As Korsan looked over the mares below, a furious rage, more powerful than any magical attack, ruptured inside of him. He was almost beaten. Even after assuming his perhaps greatest form, after absorbing the magic of two naturally born alicorns, and after removing most if not all risk of losing, Twilight and her friends still managed to best him. What was this madness?
At the brink of snapping into complete lunacy, his thoughts raced through his head, deconstructing, twisting, and melting into mental rambles of madness. His vision turned clouded in scarred eyes, gears, blood, pegasi feathers, power, and in the center of this chaos is himself as a foal, laughing hysterically surrounded by the dead ponies of everypony he had ever slaughtered.
He tried to remove these hallucinations from his head, firing magic wildly in every direction. The visions stayed adamant, driving him beyond even madness. He finally snapped.
Korsan screamed with pained laughter, his voice echoed across the world. He dove down to the center of the arena. The mares backed away as he landed. His swords turned into bladed whips and Korsan proceeded to wildly spin in circles. His bladed whips swung around the arena in a chaotic vortex. The mares leapt over and under the spiraling whips. They barely avoided the sharp barbs that sliced off portions of their hair.
As he spun faster and faster, Korsan rambled to himself. It was incoherent, but vivacious enough to warrant some sort of sick joy. It was like Korsan had found the meaning of life.
Rainbow Dash tried to fly up and away from the whips, but Korsan caught her in his sights. He slung a whip at her and snagged her by the leg. Dash squeaks before quickly grabbed onto by Korsan’s cape as well. She was slowly dragged into his open hind hoof. Korsan grabbed her by the neck and held her up to his face.
Terror took hold of Dash as she looked into Korsan’s ballistic eyes. The other mares tried to reach her, but couldn’t sneak past the spiraling whips. Korsan cackled, tightening his grip on Dash’s neck, hearing her chokes and gags barely escape her collapsing lungs. Joy pumped throughout his body as he exercised his mighty power on such a lower being.
Just Korsan could finish Dash off, a powerful force instantly struck the back of his head. Korsan lost his hold on his prey and dropped Dash. He tumbled off of the platform along with his whips.
Rainbow Dash collapsed on the floor, gagging for several seconds. She looked up and saw Twilight Sparkle watching over her. She was panting, as if she had just run a marathon.
“Thanks, Twilight!” Dash applauded before coughing.
“No problem.” Twilight replied.
Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie joined the two at the center of the arena.
“Twilight! Korsan’s got a single anti-magic container on him. If we destroy it, we can finish him off.” Rarity said.
The electric platform then started to violently shake. At the bottom of the platform, they could see Korsan flying right below them. The mares braced themselves as Korsan lifted the platform into the storm. Lightning smashed into the platform, causing it to warp and occasionally have parts of it burst in electric blasts.
Once deep inside the storm, Korsan threw the arena up and flew over the mares.
“Time to end this!” He declared.
His horn glowed as Korsan casted a new spell. A giant, electromagnetic magic sphere formed around the entire arena, trapping the mares inside.
The mares looked around for an exit, but nothing could be found. A bolt of magic suddenly leapt from the magic sphere. Twilight created a shield in time and deflected the projectile. The mares looked over to the source of the attack, finding a red dot on the shield.
“Know my power!” Korsan roared.
Soon, hundreds of red lights dotted the sphere of the arena. They fired and endless barrage of magic bolts. The mares sprang into action, perfectly synchronized. They rapidly dodged and deflected the endless volley. Twilight and Rarity used their magic to deflect. Rainbow Dash summoned her lightning and zapped the magic bolts. Applejack and Pinkie Pie kicked and punched the bolts, deflecting their blasts. Fluttershy threw pieces of The Perfection on the platform into the air to draw fire.
The six mares turned into a glowing blur as they became untouchable the magic. The electric arena and surrounding sphere of energy lost rising momentum and plummeted back down to the sea, but this doesn’t hinder the mares. Korsan rapidly circled the sphere, casting as many projectile spells as he could fathom. Yet, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy remained strong together. The magic projectile the six deflected back started to pierce the electromagnetic magic sphere, disrupting it. Slowly, the mares shredded the whole thing apart.
Korsan saw this and was in both absolute shock and total ecstasy.
“They’re demons!” He madly exclaimed to himself. “No pony could do this even with all the magic in the world! Is this some ability they had together that I didn’t know about?! Some sort of, Ultimate Hex Technique? No! Just die!”
Korsan dove back down to his wreckage. He threw his two whips-swords into the water. He used each of his four hooves to grab four massive electric blades from the water. He was straining himself beyond his limit, but he didn’t care. He rose back up to face the heroes with the swords in his grasp.
“Now that’s stupid.” Dash commented.
Korsan unleashed a forward strike with all four of the swords at once. The mares rolled between the blades. The blades slashed through the electric platform, creating sparking geysers in their wake. Korsan then raised his swords and performed a horizontal slice. Applejack, Dash, and Pinkie grabbed the lowest incoming sword and brought it down to a halt. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity snuck through the swords thanks to their friends. Korsan aimed his horn at the three mares and fired a powerful beam. They quickly climbed over the halted sword, barely skimming the edge of the ray.
Korsan reset his stance and the mares grouped together again.
Korsan held two blades at each end of the arena and slid them together like a massive, double-bladed jackknife. The mares tried to hold back the compact blades. They were instead shoved to the middle of the arena. Both side started crushing in on their hooves and bodies. The strength of all six ponies combined was no match for this move. Korsan’s raw strength, his magic prowess, the mass of the blades, and the leverage combined made an unstoppable pincer attack.
Slowly, the jagged electric edges drew in closer and closer to the ponies. As their muscle-power melted, the closer the blades drew. Eventually, all six were lined up right in front of Korsan. Korsan aimed his horn down at them, ready for the ultimate kill shot.
But as he was about to fire, a fifth electric blade dropped down from the heavens right in front of him. His horn fired and the beam was deflected by the anti-magic steel of the sword. The beam ran away from the mares and right into Korsan. Korsan instinctively backed away and dove below the wild beam. Korsan’s swords followed their wielder, freeing the mares.
Twilight and the others looked Celestia, Luna, Cecil, and many other pegasi holding the sword by anchors and tethers below them. On Celestia’s back was Spike, rooting for his friends.
“I believe in you, Twilight! We all do!” Spike cheered.
“Take this!” Cecil roared. “Kick his butt!”
The sword was released from the flying squadron and fell down to the six heroes below. They quickly grabbed the sword and stood to the ready.
Korsan floated back up and attacked. He slashed at the mares with a fury of massive strikes and jabs. Quickly maneuvering their own sword, the mares blocked off the barrage of attacks. They struck at an opening. Korsan darted above the sword as it jabbed forward. He blitzed forward and continued to attack. The mares quickly twisted their sword around, throwing Korsan off of their sword. He shielded himself as the mares then struck at him. The single blade smashed against the four others. The electric blade edges grinded into each other and locked together.
Korsan instantly gained the upper hoof and pushed the mares’ sword back. However, unexpected by Korsan, the mares suddenly pulled their blade away. He fell forwards in the air due to his momentum.
This was it! Korsan was wide open for the finishing cut.
Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, flipped their sword in a complete circle, slicing through the arena, and stabbing Korsan’s revealed chest one last time. The massive blade disintegrates the final anti-magic tank. In a flash of light and colour, Korsan’s body internally erupted, separated from his anti-magic power. He fell from the sky and down to the sea.
The mares jumped off the dissipating electric platform and followed the fallen alicorn. Korsan saw them approaching and fought back. He dropped his massive swords, relying on his raw might. The two sides leapt from falling debris piece to other debris piece in their final assault. They exchanged punches and blocks as they leapt from platform to platform.
Despite Korsan’s furious speed and power, the mares countered with their greater tenacity and teamwork. Magic bolts and beams of all colours pierced the skies. The rain and red fog bent to the will of the flying ponies. Shrapnel from battle was hit by lightning, exploding to make even more shrapnel. Gravity became practically meaningless in the fray. Fury, fear, determination, and the lust of victory consumed the seven ponies as they smacked into each other all the way back down to the sea.
Eventually, Korsan lost track of the speeding mares. He was immediately overcome by the fighting might of the mares. One after another, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie unleashed their ultimate combos. They sent Korsan from one side of the debris field to the other. Metal, wood, magic, wind, rain, lightning, and everything else was thrown at Korsan in one grand finishing sequence. The “all-powerful” alicorn could do nothing about it.
As hard as he tried, Korsan couldn’t summon his magic any more. It was at this moment, he knew, he used it all up. It was at this moment, he knew, he messed up. It was at this moment, he knew, he lost.
The ocean below drew near quickly. The heroes decided to end this assault with a bang. Locking together, the heroes rose above Korsan. He watched in terror as they instantly charged down, delivering an earth-crushing combined kick into his exposed chest. The surrounding air collapsed and exploded in a sonic boom as Korsan was catapulted down into the ocean at breakneck speeds.
But as he fell, Korsan had something on his mind.
This was a final resort to secure revenge.
Korsan suddenly regained himself midway. He smacked down and landed on top of the water. The surrounding ocean burst from the force, almost capsizing the surrounding pirate ships several hundred metres away. Korsan suspended himself on top of the water with electromagnetism. He aimed his horn at the incoming mares. It glowed brighter than any of his previous attacks.
“He isn’t!” Twilight exclaimed.
He was. Using the very fabric of his alicorn being and the electricity around him, Korsan would fire a final beam attack, one certain to vapourize anything in sight. Korsan would be certain to die if he did this.
“If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!” He roared.
The air screamed in agony as Korsan’s horn turned into what appeared to be a cannon of electrified darkness. Twilight and the others prepared themselves as the blinding light and darkness combined into one singularity.
“Die!” Korsan screamed.
At that moment, an enormous magic beam of death and destruction blasted from his horn. The air distorted and shattered as the beam disintegrates everything in its path. Not even light and gravity seemed to be safe from Korsan’s final move.
As Korsan’s beam races towards her and her friends, Twilight quickly charged up and fired a magic beam of her own. The two rays of magic, energy, and plasma collided into each other, setting off a sonic boom. The two magic beams pushed against each other with each of their masters’ might, swaying up and down in the sky and vaporizing the red night sky.
Korsan’s super massive power beam soon overpowered Twilight’s small purple beam. His beam traveled up into the sky, pressing Twilight’s beam back towards her. Korsan’s beam accelerated faster and faster with each passing second.
As the beam drew within a dozen of metres of Twilight and the others, Rarity decided to take action. Despite how little power she had, Rarity was determined. Still clutching tightly to Twilight, Rarity fired her own magic beam into Twilight’s, turning the beam into a spiraling tunnel of purple and light blue light. Korsan’s beam stopped accelerating, but still charged forward.
Rainbow Dash joined as well. She built up electricity from the surrounding air and charged it through Twilight and Rarity. Twilight’s beam grew larger, even sporting electric sparks crackling throughout. Korsan’s opposing beam soon slowed down.
Fluttershy quickly wrapped herself around her friends and held them even tighter together. This tightened bond and stability, plus electricity gathered in the pegasi, further strengthened them. The beam attack became less chaotic and thickened.
Pinkie Pie pulled out her large umbrella and held it open above the group. Lighting madly attacked the metal tip of the pole. The electricity traveled through Twilight and the others into the beam, strengthening. The beam started launching loose lightning bolts of energy into Korsan’s beam, weakening it.
Soon, Twilight’s beam turned from a simple purple beam attack into a massive ray of purple, light blue, dark cyan, pink, and yellow. The cyclone of magic, electricity, and pure friendship and determination rivaled Korsan’s maddened power. The two beams came to a complete stop. Korsan didn’t take this lightly, though. Howling in rage, Korsan held his front claws to the beam and summoned lightning into his metallic suit and into his beam. His beam of destruction slowly expanded and starts to close in on Twilight’s group.
The collision of the two beams drew in only three metres in front of Twilight’s face. The thing between Twilight and death was Twilight’s beam, growing thinner and thinner. Despite its massive power, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie together couldn’t beat Korsan’s final suicide attack.
Applejack looked over this seemingly unavoidable fate, coming to the conclusion that there was nothing she can do to help. She didn’t have Twilight’s and Rarity’s unicorn magic. She didn’t have the pegasi power of the storms like Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. She didn’t even Pinkie Pie’s abnormal tricks. She was also an Earth pony, a mere physical strength boost.
Despite what she said before, Applejack’s mind rapidly started to ponder about the truth of Korsan’s words. Strength was practically useless against the untouchable power of magical gods in comparison. Slowly, Applejack closed her eyes, and waits for the inevitable.
However, at second glance, Applejack soon came to a sudden realization.
I may not have the super-physical or magical abilities of my friends, she thought to herself. But I have been one of the strongest members of our friendship, we all are actually. Pinkie Pie’s laughter has helped us through dark times of sadness. Fluttershy’s kindness has helped us remain humble, and help everypony we can. Rainbow Dash’s loyalty to our friendship almost never fails, and has helped us stay together. Rarity’s generosity and mercy has helped us make more friends which have helped us in the long run, way before she was kidnapped. My honesty has helped us keep true to our word and keep our friendship strong.
Not only do we trust each other, but believe each other in the end, despite all odds. All combined with Twilight’s magic of friendship, our friendship, we are unstoppable. You hear that Korsan?! We will never lose to you! Never in a million years! We are equals, friends, family, all to the end of time!
Now bursting with a sense of determination and hope, Applejack climbed down to Twilight’s side. She held her hoof up to the beam. With all of her strength and might, she concentrated into the beam. She felt as if it was her very essence going into it. Her hooves firmly press into the beam and held it and Twilight as firmly as possible. It was a this point when the friendship of these six friends was put to the test.
In a flash of light, the beam instantly doubled in size. It emitted a golden aura, rife with the golden magic of friendship. The beam shattered Korsan’s beam in a blink and charged straight down at him. Korsan fell back from the annihilation of his final attack and watched in horror as the golden ray of light asylumed his vision.
“Noooooooooo!” Korsan’s screamed, which instantly died as his body vanishes in the golden beam.
The surrounding water flew upwards as the beam plummeted down into the bottom. Ship fragments and remnants of battle flew everywhere, even as high as the sky. Twilight and the others continued to fire the beam for a solid 30 seconds, extinguishing any trace of Korsan.
Eventually, though, the beam died down on its own. The mares became exhausted from the long fight as well as the entire adventure. The sea below silently returned to normal, revealing not a hint of the pirate captain’s presence other than the surrounding debris. The natural waves and winds flowed across the area once more. The skies cleared from its red haze to reveal the black sky and white stars above.
Korsan had been defeated.
The mares returned to the world of gravity and slowly began to descend to the planet surface. A royal ship sailed over to them, ready to bring them home. Several ponies inside quickly got to work and picked up the six. Twilight and the others were escorted to disposable medical beds.
While Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie immediately fell asleep on the air-filled mattresses, Twilight and Rarity remained awake. They turned their sore heads to the open doorway to look over the remains of Korsan’s work. As the ship passed over the wreckage, wood and metal parts bubbled up to the surface. The parts of the head of Korsan’s airship form bobbed up to the surface in. Korsan’s original and new cutlasses washed onto a thin sheet of wood. His old, ragged cape was plucked from the water by the wind and fluttered off into the horizon. The only thing recognizable to them that was in one piece is a single black sail floating in the water, with a red gear symbol woven in the center.
A sense of victory silently triumphed inside Twilight as she saw what was before her. The world was safe once more. The same grand feeling also flourishes inside Rarity, of course. But a much deeper was inside her also. A sense of pity could be felt.
Rarity remembered how Korsan was once simply an innocent foal like herself, Twilight, their friends, and everypony else. She remembered how a string of bad luck had turned such a foal into this insane, bloodthirsty monster. As much as she, Twilight, and everypony else wished it was possible, the sad truth was undeniable: Korsan would never be redeemable from the clutches of madness and evil. The ship finished its cruise over the wreckage and slowly sailed back to Equestria. The remaining boats followed home as well, leaving The Perfection and its captain to peacefully sink to the bottom of the sea alone.
An hour had passed, and everypony had exited the scene by the horizon. One of the electric blades slowly floated up and surfaces. It was drained of electricity and anti-magic, and barely resembled a sword. There, impaled by the tip of the blade, was Korsan’s body.
His armour was completely destroyed. His mane was in a frizzled mess. His flesh and fur were extremely burnt, still sizzling from the mares’ final attack. Over a dozen other disfigurements were present in the stallion, but the details would be overly grossing for anypony to hear. The burning body remained slumped over the sword inside his chest. His eyes were closed, perhaps the most peaceful form for them to be.
Suddenly, Korsan’s scarred eye sprung open. His breath gasped. His body jolted to life. Korsan instantly began to sputter and choke. Water, mixed with a small bit of his own blood, spewed from his mouth. A metallic taste and smell reeked throughout his body.
His bare hooves dug themselves into the blade and pushed. In his desperate grasping for life, Korsan pulled himself off of the blade and climbed onto the top of it. He laid himself onto the metal cover and continued to gag for several minutes. It felt like an hour at least. In time, he was able to actually breathe the salty night air around him. Despite it being filled with the fumes of his burning ship, Korsan found it heavenly.
He attempted to climb onto his hooves, but his back suddenly shrieked in pain. His large body instantly collapsed back onto the metal floor. Groaning, Korsan slowly turns his head and looked at his backside. It is a wreck, with his back at a razor sharp angle. A large metal rod was going through the part of the severed spine and even more metal debris and scraps piercing through his mangled wings.
Korsan opened his other eyelid and placed his hoof over the eye. He quickly pulls out upon feeling nothing but a hole. Unable to scream, Korsan sputtered and gasped some more. He felt for his horn next. He found a massive gash running through the front of it, all the way from the base to the tip.
His back was gone, his wings were gone, his good eye was gone, his horn was gone, his magic was gone, his power was gone, his sanity was gone, his ship was gone, his riches were gone, his mare was gone, his crew was gone, Juliana was gone, his career was gone, his legacy was gone, his infamy was gone, everything that Korsan has ever valued was gone.
As Korsan stares off into the horizon, he subconsciously laughs to himself.
“Hah. Hahaha… Hahahahaha...”
His mind recalled the previous events the led to his downfall. Among all of those memories was Twilight Sparkle, staring at him.
“It’s surprising what you live through... Isn’t it, Princess Twilight Sparkle? Perhaps I had just enough anti-magic mixed in my blood to survive that final blow you gave to me… Haha...”
Slowly, Korsan started to drag himself across the sword and onto a large piece of quarterdeck still remaining.
He rambled on, “You sure did a number on me though... I can’t deny that… Ya demon you… But don’t worry Twilight… I’ll be back… These wounds, they are only temporary… I can fix myself… No… I will fix myself… And when I do, oh when I do… ‘What will I do?’ you may ask…”
“…” The night breeze gently hummed back in response.
Korsan chuckled, still exhaling water from his lungs and insides.
“What I’m gonna do… I’m gonna destroy you… But not in the way you think of it, Twilight… That would be mercy… No… I’m gonna destroy you as you’ve destroyed me… I’m gonna take away everything you’ve ever valued… Your friends, your family, your kingdom, your world, it’s all gonna suffer and die… Right before your very eyes as well! You’re gonna weep… You’re gonna weep even when you no longer have any water in ya… And before you die, I’m gonna pump more water into ya! You’re never gonna die until I see that everything you know turns extinct… No… Not extinct, non-existent!”
The wooden floor below his destroyed body groaned and screamed.
“You hear me, Twilight?!” Korsan screamed, climbing onto his hooves. Despite the incalculable pain now searing through his body, the brown alicorn continue to rise.
He roared, “This is only the beginning! Vengeance will be mine! For as long as I live, this will never, ever, ever, end-!”
The floor suddenly collapsed from Korsan’s weight. His body instantly fell through to the floor below and landed in a shallow pool of water. Korsan cried in pain and slowly tried to regain himself. However, as he was getting up, his eye looked forward to see a poor sight. A crossbow cannon was right in front of him, tracking him. The machine purred, delighted to find new prey. Its gears rapidly accelerated. It roared.
It fired.