Upon a throne of grey stone and silver embossments, an intimidating creature sat motionless.
His dark brown, four legged body resembled that of an equine, but his jet-black torso curved upwards into something far more foreign. Large black wings were folded neatly into his upper back, and thick, monkey-like arms rested at his sides. His face was flat, his nose small, and his eyes shone bright orange.
To the centaur’s left and right, serpent-like guards stood silently at attention. These scaly crimson creatures had arms and faces similar to the centaur, but they slithered on the ground like snakes, and their scales gleamed in the morning sunlight. Each of them carried a golden three-pronged spear.
The throned centaur and his guardians stood in a walled citadel, at the top of the gleaming fortress of Tartarus.
Below the citadel stretched a long, winding staircase made of stone. A breathless velociraptor was climbing these stairs—before reaching the top, his ascent was blocked by another pair of serpentine guards, who slithered from the sides and halted his advance by crossing their tridents in front of him.
“Mus’ speak ta da prince,” the raptor huffed worriedly. “…Urgent words!”
“You wisssshh to ssssee the prinssssce yoursssself?” a third crimson guard asked, slithering from the shadows of the citadel and approaching the velociraptor. This one appeared larger than the others, and his golden trident was embossed with scrolling silver designs.
“Words from da front,” replied the raptor. “Spake by da equine leadah!”
The scaly creature hissed a command to the others like him—they slowly lowered their weapons and slithered out of the way, allowing the raptor passage into the court. He started to approach the throne, but he was again halted by the larger guard. “Sssspeak the words to me, Scout Farclaw, do not wasssste the-“
“Be silent, Maelon,” boomed an authoritative voice from behind them. "I will hear his words."
The tall centaur stood from his throne and approached—the guards, including large one called Maelon, bowed their heads and slithered away silently.
“What news from the field?” Haakon asked, standing across from the raptor. "Speak." His commanding voice was intimidating and deep, and when he spoke, his mouth revealed a dim orange glow emanating from his throat.
The raptor bowed for a moment before looking up at the Blood Prince.
“Mah prince,” Scout Farclaw huffed humbly, still trying to catch his breath. “...Da equine leadah defies ya word… Sh-she refuse da surrendah, mah prince, she-”
“Did she kill all of the other scouts?” Haakon interrupted, raising his voice. “Why have my spies gone silent?!”
“D-da pony let we go in peace, mah prince…” replied the quivering raptor—Haakon’s display of fury was paralyzing him in fear. “We watch from away… she an’ da s’enteen uddas defeat da big ‘un…”
“Preposterous!” Haakon roared, stamping one of his hooves against the citadel floor. “They’ve bested the mutated phoenix, and the magnataur assassin? How can such a small force defeat such overwhelming foes?!”
“Dey usin’ da dark ahts,” cried Farclaw, backing away in fear. “Strange powahs deem only by da chosen!”
“They shall be struck down for their blasphemy,” Haakon declared angrily. “…Where are the rest of the scouts? If the equines did not slay them, why do they not stand with you?”
“…T-twas needah da pony nor da big’un dat claim dey life…” whimpered Farclaw. “…Anudda ‘a da dark arts…”
“Pah, the paltry necromancer…” Haakon muttered, walking past the trembling raptor and standing at the edge of the great staircase. He calmed his fury, and tactically pondered the situation.
"...Perhaps I should have sent him first," the Blood Prince thought, surveying the seemingly endless Dream Valley to the north. "Of all the creatures dumped into my fortress during our imprisonment, he is undoubtedly the most volatile... He could have destroyed my entire army had the Trask not misdirected him."
The morning sunlight reflected off of Haakon's jet-black skin like a beacon.
"I could have destroyed him, along with the phoenix, the magnataur, and the loudmouth mercenaries... But instead, they will serve the Legion—knowingly or unknowingly—by destroying the champions sent to face me..."
"M-mah prince?" Farclaw stuttered. "W-what we do?"
Haakon turned back to the raptor scout and grinned wickedly. "We wait," he declared. "If the necromancer does not slay them, he will still weaken them. Regardless of the outcome, their battle will play into my hands..."
Luna sat perfectly still upon the dewy grass of the Dream Valley, her eyes locked towards the south. Though the Tarus Mountains were nothing but hazy lumps on the horizon, she watched them vigilantly, half-expecting them to explode at any moment. Celestia exited the purple tent, and approached her.
“Just over an hour remains,” Luna spoke quietly. “Are the others awake yet, sister?”
“They shall be soon,” Celestia replied, standing by her side. To their right, the sun was slowly peeking its way over the eastern horizon, casting a warm glow across the rolling plains. The two princesses remained silent for a few minutes, their manes flowing in the morning breeze.
“Do you think the Elements can contain him?” Luna asked quietly; her stalwart voice showed signs of worry. “Everything I have heard suggests that will be… difficult… to end, by any means...”
“I don’t know,” Celestia admitted, pausing for a moment. “...He has survived things from which no living thing could have recovered... dismemberment, incineration… even partial disintegration…”
“Yet he has not faced the Elements,” Luna replied, looking up to her sister,
Celestia's grave expression remained unchanged. “That is the only reason I have not already given the evacuation order to the citizens of Equestria...”
Luna’s hopeful gaze fell to the grass below. They remained silent for another few minutes, until they were joined by a third.
“Oh, stop treating him like he’s some sort of unstoppable force!” Starswirl spoke up, hovering to Luna's side. “Darkstar plays with necromancy like a foal who’s found his father’s crossbow.”
“...What drives you to be so confident?” Celestia asked, looking away from the horizon at the cheerful wizard.
“What drives you not to be?” Starswirl laughed. “He caught us off-guard last time. We’ve had hundreds of years to prepare for him this time, and he’s had two days. He doesn’t stand a chance!”
Celestia didn’t reply. She turned back to the south and silently pondered his words for a moment, though her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden breeze of cold wind blowing through her mane.
“That is no weather,” Luna said, her eyes growing wide. The sky in the south was beginning to darken. It wasn’t storm clouds; it was a subtle haze of shadow that slowly spread upwards from the horizon.
“Darkstar is approaching…” Celestia whispered, narrowing her eyes at the darkness.
“His love of theatrics knows no bound,” Starswirl chuckled. “Guess we'd better wake the others.”
Celestia took a deep breath and turned around, facing the purple tent. With a crackling of golden magic from her horn, the tent dematerialized, and those who were still asleep within began to stir.
“Equestrian Elite,” Celestia called out—her booming voice quickly awakened the team. “Prepare yourselves! In fifteen minutes, we battle Darkstar the Crazed…”
“…And the monkey flips the switch,” Starswirl said quietly, feeling another gust of cold wind.
The rising sun in the eastern sky suddenly began to darken. It had been reached by the mysterious haze of darkness from the south; it filtered the remaining sunlight into a deep red.
“W-what’s going on?!” Soarin’ asked, fearfully watching the sun darken.
“Why’s it so cold?!” Dash added, shivering in the breeze—Fluttershy grabbed her in terror.
The confused questions continued to mount as the blue sky darkened along with the sun. It did not become a starry night sky; instead, it seemed as though a nearly opaque layer of dark fog was seeping in, swirling across the sky like mud clouding water.
“Darkstar seeks to inspire fear through cheap magical effects!” Celestia shouted inspiringly. “Continue preparing yourselves! Pay no heed to his pathetic attempt to scare us!”
“It’s as if nature itself withers to his approach,” Luna said, indicating the grassy fields. They seemed to be losing their vivid shade of green in favor of a much paler one, as though they had been deprived of sunlight for many hours.
“Getting to you too, is he?” laughed Starswirl. “Come now; think of all the energy he’s wasting on this little charade. I can practically taste his overconfidence!”
"He is not the only one overconfident, it seems," Luna replied, narrowing her eyes at him.
“What’s the plan, princess?” Twilight worriedly asked Celestia. She, Rarity, Applejack, and a yawning Pinkie Pie approached her from behind; Dash followed above, practically carrying Fluttershy, who was frozen in fear. Dusky and several others from the team trailed behind them curiously.
“His approach telegraphs his overconfidence,” Celestia replied. “We must use that to our advantage. I will approach him first, and attempt to distract him… I want you girls to be ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Use a harmonic wave right away, and do not hold back...”
“But I thought we-“
Celestia turned and silenced Twilight with an intense glare. “We must strike at him swiftly,” she commanded. Twilight gulped—she had never seen her mentor so serious before.
Seeing the girls’ nervousness mounting, Celestia took a deep breath and tried her best to sound supportive.
“Darkstar is dangerous, but I believe he will approach us arrogantly, and we must use that to our advantage. Strike at him with the Elements of Harmony as soon as you see him!”
"Y-yes ma'am," Twilight replied worriedly.
“Didja hear that, Flutters?” Dash asked, trying to pry Fluttershy’s face from her neck. “Quick and easy!”
Fluttershy gulped, lifting her head and looking at the darkened sun—it had become little more than a ball of red light.
“Remember, girls,” Starswirl added, floating to Celestia’s side. “His death magic won’t affect you with Rarity's protection! If the harmonic wave doesn’t get rid of him right away, we’ll all take him down the hard way. His strongest weapon is fear! Don’t give in to it!”
Twilight took a deep breath. “He’s right, we have to be brave!” she agreed—Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie cheered with her, and Rarity nodded in acknowledgement, but Fluttershy didn’t seem convinced.
“Listen carefully,” Celestia ordered the rest of the Elite—they had been forming up behind Twilight and her friends. “Darkstar the Crazed wields necromancy, which can easily cause instant death… It is too risky for the majority of you to participate. You are to remain within Shining Armor’s protective shield during the battle. Under no circumstances are you to exit!”
“We’re just supposed to stand here while you do all the fighting?” Ragehoof questioned. “What if he kills you?!”
“He shall NOT,” Celestia replied firmly. “Stand your ground, and remain vigilant on our behalf!”
After a few moments of awkward silence, Pinkie added, “You’ll be our cheering section!”
Ragehoof rolled his eyes at the grinning comedian while Celestia nodded to Armor. He began casting his shield spell—a shimmering violet dome appeared over nine of the Elite and Dusky, isolating them from the cold gusts of wind.
"Remain in that barrier," Celestia repeated firmly, narrowing her eyes at them before turning back to the south. She could no longer see very far.
The dark haze in the sky began to thicken. It now covered the entire Dream Valley, and looked as though it was now seeping from the sky. It collapsed and coalesced around the entire team, creating a nearly opaque dome of darkness centered on them.
It seemed as though they were surrounded by black fog—only a vague glimmer of red sunlight remained above.
“If we weren’t out of our league already, we definitely are now,” Spitfire sighed, sitting down helplessly. “This sucks.” She gazed at the half of the team who stood outside of the shield—the Elements, Celestia, Luna, and Starswirl were the only ones to face Darkstar.
“Just for this one, boss,” Soarin’ optimistically reminded her, sitting to her right.
“Ah agree,” Ashton chimed in. “We’ll have our time to shine, Ah know it. This’s their time! Whaddya say we do what Pinkie said, an’ cheer ‘em on!?”
While Ashton, Spitfire, Soarin’ and Professor Aeon began cheering, Cadance silently approached Terra.
“Promise me again that you’ll stay here,” said the young princess. “Please?”
“…I-I… I...” Terra stuttered distantly—she was visibly trembling at the sight of the surrounding fog. Gulping, she looked back at Cadance and managed to reply. “…I promise…”
“Twilight and her friends will be more than a match for him,” Cadance continued. “Just you watch!”
Upon hearing the cheers of the team, Fluttershy finally removed herself from Dash’s neck and turned to look at the enthusiastic supporters. Flying around within the shield, Dusky cawed to her.
“…I’ll d-do my best,” Fluttershy shuddered. Dusky excitedly flew in somersaults, chirping cheers along with the others. While Starswirl reminded Rarity how to use the necklace, Applejack started backing away from them
“...AJ?” Twilight asked worriedly. “Is everything okay?”
Applejack grinned. “Almost! Ah’ll be right back!” She turned and galloped into the shield, approaching Ashton—he stopped cheering and nervously smiled back at her.
“Give’em a buck to the head for me, would’ja?” Ashton said supportively, pushing a hoof into her shoulder and shoving her playfully. "Ah'd do it mahself, but, well..."
Applejack chuckled at him, reaching behind her head and pausing for a moment. “...Tell ya what, partner,” she replied, removing her hat. “Could ya take care of it for me? Ah’ve got a feelin’ Ah’ll jus’ lose it again anyways, heh...”
“…A-absolutely!” Ashton stammered, lifting his hoof. Applejack smiled and trotted past his extended hoof, affectionately embracing the nervous colt and placing her hat on the back of his head.
Ashton's body seized up in shock—he hadn't expected that at all. “It's… it’s an honor, miss,” he continued, taking a deep breath and hugging her back. “...Ah’ll take good care of it, that’s a promise…”
. . . T o u c h i n g . . .
The Equestrian Elite fell silent, as a chillingly demonic voice echoed through the Dream Valley, vibrating the ears of all who heard it. Applejack quickly released Ashton and whipped around, trying to trace the source of the voice—it sounded like it was coming from all directions.
V e r y . . . T o u c h i n g . . .
“Show yourself, Darkstar!” Celestia called out defiantly. “You’ll not scare us with your tricks!” She bravely took a step towards the swirling fog, but Darkstar did not appear.
“Hah, tricks…” Darkstar’s demonic voice laughed. He cackled maniacally for a few seconds, even sending shivers down Celestia’s spine. “Hahaha, tricks! Tricks… T r i c k s . . . ”
“Yes, tricks,” Starswirl replied dully. “Did we learn a new word today, Darkstar?”
"Ss... Sssswirls..." Darkstar mumbled amidst his laughter. "Heh, tricks..."
Pinkie giggled at him. “Silly Darkstar, tricks are for…” She nervously trailed off, interrupted by Darkstar’s maniacal cackling—she could tell he wasn't just laughing at her joke.
Darkstar had started to laugh uncontrollably. His maddening voice was impossible to trace; it seemed to echo evenly from every direction. The billowing black fog around the team suddenly thickened, draining all of the remaining sunlight from the area around them.
“Yessss… hah,haha… new… friendssss…” Darkstar hissed; his laughter lowered to a fit of giggles among incomprehensible mumbles.
“Come out of there!” Ragehoof shouted from within Armor's shield. “Face us, you coward!”
Darkstar’s laughter amplified once again. “Coward!” he mocked hysterically. “Coward! C o w a r d !”
“…He really is insane,” Twilight shuddered, looking around at the dark fog—her heart had been racing since she first heard his chilling and demonic voice.
“Perhaps an understatement,” Starswirl replied, his hat beginning to glow. “Come, Darkstar! Come out, come out!”
“Maybe he’s playing hide and seek!” Pinkie suggested, bouncing past Celestia. “Ready or not, here we come!”
“Pinkie, wait!” Starswirl shouted, catching her with a field of blue magic. She looked at him questioningly, suspended in midair. “Stay away from the fog, he’s trying to lure you into it. Just a silly trick of-”
“Hush, Swirls,” Darkstar muttered among stifled giggles. “Your silence is… R e q u e s t e d . . .”
“Request-?”
Starswirl was interrupted by a sudden flash of green lightning from directly above—it struck his face, and green flames burst from his mask. He collapsed to the ground, trying to smother the searing blaze with his hooves.
“Sit, and observe,” Darkstar laughed, building up to a cackle yet again.
“Are you too much of a coward to face us directly?” Celestia yelled into the fog.
Pinkie channeled a stream of blue magic from her Element into Starswirl, snuffing the fire out and healing him. He coughed a couple of times, shaking his head and hurriedly casting a spell to repair the damage to his mask.
“Coward!” Darkstar chanted maniacally. “Coward! Coward!!”
Upon seeing Starswirl get attacked, Twilight’s fear had begun to melt into anger. She walked to Celestia’s side, her horn glowing brightly as she prepared a spell.
“Come outta there!” Twilight yelled, casting a powerful matter attraction spell to pull Darkstar from the fog. She managed to seize something large and pull it through, but it wasn’t their enemy—it was a large skeleton.
“Oh my gosh!” Twilight yelped in shock—she dropped her telekinetic hold of the bones, and they rattled into a pile, making chillingly hollow noises.
“That is not an equine skeleton,” Luna said loudly, having remained silent for some time. The wide-eyed girls stared at her questioningly. “…Haakon’s velociraptors! He has slain them!”
“New… friendssss!” Darkstar hissed through his inane cackling. “Come, friends! Meet my little ponies! We will all be… f r i e n d s s s s . . .”
“Ah think you’n Ah have a differen’ idea’a what friendship is, mister,” Applejack called out, raising an eyebrow concernedly at the collapsed skeleton—its bones began to vibrate.
The pile of raptor bones in front of Twilight suddenly levitated off of the ground and joined together, forming a fully-functioning skeleton of a velociraptor.
It landed on the ground and stared at Twilight with its empty eyes—she gasped in horror and stumbled backwards, having a flashback from her nightmare the day before.
“Don’t be s h y . . .” Darkstar hissed, his laughter having reduced to a mumble. “. . . f r i e n d s !”
“They aren’t real,” Fluttershy whimpered to herself, shielding her eyes. “It’s just a bad dream… They aren’t real…”
Darkstar’s insane cackling resumed when he heard her cries. Suddenly, many other skeletal raptors began to step out of the black fog, walking towards the nine Elite and surrounding them in a semicircle formation.
“Murderer!” Celestia shouted angrily, igniting her horn and preparing to defend herself. “They were only messengers! They did not deserve this!”
“I AM NO MURDERER!” Darkstar spat, his demonic voice suddenly shifting to a furious tone. “I saved them from their doomed mortal coil… They will join me, gloriously, for A L L O F E T E R N I T Y !”
“They shall serve you not a second longer!” Celestia declared, slamming her front hooves into the ground and emitting a powerful shockwave of golden magic. It struck the three closest skeletal raptors, sending their bones flying apart.
“Let’s get’em!” Dash yelled, diving through another nearby skeleton and breaking it apart. Twilight blasted several of them with jets of violet magic, and Applejack started bucking the ones closest to her. Despite their frightening appearance, they were weak—they flew to pieces with relative ease.
“No!” Darkstar yelled angrily. “...NO!”
Pinkie bounced over one, landing on top of it and breaking it. “Boop!” she giggled, hopping from the collapsed skeleton onto another. “Don’t fall apart on me now, guys!”
“NOOO!!”
Rarity reluctantly stepped forward and bashed an attack with her left hoof as it approached her and Fluttershy, who was still frozen in fear.
Darkstar began shouting incoherencies as the group demolished his minions—Luna destroyed the final one, entirely disintegrating its bones with a burst of indigo magic.
“AAAGHHH!” Darkstar roared. “DESECRATION!”
A black, inky shroud of magic began to seep out of the ground and wash over the bones, covering them and making them disappear. The shroud sunk back into the ground upon swallowing the bones—the grass withered to brown wherever the shroud touched it, leaving patches of dead grass all around them.
“VANDALISM!” Darkstar continued screaming. “DEFACEMENT! DEBAUCHERY!”
“Deforestation!” Pinkie giggled, looking up from the little red thesaurus in her hooves. “Oh, oh! How about defenestration? That’s a good one!”
A bolt of green magic suddenly shot out of the swirling fog, striking Pinkie square in the chest—it jumped to Rarity as she automatically absorbed it.
“AGH!” they screamed simultaneously—a terrible surge of energy ran through both of their bodies at once. Pinkie collapsed to the ground, her heart skipping a beat.
“Boy-oh-boy…” sighed the dizzy Pinkie, her head spinning. “…anypony get the number’a that wagon…?”
“Take all the potshots you like!” Celestia shouted into the fog. “You will not stop us!”
Dash convinced the stunned Fluttershy to heal Pinkie, but Pinkie had to take over as soon as she was able—Fluttershy’s magic was being greatly weakened by her own fear.
“I… I am giving them a chance… A CHANCE AT BLISSFUL ETERNITY!” Darkstar bellowed, his screaming of the last word causing everyone’s ears to hurt. “When I end you… you won’t have the same chance… No… YOUR SOULS WILL BURN!”
“Now who’s the one that needs hushing?” Starswirl called out—his hat was glowing bright blue, and his body was starting to emit little forks of purple lightning.
Darkstar roared angrily, firing another bolt of green energy at Starswirl—he suddenly intercepted his attack with an equally fast bolt of purple energy, disintegrating them both in the process. The wizard then immediately fired a series of long-reaching purple bolts into the direction where Darkstar’s projectile had originated.
“Hah! No, sir,” Starswirl chuckled—his purple bolts took the shape of a chain and began to tug a dark figure out of the fog. “Thanks for giving me your energy signature, though! Time to face us like a stallion!”
“RAGH!” yelled the writhing figure, stabilizing himself and emitting a shockwave of green energy. It shattered the purple chains and threw all eighteen of the Elite off balance. Shining Armor bared his teeth in pain—the shockwave was dampened by his shield, but he had not been prepared for how taxing it would be.
The darkness around Darkstar’s body faded, revealing his features—a grey hood covered his head, his eyes were a solid dark red, and his hooves and shins were ablaze with a crackling green fire. His pelt was dark grey, and his short tail was black. His tall horn pulsated with a faint green glow.
“…Very well!” Darkstar yelled, floating away from the ground. His hood suddenly incinerated itself with a blinding flash of green fire, revealing his thin, matted mane and his twisted face.
“Consider playtime to be forfeit! OBLIVION COMES AT MY C O M M A N D !”
Darkstar landed and began walking forward. Twilight hurriedly nodded at her friends, and they dashed into formation around her. Their Elements began to glow, but only five of them were present.
“Flutters!” Dash yelled frantically, swooping out of formation towards her fear-paralyzed friend.
It was too late—they had missed their opportunity.
Darkstar fired an intercepting bolt of green lightning at Dash, electrocuting her and sending her spiraling out of the air. She crashed into the ground next to Fluttershy, smoke rising from her quivering body. Rarity shrieked as well, having absorbed part of Darkstar's attack.
Twilight and the others gasped at Dash's injury. Realizing they’d lost the opportunity for a quick takedown, Celestia exploded with power and summoned as much strength as she could, channeling it into a single stream of golden energy and unleashing it at Darkstar.
He lifted one hoof and blocked her attack. “TOYS!” he cackled wildly—Celestia’s golden stream was turning into a molten liquid upon touching his hoof, dripping to the ground and burning the grass away.
Shaking off her surprise, Twilight teleported behind Darkstar and fired a magical attack at the back of his head. Roaring incoherently, the necromancer emitted another shockwave, interrupting both Celestia and Twilight’s attacks and knocking them off balance.
Darkstar turned and hurled a hoof-full of leftover magical energy at Twilight in retaliation—she raised her hooves to block it from hitting her face, but her forearms were painfully burned when the searing molten liquid splashed onto them.
The necromancer tried to follow up with a bolt of his own, but his attack was thwarted—Applejack charged into his side, knocking him to the ground. She lifted her forelegs to hold him down, but she landed on an empty patch of yellow grass—he had disappeared into the ground with a shroud of inky black energy.
“What’n tarnation?!” Applejack hit the ground once more, looking at it closely—her foe had completely vanished.
Suddenly emerging from an inky patch beneath Celestia, Darkstar stabbed his horn into the princess’s stomach, and blasted her upwards with a subsequent explosion of energy. She went flying limply through the air, her entire chest having been burned by the attack.
Still injured but angrier than ever, Dash kicked off of the ground and caught Celestia, carrying her away from Darkstar while Starswirl started firing at him in retaliation. She landed and placed the princess next to Pinkie, who started healing both of them simultaneously with a wide stream of azure magic.
“Look at this, you’re completely outmatched!” Starswirl hollered to Darkstar—he teleported into the air and fired a barrage of blue bolts at the necromancer from above, singing his black mane.
Darkstar bellowed furiously, emitting another shockwave to knock the wizard off-balance. Having waited carefully for an opening, Luna countered the necromancer quickly by firing a precise jet of magic at his chest, leaving a large burn.
“Hah… hahaaaah!” Darkstar cackled, slowly floating back towards the ground. The burn on his chest faded away—he seemed to be taking little damage, despite the attacks he had endured.
“Stop laughing!” Twilight yelled, ignoring the burns on her forearms and firing a stream of magic into Darkstar's open mouth. He hacked and coughed, spitting out globs of molten purple energy. She continued to fire at him while he was incapacitated.
“Rainbow!” Applejack called out, galloping to her friend’s side while Pinkie healed her. “Whaddya say we make’em a sandwich?”
“Say what?” Dash asked, looking at Applejack like she was crazy. She clopped her front hooves together forcefully and grinned. “...Oh! Gotcha! Let's do it!"
“Wait, wait!” Pinkie told Dash, looking at a watch that was on her forearm. A small second hand was ticking towards a red plus sign at the top. “Three… two…” Pinkie’s watch chimed. “Okay, you’re good!”
Dash shrugged at Applejack and immediately hopped into the air.
Starswirl unleashed a barrage of blue and purple lightning at Darkstar, preventing him from casting his next counterattack at Twilight. Applejack galloped around to Darkstar’s left, and Dash flew around to his right. Stopping across from each other, the two Elements charged at him from both sides.
Their resulting collision created a shockwave that left everyone’s ears ringing—they had crushed Darkstar between their shoulders, causing him to crumble to the ground afterwards. Having been knocked backwards as well, Dash and Applejack scrambled back towards him, ready to start beating him down, but once again, he sunk into the ground, covered by an inky shroud of darkness.
Applejack angrily pounded the yellow grass. “What a dirty, cheatin'-“
"RAINBOW DASH!" Aeon yelled from within the shield, pointing at an inky shroud that had formed below her.
Dash looked over at him, and down to where he was pointing, but it was already too late—Darkstar burst from the shroud beneath her, knocking her upwards with a focused cone-shaped explosion. He followed the attack with three subsequent bolts of necromantic energy, striking her directly in the chest with each. Dash burst into a green fireball, screaming wildly and flailing her legs as she plummeted into the ground.
Luna, Starswirl, Twilight, and a freshly healed Celestia retaliated in unison with a heavy barrage of multicolored energy bolts, covering for Pinkie while she bounced towards the writhing Dash. “I thought I just put you out!” she giggled, dousing the green flames with a stream of blue magic. “You aren’t a fireplace, silly!”
The flames subsided quickly, but Dash continued to writhe painfully while Pinkie healed her burns.
“F-Fluttershy, she needs your help!” Rarity shuddered, absorbing an excruciating bolt of pain from Twilight. Darkstar had chosen to retaliate against her instead of the others, and she was trying to keep up her attacks despite the green flames searing her chest.
Rarity shrieked in pain. “P-Pinkie cant k-keep everypony h-healed on her… AGH!”
Fluttershy gulped, closing her eyes. She lowered her head and galloped fearfully towards Rarity—the Element of Kindness started to emit a pink stream of energy.
“Nuh-ah-ahh!” Darkstar cackled, noticing the bright yellow pegasus from the corner of his eyes. He disengaged Twilight and dove into the ground again. Moments later, he emerged from beneath Fluttershy, knocking her skywards.
With a flash of rainbow trails, Dash plowed through Darkstar and ascended to catch her friend. She gently deposited Fluttershy next to Pinkie and jumped back into the air, angrily screaming at Darkstar. “YOU JUST MESSED WITH THE WRONG PEGASUS!”
Dash flew in a circle around the top of the dome of opaque fog, gaining speed before rapidly diving straight into the recovering Darkstar. Her charge produced a sonic rainboom inches before she struck, driving him forcefully into the ground with an explosion of rainbow-trailing debris. She backed away into the air, looking into the newly-formed crater where Darkstar lay—his fiery green legs started flickering as he twitched in place.
“Harmonic wave!” Starswirl yelled through the settling dust. “Now! While he’s weak!”
Darkstar tried to sink into the ground, but Luna cast a carefully-aimed jet of magic at his throat, interrupting his spell. Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity began readying their Elements, galloping into formation.
Dash scooped up the recovering Fluttershy, and carried her towards the others. Though she was injured, her Element began to glow as well, and their eyes began to turn white.
Before they were at full power, Darkstar screamed and emitted a cone-shaped shockwave from his mouth, knocking the girls away from each other. The Elements’ built-up energy was released, sending little jets of multicolored magic in random directions. They poked holes in the dome of swirling fog, allowing sunlight to shine into it for several seconds.
Starswirl tried to interrupt Darkstar's subsequent escape, but he recovered and sunk into the ground yet again.
“Blast it all!” the wizard spat. “That was close girls, we almost had him! Next time just be-“
“…I TOLD YOU TO H U S H !” Darkstar’s demonic voice bellowed, once again echoing from every conceivable angle. He suddenly popped out of the ground from underneath Starswirl, tackling him and pushing him back into the ground—they both disappeared into the inky shroud of darkness.
Celestia and Luna tried to intercept his dive with jets of magic, but all they hit was yellow grass.
“This jus’ ain’t fair!” Applejack hollered, stomping her hoof angrily while her white eyes faded back to normal. “There’s gotta be a way to keep ‘em from runnin’ in the ground like that!”
Darkstar’s insane laughter began echoing through the fog once again. “I’m sorry everypony,” he cackled. “Swirls and I have… business… to attend to… entertain yourselves with a new… friend… for a brief intermission! AHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Bring him back here!” Twilight demanded angrily. Darkstar’s hysterical laughter began to grow distant.
A black shroud of inky magic suddenly seeped out of the ground around them—raptor bones began rising from where they had fallen, floating through the air towards each other.
“Not these guys again,” Dash moaned angrily, rolling her eyes. “Didn’t they get the message the first time?!”
“I don’t think it’s a they, dear…” Rarity corrected her, nervously watching the bones accumulate into one spot. They began forming a massive skeletal creature, comprised of dozens of different skeletons.
“Twilight Sparkle, you and your friends take care of this… thing,” Luna ordered, landing next to Twilight. “I shall free Starswirl!”
“Wait!” Twilight replied, but Luna had already dove into the ground through a dark shroud of inky indigo magic of her own creation. Twilight frantically turned towards Celestia. “Princess, where did they all go?!”
“I… don’t know!” replied the clueless Celestia—she stared disbelievingly at the spot where Luna had disappeared. “...We must trust her though! Let’s destroy this monster, and await her return!”
Dash and Applejack nodded at each other and began to charge at the skeletal amalgamation.
Moments after following Darkstar into the ground, Luna hastily observed her surroundings. Black and grey fog swirled endlessly in every conceivable direction, and gravity had seemingly disappeared.
The realm she had entered was a strange place. The black fog appeared to be completely dark, but the grey fog seemed to be illuminated opaquely, as though it was giving off its own light, yet if it was, it would have cast light onto the black fog. The strange fog made it impossible to see farther than several feet.
Luna could vaguely hear the shouts of Celestia and the Elements as they fought the skeletal creature, but they sounded distant and muffled, as though they were far away and on the opposite side of a wall.
The princess took control of her weightless body with a quick levitation spell, and shouted into the fog. “Starswirl! Can you hear me?!” Her booming sentence echoed for what seemed like an eternity, taking unnaturally long to fade away.
“Interesting,” Darkstar’s demonic voice replied, echoing with the same eerie length. “I had not expected this… Oh ho, where are my manners? Welcome to the void, alicorn... Do you… like it here?”
While the necromancer spoke, Luna heard a muffled mumbling that sounded like Starswirl. “Dispense with the pleasantries,” she replied coldly. “…Remove yourself and Starswirl from this place immediately!”
Darkstar cackled at her, his voice seeming to move from directly below her to somewhere off to her left. “Oh, hah… Quite rude of you... Do you have any idea where we are?”
“...The Elysium,” Luna replied angrily. “The living have no business being here. Leave. NOW!”
“Hah!” Darkstar scoffed. “…I live here! This is my home! I built this place myself...”
A flash of green light suddenly whizzed past Luna’s left—she ignored it and continued her heated shouting match.
“Call it what you will,” the princess seethed. “YOU WILL LEAVE!”
“Heh… I am no fool. If you knew how to remove me, you would have done so by now…”
Starswirl’s mumbling suddenly amplified, but there was a dull thud, and it was silenced.
“I am asking you to leave willingly,” Luna clarified. “Refuse, and I will collapse BOTH of our portals to this realm...” She ignored another pale flash of light that streaked in front of her.
Darkstar cackled at her threat. “Look around you, alicorn… ha, haha! Collapse my portal, and we are trapped here forever… hah! You would not be so foolish…”
“Perhaps you mistake me for my sister,” Luna calmly replied, her horn beginning to glow. “Do not think for one moment that I lack the resolve to trap the three of us here…”
“Three of us!” laughed the deranged necromancer—the pale green flashes around Luna began to intensify. “What of my dear… friends? Those who you so blatantly ignore…?”
“Friends? ...What…?” Luna looked around confusedly. “...We are the only ones here!”
F r i e n d s s s s . . .
“...Oh no…”
Luna gasped, and her eyes slowly widened in shock. She had realized what the pale flashes were, though she deeply wished she hadn't.
“…You didn’t…”
Darkstar cackled wildly, mocking the princess’s fear.
One of the pale green flashes passed in front of Luna again, and she saw it for what it was—it was a translucent, pale green figure of an earth pony—his mouth was open wide, as though he were screaming in pain. The ghost silently streaked away into the swirling darkness, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.
“You did not chain souls to their bodies…”
Luna’s voice was barely audible over Darkstar’s echoing laughter.
“You… you monster…”
“Brilliant, isn’t it?” cackled Darkstar. “Thousands of years to build this place, a sanctuary in the Elysian Fields… Here it stands! A testimony, to my glorious TRIUMPH over nature’s PATHETIC CYCLE!”
His voice grew angry, and he spat the last two words bitterly.
“Triumph?!” Luna shouted in disgust. A pale green ghost of a velociraptor streaked in front of her, his sharp teeth flashing as he tried to scream. “…How many have you trapped in here?!”
"Every… single… o n e o f t h e m !”
Darkstar roared in laughter, nearly hyperventilating before finally pausing to draw breath. Amidst his fits of cackling, he began to speak again.
“There is so much power in them… their paltry lives, their trivial memories… the very essence of their conscience is so… palpable…”
“You are sickening,” Luna said, horrified. “Absolutely sickening… these are souls! Living beings!”
“And they are just the mortals…” Darkstar replied emphatically. “Wait ‘til Swirls joins them! Hah! My power will multiply tenfold!”
“He is eternally sapping strength from the souls of his victims…” Luna thought, her heart sinking. “...He never chained them to their bodies… his skeletons are merely puppets to inspire fear…"
"He chained their souls to himself! Here, in this place, between the world of the living and beyond...”
“And you…” Darkstar continued chillingly. “You, and the other alicorns… oh yes… YES… When you join me, I will become invincible!”
Luna suddenly felt angry at what he had done.“...I think not,” she replied coldly, darkening the indigo glow upon her horn—she could feel a burning vengeance rising from deep within. “...Do you think you are the only one with knowledge of necromancy, Darkstar?”
“…What?”
Darkstar stopped cackling.
“How do you think I followed you here?” Luna’s booming voice started to carry a demonic twinge similar to his own. “…Unlike you, I do not abuse these dark powers… They’re far too destructive for our world…”
“...WHAT?!”
Luna’s demonic voice lowered to a deadly whisper. “...But we are no longer in our world, are we? Fool…”
“IMPOSSIBLE!” Darkstar roared defiantly. The pale souls began to streak around him with greater frequency and speed. “You would fight death with death?! PREPOSTEROUS!”
“SILENCE!!”
Luna’s horn flashed bright green, and she emitted a powerful shockwave that dispersed the black and grey fog for hundreds of yards in every direction. The anguished souls that had been randomly streaking about suddenly froze in place, slowly rotating to stare at one spot far ahead of Luna.
“What… are you doing?!” shouted Darkstar—his shadowy figure was the center of attention among the hundreds of floating souls. A barely conscious Starswirl floated next to him, suspended by a thin green aura.
Luna did not answer him. Slowly, the whites of her violet eyes began to glow red.
“L… Luna…” Starswirl mumbled, struggling to remain conscious—he called out to her. “S… sap him!”
“Shut up!” Darkstar interrupted angrily, punching Starswirl in the side of his face. A streak of green light forcefully struck the necromancer seconds later, creating a flowing feed of pale energy between his horn and Luna’s horn.
"W-what is this?!" Darkstar roared, unable to retaliate. "What have you done?!"
Feeling his strength return, Starswirl collected himself and floated away from Darkstar. He shook his head to recover from the blow, heading towards where Luna floated.
“Well, this is a... surprise,” Starswirl said dizzily—he cringed at the sight of Luna’s crimson eyes. “…Alright… Now you have access to his power, including his portal! Let’s bail out of here!”
“That’s the fourth time!” Twilight protested angrily, watching the mass of raptor bones reform. She and her friends had shattered the skeletal amalgamation several times already, but it had resiliently collected itself back together, discarding any bones that had been broken.
“You’re going to have to burn it!” Celestia shouted to her. “All of it! Use the infernum spell!”
“Ah like the sound’a that,” Applejack agreed, backing away from the mass of floating bones.
“Everypony else, get into the shield!” Celestia ordered, motioning to the girls. Applejack turned and fled into the shield, where Fluttershy and Rarity had already gone. Dash and Pinkie were right behind her, and Celestia entered last.
“Alright, here goes!” Twilight yelled, her eyes glowing white. The Element atop her head shone along with her horn, which ejected a stream of purple energy into the center of the skeletal mass.
The energy formed into a single ball, hovering in place for a moment.
Twilight stopped the stream, turned, and teleported into Armor’s shield—the ball exploded behind her into a violent whirlwind of purple flames. The raging fire consumed the bone creature, which made a low rumbling noise while it was incinerated.
“That’s better,” sighed Rarity, receiving healing from Pinkie. “Now he’s got nothing left to rebuild himself with… We should’ve done that in the first place!”
The bone creature turned to black ash, but the ground began to rumble violently as soon as it had settled. Amidst the ashes, a shroud of inky magic formed, and a stream of green energy suddenly shot out of it.
Darkstar and Starswirl were pushed through the portal, followed shortly by Luna. While they sailed through the air, Luna quickly broke the green stream of energy between her and Darkstar, and the inky shroud of a portal dispersed.
The three of them struck the ground, sending black ash flying in every direction. The opaque black fog surrounding the group dispersed rapidly, leaving only a thin layer of haze in the sky. The sun shone through it with an eerie red glow, which was little improvement from total darkness.
Luna hid her face behind her forearm and blindly shouted towards the shield, “HARMONIC WAVE! NOW!”
“...You heard her, girls, let’s get’em!” Twilight said determinedly, galloping out of the shield and into position around the fallen Darkstar. Confused but ready to fight, her friends followed along as well.
“NO!” Darkstar yelled, emitting a shockwave and knocking them away. “Get away from me!”
Five of them were blown away by the shockwave, but Applejack lowered her head and stood strong against it, galloping towards the necromancer and bashing him in the chest while he attempted to stand. In a flurry of black ash and flying orange hooves, she started beating him down.
Keeping her eyes sealed shut, Luna pulled Starswirl away from Darkstar while Applejack continued pounding him forcefully. Celestia galloped out of the shield and tried to help her sister to her hooves, but Luna batted her foreleg away.
“Stop… with… that… nonesense!” Applejack yelled furiously, driving a hoof into the necromancer’s body after each word. Her eyes were glowing white, and each strike sent a shockwave rippling through the ground as she beat him into it.
In a desperate bid to make her stop, Darkstar set his entire body ablaze with green fire, causing Applejack to burn her hooves on the next strike. She ignored the pain for as long as she could, but the harder she struck Darkstar, the more flames he seemed to emit.
Hearing Rarity scream in agony, Applejack angrily hopped backwards on her hind legs, trying to smother the green fire that was scorching her forelegs.
“YOU WILL NOT STOP ME!” Darkstar roared, entirely immolated with bright green fire. “WHAT ARE YOUR POWERS AGAINST THOSE OF DEATH?! YOU A R E N O T H I N G ! ”
Her eyes still sealed shut, Luna bared her teeth and fired another jet of green magic at Darkstar’s horn, but he rebuked the spell and turned it upon her.
“…AND YOU!” he shouted, floating towards the indigo alicorn, who writhed in pain from the green stream connecting their horns. “SUCH AN INTERESTING SPELL YOU’VE TAUGHT ME!”
“Oh no…” Starswirl muttered weakly, observing the stream between their horns. Twilight fired a stream of purple magic at the back of Darkstar’s head, but it was completely disintegrated by the green blaze immolating him.
“OH… YES…” roared Darkstar, cackling at Starswirl. “SAPPING THE POWER FROM AN IMMORTAL SOUL BEFORE IT’S EVEN DEAD?! …SWIRLS, THIS IS AMAZING! WELL DONE, OLD BOY!”
“What’s he blabbing about?” Dash asked, resisting the temptation to charge after watching Applejack and Rarity get burned horribly.
“What’s he doing to Luna?!” Twilight added worriedly—she fired another spell at Darkstar, but it disintegrated as well.
“CELESTIA!” Starswirl suddenly shouted, ignoring the girls. “GET IN THE SHIELD, NOW!”
The princess’s eyes widened, but hearing the seriousness of his voice, she dove away from Luna and into Armor's shield.
“NO! GAH!” the necromancer raged, trying to fire a jet of green magic at Celestia. It struck Armor’s shield and dissipated before reaching her. “…BAH! NO MATTER! I HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH POWER NOW! HER SOUL IS A BOTTEMLESS WELL! SO . . . I N V I G O R A T I N G !”
Darkstar exploded with energy as he sapped power from Luna. He fired a thick green at Starswirl, immediately setting the wizard’s entire body on fire. Fluttershy nervously started healing him, but she was interrupted when Darkstar fired a bolt at her as well, causing her to squeal painfully and burst into fire.
“Quick, it’s our turn to hide!” Pinkie said quickly, lifting Rarity off of the ground.
Before Rarity could finish yelping in protest, Pinkie threw her into Armor’s shield—Aeon reacted quickly and caught her. Darkstar vehemently fired an attack at Pinkie in retaliation, but she dodged it by bouncing out of the way.
Pinkie approached the immolated Fluttershy and Starswirl. “I said hide!” she squealed, seizing Fluttershy’s tail and the edge of Starswirl’s cape. She pulled them into the shield, dousing the green flames on them with a burst of azure magic from her Element.
Darkstar fired at Pinkie again, but his attack was disintegrated by Armor’s shield. The captain grunted, but he managed to keep it going strong.
“C’mon, Pinkie’s got the right idea!” Dash yelled, seizing the burned Applejack and pulling her into the shield as well.
“COWARD! HAH!” Darkstar cackled, turning his attention to Twilight—she was the only one left outside the shield.
“I’ll keep him busy!” Twilight quickly screamed to Pinkie. “Heal them up!”
Darkstar laughed hysterically, firing a series of green bolts at her.
Twilight quickly a small purple shield around herself—Darkstar’s bolts collided with the shield and shattered it, sending a shower of green and purple sparks whirling around them. Though her shield had been blown apart by his attack, it had successfully cancelled it out.
“Hmph,” muttered Darkstar, watching Twilight prepare a counterattack. They both fired at the same time, feeding a steady stream of green and purple magic that collided in midair between them. The collision left a splatter of molten white energy leaking from it—their powers were at an impasse.
“NO!” Twilight yelled, her eyes turning white. “The Elements of Harmony are stronger! Just give up!”
Darkstar started cackling again. The link between his horn and Luna’s horn brightened, and he started sapping a great amount of power from the princess, feeding it directly into his attack. Luna passed out from the pain, but her body continued to twitch.
Twilight pushed as hard as she could, but Darkstar's stream started inching through hers.
Over in the shield, Pinkie had managed to douse the flames immolating Fluttershy and Starswirl, but healing them was taxing her heavily. Her tongue was hanging out of her mouth, and she was panting heavily, feeling lightheaded from all of the energy she was putting out.
“Rainbow… Rainbow Dash… c’mere,” Starswirl whispered, lifting his hoof to wave at her.
Barely hearing his voice over the ear-piercing cackling of Darkstar, Dash turned from the injured Fluttershy’s side and lowered her head to hear him better. She cringed—Starswirl was badly burned. His outfit was charred beyond recognition, but he was still able to speak through his blackened mask. He whispered something into Dash’s ear.
“Are you sure?!” Dash asked worriedly, looking over her shoulder at Twilight and Darkstar.
“…GO!” Starswirl croaked painfully. Dash took one last look at him and Fluttershy before hurriedly taking flight, circling around from and gaining speed.
“PERHAPS THEY ARE STRONGER THAN ME,” roared Darkstar, as his stream continued to overwhelm Twilight’s. “BUT I… HAVE… FRIENDS… AHH HA HA HA-HA!”
“Can’t… give… up!” Twilight grunted, pouring everything she had into her stream. It wasn’t enough. His wave of energy was overwhelming hers, and in seconds, it would reach her.
Suddenly, an explosive rainboom from above took both of the unicorns off guard. The supersonic Dash seized Twilight and carried her out of the way—Darkstar’s beam overwhelmed hers, but struck nothing—it streaked off into the Dream Valley, leaving a mile-long trail of green fire in its wake.
“I have better friends!” Twilight thought triumphantly, almost blacking out—her body wasn’t used to traveling at supersonic speeds—she could no longer hear or speak, but she knew Dash had rescued her.
“WHAT?!” Darkstar furiously bellowed, watching the green fire in the Valley dissipate. He followed the rainbow trails behind Dash and began furiously firing a barrage of green bolts into the red sky, trying hopelessly to shoot down the supersonic pair.
Twilight was not the only one feeling lightheaded and ready to black out—Pinkie had drained herself to the point of exhaustion. The azure stream of magic she was channeling dissipated, and she started to fall forwards.
“Hold on, kid,” said Ragehoof—he seized Pinkie’s forelegs and lifted them up, sitting her down and holding her steady. “…You aren’t givin’ up that easily.”
“Cadance, over here!” Celestia called out, realizing that Pinkie had overtaxed herself.
“Hang on!” Cadance replied hurriedly. She was in the middle of healing Applejack’s burns—stopping the complicated spell prematurely would leave her victim in great pain.
Fluttershy, her mane and pelt frazzled from the horrible burns, suddenly heard a squawk in her left ear.
“…Dusky?” she wondered, recognizing the phoenix’s voice; Dusky twittered and chirped at her.
“…It hurts,” Fluttershy thought, trembling in pain from her burns. “…I can’t help anypony… I’m useless…”
Dusky chirped at her loudly. She couldn’t read Fluttershy’s mind, but she could tell that her pegasus friend wasn’t just physically hurt. She cawed at her several times.
“Dashie?" Fluttershy asked weakly. "W-what’s wrong with her?”
Dusky described the situation—Dash was narrowly avoiding Darkstar’s attacks, and he seemed to be getting closer and closer to striking the weaving supersonic pegasus.
“...NO!” Fluttershy squeaked loudly, startling everyone around her. Ignoring the searing pain, Fluttershy rolled onto her stomach and closed her eyes, powering her Element.
“That’s more like it!” Aeon exclaimed from somewhere to her right. “Go, Fluttershy!”
“Yeah!” Spitfire chimed in, galloping to Fluttershy’s side. “C’mon, kiddo! Rainbow told me you've got guts! You can do it!”
The Element of Kindness exploded with a shockwave of pink energy—Fluttershy’s mane, tail, and pelt immediately regrew, and her burns healed themselves in a matter of seconds. She turned to Starswirl next, striking him with a burst of healing magic.
“There we are!” Starswirl cheered energetically, floating off of the ground and casting a quick spell. His charred outfit repaired itself with a flash of blue light.
Fluttershy turned to Applejack—Cadance’s healing spell disintegrated, and Applejack’s burns immediately disappeared. She then turned to Rarity and Pinkie, rejuvenating them from their exhaustion.
Amidst the wild cheers in Fluttershy’s support, Starswirl lifted a hoof to silence them.
“Battle’s not over yet!” he reminded the Elite. “Rainbow isn’t going to be able to evade him forever!”
“What do you rec-“
Celestia was interrupted by a sudden CRACK of blue magic—Twilight materialized next to Starswirl. Her hair was windswept and she was nearly unconscious, but she was in one piece. Applejack and Ashton caught her before she collapsed, and Fluttershy rejuvenated her.
“We’ll need a plan of attack,” Starswirl continued. Twilight shook her head to recover, and gazed at Darkstar. He was still furiously firing bolts at Dash, unaware that Twilight was no longer carried by the blur of rainbow trails.
Free of her passenger, Dash was able to maneuver better, but she still did not dare attacking Darkstar directly—the closer she was, the bigger of a target she was, and his bolts were already coming dangerously close to striking her.
“Darkstar is drawing power from Luna!” Celestia said quickly. “We have to stop him!”
“There’s too much unstable energy around her,” Starswirl replied, trying to levitate Luna off of the ground. His blue aura was dissipated by the green energy pouring from her horn.
“Applejack, dear!” he said suddenly, turning around. “Have you ever played Buckball?”
“Uh,” Applejack replied, raising an eyebrow at Starswirl. “…Yeah? What’s that got to do w-“
“Luna’s the ball,” Starswirl interrupted. “The shield’s is your goal! Hurry!”
Applejack gulped worriedly. “Are ya sure about th-“
“GO!”
Cringing at the shout of the usually friendly wizard, Applejack galloped hurriedly out of the shield and around to Luna’s side. Little green bolts of green energy were shooting from her horn, threatening to connect with anything in a ten-foot radius.
“Well,” Applejack shuddered. “..Game point!” She galloped up to Luna—several green bolts immediately struck her, frazzling her hair and throwing her off course.
Another bolt directly struck the Element of Honesty on her neck—the attack exploded with a flurry of green and orange sparks. Applejack plowed through the bolts and reached Luna’s side, spun around, and bucked the unconscious alicorn with all her might.
Applejack’s hind legs were electrocuted, sending thousands of volts of necromantic energy through her body. She and Rarity began vibrating simultaneously, nearly passing out from the intense shock. Luna sailed through the air like a ragdoll, plummeting into Armor’s shield—the link between her horn and Darkstar’s horn disintegrated as soon as she landed.
“NO!” shouted Darkstar—the green fire immolating his body faded away. “YOU’RE ASKING FOR IT, SWIRLS!”
“Asking for what?” Starswirl laughed, teleporting Applejack back into the shield while Darkstar attempted to fire green bolts at her. Fluttershy turned from Rarity and started reviving the frazzled earth pony.
“YOU CANNOT HIDE IN THERE FOR LONG!” Darkstar roared, wildly firing bolts at the shield—Armor bared his teeth and poured everything he had into the shield, which was starting to lose its color.
“That doesn’t look like a smile,” Pinkie commented, hopping over to Armor. She channeled a stream of azure energy into the captain, rejuvenating him and allowing him to keep the shield together.
Darkstar’s assault on the shield was halted abruptly—Dash suddenly plowed into him from above, creating a massive rainbow-colored explosion as she slammed him into the ground.
Twilight teleported out of the shield and quickly followed up with a powerful blast of purple magic, completely engulfing Darkstar and incapacitating him.
“That’s it!” Starswirl shouted triumphantly, watching Darkstar struggle to recover from their attacks. “Third time’s a charm, girls! Let’s finish this!”
Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy hurriedly galloped out of the shield, and Dash took position above Twilight.
“NO!” Darkstar yelled furiously—this time, Rarity was ready for his shockwave. She powered her Element and steeled herself and her friends, causing his defensive outburst to feel like a harmless gust of wind.
“No running this time!” Twilight declared, firing a jet of purple magic at the ground below Darkstar—it foiled his attempt to sink into the ground. The necromancer frantically looked to his left and right, clearly having run out of options. Staring directly at Twilight as she and the Elements approached him, he suddenly grinned wickedly and started shouting again.
“IF I GO DOWN, I’M TAKING YOU WITH ME!”
Darkstar’s bruised and burned body began to sprout thick glowing veins, all of which were glowed bright green. He hovered off of the ground, and the dark haze in the sky suddenly began to flow into his body.
The sun brightened, but the necromancer’s body started to darken until he was jet-black, leaving only his green veins and red eyes distinguishable. He puffed up and increased in size, landing on the ground and staring triumphantly at the puzzled Elements.
“WAIT!”
With a sudden CRACK, Starswirl materialized between Darkstar and the Elements. Their white eyes stared at him questioningly—they had been moments from unleashing their attack.
“Stop! If you strike him now, he’ll absorb your energy and explode!”
“Explode?” Twilight gasped, her eyes fading back to normal.
“…I WIN!” shouted Darkstar. “TOUCH ME, AND YOU ALL DIE!”
“He’s not bluffing,” Starswirl confirmed angrily. “…If he absorbs a harmonic wave, he’d take all of Equestria with him…”
“WHAT’S IT GONNA BE, SWIRLS?” Darkstar laughed demonically. “ALL IT TAKES IS ONE LITTLE TOUCH… GO ON, POKE ME! COWARD! HAH, COWARD! COWARD!!”
“What should we do?” Twilight asked hopelessly. She and her friends floated to the ground next to Starswirl. “How can we stop him?"
“Hmm…” Starswirl pondered, looking up and down at Darkstar’s puffed up body. “…Well, he can’t do much like this… Celestia! C’mere!” The princess quickly teleported to Starswirl’s side.
“We can’t let him explode,” Celestia said, before he could continue. “That’s out of the question.”
“Can’t we teleport him?” Twilight asked, raising her voice over Darkstar’s cackling. “Somewhere very far away, and let him explode there?”
“The teleportation would trigger him to explode as soon as he rematerialized,” Starswirl told her. “Blink-porting him would be a suicide mission… Plus, we’re talking an explosion of megaton proportions here. At least two hundred, just with what he has built up… There’s nowhere he could explode safely.”
“What’s a megaton?” Dash asked, looking at him curiously. “That’s bad… right?”
“It’d take a chunk out of the planet,” Twilight answered worriedly, looking over her shoulder at her friends. Their jaws dropped open.
“The planet…” Celestia repeated quietly, her eyes traveling to Starswirl. “What about…?”
Starswirl’s heart sank. “…Yes, that would… that’d work,” he said lowly. “…It is far enough away…”
“What?” Twilight questioned, looking from Starswirl to Celestia as they silently gazed at each other. She realized what they were talking about—her face brightened. “…Space?! We can teleport him to space!”
“My satellite,” said Starswirl, gazing into the blue sky. “…It seems to be the only way.”
Twilight’s heart began racing. “W-what about the moon?” she asked, hurriedly looking over Luna—she was unconscious. “…Can’t we send him to the moon, and let him explode there?”
“Only Luna is capable of freely teleporting to the moon and back,” Celestia sighed. “But even if she was awake, think of the sheer size of the explosion... It could destabilize the moon’s orbit…”
“But all of your work!” Twilight protested, turning desperately towards Starswirl. “Your library! Your writings on arcane magic!”
“They’re all up here,” Starswirl replied distantly, tapping his hat; it began to glow faintly “…It’s not my writings that I’m worried about…”
“…Why not just send him into empty space?!” Twilight’s voice cracked; she was starting to tear up.
“How far can you teleport without a glyph?” Starswirl asked somberly, turning back to Celestia.
Twilight looked at the ground. “…It’s not fair,” she croaked, rubbing her eyes with her forearm.
“What of Trajo?” Celestia asked, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and looking back to the wizard.
“That’s just it…” Starswirl replied quietly. “I don’t have any glyphs that can send Darkstar to the satellite… The only option is a two-point portal."
“You create the in-point.... Trajo creates the out-point,” Celestia clarified—Starswirl nodded. “He would knowingly do this? Would he not die?”
“…Neither of us know,” Starswirl replied, stifling a laugh. “Can a two-hundred megaton explosion kill a creature made of floating neurons?” Twilight started sobbing uncontrollably—Pinkie, Applejack, and Dash comforted her.
“...Creature?” Rarity asked, placing a hoof on Twilight’s opposite shoulder. “…I thought Trajo was a pony?”
“He’s a Caelumi,” Starswirl replied sadly, turning to face Darkstar. “It means of the sky in ancient Equinn…”
“Trajo…” Celestia sighed. “He’s never even met most of us, yet he’s helped us all so much…”
“He’s learned a great deal by watching from above,” Starswirl shuddered, his voice caving into sadness. He chuckled weakly to try and mask it. “Heh, he’s… He's actually really curious to see if he’ll die or not… What kind of creature faces death with curiosity?”
Starswirl paused, his hat glowing for a few moments. “He… he says to hurry, though, because he thinks that Darkstar will explode of his own accord once he passes out from laughing…”
“A method to his madness…” whispered Celestia, shooting a furious glare at the obnoxiously hysterical necromancer. “Please, thank him… On behalf of us all…”
“I’m so sorry, Trajo…” Starswirl choked quietly, communicating a farewell to him and enshrouding Darkstar with a haze of blue magic. “…I love you, you crazy little blob…”
“Potential farewell,” replied Trajo. “You have my gratitude as well.”
Starswirl closed his yellow eyes; the cheeks of his grey mask dampened slightly.
Taking a deep breath, he initiated the two-point teleport.
Darkstar dematerialized in a swift CRACK.
Shining brighter than the sun, a green explosion illuminated the blue sky, sending a spherical shockwave in every direction. Though it made no noise, the earth still trembled violently beneath the team’s hooves for several minutes.
“…Trajo?” Starswirl asked aloud, his hat glowing. He choked the name several times, but received no response. He could not sense his friend at all.
“I had hoped to meet him someday…” Twilight sniffled through her sobs. “I-I didn’t even know he was another species, I thought he was a pony… Like, a lab assistant…”
“He was my lab assistant, indeed,” sighed Starswirl. “…But no, he wasn’t even remotely equine…”
“I don’t care what he was,” Dash interjected, comforting Fluttershy, who was also crying. “He’s a hero.”
“She’s darn right,” Applejack agreed, looking up from Twilight. “Ain’t nopony but a hero would give their life like that.”
“Nothing quite like him,” the wizard continued sadly, still gazing at the sky. Green energy from the explosion was still shimmering brightly as it dispersed. “...He’s devoid of the neurotransmitters that dominate us, you know. Fear, hatred, even happiness… None of it. Only an innate, subtle curiosity…”
“Is it safe to lower the shield, princess?” Armor called out from several yards away. “…Is it finally over?”
“Ye-“
“Wait, princess,” Rarity interrupted quietly—her eyes were fixed on the center of the explosion.
“One moment,” Celestia called out to Armor. She curiously lowered her head to Rarity. “…What is it?”
“Look,” she replied, pointing a hoof where she had been staring.
“No…” Starswirl muttered. “No… No, NO!”
“It’s not possible,” Celestia said, her eyes widening. “He exploded!”
A fiery green meteor was falling from the center of the fading explosion, burning brightly as it plummeted into the atmosphere. It was heading straight for them.
“What is that?!” Twilight screamed.
“He lives,” replied the disbelieving Starswirl. “…I don’t know how, but he lives…”
“OH COME ON!” Dash whined, staring at the meteor while it continued to grow in size. “He freakin’ blew himself up! How did he survive that?!”
“INTO THE SHIELD!” Celestia yelled, spreading her wings and flapping them at the dumbfounded group. “Shining Armor! Full power!”
“Gah!” Armor yelled, pumping the shield to full power. Celestia made sure all of the girls had entered before quickly diving into the shield as well. Starswirl teleported to her side.
“Listen up!” Starswirl shouted over the confused voices within the shield. “Twilight! I want you and the girls to have a harmonic wave ready to fire! Once he lands, I’ll take him on!”
“By yourself?!” Applejack questioned—Twilight gaped at him.
“I’ve got one last trick up my sleeve,” Starswirl replied determinedly. “And he’s got to be weakened after that! There’s no way I can beat him, but I can immobilize him for you… As soon as I give the signal, you have to fire the Elements!”
“…W-what are you going to do?” Twilight stammered curiously.
“A little something I call arcane infusion,” he explained, looking directly at her for a moment. “...Never done it before, it’s pretty dangerous… but Trajo always encouraged me to try. I think it’s about time I did!”
“Right!” Twilight replied, grinning at him and wiping her tears away. “Come on, girls! Let’s do this!”
“HOLD ON!” Armor yelled through bared teeth, closing his eyes as the meteor crashed next to his shield. The ground rumbled violently, but the shield stood strong against the sudden shockwave and dust storm kicked up by the impact.
“They’re ready!” Celestia told Starswirl—he raised a hoof at the girls to wait. Twilight, Pinkie, Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack were all floating in a circular formation; their eyes were white, and their Elements shone brightly.
Starswirl’s hat began ejecting a barrage of purple lightning into the air, and a brilliant violet glow overtook his body. The lightning thickened into a ball around him, making it impossible to see him through the constant flashes.
“NO…” Darkstar’s demonic voice roared from the crater. “I WILL NOT BE DENIED… ANY LONGER!”
The crater where his meteor had impacted exploded with a flash of green light. It struck Armor’s shield with overwhelming force—the shield shattered, allowing a threatening wave of green magic to flow unopposed towards the exposed Elite within.
“AGH!” Rarity screamed, using her Element to absorb the deadly magic from the entire team. She faltered in formation, but Fluttershy healed her quickly and she retook her spot with her friends.
“I’m afraid you will be,” Starswirl’s voice boomed from within the ball of arcane lightning. His entire outfit had disintegrated into purple energy, leaving only a thin silhouette—the outlines of his white mane and tall horn were visible for the first time. He continued to speak, his voice getting louder and louder.
“I’m sorry, Elcian…" the wizard continued. "This is over!”
“I… AM… WITHOUT… END!” Darkstar screamed hysterically. “I AM NO END BUT YOUR END!”
Starswirl did not reply—he channeled a massive barrage of bolts towards the necromancer while he tried to emerge from the crater. The bolts arced and formed into brilliant purple chains, which bound all four of his foe’s legs together.
“You are still so brilliant… It really is incredible how quickly you learned the necromantic sap!”
Starswirl’s voice had deepened dramatically; it now sounded as though two voices were speaking at once—his usual cheery voice, overlapped with one that was ancient and deep.
“I’m almost afraid to use arcane infusion in front of you, but I know you won’t learn this one… You made a choice, remember? We both did..."
“I CHOSE TO BECOME DEATH ITSELF!”
Darkstar roared defiantly, trying to break the violet chains upon his legs—they tightened painfully, preventing him from moving any further. Still able to shout, he continued raging at Starswirl.
YOU CHOSE SCIENCE… KNOWING IT WASN’T THE ANSWER!
ME… I CHOSE TO B E C O M E A G O D!!
“That’s why it didn’t work! Necromancy isn’t the path to becoming a god! Neither is arcane! No magic is!”
RRRAAAGH! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!
Darkstar tried to cast a retaliating spell, but Starswirl silenced him with a swift bolt of lightning to the throat. Sputtering wildly, the necromancer lifted his hoof and tried to block the assailing bolts, but they set him ablaze with a crackling purple fire.
“It isn’t about what I know,” Starswirl chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s about what I accept…”
Darkstar's furious red eyes fixed themselves on Starswirl, momentarily ignoring purple flames that continued to burn his body. “This is not over,” he declared vehemently, losing the hysterical twinge in his voice.
The wizard said nothing; he turned and nodded to the Elements, levitating Darkstar into the air with an aura of powerful blue and purple lightning.
Twilight grinned, and her friends echoed the expression. They released a powerful harmonic wave—it flowed into Darkstar’s chest and wrapped around him, engulfing him entirely in light.
Rainbow-colored lightning bolts streaked from the necromancer as he roared defiantly, kicking his chained legs hopelessly against the overwhelming tsunami of harmonic energy.
“I’m sorry, brother,” Starswirl said quietly—Darkstar’s shouting silenced. “I should’ve never let you go…”
The magic of the Elements subsided, and Darkstar floated in place for a moment before plummeting back to the crater below. The cloud of dust settled, revealing his motionless form.
Darkstar had been turned to stone.