//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Vs BLACK ABYSS! Humanity’s Last Hope... // Story: The Black Sun // by Super Ponyman //------------------------------// (Shadow Station) Sunset looked back down the hall, thinking to herself. ”Finally... it’s over.” Savior motioned for everyone to listen to him. He started to explain his plan, “Ok, so We have our way back. But we still have to destroy this place, just so no one can use it.” He projected a holographic image from his gauntlet. “We are here, near the observation deck. Our way out is in the entrance hall. I’ve placed several charges around the station, as soon as I press this button, we will have 10 minutes to get out of here and into that portal.” Celestia sensed a odd shift in tone from Savior, “You don’t think Eclipsio is gone, do you? That is why you want to destroy this place.” Savior nodded, “This seemed like it was too easy a victory. I didn’t find the body of Eclipsio, I could only assume either Burning Star’s Megidolaon attack completely vaporized him... which is unlikely due to him being an Alicorn, or he disappeared to regroup and rearm.” Shadow Armor responded to his statement, “My bits are on the latter. Eclipsio has proven time after time in the past that he could survive anything.” “So let’s all get to the portal, like... now!” Shouted Lucina, who sprinted down the hallway. Everyone took off after her, but the thought of Eclipsio was heavy on Sunset’s mind. ”He couldn’t be alive... could he?” she thought as she ran down the hallway. The group arrived at the entrance and Savior pressed his gauntlet, activating the portal and charges at the same time. “Alright everyone! Let’s go!” He said, ushering the Princesses in first, followed by Sunset, Frostclaw, Shining and Shadow, then Lucina. Savior looked at the base behind him and sighed, “Damn... couldn’t save you, you wouldn’t want that Eclipsio. Fine... you want to burn us, then you can burn.” Savior jumped through the portal and it closed with a white flash. (Sunset’s House) A portal opened and the Heroes fell out and on top of each other as the portal collapsed behind them, since it had no other anchor. A collective groan of pain was heard from everyone as they all tried to stand up at once. They all fell over each other trying to stand up. Savior finally got to his feet and said with a relieved sigh. “That was close... I may have been off on how long I set those charges for.” Luna frowned, “Really?! We didn’t notice!” She said sarcastically, then received an accidental elbow to the face from Shadow Armor. After 2 or 3 minutes of struggling, everyone was up and recovering. Savior had placed Burning Star on the couch to rest, Flash was placed on the other end. His wounds had healed... but the fact that he was still somehow alive both gave Sunset hope and worried her. She decided to talk to Celestia about this, “Celestia, Flash is still alive... how?” The Princess surprisingly shrugged, “I for once don’t know, Sunset Shimmer. I am not of your world, the world that I come from is called Equestria Gamma, we are three worlds away from Equestria Alpha and Earth Alpha.” Sunset looked confused, “Yeah that has been bothering me, how does all this trans-dimensional/alternate universe travel work exactly?” Frostclaw has overheard Sunset talking and he smiled wide enough that all his sharp teeth were visible at once, “OOH! OOOH! I KNOW THIS! Ask me!” Celestia turned to Frostclaw and told him, “Ok then Frostclaw. What do you know about the process of trans-dimensional travel and the workings of the Multiverse?” Frostclaw ran downstairs to the Stable command hub, then came back up with a large binder that had been used heavily. It had several pieces of loose leaf sticking out of it and it’s cover was peeling. Frostclaw slammed the binder down on the kitchen table and opened it up, “So... Dimensional travel... You thought that the ponies of Equestria were the first to travel to alternate dimensions and universes? Not even close. In fact, the first species to even cross into another dimension were the dragons of the Far East.” Luna looked shocked, “What? How have you done this without us noticing?” Frostclaw shrugged, “While the Western Dragons found in the Dragonlands as well as much of Equestrian Europe are rather dull-witted, but freakishly strong... the eastern dragons found on Equestria’s Asia were not as physically powerful, but our magical prowess and intellect was more than enough.” He continued to read, everyone now listening the best they could. “The first dragons to ever cross from one plane of reality to the next were the serpentine dragons of Neighpon. They had access to the Yokai Dimension, a place that was filled with strange creatures called Yokai. Some looked like Demons, some were animals, but each one was unusual in one way or another. Thankfully we don’t go there much anymore, the Yokai Yamato-No-Orochi is currently locked in battle with a warrior known as Susanoo.. Not the best person to annoy.” Celestia’s eyebrows shot up at the reference to Sunsano-o, “Wait... you mean Susanoo, the god of storms and summer, the brother of Amaterasu? The goddess of the sun in Neighpon and Japan, and Tsukuyomi, the God of the Moon? He is on Equestria Gamma?” Frostclaw nodded, “Yes. Thunder Fury got into trouble with him... we had to deal with a month long storm as the two battled it out. Thunder Fury lost, of course... he was fighting a god. What did he expect to happen?” Sunset sighed, “Can we get back on topic, please?” Frostclaw noticed Sunset’s comment and cleared his throat. “Over time... the dragons of Equestria Gamma faded into obscurity and Starswirl the Bearded was the first pony to use dimensional travel to seal away the three siren sisters... Eclipsio was a avid fan of the wizard... and even got his cutie mark in Reality warping and illusions, not Eclipses.” He continued to read, “thousands of years later... it is still in use. Teleportation is just a short distance version of dimensional travel. A unicorn turns itself into magical energy, and reappears where it was desired to go. For larger distances... artifacts such as the Mirror Portal and Multiverse Pool have to be used.” “Sooo... that still doesn’t explain what alll this dimensional travel is about.” Sunset commented Frostclaw shrugged, “Sorry Sunset. I only read history, Eclipsio was the one that knew all about this, I can only read from a book I borrowed from Twilight.” Sunset nodded, “Ok then. That’s fair, maybe I could figure this out with Sci-Twi and the girls or when I head back to Equestria again... speaking of that, shouldn’t you all be going as well?” Shadow Armor whistled to get her attention, “Sunset, I’m not entirely sure we can return. Black Sun destroyed the mirror on our Equestria, and none of us at this moment can use dimensional travel. Guess who was the one to usher us here?” Sunset sighed, “I’m guessing Eclipsio was that guy. But what about the girls and I using the Magic gems we used to defeat Gaia Everfree to open a portal?” Shadow Armor shook his head, “No. That would most likely backfire and sent us who knows where. The magic you used was of this world, the mirror was of Equestria. We would need some sort of magical object on Equestria to attach the dimensional bridge to. Without an anchor, the portal would collapse almost instantly.” Sunset face palmed, “Ok then if that won’t work, what are we going to do... wait for Burning Star to wake up?” Celestia and Luna said at the same time, “We could open the portal.” Shadow Armor raised an eyebrow at that, “Really? You were able to do that and you were caught by Black Sun?” “He effectively ambushed us, and I didn’t see you spring into action.” Luna pouted. Shadow Armor’s eyebrows fell over his eyes and he said surprisingly aggressively, “What was that?” Everyone, including Celestia and Savior... backed up as Shadow Armor’s stoic composure broke... His normal stone-faced frown twisted into a frightening snarl that showed off his sharp fangs, his eyes narrowed until the only part you could see of them were his burning red irises, and his tone changed drastically. He started speaking to the Princess of the Night, slowly stepping towards her. Everyone was as far away from Shadow Armor and Luna as possible. “Luna... while you were busy screwing around with Black Sun... I was busy both getting married, getting my new wife and the rest of the guests to safety, AND I even decided to go on a possible one-way trip to save your royal ass and destroy the twit that kidnapped you in the first place! Now tell me this... Princess, who had the bigger problem?!” Shadow Armor was leaning over the Princess of the Night, her deep blue eyes trying to shy away from an angry red glare that made Burning Star’s look paltry... Luna quietly said, “Sorry...” Shadow Armor backed up and saw that everyone that was in the room was either hiding or trying to keep themselves as far away from him as possible. His face returned to his stoic look and he sighed, “C’mon now, I’m not that scary when I’m mad, am I?” Celestia peered our from behind a curtain. Considering her size, How she fit there was beyond Shadow Armor’s imagination. She said to him, “No Shadow Armor, you ARE that scary. I’ve never seen you lose your composure before...” The Black Knight raised a scarlet eyebrow, “Would you like me to lose it more often?” The Princess of the Sun when pale, “No... never... ever do it again.” He looked even more confused, “Why? Did I do something to... Princess... Luna...” He turned around to see Luna shaking on the floor in fear. Her pupils were mere pinpricks and her hair was a mess. The Black Knight groaned, “Oh come on now. Youre Princess Luna, you have seen the eldritch nightmares of the Dream World, someone like me isn’t that frightening, am I?” Luna replied shakily, “No, your worse. Because at least with them I have the comfort knowing that they are nothing but bad dreams... that... glare you gave me was enough to shatter the nerves of anyone.” Shadow Armor lowered his eyebrow back to his eye before it could get high enough to fly off his head. “Oh... well then I apologize for that. I didn’t mean to be so... intimidating.” Suddenly, a cough of pain was heard from the couch, everyone left their hiding spaces and saw a miracle. Burning Star and Flash Sentry had awoken! The Equestrian of Fire tried to get up, as did Flash, but both fell back onto their backs. “Gah... I feel like I just died and came back...” wheezed the Alicorn. “I think I actually died and came back... ow.” Flash groaned, trying to sit up again. Savior lifted the two of them up and said with a small smile on his face, “Well then... welcome back to the land of the living you two, had us all worrying the worst.” Sunset looked over at Flash and saw that the stab wound in his chest was somehow gone... She asked him uncomfortably, “Flash... why are you not dead?” ”Yikes that sounds mean...” she remarked to herself. Flash Sentry put a hand to his head. “Am I supposed to be dead? Because I’m feeling and looking very alive at the moment.” Lucina mentally gasped as she saw the impossible... She saw Savior’s jaw drop... LITERALLY. Savior’s metallic has had come unhinged and had fallen to the floor with a clatter. She respectfully picked it up and placed it back on before he noticed. Savior placed a hand on Flash’s shoulders and began to shake him. “How are you alive! You were stabbed straight through the heart! You should be dead!” Flash placed a hand to his shirt and felt the blood on it, he took off his shirt and everyone was shocked by what they saw. Flash’s chest had completely repaired itself... despite him apparently being human! Although now seeing this... no one was sure “who” or “what” Flash was... Flash poked at the scar left by the stab wound, “Oh... you mean this? Eclipsio bound my soul to his... meaning as long as he is still alive, I’m would not stay dead for very long, remember?” Everyone still looked confused, and Flash asked again, “What?!” Celestia made her way over to the teen and lifted him up by his arm, thanks to her own incredible strength. “We all can see that Mr. Sentry... but it doesn’t make sense. Eclipsio’s katana Thanatos is coated in Alicorn Bane, a substance that erases anything it touches from existence. The better question is... How are you still existing?” Flash Sentry scratched his head, then said, “Well... it may have something to do with...” Shining Armor ran inside and screamed, “WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” Everyone was startled by the sudden outburst, all except Shadow Armor, who asked him. “Alright... but How did you get sent outside when the rest of us were sent in here?” Shining facepalmed and screamed at him, “DOES THAT MATTER RIGHT NOW?! THERE IS CUREENTLY A METEOR SCREAMING TOWARDS US!” Savior rushed outside and saw that Shining was correct... There was indeed something meteor-shaped flying across the sky... And he knew who it was immediately... Savior turned to the Equestrian of Fire and asked him. “How fast does your regeneration work?” Burning Star tilted his head in bewilderment, “Takes a couple minutes, little longer the more seriously I’m hurt... why do you ask?” Savior lifted him above his head and tossed him out the door, he landed on the lawn with his head facing the sky. Burning Star groaned, “Hey! What was that for...” he noticed the meteor heading towards Canterlot... And his expression changed from one of confusion to one of Fury so fast it was scary. He walked... more like STOMPED inside and grabbed Deicide. “Of all the times in the world... OF ALL THE TIMES!” He grumbled loudly, stomping out the door. He stopped and turned around to the group, “Look we both know who it f—King is, so lets get this over with...” Everyone let out both a groan of exasperation and a yell of anger before grabbing their own gear and running out the door. The meteor screamed across the sky and landed in the center of the city, black smoke pouring out of the buildings it smashed through. As the group ran towards the crashing object, Burning Star cursed to himself. ”This has better not be f—King Eclipsio... it had better not be him or I’m gonna lose my shit...” (Canterlot City, Canterlot Tower) The heroes arrived at the crash site to see Firefighters and other disaster workers on the scene. They were busy putting out the flames on the surrounding buildings that were ignited by the meteor’s trail of destruction. Celestia looked around and said, “These poor people... they must have been through so much during these last few weeks... yet somehow they still have the will to go on. How?” Sunset interrupted her, “It is the power of humanity, Celestia. When we are put against the wall by something like this we can do two things, die or survive. We have grown pretty good at the latter and rarely do the former, as you can see.” The smoke cleared and the crater was finally fully revealed. It was not a meteor... it was “something”. This something was a large black object covered in various runes and markings, both of Equestrian and Terran origin. It looked to be made of some sort of metal, although no one had identified it yet... Burning Star warily put his hand to his sword hilt and braved himself for the worst. He said to himself, ”If this is Eclipsio again I’m gonna go ballistic...” The object suddenly let out a hiss of steam and the object took off into the air, bolts of energy erupting from it as it unfurled... revealing a face that Burning Star was absolutely livid with rage at seeing. The object began to speak, ”Surprised to see me Burning Star?” Everyone but Flash and Burning stepped back as the object fired off a large red laser beam that cut away at the ground around him, it sliced apart buildings and cars. Celestia, Luna, as well as everyone but Flash Sentry and Burning Star was blown back and a large purple-Black force field went up around them. Prince Eclipsio snarled, his voice echoing across the air, ”I will deal with you all later... I’m going to deal with you two first!” Flash wanted to run, every instinct said he should run and hide... but he stood next to Burning Star, paralyzed with fear. But he was less scared of Prince Eclipsio... who looked like a black mass of spikes and metal that seemed to seethe with hatred. Flash Sentry had seen Eclipsio mad... he wasn’t anything like what he was seeing Burning Star Burning Star looked like he was about to LITERALLY EXPLODE into a mass of fire and anger that would inevitably consume him and eventually the world. While he had heard from Eclipsio in the past that Burning Star was a dangerous man when angry... He honestly would feel more safe when he was next to Eclipsio than Burning Star. Mainly because despite being unable to die, at least as far as being stabbed and shot... He assumed that complete incineration would kill even Prince Eclipsio and him... as well as everything within the city. Flash scooted a bit closer away from Burning Star, and the Equestrian of Fire grabbed him by the shoulder and glared at him with a gaze so intense that it seemed to bore right through his head. “YOU ARE STAYING RIGHT! HERE!” Burning Star said, his hand firmly gripped on Deicide. Flash managed a weak response to Eclipsio, still feeling that overwhelming gaze on him. “H-Hey Eclipsio, how are you doing?” He said, his voice extremely small. ”EIGAON!” Prince Eclipsio’s response was a HUGE blast of darkness from his palms that leveled the ground in front of him. ”You want to know how I’m doing? Huh?! Well, let me tell you what happened, and how you forced me into this... this... THING for the wrong reason.” Prince Eclipsio’s Armor projected a hologram recording out (Shadow Station, Hangar, 1 hour ago...) A single gasp of air echoed throughout the now empty base... Followed by another... and then another. Prince Eclipsio was alive... He was burned badly, had many bones broken and was bleeding internally and externally... but somehow alive! Burning Star’s Megidolaon must have overloaded his regeneration and he passed out. He woke up to the sound of explosions, his base was blowing up! “Damn that Ironheart! I knew I should have destroyed him before he even had the idea to build that suit...” he snarled as he stood up. A smile crept on to his face, “...However that metal-head had his uses. Project Ragnarok is my last-ditch weapon against those worms. I will finally be able to destroy Burning Star using it as well!” The heavily wounded Alicorn half-ran, half-limped up the stairs to the reactor. He reached his hand out to the panel and said. “Computer... transfer all available magical energy to Project Ragnarok and activate it...” The computer responded, alarms still blaring. “Critical damage to the reactor and security grid. The transfer may cause a rupturing of the artifact containers.” “Damn the artifacts! Just activate the goddamn project! Prepare for immediate launch.” He roared as he struggled to the panel behind him as the tanks of magical energy drained and flowed into the Magic Battery at the far end of the room. Eclipsio types in the activation code and he spread his arms out, equipping Project Ragnarok. He socketed the Magic Battery in the chest piece and he stepped out with heavy steps. He was wearing some sort of armor... A smile broke across his face, “Computer... Launch now.” The hatch below him opened and Eclipsio flew out into open space. The base finally exploded, sending Eclipsio flying towards the planet, very alive... and very mad. “Alright heroes... You think you’re hot shit? You think you can blow me up and walk away? Well if you all want to run away to Equestria, then I’m going to destroy that world too! But first, BURNING STAR! YOU ARE GOING TO DIE SCREAMING!” Eclipsio plummeted towards Earth, he entered the atmosphere... all the while Project Ragnarok was changing him into his greatest form... A form that could obliterate worlds... and finally crush his sisters forever... (Back to the Present...) Prince Eclipsio deactivated the hologram and roared like some unholy beast. ”You see it now, don’t you? Look around Burning Star... humanity is disposable, they are born and live for mere moments, before dying...” Burning Star had the balls to show a smirk to him. ”And despite their mortality they have survived for thousands of years... so what is your point?” ”It makes no sense! I destroy nearly ALL life on Equestria and my sisters decided to restore it? Why did she bother doing it?! I had done what I was born to do!” Through either the rush of adrenaline or actual, real bravery. Flash felt his voice return to him and he managed to get in his words against Eclipsio. “So you would condemn Earth and Equestria for destruction because of some petty grudge you have against your sisters?” He said, crossing his arms. The Eclipse Prince nodded, ”YES! I have conquered! I have killed our enemies!” Burning Star fired his spell, ”Maragidyne!” and several plumes of Fire were unleashed upon Eclipsio. No damage was dealt... Celestia yelled at him in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “At what cost Eclipsio?! You were so paranoid that someone would destroy you that you commit genocide against you own kind?! Now you see why we banished you...” Prince Eclipsio screeched back as another blast of darkness flew from his hands, it was swatted away by Burning Star, ”Eclipsio is Dead! He was weak, unwilling to do what must be done to ensure that you and Luna know that everything doesn’t matter. Why do we associate ourselves with the pathetic ponies? They are mortal, they live sad little lives doing the task set to them, then die alone with no escape from death... why should I care about them? What reason have they given me to care? NONE.” Sunset decided to give him a piece of her own mind, “You have every reason to care, you twit! I thought the fact that you have so much power meant you were mature enough to use it, I guess I was wrong, wasn’t i?” Prince Eclipsio suddenly clutched his head and started screaming, ”SHUT UP! I am no longer bound by the chains of your “friendship” and “Love”. I have returned to what I was once, and should have been in the first place.” Prince Eclipsio’s Armor suddenly blew up and he emerged, his new form making all but Burning Star shiver in terror. Prince Eclipsio’s body had grown significantly, he now stood nearly 10 feet tall and he was much more muscular. His skin was charred black and seemed to pulse with purple and black sparks of energy. His robes had been completely destroyed, leaving tatters of clothing wrapped around his arms and legs. A long blood red scarf was wrapped around his neck, it was twisting in the wind like some sort of serpent. His once human hands and feet had morphed into monstrous claws and talons, each razor sharp and colored a bright silver. His once silver hair had been turned dark red and two black horns were sticking out of his head from behind his ears. Eclipsio’s face has morphed into something so nightmarish it couldn’t be described too well. His eyes had turned a sickly purple and black flames were blazing out of them. His teeth were pointed and black fire was seen coming out of the gaps of them. A long, spike-lined tail had emerged from his back and giant black and red demonic wings erupted from his shoulders. Burning Star looked upon this form and said to Flash Sentry, “Well that form is something I haven’t seen in a while...” Flash nervously asked, “What do you mean by that?” The Equestrian of Fire chuckled a bit, “Well... when I first met Eclipsio his body was destroyed and he was using an artificial one created by my Sunset Shimmer. When he was banished he went by a different name...” The demonic... thing roared loudly, shaking the very earth. ”I AM THE CONSUMER OF WORLDS! THE TERROR FROM CELESTIA AND LUNA’S WORST NIGHTMARES!” He unleashed several Megidola spells around the area, small balls of light scattered out, destroying everything they touched. It forced Burning Star to put up a shield. ”I AM BLACK ABYSS!” (Start Music) Black Abyss’s body glowed a eerie red and purple and the buildings around them had pieces being broken off. They were swept up into a purplish vortex that was appearing from the former Prince of Eclipses... Now he was Black Abyss, Consumer of Worlds and Bane to All Living Things. A monster so powerful that he literally destroyed his own body... ”VORPAL BLADE!” Black Abyss unleashed one of his attacks, sending blue energy blades towards Burning Star. They effortlessly smashed his shield and sent him flying against the crater wall, brutally injured. He tried to get up, but Black Abyss kept attacking him with Eigaon, pounding his body again and again... Burning Star threw Deicide at him, Black Abyss swatted the sword aside and sent a punch to him that sent him flying into the air and crash onto a car. Black Abyss opened his palms. ”NOW DIE! BLACK MEGIDOLAON!” All Flash could do was watch as Burning Star was engulfed in a purple energy blast that blew him away and onto the hard rocks below. ”Megidolaon!” Burning Star’s attack was destroyed on impact... ”Megaton Raid!” No scratch appeared on Black Abyss... Despite his strength and his multiple counter attacks, even Burning Star was unable to do anything to Black Abyss. Any attack he fired simply didn’t do any damage to him. Flames extinguished upon impact... His sword bounced off his skin... Even his own Megidolaon was nullified on contact... What could he do?! Black Abyss launched his own sword towards Burning Star, impaling him on it and dragging him into the air and into Black Abyss’s waiting claws. Black Abyss punched him in the face multiple times, as well as slashing him repeatedly midair. The Equestrian of Fire was slowly being killed... He couldn’t get away... he was going to die... Black Abyss finally threw him down into a building and unleashed THREE MEGIDOLAON attacks at once, blowing the entire skyscraper apart and dropping it on top of Burning Star, burying him. Black Abyss laughed, ”YOU ARE PATHETIC! AS I SAID, I AM THE MOST POWERFUL BEING EVER, AND ALL WILL BE DESTROYED BY MY HANDS. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Sunset screamed, “Burning Star! C’mon get up! You can’t lose!” No response... Shadow Armor also yelled, “You can’t die here! You can’t let this thing be the thing that puts you down!” No response... Burning Star crawled out the rubble, and was hit by another Megidolaon, sending him flying like a rag doll. Flash could only watch... this was all his fault... Black Abyss turned to the heroes and screamed out, ”Go ahead! Cry for your hero! He is nothing compared to me! He is useless, worthless, all because he values life. I WILL RENDER YOUR WORLD AND EQUESTRIA EXTINCT, AND HE WILL GO TO TARTARUS KNOWING HOW HE FAILED SO BADLY... THE MIGHTY BURNING STAR IS NOTHING BUT A WEAK, INSIGNIFICANT, UNIMPORTANT, HUMAN...” Black Abyss pointed his hand out and a dark ball of destruction formed, ”NOW DIEEEEEE!” Flash felt something well up inside him, either bravery or stupidity... and he ran out and grabbed Burning Star our of the way. He placed Burning Star on the ground behind him as Black Abyss floated in front of him. “Get back, you monster!” Flash shouted, earning a laugh from the Demon. ”Oh... what is this? You dare to stand in my way? The lonely and unimpressive Flash Sentry is going to save Burning Star? What chance to you stand against me?” Flash shook his head and assumed a fighting stance, “I will protect him, you will not get past me, Black Abyss!” This actually made Black Abyss smile, then he laughed again. “YOU WANT TO STOP ME!? AHAHAHAHAHA! Perhaps I underestimated you Flash Sentry. You are completely stupid as well as completely worthless. You really think that you, a fragile, unimpressive human with no powers... can stop me, the almighty destroyer of everything?” Flash felt his anger build, and he finally unleashed it. “I know I can! You are the one that is pathetic, Black Abyss!” Black Abyss snarled, ”You call me pathetic? How am I the pathetic one?” Flash looked back upon the broken body of Burning Star, and he felt his determination to stop this monster skyrocket. He said to the monster, no fear in his voice. “How are you pathetic? You are trying to destroy people and ponies that had nothing to deal with your banishment, you are willing to kill billions of innocent lives because you believe that because you are powerful you can do whatever you want to those less than you?!” ”Humans and ponies are weak! They deserve to be destroyed for their weakness!” Flash couldn’t take it anymore and screamed at the top of his lungs, tears in his eyes. “We are not weak! We have adapted and survived for thousands of years, built mighty empires and developed into a advanced society. We have done all this without your godlike powers, we have survived on instinct, intelligence, and willpower so strong that nothing can break it. Not even you!” Sunset looked at Flash yelling at Black Abyss, and she felt something well up within her as well. Flash continued to yell at the Demon. unknown to him... his body slowly began to glow. “And yet you, Prince Eclipsio... decide to destroy us simply because we are not as strong as you? I think you really want to destroy us because you are afraid of us... afraid that deep down, we are Infinitely stronger than you will ever be.” Flash stomped his foot down and pointed his hand at Black Abyss. “You. You are the weak one, because you fear us. You fear the idea that there could be someone slightly stronger than you, that even with all your magic and weapons and anything else... you will never be able to become a truly strong being.” The demonic destroyer roared, ”Silence! You know nothing of my power!” Black Abyss threw a boulder at Flash, who slid out of the way and continued to speak. “The fact that you need to constantly attack and lash out at anyone only tells me that you are the weakest being in the world. True strength comes from within, from drawing upon the strength of others, and by believing in them as well as yourself. That is what the true power is, the power of friendship... a force even you cannot defeat!” Burning Star came to just to hear Flash chewing out Black Abyss, “All my life I thought I was alone, that I was going to be forgotten, that what I’ve done as Black Sun was unforgivable. I made a mistake... but my friends are there to help, to give me strength. what you are doing is, in my opinion at least, this revenge is childish and sad. You did something wrong and were punished, F—King DEAL WITH IT, YOU WHINY BASTARD. YOU ARE A PETULANT CHILD...” Black Abyss flew forward and roared, ”I WILL END YOU! RAAAAGH!” Burning Star closed his eyes and waited to hear Flash’s scream of pain as Black Abyss tore him apart... But he heard nothing. He opened his eyes to see Flash Sentry... HOLDING BLACK ABYSS BACK!? (Stop first theme) (Begin 2nd theme) Black Abyss looked at Flash Sentry, the teen’s eyes were glowing blue and his hair was turning a dark blue. Some strange feeling ran across Black Abyss... something he didn’t know that he could feel... Terror. Flash Sentry cocked his fist back and punched Black Abyss clean across the face, sending him flying into the Canterlot Tower behind him. Burning Star felt his regeneration finally kick in, and he struggled to his feet. His jaw was on the floor... Flash Sentry... a normal human... had just shouted at Black Abyss... one of the most powerful beings to ever exist... and then punched him into a building. Flash turned around to see Burning Star standing up, and he said to him, his voice unusually strong, “You alright?” The Equestrian of Fire was speechless... Flash smiled, “I will take your silence as a yes... can you fight?” Burning Star nodded, “Do I really have a choice at the moment?” Flash let out a small chuckle, before Black Abyss flew out of the building covered in small bits of rubble. Burning Star picked up Deicide, while Flash Sentry just stood there... weaponless. Burning Star asked the human, “H-How did you do that?” Flash shrugged, “Does it really matter? Just get ready for battle!” Burning Star asked him again, “Wait... what about you?” Flash shot a smirk towards everyone that gave them hope. “For the sake of the humans and ponies who had lost their lives at the hands of Black Sun or him. will defeat Black Abyss... because that is what must be done.” He pointed his hand to the sky and exclaimed, “So I beg of thee, let the shroud of death descend upon the monster known as Black Abyss, and lend me the strength to do so!” Flash suddenly erupted into a plume of blue and black light, and his body started to change. His face was suddenly consumed by a white mask and a black robe engulfed his entire body. He began to float midair and his hands began to emit blue fire. His eyes turned blue and glowed with supernatural light. Flash snapped his fingers and a weapon manifested in his hand, a large dual ended scythe with one black blade on one end, and one white blade on the other. He split the scythe into two smaller ones and descended to the ground. The robed figure looked at Burning Star and spoke, his voice chilling him to the bone. ”You do not need to fear me, Alicorn of Fire. Through his show of true bravery in the face of impossible odds... Flash Sentry has proven himself worthy of my powers for a short time...” Burning Star was about to ask who or what this being was, but the being best him to the Punch. ”I am known by many names, the harvester of souls, the harbinger of death... but I am known by one name... The Reaper...” The Reaper pointed at Black Abyss, with his black scythe. ”Black Abyss... you have upset the balance between life and death with your needless destruction of innocent lives... the souls of the ones you killed scream out for your demise, I am here to fufill them.” ”DARK MEGIDOLAON!” shrieked Black Abyss, and a dark purple beam of light was launched at The Reaper. The Reaper simply held out his hand, and the attack vanished. Sunset was stunned, she said to everyone. “That thing that engulfed Flash just negated Black Abyss’s spell! How?!” The Reaper pointed at Black Abyss, and Burning Star knew what he had to do... Burning Star charged up his true strongest attack... All that this Reaper needed was an opening... Burning Star finished and pulled his arm back, the giant flaming ball of light held in his left hand. He then screamed his heart out, and put every last drop of his strength into his attack. Sunset signaled for everyone to get down... she what Burning Star was about to do... ”STAR... STRIIIIIKE!!!” Burning Star flung his Starstrike attack as hard as he could, it sailed toward Black Abyss, who put up his shield in hopes of lessening the impact. The shield broke instantly... and Black Abyss was engulfed in a massive explosion of fire and heat that could been seen throughout the city. It was like someone took the sun out of the sky and dropped it upon the world... in fact... it kinda was. Black Abyss screamed in agony as his incredible regeneration couldn’t keep up and his body was burned alive. The attack ended, and Black Abyss crashed to the ground, struggling to stand up. He finally stood up, but he was immediately greeted by the Reaper’s Black scythe against his body, and the chilling eyes of the Reaper were staring at him. Black Abyss kicked away and said with real fear in his voice. ”I can still stop you... you are still Flash Sentry under there...” The Reaper spoke, his words turning Black Abyss pale. ”No one can stop Death.” The Reaper swung his scythe across Black Abyss, and the demon shook for a moment... Then Black Abyss just... shattered into nothingness leaving behind a haunting scream that made even Burning Star’s blood run cold. (End music) The shield around the heroes vanished and Sunset ran down to Burning Star, embracing him in a hug. “Thank Faust you’re alive! You did it, you both did it, both you and Flash...” She turned to the black-robed being, and said to it. “Is... Flash alive?” The Reaper approached Sunset and bowed its head, ”Flash Sentry... is no longer with us... he sacrificed his life to stop Prince Eclipsio and save you all... I am sorry, Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset sank to her knees and wept... “To think I hated him for being that monster... I didn’t even get to say goodbye to him *sniff.” The Reaper hissed out, ”You can say farewell to him one last time...” The Reaper suddenly opened like a gate, and a translucent version of Flash floated out. Sunset looked at him with tears in her eyes, “I... I’m sorry for what I said when you were Black Sun... I don’t want to say goodbye to you.” Flash put his ethereal hand on Sunset’s cheek, he gave a small smile. ”You do not have to, Sunset.” He placed his hand over her heart and said to her, as well as everyone there. ”Do not be sad that I am gone... I will never be gone... I will always be with you all. Goodbye.” The spirit of Flash Sentry stepped back inside the Reaper, and it closed once more. The Reaper then began to speak, ”Do not mourn for Flash Sentry, instead... take solace in knowing that he finally free from the horror of serving Eclipsio. He will be watching you... from the world beyond.” The Reaper made his scythe disappear, and he began to speak, every word seemed to hurt the hearts of everyone. ”Reapers are not usually ones to offer condolences for what we do. We harvest souls of the ones that have died... and punish those who think themselves beyond our power. What you all have done has been enough to earn the respect of me and Death himself... you all willingly threw yourselves against a foe that in every way would have been your end. But you did it to save lives... and you have saved many. For that, I thank you.” He continued, his robe slowly billowing in an invisible wind. ”Life and Death are a necessary part of any universe, they do not take sides... you should know this. Death is not an enemy... it never has been an enemy of life... just the other end of it.” He started to walk to Burning Star, placing his unearthly hand upon his shoulder. ”Alicorn of Fire... while you have taken the lives of others, you have shown penance for your actions. And so... I shall spare you.” The Reaper finally started to disappear, but he finished by saying, ”I say to you all... while Life and Death normally do not change... one force can overpower both... Friendship.” The Reaper vanished into the wind, leaving the sounds of sobbing echoing throughout the silent city. The sun shone down upon the city, bringing back the light and heralding in the sense of peace. Sunset thought to herself... still in tears, but in tears of both sorrow and joy. ”Now... It is over...” Burning Star felt his own tears streaming down his cheeks, and he said quietly. ”Today is a day of rebirth for this city... as well as this world. Prince Eclipsio is forever destroyed... and I can rest easy on that. Flash Sentry... whoever or whatever you are I have one thing to say... “Thank you...”