The Ending of the End PT1
The day had finally come. Twilight Sparkle was about to become the ruler of Equestria. The day that the purple alicorn stepped up to take over for Celestia and Luna.
Everything was perfect.
But as most thought that, over the last few weeks, rumours had been going around between the earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi. They were all terrible rumours that were making the other ponies not trust those not of their own kind. And its source was the swamplands of Equestria with a unicorn pony walking toward a skull-shaped landmark. And as she walked in, her body was engulfed by flames as she revealed herself as Chrysalis.
The former changeling queen marched into the throne room, where Tirek and Cozy Glow were waiting. "Ah," Tirek chuckled, "Chrysalis. Another successful field trip, I presume?"
Chrysalis smiled as she sat down. "Spreading distrust among the unicorns and earth ponies is almost too easy. We could take down Twilight and her friends a hundred times, but as long as they have the 'love' of Equestria behind them, they'd crawl back to defeat us." She slammed her hoof on the table, "Not anymore."
Cozy nodded, "No friendship, no magic! It's so obvious when you think about it. I did my part freaking out the pegasi."
"And Grogar's long absence has given me time to prepare the next part of our plan." Tirek stood up and moved over to a torch, which he blew out, causing the torch and the wall it was connected to to come apart. Pulling it away, it revealed a hole that had the relic of Grogar within it. Taking it out, Tirek stepped over and placed the book they had gotten from Canterlot on the table. In the book, there were images of Grogar using the bell to steal a unicorn's magic and giving it to himself.
"Grogar's Bell. This artifact can steal any creature's magic. It holds that magic until it is released by this spell. Which means all the power inside is ours for the taking!" He started kissing the bell, only for Cozy to take it away from him.
"You're drooling on the Bell," she hissed.
Chrysalis was about to speak up, but another voice beat her to it. "So it seems you figured out how it works." The three jumped at this, only for a cloud of darkness to flow into the room. "Good. I was hoping you'd be ready by now." The cloud reformed and took the shape of a pony, Armalum.
The three noticed his new look and could feel even more power within him. "Someone got themselves an upgrade," Cozy commented.
"Yes," Armalum nodded. "And with it, a gift to all of you." They all raised an eyebrow at this, only to see Armalum hold up his hoof and create three balls of dark light. The orbs hit the trio, making them flinch as a sensation washed over them and they started to glow purple.
"What is this?" Chrysalis asked.
"Like I said, it's a gift. And a lifeline for me. Don't forget, I've seen how this all plays out. You guys use this plan and get defeated. But with this little added bonus, that won't happen. Plus, it'll keep me safe so you don't try something stupid like betray me." The three glared at him, only to nod, "Now then, shouldn't you start getting the power out of that thing?"
"Yes," Chrysalis replied, "Let's try the spell before Grogar gets back. I'm sick of waiting for that old goat's master plan.
Tirek nodded before holding out his hands, "Take my hands." The other two gave him a quizzical look. "So we can all be part of the spell. Unless you'd prefer I take all the magic myself?" Cozy placed her hoof in his hand, while Chrysalis raised her hoof.
"Our pact stands. What we do, we do together. Once we defeat the protectors of Equestria, we can claim this land and rule our kingdoms alone once more." The other two nodded as Armalum stepped back. He watched as Tirek used his magic to blast the bell and cause it to glow and float up. It then unleashed a swirling black and yellow vortex from the bottom, the three staring into it before a burst of light exploded out and struck the three. Armalum flinched at the bright light, but quickly recovered as he stared into it. As he did, he watched the three begin to change and grow more powerful. He could sense the magic flowing through them and while it still wasn't on his level, it would be more than enough to destroy their enemies.
A little while later, Grogar walked into the evil base. "I have returned." He announced, "Twilight Sparkle's coronation is today, and we are going to ruin it with this artifact." He held up a pink and gold piece of magical jewelry. "But to succeed, you must work together."
"Oh, way ahead of you, Grogar." The goat looked up and saw a pair of bright green eyes staring down at him. It was Chrysalis, the insect pony hanging upside down as she launched a dollop of green slime from her mouth. It hit Grogar's hooves and stuck them to the ground as the entire structure started rumbling. Tirek exploded out of the tunnel and revealed himself to be twice his normal size. Cozy then flew out of another tunnel, now having a large horn sticking out of her head. She fired a blast of magic at Grogar, a pink explosion occurring just next to him. As it did, a spiral of darkness appeared in front of him and took form.
Grogar's eyes went wide at the sight of Armalum, "You." He looked up at the others, seeing Chrysalis had also transformed to be taller, having larger wings with crystal armor on her body. Cozy then lifted something into view, Grogar gasping once again. "The Bell! You had it all this time?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"We're villains," Cozy replied. "Duh."
She, Tirek and Chrysalis unleashed a blast of magic from their horns, hitting the bell and activating it. The bell pointed itself at Grogar before unleashing a black and yellow beam, hitting him and sucking the magic right out of the old geezer. He cried out, only for his body to suddenly transform. The three gasped as they saw his fur turn from blue to brown and gray while his horns changed shape and his hooves turned into claws and feet...only to reveal a broken Discord.
The Lord of Chaos groaned as he picked himself up, turning to the four and giving them a sheepish look. "That was...unexpected," Tirek stated as Discord snapped his fingers. But this did nothing, Discord now finding himself being closed in by the four villains. As such, he quickly started to run away.
"Wait!" Cozy cried as Discord left the building. "Discord was Grogar?! Like, the whole time?!" She turned to Armalum, "Did you know about this?"
"Yes," Armalum nodded, "But I saw no reason to tell you. Who knows how things would have changed if you knew too soon. This way, everything's on track for the future we all want."
"I...guess," Cozy turned back to where Discord had been. "Should we follow him?"
Chrysalis shook her head. "Without magic, he's no threat. Besides, we have plans." The others nodded, all smiling at that statement.
Canterlot was shining that day, the entrance of the castle having been decorated perfectly for Twilight's upcoming coronation. Inside, the thrones of Celestia and Luna had been removed and replaced by one large throne for Twilight. The two alicorns smiled as they watched Twilight testing out the throne. "Doesn't she look so adorably regal up there?" Celestia asked, Luna taking out a tissue as they watched Flash step up to the throne.
"Our little Twilight, all grown up." She wiped her eye, turning to her sister. "Should we tell her that we've cleared out our royal suites so she, Flash and Spike can move in?"
"Oh, maybe wait until after the coronation." The pair spun around to leave, "Twilight doesn't need anything else to worry about today."
"So," Spike was measuring Twilight's head to make sure her crown would fit, "You freakin' out yet?"
"About what?" Twilight asked,
Spike smirked as he took her measurements. "Oh, I don't know. It's not every day the princesses that have ruled Equestria for hundreds of moons retire and pass all their responsibilities onto you and your friends."
"Oh, that." Twilight let out a tiny giggle, "Actually, I'm feeling pretty good. We've all faced so much and come out okay. I know we're up to the challenge of keeping Equestria safe and happy."
"Well, you focus on keeping it happy," Flash leaned against her throne. "I'll worry about keeping it safe."
Twilight shined a cheeky grin, "Oh? You looking forward to the new job?"
"Oh yeah," Flash smirked. "Just watch. I'll have the new guard recruits up to snuff in no time. Grand told me everything he did to make sure the guards were at the best they could be, but I'm gonna make a few tweaks so they can actually..." He glanced around for a second before whispering, "...do something in a crisis."
The other two laughed at this as Twilight turned back to Spike. "I'm ready for this. There's nothing we can't handle together. Which reminds me..." She made Spike sit down next to her and pulled out a velvet box, handing it over to Spike and gesturing for him to open it.
Spike did so and found that inside was a special medal. "Royal advisor? What's that?"
"A new position I created for you," Twilight replied, "You've been at my side for every step of this journey. Knowing I had you to count on gave me the strength I needed to grow and succeed." She lifted the medal up and put it around his neck, "I wouldn't be here without you."
This statement caused the little dragon to start tearing up, Spike quickly wiping his eyes as he and Twilight hugged. "Thanks, Twilight. You know I'll always be your right-hoof dragon." Twilight nodded back before they pulled apart and stood up.
"I was hoping you'd say that. Because now that my crown's been fitted, we have some royal errands to run!" Spike nodded and they both started flying toward the exit, Flash not following.
"I'll catch up later. Gotta go make sure the security's perfect." They nodded back before Flash walked out a side door, out of the castle and into the guard's training ground. There, Lightning and the other Royal Knights were all talking amongst themselves. With Twilight taking over as the ruler, each would need to swear fealty to her and once again vow to protect Equestria and all those that live in it. But as he approached, he saw worry on their faces.
"Hey," They all turned to him, "What's up?"
"We're not sure," Grand replied, "Something seems wrong with all the guards. Well...most of them?" Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "I asked a few guards how things were going and they answered, but I could tell they weren't happy. In fact, I'm pretty sure they were holding back some kind of disgust."
"What?" Flash asked, "Since when have the guards ever treated you with anything other than absolute respect? Who were they?"
"They're new guards. I don't recognise them, so it's clear they joined after I left. They were a pair of unicorn guards."
"I had a similar problem," Cold chimed in, "But with some pegasi guards. They clearly weren't happy about me giving them orders. But when I talked to some unicorns, they were happy to help."
Flash scratched his head at this, asking around the others and getting the same results. "Wait," Flash asked after Iron told him his situation. "The guards angry at you were all pegasi and unicorns, but the ones not angry were earth ponies?"
Iron nodded back, only for Lightning to ask, "You figure something out?"
"I'm not sure," Flash shook his head, "I'll look into it. For now, let's just focus on getting everything ready for the coronation." They all nodded and headed off in different directions, Flash frowning as he made his own way through the grounds. As he did, he spotted several guards on duty. Something he couldn't help notice was that the guards were all grouped up in teams of their own kind. Unicorns with unicorns, pegasi with pegasi and earth ponies with earth ponies. This was strange, since the guard shift was usually meant to pair different types of ponies up to allow them to have a multitude of skills.
As he continued to check everything security wise, he found the unicorn and earth pony guards were giving him just as much of the cold shoulder as the others had stated. When he gave an order, they obliged. But it wasn't a happy obligement. Only the pegasi seemed happy to take his commands.
Eventually, he turned a corner and found three guards who weren't all one type of pony. And when he saw who they were, he smirked. "Cobalt, Nimble, Rough!" The three guards turned to him and smiled, "Finally, ponies who aren't acting weird."
"I'm guessing you're talking about how everypony is sticking with their own kind," Cobalt responded, Flash nodding back at the unicorn. "Yeah...and it's not just the guards. The whole of Canterlot is acting xenophobic all of a sudden."
"Any idea what's causing it?" Flash asked, the three grimacing at this, "Come on, out with it."
Nimble stepped forward. "I've been hearing rumors that the earth ponies have been hoarding food and the unicorns have been planning to take it for themselves."
"What?!" Flash yelped, "Who told you this?!"
"Some of the pegasi guards," Nimble replied, "They saw me with these two and told me to be careful."
"I got the same warning from the earth ponies," Rough added with Cobalt nodding.
Flash shook his head, "This is a problem. I'll...talk to Twilight about it. You three keep an ear out for any more rumors. Try and figure out where they're coming from, so we can nip them right at the source." They all nodded and spread out as Flash headed over to the main courtyard.
There, he spotted Applejack unloading a barrel of apples. As she did, a unicorn guard was keeping a close eye on her. He approached to see what was happening, but Applejack saw somepony else approaching first. Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Rarity were heading their way, Applejack calling out to her. "Twilight!" She ran over to her, the guard following close behind. "There you are! You mind tellin' your friend here that I don't need an official guard wherever I go? Especially if he ain't gonna help carry apples?" She glanced back at the guard, who glared back at her while Twilight smiled at him.
"I appreciate you taking such good care of my friends, but we're fine now." The guard nodded and walked off, but continued to eye the non-unicorn ponies as he did.
"It was the strangest thing. He kept callin' me 'earth pony, like I didn't have a name. And watchin' me like he thought I'd steal the silver!" Flash's frown matched hers, his mouth opening to talk to Twilight, only for a sudden rumble to fill the air before a door flew open and a mountain of destroyed sweet treats came spilling out of it.
From out of this mountain came Pinkie Pie, who was completely covered in cupcakes and other desserts. "Do not go in that kitchen!"
The others turned to her, Rainbow commenting, "You look like you were in a sugar war."
"For some reason, the bakers are super grouchy with each other! That unicorn chef started throwing dessert at Mrs. Cake! I tried to help, but I got caught in the crossfire!" She looked at her hoof and smiled at seeing the cupcake stuck to it. "Tasty, tasty crossfire." She slurped up the cupcake as Twilight turned to Rarity.
"You sure this is just pre-coronation nerves?" Rarity bit her lip at this, only for everypony to hear a sudden groan on the ground. They glanced down, only to see Discord laying in the dirt.
"My aching metatarsals!" He was massaging his feet as Fluttershy flew over to him. "You know, you forget how convenient snap-travel is."
"Wait...did you just walk here on foot?"
That question made them all raise an eyebrow. That is, till Discord replied, "Yes, actually." He showed a sheepish smile at this, "And I have a confession to make. You see, I might have made the teeeeeniest boo-boo. All very well-intentioned and noble on my part, of course, but-"
"Get to the point, Discord." Applejack's statement made Discord huff.
"You remember that whole thing with Shroudheart?" Discord asked, everypony blinking at this, "That was slightly my fault. And by slightly, I mean..." He turned away from them, "I brought him back."
"You did?!" Rarity cried, "But why?!"
"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time." Discord rubbed the back of his neck. "Which is why I also brought back three other villains who are now on the loose and not really big fans of yours. So...my bad."
They all gasped at this, Flash glaring at him before he leapt into the air. The pegasus flew through the castle and found the other Royal Knights, bringing them all to the throne room where Twilight had brought the others and Discord. As the sun began to set, the spirit of chaos explained what had happened as everypony listened...and judged.
"Let me get this straight..." Luna growled, "You wanted to boost Twilight's confidence, so you brought back Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek to attack her?!"
"Don't forget Shroudheart," Discord added.
"And while you united these three villains," Celestia cried out, "YOU pretended to be Grogar?!"
Discord huffed as Grand continued, "And now, Armalum has joined forces with them!"
"I didn't bring him back," Discord countered, only for First to point at him.
"You brought back Shroudheart and his defeat is what allowed Armalum to return. So, by the law of transitive properties, you brought Armalum back!"
The Spirit of Chaos flinched at this as Fluttershy flew up to him with a betrayed look on her face. "Discord, how could you do this to Twilight?! And us?!" She looked ready to start crying while floating down, Applejack and Iron comforting her.
"Look at what a great job you did defeating Shroudheart. All the confidence you gained. Remember the cheering? The hoof-bumps?"
"Except it was all a lie." He looked back at Twilight, who was sitting on her new throne, the mare appearing heartbroken to discover Discord's treatory.
"A well-intentioned lie," he responded.
Applejack rolled her eyes at this, "For all the time you've spent with us, you really haven't picked up too much in the way of friendship lessons, huh?"
"You've been setting up challenges for us the whole time, haven't you?" Discord raised an eyebrow at this. "None of our successes were actually real."
"Of course they were!" He yelled.
"Yeah," Flash nodded, "So what if he orchestrated this event? We've still kicked flank that he didn't set up to kick."
"But how can we know he didn't set it all up?!" Lightning yelped, "He was conveniently absent when the Storm King attacked! And his magic was strangely nerfed when Chrysalis kidnapped everypony! How do we know he didn't put all that into motion?!"
Twilight frowned at hearing this, Discord then swearing, "I didn't."
"How can we be sure you're telling the truth?" Ruby asked, "You've lied too many times to ever have us believe you!"
"Hold on," Flash chimed in, flying up in front of the creature, "Discord can't have done everything. He was stuck in stone when Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis and Sombra. And Tirek escaped while he was in stone as well. But you're right," he turned to glare at Discord. "You have majorly screwed up this time."
"I'm sorry," Discord bowed his head. "I only wanted to help."
"And how was that supposed to help again?" Spike asked, the others nodding as Discord leaned down to explain.
"I intended to prepare Twilight for anything by orchestrating an epic attack at her coronation."
Before he could continue, Rarity rushed up and grabbed his beard, "You beastly beast!" She screamed into his face "Don't you know how much this day means to Twilight?! And me?! I made her dress!"
Lightning ran up to pull her away, "Easy girl!"
He held on as she started kicking and screaming at the draconequus. "Why wait until now for such a horrible plan?!"
"You don't take a final exam on your first day of class," Discord pointed out, "Just think. After defeating three baddies, Twilight would have to believe that she's the leader we all know she is!" He shined a big smile, only to see Celestia now glaring at him.
"You have made a grave misjudgement, Discord. Do you have anything else you'd like to tell us?!"
Discord gulped, "Would you like the good news or the bad news?"
"That wasn't the bad news?!" Luna screeched.
"Yeah. You see...I uh...well um...all my chaos magic is...gone. Trapped in Grogar's Bell."
Spike sighed, "So what's the good news?"
"Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow now have all of the real Grogar's magic." Everypony blinked at this, Rainbow and all the Royal Knights then screaming in unison.
IN WHAT WORLD IS THAT GOOD NEWS?!"
Discord shrugged at this, "Compared to me losing my powers, anything else is good news!"
"You really need to get your priorities straight," Flash groaned, "But he does kind of have a point." The others turned to him in shock. "Those three have a whole bunch of power. There's no way they're gonna be able to control it right off the bat, so that gives us time to come up with a plan. Let's-"
"FLASH SENTRY!"
They all gasped at hearing a voice now echoed out through the city. "Armalum," Flash growled as the group turned to him.
"I'M CALLING YOU OUT!" Armalum screamed, "YOU AND ALL YOUR ROYAL KNIGHT FRIENDS! I KNOW YOU CAN FIND ME, SO YOU AND YOUR ROYAL KNIGHT FRIENDS COME FACE ME IF YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN! IF YOU DON'T, I WILL MAKE EVERYTHING BURN!"
The voice continued to echo a little, only for the group to all stare at Flash as he turned to glare at a window. "What do you think he meant by you can find him?" Cold asked.
"I don't-URGH!" Flash yelled as he clutched his head, only for his mind to see himself racing out of the castle and through the city. Eventually, he found himself staring at a familiar tree with an armored figure standing in front of it.
"Flash?" Twilight rushed to his side as he blinked and the image vanished. "What's wrong?"
"He's in the park," Flash replied, "He's...he's waiting for me."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Rainbow asked, "Let's take him down!"
"No," Flash shook his head, "he's calling me out." He stood tall at this, "You girls need to focus on the other three. They're just as powerful as Armalum."
They all grimaced at this, only for Grand to chime in, "He's right. Armalum called out the Royal Knights. So, the Royal Knights will deal with him."
The knights all nodded, with even Lightning agreeing to fight as well. Flash turned to Twilight, the pair staring at one another, only to place their foreheads together, Iron and Lightning hugging their significant other as well. They all had a feeling this battle would be one of the most important ones any of them would ever fight.
Flash also knew that this was it. The moment he had been dreading. The battle that, according to Shroudheart, would take everything away from Flash. But he had swore it wouldn't come to that. He had the Royal Knights with him. Armalum wouldn't stand a chance, even if he did have the Corrupted Shadow.
"Good luck," Celestia told the protectors of Equestria. They all nodded as they gathered up, the unicorns using their magic to teleport the group away. With a flash of light, they all vanished and Celestia turned to the other princesses. "We need to come up with a plan."
"Yes," Discord nodded, "I'm afraid your little boyfriend was quite wrong about those three needing time to adjust. They plan on doing something right away. Look at what I overheard them saying!" He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. "Ugh! Just listen to my voice and use your imagination!"
Pinkie did just that, closing her eyes and imagining Tirek, Discord and Chrysalis in a cartoon version of their evil lair. "Let the fool go," Chrysalis stated, "Without magic, he's no threat. Besides, we have plans."
Armalum then spoke up. "Well, I'll be off then. Time to start my plan to finally take everything from Flash Sentry. I'll take the Royal Knights out of the picture with him and you can deal with the rest." He morphed into a shadow and flew off as the other three put the bell down on the table.
"The Lame Six are so busy being perfect," Cozy giggled, "They haven't even noticed what we've been up to. Have I mentioned how great revenge is?"
"I hope you got a name picked out for your future kingdom," Tirek laughed, "Because it's time to destroy Equestria!" They all laughed as Pinkie opened her eyes, Discord doing their evil laughs before turning to the princesses. "They're probably on their way to attack Canterlot right now!"
"Then we'll stop 'em!" Pinkie cheered.
"How?!" Twilight asked. "Stopping Shroudheart by himself was hard enough! And that was with lord-of-chaos training wheels!" She stared down at the floor at this, letting out a long sigh, "I...why does this keep happening?!"
"Twilight," Celestia stepped up next to her. "It doesn't matter if Discord set up your successes or not. We believe in you and always have."
Luna walked up as well. "Lean on your strengths to counter your weaknesses."
"My strengths?" Twilight looked up at the others, who all smiled at her while Twilight did the same. "Right!" She turned to her dragon assistant, "Spike! Send a letter to Starswirl! Tell him we need the Pillars to guard the border of Canterlot!" Spike nodded and started writing while Twilight began pacing back and forth. "If the villains are coming for a fight, we'll have one waiting for them! With Chrysalis on the loose, she'll go after Starlight! We also need to warn Cadance and Shining Armor! They're our final line of defence if we fail!" She flew into the air and looked over her friends. "The ultimate battle for the fate of Equestria is coming!"
"Aw yeah," Rainbow cracked her hooves, "I am so looking forward to this!" The others weren't as excited, only to nod as they began to get ready. And hopefully, Flash and the Royal Knights would be able to stop Armalum the return to help them defeat their foes.
In the park, Armalum stared up at a tree house that had survived a long time despite its decrepit look. He didn't know how he knew about the structure, but he knew Flash Sentry had a special place in his heart for it. The perfect place for him to lose everything. And as a bright flash occurred behind him, he spun around to see Lightning and all the Royal Knights staring him down. Flash Sentry, Grand Hoof, Iron Core, Ruby Scarlet, Skybreaker, First Aid, Heather Bloom, Cold Steel, Tidal Wave and Lightning Blitz stood in line, though with weapons raised while those that didn't charged their magic.
Armalum chuckled at the sight, "I've been looking forward to this." He summoned his sword as Flash noticed he looked different from the last time he had seen him. "Now I can finally destroy all of you without needing to hunt you down."
"You're not destroying anything," Grand replied, "When this is over, you will never threaten Equestria ever again."
Armalum let out a cackle at that, "HA! You really expect me to be scared of you?"
As he said that, First Aid leapt back and pointed his Celestic Gear, his magic beginning to fill it. "Aid Force!" Energy exploded out of it and split into nine strings, hitting each pony in front of him.
"Flash/Grand/Iron/Crystal/Sky/Bloom/Cold/Tidal/Lightning...FORCE!" The attacks went straight for Armalum, who didn't even move as the blows instantly struck him. A giant explosion came next, the force of the attack sending out a shockwave that almost pushed them all back.
And as the smoke from the explosion faded away, the ponies all went wide-eyed as they saw Armalum was completely unharmed. The gem on his chest was projecting an energy field that formed a large wall in front of him, the figure chuckling as the energy faded away. "Was that it?" He asked, "I'll admit, that attack would have hurt before I gained my new power. But now...not even a scratch."
"New power?"
"What's he talking about?" Heather added as Flash continued to look over Armalum's new form.
"Oh," the armor laughed, "Didn't I tell you? I recently had a little spar with a friend of yours, Flash Sentry. It was close, but even she could not overcome the hatred that fuels me. And to the victor went the spoils. All of her power." Flash had a feeling in the back of his neck that he wouldn't like where this was going. "How about I simply show you what I mean." With that, he unleashed a pulse of energy from every part of his body.
The pulse instantly pushed the group back, Flash, Ruby and Cold recognizing the energy, the three feeling their legs going weak as they remembered the last time they had felt something so incredible. "Faust," Flash whispered.
"That's right," Armalum laughed, "Your precious goddess is gone. And now, I possess all of her power."
"You're lying!" Ruby yellled. "There's no way you could have destroyed her!"
"Oh, but I did. And now, all of her power belongs to me." With that, he thrust his hoof and unleashed another wave of energy, this one knocking all but Flash back.
"Armorize!" Flash roared, his golden armor forming around him. He quickly activated his wing boosters, letting him push back the wave while the others hit the dirt. Armalum's horn shined at this, his magic instantly summoning a large black portal under all the knights. And before they could react, all fell through it.
"GUYS!" Flash gasped, seeing them vanish followed by the portal. He then charged at Armalum, the armor holding up his own blade and blocking Flash's sword strike. "What did you do to them?!"
Armalum chuckled, "You can relax. They're fine. But they'll find the place they've been sent to is rather...lonely." Flash hissed at him as Armalum pushed him back, firing a blast of darkness next, only for Flash to quickly spin around it and slash his blade again. The pair locked swords again at this, Armalum easily pushing Flash back before the defender flared his thrusters, flying straight up as Armalum followed, the pair now spinning around in the air.
"You won't get away with this!" Flash yelled as they locked swords again. "Twilight and the others are gonna stop your friends, and when they do, you'll regret helping them!"
"I don't think I will," Armalum chuckled, "I have Shroudheart's power within me. I know how Twilight would have won this battle. And I've taken measures against it. Your friends will lose. Just too bad you won't be around long enough to see it."
Flash growled as he charged again, his sword glowing as he approached. But Armalum simply smirked as an energy field surrounded his own sword, the living armor swinging it around and intercepting the blade. Flash felt his strike connect with something, but the sound of clanging metal didn't fill the air. He looked down and saw his sword touch the energy around the black sword, protecting it. Then, the light within his blade was sucked out of his sword.
Armalum laughed as he pushed Flash back and slashed again, Flash blocking this one, only for the light around Armalum's sword to burst at the point of contact. All the energy sucked out of Flash's strike was suddenly blasted back at him with double the force. Flash screamed as he was sent flying into the tree house, causing it and the old tree it sat upon to explode. Flash hit the dirt like a sack of bricks, a groan escaping his lips as he felt his Sacred Light fading away.
"Ha!" Armalum laughed, "I knew this would be easy! Too easy, to be honest." He fired another beam of light from his horn, hitting the spot behind Flash and creating a portal. "I think I'll have some fun with your friends before I deal with you." The portal unleashed a sucking motion and Flash suddenly found himself being drawn in.
"No!" He grunted, stabbing his sword into the ground.
"Don't bother. You can't escape. And if you wish to face me, then I suggest you get to Ponyville as fast as possible." With that, he launched a laser from the gem in his chest. It shot down and struck the ground in front of Flash, exploding and pushing the defender into the portal, Armalum laughing at the sight. And as it closed, Armalum opened another portal and flew through it, off to the location he had chosen.
Back in the castle...
All the guards were now on high alert, though they all still seemed a little upset. Twilight stood in front of her throne and looked over her small army. "We've faced enemies of Equestria before. And we've always succeeded, no matter the odds. That wouldn't be possible without all of you."
"You're welcome!" Discord replied, only for the others to glare up at him.
"Dude," Spike hissed, "Read the room."
Twilight began pacing back and forth. "So, I ask for your help again today in what is our biggest battle yet. All of Equestria is at stake, and I can't do this alone. But I'm not afraid. Because with friendship as our armor and teamwork as our power, nopony can ever bring us down!" They all smiled, glad the Princess of Friendship wasn't being overwhelmed, but-
"Oh, come on!" The doors of the throne room flew open as Cozy flew in carrying a bunch of unconscious guards in her magic. "Where'd you get that? A daily affirmations calendar? Yeesh." She dropped the guards as everypony saw what she had become.
"Cozy Glow?!" Twilight gasped, "You're-"
"About to wipe the floor with you!" The small alicorn yelled before unleashing a blast of magic. It slammed into Twilight and threw her against her throne, her friends all gasping when they saw this. "Wow! It's true! Alicorns really do have more fun!"
The guards turned to her and attacked, the unicorns firing their magic at the filly, only for her to use her own to block with her own. She then quickly picked them all up in her magic and threw them against a wall before firing a barrage of magical bullets at the other guards, the earth ponies unable to dodge and getting blasted back while the pegasi flew over the attack, only for Cozy to unleash a burst of energy from her horn that filled the entire room.
Celestia and Luna managed to put a shield around themselves and the Mane Seven, but the pegasi guards were instantly struck. This caused them to suddenly feel a hundred times heavier and they all hit the dirt, feeling their wings breaking under the pressure.
"Ha!" Cozy laughed, "Too easy! And here I was hoping for an actual challenge."
"Well, you got one!" Cozy's eyes went wide at the voice, making her spin around to see a fireball and energy beam. Both slammed into her, blasting her into a nearby wall.
"Heart!" Rainbow cheered.
"Soul!" Fluttershy gasped, "What are you two doing here?"
"What, you think I'd miss this?!" Heart exclaimed as Cozy picked herself up and glared at the pair, the two staring back at her, "Should have known you'd show up in my life again."
Soul nodded at this, "When Starlight told us about your return, we knew you'd probably come back here. So we snuck out of the school and used the Rune Gate to warp over here. Now it's time to put you down once and for all."
Cozy glared at the duo, specifically Soul, "You..."
And as this happened, Twilight stood up as the others got into a battle stance. The newly minted alicorn knew she was gonna be in for a serious fight, but she was ready.
Flash moaned as he felt himself beginning to awaken. As he did this, he felt a cold chill hit him, making him open his eyes, only to find he was in a snowscape. He picked himself up, glancing around to find no signs of life. "Where am I?" He asked, only to glance back and see something in the distance, "That's-"
He took to the sky at this, quickly racing toward something in the distance. And as it got closer, he saw it was the Crystal Empire. "How did I wind up here?" He whispered, only to remember what Armalum had said. "Get to Ponyville." His eyes went wide as he remembered the vision he had had in Aurarora. "No."
It didn't take long to get the empire, only for him to find it completely deserted. "What?" He looked around, but saw no sign of any pony. He headed up to the castle and it was just as bare. The place was a complete ghost town. "What's going on? Cadance? Shining? Flurry?"
He prayed there was a good reason for this and headed for the Rune Gate, only to find the device wouldn't activate.
"Armalum...what have you done?" He now realized there was only one way to get back to Ponyville. The long way.
At the same time, Grand was waking up and finding he was actually in Ponyville. He picked himself up and saw the other knights, minus Flash, all coming around. "What happened?" Cold asked, "How'd we end up here?"
"Where is everypony?" Another knight asked, the group now seeing the whole place was deserted. There wasn't just no ponies either, there weren't any birds in the air, squirrels in the trees or even a single bug on the ground.
"This can't be good," Iron commented as a portal opened up behind them. They all spun around, getting into a battle stance as Armalum stepped through, "What did you do to Ponyville?!"
"Nothing," Armalum chuckled. "I did nothing to this place."
"Then where is everypony?" Heather asked, "ANSWER US!"
Ruby glanced around, only to notice something was...off, other than the fact there appeared to be no life in this normally lively town. The place wasn't as vibrant as she remembered. The colors of the buildings, the trees and even the sky seemed less inspiring. It was as if somepony had looked at the colors of something and chosen a duller version of it to replace the original. And then there was the wind, or lack of it. The whole place felt like a pale imitation of the real thing.
"This isn't our world, is it?"
Armalum chuckled at that, "Impressive. You actually figured it out. Yes, you're right. This isn't your world."
"What?" Tidal yelped, "What are you talking about?"
"That portal we fell through," Ruby responded, "It somehow transported us to another world."
"Not another world," Armalum corrected, "A pocket dimension. An empty area of space time that is so close to your reality, it's allowing certain things to bleed through and effect it. Like air and the images you see around you. It won't last long however, and when it eventually collapses, you'll all be lost forever."
"So that's it?" Grand asked, "You're just going to leave us here while you deal with Flash?"
"Of course not," Armalum chuckled. "I'm no fool. If I left you here, you would simply find a way to escape. No, I brought you here to deal with you personally. And once you're out of the picture, there'll be nothing standing in my way of destroying Sentry once and for all."
"We're not gonna let that happen!" Lightning yelled as he threw one of his knives at the monster, who simply shifted his head to allow it to pass him by. But as it did, the mark on it glowed as Lightning appeared behind him. He grabbed the knife in his mouth as a ball of lightning appeared in his hooves, which he thrust at Armalum. At the same time, Skybreaker and Cold had used their own speed and teleportation to get in close. Cold formed a sword of ice while Skybreaker swung his axe at the monster, the three aiming for his neck.
But before they could get close, Armalum raised his own sword. And suddenly, from Armalum's point of view, it was like the world around him had suddenly stopped. His sword was covered with energy and with a single slash, he cut Cold's ice sword in half as the energy slammed into it. He then knocked Skybreaker's axe away and slashed him with the energy before turning to Lightning, piercing the electric sphere before spinning around and kicking him in the face.
He then returned to his original position as the world sped back up, Lightning, Cold and Skybreaker finding themselves getting knocked back, all slamming into surrounding buildings. To the others it was like Armalum had only moved an inch and the three had been sent flying. "What the heck was that?" Heather asked as the impacted houses collapsed on top of the ponies that had crashed into them.
Grand and Iron moved over to Lightning and Skybreaker, Ruby helping Cold out of the wreckage. "He's fast," the ice unicorn grunted. "Or he's slowing down time. I can't tell." Ruby frowned and quickly raised her own crystal sword before charging, Tidal and Heather doing the same as Aid raised his crossbow.
"Celeritas Aid!" He fired a trio of green arrows, which hit the three and made them as light as a feather, giving them a speed boost. But as they tried to attack, they saw Armalum was still faster, easily blocking every blow and creating energy shields whenever an elemental attack was sent in his direction.
"Iron Lance Fury!" Iron launched a barrage of metal projectiles, which Armalum easily deflected with a spin of his sword before firing a blast of magic off a gem on his leg, hitting Iron and knocking him back. The earth pony was blasted through a building, breaking out the back and crashing into the ground. Moments later, the building began to fall as well.
"Grand Impact!" Grand slammed his hammer into the ground and a bunch of rock spikes shot out, attempting to crush Armalum, only for the armored pony's wings to ignite and propel him upward, the attack missing before raising a hoof. He started swirling it around and around, a sphere of darkness appearing on the tip of it. That sphere grew larger, going from a soccer ball to the size of Armalum, then double his size and then triple. The ponies on the ground saw this and all raised their weapons defensively as Armalum flew behind the orb. And once he was, he stabbed the blade into it and it exploded into hundreds of smaller orbs.
The spheres started raining down on the battlefield, the unicorns being quick to put shields up to protect them and the others. But the lasers shattered the barriers with ease, destroying anything and everything when they did. The Royal Knights all cried out, all scattering across the battlefield.
Armalum just laughed at this. "You fools can't defeat me. I have the power of the one who created this world! Don't you get it?! I'm a GOD!"
"Hardly!" Grand growled as an explosion knocked him back, "A god wouldn't be driven by something as petty as revenge."
Armalum just cackled at this as the last of the lasers exploded and filled the battlefield with smoke. "A god can use his power however he wants. That's why he's a god." As he said that, something shot out of the smoke, an ice dragon that quickly tried to swallow him whole. But before it could even reach him, Armalum shot a tiny laser from his horn, entering the beast's mouth and instantly destroying it.
And as the ice shattered, somepony on the dragon's back leapt off it, "And you use your power so wastefully!" Tidal roared, "You should use it for others!" He unleashed a barrage of water at this, but Armalum's tail extended with the blade on the end, easily slashing the water away.
"I've done nothing but use my power for others until now!" He spat as the water was cut in two. "I think I've earned the right to use it for myself!" He then zipped right up to Tidal and slammed a hoof into his chest, knocking him flying into the dirt. Armalum then looked down into the smoke as it faded, where he found First Aid using his Celestic Gear to heal the others.
"OH, I don't think so!" Moving faster then the eye could see, he shot down and reached First before anyone could react. The next thing First knew, he was being slammed into a building and smashing right through it. His Celestic Gear fell to the ground as Armalum continued to push him through another two buildings before releasing him.
"FIRST!" Heather gasped, only for Armalum to instantly appear before her. She quickly swung her mace, but Armalum used his tail to catch it before pulling it out of her grasp. He then spun around and kicked her so hard that she would have been killed if she hadn't been an earth pony. She shot through two buildings and crashed into the ground, Armalum chuckling at the sight.
But as that happened, Ruby, Cold and Skybreaker charged at him with weapons drawn, only for Armalum to thrust his hooves into the ground, unleashing a bunch of energy spikes below them. The tips of the spikes stabbed into the trio, and before any could even feel the pain, explosions consumed them, sending them flying into more buildings.
Grand and Lightning charged next, Lightning throwing a bunch of knives first, only for Armalum to dance around them. But as this happened, Grand swung his hammer down at the armored pony, only for it to be blocked by the villain's sword before Armalum spun around and slammed his hooves into the older pony's chest, knocking him flying before thrusting his blade at Lightning, the slash about to behead the unicorn.
But as this happened, Lightning quickly teleported, the unicorn jumping from one marker to another. And as he did this, he tired to throw an electric punch, only to find it coming in contact with a barrier, stopping it cold, only for the gem on Armalum's chest to unleash a chain made entirely of magic. It wrapped around Lightning's neck, his horn surging to try and warp away, only for the magic to sputter out.
Tidal leapt at Armalum at this, only for more energy spikes to slash into him. As this happened, Armalum swung the chain, flinging Lightning into the knight. The pair cried out as they were knocked into one another, both hitting the dirt before more energy spikes stuck, exploding and blasting the duo away.
Armalum laughed at this, only for a bright flash of light to shine out in the corner of his eye. Turning to this, he saw Iron in his tiger armor, the earth pony roaring as he leapt while a pair of claws appeared on the ends of his hooves. He slashed at Armalum, the living armor barely blocking with his sword, only to see claws actually scratch the blade. Iron kept slashing at this, Armalum now using all his speed to avoid the attacks and striking back.
The pair turned into a blur, both slashing against one another as they moved around the battlefield. Armalum used his wings to fly around and Iron leapt after him, the pair meeting in the air several times to clash blades. Eventually, the pair landed on the rubble of two destroyed houses while the other knights glanced at one another.
Iron's claws returned to normal and he raised his tail, the blade on the end of it glowing. "I'm going to rip you apart! Iron Force...EXCEED!" A massive tornado of metal exploded out of the tail, Armalum's chest gem glowing as it summoned a wall of dark energy, the tornado slamming into it and sending the metal shards in as well. Armalum grunted as he was pushed back, only to dig his hooves into the wreckage to keep himself from being blown back. But then, the wall started cracking under the constant onslaught.
As this happened, Skybreaker, Cold Steel and Grand Hoof picked themselves up. They were all the closest to the battle and Armalum had his back to them. As such, they raised their weapons and channelled their energy. "Sky/Grand/Cold FORCE!" They yelled, unleashing the triple attack at the villain. He felt them coming, and knew if he moved, the other attack would break through and get him.
As they got closer, Armalum let the shield give way and the four attacks collided. The explosion that followed rocked the town and knocked over a few more buildings, but the knights who launched it smiled at the sight...only for the smoke to clear and Armalum was nowhere in sight.
"Did we get him?" Iron asked.
However, they soon heard chuckling and looked straight up. There, they saw a cloud of dark shadows swirling around above them. And slowly, it reformed to become the figure in question. "Did you actually think that would hurt me?" He asked, the knights going wide-eyed at the sight, "Pathetic."
The knights all groaned as the nine picked themselves up, "Come on everypony!" Grand yelled. "We can't let him win!"
"Let me win?" Armalum asked, "You're letting me win? Don't make me laugh! This world already belongs to me, and you believe you can win?" The gems on his armor began to glow, "I think it's time you pathetic vermin see just what kind of power you're really dealing with."
A blast of dark energy exploded out of the villain before forming a sphere around him, the orb growing before changing shape. It began to grow legs, a head and wings. Armalum had now created his own dark avatar, an energy version of himself looking down at them as the horn on his head started glowing. Everypony braced themselves at this as the light exploded out and down at the group.
Moments later, screams filled the air along with a mighty explosion.
Back in the real Equestria...
Heart and Soul were fighting Cozy Glow in the air, the older ponies watching as they knew Heart and Soul still had a score to settle and they knew the two could stop her. "Fire Force!" Heart unleashed a powerful stream of fire, but Cozy easily summoned a shield to block it, only for Soul to fire a beam, only for this to also be blocked by a second barrier.
"Too bad," the evil filly giggled, "Looks like your magic isn't strong enough." She started laughing, "You know what? I just remembered something you once told me. About just how hard it was to get your magic under control." She spun around and fired a beam of magic at the ground near the recovering guards, causing a portal to open up beneath them. They all screamed as they were sent falling through the portal, which led them to falling into the castle's moat.
She cackled at that, "Doesn't seem so hard to me!"
Soul growled at her, only for her expression to switch to a grin, "Hmph. Just shows your magic is way less special than mine. If it's so easy to control, you probably got the bottom of the barrel alicorn power."
"What?! Why you-" Cozy hissed as she fired a beam out of her horn, Soul doing the same. The attacks locked, only for Heart to fly down and slam a ball of fire into the ground. The orb then exploded upwards and formed a large pillar of fire, which headed straight for Cozy. The filly cut her spell and dodged it, but Soul used her magic to take control of the fire and make it coil around their opponent.
Cozy quickly found herself trapped in a tornado of flames, Heart continuing to feed it while Soul controlled it. "How'd you like our combo move?" The colt cheered, "We call it the Inferno Cell! Have fun trying to get out of there!"
Cozy rolled her eyes before her magic formed a sphere around her, which expanded outward and caused the flames to explode away, knocking both Heart and Soul into the floor in front of the others.
They rushed to their side as Cozy laughed, "Thanks! That was a lot of fun!"
Celestia's horn sparked at this, Heart and Soul seeing this and nodding to them as the alicorn yelled, "Stand down, Cozy Glow!"
Cozy let out a cackle, "Gee, I guess I could...but if I'm honest." Her horn sparked, "I'm having too much fun!" She fired a blast of magic down at the group, Twilight quickly making a shield as Celestia nodded to Luna.
"Ready, sister?" Luna nodded back as the duo leapt up.
"Wait! What are you-" Twilight asked as the pair unleashed a blast of combined energy at the filly, only for the filly to shine her horn. A second later, the Bewitching Bell appeared, the bell unleashing a black and yellow vortex. The vortex captured the attack and sucked it inside, followed by the rest of the alicorn sisters' power. The pair screamed out as their energy was drained, Twilight and everyone gasping. Once the last of their power was sealed away, the two fell to the ground and Twilight screamed. "NO!"
"That's the problem with you magic-types. You're so reliant on all your special power, you forget to use your brains! HA!"
Twilight glared up at her. "Keep telling yourself that! Now!" Cozy raised an eyebrow at this, only to see Twilight's friends had all vanished. Rainbow then appeared, zipping around the filly at high speed. This caused Cozy to spin out of control, the filly crying out as she was thrown across the room. And when she got control of her flight, she found herself staring at a Rarity levitating Pinkie holding a party bazooka.
"Surprise attack!" She fired the cannon right into Cozy's face, knocking her back and making her cough up confetti. At the same time, Fluttershy flew up with a bunch of geese around her.
"Fly, my pretties!" The geese tackled the midair filly, pecking and knocking around before smacking her away as Heart and Spike flew up to launch blasts of fire. As this happened, Soul ran over to Celestia and Luna, using her magic to try and heal them. But all she could do was re-energise them, as there was nothing but sparks of magic within them.
And after being attacked by more geese and almost burned by Spike, Cozy found herself getting grabbed by a lasso and yanked into the floor, hitting the ground and almost dropping the bell, but managing to clutch it tightly to her as the Mane Seven circled around her. Twilight summoned her magic, ready to pull the bell out of Cozy's grasp and return the stolen magic, only for a bright light to appear behind her.
It made everyone turn to the window as it grew brighter, Cozy taking to the air at this as the window exploded and unleashed a blast of energy that sent them all flying back. Chrysalis flew in through the window as Tirek pulled himself through, the centaur knocking Twilight's throne away to reveal Discord hidden behind it. The draconequus tried to escape, but Cozy grabbed him in her magic and threw him over to the others. As soon as he was next to them, Twilight picked herself up and created a shield around them.
The three villains laughed as they approached. "You think your pathetic shield can stop us?" Chrysalis laughed again before standing on the shield. "The Pillars have been defeated. Your school is abandoned. And right about now, Armalum is likely finishing off your little boyfriend and the rest of the Royal Knights. Face it, Twilight. You've lost!"
Twilight glared back at her, "You can attack us, and we may fall, but Equestria will still stand, united in friendship." The others slowly picked themselves up at this, "And we won't stop until we defeat you, no matter how many ponies you take down!"
The three villains stared at her as they listened to her words, then burst out laughing before Tirek added, "Didn't you all notice something was wrong in Equestria? We've been busy."
Chrysalis nodded. "A whisper here, a rumour there..."
"Destroy some crops," Tirek continued, "Cause some damage..."
"Turn pony against pony..." Cozy laughed.
"Until your whole kingdom is on edge," Chrysalis finished. "Waiting for just one tiny thing to push them over the brink!"
Tirek nodded at this, "There's no backup friends or rainbow magic to save you now!"
Twilight went wide-eyed at this, hearing these statements before Cozy let out another cackle, "Golly, I think it's time for some redecorating!" The three villains smiled before they combined their powers and unleashed it in every direction. The force of the energy flew out and ripped the castle apart, a mighty beam exploding out the side and completely destroying the structure. Everypony gasped as all that remained of the building was the throne room. And that was missing half the walls.
Twilight could feel herself close to a panic attack, her brain trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. But she was completely drawing a blank. And Chrysalis flying up to her didn't make anything better. "You know what's stronger than friendship, Twilight?" Chrysalis slammed her hooves into the shield, "FEAR!" She unleashed a blast of magic that caused the shield to crack apart before shattering.
Twilight cried out as Cozy grabbed her in her magic and lifted her up so Tirek could grab her. "Cause when you have to protect yourself, you don't have time for anypony else." He clutched her wings as the other two flew onto each of his shoulders.
"Too bad you never taught that in school," Cozy laughed before the three began to charge up an attack. Twilight's eyes shrunk at this, seeing what could be the end.
That is, till a large chunk of rock slammed into Tirek, knocking all of them back. He dropped Twilight and she hit the ground with a thud, the alicorn looking up and seeing Rarity fall over. That rock had pushed her past her magical limit, but she smiled at Twilight as her friends helped her up. Twilight got up at this, only to see the villains recover and launched their combined attack, only for the alicorn to pick up a massive slab of wall and used it to shield them all.
"Go, Twilight!" Rarity ran up to the rock in order to keep it up, "Get help!" Applejack ran up and did the same.
"We'll hold 'em 'til you get back!"
"No!" Twilight cried, "I can't leave you here!"
"It's our only chance!" Fluttershy ran up to the rock, Rainbow doing the same.
"You'll come up with something to save the day!"
"You always do!" Pinkie cried, as Spike flew up to her.
"We believe in you!" He flew up to the rock and pushed against it, Celestia and Luna doing the same.
Heart and Soul looked ready to follow, but Discord grabbed them before they could and threw them into Twilight's grasp. As he did, he looked Twilight straight in the eye. "FLY, YOU FOALS!" He rushed up to the rock and Twilight saw it was about to give away. She clung to the twins as tears filled her eyes, then summoned her magic to teleport away. Seconds later, the rock exploded and everypony screamed as they were consumed by the light.
Flash flew as fast as he could, his Sacred Light armor active with his wing boosters exploding out to push him through the air at mach speed. He had been flying ever since he realized there was nopony in the Crystal Empire, nor for a way for him to return to Ponyville through the Rune Gate. He crossed the many different terrains of Equestria as he flew back to Ponyville, fearing what could be left of his home when he got there. He felt exhausted, but he couldn't slow down.
But as the mountain that housed Canterlot came into view, he saw something beyond that made his heart sink. Smoke coming out of the ground where Ponyville should be located. "No." He pumped more power into his wings and doubled his speed, the strain on his body being completely ignored as he forced himself past the mountain and finally arrived at the town.
Flying down, his armor fading away, he entered the smoke and coughed as he called out to anypony, the thought of not hearing anyone answer confusing him since it meant they either escaped or hadn't. And as he kept searching, he saw the smoke slowly pull away, making him go wide-eyed at a new sight.
It was the Castle of Friendship, but it had been absolutely destroyed. It was in the exact same state it had been in when Flash had his vision, which made his stomach churn. And as the smoke began to clear, Flash looked over and saw the School of Friendship was just as destroyed as the castle.
"No!" He turned to the town and ran, using his wings to keep the smoke from getting too close to him. And as he did this, he saw more of the town. "No!" He saw Sugarcube Corner was in ruin, the same for Rarity's Boutique and Town Hall. Every building had been absolutely destroyed. "NOOOOO!"
It was then that he heard movement behind him, making him spin around and point his sword at a pile of debris. And slowly, the one who had caused all this appeared. "Welcome," Armalum laughed.
"You," Flash growled, "All this time. You were the one I saw." He slowly put the pieces together, remembering what Clair had said about things not being what they seemed. All those villains he had seen in the vision, had all been one being. One being who was fuelled by those many villains. "I'll make you pay for this!"
"Will you now?"
But as he began to charge, he heard a groan, making him turn to see Grand Hoof laying half buried by a destroyed house. "GRAND!" He rushed over and pulled the pony out of the rubble, only to hear more moans, making him glance around and see the rest of the Royal Knights scattered along the ground. "Everypony..."
"Flash," Grand groaned, "is that you?"
"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I'm here. What happened? Did Armalum do this to Ponyville? Where's everypony else?"
"They're not here." He coughed, "This is a pocket dimension or something. This isn't the real Ponyville and nopony else is in it except us." Flash sighed at this. "Flash, be careful. He's strong."
Flash heard this and helped the earth pony lay down. He then turned to Armalum as the dark figure stood tall, ready to do battle. "This is it. Everything's been leading to this."
"That's right," Armalum nodded. "Strange. I don't think anypony would have guessed I'd be your final opponent. But now all that matters is I am here to destroy you. And once I do, I will take my rightful place as this world's new god."
Flash raised his sword as it began to glow. "I'm not gonna let that happen." He let out a roar before charging, "THIS ENDS NOW!" Armalum charged as well, the pair about to clash. This battle would determine the fate of the world itself. There could only be one victor and the one left standing would decide what would run Equestria in the future.
Power, or friendship.
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Discord, you fool.
The culmination of the Chronicles that was started almost 7 years ago is finally here!
Like a certain sorcerer would said
Not surprisingly, everyone especially Royal Knights got pissed off at Discord for his action.
I honestly didn't think that vision Flash had would be an alternate dimension where they loses.
Here's highlights
You GOT to be kidding me!
Hey, those 3 guards are back for Grand Finales!
BUSTED!!!!!!!!
Oh shut up, you wannabe god!
Oh yeah! Heart and Soul are going to get their payback for what Cozy did to them!
Oh shit!
I was honestly expecting one of the royal knights to punch 👊 Discord in the face.
Discord made a boo boo
Light and shadow now have their long-awaited battle
The end is here. One way or another, only one side is walking away from this final battle.
This is exciting. The Legion of Doom and Armalum are more dangerous than ever now, and the future that has haunted Flash for so long has finally arrived. Once it was explained how Armalum was draining hatred from others, I understood that part of Flash's vision, how Armalum is now basically all the hatred of Flash's former enemies rolled together into one, but the destroyed Ponyville actually being in a pocket dimension was a clever twist. It looks like all the other knights and Lightning Blitz have been defeated already, so now it comes down to just Flash and Armalum. But I think the bigger problem is even if Flash wins the fight how are they even going to get out of the pocket dimension before it collapses?
Meanwhile in the real Equestria, things aren't going much better. However, Twilight bringing Heart and Soul with her as she escapes is an interesting part. It was fun seeing those two get a few shots in at Cozy Glow during the fight at the castle since they both have a bone to pick with her.
Harsh, but not inaccurate. You got to wonder what training Grand even put them through and if it was even working when you remember how they were all basically a Red-Shirt Army.
What a great surprise getting to see these three again. I thought they were just going to be one-shots, but it is nice they reappeared for the three-part finale, and that they are aren't falling for the xenophobia the Legion tried to cause among the ponies. Yeah, these three are going to be great.
You're no God! And you never will be!
I feel like that is a small reference to how a lot of readers were guessing that Shadow Corrupter would return as the true final opponent for Flash. Armalum might not be Shadow, but he carries his hatred for Flash and is attempting to carry out his dying curse on Flash, so it's close enough for me.
The Ending's here & we're off already guns blazing!
I see Deluded 2.0 already have the Legion of Doom's coma beds ready if those dark orbs he gave them are any indication! (sucks to be them 
) Couple that with kool-aid drinking ponies acting stupid (except for 3) & you have a recipe for disaster! Glad that vision Flash had turned out to be a pocket dimension by the *so-called* god, still can't wait for Flash & CO to trash these creeps into the floor, without him doing an ultimate sacrifice of it that is! 
And now...hitting up some Highlights! :
Hey Gullible, got 3 fools over here for you!
Way to go little purple buddy!
And the stupid stick has struck again, then again with the guards always been useless during a crisis it's not that big of a loss!
Yes, some common-sense ponies that didn't drink the kool-aid!
Ask & you shall receive Cozy!
Oh yeah, keep feeding that ego Deluded 2.0!
More like getting planted into the ground for good, bring it Deluded 2.0!
Can't wait for the conclusion of (hopefully not dying
) this epic fight next week Banshee, till then! 
Wow just wow
This chapter had everything, awesome fights, epic edge of your seat moments. Banshee really went all out with this chapter. Highlights below:
Why do I feel like that this will be a power boost for the three but also a fail safe for Armalum that will save him but kill the other three?
Yes, Flash! Whip those guards into shape!
media.tenor.com/TxxypaR5eBYAAAAd/armi-memes.gif
Oh wow!
I wasn’t expecting to see these guys again and I’m glad these three have actual common sense 
Who’s saying this?
Um don’t you mean Shroudheart
And there goes all of Twilight’s confidence
Huh, Discord losing all of the Royal Knight’s trust is definitely an interesting addition to the story
Also love how Flash is also pointing out the truth
You accidentally wrote “can’t” instead of “couldn’t” and did you mean to say “When Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, and Sombra attacked.”?
Rarity is a cat confirmed
media.tenor.com/_GopqsuoH3UAAAAC/cat-angry.gif
I was actually kinda expecting this to be the moment where Flash rages at Discord and accidentally lets it slip that he’s going/supposed to die
Oh right Faust powers
Yeah about that…
You forgot the “s” in “Knights”
We’re back at where it all began
Seriously!? Not again
You forgot the “h” in “slash”. You also don’t need “flew” in the final sentence
Just like Black Panther’s suit
NO NOT THE TREE HOUSE!!!
Oh no, the vision its coming true!!
Did you mean to say “dodge” instead of “dodged”?
YES!! MAKE HER PAY HEART! FLAME ON!!!!
You can get rid “himself” in the first sentence.
Did Flash get sent into the future like Samurai Jack? THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!!!
Which of the Royal Knights said this?
Awww
I was hopping we might get a Samurai Flash storyline
Did you mean to say “destroying” instead of “destroy”?
You will never be a god!
You forgot the “s” in “buildings”
You accidentally added an extra “e” to “before”
Interesting
I wonder if Fluttershy’s Rabbit powers will come in handy for defeating Armalum?
Did you mean to say “clash” instead of “clashed”?
Why are the other nights glaring at each other?
That would be a no
You forgot “the” between “of” and “dark”
Did you mean to say “fire” instead of “fires”?
So cool!
You accidentally wrote “launched” instead of “launch”
At least Discord knows who to save in end
DAMN IT BANSHEE!!!!!
Overall really great chapter, Next week/Tuesday can’t get her soon enough.
Also #IfFlashDiesWeRiot
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MOM!! Discord unleashed the ultimate evil onto Equestria!
media.tenor.com/sFUW1eiZLbcAAAAC/gravity-falls-burn-the-child.gif
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That’s probably next week
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A BIG boo boo
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We actually might see them in “The Last Problem”
Now all we need is someone to call him “Deluded One 2.0”
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But they totally deserve it
Actually they did drink Kool-Aid, everyone else drank coolant
any stallion that must say I'm a god is no true god
A certain plethora of gods of a familiar pantheon said the same thing, before they were done in by a greatly known mortal.
(This was the best image I could find)
m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODBiYjQ2NjQtODliNy00MWQyLThkOWQtZGYyYjllYjk5Y2Q2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA0MTM5NjI2._V1_.jpg
Even though I'm fairly certain you're not going to kill off Flash, you sure are doing your darnedest to convince us otherwise.