Equestria Girls: The Rubicon

by Jongoji245

Endgame Part 2: Death of the Family

Igneous Pie keeps his stoic face while Granny Smith, Mr. Shy, and Hondo Flanks dozed off. It’s been too long for them waiting for a call. Police Protocol? Igneous huffed in his thoughts as he looks at the two police officers on the table. Shining Armor continues to pace the room when the phone on the table rings. Clamp Jaw promptly picks up the phone.

“Hello?” Clamp Jaw asks.

“Hi, Mr. Thunderfoot.” Answers a familiar southern drawl.

“Applejack?” Clamp Jaw mentioning her name has Granny Smith awaken. “Is everyone okay? Your sister, friends, my sons?”

At the other side of the line, Applejack holds the telephone as she turns around, her fellow seniors tending to the graying Crusaders and Maximals. “Yessum, we’re all fine, except Sunset.”

Clamp Jaw stands up straight. “We’ll send for an ambulance immediately!”

“Uhm, hold that for a moment.” - Applejack stops him, a worried tone in her voice. - “Right now, you need to get everyone out of the town. You’re expecting company.”

Before he can ask why, Clamp Jaw, his wife, Shining Armor, and their guests felt a small tremor. The former Crystal Prep student lifts the blinds, his squarish jaw gaping at the sight of a certain horned centaur in the distance. The other inhabitants of the office looked out of the window in both astonishment and fear.

With Tirek slowly but surely approaching, the vibrations from each of his thunderous hooves were much more intense. Assuming this to be an earthquake, the inhabitants fled their houses, hoping to find their safe havens in the deep part of the city. For the prisons and asylums, the feeling of dread can be no more frightening. As the plaster fell off the walls and ceiling, the inmates pulled the bars, yelling in protest to be released. Sombra and Chrysalis kept to their cells, imagining the punishment they will be in as they looked up. In another cell, Roma Candle just drew a toothy grin.

“Heh, heh, heh.” She lifts her eyes, hissing through her teeth. “You’re in trouble now.”

Near the main part of the city, traffic clogged the streets like a stuffy nose. The many and the wise evacuees got out of their vehicles and ran. Those that stayed in the cars and honked in protest needed a little motivation. And that motivation is the monstrous Tirek as his cloven hooves stabbed the abandoned vehicles while he walked. Owners of households with basements stood in terror as the monstrous centaur walked over them.

Seeing the giant as clear as day, Spike had his tail tucked between his legs as he ran towards the school. He is stopped when two pairs of clawed feet touch the ground. He looks up, finding the draconic face of Skystalker. Letting out a little screech, the beast transforms into his anthropomorphic form. Not having trusted him or the other Predacons yet, the purple pup growls as Blackarachnia and Darksteel surround him.

“A logical emotion.” Skystalker shows the dog a picture of the powerless Twilight Sparkle. “Though would it be more logical to be elsewhere at this time?”

---

Rarity whined as she helped Applejack, Big Mac, Rainbow Dash, and Tex move the injured security guards into an unoccupied jail cell. If they had their magic, she and Twilight could have levitated them all in one trip. Sadly this isn’t so, and the fashionista had to use what physical strength she had to lift one very overweight guard to a cell. Fortunately, this was her last trip. She places the guard on the prison bench.

On the first floor, it is Flash’ turn as he holds Sunset in his arms. He looks to his left; seeing the Crusaders and Maximals huddled against the wall while Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash helped. Aside from a small gray tone on their usual skin and hair color, their eyes look like they have cataracts, and their skin pickled despite the warm air. From what Flash is seeing, perhaps a little of their life energy is taken as well; Zipper comforts Dapplewood as opens his eyes for a little while then closes them again. He looks upstairs, finding seeing the others walk downstairs.

“Flash…” - Flash felt the first person he could possibly have loved wiggle a little. She opens her eyes a little. “Did we…?”

“Save your strength, Sunset.” Flash rubs her shoulder, coaxing her back to sleep.

The others look at the resting Sunset Shimmer. She awoke, that’s a silver lining. But she will require additional help to recover. And with the warden being a giant monster, a hospital will be out of the question.

“Anyone have a zap apple we can use like right now?” Applejack looks around, seeing her friends slowly turn her heads away.

“I…” Scootaloo tries to get up. “Have one…”

“Whoa, whoa. Take it easy, squirt!” Rainbow Dash wraps her arm underneath her drained ward.

“Looks like they all need zap apples.” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down. “I can make a zap apple cake and” - She stops, her hair deflating a little - “But that would take a while.”

"We can..." Diver slowly motions her hand to the outside world, her breath becoming raspy - "hold out at home... and... wait..."

"Maybe we should all leave." Everyone turns to Fluttershy. "Without our powers, how can we possibly stop Tirek?"

A ground bridge portal opens within the prison walls. Spike ran out of the spiral of energy, jumping into Twilight’s arms and gave her a good licking.

“I thought you were a goner!” Spike looks at his mistress with enlarged pupils. The question only made the embrace stronger with Twilight rubbing her cheek against his.

As the more “strong” of the bunch lifted their younger wards, Cosgrove, thinking about the talk Applejack had with him, turns a cloudy, green eye at the one person who visited his house to get information for her history report, the one person whom he forgave for framing Twilight.

“Apple Bloom.” - The Maximal gets her attention as she turns her head slowly, shifting her cloudy, amber eyes at him - “I was hoping to wait until the others graduate, but before anything goes south any further, I want to say:” - Cosgrove turned his body as much as he could, bringing him face to face with the Crusader, who tries to draw a smile, but before she could, he closes his eyes - “I don’t want to treat you like a trophy; you don’t have to be with me. Whatever makes you happy…" - He draws in a forced breath - "I’ll be happy too."

Before Apple Bloom could answer, Big Mac and Tex lifted her and Cosgrove respectively up to their feet.

“C’mon, boss.” Tex asks of Cosgrove. He tries to pull, but the smaller young man keeps steady as he staggers over to the young Apple. He weakly grabs her hand, touching his palm with hers. Apple Bloom watches as their touching hands are raised and her fingers spread with his conjoined fingers.

“Breathe deep, seek peace.”

Cosgrove lifts his limp brother and staggers towards the portal. Sweetie Belle let out a weak cooing sound before Rarity led her away to the portal. Big Mac feels his sister's shoulders relax, looking down in time to see her bow droop like a pair of ears. Why is it so hard for him to confess? Even then, their sense of honesty provided the answer for them. The apples moved in unison as they left the portal towards home.

---

With every law enforcement official either evacuating the town or helping the SWAT teams fight Tirek, it left the old man alone in his bars. In all those months, the old man played it smart. He rose to his full height and gripped the bars. He pulls them apart, puffing his cheeks as the effort strains his muscles. Soon, the bars gave and parted ways, giving him the freedom he needed. He turns his small, bald head to the window, seeing buildings explode and hearing people cry in fear. Looking at the carnage outside for a while, the old man grumbled before looking at the door and leave.

Outside, Estes Park’s own riot control team were throwing tear gas grenades like mad. That didn’t stop Tirek on his quest to Canterlot High. With a swing of his great, red arms he swatted the officers away. Shining Armor gritted his teeth as Clamp Jaw and Claire walked next to him with their own rifles. Lethal force is now authorized; with Blurr, Lion Tamer, Tremor, Granny Smith, Mr. Shy, and Hondo Flanks aimed their rifles at the approaching centaur. The grandfather Thunderfoot turns an aged eye to the submissive Mr. Shy holding his rifle shakily.

“Keep your rifle steady, soldier.” Tremor reprimanded as he lifted the tip of Mr. Shy’s rifle.

As with every shooting strategy, they waited to see the white of Tirek’s eyes. Well, the yellow pupils in his dark voided eyes. They pull the triggers, firing a barrage at the gigantic centaur. No bullet hole is seen, though they did bruise Tirek’s skin and fur. Claire unloads her rifle, taking out a bullet and squeezing it.

“Rubber bullets?” She turns a glare at Shining Armor. “Really?”

Tirek curls his lips as a red ball generates between his massive horns. Assuming the worst, the grown-ups take their immediate leave. The centaur rears on his second pair of hind legs, slamming his front hooves on the ground and releases a large blast of energy that destroys the vehicular barricade.

“You are powerless to stop me!” Tirek roared in delight as he stamped over the fallen vehicles.

---

The smoke is seen as far a distance as that of Crystal Prep. On the roof of his domain, Cogsworth watched the chaos unfold before him. Free from his other demons, the Shogun turns his head a little as Skystalker, Darksteel, and Blackarachnia land. His other fellow Predacons Caterina, Porcina, Squirk, and Rep join the four. Standing there like a badass is one thing, knowing how to execute it is another.

“So…” - Squirk sputters through his tentacled mouth as he shifts one of his eyes to his boss - “Are we going to stand here or…?”

Cogsworth shifts the boll weevil mask onto his head and jumps off the roof. The others look down to see their leader recover from the hard landing and walk forward towards the fire. Skystalker and Darksteel become beasts once more, propelling themselves off the roof. The three girls of the troop looked at the two remaining boys. Rep scratched the back of his head before turning his hands and lifting his shoulders. The five jumped down; whether they don’t want to be left out or something else is unclear, but one thing is for certain: Predacon or not, this is their home.

---

The effects of being drained took a deeper toll on the Sophomores and Elementary School boy. The Apple Family children were just at their home when Apple Bloom herself collapsed. Her sister rushes to her, lifting her head.

“I… Feel so tired… And so cold…” Apple Bloom choked as Big Mac lifts her up.

“Stay with us, sugar cube.” Applejack comforts her little sister as they reach their house. Winona wags her tail at first, her happiness also turns south at the sight of her youngest owner. Apple Bloom is brought to her room and tucked beneath the bed sheets. “We’ll get through this, Apple Bloom. Just you wait and see.”

Her little blossom, her little Crusader, drew a sickly smile and went to sleep. Big Mac held his peace as he watched his younger sibling pull up a chair and sat next to Apple Bloom. Big Mac would tell his active sister about the conversation he just heard. He would, but the time isn’t now. Winona whined, pulling herself up the bed and curling on her youngest owner’s lap.

---

Rainbow Dash searched the fridge of Scootaloo’s foster home for the rainbow colored apple. She shuffled through milk cartons, pizza boxes, McDonald’s burgers before at last, she claims her prize. With a victorious grin, she rushes to the foster home lobby.

“Got it! Let’s go, Sco-!” Rainbow found her biggest fan lying unconscious on a red velvet chair in the lobby. She takes her time to study the slumbering Sophomore. A memory wells up in her head; Scootaloo was still in preschool, lost and alone. Holding a teddy bear, she walks around her playground, sniffling at her loneliness. Then, Rainbow Dash almost trips on the toddler as she jogs around the playground. Whether it was anger, or curiosity, Scootaloo drops the toy and runs as she could to Rainbow Dash. Year after year, she chased Rainbow Dash over and over till one day near her ninth birthday, Scootaloo was able to run fast enough to touch her at arm's length.

Snapping into the now, Rainbow Dash wraps her dark blue vest around her ward. She stuffs the zap apple in one pocket, then reaches into the other pocket. Rainbow pulls out an object, kneeling down to place it in her right hand.

“Take a breather, Scootaloo.” Rainbow curls Scootaloo’s fingers, revealing a red, white and blue plastic strap as she releases her hand. Instinctively, Scootaloo grips the object as she heard Rainbows steps echo the lobby as she left the foster home.

---

Along the way to Great Valley Drive, Flash found the motorcycle standing there since its rider was shot. Placing Sunset in the sidecar, Flash and Tex pushed the vehicle towards the forested region away from school. As they reach the valley, one by one, Zipper, Diver, and Chelsey collapse near their houses. Tex moves away from the vehicle to tend to the fallen Maximals. Dapplewood was now walking on impulse when he trips on a rock and collapses. Flash takes notice, moving away to aid the younger child. Pressing his fingers on the boy’s throat for a while, Flash’ eyes widen as he places his hand over his mouth.

“Cosgrove, your brother, he’s-!” Flash finds Cosgrove at his front door, appearing to sleep. He carries the unconscious boy to his brother. Flash shuffles Cosgrove’s face, trying to wake him up to no avail. “C’mon, Cosgrove! Wake up! You think just getting sapped would knock you out?”

“Flash,” - The Rocker notices Sunset stirring in the sidecar. He approaches her, noticing a shaking finger pointing further down the road - “the cemetery. Take me...”

Flash can’t assume the worst, not when there is a giant centaur crushing their houses and stores. But it’s the best could do as he pushes the motorcycle Further down. He leaves it at the entrance, carrying Sunset up the hill. In some way, Flash imagined himself in being in a tragedy film, though fiction is becoming a reality. He stops, looking around before finding the tree. He walks over, gently resting her against the trunk of the tree. Sunset takes a slow breath, opening her beautiful eyes at the Rocker.

"You know, Flash," She draws as sarcastic a smile as she can in her weakened state, "there are others."

Flash sits down next to her, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around Sunset. "But none were as determined and beautiful as you."

As he watches her sleep so soundly, sadness wells up inside of him as he takes her head and holds her close to his body. He turns to the sound of an explosion, seeing a small burst of fire at a distance. With only Tex beside him, sadness became determination as the Rocker's eyes narrowed. If his birth town would be set ablaze, he would never let it do so in vain. He stands up, runs to the motorcycle, and drives towards the town square.

---

While it’s unlikely Tirek would make a stop there, all employees of a chemical plant were evacuating. Free from the toxic fumes, they strip off the safety suits as they ran to their cars or continued their escape on foot. Moving through the frightened herd was the old man from the jail cell, his expression evident that he doesn’t give a damn. The manager of the chemical plant sees the anomaly walking towards plant and rushes at him.

“Sir, you have to-!” He is smacked aside, sending his glasses flying from his face. He picks them up, putting them back on to see the old man entering the building. Pointless to stop him, the manager just left.

The old man reaches the depths of the evacuated building, stopping before a large canister. “Danger, wear safety equipment when handling.” the yellow sign reads. The man curls a lip before smashing his fist into the container. Toxic steam billows from the wounded piece of equipment, covering the ground of the factory in minutes. The old man stands there, seemingly unaffected by the toxins. In fact, he takes satisfaction as he inhales the fumes, his eyes becoming blue when he opens them. He slowly grows larger, the hair on his arms and legs fusing together into scales, and spines erupted through his backside.

---

Rainbow Dash rushes through the empty, demolished streets towards Great Valley Drive. She pats her pockets; the zap apple is still where it should be. She continues to run; no wings or motorcycle or ten speed available, it’ll take all the stamina she can muster. In her rush, her magenta eyes spot a pink object in the corner. It was Pinkie Pie, standing before the restaurant she worked for with a passion, smashed by a minivan. The once vocal and jovial party planner collapsed to her knees, her poofy hair deflated into on straight hairpiece.

“You maniacs!” Pinkie pounds her fist to the ground in anguish. “You smashed it up! Darn you! Darn you all to heck!”

Her friend a few paces behind her prepared to comfort her when a series of stomping noises got louder. Tirek continued his journey, completely ignorant of the pink and cyan girls that he drained their powers from. Pinkie’s lip twitched, a blue eye catching sight of a partially burned Berni pastry knife. Rainbow notices her friend reaching for the kitchen utensil.

“Pinkie…” Rainbow spoke in a worrying tone. Pinkie Pie grabs the knife, pushing her feet into a sprint. “Pinkie, no!”

With a vengeful scream, Pinkie Pie jumped onto a mailbox and vaulted at the red and black centaur. On his back, she stabs him repeatedly between his shoulders. Tirek roars in pain, reaching out and pulls the vengeful young woman to him. He shakes her violently, forcing her to release the knife. Pinkie spits at his face, prompting him to ready a punch. No powers left from her, one blow is all it takes to end her.

Rainbow’s attempt to rescue her friend got her work cut out for her as streams of fire burned Tirek’s left side. It was Skystalker and Darksteel, charging at the centaur and pouncing on him. Like what they have done to Cosgrove, they clawed Tirek, bit him, burned him. And with help from Cogsworth, Blackarachnia, Caterina, Porcina, Squirk, and Rep, the centaur was brought his knees before Skystalker and Darksteel enclosed him in a fiery inferno. The two cybernetic beasts circled the flames, expecting something to come out. They were right, but are too late to escape as Tirek grabbed their heads, smashed them together and tossed the two at Caterina, Porcina, Rep, and Squirk. Cogsworth kept firing his plasma cannons before being smashed multiple times on his chest, cutting him off from his source of oxygen. Blackarachnia grabs the fallen kitchen utensil, gives Tirek a few gashes on his arms and shoulders, flying away to prepare another attack. Tirek wisened up, and when she was at grabbing distance, he grabbed the Predacon and smashed her against a brick wall.

Pinkie and Rainbow watch Cogsworth let out his last breath. Tirek finally took notice of them, especially the pink girl who literally stabbed him in the back, and approached them. Rainbow assumed a battle pose, ready to take whatever punishment Tirek could deal with her. Between Tirek’s horns, another fireball begins to form. Rainbow takes out the zap apple; just one slice is needed to heal a bad wound after all. Nearby, Rarity watched from the Carousel Boutique as classical music plays.

“Rarity…” - The fashionista turns to her ailing sister in her bed, looking at Rarity with tired eyes - “Can you stay... for a while…?”

Rarity sat next to Sweetie Belle, holding her head close to her.

“Yes, Sweetie Belle. It will be over soon.” Rarity’s eyes began to flood, making her mascara smear on her cheeks. “It will be over soon.”

Opalescence hid in her kennel when a loud howl echoed the house. Outside, the howl is louder. Tirek stops his magic attack, stamping his forehooves to turn his torso around. Walking around the corner was what appears to be a charcoal black reptile. Eight meters tall, a taller giant than the six-meter tall centaur, the monster stomped his way towards his enemy, wagging his long, skinny tail. Rainbow and Pinkie can’t tell why, but there is some resemblance to the tall aged man they fought when they came back from their relic hunt.

A further distance away, Flash Sentry and Tex arrive just in time to see the two monsters sizing each other up. The last of the Maximals nudges Flash, pointing to a camera and microphone. Picking up the microphone, Flash brings it up to his face before giving a signal from Tex pressing the recording button on the camera.

“Hello, everyone?” Flash asks in a nervous tone as his transmission goes live. “My name is Flash Sentry. What you're about to see is a secret that we’ve been keeping for two years now.”

Tex brings the camera to the two monsters.

“Anyone who can see this, anyone who can keep our secret. Magic is real. And it can bring devastating results.” Flash pulls the camera back to him. “Many of my friends have passed out, possibly dead. And our city, Estes Park, is being destroyed. I’ll try to keep this rolling for as long as I can.”

Towered by the massive reptile, Tirek bared his teeth. In his time before becoming a warden, he did fight bigger people. With a crack of his knuckles, he accepted the challenge by gripping the monster’s clawed hands. He pushed with all his might, pushing the reptile a foot or two. The monster twists his neck and suplex’ Tirek into a nail salon. His backside covered in nail polish, Tirek slugs the animal in the jaw, shattering a few teeth. The monster easily recovered, spitting out blood as new teeth erupted from the gums. They then rush at each other, exchanging blow after blow before Tirek grabs the reptile and tosses him far behind him. Charging his energy ball, Tirek engulfs the monster in a fire. He starts to turn around when a scaly footsteps out of the flames. When Tirek rushes at him again, the monster grabs him by the horns and wrestles the centaur to the ground. He presses his foot on Tirek’s chest; Tirek choked at a force greater than a full grown elephant.

The magic that Tirek drained billowed from his mouth, seeping into the monster's nostrils. His eyes glowed again as another transformation began. He grew larger, becoming more reptilian as two more rows of bone white spines erupted from his back, side by side from the center row. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie looked up as a large shadow looms over them, mouth agape. They know this monster from the media they watched as a kid, a popular icon the world has made sixty-two years ago, but to stand in front of him as a flesh and blood for the first time.

"He's... real....?" Rainbow Dash muttered, a good hint of fear in her voice as she gulped a little.

Now a staggering thirty meters tall, he took one step forward, leaving a large footprint with a crushed man inside. The chemical mixture of the oxygen he inhales and the radiation in his body made his spines turn blue. He opens his mouth, showing his glowing throat. He arches his head, then thrusts it forward, releasing a stream of fire. The roofs of the building went ablaze, quickly covering the sun in smoke. In both the general vicinity and in their homes far away, the Rainbooms, Flash, and Tex watched in horror as their city burned. The monster kept his indifference, answering so in a loud roar that shook the heavens before continuing on his rampage. No way are they able to stop him without their powers.

---

Looking at the blackening sky, Twilight hastened her work on making a new spectrometer. Despite not seeing the newcomer, she kept the assumption that if the beast has their magic, the spectrometer would be able to work. So hard at work that she didn’t pay attention to a piece of burning rubble falling down. She and Spike are sent flying, their equipment now destroyed. Spike whimpered as he got up, shaking his burned head before looking at the unconscious Twilight Sparkle.

“C’mon, Twilight! We have to get out of here!” Spike tries to wake her up, to no avail. He nudges her, licks her purple cheeks, even pulls her hair with his teeth. Nothing happening, his ears and tail droop as he huddles next to Twilight. The sky becoming darker by the minute, the dog could only silently pray. With the journal far enough away, and Sunset close to death, prayer is the only option left. God help the outcasts.

Author's Note:

Yes. The old man in the story is him. It's a good thing I have a recommended readings list so you can get a better context of what happened before. Will our heroes be able to defeat him? Will the world see the truth that magic does exist? Stay tuned for this Sunday. And prepared to rock your litter box.