The Final Battle for Equestria

by Songbrony

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Luna was sitting in her tent thinking about what she had done. I kissed him. I kissed Linus. She thought to herself. She couldn't believe she had done it. Why the hay did I kiss him? I'm his commanding officer. She thought. What I felt when I kissed him. It was like a spark. A tingling feeling in my chest. She shook her head. She got up and left her tent. I need to talk to Rook. He will know what to do in either case.

She walked over to his tent and walked in. He had his face in his hooves. "Rook?" She asked. He looked up, startled.

"Oh, Luna. How uh, how can I help you." He said as he wiped his eyes.

"Well, I was wanting to ask you something about the fight. But, now, I want to know if you are all right. I've never seen you like this in all these years." She said worried.

"I'm fine Luna. I just found something in my belongings. What about the fight do you want to know about?" He said as he regained his cool.

"Well...it was about what we should do after the fight. In either situation." She said.

Rook looked away. "Well, if Blaze should die, we should carry on our fight to Ponyville. The way he wanted to run it."

"And if Linus should die?" Luna asked.

Rook looked down at the floor. "They didn't tell you did they." He said. It wasn't a question. He knew.

"Tell me what?" She asked nervously.

"Linus isn't fighting. I made sure of that." He said.

"Really?" She said with a little too much excitement. She quickly changed her tone, hoping that Rook didn't catch the bump of excitement that she knew he saw. "But how? I thought you guys couldn't find a way to prevent him from fighting?" She asked.

"We didn't find any new ways. Remember when Blaze offered to take Rainbow's place in the fight? Well, I did the same thing for Linus." He said.

"You did what?" Luna asked, shocked. "Why did you take his place?"

"Because the army needs those two the most in order to win. Without them, we are going to have to fight for another 10 years in order to bring Chrysalis down. He doesn't know yet though. I want to keep it that way until tomorrow." He said. Luna went over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"Rook...is that what made you cry?" She asked.

"Yea. I've sentenced myself to death by doing this." he said cooly.

Luna made him look at her. "What really made you cry?" she asked.

He looked down at the floor as he pulled out the letter. "This. It's a letter from Starbolt." Luna took it.

"When did she send it?" She asked.

"I don't know. I got it 2 weeks after Baltimare." He said quietly as the memories flooded back of her death. "But it's nothing. It happened awhile ago. It's time for me to move on. I'll get my revenge by having Blaze and Linus put Chrysalis' head on a pick." He said with a little too much malice.

"Rook, I may not be the best liar and I may not be able to read people as well as you, but I know that you aren't ok." She said. She pulled a chair out and put it in front of him. She sat down and her hooves in his. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Rook looked at her. "I remember that day. Every detail, every Changeling, the look on her face when Chrysalis killed her, the dark red of her blood as it spilled onto the floor. The sight of her lifeless body in my arms." He said quietly as he looked blankly into open space. "We met 5 years before the war. I was in the grocery store looking for a specific type of tea, Jasmine tea. It's not around here so I knew I was going to do some heavy searching. I went to the local store and found that the last bottle had been taken by a beautiful mare. She had blue and green hair, the most beautiful I had ever seen. It fit her. It looked really good on her. I went up to her and worked my "Rook charm." I was able to get the Jasmine tea, but only on one condition. I make her dinner at my house and some of the tea to go with it.

"We had our date, and things went really well. We kept seeing each other and after about 3 years, we got married. I had my job helping the police so I wasn't home as much as I wanted, and she was at Canterlot's magic school learning about all the spells she could. She was very talented, but got exhausted quickly after casting a few spells. We decided against having a filly since we wouldn't really be able to watch them with our schedules the way they were. I had a few days off during the week, but not enough to take care of a new filly. Then, Chrysalis attacked." Rook said. His face suddenly became very reserved and blank of emotion.

"I went to join the army because I had this urge to help others who were devastated by the war. Starbolt wasn't too happy about it, but she knew why I had to. I had spent too many years around the police force to not do anything. We would write to each other often and talk about the past few days. I would give her updates on the army's progress and she would tell me how the other ponies in the cities were handling everything." He got quiet. He looked at the ground and started to tear up. "When I got word that she was in Baltimare, I couldn't believe that I would be able to see her.

"But when I arrived..." He stopped. He became extremely tense. "That bitch put a knife through her heart." Rook was very tense. His eyes had this look of hatred in them, a look that could kill.

"Rook, my hooves..." Luna said. He had started to grip them very tightly. He released them and Luna gave a small sigh of relief. She rubbed her hooves as he got up and went outside the tent flap. She followed him and stood next to him as he looked at the stars.

"When I was on leave about a year ago, I met with her. We spent 3 days alone together. 2 weeks after I saw her die, I received a letter from a lost mail mare. I saw who it was from and put it in a book I never opened. While I was putting my things away, the book fell on the floor and the letter fell out. I had never read it and had pretty much forgotten about it." Rook said.

"This was the first time I read it. I feel ashamed that I didn't read it sooner. I would always read her letters first when I got them." He said through tears. "We were going to have a little filly. A girl. I wanted to name her Jasmine because of how we met." He was about to burst into tears.

"Come on Rook. Let's go inside and make you some tea." Luna said. She led him back into the tent and sat him down in a chair next to the table. She went over to his little kettle and went through his stash of tea leaves. She picked one up and noticed what it was. "What kind of tea would you like Rook?" She asked as she grabbed a few of the tea leaves and went back to the kettle.

"I don't care." He said quietly.

He needs this. This is not like him at all. Luna thought as she grabbed the tea she had first seen. She poured water into the kettle and added the leaves to it. She heated it up with a magic spell and made it boil for a few minutes. After it was finished she poured him a cup and sat next to him.

"Here. Drink this. You need it." She said calmly. She handed him the cup and he slowly took a sip. His eyes grew in surprise.

"This...this is Jasmine tea. But where did you get this?" He asked.

"It was in your tea box. I noticed it because I too really enjoy Jasmine tea. It's very refreshing and calming. It's one of the reasons why I made it for you." She said. "It's a part of you and Starbolt's story. Thank you for sharing it. I knew you were close to her. I had no idea about what had happened to you two. I'm sorry." She said. Rook only nodded.

They stayed silent as Rook drank the tea. It calmed him down. he no longer had the urge to rip Chrysalis head from her shoulders. "Luna?" He asked.

She looked at him. "Yes?"

"I don't know your feelings for Linus, but if you feel anything for him, don't let him go. Don't let anypony you care about go." He said.

"My feelings for Linus..." She started. She couldn't finish the statement. "My feelings for Linus are the same as his for me. But he can't know. If he did, I have a feeling I would be a distraction to him." Luna said sternly. Rook grinned.

"I won't tell him. I won't live past tomorrow in order to tell him." He said. "Thanks for stopping by Luna. I usually keep everything bottled up, keeping the bad in but showing all the good. Go back to your tent and get some sleep. It's late and we both need our energy for tomorrow." She nodded, placed the letter back on the table, gave him a quick thank you hug, and left the tent. Rook looked at the letter and grabbed it. He put it into his pocket knowing that Starbolt would be with him throughout the night.

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Rainbow and Blaze arrived in camp the next morning. They had spent the night in the clouds together holding each other. When they arrived, they went to Rook's tent. He was up and putting some books in his chest and cleaning up around here. "Hey, Rook." Rainbow said quietly. She didn't want Rook to think she was happy that Rook would be dying. She wasn't, but she didn't think that going into his tent and saying hello in a usual morning greeting was the best idea.

"Hey Rainbow. Blaze." He said as he closed and locked his chest.

"How are you?" She asked. "I'm fine considering what the day's events hold for me. How are you two?" He asked.

"We're ok." Blaze said. There was an awkward silence that could have been cut with a knife.

"So, uhh, have you told Linus yet" Rainbow said, trying to break the silence.

"Not yet. I figure we shouldn't until it's 5 till noon. That way he can't do much to try and stop it." Rook said.

"That sounds like a good idea. But how will we tell him? 'Hey Linus. You know the fight? Well, you won't be fighting anymore! I am!' If that's how we're going to do it, I don't want to be the one getting punched by him." Rainbow said. Rook just grinned.

"I'll tell him. Don't worry. It'll all be fine." Rook pulled something out from his pocket. "Here. Give this to Hex when you see him. It's a map of Canterlot and the weak points around it."

"I will. Where has he been anyways? I haven't seen him around camp for a few days." Blaze said.

"Well I wouldn't expect you to, since you always seem to be off with Rainbow somewhere. But, your right. I haven't seen him around here for awhile. But I do want you two to do something. Stop sneaking off. This army is going to need you both at Ponyville. If you two are gone on the trip to Ponyville and we get ambushed, we are in trouble. Blaze, you are an amazing hoof to hoof combatant and Rainbow is amazingly fast and agile. You can't be going off to make out whenever chance you get." Rook said sharply. Rainbow turned a bright red.

"We won't Rook. We'll be here for the army in these last few battles." Blaze said. He was turning deep red, but kept his a normal tone.

"Alright Blaze. I'm counting on you to finish this. If you don't, I would have died for nothing. I'm doing this to keep you and Linus both alive. I can't stress that enough." Rook said.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she pays." Blaze said. Luna walked in urgently as she flung the flap back.

"Rook-Oh hey Blaze, Rainbow. Listen, we have a slight problem on our hands. Hex is missing. He hasn't been spotted around camp for awhile and I think he may be in trouble." She said. "We need to go looking for him so we can move on to Ponyville." She pulled out a map. "I know that there is the fight, but we should be back in time." She started to point at the map, when a giant fireball landed right outside the tent. "Blaze! See what's going on in the sky! Rainbow, gather Applejack and Big Mac and have them find a place to hide! Rook come with me! We need to get Linus!" Luna ordered.

"Why the hell can't we ever get some peace around here?!" Blaze shouted angrily. He flew into the sky as he scanned the horizon. He saw the six catapults that were launching the deadly balls of fire and estimated them to be a few miles away.

He soared back to his tent and grabbed some bombs he made awhile back. These were the last ones. He only had three that could do serious damage, the rest were all gas bombs. I have to make these count! He thought to himself. As he was about to launch himself back into the sky, an enormous blast of heat seared the left side of his body. He screamed in pain as the fireball ripped through the flesh in his left side. He fell to the ground in agony and latched on to his side. He looked around as the chaos in the camp ensued. Linus where the buck are you? He shouted in his mind. He watched as the area around him grew into chaos. Ponies were getting sent flying as the fireballs crashed into them. The burning tents that surrounded the camp. This was meant to utterly destroy them. Blaze couldn't allow it to happen. Despite the excruciating pain in his wing, he stood up and took flight. He was slow and sluggish, but he needed to end the assault. He flew low to the ground to avoid the flying balls of death that soared above him.

He reached the catapults and launched the first bomb at the first two and they were obliterated and sent into a fiery heap of wood. He flew to the other catapults and sent another bomb flying towards the next two. The bomb detonated on contact and vaporized the launchers. As he ventured towards the next set, he saw a magic bolt come flying past him. He dodged behind the tree line and whipped and weaved through the trees as the bolts zipped past him. He shot into the sky and dive bombed the catapults. He launched the bomb and it hit the farthest catapult and decimated it. The last catapult was barely functioning. He thought fast, and whizzed past the catapult. He was able to attain the unicorn's attention and flew back towards the catapult. I need to time this perfectly. He thought. As he neared the catapult, he scuffed a branch with his burnt wing. He yelped in pain and slammed into the ground. He rolled and tumbled as he skidded across the rocky ground. He finally arrived at a stop at the base of the catapult. He gazed up as the gorner reached him.

"The infamous Blaze. I've heard so much about you. Master of explosives and an expert in hoof to hoof combat. You know how long we have been waiting to kill you?" He said with an evil grin. "Now you're here, at my feet, subject to my mercy. Don't think about escaping either. That crash has broken your wings. You can't fly, and with my magic I could easily stun you should you try to run." He said with an evil smirk on his face. Blaze spit the blood that had collected in his mouth at the Gorner's face. The Gorner wiped it from his face and kicked Blaze in the back. "How dare you! I was going to kill you quickly, but now I will make sure that you feel the full force of my ability." He said. Blaze felt a sudden screeching pain in his left side. He screamed as the Gorner tortured him. Blaze's left side felt like it was being devoured while someone poured lava onto it. His bones felt like they were breaking and being ripped from his weary body. The Gorner released the spell and kicked rocks into Blaze's face.

"And guess what? That's only a small taste of what I can offer you. Want to feel what I can truly do? What I was born and raised to do?" He said while picking Blaze up off the ground. His side was pouring with blood. He would die of blood loss soon.

"Do your worst." He muttered and spit as much blood back into his captor's face. He was slammed into the ground and kicked in the head.

"I will make you suffer!" The Gorner proclaimed. He was about to cast his spell, when a giant red pony jumped and kicked the Gorner away from Blaze.

"Rainbow! Get him!" Big Mac yelled. Rainbow flew down from the sky and picked Blaze up and set him on her back.

"Mac let's go!" She ordered. Big Mac instead ran at the Gorner and trampled him to the ground.

"Rainbow get him back to camp! He needs help!" He ordered back at Rainbow. After he had spoke, the Gorner launched a magic bolt straight at Big Mac's chest. He gripped his chest as he started scream in pain. "Run! Get out of here Rainbow!" He said as he coughed up blood. He started to bleed out of his nose, mouth, ears. He screamed louder as the spell cursed through his heart, forcing the blood to rush through his system. His eyes turned red as blood rushed out of his eyes. With a final cry of pain, he fell to the ground in a heap.

"Rainbow! Did ya get him?" Applejack said as she rushed out of the trees. She looked at the giant red colt laying on the ground covered in his own blood. The Gorner laughed a melancholy laugh and vanished in cloud of black smoke. "Mac?" She asked quietly. She ran over to him and fell to her knees. "Mac...Please Mac answer me!" She yelled frantically.

"AJ...He's gone..." Rainbow said sadly.

"Big Mac! On Old Granny Smith's grave Ah swear you won't leave me alone! Ah'll have nopony here to help me! You are all the family Ah have left sugarcube...." She finished with a sorrowful cry.

"Applejack..." Rainbow couldn't finish. She knew what Applejack was going through. Applejack stared into her brother's eyes.

"Macintosh.." She said quietly. She put her hoof over his eyes and closed them. "Ah'm so sorry." She whispered.

"Rainbow, go help her. I'll be fine." Blaze said weakly. He was bleeding badly and wasn't going to be conscious much longer, but he didn't care. Rainbow looked at him doubtfully. "Go. I'll be alright." He said unconvincingly. She reluctantly put him down and went over to a weeping Applejack. She took Applejack in her arms and cradled her only remaining friend.

"Oh Applejack. I am so sorry." Rainbow said as her friend cried into her shoulder. Applejack let go of Rainbow, closed her eyes and leaned on her dead brother, hugging him. She came back up, covered in his blood with tears mixing with the crimson blood. She placed Mac on the ground.

"Ah will avenge you. First my parents, my friends, Apple bloom, and now you. Ah swear, you will not die in vain." Applejack said. Blaze weakly walked up next to Applejack and Rainbow. He had a clump of flowers in his hoof. He placed them in Big Mac's hooves.

"He died to protect me. I will help you avenge his death." Blaze said with the last bit of his energy. He collapsed to the ground and passed out next to Rainbow.

"Blaze!" Rainbow screeched. "Applejack, we need to get him back to camp. Once he is there, I will come back and take Big Mac back with us." Applejack shook her head.

"No. Ah don't want the others to see him like this. He helped us all during our times in need when we were in Ponyville. Most of them think of him as one of their family. But he was a true family member to me. Nopony else knew him like Ah did." She said through her tears. "Ah'm going to miss you, Big Macintosh. You were the only pony Ah truly had to help me." She said as she weeped.

Rainbow put an arm around her friend. "He won't die in vain. I promise you Applejack." She said. She picked Blaze up and put him on her back. Applejack leaned down and kissed Big Mac on his forehead. As she turned to leave with Rainbow, she bucked the remaining catapult that stood above Big Mac and destroyed the crippled leg it stood on, sending it crashing to the ground.

"Rainbow. We have lost so many of our friends. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Twi. All of them gave their lives to protect us. Big Mac has helped protect many ponies from Chrysalis and did what he could in order to help us when we were cold, hungry, and lost on hope. He was shy, but he was smart and loyal. He put us before himself." Applejack looked at Rainbow. "I will see to it that the no good, varmint bitch is brought down." Her eyes were alive with fire, a burning passion to avenge her brother. She sped ahead of Rainbow and ran for the camp. Rainbow tilted her head to the floor. I'm sorry AJ. I'm so, so sorry. A tear ran down her cheek, glistening in the sun as it fell onto the grass beneath her hooves.