Flyte

Wake child. Hear my voice and rise from death again.

I felt myself warming up. I really can't describe it any other way, I just started feeling warm. Opening my eyes I saw that I was lying on the side of a road at a T shaped junction.

Wake child, it is not your time yet.

The I looked around and saw the two roads one of which was paved with gold, the other was hardened earth. As I looked down each road I saw that the black road stretched until in the horizon fire lit the sky. Frightened by this, I turned to the other road and found that I was staring at white in the horizon.

Here child. Follow my voice.

It whispered again. "Where are you?" I asked, the ground was flat with not plants and trees in sight.

I am here, I was always right here.

It whispered as a giant glowing white dragon descended from the heavens. In that one moment everything within me connected, I just felt right looking at the majestic dragon flap it's wings as it descended.

"Mom." I said through tears.

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"This is not fun! Not fun at all!" Shouted Pinkie as she was pulled from the ground. The room had broken into pandemonium after Nightshade fell.

"Run my little ponies! You may run but you cannot hide!" Shouted the Darkheart gleefully. It levitated Pinkie in front of it, staring at her for a good few seconds before throwing her using TK across the room. She smacked into a pillar with a sickening thud and fell silent.

"PINKIE! NO!" Shouted Rainbow as she saw her dearest friend thrown like a rag doll. "You little asshole!" She screamed dive bombing the walking nightmare. It laughed as it side stepped her and grabbed her wings, twisting them with the savage joy of hearing them snap underneath his hooves.

"Oh so sorry! Did I break your plaything? Here! I'll buy you a new one!" It said walking over to Fluttershy who had frozen in fear. She started backing away as it came closer and closer. Finally growing bored, he lunged over to her and jumped on her back grabbing both wings. He started pulling and pulling, feeling the joints popping out of place. "Oh what fun it is to ride a pony crazed with pain~." It sang as it pulled and pulled electing screams from the poor mare as she desperately tried to buck off the little demon. "YOU GET OFF HER THIS INSTANT!" Shouted Luna as she cast a ball of pure light at the two, just barely missing fluttershy as the ball impacted the thing's face.

"I guess some ponies like it rough!" It said as it lunged over to Princess Luna, as soon as it got close enough, she stepped to the side to the side to reveal Applejack already in Applebucking position. The look of glee evaporated from it's face as Applejack smashing into his face with her back legs hard enough to split an oak tree in half.

It flew across the room and tumbled for a little while before smacking into the bedpost. "Is it dead?" Asked Rarity as she peaked from behind a sofa. The group of ponies excluding Scootaloo who had fled before slowly started circling the thing. Rainbow Dash being the bravest of the group went right up to it. Suddenly it snapped it's limp head up and fixed her with a gaze.

"Surprise!" It shouted in the spectral mare's face momentarily disorienting her.

"You really thought that would kill me?" It asked questioning the group. "No! But this will!" Said Twilight who had been hiding alongside Rarity for a different reason. She stepped out revealing a blazing purple ball of magic that she thrust towards the creature, lighting it on fire in a beautiful purple light. She watched as it's form crumbled and disintegrated from the heat and flames. "Thank gods that's over." Said Fluttershy nursing her injured wings. Nopony noticed the ashes swirling and reconstructing until they heard it's voice.

"Again I ask, did you really think that would kill me?"

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I sat down on the cold earth, too overcome with emotion to even begin to talk.

"It's okay my child. I know everything, I've been watching you all your life." She said in a soft tone. By the way my mother was HUGE. She was called Leviathan for a reason. She was a large marble white dragon with feathery wings for once. Her horns curled at the base but straightened out near the tip giving them a strange look of symmetry. "Where do I begin?" I asked more to myself than to her.

She simply leaned down and nuzzled me with her huge draic muzzle. This was the last straw for me, I began sobbing uncontrollably.

"Sshh child, hush and be at peace." She cooed, I didn't care at all at that moment. For once in my life I had felt the warm embrace of a mother holding her son. Finally after a good long period of crying I pushed her away.

"If you've been watching me this entire time then you know. I.....I'm not a child anymore. I've....I've seen things....and I've done things." I said as memories of my misdeeds flooded my mind. "Mom I'm not gonna lie to you I have a lot of blood on my hooves." My voice was barely above a whisper but my heart felt lower.

"None of it was your fault."

"Not even the other children I had to fight for food?"

"It wasn't your fault."

"Not even that pregnant mare I stole from?"

"It wasn't your fault."

"How? How can you forgive me? I....I can't even begin to forgive myself." I said, memories of theft and murder filled my mind.

"There is nothing I could say that is harsher than what you've said to yourself. Besides, you only stole and you've lived by your code." She said her tone shifting from motherly to iron.

"Through your hardships you've overcome all, everything the world threw at you, you shrugged it off and kept walking. There is nothing that could make me prouder. As a mother, and as a dragon. She said puffing out her chest and smiling at me.

"Mom, stealing isn't the only sin I've committed." I said, not able to look her in the eyes.

I remembered when I was in in Trottingrad, again my father had left me passed out in a dark alleyway. By this time I was used to it. "Could at least leave me someplace not so cold." I muttered as I grabbed a couple sticks and threw them into a nearby dumpster, lighting it on fire with my breath. It was the dead of winter when we arrived, apparently he had 'business' in the city that he had to attend to. That left my, myself, and I alone until he came back. After a while the sky grew dark as Celestia lowered the sun and raised the moon.

It had been a few hours later when they arrived. It was a couple of teenagers drunk off of some sort of liquor. They roused me from my sleep when the head of the group accidentally doused my fire with his vomit. "Hey! What was that for?" I asked irritated.

"Looky here boys! We got us a hobo! I think we could use him for a little bit of fun!" Taunted the gangly cream colored unicorn stallion who was acting as the propagator. "L-L-Look, you don't want to do this." I said backing away from the encroaching group of drunkards. There were 6 of them, all male. I wasn't so scared of what they would do to me as what I might end up doing to them.

"Oh what are you going to do? Pee on me?" The cream colored one asked again. I remembered his eyes, the sickly light blue stared back at me. The rest of the memory was a blur, all I could remember was screams and blood. So much blood.

"You cannot keep blaming yourself, they have moved on. You should too. "

She took my chin with one of her claws and rotated it upwards so I was forced to look into her eyes.

"I know..I know." I sighed.

"Nightshade my son, right now you are at the crossroads of hell and heaven. In life you were a noble pony with a trail of misdeeds. What I'm trying to say is you can either choose to go to hell or heaven." She finished, I could tell there was something more so I asked.

"Wait why would I want to go to hell? And hold a minute where is my family?" I asked suddenly aware of their absence. She sighed and touched me with a claw, as soon as it made contact memories seeped into my mind. She showed me the whole conversation that Scootaloo had with Rainbow Dash and the whole conversation that the Darkheart had with the group.

"It lied to me." I said my jaws agape as I watched it attack my friends and family.

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"Mom! Guys! Is everything alright in there?" Called Scootaloo as she made her way back to the room, her eyes were bloodshot and she hadn't even bothered to wipe off the tear streaks. The voice she most dreaded replied back as she opened the door.

"No. Nothing will ever be alright again." Said the Darkheart as it watched her face turn into a mask of horror. All around the room was scattered the mane 6, Luna was suspended in midair clutching her throat, Biggs was pinned against the wall by his wings.

"Come now my little pony, it's time you joined them." It cackled. The room was filled with a sudden golden light as Ralus exploded into action.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME FIRST!" Shouted the immense griffon as he lunged from his place in the Scootaloo's psyche.

The Griffon lashed out with his front claws as he leapt into action. The darkheart moved with surprising agility and jumped back just barely. Seasoned through years of claw to claw the warrior followed up his lunge with a roll and struck again, this time slicing the thing across the face.

"HAH! Got you where I want you!" It shouted as it prepared to suck out his soul. The griffon saw it coming and punched the thing in the face while leaping back, making sure he didn't get caught in any counter attack.

"Well well, seems like somepony around here actually does have some common sense."  It leered spitting out blood and teeth.

"And this pony is gonna kick your flank!" He shouted going for another lunge.

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"Ralus is a seasoned fighter but he will not be able to hold out long against that thing. I fear it is just toying with him." She spoke as the mother and son watched it unfold.

"I..I didn't know....oh gods Rainbow Scootaloo I'm so sorry." I whispered as I watched the fight.

"Don't fret young one, there is still hope." She said, to this I looked up at her.

"There is a portal that reconnects to the world of the living. It is through there that you can leave this purgatory."

"Great! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked, she fixed me with a worried stare.

"That is because it is in the bowels of hell." Her voice was filled with worry. I just shrugged.

"Alright so it's that blackened road over there?" I asked pointing in the general direction. I heard her sigh.

"That is correct be wary though, the road to hell is filled with many a lost soul." Her tone was grave. I flew up to her eyes so that I could give her a piercing gaze.

"I promised them that I would be there for them through hell or high water. I'm not one to back down." She smiled at this.

"I'm guessing I can't convince you otherwise?" Her tone was mocking but light. I laughed a little as I turned away. "Nope, nopony has ever managed to convince me otherwise when I have my mind said on something." I replied laughingly.

"And mom? Sorry for killing you." I said almost as an afternote. I heard her laugh.

"Giving birth to you was the best thing I ever did, in life and in death." Her voice barely reached me as I sped off towards the fiery horizon.

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The pony and griffon traded furious blows for a while, Ralus using a hit and run strategy while the thing just sat there and countered. Scootaloo could see that the griffon was loosing though, his attacks were becoming less and less precise and his movement became sluggish.

"Damn, I really should've worked out." He wheezed as he finally stopped moving.

"Done yet? Yes? Good." It said, lunging with power that nopony thought it had. As soon as it was close enough it shifted positions within the air so that it it's hind legs were in front and the rest of the body followed. Scootaloo saw the griffon recoil and be struck with a powerful drop kick. She saw him fly across the room and embed in the opposite wall.

"And then there was one." It laughed menacingly as it slowly encroached upon Scootaloo. "Wait! You'll have to get through us first." Said Rainbow hooping in front of Scootaloo blocking the thing's path.

The rest of the mane 6 followed as they took up defensive positions, even Princess Luna had gotten free and was now amongst the lesser ponies as the group glowered at the creature who was currently laughing it's head off.

"Well isn't this nice? Friends to the very end." It said rolling around on the floor laughing.

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"That thing is going to pay BIG TIME." I roared above the wind as I approached hell. I was sort of surprised when it took the form of a giant fortified castle with demons guarding the batteries. The demons in question were large bipedal bald monkeys with fur skin loins and nothing else. I roared as I dove, homing in one one demon in particular who hadn't yet seen me.

As I approached, it must have noticed the whistling wind or something because it turned to look at me with a mixture of fear and surprise as I tackled it, sending both of us careening into the courtyard below at a breakneck velocity.

"You will tell me where the portal to the mortal world is located!" I shouted in it's face. The thing was shivering as we descended.

"Okay Okay! It's located three levels down from here right below here!" It shouted in fear. I smiled asI let go of it and flared my wings, watching it scream as it fell to it's death. "Well that makes things much easier then." I said as I flew straight up in the air, gaining immense altitude thanks to my supernatural wings. As I ascended I kept track of the ground below me as a sort of barometer as the ground grew smaller and smaller and the air grew colder I counted down.

"5....4....3....2....1!" I shouted to myself as I thrust myself downwards with every single inch of willpower. I flapped my wings faster and faster as I felt the sound barrier push back against the immense force. I saw the ground reaching up to meet me as I descended faster and faster, to any bystander it would look like I was playing an insane game of chicken with the earth. I felt my ears pop as I broke the sound barrier smirking I thrust out both forehooves as the ground approached.

As soon as I broke through the floor of the castle I felt my jaws drop. Underneath the castle was an IMMENSE circular cave. Looking around I could see that there were 9 levels to it. "Ah buck this." I said going faster, I saw everything blur as I raced towards a giant white light in the ground. As I flew closer and closer I saw that hell was falling away into blackness, the very cave shook with an earthquake.

I weaved and ducked and barrel rolled to avoid the falling rubble as I went faster and faster the white light rose to greet me as I felt it's warm embrace wrap around my very being.

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"Hurk! What the hay!?!?" Shouted the thing as it stopped in it's tracks, a white light started beating from it's heart.

"No! No,no,no,no no! This can't be happening!" It roared as the light expanded, eventually engulfing it's whole body.

"Princess Luna! What's happening?" Asked a confused and terrified Twilight Sparkle looking up towards the towering alicorn for guidance.

Luna was an experienced black magic expert and she replied only one with such experience knew how to. "I have absolutely no idea little one." She said as her jaw dropped. This went against everything that was written in the books. A darkheart was a black soul born when a pony tries to play Faust. What was happening now was a very intricate divination spell that repels all dark beings from one's body.

"But the darkheart should have already consumed his soul! This makes no sense!" She mentally screamed as she watched the scene unfold.

The group of ponies watched as the darkheart convulsed and......split in two. The darkheart flew back as two took the place of one.

"Wait a minute! Thats Nightshade!" Shouted Scootaloo as she waved and pointed to the pony closest to them. They all saw she was correct as he opened his eyes, they were reptilian and azure.

They watched him get up and walk over to the other pony and pick it up. "So let me get this straight, you broke my mom's wings, almost hurt my sister, and nearly killed everypony in this room. Stop me if I'm wrong here, YOU did all  this correct?" Asked Nightshade, everypony in the room could practically hear the anger steaming from his words.

"Bingo! Ya finally get that I was lying ey?" It asked non-chalantly, everypony in the room could see that the thing was up a serious creek.

"So then, what are you going to do to me?" It asked feigning fear.

"I'm going to make you wish you were never born." Replied Nightshade smiling gently as he smashed it's head into the wall and drop kicked it out the window.

"[sniff] My little badass, Obsidian would be so proud." Cried Ralus as the sounds of ass kicking could be heard.