Chapter Ninety-eight
Throne Room
Rainbow Dash
"Pinkie!" nearly everyone shouted, running forward to our fallen friend, Celestia leapt back to the end of the throne room, gracious enough to let us see what she had done. Fluttershy was the first to reach her, and immediately held up the ace of hearts, casting a healing spell on the inert body. When I reached them, though, it felt like my heart was being ripped apart. I already knew it was too late just by the sight. Though the wound itself was closing, the life was already gone. Blood pooled around our fallen friend. Pinkie was dead. Laughter had gone from our world.
Tears stung at my eyes, and I could guess that I wasn't the only one. Pinkie was gone. What would we do now? How could we defeat the queen if one of us was dead? How could we have even thought we could kill her at all?
"Now do you see the true value of this resistance?" Celestia chided. "This is the fate that awaits each and every one of you. You cannot hope to stand against a god. You never could."
My grief turned quickly to rage, and I turned to the queen with broadswords gripped tight. "Vi, Creiddylad, Spike, Mac, Belenth, and now even Pinkie... Your path of blood ends NOW!" I launched myself at her, activating another Sonic Rainboom almost on instinct, and began tearing away at her with more fury than ever before. I swatted away every block she tried to put up with her blade, and cut as deep as I could into her exposed skin.
I could sense the annoyance and slight fear in her eyes, and this only fueled me further. She had no defense this time. I would beat her within an inch of her life and let her suffer before I let her die. If she really was immortal, then I wondered what kind of excruciating pain I could put her through, before allowing her the sweet embrace of death. Perhaps I would start by severing some body parts? Or maybe pinning her to the wall with her own weapon and leaving her to bleed?
These dark thoughts ran through my head as I fought, but Celestia was ready to be done with me. She gritted her teeth and cast a potent light spell, which struck me right in the head and dazed me. She brought her arm around and hit me wildly in the chest, sending me flying backwards and crashing painfully into the wall. My head hit hard, and I could taste blood in my mouth. My vision began to fade, and as I fell to the ground, a grim acceptance filled my heart. That's it. It's too much... We're finished. Vi... Please forgive me, when we meet up there...
"Not a chance." I heard in my head, in the voice of my big brother. "You're not coming to join me now, no way. Now get up!"
Bro, I... I can't. I'm sorry...
"Don't be sorry, dammit! Be alive! You really want to be like me that much?! Think about Applebloom, and Scootaloo! If you die now, they're going to feel exactly the same way you did when I died. Would you wish that upon them?"
N-no, but-
"And what about your friends? If you die, they're going to feel the same way Mac did when I died. Do you want them to have to go through that kind of psychological torture because of you?"
No, I don't want to hurt any of them, but-
"And what about Applejack?! How do you think she's going to go on living without you?! It's your responsibility to take care of her and her family! You want to leave her more alone than anyone else?! Now get the hell up, Dash! I'm right behind you!"
My eyes shot open. Applejack. I would not leave her, or anyone else, alone in this world ever again. There was still a drop of life left in me, and as long as there was, I would fight to stay alive. Like a merciful angel, I felt Fluttershy's healing spell envelop me, and my wounds began to recede. I was still weak, but I felt much more alive. Her arms wrapped around me in relief, and I gave her a brief pat on the back. The time for sadness would be after this was over.
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I doubted if any of us would see that time, though. I may have survived once, but we were still all just barely hanging on. Celestia seemed unstoppable. The other Elements were all nearby, including Pinkie's body, and the other four looked as ready to drop as I felt. Twilight's robe hung in tatters at her shoulder. Applejack's left arm was bloodied and seemed too injured to move. Rarity had incurred a shallow gash across her forehead, and another across her legs. Celestia stalked forward, bloodied Blade of Light raised, ready to deliver us all our final strike. I gripped Applejack's hand, deciding I'd rather die with her beside me all the way to the afterlife. We closed our eyes.
The door to the throne room flew off it's hinges and smacked Celestia in the face, sending her sprawling backward. Stalfos knights poured in, forming a perimeter around us and dog-piling the queen. Two moved over to Luna and held her arms, making sure she didn't go anywhere. In the wake of the skeletal knight's charge, a familiar tall, dark clad figure strode in, his jacket discarded.
"I came here to kick ass and drink rum." Xekora said with a smug grin. "And all of the rum is gone. All of the rum. All of it."
"You!" Celestia spat, struggling against the bones holding her down. "Decided to show your cowardly face after all, did you?!"
"Chaos!" he ordered, and the shadow of Pinkie leapt to life at his side. "Return to your body, immediately." It nodded, and slid over to Pinkie's inert body. To our immense relief, Pinkie sputtered and gasped for breath, Chaos taking over and bringing her back to life. We all ran over and hugged her, getting out of the way of combat in the process.
"I understand everything now, my dear Celestia." Xekora said, and snapped his fingers. A Stalfos knight clacked over to the discarded Blade of Dark, and handed it to Xekora. "I was brought to this world for a reason. Your godhood states that only an equal darkness to your light can kill you, and only in a heroic or just way. Normally this would be your sister, but the Goddess knew that she would not be strong enough to conquer you. So she 'imported' me."
Xekora took the Blade of Dark, and held it aloft over his head. "Do you see now, Celestia? It is my destiny to kill you. It's time for the dark puppeteer of Hyrule to redeem himself."
The queen shrugged off the last of the Stalfos, gripped her weapon and charged. However, against a fresh and rested opponent, a god no less, she stood zero chance. Xekora batted away every hit, slicing through her defenses and drawing a lot of blood. I released a breath I had been holding. Xekora had saved us all. Celestia would be slain this day after all.
Celestia slammed into the ground, a pool of blood forming around her. She didn't have much left, she stood, eyes on Xekora. He hovered in the air just before her, a wild light in his eyes and a wide grin on his face. The fight was not gone from Celestia's eyes, but hope had left her. She knew she was going to die. However, it seemed she decided not to go down alone. She turned from the historian and ran for her sister, sword raised above her. Luna screamed, but Xekora was having none of it. He slid forward, Blade of Dark ready to stab, and thrust forward at Celestia's charging form.
The queen stopped short, unable to move through the large sword sticking out of her chest. She tried pathetically to reach Luna with the end of her sword, but she was still several feet away. She closed her eyes and sighed, seeming to accept her fate, but then grimaced with anger and effort. She spun the Blade of Light around, the tip pointed at herself, and drove it straight through her own chest all the way up to the hilt. The blade backtracked along the same path the Blade of Dark had taken, and the tip embedded itself firmly in Xekora's chest.
I gave a shout of alarm. Xekora looked at the sword stuck in his chest with a mix of surprise and annoyance. "Son of a... And this is ludicrously heroic, so... Bullocks... Are you satisfied, Celestia? Now we'll get to hold hands on the way down to hell. Well, you lot... looks like this is the end of me."
It was almost distressing to hear how calm he was being. Xekora was going to die too, and he seemed to not even care. "I've lived for several thousands of years, my friends. I've lived my life as much as I want to, and know that I did at least one good thing before it ended. I'm happy. Now, Princess Luna..." He turned to the girl, who had tears in her eyes. "After this, you're going to be mortal again. You'll age, you'll be able to make friends and be a normal girl again. That is all I ask of you. Live a normal, happy life. Please don't feel guilty that I died for you. That goes for you lot, too, the Elements of Harmony. Leave war behind and make Equestria a land of peace. Even you, Queen Rarity. Don't forget the simple joys of life once in a while. Luna, I leave all my belongings to you. My swords, god tier hoodie, and anything else you might want. Let the rest be sealed away in the vault of the castle."
He turned back to Celestia, and I noticed a strange radiance surrounding the two. It pulsed black, then white, and I guessed it was the intense light and dark magics cancelling each other out. "Now, my dear Celestia... I'll see you shortly in hell." The pulsing grew brighter and darker, soon obscuring the two completely. With a final blast that once again shook the foundation of the castle, the light exploded and left almost nothing behind. When our sight returned, only the hilts and shattered metal of the Blades of Light and Dark remained.
Applejack wrapped me up in a big hug, and I returned the favor. It was all over. It was finally all over. We were free, and together. We stood and moved over to Pinkie, who was sitting on the ground, looking at her hands.
"Chaos?" I asked, and she looked up at me.
"It's... It's still me." she explained, in a voice much quieter than her normal one. "I still have all my memories, and experiences, so it's still me... It's just, the other half now. But, oh, please don't tell Kyle! I'll... I'll tell him, when the time is right. I want him to know I'm still the one he loves, no matter what."
I nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. "Sure thing, Pinkie."
Rarity moved slowly over to Luna, dismissing the Stalfos guards. Without Xekora around, the soldiers were practically motionless, having no one to direct them. She helped the young princess to her feet, and placed an arm around her. "It's going to be alright, dear. You're not alone anymore..."
"Even Xekora..." Luna whispered, "That was it... Everyone I ever knew is gone..."
"I know it must be hard..." Rarity consoled her, "but I promise you are not as alone as it seems. You still have friends, in us. And, I have a little sister about your age, as well as her two friends. Maybe you'd like to meet them? I'm sure they would welcome you with open arms."
Luna nodded happily, wiping away her tears. Twilight dusted herself off and gave a stretch. "Let's get out of here." she said. "Just beyond this room, down that hall behind the thrones, is a balcony that overlooks the castle courtyard. Let's go there and announce our victory to the troops."
We all nodded, and began to set off down the hall. I stumbled as I tried to walk, my recently healed wounds making me stiff and sore, so Applejack grabbed me around the waist and helped me to follow the others. The pathway to the balcony had torches lining its path, and a single staircase after a turn. Getting up the stairs proved to be difficult for many of us, but eventually we made it. Beyond the doorway was bright sunlight, a signal of hope. I let my head rest on Applejack's shoulder, and we stepped outside.
We walked right into Celestia's final trap. At least a hundred light beasts stared us down, seeming to float in the air beyond the balcony. I could see soldiers on the ground trying to shoot them, to no avail. There was some kind of magical floor in effect, keeping the beasts aloft and keeping anything from below from hitting them.
Only one word sprung to mind that accurately summed up my feelings on the situation. I said this word, and the other six around me nodded their heads in agreement.