It was a small miracle that he regained consciousness at all.

Blood Dawn’s awareness of the situation came after the fact. He came back to consciousness on the top of a tree. He had no idea how he had gotten there or what happened to forcefully put him there. However, that was not the first thing on his mind. What occupied that spot was that pain. The never-ending pain from the damage his body sustained.

His magic was working overtime trying to heal his wounds. His internal organs were rebuilding themselves at an insane rate. He was getting good at repairing damage to his body. That was something that irked him. That he was taking this much damage at all after his power up was insane.

However, it was his legs that really hurt him, or more precisely, it was the lack of his back legs that really, really hurt him. They were no longer there. Yes the magic was rebuilding them, but the pain… it was unlike any other he had ever known.

Blood Dawn was quickly getting used to pain. It seemed to be his lot in life the past few minutes. First, that damn griffin with the Blood Oath Armor, something that should never have happened, and now this. This new pain, he still was not sure at just what had hit him. What had crushed his bones and caused him to lose his legs. Although, if he had to guess he would say it had something to do with the lava that was even now shooting up into the sky from a new geyser in the ground.

He knew he was lucky to be alive. A cursory glance around showed him what happened. He looked up at the top of the mountain and could see the holes that were left from where he passed right through them. That explained the damage done to his organs and bones. The lava, which was still coming up from the ground. That would be what caused him to lose his legs. His mind quickly put the pieces together. Something hit him; something hit him with enough force to slam him through every mountain peak in his way. The strength of it caused him to continue on, down into the mantle of the planet.

The lava spit him back out. Had it not been under pressure, had it not spewed outward with the force it had, he would have died right then and there. Boiled alive in a magma pocket, so for that, he had to consider himself lucky.

His legs were quickly regenerating. In a moment, he would be back to normal, well, save for the hole in his chest left by that dumb old griffin. But there was not anything he could do about that right now. Of greater note was what had caused the hit in the first place. Just what could have hit him with such force; in such a way that one blow would have been enough to kill him. With only blind luck coming to save him.

He could only think of one thing that could have hit him like that, only one pony that could have caused it. Only one mare that had that sort of speed, that sort of ability. It had to be Princess Rainbow Dash.

That thought made him smile. Her time had come, so he would finally have his fight with the one who took his title. Of course, he could only take her on once he was back to normal. Well, as normal as he could be with this blasted wound in his chest.

So he waited, he lay still and endured the pain of his missing legs, of the third degree burns over his entire body. Yes, it hurt like hell, but it was worth it. It helped that his body was getting extremely good at repairing damage. All thanks to that blasted griffin who dared use that armor against him.

He smiled at what was to come, his one on one with the great and mighty Rainbow Dash.

……

Rainbow scanned the area to the best of her abilities. She knew not where that creature would reappear, so she kept up her guard. In any other situation, on any other day, she would have found that thing easy enough. But those days did not include several avalanches happening all over the area and a geyser of lava spewing out.

‘Of course, I may have gotten him with that first blow. I am that awesome after all.’ Despite herself, she could not help but smile at that idea.

She dismissed that thought; while there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that she was that awesome, things like that did not happen in the real world. No one ever gets that lucky. Plus, this creature would not have called her out the way it did if it could die that easy. So she did not count it out just yet, that being said, there was the matter of the other one here that she needed to see. The one she wanted to slap upside the head for being this stupid. She needed to find Siros, or at the very least find his body.

She found Siros’s body easy enough. The old fool looked… peaceful. He died with a smile on his beak. He looked tranquil, serene, unreal, almost as if he were only sleeping. If it was not for the paleness of his body and the blood all around, she could have almost believed that. It was obvious to Rainbow that he died of blood loss. What did strike her as odd was the dull grey armor he was in and the nature of the majority of his wounds. They looked self-inflicted and not one of them looked like it was that bad to cause him to bleed to death. Yet all the blood around the area told a very different tale.

Rainbow landed next to him and looked down, she could not believe that he was actually gone. He died before she got to yell at him for that last bit of the letter, he died before she got to call him an idiot for facing this creature on his own. He died before she got to tell him how she felt about him.

So she did so now, it was better late than never, or that is what they say anyway.

“You stupid idiot. Why did you do this? Why did you take that creature on all by yourself?” She shook her head at that. “I’ll never understand… but, perhaps, I don’t need too. If I was in your place, I would have done the exact same thing.”

Her anger was taking hold again as her mind started to replay just why she was here and what that creature did. “You should know, I do love you.”

“Not as you loved me, I’m sorry, I don’t feel that way about anyone other than Twilight. On that you were right, she is the mare for me, the only one I want, the only one I ever need. However, I love you like a father, I've always enjoyed our time together. And… and I don’t blame you for Aurora.” That last part was hard for her to say, she still did not know her daughter’s fate. However, it was true, she truly did not blame him for Aurora, or for Orion. After all, there was no need to blame him, not when the one truly responsible was so close to her.

“I blame him.”

Blood Dawn was surprised that Rainbow noticed him. At first, he thought it was simply a coincidence, a chance that she was looking up at the shadow he had hidden in. However, those eyes told a very different story. They were staring right at him, and the hatred, the anger, the rage… there could be no doubt. She saw him clear as day and she wanted to kill him.

Only a handful of ponies have ever lived to see the Grim Reaper, the physical personification of death itself. For when you see him, it means your time has come. At that moment, at that time, had someone asked Blood Dawn what the Grim Reaper looked like, had they asked him to describe the Grim Reaper, he would have simply pointed at Rainbow Dash.

For the first time in his long, long existence, he felt a new feeling; there was something in him he had never experienced before, something he could not name because of how new it was to him. How do you describe the color blue when it is the first time you ever see it for yourself?

It was… intoxicating to the revenant; he had never felt anything like this. This feeling he felt… he knew that others had felt this before. It was not a new feeling for the world, it was simply a new feeling to Blood Dawn. It caused strange sensations in his body… he could not put a hoof on what it was called though. It was too new, too exciting for him to think about it right now.

Not even his time with Grim Night could ever compare to this. That creature was disturbing even to him; Grim was calm, cool, and collected. Everything Rainbow was not, everything Blood was not. Blood could not help but see himself in this mare across from him. Maybe… just maybe, that is why he had this new feeling, this… thing he could not explain.

So with the new and exciting feeling in him and the mare he wanted to kill more than any other in the world. He grinned. It mattered not that she looked different now than the last time he lay eyes on her, that her mane had grown several sizes larger than before. He did not care, he wanted more, he wanted to know just how deep the rabbit hole goes, but mostly, he wanted to drink her blood and compare it to that of her grandson, just to see if age makes a difference or not.

So he stepped out of his shadow and faced the one who caused him this new feeling, who caused such a reaction in him.

“At last, I stand before the great Ra-“

“Shut up.”

He was taken aback by that. “Wh-“

“So, you're dumb too, I said shut up.” The look in her eyes… it caused him to shut his mouth. There was no comment he could say, there was no smart-ass remark ready for her. All he could do was obey.

“I will kill you for what you did to my daughter, for what you did to my family.”

“I-“ He tried to get a word in.

“Ten. Seconds. Flat.” The time for talk was over, Rainbow had said all she had to say, she did not want to hear a single word from this creature, this shadow… after all, she was about to kill him. What is the point of talking to a dead stallion?

At that proclamation, Rainbow Dash engaged Blood Dawn.

The world would forever carry the scars of their battle.

…………………………………………………

Cadance could only watch. She could only watch as Radiant Star paced back and forth in the hospital's waiting room. He wanted to run to his wife. He wanted more than anything to go to her, to make sure with his own eyes that she was alright, that she would wake up.

The tears on the ground were a testament to that fact.

It was only Princess Cadance’s presence that stopped him from busting down every single door in his path and finding her. When she was informed that Firestar had collapsed on the ground, Cadance made all haste to the hospital. Only to find her son brandishing magic blades at the orderlies that tried to get him to settle down, that tried to tell him that the doctors needed to work without him standing over their shoulders.

It was easy to see that she had arrived just in time to prevent him from killing anypony. On any other day, at any other time, she would have reprimanded him for such actions. Now... now she could only sympathize with him. His love was lying in the next room and the ponies that kept them separate would not tell him why. It was not the orderlies fault. They simply did not know, however, for someone who was hurting, for someone whose love was in danger, such excuses were unwanted at best.

Radiant was more like his father than she had ever guessed. Shining Armor, he was much the same way when Cadance was pregnant. That… that had not gone well for anyone involved. The doctors had to magically put off Cadance’s delivery, for that was when the incident happened. When Equestria and the rest of the world suffered after the death of the Grim Reaper. Cadance did not like remembering that time, it only brought back pain.

Of course, it had ended well for her. Well, somewhat well anyway. She gave birth to her son, Radiant Star, the apple of his parent’s eye. It had come at a cost though, the ‘complications’ of his birth… she could not have any more foals. It was, ‘unsafe’ for her to do so. Or that is what the doctors said anyway.

Now… now with Firestar in the hospital for Luna knows what reason. She felt as helpless as she did back then. In truth, she wanted to rush in there and find out what was wrong with her daughter-in-law as much as her son did. It was only for him that she had not; she needed to be strong for her son.

It was easier to be strong for someone else, had he not been here, had there been someone else to play the adult, she would be in the exact same situation as he was. After all, she wanted more than anything else to know just what happened to Firestar.

“I can’t take it, mom.” The pain in his voice was almost unbearable to Cadance; he was hurting, and badly. It was… it was the anguish that hurt the most, the powerlessness, the not knowing. It was killing him.

“I know son, but we can’t interrupt, it will do more harm than good, if they need us, if they have any information for us, they'll let us know.” She grabbed him in her magic and sat him down on his flank. Wrapping a hoof around him she squeezed her son for all her worth.

Radiant did not fight it, he did not resist, or say it was improper to have such public displays of affection… he just cried. He let it all out, right into his mother’s fur.

Cadance cried too. Their family had suffered so much, with the loss of Shining Armor, Dayspring, and now… now she did not know what would happen, but her mind could not help but go to the worst-case scenario. It was only natural for someone to fill in the blanks.

Their hug was interrupted by a sound of an orderly clearing her throat. Radiant immediately let his mom go and ran up to her. Upon seeing who it was, he felt guilty; this was one of the orderlies that he had threatened earlier. He had threatened to behead her if she did not let him pass.... Radiant made a mental note to personally apologize later.

“How is she?” Radiant managed through tears in his eyes.

“She’s resting right now, b-“ her message was cut off, Radiant ran right past her and through the double doors. Taking off down the hall he sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him.

One thought played through his mind. It was the same one that put a smile on his face at a time when he could not stop crying. ‘Firestar is alive.’

It was that one thought that kept him going, the one thing he needed to know before anything else. He did not care what else there was, that was what he wanted to know. Everything else could jump off a bridge until he verified that with his own eyes.

Radiant made it to her room in record time. Only bowling over four ponies on his way, when he got there he was completely out of breath.

“Firestar!” Radiant shouted.

“Shh.” The doctor told him from around the corner. Accepting his mistake, Radiant calmed down and walked the rest of the way. His wife, his mare, his everything; She was lying in bed, peacefully sleeping on her back. Just like he has seen her a hundred other times. Only this time, this time she was in a hospital bed and he was not lying by her side. That part felt wrong to him. That was not the natural order of things. It felt… wrong not to be sleeping next to her.

Still, he could not help but smile as he lightly brushed a hair out from her eyes. “What happened?” he asked nopony in particular. He knew the doctor would be in; he had made far too big a ruckus for nopony to follow him in here.

“She fainted from exhaustion, it was too much for the commander. The combination of the heat, the stress, and the smoke was all too much for a mare in her condition. To be honest, I don’t know why she was even out there.”

“Her condition?” Radiant turned from her face for the first time since he came into the room. The doctor was holding a chart out in front of him while he looked over it. Cadance was just coming into the room, having just caught up with her son’s frantic running down the hall.

“She's pregnant, prince. About one month along now. Did you two not know?” The doctor stared at him with a confused look on his face.

Cadance’s jaw dropped on the floor as Radiant looked back at his wife with a smile on his face. “Pregnant…” He said the word, hoping that it would make it real, that by saying it would bring it down to something that he could get his head around.

It did not work.

“Mom… I’m going to be a dad?” it was both a question and a statement. For the second time that day, Cadance came up and hugged her son, although, this time, it was for the opposite reason.

“I’m going to be a dad.” Radiant smiled as he digested this news. “I’m a father.” His smile was bright enough to light up the room.

“Prince, princess, you should both know the amount of smoke she inhaled along with the lifestyle she has led, it has caused some, complications.”

Cadance felt her heart jump into her throat at another doctor using that word when referring to a pregnancy. She could not help but feel a sense of loathing for someone who would even say that, again. Radiant and Cadance both turned and glared at him. The doctor could not tell just which one of them looked scarier. While the royalty of the Crystal Empire had a reputation for kindness and love, he could easily see that his next words might change that. That he might become the example of what not to say to a member of royalty.

“What do you mean, complications?” Cadance asked with venom in her voice.

“There was some… complications with the baby. The commander’s body is not handling the stress of pregnancy well. Her catecholamines are at a record high. It has caused a high level of adrenaline and dopamine in her body. They are having an adverse effect on the pregnancy.”

“I’m sorry doctor, what are you talking about?” Radiant asked, he suddenly wished more than anything else that Twilight was here, so she could translate for him.

“Catecholamine is a stress hormone, her body is at two times the normal level, it has caused issues with the pregnancy. Her pregnancy is at risk because of it.”

“What does that mean?” Cadance asked, sure just what he was saying.

“I have no choice but to prescribe her strict bed rest, she must stay in bed at all times. I cannot stress that enough. She must not leave that bed for any reason.”

“Doctor… for how long?”

“Until the fetuses come.”

“Babies?”

“Yes prince, all the tests show that she is carrying twins. As you may be aware, carrying twins to term is a high risk in and of itself, that provided with her normal tendencies, we have to take every precautionary measure to protect the fetuses. Not to pile on bad news, but you should also know, that regardless if she successfully carries to term or not, it is highly unlikely she will ever be able to conceive again.”

Radiant fell down on his flank, he turned and looked at his wife’s sleeping form. ‘Twins?’ His mind went through all of the possibilities of this. He put that off for later, somehow, someway, he had to convince Firestar to stay in bed for the next eleven months… He had to convince a mare that did everything herself, the one that would personally attack any issue head on without a second thought that she had to stay in bed for the next eleven months. It was an impossible task. However, they had no choice, not if they ever wanted to have a family.

“Can I at least take her home?” Radiant asked hopeful.

The doctor shook his head. “Prince, if she leaves this bed, there is a fifty-fifty chance that she will miscarry. Again, I cannot express enough that she must stay in bed.”

“Can we… can we use magic?” Radiant was grasping at straws now.

Again the doctor shook his head. “The amount of magic it would take to reverse this situation would have risky implications on the pregnancy.”

“Doctor… how am I supposed to tell her that she cannot leave this bed?”

It was a maddening prospect to say the least. How do you tell the sea to stand still, the wind not to blow, or the sun not shine? He could not think of any scenario where this would go well.

The doctor merely shook his head. “I don’t know, prince.” Everyone knew of Firestar’s eccentricities, for that mare eleven months of bed rest would be a new kind of hell. “If you want, I will tell her.”

Radiant shook his head; he knew this should come from him. They may not have talked about having foals before, but if this was their one chance, he should be the one to tell her. It should come from him, no pony else.

He looked back at the mare he loved. Radiant noticed that she was beginning to awaken. In desperation, Radiant turned to his mom with tears in his eyes. “Mom, what do I do?” He cried.

Cadance shook her head, no one had the answer to that question, not even Twilight would be able to find a book on what the right thing to do was in this situation. So she fell back on the only thing she knew, the one truth in the world that had never failed her. “Follow your heart son, let your love tell you the right answer. Do that, and you can never go wrong.” She hugged him for all her worth. “I'll stay by your side if you want.”

He turned back to his wife, who was even now beginning to stretch as she woke up; however, her eyes were still closed. “No, you two get out of here, this should come from me alone.”

“Whatever happens, know that I am proud of you, I always have been, and I always will be. I love you, son.”

“I love you too, mom.”

Cadance and the doctor turned and walked out the door, leaving the stallion alone with the mare he loved, the one he now had to tell would not leave her bed for the next eleven months. Not if she ever wanted foals anyway.

“Hey idiot…” Firestar said through a groggy haze in her vision.

“Hey yourself.” Radiant said. He interrupted her yawn with a kiss to her lips, one she returned. As such was their morning routine.

“Where am I anyway?” Firestar asked as her eyesight refocused on the room around them after the kiss broke apart.

“Before I answer that, let me ask you one quick question. Have you ever wanted to have foals?”

……………………………………

Rainbow Dash flew at Blood Dawn with a murderous intent in her eyes. Blood had seen that look a million times, in the eyes of parents of foals he would kill, of vengeful lovers who wanted his head for killing their significant someponies. All of those times, he would laugh at them, it was the last actions of somepony who simply wanted to die, somepony who was no real threat.

Rainbow Dash was a real threat, this mare, she would kill him in a second, in less than a second if given an opening. For ponies like them, a second was a long, long time. Much could happen in a second, and much did.

Blood Dawn dodged to the left, just in time to avoid a decapitation blow from Rainbow’s left gold wing. However, that action just put him in line for a right wing swipe. He grunted as the golden energy from Gaia made contact with the black energy protecting him. While the cut left in his skin was small, the fact that he was cut at all was telling.

However, Rainbow was not done. She immediately cut ninety degrees in the air to his location. Slamming into him with such speed that Blood could barely see it coming. He coughed up blood as several ribs broke yet again in his chest.

Her hoof landed on his head with enough force to drive him back several yards. He landed on the rock crop behind him, almost impaling himself on one of the sharper ones.

Blood regained his bearings in an instant; he flew at Rainbow with rage in his heart. This was his fight, the one he wanted more than anything else. He would not simply roll over, not like this. Blood angled both wingtips at her like spears, seeking to impale the mare on them like a shish kabob.

It was a amateur maneuver to one as skilled as Rainbow. She ducked low and grew both wing tips out to intercept the pegasus before he made contact. She impaled Blood with both primary feathers and flipped him over her. Taking flight, she threw the pegasus directly into the rocks below her, slamming him down into the ground with enough force to create a small avalanche on the mountain they were on.

Blood groaned with the pain and pulled himself out of her wings. Losing several ounces of blood in the process, an action he was unconcerned with as his body was already healing the wounds.

His callous disregard for his own well being actually surprised Rainbow, which gave Blood the upper hoof.

Blood Dawn flew straight up and into Rainbow’s gut, it was her turn to groan in pain as he struck her several times with his hoof, transforming his right leg into a blade he tried to eviscerate her after the fourth impact.

Rainbow rolled free of his punches just in time to avoid the blow. However, it earned her a gash across her flank for her trouble; one that bled out without any time for her wings to wrap around and heal it.

Blood saw than the difference in their abilities, that one gash told him all he needed to know. Despite the extra power and speed he got from Grim Night, Rainbow was indeed still faster than him. However, he healed much quicker than she did. All he had to do was drag out the fight long enough and he would see her dead.

‘Ten seconds indeed.’ Blood smiled at that new knowledge as the clock ticked two seconds and the fight continued.

..

Growing out her wings several hundred yards, Rainbow flew straight up and spun in the air, forming a small cyclone as she did so. That was not the threat to Blood Dawn; the threat was her wings. Each wing tip cut down in his direction at speeds that left huge gashes in the mountain. He did his best to dodge them.

His best attempt did not work, as Rainbow was simply too fast. Several times he would have to raise his wings to block her attack, each time cost him precious speed, which in turn caused another part of him to be struck. Yes they would heal, however, each time left more and more pain. Which caused him to lose more and more speed. Blood did not know if there was a limit to what his body would heal, but he had a feeling that there was indeed such a limit. One he did not want to test.

Blood ducked low and under. Seeking to avoid the dreaded blades for all his worth. Rainbow simply followed his path. Each twist causing more and more rocks to be cut free from the mountain, which in turn caused one more thing that Blood Dawn had to avoid. With limited options, Blood fell back to his old fall back plan, if dodging does not work, simply attack. After all, a dead enemy cannot attack you.

Blood flew up and into the cyclone Rainbow was creating with her spinning. She could not angle directly below her, not without setting off a very bad reaction in the air pressure.

He sought to spear her from below on his wings, it was the one thing he had going for him that she could not do anything about.

Or so he thought.

Rainbow immediately shrunk her wings back to normal and left the cyclone, an action that surprised and shocked him to no end. Blood realized too late that he had fallen into her trap; he was stuck in this attack, overcommitted.

Rainbow lashed out at where he was going to be. Cutting deep gashes into the pegasus with every feather on her left wing. It left a trail of scars down his stomach, one cutting right across the wound Siros had given him.

To his horror, it spread along the new gash, un-healing and bleeding. As the blood magic used to hurt him coalesced with the magic of Rainbow’s wing, empowering it with magic that repelled Blood Dawn's own.

Rainbow noticed this too; she had finally found a way for her attacks to do real damage, for them to actually cause this creature real pain.

Blood knew then, that the fight just got a whole lot harder, and he cursed his own stupidity at letting the griffin live in the first place. If he had just killed the old fool when he had the chance back at the palace, he would not have had this issue.

Of course, there was nothing to be done about that now, the past is in the past and he did not have anywhere near enough time to complain about it. In a game like this, every second matters.

…

Rainbow Dash grinned as she saw the new wound on this creature, she almost laughed as she realized that she still did not know its name. Not that it mattered; it had seven seconds left to live. She was keeping track. She had made that promise and Rainbow Dash always keeps her promise.

Rainbow shot straight up and around the creature, trapping it behind a barrier of golden magical energy, it had been awhile since she had last pulled off this maneuver, but it’s effectiveness could not be denied. She even thought of a way to make it even stronger than before.

Blood Dawn saw it coming a mile away; however, that knowledge would not save him. Rainbow flew around him in a giant sphere; the energy from her wings would not let him leave. Every direction he tried to fly in to escape would see her there instantly before he arrived. Blocking him off from any escape.

Flight not an option, Blood turned to fight. He tried to destroy the magic golden barrier, his black wings, granted increased power and strength from Grim Night’s spell, lashed out against the golden energy from Rainbow’s wings. It availed him not; Blood’s magic was strong, easily on a level that no alicorn could ever hope to match, but it did not compare to the God magic Rainbow Dash possessed.

Rainbow completed the sphere and flew a mile back, this next part would require perfect timing, but when it came to such things, no pony was better than Rainbow Dash.

She flew to the center of the sphere, in the center... in the dead center she created four sonic Rainbooms back to back. Recreating the sonic rainbomb not seen since her battle with the shadow creatures over forty years ago in the depths of Tartarus.

This time, this time it was on a completely different level. Back then she was new to all of this, new to her powers and abilities. Rainbow had the last forty years to get used to it. She was an expert now.

The energy released shattered the sphere designed to hold it. For miles around, every soul saw the energy of the four rainbooms released in one glorious rainbow circle. It was the first of many legends created that night.

It was over as quick as it began, when the energy dissipated from its epicenter, Skyclaw Mountain was no more. The entire mountain chain had been destroyed from the explosion of raw power.

For a second Rainbow thought the she might have given a conservative estimate of just how long this creature had to live, that the battle was already over in just three seconds.

The blade that inserted itself though her chest told her the opposite, it told her that it had only just begun.

…

Blood saw the danger coming, there was no way to escape it, and her flight left him in the dust, that part still irked at him. No matter what he did, she was still faster.

He could not think of that right now, right now he was a millisecond away from dying. He watched as she broke through the sphere she put up, it was then, at that moment that he saw his way out. It was slight, just a small blur on the edge of his vision, but he saw it.

When the explosion cleared, he took his opportunity and jumped out of her shadow, immediately stabbing her through the back with a blade. A very satisfying grunt of pain came from the mare. The blood that splashed on his face was intoxicating to the revenant. It was a shame, two inches to the left and he would have cut her spinal cord in two. He mentally berated himself for such bad aim.

….

Rainbow kicked back with all her worth, she felt her hooves make impact with a satisfying crunch from the two objects that were the weak points on every stallion she had ever met. This one proved to be no exception.

After all, if he was not above such dirty underhanded tricks, why should she be? However, that last blow she had suffered cost her, she had no choice but to land and wrap one wing around her. She would be unable to fly as fast as she could with a punctured lung, and against this creature, that would mean her death. She had to heal. That meant she had to land.

Blood immediately went back into flight. That last blow hurt, a lot. Although, compared to the pain he had suffered recently it was more of pain to his pride than anything else.

He grinned as he saw her land and immediately flew into the shadows of the outcrop of rocks next to her; she was grounded for the time being. Now was his chance to capitalize, to make her pay for everything she had done, for everything she dared to take from him.

Rainbow scanned the shadows to the best of her ability, her wound was healing, but it would take a few moments, and unlike her opponent, she lost the ability to fly when she was healing. That meant she was vulnerable.

The attack came from her own shadow again. That was stupid of it, it was too predictable. Rainbow jumped back and lashed out at the rock with her other wing. It struck nothing but dirt.

Looking on in shock, too late did she realize that was this creatures intention, he traveled along the shadow cast by her wings length and lashed out for her neck, she dodged, but only just.

Rainbow felt the blade bite lightly into her neck, another scar, another lesson about never underestimating your opponent; she could not help but smile at that. ‘You figure by now I would be very knowledgeable about such subjects.’ She laughed at her own thought.

That’s when she saw it, a huge rock cropping left over from the mountain’s destruction. That is where she would turn the table.

Blood Dawn could not believe this turn of events as Rainbow hid in a huge shadow. It was a trap, his mind told his body that much, but his instinct was in control now, it had to be, in a fight like this, stopping to think, to reason, and to analyze would only see you killed.

He jumped into the shadow and went to attack the mare, to finish the job.

Rainbow’s wings shone brightly, blinding the stallion as she lashed out with both of them. She temporarily ignoring the wound that she had been trying to heal. Rainbow channeled all her power into those wings, imbuing them with her magic. The golden magic emanating from her wings took away the shadows he was hiding in, allowing her to strike him without difficulty.

Blood screamed in agony as the power imbedded itself into him, spreading the wound from Siros even farther as he felt a part of him cut off from his very being. Some portion of him no longer worked, not in the way it should have.

He found out just what that was when he tried to escape. Tearing himself free he attempted to jump into the shadows again. He only succeeded in slamming face first into a rock.

He lost his affinity for the shadows, no longer could he shadow jump.

…..

Blood Dawn lashed out in a blind rage, attacking Rainbow with two blades and both wings. Unable to fly, unable to use her superior maneuverability, Rainbow could only dodge, she wrapped her chest back up with her left wing and used her right to block as many attacks as she could as she kept taking steps back from this berserker.

She even went as far as to tear a feather loose from her wing and use it as another form of defense. Yet for each attack she dodged, for every attack she blocked or avoided another would get through, another would cause a small cut that she could not heal, not without letting down her guard.

It was only a matter of time until something happened, until something turned the tide. Unfortunately for Rainbow, what happened turned the tide further in his favor. Backing away from the creature took all of Rainbow’s attention. She did not see the rock behind her hoof, and did not feel it until it was far too late to avoid. Rainbow tripped and fell backwards.

The sudden action caused her to lose balance. Which was both a blessing and a curse, it saved her from a sudden attack from Blood’s left wing, one that would have decapitated her otherwise. However, it did guarantee his victory.

Blood immediately capitalized on this sudden unexpected development. Slamming both blades into her right wing, Rainbow realized all too soon that what he wanted to do was drag this out. It was in his nature to do so, Blood then proceeded to impale her front legs with his wings. Trapping her against the ground, she was unable to move.

He sniffed her, smelling the sweat from her brow as he did so. Blood wanted to savor this moment, he wanted to remember this for as long as he lived. It was then that Rainbow truly saw the damage done to him from Siros, the black blood leaking from his wounds. She also realized two important factors at that moment:

1. Her left wing was still on her side, he did not lock it down

2. Her lung was healed

Rainbow lashed out at the bleeding wound on Blood Dawn’s chest. He screamed in pain and released her limbs as he did so. Rainbow did not get away scot-free, those wings embedded themselves into her stomach, in a sick parody of the wound Rainbow caused on him.

He fell back in agony as Rainbow cried out in pain. He looked down at the feather still sticking out of his chest, somehow the mare had magically detached it and left it imbedded in him. A trick he could not yet duplicate. That fact made him smile, he still had so much to learn about his new powers and he could not think of a better teacher, or a better way to learn.

His smile faded when he tried to pull it out, the magic energy surrounding the feather… it would not let him touch it. To make matters worse, Rainbow was back in the air.

‘Let’s finish this.’ Blood thought. He was in bad shape; several new wounds covered his body that were not healing. However, Rainbow appeared to be in a similar situation. He could recognize the effects of blood loss all too well, the slight drop in her limbs, the loss of color, and the fatigue. They were all tell-tale signs that Blood had seen too many times. Blood Dawn could easily see that she did not have much left either.

Regardless of its outcome, the fight would soon be over. Although it could only end one of three ways: one of them would die, or they would kill each other.

Had someone taken the time to ask him, had he had the time to answer, Blood would have told them he was good with all three outcomes.

……………………………………………………………

For the first time in her life, Firestar simply listened to every word she was told. She did not second guess, she did not try and take over the conversation, she simply listened.

That did not change how she felt.

She wanted to rage against it, she wanted to say no bucking way and kick and scream and punch and fight and cry. She wanted to cry. This was too much; she had never considered such a fate. She had fought so hard against her injury, pushing herself beyond any safe levels to get back the use of her legs, to get back her ability to walk, to prove herself worthy of Radiant….

‘Is that why I did it?’

She could not answer that question, not if she were being completely honest anyway. Of course, had anyone asked her, she would have said hell no and then proceeded to beat the hell out of anyone who would dare imply that she would do all of that for some silly way to prove that she was worthy of a prince.

Yet, she could not say that to herself, because she did not know.

Now, here she was… she was pregnant…

The word did not seem to fit, she knew, intellectually, what it meant. She knew that there were now, not one, but two other lives that she was responsible for.

Not that she had to keep them…

She would have given that thought more credence if it were not for the next thing he told her.

“Firestar, the doctors say this is your… our only chance to have a family.”

That realization… she did not know what to think about that… did she want kids? Did he want kids? Ever? It was too big; to big of a concept for her to take it all at once, they had not even discussed having kids yet, they had not even talked about it. She did not know…

Or did she?

Even with everything that had happened, even with all the news that had been dropped on her lap, that if she did keep them, if she went through with it, she would be bedridden for the next eleven months…

Her hoof found its way to her stomach. Before she was even aware of it, she was rubbing her stomach.

‘Why am I doing that?’ Firestar thought to herself.

Did she have a right to even make such a decision? Were these not Radiant’s kids too? Were they not a part of him?

“Firestar, I want you to know I'm ok with anything you decide. I know you, this is asking too much, this would make you too miserable, for you this would be a new kind of hell. I… I don’t want to see you like that, whatever you decide; it changes nothing between you and me. I love you Firestar, I always will.”

The dumb idiot was crying.

She needed to know something before making a decision “Do… do you want kids? I know we never talked about it, but I guess our hoofs kind of got forced here.”

He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. “I want you… I want you to be happy.”

“That’s not answering the question, you idiot, I asked if you want kids. Yes or no?”

He gulped at that, she was right, he had not answered the question. “Firestar…”

“Yes or no?” She interrupted before he could try and weasel out of it again.

“Yes.” He answered her.

“Well then, you will have to do something about the decorations in here.”

Radiant smiled his widest smile. “You mean?”

Firestar nodded her head. She ran a hoof over his eyes, wiping a tear away as she did so. “They're a part of you too after all. How could I do anything else?”

He hugged her, he kissed her, and he never wanted to let her go again.

“You better get them to bring in another bed though.”

“Why?”

“I can’t fall asleep each night without you by my side, so we need to push two beds together… what? Did you think you wouldn’t be moving in here with me?”

He looked her in the eyes. “It would be my honor.”

“Besides, you think I’ll let just anyone give me a sponge bath?” Firestar winked at him.

Radiant smiled back, he knew they were in for a very long, very hard, very taxing year; one that would test their relationship to the breaking point. But they would be stronger for it and he loved her enough to overcome even an obstacle of this size.

“Oh, someone has to tell my mom about all of this.”

Radiant cringed at that, Spitfire was not the easiest mare to get along with on a good day, and the day someone delivered the news that her daughter had collapsed because of complications with an unexpected pregnancy that would leave her bedridden for almost an entire year was definitely not a good day, not by any definition of the word anyway.

He quickly thought of a way out of it. “I’ll ask my mom to do it.” Radiant said with a grin.

…

Out in the waiting room, Princess Cadance had just finished debriefing with the doctors about all the possibilities of what was to come, some of them broke her heart to consider, but it was not her choice.

Others left a smile on her face as she considered the full implications of becoming a grandma.

Suddenly, a small shudder spread down her back, almost as if someone had trotted on her grave.

“Are you alright, princess?” the doctor asked.

“Physically, yes.” Cadance replied, although she had a funny feeling that might not be true for long.

.....................................................

The fight degenerated down to a brawl, to the two of them simply trading blows. Rainbow was easily twice as fast as Blood Dawn, yet Blood Dawn had twice as many weapons to attack with. The battle was quickly becoming a stalemate for the two. With neither side gaining an upper hoof over the other, both too worn out for anything new, for any big play that might turn the tide in their favor.

Until Rainbow noticed an opening.

It was small, it was slight, for anyone else, it would have been impossible. However, when this creature attacked with his right hoof blade, he was unable to bring it around fully due to the feather sticking out of his chest. It would take some work, but she could capitalize on it with the right set of moves.

Her years of training were coming back. Ever since she started training with Siros she had taken a new interest in most combat techniques. With no need to practice her flying, Rainbow devoted her free time to that end alone.

Her mind played out the pattern as clear as day, just how to maneuver her opponent into position, how to get each of his weapons exactly where she needed them, her body simply followed her mind’s eye and traced the path it lay out in her head perfectly.

Before he knew it, before he was even aware of it, Blood Dawn felt his arms go weak. He looked down at the mare’s cyan hoof, noticing it’s position and the look on her face as it pressed the feather in his chest deeper inside. Causing him to go limp as it severed his spinal cord with its magic.

“You bitch.” He spat.

She responded by kicking with all her might, causing the feather to go right through Blood Dawn and fly out the other side. He coughed up blood as it left his body. Rainbow could see it clear as day, the damage done, the hole left in his body as he flew in place, unable to raise his hoofs. She stared on in surprise, no blow had caused this much damage to him before, and only a few would not heal. All of those seemed to spread from the one that he already had before the battle began, the wound he sustained from Siros. She mentally thanked the griffin, whatever he had done, it have given her an advantage in this fight, it was a way to wound this creature that she would not otherwise have had.

Her surprise almost cost Rainbow her life.

Blood Dawn lashed out with his right wing, Rainbow ducked down, but only just. She saved her head from being cut off but she grunted as the tip of her left ear left her body.

Blood grinned at the damage he caused; he left his mark on her, something she would never forget, regardless if she won.

Rainbow’s anger started taking hold; she drew upon that anger to access the power she had put off so far; the rainbow power.

Blood taunted her. “What’s with the look? You should be thanking me, I just made both sides match now.”

Rainbow lashed out with the rainbow beam, striking the gloating pegasus in the chest with the magic she got from Gaia’s Occulous.

…….

Blood Dawn wrapped himself up in a tight cocoon as the magic rolled over him. He had not expected this, he had not known about this power. Nothing had told him this was a possibility, that she could do this… it was insane to even think of.

He had no comeback for this, no response, and no counter. All he could do was ride it out, hoping that he could survive simply through raw force of will and trusting in his magic to save him. Although, he was starting to think that Grim might have known about this possibility, that Grim had set him up to fail.

The longer that thought played in his head the surer he was becoming. Grim knew all of this, he knew Blood would still be slower and sent him here to his death.

Although, if that was his goal, why did he not simply do it himself? He had plenty of chances to do the deed himself over the last few months, and Grim Night was never one to avoid bloodying his own hooves.

At least they had that in common.

Whatever Grim Night’s reason was, Blood knew that there was nothing to be done about it now, all he could do was protect his body, and hope that the magic attacking him would give out before his protection failed him. If that happened, there would not be any reason to worry about anything else. After all, he would be dead, and the dead have no worries.

…

Rainbow focused her magic on this creature and blasted him with all her will. Over fifteen years have passed since any of them had been able to access their rainbow transformation. Twilight had said it was due to the death of Applejack, that since they were all tied to the tree… the Occulous. That AJ’s death severed that link. Rainbow was not so sure. Yes, Twilight was normally right about these things, but she knew her wife well enough to know when she was not a hundred percent sure about something. Twilight would use words like ‘sure, maybe, I suppose.’ Those were her tells, her giveaways that she might be wrong.

Of course, it hardly ever happened, but this was one of those times. On her way here, Rainbow underwent that transformation. Her mane grew several times its original size, her cutie mark emblems appeared on her face and hooves. She knew why too.

It was because of Twilight. She wanted this creature dead. Because she wanted him dead, Gaia wanted him dead. So follows that Gaia’s Occulous wanted him dead too. It was using Rainbow as a funnel for that want, for that need. A task she was more than happy to comply with.

So Rainbow used their strength, focused her anger at this creature, and hit him with all the energy she had, all the energy she had from her transformation.

When she was spent, her mane returned to its original size. Rainbow saw a black cocoon fall out of the sky and impact the ground with a loud bang sound. She flew down, unsure if he was dead or not, but she was unwilling to give up the fight without physical verification. She wanted to see his dead body for herself. It was the only way she would be able to live with herself after the death of Orion, her first grandson, the one she failed to save.

……..

Blood Dawn spread his wings wide open as he lay on his back. They no longer resembled pegasus wings in any definition of the word. That attack had created several holes in them, which in turn left several holes in him. He was missing a foreleg and back leg. In several places on his body, blood poured freely, Blood Dawn’s enhanced magic was unable to heal everything all at once. Not that it mattered, he could only fight on because his wings were not controlled by his brain, simply by his will.

The injury to his spinal cord was absolute, that would not heal, not by him anyway. It did not matter, he was alive, he had his wings. As far as Blood Dawn was concerned, the rest of his body was dead weight anyway.

He glared at his attacker, unwilling to admit that she had won, that whatever that last attack was, all she had to do was do it one more time and it was over. It was then that he realized she had changed. Her mane had shrunk in size. She, at last, resembled the pony that he knew.

Whatever ‘that’ was, wherever that last attack had come from, it got rid of whatever power she was using. That meant she could not do it again, that meant he could still win.

On pure willpower, Blood shut out all the pain of his missing limbs and bruised body, he concentrated on one thing and one thing only, the pure pleasure of what he would do to this mare. In that thought, Blood found his strength, he found his second wind. Blood Dawn shot straight up and grabbed Rainbow by the throat with his wing tip. A second ago and she would have been able to avoid it. Now they were on equal hooves in terms of speed. Now she could not avoid it.

Yes, he could not use his one remaining hoof, but he made up for that little drawback with raw aggression. For he no longer cared if he lived, as long as she died too.

…

Rainbow was shocked when her target caught her in his wing, she could not believe that he was able to move that fast. Her mind replayed the event over and over; it was than she realized that he was not moving faster, she was moving slower. The use of her Rainbow power cost her in terms of speed.

“Bastard.” She gargled out through shorting breaths.

“I take that as a compliment.” He snarled back at her, with a grin on his face.

She tried every trick she could to escape his hold, even trying to fly him into the energy release still expanding from her sonic rainbomb, but in this case, it was will vs will, and, right now, his was the stronger. His one all-consuming desire to see her dead won out. Rainbow was forced to try to get one lucky cut on him.

Blood Dawn proceeded to choke the life out of the mare, all the while she cut at him with her wings, but it was no use though. These attacks cut deep, but she was unable to strike his head. With his spinal cord cut, Blood could not even feel the damage she was doing.

The last thing Rainbow heard before she blacked out was the laughter of her opposite as he strangled her into losing consciousness; the black magic in his wings causing her to black out faster than should have been possible.

‘I’m sorry, Twilight.’

………

Rainbow opened her eyes to the sound of running water. She was not sure what happened or where she was at, but that sound was familiar to the mare, too familiar. It took a few seconds before she realized what it was but her brain soon caught on. That was the sound of running water in the shower.

Someone was taking a shower in her bathroom. Most likely it was Twilight.

That was good news, which meant everything was fine. She focused on her surroundings and found them to be exactly what she suspected. Rainbow Dash was lying in her bed, which made sense, as she did just wake up.

“Rainbow? Are you awake?!” Twilight shouted from the shower. Unsure if her wife had finally woken up or not.

“Yes Twi!” Rainbow shouted into the next room.

“Why don’t you come join me?!”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide at that offer, she was unsure just what she had done to earn such an invitation, but she was not going to look a gift pony in the mouth. Spreading her wings she flew off at top speed into the bathroom.

The sight of her wife in the shower never failed to impress the mare, Twilight stood there, in all her glory. The water soaking her mane and tail, causing them to lay flat down her back. In Rainbow’s opinion, nothing could make Twilight look hotter than when she was soaking wet. When her hair lay down just the right way, it only served to highlight all the sensual curves of her wife.

Of course, Twilight was not wet in the way Rainbow liked her, not yet anyway. Rainbow would soon fix that. That was one instrument she loved to play. One that nopony could ever hope to master, not in the way that 'The Rainbow Dash' had.

“Coming, Rainbow?” Twilight asked seductively.

“No, but you will be soon, Twi.” Rainbow replied. She went to close the distance, only to find that no matter how much closer she moved, the distance remained the same, Twilight was always just a few hooves away from her, no matter what she did.

“Twi, what the hell?”

Twilight looked at Rainbow. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to join me?”

“Twi, this is not funny.” Rainbow took flight, only to find the exact same thing happened.

“I thought you wanted me back more than anything else?” Twilight asked her wife.

“I do! I did!”

“Didn’t you promise to not keep me waiting? Doesn’t Rainbow Dash always keep her promises?”

“I do!” Rainbow shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Then why are you still playing with him?” Twilight’s face changed at that comment, the seductress disappeared. The bathroom was gone, it was just her, just the mare she loved.

“Are you going to let him win, let him take you from me, after everything you went though to get me back? Would you really put me through the pain of losing you?”

Rainbow stopped flying. She fell back on her flank as the realization of what all of this was. What all of this meant, what failure means if she lost to this… this thing. Twilight would be alone, forever. Her losing would force her wife to live her life alone. That… that was unthinkable to the cyan mare, she could never hurt Twilight, not like that.

“Don’t you want to avenge your daughter? Your grandson? Don’t you want to come back to me?”

“Of course.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Finish up and come home, after all, you do have a promise to keep.”

“And Rainbow Dash always keeps her promises.” Rainbow replied as the world went black and Twilight’s image faded from view.

……….

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and kicked out with all her might against this creature. Her back legs struck with the force of a rampaging minotaur as they made contact with Blood Dawn’s face. She felt his jawbone break into several different pieces as the attack came without warning. His left eye pulped in its socket, half way blinding him.

The impact caused him to lose his grip on Rainbow. The mare immediately took flight, flying above him and slamming into his body with all her might. She forced him down several yards into the ground, breaking numerous ribs in the process.

“But, you were dead.” Blood Dawn managed to say with the last of the oxygen in his lungs. His mouth hung open as he looked at her, the golden energy of her wings spread throughout her body. As Rainbow accessed the true power given to her all those years ago by Twilight.

“Sorry, I can’t play with you anymore, I have a promise to keep.” Rainbow replied.

When Rainbow flew back up, Blood lashed out with his wings. Expecting to catch her off guard. It was a fool’s hope. Rainbow impaled both of his wings with her own. Her power outstripped his in every way imaginable. She tossed him up into the air, as high as her strength would send him.

Blood screamed as the pain in his wings caught up to his brain, they would protect him from a lot, but this was the first time they had been individually targeted like that. His screaming never ended as Rainbow flew up at him, slamming into his chest with several sonic rainbooms behind her.

Rainbow followed him up and hit the creature’s chest with all her might, for what she had planned, this would take perfect timing, however, she had made several promises this day, and she would keep all of them.

As soon as they were high enough for what she had planned, Rainbow saw what she was looking for, Shimmering Night’s sun was coming up on the horizon, and Rainbow angled herself just so. She willed herself at this creature with the same frenzy that she attacked the Titan with all those months ago. This time, she controlled it better, as it would not due to go missing for months. Twilight would never forgive her for that a second time. Therefore, she put on the last burst of speed less than an inch from final impact with this creature’s chest.

It was then that Blood Dawn finally knew what he was feeling earlier, looking at her now; he knew without a doubt what it was he felt. What she made him feel.

Fear.

He was afraid of her. Blood Dawn smiled at that realization; he finally knew what all his victims had felt, what he caused them to feel. It was… intoxicating.

When the mega-rainkick struck his chest, Blood Dawn was dead; his mind simply did not catch on to that fact until his body impacted with the sun. The last thing he noticed was the magic in his body leaving him; as such energy cannot be created or destroyed. The force of her kick exploded out into space, directed where it would do the least amount of damage to the world at large. While such maneuvering saved the world from any real damage, the shock wave cut into the moon, causing a large chunk of it to separate from the main body. The gravity of the moon kept it in place, although in time, several meteor storms would find their way to the planet.

Luna cringed over in pain as that event occurred. She did not know why it happened, but was immediately aware of what had caused it.

For everyone else, their fight had taken all night; the damage alone caused the destruction of Skyclaw Mountain, the surrounding area, and broke the moon. Only a single other creature in fifty miles survived the release of energy from their fight.

For Rainbow Dash and Blood Dawn, from the moment the fight started to the moment Blood Dawn’s body impacted the sun was exactly ten seconds.

…………

Grim Night sat in a magic bubble at the edge of the mountain chain and smiled. This was perfect; every single thing had gone according to plan. He knew, without a doubt that Rainbow would be victorious. Although he had not expected it to be so close, it seemed to him that something was holding the mare back, at least, until the end, until she found her resolve. Then it went exactly as he expected it to.

It was over with an epic finale. The mare struck Blood Dawn with such force that his life was ended in that one blow. That was when Grim Night hatched the last of his plan. He knew Blood Dawn did not trust him and he was right not to. Black magic was indeed powerful, but it did not hold a candle to God magic. Still, every little bit helps, at least for what his end game was.

He would normally not trust this to one the likes of Blood Dawn, but there was the little problem of Rainbow’s vengeance, whoever did it, whoever killed the foal would suffer her wrath. That meant he could not do it himself. Not if he wanted to live that is.

The spell was very specific. It had to be a hybrid, a cross breed. While he was sure that if he looked harder he might find another that would meet that criteria, this was simply a chance to kill two birds with one stone. It would get rid of the pain in the ass that was Blood Dawn, and throw the ‘heroes’ off his trail. They would all think that it was over, and he would let them.

So when the blow hit and Blood Dawn’s life came to an end. Grim cast the last bit of the spell, the add-on that he attached at the very end. Blood Dawn’s power did not dissipate into the sky, it all went to him.

The power of Blood Dawn, the power of the dark spell, it swelled Grim Night’s already considerable magical properties to gigantic proportions. He was close, very, very close to having the power he needed. The power that he felt once in his life, the power he wanted back.

“Just one more to go and I will be strong enough to take your power, Twilight Sparkle.” Grim Night smiled a wicked smile as he teleported away. Soon many, many creatures would arrive to look for survivors. It would not do to be caught, not yet anyway.

……………………………………….

Ataxia and Shimmering Night arrived in the middle of the night, if it could even be called that with all the lights and explosions happening on Skyclaw Mountain. They were greeted as returning heroes, something that simply embarrassed Shimmering Night and confused Ataxia. Neither of them wanted such treatment and only one of them was in any way used to it.

It was a small miracle that Ataxia did not see a single statue on their way to the infirmary. That would have caused problems of its own.

When they arrived, Shimmering Night ran right to her sister. Unwilling to comprehend what happened, she asked a million questions, and much to her chagrin, the answers were the same as what she was told. Orion was dead… Warclaw had been attacked.

Two things she really, really did not want to believe. However, she could count one blessing, both Aurora and Icarus were fine, better than fine, they were perfect. How that could be, she did not know.

However, that knowledge did not stop Night from trying to banish her older sister from the Griffin Empire forever. It was not done in malice; Shimmering Night simply did not want Aurora to leave her sight ever again, under any circumstances.

Twilight, who Night had yet to notice in the room, went to override that command, however, a hoof from Aurora stopped her. That same hoof held the ring Icarus had given her that very night.

With the knowledge that her sister was engaged, Shimmering Night immediately forgot about the whole banishment thing and began fretting over her upcoming wedding.

In the end, it was Ataxia that killed the mood.

“So, what's going on with the mountain?”

“My wife is fighting the one who is responsible for all of this.” Twilight replied.

In that one reply, Shimmering Night finally noticed Twilight’s presence in the room and two bombshells were dropped on Night and Ataxia, the first being that all of those explosions, all that destruction was caused by Rainbow Dash, who was even now fighting an unknown foe. One that seemed to be able to hold their own against the likes of Rainbow Dash, which in and of itself was unheard of.

The second was implied, not explicitly stated but Shimmering Night could not help but latch on to it. ‘My wife.’ She dared give voice to what she was thanking.

“Mom?”

Twilight turned and smiled at her, an action that was reciprocated around the room as the new comers all learned the truth, Twilight had her memories back, which explained how Aurora and Icarus were fine, she was back.

Twilight Sparkle was back.

Shimmering Night ran up and hugged Twilight for all her worth, she squeezed as hard as she could. Never wanting to let go. At that time, at that moment, there was not a dry eye in the room for the reunion of mother and daughter.

The conversation took an upbeat tone after that point, with Twilight wanting to catch up on everything her daughters had been up to. She knew all the facts already, but it was the details she wanted. The ones you would only share with close family.

Ataxia could not help herself; she ended up growing a little uncomfortable with the personal direction this conversation was taking; fortunately a loud explosion from Skyclaw Mountain interrupted their discussion.

“I’m going to go help Princess Dash.” Ataxia declared to everyone in the room.

“No.” Twilight replied.

“Why not?”

“I have no doubt you could help her, but she's not the type. This was her grandson after all; Rainbow will want to do this alone. Besides, judging by the noise, you might end up doing more harm than good.”

Ataxia did not like that reason, but she really could not fault it. Rainbow Dash… in many ways she was just like her, strong and fierce, proud and loyal. Ataxia would not want anyone interfering with her battle if someone hurt one she loved, like Night. She could see how Rainbow would feel the same. So she sat on her flank and waited, just like the rest of them.

Twilight, Ataxia, Shimmering Night, Icarus, and Aurora watched the eventual destruction of Skyclaw Mountain from the safety of the palace. Once it fell not a one of them spoke a single word. They all knew who was up there, who was fighting that… that creature. The one who had hurt them all, Rainbow was fighting for all of them; they would offer her their support, even if they could only do it by watching.

Rainbow was strong, the best… however, none of them could see what was happening up there, and not a one of them could make out in any detail just who was winning. When you don’t know what happened, what is happening, your mind tends to fill in the details. Normally with the worst-case scenario, even if logic tells you something different.

It was too dangerous to get any closer. Icarus could not even send out guards to warn the town. Random shockwaves would cascade down from the mountain. Rainbooms and explosions would light up the night. Several times the city itself would tremble with the energy of the combatants were putting out.

Halfway through the night, the mountain itself collapsed. Shedding rocks and debris as far as Warclaw. Icarus cringed as the thought of the damage to his kingdom played through his head. All the dead… all the injured, it all weighed heavily on his mind.

Despite all of that, Twilight never gave up hope; she was like the rest of them, reduced to watching and waiting. She held fast to her wife’s honor, she would not go up there; she would not interfere. When asked she always replied with the same response.

“There's no need. Rainbow promised she would not keep me waiting.”

It was an hour after sunrise when they saw it, a golden meteorite crashing down in the distance. Twilight immediately teleported in range and caught it with her magic. She slowed the descent enough to teleport the golden cocoon directly into the infirmary room.

They all stood around as the golden wings unwrapped themselves around Rainbow, Rainbow was not done healing but she had kept her wife waiting long enough.

She looked at her wife with the cock-sure grin she was famous for. “Hey, egghead.”

“Hey yourself, featherbrain,” Twilight cried as she said the words.

“Told you I always keep my promises.”

“I know you do, Rainbow. I never doubted it. Not even for a minute.”

Author's Notes:

I finished this way, way earlier then planned. so enjoy it!

Of note, ch 8 may be a little while in coming, August is not going to be a good month for me work wise and I won't be able to put as much time into writing as i am used to.

In case you were wondering, I'm planning on 20 chapters of around 12.5k words per chapter.