Chapter 68 (beginning of the end)

Dave awoke to the blinding light flowing in through the balcony windows, his eyes took a moment to adjust before he focused in on the alicorn resting her head on his chest

“Morning” He smiled as he stroked the side of her face. Celestia rested her eyes and allowed herself to sink into Dave’s hand

“Good morning Dave” Celestia smiled as her eyes opened and looked at Dave “Would you like breakfast in bed again?”

Dave chuckled “Nah I think we should have breakfast properly” His smile weakened “I think we should spend time with Luna”

Celestia nodded “I admit that this latest development has but some slight distance between us” she continued to rest her eyes as she listened to Dave’s heartbeat

“Well I suppose we have to get up then” Dave raised his eyebrows as Celestia hummed in agreement “Are you going to get up?”

“In five minutes” Celestia opened one eye with a smile “Please?”

Dave rolled his eyes and smiled as he hugged the alicorn “Alright fine… I suppose a good lay in will do some good”

Meanwhile…

Adamas was awoke by Strong Shield tapping his nose “It is very unwise to wake a sleeping dragon” Adamas snorted

“Yeah well it is also unwise to use Canterlot castle as a gym but here we are” Strong Shield frowned as he rolled his one eye to the large white walls of the castle “I am going to get him down here”

Adamas yawned as he pushed himself up into a seated position “What do you need me to get today?” His wings unfolded gently and slowly flapped to work out the muscles

Strong Shield stood silent before replying “Just another boulder” His gaze dropped to the floor “But there is something I want to know”

“And what is that?” Adamas stretched his arms before shaking them. His eyes narrowed as he saw the unicorns glare

“What are you telling that elder of yours?” The ex-guard held his ground as the dragon lowered his head to his level

“That is business between me and him” Adamas snorted hot air into Strong Shield’s face “Don’t pry into matters that are beyond you” His growl didn’t intimidate the pony as he took a step forwards

Strong Shield pointed a hoof at the dragon “If I suspect anything then I will have your scaly flank thrown out like yesterday’s newspaper” The unicorn turned and marched back into the castle leaving the dragon to growl to himself

“Your role will be the greatest” Adamas sighed “I hope you will live up to it… little unicorn” He then flapped his wings and engaged his search for a suitable rock

Meanwhile…

Shining Armour saluted to some of his guards as they went off on patrol, his purple armour covered his body and gained salutes from passing guards. His attention turned to a private that marched towards him “Private Barrier” He saluted and gained one in return “Do you have something to report?”

“Yes sir” The private lowered his hoof “I have come to inform you that the element of magic has come to Canterlot” His nervousness still held in his voice as he talked to his superior

“Twiley? What is she doing here?” His eyes danced around before holding up his hoof “Actually I shall ask her myself… where is she?”

Private Barrier took a deep breath “She is waiting inside the castle library, she said she had to do some umm… research” His face remained strait as the captain chuckled

“That curious little unicorn” Shining shook his head with a smile “I will go see her now, dismissed guardspony!”

“Yes sir!” Private Barrier saluted again before marching away faster than he approached. The captain of the guard then left the barracks and headed for the library, saluting to guards along the way. As he entered the library, he saw Twilight gazing into the giant hourglass

“Still trying to figure out why it never runs out?” Shining smiled as Twilight turned in shock. When the mare realized that, it was her older brother she quickly relaxed

“I know how it works!” She smiled “But I am here to speak to Dave” her smile lessened as her ears drooped “I am afraid that it isn’t good news”

The taller unicorn sat next to his sibling “What is it Twilight? I’m your big brother, you can tell me anything” His reassuring smile always made her open up

“Some of my friends voted to never speak to Dave again” She sighed sadly “And I have no idea how to fix it” She frowned to herself “they don’t talk about him, they avoid anything to do with him and they even tried to convince Fluttershy to get her animals to attack his home”

Shining Armour’s frown grew as his purple sister talked “I know they must be upset but this seems a little extreme” he removed his helmet and allowed his blue mane to fall into it’s natural place “I am sure that eventually they will get over it, you will see”

“I hope you are right” Twilight turned her head to look back into the hourglass “I will go find Dave at some point today and speak with him… maybe his has some ideas”

Shining gave his sister a reassuring cuddle before releasing her “Well if you need me at anytime you know where I am” He placed his helmet back on and began his journey back to the guard barracks

Meanwhile…

Dave and Celestia happily walked together as they headed for the dining hall, Celestia was in her royal regalia and Dave was in his normal clothes. They stepped into the room together and instantly saw Luna eating her porridge at the end of the table

“Good morning sister… good morning Dave” She smiled happily at the couple as they took their seats “How was the scan sister?”

Celestia smiled “I have to go for a scan next week to be sure but…” her eyes wandered over to Dave’s “It looks good”

Luna smiled happily, as she saw her sister’s bright eyes “That is wonderful news Tia” the princess looked back down at her breakfast “do you know how long the pregnancy should last?”

Celestia’s smile disappeared as it was replaced with a curious frown “I don’t know” She hummed as some breakfast was brought in for her “I suppose that Nurse Redheart will inform me during my next visit” the white alicorn began to eat her breakfast as Dave ordered his from the waiting chef

“And I don’t suppose you have vegetarian sausages do you?” Dave asked with his fingers crossed

The chef shook his head slowly while his face tightened in confusion “I am afraid I don’t know what vegetarian sausages are… if you give me a short description I can try my best to recreate a few”

Dave shook his head “No I couldn’t ask you to do that… I guess I will have whatever you recommend” He nodded with a smile as the chef’s face beamed with excitement and he rushed away to begin preparing the meal

“So Dave… what do you think that this is going to be like? Being a father?” Luna’s curiosity vastly outmatched her jealousy.

The human chuckled nervously “Well I am nervous at the moment but… I have a feeling that it will all turn out alright” His happy smile was aimed at Celestia as she placed a hoof to her stomach “And I am sure I speak for both Celestia and I when I ask if you, would like to be heavily involved in our child’s life?”

Luna’s mouth slowly turned into a large smile “I would be honoured to be a part of its life” she held back the tears of happiness by hurrying to her sister and giving her a large hug

Dave smiled but his attention shifted as he heard the door behind him open. He turned to see Strong Shield frowning at him. “Word” he said as he left the room, leaving the door open for Dave to follow. Rolling his eyes, Dave reluctantly followed the unicorn into the corridor and closed the door gently behind him

“So what’s up dad?” Dave folded his arms as he leaned against a wall. The unicorn turned to frown at him

“Don’t give me that,” He growled, “What is going on? You have dropped the training and Adamas has been acting as vacant as a brain-dead sloth” Strong Shield held his ground as Dave frowned at him

“Well I am spending time with Celestia, if you haven’t heard the news then you are in for a shock” Dave held his arms in the air “There is a good chance she is pregnant”

“She is?” Strong Shield’s frown waved before coming back stronger “All the more reason for you and that dragon to get off your flanks and get to work!”

Dave rolled his eyes with a chuckle “No wonder you never met anypony with that cared about you with your attitude” His eyes fell back to the black pony “I would train if I felt I needed it”

Strong Shield shook his head with a sigh “you used to be so eager to do things but now… you aren’t nearly as powerful as you used to be” the unicorn then turned and left Dave to glare after him

Dave moved to go back into the dinning hall but stopped, his hand moved to push the door opened but it never touched the polished wood as he heard Celestia and Luna talking happily. He looked down the empty corridor where Strong Shield once stood before heading in the opposite direction

Meanwhile…

Luna released Celestia from another hug “So what are you going to name it?” The smaller alicorn sat in Dave’s empty seat while she talked with her sister

“Well I don’t know what gender it is” Celestia smiled in mystery “I am not sure if I should be scared or happy” her appetite faded as thoughts bounced around her mind

The princess of the night could not help but chuckle at her sister’s face “You look like the first time I showed you a meteor shower” She smiled at the memory “We will do something special to commemorate its birth”

Celestia nodded but her smile faded as she noticed Dave was no longer in the room “Where has Dave gone? It couldn’t have taken that long to talk with Strong Shield” She smiled at Luna “I am going to check the bedroom to see if he is there, can you check elsewhere before you retire to your quarters?”

“Of course” Luna nuzzled against her sister “it is good to see you smile again”

Meanwhile…

“Why does everypony have a problem with you?” Odio grumbled “Strong Shield, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie” His growling made Dave growl as well “They all tried to twist you around their hooves and look where you are now”

Dave marched out onto the runway and saw the large boulder “Another boring challenge in my life” Dave sighed as he saw the sleeping Adamas. He rolled his eyes as he began punching the boulder

“You are trapped unfortunately” Odio rolled around gently “You can’t reveal me without being destroyed yourself, you can’t put off this training without arousing suspicion”

The dragon cracked his eye open to see Dave muttering to himself, the castle door opened and Twilight stepped out. “Hello Dave” she called as she approached

Dave did not acknowledge her presence as he talked to Odio “I am not going to live my life in fear of being rejected”

“You are like a leaf in a stream” Odio flowed along Dave’s veins, as the human’s anger rose “You have no control over what is going to happen”

Twilight stopped as her headache returned “Ah… Dave who are you talking to?” she looked at the dragon as she began to panic “What is going on?”

Adamas sighed as Dave’s strikes became harder and faster. Dave’s breathing soon became replaced with soft growls

“I am controlling my life” Dave growled, “No one is making decisions for me”

“Dave what are you talking about?” Twilight looked at Adamas for help

“Celestia is trying to get a leash on you with this child” Odio’s voice soon resonated throughout Dave’s body “You are just a puppet!”

“I AM NOT A PUPPET!” Dave roared as he kicked the boulder away, he slammed his palm forwards and a blast of red energy blasted the rock apart. Adamas reared his head at the amount of power he witnessed, Twilight even ducked as small chunks of rock rained down

“Odio?” Another voice called behind, it is tone a mixture of sadness and horror “It’s been you all along”

Dave’s anger froze as he turned to see Luna standing by the castle door “Luna?” his eyes shot open as her face turned to a snarl and a large ball of light slammed into him, sending him into the smokescreen he created

“Celestia!” She called as she fired blast after blast at the human. Celestia appeared, she felt Luna’s anger and knew it meant only one thing. She too quickly joined in firing blasts at the dust cloud, causing the ground to shake as the princesses combined power devastated their target

Twilight gawped at the scene as the princesses finally stopped their attack and moved forwards to investigate. As they approached Dave’s beaten and unconscious body, Celestia wailed loudly and fell to ground

“No, no not him” She sobbed as she became physically sick “Why him?” she sobbed as Luna rushed to her side “If I had known it was him I would have never let him near us”

“He tricked us both” Luna said reassuringly “It’s not your fault Tia, now we know we can stop him for good”

A few hours later…

Dave’s eyes slowly cracked open, his arms and legs restrained by large golden bonds, the metal tight around his skin. The room was dark and the walls were a dull stone that showed the test of time.

“Why did you come back?” a female voice called. As Dave’s eyes came into focus, he saw Celestia glaring with murderous eyes

“Celestia I can explain” Dave’s voice was weak as he realized another bond was around his chest, restricting his breathing

Celestia snarled, “I never thought I could hate you anymore Odio but you managed it” he horn glowed and the bonds around Dave’s body burned like the sun

“AAAAHHHH!” He gritted his teeth as the burning stopped “I am not Odio… I am Dave… Odio is…”

“SILENCE!” Celestia yelled, “Whatever you call yourself now is of no importance. I loved the mask you made for yourself but in the end your anger revealed you”

Dave shook his head as he panted, “No you don’t understand I AAARRRRGGGHHHH!”

Celestia kept the burning shackles going until the false love before her silenced “I opened myself to you, loved you but I would never love something that would turn my sister against me”

“Celestia I want you to know that I…” He was cut short as Celestia pressed her horn against his throat

"The only reason i showed affection to you was because you were a great asset to Equestria... nothing more" She meant those words to hurt and they did. Dave shuddered as his gaze fell and his eyes rained tears

The princess of the sun snarled until the broken door behind her opened and Luna stepped in followed by the girls adorned in the elements of harmony

The girls all gasped but as Luna revealed Dave’s true nature, they all slipped into a snarl, except Pinkie who spoke up “I don’t get it… none of this makes sense”

“You don’t make sense but we put up with you!” Rainbow snapped out of the build-up of anger towards the restrained beast “Let’s send this thing back to the stars”

Celestia shook her head “No… he would return and surprise us” She shrugged off Dave’s tear filled eyes “Make him a paperweight and we shall bury him somewhere”

“Celestia please you have to listen to me!” Dave begged as the girls took formation and the white alicorn paced away, back turned to him

Twilight’s eyes glowed as the girls levitated off the ground. The princesses’ eyes were full of hate and pain as Dave wrestled against the bonds that held him

“NO!” Dave yelled as he broke the metal restraining his arm and reached for Celestia. His vision was soon filled by the blinding rainbow and his vision faded from a white to a black

…

“Doctor I think he is waking up” a woman’s voice said happily

“Ah yes, he has been in a coma for a while… give him a moment” a male’s voice said in an equally happy tone

Dave managed to open one eye, his vision was blurry but he made out two human shapes “Where am I?” Dave’s throat was stiff with pain

“You are in hospital” The tall doctor sighed “You cracked your head open when you fell onto a rock, your head filled with water and you had a very nasty infection”

“Hospital?” Dave’s muscles refused to move as he attempted to sit up “Where is Celestia?”

“Celestia? Who is that?” The doctor hummed as the nurse left his side “I think you may have experienced quite a lot during your coma”

“Coma?” Dave’s breathing became quicker as he heard the bleeps from the heartbeat monitor race “None of it was real?”

“I’m afraid not” The doctor shrugged as he walked for the door “Get some rest, you won’t be moving for a while”

Over the next hour, Dave attempted to move but his muscles refused. He sat crying for a few minutes as the shock of the news sank in. He begged for the doctor and the hospital to be a nightmare, for him to wake up in Celestia’s hooves again

Eventually Dave stared up at the plain white roof as a janitor came in to clean the floor, his whistling was the only thing Dave could hear over the bleep of the machine next to him

“Well aren’t you a sack of shit?” The janitor chuckled

Dave growled “Who ever the fuck you are… leave me alone” his vision was suddenly filled with a black fog with burning red eyes

“Now is that anyway to greet your only way out of this prison?” Odio chuckled