Chapter 9

Firefly

I didn’t know what it was, but I felt... strange... empty. It was almost like I hadn’t eaten in a long time, but it didn’t hurt, I just felt... clean.

I felt tears in my eyes, dripping onto the sand as I held my stomach. My head felt heavy and waterlogged, like there was water in my mane. Sadness swelled throughout my heart and came over me like the waves over the shore.

How could Discord have known something like that? It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since Cloud and I had been together for the first time.

Discord could just... do that? Something so heinous and evil as taking an unborn child?

No... there couldn’t be any way he could do that, even with his magical powers. He couldn’t sense something that was so far away.

Could he?

What other explanation could there be behind the feelings I had right now?

“Fire-”

Somepony’s voice was cut off by a choke and a sputter, snapping me back to reality.

I looked up to see Ricco fall into the sand, kicking it up around him as one of the ponies from in town looked at Cloud and I from over his body.

“Stay back.” Cloud said, stepping in front of me.

I tried to speak, but the pony shot towards Cloud Skipper and socked him across the face, knocking him off balance for enough time to trip him and get on top of him, laying punch after punch on his chest or face. Cloud Skipper had no chance with his wings or hooves because they had been pinned down.

Cloud finally broke out one hoof but the pony on top of him grabbed those hooves with his front hooves and instead of punching Cloud the pony started headbutting him.

I reached to my right hind leg and slid a black, talon-like blade out of it’s sheath, I never used something like this, but in this moment, it felt like that was all I could use.

I ran up behind the pony and stabbed the blade into the back of it’s neck, curving it into the skin of the creature and spinning him around and pushing him on his back, where he quickly started to recover.

I took a few steps back and ran towards the pony.

The world seemed to move in slow motion as I jumped into the air and came down on top of the pony with a jarring punch, then kept hitting, blood was pouring from the smiling mouth, teeth were cracked and broken. His eyes had begun to roll back into his head and bones were breaking.

I retrieved my knife from the back of his neck and stabbed it into his neck then to his chest again and again.

Somepony pulled me off of the pony but I kept swinging at him, he hit the pony I care about and the griffon I care about, he was going to kill us all. I wanted his blood like he wanted ours.

“Fuck you!” I shouted, throwing the knife which bounced off of the convulsing pony’s head.

“Stop.” Cloud Skipper’s voice was in my ears.

My chest rose and fell, blood caked against my fur, dripping down onto the sand or drying on my skin, I kicked and shouted, but heard nothing but a dull ringing in my ears. The sand against my hooves felt so familiar, like I was home.

I opened my eyes, looking around.

I was in the desert, alone. I could see again for some reason, everything looked so perfect and detailed. I smiled, remembering how good it felt to see the world. Somehow, someway, my vision was back.

But my friends were gone.

“Is that what they are, really?” A voice said.

I recognized it immediately, Discord.

I gritted my teeth, looking around in the empty desert, trying to find out where the voice was coming from. It suddenly seemed like it was bouncing around me.

“Where are you?” I growled, readying myself for a fight.

“It doesn’t matter where I am, Firefly, it matters where your so called ‘friends’ are.” Discord said in all seriousness.

“What did you do to them?” I asked, reaching for my knife, but finding out it wasn’t there.

“What did they do to you?” Discord asked back.

“Wha-?”

“They left you here, how should I know where they are?” He said, his voice echoing around in the barren desert.

I dropped my guard for a second, but shook my head, I wasn’t about to fall for his tricks. “You’re lying, they wouldn’t do that.”

“I assure you, I’m not.” Discord said.

“Why would the-”

“Because they see you as weak.” He stated with a laugh.

I heard a snap of fingers, and he appeared in front of me.

I felt frozen, I was completely unable to move as he leaned down to my height, staring into my eyes.

“Why don’t you re-think who your friends are, sweetheart.” He said.

Out of nowhere, I felt like I was going to throw up, I regained my ability to move, but my muscles refused to hold me up and I collapsed onto the floor.

“Cloud Skipper, some friend or Coltfriend he is.” The hybrid said, “From the beginning he liked you for your body, and when you talk to him? Oh, all he pays attention to is how you move your body around, and is off in another world, fantasizing about you.” He explained.

I tried to cover my ears, but Discord magically locked my hooves to the ground.

“Come on, Firefly, you're smart, put the pieces together, do you think he will really want anything to do to you when this is over?” He ranted, “He even has a mare back home that he has had feelings for far longer than you!”

Tears rushed to my eyes, I tried to ignore him, but it was like he was forcing me to listen.

“He is quite the nice guy at first, but just you wait until this is over, he will forget you and probably send you home himself, just so he doesn’t have to see you when the other mare falls in love with him.” Discord was laughing now, but he was speaking in honesty, he didn’t even sound like he was lying.

“And how about Ricco? You call him a friend, but he just thinks you’re just along for the ride. After this is over, he is probably going to get paid by Celestia and leave the first chance he gets to go back to Griffonia and get himself killed down the line.” Discord was pacing around me now, and I couldn’t help but listen.

“Ricco is just another criminal that deserves to die in whatever hole he crawled out of, he is useless in your life unless you go on another grand adventure like this.” The draconequus chuckled, “He won’t last in your life, sooner or later you’ll be alone again, wondering how you ended up where you are.”

The monstrosity took a deep breath and leaned down in front of me, looking back into my eyes.

“Think about what I said here, don’t just brush it off.” He spoke, standing up straight again and disappearing before me with the snap of his fingers. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here for you no matter what.”

I closed my eyes and gripped my head, trying to fight off the intense pressure suddenly on my body, I screamed and opened my eyes, throwing tears around, then slammed them closed when all I could see was the eyes of Discord.

All of the sudden, everything faded.

When I opened my eyes, Cloud Skipper and Ricco stood over me, staring in shock.

I saw how much I could see of both of them, I could see again.

Discord had given me my eyes back.

We weren’t in the desert anymore, but the sky was still above us, slowly moving.

We were in a wagon or something. I noticed the blanket wrapped around me, and the pillow under the back of my head.

“Where are we?” I asked in a monotone voice.

“Firefly... your eyes...” Cloud Skipper gawked, staring down into my eyes.

“I asked where we were.” I said, pushing him away from me as I sat up.

Immediately something cracked in chest and sent me right back into the place I was before.

“Firefly, don’t move, you might have broken some of your ribs.” Cloud Skipper said, holding me back where I was.

I didn’t like that, he didn’t have any right to hold me down.

I tried to push his arms off with my own, but he held me in place, his strength was superior and he was on top of me.

“Why are you fighting against me?” Cloud asked, flexing to hold me down. “Stop doing that.”

I pressed my nose against his and growled at him, “Let. Me. Go.” I demanded slowly.

“I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” Cloud said, with care in his voice.

“Firefly, please calm down.” Ricco said.

“Shutup!” I screeched, pressing with all my might against Cloud Skipper, “Let me go!”

“Ricco, help me.” Cloud said, holding me down.

“Firefly…” Ricco put one hand on my head and pushed me down. “Calm, down.”

I tried to press back against his claws, but he pressed harder, it felt like he was going to crush my skull any second. So I stopped fighting against them, gritting my teeth.

Cloud Skipper loosened his grip and Ricco did too, “What was that all about?” Cloud asked me.

I refrained from talking to him, just growled and stared hatefully at the both of them.

“Ricco, is she sick?” Cloud Skipper asked, trying to blame me wanting to look around on some kind of sickness, what a joke.

“No, not exactly.” Ricco said, staring directly at me, “Might be a problem though.”

“Yeah, what’s that, asshole?” I said, glaring at him.

“Your behavior is abnormal.” He said, “Even for you.”

I spit at him.

He wiped his face and frowned. “You’d never do that, not before.”

“Is it... that time of-”

I picked up my arm when Cloud was off guard and slugged him in the side of the head, “I’m not on my period, asshole!”

Cloud pressed he hooves back onto mine, glaring down at me.

I leaned my head up and looked directly into his eyes, staring into them with hatred.

“Hit me.” I said, knowing he wanted to. “Do it.”

“I won’t.” He said, pushing me back down onto the cart.

Cloud stared down in confusion and concern, Ricco had a surprised look.

Cloud looked up at the driver, “Hurry to Canterlot, we have an emergency.”

The cart moved faster now, Ricco sat down and watched me closely while Cloud Skipper held me down.

“Ricco, should we tell the princess about this?” He asked.

“Yes, she might know the exact cure, per say.” Ricco said, “If you can look after Bubblegum, I can fly to her now.”

“Hurry.” Cloud Skipper said.

“Discord told me about you, Ricco.” I said just before Ricco took off. “Don’t abandon us, we still have a lot to do.” I grinned at him.

“Discord?” Ricco raised an eyebrow, then grinned and put his face so close to mine I could feel him breathing, “Discord knows nothing about me.” Next Chapter: Chapter 10 Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes