”HOW FUCKING COULD YOU?!!”

Fluttershy accusingly jabbed Twilight with her hoof at each passing sentence, forcing her to take steps back and out of the hospital. Fluttershy did not give her any space during the rant. The guards around them watched in awe and surprise.

“He was scared, lost, and desperate. He didn’t try to hurt anypony, he just wanted to get away. But, noooo, everypony has to chase him down and start more fights and then blame everything on him. He’s really tried to be better than all this. He’s even saved our life. Remember when we got attacked by a chimera? Dave could’ve just ran away and let us all die, but he didn’t. He came back and almost lost his life trying to save ours!”

“F-Fluttershy, I didn’t-“

Flutteshy threw up a hoof, pointing into the hospital behind her. “Rainbow Dash is alive because of him. Do you know what Fenrir spiders do to their prey? Rainbow would be lucky to be dead in those caves. She’s alive and well now because of him. I’m alive because of him. And you not in the stomach of a chimera because of him!”

Fluttershy turned around, facing the interior of the hospital. Her eyes were thick with tears and anger. What few guards attempted to move found themselves paralyzed with odd emotions. They could do nothing now but listen to the rant. Even Celestia had shrug off the shock and listened curiously.

“You’re all just a bunch of short-sighted idiots!! Equestria was founded on love and compassion, on forgiving and forgetting, on embracing one’s differences not hating them because of it! Nopony would even be hurt if he didn’t have to fight back!”

For a moment, tears flew freely down Fluttershy’s cheek, now faster than ever. Her rage subsides, living nothing but heart-tearing sadness. She hung her head down and continued to sob. Her legs weaken and she fell on her haunches. “He’s not a monster… He’s my friend…”

Fluttershy looked back up with watery eyes, now facing Celestia, “Please, princess, don’t make me choose one friend over another. I don’t anybody else to get hurt.”

Celestia faced Fluttershy, but her eyes directed elsewhere, unable to make eye contact, ”I’m… sorry, Fluttershy….”

Fluttershy wiped away a few tears with her hoof at the new ember of hope.

“…But I have no choice.”

Fluttershy’s ears folded downward. “…No…NO!” She tried to fly once more, but her wings would not respond to her commands. She tried to run, but her hooves seemed glued to the ground. A quick glace found a yellow aura surrounding each hoof. She was unable to move, unable to act.

All she could do now was scream even more, “Stop it! Leave him alone!!” Celestia ignored her pleas and continued her simple work. She turned and picked up the unconscious body, only to find it not so unconscious at all.

A claw reached inches above the ground. It folded in on itself and smashed at the ground. The human pushed itself off the ground, slowly and with obvious difficulty. It was a strange turn of events; Everypony watched.

He could barely speak between heavy breaths, “N-Not…dead…yet…”

The human pushed against the ground with both his claws and even pulled forward with his knees. His legs shook against it’s own weight, but pushed onwards. With one final grunt, he raised his head and lifted himself from gravity’s grip. He stumbled at first, but quickly found his footing. He wrapped his claws around himself and seemed to tear a bit of himself off. He pulled the loosen bit over his head and threw his armor on the ground.

While peeling another bit of himself from his right arm, he faced Fluttershy, “Hey, you’re the damsel in distress, not me.”

As he threw the single gauntlet on the ground next to his vest, he started picking an arrow out of his thigh. Meanwhile, Celetstia spoke to him, “Don’t act as if you’re some hero.”

Dave threw the arrow away and seemed to sweat. Fluttershy couldn’t tell if it was from pain or excitement. Dave put his set of claws within the other and made some kind of bone crackling sound as he spoke, “Yeah, you’re right, I’m no hero.” He put both his wrapped claws up, taking a combatant stance. “I’m just another soldier.”

Celestia kept her head high, looking down at the pathetic attempt to defy her will. “You can barely stand.”

Dave grew a wide grin, “I’d rather die on my feet! S’come on, bitch! I got four friends waiting for me on the other side, and I want a story when I get there!”

“You’ll never lay a claw on our princess!” A guard called out and pounced on Dave. To everyone’s surprise, he was met with a yellow, translucent wall and fell to the floor. Everyone turned to Celestia, obvious to the fact that it was her magic.

“I accept your challenge. Consider it a last request.”

***

My grin grew even wider. I would’ve never guessed this was how I would meet my end, but hey, I’m still swinging, and I’ll be damned if I die cowering like little bitch.

The smaller armed ponies circled all around me and the big white horse. To be honest, my head was throbbing and I’m still a bit fuzzy on how I got here. All I know is I’m in the fight of my life and Death is just around the corner. And you know, it all felt like one of those arcade games. I was focused, ready for anything. Even the screams and cheers of the guards around us seemed to fade away.

I made the first move. I pushed myself forward and drove my right first as hard as I could. I swung forward, but she sidestepped to the right and dogged. I recycled my momentum and spun counterclockwise on my feet. I twisted my body around and outstretched my left arm. I managed to slap the horse with the back of my hand. When I finished spinning around and returned to my stance, my fists were already up.

I wasn’t going to give her a chance to recover. I pushed forward again and threw another right hook. This one was lighter than before, but she stepped again. I threw a quick left, but she dodged again. I furiously swung at her; left, right, uppercut, under one and over the other, but I couldn’t land a hit. The horse just stepped to the side over and over, evading ever attack with taunting grace.

She seemed calm, confident, like this fight was nothing to her. It aggravated me, but I couldn’t keep this up. I wasn’t exactly in ship-shape to begin with, and it seemed the fatigue from the last few days still lingered on me and hindered my movements like a robe of lead. Everything became heavy and sluggish. I found myself swinging my punches like a drunk.

This wasn’t working; I needed to do something new. It was all the thought I needed to make before the rest of myself took over. As she stepped back to dodge another punch, I jumped forward in the air. I drove my left leg to strike, and with success this time. My boot met her knee and with a successful crunch. I could hear and feel tendons and muscles rip under overwhelming force.

“Nnn’hhhhh!!” The horse kept her screams under her tongue and she kneeled to her injury and to me. Her head was now as high as my chest and vulnerable as ever. All sense of confidence was finally beaten out of her head. She now held eyes filled with and odd mixture of worry for herself and anger to me. Though I don’t like to admit it, they were just the way I liked it.

I grabbed her long horn in both my hands and drove my knee upwards. She shut her eyes as she braced for the impact. The pain seemed to be enough to pull a small tear from her eyes. I kept the horn in my left hands, but left go with my right. I brought my dense knuckles to her cranium repeatedly, punching her with whatever force I could muster. After a few strikes, I instead grabbed the underside of her muzzle. With one hand on her horn and another on her jaw, I forced her head to the side. As expected, her entire body followed suit and fell on its side on the floor on.

Without delay, I lifted my boot again, ready to smash her head in and end it all. I was so close, I was so close. I stomped as hard as I could, but the bitch just turned into a flash of light. I stomped through the light, missing her again and awkwardly hit the ground.

A split second later, another flash of light appeared. I could see the shadow in front of me and the shine of light reflecting in the guards’ eyes. I turned around as fast as I could. I barely had enough time to see the moving blur of white in the very edge of my vision. I had no time to really think. It all just happened. I lifted my arm to block. Only to be met with extreme pain.

My spinning only helped it drive deeper and wider. I looked to see the horse’s horn in my forearm, right between the bones. Blood was already gushing out and staining her white fur. I pulled my left arm back and punched at her face again. I only managed a few more strikes before her horn started to glow again.

With a blast of magic, I was forced back. It was like getting hit by a truck. My entire body went airborne instantly. For a moment, the impact and the tumbling knocked away any sense of balance or direction. Within that short time, I was at the mercy of physics. My body finally hit the ground, but I rolled back even further. I managed to get my footing and quickly forced myself back on my feet, barely.

My legs were spread a bit and I bent over to rest my right arm on my knee. I held the massive would with my other hand, holding and gripping as tight as I could to stop the blood with little success. I looked up from my wound. I saw the white horse walking closer to me with that stupid grace again. Strings of yellow light held her leg together like a marionette’s puppet.

My breath was ragged and filled with heaves and grunts. I looked at her dead in the eyes with angled brows and undying defiance, “Fuck… you…”

She didn’t react at all. She just kept her pace, walking towards me, ready to claim her victory. She was slow, too slow. The damn horse was talking her time, savoring her victory.

I called out again, “Well… what’re you waitin’ for?!... Finish it already!!...”

She ignored my taunt and continued to just walk. Maybe she was patient, but I wasn’t. I charged forward one last time. It wasn’t a matter of winning the fight anymore, it was just going down with style now. I dropped my right arm, letting it swing in its socket, but my left still worked just fine.

I used what little power I had left, swinging wide and hard. The horse lifted its head and dodged again. I tried to punch forward, but I was stopped by her magic again. My left forearm glowed in a yellow aura. Suddenly, my entire body was pushed backwards and off my feet. I landed hard on the cold ground. I tried immediately to get up, but couldn’t. I quickly looked left and right. My wrists, elbows, and shoulders all glowed, holding me down like translucent shackles. I tried to move my legs, but it felt as though they were held down in the same manner.

The horse put a hoof on my chest. She looked down at me with emotionless eyes. I looked back at her with all the determination I still had, as if there was some small chance it would save me still. I tried to yell at my foe one more time, but my voice was barely a whisper, “I’ll see you in hell…”

She replied plainly, “That’s a human belief.”

Her horn glowed once more, brighter than before. These were the last seconds of my life; what am I supposed to do with them. Think of my family? Which one? My mother, father, and little sister, the family I grew up with? My squad, the family I fought and died with? My girlfriend, the family I might’ve had? Heh, they were right; your life really does flash before your eyes. It all flooded me in a very surreal way.

I heard a scream of sorts, “Leave him alone!!”

What the…

A yellow blur flew threw the air and crashed into me, dragging me across the ground.

… FUCK?!

***

Fluttershy charged through the air as hard as she could. She tried to snatch the human under her hooves, but her muscles were still sore and not completely responsive. She crashed into his chest, driving him away from Celestia’s unusual wrath.

Dave choked on the breath just beaten out of him for a few seconds before finally taking in a gulp of air. The impact seemed to despell his restraints; he curled to the side, suffering through unimaginable pain. Fluttershy made her stance, standing between the human and the princess. She didn’t want to go against her, she just wanted to stop this fight.

“Why can’t we just leave him alone? Why do you insist on ending his life so much? Look at him, he’s hurt and in so much pain. You win, just stop it!”

“Fluttershy, don’t make this any harder than it has to be. You don’t know anything about humans; he’s dangerous. Please, this is for the greater good.”

“Dangerous? He’s defending himself. This entire time, all he did was defend himself. Why do you hate him so much, what do you have against humans?”

“The details are graphic. Fluttershy, please trust me. You know I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t the only way.”

“No! If you want him, you have to go through me.”

“Please, Flutteshy, don’t make me do this.”

Fluttershy kept her stare at the princess, defiant as ever. “No.”

“Then you leave me no choice.” Celestia’s horn glowed once again, charging for another spell, and a powerful one at that. Fluttershy stood her ground. What kind of pony would she be if she just let another animal suffer? Besides, Princess Celestia wouldn’t hurt another pony, would she?

“I’m sorry…”

As the spell finished charging, Fluttershy held her stance, but she was suddenly yanked back by her mane. She could barely see it, but Dave had gotten up. He pulled Fluttershy back with his good claws and threw her on the ground. Dave spun himself around, taking the entire blast of heavy arcane energy in his back.

Dave fell do his knees again. Fluttershy laid there, frozen by shock one again by the turn of events. He looked down on her, with a face of pity. “Hey, quit tryin’ to save me. It’s embarrassing.”

He fell forward again, this time, his entire body fell limb at Fluttershy’s side. Fluttershy couldn’t process it all. Her human friend lay there motionless, inches from her hooves. She shivered in place, unable to even think about what to do.

Fluttershy picked up the human within her hooves, and instantly, a little hope sparked in her heart. The human was breathing; he was still alive. There was still a chance. But her moment of joy was cut even shorter when Celestia stepped closer and called out, “Just let him go.”

Fluttershy gripped the human in her hooves even tighter. “Leave him be. Just stop it.”

Celestia’s horn glowed again. “He has to die; for the better of Equestia and everypony in it.”

Before Flutteshy could muster another response, Celestia swung her head and unleashed the energy building in her horn. Flutteshy’s instincts took over as she closed he eyes and lifted a wing to shield herself.

She head a familiar voice, “No, he doesn’t!!”

Fluttershy was not met with the burning force of magic she expected. Instead all she heard was the sound of another magic spell and saw a faint flash of light through her eyes. She lowered her wing and opened her eyes to see Twilight between herself and Celestia. She, herself, and the human were now surrounded by a purple force field.

Twilight turned her head for a moment, looking down at her friend, “Sorry Fluttershy, I should’ve listened to you from the start.” She returned her attention to the Princess.

Celestia seemed as shocked as Fluttershy, “Twilight? What are you doing?”

“Doing what’s right. I was already a bit skeptical when you said all humans were bad and they’d bring nothing but pain and suffering to Equestia, but I trusted your judgment. Now I see you’re entirely wrong about them. The human had no idea that was a sleep spell, nor did he care. Even as wounded as he was, he still used the last bit of strength to defend another pony. I don’t know why you hate humans do much, and I won’t ask. But it doesn’t matter what he is, if somepony, or something is willing to do that, they don’t deserve all this hate.”

“Twilight, my prized student, have you learned nothing from me? Do you not care about the future of this kingdom?”

“I have learned something. I’ve learned to do what is right, and that’s what I’m going to do. And it’s time you did so as well, Princess.”

“Don’t make me chose between you and my kingdom. You know what my choice will be.”

“I do, and so I won’t give you a choice.” Twilight’s horn glowed with great intensity.

Celestia’s voice filled with worry, “What’re you doing?”

“I already told you; I’m doing what’s right.”

With that, Twilight, Flutteshy, and Dave disappeared within a large flash of violet light, fleeing Princess’s presence, but left seeking the attention of another.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to spring break, I've had more time to do this than usual.
Plus, I figured I had to get this in before April 3rd. (And if you're a gamer like me, you probably know why.)

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed!