Chapter 19 - Off with his head!
The first thing I felt was a huge wave of pressure from the Wise One. He clearly wanted me off the mountain as well. Probably hoping it wasn't too late and that he still had some sort of say in what was going on.
In response, I drew my sword and pointed it at him, glad I had left it on Jupiter a while ago. Seal!
Amazingly, it took, and the pressure from him dissipated, leaving me be just in time for a golden radiance to start shining down from above.
Instinctively I 'shoved' the Wise One off of the mountain with as much force as I could muster, sheathed my blade and raised my hands to the heavens, letting myself bask in the presence of the Golden Sun.
And that was when everything went white for a moment.
-----
Traveler from Beyond, Wielder of Ultimate Understanding, Bearer of the Stars, Master of Psynergy.
You were plucked from your home and your life for this reason.
The Wise One would never let go his failure, and would seek another world for his own, to 'protect' them from themselves.
One was needed who would not stop. Who would be able to make the adjustment into a new form as well as you have.
Who knew how best to apply Psynergy, and believed that, in the end, the Wise One could be defeated.
You were made into a lodestone, so that only one world would suffer, and in the end, you have made sure that not even that world will.
You have done well. Take this, your reward, and strike the final blow.
-----
As my vision cleared, I felt the rush of power fill my very being. It reawakened the other spirit in the armor, who had been weakening as the Lights were lit, and together we planned.
Dullahan, good to hear from you again. I was worried for a while.
Yes, well, as your powers weakened, so did I. And good thinking on Sealing his power.
I was honestly surprised it took. Any plans to deal with him permanently?
You possess limitless understanding as to how the world works, do you not? You now possess the power to make your will a reality.
...That is, quite honestly, the most permanent way to deal with anyone, not just him, that I can think of.
I try.
I held a hand out to the Wise One and focused on my strength. Because it wasn't just Psynergy anymore.
With the power the Golden Sun had granted me, I knew that the Elements were...more like guidelines now.
Wise One. We did state we did not need or want you here, yet still you came. You who would have let an entire world fall into the abyss rather than let power such as this roam free, merely because that is what you were made for. And for that, I cannot fault you.
There was a cracking noise, and the Wise One's form seemed to break a little.
What...are you doing? Not even Alex could do this!
Genuine panic filled his voice then, and I would have smiled.
Alex and I are not the same. He sought power for immortality, to be as a god. I sought this power because I knew it was the best chance to defeat you. And I was right. Tell me, Wise One. Do you know what my blade holds within it?
His eye flitted about quickly. Your madness, the moment it happened. What do-
I cut him off with another set of cracking noises. From the moment I answered the Question, I saw how everything works, Wise One. From the Void Eternal and That Which Fills It, down to the tiniest subatomic particles in an atom. In my mind's eye, I saw it all. What broke me was when I kept zooming out from the subatomic to the Multiverse view and back in again in rapid succession, and understood it all. My blade holds that moment, when I understood everything. And I have never been more in sync with it and the madness within than right now.
The Wise One was so crisscrossed with cracks that it was a miracle his eye had been untouched. I can feel every last particle of you, Wise One. I'm taking you apart at the subatomic level, because your purpose, your reason d'etre, is written into every last speck of you. You can no more stop yourself from your mad quest to save lands from themselves than a black hole can regurgitate what it has devoured.
I swear, I saw him cry then. It was weird, seeing as how I was pretty sure he had no tear ducts. Please, no! Don't do this! I'll do whatever you ask! Anything! Just don't destroy me!
I sighed as the Golden Sun stopped shining, finally. You are lying, trying to save yourself so you can continue to try and serve your purpose. Let it be, Wise One. Be at peace. You are not needed anymore. Let it go. Rest.
As he started to break down into dust, I could swear he said one final thing before he closed his eye forever.
Rest...would be...nice...thank...you...
I sighed again as the last particles of him blew away on the wind, and held my hand up to look at it. I was not pleased with what I saw.
My presence in my armor had flared, dramatically, yet I hadn't told it to do that. And the flames were golden, not blue like usual.
A sense of pain in what would have been my gut confirmed my suspicions that something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong. I doubled over as the agony spiked for a moment, then realized I couldn't get back up. Or move much at all. It was like my sword had been taken from me.
What...is this? How is this happening?
The sword takes in the ambient magic of the land and gives us the ability to move. I can still feel that flow of power from it, so the sword hasn't stopped working.
What else, then? What else could interfere with the power that binds us to this form?
...The power from the Sun is fighting the power that binds us, and no force may resist its might. We briefly did while we used it, but now...
...I was sorta expecting death when we faced down the Wise One. I may not have expected this death, but I've still made my peace.
"Dullahan? Are you alright?"
I looked up to Celly and Lulu had come closer, along with Discord having appeared again, and sighed. I seemed to be doing that a lot today. Cel, what have I always introduced myself as?
She replied automatically. "The darkness, the shadow, the elemental...wraith..." As she trailed off, her eyes widened. Luna's too, once she caught on to what was being implied.
Bingo. And what is the one rule of a shadow, Cel?
This time, Luna answered. "They cannot exist under direct light. Are thou saying-"
Yep. This body can't hold in all the power of the Golden Sun. It takes a mortal body, not a half-baked spirit in a metal shell. The energies that hold and bind me together are fighting with the energies from the Golden Sun.
At this, my right gauntlet fell off, but the flames remained where they were, forming a facsimile hand that I couldn't feel anymore. While the golden flames were pretty cool, I could have done without knowing that I would likely cease to be soon.
Discord came up to me and picked the gauntlet up, trying to fit it back on my hand. "Dully, no. You can't go out like this. I just got out of the slammer. I was gonna visit you and catch up. You can't go like this. You just can't."
Bits and pieces fell off faster and faster, but I managed to put my left hand up to his face. Hey. It'll be fine. Just go to my town, Newvale. They have plenty of stories. Don't forget to bring the pieces of me. And watch the sword, please. I don't know if it'll still work, but better safe than sorry.
Everything but my chestplate had fallen by the time Discord nodded, and I sighed. Fifteen hundred years ago, if you said this was how I would pass on? I'da called you crazy. But ever since I started this quest to light the Lights, I sorta accepted that this could be an outcome. Just expected it to happen against ol' Wiseass. All told, this is relatively painless as to how I could have gone.
I turned, slowly, to face Celestia and Luna. I had one last thing to tell them. Y'know, I never hated you two. Just wanted you to grow up and own up to your mistakes, especially regarding me.
And with that, the chestplate fell off, and I knew no more.
-----
(3rd POV)
With the last piece of armor gone, the spirit of golden fire had nothing to bind it anymore, and winked out, like a birthday candle.
The gathered trio observed a moment of silence for the fallen entity that they were just getting to know all over again. Celestia was already planning on how best to break the news to everypo- everyone, seeing as how not all who followed him was a pony.
Discord merely stared at the fallen armor, tears staining his face. His oldest partner in crime, gone. Nothing left, not even a-
Wait. Not even that? But that wasn't right!
"Cel, Lulu, scan this armor. Tell me if I'm wrong. But we should be feeling something, right?"
The two looked at him with a raised brow, but their horns lit up anyways. Luna was the first to speak up. "Thou art right, Discord. It is most odd. Normally there is some sort of impression left behind when a pony passes on."
Celestia merely shook her head. "He was not a pony, nor truly alive in the first place. Discord, don't get your hopes-"
The Spirit of Chaos interrupted. "Tell me, did he ever say anything about how he came to inhabit the armor? Anything at all?"
Celestia recalled the confrontation in the glade that seemed like an age ago and recited what Dullahan had said. "He said, and I quote, 'I was a living soul before I took up this sword, Celly!'"
Discord crowed in triumph and pointed a talon at the solar diarch. "Exactly! Any living soul, when passing on from this world to the next, leaves behind a residue! But there isn't one here! Meaning!"
Celestia gasped and Luna answered. "Thou canst be saying he is still alive out there somewhere!"
-----
(Everfree Castle, Basement, one week later)
Deep in a forgotten room, a storm of glowing golden motes appeared and condensed at the center of the floor. They took on the approximate form of a bipedal figure, before there was a small explosion of light. Left behind was a similar figure, who groaned and moved around a bit.
"Cold...naked...guess I'm in the icy hell. Seems kinda mild."
The figure moved again, this time contacting something that let out a metallic clinking noise.
"What's this, a chain? Seems familiar..."
As the figure got up and its eyes adjusted to the darkness around it, it took in notable features of the room before it blurted out, in shock, at what it saw.
"Oh you have GOT to be SHITTING ME! Here, AGAIN?!"
-----
It had been a week since the reformed Lord of Chaos had dropped off the remains of Dullahan's armor in the Penumbra Sanctum.
Everyone had spent a day in quiet reflection as they heard he had perished from absorbing powers he was not meant to have, yet used them to protect the world from a threat too great to be imagined.
Discord had then said he would honor his friend's wishes and said something about closing borders and building walls before vanishing.
Silver Cross had been the first to attempt to put the armor on the throne in a fashion that would suggest its inhabitant was merely sleeping, not gone forever. A few other ponies chipped in as well, and soon enough, the armor looked normal again.
Everyone had been very careful to leave the sword in the sheathe and not even touch the hilt. None of them wanted to expose themselves to whatever the sword did to ponies.
Last they heard, the Guard-Captain that had been dropped off in Ponyville had become some sort of law and rule-obsessed maniac.
For a few days, Silver had come in and sat for hours at a time, begging for the armor to get up again. Aboyami eventually managed to coerce him away after six days had passed.
Thus, nobody was around when a flicker of blue light emanated from the armor. Nor was anyone present when that flicker caught and grew, or when the armor rotated and shifted. A hand raised itself up to the neck-hole, and blue flames danced out of it.
Well. This is interesting.
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So...Armor and Soul are now separate...Are we getting a sequel?
Is he human again?
Who has the armor now
SEQUEL!
so, they split and probably the power of the golden sun its on the human ?
So he has regained his human form and what I'm assuming is the power buff and immortality that came with the golden sun, while Dully has regained his control of the armor. huh
....Oh my god, yes......
I love your sequel-endings.
4152691 I would guess more like an epilogue. I gotta say, the fight was a bit anti-climactic, yet strangely satisfying.
I can't wait to see how they all react to Frank.
"Wait a minute. Ya mean you were the spirit inside the Great One!?"
"Uh… yup. Hi?"
YES! We get a sequel! Oh this will be glorious!
4152691
4152716
4152737
AGREED!
27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llhd0kb1FQ1qihf85o1_500.jpg
Oh.... It's over, and my character only ever got identified as a sheep. He was never even introduced by name.
On a happier note, marvellous story, and a very clever ending. A good excuse for applying a soul sieve in order to separate dullahan and Dullahan
4152808 hey. At least he was in the story.
4152728 Oh hey, I didn't think of that! That could be interesting.
4152808 Hey, if nothing else we can write our own stories and attribute them to this. It's called "Recursive Fanfiction" I believe.
im sad to see this story end
Oh dear nine, I almost cried during... Dullahan's time absorbing the Golden Sun.
Thadius... When we co-wrote that chapter once, do you remember a thing you told me? Probably not... But you said "The road ends when I say so, but that doesn't mean people won't keep on driving."
Nice ending.
4152691 From how it was set up at the end, probably.
4152728 that WOULD fit along the lines that I read
4152730 that is the way it looked and felt to me at least
the way this chapter is man, LOVELY
FUCK
THE
HELL
YES
Does this plan involve a (quite literally) ascended Homestuck fanboy somewhere along the line?
Still, great job! I would have liked a few other side-chapters, like... the effects the events had on Celestia, what she thought about stuff and all, but it's OK - hard to do much when the main course of the story is first person POV.
4152819
4152812
Yes, I know, you're both quite right. It is very ungentlemanly of me to whine so, it just bought my hopes up rather, and then dropped them slowly, as Thadius did say he was ending the story, so I did have warning.
Mom: shut up!
Me: yes mom...
FTW YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!11
What was it that Gandalf said?
Death is never the end, it is merely the start of the next adventure.
Alright Thadius, you have the helm. Where to next? I'm quite ready for another adventure.
Now that was a short, but satisfying conclusion, and left it open for a sequel. Still, unless the Princesses secreted him away, Frank is dead after week without water. Wouldn't put it past them to secret him away, though.
4152771 Dear god Thor you monster that was a living thing.
Also great story can't wait for the rest
4153202
Huh? He just let her go, and she hovered to the ground easily.
What were you thinking happened?
4153230 well knowing the original scene it was easy to assume the worst
Sequel with Dully and Human?
Fuck yah!
What does it say about me that I've already thought how the first two chapters of the sequel would go? And I mean down to the dialogue.
4153271
Pretty damn bad, seeing as how they won't meet for a few chapters yet.
I MEAN.
I said nothing! Nothing at all! Good day!
4153249
Yes, yes it would be...
t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR43Lq9C1wD_ApURmKKYMlWaIhlHMxdesfPBkTzEd04DQ7T_hw9S4M14Gvo2Q
2.bp.blogspot.com/-LO4qcGPBLbs/Twyx68HezFI/AAAAAAAAak0/_o7mHmjgaiU/s1600/110087+-+artist+zlack3r+artist+zlacker+book+crying+filly+sad+twilight_sparkle.png
Man, I hope the poor human isn't defenseless lol. He seems like way too good of a guy to go from the power to do good to useless.
4153284
put up the story page for the sequel so i can fav it and not have to worry about missing it! please
4153498
...
Soon.
Maybe.
Possibly.
Tomorrow.
Yes. YES. YES!
So from epic adventure to buddy cop fic? I like it very much.
4153522 Luna: "Huzzah! The chance of closure for plot threads has been doubled!"
Thank you Luna.
Luna: "Tis not a problem dear author!"
4152226
4152306
Circumstantial evidence is important, but she still believed in her own thoughts before looking at the evidence.
OH OH OH OH IS IT THE ORIGINAL DULLHALLAN????
Was a good story. Sounds like you might have a sequel planned too.
I want to favorite this SO badly, but, just... so much stuff here, either doesn't make sense or could use some improvement, can I PM you on the details if you're interested?
4153297 ya know? The INTERNET is kinda like a book that never ends.
So long as there are people who read, browse, and get inspired to write, there's no telling if it will really end.
SEQUEL!!!
Lord Dully can only be held back for so long.
So... No continuation of the story? We're just left with naked teen in Old castle dungeon and Dully comes back to life?
I find that funny.
This was an amazing fic, i kinda saw the hole martyre thing coming, i like how you made it so they all realised their mistakes and will change also how both them came back to life, you said in the note you have a plan, so i am guessing you will make a sequel somehow because i am pretty sure you wouldn't leave such a cliffhanger and i can already imagine a plotline of the human in equestria now that he isn't the dullahan anymore, they find him in the cell and come he has to convince them tha it is him and stuff,overall i give it a 9.5 out of 10
It's been a fun time reading this.
I really do wish that there had been more detail though, especially in the conversations. When people talk they're never static, always moving and shifting in ways that add a massive depth to the interaction. Even a light touch of this can go a long way in bringing a story to life in the mind's eye. This story had a very minimal style and even though it works, and it really does, it leaves things a bit dry.
The other thing I wanted to mention is the speed of writing. Your ability to hammer out chapters at such is speed is admirable, but I feel that a little bit more time to polish would do your creation good. I'd suggest reading what you've written, really read it, and make sure that the words you've used are the best possible to convey your ideas. Ask yourself: have I written to much or to little? Are there gaps in the words that are filled in my mind?
I hope my advice is even slightly useful to you, and even if it's not I'll keep reading anyway.
Crazy face of approval.
4152306 It's not a matter of 'Ponies are right and everyone else is wrong', it's a matter of 'You're a different race! That means you're automatically murderers!'
Not only that, but she actually had the TOOLS to find out what precisely happened. She could simply ASK THE PONY WHO WAS MURDERED. It's proved she could, because she JUST DID IT. Instead of taking the ten minutes to actually check her facts, she just went with her immediate reaction of 'Other species bad! Ponies good!' and murdered three innocents based on no evidence besides her own racism and general panic.
The only reason they died was because she's quite simply a monster, and values her own time so much more than the lives of others that she simply killed the first ones she found who weren't ponies, because it must have been then instead of taking the time to find out.
I GIVE YOU...... AN APOCALYPSE COOKIE, A SINGLE MANY TEAR, AND ONE CLAP OF APPROVAL