//------------------------------// // Resolve // Story: Avatar of History // by Chemtest //------------------------------// I rush through the gates of Canterlot, and instantly smell the acrid scent of burnt flesh and fur. I look around, seeing the buildings still intact, and ponies held in cages on top of carts. I gag, and look to see a Storm Soldier walking up to one of the cages, “You, soldier! What are you planning to do with that pony?!” He looks in my direction, “Sir Avatar! I am planning to escort the Equestrian to the furnace workers, as the Storm King orders!” I walk up to him, and push into his chest with my finger, “You are going to let this pony free, soldier. You are going to let every pony free, and you are to order a full retreat back home immediately! And if I hear of any ponies dying from this point on, then it’s on your ass!” He salutes me, “Of course, Sir Avatar, at once!” I look as he runs off, and see two other soldiers, “You two! Get General Tempest, and tell her to report to the Palace immediately!” The salute, “Yes, Sir Avatar!” I look towards the Palace, and rush towards it with new energy. No guard nor soldier stands in my way as I rush to the throne room, where the Storm King is sure to be. I reach the doors, and slow my pace. I push up my glasses, and style my hair. I push the doors open, and take a step in. Immediately, I spot the Storm King on the pony’s throne. He smiles, “Avatar, I assume your mission went well?” I walk further in the room, “Yeah, you mind explaining to me what the fuck you think you are doing?!” He looks all around, “Sitting down? Oh, wait, you probably mean phase two of the invasion.” He looks at me, “It’s as you told me, the Third Reich was rich and clean when it made itself pure. There was no internal strife, no corruption, no one left to fight Hitler’s will. He was an absolute monarch, the only one who ever could be. Except, I plan to make myself the same.” I glare at him from behind my sunglasses, “Did you not listen to a single word I said?! The Reich fell as countries fought against the atrocities he was committing!” He nods, “But we have no such enemies. The Griffons don’t have a king to unite behind, the Yaks are small in number, the Zebras are in constant strife due to their tribal warlords, Minotaurs are so head strong and stupid that they won’t think they are in danger, and the Changelings are starving to death! Every nation is flawed! Equestria was a nation of hypocrites, too peaceful and pacifistic to do anything about the world crumbling around them! But look as us, look at all I have done! We are pure, we are perfect!” I growl, “Perfect!? Pure!? You are slaughtering millions of innocent ponies for the nonexistent crime of existing! You forced the Hippogriffs into servitude, you have entire towns in the desert dedicated to slavery!” He sighs, “Towns that are run by other races. Races that we will slaughter! Races that sew chaos and discord across the land!” He looks at me, “But we are different. We are not chaos, we do not cause discord. We are order, and I hold the power of the Old King!” I step forward, not breaking eye contact, “You’ll never get the chance to leave this room, Storm King! I am here to stop you before you destroy everything!” He laughs, and raises his staff into the air. With a flash and a boom, a lightning bolt leaves it and hits me. I’m knocked onto my back by the lightning, and I feel energy coursing through me. Enough to kill any man. My vision goes white, and my body screams with pain. Until it stops. The pain hasn’t gone away, the wound hasn’t disappeared. There is still a large hole in my shirt, and charred flesh on my body. But I don’t care. I push the pain out of me, I push away the wound. My mind is focused with a single intent, and I’m not letting anything stop me. I get up from my back, and stand strong on my feet. I glare at him, “You will never defeat me.” He hits me with another lightning blast, sending me flying against a wall. Yet, once again, I pick myself up and push away the pain. I stagger forward, “Go ahead, try again. I will not fall. Equestria needs someone to save them, and here I am!” He blasts lightning at me once again, yet I feel that energy within me spike. I take a surer stance, and punch forward. A bright inferno comes out of my fist, stopping the lightning in it’s tracks. I smile with surprise, happy to feel my fire return, stronger than before. I stand straight, and look at him. I allow little bursts of flame to come in and out with every breath. I twirl my hands about, creating a line of fire that stretches all around me. I crack my neck, and smile, “I am stronger than you ever will be, Storm King! Your magic may be great, but you lack what I have!” Yet, before I finish, the throne room doors open behind me. The Storm King slams his staff down, and a bolt of lightning travels right past my shoulder. I look back to see it impact Tempest, and send her flying into a wall. Bits of roof fall, and pin her to the ground. I turn back to face the Storm King, and growl, “Really? A hostage?” I can hear Tempest groan, “Avatar, please... help.” I close my fist, and a pillar of fire launches out of the ground next to her. It sends the debris on top of her back to the roof, and out of it. The Storm King growls, “Give up, you can’t win!” I keep my eyes on his, “I wasn’t done with what I was saying before. I will never give up.” I charge towards him, “My Resolve is too strong!” I jump into the air, gathering my hands into fists. I land, and shove both of them forward, releasing a wave of fire. The Storm King slams his staff down, trying to protect himself from the fire. Yet the staff can only protect one side of him. He can’t do anything as I enclose him in a cylinder of fire, and slowly start to close it. I can hear his screams from within the flames, and I crush the entire thing into a pillar. The flames subside, and all that is left is a pile of ash, and his staff. I walk up to it, and pick the staff up from the ashes. I take the blue crystal from within, and crush it within my fist. I throw the staff down, and drop the crystal’s powder in the Storm King’s ashes. With that done, I turn around to help Tempest. She is badly injured, I can pick up that much. I pick her up the best I can, and smile, “Come on, love, you aren’t really going to die from one blast of lightning? You’ll get healing soon, we’re going home.” She smiles faintly, “The King?” I look back at the ashes, “Gone. For good.” I then look, and see two statues in the corner of the room that seem to be cracking apart and coming to life. I nod to the Princesses that are slowly being freed, and walk out of the room, “We gotta go before those two can chase us.” As I exit the Palace, I see ponies roaming the streets of Canterlot once more. Some trudge around, others gleefully embrace friends and family. Yet, even among all this joy, there are ponies that are sobbing to themselves. There are more of those ponies than I would like. I walk through the streets, and nopony seems to take mind of the human carrying a unicorn. A single airship sits at the port, and I begin my walk to it.