Part 3: Chapter Eleven: Defiance. Realization. Acceptance. Forgiveness.
The figure stood there, all black save the blood-stained appendage on his left. A streak of blood that went in the direction opposite he was facing revealed the location of the wing. He stood there, statue-like, as the adrenaline coursed through his body. He couldn't, for a moment, breathe. The stallion stood there, blood dropping from his left side and looked down at his missing wing. I should feel pain, shouldn't I?
His blue mane began to slowly loose its color as he began to feel more and more tired.
In an instant, what was calm became strikingly clear. He felt as if his wing was warm before the feeling of somepony ripped his wing as if it was paper. All he could do is look up at the attacker, not in fear, but in horror as within his mind, a vial of orange liquid that he knew instantly as his mental representation of Defiance poured itself into a another vial, this time much larger, with a scotch-tapped label reading Magic.
"Defiant to all lies that were told to him to stop him from searching for the actual truth." The stunned Stallion spoke to himself quietly.
Beta lashed out from within the shade, jumping over the Princess. His wings extended, scraping across the metal, cutting deep in the skin. He landed on the ground and moved until he was in between Alpha and Celestia. With his back facing the stunned stallion, he widened his stance and slowly extended both wings, growling like a wolf protecting its wounded Alpha male.
"You will not touch him." Beta's helmet opened as he armored up his wings. His pupils were wide, blacking out his eyes. His mane was blood-red and pulsating violently.
Celestia shrugged off the wound as if it was just a scratch. "So animal like, you are. Have the thought that you were ever the bully crossed your simple mind?" She waited for an answer, and while waiting watched as his suit began to glow red.
She closed her eyes, her head tilting back and opened her mouth, just beginning to speak when he took charged. His anger was more than enough capable of being a replacement for energy. Breaking the barrier of light in the few milliseconds after he charged, he moved his shoulder until it had touched the area just above where her legs became her chest, felt the momentum began to transfer from his body to hers and began to push as hard as he possibly could.
Through concrete-reinforced wall after concrete-reinforced wall, he pushed her through. He was a tank; his fuel untapped and unexplored emotion; his engine, alive and at full capacity, absorbing its new energy source like a black hole absorbs all matter within its dense and vast gravity; his treads, clean and replaced, ready to traverse across all known and unknown land; his barrel, empty and ready, eager to fire its load non-stop for an eternity; his armor, protecting his soul, lighter than dragon's scale, stronger than his will to end the life of his enemy.
Through block after block, wall after wall, Beta continued to push Celestia until there were no more walls too push through. He had reached the edge of the city and threw her back as he stopped, watching her tumble, flipping over and over until she reached a slow halt. His eyes tracked the figure as it stood up, stretching its wings and legs before tilting its head left and right.
Alpha stood there, trembling in pain and anger as he telepathically healed his wing, the skin stretching until it covered the torn blood vessels and bone. He closed his eyes, took a breath and growled. He moved slowly, turning to look at his appendage; laying on floor, dead and useless. His pupils grew smaller as the light from the disintegrating wing tried it's best to blind him.
He was confused. Why? Why did she have to take off his wing? Why not kill him and end it once and for all? She had her chance, why not use it?
Within his mind, another vial appeared, the liquid within green, this time Realization was written on the scotch-tapped label.
"The Realization that there was indeed a truth and not some idea or hint." The mutant spoke as he calmed himself down, his eyes closed, watching the vial pour its green liquid into the bottle.
The layers of Estefani began to flutter, move about as if hovering in air and a small breeze pushed them out of their designated areas, unable to organize themselves due to the unstable emotions.
Celestia, angered, took off at once like a racing horse takes off at once after the gate opens. Her horn glowed vibrant colors, shooting off spells like no other. Beta took off the other way, dodging spells here and there, running like a rat flees from the cat behind. He dug his heels into the concrete and changed his direction, turning sharply to the left, Celestia close behind.
Beta acted on impulse rather than actual thought. No longer bound to the living, he tripped constantly as he remembered how to run and fight. Once steady and remembering how to run correctly, he knocked down trashcans, hoping to buy himself some time.
Celestia was no longer playing games and raced after her opponent. Her wings allowed her to turn on a dime when needed, her legs allowed her to gain speed when used. She ducked under clothes lines and cut corners without losing speed.
He ran and ran, faster and faster, through building and ruins. He took another sharp corner and grasped the bottom of the light pole and ripped it off. With a deft move, he stood up, holding the light pole like a baseball bat and swung as the Alicorn entered his view, blind striking her. Wasting no time, he dropped the pole and took off down the street, taking a right on 21st, blazing through 60th, turning a left on 180th. He eyed a closed and deserted construction site, dug his right armored hoof into the concrete, causing him to turn sharply and ran through the chain linked fence.
He rudely stopped on the gravel and looked up at the half-finished skyscraper, its skeleton had only been finished before she appeared. He looked back for a quick second before looking back up at the unfinished skyscraper.
With a slow, calming breath, Beta collected his thoughts and, with his magic, began to transform the building skeleton.
Alpha stayed where he was, waiting as the metal from his wing arranged themselves on his appendage. The books from the shelves floated mid-air. Their pages flipped to next as the Colt began to practically inhale the knowledge around him. With Beta no longer around, Alpha was able to cross the wall that Beta had constantly put on his magic, stopping him from exploring his full mutant abilities.
He closed his eyes and watched as another vial appeared, labeled Acceptance. Its liquid white, poured into the bottle of mixing emotions. The liquids within did not mix colors with each other though, but stayed together.
"Accepting the fact that the truth is what I was searching for, despite all other emotions and lies told to me by friends and by enemies." Alpha spoke to himself.
As Alpha began to learn quickly what he had missed and what had actually happened, he was no longer confused to why Celestia kept what he knew hidden. She kept what he knew hidden to prevent fear and chaos from spreading throughout Equestria, although he disagreed completely that such knowledge should not be kept from the public.
His metallic counterpart had finished forming the outline of the wing and begun to create interior and exterior of it, creating the pocket for the bone, injecting the metallic and magnetic properties so it would stay with the wing in flight and combat.
The stallion sighed and looked around. He needed more metal, any metal, to complete his wing. He glanced at the unfinished design and, with a half-formed thought, requested another Estefania from the mountain.
Within only a few seconds, the empty suit crashed through the two story building and landed a couple of meters away from Alpha. Its un-lit head turned to look at Alpha, then at his wing, before nodding and disassembling, giving itself to him. The blue-maned stallion looked away, almost as if embarrassed, as the scraps and fragments of the suit flew to his wing, connecting, fusing, and combining with each other as they created his wing.
He noticed his helmet beside him and picked it up, removing the horn with ease. The helmet, which was designed to protect his head, reduced his hearing and field of vision. Created and made using the mythological Dragon Metal, it was lightweight and damage-worthy.
"Helluva trade off if you ask me." He muttered as he looked over the helmet. "I basically have full control over the suit…so can I…" He trailed off in mid-though as he reached for the armored ear-plate and, slowly, peeled the plate off like an orange peel. The helmet floated away as he focused on the armored ear section and, with his hoof, parted the inside, allowing sound to enter into his ear canal. The helmet formed into a mirror, another subconscious thought, as he placed the newly formed ear section onto his white ear, slipping it on like a glove. The mirror reverted to its original helmet and slowly encased itself around his head, connecting with the newly formed section.
With a smile, Alpha closed his eyes and nodded, confirming the suit's permission to rearrange the other ear. With a click and a somewhat painful pinch, the wing had completed itself and had begun final adjustments; sharpening the wings, tilting the wing's frame, connecting the Dark Magic inside the wing with Alpha's bond with Beta. Alpha felt the wing connect to his soul. With a glance, he flexed the wing and smiled within the helmet as the wing glowed a cool sky-blue along with the rest of his suit. He giggled softly, his voice cracking and high-pitched.
A screech of metal bending beyond its limits echoed throughout the city of Manehatten, calling Alpha out of his 'cave' and into the streets only to look to his right to see his ghostly friend on the ground, exhausted and defeated, Celestia only a few blocks behind. Behind her crashed the skeleton of the skyscraper, all bent and broken, twisted in horrendous and nightmarish ways.
The sun was rising again without her help. Her mane was glowing in its neon rainbow like state the distinct rainbow-like liquid stained her mouth and her eyes glowed bright. She trotted slowly towards him and for good reason. Although Beta was defeated, he wasn't out. The rattlesnake's head could still, if lucky, deliver a fatal bite, filled with toxic venom to the unsuspecting victim that decided to play with the head thinking it was dead. She would wait for him to die again, and this time, finish off Alpha.
The stallion stood its ground and eyed the legendary elements that gleamed in the sunlight that fused with the crown that she wore any day every day. They glowed bright as they charged up with the magic of Friendship.
He still stood his ground, waiting. His wings were extended, its feathers sharp, new, and ready. His armor was replaced and renewed, ready for the inevitable attack.
His rage, to his surprise, faded and he closed his eyes only to see one final vial appear, labeled Forgiveness, for he had forgiven Celestia of what she had did. It poured its contents into the bottle. Within his mind, the cap appeared, closed the bottle and shook the contents within, combining the emotions into one single liquid. This bottle exploded within Alpha, causing this new found magic to surge through his every blood vessel and vein, surrounding and engulfing every neuron, atom, and iota that made him up, which practically caused Alpha to freeze in place, unable to move.
Beta's ghost faded away allowing Celestia to attack Alpha, unloading the six beams of the Magic of Friendship upon Alpha. She watched with satisfaction as his armor heated up and faded away, allowing the magic to hit Alpha directly.
This magic, this new form of magic that Alpha had created using, formed a shield that prevented the fatal magic of Friendship to hit him. The beam shattered upon impact, sending shards and fragments scattering on either side of the shield. They impacted on the building and the library, slicing through the matter with ease. The beam itself began to tremble, began to shake as Alpha opened his eyes and, with a grin, began to advance on Celestia.
His head twitched from the power of his magic and, without his knowledge, a mark appeared on his flank. His eyes flashed white as he used his newfound magic, forcing the oncoming beam to fragment and shatter, causing the beam to cease.
Taking his chance, Alpha lunged for the princess, covering meters within fractions of seconds, jabbing her underbelly hard, easily crushing her ribs. He slid under the Alicorn with his back on the ground, and kicked his left hind leg at her right hind leg, breaking the bone, causing it to stick out of the skin. He looked up, watching as the Alicorn's belly slowly move out of his field of view and flapped his wings, causing him to jump into the sky and spun to face the backside of Celestia, her head just beginning to turn and look at him.
She watched as the stallion hovered in the air, his wings open but not flapping. Above him sat the ever growing ball of white magic and she squinted her eyes shut as he brought the ball of light onto her and felt the magic rip away her armor.