Daydream Shimmer and Demon King Eternal Flames stared each other down face-to-face, floating in the air. They both charge up their magic and their hands form magic spheres projectiles, ready to launch at each other at any moment.
Eternal threw a large magic sphere first at high speeds. Daydream Shimmer dodged the first attack, followed by multiple other projectiles.
Once she had dodge them all, She then reared back her arms and then brought them both forwards to unleash a large beam of magic towards Eternal. The Demon King brought up his Aura Shield to block the incoming attack. While it lasted for a few minutes, until the shield gave in and shattered, allowing the beam to slam into Eternal’s gut and forcing him across the battlefield and into the ground.
He rose back up into the air and released a dark magic wave that sent Daydream Shimmer flying backwards. Daydream stopped herself and lit up one of her hands in a magical golden yellow aura before charging at Eternal.
The demon king coated his hand in a black and red aura before charging at Daydream. His hand clashed with hers, sending a large shock wave all across the battlefield that sent most of the demons and Equestrians flying. Eternal and Daydream had both their hands locked with each other. Magic aura was seeping out of their bodies. "For a mere mortal to trifle with my power is insulting! I will send you to your doom!" Eternal said in his demonic voice.
“I don’t think so,” Daydream replied as she charged up her magic even more, causing a small blast of force which sent Eternal back a few feet. Then she flies towards him, with her hand coated with her magic, and then delivers a savage punch to his body; sending him even further. Eternal lands against the tallest tower of the castle, reducing the tower to rubble.
Eternal quickly blasted out of the mess, roaring savagely. He ignited his hands in magic aura and fired small projectiles at Daydream, but for some reason, they stood a few feet away from Daydream, not moving an inch. But with a swift motion of his hands, they all closed in on her from all directions. Daydream, however, manages to swiftly maneuver all of the projectiles; she even manages to grab onto one of them with her hand and then lunge it back towards Eternal.
The demon king, however, crushed the projectile using his hand. He lunged at Daydream, grabbing her by the shoulder and was about to slam her into the ground. But then, in a split second while still in the air… "Help… me…" a voice echoed.
Daydream blinked in surprise. She recognized the voice belonging to Eternal Flames. With all her strength, she broke free from the demon king's grasp, escaping the impact of the crash. She powered up her hands with a magical aura. The demon king did the same. "I've grown tired of your futile efforts! Prepare to die! ALONG WITH THIS ENTIRE, USELESS WORLD!!!" he shouted in anger, he charged up all his magic for one final killing blow. But before he could use it, he heard a loud gunshot and felt excruciating pain in his shoulder; causing him to lose focus and his magic began to weaken.
The Demon King turns around and sees the assassin Inferno Blaze with his Smith & Wesson Model 17-8 revolver. Eternal growled in anger and tried to fire a magic projectile at the assassin to kill him; however, when he tried to use his magic, it appeared to have weakened and short circuit like a torn electric wire. The demon king then realized later that Inferno had shot him with a moonstone bullet, and as Eternal checked his gunshot wound, he then realized that the bullet didn’t exit his shoulder; which explains why his magic was weak. The bullet was still inside him.
Inferno turned towards Daydream with determination in his facial expression. “NOW'S YOUR CHANCE, SUNSET!” He shouted out to her.
"I'll kill you, you wretched fool" Eternal shouted, about to charge at Inferno. However, his whole body was surrounded with Daydream’s magic aura, preventing him from lunging at Inferno. The Demon King struggled to break out of his bind, but was unable to. Out of desperation, Eternal reached into his injured shoulder, sinking his fingers in the bullet wound, roaring in agony before tossing it away. His magic was still fairly weak, but it was growing slowly and steadily.
He concentrated all his strength to break out of Sunset's magical grasp. But before he did, Sunset tossed him away, landing 20 feet onto the battlefield. Soon after, the Demon King got up onto his feet, charging up his own magic and aimed it at Inferno first, sending a surge of energy his way. The assassin immediately dodges the incoming attack; barely, as the force of the magic’s impact causes Inferno to be pushed back into a nearby boulder with extreme force, giving him a few minor cuts and bruises.
With Inferno out of the way for now, his attention was brought back to Daydream Shimmer. He charged up his magic aura, preparing his previous attack. "Now to obliterate you and this wretched little world!" he growled as he unleashed a powerful beam of magic, straight towards Daydream Shimmer.
In reply, she too unleashed a powerful beam of her own, to counter Eternal’s attack. The impact was so powerful, everyone around them was pushed away by a powerful gust of wind. Daydream was baffled by the strength of Eternal's blast. Even in his weakened state, he still proved to be a powerful asset.
The two are left in a standstill, with both vying to gain the edge over the other. The girls saw the struggle these two were having. They feared for their friend and the fate of their world. Harmony and Death watched in shock as the battle unfolded as well, to see if the fate of young Eternal Flames would be sealed. As for Grogar, with an evil smugness on his face as he watches his heir about to destroy Daydream.
Sunset continues to struggle, trying to overpower the Demon King. But all she cared about is saving the person she loved most, as memories of the times she shared with him came back to her like a tidal wave. Later, she felt the warmth and happiness of those memories as she began to lose herself down memory lane.
"Sunset! Don't back down!" Eternal's voice echoed in Sunset's mind. The powered teen gasped in shock after hearing his voice in her consciousness.
'Eternal? How are you talking to me?' she asked in her mind.
"I'm speaking to you telepathically from my possessed body! Listen to me, you've got to destroy my dark side at all costs! The more you struggle with your feelings towards me, the more powerful Grogar becomes. He's feeding off our negative energies!" Eternal said in her mind. "You're the only one who's got the strength to take out my dark side. Please, you gotta hurry!"
'I… I can't! If I do that, I'll just end up killing you! I can't lose you after all we've been through!' Sunset thought.
"Sunset, I understand how you feel, but you have to understand: I'm a threat to this world as well as Equestria right now. I'd rather sacrifice my own life so the world can be safe than to live in a dark, empty shell, causing misery and suffering to innocent lives, especially the ones who are close to me. You included. I… I love you too much to make that happen!" his voice echoed.
Sunset shedded tears from hearing all Eternal had to say, while she wasn’t willing to bring herself to do it; but Eternal was right and she knew that she had to end his suffering… one way or another. As her tears intensified, a weak smile drew on her face as she said her last words to him: “I love you too.” Then she soon discarded her emotions and then increased the full power of her magic, which slowly began to overpower the Demon King’s magic beam and then approached him.
"NO!!! I WON'T LET YOU!!!" Demon King Eternal shouted. Just then, he's slashed from behind by Inferno Blaze with his kukri knife, making him yell in pain and lose his concentration. Inferno jumps out of the line of fire as Daydream’s magic instantly engulfs Eternal as his screams are silenced as the bright light consumes the entire area.
After a few minutes of blinding light, the smoke began to clear and disperse, revealing a large crater in the battlefield; with an unconscious Eternal Flames at the center of it with all the rubble around him. He’s completely shirtless, his pants torn, and his whole body covered in bruises.
Sunset gasped and went over to Eternal. Inferno, Starlight, and the others ran towards Eternal as well as all the armies on the field, both Equestrian and the demon - with the majority now being Drakai since the light vaporized all the other evil creatures and dead. Both Harmony and Death watched from afar as they both prayed for Eternal’s life at hand.
Sunset checked to see if Eternal was still alive. When she put her ear to his chest… she could make out the sound of his beating heart. It was steady and calm. Her eyes swelled up with tears and hugged Eternal's unconscious body, sobbing for the young man, relieved that she didn't kill him in the blast.
However, the notorious demon ram, Grogar was far from pleased. And with all the negative energy he's absorbed amidst the scuffle has restored his power. "That fool. I should've known he was too weak to stop her. How DARE she!" Grogar clenched his fist.
The demon ram soon felt the presence of Harmony and Death beside him as he turned around to meet their glaring gaze towards him.
“It’s over, Grogar. You lost.” Harmony stated to the demon lord.
“And now you will face your punishment for all you have done.” Death exclaimed with an angered tone of voice.
"I've come too far for this. If I can't have either boys… I'll TAKE THEM AND THIS ENTIRE PLANET WITH ME!!!" Grogar shouted in frustration. With a mighty roar and summing up all the magic within him, his body began to glow dark purple. The earth started to rumble and the ocean waves crashed furious against the land.
As everyone was falling onto their hands and knees, even the deities, Harmony and Death as Grogar threatened to tear the planet to pieces.
“NO ONE WILL UNDERESTIMATE THE FULL POWER OF A GOD SUCH AS I!!!!” Grogar shouted in rage as he continued to cause more earthquakes and other natural disasters to destroy the planet, once and for all. But all of a sudden, he felt a large amount of pain in his chest area, which caused him to choke and breathe heavily. He looks down to see, which was a shock to him, a bloody claw impaling him through his back and out of his chest.
The demon ram turned his eyes over his shoulders, to see none other than the traitor, Daris. The Drakai drew his mouth close to the demon lord’s ear and whispered into it.
“Maybe… But Gods… Are Mortal...Too.” He said with his deep, venomous voice as he pulled out his claw from Grogar’s body, allowing the demon lord to ground on his hands and knees, choking on his blood.
Soon his magic that influenced the land began to weaken and the natural disasters all around began to seize their activity. The demon ram looks up to Harmony and Death looking down towards him as they watch the Grogar almost at his final end. But the demon ram wasn’t willing to leave the world empty handed.
As his dying coughs and grunts intensify, he raises his head towards the two deities and the reformed Drakai; with a weak smile on his face as - unbeknownst to the three - two dark crystal-like spears form in both of his hands.
“I will not die… empty-handed.” He said his final words as he swiftly turns around and tosses his two crystal spears towards their two main targets: Eternal and Heat.
Time slowed down to a crawl as the spears sped towards the two as Twilight and Sunset tried their best to shield them. But unbeknownst to them, Inferno ran up to the two, much to the protests of the Starlight, Flash, Halo and the girls. As the spears were about to impale the boys, along with the girls that shielded them; Inferno swiftly got in front of them… and shielded them as the spears impaled the assassin; one in his chest and one in his left section of his abdomen.
In that moment, Eternal's eyes opened up slowly and was met with a sight he didn't want to see. "No… Inferno… NO!" he grunted, struggling to move, crawling over to Inferno.
The assassin was overcomed with intense pain as he slowly fell towards the ground. Starlight and the others ran towards their fallen friend. While they did, Grogar watched how he had failed to do what he had intended as he drew his final breath and succumbed to his fatal wound. Daris ran towards the groups as well, worrying about the assassin. Soon Fleur ran towards the crater, and saw her son lying on the ground, and immediately climbed down to get to him. Following behind her, were the royal princesses, Twilight and Shining, who were all shocked to see the assassin risking his life to save Eternal and Heat; and without hesitation, they joined up with the group to check up on him.
Soon all of the Equestrian armies and the Drakai horde all surround the crater as they watch a tragic event unfold.
Inferno lies on the ground coughing and breathing fast as he was drawing closer to death. Starlight sat beside him and cradled him as everyone surrounded him, with sadden expressions and tears in their eyes.
“I-i-is… e-everyone… s-s-safe.” He barely said in pain.
"You idiot! Why would… you do something so reckless?" Eternal grunted, barely able to hold himself up, aching from the pain. "We… We could've… had a big celebration! You were gonna… live a happy life."
"Inferno, please! Stay with me, darling. You're all I have left! I can't stand the thought of losing you like I lost your father! Please, stay awake for me! Don't leave me!" Fleur begged and pleaded, holding her dying son's hand.
"After all you've been through, you can't just give up now! Please, stay with us! I love you!" Starlight begged with tear-filled eyes.
"C’mon, tough guy, you can fight this… like you always did.” Rainbow said, barely fighting to hold back her tears. As for Fluttershy, she could barely say a word as she held on tightly to Israel while shedding tears from her eyes.
The assassin only gave a weak smile towards all of them as he used every once of his strength to speak. “Y-y-you… a-all don’t know… w-what you’ve already… done.” He replied weakly. “Y-you have already… given me a happy life. One I… w-would never dream of.” He then began to turn his eyes towards each and everyone of them, one at a time.
He looked towards Pinkie and Copper Plume, “Y-y-you helped me smile… and laugh again.”
He then looked towards Rainbow, “You showed me the values of loyalty.”
He then looked towards Fluttershy, Israel, and Daris, “Shown me that kindness would always triumph over cruelty.”
He then looked towards Applejack, “Showed me how to be honest with myself.”
He then looked at Twilight, Heat, Sunset, and Eternal, “For showing me that it's never too late to find redemption and friendship.”
And finally, he looked into the eyes of Starlight, whose eyes were never dried nor quenced. “A-And… for helping me… t-to love… once again.” He said with a weak smile as he looked at all of them as a whole. “You all gave me back… what I-I-I had lost… 10 years… ago. The one thing… I… thought I would… never get back.”
“And what's that?” Heat asked.
“A… family.” Inferno replied warmly, which brought faint smiles upon everyone around him. The assassin brings his hand, shakenly, up to Starlight’s cheek as she brings her hand to hold his against her cheek while she cries.
“W-w-with… friends… L-like you all,” he relied as his life began to sweep away. “What a… lucky guy… I… was.” Inferno drew his final breath as his eyes slowly closed. Starlight felt his hand slowly fall from her face and fell beside him. The Great Shadow Knight…. Had fallen.
“Inferno?... Inferno!...” Starlight said while shaking his arm, hoping he would wake up. But he never did. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" she screamed out loud, holding her dead boyfriend's body.
"Damn it… Damn you!" Eternal grunted, rising up to his feet, starting over at Grogar, who was slowly disappearing. Eternal's body gleamed a bright red color and leaped up in the air, meeting the dying demon ram face-to-face, slamming punch after punch on the demon's face. Opening up his hand, he aimed it straight at his face. "YOU MOTHERFUCKEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Eternal's anger surged through his body, blasting a huge beam of magical energy out of his hand, sending the demon flying up into the sky and up into space in the blink of an eye. He shouted at the top of his lungs, filled with rage. In a matter of moments, a bright light filled the night sky followed by an explosion in the form of a large red ball of mist. Luckily, it was far out of reach for the people on Earth.
His breathing was heavy and floated gently down to the ground. Eternal fell onto his knees and slammed his fist into the ground in frustration. "DAMN IT!!! It should've been me! I was Grogar's intended target, not Inferno! Why! WHY?!" Eternal questioned. And for the first time in years, Eternal's own eyes filled with tears. He sobbed loudly, shouting in misery for his friend's death. A friend whom he cherished as one of his own brothers.
With the group, they all shed tears as they mourn for the loss of their friend. Fluttershy and Pinkie sobbed against their boyfriends. Rainbow fought hard to contain her sadness, but realized that it was useless to contain her emotions and cried. Applejack removed her hat and brought it to her chest, paying tribute to inferno as she could not contain her tears that she had always kept hidden inside. Rarity’s tears messed up her mascara and made her look unladylike; however, she didn’t care. They had all lost a friend today, there was no point in acting uptight. Twilight and Heat held onto each other, as they too, mourn for the death of one of their own. Sunset could not hold back her tears at all as well; even though she had got back the person she loved most; however, she had also lost a great friend; one that sacrificed his life in order to protect her other friend.
Fleur was absolutely heartbroken as well. She had just lost her only son and was now all alone. Losing her husband was hard enough, but losing her son was even harder. Enough to shatter her soul and heart. Starlight sees how heartbroken Fluer was, the mother of the pony she had fallen in love with. The teen moved closer to the grieving mother and slowly wrapped her arms around her and embraced her. It was better to mourn with someone close to you, rather than mourning by yourself.
The Royal Guard all removed their helmets and placed them against their hearts out of respect for the fallen hero that lay before their very eyes. Celestia, Luna and Cadance all bowed their heads down as well to commend Inferno's courageous act in this fierce battle. Celestia was mostly affected by the assassin's demise. On the bright side, she did feel eternally grateful that he had completed his mission in protecting her son. She only wished he could've kept his freedom in the end.
Trixie, Sunburst, Tempest and Spike were also upset to see Inferno gone. Though they never got to meet him, they were relieved to know he was willing to go the extra mile to ensure the safety of his friends. They just wished they could've been there personally to see it.
As for Harmony and Death, they too were grief stricken. While they had made a wager on the freedom and fate of two innocent souls, they did not intend for another soul to sacrifice himself for those two souls. They both felt that they were powerless to change fate and that they could not have predicted this to come.
The battle between Light and Darkness was finally over, evil had been vanquished; however, a hero had fallen, a friend was lost, and today that was supposed to be a celebration… turned into a day of grieving.
~ 3 days later; Canterlot, Equestria ~
Today was the day where a fallen hero would be laid to rest. It was Inferno’s funeral, which was held in the great city of Canterlot in Equestria; where Inferno was born. Though it wasn’t a small one at that, every creature and every pony from all across Equestria showed up to the event. Wanting to give thanks and pay tribute to the pony that sacrificed himself for their world. The pony that they all discarded and misjudged.
Even the nobles of Canterlot showed up for the occasion, feeling immense guilt and held no disrespect to the fallen mercenary. They all felt that they did not deserve to be alive.
The event was held in the center of the city, where everyone could be to watch as the hero would be laid to rest. The Royal Princesses all wore black dresses for the event, since it was a time of mourning. Both the main 6 of Equestria and the humane 7, and their boyfriends, were at the event, all wearing black dresses.
Eternal Flames, along with his mother, his own brother, Heat Blitz, Fleur and Starlight were all at the front of the audience, staring at the open coffin with their deceased friend resting peacefully inside with his content smile.
Starlight walked up to the mic, the letter in her magic grasp and cleared her throat, speaking out to the crowd. "Friends, family, we've all witnessed the horrors that went down recently. We've suffered a lot during our dark times, but the one who truly suffered the most was our very own Inferno Blaze. But even in the face of danger, he never gave into his despair and fought against all odds. He knew the danger that lied ahead and was willing to put his own life on the line," Starlight said.
"With his last, dying breath, he expressed his happiness and content to the ones he truly cared about, and to the ones that condemned him of everything he once had. And now, I have here a letter which he had written before his last moments of being alive." Starlight explained before reading it out loud. Everyone remained silent and paid close attention as Starlight began to read Inferno’s letter.
“My dearest friends,
If you’re reading this, then it means that you’ve done it. You won. You saved the world and defeated the dark lord himself; I knew you all would. But it would also mean that it’s… bad news for me. Even though I had already gone through with the bad times and many losses. When I had lost everything 10 years ago, I lost more than my freedom or my life; I lost myself, I lost who I was. A son, a friend, a pony who had a bright future ahead of him. I thought I had lost that part of me for good, but that all changed when I met you all for the first time.
I began to find my way back into the light with your guidance and your friendship. I finally got to feel what it's like to be… well, me again. You all taught me how to laugh, to care, to hope, and to be devoted to a belief that gave me a chance to find redemption, for not just everyone I had lost, but for myself as well.
I know we all have seen the outcomes from the battles between the Light and the Darkness, and how it will all affect us in the end. But sometimes we would always have faith in each other and believe in ourselves, then maybe we could overcome anything that comes our way.
It’s like one of those stories, where the hero would give his life, to protect the people they loved most, no matter what the outcome would be. And in the end, the good guys win, the survivors cheered, and everyone lives happily ever after…. But the hero... would never get to see that ending. They...He would never know whether his sacrifice would make a big difference. But if it does, I would smile down on each and every one of you. For you all were the greatest friends, and family that I could ever have. Thank you all… for giving me the happiness that I had once lost. And I’ll forever be grateful for that.
I love you all.”
After reading the letter, Starlight’s eyes were wet with tears. And so did everyone else. No one in Canterlot had dried eyes.
Once Starlight finished her speech and read from the letter, Eternal took a stand and made his way towards the mic. He cleared his throat and stared at everyone. "Take heart, everyone. For on this day, our fallen friend and ally will forever be remembered as a real hero. There is a saying that best describes Inferno Blaze: Greater love hath no one than he who lays down his life for his friends. When great deeds are remembered upon this world, one name will stand above all others: Our friend, Inferno Blaze the unicorn. The memory of Inferno's sacrifice and bravery will forever be ingrained in our saddened hearts. The place where Inferno fell will forever be a hallowed place in all the worlds. For there lies one of nature's noble creatures," Eternal said. After saying what's on his mind, Eternal stepped away and sat back down.
Soon after words were said, honored ponies were then given permission to carry out the final event of the funeral: carrying Inferno’s coffin to his final resting place. Soon Celestia ordered two Unicorn guards to close Inferno’s coffin and place it onto one of the royal carriages. After that, two earth pony royal guards were then assigned to pull the carriage. Starlight and Fleur walk alongside each other behind the carriage, with Eternal Flames, Celestia and everypony following behind them. As they all walk in a parade line as everyone in the city watches as Inferno’s coffin is carried throughout the city.
Eternal, though he kept a straight face, he still shedded tears throughout the journey. 'Inferno… if you can hear my thoughts from up above. I want you to know… I'm proud… to officially call you my brother,' he thought to himself, shedding more tears.
Both the main 6 and the humane 7 all walked slowly as they all felt grief and sadness. The Rainbooms felt loss and depression for the death of a good friend. The main 6 also felt sad even though they had never met Inferno personally, but they know that he had made a great impact on everyone and heard how much he had done for their world and for their counterparts’ world as well.
It was a darn shame they never got to thank him personally or get to know him. And so, the group finally stopped at the top of a hill in the cemetery where Celestia, Starlight, Fleur and Eternal all used their magic to slowly levitate Inferno's coffin into the hole. After successfully setting him down, the grave keeper ponies filled up the hole. Inferno's tombstone couldn't have been a more honorable one: a stone statue of said hero atop a stone block. On the front was a plaque that read "Here lies Inferno Blaze, beloved son, friend and brother. A true hero to the bitter end."
"So long, Inferno. You're the best," Eternal said in a low tone, staring at the ground where his friend laid to rest.
The others all stood silently as they all bowed their heads in respect for their fallen friend. Starlight and Fluer stood side-by-side as they looked over Inferno’s grave. "No matter how much the world turned against you… I always believed you were good. And I'm so proud of you, son. Say hello… to your father for me," Fleur said, all choked up. She weeped silently on Starlight, who hugged her in return.
"I could never have found a better stallion in the world to give my happiness to. I'll always love you and I promise… that I'll never find anyone… better than you," Starlight said, holding back the tears as best as she could.
Once the ceremony was over, Eternal closed his eyes and turned, walking away. His mind was made up and knows where he'll go. Except for everyone else, including his crush, Sunset.
"Hey, where are you going?" Sunset asked.
"Until the dust settles, this is no longer my home. I'm going back to the human world and I'm gonna stay there," Eternal replied.
“You’re gonna leave without saying goodbye,” Israel responded to him.
Eternal halted. For a moment, there was a pause. The prince turns around to the group and soon his eyes fall towards Inferno’s grave. Then suddenly - while he questions whether he’s hallucinating or not - he sees Inferno’s spirit standing next to the gravestone, who gave him a smile before he disappeared. While it was a brief moment, it did however give an unnoticeable smile on the prince’s face.
“It's never a goodbye.” He replied before he left the graveyard. "Only a parting until we meet again someday." Eternal kept walking away until his mother came up to him.
"Son, I understand you're upset, but wouldn't it be better for you to stay here?" Celestia asked. Eternal turned to Celestia, looking disappointed.
"Why would I stay here when you didn't lend Inferno an ear and wrongfully accused him of my father's murder?" he asked in a low, deep tone. "I can never this place be my home after the pain you put him through. And now… he's gone. And to top it off… somepony at the hospital where I was born tried to kill me. Until you find the real culprit, I'm not staying here."
Celestia blinked in surprise. "What? What do you mean "someone tried to kill you?" Do you mean that it wasn't Death who took you away from me?" Celestia asked.
"Correct. You placed blame on the wrong guy. Just like you and everypony else in Canterlot did with Inferno Blaze. Speaking of which, I have a strong hunch that the one who killed my father is the same one who tried to kill me," Eternal said.
Of course, Celestia and all of Eternal's friends were shocked to hear this news. "If the killer's here, maybe we can look for him together?" Sunset asked.
"What good will that do if this city doesn't fix its own mistakes? They blamed Inferno for my father's death without concrete proof, just speculation. Death was also wrongfully blamed for killing me, this city needs to pull its own weight around and solve those two crimes on their own. And besides… if I were to find whoever did it, I'd just end up killing them myself… no questions asked and I'd rather not become a cold-blooded killer. One last thing… I still have so much planned for the human world and I want to spend as much time as I can with the mare I love."
Sunset slightly blushed. "Eternal, I…"
Soon the lovebirds heard Daris giving them a soft growl. One that had a combination of disgust… and depress. The two fluttershy's in the group catched on to what he said.
“He said, “Don’t go lovey dovey right now… It's really not the best time at the moment.” Fluttershy translated.
“Hey, I thought he can speak now?” Rainbow asked.
“His grief prevents him from talking… he doesn’t feel like it.” Equestrian Fluttershy replied.
"Anyways… I still have some unfinished business to take care of in the human world. The war left a huge mess that I have to clean up. And… there's still my human counterpart who's still missing and needs to be found," Eternal said.
“I wouldn’t worry about the damage, young prince.” A familiar dark voice calls out to the group. They all turned around to see Death and Harmony standing in front of them. “We’ve taken the privilege to repair all of Grogar’s undoing and some of the damages made in the city…. It's the least we can do.” Death stated.
“It’s what we could do, for Inferno.” Harmony sadly stated as well
"You know, it doesn't have to end like this," another voice stated. Out of nowhere, Discord, the lord of all chaos and disharmony poofed right before their very eyes. "I apologize if I've come at a bad time, but I couldn't help overhearing your little conversation." he says, poofing a top hat on his head and taking it off out of respect.
“What is your business here, Discord.” Harmony asked.
"I merely come with a solution to this whole pandemic. There is a way to bring back your fallen friend, but it's gonna take some time and a lot of searching. I wish I could do it, but I don't have the power to resurrect the dead and it'd just make the whole chapter of this story meaningless," Discord pointed out.
Everyone was left shocked and were all left with a small light of hope. Fluer walked up to the draconequus with tears and small gleams of hope in her eyes. “Y-you mean… we can bring back my little boy?” She asked.
"Yes. But the items you need might not be so easy to get. You will need 5 purple demon crystal shards… and one moonstone," Discord said. "Once you've gathered them all, you will need to sync them with a magical item that's powerful enough to channel their energies enough to resurrect Inferno. Then, all you have to do… is snap your fingers," Discord poofs up a golden prop gauntlet with 6 different colored stones and then snaps his fingers. "Just like that."
“But what about Equestria? Our world? We can’t just drop everything and go. And more importantly, what are we gonna do with Tartarus? Without Grogar, those demons down there will run loose!” Sunset asked.
“That won’t happen, Sunset Shimmer.” Harmony replied. “Not if Tartarus is under new management.” she stated while looking towards the one individual in the group: Daris.
"Hey, that's right. Daris defeated the Alpha Drakai and is the new leader of the pack!" Pinkie Pie pointed out.
“Which means… he’s the new Lord of Tartarus.” Applejack replied.
"And all the Drakai witnessed the fall of their master right in front of their eyes. What a PUNCH! That was way more satisfying than when Ace took a punch to the chest for his little step-brother Luffy in that one fight," human Pinkie said.
"You should've also seen Eternal, he blasted Grogar into space and blew him up," Human Rainbow said.
"True, but it was Daris who delivered the killing blow, I merely finished him off," Eternal said.
“Which is precisely why the demons of Tartarus will have to obey him,” Death added.
"Do you really have to go, Daris? We've only just started becoming great friends," human Fluttershy said. "Will I ever see you again?"
“Y-yes… F-Fluttershy… my friend.” Daris replied with a bit of sadness in his voice. Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Daris and her demon friend did the same.
"I'm really gonna miss you," the animal-lover said.
Soon the other Rainbooms followed Fluttershy and dogpiled the Drakai as they cried and hugged their demon friend.
“We’re gonna miss you Daris! I’ll Pinkie Promise to send you as many tasty pies as you want!” Pinkie promised.
“As long as they go to him, and not me.” Rainbow stated.
"You're a couple of years too late to tell her that, Rainbow," AJ pointed out.
“We’ll miss you surely, darling. Just make sure you take care of yourself and your pack. Best wishes, Daris," Rarity said.
"Daris, we may have started on bad terms, but I just want to say… thank you for everything," Sci-Twilight said.
"If we ever decide to pay us a visit, feel free to let us know. You really pulled through for us to the bitter end," Sunset said.
"S-See you… later… my friends," Daris growled before using his new powers to open up a portal to Tartarus. The newest demon king jumped through before the portal closed. Tears fell from Fluttershy’s eyes as she saw her friend leave.
"There there, Fluttershy. As I've said before, it's not really "good-bye" after all," Eternal said, trying to put the animal lover at ease.
“So, my friends.” Discord said to the group as they turned to face him. “Are you all willing to go through the dangers that await you, in order to save Inferno Blaze.”
"If it means we've got a chance to bring him back, then I'm more than ready!" Eternal said, stomping his hoof hard. "The only downside is that pest Grogar could only die once." Eternal's anger slowly rose from inside him and his dark magic aura was slowly seeping out of him, along with his own magical red aura.
"Take it easy, Eternal. The battle's over, take a deep breath and let it all out," Sunset said, walking over to her old friend. She placed a hoof on her friend's back. Eternal took a few deep breaths and calmed down, his magic aura slowly disappearing until it was all gone.
"We'd better get a move on," Eternal said before heading off to the castle where the mirror was still set up at. Now with the evil of the demon ram destroyed, our heroes are now on a new quest… to restore their lost friend and bring him back to the realm of the living.
"Hold on a second," Starlight said. Eternal looked back at Starlight, curious and confused. "I think you should take it easy, Eternal. You too, Sunset. You've been through enough a few days ago and I think you two deserve a little R&R.”
"A break?" he asked before turning to Sunset.
"If you rest now, you'll have more energy to help us find the crystals. Besides… you never got a chance to rest easy since the war, nor did you ever finish your… date with Sunset," Starlight said, making both ponies blush.
"And don't bother trying to argue with us, you've both done more than enough for Equestria and our world. You two are just as much of a hero as Inferno was," Pinkie pointed out.
“Naw… Inferno is the real hero.” Sunset stated as she looked at Eternal's direction. “He’s the reason Eternal and Heat are alive. I think we could all use a break, I'm sure Inferno will be waiting for us for a little longer.”
Eternal was hesitant at first, but he sighed and eventually agreed. "Very well. Sunset… shall we head back and... you know…" he asked.
"S-Sure…" Sunset stutters a bit. The two lovebirds held hooves and looked at each other with small smiles. "Let's go home, Eternal Flames."