The End to every story

by Thestoryteller

Chapter nine. Funeral

Night

After a day full of exhausting, not to mention strange, work. Nightwing found relief for himself the moment he came in contact with his bed. Part of him wondered what crazy new thing would happen tomorrow, the other part of him didn't really care about tomorrow but just wanted to sleep. Nightwing agreed with the idea of sleep and dozed off in seconds.

Two days had passed. Two days since the return of the moon, and once the clock struck midnight it would officially be three. So many things had occurred since Nightwing disappeared.

Shade was practically a mare now, Spike had been imprisoned in Ractous, Granny Smith was being possessed by an escaped soul from the void that was trying to disintegrate her brain, Flash now had his memories back, Dinkie grew up and seems to be doing fine, and then there was Comet Tail.

Nightwing instantly woke up at the thought of his friend. He rolled onto his back and stared blankly at the ceiling. His eyes gazed over to the Complex Crystal on the nightstand. Nightwing reached for the crystal and picked it up. He held it above him, staring blankly at it. The Complex Crystal Nightwing held was not his, but rather Moonstone's.

Nightwing couldn't help but remember what Moonstone had done. His friend, Lightning Strike, was dead, and he did nothing to stop her. After hearing that his Comet Tail was now some kind of dark evil pony, the guilt in his heart doubled in weight. Nightwing couldn't believe he had let this happen. He couldn't believe that he had lost two of his friends so easily, and the worst part of it all,

Was that Nightwing believed he was to blame. How could he have let two of his friends slip through his hooves so easily? Nightwing gripped the crystal tighter. Everything that had happened was all Moonstone's fault, not his. Moonstone was the one who had captured Comet Tail and turned him into the monster he is now. Moonstone was the one who ripped Lightning Strike's heart out. Moonstone was the one behind it all. From the attack on the Mountain kingdom, all the way to the weapon of Empyrion.

But Moonstone was dead, she was dead before Nightwing killed her that is. Which meant that she was the puppet, not the puppeteer. So the question that nagged at Nightwing's brain was the identity of the one pulling the strings.

Luckily Nightwing was able to politely ask (*cough, cough* force *cough, cough*) everyone to present him with a full report of everything new they learned, along with everything they learned on the moon. The reports mostly just described the members of the New Order.

With all the information he had gathered, Nightwing was able to understand a couple of things. Bloodwing, an undead Griffon, just like Moonstone, had the powers of a lightning caster. Which meant that either he or one of his relatives bathed in a pool of Nyx. Mortem, a Pony who seemed to have the power to raise the dead. Nightwing summed up that the pony 'Mortem' must've been the Necromancer. The other reports just contained information that Nightwing already knew.

All signs pointed to the Necromancer being the puppeteer. But that answer didn't sit right with Nightwing. He couldn't believe that someone who had the power to raise the dead would destroy Equestria. The logic just didn't add up.

Nightwing continued to gaze aimlessly into the Complex Crystal. He remembered how Moonstone said that there were others. Other Vampire Batponies that survived the Order. But Nightwing didn't know if she was lying or not. His ears told him that she was, but his mind said otherwise. If there was even the slightest chance that others survived the Order why not believe it?

Of course Nightwing was only saying this in his head because he hated to face the cold crushing truth. That he was the last. The last Vampire Batpony on earth. Nightwing hated that, he hated the thought of him being the last one alive.

"Well well well."

Nightwing jumped from his bed. He used the Complex Crystal to summon two blue magic aura swords. The swords pointed to the window, aimed at the Pony figure sitting causally on the window shelf.

"Who are you?" Nightwing growled.

The pony smiled, "Oh Nightwing. You may have been gone for thirteen years but surely you haven't forget me."

Nightwing cautiously levitated the blue sword towards the pony. The dim light that sword illuminated over the pony. The pony was a mare Pegasus with a dark coat of yellow fur, she had sharp bright green eyes, a long black mane, and a musical note as her cutie mark. Once the pony's features were now visible Nightwing recognized who the mare was.

"Melody." Nightwing spat. "Why are you here?"

Melody grinned, "Two reasons. Here's the first," Melody jumped down from the window and pushed off the wall. She collided with Nightwing and wrapped her body around his. Before Nightwing could process a though, Melody locked lips with his.

In shock, Nightwing tried to push Melody off of him, but Melody held him in a tight bear hug. Nightwing tripped and fell to the floor. With her new leverage, Melody went deeper into the kiss. Then a blue magic shield appeared between Melody and Nightwing.

Melody lifted her head away from the blue shield. She closed her eyes and sighed in bliss. "It's been so long since we've kissed. I've forgotten how wonderful you mouth tasted."

Nightwing, however, wasn't to happy with Melody's action. She spat out saliva from his mouth. "Why did you do that?!" Nightwing growled.

Melody's eyes were half opened. She looked down and stared deep into Nightwing's red eyes. A hint of red appeared on her cheeks, "Do you remember when our Mistress would give us 'toys' to play with?" Nightwing averted eye contact with Melody, a slight blush of embarrassment on his face as he began to remember all of the...'Exotic' things he and Melody did. Melody noticed Nightwing's blush and said with joy, "You do remember! Oh what joy, and here I thought you would've forgotten."

Nightwing used his magic to change the shield into a bubble. The bubble formed around Melody and floated away from Nightwing before stopping.

"Please don't remind me of those memories." Nightwing groaned in annoyance as he sat up.

"Ignore history and it is bound to repeat itself." Melody smirked.

"Oh trust me. Your Mistress made sure that I remembered every single thing that happened to me while I was there." Nightwing frowned.

"She's your Mistress to you know."

The blue blade of Nightwing's sword flew towards Melody and stopped just barely a few inches from her face. But instead of flinching Melody grinned, "Was that supposed to be intimidating?"

"Do not." Nightwing growled, the heat of his rage increased. "Call that Monster, my Mistress!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Melody shook her head in disappointment. "You should know better than to call her names Nightwing. You don't want to be put in the corner, do you?"

Nightwing glared at Melody, the blade drew closer to her, "Before I throw you out of my room. What was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

Melody's smile grew. "Our Mistress requests your presence."

"Tell her to go choke on her foot." Was Nightwing's response, he levitated the ball towards the window.

"Would you come if I told you we have Vampire Batponies?"

The ball stopped. The sword that was pointed at Melody's neck vanished. Melody couldn't help but smile upon seeing Nightwing's reaction.

"You're lying." Nightwing said, not believing a word Melody said. "You have to be lying."

"Am I lying?" Melody raised her left hoof. "Or am I telling the truth?" Melody raised her right hoof. "That's the funny thing about your power. I've been lying my whole life Nightwing. I've been lying so much that not even you could tell if I'm speaking the truth or not."

"But this time you are lying. You have to be." Nightwing said, refusing to accept anything Melody said.

"Believe what you want to believe." Melody said, casually walking out of the bubble and onto the window. "But you will be seeing our Mistress sooner than you might think." Melody spread wings. "Oh, one more thing. It's a terrible loss that Lightning Strike died, I hope he has a good funeral."

With that Melody flew out the window and vanished into the night.

---

Flash stood in front of the pony sized mirror. He wore a black suit and pants that had a white undershirt beneath it. Today was a day that he knew was coming. It was unavoidable and unstoppable. Part of his mind was telling him to stay in his room, to just skip today and do something else. However the other part of his mind was telling him that it was his duty to attend today.

The truth was Flash didn't really know what to do today. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to act to this event. He wanted someone to give him assistance, to give him help.

*knock, knock, knock*

"Come in." Flash said to whoever was tapping on the door.

The door behind him opened up, "Flash?"

The voice belonged to Twilight Sparkle. Flash looked at his mirror and saw that she was wearing a black dress and shoes.

"Hello Twilight. Wonderful weather we're having." He said half heartedly.

"Flash are you okay?" Twilight asked concerned.

"No Twilight. I'm not okay." Flash snapped. "I'm going to my brothers funeral, today's the happiest day of my life."

Twilight's expression saddened as her eyes fell to the floor. Flash turned away from the mirror to face Twilight. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to say that. I'm just...today's a difficult day for me."

"I understand." Twilight said, her eyes still glued to the floor. "I can't imagine what you must be going through right now."

"Yeah...I still can't believe he's gone." Flash said sadly. "You know what the most painful part of it is? It's that I hardly even knew him. We were the closest of friends when we were little. Then he left and went to become a royal guard in Canterlot, then he shows up out of nowhere a couple of years later, we go on tons of adventures, then we go to the moon to rescue Nightwing and then..." Flash's voice was filled with pain as he then spoke the last part, "He dies...just like that, and I couldn't do a single thing."

Twilight closed the distance between both her and Flash, wrapping her her entire body around Flash's she whispered in his ear, "I'm so sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Flash asked, returning Twilight's hug. "You've done nothing wrong."

"But that's just it, I have done something wrong." Twilight said. "I took away your memories, I made you believe lies that I put inside your head. I'm the worst pony you've ever met."

"Hey, hey, don't say things like that." Flash comforted Twilight. "What you did was wrong. But I forgave you for it, there's nothing to be sorry for."

"Fluttershy doesn't think that."

Flash couldn't hide his sadness upon hearing his sister's name. Fluttershy was the most forgiving, kindest, and loving pony he ever knew. But she was angry at Twilight. Angry about what she had done to Flash. Despite the countless times Flash had tried to talk to her, each time she'd shut him out and say 'Come back when you're my real brother. Not the...thing Twilight has turned you into.'

It broke Flash's heart upon seeing how easily his family was breaking. Soarin was in an existential crisis, Fluttershy was holed up in the Great tree, and Lightning Strike was dead. Everything that Flash had fought so hard to keep together was now slipping through his hooves. All because he didn't know how to fix it. What should he do? What could he do? How could he fix something that was so broken?

"Fluttershy will forgive you. She always does, that's what makes her so special." Flash said, trying his best to reassure Twilight.

Twilight shook her head, "For once Flash...I don't think I deserve forgiveness."

Flash pushed Twilight away and looked her dead in the eyes, "Don't you dare say things like that!" He snapped. "Everyone deserves forgiveness, no matter what they've done. I forgave you for what you did. Tartarus, I actually fixed it. All those fake memories that you had put inside my head are gone. I got rid of them all."

Twilight's eyes widened, "A-a-all of them?"

Flash nodded, "all of them." He expression saddened, "But...in doing so...Twilight I must know." Flash looked at Twilight with a firm and serious look. "Was any of it real?"

"Was...was what real?" Twilight asked

"Our relationship?" Flash answered. "Was any of it real? Our first date, that time we spent at the beach, when you and I went on a double-date with Cadence and Shining Armor?"

Twilight slowly shook her head, "I'm so sorry..." Twilight croaked. "No...none of it was real."

Flash sighed, a small smile appeared on his face. "Well then I guess there's only thing to do?" Flash released Twilight and bowed before her, "Princess Twilight Sparkle, would you be so ever kind as to accompany me to Donut Joe's?"

Twilight looked at Flash with surprise, "Are you...asking me on a...a date?"

Flash looked up and answered, "Well of course I am." Flash stood up, "But this time no mind altering magic. When this is all said and done let's just go and get to know each other? What'da say?"

Twilight couldn't help herself from starring at Flash. Ever after everything that done, Flash was on his knees asking her on a date. What else could she do but say, "Yes." She answered. "Of course I'll accompany you." She chuckled.

"Great." Flash stood up. "How about we both meet tomorrow at twelve?" Flash extended his hoof.

"It's a date." Twilight shook Flash's hoof.

---

Today was a day that Cheese had found himself in a rut. Everything had to be perfect for today. Which meant that there was no room for error. Going over everything on his checklist, he made sure that there was nothing out of place.

"Let's see." Cheese chewed on his pen as he scanned the checklist attached to his clipboard. "Cleaned runway?" He examined the long red carpet with a large magnifying glass. "Check. Clear blue sky's?" Cheese walked outside onto a balcony with grass, he looked up and saw that there were, in fact, no clouds in the sky. "Check. Area for everyone to mingle about once the event is over?" Cheese walked back inside and entered a room with foldable tables that had all sorts of food and drinks sat on them. "Check. What else am I missing?" Cheese chewed on his pen once more as he exited the room.

"Hey there 'Second best party planner'."

Cheese couldn't help but smile as something jumped on his back. He spun his head around to see that Pinkie Pie had jumped onto him and was grinning at him with half lidded eyes.

"Nice to see you too, 'Second best party planner'." Cheese said.

"Oh no you don't." Pinkie teased. "You're the second best, I'm the first."

"How about we both agree," Cheese pulled out a yellow rubber chicken with the number two drawn on its belly with a permanent market. "That Boneless is best Party planner?"

Pinkie pulled out a yellow rubber chicken that looked exactly like Cheese's but had no number drawn on it. "Now that's something we can both agree on." Pinkie imitated the Chicken's goofy voice.

The two ponies bursted into a fit of giggles as they dropped onto the floor. "Pinkie, you're so random."

"You're just as random as I am Cheesy." Pinkie laughed.

"You know it." Cheese chuckled before jumping up. "But in all seriousness, I need you to promise me something."

"Anything for you Cheesy." Pinkie sighed.

"I need you to Cheesy promise me that you won't do anything goofy today." Cheese asked.

"Cheesy promise?" Pinkie sat up and rubbed her chin, "What's that?"

"It's a little jingle I made up. Just repeat after me." Cheese lifted his right hoof and began to recite his jingle, "I solemnly swear,"

"I solemnly swear," Pinkie repeated, raising her right hoof

"To not break my promise," Cheese spoke.

"To not break my promise," Pinkie repeated.

"And if I should," Cheese said.

"And if I should," Pinkie repeated.

"I'll stick my hoof down my throat and vomit." Cheese finished.

"I'll stick my hoof down my throats and vomit." Pinkie repeated, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "Bleagh! With a punishment like that why would anyone ever want to break a Cheesy promise?"

"They don't." Cheese grinned. "Now Pinkie, I know this is going to difficult for you, but you can't be silly, not today. It's to important to Nightwing."

Pinkie lowered her head, "Cheese."

"Yeah?"

"I know you like to play jokes and everything...but I have to know..." Pinkie looked up at Cheese with the most adorable looking pout you'd have ever seen. "Do you actually have romantic feelings towards Nightwing?"

"What?! Pffft." Cheese waved at the thought. "Me and Nightwing, yeah right. Pinkie I was just doing that because it was funny, I have no romantic feelings towards Nightwing." He reared his head to the ceiling. "Ain't that right Storyteller?"

Stop breaking the forth wall Cheese.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Cheese looked back to Pinkie, "Why are you so worried about me having romantic feelings towards Nightwing? What's the matter? Jealous?"

"Of course I'm jelly." Pinkie blurted, taking Cheese by surprise. "I like you Cheese. Like-like you. I mean come on. You're the perfect stallion for me, you're funny, random, the perfect amount of crazy, and you're a total goofball. There's no one I can think of for me but you."

Cheese pulled out a slice of cheddar and took a bite out of it, "It ain't easy being cheesy."

Pinkie pointed at Cheese, "You see that? That right there is what I'm talking about."

"Well...I suppose that it would make sense for the two of us to be a good ship." Cheese rubbed his chin. "So what the heck, lets do it."

"You mean it!" Pinkie smiled with glee.

"You bet I do." Cheese said with a smile of his own. "But you can't forget our promise."

"I won't forgot." Pinkie raised her right hoof and recited, "I solemnly swear to not not break my promise, and if I do I'll stick my hoof down my throats and vomit."

"That's an interesting phrase."

Pinkie whirled her head around to see a Batpony Stallion with deep dark blue fur, light blue mane that stuck up at his forehead, and yellow eyes with black slits for pupils. The Batpony wore a lunar guard armor uniform minus the helmet.

"Who might you be good sir?" Cheese asked.

"My name is North Star. Captain of the lunar guard, I was sent by Luna to inspect everything for today." The Batpony said.

"Well there's no need to worry. I've already gone over everything here, and there's not a thing out of place." Cheese beamed.

"Is that so?" North Star raised a brow and grinned, "Well if that's the case then you'll have no problem showing me everything?"

Cheese pulled out his paper and clipboard, "How much time ya got?" He grinned.

---

Inside the castle of the Griffon Empire, Descend stood before one of the windows. He looked down upon the many Griffons that soared around the city. Descend couldn't help but smile at how small they all looked from where he stood. Every griffon looked to be the size of an ant compared to him. He had spent thirteen years constructing the empire, and he didn't give a damn about it.

Castles, kingdoms, statues, idols. All of it meant nothing compared to what he had been offered. The empire was nothing more than an image for Descend. He didn't care for the empire, its citizens, the buildings. He didn't even care for his own sons.

Speaking of which.

The doorway to the royal throne was opened and Leone stepped in. "You requested my presence father?"

Descend didn't look away from the window when he responded, "Yes I did, I'm glad you came. There's an important matter I wish to speak with you."

Leone tilted his head, "and...just what is this matter father?"

"One that concerns the future of the empire." Descend answered, turning away from the window he approached the throne. "Tell me Leone, how old are you know?"

"Twenty eight, father." Leone answered.

"Ah yes. Twenty eight years old." Descend smiled. "You weren't born of royal blood when your mother brought you into this world. It wasn't until you older that I rose to power and in turn gave you royal blood."

"What are you saying father?" Leone asked concerned.

"What I'm saying, is that I'm getting to old and tired for the whole 'Empire' thing. So I've decided to make you the ruler of the Empire." Descend said casually.

Leone was taken aback. He sputtered as his brain immediately rejected what his father had said. "Um...*ahem*...c-can you repeat that?"

Descend looked unamused at Descend, "Did I stutter boy? I told you that I'm making you the emperor of the empire."

Leone landed flat on his rump, his claw raised to his forehead. "You...you can't be serious. Surely you can't make such a decision so hastily."

"Look Leone." Descend rolled his eyes. "Let's be honest. Gideon is a bastard, yeah I said it. I'm not proud of it but that's the truth, and I fear that the empire might rebel against him if I were to place the crown upon his head."

"So the responsibility falls to me." Leone summed up.

"Exactly." Descend plucked the crown from his head and tossed it to Leone, who caught it. "I Descend, emperor of the griffons, do hereby declare that you, my son, Leone, are the new ruler of the empire. Good luck."

Leone stared endlessly into his reflection on the crown. He couldn't believe what his ears were hearing. He couldn't believe that something so powerful was tossed to him like a ball. "You're serious about this...aren't you?"

"Well of course I'm serious. There's no need to worry, I have absolute faith that you'll make an excellent ruler. I'll inform everyone tomorrow about your ascension." Descend said, walking past Leone and out the room.

All while a wicked smile was on his face. Griffon's, kingdoms, empires, statues, idols, descendants, all were nothing compared to what was soon about to occur.

---

Nightwing stood before a pair of wooden double doors, a sad sigh escaped his lips. Today was a day that he didn't want to attend. He knew what would be behind the double doors, he knew what had to be done, he knew what would happen the moment he sat foot in that room. A hoof touched his shoulder.

Nightwing looked behind him to see that Luna, who was wearing a black dress, was giving him a reassuring smile. Nightwing took a deep breath, and pushed open the doors.

The room walls, ceiling, and floor were made of marble. A long red carpet that stretched from the doorway all the way to marble steps that led to a stand. Behind the stand was a stained glass window of the moon in front of the sun. Rows of wooden benches faced towards the marble stand. Candles, that were lit, where scattered all over the room in an organized fashion. Stretched along the right side of the red carpet were stallions adorned in golden solar armor. Along the left side of the red carpet were Batpony stallions that were adorned in dark blue lunar armor.

The rows of benches were filled with ponies Nightwing knew. Flash, Twilight, Starlight, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Silver Platter, Rarity, Spike, Cheese Sandwich, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Ranger, Fluttershy, Thorn, Dinkie, First Base, Applebloom, Pip Squeak, Scootaloo, Rumble, Sweetie Bell, Button Mash, Derpy, Discord, Celestia, Shade, Cadence, Shining Armor, and a Alicorn mare with light pink fur, violet mane with a teal stripe, and teal eyes. There was also North Star. All of the mares wore black dresses, and all of the stallions wore black suits.

After Nightwing was sure that he no longer needed Luna's assistance, he asked her to take a seat. Luna complied with Nightwing's request and walked along the red carpet and entered a bench where she took her seat next to North Star.

Nightwing took a deep breath once more and started walking along the red carpet. When he passed by one of the sections of both guards they took a knee and knelt as Nightwing passed by. Nightwing walked up the marble steps and towards a wooden podium. To the right of the podium was a black metal casket with a yellow lightning bolt over a red shield symbol painted on it. Nightwing's hoof grazed across the surface of the casket before he stood behind the podium.

Nightwing stood behind the podium, his entire body nervous. Words crashed with others inside his brain. Nightwing cleared his mind and collected his thoughts before speaking.

"Thank you all for coming." He began. "Today.....is a sad day, for all of us. Today is the day we pay our respects to.....to a close of mine friend...to some he was a friend...to others he family...to many he was unknown.....and to everyone else...he was a hero." Nightwing spoke with pain and sadness in his voice. He wanted lie down on the floor and start crying, but his mind kept pushing him to continue speaking. "As many of you remember...the moon turned into a weapon known as Empyrion, a weapon capable of Equestria. It fired eight times...and each time it fired...something prevented it from reaching the earth." Nightwing's gaze shifted to the casket. "Or...'someone' prevented it, is what I should've said.....and that someone...was Lightning Strike. Who in turn...gave his life...so that Equestria wouldn't be harmed...... We all owe our lives to Lightning Strike...I do especially. I wish that there was more that I could've done for him, but...but there's nothing I can do." Nightwing stepped away from the podium and towards the casket, "Equestria will never know that they all owe their lives to Lightning...nor will they know of the sacrifice he made...I'm sorry Lightning Strike. You weren't there for me when the Order was still around...but you were there for me when you saved Equestria...so you better clean out your ears and listen good cause I'm only gonna say this once." Nightwing smiled as tears dropped onto the casket.

"Thank you." Nightwing spoke, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Thank you for everything...thank you for everything you've done, and everything that you did. Thank you Lightning Strike...I never thought of you as a friend...but now...after everything that's happened...I think it's safe to say that you were the best damn friend I ever had."

"Captain Nightwing." A sentinel spoke to Nightwing. "It's time for the burial."

Nightwing slowly nodded, removing himself from the casket. Three other sentinels approached the casket and each grabbed a handle. The sentinels lifted the casket above their heads and walked down the red carpet. Nightwing followed the sentinels as they opened the large door.

What Nightwing saw next, made his mind go completely blank.

On the other side of the room, on both sides of the red carpet, were ponies. Hundreds of ponies, possibly thousands. Every mare was dressed in a black dress and every Stallion wore a black suit. In the hooves of everypony they held a lit candle with a red shield around it. Nightwing stood at the entrance of the doorway speechless at what he was seeing.

"You said that no one would remember Lightning Strike for saving Equestria." North Star walked to Nightwing's side. "But you're wrong. You see, we told everyone from every corner of Equestria about Lightning Strike's heroism."

Nightwing smiled as he started to laugh. "What'da know...even after you died you can't help but prove me wrong."

A sense of pride and respect replaced the sadness and despair in Nightwing's heart. For once he held his head high as he walked behind Lightning Strike's casket. Everyone inside the room had exited and was now walking behind the casket. They continued down the red carpet until they reached a large balcony with grass as its flooring.

The balcony's grass had been neatly trimmed, and there were two maple trees planted behind a stone monument of a shield with a lightning bolt over it. On the base of the monument were words that had been chiseled into it. On it they read,

'Here lies Lightning Strike.
Friend, Brother, Hero.
Lightning Strike will never be forgotten
For his memory shall forever stay in our hearts'

Before the monument was a dug up rectangular hole for the casket. The Sentinels carried the casket above the hole and gently placed it inside.

"My, my, my. Such a depressing day this is."

A voice caught the attention of everyone as they looked up to the top of monument. Sitting comfortably on top of the shield was a unicorn mare with light grey fur, black eyes, long black mane, and she had a whip as her cutie mark.

Nightwing's body was filled with rage upon seeing the mare. "You!" He growled.

The mare smiled, "Hello Nightwing, surely you knew that I would be here. I told my servant after all."

"Get off of there right now before I throw you off." Nightwing demanded.

"Ooh such an angry tone. You should know better than to say things like that to me." The mare grinned harder.

"Why are you here?" Nightwing demanded.

"For you of course." The mare answered. "I'm here because I'm going to capture you and the elements of harmony."

"You're going to what?" Twilight spoke up.

"To capture you. Did I stutter?" The mare asked.

"What makes you think you can capture us?" Applejack asked.

"Because I've got a surprise for you." The mare answered.

Nightwing was about to say something but was interrupted as his body was engulfed in a green magical aura. The green aura then wrapped itself around Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and First Base. The eight pony's wrapped in the aura were lifted into the air and flew past the mare.

A red portal opened up behind the mare and six creatures stepped forth and stood in mid-air. The creatures were two male alicorns, Descend, Chrysalis, Tirek, A snake like creature with wings. The mare leaped from the stone monument and took her rightful place beside the six creatures. Nightwing, First Base, and the Elements of Harmony hovered above them.

"Terraca." Celestia spoke, identifying the male alicorn with brown fur and green mane.

"Infernum." Luna spoke, identifying the male alicorn with black fur and red mane.

"Tirek." Discord growled at the somewhat bulk centaur.

"Chrysalis." Cadence hissed at the Changeling queen.

"Emperor Descend." North Star spoke to the griffon emperor.

The snake spoke, "None of you know who I am, so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Devorandum, I am the Demon of Blood."

The unicorn mare spoke, "My name is Libidine, Demon of Lust at your service."

Terraca spoke with pride, "I am Terraca, Demon of Earth."

Infernum spoke cooly, "My name is Infernum, Demon of Fire."

Tirek spoke, "I am Tirek, Demon of Gluttony."

Chrysalis spoke, "I am Chrysalis, Demon of Envy."

Descend spoke, "My name is Descend, Demon of Pain."

"Together we are the Seven Demons of Tartarus." They all said at once.

Discord gave them all a slow clap. "Bravo. What did you rehearse that speech in the mirror before you came here?"

Celestia spoke firmly, "Terraca, release them at once and we will show mercy."

"Mercy?" Terraca laughed. "I'm afraid that the situation is the other way around. See you're the ones here who are at a disadvantage." Terraca's eyes glowed green.

A loud rumble shook all of Canterlot. Everyone stumbled as they tried to keep their balance on the rocking city. Then there was an ear splitting crack. The ground beneath everyone began to slowly tilt to the left. Canterlot had been cut off from the mountain and was slowly sliding down.

"Probably wasn't smart of you to build a city hanging from a mountain." Terraca laughed.

Infernum stepped forward and spoke, "We leave you with two choices. Choice one, stop us and let Canterlot and everyone on it will plummet to their deaths. Or, you could use your magic to stop the city from falling, and in doing so you will allow us to escape."

"You made this far to easy Tia." Chrysalis chuckled. "I didn't think that someone like you would be so careless."

"To think that you'd put everyone in Equestria in one easy to destroy city." Tirek spoke. "It's almost laughable."

"We'll be taking our leave now." Devorandum grinned.

The Seven Demons turned to the portal and exited, the Element's of Harmony, Nightwing, and First with them.

After the portal closed Luna and Celestia were left with one choice. Celestia's eyes glowed yellow, as did her horn, and Luna's glowed blue, along with her horn. The City of Canterlot stopped sliding downwards and slowly went back up. Once the city was right back where it once stood Discord used his magic to summon a giant roll of duct tape which unwrapped itself and patched up the cracks from which the city had broken off from. Once the city was safely put back place Discord turned to everyone and said, "Well that just happened, who wants ice cream?"

Everyone gave Discord a flat look.

"What? Was it something I said?"

Author's Note:

Raen sward ti.