Entropy

by Rose Quill

Of the End

Entropy sneered, his miasma pulling in to pool at his feet. “Do you think one ancient relic will be enough to stop me?”

I grinned.

“Who said anything about just one?”

“Armis Lunares Invictus!” I heard Twilight shout, followed by a whooshing sound.

“Armis Amare Invictus!” Cadence’s voice chimed out, another rush of mana driven air ruffling the uncovered coat and feathers.

Entropy frowned. “Three surviving relics?” he bit. “I’m surprised they have lasted as long as they have. I wonder if you are prepared for the price they’ll exact.”

Twilight and Cadence stepped forward, their wingtips brushing mine. I could feel the mana flowing through them just as easily as I could feel my blood pumping. I shifted my hooves slightly, armor clinking as I did. I could feel the weight of it bearing down as it merged my mana with the stored power and I lifted my head to stare across the cavern at the mockery of a pony, the mask loosing cohesion and definition.

“So, you going to talk or you going to go ahead and enact your grand plan?” I jeered. “I haven’t seen somepony take this long to attack, and I’ve fought zombies.”

“Oh, you haven’t noticed?” Entropy inquired. “I began the attack just before you went through that showy display of power.” Several screeching cries rose up from behind us, making Twilight whirl around. “Honestly, I could have taken you out while you went on with your theatrical display of bravado.”

I gritted my teeth as he continued to melt away, turning entirely into a featureless mist that flowed back and forth as Blights walked through the flames that surrounded us and howled at us. “Are you sure they are enough to pose a problem to us? They haven’t exactly been all that much of a challenge thus far.”

“Oh, I assume you mean the one specimen you captured?” It chuckled. “How did the examination of that go, anyway? Inconclusive?”

The blast of my horn tore through the miasma like the smoke it was, making me feel a little better, but the feeling only lasted for a second before the laughing voice began to snake through the air again.

And that’s when the noose closed.

I half turned as I saw a Blight rush forward from my left and I gave a small hop to get some air under me as I let loose with the empowered blast of my horn. I saw the head explode in a cloud of smoke, the body falling into a heap and the body desiccating. I gave a hard flap of my wings and twisted to the side, throwing up a shield that crackled with the orange and red of fire and sunlight, the serpentine Blight crashing into it bursting into flames.

As I touched down for a second, pulling an armored wing in front of my face to block one of the arc-shaped blasts from another of the monsters. A tilt of my head showed me that Twilight was ok, backing towards the rear of the cavern and Cadence’s horn was blazing with the bright pinkish light that her armor gave her. I had rarely seen Cadence upset beyond the usual mother’s disapproving look at Flurry Heart or Gleaming Bulwark, depending on the one you were referring to.

Seeing raw fury on her face was a frightening sight. She was tearing through the Blights that surrounded her as though they were threatening her foal. I didn’t have long to take in the scene as I felt a weight land on my back and coil around my barrel, trapping my wings against my sides.

I shoved my head back and felt the tip of my horn contact a soft mass and released a blast through it. The coils loosened and fell off my as I flared my wings and hovered a bit and rotated, firing a blast of sunfire across the room at the swirling mass that was Entropy. I was ignoring the Blights behind me, trusting my friends to cover me.

The cloud burst apart for a moment before shifting to one side, a tired sigh echoing out.

“Are you done?” Entropy asked in a bored voice.

Another blast of fire flew out and ripped through the shifting fog. “Bite me,” I snarled.

The miasma swirled around and formed the shape of a tattered pony, sickly green eyes blinking to life.

“As you wish,” the voice grated.

The Blights around us suddenly collapsed, black mist flowing towards the strange form across from us. The form grew larger and the ground under what would have been it’s hooves starting to bubble and melt.

“I bore of watching this anyway. I am on something of a schedule, you understand.” Entropy began to spread out, the stone hissing and bubbling as though acid had been poured onto it. “Though I must admit you have given me a more interesting nuisance than I first thought.”

I slammed my hooves down and threw up a shield, feeding as much of my mana I could into it. I felt Twilight and Cadence return to my side, their additional mana seeping into the shield. I groaned as the miasma slammed into the shield.

The full fury of the sun, the soothing steadfastness of the moon, and the hot passion of love were pouring into this shield, and I could still feel the force of Entropy’s mass pushing us backwards. I leaned my head forward and touched my horn to the shield, shoving as much power as I could into the field.

Twilight grunted and took a step back, shaking her head.

“We can’t keep this shield up for too long,” she cried as she returned to adding to the shield. “All of our mana is just getting eaten by Entropy!”

“We need to get to Aunt Celestia,” Cadence said. “We may be able to wake them up and have them help.”

I growled and thrust my wings slightly forward, my hooves cracking the stone as I took a step. “I’ll cover you.”

“Sunset,” Twilight began. “You can’t…”

“Do it!” I shouted, taking another step forward. I locked my eyes on the shield and growled.

“Robore vivi, Gentem!”

The glyphs on my armor flared, and I felt a fresh flare of heat in my veins. I took slow steps forward, moving slightly to the side as we did. Entropy’s essence continued to beat on the shield, making sweat begin to bead on my forehead. Once we had reversed positions, I expanded the shield to the entire width of the opening to the shrines.

“You think you’ll last?” Entropy asked, adding fire to the assault as Cadence stepped away, moving to her aunt.

“I don’t have a choice in the matter, really,” I strained. My armor was starting to grow hot and stifling, and not from the flickering flames in front of me. “I like the world. It's where my friends are. It’s where we keep our stuff.”

“Ah yes,” the voice purred. “Your friends. Do you know what’s happening to them right now?”

In the flames, I saw a flash of Fluttershy, helping a disoriented Rainbow Dash away from the fighting at the palace. Twilight’s effort faltered at the vision and she stepped back. The vision persisted and I saw Azure seizing as tentacles burst from her lower jaw, Rarity’s coat fouled with boils and pustules. I saw Moondancer laying on the ground, eyes dead as what used to be Applejack rushed forward.

And I saw Sunshine cowering against a wall, her horn firing off ineffectually against the slowly increasing crowd of Blights. Anger flared hotly and I screamed as I began forcing offensive power into the shield as well, the flames beginning to flicker and die.

“Oh,” Entropy chuckled. “Did I strike a nerve?” More images flashed across the flames. Ponyville in flames, the Castle of Friendship shattered and laying in ruins. I saw another flash of Sunshine, racing across the courtyard, stopping and firing over her left shoulder. That’s when I saw it, her pristine left shoulder.

“You haven’t made it that far,” I scoffed. “This is just something you’re trying to destroy my resolve with.” I took a step forward, the shield bulging forward into a dome as opposed to the flat wall I normally formed. “I’m not going to let you win that easy.”

Entropy roared and the shockwave blew Twilight and I back as the shield shattered. I floundered, trying to keep my hooves under me, and I saw Twilight slam into the rock wall of the cavern, slumping and shaking her head as she tried to regain her bearings.

“You obviously overestimate your power, mortal,” Entropy shouted, retaking his pony’s form and stalking back and forth. “I am the very essence of death and decay. Even fighting against me is a zero sum game as I just break down your spells. Surely you’ve felt the strain by now.”

I slammed my hooves down, the stone cracking as I fired off a massive blast of sunfire at him, staggering the beast and I saw the flames flicker and die slightly. I stalked forward, keeping the fire flowing forth.

“I’m tired of your mouth,” I snarled. My armor was searing now, but I didn’t pay any attention to it. “You won’t hurt my friends. You won’t win.”

The burning form of Entropy turned back towards me, laughter starting to flow forth. “It seems that burning ponies is a theme with you,” Entropy taunted. “After all, isn’t that how you killed this poor colt’s sister?”

Neighlin’s face leaned out of the fire surrounding Entropy, the smell of burning flesh and the heat of fire suddenly present. I staggered backward, thrown off guard. I only managed a inarticulate sound of surprise before a jet of shadow stuck me from one side. As i tried to regather my thoughts, several arc-shaped bolts stuck me, making me freeze in place.

“Pathetic.” The miasma flowed forward and slowly spiraled up my legs. “You had so much promise.”

The miasma had reached my chest, and I was beginning to have difficulty breathing.

“But I suppose I allowed you just a little too much leeway.” Neighlin’s face melted back into the face or her brother, turning to look into the distance. “I suppose I should step up the assault on the capital. You have been a little more time consuming than I had originally planned.”

The miasma shoved itself into my nose and over my eyes, and I felt the life draining from me.

I’m sorry, Twilight, I thought. I guess I’ll be upsetting you this time.

Then a rush of magic hit me, and I heard a voice. It was Twilight, but something was off about it. It wasn’t the Princess or my Twilight, but the voice was unmistakeable.

Hold fast, it urged me, a vision of a Twilight standing high, hand held upward with a blazing light in it. Be true to yourself and believe in your friends.

And I struggled up from the black pit I had been plunged into, my horn blazing as I screamed out in defiance.

The miasma flew away, then started to flow back towards me, being held back by my shield as it flared back into being. Entropy turned back as stared in surprise as I began firing out at him. It wasn’t rage, like it had been with Neighlin. It wasn’t desperation like in the first fight against Acerak. It was determination and conviction.

The armor around my wings shattered and fell to the ground, the runes along their edges smoking. I ignored the slight twinges of pain that flowed along my wings. The miasma curled and flowed around the shell of protective energy I held up, seeking a weakness.

I began charging the same backlash spell I had used in the war in the Crystal Empire, the energy building up swiftly from the extra mana the armor provided.

The greaves shattered, my legs burnt in the destruction of the plates of gold, but I ignored it. I shoved the spell forward, the miasma being drawn up into it as it rocketed towards Entropy. As it struck, I shifted the shield to block off the entire cavern from the resultant implosion of power as the entity’s own magic was unleashed upon itself.

The helm shattered as I poured my mana into the shield, the armor around my barrel following soon after, the magic that had held the armor together for millennia being consumed in the conflagration beyond my shield as well as the attempt to ablate the damage.

The spell was lasting longer than it should have, destructive energies seeming to ricochet around beyond my barrier, and I could feel my mana waning.

Entropy’s form could be seen dimly in the shockwaves of the spell, writhing and attempting to avoid its own destructive energy. Several other shapes appeared only to be blasted away or drawn into the slow expanse of destruction.

Only sheer will was keeping my shield up now. My mana was gone, a chill feeling seeping into my bones as my life essence was being pulled upon to power the barrier. I screamed again, challenging the tumult just a bare length from me to claim me. Defiance was all I had left. I would not be defeated.

The Solar Bulwark, the armor of the heavens, lay in ruins around me, having been drained of every last ounce of mana. I had felt the bite of it’s destruction as surely as it had been parts of my own body. The armor exacted a heavy price for invoking its second ability, tying your life force in with its mana. I felt a pang of regret. Millennia of mana, a priceless artifact, gone in an eyeblink.

The red glow around my horn began to bleed into a brilliant white fire as I shoved every bit of resistance into the spell.

It wasn’t enough.

The shield wavered, bowing in on itself. It collapsed a few moments later, my horn sparking before falling to smoldering. The spell maelstrom I had been holding at bay began to subside, only the winds it stirred reaching me.

Two seconds later, the end of my horn shattered, pain forcing my vision white as I watched the jagged tip fall to the ground in slow motion.

I staggered, and as blackness began to close in on me, I dimly saw two fiery shapes dart through the darkness, shrill cries echoing in the cave.

I’m sorry, was the last thought that went through my mind before the pain and the darkness claimed me.

Comments

[Fangren]

Oh my...

[Vic Fontaine]

Oh no!!!

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

“Oh,” Entropy chuckled. “Did I strike a nerve?” More images flashed across the flames. Ponyville in flames, the Castle of Friendship shattered and laying in ruins. I saw another flash of Sunshine, racing across the courtyard, stopping and firing over her left shoulder. That’s when I saw it, her pristine left shoulder.

I think he's just messing with sunset with this part since only canterlot has been attacked at the moment the three princesses are doing this.

The Solar Bulwark, the armor of the heavens, lay in ruins around me, having been drained of every last ounce of mana. I had felt the bite of it’s destruction as surely as it had been parts of my own body. The armor exacted a heavy price for invoking its second ability, tying your life force in with its mana. I felt a pang of regret. Millennia of mana, a priceless artifact, gone in an eyeblink.

At least it was helpful for them, even if it was destroyed in the process.