Chapter 26: Time to Tell the Truth
"Bring him to the castle!" Thunderwing yelled after he had returned from his talk with the princess, "My guards and Firebolt's soldiers will assure his guard; all the other's will stay outside the city until we'll hang him tomorrow at the city gates!"
"You have heard him!" Shadow Hunter ordered and stepped towards the dark blue alicorn. "Are you sure that he should stay in Canterlot?" she added in a concerned tone, "You know that the city is full of ponies who want to save him, don't you?"
"That's why we'll guard him. He should have a nice last night. - Does he have any special friends?"
"He has got a marefriend."
"Send a messenger to her; I'll allow her to visit him a last time."
"I'll do that errand." She said and took off in order to fly to Ponyville where Rainbow Dash was caring for her wounded brother.
An hour later Firestorm arrived at his room. "I thought you should have a nice last night," Thunderwing said saddened, "I send for your marefriend. She should accompany you tonight."
"Thanks, but can you leave me alone until tomorrow?"
"Sure I can." He said and left the room.
Firestorm stepped towards his bed and lay down in order to wait for Rainbow Dash.
About ten minutes later she entered the room, but Firestorm was asleep.
"Hey! Wake up, sleepyhead." The mare said poking him and he awoke blinking his eyes.
"Hey, Dashy. That was really fast, even for you." The stallion answered.
"I flew as fast as I could as I heard it." She said smiling while she climbed into the bed and lay beside him.
"I love you." Firestorm said and lifted his body upon hers.
"Hey!" she called out and pushed him away.
"What's up? It's just me."
"That's it, it's you!" she said outraged, "You just came to close."
"But – I was even closer sometimes." He replied confused. "What's wrong with you?"
"With me?" she shot back. "I came to sooth you and you – you did whatever you tried to do!"
"Dashy?!" Firestorm said a bit irritated.
Suddenly the mare began to smile which caused the stallion to be even more confused than he already was and, to top it all off, she even laughed at him.
Meanwhile outside the room a mare with a rainbow colored mane walked along the corridor as she suddenly heard female laughter out of Firestorm's room. "What's going on in there?" she mumbled and dashed into the room, ignoring the two guards in front of the door, where she found Firestorm with another Rainbow Dash upon the bed. "Who are you?!" she yelled.
"Dashy?" Firestorm said with confusion written in his face while his view wandered from one Rainbow Dash to the other one.
The mare besides the alicorn jumped up and rushed in front of Rainbow Dash where she copied all of her motions.
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm me, but who are you?"
"I'm me, but who are you?"
The Rainbow Dash who entered the room at last suddenly struck the other's face, but curiously the hoof went through the ponies head.
"What kind of freaky magic is this?" she asked upset.
"That's no magic." The mare said while her body began to flicker, "That what you see is not really me."
"So you're a changeling?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously.
"No she's not a changeling, she's something else." Firestorm answered, "But I don't know what she is."
"I'm somepony you know; or maybe knew." The mare said while her head morphed to the head of a stallion.
"There are lots of ponies I know, so who are you?"
"It's me, Firebolt." The now stallion said and the blue coat changed its color to a bright golden yellow and the rainbow colored mane began to burn.
"No, this can't be him. He's dead."
"It's really me; or at least my spirit, but I don't know how I can show you that's really me."
"This necklace around my neck can only be taken off by you or your brother. Take it off and I know that's you." Firestorm guessed.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I need a body to perform magic and at the moment I'm just energy." Firebolt answered while he lowered his head saddened.
"You can use my body." Rainbow Dash cut him off, "As long as it helps to save Firestorms life."
"You can't use her body!" Firestorm said.
"Why?"
"Because I won't allow it and you have no horn –"
"I can use my own horn, even if it would hurt like hell to pierce her skullcap." Firebolt answered, "I promise you that I'll leave her body just after I have taken off the necklace."
"No!"
"Quiet!" Rainbow yelled, "It's my body and I allow him to use it."
"Thanks." The spirit of Firebolt said and began to vanish until a small, golden cloud of energy remained. "Ready?" he asked a last time and as she nodded he went into her body.
"If you allow me I'll get her some painkillers." He said after a few moments and stepped towards the door.
"Don't go too far away!" Firestorm reminded him.
"Don't worry." The obsessed mare said and opened the door. "Excuse me please, but may I ask you to give me some of your painkillers?" she asked the guards in front of the door.
"Sure." One of the guards said and searched his armor for the small pills while the other one drew his black sword in order to defend his comrade in the case of a devious attack. "Here." The guard said and hoofed her one of the small, white pills, "But whatever you do, please be quiet."
"Thanks." She said, closed the door and took the pill. A moment later a golden horn pierced her skullcap. "I'm ready, what about you?" she said and stepped towards Firestorm where she put her right front hoof upon the necklace. The golden horn began to glow and just a moment later the necklace fell to the ground and another moment later the mare slumped down.
"As I promised I left her body just as I took off your necklace." Firebolt said appearing next to the mare's unconscious body, "But now we have to talk."
"Just a moment." Firestorm said and went to Rainbow, picked her up and placed her upon the bed. As he was finished he began to talk, "You promised me to answer my questions, but you didn't."
"Because I ran out of time." He answered, "And that's why I'm going to answer your questions right now."
"I hope for you!" the blonde stallion hissed angry.
"Or you do what – kill me?" Firebolt smiled. "You can't kill me."
"I can and I will."
"You can't kill something without a body." He answered, "But back to the topic, ask me whatever you want to ask me and I will answer."
"Explain me what happened on the battlefield back then."
"You mean the attack I was leading?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry but I can't tell you that – "
"You promised me to tell the truth!" Firestorm hissed aggressively.
"Let me finish." Firebolt answered in a soothing voice. "I can't tell you that because all I remember is that I was charging at the enemy and the next thing I remember was the session with you."
"But why did you flee? I was going to help you."
"I panicked a bit. – I didn't want to hurt you. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I tried to help you but instead something deep inside me wanted to devour you. – I thought it would be better when I leave but I flew into the wrong direction and - Scarabus captured me. – She transplanted something into my brain and I became a part of their hive-mind. – Do you remember the night in the hospital?"
"How couldn't I?"
"I actually came to kill you –"
"But why haven't you?" the stallion cut him off. "And what was about the whole alcohol? I've never seen you drinking."
"I thought that the alcohol would disturb my connection to her. Therefore I was able to heal your wounds. I had to be on the safe side that you're following me, that's why I knocked you out. –
Later at the base I used you to kill myself because of the promise I gave you."
"Which one?"
"That I finish this war as quickly as possible. Remember?"
"Yes."
"I realized that there is only one way to stop it. We have to destroy the Hive. – But with my connection to the hive-mind I wasn't able to do this. If I had returned to my old body, Scarabus would have had the complete control over me and my new power. I told you to bring my corpse to my brother, because – the tradition in Nordheim says that the bodies of the dead royals have to be turned into stone. – We both have to thank you, that you listened to me."
"You mentioned that you've gained new power." Firestorm said and noticed that his friend was bleeding, "You are bleeding."
"I can't bleed." Firebolt answered dryly.
"But I can see that you're bleeding."
"I'm not bleeding." He said and looked at his body, but the blood was gone.
"But I saw you bleeding."
"I have no body, therefore I cannot bleed." The entity said with a smile on its face, "Am I really bleeding if you see it or is it just an illusion?"
"I know that I saw you bleeding!" Firestorm hissed a bit aggressively.
"That what you saw was an illusion as I tried to tell you I haven't got a body. And no body means no blood."
"But –"
"I fooled you." Firebolt cut him off and began to laugh. The stallion jumped up and charged at him, but he ran straight through him.
"Stop that!" he reminded his friend and went back to lay down besides the unconscious Rainbow Dash, "I'm not in the mood for joking!"
"Hey, keep calm. It was just a trick." The entity smiled.
"You mentioned that you've gained new power."
"I gained new power in hell. – After I spoke to the damned and to the demons, they gave me a part of their own power."
"How that?"
"I made empty promises." He smiled and added. "The damned I promised to banish you to hell and the demons I promised to kill you."
"And that worked?"
"Should I show it to you?"
"Don't bother." Firestorm said quickly. "If I learned anything in those years I know you - than it is to trust you."
"There's only one problem left." Firebolt said saddened. "I am only energy. I have no body and without one I can't use my new power."
"Let me guess, you're here to ask me if you can use mine?"
"I don't know anypony else who can use these powers. – I promise you that you'll return home."
"Even if I would allow you to use my body which would never happen I'm still a prisoner of your brother."
"Not if he sees that you aren't wearing that necklace." Firebolt said pointing at the necklace at the ground, "He'll know that I've returned when he sees me he has to drop the charges. - And, before I forget it, I'm sorry that I brought you in this unpleasant situation."
"You're sorry?!" The stallion called outraged, "Because of you I was charged with murder!"
"And I am really sorry about that." He tried to sooth the blonde alicorn, "But I needed somepony I can trust."
Just in that moment the relieved Thunderwing entered the room. "Firestorm I've got good –" he stopped in the middle of the sentence as he spotted his presumed dead brother. "Bolt?!" he asked incredulously, "Is that you?"