//------------------------------// // Chapter Eighteen - The End // Story: WOLVERINES! // by The Producer //------------------------------// "Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies." -Aristotle ================================================== Reaper woke up in his room, he had wandered into it after his interactions with Luna. He reached towards the moon, trying to push it down to raise the sun, but he was blocked by some type of power. A voice drawled across Reaper's head. Ah-ah-ahh, Reaper. Remember what I said; the last sunset you had was yesterday. It's my sky now. Reaper reached into his back compartment to see if bahamut was still there, and it was. He twirled out of his room, and alerted the guard. In a short amount of time, the entirety of the guard was assembled inside of the throne room. Steel-feather was at the head of the group, and called everypony to attention. Reaper nodded to steel, and said, "Guardsponies! We all know why we are here today. I am to fight Nightmare moon. She is the reason why Celestia is gone. She is the reason Luna is gone. SHE is the reason why the moon will not rise. She is the one I will be fighting today. Captain Steel will tell you what you will be doing during this." A loud voice that seemed to travel and reverberate across the land shook the walls as it said, "THIS IS YOUR NEW QUEEN OF DARKNESS SPEAKING; YOUR PRINCESSES ARE GONE. ALL OF YOUR DEFENSES ARE GONE. THE ELEMENTS ARE. GONE. GIVE UP, AND ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE BATHED IN THE ETERNAL COOLNESS OF THE NIGHT!" Reaper collected himself once the intruding tones of Nightmare Moon winked out of existence, and said, "Looks like that's my cue. Listen to Steel, and wish me luck." With that, Reaper threw open a rift that connected the throne room to the clearing that he was to meet Nightmare, and left to hearing Steel barking out orders. When he came to the other side of the portal, he was in the middle of the clearing he woke up in after that connection with War. War spoke, SHE'S STRONG. VERY STRONG. BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. REMEMBER BAHAMUT, IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO WIN. Reaper reached into his pocket to make sure that it was in there, and readied himself to battle with Nightmare. The night sky was cool, and made Reaper relax. He sunk Chaoseater into the ground, and checked on his LMG. Not long after he was done checking it, a dark portal ripped into existence and expelled Nightmare moon into the clearing. She floated into the air, and raced Reaper. She said, "Hello, Reaper. Shall we get this started?" Reaper responded by ripping Chaoseater out of the ground and leveling it at Nightmare. A wicked smile graced Trixie's features as she struck out with a black tentacle. It went for Reaper's head, and he dodged it with a flick of the neck. It sailed past and into the the collar around his neck, piercing it and ripping it off of Reaper's suit. the tentacle presented it to Reaper, and he saw just what the appendage crafted from the darkness of the void could do. Reaper made a mental note to be more conscious of how he was dodging them. Another tentacle shot towards Reaper, and he brought up Chaoseater, splitting it in half with the wicked sharpness of it's edge. It cut straight to the base of the tentacle, earning a howl of pain from Nightmare. Reaper smiled under his helmet, and shouted out, "So the mighty Nightmare moon has finally felt the wonders of pain, has she?" She replied with a wild shot towards him, too fast to dodge or block, nicked him in the upper right bicep. It ripped a rent through the armor, and landed a good laceration on Reaper. He whipped his arm back, and grabbed a hold of the dark appendage, and broke it off with a twist of his wrist. More screams resonated in Reapers ears as he jumped away from a wriggling mass of more flexible spikes. Trixie screamed out, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Another Tentacle went seeking for Reaper, and landed a hit on his lower left thigh. Blood splattered on the floor, making little wet splats emanate from the ground. Reaper struck out, severing the tentacle that just hit him. All of the attacking tentacles retreated, and Nightmare growled. She said, "I should have known I have had to bring them out..." Suddenly, a bright, rainbow-colored flash appeared behind Trixie, and six pony-figures emerged. They all were floating in the air, head and front legs slumped over their chests. They formed a barrier around Nightmare, and Nightmare said, as the six finished spinning, "Look at them closely, Reaper. What do they remind you of? A certain group of six that you used to know... Spurned friendship, perhaps?" Reaper looked around, and saw them. The six. They were the elements of harmony. "No. NO! What have you done to them, you fucking monster!" Nightmare laughed and shook her head. She said, "I made them happy. Look at them," The mane six head's snapped up when their respective names were mentioned. "Pinkie. I made her the best party ever that she can be in all the time. Rarity, I gave her all the fabric and gems she needs to make the best dresses. Applejack, I gave her the best legs and hips, eternal life, and a never-ending orchard that she could cultivate the rest of her life. Fluttershy, I gave her a cottage full of every animal known to ponykind. Rainbow Dash, I gave her a part in the Wonderbolts and the fastest frame in the world. And finally Twilight Sparkle. She was the hardest to sway. I had to give her Celestia, a bedroom, and a Library with all of the books in the world." Reaper surveyed the faces of the six ponies circled around him, and saw that their faces were not truly happy. Their faces were twisted, plastered on faces that tried to hide grimaces of pain and torture. He bounded towards Trixie, but was met by two hooves to the faceplate. Reaper was sent flying away in the other direction. When he landed, he heard Nightmare gloat, "Oh, and I have full control of their bodies at the peak of their own capabilities." Reaper got up on his hands, hoisting his upper body up so that he could see. Trixie was grinning maliciously down at him. Reaper quickly scanned the area, and saw that Chaoseater was far away, too far away for him to actually reach it in time before he was attacked. Remembering what the blade was capable of, he stretched out his palm, and shouted, "Chaoseater!" The sword shimmered, and teleported to his hand. Trixie shot out another tentacle, much faster than last time. Reaper only had the time to re-position his sword so that it would deflect it. Reaper was actually propelled backwards by the force of the impact. War spoke up again, YOU CAN'T KEEP UP WITH HER WHEN SHE IS LIKE THIS, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE. Reaper just growled, and jumped up on his feet. He put his palm facing up to the sky. A ball of orange-red appeared in the middle of his hand. Reaper crushed it in his grip, and a wave of power starting at Reaper's feet distorted his figure as it passed up towards the moon. Once it passed from his body, his wings and horn appearing again. Trixie sent another mass of tentacles headed towards Reaper's way, but he dodged them by launching into the air. Some of the tentacles followed him into the sky, attacking him. A flurry of parries and slashes found all of them severed from their host. Reaper dropped down from the air, within striking distance of Trixie. Nightmare activated Twilight, and a tower of lightning enveloped Reaper. Reaper noticed the reluctance in the spell from Twilight, and he took a hold of it. Re-directing it, he sent a massive bolt of lightning traveling from his right hand to his left, launching it at Nightmare. After the bolt fully sent itself into Nightmare's forehead, Nightmare was staggered. Reaper hit Trixie with such force that it launched her into the air, with Reaper following. Reaper used the mass of Chaoseater to send him into a tight spin into the air, slashing Nightmare in a buzz saw fashion. Once they both hit the floor, Nightmare collapsed on the floor, covered in deep lacerations, and seemingly dead. Pinkie's smile faded into a frown as her body floated into the center of the circle. Her hair deflated as her eyes cracked open, seeing Reaper standing next to the body of Trixie. She said, "R-r-reaper? Is that really you?" Amazed and overjoyed to hear Pinkie's real voice, he flew to her side, saying, "Yes Pinkie... It's really me. How are you feeling?" Pinkie fidgeted and squirmed, and said, "I'm stuck." Her eyes suddenly widened, she seemed to remember something. She gasped out, "Did I really say that to you?" Reaper winced under his helmet, and said, "Yes, Pinkie, you really did." Pinkie shook her head, and said, "No! Nononononono! I couldn't have said that to you! You're my friend!" Reaper replied, with a hint of sadness in his undertones, "That is true. And that is the reason why I am still your friend, Pinkie." Pinkie looked at Reaper with her sad, blue eyes, and said, "But I was a big meany-weany pants! The things I said weren't even that funny! I make a horrible element of laughter..." Reaper thought about what she said, and after a bit of thinking, he knew what to say. "Pinkie. Think about all those times that you sent me a letter with a party magically put inside of it. Think about how you made everypony laugh when you were in the Everfree forest. Think. You are the element of laughter, nopony else could get a cannon that can literally shoot parties out of it. No one can be angry at you, Pinkie. If you can forgive me, then I forgive you." Pinkie's hair poofed back up, and a genuine smile stretched on her face. Pinkie slumped back over and drifted to the perimeter of the circle. Nightmare's body stitched itself back together again, and floated back onto its hooves. Trixie's eyes snapped open and surveyed the circle, eyes slowing to a rest on Pinkie, Pinkie's face bearing a real smile of genuine joy. Nightmare's eyes narrowed as she said, "You... You actually managed to knock her out of my spell. Too bad I had no use of bending time and space, I already have that ability at my disposal." With that, she launched an attack of shadow-clones of herself to harass Reaper from all sides. The metal from Chaoseater buzzed around in the air as he parried thrusts, bucks, and magical attacks. Four of the fifteen shadows had fallen to Reaper, but he was beginning to tire from constantly having to re-position himself every time an attack came from the circling band of fake Nightmares. Reaper sunk Chaoseater into the ground, and blasted outwards with a shockwave of power. Making his hands like claws, he put them so that they went palm-to-palm, and placed them as his waist. A small ball of raging bluish-white emerged from the top palm, and hovered between the two hands, steadily getting larger. Once it was big enough to touch both palms, Reaper flung his arms up and outward, making a human 'X' with his arms and legs. The ball of white exploded outwards, and left all of the shadows frozen on the ground. Reaper heaved Chaoseater from the ground, and flung it. It sailed like a boomerang, following a circular path to hit all of the frozen forms, shattering them. Reaper raised his hand, and Chaoseater returned to his palm, settling itself firmly in his grip. He pointed his finger at Nightmare, summoning powers from the moon and stars, and preparing an attack straight from the heavens. He said, "You know what the difference between you and me are, Nightmare? The moon doesn't want to kill me." He dropped a tremendous amount of power from the height of the moon. It hurtled down, and Nightmare looked up in time to see the cone of death coming straight for her. It crashed down into her face,splitting it in two, and it continued down her body to the tail, where it stopped. Reaper sighed, and mused out loud, "How many times am I going to have to do this?" He looked around the circle, and saw AJ floating to the center. "Right. Four more freaking times, not counting when I have to kill her permanently." He walked towards the drifting farm pony, trying to see what he would have to do for her. He approached her, and within arm's reach, AJ's head shot up, as if she were in a dream, and she was forcefully woken up in it. She shook her head, and wriggled her body, looking down at it. She gave up when she could not see any restraints, but felt constriction that she couldn't break. AJ's head swiveled around and locked on Reaper's form. She said, "Reaper, whut in tarnation..." She trailed off as a spark glinted in AJ's pupils, and they grew so big they only left a small sliver of green in each eye. "Ah... Ah... Ah didn't say that to ya, did I?" "Unfortunately, you did," Reaper sighed, "And Big Mac has a nasty burn to show for it." AJ's voice was incredulous. "You didn't!" Reaper was ashamed, he let his anger carry him away when he had all that power at his disposal. Big mac really had no chance. "No, but I did get carried away. Sorry bout' that, AJ. Honest." AJ's eyes seemed vacant as she heard the word 'honest'. After a few moments of contemplation, she said, "For the element of harmony, Ah haven't been the most truthful, have ah?" Reaper said amicably, "Now, the things that you said were kinda in the eye of the beholder. You said that you had a nice, peaceful life before I showed up. I knew that I would only bring trouble, and I did. You still told the truth. When you told me that only your friends can call you AJ, that was still the truth. Honesty can become a hurtful, barb of pain when manipulated properly." AJ gave Reaper a dumbfounded look. "So, yer sayin' that ah used honesty, but in a twisted manner?" Reaper nodded. He started to speak, but was interrupted by Applejack again. "Ah have to ask fer yer forgiveness, sugarcube." Reaper looked at her, and shook his head no. He said, "Actually, AJ, I have to ask for your forgiveness. I was the one to go all berserk when you all treated me like you did, I unfortunately lost control, and when you have a lot of power, you cannot lose control." AJ smiled, and said, "Well, that's mighty gallant of ya. C'mere." AJ spread her upper arms wide for a hug, and Reaper engulfed her with his arms. Only after she was long gone to the spell that trapped the six did Reaper release her. As her body drifted off into the circumference of the circle surrounding Reaper and Nightmare, Trixie's body slowly got up again. A wicked smile graced itself across her distorted features as she said, "Every time you 'kill' me, I get stronger. You only get weaker. Now..." Nightmare trailed off as she noticed which of the ponies that Reaper had removed from her influence. "You took out AJ, smart move. Take out my source of physical strength, leave me open to attacks. Too bad you won't be able to capitalize on my weakness." With that, and undulating mass of tentacles erupted everywhere, engulfing him in a wriggling black mass. A glowing hot ball of energy ripped through the wall, and Reaper landed on three appendages, hunched over the ground with Chaoseater parallel to his body in his other arm. Bursts of fire began to hedge him into a cage, until a conflagration smacked Reaper, heating up his suit to almost unbearable levels. Two wings appeared from the pillar and propelled him out of the deadly blast. He landed on the ground, and constructed a glyph that glowed about him. He quickly shouted out, "Aaz! Ag! Al!" A pillar of light boomed outwards from the epicenter of the glyph, and whenever it came in contact with either Nightmare moon, or her magic, it burst into flame. The attack left Nightmare scrabbling around on the ground, trying desperately to bat out the fire. Reaper was just standing with his arms in the air, hands hooked and pointed to the sky. The glyph he used was banned from use to anybody but Alicorns, and he saw why, it left him heaving for breath and out of power. The amount of it put into that spell would kill even Twilight, with all of her power. He stumbled over to Nightmare, and grabbed her by the horn, absorbing her power, and whipping her side to side. He was blasted back by a surge of energy, and they both got up panting. Reaper charged at her, and planted his fingers firmly inside of her skull, gore splattering Reaper's faceplate. He collapsed, dragging himself to Chaoseater. He picked himself up with it, and leaned on it. Another pony was drifting into the middle of the circle. It was Fluttershy. Reaper sighed and rolled his eyes under his mask and stumped towards the now-floating pony. --- --- --- Fluttershy was singing happily under her breath in one moment, taking care of all the animals in the world, and awake in a clearing filled with the stench of blood and fire, staring into the bloodied visage of Reaper. She knew that he meant no harm, but she was still scared shitless. She began to hyperventilate, and tried to run away, but she felt her body being completely immobile, like when her wings lock up. Reaper stretched out his hands, one covered in blood and gore, to get her attention. He wrapped his hands around the sides of Fluttershy's face, and said, "Look at me, I'm here. Don't look at what's around you, only look at me, I won't let anyone hurt you." Fluttershy was calmed by the deep tones of the hulking beast that stood in front of her. After a few seconds, memories started to remember what she had said. Her pupils contracted, and she squeaked. She stammered out, "Y-y-ou don't h-h-ate me, d-d-o you? It's alright if you do, I'm a monster..." Reaper began to laugh. Fluttershy was confused, she did a horrible thing to Reaper, at least in her eyes. Reaper recovered himself, and said, "Fluttershy look, you said some of the nicest things even when you were angry at me. You showed me that you understood that I wasn't me when Nightmare had me, and you just told me that tough love was sometimes the best kindness, and it is. You have to be a little more kind with what you have to say about yourself, too." The shy Pegasus gasped, and felt a hidden eye open suddenly open in her eye, and the element of kindness enveloped her thoughts, eradicating the previously un-felt presence of Nightmare. She slowly drifted off to sleep, appearing in her cottage, with free reign of Ponyville, where she somehow knew Pinkie, and AJ were. --- --- --- Reaper sighed, it wasn't as hard as he previously expected to talk some sense into Fluttershy. He cracked his joints, and hefted his previously forgotten LMG, wrote three glyphs on it-Sahqo, Sahrot, and Shul- and cocked the loading pin back. Trixie got back up, her power flooding back into the slab of meat that Nightmare had been using. She said, "So you took Fluttershy... Hmmmm. I see that you are tired. Good. You see what I mean, every time you manage to kill me, you get progressively weaker." SHE'S RIGHT, YOU KNOW. Reaper couldn't stop from barking out as he toted his LMG at Trixie. "Thanks for the eternal insight, smart-ass." He pumped a large stream of bullets, they would hit Trixie, and burst into a flaming conflagration. With meaty thuds, Trixie would be flung back as bullets perforated her body, and scream out in pain as the bullets burnt her up from the inside-out. She slumped just as Reaper's LMG went click, and he dropped the gun down, going in for the kill with Chaoseater. As he approached the slumped form of Trixie, she leaped up, and began to punch Reaper. When the first one impacted reaper's body, his nanobots informed him that he had achieved a bruise. Automatically, Reaper threw up his blade for protection. He used the blunt side of the blade to deflect the blows, and used the blade for an attempt at offence. Trixie was surprisingly fast, getting in a few punches as they traded flurries and counters across the clearing. Reaper had tripped over a rock after ten minuets of fruitless tradings of blows, and used Chaoseater as a canvas to protect himself from the blows. He felt a repetitive thumping against his back, and after just a few, he knew that he wouldn't last for very long. Lifting the sword to perform the duties of a shield, he raised left hand, filled with what looked to be liquid earth pouring from the cracks in his fist. Reaper screamed out, "LET'S END THIS!" As he struck the ground. Tremors and cracks of rock exploded out and traveled around, causing devastation to the playing field. Trixie was knocked off balance, and was being knocked about, so Reaper flew off the ground and manipulated the flow of magic and might to throw Trixie's body around like a ragdoll. After the manipulation of the buckling and roaring earth began to become sluggish, Reaper ended the floe of magic in mother Gaea. He landed, and walked over to Trixie. With a red glow of telekinesis, Reaper picked the now bruised and battered mare, and slapped her in the face, rousing her from the black and cool embrace of unconsciousness. Some of the glow traveled it's way up to Trixie's horn as Reaper's voice was haggard and dangerous from exertion and rage. "Remember that promise that I gave to that hunk of meat that you use as a vessel? Well, I plan to make due on that promise." With a savage rip and twist with his powerful telekinesis, he ripped Trixie's horn out to the root. One hand spun lazily in the air as the horn began to spin like a drill bit, and he positioned it behind her flank. Reaper snarled as he launched it with enough force to pierce the skin, and the natural fluting along with the powerful spinning allowed the horn to shoot through the pony's frame, finding it's way straight through the trachea, causing unthinkable damage and trauma, ending Nightmare's life once again. Reaper collapsed again, falling on his rear, and grunted in the sudden loss of his stamina. Again, a ghostly floating of the chromatic-maned Pegasus approached the center. Trixie's horn found it's way into Reaper's hand, filling him with all of her energy. It was drained of all power, crumbled into dust, and caught the wind from Reaper's clenched fist. The spectrum-maned pony began to stir like the rest of them. She looked around, and her wings twitched, straining against her enchantment. After a few moments of struggle, RD gave up on it, and muttered out, "Ugh... NOT cool." She noticed the surrounding landscape, and looked in awe at the widespread destruction, abruptly stopping strangely at the edge of the forest. Her attention was quickly brought back into the center of the clearing, she looked directly into the eyeslots of Reaper's familiar helmet. She let out a breath of relief as she said, "Reaper! Am I glad to see it's you, and not whoever the buck you were earlier. What was his problem anyway?" Rainbow shook her head, there was more pressing matters at hand, "Hey buddy, you think you can get me out of whatever I managed to get myself in?" Reaper just shook his head no, and crossed his arms, waiting for the memory to come rushing back into the Pegasus's mind. RD's over-imaginative mind took over, slight paranoia developing from Reaper's uncharacteristic silence.The cyan Pegasus started panicking, and said, "W-wait, you aren't abandoning me, are you?" Reaper did not break his stance, but he said, "RD, why would you think I would do that? You know that I would stay with you or the others until I could fix whatever's wrong." Rainbow's eyes derped for a second as she muttered, "Right.." They focused as she remembered what she had said to Reaper earlier. Her mouth hung open as the pictures flashed across her eyes. She said, "Reaper... I've been an awful bearer of loyalty, haven't I?" Reaper loosened up, and shook his head, saying, "Rainbow, you weren't being disloyal to your friends. You saw the other five as your friends, not me. You saw that your friends were in danger. By me. So, you were doing your job by being loyal and protective to your friends. By attacking me. I wasn't your friend at the time, so I didn't have your loyalty. You were being loyal to your friends, and through them, me. What you did was good, I would have wanted you to do that if I were in anybody else's hooves." RD looked relieved. She said, "You have no idea how much that means to me. I would never want to hurt my friends, really. I got your back Reaper." Reaper smiled under his mask as RD was powerless to drift back off to sleep after they finished talking. Reaper shook out his arms and legs, feeling the lingering fatigue that didn't want to leave. Turning around, Reaper prepared himself for another assault. He was toppled over by the body of the blue mare. Reaper found himself staring into the bloodshot eyes of the showpony unicorn. He saw that the dust from his fist was forming itself back into a unicorn horn on Trixie's head. Nightmare Moon growled out, "So you think that you will kill me because you took out four of the six, huh? You might of taken away my speed, but I will be taking your soul soon enough..." She was silenced by a smashing right hook to the jaw. She went tumbling through the air as Reaper got up and dusted himself off. He sunk into a pugilistic stance as tentacles once again erupted from Trixie's body, and made their way towards Reaper. Many of them found themselves snapped off by either a stomp, or ripped off by a hand. a few managed to get past Reaper's dexterous defenses, and ripped gashes across Reaper's frame. Blood splattered on the floor, leaving small puddles underneath the lacerations. Reaper launched himself at Trixie, landing a wild haymaker to the side of her head. Using the momentum of the jump, Reaper wrapped his arms onto the side of Trixie, bringing Nightmare with him into the ground. Reaper was on his knees, pinning Trixie to the ground with his weight. He began punching her with all of the force he could muster, cracking noises resounding in the beginning, fading into a dull splorching noise as the skull began liquefying. Reaper got off of Trixie's body, chest heaving, and fists dripping blood. Reaper's head whipped to the center of the circle, but he didn't see Twilight or Rarity float into the center of the circle. He spoke to himself, "Wait, I just killed her, why aren't one of the ponies going to the center of the circle?" As a response, Reaper's head was engulfed with flame as it was hit with a fireball. He heard Nightmare call out, "It's because I'm not dead yet, you foal." Reaper was lying on the floor, and his vision began to black out. No... Can't go yet... Have to save them... He slowly hoisted himself onto his hands, body shaking from all of it's expenditures of the past few minuets. Lactic acid seared through Reaper's muscles as his indomitable will forced them to function. Reaper extended his hand, and called for Chaoseater once again. He sunk into a defensive position as a smug smirk started to affix itself onto Trixie's face as it healed itself. She stalked within striking distance, and cooed, "My, my, my, you are a persistent one, aren't you? You know that you could end all this suffering, don't you? All of this pain, blood, suffering... all gone in a few simple words." Reaper shifted his legs in preparation for an attack as he said, "Nightmare, I will not have any of your deals, offers, or contracts. You can take your evil and shove it up your ass." Trixie's smile dropped into a scowl as her eyes literally began to glow with fire. "Then you will die." A massive gout of flames erupted from Trixie's eyes and onto the flat of Chaoseater. As the blade deflected the fire, it began siphoning the power from the magical flames. After the magic subsided, the skulls were glowing red, and trickles of what looked like blood escaped from the sides of their mouths. Reaper quickly disregarded it, and launched an offensive against Trixie. Her hooves, and surprisingly, her horn came into play as they traded flurries of attacks. Reaper and Trixie madly hacked and lashed out at each other, traveling from one side of the circle to the next. They met in the center, sword locked with the side of Trixie's horn. Reaper had scored a good few hits, gaining cuts across her body. Trixie gained more hits than Reaper, but she only caused bruises under his suit. Chaoseater's cutting edge grazed up Trixie's horn, shaving off a layer of horn, and sparks from the grating of the fluting of Trixie's horn. Trixie batted Chaoseater to the side, and charged forward with her horn. Reaper grabbed it with his free hand, and stopped her dead in her tracks. Reaper started to slam Trixie into the ground with as much force as he could, breaking and shattering all of the bones in Trixie's skull and the first few vertebrae of her spine. He flung Trixie into the sky after a minuet of repetitive slamming, and clenched his fist, his fingers glowing. Once Trixie reached the apex of her flight, Reaper unclenched his hand, the glow disappearing and Trixie exploding with an entrancing firework of blood and power. Twilight drifted into the center of the circle. Her horn began to glow as she got closer to the center of the circle. The bindings on the other six seemed to fade away as Twilight crumpled up into a ball, her magic spurting every which way. Her eyes were yet to open. Reaper got closer to Twilight, and touched her forehead, right under her horn. An arc of power surged from Twilight to Reaper, making feel only a little energized. Reaper sent his consciousness into Twilight's, and found himself into what looked like both Twilight's tree library, and the castle all mixed up into one building. He came to what looked like a door to the great library, but it had a hole just big enough for a horn to fit. Reaper reached up to feel if he was still in his alicorn form, and he was, so he bent over, and pushed his horn into the hole, feeling just a little silly, and the door swung noiselessly open. He entered a library like no other, it was larger than every library in Canterlot put together. He heard a giggle, and a voice that he had sent to the sun. "Very good, Twilight." Reaper put his back lightly on a ridiculously large bookcase that seemed to stretch into the sky. He sneaked a quick peek around the corner to see where the unicorn and the supposed Alicorn were. He saw a little space in the center of the library where all of the bookcases were accessible. He saw the bleached-white Princess lying down with a moderately sized purple ball nestled next to her. They were reading a large book together, Reaper supposed from what both Celestia and Twilight had told him about Twilight's apprenticeship was that they were studying the book. The page turned, and Reaper could only catch a glimpse of what they were reading; advanced offensive magic. Twilight spoke up, and said, "If focus on the element of whatever magics you are trying to cast is crucial, then why would someone be able to conjure up an ice spell while staring into something like a fire, or being in a hot, humid environment?" The princess flicked her horn in the air, and a flaming ball appeared floating in the air. She explained the answer to the question as she demonstrated an ice spell. "You see, Twilight, if I were to be in, lets say the center of the sun, I would still have the power to shut off my mind. This is a unique ability gained by unicorns that allows them to focus on one thing no matter what is happening to them physically." The ball thunked to the ground as a chunk of ice, shattering a moment later. Reaper bunched up his courage, and stepped out into the open. Celestia's head automatically honed in on his position the moment he stepped out from his cover. As he stepped forward into the light, both Twilight and Celestia's faces broke out into warm and welcoming smiles. Reaper got to the edge of the square, and crossed his arms, surveying their actions. Twilight said, "Hey there, Reaper! Are you here to help us study battle magics?" Celestia nodded, and said, "It would be good to see two students of mine to study together." Reaper noticed something, Celestia called him her student. Nightmare must have based this enchantment on Twilight's memory, Twilight was told by Celestia that he was her student, but he was never called that in public with other ponies. He turned his head to Celestia, and darkly stated, "I'm not your student." Celestia showed a mixture of confusion and being tense. "But you are. You have been under my tutelage for the past few months now..." She was interrupted by Reaper. "And in that whole time, you have not called me by that title. Who am I, Celestia?" Celestia cocked her head to the side, and said, "Your a human who was pulled through a multi-dimentional rift..." Again, she was interrupted by Reaper. "Again. Wrong." Twilight butted in, feeling more than a little bit angry for Reaper to be talking like this to her mentor. "Reaper, why are you saying these things? Aren't you going to show at least a little bit of respect to the princess?" Reaper sighed, it was time to end this little charade. He gathered all of his power into his hands as he said, "Why can't you see through this, Twilight? This is all a distraction magically created by Nightmare to keep you under her control! SNAP OUT OF IT!" As he roared the last few words, Reaper raised his right hand and clenched it. The gargantuan library seemed to crumple, and the surrounding area turned into a sheet of paper, their plane becoming two-dimensional. Cracks, as if the matter surrounding them were comprised by hundred year-old paint. The chips flew off, leaving him, Princess Celestia, and Twilight alone in a dark landscape. Celestia's hair began to darken along with her coat, and a shadow seemed to pass over her vision. Reaper blasted her with a ball of fire, making her disappear when she turned into Nightmare Moon. Twilight looked at Reaper, and did something that took Reaper aback. It wasn't turning into that hellspawn fire-unicorn that attacked him a day after being in Equestria, it wasn't being hellbent on killing him, it was that she actually swore. "What the... WHAT THE BUCK DID YOU JUST DO!" Reaper automatically grabbed the angered unicorn by the horn, and forced himself into Twilight's psyche yet again. He was in the same place where they were standing, but Twilight wasn't as angry. Reaper said, "Twilight, you have to listen to me." Twilight shot daggers from her into Reaper as he said, "That wasn't Celestia. That was part of Nightmare's soul." Twilight snorted and stomped a hoof. "How do you know that?" Reaper took off his helmet and unzipped his suit to take it off as he said, "It was because she based it off of your memory. Celestia would never have called me her student, nor has she ever in her real life. What I am about to show you, don't tell it to anyone, and tell Celestia about it immediately once she gets back." Twilight nodded with a confused and curious look on her face. Reaper closed his eyes, and focused on bending the world around him, slightly removing some of the nearly-impenetrable layers of enchantments that have been affecting him for the entirety of his life. After he broke through what seemed to be a dam of power, he felt something in him change. He felt a weird, pulling sensation on his forehead, and his back twitched and spasmed. Before he opened his eyes, Reaper heard Twilight gasp. When he did open them, Twilight was looking at him with shock and awe. she stammered out, "You're... Y-y-you're an..." Reaper's wings folded up majestically and tucked them behind his back. "Yes Twilight, I am an Alicorn. And why she would never call me her student is because..." Reaper allowed her to say it for herself, to allow the truth to sink in a bit more. "You're her son." Reality seemed to chip away as they were ejected into Twilight's first psyche, and then into reality. Reaper came to with one hand on twilight's forehead, head slumped in concentration, eyes locked with Twilight's. Twilight's eyes didn't open, but she went back into the default postiton, and her smile turned genuine. Reaper only had time to think, I just went into Twilight's mind... And then went into her mind again. Holy. Shit. He was standing there when he suddenly had a coil of tentacle wrap him up, and hoist him in the air. He was spun in-air to meet the face of a no-longer mortal pony. Her eyes were filled with bulging veins, veins popping out under her fur, frothing at the mouth. Without a word, she began to thump Reaper into the ground repeatedly. Chaoseater was, miraculously, still in Reaper's grip. It began to vibrate violently, making Reaper's arm numb from the force it was exerting. Reaper mentally called out to war. "WAR! What in the hell are you doing with Chaoseater?" War responded, a hint of worry in his voice. I'M GIVING YOU SOME HELP. JUST LET IT HAPPEN. So Reaper did. The tingling sensation along with the immense pain of being repeatedly slammed grew to a crescendo as the feeling of warmth shot up Chaoseater and into Reaper. That pain heightened from inside outwards. LET THAT PAIN HELP YOU. RIDE IT OUT AND LET IT CHANGE YOU. Reaper was about to question War until he felt it. He felt a type of pain-filled covering envelop him. The tentacles released their iron-like grip on Reaper as he floated in the air. A slight boom came from Chaoseater as he chandged into a large, devil-like flame being. Two curved horns and a pair of dragon-wings with only the bones rested on his hunched shoulders. Chaoseater had sprung forth into a one-bladed sword and grew to match it's master's explosive growth. Reaper swung down at Trixie, guessing that trial by fire would be the best for finding the limitations of this body. Even with Nightmare dodging out of the way, Reaper clipped her on the side, shearing all of the tentacles on that side, and searing the flesh underneath. He followed with a monstrous sweep of the blade. Again, his slow strikes only managed to clip Trixie, lopping off her horn. Reaper swung out with his un-equipped hand, and caught the now very small-looking pony. He brought up Trixie to his mouth and spat out a stream of fire, cooking the pony to a crisp. As fast as the transformation came, it was gone. Reaper fell onto the ground, groaning in pain and exhaustion. He saw Rarity float towards the center of the circle. This is it, Reaper... One more time after this and we can go home... Reaper could barely prep himself as he drug himself towards the white unicorn with the expertly coiffed purple mane. He sat down in front of Rarity, waiting for her to open her eyes. She did, surprise and anger covering her face as she scanned the area. Reaper was glad that he had come to at leas speaking terms with Rarity over the few months of mail being sent back and forth. Otherwise this would be a tad more difficult. Rarity's roving eyes finally rested on the sitting form of Reaper, and she said, "Reaper, dear, just what are you doing down there?" Reaper just shrugged, and brought up his most smart-assed response. "You know, bleeding, suffering from the buildup of lactic acid, being thrown around by tentacles that have shown themselves to be in Hentai, saving the world. You know, things you would do on a lazy Sunday afternoon." Rarity glared down at him, and said, "Now Reaper, I do not appreciate the sarcasm. Now, do tell me where we are." Reaper grunted at the pain making it's way through his traumatized muscles. "I think we are in the Everfree forest, actually. Near Canterlot." Rarity looked at the floor, and clicked her tongue when she saws that Reaper's suit got damaged, not to mention that he was bleeding. "Now how am I supposed to fix that." It was more of a statement than a question, and it's implications did not escape Reaper. He sighed, and said, "I guess I will have to tell you how to make Kevlar, won't I? That, and show you how to make the salve for the sun-sensitive fabric." Rarity smirked, she got what she wanted. She began to fall asleep again, muttering out, "And can I get your measurements while I am working, darling?" Last thing she heard was Reaper grunting an affirmative before drifting into her sleep again. Reaper slowly got back up on his feet, and turned in the general direction of eternal damnation called Nightmare. Trixie got up, skin and fur growing through the burnt flesh of her body. Nightmare called out, "You know that feeling when you go full-swing with an emotion, and you feel the opposite of whatever you're feeling? Yeah, I guess you could say that's what exactly I am feeling right now." A bright flash and twinkle, and Trixie was in arms distance, a vein throbbing on her temple. "Although I am impressed, you were able to defeat me single-handedly six times over. Shame I am going to end you slowly and painfully." All of the surrounding ponies all had their heads shot up as the elements suddenly appeared, and clamped themselves onto their wielders. Trixie looked about, screaming out in frustration... until she noticed where they were all pointed at, the middle. She leaped up at the last second when they all fired the beam. Reaper stood there, dejectedly accepting his fate as time seemed to slow down with the rapidly approaching beam. There would be no deflecting, no absorbing, just whatever the elements deemed acceptable for his past war-crimes. His head slumped back, taking in the beautiful calmness and serenity of the night sky. The beam hit him. Reaper expected for him to be turned into stone, and then shattered, or some other gruesome fate, but he felt an immense power engulf his form in tingling relief. His pain all washed away as he began to glow a pure white. A small shell enveloped him as his form began to subtly change. This time, six pony-like shapes approached Reaper in his mind's eye. They all called out in unison, in perfect harmony. "We have judged you, Reaper. We have seen fit for you to wield us like your mother did before you. Now go! Banish this taint of the land from our harmonic equality!" His vision was gone, and with it, all thoughts of losing this fight. Pearly-white claws, much like when he was Supernova sprung over his hands, and his Alicorn features had all turned a blazing, blinding white. Reaper reached up and took off his helmet. His hair had achieved the same weightlessness as his mother, eyes blazing with the intensity of the sun themselves. His voice seemed to age to countless millennia old. "Hello Nightmare. I hope you know what is about to come next." Trixie reared back, disbelief and shock written across her features. Reaper picked up Chaoseater, his power diffusing into it, the eyes shooting out pure light. Reaper bent down into a fighting stance, and with his free hand, he prepared a spell. Nightmare spent no time trying to dispatch him. more tentacles, followed by a blazing inferno erupting from underneath Reaper's feet. The tentacles were swatted away by Chaoseater and the spell was re-directed by Reaper's own spell. Reaper took to the sky, and dove in to come with a pass at Nightmare. Trixie summoned a black sword to counter Chaoseater, the two blades clashing with a resounding clank that boomed out, disturbing the grass and trees. Landing, Reaper and Nightmare traded blows, sometimes Reaper switching to his his claws to deflect the blows from time to time, a flurry of strikes and twirls of death to try and overcome Trixie's defenses. They got into a blade-lock and their faces got close to each other. Trixie taunted Reaper, saying, "Poor little Reaper! Your mother banished me in half of the time in this state!" Reaper's face was devoid of all emotion. "But it isn't banishment I am after... I'm going to kill you to make sure you can never come back again." All of the color in Trixie's face drained out as Reaper lashed with his claw to the side of Trixie's face, leaving five deep rents that bled profusely. He growled as Trixie disengaged the lock, twirling backwards with help of her tentacles. Reaper sent a large ball of fire at her, growing larger as it approached her. Trixie threw her defenses up at the last time, getting sent flying, being just a bit scorched. Trixie knocked Chaoseater out of Reaper's hands, and shot a few more magical spells at him, rocks, ice boulders, flame spears, and lightning bolts converging in a slew of destruction that was intent on ending Reaper's life. When the dust settled, it revealed Reaper with a ball of multicolored energy gathering in his hand. Without a word, he pointed it at Trixie, shooting an ultra-condensed Harmony blast. Putting all of the power he had in it, the beam wrapped around Trixie's body, engulfing her with the power of harmony and constricting. It all ended with a shockwave knocking everything about. Reaper had to summon Chaoseater to keep him from flying around. Once the turbulence ended, revealing a now normal-looking Reaper and Trixie's limp form. Reaper struggled to unearth Chaoseater with his now close-to-useless muscles, his will the only thing keeping him running. He froze after unearthing Chaoseater, and saw that Trixie was moving, getting up. "Ha...Hah. You thought that that would be able to keep me down? Pathetic." Reaper was standing there, his body screaming for him to stop, his muscles twitching and undulating under his skin. He started to repeat a mantra: Just kill her and be done with it, then you can rest. J-Just kill her and be done with it. Just kill her and... He was interrupted by the feeling of being pushed in the abdomen, and the mild sound of a thump. He looked down. Reaper never saw the tentacle coming. Trixie lifted Reaper into the air as she gloated over her victory. "You put up a good fight, but sadly, it wasn't enough. Do you have any last words, Reaper?" Reaper's right arm hung limply behind him, Trixie was holding him at a slight angle. He found that he could get his hand in the back compartment where the will of Bahamut was residing. Clenching his fist around it, Reaper said, "Yeah... Yeah. I have some last words." Nightmare's ears perked up as she leaned her head closer to Reaper, just in arm's reach. "What do the five fingers say to the face?" Nightmare's face turned to confusion for a second before she was hit by reaper as he screamed out, "SLLLLAAAPPPP!" Trixie's face switched to indignation as she began to say, "Now what kind of last words is..." Then she felt it. She felt it, she could see it. It was the will of Bahamut, the only way for her to actually die. The sun rose up like a pop-gun, settling straight over where Reaper and Nightmare were standing. "No...N-NO! YOU FOOL! YOU ARE STILL GOING TO DIE!" A beam of condensed sunlight began to hone down on Trixie's forehead, right where the will of Bahamut was resting. Nightmare flung Reaper from her, trying to cause as much pain as possible before they both passed from this world. Reaper hit a tree, and landed on his back in the shade. A faint sizzling sound came from the frying of Trixie's hair. A crackling sound emanated from the sun as it passed it's judgement on Nightmare. There was a boom, and Nightmare, along with Trixie, were no more. Reaper chuckled weakly as the six elements hit the floor with meaty plops. "Ha...hah-ha. I'm Rick, bitch. Rick." Reaper coughed up some blood, a dark red line trailing down his jaw-line. The nanobots displayed life expectancy. Three minuets. Reaper shut them off, ready for his death, waiting for its sweet embrace. Happy that he was able to save the world, and in turn, his friends. His eyes drifted closed. They opened a minuet later. Reaper heard a rustling and a sniff coming from the edge of the clearing. Something picked him up. Something white, and motherly. Reaper looked up and saw a floating rainbow, billowing on an unseen breeze. Celestia. Celestia gently picked him up with her wings, suspending him in a soft, downy hammock. Reaper looked into Celestia's watery eyes as he felt the warmth in him slowly fade. Reaching up, he said, "I... I saved them, I killed Nightmare." Reaper paused as another splatter of blood came out of him mouth. "Don't let Luna blame herself for all this," Reaper caught Celestia's full attention, trying to convey as much emotion through his coal-black eyes as he could. "Mother." His lungs took in a breath of air. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as all of his senses heightened to the point of it almost being painful. He could smell Celestia's scent, the soft, downy texture of her wings, her warmth desperately trying to keep him as long in this world as possible, her coat, silky and smooth and rubbing against his skin. He felt a drop of wetness hit his exposed cheek. Reaper looked once more into Celestia's eyes, and smiled. Reaper's lungs pushed out. Everything went black.