Sinister Equestria

~~Things seemed to go by quickly, even instantly, as they all traveled to Canterlot to stop the invasion of Sinister. They arrived in time to meet Shining Armor, who stood ready for a fight. Without a simple word, they all stood, waiting for something to happen. No more than 20 minutes later, they heard a marching of troops. The troops where brown, with black hair, and no cutie marks. This could only mean one thing, Sinister.

“Inferno, no matter what happens, stay by my side, I don’t want to be too far away from you.” Twilight’s eyes glistened.

“I will, as long as you stay by my side we shall be fine, and I’m also sure Ringer can take care of all of our fillies.” Inferno was showing an even stronger side then before.

“I love you Inferno” which was answered quickly with an “I love you too”.

Inferno gave a quick sign to Nero and Skull. All of them combined their magic, Inferno’s Blaze, Nero’s Strike and Skull’s Shrine of Fate. First was Nero’s Strike, which created a beast of water, in which Skull’s Shrine enchanted with a spell he learned from a rune, and then Inferno’s Blaze. The shield of fire went up, not even wasting his energy at first, until it came crashing down. In the middle it exploded onto the enchanted water beast, causing it to come crashing down. Each piece made a crown for the three ponies. It was going fine, until the crowns shattered.

“No, it can’t be!” Nero was about to destroy whatever was in his path.

“Inferno?” Skull got worried.

It was the fact that Sinister had brought another machine with them that only stopped the use of the Drivers new gear.

This caused their abilities to wear off; the armor turned to ash and blew away in the wind. Without the armors magic, Inferno wasn’t able to hold still any longer. He passed out right at Twilight’s hooves. Canterlot was going to be destroyed, and Equestria, taken over.

Inferno awoke to lying beside Twilight in their bead, was it all a dream? Was everything that happened fake, just made up in his mind? He thought this, until he started hearing the screaming, “INFERNO, PLEASE WAKE UP!”

Twilight was standing over him as he regained consciousness. He jumped up, turned to see a blast from a canon heading straight for Twilight, “Twilight, look out!”

He pushed her out of the way, expecting it to hit him, but when he looked up, there stood Skull. Skull had jumped in front of him, and got hit right in the chest area. Rainbow’s scream echoed throughout the city. All fighting stopped, even Sinister troops stood down. They all looked on as Inferno, Twilight, and Rainbow gathered around him.

“Rainbow,” he said in a strained voice, “I was really waiting for that chat, but I guess I should tell you this now, but I’m sorry for leaving you, I don’t know why I did it, but I still love you and..*cough*… I..

Rainbow interrupted him, “please don’t go, I love you and you can’t leave me again, this time is forever, and I don’t want that.

“Rainbow, I can’t live with this, it’s already too late. I never, though, said forever. Meet me at Joe’s in a few, I have something for you. And Inferno, I heard you found a rune, that rune is for more than just *cough* the war. You’ll find out soon. Also Twilight, take good care of him, he was my first real friend, and…and…” his last sigh was released.

Inferno stood up, that was the last straw, any weapons that the Sinister minions where holding aimed at him. He remembered the rune, and used it along with Inferno’s Blaze.

“Sinister, you have really messed up this time. You have messed up BIG TIME!” With one push of power, he shot the shield around the city, but it didn’t collapse inwards this time, it exploded outwards. The explosion from this blast ripped any Sinister minions limb from limb. Blood flew everywhere, and the sky lit up with a red, then green, then once again blue glow.

Everyone looked on; the army was torn to shreds, with only a few getting a way.

They returned to where Skulls body was; was, is correct, it was gone, the only answer: Joe’s place in Canterlot. There, to their amazement, was Skull, sitting and drinking some coffee.

Rainbow was dumb founded. “How, you just died out there!?”

“Ha, ha,” he laughed, “I am death remember, it just takes the use of a friends rune to bring me back. That’s an upside to being almost totally immortal.”

Rainbow gave him one of the biggest kisses she could, followed by, “you had me good that time.”

Nero was standing alone, amazed at it all, but alone. Remembering his wife is deceased hurt him the most, until Flutter Shy came up to him and gave him a kiss. That was something no pony expected, but it was the start of something new.

As for Twilight and Inferno, they found the same place they first kissed at. Another sunset made Twilight’s mane and entire body glow. Inferno, looked at her, and said “this is what I was talking to you about, this moment right here.”

Twilight looked over, and scooted closer, her muzzle again against his neck under his chin, “I know, it was one of the best nights ever.”

They looked each other in the eyes, Twilight had the same blush as the first time they kissed, and Inferno had the same nervousness. That didn’t stop them, as they kissed for what felt like hours. The most part being everypony cheering them on, for a victory no one new was coming.

Inferno and Twilight sat there watching the sunset. The same exact one from before, when they first met. The same exact one. There was something wrong, Inferno quickly jumped up, looked around…there was no pony sitting there. He looks over to where Twilight was sitting, she was gone too. Was he still unconscious? No, he doesn’t stay that way for long. Then it really hit him, he was asleep.~~~

Inferno woke from his nightmare, and looked at Twilight, who he had woken up from his jump. She sat up, eyes half closed, and asked, “Inferno, what’s wrong?”

“I know how to defeat sinister,” he did know how, but one thing slipped his mind; the fact of Skulls immanent death. “The only way to stop them is to use the rune we found.”

“Inferno, please, let’s just sleep peacefully before you start making plans. We go to Canterlot tomorrow; we’ll plan in the morning. Ok?” Twilight scooted closer to him and gave him a hug, cuddling with him as they both lay back down.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” he then proceeded to stroke her mane behind her ear. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight she answered back,” still holding on to him.

Inferno didn’t try to stay awake, he needed this sleep. But before he could close his eyes, he noticed something on the ground to his left. It was another rune. This one read “Marked Perimeter”. He studied it, and from his experience with the last one, he found what it meant. He learned that placing an emblem on the ground around Canterlot would create a fire barrier that could hold up to almost anything. With this in mind, he turned his head over, placed down the rune, and was met by Twilights muzzle on his neck. The warm breath was nothing really new, but this reminded him of their first time together in the same bed. He decided to put that memory to side so he could finally sleep.

(When he first fell asleep, it was right after the song that was sung by him and the other two Drivers. He forgot that they were offered a spot near the grave site to sleep before leaving for good. Things seemed to really be flying.)

Ready and Waiting

Chapter 4: Part 2

Many ponies where up nice and early. They had weapons for defense out of some oak bark found near the area they stayed last night. Thinks to the areas thick rainfall, the bark was strong enough to hold up to an explosion that would normally kill a pony. The only weapons they needed where any unicorn magic, the strength of the pegasus, and the pure hoof of an earth pony.

Inferno stood on top of a log that was about two times his size. He figured it was time for a speech, one that would make the other speeches ever said look as if they were stepped on, burnt, and thrown into a river.

“Listen up!” he began, “It’s time for us to take back what is ours! We will unite as the true 35th, and end Sinister’s reign of terror. We will stand together, and with all strength, protect Canterlot, take back Ponyville, and rid Equestria from Sinister. I know I would much rather live in a free world, wouldn’t you? A Sinister Equestria is out of the question. We shall think about all that we have lost to Sinister, all that we could still lose, and the feeling we all shared of freedom. I know your trust with me is still dull, I don’t blame you. But I ask you, will you stand with me, as I lead the 35th into battle? Speak now, or forever hold you faith to Equestria!”

The crowd was fired up; there wasn’t a single pony who didn’t cheer for Inferno. The only thing left to do, share his plan.

“First off, we need armor. Safety is out number one concern. Second, we shall use pure magic to force them back, and strength from others to get rid of the rest of them. Last, we shall make sure they are no longer present on this continent.” He was ready, fire in his eyes as he gave the plan. This worked on the ponies, it urged them on. Finally, he ended with a, “Meet me on the road to Canterlot at 5 hundred when ready, and we shall END THIS WAR!”

All of the ponies of the 35th cheered on as they started to put on their saddle bags and pack any safety equipment. It was still 4:00 and by military time 5 hundred meant 5:00. There was plenty of time to have a meeting, which lasted about 40 minutes, 20 more to go.

Inferno was already set on the road with the 20 minutes, and it wasn’t long until Twilight joined him. About 5 minutes later Nero, Skull, and Rainbow joined. Another 10 minutes with no other pony showing. The first five there started to get worried until they heard a tune being sang over the hill leading to the road.

The world is spinning,

They knew what the tune was.

The truth is raw,

Nero joined in.

It’s not about winning,

Then followed Skull and Rainbow, joining the song.

Or having a draw,

Now Twilight was singing.

It’s about life,

Inferno looked up with a slight smile.

No need for a knife,

He joined in and the word began to echo through the air.

So I call upon the cover,

Send me a lover,

Give me a home,

Don’t leave me alone,

And if you forget me,

It’s alright,

Cause I know your there,

During the night,

Guardian angel,

DRIVERS UNITE!

They sing the song while walking, but it wasn’t just the Drivers involved, but now the 35th Line.

The 35th has joined,

Follow our words,

Here is the truth,

We are going to end this war.

The song was sing many times before actually reaching Canterlot. The walk didn’t even seem to tire a single pony. This was not anything like Inferno’s dream the night before. They entered Canterlot, met up with Shining Armor, and waited. The rest of the time there was just like his dream, aside from the singing at first. This time instead of letting Skull get hit though, he created a small shield of fire that protected everyone from the blast. Nothing could get in, but plenty of magic out. He also realized that the machine that was also there didn’t stop his magic alone, but when the Driver’s used it together, it stopped them.

The entire fight was long, and tiring, many Sinister fell, and only a very few ponies fell. It wasn’t long until something went wrong. Somehow a splinter cell made it into the shield. Inferno was scared, and unsure of how something could easily enter yet stay unknown. It crept up behind Twilight, as Inferno gave a screeching yell, “Twilight, behind you!” He felt in slow motion as she turned around, only to get struck in the head by a quick hoof punch. She fell, unconscious. This infuriated Inferno, causing him to quickly fire a fire spear from his horn into the splinter cell’s in the heart. He watched as it fell, landing on the spike. The blood slowly slid down his slowly disappearing spear. As the spear disappeared, so did the Sinister minion, now named a Sinir for short. Twilight stood up with an “I’m alright,” and watched the Sinir body disappear. By watching this they learned that only fire can fully remove these unwanted spirits from Equestria.

This gave Inferno an idea, by mixing Twilight and his own magic; they could rid Equestria of all the Sinirs. He shot her a quick look, and by using the same telekinetic power he used with Lye. She gave him a quick head nod ‘yes’.

By mixing the magic it could be catastrophic, but they were ready to try anything. They approached each other, getting as close as possible. This seemed very near the moment when Cadence and Shining Armor rid Canterlot of the Changelings. They began to float into the air, giving off a mix of red, yellow, dark pink and purple glows. All of the ponies and Sinister minions stopped to watch, unsure of what was happening. After a few moments, an explosion of fire and pure magic swept across Equestria. The magic didn’t harm any ponies, but quickly killed all of the sinister. It was amazing how the magic from them both has become so powerful. Was it the need to stop these unwanted spirits, the need for freedom, or love? A simple answer, there is no such magic that can be that strong without love. Finally, the war was over, as it looked.

End War

Chapter 4: Part 3

It wasn’t long until they finally realized the war was actually over. This was one of the greatest achievements, too bad Inferno wasn’t alive to see it. During the blast, his energy was drained, his life along with it. Everypony cheered, happily, not even noticing Inferno lying on the ground not moving. Twilight stood above him, tired from the use of magic at her full extent. She was looking down at him, a tear running down from her eye to her muzzle.

“Twilight, what’s wrong, isn’t he just knocked out again?” Rainbow answered with a kind of giggle.

“No, does it look like he is? I thought so too, until I realized he’s NOT BREATHING!” Twilight was starting to completely cry.

“Twi, I’m sor...” Rainbow was cut off.

“Twilight, step back, let me try something.” Skull Gaze stood above Inferno’s body. His horn started to glow as he attempted to help Inferno breath again. “Twilight, breath into his mouth, this is the only thing we can do.”

She followed his orders. Twilight took a deep breath, connected her lips with Inferno’s, breathing into his mouth. The other ponies stood by, trying not to watch as he still lay there not moving. After a few tries of what was CPR on him. It didn’t work, he still laid there not breathing, not moving. Skull looked at Twilight and shook his head. She instantly started to cry and scream.

“Inferno, please, please wake up! I can’t live without you, I need you, Lye needs you, T. J. needs you, everypony you just saved needs you, please, wake up.” She was still crying as the others watched quietly, tears also in their eyes. As Twilight quietly said one last thing into Inferno’s ear, “I love you.”

“The fire spirit can’t just simply die from use of magic.” Inferno said, slowly trying to get up.

“Inferno!” Twilight could not believe her eyes. She gave him a hug, pulling him up quickly.

“Ow, I feel like someone tried to restart my heart with magic, and my head hurts,” Inferno said in a painful voice.

“Yea, sorry ‘bout that, I thought it would help you, and it looks like it did,” Skull was scratching the back of his head with his hoof.

“Remember how I found that second rune? That rune is used to also bring some pony back to life. I just had to die from my magic, and a lovers magic.” He said this looking over at Twilight, who still hung onto him.

Twilight put her muzzle against his on the side of his, “I thought you would never come back, why didn’t you tell me?”

“The words I love you have to be from the heart, not because you knew it as the only way,” Inferno answered with a smile.

“I’m just glad I didn’t lose you, but what has been sending those stones at us?” Twilight was looking into the sky.

“That, my faithful student, was me.” There, almost out of nowhere stood Princes Celestia.

Each pony in the area bowed. “Thank you, Inferno, for helping us stop this evil menace. With your help and everypony gathering to make a last stand, you were able to save countless numbers of ponies. When I told you that you were a Driver, you had no clue what it means, but now I can clarify that the Drivers in old Equestria were some of the strongest anti-war ponies around. They used their magic to stop anything that attempted to destroy the land.”

“Sorry Inferno, I tried to stop them, but after the blast, Lye and T. J. just HAD to see what happened.” Ringer was standing there, panting from his running. Lye and T. J. hung onto Twilight and Inferno.

“It’s no problem Ringer, thanks for watching them. And Princes Celestia, thank you for the Gratitude, but I believe that the real thanks is all to the ponies of the 35th, err, I mean Ponyville. Twilight. Nero, Skull, and I would have never finished this fight without these wonderful ponies!”

All the ponies cheered at this, excited to be heading back to Ponyville to start repairs.