I felt a stinging in my shoulder, and I saw that I'd been cut on a jagged edge of metal from the fighter. Luna looked banged up too, but she was still conscious and her spell was still holding. There was a deep, enraged growl that came from our front, and I remembered we weren't through just yet. A slab of stone was thrown off to the side as the Alpha got back to its feet. Its armor, which looked like some sort of heavily woven material, was practically hanging from its body, and it tore the cloth off as it approached us, grabbing its sword as it did. I glanced to Luna, who stared defiantly at the monster in front of us.

"Luna," I grunted, pulling myself away from the sharpened metal digging into my flesh. "Go… I won't slow you down."

I saw the mental battle in her mind as to whether or not she was going to obey the order. Her hooves shook often, and I knew she was having a harder time than I was. I used my good hoof to touch her shoulder, prompting her to glance at me. The Alpha stopped just a few yards away from us, anger evident in its void-colored eyes.

"Please… they need one of us… and I won't make it like this," I said, wincing as the numbness in my leg turned to sharp aches.

Her jaw clenched in anger… but she knew I was right. The Alpha rose its blade, getting into a charging stance as Luna started to trot. She looked back to me, and all I did was nod. With one last look of pain, she disappeared behind the fighter. The monster in front of me growled, watching closely as my horn faintly lit. I was completely out of mana… so I tapped into the only source of magic I had left.

My soul.

I could feel the migraine already, and my nose started to run as I used what little magic my own souls contained. A blast from this wouldn't even bring down a stone wall, let alone the super-charged beast in front of me. My vision blurred, but for some sick reason, I could still see the Alpha's smirk. It lowered its blade, bringing its right claw up and cutting an X into its own coat. My horn bursted into life, a billowing aura of white and faint sparkles of purple surrounding it. My body felt heavy, my knees weak. I felt something wet run down my forehead and onto my snout… which turned out to be more blood. It was from my horn, without a doubt.

"Ot dot (Do it)" The monster chuckled maliciously.

I laughed weakly, finally looking forward to something like this. I'd hit it, my body would falter completely, and either it would rip me apart or let me suffer from my own foolishness. I don't know why… but either one would be just fine with me. I laughed louder as the aura blinded my sight from anywhere but my target.

"I'll save you a seat in Tartarus!" I shouted.

I closed my eyes and screamed as I fired my last bit of magic, surprised to feel the wind kick up around me. The Alpha roared in agony, which made me even more confused. When all of my soul's mana was wasted, I collapsed. I barely had enough energy to tilt my head towards where the Alpha once stood. There wasn't enough energy for me to gasp, so I simply stared at the hole in the monster's chest. It kneeled motionlessly, slumped over in a state of death.

That's when I felt a pair of hands touch my head and chest. "Rishiga!"

I surge of mana poured into me, giving me the strength to cough hoarsely and wheeze as I tried standing. I looked up, my vision allowing me to see Reku'un's face, and some of his blood marred body. Reku'un grabbed me, however, and pulled me onto his back.

"I'd suggest you hold on," he said. "Nalo!"

Nalo chirped electronically before clinging to me, then covering my body in its master's suit. My body started to feel a bit more relaxed, but I was still slipping in and out. But I used what little strength I had left to look up when I heard a familiar roar. There was… a dragon… a blood red dragon breaking out of the castle… flying into the town…

…and then everything turned black.

Several hours later… (No one knew exactly how long after)

"Twilight? Please, if you can hear me, let me know you can. Twilight. Twilight." My eyes lazily cracked open, and I could see my own body covered in a patient's gown.

"She took a beating," a deeper voice sighed. "Give her a moment."

I looked to my left, then to my right, surprised there weren't any IV's in my forelegs. Once that was off my mind, I looked up to see who was calling me. I wasn't surprised to see Celestia, but I was thankful. To the left, I saw a tan stallion with a darker mane in a doctor's coat. My doctor, if I was unmistaken.

"Twilight?" Celestia gently said, coming up to my side.

I brought a hoof up to rub my eyes, clearing away the daze. "It's nice to see you, Princess," I smiled weakly.

She smiled softly, concern in her eyes. "We were worried about you," she laughed. "How do you feel?"

I lifted my legs and rested them a few times. "A little sore," I chuckled. "And very grateful."

Celestia smiled just a bit more broadly. "That's wonderful to hear," she nodded.

"Did… Did everypony make it back?" I asked.

Her smile brightened. "Yes. And from what Reku'un told me, they'll have trouble finding this tunnel," she chuckled. "You did a good job… Luna told me what happened as well."

I thought back to my last moments of consciousness. My soul was used… I shouldn't have been able to talk to her like I was. And… the dragon. It came from the castle… was that what was there? Did the generators let it go? It looked stranger than any other dragon I've seen around here. I've seen fighter and carrier dragons but never one like the one I saw.

"Wait… I should be… a vegetable right now," I stammered. "Princess… I did something that should've killed me."

Her smile faded away, and she touched my cheek with her hoof. "I know… that's why I'm so relieved," she told me, a tear forming in her eye.

"Did… did you cast a spell to restore the mana I used?" I questioned. She shook her head slowly, then stepped aside as Reku'un walked in, along with the girls and Luna.

"What'd I tell ya?" Rainbow laughed. "I told you girls she'd be fine."

"Considerin' you were pacin' like a broke gambler that just lost a bet," Applejack laughed.

Fluttershy smiled at me while Pinkie and Rarity came to my side. "I'm glad to see you awake," Rarity said, nuzzling me.

"Yeah," Pinkie giggled. "We thought you'd never wake up."

Princess Luna stood with Reku'un and Celestia. "How are you faring, Twilight?" She grinned.

"I'll be better soon," I chuckled awkwardly. I looked at the bandage wrap around her shoulder, then to the nick on her cheek. "I guess you're doing better."

"Thanks to Reku'un, I am now," she smiled. "We both are, a actually."

I turned to him, and he simply nodded respectfully. "You were bold to take on the Alpha alone, Twilight Sparkle," he smirked. "At least you distracted it long enough for me to arrive."

I remembered hearing his voice when I was given some mana, and the feeling of Nalo covering me resurfaced. "So… that's why there was a hole in the Alpha," I laughed, hearing the others join in as well. "Thank you… but how did you get us back here?"

"Nyla helped us with that, actually," Fluttershy told me. I tilted my head questioningly.

"Nyla?" I parroted. "Is she your partner?"

"Yes," Reku'un nodded. "She rescued them and the prisoners while I hurried towards you and Limir."

I still didn't understand how she took the six of them out of there and made sure the Arthanians didn't follow. "Oh! Nyla's a dragon," Rainbow quickly explained.

My jaw dropped. "Nera'ak would be a better term," Reku'un corrected. "From what I've heard, you have them here as well."

"'Cept they don't look like her or have powers like her," Applejack chuckled.

My mind went back to the memory of the red dragon. It was enormous, probably the size of a hydra. But dragons were supposed to he MUCH taller than that.

"So… Nyla was the one we were supposed to get?" I asked. They all nodded in unison. "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"I didn't imagine you had a term for her kind," Reku'un chuckled awkwardly. "My apologies."

"It's fine, Reku'un," Celestia said. "We probably should have asked anyways."

"I thought she was gonna be like you, actually," Rainbow laughed, scratching her head. "It's still pretty awesome how you rode her and made a mess of those fighters."

"What?" I blurted.

"Perhaps we should explain it to you later," Luna smiled. "Come,everypony. We should let her rest."

"Aww, but it was fun getting the egghead fired up!" Rainbow snickered.

The girls rolled their eyes playfully and started heading out, save for Celestia and Reku'un. "If it helps, I could answer some of your questions," he grinned.

"That sounds great," I said, sitting up straight to get comfortable. I was the exact opposite when my headache kicked in, forcing me to put a hoof to my head.

I gasped when I felt his hand touching my head, then a gentle feeling of ease washing over my mind. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "Ichima and I had trouble before… I haven't much energy left to use. Otherwise I'd try to heal you."

"It's fine… thank you," I smiled. My thoughts ran amok as I went over what he said. "Wait… you were here when I was unconscious."

Celestia's smile vanished, along with his grin. He sighed deeply, glancing to the princess as she rubbed her head. "When he brought you… I felt your mana makeup falling apart," she said with a trembling breath. "I knew what you did… it's the only way something like that could happen. Normally… a unicorn is beyond saving once they tap into their soul's magic properties. I tried anything and everything to help, Twilight… I did… but nothing worked."

I felt my skin get goosebumps at the thought of what could have happened… of what should have happened. And I still didn't know what helped me.

"So… what did you do?" I asked them.

Reku'un brought his right hand into my view, and I gasped when I saw it was bandaged. He could heal, so why wasn't he now?

"On my world, our healers can do impossible treatments," he sighed, looking down at his palm. "My mother is a master healer, and she was able to teach me many things. One of which was how to save a Signa dying of the loss of their mark."

He showed me his left palm, which was resting on the side of my head. He had a black mark that looked like a dragon, only swirled.

"Some Alphas can drain a Signa's abilities, and from there the mark disappears," he explained. "My mother taught me how to… replenish any lost energy to keep their Rites from vanishing completely. Your soul… was healed similarly."

"It took some time… but I was able to pour enough energy into you to keep you from Nedafan's gate. You'll be sore for a time… but that'll wear off soon."

I could feel he was holding something back, especially since it looked like it had something to do with his hand. Instead of questioning it, I nodded gratefully to him and smiled.

"Thank you… for saving my life," I said. "I owe you… two now?"

He laughed louder than I would have expected. "I'd say 3, considering I blasted that drek trarg (Translation terminated for the safety of the reader) to all hell," he reminded me.

I laughed as well, clutching my side as it stung in pain. "Yeah… there's that," I sheepishly laughed.

Celestia's chuckles faded as she gave me one last smile. "Reku'un, I believe it'd be best if we leave now," she said to him.

He nodded, giving me one last smile and nod as he left with the princess. I touched where he had left his palm, some of the heat lingering. His hand felt oddly hot, but not in an unwelcomed sort of way. It reminded me of the heat of a fire during Hearth's Warming. I wasn't sure if it was natural for his kind or not. Hopefully, it was.

Was it wise to give the female THAT much energy?

I wouldn't let her die, Nyla.

Reku'un, you nearly killed yourself in the process. Your Heraj (Mother) told you about that sort of healing technique. It was reckless to test yourself in a dire situation.

But it worked, didn't it?

…

Ah, that's what I thought.

It was still reckless. I pray that you at least have enough energy for the both of us. It'll be long before you can regenerate once again.

It was a temporary price, Nyla. I promise not to do it again.

Good. Now, how am I to deal with the younglings and these creatures?

I'm sure you can handle them peacefully. And I know you LOVE younglings.

I can hear the sarcasm in your thought.

I know.

Reku'un chuckled as he heard his partner's mental groan, then cut their connection as he went to rest in the room Celestia had assigned him. The "bed" was actually a heap of blankets and a few pillows. He didn't ask for it, but he was thankful in any case. He sat against the pile of cloths and looked at his bandaged palm. Running his fingers over the tender wound, the man thought back to the hours before.

Helping Ichima heal the mare… pouring his own energy into her. A small chuckle left him as he thought about what his mother would say to him, concerning his actions. She'd berate him, lecture him about how dangerous and ignorant his actions were. Still, even she knew that it was a necessary risk. She of all healers had her own moments of compulsiveness. Even so, he knew she would explain how he should have done it.

Now, it didn't matter. He wondered where his mother and father were… if his brothers were looking for him… if they had learned what happened. It was safe to assume so… they would never forget him… they wouldn't.

Reku'un grunted as he felt his hand sting from the pressure he'd been putting on it.

I'd better keep us away from battle… for a while, at the very least. I mustn't let them know what's happened to me… they'll only hold me back if they knew.

He slumped against the bed and sighed, closing his eyes and resting his injured hand on his chest. Drifting off to sleep was easier than he'd thought, and it wasn't long before his breathing had calmed and his breaths came slowly.

Author's Note

SO, I may or may not have forgotten that this chapter was done Sorry for the really long wait, but I'm one of those writers that has a lot of stories and sparodically updates them. In any case, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always, like, fav, comment, and have an awesome day or night! Peaces!