Chapter 90
The ground beneath Champion was demolished as he shot towards Spark, being more mindful of his attack this time. But as his hoof neared Spark, he seemed to effortlessly and casually move to the side, completely dodging the attack. With a growl, Champion threw a few more punches, but Spark just moved aside for each one.
As he dodged one of the attacks, Spark twisted his body and decked the other stallion right in the face, shattering his mask in one hit.
The hit surprised Champion, as he had not seen it coming, and was even more caught off guard by the power of the hit. He attempted to throw another punch, but Spark’s hoof just flew over his own and hit him in the face again, this time sending him rocketing backwards into the stairs that lead to the throne.
He crashed through them, sending rubble everywhere as he continued backwards till he blew out the other side and landed in the Palaces Gardens.
Spark landed before him as he stood up, his face twisted in pure hatred as he stared at the stripped stallion before him.
There was no talking as the two clashed again, with Champion yelling as he attempted to hit Spark, but found himself unable to. Ever so often Spark’s own hooves would zip forward, hitting Champion harder and harder each time. He kept himself from flying away as he focused on just landing one hit on Spark.
Out of nowhere Spark suddenly caught one of his punches, and yanked him forward and slammed a knee right into Champion’s snout. Then in one fluid motion he punched Champion right at the base of his horn, actually snapping it off and sending it flying away.
Champion roared in pain as he shot back in an instant, pulling out his mirror to look at his face, eyes wide at seeing he was now missing his horn. “You-” he began, but Spark’s hoof suddenly crashed through the mirror and caught him right in the jaw.
The sound of a thunderclap was heard as Champion shot backwards, flying through the Palace walls and crashing through a few buildings, landing out in a random street as Spark flew after him.
The royal stallion wasn’t fully ready as Spark slammed into him, pelting him with hits so strong that each one caused the area around them to get blown away, removing parts of the street and buildings with each strike.
Champion kept trying to land a hit on Spark, but the stripped stallion just kept moving around his attacks, much to his growing annoyance.
Without warning a massive cyan beam crashed through the city near where they were fighting, causing both to glance that way.
Spark caught Champion by the neck and without any effort threw the stallion right at the beam of Ego as it began to get stronger and stronger.
Champion began to use his speed to escape, but Spark just slammed into him with both back hooves, knocking the wind out of Champion and sending him straight into the beam as it reached its peak. The beam completely obliterated everything it hit as it seemed to grow larger and larger.
Once it finally came to a stop, Spark saw Champion floating there, body smoking as he glared up at the stripped stallion.
With a raised eyebrow, Spark looked over the now naked Champion, seeing something he hadn’t expected. “No cutie mark?”
“My greatness is too much for a simple cutie mark to summarize,” Champion growled as he floated up, body shaking in pure rage.
“No,” Spark said calmly as he got into a fighting stance, “you’ve rode on the coat tails of others your whole life. You’ve never once done a thing for yourself.”
“Stop acting like you know me, Spark!” Champion roared as he shot towards Spark, the two clashing yet again, but with no new results. Spark continued to dodge and deliver devastating hits to Champion while the others struggled to even scratch him.
No matter how much his Protagonist Ego powered up him to catch up to Spark, he always seemed to be just behind him in terms of power. It felt like there was no way to catch up to the stripped stallion, and that thought alone was causing him to become more and more enraged.
As for Spark, he was increasing in power with each dodge and strike he landed on Champion, but he wasn’t able to go all in, as he feared for those around them.
They floated through the city, each hit landed or missed causing untolds amounts of destruction to the environment around them.
With a roar of frustration Champion threw a punch, that was of course dodged, followed up by his eye glowing purple. A single beam shot for Spark’s face, but it only hit an after image as Spark ducked it and nailed the royal stallion in the gut, followed by a upper cut to his jaw that sent him upwards a bit before he caught himself.
Champion seethed with absolute hatred and rage as he stared at the annoyingly calm Spark.
His ears twitched as he heard the voices of those who could only be Scamp and her family. A smirk slid onto his face as he suddenly shot away, planning to kill them as a way to get to Spark.
But without warning, something caught up to him and slammed into his back, sending him straight into the ground with so much power that he created a mile wide crater instantly.
Spark flew down after him and slammed a back hoof into his head, causing the crater to almost triple in size as rocks and earth were sent flying out of the hole. The next few hits from Spark had similar results as the crater only deepened even further.
Champion dashed back away from Spark, his glowing eye the only light source for them as they were now so far below ground that the light barely reached them.
As the two stared each other down, the telepathic spell that linked him to the others blared to life.
“Spark, are you okay?!” Scamp asked, sounding a bit panicked.
‘You need to leave Equestria,’ he said back telepathically as Champion rocketed back at him, resuming their destructive dance. ‘If you can, you need to evacuate the entire planet, asap.’
“Evacuate the entire planet?! I don’t think that’s-”
‘This fight is going to get worse and worse, and I need to know everyone is safe,’ he said as he landed another hit to Champion’s snout, just seeming to anger the stallion even more.
“We’ll… look into it,” she responded as the connection ended.
Narrowing his eyes he rolled around one of Champion’s hits and elbowed him in the side of the head, sending him straight into the stone wall next to them. As the rocks exploded past him, Spark zoomed forward and crashed into Champion.
ooo000<^>000ooo
“Evacuate the planet?” Mallogory asked as they moved down the street as quickly as they could, the ground beneath them shaking violently as the fighting seemed to be getting worse, just as Spark said it would.
“That’s what he said, but I’m not sure how we’ll do that,” Scamp replied, a deep frown on her face.
“I believe I can help,” Buu suddenly said as he left Shayla’s body and entered into his vial.
“No,” Scamp said simply as her eye twitched.
“Trust me or not, I can help,” Buu said calmly. “I can send the entire population of this planet to the copy dimension I created. It’s an exact copy all the way down to the seams of reality.”
“No, the last thing I’m doing is letting the Watcher-”
“Buu,” he interrupted her.
“... Why would you even want to help us?” she asked roughly.
“I’m invested in the ongoing story,” was his only response, which just annoyed both of the women.
“Take me to my domain and I will evacuate the entire dimension in an instant. Leaving those two to battle it out,” he said, staring right at Scamp.
“And then you’ll have access to all of your powers again,” Scamp countered.
Buu just sighed, “as much as I desire that, no, I will not gain my powers back. Again, you may not trust me or believe me, but I am offering you the solution to your problems.”
“I believe this strange jar being is telling the truth,” Talio pipped up from behind, but Scamp flicked her hoof back at him.
“The answer is no,” she said sternly.
“Mama,” Shayla suddenly groaned as Mallogory held her in her arms. “We can trust him, I promise.”
“Damn it, Shayla,” Scamp groaned as they continued down the street. “I am not-”
“I promise,” she interrupted, still seeming to be out of it.
Scamp grinded her teeth as she opened up a telepathic link to Nova.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Twilight grunted as she went to her knees, her horn burning after all the spells she’s had to cast in the last few minutes. She looked up to see the others engaged in battle with Lilith, not making much headway as she continued to evade them and hit them with devastating attacks of both magic and Holy Energy.
She wasn’t sure how they’d beat her, as this powerup she’d gained was far too much for them all to handle.
Lance skidded backwards, coming up next to her as he blocked an attack.
“You alright, Twi?” he asked as he held a hoof out to her.
“Mostly,” she answered as she allowed him to pull her up. “How are we going to beat her?”
“No idea,” Lance admitted as he shifted his shoulders. “Lacy and I are almost strong enough to beat her on our own, but she’s just out of our reach. Jun is close as well, with those shitty demon powers he’s got. But we’re just not enough.”
Twilight rubbed her chin, thinking hard, racking her brain for a solution.
She watched as Lacy in her Apolyon form moved in for Lilith, able to keep up with the overpowered mare as she used her swords to slice through all the magical attacks sent her way. But even then, she wasn’t able to actually get close enough to Lilith to land a blow.
The same could be said for Jun, who continued to get blown away, only to regenerate and dash back in, getting almost as close as Lacy was, but was clearly not fast enough to reach the mare.
Closing her eyes, Twilight ran through every fight they’ve had in the past, all the knowledge she’d gathered over the years, looking for a solution.
Then, like the snap of a whip, she had it. She knew what they needed to do.
“Lance, get Lacy and Jun over here, now!” she yelled, as her horn began to prepare a spell.
“On it!” he exclaimed as he spread his wings and flew towards the other two. He grabbed Lacy and Jun in one pass by and flew back to Twilight, dumping them down before her.
“Bruh!” Lacy growled as she jumped up, annoyed at being grabbed like that.
“I need you all to power up to your max’s right now!” Twilight yelled as her horn began to increase in brightness.
“Uh… okay?” Jun said in confusion as his Demonic form bulked up even more.
“Ooo, we're doing that one thing?” Lacy asked as she forced herself to enter into her Full Power Apolyon form, a transformation that she could only only hold for a few minutes max.
Lance did the same as Lacy, stepping up to them as they all looked at Twilight.
“You will have five minutes before the spell wears off,” she warned as her horn reached its max in brightness. “Lacy, you’ll be the one in charge!” she yelled, getting a frown from Lance. “I’m sorry, honey!”
With that she cast her spell on the three before her, causing them all to glow brightly as they seemed to morph together.
Once the light faded away, it revealed a new being standing before her, causing her eyes to go wide as she felt the power emitting off of them.
“Oh shit, this is weird,” Lacy muttered as she stood there, eyes wide as all of the consciences and the other two talked at once inside of her mind.
The form she took on now was much different from anything Twilight could have expected, causing her to stare in awe.
Lacy flexed, causing a burst of energy to explode out of her body, a smile gracing her lips. “Oh fuck yeah!”
With that she spun around and flew towards Lilith, who was currently teleporting around as she prepared another spell.
She barely took notice of Lacy as she flew into her, hitting her so hard it canceled out her magic momentarily. With a flash, Lacy threw two of her swords into the air as they glowed with her Ego. As they reached their peak, she swung her larger sword at the staggered mare.
Lilith threw up a Holy Shield that barely caught the incoming attack, but just barely as her shield exploded with the impact.
A smirk slid onto Lacy’s face as the two swords twirling above them sent two slices through the air, right at Lilith. She didn’t have time to react other than to teleport away, but the moment she appeared on the other side of the room she was hit with an unexpected attack from Nova, who had perfectly predicted where she’d appear.
She let out a cough as she looked down, seeing Nova’s rapier embedded into her chest.
With a grunt she teleported again, just to be met with the smirking face of Lacy as she appeared before her, her sword already flying towards her.
A Holy shield came up to stop the attack, but it suddenly fell away as Twilight cast a counterspell. Lacy’s greatsword sunk itself into Lilith’s side, causing everything to come to a stop.
Lilith grunted as she teleported to the middle of the room, staggering a bit. “Do you think this is enough?! I am Lilith! The first wife of Adam! I will not-”
But the group wasn’t going to let her speak as Twilight hit her with a spell that stunned her a bit as Lacy sent another Ego sword beam her way.
Not able to defend herself, she took the beam directly, losing part of her left side as she collapsed to the right.
As the group moved in on her, she gritted her teeth and flashed a spell, disappearing.
“Where is she?!” Lacy asked as she landed on the spot she’d just been laying.
Bronwyn frowned as she checked her little computer, shaking her head, “she’s not here anymore. She’s left the entire dimension.”
“What do we do then?” Twilight asked as everyone slowly gathered up.
“We have a problem,” Nova said grimly as she stepped into the middle of the group.
“Oh fucking great,” Lacy muttered.
“Spark has requested we evacuate the entire planet of Equestria,” Nova said as she looked around at everyone. “And Scamp is telling me the Watcher is offering to help.”
“The fucking Watcher?!” Lacy yelped, clearly having Lance speak through her.
“I’m being told Shayla is vouching for him,” Nova added, seeming a bit unsure, mirroring the reactions of the people around her. “Scamp is on board with allowing him to help. But she wants it to be put to a vote.”
“We can’t have the Watcher helping us!” Lacy/Lance yelled, but Nova sighed as she continued to listen to Scamp.
“The fighting between Spark and Champion is far more intense than we initially thought, and Scamp is asking that we hurry.”
“Fuck,” Lacy groaned as everyone looked around at all the unconscious ponies around them.
“Whatever we chose, we need to quickly get everyone in here to safety,” Nova said as she stood up tall. “Alright, let’s put it to a vote.”
ooo000<^>000ooo
‘Good work, Domitor,’ Scamp responded through her telepathic connection to Domitor. ‘Stand by for further instructions.’
She turned to her wife and gave a nod, “Domitor’s group has finished dealing with Lorenzo’s remaining men.”
“Well then,” Mallogory chuckled as the ground shook again, “with Nova’s group chasing off Lilith, that just leaves Champion.”
“Three for four,” Scamp said with a nod. “If only that meant we were almost done.”
They finally passed the gates of Canterlot, leaving the city.
As they moved quickly down the road, Nova connected to Scamp again.
“We’ve reached a decision,” Nova said solemnly.
‘And?’ Scamp asked.
“Do it,” she answered. “We will move the ponies here to the new dimension as soon as it is ready.”
Scamp closed her eyes and sighed, ‘on it.’
She turned to Shayla, who was walking with them but clearly still exhausted, and frowned, “tell ‘Buu’ that we’re allowing him to help.”
Shayla smiled at her mother and gave a nod.
Mallogory shook her head as she pulled the Dimensional Dagger out, “are you sure?”
“No,” Scamp replied truthfully, “but do it anyway. If anything, I’ll put my trust into Shayla.”
A smile appeared on Shayla’s face as Mallogory opened a portal to a place they’d all vowed to never return to.
Upon entering the Watcher’s Domain, he returned to his vial around Shayla’s neck, looking around.
“Have I missed this place…” he said with a sense of nostalgia, causing both older women to glare at him. “Take me to the console in the back room over there, I will guide one of you through the process.”
With that they quickly made their way through the massive room, heading for the only doorway in the room outside of the entrance.
“This will not take long,” Buu assured them. “It’s the simplest procedure.”
“So we’re sending everyone to my original dimension?” Scamp asked, not sure how to feel about this development.
“Yes. But it is void of life right now, as I, to put it simply, ‘turned it off’. So we will be filling it with the lifeforms of your current dimension. Of course I can’t change the dimension itself, so it’ll have all the structures and items that it did when I shut it down.”
“I see,” Scamp muttered as they entered the next room, seeing the massive console before them.
“I will relay the instructions to you, Scamp, you are the most capable one here outside of myself,” Buu said calmly, getting a grunt out of Mallogory. “Do exactly as I say.”
Scamp narrowed her eye at him as she stepped over to the large keyboard-like device attached to the console and rose up, hovering above it.
“Now, let’s begin,” he said as he began to tell her which keys to hit.
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Champion yelled in frustration as he continued his pointless assault, still unable to hit the impossibly agile Spark. They were still underground, and had tunneled down so far he could feel an intense heat. But that didn’t matter to him, his Ego was able to adapt him to anything and everything that posed a threat to him. So he was not worried in the slightest.
However, the fact he still was behind in power to Spark was causing him so much inner turmoil that he was starting to lose himself in his attacks, just swinging widely. Each time he was countered just pissed him off more and more.
As they fought, a strange feeling washed over both of them, causing them to hesitate for a second.
“The dimension has been evacuated, Spark,” Scamp said solemnly as she connected to him. “Kick his ass.”
A sense of calm overtook Spark’s body as he jumped back from Champion. He reached down and broke the bracelets that had appeared on his forelegs when he transformed.
Champion stared at him in confusion, then went wide eyed as Spark’s power seemed to soar even higher.
“This ends now,” Spark declared as he shot forward, his hoof connecting with Champion’s face with so much power that the stone around them was blown away. The hit sent Champion ragdolling upwards, crashing through the earth and bursting out into the open sky above, a geyser of stone and dirt flying up around him as he soared into the sky.
He quickly righted himself as Spark suddenly appeared before him, eyes ablaze with fury as he reared back his hoof.
Champion attempted to beat him to the punch by pushing his speed to the max. But even moving in an instant, Spark dodged and countered his attack.
A massive boom of color filled the air as Spark’s hoof hit Champion in the chest and sent him careening away from the planet. He watched with narrowed eyes as Champion hit the moon for the second time in his life, shattering one of the halves into pieces.
As for Champion, he now found himself lying on a piece of broken rock, floating in space as he stared back at the planet with a blank look on his face.
‘This is impossible,’ he thought to himself as he lay there. ‘I am supposed to be unbeatable… So how is this pathetic weakling keeping up with me?!’
His Ego began to provide him with the solution, but he just growled, as that would go against everything he stood for. He was not going to let someone like Spark push him to evolve.
But his Ego pushed for him to do as it demanded, causing him to radiate hatred as he stood up.
‘Fine,’ he thought as he stared up at the distant planet. ‘If this will allow me to put him in his place, then I will accept it.’
His body began to glow as he took a deep breath and closed his eye, entering into a state of zen, only possible due to his Ego forcing itself upon him. It slowly ate away at his overly inflated ego and emotions, leaving only his pride intact. It did not take long before a controlled burst of energy erupted from his body, finishing off the rest of the moon around him, turning it to dust instantly.
‘Oh yes… this is it,’ he thought with a sense of calm as he felt his power rocketing higher and higher, reaching a point he’d never known was possible.
His Ego informed him of his new form he’d just achieved, causing him to smirk.
‘Unrivaled Ego…’ a smirk formed on his face as he saw Spark flying towards him at an incredible speed. ‘Perfection.’
He flew forward to meet Spark head on, the two approaching each other at a speed that no one outside of themselves could ever hope to follow.
As they neared each other, Spark threw a punch, only to hit an after image of Champion. His eyes snapped to the side as he saw a hoof coming straight for him. He dodged it, attempting to counter him, but a hoof suddenly caught him in the face and sent him barreling backwards at such a speed that he basically instantly moved from his current position to another.
Champion watched in glee as Spark was sent through the planet, causing the entire thing to implode and turn to nothing but rubble. Spark kept going as he disappeared into the vastness of space, causing Champion to chuckle to himself.
‘Now we’re back to normal,’ he thought as he watched the pieces of the planet rocket away in all directions.
Rolling his shoulders he shot forward, catching up to Spark in an instant and slamming his hoof into the other stallion’s gut, sending him flying away in another direction.
Spark gritted his teeth as he caught himself and came to a stop, eyes locked on the distant shine of Champion.
Something had changed, as Champion was now FAR beyond him in terms of power.
Reluctantly he reached up and broke the necklace off of his neck, unleashing even more of his powers. He’d hoped to avoid doing this, as he wasn’t sure this dimension could survive that kind of power.
But he didn’t have much choice.
Champion appeared before him, already mid attack as his fist tore through space.
Calmly Spark dodged the hit and delivered a hit right to Champion’s gut. This caused the royal stallion's eye to go wide as he returned the hit right to Spark’s face.
The two entered into a slug fest, with each hit that landed causing the space around them to waver violently. The shockwaves alone would be enough to destroy an entire planet.
It was impossible to tell who was winning or losing, as neither of them were showing signs of weakening. But it was clear that they were both steadily increasing in power with each hit.
Then Champion’s body flashed as he suddenly soared in power unexpectedly, his next hit sending Spark zooming away yet again. He basically instantly teleported across the solar system, crashing through at least one planet in the process. He finally came to a stop, finding himself inside of an asteroid field of some kind.
If he remembered his school studies, this was possibly the asteroid belt that surrounded their solar system.
‘Incredible…’ he thought to himself as he looked around, only able to see due to how his Archangel eyes worked.
Focusing his mind, he closed his eyes, running through everything he knew.
Champion’s Ego worked in a way that made sure he was the strongest one in any fight he engaged in. And it would adapt him endlessly to make sure he was never left behind. And now he’s achieved some kind of transformation that is rocketing his power up much faster than Spark could keep up with.
Which meant it was time. He’s come face to face with an unstoppable foe, so he’d have to become an unstoppable force as well.
He opened a connection to one of the others, ‘Roxxy. Are you near Shayla?’
It took her a moment to respond. “Huh, yes, we’re all gathered up in the new dimension. Why?”
‘Perfect, I need to make a bet,’ he said calmly. ‘I know she and Domitor gained a near infinite amount of Ego when they defeated Leem and Lorenzo, and I want them to give it to me. Right now. Does your Ego work over great distances?’
“... I’ve never tried, but we can give it a shot,” she answered. “Alright, we’re ready. They bet they can beat you in a game of Coin Toss. If you win you get all of their Excess Ego. So, heads or tails, Spark?”
‘Tails,’ he replied, eyes locked on a distant light approaching him.
“First try,” she chuckled, “Tell me if you notice anything.”
He floated there for a moment before he suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of power enter his body, causing him to grunt. He may not have an Ego, but excess Ego could still be very useful to him.
For example, unlocking a transformation.
Gritting his teeth, he began to tense up as his muscles expanded violently, followed by a massive flash of light erupting out of his body, casting a light that could be seen from the other side of the solar system.
Champion appeared, taking in the new form of Spark, but ignored it as he continued forward, crashing his hoof into the face of the striped stallion. The hit caused a massive light to flash as the asteroids around them were cleared away for hundreds of thousands of miles in all directions.
But Spark did not move.
His eyes slowly opened, locking with Champion’s in an instant as a sense of dread washed over the royal stallion for the first time in a long time.
Spark raised his hoof and brushed Champion’s hoof aside and floated past him.
“Die,” he said simply, his voice lost to the vacuum of space.
Champion blinked in confusion as he was suddenly hit with an untold amount of hits to his entire body as Spark simply floated away from him.
As the almost endless assault ended, Champion just floated there, twitching as his body for the first time seemed to want to give up on him.
But he wasn’t going to let it as he forced himself to turn and zoom towards Spark’s back. As he neared, Spark moved aside, allowing Champion to fly past him.
He didn’t have time to react as he was hit yet again with an unseen attack right to the throat and stomach, causing him to curl in on himself.
His Ego was going into overdrive as it tried to catch up to Spark, but it seemed hopeless.
With absolute calmness, Spark flew forward and threw what appeared to be a simple punch, hitting Champion in the side.
What followed could only be described as a Supernova to anyone who saw it from a distance, as the entire solar system was destroyed in an instant. All planets, debris, and even the sun, were wiped out in one hit.
The force of the hit caused Champion to almost instantly appear in a completely different galaxy, destroying anything and everything he passed by.
Spark was right on his tail, following him almost casually.
Champion forced himself to come to a stop, the momentum he carried continuing onward and completely obliterating a distant star.
He grunted in pain as he grabbed his side, finding he was actually really hurt suddenly.
Spark came to a stop near him, calm eyes locked with him.
Champion growled as his body flashed like crazy as his Ego desperately tried to get to the level that Spark was currently at. Using the power of that hit as a basis.
Watching Champion’s body flash, Spark just shrugged as his own body began to shine as he pushed his power to rise as well, much to Champion’s horror.
The two just stared at each other, both powering up. Champion in desperation, and Spark just to finally end this.
“Take this, Champion,” Lilith’s strained voice suddenly said into Champion’s mind, causing him to furrow his eyebrows. Then a portal snapped open before him as red and Holy Energy poured through, entering into him.
The portal snapped shut as Champion doubled over, clenching his teeth as the new power entered his body and intertwined with his Protagonist Ego. He was pissed, as he knew what she’d just done.
She’d not only given him all the Holy Energy she’d stolen, but she’d also forced her devilish powers into him.
He threw his head back as he roared, the vibrates of his voice breaking through the space around them and causing Spark to narrow his eyes as his calm demeanor slipped away.
Champion’s Protagonist Ego mixed with the devilish powers of the First Woman, causing him to transform yet again, reaching a level akin to a God.
Spark could feel this happening and he forced himself to gain power faster, not sure if he’d have enough for what was about to happen.
With a burst of energy, Champion slumped back forward, body heaving as a smile appeared on his face.
“I,” he began, his voice now clear despite them being in the vacuum of space, “am a God.”
Not allowing Spark to power up any more, Champion smiled widely and instantly appeared in front of Spark. The two threw a punch for each other at the same time, their hooves colliding.
The resulting collision collapsed the entire universe right at the point of impact, right between their hooves, causing a second Big Bang to occur.