Epilogue - The Rise
Somewhere
The cave was dark, but not dank. He had to admit he was a little surprised. Long ago, when he’d had the occasion to visit some of the diamond dog burrows, he’d found them to be repulsive places, foul holes in the ground. Little better than hovels, filled with foolish creatures content to wallow in their own filth as long as they possessed a steady supply of baubles. But these caverns were different. Ordered. Clean. Well-maintained.
Perhaps the diamond dogs then too had evolved along with the outside world, even though it seemed unlikely. But the proof was there beneath his feet. Roughly-hewn but clean tunnels. Disciplined and stalwart groups of dogs, moving up and down the caves periodically in organized packs, leaders barking orders at them as they carried out important tasks. Even the armor his two escorts were clad in was far beyond what he’d expected to find. In fact, it was almost impressive, if a little crude. But even he could see that the spikes, the razor sharp edges … all of them were placed in positions where they would be useful, rather than detrimental. Someone had done good work.
Perfect, he thought as he continued down the corridor. Exactly what I need.
A lance of pain shot through his side, and he had to fight not to let it show on his face. His body was still working to fix most of the damage he’d suffered during the fall of the Necropolis. Had he been an ordinary being and not an immortal, the beating he’d taken surely would have killed him. As it was, he had come close. Too close for his own liking. The world had apparently changed more than he’d realized while he’d been away.
But that was fine. He could adapt. He always had. Mortals had moved up in the world. But so could he. All he needed was time … and a plan.
And he had both already. Once again, the world thought him dead. And to be fair, he almost had been. He’d spent almost a full day sleeping off his injuries once he’d made it to shore, and he’d spent another week foraging for food as his body fought to rebuild itself. Almost dying had been unexpected.
But not unplanned for. Always have a backup, he told himself as his guides reached an intersection, turning without hesitation and moving in a new direction. Always be ready to make a step back.
He was doing that now. The diamond dog he’d spoken to at the dig had been hesitant to tell him what he’d wanted to hear, but once he’d told her what he’d already put together from the reports, and applied a little of his own pressure … she’d caved and given him what he’d needed. A location.
Another lance of pain shot through his side, and he glanced down at the half-healed wounds on his body. Part of him wanted to wait, to let the rest of his injuries heal, but he’d waited too long already. If he waited much longer, the moment could be lost. Besides, he had part of his staff still, pulled from his body after he’d made it to the shore. The crystalline fear-runes he’d built into it still worked, as did the blade. He had what he needed.
It wasn’t often that a diamond dog acquired military aspirations as this current leader had, but when they did, there was always an opening for those with bigger plans in mind. Diamond dogs followed the strongest—the biggest, the richest, the meanest, whoever could defend their horde from others. If someone was tough enough, they could challenge the leader of a tribe and take control. And, if they were tough enough past that, maybe another tribe too.
This one currently had at least twenty-one tribes already under his control. Anubis couldn’t ever recall hearing of such a mass of diamond dogs gathering together before—and more appeared to be coming in every day as word went out.
Not only that, he thought as they passed by a large, painted sigil on the wall, with text in the diamond dog tongue written beneath it. But he’s actually controlling them quite well, too. No infighting, lots of order. A far cry from the barely civilized mongrels he’d known two thousand years ago.
They passed by another painted sigil, again with the same text. He’d asked one of his guides earlier what it had meant. It was their name, they had told him. “The Golden Horde.”
Interesting.
He could hear a distant whisper now, a rumble of voices and shouts as they neared the arena. They’d assembled as many as they could to watch him fight their leader. Perfect.
It was a good plan. Find the diamond dogs, challenge their leader for command, beat him, and take control. Simple, but then again, so were diamond dogs.
Simple, but industrious. And he’d need that for what would come next. He wasn’t quite sure what that was going to be, but he knew that whatever it was, the power crystal that had fallen with the Necropolis would have to be at the heart of it. Almost two thousand years' worth of magical power, all wrapped up in that single stone.
If he had that, he could do a lot of things.
Their path angled downwards, and they passed through a doorway before moving into another, smaller hallway. Even then, he didn’t have to duck his head. Whoever had made the tunnels had been planning ahead.
There was a set of stone doors ahead of him, and he could hear the rumble of the crowd past them. His two guides took up flanking positions on either side of the door, their long arms at their sides. One motioned to him, jerking his head for the immortal to enter.
Still not much on ceremony, Anubis thought as he stepped forward and pushed the door open. They’ll be time for that later. He would relish the looks on their thick faces when he was in charge.
The arena was massive—much larger than he’d expected—the ceiling stretching up into darkness above him. Massive spotlights had been set up around the edges of the arean, bathing the entire area in a white glow. He took a step forward, his foot barely sinking into the grey sand. Classic.
It was hard to make out the stands from where he was since they were dark, but his eyes adjusted and then widened as he took in the number of diamond dogs looking down at him.
Horde is right, he thought, smiling. There must be forty or fifty thousand of them in here. And all of them, he noticed, were wearing armor.
Impressive. He looked to the other side if the arena, where a pair of stone doors identical to his own stood waiting, and then lifted what was left of his staff into the air. Let them know I am ready, he thought. By blade or fear, the diamond dog leader would fall.
There was a grinding sound as the doors behind him slid shut, and the rumble of the crowd increased.
Then it stopped, silence falling like a fog at some unseen signal. Then, on the far side of the arena, the doors began to grind open. A rumble shook the ground as the diamond dogs, as one, began to stomp their feet.
Very impressive, he thought as the far doors slid open, a pair of diamond dogs in gold-leaf armor stepping through. The stomp of the crowd picked up speed, coming faster and faster and faster, shaking the earth like some all-encompassing heartbeat.
Then the leader stepped out, and Anubis nodded as the crowd roared, the sound sweeping back and forth across the arena like a wave. The diamond dog was certainly an impressive figure, even at a distance. He looked to be at least several heads taller than his escort, though Anubis was familiar enough with visual trickery to recognize that the newcomer’s guards were shorter in order to make their leader all the more imposing. The crystalline armor he was wearing was unusual, and probably not that effective, but the dark, almost smokey shade added to his appearance, making him even more eye-catching. It had even been designed to make his squat, bulky figure look even more muscular than it probably was.
The crowd roared again, cheering madly, and the figure looked up at them, regarding them for a moment before bringing his gaze down to stare at Anubis.
Yes, Anubis thought, smiling. Face me.
The figure took a step back, raising one crystal-armored hand into the air, and Anubis could see spiked edges around the outside. He’d have to be careful and not let himself be careless. A single bad hit from one of them could make him bleed, and that wouldn’t do.
The dogs needed to see him as more than a mortal. More than what their leader was. Or had been.
The figure closed his fist, and the crowd went silent. Then, with agonizing slowness, he lowered his closed fist and extended a single finger at Anubis. The crowd began to stomp again, and the figure lowered his arm and began to stride forward.
I guess that’s it, he thought, hefting his broken staff and walking forward. No ceremony. Just violence. Good. It would make it all the more stunning when he crushed their leader in front of them.
He frowned. Something was wrong. The diamond dog was getting closer, but he wasn’t getting any smaller.
It wasn’t an illusion after all, he thought. He really is that big. In fact, he realized, the diamond dog was big enough that even he was going to look up at him.
No matter, he thought as they neared the middle of the arena. He could see the dog’s face now, jaws bared in a silent snarl. His face looked almost mashed-in, like something had pressed up against it and forced it back. It gave the figure an almost perpetually angry look.
Wonderful, Anubis thought as he eyed the dog’s thick muscles. A brute. Big, ugly, and angry. He lifted his staff. The dog was close enough now, the crowds stamping mixing with a sort of chant, a single word repeated slowly with each stomp. Time to fall.
Grey mist exploded out of the end of his staff, sweeping across the arena and around the massive figure. It paused, stilling for a moment as the mists rolled over it. Anubis smiled.
Then the dog did something unexpected. He lifted one hand in front of his face, sweeping the mists back and forth, his eyes watching as the grey mist faded. Then he smiled and stepped forward once more.
Anubis let the spell loose once more, more magic flowing down his arm and into his staff, through the crystalline lines he’d etched in the metal, following complex patterns he’d spent a decade deciphering, and then burst forth as a grey mist that rolled over the hulking diamond dog.
There, he thought as the figure stopped. Feel it! But there was already a cold chill of uncertainty in his gut, and as the figure stepped forward once more, he realized that something was very, very wrong.
“You wield fear.” The diamond dog’s voice was a hissing rumble, like two rocks grinding against one another as water flowed over them, almost a rasp but at the same time deep. “But it will not help you here.” The diamond dog was still moving forward, still moving with the same, impassive walk.
It’s got to be the armor, Anubis thought as he took a step back, dropping into a fighting stance. The crystal … it’s blocking the effect somehow. Seriously, is everything I have outdated now?
The dog was still coming. “You use it like a club,” he said. “You don’t understand it.”
He lunged forward, far faster than Anubis expected as the crowd roared, the chanting rising to new pitches. He jumped back as the dog’s fist slammed into the ground, and he could see sand kicking up around the impact under the force of the blow. Even worse, he could feel the ground shaking beneath his feet.
It was time to change tactics.
With a snap his scythe blade came into existence, and he backed away, dropping into a lower stance as the diamond dog moved for him again. All right, he thought. He’s fast, but he’s a bruiser. The fear doesn’t work on him, so you’ll cut his throat. Get in close, catch him off-guard. He’s not even in a ready stance, so as long as you strike when he’s off balance, it’s over. And then you can figure out how he didn’t collapse in a panic.
He waited, trying to ignore the chanting of the crowd. He needed to beat their leader. That would get them to shut up.
There! He lunged forward, ignoring the pain in his side as he brought his blade around in a tight, close arc, aiming upward at the dog’s throat.
Everything went wrong.
The dog’s arm snapped up, far faster than it had any right to be, fingers closing around Anubis’s arm and stopping it cold. Anubis shrieked as the dog’s muscles flexed, shattering the bones in his wrist and grinding them into one another. The staff fell from his fingers, slapping against the sand.
The dog twisted his arm, and Anubis dropped to his knees, feeling his hardened bone crack under the grip. His mind was screaming at him that it wasn’t possible, that no one, especially a diamond dog, could be so strong. His eyes slid to the arm, and it was then that he realized what he’d missed.
There was a resonance about the armor. Magic. Improperly balanced magic.
A hand wrapped around his throat, and he gasped as it lifted him into the air, bringing to eye level with the monstrous dog. He tried to strike back, but the dog’s hand twitched, and he clutched at his throat with both hands, gurgling as the beast’s grip tightened. The crowd began to chant louder.
“An immortal,” the diamond dog said, and its lips pulled back in a smile. “Fate has brought you to me, demigod.” he shifted, dropping to one knee as his free hand reached for something, and then he lifted Anubis’s broken staff into the air.
“An interesting toy,” he said, staring at it for a moment before letting it drop out of sight. “I’m sure my pet unicorn will find some use for it. As she will for you and your knowledge.”
“You—” Anubis said, fighting to get the word out. “You weren’t—”
“Scared?” the diamond dog finished. His grip tightening, and Anubis tried in vain to pull back the fingers. “No. You see, demigod, I know fear. And it has taught me the truth of everything this world is, and what this world will be.” The crowd was chanting louder, their voices shaking the very room as the diamond dog’s grip tightened even further. He was fighting for air now, straining to breathe, but nothing seemed to break the dog’s grip. He pounded against the monster’s arm, tearing his skin on the jagged armor, but he could feel his blows getting weaker.
“A world of fear,” the diamond dog said again as Anubis’s vision began to swim. The edges of the world were closing in around him now, everything narrowing as he fought for breath. “A world without the unneeded. Without you.” The dog’s hand tightened again, but it didn’t matter. Everything was blurring away fading. But Anubis still heard the dog’s last words. “A world without immortals.”
And behind him, their voices echoing across the arena and through his mind as everything faded away, came the chant of the crowd, a single word rolling over and over again.
“Kaan! Kaan! Kaan!”
END OF THE DUSK GUARD SAGA: BOOK TWO
Stats
Page generated in 0.211 seconds
Total duration
954 users online
1,562,175 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Now that's how you introduce a villain. Holy shit.
Welp, sucks to be Anubis.
Really enjoyed reading this, and looking forward to the next one. 
Also:
OOOOOH Shit !!!
Okay, I'm getting Genghis Khan/Mongol Hordes vibe from these new guys.
I can bet that everyone has a shell-shocked face on; I sure do.
KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN
Something tells me we haven't seen the last of Anubis yet.
Although who's side he will eventually end up on is going to be an interesting question, no guesses needed on who Kaan's unicorn friend is. But if Anubis is sidelined (assuming he does survive) and realises just how behind the times he is, maybe, just maybe given the right circumstances he might turn on them in support of the Celestial sisters - at least for a while...
*Mutters to himself* Either way, I'd better keep an eye on this universe for a while....
*Ahem*
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
And speaking of Star Trek, Anubis just got Worfed. I was really not expecting that. Even less than I was expecting him to survive, and that was after a team of mercenaries; compsed of a doctor, a former general, an almost-blademaster, and an assassin; had agreed that he had been thoroughly killed to death.
But yeah, looks like one of the railroad sisters has been working on her own version of the Dusk Guard's power armor, and it is scary. I wonder what would have happened if the better-equipped Dusk Guard had gone up against Anubis at the necropolis... Then again, he was also recovering from being beaten 3/4 to death, so there's that as well.
Loved Kaan's Bane speech to Anubis. Really put that overgrown jackal in his place. I'm looking forward to seeing the good guys clash with the evil league of evil we see forming here.
For now, so long! And thanks for all the horse words!
6464399 Kaan basically said he wasn't going to kill him, so yeah. He'll be back.
First of all, dammit, Blade, have you forgotten the most important rule of assassination? No corpse, no kill.
Second,obligatory KHAAAAN.
Third, so this is where the little bigger ran off to.
You, sir, have perfected the way to reveal a new threat. I can't wait for the sequel.
To bad for Anubis, the times; they are a' changin'.
After all this time, after so many chapters, it's finally complete! I'm amazed that you were able to get it out so quickly! Can't wait for the sequel!
LateBronyWriter
That was quite a journey :)
Cannot wait for the next part.
Also the ending is amazing.
I mean, it was pretty obvious that Anubis was not dead, but killing him in epilogue to introduce new villain - that was unexpected (and he kinda deserved that).
Well done
Kaan? How very interesting comes to mind many warlords across the ages. He's smart, strong, ruthless, and above all else adaptable. At least we know of what happened to our crazy unicorn from the first book.
I kinda had a feeling that might happen. Anubis taking the diamond dogs would have been too cliché. Also KHAAAAAAAAN KHAAAAN!
6464357 Well, they call themselves the Golden Horde and the leader is either named Khan or adopted it as their title. Oh, and he united a group of disparate warring tribes under his banner. Couldn't get much more Mongolian unless they rode horses, which... considering the setting, would be weird.
6464357 You're not the only one.
6465112
Given the way Kaan treated a demigod here, I would not be surpried to see him try to enslave ponies to serve as steeds for his Diamond Dog armies.
First I believed Anubis was dead. Then I started thinking you were going to have Mint and Anubis team up.
To learn that Mint is not in charge of the Diamond Dogs and see Anubis actually killed was definitely not expected.
Also, I was on wondering why Anubis wanted to talk to that Diamond Dog a few chapters ago. It seems like he always has a plan. (Though who could have planned for crystalline magi-tech armor?)
If Mint combines Anubis' staff tech with the crystalline armor, well, I don't know how to say just how frightening that could be.
6465112
Well, remember how the Diamond Dogs jumped on the mane six's (minus Rarity)'s backs when they invaded the Dogs' caves, and they had to buck the Dogs off?
6465112
6465923
Hi-ho Twilight! Away!
6460635
"I killed an immortal and all I got was this lousy shirt."
6466770
Now there's an idea for series fan art if I ever heard one! I'd buy that shirt.
6465243
Oh, Mint is his pet unicorn! I knew I was missing something.
I kinda knew Anubis had survived... This thing with the Diamond Dog, though, Kaan--that's unexpected. Now we know (well, I had to read the comments to put it together, but still) where Mint Tam ended up. I thought Anubis was going to be the keystone villain for the whole Saga, after reading how iconic Viking wanted him to be, but now that's called into question. I'm sure we'll still see him again... I have a feeling we'll see the Dusk Guard next story, since if Kaan is against immortals, he'll have to go after Equestria to get to Celestia and Luna eventually. I'm still shocked Kaan beat Anubis that easily, even though Anubis WAS still weak and injured. Wow, what craziness.
You know at first I thought that Kaan had killed Anubis but after rereading the epilogue i'm not so sure.
We know now that Mint built the armor and helped Kaan design a lot of what he's using. So for Anubis, I'm pretty sure he'll wish he was dead after Mint begins to experiment on him. Also they can't get access to his mind if hes dead.
6465243
Wouldn't be first time Mint let someone else to do bossy stuff while she was the mastermind all along. Or then she just failed like Anubis. We probably learn more in some later story, but next one, I think it's already happened.
Khaaa- curses. Everyone already made that joke. Oh well. Name is still similar in meaning though. Kaan == King (Turkish).
Knew that Anubis wasn't dead. Always check the body, and assume they're alive if they do the whole Disney Villain Death song and dance. He's probably still alive after this one as well, which means the DR have a high chance of getting involved, quite possibly with explosions.
We also now know where Mint went. Not sure if completely subdued or is playing the dog, but he does have the tech to rival DG. Speaking of which, DG need to update their armor just in case they get feared, or has this already been implemented?
Very much looking forward to more of the dusk guard or dusk rogue adventures. Any chance for a one shot or short story of the dusk guard in the crystal empire before we get back to the main adventure? I'm really looking forward to seeing the guard again, but I did grow to love the rogues in the mean time. Especially alchemy.
Kaan the Godslayer has made an introduction into The Dusk Guard series, and in the most badass way possible. Our heroes will soon face off against the Golden Horde, and something tells me that he will be their most dangerous foe yet....
6493623
Just a warning, this might not be your cup of tea. This is one of the many stories known collectively as the League of Humans Acting Villainously / Heroically, or LoHAV/H for short. These stories feature a human that usually attends a convention coming across a mysterious merchant who sells them an item correlating to whatever the human is cosplaying as. On purchase they get tossed into Equestria, turning into said cosplay character with all the abilities and equipment as well, and are known collectively as the Displaced. They usually appear in pre-show Equestria, through one way or another become petrified, and unseal during the show, usually around Discord's return the first time. At that point, they do whatever they please, affecting Equestrian canon as they please, and occasionally get tossed into another person's variant of Equestria for a crossover.
Amusingly, the stories really picked up only after a separate story with similar premises was published here, a "Rise of Darth Vulcan" by RealityCheck.
There were hints of a collab between several authors about a great war between the Displaced, with villains being led by the Makuta Teridax (Yes, he became a lego person) from Casting a Shadow by Ssendam the Masked, and the heroes being led by Auric Fulcrum (Golden Sun) from a set of stories written by Thadius0. Unfortunately, that fell through the cracks when Thadius0 lost interest writing on the site.
Anywho, this story that the quote comes from, written by shinigamisparda, features a fun-loving Gilgamesh from the Final Fantasy series. Has its ups and downs, and gets more serious / shounen anime in the sequel. The only other one I would wholly recommend would be this parody by Lord Destrustor.
Right, Post-read review, (segmented as all hell because I'm a knob):
Amazing. Amazing as always. Blade is confirmed as Best Collateral-Damage-Causer.
Anubis was a fun villain, He had a certain attitude about him. A fun villain to read about, and a fun villain to see beaten into the ground. Not as satisfying as the defeat of the Order. No seriously, screw those guys. With one of Frost's frag arrows.
The snippets with the Archaeology Couple were fun, and I'm glad they ended up OK and hope we see them again. They were adorable. Maybe in an in-betweener story?
The story overall felt a bit like two different stories. First the Ocean parts, up to them leaving for Griffon lands, and then the parts in the Empire and the finale. Not that that's a bad thing, you just don't see that often a story with multiple sets of rising/falling actions.
The Ocean of Endless Ice is definitely among my favourite fictional locales. Not just the concept; an ocean made of literal ice, endlessly grinding and shifting, with hovering barges sliding back and forth across it. You also got the atmosphere of it across amazingly. I live at a pretty high latitude, and reading the first half of the story definitely was stirring up memories of long car rides through a countryside buried in snow, mountains obscured by snowfall in the distance. I want to read more about this place.
Sheerwater is amazing as a single location, though. You can just feel the sheer fantastic feel of the place leaking off the page. I want fanart of that place. High quality stuff I can put up as a desktop wallpaper. It sounds like the kind of place you could tell endless stories about, a proper City of a Thousand Tales. Hope we see more of it, too.
...I think I can just safely say that I want more of all of this
And finally, Radiant and Anubis ending up in the same place? This can only end in amazing sequellery.
Final verdict: Yes/Yes, already rereading.
I still don't know who the B
k the series villain is, unless its Minty, but with Viking, you can't know.
Wow.
The epilogue reminds me why, frequently, my favorite villains aren't all powerful immortal-like beings but the mortal ones that overcome their weakness to become even more of a threat. This is so promising for future Dusk Guard stories.
Just started reading this, and the first few chapters seem to focus on Blade. Is there going to be significant Dusk Guard action, or is this entirely Blade's story?
JAW-DROPPED
A really fun read. My only problem is that the title had me expecting the dusk guard and they didn't show up at all.
So I made a mistake by not reading this sooner.
I have finished reading the story.
It may take a few days for my review to come out, but be assured, I enjoyed every word.
Welp. I stand by what I said to you on reddit. That was DEFINITELY worth taking breaks from Fallout 4 to read. The epilogue was particularly chilling.
This story had me on the edge of my seat as much as the other one, and tugged at my heartstrings quite a bit. I'm looking forward to the next saga.
I also look forward to finally getting to watch the Dusk Guard and the Dusk Rogues team up, so here's hoping the Golden Horde presents enough of a threat that it becomes necessary.
....Dammit, I want more.
anubis
anubis wat r u doin
stahp
just retire
Seriously though this has been an amazing story, and I regret taking this long to get around to it. Thank you
He, finally took me long enough.
Well, here you go, the review I promised. I'm sorry I couldn't find anything more helpful than praise in this one, I tried hard to find something, but all I could find were good things to say. That's odd since I can usually find something to point out.
~Must Read~
You can find the PCaRG review here
You can has review!
phew
You will be pleased to know that I just finished reading this fan fiction. It was good. I heard there is more in the series in the works... I really hope it includes the dusk guard and specifically sky bolt :3
Cheers
6889963 Oh it is, good sir. It is.
Oh man, this story was freaking awesome! So glad I decided to read both after seeing the Stardust Crossover. Cannot wait for any more books. Pls.
6969739
Thanks! Glad you finally took a chance on them as well!
If you're still hunting for some excellent stuff, there's always the side stories to Rise (which also may offer up more background hints about the world itself and for Beyond), as well as my non-MLP works.
I hit over a million published words in January, and Rise and Beyond only account for 575,000 words of that, so there's more to find while I work on new stuff! Enjoy!
I was prepared for a repeat of Rise's epilogue where Anubis escapes, planning to exact his revenge just as Radiant Twist did, but then (I assume) he really did get dead.
Good riddance.
Of course, this new player is an imposing threat, but just what does he mean for the world? It seems that he couldn't be quite the threat that Anubis was, given that he is a mere mortal, but then again, never underestimate what mere mortals are capable of.
All in all, this book was perhaps better than the original. It was definitely much more powerful on an emotional scale, and I think largely because characters actually died in this one. The stakes were much higher, and it seemed that the odds were stacked so much more drastically against Blade and her team than it was against the Dusk Guard in book one. And... well, I guess there's not a lot else I can say, but maybe I can offer one final bit of praise that I think will be pretty poignant.
While I was reading this, I was taking notes. Whether it was on how you showed characterization, or your prose, or your worldbuilding, I was looking at how you did these different things throughout and thinking to myself, "How can I apply that to my own writing?" Both back when I read Rise nad now again, I notice that my own writing seems to markedly improve after I read one of your stories. Like they inspire me to improve my own craft.
Because honestly, Viking, you're an author worth learning from.
Thank you for the roller-coaster ride that this story was from start to finish. I eagerly await the next installment, and in the meantime, I think I'll go crack open one of your books I bought months ago on Amazon.
I liked the first story a lot, (btw, thanks to Arad for introducing the characters in his stories)
Second story has grown on me over the chapters too. I did expect for Dusk Guard to appear, but prologue to "Beyond..." and the side stories were enough of indication to see where it was going.
Though i do have a gripe - Alchemy and his super-boost in the end. When he was dependent on potion, but powerful it felt normal enough, but after self-resuscitation (that was potion's work, correct?) and that visit to local afterlife felt over the top. And with access to earth pony powers (which Steel Song has already shown to be substantial in combat) this feels like a "grand piano in the bushes". Especially in chapter 34, when he wipes out the rest of the Order and later as he single-hoofedly" keeps Anubis off the gang.
Incidentally, it seems Anubis still isn't finished, or at least there is no confirmation that he was killed by Kaan.
7363207
First of all, thanks for reading! I'm glad you've enjoyed the series!
I did want to address this, though, as you've got a few misconceptions that are at the root of your gripe that I should clear up. First, that's the only resuscitation he'll ever get: The potion in large doses always was trying to "kill" him as he'd pointed out earlier in the story—now that it's work is done, it has no further use for him. Nor will it have any effect—ie he can't take more of it and come back again. And had he died without OD'ing on the potion, that would have been the end of him as well.
Also, he doesn't have access to earth pony magic, not since the potion changed him. He mentioned that early on in the story, back when his condition was first discussed, and he didn't get any of those back when the potion finished what it had started. He was fundamentally changed: He'll never access earth pony magic again. That door is closed to him. What would have been earth pony magic is now distributed through his body and granting him his abilities. Which, now that they're no longer dependent on the potion, are both better and more limited. In the earlier fights in the story, Alchemy was fine as long as he could chug more potion down. During the final battles, after his "completion," you may not have noticed but he was "rubber-banding." IE his abilities are more potent than before ... but now rather than dependent on potion he's dependent on his own body—he can no longer just drink potion to "refresh himself" but has to wait, hence why his action in the finale is in short, crazy bursts, followed by him ducking out for a moment. A good analogy would be an energy level: It always is refilling at a fairly constant rate, but his actions in intense moments draw more from it than it can refill. Hence his more hit and run bursts in the finale between abilities.
There are mentions of these buried throughout ... but in the heat of the final battle, it's easy to see why you might have missed them.
Still, glad you enjoyed the story! There will be more to come!
Time will tell ...
7363755
Thanks for replying, i've gone back and re-read the chapters and now i spotted those hints.
I look forward to more of your stories.
7365216
No problem! Glad to help clear things up!
If you haven't yet, don't miss all the side stories. And if you've already read those, there's always the published stuff at my site to read as well! I'm over a million words published now, so there's plenty to read. And ... another half a million coming this year!