Equestrian Epoch: Final Hope

by Michael_Ravencroft

Second Sign: Part 9

Centaurus Elementus

Everypony was struck speechless by the sight. Where once lied Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Clay, now there was an unholy wispy, burning, green and black spot. Firefly was sobbing uncontrollably as Dinky held her close, trying to hold back her own sob as her tears flowed down her cheeks. Sky Tearer gritted his teeth in anger, his eyes burning with tears, tears he never thought he shed for a pony whom he had tormented, now looking back, he had wished he hadn't done anything bad to him, the fights, the insults, all of it. He'd take it all back if it meant that Clay and his parents were still alive, he pleaded to Celestia and Luna, and even their mother and brother, Epona and Arion, but he knew it was useless, they were gone.

Twilight and Bright Blade were still staring at the spot where they had been vaporized, as if it were a bad joke, a nightmare they were trapped in and hopefully soon wake up. Sadly, this was reality…

"This…this can't be happening…!" Twilight whispered.

"Damn you…you'll pay…" Bright Blade glared in Loimos' direction. "YOU'LL PAY!!!"

Loimos turned towards the alicorn stallion and unicorn mare, smiling sinisterly as he did.

"Is that a fact, well I hope you fair better than your friends. But oh that's right; you didn't defeat Polemos, our Master called him back, so it's very unlikely that you will!"

Loimos broke into a fit of mocking laughter, knowing that there was nothing either of them could do to stop him. Twilight glared up at Loimos, her horn blazing with mana, her mane flickering with flaming embers. Bright Blade could sense what was happening to his marefriend, but right now, it's what they needed. The alicorn stallion raised his own power levels, readying to summon his three swords to form his ultimate weapon yet again.

But neither of them did anything…

Loimos, felt it, so did Bright and Twilight. All three stared in the direction where the burning green and black energy was. A thumping, like a loud heartbeat, boomed from the spot where the family of three once stood. The heartbeat became magnified with the sound of another, synchronizing with the first. Soon the wispy flame energy began to expand, surprising the Spirit of Pestilence.

It grew bigger and bigger, till it burst open, with two large pillars of orange and red light bursting forth and jetting all the way into the sky, and further still. The sky rumbled, the ground shook, as if resonating with power being emitted by these twin pillars of light. Twilight and Bright Blade stared in awe at the lights, as well as the three foals watching from afar. Twilight's crystal cutie mark glowed, as well as Bright Blade's sword and halo crystal cutie mark upon his chest. As if in a trance the two of them spoke.

"Centaurus…" said Bright.

"Elementus…" Twilight finished.

Loimos was driven back a few feet, wincing from the combined power that the light was beaming, using his large wings to shield his eyes from the sight of it. When the pillars broke apart in a shower of red and orange sparkles, the Spirit of Pestilence gawked at what he saw; unable to comprehend what was before him now. New beings stood mighty and tall, made up of orange and blue energy, held together by golden armor that resembled that of Rainbow Dash and Applejack's.

The orange energy being had a chest plate with the crystal apple of the Element of Honesty; upon its forearms it wore two large golden gauntlets, with four spikes on both the upper and lower knuckles, bearing intricately carved images of vines with apples at the ends. It's blonde mane and tail was bellowing like fiery plasma, while its green eyes shined with power. The lower half of this creature was equine, four hooves, with golden greave horseshoes on each one. The energy being held out its right hand, and to it, as if by command, floated up a Stetson hat. It then placed the hat atop its head and pulled down the rim.

"Applejack," Twilight gasped in disbelief.

The other was similar to the first. Except on its lower equine half, there were two wings made of the same blue energy. A helmet was set upon its head, making its prismatic plasma mane below into a war plume. On its forearms were two golden bracers, each one sporting a crystalline crescent wing. Its glowing rose colored eyes scanned its new form, flexing its fingers and arms, the crystal red lightning bolt cutie mark of the Element of Loyalty glowed upon its chest. Her wings flapped a few times, releasing small embers of blue plasma, crackling like fire. Both of them were easily a head taller than Celestia.

"Rainbow Dash," said Bright in the same manner as Twilight.

Between them was a third pony, it was Clay, no longer sick or bleeding. He was completely healed, and looking rather awestruck at the sight of both his mothers' transformation. He didn't feel scared, surprised yes, but they weren't frightening, at least not to him. The energy being emitted from their bodies was soothing and warm, it felt like when he was foal again, his mothers' warmth making him feel safe and protected. His head drifted from the being on his right and then to the left, should he call to them, would they answer him, would they remember him.

"Ma…Mom…?"

The being on his left, Applejack, looked down at him. Her green eyes dimmed slightly, growing gentle. The second, Rainbow Dash, did the same, placing her right hand on Clay's head and ruffling his mane affectionately.

"It's alright Clay," said Applejack, her voice echoing.

"This'll be over in ten seconds flat," said Rainbow Dash, in the same echoing voice.

"What manner of sorcery is this!!!? What are you!!!?" Loimos shouted.

Both centaurs turned their attention to Loimos, their eyes narrowed and shined brighter than before as they glared angrily at their enemy. Rainbow Dash flared her wings and gave them one flap. Instantly she disappeared from sight, making Loimos' eyes practically pop out of his skull, wondering where she went. She reappeared a few feet away from the Envoy, her arms crossed in a cocky fashion.

"What's wrong was that too fast for ya," asked Rainbow.

"Is this!!?" Loimos fired his Blighted Wind blast at Rainbow Dash; it was only two inches away from her before she vanished yet again. The Envoy's head swiveled around looking for his target. He didn't search long; Rainbow Dash had appeared behind him. Loimos twirled around and used his wing to fire another spiraling column of wind at the prismatic centaur. But just like last time, Rainbow Dash vanished from sight. "Hold still you damned creature!!!"

"What was that Loimos, taking a practice shot?" Rainbow Dash continued to dodge Loimos' attacks. "I've seen better aim from a minotaur." The Spirit of Pestilence fired more spiral wind columns, three at once. All three crisscrossed as they completely missed the winged centaur. "My Grandma Dash can lop wind better than that and she has one bad wing!" Rainbow pointed to her left wing for emphasis, only enraging Loimos, growling with frustration as he fired off multiple streams of Blighted Wind.

Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing, she quickly summoned a quill and parchment with her magic and started jotting down some numbers and equations. Bright Blade glanced over at his marefriend and watched in confusion at what she was doing.

"Twilight, what are you doing?"

"Factoring in Rainbows rate of speed...miles per hour...carry the two, divide by ten...E equals MC squared..." Twilight's eyes practically bugged out of her head when her calculations were finished. "She's going nearly the speed of light!"

Applejack stood there, arms crossed, watching her marefriend work. Light chuckling could be heard coming from the orange centaur. Dashie yer actin' like a foal playing with a new toy; well can't just stand here and let her have all the fun, 'sides, gotta look good for meh son. Applejack took a running stance, in one swift motion she galloped forth off the edge of the stadium seats. The others gasped as they watched Applejack about to fall down the mountain side. At that moment a large boulder flew up to meet her, acting as a platform for the Knight of Honesty.

Meanwhile Loimos continued to attack Rainbow Dash, his entire form covered in the Blighted Wind as he fired multiple columns, each one failing to hit its target. The Spirit of Pestilence growled in anger at the cyan centaur's constant egging and evasion.

"Stand still and fight you coward!"

"Who're you calling a coward!? Besides, I'm not the one who's going to be laying the smack down on you," said Rainbow Dash.

"AH AM!!!"

Loimos quickly turned around at the sound of the Applejack's voice. Too late however, as Applejack had already balled up her right fist, the gauntlet burning with her energy, blazing like fire. She thrust her fist forward, punching the Spirit of Pestilence right in the face. The force of the impact created a shockwave that rippled off in different directions; Loimos was sent hurdling towards the face of the mountain, creating a large crater. The orange armored centaur stared at her outstretched arm, more specifically her fist; she drew it back and looked it over. Rainbow Dash flew next to her wondering what was wrong.

"AJ what's up, you alright?"

"Yeah Ah'm fine, just…Ah didn't think Ah was that strong," said Applejack, astonished at her new found strength as she flexed her fingers, which was still an odd feeling in and of itself.

The crater Loimos smashed into erupted with a cloud of black and green vapor jetting out. A shimmering dark green energy shined within the vapor cloud as it parted, revealing Loimos. His armor on the left side of his face was slightly dented, a trickle of red blood crept down the corner of his mouth. The Envoy glared daggers at the two centaur Knights, his aura was flaring up, matching the deathly gaze of his glowing yellow eyes.

"NO ONE MAKES ME BLEED!!! NOBODY!!!" Loimos turned his attention to Clay, who was staring up at the three of them. His wings drew back as they collected both the energy and vapor into two condensed spheres of power. "GREAT PLAGUE!!!"

Loimos fired his attack; the twin blasts wove around each other like a helix and finally merged into one powerful blast that roared towards…passed Rainbow Dash and Applejack, it took a couple of seconds before they realized his true target.

"CLAY!!!" Rainbow shouted.

Rainbow zoomed off as fast as lightning itself and appeared in front of her son. The Great Plague continued straight at them, showing no signs of letting up. Rainbow Dash brought her arms, the crystal wings extended themselves. An aurora of multicolored light shimmered around the wings, connecting to Rainbow's palms. She brought her arms across her chest in an X shape, when the Great Plague was close enough she uncrossed her arms, a gust of sparkling rainbow wind slashed through the disease inducing vapor, as if purifying it. The entire thing then exploded into a thousand sparkles, the Great Plague thoroughly neutralized by Rainbow Dash's counterattack.

"Dang…I think I could get used to this!" Rainbow remarked.

"Impossib –!!!"

Loimos didn't get to finish his sentence, as Applejack rushed the large winged pegasus. She unleashed a furious barrage of punches becoming a literal blur of orange and gold as they landed upon the Spirit of Pestilence! The sound of metal smashing against metal, the deafening thud of each impact, Loimos barely registered what was happening to him, all he could see was the glowing green eyes of the centaur mare before him. The barrage ended, and Loimos floated there, his armor dented, his face bleeding. Knowing he had no chance in close quarters combat, Loimos flapped his mighty wings and took off into air, he flew higher and higher till he was miles above the stadium. He glared down upon the world below, to the vast city of Canterlot, and finally the rest of the surrounding area.

"I'm through playing your games!!!! I'll reduce everything here to a disease infested wasteland!!!!" Loimos' body began to shine with dark green energy, becoming a miniature sun of his power as he collected as much as he could for the final attack.

Down below, Twilight, Bright Blade, Clay, and others watched as Loimos prepared to destroy everyone and everything. Applejack looked to Rainbow Dash; she then nodded towards the orange centaur as if answering a silent agreement between them. Rainbow used her great speed to collect Clay, plopping him on her back. Clay was a little reluctant to latch on to his mother while is this form, fearing her energy form would burn him, but as he recalled, when she ruffled his mane earlier, nothing happened. In fact, even now, he was alright.

With that settled, Rainbow Dash quickly flashed over to Sky, Firefly, and Dinky. Without warning she scooped all three of the foals into her arms, afterwards she zapped over to Twilight and Bright's position.

"You guys take them outside the stadium, this is going to be big," warned Rainbow Dash.

The alicorn and unicorn nodded in understanding. Rainbow Dash released the four foals into the magical grasps of her friends. Without a second thought, they teleported away in a flash of purple and gold, satisfied that their son and friends would be safe, Rainbow Dash rejoined her marefriend in the sky. The two stared up at Loimos as he continued to build up energy for his final attack.

"We can't let that even get near Canterlot," said Applejack.

"Got any ideas," asked Rainbow.

"Just one."

Rainbow Dash glanced over to Applejack, although their bodies were made up of energy, Applejack could tell that she was smiling, no, she could feel it and so could Rainbow Dash.

Applejack dropped from the sky, lowering her platform till she was below the stadium supports and closer to the actual mountain it was built into. She then brought her hands into prayer like position, concentrating, connecting. Her Element of Honesty glowed as she prepared for whatever attack she had planned. The land far below began to rumble and shake, along with the mountain she was near. It wasn't because of instability, no, it was something more. The land was answering her silent call; it was building up its strength and power. The rocks from the mountainside and the ones that floated up moved towards Applejack and hovered around her. Their material forms shifting from matter to energy as they formed an aura of power around the armored centaur mare. A single point of light appeared at the valley floor. Seeing that point of light, Applejack turned her gaze upwards, watching her marefriend wield her new-found powers, and it was beautiful.

Rainbow Dash held her position. Her crystal wing blades shined once more as she widened her stance, the red lightning bolt crystal glowing along with the power of wing blades. Rainbow then began to mover her hands around, in calm and winding motions, soon the winds around her began to swirl around the rainbow maned centaur. Different strands of colored sparkles started to appear, first red, then orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and finally violet. All the wind four winds, the colors of light were being weaved by her hands, like the conductor of an orchestra, following her hand gestures and movements. Rainbow Dash altered her stance slightly, using positioning her hands at her sides as the spectra winds bellowed around her.

Loimos could sense the building energy of the two mares, but he didn't care, he was confident in his own strength and power, he was an Envoy, the Spirit of Pestilence, the bringer of disease and paranoia, a being above all others! By his own power and might has he brought a pain filled end to many lives, and he'll be damned if he was going to let a bunch of ponies stop him here!

"I hope you have made peace with whatever deity you worship, because you'll meet them real soon!!! ULTIMATE PANDEMIC!!!"

The cloud of disease roared an unholy roar as it barreled down upon the city. It was easily three times as big as the Great Plague, almost enough to engulf the entire city of Canterlot. The cloud shined with same light as the Envoy, making it hard to distinguish between the cloud itself and the energy that was fueling it. The citizens down in Canterlot watched in horror as the Ultimate Pandemic practically blotted out the sun.

"Not going to happen! Spectra Cyclone!!!"

Rainbow Dash thrust her hands into the air, causing the prismatic winds around her to whistle and screech as they spiraled together into a tornado of sparkling wind. The attacks collided with each other halfway above Canterlot; turbulent winds swirled and pushed in all directions, creating shockwaves of force that thundered through the sky. Loimos used his will power to push his attack forward, with Rainbow Dash doing the same. It was like watching a large cider barrel being held up by tiny sipping straw. The Ultimate Pandemic kept forcing the Spectra Cyclone back, with Rainbow Dash showing signs of her straining to keep it back. Slowly the glowing vapor cloud crept; each foot gained was another foot further to Canterlot and the many victims that awaited their deaths.

"Can you feel it, your impending death!? It won't be fast, I can guarantee you that!!! You'll die in painful agony for hours on end, the sky will be filled with your screams of pain, they'll echo for eternity long after your world is dust!!!"

Rainbow Dash looked up at the cloud, smiling as confidence beamed from her eyes. Her straining had ceased and she stood tall, her arms still outstretched. "Who said it was over yet, I haven't even been trying!!!"

All at once, the Spectra Cyclone grew till it was even bigger than the Ultimate Pandemic. It overpowered Loimos' attack, completely swallowing it and the Spirit of Pestilence, the cloud broke apart, completely purified, and stopping any attempts for Loimos to reform it. Now he was the one howling in pain, the purity of the cyclone burning him through his own armor.

"Applejack, finish this loser!!!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Hearing her marefriend's call, Applejack widened her stance upon the platform, she then cocked back her right fist as the light below her glimmered even brighter than before.

"Terra Breaker!!!"

Applejack threw an uppercut up into the air, causing the power building down below her to erupt, bursting forth from the land like a volcano. The beam of orange and red light surrounded her as it continued higher into the sky. Rainbow Dash sensed the attack coming, and quickly moved out of the way. The beam shot passed the rainbow maned centaur, Loimos watched as the beam finally reached his location, blasting him with a force he never could've imagined. It was as if the full force of the land itself was crushing him, no not just the land, the planet as whole was smashing against him, unrelenting as it voiced its protest against his presence upon its surface. Loimos tried to fight against it, but to no avail, as much as it pained him to admit it, as much as he wished it wasn't true, he was losing – is losing!

"Damn it, this isn't the last you'll hear of me!!! You're all already dead, you just don't know it yet!!!" Loimos proclaimed.

"SHUT UP!!!" The two mares yelled in unison.

The Terra Breaker and Spectra Cyclone merged together into one giant, unified assault, slamming into Loimos and pushing him higher and higher into the sky above. After about a minute and a half of the nonstop onslaught an explosion occurred, canceling out both Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's attacks. A sphere of dark green light formed in the sky, after lingering for a few seconds it took off with a resounding sonic boom as it left Equestria's atmosphere and further out into space.

Rainbow Dash continued to stare up into the sky, watching to make sure that Loimos had truly left their world. Applejack slowly rose on her platform as it made its way to Rainbow's side, her eyes glued to the sky as well.

"Is he gone," asked Applejack.

"As far as I can tell, yeah," answered Rainbow Dash. She then turned to AJ, a happy expression radiating from her continence. "We…we did it, we won!"

Applejack let out a relieved sigh. "We sure did, but…" she then took a look around, "Looks like the stadium's gonna need some work."

Rainbow Dash took a look around, indeed the stadium had just been ruined, the stands were all but gone, the Sky Box seats were obliterated, and basically it was one big gigantic mess. There was a section of the seating that was still standing, which was good considering the state of the rest of the place.

"It's not a total loss, look that part of the stands –" Just then there was sharp snapping sound, Rainbow looked back and watched as the last of the stadium seating crumpled apart and slid down the side of the mountain, continuing till there was low thudding crash.

"You were sayin'?"

"Collateral damage… comes with being a Knight…besides, I'm sure Apple Bloom can make this better than what it was before," said Rainbow Dash nervously rubbing the back of her head.

"She'll either thank ya, or chew ya out fer even suggestin' she rebuild it," said Applejack wrapping an arm around her marefriend's shoulders. "C'mon, Clay's watin' fer us, ready to go?"

"Eeyup."

With nary another word spoken, the Knight of Honesty and Loyalty both floated over the stadium and slowly descended towards their friends, all with happy and joyful expressions upon their faces, the nightmare of Loimos was over.

The mysterious new power of Centaurus Elementus has enabled Applejack and Rainbow Dash to thwart Loimos and drive him off Equestria, hopefully forever. But what is this new power, and what does the future hold for the couple? Find out in Part 10, the last chapter of the Second Sign Arc!

Author's Note:

Yes, I did it, I created super centaurs, like it or not its in the story. DON'T JUDGE ME!

Comments

[Sharky]

I'm Calling the police your robing me of sleep