• Published 7th May 2015
  • 1,046 Views, 148 Comments

Dawn Of The Silver Sun - Nameless Narrator



Too old for the orphanage Straw Basket grew up in, the hippogriff sets on a journey to become one of the fabled Royal Guards. Too bad things never work out as planned and he will end up facing forces which terrify even gods themselves.

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Return of Harmony - Part IV: Revenge

Straw's sleep, or unconsciousness more like, was filled with nightmares about loss and defeat. Deep down, however, he knew it wasn't the work of the god inside him, but of the mortals not trusting him. Drenched in cold sweat, he woke up to a different reality, though, a much nicer one.

The barely equipped room resembling a precisely carved cave that greeted him when his eyes opened was filled with the scent of hot chocolate, and a hoof stroking his head made him think of something other than the corpses of his squadmates. In the morning daze, he rolled to the side and planted his muzzle into something soft.

"A bit more to the left and you'd have had a bite of morning pie," teased Contradiction's voice.

Straw simultaneously suffered a heart attack, a stroke, a nosebleed, and a full-body combustion. The unicorn mare sitting on the bed next to him took it with just a grin.

"Wha? How? Where?" he sat up and focused on the important thing, "SORRY!"

"Do you like plot pillows?" Connie grinned at him innocently.

Straw took a deep breath to calm himself down. He knew his boss.

"Yes, thank you very much."

Connie's smile grew wider, but her look gained a little more respect.

"You're not so much fun anymore."

Straw lowered his head.

"I'm just really happy you're here. I want you to know that more than anything. So, now that it's out I can go back to my usual self. "

She just stared, completely stumped. After a moment she patted his head.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, Straw."

He hesitantly inched closer to her and put his head on her shoulder. He was bigger than Connie, but where she sat up tall and confident, he slumped a little, still lingering on what he remembered from his restless sleep. When she just sat there quietly, staring at the wall, he asked:

"What happened? I remember stopping the Nightmare from ripping Twilight to pieces, and then it gets a bit blurry."

"Well, Leo happened... mostly."

"Huh?"

"He went full auto when Twilight explained it was just a test and why she did it, after you collapsed into a mumbling heap. He started yelling at her about how you're the best guy he knows and that he's tired of everypony treating you like some sort of an infectious disease. Then..." she took a little break, "Then, in front of her roboponies and some guards he punched the living crap out of her."

"I see, so we died and this is heaven," Straw nodded, now everything made sense. Connie slapped him playfully.

"You've got pretty low standards if this is all it takes. No, we're alive, shockingly, and back home. The ruler of the united world just took the beating while Leo... let's say... explained your situation... very loudly. When he was done she opened the big case she brought with her, and the Blades were inside. It looks like she was planning to give them to us from the start, but needed to make sure we were really working for Blaze. We explained our situation, and she teleported us straight here. The mare knows some serious magic."

"Well, she DOES rule the world, apparently. So, what now?"

Connie sighed.

"Now I have to ruin your morning because Blaze wanted to see us as soon as you woke up."

"Can I go back to sleep?" Straw asked angelically, "On a pillow, preferrably."

"This one," she wiggled her hips. When Straw nodded hesitantly, she chuckled, "After all this is over, then maybe, but not now. Blaze seemed serious."

"That doesn't sound good."

"Yeah, it probably isn't. Do you need some time to get ready?"

"No, let's hear what he has to say first."

As they arrived at the throne cavern, a dreamling ran off to get everypony. He returned with Cromach and Leo, both sweating profusely. Fortune and Blaze came shortly after. Straw noticed that the alicorn was being followed by the floating Blades without seemingly noticing them.

"Alright, let's be quick here. While you were gone I recieved another message from Shadowstep. She has successfully tracked the Vigils and Blinding. It seems they are gathering somewhere west of White Tail Woods to do something big. Gather your gear, we're leaving for Dodge Junction as soon as you are ready. Grab everything and anything you think might be even remotely useful. Ask any dreamling for help carrying stuff."

"Is Seven going as well?" Fortune asked.

"We are all going," Guiding Light, standing next to Blaze, answered, "The report we got sounded urgent. The area we're going to is crawling with Vigil members. Six dreamlings including me, dad and Cromach, the four of you, and Shadowstep's squad is all we have."

"That sounds pretty grim."

"It is. However, we don't have a choice. If we fail, the world as we know it ends."

There really wasn't anything much to say after that statement.

Guiding had to finish off some business with the mayor of Pine Hills. Blaze and Connie had a little discussion regarding the Blades. Straw was surprised to find that Connie, due to her telekinesis making the use of magic impossible, was able to wield the Blades as well, although she wasn't trained and didn't have enough experience at using two weapons simultaneously. Fortune went to pack her mobile armory, and Leo presumably acted as her packmule.

Straw simply went to pack his little bag and brush his teeth. Some things just had to be done in the morning. Some things, like tipping the odds in their favor in any way possible.

Unpacking his well-hidden phoenix feather, Straw reported the state of things to princess Luna.

The group were ecstatic, as much as it was possible in such situation, that the entire trip would take just under three days because it would give them the time to rest and recover.


At the end of their journey, Nightmare's voice resonated within Straw.

Barbaric, but effective.

What?

The company was rushing through the snowy wilderness of White Tail Woods as fast as their hooves allowed. No one dared fly, as the slowly falling snow and trees all around were the best cover they had against any Vigils who were sure to patrol the forest. To Straw, the world faded to black for a quick moment. In complete darkness, Nightmare forced his head to look upwards into the distance where a red scar split the sky in two. Just as he blinked the real world came back, and he was now staring at the tree branches above them heavy with snow.

What was it?

Some device is drawing power from the land itself and using it to rip the protective veil around this world. Such power must be possible to 'sense' even in the emptiness between realities, which means the Vigils are speeding up Harmony's return by showing him the path as well as destroying all the obstacles in the way.

Good thing we hurried up then, right?

Quite so. Sadly, Harmony must be incredibly close after getting this 'boost'. We might have even less time than we thought.

Do you mind if I tell the others?

Oh? Is my opinion relevant now?

Look, if we really are in this together as much as you said, then I have to do anything I consider necessary no matter what. That doesn't mean I'm not grateful for everything you've done for me, no matter the reason. I am alive thanks to you, I saved other ponies thanks to you, and I have seen things and places others can't even imagine. In the few months that started with me almost dying on the train due to my sheer stupidity and panic I got to know more of the world than from the twenty years before. And, honestly, even if it means getting rid of one deadly threat just to make room for another one, I want to help you.

Deadly threat... I see you have finally learned some respect. Do not worry, though, I have learned as well from our little 'adventure' together, and I am beginning to see Discord's point of view. Plus, if we win here then there will not be any reason to purge this world of all life out of mercy... at least not for some time. Heh, share whatever information you deem necessary. I do not mind.

Nodding to himself, Straw wordlessly continued pushing through the thick layer of snow.

An exhausted hour later, they reached an unusually frozen and covered entrance to a cave, the ice of which melted before them. Inside, three tents formed a triangle with a burning fireplace in the middle. A white, purple-maned head of Starlight was peeking from one tent while Cross and Shadowstep walked towards the incoming visitors. The changelings saluted to Blaze and Cromach, while Guiding's dreamlings used whatever little space there was left in the cave to pitch their own tents.

"Don't bother, ma'am," Cross walked up to Guiding, "If you need to rest then just go to Starlight's tent. We are ready for your company," he turned to the listening Hoof of Fate, "Same goes for you."

"That's gonna be a bit of a squeeze," Connie commented, looking at the tent with ornamental jewels hanging all over it, "Especially with all these-"

She opened the tent flap, looked around the positively humongous hallway capable of accommodating dragons and the tens of doors on its sides, and sighed.

"-You know, sometimes I hate not being able to learn magic."

"Yes, not all of us can be perfect," the white unicorn disguise of Starlight smiled at her condescendingly, "The guest wing is through the second door on the right. Pick whatever rooms are empty. If you get lost or need anything, just call for a butler, and something or somepony will materialize to show you the way."

"This... this has been all made with magic? Is it a pocket dimension like the alicorns have?" Straw looked around in complete astonishment.

"No, no. Creating something like that is too impractical," Starlight stopped fading away, and explained, "Divine power allows it, but magic has its limits. This is my mansion in the Holy City of griffons, I just linked it to my tent using some very rare and incredibly expensive relics. I rent parts of it to fund my research, so don't go wandering around aimlessly."

"I doubt we'll have the time," Connie rolled her eyes.

She was right. Not even an hour after finding several suites, each one of which would put a diplomat guest room of Canterlot castle to shame, the squad was called to report in a place called 'conference room C'. A ghostly butler pony led them through the place, explaining that the rooms A and B were currently being used by griffon nobility.

As everypony sat down in overly comfortable and doubtlessly priceless armchairs, Shadowstep took charge.

"Alright," the amethyst queen started, "We've been observing the situation here for several days, and our conclusion is this - Blinding Light has been sitting the entire time on an ancient sacrificial altar atop some sort of pyramid, waiting for something. We believe said something is connected to four large pillars holding crystals serving as power sources of some sort. Each of the pillars is situated several hundred meters from the pyramid, forming a square."

A floating image cast by the purple glow of her horn appeared on a whiteboard Shadowstep stood in front of. Four red circles marked what Straw supposed were the pillars, and a black skull sat in the middle of them, likely pointing out Blinding Light's location. A little flag waving in the wind some distance away surrounded by ponies had to be showing the changeling cave.

Straw coughed, and all gazes turned to him.

"Nightmare told me that those pillars are some devices allowing Harmony to get to this world faster."

"That would explain them being guarded by the enhanced Vigil members while the initiates patrol the area. We estimate the total number of Vigils to be around a hundred-"

"Question!" Fortune raised her hand, "Do we have a way of dealing with the bastards? Last time I checked they were literally immune to anything we could throw at them outside of Blaze's fire."

"Baron Hoof's raid at their Manehattan base showed us one thing - even the veterans need their bodies to work at least marginally like those of normal ponies. The inside of their mouth, their eyes, and their joints are the weak spots we know of. However, they are heavily resistant to magic, and their skin is impossible to pierce with normal means. To what extent your quicksilver projectile weapons are going to work we don't know, but don't expect much."

Fortune scowled to herself, and Shadowstep considered the question answered.

"Our best shot is splitting enemy focus, and attacking all four pillar locations at different times. The good news is that as far as we know there is at most thirty Vigil veterans among all their forces. To us, it means that either making more takes too much time and effort, or that Blinding wants to limit their numbers and keep some sort of control over them. Speaking of the devil himself, Blinding Light."

She tried to keep a steady face, but the frown revealed she wasn't too keen on fighting the Vigil Grandmaster.

"Blinding has not moved since we came here. Quite obviously, he is completely immune to the elements out there, does not need to eat or drink, and it is likely he communicates with the Vigils telepathically. His combat power is completely unknown."

Blaze stood up and took Shadowstep's place.

"So, our plan goes like this-"

His horn cast light on one of the Vigil pillar stations, the one furthest away from the camp.

"Shadowstep, Cross, Antares, and Starlight are our best fighting force. They know how to fight together, and they possess the most raw power. As much as I would like to go against Blinding straight up, I doubt I would have a chance with all Vigils rushing to help. That is why the changelings will attack first and draw everypony they can towards themselves. If situation becomes too dire, Shadowstep, you are to retreat and strike again when the Vigils disperse to defend the other places."

Shadowstep nodded.

"Five minutes after the attack, Crom and I will fly straight to the altar where Blinding is. If he moves against Shadowstep then we will track him and attack him en route. Now, Guiding," he looked at the dreamling queen, "Your hive will move around the area and catch every Vigil initiate you can. If possible, put them to sleep. If not, kill them. I do NOT want this insanity to continue. The key is to do it as fast as possible to limit the number of bodies Shadowstep's squad has to deal with. After you think you're done, move to the pillar B," another point on the map lit up, "and destroy it. In the worst case, you will attract the attention of Vigil veterans and lighten the load for Shadowstep."

Guiding bowed.

"As for you, guys," Blaze looked at Connie, and all the Hoof of Fate's members' ears perked up, "After the fighting starts, you will attack the pillar closest to this camp. Do not hesitate to wait a little for the defenders to send somepony to help the main force. If you find out you can't fight, just try your best to destroy the channeling crystal and get out. Now, this leaves one pillar point free of pressure. I hate to put this on your backs, but you will have to take care of that one as well while the other squads are occupied with the retaliation."

"How much time do we have, sir?" Connie stood up and asked politely.

"None," Blaze shook his head, "If Nightmare's theory about the crystals lighting Harmony's path is right then we might be minutes away from its coming. We can't afford to stay and observe any longer. Once this briefing is over, you are to grab your equipment, have a light snack and a drink, and move out. I know it sucks, but I doubt we have a choice," he sighed, looking at everypony around, "Look, I wish I could give you some motivational speech so you could kick rump and chew bubblegum, but I can't. So... let's just do this today so there is a tomorrow for everypony else. Any questions?"

There was only one, but that one rang true in every single head in the room.

What happens if even a single one of us fails?

No one dared ask it.


"We could take them all out rather easily," Cross whispered, lying in the snow so high that only the tips of his ears poked out of it when his head was low, "and destroy the magic focus before they could muster any real resistance."

They were observing the watchpony pattern around a two ponies wide and about ten ponies tall stone construction with a bowl and a crystal in the middle of it on the top. The western ritual pillar was guarded by about ten or so Vigil members, and most of those were the casual initiates who had at most gotten a single infusion of divine power. Cross was right, if Shadowstep and her three companions wanted, unless the elder Vigils recieved a new and unknown boost, they could overpower the defenders and destroy the channeling crystal fairly easily. Sadly, that would leave no reason for the Vigils to stay here and fight.

"No, this focus must fall last," Shadowstep anwered in hushed tone, quieter even more by the snow falling down around them, "or the other groups won't stand a chance."

"I know the plan as well, commander, but..." Cross's hoof circled around the big pyramid few hundred meters away, "what if we're not in a position to break the crystal once the fight starts? Starlight, can you blow it up from a distance?"

"You can blow me, Cross," the white unicorn muttered, "Whoever made those crystals made them untouchable by me. Whatever I throw their way will just get sucked in and used to enhance their power. We need a way to damage it physically."

Cross looked at the Vigil ponies sitting on watch, and snickered.

"Antares, how's your throwing arm?" he asked the changeling currently transformed into a bluish-white griffon perfectly blending into the snow.

"Got enough power to lob something at Blinding Light from here, what's your plan?"

"We're gonna need something hard you can throw at the crystal. Just make sure you 'acquire' a Vigil member, you don't have to be gentle, but make sure they are alive so they can harden themselves against the impact."

"Will do."

"Alright, squad!" Shadowstep hissed, "Let's do this. Hit them fast and hit them hard, make sure they really NEED to call for help," she stood up and her horn flared, casting purple glow all around and melting the snow, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Bright, loud, and, most of all, explosive mortar shots of her magic signalled the beginning of the end.


The snow atop the sacrificial pyramid crunched as eight legs touched it at once, four of them ending with hooves, two with talons, and the final two with paws.

Blinding Light opened his eyes. Not that he needed it, but it was a reflex of his fading existence. Just to acknowledge Blaze's and Cromach's arrival, he threw them a lazy glance.

"So, this is the final desperate attempt at averting the unavoidable..." he said with a lack of interest.

Blaze didn't bother explaining, begging for understanding, or gloating. He said simply:

"If it's unavoidable, then I'd rather die here than face the future your owner brings."

Blinding stood up, and finally firmly faced the alicorn and the griffon.

"As you wish," an emerald blade of energy appeared next to him, "You and all your lapdogs will never attain the promised perfection. Your changeling pets, your mutant daughter and her spawn, the foals you so rigorously 'trained' to fight, the Royal Guards... none of them will be leaving today."

"Royal Guards?" Cromach blinked.

"Oh yes," Blinding beamed, "Don't try to play innocent, catbird, it insults my intelligence. I see EVERYTHING."

The sky went pitch black, but somehow there still was daylight. Cromach looked up and started trembling. Up above, eyeballs covered the dark veil, frozen tears falling from them instead of snow, and right above the altar a glowing, purple scar split the sky in two... and was spreading.

"Cro?" a soft voice brought the griffon back from the brink of mental collapse.

Cromach shook his head and took a deep breath. He didn't need to understand what was going on. He didn't need to wonder how they would defeat somepony... no, something that could change reality on such scale with a thought. He didn't need to worry, or doubt himself. All he needed to know was that the owner of his heart and the Light of his life was right next to him. He didn't need to think.

Standing on his hind paws, grasping a double-handed battleaxe firmly, and not shaking anymore, the lion roared and charged.

The phoenix and his inner darkness, each one holding one Blade of Balance with their mind, were right behind him.

And thus, Blinding Light's bloodthirsty grin invited Blazing Light, Mistake, and Cromach into his madness.


Smoking Candle, an earthpony down on his luck shivered as the explosions from a Vigil post to the west shook the snow off nearby tree branches. He had failed to gain a job in Manehattan, and the money was running low at the time, so he simply accepted the first offer which allowed him to get a cheap bed and a roof over his head even if it meant drinking some nasty concoction. He was just over forty, and for most of his life he had survived by doing odd jobs here and there, never staying in one place for too long.

He wasn't a bad pony, he'd never hurt anypony else in his life, and all he had to do in this Celestia-forsaken part of Equestria was keep walking in a huge circle alongside some other ponies of similar circumstances and report anything suspicious to one of the weird ones.

Did the strange light show on top of the pyramid count as suspicious, or was it just the reason he had been sent here?

MOVE!

His legs moved without his consent towards the western pillar.

"Wh-wha?"

Disappear.

His mind was immediately erased by an irresistible presence inside him.

It was probably a good thing, because several seconds later, and several dozen meters of the forced march of the exhausted body further, his walking corpse and several others met their swift doom.

The dreamlings didn't dwell in the bloodied snow too long. With a mental command of their queen, they moved to intercept more of the coming reinforcements.


The eastern pillar seemed unguarded, which was something of a disappointment to Contradiction who felt the righteous need to kick some cultist ass. The Hoof of Fate were freezing, but at least not wet due to Leo's excellent idea of using magical barriers as something to lie on instead of snow.

"Fortune, can you shoot that thing from here?" asked Connie, pointing towards the crystal.

"Nope," the satyr answered, trying very hard not to look at the hideous sky, "Can't aim properly with all the goop going down from-"

"The freaking eyeballs?!" Leo interrupted in a choked voice.

Fortune just put a hand on his head, and patted him over and over.

"Nightmare says the sky is just a symbol of Harmony's power. Also, that everypony knows we're here. The only reason that we see no defenders around the pillar is either that it's a trap, or that we're not relevant enough to be bothered with," Straw obediently parroted Nightmare's message, forcing himself over and over to believe it. He was failing.

"So they won't shoot beams of pure death goo at us? Because the tears and the quiet weeping just on the edge of hearing are... you know... unsettling enough," Connie quickly peeked upwards and then returned to watching the empty area around the western pillar.

"I think so... I mean, Nightmare does. I, honestly, have no clue what's going on."

The screaming and explosions from the distance continued, as well as the sparks flying above the pyramid. Finally, their alloted time for observation was over, and the group had to move.

"Alright, Fortune," Connie said firmly, "You and Leo trail behind us. As soon as you can, shoot the crystal, and then we run like a gossiping mare's mouth. That doesn't mean you should refrain from shooting anything that comes at us, understand?"

"Oh come on, it's not like I want to see you fail and humiliated anymore. Maybe later, back in Manehattan, if Leo is into that sort of thing."

"What?" Straw was lost once again.

"Nothing!"

"Nothing!"

Both girls answered at once. Leo just let out a tired sigh.

"Remember the birds and the bees, Strawberry?"

The hippogriff nodded.

"These are wearing latex."

Straw felt very, very stupid.

"You have no idea what any of us are talking about, do you?" Leo ended the thought.

"No..."

"You know," Connie slapped his side with her tail, "If we survive this, I'm renting a cellar in the Order mansion and taking you there for a week-long vacation."

"I like fresh air," Straw complained.

"Trust me, you're not gonna complain afterwards."

"Okay," he just shrugged.

"So," Fortune smirked, "Are you two an item now?"

"No," Connie shook her head, "Friends. I'll add the 'with benefits' part later."

"Good for you!" the satyr said with complete sincerity, "Now let's shoot some cultists."

Prowling through the snow, all senses ready for an ambush, they reached a cleared area with two ponies sitting around silently. They moved as one, standing up and facing the intruders.

Connie wasn't waiting, though, and sliced at one before he could stand up. Her greatsword only clanged as it hit the pony's skin.

"They're the supers!" she jumped away as the attacked pony's leg transformed into a tentacle and swiped at her.

"Good thing we don't have to deal with them then!" Fortune aimed her rifle and shot at the crystal.

Nothing happened.

"WHY CAN'T ANYTHING BE EASY?" she complained, "CONNIE, YOU'RE IN THIS ON YOUR OWN! LEO, COVER THEM!"

"Heh," the two Vigils snickered as one, "So, you're the weak part of the chain. Boring."

Sparks flew yet again as Connie's blade struck one of them. He seemed unhurt, but the impact still sent him flying.

Straw's longsword blocked a tentacle aimed at Connie's side, almost knocked out of his talons.

Nightmare, I don't know what you consider fun, but are you up for some-

CARNAGE? MASSACRE? BLOODSHED? And here I was afraid you wouldn't ask.

Straw's blade surged with dark energies and scored a deep cut into the Vigil's body. The wound healed in an instant.

"Pointless," the cultist laughed while slapping tentacles wildly at him, "Our god is-"

His hind legs and a part of his torso disappeared in a shower of red. Groaning and spilling his insides, the Vigil looked up into the eyes, and more importantly - a mouth full of sharp teeth, of a shadowy wolf form belonging to Nightmare.

"Your god is a relic of the past who should have taken the hint the first time," it growled...

...and crunched.

Tastes rather disgusting.

The dark avatar disappeared, leaving Connie furiously jumping away from the remaining Vigil flailing a bunch of tentacles at her.

Any more of the wolfy thing?

Manifesting myself in this state is exhausting. Give me a minute or two.

Okay, tell me when you're ready.

You will know.

Divine power coursed through Straw's veins. Apparently, it was easier for Nightmare to help him that way.

An explosion knocked everypony down...

...including the pillar holding the channeling crystal.

All eyes followed the slow collapse of the structure and the satyr standing up nearby, aiming a shotgun at the large, glowing gem.

"Eat this, geology!" the crystal shattered under Fortune's next shot. The satyr smiled at the shocked Vigil, and asked innocently, "Now can we go to the next one?"

"You are not leaving this place," he growled, bladed tentacles shooting from his back.

"Thought so," she put away the shotgun and aimed her rifle, "Don't just stand there. You've been a bad pony, and I'm willing to fill your sock with lead for Hearth's Warming."

The Hoof of Fate's combined onslaught didn't leave him standing for long.


The northern outpost was not left unguarded, and after the elder members transmitted the details of the attack on the eastern one at least some of the reinforcements returned to protect this channeling pillar. Five elder Vigils and twenty initiates were ready to immediately pounce at anypony threatening this place.

What they weren't ready for was a single griffon who stuck out like a sore thumb here in the snow. His fur was pink, his feathers bright yellow, and he whistled while casually strolling towards the pillar. The nearest elder Vigil lunged straight at him at breakneck speed.

Not even his eyes and mind could understand where the griffon pulled a baseball bat out of, but at a much greater speed he assumed a batting position and sent the jumping Vigil in the air. When the flying pony disappeared, still accelerating, into the sky, the griffon shielded his eyes, nodded his head approvingly, and said:

"Home run."

"Who the hay are you?" mumbled one of the initiates, and reached with his mouth for a blade on his belt.

"Agent Pranks, at your service," the griffon bowed, twirling his bat. He pondered something for a moment, and then stretched, "These things take it out of me. I'm hungry."

He snapped his talons, and all Vigil initiates transformed into piles of pudding. The veterans just stared in utter disbelief.

Agent Pranks gave his bat few practice swings.

"Come on, boys, don't tell me I've been doing the eye of the tiger montage over and over for nothing."


"Well, that's worse... much worse," Connie commented on the state of the south outpost when the group finally arrived there.

"Strange," Straw shook his head when Nightmare pushed itself forward for a second and showed him the opening rift in the sky through its eyes. Out of the four red links aimed towards the rift only two remained, "It looks like... two pillars have been destroyed. We broke the east one, commander Shadowstep should be still holding the west one, now we're at the south one, but nopony should have been attacking the north one yet."

"Perhaps Guiding Light's hive found a good timing to shut it down or something. It doesn't matter. What matters is figuring out how the hay do we get through THAT."

The southern pillar was swarming with Vigil initiates, thirty or forty of them. About the only good point of the situation was that there seemed to be only one elder member. Connie's assumption was that the others must have been sent against Shadowstep, and the rest returned when they realized they would just get in the way.

"How about we keep throwing grenades at the crystal from here, and hope one explodes at the right time?" Fortune suggested.

Connie turned her head from the pillar about hundred meters away from her with deliberate slowness. She could quite likely use her telekinesis to throw it, that wasn't the problem, the accuracy was. One wrong throw and they would have a small army right on their necks.

"Got any mines or something? We could try to lure them here."

"Do... do we really have to kill all of them?" Straw gulped, "I mean, they can't be all crazy, maybe just misguided."

"Alright, go out there and tell them what's going on," Fortune rolled her eyes.

Connie quickly shoved Straw back down to the snow when he actually started to stand up.

"Do you trust me?" Connie asked Straw, "Do you believe I'm a good pony, at least a little?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Then believe when I say we do have to stop everypony coming at us. I don't mind if they run. I'm not telling you to stab their backs. I, however, am sure they are not going to just let us stop them, and not trying to be overly soft on them is our best way."

"Straw!" Fortune grit her teeth, "These are the ponies who killed my friends, who are willingly helping those who threw away their equinity for power, who killed Walter and baron Heavy Hoof. They are murderers and this... is justice."

"I... I just don't like how much you sound exactly like Nightmare inside my head." Straw pressed his muzzle into the snow.

"Strawberry," Leo raised his voice a little, "I want to protect all of you. I want to protect the guys out there who lost their way, but right now the best way I can do it is protecting them from themselves. That is my responsibility as a noble. I know it's difficult, but think of those who are now in Canterlot, Manehattan, anywhere, who can't be here and fight for their future. Sometimes you have to make the choices and stick with them. If we return from here, we will likely be called traitors and sentenced to life imprisonment... but isn't it worth it? We can't give up now."

Day after day since he'd left the orphanage Straw was getting closer and closer to the realization that there was no light at the end of the tunnel. He felt it the most when he almost lost himself after the return from Void's home. His head simply refused to accept reality when Blaze told him he couldn't untangle Nightmare from him anymore. He knew that one day Nightmare would take over, no matter his efforts. A mind burdened with deliberate killing was the least of his problems.

No, he couldn't think like that, that wasn't him. But was it his growth, a kind of maturity he was refusing, or was it throwing away what made him himself?

Those questions were too difficult for him. He was simple and stupid.

So he decided to do the stupid thing.

"Let me go first, I'll lure them away so you can destroy the crystal."

Their collective "NO!" stopped him.

"We're not in a book, and there will be no noble sacrifice here today," Connie hissed at him, "But let's take into consideration the enemy are still ponies. Try to knock them out and don't go for lethal blows, even you, Fortune, please. Not for me... but for the idiot."

Punching her forehead repeatedly, Fortune grumbled something and reloaded her rifle.

"Dull bullets griffons use for hunting birds. Broken bones are still better than being dead, right?"

"Thank you," Straw whispered.

"Don't make me regret it."

Nightmare?

Such sentimentality makes me want to puke out my nonexistent eyeballs.

Just protect me as much as you can, please.

You are a fool. Those ponies chose their fate. Consider killing them a mercy, it is better than what will transpire if they win.

Just... protect me.

Not waiting for an answer, Straw rose up from the snow.

"This is dumb, this is dumb, this is dumb!"

And so did the others.


"COMMANDER!" Cross kicked away a Vigil veteran who had managed to sneak past the front line and attack Shadowstep. Green blood spilled from the queen's cracked carapace. Without another word he returned to using a variety of weapons appearing and disappearing in thin air around him.

Antares swatted another attacker away with the one he was holding in his talons. They had managed to kill five of the twenty attacking veterans, and most of the initiates were either dead or unconscious. Still, they were slowly getting hurt and tired under the relentless onslaught of enemies who literally fought as one entity.

The battle continued.

Some time later, Cross, Starlight, and Antares recieved a mental command.

I have contacted Guiding Light. Her dreamlings have cleared a path away from here. Anty, throw the damn thing and we're leaving. If they follow us, good. If they don't, we'll strike back in few minutes.

Before the order was over, Antares was already taking aim with the concussed elder Vigil in his talons.

The arc was beautiful. The shocked stares of the other Vigils even more so. The sparkling as the thrown victim crashed into a magical field generated by the crystal was almost the top. But the lightning blast shattering the pillar, the crystal, and the Vigil, was definitely the peak.

Running away as fast as possible, Shadowstep's squad kept being hunted by bloodthirty vigils.


The Hoof of Fate had screwed up, that much was clear.

The sheer pressure of bodies surrounding each one of them was far too much to handle. Connie had given up on preserving the idea of a peaceful end, and was now swinging her blade with reckless abandon, horn sparkling with telekinetic force.

The only reason they still hadn't been torn apart was Leo, knocking enemies away and shielding others with his magic when needed. However, he was quite obviously running out of stamina. Fortune was bashing the Vigils away from him with the handle of her rifle, having no time for reloads anymore.

Straw was the one dealing with the elder Vigil, but without Nightmare's offensive power he couldn't inflict any reasonable blow. Still, he was quite well protected, and stood against the Vigil in a fruitless struggle.

Sadly, they had no way of attacking the final standing pillar.

The burden of chosing whether or not to use lethal force against the Vigils was taken away from them by a hail of arrows wrecking the Vigil ranks. Thanks to Leo's quick reactions, no member of the Hoof of Fate joined them.

A contingent of armored ponies surrounded Straw and the Vigil, tentacles or not. Some of them regretted it instantly as they were swatted away, but more took their place, horns glowing with telekinesis exerted against the monstrous pony. Armor creaking under pressure, the Vigil couldn't defend himself against Straw's Nightmare-infused sword anymore.

Connie aimed her blade at the mixed circle of ponies wearing Royal Guard and Nightguard armors. Fortune and Leo inched towards her, but when the guards failed to move Fortune quickly threw several grenades towards the last pillar.

The guards watched stoically as the construction collapsed, and the satyr's shotgun shattered the final crystal.

Their leader, a tall, dark purple thestral mare wearing Nightguard armor took off her helmet, and saluted.

"Velvet Warden, leader of the royal task force," she said officially, "You must be Straw Basket. We are to listen to what you have to say, and help you in any capacity we can."

"Uhh, Straw?" Connie raised an eyebrow.

"Ohhh..." he scratched his head nervously, "Princess Luna and I had a deal. I couldn't let all of you become traitors, so I-"

And he told them everything.


The handle of Cromach's battleaxe hit Blinding's muzzle, knocking him away, unhurt but slightly disoriented.

"Come on, teleporting behind me every single time can't keep working, right?" Cromach sneered.

Blinding snarled, but a beam of fire slammed him into the pyramid's stairs, and scorched the stones beneath.

"Enough... of... this..." he growled while pushing himself up against the pressure of Blaze's power.

An explosion of green fire cut a sphere out of the stone pyramid. It hit neither Cromach nor Blaze, though, and both hovered in the air nearby.

As the fourth and final link to the scar in the sky got severed, Blaze and Crom smiled at each other and took a breath of relief.

"Heh," Blinding just shook his head, "Do you actually believe you have changed something?" his tone was completely uninterested, "We are so close, and the veil is so thin. You may have bought yourself a year or two, but that is it. No matter how much power you gain, how many allies you gather, the only two who matter, our brother and sister, will still be too weak to stop us. However, if you still harbor foolish hope, I care not enough to stop you. We will meet again."

Green flames enveloped him, and he disappeared.

Chains of gold and pink fire shot out from the pyramid and disappeared at the point of Blinding's teleportation. A moment later a struggling unicorn was dragged back into the real world.

"You are not getting away again!" Blaze grunted, pulling and pulling with his power.

Blinding simply smiled at him.

"As you wish. Time to get serious. We will enter the world today, and we will make sure you see what you caused."

The emerald talisman on his neck instantly sucked in all the air in the vicinity, and burst out with green fire once again.

Blaze and Cromach went blind.

Eyes burning, they blinked away tears of pain just to see a rainbow beam coming from the bottom of the pyramid aimed at Blinding Light. Six young mares including princess Twilight walked up step by step, always focusing their inner strength at Blinding.

The unicorn recoiled against the force of the Elements.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHH! IT BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURNS! IT BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURNS!"

"Keep it going, girls!" Twilight strained under the immense flow of power she controlled.


"Aaaaah, uhm, yes, I am dying, totally and completely, mhm," Blinding's voice filled with sadism, "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

The rainbow beam faded, leaving only exhausted Bearers and mildly amused Blinding.

"Oh, don't stop, it was going so well," the unicorn snickered loudly, "Come on, stand up!"

Raising his hoof, the rainbow beam resumed coming from the Elements, accompanied by pained screams of the Bearers.

"Crap, how did Celestia know we'd be here?" Blaze cursed, "We kept it as secret as possible just so this didn't happen!"

Everything went silent and dark. The rainbow glow faded, and the Bearers slowly collapsed and rolled down the long staircase leading down. Blinding, crackling with new power, laughed.

"Now you shall see what I truly meant, fools."

The same spear of multicolored force shot out of him and pierced the sky, ripping it apart further and faster than the channeling crystals had. In mere seconds, it faded, and black nothingness seeped through, followed by...

...gargantuan tendrils bearing the color of rust and dried blood. The tentacles grasped the edges of the spreading rift, and started pushing themselves through.

"Damn you, Celestia!" Blaze mumbled to himself, "What have you done?"

"Well, I have sometimes dreamed of being screwed by a princess, but not like this," Cromach raised his axe, "How about we finish this bastard off and then deal with the overgrown squid?"

"No," Blaze shook his head, "He's coming too quickly. If he gets through then it's all over," both Blades of Balance floated over to Cromach, "You deal with him," he nodded towards Blinding just watching them with amusement, "I gotta slow the giant tapeworm down."

"Can you do it?"

"Of course not, but where's the fun in going against POSSIBLE odds?"

The griffon chuckled, grasping a Blade in each arm.

"Come back to me, buddy."

"Cro, I need you more than air, I enjoy your company more than good wine, and I love you more than myself. With Chokey gone, there is nothing I want more than to be by your side."

"You love potatoes more than yourself!" Cromach gave the alicorn a final hug.

Blaze shot into the sky. Deep inside him, Mistake went over everything he had managed to gather from going through the gods' memories, every minor weakness, every advantage they could get, and every inner strength Blaze possessed. He was in his best shape, at peace with himself as much as it was possible, and capable of using power unknown to anypony other than the three primal alicorns.

Still, even temporary survival was going to be barely possible.

"Touching," Blinding commented as Blaze left the top of the pyramid, "However, I think your coltfriend simply chose a quick death. He cannot stand against our true form. You could barely hold your own against this host, after all."

"Oh?" Cromach smirked, "Perhaps I just wanted to spare him the sight of his father killed in front of him."

"Impudent... and foolish," Blinding shook his head, "Oh well, I suppose I should start cleaning up."

The green blade of fire reappeared, making Cromach tighten his grip on the Blades. He recalled his promise to Blaze back in the deserts of the Griffon Empire.

I am yours. Your life is my life and your end is my end. I promise I will stand by your side in anything you choose to do. You are more important to me than the princesses, the Empire, or my own goals. I will protect you from all harm in any way I can and I will fulfill your every wish. No god, no mortal ruler, and no danger will stop me. This is a promise I make right here and now never to be broken.

He intended to keep his word.

The Blades and a weapon of pure divine power clashed for the final time.


Straw and Connie rushed up the pyramid stairs.

Velvet Warden and the Royal Guards carried the unconscious Element bearers off while Blinding was occupied with fighting Cromach, and upon Straw's command went to help Shadowstep against the elder Vigils. Thus, it was up to the Hoof of Fate to support the fighting ambassador.

With all four channeling pillars destroyed, they had seen the light show at the main altar and didn't like it. The enormous rift above them leading into the darkness between stars where rusty tentacles met pink flames of the tiny dot which was the alicorn of Hope told them that it wasn't over yet.

The ascent was taking too long, so Straw shot into the air and flew straight up on the top.

Cromach was barely holding his own against an enemy untouchable by fatigue, and possessing ridiculous strength, speed, and skill.

Nightmare, give me everything you've got. This is it.

Very well, servant. Show Harmony who can pick better vessels!

It wasn't a flow of energy like every time before. Nightmare's power manifested itself in form of a black, full plate armor covering Straw from head to hooves and talons. His trusty longsword left dark lines whenever it moved, and the pistol held in his other arm sent spikes of raw divine power at Blinding Light, hitting him in the side.

For the first time, the unicorn was hurt.

"So, here you are, sister," Blinding scowled, "and I suppose my fool of a brother cannot be far away."

"But of course!" a pleasant, merry voice came from the air nearby, and in a flash of white light a pink griffon appeared, "I wouldn't miss this for the world, the end of the world, to be exact."

"Discord," Blinding spat on the stones underneath him, "I see that neither of you wants to be here tomorrow."

"Let us say," agent Pranks, or Discord shrugged, "that some things are worth fighting for no matter the result. Or better yet, some things are worth watching others fight for. GRIFFON!" he yelled at Cromach who was resting during the break as much as possible.

"Yes?"

"Throw those toys away," Discord pointed at the Blades in Cromach's talons, "You've never been one for style and finesse, but rather for raw power," Discord snapped his talons, and a rubber gavel of Cromach's size appeared, levitating before the griffon.

Cromach very carefully put the Blades down. He wasn't keen on trusting the god of Chaos and Creation, but the Blades had not been enough to fight Blinding on even ground.

"Ta ta," Discord waved at him, flew a fair distance away, summoned a levitating couch, and picked up his opera goggles, "Don't keep me waiting, both of you!"

Blinding didn't. As soon as Discord flew away he snarled and swung his sword at Cromach who snatched his new rubber weapon from the air, blocked, and prayed.

It held, and the impact knocked Blinding's sword away. With how light Discord's weapon was, Cromach was finally able to get close to Blinding and land a hit.

The unicorn was knocked on the ground, spitting blood over the sacrificial platform, front leg clearly broken. It passed quickly, and in a second it healed with the cracking of moving bones.

Straw wasn't waiting, and several more shots shattered the stones as Blinding took to the air where he had a distinct advantage.

Or so he thought.

Fortune's quicksilver shots were barely strong enough to even bother him, but the second of split focus as the satyr sniped him from the bottom of the pyramid was enough for Cromach to fly up and land another crushing blow.

"You buzzing flies are getting ANNOYING!" Blinding screamed, and sharp shards of ice started falling from the sky all around the pyramid.

The glacial rain shattered against golden barriers, and Straw saw Leo hiding behind Fortune, focusing solely on protecting his friends. Blinding was irritated, to say the least, and let out a bellow of such rage it took a physical form and shot Cromach back down on the altar platform. Unfortunately for him, he didn't notice Straw above him.

The hippogriff stabbed him clean through, and with all strength both he and Nightmare could gather he punched. Blinding's impact shattered the sacrificial altar completely, but the unicorn...

...was simply too strong.

With wounds healing faster than they could cause them he grasped Cromach with his magic and slammed him over and over against the carved stones of the pyramid's top. Straw raced down like a bullet, but without even turning his head, the green glow of Blinding's horn enveloped him and bashed him against the pyramid's side.

No matter the divine protection, Straw felt that one.

"This is what you don't understand," Blinding slowly walked towards Cromach trying to get back up and coughing blood, "All the struggling you mortals think will work is just a minor nuisance to me, something to pass time before I can enter this world fully," he pointed upwards where the mass of tentacles got so far through the rift, no matter Blaze's efforts, that something bulbous which had to be the central body was pushing through, "However, I believe it is time to end this petty game. Trust me, you and your little alicorn will soon enough be one and neither at the same time. All world will feel the perfection of complete unity."

"The only 'unity' Blaze and I need is when we're in bed wrapped under a single blanket!" Cromach tried to reach for Discord's hammer lying nearby, but Blinding's telekinetic pressure prevented him from doing more than kneeling.

"Well, than you can die right here and now, it matters little to me," Blinding's burning sword flew up, and swung in the face of determined and defiant griffon.


Blinding Light was not a bad father, or a bad husband. He yelled a lot, he got annoyed easily, and he was stubborn, but he loved his family, although an old-fashined and war-forged unicorn like him would never show it in a sappy way. He had always provided for his sons and wife, no matter how scary the future looked.

Then he became a noble. Through his friends and achievements he managed to get into a position in which his family would never want for anything ever again. And yet, it was not enough. He found himself having less and less time, aging, and being too exhausted after all the meetings and obligations to do more than just crawl home in the evening and read a good book.

His wife grew distant, his firstborn son moved out of the family mansion, and his second son barely knew Blinding as more than a drunk who sometimes yelled at newspapers.

But it was all their fault they couldn't appreciate it. He was just trying to make their life easier, to give them the opportunities he didn't have when he was young.

Or was it?

Searing Light, his first son, was too similar to Blinding - proud, smart, and driven, which was why when they fought both could point out each other's flaws and neither could win an argument.

Little Blazing, though, was different. He didn't fight back when reproached, he tried to change himself, to be better, but it was never enough. Day after day the little unicorn would turn on himself whenever he did something wrong, trying not to cause more trouble, but after some time...

...after some time he gave up.

Blinding hated somepony telling HIM what he did wrong, he tried to find excuses, and he had many. He threatened Blazing to disown him over and over whenever told what HE, the big father and noble, was not perfect, but when the little unicorn finally said he didn't care and that he was just saying it so that even Blinding could be a better pony, something changed.

After that, Blinding stopped talking to Blazing completely. It wasn't because his little son touched a painful subject, hurt his ego, or even lied. It was all true, Blazing never lied.

Blinding just was ashamed, and had no idea what to say. He was from a generation and occupation where admitting weakness could cause one to lose friends, or even die.


Still, even after Blazing ran away from home, Blinding believed himself to be a good father. And yet...

...and yet, he had never seen somepony so completely devoted to somepony else before. Not in his wife, not in his friends, not in his sons, had he seen the flames of borderline fanaticism which burned inside Cromach.

And all that fire blazed for only one pony - his son.

Suddenly, the wish and control of the entity inside him was irrelevant. At least he and his son had something in common - both were so stubborn that not even gods could stop them when they made up their mind. There was only one thing that mattered anymore. One last thing to do, one final duty to fulfill.

His burning sword hissed out, his horn stopped glowing, he leaned towards Cromach, and smiled at him.

"Make my little colt proud, noble griffon. End his loneliness, and my pain."


The moment of respite ended, and Cromach could see Blinding fight against himself. Without a second though he grabbed Discord's hammer and...

...had to block a furiously flying green blade once again.

Blinding unwillingly lurched away, one of the Blades stabbed in his side.

"What?" he turned his head just to see Connie, horn burning and levitating the second Blade of Balance.

"This is for Walter, buckface!"

Finally, finally Blinding's misery was over.

The sky sparkled and returned to its normal color. No more eyeballs, no more falling tears, still one rapidly closing rift, Harmony's real body halfway through it, and one alicorn dodging more tentacles than an underage schoolfilly.

Blaze noticed the rift closing on its own, and saw Harmony couldn't do more than slow the progress. That meant the god either had to push through completely, or return back. As the writhing mass of Harmony's body started pulling backwards, Blaze knew even the most powerful god could feel fear.

However, he couldn't just let it happen. Harmony would wait for some time and then all this would repeat again, only without such an obvious way of entering the world. He didn't know about Scream's plan, but he sure as hay would appreciate it if he did. He had the knowledge about different things, though. For example, he knew that to gods, power and matter were the same thing, so if he could just hold part of the god here in this world while the rift closed, Harmony would lose a drastic portion of its power, and would be sent drifting between realities just like when Discord and Nightmare banished him for the first time.

Burning chains shot from the ground far below him, and started pulling Harmony back into the reality of Equus.

"You impudent mortal," he felt the god's voice resonate in his head, "Are you really trying to match my power?"

"Hey, my special talent is and always has been using my enemy's power against them. If you didn't like it, perhaps you shouldn't have made me an alicorn in the first place, dumbass."

The rift was crushing Harmony's bulbous body hidden withing the squirming mass of tendrils, but Blaze didn't relent for a second. His body and mind were balancing the flow of the god's divine power and using it to augment his own, but it was like being a tipping hoof controlling a massive scales. One mistake, and kaboom.

"I cannot be stopped like this. I WILL NOT be stopped like this!"

"Too... bad..." Blaze groaned under the strain.

"Fine, worm," Harmony's voice was untouched by the agony of his body being split in half, "I shall take you down with me then. Did you forget only I have the power to purify? Let me rid you of the curse of immortality."

All tentacles shot out at the same time. Blaze, barely focusing on the real world anymore, could not dodge this time. The surge of power temporarily made Blaze the most powerful creature in existence. All divine power - his, the stolen forces of Discord and Nightmare, and the influx of Harmony's ignited at once.

In his final moments, Blaze learned one important lesson - the sacrificing hero never gets to see the result, he can only hope things worked out.


The deafening boom and a supernova of gold and pink flames woke Straw up, and he clutched at a piece of trashed stairs to stop himself from rolling down the pyramid. He looked up.

"Daaaaaaaaaamn it!"

Bits of Harmony's form still on this side of the closing rift were being cut off. He tried to move, but collapsed back. It looked like Blinding's attack hurt him really badly despite Nightmare's protection. More attempts at getting out of the way of the falling mass only resulted in him slowly sliding down the pyramid's steps, accompanied by broken masonry.

Something was getting closer to his blurry vision. At the last second he recognized Cromach carrying Connie on his back, flying as fast as he could. The griffon's talons reached towards him...

...but Straw, seeing nearly double, missed.

The sky was falling towards him.

Funny, those tentacles look much bigger from up clos-