A Glimmer of Hope: Reborn

“That was Nick??” Matt yelled, just confused at the pace of how quickly the fight had ended, seeing the wolf himself but not sure what to believe after seeing such magic being possessed by a human. If anything, there was no wonder Nick was able to succeed, he had magic at his disposal.

“He looked larger than I imagined,” Ivy added, also just as amazed but almost awestruck by how the wolf appeared as he used his powers. Poised, focused and determined. And seeing how easily he dispatched the cyclops, despite their help and being dead, just made her wonder more.

“He is alive,” Starlight spoke softly, a mix of emotions flowing through her. Curiosity on how this was all possible, frustration at not knowing the answers and then concern for how Twilight felt all about this. Speaking of the mare, when she turned to look at her friend, she could see the mare’s head hung low, her body shaking and tears dropping to the sand.

She promptly arrived at her side, ready to be there for whatever she needed. The alicorn spoke no words, just sniffling and shaking. Her friends all circled around her, ready to comfort her if needed. Twilight let out a loud gasp and threw herself onto Starlight, her hooves wrapping around her friend tightly. She then let out all of the emotions she had been holding in, sobbing loudly.

“He’s… he’s…” she tried to speak but the lilac colored mare shushed her and hugged her back.

“Yes Twilight, he is here. Just as strong as ever.”

The group, exhausted from the whole ordeal found some respite in this news, smiling to themselves and feeling a wave of emotions as well. A silence fell over the group as they all thought on what had happened and what they saw.

A sound from the cyclops behind them however ended their celebration. Quickly turning around to see what was happening, they saw the body beginning to sink into the sand. As the corpse slid into whatever hole had opened up underneath it, they noticed something else that was strange. Two shapes were beginning to materialize, along with a bright green light that appeared as reflecting the sun’s rays. The cyan and plum colors of the shapes confirmed that the part of their group they thought they had lost weren’t dead. The shape assumed to be Tempest held the object reflecting the green light, which appeared to be Nick’s gem.

Once Rainbow Dash and Tempest completely appeared, the group rushed over to them, making sure that they weren’t injured. Coughing up some sand, the two slowly roused to consciousness. Regardless of the fact they were just inside the cyclops and it’s innards, they weren’t wet or sticky, just dusted with sand.

“D-did we win?” the pegasus asked, staggering up to her hooves. Applejack and Fluttershy went over to her side.

“Yeah, we did sugarcube,” the orange pony hugged her friend tightly.

Tempest also recovered, with Twilight rushing to her side.

“I… I was able to see…”

“We saw him too,” Twilight smiled at her. “Whatever all of you did, you saved us.”

“Well it wasn’t JUST us,” Rainbow Dash corrected the alicorn, unsure of how to process whatever she could remember. “Chrysalis was there too.”

“You’re crazy, you know that?”

“Maybe… but if I wasn’t you’d be dead.”

“Why though? Why risk your life for me?”

“I - I don’t know. I guess it was just instinct. After all, if you died then I’d be stuck here alone.”

“Well now they have my gem, I guess we’re on to the next one.”

“... Thank you…”

“Huh?”

“Thank you.”

“I heard what you said, but for what?”

“For believing in me, giving me strength and… saving me.”

“Well one good turn deserves another. If anyone should be thanked it’s you. I was too reckless. I was wrong about you Chrysalis, I guess you are able to change.”

“So, they were able to defeat the first obstacle,” Astris slowly clapped, amused at how the scene had played out. “Very sloppy, but effective nonetheless.”

“The humans all seem to be capable, that wolf somehow able to breach the divide between the living and dead. This could be bad Mistress Astris.”

“You worry too much Clyde. That cyclops was just a teaser, a taste of what’s to come. Even if they decide to foolishly disobey my plans, they’ll learn the hard way that I won’t go down so easily.”

“Well I’ll admit that was rather entertaining,” Discord spoke to his companions, who hovered nearby. “And it seemed that neither Twilight nor those humans were lying about what is coming.”

“Indeed,” Celestia rubbed her chin in thought. Such a fearsome foe, resistant to magic yet somehow the group had managed to put it down. And then there was the newly changed Nick. Somehow having an impact in a realm beyond where they were. Why was all of this happening, what exactly would all of this end with?

Luna remained silent, the wolf’s smile making her internally rage.