The Balance of Harmony

by The Rising Tide of Night

Chapter 19: The Endless One

Word had obviously spread among the dragons of the death of Syrothrax, so as I made my way up, not bothering to hide my presence, I was avoided. Nearly any dragon that caught sight of me, my staff lit with purple magic, death on my face and murder in my eye, stepped aside as quickly as possible. Only one dragon challenged me on my way up, a red dragon, obviously young and eager to prove himself. I made short work of him by grabbing him with my magic and slamming him into the side of the mountain, impaling him on the rock spikes in the same way Fluttershy had been, barely blinking as I strode by his body.

Eventually, I reached the cave at the top of the mountain. I strode into it, heedless of the dangers, and approached the old dragon there, lying on his treasure trove. He was huge, easily larger that Syrothrax had been, and had a golden sheen to his scales. Razor-sharp spines ran down his back in two rows, all the way down to the tip of his tail. His wings were gigantic, each one easily the size of the cave entrance, and he unfurled them as he stood up, looking down at me from large silver eyes, a large scar running over the left one. He opened his grizzled mouth to speak, and I saw teeth as large as I was, dripping with what appeared to be venom that sizzled when it landed on the rock floor.

“I see you have passed Syrothrax,” the dragon spoke, his rumbling voice echoing through the cavern. “I am the Endless One. I have watched over my kind for eons from this cave. You are the first to ever best Syrothrax in his long, long time as my gatekeeper. To whom do I have the honor of addressing?”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle,” I replied, as calmly as I could. “And I am here to kill you and take the element of Harmony that you hold.”

The Endless One chuckled, his rumbling voice shaking the ground. “There is no need for more violence, little Twilight. You and your friends have already put up an admirable fight, and there is no need to lose someone as remarkable as yourself in a bout of madness.”

I glared up at him, determined to make him pay for the loss of my friends, but my glare merely flowed off of him like water. He bent his head down towards me, looking me in the eye, his vertical pupil staring. I stared back, unmoved by the force of his gaze, and I heard him begin to chuckle once more. “Very well, little Twilight,” he said. “I see the determination in your face. I offer you a choice: you may leave this place now, and I will make sure you are unmolested by my kind. Or you may fight me for the element you seek, risking your life once more. Should you win, I will grant you the element and safe passage from here.”

I stepped back, readying myself, fury in my heart. “What you offer is no choice at all,” I replied. “I would be stepping on the memories of my friends if I left without the element.” I raised my staff, charging it with magic. “I will fight you.”

He nodded expectantly. “As I would have expected. Very well. Let us make the fight a little more fair.” With that, his form shimmered, and he began to shrink, spines and wings receding into his body, his mouth merging into his face, and his tail shrinking. A few seconds later, a large, robed bearded man was standing before me, golden hair fluttering, and a scar running over his left eye. He walked over to a certain spot in his treasure trove and grabbed an ornate shield and longsword. Striding back to the center of the cave, he took the time to fasten his shield to his left arm, glancing over at me expectantly. Taking the hint, I drew Fluttershy’s guns, checking the clips one by one and reloading quickly, followed by Applejack’s rifle, which I slung back over my shoulder after reloading. With that, we both slipped into ready stances, he with his sword and shield, and me with my staff and Fluttershy’s gun.

We flew at each other at the same time, his sword raised, and my staff glowing. He swung his sword with lightning speed, but I quickly teleported behind him, firing a handful of rounds at his back. He spun with a speed I couldn’t have imagined, deflecting the bullets with his shield. I followed up my shots with a quick bolt of lightning, which he somehow caught on his sword, absorbing the electricity and flinging it away to strike the wall of the cavern, raising a cloud of dust.

Frustrated, I launched myself at him, firing my gun, followed by a wide blast of fire. He leapt over the fire, sword driving down at my head. I used my momentum to drop and roll to the side as his sword sliced down, cutting a gouge out of the ground right where I had been standing. Rolling away, I swiped my staff at his feet, catching him in the foot, knocking him slightly off balance. Seeing an opening, I launched another bolt of lightning at him, but he somehow pushed off on one foot, flipping backwards and away from my blast.

I teleported away from his next strike and reappeared on the opposite side of the cavern, hoping to get a chance to catch my breath. Multiple teleportation spells, plus all of the magic that I had been throwing about during the battle with Syrothrax, combined with all that my friends and I had been through on our journey to and up the mountain, were really starting to wear on me, and I could feel the fatigue in my limbs. Unfortunately, I didn’t get more than a few seconds respite before he rushed at me, sword at the ready.

I stabbed my staff down into the ground, sending a shockwave through the earth towards him. He merely flipped towards me over the shockwave, but I had been prepared for that as I dropped my staff and quickly unslung Applejack’s rifle. Aiming where I thought he would land, I fired three high-powered shots, dropped the rifle, and swept my staff back up. I saw that my aim had been true as my shots tore through his ornate shield, and I could tell that I had actually wounded him as he winced, his shield dropping. Emboldened, I quickly pulled out Fluttershy’s gun and rushed towards him while I still had an advantage.

I launched another bolt of lightning as I ran, following it up with a barrage of bullets. However, I was caught off guard as he once again caught the lightning on his sword, but instead of flinging off to the wall as I had expected, he spun his sword around and flung it back at me. Unable to dodge, I screamed as the lightning struck me, flinging me backwards to strike the rocky wall.

I stood there, convulsing as the lightning coursed through my body, and looked up in time to see him streaking in, sword held horizontal in front of him. Unable to teleport in time, I made a split second decision, grim smile on my face, and allowed him to come in. I screamed in pain as I felt his sword pierce my side, driving into the wall behind me as it slid through me. Fiery pain coursed through me as I looked down into his unflinching eyes. Mastering myself, I dropped my staff, reaching up with my right hand, and grabbed his sword hand as hard as I could, holding him there. His eyes flashed down to my hand, curious, then looked up at me as I raised my left hand, still holding Fluttershy’s gun. I placed the gun to his forehead, and without preamble, pulled the trigger. The explosion was deafening, and his head jerked back as he released the sword, slumping to the ground. I smiled down at him, pain wracking my body as I tried to pull the sword out of me, but my strength faded quickly, and I slumped, passing out.