//------------------------------//
// Chapter 87: Journey's End 
// Story: The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM 
// by FireOfTheNorth 
//------------------------------//


Chapter LXXXVII: Journey’s End
“I told you that the future of Equestria didn’t rest on me making friends.  But the opposite is true!”  


The next day dawned far too soon for my liking, a crisp and clear morning.  Today was the day I was finally going to finish what had been started exactly four months earlier.  When I’d left Unicornica I’d never imagined what would happen to me.  In a short amount of time I’d gone from being a nobody to being the only pony to challenge Alduin.  

I’d met some great ponies that I was glad to call my friends.  They were the first ponies I’d met to completely overlook my lack of a cutie-mark and accept me for who I was.  Speaking of my cutie-mark, it still hadn’t appeared on my flank, but I was no longer worried.  It didn’t seem as big a deal as it had when I’d left for Horizon.  After all, I’d accomplished so much without it.  I doubted anypony since Talhooves had had such a big impact on the Northlands as me.  

I knew what I had to do; the Elements were all primed and ready to do their jobs, and yet I was hesitant.  I knew how this mission was going to end.  Alduin had said he’d linked his life force to Sovngarde, so that if he died, so would the earth pony afterlife.  If the Elements did their job as I suspected they would, the very world around me would be destroyed, and I doubted I’d make it out alive.  

I was wandering around Marekarth, trying to work up the courage to do what had to be done, when I stopped in the city’s market.  Amid all the destruction from the many battles fought here, a traveling bard had decided to bring light with the gift of music.  I stopped and listened as she sang her song.  


“Alduin’s wings, they did darken the sky.”  
“His roar fury’s fire, and his scales sharpened scythes.”  
“Ponies ran and they cowered, and they fought, and they died.”  
“They burned and they bled as they issued their cries.”  
“We need saviors to free us from Alduin’s rage.”  
“Heroes on the field of this new war to wage.”  
“For if Alduin wins, ponykind’s gone from this world.”  
“Lost in the shadows of the black wings unfurled.”  
“But then came the Tongues on that terrible day.”  
“Steadfast as winter, they entered the fray.”  
“And all heard the music of Alduin’s doom.”  
“The sweet song of Horizon, sky-shattering Thu’um.”  
“And so the Tongues freed us from Alduin’s rage.”  
“Gave the gift of the Voice, ushered in a new age.”  
“And if Alduin’s eternal, then eternity’s done.”  
“For his story is over, and the dragons are gone.”  


I suddenly felt filled with purpose.  The song the bard had sung had definitely been written long ago, after the Tongues defeated Alduin.  The end was no longer true; Alduin’s story was not yet over, but it was up to me to end it.  The middle of the song, however, was just as true as the day it had been written.  The Northlands needed a hero to stop Alduin before he destroyed everything, and I would just have to do.  


◊◊◊     ◊◊◊     ◊◊◊


After I told my friends that I was ready to go, we set out on the long journey to Skuldafn.  As we passed Splitten, I watched as the Minotaurs filed out of the city, heading for lands south of the Northlands.  Passing the town by, we headed up into Horizon’s eastern mountains.  The paths I’d noticed from above on our first trip here and marked came in handy, allowing us to find our way to the ancient earth pony ruin.  When we reached Skuldafn, it was just as abandoned as when we’d left it.  

“Well, I guess it’s time we finish this,” Mystic said as I stopped in front of the portal to Sovngarde.  

“It’s just going to be me entering,” I announced, turning to face my friends, “I have to do this alone.”  

“No way!” Steadfast protested, “If you’re going, we’re going too!”  

“Steadfast is right,” Mephalda said, though a bit less forcefully, “We’re not letting you do this on your own.”  

“You can’t come with me,” I said, “After you . . . died last time, Alduin told me that he’d bound his soul to Sovngarde.  If he dies, Sovngarde is destroyed.  We don’t all have to die.  Just me.”  

“There’s got to be another way,” Steadfast said, “We’ll find some way to make sure that doesn’t happen.”  

“We’re out of time,” I said, shaking my head, “Ponykind may be united, but it’s never been weaker.  If Alduin and his dragons make their final strike now, the Northlands will be consumed.  I’ve got to do this.”  

“So,” I said, my voice catching in my throat, “I guess this is goodbye.”  

“Steadfast,” I continued, approaching my earth pony friend, “You were my first real friend.  You were the first pony to look past my blank flank and accept me.  Thank you for helping me to see my own self worth.  I’ve only known you for a short time, but in that time, through the things we’ve done, you’ve become like a brother to me.  I’m going to miss you dearly.”  

“Mephalda,” I said, walking over to her now, “When we first met, you were nothing like what I’d been told to expect.  Instead of a heartless murderer, you turned out to be a caring and compassionate mare who helped me get through my problems.  Thanks for being there for me.  I’m going to miss you so much.”  

“Mystic,” I continued, stepping over to the mage now, “We’ve been through so much together, how can I ever say goodbye?  You’ve always been there for me, no matter what.  I can’t believe we’ll never see each other again.”  

“I’m going to miss you all so much,” I concluded, blinking away my tears.  

My friends moved in to embrace me one last time, comforting me and preparing to say goodbye forever.  

“Well, I guess this is it,” I said as they released me, “Look after my stuff; I might come back for it after all.”  

I pulled off all my gear, including my weapons and armor, and set them down with my saddlebags.  All I carried with me now was the one weapon that could actually hurt Alduin.  Waving goodbye, I stepped through the portal to Sovngarde.  


{O}     {O}     {O}


Once more, I trotted through the fields of earth pony paradise.  Mists projected by Alduin still covered the land, but I was sure he could see me through them.  He would know I was here by now.  Oddly, a strange sense of calm passed over me.  I now knew exactly what I had to do and there was no going back.  

A brief flash came from behind me, and I craned my neck to see that an image now adorned my flank.  At last I knew my purpose in life, and my cutie-mark had finally appeared to prove it.  I would’ve been overjoyed to see the mark just a few months earlier, but now it didn’t seem like such a big deal.  The symbol that represented my destiny was a series of Draconic runes, but I could easily read and understand.  

~DOVAHKIIN~

Dragonborn.  

As I neared the bridge to the Hall of Valor, I heard Alduin’s wingbeats.  The mist was blown away as he flew low over the ground and settled down in front of me.  The massive dragon stared down at me disdainfully.  

<”!!SO MY LITTLE PONY, YOU HAVE RETURNED TO DIE AGAIN!!”>  

“No,” I replied, “I’ve come to kill you.”  

<”!!AGAIN??!!”>  Alduin chuckled, <”!!BECAUSE THAT WORKED SO WELL THE LAST TIME!!”>  

“This time I have the Elements of Harmony,” I declared.  

<”!!YES, DEFEAT ME WITH THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!!”>  Alduin said sarcastically, <”!!WHAT GOOD ARE YOUR VIRTUES AGAINST THE FIRSTBORN OF BUCKATOSH??!!>  

“They’re worth so much,” I said, “And I’ve learned that in my journey to defeat you.  I learned how important it is to be honest, especially with your friends.  Because, if you are true friends, they will accept you no matter what terrible thing you have to admit to them.”  

As I said so, the orange diamond hanging from my neck began to glow brilliantly and levitate a bit away from my body.  

“I learned how important it is to be loyal to your friends,” I continued, “Even when it would be easier just to disown them, you need to be ready to stand up for them.  And if they experience hardship, it’s your responsibility as well.  You need to be there for them whenever they need you, whatever the circumstance.”  

The red hexagon began to glow and joined the Element of Honesty in floating around my body.  

“I also learned how important it is to show kindness to others,” I went on, “No matter how they’ve treated you in the past.  In our brutal land, finding a pony you really want to treat well is hard, but in order to be treated with kindness by others, you have to show it yourself first.”  

The Element of Kindness joined Honesty and Loyalty.  

“It’s also important to give generously to others, especially when they don’t deserve it.  It may take quite a lot of giving, but eventually the recipients of your gifts will begin to be changed by them.  And the thanks you get from those you give to is better than any gift you could receive.”  

A green light joined the orange, red, and purple ones already floating around me.  

“I learned how important it is to be able to laugh, and to have somepony to laugh with.  Just because the times we live in are grim, it doesn’t mean we have to be gloomy all the time.  Taking the time to raise another’s spirits brings light not just to their day, but to yours as well.”  

The blue rectangle floated up into the air, joining the others and producing a radiant light that beamed out from me.  

“And when all those Elements come together, and are practiced by true friends, the spark within them creates a magic greater than anything else.  It is a magic so powerful that nothing can stop it, and nothing can hope to best it.  This is the magic you don’t understand, and it is the magic that will destroy you.”  

The Element of Magic joined the other five, and a brilliant light burst out from the cluster of gems.  As color burst from the Elements, it eventually congealed into a dazzling rainbow that shot from the gems and arced through the air, slamming into Alduin.  As it hit him, his flesh began to shatter, and his blood began to boil.  

<”!!NO!! THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!!!!”>  the great dragon exclaimed as his flesh was stripped away by multicolored light, <”!!I CANNOT BE DEFEATED!!  I AM THE GREAT AL~DU~IN!!”>  

As his flesh was torn apart and his skeleton began to burn and shatter, Sovngarde grew dark.  The lights in the sky swirled ominously, and the mountains in the distance began to shatter, exploding into the air.  The Hall of Valor was torn to splinters as the ground beneath it flew apart, and the dragon skeleton that formed a bridge tumbled down the endless falls.  

The world flew apart around me, and I stood among the chaos, until a cliff slammed into me, and I died.