Equestria stood there, in the Canterlot city square, awaiting the last moments they had together. In truth, Celestia ordered the evacuation not for safety reasons. It was done in pure fact the princess knew these were Equestria’s final hours. One final get-together with your family, your friends, your countrymen… to greet the end of days together. Hundreds upon hundreds of creatures and bodies filled the square, stretching out for miles, well beyond the vision of the human or pony eye.
Celestia walked outward onto her balcony overlooking the square, prepared to address her nation. She didn’t want to be the bearer of the worst news in Equestria’s history, but she wouldn't be - everypony knew what was coming, as another earthquake rocked the world.
The princess cleared her throat, and opened her mouth to speak.
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!”
Celestia stopped, taking note of a thunderous rumbling noise and a plethora of screams some distance away - as well as bright lights, barreling down from the South of the square.
Then an ear-piercing blare - a human able to recognize as a car horn.
Moments more, Celestia jumped back to see an orange, metallic object, speeding towards the plaza. It turned sharply and quickly, more and more ponies diving to get out of the way. One turn it made was too sharp, though, and it soon found itself barreling to the side - with the appearance of several tan bags of air.
---
I fell out of the broken, totaled car in pain, standing up to collect myself, and help drag the others out of the vehicle. Nobody was seriously hurt, thank Jesus, but we were all shaken and broken. In due time, I could see the other cars start to pull up behind us, thousands of faces staring down on us.
Then, there was the familiar cry of BEN.
“JADUSABLE!”
In short order, the black mist found itself hovering over the square, then shooting forth toward the moon. It grew ridiculously large, taking shape and form. It soon took the familiar image of the statue, standing on top of (and covering the top portion) of the celestial body.
“You’ve pushed your limits farther than I could have ever imagined. You have driven yourself into madness, not by my hand, but by yours, and taken Equestria spiraling with you! The only way out of this dilemma now, Nicholas, is war! My army is on its way, you insolent, mortal fool!”
With that, the statue faded away, flying away from Canterlot.
“TWO HOURS, JADUSABLE. BE READY!” The demonic voice shouted from the sky as he faded into the distance.
I grabbed my weapons, ensured everyone in the cars were safe and mostly unharmed, and stepped into the castle, heading to the balcony with the princess. Without saying a word, the world stared at me and my allies, silent, judging eyes falling upon us. I ripped an AK out of the hooves of a stallion - a Ponyville survivor most likely - and began marching up to the castle keep. Ponies all around us appeared confused and shocked by our appearance, and more so terrified by BEN’s sudden warning. A familiar voice called out my name from behind me, quickly showing it to be Vinyl. An image of Bicep’s car exploding flashed back to me, rushing through my mind only for a second. It was enough for me to remember what happened to Octavia, and the others in their car.
“Yo, Nick! I’ve got a count on how many made it here. We only lost a few after we left the tunnel, so we still have a solid thirty left.” She walked alongside us as she talked.
I really hoped she wasn’t going to ask that question.
“Fuck… We lost way too many today.”
I slid my hand over my face in exhaustion, letting out a frustrated sigh.A moment of silence reigned before it was broken by the asshole that is fate.
“Say, uh, Nick, have you seen Octy ‘round? She’s a tough mare, she made it, yeah?”
The look on my face and the silence said it all. I shook my head softly, not able to say anything. She stopped, her face stuck in a shocked expression. As we walked on, I heard the tortured wails of a former disc jockey. Fuck BEN.
---
I waited outside of the balcony as the guards blocked the way, waiting for the princess to give them orders. Celestia turned and faced me, showing a stoic expression. By this point, however, I could clearly tell it was a fragile facade.
“Nicholas.” She greeted.
“Celestia.” I nodded in return. The time for pleasantries was long gone.
She took note of our group’s appearances. A look of sadness nearly broke the stoic facade, likely imagining the horrors we’d all had to deal with. “They may pass, guards.”
The spears parted, and our group passed through onto the balcony, as we took our position beside her.
“... I was going to make a speech, Nicholas. Something to galvanize the remainder of my ponies. Give us all a good reason to fight for.”
She gazed out over the city, watching her ponies dejectedly mill about, trying to prepare for what they knew was basically Armageddon.
“However,” She paused, looking up to the moon. “I’m at a loss. These are my ponies, my subjects. And I’ve already lost too many. I’ve failed as a leader, and as a ruler. This already feels like a last stand doomed to end horribly.”
She looked back to me.
“You, on the other hand, have dealt with far more in a few months than most have in the time span of a few years. You’ve dealt with so many trials that should’ve ended you long before now. Yet, I see a determined look in your eyes. A look that wants it all to end right now, but is willing to do whatever it takes to finish what this… demon started.”
Her horn lit up, surrounding itself in her golden aura, a wave of magic spreading over my party. Gradually, our energy returned to us, somewhat. Our more severe battle injuries healed within seconds. As the aura faded from my crew, a thinner layer of magic still surrounded me. She stepped back, giving me a place at the front of the balcony.
“I’ve amplified your voice, Nicholas. Give them a reason to finish this with us. Tell them how it is - show them how much is at stake. Tell them just how much they really can do together.”
I felt slightly humbled. Here I was standing beside a monarch who had been ruling in relative peace for a thousand years, only to have her entire nation shattered within months by a demon I brought with me. It was time. I had an army to embolden.
I took the stand. My team had rallied behind me on the stage. I took a deep breath, and cleared my throat, the others in my group staring down the opposing crowd.
“I am Nicholas Mathew Brownford, a human being, straight out of the horror stories you use to control misbehaving children. Five months ago, I was sent here by an evil spirit that, back in my world, I unknowingly released. For two years, this demon has haunted me and tortured me. Now, it has become so powerful that it has come to this world and has brought with it the darkness and corruption that torments my world daily: serial killers, drugs, cannibals, prostitution and economic instability. Political corruption and child molestation. Racism. Rape. Murder.”
The world stood still, staring intently at me. My heart sank, thinking back to that stupid little graduation speech - and how far I’d come.
“These are all things that exist in my land and have no place in this world. In the time I have been here, I have seen this spirit feed off of the emotions, fears, and weaknesses of others; I have seen once loving husbands beat their wives and children. I have seen the once pure and innocent kill. I’ve seen families collapse and children die in vile, gruesome ways, that no being should ever witness. I have seen brothers rape sisters and a thirst for money turn even the most duteous and self-sufficient into vicious slave owners, and I’ve watched the poor suffer under the rule of an iron hoof while the rich live lavishly and worry-free; all while the ghettos starve and the citizens are forced to kill for a meal out of a trash can!”
I took a deep breath, letting the words sink in to everyone.
“And I myself am no saint; I have killed, I have stolen, I have hurt those I love! But cast these problems aside for now and look above you! This moon threatens to crush the world in a mere five and a half hours! Not only this, but when the bell strikes two, we are to be at war with the changelings and a bunch of mutant creatures! It matters not if you’re filthy rich or dirt poor, smart or stupid, beautiful or ugly. It matters not your sexual orientation or whether you're a pegasus, earth pony, unicorn, human, or some other creature! It matters not if you like dubstep or classical music, nor does it matter if you’re young or old; we will ALL face certain death in a matter of hours if we do not stand to confront these threats! This is an indiscriminate wall of death that we face tonight!”
A few small cheers went about in the crowd. Some nodded.
“But it is NOT just your world or mine that faces extinction! Thousands, perhaps millions more lie in the balance here, yet to feel this spoiled child’s wrath! We face today a threat that seeks to ruin ALL known existence, and here, now, is our only chance to stop it! Would you rather fall saying “I could have”, rather than “I did”? If the stakes are so grave that no matter our outcome, is it not better to hold on to whatever sliver of hope remains? Hope that we CAN end the nightmare? That we CAN end evil? Because now is the time to do so! And if we lose, but somehow survive, what are you going to tell your children? That I could have stopped it, but I was too afraid!? Do you want that to be yours, nay, Equestria’s entire legacy? Because here is a moment to be part of that legacy; to fight for freedom and justice, to fight for life and liberty!
Back in my world, my nation was BUILT upon the concept of standing up to those that would oppress you, and this demon is no different! Here, we stand, with our RIGHT to bear our arms, wielded by us, by the downtrodden at the hands of BEN! We shall NOT be held down by this demon that would see our suffering continue, let alone our destruction! WE SHALL NOT HAVE IT! LET THE HUMAN RACE AND EQUESTRIA’S PEOPLE BE ALLIES IN THIS WAR FOR THE FUTURE!”
“At this very moment, we face the combined power of Nightmare Moon, the Changeling queen Chrysalis, and this vile thing I call, and you have all come to know as BEN. So now I ask you, citizens of Equestria, to stand with me and fight! Fly, run and teleport to the farthest reaches of Equestria to rally your friends and family; From Manehattan to Appleoosa! From Fillydelphia to Canterlot! From Dodge Junction all the way to Stalliongrad, I urge you to rally the world together! Only together will we stand against TRUE evil! Some of us will die, but in the end, remember that it’s the FUTURE we fight for! If you truly want to preserve your way of life, rally! RALLY AROUND ME, GRAB YOUR NEAREST WEAPON, AND FIGHT! DO NOT FIGHT TO PROTECT ME, BUT FIGHT TO PROTECT YOURSELVES! EQUESTRIA STANDS AT THE GATES OF HELL, AND WE’RE GONNA PUSH THIS DEMON BACK IN THERE WITH EVERY BLADE, RIFLE, AND SPELL WE HAVE!
“FIGHT!”
“AGAINST!”
“TYRANNY!”
“FIGHT!”
“FOR!”
“FREEDOM!”
I threw my AK into the air, firing off a burst of shots. Thousands of hooves thrust upwards into the air, as well as a wicked tremor of cheers and chants. Hundreds broke away, scattering in random directions. BEN would regret ever coming here. He would regret EVER tormenting me. I had the strength of a multi-million-man army coming to my aid; he no longer had control over the people of Equestria. I stood on the balcony and awaited. If I was to die, so be it; I didn’t give a flying fuck. I wouldn’t go down without a fight, though. The world shook once more.
I looked over to Celestia. a somewhat smug, yet apathetic look plastered over my face.
“How was that?”
1:58 AM
Even MORE people came to my side; from buffalo to parasprites, minotaur, timberwolves. Breezies, Diamond Dogs, Crystal Ponies, and Kirin. I wouldn’t be surprised if every living creature in Equestria was here tonight. I guess that’s the beauty of coming together when a common enemy emerges.
And speaking of the enemy…
As I was set to leave the balcony overlooking Canterlot square, I took notice of a looming shadow of creatures over the horizon. Mostly changelings, but like us, comprised of all beings in Equestria. As they approached the city’s walls, I swallowed the fear in my throat, and headed down to meet with my army.
So here we were. A massive force, stretching untold distances, as far as the eye could see, all throughout Canterlot and beyond. As I stepped off the main balcony of the castle and headed down to the square to meet with the army approaching us from over the horizon, I found myself stopped.
Stopped by a little colt at the entrance to the castle. The eyes of Equestria stared down on my friends and me, this child in between. He was a brown coated colt, with orange hair and a colorful propeller beanie. I couldn’t help but notice the joystick on his flank. The boy, alongside a tan mare I could only assume to be his mother, looked at us for a moment, before the child spoke with overwhelming excitement and enthusiasm.
“Oh boy! This is gonna be like a be like a big battle in Equestria: Total War! Does this BEN guy turn into a giant boss? Can I beat him for you, mister? Can I? Can I? Please!?”
My brain froze at the squeaky child’s voice, trying to comprehend the boy’s train of thought.
He looked at life like a video game, innocent and carefree, untouched by the horrors of Hell. As I blankly stared at the kid, my soulless, lifeless gaze crushing down on the ever-smiling boy, I looked into his shimmering, hope-filled eyes, seeing myself in their reflection.
A reflection of my young, six-year-old self, screaming in joy as I viciously tore open my Christmas presents, revealing that old friend…
My Nintendo 64.
I fell to my knees, squeezing the child as tightly as I could, tears starting to stream down my face. I thought I’d heard a gasp from the mother, but nothing else happened as I embraced him. I leaned back and looked at his eyes with my own one eye.
“Kid… get out of here. Go with your mom, and run as far away as you possibly can. Get out of here, and don’t ever come back. Save your life, and keep being who I used to be.”
I gave the boy another tight squeeze, finally letting him go and flicking my wrist to shoo him on his way.
“Don’t EVER become the man you see in front of you. Don’t you EVER turn into me.”
As I stood, I wiped the tears from my face. Being a leading general to an army of millions about to die can’t have himself crying in front of his men. Still, as I looked forward towards the endless tide of troops, citizens, and creatures before us, I was met with nothing more than a tremendous cheer, of people screaming my name, as they rallied behind me.
“BROWN-FORD! BROWN-FORD! BROWN-FORD! BROWN-FORD!”
They knew they had a leader that, despite being a confident commander, and a cold, heartless bastard in warfare, was no different than them.
Of course, I wasn't. I’m exhausted, I’m sick, and I’m haunted for life. I don’t want to be here… but I have to, if only, because I care for these people.
We just wanted to end it.
At that, I stepped forward, and with my army behind me, led the march to Armageddon.
Equestria, and I, were headed straight for Hell.
Each step I took only brought about more ever-growing tension. Scootaloo and Twilight were at my sides, the thunderous roar of armor-plated bodies accompanying us.
“Nick, are you sure this can’t be resolved in a peaceful way?” Twilight asked, fear enveloping her, as I spun the sword around in my hand, continuing to walk. “Equestria hasn’t engaged in open conflict for nearly a thousand years. These ponies aren’t ready to fight, and only a small hoof-ful of them are trained. With all the weapons you and Lyra brought here, there’s going to be more friendly-fire casualties than those of the enemy. Nopony aside from the ones we saved in Ponyville and the police have any combat experience and compared to your ‘America’ or ‘China’, we’re nothing in comparison. This is going to be a straight-up... massacre.” She hesitated on that last word, gulping in the process.
“It’s not like I want this, Twilight, it’s that we NEED to do this. The only way to even have a remote chance of winning is to fight back. If we do nothing, we all die anyway. It’s not better to sit around and wait for something that won’t change unless we act - Someone who makes children explode while they die on a hospital bed, just because they have a vendetta against a guy who burns his game cartridge, is a straight-up sociopath, and isn’t going to listen to any reason. No, we CAN’T solve this peacefully, Twilight. We must at the least try. I understand you, me, your brother, or some old lady can die at any moment when this goes down. I’m not stupid, Twilight.”
“I never thought you were. Your actions have kept us all alive so far, and you're a brilliant tactician, so I don’t have a reason to doubt you.” She was looking down at the ground as we walked, looking ashamed.
“Then why are you second guessing me here?”
“I’m not… I’m just… I’m scared. I wish we could solve this peacefully, like we’ve always done with our troubles.”
“What you don’t understand is that my people are not yours. What we are facing is an undead human - humans by nature are a lot more violent. It’s why my reactions are so important. Killing isn’t fun for me, Twilight - it’s the way we MUST handle it. BEN, Jack the Ripper, or some crazy Islamic State member, aren’t the kind of people to just lay down their arms because you cast a spell on them. The situations he’s been putting us in are a matter of life or death. It’s either them or us. That’s what you fail to realize. Some problems, particularly earthly, MUST be solved violently. The only way to stop some people is kill them. It’s morbid to say, but life would be better off without them breathing. I’m sure at this point, that applies to me.”
I looked back for a brief second.
“I know you’re scared, I am too. But you know what? If worst comes to worst, I could not choose a better group of friends and brothers in arms that I would willingly fight and die alongside. You are my family, and I will do my utmost to protect you. I…”
I looked to the opposing forces that ever so steadily approached us.
“I love you guys. After I lost my world, my family, my friends, and my former life, you are the only things keeping me from going completely insane. If I lose you in this war… I… I’m afraid I’ll…”
“Dad, you don’t need to say it.” Scoots chimed in, the same crushing fear closing around the young girl.
“Yes, I do. This may very well be the last time we talk with each other. I want you all to know that I just… we’ve been through so much, I can’t live without knowing you guys are safe. We are family, tied together by blood, sweat, and tears. You are my brothers and sisters, my sons, and daughters. Growing up an only child will make you treat your friends like close family…”
Here he was, an expansive park the only buffer between our two colossal forces. This was it.
“...and you guys are the only family I have. I love you. If we die… You guys need-” I barely finished, taking note that Scootaloo had interrupted my thoughts, joining me in the previous three words… As did the others, two at a time.
“Show no pity.”
“Send our souls to Juggalo City.”
“Dig our graves six feet deep,”
“Put two matches by our ‘feet’”
“Put two hatchets on our chests,”
And as we all spoke the final verse, I knew… We were tied together for life.
“And tell our homies we did our best.”
“Is this what you truly want, Jad? You want to sacrifice everyone around you because you think you can WIN!?” The booming, demonic voice of BEN fired amidst the torrential downpour that coated this virgin battleground.
I stood firm, not willing to show this bastard how terrifying this all was. I wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. In front of BEN, then stepped a hulking stallion, dressed head to hoof in Equestrian combat gear. I took a look at the red-eyed pony leading the pack. He was dressed like a military officer, and…
Wait…
White.
Crimson mane.
Scarred.
Royal Guard…?
“Oh, sweet God, no…”
A horrifying realization flew through my head, as I thought back to that deep conversation Scootaloo and I had about her family when we were staying at the farm…
Mother dead from disease, missing father with a military record…
No…
The leader of BEN’s own forces…
Scootaloo’s real father.
And BEN had hold of him.
I couldn’t think, I just acted, and drew my sword, storming over to the childish demon with an angered pace.
“Oh, that is it, I am fucking done!”
Immediately, Scootaloo, Twilight, Fluttershy and the others in my party immediately jumped in my way, trying to stop me. I simply pushed and shoved them to the ground.
“Dad, please! Don’t start a war if there’s a chance that we can avoid it!” Scootaloo tried prying at my leg, but to no avail.
“All the goddamn death…” Another couple of steps.
“N-nick, please, stop!” Fluttershy squeaked, not bothering to actually attempt to physically stop me. She was too scared, I didn’t blame her. Of all of the ponies to be here, she was the one I least expected to join us.
“All the goddamn mental torture…” I scraped my sword along the grass, shaving the green below me as I went. The voices around me were beginning to dull.
“Darling, don’t! Please, think about all these lives!” What fucking lives? If we didn’t end this now, it would be all of us, you fool!
“All the goddamn heinous crimes…” I was seething by this point, having shoved back at least half of my group that had tried to stop me.
“Nick, stop, boy! What’s gotten into you!?” Big Mac trotted alongside me, shouting at me, knowing better than to get in my way. Smart move.
“All the goddamn demonic possession…” Nothing was stopping me now.
“Nick don’t do this!” Twilight urged, pleading by this point.
“All the goddamn trauma, depression, and PTSD…” And certainly not this possessed motherfucker.
“NICK!” Scootaloo shouted. They were all starting to hang back a bit. Except for her.
“All the goddamn vile games… YOU WANT TO PLAY GAMES, BEN!?” I screamed, approaching her father, bringing my sword to bear.
“NOOOOOOOO!” Scootaloo shrieked, knowing what was about to happen.
“THEN PLAY THIS GAME, YOU FUCKING COCKSUCKER!” I charged the last few feet.
I threw Scootaloo’s dad to the ground with my spare hand, the Master Sword finding its target, square on the head of the elegy statue.
For a brief moment, the world stood silent, awestruck by such rage as the final words and the strike of the magical blade filled the world.
…and not moments more, the silence was broken.
“You shouldn’t have done that, boy…”
With violent, seizure-like shaking, the statue began to chip and crumble away, a dark, gaseous mist seeping from its breaks. Soon, the statue itself exploded, revealing a mass of darkness on the road, and sending the sword flying back towards my head. I ducked and turned to retrieve the weapon. Ripping it out of the ground, I turned around and, like both of the armies, stood there dumbstruck, watching as the thing twisted and contorted, growing rapidly, and growing tall, like bamboo on steroids.
As it reached nearly one hundred or more feet, the mass began to expand as it started taking on shades of purple with deep crimson and yellow cracks covering its skin, like varicose veins. It then began to fully take its form: a massive, hunched-over creature with a flat, protruding head, and viscous, maul-worthy claws that could crush a 3-trailer semi. All along its back and body protruded sharpened, demonic tentacles that took on the same cracked characteristics of the main face and body. Between its two ‘hands’ sat a glowing red orb, suspended in animation. It’s face, or what of it I could see, took the shape and form of the iconic mask, with spikes jutting out every which way, largely to scale of its body.
Jesus Christ….
it’s….
“...”
“...”
“...”
Then… it’s…
Laugh.
Holy.
Mother.
Fucking.
Shit.
I fell to the ground at the roar, backing myself up in a panic, then stood as soon as I could.
Ghastly Demonic Manifestation
BEN, Avatar of Majora
The beast continued to roar and cackle, its arms outstretching towards the sky as its face looked to the heavens. With another demented shriek, the moon came deathly close to the planet’s surface, being pulled forth from the hellspawn’s otherworldly powers. In the process, many buildings could not take the stress, collapsing before us under the pressure brought about by the sudden shift.
So here it was – the be-all-end-all moment. Sword in hand, and an army behind me ready to die to retain their homeland, thousands of visions flew through my mental eye as every moment thus far has culminated to this. What was the most bothersome though was my lengthy conversation with BEN back in Termina – of all visions, this was the most frightening. How he had said all the fictional worlds that mankind had created existed in their own dimensional vacuums.
…and...
...how spirits can travel between them.
Spirits like BEN.
At that final thought, a burning fire of one thousand suns roared through my veins.
Understanding exactly what that meant.
This was about more than home, or Equestria.
This was about the god-damn multiverse.
BEN would not have them. He would not have Equestria. He would not topple Hyrule. He would not torment Skyrim. He would not invade planet Irk, dominate Simba’s Pridelands, commit genocide in Kanto, or decimate the Ed’s cul-de-sac. He would not obliterate Middle Earth, or wipe Oz off the map.
Not even Hell would know of BEN – he deserved a punishment far worse than eternal fire for his sick and twisted crimes against nature, time, and space.
He would not take my world’s children.
And he certainly would not take my home.
He would not take Earth. I wouldn’t let that happen.
The blood of every militarized ancestor boiled the surface at that moment, and with the Master Sword raised, I swung outward toward my enemy in rage.
“KILL HIM! I DON’T CARE HOW YOU DO IT!”
“JUST!”
“FUCKING!”
“KILL!”
“HIM!”
At that, I lead the charge, shield and sword raised, ready to strike, and cleaving through a changeling like butter.
“DEUS VULT!”
My eyes fell upon Scootaloo’s father after I cut down a second incoming changeling. As our eyes met, our internal thoughts promised each other only one thing, a battle to the end. I lost him afterwards in the oncoming masses from both sides.
Equestria had entered total war.
Combat started slow at first, yet wave after wave of ponies and changelings threw blows and blades at one another. Children killing adults, mutants and freaks warring with the elderly, and the screams of millions of enraged souls filling the sound barrier, all against a backdrop of swords, bows, guns and hooves. This put Normandy to shame. Helm’s Deep wasn’t nearly this bloody. I have never seen ferocity in warfare of this magnitude even when Leonidas lead the Spartans to glory – children jumping in front of spears and assault rifles to simply defend fully grown strangers they never knew. Mothers and fathers tearing through swath after swath of opposing force to defend their young – on both sides. Disabled, handicapped, and elderly taking what little power they had, and unleashing the beasts within. Eyes and muscles filled with death, rage and fear, bringing out the very instinct of survival in even the most timid and introverted.
Not one person, pony, or creature wavered. Not one soul backed down from the fight.
As the chaos reached a fervent pitch, that’s when all Hell broke lose. Combat began to dissipate around the entire capital with thousands of skirmishes taking hold of the city walls. Explosions and gunfire began to rattle the eardrums and the scraping of metal and screams of death continued to take hold. Now, any combatant was free game – it seemed this war was nothing more than a gigantic free-for-all.
Amongst all this, I had managed to remain alive for a good fifteen minutes now, covered in the blood of others and striking fear into all those that opposed Equestria’s cause with vile roars and battlecries.
“I’LL RIP YOUR FUCKING LUNGS OUT!” As I shouted into the bloodied sky around me, I began to understand just what war felt like.
Pure hell.
Now I knew why I never wanted to be in the military, refusing the following in my namesake’s footsteps.
But here I was. I had to keep going.
I had to keep my promise to Sweetie Belle.
I had to defend my home, my country, my planet.
I had to avenge my family.
BEN had to be stopped before he hurt anyone else.
It ended here. It ended now.
My original team had managed to stay with me this entire time, and as a collective force, we had successfully wormed our way into the Canterlot town square, only to be trapped and surrounded by a platoon of possessed ponies, diamond dogs, and changelings.
Then another explosion - A ballista tower from Canterlot Castle fell from on high, toppling to the earth below and crushing another warring party several meters away. Twilight screamed in fury as she watched the spire topple to the ground, and in response, shot a blast at an enemy gryphon.
I made a mad dash for BEN as Scootaloo, Twilight, Derpy and the others took to our captors.
“I’M COMING FOR YOU, BENJAMIN!” I shouted my warcry with all of the ferocity in me.
As I carved through some enemy Breezies, I suddenly found my world flipped to the side as I felt the air in my lungs be stolen from me by some heavy motherfucker. I grunted as I shoved the bastard off of me, and as I finally gazed upon him, I realized who it had been.
The leader of the enemy army, and my dear Scootaloo’s father. I cursed, “You bas-”
“Dad?!”
Oh, fucking hell. I looked to my right to see most of my friends still with me, some fighting off Changelings, with the weakest being in the middle of my group. Scootaloo was standing there, shocked to see her own father tackling someone who she had also seen as her dad.
I looked back to the father, ready to tackle the fucker. Only, his look made me pause for a moment. He looked conflicted, confused even. “S-Scoots…?” He took a step towards her, I could’ve sworn that I’d seen all of the darkness that was corrupting him leaving him for a moment.
That all changed when I moved to get up, as his face turned back to me, resuming his expression with almost a feral snarl as he lunged at me again, swinging his sword-in-teeth down at me. I blocked with my own, grunting. Pushing back with my own force, I kicked him in the chest, shoving him backwards as he panted. Scootaloo spoke up again.
“Dad, stop! What the hell are you doing?!”
Said father turned to her.
“Stay out of this Scootaloo, this bastard of a creature has to die for its sins! It’s killed too much! I will not let this thing taint you anymore than it already has!”
The leader turned back to me and took another step forward with a snarl. I replied with a snarl of my own as I brandished my blade. This wasn’t going to be easy. I can’t just kill this one, especially not in front of Scoots. It would scar her for life, and she would never forgive me. No, I must take hi-.
“What are you waiting for, you damned pig!? Studying me, looking for a weakness?” He chuckled darkly. “I won’t give you that satisfaction.”
He lunged at me, swinging to the side. I jumped back, keeping my sword in a defensive posture.
“Damn it, man, what the hell is wrong with you! You seriously think I’m that twisted?!”
“Think?! I know, you beast! I know that you will never be more than a monster!”
He swung again, being blocked immediately as I sidestepped. I made to throw a punch into his side, but he jumped back before I could reach him. I could see the dark glow in his eyes. How long had Ben been influencing him?
“Dad, please! Stop! He’s not our enemy, BEN is!”
Her voice cracked as she shouted. Damn it, why the hell did she have to see this?
“Stay out of this, kiddo! Let Dad handle this freak!”
He lunged again, bringing his sword in a downward swipe. I brought my sword up to bear, only to see him pull it back and deliver a hoof to my stomach, laying me on the ground. I struggled for breath as brought my sword up again to fend off the next incoming blow.
“You fucking idiot, can’t you see we’re both trying to save Scoots here?!”
“Lies! You’ve been filling her with lies and twisted beliefs! You’ve been hurting my daughter since the beginning!”
He roared, bringing his sword down and down again in anger. I pulled my leg back and delivered it to him under his belly, sending him back a few feet.
“SAYS THE ONE THAT HASN’T BEEN AROUND FOR HER IN FUCKING AGES!”
I belted out in anger. I was livid, frustrated, exhausted, and in pain. I was reaching the breaking point of dealing with this possessed bastard. The stallion froze, as if taking a moment to process the words that were shouted at him. I swear, I saw a twitch in his eye. A low growl erupted from his throat as he let out a throaty battlecry of one who intended to absolutely destroy, dropping his sword in the process. He charged at me with a speed that would’ve made Dash scared had she been in my place. I barely had time to move my sword to the side to avoid skewering him when he hit me. If I was ever going to know the feeling of being hit by a train, this would be it.
I was carried several feet; my stomach being constantly pushed back with my body in tow by his lowered head. Finally, he skidded to a stop, sending me spiraling away a good ten more feet into some of my own comrades, my sword landing beside me. I felt nauseous as I proceeded to empty whatever contents I had left in my stomach. Blood also accompanied the gross mixture on the ground now. The bastard of a stallion scraped the ground as he prepared another charge that would likely be the end for me if I wasn’t careful. I picked up my sword and used it as support to unsteadily stand up as I still proceeded to cough. Just as he began to charge, a young voice rang out across the battle around us.
“DAD!”
I looked out and saw her and Big Mac running towards me. Scoots had tears running down her face as she came up to me, trying to inspect my wounds.
“What…” I looked at them wearily, blood leaking down my lips slightly. “What are you two doing here?”
“We weren’t going to let you get pummeled alone, Nick.”
Mac trotted up to guard me, smirking. I coughed harshly, nodding my thanks in return.
“SCOOTALOO!” The bastard leader of the enemy army raised his voice, interrupting us. “Step away from that freak! Can’t you see they’re trying to corr-”
“No! Shut the hell up, Dad!”
For a moment, all of us froze, our eyes now on Scootaloo, the one who’d spoken up. She barely took notice as she glared daggers at her real father.
“For once in your life, just fucking listen to me!”
To my surprise, her dad look as if he’d been slapped across the face by his own mother for the first time. If I hadn’t felt and looked like shit, I would’ve laughed my ass off.
“H-How dare you-”
“NO. You’ve been gone this entire time and guess where I finally found you: with that monster of a demon, BEN. The one behind all of this world’s pain and misery for the past several months!” Tears ran down her cheeks as she shouted angrily. “I’ve missed you so much, and this man here, Nick! He’s been with me every step of the way while you’ve been fucking around with that demon!”
“Scoots…” He uttered, the glow in his eyes all but gone as confliction took his visage. “I-I’ve been doing all of this for you… He promised us a good life… We’d be finally free of the tyranny of Celestia…” He took a step forward, causing Scootaloo to back up immediately.
“Have you lost your feathering mind?! Celestia has been taking care of us for a thousand years, keeping the peace with her kindness and wisdom! And now you’re just going to let some random asshole pop out of nowhere and make you believe different? What kind of stallion are you?” Scoots backed up to my side. I shakily stood up, making sure that she knew that she had my protection.
“I…”
The enemy army’s leader looked down, as if considering the words of his daughter.
“…But… H-He saved me… He’s saved us both! He’s given us both a chance for something great! Don’t you see?! No one would ever harm us again!”
He remained silent as he continued to seemingly fight with himself.
“And… If you won’t do as I say, Scoots…” He looked up and glared at us both. “Then I’ll have to save you myself!”
The stallion gave a throaty roar that sounded twisted as a wave of darkness shot out from his raised hoof towards us. Before I could even blink, Scoots was in the air being held by dark mist. She writhed and thrashed as she was brought back to him within seconds. Something inside me cracked as I watched her get taken away by her bastard of a father. I heard a snort from beside me from Big Mac. I let out a throaty battle cry as I charged, ready to bring my sword down on the fucker. Before we even crossed half the distance to him, however, we were shoved back hard to the ground by the very same dark mist that had taken Scoots.
“YOU CHEAP FUCKER!”
I shouted out at him as I watched his smirk turn into a very wide and twisted grin. Scootaloo lay on the ground unconscious before him. Big Mac and I stood back up slowly as we readied ourselves for another attack. Rushing head on wasn’t going to work if he had that power with him. I had to think of something else.
“You moron, do you really see what you’ve done to your own daughter?!”
“Don’t you dare criticize me on how to handle my children! I know what’s best for her far more than any delusional freak like you would!” He sneered as he started taking steps towards us, black mist still carrying his daughter beside him.
“Need I remind you that you ABANDONED her for a twisted fuck of a demon?” I reminded him of his biggest mistake yet.
He was glaring daggers at me. As I stared back at him, I noticed a lack of hoof sounds beside me. Behind the father, I saw the red towering stallion sneaking up behind him. For a big stallion, that fucker had stealth down to a tee.
“I did it for her! All of it for her, to ensure her safety! He promised!” It seemed his faith had begun to wane a bit as his glare faltered.
“No! You did it for yourself! You did it because you were scared! You’ve seen all your former friends and family be killed or hurt by something that was never here before! And there are only two things that weren’t here before, me and that fucking demon! GUESS WHO’S KEPT YOUR DAUGHTER SAFE THIS ENTIRE TIME, racist fuckwit! After you guess that, take a wild fucking guess where all this murder and chaos all came from! Take a wild fucking guess as to when it all started!”
I was seething by this point as I followed up the last sentence with a finger pointing to the hulking mass that was Majora nearby. Against all odds, the bastard actually looked up at the creature, as if he were finally beginning to consider something that he had originally deemed impossible.
“I…”
He looked down after a moment, and looked back up with a different face entirely, one of confusion and displacement. The black mist holding Scootaloo disappeared, depositing her lightly on the ground before him. Just as I began to get my hopes up… They were shot to hell as I heard that damned laugh again, one that would haunt every single one of us to our dying breaths. Black mist began to surround the stallion as he convulsed, letting out a cry of what I assumed was pain. No, it wasn’t going to end here. BEN wouldn’t give us that pleasure. I looked to Big Mac, who’d just finished off another changeling, and nodded. He returned it, charging Scoots’s father into the nearby wall. Hearing a crack as they impacted, I bet on the probable fact that part of the cracking noise wasn’t just the wall breaking. As Big Mac backed up, panting, the enemy leader slumped to the ground, the dark mist leaving him and escaping into the air, promptly returning to its master.
I ran over to the unconscious Scoots as I noticed a griffin flying directly towards her, claw and sword ready to kill. I let out a roar as I intercepted the feathery fucker and sliced off his sword arm. He screamed bloody murder as he flew off, blood pouring profusely from his new stump. I bent down and scooped her up onto my shoulder. Intent on catching up to Big Mac, I cut through another small group of timberwolves.
“OUT OF MY WAY YOU WOODEN LITTLE SHITS!”
I cut through them slowly as they lunged, unwilling to put up with any more delays. As I made it to Big Mac and the father’s body, I knelt down to feel his pulse. I didn’t detect one.
“Oh hell… Fuck!”
Scoots wasn’t going to take this well. I turned to Big Mac, his eyes hard until he saw my face. Immediately his face dropped as he muttered a curse.
“Aw hell… A-ah’m sorry, Scoots…” He muttered, staring at her sleeping form with growing regret. In the corner of my vision, I saw her little form move slightly. No… Not now, not in front of him…
“Dad…?”
Her voice was low as I turned to her. She still seemed to be waking up, and was looking at me. I glanced at Mac as we both shared a face that we knew that this was going to get bad. As she looked at me, pure fear etched across my face, she looked as if she finally noticed that something was off.
“What’s wrong…?” She dazily stood up. “Why are you looking at me like… That…” Her eyes now stopped at her father’s still corpse. “...Dad…?” Her hooves began to walk forward slowly and unsteadily, as her eyes were in a trance.
“... Scoots…” I said softly, unsure of what to say to help this… Help her. But there was nothing to say. She ignored everything around her besides the body. The father looked so… Broken, excluding what Mac did to him, his body looked terrible to begin with. The black mist that he had controlled earlier must’ve been doing horrible things to his mind and body. This wasn’t supposed to happen… When she finally reached his body, she raised a shaking hoof up to his lifeless face and nudged it.
“D-Daddy…?” She nudged it a bit harder this time. “Wake up…” Her eyes were beginning to water. “P-Please…” She sniffled. “It’s… It’s been so long…”
My heart felt as though it had been wrenched out and stomped on. I’d done this… Mac and I… We did this… Was there something else we could have done to prevent this? Did we do this the wrong way…? It was him or us… And yet it wasn’t even his fault. Another bout of collateral damage caused by that fuck of a demonchild. Even if it was BEN’s fault… I still feel as though Mac and I were responsible for his death. Scootaloo fell to her knees as she realized that he wasn’t going to move or open his eyes to her ever again. Her body started shaking,
“Nick…” She slowly turned back to me. “What… Did you do…?”
Her face… Oh fuck me, her face… It looked so terrified and confused that I couldn’t tell what she was going to do next. Tears were now flowing down freely across her cheeks.
“What… DID YOU DO?!” She screamed at me.
I still didn’t know what to say. What the fucking hell could I say? ‘Sorry Scoots, It was him or me.’ ‘Nothing else I could have done.’ I stared at her for a moment at a total loss.
“Scoots-”
“NO!” She shouted again, taking a couple of unsteady steps toward me. She looked livid. “No ‘Scoots’! You were my Dad, too! I…” Her livid face turned to confusion and conflict. “How could you do this?! He was my dad, too! You… You can’t just fucking replace him like that!”
“-I didn’t intend to REPLACE an-”
“YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THEM!”
Her breath hitched in her throat as she finally considered something that flipped her whole entire world upside down. “Dash… She was right…” She looked directly into my eyes for a moment. And for the first time, I saw actual fear in her eyes as she took a step back. Fear coming from me. “You… You are the monster…”
We both stood there in silence. Me as I took in what she said, and her doing just the same, as if she wasn’t expecting that to come out of her own mouth. A moment passed as we stared at each other.
“No…” I muttered, barely above a whisper. “I… I’m not one of those fucks, Scoots… You of all people should know that.”
In my mind, I was practically screaming. I closed my eyes as I started shouting back.
“I never wanted to hurt anyone! I never wanted to be here! None of this was supposed to happen! I’m not supposed to be in this fucking world, surrounded by death and fucking corruption! I’m trying to fix all the shit I’ve caused, and all of the shit that BEN has done! He did that to your dad! I didn’t mean for this shit to happen! I didn’t want this!”
I was shaking now. I was terrified and angry, all at the very thought of losing her, having her run off and get axed without anyone’s protection. As I opened my eyes again, I froze as I saw her backing up even more now. She was looking at me as if I was a… Monster. Like one of the countless bastards she’d encountered while traveling with me. The fear in her eyes was the very same that I’d seen when we were around the insane Twilight, or Big Mac’s basement. It shook me to the core.
Every. Single. Moment. That face. That emotion. The very same one - looking at me, right now. I had to do something. Something to stop her from feeling that way. She can’t think of me like that. After all of this time with her, she can’t see me as one of them. The only one who defended me every time someone thought I was a threat. Without thinking, I took a small step forward, and before I could say anything else, she did the very thing I feared she would. She turned around and bolted directly away from me, and towards the battle and bloodshed. I stood still in shock for a few seconds before coming back to life.
“NO!”
I took off as fast as my battered body would allow me to, Big Mac doing the same.
“SCOOTALOO! COME BACK, PLEASE!”
I drew my sword again, prepared to cut through any fucker who would dare to stand in my and her way. Her little form would be able to weave through the beginning of the crowd likely with ease, but it wouldn’t take long… No, I can’t let that happen. She wasn’t listening to me anymore, she’d lost it. Why on god’s earth did I let her come out here with me. What the fuck was I thinking?! Even from the very beginning I was a shitty father figure! Big Mac, in his large and mostly uninjured body charged ahead of me, gaining speed slightly as we ran. Just as I thought we were about to catch up, she entered the raging crowd, weaving under the legs of an ally unicorn who didn’t even notice the little intrusion as he fought on.
“Fuck! Mac, get a move on! Don’t let anyone get in the way!” I shouted as I reared my sword back to remove the first obstacle; a minotaur that the unicorn had been fighting. His giant mace was coming down onto the exhausted unicorn as he looked up in fear. His horn was fizzling, unable to do anything for him. Magic overload.
I screamed as I sliced through the minotaur’s mid-section, cutting him cleanly in half as I bulldozed through him. I didn’t give the unicorn time to react as I continued, screaming bloody murder at the very thought of one of these bastards attacking her, let alone killing her. I couldn’t fail her, not like this. She couldn’t die here, not because of me. I wouldn’t allow it to happen…
I glanced to my right for a split second to see where Mac was, only to see that he had disappeared. I did see flying bodies erupt from the wave of troops slightly ahead of me, however, so I assumed that was him. I needed to catch up if we were to have a better chance of getting to her in time. Damn it, please let her be okay.
After what seemed like hours carving through enemy after enemy, I reached a clearing, a small battle occurring between enemy and ally here and there. I spotted Mac a bit farther ahead, stomping a rogue pegasus’s head in. After his killing blow, I caught up to him, panting heavily as I felt my adrenaline wear of a little. The pain in my body returned somewhat as I caught my breath.
“Mac… Tell me you saw her, somewhere. Please.”
His face met mine with one of anger and resignation. “Nope… Ah couldn’t keep up with her. We coulda passed her up along the way or gone inta a random direction. Ah have no idea…”
My anger from before came back with a vengeance as I took it out on the dead Pegasus body.
“FUCK!” I seethed, mindlessly emptying a magazine into the corpse for cathartic relief. Mac looked at me with a concerned frown as I unloaded into the gun into the corpse, only to start slamming the headless body into a pulp with the stock as my rifle ran dry.
After I finished unloading into the dead bastard before us, I eventually ran out of ammo, and just stood there breathing heavily and shaking. I started noticing something off about the lighting as I stared dazily at the ground. A shadow began to creep forward, blocking out immediate moonlight all around me and shocking me out of my stupor. I glanced at Mac, and we both shared the apprehensive and fearing face as we turned to see the source of the shadow. BEN was going on a literal rampage, killing both enemy and his troops alike in giant swings of his ‘arms’ and the trademark mist, and he’d just stepped on the place where we’d fought Scootaloo’s father. I felt another pang of guilt as I realize that his body was probably crushed into nothing now. Which brought me back to the thought of Scootaloo being out in this crowd with that demon towering above us so threateningly. We needed to get her out of here now, but we also need to take that fucker down.
“Mac, I need you to keep running in the direction of you saw her going last, and find Scootaloo, get her out of this warzone.” I pointed back to BEN, “I’ve got to make sure he doesn’t encounter her on the ground.”
For the first time, Mac looked at me as if I’d finally snapped for good, which could all honestly be true. He looked back in the direction of Scootaloo with a pained grimace, then sighed, looking back to me.
“Eeyup, Ah’ll go after her. Yer the only one who can have a chance against him with that sword of yers, anyways.”
My anger dissipated slightly as I took the time to appreciate him as a fellow brother in a way. I put my hand on his shoulder in respect and smiled slightly.
“We’ve been through a lot of shit, Mac. I know ya haven’t trusted me the whole time up until this point, and it wasn’t your fault. Thanks for sticking by my side, brother. Keep her safe.”
His face relaxed a bit, and he nodded, smirking gently.
“Eeyup.”
I returned my hand and he turned and took off into the crowd around us after Scootaloo. after he left, my face hardened as I turned back to the one who’d been behind all of my pure and utter fucking misery, and everyone else’s. I looked back at the giant beast that had been towering over us nearby. I stood again, this time walking closer. I gritted my teeth, and tightened the grip on my sword, pointing outward towards his head.
“HEY BEN! DOWN HERE, YOU SON OF A WHORE!”
I charged into the bloody fray resuming my cutting towards BEN. I wanted this to be me from now on, no more focusing on destroying masses of the lives of this world. One of us will be dead before that has a chance of happening again. Immediately, the demon that overshadowed us all snapped its attention to me, and watched as resumed carving my path through to him. In that time the hulking Majora effigy only brought its hand up, its palm facing outward towards me. I was a well-enough distance away from the thing that he couldn’t touch me, but as I wormed my way into a clearing, I found myself stopped, mesmerized by a white mass of energy forming in its exposed palm. It dawned on me immediately.
“I can’t beat this on my own.... There’s no way in hell I can beat this…”
Suddenly, I felt fear again, fear that arose from the very thought that if I died, and we lost, it would literally be the end of everything as we know it...
“Let us deal with the demon, then.”
I could hear the unmistakable voice of my father fill my ears. I looked around occasionally, still fixated on the glowing energy in Majora’s palm. Suddenly, a massive wave of light, made of hundreds-no, thousands of white glowing orbs began to descend from the sky around me like a heavenly snowfall. As the orbs, about a large as my thigh, began to touch the ground, they took on more familiar forms, spawning all over the battlefield.
My parents.
Lyra.
Carrot.
Flam.
Discord.
Sweetie.
The hundreds upon hundreds of ponies, animals, and creatures that had died since I got here…
“We’ll take care of this for now, Nick.” Carrot spoke, setting his ghastly hoof on my shoulder, a shiver running down my spine. “Get out of the way before that thing blasts you to a pulp.”
I wasted no time, immediately sprinting for a small alley to my left, and cut down a rogue unicorn in the process who tried to stop me. As I ducked into the alcove, Majora (was this thing even BEN at this point?) fired his weapon, a deafening squeal ringing through my ears, and sending the building next to me collapsing into nothingness. I backed away to avoid the falling debris, and took a look outwards toward the battlefield’s overlord. Thousands upon thousands of the white orbs began speeding towards him, around him and over him, harassing the colossus like flies on a corpse. He roared in pain as he swatted, smashed and pushed them away as best he could.
“WHAT IS THIS SORCERY?!” He swung down in a downward arc with one of his massive fists, causing the spirits within range to disperse wildly, but they only reformed in mere seconds and continued firing at him. “HOW HAVE YOU ANNOYING LITTLE SHITS RETURNED?!”
They were all simply too fast for him, firing burning beams of light at the monster’s face. I was too entranced by the sight to actually run any further back like I was told. And you know what?
One little part of me…
…felt sorry for the guy, screaming in anguish in pain as the shots that hit him left glowing, plasmatic burns all over his body. The most disturbing this is they sounded like cries – cries of a hurt child screaming for his mother – a mother that couldn’t help him.
Poor kid..
No. This thing is not a kid. This thing is a not a child. It is a demon straight from hell. This thing needs to die.
Or… maybe he was, doing all of this to spite the world that killed him, abandoned him, and treated him like an outcast. His childhood was incomplete. Oddly enough, the last story he experienced was Majora’s… And like the skull child’s story, BEN’s was just as tragic.
As corny as it sounds… perhaps…
I should have tried to be a friend to BEN way back during those first days.
The creature’s anger fixated to me, now somehow ignoring the damage all the spirits continued to do, as if he had replaced all of the pain he was feeling with me entirely. His face locked eyes with mine as he let out a guttural screech, and he raised his hand up towards me again.
And then I felt a pull – almost like another heart attack – on my chest. I fell in pain as a black mist, almost a residual slime (much like the strange material others would spit up after being possessed by BEN) began to seep its way out of my chest and in an almost magnetic fashion, began to slowly form in a mass on the blood-soaked road in front of me.
It began to slowly grow, a purely black shade surrounding its form. It slowly took on the shape of a fully grown human, roughly the same height as myself. From its face, on its right side, sprouted one bright, blood-red eye. It, like me, was outfitted with a sword, shield AK, pistol, and flak jacket.
Then it spoke.
“Do you see what you’ve wrought Jadusable? Remember when I told you that you had a demon inside you? How your anger was your greatest weakness? How you could be so uncaring and heartless, to slaughter the innocent, like Carrot and Flim? How could you bring yourself to lead millions to a pointless death under your imaginary banner?”
The demonic beast before me slowly took on a body shape like myself, and its voice morphed into mine – yet deeper and darker.
“You’ve let me feed off your raw emotions for this long. Now you reap what you sow, child. Face the demon you’ve let yourself become.”
It beckoned for me by bending its fingers inward in a taunting fashion.
I looked to the side, watching my partners go to town on the other cannon fodder in the square.
I was on my own in this one.
***Wicked, Soul-Infesting Phantom***
Dark Jadusable
Immediately, the demonic shadow lunged for me, sending its blade thrusting straight for my neck. The background of war continued to rush through my ears as I brought the shield up for a block. I drew my pistol, took a shot, he dodged.
Block, swipe, parry dodge, swipe, swipe, stab, shoot, block, kick, swipe, headbutt, punch, block, shoot, kick, block.
No matter what the hell I did, this guy was always two steps ahead – he knew everything about me, and after nearly five minutes of solid battle, I could feel my strength beginning to weaken. All the stress of this entire ordeal was finally making me cave in, but with the rage burning inside of me, I just kept pushing. …and kept failing. What the hell made my shadow so strong, so on his feet? How did he TRULY know me inside and out? I wondered, as I was gripped by the arm and was forcibly thrown through a nearby window. Glass covering my face and lacerations across my clothing, I weakly stood up, trying to maintain a mixture of balance and consciousness.
Now, it was real - The fire, the rage, the anger….
With the shards digging into my skin, I could feel an intense burn, and spat up blood, trying to keep myself stable. I had to keep fighting. Picking up a nearby rocking chair, I slammed it towards my shadow’s face, but he simply grabbed it with both arms and snapped the body-sized chair in half. It seemed the more rage I felt, the harder it became. This was fucking unfair!
‘What have these ponies ever done for you but bring you misery and torment, Nick? You know where your loyalties lie!” My shadow bellowed, as he took another slash at me, which I promptly rolled underneath.
“You knew Carrot had to die – he was a drunk, despicable fuckbag. Killing that deadbeat was the right choice and you know it, deep down.”
He pulled me close and smacked his head against mine. My ears rang as I dropped my sword, gripping my head in pain. Damn it, that was cheap! I blinked a few times, only to see him in front of my face as he took hold of my shirt and held me close.
“You and I are one and the same! I am you when your rage gets the better of you – when you become so violent you black out and allow BEN to take hold of your mind! We’re two sides of the same coin, brother! Don’t you understand?! I’m part of you, and I’ve always looked out for you when your own strength failed!”
He promptly threw me backwards, landing on my back hard. I gritted my teeth, and looked up back at him, struggling already.
“Why are you telling me all of this?!” I shouted, not fully understanding what the hell he was getting at. He moved closer, brandishing his sword. His eyes expressed complete and utter anger.
“Because, the only time you ever think about yourself and your own wishes is when I’m most in control! When you’re angry, or feeling betrayed, I’m there to pick up the pieces. You’re broken, brother, and you can’t admit it! There were so many opportunities to go home! You could have jumped through the portal with Discord at the Rainbow Factory. If you had let ME do the talking, we could have forced Celestia to send us back to Earth! Wasn’t that the whole fucking point!? You even had a homesick breakdown not more than eight hours ago!””
I shot back, not wanting to ever hear or recollect that shit.
“Of course, I never went back, I have people I care about here! I’ve realized that, now! It’s not like I don’t want to or won’t, but I’m not making myself happy, or going back home, until I fulfill a promise I made a dying child! BEN will never stop at this world! His crazy ass will wipe out the Mushroom Kingdom, Reach, Townsville, Spiral Mountain, or any other place you can imagine! Do you really want this sociopath to destroy not only Earth and Equestria, but every person, place, and thing you ever cared about as a child!?”
His eyes lit up even brighter as his face contorted into a mixture of expressions. He shouted out in pure anger as he charged at me. I rolled out of the way, feeling extremely winded.
“All of it matters?! None of it matters if you’re dead! You’re going to die today, Jad! We could be at home, and mom could still be alive! Instead, you threw it all away for your ‘close friends’ who have done nothing but doubt you this whole adventure! And what the fuck do you have to show for it, huh!? A broken ass body and a home in chaos! Is Earth even habitable after what Discord did to it!? Was it all worth it, Jad!?”
“I made a promise to Sweetie that BEN would not hurt anyone else…” I weakly stammered, rushing towards the guy and slamming my sword into his shield. “You know we’re the only person with the capability to stop him. Why don’t we do some goddamn good, instead of being selfish about it? We’ve had life handed to us on a silver platter since we’ve been born, and now the world is asking us to grow the fuck up.”
The shadow kicked me, pushing me back.
“Do I feel homesick? Of course, I do. Do I like doing this? Hell no. But you know what? We’re here now, and that goddamn demon is what’s making all this happen. Fight with us, not for him, you idiot! We might die, yes, but Jesus, the only way to have a CHANCE at survival is to fight our way out now! If it’s my fault, I’m fucking sorry man, but the past is the past!”
He let out a battle cry of frustration.
“You want me to trust you again?! You want me to drop everything I’m feeling right now, and give you control again?! How do you know if this is the way? After all the times you’ve failed, and I’ve had to take control, you expect me to just ‘take one for the team’?!”
I sheathed the sword, ripping the AK off my back and firing a few rounds. Immediately the shadow dove for cover, as did I. A bout of gunfire ensued over our voices.
“What the fuck WOULD you have done!? Killed Applejack, blaming her for all of this? Or better yet, blaming mom for even giving us life!? How far back do you want the hatred to fucking go! It should ALL be focused that goddamn statue! I don’t have a problem with your methods, I have a problem WHEN, WHERE, and WHO you use them on! USE THEM ON HIM, NOT THE FUCKING PONIES!”
The shadow let off a barrage of bullets back at me, causing me to flinch slightly at the dust kicked up from the impacts.
“I DON’T CARE FOR THEM! I CARE ABOUT US, AND ONLY US! YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE I CAN EVER TRUST! DON’T YOU GET IT?! I CAN’T TRUST THEM! THEY’RE NOT US. THEY’RE NOT YOU!”
His voice seemed to falter slightly now. Another three rounds went flying past me. I wondered exactly what I could do to beat the guy, rage clouding my vision. Then I stopped, thinking back, of only for a moment, to all those dark, lonely hours back in the hospital, furiously trying to beat Dark Link in Zelda II - and our first meeting in that mirror.
Then it dawned on me. You can’t fight like your shadow if you want to beat it. You can’t win if you think like your supposedly ‘opposite’ half.
That was it. Now I understood.
“Well, you know what!? Maybe you can’t trust them. But I can! Applejack, those children, those ponies, saved our lives more than you can count! Not only do I but YOU owe them as well. If you can’t understand that, then you know what, dude!?” I asked, throwing my gun to the ground, and a few seconds more, stepping out of cover.
“Maybe that means you AREN’T a part of me. Because unlike you, and your selfish mind…”
I spread out my arms, standing still in the clearing between our two spots of cover.
“I’m willing to put my life on the line to protect the ones I love. An emotion and feeling your ass has clearly forgotten.”
The shadow stepped out from of the cover himself, his gun still in his hand, but his arm was loose. He revealed himself, looking lost and deep in thought.
“Don’t you understand, Jad? I’m… The hatred and anger. I-I don’t feel love, or kindness! My entire being is rage! H-How am I supposed to do what you ask when I can’t even fathom it?!” He threw his gun to the ground. “Damn it, what do I do, Jad?!”
I stopped, looking him square in his only eye.
“Love the ones that protect you, even if they may doubt you at times. Don’t hurt the ones you love, hurt the ones that hurt.”
For a moment, he stood there, contemplating things, before a thought - possibly about when the rest turned on me at Zecora’s, so suddenly, and en masse, even after all the hardship we’d been through, flew through his mind.
And an instant more, he screamed, grabbing his pistol out of his belt loop, and shooting me in the leg. I went down instantly.
“IT’S ALL FUCKING LIES! ALL OF IT! THEY NEVER GAVE A SHIT IN THE FIRST PLACE, IF THEY’LL TURN ON US LIKE THAT!”
The shadow was frothing at the mouth in rage, throwing his weapon to the ground and placing his foot on my chest. Without hesitation, he drew his sword, ready to bring the blade down on me.
And as he did, all I did was bring my robotic arm up to block the slice and pulled him down on top of me with my arms, wrapping them around his back, holding him tightly.
“We’re both the same man. We’re both split in half because of this fool… he made you do terrible things, unspeakable things… digging up a child’s grave… what the fuck is wrong with you, man? Killing Flam without even thinking, just capping him square in the dome… what the fuck have you become?”
For a moment, the shadow just lay there, squirming in my arms.
“I fucking love you man. You’ve saved my life on many occasions. But you know that anger and reason cannot be separated… they have to be one. Otherwise, you get… BEN.
I squeezed him tighter.
“I love you, man. Don’t fall under his influence. Please. Just come home.”
As I held him tightly, doing my best to ignore the burning sensation in my leg, I began to feel… Something wet drip onto my shoulder. It took me a moment to realize that he was…
...no fuckin’ way...
...crying.
He coughed through his sobbing, trying to speak.
“C-Can you promise me… That we’ll fucking kill... BEN? Rip his goddamn throat out!?”
He forced out the demon’s name, as if it physically hurt him to even think about saying it. I simply nodded and did the only thing I could for a tortured, broken soul.
Sang the song.
Soon, a golden light formed between our two bodies, the darkness of my shadow slowly starting to sink into me, fusing with my body. A few minutes later, I stood, a rejuvenated feeling - and a quick rush of rage - kicking into my veins.With my shadow fallen, I recuperated myself, and turned to face BEN, who was still the towering behemoth in the middle of the battlefield, still struggling with the spirits. His cries of anguish were growing worse, and a tiny part of me, once again, felt a small bit of sympathy for the creature. My parents, Discord, Carrot… were all torturing him for everything he did. I could tell, just by the screams; sounding much like the ones I found myself waking up to, night after night.
He’s just as tortured as I am...
No. This is BEN we’re talking about here. Why would you ever feel sorry for hi- Why…
Why, on some psychological level, did I even care about what happened to something that’s been trying to kill me since day one?
Because I shouldn’t. He deserves everything that’s coming to him.
“ALL SPIRITS FALL BACK! I’ll deal with this scumbag!”
Immediately, I rushed forward in a blind rage, the golden orbs that were once attacking the monolithic Majora creature flying away in random directions. The overabundant cries of warfare still continued to ring out all throughout Canterlot. As the madness of death began to enclose around my mind again, a question came to my thoughts...
If he deserves everything that’s coming to him, then why did I call off his spiritual torture? Wouldn't it be best to see him suffer for all the sick shit he did?
“This is it, BEN.” I said, as I tore off my body armor. “No more weapons,” I continued, throwing my AK and pistol to the stone road beneath me. “No more tricks. No more supernatural power...” I finished, tearing off my shirts and casting them away, revealing my scarred and battered upper body, the only weapon on my person the Blade of Evil’s Bane.
“No more magic. Let us see what you’re made of, kid.”
The twisted laugh of the skull child resounded throughout the air again as the towering Majora creature simply stared down at me. It let out another freakish roar, bringing one hand to swipe me off the ground. In due time, I found myself being held tightly in the freak’s hand, like a bird. The monolithic beast simply stared at me, it’s glowing, deathly wicked eyes staring at me with anger and hatred. In one simple swing, I found all the burning rage within me turn into fear and uncertainty. Perhaps, even in the corners, I could see what I thought to be a hint of sadness, but… No. This thing wanted death and destruction. BEN couldn't possibly show any remorse. He held me there, standing beside the city’s clock tower, as I squirmed to get out of his grasp, pushing my hands down on him to try and free myself. He brought me closer to him, his monstrous figure and glowing eyes only managing to instill more fear into me than I could ever handle.
“And here we are, Jadusable. I must admit, I never expected to see you last this long, and pull up a resistance of this magnitude. Regardless, it will all fail, whether you like it or not.”
I looked up to the moon, it was so damned close. How could we stop this now?
“I’m glad you’re here, though, now that I think back on it. I get to relish in the last moments with you before I BURN this world and it’s damned inhabitants with you alongside them.”
I gulped but mustered up a voice of my own.
“What could have possibly driven you to do all of this?! How could you even do this? You’re a tortured spirit!”
BEN sneered, jerking me somewhat.
“You’re damned right, I am! And it’s no thanks to you and my cursed father!”
It looked as if he was seething, ready to crush me any moment now. However, somehow, he appeared to calm down, what emotion I noticed in his eyes already drifting away.
“After he drowned me, I was left with nothing but feelings of betrayal and anger at my untimely fate and left with nowhere to go but into the only happiness I could hold onto at the time, that stupid game!”
I screamed as he tightened his grip around me temporarily, feeling the pressure heighten on my body.
“W-What does this all have to do with me, damn it!? I did nothing to you! What do you have to gain from all of this!?” I shouted, hoping with every ounce of energy left that I could get out of this.
“Everything, my dear Jadusable, everything. You were my ONLY chance at salvation. When you obtained the cartridge that I was trapped in for so long, I received my first social interaction in years. I was merely a scared spirit, reaching out for human contact.... Waiting for so damned long…!”
He slammed his other fist into the ground, obliterating both enemy and ally alike in the impact zone.
“…And you took it all away from me when you tried to burn the cartridge. You tried to kill me! From then on out, you were my enemy, and I promised myself that I would see to it that you felt every bit of pain I felt, all of the heartbreak that permeated my very being!”
I was in awe as he explained his actions. He was nothing short of a spoiled child given a power so great, and filled with such anger… And he took it out on ME! I gritted my teeth as thoughts rushed through my head. All this pain, he wanted me to feel only because he couldn’t get what he wanted.
“What else could I have done!? You terrified the shit out of me! You could have found some other damned way than to make me feel threatened!”
He raised me up to his face, a fire in his eyes I’d not seen yet, burning brightly into the sky.
“How is it my fault for how humans feel of the supernatural, Jadusable! You brought this on yourself! Instead of choosing to listen and understand me, you chose to fear me! And just like the pitiful mortals in Salem, you chose to end me rather than to help me!” He swept his bloody free hand through a wave of my fellow allies down below, this time taking so much more than he did his own. I lost my breath for a moment as I witnessed it. Tears burned in my eyes as I looked back up to BEN.
“Bathe in the heartbreak you feel now, Jadusable. It’s the only feeling you’ll have from now on as you watch your friends die, one by one.”
His laugh echoed into the air, shaking me to my very core. Something clawed at the back of my head, something he said.
“Salem… H-How do you know about that town?”
I shook with anger and fear, how was I supposed to stop someone with this much power? How many lives have been already lost due to my complacency?
“Pitiful fool… You still haven’t figured it out yet? Again, it was your doing… When you released me onto the internet, the hatred I began to feel wasn’t just directed towards you, it became world-wide, for all of humanity! Learning all of the wretched wars and acts Humanity committed, all of the violence broadcast in a single digital library for the world to feast upon!?, truly terrifying indeed!” He paused for a moment, then continued, staring into my eyes again. “You know what really got me, however? It was your fandom. Despite your motifs of ‘love and tolerance’, all the dark, gory depictions and stories, destroying the ponies’ innocence… It provided me with a way of truly making your life a living hell. Of all places, I could have sent you to the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe, to get your wretched carcass shoved into a deathtrap! In fact, I didn’t even have to send you somewhere fictional…
For a second, I truly didn’t understand.
“The… the fuck is Freddy’s?
“Oh, right. If only I’d let you stay on Earth just a tad bit longer, hmm? Clairvoyance of the future sure is fun!” He laughed, a wicked grin coming over his face. “Alas, I ultimately chose Equestria, if only because it was one that meant something to you - one you actually had the NERVE to use as a ‘medicine’ to try and get me out of your thoughts… You may have forgotten about me… but I swear upon the life of your stupid little ‘daughter’, that I did NOT forget about YOU.”
Suddenly, the beast before me looked at me with piqued interest, as if remembering something.
“And that pretty little ‘daughter’ of yours?” He asked, the bloody, yellow eyes piercing into my soul.
“I’ll make sure to keep her around as my new puppet in the future…”
My eye twitched, veins bulging out. I swear I felt like I could pop several blood vessels right about now, but that doesn’t even phase my thought process. I shook in his hands. “Don’t you FUCKING DARE touch her, BEN! If I die here, I will fucking haunt your very being if you even think about doing anything with her!”
I wanted this to end, now. If I don’t stop him now, he will hurt her. I… I must keep my promise to Sweetie Belle… My threats didn’t even seem to phase him, however, as his expression began to become a shit-eating grin.
“Oh… and those worthless wastes of flesh that cursed the earth by spawning you?” Another laugh escaping the mad beast. “When I do kill you… Tell them… that maybe they should have…”
A simple, child-like giggle escaped him, as in his spare, bloody hand, he spawned two objects out of thin air - broken, mangled Garmin GPS systems.
“Kept their eyes on the road…”
I froze, my eye widening in realization of what he’d just said. For a moment, my face went completely blank, all emotion dying, and my skin going ghostly pale. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. The next moment, I felt a vein in my forehead explode, testosterone and adrenaline coursing through me like a raging gorilla. …and remembering my hands were free, I drew the sword, screaming into the night, and bringing the blade down on his hand.
“I. FUCKING. HATE. YOU!”
All of my built up hatred and stress seemed to flow into the strike and my shout, it echoing into the sky. The monstrous beast let out an agonizing roar as black ichor streamed out of his now handless arm.
“YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH PAIN YOU’VE GIVEN TO ME? I’LL SHOW YOU EVERY FUCKING BIT OF IT!”
The anger was boiling to unfathomable levels… I wanted this fucker’s head on a god damned platter, melting in a fucking oven!
As the Master Sword drove itself through BEN’s hand, he let out a roar, dropping me in the process. With one free hand, I gripped hold of one of the many sprouting appendages on his body, saving myself from a potentially deadly fall. With that, I pulled myself upwards, gaining my footing on him and stabbing the beast in the chest. Prying the heavenly sword out, I began to climb slowly, using several different protrusions and the sword itself as makeshift climbing gear. The beast shook, nearly throwing me off in the process, my only grip remained with the sword itself, which happened to be plunged deep into his body again. Each of his roars resounded into the sky, instilling fear into the ally troops on the ground as they fought desperately to survive. The sky began to darken quickly as he realized that one of his giant hands was coming straight for him, looking to slam into the beast’s body. Reacting last second, I swung on my sword to the right side of its chest, the blade now embedded in what would be the left side.
Even with my body being so damaged beyond repair, I felt as ready to go as ever. My pain was practically gone by this point, even with my wounds still covering my body. As I looked at the holes in which I had jabbed the Master Sword into, fresh rays of light shot out from each of them, bright as the sun itself. I sneered, continuing my climb up the monstrous body.
“YOUR LITTLE DAGGER CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH, JADUSABLE!” He roared, visibly flinching at his wounds. “JUST LIKE YOU. NOW KEEP STILL, YOU WRETCH!”
He sent another hand slamming towards me again, as I once again swung up, now landing onto his shoulder. Once again, he began to shake violently, intending on throwing me off to my death. I stabbed the sword into his shoulder and held onto for dear life, my legs flailing about violently. I was down to my robot arm by the time he finally stopped. I struggled to stand, using the sword for support. My rejuvenated energy thus far was being spent rather quickly. I needed to end this soon, or else I was going to miss my chance.
“BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!”
I shouted a battle cry of fury as I gathered up my remaining energy to jump onto the side of his head. As I climbed, I noticed a bright light shining on the top of his head. For some reason, it called me to it, to which I answered without hesitation. As I finally scaled up to the top, I noticed what it was. The light shone upon a brightened marking at the top of the giant mask. This was becoming all too fam-- A glancing blow from some gigantic fucking hand nearly sent me plummeting to my assured death below.
I barely clung to an outcropping of the mask, one of the spikes. Once again, my robotic arm saved my life, although it was quickly losing its grip due to the size of the spike. I needed to think quickly, or I was going to have a very rough fall to my death. I looked down, noticing the shoulder was just below me. Now or Never! I gulped, and let go, both of my arms fastened tightly to the grip of my bane of evil as I fell. At the last second, the shoulder moved! That fuc-
*SNAP*
I screamed bloody murder as I felt my human arm dislocate, threatening to be torn off.
“JESUS-JACK-HAMMERING-MOHAMMED, WHAT THE FUCK!?”
I heard a malicious laugh from my old friend as he heard my screams of agony.
“Oh, Jadusable! You really thought I’d let you get so close?! You’re right! It is always the best to crush your dreams at the last possible second!”
I held back another scream, a tear starting to form in the flesh of my arm, muscle fibers beginning to tear away and disconnect.
“I didn’t go through all your bullshit, see thousands die, eat children, and lose my family all to just fucking die, you shit!”
I roared, stabbing the sword into the creature’s shoulder again. He screamed, and I took the opportunity to climb back up by swinging my legs around and finding footing. I was now against the right side of his neck, near the face. I ripped the blade out of the side of the freak’s shoulder, my lungs and other vital organs starting to fail as I struggled to breathe.
He roared, the volume piercing my eardrums as he reached around with his other arm, taking hold of me once again. He brought me up to his gigantic mask, staring into each other’s eyes. My expression nearly mirroring the mask’s ever consistent look of hatred. As I glared into his eyes, I felt something else slip into my psyche. Something… Familiar. Something I both hated and used so many times. The very same anger and hatred I’ve been feeling since I arrived here. Finally, I realized it wasn’t just my own, it was his. Skull Kid’s trademark scream erupted from the creature again. All I could feel was torture, pain, remorse, and hatred all held into my body like a fucking bottle.
Then… BEN lashed out in a way I never thought possible.
“WHY WON’T YOU JUST DIE, HUMAN?!”
I looked upon him with a surprised expression, not expecting this outburst from one that had been so cold-blooded and calm to me not a few moments before. Not such an outburst from a monster that did all of this for fun.
“I HAVE BEEN PLOTTING YOUR FUCKING FATE FOR TWO YEARS, ADDING ON TO THE ORIGINAL YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT. WHY CAN’T YOU JUST DIE LIKE ANY OTHER BEING!?”
I could feel his pain seeping into my very being, having always asked myself the same questions. Perhaps… perhaps we weren’t that different. I had my own to share.
“WHY WONT YOU JUST END IT! WHY WON’T YOU JUST GET OUT OF MY EXISTENCE, STOP TORTURING ME!?”
I threw the sword to the ground below, holding out my arms.
“TAKE ME AND END IT! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING I EVER HAD AND ENJOYED! YOU FUCKING RUINED ME, YOU COCKSUCKER!”
I couldn’t hold it back any more, tears rushing to my eye. I still held the glare of rage, but… Why didn’t he just kill me now. Why fight it? We both want the same thing….
“Why… why do you want to kill me so badly…”
We….
We both want the same thing…
“BECAUSE I HAVE TO!”
For the first time, I saw the creature… shaking. His cry felt so pain-filled, like he was being tortured every living second.
“WHY CAN’T YOU SEE?! YOU HAVE TO DIE! SO THAT I CAN BE FREE OF THIS EVERLASTING AGONY! I JUST WANT IT TO END!”
Holy shit… we… we were the same. Out for each other’s blood, not giving a shit about whoever got in the way…
Together, monsters to the core, we’ve been fighting a two man war that swept in millions of innocents under both banners.
“You… you could just crush me like a beetle. I can’t do anything to harm you…. why do I need to die? You do because you’re all-powerful but… a stupid, half-dead human with no future and a broken brain… what can I ever do to you that could stop you? Why does someone so insignificant need to die?”
For a moment, we were silent, the roaring warfare beneath the only sound we could hear. As I stared at the hulking being before me, it looked as though it wanted to explode into tears, as if all the emotion it’d been holding for years and years were finally coming to a breaking point. Then, once more, he spoke. Giving me an answer that was both utterly confusing…
...and chilling to the soul.
“BECAUSE THE MASK SALESMAN COMMANDS IT!”
I froze, dead solid. I just stared - dead, and shocked. For nearly five minutes, we stood there, the others of the world fighting beneath us. Finally, after some time, I spoke.
“What… what do you owe that dickhead?”
It felt extensively awkward, seeing such a calm, collected and sadistic demon suddenly lashing out like an angry child… Did all of this… did it run deeper?
“I wish you knew… that I owe the Mask Salesman my freedom. Were it not for him, the moment you turned on that game… had I not taken his instructions word for word, I would not have manipulated you in such a way, that you would have set me into that flash drive…. He was the one who told me to use Cleverbot - told me what to say, how to manipulate the game…”
He squeezed me tightly, and I felt for a moment as if I would explode - he was certainly big enough to do it.
“I promised him your death - so that he may add you to his mask collection, in exchange for true freedom. I owe that man everything.”
For a bit, the scared, childish part of me that still barely clung to life resurfaced, and I was now doused in pure fear, trying to bargain for my survival, panicking and sweating as my speech only sped up.
“You don’t. You don’t owe that dude anything. Listen to me, Ben… We’re... we’re the same kind of man. You hate people, I hate people, can we just go about our way and pretend this didn’t happen!? Please man, there’s gotta be a better way to end this…!”
I flinched, bringing my arms up to shield myself like a scared little boy, as futile as it was. And then… he said the most haunting thing I ever heard him utter.
“Had we been friends, perhaps this would have ended more peacefully. Instead, you treated ME like the monster, me, when you are no better, killing and stealing out of anger, rage, and sadness…”
I opened my eyes and removed my hands from my face, looking back into the glowing yellow eyes of Majora. For one fraction of a second, I could have sworn I saw a massive tear forming in the hulking Majora effigy’s eye. It slid down his form as I stared, unsure of what else to say. He was right, in a way. Had it all truly boiled down to a huge fucking cesspit of miscommunication? At that very moment, the ground began to shake. I looked around me as troops on either side began to stumble and look around in surprise and shock. And then… It stopped.
“BEN…”
Something whispered into my ear, something low, but even more chilling than BEN could have ever been. The creature had frozen, and he was looking up, looking to be in pure panic mode. I looked down below again, and the survivors of the battle below looked around in the same manner, as if every living creature in the nearby vicinity had heard this whisper. Immediately, the creature screamed in fear and panic.
“GET AWAY! FATHER, PLEASE. HELP ME!”
He shot massive purple plasmatic bolts with his free hand into the sky and at the ground around him, hitting some of the troops, both friend and foe. For once, I was frightened for him. It was if, for a moment, he’d rather have the father who drowned him over what he was dealing with right now, and I wanted to protect him for that very fact. Then, the creature stopped, and focused his attention back onto me. Instantly, fear returned for my own well-being returned ten-fold. I didn’t see pain in his eyes anymore. I saw nothing.
“You, little human, are nothing more than a useless pile of flesh and bone. You’re my one key to freedom. And I will not have that taken from me because of some pathetic bout of emotion. We may have the same goals in mind, but I’m not so weak as to give everything up for the cheap way out. You will cry. You will burn. And you. Will. Die.”
With those final words, he began to tighten his squeeze on me. I gasped, and wheezed. My bones were close to giving. Why had I so stupidly thrown away my only chance of escaping this fate…? I had a promise to keep… Sweetie Belle… Please…Suddenly, the pressure relented. Before I had time to contemplate why I wasn’t still being crushed, I was in free-fall. Instead of panicking, I was in shock at what had just happened. I couldn’t think, my mind was blank, my eyes wide open, taking in the darkened sky. In a sense… It was beautiful. If this was the end, I guess my more morbid, philosophical side of my mind had decided to take surface. I guess I can’t comp--
*RIP*
*THUNK*
***THE FINAL HOURS – September 23rd, 2012, 4:23 AM***
I was exhausted. I’d been fighting in this battle for what seemed like hours, and already I’d seen so much bloodshed, friend and foe alike. I raised my hooves into the air and slammed them into the ground, sending a wave of Changelings into the sky away from me. I was worried, not just for my little ponies, but for my friends as well. Anger and fear clouded my mind, as I hadn’t seen Twilight and her friends for a while now and didn’t have the time to scry the field for them. They weren’t trained for this kind of war, nor were my little ponies. My eyes burned as I was constantly fighting back the urge to cry, and with each pony I witnessed die, my heart ached more and more.
I sent my glaring sword slicing upwards through another changeling, sending it into the sky, showering ichor all around me. Something falling from the sky caught my attention, however, and as I focused on the object, I did a double-take. Nicholas was falling away from the giant monstrosity that he’d been battling moments before, thrown in my direction at such a great speed. I sliced her sword in an arc in front of me to rid myself of the changelings nearest to me, and I moved to send a beam of magic with the intent of catching him. At the same time, one of my Royal Guard was slain, and his dead corpse was kicked into me. The momentary distraction caused me to determine what had caused it. The body slumped against her leg, his eyes open wide in shock, forever staying that way.
I felt something fly past me, and jumped, remembering Nicholas’s state in the air, only to see him fly right past my vision into a tarp attached to a building, ripping right through into a large pile of garbage bags and bodies. I hesitated, unsure of whether he was even alive now.
I flew to the crash site, hoping against all odds that he was still alive. When I arrived, the sight was not reassuring. His body, while still breathing, was practically destroyed. His own sword was skewered through his leg. Still, the man stirred, letting out a groan, one filled with both agony and frustration.
“Nicholas!” I shouted, worry ebbed in my voice. Unfortunately, a changeling decided that he happened to be an easy target, and I cut him down with a simple beam of light. Immediately afterwards, a few of my royal guard took position around me as I began charging a restoration spell.
----
I awoke, only to see a ripped tarp above me, and a darkened sky. My head was spinning, and my breathing shallow. My only eye faded in and out of vision weakly as I struggled to breathe, choking on blood. A searing, sharp pain in my right leg coursed through my entire body. My ears were ringing as my life faded from me, and all I could hear...
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Sword clashes.
Crying.
Screaming.
Death surrounded me at every turn, it seemed. I questioned how I was still alive, considering all of the damage my body had been dealt, now adding an enraged Demon with the power of a God throwing me down full force to the list of shit that didn’t seem to kill me. I now understand the curse that anything immortal has to go through.
I looked over, my vision barely stable, to see that the Master Sword had fallen, slashing right through my leg, and coming out the other side. I didn’t feel pain. I didn’t feel anger. I just felt weak. I was tired, broken… I wanted to sleep. Let death just cover me in its blanket and put a pillow under my head. So many opportunities for me to just die. Fate seemed to simply loathe me, however, and keep me around as a plaything.
“Nicholas!”
A feminine voice invaded my ears, muffled by the ringing that never seemed to go away. It was authoritative, yet motherly. It was harsh, but warm. It carried the cold, unfeeling burden of a nation behind its sounds, but had the friendliness of a babysitter.
“GET UP!”
Her command reverberated throughout my body. I was at war with myself, fighting the overwhelming feeling of just ignoring her, and leaving something else to finish me off. A wave of light blasted over me, sending a small group of changelings into the building behind them, promptly flattening them. My vision suddenly blinded, I was able to let out a groan of frustration.
“Sweet… Je-J....Jesus, just-”
I coughed, spitting up more blood. How did I even have any left?
“Just let it stop…”
“Hold still…”
The voice spoke again. It was a soft whisper, somehow making itself known over the mass amounts of screaming and death around me, as if it were in my head. Not having much other choice in my current state, I did so. I began to feel a sense of warmth weaving its way throughout my body.
“N...Nayru? Is… is it you?” I muttered, disbelief clear in my ragged voice. The warm presence seemed to embrace me, and for a moment, I felt as though nothing was wrong in the world. The pain that had racked my body moments before was barely noticeable now.
“It’s not over for you yet, young one.”
Oddly enough, I picked up another voice along with hers. I realized that it belonged to the demanding one from before. I don’t want to fight anymore, and both seemed to want me to just continue.
Shut up.
Just shut the fuck up and let me sleep. Let me die in peace. I’ve been everybody’s goddamn dog since I got here.
Death is the last peace a man can have. Let me shoot myself, go out on my own terms...
A face appeared in front of my vision. One that I knew would haunt me forever if I just died here. Sweetie Belle. Why. Why the fuck did she have to appear now. Fucking Nayru. She knew this would fucking affect me. I’m no god damned hero. I never fucking wanted this.
I’m supposed to be a fat college punk that’s bumbling through life. That’s all I want to be right now. Anything. Any sense of normalcy would be better than seeing my friend die before my very eyes again.
“Fuck off. Just go.”
I’m not Link. I’m not Audie Murphy. I’m not Jesus. I’m not Gordon Freeman or that Soviet sub commander that refused to launch a nuke.
“I’m not a hero. Stop it. Stop it now.”
Another image flashed through my eyes again. Applejack. Her solid, masked form. Dear fuck, why… Nayru, fucking stop it, now! You fucking cheating BITCH! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALO-!
“Nick!”
A sharp, young voice penetrated the shouts abruptly. My breathing hitched in my throat as my body seized up. I knew that voice anywhere. Scoots. No. Don’t make me get up. Please. Dad needs to die. Just let him die. A scream of pure fear perforated through the air, hers. My hand twitched, placing itself on the sword. The searing pain in my leg returned as the darkness of the early morning returned to my vision.
“Alright… fine.”
I pushed my left hand down onto the trash bags beneath me, my right tugging at the sword. I didn’t even scream at this point. I just ripped it out.
"FINE, GODDAMNIT!"
A gasp was heard behind me. Celestia seemed to be shocked by my sudden, but unfortunate re-awakening. I didn’t care. A certain daughter of mine needed help. This was going to be Dad’s last fucking deed.
“COME ON, MAJORA! I’LL BASH YOUR FACE IN!”
I heard a soft giggle within my head again. I gritted my teeth. YOU’LL FUCKING GET YOURS TOO, NAYRU. YOU SADISTIC CUNT!
“I’M GOING TO HELL, AND YOU’RE ALL COMING WITH ME!”
I gripped my sword tightly with my mechanical hand and limped towards the shrieks coming from the filly I knew so well. Unfortunately, I wasn’t moving. God fucking damn it.
*Ten Minutes Earlier*
The immediate area became clear, and I stepped towards the broken, destroyed human in my wake. I was staring at the face neither child nor man; within that one remaining eye, I could see untold horrors, traumas, and turmoil.
But, I also saw death, destruction and ruin behind that same face. My feelings for this creature were highly conflicted, but my emotions on the matter meant little in our current situation.
“Nicholas are you alright?”
Looking at him, I could see he was barely in any fighting condition - his mechanical arm was a broken, mangled, unusable mess, much like his other, the latter a massive tear in the flesh, exposing a dislocated bone, and the torn skin and muscle dangling loosely. I was shocked, truly. Though I had offered my powers to nurse the gravely injured before, no living creature before had suffered such brutalizing punishment as he. Every scar on his body was a reminder of every pony lost, every drop of blood leaking from his face a painful image of the carnage that had overtaken my world.
As another group of enemy soldiers - this one a mix of diamond dogs and my own little ponies surrounded us again, I blasted them away, returning to the boy once the deed was done. Doing so left me even more broken than before. The pain that went with such a wretched act was unbearable. With my remaining strength, I conjured the strongest healing spell I could, a golden light encasing the scarred thing at my mercy. I may have, to some degree, despised the human on some personal level, but his lone eye carried thousands of tales, that all culminated to a mutual understanding.
BEN must be stopped. This broken human was the key to all of it, I could feel it.
Still, I could see, in his eye, a crying, scared child - a tortured, broken soul that had nary a shred of sanity left in him. For a moment, I finally understood the man’s plights. He didn’t want this either, and his anger and aggression was his only method of coping.
“Let. Go. Of. Me.” He simply stated. His eye had an angry fire in them, one with a goal that he was determined to finish. I snorted, not in the mood for his attitude. I had him held in a magical stasis, intending on restoring his major wounds.
“You need medical attention, at least allow me to mend your destroyed arm.”
I was already applying the restorative magic to his shoulder where it appeared to be somewhat detached.
“FUCK THE FUCK OFF, PRINCESS! I HAVE A FILLY TO SAVE!” I could hear him scream, standing again, and attempting to break free of his magical hold.
A filly? Quickly finishing up the process of his shoulder, I released him. Immediately, he set off, only taking the time to turn around and shout back.
"IF SHE'S DEAD, YOU'RE FUCKING NEXT!"
I seethed at his attitude, but let him go, deciding that the lives of my fellow guards and apparent filly were, for now, more important than his reckless life.
---
I charged, wincing in pain with every step, cutting an unsuspecting changeling in half with my sword, as the fresh blood splattered over me. BEN had materialized as the statue again, and was standing in the middle of the street, staring at me. My eye burned with endless fire, and the pain - all the blood loss, all the missing limbs and eyes, all the mental torture had finally caved in on me.
Regardless, I pushed forward, deathly intent to end this freak. Yet, one thing got in the way of this goal - Scootaloo.
I managed to see that the little filly, as I closed the distance between my rival and I, was hiding in a building over to my left and a few meters away. I remembered the screams from her and saw the small group of Diamond Dogs approaching her quickly. I sneered, releasing a battle cry of my own as I brought my sword through the neck of a chubby one who was wielding a mace. Blood squirted on my face and his two buddies as they jumped back, appalled. I didn’t give a shit. I was ready to swing again when the earth shook, causing me to stumble. I looked back up.
The upper part of the building was struck by an explosive cannonball. The two surviving Diamond Dogs fled for their pathetic lives.
And then it started to collapse.
Remembering the promise, I mindlessly rushed into the structure and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, immediately throwing her out of the door. She tumbled to the street and stood up quickly, looking in the direction of where she had been thrown, only to look into the only eye of a sorrowful, broken shell that was her adoptive father.
Time slowed down for the pegasus at that moment, as she made a mad attempt to sprint back to me.
“N-nick!?”
As she began to move, and nearly came to the doorway she had involuntarily left, I tried to almost inaudibly screamed over the deafening sounds of war.
“GO! RUN!”
The pegasus had nothing else to say, before the building collapsed overtop of me, showering me in blackness.
5:00 AM
The weight of the building I was buried under began to choke me, suffocate me, and crush my bones. I felt helpless, but I would not die. I made it this far. I wasn’t going to let some lowlife, immature and childish prick, angry at the universe for his untimely death, destroy everything. I wasn’t about to let BEN win. I took what little power I had in me, placing my robot arm against the debris holding me down. One push, nothing. Another, and still, nothing more. I took a breath and put all of my strength into it.
“Dad!” The voice rang through the air, just like before. Why was she still here?! Damn it!
GET OFF ME!”
The rubble came falling to the side, as I slowly emerged, a gaping cut across my stomach, a small portion of my intestinal tract now visible. I clambered, weakly, out of the mess that was the thatched house that had toppled over and crushed me, now seeing the little orange filly in front of me, looking both terrified and relieved to see me there. She jumped into my arms immediately, her grip not loosening for one iota. I held her back with as much intensity, knowing she was, for the moment, safe.
Knowing the moment couldn’t last forever, I looked up and surveyed the damage around me. Soldiers and Changelings fought overhead, cutting each other apart, and blowing themselves up with magic. Angry civilians fought with the invading force, landing left and right, heartlessly murdering each other.
“I don’t care if I ever taught you anything different - you listen to me now: you get the fuck out of here and run. Get out of here and just keep going. Don’t stop.”
“D-dad…”
I cut her off, the princess fighting her way towards us.
“No. Run. I’m a dead man in a few minutes… I don’t want you going, too.” I sputtered, coughing up blood while trying to stuff my gut back into my body with my other hand, and hugging her tightly with the cleaner one.
“I… I love you, dad.” She said once more, hugging me and crying deeply.
“I know.” I said, gently pushing her away from me. “Now get out of here.”
At that, the filly sprinted away, tears flying freely. I didn’t see her again, but I saw the princess, who, despite being clearly angered at my outbursts, approached me shortly after, and attempted to work her magic on my wounds. I just let her, the pain of my stomach hanging out too cumbersome for me to do anything. I simply surveyed the area, quickly coming to one conclusion.
We were losing. Most citizens were dead, the corpses rotting in the streets and crimson hues painting the landscape. The group of creatures that composed my slowly acquired party, was trapped in town square, fighting off what they could of the seemingly endless forces that constantly spawned from wormholes ripped open in the sky. Things were not good at all. I sat against the rubble, trying to nurse my wounds, and turned to watch my fighting friends as a changeling came at me, and I weakly filled its face full of shotgun shells. Where the ‘mane six’ withstood an entire changeling army before, this time, things were terrible, and it started with Derpy.
As a magical bolt flew through her chest, it skewered her against a structure, as the magicical bolt solidified into a spear, upon the end of which, sat a slowly beating heart, which was just barely attached to the inside of her body by a few stray muscle fibers and vesicles. My eye twitched violently, my breath hitching slightly.
“I’ve got to go, Princess. I have people that need saving…” She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the booming voice irradiating from the incoming moon.
“THINE RECKONING HATH COME, DEAR SISTER!” A second later, my vision was filled with blue light as the Lunar Princess materialized in front of them, brandishing a sharpened glaive, the moon insignia etched onto the long handle. Celestia seemed both shocked and saddened by the voice, the expression on her face unbearable to watch, being forced to go against her little sister again. That couldn’t have been easy for her to hear.
She cackled maniacally into the sky, bringing her weapon down to bear. A few brave Royal Guards had challenged her at a moment’s notice, eager to protect the Solar Princess and earn glory for themselves.
“For the Princess!” They shouted simultaneously, charging into the fray.
“No!” Celestia shouted. She grabbed them in her magic quickly, pulling them back immediately afterwards. While she had saved two of them, the third had been in the lead, and wasn’t as lucky. His head rolled towards them slowly, leaking blood as it went. As Celestia’s magic released the three, the third’s body flopped lifelessly onto the ground. She bared her teeth into a grunt, tears clouding her eyes. Another life she’d failed to save. Another reason to punish herself internally. Another failure.
“Foolish whelp. He obviously did not respect the rightful heir.” She taunted at her sister and her guards. Finally getting that there was no other way, she took a more defensive pose, her remaining guards doing the same.
“Stay behind me, my little ponies. Do not challenge her. Make sure nopony else interferes.” Her voice leaked a balance of pain and authority. They obeyed, surrounding her in a semi-circle on all sides except for her front.
I, on the other hand, simply pulled the action on the shotgun and stepped ahead of her. Yeah, I have a deathwish at this point, so the fuck what? You would too, if your goal was to go home, and you just sustained injury after injury, after injury, without the calm veil of the Reaper to cut your suffering short.
I looked to Celestia, readying myself for the oncoming battle. She opened her mouth, her expression obviously displeased with my actions before it was interrupted by a buzzing sound.
Queen Chrysalis approached the ground in front of the Princess of the Sun, a disgusting grin adorned on her face.
“Ah… the princess of the world’s love capital… How I’ve waited to make you rue the day your worthless Elements heartlessly murdered hundreds of my children…” Their almost synchronized arrival had momentarily stunned me. Celestia chose to ignore the insect bitch’s taunt, and gestured towards the battle where my friends were. Noticing that she was already charging a spell, I nodded, and I gripped hold of the shotgun, ready to send a round through her face.
“You. Have exactly five seconds. Before I pump a slug. Into your skulls. Back. The. Hell. Up.”
I stood, about ready to plant a shotgun shell through Chrysalis’s skull. Instead, Celestia brought her hoof out and caught me, nodding to the others behind me, being overwhelmed.
“Save them. I’ll deal with her.”
I lowered the gun, turning around and running off.
“I’ll come back to decapitate you later, bug!”
I began weakly hobbling over to the scattered group, which was a good forty meters away. I gripped hold of my shotgun, pumping the weapon, and loading a few rounds into the chamber, slowly walking towards the hellacious combat, only to see Big Mac get his head blown clean off by a passing arrow, loaded with an explosive charge. My previous bravado disappeared immediately as the body went falling to the ground. The town’s fountain turned bright red as the morning sun slowly began to creep over the horizon, and the sound of the clock tower’s bell could be heard, followed by another earthquake. My heart rate spiked as a bit of my psyche started lose touch with reality. The Masked Salesman’s laugh echoed throughout the air.
Then Rarity died, her eyes gouged out by a sword, and her throat slashed by a changeling. As the regal Unicorn sputtered and choked on her dying breath, I felt a surge of adrenaline rush through me, the pain numbing itself. I broke into a full-on sprint trying to close the distance as quickly as I could, to save my friends. I kicked a rogue buffalo in the face as I slammed a friendly royal guard into a nearby wall in a mad dash to make it in time.
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!”
Spike was next, a stray bullet finding its way through the young dragon’s temple. He fell over lifeless, becoming trampled by the thousands of hooves and feet littering the square.
I don’t remember what happened much after that. Fluttershy whimpered audibly as she noticed Spike fall, only to be picked up by a levitation spell, and like snapping a cracker was split in half by the spine, her entrails pouring out like a meaty pinata. Her expression was of pure shock, the kind that you would see on an innocent child who’d just seen their father die in front of them.
“No… no no, no, no, no, no no. This can’t be happening. This is all just a fucking nightmare…”
Then one by one, they all fell, as I continued to close the gap.
Twilight. Blasted apart by a grenade.
Dash. Hit spot on by an artillery shell.
Pinkie. Viciously decapitated by a battle axe weilding diamond dog.
There was only one left.
Applebloom.
I couldn’t let her die. I promised those children I would protect them with my life.
As a changeling closed in on the golden filly, I raised my gun, and blasted away. As I continued to sprint towards the young girl, her attacker flew backward, split in half as his heart vaporized and exited out the creature’s back. I continued to charge forth, my sword finding its way through the neck of a griffon that blocked my path.
With my vision and memory a blur, I broke into a cheetah-like run, bounding over bodies upon bodies and…
Then I lost my footing, snagging my leg on the horn of a dying buffalo, and tumbling to the ground. I managed to keep on my feet, but during that moment, as I was not any more than ten feet from the young Crusader, the shotgun flew out of my hand.
Again, with my mind a blur…
I ignored the one basic rule that, after all these years, my father stressed.
LET A LOADED GUN DROP. NEVER TRY TO PICK IT UP.
As I did, I had no time to react, with the hellacious ringing of the blast deafening my ears, and a gigantic puff of smoke and gunpowder obscuring my vision.
When my senses returned...
I saw what I had done.
Applebloom’s face had been obliterated, the front of her skull broken into hundreds of tiny fragments. Her body stood upwards as if she had not moved, and my eyes met with nothing more than the internals of her head - a mass of gore, with an outline of jagged bone playing the role of a demented picture frame. The left side of her brain had exploded into nonexistence, the frontal lobe almost completely torn off - all the way through to the occipital.
It took me several moments to even realize what truly happened. As I lay there, on my stomach, the corpse fell over, its gaping maw landing on the bloody cobblestone road.
When my mind retained some semblance of clarity, it was not a moment more that I broke down into a ball of fear and failure, crying into the shoulder of the body.
And then… the rage. It came back.
And I blacked out. The only thing I remember past that point were my vocal chords uttering a bestial, inhuman roar. Even I, on some level, was scared of it.
Finally, my last shred of humanity… my last shred of sanity…
Had, like all of my friends - no, family…
Died.
Then, the darkened, demented voice I knew so well to be my shadow invaded my head.
“We will make them pay. We will make them suffer. Eat them! MURDER THEM! MAKE THEM BLEED! BATHE IN THEIR CORPSES!”
I…
“CRUSH!”
I can’t… control it any more.
“KILL!”
Every bit of my humanity… gone.
“DESTROY!”
Scootaloo...
“ELIMINATE EVERYTHING ON THIS BATTLEFIELD! ALLY OR ENEMY! I DON’T CARE!”
...please, forgive dad for what he's about to do.
---
I had followed Nick’s instructions, ignoring him and attempting to run. I didn’t want to be a coward - I didn’t want to give up the fight; it’s not what he taught me to do. Despite that, however, I sprinted away from the warzone as fast as I could, attempting to see to the final wishes of my father - my safety. I crashed through creature after creature, building after building, and weapon after weapon to flee.
But one thing froze me dead in my tracks, as I ducked down a combat-free alley.
Nick’s scream. I would recognize it anywhere by now.
I stopped, peeking out of the alley, which lead into the Canterlot town square. There, I saw him, on his knees, cradling the corpse of my best friend, Applebloom in his arms, like a father losing his own child. I couldn’t blame him; we WERE his kids… he treated us like his own.
Then, he dropped Applebloom’s body, letting out a freakish roar. The only description I could give you was some freakish mixture of a bear, barn owl, dying rabbit, and a banshee.
I have no idea what the fuck that scream was… but it wasn’t Nick.
Nick was no longer there. This thing was a demon.
I peered out of the alley I had hid behind, watching him soullessly sit there in defeat, on his knees, holding the dead body. He simply stared towards a burning building, a lifeless, soulless gaze about him.
He sat there for a minute, still clearly frozen. As I peered at him some distance away in the relative safety of a dumpster, a group of changelings approached him. They were armed, and outnumbered him by at least, ten. They surrounded him, one changeling laughing, saying something about how the ‘big bad human’ had finally given up. How he was just letting himself die. Again, he just sat there, his hands on his knees, staring lifelessly into the street. One changeling walked up to him, placing his blade beside Nick’s neck. I wanted to scream, call him out. I wanted them to come chasing after me instead of them.
The changeling standing by Nick’s side drew his blade backwards, ready to strike.
Without turning his head, Nick’s robotic arm shot forward, gripping hold of the oncoming sword. It was ripped from the changeling and plunged deep into its owner’s stomach without remorse.
I didn’t see what happened next, but the screams… oh god… the screams.
...those cries for mercy…
...those… that sound…
crunching bones… muscle, violently ripping away from a skeleton...
Nick had gone insane. While I knew he could get violent and was, despite being a kind man, one of the scariest beings I knew by the same token, this.... this version of Nick was no longer a human. He had changed. His body had become a hulking mass of muscle and flesh, sweat pouring down this monster in torrents. And without a care in the world... I saw the once fun-loving, out of shape geek I used to look up to like a father take towards a massive group of combatants with reckless abandon. He had not changed, physically in any sense, but his muscles were bulged to the point of bursting, as if every ounce of bodily function when into fueling his strength. Just like that, the monstrous human took to the battle on all fours, sprinting in an animalistic manner.
He jumped on the back of a friendly royal guard pony, tearing the stallion’s helmet off and biting into his neck like a vampiric abomination. The next creature, a crystal pony, found his hands around her neck, and with a twist and a snap, had her head crudely torn off. Nick’s robotic arm blasted through the stomach wall of a changeling, ripping out and taking a massive bite of the creature’s intestines.
So, this…. this was Nick, under the COMPLETE influence of his anger.
The beast was practically invincible, running and jumping and biting, despite bullet after bullet and blade after blade hitting him and stabbing him. In fact, with a bastard sword almost completely dug through his pelvis, Nick was STILL moving.
And god damn it, he killed all of them. Everything he came into contact with, friend or foe, he destroyed and crushed.
Soon, the warfare slowly died, as Nick shoved his hands into the mouth of the final creature, a diamond dog. He emerged with a set of bloody lungs, and, to add insult to injury, disconnected the upper skull and lower jaw, tearing both parts away like a fortune cookie.
My eyes set upon Princess Celestia herself, looking battered and beaten, but still holding her own against an equally damaged Changeling Queen. I looked back to Nick and realized where his path was leading to, and I watched in awe as he literally pounced the queen, using his now hulk-ishly huge mass to his advantage to bring her down violently.` They rolled, and before she could even assess what had just happened, he moved his giant hands to her forelegs, and ripped them clean off, spraying black ichor everywhere. Celestia’s expression was more than disgusted and shocked at the scene before her, understandably so. As the queen screamed in pure agony, Nick proceeded to tear her wings from her body, opening more holes for ichor geysers to form. For a time, he proceeded to mercilessly beat her face with her own dismembered legs, screaming in a simultaneously demonic and neanderthalic sounding speech pattern.
“INSECT DIE!”
Finally, he began pounding into her belly, simultaneously ripping it open and squishing her insides. Her screams died down shortly after the first few poundings as her eyes rolled back into her head. His mechanical arm emerged from the creature’s internals, standing triumphantly over its kill with the heart, which he promptly took a massive bite out of. A few seconds later, his head slowly turned, revealing one deathly red, beady eye, and a grotesque, blood-filled smile, staring back at the princess, I behind her.
Then, his eye landed upon Luna. She already looked beaten to hell as she knelt on one forehoof, staring at the gruesome display before her. When his eye met hers, she froze as if she’d seen Tirek himself in all of his massive glory. A warm, yellow puddle formed beneath her almost instantly.
For a mere moment, they stared at each other, neither party making a move. In fact, I think I heard a deep chuckle come from Nick when the puddle became noticeable. His head violently jerked sideways, and his eyes went beady, a vile, demented smile crossing over his face. Abruptly, he lunged forward. She barely got off of the ground before she was slammed back into it like an old friend who hadn’t seen his best mate since childhood. Although, we knew, he was far from a friend.
With one fell swoop, Nick gripped the alicorn quickly by her horn, snapping it downwards with a roar. The princess, Nightmare Moon, screamed a fierce cry of agony, but was cut short as she found her magical instrument being plunged into her neck and stomach time and time again. Celestia let out a cry of pain and sadness as she witnessed her own sister be pierced repeatedly with her own magical instrument. As the body fell and Nick released the full strength of his leg upon the body’s skull, spreading brains all over the road, Celestia released a beam of light at the creature that was previously Nick. He flinched slightly from the impact, doing just enough to get his attention as he now focused on the Sun Princess. His eye went to her, and he gripped the Princess violently by the neck. She gasped, frozen. The Princess herself didn’t know what to do in this situation, the conflict between harming an ally and putting down a monster dancing within her head. I stood there in pure shock and fear, vomiting at the carnage, both of us staring at each other across a sea of bodies and entrails. After what seemed like an eternity of staring, Celestia’s horn began to glow. Her expression wasn’t of confidence or anger, but pure fear.
Then he grabbed her by the neck, and slowly began to close her windpipe with his metal hand.
“NICK!”
Tears were pouring down my eyes by that point. I couldn’t let him do this. Not to her, not after everything he just did, and especially because of who he was inside.
“STOP IT! Please!”
Words burst from my mouth, hoping against all odds that he was still in there. Enough to make him stop. He did, looking back at me with that same expression from before, as if not expecting me to be there, nor hear my voice. As if he’d momentarily forgotten about me, and all his friends. Unbelievably, he released Celestia.
She dropped to her knees, hacking and coughing as she struggled to regain her breath. Seeming to forget all about her.
Then, his eye landed on me.
His expression, oh fuck, his expression. It turned from a devious smile to shock and hurt so quickly.
He slowly walked to me. All previous indications of anger gradually fading from his face. I could see tears in his eyes as he looked at me, eyes full of regret. He… He was back.
“S… Scoots…?” He uttered. His voice sounded deeper, and more guttural. But… It was him.
“D-Dad…?” I choked out, still disbelieving that he was actually back. I didn’t care what he looked like now, he was back. I jumped at him, uncaring of what happened to me then, latching onto his chest and holding tightly. I felt an arm below me and another behind me, still half-expecting him to revert to his angry self within seconds. Instead, all he did was hold me as I cried into his chest. It was going to be okay. He was alive, and okay again.
“Scoo-” An earth-shattering crack pierced my ears, leaving them ringing. Followed by a quick ‘ping’ and a few seconds later, a blinding flash, everything went white.
While my eyes couldn’t see, I could feel myself falling, as if Nick had let me go.
And I could hear him screaming. Screaming a bloody, terrifying scream, as if he were in anguish beyond all recognition.
And there was… heat. Immense, searing heat.
My vision from, what I could consider an explosion, cleared, and I saw nothing but fire before me, as I sat on my haunches. It was a pillar of fire, perhaps six feet, give or take.
And sweet Celestia almighty… it was screaming I could never forget.
I just sat there - I don’t know why, but I guess I’d just fallen into shock.
Maybe I could have done something.
I could have.
I should have.
But there was nothing I could have done, nor Celestia - it happened so fast, so quickly….
A smell of grilling hot dogs…
In about ten seconds more, the screams stopped.
For him, at least.
They never left MY head.
Finally, Nick crumpled, his body falling onto the ground with a thud. I couldn’t speak, nor think. I couldn’t hear anything around me anymore, except for those screams.
“No…” I muttered, eyes wide as I looked at him. “Please…” I begged at whatever high powers were out there now to tell me what I thought just happened didn’t happen. It didn’t make any sense to me, as the war around me faded into the background. I felt something soft brush against my back, but I did nothing in response as I let it pull me closer to it. As I felt my head be pushed closer to the soft coat of something white, the dam finally broke.
“No… dad… GET UP! DAD! GET UP! PLEASE!”
My voice cracked as I screamed to the Heavens. Mentally begging for this to have not actually happened. Celestia held me as I wailed, the tears flowing freely onto the bloodied ground before me. ‘He’s gone’. Was repeated in my head constantly, the thought never leaving me. I couldn’t accept it, I refused to accept it. I heard the soft whispers of comfort come from the princess above me, but they mattered very little. Her words would not undo what had been done. I tried so very hard to imagine anything but the reality in front of me. His face, smiling and clean. Sporting both eyes, looking unharmed and happy.
I felt a wing over my body as I screamed bloody murder. My eyes were shut tight, and the tears burned. I kicked at the unwelcome wing. I knew who it belonged to, and I knew she could do nothing for what had just happened. It didn’t matter. She pulled me into her chest as I screamed into it, muffling it. Feeling the ground below me disappear instantly, nausea hit me full force. I barely opened my eyes, fighting through the stinging water in them as I noticed we weren’t in the battlefield. We were in some fancy room, probably the fucking palace itself. I didn’t care much, feeling hollow and empty now. I felt wetness hit my head, causing me to look up. She was crying, too. Why was she crying? She had started charging a fucking spell! Fuck her! I could’ve just died out there and been with Nick! Nick, why?! You were there! Why did you have to fucking die?!
I guess after a little while, my mind was finally starting to accept what I’d just seen, but the tears didn’t stop. I was broken. The princess herself couldn’t seem to bring herself to say anything. I didn’t know, nor care for what she had to say. I simply hung my head and laid on the ground and resumed my waterfall of tears. I hear the charging of a spell, and I look up. She’s already gone, probably back to the fucking death outside. I didn’t give a shit anymore.
“Nick…” I sputtered out through my sobs, finally broken down like the child I truly was. The broken, lost, scared child I always had been.
The beast had been ended. His suffering was over, leaving me to suffer alone.
Nick Brownford, or what was left of him, had finally been laid to rest.
I then remember one thing that he told me, many months ago back at the farm.
“A warrior lives, until he spits in death’s face.”
Except in his case, I suppose he no longer had one - only charred flesh and muscle remained, along with the rest of his disfigured body. I could still see his face when he saw me. A look of pure recognition and relief, only to be snuffed out. To have him cheat death for so long and being burned alive was the way he was meant to go. My tears didn’t stop.
---
5:57 AM - Three Minutes Remaining
My vision came to, and I stood, taking quick notice that I was floating in the sky, a gentle, soft cloud under my feet. I quickly felt myself and took note that I was unarmed and unharmed. A white flash, and I was soon met with the golden idol, Nayru. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.
“I’m dead, aren’t I?”
The Goddess of Time stood there, her peaceful form radiating an aura of calm, and speaking in soothing, soft tones.
“But of course, child. Your time has passed on this earth.”
I wanted to just flip out - realizing that I had failed everyone and everything. Despite that desire, I just… couldn’t. I felt so pacified, and relaxed, that I had no violent or anxious urges. I didn’t even want to snap at her, for selfishly manipulating me over the edge.
“But… I can’t be dead. I failed everyone. Where’s that happy ending we fought so hard for?”
Nayru only smiled peacefully, her golden form shining before me as I looked on in puzzlement.
“It is to become reality very soon, Nicholas. Remember - when the final breath is drawn, and the hour of doom is at hand, you will get what you seek.”
Before I responded, the golden goddess of Wisdom materialized the Master Sword - which had been left in Equestria - before me.
“This, child, is more than a weapon, but you already know that. To have one of the ancient tools, you must have the other as well. Therefore, the blade was so important to your quest - for without it, you would not be able to use this, that which you seek…”
In the fair maiden’s other hand, came a white flash. I brought my flesh arm outwards towards hers, awaiting the possession she was to give me. As she pulled her hand away from mine, I was greeted with an extensively familiar tool - a baby blue woodwind, no larger than my palm.
BEN’s ‘Instrument’.
The Ocarina of Time.
Now it all made sense.
“I assume you know what to do with this tool, child?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
---
5:58 - Two Minutes Remaining
I sat on my haunches, crying my heart out within a confined room in a palace. I could hear the battle raging on outside, explosions happening one after another. Frequent screams penetrated my ears. I just wanted it to end. The demonic laugh of the Skull Kid rang through the air like a jingle signaling the end of days, and one final earthquake rocked the world, a great warning that life was to end in mere moments.
“I… don’t want to die. It’s not supposed to end like this… IT’S NOT!” I screamed, slamming my hoof onto the floor Celestia had so quickly left me on. I continued to cry, but found myself cut short of my sobs as a gentle, bright blue light invaded the corner of my vision. I sniffled, looking face first at a very familiar, peaceful looking figure.
No… it… dad?
“D… dad? Is it you?” I muttered in disbelief at what I was seeing.
The gentle blue being that stood before me let out a warm, welcoming smile, then reached into the pocket of its torn overshirt. As its hand emerged, it gently extended its arm outward towards me.
“Sweetheart take this. This is our final chance to make things right with the world.”
As my hoof gently met with the spirit’s warm hand, a small energetic split formed between the two appendages. Before my tear-ridden, I saw the one holographic ocarina slowly emerge into a realistic, clay instrument, that rested in my hooves.
“Now listen, honey, and follow along after me…”
5:59:50 - ten seconds remain
As the sweet human ghost before me began to whistle a calming tune, I raised the ocarina up to my lips, ready to blow into it along with my recently deceased foster father. I nearly dropped it when the Earth shook violently. This time, to my surprise, it didn’t stop. I looked up and out of the balcony near me to see the Moon finally colliding with the first building it touched - the palace ceiling. The shockwave was immense as it blasted through the entire battlefield, causing me fly back into the wall behind me, hitting a rather large and now destroyed painting. She fell onto the bed below after the impact, the ocarina leaving my hooves as I landed.
I coughed, feeling the air struggling to return to the lungs that had removed them suddenly. My vision had blurred immensely as I re-opened my eyes, and I could feel a warm liquid flowing down my head to my neck. I could see the blurred form of the ocarina in front of me. Nick was standing next to me, looking extremely worried.
“Scoots! Just hang in there! You need to do this! I know you can do it!” He shouted with emergency. “I’m right here by you, but you need to use it, now!” I nodded shakily, eyes going wide as I saw a much larger shockwave devastating the battlefield, leaving nothing but fire in its path, and it was heading straight for us. As quick as I could in my dazed form, I grabbed the ocarina, and forced it to my lips. “There ya go, honey… Listen closely. Whatever you do, do. NOT. Panic.” He resumed whistling the calming tune, I following as well as I could behind him. I had closed my eyes, trying to block out the incoming torrent of flames. I could hear the flames closing in, and the screams outside getting snuffed out as it consumed all. It consumed me, I could feel the fire closing in around me, the burning searing pain coming in its wake.
I, perhaps the last living creature in Equestria, was seconds from being burned alive as I played. It hurt so much, I wanted to scream, break down crying for my mother…
Then, I remembered every bullet, stab, broken bone… every injury that Nick took, just to protect the people here, me especially.
“If he can survive all that…”
“...I can walk through Hell itself.”
I pushed through the searing agony of what I began to feel like Hell under my skin as I blew into the ocarina. I could still somehow sense Nick’s presence here by my side, just like he said he would be. The pain was unbelievable, but I would fight through with every single breath I drew.
Finally, as I played what seemed to be the final note, the flames dulled out around me. Everything seemed to… Slow down? The pain had stopped. My skin still felt like it was still on fire, but it wasn’t worsening. Gravity seemed to take hold before I could process it. I quickly opened my eyes to find myself falling through a white void of nothing but what could only be Time itself. As I fell, I could feel the pain fading around my body. I held the ocarina close as I closed my eyes, curling up as I plummeted, hoping that I wasn’t dead, and it had actually worked.
Before I knew it, I was on solid ground again. My eyes opening, I found the entire battlefield, aroused with war cries and screams for justice and death. BEN and his army a good distance ahead itself, but not moving yet. Drawing in my breath, I looked up to my left to see someone I never thought I’d see again in alive and in the flesh. Tears were in my eyes again, and I wanted to cry into his chest again, never letting go. Stopping myself, I looked at the ocarina. I don’t know how he got me this, but I knew what I had to do. Nodding, I nudged him softly…
---
So here it was – the be-all-end-all moment. Sword in hand, and an army behind me ready to die to retain their homeland, thousands of visions flew through my mental eye as every moment thus far has culminated to this. What was the most bothersome though was my lengthy conversation with BEN back in Termina – of all visions, this was the most frigenting. How he had said all the fictional worlds that mankind had created existed in their own dimensional vaccums.
…and how spirits can travel between them.
Spirits like BEN.
At that final though, a burning fire of one thousand suns roared through my veins.
Understanding exactly what that meant.
This was about more than home, or Equestria.
This was about the god-damn multiverse.
BEN would not have them. He would not have Equestria. He would not topple Hyrule. He would not torment Skyrim. He would not invade planet Irk, dominate Simba’s Pridelands, commit genocide in Kanto, or decimate the Ed’s cul-de-sac. He would not obliterate Middle Earth, or wipe Oz off the map.
Not even Hell would know of BEN – he deserved a punishment far worse than eternal fire for his sick and twisted crimes against nature, time, and space.
He would not take my world’s children.
And he certainly would not take my home.
He would not take Earth. I wouldn’t let that happen.
Before I could lead the charge, I was ever so gently bumped in the side - I looked down to see something that had not caught my eye until this moment: little Scootaloo, looking up at me with - a small, blue Ocarina in her hooves. I had no idea where she got the thing from but following Majora said it all.
If we didn’t use this, we were going to lose. Scootaloo’s eyes - her thousand-yard stare - told the entire story.
We already had once.
Without thinking further, I grabbed the instrument from her hands and put it to my mouth. I took a breath, and, in a polarizing, knee-jerk reaction, BEN lost his shit.
“WHAT!? WHAT THE FUCK!? HOW DID YOU GET THAT!?!?”
I blew once, making sure the ocarina was in working shape, then plugged the holes for the first note.
“KILL HIM! FOR ANYTHING’S SAKE, KILL HIM! JUST KILL HIM, NOW!”
Without warning, BEN’s force began their charge, letting out a hellacious war cry. I had been through hell, lost friends, lost family and had my sanity torn away in the blink of an eye.
A charging army? That was the least of my worries. I simply balled my robot fist, holding it upwards to the army ready to die behind me.
I wouldn't let this war happen. It needed to end here.
“HOLD THE LINE! WAIT FOR IT!” I could hear Shining Armor bark to the rebels that stood at his side.
And then, I played the first note.
Then, Scootaloo began to sing.
‘
“Day to night, dark to light”
“Fall the sands of time.”
“Let the years, like the gears”
“Of a clock unwind.”
BEN screamed, spawning a giant, dark-purple mass of energy from the top of his statuesque form. The rest of my main crew began to join in on the song.
“In your mind, walk through time,”
“Back to better days.”
“Memories, like a dream,”
“Wash tears away.”
The opposing army of changelings, mutants, and brainwashed civilians continued its charge, but Equestria held firm. Soon, others slowly began to join in on the melody. BEN sent his deadly energy spell hurling towards us.
As much as a part of me, still that scared, fat college guy, wanted to run,
I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.
“Like a star in the sky,”
“Darkness can’t reach you.”
“Light the night, joy is light,”
“Till the new dawn.”
The dark mass of energy had nearly completed its journey, heading straight for my face. As it came no more than ten seconds away from leaving a Mars- sized crater in our wake, the rest of Equestria began to join it, our voices a pure chorus of goodwill, headed straight towards hell itself.
“JADUSABLE!”
“Cast away your old face,”
“Let go your spite.”
“With this mask I’ll ask”
“To borrow your light.”
Then, with a sudden flash, a massive column of light shot from the heavens, and BEN cried out in crushing defeat. the beam of purity struck down upon the statue like the mighty hammer of Odin. As it touched the ground, it quickly reflected its energy in a ninety-degree angle, headed straight for us - or more specifically, the dark, satanic orb in our wake. This collision brought about perhaps the most awesome, blinding spectacle that Equestria or I had ever witnessed.
As the Earth violently shook, the world was quickly thrust upward, propelling the moon back into space with the force of a rocket. The massive quake that took the planet by storm was soon accompanied by a blanketing explosion of light and energy, spreading outwards like the shockwave of an asteroid collision, and birthing all colors in the visible spectrum of light. As Canterlot’s structures began to crumble and collapse from the raw power before us, the shock wave that swept the world off of its feet shot forth another blast of rainbow-colored energy into the sky, blanketing the atmosphere in a spectacle of technicolor and vibrant shades of life.
As the force of this great act of the Goddess reached its climax, I found myself swept away, slammed backwards into the brick wall of Quills and Sofas.
I lost consciousness -yet again, on the spot.
When I came to, found my eye opening to the bright sun of Celestia, , my person lying in a gentle field, a park with the beautiful blue sky, adorned with clouds and birds apleanty. All around me, stood all those I had known - Macintosh, the five Elements, the two CMC, Derpy, and Spike, the last of whom stared at with with concern, before speaking.
“Yo Nick… you alright?”
I tried to sit up, yet found myself exhausted, and fell back to the grass , virtually magnetized to its surface.
And then, three unknown hooves helped me up - orange, navy blue and black, the last one riddled with holes.
As I blinked again, I took note of the three that had helped me stand, as I wiped away the dirt and blood from my remaining clothes.
Chrysalis, Luna, and…
“I’m sorry, who are you?” I asked the black-maned stallion, noting his royal guard armor.
“You don’t remember, Nick?” I heard Scootaloo blurt out from behind me, to which I turned to the filly. “This is my REAL dad!” the young pegasus exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down with excitement, then rushing over to hug the stallion tightly.
I thought back on that heartfelt conversation we had back on the farm, many months ago - Scarred, orange, black mane, royal guard… went missing… and…
Once, leading the side of evil, thanks to BEN.
“Sir, I have everything to thank you for.” The man said before me, offering his hoof out as he let go of the warm embrace of his own daughter. “You treated and took care of Scootaloo like your own daughter - protected her, played with her, supported her… you even got her a cutie mark.” He finished, smiling down at the young Crusader.
“The pleasure was mine, sir. I love your daughter like my own.” I added, smiling and returning the shake. “Nick Matthew Brownford. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Royal Rapier, sir - Lieutenant Colonel of the Equestrian armed forces.
“I’m glad you’re safe. She thought you were dead… She… told me everything. ...about your wife…”
“Ah… yes.”
“How long was I out?”
“About ten hours. We’ve been cleaning up the destruction your little spell left behind. It leveled our city.” Luna added, offering her hoof outward for a shake. I returned the gesture, and bowed in the process.
“Far from done, I guess?”
“I dunno, you take a look around!” Dash shot out at me, to which I complied and saw miles upon miles of rubble.
“Well, shit. Let’s get to it people! Time to pick up the pieces! Chop chop!”