Flamearch held his chest with a hoof as he sent Pinkamena spinning over the edge of the Altar with a wave of shadows. The pink earth pony slammed her sword into the edge of the stone, just before falling to what would without a doubt be her death. Cassius galloped over go help her up before the stone could give way.
Shadowheart charged his distracted brother and went for a killing blow by trying to remove his head. The fire red unicorn ducked and slammed a hoof into Shadowheart's gut making him stagger. Flamearch lifted his hoof and Ragnarok burst into existence around it in a brilliant display of flames of shadows. With a powerful slash, Flamearch slammed the end of his mighty blade to the stone floor only inches from Shadowheart. The white and black stone chipped and cracked at the force of the devastating blow. Flamearch pulled Ragnarok back up and went for another swing as Shadowheart clashed Dragonslayer with it.
The two unicorns glared hate at each other as one tried to push the other back.
Flamearch charged a spell and fired a molten ball of slag at his brother. Shadowheart spun to the left to avoid the attack and landed a blow to Flamearch's head. The red unicorn staggered but returned with a swing of his blade which met once again with Dragonslayer. The two exchanged blows, parried and dodged each others attacks. They were matching every attempted hit to the dime, unable to slip past the other. This only made Flamearch angrier with each passing second. He sacrificed so much and spent the last six years of his life to surpass his brother and was now filled by the power of the Nocturnal Guardian. How is he able to keep up with him and even counter some of my attacks?, Flamearch thought
He looked around as the two swords clashed again to see his spell hit Sereen, the Solar Guardian, "Little one. I require your magic." He called to her.
Shadowheart felt a sharp pain run through him as a bolt of electricity struck his back. He nearly fell to his haunches from the pain as he fought harder not to lose the hold Dragonslayer had on Ragnarok. If Shadowheart slipped up now, it would spell his death and Flamearch's first real victory. He looked over his shoulder to see the small unicorn glaring at him, her eyes were glazed over thanks to the spell that held her to Flamearch's will. She prepared to fire the spell again, Shadowheart waited for what was to come. When she fired he stepped to the side and let the bolt strike his brother. Flamearch was sent tumbling down the altar from the electrified hit. Shadowheart couldn't help but smile at the sight of his brother being bested by his own blunder.
Cassius pulled Pinkamena over the edge and looked to Shadowheart, "Go and kill you brother. I will keep Sereen from doing something she would regret later."
The white unicorn nodded once then began to gallop and jumped off the edge after Flamearch leaving Cassius to his sister.
He looked over to his beloved sister, "You shot him with a bolt of lightning. You could have killed him you know."
The white filly smiled at her now older brother, "Well I wanted to make Flamearch think his spell worked."
"How did you know he was going to try and control me? A better question, is how did it fail on you?" Cassius asked, holding Applejack close to him.
The small unicorn’s smile fell as she looked at the ring in his eye, "I was told by Pinkamena, so I prepared a counter spell before we got up here." - She gulped - "Cassius, Is she..."
A tear fell from his eyes as he whispered, "Yes Sereen, she is gone from this world."
She walked over to the fallen earth pony, "Are you going to ask for her back?"
Cassius held his head down as he began to cry, "I can't."
Sereen sat next to her weeping brother, "Why? Don't you have all of your power back?"
He closed his eyes and lowered his head, "I do, but Mother Mare has willed this herself. I can't undo any of this. No matter how badly I want to."
*********************************************************
Rainbow Dash made her way to the altar's steps when she saw the fire red unicorn get blasted off its peak. The ponies in the battle that ensued around her seemed to ignore the wounded cyan mare. Rainbow Dash walked with a limp as she slowly made her way up the steps. It was only a moment before she saw a white unicorn jump and levitate to the ground where the other one fell before. She went to look over the edge of the steps when a voice called to her. The pounding in her head made it hard to make out who the voice belonged too.
"Rainbow Dash, are you alright?" The voice was quiet and could only come from one pony in all of Equestria.
Fluttershy flew over to her with tears in her eyes, Rainbow Dash took one look at her left foreleg and saw it appeared to be broken. The yellow pegasus gently landed in front of her but kept the leg off the ground. Dash could see she had cried a lot before flying over to her and was proud of her for showing a smile to her past the pain she must have been feeling.
"I will live from this Fluttershy, but are you going to be okay. Your leg doesn't look good." the cyan pegasus said looking her friend in eyes.
Fluttershy gave a concerned look but had a smile and spoke, "I am in better condition than you Rainbow Dash. We need to get out of here before one of us dies."
A form of fear hit Rainbow, Something Applejack said to her in her dream.
"Before I go and rest for awhile, I need to tell you something that the others wanted to know when we were done here." He words echoed in the her mind.
"Fluttershy, we need to get up there and get to Applejack." she said frantically.
Fluttershy looked to Rainbow Dash with concern, "Rainbow Dash, you are hurt worse than I am. We need to get out of here as soon as we can. So lets hurry up and get her."
The two of them gradually made their way up the black and white steps of the stone altar. Fluttershy hovered close beside Rainbow and looked over the edge from time to time to see the battle below. All the ponies completely ignored them. She was horrified to see that they were capable of taking another life, but she swallowed her disgust and fear so she could continue to follow Rainbow.
When they finally made it to the top they saw a large gray pair of wings extended outward, covering somepony that was laying on the ground from the rain. A small white unicorn was sitting next to them. Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy froze when the Alicorn looked over his shoulder, seeing Applejack's ring faded his eye. Sereen got up and walked over to them as Cassius looked back to the fallen pony.
"Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, You too look awful. Do you want me to try and heal you?" Sereen asked in a calm and caring voice.
Fluttershy spoke up in a not so timid voice, "Oh, yes please Sereen."
As the white filly began to heal the two, Rainbow Dash asked abruptly, "Sereen, where is Applejack?"
Sereen looked over to Cassius with a grim expression on her muzzle. She said nothing, but her face told them all they needed to know and more. Rainbow didn't even wait for her bones in her wing to snap back into place before galloping over to Cassius. She stopped when the Alicorn looked at her again, she saw the sadness in his eye along with a very potent anger.
Rainbow looked at him for a while before she took another step, Cassius only watched as he lifted his wings a little higher so she could sit under them and out if the rain. The cyan pegasus stopped again when she saw the color of the coat and her mane that was now free of its tie. She only stayed like that for a moment before galloping to Cassius' side.
Her eyes began to water when she saw the blood running down through the hole in Applejack's chest, "Cassius, so is she going to be able to come home with us?"
He looked her in the eyes, "Rainbow Dash... she won't be coming back."
Frustration washed over the wet pegasus, "You brought Twilight back from the dead, why can't you do the same to for Applejack? What makes this any different than that? Why are you giving up on her? Why would you betray..."
Cassius stamped a hoof in anger before blurting out, "I haven't betrayed anypony! Do you think if I could have brought her back by now I would have! I was lied to and nearly killed for my power Rainbow Dash! This is out if my hooves. For once in my existence, I am completely powerless to stop what is happening. I can't get her back, but I sure as hell can avenge her."
Cassius shot up and walked to the edge of the altar and looked on to see the battle that raged around him. The Nocturnal Guardian stood there for a moment until his gaze found the two unicorns he was looking for. Flamearch was clashing swords and exchanging blows with Shadowheart. Spells flew from one and was blocked by another spell from the other.
The brothers were at even terms and neither of them could gain an upper hoof over the other.
Cassius looked behind him to see Rainbow still sitting next to Applejack with her head lowered in shame and Fluttershy walking behind her with Sereen close by, still healing the two.
"Rainbow Dash... I am sorry I yelled at you just now. I want you three to get every pony you can out of here. Gather the dead and wounded first, I don't care what side they fight for.
I am going to end this with Shadowheart. I will see you back in Canterlot."
Before anypony could give their feelings on the matter, Cassius spread his wings and glided through the rain to the conflict below. An orb of shadows consumed him as he closed the gap between the two brothers and himself.
Through the sounds of the fighting, Cassius heard Twilight calling to him. He looked over and saw the Alicorn racing to Shadowheart with a blade of light emitting from her left hoof. To his horror he saw a large earth pony racing to cut her off with a large sword of his own. It was Gold trying to keep as much pressure off of Flamearch as he could. Cassius would have none of this. He shifted into a nose dive and was barreling towards Gold at a rapid pace.
*********************************************
Gold spotted the purple Alicorn rushing to join the fight and try to kill Flamearch. A devilish grin formed on his muzzle as the thought of avenging Sparky entered his mind. He clamped his sword to his hoof and galloped to intercept the Alicorn. He was closing the gap when she turned and saw him. Twilight raised her protective barrier around and pushed the light blade past its walls in preparation for the coalition that was sure to happen. Gold didn't slow down his charge as the image of Sparky laying dead on the cold ground filled his murderous rage.
He positioned his blade to meet hers as to have it slide away from his when he collided with her.
Just before impact a bolt of dark lightning struck the wet earth sending bits of the stone and water into the air. Their gaze found Cassius as he landed behind Gold. Before he could react, Cassius slammed a shadow blade through his back. The large earth pony spat up blood from the blow. Twilight looked to Cassius, his muzzle showed no signs of remorse, only anger stared back at her. With a swift jerk of his hoof, the blade ripped through Gold's back, while another hoof burst from his side.
The sight of the merciless bloodshed brought back horrible memories for Twilight. She looked away as she heard the sound of bone being torn from flesh. The blood curdling screams of agony from Gold cut through the sound of the rain and battle that consumed everything in sight.
It wasn't until a final snap that the screams ended and the sound of the large body hitting the wet earth. She looked to see Gold not only dead, but half of his spine jutting from his back with a pool of blood forming around him. It poured from the hole in his back and from his mouth as Cassius walked past her like nothing had happened.
Twilight darted in front of him blocking his path, "Cassius... how... Why?"
He sneered in frustration, "Twilight, I will kill anypony that threatens us. If I didn't kill him now, you would not have gotten to Shadowheart before his battle with Flamearch ended with him dead just like Applejack."
Twilight looked to the top of the altar to see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash carry what could only be Applejack away from the altar. If it wasn't the rain, she would have been crying right then and there at the loss of one of her best friends. Instead she took a deep breath and stepped aside to allow Cassius to proceed to his target.
"Thank you Twilight." He looked ahead to the fighting brothers and noticed flames slowly taking shape behind Flamearch as their battle became more and more intense. "Come with me Twilight, I fear Flamearch has taken more of my power than I first thought."
She looked over and noticed the anomaly as well. Without hesitation the two of them galloped over to aid Shadowheart.
****************************************************************
Flamearch ducked down and kicked at Shadowheart’s hind legs. Shadowheart jumped and brought a leg to his brothers head as he went into the air. Flamearch staggered and fired three balls of fire from his horn. They arched and raced to the white unicorn who cast a shadow lance that clashed with the burning swords. Explosions boomed from the colliding forces of the two siblings.
Flamearch growled, "I have had enough of you brother. It is almost time to end your existence once and for all!"
The flames on his back burned brightly as bone began to from within them. The fire that covered them started to take the form of flesh, right before Shadowheart’s every eyes. A menacing grin formed on Flamearch’s muzzle as he too watched with utter joy at his transformation finishing its last stage.
Flamearch began to laugh maniacally, "Oh dear brother, I finally have all the power I had ever dreamed of and more. Today is the day that I finally kill you and become the next and last Alicorn God."
Shadowheart raised Dragonslayer, "I will fight to my last dying breath to not let that happen."
Flamearch's laugh started to die as he gained a more serious and dark tone, "Oh Shadowheart, thats what I'm counting on."
Shadowheart lunged at his brother with a slash of Dragonslayer. The sword burst into living shadows as it misses it target by only inches. Flamearch slammed his hoof into the ground and a pillar of molten earth sent the white unicorn into the air. Flamearch positioned Ragnarok and using his now wings of fire flew after him. Shadowheart was unable to think straight as he saw the flames rising to him. He struggled to stand on the burning pillar, the only thing keeping him from crying out in pain from the burns was his focus and the special horseshoes he wore.
As the pillar gained altitude, Shadowheart launched dark spears and slashed at the air with Dragonslayer, creating waves of black magic. All the projectiles flew to the approaching abomination. Flamearch only smiled and released a lash of built up energy which destroyed the oncoming attacks like they were nothing.
Shadowheart's eyes went wide at the power Flamearch truly held. Any normal attacks he threw at him would surely fail one after the other. He closed his eyes and sheathed Dragonslayer as the pillar continued its ascent into the sky, by now he was as high up as the altar itself.
Steam lifted up when the cold rain hit the ever heating pillar. Shadowheart knew what he had to do if he was going to kill Flamearch, with a deep breath he calmed himself and let his magic gather. Shadows wavered at his command and he felt the pillar slow and eventually stop.
Flamearch looked in awe as the wind began to pick up and the shadows clung to it. Shadowheart opened his eyes, they gave off the glow of darkness as his horn shined brightly.
He waved a hoof and a bridge of shadows slammed into Flamearch sending him back only a few feet.
The fire red Alicorn pushed back causing the shadows to bend. Blood and fire mixed in as Flamearch was being shredded alive, the only thing keeping him from truly dying was Cassius' healing ability he stole.
Flamearch chuckled, "Brother, do you really think Maelstrom can kill me now? If so, you are going to die quicker than I thought."
Flamearch rotated his foreleg, wrapping some of the razor sharp wind around it.
To Shadowheart’s irritation, the dark wing burst into flames and the tornado of shadows began to be converted into a wall of spinning fire.
Flamearch yelled over the roar of the black burning winds, "Well Shadowheart, Its time for you to burn!"
The walls of fire began to close in around the white unicorn. The heat intensified when Flamearch's amplified magic poured into the spell. Shadowheart was starting to lose oxygen and would suffocate before the fire could burn him to death.
The battle that had only moments ago erupted turned into a panic as Luna ordered everypony to leave. Shadowheart could barely see past the heated air, the ponies were working together to find any means of escape. One thing caught his eye though, Three balls of living shadows were racing to the fires. One was coming from the ground, the other two raced from the sky. They slammed through the winds and into Flamewatch, One slammed directly into him and revealed Cassius and Twilight. the one on the ground dispelled allowing Pinkamena, Crystal Glare, and Lizzy to walk in unharmed. The last one landed on the pillar, Fire Heart extended a hoof to help Shadowheart up. Xilas erected a bubble of pure darkness to cool the air and allow him to breathe again.
Fire Heart looked his friend in the eyes, "Didn't I tell you I couldn't replace your sorry flank if you died."
Shadowheart coughed trying to clear his burning lungs, "You took your sweet time getting to me."
Xilas chuckled, "Well I had to get Crystal Glare and we know how he takes his job. If you want we can go and let you handle my dad alone."
Shadowheart shook his head, "No, no thats fine. But he has gotten stronger than I had thought."
The dragon pony laughed, "Oh that is an understatement. Shadow, HES A FUCKING ALICORN! HOW MUCH MAGIC DID HE GET FROM CASSIUS!"
The burned unicorn looked through the swirling shadows to see his brother exchanging blows with the enraged guardian, "Enough to finish Crystal's prophecy. This fight was different from what he told though." He nodded in satisfaction. "We can beat him, we have to beat him. No matter what the cost."
Fire Heart rubbed the back of his neck, "Well i guess we will pay the price so nopony else has too. Like I said, I'm with you to the end."
Shadowheart didn't take his gaze off of his brother, "Good, because I will need you to get Flamearch off of Cassius."
The dragon pony froze, "WHAT?!"
The white unicorn turned to face his oldest friend, "Fire Heart, you know I would never ask you for anything like this if it wasn't important. I need as much of his shadow magic as he can spare, and to do that he needs to be able to cast everything he can without an interruption. This means you and the others that can't use shadows will have to play chicken with Flamearch."
Fire Heart began to pace nervously around the cooling but still very hot pillar, "If I die from this Shadow, I will haunt your plot until the end of time itself and not even Crystal Glare will stop me."
"Glad you stil have you sense of humor Fire Heart." Shadowheart said with a grin.
The dragon pony crossed his forelegs, "I wasn't joking, I will haunt you ass. I will haunt your ass!"
Xilas chimed herself in, "Okay you two, we aren't really in any position to be messing around. Incase you forgot, My father is trying to kill us and enslave all of Equestria. Can we please get back to the matter at hoof?"
Shadowheart looked to his friend, "Xilas is right. Are you ready to help me settle a sibling rivalry?"
Fire Heart grumbled to himself before speaking, "As ready to die as I will ever be. Lets just finish this so I can get back to Corona."
With that, Shadowheart slammed Dragonslayer into the pillar and nodded to Xilas. He closed his eyes and began to channel his magic as she let him absorb the shadows that made up the protective orb. The flaming winds had calmed but had not dispelled, instead they were being redirected at Cassius. The gray Alicorn used his own shadows to fight back and had entered a duel of blades with the Alicorn of fire. Ragnarock clashed with the blades of shadows that Cassius summoned as his weapon of choice. Twilight came up from the rear with her swords of light, Flamearch had almost no trouble fending off the princess of magic, but he did show concern when the Guardian came in for a blow. He blocked Twilight with defensive spells but used his sword to stop Cassius.
Fire Heart shook his head and with a sigh, jumped from the pillar and rushed towards Flamearch. Within an instant, Xilas and Shadowheart heard a popping sound. In Between them stood Pinkamena, Crystal Glare, and Lizzy.
The gray unicorn smiled happily, "I believe you need them to finish this?"
Shadowheart smiled at the prophet, "You know what I need for this, Can you get everypony that was touched by Cassius that is still fighting with us?"
The white unicorn's muzzle shifted, "Well thats is going to be kind of hard see as the only one you are missing is Cassius himself. But I will help relieve him from his battle and send him to you."
Before anything could be said Crystal was gone in a flash. A few moments later and explosion of darkness burst to life and Cassius slashed his right hoof and a shadow blade down on the pillar, nearly missing its chance to split Shadowheart in two.
Cassius looked up to see the stunned expression on Shadowhearts muzzle, "Where did Flamearch go?"
The unicorn cleared his throat, "Crystal Glare switched places with you so you could lend me some your power to help me finish my brother off and end what we started so many years ago."
Cassius glared at him for a moment, "I gave you my word that the final blow would be yours Shadowheart... What do you need from me?"
"I need you to channel as much of your shadow magic to me as you possibly can." he said, taking a step closer. "I plan to end this in a similar way to your defeat by the hooves of the royal immortals."
The gray Alicorn raised and eyebrow, "You plan to write him out of existence?"
"No, I plan to erase him from existence at the cost of my life if necessary." Shadowheart looked Cassius dead in the eyes without flinching or breaking eye contact.
"I want him to suffer for what he has done, but I will give you all of my power if need be. Very well, I will give you the last strike on him." Cassius smiled and began to gather his magic in his horn as he sat down and concentrated.
Shadowheart returned the smile, it quickly faded as every other pony began to fall over and roll in pain. Lizzy Pinkamena, and Xilas doubled over and began to scream as the shadows left their bodies and made its way to the true master of Equestria’s darkness. Cassius closed his eyes and absorbed his power from the ones he had touched. The white unicorn ran to The pink ponies side and she held herself with tears of pain rolling down from her closed eyes. In the distance a stream of floating darkness flew to the gray guardian. Shadowheart could only guess that this came from the other bearers of the Elements of Chaos.
Cassius was Calling back all of his power, Even Flamearch wailed in pain as he fended off the attackers. Only small amounts of the shadows left him however, the rest lashed out as they burned like fire, trying to pull the fleeing shadows back to him.
The living darkness clung to its master and even dripped off of the gray Alicorn. Shadowheart watched as they changed him before his very eyes, Cassius' wings grew as black as night, his muzzle began to look feral, his hooves grew claws that appeared as though they could cut through anything. Cassius was taking his Nightmare Spawn form.
Shadowheart only started on as Cassius absorbed more and more of his and the lands shadows. The darkness in the hearts of every pony nearby was being taken by force and called to him. Even Shadowheart felt a tug at something that he thought was long dead. It quickly turned into a searing pain in his chest that made him fall to his haunches and gasp for air. A small but visible stream of darkness left his chest and made its way to creature that was Cassius.
The shadows that left Shadowheart was the hate he held for all this time. Hate for his brother, hate for his familys loss. But more so, hate for himself for failing them.
Cassius finally spoke in an echoed voice, "The balance is maintained, but the suffering will begin with Flamearch."
He opened his eyes and looked at the flaming Alicorn. All of the rings glowed with anger, except one. The Nightmare Spawn got to his hooves and slowly walked past Shadowheart and to the edge of the pillar.
Shadowheart looked in horror as a thought entered his mind, The last Alicorn war is coming to a close, may Mother Mare have mercy on my soul when this is over.
*********************************************
Flamearch slashed at Crystal Glare's leg, the silver pony’s blood spilled to the wet earth as the rain began to clean the wound.
"Not as immortal as you thought, ay Crystal" Flamearch said mockingly.
Crystal gritted his teeth for a moment as the gash quickly closed, "Trust me when I say this Flamearch, I am immortal. The only reason I haven't killed you myself is because it is not my place too."
Flamearch scowled, "Then whose place is it oh high and mighty Crystal Glare?"
The silver unicorn smirked "Well I would say his."
Before the self made fire red Alicorn could respond, Crystal glare ducked and he saw who he meant. Flamearch went wide eyed as a monster of living shadows flew over Crystal and slammed into him, Teeth bare and claws first into his chest.
The shadows from the beast burned his flesh as it gave off a deafening roar. strings of saliva flew from its massive jaws as it went to bite down on Flamearch's neck. Thinking quickly, Flamearch released a concussive blast of flames at the monster. he then fired a point blank beam of white hot energy to its chest, sending it into the air and blasting a hole through and through. It landed on the ground with a thud laying lifeless in the rain as smoke flew into the air. Flamearch inspected the burning gashes in his chest. His new found healing did not take effect this time, his chest burned and he could see little embers in the holes. He looked back to the creature with anger as it began to get up. Flamearch knew what and who this was when it began to laugh at him. the hole in it's chest began to close as it stood up and let its ink like wings unfurll.
Flamearch willed his wounds to close with the aid of his magic as he got to his hooves in pure rage, "SO THATS HOW YOU WANT TO PLAY THIS LITTLE GAME CASSIUS! WELL THEN LETS PLAY!"
Flames began to swirl around Flamearch as his anger only grew. It latched itself like the very shadows that held Cassius. Within only seconds there was not one, but two Nightmare Spawn. One large spawn made of only the purest of dark shadows that dripped off like ink in the rain and another about the same height as any pony made of brilliant fire, the rain evaporates almost instantly as it fell on Flamearch. The clouds over head only grew darker as the last game between Cassius and Flamearch was about to continue.
Cassius spoke in an echo of his own voice, "Flamearch, I told Shadowheart he can have the killing blow."
Flamearch snorted blue flames before responding in an echo as well, "I am a God now! Do you think he or anypony can kill me!?"
"That is what I thought, until I was written out of existence. I will make sure you wish for that very death. You are nothing but an abomination created by my compassion and kindness. I WILL SEE YOU PAY FOR YOUR ACTIONS WITH YOUR BLOOD!" Cassius yelled in anger.
Cassius darted for Flamearch, his shadows lashing at the ground with each step he took.
The flaming spawn galloped at its opponent, each step it took turned the earth below it into glass as steam floated off of him. The two clashed, the flames and shadows mixed and fought for control as they consumed each other. Cassius went for his throat but Flamearch was able to slip a foreleg up and land a blow to his side, digging his flaming claws as deep as he could before the shadows broke them and engulfed his entire leg. He back away as the felt the darkness tear apart his skin and burn every bit of flesh as the cold feeling of death crawled up the dying leg.
He looked to Cassius and saw that his burning effect had taken its tole on the guardian as well. Cassius struggled to get up and bits of melted flesh seeped from the holes in his side. Cassius glared hate at Flamearch as he went in for another attack.
*******************************************
Shadowheart had gotten to his hooves and was watching the battle of the Nightmare Spawn. Every other pony had also gotten to their hooves as they were trying to get focused after the intense pain they felt.
Pinkamena sat next to Shadowheart holding her burning side, "We are ready to give you as much of the his shadow magic as you need for your plan."
The white unicorn looked on, "I will need to take a lot. By the end of all of this, Flamearch might not be the only one dead."
He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, "I need all of you to channel your power into me. This will finish everything."
The ponies on the pillar said nothing but got up and concentrated.
Pinkamena smiled at him, "You know something Shadowheart. I was going to kill you back at Sugar Cube Corner. If I had, we would all be dead thanks to me." She leaned in a kissed him, "Consider that my apology and my gratitude for helping save Equestria. I can see why Twilight loves you. You have a caring heart for others rather than yourself."
She stepped back and closed her eyes as she commanded her shadows to awaken.
Each of them stood around him and burst into an inferno of pure darkness. They were acting as nodes to fuel Shadowheart’s magic.
He took a deep breath and began to concentrate on his spell. As he did however, the memories of the day his brother turned on his family flooded his mind. The house burning uncontrollably, the screams of his mother as the bedroom caved in over her. The trail of blood that led to his father, dying near Dragonslayer. The worst of it all was Flamearch, he had spent the night looking for Shadowheart and mercilessly killed their family. And that sword, it all started with that sword he found tucked away from everypony. It drove him to do the unthinkable in the name of power.
It sickened Shadowheart to know that Flamearch willingly chose this. The monster wasn't the Nightmare Spawns that fought, it wasn't the darkness that Cassius commanded, It wasn't The Faithless, it was Flamearch. Shadowheart knew what he was going to do, and he would finish this without hesitation.
"I am sorry brother, you brought this on yourself." Shadowheart mumbled to himself.
He opened his eyes and began to draw in the shadows that the others fed to him. He channeled everything he had and everything the others were giving him into his horn. More memories flashed before him, when he entered his burning home the find his father barely clinging to life and offering Dragonslayer. A flush of pain rushed up his spine to the immense power he was building up. Shadowheart had see what the future held if Flamearch lived, Crystal Glare had given him a look into it. What he saw wasn't right, Equestria would fall to a monster calling itself a new God. Another surge of pain hit Shadowheart, but he continued to build the energy he needed.
Another vision of his past that had haunted him all his life came back clear as day in the dark sky's and down pour. He failed to kill his little brother back at the house so many years ago.
He allowed the briefest mercy to him and his brother still wanted him dead. They almost killed each other that day, but he let Flamearch get away. Shadowheart was going to correct his oldest mistake.
"Cassius! I need your power now!" He yelled to the black creature that had pushed the flaming Nightmare Spawn back.
Without hesitation Cassius slammed a hoof to the ground and his Shadows raced to the white unicorn leaving the gray Nocturnal Guardian still holding Flamearch at bay. The darkness ran up the pillar and latched onto his hooves. Shadowheart had never felt such loneliness and pain before, it felt like an existence that was more of a curse to others had just embraced him.
One emotion was taking over with the shadows that aided him, anger and rage. It was nearly overwhelming, But he would not go against his father. Shadowheart forced himself to quench the anger Cassius had passed to him. This was something that Shadowheart would do on his own terms. there would be no anger or rage to cloud his judgment.
The mass of power he had built up was ready to be unleashed. Blood ran from his snout and he coughed up more as the energy waited to be released. The shadows that Cassius gave him twitched with excitement, as if it was awaiting Flamearch’s destruction with joy. He gave one last look as Flamearch knocked Cassius out of the way and looked back at him, shock must have hit him as the realization of what Shadowheart was doing sank in, and small orb appeared into existence, just a and inch above Shadowheart’s horn.
The white unicorn took in a deep breath as the rest of the shadows held him closely, he muttered to himself, "I made mistakes and failed before. Now I correct everything and finally avenge our family. Goodbye brother."
Shadowheart released the energy into a small, but very deadly beam of darkness that barreled to Flamearch.
*****************************************
Flamearch braced for the beam to strike him down by covering himself with his new wings. It took only a moment for him to release them and see the attack frozen in time only a few inches from him. The world around him was at a standstill as well, all except Cassius and Crystal Glare.
The silver unicorn smiled warmly at him, "Well Flamearch, you are in quite a conundrum aren't you."
The Alicorn of fire tried to speak but was unable to. He tried to move but found his legs unresponsive. In his mind he began to panic.
"What's wrong Flamearch, Can’t you move?" Cassius said with a chuckle. "I told you that I would make you suffer for your actions. And Crystal Glare is an friend of mine that I have had the pleasure of dealing with many times in the past. Well except the last 1,006 year of course."
Crystal Glare shook his head and looked to Flamearch, both of their smiles faded and he spoke again, "I am going to let Cassius do as he wishes for a bit. After all it takes a lot of magic to stop time and I'm only covering the first few minutes with mine. After you Cassius."
The gray Alicorn walked closer to Flamearch with a look of revenge in his eyes, "With pleasure Crystal."
A shadow blade formed on his left hoof. Cassius walked behind Flamearch and using his magic, pulled on one of his wings to extend it. Flamearch felt a searing pain as Cassius slowly cut through his flesh and bone. If he wasn't bound by the magic that the two held, Flamearch would have screamed in agony. Tears of pain rolled from his eyes as the Alicorn began to sever the other wing. They didn't fall to the ground because Cassius left them hanging by only bits of torn flesh. the pain was magnified by the spell the gray Alicorn was using on him. Cassius dug the blade into his side and twisted as he pulled down allowing part of Flamearch's small intestine to protrude from the open gash.
Cassius leaned in and whispered, "You wings were for Haven, to side is for me. And this is for Applejack."
The sword of shadows faded and Cassius slammed his hoof through Flamearch's stomach and out the other side. Cassius used his magic the create another blade on his right hoof and he cut off Flamearch's horn.
Cassius whispered again, "You lived and as a unicorn, you lied to me and used me to become an Alicorn. Now you will die as an earth pony, but not by my hooves."
Cassius let a large breath out of his lungs and slowly removed his left hoof from Flamearch. Blood poured out of the large wound in the small pony's stomach. At that moment, Flamearch knew he should be dead, Cassius was keeping him alive and he had a good idea why.
Time began to reassert itself and the dark beam grew closer. The bloodied Flamearch looked in horror at his failure and death.
Cassius called to him one last time as he stepped back, "Flamearch, do you fear me?"
The dying fire red pony looked to him, eyes as wide as the could be as he whispered, "But I am a God."
Crystal Glare furled his eyebrow, "No! You were playing God! And others payed for it!"
Flamearch felt the searing chill from the beam as it drew closer. The spell that held time at bay gave in and the beam struck Flamearch. His screams were only heard for a moment as the energy passed through him. bits of flesh, bone, and blood flew in all directions. The earth that was struck disintegrated and the rain evaporated. Suddenly the beam broke into another strand that struck Flamearch in his left shoulder, then another and another. The red pony was being torn apart piece by piece.
Flamearch yelled over his pain, "I can not die! I WILL NOT DIE! I... AM... A... GOD!"
Shadowheart called back, "YOU ARE A MONSTER THAT I LET LIVE! I AM CORRECTING MY MISTAKE!"
"DEAR BROTHER, IF I FALL THIS DAY... THEN SO DO YOU!" Flamearch called in anger.
The beams intensified and flamearch screamed even louder as he was literally being atomized. Just as it looked like a victory, Ragnarok bust into existence and took the rest of the hit. The sword reflected the beam back to Shadowheart. It struck true and flung the white unicorn over the edge of the pillar. The spell faded as the shadows returned to Cassius. Every pony looked in shock as what was left of Flamearch fell to the wet ground.
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Shadowheart felt the chilling cold strike him then weightlessness. Blood flew up as he slowly fell from the pillar and the horrified faces of the ponies, watching him fall to his death.
He felt so much pain, but he had finally avenged his family and freed his beloved little brother from that damned sword. Shadowheart wasn't happy to die, but he was happy that he saved Equestria and even fell in love. The pain began to fade and the cold was creeping in. Shadowheart was left with what he assumed was going to be his final thought. So many died for this, Sacrificed themselves and more. He was able to do what he promised to do, he helped Luna get Cassius back, killed his brother, and found his special somepony. A tear flew from his eye and mixed with the blood that fell with him.
"I will miss you Princess Twilight Sparkle." He whispered.
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Rainbow Dash woke up by the train with Fluttershy still out cold from the pain when the shadows left them. She had Applejack laying on a cot with a blanket over her as if she was sleeping. It was there the cyan pony realized she was still needed back at the altar. Without a moments hesitation, she flew out of the train and raced back to the altar. On the way something caught her eye, a certain hat laying in a puddle just a few yards away from the large battle zone. She flew down and landed a few feet away with fresh tears in her eyes as she saw what looked like The rancher when she was dreaming sitting near the puddle.
Applejack had the reassuring smile on her muzzle as her mane was blowing in the wind, the rain passing right through her. Rainbow Dash slowly walked over to her as she shook. Before long she was looking Applejack in her beautiful green eyes as the rain finally started to lighten up only a little.
Rainbow Dash spoke softly, "Applejack..."
The apparition only smiled and embraced her in a hug. Rainbow felt a warmth from it and her fear melted away. She tried to return the hug, but her forelegs only passed through Applejack.
After a moment she let Rainbow Dash go and faded from the world. The cyan pegasus sat there for a little while longer as the rain continued to fall. She thought it was as if Mother Mare herself crying for the losses today, the sacrifices that a sea of fire had claimed. She looked down and saw Applejack's hat in the puddle. With a sigh, Rainbow Dash pushed it up and put it on.
The skies were dark over the last few seconds of the Last Alicorn War, but all things must come to an end. Rainbow Dash got to her hooves and walked back to the train. She had to prepare herself to give the news and tell Applejack's family what has happened. Things needed to be done, and she would carry them out for her best friend.