Author's Notes:

We've reached the half way point and it's been quite the journey.

I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. I've enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to what's going to happen next.

I dedicate this chapter to anyone who has ever lost someone, either the death of someone you loved, or by suffering a broken heart.

Feel free to leave any comments you have down below. They do help me with new ideas of what to do next.

Ataxia is a strange mare. Born to Rarity, a unicorn and Spike, a dragon, Ataxia is special in every sense of the word. When she grew up, it was found that she could cast almost any spell she thought of. Her magic is based on chaos magic. Will controlled what she was able to do. If she wanted to change a pony into a toad, she could. If she wanted to play air pong with buildings, she could.

All she has to do is will something to happen and with few exceptions, it will happen. This is in no small part to what she is. Ataxia is the avatar to the god Chaos: Chaos, the creator of the universe, the God responsible for fate itself. For years he entertained himself simply by masquerading as his Occulous: Discord. After the events of forty years ago, his sister, Eros, taught him how to create an avatar.

It was a mark of brilliance, or insanity, that he chose his vessel to be the daughter of Spike and Rarity. In such a way, he could continue being friends will all of the former element bearers, all the while making their lives a living hell and as she was now family, there was nothing they could do about it. They could not turn him to stone or banish him to some far off dungeon. They were stuck with him, stuck with putting up with him, and all his antics.

That all changed when Fluttershy died. After that, Ataxia learned what it was to have true family. She and her mom reached an ‘understating’ and she finally knew what it was to have someone to care for, what it meant to be loved, unconditionally. Even if they had never truly seen eye to eye, she did still love her mom and Rarity, in turn, loved her back. After all, nothing is purer than the love of a mother and their foal, or the love of a foal for their mother.

When she received the letter from Spike, the same letter that interrupted her long awaited first kiss with the mare she grew to love, Shimmering Night. Ataxia found out the truth: her mom, Rarity, was dying. It was then that she wanted to be by her mom’s side, more so than even getting that first kiss. The kiss she had waited so long to have.

Ataxia’s will wanted her there; it wanted her at the hospital that her mom would never leave. It wanted her to be able to see her mom; even if it was going to be for the last time. Her magic simply obeyed the will of her body.

In a flash of white light, Ataxia teleported from Night’s side all the way to Ponyville General Hospital. It was an impressive feat. Teleportation over such distance would normally only be capable by an alicorn; well an alicorn or a pony that was an expert magic wielder, one with years of study and natural talent behind them.

Ataxia did not care about any of that. She did not care that ponies train for their entire lives to go half as far as she just went. She did not care when she appeared in the middle of the hospital’s main entrance she left scorch marks all over the floor from her sudden appearance. All she cared about was finding her mom. All she wanted was to be by Rarity’s side.

Ataxia ran forward to the nurse working the counter behind the desk. “Where is my mom?! Where’s Rarity?!”

The white pony simply stared on in shock, unsure just how she had gotten here like that or what she should do about it, if anything.

When the nurse failed to answer her question a split second after she asked, Ataxia’s patience hit its end. “I don’t have time for this!” Ataxia shouted. She ripped the clipboard from its spot hanging on the wall and started to examine it. For the most part, she could only make out every third word written down on the paper.

“That’s not the room listing. That’s the work schedule.”

“What?”

“Like I said, that’s not what you’re looking for.”

“Well bucking dammit, where is my mom! Please!”

“Miss, I need you to calm down.” The nurse said unenthusiastically. She was not in the mood for something like this, not tonight. She was so not in the mood for an out of control family member, not tonight.

“Calm down? Calm down?! I… I…” If steam could rise from a ponies head, it would be coming from Ataxia’s ears at that moment.

“Ataxia!” A voice yelled out from down the hall.

“Dad?” Ataxia looked in the direction the voice had come from. Down the hallway was a purple unicorn with a green mane. She could recognize that form anywhere, having grown up with it all her life. It was her father’s pony form. First given to him by his sister, Twilight, it’s been the form he spends the most amount of his time in. Unlike Ataxia, he did not have the ability to willingly switch between forms. He had to wait for a magic user to transform him. Specifically, one trained by Twilight to cast the transformation spell, and there was a small list of ponies that were capable of doing so, that list included: Twilight, Ataxia, Rarity, Night, Luna, and Cadance.

Not that it mattered, his dragon form was fully adult sized. It was already illegal for him to assume the form in Ponyville’s borders, in that form, he was easily bigger than any building in Ponyville. His power and strength increased ten-fold, but even as a pony, he was still larger than most, only a fully-grown alicorn could match his size. Even with how reduced it was.

When Ataxia looked down the hall, she wanted to bust out crying. She wanted to run to his hooves and weep out her tears. She wanted to slap him upside the head for hiding this from her all this time… all this time she could have been spending with her mom, before… before she left them.

Forever.

Ataxia could not decide between the three, so she did what she did best. Ataxia said buck it all and did all three.

“DAD!!!” She yelled, crying as she did so. When she reached the dragon pony, she slapped him upside the head as hard as her hoof could swing.

Spike just took it, he expected no less from his daughter. When he looked back at her, tears were still falling from her eyes. For Spike, he just felt nothing. He had not felt anything since sending the letters. They left him numb… it was him having to admit the truth, to everyone, the truth that he had hidden, that he had denied. Admitting it, writing it down, made it real, made it so he could not deny it any more.

That all changed when Ataxia jumped into his arms. The mare wrapped a hoof around him, squeezing him so hard; Spike actually felt some of his bones crack back into place.

Her tears fell on his coat.

Spike could feel her breathing through her body.

Her heartbeat was going a mile a minute.

She was shaking.

Spike started crying again. Tears he thought were long since dried up fell, yet again. He collapsed to his flank under the combined weight of the two of them. Ataxia never let go, she transferred even more of her own weight to the stallion, falling into his hooves as she did so.

Spike took it; he took it all and more. As a baby, he was easily able to lift things many, many times greater than this. Yet, somehow, this was the heaviest thing he had ever carried. Yet he would not fall, he would not shrink from this.

Spike wrapped a hoof around his daughter and joined her in her grief.

Father and daughter sat out in the hallway crying into each other’s shoulders. Their grief a mark of the loss the two were undergoing. The reality of the situation was bearing down on the two. They sat there, unmoving, holding each other. Simply letting their shared grief say everything they wanted to say to each other In ways that words were simply too inefficient to communicate.

Spike found he too was able feel again… he felt his daughters loss… he felt their shared grief and that he was not alone. That thought, it continued to play in his head. ‘I’m… we’re not alone. We still have each other. We’re still a family.’

It was Ataxia who finally broke the silence. “How... is she gone?”

“Not yet. You made it in time, though it won’t be long now.”

“Can… can I see her?” Ataxia asked between sobs.

“Sure, do you want me to let you go alone?”

“No. Please, not now… I don’t want to be alone.”

“Whatever you want, darling. I’m here for you.”

It took Ataxia three tries before she could finally stand. Each time her hooves gave out under her, the strength she had was just… gone. Each time she fell, Spike was there, he caught her in a symbolic gesture of love. As if to say, ‘you can fall as many times as you need to, I will always be here to catch you.’

While the tears still fell, Ataxia did not give up. She was not the type of mare to let her own weakness get between her and her goal. Anything from stealing a kiss, to simply standing up so she could see her mom, even if it was for one, last, time.

She fell again at that realization. Silently cursing herself for being so weak.

“Take your time darling girl, I will always be by your side.”

“Yeah, but she won’t.” Ataxia cried out.

“I know.” Spike nuzzled her side with his muzzle. "That’s why we have to be strong, for her. That’s why I can be strong for you.”

“Where… where are the others?” Ataxia asked between sobs.

“They’re coming, there is an emergency in Cloudsdale, I don’t know all the details yet, but apparently Twilight is holding the whole city up in the air while Rainbow and Luna track down the one responsible. Cadance is doing her best to evacuate the town. Aurora and Icarus… they're too far away to make it. I’ve sent them a letter but they can’t reply. I thought Night would be with you. That’s what Luna’s reply said anyway.”

“Night… I left her alone dad… she doesn’t know.”

“Did you bring the letter with you.”

“No…”

“Then I’m sure she knows, she should be here shortly.”

“Yeah… I guess.”

“C’mon, you don’t want to keep your mom waiting; do you?”

“Dad?”

“Yes, Ataxia, what is it?”

“What if… what if I can’t do it?”

Spike grabbed his daughter’s muzzle and looked her face to face. His eye baring down into her soul. “You’re my daughter, Ataxia. I know you can do this. You just have to believe you can and you will. That’s all you’ve ever had to do.” Tears fell again from his eyes. “You’re so strong, Ataxia. You’ve made me, you’ve made us so proud of you. I know you can do this; I believe in you.”

‘I believe in you.’ Ataxia remembered Night saying those words not too long ago.

Ataxia smiled. Her first smile since she read the letter. “You’re right dad. I can do this.”

“You will do this.”

“I… I will do this.”

Ataxia placed her left hoof on the ground and transferred her weight to it. It shook, but held. She placed her right hoof to the ground. Again it shook, but the hoof did not fall. Her back two legs each found their way to the ground. Each of them took more and more of her weight. They shook, they were unsteady, but they did not give. It was the mark of the mare, her body copied her, she would never give in, she would never give up, she was not the type. As such, her limbs could not give up either.

Until, at last, she was standing, all on her own. Shaking, yes, but standing all the same.

“Atta girl.” Spike was so proud of his daughter. It was something so small, something ponies took for granted every single day of their lives. However, at that moment, it meant something so much more than simply being able to walk. It was a symbol of his daughter’s resolve, of her indomitable spirit, of her stubborn streak, it was a symbol of everything that had made him proud of her over the years. Spike was proud of everything she was, everything she had become. The good with the bad, and he would not change a single thing about his daughter at that moment.

She was his everything.

Spike stood up and walked next to her. Ataxia looked at him with a grateful smile on her face as she transferred a small amount of weight to him.

‘That’s fine Ataxia; I’ll carry whatever you need me too.’ Spike thought to himself as he smiled back. ‘Whatever it takes to see that smile on your face.’

Spike placed one hoof forward and waited for his daughter to do the same. When she did, he followed it up with another, and then another. In turn, he led them up the stairs to the fifth floor, room five-eleven.

“Dad…”

“Yes Ataxia?”

“Can… can you get the door.”

“Of course.” Spike lifted his hoof and turned the doorknob. With a slow push, the door swung open.

It did not creak; it did not act as if the weight of the world was resting upon it.

It did not act as if there was a pony she loved dying on the other side of the door, one that would never see another day.

It just opened.

Like any normal door on any normal day.

Ataxia hated the door for that, she never thought she could hate an inanimate bucking object so much in her entire life, but she did; she hated that door. ‘It shouldn’t be normal, it isn't a normal day, it isn't a normal time. A bucking pony I love is going to bucking die in this bucking room! So why did the bucking door not act like it should?!’ More tears fell down her face.

It was a mark of considerable restraint that she did not simply blow the door to its component atoms.

“Dad…”

“Yes Ataxia, what do you need?”

“Can… Can you give me a minute with her? Stay close, but let me have a few minutes. I…”

“Whatever you need.”

“Stay close though. Stay here, right here, and don’t close that door, ever again. Keep it open, please. For me.”

“Sure.”

“That door is going to become kindling before the night is over.” Ataxia said under her breath as she took her first step into her mom’s room. Spike, tactfully, chose to ignore that comment. It would not do any pony any good to ask further questions about what Ataxia hated so much about a simple door. Although, knowing his daughter, he had a suspicion that she would, indeed, turn that door to firewood before the night was through.

As she walked into the room, Spike whispered to the door. “I don’t know what you did to piss her off, but you’re firewood, buddy.”

Ataxia walked… slowly… into Rarity’s hospital room. Her eyes taking in every little detail. Her ears picking up every, ‘beep… beep… beep…’ of the heart monitor. The completely unused bathroom on the right. The white carpeting covering the floor.

‘That seems like a really stupid idea for a hospital.’ Ataxia thought to herself.

The window was closed but the drapes were pulled back. The drapes… they were hideous. Absolutely horrendous; they were a fashion nightmare. Rarity would never, never approve of the drapes. They needed to go.

Ataxia made it a point to have them removed at the earliest possible time.

'The bed… it's not right, it's not fancy… Mom likes fancy things; maybe, maybe I should have dad run home and get some of the fancy linen from mom's boutique. Some of the good linen, with some gems….'

“It should be fancy… mom likes fancy.”

Rarity… she was laying on those plain bed sheets. those plain, un-fancy, no gems, stupid sheets… she was just laying there.

She looked… she looked so weak, so frail. ‘Has she always looked like this? Have I just not noticed? How… how is it possible I didn’t notice.’ Ataxia fell to her rump. Her eyes stared at the floor, unwilling to accept what she was looking at.

‘This isn’t my mom… maybe… maybe I’m in the wrong room… maybe dad just made a mistake, my mom… she doesn’t, she doesn’t look like this… she… she’s always been so strong. She’s not like this.’

Ataxia looked up again. The pony’s mane was pristine, almost as if a stylist had just finished giving it a thousand-bit perm. There was no doubt about it, only one pony could ever have hair that good looking on their deathbed. Only one pony ever, ever looked that good going anywhere. It was Rarity.

“Mom?” Ataxia sobbed the words.

“Ataxia…” Rarity said the words, her breathing slow and ragged.

“MOM!” Ataxia cried out the words, louder and with more force than she ever intended too. The mare jumped over the bed and hugged Rarity with all her might.

Rarity cried out from the sudden pressure, a noise that caused Spike to run into the room.

“Ataxia! Careful.”

“Oh… sorry, sorry.” Ataxia fell away from the mare. Her head resting on the side of the bed. Unwilling to go any farther way from her mother.

“It’s ok honey, it just surprised me is all.” Rarity did her best to smile at her daughter. The pain on her face told the tale all too well. She could not hide that. “What… what are you doing here anyway? I figured you would be out saving the world or something.”

“Shut up! How could you not tell me… how could you let me simply run around like everything is alright with you… You know how much time I’ve wasted doing stupid shit?! I could have spent that time with you. Why?! Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Don’t you love me?”

“Ataxia…” Spike tried to speak, Rarity held up a hoof a few inches off the bed to get him to be quiet. He noticed, and backed off.

“Ataxia, don’t ever speak that way about your life again. You hear me? Don’t ever call your life stupid.” Ataxia looked her mom in the eye at that. Even with the weakness permeating throughout Rarity’s body, those eyes… They still held the same strength and determination they always did. They told the story of who the mare actually was. Of her true character. “Your life… I’ve always been proud of what you do, of what you can do. It’s not stupid.” Rarity lay her head back down on the pillow, tears falling from her eyes.

“You’re not stupid, Ataxia. I’m sorry I ever called you that, I’m sorry you ever felt that way. Don’t… don’t ever let anyone ever, ever call you that.” Rarity managed to get out the words, her throat was in pain, too exhausted to speak normally, yet she would not let that stop her. This… this was far, far too important.

“Mom, don’t worry about it. It was my fault.”

“No, the fault was mine. You just have so much potential, Ataxia. You are gifted and talented in ways that others will never know. I do, I see that side of you every time I look at you. Every time I read about your exploits I hold my head high and go ‘That’s my daughter’ I’m sorry if you ever thought I felt any different about you. I’m sorry I ever, ever…”

“Mom…”

“Ataxia, over the last few months you have become the mare I’ve always known you can be. The one I’ve always wanted you to be. The mare I’ve always dreamed you can be. You’re… You’re so talented and gifted. So… So…”

Ataxia rested her head back on the bed. She waited, patiently, for her mom to finish.

“You’re so special. And you always have been, to me and your father. We… I’ve been an old fool, Ataxia. I didn’t want you to worry about me; I wanted you to live your life. To continue making me proud of you, just like you’ve always done. That’s why… that’s why I told Spike not to let anypony know… I wanted you to continue being that mare. I wanted to continue seeing your star shine, even as mine went out.”

Spike went over and lay his head on the other side of the bed. “Spike. I… I want thank you for everything. All those years ago, you told me… I remember them…. Do you remember those words you told me that night?”

Spike nodded his head. “Better a life spent in mourning of what was, then a life spent in regret at what could have been.”

Rarity’s breathing slowed down. “Yes, those are the words. Now… now that the time is almost here… do, do you still feel the same?” A single tear rolled down her face at that question. Even after all that time, she was unsure… unsure just what his answer would be. It was stupid, It was idiotic, but she had to… she needed to know.

Spike simply smiled and stood up. He knew his answer; he did not even have to think of it, not for a second. “Rarity, look to your right.”

She did, Ataxia’s face was buried in the blanket, tears falling down from her eyes. “Rarity, you have given me everything, my love. You’ve given me a beautiful, wonderful, powerful daughter. You’ve given me a life, filled with hope, wonder, amazement, and happiness. I treasure every second of that time. I wouldn’t give it up. Not one second of it. Those memories… they are my greatest treasure. I wouldn’t change anything. Not. One. Second.”

“I love you too.” Rarity raised a hoof to caress her stallion’s face. It was too much for the mare, she could not bring it all the way up. Spike reached out a hoof and grabbed his wife’s. He held it there, unwilling to let it go.

“Thank you, thank you for letting me see my daughter one last time.” Rarity cried out. Spike shushed her.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know… I know you said not to bother them… but… but they’re friends and family, Rarity. They would never forgive me if I didn’t at least let them know, and I would never forgive myself if didn’t tell them either. They deserved to know, they deserve a chance to be here to say their goodbyes. It’s the least I could do.”

“But… But they can’t make it, something’s going on in Cloudsdale and they can’t come.” Ataxia cried out, still in disbelief at everything going on.

“Shush dear.” Rarity raised her other hoof and bopped Ataxia on the nose. “If it’s keeping them away, it must be important. I’m sure they will get here when they can.”

“Nothing is more important than you.” Ataxia said.

The three of them lay like that for minutes, hours, days… truthfully, Ataxia could not keep track of the time. Her entire attention was devoted to simply watching Rarity’s stomach rise and fall. Wondering if her next breath would be her last.

“Spike…” Rarity broke the silence. Causing both of them to jump up at the sound of her voice.

“Yes dear, what is it?”

“I’m… I’m a bit thirsty, would you mind getting me some of that water I like.”

Spike smiled. He knew exactly what she was talking about, in truth; he knew that she was just trying to get rid of him, so she could have a moment alone with her daughter, one last girl talk… before…

“Sure, they have it on the first floor, I’ll be right back.” Spike stood up and kissed her on the forehead.

“Thanks love.”

“Anything for you.” Spike smiled as he left the room. He took one last look behind him. Unsure, for just a moment, if he should leave. He shook that thought off, even if she did pass when he was away, they had already said everything they needed to say to each other. He could not ask for anything more. If Rarity wanted these last moments with her daughter, he would give them to her; how could he do anything less?

“Ataxia.”

“Yes mom?” Ataxia stared at her, afraid to tear her gaze from Rarity’s face, Lest that is the moment when she passed on.

“I… I’m feeling tired, I… I’m… I want you to do something for me ok? Promise me.”

“Anything.” More tears started falling from Ataxia’s eyes, she knew if and when Rarity fell asleep, it would be for the last time.

“Be there for your dad, ok. He’s loved me from before I can even remember. I… I don’t know how he will take it when I’m gone, but he’s going to need you. Even if he doesn’t say he will, I know he will. You’ll be all he has left of me.”

“Ok.”

“Twilight is going to take this hard… I don’t know what’s going on at Cloudsdale, but don’t let this change her. Don’t let her blame herself for this. She has a habit of over thinking everything, of thinking about ways she could have done something better. I… I don’t want her to do that. This was my decision. Tell her… Tell her I’m sorry, I’m sorry I couldn’t see her one last time. And listen to her, Ataxia. I’ve never met a mare smarter or more talented in my life. She’s… she’s one in a million.”

“Mom…”

“Tell Rainbow… Tell her that I’m so proud of her. Tell her that she is still the best flyer in all of Equestria and no mare is more awesome than she is. Heck, no pony is awesomer than her.” Rarity giggled at her use of that word. “How far she has come since the old days; the family she has raised. It’s been an honor to see it in my lifetime. She is still, and will always be, the most loyal pony I’ve ever known.”

“…”

“Tell Aurora, she is the best model I’ve ever had the glory to work for. The dresses I’ve made for that mare over the years… But no, that’s just who she is on the surface. It may have been a tragedy, but ever since Dayspring died, we’ve all seen the true strength of that mare. She wasn’t born with any special talent, nothing like her siblings anyway. Well, other than being adorable. But she made a name for herself all the same. Tell her... tell her, her brother did not give his life for nothing. She has done him and all of us proud. It’s been my honor to know her.”

“Tell… tell Night that she is still one of the smartest mares I’ve ever known. Everything about that mare is special, after all, only a mare as special as her could capture my daughter’s heart.”

Ataxia’s mouth dropped open at that. “Wait, you knew?”

“Of course dear. I’m not blind after all. I’ve seen the way you look at her. The way you perk up at the sound of her name. You’re in love with her, and I will tell you a secret. I’ve seen the same look on her face about you. When someone says your name around her… she has that same look in her eye that you have about her. I think… I know she feels the same. I never thought Bright Dawn was a good match for her. I think that was just puppy love.”

Ataxia’s mouth closed, a smile took over her lips. “Really?”

“Really,” Rarity smiled back. “I think… I know, if one of you works up the courage to just tell the other how you feel, you two will be so happy together. You complete her Ataxia, and she you.”

“Thanks mom.” Ataxia wrapped a hoof around Rarity. She squeezed, enough for her mom to feel it, but not enough to cause any real pain. “Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything.”

“You’ve made me so proud Ataxia, with everything you’ve done, with everything you’ve become. Keep going... keep making me proud in only the way that you can. Never stop, never turn around. Keep being the mare I know you can be. You will do such amazing things.” Ataxia let go and sat back on her flank, tears falling from her eyes. “I love you Ataxia, I love you more than I can ever say.” Rarity finished.

“I lov-“ A loud explosion shook the foundation of the hospital.

Without having to be told, they both knew something really, really bad had just happened.

“Spike!”

“Dad!”

Both mares yelled at the same time.

………………………………….

Spike left the room and started walking down the hallway. Each step seemed to cause him to reconsider her earlier choice. He did not want to head in this direction, he wanted to head in the other direction; he wanted to be with his family. He wanted to do right by them.

But this was doing right by them. He was not sure why Rarity wanted him out of the room like this, what she wanted to say in private to her daughter, but he was sure that it was for a good reason.

Of course, being lost in thought came with it’s own risk. Spike’s pony form was large. Quite large, larger than anypony who was not an alicorn, and even then, they had wings; they would just fly out a window or teleport. Needless to say, buildings were not designed for ponies of their size to walk around in.

Spike’s head slammed into the top of the stairwell door frame with a loud thud.

“Luna, buck it!”

Spike smiled as he realized that he just shouted that out loud. This was further augmented by the fact he has said Luna and not Celestia… ‘It’s amazing how quickly we all adjusted even that part… I wonder if the time will come when we start saying Night? I wouldn’t be surprised if it came soon.’ Spike thought to himself as he continued down the stairs.

The weight of time seemed to be crushing him as he finally reached the bottom of the steps, each step felt like the last, yet there was always another, always another step to take regardless of how many he had gone down. Until, at last, there wasn’t. He was at the end. There were no more steps left. There had… there had been so many of them and then, just like that, there were none.

‘I guess… I guess that’s life isn’t it? Each day we live, it feels so important. It feels like this is the day that will carry on forever for us. We have… had… so many days in front of us, that we didn’t think anything about it. Then, at last, we reach the end. All the steps, all the days we had, the countless thousands of them that have passed. The days that seemed like they would go on forever. They’re just gone. All the days we thought we had… when they’re over, they’re over.’

Spike actually smiled, the irony of the situation, the deep thoughts from simply walking down the stairs…. The fact that he was smiling at all; even with everything going on, he was smiling.

He continued smiling even as he walked into the main entrance room and to the break area. He knew what his wife wanted; she liked the arrow water that said it was made from the Crystal Empire. He tasted it himself; it was good water, but he did not think it was all that and a bag of chips. However, Rarity wanted it, and if she wanted it he would get it for her.

“Spike…”

“Hello?” Spike thought he heard his name coming from a very familiar pony, one he recognized… his reply was meant with dead silence though, other than a few odd looks from a few of the ponies in the waiting room.

Thinking nothing more of it, Spike shook it off.

“Spike…”

Spike raised his head sharply and look around. Still, he could not find the source of the noise.

“Spike… outside.”

The voice said in a singsong voice. He recognized that voice. He would know it anywhere from any of her hundred albums. “Sweetie Belle?”

“Outside.”

Rarity’s water momentarily forgotten, Spike followed the voice. It did not make any sense, Sweetie Belle was nowhere near Ponyville. He sent her a letter, but she was with Scootaloo in Manehattan last time he checked. There is no way she could be here in such a short amount of time.

Spike took off at a gallop, whatever was going on, it was not right. Someone was playing with him. The simple fact that no other pony could hear that voice was a mark of that. This stunk of magic, magic beyond the abilities of a simple unicorn.

He busted out of the front doors and ran out into the cold night air. His actions earned him a strange look from the ponies inside the hospital. They knew who he was, as one of the local heroes, and they had long ago learned that, with whatever they are up to, it’s best to leave them to it alone.

“Sweetie!!” Spike shouted as he saw an image of his sister-in-law in the forest. Spike chased after her, fully expecting it to be a trap. ‘That’s fine; somepony is going to learn that I’m not in the bucking mood today.’ He thought to himself.

Spike’s pony form did nothing to reduce his considerable strength. Even as a pony, he could easily lift objects many times his size. It was a mark of his transformation that it simply reduced his size, not his abilities. The only downside is that he lacked some of the defensive and offensive abilities that dragons generally enjoyed, such as the claws and scales.

Spike dashed into the forest. Pausing when he reached a clearing, unsure of just what direction he should go. However, he was quickly tiring of this game.

“I’m not going any farther. If you’re going to do something, now is the time. Otherwise, I’m leaving.”

A voice answered back, from everywhere and nowhere. This time, it was anything but the voice of the famous singer. Although, he still recognized it all the same, it was the last voice he ever thought he would hear again. The speaker's voice still haunted his nightmares at night. “Ahh, but you used to love this game when I was a foal.”

“Dayspring? That’s… that’s not possible.”

“Not probable you mean. Obviously it’s possible, else it wouldn’t be happening, now would it?” A black shadow detached itself from the darkness and began walking forward. Its form was obviously a unicorn. Spike recognized it immediately. It was the form of his nephew, even cloaked in shadow; he would recognize it anywhere.

“But… but you’re dead… I saw you; I was with you when you died. You… you gave your life for your sister. You… you died to save Aurora.”

“Yes… yes I did didn’t I? Although, I seem to remember something else, something you promised me before I did that. Something you promised on your dragon code if I recall correctly.”

“I promised I would watch out for her.” Spike said the words as if it was only yesterday that he made the promise.

“Yes, that’s right. Tell me, dear uncle, how is that going. Just how has Aurora been in my absence? I’m sure you know, after all, you should be watching her for me, just as you promised you would.” The pony said with a sarcastic tone to his voice.

“Dayspring….”

“Oh, that’s right, I already know. Let us see, first she was almost abducted by Twilight Night’s minions. Then she was almost killed in Warclaw saving that upstart emperor. She almost died again in their dragon war. She was run through at the hooves of a revenant, losing her foal in the process. Tell me dear uncle; tell me how well you have kept your promise.”

Every word stung the dragon. Every syllable a reminder of a promise he failed to keep. “I… It wasn’t like that.” Spike said in his defense, it was weak, but each one of those events had extenuating circumstances.

“Oh, it wasn’t like that? Well do tell uncle. Tell me what it was like; tell me why my sister, whom I left in your care after GIVING MY LIFE to save, was so wounded. Tell me why you made me such a promise on your dragon code then simply looked the other way every single time she needed you. While you were doing something so important that you couldn’t keep your promise to me.”

“…” This was the worst-case scenario for the dragon; his own personal demons come to claim their due. Not a single one of these accusations were new, each and every one he had asked himself before, asked if he lived up to the promise he made a noble pony right before he made the ultimate sacrifice. He could not think of a single thing to say.

“Tell me, Spike. Tell me why you let my sister get so hurt. Tell me why you let her foal die. Tell me why you broke your promise to me.”

“I…”

“Tell me.” The pony’s voice rose several octaves higher as he walked forward, closing the gap between them with a vicious smile on his face.

“…”

“Tell me!”

“…”

“TELL ME!” The pony yelled, his anger became real, substantial. It hit Spike full on. Sending him careening back, the energy carried him directly against the foundation of the hospital.

For Spike, he did not feel the impact against his body; he did not feel when he impacted the side of the hospital, the energy and his physical form leaving a huge crater in its side. He did not feel when several ribs cracked in his chest. He did not feel anything. He was numb to the physical world. This… this was all simply too much, Rarity was dying, and now his demons were here; he was being called to account for his failure, for his broken promise to a dying pony. To his nephew, the pony who gave his life for his sister.

It was too much; it would have been too much for anyone.

“I… I’m sorry.” He managed to choke out all the while spitting up blood.

“What was that? I cannot hear you dear uncle, I’m afraid you will have to speak up. After all, the dead cannot hear your apology when you talk so softly.”

“I’m sorry. You’re… you’re right. I should have looked after her better; I should have been there for her. Like… like I promised I would. Please… please forgive me Dayspring. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.”

“Oh, so you admit you failed me, you admit you failed your dragon code, and now… now you want my forgiveness, you want the dead to simply turn the other cheek. Well, I have bad news for you uncle. The dead cannot turn the other cheek. There is no forgiveness from the dead. You must pay for your failure in the only currency there is. In the only currency that matters in this life. You must pay with your life.”

The pony grinned as he walked closer and closer. Spike had never seen the Grim Reaper in person, but he heard tales from Twilight and the others. If you asked him now, if you asked him to describe what the Grim Reaper looked like, he would have told you it was this pony. That the reincarnation of Dayspring Gleam was the Grim Reaper. To Spike, that is exactly what he was; he was death, he was his death, come to claim a dragon so weak that he was unable to keep his final promise to his one and only nephew.

Part of Spike did not care anymore. That part of him wanted this, it wanted to die, and it wanted to suffer for the crimes this pony listed out. That part of him was winning. “I’ll see you on the other side, Rarity.” He said as he closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable.

Grim Night smiled as he saw that look in Spike’s eye. The same look he had seen in a million ponies at this moment. It was the look that said he won, that this part of his plan was over. Although, if he was honest with himself, he was surprised that it went so smoothly.

It was the look of acceptance. Spike the dragon, the adopted brother of Twilight Sparkle, was giving up. He was accepting his death. Although, Grim had to admit, it did kill the victory a little to see it so early. ‘Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.’ He thought to himself.

“And so ends the tale of Spike the dragon, the dragon too weak to keep his promise. The dragon so weak he couldn’t even answer for his crimes.” Grim Night readied an energy blast, one more than sufficient for the job, as well as half the hospital.

He went to shoot.

A blow to the gut disrupted his aim, causing his energy to shoot straight up into the air as he yelled out in pain. A stabbing wound coursing through his stomach.

“Ahh!!!”

“Dad! Dad, are you alright?!” Ataxia shouted as she ran toward the stricken pony, her every instinct on high alert as she kept an eye on his attacker.

“Ataxia… you should, you should be with your mom.” Spike managed to say through several deep breaths.

“Buck that dad! He tried to kill you.”

“It’s… it’s my demons come to claim their due. It’s the ghost of Dayspring… he’s… he’s come to enact his vengeance for my failure. I… I deserve this.”

“Ok, first thing first, I’m so going to kick your ass when this is over for even thinking that. Second, dad look at me.” Ataxia momentarily dropped her guard to reach a hoof and raise Spike’s head. She needed him to see this. Despite it all, he kept his eyes closed, unwilling to see the disappointment in his daughter’s face. “Dad, trust me, I’ve fought more things in the past few months than Luna has in her entire life. Dad… LOOK AT ME!”

Spike opened his eyes, what he saw made him hate himself for an entire different reason. Ataxia was crying.

He had given up; he gave up on wanting to live… all because his wife was dying, and this thing… this pony… Dayspring; came back and said it wanted revenge on him. He almost… he almost left his daughter alone in this world.

“Dad… Ghosts don’t bleed.” Ataxia twisted Spike’s head, causing him to look directly at the shadow pony. She was right, it was the darkness, both the surrounding darkness and the darkness that the shadow pony was cloaked in… it made it easy to see the bright red blood coming from his wound. Whoever this was, he was bleeding.

“Ghosts… don’t bleed.” Spike repeated the words, saying them made them real, it solidified it in his mind. He turned and looked at his daughter. “Thank you… I…”

“No need dad.”

Laughter overshadowed the two of them. They both turned back to the shadow creature. He was laughing.

“Oh, it looks like this will be fun after all. I can’t wait to see what happens next. I was so worried this would be boring. Thank you, thank you Ataxia. You made it fun again.”

“Should I know you, creature?”

“Oh, that’s right. We have never been formally introduced, have we? Well, since the pleasantries are over. Let’s get that out of the way, my name i-“

He never got to finish that sentence. Ataxia shot out a magical blast from her horn, it lashed out and struck the pony square in the chest. Causing him to fly backward into the forest. A cry of “AHHHGG!!” trailing behind him.

“Like I care what a rat’s name is; a rat is a rat, whatever form it might take.”

“A rat?” Spike looked at her inquisitively. Unsure just what she was talking about.

“A low level Tartarus escapee, barely worth my time. I started a whole identification system so I would know how much force to use in the fight.” Ataxia stated matter-of-factly. “For something that pathetic, I don’t even need to transform.” Ataxia’s smile spoke of someone with a little too much arrogance, but Spike expected nothing less from his daughter.

“Ataxia… I don’t… I don’t think he’s a rat.”

“Wha-“ Ataxia never got to finish that sentence, just then Grim Night surrounded the mare in an energy barrier.

“You should have listened to your old man, Ataxia. Instead you dropped your guard.” Grim laughed.

Spike rose to his feet. He took a quick look at his daughter who was busy casting spell after spell, doing whatever she could to free herself. He recognized two things about her predicament. The first was that she would be unable to transform in that small of a space. There simply was not enough room to hold her dragacorn form, and from the way she was struggling, she knew it.

The second thing put a smile on his face. Her spells were causing cracks in the barrier. It would not hold a mare of Ataxia’s capabilities for more than a few minutes at best. All he had to do was keep this… this whatever, busy. ‘Shouldn’t be an issue.’ Spike grinned.

“Something funny?” Grim asked.

“You almost had me… tell me creature, what are you? Really?”

“Oh, I see. You want me to start monologuing or something, let me guess. You think you can buy enough time for my spell to break.”

“Hey, it’s working, isn’t it?”

“No, no it won’t.”

‘Horseapples.’

Grim launched an attack. He lowered his horn and blasted at the large pony without another word.

Spike dodged to the right. While he was never as fast as Rainbow Dash or as hyperactive as Pinkie Pie, he was not a slouch either. Over the years, he had become more than capable of holding his own in a fight. With friends like his, he had no choice.

The energy easily missed him as he charged forward. Despite his obvious bulk, Spike was quick on his feet. Dodging left and right just in the nick of time, something that grew increasingly harder as he closed the distance. However, years of growing up around unicorns taught him all he needed to know. A unicorn horn was a focal point. The stronger the unicorn the more their abilities would increase, the more dangerous they would become.

But they still had to aim.

And with a daughter like Ataxia, Spike had more than enough practice dealing with the odd spell being tossed his way. That was not even counting the years spent growing up with Twilight Sparkle as an older sister.

Grim Night grew increasingly frustrated as every single one of his blasts missed. He was aiming for a big target. It should have been easy, it should have been simple, a lot of this should have been… but he kept bucking missing.

Finally, Spike closed the distance and kicked the black unicorn with all his might. The strength of his attack could not simply be absorbed by the black energy surrounding Grim Night. While it did its best, the kinetic energy broke several ribs. The blow threw off Grim Night’s energy blast, causing it to strike the hospital instead.

Grim Night stood up and started grinning, that stupid arrogant grin. “Tisk, tisk, Spike. Wouldn’t want to put any innocents at risk, now would you?”

“Shut up!” Spike shouted.

“What would Twilight say about that?” Maybe I’ll ask her when I finish here. I’ll tell her about your little temper problem as I’m skinning her alive. Maybe she’ll thank me for dealing with you myself?”

“One little problem with that plan.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“You have to get through me first.” Spike reared back on his hind legs and let loose his dragon fire.

Spike’s transformation is a unique spell, developed by his sister, Twilight Sparkle. It enabled the dragon to live as a pony, or more accurately, it let him live in pony form. He would assume the size and shape of a pony. His mass condensed into that of his new form. Albeit a very, very large pony form, but a pony form regardless.

That did not stop any of his natural dragon abilities. While he would lose the physical aspects of being a dragon: The size, bulk, wings, scales, and claws. Spike kept the stamina, strength, and fire breath.

He used that last one now. Lashing out with green fire, Spike coated the black pony from head to tail with green dragon fire. A fire hot enough to liquefy steel. He would normally never resort to such extreme tactics against another living being, but this pony… this creature, he threatened Twilight. He trapped his daughter. Two things Spike could not forgive.

“No one bucks with my family.” Spike said as he watched the creature burn. Satisfied that the battle was over, he turned around to walk back towards his daughter. From what he could see at this distance, she was almost done breaking the spell. “Hey Ataxia! You need some he-“

He did not get to finish that sentence.

A magical energy wrapped itself around his neck, lifting him up and off the ground. Strangling him as it did so.

“What? You thought you were done with me already, uncle? I never knew you were so dumb.”

“You’re… Stop saying I’m your uncle! You’re not him!”

“While that might be technically true, this is Dayspring’s body, Spike; and make no mistake, everything I told you, it’s how he feels. I know that for a fact.”

“What… what are you?” Spike asked as his vision was fading. The lack of oxygen to his brain causing him to slowly lose consciousness. The figure stepped out of the fire. The darkness surrounding him, it protected him from the worst of the flame. It prevented the fire from harming the vulnerable flesh underneath.

The dark energy pulled away like a cloak his head, revealing a face all too familiar to the dragon. It really was Dayspring, or at least his body. “Oh you look shocked uncle, I told you, and this really is Dayspring's body. Imagine my surprise when, after she cast me out, I just so happen to encounter this decaying corpse. I think it’s quite fitting, the vessel of my vengeance will be no other then the son of the one I seek it on. You see, after my time as Twilight Night, I want that back, I want that power… It’s like nothing else I’ve ever known. I will have Twilight’s power. This… this is simply a cobblestone I have to lay on the road to that power. It just happens to be your head.”

Spike continued to try and struggle, he pulled all his strength into breaking the grip, only to find it completely useless. He was just as guilty as Ataxia… they had both underestimated this creature's power. “Twilight is going to be so heartbroken you know. To come back from the little surprise I left her in Cloudsdale to find her little brother dead by my hoof. The tears….” Grim Night stared off into space longingly, as if imagining a distant lover’s caress. “The tears will be so lovely. Of course, you won’t be here to see them. You should know; it is for this reason why I gave Twilight her memories back. After all, to truly, truly hurt somepony, you have to take away something precious to them. If she didn’t remember you, it wouldn’t hurt. Now would it?”

Spike eyes went wide at that. This creature… he… he… Spike could not finish that thought. He felt his vision fading; it would not be long now. His strength was gone, stuck in the form he was in now; there was nothing more he could do.

“So long, Spiky Wikey. I’ll send Twilight your best.” Dayspring laughed. He lowered his horn and readied the final spell that Spike would ever see.

…

That did it for Ataxia, seeing this creature strangle her father like that, taunt and torture him with his ideas of… whatever he was planning to do with Twilight. She no longer cared what body he wore, she did not care if he was the resurrected ghost of Dayspring or not.

‘I WANT OUT OF THIS DAMN CAGE!” she shouted the words as she cast the strongest spell she could think of.

It worked.

The magic shattered into a million shards before dissipating into the air. Its component pieces fading away into nothing.

Ataxia did not notice any of that, her entire attention; her entire focus was on one thing and one thing only, her father. He had gone limp… she knew, from some of her… less savory days, that he was still alive, she just had to get to him. She just had to free him from this thing… this creature's grip. It had not been long, not more than a few seconds since he lost consciousness. His body would start breathing again on its own; she just had to open his windpipe.

Unfortunately, there was not time for her to cover the distance. This creature… this shadow pony, this… Dayspring, he was reading a spell to finish her father. It was a spell that Spike would not survive. Ataxia knew that much just from the buildup of magical energy she could see around his horn.

“No!” Ataxia yelled.

Ataxia was never the brightest pony. She was practically unteachable, her talents lay in other areas, areas, that were more… fun. That is to say, she normally succeeded in whatever could hold her impressively short attention span. As such, her practical knowledge was on the wrong side of small.

But she had street smarts.

It came from growing up where she did. In her youth, Ataxia’s friends included an alicorn, an adorkable pegasus, and an incredibly studious unicorn. Her mentors were Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, two of the most gifted ponies in all of Equestria.

While she may not have learned much from the five of them, they were always good for a laugh. However, that was not what helped her here.

Ataxia’s parents: her mom was an average unicorn, talented and gifted, without a doubt. Rarity was the most skilled tailor in all of Equestria. She was also a shrewd business mare, able to sell clothes to ponies that normally spent the day wearing nothing at all. Her father, he was a full-fledged dragon. She had spent her youth around him; she knew everything there was to know about dragons. Including their natural resistance to magic and how that was achieved. It was their scales. All she had to do was transform her father.

His bulk would free him from the pony’s magical grip. His scales would protect him from his attack. Even without book smarts. She knew all of that from life experience. Albeit a very unique life, but it was hers, and come Tartarus or high water, no pony would take her dad away from her.

Ataxia aimed her horn and fired off the transformation spell at her father.

She missed.

Grim Night did not.

……………………………………

Twilight grunted as she concentrated even more magic on the cloud city. While it was not stressful for an alicorn of her power, it did limit her movement. She had to stay below, concentrating on holding up the city before it collapsed under its own weight.

She was still unsure just how that much damage had been done to the city. It seemed… whatever it was they were chasing had managed to reverse the cloud making process, causing the huge factory to suck the water out of the clouds around the city and reducing the structural integrity of the very ground the city was built on. For a city of pegasi, very few of them were in any real danger. What was the risk of falling when all your citizens could fly? However, the destruction of Equestria’s weather facilities and the resulting damage to the Crystal Empire would cause a lot of injuries and deaths. As such, upon realization of just what was going on, Twilight teleported below and surrounded the floor of the city with her magic, keeping it stable and preventing any more water from being removed from the clouds.

She was… satisfied with her role. With Rainbow and Luna tracking down the one responsible for this mess, it was only a matter of time until they were stopped and the process reversed. In all reality, she was amazed it was taking this long.

Of course, her opinion changed when the letter arrived. Rarity… the last of her friends, the last of the ones she made all those years ago… she was dying. All of a sudden this seemed to take on a completely different aspect. It seemed more like a trap, as if someone wanted her here. They wanted her to be stuck in a situation where she could not leave, not without risking the lives of hundreds of innocent ponies.

‘That’s ridiculous. Who would hold such a grudge? And for what purpose?’ Twilight dismissed that thought as she focused back on her job. Still, like any annoying idea, it would not let her be. Her mind kept replaying the idea over and over.

“Rainbow! How goes it?” Twilight opened her mind to her wife’s. Establishing a connection between the two of them that enabled them to communicate as if they were right next to each other.

“Bucking hell, Twi. You don’t have to shout you know.”

“Oh, sorry. I… I have a bad feeling about all of this. You almost done up there.”

“Yeah, we almost have her cornered. I would have had her already but I don’t want to hurt her. You going to be able to remove… whatever it is causing Spitfire to act this way and hold up all of Cloudsdale?”

“It shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll need you to bring her down here though. I have to keep this line of sight on the city.”

“Sure, I’ll take care of the hard part. Rainbow out!”

“Ah, Rainbow, you know I’m the one who has to break the connection don’t you?”

“…”

“Rainbow?”

“…”

“Rainbow I know you can hear me.”

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash can’t come to the link right now, leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”

“Rainbow it doesn’t bucking work like that and you know it!”

“Hey, I thought it was funny.”

“Yeah, well you thought wrong.”

“Hey Twi?”

“Yeah, what?”

“Caught her!” Rainbow yelled out as she swooped down on the unsuspecting mare. Spitfire kicked, punched, clawed and bit. Nothing she did broke Rainbow's grip on her as she was forced up and out of the building Rainbow caught her in.

Twilight smiled. Whatever this was, it would soon be over and she could get back to Ponyville. Her smile quickly faded as a sinking feeling developed in her gut. The sudden reaction caused her magic to temporarily weaken. Cloudsdale fell several hooves in the air before she reestablished the magical hold on the city.

“Twi!? Twi!? You alright?” Rainbow asked as loudly and forcefully as she could.

“Yeah, I… I… get here quick Rainbow. Something happened, something bad. We… we need to get home.”

“I’m on the way!” Rainbow yelled as a sonic rainboom soon appeared over the city, her captive held under her hooves.

………………………………………

Ataxia… monster hunter extraordinaire. Ataxia, the go-to pony for any and all threats to Equestria. Ataxia, the mare who put down Tirek. She missed.

Maybe it was finding out her mom would not last the night… maybe it was watching her dad be strangled right in front of her. Maybe her eyesight was slightly off from being stuck in a magical bubble she had to blast open at point-blank range. Maybe it was how close she had gotten to that long awaited first kiss with the mare she had grown to truly love and care for, only for it to be denied at the last possible second, or it was some combination of all these factors and a million more.

Whatever the reason, the transformations spell was slightly, slightly off. Flying less than hoof to the right of Spike’s body. It missed by a hairs breath, a centimeter.

The effect was still the same, missing’s missing. It did not matter if she missed by an inch or a mile. She missed.

Grim did not. His spell traveled straight and true, flying squarely at Spike’s chest the spell impacted with an ear shattering crack. The impact alone broke every rib in the pony's chest. Instantly frying a hole in him as it liquefied several internal organs.

Spike was dead before his body hit the ground.

Grim Night laughed.

He… he laughed.

Ataxia… she only saw red. Her vision… it refused to focus on her dad. It knew, it knew what it would see there, she could not… she would not focus on that. Not right now… She had something to do, she had someone to kill. Someone she wanted dead more than anything else in this world. More than she wanted anything else… she wanted this pony to hurt, she wanted him to scream.

Tears fell down her face.

“What’s wrong little pony, you want to cry now?” Grim taunted her. “Should I leave you to your grief? On the other hoof, should I just end you now? I wonder which would be more merciful.”

“Oh, I’m not going to let you go anywhere.”

“What was that?”

“I said… I said I’m not letting you go anywhere.” Ataxia’s voice carried her frustration, her rage, her anger, and, the most damning of all, it carried her resolve.

She did not cast the spell, there was no need. Her body, her being wanted it to happen. The natural, ambient magic in her system responded to it, it responded to her will, to her rage, to her anger. Every cell in her body wanted the same thing, it all focused on this one thing and this one thing only. It wanted this creature… it wanted this pony, it wanted him to scream.

Nothing else would satisfy her, nothing else would satisfy her rage, her anger, her demand for vengeance.

Ataxia, the chaotic mare of Ponyville. Ataxia, Equestria’s premiere monster hunter, Ataxia, the dragacorn. Ataxia transformed.

Each of her transformation had changed subtly from her last. As she used it, her second form changed, slowly, each and every time. She would be bigger than the last time, stronger, faster, more powerful, and more dangerous.

This time… this time the change was anything but subtle. Whereas her last transformation, she was the size of her father, a fully-grown adult dragon; this time… this time put that form to shame. Her bulk doubled in size. Her wings stretched longer than the hospital behind her.

Her neck grew out to the size of her seventy-hoof tale. Green spikes ran down her back, each as sharp as her teeth. Bones that were more than capable of biting steel in half with ease.

Her dragon steel armor, the gift from her mother. It glowed around her chest, amplifying her abilities tenfold as her anger took hold.

Grim Night was not laughing anymore.

Ataxia looked down, he was so small… so tiny. Her target, he was no bigger than a normal pony. Part of her, a very, very small part of her laughed. That a creature this size… that a creature that small, that he caused her such pain… that he took away someone she cared about; it was absurd.

The rest of her did not care. It did not care that with each lash of her tail, she would leave huge craters in the ground where it hit. It did not care about such small things… collateral damage was the least of her worries, it wanted him dead. It wanted him to scream out in pain.

“Burn.”

Ataxia let loose with her dragon fire. A fire so hot, so magically infused with power, it could toast alive creatures that were practically immune to heat. The fire engulfed Grim Night, and the surrounding forest for a mile straight behind him.

She heard what she wanted to hear, what every part of her body wanted to hear. While she did not see it, she heard it. She heard screaming. She heard that creature… she heard him scream.

A smile crossed her face.

“Ataxia… you promised me.”

It was as if someone flipped a switch in her head. A rogue picture, a rogue thought, something that had no business in her head at that time. Her mind clouded as it was… she never should have had that thought. It was… it was… it was…

It was Night, she was crying, crying over the loss of her town… she looked at Ataxia, tears in her eyes. “Ataxia… you promised me.”

Yes… what happened was bad, but… but destroying all of Ponyville, all of the innocent ponies that would die from this fire. It would hurt Night.

Ataxia did not want that, she did not want to hurt her friend. Not like this. Even with the loss of her father, even with her own grief, the one thing she could not bear to see, would be that look of hurt on Night’s face.

Ataxia took off, straight up into the air. No pony, no pony who tried was able to find a way to put out her fire. It was magically imbued, it did not need oxygen, as it only needed fuel. As long as there was something that can burn, it would burn it.

However, Ataxia was not just some random pony and she had never tried to put out her own fire before. Thinking quickly, Ataxia carved several large firebreaks in the forest. Uprooting every tree in her path and tossing them out of the way. All the while, she never sacrificed her speed. Several sonic rainbooms appeared behind her, each timed to collide with the growing fire in order to push it back. Once that was done, there was huge circle carved in the ground.

Ataxia continued, pushing more and more speed into her flight. Drawing out all the power she could, all the while digging the circle deeper and deeper in the dirt with her claws. Until, at last, she found what she was looking for, the diamond dog’s old tunnel system.

Ataxia landed in the caves and readied herself. For this, she would need all her strength. The ground above was as weak as she could get it. She placed her claws on the ceiling and pushed. Every muscle strained with the effort, trying, desperately to collapse the huge amount of dirt.

It was going nowhere.

Ataxia focused her magic on it. On making it move.

It started to budge. The combination of brute strength and magic caused the area to collapse in on itself. At that last minute, when she was sure that the problem would be solved. Ataxia did the one thing she hated most, she teleported herself clear.

The fire fell into the caves, while it did not extinguish itself, as there was still plenty to burn that fell in with it, there was no longer any worry about it spreading. In less than a minute, Ataxia managed to contain the magical blaze.

In a white flash of magic, Ataxia appeared next to her dad, her body transformed back to her pony form, covered from head to hoof in dirt. Her eyes… they only confirmed what she already knew… Spike, he was gone.

“Dad…” Ataxia collapsed next to her father, her strength gone. She wanted to curl up next to him and cry.

She would have done just that, if not for an alicorn who landed next to her.

“Ataxia… what… what happened?” Shimmering Night looked down, her eyes glued to the dead pony.

Ataxia looked up with tears in her eyes at her friend. “He… he… he killed my dad.” She buried her face in Night’s chest.

Night could not believe it. For all her life, Spike was the strong one, he was a pillar, always there, regardless of anything else, Spike was a constant, and now… now he was gone. “I’m so sorry, Ataxia.”

Ataxia just cried, she cried out all of her tears into her friend’s coat. She cried until she felt like she could not cry anymore.

“What… what about Rarity?” Night could not fully comprehend what had just occurred outside of the hospital. She had expected to find her friend in the hospital room with her mom. When she was closing in, she saw the fire, and then just as suddenly as it occurred it was gone. Night knew that Ataxia would somehow be responsible for that… whatever that was, but explanations on that could wait. She wanted to know what happened to Ataxia’s mom.

“Mom…” Ataxia stumbled to her hooves. She wanted… she needed to get to her mom.

‘I… she… I can’t lose them both, not like this…. I… I can’t’

Ataxia found her strength. It started off small, one hoof in front of the other, each step grew more and more sure of its footing. Until, at last, she was running at full sprint.

Ataxia threw open the doors to the hospital and ran right past the reception desk, had she noticed, she would not have been surprised to find the area empty. The nurses no doubt evacuating the ponies to a secure area in case the fighting outside found its way in.

Ataxia ran past all of that, she ran down the hall and up the stairs with Shimmering Night, her lifelong friend, hot on her hooves.

Ataxia ran up ten flights of stairs. Straight to the fifth floor.

‘Room five-eight, room five-nine, room five-ten, room five-eleven!’

The door was closed.

With the flick of her horn, and a small, very small amount of magic. Ataxia blasted the door to splinter wood. She was inside before the last piece fell to the ground.

She froze, dead.

'Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppppppppppppppp……….'

Night stumbled through the doorway, she heard it too, the heart monitor, its constant noise. She did not need to be told what it meant.

Night slowly, ever so slowly walked past her friend, she had to see it… it had to be seen to make sure it was real.

‘Maybe, just maybe she pulled out the wires…’

She had not.

It took a quick inspection, just a quick glance over, but her eyes confirmed what her heart did not want to believe.

Rarity, the former element of generosity. Rarity, wife of Spike. Rarity, mother of Ataxia…

Rarity was dead.

Night fell on her flank. It was all too much; it was cruel, too cruel. Magically, she unplugged the alarm and turned her head to look at her friend.

Ataxia was in a state of shock, her face… it lost all color in it, the purple of her coat seemed to fade. Logically, Night new it was just the dirt covering the mare, but somehow, it seemed more than that. Like she simply lost what made her, her.

There were no words. Nothing could be said, nothing to say… words were meaningless right now.

Night, slowly, ever so slowly got up and walked over to her friend. She wrapped a hoof around her and hugged her. Squeezing her with all her might.

None of that got through. Nothing, until the first tear fell from Night’s eye. It landed on Ataxia’s coat.

As if that was the magical switch, as if that was the one thing in the world that could reach her. As soon as that tear hit, Ataxia began screaming.

She screamed out her rage. She screamed out her anguish, she screamed out her pain. Mostly, she just screamed. Night held on. She did not let go, she did not even think about it. This… this was too tragic. It should not have happened to any pony, much less Ataxia… her friend.

It was the lack of oxygen that caused Ataxia to stop screaming. She relaxed her head, letting it lay on Night’s shoulder. The weight of everything it… it made something as simple as lifting her own head a feat beyond the mare.

The tears fell next. They fell and fell; Ataxia did not think they would ever stop falling. Truthfully, she did not care if they ever did.

Night simply held her. She would hold her for as long as Ataxia needed, for as long as she wanted to be held. Night did not care. She would stay there forever. If Ataxia could not support her own weight, Night would take it. She could do that much.

“Night…” the voice surprised Night. It was so weak, so unsure, so wounded. It was not Ataxia’s voice. It had no business being associated with a mare so sure of herself, a mare so powerful. Yet, that is who spoke the word. It came from that very same mare.

“Yes Ataxia?” Night softly whispered the words.

“What… what do I do now? How... how do I go on?” That voice again, it was like daggers into Night’s heart.

“You lean on your friends, Ataxia. You lean on me… I promise, I’ll stay here, I’ll be with you, and I’ll carry your weight, for as long as you need.”

Night began lightly stroking Ataxia’s mane, doing her best to calm the shaking mare. That one so strong, that one so powerful could be brought so low…. It was almost too much.

“You will be with me?”

“Always and forever.”

Ataxia pulled her head off her friends shoulder. She looked Night square in the face. The reflection she saw back, the truth of her friend's soul was written in her eyes. Those perfect, perfect eyes.

Ataxia saw a mare suffering, not because something had happened to her, but because something happened to some pony that she cared about. She saw love, true and unconditional.

Ataxia kissed Night.

…

Night froze. She went stiff as a board as Ataxia’s lips pressed themselves to hers.

Uncertainty… confusion… disbelief… and something else… something she could not put her hoof on. All these emotions went through her, all at the same time.

When, at last, Ataxia pulled back. They both looked at each other, their emotions unreadable. Until, at last, Night broke the silence.

“Ataxia… I’m sorry, I thought you knew. I’m not a fillyfooler; I don’t like mares like that.”

Ataxia looked at Night, then to her mom. Her expression... Night had seen it before, it was the look of utter betrayal; however, Night was not sure if the look was meant for her or Rarity.

For the third time in less than an hour, Ataxia did the one thing she hated the absolute most in life.

Ataxia teleported away.

She did not know where she was going.

She did not care either.