The Final Days of Man

by Anima Reaper

Chapter Twelve

A bright yellow, mixed with red, slowly crept over snowy white mountains as the vivid colors washed over an empty white canvas. A gentle breeze blew across an empty snowy plain as the sun slowly rose over the mountain side. Calm and peaceful, no traveler would have guessed what lay beneath the white desert: a steel vault, filled with weapons and machines, ready to march upon Canterlot.

Two friends gathered in a library, a man and a pony. Trixie was brushing up on her past knowledge. The unicorn’s legs dangled off a bench as she scribbled things into her scrapbook. Ajax sat across from her. The man had built a pyramid out of books. He had little to no interest in magic, but chose to keep Trixie company regardless. The pony smiled as she circled something in her notes. The unicorn’s studying had gone well. Trixie had nearly read every book in the library and now, she was ready for anything.

The unicorn smiled and closed an old tome before she reached for another, but paused after noticing that Ajax had stopped building his book pyramid. The man was now inspecting his beloved white marble sword. Trixie was familiar with the deep look Ajax had in his eyes. This wasn’t the first time he had been stricken with a thousand-yard stare.

“Ajax?” asked Trixie.

“Hmm?” said the man as he looked up at Trixie. The unicorn no longer paid any mind to Ajax’s empty eyes and demon horns. Despite using the Elements of Chaos, Ajax had retained his identity. Trixie figured she could get used to these minor details as long as Ajax himself remained the same.

“If you ever want to talk about something, I’m willing to listen,” said Trixie.

“It’s nothing,” said Ajax as he turned his attention back to the marble white great sword.

“I know you miss your friends, I’d like to know if there’s anything I can do to help you.”

“I’m fine, Trixie.” Ajax seemed resilient to keep his emotions to himself.

“Y’know there’s probably a spell that can turn me into a human.”

“W-what?” exclaimed Ajax, nearly dropping the ivory great sword.

“W-why would you want to do something like that?” he added.

“Because you’re upset with being the last human. Maybe, seeing another one might cheer you up,” said Trixie.

“I told you, I’m fine,” said Ajax as he looked away from the unicorn.

“No you’re not!” shouted Trixie. The pony closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking softly.

“Whenever we spend time together, you always fall into this… trance, like some kind of deep thought. I know something is bothering you; I just want to help you out. As your friend it pains me to see you like this. I can help you. So please, please allow me to help you carry some of your burden. Friends are supposed to help each other out.”

Ajax looked up at Trixie. He had never seen the pony so worried about him; it made him feel uncomfortable. However, he knew that she only wanted to help. After all, she had put up with everything till now. Hell, she had even saved his life… the least he could do was trust her... if only a little.

“It’s just that… have you ever looked back… and just thought, what if you played your cards differently? What if you could take back the mistakes you’ve made. Maybe you could’ve tried harder, or done more…just have done something else. Maybe you could have made better choices, said the things that you never got to say.” Ajax leaned back and held his white sword upright. The man stared at his reflection in the sword as he returned to his deep thinking.

“I think about those things a lot,” said Trixie. “But as much as I would like to change a few things in the past, I know what’s really important. The choices that I make today are all that matter,” said Trixie as she got up and trotted over to Ajax.

“My choices have already been decided…” murmured Ajax.

“You can always change your decisions. That’s what makes them your decisions,” said Trixie.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pony’s memories seemed like a distant dream that she wished she could return to. Trixie was no longer sitting with Ajax in the library. She was now in the presence of a demon. Black flames roared as fire continued to burn down the Canterlot palace. The sound of beams breaking and pillars crumbling surrounded the pony as she pulled her cloak close to her. The unicorn gripped her cape tightly as she slowly began to make her way through the raging inferno.

“Trixie!” shouted a voice. Lightning Dust was trying to shield Chrysalis from the fire. The pegasus’ hooves had been burned. Light marks of ash and red could be seen on the tips of her hooves. Lightning Dust was helpless; she could only try to stamp out the fires around her. She didn’t dare try to carry Chrysalis through the fire; her only hope was for somepony to save her. Trixie’s horn glowed, but before she could cast a spell, she noticed that Ajax was approaching the two ponies.

“What’s he doing?” thought Trixie as she looked past Lightning Dust and Chrysalis. “Oh, no...” she thought as her eyes opened wide.

Behind Lightning Dust and Chrysalis laid Celestia. Trixie knew that Ajax was making his way towards the alicorn. With the way he had been acting recently, she was worried about what Ajax might do in order to reach her.

“AHH!” The screams only a demon could make shook the ground as the twisted entity of Ajax locked its eyes on Celestia. Ajax raised his hand and pointed it towards the unconscious alicorn, not caring for the changeling and pegasus caught in his way. A burning ember of black fire began to gather in the palm of Ajax’s hand as he prepared to annihilate Lightning Dust, Chrysalis and Celestia.

White...

A flash of bright magic… followed by silence. The black flames were gone, the sounds of destruction... gone. Ajax looked around, he was no longer in Canterlot. He was... back in his vault?

“What…?” The demon was baffled. It couldn’t wrap its head around what had just occurred.

“Ajax!” shouted a stern voice. The disfigured creature turned around and faced Trixie. The alicorn stood fearless before the chaotic entity.

“You…” growled Ajax as he slowly approached the unicorn. “YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!” Trixie took a step back as the monster closed in on her.

“Ajax, you’ve changed, I had no other choice but to teleport us! You were going to kill…” The unicorn was cut short by a fist; the pony sailed through the air and slammed against a metal wall.

“I’m going to kill you…” whispered Ajax as he approached the unicorn. Trixie sat up; the unicorn’s face had swollen up like a balloon. A small stream of blood escaped out from the side of her lip.

“Please… I’m your friend…” pleaded Trixie as she watched Ajax approach her. “I did this for you!”

“You were never my friend. I could never even stomach your presence,” hissed Ajax as he loomed over the pony.

“A-...” Another blow crashed against Trixie’s left cheek. A stream of blood spurted out of the pony’s mouth. Before she could even react another fist swung across her face, slamming against her muzzle. Screams echoed throughout the metal hallways of the vault as Ajax continued to beat the pony to death.

“I know you’ve been through a lot, you’re angry, and you should be, but you have to see that the Elements of Chaos are using you! They are controlling you through your anger!” shouted Trixie as she threw her hooves up, in a futile attempt to protect herself from Ajax. The demon, however, didn’t care for a word the unicorn said. Ajax continued to bang his fists against the unicorn’s skull, until Trixie collapsed.

Ajax paused. The pony showed no sign of life. As the monster’s breath began to calm, the Elements of Chaos on his back slowly hummed to life. The fire in his eyes ignited as the dark colors of the crystals grew heavy.

“AHHH!” roared Ajax as he drove a fist into the unconscious unicorn. Despite having knocked her out, Ajax continued to bash fist after fist across Trixie’s face. Blood splattered out of the senseless pony as Ajax continued to batter his claws across her face.

“STOP IT!” Cried a voice. Ajax paused. He turned to see Chrysalis. Trixie had not only teleported him and her, but Chrysalis and Lightning Dust as well. The changeling had dragged herself towards Ajax, a long trail of blood marked the distance she had struggled to cover. Chrysalis’ entire body trembled as if she was freezing. It was hard for her to even speak. “If… you don’t stop...you’re going to kill her,” stuttered Chrysalis as she looked up at Ajax with a closed eye. Ajax cared not for the alicorn’s warning. He slowly pointed a talon towards Chrysalis.

“After I’m finished with her, I’m coming for you...” threatened Ajax as he turned back to the knocked out unicorn and raised another first in the air.

BAM!

Ajax stumbled backwards. He looked up and saw the flash of a hoof as another blow crashed against his face.

“How dare you…” growled a pegasus.

“How dare I-” said Ajax, but a violent shout interrupted him.

“HOW DARE YOU!” shouted Lightning Dust as tears filled her eyes. “She was the only pony who gave a damn about you! She was the only pony who gave a damn about US! She called you ‘friend’; she did whatever you asked of her! She would probably even give up her life for you! Hell, she would give her life up for any one of us!” screamed Lightning Dust as tears began to trickle down onto Trixie. The crystals floating behind Ajax grew dim as he stood up. The demon looked down at the aggressive pony and took a cautious step forward.

“STAY BACK! DON’T YOU DARE COME A STEP CLOSER!” screamed Lightning Dust as she took a step towards Ajax. The creature paused, before slowly reaching out towards Lightning Dust.

“I SAID GET AWAY!” shouted the light green pony. The monster’s claw slowly closed and fell to its side as it turned around and walked away. The sound of heavy footsteps against metal rang throughout the vault as Ajax slowly walked off into the darkness.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Celestia!” shouted an alicorn as she pushed back ebony flames with her wings. Twilight Sparkle was probing the palace, looking for Celestia. The purple alicorn struggled to see through the dark smoke that had built up against the ceiling.

“It’s getting hard to breathe… If I don’t find her soon…” thought Twilight to herself as she continued to search the burning building. “There!” shouted the pony as her eyes picked up a sliver of white behind a dark cloud. Twilight Sparkle had found Celestia. Luckily, the fire hadn’t yet swallowed the alicorn. Twilight lifted Celestia up with her magic before bursting through one of the palace’s stain glass windows.

“Twilight!” shouted a worried voice. Fluttershy flew to the side of her friend; the yellow pegasus was unharmed, except for her missing pink tail.

“Where’s Ajax?” asked Twilight as she knelt down and checked up on Celestia.

“He’s gone,” said Fluttershy as she took a glance back at the burning palace.

“What do you mean he’s gone?” asked Twilight.

“Trixie teleported him and her allies out not too long ago…” said a voice that Twilight didn’t expect to hear. Twilight had nearly forgotten that Nightmare Moon was no more. Princess Luna had managed to overcome the influence of the emeralds and free herself from Ajax’s grip. The purple alicorn turned to the princess of the night as Luna approached her.

“Don’t worry Twilight…it’s the real me,” said Luna with a smile. Twilight nodded before rising to her hooves.

“The others are safe?” asked Twilight.

“Yes... look for yourself,” said Luna as she stepped aside. Everypony, gryphon and minotaur had managed to make their way safely out of the palace.

“WHERE IS HE? WHERE DID THAT COWARD RUN OFF TO?!” screeched Bjorn as he let loose an eagle’s cry.

“Easy there Bjorn,” said Ironhoof as he tried to calm the hotheaded gryphon. Everyone had made it out alive; Ajax’s second siege was finally over. Princess Luna spread her wings and looked back at Twilight before flying up to the sky.

“If you’d excuse me, Twilight. I need to remove this cursed moon,” said the alicorn before taking off.

As the large celestial body crossed the sky, a bright warm light could be seen crossing over the horizon, making its way towards Canterlot. As the golden light illuminated Princess Celestia, the white alicorn slowly awoken.

“W-Where am I?" mumbled Celestia as she looked around.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” said Twilight as she hugged the disoriented pony.

“We need to go after him...NOW!” shouted Bjorn as he approached Celestia. The gryphon didn’t seem to care much for checking on Celestia’s health.

“Hey! She need’s rest-” started Twilight, but a nudge from Celestia cut her short. Celestia sluggishly got up and trotted towards Bjorn.

“I agree. If we don’t act now, we’ll lose any chance we have at winning this war,” stated Celestia grimly as she stared into the hazy green eyes of the gryphon king.

“Glad to see that we finally can agree on something,” grinned Bjorn as he patted the pony on the back. Celestia stumbled forward, barely managing to keep herself from falling flat on her face.

“Sister!” When Celestia heard the voice her eyes shot wide as she bit her bottom lip. “Sister?” The same voice as before… Celestia couldn’t help herself now. Princess Celestia, ruler of Canterlot, leader of one of the most prominent species in all of Equestria, wailed like a child as she threw her hooves around Luna. The white alicorn dug her muzzle into the pony's neck as she tried to hide her tears from everyone else.

“Luna, I was so worried. I thought I had lost you again,” said Celestia as her grip tightened around Luna.

“I’m sorry that I caused you so much pain,” said Luna.

“I’d hate to interrupt, but I just want to remind you that we’ve been given a short window of opportunity,” said Bjorn as he tapped one of his lion’s paws restlessly on the ground.

“What do you mean ‘window of opportunity’?” said a high-pitched voice as the head of a pink pony came into the gryphon’s view. Pinkie Pie was sitting on top of the massive gryphon’s head.

“I mean, we have a good chance of dealing with Ajax once and for all!” firmly stated Bjorn as he grabbed the pink pony off his head. “Ajax’s army has been destroyed, I’m willing to guess that the changelings took their fair share of casualties as well.”

“Are you sure that a counterattack is the best idea?” asked Rarity as she, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash trotted forward.

“Yes,” said the heavy low-cut voice belonging to Ironhoof. “The human has even lost his formidable war giant. We should attack before he can prepare another army.”

“What about…” asked Fluttershy, but Cadence stopped the yellow pegasus by placing a hoof on her shoulder. Bubbles, the ursa major Fluttershy had brought, didn’t make it. “But...but…” stuttered Fluttershy as she tried to stop herself from crying. The others tried to focus on the topic at hand as Cadence did her best to calm Fluttershy down.

“A good portion of my army and Ironhoof’s is still available. We could march upon the monster’s domain and put an end to this once and for all,” said Bjorn as he turned between the ponies and minotaur.

“Celestia…?” said Luna as she turned to her sister.

“What is it?” asked Celestia.

“When I was in the everfree… before Ajax captured me. I found something interesting,” said the alicorn as she looked up at Celestia. Celestia waited in silence for her sister to tell her what she had to say. “We found… corpses… from Tartarus. Demons stacked up in piles easily ten meters tall.”

“We have no time for such things,” snapped Bjorn as he looked over at the two alicorns.

“I believe it is enough to at least merit an investigation!” replied Luna.

“We must focus at the task on hand,” said Celestia as she turned to Luna. “But after Ajax is dealt with, we will look into what you found in the Everfree Scar… together.” Luna nodded quietly.

“We did find something else that you might be more interested in…” said Luna as she looked off into the distance.

“And what would that be?” asked Celestia.

“We found the remains of an ancient human city,” said Luna casually as everyone’s jaws fell down in shock.

“Y-Ya mean ‘humans’ like the same creatures that Ajax comes from?” asked Applejack as she twisted her hat nervously in between her hooves.

“Yes,” responded Luna.

“Are there any humans living there right now?” asked Ironhoof as he stepped forward.

“Well, we didn’t get around to investigating-”

“How big was the city?” asked Celestia.

“Like I said we-”

“Where did you find it?” asked Twilight.

“Everyone hold on a minute!” exclaimed Luna. “Look, we found it in the Everfree Forest, we planned on investigating it on our way back, but we didn’t get that chance.” Luna began to draw a map in the ground with her horn. “It wasn’t too far from the Everfree Scar actually, only about five or six miles.” The alicorn drew a ‘X’ on the map where she remembered the ruined city being.

Celestia closed her eyes and took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. “Investigating this ‘city’ might give us some useful information, but we must devote all of our attention to Ajax at the moment,” mumbled Celestia as she thought about the best course of action to take.

“I can investigate them!” shouted Twilight, the pony was eager to be the first to explore the history behind the human race. “Rainbow Dash can lead me there. We won’t take long. We’ll catch up with you before you reach Ajax’s base of operation.

Celestia thought about it for a moment before deciding that she would allow the two ponies to quickly search the city for any signs of life or information that might prove to be useful.

“Be safe,” said Celestia as the two ponies began to fly towards the Everfree Forest.

“Now then, let’s rally the troops,” said Bjorn as he nodded at Ironhoof.

An army of over five thousand strong, filled with elite gryphons and minotaur warriors, slowly funneled out of Canterlot and made its way towards the location of Ajax’s vault. Applejack and Pinkie Pie instructed the army about the whereabouts of Ajax’s underground base.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A metal door slowly opened up, flooding a pitch-black room with white light. An alicorn slowly made her way into the black room, limping after each alternating step.

“You can walk?” asked a voice.

Chrysalis paused. She was standing in the middle of an empty room. The only thing the pony could make out was a figure sitting in an iron throne, facing away from her. The changeling queen was carrying a piece of paper in her mouth. She placed an envelope on the ground and slid it across the room towards Ajax with her hoof. The pony didn’t even say a word as she turned around and headed towards the exit.

“Wait...” said Ajax. The dark silhouette of what once was a man glanced over its shoulder and looked back at the changeling. “Is she… alright?” asked the creature.

“Why don’t you go and see for yourself,” remarked Chrysalis as she began to limp towards the door. Ajax’s claws gripped the armrests of the metal chair as Chrysalis made her exit. The metal strained under Ajax’s inhuman strength as he cried out.

“You know I can’t do that! Not after what I did! I can’t bring myself to face her.” Chrysalis was unsure why Ajax seemed so upset. It was his fault; he was the one who nearly murdered Trixie. “I’ve made a mistake Chrysalis,” said Ajax as he got up and faced Chrysalis. The man’s image could no longer be associated with that of a human. Before, he only had his empty eyes, horns and teeth, but now he had transformed into a beast.

A face, memorable to what had once been, was now ravaged with demonic attributes. His arms resembled that of a lengthy skeleton, with long blade like appendages at their end. Legs that once stood straight now bent backwards, similar to dragon legs. Chrysalis wasn’t able to fully make out the creature, but she knew that Ajax was no more. All that was left was a monster.

“I can’t even look at myself anymore, there’s no way I could face Trixie like this,” moaned Ajax as he dragged his blade-like fingers through his patchy, dead white hair.

“Funny…” said Chrysalis with no sympathy for the creature.

“Funny? How can any of this be funny to you!?” shouted Ajax, as two bone wings emerged from his back. The creature cowered from its own rage and hid itself from the changeling. “You should leave, I don’t know when the elements will take over again. Do yourself a favor and distance yourself from me. I can’t control my anger any longer. It’s only a matter of time before the Elements of Chaos use me again.

“It’s funny because before I came here Trixie woke up from her coma. Do you know what was the first thing she said?” asked Chrysalis. Ajax remained silent, hiding in the darkness, trying to keep his emotions under control.

“Please… just leave… before I do something I regret. Please, for the sake of both of us, just go…” pleaded Ajax.

“The first thing she said when she woke up was, “Where’s Ajax? Please tell me he’s alright.”

Ajax wrapped his arms across his chest and gripped his shoulders, the demon’s teeth could be seen straining as if the creature was in great pain. Chrysalis however didn’t care for the monster’s suffering. The only reason she hadn’t left the vault yet was because she wanted to make sure that Trixie was going to be alright.

“What am I supposed to do?! What can I do?!” wailed Ajax as he smashed the iron throne in the room.

“That’s for you to decide…” said Chrysalis as she glanced back at Ajax before stepping out of the room. “Oh, if you’re wondering what’s inside that envelope, it’s a map. One of the changelings in Canterlot recently came across information regarding the whereabouts of an ancient human city.” Two white embers slowly rose up off the floor and glared at Chrysalis from behind the darkness. “I thought you would be interested in something like that…” said Chrysalis before slamming the iron door shut.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It should be this way,” said a voice. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were making their way through a grotesque forest, trying to find the whereabouts of an ancient city. The sunlight had grown scarce; the two ponies now found themselves lost in the dim forest.

“Why don’t we just fly to the top of the tree line and see if we can spot the ruins from an aerial view?” asked Twilight as she reluctantly continued to follow Rainbow Dash around. The pegasus paused for a moment.

“Not a bad idea Twilight… not a bad idea…” said the pegasus as she spread her wings and flew up into the air. The cyan pony quickly darted from tree branch to tree branch until she reached the top of the forest. A colorful mane gently swayed as a cool breeze blew through the pony’s hair. Rainbow Dash’s violet eyes scoured the horizon, but all she saw was brown branches mixed with green leaves.

“I can’t see anything…” groaned the pony. All of a sudden, her eyes caught sight of something. Off in the distance, she saw a patch of empty forest, which was strange, since the Everfree Forest tended to be awfully dense this far in. Rainbow Dash figured that the empty clearing might be a good place to search. The pony hopped down and slowly glided down to the forest floor.

“I think I see something in the distance,” said Rainbow Dash as her hooves touched the ground. “It would be easier and faster if we just flew there,” said the pegasus as she looked around the forest.

“I agree,” said Twilight as she spread her wings and followed Rainbow Dash up into the sky. The two ponies sailed through the air towards the empty patch in the forrest. The clearing wasn’t completely barren, numbered tree’s could be seen scattered throughout the rough patch of land. As the two ponies approached the bizarre empty land, they slowly descended towards the ground. Rainbow Dash and Twilight closed their wings and began to kick up dust with their hooves.

“Well, here we are…” said Twilight as the two ponies stood at the edge of the foreign landscape. “Let’s go ahead and check it out,” added Twilight as she stepped forward.

Square cut rocks could be seen scattered throughout a grassy field as tall buildings appeared in the distance. The structures were different from anything the ponies had seen before. Surprisingly, it didn't meet their expectations. They had expected to see unique architecture, but thought that the city would have been made out of steel, similar to Ajax’s underground vault. However everything seemed to be made out of cut stone. There was no sign of any futuristic technology whatsoever; instead it seemed like the humans had been at the same level of technology as ponies.

“How can this be?” thought Twilight to herself as she and Rainbow Dash trotted into the ruins. “I could’ve sworn that they were more advanced than us, but this city doesn’t look more cutting-edge than ponyville…” The two ponies continued to trot down a ruined stone road as they looked at the desolate structures that the city had to offer. There was no sign of life, except for the trees and branches that had torn apart most establishments.

“Hey Twilight, over here…!” A strained whisper called out to Twilight. The alicorn turned and saw Rainbow Dash hiding against the corner of a stone building. Twilight got low and slowly crawled over to Rainbow Dash.

“What?” asked the pony as she stood up and placed her back against the same wall.

“Over there,” said Rainbow Dash as she pointed a hoof at something around the corner. Twilight took a quick glance and saw a humanoid figure about fifteen-feet tall. It was a metal figure, standing motionless in the middle of the town’s square. Twilight tried to get a closer look.

“Twilight!” shouted Rainbow Dash before plugging her mouth up with her hooves. The purple pony slowly made her way towards the robot, before using her magic to appear directly behind it.

“Don’t worry Rainbow Dash, it’s safe… this thing is broken,” sighed Twilight in relief as she pressed a hoof against one of the robot’s legs. “Bleh,” groaned Twilight as she pulled her hoof back. The robot was filthy; the pony’s hoof was covered in dirt. As Twilight dragged her hoof across a patch of grass she noticed something written on the robot. Where Twilight had placed her hoof, in big black letters was the writing; J.A.X.-019

“What the heck is this thing?” asked Rainbow Dash as she slowly approached Twilight and the robot.

“This thing resembles the same machines that Ajax uses for his army, but it looks so out of place here…” mumbled Twilight as she looked around the ruined stone city. “This technology is far more advanced than the surrounding city, but why?” pondered Twilight.

“Yo Twilight! Check this out!” Twilight turned to see Rainbow Dash staggering about as the colorful pegasus tried to lift something up. The pony was holding a long barrel shaped object, in black letters; J.A.X.-087 was written on the side of the hunk of metal.

“Rainbow Dash, put that down!” gasped Twilight as she raced towards the pegasus.

“W-Woah!” yelled Rainbow Dash as she fell backwards. As the pony hit the ground the barrel shaped object fired out a projectile towards Twilight. The alicorn was quick to react, she shielded herself in a purple bubble, but no devastating blast or explosion occurred. Twilight slowly opened her eyes and looked down. The weapon Rainbow Dash had found, had fired a clear crystal like orb. Twilight raised an eyebrow and slowly lowered her shield. She tried to raise the orb up with her magic, but the glass-like object didn’t budge. Instead, a glowing light appeared in the middle of the orb.

“What?” thought Twilight as she channeled more magic into her horn. The crystal ball however still didn’t move, it only grew brighter and brighter.

“Is it… absorbing my magic?” thought Twilight as she stopped trying to move the now, “glowing” glass ball.

“Um Twilight, that things starting to freak the flip out,” said Rainbow Dash as she took a step back. Twilight’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when she realized what she had just done.

“Get out of here!” cried Twilight as she teleported away. Rainbow Dash was already a step ahead of her; the pegasus was already in the middle of flying away.

BOOM!

A burst of magic shot up towards the sky as the shards of the clear orb scattered throughout the ruined city. The blast wave echoed throughout the empty city as a flock of birds scattered in the distance.

“What in the name of Celestia was that thing?” asked Rainbow Dash as she flew over to Twilight. The purple alicorn bent over and saw a shard of the clear orb lying on the ground. She began to channel magic in her horn, but stopped herself. She was too accustomed to moving things with her magic, but thankfully remembered what had just happened moments ago.

“How interesting…” said Twilight as she bent over and scooped the fragment onto one of her hooves. “This thing absorbs any magic used on it, storing the energy and using it to release a massive explosion,” said Twilight as she began to brainstorm. “HOLD ON!” shouted the purple pony as she raced back towards the robot she and Rainbow Dash had found earlier.

“What is it now?” asked Rainbow Dash as she kept up with Twilight.

“I’ve seen these crystals before,” said Twilight as she stopped at the base of the tall robot. The pony began to sweep her hooves across the ground as if she were looking for something. “A-HAH!” shouted Twilight as she lifted something off the ground. The pony was holding the fragment of a crystal, but it was different than the one that had just exploded. This crystal was a dark thick white; Twilight placed it on the ground and took a few steps back, before channeling magic into the tiny fragment.

The crystal glowed bright, but didn’t vibrate or resonate like the explosive clear orb. This crystal was similar to the explosive ball in the sense that it absorbed magic, but was entirely different in the sense that it wasn’t going to explode.

“It makes sense now,” said Twilight as she turned to Rainbow Dash. “We’ve found these crystals in Ajax’s metal soldiers, but they were just tiny specs. I mean... these things were extremely difficult to even notice. We figured that the technology was too complex for us to understand, but now I see how it works. These crystals house the energy that all of Ajax’s machines use to function.

“Uhhhh, what?” asked Rainbow Dash as she tried to follow along with the conceptual pony.

“I’m saying that Ajax’s machines run on magic! There’s magic stored in crystals just like these in every machine. I guess this was how the humans adapted to being unable to use their own magic… or at least that’s how one of them adapted...,” said Twilight as she looked back at the J.A.X. lable on the tall robot.

“Twilight… come see this,” chocked Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus was staring at something around the corner at the edge of the stone road.

“What is it?” asked Twilight as she trotted towards the pegasus.

“Just… see for yourself,” said Rainbow Dash as she continued to stare at whatever had gripped her attention. As Twilight turned the corner her brow furrowed. They had found the city’s inhabitants…or at least what was left of them.

A sea of white bones laid scattered across the most devastated part of the city. Like a disorganized jigsaw puzzle, the white scraps filled the cracks and crevices of the city. Over time, the elements had slowly grinded the bones into unidentifiable ivory shreds. Twilight leaned down and slowly pushed over a stone to reveal half of a broken skull. Judging by the shape of its cranium, Twilight knew that it had once belonged to a human.

“I don’t get it Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash as she poked a broken iron shield with a hoof. There are hundreds of skeletons here and thousands of weapons, but what were they fighting? I don’t see anything but dead humans…” muttered Rainbow Dash as she continued to examine the deceased.

“That’s because they were fighting each other,” Twilight quietly responded.

“What makes you say that?” asked Rainbow Dash as she turned to Twilight. The alicorn lifted up a rusty ancient shield, imbedded in the orange-brown circle was an aged green copper axe.

“I see...” said Rainbow Dash as she turned back to the mass grave. “Hey Twilight, what’s that over there?” asked the pegasus as she slowly flew towards a stone statue. Two legs were all that remained of the crafted structure; over time the unkept sculpture had fallen to pieces.

“In memory of our beloved king. Wherever he may be, he shall always be in our memories. Praise be to our king. Praise be to Ajax.” Rainbow Dash paused after reading the last word; she slowly looked back at Twilight. “What now, Twilight?” asked Rainbow Dash as she watched the purple pony begin to pace back and forth.

“We don’t have much more time, we need to make sure that we leave soon, so that we can catch up to Celestia and the others. Therefore, we should split up to cover more ground. Let’s meet up back here after we’re done. Ok?” asked Twilight as she watched the sun begin to dip behind the horizon.

“Gotcha!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash with a salute. In the flash of an eye, the pony was off. The colorful streak shot through the city as the pegasus scanned the wasteland.

“What’s that?” Thought Rainbow Dash as her eyes focused on a large stone tower in the distance. “That’s pretty interesting…” The cyan pony gently floated through a gaping hole in the tall building’s wall and set her hooves down on a spiral stone staircase. As the pony climbed the stone stairs, she poked her head into the room of each level. “This is taking forever!!! Shesh! I like flying a lot better than walking…” complained Rainbow Dash as she poked her head into another empty room.

CLANG!

Rainbow Dash jumped at the loud noise, but managed to hold her tongue. The colorful pony popped her head back into the stairwell and looked up towards the end of the towering staircase.

“Woah!” hollered Rainbow Dash as she pulled her head back behind the railing. A wooden cabinet crashed against the side of the stone stairs as it continued to tumble down towards the ground floor. “That was a close one,” thought Rainbow Dash to herself as she looked back up, off the side of the stone railing.

BANG!

Another sound echoed throughout the building, something was in here with her. Rainbow Dash got low and slowly crept up towards the top of the staircase, trying to make as little noise as possible. “I hope it’s just a racoon… a raccoon that hates cabinets…” thought Rainbow Dash as she continued to climb the stone stairs. The pony hugged the wall as she began to approach the door to the tower’s highest room. The pegasus slowly pushed open the door and took a quick peek into the room. The young pony’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

In the middle of a torn up room hunched a figure of pure chaotic energy. Ajax was here himself, in the ancient city ruins. Luckily he had been facing away from the door and didn’t notice Rainbow Dash, but now the pegasus was starting to panic.

“What should I do?” she thought to herself. “Should I try to make a run for it? Maybe I should go find Twilight. Why the hell is he here?! Shouldn’t he be up north in his vault or something?! GAH! What the fu…” Rainbow Dash paused, she heard a voice coming from the room. Wait... she heard many voices… the sounds of cheering? “What?” thought the pony as she poked her head back into the doorway.

Ajax was hunching over a small machine, whatever he was holding on to was making all the noise. The sounds of the cheering grew quieter and quieter as a voice Rainbow Dash had never heard before began to play.

“I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to lose more than what little we have left, but we have no choice. I wish I could help everyone, but the world isn’t what we’d hope it to be. Look at us. As a species we are divided, fighting a war that is destined to destroy us. We are alone; the other races of Equestria watch as we continue to kill each other. They hope… that we are successful in wiping each other out.

And who's to blame them? We’ve committed heinous acts against countless species; but I’m here to tell you, that today is a new beginning. That today is the day we place our past behind us and push forward to a new future devoted to the progress of Equestria and all of her people!”

A loud cheer mixed with static could be heard as the crowd erupted into applause.

“...I know we all miss our beloved king. I miss him the most… I raised him as child… taught him everything he knew… how to fight, how to think, how to feel… but there is one thing that he taught me, something so valuable that I’m still in his debt today. He showed me what we were capable of. What we could achieve as a species if only we worked together. Wherever he may be today, enduring whatever punishment Celestia inflicted on him... I hope he knows how much I still value his lesson. That we needn’t distance ourselves from other races. That we should open ourselves to the world... so that we may progress towards a brighter future...together.

There is proof of such a future even now before you. As I speak my voice is being recorded for future generations so that they might remember the battle we fought today and why we fought it. This was only capable through technology, technology that could only have been invented by none other than a brilliant human being. A man who wished to create machines and devices that would help our sick and elderly! A man who wished to discover new things so that he could use them for the benefit of all! But his dream was short lived… he was forbidden to build such devices…

Agathocles, Ajax’s father, forced him to build weapons for war. The same man, who tried to turn his own son into a puppet for war, couldn’t find the heart to allow such a noble pursuit. The people who march here wish to continue the tradition of our monarchy. They wish to elect another king, in the hopes that he w-”

“RAINBOW DASH!” Shouted a voice from the bottom of the staircase.

Ajax spun around and glared at the colorful pony in a heartbeat. The demon’s eyes were flooded with tears as it glared at Rainbow Dash. The pony was frozen; she could only stare back with wide eyes of her own. The demon and the pony sat silently as they stared at one another.

“RAINBOW DASH?! DID YOU FIND ANYTHING?!” Shouted the same voice as before. It was Twilight, the alicorn had come to check up on Rainbow Dash. The pegasus pony slowly turned her head back towards the staircase. Rainbow Dash took a quick glance back at Ajax before shouting back down at Twilight.

“N-No…!” cried the pegasus as she turned back towards Ajax.

“Okay! I’m going to go check the other side of town! Remember we don’t have much time!” cried Twilight. Rainbow Dash looked off to the side as Ajax continued to glare at her with his burning white eyes. The creature wiped its tears and slowly looked back down at the contraption it was holding, before hitting a button.

“-will lead them to a brighter tomorrow, but they only fool themselves! Kings are meant to serve the people, but the ones they end up serving is themselves! I know everyone wishes for another king like Ajax, but we must face facts. Kings shall only hinder our progress as a united race. That is why we must shift the power! No longer will our decisions be made by dictators! They shall be made by the people! That is why we refuse to lay down our arms! Even if it could mean the end of our species! We will not serve another tyrant who seeks to enslave races and his own people! We live for ourselves and only ourselves! Today will mark the day… the human race took its first step… towards the future!”

Applause and cheering was heard as the recording slowly faded out. Ajax sat motionlessly as he continued to look out at the desolate city, the very grave of his people. Rainbow Dash slowly trotted into the room and sat at the edge of the doorway. The pony silently stared at Ajax from behind, she was curious to find out what was going through Ajax’s mind.

“What do you think, Rainbow Dash?” asked Ajax, still facing away from the pony.

“What do I think about what?” Rainbow Dash coughed, she was unsure if the demon was planning on attacking her.

“What do you think of my kingdom?...” asked Ajax as he extended both of his arms outwards. The wall between them and the outside was demolished, Ajax’s long thin bone arms pointed towards the desolate cityscape lying beneath them. Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything; she didn’t know what to say.

“I failed them… I failed every last one of them…” mumbled the creature as it began to rub its claws across its face. Rainbow Dash figured that Ajax must’ve been wiping away more tears. “I blamed Celestia because I didn’t want to blame myself. I suppose… that deep down I always knew. That Celestia was innocent… and I was to blame!” cried Ajax as the Elements of Chaos slowly began to vibrate.

“Ajax…” whispered Rainbow Dash as she approached the human.

“It was friendship that made me strong all those years ago! Not anger! Not hatred! The desire to see my people flourish and my friends succeed! That’s what made me strong! I’ve forgotten that!” Ajax turned to the pegasus, his empty eyes pouring out thick streams of tears.

“My time fighting in the Everfree Scar has made me weak. I turned to anger as a source of comfort, hoping that it would allow me live with myself, but here I am...MAKING THE VERY SAME MISTAKES AS BEFORE!”

Ajax cried out as the Elements of Chaos vibrated out of control. All the emotion he had tried to bottle up, now flooded his heart.

“FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS I’VE FELT BUT ONE EMOTION...HATE! BUT I WANT TO FEEL SOMETHING DIFFERENT! I WANT TO FEEL SOMETHING BESIDES HATE! I WISH TO BE HUMAN AGAIN! I HAVE FRIENDS THAT NEED ME!”

“YoU’rE aLoNe!!!” A dark voice rang in the creature’s head.

“NO! I’M NOT ALONE!” cried Ajax. “I want to be human again… I want to be human again!” shouted Ajax as his long blade like claws reached behind his back. The sound of searing flesh could be heard as Ajax grabbed ahold of a dark red crystal floating behind his back.

“I WANT TO BE ME AGAIN!” screamed Ajax as the crystal burned into his hand. Ajax released his grip on the Element of Chaos, blood poured from his hand as flesh started to grow over the wound.

“AHHH!” Cried Ajax as he grabbed ahold of his bone wings. The demon roared as it ripped off its very own wings. Rainbow Dash stepped back as she watched Ajax begin to mutilate himself.

The monster reached into its own mouth and began to tear out its fangs as tears of blood poured out from its eye sockets. Despite Ajax’s efforts the bone wings grew back, same with his fangs.

“Please! I can do better! I swear! Just give me the chance! All I want is a second chance to make things right!” shrieked the creature as it tore out its wings once more. “PLEASE!” cried Ajax as he grabbed ahold of the ebony and ivory horns on his forehead. The creature tugged with all its might, but was unable to budge the two bones protruding out of its skull. “AHHH!” the fiend screamed once more as it yanked on the horns.

“If anyone is up there… PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!” shouted Ajax as he grabbed ahold of his horns once more. The skin of his forehead began to give way as blood started to trickle down onto his face, washing him anew. With one final jerk the human tore the horns from his head. Ajax fell to his knees as the six Elements of Chaos slowly fell to the ground. The humming of the crystals fell silent as Ajax caught himself with his arms. The human’s eyes slowly opened up, he was covered from head to toe in his own blood, but that didn’t matter.

He was free.

Ajax slowly rose up; he was now human. No embers for eyes, or fangs for teeth. He was one hundred percent human. The man slowly wiped the blood from his eyes and turned to face Rainbow Dash. The pony’s mouth was wide open, she had just witness Ajax mutilate himself back into existence.

“What?” said Ajax as he pushed his blood drenched hair out of his eyes. The human knelt down and picked up the Elements of Chaos and placed them into a pouch.

“A-A-A-A” Rainbow Dash tried to say something, but the pony found it difficult to speak. Ajax turned and stepped towards the gaping hole that led to the outside world.

“WAIT!” shouted Rainbow Dash. The pony had finally managed to grab a hold of her tongue. “What do you plan on doing now…?” asked Rainbow Dash as she took a few steps towards Ajax. The man looked back at the pegasus as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon.

“I’m not entirely sure… I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” smiled Ajax as he saluted the pony with his middle and index finger. “Goodbye, Rainbow Dash,” said Ajax as he hopped out of the tower and landed on a rooftop. The human began to jump across the stone ruins as he began to head north. He was no longer a demon; he was now back to his old self. No... he felt different from his old self. He felt like a completely new man.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A white snowy plane shook as a massive army made its way across the northern plain. Equestria had come together to finish off a monster that had been plaguing its lands. Gryphons, minotaurs, and ponies, made their way through the frozen north as they followed the directions of both Applejack and Pinkie Pie. The three armies came to a halt and split up into smaller formations as they began to prod the ground for any sign of Ajax’s whereabouts.

Not too far off, deep below the ground, a band of villains tried to formulate a plan.

“Listen, we only have enough robots to put up a slight resistance, but I’m sure none of us want to die. That’s why I think it’s best that we just leave while we can… they’re going to find us. I mean there’s no way that we can stop that from happening,” said Chrysalis. The changeling queen was lying against a wall. Her entire torso was still wrapped up in a thick coat of gauze.

“Listen, running is a bad idea. You’re injured and so is Trixie,” said Lightning Dust as she turned to a bedside. “What do you think we should do, Trixie?” asked the pegasus as her face hardened.

The lower half of Trixie’s face was wrapped up. The pony sported a thick neckbrace and dozens of white patches that covered parts of her forehead. Trixie had managed to survive Ajax’s outburst, but her wounds were a grim reminder that she had barely escaped with her life. The unicorn cleared her throat as she prepared to speak.

“I...I think we should wait for Ajax… and then decide,” said Trixie. The pony’s voice was terribly weak. Chrysalis and Lightning Dust had to listen closely, just to understand her.

“You can’t be serious?” asked Chrysalis as her head reared backwards. “What in the name of Equestria makes you think he’s coming back? There’s an army outside poking around, looking for him! He’s got no reason to come back,” said Chrysalis just before a knock was heard at the door.

The three ponies turned to see Ajax step inside; their eyes grew wide when they saw him. He was no longer a demon that burned with chaotic energy. He was human. Two vivid green eyes looked between Chrysalis and Lightning dust, before focusing on Trixie.

“Glad to see you’re alright…” said Ajax as he stepped towards Trixie’s bedside. The unicorn’s wide pink eyes continued to follow Ajax as he slowly approached her, but a figure stepped in his way. Chrysalis eyed the human; she didn’t plan on letting him through.

“It’s alright,” said Trixie as she gave Chrysalis a nod. The changeling looked back at Trixie; she was shocked to hear that Trixie wasn’t worried. Chrysalis would have at least thought that she would be cautious around the human.

Ajax slowly sat down in a chair next to Trixie and looked up at Chrysalis and Lightning Dust. “Can you give us a minute,” he asked.

“IF YOU TH-” started Lighting Dust, but cut herself off when she saw the look on Trixie’s face. The unicorn had a bold look; she wanted the pegasus and changeling to leave the room.

“We’ll be right outside,” sneered Lightning Dust as she eyed Ajax on her way out. As the door shut behind the two ponies a calm silence filled the room. Ajax opened his mouth as if he had something to say, but couldn’t force the words out. He fiddled his thumbs together and took a deep breath before finding the strength to speak.

“Look Trixie, I know that it isn’t much, but I wanted to tell you that I was sorry. When I… attacked you… I was in such a dark place. I’ve... been... in such a dark place for quite a long time. But somehow you managed to bring me out of it. I replaced nearly every emotion with anger, hoping that I could try to distance myself from others… but somehow you broke through. I know that I no longer deserve to be your friend, but I just... hope... that you can find it in your heart to not hate me.”

SLAP!

Ajax’s cheek stung, the unicorn had slapped him across the face with her hoof. The man rubbed his cherry cheek as he looked back into Trixie’s resolved pink eyes.

“Don’t you ever say that,” whispered the pony as she glared at Ajax. “Don’t you ever say that we're not friends! I’ve put too much into this! I won’t let you end our friendship, JUST LIKE THAT!” Ajax closed his eyes and smirked.

“I don’t get it Trixie. Why did you never give up on me? After everything I did, you still somehow managed to believe in me,” mumbled Ajax as he looked up at the unicorn with teary eyes.

“Because you’re my friend.” The pony stated firmly.

“That’s it? Just because we we’re friends? You were willing to go so far, that you nearly died for me, just because we’re friends?” asked Ajax as tears dribbled down his face.

“Did I need another reason?” asked the unicorn as she gave the man a smile. Ajax placed his hands on his face as he tried to calm his rapid breathing. “We are friends...right?” asked Trixie as she placed a hoof on Ajax’s knee.

“You’re my best friend,” cried the man as he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Tixie. The unicorn smiled and sniffed as tears of her own began to run down her face and onto Ajax’s shoulder.

“What about the Elements of Chaos?” asked Trixie as she wiped her eyes.

“I’ve gotten rid of those rotten things. Now, it’s only me,” said Ajax with a sigh. The lights flickered as the walls of the vault shook. Ajax’s eyes narrowed as he realized what probably had just happened.

“They found us!” shouted Lightning Dust as she barged into the room. Ajax and Trixie turned to the alarmed pegasus as the walls began to shake again. Queen Chrysalis slowly trotted in behind Lightning Dust and looked over at Ajax.

“I hope you showed up with a plan,” said the alicorn as everypony turned to Ajax. The man slowly rose up to his feet and glared at the lights of the room as they flickered once again.

“I’ve got a plan... but we’re going to need to look as intimidating as possible,” said Ajax as he looked between the three ponies.

“What kind of plan?” asked Lightning Dust as she raised an eyebrow. Despite Ajax’s new appearance, neither the changeling nor pegasus wanted to trust him.

“It’s going to work, but you’re going to have to trust me,” said Ajax as he helped Trixie out of bed. “Go ahead and raise the vault out of the ground,” he added as his resolute green eyes turned to Chrysalis and Lightning dust.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A large disc began to rise out of the ground as it slowly made its way up into the sky. Minotaurs and gryphons on top of the circle, hopped off as the vault slowly rose up. They had successfully found Ajax’s base. The armies of Equestria waited for the tall skyscraper to stop growing, but the tall pylon continued to go higher and higher, until a large clang rang out and rolled across the snowy desolate plain. A large portion of the tower’s base opened up as waves and waves of robots began to pour out and cluster together in a defensive formation.

“We’re defenseless out here…” mumbled Chrysalis. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” she added as Ajax stepped forward.

“Well, they’re not attacking us, which is not a bad sign,” said Ajax with a chuckle as he motioned for a tiny robot to come over to him. “Tell Celestia that I wish to talk with her,” he said before sending the robot off towards the enemy. “If I don’t make it back, I wish you all the best of luck,” said Ajax as he began to march forward into the snow.

“What does he hope to gain by talking with Celestia?” questioned Lightning Dust as she tried to find fault with the human.

“Don’t worry Lightning Dust... he’s changed.” said Trixie as she watched Ajax walk off towards the opposition. “I’m sure he’s got a plan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time passed by, but Ajax didn’t return. The three ponies sat around waiting for any sign of Ajax; he had been gone for quite some time. The alicorn, pegasus, and unicorn, had sat idle for over an hour by now. Trixie was starting to grow worried; their scouts had lost sight of Ajax when he disappeared behind enemy lines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Something isn’t right…” thought Trixie as she continued to search for Ajax in the distance.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he got himself killed,” said Chrysalis out of the blue as she sat down on a throne made out of robots. “I still can’t figure out why he wanted to talk with Celestia. I mean, there’s no way this war is ending without one of them dying…” she mumbled to herself as she began to file her hooves.

“I see something!” shouted Lighting Dust. Two figures could be seen off in the distance, slowly approaching the three ponies.

“Who is it?” asked Trixie as she adjusted her hat, ready for battle.

“It sure isn’t Ajax,” said Chrysalis as she stepped forward. “Wait, it couldn’t be…” she mumbled as he eyes narrowed, trying to make sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. “I think that’s… Celestia and Luna,” said the Changeling as she slowly looked over at Trixie.

“Celestia and Luna?! Why would they approach our army defenseless?” thought Trixie. None of the three ponies could come up with any logical reason as to why their main target was approaching without her army. “And where’s Ajax?!” thought Trixie as the two divine alicorns continued to approach.

When Celestia and Luna finally reached the vault, they were greeted by the three paranoid ponies. Chrysalis, Lightning Dust, and Trixie were ready to strike the alicorns down at any given moment.

“Settle down,” said Celestia as she approached the three aggressive equines. “This war’s over,” stated the white alicorn leisurely.

“What?!” shouted Trixie her horn began to glow with magic, but Celestia paid no mind to the pony’s threat. “Soldiers attack!” cried Trixie as she pointed her hoof at Celestia, but nothing happened. The robots remained motionless as if they hadn’t heard her.

“Luna?” said Celestia as she allowed her sister to take over. Princess Celestia turned her attention away from Trixie and the others as she began to knock robots over with gentle pushes from her hooves.

“Hey!” cried Trixie, but Princess Luna interrupted her.

“Now then, will the one known as Lightning Dust please step forward?” asked the pony as she looked down at a piece of paper. Lightning slowly stepped forward, but made sure not to get too close to the alicorn. “Congratulations Lightning Dust, you have been acquitted of all you’re crimes,” said Luna as she began to read the paper floating in front of her.

“What…” mumbled Lightning Dust, unsure of what was going on.

“In addition to your clean slate, you have also been accepted into the Wonderbolt Academy. Classes have already started, but I trust that you won’t have a problem with missing a few introductory courses,” said Luna as she tossed a letter at the pegasus’ hooves.

The light green pony quickly snatched the letter off the ground; it had the Wonderbolt’s seal. “WHAT!” shouted the pony as she tore open the letter. “This can’t be happening! It’s a dream come true! I’m back in the academy!” Tears dripped onto the acceptance letter as the trembling pegasus read the letter. “I no longer have to be a mercenary… I can’t believe it… I never could’ve imagined that…” silently cried Lightning Dust as she tightly hugged the envelope.

“Chrysalis, would you please step forward,” said Luna as she looked up at the changeling queen. The black alicorn looked over at Trixie before trotting forward. “Congratulations Chrysalis, you have also been acquitted of all crimes.” said Luna as she looked back down at the piece of paper she was reading. “In addition to your clemency, you’ve been given dominion over the entire eastern portion of the Badlands. You and your changelings shall not be disturbed by any ponies, minotaurs, and gryphons.

“I don’t believe it…” laughed Chrysalis.

“But be warned! If you dare to commit any future crimes, we won’t hesitate to come after you,” growled Luna as she slowly looked over at Trixie. “You… I remember you… from the first battle in Canterlot, your name was... Trixie,” said Luna as she slowly looked back down at her piece of paper.

“You as well have been pardoned of all crimes and will receive a full scholarship towards Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Where you will be allowed to pursue any studies of your interest… congratulations,” mumbled Luna as she looked over at Celestia. “Shall we begin disassembling the human’s contraptions?” asked Luna.

“HOLD ON!” cried Trixie as she teleported in front of Luna. “Tell me what’s going on here! Where’s Ajax!? And why did you just promise us all that stuff on that there paper of yours?!” shouted Trixie as she glared at Luna.

“Ajax has been taken into custody,” said a voice. Trixie slowly turned and looked at Celestia, the pony was poking her hooves against the empty shell of an inactive robot’s head. “In return for the things Luna just listed, he promised to surrender. Pardoning the three of you makes me sick to my stomach, but at least no pony, minotaur, or gryphon, has to die fighting… these things,” said Celestia as she pushed another robot over.

“You mean?...” whispered Trixie.

“That’s right, the war is finally over,” said Celestia as she trotted back over to Luna.

“NO!” shouted Trixie as she disappeared in a flash of magic. The unicorn could be seen galloping across the snowy plain towards the minotaur/gryphon army. The unicorns cape tugged on her neck as it blew against the wind. Trixie’s hat flew off her head, but the unicorn didn’t stop her charge. Warm tears rolled down her frozen cheek as she continued to put one hoof in front of the other.

“Ajaaaaaaaaaaax!” cried the pony as she began to teleport rapidly towards the first wave of Equestrian soldiers.

“STOP HER!” cried a raspy voice as gryphons circling the sky began to dive towards the frantic unicorn. In a burst of magic the pony disappeared and reappeared behind half the army. Trixie’s watery pink eyes turned to see Ajax kneeling down on the floor. The human had massive iron chains wrapping around every part of his body. Five magic runes glowed and chimed as they circled around the captive human.

“Hold it right there!” shouted a voice as Rainbow Dash crashed down on top of Trixie.

“NO! G-Get off of me! AJAX!” shrieked the pony as she tried to crawl towards her friend.

“Hush… Trixie,” said Ajax as he slowly looked up at the unicorn. The man had a sad smile on his face.

“A-Ajax, d-do y-y’know what they’re g-going to d-do to y-you?!” sobbed Trixie as she choked on her own tears. Rainbow Dash continued to pin the unicorn against the floor, but it was hard for the pegasus to look at the tearful unicorn.

“I will be taken back to Canterlot, where I will be tried and found guilty. Then I will be executed,” said Ajax calmly as he looked back down at the ground.

“You actually think there’s going to be a trial?” coughed a voice as Bjorn stepped forward. Trixie continued to scream with her head pressed against the ground as she came to terms with Ajax’s choice.

“You were my first friend! I can’t lose you! Not like this!” shouted Trixie as she struggled to break free, but Rainbow Dash’s hold was too tight.

“Trixie… all of my friends in the past have perished. Every single last one of them met a grim fate that I couldn’t prevent but not today. Today, I get the chance to save my friends from the fire. Now I get to burn for the ones I care about, instead of the other way around. Thank you for always believing in me, Trixie. I’m sure you’ll achieve great things in your life,” said Ajax as two minotaurs began to drag him away. “So long, The Great and Powerful Trixie…” said Ajax as he was taken away.

“NOOOOO!...” The cries of a broken heart could be heard for miles all around.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Word spread quickly of Ajax’s capture. The mysterious creature, infamous for the ruin he brought to Equestria, was finally defeated. Throughout the land, minotaur, gryphon, and pony celebrated the human’s downfall. Canterlot was still in ruins, but it was livelier than ever before. Citizens who had fled were now beginning to return to the ruined capital. Fireworks erupted in the night sky, coloring the twinkling canvas with all the colors of the spectrum. Ponies told tales about how Ajax had been captured in a hard fought battle. That Celestia and Luna had once again saved the world from the devil of a man… but these were just rumors.

What had really happened shocked everyone who was there. Ajax gave himself up. All he asked in return was the guaranteed safety of three ponies. Even during these times of Celebration, Canterlot was cautious. Celestia was suspicious that Ajax was up to something, she had gone to ludicrous lengths of security to ensure that Ajax couldn’t break out. Her enemy was on the ropes, she only needed to play her cards right.

“Citizens of Canterlot!” A loud voice rang throughout the city. Mares and stallions in the streets looked up from their drinks and desserts. The stuffed ponies had been partying non stop for the past day and a half. “I come before you to announce the monster’s demise!” The resonating voice belonged to Princess Celestia. The pony could be seen standing atop her balcony that overlooked the city. Two bright columns housing dancing fire illuminated the white alicorn. “Ajax, the one responsible for so much death, so much destruction, will finally be brought to justice!” An eruption of cheers filled the city as ponies and mares drunk on bliss and cider celebrated their victory.

Celestia raised a hoof and settled down the overjoyed crowd. The princess took a deep breath before speaking.

“Let us not forget those whom we’ve lost to the destruction Ajax wrought upon Equestria. May they find peace knowing that the one who murdered them will receive due justice, for tomorrow... Ajax shall be executed.” A cheer louder than ever before filled the Canterlot square as ponies reveled in excitement.

“He killed my son!” shouted a mare with long red hair.

“That brute murdered my entire family,” shouted a stallion as he shook his hoof.

Celestia calmly listened to her subjects as they cheered and cried out for the human’s head. She hated to see them crave bloodshed, but she understood the pain in their heart. They wanted revenge because Ajax had taken so much from them. The alicorn continued to silently observe the bloodthirsty mob as they continued to curse the human, but one sound grabbed Celestia’s attention. One noise out of the crowd was able to grab hold of princess’ eear.

“BOOOO!” Cried a voice being drowned out by the angry crowd. “BOOO! Free Ajax! BOOO!” Trixie, Ajax’s apprentice, one of the three ponies Ajax had vindicated from punishment, screamed her heart out. “BOOO!”

Celestia wondered that if the unicorn was playing along with whatever scheme Ajax was planning. However, the white alicorn was still bothered by the desperate pony’s cries, but she refused to believe that Ajax was capable of self-sacrifice. He would never give himself up to save a pony. The white alicorn turned around and trotted back inside, trying to get the image of Trixie out of her mind.

“Is something the matter?” said a voice.

“L-Luna?” stuttered Celestia as she looked up. The dark alicorn smiled at her sister.

“Is something bothering you?” she asked. Celestia glanced back towards the balcony; the yelling of angry ponies could still be heard.

“It’s nothing. I’m going to go check up on the prisoner,” said Celestia as she trotted past Luna. “Hold on... where are you going?...” asked Celestia as she turned back to Luna. The white alicorn had nearly not noticed the saddle and pouches resting on Luna’s back.

“I plan on going to the Everfree Forest, to investigate the dark presence… do you want to come?” asked Luna as she gave Celestia a small smile.

“No, I’ve got business to attend to,” said Celestia as she turned back around.

“Right, you’ve got to make sure that you kill Ajax.” Luna paused for a moment. “ Y’know, I hope that killing him can finally bring peace to your heart, but I hope you know it won’t bring anypony back.”

“I know that…” said Celestia as she trotted off.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep in the Canterlot dungeon far below the surface of the city, there was a cell Celestia had made specifically for Ajax. It was clear that she wasn’t going to take any chances whatsoever. A steel door easily a meter thick, chain bonds with metal links easily five inches thick, housed the inescapable cell. She made sure that Ajax had no possible way to escape her palace’s dungeon.

A figure sat in the middle of seven glowing rune circles, Ajax’s entire body was bound. It seemed like Celestia was even afraid of him being able to use his fingers to escape. Two heavy metal spheres, similar to cannon balls rested around the human’s iron cuffed hands.

SMACK! A heavy sound resonated throughout the dark dreary dungeon.

No sunlight had ever reached this part of the palace; only torchlight lit these gloomy halls. The smell of something foul filled the dark chambers; nopony had ever been able to locate the source of the putrid stench, but the guards didn’t care. No guard ever showed a prisoner down here mercy, and they didn’t plan on showing Ajax any.

SMACK! Another sound echoed throughout the dungeon. Ajax’s cheeks began to blister as guards continued to beat the restrained human mercilessly. The human’s hair drooped over his head; he was unresponsive, showing the guards not even a slight sign of discomfort.

“Hit him harder!” growled a stallion as he clamped his two front hooves together. “Hit him like you mean it!”

SMACK! Another blow crashed along Ajax’s face. The man slumped over, but two hooves lifted him back up.

“You bastard! My brother died protecting Canterlot from the likes of you! What do you have got to say for yourself?! HUH!?” shouted a guard as he reared his head back and slammed his skull against Ajax’s. Ajax fell backwards as a dribble of blood crept down his forehead onto the bridge of his nose. The pony spat on Ajax, but as he turned away, he heard the man whisper something under his breath.

“What did you say?...” growled the guard as his eyes flared.

“I said...I’m,” Ajax’s words turned into blood spurts as the guard pressed a hoof against his neck.

“Say it to my face… human,” sneered the guard as he readied to beat Ajax again.

“I said, I’m… sorry,” muttered Ajax as two green eyes looked up at the guard from behind thick messy white hair.

“You’re sorry?!” shouted the guard as he lifted a hoof up into the air.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” shouted a harsh cold voice. The pony looked back to see an angered alicorn looming over him.

“P-Princes…” stammered the pony as he let go of Ajax. “I was just…”

“Get out,” ordered Celestia, the stallions could tell that she was mad. They wasted no time as they escape out an exit. Ajax slowly sat back up and looked up at the white alicorn.

“Don’t let that guy’s temper fool you, that pony is a sweetheart deep down,” chuckled Ajax as he wiped his bloody mouth against his shoulder. “So why are you here? Come to gloat over your victory?” asked Ajax as he flung his messy hair to the side.

“You think this is funny, don’t you? You have some sort of plan to break out here I bet,” said Celestia as she slowly stepped forward. Ajax laughed softly before slowly shaking his head.

“I have no more plans, this is it. This is how my legacy will end,” sighed Ajax as he looked down at his cuffs.

“You expect me to believe, that you just gave up? After all the diehard determination to bring me down, you just turned around and quit?!” asked Celestia as she stood over the human.

“That’s right,” said Ajax calmly.

“Tell me, what wonderful life changing event managed to change your mind?” jokingly asked Celestia.

“I found them,” whispered Ajax under his breath. “The ruins of our last city. I found the very last survivors in them. And do you know what they were doing?” said Ajax he looked up at Celestia. Blood poured out of Ajax’s mouth and down onto his chest as he continued to speak. “They died fighting each other, they were so caught up in their ideal between democracy and monarchy that they no longer cared for their survival as a species.” Ajax took a moment to gather himself before speaking again.

“It was at that moment, that I realized that it was my fault. I blamed you for the damnation of my species because I didn’t want to find out the truth. I was afraid of the truth, I guess it’s because I knew… deep down, that it was never your fault. It was always my fault. They needed me to lead them. They needed me to guide them… and I wasn’t there.”

Celestia stared hard at Ajax as the man looked back up at her.

“So what? Just like that you no longer hate me?” asked the Alicorn as she raised an eyebrow.

“No, no, no, I still hate you,” said Ajax as he let out a laugh… Celestia didn’t find it as funny however. “I mean you still locked me away for about a thousand years, I mean… how could I not hate you… but I do understand why you did it,” he said.

“Oh is that so?” she asked.

“I mean… after everything that happened all those years ago, I’m surprised your punishment wasn’t harsher. If the tables were turned I wouldn’t have been as merciful towards pony kind…” said Ajax with a smile. “But still... despite knowing why you did it, I can’t help but hate you for what you did,” he added.

“Enough of the crap!,” growled Celestia as she stamped a hoof down. “You’re a monster! How could someone have a change of heart so quickly, the last time I saw you the Elements of Chaos had you on puppet strings!” shouted Celestia. “Everypony out there is shouting for your head… and I’m supposed to be the one who’s going to give it to them.”

Ajax slowly looked up and off to the side; the human went silent. Celestia was about to ask what he was doing, but then she heard it. Even down here, one could hear the chanting taking place in the middle of Canterlot. The cries for Ajax’s death rang throughout the dark stone halls.

“I’m sorry,” said Ajax as the beaten up human looked back at Celestia.

“Sorry for what?” asked the pony.

“They’re like me when I first left the Everfree Scar. They hope that they will find peace in my death, but they don’t know what will really happen.” Ajax frowned and stared at Celestia with a pained look. “When I die they’ll feel nothing from my death. It’s at that moment they’ll realize that my demise won’t bring back their loved ones. I can only hope that after I die, they’ll be able to find comfort… in each other.”

SMACK! A royal hoof smashed into Ajax’s nose. The human shook his head as blood began to pour out of his nostrils.

“What did you do that for…” mumbled Ajax as his eyes slowly looked up. A glowing alicorn teaming with energy, hovered above the human as if she was going to execute him on the spot. Ajax felt the chains around him vanish as they melted into hot golden liquid.

“Get up…” hissed Celestia as her burning golden eyes locked onto Ajax. “GET UP AND FIGHT ME!” Ajax slowly rose to his feet and looked up at Celestia, but he didn’t move a muscle.

The white alicorn bolted forward, she turned into a comet of molten fury as she crashed against the human, pinning him against the wall.

“Fight me!” she cried once more as she swung a hoof into Ajax’s jaw, but the man didn’t move. He only waited quietly for what came next. “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE A MONSTER!” cried Celestia as she raised another hoof. “You can’t do this! It’s not fair! After all the lives you’ve taken you can’t turn around and change like this! I’m supposed to give them a monster tomorrow!” The alicorn held her hoof inches away from Ajax’s face, but never delivered the final blow. The man still didn’t show any sign of resistance.

“I guess... I’ll just have to give them you…” mumbled Celestia as she backed away and watched Ajax slump to the floor.

“I guess so…” whispered Ajax as Celestia left his cell.

The man sat quietly as the sound of Canterlot’s chanting began to ring throughout the dungeon once more.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sheesh… it’s dark,” echoed a voice throughout the Everfree Forest. The sound of Princess Luna’s hoofsteps seemed to carry for miles as she trotted down a dark path of the grim forest. The alicorn looked back off into the distance, the last firework had shot over Canterlot. After two whole days of nonstop celebrating, the mares and stallions of Canterlot were finally going to give it a rest.

“About time,” sighed Luna as she turned away from the now quiet city. A bright ray of light pierced the thicket of the everfree forest and shot directly into Luna’s eyes. “GAH!” cried the pony as she rubbed her eyes with her hooves. She slowly looked up and saw a bright orange light begin to illuminate the dark dreary forest.

“The sun’s starting to come up? I almost forgot how late it was… or how early it was?… nevermind…” thought the pony as she adjusted her saddle and pressed on into the lit forest. “Ajax’s execution should be soon… If I manage to waste enough time here, I might be able to miss it,” she thought as she turned a corner.

“What?...” asked the alicorn out loud as she stopped in her tracks. Laying before her was a pack of disassembled timberwolves; the creatures had been completely torn apart. Their twigs and branches had been snapped, but why...? What kind of creature would hunt timberwolves? There was no meat on their bones… only for the sake of killing them would a creature ever hunt them down.

“Come…” called out an ominous voice. Luna paused when she heard the sound; she hoped that her mind was playing tricks on her.

“Come…” the voice came again, but it was louder this time. A dark cloud, hovering just above the ground, slowly drifted from out of the forest and made its way towards the alicorn.

“COME!” shouted the same voice, causing Luna to stagger backwards.

“Are you the dark entity that I sensed in the Everfree?!” shouted Luna, but the cloud only responded by fleeing deeper into the forsaken woods. “Hey! Get back here!” shouted the pony as she raced after the dark mysterious cloud.

The pony turned left and then right as she tried to keep up with the rogue cloud. The forest grew darker and thicker as the cloud continued to lead Luna on a chase until finally the alicorn came to a stop. She was at the mouth of the Everfree Scar, but the cloud was nowhere to be found.

“Luna…” choked out a weak voice. The alicorn held her breath when she heard the recognizable voice.

Luna turned to see Discord tied to a tree. The draconequus was malnourished, his body fragile and weak. It looked like he hadn’t eaten in months. Thick red chains were wrapped around Discord’s arms, legs, and torso.

“Discord!” Shouted Luna as she galloped over him. “We’ve been worried about you for over the past two months! What happened to you?” asked the alicorn as she tried to pull the chains off Discord. “Who… did this to you?” she asked as paused to look up at the draconequus.

“Luna… you have… to run…” coughed Discord as his breathing grew rapid.

“I had a dream like this not too long ago!” thought the alicorn to herself. “Hold on Discord I’ll get you out of there!” shouted Luna as she tried to use her magic on the glowing red demonic bonds.

“Get away… he’s coming…” muttered Discord as Luna finally began to make progress with chains wrapping around Discord.

“Who’s coming?” she asked fearfully as she struggled to break the last chain link.

“My brother…” as Discord said those two words Luna felt the world around her begin to change. It was like the word itself had grown heavier. An intense pressure of power filled the forest as the ground jolted up and down. Luna heart shot up into her throat when she turned to see a massive claw emerging out of the Everfree Scar.

“We have to get out of here!” shouted Luna as she threw Discord onto her back. The pony spread her wings and soared to the sky, she turned back and saw what Discord was afraid of.

A draconequus appeard, similar to Discord in body shape, but marginally different. This draconequus was a dark brown with glowing orange eyes. It had two massive bull horns protruding out of its head. It was more of a demon than a draconequus.

Unlike Discord’s mismatched body, the draconequus seemed to only be made out of dragon parts. The creature looked like a dark scaled dragon that had acquired Discord’s body shape. The demonic entity stood over two hundred feet high, dwarfing the entire forest. A large tail, covered in scales and spikes swayed back and forth, destroying acres of trees with each sweep.

Luna looked back and tried to gather as many details as she could, she couldn’t believe the amount of power she felt emanating from the draconequus.

“What the hell is that?!” shouted Luna as she continued to fly towards Canterlot.

“My… older brother…” said Discord as he looked over at the dark brown dragon-like draconequus.

“We got to get to Canterlot!” shouted Luna as she continued to race toward the distant city.

“There’s no point… It’s the end of the word…” mumbled Discord as he collapsed on the pony’s back.

“We’ll just see about that…” whispered Luna as she looked back at the enormous demon. The creature’s eyes were following Luna, but it wasn’t following her.

“Thank the stars, at least I don’t have to worry about that thing following me…” thought Luna as she flew away as fast as her wings would carry her.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ajax, you have been found guilty of crimes against Equestria and her people. For your crimes you’ll be hanged,” dictated an armored pony reading off an elegant scroll.

Ajax stood in the middle of Canterlot square before a noose; the man was to be hanged in the city square for all to see. Ponies from all across Equestria had gathered to watch the human’s demise. They sat on top of roofs just to get a good view as pegasi slowly hovered above the scene. Ajax stood calmly before his executioner with his eyes closed. The man didn’t seem to be worried about dying.

“Place hi-” started the armored pony, but the sound of distant shouting stopped his citation. “What’s going on?” mumbled the disgruntled guard as he looked up at the pegasi hovering above the town square.

“I think it’s the princess!” exclaimed a unicorn sitting on a rooftop.

Princess Celestia had been keeping a close eye on Ajax’s execution. The pony rose from her seat and looked off into the distance. “What is she carrying?” whispered Celestia as she strained her eyes. “Is that… Discord?” she mumbled to herself as Luna’s cries finally became audible.

“Celestia!” yelled the distressed alicorn. “Celestia!”

“What is it?!” shouted Celestia as she flew up to meet her sister.

“I found something in the Everfree Scar. My fears were true, there’s a monster unlike anything we’ve ever encountered!”

“What!?” shouted Celestia as she pulled Luna close. “What do you mean!?” Celestia’s voice strained as she tried to maintain her voice to a whisper.

“It’s the end of the world… armageddon… ragnarok!” cried out Discord as he woke up. The draconequus fell off Luna’s back during his dramatic episode. “He’s here! He’s finally returned, I knew this day would come, but I thought we would have more time!” cried out Discord as he struggled to pick himself up off the ground.

“Start from the beginning,” said Celestia as she lifted Discord up with her magic. Celestia’s mouth opened slightly as she looked Discord up and down. The draconequus was so pale and fragile, his ribs could be seen running up and down his chest.

“As you know Celestia… I’m quite old… very old to be precise,” said Discord as he looked up at Celestia. The ponies that had gathered for Ajax’s execution were now focused on hearing Discord’s story. Even the executioner ran off to see what Discord had to say.

“Hey! What’s going on?” asked Ajax as he looked at all the ponies galloping towards Discord, Celestia and Luna. The man struggled against his chains, but couldn’t break free. “No, no, go ahead… do whatever… I’ll just wait here…” coughed Ajax as he rolled his eyes.

Discord cleared his throat before speaking.

“Long ago… before you or Luna even came to Equestria… there were seven grand spirits. I was one of them… we were all draconequi, equal in power, but not in motive. The majority of us kept to ourselves, but there was one who wanted to shape the world to his specific image. Malice… my older brother, saw the others and I as an opposition that would stand in his way. The six of us tried to reason with Malice, but he wouldn’t listen. Our eldest, our very own brother, began to devour us... one by one,” as Discord continued to speak, dark clouds began to gather in the sky above canterlot.

“Malice had nearly succeeded in devouring all my brothers and sisters. Only my youngest sister and I was all that remained. Luckily, she allowed me to use her as bait, so that we could banish our brother from Equestria once and for all. We sent him to a place far below Equestria. A world that laid beneath Tartarus, a world that he couldn’t escape from… but now I realize, there is no prison that can hold him.” Celestia and Luna continued to listen to Discord’s story. All of Canterlot was now fearful of this new supreme draconequi threat.

“Being the only spirit left, I took charge. I ruled over most of Equestria… until you two came along and encased me in stone. But none-” began Discord, but a drop of liquid plopped on his head, cutting him off. “What a terrible time for rain,” he said as he looked up to the sky. Another drop of rain splashed on his face, but it wasn’t water… it was blood.

A crack of lightning struck in the distance as the crimson rain grew heavier and heavier, soon the streets began to run red as blood continued to pour down from the sky. As a bright flash of lightning filled the city, an enormous creature appeared out of nowhere in the blink of an eye. A draconequus, corrupted with demonic energy stood in the middle of Canterlot, its eyes glared at the fearful tiny equines in its presence.

“Celestia!” hollered Twilight as she and her friends turned a corner. “What’s going on? Why is it raining blood…” as the alicorn spoke, her eyes slowly began to follow the body of the massive draconequus up into the sky. “What is that?!” she cried as she and her friends gasped.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! The sound of Malice’s clapping resonated like shockwaves as the draconequus clapped his dragon-like claws together.

“Wonderful… just… wonderful…” The towering giant’s voice was similar to Discord’s, but was a little rougher and heavier. “Everyone played their part… perfectly,” said the draconequus as a devilish smile grew across its face.

“Who are you!?” shouted Rainbow Dash as she flew up towards the behemoth's head.

“Ah yes… the colorful pony. I couldn’t have done it without you,” said the draconequus as its eyes focused onto Rainbow Dash. “Without you, none of this could have ever happened.

“Me? I think you got the wrong pony…” she said as she flew backwards away from the demon.

“Surely you recognize my voice. After all I was the one who led you into the forest,” chuckled the draconequus as he swirled his claw around, creating a dark cloud. “Don’t you remember?... ‘Come’...” Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot wide, she remembered his voice. It was the same voice that called out to her in the Everfree Forest…the voice that led her to Ajax.

“It was you…” muttered Rainbow Dash in realization.

“That’s right, I was the one who led you to Ajax, so that you might reintroduce him to the world. So that he could run rampant across equestria, allowing me to safely exit the Everfree Scar and regain my full strength.” Malice laughed as he patted his belly. “I had to eat a lot of demon’s to get there.”

“YOU!” cried out a voice. The draconequus looked down and saw the small figure of a man shouting at him.

“Excuse me,” said the enormous creature to Rainbow Dash as he began to shrink himself down to a normal size. “Ah, if it isn’t the man himself! Ajax… long time no see.
Good to see that you’re in fine health. Do you even remember me?” asked the draconequus as it placed its dragon claws on its sides.

“You’re the one who killed my friends! How could I ever forget you! I’m going to tear you apart for what you did!” snarled Ajax as he tried to break out of his bonds.

“Good, I’m glad that you still remember me,” laughed the draconequus as it pinned Ajax to the floor with its dragon tail. “Because I never forgot you! You and your pitiful friends are responsible for stuffing me back down that hole. Do you even have any idea how long you filthy humans set me back?!” shouted the draconequus as it continued to press its tail into Ajax’s back.

“You’re not welcome here!” A voice rang throughout the city, a voice belonging to a powerful alicorn. Celestia stepped forward and approached the strange creature. “I’ll warn you… one last time. You’re not welcome here. Now...leave!” Celestia’s eyes glared at Malice.

“Ah yes… Princess Celestia… listen here kid, I ran this show long before you and your sister showed up! You can’t even fathom the power that I posses!” sneered Malice as he looked past the white alicorn and saw a strange earth pony. The equine had a fang, two huge eyebrows, and a long white goatee growing out from under his chin. “Discord…” growled the draconequus as it made its way towards the pony.

“Oh, hey there… b-big bro!” stuttered Discord as he changed back into his normal self.

“Up to your old tricks I see. Are you trying to hide from me?” hissed Malice as he stared at his brother.

“Well, you know… You kind of draconiqui-napped me and tied me to a tree for a few months…”

“You’re the one who banished me for over three thousand years!” roared Malice as the sanguine rainfall grew stronger.

“Oh… You’re still mad about that? heh...heh…” asked Discord as he tapped two fingers together.

“What do you want from us?” asked Celestia as she and Luna prepared to fight the dragon-like draconequus.

“I don’t want anything from the likes of you,” said Malice as he carelessly walked away from the two alicorns.

“Enough games, just get to the point!” growled Luna as she trotted after Malice. The princess’ horn glowed brightly, she was ready to strike at the draconequus at any given moment.

“What I need is the Elements of Chaos…” said Malice as he walked back over to Ajax. “I need both Elements of Harmony and Elements of Chaos, so that I may rewrite the world to fit my image,” said Malice as he pressed his dragon claw against Ajax’s back. The human squirmed under the draconequus, but was ultimately helpless, due to his bonds.

“You used me! You killed my friends then used me!” shouted Ajax as he writhed under Malice’s leg.

“Oh hush now, Ajax. I already gave you most of the credit for all of this,” said Malice as he looked down at the human.

“What do you plan on doing with the elements?!” shouted Twilight as she stepped forward. Malice laughed as he turned to the purple alicorn.

“You mean to tell me that you fools use the Elements so carelessly, but have no idea what they are capable of?” chuckled Malice as he gazed into Twilight’s purple eyes. The pony thought about it for a moment, but couldn’t figure out what Malice was getting at. “Typical…” groaned Malice as he glared at Twilight with his burning orange eyes. “The Elements of Chaos and the Elements of Harmony were the very tools used by the creator to make Equestria,” said Malice as he rolled his eyes. “Y’know… the one who kinda made everything and everyone?”

“Wait, so you’re telling me…” said Twilight as she realised Malice’s intentions.

“That’s right little horsey… I’m going to rewrite the entire world… to make me it’s god,” said Malice with a victorious smile.

“You’ll never get away with this!” shouted Applejack as she took a hoofstep forward.

“On the contrary… I pretty much already have, thanks to Ajax here. He not only managed to make sure to buy me enough time to regather my strength, but also made sure to weaken all of Equestria’s armies at the same time. Pony, dragon, minotaur, gryphon… yes, he did an excellent job,” said Malice as he patted Ajax on the head.

“You…” hissed Ajax as he began to burn with shadowfire.

“Nonsense Ajax, don’t even bother with that black fire of yours. You and your friends did put up a good fight, I’ll admit, but I am now far stronger than the last time you faced me. You don’t even stand a chance,” said Malice as he brushed away Ajax’s fire as if it were a nuisance. “Now… tell me. Where did you hide the Elements of Chaos? They are the last things that I need to complete my plan,” said Malice as he looked down at the human.

“Wait, what about the Elements of Harmony?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, those? I already have those…” shrugged Malice as he summoned six luxurious crystals in the palm of his hand. “Pretty stupid leaving them unguarded in some tree… don’t you think?” asked the draconequus as he looked over at Pinkie Pie. “Now then, where was I? Oh, yes. Ajax, mind telling me the whereabouts of the Elements of Chaos?” asked Malice as he pressed his spiked tail into Ajax’s back.

“NEVER!” cried Ajax as he grit his teeth.

“I was afraid of this. You humans were always so resilient. Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn, up until the very end. Fine, it’ll be more fun to tear Equestria apart searching for them anyways,” smiled Malice.

A blast of energy crashed into the back of Malice’s head. The draconequus turned to see a unicorn standing on a rooftop.”

“Leave him alone!” cried the pony as she teleported in front of Malice. It was Trixie; the unicorn scrapped a hoof against the pavement as she scowled at the draconequus. Malice’s eyes turned blood red when he looked down at the aggressive unicorn.

“It’s about time I make something clear…” he growled before disappearing in a poof of red velvet magic. Malice had returned to his monstrous size; the draconequus reappeared outside of Canterlot, standing in front of the city’s wall. “My power can’t be contested, this is simply a purging of the world you know!” shouted Malice as he stomped his foot into the ground. Equestria shook as something emerged off in the distance and began crawling towards Canterlot.

“No way… could it be?” thought Twilight as she rubbed her eyes.

Canterlot watched as a massive fissure began making its way towards the city.

“Is that the Everfree Scar!?” shouted Twilight as the massive canyon bolted over hills and across fields towards Canterlot. In mere seconds, the city was torn in half. Ponies fell down the enormous crack, down into the abysmal darkness.

“Behold! The legions of Tartarus!” howled Malice as a bright red light emerged from behind the darkness inside of the Everfree Scar. Hordes of demons and foul creatures could be seen clawing their way out of the gorge. “Even the dead rise against you!” seethed the draconequus as he raised a claw. Undead creatures emerged from beneath the ground and began to tear into flesh of ponies. The hordes of zombified ponies and demons began to fill the streets of Canterlot.

“I suggest you listen to the advice I’m about to give you…” sneered Malice as his eyes returned to a bright orange.

“Run…”

Comments

[Fading Soul]

Holy shit, that was a quick update! This popped up in my feed less than 30 seconds after I finished reading the previous chapter.

[Ajaxx]

5626525

Magic doesn't create a kick, despite creating enormous explosions. Strange that magic doesn't adhere to the laws of science. Maybe because it's magic.

[Professor Litmus]

well that's just great, one more good story cancelled and turned into a massive waste of time and emotional investment. Good day to you sir, I wash my hands of you and your story.

[Dreamclaw]

5626553
I guessed that you were going to explain it like this, I totally knew that while writing that part. Anyway, this is a fishy spot which is occupied mostly by personal canon\fanon of everyone. I'm just gonna say that every time a unicorn fired any sort of beam thingy (especially the poverful ones) they kinda assumed a steady stance with wide spread legs and in some cases you could even see a bit of kick there. But sure, we can go with "I ain't gonna explain stuff because magic" explanation.
I left that bit out purposefully since I hoped you'd come up with something more creative like a magical anchor or something.

P.S. I've edited my previous posts a bit, check if you missed anything, especially in the very first one. I gotta go to bed now so I'll write back later. Bye.

I'm really sorry for being so rude, I understand that you've spent a lot of time on this but I just couldn't help myself after seeing the story go downhill after being so good in the beginning. I will probably read the next chapter in the morning.

[Mr Dorito]

Wow, you've got a lot planned ahead didn't you?

[Ajaxx]

5626953

Yea, and the human race DID come back :P

[Nick11235]

Wait what? The story ends? On Valentines day? YOU BROKE MY HEART. Jk I have no soul but think of the people that do have a soul and feel TERRIBLE!

[Mr Dorito]

5626956 *body explodes into confetti*

[shinikage]

damn is sad to see another good story bite the dust, please dont remove it, take your time to see the readers reaction and decide upon that

[Ajaxx]

Adios amigos.

If you see a story you like in the future, please tell the author. You never know how much of a difference it might make.

A comic

Godspeed to you all. Both to those who disliked my story and loved it.

P.S. If you ever personally messaged me a rant about my story being shit. Go fuck yourself, I tried my best.

[Dreamclaw]

5627791

If you see a story you like in the future, please tell the author. You never know how much of a difference it might make.

Yes, while I am sorry for a hateful manner in which I conveyed my message and for the consequences these ramblings caused, I'm not sorry for expressing my opinion. I do it on every story I read, whether it's a typo or a major plot hole that I found.
You see, I believe that pointing out such things to the writers is the only way for them to improve. Point a misspelled word and hopefully next time he'll spell it right, point out a plot hole and it won't come biting everyone in the ass later in the story. Some folks got offended, I belive one dude might have even quit because of it, even though I didn't state all that much there except lots and lots of typos. Others actually thanked me and fixed what was wrong.
I could have approached this debate with a more neutral attitude but I decided to go with "Everything Wrong With" style instead and pointed out all "sins" I could find. While my words may have seemed hateful (and some of them were), they were just intended to let you know what you were doing wrong so that next chapters will get better and won't be the same siege of Canterlot over and over again.

Take your time, cool off a bit and see if you can make this story any better. It has a huge potential if done right. After all you try, you fail... then you just become better and try again, this is what life is =)
Learn from your mistakes, but for it to happen you first need to go through the "pain" of someone else pointing them out for you if you didn't see them yourself.

P.S. If you'll ever going to continie this, get yourself a prereader or two. Heck, even I would have agreed to help and would have told you to stop when you started abusing Ex Machinas everywhere. Most of the "sins" I pointed out could have easily been fixed making this story truly a masterpiece.
Anyway, I wish you luck in whatever you decide to try next! =)

Also, who is that person who has the rights for the story as of now, is he going to continue writing it instead of you? =P

[BronyGuy2014]

WHY!!??
I think that this story is brilliant! Honestly you should give it another chance like humanity was given! >:(

[Dreamclaw]

He was... back in his vault?

Predicted that too. But it's fine I guess... Or she could have just teleported herself together with LD and Chryssalis out of there without ruining everything agan.

I had no other choice but to teleport us!

I call BS on this one. It is just another predictable "plot twist" that had to be used to make the story even longer...

The alicorn

The unicorn

So what is she? =P A unicorn or an allicorn? =)
You misspeled Trixies species right when they returned to the vault.

Everypony, gryphon and minotaur had managed to make their way safely out of the palace.

Oh, joy. Because we can't have them dead already? >_>

but we must devote all of our attention to Ajax at the moment

Yeah, let even more creatures die to save your flank while you are absolutely powerless and do nothing... Still wwitholding crucial information about her deeds to erase all knowledge of humans and such too.

“This war’s over,” stated the white alicorn leisurely.

Not that you had anything to do with it, oh so mighty "DIVINE" alicorn.

Princess Celestia turned her attention away from Trixie and the others as she began to knock robots over with gentle pushes from her hooves.

Let me guess, they managed to turn off the energy source? You did it again, I can't put in words how OP she acts right now. (Explained later on so it's kinda fine. Though she probably shouldn't have acted that casual.

accepted into the Wonderbolt Academy

And so unfolds a "happy ending". Too happy to be true. (Explained later on in the story so it's fine)

“Shall we begin disassembling the human’s contraptions?” asked Luna.

You shall begin to buck yourself in the eye socket!
Also, why did they go there without troops (or didn't send delegates for that matter) and acted so casual if they were sure that Ajax had an escape plan ready and it could have possibly been a trap for Celestia? I understand that she's a pompous bitch but she's so paranoid for her own hide that behavior like this is too OOC for her.

*RAGE QUIT*

*Some time later*
Okay, decided to finish reading it just to be sure

but Rainbow Dash’s hold was too tight.

Because Trixie suddenly forgot that she can use magic and teleport.

That Celestia and Luna had once again saved the world from the devil of a man

Yeah, I'm sure it'll go down in the books just like that. Because that's the only thing these false rulers do.

They wanted revenge because Ajax had taken so much from them.

That makes them so different to Ajax... so superior. Seriously, you should have ended it with killing both sisters and possibly de-alicornation of others. Then have Ajax return to his old self and get executed or something. This just sucks.

I hope that killing him can finally bring peace to your heart

Yeah, because he's the only one who sees her true nature and wants to bring false goddess to justice.

said Ajax he looked up at Celestia

as*
Also, ponies are being human here. And Celestia is being a bitch, as usual.

GET UP AND FIGHT ME!

Because you coulnd't find the courage to do it earlier before so many creatures died?

she asked as paused to look up at the draconequus.

Luna heart shot up into

typos

Thank the stars, at least I don’t have to worry about that thing following me…

I wonder why... Because no one kills important characters like in the very beginning anymore. All of them just get miraculously or stupidly saved every single time.

Celestia’s eyes glared at Malice.

Because now she's suddenly badass and confident in her abilities after beating a chained man to half death... What happened to the covard hiding behind her subject's backs?

Plus what is this thing about elements being in a tree back at the Everfree? Didn't all of Mane6 went to get "element blessings" right before the second battle? I might be mistaking what that meant, but I thought they had the elements with them =\

And now I'm done reading. So, what do I have to say after reading the last chapter and the author afterwords? The story wasn't that bad, especially in the beginning and in the middle. It is the last 2 or 3 chapters that brought it down for me. Mainly the overabundance of Ex Machina "plot twists" and the fact that sometimes characters would act really weird and cliche. I do believe that you put a hell of a work and time in it and that's why I feel bad for supposedly being the main reason why you feel the way you do. As it stands now, the short descriptions you've given are quite nice and I feel good that you've at least told how it would end. I guess I'm just not a fan of the whole OP hero thing, so these descriptions actually wre quite enough to wrap up the story for me.
Plus, I've been cheering for the human camp, so seeing it turn out like this (though I suspected it would for quite a while now) may have affected the way I see this story.

If I were you and enjoyed writing, I wouldn't give up just yet. Your narration and grammar are excelent. The overall plot is quite good too. You have most of the plot milestones as well as beginning and ending ideas within acceptable quality bounds too. It is the way you've chosen to reach these milestones and the way you sometimes make characters act that sets it back. Maybe you should have made the story shorter with a faster pacing (though it felt right most of the time) thus cutting down on the amount of scenes that needed to be resolved without important characters dying. Thus you wouldn't have to write that much and would actually fix quite a lot of suspencion of disbelief issues you are currently having.

In any case, thank you for this entertaining read and I wish you good luck in the future!

[Fading Soul]

Sooo... This fic is dead? It wasn't bad at all.

[Anima Reaper]

5629007 Ajaxx says it is but if i manage to get more info on what he wants i'll try to finish this for him

[Anima Reaper]

5628566 hey you...shhh just let things happen and stop complaining

[Black Month Willem Dafoe]

5627791
So you quit because why?

[Thunderbolt Sentinel]

5630049 Well, what he did was a little, excessive. Every story has some errors in it. pointing them out is good, but it's about how you do that. he was just being a dick. My story has some typos and errors in it and no one has done anything like that to me. Wonder what his problem was?

[Anima Reaper]

5630756 i have no clue but i wish he would have kept his mouth shut

[Super57]

This story was amazing.

I just can't believe how this story went!

I loved it.

All of it.

[Undead_Pride]

5628566 Hey can you leave if you don't like the story you can just thumbs down and go away.......... if thats okay with you

[Dreamclaw]

5636097
5630756
Heh, that is the problem... I like it, at least I liked it before the last few chapters. It is in my favorites and has a spot in the appropriate section on my user page.
That's why I tried to point out how many things were wrong with the drirection he had chosen, and more importantly how ridiculous was the way in which he tried to steer the story onto that new direction (at least that was in chapter 11, in chapter 12 I was so pissed off that I've mostly wrote emotional nonsense).
I want to see it go on, but at the same time it physically hurt to read last 2 chapters. They made me furious or "butthurt" at how wrong and illogicall things were going. I don't want to read the story that this has became...

Hovewer, I decided that I should at least explain what made me quit in hope that things might take a turn for better and I will return sometime later to a better piece of literature. Mind it, I'm not talking about better grammar or narration style, these are all okay, I'm talking about the plot and events themselves.

Alas, now I can see this is not going to happen... Although I still wouldn't take back what I said on chapter 11 because that is honestly what I think and feel.

[Lady Maria]

5636403 Hey you shut the fuck up

[Lord Despair]

I only read a few chapters but I happen to like it Reaper tell Ajax that it's looks good

[Doctor Elite]

Oh Hell no! This story is way too good to not be finished, come back and continue writing this amazing fucking story!

[DarkLord of Fire]

it's still going to stay in my top 10 fav story's that's for sure

[giz]

this is quite common, many good stories are ignored and months are slow to be recognized or never do, and mediocre stories receive hundreds of positive votes in the first chapter
look at this, the stories are very good or decent but are undervalued
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/172088/tales-of-the-oppressed
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/138264/ein-sof-zealotry
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/154589/what-separates
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/154059/dawn-of-the-vanguard
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/98861/alistair-i-week-one

I liked this story, but the last 2 chapters, were not at the level of the last chapters, although I understand the reason

my unique doubt and discomfort with this story are

because humans attacked so fierce the other races in the past so, what was the reason for all this hate?

and upon annoyance
Yes the protagonist was an extremist, o well,by the trauma of losing everything, but celestia broke the promise.
she could easily go for Ajax, and inform you of what happened, but did nothing
I always thought she admit it to pipe some guilt to the current conflict, and would assume some responsibility, she just washed his hands

Well, I'm glad that at least gave a short summary of their future plans

you write well, do not lose the will, but if you decide to abandon writing, I respect their decision

[OreoKookie]

This story will always be remembered by me. Fucking great ass story with a wonderful plot and convincing characters. And the ideas for the other book are beautiful, I would've loved to have meet his friends! I love this story and I hope one day this story will be picked up by another great author.

Thank you for one the best stories on FiMfiction,
~OreoKookie

[hs0003]

It seems like I would enjoy the rest of book 1, but not book 2.
Good luck with whatever you'll be working on now

[Ice Feather]

Run.........

[Effectivekill]

if you wish to end this story it is your choice, but it will remain as one of my favorites so please don't delete it.

[Anima Reaper]

5828357 i'm never gonna delete it but i'm still trying to convince the writer to continue working on it

[cam51801]

The scene where Ajax ripped out his horns to turn back into his old self reminded me of hellboy, and not that golden army one.

[Corynthius]

Zombies, demons, a powerful monstrosity hellbent on world domination, three or four princess alicorns, a broken man, the fucking mane six, And a city full of ponies wanting revenge. This will be interesting...