Bright Haze: The Sky Dwellers

I woke up on a very wet and uncomfortable, ponies were looking hopefully at me and I ached all over, there were many beings looking onto me smiling, three Alicorns, which I knew, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and my good friend, the white pony who cannot fly nor use magic, but was one of the bravest ponies I have ever met. Next were some unicorns, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle, then two Earth ponies; Applejack and Pinkie Pie, a giant serpent from Everfree Forest and his best friend, a magical talking knife, Nick. Then I looked onto the three Pegasi, Fluttershy, my once mentor Rainbow Dash, and, my wife. Derpy.

"Dee?" I asked, everypony cheered suddenly and Derpy nodded and came in close and kissed me.

"How do you fell Haze?" Luna asked. I thought about it and felt around me, then realised the wetness I was laying on was my own blood, I tried to move away but Celestia held me down.

"Do not move Haze, you are still hurt, we will take you inside the city once you are stable." Celestia said.

"I don't care, what, what happened to me?" I asked, not entirely sure, memories were present, but not everything, I didn't remember the Earth pony standing beside Heart Breaker.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Celestia asked, I replied but instantly forgot. I tried again in case I was just going crazy. However it looked like everypony had moved slightly, like I missed something.

"I remember, fighting the Changelings, then rushing in to save Luna and then passing out." I said. Celestia nodded.

"You were in a war Bright Haze and you, along with your friends and the other defenders, managed to break the enemy army and send them running. However things have changed, a group of Pegasi, the Sky Dwellers are enemies of Equestria and we were on a very delicate peace treaty which was destroyed when the Changelings attacked a Dweller fort and they believed it to be our doing, I have reason to believe that even now the Sky Dwellers are preparing for war and shall send a declaration of war as soon as their army is ready." Celestia said, then paused, Luna looked to her big sister and nodded.

"I need you, we need you my little ponies, one last time to go into Dweller territory and kill their king in fair combat, winner gets Equestria." Celestia said. Everypony was silent.

Rainbow Dash was watching Bright Haze as he lay on the bed, Celestia kept asking him questions and then gave him the relevant memory she had not given him or given wrong in an error in the casting. Blood was ozing down the bed side and he began to squirm when he realised what he was laying in, scars were all over his body and he looked like he could sleep a month, everypony could most likely, even Nick probably, if he did sleep. Well being a magically controlled knife he sort of did anything he wanted with Steven the giant ass serpent from the Everfree forest. Rainbow looked to Derpy and when she gave Bright Haze a hug and kiss; Rainbow had, mixed, feelings. Aeb stood next to Heart Breaker and as far as Dash could tell, Haze hadn't noticed the Changeling nor the fact that Dari was dead, maybe Celestia had given him Dari's memory and that of them 'meeting Aeb', the story was he is an Earth pony from Manehatten that joined during the war. Dash couldn't tell how Haze felt, he had a complete poker face on like he was trying to remember something, anything. His cutie mark was covered in blood and made the sword and shield look very brutal and scary, rather than the symbol which had not only saved his life, but proved that Bright Haze was a pony here to protect Equestria. He was the element of Sacrifice, not that anypony had even looked at the elements since Discord's defeat. Rainbow Dash, despite him saving all their lives, didn't trust Aeb. The old saying "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" came to Dashie's mind. Bright Haze finished talking to Celestia and then she said something shocking.

"-Winner gets Equestria." She said, Rainbow Dash had her mouth wide open, after everything the group had been through, Celestia now had the nerve to ask them to go back through the Everfree and face a king of one of the most warrior, barbaric race in all of Equestria and beyond?

"I know this is a big ask but I wouldn't unless I knew you could win. Thankfully the Sky Dweller capital is far away from the Everfree and you need to go away from it rather than into it."

"So into dragon land?" Twilight asked, Celestia was silent and after a few moments of pause, nodded.

"We can't do it." Dash found herself saying, all eyes on her. She gulped a little but remembered her pride and courage. "After all we just went through, not even a full day later you ask us, normal ponies to go back into not the Everfree mind, but fucking dragon lands?" Dash shouted, Celestia looked pissed but otherwise said nothing.

"Well fair combat is between one pony, I'll go." Haze said, everypony gasped and Rainbow instantly saw what Celestia had done.

"I think Celestia and I need to chat." Rainbow said, holding in her rage. Derpy nodded, also seeing.

"Yeah, just the three of us. Your highness." Derpy Hooves said, Celestia looked to Luna who was also incredibly mad, she just gave a glare and pushed Celestia away from the group, Rainbow and Dee followed.

Princess Luna looked back to everypony and saw that they all knew as well, except Haze.

"YOU DIDN'T GIVE HIM HIS MEMORY THAT HE IS INCREDIBLY HURT AND IN NO CONDITION TO FIGHT?" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"I knew none of you would accept, I know this is hard for you but Equestria needs you all once more." Celestia replied, completley calm.

"What did you do with all that magic Celestia?" Derpy asked, calmly.

"Memories, you knew that." Celestia replied. "Why?"

"BECAUSE YOU MISSED THE FACT THAT HE IS FUCKING HURT AND COULD OF DIED, YOU MISSED LOADS OUT, SO WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU USE THAT MAGIC FOR?" Derpy shouted, much louder than Rainbow's and even a guard walked in.

"Are you okay your highness?" He asked, Celestia just nodded and he walked away.

"So?" Rainbow asked.

"Healing him. He was dying by some magical poison the Changelings must have given him, I found out about it when we were healing him but had no way of stopping it without a vast amount of magic, and even with the stuff I had after the important memories were given, I have only managed to slow the effects, it is like a bomb inside him, if it goes unstable, he will explode." Celestia said.

"But why would the Changelings do that?" Dash asked.

"Fear of losing a weapon, or they were going to use him as a giant magical bomb that would destroy any area he happened to be, if their plan worked, Canterlot. The blast would bring down the mountain, crushing three or four towns below." Celestia replied.

"Is there any way to cure it?" Derpy asked, crying.

"Yes but I need a lot of magic, that is why I asked you to go to the Sky Dweller capital, to kill the king and bring back his helmet, inside are gemstones I can use to store magic, then gather a huge supply and cure him." Celestia said. "But no matter what, you must bring those gems home, even if you fail to kill him, get that crown." Celestia added sternly.

"So this is to save Bright Haze?" Derpy asked. Celestia nodded.

"I'm in, when do we leave?" Rainbow Dash said quickly, ready for another long march into unknown lands facing unknown threats and enemies.