Sorry this took so long. I wanted it to be as action packed as it could, but even now it just feels like crap. But I can't think of what else to add. I still hope you enjoy, though.

Everyone knows this old cliché. In times of life-threatening danger, a person's life can flash before their eyes. They would see everything they could remember, from their very first memory to the most recent. It's been used in many different stories, including, of all stories to come to mind, the movie Chicken Run.

But it wasn't happening with me. And I thanked God for that.

The instant that Torch began to bring down his overly large version of the Moonsword, I launched myself into the air and swiftly flew to my left, narrowly avoiding the massive half sword's swing. The glowing silvery blade hit the ground hard, leaving a large new ditch in its wake. I saw the ground ripple all around the sword's impact, moving out towards both crowds. The Dragons simply launched themselves up to avoid the strike's effects while Celestia lifted everyone else up in a powerful telekinetic grip to avoid the wave.

Torch quickly turned his head, much more quickly than what seemed possible for a creature his size. Opening his mouth wide, I saw the back of his throat begin to glow a dim orange, quickly shifting to a bright yellow. I dove down just in time to avoid a large wall of flames burst forth from his maw, which was followed by a massive roar. But I dove right into a rising knee.

Despite the strength of the armor I was wearing, I had the wind knocked out of me and lost all balance in the air. I was sent flying backwards directly into the risen rock formations that were located around the Dragon Lord's throne. I gasped in pain as I was flung through several columns of rock, and when I eventually stopped, I collapsed a few feet to the ground below. Grunting in pain, I slowly stood, the Sunsword thankfully still in hand. Fortunately, the Dragon armor I wore protected me from the vast majority of the wounds I probably would have gotten, and I assumed that my Earth Pony strength covered the rest.

Spreading my wings, I shot up into the air just in time to avoid another blast of fire breath from Torch, which enveloped the entire area and left it blackened and smoking. I dove down just as he swung his own blade towards me once again. Despite his surprising speed for such a large being, I was fortunate that I was a bit faster.

It was a bit unusual to hear absolutely no noise from either side of the battlefield, but I could feel what Celestia was feeling through the Sunsword: tension, fear for my safety, and a desire for me to win. Without thinking, I poured as much reassurance into the sword as I could, hoping that whatever connection Celestia and I had between the sword would be felt by her. I was relieved to feel surprise and warmth coming from said sword.

I flapped my wings hard once more, letting a massive burst of flame follow me in my wake as I pulled my sword back. With a single swipe, I surprised even myself by drawing first blood. On a Dragon the size of Torch it wasn't much, merely a scratch, but it was enough to draw blood. He roared in pain and mostly anger as I flew past him, moving behind him and turning to face him once more.

Torch turned quickly, and there was now pure anger in those fiery orange eyes of his. Unfortunately, it was an anger that was carefully directed towards me, and not a wild anger that would cost a mistake. He raised his sword and quickly brought it down. Instead of dodging, I flew up, moving for the block. When the swords finally touched, golden and silver sparks flew from the connection. I flew up as strongly as I could, but having no leverage beneath me, I soon found myself moving back towards the ground. Unlocking my knees, I waited until I landed, bending said knees when my feet touched the ground.

But it wasn't enough. I tumbled backwards the moment I landed, finally crashing into a nearby wall of rock. The Sunsword had fallen out of my hand, but a quick retrieval with my ever-advancing telekinetic grip soon brought it back into my hand. And the moment I held the sword in hand, I felt new emotions.

Sorrow. Loneliness. Regret.

The emotions didn't seem to be coming from Celestia. All I felt for her was anxiety for my safety at the moment. I briefly looked down at my sword and just barely caught a glimpse of a small part of it where it had clashed with the Moonsword changing back to gold from a familiar silvery hue.

I looked back up at Torch, who was approaching me slowly and menacingly. I caught another glimpse of his sword doing the reverse of what had just happened to mine. A small patch of gold vanished from the silvery sheen of the half blade. I stood, brushing myself off quickly and held my sword up. The power from within the sword now burned with the white-hot intensity of more than ten thousand suns now. The sword appeared to have a mind of its own. And I could feel a protective rage and sorrow emanating from it.

A rage directed at Torch. And a sorrow directed at itself.

As I stood, I looked at the sword, addressing it. "Never blame yourself, my friend," I said to it before turning to look at Torch, glaring at him. "We will make this pathetic excuse for a leader pay for what he has done! Not only to your companion, but to all Dragons! With his very life if need be!" And with that, I held the sword higher.

The rage and sorrow ebbed away, being replaced with a massive feeling of gratitude. The Sunsword began to glow brightly, gold turning to blindingly white-hot flames. I spread my wings wide, launching myself into the air as my own wings burst into flames, matching the bright white color of the sword. The heat from my sword and wings surrounded me, but the armor protected me once more from the vast majority of it.

Torch, meanwhile, just scoffed at the display of power from me and raised his own sword. A silvery mist surrounded it and a trail of said mist shot out towards the horizon. The light on his sword increased in intensity. "You have only had the Sunsword subjugated for a handful of days. I have had mine for centuries. You will not win against me."

I pointed the sword towards Torch. "That's where you're wrong. The Sunsword isn't my subject. The Sunsword is my partner!" I shot towards him with all available speed, my sword reaching back for a swing. I expanded my Pegasus senses and searched for any form of feint from my opponent, and since I was used to fighting a form similar to my own and to a Dragon, it was easier for me to spot the subtle movements of muscles in Torch's arms, shoulders, and where his eyes were aiming. During my training sessions with Gemini, I always made it a point to only rely on my normal senses so I wouldn't need to rely on them if someone like Tirek came back. However, this wasn't training, and I would use every weapon in my arsenal to win.

Torch swung his arm back with surprising speed once more and quickly swung sideways towards me, intent on bifurcation. At the last possible second, I shot directly up into the sky, both narrowly avoiding the sword and avoiding the fire breath directed at me. I stopped my ascent and dove down towards him, sword aimed directly at his chest.

Only for me to be stopped in my tracks by Torch's attempt to backhand me, almost like I was some fly to be swatted. I flew back, but wasn't able to dodge fast enough. His claw grazed me, but it was enough to send me flying into the air. The sound of claw on armor was loud enough that it felt like my eardrum nearly shattered. As I was tumbling in the air, I heard Torch laugh derisively before the sound of flames began approaching me.

I felt the heat surrounding me first. Intense and blistering heat. Then my tumbling vision was surrounded by large bright orange flames. The armor I wore was apparently enchanted by ancient Dragons who were capable of using magic so that it would repel Dragon's breath. But that was only against normal Dragon breath. Torch was the Dragon Lord, after all, so it was only natural that I would feel the heat despite the protection I had. Instantly I was sweating and the clothes I wore underneath all my chainmail suit and the armor began to become slick with moisture.

My vision was clouded with the flames, so I quickly made note of the direction they were heading and headed in a ninety-degree angle to them, quickly gasping for air as the flames dissipated when I made my way out of the path of his attack. Pointing my sword down, I felt magic flowing out of me, into the sword, which shot out a massive solar prominence directly towards the massive Dragon. I watched as Torch's eyes widened in slight surprise before he simply brought his own blade up, the Moonsword promptly blocking my prominence attack, spreading the bright white energy out in a flower pattern. His sword shimmered a bit, then brightened briefly before the prominence attack vanished.

The Dragon Lord spread his wings wide, sending a large wall of dust blowing towards each side of the battlefield. Aiming his blade at me, he launched himself up, but having read his movements, I had already reacted, shooting up directly into the sky. As I sped up, I would occasionally look down, swiping my sword and sending a solar prominence attack towards Torch, and each time he would deflect it, but I also noticed that each time the prominences became stronger. Had they, of course, been as strong as a real solar prominence, even Torch wouldn't have survived. And presumably nobody else would have either considering the fact that the surface of the sun was unbearably hot, ten thousand degrees Fahrenheit or nearly six thousand degrees Celsius.

Then I remembered that lightning could heat up the air around it five times more than the surface of the sun. If that one episode depicting Nightmare Night was any indication, lightning would probably not hurt a Dragon either. At least, not permanently.

I heard the tell-tale inhale that came whenever Torch was about to breathe fire at me again. In that moment, something told me that I should stop, turn around, face Torch, hold up my sword and pour as much raw magic as I could into the blade. I spun around and did just that. To my surprise, a large half sphere of translucent white light formed directly in front of me just in time to deflect the blast of incoming fire. I could feel another wave of simple emotions from my new partner: extreme protectiveness. I quickly shot back some emotion of gratitude as I flew once more to the right, out of the way of Torch's blast.

Torch and I had flown up far into the air, making all of the gathered spectators look small by comparison due to the height. I flew directly right, then shot down, letting gravity assist me as I made my way directly towards the ground. I heard Torch's frustrated roar as he turned and made his way after me. "Coward!" he shouted, "face me like a true warrior! You make a mockery of this challenge!"

I flipped him off. He must have understood the meaning behind the gesture because he roared louder. When I quickly turned to see what he was doing, I barely had enough time to react as he swung the massive Moonsword my way. I quickly brought the Sunsword up to deflect, but since I was in the air and he was still presumably stronger than I was, the moment our swords connected, I was thrown sideways, directly towards the lake.

I tried my best to regain altitude, but my current momentum made that almost impossible. And to make matters worse, I was heading straight towards the anchored galleon. I tried harder to spread my wings, but that did little good and I slammed hard into the starboard side of the ship, its old wood splintering as I went directly into the gun deck. Fortunately, the impact was enough to slow my momentum so that when I hit the other side of the deck, I stopped. I heard cracking from behind me as I slowly and painfully stood. The wooden beams I'd crashed into had bent outward, letting some of the outward light into the room and illuminating the cannons.

The cannons.

The motherfucking cannons!

I rushed up to the upper deck as quickly as I could, grabbing the Sunsword as I did, which I'd clung to with all my strength. All the while, I heard the sound of the Dragon Lord flying down, his wings spread wide as he flew towards me as fast as he could.

I ran up to the helm of the ship and found, to my confusion, the cutlass that controlled the ship. I grabbed it, then turned the dials which controlled generators two, three and four up to their maximum. There was a piercing warbling noise when I turned the dial for the damaged systems, but I pushed through it as a massive light red dome made of connected hexagons formed around the ship, the masts unfurled and the ship began showing signs of life once again.

With the ship's flicking shield up, I rushed down to the upper deck, cutlass in hand as I pointed it at the nearest cannon almost instinctively. It began to move on its own, aiming directly towards the approaching Dragon. Two other cannons began making the same movements, lifting up and aiming at the lumbering reptile. And then they all fired, the decades old cannonballs headed straight towards Torch, who saw them and held up his sword. He deflected two, but one got passed him and struck a part of his neck that had somehow been left exposed. I saw something chip away and fall into the water.

Roaring, Torch leaped up, sword raised high and he brought it down directly on top of the shield. I saw it crack right where he hit it, sending translucent red bits of shield falling down towards me. Flying up, I narrowly avoided them as they hit the deck, shattering even more. Torch then hit the shield on the side with his tail, sending me and the ship moving sideways across the water. I was too slow to avoid the oncoming shield, and when I hit it, I bounced off, stumbling and falling to the deck.

I slowly, painfully, stood up, the cutlass and Sunsword still held tightly in my hands as the deck tilted thanks to Torch continuing to push against the shield around the ship. I could hear the rigging creak with the strain, and the loud warbling of the damaged generator only increasing.

I spread my wings and flew above the deck, both swords in my hand and outstretched. I pointed the cutlass towards the mainsails, and to my relief, the ship began to move. This seemed to catch Torch off guard as he quickly lost his grip on the shield and fell face first into the water as the ship once more took flight. The higher it got into the air, the softer the screeching sound became.

But the screeching came back in full force ten or so seconds later when the shield was impacted by another massive burst of flame from aft. The shield brightened and I could see cracks forming from the stress. Rushing back to the helm, I grabbed the wheel and pushed it down, moving away from the fire and back towards the lake.

Of course, I realized then that the galleon was less maneuverable than I was, since the fire continued to follow me. I aimed the Sunsword aft and the cutlass fore, pouring magic into the former and allowing the latter to do what it did best: give the ship a much-needed boost out of range.

When the ship hit the water, it took place in the shallower parts of the lake, and I heard the shattering of many different parts of the hull as the underbelly of the galleon scraped the rocks below. It had to be taking on water now, and I winced at the thought. Maybe if I used my Morphean abilities I can repair the damage, a part of me though, but that line of thinking quickly shifted to escape. I rushed back to the helm and brought down the shield, turned off the engines and retracted the rigging back to standby before putting the cutlass back in its sheath and flying directly up and away from the now sinking ship. I could feel bruises almost everywhere. It felt like my insides were on fire, but I knew better than to give up just from a simple few scrapes and bruises.

Torch's eyes locked with mine and he pointed his sword at me. "I will take your head, human!"

Once more, I flipped him off, not giving him the satisfaction of any kind of response as I held up my sword towards the sun. The energy from the massive ball of burning plasma ninety-three million miles away from the surface of the planet poured like a waterfall into the blade. It felt like I was charging up a Dragonball Z attack. Bringing the sword back down after about five or so seconds, I aimed and fired another prominence directly at him.

I was satisfied to see Torch actually be pushed backwards when it impacted him, but it still wasn't enough. In fact, I watched as he aimed the point of his sword at me instead. A large bolt of silvery lightning shot out and struck my armor before I could react, sending me flying backwards. I screamed in pain as I fell back down to the ground, wings flailing in every direction as I tried to regain my balance in the air. The electrical current flowing through my body hurt. It hurt so much.

But the pain immediately receded as energy flowed into me from the Sunsword. A warmth I couldn't describe washed over me, and the pain of the Moonsword's electrical attack ebbed away quickly, as did the other pain and aches I had gotten in my brief time aboard the galleon and before.

Since I inadvertently relaxed, that was what probably part of what saved me a bunch of broken bones as I slammed right into the Dragon Lord's throne, because the next thing I knew, I had crashed directly into the throne, passing through it and landing flat on my back nearby. Surprisingly, not only had my grip on the Sunsword remained tight, but my entire body felt like it had been forced to relax. I was still in pain, but there was absolutely no way that I could have survived that fall if I had been tense.

As I stood, I watched in awe as the back of the throne began cracking, then split into two, falling back onto the ground below. Torch had stopped his pursuit, watching his throne practically disintegrate before his eyes. I wanted to laugh at the utter absurdity of it all, but I was still in a battle and needed to think more about ideas to defeat him. Suddenly, a thought came to mind. I wasn't sure if it came from me, the Sunsword, or perhaps Celestia, but it was the only idea that had come to me that made any kind of sense.

He can withstand heat well enough. Cold probably too. But…every living creature needs to breath something, now don't they?

I grinned as I spread my wings. Finally deciding to speak, I bellowed out in my version of the Canterlot Voice, "YOU WANT ME, TORCH!? COME GET ME!"

And with that, I shot up into the air, deciding to try and repeat my little trick with Chrysalis. Only now that I could cast a massive airtight shield around me thanks to the Sunsword, I felt more confident in my abilities. From the mental connection I felt from Celestia through the sword, I could feel her anxiety rising, but I sent through another reassuring mental smile to her, opening my mouth and saying, "Trust me, Cellie." And with that, the worry from Celestia ebbed, but didn't quite disappear.

"Fleeing the battlefield again, are you?" Torch laughed. "Do you think that flying high into the sky will do anything to stop me?"

The more he talked, the closer he sounded. I pointed my sword up to the bright blue sky, pouring more of my magic into it as a large white sphere of light began surrounding me. Behind me, I could hear Torch's wings flapping harder, and a slight growl indicated that he was about to breathe another breath of fire at me. Fortunately, I formed the shield mere moments before I saw the massive orange flames surrounding the shield.

This time, however, there was almost no increase in heat. Since the shield around me kept me from using my wings, I decided to try and imitate something I'd seen Starlight Glimmer do in the show: use a magic shield to levitate upwards. To my surprise, the flames surrounding said shield slowly began losing their strength as I moved out of range. I imagined the spherical shield around me morphing into a sharp arrow shape, and my speed increased due to lack of air resistance.

When I took one small look back, I was surprised to see Torch continuing to chase me. The crowd of Dragons and the group of my friends below us now looked like ants, another damned cliché I hated but one that still fit the view. Torch saw me do this and roared, "Coward! You can't run forever!"

But I'm not running, Torchy, I thought, I'm leading you to your doom! I turned away and a grin spread across my face. I felt a surge of encouragement coming both from Celestia and the sword itself. I poured more magic into the spear shaped shield and began moving faster. The sky above me began to darken ever so slightly, and I could almost feel the high-speed wings buffet around us. Since Dragons were flying reptilians, I knew that they would have high resistance to cold and altitude.

But a lot of living things need oxygen, after all, and you're no exception, Torchy!

I kept my breathing steady, sometimes opening small portions of the shield to let new air in until I felt it wasn't worth it. The sky continued darkening, changing from sky blue, to a deeper shade, then to the inky blue I normally saw in the dark of night. Looking back down briefly, I was surprised that Torch was still following, but even he looked like he was having trouble breathing. If he was smart, he would have made a shield like me.

But the Dragon Lord's understanding of the atmosphere was probably primitive at best.

The further up I flew, the more the curvature of Equestria began to make itself known. Twilight had told me that Equestria was spherical like Earth, but this was the first time I'd had any actual confirmation about it. Despite everything, I couldn't help but feel in awe at the sight around me. The sun high above us shining right into my face, the light blue glow of the troposphere below me, the clouds moving on their own around the planet, and a glimpse of the waxing gibbous moon in the east.

Looking back down, I saw the Moonsword in Torch's claw brighten up. However, we were so high up now that Torch was taking in great gulps of air, or trying to anyway. He was slowing down, wings flapping slower and he looked winded. I continued flying upwards, but kept an eye on him more and more often. I was satisfied to see him continue to try and take in air, but the higher we flew, the more he gasped for breath. However, his stubbornness prevented him from seeing the danger. Only his target, which was moving farther and farther away.

Eventually, he grasped his neck, opened his mouth to try and say something, but nothing came out. The wings finally stopped, he reached out towards me futilely, then began falling back down. His grip on the Moonsword began slipping, and he began falling.

I stopped, turned around, and aimed the sharp part of the shield directly towards the spot on his neck where the cannon had shot off a piece of his natural scales. I grinned as I made impact, and only grinned wider as the satisfying roar of pain escaped the massive Dragon's maw. I aimed my sword at the wound, and yet another prominence lashed out, rushing directly into the new wound.

The farther back we fell, the more I could see some slight flames forming around Torch's body. I knew it wouldn't affect him since he was a Dragon, but I continued digging my blade and shield into the wound, opening it up. I grinned wider as I saw blood spurting out of the, admittedly, small wound I'd begun to make. We continued to fall, and despite the roaring coming from Torch, he made no move to dislodge me.

I received a warning from the Sunsword too late. A warning advising me to move away. A claw wrapped around my shield and lifted it away from the wound. I tumbled around within my spear shaped shield just as Torch held me up. His wings, which had been temporarily covered in ice which had caused him to not be able to fly, were now back to normal and he was hovering above the ground relatively close to my friends. "You poor, deluded fool," he said, almost sounding disappointed, "Now you die."

Time slowed down as the glowing shield around me shattered into a million pieces, destroyed by a bolt of lightning from the Moonsword. One piece of the broken shield even passed directly in front of me, the reflection showing my still helmeted face in the light of the massive lightning bolt. I watched as Torch's claw began closing around me, and I spread my wings in an attempt to escape, but he was too fast. As time sped up around me once again, I felt Torch's grip on me finally solidify. I heard something snap from directly behind me, then an unbearable pain shot out through my wings. He'd gone and broken the left one. I screamed.

Torch grinned wider. "Well, I've had fun toying with my meal now," he said, pulling me forward, "now we end this little game. But first, let me relieve you of your toy." And with that, he reached down and swiped the Sunsword directly out of my hand. The mental connection I felt between me, the Sunsword and Celestia instantly vanished and I was all alone in my head. He pulled the sword away then opened his mouth wide. I could smell the stench almost immediately and I almost gagged, but continued struggling against the grip. I felt like my magic was being drained from me, and I struggled to stay awake.

I had almost passed out when something hit Torch, and a deep growling voice shouted out, "JETHRO MINE! NO TOUCH!"

Torch, apparently caught off guard, released me and I fell, only to see a massive winged purple and green blur slamming directly into Torch. A small glint of metal fell to the ground near me, but I didn't have time to guess what it was before I felt myself slam directly into the ground. Another snap could be heard, and I screamed in pure agony now as my right wing also snapped.

The pain was unbearable. I couldn't move a single inch without pain shooting up my back. Even when I wasn't moving, the pain I felt was excruciating. I still forced myself up, only to glimpse something out of my worst nightmare.

A massive winged purple and green Dragon raised a fist and slammed it directly into Torch's face. I knew immediately who that very well could be. "SPIKE! NO!" I shouted, only to fall into a coughing fit. I quickly removed my helmet and continued coughing. As blood splattered onto the ground, I heard the sound of galloping hooves approaching. Turning, I saw Celestia leading the charge directly towards me.

Celestia was the first to reach me, and she stopped directly in front of me. "My knight!" she shouted frantically, kneeling to my level.

"What…what happened…?" I asked, although I somewhat could guess.

Twilight was immediately by my side, her horn glowing. As the pain in my wings slowly dissipated, she said, through teary eyes, "Spike…h-he co-couldn't take it…he-he couldn't watch you be hurt…so…he just-"

"He kept on saying how he wouldn't let anypony hurt his friends," Rainbow Dash said, flying up behind me and looking at my wings. "Shit…that looks like it fucking hurts."

I nodded. "I've never broken a bone before…it hurts like a son of a bitch. Or it did until just now. Thanks, Twi." I turned and was surprised to see Spike holding his own against Torch, but even I knew that wouldn't last. "I…I never thought he'd resort to trying to purposely inducing Greed-Induced Bigness."

"I do hope he's careful," Rarity said with worry clearly evident in her voice.

"I've seen this happen on the show," I said as the pain finally vanished, but the broken bones didn't. "Only…he didn't have wings. That's new."

Spike roared in pain as Torch slammed his fist directly into the young Dragon's chest, sending him sprawling. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that I was watching an old Japanese Godzilla movie. Spike was quick to get back to his feet, just in time to avoid Torch swinging at him with the sword. "You have forfeited your life, foolish hatchling!" Torch roared as he swung the sword sideways.

Spike narrowly avoided the swing, then breathed a massive flame of green flames at Torch, who brought up his sword and absorbed said flames with it. Having fully recovered from the surprise attack, he walked up slowly to the massive version of Spike. My heart was in my throat, but since I didn't have my sword in my hands and I doubted my own magical prowess could stand against Torch, all I could do was scream in utter horror as Torch slashed Spike directly in the chest.

Everything stopped. All noise was instantly muffled. In the corner of my eye, I saw Twilight shouting in pure horror as a large red shower of blood exploded from Spike's chest. All I could hear was my own heartbeat as I screamed in utter terror as the young drake began to fall, shrinking slowly as he did so, his claw clutching at the new wound. And in that moment, something inside of me, something I thought I had buried away, snapped.

A torrent of emotions I'd once buried and had tried to very slowly let loose for processing, flowed forward all at once. Terror quickly gave way to a plethora of other emotions. Rage. Pure unadulterated hatred. Desire for vengeance and revenge. A bloodlust I never knew I had swelled up within me. As sound returned, I heard the snapping of bones back into place behind me as a dark purple mist began to surround me, especially around the eyes. A burst of magic sprang out from my body and dark black crystals shot out of the ground directly where the shadows began to form. I barely registered Celestia putting up a bright shield around the group, which protected her from the effects of what another small part of me realized was dark magic. Along with that, a bright green flame encircled me on the ground, much like a Fae's own changing flames appeared.

And I welcomed every bit of it.

The floodgates of repressed emotions I thought I had tamed and was dealing with were let loose in a barrage of unfettered purple and green flames and black lightning which shot up into the air with a mighty roar and thunderous clashes. I felt my body start to morph as the multicolored energy of various magic licked at my body. My armor began to morph as well, changing from its current appearance to a slick, black sheen. From behind me, flames started shooting out of my head, engulfing my hair, but never dying down. In fact, the flames only increased as I stepped forward, my eyes burning with a purple and green glow as they focused solely on the soon-to-be dead Dragon Lord.

I inhaled, and I noted a deeper growl coming from deep within my throat. A Draconic growl. Letting loose a scream, a small part of me was shocked to hear a piercing Dragon roar emanating from my own throat. A roar of pure rage, sorrow, regret, and most importantly, bloodlust.

Holding out my left hand, I called the Sunsword back to me. When I caught it, I sensed, for a brief moment, a tingling of fear from Celestia and concern from the sword itself, but the latter's concern quickly turned to understanding at what must be done and acceptance of said fact. My now fiery hair began to calm slightly, but never lost its brilliance and heat. In fact, I felt more power flowing into me directly from the sword itself.

Spreading my now Phoenix enflamed wings, I shot up into the air, intent on slaying the enemy in front of me with no mercy. My sword was engulfed as well with a mixture of solar prominences, green and purple flames and black lightning. Torch turned slowly towards me, and on that face of his, I saw a sickening smile of glee. I poured magic into my Sunsword, and the blade began extending.

With a powerful swing, I aimed at his head, intent on aiming for the head as I should have done with Eris. But Torch was faster and our blades connected. He deftly flew backwards, glaring at me in some slight confusion. "And what are you?" he demanded.

"WE ARE LEGION! FOR WE ARE MANY!" I shouted. My voice, much like that in my dreams, sounded like an immense multitude of voices combined together.

Torch simply scoffed at this. "Pathetic. Sending another one to finish what he started-HELLS!" He brought up his sword to just barely deflect my own strike, once more aiming for the head. Torch, however, still managed to deflect it, but I now had him on the defensive. I brought my sword down towards him over and over again, aiming for the kill.

"What are you?!" he demanded once more, then roared in pain as I managed to bring my sword down on one of his fingers. The large digit fell, dark red blood pouring out of the wound. His roar of pain turned into a growl of derision. "I will make you pay for-RAAAAAAHH!"

I vanished in a dark black cloud of dark magic teleportation and immediately severed Torch's left arm from his pathetic body. He doesn't need it. He doesn't deserve it. He is about to die, after all! I heard blood splattering all over my blackened Dragon armor, but ignored it and the roar of pain as a now one-armed Torch's smile vanished from his face. He turned to face me, and his rage briefly gave way to an emotion that satisfied me to see.

Fear.

But that fear quickly turned into utter hatred as he roared, shouting, "HOW DARE YOU!?" He swung the Moonsword at me, but I vanished in the blackened cloud, appearing next to his remaining claw, quickly severing it so the sword couldn't cauterize it. "RAAAAAAAHHH!" He screamed as his now detached claw, the Moonsword still in its grasp, fell to the ground.

I grasped the Moonsword in my magic, pulling it towards me. I grabbed it just as it shrank down to the exact same size as the Sunsword. When I finally had it in my grasp, I looked down at the wounded Dragon. So vulnerable. So ready…to…DIE!

I shot down, both swords held out as I aimed for his chest. A quick death isn't something a monster like him deserves! He deserves to feel pain! The pain…of…LOSS!

Torch's roars of pain quickly vanished as both blades pierced his heart. The roar quickly became a gasp of surprise. Torch looked down at me in disbelief as I twisted both blades maliciously. I felt a vicious smile form on my face. A smile quick slowly vanished when I started feeling new emotions. Emotions coming from Luna and Celestia.

Despair and fear. Fear of me. Fear of what I'd become.

My senses started to return to me. I looked at both swords, at least the part that weren't pierced through Torch's chest, and in their reflection, I saw not my normal face, but the face of a demon. Red rimmed green eyes, purple mist surrounding it, blackened skin, and sharp fanged teeth. I was the near exact image of Legion from my nightmares. I'd become my own version of Nightmare Moon.

I had become a horrific monster.

There was a small voice on the air now. One I had been hearing for the past thirty or so seconds, but one I'd just now acknowledged. I turned slowly, focusing solely on the gray striped Zebra separated from the rest, calling out to me. I could hear the desperation in her own voice. The fear. The anguish. And it shattered not only my heart, but my changed form.

The black armor fell away, leaving the former golden hued ones in its place. The pieces bounced off of Torch's underbelly, falling to either side of him and shattering the moment each piece hit the ground. The fiery wings and hair vanished, leaving nothing but my normal wings and now completely waist length hair, which was waving in some nonexistent wind. The dark magic surrounding me vanished, and I slowly looked up at the heavily wounded Dragon Lord as he bled out from the open wounds. The ones in his chest weren't bleeding as much since the swords were still in. I squeezed the hilts of both swords and closed my eyes. Now, instead of the anger and hatred towards Torch, I poured the emotion of regret and sorrow back into both swords, directing them towards Celestia and Luna. I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…

And instantly, I could feel not only relief from them both, but an overwhelming sense of forgiveness, understanding and a deep love. Love which washed over me and through me, cleansing me of anything negative that might have affected me.

I looked at the two sword pieces still in my grasp, and then back down at Torch. He looked down at me with defiance, but the life was quickly going out of his eyes, blood pouring out from the stump of his former arm and his claw. I stood, still holding onto the swords. "You've lost this battle today, Torch, and I have claimed the Moonsword," I said with a calm I didn't know I could feel.

"So it would seem," he snarled in rage before he started coughing. As a blue Dragon flew up towards him, he continued, his anger ebbing with his lifeforce. "It would appear that I have, indeed, lost. I will honor our agreement, but not quite in the way you think." To my surprise, he began to sit up. I flew away, pulling the swords out of his chest. The wounds began bleeding more profusely as he looked with one last look at the gathered Dragons. "Dragons! Hear me!" he bellowed, to my utter surprise. "I have lost this Volrif'nel! I am also on my way to be judged by the gods! In keeping with the traditions of Old Aelyssia, the rule of the Dragon Lands will go to the one who defeated me in combat! A Dragon he isn't, but he has the spirit of one! And since he has claimed both Sunsword and Moonsword, he will become…your new Dragon…Emperor…Jethro…Bethridge!" And with those final words, he collapsed onto his back, eyes closed, mouth open slightly, and blood pouring from the wounds.

Perhaps it was the adrenaline wearing off. Perhaps it was the amount of magic I had used in the final part of the fight. Perhaps it was the relief of this all being over. Or perhaps it was a combination of all of that, but I started to see black spots at the corner of my vision. I felt the strength flow out of me, and my wings started to slow down. I tried to keep up, but the black spots continued to encroach on the world around me.

I used what little strength I had left to glide down to the ground, collapsing onto my back and letting the two swords go as Zecora rushed to my side, enveloping me in her hooves. "Dearest! Please tell me you're okay!" she begged.

I forced myself to stay awake for just a little while longer, looking up at her with tired eyes. "I…I wasn't hurt too bad I think…I'm just exhausted…" Then, in some of my last moments of coherent thought, I remembered my charge. "Is…Spike…is he-?"

"The Phoenixes are helping to heal him," Zecora said reassuringly, clinging to me. "He'll live."

"Oh…Good…Zecora…?"

"Yes, beloved?" Her face filled what little remained of my vision, her blue eyes glistening with worried tears.

"…I'm so…so tired…"

My last memory, before passing out, was hearing Zecora's terrified scream before darkness quickly engulfed me.