//------------------------------// // Chapter 40: Endgame // Story: Adventures in The 6ix // by Wiz Ahmad //------------------------------// XAVIER POV HOME Many hours later, I awoke to the sound of breakfast being prepared in the microwave. Today was the final day for both parties. Twilight and her friends would be returning to Equestria, and Joyce and I would leave for Trinidad tomorrow. “Today’s the big day,” I announced to my friends. “Are you ready to go home?” “Yeah!” Rainbow Dash whooped, performing a backflip. “Alright. Let’s get ready. The crystal should be arriving any time soon.” Sure enough, shortly before noon, a door knock could be heard. I rushed to answer it. “Package for Mr. Xavier William Brown, please.” “Thanks,” I replied, hiding my excitement behind a confident smile. I quickly signed the package and its respective document, then brought it down to be placed in a bag. “Can I see it?” Rarity asked excitedly. I shook my head. “Not yet.” My phone then buzzed, and I answered it. “Hello?” “You coming, Xavier?” “Yes, just another ten to fifteen minutes. See you there. Bye.” I slid my phone back into my pocket and turned back to Rarity. “I need to get this staff completed as soon as possible. Then you’ll get to see the crystal.” With that, I took firm hold of the bag, grabbed my skateboard, and ran out the door. It didn’t take long before I reached the shop, and rushed inside as quickly as I could. “Ah, Xavier, you’re here!” Rodney exclaimed. “Follow me.” Rodney led me to the back of the shop, where a large fire was raging. The air suddenly went from 20 degrees to like 100. I felt like my clothes would catch on fire as we approached a large stone workbench, where the staff lay. “Got that crystal?” “Yes sir!” I replied, opening the package and holding it up. Rodney wrapped it in a special cloth, then proceeded to work on the staff. He held the remaining three spikes in the fire at few thousand degrees, before gently placing the wrapped crystal in the center. Finally, he bent the red-hot metal around the crystal, encasing it. To top it off, he curled the spikes’ tips outward like flower petals, rubbed some sand on the edges of the spikes, and submerged the whole thing in water, before rubbing it dry. I stood there, gazing in awe. At last, the staff was complete – and it looked exactly how I wanted it to. There were six curved edges, which lined up exactly with the vertices of the crystal within, and a smooth, circular opening at the top. And a circular guard at the bottom, with a large handle, complete with the stabilizing pommel. “Yes!” I squealed, ignoring the fact that my face was torched, and my clothes were wet with sweat. A dream had just been realized before my eyes. Rodney looked up and smiled at me. “You now have all you need. Let’s get you nice and dry, so you can get out there and use this staff for what it was crafted for!” We stepped out of the forge room and wiped off our sweat, before taking a half-hour rest session to cool our bodies back down to room temperature. Gripping the staff, I lifted it up. It felt heavy – about as heavy as two milk bags – but I could manage it. I signed my resignation papers and waved a tearful goodbye to all the employees I’d known for many years, before taking off down the road. It was a rather odd sight, a black teen on a skateboard, carrying a staff that looked like it came out of a video game – but I could care less. I was on the most important mission of my life, and nothing would stand in my way except the ordained fate from God Himself. Arriving home, I checked the news. “Well, the city of Toronto is now evacuating, as the beam of energy from space shows no sign of stopping as it nears Earth. It reappeared just last night and has been travelling at full force straight towards Earth, targeting North America, though we can’t be sure where. Radio wave-mapping has detected it might touch down in Toronto later today, hence the evacuation…” “Twilight!” I called out, bursting through the door. “We need to get moving immediately.” The look in my eyes meant I was serious, and she complied right away, ordering her friends to put on their elemental necklaces. I came down the steps, and helped put Tempest’s tack on her, including the large saddlebag. We loaded up the large gifts into it, while Spike held his ballpoint pens in a cloth bag. Rarity took her skateboard, I took mine, and we all headed out the door. Halfway down the road, I could already hear the honks of cars on the highway below as everyone struggled to get away from an impending doom, an impact of disaster. But not us. We knew what it was, and why it had come. Yet amidst the noisy cars and trucks, I heard the sound of someone running behind all of us. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed it was Joyce, all dressed up in her running gear. “Think I’d turn a blind eye?” she mused, and I smirked. “That’s the Mom I know,” I thought with a smile. “What’s the plan?” Twilight asked me as we powered through the crowded streets. “We have to walk,” I replied. “Even with the streetcar it’s not feasible with all these people moving in large masses. It may seem to take longer, but in reality we are the fastest-moving out of all of them.” “I doubt that,” Joyce countered. “Everyone’s moving away from the center of the city, so it would make sense that the routes going towards the city center would be clear of jams.” “That makes sense,” I thought, starting to form a plan. “Twilight, Rainbow Dash!” I instructed loudly. “Get up to the CN Tower. Twilight, see if you can detect the magic from that energy beam. If you can, try guide it to the Toronto City Hall. We will deploy in the square in front of it. Rainbow Dash, guard her and keep an eye out for any police.” “On it!” Rainbow Dash replied confidently, and the two took off into the sky like missiles. Meanwhile, Joyce and I boarded the first streetcar we came across, and zoomed off towards the city center, with the others in tow. Pinkie and Skystar had brought their bikes, but I insisted on riding with us. We had to stick together. It didn’t take long for Twilight and Rainbow Dash to reach the CN Tower. Towering over 1,000 feet high, it wasn’t exactly hard to notice. Securing herself to the very top, she reared her neck and fired a blast of magic into the sky. It sputtered and faded out like smoke. Again and again, she fired, hoping it would be recognized and a connection of sorts would be made. Her determined sky-firing act had come at a cost, though – attention. “Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash called out to her friend. “We’ve got company.” Twilight whipped her head around to see several helicopters circling the tower a few meters below. The helicopters’ doors were open, and inside sat several beefy guys in military getup, armed and ready with some of the biggest guns she’d ever seen. “Keep trying!” Rainbow Dash urged her friend. “I have! And I’m tired!” Twilight replied. “You have to keep trying! Otherwise, these guys will – ” “RETURN TO THE GROUND, OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!” “Got your answer?” Rainbow Dash mused. Twilight nodded and her head heated up to the point where it was practically glowing. With a yell of fury, she blasted another beam into the sky, this time lighting it up like a thunderstorm strike, blinding everyone, including Rainbow Dash. A thunderous crackle and a slight boom were heard, and just beyond the rim of visible view of the sky, a multi-colored beam of energy, many meters wide, could be seen. A thin beam ricocheted back towards Twilight, and she shook as the magic re-connected to her. “Yes!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “You are now one with the magical force! Let’s get it to where it should be! I’ll distract them.” “They’ll kill you!” “Then I’ll go down with honor for Equestria!” Rainbow Dash declared, zooming off without waiting for any answer. “There she goes!” the soldiers cried out. “Get her, get her!” They let out a ring of shots, but Rainbow Dash could turn very sharply and was a lot faster than any helicopter. Time and time again she frustrated them, giving Twilight the valuable time she needed. Reunited with the magic from Equestria, Twilight let go of her foothold on the CN Tower, and used all the energy she had left to fly down to the Toronto City Hall. High up in the sky, the magical beam soon followed. Down on the ground, the others had stuck with Joyce and I. It was a challenge getting the transit drivers to negotiate, but they soon relented. After a good ten minutes, we arrived at the Four Seasons Centre – close enough to our destination. “Let’s get off here,” I announced, getting up and running off the streetcar, gesturing to Spike, Fluttershy, and the others to follow. Joyce did too. “Good luck!” the driver called out. “Thank you!” Joyce replied. Together as one, we raced down the street. Spike rode on Tempest’s back, firmly seated in the saddle, while Pinkie and Skystar mounted their bikes and kept up with me on my skateboard. Joyce trailed behind but kept a good pace in her runner’s outfit. Everyone soon started to notice, and I picked up camera flashes here and there. This would probably blow up all over social media in a matter of hours, but I didn’t care. I had one mission to complete. We soon arrived at Nathan Phillips Square, but sirens could be heard. “Aw, great,” Applejack moaned. “Cops again.” “We can outsmart them,” I replied with a confident smile. “We just have to time this accurately for when Twilight comes… if she ever does.” “Oh, she’s coming alright,” Pinkie Pie said, pointing. Up in the sky, a purple streak could be seen, slowly making its way towards the city hall. Its movement wasn’t super-smooth though; it was a little shaky and constantly re-adjusting. “She’s running out of energy, but slowly regaining it,” Fluttershy explained, though I could still hear the worry in her voice. As we all hid from view of the cops in the square, I observed how Twilight was moving – her angle, her speed, and how close she was to the ground. Finally, she was in the right place – a good twenty meters above the fountain pond. “Split, now!” I ordered. “Fluttershy, Applejack, Spike, and Rarity, you’re all with me. Tempest, Pinkie Pie, Skystar! You three go around the back and come out in front of the TORONTO sign. Stay out of sight mas much as possible until the last moment. Don’t damage anything and don’t hurt anyone. Are we ready?” “Ready, Breezy!” they all replied in confirmation. “Let’s go!” I cried out, running across the street and charging across the pavement, dodging cops and leaping over a bench. Applejack kept Fluttershy close, while Rarity and Spike kept together by my side. “Not this time!” I crowed, holding out my staff as several cops started to surround us, preventing us from accessing the main square grounds. “Well, since you aren’t being nice…” Rarity hissed, firing a spell that I’d never seen before. It was a shield spell, deflecting bullets as we advanced forward, slowly pushing the cops back. While the cops got frustrated with their guns, Applejack snuck around and delivered several sharp blows to their legs, tripping them, before knocking them out cold. “Sorry,” Rarity said sternly, stepping around them. “You left us no choice!” With open access to the square grounds now, I headed straight for the center of the area in front of the fountain pond, perpendicular to the TORONTO sign, and held the staff up. “Twilight! Over here!” I called out. “Xavier! You made it!” “I sure did. Now let’s do this!” The beam was now hovering overhead, no more than a few thousand feet above. Now we needed all the elements together. But where were they? Just when I was about to panic, Pinkie and Skystar emerged from behind the snack bar building. And Tempest ran out, right behind them, fully clad in her tack – and not feeling pleasured or queasy. “Where’s Rainbow Dash?” I asked, spinning around and glancing side to side in fright. “She’s coming,” Twilight replied. “Had to bide me some time.” Uh-oh. My skin tingled. I didn’t like the sound of that. She was a brave and fast pony, no denying, but could she beat the tach marvels of this world that were designed and crafted to kill with no mercy? Apparently so. A jet trail of mist came up from the pond as a cyan object rushed through it and landed in front of me. “You made it!” I exclaimed, giving her a little kiss. “Barely,” she replied, holding up a hurt wing. “But it’s fine.” “Let’s get you all home,” I replied, ignoring the approaching helicopters in the distance. Ignoring the advancing cops coming from both sides of the square. Ignoring the fact that this was it. The beam of magic from Equestria got closer and closer, to the point where it blanketed the surrounding buildings in a wash of white light. I crouched down and pointed the staff to the sky, bracing for impact. “Get into position!” I ordered, tears already starting to spill from my eyes. I turned to look at them all. “Think of it like a clock on the ground. Twilight, you’re at 12 o’clock. Pinkie, at 10! Applejack, at 2!” It took a few minutes, but Twilight soon figured out my visual trick, and assisted my commands. “Rarity, at 8! Fluttershy, at 4! And Rainbow Dash, at 9, behind me! Spike, get on Twilight’s back and don’t let go! Everyone, hold onto your possessions!” I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Zack: They’re leaving, goodbye “Are we ready, again?” I called out. “Ready, Breezy!” “GO, TWILIGHT! CAST THE SPELL!” I shouted, as the magical beam struck the top of the staff. It was a lot stronger than I expected, and the staff was forced to the ground, piercing the concrete as the pressure intensified. Twilight released her spell, and one by one, each of the Elements of Harmony began to glow, releasing a pulse of energy towards each side of the gem. The crystal glowed with power and internal structural stress, but held fast. I gritted my teeth as I gripped the staff as tightly as I could. The magic was so strong! Tempest then joined the circle, holding hooves with Twilight. Skystar did the same, gripping her BMX bike frame with one talon and holding Pinkie’s hoof with the other. The magical beam from Equestria soon took hold, lifting all seven ponies, the dragon, and the hippogriff up into the air. The pressure on the staff became less now, as the Elements of Harmony were now fully connected to the ‘connection beam’. All it needed was a surge, a push – and it would whisk its occupants back to its original source. “We love you both, Xavier and Joyce!” they all called out, hovering above me some fifteen feet in the air. “I love you all too! Ponies, dragon, and hippogriff, together, strong!” I replied, sobbing with sadness, knowing I’d likely never see them again. But I had to stay strong within, too. So I called out again. “All together, with me! FRIENDSHIP!” “FRIENDSHIP!” “IS!” “MAGIC!” “And it’s worth fighting and risking everything for!” another shout came. I knew who it was – Joyce, my mom. I crouched lower and gave the staff one final heave, pushing the magic beam up. It bowed a little, before surging back upward, sending out a rippling shock wave, taking Twilight and her friends with it. Up, up, and up they went, slowly, then faster, until nothing could be seen of them anymore. The magic beam stayed connected with the staff, so I held onto it, maintaining my iron grip amidst the turbulence. For a moment, it threatened to lift me into the air, before finally releasing and dropping me. I fell a good three feet towards the concrete ground, slamming down, the staff still in my grasp. The last thing I saw was an envelope slip out of my pocket and get sucked up with the magical beam as it disappeared back up through the sky. As I blacked out, I smiled internally, knowing that my mission was complete. My friends were on their way back to their home, where they truly belonged. And my mom and I would be, too.