25. The Final Sacrifice
Twilight's eyes flickered and twitched as she tossed and turned in her sleep. The thoughts of the final day had lain heavily upon her mind all through the night, filling her dreams with strange images of fires, the blasts of magical weaponry and yellow-eyed monsters. She was awoken from these dreams as she felt a hoof gently shaking her.
"Time to rise, my dear Twilight," Starswirls voice whispered. "The dawn is here."
She stretched her limbs and left her tent, the cool morning air rousing her senses. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes she saw the rest of her friends doing much of the same, stretching their tired limbs, having one last breakfast snack, mentally preparing themselves.
Rarity and Rainbow Dash stood off to the side, the unicorn using her magic to strap on the different pieces of their armour. Rainbow was dressing in the standard dark grey armour and flight-goggles of the Fjaereir griffons, while Rarity strapped on the slightly more ornate armour of a commander, with golden inlays and trims around the edges. A wide-brimmed helmet with brass-plated cheek-guards sat by her hooves.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, was slipping into a thick green tunic, similar to those worn by the deerfolk, and a small satchel hung over one shoulder. Pinkie Pie and Applejack donned simple grey cloaks, and Starswirl was bedecked in his classic blue robes and wide-brimmed hat, bells and all. Beside her own tent, Twilight saw a third grey cloak, folded neatly by the entrance.
"Where did all this come from?" she asked, picking up the cloak.
Rarity levitated it up off the ground and gently slipped it around her dark purple curls. "They were waiting outside our tents when we woke up. I suppose the others want us to look the part if we're going to fight alongside them."
"Heh, no complaints here," Rainbow replied, strapping the goggles over her fringe. "This armour is awesome! It feels pretty tough, but it's still light enough to fly in, perfect for me."
A few minutes later, the seven of them were all dressed up and ready to go. All around them the camps were abuzz with activity as all manner of creatures were getting their armour and weapons together, doing some quick stretches or getting one last bit of food in, before heading off to join their units. Squadrons of armoured griffons flew overhead, hovering in groups above the ground while deer were teleporting to their mustering points, their antlers glowing as they mentally prepared themselves.
"Well..." Twilight sighed, clipping her cloak on over her saddlebags. "I guess this is it."
The others nodded. Then, without a word, the seven gathered together in one final tight group hug. Rainbow Dash hugged Fluttershy, Twilight hugged Pinkie, Applejack hugged Rarity, Starswirl hugged Twilight, and they all hugged eachother, one last time.
"We got this far together," Applejack said firmly. "We'll get through this together."
No more words needed to be said. The ponies nodded and went their separate ways. Fluttershy headed to the support units to join the other battlefield medics, Pinkie trotted over to the diamond-dogs and Rainbow Dash took to the skies to join the swarm of griffons already there waiting. Twilight, Starswirl, Applejack and Rarity followed the rest of the creatures out of the camp to where they were gathering out on the plains. As they rounded the bend, the breath caught in their lungs.
There were hundreds, no, thousands of creatures gathered in the plains. The White Hart stood at the head of his mighty army of stags and does, dressed in his simple green robe and golden circlet, looking barely more ornately dressed than his troops. Beside him stood Gellert, dressed in the same armour as Rarity, albeit considerably larger, with a massive broadsword leaning against his side. And beside them also stood King Gideon, once again clad in his magnificent golden armour, gripping his hooked mace in his iron grip. After exchanging some quiet words, they saw the griffon commander take flight and rise up to the clouds above to join his soldiers.
Scattered among the deer, and flapping in the air just above them were the ground-detachment of the griffon troops, also clad in the same dark armour, most of them holding massive hand weapons and spears, but with some of them wielding their glowing crystal-powered muskets. And in their own small group separate from the others stood the antelope and the diamond-dogs. Pinkie's bright pink fur and mane stood out among the otherwise very grey and brown group like a neon light. There was a low murmuring throughout the host, a wave of nervous excitement and anxiety. And less than a kilometre away, at the far end of the valley, draped in shadows stood the mountain fortress of Burzkala, waiting for them.
The four ponies took their places in the front line of this massive host, as Gideon and the White Hart stepped out in front of the horde. The deerfolk before them, the griffons hovering just above them, the antelopes and diamond-dogs stood just to the side. And scattered among them all, were seven little ponies, far away from home.
"Atten-shun!" Gideon shouted. The entire host fell silent and stood to attention. He took a deep breath as he looked over the swarm of creatures standing before him. "Well, my fellows, my brothers in arms, this is it. No more hiding, no more little skirmishes, this is the big one... At long last we stand before these yellow-eyed monsters, these Blightlings. This time, it's them or us."
He began to pace back and forth, up and down the line as he continued his speech. "And I won't deny we face adversity. Our numbers may be great, but theirs are still greater. And they hide behind their high walls because my friends, they know! They know that by skill, strength and sheer willpower alone, each one of you is worth ten of them!"
The griffons and dogs cheered, rattling their weapons in the air, joined by the stamping and tramping of the deer and antelope.
"We may face a hard day ahead, but we will never face defeat!" Gideon boomed. "We shall never know defeat if we stand together, move as one, fight as one, breathe as one, all with one purpose: To destroy the accursed Blight, and free the Southlands, and indeed all lands, from their vile poison! Already we have won a great victory against them in the forests of Cervidas. Today, we add another, far greater victory to the history of our civilisations! Today, we fight!!"
He swung his mace in the air as the horde roared in approval once again. "Many of us carry deep scars, memories of things that these hated creatures have done to us. For some of us, they are deeper than others."
The White Hart lowered his head, shielding his face from the hordes gaze as he wiped a single tear from his cheek.
"And that is why we are here, my friends! Today we pay them back tenfold for everything they have done to us, and to our beloved lands! Today we look them in their yellow eyes and we say, 'No more!' Who stands with me?"
Not a single creature remained silent. Weapons were raised into the air, deer shot flares and magical sparks into the sky above, and a mighty roar swelled up from the horde before them like thunder. Even the ponies could not help but cheer as Gideon worked up the army. They were ready to fight.
Gideon looked to the White Hart as he stepped aside to let him speak. He stepped up to join the griffon king with a smile. "Honestly, how can you expect me to follow up a speech quite like that?" he said in a clear voice. A ripple of laughter went through the horde. "But in all seriousness, there is little more I wish to add to that. I see before me the bravest creatures I could ever fight alongside, and I honestly could not ask for a greater army to fight by my side. So come, warriors, friends, let us go to war!!"
The horde raised another cacophonous cheer. The griffons took to the air again, flying high into the clouds, led by Gideon and Gordon. The rest of the horde went in a rush like a colossal tidal wave sweeping over the land, rushing down the valley at full force, screaming and roaring at the tops of their voices. Rarity and Gellert galloped at full pelt, ignoring the weight of the heavy armour as the adrenaline took over, at the head of a detachment of griffons all wielding their muskets which fizzed and crackled with magical energy. The White Hart led the deer, sprinting at the head of the massive arrowhead formation. and Pinkie Pie put on her serious determined as she ran alongside the diamond dogs and antelopes. At last, the battle was joined!
The Blight were ready, however. All atop the walls of the fortress came a volley of arrows, slingstones and magical missiles that rained down upon the screaming horde. The antlers of hundreds of deer glittered and glowed and magical force fields sprung up above the army, bouncing the majority of the missiles off, only a few hitting their marks. When they were within firing range of the fortress, the front line of deer used their magic to summon up broad barricades of earth that rose from the ground, blocking off most attacks.
That was the sign the diamond dogs needed. Skidding to a halt behind these barricades, Ziggy and Bowie raised their paws to signal to their troops. "Now, dogs! Dig, dig for victory!!"
Fourscore diamond dogs leapt down and with a spray of loam and grit, began digging deep into the ground as they tunnelled towards the fortress. Pinkie Pie could be heard among them, singing at the top of her voice:
"I'm a pony and I'm diiiigging a hoooole, diggy diggy hoooole, I'm diiigging a hooole..."
As they dug, Rarity trotted up and down the barricades as her griffons set up their muskets along the top. "Griffons, ready!" she barked in her best military-commander voice. "Concentrate your fire on the creatures on the tops of the walls! Keep them occupied while the Deer deal with the walls. First rank, take aim... Fire!!"
The plains between the attackers' barricades and the walls of Burzkala lit up as bolts of crackling green lightning spewed forth from the muskets, blasting holes in the walls and whizzing off over the top. Blightlings fell reeling and burning, collapsing backwards or tumbling down from the walls as more came to replace them, firing back with their own magical blasts and arrows and slings.
High in the air, the griffons watched with readied weapons as the battle raged below. Rainbow Dash flapped impatiently beside Gordon, a sword hanging from her foreleg. "C'mon, when are we gonna join the fight already?!"
"Steady miss Dash, we wait until we're needed!" Gideon roared from above her. Peering down at the melee, he saw an opportunity. "Aha! FIRST WAVE, DIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!"
The front squadron of griffons swooped down from the clouds, screeching and roaring their battlecries as they swung their weapons and fired their muskets down at the fortress. Rainbow watched with bated breath as they flew low over the walls, sweeping through gangs of blightlings before flying up along the mountainside towards the tower, firing at will at the enemy. Many blasts of green energy struck the buildings, setting their roofs ablaze. Then the griffons went up the side of the tower, firing in any windows or peepholes they came across, before fanning out and flying back down towards the attacking horde outside, ready to begin another sweep.
"Hahah! Excellent form, perfectly executed!" Gideon chortled. "Stand by, second wave!"
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and slipped her goggles down over her eyes as she readied herself for once the second wave had gone. Next to her, Gordon did the same, ready to lead his wave into the fray.
"Sire! The walls are holding, but there are griffons coming down from the clouds at us!"
"Light up the skies." the Allfather rumbled from within his tank. "Open fire on those clouds, get them out of hiding. In the mean time, do not let the walls fall!"
The blightling commander nodded and sprinted out of the room. Maugoth sat obediently scrubbing away at the tanks, taking a chance every now and then to peek out the windows down at the battle.
"And if they do get in, we still have our two secret weapons ready to be released."
Maugoth nodded as he skulked away to check on the machines elsewhere in the room, keeping his head low to hide his devious grin. And that, he thought to himself, will give me the perfect diversion to carry out my plan.
Beams yellow magic rocketed up into the air above the battle, into the clouds. Rainbow winced as she saw the beams crash into a few griffons around her, sending them tumbling to the ground below, but most of them stood firm.
"Steady, my hawks!" Gideon cried. "They're trying to flush us out!" He then pointed his mace down at the walls. "SECOND WAVE, DIIIIIIVE!!"
Holding his sword high, Gordon gave a wink to Rainbow Dash and plunged down from the clouds, leading a hundred griffons behind him griffons behind him. He mimicked the first wave, swooping low and raining green lightning down on the walls of the fortress.
"Prepare yourself, Rainbow Dash!" Gideon boomed. "You'll be going down in the next wave!"
Rainbow nodded. "I'm ready!"
The battle raged on for a good hour as the assault slowly surged forward. The griffons had been forced to fall back somewhat as the blightlings brought more of their magic-users onto the walltops, to fire at them any time they got too low or close to the walls. They had already taken out a good twoscore griffons so for now, the griffons hovered high above the fortress, keeping most of the troops on the walltops pinned down with their energy muskets.
Meanwhile down on the ground, slow progress was being made. With the walltop defenders occupied with the griffons, the deer, grounded griffons and the unicorns had taken the opportunity to concentrate on the walls themselves. Coordinating together, they concentrated their fire all on two spots on the walls, blasting away at them with everything they had. Enormous smouldering craters pocked the walls, but they still stood relatively firm.
"Keep it up!" Rarity shouted above the din of battle, as she hurled rock after rock at the wall with her magic, alongside twilight who blasted away with her own magic. "You're doing magnificently! The walls surely won't hold for much longer!"
The White Hart trotted up and sat down beside her, taking a quick drink from a canteen. "How goes the battle on this end, Rarity?"
"Well enough, I suppose," Rarity replied. " The walls aren't falling just yet, but I'd imagine they won't be holding for much longer. How about you?"
The White Hart ran a hoof down his face, ducking as a beam of yellow magic screeched over his head. "Pretty much the same. It's nice of the griffons to keep the fainum distracted for now while we do this."
An antelope suddenly trotted up to them, narrowly avoiding a slingstone whistling between her horns. "Excuse me! Your majesty, we have news from the tunnels! The diamond-dogs have reached under the walls. They're ready to surface whenever you want."
They all ducked behind the barricade as a particularly large magic missile slammed into the earthen wall. A doe fell from the top of the ridge with a scream and a sickening crunch as she landed beside Rarity, an ugly searing wound through to her stomach.
The White Hart frowned and popped up from behind the ridge, conjuring up a barrage of silvery arrows and sending them straight at the walls, catching four blightlings off guard and sending them hurtling backwards off the walls.
"Then go, tell them to surface!" he said to the antelope, who bowed briefly and sprinted back to the tunnels. "Rarity, you keep up the barrage on this end of the walls, I must return to my people at the other end. Good luck!"
With a shimmer of his antlers, the White Hart vanished into thin air, leaving the ponies to continue the battle. Applejack shored up a segment of the barricade that was threatening to fall and expose a group of griffons reloading behind it. "Sheesh, griffons attackin' from the sky, diamond-dogs attackin' from below... are wars always this complicated?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Applejack!" Rarity replied as she helped pack the dirt tighter and denser. "I believe this is a first for most of us!"
Behind the walls of the fortress, blightlings scurried hither and thither in their rush to fend off the attacking horde. So focused were they on the deer blasting away at their walls, and the griffons raining green death from above, that none of them seemed to notice as the ground began to stir.
Small bumps in the ground rose up, finally giving way to broad holes. The grizzled snout of a diamond-dog poked up from one of the holes, looking around before hopping out of the hole and signalling inside the tunnel.
Before the blightlings had a chance to react, more holes burst open from underground, and out poured a pack of forty or so hulking diamond-dogs, some dressed in crude plate armour while the rest sore simple clothing, all armed to the teeth with spears, swords and clubs. The nimble antelope followed behind, charging out of the holes with their heads lowered, horns ready to skewer any monsters that tried to come at them.
And finally, last but certainly not least, a pink blur leapt out of the hole and sprinted off about the bailey of the fortress, pushing helmets over eyes, tripping blightlings over their own spears, and leading them on a merry chase throughout the bailey. "Come on slowpokes!" Pinkie pie cried gleefully. "Yoohoo, come and get me! Tag, you're it! Now you're it!!"
Soon she had a whole line of yellow-eyed brutes chasing after her, finally over the initial shock of this pink monstrosity's appearance inside their own fort. But it was too little too late for the blightlings, as Pinkie proved to be the perfect distraction as the diamond dogs leapt at them, fighting with tooth, claw and any weapons they could lay their hands upon. Soon the lower walls were in chaos, as they found themselves under attack from all sides, blasted from outside the walls by the deer, bludgeoned from inside by the dogs and antelopes, and burnt from above by the griffons.
Rarity and Gellert paused a moment to listen to the pandemonium going on inside the walls, a smile gracing their respective lips and beak. "Sounds like your pink friend is doing her job well!" Gellert said with a laugh. "C'mon you lot, press onward! We got 'em on the ropes now!!"
With a rousing battlecry, the griffons behind the barricade fought with newfound charisma, blasting away at the walls with all their might. All the while the griffons flying overhead fired away at the walltops, some even coming down to land inside the castle to help the diamond-dogs and antelopes. So far, so good.
Maugoth smirked as he watched the commanders hurrying in and out of the Allfather's chamber. He knew he shouldn't be so happy. The enemy was inside Burzkala, the soldiers were being worn ragged by the multiple attacks from every direction, and the walls would only hold up against the near-constant barrage of magic for so long.
It was certainly drastic measures, but in short everything was turning up just as Maugoth needed it. The soldiers were busy fighting, the commanders were busy running about the place and the Allfather was busy organising everything and keeping it all in order. And doing a rather poor job at it to be fair.
"They're inside the walls!" one commander wailed, the very same officer who had mocked him the other day. "They've been diggin' tunnels under the walls! This whole fortress is built on volcanic rock, how is that possible?!"
"How long do you estimate before the lower walls fall?" The Allfather asked.
The commander shrugged. "Who can say, Sire? With the winged ones flying over our defences, the rest of the fortress may end up falling before the walls!"
"We await your orders, sire!" another officer said, bowing low before the tank. "Sh-should we order the troops to fall back to the upper wall?"
"No. The ones on the walls are already lost," It replied. "Only call for our children down in the bailey to fall back to the upper wall. The rest will prove a useful distraction... and in the meantime, we think it may be time to show those attackers our secret weapons."
The officers gasped. "Are you sure, sire? I mean, they aren't fully blessed yet, we can't be certain if they'll..."
"Look around you, our son! The enemy are at our gates and our home is falling! We have no other options at this point. Now do it, release the secret weapons!"
Hesitantly, the officer bowed and rushed to the elevator, calling downwards "Release the secret weapons!"
His words were echoed down the tower to the ground floor, out into the bailey and through the fortress, each blightling carrying the message to the next, until the command reached the bowels of the mountain itself. A single blightling scurried down a narrow tunnel to a massive cave dug out of the volcanic rock, with a vast iron door blocking off one end. "Orders from the Allfather himself! He says to release them!!"
The robed guards, their yellow eyes dim from lack of sunlight for so long, hurried to their posts on the massive door. A large wheel stood off to one side of the door, and the robed blightlings got to pushing it around. With a mighty creaking and scraping of iron on stone, the doors slowly began to open, and a deep rumbling growl emanated from within. Smokey inky blackness poured forth from the doorway, and two massive figures emerged.
"Oh come on, you can't be worn out already!"
Pinkie leaned over a collapsed blightling, smirking and booping him on the nose as he struggled to get back on his clawed feet. All around her, her fellow attackers were cheering as they watched the blightlings retreating up the mountainside, towards the upper wall surrounding the tower. They had them on the run!
But she stumbled and fell backwards as the ground below her feet rumbled and shook. All around her many other creatures were knocked to the ground by the sudden shaking. "What the heck was that? An earthquake?"
The blightling smirked up at her through pointed teeth. "That, little pony... was your doom."
And then the mountainside exploded.
It was almost as if the old volcano was alive and active once more. The entire side of the mountain burst in a shower of dust and rock, sending boulders tumbling down the bailey, crushing any unfortunate creatures who stood in its way, blightling, griffon, dog and antelope alike. An enormous gaping hole was left in the mountain, large enough to push an entire house through it. Surrounded by wisps of black smoke, a claw the size of a tree emerged.
Dragons.
Two enormous dragons emerged from the hole in the mountain, blinking bleary eyes in the daylight. At some time they would have been magnificent strong creatures, on par with the dragon the ponies had encountered at the top of the Smokey Mountain. But whatever the Blight had been doing to them had rotted and poisoned their flesh, reducing them to something out of a horror movie. Ribs and exposed bones poked out from under their rotten blackened flesh and faded scales, and their wings bore huge tears and ragged holes. But their teeth remained razor-sharp and massive as ever, and despite their condition, the two dragons moved with slow determination.
A group of griffons opened fire upon one of the dragons, their lightning guns singeing his flesh. The dragon roared in pain, the sound rattling the timbers of every building within a ten-mile radius, and lunged forwards at the griffons. They tried to flee, but they were backed up against the wall. Before they could move to the side the dragon was upon them, slamming headlong through the wall as its weight carried it forwards. With another earsplitting roar it burst out from inside the wall and stomped through the battlefield, looking for any potential snacks.
At the barricade, Gellert and Rarity watched with slack jaws as the hideous thing that was once a dragon smashed through the wall, following it up by smashing through their soldiers. The dragon swept deer, blighting and griffon alike aside, crushing them underfoot or incinerating them where they stood with great gouts of flame.
"By my beak, where did that monster come from?!!" Gellert muttered aloud.
"They must have had it hidden inside that fortress!" Rarity replied, glancing over at the mountain, where the other dragon was clambering up the mountainside. "And look, there's another one inside the walls! It's heading up towards the tower. What can we do now?"
Gellert watched the dragon on its rampage across the plains, as the battle went on all around it. "Rarity, you and the White Hart take your troops towards that breach in the wall and get inside!"
"What about you?" Rarity asked.
Gellert stood up atop the barricade, letting out a loud screech. His griffons answered his call with calls of their own, and rallied around him. "We're going after that dragon. Try to draw it away from the battle so we can get rid of it safely!"
Rarity grabbed him by the collar. "Are you insane?! That dragon will rip you to pieces!"
"We don't have a choice!" Gellert shouted back. "We might not be able to stop it, but we can at least get it away... Besides, we haven't gotten to test our muskets on dragonhide yet."
He shrugged Rarity's hooves off his collar and took to the sky, several squadrons of griffons following him. He screeched again, and the waves of griffons led by Gordon joined the formation, flying in an arrowhead formation at the dragon.
The beast reared its head, seeing the swarm of griffons heading straight for it, and belched forth another fireball. The griffons broke formation, dodging and ducking around the flames, though a few were not fast enough and tumbled down to the ground with burning wings and tailfeathers. "Muskets ready!" Gellert roared. From all around him came the whirring and clicking of dozens of their guns cocking and powering up.
The dragon slashed at them with its massive claws, knocking griffons hither and yon as they swooped low over its head, all the while roaring and snarling at its assailants.
"FIRE!!"
Again the sky lit up as there came the cracking noise of muskets discharging their bolts of green energy, hitting their mark right on the dragon's flank and belly. It screeched and roared louder as several beams of energy hit weakspots in its armoured scales, scorching its flesh underneath. The dragon thrashed about in fury and pain, its tail and claws batting griffons out of the sky and crushing any creatures unfortunate to be near its feet.
Gellert led a squadron up and around the dragon's head, firing their muskets at any weakspots, in its eyes, its ears, down its throat. But no matter how much of a barrage they fired at the creature it refused to go down. It swiped its claws at another group of griffons flying just past its shoulders, and Gellert felt his heart stop a moment as he saw Gordon among them. The dragons claws mercifully missed him, but the young griffon prince was not fast enough to escape harm entirely. The scaled wrist of the dragon slammed into his back, sending him hurtling unconscious towards the ground with a broken wing.
From high in the clouds Rainbow Dash watched the battle against the dragon, impatient to get in to help the fight herself. Seeing Gordon falling to the ground was the final straw for her.
"Gordon's been hit!" she shouted, standing up and spreading her wings. "I'm going in after him!"
Before anyone could say anything she had taken off, zooming straight down towards the fallen prince. Gideon flew to the edge of the cloud.
"Impetuous mare!" he barked as a grin formed on his beak. "Ah well, who wants to live forever, eh? Hahah!"
He raised his mace in the air, taking to the air. "TOGETHER, MY HAWKS! DIIIIIIIIIIVE!"
Hundreds of griffons screeched in reply and followed him. The clouds burst from within as the entire force of griffons descended from upon high, weapons swinging and muskets firing, to join the battle below.
Gideon himself was the first to join the fray, flying just above the dragon's head as he swung his mace below him once! Twice! Thrice! The dragon screeched in agony, gnashing at the golden-armoured griffon as he flew just out of reach. "Rainbow Dash! Get my son out of here!!"
Rainbow nodded, swooping down to the ground at breakneck speed, as Gordon tumbled downwards just below her. Come on, she thought as she put on a burst of speed, gotta catch him... just a little...faster...
"Gotcha!" She swooped up and away as she grabbed Gordon in her forehooves, his pawed hind legs just scraping the ground as they glided along the ground, narrowly avoiding the battle going on below. Shifting him around a bit, she put on another burst of speed and headed away from the melee, dodging a blast of magic from a blightling on the wall below her.
"There, that should hold it in place for now. Just lie still and let the salve take effect."
Fluttershy wiped her forehooves on her leathery apron. She had been working virtually nonstop since the battle had begun from a small post she and the other medics had set up just outside the battlefield. Most of the medics were out in the fight, providing quick fixes and healing spells wherever they could, and transporting the more serious cases to her for a more thorough healing. She and five deer stayed at the post, while a squadron of griffons had been assigned to help moving the injured to them. Already the ground surrounding the post was crowded with unconscious and resting creatures groaning and grunting with pain.
"Mmph, many thanks pony," replied the grey-feathered griffon who sat before her. He had been flown in with a broken foreleg, and with a splint and bandage applied, he hobbled off to find somewhere to rest before returning to the battle.
"I must say, friend Fluttershy," one of the other medics said as she dabbed soothing-cream onto a stag's burnt thigh, "You're handling your duty remarkably well."
Fluttershy smiled. "I guess I just work well under pressure. And I hate to see anypony suffer, especially like this... Oh, Rainbow Dash! You're not hurt are you?"
Rainbow flapped down to land in the medics' post, Gordon slumped unconsciously on her back. "Hey Fluttershy. I'm fine, but Gordon here needs some help. You wouldn't believe it, but they have a pair of dragons in there! Gordon was lucky to get out alive, but I think his wings are pretty messed up."
The deer hoisted Gordon onto a spare bed and began tending to his injuries, while Fluttershy gave a quick hug to Rainbow Dash.
"Dragons?! Oh my, that can't be good at all! I'm glad to see you're okay though. What's going on out there? How are the others?"
"Well, we've managed to get past the walls," Rainbow replied, pointing to the fortress. "Pinkie Pie and the dogs and antelopes are inside doing their thing, Rarity's leading them through the hole in the wall while the griffons are keeping the dragon occupied... heck, pretty much everything was going pretty smoothly until those dragons showed up!"
"And what about Yarrow? Have you seen him? Is he alright?" Fluttershy asked urgently.
"He's doing fine, little pony."
The two pegasi looked to one of the stags resting on a nearby bed. He raised his head with a strained smile. "Nnngh... ouch... I saw Yarrow out on the battlefield not long ago. He was with your friend Rarity, heading inside the fortress. He looked a bit bruised and battered, but otherwise well."
Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh good... And what about Twilight, Applejack and Starswirl?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Last I saw them they were out in front of the walls. I guess they got inside with Rarity too... Well, I'd better get back to my squadron, help with that dragon."
She gave one last quick hug to Fluttershy before flying back in the direction of the battle. "Be careful Rainbow," Fluttershy whispered as she watched her go.
"What is that dragon doing?! It's supposed to be attacking them, not coming back," The Allfather raged. "Somebody get out there and get it away from the tower and out onto the battlefield, now!"
An officer bowed and rushed out of the doorway, taking to its ragged leathery wings instead of bothering with the elevator. "The other dragon is proving troublesome too sire," the last remaining officer said. "It's attacking anything it sees, regardless of what side they're on... Sire, what should we do?!"
The Allfather growled. "We need a moment to think clearly without you lot bothering us. Get out, now!"
The officer needed no second bidding, scampering out of the chamber. In her haste, the blightling did not seem to notice that she had dropped her weapon on the way out, leaving a large iron mace lying on the floor.
Maugoth dutifully cleared it to the side, trying his best to hide the chuckle of malicious glee in his throat. This was all he needed.
"Well, Allfather, it seems things aren't going too well," he said in a patronisingly soothing voice. "So much for your 'secret weapons'."
The creature in the tank glared a bulbous eye at him. "How dare you talk this way to your dear allfather?"
"I'm just saying," Maugoth replied. "That for once I'm glad I'm not in the thick of things out there. All this stress and urgency, it's really too much for a creature to bare. I imagine even you're feeling the strain of it."
The mace gripped in his teeth, he slowly strode towards the tank. "What are you...?"
Death or glory. All the beans in the can, or nothingness and oblivion. The Blight was falling, and he was the only one who could save it. He knew he had to do something, or else this slovenly monster in the tank would lead them to ruin. Well, no more. "Maybe it's time you let someone else take over!"
With a triumphant howl, Maugoth swung the mace at the Allfather's tank. It made a resounding 'THUNK', leaving cracks and dents in the thick glass. Pulling back, he swung again and again, the cracks spreading as the glass weakened. The Allfather inside howled and burbled with shock and alarm, but no aid came.
Finally, with one last swing, the glass shattered, spilling the putrid blackness out of the tank, straight into Maugoth's face. He coughed and sputtered, but breathed deep of the smoke as he turned all the knobs and dials on the control panels up to maximum, and clambered through the hole in the tank. Ignoring the cuts against the broken glass, he leapt onto the Allfather's slimy corpulent body, climbing up until he rested right next to Its face.
"Now," he said with a maniacal grin. "It's my turn!"
He wrenched the mask from the Allfather's blubbering mouth and kicked the bloated thing aside, where it lay wheezing and twitching at the bottom of the tank. He slapped the mask firmly onto his face and breathed deep of the Black Blessing, and it streamed at full force into his lungs. He could feel it. He could feel the power of the Blight coursing through his whole body, changing him. Making him stronger and stronger with every breath he took, every second that passed.
More. He needed more. He could feel and see his body twisting and warping under the power of the Blight being pumped into his mouth and snout, but it wasn't enough. He wanted more, he craved more power!
He looked down at the pathetic blubbering thing that had once been the Allfather. He was the new Allfather, and he would need all the power he could get. Starting with whatever power remained in the thing's body.
Stretching out a limb that sprouted bony spines from under his skin, he reached down and touched the thing, and its body seized up. Maugoth tilted his head back in ecstasy as he felt its body becoming one with his own, being absorbed into his being, his energy being added to his own.
More.
As he grew larger and larger, he smashed the glass tank clean open and strode out, each stomp rattling the timbers of the tower. He needed still more power. He could sense more downstairs, more little pockets of energy that he craved. He could no longer think of anything else. Any plans Maugoth may have had once he claimed the power of the Allfather were gone. Any strategies for rallying the rest of the Blight to his leadership were gone. Now there was nought but the desire to feed.
The creature known as Maugoth was gone. Now, only the Blight remained.
"FIRE!"
A hundred crystal-infused muskets fired, their emerald-green blasts crackling through the air into the dragon that flew not far from them. The sheer force of the blast was enough to send the beast slamming into the ground below, crushing dozens beneath its bulk.
"C'mon, hawks!" Gellert barked as he led the charge. "Recharge and prepare to fire again! We've almost got it beat!"
But he had no chance to give the command to fire. The dragon's thrashing tail slammed full-on into him, flattening him into the ground to join any other unfortunate creatures who had gotten too close. His breathing ragged, and his wings twisted and broken, he coughed and gagged as he desperately tried to drag himself away from the dragon.
Gideon snarled at the beats below. "Damnation!" he shouted. "Will that thing not stay down?!"
"It's no good, your majesty!" a griffon next to him shouted back. "We can hurt 'im, but nothing seems to stick!"
"There is one thing," Gideon muttered to himself. "It would be dangerous, but it might do the trick... Rainbow Dash!"
The pegasus flew to his side. "What's up?"
"Can you keep that beast distracted for a few seconds? My griffons and I will need a moment to prepare for our next attack."
"You got it!" Rainbow threw a smart salute and swooped down at the dragon. Gritting her teeth from the strain, she tucked her wings in and swung in close to the dragon's head, flying circles around it. The dragon snapped at her, but she dodged out of the way just in time, and delivered a flying kick to its snout, which infuriated it further.
It frowned straight at her, and she could see its stomach beginning to swell, and an ominously-familiar glow being emitted from its throat. She quickly began to fly upwards, eager to get out of range. "Whenever you're ready, Gideon!"
"Nearly there!" Gideon cried back as his griffons aimed their muskets at the beast's head one more time. Their muskets began to glow more brightly, as each one hummed with magical energy. They were not meant to build up this much energy in a single shot. "Steady...steady..."
The dragon reared back its head, opening its mouth. "NOW, YOU GUYS!" Rainbow shrieked desperately.
"FIRE!"
A hundred beams of green light, each nearly a foot across, boomed out from the griffons. For several of the griffons, their overcharged muskets exploded in their grip, but the damage had been done. The beams blasted into the dragon's head and body, searing the scales off its skin and sending it flying backwards, screaming in agony, until it collided with a mountain with an earthshattering quake and slid down, its body like a broken doll.
The griffons cheered as the creature's last death throes came to a stop and it lay still, the cheer spreading across the battlefield, all the way to within the walls of Burzkala, where chaos reigned.
The blightlings were trapped. On one side the creatures attacking them were pressing ever inward, having already taken the walls and gaining more and more ground in the bailey. And on the other side was the tower, and the other dragon who coiled itself around the walls of the tower, watching and roaring at anything that dared come closer.
Rarity, Starswirl and Twilight stood watching the battle form atop the walls, firing off bolt after bolt of magical energy. They cheered as well as the first dragon was taken down, before turning and focusing their efforts on the blightlings that remained inside the fortress.
"You know, call me crazy," Starswirl shouted. "But we may just win this!"
Rarity nodded. "I know! And the sooner this whole fight is over, the better! We've already taken some rather heavy damage all around. That first dragon in particular was a bother."
"Hah, that's puttin' it mildly!"
Applejack clambered up the steps to the walltop, a scratch across her cheek and her cloak ragged and torn. "One pony reportin' back! We got the last of those things pinned down in there, but there's still more comin' out of the tower up there! Not enough to change much though."
The ponies peered up at the top of the mountain where the tower stood, and sure enough, there were crowds of small shadowy figures emerging from the base of the tower and sprinting down the mountainside, straight into the battle that raged below.
"Hang on a moment," Rarity said, looking closer at the new arrivals. "None of these new blighters have any weapons! What do you suppose that's about?"
Applejack shrugged. "Dunno, but... hey, is it just me or do they look kinda scared? I mean, more than you normally would be in the middle of a fight like this?"
Sure enough, the blightlings that streamed out of the tower in droves were unarmed and many looked terrifying, some looking over their shoulders and screaming, paying no heed as they ran down the hill to their inevitable demise.
"Now what do you suppose has them so frightened?" Rarity asked. "You don't suppose they have some new secret weapon inside there or something, do you?"
As if on cue, there came a great rumbling and creaking sound as the tower quaked. The cheers and cries of the battle dulled slightly as all attention turned to the tower.
"Oh, ya just had to go and say it, didn't you!!" Applejack shouted at Rarity.
The tower and the upper wall seemed to burst from within as there came a burbling, slavering sound from something inside the tower. Inky blackness poured out from it, the remainders of the Black Blessing, no longer contained to the Allfather's tanks, streamed out freely into the sky and down the mountainside. And from out of this blackness, Maugoth emerged.
Or at least, the thing that had once been Maugoth emerged. For now, It was far beyond recognition as any single creature. A titanic amorphous mass of flesh that defied any accurate sane description rolled and oozed Its way out of the tower, dragged by formless limbs that seemed to grow from its front in an instant. Bulging eyes and screaming mouths covered its skin, and endless limbs, teeth, spines and tails sprouted and receded to and from its body. With a polypous tendril, it reached out to the dragon who had clambered up the side of the tower, wrapping around its struggling form. The dragon roared and screeched and blew great blasts of flame at the thing, but to little effect. In fact, the amorphous thing seemed to enjoy it, growing slightly larger as the flames hit Its flesh. But regardless of the dragon's struggles, it was dragged closer and close to the thing until the dragon was completely engulfed into the things bulk, which grew larger as a result.
"... I'm not sure if that's a relief or not," Twilight said, her voice weak with terror.
The thing burbled and grumbled as it shifted around, facing the mountainside below. Its myriad hundred mouths opened and spoke a single word in a hundred voices, sounding like some demonic choir of forsaken souls. "MORE!"
The mass began to inch its way down the mountainside, any creature It came across being absorbed and adding to its size. The creatures in the bailey below and in the air above all bore down upon It, firing endless beams of green lightning, silver magical arrows and any projectile weapons they could lay their hands on, all at the thing that rolled and shifted to the mountainside. But with every blast that struck home, the thing still got only larger, slowing down only a tiny amount.
"What is that thing?!!" Rarity screamed, unable to tear her eyes away from the abomination.
"Whatever it is," Starswirl replied in a hushed voice. "It's evil."
"And hungry too, by the looks of it!" Applejack pointed to where a group of hapless blightlings were being absorbed by the thing. "It's absorbin' anythin' it touches, and it doesn't look like magic has much effect on it!"
"What do we do, what do we do?!!"
"I'm thinking, let me think!" Twilight screamed above the cacophony all around her. After a moment, she continued. "Alright, for starters, Rarity, Applejack, you go down there and tell everybody to get away quickly! They need to get outside the walls and far away as quickly as possible!"
The two ponies nodded and hurried down the steps to spread the word. Starswirl turned to Twilight. "How can we defeat it Twilight? It seems no matter what we throw at that... thing, it only gets stronger!"
Twilight slumped down on the stone wall. "I... I don't know! I mean, if we keep firing at it, it's just gonna get bigger and stronger... but if we just do nothing and leave then, well, it's still out here..."
Starswirl paced back and forth as he dwelt on the problem himself. "Hmm... Well, that thing looks like whatever it is, it has some sort of physical body, and as you and I no doubt know, a body can only contain so much energy and power. Perhaps if we had everybody all firing at the thing at once, we could give it more power than it could handle, and it would be destroyed by the pressure?"
Twilight shook her head as she watched the thing. It was now halfway down the mountainside, heading for the army that now ran and flew through the breach in the wall and out on the battlefield behind them. "Maybe... but that thing, it came from inside the tower where the Source was, so it's probably already absorbed all that. With a creature that massive and that power... I can't even begin to imagine how much power that would require. You'd practically need the power of..."
The words died in her throat, however, as realisation hit her like a meteorite. Power. Not just power, but enormous amounts of power, more power than anypony could imagine.
She quickly flipped open her saddlebag and pulled it out. The little lacquered wooden box. The little box that had been with her ever since they left the Pillars of Prasinus all that time ago.
Starswirl saw her looking at the box, then to the thing that had once been Maugoth, and realisation dawned upon him as well. "You cannot be serious."
"I am." Twilight stood up, the box held in her telekinetic grip.
"But we've strived to keep that as far away from the Blight as possible!" Starswirl replied. "And now you wish to just give it straight to its source?! That much power..."
"Could be enough," Twilight finished. "I just need to find some way to get it there without getting too close."
Starswirl put a restraining hoof on her shoulder. "But the Tears... all that power, put to that use? Do you really think that's wise?"
Twilight nodded. "You heard what Gellert said that night. Nopony should have that much power made available to them. And especially no one creature."
Starswirl did not look convinced. He turned anxiously to the colossal thing as It inched its way closer to the wall, and back to Twilight, who looked back at him with a look of grim determination. "Please, Starswirl," Twilight said. "I have to do this now, before it's too late."
Finally, the old unicorn released his grip. "I must be out of my mind. Alright, but how will you do it? Anything that gets close to it is absorbed by it! And even if you don't touch it, there is still that poisonous blackness to worry about."
"I have an idea," Twilight replied. "It's a stupid idea and I'll probably regret it later, but it's all I have at the moment. I just need you to throw me at it."
"What?!" Starswirl's eyes went wide as dinnerplates at the idea.
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Twilight replied. "Just use your magic to pick me up and throw me right at it, as high up as you can."
Starswirl looked at Twilight as if she had just sprouted a second head. "Are you... sure?"
The young unicorn nodded again. "We don't have much time, do it!"
The thing has driven her mad, Starswirl thought. But we have no other option. His horn glowed, and a yellow aura surrounded Twilight's body and the box. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"Me too," Twilight said with a nervous chuckle. "And if I don't make it, or if something goes wrong... if you could tell the girls that... that my last thoughts were of them."
Starswirl nodded. "I will. Ready?"
Twilight gulped. "Just do it."
And so Starswirl did. With all of his might, he lifted Twilight up into the air until she was floating nearly forty feet above the wall.
The amorphous monstrosity had almost reached the wall. Having absorbed all remaining creatures until even the dead bodies were consumed, It turned its attention to the horde of creatures fleeing away from the fortress outside the walls.
"HEY, YOU!"
Something called to It from above. Turning an eye on a stalk to the sky, It could see a small speck, a tiny creature hovering in mid-air, surrounded by a yellow light.
"MORE," the thing shouted in Its earsplitting voices, as It stretched tendrils and arms up towards the thing.
"You really want more?" Twilight shouted down at It, glaring daggers at the monster below. "You really want more power?"
Holding the box before her, she flipped the lid open, gritting her teeth against the enormous pressure of the magic contained within. With a swift motion she flipped the box over, and out tumbled the single tiny jewel.
"Then have all the power you can handle!"
It stretched up towards the tiny thing with tendrils, arms and any other limbs one could think of, reaching for the jewel hurtling down towards It. The power It could sense coming from the jewel was incredible, unlike anything It knew. All It knew was that It wanted it.
A tendril stretched up. A mouth formed at its tip. The jewel fell right into Its mouth and was swallowed whole.
It could feel the power working. More power than It could have ever imagined, coursing through every fibre of its being! It was incredible! The things It could do with this much power! it could spread to all the lands, and anything that lay beyond! It could swallow up the world! It could...
Hurt.
Suddenly, It hurt. Something inside of It hurt.
How could anything hurt it?
But the pain did not go away. It grew and grew, becoming more intense with every second. Its power was increasing more and more, with nothing that It could do to contain it.
It began to swell and pulsate, as if something from within its body was trying to force its way out. It tried to force it back, but the power grew. It was immense, it was overwhelming.
Its hundred voices screamed aloud from the pain as It swelled and bloated, Its corpulent slimy body growing nearly the size of the mountain itself. Its body was crying out from the strain within, screaming, shrieking with agony.
Then, as one, the voices cried out their last time.
"NO MORE!"
And finally, It burst.
It was as if a bomb the size of a castle had gone off, sending a mighty shockwave ringing out across the valley, blasting apart the walls and the tower behind It. Starswirl was sent flying, but the distance he was flung was nothing compared to Twilight, who now careened through the sky high above him at breakneck speeds.
With one last effort, the old unicorn channelled another spell into his horn, aiming it at the purple speck in the sky that was Twilight Sparkle.
All around her, yellow stars shimmered for a moment, and then she vanished.
With a flash of yellow, she reappeared in the air next to Starswirl as the two were hurled bodily by the explosion. Behind them was what seemed like a wave of pure white light, like a supernova. As they neared the ground, Starswirl grabbed into Twilight and held her tightly against his body.
The two crashed into the dirt, tumbling a few meters before finally coming to a stop in a heap. The shockwave continued over them, sending Starswirl's hat flying.
Twilight cracked an eyelid open and looked weakly at the old unicorn. "Did... did I make it? Or are we just both dead now?"
Starswirl could not help but smile, exhausted as he was. He cradled her head in his hooves and held her close as the wave of white washed over them. "No... you did it, my dear, incredible Twilight. We did it," he said coughing and wheezing.
As the white light passed over them, spreading out over the plains, Starswirl could see it hitting the retreating army of creatures, bowling them over and knocking them to the ground. And behind him he could see the extinct volcano that had once been Burzkala, collapsing in on itself and crumbling in a mighty cloud of rock and dust.
Then, there was silence across the plains. The last roars of the explosion echoed off into silence as Twilight smiled back at him, closing her eyes once more as exhaustion and fatigue overtook her.
But before she passed out, she uttered one word that, at this point, quite frankly summed everything up.
"Heh, awesome."
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Well, see, now, THIS looks like an adventure.
Awesome is right! Good job Twilight, tricking that monster into absorbing more energy than it could handle! Sorry I didn't comment earlier, I was away from my computer, but I saw Rainbow Rocks!
My mind is abuzz with questions and I feel spent. That chapter was perfect as far as I can tell. I can't wait for the finale.
I think you are the only author I know who can combine Lords of the Rings successfully with Flash Gordon and have it work.
Superbly done!
Why can I not give this story more likes?!
...Words cannot express the scale of this chapter. I really want to type something long and witty with my new keyboard, but this chapter has shocked me into silence.
So I'm not the only one who noticed that Gideon was channeling Prince Vultan there.
Awesome is an understatement.
And I thought the tears would end up being destroyed.
Just cause I saw it.
5075670 Such a fantastic song. I'm surprised nobody mentioned the reference sooner!
That, was a bit anticlimactic. Margauth goes all godzilla blob, then blows up due to overload. Still it looks like it's gonna be raining guts for the next few days, I hope Celestia gets hit in the face by a glob of the stuff.....Not the black smoke stuff, just rotten meat.
5075854 LOL, what bizarro world do you live in where a siege battle involving thousands of creatures, swarms of griffons wielding lightning guns, Flash Gordon references, zombie dragons, and the entire power and evil of the an eldritch abomination coalesced into a single colossal mass, which is then overfed upon the power of the gods and blown up with enough explosive force to level an army... can be considered anticlimatic?
5075890 Well, for one the blob monster should have had an entire chapter dedicated to being fought before the big emotional sacrifice.......or maybe I've been watching to many anime shows.
Still, it feels like with the tv series, hi I'm the villain!.....I'm blasting off again!!!
This seems like something I might greatly enjoy... adding to read later and probably gonna start reading quite soon actually. Seems very interesting ;)
Heh heh heh... I'll bet it looked kinda like this.
japankino.de/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/vlcsnap-29336.jpg
Or this...
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111217200752/southpark/images/d/d5/Trapper-keeper.jpg
Or maybe this...
static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131019070542/southpark/images/thumb/0/08/Rosie_O%27Donnell.png/200px-Rosie_O%27Donnell.png
It's hard to say... they all look so much alike!
And here I was expecting an awesome display of the skills exhibited by the Mane 6 over the journey. Fluttershy's Stare, the Sonic Rainboom, Rarity's newfound inherent commanding skills(?), Pinkie confusing the heck out of the army, and Applejack doing... Something.
And then Twilight harnessing the power of the Tears and Elements of Harmony to purge the Blight and for all. But this was just as awesome, if a bit anticlimactic.
-Spirit
This is heliotrope.
Pinkie pie isn't heliotrope.
Since the beginning Maugoth has wanted two things: the Tears and to rule the Blightlings. He gets both. By becoming the Allfather, he mutates into an eldritch horror, consuming everything. And then the only way he can be defeated is by giving him the Tears, causing him to explode!
Anyway, onward to the end!
Wow there are a lot of errors.
What...
Random full stop and what is Pinkie doing?
It should be "beams of yellow magic", no?
Um... Repeated?
But damn that was one epic chapter, and one awesome battle! Can't wait to the the last of this wonderful story
That war scene was something else. It was awesome!!! While not without its flaws, it was a brilliant specticle. Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie all got some moments of awesome here and here while Rarity got to show of her leadership skills. The end part with Maugoth was foreshadowed expertly, and his one-winged angel form brought back horrible flashbacks of this
anime-games.co.uk/images/vhs/anime/journey-fairyland/31.jpg
I love watching the differnet fighting styles and the griffons stole the show. MY big complaint though, is one that I will get more into later on the final review tomorrow. Applejack did nothing in this bttl scene. She had about one or two scenes an that was it.
The blight became almost like The Smooze and nothing can stop The Smooze.
Awesome chapter, loved the Yogscast reference lol. Wish Rainbow could have gotten a chance to show off her Rainboom though at some point during the battle, like against the dragon.