Never to be Finished

by Im a B O X

Chapter 5: His Gambit Within Death

His morning was uneventful, save for the way he woke up, but apart from that, he spent most of his time doing what little past time he could indulge himself in, which was only was writing an extended portion of his dying will. And yet to his surprise, he had somehow managed to put together most of his documents in order, scraping those that he deemed unnecessary to the sidelines of what limited room he had.

Other than that, his time went by, slowly but surely. The morning and following afternoon were filled with the unexpected greeting from the mane 6, nothing of note from such, just me doing a bit of storytelling with the occasional journalist dropping by to list in and ask.

He didn’t receive any hassle whatsoever from them, much to his surprise and ever-increasing suspicion. Even the occasional zebras, griffons, or even changelings journalist dropped by, and after having a mutually “tense” history with each of their kind, and to see them even show a degree of respect to him... it felt so unnatural, surreal, even for him.

And so, that’s how his day went by for the most part, without a hitch. Everything was in order, those who knew would not fully understand the situation, but would try to peer into it. And for once in over centuries, if not a millennium, Equis stood at the ready, in anticipation, in bated breath, not for all-out war as some might expect, but for the day that a pony would receive capital punishment by Equestrian law, and be followed through.

---

Evening, sometime before the execution...

He sat there peacefully in his chair, looking out the window view that he has grown used to. Unlike a pony who would be in the same situation as him, he was unnaturally calm. Although his deceptive demeanor hid his reluctance with it, he wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of death looming over him.

But his thoughts would soon change when in the middle of his patient wait, the doors to his room would be swung wide open without a knock. And from the door swinging open, he turned his head to greet the new arrival as a pony came in, what he didn’t expect was to see an old friend’s face, Solemn Vow.

He took a deep breath, before greeting him, hesitant to remember such an old, yet at the same time familiar face. “Hey, how’s it been, old pal?” he asked.

Baffled by the entrance of his friend, Ideals didn’t notice the other three beings that entered the room.

“Could have been better,” Solemn responded despite the stupor his old friend was in. “And you?”

“The same goes as ever, I found a niche to work with,” Ideals responded, “although I can’t say I’d have expected to meet you again this late into the game, in death row no less.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I can see you’ve brought company, what’s the occasion?” He asked in turn, the shock of seeing an old friend having subsided, his attention was turned to the Monarch, her assistant, and the bluebird. “And do me a favor and tell me you accept prearranged wills, I’d be easier for all of us in so many ways...”

Tension rose again once he noticed and saw Gallus, but his fears were abruptly, and much to his relief, quickly put to rest when Twilight spoke up.

“I’ve already spoken with the both of you, and would like to say that the other to avoid holding any grudges, now, I’d like it if this doesn’t devolve into a strangling competition, got it?”

Both the stallion and griffon responded with a, “Got it.” and soon, both made amends on their terms, but that was cut short with Twilight answering one of Ideals’ earlier questions.

“As for the occasion,” she began, the mood that she and the rest of them brought being reflected in her tone, one of general apprehension, “we came by to, well… see and discuss a couple of things before your, you know… death.”

He looked at them, all of them, yet he couldn’t describe what he felt towards them. He appreciated the gesture no doubt, but there was something else lingering inside him. Regardless, he would indulge in this Q&A of sorts, for once last time if necessary.

“Well, if that’s the case, what do you want? From what I had already provided for my obituary, you should have all the answers you need, plus the one-on-one ‘talks’ we each had.” He said, eyeing the three, excluding his old friend.

“Well, we’re here to sort out your final wills and papers, if that’s all right... something to do with securing taxes, but I digress.” She said as she used her magic to teleport something into the room. What that something is was unknown to Ideals as he didn’t seem to catch any changes whatsoever, although he did make a mental note to ask what she teleported over later.

“Which is the reason why they called me up!” Solemn interjected, his cheerful tone being the source of a mixed reception from the rest of them in the room. “They wanted me to help with the segregation of files, amongst other things…”

With that line of thought trailing, Ideals thought it was a good opportunity to start with what they say they’re here for.

“So, if you’re here to sort out my papers, well I got good news and bad news,” he said, looking around to show them his neat little works.

“Good news first, bad news later.” Spike instinctively said, seemingly having spoken for most of the majority.

“Ook… the good news! I did most of your job in that department, the bad news is that I did most of it.” He explained, levitating a stack of some unfinished papers to make an example of.

“I left out some of the finer detailed works because I was too tired to bother, so it seems like you lot could do that for me.” He said, a smirk creeping upon his face as he saw and savored the initial joy in their reaction that shifted to one of disappointment.

That, and the fact that he probably had some other things that they could also sort out meant he just avoided doing the painfully meticulous portion of paper works.

‘Then again, since when was the last time I had simple paperwork? Never!’ He thought to himself, chuckling at his humor, even if it was bad.

So, all that went well, ends well, the four of them would likely want to record some obscure fact that only he knew, somehow… and that’s assuming they’re going to go through and sort said files. That was his train of thought until he remembered the fact that he was due to die soon, and the fact that they offered assistance at this time, it puzzled him, the same as his morning.

“So why again?” he asked, finally breaking his silent trance of thought as the four guests were about to start. “Why help me? Why go through all of this effort for something that is probably as simple as already written texts?”

But to his dismay, no answer immediately came. The room was filled with a tense air that was accompanied by bated breath, one that everyone shared. None of them wanted to be the one to spill the can of beans onto him. Even with all their highly regarded stature, there was an odd sense of morality that stopped them from just flat out telling him.

And fortunately for all of them, Solemn Vow would be the one to break this tension. “Well, to tell the long story short, we wanted to…”

“To..?”

“We wanted to give you some company, no one deserves to be alone, especially if it’s their last moments...”

“Good-natured?” he asked skeptically. Not because he felt like he didn’t deserve such luxury, but more out of a sense of professionalism. As he did his job before his own emotions, he could not restrain himself from asking such a basic question, even if it could be seen as insulting.

A unanimous nod from all four of his guests as he observed their reaction.

“So is it alright if I go on a ramble? With you lot just listening,” he asked.

It only took a glance between the four until Solemn gave their answer. “Just keep talking whole we do some of the paperwork, we’ll be listening all the while.”

And with that, they did so as they agreed upon. With the four finishing up some of Ideals’ leftover paperwork, all the while they surrounded him as he simply sat atop his chair, content with the comfort as he thought of the things he could ramble on about.

“Well, if that’s the case…” he started, still thinking to himself about what he was going to speak of. “I guess I could start with a wish… a wish that I could experience life at its height once again. It wasn’t every day that one gets to experience the full joys of life, most of the time, you got to take the good with the bad…”

The sound of pen and paper, of writing, was still audible. He eyed the four of them as he continued, having failed to notice the slight changes in furniture and his magic acting up, being too busy with himself.

He paused for a moment, letting himself catch a breath. “That said, mistakes are often made along the way, and usually, one pony’s fault is another pony’s lesson.”

“So what?” Gallus asked sarcastically, “From what we’ve known and been shown, your work had some… varying results and nothing concrete.”

Ideals then noticed the dragon give a stare at the bluebird. To which the bluebird responded on his own.

“What?” he asked inquisitively. “if it’s going to get one-sided, at least give him a reason to go on a ramble about.”

The truthfulness of his words gave him a chuckle as memories resurfaced. Particularly ones about an old book he had read a long while back.

“Hehe, say, you want in on something?” he asked, “have you ever heard of the book ‘Ne’er Completed’? It’s a book about stories, a book from a bygone era that I greatly enjoyed…” the thought trailed on for a moment.

When no response came, all he received was the shaking of heads to go on. Realizing in the process that they probably never even heard of such a book, then again, he had the small privilege of having connections for these kinds of resources and pools of knowledge, even if it was temporary.

“Learned many things from it, shared it with a few others, some took it better than most…” he said.

Looking away in the opposite direction for a moment, perhaps out of shame, he continued. “I’d give you all a copy if I had a spare, but it has been largely lost to the annals of history for a while now. A small novelty to have read it back then. The kind to stick with you until death, something to learn and is truly vast, growing and surpassing both expectations, standards, and even death.”

He gauged all of their reactions, finding it amusing how they perceived his words with varying degrees of perspectives. What he found most endearing was the small bit of curiosity that he has seen so many times in his life, glimmering within them all.

“You lot do enjoy it when I discuss such mundane topics, don’t you?” He nonchalantly asked.

To which Solemn Vow responded for all of them. “We, um… we expected you to be a bit more… solemn since your situation is you know… kind of bleak, so to speak, but it’s still impressive to hear it from you.”

A heavy sigh and Ideals continued despite the heavy emotion that he kept at bay. “Well, as far as the books will tell you, I can tell you this; I’ve done more in my unfinished piles than any of my nine books combined. I made books, yes, but even in the greatest and minute details it still pales in comparison to the books that have been lost to time, books that made a genuine impact, not on the populace, but on how the world would move forward. Something truly monumental, and something I could only dream to try and replicate…”

“But that’s beside the point, the gist of things is that I want you all to remember, although we are all on a ticking clock, thinking ahead of the pack is often better done than having never considered…” he said.

“So what about your secrets?” Gallus asked, catching wind of this, Spike seemed to have had the same line of thought with the way he looked.

“My secrets?” he repeated, “Well, I don’t have much to say for ‘safe’ secrets to share with you, even some old colleagues of ours, Solemn, I’ve kept in touch with. You’d be surprised at how many ponies and others of the like I’ve kept a keen eye and track of. The book I said earlier; taught me many things I still use today, but you can’t really on the old for the new, but you could always rely on the old to keep a good secret. ” he said, smiling as he left them in the dark

“Anyhow, there are some secrets best kept till death, and my papers are already in order.” He said, facing in the direction of where said papers were kept, trying to keep the indifferent façade from cracking. “They’re right beside the door, within the drawer earlier. Use it for my obituary or something. Oh! And before I forget, good job at retaining your integrity, Princess Twilight, not stooping to lowly threats and all.”

‘Like those would’ve worked.’ He thought, although his secrets could very well be spilled with the use of some magic, his gambit did involve retaining the moral high ground as a whole, and while there are few immediate ways for it now, he was playing the long game, even after death, and he thought enough for his work to gain the recognition it deserves. Besides, the crystals should be recording everything that happens in the room, his informants would just have to leak word of it to start something.

All the while, he was looked at with great respite. The general outlook on his congrats is mixed yet nonetheless welcomed.

“It is great to have such a diverse way of thinking…” he began once more, “how there are so many perspectives, questions, and answers to learn and discover. The many morals and concepts that we could make. I think it’s that spice, that taste, and flavoring that makes life worth living, after all, who wouldn’t enjoy some good cuisine? I know I’d enjoy a good meal or two.” He said, an inviting smile accompanying it.

“Which brings us to our next discussion,” Twilight said, intervening at the moment. “What would you like as your final meal? The execution would be just around the corner.”

He looked at the monarch, thinking to himself, he replied with something simple, too simple. “I guess I’ll just have a glass of water and a Hayburger.”

“Nothing more?” Gallus asked, baffled, but failing to compare to Spike’s take.

“Heh, it ain’t even much of a meal!” Spike exclaimed, “Make sure ya think this through cuz, you know, you could get a decent meal out of last moments or something. You’re the first pony in near millenniums since the last records of capital punishment…”

“At least through a jury trial…” he whispered to himself, “but I won’t have anything more.” Ideals replied adamantly, staring at the dragon and griffon with a hint of being offended by their remarks. “And don’t take it as some form of self-deprivation. As far as I’m aware, I wasn’t the best example nor do I have a decent hand in life to offer. I have dug up some of the most prolific knowledge known to exist, the very unthinkable - the unforgivable - and I wished that, along with this death of mine…”

He hesitated for a moment to tell them of the true lengths of his intentions. Sure they could speculate about his motive for death, but at the end of the day, they have nothing more than speculation, unless he tells them something concrete while he’s alive.

Alas, he couldn’t muster up the strength to speak the full truth, unwilling to trip at such an important moment in his life. “That I may keep certain things with me to my grave.”

He sighed, “Just, take my word for it, I already planned it for a long while back. And trust me, the papers I would leave have all the things and instructions that you lot would need, even if I’m not around.”

His words of reassurance however did nothing to ease the uneasiness of the bunch. So, he did what he thought would help: change the subject.

“Well, to change this gloomy moment,” he followed it up with a question, “tell me, what’ll happen next?”

“What’ll happen next?” Twilight repeated, taking the moment to think of the consequences. “Well, after your meal, we’d likely send the papers to their accord, as for you… you’d be handed over to the guards with my brother, from there, it’s up to them. Plus, public-”

“Now wait a minute,” Solemn interjected, realizing something from what she said. “Why is he going to be handed over to the guards? Aren’t you the monarch with power over them? Plus, isn’t this a purely private affair, with the trial being just for formalities sake?”

“Well, she does have power over them, but Shining Armor decided that since this was an execution he’d go back and stand in as the Royal Guard’s captain again, for the time being. He said he’d just take on the ‘finer details’ of the job, so to speak,” Spike replied for her.

“Not only that, but other sovereigns had the guts to come over to ‘observe’ the proceedings. So to give better PR, it was decided that the guard regiments, as a whole, would serve a much more proactive role in these kinds of events and for future events when they’d be entailed.” Gallus continued.

Wrapping up, Spike gave the final remark. “Besides, a new era calls for a new way, am I right? Plus, with Twilight as the monarch she has to divide her obligations to different branches,” he said, looking at Ideal and winking.

“Funnily enough, the system is based on some of your works,” Gallus remarked, pointing at Ideals for the same reason as Spike

A remark that Ideals found comfort in, knowing his work is being put to use, even if it’s only limited. Nevertheless, he was put off by how Gallus said “observe”, nor did he enjoy the fact that Shining Armor was in charge of the guards for now, even if he knew it since a while back. Somethings just never stay right with him, and he suspected that Shining and the others were planning for the events after his death, a thought that brought him uneasiness.

…

Regardless, what followed suit was the finalization of a long and tedious process of back-and-forth, a process that ensured files are in order and papers are to be sent. What happens to said files isn’t as clear cut, but for Ideals, he could only speculate that such papers would be burned to ash, left to rot in his best scenario.

And by the end of it all, as the small party prepared to part ways, a final remark was shared between the monarch and reformer.

“Don’t worry,” he replied, seeing the hesitation in Twilight as she was about to exit, the rest of the group has made their leave with the final files. “I’m good, as I’ve said earlier, I’m already happy that you lot were listening to me, lending an ear does help with reassurance.”

“I’m just sorry… for putting you through this whole ordeal of capital punishment I mean.” He lied as naturally as he breathed.

“Why?” she asked, believing that he was sorry for the things that he entailed. “You shouldn’t be sorry for anything, even if you were deserving of it able to do much, I’d still have to go through with all my royal duties, at least this gives me a bit more breathing room. If anything, I should be the one who’s asking for apologies for not doing enough to save your life, likely even a thank you, if you twist the story enough.”

“Well, now is not the time for reasons, now is the time for acceptance, and besides, it’s better to be sorry for nothing than be to be indifferent to everything. And so, I thank you… for all the hospitality you have shown me in these final hours…” he said, truly thankful for this gesture.

With the farewell out of the way, Ideals watch as she left the room, leaving him once again alone with nothing more than his thoughts. And as soon as the doors shut, he was now left to wonder, instead of being able to do anything else for the moment. Now left again with nothing to pass the time, he waited patiently for his drink and meal, not allowing himself to lose the hold on his tightly monitored emotions. Never realizing the growing crowd outside his window view.

---

In due time, the door swung open as two Solar Guards came in, one unicorn and one pegasus, with the unicorn having levitated the glass of water and his meal.

“No formalities?” Ideals asked as the meal was levitated towards him and was soon encapsulated by his magic, he slowly began eating his meal, downing the cold drink as he savored the taste of the burger and the coolness of the drink, all the while the guards waited patiently.

Once he finished, he asked them about the proceedings. “So, how’s this going to go down?”

“Just follow us and there won’t be any problems.” The unicorn said, likely the higher rank out of the two as he exited the room, with Ideals following suit followed by the Pegasus who stood by his side.

Once they left the room, both earlier solar guards the way while another pair, this time from the Lunar Guards, flanked Bold Ideals from the rear, having waited outside the room instead. The small escort made their way through the castle and out into the Palace Courtyard, where a fairly sizable crowd waited, not in anticipation, of course.

---

In the very few instances in the history of this world, the sun and moon could both be seen at the same time, each staying at their respective side of the sky, the sun to the far west while the moon at the opposite end at the far east, done so with purpose. Said scenery of the sky was a mix of colors that reflected the general outlook on such an event.

Plenty of Ponies, Griffons, Hippogriffs, Dragons, and even the oddball Minotaur and Zebra, plenty more to be said attended, some out of curiosity while others attended with a reason in mind, the vast majority merely came because of what the nobilities of Canterlot were gossiping about earlier. All of them were gathered to witness the death of a single pony.

Not in some spectacular way of respect or hate for that matter, just the fact that in the long years since the unification of the three pony tribe, which marked the transition from the Age of Empires to the era of City-states and the norm, one thing has been kept constant: the will of those in power, and the silence of the majority.

In all respects, Bold Ideals thought these nations have no right to exist, yet by some divine intervention, greed and chaos are at bay, and harmony rules to keep everyone checked and satisfied. A world ruled by perfection, it bothered him since his first thoughts of nationalism.

This world was and still is, ruled by the seemingly righteous and just, seemingly immune to the mortal flaws that should be grounding them all to this world. Divine intervention or just pure luck, Bold Ideals made his will long ago, made his mark, made his decision. Even if he wanted to go back, that line of thought and action will get him nowhere, let alone the chances fate would allow him to do so anyways…

Now, he stood unflinching for the most part before an audience, all eyes on him as his hoof were chained and he was given the proper restraints. He didn’t mind it, but he would admit, that he knew better and much more efficient ways of doing this form of capital punishment, with the use of “Black Powder”, but that’s another story for another time.

But before he would be killed, a pony would trot up to him, with a blindfold to cover his eyes with, and some more chains to set him still and to keep his magic at bay. He didn’t make it hard for the pony to chain him upright, now standing still as they finished up the lugs that would hold him in place for the killing blow, that is until the pony raised the blindfold to his eyes, but he spoke before they could properly wrap it around.

“No thanks,” he said to the pony, despite his legs and torso being chained up so that he doesn’t move, they could both feel the uneasiness and trembling fear that made his legs shiver in place. “I’d prefer to see this through with my eyes open.”

The pony, with some reluctant hesitation, left him chained where he stood, the blindfold that was supposed to be wrapped around him never being placed as he now waited in bated breath like the crowd before him, the chains and rings that has kept his magic subdued still doing its job. And soon enough, the ponies that would line up to take the shot of life soon arrived. Not in some ceremonious applause or some grand dashing entrance, instead, they came in single file, heads held up high as they seemingly avoided eye contact with him.

Immediately when they came into view, Ideals saw something was amiss. ‘Officer Uniforms?’ he thought, observing the wears of the ponies that started to line up in front of him. ‘Well that can’t be right, Celestia probably got something planned, would be interesting, no doubt.’

With all the formal wear and no sign of armor plates, this puzzled him greatly, he knew there was something amiss, but he didn’t get to dwell on that as he noticed another problem. The problem that he would realize and, as fate would have it, would be the source of his earlier gripe of something being amiss.

‘Alicorns!?’ He screamed internally as he felt his eyes double in size from the realization. ‘B-but, that’s impossible! Celestia would never have half a dozen ponies ascend into alicornhood!’

His mouth hung wide agape thanks to the shocking sight before him. Something that the guards did not take attention to as they seemed to steel themselves for what they were supposed to do. And who could blame them? They were about to take the life of another pony, what could be their comrades in hoof no less.

‘Oh Celestia, you sneaky clever mare.’ He thought, a revelation dawning upon him. ‘You could have fooled me with those illusion spells, but you did try to lighten the guilt of killing a pony, didn’t you?’ He could only smile at what he assumed to be the lengths went just to lighten the guilt that comes with executing capital punishment, if not for the one at death’s doorstep, then those who would play the executioner.

That, and the crowd that surrounded them presented some familiar faces: A certain chancellor, two former sovereigns, six outstanding students, and various figureheads from the Hippogriffs and Zebras, just to name a few. That did not seem to affect him, however, as he too had steeled his resolve, staring each pony before him directly in the eyes, trying his best not to show any fear.

It was the moment he had been waiting, preparing for. The day he would play his gamble to dictate history, a gambit within his death, a death to cement his name and work! He would hope that his works would at least spark something greater, that he could start something different.

And soon, the sound of the surroundings toned down, in reality, he just steeled himself as he took in a deep breath. Once again, as if base instincts kicked in, he tried to fire up his horn to cast a teleportation spell, unfortunately, the ring that they had placed on him since they recaptured him practically negated his magical abilities, while also seemingly solidifying the somewhat loose chains, now restricting his movements even more to the point that he seemingly stood unflinching, far from the obvious truth.

“Vsque ad finem periri!!” He shouted in defiance, staring directly at those that looked down on him from their point of view.

The words he spoke were his final, a message to both insinuate that although his life would end in this death, his name would live on throughout the ages, while also alluding to a place he had learned from one of his books from a distant past; one of many things that he would keep to his grave, and a secret connected to other such things that he wished could be unfurled in due time.

And as the final notes hit, the magic that guards were building up was promptly released which was accompanied by a whooshing sound as bolts of magic dashed from one side of the field to the other in a near blink of an eye, and ultimately, made their mark, hitting the intended target, yet it failed to do the one thing it was supposed to do, make the death quick.

Instead of hitting the heart or head, they somehow missed vital organs that would deliver a quick death, but the sheer volume and size of each wound didn’t spare Ideals the light of day, as he was sure that he would die from blood loss in a matter of seconds.

The first volley has been fired, and the initial pain of each landing hit was quick and agonizing, but somewhat fleeting.

“And they still couldn’t hit my head…” He muttered in disappointment, all the shots fired missing his forehead and landed somewhere in his center mass, likely an attempt to shoot at his heart for a quick death.

He started to feel drowsy as if he had just run an entire marathon and didn’t stop for water or rest. His vision blurring as its edges began to darken. He didn’t feel anguish, not yet at least, but he was sure he’d feel it eventually. That feeling would come in a small burning sensation coming from each wound, the open air not doing him any favor as it irritated open flesh.

He waited, and waited for the next volley, looking down as his strength left him slowly.

‘Where’s the next volley?’ he asked internally.

To his unnerving surprise, no volley came, so he thought an officer would come up to him and finish the job, so he waited again. And when nothing came, he looked up, only to see everything seemingly frozen in place, he thought it was the shock of the situation. The world around him grew blurred by the second, with no one approaching him, but then memories started to flood in, overlapping the view he had, he realized, his life was flashing right before him.

He was lost for words, he couldn’t cry because this was what he wanted, he couldn’t smile because he wasn’t satisfied with what was happening, and his heart ached with each passing moment. That didn’t last long, as his vision started to darken into blindness, from the edges, next, his senses one by one started to disappear, or maybe dissipate, and soon, he was left in darkness to be adrift, hearing his heartbeat.

And so, slowly, as he let go of his final thoughts, and with it, the darkness with silence started to fully consume him in full, his conscience growing silent as his pulse slowed, then to a crawl, and then… only silence and darkness, not emptiness.

Bold Ideals was now dead, his soul would remain dormant until a new life, a new slate, but until then, he would only be remembered by that name and the works associated with it. He was now out of his misery, he had lived a life far different from most, but he, like many others before and after him, would get to know their fate with due time.

---

For the crowd watching, it was a different story, as they witnessed capital punishment without seemingly any remorse nor censorship, at its fullest display, they were shocked. The sight of a pony being shot with what seemed to be over a dozen shots was enough to make the average Joe shiver but add to that the seemingly huge pool of blood that was building under the dead body of Bold Ideals and its seemingly enough to trigger made-up memories belonging to long-dead creatures, from a time of uncertainty and bloodshed.

“W-what just happened?” Someone in the crowd asked in disbelief, the quickness, and brutality still fresh for each of them.

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t get the privilege to fully process the event, as royal guards seemed to come out of nowhere and swarm the palace ground, trying to push the spectators out. The crowd, who were still largely in shock, could do nothing but comply, the gravity of the situation seemingly keeping them preoccupied as they left the vicinity.

---

And by the end of it all, it was already past sunset, with the moon now slowly rising to the center of the sky. The body of Bold Ideals wouldn’t get a grave, no one who has been sentenced to capital punishment will, not for their crimes. Instead, his body would be burned completely, only letting ash settle which would be disposed of either in the Everfree or Tartarus, some sort of belief that alludes to a soul never finding rest for their crimes.

The only ones invited were a select few, only members of Royalty and their (close) friends were allowed to witness, with the addition of Solemn Vow. Not even the sovereigns of other nations are allowed to attend the burning unless invited, case and point, Ember of the dragon lands and not as the Dragon Lord, invited by Spike, who was going to light the spark for the burning.

…

The body of Bold Ideals laid lifeless, a potion having been concocted and watered over the entirety of it to allow the flame to burn thoroughly.

“Ready?” Spike asked the small gathering.

Upon receiving the go-ahead, with one inhale, he and Ember breathed out fire over the corpse, and like gasoline and sparks, the body lit up in a green flame that burned like any raging inferno. They are all looked upon with varying ranges of emotions. Amongst them, Solemn Vow watched the burning from a distance.

“Until we meet again...” he muttered to the burning corpse whilst skimming through some papers.

The burning having lasted as long as it only needed to, the finer details were unimportant, what was important was what it entailed for the rest of the world, the advent of something different. With the Twilight setting in and the night proper starting soon, the day’s sunset having long since passed, there something loomed over in the sky, for tomorrow would bring a new dawn, one that will rise and bring over a new horizon, leaving the old one to the annals of history...

Anything and everything left unfinished will remain unfinished, never to be finished.

And the numbered days had begun...

For this is the start of a New Era.

Author's Note:

I am so fucking happy that I got this finished.

This took way longer than what was necessary, but it was worth the effort given, and although it ain't as big as its sequel , it did lay the foundation for its, plus this holds a special place in my heart as a writer.

So thank you all for taking the time to read it, I do you you enjoyed it, and I'd get back to you lads real soon!

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

The cover art is by the same friend

The same friend as what?

[Im a B O X]

11292096
An old personal friend, I guess? We went to the same school and the cover art was a personal favor, they said they didn't want it to be sourced to them (dunno why tho).