The Cycle Anew

by ManeWriter

Worth Fighting For

Cruelty. Malice. Brutality. Wrath.

Either one of such descriptions would pale in comparison to what the monstrous form of Sovereign, the Vanguard of Destruction, represented.

The sheer enormity of the Reaper rivaled that of Canterlot Palace itself; casting a thick shadow with it's whopping 3 kilometer long body. It stood directly atop the Palace as it absorbed the light from the Conduit.

In twisted, demented beauty, the bottom and top of Sovereign's form began to unravel and unhinge itself; mimicking that of a blooming onyx rose. But the horror that followed, would shatter the foundation of this Kingdom.

As the light of the Conduit morphed to a thick shade of red, a terrible foreign energy engulfed all of Canterlot, and from Sovereign itself, erupted a magnificently vast beam of raw power and luminescence.

In the wake of such power, the Capitol of Equestria slipped into darkness, the likes of which had never been view by equine eyes.

Now blackened to the pitch, the clouds spiraled ominously around the piercing light that shone through the Heavens. And a terrible, ear shredding roar of non-organic fury thundered across the plains.

This was it. This horrifying display of cosmic might signified the End of Everything.

And the only fools brave enough to break their gawking trance and resist this apocalyptic catalyst, soared straight toward Sovereign: The Almighty Three.

The sheer magnitude of Sovereign's threat left not even an iota of friction between the Alicorn-Dragonequus Trio.

Instinctively putting their differences aside, Celestia, Luna, and Discord tore through the darkness at whistling speeds, synchronized and ready for the fight of their eternal lives.

There was no longer any doubts. No longer any denial of what had been lurking in the shadows. No longer any doubt of what was at sake. And no longer any doubt of what was in store for their world should they fail.

Not a word more was exchanged among the three as they scaled their flight paths along Sovereign's incalculable mass. Even had there been thoughts of a remorseful sort dwelling through either of their minds, none would ever know as words became a thing of the past.

Lost to the presence of much needed unity.

Horns, hands, and spells at the ready, The Almighty Three lunged into the Hell Storm together.

Bones and perception rattled upon the collision with solid stone.

Twilight's eyes rolled back as her body reacted horribly to the impact. She fell chin-first onto the hard tile, berated herself for allowing her nemesis to get the better of her.

Trixie casually flipped the elegant bang of her white mane and scoffed coldly at the mare that struggled to keep up with her.

"Surely you're not going to tell me that's the best you can do. Come on 'Heroine'. How are you going to bring an end to Sovereign's campaign like that?", she mocked.

Her tolerance of Trixie's taunts and bashing long since destroyed, Twilight ignored the burning that ate at her limbs as she practically threw herself back to her hooves.

Volley after volley, attempt after painfully humiliating attempt, Twilight had found herself at a frustrating disadvantage in the face of Trixie's new prowess. Her spells were insurmountably more powerful than they were before, and her defenses proved to deflect whatever was thrown at her.

But worst of all, she showed little to no mercy.

It was clear that Trixie was in no mood or position to toy with her opponent, and Twilight was receiving the brunt of this wrathful aggression.

The once organized decor of the Canterlot Study had been thrown into chaotic destruction, thanks, in large part, to magic spells blazing and Twilight careening ungracefully into everything.

Scratches and cuts decorated the young protege's form in her struggle to remove Trixie from the equation. Despite her best attempts and exhausting efforts to best her nemesis, it only failed in some painful or ridiculous way.

And Trixie was loving every moment of it.

Swiftly avoid yet another predictable blast of magic, the azure mare transported herself directly nose to nose with Twilight, who harbored a terrified expression at the sudden close in distance.

"You're so pathetic...", Trixie spat.

Twilight's vision caved and faded as she reeled back from the sharp strike of Trixie's fore-hoof. She stumbled to the side; grunting and gasping at the sensation, and felt smooth warmth blanketing the side of her mouth.

"Oopsy! Guess that means I'm disqualified. Silly me!", Trixie mocked again.

Regaining herself, Twilight hastily wiped blood off of her lips, but was immediately detained by another powerful binding spell.

"Why, in all of Equestria, would the Reapers even show an ounce of concern for a weakling like you?"

The wind was taken clean out of Twilight's lungs as she felt the grievous impact of Trixie's powerful hind-hooves into her unprotected ribs. Barely able to expel a pained shout, Twilight was hurled onto the tile once more; struggling to catch her breath.

As she tried to rise, her body viciously disagreed as her tender ribs shifted behind her flesh. She yelped in pain and collapsed again.

Trixie smiled and marched toward the now injured mare.

"To think; the only pony who was wise enough to acknowledge the coming destruction, and she can't even protect herself."

Merciless and unrelenting, Trixie blasted her enemy's injured spot with a beam of magic; torturing Twilight all the more.

Though it was clear to the corrupt showmare that almost anypony would be down for the count after her assault, she was almost beside herself with amazement that Twilight was still attempting to stand.

"What is this tawdry defiance?", she hissed as she stood over the shaking protege, "Stay down and accept the inevitable, Twilight Sparkle. Equestria is lost."

Shaking from weakness and pain from her injury, Twilight glared up at her assailant.

"N... Never!", she barked.

Her only response was another solid strike to the muzzle; sending her golden tiara flying off of her head.

Trixie mounted atop Twilight with a victorious hoof pressed onto her neck, and began taking her other hoof across the lavender unicorn's face at a strong and steady tempo.

"How does it feel? To know that, despite your best efforts to learn about it, to warn everypony and prevent it, you will only wither and disappear along with those you've tried so desperately to protect?"

Spots and patters of blood slapped unto the tile as Trixie continued her assault, and Twilight yelped and gasped at the numbing pain.

"You and Celestia are disturbingly similar as far as blind idealism goes. Even before the End, she would fight a losing battle. How sad. She claims regalia and divine power, but is no more than a toothless worm before Sovereign's might."

Trixie enveloped Twilight in a suffocating aura of magic and blasted her straight through the wall, into the neighboring room. She leaped through the new hole and continued her march toward her now bloody nemesis.

Feeling her strength drain away with the blood of her wounds, Twilight clenched her teeth to fight the pain that now set her body ablaze.

She had never felt as weak as she had that day. Every fiber of her being was crying for her to stop fighting. To relent her attempts to move, let alone rise to her hooves.

Yet she persisted nonetheless.

Trixie felt the agitating twinge of annoyance in the back of her head as she saw Twilight's pitiful struggle. Despite her obvious advantage, she found it increasingly difficult to revel in her rival's pained cries and whimpers.

"T-Trixie... You have... You have to stop this...", she managed to squeeze out, "Sovereign... hasn't won yet. I can stop it... from summoning the Reapers. Stand down, and the Cycle will never restart."

In light of this new tone, Trixie stifled back a fit of cruel laughter.

"Whats this? Trying to talk your way out of this, now? And here I was thinking you were desperate before. Its impossible, Twilight Sparkle. Even with the combined power of the Elements of Harmony, the end of this Cycle is near. Give up."

"No, Trixie! I... I know that some part of you realizes that this is wrong! It doesn't-ugh!... It doesn't have to be like this!"

Twilight could only swell with despair as she once again felt her body lift to the air. Her head and neck whipped forward as she was viciously thrown back into the Study; crashing and tumbling across the tile until stopping right before the Conduit.

By now, she was certain that her injured ribs had completely broken as she found it harder to breathe. This only paled in comparison to the creeping panic she felt as she tried to move her left fore-hoof.

She squealed when a sharp tug of her muscles ignited an unfamiliar wave of agony. She lowered her vision to her leg and froze were she lied.

Her heart-beat steadily accelerated to a frantic pace as shock began to creep upon her, and she trembled weakly at the sight of broken bone protruding from her foreleg joint.

Only the looming shadow of Trixie brought Twilight's attention away. She stared up at her fellow unicorn's glowing eyes; fighting the dread that threatened to consume her.

"We can't stop it, you fool! Not forever! Didn't you see the visions?! Didn't you see what happened to the Humans?! The Reapers are far too powerful!", Trixie scathed, now angry at Twilight's constant resistance.

"Th-There's... always... another way. If we d-d-destroy the Conduit, the invasion will never happen. There's... There's still time.", Twilight shuddered in raspy whispers.

Trixie could feel another level of her composure collapse on itself, and she growled angrily.

The vacancy of the Canterlot Study was suddenly fraught with howls of torturous agony as Trixie smashed her hoof against Twilight's broken limb.

"You are IMPOSSIBLE! How can you still hold this much hope for a future that doesn't exist?! How can you lie there and tell me what can be saved in the face of what WE'VE already destroyed?! If it weren't for your blind impatience, Canterlot might've stood for another time! You're at fault as much as I am, and yet here you are; pretending to have the answer to a problem nopony can fix!"

Trixie lifted her hoof from the bloody limb as though giving Twilight leeway to respond. Unable to hold them back any longer, fresh streams of warm tears fell from the lavender unicorns eyes.

"Don't you see it, Trixie? This is exactly what they want from you. They used you. They used me. They used all of us. They want us to lose hope. They want us to fight each other instead of them, because they know we can bring an end to this."

"Shut up! Just shut the buck up, Twilight Sparkle, you hopeless mare! You're too blind to see that everything that's transpired in the last 50,000 years and beyond was all part of the Grand Design. We can't change it! We have two choices, and two choices only: perish in nonsensical resistance, or join them! Do you get it now? If we fight, we. Will all. DIE!"

Trixie received nothing but silence and tears for her words. It seemed that she had finally gotten through to the thick-headed Twilight. In truth, however, she couldn't have been more wrong.

"... Coward..."

If Trixie wasn't enraged before, she sure as Hell was then.

Her eyes twitched dangerously as she glared disbelievingly at the fallen unicorn.

"W-What? What did you just say?!", she reeled.

"Do you really believe this is right? How would you live with yourself knowing that you could have stopped it? How can you look me in the eye and truly believe what you're saying? You gave up like a coward. You surrendered to the Reapers because you're too weak to ignore a few whispers. You... spineless jellyfish."

By this point, Trixie had lost all manner of calm, and she stood over Twilight, now inches from her face.

"How dare you?! You don't know the FIRST thing about me! You have no right to talk to me that way! You-!"

Too blinded by her own anger, Trixie failed to notice Twilight bare her teeth. But soon, she was brought back to reality upon a sudden pitching pain on the side of her neck. Trixie yelped in surprise, taking longer than usual to grasp what was happening.

"AAAH! You filthy creature! Release me this INSTANT!", she roared.

Trixie's entire torso was pulled down to Twilight's level as the now feral unicorn clamped her teeth unto the flesh of her enemy's neck, her forelegs latched around her.

Twilight dutifully ignored the searing pain that ripped through her broken limb and ribs. She had seized a golden opportunity, and damn it all if she would let it slip from her.

With her flanks lifted skyward, the now frantic Trixie screamed and cursed Twilight to Tartarus, and proceeded to slam her hooves into the lavender mare's head. In time, thin trails of blood trickled from Trixie's neck, and her raspy curses for damnation became squealing cries for release.

Her blows to Twilight's head instantly became quickened and desperate; drawing blood from her eyes and nose.

Finally, with a final grunt and tug, the fruits of Twilight's labor were borne. Slowly and tortuously, a large slab of flesh was torn from Trixie's neck; exposing muscle that ripped at the seams.

With an ear grinding screech that swam through the Canterlot Study, the deed was done.

Trixie reflexively reeled to her hind legs; flailing and floundering in absolute agony; whipping her head from side to side. She howled at the heavens with intolerable pain, and splattered her blood around her and upon Twilight, who harbored an empty stared.

"INSUFFERABLE TRAMP!", she screamed as loud as she could muster, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"

Torrents of liquid life-force oozed down Trixie's body, and her mindless flailing brought her to all fours again. She glared death and hatred at her fellow unicorn as tried to summon the energy for a magic blast that would send her back to the paleopony age.

Alas, her horn sparked weak and harmless flashes of dull light, and her spell fizzled to nothing.

Drowning in a pool of untold odium, Trixie unleashed a final gurgling scream as her insane eyes met Twilight's drained gaze.

"I HATE YOU!"

The unbelievable loss of blood suddenly became apparent as Trixie's legs caved in beneath her, and she collapsed unto the floor, a mere foot away from her now most hated enemy.

Though her eyes reflected emptiness, Twilight's tears fell as fiercely as ever at the sight of the choking and gagging showmare.

Trixie eyes transformed from blood lusting and crazy, to forlorn and pain-stricken. She gurgled and reflexively swallowed the oncoming blood that spurted from her fatal wound, and she lifted her hooves to it in a pathetic attempt to contain the bleeding.

Their gazes met.

One who sought a way to survive at any cost, and the other who would battle inevitability until she drew her last breath. Two complete opposites who shared so much in common in the strangest of ways. One no longer superior to the other.

At that moment, they were equals; clinging for life together.

"I tried, Twilight Sparkle..."

The lavender mare's expression slowly regained life, and she found it impossible to look away from her enemy. Trixie's eyes glistened; miraculously revealing that there was still some pony left in that indoctrinated shell.

"I tried... I tried... I tried!", she wailed, now in full-blown tears, "I wanted to! I wanted to stop it so bad, I-... I..."

"Why, Trixie... Why'd you do this?"

"I had no choice! I... I was afraid! I didn't want to die! All I wanted was to save as many as I could before the End! I... I never wanted this..."

"Stop it... Please... No more... We can end this here... together. Please help me, Trixie..."

"I can't! Sovereign's too strong! There's... There's no redemption for the things I've done... It's too late for me. I deserve to die!"

"No... No, its not too late. You still have a chance... You can still make it right."

"Twilight Sparkle, I-HUCK!", blood spilled from Trixie's mouth; staining the lips and chin.

"There's always... another way... We put a stop to this, and future generations will sing... We put a stop to this, and we erase the epitaph of every stallion, mare, and foal... Isn't that worth fighting for?"

Trixie continued to choke on her own blood, and became lost in Twilight's hopeful magenta eyes. Never had she met a mare with such an adamant hope for the future.

Why?

Why did she persist so diligently? How could she summon the courage to stare death in the face and shine? What was her secret? What drove her to fight the inevitable with such fervor?

"Maybe... Maybe you're right... Maybe we can stop this... Maybe there is still chance for... for-KULGH!"

All at once, in a rush of chest caving intensity, Twilight's regret caught up with her as she witness another glob of blood escape her fellow unicorn's mouth. Where she had silently cried at first, she was now holding back her sobs.

"I'm so sorry Trixie... I'm sorry I couldn't save you.", she whispered.

For a time, Trixie said nothing. She lied there; writhing in pain and squirming for life as she desperately hung onto her crying wound. Her fear soon morphed to acceptance when her body started losing heat.

The cold grip of Death was looming over her. Her number was almost up.

"Twilight Sparkle... You did save me. Thank you... Thank you..."

Now seeing her ultimate chance for redemption swing by her, Trixie reached for it. Pouring unsurpassed effort into what she was about to do, her horn began to glow.

She fought the weakness that ate at her being, for she knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this would be her very last chance.

This would be her final spell. Her final gift.

"Cherish... your friends..."

After one last flash of powerful magic that illuminated the entire room, Trixie's horn lost its glow, and along with it, so did her eyes.

It all happened so fast. First thing Twilight knew, she heard Trixie's constant expressions of gratitude. The next, she found herself staring into cold, lifeless eyes, devoid of all energy and sentience.

"Trixie?...", Twilight whispered.

When she received nothing but silence, her tears fell even more fierce. Even she was aware that if one should attempt any feet of magic with a wound as grievous as Trixie's, one would sure succumb.

And so she did.

No longer assaulted by the disturbing gurgles and gags, Twilight felt the cold dark embrace of loneliness; hearing only the vibrating hum of the Conduit resonate in the Study.

The magnitude of what she had done crept slowly and steadily, as though deliberately tormenting her with daunting anticipation of how much she would hate herself in the future.

Trixie lied dead beside, drenched in the pool of her own blood from the wound that Twilight had inflicted upon her. The lavender unicorn weakly dragged her unbroken foreleg to the lost showmare's face.

She was so cold.

"You didn't deserve this... I could've done more... I could've saved you... I could've-... I'm sorry."

Her hoof ran smoothly over her fellow unicorn's eyes shutting them for the final time.

"Twilight?!", a familiar voice shouted from within the room, "TWILIGHT?!"

Her inability to move was now the most aggravating thing in the world. The voice that called out to her was a gift from the Heavens, and she couldn't muster the strength to seek it out.

Fighting the crippling pain that racked her lungs, Twilight weakly made her presence known, and was suddenly surrounded by what she could only describe as guardian angels.

"TWILIGHT! No, what happened to you?!", Rainbow Dash yelp.

Twilight's very best friends. A most wonderful gift, indeed. More than she ever had before, she felt a dizzying surge of happiness fill her to the brim. She had never felt so relieved to see her friends.

Even despite all of their shrieking gripes and sputters at her horrible condition, Twilight smiled with blatant satisfaction to see her companions.

"Oh, Twilight! You were right about everything! We should have never doubted you, even for a moment!", Rarity cried.

"We should have listened to you!", Rainbow Dash griped, "We should have been there for you every step of the way!"

"Instead, not one of us lifted a hoof to help you, because we were too scared and stupid to understand!", Fluttershy tearfully chimed.

"Everythin' y'all ever done was for the good of everypony, and we couldn't see that! I couldn't see that!", Applejack lamented.

"If we had just took a few measly minutes to consider what you said, this would've never happened to you! We're the worst friends in the whole WORLD!"

Despite the montage of forlorn apologies, Twilight could only swell with euphoric delight. Their voices. Their faces. Their warmth. She had truly never felt so happy to be in their company, and it showed.

"Oh, girls. I love you... I love you all so much...", Twilight wept.

It was almost entirely surreal. The warmth and energy she felt from her companions brightened the darkest corners of her mind. In the following moments, her pain was beginning to subside, overtaken by rejuvenating relief.

Instinctively, Twilight's friends were possessed by the abundant need for closeness. Their Elements shimmered brilliantly as their emotions ran at an all time high; bringing them closer than ever before.

The golden tiara of Twilight's Element of Magic reappeared upon her head, and incubated rich life energy into her. The Mane Six became encased by polychromatic luminescence; sharing the rejuvenating uplift in complete Harmony.

In a matter of moments, the ponies found themselves suspended in the air, and Twilight was overcome by the welcoming energy of her very best friends as their love and adoration healed her bloody wounds one by one.

Twilight slowly opened her eyes, graced by the sight of her companions. Kindred spirits that she was now sure she had known for her entire life. The expressions of love and understanding now permeated her friends' faces, and no more words needed to be spoken.

Twilight was now sure, more than she had been sure about anything in her entire life, that no matter what would transpire, no matter what hardships awaited them, no matter what horrors were thrown at them, her friends would be by her side.

Until the end.

As though reacting on the same wave length, The Elements of Harmony turned toward the Catalyst of the Apocalypse: The Conduit. There was only one thing left to do.

"Lets finish this."

The unlikely trio of Celestia, Luna, and Discord glared cannonballs at the gargantuan Sovereign, frustrated and battle-worn.

They had zipped around the metal monster like gnats; blasting wave after wave of their best magic spells with no success. Most of their attacks simply bounced off of Sovereign's gleaming hide, and gained little more than a shift in position.

Discord was especially frustrated that his incredibly unorthodox magic fizzled out in the presence of this menace. There was something viciously interfering with his chaotic power, and it was pissing him off above and beyond belief.

"This is madness! How does one stop something so powerful?!", Luna griped.

Celestia barely managed to catch her breath as she too pondered a method of dealing with this threat. Dread crept upon her as no adequate answer fell into place.

"There must be a way! We can't allow this to pass!", she said before turning to her new ally, "Discord, surely your studies have uncovered some weakness to this monstrosity!"

"I wish I could oblige your suggestion Celestia, but the truth is, this is the first time I've ever actually seen a Reaper in person!", he said before glaring unto the darkening light that beamed from Sovereign.

"Are you telling us, this... this thing is indestructible?! It must have a weakness! Everything has a weakness!", Luna angrily insisted.

The situation had become increasingly hopeless.

Every minute the light of the Conduit pierced into the sky, the closer came the destruction of Equestria. Royal Guards were fighting for their lives against the Dragon-Gryphon menace and losing, while innocent civilians were caught in the cross-fire of War.

Discord angrily stared into his hands, and growled from impatient stress.

"I swear to every god in existence that if they don't hurry up and destroy the Conduit, I'm gonna LOSE IT!", he shouted.

Another earth-shattering, non-organic roar ripped through the skies; tearing the Almighty Three from their brainstorms. As if the situation wasn't already dire to begin with, what happen next, would envelop Princess Celestia in a blind rage.

One of Sovereign's mechanical arms lifted from the Palace as though pointing to something. The deadly blast of heat and energy that shot from it, quickly clarified that it was indeed aiming at something.

In a ruthless display of explosive prowess, Sovereign's attack set an entire complex ablaze with no effort; surely ending the lives of many defenseless ponies.

"NOOO! VILE CREATURE! I'LL ERASE EVERY SCRAP OF YOU FROM THIS WORLD!"

The echoing, intone of Celestia's Royal Canterlot voice shook the blackened sky, and before any of her compatriots could stop her, she had already soared in a direct path toward the metal monster.

"Sister, WAIT! YOU MUSTN'T!", Luna shouted as she took after Celestia in hot pursuit.

By this point, Discord had thrown his arms to the sky and huffed in sheer exasperation.

"AGH! I'm surROUNDED by IDIOTS!", he complained before tailing the Princesses.

Celestia had already reestablished her assault upon Sovereign; blasting the Reaper with more powerful and ultimately more dangerous spells.

"Tia, stop this! Our attacks are useless against it!", Luna implored her enraged sister.

Her only response seemed to be offered by Sovereign, as it lifted another one of it's grueling arms and obliterated yet another complex, as though mocking Celestia all the more.

"THIS HAS TO END! NOW!"

Feeling as though he had underestimated the severity of the situation, Discord started to weigh his options.

Option one: allow Celestia to tire herself out in her useless attack.

Option two: stop the mad Princess and restrain her so she doesn't do more harm than good.

Option three: snap his talons and make Sovereign disappear.

"DAH! Like I haven't tried that already!", Discord howled in frustration.

With his second option seeming more and more feasible, the mismatched spirit prepared to sedate the raging Celestia. But then, something ridiculous happened.

Erupting from the very confines of the crumbling Palace was a powerful wave of inscrutable magic. A cold chill swam through Discord's spine as he recognized it almost immediately, and was amazed to the very limit of awe at how much power it was emitting.

"What in the wide world of Chaos?"

By this point, even Celestia subsided her assault and gawked at this phenomena, as did her sister.

The piercing red light that ravaged the skies above began to fluctuate and distort as the power increased. Soon the light instantly phased itself into a polychromatic brilliance that discreetly rendered Sovereign from the inside out.

An explosion of luminous glory obliterated the darkness and whisked the clouds and smoke apart. The shining sun reigned upon Canterlot once again.

"My stars! Look!", Luna pointed.

To their surprise, Sovereign had seemed to stop all manner of movement as the patterned lights that adorned its hide flicked on and off. It perpetual surge of red electricity faded into nothing, and a cranking grind echoed from its release of the Palace.

It began to fall.

"Its defenses are down!", Celestia said.

"NOW'S OUR CHANCE!", Discord bellowed with new found fervor.

Without hesitation, the Almighty Three swarmed around the hulking Reaper once more; launching there most powerful spells. Each of them were exceedingly pleased by the results as pieces of it's once impenetrable body broke apart upon every contact.

Discord was beside himself as the effectiveness of his chaotic powers were whole again. He demonstrated his mirth with a directed asteroid shower that steadily tore Sovereign apart.

Luna bombarded the behemoth with a countless array of distortion spells that weakened and crumbled it's hide, and Celestia's scorching magic melted through it's haul.

By now, the once terrifying construct of Death and Destruction was reduced to a broken crumbling mess, and it finally lost all power in it's grip on the Palace and fell, it's underbelly exposed to the sky.

The opportunity was in sight. Victory was at hand!

Once again soaring beside one another in perfect unison, the Almighty Three whisked high into the sky with Sovereign's exposed area below them.

"Now let's hit it with everything we've got!", Discord roared.

The sudden absence of suffocating power threw the Dragon-Gryphon menace into a frenzy of disarray. The remaining numbers of the Royal Guard were also taken by surprise at the sight before them. All manner of violence that had tainted the Royal Community was brought to a halt.

Before their very eyes, in the most glorious display of power, the synchronized decent of their Princesses and the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, swiftly sliced through Sovereign like a glowing drill.

Fire and destruction blasted from the Reaper's gaping hole and it's legs began to spasm and grind. It's entire body burned from the inside-out, and upon a distinctly mechanical cry, it was eradicated within a massive explosion that sent it's various parts and pieces flying apart.

As though suddenly attacked by a maddening pain, the menagerie of Dragons and Gryphons shrieked and roared in dismay. Instinctively, the indoctrinated servants of the Reapers began retreating from the smoldering Canterlot.

This sparked a MASSIVE uproarious cheer from the Royal Guards and civilians alike.

It was the most grueling battle since the Dawn of the Equestrian Kingdom. A struggle that soak their soil with the blood of their own and what they once thought of as allies.

Estates plundered.

Lives destroyed.

Families in ruin.

Foundations crumbled.

All to snuff out the Hellfire in which Sovereign almost ignited the entire world.

A brutal campaign having consumed well over a thousand lives. Countless homes razed to the ground, and almost all of Canterlot burned and prostrated to damnation while the Reaper menace struck horror into the hearts of the equine.

And yet, in spite of all the pain, all the suffering, and all the degradation, there was no other word for it, but 'Victory'.

Author's Note:

Trixie dying was hard to write but really made the chapter. Victory is sweet, but let me tell you I am far from being done with this story.

Comments

[du5k5h1ne]

wow, they defeated ONE reaper?

now, there will only be like, what, TEN THousand and more??

[Grif_Bladefeather]

too early to celebrate, this is only act one, there is still the harbinger.