• Published 7th Aug 2014
  • 9,598 Views, 251 Comments

The Final Days of Man - Anima Reaper



Armies clash in Equestria over an ancient feud between two powerful races. Ajax ,the last human, holds Celestia accountable for the extinction of his race. He will go to any lengths to see her brought to justice.

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Chapter Fifteen

The forest was undisturbed during the middle of the night, besides a few gentle breezes swaying the branches of trees, the forest remained peaceful and quiet. Those who opposed Malice, the last hope for all of Equestria, took refuge under these tall trees. Nearly all of them were asleep, trying to gather as much energy as they could for the journey ahead of them. The moon sat shy overhead in the night sky, providing what light it could for the weary travelers.

The rebellion was made up various races. Minotaurs, gryphons, and ponies all segregated themselves into their own little groups, but remained relatively close to one another. All of the heroes were only a short walk away from any other encampment, except for one group.

On the far outskirts of all the encampments burned a tiny fire... a tiny fire in a tiny camp. Only four inhabited the small camp, a man, a unicorn, a pegasus, and a changeling. At this hour however, only Trixie and Ajax were awake. They sat by the kindling fire and watched the embers slowly fade away. Despite the time of night, Trixie and Ajax continued to carry on conversation with one another. Enjoying each other’s company.

“So then what happened?” asked Trixie.

Ajax was laying against a log, his left arm spread outwards across the long tree trunk. Trixie was curled up next to the man, leaning against the same tree bark as him. The unicorn was using her violet starry cape as a blanket. Ajax watched the flames of the campfire dance as he answered the pony’s question.

“What do you think happened? I planted my fist in his face,” laughed the man as he adjusted his posture. Trixie chuckled, the unicorn enjoyed the time she spent with the man. The mare’s laughter turned to silence as she herself began to stare into the campfire.

“Hey, Ajax?” asked Trixie. The pony held her hat in her hooves, twisting the fabric as if she was worried about what she had to say.

“Yeah?”

“When we find the Elements of Chaos… you’re going to use them to fight Malice, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

Trixie was quiet for a moment, the unicorn paused as if she needed to think. The mare bit her lip, but finally managed to say what was on her mind.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It really isn’t, but it’s the only idea we’ve got,” said Ajax with a shrug.

“Why can’t someone else use them against Malice?” asked Trixie as she pushed her hooves into the ground.

“I don’t really think there’s anybody better suited for the job than I am.”

“I could do it!” shouted Trixie as she looked up at Ajax.

“You?” asked Ajax as a wide smile came across his face. The man covered his mouth as he busted out in laughter. He nearly bit his tongue when he felt something slam against his stomach. Trixie’s hoof continued to press into his gut as she continued to speak.

“I’m being serious!” shouted Trixie. Ajax took a deep breath, his green eyes partially mirrored the dancing flames of the campfire. The man closed his eyes and when he reopened them his mood had changed to a more serious tone.

“Look, I’m the only one who can do this Trixie. When the time comes everybody and everypony will be counting on me.”

“Not again…” said Trixie as she pulled her hooves close. The unicorn began pressing her face against her front hooves. “I don’t think I can do it again,” she whispered silently.

“Do what again?” asked Ajax as he reached out towards Trixie.

“See you become that… that thing again!!!” shouted the unicorn. Trixie’s eyes were filled with tears, but she didn’t care. Her watery eyes continued to run as she stared at Ajax. “Don’t you remember what happened last time?! Don’t you care about what could happen to you? What about the things you did? Don’t you remember how hard it was to return back to your normal self?”

Ajax closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wrapped his arm around the mare and pulled her close to him.

“That’s why I’ve got you with me, Trixie,” he said with a chuckle.

“THIS ISN’T A GAME!” shouted Trixie as she pushed the man’s arm off her. “I-I’M SCARED THAT I WILL LOSE YOU!” The unicorn felt herself lifted up off the ground and placed into Ajax’s lap. The man wrapped his arm tightly around Trixie.

“You’re my best friend, Trixie. I will never do anything to hurt you. I swear my life on it.” Trixie relaxed her head on top of the man’s shoulder, before his arm unravel her and slowly pushed her back. “I’ll be fine, trust me.” Trixie didn’t say a word, she stared off to the side with a blank expression. “Hey, are you hungry?” asked the man as he wiped away a tear that had gone astray on her cheek. Trixie silently nodded her head. “Then how about you go check to see if the others are willing to provide us with something to eat?”

“Ok,” whispered Trixie with a sniff. She rubbed her eyes with her hooves before placing her hat on her head. “The Great and Powerful Trixie shouldn’t be crying this much…” thought the pony to herself as she trotted off into the forest. She had only traveled a few hoofsteps away from camp when she heard a voice call out to her from above.

“Been doing some crying, Trixie?”

The unicorn looked up and saw a pair of vibrate green eyes peering down at her from atop a tree branch.

“Chrysi? What are you doing up so late?”

“Oh, nothing much. I was just awoken by the aroma of something quite delicious.” The changeling queen’s wings buzzed as she hovered down to the forest floor. Trixie illuminated her horn, she found it unsettling to stare at a pair of glowing green eyes in the dark.

“I was about to go grab something to eat. Do you want me to get you something?”

“It’s quite unfair that they placed us all the way out here don’t you think?” asked Chrysalis, completely ignoring Trixie’s question.

“I guess so,” said Trixie as she shrugged her shoulders. “But there’s nothing we can really do about it.”

“They only keep us around because they need use out of the human…” said Chrysalis as she began to circle Trixie. “What do you see in him anyways? I don’t like him for obvious reasons and Lightning Dust hasn’t been able to get over him abandoning her to die, but you seem to like him… a lot.”

“Of course, he’s my best friend.”

“But why?”

“Because I like him.”

“But why?”

“Because he’s fun to be around.” Chrysalis placed a hoof against her face before looking back down at Trixie.

“BUT… WHY???!!” she asked one more time.

“What are you getting at, Chrysalis?” asked the unicorn with a raised brow. “Is there something you want me to say?” Chrysalis rolled her eyes and leaned forward so that her face was that of an even level with Trixie’s.

“I’ve enjoyed the energy from you and Ajax’s friendship for quite some time, but it’s starting to get to a… interesting level. It’s starting to taste like something else, something quite delicious, my favorite type of energy to feed off of.” Trixie reared her head back and furrowed her brow at Chrysalis.

“I don’t like hearing you say that you enjoy feeding off of our relationship. It sounds… well, creepy.”

“Aren’t you more curious about what I’m beginning to taste?” asked Chrysalis with a roll of her eyes.

“I should be going, I should’ve been back with food by now.” Trixie began to walk off into the forest.

“It’s love,” said Chrysalis as Trixie continued to trot off. The changeling’s words stopped the unicorn in her tracks.

“What?” said Trixie as she turned around and trotted back towards the changeling. The unicorn’s face was full of doubt.

“You heard me,” said Chrysalis with a slight wink.

“Are you messing with me?” asked Trixie. The unicorn’s cheeks were beginning to turn red.

“What? You’ve never paid the thought any mind before?” asked Chrysalis with a sly grin.

“Not until you put the idea in my head,” mumbled Trixie.

“Strange, perhaps the energy I was tasting was coming from Ajax.”

“WHAT?!” Trixie quickly closed her mouth and held it shut with her hoofs. The unicorn’s speech was now muffled by hoofs. “Are you sure?”

“Sure? No, to be completely honest I never tasted any love in the air at all,” laughed Chrysalis.

“T-Then you’ve been messing with me this entire time?!” seethed Trixie. The unicorn’s face steamed red with frustration.

“Perhaps, or maybe this is part of my master plan,” said Chrysalis with a giggle. The changeling spread her wings and flew back up towards her tree branch. “Perhaps I wanted to “plant” the thought in your head… so that it might eventually grow into a bountiful harvest for me.”

“Why you manipulating insect!” yelled Trixie as she shook her hoof up at Chrysalis.

“Judging by your reaction. I would say that my plan might be working better than anticipated.” The changelings green eyes closed, vanishing into the darkness.

“No it’s not!” shouted Trixie into the darkness. “And stay away from me and Ajax, find your own energy to feed off of!”

“Who are you talking to?”

Trixie didn’t recognize the voice at first The light blue mare turned to see a cyan pegasus staring at her with curious violet eyes. The stranger was Rainbow Dash, Trixie cleared her throat and adjusted her hat.

“Nopony, just some… forest spirits,” said Trixie nonchalantly. “Why are you here, Rainbow Dash…?” The unicorn’s voice had a suspicious tone to it.

“I was sent here to deliver you this,” said Rainbow Dash as she shrugged off a basket from her back.

“What’s in here?” asked Trixie as she poked the basket cautiously.

“Deserts that Pinkie Pie cooked up.”

“How on earth did that pink pony manage to cook sweets in the middle of a forest?” Trixie peering into the basket and looked at the assortment of goods. “Wow, there’s so many too…”

“It’s from her “emergency party supply,” said Rainbow Dash with a shake of her head, nopony could understand the extent of Pinky’s… pinkiness, not even her closest friends. “Anyways I should get going.”

“Is it you two making all the noise?” The two ponies turned to see Ajax step out from behind a tree. “Huh, what are you doing here Rainbow Dash?” said the man as he placed his hand on his side.

“...I was just leaving,” said Rainbow Dash as she turned around.

“Did you bring us this?” Ajax leaned over and peering into the basket.

“I was told to,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Do you want to share them with me and Trixie?” Trixie looked up at the man in confusion. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the man and unicorn.

“You can’t be serious. Do you honestly think I would say yes to something like that?”

“It would be like the time when you found me in the Everfree Forest,” said Ajax as he scratched the back of head. “We seemed to get along back then.”

“After everything you’ve done, there’s just no way.”

“I’m trying the best I can, Rainbow Dash. What else can I do? How should I gain everypony’s trust?” The colorful pony shrugged before trotting off.

“How should I know?” The cyan pegasus disappearing into the forest, leaving Ajax and Trixie with a basket of treats. Ajax looked down at Trixie, the unicorn was already eating a cupcake. Ajax shook his head and knelt down besides Trixie.

“You’ve got something on you face.”

The man brushed a smudge of icing off Trixie’s cheek and flicked it aside. The unicorn froze and stared at the man, her mouth gaping, showing off the chewed up pink cupcake. The pony’s cheeks were as red as cherries.

“You alright?” asked Ajax.

“I’m fine!” shouted Trixie as she pushed the basket of baked goods into Ajax’s chest. The man grabbed ahold of the woven container and looked up to see Trixie galloping back towards camp.

“Wait! Don’t you want to share these with me?!” cried out Ajax, but the unicorn was long gone. Ajax shrugged and took a cupcake from out of the basket. “Wonder what she’s worked up about,” he said as he took a bite from the pink treat.

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“Rise! I said get up! There’s a world that needs saving!” A raspy voice continued to shout as it woke up every pony, minotaur, and gryphon in camp. The sun was just beginning to peak out over the horizon, not even the birds were up at this hour. The members of the camp groaned as they pushed themselves up off the hard forest floor. They grabbed what they could carry and gathered before Celestia, Bjorn, and Ironhoof. The small crowd rubbed their eyes and yawned as they awaited their orders.

“I hope you all will look more alive when the fighting begins,” scoffed Bjorn as he looked out at the rebels. “In war, a fool’s first mistake is his last.”

“No need to be so hard on them Bjorn,” said Celestia as she looked over at the enormous ancient gryphon. “They’ve been through some rough times.”

“You can lecture me later, Celestia. Right now I’m wondering where that human of yours is.” The gryphon coughed into one of his wings before speaking again. “Neither him nor any of his allies have shown up yet.”

“Strange, I told him yesterday to meet us around this time,” said Celestia. Ironhoof looked over at the horizon, the minotaur’s one good eye watched as the sun continue to rise up.

“We’re wasting daylight,” he said as he looked over at Celestia and Bjorn.

“Don’t worry,” said Celestia. “We’ll find him and be on our way in no time.” Celestia began to look around, trying to remember where they had sent Ajax to set up camp. “Where was his camping site again?”

“I know where it is, princess!” The three leaders turned to see Twilight and her friends, stepping forward however it was Rainbow Dash whose hoof was up in the air. “I can take you there princess,” she said as she pointed off in a direction. Celestia looked at the two kings before giving Rainbow Dash a nod.

“Very well, lead the way.”

The band of Equestrians followed the pegasus and eventually reached a small camp. Their eyes quickly locked onto the man who was passed out on a log. Ajax was laying on his back snoring loudly, an empty basket sat on the man’s stomach. His face and fingers were covered in frosting.

“I think he liked my basket of treats!” cheered a high pitch voice from the back of the band of Equestrians. Bjorn rolled his eyes and stared at Celestia.

“Remember, this is the one you’ve chosen to place all your faith in.”

“Ajax!” shouted Celestia as she trotted forward. The man woke up and fell off the log, catching himself with his only arm.

“I’m up! I’m up!” shouted Ajax as he hopped up to his feet. The man looked at all his unexpected guests and brushed a bunch of crumbs off his chest. His mouth however was still covered with pink frosting.

“Long night?” asked Celestia with a raised brow.

“I might’ve stayed up a bit late,” said the man before yawning.

“You got something on your face,” said Celestia as she pointed a hoof towards the man. Ajax quickly rubbed his arm across his mouth, but only managed to smudge the pink frosting. “It’s still there…” mumbled Celestia as Ajax continued to rub and rub. Finally the man’s face was free from pink frosting. Ajax wiped his hand on his pants before brushing his fingers through his hair. The man looked around the camp, none of his companions were in sight.

“Hurry up!” shouted Bjorn. “You’re wasting time.”

Ajax poked his head around a tree and saw Trixie snoozing against the trunk, her hat covering her eyes.

“Time to wake up,” said Ajax as he nudged the sleeping pony. The man stepped back and walked over to another tree. He reared his fist back and drove it into the trunk, the tree shook violently from the blow Two figures could be seen tumbling down, crashing into branches as they made their way down to the forest floor. Ajax caught the first figure and quickly set it down, in order to catch the second one. Chrysalis and Lightning Dust laid on the forest floor, their eyes spinning in their heads, dizzy from the fall.

“We’re all ready to go,” said Ajax as he gave a thumbs up to all the ponies, gryphons, and minotaurs that stood before him.

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Ajax led the front of the pact, his three companions followed closely from behind. The small army continued its march across Equestria. Ajax avoided all towns and kept to the wilderness to help ensure that they wouldn’t be spotted by Malice’s eye, but they all knew deep down that the demonic draconequus was watching them… somehow. Celestia turned her walk into a quick trot, the alicorn made her way to the front and now walked beside Ajax.

“If I asked you “Where are we going?” would you answer me?”

“If you wished to know the Elements of Chaos whereabouts, you could just ask.”

Celestia looked at Ajax expectantly, that was indeed the question on her mind.

“The elements are hidden near my old underground vault, far far north in the frozen wastes. We’re not far from the northern part of Equestria, but we still have a ways to go.”

“I see,” said Celestia as she continued to walk besides Ajax. “Maybe we could-” The alicorn paused, Celestia began to look around as if she had seen something. The white mare stopped and started to glance around at the scenery. Ajax stopped as well which caused the entire group to halt in their tracks.

“What’s the hold up?” said Ironhoof, the minotaur’s heavy voice gave the impression that he was always shouting. Princess Luna trotted up to Ajax and Celestia.

“Sister, is something the matter?” Everyone’s eyes were on Celestia. The princess paused and began to analyze something at the base of her hooves. Ajax raised an eyebrow and approached her.

“Find something?”

Celestia lifted up strands of purple-like hair with her magic and held it before her.

“While we were walking I saw a twinkle of light on the road. I believe it came from this strand of hair.”

“So?” asked Ajax. Celestia lifted up the strands of purple hair, the thin lines of purple twinkled under the sunlight.

“Just as I thought… this is crystal hair. That means crystal ponies must’ve been nearby.”

Everyone began to look around after Celestia announced her theory. However, they were traveling through a narrow rock canyon. The only possible directions were either forward or backwards. Twilight stepped forward and placed a hoof under her chin.

“Rainbow Dash, fly ahead and see if you can spot anything suspicious.”

In a flash the pegasus shot up to the sky and bolted off into the distance. It didn’t take long for her to return back down to the canyon floor.

“Up ahead! I see smoke coming out of the canyon!” shouted the pony as she pointed further down the path. The company of gryphons, minotaurs, ponies, and one man quickly began charging down the narrow crevice.

“I see it!” shouted Lightning Dust. The pony pointed a hoof upwards. A tall pillar of black smoke could be seen rising out of the sky.

The collection of heroes didn’t take long to make their way to the source of the dark cloud. A field of bodies laid before them. Wreckage of carts and wagons that had been set ablaze kindled with red embers. Celestia quickly spun around and shouted orders.

“Quickly, search for any survivors! The attack must’ve happened recently!”

Ajax stepped forward and knelt down beside a burnt cart. The man placed his hand against the charred wood, whatever was left of the cart crumbled to ash under the man’s touch.

“Must’nt have been too recent...” he whispered to himself.

“Over here! I found one who survived.” A light green pegasi signaled for the others to come over to her. Standing at her feet was a crystal guard, it was clear that the stallion had managed to survive the ordeal, but not without expense. The crystal guard held an eye firmly shut, half his face covered in blood.

“Bring him water!” shouted the alicorn as she turned back to the others. The stallion tried to push himself up with his hooves, but his strength failed him. After collapsing back down, he looked up at the squad of heroes who had gathered before him.

“We didn’t think that there was anyone left. It’s good to see you all…” Celestia looked out at all the destruction before her. Helmets, spears, bodies, all belonging to the crystal kingdom laid before her.

“What happened here?”

“Please!” cried the guard as he extended a hoof towards the princess. “You have to help the kingdom! King Sombra has returned, he attacked us during the second siege of Canterlot. The crystal princess is in danger!” Spike rushed forward, carrying a canteen of water for the crystal stallion. The baby dragon handed it to the pony, who didn’t conserve a drop. The crystal pony coughed and gagged as water filled his dry throat. Ajax looked over at Celestia.

“We’re not far from the Crystal Empire, it’s on the way to the frozen north.”

Bjorn and Ironhoof stepped forward, the gryphon and minotaur looked out at the destruction that laid before them. The two kings looked down at Celestia, the distressed princess continued to aid the crystal guard before her. Bjorn nudged Ironhoof in the back with a wing, trying to push the minotaur king forward. Ironhoof glared at Bjorn as he took a hoofstep forward, the gryphon king looked off to the side, avoiding the minotaur’s gaze.

“Celestia, we don’t have the time or the forces to attempt a recapture of the crystal kingdom,” said Ironhoof. Bjorn stepped up from behind the minotaur.

“He’s right Celestia… think of how many lives would be lost trying to attempt such a foolish idea,” said the gryphon king as he stood beside Ironhoof. Celestia was helping the crystal guard up to his hooves, but managed to make time for an ugly stare at the minotaur and gryphon.

“I’m not leaving Cadence… She and her kingdom have put their necks out for me too many times. I won’t allow us to abandon her the one time she needs us.” Ironhoof sighed and stepped forward. The massive minotaur knelt down besides Celestia and looked at her with sympathy.

“Have you forgotten that we’re supposed to be saving the world, Celestia? I know your friend means a lot to you, but try to understand the importance of our work.” The crystal guard was now on his hooves, a gryphon and pony helped the stallion walk away from the scene of destruction. Celestia stared at the ground, contemplating what she should do.

“I… I…-” before Celestia could speak, she was interrupted by Ajax who stepped forward and stood next to the indecisive princess.

“Trying to liberate an entire kingdom might be a bit much, but a rescue mission shouldn’t be out of our capabilities.” Bjorn stepped forward and growled at the man, his cracked beak rumbled as he did his best to hold in his anger.

“Haven’t you been listening? Do you want dozens of lives to die trying to accomplish your reckless idea?”

“It shouldn’t take long, we’ll arrive at the crystal kingdom by nightfall. The mission will be carried out by a small group of volunteers. You can sit on the sidelines and watch.”

Bjorn sneered, the large gryphon turned and walked away.

“Do whatever you please… I’ve given up with trying to reason with the likes of your kind.” Celestia watched the gryphon and minotaur walk away before looking over at Ajax with a smirk.

“It would seem that you are on my side more than the gryphons and minotaurs are.”

“You’ve had my back recently. I figured that it’s only fair for me to have yours. Besides, it was I who released Sombra from his prison, so I guess that I might be… partially responsible.” Celestia chuckled and shook her head.

“I’m worried that I’m actually starting to like you Ajax. Hopefully we can continue to have each other’s backs.” Now, how do you propose we break in and free Cadence?”

“We’ll have to wait and see what exactly we're up against, but I figure that you and I should suffice. If not we’ll bring one or two strong allies whom we can trust.”

“I see,” said Celestia as she looked back out at the ruined site before them. Celestia sighed as she flapped her wings, shaking off dirt and dust from her white feathers. “Sadly, no other ponies seemed to have survived… this.”

“We should quickly burn the bodies and get back to moving. We will only make it to the Crystal Kingdom if we don’t waste time.” Ajax began to grab the dead crystal ponies by their hooves and drag them into a large pile. Celestia found it hard to watch the man build the mass grave, but at least their spirits would be put to rest.

“It’s kind of you to think about putting them to rest,” said Celestia as she trotted up to Ajax. The man ignited a black ember in his left hand and pointed it at the pile of corpses.

“Oh… well, to be honest that’s not exactly why I did this,” said Ajax as he set the pile of bodies ablaze.

“Then why did you?...”

“Riggy Mortis…”

“You mean that one pony we saw back near Tirek’s fortress?” asked Celestia. “The necromancer right?”

“Right. He’s the one who’s been resurrecting the dead. However, it’s difficult for him to bring back those whose bodies have been burned.” Celestia stared at the burning mound of corpses.

“I see...”

“Let’s get going,” said Ajax as he adjusted his gear. “We’ve got a princess to save.”

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“Your kingdom is quite lovely,” said a calm and collective voice.

“Enough with the flattering! I only agreed to this because of whom you represent!” shouted an angered voice.

An elegant dining hall filled with crystalline decoration and an assortment of crystal tableware. Crystal ponies who once gleamed brightly were now dulled with grey colors, servants to the king of the crystal empire. Two figures sat on opposite ends of an elegant table that stretched across the whole room. A stallion shrouded in a dark robe, wearing the skull of a deer over his head, and the infamous King Sombra himself. Sombra held a crystal glass in the air with his magic, the unicorn twirled the glass, spinning the golden liquid inside of it.

“What does Malice want with me and my empire…?” Sombra took a sip from the elegant crystal chalice and looked across the long decorated table at his strange guest.

“I do hope you are familiar with my master’s power. Usually situations like this tend to get out of hoof,” said the masked figure.

“I know of your master. I wasn’t born yesterday. I’ve… associated with him before,” growled Sombra as he grit his teeth.

“Wonderful! Well, Malice only wishes for your allegiance, give him that and he will reward you with an army the likes of which have never been seen.” King Sombra paused and narrowed his eyes on the masked figure.

“What kind of army are we talking about?”

“One who’s force could never be matched. A sectile of power and strength.” King Sombra raised an eyebrow, he was curious to hear more about this unstoppable army.

“Let’s step outside and continue our conversation!” The two stallions stepped out onto a balcony that overlooked the Crystal Empire. Already, Sombra had placed the crystal ponies in chains and put them to work. The menacing king sighed with delight when he saw all the ponies toiling away. “How wonderful it is to be king once more.”

“You seem to have a fancy for power,” said the masked stallion as the glowing red eyes behind the deer skull watched the slaves toil away.

“Do you not?”

“I indeed do, but not like you, Sombra. I admire power. I follow in its wake. I seek sources of ultimate strength, and even if they aren’t my own, I do what I must to remain in their presence.”

“So you desire power?...”

“Not exactly. I just admire it for what it is, all levels of it, whether it be good or evil, all I seek is power. Whether I serve or control it makes no difference to me. I guess you could say power is a twisted fetish of mine.”

“Your name was Riggy Mortis, right? Tell me Riggy, what is this unprecedented army that you promise me?” Riggy Mortis nodded his head and stepped back inside. Sombra followed after the unicorn.

“You’ve never heard of me, but I’m sure you know of my colleague, Star Swirl the Bearded.” Sombra paused and raised an eyebrow, an evil grin grew across the unicorn’s face.

“Star Swirl the Bearded, huh. My expectations of you just doubled, Riggy Mortis.”

“Yes well, I deal in a darker side of magic. I specialize in raising the dead.” Riggy Mortis walked over to a wagon that he had brought along with him. The cart’s wood was ancient and covered in moss. The masked stallion removed a large cloth from atop the cart, releasing the stench of death in Sombra’s castle.

“I hope this smell doesn’t linger…” growled Sombra as he waved a hoof in front of his face.

“Pardon the odor, but the tools I work with sometimes go bad. However, despite being rotten they still function just as well as other fresh instruments.” Riggy Mortis’ red eyes darted from side to side as he rummaged through the trinkets and jars in his collection. “There we are,” said the stallion with his relaxed voice as he grabbed ahold of something with his front hooves. He grunted as he dragged the object off the wagon. “Heavier than I remember…”

“What exactly is it?” asked Sombra. Riggy Mortis slowly lowered an enormous jar of red liquid, which was filled with scraps of torn chunks. Sombra didn’t even want to guess what the scraps were.

“This here is the key to your unstoppable arm, Sombra.”

“I would like to see that...” mumbled Sombra as he sat back in an elegant crystal chair. “Go ahead, humor me.”

“First, to answer your question this here is a jar that contains a drop of blood from nearly every single pony, gryphon, and minotaur that died in the war against Ajax. Second thing you need to know, raising the dead is quite an easy task for me however… controlling what I raise is a completely different story. That’s why I have this.” Riggy Mortis held up a necklace with a large orange jewel in its center. “This allows me to beseech my lord, whenever I need his power. Thanks to Malice I’m able to raise more creatures than I ever could. I raise them to life, and he enslaves their will.”

“Very interesting, so how long would it take?” Sombra was now leaning forward in his chair. The pony necromancer had grabbed his attention.

“The process would take roughly a few minutes-”

“A few minutes?!”

“Yes… A few minutes. Anyways, would you care for a demonstration? I have some “special” specimen’s to show you.”

“Yes, yes, let’s see it!” exclaimed Sombra as he stood up and walked over to Riggy Mortis.

“Excited, aren’t you? Remember, although the army will be under your control, you serve Malice.”

“Don’t worry… that thought has yet to leave my mind…” growled Sombra.

“Good. Let’s get started then,” said Riggy Mortis as he held out a small vial, inside the clear tube was a small pool of blood. “You’ll be the first,” whispered the stallion to the vial of blood.

Darkness, a world beyond that of the realm of life. A land of eternal rest, peaceful in every single way, except when disturbed by foul magic. A green claw reached out into the pitch blacked realm and grabbed ahold of something. The being squirmed when it was awakened by the crushing grip. A flash of light engulfed the creature as the dark world in which it slumbered swept away from its sights. The unnatural feeling of air filled the beings lungs as its senses began to return to its body.

“Where am I?! What’s happening to me?” cried out a voice as it was pulled out from the void of death. Sentient thoughts and memories flowed back into the creature's mind as it continued to be pulled into the realm of the living. As the lost thoughts of old came together to recreate that who once was, voices could be heard speaking around the distraught being.

“He’s just standing there.”

“Give it time, their thoughts and brain function takes a little more time to return.”

Blinding light... light that certain eyes weren’t supposed to ever see again. Two eyes slowly opened and looked around the room, it didn’t take long for them to focus on the two unicorns that stood before them. Sombra stood frozen, gawking at whoever stood before him.

“I don’t believe it. He looks completely normal, no zombified features or anything. I wouldn’t be able to tell what he was if it wasn’t for those burning orange eyes.”

“That’s due to the master’s possession,” said Riggy Mortis. “The burning orange eyes are a side effect when they are under his control.

The two orange eyes began to frantically look around the room, the resurrected being’s body was immobilized, he couldn’t move an inch. Fear began to take over his heart, he had no idea what was going on.

“Where am I!? What’s going on!?” shouted a voice. Riggy Mortis stepped forward, his bone skull headpiece inches away from the worried eyes that frantically darted around the room.

“Take your time, make sure you’ve regained all your senses. You should feel privileged, you were the first I resurrected for the unstoppable army. However, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. What is an army without its general? Right, Horizon Star?”

A white stallion with a short black mane stood before Riggy Mortis and Sombra. The stallions blue eyes now burned a hellish orange. The pony breathed heavy as he tried to recall the last thing he remembered.

“What’s going on?! Who are you!” shouted Horizon Star. Riggy Mortis placed a hoof on the earth pony’s shoulder.

“Horizon Star, you were dead. I brought you back to life, but there's no point in telling you all this. You will have you full memory in due time.” Sombra stepped forward and chuckled at the resurrected pony.

“So you’re telling me that you can make an army of ponies, just like him?” Riggy Mortis gave the king of the crystal empire a reassuring nod.

“Correct, I have gathered samples of nearly every soldier who died in battle against Ajax. It was quite easy, all I had to do was raid a few mass graves. It took no more than a few days to accomplish.”

“Wonderful.” Sombra looked out at his kingdom through a large regal window. It was now nighttime, the moon sat high above his empire, but that didn’t mean his workers found rest. Even in the dead of night, crystal ponies continued to slave away in crystal mines, praying to be overlooked by task masters. “With an army like this, I would be practically unstoppable. I could rule forever.”

“You should check your phrasing, Sombra,” said Riggy Mortis as he stepped forward. “Don’t forget who you serve now.”

“Of course! Of course! How many times do you plan on reminding me!? Anyways, when do you think you will have-” Sombra paused. The tyrannical king looked back at Riggy and Horizon Star with a suspicious expression. “Did you hear that?”

“No, what-” Riggy Mortis stopped mid-sentence when the entire room began to shake. Dust and shards of crystal fell from the ceiling above and scattered across the floor. “I suppose you were talking about that.”

“Stay here,” ordered Sombra as he turned into a shadow and dove into a crystal wall, the crystal king left only a trail of dark shadow behind him. Riggy Mortis looked over at Horizon Star and approached the stallion, flipping the pages of an old tome as he approached.

“When you regain your mind you’ll be useful as a tactician, but how about we spruce you up a bit? Let’s shape you up so that you can see more action up close, shall we?” Horizon Star was helpless, he was now the subject of this mad pony’s experiment. “I have a lot of interesting things that I wish to try.”

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“Could you make a bigger commotion?!”

Twilight, Trixie, Celestia, and Ajax had already managed to sneak their way into the Crystal Empire and were now lurking in the dungeon below. The dungeon was full of towering crystals that rose up to the ceiling, needless to say it was a dark and dreary place.

“I forget my own strength sometimes,” said Ajax with a shrug. The man had just disposed of an entire squad of Sombra’s guards, but seemed to forget to do it in a stealthy manner.

“I’m sure somepony is bound to come searching for us now,” groaned Celestia

“Just more reasons as to why we should find the Crystal Princess and leave,” said Ajax as he ran ahead. “She’s bound to be down here somewhere.” The small squad of heroes continued to search throughout the prison cell, but found nopony at all.

“Maybe she’s not down here,” said Twilight as she came to a stop.

“My, my, my, look who's broken into my kingdom…” Ajax, Trixie, Twilight and Celestia backed up against one another, their eyes searching for Sombra. The king’s menacing tone was all too recognizable. A dark cloud of smoke poured out from a crystal and gave shape to King Sombra. Purple energy emitted from the kings green glowing red eyes, he wore his attire of steel armor, adorned with his red king’s cape.

“How interesting… It would seem that you and Celestia are working together, Ajax. Tell me, how did you so easily forget your thousand year banishment and deceased race?”

“Sombra…” said Ajax with a smirk. “Looking good, when I first met you, you were a popsicle deep underground.

“Quick to remind me as to why I detested your very presence I see.” A blast of purple energy blew through the unicorn, but the twisted tyrant had managed to transform his being into a clouded form of darkness before the attack could really harm him.

“Somepony is quite impatient,” hissed Sombra as he turned his glare towards Twilight. The alicorn’s horn still steamed with heat from the intense level of magic. “No matter, I suppose allowing you four to wander my dungeon for all eternity is proper punishment.” When Sombra finished speaking, pillars of crystal shot up from the ground, separating the heroes and creating a crystalline labyrinth that rose up to the ceiling. “The four of you will picked off one by one, your last moments will be alone, lost in this labyrinth.” Sombra’s diabolical laugh echoed throughout the dungeon.

Ajax immediately tried breaking down the crystal wall, but the process proved to take too much time for such little reward. “All four of us are more than capable of defending ourselves! Be careful though, we don’t know what Sombra has in store for us!” shouted Ajax.

“Understood!”

“This shall be child's play for a unicorn of my stature!”

“Sombra won’t know what hit him!”

The party of four split off down their own path of the labyrinth. Ajax dashed down hallway after hallway, showing no concern for mapping his location. The man held his large ebony sword in his hand, using it to come to litteral grinding stops when he needed to turn a sharp corner. The man continued to charge forward with his superhuman speed, his eyes focused only on what was ahead of him.

“Sheesh this place is huge…” groaned Ajax as he stopped to catch his breath. The man had been sprinting for nearly half an hour. He was now lost and exhausted. Ajax took deep breaths and began to walk further down the labyrinth. He placed his large ebony sword on his back, both of his massive blades sat firmly on his back crossed over one another. After a few minutes of walking Ajax heard a slight cough echo in the labyrinth.

“Hello?” Ajax looked around, he began to doubt that he had heard anything at all. “Hello?!” The man cupped his hands in order to project his voice further.

“Who’s there?!” responded a voice in the distance. Ajax turned around and began to retrace his steps, he used his sense of hearing to track down whoever he had heard. The man turned a corner and found himself walking alongside a wall of the actual room. The wall contained empty prison cells, except for one cell.

“I can hear your hoofsteps! Are you the jailer?! Please, we haven’t had water or food for days!”

Ajax recognized the voice, the man quickly rushed to the bars of the prison door. Ajax looked down and saw a pink alicorn laying on the floor. Her hair was a ruffled mess, her coat stained with dirt. Princess Cadences’ eyes stared at the human who towered over her, she quickly pushed herself backwards deeper into the cell.

“No! Not you! Get away from me!” shouted the alicorn, her eyes full of fear.

“Man what a lucky break!” exclaimed Ajax. “Let’s get you out of there shall we.” Ajax grabbed a bar of the cell and began to individual rip them off the prison cell. The man stepped inside the dim light chamber and approached the crystal princess. “Hey, take it easy princess. I’m on your side now.” Ajax knelt down beside Cadance and reached out for her.

“Don’t even think about it you fiend!” Ajax’s attempt at a rescue was met with a flurry of hooves to the face. The man grabbed ahold of the princess as she continued to bombard her front hooves into his face. The man’s voice stuttered due to the princess’ onslaught.

“Stop-”

“Hitting-”

“Me-”

“I’m-”

“Here-”

“To save-”

“You-” Cadence didn’t seem to care for a word Ajax said, she continued to bash hoof after hoof into his face. “Stop hitting me for a moment!” shouted the man as black fire erupted around him. Cadence pulled her hooves back, she finally allowed the man a chance to speak. “I’m here with Celestia. We’ve come to rescue you.”

“You think were stupid enough to believe something like that?!” shouted a voice. Ajax turned around and saw a figure approach him from out of the darkness of the cell. A stallion that he hadn’t seen for ages. The pony had a white coat with a long mane, made up of different shades of blue. The unicorn’s horn glowed with magic, he was ready for a fight.

“Holy Shi-... Shining Armor. It’s good to see you. You seemed to have healed well after…”

“After you set me on fire?!” growled the stallion as he stepped towards the man.

“Yeah... I guess you would still be upset about that… but were on the same side now… buddy”

“I don’t think it’s that easy, buddy! There’s no way Celestia is here with you, nopony can forgive you for what you’ve done.”

“Look, I’m not here to ask for forgiveness. If whooping your ass unconscious and dragging you out of here is what I got to do, then so be it.”

“Round two then…” growled Shining Armor as his horn sparked with magic.

Cries of battle rang out in the labyrinth, but it was only ambient noise in the distance for a purple alicorn. Twilight Sparkle was marching through the crystal labyrinth marking her location on a self-drawn map. The pony was leaving a trail of paper shreds behind her in order to ensure that she could always retrace her steps.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight stopped when she heard the voice call out to her. The alicorn looked back and saw Trixie galloping towards her. The unicorn came to a sliding stop, huffing and puffing before Twilight.

“I wondered what was at the end of the paper trail. Pretty clever idea, leaving a trail for others to find you.” Twilight nodded her head at Trixie.

“Looks like we’ll have to work together.” Trixie adjusted her hat and cape before looking up at Twilight.

“Well then, lead the way!” exclaimed the unicorn as she pointed a hoof further down the labyrinth. A horrendous laugh echoed in the labyrinth, but it wasn’t Sombra, it was something else. Twilight and Trixie looked around, searching for the source of the crazed laugh.

“Lucky of me to find two lovely specimens to add to my collection.” In a burst of green fire Riggy Mortis appeared in the labyrinth. The masked pony cocked his head to the side, his red eyes staring at the two mares before him. “You two will be fine additions to my collection. I’m quite a fan of you two… you both wield such amazing… power,” the stallion shuddered when he said the word “power”. He red eyes curved upwards in ecstasy. The masked pony cleared his throat before speaking with his calm and monotonous voice again. “Before you can become proper specimens you must die. So let’s begin the process, shall we?”

“Do you even know who you’re speaking to?! I’m The Great and Powerful Trixie and she is The Princess of Magic! Tell me, how do you plan on comparing to the likes of us?!” shouted Trixie. Her and Twilight held the ground, the two mares showed no fear towards Riggy Mortis.

“My dear, I’m a necromancer. Fighting my opponents myself is not what I do,” said Riggy Mortis as he pressed a hoof against his chest. The cloaked stallion held up a vial of blood, air snorted out the nostrils of the deer skull as the pony observed the red liquid. “I’ve held onto this for quite some time. I always wanted to save it for the right moment, I think that might be now.” Riggy threw the vial of blood onto the labyrinth floor a figure emerged out of the ground as green fire surrounded it.

“No way…” muttered Twilight as she stepped back. Trixie gulped when she laid eyes on the resurrected figure. Two eyes burning with orange fire slowly opened up and looked between the two mares. The stallion wore a robe and hat similar to Trixie’s, but embroidered with a different pattern. A mixture of stars and crescent moons adorned the stallion’s robes. Bells could be seen hanging at the end of the pony’s hat and cape. The elderly stallion stroked his long beard as he looked around, trying to understand where exactly he was.

“I say… Where am I?”

“Good to see you again, Star Swirl,” said Riggy Mortis as he trotted up next to the elderly pony. Star Swirl’s eyes glared at the masked pony, the stallion’s kindling orange eyes burned with hatred when he saw the necromancer.

“Riggy… how dare you use your foul magic on me!”

“That’s no way to thank me for bringing you back to life!”

“The dead should remain dead! When will you cease pursuing this foul magic of yours?!” Riggy Mortis rolled his beady red eyes from behind the deer skull. The pony let out a sigh.

“A thousand years into the future and I see you still insist on lecturing me! How can you consider yourself a master of magic when you are too afraid to explore its power fully?”

“I don’t fear magic! I respect its power! Like you should!” shouted Star Swirl. The entire labyrinth shook under the angered stallion’s voice.

“THEN RESPECT MY POWER!” roared Riggy Mortis as he pointed a hoof at Star Swirl. The legendary wizard fell to his knees as a burning sensation overtook his body. The stallion turned towards Twilight and Trixie, his body quivered, trying to resist the dark magic, but it was no use.

“Whoever you are! I beg you, run! I can’t control my actions!” shouted Star Swirl. The idea of running crossed Twilight and Trixie’s mind, both knew the legend they were up against. They couldn’t believe that Riggy had such an ace up his sleeve. The cloaked stallion laughed as he vanished in a burst of green hellfire.

“I’ll return when you’ve completed your assignment… brother.” Star Swirl clenched his teeth together.

“Turned into one of his puppets, how embarrassing…” the stallion’s burning orange eyes looked forward at the two mares standing before him. “Whomever you are, I see that you are brave enough to stand your ground. I can only pray that somehow you have the power to defeat me and return me to the eternal slumber.” Twilight stepped forward and approached the resurrected stallion.

“I had always hoped to meet you Star Swirl. I just wished it was under better circumstances.” Trixie followed behind Twilight, her eyes fixated on Star Swirl. “Let’s not beat around the bush. You have no choice but to fight us.” Star Swirl nodded, his horn now glowed white with intense magical energy.

Star Swirl fired a beam of blinding magic from his horn. The stallion spread his hooves as he continued to pour his energy into the blast. Trixie teleported in front of Twilight and conjured a barrier of tiny lights, that resembled stars. The stars interconnected with one another, similar to that of a constellation. The protective barrier absorbed the full force of the blast. Twilight spread her wings and dashed to the side out from behind the barrier. She began to quickly fire rapid bursts of magic from her horn at Star Swirl.

The elderly stallion’s orange burning eyes turned to a devilish red as a construct of star like lights formed an open human palm in front of him and blocked Twilight’s attack. “You there! The blue one! Was that arcane magic?!” shouted Star Swirl as a second fist emerged from stardust to accompany the second.

“I have a lot of neat things to show you!” shouted Trixie as her horn glowed with magic. The unicorn summoned constructs of starry apparitions herself. A scorpion and a ram made out of cosmic bodies now stood before Star Swirl.

“We’ll I’ll be…” whispered Star Swirl when he saw the two divine beings. A burst of magic erupted beneath Star Swirl propelling him up into the air. Twilight Sparkle emerged from beneath the blast, the pony’s wings were surrounded with a see through coating of magic that tripled their size. The alicorn swung her wings at Star Swirl, each sweep sent out magical purple feathers. Star Swirl quickly teleported to the ground, barely avoiding the explosive feathers. “It seems that the purple one is no push over either…” muttered the stallion wizard.

A gleaming white pincer shot towards Star Swirl, Trixie’s summoned scorpion apparition held the old stallion in its clutches. Star Swirl extended his hooves outward, a ripple of magic eliminated the living constellation in the flash of an eye. The stallion glanced back at the alicorn diving down towards him. A burst of light flashed at the tip of his horn, blinding Twilight. The purple mare rubbed her eyes as she tried to regain her vision, but a beam of white energy struck her from above and pressed her against the floor. Twilight’s skin burned, the ancient wizard’s attacks carried a heavy weight to them.

“You two must work together to defeat me! You show the potential! Please! I know you two are capable of it!” shouted Star Swirl as he galloped towards Twilight. Trixie appeared between Star Swirl and Twilight, the unicorn’s eyes glowed white with energy as she channeled magic into her horn. “SLOPPY!” shouted Star Swirl as he summoned a portal between Trixie’s front hooves. The pony fell forward and slammed her chin against the hard crystal floor.

Twilight pushed herself up and jumped over Trixie, she charged the legendary wizard head on, Star Swirl fired beams of magic from his horn at the alicorn. Twilight dodged the explosive shots with the help of her wings, before quickly spinning around and pushing Star Swirl back with a large gust of wind.

“I guess he lives up to the hype…” muttered Trixie as she stepped up next to Twilight. The unicorn was rubbing the bottom of her chin.

“If we combine our efforts we should be able to pull this off,” said Twilight as she looked over at Trixie. “We’re both strong because we fight for our friends, right?”

“RIGHT!” cheered Trixie as she gave the purple alicorn a nod. The sound of hoofsteps rang out in labyrinth. The two mares turned to see Star Swirl approaching them. They still had yet to put a scratch on the stallion.

“Tell me, what are your names, heroes?” asked Star Swirl as he continued to stare at them with his burning orange eyes.

“Twilight Sparkle.”

“The Great and Powerful T-T-Trixie!!!”

A smirk came across the stallion’s face.

“It’s good to know that ponies like you two are still around. You two have a lot of potential. I know-” Star Swirl’s speech was cut short when a burning pain filled his body once again. “This power… it’s impossible to resist…” grunted the stallion as the burning orange eyes began to turn red. “Twilight, Trixie, enough holding back! End this once and for all. Please!”

Both Twilight and Trixie began to channel as much magic as they could into their horns. Star Swirl began to do the very same. The labyrinth walls began to shake as the ponies flooded the dungeon with godlike magical energy. Three of the strongest magic users in all of Equestria gathered all they could in one location. Rifts and tears between realms and realities began to emerge as the intense power flooded the labyrinth maze.

An enormous alicorn constructed out of burning violet fire surrounded Twilight as she continued to derive all the magic her very being could muster. The enormous burning pony’s eyes shot open as it readied to charge forward.

Trixie had surrounded herself in arcane magic, creating a celestial construct that resembled that of a lion. The starry wonder gleamed brightly as its paws rested on the rift of magical energy that was now the labyrinth floor.

The lion and alicorn glared at the towering figure that stood in front of them. The reality around them had now warped into a realm of pure magical energy. Before the magical lion and alicorn stood an enormous orange eye. Hovering at the eye’s sides were two flaming gauntlets. The fists burned like stars, a blinding light that was impossible to stare at. The two flaming gauntlets slammed against each other, sending out a shockwave that shook the entire crystal kingdom. Beams of shear energy shot out from the site of magical power, searing holes and cuts into the crystal labyrinth walls.

The celestial lion growled at the divine eye as the burning violent alicorn beside grinded a hoof against the crystal floor, leaving streaks of burning violet fire in its wake. The three beings hurled towards one another in the flash of an eye. The two flaming gauntlets beside the eye grabbed ahold of both the lion’s and alicorn’s neck. The two enormous constructs of magic cried out as the grips around their necks began to choke them. The divine eye looked between the two beings before closing as if it had accepted the two divine creature’s fates.

A lion’s roar cried out, grabbing both the eye and the alicorn’s attention. The celestial constellation held out a paw towards the violet alicorn. The magical mare raised a hoof and reached for the celestial lion. The divine fists continued to grip the creature’s neck, its burning grip slowly draining them of all life.

The lion and alicorn tried their best to touch hoof and paw, but were just out of reach. The orange fire surrounding the burning eye flickered off, then red, then orange. The eye twitched as the corrupted flame flickered on and off. The two burning gauntlets began to slowly bring the alicorn and lion together. The eye stared wildly at the two beings as the orange fire returned permanently.

With one final reach the lion and alicorn touched hoof and paw. A blast of magical energy blew down labyrinth walls all around the three divine creatures. The entire kingdom shook as something that nopony had ever witnessed in magic before... came true. The throats in each of the burning gauntlets vanished. A white silhouette appeared before the burning divine eye. A new creature emerged, a creature with the horn of an alicorn, a mane of a lion, front hooves and a lion’s hide. The new creature cried out as it bolted toward the burning eye before it. Two flaming gauntlets shot toward the creature, but disintegrated as they came into contact with the creature. The burning eye stared helplessly as they beast hurled towards it.

The eye opened wide before closing, it gladly accepted its fate.

After the dust had settled, two mares could be seen standing over a stallion. Star Swirl’s burning eyes slowly faded away, the pony had a smile on his face as he slowly returned to where he belonged.

“Thank you… I can rest easy knowing that magic is in the hands of mares like you… Please, remove my brother from this world… he’s overstayed his welcome.” Twilight knelt down and held one of Star Swirl’s hooves.

“Don’t you worry, Star Swirl. Riggy Mortis and his master will get what’s coming to them. I promise you.” Star Swirl smiled at the alicorn.

“Thank you Twilight... and thank you Great and Powerful Trixie.” The stallion’s body erupted in green fire as his body turned to ash. Twilight stood up, trying her best to not shed a tear. Trixie trotted up beside the alicorn and slapped a hoof on her back.

“We make an excellent team, Twilight!”

“Yeah, we kinda do, don’t we…” chuckled Twilight.

“Say were you worried that we would become some type of fused monstrosity near the end. Like our fusion would actually carry over into our normal bodies?” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“You hang out with that human too much, Trixie.”

“W-what?! I do not. He’s my best friend, am I not supposed to hang out with him?!” shouted Trixie as she hid her face from Twilight. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Are you alright?” asked Twilight.

“O-of course! Let’s just keep moving,” said Trixie as she galloped forward.

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“God damn you two are heavy!”

Ajax grunted as he marched forward. The man was carrying Princess Cadence across his shoulders and dragging Shining Armor by his tail. All three figures were scuffed and bruised from their squabbles with one another. Both ponies had been knocked out by Ajax and were now being hauled around as if they were luggage.

“Saving princess… is a lot harder than trying to kill them…” groaned Ajax as he tugged Shining Armor forward once more.

“Ajax!” shouted a voice. The man looked back and saw Celestia galloping frantically towards him. The alicorn noticed the two unconscious ponies and began to check up on them. “What happened to them?” she asked as she looked up at Ajax.

“They… were tortured until they passed out. I found them like this.” Ajax scratched the back of his head as he tried to pass of his story to Celestia. “Anyways, now you get to carry one,” said Ajax as he hoisted Shining Armor off the ground and threw him across Celestia’s back. “Any sign of Twilight or Trixie?” Celestia shook her head.

“No, but I’m sure you’ve been feeling the entire kingdom shake. I fear that somepony or something attacked one of them.”

“I’m sure they managed just fine. Our pupils are one of a kind.” Ajax adjusted the passed out alicorn on his back and looked back at Celestia. “I guess we wander around until we find them, unless you have a better idea?” Celestia shook her head.

“You lead, I’ll follow.” The man and pony carried on through the crystal labyrinth, searching for Twilight and Trixie. Ajax continued to look forward as he talked to the princess.

“Do you think that I can be forgiven?” Celestia raised an eyebrow, she couldn’t see the expression of the man in front of her. Unable to determine the sincerity of the question, Celestia decided to ask one of her own.

“What exactly do you mean?” Ajax paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

“I mean... I thought you would be the last pony to ever side with me, but it seems like you were the first. However it seems impossible to gain anypony else’s trust. Sometimes I forget just how many enemies I have created.” Celestia was slow to respond.

“You’re a clever guy. If you could trick me into being your ally I’m sure you could do it to anypony else,” said Celestia sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

“The last thing I wish to do is deceive those whose trust I seek…” Celestia cleared her throat, she hadn’t realized that Ajax was taking the matter seriously. She had thought he was messing with her like he always did.

“I uh…” Before the alicorn had the chance to reprimand her previous statement, the two of them came across a wide open area. The labyrinth path, and many others, led to a site of desolation. Labyrinth walls had been leveled by destructive forces that were hard to comprehend. “What do you think happened here?” mumbled Celestia as she looked out at the destruction. Ajax raised his hand and pointed towards the center of the room. In the middle of the destruction stood two mares, Trixie and Twilight.

“Looks like they are getting along well,” chuckled Ajax.

“Yea…” said Celestia as she looked out at the two ponies.

“Perhaps we should schedule another play date in the future.” Celestia furrowed her brow in confusion at the man.

“You know? You make so many jokes it’s hard to tell when you’re being serious…” Ajax shrugged, and approached Twilight and Trixie.

“Hey!” shouted the man as he waved at the two mares. Twilight and Trixie turned to see Celestia and Ajax approaching them. “Did you two cause all this?!” Twilight and Trixie galloped forward and met the man and alicorn in the middle.

“Shining Armor!?” cried Twilight as she rushed to her brothers side. “Cadance!” she shouted as she darted towards the Crystal Princess. The purple alicorn continuously shot back and forth between the two unconscious ponies as she did her best to check up on both of them simultaneously. Ajax knelt down and fist/hoof bumped Trixie.

“I see you did your best to keep things subtle around here,” said Ajax as he looked out at the massive hole the two ponies had placed in the middle of the crystal labyrinth “Shouldn’t be hard to find the exit now, seeing how you blew away half the maze.”

“Oh this little crater?” said Trixie as she looked around at the leveled crystal labyrinth. “Doing this was simple child’s play for the Great and Powerful Trixie,” said Trixie as she proudly took off and dusted her hat.

“Course it was.” Ajax ruffled the unicorn’s hair with his one arm, messing up the pony’s dual colored mane. The man gave the pony a big smile, but Trixie didn’t find it as amusing. She quickly sprung at Ajax while his guard was down and rubbed her hoofs all over his scalp.

“How do you like it!?”

“H-Hey! Stop it! You’re messing up my hair!”

“That’s the idea!” Ajax finally managed to push the unicorn off him. He stood up and tried to straighten out his long white hair as Trixie did the same with her mane. While the two of them tried to undo each other’s cruelty, Ajax glanced back over at Trixie.

“I am glad that you are safe though, Trixie.” Trixie continued to brush her mane, avoiding eye contact with the man.

“I know… I’m glad that you’re alright as well.” Celestia and Twilight stepped forward, the two mares were carrying Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.

“Thanks to the wide open area, we found a path that leads out of the labyrinth,” said Twilight. “We’re ready to move whenever you two are.”

The small party of heroes had finally made their escape. They were out of the labyrinth and were now running through the halls of the crystal castle itself. Twilight led the group since she claimed to know the crystal castle’s halls the best. The group bursted through another pair of twin doors and stumbled into an elegant dining hall.

“There’s a balcony over there!” shouted Twilight as she pointed to the possible escape route.

“Let’s go!” shouted Celestia as she charged forward. “The longer we wait around the less of a chance we will have at escaping!” The alicorn galloped down the elegant crystal room, but a figure quickly grabbed her and pulled her to the floor. The alicorn looked up at who was on top of her, she saw a pair of green eyes staring at her. Ajax lifted the alicorn up to her hooves, that’s when she noticed the searing hole in the floor behind them.

“What in Equestria is that!?” shouted Trixie as she pointed a hoof at something. Ajax and Celestia looked up and saw a stallion approaching them. His eyes burned a hellish orange, what remained of his white coat was now contorted with cracks of green energy that dispersed across his entire body. Most of the stallion’s hair had fallen out, all that remained were shriveled thin strands of what once was a well kept black mane. A purple horn sat on top of the stallion’s head, stitched on, showing no concern for correspondence. Orange wings flapped as they stretched themselves, they too had been attached through unnatural methods.

“Whatever it is, it’s part of the past now!” shouted Ajax as he drew his sword and swung at the creature. Before Ajax could strike him down, a magical grip grabbed ahold of him and dragged him back towards Celestia. The man looked back and saw that it was Celestia herself who had stopped Ajax from taking down the disfigured creature. Celestia’s lips trembled, her eyes fixated on the construct standing before them.

“Shining Armor…” whispered the alicorn in disbelief. The creature wheezed with each unnatural breath. It’s orange burning eyes, glared at Celestia.

“Princess…” mumbled the creature as its gaze turned towards Ajax. “You…” gasped Horizon Star. The maimed pony glared at Ajax, its eyes flared with hatred when they saw the man. Ajax turned to Celestia, shouting in frustration.

“He’s been resurrected by the necromancer, and by the looks of it, subjected to his demented experiments. We must put an end to him. His mind isn’t even intact after all the horrendous operations Riggy did to him.

“Y-you,” cracked the voice of Equestria’s once famed general. Celestia, Twilight, Ajax, and Trixie turned to see Horizon Star shaking, the four ponies prepared themselves, unsure if the stallion was preparing an attack.

“You… hero…?” said Horizon Star as he continued to stare at Ajax, before looking down at himself.

“Me… villain…” A flood of tears began to pour out the constructed alicorn’s left eye, only streams of blood trickled down the right. “No… fair... How…” Trixie stamped her hooves in the ground.

“His will isn’t his own! The accursed orange eyes are testament enough! End his unnatural life, he’s in horrible pain for goodness sake!” Horizon Star’s eyes burned a vibrant red as he looked up at Ajax.

“You… enemy… I will save… princess!” Horizon star’s sewed on purple horn glowed brightly as Ajax was dragged across the ground, towards the abomination of an alicorn. The man dug his sword into the ground, but couldn’t manage to dig the blade into the hard crystal floor. Ajax turned to Horizon Star, he was now face to face with the resurrected war hero. The man quickly grabbed ahold of the pony’s horn. With little effort the attached horn tore off the stallion's head, Ajax pushed himself back as blood gushed out of Horizon’s head and onto his chest.

Despite the fountain of blood in front of his face, Horizon Star seemed to care not for the blood loss gushing out from his head. He now reared back his orange wings, preparing to lash out at the man, but a wall of short white fur appeared before him. The stallions demonic red eyes, returned to a kindling orange as he looked up at the alicorn.

“Princess…?” Celestia found it hard to look at the creature, despite being so disfigured, it still reminded her of Horizon Star. The alicorn wrapped her hooves around the pony.

“I’m sorry, Horizon. I promise that you’ll be avenged for what happened to you this day.”

“Not so fast there, Celestia.” The princess was tugged away from the monstrous stallion by a force of green magic. In an eruption of green fire Riggy Mortis appeared next to Horizon Star and picked up the severed purple horn.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was to stitch this thing on?” groaned the unicorn as he held it against the hole in Horizon Star’s head. Celestia’s eyes burned gold with solar wrath, the alicorn rushed forward. She swung a golden spear constructed from gold fire at the masked stallion, but Riggy vanished before the princess could land her attack.

“Show yourself coward!” cried Celestia before she looked back at Horizon Star. Celestia froze when she saw the figure that was once her old friend.

“You knew him? Of course you did he was your general, or at least he was until he was severed in half by one of Ajax’s robots. Such a sad fate, to give your life for the one you serve, to only be resurrected to kill them.”

“What have you done to him you fiend!” shouted Twilight as she slowly trotted around the room, searching for Riggy’s whereabouts.

“I took the inspiration directly from you Twilight Sparkle…”

“What?” mumbled Twilight.

“Ever since I heard you became an alicorn I was curious to see if I could replicate similar results. By the looks of it I was quite successful.” Riggy Mortis once again appeared next to the mindless stallion. “Unfortunately the process might’ve messed with his mental capacity, if you haven’t noticed he’s kind of on the slow side,” laughed the necromancer. “However both his wings and horn are functional... kind of.” Riggy Mortis pushed a hoof under Cosmic Ray’s jaw and held his head up. “Besides, now he can finally join that little ‘Royal Guard’ club that he always wanted to. Isn’t that right Celestia?” A blast of golden fire narrowly missed the masked unicorn. Riggy Mortis once again vanished, the necromancer rarely ever stood his own ground.

“Anyways feel free to dispose of my trash. Horizon Star was only good for his strategic knowledge. Unfortunately, it seems that I’ve ruined his mind, but you know what they say ‘no risk no reward’.” The four heroes waited in silence for Riggy Mortis to say something else, but the cruel stallion was finally gone.

“He wants us to do his dirty work,” sneered Ajax as he began drawing his sword. “Unfortunately we have no choice.”

“No!” shouted Celestia as her hooves grabbed Ajax’s hand, preventing him from pulling out his massive ebony blade. Ajax raised an eyebrow, he looked back at the alicorn behind him who was preventing him from drawing his weapon.

“Let’s be honest. It would be easy for all of us if I did this.”

“I don’t care if about what’s easy!” shouted Celestia. Ajax stepped aside and let the alicorn pass. She stepped forward and stood before Cosmic Ray. The once glorious general stood before the princess as a festering abomination, his mind void of all sensible thought. His eyes no longer burned with Malice’s hellish fire, he no longer had a purpose to serve… to either side. Celestia averted her gaze, she couldn’t stand seeing her once loyal general like this. She felt responsible, if only she had tried harder maybe… just maybe…

“Princess…” Celestia couldn’t believe it, Horizon Star still could speak, despise his decomposing body.

“Horizon Star? Do you still remember me?”

“Always…” mumbled the stallion’s dying voice. Despite having lost nearly every ability to speak and all his past memories. The stallion still managed to remember his loyalty to princess, his duty was engraved into his very being, inseparable.

“Thank you… so much, Horizon. I swear to bring justice to the one who’s done this to you.” Celestia took a deep breath as her horn began to glow gold with her magic. Cosmic Ray let out one final sigh as he was finally set free from the world. A magic burning spear jutted out from the back of Horizon’s neck, ending his unnatural life quickly and without discomfort. The pony went limp, before igniting into a green inferno and turning to ash. Ajax was still squeezing out fresh blood from his blood stained rags.

“That’s… That’s why you burn the bodies,” he grunted as he wiped his blood written hands on his sides. Celestia slowly dragged a hoof through the pile of darkened ash.

“No mercy…” The alicorn glanced back at her allies, the very irises in her skull burned gold like tiny stars. “I will show no mercy for this necromancer…” she growled. Ajax stepped towards the balcony, still drenched in Horizon’s blood.

“Right, but first let’s stop the end of the world,” he said as he motioned for them to leave.

Author's Note:

Only two chapters remain! The one year anniversary for the story is coming up as well. Hope you enjoyed reading!!

Comments ( 18 )

Loving this story so much.

I can't even.


~OreoKookie

So next chapter comes out when:heart:

6947954 just watching you comment makes my day lol thank you for being so amusing

It's almost done. I'm so stoked that I don't even care about the current cliffhanger. Next chapter's gonna be great, I can feel it.

2016 now you still working on this or did you abandon it?

hope this still continues!:raritydespair:

7494427
still hoping!:scootangel:

8071768 The author left long ago but I'm friends with him on Facebook.

I remember this story being hella crazy so I would like to know if it's dead or not?

this is dead im guessing its been two years sad really i was enjoying this

This story has more character resurrections and comeback cameos than a TV drama. Still a great fic.

Is is one crazy story, I'm assuming it's also abandoned?

9133545
You would be correct in that assumption.

It was a good story but it's such a shame to see it abandoned. It had a lot going for it too.

bro the story you made is great, I don't remember when I read such a good story, this should be made into a movie and the name would be Elements of Chaos and it would be divided into two parts, please, brother, if for God's sake you know, continue the story 🥺

8140372
can you tell him to continue the story? or to persuade him somehow because the story is superb, so there are more details here than in the mlp tv show, honestly

11512628
I haven't been friends with him in years.

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