A Hero Falls
Meanwhile, on the other side of downtown Canterlot City, Inferno Blaze soars high above the area; with his wraith instincts and senses spiking as he drew closer to his prey. And along the way, he began to grasp his new abilities and instincts. For example, he began to have a lot of senses and awareness of the world… no, the universe, that he was in. He could feel the imbalance that shook this realm. He could hear every sound and voice across this entire world. He could smell and sense the dark energies that surrounded the city. He even could sense that kind of activity in other places. Not to mention, he also has a unique awareness of the presence of every living thing in this world, and across the universe.
And… he can’t seem to turn it off.
The voices, the emotions, the energy, the imbalance… All that he felt and sense in this world. They all overflowed and overwhelmed his mind. The power he now possesses, the knowledge he was now given; they were all too much to comprehend.
While he doesn’t remember much about himself, but the wraith assassin could recall a memory where he was used to not care or pay no attention to everything around him, and all that goes on in life. He never really saw the bigger picture of… well, everything. And he was used to the world that he made for himself. But now his new abilities and power had opened his eyes to beyond this world and his; beyond the life that he thought he knew.
All this thinking and knowledge made him questioned and more erratic. But it also made him more hungry as he felt his wraith instincts urging him to feed.
Luckily for him, he doesn't have to look far. The dark energies that are currently surging are just one mile away from where he's at. And his belly is rumbling for a big, fat feast.
Inferno’s glowing purple eyes intensifies as he descends towards the locations of his prey. As he lowers towards the ground, he then positions himself to land while flapping his wings to adjust himself. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Inferno takes a moment to observed his surroundings, with his wraith senses kicking to overdrive.
The dark soldiers that Light Ray has sent out are now taking up their positions all around the street, hiding within the vacant buildings, scoping out their single prey.
But what they didn’t expect was that the wraith assassin was aware of their presence. And he could smell the dark energy they were emitting. At that point, Inferno was licking his tongue against his sharp teeth in hunger.
"Okay boys, on the count of three, we wait until he's in the center. Then we'll shower him with rapid-fire until he's all worn out!" soldier #1 said.
"I like the sound of that. But… there's something off about this dude, he's freaking weird," solder #2 said, staring down at Inferno.
"He's just playing dress-up to look scary, which he's not. Now, we wait," Soldier #1 said. The dark soldiers all awaited for their target to get in position.
Of course, Inferno was hearing on their conversation. But he was willing to give it to them. Mostly cause he thought it would be fun before he gets his meal for the day.
Once he walked towards the center, "One… two… three… FIRE!!!" soldier #1 shouted. Right away, the hundreds of dark soldiers revealed themselves and rapidly fired dark aura blasts directly at Inferno.
The wraith assassin medley stood where he is and took the barrage. And surprising to the dark soldiers, their attacks did no visible damage to him, and he didn’t flinch at all. And strangely enough, the aura blasts that made contact with Inferno’s body; looked as if they were being absorbed upon impact.
And while Inferno stood there, he then added insult to the dark soldiers’ poor efforts by acting bored and raising his right arm in a way like he was inspecting a watch on his wrist.
"Uh, guys! Nothing's working!" soldier #3 said.
“I know! My hands are killing me!” soldier #4 replied.
"Ugh!!! Damn it! Fine, go to plan B! SMASH HIM!!!" Soldier #1 commanded. Every single one of the soldiers then came out of their hiding spots and charged at Inferno to take him down the old-fashioned way: an all-out brawl.
Before the soldiers could reach him, in less than a nanosecond, Inferno then jumped straight 30-feet into the air before spreading his wings to hover in the air. Then the wraith assassin’s eyes glowed brightly as he summons thousands of aura spears above him. And in a split second, with the wave of his hand, Inferno had the aura spears sped towards the soldiers below with blinding speed.
The dark soldiers below saw this and all tried to evade the raining projectiles. Unfortunately, several weren’t so lucky and were impaled by a few or multiple aura spears.
Many of the dark soldiers soon fell to the ground, a few have perished while the rest were trying to stay alive, coping with the pain. But their suffering was about to get worse.
Cause the wraith that hovered above them had now decided to fly down towards them, and once he was back on the ground, Inferno then projected dual wield swords formed from his magic, and began slicing down the dark soldiers. And while he wasn’t busy cutting down most of them, he even took time to sink his teeth into their necks and draining their life force out of them.
"H… He's no… man! He's… he's a… a monster!" soldier #1 struggled to say while his troops were being slaughtered with ease. And all he could do was watch. It seems that he and his men have made their biggest. . . and final mistake.
As for Inferno, he puts away his blades and decided to go hand-to-hand. And surprisingly, he found out he’s incredibly strong. He effortlessly tossed a few of them through walls and across alleyways like they were nothing. And he managed to tear off limbs and heads of several of them; even tearing two of them in half and watching their inner organs and intestines fall to the ground. The wraith assassin even cleanly punched through their bodies, leaving big holes in their chests and abdomens. Then Inferno grabs one of the soldiers and then ferociously started to tear at his neck with his teeth until he has bitten his head clean off.
And you can bet this terrified a lot of the dark soldiers.
After having bitten someone’s head off, Inferno then decided to call upon his magic again. And once he did, the wraith assassin somehow managed to summon strange objects in his hands. Confused at first, he observed the two L-shaped objects in his hands. And as he did, a few memories began flowing back into his mind; memories of him using these types of… weapons… yes, that’s it. These were weapons… guns. He remembered how skilled he was with firearms. And upon remembering, he would guess that these were some type of revolvers, but he never saw anything designs like these. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he sensed a dark soldier charging at him. And upon reacting to this, the wraith assassin raised his new revolvers at the charging soldier and pulled the triggers; the revolvers then fired out an energy bolt from the muzzle and then easily shot straight through the soldier; leaving brunt entry and exiting holes in his chest.
Then, just like the others, he fell to the ground, lifeless.
Seeing how his weapons work and their effectiveness, Inferno looks at his revolvers for a quick moment before a sinister smile formed on his face and he looks up at the dark soldiers; who were all cowering in fear as the wraith walked forwards towards them as the scene shifted upwards towards the moon.
And soon all that was heard after, were blood-curdling screams of agony… along with tearing and consuming of flesh.
Meanwhile, with Sunset Shimmer, she groaned as she woke up to see that she wasn't at the restaurant anymore, which got her confused. "H...Huh? Where… Where am I?" she asked. All she could see in front of her was the grey, thundering clouds in the sky in all directions. She also felt like her body was… restrained. She looked down and saw she was tied to a chair with rope and duct tape. She gasped and tried to break free, but to no avail.
"There's no point trying to break free. And even if you did, what can you do? Runaway?" A male voice asked her from behind. Someone then walked into her line of sight and saw a man in a long, black-hooded cloak. "Well… you can try, but… can you fly?" he asked stopping near the edge of the rooftop. He turned to face Sunset, but all she could see under his hood were his piercing, demonic red eyes. "I seriously doubt it, kid."
Sunset struggled to break free once again, but as her last attempt, it was useless. With no other choice, she turned towards her kidnapper and stared at them with a threatening expression. “Who are you?! And what do you want with me?!” She shouted at him.
"Mind your manners, little missy. And besides, you should already know who I am. Considering we already know each other… and have known each other since the day you breathed in your first breath of air… my little Shining Shimmy," the hooded figure said. Shining's eyes shrunk upon hearing him calling her that nickname. There were only two ponies in her life who ever truly called her by those names and she can already figure out who it truly was.
"N… No, you can't be! You… You just can't! You… You mean… you're…?!" she asked, panicking and in denial.
"You finally caught on. How nice of you to remember me…" soon, he took off his hood and revealed his face, thus, Light Ray had finally exposed himself. "...my child."
"D… Dad?! No! No, this… This has to be a mistake! My… My dad would never…" Sunset shook her head frantically, feeling like her heart had broken to pieces.
"Deny it all you want, my dear. But you cannot hide from the truth. Yes… I've been behind all this from the start. And I would do it all again," Light Ray said, grinning while walking over towards his tied-up daughter.
"Why, dad? How could you do this?! To me… to mom… to all of my friends?! Why would you put the lives of me and my friends in danger?! I thought you were better than that!" Sunset scolded, tears running down her face.
"You wouldn't understand if I told you, hun. But know this; When the time comes, you're going to bear witness to a new empire once I've obtained the absolute power. And you're playing a huge role in that, my dear. For you see… I've already set my trap in place… specifically on that so-called boyfriend of yours," Light then gave a low chuckle.
Sunset’s eyes widened with horror for she knew what he was speaking of. “No...NO! Don’t you dare harm Eternal!!” She shouted in fear and rage.
"Sorry dear, but the gauntlet has already been thrown and there's no turning back!" Light retorted before giving out a loud, hearty laugh. Up in the clouds, lightning flashed as he continued his maniacal laugh.
Back at the restaurant, hours had passed and a few of the group had just begun to awake from their much-needed naps. One of them, being Rarity. And the fashionista then turned to look around, only for her to stop and see a message written on the wall. She read it word for word until she gasped and screamed in horror, alerting everyone else in the restaurant. Some of them even hit their heads under the table.
"OW! Hey, don't blow a fuse, what happened?" Lightning Burn asked.
"Hey, who sounded the party cannon off too early" Pinkie groaned, wiping the sleep from her eyes, yawning.
Starlight was sleeping on top of a table, but when she heard Rarity’s screams, she jolted awake. “KITES!” She said as she rolled off and fell off the table. Landing on the floor with a harsh impact.
"Rarity, what'd you scream like that for?" Twilight asked, fixing her glasses.
"Come… Come back, little bunnies," Fluttershy jolted up, trying to grab at dream bunnies. "Huh, oh, silly me, it was all just a harmless dream.
"Hey, what the hell was that for, Rarity?" Rainbow asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah, someone mind telling me what all the commo--" Flash said before realizing what Rarity was screaming at. Pretty soon, some of the others saw the writing on the wall. "H-Hey… Eternal, you… you might wanna check this out,"
The Equestrian prince then woke up, groaning. "What is it?" he asked, looking up at where the others were. His eyes still adjusting until he saw it clear as day.
On the wall… a message read,
"If you value your friend's life, you will come alone. Meet at the top of the tallest building in this city and give yourself up to the Dark Trinity leader. Try anything funny and you will never see your precious Sunset Shimmer again. Make your choice, prince."
Reading those words, Eternal clenched his fist in anger, his demonic powers soon making themselves known. "How… dare he!" Eternal growled.
"Whoa, stop there, Eternal! This could be a trap and you'd be walking right into it! You have to think this through carefully!" Halo intervened. "If you go now, there's a good chance that you might end up dead! Clear your head and let's strategize, okay?"
"That… impudent… cowardly… Bastard!!!" Eternal nearly shouted, his eyes turning blood red and pupils becoming slit.
“Well, no use in try reasoning.” Frostbite quietly commented.
"That jerk took Sunset?! Now that's the most cowardly act Ah've ever seen!" Applejack said, glaring at the message on the wall.
"I don't get it, why would he target Sunset and Eternal, specifically, and not any of us? It just doesn't make any sense," Copper asked.
“I think the better question, Copper! Is why would he take Sunset?! We already know he has some vendetta against Eternal. But why Sunset? What’s this got to do with her?” Flash responded.
"Maybe someone she bullied before and is out for revenge?" Fluttershy guessed.
"But if that were the case, then how would this individual know about Eternal since he didn't show up until about a month ago." Rarity pointed out.
“Well, how about we ask him after we find him,” Rainbow stated while pounding her fist into her other hand.
"This fiend… I'll ERASE HIM!!! I'll NEVER forgive him! I… WILL… NEVER…" Eternal then dashed out of the restaurant and let out his excessively loud battle cry, causing his demonic powers to skyrocket through the roof. His demon wings formed out of his back. "When I find whoever did this… I'll CRUSH THEM!!!"
"Eternal, no! You can't just--" Heat tried to run after him, but Starlight put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. "Wha… Starlight!" he tried to reason. Sadly, she shook her head left and right like there was nothing he can do to stop him.
"Look, we're all going to the same place anyway. And like the message said, Eternal has to go in alone or else Sunset might get hurt. I know it's a huge risk, but this could be our best bet to save our friend," Starlight said.
“Well, how are we gonna find out where they are?! There are over a dozen tall buildings in Canterlot city.” Heat responded.
"The only building that's the tallest from my research… is the Equus Space Tower," Twilight said, recalling her research.
"Then that's where we'll meet up later on. For now…" Frostbite was about to say before Eternal headed off to save his love. "...I think we'd just get in the way."
Soon Starlight began to realize something she had forgotten. She turned around and looked towards everyone, and sees that there was someone else that isn’t with them.
“Inferno hasn’t come back yet?” She asked, her question then reminded everyone of their other friend and they too looked amount themselves and see that he had not been with them.
"Uh-oh. If he's not here, that means… oh snap!" Israel said in realization.
"We'd better stop him before he gets to Eternal before us!" Twilight urged before everyone jolted off to find their friend.
Starlight could only stare at everyone, seeing how they jump to think Inferno would harm Eternal. When they don’t realize that he cannot control his instincts or the pain he was feeling from his returning memories. He’s as much a victim as Eternal and Sunset are right now.
As for Eternal, he was now high above the city, scoping out where Sunset could be. He tried using his demonic vision and hearing to pinpoint her exact location. Eventually, he found her on top of a rooftop with the word "H" in a big circle. He flew over in her direction and landed just a few feet in front of her. He saw that her mouth was taped up and she was flailing, shaking her head left and right like she didn't want Eternal to be there.
"Hold on, Sunset. I'm gonna set you free," Eternal said in a slightly demonic tone. When he removed the tape from her lips,
"ETERNAL, LOOK OUT!!! BEHIND YOU!!! IT'S A TRAP!!!" she shouted. Eternal turned around too late and was met with a fist to the face, knocking him away from Sunset. But he jumped back to his feet and stared down his foe, growling.
"You truly are a foolish boy coming here," Light Ray gloated, grinning at the prince. "Like a moth to the flame.
"You… gutless…" Eternal tried to move, but Light put his hand out.
"Uh-uh, take one more step…" Light Ray then forged a black energy sword from his hand and aimed it at Sunset's neck. "...and your sweetheart's blood will be on your hands." Eternal's eyes widened when he saw this. He growled in anger.
"How… DARE YOU!" Eternal yelled.
Light Ray laughed at his frustration and kept prodding him on. "Who knew the great prince of all Equestria could be such a softy under all that demon blood."
"Let her go, NOW!!!" Eternal ordered.
"You can't order me around, you don't hold all the cards… I do. And if you want to ensure your precious little girlfriend's safety, you'll do exactly as I say and hand over what's rightfully mine," Light Ray demanded coldly.
"Eternal, don't listen to him! Just please… do whatever you can and stop him! He's… not the father I once knew!" Sunset broke down, sobbing.
"F...Father? You're…" Eternal asked, shocked and in realization.
Light sighed. "And just when I was about to introduce myself. But what the hay? Yes, I am Light Ray, Sunset Shimmer's father."
"H… How could DO THIS?! She's your daughter, for mom's sake! She's your flesh and blood and you'd risk her life to get what you want?!" he asked in a fit of rage.
"So sorry if it displeases you, your highness, but sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Especially when mistakes were made at a point in time… particularly you," Light scorned.
"What's that supposed to mean?" this time, Eternal only glared in confusion.
"Let me tell you a story, if I may. You see… a long time ago, a young unicorn stallion wanted nothing more than to have the whole kingdom of Equestria at his hooves. And what better way to reach for that dream than to marry off the most beautiful princess? His efforts to win her heart were looking promising at first. But then… the competition rolled in and soon, his dreams were becoming more and more unreachable the more his adversary got close to the princess! Before long, his dreams came crashing down when the princess announced her engagement to that stallion with the entire kingdom! Pretty soon, he fell into deep despair… until a unicorn mare somehow picked up the pieces of his saddened, broken heart. Before long he was eventually married, but even so… it wasn't enough. He had to take revenge on the fool who took his TRUE bride away! And what better way… than to poison their newborn foal! Sound familiar?" Light Ray finished.
Eternal and Sunset both listened to the entire story and instantly put the pieces together. "So let me get this straight… you were after my mother first, but lost her because of my father… and you tried to get revenge on us by poisoning me at BIRTH?!" he growled the last word.
"How very perceptive of you, prince. At long last, you finally realized the truth. Yes, you did not die by accident, I tried to kill you! It was my only way to have my revenge for that fool of a father of yours taking Celestia from me! But… my plan had backfired when you were suddenly brought back to life. And now, because my plan failed, I only had one option left… my true revenge…" Light said.
Eternal glared harshly. "No… you didn't!"
"Yes! YES! You catch on, prince! One night, I caught that oaf alone in the castle, posing as a lost soul trying to find his way out. And when he finally dropped his guard… oh how artificial lighting can be a truly devastating mistress when misused," Light then laughed again. "That fool… didn't even know what hit him… and who was to take the blame, but a poor, helpless, young colt, wandering the halls at night. Oh, how I love it when a plan comes together and works so PERFECTLY!!!" he gloated.
The rage from deep within Eternal was surging as were his powers. "You… disgusting… murderous… cowardly ANIMAL!!! FOR ALL THE CRIMES YOU'VE COMMITTED AGAINST EQUESTRIA, I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT I PUT YOU TO DEATH!!!" he yelled.
"Yeah, yeah, like that'll ever happen. However… I see no reason why I shouldn't… let your little girlfriend go. You want to see mercy, I'll give you mercy. I'm going to let my daughter go… no strings attached… free as a bird… on one condition," Light Ray's voice got low upon voicing the toll for Sunset's freedom.
Eternal was not gonna like where this was going, but he had no choice. "This had better be good, you filthy murderer," he said, his demonic energy brimming out of control.
"Glad to see you're on the same boat. Now… in exchange for my daughter's freedom and her life intact. . ." there was a long pause as Light Ray grinned, approaching the demonic prince. ". . .You will hand over all of your demonic energy, demon blood included!" Eternal was confused upon hearing those demands.
"My powers and my demon blood? Is that what this was all about? You took your daughter hostage just so you could get to my demon powers AND demon blood?" he asked, crossed and confused at the same time.
"Unless you want to turn Sunset into a big red and yellow spot down below, you'll hand over all of your demonic energy to me! So, prince… what will it be?" Light asked before extending his hand to him. "Do we have a deal?"
"ETERNAL, NO!!! DON'T DO IT!!!" Sunset yelled out in desperation. The demonic prince looked over to Sunset and back to Light Ray. And even with planning out each scenario carefully, he can only come up with one solution…
"You'd better keep your word," Eternal then extends his hand hesitantly and gripped Light's hand, shaking it.
"YES, WE'RE IN BUSINESS!!!" Light exclaimed excitedly, shaking his hand roughly.
"Just hurry up before I change my mind," Eternal demanded. Suddenly, Light got close to his ear and then.
"Change your mind? I don't think so." And before anything, Eternal felt something sharp pierce against his skin, making him groan slightly, looking shocked. Sunset watched in horror as her father bared his claws and stabbed her boyfriend through his stomach. And out of his stomach, black blood and demon energy seeped out and made their way inside Light Ray.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Sunset screamed, tears forming in her eyes.
"S-S-Son of a bitch. . ." Eternal grunted before coughing out his blood. He can feel his powers being drained away. He looked down, seeing all that demon blood and his powers seeping into his enemy. And Light Ray… he's got that grin on his face like he's won.
"Yes… YES!!! The power is MINE!!! You've been a thorn in my side for far too long! But don't feel too bad your highness. Look on the bright side: you'll be joining your worthless father up in heaven in no time." Light gloated.
"You'll. . . pay. . . for this!" Eternal strained to say, struggling not to close his eyes or let his life slip away so easily.
"Say what you want, but face facts… YOU LOSE!!!" Light shouted before hoisting him up in the air, draining the last of his powers and demonic blood, reducing him back to an ordinary unicorn in a human's body. At the same time, Light's demonic energy surged through the roof, making him stronger than ever before.
As this surge of dark energy filled the air, a certain wraith assassin was feasting on the dark-energy ridden corpses of Light Ray’s former soldiers until his wraith senses spiked and drawn away from his feast as he looks up into the air and senses a great amount of demonic energy somewhere in the city. It was a mass of an energy surge that he could not ignore. He flaps his wings and took off into the air, and when he was at a great height, he could see the source of the energy surge from a distance. And with his instincts in control, he flew towards the source.
While back on the rooftop, Light Ray was still basking in the glory of his newfound powers. Soon, he tossed Eternal aside like a rag doll, landing him 3 feet away from Sunset.
"ETERNAL, NO!!! DAD, YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!!! I SWEAR YOU WON'T!!!" She shouted in anger, still crying a bit.
"Be grateful, my dear. You should be thanking your little boyfriend for sparing your life." And with a wave of his hand, he shot a dark magic blast the incinerated the ropes binding her to the chair and freeing her once more… but at what price?
"I… will never forgive you for what you've done! YOU MONSTER!!!" Sunset shouted, falling to her knees and crawling over to her dying boyfriend.
"Say what you want, but I got what I wanted. Farewell, my daughter… enjoy your last precious moments with your sad excuse for a boyfriend," Light gloated before taking flight, laughing maniacally after achieving his goal.
After the demonic tyrant left, Sunset was left to weep over Eternal, who was struggling to not pass over onto the other side. He held his stab wound tight, grunting in pain.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" Sunset sobbed, hugging him, not known what to do to try and help.
"S-Sunset. . . listen. . . to me." Eternal whispered, clinging to her arm. Sunset looked into his eyes, trying to ignore the blood seeping out of his mouth and stomach. "You've got. . . to alert the others. . . and. . . f-f-fight on. . . without me."
"No, don't say that. I… I'll try to help restore you, yeah… a-a-and you'll be good as new, no… no problem at all, just… please, don't close your eyes," Sunset begged, trying not to lose her cool.
Eternal coughed and raised a hand weakly, stroking her cheek. "Nothing. . . puts a smile. . . on my face. . . better than. . . your fighting spirit." he whispered, weeping a little himself. Sunset couldn't bear to see him like this.
"You can't do this to me! Not when we have so much to do! " Sunset shook her head, eyes still pouring like crazy.
A moment later, before Eternal could feel himself fading away completely and Sunset nearly on the verge of breaking down, the two heard wings flapping and something… or someone landing on the rooftop.
Sunset thought it was her father returning to break her even more than she already is, but her thoughts of that faded when she looked up and sees none other than Inferno Blaze.
The wraith in question, upon arriving, looked around to find the source of that energy surge he felt, but to his dismay, it seems it had disappeared. His eyes darted around and soon they laid upon Sunset and a dying Eternal. Seeing the prince laying on the ground like that brought mixed feelings inside him he didn't understand. For one, it felt like a sense of sadness loomed over him along with a hint of anger. . . slowly rising.
As the dying prince turned to the wraith, a small smile formed upon his face as he reached out to the wraith. "Inferno. . . at least. . . I got to see. . . my honored brother. . . one last. . . time~" Eternal's final words have finally been saying before his entire body went limp and his eyes finally closed. . . for good.
"No... No!" Sunset said, sobbing uncontrollably. "Please… PLEASE!!! Please, don't leave me!" The bacon-haired young lady then held her dead boyfriend weeping over the loss of her beloved brave man. "I love you."
Watching him die like that suddenly triggered something deep within Inferno. Soon images and memories all came flowing back. He now remembered everything; all the pain, all the suffering, the happiness, the love, the good and bad. He now remembered everyone he had come across in his life. He remembered his past, his present, and death. And most of all, he remembered the prince that lay dead before him. The very prince that he once swore to protect, the young man he despised at first, but later came to be his friend… a brother. He remembered his betrayal to him and everyone. And he remembered giving his life for him when he had been freed from the anger and pain. All the good memories and the bad all came back like a bullet.
And now… seeing the one he called a brother, dead before him… Inferno felt his emotions rise. All he could felt… was rage... bloodlust… vengeance. The unlimited rage he felt at that moment, caused his powers to spike and increase beyond what he could comprehend. Inferno gripped each side of his head, overwhelmed with rage, jerking his head around as he growled louder and louder. His eyes closed tightly shut before they instantly opened with his eyes glowing white with so much magic energy.
Then, without warning, Inferno raised his head to the sky and he let out a wrathful scream, combined with his inhuman growls and roar. Massive waves of energy and lightning emitted from his body, shot into the sky, engulfing the top of the building with an intense light, and spread across the entire city, later the entire world, and later the universe, and later beyond that. His rage became so immense and infinite that all he could do was let it all out, but there was so much contained in him. Every living thing, from across the very multiverse itself trembled at the might force of the wraith's anger, and no one outside the earth knew what was going on except for the gods themselves.
As this went on, The rest of the rainbooms and the guys were on their way to the Equus Space Tower. The tremors they felt from that forceful shockwave shook them to their cores and it got everyone worried. "Uh… did any of you guys hear that?" Israel asked, worried.
"We felt that," Twilight said, equally as worried.
"Something must've happened on top of the tower. Let's hurry up right now," Starlight urged. The group all agreed and made their way to their destination, but all felt a sense of dread looming over them like something wasn't right.
In another dimension, Death is sitting on his knees, right next to the beside of where Harmony was resting her strength. The lord of the reapers felt a great sense of worry and dread upon seeing his beloved so weak and tired. But that went away when he felt a powerful surge of energy and before he could comprehend, a wave of energy shot into the room and passed through the Grim Reaper before he could react. The force and emotion behind this energy wave were too much for his mind to handle. Death shot up onto his feet and stared out into the window of Harmony’s room and looked out into the unknown. Death knew what this energy surge is and where it came from. His only sense of dread was… of what’s to come.
In the bowels of Tartarus, many of the thousand castles and strongholds that stood for a thousand centuries all crumbled and collapsed. Earthquakes shook the entire realm with a force no creature imagined. All the demonic creatures and entities in the realm all fled for their lives. Daris, upon standing on the balcony of his castle, was shocked by the disasters that were occurring in his home. Wondering what was going on.
In the magic land of Equestria, the land itself trembled and shook and many of the ponies and other creatures from beyond Equestria felt this tremendous power, running around and not knowing what to do. Many of the monarchs stood outside their respective homes, looking up at the sky, praying that the danger will pass soon. However, two certain draconequus in the land knew where this power came from, and it brought fear into their soul.
"No… why now of all times?" Eris asked, fearing the worst.
"Don't lose your head, Eris. Every fiber of my being tells me this is only… the beginning," Discord said, glaring in the distance.
Of course, up in the divine realm, all of the gods gathered together and felt a twinge of fear upon feeling the rage within the wraith's power. The power he is giving off is far greater than they anticipated. Possibly stronger than the first wraith's power.
"This is bad, he could destroy the multiverse even if he does exact his revenge," King Cosmos said, looking worried.
“He’s growing stronger and becoming more dangerous every hour. And his power is far greater than the first wraith we banished eons ago.” Galaxia commented. “We should have banished him as well if Death and Harmony didn't convince all of us not to.”
"Normally, I'd think they have reasons for why they held off on this, but I think you may have a point, dear," Cosmos added.
"Well, it's too late now. We're going to have to formulate a new strategy to prevent the loss of any more mortals. I say we send in 3 of the 4 horsemen." Galaxia said.
"What?! Do you not see they're the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse?! They could wind up hurting the humans more than saving them. I say we send in the god and goddess of chaos to try and stop him," Cosmos said
"Those two fools don't take anything seriously! How can they possibly help?" Galaxia asked.
"For one, their chaos magic can shield the humans longer than any of our magic can. Chaos magic is unpredictable and so are they," Cosmos said.
"I still say this is a bad idea… but… fine. However, should your plan fail, we will send in 3 of the horsemen, do I make myself clear?" Galaxia asked sternly.
"I understand, dear," Cosmos nodded.
Back in the city, the group took the elevator almost up to the top. Sunset and Eternal were still one floor above them. The group quickly took the staircase and found themselves at the top. But when they got outside… a terrible sight met their eyes.
There, on the ground, Sunset was on her knees, holding what looked like bleeding and dead Eternal Flames, his eyes closed and Sunset could only hold her beloved in her eyes, crying next to his face.
"Wha… What happened?!" Sci-Twi asked out of concern.
"That… That monster," Sunset said through her tears, "He killed him!"
"What monster?" Rarity asked.
"I… I think she means… the guy who promised Chrysalis and Sombra their untapped power," Halo mentioned.
"What?! Do you mean that bastard killed Eternal?! But… I thought he was immortal," Flash said.
"No, Flash. Demons merely have enhanced abilities that exceed far beyond us humans, but they're still mortal beings, just like Eternal was," Sci-Twi shook her head left and right.
"So… So that's it then?" Heat asked, trembling in sadness and anger. "It's… NO!!! This can't be how it ends! It just can't!" he shouted, dropping to his knees and slamming his fists against the rooftop floor.
Everyone wanted to speak up, but… how could they? Eternal was pretty much one of their strongest fighters and with him resting in eternal slumber in his pool of blood, nothing could be done to change the outcome. Great despair had descended upon the world. A great warrior… had been lost.
As they all swallowed in grief, they all could hear Fluttershy whimper which they did not think of. However, Israel thought his girlfriend was devastated by Eternal’s death and turned to look at her. But when he did, he saw that Fluttershy was staring up into the air, and the expression on her face was one of fear.
Being confused and concerned by this, Israel had his hand around her to give her comfort and then he asked. “Flutters… What’s the matter?”
Fluttershy did not respond and continued her whimpering. But she did reply in a way as she raised her hand, shakingly, and pointed upward into the sky. Israel then looked up to see what she was pointing at and looked worried, gasping.
Levitating about 20 feet above the rooftop, motionless and silent… Is Inferno. But something was different about him. His hair was a brighter purple and glowing like a flame, the same thing with his wings. His dark silver armor changed to purple color with what looked to be glowing cracks or veins all over it. Speaking of the glowing veins, they were also all over his skin and on his face, those veins all connected to his eyes. And speaking of his eyes, instead of glowing purple like they did, they glow pure white, with no pupils in them.
"Not good… we're in trouble now," Israel said, covering up Fluttershy
Everyone heard what Israel said and was a bit confused. They all turned their heads towards him, seeing him and Fluttershy looking up in the air. And when they turned their eyes to the direction they are looking at, they too felt dread when they saw their wraith friend.
"I… Inferno?! Wha… What's happened to him?" Starlight asked, trembling a little bit.
"What's going on here? He's looking more freaky than he usually does," Frostbite said.
"You don't suppose he's… finally snapped?" Rarity asked.
"Let's hope not! Hey, uh… Starlight, you're the one who's closest to him, how about talking some sense into him?" Rainbow implied.
“And how am I gonna do that if he’s 20 feet in the air?!” Starlight replied.
"I'll fly you up to him if I have to!" Rainbow said.
And before Starlight could reply, Rainbow activated her geode, wrapped her arms around Starlight's waist, and then lifted her into the air and approached the still wraith levitating high in the air.
"I… Inferno? Are you still there? Talk to me," Starlight called out. "Please, at least try and talk to me, you know we're here to help!"
"Listen to her, dude! And you might wanna help us out big time! Eternal went and sacrificed himself trying to save our friend! To save everyone!" Rainbow called out.
Inferno remained silent and still, Starlight then reached her hand out to him, hoping to at least get his attention. But as soon as her hand touched the side of his face, the wraith broke from his trance, arched back, and let out a massive roar into the air. One so loud and fearsome that everything in a 100-mile radius could hear and tremble before it.
Everyone on the rooftop, including Rainbow and Starlight all felt a chill running down their spines and they felt numb with fear. It spooked Rainbow so much that, upon instinct, she flew down towards the rooftop, with Starlight in tow.
"I think we made him mad!" Copper said, worried.
"SCATTER!!!" Pinkie panicked
“TO WHERE?!?!” Twilight responded.
“Don’t know, I just wanna say that,” Pinkie smiled.
"Real cute, but we're STILL KINDA SCREWED RIGHT NOW!" Blazing said.
"Well, what do you expect us to do?" Aria asked, annoyed.
"Everyone, stop! All this bickering isn't getting us anywhere! We have to find a way to fix this mess or we can kiss our homes and our lives goodbye," Flash said.
Hearing the commotion down below, Inferno looked down towards the rooftop and spotted the group arguing with one another.
"Uh… guys, I think he heard us," Halo said, his body trembling.
Everyone looked up and indeed Inferno was staring down at them. This added more fear and dread into their souls. And it gets worse as Inferno descends to them very slowly and very menacingly.
"No! No! Please, don't hurt us!" Fluttershy begged, clinging to Israel.
"Don't do it, Inferno! They're our friends! Don't you remember?!" Starlight called out.
As Inferno stared at the group for a short while, bearing a frightening glare on his face. But as he continued to stare at them, the glare on his face softened slightly. Soon the wraith turned away from them and later he took off in the distance with great speed, leaving the group alone on the rooftop.
"Uh… what just happened?" Sonata asked.
"I… I don't even know myself," Adagio said, confused.
“Well… That’s a relief.” Rarity commented.
And as they breathe a sigh of relief, a portal opens up in front of them, leading to the magical land of Equestria. And emerging from it, is the legendary draconequus himself, Discord.
"Did someone call for help?" Discord asked, semi-jokingly, but also serious.
"Discord! Am I glad to see you! Listen, you won't believe it, but… Eternal… he's… he's…" Starlight said, pointing to the fallen prince. Discord looked and rushed over to the young man.
"How long ago was he murdered?" Discord asked in a serious tone.
"Uh… about… 15 minutes ago?" Sunset asked, sniffling in sadness. Discord checked the dead prince and suddenly, he dropped a bomb…
"Then perhaps it's not too late." Discord said, being cryptic.
"Not too late? What are ya talkin' 'bout?" AJ asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"I mean… if I can get him back to Equestria… there might still be a chance to bring him back," Discord said. Hearing that got everyone curious, but it also left Sunset shocked. "Sunset, I'm going to need him right away. Hand over Eternal."
"But… But he…" Sunset said, still crying.
"There's no time to argue. Do you want your boyfriend to come back to life or not?" Discord asked, getting impatient.
"I… Of course, I do!" Sunset nodded.
"Then hand him over! Otherwise, it'll all be for naught and he'll be lost forever!!!" Discord yelled. Sunset nodded before hesitantly handing over Eternal's corpse to him. Discord easily carried the fallen prince in his lion paw and griffon claw. "Good. Now," Discord snapped his fingers and opened up a second portal leading to a familiar forest outside of the city. "All of you head to this place and do not leave it until the time is right. Remember, Inferno's not the only foe out there who's on a power trip," he instructed
“Foe? What do you mean Inferno’s a foe. He’s not the enemy, Discord!” Starlight responded, clearly upset from hearing that.
"With his current state of mind, he's not going to bother talking things out. You're lucky to be alive right now. Now hurry up and head off into the forest!" Discord ordered
“NO!” Starlight shouted. “Listen, up to this point, I don’t give a flying feather about the damn gods, demons, or even the world. I just got Inferno back after he gave his life for us, and I’m not losing him again! And all of you always focus on everything else, and not one of you was concerned about Inferno after he got resurrected! And because of that, he had no one to give him comfort and that’s what drove him to be like what we just saw! He trusted you all, he trusted me… and we turned our back on him! Just like everyone did back in Equestria!” She stated, and in her fit of emotions, Starlight’s seemingly unlocked, and when it did, she activated her levitation spell on herself, ascending into the air, and then she flew away from the rooftop and away from the others.
"Am I the only one who's flabbergasted by what just happened?" Heat asked.
"Nope," Rainbow replied.
"But you know, she's right," Lightning Burn said. "We turned our backs against our friend. Why? All because we were too scared of what he had become."
"Well, can she blame us? You saw how he went and attacked us, including his "sworn brother" back when he was flexing his demon magic!" Rainbow blurted out.
"That's the problem she was talking about, Rainbow!" Twilight scolded. "We… We let ourselves be held back by our fear all because our friend looks different now. Yes, he's a wraith now, but Starlight didn't care because deep down, she saw the same guy she's been clinging onto ever since his death. We failed as friends to see that… so now we have to pay the price for our negligence until the time is right to welcome him back with open arms."
“Not to mention, we all knew he was mentally unstable ever since he woke up. And all we did was just focus on everything that was going on and didn’t stop to think how bad Inferno’s amnesia and mental health was.” Fluttershy added.
"Man… I feel like an ass for treating him like a monster," Rainbow said, looking down.
"We all do. Some friends we turned out to be," Pinkie said as her hair deflated.
"It seems we all have some atoning to do ourselves, dearies. Nothing more we can do now except hope for the best of our friends and prepare for the worst," Rarity added.
“But the question is, where is Inferno going?” Flash responded with a question. “I mean we just saw how pissed off he is, so something got him riled up and it wasn’t us,” he added.
The question came to everyone’s minds, and soon they were interrupted when a familiar voice replied. “I know where he’s heading.” The voice stated.
Everyone, including the Lord of Chaos, turned around and saw Death emerging from a portal from whatever dimension he came from. And he was armed with his scythe as he stared at the mortals and Discord with a calm, yet unease look in his eyes.
“He’s hunting.” The grim reaper exclaimed.
"Hunting the man who killed the boy… or… more of us," Discord gestured to himself and Death.
"Who else is roaming around with all that powerful demonic energy? Now take the boy back to Equestria right now before I take his soul like my job tells me to!" Death ordered. “And Discord… After all this ends… Tell Cosmos that he and I have some “words” to discuss.” He added.
"I'll give him the message when I see him," Discord nods before leaving for Equestria. The entire group, on the other hand, went through the portal leading to Camp Everfree. Death remained where he stood, observing what this world had now become, clenching his bone fist in frustration.
“I dreaded that this day would come… But I wished it hadn’t. Now the balance is broken… and my beloved is paying the price for it!” Death thought to himself.
Back in Equestria, in the rich, grand city of Canterlot, Princess Celestia stood outside high on her balcony, looking over the city, trying to stay focused on her duties, but a part of her is overcome with dread, thinking something must've happened to her son. Just then, she hears a portal open behind her and she turns around, lighting up her horn.
From behind the portal, she spots Discord and lowers her guard. "Discord, must you surprise me now of all t--" but before she could finish her question, she gasped sharply in horror when she saw what… or who he was carrying in his talon and paw. Celestia's eyes were watering up upon seeing her son's corpse… all bloodied and bruised. "No… Not my boy! Why?! What does the Universe have against my son?! WHO WOULD DO SUCH A THING?!" she demanded to know, sobbing.
"Celestia, we don't have time to mourn! Listen, your son might still have a chance to come back, but we need to act quick!" Discord urged.
"What? What are you talking about, Discord?" Celestia asked, confused.
Discord snapped his talons and poofed a stretcher before placing Eternal's dead body onto it and then rushed him over to one of the guest rooms. Celestia wasn't sure what Discord was planning, but she followed him anyway. And upon arriving, she watched Discord snap his talons again and sealed the wounds closed, but they still had scars. Afterwards, the chaos master turned to Celestia.
"Tell me… do you still have Philomena with you?" he asked.
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seeing Light Ray for what he is, it will be no surprise that we the readers will desire for his demise, and we can see that the wraith has become more of himself, as of now we going to need all the strength they need for the coming battle ahead. good work you two and as always brony on
So, Light Ray was responsible for what happened that night long ago. That damn power-hungry fiend! But to get all that power comes with a price. One that our dear wraith gladly will give to him, painfully. 😈
Good chapter you two! I'm looking forward to see what's next.