//...What?
Spike: You're going to have to run that by me again.
//She kind of jumped a little there. I didn't follow. Was that a joke?
HY: I am serious. Let me explain. I said the shocking part first, it's more reasonable than just that.
Spike: Uh... okay?
HY: Some say Celestia's behaviors in the years leading up to her disappearance were erratic. I think they were characteristic of her. After studying Celestia for a long time, if you'll excuse my lack of humility, I understand her better than anyone.
//Next to me, Twilight stiffens.
T: (No, you don't.)
//Why does she choose now to take offense to Herr Yyz, and not the 'destroying Equestria' part?
HY: Did you know Celestia had a family?
//USED TO.
Spike: ...You mean theologically, or...
//I was about to say 'in reality'. Probably should check that phrasing.
HY: Outside of theological grounds. Though Celestia was created herself out of the aether, she birthed children in a very normal way. Her blood ran through Equestrian nobility, at one point synonymous with it, until five hundred years ago.
Spike: What happened?
HY: It's a state secret, or it has been lost to the sands of time. Celestia had many enemies, as does all good.
//A person living for over a thousand years, being the ruler of Equestria for such a time... it would get rather lonesome...
//Herr Yyz shakes her head, dismissing the topic.
HY: She is more important than they. These centuries show a change in Celestia: She becomes more matronly.
//A gust of wind bounces the windows in their panes, covering up a slight huff from Twilight.
T: (If you read her journals, Celestia had absolutely no clue how to be a caregiver. Which is why she wasn't to most of them. Herr is wrong.)
//I'm not sure who I more want to believe... the person who says they want to destroy Equestria, or the person who's implying Celestia had several children and abandoned them to the care of others.
\\How is that a bad thing? Dragons used to do it all the time.
//Ponies aren't like that, there's a little bit of a difference...
HY: Five hundred years ago, family dead, Celestia made Equestria Her child. Or recognized that it always was. When She left two years ago, it is because we called ourselves grown, and She gracefully bowed out as unnecessary.
Spike: Uh...
//I say 'uh' very loudly to cover up the sound of Twilight holding something in. Herr's words are really getting to her.
Spike: Like how thousands of people died in the ensuing dragon-pony conflicts and assorted chaos? Not to mention the Fall of the Crystal Empire? That doesn't sound responsible or grown to me.
//Herr hangs her head, the rising sun coming up behind her. If she weren't already a silhouette...
HY: This is punishment for our hubris.
//Herr Yyz turns away as Twilight bursts:
T: Celestia is not that type of goddess!
//The zippers on Herr's mask swing as she turns around, but I put my hand on my hip and continue in Twilight's voice:
Spike: We are _not_ being punished! Punished for _what_? It doesn't make any sense!
//SO VERY, VERY ODD THAT YOU CAN DO THAT.
//Herr, and the guards, stare at me a very long time. I stare back, hand on my hip still.
\\I am a sassy purple pony on the inside and you'd _better_ respect.
//Slowly, Herr Yyz asks:
HY: Does it smell like lavender?
Guard 1: ...Ma'am, no, ma'am.
Spike: It smells like a certain pony has no idea what she's talking about.
//None of this is connecting to destroying Equestria, and it's all easily wrong. Where's she going with any of it?
//Herr barks back at me:
HY: Parents take care of their child until the child is grown enough to survive on their own. We are still _children_, as a people. We have grown _none_.
//She whips around, advancing towards the window. I think I see a flash of gold on her flank...
HY: This world is dangerous. But it is not the world that makes the world dangerous, it is us. What are your greatest threats, Hero? Is it a ravine, a raging river, or a twisting cave? I think it is others. The absence created two niches in social ecology, parasite and carnivore. Harming others for self-gain is now a strategy, with Her gone. You have dedicated your entire life to combating these people.
//She stops in front of the window, overlooking Canterlot.
Spike: And I'm doing my best! I have two of the Elements; I've saved people from death and worse. And the Avatars -- Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, even Rainbow Dash -- they try as best they can! I can't say anything for their guidance, but no one is _worthless_! We're not helpless!
HY: It hasn't made a difference. You're the only one, the only person still trying to be a Hero in this damned world. And one isn't enough. You don't register statistically. There is not a dent in any of the _rates_. I could exaggerate your story and give it to the biggest papers and hire recruiters to seek out Hero-apprentices and give them all the power I could, and it wouldn't be enough.
//Is this what she thinks about my quest, my journey? Doing good isn't acceptable unless you fix _everything_?
HY: There are simply too many people.
//I CAN TRY TO HELP WITH THAT
//Not you! Not now!
Spike: I refuse to believe we're unable of living up to Celestia's example.
HY: You see, I worship Her. I do, She is perfect and unquestionable. But the lesson She meant to teach us has fallen on deaf ears. A parent's first and foremost job is to prepare their child for reality, but by clinging to Her we have not been prepared for the world but sheltered from it. To draw her attention back in a time when we still desperately need it, there must be a trigger. Like pulling a child back before he jumps in a fire.
T: (This. This is the reason she wants to destroy Equestria.)
Spike: Because you want to bring Celestia back.
//Herr Yyz raises her head up, looking outwards at the sky,
HY: My father is an old, dying, foolish stallion. He thinks by offering me his money we may bond in his last moments of life. Although I will slightly regret his death, his assets are... considerable. Some people need to die for the good of the world.
//Stay silent, keep it together, she'll reveal her plan if you let her ramble...
\\Why is it all the crazy ones want to tell me everything, but sane and well-meaning people like Twilight never do?
HY: I once was a lawyer, investigating insider trading in agricultural markets. Many of the contacts I made still have my name and number, and would be delighted to hear from me again.
Spike: You said you wanted to destroy Equestria. Why does any of this matter?
HY: Several well-placed investments into cash crop ventures, a few bribes to important senators to lessen agricultural subsidies in face of the Aquinatic rising debt burden. Great amounts of farmers, more than normal, switch out their grain for richer crops. With the farmland destroyed by the Valley Fire unsuitable for cultivation until next year, any sudden attack by dragons, uprising from the buffalo, accident, or even simply the slow march of time...
//...Usually, Herr speaks in short sentences. The way she's speaking now, it almost sounds like she's fantasizing.
Spike: Mass starvation. That's your plan.
T: (Oh, that's a simple fix. Excuse me.)
//Without even a puff of air, Twilight vanishes. I doubt Herr's scheme will work now that Twilight can plan against it.
Spike: You realize how many people would die? How many would starve -- even if Celestia came back you'll be the one she blames for it!!
//She shrugs.
HY: Some people have to die for the good of the world.
//That phrase, damnit, it's like a stopping block for thought that nothing goes beyond...
//Herr Yyz starts walking towards me, speaking in a somber tone:
HY: With what I have at my disposal, there is no way I can save the world. Not alone. But even the gods obey laws. We can manipulate Celestia into doing it for us.
//IN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE THEY THOUGHT CELESTIA WOULD SAVE THEM, TOO.
//Stopping directly in front of me, she finishes:
HY: I will do this. I can cause the famine and ubiquitous suffering that can only be alleviated by a goddess, and She will have no choice but to step in. And this time, when She comes back and we nestle safely under her wing, we will learn.
//This is terrible, I can't allow something like this to happen...
HY: So? What do you say, Hero? Will your emotion overpower the frank need for Celestia to return?

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

//It isn't even a choice...
Spike: ...You're horrible and evil and cowardly and in no sense of the word Hero would I ever be allowed to let you get away with this.
//In front of me, above the dark fur of Herr Yyz's back, the sun rises out from behind the clouds and shines through the window. The guards shield their eyes, but I stare entranced. It says, in the simplest tone, heard throughout the room and bouncing off the mirrors:
Celestia: Then kill her.
Herr Yyz: What?! No!!

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

The Drakeling attacks!

The Drakeling grabs Herr Yyz by the head with his left hand!
//Ugh, remind me to breathe fire on that hand later.
Herr Yyz kicks The Drakeling in the head with her right front hoof, bruising the muscle and bruising the jaw!
The Drakeling releases the grip of The Drakeling's left hand on Herr Yyz's head.
//YOU ARROGANT FUCKING PRICK, YOU'RE STILL LESS THAN A PONY WITHOUT THE POWER I GAVE YOU. DON'T GET COCKY.
//Herr Yyz scrambles away, fixing her mask!
HY: Guards! Guards! Help!

//Well, great. This is really a fight now.
//INSTEAD OF JUST A MURDER?
The Drakeling breathes in and focuses, casting Terrae Corpus! The Drakeling's scales become as hard as rock!

The Guard (1) kicks at The Drakeling, but The Drakeling dodges away!
The Drakeling counterattacks! The Drakeling punches The Guard (1) in the right front leg with his left hand, but the attack glances away!
//Wait, that wasn't my Dashing Rogue Punch... oh, right, it got replaced.
The Guard (2) bites The Drakeling in the right lower arm, but the attack glances away!
//It does surprise me into dropping the displacement cape, though.
The Drakeling drops the displacement cape.

HY: I, I, I don't understand!
The Drakeling kicks The Guard (2) in the upper body with his right foot, bruising the muscle, bruising the left true ribs and bruising the left lung!
The Guard (2) is having trouble breathing!
Spike: You don't understand why _killing a bunch of people_ is deplorable?!
The Guard (1) charges at The Drakeling!
The Guard (1) kicks at The Drakeling with his right rear hoof, but The Drakeling dodges away!
The Guard (1) rushes by The Drakeling!

//Herr Yyz starts to gallop towards the only exit, the door twenty feet behind us.
Guard (2): On the ground! Now!
//Wasn't he having trouble breathing?
The Drakeling punches at The Guard (1), but The Guard (1) dodges away!
//Damnit! Now they're blocking me from getting at Herr! If she escapes, this is really going to get messy...
The Drakeling draws power from within himself, and casts Walk of the Third!
//Now they're all moving slower, but I'm still not sure I can reach Herr Yyz in time...
The Drakeling leaps over The Guard (1)!

The Drakeling draws power from within himself, and casts Lake of Fire! Bouts of flame coat the ground!
//Between Herr Yyz and the only exit, a great wall of flame erupts!
The Drakeling's Walk of the Third ends.

HY: Kyaaaohmyskies!
//She leaps away from the roaring flames!
The Guard (2) kicks The Drakeling in the lower body with his right rear hoof, shattering the scale, bruising the muscle, bruising the right kidney and bruising the lower spine's bone!
The force of the blow knocks The Drakeling to his knees!
Spike: 'Swings, give it a rest, will you?!
The Drakeling punches The Guard (2) in the head with his right hand, shattering the teeth, bruising the muscle, bruising the skull and bruising the brain!
The Guard (2) has been knocked unconscious! The Guard (2) collapses!
//I LIKE YOUR DEFINITION OF REST.

The Guard (1) grabs The Drakeling's right upper arm from behind with his right front leg! The Guard (1) grabs The Drakeling's left upper arm from behind with his left front leg!
Guard (1): Got him!
Spike: I sincerely doubt that.
The Drakeling struggles in vain against the grip of The Guard (1)'s right front leg on The Drakeling's right upper arm!
//Huh, maybe he's stronger than he looks...

Guard (1): Quick, Lady Yyz! His front!
HY: Excuse me?
Spike: Does it ever end?!
//YES, AND RATHER QUICKLY.
The Drakeling struggles in vain against the grip of The Guard (1)'s left front leg on The Drakeling's left upper arm!
The Drakeling tries to stand up, but The Guard (1) is in the way!
//...I can't tell if that was a joke about my--
Guard (1): He's a drakeling! Take his fire before the building burns down!
//Behind the stained mask, Herr Yyz is indignant.
HY: That life I left behind me!
Guard (1): The exit is blocked! There's no other way!

//How do I usually break out of bonds?
//PURE LUCK?
The Drakeling breathes fire! But nothing comes out!
//_What_?!
//PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT. BUT IT'S FUCKING INTUITIVE THAT YOUR FIRE'S TIED UP RIGHT NOW, SO MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT FOR ONCE IN YOUR FUCKING LIFE.
//If I dismiss that to break out of this hold, Herr will escape, but if I don't, I'm stuck here... or worse.
HY: Then you do it!
Guard (1): I'm holding him!

The Drakeling bites at The Guard (1)'s right front leg, but The Guard (1) is out of reach!
The Guard (1) locks The Drakeling's right shoulder with The Guard (1)'s right front leg! The Guard (1) locks The Drakeling's left shoulder with The Guard (1)'s left front leg!
//He's going to break both my shoulders at once! Damn, where did this pony learn to fight? That's badass! And horrifying, because it's happening to me!
HY: And I thought past decisions left a bitter taste in my mouth...
\\And for the low low price of thousands of donations, you too can have a burly stallion break a person's limbs while you assault and enslave them.

Spike: That's the end I'm getting? Bad sex puns?
//I won't stand for it!
\\That's good, because you're kneeling.
//Time to see if that move Pinkie Pie gave me works like she says it does...
The Drakeling draws power from within himself, and casts Touch of Grisly Terror!
The Drakeling touches The Guard (1) in the right front leg and the left front leg! They become limp and useless!
//He slides off my back as I swipe between his back legs with my tail.
The Drakeling draws power from within himself, and casts Touch of Grisly Terror!
The Drakeling touches The Guard (1) in the right rear leg and the left rear leg! They become limp and useless!
//I guess it really is a limb paralyzer...

The Guard (1) falls over!
//On his side, he shudders and screams at his limbs:
Guard (1): No! No!! What did you _do_?! Aaaagh!
//The muscular pony strains his neck, trying to stand up or even move. Nothing is happening. He can't get any of the places I touched to respond at all.
The Drakeling stands up.
Spike: Uh, it'll wear off... I think.
//Who knows?
//Herr Yyz gallops towards the other end of the room, drawing my attention back to her. I start walking towards her and the windows.

Spike: See, I was willing to just go and tell the authorities myself.
HY: Good to know.
//I walk at a slant to try and box Herr into a corner. She's faster than me without Walk of the Third. Most ponies are.
Spike: But if Celestia told me to kill you, that means the authorities wouldn't be enough to stop you. Just another failure in Hazel's long list.
//Herr glances out the window, and then speaks straight upwards.
HY: I -- I don't understand! This isn't what you wanted!
//Is she speaking to Celestia? Or trying to, at least?
Spike: Quit pretending.
//As she's talking, she's not running. That's right, stay put... out that window will be the last view you get.
HY: I am not! Celestia told me to do all this!
//I scoff.
Spike: Why would Celestia tell you to do all this, then tell me to kill you for doing it?
HY: ...I don't know!
//And I thought Applejack was a bad liar.
Spike: I didn't set out to kill people. But if it has to be a choice between an evil schemer like you, and innocent--

The Drakeling draws power from within himself, and casts Walk of the Third!
//While I myself am talking. Never expect it.
The Drakeling leaps at Herr Yyz!
The Drakeling grabs Herr Yyz by the upper body with his left hand!
The Drakeling grabs Herr Yyz by the left front leg with his right hand!
The Drakeling's Walk of the Third ends!

Spike: Reality to Herr Yyz! Trying to convince Celestia we're not ready to handle ourselves by starving a bunch of people isn't cool!
//Maybe I should say, 'Herr Yyz to reality'... at terminal velocity from sixty-seven stories up.
Herr Yyz kicks The Drakeling in the right lower leg with her right rear hoof, chipping the scale!
HY: My Celestia, My Goddess, why have you forsaken this worl--

The Drakeling throws Herr Yyz by the upper body!

Herr Yyz strikes the glass window with her head, shattering the glass! The severed parts fly off in arcs!
//I think the impact broke her neck. She drops out of view before I can tell.
//HAHAHAHA THIS WILL BE GOOD
//What?
Spike: Uh oh.
//I stick my head out the broken window, curious and dreading.
//There's a pony walking right where Herr Yyz is falling!
Spike: Left!! Fall to the left!!
//Herr Yyz tumbles downwards towards the unsuspecting pony!
Spike: Watch out!!
\\Oh no, it's the secretary!

Herr Yyz slams into The Secretary!
The Secretary slams into the ground!
The Secretary's right rear leg takes the full force of the impact, tearing the skin, bruising the muscle and shattering the bone!
The Secretary's lower body takes the full force of the impact, tearing the skin, bruising the muscle and tearing apart the guts!
The Secretary's upper body takes the full force of the impact, bruising the muscle, jamming the right false ribs through the right lung and tearing apart the right lung!
Herr Yyz strikes The Secretary in the head with her left front hoof, bruising the muscle, shattering the skull, jamming the skull through the brain and tearing apart the brain!
The Secretary has been struck down!
Herr Yyz slams into the ground!
Herr Yyz's upper body takes the full force of the impact, and it collapses into a lump of gore!
Herr Yyz has been struck down!

Herr Yyz was defeated!
Spike earned 11000 experience points!
Spike is now level 30!

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

//Damnit damnit damnit damnit damnit!!
Spike: _No_!
//HAHAHAHAHA SHE WAS ANNOYING ANYWAY
//I killed a person! I mean, two! But one was an accident!
//IF YOU DIDN'T WANT KARMIC JUSTICE RAINING FROM THE SKIES, WHY THE HELL DID YOU DECIDE TO THROW THE BITCH OUT A WINDOW INSTEAD OF BITING HER NECK OFF?
//Nothing about this is karmic! Shit, this is terrible! An innocent person's dead because I'm an idiot!
//ADD HER TO THE LIST, THEN.
//Voices start to come from beyond the flames. It looks like neither of the guards are able to move yet. The paralyzed one's back is to me.
\\Feel guilty later. Escape now.
//Well, there's sixty-seven floors of pony to go if I take the normal route down the tower; doubt they're willing to lower the dumbwaiter for me... but I didn't use much Walk of the Third during that fight. Maybe...
Spike: Worth a try, I suppose.
//I put the displacement cape back on, dismiss the flames, and use Walk of the Third to glide down to the ground before police arrive. I run past the two bodies, and for as long as I can.
//You know, with a cutie mark like that, she must have been a lawyer.

T: (_Ice cream_.)
Spike: (And?)
T: (Two people are dead at your hands and you're eating _ice cream_?!)
//It's a small village on the outskirts of what's technically still considered Canterlot, whose claim to fame is hoof-made ice cream. And it's nine thirty at night, I won't spoil my dinner.
Spike: (What, is sherbet more appropriate for the situation?)
//Twilight and I are in the village's ice cream parlor. I think it's called Ice Cream Parlor. No, I'm not joking.
T: (Why would you do this? It's not like you!)
//ARE YOU KIDDING IT'S EXACTLY LIKE THE CHUCKLEFUCK
//...To be honest, it is like me. The secretary, Kezno's sickness, the Valley of Death... everywhere I go, innocent and well-meaning people end up getting hurt around me as I try to fight off evil. But I know that my absence would be worse than the collateral damage.
Spike: (...Celestia told me to.)
//A dull silence follows, in which I finish my ice cream. I swear, she must practice these looks, because damn...
T: (Firstly: no. No, she didn't. Celestia does not tell you to kill people. She is not that type of goddess.)
//Uh... there are exactly two occurrences of that very thing happening that come to mind. But Twilight won't believe me.
T: (And secondly, even if a goddess did tell you to do something which is wrong, you don't. Spike is responsible for Spike's actions, not whoever put the idea in his head.)
//The shop owner comes to take my dish away. She greets me with an innocent smile.
Shop Owner: Was everything alright?
Spike: Why, it was marvelous. It's a good thing your bowls are small, this vanille fancaise was so delectable I simply couldn't help myself!
SO: Of course! Couldn't have our customers leaving with a tummyache!
//She laughs, and it doesn't seem fake. I start counting out coins (a few fell to the bottom of my bag earlier) as Twilight's lips form half a word and then abandon it.
T: (I'm not even going to ask.)
//It is really strange how I can do voice impersonations so well.
Spike: (It's a natural talent.)
//The tall shop owner takes her coins into a small purse and waves us goodbye as we leave.
SO: You two girls enjoy the rest of your night, okay?
Spike: I always do~, hohoho.
T: (Oh Celestia.)
//As we step outside, a night breeze grabs my displacement cape and clings it to my tail. Man, that is annoying.
//Twilight huffs.
T: Great. Now they think we're a couple.
Spike: We're not?
//Twilight gives me a strange look.
//I roll my eyes.
Spike: Sarcasm, Twilight.
T: It seems like you say things and do things that you want to do without considering how it impacts other ponies. How do you think Rarity feels about you using her voice? She's one of my best friends, how do you think I feel?
Spike: (I'm not going to risk using my own voice right now. They might be able to connect me to the crime.)
//In the full moonlight (it's almost like day), Twilight gets angry and rears back a little.
T: (_That_'s what you think? It's okay to disregard others for your own needs when things get difficult?!)
Spike: (Wha-- ...no, Twilight, I didn't say--)
T: (Well you've certainly done it, said or not!)
Spike: ...
//I suck a drop of hot fudge off my thumb, feeling guilty. It's kind of true...
T: (You _killed_ someone because they said something you disagreed with today. That's not the Spike I know and love.)
//Uh... I guess she means as a friend.
T: (She told both of us her entire plans. It took me five minutes to look up a way to stop them! I know you don't trust me, but at least give me some credit!)
//...There must be a reason Celestia told me to kill Herr Yyz, I know there must be...
Spike: (One way or the other the threat is over now. And I never told the Faceless my name. There's not much evidence to implicate me besides the fact I'm purple.)
T: (Really? What happened to the secretary's keycard?)
//...Oh, right, that's still in the bag. Whoops.
T: (The forest fire could have been an accident. But this screwup is wholly yours to own.)
//Ending the conversation, Twilight spits:
T: (There's a warrant out for your arrest. Double ponicide. And right now I don't know if I want you to get away.)
//Twilight disappears in an angry burst of air.
//...I feel like that goodbye's mood was ruined by the word 'ponicide'.
//Sitting down on the curb, I hold my head up with a hand, watching the stars.
Spike: Sigh...
//Twilight's really angry. You know, again. I really did mess up this time.
//I wonder if she really meant that, the part about me getting caught. I mean... I try my best to do what I think is right. For normal people, that's enough. But a Hero... a Hero has to _be_ right, not just think he is. Because if a Hero isn't right, things like this happen...
//Wide fields of grain wave under the full moon, beating against occasional trees. It's actually very peaceful out here.
//How do I make sure, as a Hero, that I'm always right? I feel destroying that vine creature and ending the threat of Herr Yyz were both necessary, but the way they happened caused other people to get hurt. As a Hero, I can't stand for that. There's an entire class of Heroism dedicated to stopping those who don't care for others hurt in pursuit of schemes; am I a villain?
//YOU'RE WHATEVER I WANT YOU TO BE.
//Ugh. This guy again. Stop talking.
//Two ponies trot by. A young stallion and a young mare. He looks nervous and energetic. On closer inspection, she also looks nervous. It must be a date.
\\Few people in the world set out to be a bad person. Most are misguided, they are blinded in some way. Have you been blind to the people you hurt?
//Kezno... and Celel... even just getting involved in their lives I hurt them. Kezno with his sickness, Celel watching Kezno rot and being played with in Fluttershy's test.
\\But if you didn't intervene, both of them would be dead or worse.
//The people of the Valley, they had fields of beautiful flowers and great stone walls you could stand on and see into the distance... even the shanty town of lackluster carpentry was uniquely theirs. I took that all away from them.
\\If you hadn't have stopped Osto Bacchus, they'd all be her eternal slaves.
//And the secretary? What did she do to me? She lent me a security card, for Celestia's sake, just so I could see the people I thought I could trust. And it killed her.
\\True. But without your intervention, not only she, but everyone she knew and loved, would have starved to death.
//A jingle comes from a little ways away. The Shop Owner is locking up Ice Cream Parlor (seriously, not joking) for the night.
\\You're not blind to the people you hurt after it happens. This is a fixable problem. Making amends, learning from your mistakes, those you could be doing more. But the most important part is to start planning ahead. You're strong now, or starting to be. Your fights don't have to be races for survival anymore, you can start to make concessions. Like... 'don't let others be hurt'.
//...Was I so frantic to kill Herr Yyz and in the process hurt the secretary simply because Celestia told me to?
//The Shop Owner looks over towards where I'm sitting. My arms are folded on top of my knees; I'm staring into the dirty water trapped between cobblestones.
Shop Owner: Is something wrong, hun?
Spike: ...Yes.
//USING THAT VOICE IS SO INCREDIBLY FUCKED UP I FUCKING LOVE IT
Shop Owner: What is it?
//The tall mare walks over to me, looking worried. It warms my heart to know there is still some good in a world with people like me in it.
//QUIT WITH THE EXAGGERATION, ASSHOLE.
//...Really?
//YEAH THERE IS NO GOOD IN THIS WORLD
Spike: Have you ever... have you ever disappointed someone who was close to you? Someone you cared for?
//The shop owner raises her eyebrows, then exclaims:
SO: Oh, hun...
//And sits down next to me.
SO: ...Is that where your friend went?
Spike: I try, I really do, to be the best I can, but I'm not perfect! No one's perfect!
//She responds by nosing my shoulder and listening.
Spike: But I have to be perfect! I _must_ be perfect!
SO: No one's perfect.
Spike: Celestia is.
//A bit taken aback, the shop owner then says:
SO: Are you Celestia?
//A long silence from the both of us. Eventually, I figure out it was a rhetorical question, and stop playing games in my head.
Spike: ...No.
SO: Then you're not perfect.
Spike: Every time, I mess up, and I see the disappointment in her eyes... she forgives me every time, but...
SO: ...Hun, no one wins every battle.
//Heroes do.
SO: Be happy for what successes you have, for yourself. If she really cares for you, she'll be happy for them too.
//...I don't know if I've ever seen Twilight really be happy like that. There's always something I could be doing better.
Spike: ...She just wants me to be the best I can be. I want to be that.
SO: Hun, no one in the world is that way. There's a thin line between wanting you to be better, and disapproving of who you are now.
//It's not that Twilight and all the Avatars want me to be better, it's that if I'm not, people start dying...
SO: Do the best that you can, as you are now. If she's really worth keeping, she'll understand. Otherwise, she's not worth worrying about.
//I spend a long time on the curb, lost in my own thoughts.
//Why am I being a Hero anyway? Is it for Twilight? Of course not. Myself? ...Maybe, I do like it. Celestia? ...
\\Following Celestia led you to kill an innocent person. How many do you think will perish as a result of regicide? Following her unspoken beliefs about dragons? Is it worth it?
//...I don't want to be a Hero for Celestia any more, whether or not I started as one. If I think that way, I do get blinded, and others start to get hurt. I'm a Hero partly because I want to be, but the true reason is because I know a Hero is truly what is needed to help others, to save them from strange threats like Osto Bacchus and Herr Yyz. I'm not a Hero because it's a title given by Celestia, for me to obey without thinking -- I don't want to do anything anymore without thinking. I'm a Hero because I want to live in a world where people are happy, and I don't yet.
\\So what will you do, then? What changes as a result of this?
Spike: ...
//I'm powerful and there are problems in the world. They come before my quest to get my memories back by confronting Twi-- ...Hazel. I can't let the lives of others stay in peril for myself -- or for a pony whose only significant contributions have been to tell me to kill two people! Even if she is a goddess!
\\'Pinkie Pie: So long as my friends aren't happy, I'm not happy.' That's what you're going with?
//Not just my friends. I can't fight their personal demons, like Pinkie Pie thinks she can. But I can fight their external ones. From now on, if there's something in the world only a Hero can solve, I'll do it! Even if I have to delay confronting Hazel because of it!
\\And think of the sidequest EXP!
Spike: ...Honestly, thank you. I think I've figured out what to do now.
//In the moonlight, the shop owner gives a sweet smile.
\\What's the biggest issue in Equestria right now? Now that I'm almost powerful enough to make a difference? ...
SO: I'm glad I could help, hun. What did you decide?
//I stand up.
Spike: I'm going to end the Aquinatic Conflict!
//That sounds strange in Rarity's voice.
//Confusion spreads across the mare's face for a few seconds, and then she stands up. She chuckles in a way where nothing's funny, and then says:
SO: Uh... well, best of luck to you.
//Hooves on cobblestone approach from the north. I stand away from the shop owner, tensing.
Shop Owner: Wh-- Yesler? Why are you running? Where's my daughter?
//The young stallion I saw earlier stops only enough to get out:
Young Stallion: I'm sorry, Mrs. Solon, but there's another fire on the farms!
//He then dashes off.
Solon: What? That's the third fire this week!
//She chases off after him, faster on her longer legs.
Spike: Three fires in a week doesn't seem natural.
//I chase off after them, slower.

//Three ponies are standing about on an incline, looking up towards a raging fire in their dry fields of grain. It's spreading fast, throwing up thick clouds of smoke to hide the speckled night sky.
//OH HEY YOU DIDN'T CAUSE THIS ONE
Solon: What do you mean? There has to be something I can do!
Old Farmer: Yesler, go to the Murrays! Tell them the fire's heading their way, and to clear out!
Yesler: On it, pop!
//He runs off as fast as he can.
SO: We shouldn't just stand here and watch!
Old Farmer: Are you any good with animals?
//The tall pony pauses, and then shakes her head.
Old Farmer: Then I'm sorry. I have to go help Mrs. Olfrus to calm the animals and get them out of here. And then I have to find Croesa!
//He runs off into the distance as soon as I get within speaking range.
Spike: What's happening? What's going on?
SO: Who--
//She lifts a hoof and then looks at me. Right, I didn't use the voice, drat--

The Drakeling takes off the displacement cape.

Spike: I'm here to help. What's the situation?
//For a short second, Mrs. Solon stares at me, then points to the burning fields and says:
SO: The Olfrus's fields are on fire, third family this has happened to this week. You wouldn't know anything about it?
Spike: It sounds like arson. Who would do such a thing?
//To farmers, it would put them out of both house and livelihood, not to mention someone might be burned...
SO: No one from this town. Mr. Olfrus sent Yesler to warn the Murrays, but the fire's going to reach them soon! We should go!
Spike: Wait, there's a gap!
//I point off into the distance, seeing how the clay brick walls line up.
Spike: The fields are connected by only a small gap in the walls! We can stop it there!
//I rush off into the fields!
SO: Wait! No! What are you doing?!
//Man, is it hard to see through all these plants! I'm just glad they're not on fire, that would be even worse.
SO: Hello? Drakeling? I can't see you in there anymore!
Spike: I'm still here! Watch the top of the grain! Am I going in the right direction?
//I really, really hope so.
//Through a short pause I keep running. Up in the sky, the stars blink out in a blob, moving north. Clouds! Hopefully it rains.
SO: Almost there! A little to the left!
//I hop to the left and smack face first into the clay wall. With a little embarrassed climbing I'm on top of it, overlooking the gap leading between the fields.

The Drakeling draws power from within himself, and casts Lake of Fire! Bouts of flame coat the ground!
The grain has caught flame!

SO: What the hell are you doing?!
Spike: If we take out the connection, these other fields won't be endangered! There will be no way for the fire to pass!
SO: Except you just lit them--
Spike: Trust me! I know what I'm doing!
//Most -- ...some -- ...a non-zero portion of the time!
//The fire has burnt away the connection in a few seconds. Here's hoping this puts out all the flames created by my Lake of Fire, not just the initial ones...
The Drakeling draws power from within himself, and dismisses the fires!
//The grain all around me is put out completely. My eyes have to adjust to the sudden darkness.
Spike: There, that seemed to work.
//The old farmer, Mr. Olfrus, gallops back to where Mrs. Solon is standing.
Olfrus: Croesa! Has she come here? Mrs. Solon, have you seen her?!
SO: No, I haven't!
OF: Damnations! That means she's in the barn!
//They look to the northeast, towards a large paint-flaked barn. Between the two ponies and the barn is a growing sea of flame.
SO: We'll never get there in time!
OF: Croesa!
//If there was ever a time, it's time...
Spike: I'm on it!
//I jump into the grain and make a mad dash for the barn, ignoring the flames in my way!
OF: Solon, who is that?!
SO: I don't know!

//The barn is in flames by the time I reach it. These things really go up quick, wow...
//NOW YOU SEE WHY DRAGONS LIVE IN ROCK CAVES.
Spike: Croesa!
//I hope that's how you pronounce her name.
Spike: Are you here? I'm here to rescue you! We need to get out of here!
//There's no response but the audible cracking of the wood, bowing under new strains as other supports burn away. Hay and spiderwebs crackle and support powerful flames that reach up through the second level. A great ball of smoke is forming below the roof, getting angrier with time.
//It's times like these when I really appreciate that dragons are immune to fire.
Spike: Croesa!! Can you hear me?!
//Nothing. Incidentally, though I am unharmed by fire, the same cannot be said of collapsing buildings.
Spike: Shout, move, anything! I don't know where you are!
//Still nothing. I look desperately through the barn, finding a small mare (large filly?) under a pile of burning hay, unconscious. She's burned but still breathing.
Spike: Hold on!
//I try to pick the pony up and her skin slides off in my hands. All her fur has been completely burnt off. Maybe if I put my arms below her stomach, and brace her against my waist...
//You know, strangely, that actually works. I just hope no one sees me like this. And the awkward steps I have to take side to side in order to move forward could use some improvement. Next time I plan on rescuing someone from a burning building, I'll develop some other method.
//HERE'S A TIP: BREATHE IN THROUGH YOUR NOSE.
//I breathe in through my nose, and...
Spike: ...You're sick.
//That smells _delicious_.
//THIS IS THE SMELL THAT DRAGONS FUCKING LIVE FOR. THE ROASTED FLESH OF LESSER BEINGS, SERVED UP HELPLESS. TAKE A BITE; NO ONE WILL NOTICE.
//No.
\\...Even if it does smell delicious.
//THEY THINK YOU STARTED THE FIRES, FUCKHAT. ALL THREE OF THEM: TODAY, AND MONDAY AND SUNDAY AS WELL. THEY'RE GOING TO BLAME YOU AND FOR ALL YOUR SHITTLY LITTLE 'GOOD DEEDS', YOU'LL GET NOTHING BUT PUNISHMENT.
//I don't believe people are that blind. I didn't do it, and why would they chose the person who helped them as their scapegoat?
//THEN THE FUCKS WILL HOLD YOU LONG ENOUGH FOR SOMEONE TO REALIZE YOU'RE A DOUBLE MURDERER. YOU NEED TO RUN SO TAKE A CHUNK OUT OF THAT ASS AND GET FUCKING GOING!
Spike: No!
//I stumble out of the barn to a small oasis, free of grain, surrounded by rocks. It's a good thing this was here...
//Croesa is burned badly and has lost some of her skin on her back, rear legs, and stomach. But she's still breathing; there's a chance.
//A great wall of flaming grain separates me from Solon and Olfrus, so we can't even see each other. There's no way Croesa will survive through those fires, never mind to the nearest hospital after that...
//I take off my ankh and start speaking into it.
Spike: Is anyone out there? Anyone who can hear me? I need help!
//With the flames in front of me and a pony with third degree burns on a lot of her body, there's no way I can do anything on my own. I have to be brave enough to admit that.
//A stuttering voice comes from the ankh.
Stutterer: Th-this voice I hear seems y--y-- not old. What is y-- the problem, m-master drakeling?
Spike: Are you near Canterlot?
ST: Above it. Flying t-towards the famous d-d-dojo in Gloucester--
Spike: I don't need a ride! Someone is hurt, she needs to get to a hospital!
//The barn cracks dangerously behind me. But if I drag Croesa further from it, she'll be hurt even worse...
ST: Are y--y-- we talking about th-the great plumes of smoke coming up?
Spike: Yes!
ST: I s-suppose a drakeling with an ankh is w-w-worth meeting. I'll be there in a--

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

The Red Dragon strikes the barn in the supports, and the severed part flies off in an arc!
The Drakeling dodges away from the spinning support!
The support slams into the ground! The !!wood!! takes the full force of the impact, and the severed parts fly off in arcs!
//What the hell?!

Red Dragon: Hee hee hee, bouncy bounce away little guy!
//A red dragon, just getting too large to be bipedal anymore, is prowling around on top of the barn. Where she tore the support beam out, smoke and a roaring fire are pouring into the night.
Spike: What are you doing?!
//That wasn't a cloud obscuring the stars earlier, it must have been...
Red Dragon: You shouldn't stand here all asky! You just might... burny burny burn!!
//With a great heave she shoves the barn towards us, and the burnt bottom starts to give way!

The Drakeling breathes in and focuses, casting Terrae Corpus! The Drakeling's scales become as hard as rock!
//She must be the arsonist! The person who started this fire!
//SO YOU FUCKS WILL BOND IN MORE THAN ONE WAY?
//The barn collapses, sending out clouds of hot ash and soot!
The Drakeling draws power from within himself, and casts Walk of the Third!
//I have to get in the way!

The Drakeling leaps towards Croesa!
The swirling cloud of ash lands on The Drakeling's left upper arm! The Drakeling's scales are unharmed!
The swirling cloud of ash lands on The Drakeling's head! The Drakeling's scales are unharmed! The Drakeling's eyes are unharmed!
//Gah, my eyes! Unharmed nothing; that stings!
The swirling cloud of ash lands on The Drakeling's upper body! The Drakeling's scales are unharmed!
The swirling cloud of ash lands on Croesa's right front hoof! The hoof is badly singed!
//With the rest of the Walk of the Third, I try to blink burning ash out of my watery eyes, and find a pocket of air to breathe. I fail at both.

The Drakeling's Walk of the Third ends.

Solon: Drakeling!
Olfrus: Croesa!
//ASSHOLE!
Spike: You're a worthless criminal!
//POT KETTLE ETC.
//I take a fighting stance in front of (what used to be) the bare patch of grass, eyes leaking. The red dragon is circling, low in the sky.
\\If you move too far away from Croesa she'll die. But how are you supposed to fight this person without moving?
RD: Criminal? Oh, no no no, I'm not a bad person. He tells me so!
//If she's talking she's not fighting.
Spike: He? Who's that?
RD: Wouldn't you like to know!
Spike: Yes, that's why I asked! Are you an idiot? Or just a child?
//She lands, and curls up in the wreckage of the barn.
RD: That's mean. Meany!

The Red Dragon breathes fire!
The Drakeling stands in front of the flames!
The Drakeling's right lower arm is caught in the dragonfire! The right lower arm is singed! The Drakeling's left lower arm is caught in the dragonfire! The left lower arm is signed!
\\Ow ow ow ow ow
//I swing my arms about to cool them down.

//'Swings, the last time I was hurt at all by fire was when Twilight cast her spell at Na-Mira... this will be a tough fight if she's smart.
\\Luckily, chances are...
Spike: Why are you doing this?! You're hurting people and ruining their lives!
//She rolls over, like a cat.
RD: _I'm_ not hurting people. He said so!
//I look a little closer at this dragon, almost too large to stand bipedal. Patterned onto her back is a singular line of colored white scales... that form the perimeter of a red helm.
Spike: What else does he say?
RD: He says, I should make it all go 'burny burny burn'! Isn't that great, hee hee hee?!
Spike: No! You can't do that! It's awful!
//First the squad of griffons trying to track down a drakeling, then an arsonist dragon... whoever this person of the red helm is, he has dangerous and powerful followers.
//Disapproving, the red dragon rears up on her back legs, balancing. She aims her mouth at me.
RD: I get to do whatever I want to who I want if I help him! So you're going to go 'fucky fucky fuck'! And then your friend, 'crunchy crunchy crunch'!!

The Red Dragon breathes fire!
//I want to know if my Lake of Fire dismissal will put out her flames, but if I move an inch some of the fire will get past me!
The Drakeling's right lower arm is caught in the dragonfire! The right lower arm is singed! The Drakeling's left lower arm is caught in the dragonfire! The left lower arm is signed!
The Drakeling's tail is caught in the dragonfire! The Drakeling's tail is badly singed!
The Drakeling's right upper leg is caught in the dragonfire! The Drakeling's right upper leg is badly singed!
Croesa's mane is caught in the dragonfire! Croesa's mane has been singed!
//And it was such a nice puce... if there's such a thing.

RD: Hee hee, a little boy is my plaything now--
The Sepia Tone Dragon charges at The Red Dragon!
//Did that seriously say 'Sepia Tone'?
The Sepia Tone Dragon bites The Red Dragon in the right wing, tearing apart the scale and tearing apart the muscle! The Sepia Tone Dragon latches on firmly!
The Sepia Tone Dragon rushes by The Red Dragon! The Red Dragon's right wing is torn off and remains in The Sepia Tone Dragon's grip!
//She lets out a bloodcurdling scream! Blood spurts out from her side!
Spike: 'Swings!
The Red Dragon breathes fire!
//She breathes fire into the air, lighting up the night!

Solon: No!
Olfrus: Hold on! Croesa, I'm coming!
//Over the dragon roars I shout:
Spike: No! Stay back! It's too dangerous!
//Who is this new dragon?! He's bigger than the arsonist!
The Red Dragon charges at The Sepia Tone Dragon!
The Sepia Tone Dragon flies above The Red Dragon! The Red Dragon rushes by!
The Sepia Tone Dragon counterattacks! The Sepia Tone Dragon bites The Red Dragon in the neck from behind, tearing apart the scale, tearing apart the muscle, shattering the upper spine's bone and tearing the upper spine's nervous tissue!
The Red Dragon collapses!

//With an adept movement, the Sepia Tone dragon circles around and lands near me, blowing up ash and soot.
Sepia Tone: Y--y-- ...someone called?

The Red Dragon was defeated!
Spike earned 10000 experience points!
Spike is now level 31!

[[SAVE LOCATION]]
//Crazy red bint...

//You know, that would have been pretty slick if he hadn't...
\\...stuttered...
Spike: Are you the person I spoke with over the ankh?
//Why are you asking? You're going to ask him to help anyway.
Sepia Tone: Indeed, I am.
Spike: The pony behind me is badly burnt! Can you do anything for her?
//He stretches his long neck up and over me, inspecting Croesa and muttering while he does it.
ST: Hm, here I am t-trying to meet the famous Avatar of S-Speed, and I meet o-o-one of her H-Heroes. Interesting.
//I know he's working but I blurt out:
Spike: Why would anyone want to meet Rainbow Dash?
//He flicks out his tongue a few times, to taste the air around Croesa. It makes me a bit nervous.
ST: An o-old dragon's got to have s-s-ome hobbies. Didn't g-g-get to see the world for the last nine hundred y--y-- ...long time.
//No, that can't be right, he's far too small for a nine-hundred year old dragon.
Spike: But you're a lot smaller than Quine, and he's only seven hundred fifty.
//The sepia dragon closes his eyes and sniffs over Croesa. Her burnt hair lifts slightly each time.
ST: Quine was not k-kept as a drakeling by magic for the greater p-p-part of a millennium. Damn aristoc-cratic y--y-- ... snot-nosed bastards.
//Oh Celestia. Is that really what's in store for me if I get defeated? Nine hundred years of total slavery, having to carry that around with me until I die?
//OR UNTIL JEBED SAVES YOU. SHIT, IT'S ALMOST LIKE SHE ACTUALLY FUCKING CARES FOR OTHER PEOPLE, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY IT OUT SOMETIME.

The Red Dragon suffocates.

//Wait, you're saying Jebed saved this--
ST: I can't help th-the pony myself. S-sorry.
//No! That can't be!
Spike: There has to be something you can do! Anything!
//'SWINGS, STOP FUCKING YELLING
//He thinks for a moment, eying the stars (the ones not blocked by smoke).
ST: ...If she can make it to the C-City on the H-Hill Hospital, sh-she'll have a better chance than I c-can give her.
Spike: She can't make it. Half her skin is burnt off, she can't be carried.
//After mulling the problem over for a second, the old dragon puts his head next to Croesa and opens his jaw wide.
ST: In mah mouf.
//...What?
Spike: You've got to be--
//He snaps his teeth together and says:
ST: Saliva. Healing agent.
Spike: The plan is to drool on her.
ST: I'll ch-check her into COTHH un-un-under the name Star. Because it's m-my name.
Spike: I don't know if carrying a burnt pony in your mouth while flying is the best idea...
//What if he gets hungry?
ST: Do y--y-- is there any other way?
//He opens his mouth again.
\\Well, if you look at it, he's right...
//Reluctantly, I roll Croesa onto his tongue. She fits snugly inside, head sticking back into his throat. Hopefully he doesn't have to cough...
//With the greatest care, he lifts his head up, and then begins to flap his wings.
Spike: Best of luck.
ST: Hhhhhh.
//Why did I think he'd be able to respond?
//Keeping his head gyroscopically stable, he lifts off into the sky, speeding off to Canterlot.
//From across the lessening wall of flame, I hear a voice cry out:
Olfrus: No! No, where are you going?! Croesa!
Spike: It's okay!
Solon: Drakeling, is that you? You lived?
//Of course I lived, who do you take me for? A pony?
Spike: He's taking her to City on the Hill Hospital! Under the name Star! Solon, can you get him there? I need to go!
SO: ...Because you're wanted for two murders?
//What?!
Olfrus: What?! You bastard, if you hurt my--
SO: Olfrus, be quiet! We need to get going!
//How did Solon recognize me so fast? I only was around her for a few seconds, and the crime happened today.
SO: Drakeling, you should be gone by the time the police arrive here. We'll leave you be -- protecting Croesa like that is worth at least benefit of the doubt. Now Olfrus, come on!
//I hear one quad of hooves galloping beyond the flames, and then a second, heavier quad to follow it.
\\Guess this is one of those adventures where you don't find out the end. I turn and run, as fast as far as I can. I hope it turns out alright.
//FUCKING UP THE AQUINATIC CONFLICT IT IS, LET'S DO THIS.