip and pushed off Malice like a professional swimmer. That impact widened the crack in Malice’s armor even more, and Malice hissed and observed the damage.

Freedom Fighter was just grateful for the reprieve to heal. In a direct confrontation, Malice would win. And the way they were going now, it would just go on forever. Unless he took out the Element. But Freedom Fighter wasn’t ready for that just yet.

Freedom Fighter needed a weakness to exploit, a pressure point to disable. He had tried giving Malice one himself, but that wasn’t very effective. His eyes? Two of them were down, but those were from surprise attacks. Malice would surely be protective of the others. His claws? There were too many. His mouth? Not a good idea. He could breathe fire. Maybe the throat? No, his head design bent it down, protecting the neck from the front. Maybe if he got onto his back…

A rumble tore him out of his reprieve. He perked up his head and swiveled it before identifying the source. There was a great steam rising from the Daughter far below. The entire mountain seemed to quake.

Malice’s remaining eyes widened and looked down. “Wait a second-”

There wasn’t any more warning.

---

Like a popped balloon, the Daughter exploded.

The heavens were rent asunder from the roar. It was louder than anything any mortal being could create, and so it overwhelmed the ears until it actually seemed quiet.

Smoke was the first thing to come out. There was also a vivid orange fire, but it was quickly swallowed up in darkness. The inky clouds enveloped the entire mountain and rose far higher than the eye could see. Already dark and bleak, the skies of Nevermore turned from dark grey to almost solid black.

It was hollow to the core like an egg, or a fancy chocolate. And it was filled to the brim with pent-up lava. It shot into the air for hundreds of feet before slopping out and pulsing out of the mountain and into the plains far below.

The lava ran like a flood, enveloping everything in its path. The entire base of Mount Nevermore was in the process of being covered by the stuff. The monolith glowed like a candle.

The Daughter’s eruption was massive enough to capture the attention of every creature fighting in the skies. For just a few seconds, everyone stared wide-eyed at the broken mountain. They had to squint. Even the added light of the lava was not enough to fully discern the details in the distance.

Twilight took the opportunity it presented.

With a whining charge, Twilight let loose a torrent of rapid-fire pink missiles that erratically circled about her before seeking out more targets and obliterating them. They erupted in billows of pink flame that consumed everyone near them, and the glow painted Twilight in an eerie light.

Rainbow Dash fired a stream of white lightning. It easily struck ten of the ponies hovering just outside their range; they were closely packed together.

“Who do ya wanna take a bite out of?” Rainbow taunted, swiping the sword. A long slash of plasma flew out, cracking against three alicorns simultaneously. “What else you guys got?”

Rainbow and Twilight were in the center of a storm of laser fire. Rainbow’s main tactic was to evade whatever they threw, or deflect bolts with Stormkeeper. Twilight absorbed the blows with her magic and fountained back responses. They were efficient at what they did. But there were just so many…

As Twilight dropped three red-and-black alicorns in quick succession, she gasped and pointed down. “Rainbow! Look!”

Rainbow’s head swiveled immediately. Twilight had sounded hopeful. And for good reason.

Engaging with most of the rest of the alicorns were the dragons. Rainbow noticed that they worked as one collective. Home defense force or militia, they fought side by side against the parasitic alicorns.

And out there… on Garble’s back, was that… “Spike?”

“And he’s got the scepter!” Twilight sounded giddy. “Go Spike! Woo!”

“Wait! If he has the scepter, then doesn’t that mean… Do you think Malice is…?”

“Dead? No. That son of a gun’s too slippery! Find him, Rainbow! If you can help Freedom Fighter out, do it, but if things are going wrong… get him out of there.”

“Right, get your boyfriend out of danger. Gotcha. Even if he protests?”

“Especially if he protests! We’ve got something to do here!”

Rainbow’s eyebrow quirked. “What do you mean, something?”

“Go, Rainbow! I’ve got it from here. Trust me!”

Rainbow still wasn’t convinced.

“Trust. Me,” Twilight emphasized. And there was a plea in those eyes, no doubt. What was Twilight up to?

“...Gotcha, Twi. Lickety-split.”

And Rainbow rocketed off. There was a lump in her throat and a heavy weight in her heart. If Twilight did what she thought she was going to do...

---

For all intents and purposes, the battle was already over. The dragons outnumbered the alicorns three to one and had more practical experience in combat, so though they screamed and blustered and fired their lasers, they were overwhelmed. Claws ripped and tore. Hot red blood flung across the sky, some of it the dragon’s. Bodies dropped from the dark sky like flies and splashed into the steadily-growing sea of glowing lava.

No alicorn dared to surrender. There was nowhere else to go, and they were playing on home turf. Though Spike made it clear that if anypony wanted to be captured, they should be, none of the alicorns accepted the offer. Blood for blood and life for life, taking out as many as they could before they, too, perished.

Once it was clear that it would be little more than a mop-up of the last ten alicorns, Twilight Sparkle flapped away from battle, her sights set on the mountain before her.

It was a mountain that seemed as impossible to scale as her fears of what might happen.

Twilight hoped that Rainbow took the hint and was searching for Freedom Fighter. He needed to be safe. And Rainbow didn’t deserve to be in the way. She’d try to stop her. But it had to be done. She had given up everything before. The risk paid off. Could it happen again?

The hot wind rustled under her wings and into her eyes. It might be the last she could ever feel it. She decided to make the most of it and feel every breeze cross her face and caress her body.

Finally, after some adjustments in altitude (it was so much higher than she expected) she was able to get a birds-eye view of the scene below her. A deep hole in the center of the exposed circular temple. The top of a statue’s head. And a drop of color, down there to the right of the statue…

She dropped. Slowly at first, then a quick dive. Once it was only a few feet between her and the temple floor, she righted herself, flapped hard, and settled on four hooves.

The ground was wet with old blood, brown and dull red. There was no liquid in the open hole in the center. Perhaps lava? Of course it would be lava.

And for the first time in what seemed like a long, long time, Twilight Sparkle saw the forms of Tempest Shadow, cradling her protegee, Starlight Glimmer.

Rainbow’s description had left too much up to the imagination. The faded jewel embedded into her sternum was vicious, cracked, and flickering oddly. There were sinister black lines traveling all across Starlight Glimmer’s body like poisoned veins, or a burnt piece of wood. There was no color in her skin. There was no glitter in her eyes. She was limp, and infected.

Twilight couldn’t live with herself for long. Something had to be done.

---

Everything had to go wrong today, of all days.

“Twi?” Starlight murmured, tilting her head up slightly.

Tempest couldn’t take it anymore. She had a say in this too! Starlight was in danger!

“Twilight!” Tempest screamed, holding out a hoof. “Stop!”

Twilight took a deep breath. She took a few more steps.

“No closer!” Tempest warned, dragging Starlight further away. “I mean it!”

Twilight’s eyes met hers, and within them was a dejected look. There was no way Twilight didn’t know what was at stake. So why was she going to do this? If she wasn’t an imposter, then it could only mean Twilight was planning something. But what could it be?

“Tempest,” Twilight said. “Trust me. Please.”

But Tempest couldn’t bring it within herself. “No!” she yelled. “No!”

“Be still,” Twilight urged. “This is…”

“The only way?” Tempest finished when Twilight couldn’t.

Twilight hung her head before nodding it.

“It can’t be!” Tempest yelled. “There has to be something else!”

A swift swish of the air above them made both Twilight and Tempest look up. With a flash of sudden color, Rainbow appeared from the dark clouds. She hovered above them all before descending slowly, brandishing Stormkeeper at Twilight.

On Rainbow’s face was one of fear and regret. “Don’t do this, Twilight,” she warned.

“No, Rainbow,” Twilight replied, igniting her horn. “You don’t want to do this.”

Rainbow’s lips pursed. “I don’t.” She brought the golden blade level so the tip was meeting Twilight head-on. It crackled from the hilt to the tip.

Twilight sighed. “If that’s how it’s going to be.”

Rainbow was enveloped in a violet aura and tossed aside, and Twilight did not slow her advance.

With a scream, Rainbow fountained the lightning out of Stormkeeper. White streaks shrieked at the speed of light and hit Twilight in the chest, sending her sprawling.

“Get out of here!” Rainbow urged, jiggling Stormkeeper at Tempest.

“Where can I go?” Tempest asked. Twilight was already getting up, and Tempest hurriedly stowed the limp body of Starlight behind her own. “Twilight! Stop this! We can’t-”

“We have to!” Twilight yelled. “Get out of the way, Tempest!”

“No,” Tempest refused for the third time, standing a little bit straighter.

A ball of violet energy condensed on the tip of Twilight’s horn in response.

“What are you doing?!” screamed a voice above their own, and all heads swiveled up. Fluttershy was descending amid the smoke. Her coloration, though dirtied and singed, was still distinct enough that it could be mistaken for that of an angel amidst the darkness.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow pleaded. “Twilight’s gone nuts! If she touches the stone in Starlight’s chest, she’s gonna wake up Solaris!”

“We need to keep her away!” Tempest followed up, crouching into a stance.

Fluttershy by now had landed in the center of the triangle between Tempest and Starlight, Rainbow, and Twilight. Her wavering eyes flickered nervously between them all.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight reasoned. “Remember Tirek? How we had to give up all our magic in order to save the day? This may be just like that. We need to have faith that this might work the same way.”

“What if it doesn’t?” Rainbow screamed.

“What if it does?” Twilight followed up. “I know what I’m doing, Rainbow. You think I don’t care? Starlight means more to me than just about anypony else!”

“You’re going to destroy the world for a pony that’s already on track to die anyway!” Tempest yelled. “I care for her too, you know!”

“So what, you’re just going to do nothing?”

“Better than destroying us all!”

“Solaris wins when good ponies do nothing, Tempest!” Twilight shot back. “I can’t just sit back and watch her die knowing there might be another way!”

“There’s too much at risk, Twi!” Rainbow insisted. “What if your plan doesn’t work?”

“Then… I will die knowing I gave my all for the world. For my country. For you. There’s only one way to find out, Rainbow. Please! I’m begging you, help me!”

Rainbow looked away. Her mouth was twisting in agony.

Fluttershy’s gaze was drawn to Twilight. Both didn’t say anything at first.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered. The magic building on her horn died down and faded out.

Fluttershy bowed her head. “What… does Starlight want?”

All heads swiveled to Starlight. She was supporting herself slightly above the ground, but it was taking too much effort to sustain. Black veins wrapped around her limbs and up her neck.

“Twilight,” Starlight gasped, fixing her expression with Twilight’s.

The alicorn slowly trudged her way to her student. Nopony stopped either of them, but all of them were as tightly-wound as a bowstring.

Once she was only a few feet away, Twilight knelt so she was on her student’s level. Tears were in both of their eyes.

“Please,” Starlight begged with a gasp. She fell onto her side, exposing the broken stone.

Twilight’s lips pressed tightly together in anguish. She looked behind her. None of them could hold their gaze. Twilight turned back around and shut her eyes.

Then Twilight Sparkle, the Child of Light, bent down and touched her glowing horn into the Corrupted Element.

Author's Note:

What a note to end on.