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The Elements of Harmony were left to wait; hoping and fearing for the outcome of the battle they knew was ensuing. The mysterious Alicorn they had only begun to know seemed to already have familiarized himself with the six of them before. It caused countless questions to spin through their heads. Especially his prediction of Equestria's downfall.
And all they could do was sit, wait, and worry. The grey Alicorn had left them, claiming to go help Keith.
"What are we doing?!" Twilight's mane ruffled over time, stressing over everything that happened. "We were meant to make sure nothing happens to him!"
"Yeah. A great job we're doing."
"Stow the snide remarks, RD! This ain't the time fer that!" Applejack silenced her cyan friend, who turned to cross her hooves and sulk.
Beneath the statue's podium, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were attempting to reassure Fluttershy, softly mumbling to her.
In the midst of it all, a shadow of a pegasus with a horn entered through the crack of the dome. The Alicorn had returned.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Rarity cantered up to the Alicorn, who wore a smug smile. "Where is Keith? Is he alright?"
"Oh he's fine alright! More than that, even!"
"And what makes you so sure?!" Rainbow Dash shoved her face into the Alicorns old grey face.
Almost on cue, behind the Alicorn, a shot of dust launched into the air with an equally suitable sound effect, spiralling white mist and brown dust. At the tip of it, a human form flailed; but this time, it wasn't Keith's. The Alicorn stifled a giggle seeing the gaping faces of the Mane Six.
"Oh, it's just a hunch."
"What did you do to him?!" Twilight shook herself out of shock.
"Just a little spark. Honest." But the smile faded from the Alicorn. It turned to a frown as he began to recall something else. "But... what if he... I really hope..." He hesitated, then turned to fly out again.
"Hope what?"
"He can't maintain that form forever! It will kill him!"
"Form?" asked Rarity.
"Kill him?!" cried Fluttershy.
"What in tarnation is going on?!" Applejack questioned.
"No time to explain! Come down and see for yourself!"
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Power! So much power was in my grasp, and it wasn't going to waste. In one mighty bound, I easily jumped back to the surface, leaving the shaky ruins of the underground behind. A cloud of sand puffed up from where I landed.
Legion lay not far away. He was a ghostly white now, and he was far from his former power. He knelt down, the souls and aura's desperately trying to materialize him again. But he wouldn't get the chance.
Enough playing around. Let's finish this!
The Alicorn had said I could use this 'spark' anyway I wanted. So I tried to, controlling the ectoplasmic form that encased my body. I got rid of it, suppressing it into my body and channeling all of my energy with it. For a few moments, I focused, concentrating all the power into one. I no longer held the mighty form of the towering human I had used to beat Legion.
"No, Keith!"
I heard the familiar voice, but I ignored it. I was this close to finishing the fight, and that was all I wanted to do now.
"Stop! You can't control it that easily!"
The voice became a distant echo. My ears became muffled in the rush. Inside me, I felt my blood racing through my veins. I felt my mind activating a part of it that I never knew existed. I felt my heart beat faster, and faster... almost too fast.
"HHNNGGH!"
If I ever knew how getting shot in the heart felt, it would be this. I fell to my hands and knees as an unsustainable force squeezed, no, crushed my chest. I clenched at my heart, closing my eyes in fear of them popping out of their sockets. It literally felt like a hammer was pounding on my head.
"Keith?!"
"Is tha-... even... him? What's-... doing?!"
"Keithy-... no!"
The voices of my favourite ponies were heard. As muffled as their voices were, their fear was still there. The temples beneath my forehead pulsed with pain. At one point, I thought I felt a part of my vertebrae twist out of place as I struggled for air. Now the battle wasn't with Legion; it was me battling the feeling of implosion.
"Stop holding it in! You'll kill yourself if you don't release it!"
Somehow, the Alicorn's stern voice yelled in my mind. This time, I obeyed. Willing myself to carry on, I concentrated on something else. Instead of collecting the energy, I was going to release it. My eyes shot open, seeing almost nothing but the white light that escaped my body like a lightbulb. But in this vision, I could see the magic and auras, like the potion of Truesight. Only now, I could sense it as well.
The Mane Six and the Alicorn were a distance away from my left. And straight ahead, the thick silhouette of the ethereal warrior rose to his feet. He swiftly approached, bearing nothing but his fists and trying to take advantage of the opportunity.
But he never got that opportunity.
It was a truly strange experience, feeling weak, yet strong at the same time. But before I pulled anything, I turned my head to the ponies, and mouthed two words.
"Take Cover!"
I rose up, took aim at Legion, and hoped for the best...
Release!
From the pendant, a glint appeared. It turned into a fizzing spark, then a bright star. From there, it turned the whole center gem into a glowing stone. The brightness increased to such intensity, I felt it burn through my what was left of the tattered shirt Rarity had made. It wasn't long before The light engulfed the whole Medallion, and it was scorching hot.
In a flash, a huge beam exited the center gem. It grew to be taller than I was! The beam shot forward, wiping out anything in its path. And Legion was taking the brunt of it.
But that didn't mean I wasn't suffering either. The blast continued, only because I was holding up. It took whatever was left of my strength to stop myself from flying backwards. The stones beneath my feet cracked slightly from the force, and my legs were burning from the push.
"C'mon! Let it all out!"
In one final effort, I tensed myself and let loose one final burst. I couldn't see what I had done; blinded from the light, it also hurt just opening my eyes. But the screams I heard around me gave me a hint. It was overcome by a roaring wave, louder than a jet to me. The pounding in my head continued, but I willed onwards, confident that I was breaking a human's physical limit in some way or another.
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In the Canterlot Castle, the Alicorn sisters were carrying on with their royal duties, unaware of the adventure that happened that very moment.
Until now.
Only great manipulators could feel such a magical pulse, but the Princesses felt it; much like the pulse that had brought to them this inter-dimensional problem. It was like a tremor only felt in the mind.
"What was that Sister?"
"I don't know, Luna. It's some kind of... disturbance..."
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The light dimmed to nothing as the ear- breaking sound died down. I felt empty from the power I once had, but it was by far a good thing.For a few seconds, I just stood there with my eyes closed, feeling that one moment of nothing. Finally! The ethereal burden left me. I was no longer in the grips of such power!
But at what cost?
This time, I well and truly collapsed from total exhaustion, falling backwards. Every bone and muscle in my body sent painful signals to my brain. Just before my head hit the ground, the soft coat of a pony caught my head. I tilted upwards to see the light pink mane of Fluttershy, catching me in her arms. I managed a small smile.
"Alright, let's bring him back up."
I didn't notice Rainbow Dash as she lifted my other arm, bringing me up off my feet. We glided back up to the now decimated dome.
Decimated? What did I do?!
It was true that the circular structure had disappeared, leaving only piles of rubble in its place. There, the rest of the Mane Six and the Alicorn waited. I was brought down in front of him, as I settled slowly down on Fluttershy's side.
"Heh... so you made it kid." One side of his mouth formed a grin. "Maybe you might not be as useless as I thought?"
"You... could've... warned me..." I could only whisper the words.
"But then I would have never found your full potential!" He raised a hoof to the surroundings. "Look at what you've done, human!"
My jaw dropped when I saw it. The city, or what was left of it, was all pieces of rock and rubble. The center of the surface broke into two plates, and fell inwards as the last two underground pillars' structural integrity reached zero. It looked like a giant had stepped an enormous square into the city, and crushed everything in its path. It was a ground zero of a previous era, where all buildings bit the dust. It made my head spin just thinking that I had caused that.
And Legion was nowhere in sight.
"Yup. You're pretty much capable-"
I coughed and spasmed, spitting up blood onto myself.
"... okay, maybe I did push you too hard. I apologize, but it had to be done."
"There's no time for this!" Fluttershy spoke up. "Can't you see how much pain he's in?!"
"There's probably no life for miles!" said Twilight sadly, her eyes drooping. "There's nowhere to find help..."
Everypony turned silent, trying to find a solution while I sat there in a daze. It became hard to think as well, like my mind was numb.
The Alicorn broke the silence with a sigh.
"Alright, I believe I've tortured you long enough. I'm bring you back to Ponyville."
"You're coming to Ponyville?"
"No. Unfortunately, I cannot." His voice sounded grave again. "My time has not yet come. I must stay and finish what I started." Nopony questioned what he meant.
"Then how are you going to bring all of us back?! Ponyville is miles away!"
"Easily." The tip of his horn glowed another time, making eye contact with everypony and I.
"It was a real joy to see you again. The Elements of Harmony have indeed not changed. But you will not hear from me for a long time." His eyes began to glow as well, shining in the sky that was almost dark. His voice had a second echo to it too. "And now, you must remember. You have one more to look after. Take care of him, for you are now a part of him, and, in a time to come, he will be a part of you."
"And, sadly, none of you will remember me, except him. Until the time comes, and I am called, I bid you all farewell!"
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A magical circle appeared on the outskirts of Ponyville. It exploded harmlessly, leaving behind it's contents. The contents of which were the Mane Six, and their human friend.
Twilight, having the most experience with teleporting, recovered the fastest.
"Ponyville? He teleported us all the way back to Ponyville?!"
"An' that ain't all, Twi." Applejack stood beside the Air Balloon and the bags of supplies and the one bag of treasure. The Alicorn had brought everything back with them, down to Keith's dropped sword that would have been buried in the underground. "That Alicorn sure didn't forget anything."
"YAY! WE'RE HOME!" Pinkie Pie cheered and bounced a few meters into the air. "Everything's gonna be okay, Keithy!"
"... Keithy...?"
Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked around for the human. A gasp escaped each of their lips, finding out why their friend was unresponsive.
Keith's eyes were shut, and lay motionless in Fluttershy's arms. She called his name in her cracking voice, as a single shed tear fell onto his battered, still face.
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On the other side of Equestria, an unknown Alicorn, stared off into the night, beyond his ruined city. He craned his neck and sighed, looking at the permanent scratches where his Cutie Mark should have been.
"Regret, Legion. See what has become of your people, and your home..." He whispered to himself.
The Alicorn took slow hoofsteps up to the podium. He brought his legs up, going back into his resting position.
"That day has not come, my friend. Rest while you can."
On top of the last standing structure of the lost civilization, stone magically cocooned the grey Alicorn once more. And silence fell on the last ruins of the only humans of Equestria, including their maker.