A massive, smoking crater that had turned the ground from lush green to charcoal black filled the spot where Grogar and the Storm King had stood but a few seconds ago. There wasn't a trace left of either of them. It was finally over, Grogar had been defeated!
Now there was only one thing (or maybe two things) that had to be addressed, and that was Shining Armor's current state.
Fortunately, it was soon resolved as the destruction of Grogar's Bewitching Bell caused all the magic that had been sealed within it to start pouring it. Some of it found its way back to Discord, who in turn approached Shining with a sincere smile. "Don't mind me, I'll just be taking the rest of my magic back now. You'll thank me for this later." He touched his lion's paw to Shining's chest, and the magic flowed from one draconequus to another.
Shining quickly reverted back to his alicorn state, but he was dizzy, disoriented and exhausted. "Okay, never doing that again," He commented as his eyes slowly stopped spinning. "Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick!"
Discord waved his eagle claw as Shining's friends crowded around him. "Oh, you'll be okay, eventually," Then he stretched his mismatched limbs. "Oh, it feels so good to be whole again! So, about those other baddies? You know, the ones that turned tail and ran away. What should we do with them? I'm always up for a hunt."
The prince shook his head, clearing his thoughts slowly but surely. "No, there's no need to pursue them. If they're smart they'll take the outcome of this battle as a warning and stay far away from us and our allies. Because if they don't, well... I'm sure they can see the writing on the wall. No more second chances."
The restored draconequus only frowned upon hearing that. "Oh, that's no fun. At least you could let me leave them with a little parting gift to make sure they get the message. I won't hurt them," Under his breath he added. "Much."
Sensing that Discord wasn't going to be satisfied until given what he wanted, and realizing that he did owe Discord for the advanced warning (among other things) Shining reluctantly caved in and sighed. "Fine, you can catch up to Chrysalis and Tirek if you want. Just don't get carried away, you know we can always turn you back to stone if you get out of line."
"Hey, have a little faith in me. I'm a good guy now. I'd have to be a fool to throw it all away for the sake of revenge," The draconequus smiled as he prepared to teleport. "This won't take long, see you all soon." And then with a snap of his fingers he disappeared.
Yet just after Discord disappeared, to the surprise of everyone Grogar returned! He'd reverted back to his ram appearance, except now he was covered in bruises, cuts and scratches as every inch of him was stained black, brown and red. It seemed like he barely had any strength left to stand, yet he was still coming closer.
"I don't believe it! After all that, he's still alive!" Soarin gasped in dismay! "How is this possible?!"
"Maybe he really is invincible!" Thunderlane loudly stated with a gulp.
But the wounded ram shook his head in protest. He opened his mouth, and a wheezy and raspy voice that struggled just to draw breath declared. "I only survived because I was able to use that accursed Storm King as a shield to absorb the blast. In the end, he was good for something after all."
Big Macintosh kicked the dirt. "So after all that, his sacrifice amounted to nothin!"
Grogar protested again. "No, he ultimately succeeded. Not even I could endure a blast such as that for long," It was obvious he was running short of breath and his injuries were worse than they had appeared from a glance. "You've done the unthinkable, the impossible. Somehow you've managed to defeat even I, the mighty Grogar, the father of monsters. But know this!" He lifted up a hoof very briefly. "Though I will soon be no more, there will inevitably be others that will rise up to succeed where I have failed. So long as there is light there will always be darkness."
Shining Armor plucked up courage, having regained his bearings by now. "And so long as there remains even the tiniest sliver of light, my friends and I will never stop fighting to protect it, Grogar! So let others try if they're brave or foolish enough. Harmony will always be ready to fight back against any that try to defeat it."
Grogar snarled for a brief second. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He declared, and it was the last thing he said. He then shut his eyes, collapsed to the ground and faded away as if he'd never existed to begin with. Now he was truly dead. The father of monsters had been defeated and silenced for good.
The news was received with admiration! Everyone had seen it burst into applause at the victory that had been achieved! But for Shining and his friends it all felt familiar, even despite the impossible odds they'd battled against before.
Once the applause died down a bit, Princess Celestia approached Shining Armor with Princess Luna standing beside her. She had the biggest smile she'd worn since... well, she couldn't even remember when. And her tone of voice was warm and motherly as she declared. "Even when you were just a lowly recruit within my royal guard, I sensed great potential inside of you, Shining Armor. Potential that perhaps rivaled even that of your sister's," Her smile only grew as she continued. "When I sent you off to Ponyville I had high hopes, I wasn't even sure I was making the right call. Once you became the Prince of Friendship, I was certain I'd made the right choice. Yet nothing could've prepared me for how proud I am of you now."
"It was nothing, princess, really." Shining modestly played it off as he waved a hoof.
Princess Celestia just continued to smile as she bowed her head and Princess Luna did the same. "That's all I needed to hear. It's nice to know Equestria will be in the right hooves after I step down from the throne. You are definitely ready to be ruler."
Taking a moment to let the gravity of the situation sink in, the young prince soon declared. "You know what, I think I agree with you. Any doubts I might have had have left me. I'm ready for whatever comes next, and I think the rest of Equestria and all its allies feel the same!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Fancy Pants declared. "Oh, thank goodness. Guess that means the coronation's back on again!"
"So, your royal highness," Big Macintosh then inquired. "Here's a question for you: What are we gonna do with all these here creatures? They've come all this way, but I don't think any of us were anticipatin' a turnout nearly this back for somethin' so important."
Braeburn chimed in! "Yeah! Don't know about the rest of ya, but I think we're gonna need a lot more chairs for the coronation ceremony!"
However, Shining cleared his throat and announced. "Actually, as the new sovereign ruler, my first royal order is as follows: I hereby wish to have my coronation and the ensuing ceremony postponed for the time being," When everyone started to look at him with confused expressions he explained. "At least we should hold off until the castle in Canterlot can be repaired. Even if I have plans to have Canterlot share capital city title and duties with Ponyville, it wouldn't be right for its final big act to be a rushed coronation ceremony in a ruined castle."
Princess Celestia nodded in agreement. "That's fair enough, Shining. I think we could all benefit from a rest after all we've been through today."
And Princess Luna then added. "Simply say the word when you're ready to have your coronation, and everything will be set up again. Just don't take too long, or my sister and I may have to schedule it for you."
"Once the castle's been restored, everything should be good to go. That should give me a few weeks to get everything in order for the move," Shining replied before turning to his friends while also looking out towards the crowd. "In the meantime, there's something personal I'd like to tend to with some very special guests. It's a strictly private affair though."
The 'private affair' turned out to be a visit to a very familiar donut shop that Shining and his friends hadn't come to in a long time.
This time, however, not only were Spike and Twilight in attendance with their own friends, but Starlight Glimmer was joining them. Cadence was also attending, and had brought Flurry Heart along. The small group was now seated at a specially prepared table, enjoying donuts together.
"Very interesting choice, Shining Armor," Fancy Pants commented while picking up a donut with his magic. "This is, what? Post apocalyptic donuts or something?"
The prince, soon to officially be made king, nodded his head. "Considering most of us came here after escaping the most chaotic Grand Galloping Gala of all time, this seemed like a fitting place to come after such an incredible battle. I know there's gonna be a lot of challenges ahead, but for the time being I just wanna spend some quiet time with the most important ponies and dragon in my life."
Twilight grinned. "Not sure how much quiet time you'll really get considering you know who's among us." She was currently eyeing Flurry Heart as the toddler alicorn was currently drooling on her little piece of donut that had been mashed up for her.
Thunderlane, meanwhile, began to consider something as he held his donut in his hooves. "This really feels like the end of an era."
Soarin just smiled. "Yeah, but it's also the beginning of an even more exciting era! And hopefully an era of prolonged peace, I'm getting sick of all these monster attacks."
"Well I do know one thing," Shining pointed out. "Whatever comes next is gonna be perfect!"
"And what makes you say that, dear?" Cadence questioned her husband.
"With all of you by my side to support and guide me, how could it not be?" Shining explained. "No matter what lies ahead, we'll face it together like we've always done." And then all lifted their mugs (or in Flurry Heart's case a sippy cup) of hot chocolate in agreement!