Chapter 8: Reckoning
“This is bad!” Shining Armor gulped as a bead of sweat dripped down his head, “This is very, very bad!”
“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Blazing Dawn cried out as the duo slowly backed away from the former Princess of the Night, whose familiar dark chestpiece had just materialized onto her chest as she grew in stature.
“Bwahahahaha!!!” Nightmare Moon’s evil laugh echoed through the night as clouds rolled in above Ponyville, lightning crackling in the sky as Luna transformed, “I am the bringer of night! I am NIGHTMARE MOON!”
“Blaze...” Shining Armor growled kept his sword at the ready using his magic, “We have to do something! If we allow her to fully transform, neither of us will stand a chance!”
“And neither will Equestria...” Blazing Dawn’s eyes were wide with horror as Nightmare Moon’s helmet appeared on Luna’s head, “I have to do something! ARGH!” Thinking quickly, he charged up the knock-out spell Luna had taught him, his horn glowing with light blue energy, and fired it at the transforming princess.
“Pathetic!” Nightmare Moon smirked and cackled as the spell dissipated in the cloud of evil gas that surrounded her, “You are WEAK, alicorn! To think you could disrupt my power as you did! Now that I am reunited with Luna, Equestria shall forever be shadowed in endless night!”
“We’ll see about that!” Shining Armor reared up on his hind legs and charged the transforming Princess. Blazing Dawn roared and followed suit, lowering his horn as he charged with the guard captain.
“FOOLS!” Nightmare Moon barked before she simply stomped her hoof on the ground, causing another dark shockwave to spill out around her in all directions. The two colts were knocked off their hooves instantly, Shining Armor slamming into a cart; shattering it, and Blazing Dawn slamming into a piece of a wall in the road, his broken wing again taking the brunt of the force.
“GAH!” The alicorn groaned as he slid to the ground and tried to fold up his wing, but only grimaced in more pain as the bones in his wing cracked even more.
“Blaze...” Shining Armor pulled himself out of the rubble from nearby and coughed out some blood, using his magic to pick up the sword again and face the Nightmare as it continued to reunite with Luna, “If he fully reunites with Luna before dawn in ten minutes...” He looked over at Blazing Dawn with a bloodied expression of worry, “It’s over...”
Blazing Dawn slowly picked himself up and shook himself off before growling and facing the Nightmare as well, who was cackling maniacally as more clouds of darkness surrounded Luna and lightning shook the ground, “What...what should we do?”
“Your...your knock-out spell...” Shining Armor managed to say through grunts of pain and drops of blood, “Charge it up to be more powerful...” He looked back at the Nightmare, “I’ll...I’ll distract it...
“How!?” Blaze asked in disdain, “The Nightmare will interrupt the charging once it finds out what we’re up to! And...” He blinked back a tear, “I don’t think I can do it...I’m too weak as it is...”
“Listen to me, kid!”
Blazing Dawn suddenly felt his head being jerked upward to look into the bloodied face of Shining Armor, who has grabbed Blaze’s shoulders with his forehooves.
“You CAN do it!” He narrowed his eyes, “I have seen you do things, Blaze. Powerful things! Things Celestia and Luna could never dream of accomplishing magically! Don’t think I haven’t seen you training with Lunar!” He added quickly, as Blazing Dawn looked like he was about to ask, “You are one hell of an alicorn, kid! And if anyone can save Equestria...” He gulped, “It would be the son of the Seventh Element!”
Blaze’s eyes grew wide with shock when Shining Armor mentioned his dad. With tears in his eyes, the Unicorn smiled and ruffled the young alicorn’s mane, “You can do it, Blaze...I know you can...”
Blaze was speechless as the guard captain limped in front of him and held up his royal guard sword at the ready with magic, ready to the defend the alicorn to his last breath.
“Do it.” Shining Armor said with looking at him.
After a brief moment, Blaze nodded furiously, “Right!” Blaze spread his legs into a more stable stance, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and growled.
Out of the corner of Shining Armor’s eye, he could see the spark of light blue magic appearing on the alicorn’s horn as he began to charge it. More cackling from the transforming Nightmare Moon and more claps of thunder turned Shining Armor’s attention back to the Princess of the Night as she gazed over at the duo.
“Ahahahaha! Well, well, isn’t this amusing? The little alicorn is going to try his little ticklish knock-out spell again...bwahahaha...” The transforming Nightmare Moon slowly turned to face Shining Armor and Blazing Dawn, “Go on...fire it off...see what happens...” She grinned toothily and lowered her head, anticipating an attack.
The only sounds heard in the town for a few moments were the glistening magical auras of Blazing Dawn as he charged his spell and Shining Armor as he held his sword and the furious booming of the thunder as lightning crashed down above Nightmare Moon.
She raised her up and cocked it to the side, confused, “What are you doing, alicorn? Drawing it out will not hel-” Suddenly, the transforming Mare in the Moon spread her wings and roared, clenching her teeth, “OH NO YOU DON’T! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO CHARGE IT!”
The mutating Princess of the Night charged forward in a frenzy, her horn lowered and aimed at Blazing Dawn, whose eyes were still closed. The light blue magic coming from his horn was getting bigger and bigger steadily.
Before Nightmare Moon could reach Blazing Dawn, however, the demon of the Night found herself stuck. “What!?” Clashed with her horn when she was a few feet away from Blazing Dawn was a sword, surrounded with a blue magical aura.
“You want him, you go through me, first...” Shining Armor said as he grunted to hold back Nightmare Moon.
Nightmare Moon was clearly amused, “Hahaha! How quaint!” She yanked her horn free from the clash with Shining Armor’s sword, whirled around and lunged this time at Shining Armor, who again blocked her horn with his sword. Swatting her head away, he leaped forward with a yell and swung sword sword down and struck a blow on her helmet. Crying out in pain from the blunt force of the hit, the demon staggered back in surprise at the wounded guard Captains sudden and powerful assault. “Is that all you got, Nightmare!?” Shining Armor smirked as he continued his attack.
Blazing Dawn, meanwhile, was still charging his spell, “It feels about halfway done...” He cracked open his eyes to see Shining Armor keeping the Nightmare on the run, “Maybe we can do this! There’s hope!”
After a powerful slice from Shining Armor that sent the Princess of the Night flying back a good few meters, she whipped her head up and growled, the evil gas and lightning intensifying around her, “First, you escape me! Now you think to defeat me!?” She stood up tall, her evil serpentine eyes glowing red with crackling magical energy, “You will not LIVE to see me fall, Unicorn!”
“As long as you fall...” Shining Armor swung his sword expertly through the air before stopping it in front of his face, “Then I will be content, you monster!”
“DIE!!!” Nightmare Moon suddenly lurched forward towards the guard captain, who yelped in surprise and quickly jumped backward, parrying a series of three intense blows from Nightmare Moon, each one making him cringe in pain and clench his teeth tighter.
“Pony feathers...” Blazing Dawn muttered as he watched Nightmare Moon power up and make a comeback, “Come on, magic! Don’t fail me now!” He closed his eyes again and doubled his charging speed, making him sweat. “Come on, come one, come on!”
“GARGH!” Shining Armor grunted in pain as Nightmare Moon’s horn scraped his shoulder as he narrowly dodged another attack from her. He wiped off the blood, then leaped up into the air for a counter-attack.
“Oh no you DON’T!” Nightmare Moon shouted as she whirled around to buck the guard captain in the chin, but when her hooves should’ve made contact with the Unicorn’s chin, her hooves met only air.
“Wha-ARGH!” Nightmare Moon fell down hard on the ground as Shining Armor had teleported behind her mid air and slammed his sword down on her armored back.
Blazing Dawn smiled through his concentration in charging his spell, “Yes!” He looked up at the clock on Town Hall, “Ten more minutes...” He returned his attention to charging the spell and watching Shining Armor, “All I need is five...”
“Done yet...demon?” Shining Armor managed to say through his pants. He was tired out, blood dripping from small wounds Nightmare Moon had given him in their duel. The magic encasing his sword faltered for a moment as he brought it up in front of his face again.
Suddenly, another dark shockwave exploded around Nightmare Moon, sending Shining Armor and his sword flying backwards. After landing hard on the ground, he hurriedly picked himself and his sword up just in time to see Nightmare Moon, with glowing angry eyes, lower her horn and start firing lethal beams of magic at the guard captain.
Crying out in surprise, Shining Armor executed a serpentine maneuver, running back and forth away from Blazing Dawn so no stray blast of magic were sent his way. The magic blasts that missed exploded on impact with debris and buildings in the background and Shining Armor ducked and weaved around the wreckage of the street.
“Stop running, coward!” Nightmare Moon barked, sending more death spells at the Unicorn as he disappeared behind some cart wreckage, “There is NOWHERE you can hide, fool!”
“FOR EQUESTRIAAAAAA!!!”
The next few moments went by as if in slow motion. Blazing Dawn watched in awe as Shining Armor leaped out from behind the cart wreckage, higher than any Earth-bound pony Blazing Dawn had seen jump, his sword raised in the air above him with his forehooves, not his magic, in an effort to slam down his weapon over Nightmare Moon. In response, the demon of the Night took flight, spreading her dark wings and flying up to meet the guard Captain, her horn aimed right at his chest.
There was a clanging noise as his sword met her horn, followed by an explosion of bright light that caused Blazing Dawn to avert his eyes for a moment.
When the light cleared, Blazing Dawn gasped. A heavily panting Shining Armor stood above a downed Nightmare Moon. He laughed uneasily for a moment, then sighed, “I...I did it...”
“Way to go, Shining Armor!” Blazing Dawn yelled at the Unicorn. He was about to drop the charging of his spell when Blazing Dawn realized something. “Why isn’t she back to norm-?”
“SHINING ARMOR!!! LOOK OUT!”
“Wha-?” Shining Armor whirled around just in time to block another horn attack from Nightmare Moon. Another explosion of dark magic caused Shining Armor to be knocked backwards again, this time his sword flying out of his forehooves. He grunted as Nightmare Moon fired a blast of that magic from earlier straight at him, the magic hitting him square in the chest.
“NOOOO!!!!” Blazing Dawn cried out as the guard Captain flew backwards and slammed through a wall of a house.
When the dust cleared, Shining Armor, burned badly from the blast on his chest, leaped out of the hole in the wall, tears streaming from his face. No sword in hoof, he clashed horns with Nightmare Moon instead.
Nightmare Moon, taking advantage of his weakened state, angled her head downward so that Shining Armor fell down onto the ground. She reared up and slammed her forehooves down onto the guard captain, whose eyes dilated as he screamed in pain, blood spilling out of his mouth.
“No! No! NOOO!” Blazing Dawn stomped on the ground in frustration, tears flowing from the alicorn’s eyes.
Shining Armor rolled to the side before Nightmare Moon could slam down her hooves again, quickly stood up, and tackled the demon of the Moon down to the ground, getting her in a headlock. Cackling, Nightmare Moon flung him off with ease, sending the guard sprawling.
Shakily standing up, blood drizzling from his nose and mouth and the burn wound, he feigned a fighting stance, roared, and charged the Princess of the Night one last time with all the energy he could muster, closing his eyes.
There was a sickening slicing noise.
Shining Armor could faintly hear Blazing Dawn scream his name, though his hearing was completely shot at the moment.
He looked down, shaking. Nightmare Moon’s horn was impaled in his chest cavity. An explosive feeling of pain erupted around his chest area as Nightmare Moon smirked and withdrew her horn.
“NOOOOOOOO!!!” Blazing Dawn cried out in agony as Shining Armor stood there, his breaths coming in small gasps from the shock of being lethally stabbed.
Slowly, he looked over at Blazing Dawn, whose horn was glowing fiercely with the knock-out spell. He smiled faintly.
“Save everypony...for me...” The guard Captain managed to mouth before closing his eyes.
Blazing Dawn’s wet eyes shrank in shock as the Unicorn guard Captain fell down to the ground with a heavy thud. As a pool of his own blood began to form around him Shining Armor opened one blurry eye. Across the square he saw the unconscious bodies of his little sister and his wife, Cadence
“I’m sorry Cadence...I hope...I hope our foal will be okay...” He closed his eyes. “And Twily...remember your bro as the guy who helped save Equestria...” He opened his eyes one last time and looked at his sister. “I hope you’re proud of me, sis...I...I...”He closed his eyes.
“I...love...you...”
His breathing stopped and his head rolled to the side.
Shining Armor lay still, unmoving.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Blazing Dawn cried out to the sky and sat down on his haunches, slamming his forehooves into the ground, “No no no no!!!!”
The mutating Nightmare Moon grinned toothily down at her handiwork, then look up at the clock. It read three minutes to six in the morning, “Poor Shining Armor...” The Nightmare cackled, “How unfortunate he decided to take such a course of action to save you, alicorn...” Nightmare Moon turned to face the shuddering alicorn, who had his face buried in his forehooves. She powered up her horn, “Pathetic alicorn...you couldn't have even HOPED to come close to the power of a simple Unicorn like that worthless piece of garbage...” She gestured her head to the side at the corpse of Shining Armor, “And you only have less than five minutes...hmhmhm...what can you possibly—”
“Shut up...”
“Wha—?”
“I said, shut UP!!!!!!” Blazing Dawn’s head snapped up suddenly and he roared at the demon, his scream rumbling through the air towards the the mutating alicorn, staggering the demon.
“Was that-?” Nightmare Moon sputtered in disbelief as Blazing Dawn stood up slowly, his eyes beginning to glow a fierce golden color, “The Royal Canterlot Voice?! How!?” Nightmare Moon began slowly backing away from the young alicorn, who had extended his wings and, despite the fact one was wounded and unusable, and floating in the air as a bright golden aura started to surround him.
Blazing Dawn pointed a forehoof at the confused demon, “You have threatened my mother...” The alicorn clenched his teeth, seeing his mother’s body out of the corner of his eye.. “You’ve taken over the town with your hideous spells...” He narrowed his glowing eyes angrily, “YOU’VE KILLED MY FRIENDS!” Nightmare Moon looked back at Shining Armor’s corpse before quickly looking back at the floating alicorn, whose horn, which was previously glowing light blue, was now glowing gold. “NOW, I WILL DESTROY YOU, NIGHTMARE!”
Nightmare Moon stood her ground, lowering an armored horn and powering it up with a dark, crackling magical spell, “WE SHALL SEE, ALICORN!!!”
Blazing Dawn lowered his horn towards the Princess of the Night and roared, his horn crackling with golden energy. Nightmare Moon roared right back at the alicorn before letting off her blast of magic. It crackled and hissed as it sailed through the air towards the floating alicorn.
Time seemed to go by in slow motion as the blast of magic from Nightmare Moon hurtled towards Blazing Dawn. Something else caught the young alicorn’s attention before he could fire back, though.
On the horizon, the sun had started to rise. It was dawn. The sun had come, despite the fact Nightmare Moon had returned.
“What the hay?” Blazing Dawn thought, “How is that possible!?”
“Son...”
Blazing Dawn’s eyes snapped open at the sound of a strange voice of a stallion he’d never heard before. All he saw was Nightmare Moon’s serpentine eyes fixated on him as the the beam of magic she fired off was hurtling towards him. Time was standing still, with the sun peeking over the horizon in the background.
He turned around in the direction where the voice had come from. He gasped.
Standing behind him, in his full 7th Element Armor, was the legendary Blue “Ace” Bass.
His father.
“F-Father?!” Blazing Dawn thought, but his thought echoed around the space of frozen time he was standing in.
Smiling, the stallion walked forward and placed a forehoof on his shoulder, “Son, I’m so proud of you...” He looked at his son, his golden eyes glowing brightly, “I know I’m not here physically to be proud of you, but know this...” He nodded and smirked, “Though I’m not with you now, it may seem like I’ll have forgotten all about you, but that is most definitely NOT the case...” He put a forehoof up to his son’s mane and moved to ruffle it, if his hooves were physically there, “I’ll always love you, even if it doesn’t seem that way...” He looked up then nodded at the mutating Princess, “Looks like you’ve got a world to save...”
“Dad...” Blazing Dawn reached out a forehoof to his dad, who nodded.
“Don’t worry, son. I’m here to help.” Ace nodded and positioned himself behind his son, drawing one of his sheathed Element Scimitars, and and extended it towards Nightmare Moon. It glowed brightly with the same golden glow that was enveloping Blazing Dawn.
Ace looked at his son, then nodded with a smile, “Let’s finish this.”
Instantly, time flowed as it once did.
Blazing Dawn turned towards the incoming blast of dark magic, roaring more intensely than ever before, and was enveloped in a blinding golden light.
“ARGH!” Nightmare Moon put up a forehoof to shield her serpentine eyes from the shockwave of light, “What in the-!? The Seventh Element!? How!?”
Blazing Dawn was floating bi-pedal style in the middle of the brightly glowing light, his eyes closed and his horn aimed down at Nightmare Moon. Behind him, Nightmare Moon could swear she could see Ace in his armor, pointing one of his scimitars at her. Simultaneously yelling out battle cries, the two colts let loose a monumental blast of golden magical energy. This energy was retrieved from the sun as its head peaked over the horizon, and because the energy from the spell was from the sun, a ring of fire surrounded the beam of energy as it cascaded towards the mutating Princess of the Night.
“NO!” Nightmare Moon made a move to try and run away as her spell dissipated harmlessly away as Blazing Dawn’s charged headlong into it, “NOO!” She spread her demonic wings in a move to take flight, “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
The bright light surrounded Blazing Dawn enveloped the area as the sun rose higher and higher into the air, Nightmare Moon’s screams echoing through the air moments afterwards.
Blazing Dawn felt his hooves touch back down to the ground. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
It was daytime in Ponyville. Most of the fires throughout town were extinguished and only smoke remained. Luna was down on the ground, breathing steadily. She was knocked unconscious. The Nightmare was gone for good.
He smiled when, one by one, he saw ponies who were previously corrupt moan and stand up on their hooves, groggily asking one another what had happened.
He smiled even more when he saw Rarity and Pinkie Pie hug each other in glee, Fluttershy and Shadow Breeze kiss warmly, Papyrus and Applejack embrace in a tight hug, and Lightning Flash fly up into the air a do a aerial flip. Blue Arrow wiped sweat off of his brow and sheathed his weapons, sitting down on a nearby bench.
“Blaze! Ya’ll did it, Blaze!”
He grinned excitedly as the voice approached him from behind. He knew that sweet accent anywhere.
Before he could turn around to greet them, he was instantly tackled by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, playfully poking at him and tickling him, “Guys, seriously! Hahaha! Ouch, hey the wing’s still tender! Hahaha! OW!”
When Blazing Dawn finally managed to stand up, he felt something warm on his right cheek. There was a slight popping noise as Applebloom peeled her lips away and stood in front of him, smiling, “I knew ya’ll could do it, Blaze! Ya’ saved Ponyville! Nah...” She hugged him. “Ya. saved Equestria!”
Blazing Dawn blushed, “You would’ve done the same thing, ‘Bloom...
She blushed when he called her that pet name again, “Ah shoot. I t’aint an alicorn! And—”
“OH MY GOSH!”
“B-B-Blazing Dawn!?”
He turned around to face the two other Cutie Mark Crusaders, whose eyes were dilated with shock and whose forehooves were pointing at his flank, “What?” Blazing Dawn asked with a cocked eye.
“Y-Y-Your flank...” Scootaloo spoke up.
Sweetie Belle smiled, “JUST LOOK!”
His eyes followed their gaping stares and even he was left breathless. On his flank, was a large golden circle. Emblazoned within the circle was the elemental symbol of fire.
He gasped, then whirled around and checked his other flank.
The same symbol was there.
It was his Cutie Mark.
“YES!!!! Hahahah!” He leaped into the air in joy and again dogpile hugged the Cutie Mark Crusaders, “My Cutie Mark! It’s...it’s so awesome!”
“Congrats, Blaze...” They stopped tackling each other for a moment and looked up at whoever spoke. A beaten Rainbow Dash was limping towards them, smiling brightly at her son, “I’m sure your Dad would be very—UMPH!”
Blazing Dawn leaped up and wrapped his forehooves around his mother’s neck. “Mom! I did it! I got my Cutie Mark!”
“You forgetting something, champ?” She grunted in pain slightly, but kept up her smile, a few tears forming in her eyes, “You saved the bucking world, kid!” She took to the air and grabbed her son with her forehooves and gazed into his eyes as he smiled up at her, “My boy saved the world...” She nuzzled him, “I’m so proud of you, Blazing Dawn.”
“I love you mom...” Blazing Dawn embraced his mother tightly as she hovered in the air, and she hugged him right back.
“I love you, too...with all my heart...”
They touched down after several moments and Blazing Dawn released his mother. There was so many things he wanted to tell her, but she made it easier for him.
“So?” She feigned a fighting stance, crouching down to his level, “How did you do it, huh?”
“Well...”: He frowned, “It was odd. You’ll never believe it, but I saw—”
He was cut off by the piercing scream of a familiar mare reverberated through the air around them. Blazing Dawn, Rainbow Dash, the three fillies, and everypony else in the area turned to see Twilight Sparkle’s Magic headdress fall to the ground as the purple Unicorn fell to her haunches and buried her tear-stained face in the corpse of...
“Shining Armor...” Rainbow Dash’s face turned instantly to that of sadness, tears welling in her eyes, “No...”
Blazing Dawn looked down at the ground, tears welling in his eyes as well. He wished he could’ve forgotten about that.
There was another scream as Cadence, who had just gotten up, galloped over and kneeled down next to Twilight, “Shining! NO!” She sprawled her hooves over his corpse and put her horn down to his broken and bleeding chest, “Please live, Shining!” Her horn glowed as she tried to bring the dead captain back, “Shining! PLEASE! PLEASE!” She begged him to come back, but nothing could reach him.
Blazing Dawn gritted his teeth and slowly trotted through the crowd that was forming around his body. Staring at him with looks of surprise or contempt, the ponies parted and let him by. He trotted up behind Cadence, who was still trying to bring him back.
“Cadence...” Blazing Dawn started. “I...”
Cadence whirled around and embraced Blazing Dawn, the tears staining his coat as he tenderly wrapped his hooves around the pink alicorn. “P-Please tell me...he-he died nobly...” Cadence leaned back and looked at Blazing Dawn in the eyes. “PLEASE!”
Blazing Dawn smiled faintly and looked over at his corpse, “Yes, Cadence...” Blazing Dawn nodded, “If he hadn't sacrificed himself, I...” He sniffed, “I wouldn’t have been able to save Equestria...”
She smiled and looked back at his corpse, letting go of Blazing Dawn, “I wouldn’t expect any more from the colt I married...”
Trumpets sounded through the air suddenly as several figures descended from the sky. A whole troop of Royal Guard Pegasi had landed nearby, and Princess Celestia herself followed suit, landed gracefully a good distance away.
Rainbow Dash pulled her son close, muttering, “Princess Celestia...”
The townsponies bowed and made way for their ruler as she approached Luna, who was just regaining consciousness.
“Sister...” Celestia said as Luna got up, shaking her head, “Are you well?”
Luna nodded, hugging her sister, “Yes...the Nightmare almost had me for a moment.” Upon hearing Twilight crying, she looked around her sister and gasped, holding a forehoof up to her muzzle, “Oh no...”
Celestia turned and walked towards Shining Armor’s corpse. The Princess of the Sun lowered her head and let a single tear fall from her face onto his body, “I felt him leave this world...” The sound of Celestia’s mature voice made the weeping Twilight Sparkle look up, her face red with tear-stains, “He was a powerful Unicorn, and a being with that powerful a connection magic can be felt leaving this world when they die...that is why I awoke and came here as fast as I could, but...” She sighed and motioned for a nearby guard, who was holding an Equestrian flag, to trot forward, “It looks like I was too late...” Everypony bowed their heads in respect as another guard joined the first guard in spreading the flag over Shining Armor’s corpse, “He shall not be forgotten...”
More and more soldiers arrived in the town of Ponyville that day as word of the brutal attack spread throughout Equetria. The soldiers assisted in clean-up and screening to make sure everypony was truly rid of the Nightmare.
All the ponies who were in comas due to corruption by the Nightmare were transferred to the specialty hospital in Canterlot, as Ponyville General could not hold them all.
Blazing Dawn and his mother assisted in moving the injured and dead around town and helped various ponies cope with their losses. Twilight, however, refused to speak to Blazing Dawn the entirety of the time, her tear-stained face filled with contempt as she tried to work, but only broke down in tears at the loss of her brother.
Celestia announced to everypony there saying shortly thereafter they would have a graveside service in the military graveyard in Canterlot for Captain Shining Armor, who would have a monument erected of him on his grave instead of a gravestone, “Although no sculptured marble should rise to his memory, nor engraved stone bear record of his deeds, his remembrance shall be as lasting as the land and the ponies he honored. And protected.” Celestia concluded, bowing her head.
Blazing Dawn and Applebloom watched on Celestia’s announcement in sadness, Applebloom leaning her head on the alicorn. He would never forget the brave unicorn, nor his noble sacrifice. As he watched the soldiers carry Shining’s covered-up body away and into a chariot for transportation to Canterlot, he sighed.
“Ya’ll okay, Blaze?” Applebloom said suddenly.
“I’m...I’m fine...” Blaze said sternly.
“Is Shining Arrmor still on yer mind?”
Blaze sighed again and gulped, blinking and looking down at Applebloom, “‘Bloom, death leaves a heartache no one can heal, but love leaves a memory no one can steal.” He sighed, “I’ll always remember him...and so will everypony else...” He smiled, “On my honor as an alicorn Prince...I so swear...”
-FIN-
OCs:
Blue Arrow, Papyrus, and the Red Hooves © QTXADsy
Shadow Breeze © AnonJ17
Lightning Flash © Lightning Flash
A/N: Heya, everypony! That’s another story complete!
I know, I know. So sad that Shining is gone. HOWEVER! He may not be gone for good. Depending on how the majority of you react to his death...well, you will see in the three short epilogues we have planned that lead up to “The Return of the7th Element”.
ANYWAY!
I had a really good time brainstorming with Henry in this epic collaboration of minds that foretells the events five years prior to the REAL sequel to “The 7th Element”. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it with him.
Now, the short epilogues we have planned will do a few things.
-Add onto the romances that were developed in this story to prepare you for what you will see in “The Return of the 7th Element”.
-Resolve the Shining Armor sub-plot.
-Overall prepare you all for what is to come.
-Give more in depth closure to certain aspects of ANDotH
Thanks again for reading, everypony! I wanna thank a few people.
Henry Anthony Courtler, you are a great editor and it was a pleasure to collaborate with you on this story! You rock, man!
TheRockingDoubleK, thank you so much for taking over as editor for a while. Your help was greatly appreciated.
And Robsa990, your epic cover art has made my stories that much more exciting to read. I owe you man! You are awesome.
That’s it! Read on to the epilogues when they are ready! The first one, dealing with luna and Lunar Eclipse, should be ready soon.
Your faithful authors,
Thunderhawk7865 and Henry Anthony Courtler