The Warriors of Light stared at Exdeath - but they were barely able to keep themselves together.
“Fear…” Exdeath said. “Such an entertaining emotion. Shallow and meaningless as it is…” He turned to the five mares, laughing. “Let it be known that this time, the spotlight is on me, instead of a certain dead pony.”
He raised his hand. “Sadly, I cannot simply devour you in a burst of Void. That would, apparently, be against the flow. And what has been proven to work before…” He raised his hands, encasing all five of them in red lightning. “…Will not.”
Carbuncle burst out of Fluttershy and dispelled the red lightning. “You are correct, defiler.”
“Ah Carbuncle… I see you’ve escaped from your prison.” Exdeath waved his hand.
Carbuncle frowned. “Why are you not furious?”
“Oh I AM.” Exdeath said. “But when one goes through an epiphany, emotions become… evolved.”
“What in blazes are you talking about?”
“The only one who could ever understand is dead. Good riddance.” Exdeath laughed, driving his spear through Carbuncle and dissipating him. “Same to you, my oldest of foes.”
“What are we doing?” Applejack roared. “ATTACK HIM!”
The five mares surged forth as one, bringing magic, blade, and summon down on Exdeath in one big wave. He was pushed back somewhat, laughing the whole way. “I am the great Lord Exdeath. It will take more than the power of Friendship to stop me, foolish ponies.” He lashed out, black orbs of energy flying from his fingers, distorting spacetime around them.
Rainbow Dash was caught in it, the spacetime warps pulling feathers off her wings and twisting her body into an unnatural shape. “AUGH!” She lashed out with her horrendously painful attack, hitting Exdeath dead on with the green cloud.
He laughed. “Biotoxin! A most evil spell Rainbow Dash! Wherever did you learn that?” He surrounded his hand in a green aura, preparing a retaliation.
“Oh no you don’t!” Rarity said, lighting her horn and cancelling Exdeath’s spell.
“Mmm… The white mage has improved I see.” He shrugged. “Suppose I should take care of her first…”
Rarity quickly raised her shields, providing some resistance to Exdeath’s flying spear, but not stopping it all the way. She was still nicked in the side, wailing in pain.
“Merely a flesh wound, princess.” He snarked. He punched behind him before Applejack could make use of her sneak attack. “Do you not see, daughter of Daring Do, that I have eyes everywhere?”
“Not on your feet.” Applejack muttered, driving her sword into his ankle. He roared in anger, kicking the orange pony across the room, slamming her into the wall with a sickening crack.
Twilight and Shiva charged together, freezing Exdeath’s feet to the ground. He snapped his fingers, shattering the ice and sending a fire spell to keep Rainbow Dash busy. He rose his hands, removing all gravity in the room, before restoring it at ten times the strength, crushing the mares to the ground.
Rarity lit her horn, counteracting the spell with one of strength to her friends. “Come on dears! Get up!”
“Oh Ah’m up alright…” Applejack roared, going berserk. Fluttershy flew alongside her, generating Titan. Titan grabbed the enraged Applejack and charged Exdeath with her, using her as an extension of himself.
Exdeath was unable to block the impressive attacks of the eidolon and pony combo. He was also rather speechless at how absurd the attack was. “Absurdity… It is one of your defining characteristics.”
“Yes. And we wear that tag proudly.” Twilight said, smirking. “For we knew a very special mare who taught us it’s value.” She encased her horn in an ethereal structure, lengthening it by three times. Unable to tear himself away from Titan and Applejack, Exdeath found Twilight’s horn embedded into his side.
“Foolish creature-“
“Not as foolish as you think.” Twilight focused, telekinetically grabbing Exdeath’s helmet and boots, and dragging them towards her horn as hard as she could. Exdeath let out a shriek of anger as his armor buckled in on itself, letting the shadows inside seep out of the blue encasement.
“Perhaps not.” Exdeath’s voice echoed. “But still foolish.” He exploded himself, vaporizing Titan’s form, tossing Applejack and Twilight away. Then the shadows reformed themselves, reconstituting his armor piece by piece.
“Sorry!” Rarity said, tugging at a shoulder piece with her magic. “Not letting you rebuild yourself!”
“It is not your choice.” Exdeath roared.
Rainbow Dash barreled into the partially formed body before it could drag the piece away from Rarity. “It’s mine!”
“Everypony!” Twilight yelled. “Grab a piece of armor and keep it from him!”
Fluttershy nodded, picking up a gauntlet and sending Ramuh to grab a leg piece. Rainbow Dash grabbed a glove while Twilight grabbed as many as she could.
“FOOLS!” Exdeath said, his shadowy form seeping out of what little armor he had retained to himself. “CAN YOU NOT SEE-“ Then he stopped short. Then he began to laugh. “Of course you can’t see! That’s the point! Heroes… Blindly fighting against their enemies, their foes, caring not for the odds. Caring not that they could be killed with a thought. Throwing logic to the wind. It gives you… Unpredictability.”
He stood up, snapping his fingers and teleporting his armor back onto himself. “Do you now see how pointless your plan was?”
“Doesn’t matter!” Rainbow Dash yelled, ramming into him once again. “We’re going to keep whaling on you till you go down!”
“Rainbow Dash…” Exdeath began to laugh. “You think it doesn’t matter? Fine then…” He pointed right at her. “Have some of what Pinkie got.”
Rainbow Dash felt something deep inside her ignite. A point of heat at her exact center of gravity, burning away at her insides, slowly spreading to the rest of her body. She began to panic. “Rarity! Help me! I’m going to explode!”
Rarity paled. “I… I don’t know how to do that!” She lit her horn, enveloping Rainbow Dash in a blue light. “Did that help?”
“I think it just removed my pain!” She glanced at her hoof. “I’m on fire now. I’m on fire now.”
Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy tackled Exdeath to the ground. “Undo it! Save her!”
“Gigaflare cannot be undone once cast, Warriors.” He stood up, shaking them off without much effort. “I can’t even stop it. Pinkie didn’t stop it - she just cheated around it. You don’t have a cheat do you?”
Rainbow Dash began to panic. She couldn’t feel any pain - but she knew she was on fire and that flesh was not supposed to turn that color. She also felt some kind of pressure deep within her that wanted out. She spoke out in a raspy voice. “Help… Help…”
“Freeze yourself!” Applejack suggested.
Rainbow Dash complied, flapping her charring wings - encasing her entire body in a blizzard spell. Rarity assisted as well, freezing Rainbow Dash’s personal time stream as well.
“Interesting thoughts…” Exdeath said, kicking Fluttershy out of the way. “But it won’t matter. Time spells do not last forever. And the ice will not prevent the explosion building up.” Exdeath laughed. “She is going to die!”
Twilight’s eyes went white and her horn encased itself in triplicate magic. “YOU WILL CURE HER OR YOU WILL SUFFER.”
“Unicorn.” Exdeath said, calmly standing up. “You have no idea how much I suffer already.”
Twilight’s voice reverberated. “IS THAT A NO?”
“Of course it’s a no. There is nothing you could do to me-“
“GOODBYE.” The horn’s energy stopped building up, blowing a hole right through Exdeath’s chest, the blackness inside him hissing in anger and pain.
“Impressive.” Exdeath stated, touching the hole in his armor. “You really do have determination. I have her trapped.”
The pause wore off - and the ice began to drip, the pegasus inside it glowing like the inside of a volcano.
“Behold! Another of your number falls!” Exdeath made no further noise as the ice cube shattered into just under a hundred pieces. Twilight’s magic aura fell, her eyes welling with tears. “No…”
The rest of her words were drowned out by Rarity’s scream. “NO!!!” She yelled, her shields not doing much to muffle her voice. “NO!” She ran to the broken pieces of Rainbow Dash, trying to scoop them up with her hooves. She wailed, words not even possible.
Exdeath stood up, dusting his hands. “There. It can be done. A hero can be killed.” He turned to the three who were not wailing. “Now it’s your turn-“ Exdeath felt something powerful behind him. “Wait…”
Rarity’s horn was encased in a threefold aura, and she was levitating all the pieces of Rainbow Dash above her in a giant white aura. Rarity’s eyes were closed and her expression serene. “Come back…” She muttered.
A flash of white light blinded everyone in the room. When they could see once more, there was Rainbow Dash, as if nothing had happened. “AWW YEAH! That was awesome!”
Exdeath threw his spear to the ground. “AAAAAAARGH! I am beginning to understand Pinkie’s frustration!” He pointed his finger at Rarity. “You are the only healer strong enough to accomplish this right now. You will explode.”
Rarity’s shield sparkled. She smirked. “Oh I don’t think so. Take a closer look at my barriers, Darling.”
Exdeath frowned. What…?
Reflect.
He felt a heat begin to well up inside himself.
“NO!” He yelled. “NO! Not now!” He felt his very core begin to heat up. “This will not be the end!” He stood up and ran for he knew his time was short.
The five mares stood there for a moment, processing the fact that Exdeath had just fled. From them.
“Follow him!” Applejack yelled, and all of them kicked into high gear. Rarity continually sped them up and healed them along the way - though admittedly, she felt weak herself. She was taxing her reserves too much…
They ran into a large chamber that was all black - save for two things in it. The blue form of Exdeath, and the tremendous purple form of a Crystal.
“What?” Applejack said.
“Aether Crystal!” Exdeath roared, his armor already red from the heat. “How close are we?”
<Soon Exdeath. Soon. Just a few more moments.> The voice, unlike all other Crystals, seemed menacing, even evil. It did not fill those who heard it with confidence - it filled them with feelings of fear and inadequacy.
“I don’t have a few more moments!” He roared.
<You will survive long enough.>
“You. Are. Lying.” Exdeath said, reaching into himself and drawing his spear. “You’ve been lying this entire time.”
<...Yes. That changes nothing.> The Aether Crystal pulsed. <The worlds will be brought back to the way they were meant to be. Without you.>
“No.” Exdeath said laughing. “You don’t know! You’ve been powering my castle! My forces! My technology! You have been weakened!”
<Admittedly yes. Though not to the extent of shattering. I am not so weak as my siblings.> The Aether Crystal droned.
Exdeath was steaming at this point, his shadowy essence spiraling off of him, his body threatening to give out completely. “IT HASN’T BEEN AT FULL POWER PURPLE MINERAL!”
<I know this. What is your- NO. WITHOUT ME THE NEW->
Exdeath felt himself begin to explode. He reached into the pedestal the Crystal was sitting on and pulled a cord out, rushing the machine into overdrive. The Aether Crystal screamed, retaliating with a spell so brilliant it vaporized Exdeath on the spot, his armor crumbling to dust and his essence vanishing.
<NO!> The Aether Crystal roared.
“Didn’t you just kill him?” Twilight said, her voice echoing the stunned minds of her companions.
<NO! THE GIGAFLARE’S STILL GOING TO GO OFF! HE’LL USE MY ENERGY TO REKINDLE HIMSELF!>
“What can we do?” Twilight asked. She knew the Aether Crystal had been working with Exdeath - but she also knew it was probably all that was keeping this world together right now.
<…I told myself I would never do this…>
“Do what?”
<…Prepare yourself.> The Aether Crystal flashed, flooding Twilight Sparkle with a beam of purple energy. She yelped in surprise - but not in pain. She felt the magic flood into her horn, into her brain, and into her back. She let out and gasp of awe as the magic flooded over her.
<AWAKEN! ESSENCE OF AETHER, MAGIC! I give you a task different from your companions. I could care less about the world you protect. I personally want them all off my worlds. But seeing as I’m about to be no more, you have one task. Destroy Exdeath. Do not let him reap the benefits of our partnership without me.>
Twilight set down to the ground, shaking her head slowly. “O… Okay…” Her eyes sparkled with magic energy. She shook herself, trying to wake up, spreading her wings.
Wings?! She looked at her back at the two large feathered appendages. The other mares were just as surprised. “HOLY F-“
Then the gigaflare went off, driving itself right into the Aether Crystal. It roared in a shrill agony, deep tones driving the ears of the Warriors of Light to bleed. The Aether Crystal - the last of the Crystals - shattered, blowing it’s various chunks right out through the ceiling and into the air several stories up.
“Muahahaahahahahhahahah….” Exdeath’s laughs filled the room, coming from the now-empty spot where the Aether Crystal once was. “I alone am victorious! And now you will die!” A black energy began to form where the Aether Crystal once was. “There are NO more Anchors! No more Crystals! NOTHING KEEPING THE POWER I SEEK BACK! The power of the inner cosmos itself is mine!”
The black energy began to glow, looking ready to burst.
Twilight acted quickly - she raised a magical shield stronger than any she had raised before, spreading her new wings and putting everything she had into the protection spell.
The sphere of black exploded, engulfing the entirety of Exdeath’s castle.
—
Limestone was gearing to head back out - how dare those mares send her back to camp, she was in charge of leading the army! How dare-
She saw the entire castle go up in an explosion of black.
She dropped her swords. “Wha-“
Then the entire world shook, a strange white light enveloping everything Limestone could see…
—
The Hoofington Moon Base was a pinnacle of modern technology, a last stand for pony and griffonkind, looking up at the planet below from their large domed city.
The Chancellor of the Moon stood in the tallest tower, watching the green and blue globe closely. Her name was Zecora.
“The time is here.” She said as she saw the white light appear on the planet’s surface - and expand. “What all should fear…”
The white light soon enveloped the entire planet, and Zecora could hear screams from the citizens of the moon as the light approached them.
“Connections… Reflections… Origins...” She spoke, bowing her head. She could only pray to the Stars now…
—
And then everything was changed.