Undying

“Concentrate, Aegis. Use that mark on your forehead as a focus point,” Twilight said as Aegis attempted to channel his magic. Telekinesis came easy, especially once he likened it to controlling an invisible body part, but magic in itself was a different story. He tried to focus on the marking, but nothing happened.

“This is ridiculous,” He said, giving up in frustration. “I can’t concentrate on something I can’t even feel. If it were something like a gemstone or if I had some feeling when I channel the magic, that might just help.”

Twilight sighed. It was one week since Aegis discovered his home destroyed, and he had been trying to figure out why Sombra would destroy it. Twilight sent a message ahead to Spike, via the same method Princess Celestia used to send messages to her through Spike, explaining their delay. Since then, they had holed up in a cave for the purpose of teaching Aegis how to channel magic, a feat that would be impressive if only he could figure out how to channel it. Things had also been tense since Aegis had kissed Twilight, adding another layer to his frustrations.

“What am I doing wrong?” Aegis asked.

Twilight shrugged. “Overthinking something, maybe? Too much going on in your head, I would wager. Just let it all go and try to clear your mind.” She winked and added playfully, “Or you could just think of me.”

“I’m trapped in a cave with a horny princess and severe psychological issues. What can go wrong?” Aegis deadpanned. A quick whack on the head from Twilight swiftly silenced him.

“Cut the sarcasm, buddy,” Twilight said. “Focus.”

Aegis sighed and returned to his attempts to channel magic. “I might be able to focus without the massive headache…”

“No complaining,” Twilight said sharply.

This time, his eyes glowed and flames surrounded him. At first, he panicked, unsure of what to make of it. Then, he smiled and burst into maniacal laughter.

“I’ve done it! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I DID IT!” He said, ecstatic over his newly discovered Pyromancy, but it was quickly doused by Twilight and a jet of water.

“That’s quite enough of that. Do you remember how you did it?” Twilight asked.

“I think so. I felt a passion inside, and I pulled it to the surface,” Aegis said.

“Where it fuelled the magic for your flames. What emotion did you feel?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. It was either love or hatred, or maybe a bit of both,” Aegis said.

“Well, it’s progress, at least. But you shouldn’t dwell on the negative. Always look to the positive,” Twilight said.

“Is that what happened to Sombra?” Aegis asked.

“We don’t know, and Sombra likely wouldn’t tell us anyway,” Twilight said.

Aegis tried replicating the process, creating another ring of fire. Except this time it was pink to match his mane.

“I hope that’s a good sign,” Twilight said.

“You tell me. I, um, might have used… whateverfeelingsIhavetowardsyou…” Aegis said the last part quickly and quietly, hoping that Twilight wouldn’t pick up on it. She did.

“Maybe that’s enough magic practice for now. We should discuss these feelings, and see if we can’t fix the things that have gone wrong with you,” Twilight said, this time without  any sort of innuendo.

Elsewhere, Spike and Rarity had gotten lost. Rarity had mentally aged to teenager, and thus, Spike was having difficulty getting her to do anything.

“They’ll catch up. Twilight is taking a detour so as to teach Aegis more about magic,” Spike said, once again reading a book. Sometimes, he wondered why he carried so many.

“I bet I know what she’s doing to him, too,” Rarity said.

Spike sighed. “Paranoia. It’s everywhere…”

“He’s a sensitive soul. He just needs someone to care about him,” Rarity said.

Spike raised a scaly eyebrow. “Do you even know Aegis? Even if you do care about him, he’s either too busy daydreaming or brooding to notice. I’ve looked after him for nineteen years, so I know what I’m talking about,” Spike said. “Where exactly are we anyway?”

Sombra stood atop his tower, with the wind rushing around him. He wasn’t sure why, but it was soothing to be so far above the world, away from the common rabble.

“To think, I would have finished this five hundred years ago if it weren’t for Discord. Pity about him. He was quite the worthy foe.”

“So, about your little crush…” Twilight said. She had been sitting across from Aegis, trying to help him get through his depression over seeing his home destroyed.

Aegis blushed. “I wouldn’t call it little. I’ve tried to tell myself that it’s nothing and that I didn’t like you. But trying to lie to yourself is a futile endeavour. The true self always reveals itself…”

“How philosophical,” Twilight deadpanned. “Say it in your own words.”

“Alright then. I do love you, but I don’t think I should. I’m confused about my own feelings and why I have them. Then there’s a feeling that maybe I don’t care and I want to pursue those feelings anyway,” Aegis said.

“And if you were to pursue this romantic interest, where would it take you? How far are you willing to go?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know where it’s going to take me, but I’d be willing to go beyond the borders of our world if that’s what it takes,” Aegis said.

“I wouldn’t say things like that, Aegis. Lately, the world has a way of making it so…” Twilight said with a solemn expression on her face.

Aegis stared out at the world beyond the mouth of the cave. He smiled to himself, not a happy smile, but the shallow mask it had become.

A few days later, Spike and Rarity had stopped travelling, having no idea of where they were. Spike sighed and rolled up a leaf he had acquired some time ago, lighting it up with a tiny spark of flame. He took a deep breath and started coughing.

“That’s nasty. Why the hell did I do that?” Spike asked. Despite this, he continued to smoke.

“That’s bad for your health, you know,” Rarity said.

“I’ve done stuff that’s bad for my health before. And after five hundred years, I’ve given up caring,” Spike said.

“Well, you should care. You want to live a long healthy life, oui?” Rarity asked.

Spike laughed. “I’ve already lived a long life. And it ain’t getting any shorter.”

“Stupid…” Rarity said under her breath.

Spike shrugged it off. “Call me whatever you like. You’re different from her, y’know.”

“Huh?”

Spike stared into the distance. “My Rarity… She’s gone forever, isn’t she? Even if you have her memories, you’ve become somepony different.”

Rarity didn’t know what Spike meant by those words. “How am I different? I’m trying to act as she had. I’m trying to be-”

Spike cut her off. “You’re trying to force it. Just let it come naturally. While you’re at it, stop acting like such a brat. Can’t stand mares who think they’re better than everypony else.”

“Well, I can’t stand stallions and dragons who act like jerks!” Rarity yelled.

Spike just laughed. “How easy you are to tease. What concerns me is how you got to this stage so quickly. It’s like the curse is evolving, or maybe it’s not even a curse at all anymore.”

Their moment together was broken by the arrival of a Ghoul Dragon, and this one was full size as opposed to Spike’s smaller slightly-bigger-than-pony-size body.  Spike leapt off the carriage and drew his sword.

“Ok, big guy, we’re not lookin’ for a fight. Just back off!” Spike yelled.

“I don’t think he’s listening, Spike,” Rarity said.

The Dragon reared back and spewed oily black flames. Spike kicked the carriage down a nearby hill where the flames couldn’t reach it and leapt onto the Dragon’s arm.

“Be prepared to lose something important, pal!” Spike yelled as he ran up the Dragon’s arm.

The Dragon swung its arm, flinging Spike into a tree. Spike picked himself up and clutched his arm.

“Damn… I think I broke somethin’…” Spike said, casting a quick healing spell. He resumed his attack, this time taking a different approach. Spike’s eyes glowed as he gave a toothy grin. “Fine. I’ll match you. Let’s dance!”

Spike rapidly grew to match the Ghoul Dragon’s size. A painful process, since Spike screamed in pain until he reached full size. He was slimmer than most dragons, a far cry from his previous ‘adult’ forms. His first one was practically a giant lizard, and the second was more dragon-like, but this one was tall and slim and had a vaguely demonic appearance, which he thought was symbolic of his experiences. He roared and tackled the Ghoul Dragon to the ground, pummelling it continuously. The Ghoul Dragon kicked Spike off, leaping onto the purple dragon. Spike payed it back in kind with a vicious right hook, breaking several of the Ghoul Dragon’s facial bones.

“Hurt much?” Spike taunted. He flashed a feral grin, not that he could emote any other way as a massive Godzilla-sized dragon aside from growling and roaring. He followed up with a series of powerful blows faster than the Ghoul Dragon could keep up with.  The Ghoul Dragon swung its massive tail at Spike, knocking him to the ground and breaking at least three ribs. Spike tried to cast a healing spell, but the Ghoul Dragon got to him first, and began pummelling him into the ground.

This is it… I’m going to die… He thought, ignoring the pain and rapidly spreading numbness. Before the killing blow was made, pink flames rushed at the Ghoul Dragon, and in the middle was a familiar Pegasus. Spike grinned as he painfully resumed his healing spell. “Kept me waiting, hotshot…”

The flames dissipated as Aegis flared his wings out, hovering in place. “What a rush… Now, time to return the favour from Canterlot.”

Aegis dived at the Ghoul Dragon, flames surrounding him once again. He landed a diving kick to the Ghoul Dragon’s stomach, but it had no effect. The skin was too tough. He decided to try another approach.

Twilight watched the battle from a distance. She wasn’t going to interfere unless Aegis truly needed her help. This was his chance to show what he had learned, after all.

Aegis decided to try the air compression spell. If that didn’t work, then he didn’t know what would. He felt the magic flow through him as he attempted to compress the air into a ball. The Ghoul Dragon loomed overhead, meaning Aegis didn’t have a lot of time.  He abandoned the spell and tried to think of a way to speed up the casting time while avoiding the giant foot. Trying to compress it into a ball won’t help. It will take too much time and energy. There has to be a faster way… Wait. What if I try a spiral shape? Even if it's the same amount of energy, it’s still worth a shot! Aegis thought as he resumed casting, this time creating a vortex centred around his forehead marking. The air began to compress and come to a point. Once it was ready, he fired the spell, piercing the Ghoul Dragon’s eye. It recoiled in pain, and began searching for Aegis. But Spike was back in action.

“Surprise!” Spike yelled, punching the Ghoul Dragon in the face and knocking it down. “Nice work, Aegis. I’ll take it from here.”

“I can help!” Aegis yelled. He might believe he could help, but his body was in no condition. He had used up quite a bit of energy on his spell and he was ready to collapse from exhaustion.

“I know you can, but you need some time to recover first. Look after Rarity until I get back, ok?” Spike asked. Aegis nodded and began looking for Rarity. Spike turned back to the Ghoul Dragon. “Round two, ugly…”

“I hate it when this happens. That insensitive dragon kicks the carriage down the hill with no thought as to whether I could get hurt by the fall. Hmph, see if I care about HIS well-being,” Rarity pouted. She looked over the wrecked remains of the carriage to see Aegis falling down the hill himself.

“Aegis! Are you alright?” She said, leaping over the wreckage to catch him. “What happened?”

Aegis groaned as he attempted to sit up. “Learned some magic, fought a giant Dragon who’s been Ghoulified, cast a spell that’s taken up most of my energy, and fell down the hill because I can barely stand on my own four hooves right now. How about you?” He asked, recovering his old sense of humour.

“Guarding a broken carriage, and what’s left of the food,” Rarity said.

“Oh good. That means there’s still something to eat. And boy do I need it…” Aegis said.

The battle raged on, but this time, Spike had the upper hand. Now adjusted to his increased size and mass, he was the greater opponent. But the Ghoul Dragon had sheer stamina on his side. This battle was too even to end quickly, and time was something Spike didn’t want to waste. He rammed the Ghoul Dragon off the other side of the hill, then raced down the way he had kicked the carriage. Twilight flew alongside him, having decided that sitting on the sidelines was boring.

“Not as easy as it used to be,” Twilight said.

Spike shrugged. “Maybe I’m just getting too old for this…”

Aegis and Rarity looked up as Spike grabbed the two of them and whatever supplies he could carry.

“So, who won?” Aegis asked.

“Nopony won. We’re making a tactical retreat before he gets up. Fortunately, there is a hill between him and us, and I’m faster than him,” Spike said.

“I remember now! Full speed ahead, Spike!” Rarity yelled excitedly. “Crystal Empire, here we come!”