//------------------------------// // 27-The Battle of the Pendragon // Story: A Repentant Draconequus on the Equestrian Throne // by DungeonMiner //------------------------------// Chapter 27 “First the Guards! Then the Men! Then the Women! Then the Children!” the demonic chant continued. “Hold the line!” Silver Crest roared hoarsely. He had been issuing orders and yelling encouragement since the beginning. “Stay strong, stallions! Stay strong!” A squad of Mare Do Wells had joined the fray, and together they were keeping the demons at bay. Still, the demons continued their assault, singing their chant with their grating voices. “First the Guards! Then the Men! Then the Women! Then the Children!” “Excuse me,” a voice said, and the demons quieted at the sound. They turned, and saw Celestia standing behind them. “You must be mistaken. For you will not touch my little ponies.” The demons screamed. “It’s the Firstborn! Run!” They scattered, running for their lives as Celestia walked up from behind them. She almost smiled as they ran, and she was happy to see that the demons still knew how to fear her. “My ponies,” she said to the guard. “Princess,” Silver Crest said with a relieved smile and a bow. “Please,” Celestia said, motioning him to stand. “The time for formalities will come later.” “Ma’am! Yes, Ma’am!” Silver Crest said with a salute. “Now, I must ask you to begin evacuating the citizens.” “Already on it, Ma’am!” Officer Crest said proudly. “We were here to make sure the evacuation teams had the time to get out of here.” Celestia smiled. “And you have done well. For now, however, I need you to aid them. Leave the demons to me.” “Yes, Ma’am!” Crest said before bounding off, leaving Celestia and the squad of Mare Do Wells. “As for you,” she said, turning to the Mare Do Wells, “I have been trying to speak with you.” The disguised changelings shifted nervously. “Um…” “Of course, had I known there were so many of you, I would have tried a little harder to get at least one of you in for an audience.” “Audience?” one of them asked. “Of course. I would be happy to meet anypony that would so gladly aid her fellow citizens.” The Mare Do Wells shared a quick look between each other and smiled. “Uh...glad we could help, Your Highness.” She smiled. “Now, if I may have the pleasure. I would like for you to join me. I have a lot of ground to cover tonight, and not much time to do it.” The Mare Do Wells looked between themselves once more. “We would be honored.” <<<|Ω|>>> “Die! Die! Die!” Chaos roared as he hovered over the small herd of ponies beneath him. An orb of necrotic magic, swirling green and purple, hovered above the crazed draconequus. “Die, Pendragon! Die now!” He slammed the orb down, throwing it down with all of his might. The orb bit into the ground, and spread out, rippling and crackling as bolts of magic ripped into the ground. “You will all burn!” What rose from the liquefying ground, however, was not flame. Skeletal figures, armored ponies, rose from the ground. Their armor was gold and tarnished silver, as unicorns brought ancient blades up into the air. The armor appeared ancient, decorated with bestial devices and timeworn, near-illegible runes. Small black scales lined the back, neck, and legs of the revived warriors, The dirt flowed off of them like rivers of soiled quicksilver, pooling at the hooves of the skeletons. Alan growled, his eyes glued on Chaos. The draconequus held his hands out, as if puppeteering the skeletons beneath him. “Girls! Get the Elements ready to take him down!” Alan ordered. “Stallions, keep those skeletons off of their backs. I’ll—” Another figure began to rise from the muck. A skeletal hand, not a hoof, pushed against a floating path stone. A golden circlet, with a single point cresting the center sat on a round, human skull. A chestplate, an English design of an era long passed. A shield, three gold crowns on an azure field. A sword, a hand-and-a-half monstrosity of a blade, made of bone, stone, and crystal. A poor mockery of Judgement. There was no question in Alan’s mind who this was. No question as to what he had to do. As he stood on his hind legs, Judgement was lowered to his hooves, which gripped the blade with a confidence born of years of practice. “I’ll take the tall one.” <<<|Ω|>>> Roughly 1500 years ago… Celestia and Luna stood, somber as the rain pelted their faces. The courtyard was silent. A dozen ponies, dressed in the dragon-scale armor of the Commander’s Honor Guard stood at attention, surrounding the stone casket. In the casket lay a figure. One that had not been seen in Equestria before, and would not be seen again for a millenia. King Arthur Pendragon lay in the coffin, his brilliant blue shield laying across his chest, and a circlet on his brow. White hair flowed from his head, and his eyes were closed peacefully. “My little ponies,” Celestia began. “On this day we have lost one of our greatest treasures. We have lost our Commander, Sir Arthur Pendragon, a King in his own land. He passed peacefully the night before, and now it is our duty to lay him to eternal rest.” “Faust hold him,” the Honor Guard recited. Celestia bowed her head, and together, she and her sister lowered the coffin down into the ground. “Rest now, Commander. Know you will not be alone long.” “As in life, so in death,” the Honor Guard answered. “We shall guard you.” “You shall be laid here, in your castle, and we shall name it in your honor.” “That you may be remembered.” “So be it,” she said, with finality. <<<|Ω|>>> Luna stirred. Her head was spinning and she had a splitting headache. Her stomach fluttered like it had butterflies, and the taste of bile was strong on her mouth. She took a moment to try and settle her stomach before she raised her head. She was in the middle of a little clearing. A park of some kind. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to sort through a blur of half-formed memories, but nothing solid came through. It was just a mess. Propping herself up onto her forelegs, she looked up and tried to get her bearings. As her eyes scanned the clearing, her gaze fell onto a broken fountain, and she felt her throat creak in dryness. Dragging herself to the fountain, she quickly dunked her head and drank deep, letting the cool, clean water wash away the bitter dryness in her mouth. Once she had her fill, she broke the surface, gulping down air. She felt ill. Cracking open an eye, she stared out onto the rippling water, watching as her stars seemed to form along the surface as it stilled. Her brain thudded in her skull, sending spikes of dull pain slamming into her head. “What happened…?” she muttered. And then her eyes fell onto her own reflection. She practically leapt backwards from the well, panting hysterically at the sight of Nightmare Moon staring back at her. She looked up, and ripped the helmet from her head throwing it across the clearing with all her might. “No…” Looking down at her chest, she saw the blue, ornate chestpiece, and quickly tried to remove it. She fumbled and slipped until her magic grabbed it and almost rent the metal in two at the back. Finally free, she threw it, letting it crash into the helmet with a clang as she looked down at her hooves, hyperventilating. “No, no, no…” She tossed the horseshoes with the tall, leg protection. “That’s not me…” she said, panicked. “That’s...that’s…” She remembered. Everything. She...she had been played. She...she had gone back to...to that… She...Oh, Sweet Faust, she sent the Pendragon to his death. She...Oh, Faust, she... She retched. She fell to the ground, curling into a ball as tears fell from her eyes. “That’s not me...that’s not me…” she whimpered. She shuddered as a breath of cold air washed over her. “Please don’t let that be me…” <<<|Ω|>>> Across the garden, the stallions were locked in combat. Ancient blades were blocked or parried as the stallions moved to protect the Bearers of the Elements behind them. Yet still, even as the battle ebbed and flowed, there were two figures that seemed completely set apart. Two unmistakable figures that were artists of war, and this field had become their canvas. They moved different, they fought different, they were everywhere and no where at once, fighting only each other as the battle raged on around them. The Pendragons fought, the world moving around them at a crawl. Strike was met with counter-strike, counter-strike met with reversal, reversal met with parry, and parry with strike once more. A cycle of attack after attack, coming back to the start without a hit landed on either. Arthur was obviously the more experienced fighter, his style, cuts, and form were impeccable. Never once did his blade falter, and not once did it waver from its path. Alan, however, was faster. Able to correct in the time it took for Arthur to make good his strike, the living Pendragon was able to match the skeleton blow for blow. Arthur was using his shield as well, moving it forward with each strike to cover his would-be-exposed side. In response, Alan conjured a silver shield of magick, to do the same, but kept both hooves on the blade, allowing the shield to float freely. Again their blades met, and again, Alan began the counter. Foible met Forte, as Alan brought the flat of his blade up to counter. Twisting the blade around, he then pivoted his blade around the Mezzo, making a strike at Arthur’s head. Arthur brought his sword back up, catching Alan’s blade with ease before making his own counter. Again Alan blocked, as they both danced around the battlefield. He wasn’t sure he could keep this up. Arthur’s defense was flawless, and Alan knew at any moment, his own form would falter somewhere along the line. Already he had to disengage twice to protect himself against Arthur’s perfect form, and both times, Arthur was able to press the advantage. Both times Alan had been able to bring it back to a stalemate, but it was only a matter of time. Alan made his counter, and Arthur took it in stride, making yet another strike, this time towards Alan’s belly. Alan leapt back, almost floating in the thick air of the world of the third stage. Arthur was already closing the distance between them. Alan took a quick look sideways, and he watched the Elements glow. Almost there. Just need to hold out a little longer. <<<|Ω|>>> Twilight bit her lip in worry. She wasn't sure Alan would make it. He and Arthur were at each other’s throats. Leaping and dancing around the other combatants, they struck at each other with blinding speed. Judgement flashed in the darkness, leaving a rainbow-colored streak behind it, while the necrotic blade of Arthur seemed to glow with the green and purple necrotic magic that Chaos had slammed into the ground below him. But she had seen Alan disengage, three times now, and that was starting to worry her. It was better than the alternative, she was sure, but, by Faust, she did not need Alan to die now, not after almost losing him for the third time. She looked up at the crown on her head, its star-shaped gem glowing brightly. “Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,” she whispered, to the jewel. “Please.” As if to answer her, the jewel flashed. Her heart soared as the Elements began to sputter to life, and a beam of rainbow-colored light shot forward into the dark. <<<|Ω|>>> Spike ran along the last of the five heads of Tiamat, the black, the only one that had not yet been blinded. Desperate, she tried to throw him off, shaking and writhing to try and dislodge the offending dragon while the other four, blind heads rammed into the neck repeatedly. Better to hurt herself with her own head and jaws then become blind at the hands of this tiny, insolent gnat. The white slammed ahead of him, and Spike barely had the time to stop as she rammed herself. He leapt sideways, running up, and towards the last head. As he got closer, the head became more erratic, and the red head actually came down with its mouth open wide, and her teeth bit into her own neck. Spike smirked as the heads shrieked in pain. He leapt again, latching onto Tiamat’s horn, and firing another bullet into her eye. And then he took off, flying into the sky. The lone head began searching frantically for him. “Where are you? Where are you, you pathetic whelp?!” Her lone eye searched the sky, but the shadows of Gaafnirlass kept him hidden against the night. He suddenly appeared in the middle of her sight, inches from her eye. “Your last eye is safe. I’m not going to take it just yet.” Tiamat glared at him for a moment, before roaring, letting all five heads unleash their breath at him. Spike answered with fire. Emerald flame met the onslaught of energy, and the fire was quick to stop it. Frost melted, while acid combusted, and lightning and fire were consumed utterly. As the fires died, Tiamat’s one remaining eye went wide. Spike had disappeared once more. Her vision impaired, she tried to move her head around and find him, when her chest was suddenly lit on fire. She roared as emerald flame licked at her scales, and nearly lost her grip as something slammed into her. “No!” she cried, as she felt her scales being pushed aside. “No!” she screamed, as she felt him dig deeply into her flesh. She did not scream when he reached her heart. She did not scream as she slowly began to fall backwards, into the rocky face of the mountain. She did not scream as the life began to fade from her eyes. She did not cry when Spike burst from her chest. And all she did was lie there as he approached her eye. “The last thing,” Spike said, “that I want you to see, is your kingdom crumble.” And then the unthinkable happened. Tiamat died. Spike then turned and roared to the sky. “I claim the Dragon Crown by right of combat! My order unto you is to return to your homes! This is my word!” No answer came to him, but he needed none. “You have done well, my son,” Gaafnirlass said, as a shadow on the floor. Spike nodded. “Thanks, but now I need to help Alan.” The shadow looked off into the distance. “That might be wise.” Spike turned to follow his gaze, and saw a rainbow shoot up into the sky. He spread his wings and took off. <<<|Ω|>>> Celestia did not smile as the imp struggled under her hoof. She was simply taking out the trash. “No! No, no! Please! Mercy! Mercy!” the imp wailed. She stared at the imp. “You torture souls for eternity.” “Well...yeah?” “Consider this mercy,” she said, before her hoof came back down on him, smashing him into oblivion. She looked up, and stared out over her city. The sky was finally clearing now, and she could see the stars and the moon grace the night sky once more. “Princess!” a voice called, and she turned to see a Mare Do Well approach her. “The demons are breaking! It looks like we won the night.” She nodded. “Some good news at last.” She gave a small smile. “Make sure they keep away from the evacuees, beyond that, we can chase them another day.” “Yes, Princess!” The Mare Do Well said with a salute, before leaping away. Celestia nodded to herself. "Alright, now that that’s done, I should check up on Spi—" A roar caught her attention, and she looked up to Tiamat’s chest engulfed in flame. Before her eyes, Tiamat stumbled and fell. She could feel the change in the earth as Spike claimed the crown. "Okay, he’s fine, so I suppose—" Something caught her eyes, and she turned to see the rainbow beam of the Elements of Harmony as they made their strike. Celestia’s eyes narrowed. "Discord." <<<|Ω|>>> Luna wasn’t sure how long she lay there, but when she did eventually move, her muscles felt stiff. Uncurling from where she lay, Luna slowly got her hooves under her, and dunked her head back under the water of the fountain. Whether this was an attempt to drown herself or to get a drink would be something she was unsure of. When she broke for air again, she took several deep breaths, before looking up at her sky. The stars were singing to her, and slowly, but surely she felt a hint of her strength return to her. She took a deep breath through the nose, and exhaled through her mouth. A roar echoed across the sky, and she looked up at the castle, and saw what could only be Tiamat fall to the ground, clutching her chest as emerald flame died around it. "So they’ve already started fixing my mistake," she thought grimly. "And I was here, lying uselessly while it happened." She gave an angry snort as she saw a beam of rainbow light rise into the sky. “They will be without me no more.” <<<|Ω|>>> Alan parried, countered and began to make his own attack. Sweat was pouring down his brow as his focus was solely on the skeleton in front of him. Alan blocked a sideways strike, and moved to begin a new strike, when the skeleton suddenly brought his own blade forward. Alan’s eyes went wide as he watched Arthur abandon his own defense for an attack, exposing the entire right side. The problem was that he was going to die long before the attack would have made a difference. His only hope was to try and leap out of the way, but even then he would have to outrun the sword coming at his exposed belly. He saw the point of the blade, millimeters from his stomach, when his world erupted into a multi-chromatic spectrum of magic. Rainbows flew around him, slamming into the skeletons from above. Arthur flew backwards, sent sprawling as the Elements slammed into him, and Alan took a quick look around to see that the other skeletons had been hit, and many of them were crumpling under the attack. His eyes went up to Chaos, and he saw that the draconequus had not been targeted by the Elements. "He needs us," the voice of Judgement said, and Alan turned to face his blade. “So he does,” he muttered, before turning to yell at the draconequus. “Chaos! The time of your judgement is come!” Chaos did not answer, he only pointed down at the hunched over form of Arthur, the only remaining skeleton, and screamed. “End him! End him now!” Arthur did not move. “It’s over, Chaos! You’re done!” “It’s not over!” he yelled back. “It will never be over! As long as one of you petulant, disgusting, revolting mortals live, we will we not rest! You will all burn!” he shrieked. “I doubt it,” a voice said behind him, and Chaos turned to see Celestia hovering there. Chaos hissed at her. “Indeed,” another voice said, and Chaos spun his head around to Luna. “I think this is the end for you,” another said, and the draconequus spun to see Spike not far away. Chaos growled as he looked between the two, and Alan himself readied his blade. And then Arthur moved. Alan’s eyes snapped to the Pendragon, but he was surprised to see the skeleton merely holding out his hand. The empty sockets of his eyes seemed pleading. Alan offered a hoof. And Arthur launched him, using the last of his might before he crumbled. Alan flew up, into the air, Judgement following close behind, getting closer and closer to chaos with each passing second. He raised his sword. And unleashed his battle cry. “Justice!” Chaos spun, but too late to move. The enchanted blade bit into flesh. And the world erupted into light. <<<|Ω|>>> Harmony’s eyes fluttered. The world around him was spinning, and he raised a hoof to settle his vision. He froze. His eyes. His hoof. He pushed himself up, and stretched his wings. Popping his neck, he looked up, into the sky, and his eyes fell on Luna. His Luna. She stared back at him, eyes wide and covering her mouth with her hooves. He smiled. And then his eyes fell on the other three figures that lay around him. Alan was picking himself up, eyes searching the figures. A glob of night sky was trying to form across the way, and between them… Between them lay the small body of a draconequus. There would be time to deal with him later. Now they had a different foe to face. -------------------------------- There is only one chapter left. “No...” Yes. “No.” Yes. “No!” Yes, but! “Ooh. But.” ...but...the epilogue is going to be huge. “Huge?” Like, three parts, huge. “Why would you do that?” Because story? “Hm...I’ll let you go this time…” Thanks? “Anyways! Next time, guys! End of line.” Yup. It’s been fun guys. “We’ll see you then!” Bye!