"We're the only two left...!" commented Twilight. "What was Rainbow Dash THINKING?!" She turned to her side and saw a distraught AppleJack. She was sitting down, swayed around a little bit, and looked ready to cry.
"Trailblazer said some nasty things to Fluttershy... But Ah was just downright CRUEL to him!" She then collapsed, and let out a whimpering cry.
"I can't believe it either!" said Twilight, tearing up too. "First, Pinkie and Rarity, then Fluttershy, and now, Trailblazer and Rainbow Dash! They're... Gone."
"Oh, how could Ah... How could Ah be so cruel to him?!"
"What do you mean?"
"Trailblazer was mad at Fluttershy for failin' to bring them over the chasm, then we get mad at him after the way he scolded Fluttershy, but..."
"I don't think you were as cruel to him as he was to Fluttershy."
"No, Ah was meaner." AppleJack's voice was heavy and stuffy, along with her talking through her sobs. "Sure, Fluttershy got yelled at, but... Ah wished death upon Trailblazer, and- AND... It came true!" She curled up into a loose ball as she laid on the floor. "How could Ah just, throw away the stallion that actually cared for me?!"
"And he even gave his life to save ours...!" Twilight said, also shocked. "Even when I scolded him too!" Her eyes began to water too.
"There's Pinkie Pie... The one pony that was so random, funny, and never was a sour puss..." AppleJack said, reminiscing.
"Also Rarity, the overreactive fashionista, but was also a good designer and a generous unicorn..." Twilight added.
"Then came Fluttershy, the timid, quiet animal lover that was the kindest one you'd ever meet..."
"...And just now, we lost Rainbow Dash... That young naive Pegasus that would never leave our side."
"And... T-Trailblazer...! He was the pony that had so much in common with me, yet, I told him that... I wanted him to die!"
Twilight was in the same boat as AppleJack. She got AppleJack off the ground and provided a shoulder for her to lean on. Then, they hugged each other, trying to tell themselves that they cared.
"Ah wish Ah could go back in the past and keep this all from happenin'... And to keep myself from sayin' those awful things to him..."
"AppleJack..." Twilight let in a loud sniffle. "I'm going to miss him as much as you do... They are ALL going to be missed..."
"Ah just wasn't thinkin' worth a bit... An' Ah'm sure he wasn't when he hollered at Fluttershy either..."
A couple more tears fell from their eyes as they mourned, regretting all the things that they said to their former friends. Just as they were doing that, a loud rumble got their attention. They both looked up and braced themselves for anything, but it was just a tremor.
"We're runnin' outta time here..." said AppleJack.
Twilight let out a loud sigh. "Yeah... I suppose we'll have to mourn later..."
"Don't you reckon we should get a move on?"
"Yes." Twilight Sparkle swallowed hard, then let out a deep breath. "Let's go."
They both got up and continued to head deeper into the castle. Their walk was more cautious and slower than it was before.
"Ah just wish he knew that what Ah said to him after Fluttershy was gone, wasn't what Ah REALLY thought about him..." AppleJack said with a stuffy voice.
"I think I could tell that he was remorseful for his actions too," added Twilight.
The cowpony moaned with grief. "Ah just wish he knew that Ah was sorry..."
At that thought, Twilight began to think about what the afterlife held for the deceased. Would they know what their friends truly felt about them? Would they know their deepest darkest secrets? If that was the case, then Trailblazer would see that she had a crush on him, which was something she wanted to keep from him until the bitter end.
"Know what Ah mean, Twi'?"
The unicorn shook her head and paid her attention back to AppleJack. "Yeah... But, you know, maybe now they're all, watching us. And then they would know that you were sorry. I suppose you could say that they would know that I am sorry too..."
AppleJack looked ready to throw herself back on Twilight's shoulder, but then she took a deep breath, then calmly exhaled. "Okay... Ah can do this... Ah don't think Trailblazer would want to see me this miserable..."
Twilight's face twitched a little bit. All this reminded her of were the times that Trailblazer took care of her and lifted her spirit when she felt bad over her dilemma of being single. And, at the same time, her feelings towards him came back to memory. She shook her head again and refocused on themselves in the castle. "Yeah, he doesn't want anypony to feel bad... Unless, they hated him, of course."
"Yeah, and he'd kick that hater so hard, that brute would find himself in next week!" AppleJack tried to find a light in their darkest hour, and began to chuckle. However, this brought her back to her mood of melancholy. "But that's not gonna happen no more... No, sir..."
"...Hey, A.J?" said Twilight. "Maybe you should think of it this way: All of our friends, even Trailblazer, are watching us right now, and cheering us on to get our job done."
She stopped and thought for a moment. "...Yeah... They're all... With us... In, spirit..." Tears began to fall, but she stopped herself. "Let's not let them down." Her next deep breath seemed to stammer, but she got a hold of herself again.
"I know he met a lot to you..." Once she said that, Twilight remembered how she felt about him. The urge to admit that she also loved Trailblazer in some way was overwhelming. For all she knew, it would be their last moments together. But another thought came. Rarity's words came back to her mind, telling her that it would ruin their friendship together if she told AppleJack so. "I have a feeling that you meant a lot to him too..."
Another tremor hit, interrupting their discussion.
"Time is of the essence..." she said after it stopped.
"It sure is..." AppleJack sighed. "Enough chit-chat, here..."
After another minute of walking, they reached the door at the end of the hallway. They went through it and found themselves in a room with a giant staircase. The ceiling had to be 100 yards from them.
"Ya think we made it to the end?" asked AppleJack.
"A staircase this big has to lead to something good," reasoned Twilight. "The throne room has GOT to be at the end of these stairs."
They climbed the staircase, which was a bit tiring. Neither of them said anything to each other as they walked up the flight. As they were reaching the top, the staircase got narrower. Once they reached the top, a giant set of double doors was before them. It stood about 20 feet tall.
"Again with the double doors??" said AppleJack once she saw them. "Now AH'M gettin' sick of lookin' at 'em!"
"Ditto."
Both of them stood quietly in front of it. They pondered on what they would have to face once they passed through, as if it was their own calm before the storm.
"It looks like it's our point of no return..." said Twilight Sparkle.
AppleJack gazed at the top of the door, then swallowed hard. Then, she looked down, and exhaled. "Okay... Ah can do this. We can do this..."
"The fate of the world rests with us..." said Twilight. "We came this far... Now let's cross this last mile. You ready for this?"
"Yeah, Ah'm ready," replied AppleJack. "Let's do this."
Twilight nodded. Then, they both opened the double doors and entered. The next room they were in was undoubtedly the throne room. Another small staircase was in the back of the room, which led to a pedestal, and the throne. On that throne sat Steel Sword, and sitting right next to it was a small mare, Clear Night.
"Welcome one, and welcome all!" he greeted the two with. "You stand before the lusterous and elusive, Steel Sword!"
"Steel Sword!" AppleJack yelled. "Ah remember you back at Mt. Terabolt, tryin' to tell us that we have no hope, well, yer lookin' RIGHT at it!"
"Oh, how could I forget that?" he said. "Though I REALLY am impressed! You managed to make it THIS far! However, you seem to have lost your other friends!"
"That doesn't matter!" Twilight Sparkle stepped forward. "We came here to stop you, and that's just what we'll do!"
"I'm afraid that's out of the question! You should know that you need all five Sacred Stars to stop me. But I only see two. Most unfortunate, for you!"
"You listen here-" AppleJack started to say.
"Hey, A.J?" Twilight interrupted her. "Let me talk to him." She turned back towards Steel Sword. "We're not going to let our planet get destroyed, and that's that!"
"Your Sacred Stars are lacking. In essence, you've come to witness the death of this world!"
Twilight was a bit repulsed. "But why... Why do you want go destroy the world? What will that solve??" A thought struck her. "Answer me, Mineral Mage!"
Steel Sword discontinued his boasting and looked down at himself. "You know that answer just as much as I do, Twilight Sparkle. There was no joy without you. Nothing seemed to work without you around... So, I took the Sinister Star and made my wish, just to get rid of the one thing that took you away... The world."
"But... That's not the solution! Getting rid of a problem doesn't mean it'll be solved!"
"Is that so? I actually thought you would know. Getting rid of the world means that there's nothing to enjoy, or suffer from. And that is just what I'm here for."
Twilight looked up at him, distraught at how his mind was working.
"I, Steel Sword, have called upon myself that I shall rid the world, destroying all there is to enjoy or suffer from!"
"Mineral Mage... My own Mineral Mage..." pondered Twilight. "I don't know what has gotten into you, but we have come here to put a stop to your plot!"
"I'm surprised to see you go for it, considering that your efforts were in vain." Steel Sword turned to look at the mare that sat next to him. "Clear Night? I shall handle these two ALONE."
Clear Night looked up at him, a bit shocked. "Steel Sword?"
"Go, Night. Do NOT, make me repeat myself," he said sternly.
Clear Night looked at him some more, then hung her head, letting out a sigh. "Okay, I'll leave you alone." She jumped down from the pedestal and walked into a different room at the side of the room.
Then, the pedestal that the throne rested on rumbled, and then fell into the floor. A sliding floor closed over it once it was into the floor, leaving Steel Sword standing in the middle of the room.
"Now, this will be the last fight the world will ever see!"
He disappeared into thin air, then reappeared right in front of the two ponies. Twilight shot a purple beam at him with her horn, but it was deflected with Steel Sword's own magic. He retaliated with a beam of his own, which was a black-and-purple color. Twilight jumped right out of the way and shot another beam at him. He shot back, connecting the two beams together. As they struggled to influence their magic to strike their opponent, AppleJack ran around them and closed in on Steel Sword. He wasn't paying attention to her, but when she closed the distance to ram into him, a barrier was in place around him. It felt as if she ran right into a wall, and the recoil was strong. Steel Sword's concentration on Twilight stopped, and the beam Twilight fired bounced off the barrier around him too. He lifted AppleJack off the floor and threw her back to Twilight Sparkle. She got right back up, but instead of looking vengeful, she looked shocked.
"Well, this just ain't fair," she said. "He's protected!"
"Are you aware of how this battle will end now?" he yelled.
Steel Sword then used his magic to unleash a shock wave around the room, with him at it's epicenter. Both of them jumped when the wave was about to strike, avoiding it. He teleported again, then appeared in mid-air. Steel Sword then let out a time-twisting spell, causing Twilight and AppleJack to slow down as he wasn't affected. Both of them tried to run in their slow motion state, but Steel Sword appeared right in front of AppleJack and decked her. She was knocked back and fell in slow motion too. He then charged at Twilight and rammed her. She too fell backwards. After seven real time seconds, the spell wore off, and they both fell back down.
"Oh, God, what are we going to do??" Twilight asked anxiously.
"We just gotta catch 'em off guard," AppleJack said softly. "While you distract him, Ah'll run in from behind and whack him. He won't see me comin'."
"Well, this had better work..."
Twilight tried to lift him around with some magic of her's, but it did not affect him. With a loud grunt, she stomped her hoof and blasted him with a stronger energy blast, yet it was deflected again.
"What's it gonna take, Mineral Mage!" yelled Twilight, angrily.
"It's far too late for any of that!" Steel Sword yelled back.
AppleJack was charging right at him again, trying to attack his back. She stopped right behind him and proceeded to kick him. Just like before, the shield protected him. Steel Sword noticed, and he turned around to chase her. Twilight used this opportunity to charge another spell and launched it at Steel Sword. The barrier absorbed it instead. Once Steel Sword got a hold of AppleJack, he launched her right back at Twilight Sparkle. She tried to dodge her, but AppleJack was zeroed in on her, and they toppled over each other.
"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk," mocked Steel Sword. "Is that all you two got? I expected more potency from those that swore to stop me!"
"Mineral Mage... Why does it have to end this way...?" said Twilight softly.
"Twilight!" shouted AppleJack. "Y'know that there Sinister Star?! THAT'S what's protectin' him!"
Twilight recoiled. "Oh, I should've known! ...But what are we going to do?! We only have two Sacred Stars."
"It's time to end this!" bellowed Steel Sword. "I shall delete this world as if it was never there before! Consider yourselves lucky; you get to witness the death of our so-called precious world!"
His horn glowed, and the black gemstone known as the Sinister Star rose above him. A dark aura started to flow into it, and the star started to shake and tremble. Lightning sparks started to emanate as it's shaking gradually grew more violent.
Both mares looked at it, and there was nothing they could do.
"Could this be...?" said Twilight, anticipating the worst. "Is this, really THE end...?"