Fall of the Rightful King

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Nick

"Hey, Erin," I said once we got back from the store. "I want to do something with you."

"I know you're going to fight Alexander and stop him," she said, "and I think you're crazy and dumb, but you're probably not going to listen."

"Um, actually," I said, "I wanted to try something else."

We drove out to a soccer field. Empty, but the sun was shining and there was barely any wind. Perfect.

"Are you gonna tell me what we're doing?" Erin asked as she hopped out of the car. I pulled a long coil of cord out of the car.

"I'm going to tie a string around your back," I said as I started to do just that. She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Nick..."

"Ok," I said, standing up and letting out the string a bit. "This way you can tell where I am." I said.

She was quiet for a few seconds. "How am I gonna land?"

I bent down and kissed her. "I'll catch you."

"Am I gonna squish you?"

"You're really light," I said. "I think that's how you can fly." I put a hand on her head, then reached down and picked her up. She really was light for her size. I held her so there was nothing keeping her from going up.

"Woah," she said. "I'm not sure-"

"I know you can do this," I said. She spread her wings out, very hesitantly, then flapped them once. She almost lifted herself out of my hands.

"Oh my God," she said. "I think I can..." she flapped again, then again and again and rose into the air.

"Nick!" she yelled, starting to giggle. "I'm flying! I can fly! I can fly!" She had the biggest grin I'd ever seen on her face. Hell, she hadn't smiled like that since this all started. I let out string as she continued to rise, ending up like twenty feet above the ground. She giggled and started to dip and turn, flying in a spiral.

"I'm coming down!" she said.

"Already?" I asked. I caught her as she gently soared into my arms. She was still smiling and nuzzled my face.

"Ok, I want to try doing a flip!"

And off she went. Up and down, flipping and turning. She had a few near crashes (and two actual crashes,) but she just bounced up ready to go again. The whole time, she was laughing and cheering.

She finally came down after a few hours, hovering near the ground.

"How does Rainbow Dash fly everywhere she goes?" she asked. "This is exhausting."

"Well, she gets a lot of practice," I said. "I can't believe how good you are!"

"Did you see when I did a loop? Or when I got so close to the ground and I was like vrooom and went like straight up?"

"Yeah, I was right here with you, you were so good!"

"It feels so good to stretch my wings out. I am so ok with hooves if I get to keep wings! Hey, tomorrow we should-"

She stopped and her face fell. She let herself fall softly onto her hooves. I started rubbing her ears and she nuzzled my hand.

"I want you to be safe," she said, putting a hoof on my hand. "But I know you have to do this."

"I really do," I said. "I just don't think anyone else can."

She sniffed and kissed my palm. "You should go with Paper Back,"

"Of course."

"And make sure you come back! I will kill you if you don't."

I smiled, but it was hollow. Every fiber of me wanted to abandon the plan. As much as I wanted to help, Alexander and Derek were in a totally different weight class from me. Wouldn't it be best to just let them duke it out and then come in when the Order does? If the Order does? I could almost justify it. But then I thought about the spells Alexander had been casting, and the millions of people he'd killed. I remembered how Erin was before Paper Back had helped her. I remembered Cassie and Melissa.

I had to do something.

We left early the next morning. It was dark and cloudy, and there was a haze across the ground. I kissed Erin goodbye and gave Brittney a hug.

"Take care of each other," I said. Erin put her wing around her sister.

"You too," she said.

Paper Back, Alan and I started driving. We tried bringing up different things to talk about, but neither of us could keep it up for more than a minute or two. She kept her ears almost completely pinned backwards. Her tail kept flicking back and forth, and she couldn't stop fidgeting.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah... I mean no. Fuck, man, I can't stop my tail."

"It's a pony thing," Paper Back said. "It means I'm nervous."

"I can tell," I said.

"Dude, you can't stop biting your nails," Alan said. I looked and he was right. I hadn't even realized it.

We got closer and closer to where Alexander's tower was supposed to be. The sun rose and then set before we arrived. The terrain was hilly, so that must have been why we didn't see it yet. Finally, we turned around a huge hill and... there it was.

The haze was gone, burned away by the golden light coming from Alexander's tower. It was like a shaft of sunlight made solid. Stone, metal, whatever it was made of, I couldn't identify it. Light pulsed out of it in slow waves. It was mesmerizing, but gave me chills.

"So here it is," Paper Back said.

"Yeah," I said. "No turning back."

She put a hoof on my leg. "We can do this. We can stop him."

I nodded. "I have to belie-"

The tower flared in golden light. It burned so brightly I could barely see, and I pulled the car to the side of the road. The rumble strip made the whole car buzz. I pressed the brakes and jerked forward against the seat belt. We stopped just as the light faded. I twisted around to see the golden light receding into the distance. Another mind control spell.

I flipped my head around to look at Paper Back and Alan. She had her eyes wide open, and just lay there.

Alan

Something weird happened to time when the spell hit. I could feel it coming, but it seemed to be taking its time. This was the one, though. There wouldn't be enough room in my head for both of us. The spell was going to kill her.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck! I had to do something! But there wasn't any fucking time.

I could tell she was still there. Screaming. I was probably screaming too. I mean, a literal wall of death was coming right at us. That's the time when you fucking scream. I didn't want to lose her. I'd promised that we'd get her home. It wasn't fair! Why did she have to die?

I think my brain was starting to break or something, because I could start to see into her memories. Shit, that meant we really didn't have any time.

I could see her playing hide-and-seek with her little sister. Livrette. She adored her older sister and wanted to be a martial artist just like her. I saw her sharing a drink with her older brother. Sharp Cut. He was a surgeon, starting what was like a residency for ponies. They joked and laughed. They really had a solid relationship. I could see her with her parents, who loved her, really seriously loved her. I could see her teaching her kids in her martial arts class - helping them get stronger and better, watching them grow. She loved seeing them get it - finally achieving goals and doing what they thought they never could.

I couldn't help thinking about my own family. They were probably still alive. I hadn't talked to any of them in months. We'd never had a great relationship. Both sides had been assholes to each other, them more than me.

If she died, a lot of people lost someone they really cared about. If I died, well, a few people would feel bad about it. Not as many, not nearly. I'd come to really care about her. She didn't want to be here, she didn't need to be here, but Alexander pulled her over and was about to fuck her over.

"Hey, Paper Back," I said to her as the wave got closer. "Make sure you fuck Alexander up for me."

"Wait, what?" she asked. "Alan, what are you doing? Alan!"

I tried to smile at her. Then I let go completely. There wasn't any pain this time, just this weird drifting feeling. I could tell she was getting protection from the spell now.

"No, Alan, don't do this!" she yelled.

"See ya, Paper Back," I said. "Tell Nick I'm sorry."

"Alan!"

The wave hit.