Pony Fantasy V: Exodus of the Void

by GMBlackjack

XXXV - The Battle for the Void

Author's Note:

I will not use the same battle music twice, so have this:

Exdeath - round two.

-GM, master of Dragonballs.

The Vlerryn swooped in, approaching the very center.

The scene they saw was simple - Exdeath standing on a crystal podium floating amongst nothing. He had his hands pressed deep into the crystal, interfacing with the very essence.

It was the Core of the Rift, the controls for the Void.

“As expected.” He said. “You arrive the instant I attain full control.” He tore his hands out of the crystal and grunted. “Bring your armies. I am now complete.” His armor dissolved, exposing his dark, starry interior. His essence latched onto the podium, swirling and contorting into unnatural shapes, and growing to a truly unnatural size. it took on the shape of a unicorn, then a tree, and then lastly a tall humanoid. It leered over the Vlerryn and the incoming City of Man, glaring with an intense fires from two specks of light that appeared to be eyes.

It spoke. “I am Exdeath. And I have control of the Void. I know this isn’t going to work, but die anyway. He raised a tremendous stellar limb, forming a gigantic sphere of Void energy in his hands and tossing it at the Vlerryn.

Discord appeared, snapping his fingers and sending the Void sphere back. “Nice try.”

“I know.” Exdeath said. “It can never end with an anticlimax.”

“You’re speaking in Pinkie Pie.”

“That I am.” Exdeath said, pointing a finger at Discord. “And you are speaking the language of overconfidence.”

“The what no- AAAAAAA THAT HURTS!” He yelled as his entire body was reduced to ash. Rarity sent a revive spell at him, but he didn’t look so good.

Exdeath wrapped his hand around the Vlerryn. “You and your armies wish to defeat me do they?”

“Yes!” Twilight yelled. “We will take back our world!”

“Your world is meaningless.You are meaningless.”

“Then why target us and our families?” Applejack yelled.

“Because.” Exdeath said, squeezing the Vlerryn in his hand. “I’m the villain. And you have annoyed me to no end.”

“WHY DON’T YOU TAKE ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!” A booming voice yelled, Torch appearing and barreling into Exdeath’s side, tearing the ethereal humanoid limb from limb.

Exdeath sighed. “Foolish dragon. Size is not everything.” He threw the Vlerryn at torch, impaling the dragon and making Fluttershy scream in horror. “Do you even know what I am?”

“You are Exdeath!” Limestone roared from the City of Man. “And we are going to destroy you. FIRE ALL WEAPONS!”

The various ships and armies on the City of Man unleashed an intense barrage of magical, physical, and unclassifiable weapons on Exdeath. He raised a hand and absorbed them all with his palm. “But what IS Exdeath? That is the question.”

<Tantabus.> Tochi said. <That’s what Anima called you.>

“Ah, the Earth Crystal has done their homework! Very good, breaking free from your role as the Mentor and Herald, actually becoming useful.” Exdeath raised his hand, rushing the City of Man with it. “But sadly changing your role is not enough. You still failed.”

The space-time shields of the City of Man deflected Exdeath’s immense fist, warping it around to the back. The City itself sent a shock of power through Exdeath’s limb, trying to overload the being.

“What is a Tantabus though?” Exdeath said, laughing. “A spirit of dreams, of darkness…” The eyes flashed again. “Of nightmares.”

Torch stood up despite the gaping wound in his chest, unleashing a barrage of fire that engulfed Exdeath’s form.

“You fools kept locking your nightmares away… Taking them to that pathetic tree of yours… Sealing them away…” He laughed, driving a fist right into Torch’s throat. “Do you understand? You created me yourself because you didn’t want to deal with your horrors! You brought this on yourself!”

The Warriors of Light left the Vlerryn, floating in the empty space around Exdeath. Twilight yelled. “You may be the result of our own fear! But so is the Void itself! You are both nothing more than personifications of our desire for control over our lives and fear of the unknown! And you know what?”

“There comes a time in everyone’s life where they have to face their fears.” Exdeath finished for her.

Twilight was taken aback. “Er… Yes…?”

“I understand you Twilight Sparkle. I understand what you fight for, what your friends are here for.” With a sideways push he demolished another dozen soldiers and ships. “You don’t understand me. What I’ve gone through.”

“You are fear.” Fluttershy said. “You know more than anyone what we are afraid of. You want to become what we fear most.”

“At first.” Exdeath said. “That was the goal.” He pointed a finger at the Warriors of Light, releasing a Void energy blast that Twilight deflected with her power. “But things changed… Pinkie showed me the Truth, and the Void only furthered my change. I no longer care at all about your pointless fear, your pointless life or death. I only care about my freedom.”

“What?” Twilight said. “That doesn’t make any sense-“

“ALL OF US ARE TRAPPED!” He roared, shaking the very fabric of reality. “WE ARE STUCK HERE, TRAPPED IN A WORLD WE DO NOT DEFINE! IN A LAND OF INFINITE POSSIBILITIES THAT WE ARE JUST ONE TINY SLIVER OF! WE ARE NOTHING BUT AN INSIGNIFICANT SPECK ON THE PLANE OF INFINITY…” He began to laugh. “And I am here to change that.”

The City of Man deployed the armies simultaneously - dragons, griffons, changelings, and ponies charging from all directions, glad there was air around Exdeath. They hit him with everything they had - weapons, magic, kicks, punches, biting, even suicide attacks…

Fluttershy summoned Phoenix, and those who fell were continually revived again… And again… And again…

Exdeath frowned. “You don’t understand, any of you. If you knew what I was here to do, if you truly understood, you would not stop me!”

“Reverse the Void!” Twilight said. “Stop killing us and we can talk about it!”

“TALK?” Exdeath laughed. “You, Twilight. I have seen you. ALL of you. You would find a way to change my mind. You would stop me from altering everything if I let you talk. You are a silver-tongued succubus, and it doesn’t matter if you are good or evil - your words carry extreme weight.” He slapped her out of the way. “You would fight against what I plan the most.”

“WHAT THE HECK DO YOU PLAN THEN?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You want an explanation pegasu-“ Exdeath roared out in pain as the dragons attacked him from all angles. “You know what, no. Explanations are making me lose focus. It is the hubris of villains everywhere - talking too much.” He pointed a finger. “JUST WATCH AND LEARN.”

A window from another world was torn, revealing a tremendous being with dragon wings, a squid face, and a reptilian body. Twilight found it hard to look at as it reached a hand into the world and tore through swaths of her army.

Exdeath closed the portal and opened another one - this time a tremendous laser that could destroy planets fired out, hitting the City of Man dead on and causing half of it to overload.

<What magic is this!?>

“The true Void.” Exdeath said, raising his hand again, opening another portal - this time a tremendous warship many kilometers long appeared, looking vaguely like a battering ram covered in ugly weapons. The hundreds of cannons and other weapons on the ship all fired at once, easily outclassing anything the City of Man could put out. The shields of the city failed, and it began to drift.

The portal closed, the ship vanishing.

“Do you see the power?” Exdeath said, brushing off some of the damage the ship had done to him. “Anything. ANYTHING can be mine. Anything and everything.” He pointed a finger, unleashing a powerful white spell that vaporized Limestone instantly. He pointed at Torch and he became a zombie. He pointed at a nearby crystal island and it exploded, sending all its shards into a griffon squad.

Phoenix raised them all, and the armies of the City of Man surged forth again, this time learning from their mistakes. They backed away from Exdeath’s attacks, they avoided the appearing portals, and they directed the things he summoned to focus their attacks on Exdeath himself.

“YEAH!” Limestone said, throwing sword after sword at him. “TAKE THAT! THERE’S JUST TOO MANY OF US!”

<And we are far too clever.> Tochi said, having repaired the City of Man’s main cannons, and launching off another volley. <We will not be moved!>

The armies began to beat Exdeath back, the Warriors of Light working with all their allies to move Exdeath, to force him to defend. They would never stop. They would keep fighting…

Marble spoke. “Unwavering.” Somehow, everyone in the area immediately got an impressive power boost.

Exdeath laughed. “This means nothing! I learn everything.” He threw his hands into the air, and started laughing. “I see all! The stories! The energies! The life!”

“What is he doing?” Twilight said, looking at his hands in the air. “He’s just taking all these hits and… woah…”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “He’s absorbing all of the life force he can get his hands on into… Some sort of spiritual sphere…”

“It’s called a spirit bomb. And my use of it is a blasphemy.” The spiritual sphere took shape in his hands, slowly growing.

Fluttershy raised her wings as well, summoning her own.

“I have a cheap trick as well.” Exdeath said. He mimicked her, getting a second spirit bomb forming next to his own. Fluttershy followed suit, the bombs increasing eternally in amount.

Twilight’s eyes widened. “No… No You guys! There’s too much power here! You’ll tear a hole in the fabric of spacetime itself!”

Exdeath chuckled. “What makes you think that isn’t the plan?”

Fluttershy tried to cancel her mimics - but she couldn’t. Dozens of way too overpowered spheres of energy crashed down into nothing - and released their energy all at once.

A small crack appeared in the sky, showing many images of many different places.

“This was the part where the other me failed - the Void consumed him.” Exdeath said, an image of a tree-like being becoming dragged into the crack itself. “But not me. I know better.”

He raised a hand towards the crack, unleashing some sort of interdimensional power that none recognized. “I will not become part of the Void like him… I will BE the Void! I will BE the connection!”

Phoenix flew right in front of Exdeath’s face, and unleashed a tremendous raise-all spell - healing the thousands killed by the spirit bombs. The armies of the City of Man revived, ready to attack once more.

“You.” Exdeath said. “Eidolon of life and fire. You are in my way.” He grabbed the Phoenix and utterly destroyed it. There was no poof. No return to Fluttershy. Phoenix was just gone.

“NO PHOENIX!” Fluttershy yelled out.

“Now that that-“ An energy began to form between his hands. “No… Of course. A last hope born from a sacrifice. How could I have missed that.”

The last light of Phoenix rose into the air, and a spiritual storm began to brew, rotating quickly, faster, and faster….

Exdeath reached into the crack in reality and directed its energy at the storm. “No!”

“NO TO YOU TOO!” A very familiar voice yelled.

“What?” Exdeath said, backing away from the swirling spirit energies. “This isn’t possible!”

A giant pink hammer hit him across the face. “Since when did I ever care about possible?” Pinkie Pie said, snorting. “I mean, really.”

“You faded from reality!”

“And you just put a crack in it.” Maud said, appearing from nowhere behind her sister.

“Bad move, I’d say.” Gilda said.

“He doesn’t know the half of it.” A fourth voice said, a pegasus in a safari hat appearing next to Gilda. “Causing his own problems is so unlike him.”

“Mom?!” Applejack gaped.

“Warriors of Dawn!” Maud yelled, smiling. “Exdeath is trying to do something…”

“Something really bad.” Pinkie assured her sister.

“Yes. And we can’t let that happen now can we. We have to-“

“Not letting you finish. That would be foolish on my part.” Exdeath said, shrinking himself to a minuscule size and entering the crack in reality. It began to close…

“No!” Pinkie said, grabbing the crack with her hooves… somehow. “He got clever! Cupcakes!”

“Your fault.” Gilda said.

“I was mad and not thinking straight okay!?”

Daring Do chuckled. “As expected.” She grabbed ahold of the crack as well - keeping it open. Maud and Gilda followed.

“Warriors of Light!” Maud yelled. “You have to go in after him! We can’t keep this open much longer!”

“We’re barely keeping it closed as it is!” Pinkie yelled. “Only so much reality warping can do!”

Twilight teleported everyone to the crack. “There’s… So much I want to talk to you all about.”

“No time!” Daring Do said. She turned to Applejack. “I’m very proud of you but PLEASE hurry up!”

“But we’re not going in with all the Warriors of Light…” Fluttershy said, looking at her mother - or her mother’s spirit, whatever it was.

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Well sorry I…” Then she blinked. “Wait maybe I can… HEY ALICORNS!”

Chrysalis, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence appeared behind her. “Yes?”

“Hold this for me? Kay thanks.” She giggled. “Let’s go in!”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked at Luna one last time.

“Go.” Luna said. “And please, live. Don’t let your victory be tainted with more death.”

Pinkie saluted. “Of course not!”

At long last, the six Warriors of Light all stood together - the six of them, Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Life, Aether; Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Magic… The six chosen of the Crystals stood as one in front of a tear in reality itself that Exdeath had stepped through.

The six mares - together - leapt into the unknown…

Then the crack sealed and the spirits of the Warriors of Dawn and the Alicorns vanished.

There was silence in the Interdimensional Rift.

<…For the first time in my life I really have no idea what to do.>

Limestone shrugged. “Er… Well there’s nothing to punch so I’m at a loss too.”

“Pray.” Minuette said. “We need to pray...”

Comments

[GuyWhoWritesThings]

7758253
I'm not one to bop into bylines of stories much, but I'm with Bobbin. I know how much dedication it takes to get through writing a story of this length, and I find it impressive you were able to stick with it despite not seeming to really get any reception at all for it. I quick peek through the first Chapter doesn't show any functional problems in the writing, so I'm happy to toss you a Like just for the dedication as well.

I'll be taking a look at this next time I have a chance to sit down with a longer story and be sure to comment back again when I do.

[Snow]

I've read stories millions of words long and very few of them really started to drag like this.