The Heart Of Avarus
Chapter 7
By Daniel Bennett
The scenery before Rarity was breathtaking and momentum stealing. It slowed her gallop to a walk as she gazed around her. She was finally out of the forest and with far fewer trees blocking her view she could see Spike slipping into the largest mountain she had ever seen. The unicorn knew where her friend was so she kept her trot slow and steady while she took in the surroundings. Black trees dotted the landscape, from far away they looked like a row of jagged teeth. They were surrounded by a sea of black soot that wrapped around everything in sight.
Her way was made clear by the slightly visible hoofprints in the ashes. The wind had hidden them, but not enough compared to the rest of the ground that hadn't been disturbed in a very long time. Making her way to the mountain was easy, yet the unicorn found herself travelling faster and faster as she got closer to her goal.
Rarity entered the cave as an uneasiness settled in. The walls were smooth almost like glass and the air was very warm. It was almost as if she were inside of a dragon's throat. The heat served the unicorn like a guide, the hotter it got, the closer she was to the main chamber.
A deep and terrifying roar reverberated through the tunnels, shaking the lone unicorn to her core. It didn't matter though because nothing was going to stand in Rarity's way. She was going to bring Spike back no matter what.
The unicorn reached the end of the passageway, and turned to face the heart of the mountain. Her heart jumped as a streak of purple scales whizzed past her face only a few inches away. She braced herself against the gust that threatened to push her back into the tunnel. Rarity almost shouted his name but she was cut short by a second much larger blur. As it whizzed by a spike coming from one of it's scales sliced across Rarity's cheek. Not a moment later did the gust arrive, sending her clear off her hooves and into the wall with a crack and crumble of rock.
The unicorn shook on the floor, the wind was knocked out of her and her cheek was dripping blood down her face. Her breathing slowed as she struggled to stand up and continue onward. Rarity marched slowly, one hoof at a time into the central chamber. The massive horde of treasure didn't even faze her as she gathered herself. Her horn glowed as she uttered a name softly, so quiet that it could scarcely be heard a few meters away. That whisper was all that was needed because of her magic.
Spike was the name that echoed throughout the massive cavern. Spoken once yet repeated tenfold and amplified a thousand. A million other ponies would have had no effect on the dragon, but because it was this specific unicorn and this exact dragon, there was a reaction. The purple dragon's eyes wavered between anger, sadness and joy.
For a moment it ceased it's mid-air battle over the treasure of a lifetime to gaze at the source of the call. His opponent however did not and instead launched a fireball at the purple scaled dragon. It exploded on contact, and wrapped itself around Spike. An anguished roar filled the cavern as he was engulfed by the flames. The pain inflicted was great enough that the smaller dragon dropped his precious gem.
The ancient dragon would get what he wanted. It dove to catch it's greatest desire in it's talons. As it reached out to grab it however it began to glow and fly away from him. Rarity saw her chance to destroy what had caused far too much horror for so little an object. She flew the object around the cavern with her magic, waiting in front of walls and piles of gold only to dart away at the last second, leaving the larger dragon to crash into them. Chunks of rock fell from the ceiling signaling Rarity that it would give in much sooner than her opponent would. The black dragon was frantic, chasing the gem like nothing else mattered in the world, even it's own safety.
Finally it crashed into one pillar too many and the ceiling couldn't take it anymore. It began to fall to pieces and the unicorn realized that she had to end this battle. With one final motion she sent the gem to the bottom of the largest lava pit that she could see. The dragon crashed through a mountain of treasure to get into the pit of lava, sending a large portion of the precious gems and metals in with it. Too late did it realize it's mistake, the lava was unyielding, turning everything inside into molten liquid. The dragon thrashed about, unable to leave the pool of it's demise. It ate away at the dragon's scales and fused liquid gold onto it's body. Neither Rarity nor Spike had ever heard a creature in so much physical pain, and never would anything afterwards come close.
"Rarity... is that re-" the dragon was cut off as the unicorn yelled "OUTSIDE NOW!". Together they ran out of the cavern and made their way through the tunnels as they dodged falling rocks. Spike flew above her to shield her from anything that would fall.
Finally they were out of the mountain just as the entrance behind them collapsed. They rested for a moment in silence. "Oh Spike, are you okay?" the unicorn asked with great concern. "You shouldn't have come for me." replied the dragon ignoring her question. "What are you talking about? Of course I had to come, I couldn't just let you-" he cut her off "Do you even realize what you've done? what I've done? Rarity I single-handedly destroyed Ponyville, ponies could be dead because of me."
"No.. no, Spike please don't do that, none of this is your fault. It was all the gem's doing, it was Trixie's plan to get you to do all this." the unicorn pleaded as her eyes began to wet. "Yeah, it's her fault, but don't for one second tell me that I'm innocent. I could have been stronger! I could have resisted it's effects, but I wasn't and I didn't. I haven't been blacked out this whole time, I've been watching everything that I've been doing, everyone that I've hurt." The dragon looked away, unable to keep eye contact. "I should have died in ther-" again the unicorn interrupted the dragon "You stop that right now! I would bet my LIFE that nobody in equestria blames you for this. To go on like this would be depriving Ponyville of a chance at happiness to see their dear friend Spike come home safe and sound."
"You don't get it do you? the amount of disgust that I have for myself is almost too much to bear. I could never look any of them in eye knowing that I destroyed their homes and might have even killed their families. Even if they didn't hate me I could NEVER atone for all of this. You're going back to Ponyville and it won't be with me!" his tone had grown harsher.
"Please Spike, don't do this to yourself. Don't do this to me, I need yo-" the dragon got up, nostrils flaring as he turned to face her again. "DON'T- DON'T YOU DARE." He paused for a moment, and the rage disappeared from his face replaced only with sorrow. "Please... my heart can't take anymore. So please don't tell me you need me. If I don't leave right now I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life, and more people will be hurt." The dragon struggled for words. "It is taking... every last thing that I have right now to not go back with you and if you ask me again I don't think I can say no. So im begging you, please let me go."
She couldn't hold back her tears anymore as they streamed down her face. Rarity turned away from the dearest person in her heart and walked away. The dragon did so in kind as he flew off in the opposite direction, any direction but Ponyville. Neither looked back for fear that their heart couldn't take it.
Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed it. What would you guys like to see? more stories unreleated to this one? another one continueing this story? a crossover between Batman and The Mare in the Moon?
