Flash's life
It was another beautiful day in Equestria and excitement was in the air. There were many reasons for this excitement, one of which being the recent wedding of Big Mac and his new wife, Sugar Belle. The events leading up to this wedding was certainly an interesting set of situations, involving living apples and many other insane circumstances. But in the end, the wedding went off without a hitch and the new married couple had gone off on their honeymoon.
Another reason to be excited was the upcoming coronation of Twilight Sparkle, as Equestria's newest ruler. Many expected Twilight to be freaking out, but the mare had managed to keep her nerves under control despite all the insanity that was going into her upcoming crowning. With all the preparations going smoothly, the mare was able to kick back and relax. And this was something Celestia had suggested she do up until the crowning. After all, it would likely be a good while before she got to have any real time off once she was made ruler of Equestria.
And that was exactly what Twilight was doing, the mare laying in her library, enjoying a good book. Spike was also there, enjoying his own comic as they sat in a peaceful silence. "This is great," Twilight commented, "I hope I get to do this at least once a month once the ceremony is over."
"I'm sure Flash can take over for you whenever you need a break," Spike assured her, "Where is Flash anyway?"
"Well, he was on patrol duty, but I think that should have ended already. Probably heading home now or he might have run into something that needed his attention." Spike nodded and the pair went back to their reading, enjoying the little recharge time they had.
Outside, Flash was still on patrol. The pegasus was flying around town, though he wasn't really paying attention to anything that was happening around him. No, he was too busy thinking about his most recent adventure, Armalum's words flowing through his mind.
"When your apprentice killed my master, his hatred became infused with the Corrupted Shadow he was holding. And when he was destroyed, that Corrupted Shadow's power merged with me. Now I no longer need a host, so long as I have the hatred within me directed straight at you."
And then there was Shroudheart's warning.
"Beat me and you will be forced to face the one who hates you the most. And that hatred will fuel them into becoming the greatest threat this world will ever see...and in order to defeat him, you will have to give up everything that's precious to you. You'll give everything up to save this world and make your friends feel despair like they've never felt before."
He hadn't been lying. Armalum did appear. How it was connected to Shroudheart, Flash had no idea. But he was here, and if Shroudheart was right, taking him down would require Flash to give up everything. His life, his future, everything.
Of course, this revelation had thrown Flash for a bit of a loop. It almost felt like he had a ticking clock attached to him and the second it hit zero, he would find himself fighting against Armalum and losing his life. He half expected the grim reaper to suddenly shoot out of nowhere and take him to the afterlife. Flash sighed as he continued flying, only for something to fly right past him.
"WHOA!" He almost crashed into a building until regaining control, the pegasus looking up and seeing Rainbow and Soarin flying by. They were either having a race or playing some kind of game, the laughter they were unleashing clear evidence they were having fun at least. Though annoyed about almost being run over, Flash couldn't fault them for doing something that made them happy. Flying with one another was just how the pair showed their affection with one another.
Flash then heard more laughter and looked down, seeing he had flown over the park and saw Fluttershy and Iron along with Angel. The trio were having a picnic with one another, Fluttershy laughing at something Iron had said as he fed Angel part of a carrot. Flash smirked at this, knowing Iron would have never let himself be seen in such a situation before he and Fluttershy got together.
Not wanting to intrude, he flew away and continued to fly over the park until he arrived at another area of it. When he did this, he heard more laughter and looked down to see a bunch of school ponies. They were all gathered up and watching something: A puppet show. The one running the puppet show was Wild Smile, the unicorn entertaining the colts and fillies. As he did this, Pinkie was walking around with snacks for them to enjoy as the show went on. On the few occasions Pinkie went behind the stage, she and Wild smirked at one another. They were doing what they loved, bringing joy to others.
Flash flew away again, thinking about the three couples he had just seen. Flash was happy for them, especially that they had all found one another and were happily married. He was also happy for all the other ponies whose weddings he had gotten to attend.
That alone made him think about her. Flash and Twilight had been dating longer than Mac and Sugarbelle, but somehow the nervous farm pony had gotten up the guts to propose before him.
But Flash knew why he hadn't done it. With all the insane things that had been happening lately, the thought of marriage hadn't occurred to Flash, and Twilight was way too busy getting ready to become Equestria's new ruler. Put wedding planning on top of that and she would have a meltdown...and there was Armalum.
Flash sighed at this as he found a nice cloud to sit on, laying down on it. As he did this, he couldn't help but imagine Twilight in a beautiful wedding dress. Her walking down the aisle towards him, the pair vowing to one another to always be there for each other. Pure beauty and happiness rolled into one.
It was something Flash so desperately wanted.
"I can't," he whispered, "If only...I could have more time." Had Armalum not been an issue, he would have asked Twilight to marry him the moment she was coronated. But now, how could he let her think they were going to spend the rest of their lives together? Flash didn't even know if he was going to live another week or not.
"Flash?"
The pegasus continued to imagine the kind of life he could have if he wasn't destined to fall at Armalum's hooves. Getting married, having a family, training Heart and who knows how many other Royal Guards to help protect Equestria.
"Flash?"
It wasn't fair. He had already done so much. Didn't he deserve to have the life he wanted?
"FLASH!" A rock went right through the cloud, the pegasi yelping before rolling over, accidently going over the edge of the cloud.
"WHOA!" He barely managed to grab onto the edge, the pegasus then looking down and seeing Grand staring up at him.
"About time," Grand yelled, "I've been trying to get your attention for a while." Flash frowned and spread his wings, letting himself drop down slowly toward his mentor. "What's up with you? Not every day I see you daydreaming when you should be on patrol."
"I'm fine," Flash replied as he landed and dusted himself with his wings.
"Flash..." Grand gave him a slight glare, "I know you. And I know when something's on your mind. So spill it." Flash frowned before Grand turned away from him. "Come on, let's go get comfortable. You look like you could use a drink."
The defender blinked at him, only to sigh as he began to follow his mentor. "Maybe...maybe I should tell him." he whispered to himself as they continued into town.
Far, far away from Equestria...
Armalum was walking through a dense forest, using his Corrupted Shadow to cut through the trees. "I know you're close. I'm going to find you." He whispered, "Where are you?"
But as he said this, he came to a stop as a rustling sound filled the air. Slowly, a cloud of shadow appeared before him and elongated. Once it was long enough, the clouds faded and revealed his sword. He kept it low, his eyes darting around, only for a creature to leap out of the bushes and revealed themselves to be a large chimera.
The tiger, goat, snake combo monster had its claws ready to tear him to pieces. But Armalum didn't even look its way as the Corrupted Shadow exploded out of his back and transformed into claws. The claws grabbed hold of the beast, its talons inches away from slashing at him. The living armor then rose his sword and the weapon swung around so fast, it was almost like it hadn't moved at all.
Slowly, the chimera's roars, bars and hisses ceased. Moments later, pieces of the creature began to fall off of the rest and Armalum dispelled the shadow claws to allow them to fall in a pile on the ground. The poor creature didn't know what had hit it, Armalum dispelling the sword and continuing on his way.
And after a few more minutes of trekking through the woods, he came to the edge, only to see a large wasteland. The ground was solid rock and showed nothing but boulders. This wasteland went on and on for about a mile before a large mountain could be seen in the distance. And it was this mountain that Armalum could feel was the spot he had been searching for. "Soon. Very soon."
Back in Ponyville...
Grand had taken Flash to one of his favorite cafes, and as they sat down, Grand ordered them both a drink as Flash just sat there, staring down at the table. "Alright kid. Now what's got you all glassy-eyed?" Flash didn't say anything, making Grand sigh, "It's either tell me, or I tell Twilight something's up and she badgers you until you give in and tell everypony." Flash glanced up at him, Grand smirking as he added, "Come on. If something's wrong, then we can help. But we can't if you don't tell us what it is."
Flash nodded and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before saying, "I'm going to die."
Grand raised an eyebrow at that before smiling, "Well, so am I, someday."
"Don't you dare," Flash growled back at him, only to see the smile, the pair laughing for a moment a second later. The waiter took this moment to bring them their drinks, Grand waiting until he was out of earshot before giving Flash a serious glare.
"Flash, what is this all about?"
Flash took another deep breath. "I'm going to die, and it might be soon." Grand crossed his hooves at this, "You remember Shroudheart?"
"The psychopathic version of you from another timeline, who somehow returned, destroyed the Elements of Harmony, turned everyone in Ponyville and Canterlot into his slaves and almost killed you and the girls? I remember."
Flash nodded back, "When we were fighting, he told me something. That if we defeated him, it would bring about an even greater threat. One that I would have to lose everything in order to beat."
"And you believe him?" Grand asked, "He's nuts. He was probably saying that to throw you off your game."
"No," Flash shook his head, "He wasn't lying. I could tell. He was telling the truth. And I know who the new threat is." Grand raised an eyebrow at this, "Armalum." Grand sighed, remembering what Flash had told him about his recent friendship mission. "Shroudheart said that the enemy would be the one who hates me more than anypony else. Armalum said he was fueled by the hatred others had for me. He's literally made of hatred for me, so of course he's the one who hates me most."
"That's just a coincidence," Grand waved his hoof, "It doesn't mean you're going to die." But as he did this, he saw the dark look on Flash's face, "There's more, isn't there?"
Flash nodded again, "Do you remember when I told you about how Heart's future self showed up?"
"Yeah. And?"
"Well...I didn't tell you everything that happened. More specifically, I didn't tell you everything that Heart told me about the future."
"You let him tell you about the future?" Grand asked. "You know what that could do."
Flash took a sip of his drink. "I didn't want to learn about it, but it just kind of happened. Heart and I...we had trouble working together."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," Flash felt the words stumble inside his brain, "Well, I mean that he didn't know how to fight by my side. At all."
That made Grand lean back, thinking about how much he had recently seen Flash train Heart personally. "He...didn't?"
"Yeah." Flash bit his lip at this, "And...well, I found out that the pair of us hadn't fought together in a long time for him. And it wasn't by choice." Grand's eyes went wide as his brain started to catch up, "I'm dead in the future Heart came from."
"How?"
"That I didn't let him tell me." Flash took another sip at this, "But Heart didn't deny it. I'm not in the future, and from everything that I've seen since then, Heart's still on track to be the knight that goes back in time and tells me. The future him had the scar Heart got on his hoof and he's starting to gain a lot of skill with the different weapons I've been training him in, so it's likely his Celestic Gear will still be the Flamemaker weapon he was wielding."
"Maybe," Grand nodded, "But..." Again, Flash's face another hint of darkness, making him sigh, "Oh for Celestia's sake. How much more have you been keeping secret?"
"When I was in Aurarora, I met with a jakhowl that could show me the future. When I saw the future, I saw..."
"You saw...?" Grand watched Flash glance around, grimacing at the memory what he had seen. And once he was sure nopony was listening, he leaned in close and whispered.
"I saw Ponyville was destroyed."
"WHAT?!" Everypony around them turned to the pair, Grand giving off a nervous laugh and waving. Once they looked away, Grand glanced back at Flash and hissed, "What do you mean Ponyville was destroyed?!"
"I saw Ponyville in ruins. Every house and building was destroyed, even the school and the castle."
Grand grimaced at this, "And you're sure?" Flash did a slow nod back, making Grand sigh, "We can't let that happen. I don't care about what you know about the future, I am not letting Ponyville be destroyed."
"I don't want Ponyville to be destroyed either," Flash replied, "But that could be the least of our worries. If Armalum really is the one that destroyed the town, it means his powers might far more than Shadow's. When I last faced him, Armalum was able to create a force field I couldn't break through on my own. Even when I used my Sacred Light, it took forever the destroy it."
"He was able to withstand the Sacred Light?"
Flash nodded, "If Armalum attacks, I'm not sure what will be able to stop him. We were able to summon the power of the Elements inside of us to take down Shroudheart, but there's no guarantee that'll work a second time. There's also a chance it won't be enough to beat Armalum now."
Grand crossed his hooves at this, "So what are we gonna do?"
Flash sighed and leaned back, "According to Shoudheart, I manage to find a way to beat him. But doing so will cost me everything. It's clear what has to happen. In order for us to stop Armalum...I'll have to sacrifice myself."
Grand's eyes narrowed at this, "Flash...think about what you're saying. I understand that risking our lives to keep Equestria safe is a Royal Knight's duty, but there's a difference between sacrificing yourself when there's no other option and deciding to let yourself die before even attempting any other method."
"I know that," Flash nodded, "And I don't intend to just throw myself at Armalum, expecting to die. When I face him again, I'm gonna hit him hard and do whatever it takes to stop him. But...but whatever it takes might be losing my own life in the process. I wanna be ready for that."
His mentor just glared at him at this, only to take a deep breath, "I see. And are you planning on telling Twilight and the others about this?"
Flash shook his head, "You know how Twilight is. If I told her all this, there's no way she'll take it well. She's probably lock me up to make sure I don't do anything stupid."
"You are doing something stupid," Grand countered, "But, that's who you are." Flash smiled at that, "Alright, I'll keep this info to myself. But don't think you're going up against Armalum alone. I don't care what the future says, you're coming out of that fight alive."
"Thanks Grand," Flash nodded, "But...just in case if something does happen, can I ask you a favor?" Grand slowly nodded back, "If I don't make it, I need someone to take over Heart's training. And I can't think of anypony better suited to it then you."
"I'd be honored, but don't think that means I'm gonna let you die. You're coming out of this fight alive. The entire Royal Knight squad will fight him with you if we have to. It's clear he's gonna be a hard opponent to fight."
"Yeah, no kidding." Flash responded, remembering he hadn't had the best chance to measure Armalum's power during their last encounter, but he did know the living armor was strong. He said it was hatred that he needed, and though he had little success with the former cultists, the Crystal Pen was another thing altogether. The very thought made Flash think: How many villains had he gained the hate of over the years? How many more sources of power were out there for Armalum to feed on?
That thought alone had deep dark consequences.
Armalum was now walking across the rocky wasteland, soon climbing up a mountain. He used his shadow form to scale it, flying higher and higher until he reached the top. It wasn't a large mount, making it easy for him to reach the peak. And when he rematerialized on the tip, he looked down to see what he had been searching for.
"The Lost City."
Down at the base of the mountain was the Lost City of Faust, transported there after the war. Most ponies wouldn't be able to see it, only seeing a plot of land with several swamps and bogs. But with Armalum's eyes, he could see through the illusional dome surrounding it and saw the whole city. The place was a connecting point to the one who called herself Faust, the creator of all things. And it was here that Armalum would find what he was searching for.
The living armor summoned his wings and wrapped them around himself before leaping, flying down the side of the mountain until he reached the forcefield hiding the city. And as expected, he found himself slamming and bouncing off it.
"Think you can keep me out?" He swung his head, the horn sparking in energy as he fired into the force field, causing the magic to fluctuate and open up a small hole. "There we go." It grew larger and larger until it was large enough to fly through, the armored one quickly getting insde.
"Alright Faust," he chuckled, "Where are you?" The city was just as it had been the last time he had been there, though the missing castles were a little off putting. He walked along a street next to one of the rivers flowing through it, leading to a large water reservoir.
Memories poured through, all the battles, both victorious and failures. Armalum was mostly reminded of his fights with Ruby Scarlet and the issues he had faced with his former host. But those days were behind him. He was free of the need for a host, now able to move on his own so long as he kept his hatred for Flash Sentry burning bright.
This city had been where everything went wrong. Where they had been trapped and forced to fight for Faust's pleasure. Where his master had lost everything. His power, his name, and very nearly his life. All because Faust had chosen Sentry over him.
"She'll come to regret that," he stated as he reached the very center of the city. "FAUST! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE! I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME! SHOW YOURSELF, YOU COWARD! IT'S TIME YOU ANSWERED FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY MASTER! WHAT YOU DID TO HIS SERVANTS!" With that, he started launching blast of dark magic toward the building. The single shot was all he needed to turn them to dust. "I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU SHOW YOURSELF! NOW ANSWER ME!"
"Enough." The voice echoed in his mind as the ground beneath his feet began to glow. The next thing Armalum knew, the floor completely vanished and he began to fall into a pit of light. He summoned his wings and tried to fly back to the exit, but it quickly vanished, forcing him to fly down.
"Now we're getting somewhere!" He commented as he went down, soon seeing a bright light before reaching a chamber, the armored pony now spotting a ball of energy in the center. "There you are."
"Armalum!" A voice called out from the light, "You attack my city?! Clearly you are not as smart as you think you are."
"I'm smart enough," Armalum replied, "Smart enough to find your precious city. And now that I'm here, it's time to take what you should have given my master."
"Your master got what he deserved. He lost and like a child, he tried to take what he had not earned. You would do well to follow the example of your former teammates and put his influence behind you. Move on with your life."
"I will not and cannot move on with my life. This is my life. Taking revenge on the ones that wronged my master. I had hoped to go after Sentry first, but you will be the one to taste my wrath first."
"Do you honestly think you can harm me?" Faust responded, "You truly are a fool."
"You're right," Armalum nodded, "Battling the being that helped create the universe would be foolish, if you were at your full power." Faust said nothing in response to this. "That's right, I know you're not at peak performance. Haven't been since Cozy Glow almost destroyed you. Near death experiences have a tendency to weaken those that went through them. And even now, you're not back to full power. If you had, your force field would have easily repelled me."
"Hmmm," Faust replied, "Maybe you're not as stupid as you made yourself look like. But even in my weakened state, you still have no chance against me."
"We'll see about that," Armalum smirked before diving down, firing magic at the ball of light, but shields started appearing around it, blocking every blast. She launched several beams of her own, Armalum dodging them as he tried to counterattack. As this was happening, the ball of light began to flux and slowly change shape, morphing into a tall pony-like figure with wings and a horn. If Armalum didn't know who it was, he would have assumed it was Celestia given the shape.
"Cute. Deciding to fight me in that form."
"Why not? It's clearly the superior species. Such a shame the Corrupted Shadow's descendants were all failures" She spread her wings and started firing magic from her horn, Armalum countering it with his own. The pair circled around the chamber, trading lasers with one another that did nothing against the other.
Armalum eventually stopped firing and spread his wings, the shadows breaking off of them and forming a bunch of arrows. With a beat of his wings, they were sent flying toward Faust. But the energy alicorn spread her own wings, the light coming off of them forming her own set of arrows. She sent them flying and they managed to hit each of Armalum's arrows, cancelling them out while Armalum summoned a cloud of shadows in his hoof. He swung the cloud around and it straightened out before fading away, revealing his sword. He charged at Faust, who launched lasers back, but Armalum slashed through them all before swiping at her, only for the sword to shatter on another forcefield.
This allowed Faust to fly back before bringing her hooves together as a beam of light extended out from it. An energy sword came out next, the being swinging it in hoof before slashing at Armalum, the armored one blocking it with his own blade as the pair began to duel. Clash after clash followed this, the pair blocking and dodging for several minutes. Neither seemed to have the advantage, eventually locking blades and pushing against one another as Armalum let out a low cackle, "Your powers are weak, old mare."
"You can't win," she hissed back, "Strike me down and not only will you lose everything, but so will everypony else."
"Oh?"
"You can't be that stupid. My death at the hands of that filly would have brought about the end of all things in Equestria. You must realize if you do the same thing, it will only result in the same destruction." The pair then pushed away from one another, "Tell me, would you send the world into chaos just to settle a personal vendetta?!" But as those words left her mouth, Armalum began to laugh, "What?! What's so funny?!"
"I have no intention of letting the world fall apart," Armalum replied as he waved his hoof, "I know your death will result in the end of all things. But it won't happen right away." Faust tilted her head at this, "How long do you think the universe can last, without you there to keep it running properly? A month? Maybe two? Long enough for me to exact my revenge."
"Then what?!" Faust yelled, "Without me, this world will collapse! You say you have no intention of letting it do that, yet you still intend to end me?! How can you plan to kill me and keep the world running?"
"It's like I said, your end will not instantly result in the world's destruction. And when the time comes that the world absolutely needs a ruler, I am more than happy enough to take over that position." Faust's eyes, if she had any, would have gone wide in that moment.
"You're mad."
"No, just ambitious. It's a trait I inherited from my master. For centuries, I have had to follow the orders of others. Forced to inhabit other beings in order to survive and following the commands of those that could take away my ability to live amongst the world. Even now, I'm forced to follow the desires of those I feed off. To kill Flash Sentry, once and for all. When that achievement is accomplished, I will have nothing driving me. Nothing to fuel my continued existence in this world."
"So you intend to ascend from this world and become its new ruler?"
"Exactly," Armalum slashed at her at this, the other barely blocking the attack, "Everyone wants to rule the world, and I have the ability to accomplish it. I will remake this world to be a better place, where nothing and nopony will oppose me. The type of world you could never dream of creating." He pushed Faust back and fired a beam of light at her, Faust dodging it and flying up into the tunnel leading out of the chamber. Armalum's wings flared at this, quickly zipping up and thrusting his wing claw. He grabbed her leg, but she quickly blasted it with her horn as they approached the exit. Faust then spun towards Armalum and slashed at him, but his horn sparked, creating a shield of darkness, instantly blocking the blow.
"You really think you can create a better world?" She asked, "What makes you think you know what a better world is?"
"Can't be any worse than you did," he laughed. "You let a pair of opposites make things that were the complete opposite of each other. What did you think would happen?" The shield vanished as he slashed at her again, "This world's entire existence has been nothing but conflict. One thing tries to destroy another thing, resulting in a battle that destroys more things around it. You really think a world like that deserves to be saved?" The pair pushed away from one another, both spreading their wings as they pointed their weapons at each other.
"This world isn't perfect," she responded, "But perfection isn't real. If it were, I wouldn't even exist and neither would you. My birth was a result of universal error. Something doing something imperfect and causing a chain reaction that resulted in me. I knew this and knew perfection was impossible. That's something I taught the Sacred Light and Corrupted Shadow, which they understood and accepted. They didn't try to make the perfect world. Just the best world they can imagine. And now you're trying to undo it. I won't let that happen!"
"And how are you gonna stop me?" Armalum fired a blast of magic, Faust dodging it as the laser hit the ceiling and exploded. The pair then flew out of the tunnel and continued shooting at one another, Armalum soon getting a hit on her wings. She cried out as she fell down, crashing and rolling through the streets of the city until she reached one of the lakes. She groaned and picked herself up as Armalum flew down.
As he did, he slammed his hooves together and a spark appeared. That spark created a fireball, which Armalum began to expand until it was almost as big as him. He then thrust it forward, the fire exploding into a flaming coil with a serpent head on the end of it. The snake flew down and hit the ground, igniting any piece of plant life around it as it slithered toward Faust.
She saw this and quickly spread her wings as the water behind her glowed. Within seconds, the water turned into a massive wave, crashing down over her and flooding the streets as the serpent was struck, hissing as it turned into vapor. As this happened, Faust slammed her hoof into the water. When she did this, the whole thing froze and spikes of ice started growing out the top. She then slammed her other hoof into it and the ice exploded, sending the spikes flying toward Armalum.
"Impressive." Armalum commented as he spread his wings before wrapping them around his body, morphing into a shadow form that the spikes flew through. He then shot down at Faust, as she leapt into the air. She spun around as light flowed off her wings, spiraling around her to form a tornado that the shadow cloud was thrown away from. The shadow hit the ground before reshaping into another tornado, the two vortexes moving toward one another and crashing into each other. The impacts caused them to bounce off each other, but they kept forming themselves to collide again and again.
Eventually, the light tornado curved at the base and began to wrap itself around the shadow tornado. Eventually, it was coiled around its opponent from top to bottom and started constructing, causing the shadow tornado to be crushed within it, eventually exploding to reveal Armalum as he cried out. The light tornado reformed as he slowly fell, only for a pair of giant light wings to explode out of it. And slowly, it faded away to reveal Faust had grown to the size of Flash's Avatar.
She stared down at Armalum, her wings morphing into claws similar to his wing claws. They swung around and smashed into Armalum, crushing him between them as he roared. The heat of the light was like a furnace, Faust staring down at him. Despite not really having a face, he knew she was glaring at him.
"Let me go!" He roared, "Or suffer the consequences!"
Faust scoffed at this, "Clearly, when you absorbed your master's hatred, you also absorbed his foolish ego! You see yourself as some kind of divine being, who must be obeyed simply because you are powerful. But it's time you understand what you are: Nothing."
"You dare!"
"OH, I DARE!" Armalum flinched at this as Faust's wing claws began to spread around him. He felt something forming around him. Some kind of crystal. "You are tiny! You were nothing but a nuisance when you were under Shadow's command and now, you dare think you can be something more than what you truly are."
Armalum groaned as the crystal encased more and more of his body. "And what am I? If you hate me so much, why let me be created?"
"You were the creation of the Umbrum. A weapon to be used to conquer the world. That's all you were at the start. A weapon meant to control and manipulate. But then some of you gained sentience and showed you could be more. I hoped you would grow into a species worth allowing to live. But instead of evolving, all you did was take and leave nothing behind. It was clear what you were then."
"And what's that?"
"The same thing you were under Shadow's command. The same thing you are now. A parasite. Nothing...but a parasite." Only Armalum's head was left uncrystallized. "A parasite that now wishes to destroy everything just because he thinks he can do it better. Well, I won't allow that. I will seal you away and keep you close. You will sleep. Sleep for all eternity if I must. But I doubt that will be needed. After all, you said Flash's death is what fuels you."
"So you're just gonna keep me sealed away until Flash Sentry dies?"
"That's right. After a long and happy life, he'll die, and so will all the hatred for him that fuels you. After that, you'll have nothing and I can safely release you back into the world. No power, no drive, nothing." Armalum's head began to crystalize and eventually, he was almost entirely encased.
"There's just one mistake with that plan." Faust tilted her head, "Thinking my hatred could be so easily sealed away." With that, he was completely trapped inside the crystal and Faust could feel nothing coming off of him. She sighed and looked away, her eyes now seeing that the damage done to the city had been minimal. Letting out a sigh, her power began to repair the city, the being already ready to return to her chamber, where she would hide Armalum away for the next hundred years or so. But as she did that, she suddenly felt the crystal begin to vibrate.
"What?" The crystal shook more and more, only to now feel a power begin to radiate off of it. "NO!" A giant crack appeared on the gem, and before she could do anything, it was already too late.
A wave of dark energy exploded out of the gem, knocking Faust back as Armalum was freed. The living armor's wings were spread wide, creating large clouds around him. The clouds began to reshape themselves, as the faces of all the beings Armalum had drained of their hatred and life force appeared within them. Faust could only watch in shock, as Armalum's horn glowed brighter and brighter, and as the heads flowed out of the clouds and into his horn, he unleashed a massive blast of power. It struck Faust so fast, she had no chance to counter and screamed as she was blasted into the ground so hard that the entire city shook.
She kept screaming as the blast pinned her large body to the earth while Armalum's wings spread out again and grew larger. Once they were big enough, so big they practically eclipsed the sun, he brought them down and formed massive bowls with them. The hit the ground and dragged along it, until they eventually encased Faust within them.
He stopped his laser and Faust remained trapped, the energy being trying to unleash her power with little effect. And slowly, the dark cage around her began to shrink. "NOOOOO!" She screamed, only for her to start shrinking as well. Eventually, she was restored to her original size as Armalum created a small opening for her to stick her head through.
"Now I've got you," he smirked as her head appeared out of the hole. "Now you understand just how powerful my hatred is. Powerful enough to defeat a god like you. Powerful enough to replace you."
Faust cried out as she break free of Armalum's grip, the energy being unable to do anything. "Let...me...go."
"Oh no," Armalum laughed, "This is the end of you. Prepare to meet your doom!" As he said this, his horn sparked and began to build up power. Then, that energy started moving towards his hoof. And as Faust saw this, she closed her 'eyes' and began to call out to the one she knew could help. To call out Flash...but it was too late again. For Armalum slammed his hoof into her chest with a loud cackle.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her screams shook the land around her as the dark energy started corrupting her very being. Armalum continued to laugh at this as he kept pushing his hoof further into her. The dark energy coming off his hoof slowly started darking the energy that made up her form. He could feel her fighting against him, but it was no use.
"Don't you understand?! This is a battle of wills! I'll admit, your will is strong. Living all that time and not going mad would take a lot. But my will is stronger!"
"No!" she cried as more and more of her body darkened. "You can't do this!"
"Yes, I can. But like I said, I'm not going to let this world fall apart. Once you're gone and I deal with Sentry, I'll take over and become its new god. And I will reshape this world the way it should be. The way Master Shadow wanted it to be. None of this Friendship is Magic garbage. The only thing that will matter in this world will be power. Power you take and use solely for yourself. That is the perfect world he searched for. And it is that world that I will create in his place."
Faust glared at him, as almost all of her body was corrupted. But then, she chuckled. Had she had a mouth, she would have been smiling. "You are a fool."
Armalum would have frowned, if he had a mouth. "What?"
"You might destroy me and take my power, but you will never defeat Flash and his friends." Armalum let out a snarl at this, "I've lived a long time and I've seen many amazing sights in that time. And one of my favorite things to see is a hero rising up against great odds and vanquishing evil. And I've got to see that a lot, considering how many evils have risen and fallen to good. And do you know why?"
Armalum let out a demonic hiss, "Enlighten me."
"Because the kind of power you believe in, is the weakest power there is. Power used for one's own sake will always pale in comparison to power used for the sake of others. That's why villains like you never win. Because the power you use is nothing compared to the power used by those like Flash and his friends. The power the seek to protect others."
"Don't make me laugh," almost all of Faust's body had been absorbed at this. "Are you trying to tell me that even after I absorb your power, Flash Sentry will still defeat me?! That's impossible!"
"Maybe," Faust nodded, "But there's a word that is given to those who can accomplish anything, no matter how impossible it might seem." The pair stared into each other's 'eyes', as all but Faust's face was darkened. "They're called heroes."
Armalum growled as Faust was completed consumed and let out a mighty roar as he crushed her physical form into nothingness and absorbed all the power that made up the god. "Then I will make sure things such as heroes become a long forgotten memory."
The magic flowed into him and he roared as he felt the power within him surge. He roared as he felt his magic being super charged, the Corrupted Shadow within him growing stronger and stronger by the second. Had he been his former self, his armor would have exploded from all the power he had accumulated. But he wasn't the same as he was before. This power was nothing compared to his hatred.
But even so, the power was going to be something new to control. As such, the energy began to spark around him and form a sphere of dark light. With every passing second, the orb grew more and more erratic until eventually, the energy could no longer be contained.
"ROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!" The orb exploded and completely engulfed the city around him, the building being struck by the shockwave and shattering into dust. And then the dust was reduced to atoms and the atoms were reduced to nothing. The entire city was obliterated in a single second and when the light from the explosion subsided, a crater was all that was left.
Above the crater, Armalum was flying above it. But something was different about him. His armor had changed. In a way, he looked similar to Flash's Shining Guardian form. His chest and legs were covered in similar armor, with red gems on the chest and knees. His helmet was similar to Flash's, with the stacked triangle horn sticking out of his head. Only this horn was curved and bright red, just like an umbrum. His tail was the same and on his back were a pair of robotic wings, just like the ones Flash used. They opened up and unleashed the Corrupted Shadow, acting as booster rockets for the armored monster.
Armalum looked himself over, the power he had had trouble adjusting to now completely under his control. And what a power it was. He laughed as he felt new strength flowing through him. "Flash Sentry. Your time is up."
The sun was beginning to set as Flash leaned against the castle balcony. He looked up at the bright red night as an uneasy feeling was settling in him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like something really really bad had just happened.
His talk with Grand had helped calm his nerves a bit, but he was still feeling uneasy about what was to come. After all, his end could be closer then he thought. And though he was still willing to accept that if it came down to it, he couldn't help but remember what Future Heart had told him.
"Twilight...she wasn't the same afterwards. She...it took her a long time to get over what happened, and even then she could never really move on. Everypony else started to get on with their lives, knowing you wouldn't want us to waste them mourning you."
"But it still hurt. For the longest time, nopony could even say your name without everypony getting depressed. It was really hard."
Flash let out a long sigh, his mind imagining the pain all his friends were going to be put through if he ended up dying against Armalum. He had always known he could one day cause his friends pain because of who and what he was. But knowing that an almost guaranteed chance of that happening awaited him made the pain of it all sting so much more.
"You okay?" Flash spun around at the voice, now seeing Twilight standing there. She tilted her head at this before walking out onto the balcony as well. "You've been acting kind of out of it for a while now. Is something wrong?"
Flash opened his mouth, only to slowly close it. His mind went over everything he should say, wanted to say, but he knew better. As such, he glanced back at Ponyville before softly saying, "I was uh...I was just thinking about Armalum."
Twilight nodded at this, "I can't believe he's back. Who knows what he's up to right now." She smiled and winked at him, "But you don't have to worry. We're gonna beat him just like we beat all the other villains."
"I know," Flash replied, "Just worried what it might cost us, that's all." Twilight blinked at him at this, "Us getting this far is because we all stuck together and shared our strengths. But after everything we've been through, it's a miracle we didn't lose anypony we care about. You can't say we didn't almost lose somepony a few times." Twilight did a slow nod at this, "I just...I don't know. Guess I'm worried our luck's gonna run out one day. No matter how good we are, we can't expect a perfect outcome every time."
"I know you're right," Twilight responded before placing her head on his shoulder. "One day we might end up losing somepony, but that just means we have to make the most of the time we have together." Flash felt himself shiver at that, only for Twilight to add, "And even though it's impossible to keep everypony safe forever, I'm still gonna do whatever it takes to try and make that happen."
Flash smiled and rested his head on her's, "I know you will. That's just who you are. Even if perfection is an impossible pursuit, you'll always strive to make something as close to perfect as possible. I don't know where you find the strength of will to do all of that."
"It's easy," Twilight giggled, "Knowing I have you and everypony by my side, even if you're not really there, gives me the strength I need. It's the same way you were able to beat Shadow in the end, wasn't it?"
Flash nodded. "Yeah. I beat Shadow because while he was filled with nothing but hate, but I had everypony's love fueling me." He remembered what Armalum had told him that day. "Armalum is practically made of hatred. Hatred directed towards me."
"So what?" Twilight scoffed, "It doesn't matter how much hatred he has, he'll never be able to stand up to the love you have in your heart. And we both know, the love of one pony can burn away the hatred of a hundred."
Flash smiled and turned to her. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"
Twilight smirked at this, "I wonder that myself sometimes." Flash rolled his eyes. "But you know, I think it all started the day you saved my book bag from a bunch of bullies."
"Yeah. Hard to believe that one little event could set so many things into motion. You ever think about that day and how ordinary it seemed, only for it to probably be one of the most important days in our entire lives?"
Twilight giggled again, "I've been a princess for so long, sometimes I forget I wasn't born with these wings. After everything we've been through, it's almost hard to believe we started out as such simple ponies."
"Can you imagine what our younger selves would think if they saw us like this?" Twilight glanced up at him at this, "Before I was taken in by your family, I was living on the streets with no idea when I was gonna eat next. If I went back to the day before I saved you and told my younger self what was gonna happen, I don't think I'd believe it myself."
"I don't think anypony would believe it if you told them their future. Well...Rainbow would probably believe it if you told her she was a Wonderbolt." The pair laughed at that. "But some of the more insane stuff. Fluttershy gaining the power to shrink and turn into a bunny. Us getting sucked into a comic book. Spike using magic and sealing away an ancient evil. I doubt anypony would believe it if you told them they would go through insane situations like that. It sounds like stuff out of a story book."
"Guess reality can be stranger than fiction sometimes." Twilight nodded as the sun completely set.
Twilight grabbed his hoof and began to pull him away from the balcony, taking him toward their bedroom. Flash smiled at the mare, but also felt a twinge of regret. His death would hurt Twilight more then anypony and he didn't want that to happen to her. He wouldn't let that happen to her.
"The future isn't set in stone."
Twilight looked back at him in confusion, "Huh?"
Flash shook his head, "Nothing. Just...talking to myself." Twilight pulled him again as they continued down the hallway, Flash letting Grand's words sink in. 'I won't do that to her. I'm going to live and defeat Armalum. I don't care what Shroudheart and future Heart said. I'm going to live, no matter what it takes.'
Armalum might become the most powerful enemy he ever faced, but Flash would still defeat him. He had too much to live for to let a hate filled monster take it all away from him. No matter what happened, he would be sure to see his future come to pass. He would watch Heart become a knight. He would meet his friend's kids and watch them all grow up. And he would create a future with the mare he loved.
He had too much to give up his future. No matter what, Armalum would not take anything from him. That was something Flash swore to fight to make a reality. "Watch out, Armalum. Your time is coming to an end."
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The pieces are in place... let the games begin
Oh shit! Armalum took down Faust and he's even more powerful than ever! It's no doubt we are in the Endgame now.
Next 2 weeks will be Flash's greatest and yet, dangerous battle as he will fight against the final boss of the story, Armalum! But will he ultimately survives and live or Armalum succeed in ending Flash's life once and for all?!
The battle known as The Ending of the End is coming on next week! Be prepared for the greatest battle of all time!
Here's highlights
Yup, that's Shroudheart in a nutshell.
I don't know, Flash… Twilight will be more disappointed in you if she find out the truth…. Discord won't be the only one to get into the trouble with others.
Oh Hell No!
BURN!!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
OH HELL NO!!!!!!
DOUBLE BURN!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
OH HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, go tell him off, Flash! Don't let him take everything from him! Go beat his ass!
so Flash thinking of asking Twilight to marry him? took long enough kind of thought it would take Rarity and Applejack both getting married to the guys they like before he would to get him thinking it
Well the crap has officially hit the fan with Junkpile's move here, can't wait for him to crash & burn hard on the next 2 upcoming chapters!
)
At the very least I'm glad Flash finally told someone about those future warnings, still want him to come out on top against Junkpile! (especially after that nasty burn Faust gave that parasite
As for today's Highlights! :
Time to spill the beans Flash!
About damn time you told someone!
*goes offscreen to laugh loudly at Junkpile's stupidity*
That's right Junkpile, take that nasty burn with you!
Keep thinking that Deluded 2.0!
Next week can't come fast enough Banshee, till then!
Oh man, this is getting really intense now.
I knew that Armalum was getting stronger, but what he did to Faust is just terrifying. Everything that Faust said about Armalum is right though. He's not a God or some all-powerful warrior avenging Shadow and fulfilling his dream, he's a parasite and a mistake and he has nothing to live for but hating others. I hope Faust is going to be okay though. If she isn't restored or brought back to life after Armalum is beaten then the whole world is going to be destroyed.
Meanwhile, you can tell the pressure of his impending death is slowly starting to affect Flash. I've been worried about his fate ever since Future Fire Heart visited, and now that the foe he was warned about is almost ready it is scary as his judgment day is drawing near. No matter what, even if the villains are all defeated like in canon, it won't really be a victory if Flash dies, since any future without him in it won't be a happy one. I'm glad he told Grand about this, but I still feel like he is making a mistake not telling Twilight and the others, even if I understand why he isn't. I just hope they won't be too mad at him if and when he eventually comes clean with them about this and how long he's known about it.
The moment when he though about Big Mac and Sugar Belle now being married despite him and Twilight having dated way longer than them, as well as looking at the three married couples among his group of friends, especially hurts as he thinks about his potential future with Twilight and how he would ask her to marry him as soon as she is coronated if not for what will happen to him. I hope he survives so he can finally ask her properly. I'm guessing that their wedding, as well as the Rarity and Lightning's and Applejack and Rogue's would take place sometime during the time-skip.
The final battle is finally here. Armalum and the Legion of Doom. Can Flash pull off a miracle one more time?
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Well, Twilight and the others did got mad at Discord for whole Legion of Doom situation… through, they didn't threaten to turn him into stone.
At worst, I could see Twilight being a bit disappointed and hurt at Flash for keeping secrets about him dying from her… especially the couples are supposed to have each other's back… Fluttershy did got mad at Iron for lying to her during Sanctuary episode.
Whoa, It’s the penultimate chapter before the finale.
Oh gosh I’m having season 9 trailer flashback moments
Anyway highlights down below.
leaves the room and crying is heard coming from the hallway
🎇CONTINUITY!🎇
Shouldn’t it be “lying” instead of “laying”?
That would make Flash the first king/prince of Equestria, and Shining Armor does not count since he helps rule the Crystal Empire.
This gives Twilight’s line “The Clock. Is. Ticking” a much darker meaning
Oh Flash.
Really shows what he’s fighting for here.
Yeah after everything Flash has done and been through he deserves a happy ending
Oh Damn!
A nice little moment between teacher and student
You’d be surprised
You accidentally wrote “the” instead of “to”
You accidentally wrote “she’s” instead of “she’d”
Darn, he’s got a point
All for one and one for all
Shouldn’t it be “mountain” instead of “mount”?
WHAT!?
I thought it was gone forever!?
Mostly failures
You forgot “a” between “launching” and “blast”
Wait what!?
darn it Cozy Glow you psychotic little twerp 
Wow
when a literal GOD calls you stupid you know you’re an idiot 
Are you sure that’s not stupidity you inherited
Did you just make a refrence to the song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”?
It’s called “having balance” ya idiot
NINJAGO!
To Armalum:
Oooo, finally a backstory for Armalum
Oh we’re dead
Did you mean to say “buildings” instead of “building”?
YEAH NO DUH!!!
And look how much you two have grown
Hell yeah Flash!
We’re behind you one hundred…no. One hundred and TWENTY percent behind you!
Overall a really intense chapter, and no funny moments whatsoever. I can’t wait to see what the finale is like.
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Please share us your wisdom o wise one. Please tell us the future!
media.tenor.com/pJ-kOhx8dkYAAAAC/
Actually I think they’ll be more angry at Discord as it’s his fault that Flash is destined to die in the first place.
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Actually so far the girls have been getting married in the order that they became a couple with their significant other. So the order should be:
1.Rainbow Dash x Soarin
2.Pinkie Pie x Wild Smile
3.Fluttershy x Iron Core
4.Twilight Sparkle x Flash Sentry
5.Rarity x Lightning Blitz
6.Applejack x Rouge
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It would be pretty cool if Rainbow Dash actually said this over the next two chapters
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To be fair, Discord have no idea he would put Flash on that fate since not only he doesn't have future vision but he's too busy of helping Twilight out even through he ends up messing up.
Through, like I said, Twilight wouldn't be mad at Flash... she would just be disappointed at him.
Tell me, how would you feel if your lover kept a secret from you for so long only to find out the secret so late? Would you be hurt or disappointed?
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Touché
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yeah but still would have made a interesting touch if that is how it went
time of some fun tonight for our main couple
Shit shit shit !!!!!!! Armalum Killed Faust !!!!!! Armagedon is coming !!!!!! THE ULTIMATE BATTLE !!!!!!!
Who will live and who will die ?
Great chapter, well done the build up is real.
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media.tenor.com/dAfVO9qAbgYAAAAC/.gif
Okay, okay, I know this is the wrong place to discuss religion, spirituality, and related topics, but how much does this version of Equestria reflect our world, or at least, your perception of it? I don't know. It has always struck me as odd that in a lot of myths and stories, the only thing separating deities from mortals is their power, and even that power has it's limits. Furthermore, in myths and stories, both mortals and deities are fallible and possess limited knowledge, which ties into them being fallible. Could it be possible that the reality we live in is, in actuality, vastly different than the reality reflected in myths and stories? Could it be possible that our entire world is in the hands of a deity so limitlessly full of wisdom, power, and knowledge that we can't even begin to hope to comprehend even a fraction of that wisdom, power, and knowledge?
Like I said, this might have been the wrong place to write all that, but in my defense, you did write a chapter where the villain fights God and wins. Where was my mind supposed to go? Now that I'm thinking about it, where did your mind go while you were writing this?
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Actually all we know is that Faust is A god of creation but it was never said she was THE god of everything. There might be someone above her as well
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Considering that killing her will cause the death of Equestria, she seems to have powers that go beyond creation. She seems to be a sustaining deity as well.
And as long as I’m the Megaligo Power Ranger, travel or of the Omniverse, and Digidestined of Trust, I WON’T let that happen just by sitting idly by!
11675212
I had to wrestle with us a little as well, but my mind goes back to Digimon data squad. Are they practically fight the god of the digital world, Yygadrasil, who nearly destroyed almost all of reality. The God we know still holds all things together and if this is anything like the Q Continuum,, the universe and reality as they know, it would cease to exist, but not everything else. Faust is not Alpha and Omega, nor is “she” omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. She’s sort of a little bit of all of them, but weirdly enough has her own space-time limits outside of space and time.
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Which is why I think there’s someone above her
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Agreed. Whenever I do finally get my own stuff published, myself as my own character will still hold faith in scripture, even though things are a lot different than anyone realizes. My example lies with things Cap America said and what Steve Urkel said way back in the 90’s about faith.
I won’t fully delve into a lot of these things here though for respect to the author