Virtues of Harmony

by SkylertKlaw

Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Sixth

Rainbow ran through the hallway that led to the mansion's foyer. So many questions were welling up inside her. Who was it that Amducias had killed in the illusion they all saw? Why did Sky Fire run off? Just how deep of a mess were she and her friends getting into?

None of the answers seemed to come to her. It was all so confusing. She knew that the war with both Storm Rider and Amducias would reveal dark secrets and cause dark horrors. To see such an image though, it was haunting.

She looked around the foyer, flying around each of the floors and checking each room for Sky Fire. There was still no sign of him. It was almost as if he just vanished into thin air. This didn't dishearten her though. He was somewhere within the mansion.

Once again she began her search for him. But at the very moment that she took even one step on the main floor, the pink earth pony from before appeared before her as a silhouette. Rainbow stood in shock. She couldn't work out any of the main facial details of the earth pony, but there was no doubt that the victim was a mare.

Rainbow watched the silhouette for a few short seconds. It seemed both otherworldly and at the same time, bound to the earth. But what made the situation even more creepy was when she spoke out.

"Help...me..."

Before Rainbow could ask who she was, the earth pony faded away into nothing. Leaving her all alone in the foyer's hall.

There were very few times when Rainbow Dash was afraid. This was one of them. None of what was happening made any sense. She shook her head to snap herself out of her fear like trance.

"What the hell is going on here?" She asked in a whisper.

Rainbow's ears perked up suddenly. There was a loud series of 'thud' sounds came from the training room. That had to be where Sky Fire was. She narrowed her eyes in determination. Now was the time to get some answers.

Wasting no time, Rainbow flew right towards where the training room was. The door was nearly shut, but a small crack had been left open. Knowing that she couldn't let herself be seen or heard just yet, Rainbow took the silent approach. As she quietly looked through the crack, her eyes grew wide in shock at the image she was seeing.

Sky Fire was the cause of all the noise, but not in the way she thought he would be. He was slamming his head against one of the mirrors repeatedly. The mirror itself was beginning to crack from the repeated head slams. Sky Fire's forehead was bleeding from the sharp broken glass. Blood flowed freely down his face. Every time he slammed his head into the mirror, the deeper the cuts went into his skin.

"DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" He shouted with each slam.

"Wh-What the hell?" Rainbow gasped.

She wasted no time. She ran straight into the room and grabbed a hold of Sky Fire. Before he could fight out of her grasp, Rainbow turned him to face her. Wasting no time, she began to slap him quickly and silly.

"Get a freaking hold of yourself man!" She cried out.

Sky Fire let out a loud shout of frustration and guilt. The white pegasus buck kicked a couple of heavy weights over. As each of the weights landed, he took in deep breaths. For a few short minutes, neither one of them said anything. He didn't even try to break out of her grip.

Small tears began to form in his clenched eyes. Sky Fire bit his lip before looking down at the ground.

"...Dammit..."

Rainbow stood in silence as silent sobs came from her best friend. Now it all made sense. Why he had ran away from the dining hall. Why he was so upset. Why he was slamming his head into the mirror over and over again in frustration. She looked at him in sympathy. She knew what was causing him to feel terrible.

"...The sixth victim." She finally said, "You knew her, didn't you?"

Sky Fire slowly opened his eyes. Silent sniffles coming from his nose. In the back of his mind, he was kicking himself for how he appeared before her. He must have looked like a mess. Blood, tears, and a runny nose was not exactly a sight that no pony would want to look at.

Rainbow however didn't criticize how he looked. Instead, she reached for a towel that was nearby and began to clean up the blood on his face. Sky Fire didn't know why she wasn't upset with him. Most ponies would have walked away from him if he was in such a state.

Not Rainbow Dash though. She was true to her Element of Harmony. Loyalty. It was true that the two often had their little spats and debates, but she would never abandon him. Nor would he ever abandon her. Not ever again.

"I..I should have told you this story a long time ago." He finally said, his voice nearly horse from yelling so much, "But I kept it from you because I didn't want you to experience the horror I had to feel first hand in Rainyville..."

"I..." Rainbow looked down briefly, then back at him. "Look, I'm no good at these kind of talks, but...you did everything you could. I know it."

She leaned her head closer to his, resting her forehead on his.

"Amducias is just trying to screw with our heads with these visions, trying to break our focus. Well...I'm not gonna let that happen!"

Sky Fire sighed as he gently pushed her away with one hoof. He shook his head at her. The matter was much more serious than she thought it was. If she was going to know exactly what it was they were up against, she had to know the whole story.

"You need to hear this." He said with a heavy tone, "Otherwise...it's just going to continue..."

Rainbow made no arguments as he turned back to the mirror. Sky Fire's eyes stared directly at the cracks that he had caused. Finally he sat down, recalling all the events that had happened to him leaving Ponyville. At long last, there was going to be some answers for once.

"It all started when I left Ponyville. I had to find myself again after what happened. Then I got orders from the Princess, she was concerned about Rainyville. She had been getting disturbing reports from it and she wanted me to look into it."

He glanced back to Rainbow. The world almost freezing when he spoke again.

"Without contacting anyone I knew before. Which is why I never sent anything to you while I was gone..."

Rainbow nodded in silence. That was one answer she had been wanting to hear for some time. She didn't show if often, but when Sky Fire left five years ago, it nearly broke her heart. She remembered the many nights she spent at Applejack's, trying to recover from the emotional heart break she was experiencing.

"...I see." She finally said, "What happened afterwards?"

Sky Fire sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. He began to continue his story once again.

"Rainyville...true to its name it rains, a lot. But the neat thing about it is that the whole village is connected with tubes. So if you had to go somewhere when it was raining, you could use these tubes to travel to one house to the next."

A small smile came to his face.

"On the very few days when it stopped raining, ponies would use the outdoors for awhile. It rained so much there that I nearly forgot what the sunlight felt like. But I'm getting off topic. The first day I arrived in Rainyville was when I bumped into her..."

Sky Fire let out a heavy sigh of guilt and sadness. Rainbow knew from that sigh alone that he had a relationship with a mare in Rainyville.

"Sandra..." He said. A look of sadness and regret formed in his eyes.

"Sandra...so she's the one I saw..." Rainbow mused.

A slight laugh came from her best friend. Fond memories were beginning to come back to him now.

"She was a real fire cracker, let me tell you. She wouldn't let up on anypony for any reason and refused to leave them alone even when they demanded it."

Sky Fire closed his eyes. It was hard for him to talk about this subject. Rainbow placed a hoof on his shoulder. She gave him a comforting smile as he continued his story.

"Sandy was...different from all the other ponies there. She was suspicious of Storm Rider's actions, and for the long years I was there, she was always there behind me. Helping me each step along the way and even organizing an Anti-Storm Rider movement."

His lip curled into a snarl at the name. His story began to take a darker turn.

"But I guess he got word of it before I could the right time to confront him. That's when the murders began to happen..."

Rainbow began to shake with anger. For such events to happen. Allowing Amducias to murder innocent lives was just incredibly sickening.

"Dammit...if Sandra was the one Storm Rider wanted, why'd he have Amducias kill five other ponies?"

"...That's what I wanted to know." Sky Fire admits, "But contrary to popular belief, Sandy was the only pony that was murdered by that bastard...not that it eased the pain at all."

As Sky Fire continued his story, the last day he ever had with Sandy returned to his mind. A very bitter memory. It was right before she was killed. To make matters worse, he saw the action happen right before his eyes.

He continued his story, the memories of that horrible day returning to his mind once again...

XxXxX

"Dammit Sandy, you are not going out there alone!" Sky Fire argued, staring down the mare who had been helping him since he arrived in Rainyville.

Sandra was a light pink pony. With brown as her primary mane and tail color. Her eyes were also very light blue. Despite her girly like appearance, Sandra was far from being a prissy type of pony. She was a full on tomboy. A confident smile grew on her face.

"What do you expect me to do? Sit at home and wait to die? You know me better than that." She pumped her left front leg, "That vampire bastard wants me dead? I'm gonna show him what a bad idea that is!"

Sky Fire groaned in annoyance. He sometimes wondered if she was even listening to him at points. The five murders that had occurred in Rainyville had happened in the past five nights. Each one leaving a clue for them to find. But each time they arrived at the murder scene, witnesses always gave the same story. The victims were young females of different species, their throats were cut with some kind of weapon. It wasn't until the most recent murder that they figured out that Sandra was Amducias' next target.

"Look, I am begging you, don't go out there." He argued, "It's ME they're after, not you! Please Sandy, listen to me about this..."

Sandra placed a hoof on his shoulder. Her confident smile turned into a soft one as she gently kissed his cheek. As she pulled away, a more serious look appeared in her eyes.

"Sky, I know you want what's best for me, but-"

A dark laugh suddenly broke out in the middle of the room. Both ponies tensed up instantly. They had come to know this laughter. It was Amducias. Sky Fire's wings began to shine with fire, but before he could make a move shadowy tendrils knocked him down and kept him in place. Sky Fire growled as he fought back against the tendrils with all his might. But it was no use, they weren't giving an inch of letting him go.

"S-Sky!" Sandra shouted, trying to reach over and help him. But he turned his head towards her.

"SANDY! RUN!" He shouted, "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Sandra gritted her teeth, but reluctantly began to run off. But just as she began to run, she was grabbed from behind by a hand. A glinting smile with two sharp fangs in the shadows revealed who it was. Amducias. Sky Fire fought even harder now, he didn't want to see Sandra die. Not to the vampire who had killed five innocent victims already.

"So, we finally meet, you young troublemaker." Amducias said, a hint of amusement in his tone, "You and your friends have caused quite a stir with my lord."

"Lemme go you bastard!" Sandra protested, trying her best to kick him with her hind legs. She even tried to bite into his hand. The vampire king however just laughed at her attempts to get away. It was absolutely futile to him.

"Dammit Amducias!" Sky Fire spat, bile flew from his mouth, "Let her go! She has nothing to do with this!"

Amducias' smile disappeared as he turned his attention back to Sky Fire. With the flick of his hand, the tendrils held the pegasus even tighter than before. Sky Fire winced in pain somewhat from being squeezed, but he didn't stop fighting. Never in his life had he felt so powerless against somebody! He had to do something, if he didn't...

"You don't get it, do you?" Amducias finally said, "You made a grave error crossing us, Sky Fire, and now you shall pay the price. Not by blood, oh no...but by seeing just how your so called 'heroism' has destroyed all that you care for around you!"

Amducias extended his hand out to the side. Dark magic began to materialize as a sinister smile grew across his face. The magic then formed into a black jagged knife. The knife itself was obsidian. But what caught Sky Fire's attention the most though was the blood stains on it. His eyes shrunk in fear at the sight. Now he fought even harder against the tendrils holding him in place.

"No..." He begged, "No, don't do this! I'M THE ONE YOU WANT! LET HER GO!"

The vampire king just laughed darkly at his pathetic attempt to get free. He turned his head back to Sandra, who was squirming with all her might to break free from his grasp. Amducias grinned in malice as he turned back to Sky Fire.

"Let this moment burn itself into your mind, Sky Fire! May you always remember this day whenever you THINK about meddling in matters that do not concern you!" He began to move the knife slowly towards Sandra's neck, "And...let this serve as an example to ANY who dare oppose the Monster Kingdoms!"

Sandra continued to squirm in his grasp. Sky Fire fighting even harder as the knife drew closer and closer to her throat. Tears formed in his eyes as he watched helplessly. He couldn't even light the tendrils on fire to get free. Just as the knife was placed on her throat, Sandra stopped squirming.

She turned towards her lover. Sky Fire's eyes were wet with tears as the scene began to play out. Sandra calmly closed her eyes. After what felt like an eternity of silence, she finally spoke.

"Sky Fire...don't look."

Just as she quickly as she said those words, the knife drew across her throat. Sky Fire yelled out in anger, anguish, pain, and sadness as he watched her lifeless body fall to the ground. His strength had returned. Using all of his might, he broke free from the tendrils that held him in place. As soon as he was free, he flew right at Amducias, his entire body covered in flames...

XxXxX

"That son of a BITCH!" Rainbow shouted, buck kicking a wall in fury. Her eyes were flaming with anger. "That bastard! That crook! Wait'll I get my hooves on him! I'll...I'll..."

Sky Fire's eyes had been closed the entire time he told her what had happened. The memories were so painful. He had kept it bottled up for so long, but now it was finally out. Tears fell freely from his eyes as he opened them to face Rainbow.

"I failed in protecting her. She died because I couldn't free myself in time...but when he killed her I...I just snapped." He began to grit his teeth, "I took him down, burnt him alive, and then I confronted Storm Rider about his crimes, showed him proof, all of it."

His tears became even heavier. All the emotion that he kept hidden for so long was finally being released.

"But that couldn't bring her back. She was gone, taken from me and the world..."

"...You loved her, didn't you?" Rainbow asked. Sky Fire just gave her a nod.

"Yes...I was close to...to.. considering asking her to be my mate. An earth pony as my mate...it was something that I began to find myself more comfortable with the idea with...but they took her from me. And now...now I can't bear the thought of loosing someone else I treasure..."

Rainbow blinked as he placed one hoof on her shoulder. A sad smile came to his face, despite his eyes being wet with tears.

"In case you haven't figured it out, it's you.." He said.

She stood in silence for what felt like minutes. She admitted that she was beginning to get a little jealous of how Sandra was close to him during his time in Rainyville, but she never once thought that he valued her that closely. Rainbow quietly nuzzled him, fighting back her own tears.

"You won't..." She said, "We'll both make sure of that..."

Sky Fire's body felt like it was about to collapse on itself. Rainbow smiled softly as she wrapped one leg around him in a tender hug. Tears threatening to fall from her eyes as well as the two held each other. She knew his pain. What he needed now was not just a friend, but somepony who would stand by his side and support him. She would be that support. She would always be loyal to him. No matter what.

Before the tender moment could continue on, a loud scream of terror came from the door. Both of them turned and noticed that the small Diamond Dog of the main trio had ran right into the training room. Sheer fear spread across his face as he came up to the two.

"Trouble! Big trouble! Big monster in the foyer! BIG monster!"

Rainbow blinked a couple of times. There was a monster in the mansion? The timing couldn't have been less perfect. She sighed before turning back to Sky Fire.

"Let's go...for her."

Sky Fire said nothing as he gently wrapped his neck around her own. Silent tears falling onto her mane.

"...For her..."

A warm smile grew to Rainbow's face.

"Let's go, tiger."

The two pegasai flew off towards the foyer. Determined to face this monster and beat it for Sandra. It was the least they could do for her memory. As they approached at the foyer, both prepared for combat. But when they arrived, there was nothing in the hallway. Rainbow scratched her head in confusion.

"Huh, you'd think a monster would be easier to spot..."

Before Sky Fire could give her a response, a shrill cry was heard all around the room. Both of them were forced to cover their ears. When the cry began to die down, a new voice echoed around the room.

"Help...me..." Was all it said.

Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. Twilight and the rest of the group ran into the foyer now. Save for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they were all gathered together.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked.

"What're you guys doing here?" Rainbow asked in shock, "I thought I told you to-"

"It hurts...Sky..."

Sky Fire froze in the spot he was standing at. It was difficult at first, but the voice was eerily familiar to him. When realization of who the voice belonged to came to him, his eyes grew wide in shock. He knew who it was that was begging for help.

"S-Sandra?" He asked, looking around the room frantically.

"Sky...where are you...agh...no...not again, don't make me go back again..." The voice begged, it was beginning to grow louder now, shaking the room as the voice grew. "No...NO! NO! I don't want to turn again! Sky, help me! It hurts! NOO!"

Luna braced herself as she turned towards the center of the room. She could feel a strong pull of energy forming in the center. She dragged one hoof across the ground, snorting as she waited for the appearance of the new force.

"Get ready! Something's coming!" She shouted.

As the others readied themselves for battle, Sky Fire stood alone. A low growl coming from his throat as they waited for the appearance of the new being.

"Amducias...LET HER GO!" He yelled, a ring of fire appearing around him on the ground, "LET HER GO NOW!"

As if on cue, Sandra's voice cried out in pain and torment once again. A bright flash burst into the center of the room. The flash was so bright that it forced the ponies to shield their eyes, unless they ran the risk of becoming blind. As the light began to fade, the group nearly does a double take at what they see. Sky Fire showing the most disgust out of them all.

The creature was an unnaturally large mare-like creature. Its wings were made entirely of daggers, that shimmered in the light. In place of the head, was a large mass of darkness that formed a pony's face. But the most unique thing about the creature though was what was on its chest area. A small, pulsating crystal like chamber. The creature let out a low whine of pain. Fluttershy quickly hid, but then stuck her head out to watch the approaching battle.

"W-What is that thing?" She asked meekly. Luna snarled as she stared the creature down.

"An Homunculus...they're twisted abberations created by the Vampires using the bodies and souls of their victims..."

"That's SICK!" Rainbow spat, opening her wings for combat.

The creature reared back and screamed loudly. As it did, its dagger wings aim at the party. The group quickly dodged the flying knifes as they flew out. Luckily, none of them were cut. Sky Fire floated above the others. He could not take his eyes off the creature's 'head.' It was not the Sandra he knew. Amducias had tormented her and turned her into something she was not.

A monster.

"Sandy..." He said quietly before landing behind the group. A orange red glow surrounded his body once more. "I'll release you from that hell!"

As he continued to gather power for his attack, Twilight was on the offensive. Using what she had learned from her studies with her mentor, she fired a blast of magical energy towards the homunculus' chest. The attack slammed into the crystal, forcing the beast to stagger somewhat. Twilight smirked, her attack was somewhat based off the sunlight. If there was one source of light that could penetrate even the deepest darkness, it was the sun.

But her attack wasn't enough to stop the beast. With another scream, it reared back and flapped its wings once more. Dagger feathers flew towards the party, who were once again forced to dodge the attacks. Rainbow skidded to a halt and jumped into the air. Quickly spinning in place, Rainbow formed several wind 'orbs' to use. Without wasting any time, she kicked each one towards the beast.

The wind orbs didn't have the same power as Twilight's sunlight ray, but they did manage to make the beast stagger again. Rainbow formed several more and began kicking them towards the beast once again. But the beast was more than ready this time for her attack. Quickly bringing up one of its wings, the wind orbs dispersed harmlessly when they made contact with it. Rainbow swore under her breath, dodging more daggers as the monster took its chance to attack.

Luna took her turn to attack next. Her horn shined brightly with lunar magic as she turned to face the monster. Wasting no time, the younger of the two princesses fired several lunar rays at it. These attacks were stronger than both Twilight and Rainbow's, but they weren't enough to really damage the creature. The homunculus screamed again, flapping its left wing towards Luna. If it wasn't for a last second spell, she would have been slashed by several daggers.

Rarity and Applejack however were not to be left out of the battle. Rarity began to create several gems with her magic, each one she created she handed over to Applejack. The work horse began buck kicking each of the gems at the monster. Because of Applejack's physical strength, the force of the impact she left on the beast was considerable. As the homunculus fell over, Applejack turned to Pinkie and Fluttershy.

"Leave this thing to us!" She said, kicking another gem right at her target, "I reckon we can take it down quickly before it gets too powerful!"

"R-Right!"

"Be careful!"

As the two quickly ran to find cover, the battle continued to rage on. Rainbow flew above the beast, trying to find a spot that she could charge at from above. The dark mass however twisted and churned as a tendril lashed out. The tendril grabbed her around one of her hind legs. Rainbow snarled.

"Leggo!"

She began biting ferociously at the tendril. The sudden biting caused the tendril to recoil, eventually releasing her after several bites. Just as soon as the tendril released her though, one of Luna's rays slammed into the crystal chamber. The sudden impact caused the beast to shudder and moan loudly. The younger princess grew an excited smile.

"That's it!" She said, "That crystal must be the creature's core! Aim for that!"

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow nodded in unison. The four began throwing attacks towards the beast, aiming directly for its core. But the beast was not stupid. It knew that they had learned where its weak point was at. The beast flapped its wings once again, throwing daggers that collided with each of their attacks.

"Dammit!" Twilight shouted, "It's not going to give us a clear shot at its chamber!"

Sky Fire, who had been silent for some time now, was finally readied. He had gathered just enough power to use. He knew his target, now all he had to do was hit it. Before the others could continue to attack, he said only one word.

"Afterburner."

Instantly, he raced past the others, hovering over the ground as he aimed himself at the core. Dodging the daggers from the beast, Sky Fire's eyes narrowed with determination. As he reached the beast, he pulled his right front hoof back and slammed it into the core with all his might. The force of the attack was so great that it began to crack the crystal. The others watched on in shock.

"Sky Fire!" Twilight yelled, "Move away! Hurry!"

"What are you doing you idiot?" Rainbow snapped, "Get away from it before it kills you!"

The beast roared in anger and pain at the assault. The mass turned its head towards its attacker. When it saw that it was Sky Fire, it stopped moving. The crystal core continued to crack and glow. Sky Fire glanced up to the mass and smiled at it.

Then the core broke into thousands of pieces. This caused the beast to supposedly explode in a bright light that consumed both it and Sky Fire. As the explosion went off, Rainbow Dash's face was completely devastated by what she was seeing in front of her.

"SKY FIRRRREEEE!"

To Be Continued...

Comments

[Daxisle]

Hmmm... Overuse of the word "beast" here. Sorry, but on the positive note: Battle, good. Plot, Excellent.