Last of the Dragonlords

by Fluttershy20

Chapter 19

For the next fifteen minutes the six mares made the agonising descent down the spiralling staircase. The staircase was thin, only allowing one pony at a time down it, and featureless grey walls were on either side, with not even a hint at what they would find at the bottom. Fluttershy was up front by her choice, in fear that if she suddenly lost the courage she seemed to have, she would have to run through her friends to get out, and they wouldn’t allow that to happen.

Just behind her was Twilight, with her horn glowing like a star as she illuminated the way down, her head held high but her eyes giving away the terror gnawing her. Behind her was Applejack, followed by Rainbow, then Pinkie and finally Rarity. The only sounds coming from the ponies were the sound of quick yet heavy breathing, and their hooves touching the cold stone steps.

As Fluttershy descended she wondered about what would she find at the bottom of these stairs. She wondered if Heimdallr looked different to the way he did when she had first met him in Ferghana. Is he actually smaller than when she first met him? Has he got fewer horns that make him look less terrifying? Is he actually dead to begin with and was his memory and spirit plaguing her mind? She hoped so, to be honest.

She glanced back and saw and smelled the fear on her friends. She could even smell the fear coming from herself, but she wasn’t going to allow it to control her actions. Like Applejack said on the ship, she had to keep a clear and straight head, so she might actually stand a chance of taking down Heimdallr.

A few more steps and she suddenly found the staircase had reached its end. In front of them was a straight corridor, one that seemed to go on forever as it disappeared into the darkness. She lifted her head up and trotted forward, the others going at her pace to keep up. As they walked down the corridor, the light from Twilight’s horn revealed the murals that decorated the walls. Each of the walls was split up into panels, and each panel told the story of Heimdallr, from his creation, to his defeat at the hooves of the Dragonlords. It felt to Fluttershy like the murals were a warning to her and her friends, as if they were telling her to turn back. But she wouldn’t turn back; even Princess Celestia herself wouldn’t dissuade her.

Eventually, they reached the end of the corridor and found themselves in front of a large iron door that had a huge wooden bar across it, locking it. ‘As if that would do any good against Heimdallr,’ she thought upon seeing it, but then again the doors were way too small for him to get through. The door’s face had a large mural of Heimdallr, old and worn but the burning eyes of the monster were still visible in the work. She looked around to see if there was a slot for the key to go through, but found none.

“How’re you feeling?” Twilight whispered into Fluttershy’s ear as they stopped in front of the door.

“I’m okay, to be honest,” Fluttershy replied. She was telling the truth. The voices in her body that usually screamed at her to run had gone silent, as if they knew there was no other way out of this. She didn’t feel scared or angry; she just felt nothing.

“I take it Heimdallr is through that door?” Applejack enquired. Fluttershy looked her way and nodded. Applejack took a deep, relaxing breath. “Well then, let’s get this over with.”

“Wiser words have never been spoken, Applejack,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. She flew up to the large plank and prepared to lift. “One of you cares to help?”

Applejack walked up next her friend and got hold of the other end. “Ready, partner?” Rainbow nodded, and with a groan the two lifted the plank off its hinges and dropped it on the ground with a loud bang that made Fluttershy’s ears ring.

Fluttershy shook her head to clear the ringing, then walked to the door, reared up and prepared to push it open. “You ready, girls?”

“As ready as we will ever be, Fluttershy. Meaning just barely,” Rarity replied shakily. “Let’s do this.”

Fluttershy nodded, took a deep breath and with the help of Rainbow, pushed the door open. With a heavy groan, the door that hasn’t been moved since it was first built moved slowly and painfully out of their way, enabling the Dragonlord to see what was inside.

The place was so dark she couldn’t make out all of it, but from what she could make out it was a really large, with thick stone pillars at random points supporting the ceiling, and keeping the water above out. The hall was featureless, with no murals or carvings to decorate the pillars, nor was there any sign of a large, burning dragon that was meant to be down here.

Fluttershy moved slowly forward, her eyes going left and right for any sign of an ambush, while her friends moved to her side, their eyes fixed on different points. They moved away from the entrance and walked until they reached what they believed to be the centre of Heimdallr’s prison. They formed into a loose circle, with their eyes looking left and right and above.

Rainbow suddenly took off and flew up into the air before anyone could stop her. She disappeared into the darkness for a long minute, before reappearing from the ceiling and landing back amongst them. “The ceiling’s about as high as the tallest Canterlot tower,” she whispered to the others. “Fluttershy and me will have plenty of space to fly when we do face him.”

“If we face him,” Fluttershy corrected her. “Where is he?” They had been here now for a few minutes and there was still nothing from Heimdallr. Was he actually someplace else, and they had misread the clues? She doubted it, for as Twilight said, the magic coming from this place was immense, and was definitely needed to hold something like a megalomaniac in place. So if he was here, where?

Fluttershy stepped out of the group circle and cleared her throat. If they weren’t able to find Heimdallr, then she would bring Heimdallr to them. She lifted her head towards the ceiling and shouted in Dragonian, “Heimdallr! Jeg lovet meg selv om å finne deg, og nå har jeg holdt det løftet! Kom frem nå! Kom frem og møt dine synder for folkemord, mord og andre typer synder som du har gjort over de fem tusener av år. Kom frem og se meg (Heimdallr! I’m made a promise that I would find you and now I have kept that promise! Now, come forth! Come forth and answer for the crimes of genocide, murder, and various others that you have committed over the five millennia! Step forth and face me)!”

She didn’t know where the words came from, but they seemed the right ones to say. Despite her challenge, she only received silence in reply, and it was more unnerving than actually seeing him. The six mares shifted closer to each other, their eyes wide and darting left and right for him. “Come on, Heimdallr, show yourself,” Twilight whispered.

Suddenly, a great burning eye snapped open. The six mares jumped back in fright at the sight of it. Fire suddenly erupted from the eye’s owner like wildfire, spreading across its back, belly, head, wings and tail. The burning creature shifted itself around to face them, and gave them all a wide sneer. “Heimdallr,” Fluttershy needlessly said.

“Wow… he’s… big,” Rainbow said, with a couple gulps of terror. Big was an understatement – even on all fours he was taller than the highest Canterlot tower. Horns protruded from behind his eyes and arched towards his nose like elephant tusks. Massive spikes ran from the back of his head to the tip of his tail like the blade of a saw. And huge smouldering wings stretched out across the hall and into the darkness.

“Velkommen til mitt fengsel, Fluttershy Ildvinge (Welcome to my prison, Fluttershy Firewing),” Heimdallr greeted her with a mocking sneer. “Dette er rat, for vi har møttes før, men også er dette den første gangen vi kom sammen, fjes til fjes (It is strange, for we have met before and yet, this is the first time we’ve come face to face).”

“Og forhåpentligvis vil dett bli våres siste (And hopefully it would be our last),” Fluttershy said, nodding in agreement.

“Jeg kunne ikke ha vært mer enig (I couldn’t agree more),” Heimdallr said. He looked from his enemy to the five ponies behind her. “And these five ponies are the friends that you cherish so much. You brought them here to do your dirty work, right?”

“Wrong!” Twilight stepped forward. “We came here to help, in any way that we can!”

“Even if that means dying for her, Twilight Sparkle?” The shock on Twilight’s face was plain to see, making Heimdallr chuckle. “Oh, I know who you are. I know who you all are. You, Twilight Sparkle, the personal protégé of the ruler of Equestria, and one of the most powerful unicorns this world has ever known. But also one of the most insecure, living in constant fear of disappointing and angering her teacher, who is also her ruler.”

He looked from a shocked Twilight to an angry looking Rainbow. “Ah, the great Rainbow Dash. Loyal to the end, and would go an extra mile for her friends. But also arrogant and brash, and sometimes would put herself before others.”

Rainbow glared at him, but restrained herself to not do anything stupid. “You put my oldest and bestest friend in a lot of pain, Heimdallr. I’m here to make sure you pay for that.”

Heimdallr didn’t reply to the threat, but instead turned to Pinkie. “The young Pinkamena Diane Pie, with a heart full of love and laughter, and yet a large black hole full of sorrow, and fear.” He looked from her to the unicorn next to her. “The beautiful Rarity Turquoise, generous and selfish at the same time. You give to others yet keep more to yourself.”

“Well there’s a saying, a very old saying. ‘The more you have, the more you can give’,” Rarity said in her defence, all the while glaring at the dragon.

Heimdallr sniffed, and then shifted his eyes to look at Applejack, who stared back at him with intense loathing. “And Applejack Rosaceae, the most honest pony alive. In fact, you are the most brutally honest pony alive. Tell me, how many hearts have you broken because of your honesty?”

“You’re beginning to sound like Discord,” Applejack growled. “And it’s making me feel sick.”

Heimdallr chuckled. “I’ve met Discord once. Him and his entire race. He was the one who taught me to manipulate the minds of dragons, pushing other thoughts aside and giving them over wholly to greed. Once I had finished with the dragons, I turned on the draconnequus race and wiped them out, leaving only Discord as thanks for teaching me.”

Fluttershy felt sick to her stomach. “You are no better than Discord, Heimdallr.”

“I am way better than that freak!” Heimdallr bellowed. “I didn’t start an entire war that resulted in the slaughter of millions, because I was bored! But he did, he and his vile kind. You should be thanking me for what I did. I defeated an army of monsters!”

“Yeah, but then you took their place as the greatest monster of them all,” Rarity growled.

Heimdallr mockingly bowed his head. “I thank you for the compliment, Rarity Turquoise.”

“Do you have any compassion left?” Twilight asked, disgust apparent on her face.

“When you’ve been betrayed as many times as I have, Twilight Sparkle, then you tend to lose your sense of compassion. I’m surprised you have any, to be honest. Especially after your friends, mentor, and even your own brother abandoned you once.”

“Enough! Leave them alone!” Fluttershy yelled. She took to the air and flew up to his face. “It’s me you want, not them. They have no part in this.”

“Oh, but they do,” Heimdallr disagreed. “Since you’ve brought them into our little war they have become a part of it.”

“I didn’t bring them into this,” Fluttershy countered. “They came willingly because they love me. As I love them.”

Heimdallr produced a wheezy chuckle. “Love? Love is a weakness. Something for those too weak to hold on to when they think they have nothing left. They think that someone would come to love them and help them when they need it most. Well here’s a news flash for you, Fluttershy Firewing! The world is a cruel and merciless place! The strong only thrive the way they do because they walk over those that are forced to live in the gutter!”

“I’m not going to say you’re wrong, because you aren’t. There are some cruel people in this world,” Fluttershy admitted. “But it’s not like that everywhere. There are many good people out there who help others because they want to. Like I want to. I want to help everyone, by keeping them safe, from you!”

Heimdallr snorted. “And you think you can help others by just love? Only anger and hatred will make you reach your goals, like the hate you have for me.” He raised his head towards the ceiling and sniffed loudly. “I can smell your hate. I have felt it. You have so much anger in you it’s just a hurricane waiting to burst forth and destroy all in its path. Embrace your anger and hate, Fluttershy Firewing. Use it to destroy me, and avenge your coward of a father.”

Fluttershy hovered in front of him for a moment, contemplating on whether or not to ignore Twilight’s plan and strike him now. But she knew if she did, she would ignore everything the Dragonlords stood by, and that’s what Heimdallr wanted. ‘If it wasn’t, then he wouldn’t have insulted my father,’ she reasoned to herself.

She moved away from the dragon and set herself back down in front of her friends. “Jeg vil aldri la meg selv bli som deg, Heimdallr. Ingenting du gjør vil endre på det (I will never let myself become like you, Heimdallr. Nothing you can do will change my mind).”

Heimdallr blinked, surprised that the tactic didn’t work. He suddenly sneered as another idea sprang into his mind. “Selv om jeg dreper dine venner nå (Even if I kill your friends now)?” He raised his right claw into the air. “Jeg kunne ha drept dem let, vet du. Alt jeg trenger er å vri på klørne, og la dem brenne (I can kill them easily, you know. All I have to do is clench my claw, and they’ll burn). Do you want to watch your friends die in agony, Fluttershy Firewing?” He sneered at the horrified looks of the ponies behind the Dragonlord.

‘Got him,’ Fluttershy thought triumphantly. “Okay then,” Fluttershy said with a shrug. She sat down on her rump and waited for Heimdallr to carry out his threat.

“Excuse me?!” Heimdallr exclaimed.

“Carry on, don’t mind me,” she said, looking at a hoof as if she just had a hooficure. “Any chance of a cup of tea? I’m parched.” She looked back at her friends. “How about you guys?”

Her friends looked absolutely horrified by Fluttershy’s actions. “I knew her nerves would be in a state,” Rainbow whispered into Twilight’s ear. “But I didn’t know they were that bad to make her lose the plot!” She looked back in the other pegasus’ direction and noticed the wink she gave to them all.

“Du vil la meg få lov til å drepe dine venner rett foran deg, uten at du vil løfte så mye som en hov for å hjelpe dem (You would allow me to kill your friends in front of you, without so much as lifting a hoof to help them)?” Heimdallr laughed. “Du er en større tosk enn jeg trodde. Nå, se at dine venner brenner (You’re a greater fool than I thought. Now watch as your friends burn).”

“Vi vil se på det (We’ll see about that),” Fluttershy said, her lips rising into a smug grin.

Heimdallr snorted, and raised his right claw so the palm was facing the ceiling. The ancient dragon closed his eyes as he began concentrating on a spell, while Fluttershy sat and watched with cocky grin. That grin wavered when a bright orb as bright as a star appeared on Heimdallr’s palm, which seemed to intensify as it built up with power. By the time it was ready, Fluttershy’s grin had completely gone and she turned to scream at her friends to run.

At that moment, Heimdallr’s palm snapped together with a sound like a clap of thunder. Fluttershy looked away and flattened her ears, not wanting to hear the shrill screams of her friends as they died in agony. After a moment of nothing, she looked back around to see them all still standing there, pretty much alive, looking bewildered.

She looked back towards Heimdallr to see he too looked gormless. “How… how can this be?” He opened up his claw again and once again emitted a bright golden orb. He shut it again and nothing happened. Fluttershy’s smug grin returned as she realised Starswirl’s keys were working. “This can’t be right!” Heimdallr roared again. He tried again, then again, and once more, but every attempt was met with no success. He looked down at Fluttershy and snarled at the smug face she wore. “What have you done?!”

Fluttershy glanced to her sides to see her friends move up alongside her. “I have managed to defeat you without lifting a hoof, Heimdallr. There’s a spell on this place that’s blocking your magical abilities and connection to the sun. You are now weak and helpless without your powers. The Dragonlords have outsmarted you even as you wiped them out! I have defeated you without a drop of blood spilled!” She reared up on her hind legs and spread her forelegs out wide. “Who the mare?!” she exclaimed.

The five ponies alongside her each raised an eyebrow and gave her an odd look, so too did Heimdallr. Fluttershy glanced at each of her friends and slunk back to the ground with an embarrassed look. “I promise I will never say that again. Ever.” In truth she wanted to shout it out multiple times. She was on high. She grinned at her friends, who grinned back at her. The feeling that she had managed to defeat this burning creature, without resorting to violence was amazing.

That amazing feeling died an agonising death when Heimdallr started laughing. She felt her nerves return at frightening speed as she turned back to look at the burning dragon. “You really think you have defeated me that easily, Fluttershy Firewing?!” he roared. He laughed once again, the flames on his back intensifying in their ferocity. “My dear, you are by far the easiest opponent I’ve ever faced. While it is true that you have blocked out my connection to the sun, meaning I am unable to use my pyrokenetic abilities, I have studied other types of magic in my lifetime to get by. Like this.”

He reared his head back, raised his fore claws in the air, and let out a long, terrible shriek.

Fluttershy watched in horror, with her ears covered by her hooves as Heimdallr let out a long shriek that seemed to shake the foundations of his prison. Behind her, the five mares were also covering their ears and grimacing in anguish as the flames on Heimdallr’s body started to go out.

“What the hay is going on?!” Rainbow yelled. She looked up at Heimdallr and her jaw dropped in horror. “Look!” she pointed. The others looked up to Heimdallr and gasped in horror.

Heimdallr was beginning to melt like candle wax. His lower jaw was spurring magma like blood would leak from a wound down to the ground, while his head disintegrated into nothingness. Heimdallr’s belly suddenly began to melt, followed by his wings, then finally his tail, until his entire body began to melt and the magma that it became spilled onto the stone floor.

“Get back!” Fluttershy yelled, stepping away from the magma as it began to move slowly towards them. The magma was black and a fiery orange like Heimdallr’s body, and flowed like a quick mudslide towards them. The six mares kept backing away from it, wanting to turn around and run back through the entrance but for some reason their legs wouldn’t respond.

The magma suddenly split up and began to encircle them quickly, cutting off their route of escape. “Tight circle!” Twilight yelled. “He won’t catch us off guard then, whatever he’s doing.”

The six mares backed into each other and formed a circle so tight they could feel their flanks touching. Fluttershy gulped as she watched the magma surround them, scared and confused at the same time. How was this possible? Heimdallr shouldn’t be able to use magic at all, and yet he had just melted himself and was now surrounding them.

She yelped suddenly when she felt something grip onto her tail. She looked around to find to her surprise Twilight’s tail wrapping tightly around her own. She looked at the unicorn, who stared back at her with terrified eyes. Fluttershy gave her a brave smile, and then gently wrapped the end of her tail around Twilight’s. Applejack glanced behind her and saw the two holding tails, and wrapped the tip of her tail around the two. Rainbow did the same moments later, followed by Pinkie and finally Rarity.

Although the sight of seeing six mares holding tails might look strange, to the six ponies it meant they would be now as one. That whatever it is Heimdallr was doing around them, none of them would break apart and run away – they would stand and fight, and live or die together. Fluttershy felt each of her friends’ tails shake with her own in fear as the magma that was once Heimdallr surrounded them, but she felt like she didn’t want to be anywhere else.

“Any ideas yet of what he’s up to?” Rarity enquired, trying to keep her voice from sounding like she was panicking, and failing.

Twilight shook her head. “The keys should’ve worked. Why didn’t they work?” she demanded from Fluttershy.

“I’m not sure either, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied. “But I’m not going to die without finding out.”

“Same here,” Twilight agreed. The six ponies looked in front of themselves to see that the magma had now completely surrounded them, and cut off their route of escape. Rainbow primed her crossbow and got ready to fire, while the others raised their right legs, and their swords shot out of their scabbards, ready to do battle.

A shrill shriek from Pinkie made them turn around where she was looking and gasped in horror. “That’s impossible,” Twilight exclaimed.

A head similar to Heimdallr’s began to slowly emerge from the magma, except it was no bigger than an adult horse’s. Two long arms appeared, with each holding a long sword that glowed fiercely. A huge bulk appeared seconds later, followed by two outstretched wings. Two long legs followed, with a sharp spike coming out of the knees joints, until a smaller version of Heimdallr was standing before them. The creature stepped forward and brandished its swords at them, making the six mares come closer together.

A gasp from Rainbow made them all look to the right, and saw to their horror the same thing was happening, except it was carrying a large club. Fluttershy looked all around her as the same thing was happening on all sides; dozens, if not hundreds, of Heimdallrs were emerging from the magma around them like the undead would rise from the grave. “How is this possible?!” Fluttershy yelled.

“Twilight, please explain to us all what the hay is going on here! And please, before you start, say it in Equestrian so we can all understand!” Rainbow shrieked.

Twilight looked around her, horrified as she watched a spell being performed that should be impossible. “He’s duplicating himself,” she finally said.

“Duplicating himself?!” the five mares around her repeated.

Twilight curtly nodded. “It’s a spell that, simply put, cuts you up into pieces and then sticks you back together into multiple copies of yourself. The spell also develops things that suit your needs, like spikes can be formed into weapons. It also degrades the size of your copies depending on how many you want. And in this case, hundreds.”

The five ponies looked at her in horror. “But the spell is so complex, so difficult, that even if I had a hundred years to master it I never could.”

“But I have had thousands to master it!” one voice but yet sounded like a thousand cried out.

Fluttershy’s head darted from duplicate to duplicate, trying to understand what had just happened and how bad things have gotten. Each of the duplicates looked so similar to each other, yet they all had a different number of spikes running down their backs. All of them were strangely absent of the fires that made up Heimdallr’s body, yet all had the same burning eyes of malice that Heimdallr had. Each had different weapons: one handed swords, two handed swords, short axes, heavy axes, warhammers, spears, tridents, clubs, flails, and maces.

Fluttershy took a step forward towards the Heimdallrs, who stared back at her and her friends malevolently. “How have you done this?!” she demanded. “You shouldn’t be able to use magic at all!”

The Heimdallrs laughed so loud and with such menace, that it made the six ponies’ legs shake with fear. “That’s the problem with you ponies,” they said. “You are so… limited, when it comes to the laws of magic, and believe when one can cast one type of magic, then that is their only power. Starswirl the Bearded even thought the same. I’m not limited like you ponies to one caste, as we dragons call the types of magic, so as I rotted down here I learned new spells like this one to keep me occupied. Surely me being able to possess dead dragons and use them like puppets would give you a clue to that.”

Fluttershy shook her head in disbelief, and yet it made complete sense to her. “So the keys were useless then?”

“Oh no,” they replied, a wide smirk on their faces. “If anything they were more important than what they are worth. How was I going to get out of here without them?”

Although it had never happened to Fluttershy, the question was more painful than a kick in the stomach. Her eyes widened even more and realisation dawned across her face as she realised to her horror what Heimdallr meant. She forelegs gave way and she collapsed onto her knees in shock. “No,” she whispered, curtly shaking her head and her eyes watering. “NO!”

“What is it, what’s wrong?” Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy looked back at her, tears welling up in her eyes. “This is what he wanted, Rainbow! He wanted us to get the keys! He wanted us to come down here! He wanted everything that happened to happen!” She looked away and then looked towards the ground. “What have I done?” she whispered.

The Heimdallrs sneered. “Yes. Thanks to you, Fluttershy Firewing, the way to the rest of Terra has been opened, and I am finally free. I needed you to get the keys here, so I could get out. I knew there was no other way out of here except through the front door, so I discovered this spell and began learning it, so when the doors are finally opened then I would shrink down and walk out of here. Then once I’m free, return to my original form.

“Starswirl the Bearded realised what my plan was at some point, as well as his grave mistake, but by then the four keys were already made and couldn’t be destroyed. So he had them scattered across Horsca’s mountain ranges in specially built dungeons to keep Dragonlords away, even re-animating corpses to act as bodyguards was just one of some the desperate measure he took to make sure they were never used. He was about to send written messages to all Dragonlords of the sudden move of the keys, but before he could he had a fatal accident, which took quite some time to arrange.”

Twilight charged forward in a blind rage, but didn’t get far as Rainbow pulled her back by the tail. “You monster! You killed the greatest mage that ever lived!” she yelled.

Applejack, meanwhile, walked up to Fluttershy and helped her back up onto her hooves. “It’s okay, sugar, it wasn’t your fault. None of us could’ve known,” Applejack said comfortingly.

Tears were in Fluttershy’s eyes. “But I don’t understand. If that was your plan all along, then why did you involve me?”

“Then allow me start from the beginning,” the Heimdallrs offered. “About a year ago, I had a prophetic vision. I dreamed of a pegasus pony with a long pink mane and tail and a bright yellow coat standing before me, with hatred in her eyes and sword bracelets attached to her legs. I did not know what happened next for the dream ended, but I knew I had to find her. So I reached out and took the body of a recently deceased dragon and began searching for her. It was not until a month ago did I discover who she was – until I discovered who you were.”

“Wait a minute, it was you who attacked Ponyville?!” Rainbow shouted, her voice barely able to control her fury. “You nearly killed so many! You nearly killed Twilight!”

“Count yourselves lucky that I didn’t kill anyone, for it wouldn’t have been safe for me had I done so. Anyway, the attack on Ponyville was enough to bring you forward and the moment you appeared to give me a little scolding, I instantly knew who and what you were.”

“But why?!” Fluttershy demanded. “You could have left me alone then let my father get the keys for you, but instead you unlocked my Dragonlord abilities. You helped me, knowing I would be a hindrance to you.”

“Because I had to,” the Heimdallrs replied. “I knew what your father was up to, but since he wasn’t in the vision I figured he wouldn’t have made it, so I decided finding you would be easier, which it was. And besides, do you really think that you would have been a normal pony forever? At some point in your long, pathetic life you would’ve been burnt, and then your true heritage would’ve been revealed. You cannot escape destiny, Fluttershy Firewing. No matter how hard you try.”

They took a long, wheezy breath, then continued. “When I sensed you again I realised you had awakened from your slumber, so began planting those visions in your thick, little skull, hoping you would be taken to the Princess of Equestria, which you were. All that was left was for you to find Firewing, so I planted a thought into Celestia Solaris’ mind into making her believe that he was the only one who could help you, which is true, but she wouldn’t have known that.” Twilight’s teeth gritted together harder than before at the realisation that Celestia had been manipulated as well. “After that, it was simply you having to find him.

“It was all going fine, until you were captured by the Andulusians once you got into Horsca. I couldn’t let you die, so I attacked Andulusia and destroyed it, giving you the chance to escape.”

Fluttershy gritted her teeth and growled like a dog. “I now wish you’d left me to die.”

“It wasn’t time for you to die, Fluttershy Firewing,” the duplicates sneered. “At least, not yet.”

“So why did you attack us in the Horscan Highlands? Why did you kill my father?”

“I needed to make you believe I was putting an effort into stopping you, to make you think you were winning. As for your father, he had to die. He would have seen through the lie before the end, and would’ve turned around and left, and I would be stuck here forever. As well as that, he had a hundred years worth of experience behind him, and was a powerful opponent.”

“Whereas I…”

“Whereas you are far too gullible and you have had only a week’s worth of experience. With your father out of the way, and your thirst for vengeance driving you forward, all I had to do was wait until you came through those doors and release me,” he finished.

Tears poured down Fluttershy’s face as she realised what she had done. She lowered her head and put her hooves over her face, fighting back tears. Twilight walked up next to her and gently shook her shoulders. “It’ll be okay.”

Fluttershy’s head shot up to look at her. “How will everything be okay?!” she shouted. “Don’t you understand, Twilight?! My father, Thowra, all those horses in Andulusia, the entire Dragonlord order! They died for nothing!”

“Noone dies in vain, Fluttershy Firewing,” the duplicates said delicately. “Every one that does die, dies for a purpose either good or ill. And they and you played their parts perfectly.”

Fluttershy looked from Twilight to the duplicates in front of her with intense hate. That hatred was quickly re-directed back at herself. “I was so stupid,” she scolded herself, looking towards the ground. “The signs were all there saying this was Heimdallr’s plan all along. But I chose to ignore them. All of this could have been avoided had I not been driven by vengeance. Driven by hate.” She closed her eyes and fought back tears of despair.

“I should thank you, Fluttershy Firewing. You and your friends. You have given me another chance to finish what I started five thousand years ago,” the duplicates went on, making Fluttershy look up. “For this kindness you have given me, I’m inclined to forgive everything you have said and everything you have done against me, and give you and your friends mercy.”

The six mares looked around them with confusion on their faces. “Mercy?” Pinkie repeated.

The duplicates nodded simultaneously. “Yes. Mercy. I will allow you, Fluttershy Firewing, and you friends, to live out the rest of your days here in peace.” They gestured with their claws their prison. “You will be fed and watered appropriately, and given all the luxuries you require and requests to spend your lives here. But you will not breed and multiply, oh no. But it is better to live down here, than not live at all, don’t you think?”

“What about our families?” Applejack asked. “What about them?”

“They will come and live with you down here as well, Applejack Rosaceae. There is enough room, after all. But like I said, there will be no breeding between you. If there is, then I will remove them.”

Fluttershy’s eyebrows rose in surprise and consideration of Heimdallr’s offer. It was perfect – too perfect – an offer that only a mad mare would refuse. She looked back at her friends who had gathered in a circle to discuss something. “Right, so now we know this guy has to die, how exactly are we going to do that?” Rainbow enquired, her voice just below a whisper.

Twilight tapped her head with a hoof as she tried to remember what she knew about the spell Heimdallr had performed. “Ah ha!” she cried out. “I just remembered Celestia telling me this story once about when she and Luna cast it on themselves to get inside Discord’s stronghold during their rebellion against him.”

“Great!” Applejack grinned. “So what do we need to do?”

“Basically, there is always one duplicate that is in control of the others. That duplicate is made up of the brain of the original body and keeps control of the lot.” Twilight looked from her friends to the ranks of duplicates around them. “If we could find that one duplicate, and take him down, then the rest would simply dissolve into nothingness.”

“So basically, it’s a ‘cut off the head and the body will die’ type plan then?” Rainbow asked. Twilight looked her way and nodded. “Okay then. One problem with that plan,” Rainbow pointed out. “One duplicate, in an army of hundreds!” She spread her forelegs out wide, gesturing to the army surrounding them.

“But here’s the thing,” Twilight continued. “The duplicate controller, as Celestia called them, always has something about them that makes them stand out from the rest. Something she said about the controller’s imagination enabling him or her to have it. Like more horns, a suit of armour-”

“Or a large crown on the top of his head?” Pinkie enquired, cutting off the unicorn.

“Exactly, or a large crown on the top of his head,” Twilight agreed with a nod. Her eyes suddenly widened and she slowly turned her head towards where Pinkie was standing, and whom she was standing on. “What did you just say?”

Pinkie was standing on Applejack’s back. “There’s a duplicate at the far back with a burning crown on his head,” she said, pointing to it. She jumped off Applejack’s back, allowing Twilight to jump on, while the earth pony below her having to grit her teeth and use all her strength to hold Twilight’s weight. The unicorn grinned when she saw what Pinkie was pointing at. A Heimdallr with a large burning crown that seemed to have a halo above it around the top of his head stood at the far back of the group.

She jumped off Applejack and gestured for her friends to huddle. “Okay, the Heimdallr controller is at the back of the group. All we have do is fight out way through this lot to get to him.”

“Do you think we can do it?” Rarity asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Twilight replied. “But we’ve got to try.”

A sigh from Fluttershy made them all turn to her. She looked back at them despairingly. “What’s the point of trying?” Fluttershy said solemnly. Her friends looked at her in shock. “I caused this. This whole world is going to burn because of me and my carelessness.”

Twilight walked towards her, her face revealing her shock and sadness for the pegasus. “You’re giving up?”

Fluttershy nodded. “What else can I do other than mess things up more?”

Twilight placed her hooves on Fluttershy’s cheeks to get the pegasus to look at her. “No. No, you haven’t messed up at all. I don’t blame you for this. None of us do.”

“Why don’t you?” Fluttershy demanded. “I should’ve seen through this, but I was so wrapped up in my hatred for him to even notice I might be walking into a trap!”

“Fluttershy, don’t you even dare start blaming yourself for this!” Twilight scolded her. “We’ve all had a part in this. We all should’ve seen it yet we didn’t. We all are responsible for this, and you know we can do about it?” She didn’t give time for Fluttershy to answer. “Make up for it, by making sure he doesn’t get outside.”

Fluttershy still didn’t look convinced. “How? It’s hopeless, Twilight. Simply hopeless.”

Twilight gave her a look of disappointment. “Now that’s not the Fluttershy I know. The Fluttershy who saved me and the cutie mark crusaders from a cockatrice, despite being scared of the Everfree Forest.”

“Or the Fluttershy who, despite being terrified of dragons, walked up and towards one rather than away, and then sent it packing when we all had failed,” Applejack put in.

“Or the Fluttershy who did everything she could to help the Princess’ pet bird, when she didn’t need to,” Rarity added.

“Or the Fluttershy who gave it her all to become a better flyer, and then proved she was when she helped with the tornado,” Rainbow came in.

“You might have been close to giving up then, but you never did,” Pinkie said, her eyes pleading. “And right now we need you to help us take this guy down. Now more than ever.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened a little. “You’re… you’re all not giving up?”

The five ponies shook their heads. “Sure ain’t, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “As fine as Heimdallr’s offer is, I wouldn’t trust his word if my life depended on it. And besides, I would rather be a free mare out in the light, than live down here in the darkness for the rest of my days.” The others nodded in agreement.

Fluttershy looked at each of them, surprised and amazed that they would still act. “But… your families…”

“Fluttershy, if we stay down here, it is a death sentence. Fight them, and it’s most likely a death sentence. Do nothing, and it’s a death sentence. So you know what that means? We have nothing to lose in trying,” Rainbow pointed out.

Fluttershy looked at each of them for a moment, her mouth agape and her mind trying to process what they all said. Eventually her face slowly but surely turned into a thin smile. “I love you all, you know that.”

“We know,” Twilight replied, a small smile on her face. She took a deep breath then said, “For Equestria?”

Fluttershy shook her head, her eyes going from pony to pony. “No. For you.” She spun around and galloped as fast as she could towards the duplicates, and the duplicate controller.

Rainbow whistled. “Wow. I can actually wipe off, ‘Fluttershy charges head first into danger’, off my, ‘things to see before I die’, list.”

“I hope that list of yours is mostly complete, Rainbow,” Applejack said, tightening her hat on her head. “Because today might be it.”

Rainbow shrugged in response. “I think I can live with that. Or not.” She chuckled at her own joke. She looked at Applejack, nodded, then brought her crossbow up and fired it into the duplicates, hitting one right in the throat and sending it to the ground dead. Then with a battle cry she surged forward, followed close behind by Applejack, and then finally Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie charged as one, screaming battle cries together.

In the few seconds it took Fluttershy to charge into the duplicates, her mind was a buzz of activity. She felt sickened at herself for what she was about to do. She came down the stairs hoping to get through this while avoiding violence, but now she found herself charging towards them with intent on killing. She quickly glanced behind her to see her friends charging also, and smiled. ‘They are far braver than me,’ she thought. Despite all that had happened, the fact that so many died for nothing, they wouldn’t give up. Not while their families, their country, their friends were in danger. She admired that greatly. It gave her such a boost in confidence that she willed herself to see this through to the end. Whatever that end may be.

She cleared her mind of her thoughts when she noticed the line of duplicates in her way. She prayed silently that she would be quick; any longer than her friends could take and they would all die. The duplicates all lowered their weapons, forming a wall of swords and spears for the six ponies to charge through. Fluttershy, despite the obvious danger she was in of getting skewered, felt herself grinning. She felt her Dragonlord instincts kick in instantly. The blank, yet fast acting mind of a warrior began coming into play. She was glad it was for once, for she needed it more now, for the sake of her friends and their families. It was time for her to uphold her vow.

She was only a few feet away when she suddenly leapt into the air and dived towards two she’d picked out, Firewing and Drage Bane coming out of their scabbards, singing as if in anticipation for the battle to come. Firewing went through the stomach of one, while Drage Bane went through the chest of the other, sending them both to the ground without harming Fluttershy at all. She rolled and kicked her hind legs at the next two in front, sending them both to the ground and making them drop their weapons.

She pulled her swords out of the two that had originally fallen and met the blade of a duplicate with them both. She pushed the duplicate back and with Drage Bane, cut off the right leg, and with Firewing, tore out the belly. She spun around that one and slashed across one on her left quickly before moving on. Another came at her with a spear, and another came from behind her. She veered away from the spear point, got hold of the spear, and thrust it into the chest of the duplicate behind her. She broke off and spun around the spear holder, and stabbed through and up the back quickly, then pulled away to take on the next one. She was in a sea of opponents, so she knew she had to be quick and brutal.

The others, meanwhile, smashed into the duplicates together with the force of a train. Before they knew what was happening, ten of the duplicates were dead and melting. Now her friends were hacking, slashing, stabbing, decapitating, and firing bolts of spells at any duplicate that stood in their way. Fluttershy smiled at them, before turning back and began galloping forward once more. She reared up when she went up against one with an axe and deflected the attack made against her with Firewing, then slashing up to the neck with Drage Bane, and then she spun away. As she spun she met another attack from one with a spiked warhammer, blocking the hammerhead with Firewing, then slashing across the stomach with Drage Bane, and then across the chest with Firewing. She pulled away, pushed the melting creature aside, and galloped forward once again, ducking away and diving under the legs of some of the duplicates, tearing their legs apart with her wing blades as she did so, as she tried to get to the duplicate controller. It wouldn’t make any difference on how many she took down; all that mattered was getting to the controller.

She jumped up and smashed another into the ground with her hooves, then reared up and blocked a swing from a sword of another with Firewing. She pushed the sword away from its owner, then spun around and bucked hard on the knees, which cracked like a nut. The duplicate went down on its ruined knees, screaming in pain. Fluttershy spun back around, reared up, put her hooves above its neck, and then twisted the head hard and fast, breaking the neck. As the creature went down, she looked up and locked eyes with the controller. It too saw her and sneered, before turning around and started to run away from the duplicates. Fluttershy gritted her teeth. “Come back here!” she yelled. She pushed the gurgling creature away from her and ran after the controller, not noticing or caring that the other duplicates were now ignoring her. She barged her way through, sending some to the ground, and slashing indiscriminately at others with her swords, while her wing blades tore open any that stood too close to their sharp edges.

She suddenly found herself in open space with rows upon rows of duplicates behind her. She took a deep breath, and then looked up to see the controller running into the darkness. She growled and prepared to give chase, only to stop and spin around in horror as she heard the cries of her friends. She quickly took to the air and her jaw slackened in horror as she helplessly watched her friends fall one by one.

Rainbow was the first to go down. The pegasus rolled around one wielding an axe, who was swinging it clumsily in the hope it might hit her. She managed to roll behind it and slash across the back of the knees, which made it collapse onto them. She brought her sword up and thrust it quickly into the neck, then pulled it out again as she heard another come up behind her with a trident. Although the duplicates shared the same voice and usually copied another, in battle, however, they all moved and fought differently from each other.

Rainbow jumped back as the duplicate with the trident thrust the three pointed head at her. It missed her barely, but it gave her time to counter with her own sword thrust, which took it quickly in the chest. Before she could pull it out, the claw of the duplicate hit her in the chin and sent her onto to her back. She jumped back up on he hooves, but the butt end of a long axe slammed into the back of her head, knocking her out.

Several duplicates surrounded Rarity, but she felt ready. The fear that gnawed at her had gone, to be replaced with a peaceful calm despite being surrounded and forced to fight. She felt good knowing Dancer was by her chest, ready to defend her. One suddenly stepped forward, brandishing its swords at her; one weapon was curved while the other was straight. It quickly made a feint attack with its straight sword, leaving the curved one back so it could make the killing blow. Rarity dodged the first attack, then deflected the second with Dancer, and then fired an electrical bolt from her horn, which instantly disintegrated the duplicate. ‘Thank you, Twilight, for teaching me that,’ she thought.

Another duplicate with a huge great sword quickly charged her, swinging the blade at a wide arc, and forcing Rarity to duck. She moved forward to make a fatal blow, but the duplicate brought its sword back and deflected it. It pushed her back, and then raised its sword again, hoping to use the pommel of the blade to take her down. She deflected the pommel away from her, then spun round it and stabbed through the side. The duplicate went down and began to melt. “Take that, you ruffian!” she cried triumphantly. She turned around to face the next opponent, only to see the tip of an elbow slam into her face. And then she saw no more.

Pinkie was next. She jumped into the air and hind kicked one in the face with such force its neck snapped. She landed on her hind legs and stabbed another through the stomach. She spun away from that one and slashed across the chest of another. Several of the duplicates backed away in horror of the ferocity of the pink pony, who was now surrounded by about half a dozen melting duplicates. Another came at her from behind, swinging its sword to go through her neck. Pinkie’s ear twitched at the attack coming from behind her, and waited until the very last second to duck.

The blade missed with just inches between her mane and the sword’s blade. She spun low and stabbed through the groin up. The duplicate howled in pain, while the ones around them both winced at the sound. She pulled the sword out and tempted the others to come for her. A sudden cry of one of her friends made her spin around towards its source. She gasped when she saw Rarity fall after being knocked in the face with an elbow. She growled and prepared to charge, but suddenly felt something like a hammerhead hit her on the back of the head, and her world went dark.

Sweat began to pour down Applejack’s forehead as she tried to block attack after attack coming from a duplicate that was quick with a sword. She blocked the next one, then suddenly felt the wind taken out of her as a fist rammed into her belly. She fell to the floor, a hoof holding over her belly as she tried get her breath back. ‘Don’t fall yet, Applejack,’ she told herself in thought. ‘Fluttershy is counting on ya.’ The duplicate walked around her, and brought its sword in the air, aiming the tip at the back of her neck. Before it could hit home, Applejack rolled to the right. She brought her sword through its right leg and cut deep into it. The creature staggered, trying to regain its balance. Applejack seized the moment and stabbed through the belly, killing it instantly.

She pulled the sword out then spun around, expecting more to face her. She glanced to her right and her eyes widened when she saw the tip of a rainbow coloured tail lying on the ground. Applejack instantly began to gallop towards her friend, hoping she was still alive. She head butted a duplicate coming from her side in the stomach, sending it to the ground, and slashed at a duplicate coming at her from the front, before pushing it aside and stopping beside her friend. Blood dripped from the back of Rainbow’s head where she was hit, but her chest was rising so she was alive; at least for the moment. Applejack’s teeth gritted together and her face darkened.

“Ya’ll pay for this!” she cried, rearing up and slashing down the chest of a duplicate coming from behind her. Another with a large club in its claw came at her next, sneering and growling as it approached. Applejack raised her leg again to strike down, but found her leg caught in the free claw of the duplicate. It head butted Applejack, sending her onto her back. She shook her head to clear the dizziness, and attempted to get up again. She didn’t make it far, however, when the duplicate swooped the club down and whacked it hard against her skull, knocking her out.

Twilight watched each of her friends go down with tears in her eyes, unable to do anything except watch. Her chest rose and fell quickly and heavily, while her horn glowed a fierce magenta as it created a shield around her, keeping the duplicates away from her for a while. She had fought fiercely, so hard that her brother would most likely be envious if he was here, but in the end a sword had swung down against hers so hard the blade shattered, forcing her to use the shield. Around the shield lay around twenty to thirty melting duplicates that she had taken down, and many more were disintegrating as they crashed against her shield in an attempt to take it down – a tactic that would eventually work, Twilight knew, but it would give Fluttershy a chance to find the controller.

She looked up and gasped to see Fluttershy hovering over the duplicates, tears pouring down her face as she had watched her friends fall, and now had to watch her fall. “GO!” she screamed at her. Fluttershy shook her head hesitantly, fighting over whether to help Twilight, or go after the controller. “YOU HAVE TO STOP HIM, FLUTTERSHY! JUST GO!” At that moment, the shield broke, and she collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, while a duplicate came up from behind and brought its club down on her head.

Fluttershy looked away, although she was unable to dim out the sound of the club hitting her friend’s skull. She felt like a coward; her friends have all fallen because of her, and she just watched as each was taken down, one by one, while she did nothing. “I am a coward,” she said to herself.

Mocking laughter soon echoed across the prison, making Fluttershy turn around to the source. She gritted her teeth in anger, and raced into the darkness to find the source of the laughter. Her friends might be gone, but she wasn’t going to let their sacrifice be for nothing.

---

Twilight’s vision was blurry at first; she saw a mishmash of black and dark grey and white, coming together like some twisted painting. She then felt herself moving and quickly realised she was being dragged, for her belly felt cold against the cold stone beneath her. She blinked a few times and her vision cleared, and she saw what was around her. A multitude of the duplicates were looking at her with malevolent eyes, each brandishing its weapon at her, making threatening gestures with them.

She looked back to see she was being dragged by the tail by a duplicate, and then quickly squirmed about in a bid to get free. She suddenly felt herself being thrown through the air, and landed into a circle where the rest of her friends were now kept.

Applejack was squirming under the foot of a duplicate, trying to push it off with her head, but unable to get far due to her head screaming out in pain. Pinkie was conscious, but she was completely still as if she wasn’t. She blinked every now and then but her eyes gave away her fear, and her sorrow. Rainbow was closest to Twilight, and was struggling to get back up like Applejack, but was making a better job at it. With a groan she pushed the duplicate off and sent it staggering away. She quickly tried to get back up but was soon forcibly pushed back down again, with the point of a sword at the top of her head in case she tried again. Twilight couldn’t see if Rarity was awake for she was facing away from her, and a large foot covered her head, but was relieved to see her sides rise and fall.

“Girls,” she croaked, trying to get back up on her hooves. She made it halfway before she felt a foot digging into her back, making her cry out in pain, and pushed her back on her belly.

“I would stay still if I were you,” the duplicates said.

“How are you all?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, never felt better,” Rainbow said sarcastically, gritting her teeth through the pain she was feeling.

“Is Rarity awake?”

Rainbow only shook her head. “She’s got a nasty black eye, and a large bruise where an elbow rammed into her face,” Applejack said, crying out when the duplicate holding her down pushed a little harder for her own good. “I don’t understand. Why don’t they just kill us?”

“Only when the last of the Dragonlord’s lifeblood has stained the floor, then you will die,” the duplicates answered in a lifeless tone.

Twilight’s eyes widened in fear, and hope. She saw Rainbow struggling even harder to get away from the duplicate. “Rainbow, stop. Just stay still.”

“Stay still!” Rainbow cried. “How can I stay still knowing my one of my best friends is about to fight alone?!” she tried getting up again, with no success. “How can you just still lie there?”

“Because I have faith in Fluttershy to do what needs to be done,” Twilight replied. “She isn’t the pony that is scared of everything anymore. She’s a Dragonlord, Rainbow; a warrior without peer, with the blood of possibly the greatest warrior that ever lived in her veins, if I’m right. If anyone can take Heimdallr down, it’s her.”

“But what can we do?” Pinkie whimpered.

Slowly, and painfully, she reached out a hoof for Pinkie to take hold of. Pinkie reached out hers and merely touched Twilight’s own. “Pray,” she answered. “Pray and hope that Fluttershy has the strength to end him.”

The four ponies instantly relaxed, closed their eyes and silently began to pray.

---

Fluttershy couldn’t recall how long she had been flying in the darkness, or how long it had been since she had left her friends behind and ran off to find the controller and take him down. Either way, she hadn’t heard anything from the controller since, and it was beginning to unnerve her.

She looked around, until suddenly she saw what looked like a faint light of a torch in the far distance. Taking to the air again, she followed it, hoping it would lead her to Heimdallr.

She looked back every now and then, in case the other duplicates were following her, or one or all of her friends suddenly appeared. She highly doubted it. She had watched them fall, and were all probably now dead with gaping holes on them from sword wounds. She quickly cleared her head to rid herself of the thought. They had been through a lot, the six of them, surely they could survive this? She hoped so, for she promised herself she wouldn’t go back home without them.

She eventually arrived at the place of the light and gasped at its beauty. It was a large torch that rested in a sconce on the side if a pillar. She was surprised to see it burning, especially after what might have been less than five thousand years down here in the cold and dark, with nopony to illuminate it. She suddenly noticed the flame going a dark blue for a second, before returning to its original orangey glow. “A magic flame,” she guessed. “At what must be the very centre of the prison.” She looked around for a second, before looking back at the sconce holding the torch.

The sconce in question was carved to look like a dragon. Its bat-like wings spread out, its mouth holding the piece for the torch to slot it, and in its claws was a large circle, perfectly formed to fit whatever fitted in it. Fluttershy tilted her head to the side as she guessed it was big enough to fit the key she had tucked away in her mane. Curious, she took the key out of her mane and held it with her hooves, and saw to her complete shock that the key was a perfect fit.

‘But how in Celestia’s, Luna’s, and Vidarr’s names is this possible?’ she wondered. Starswirl created the five keys, her father told her, yet he wasn’t around when this prison was built. But then again, did he create them? And even if he did and set this up down here, why didn’t he just place the key in the hole and do what needed to be done? Why just leave, and leave him alive? Her head began to play a nasty beat as she became more confused by the second.

“Ingen flere venner for å hjelpe deg (No more friends to aid you).” Fluttershy turned away from the sconce to look at her father’s killer. In his right claw was a long, two-handed blade; glowing red hot as if it had just been pulled from the fire it had been forged in. While his left was hidden behind his back – whatever was behind him, she already didn’t like it. Heimdallr’s scales were a tar black, absent of fire as now he had run out of his reserve magic – from now on it would be a fight with blades.

Fluttershy gulped down the lump in her throat, and quickly hid the key in her mane. Her heart and head was beating at an alarming rate, but she ignored it. She felt her nerves once again disappear to be replaced with not anger, but something else. She began walking forward towards the dragon, her heart and mind steeled as she readied herself for this battle. “Ingen flere magiske skjold å gjemme seg bak (No more magic to shield you),” Fluttershy said.

Heimdallr began walking forward, the point of his sword barely grazing the ground and malice in his burning eyes. “Bare erfaring med sverd... (Just skill with the blade).”

“… og forstanden (And wits),” Fluttershy finished for him. The two were now standing about eight feet apart from each other, anticipating who was going to strike the first blow. Fluttershy reared up and presented Firewing and Drage Bane in a salute pose, both still dripping in the blood of the duplicates she had brought down to get here.

Heimdallr chuckled at the gesture. “Er jeg virkelig vært respekten, Fluttershy Ildvinge (Am I really worth respect, Fluttershy Firewing)?”

“Alle som går imot Drageorderen er vært å bli respektert (Everyone that goes against the Dragonlords is worth respect),” Fluttershy replied.

Heimdallr chuckled once more. “Well I’m not one for standing on ceremony. Let’s get this over with.” He took a few steps forward, and revealed from behind his back a large perfectly rounded flail like a wrecking ball, held on by a long chain in his left claw.

Fluttershy had barely the time to react as he swung it towards her skull. She fell hard on to the ground and let the ball hiss past her. She got up and charged forward, hoping to use the break between swings to her advantage. Heimdallr brought the flail close to him and shortened the length of the chain, then flung it high in the air and brought it crashing down towards her. Fluttershy stopped right in front of it, the ball crashing down into the stone, denting it. Heimdallr brought it up again and gave it another swing, this time low to catch her legs.

Fluttershy saw it coming and jumped like a filly would with a skipping rope. She charged once again, but Heimdallr kept taking large steps back, swinging the flail once more. This time he looked to swing it low, making Fluttershy jump into the air, thinking she had him read, but at the last second Heimdallr raised it high, high enough for the ball to smash into her left side with the force of a train.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in agony as the flail smashed into her side; the pain she had from the attack was so much she thought she might pass out, yet she stayed awake, her body knowing if she fell unconscious she would lose. She felt herself fly for a moment before her right side smashed against a pillar, and her belly hit the stone floor. She gritted her teeth hard, fighting down the urge to release the scream of pain that was on her lips, and she found herself winning that fight. ‘I will not scream,’ she promised herself. ‘Heimdallr wants to break me first, but he’ll be disappointed when he won’t hear a squeak from me. He might beat me in this duel, but he won’t win in breaking me.’

Heimdallr sneered as he saw Fluttershy laying there, her left wing mangled beyond recognition, and blood seeping out where her wing blades turned on her. It was time to finish this. He raised the flail to him once more, swung it behind him at full length into the air, and watched as the ball moved to crush Fluttershy’s skull.

Fluttershy looked up and saw the ball coming. At first her mind told her to just rest, and wait for the final peace, but suddenly another voice came in, one that sounded familiar. ‘Don’t give up,’ the voice said. ‘We’re all counting on you.’ Whatever or whoever it was, it was enough. Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open and she jumped back, letting the ball slam into the ground before her. Before Heimdallr could bring it back she brought out Drage Bane and severed the ball from the chain. She looked from the now melting flail to Heimdallr who was staring at her in disbelief.

That disbelief turned into a snarl. He dropped the chain and brought his sword up so he was holding it with two claws. With a cry of rage he charged forwards, his white-hot blade humming in its intense flame. Fluttershy went back down on all fours and charged forwards. She whispered a brief prayer in Dragonian before rearing up once more and meeting Heimdallr’s sword with her Drage Bane. The two blades came crashing down on each other with a force that would send shockwaves if it could. Both opponents nearly lost their balance, but quickly regained it by pulling away from each other.

Heimdallr attacked again, raining attack after attack on the Dragonlord from left, right, high and low. Yet every time Fluttershy was able to jump back, duck, or use her swords to parry. Heimdallr took another step forward, and brought his sword down from above his head. Fluttershy blocked the blow with both her swords. Suddenly Heimdallr released a claw from the sword and slashed its sharp fingers across Fluttershy’s left cheek.

Fluttershy staggered, holding a hoof over where Heimdallr had struck, giving Heimdallr the chance to finish her. He took his sword in both claws once more, and made ready to swoop it down into her skull. Just as he struck down, Fluttershy recovered and rolled around him, then cut off the dragon’s right wing with Drage Bane. Heimdallr howled at the pain he had been given, and then spun around to face her. Fluttershy now had three long scratches across her left cheek and below an eye, and they wept blood. Yet through it all, Fluttershy stayed calm and cool. She charged once again, and jumped and thrust Drage Bane forward, aiming for his throat.

Heimdallr jumped back, then took a step forward and swung the blade low, hoping to catch her neck. Fluttershy brought her head low, making her miss the blade by inches. She reared up again and tried to thrust her swords into Heimdallr. Heimdallr stepped back and deflected Drage Bane and blocked Firewing, sparks spitting out of Heimdallr’s sword on contact. Heimdallr attacked again, this time with a swing from above the head. Fluttershy stepped aside, and then bucked out with her hind legs, hitting him in the stomach and winding him.

Grinning, Fluttershy spun back around, reared up and brought Drage Bane down to go into his head. At the last moment Heimdallr brought his sword up and blocked the blow, then with his free claw he punched Fluttershy hard in the stomach and sent her onto her back. Slowly, he got up and gave his sword a few swings, then slowly walked towards the Dragonlord. Fluttershy rolled back onto her belly and began to get up, presenting her back to him. Grinning at the chance, he brought his sword up and swung it down, the tip of the sword cutting between her shoulders right down to the tip of her tail.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened once more at the pain she was feeling as she felt Heimdallr’s sword go down her back, but again she didn’t scream. ‘I will not scream, I will not scream, I will not scream,’ she kept telling herself. She stood on her hind legs for a moment, her face distorted as she tried to fight back the scream that wanted to be released, before collapsing back onto her stomach, blood dripping from the long line that now ruined her back.

Heimdallr chuckled, pleased that he was actually winning; won, was the better term for it. He was surprised Fluttershy was able to take a flail to the side like she did and still stand and fight, but now there was no chance she was able to get up from that.

Fluttershy felt her breath quicken, and began to see her life flash in front of her. She saw her friends, the crushes she had, the places she visited, the lives she’d helped, and the future, where it all came crashing down in fire. ‘Fluttershy,’ that voice called out again. This time, however, it sounded like Twilight’s. ‘I don’t know if you can hear me, or even if this spell is working, but I have faith in you. We all do. If you are down, if you are at the verge of giving up, don’t. Please don’t give up. We need you, as you need us.’

Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open once again, and with a groan of pain she started getting back on her hooves, her hind legs first then with all the strength she had left, her forelegs, until she was standing at full height. She slowly turned around to face Heimdallr, who had a look of sheer disbelief on his face. “You fight well,” he said, grudgingly impressed. “For someone who abhors violence.”

“You’re right. I hate violence. I hate killing and anything to do with it,” Fluttershy responded.

Heimdallr’s laugh echoed across the prison. “Then why do you fight? Why not just accept my offer and live down here? Why do anything you have done tonight?”

“Because I have five reasons worth fighting for,” she replied. With a cry she galloped forward, ignoring any pain she was feeling to the best of her ability. Upon reaching Heimdallr she reared up and began attacking him in a number of furious slashes with her swords. Heimdallr managed to block every time effortlessly, his sword producing ferocious sparks as it made contact with her swords.

Fluttershy stepped back, goading him into swinging his sword down from above him. Her gambit worked. Heimdallr swung his sword over his head and brought it down. Quickly she deflected the sword with Drage Bane, and charged forward, thrusting Firewing into his stomach. “Applejack!” she cried as Firewing went in. She pulled it out and took a step back. Heimdallr, roaring with rage and pain, charged at her, swinging his sword at her like he was possessed. She was able to duck every swing, and step aside from every swoop. Vidarr was right; having a clear head was helping her think clearer in battle, while Heimdallr seemed to have been lost in a rage. Fluttershy ducked low and dived between his legs, slashing with her okay wing blades at his right leg. “Rainbow Dash!”

Heimdallr, snarling in pain, spun around and raised his sword again and thrust it towards her. With a hoof she pressed down on the claw holding his sword, then with Firewing hacked it off. “Ra-rit-ty!” she cried out Rarity’s name, every syllable said as she brought Firewing into Heimdallr’s arm. Once finished with the arm, She spun around him and slashed across his back. “Pinkie Pie!” She moved back in front of him and looked into his eyes, which where of shock, pain and fear. “And Twilight Sparkle!” She jumped into the air and slashed Drage Bane through the neck, severing the head from the body, silencing the roar of defiance from Heimdallr’s lips.

And then the whole of Heimdallr’s body exploded into tiny chunks of magma.

---

“Get off of me, you vile creatures!” Rarity yelled, as she tried to get away from the grip of the duplicate above her. Just as she finished speaking, the duplicates raised their heads to the ceiling and let out an agonising roar. The five ponies flattened their ears, unable to do anything else to muffle the screams coming from them. Twilight looked up and gasped in disbelief at what she was seeing.

Slowly, but surely, the duplicates were beginning to melt.

Seizing the chance, Twilight tried to power up her horn again, but only thing that came up was sizzles. ‘That spell to contact Fluttershy must have taken a bigger toll on my magic than I’d thought,’ she mused. ‘Either that, or that knock to the head must have weakened my magic for a moment.’ Either way, she couldn’t rely on magic, so only her own strength would have to do. Using what strength she had left, she pushed the melting duplicate off her and got back to her hooves. She began running around, bucking off the duplicates that held their friends.

“Thanks, Twi,” Applejack said as Twilight helped her back on her hooves. She looked from the unicorn to the duplicates as they began to melt like candle wax into pools of magma. At first she had no idea what was going on, but suddenly it clicked – Fluttershy had won. “Did she do it?” she asked, turning back to Twilight.

The unicorn looked her way and nodded, a wide grin on her face, and tears of joy in her eyes. Behind her, Rainbow gave a loud cry of, “Wahoo!” followed closely behind by Pinkie, who jumped the pegasus in a hug and danced around with her. Rarity jumped for joy and punched the air, then joined in Pinkie and Rainbow’s hug. Applejack and Twilight joined in the hug, and soon all five mares were spinning around on the spot, cheering with joy as they realised what happened.

It was over. After everything that happened, Fluttershy had won.

Twilight glanced to her right and her wide grin faded as she saw the magma that was once a duplicate began to crawl away. Another soon began to crawl, then another, and another, until all of them were moving into the darkness like a thick river, towards where the controller went. “What’s happening now?” Pinkie asked.

“Fluttershy took out the duplicate controller, breaking the spell but that was it. Now the pieces of him are going to be put back in place and he’ll be restored to his original size. Battered and gravely injured but still alive,” Twilight answered, her eyes narrowing. “Whether or not he continues to live is for Fluttershy to decide.”

---

Fluttershy thought she could feel the world go round; it kept going round and around and around, almost like she was falling. The world blurred out for a moment, before coming back. Although there were many thoughts going through her head, one was strongest – she had won; she had actually defeated him. Then the world went dark once more.

The next thing she remembered was seeing large pools of magma crawling past her, and she groaned as she realised that Heimdallr wasn’t entirely dead yet. Now, she realised, she would have to choose; let him live, or finish him and end the threat he is to everything she holds close to her heart.

She closed her eyes again and the world went dark for a second. When she opened them again, she saw that the magma that was once Heimdallr was now beginning to build up into the massive dragon again. She lowered her head to face the ground, and with gritted teeth began to raise herself on all fours again. The move was painful, but she bit down the urge to cry out. Eventually she found herself standing on all fours and shifted them apart to strengthen her stand. Comfortable that she wouldn’t be falling on her face anytime soon, she looked up to see that Heimdallr’s reconstruction was complete.

Heimdallr was lying on his belly in his huge, normal form. His black, broken wings stretched out, while blood that looked like lava flowed out of him from the many gashes and wounds he had received when he was split apart, and one big cut where his brain was, the one she gave him. “How… did you do this?” Heimdallr choked. “How… did you defeat… me?”

“Because you underestimated me and my friends, Heimdallr,” Fluttershy replied weakly. She knew she was loosing blood quickly, and if she didn’t get out of here soon she would die also. But it didn’t seem to matter for some reason.

Heimdallr closed his eyes and coughed up some lava like blood. “Then… finish it. End me as you promised. Bring about your vengeance and kill me.” Heimdallr closed his eyes and waited for the final blow.

Fluttershy just stood where she was, her cold-hearted stare unyielding. Killing Heimdallr was the one thing she wanted to do since she’d lost her father. And now she was here, why couldn’t she? Would her father have wanted to kill him? The answer would most likely have been yes, but not out of vengeance, but out of duty like Vidarr had said. Killing him now would be going against the laws of the Dragonlords.

She sighed and limply stepped away from him. “I can’t,” she said.

Heimdallr opened up an eye and chuckled, spitting out some blood. “Because you are weak.”

“No!” she shouted as loud as she could. “Because I’m better than you. You lost your son in the Great War, and turned your grief into rage and hatred. Turning you into… this. Have you ever thought of what your son would think if he saw you? Do you think your son would love you for what you’ve done?”

The questions hit Heimdallr harder than what any sword or axe blow would’ve done. His eyes widened and his claws clenched together as the hurt and pain came up all over again. “I’m not going to kill you, Heimdallr, nor can I forgive you for what you’ve done. Instead, I’m going to turn around and leave this place, and lock it behind me. You will never get out, but you will be alive. That’s more that can be said for those you butchered.” She bowed her head in respect, turned around and limped towards where she hoped the exit was. She didn’t think she would get far, but she could at least try.

“Stop!” Heimdallr called from behind her. Fluttershy stopped, and looked at him without contempt. The dragon closed his eyes; fighting back the pain he was feeling, both physical and mental. “It’s too late, Fluttershy Firewing. These wounds I have are too great that not even I can survive them. I will die in agony. Will you leave me here? Leave me in the dark to die in agony? Or if you are indeed the spirit of kindness, then maybe you can give me mercy.”

Painfully, he raised his right claw and pointed to the burning torch and sconce behind Fluttershy. “That sconce is what the last key is for, Dragonlord,” Heimdallr explained. “Upon placing the key in that hole, this chamber will break and flood, destroying the prison and killing me. Although it will be painful, it will compare little to what I will feel for a while if you don’t.”

Fluttershy looked from Heimdallr to the sconce, then back to Heimdallr again with a confused look. “How is that even possible? Starswirl created the five keys, he made them to stop you using your magic.”

“And I imagine your father told you this, who had read it from Starswirls’ journals?” Heimdallr enquired weakly, making Fluttershy think he was going to lay his head down and die. Fluttershy nodded, her teeth gritted together as a wave of pain went through her. “Just because Starswirl the Bearded wrote it down and said this is what happened, doesn’t mean it is the truth, Fluttershy Firewing. Only those in power write history, and the truth is always discarded in every case so those in power can make themselves look better.”

“So what’s the truth behind this?”

“In truth, the fifth was created along with this prison soon after I was defeated. Starswirl discovered the fifth key in the Dragonlord archives upon realising I was alive, and then made four copies of the original to act as keys for the new door he had built above the original.”

“Then why didn’t they activate it? Why do all of what they did, then leave?” Fluttershy asked, her voice just above a whisper in her weak state. “If they weren’t sure about your survival, then why didn’t they make the key do what they intended it to do?”

Heimdallr chuckled. “It is simple, Fluttershy Firewing. The Dragonlords were the most arrogant, most reckless ponies alive. They believed themselves superior over everything, and some even looked down upon others. Their arrogance blinded them to what truly mattered – taking me out. Only a few saw through that veil of arrogance the Dragonlords were cursed with, but their allegations and requests were always denied. Through their arrogance, your father, your family and your freinds have paid a terrible price.”

Fluttershy looked at him, her mind, although weakening, processed slowly what she had been told. After a while, she narrowed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. “You’re lying.”

A claw from Heimdallr lashed out at her, hoping to get hold of her and crush her. It didn’t get far for as soon as he extended it, he gritted his teeth in pain and was forced to stop. “Don’t you dare accuse me of lying!” he roared. “There is one thing I take pride in, and that’s my honesty. I have never lied to you; I have no reason to lie to you. So don’t you dare call me a liar again. I might be dying, but I could still crush you like a nut.”

Fluttershy’s legs wobbled as they tried to keep her upright. “Then... what are you waiting for?” Her body complaining in protest, she reared up and stretched her forelegs out wide. “The last of the Dragonlords is before you. All you need to do is stretch out your claw, and finish me. Do what you’ve wanted to do for so long. End me, and we would both die and this war would end with us, as it should.”

Heimdallr only coughed up some more magma-like blood in response. “I can’t,” he choked out.

Fluttershy really didn’t expect that. She set herself back down on all fours. “Why not?”

Because I am tired, Fluttershy Firewing. Tired of killing, tired of war, tired of despair. All I want now is for it all to end,” Heimdallr answered. “You’re right. My son wouldn’t want to look at me if he saw what I was, and wouldn’t even want to know me if he knew what I had done. The only way this can end for me is death, a quick death, one that only you can grant. So if you have any compassion left in your heart, use that key and break the spell that surrounds this place. Kill me and let this world be rid of me, and I be rid of it.”

Fluttershy looked from Heimdallr to the sconce, then back again. “I can’t do that,” she said.

“I do not live a life, Fluttershy Firewing. I am a sickness, a cancer that must be cleansed, and only you can do it. So please, do it. Do it. DO IT!” Heimdallr roared.

Fluttershy took the key out of her mane with a hoof, and limped heavily towards the sconce. She felt sick to her stomach as she approached, her heart beating faster and faster as she realised she was about to do a mercy killing. Heimdallr nudged her forward gently with a claw till she was right in front of it. “I haven’t got all day,” he said.

Fluttershy reared up and placed the key into the hole. Like she predicted it slotted into place perfectly, now all she needed to do was push it completely in.

“May I ask, what was your son’s name?” Fluttershy asked, as she placed a hoof on the key, ready to push forward.

“Meili, his name was,” Heimdallr answered, with a warm smile at his son’s memory.

“And what is your original name? Because I know Heimdallr’s not your true name?”

“My real name is Yngvi,” the ancient dragon answered.

“Tilgi meg, Yngvi (Forgive me, Yngvi),” Fluttershy said.

“Ingenting å tilgi for, Fluttershy Ildvinge (There is nothing to forgive, Fluttershy Firewing),” Yngvi answered. With that, Fluttershy pushed the key forward, and a clicking sound echoed from it being fully placed. At the moment Fluttershy pulled away, the torch above it went out.

---

“Shh,” Rarity whispered, raising her hoof to silence her friends whom were all talking at once. “What’s that rumbling sound?”

The other four ponies stopped what they were doing and listened intently to hear what Rarity heard. After a moment, they all began to hear a rumbling sound, low at first but was getting louder and louder in its intensity. “Please tell me that was one of ya’ll stomachs,” Applejack said, her eyes going from pony to pony.

Suddenly, from above them, a large spout of water burst through the ceiling and landed not too far from them. The five mares jumped back in fright as it appeared, then jumped again as another hole gushing with water appeared, then another, and another, until the entire prison began to fill with water. “OUT!” Twilight screamed, turning around and galloping towards the entrance. The other quickly caught up with her.

“What about Fluttershy?” Pinkie enquired.

Twilight stopped in her tracks. She looked back at where Fluttershy had gone and felt awful for a moment for even thinking of leaving without her. “You all get outside, I’ll get Fluttershy,” she ordered them. The four ponies looked at each other hesitantly. “GO!” She snapped at them. It gave them the boost she wanted, for they began running to the stairs and outside. With them safe, Twilight spun around and galloped back into the darkness, jumping and avoiding the puddles of water that was slowly beginning to fill up the prison.

---

Fluttershy watched as the water began to flow in, spout after spout appearing from the ceiling as the water began to rise and fill up the prison. At first she felt like running towards finding the entrance, probably find her friends’ bodies, and try to find a way of getting them all to safety, but now that felt like an idea she would never accomplish. She felt weak; she could feel one or two of her legs beginning to go numb, her side and back screamed in pain, and her vision was beginning to blur. Yet for some reason it didn’t matter. She collapsed onto her rump, bowed her head and simply waited for the end.

A wheezy but pained chuckle from Heimdallr made her look up. “Hvorfor sitter du der, klar til å kaste ditt liv vekk? Din tid er ikke over ennå, Fluttershy Ildvinge (Why are you sitting there, ready to throw your life away? Your time is not over yet, Fluttershy Firewing). He quickly grabbed hold of her, making Fluttershy fear he was going to crush her, but instead he gently threw her towards the entrance. “GO!” he shouted at her, just as a jet of water broke through the ceiling above him, and crashed against his back, hissing as his body went into a cool down. Heimdallr screamed at the touch of the water. “RUN!” he screamed out. Then he disappeared under the huge jets of water, and he was no more.

Fluttershy realised Heimdallr was right; her time was not over yet, and she would fight to live, even for a little while. It would be worth it just to say goodbye to her friends. She got up from the floor and began galloping as fast she could towards the entrance, hoping she was going the right way. She glanced back to see the water now filling up the chamber, and coming after her in a huge tidal wave, seemingly intent to finish her.

But Fluttershy had other intentions, so she ran faster. She suddenly tripped on her own hooves and fell onto her side. She tried to get back up but her strength left her. She sighed sadly and realised she won’t see her friends again. If they were lucky and were still alive they were all on that boat and away from here. Herself, on the other hoof, knew this would probably happen. She knew it was going to be a one-way trip the moment she set hoof in here. “Goodbye Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack,” she whispered. With that, she closed her eyes and waited for the end.

She suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air, and thought for a second she would soon be seeing her mother and father. That changed when she heard Twilight’s voice echo through her ears. “Not today, Fluttershy!” Fluttershy opened her eyes to find herself wrapped in Twilight’s magic – the unicorn herself looking pained as she used her magic – and was being flown towards the unicorn.

“Let’s get out of here,” Twilight said, gently placing the pegasus on her back.

“I… agree,” Fluttershy said, her vision blurring as she started to feel weaker and weaker.

Twilight looked ahead to see water beginning to flood the chamber, and heard Fluttershy produce a wheezy breath. She didn’t know if Fluttershy would make it, but she had to try and save her. She spun away from the water and began galloping as hard and fast as she could in her state, the only thing keeping her going was her and Fluttershy’s survival.

She veered away from another jet of water as it crashed through the ceiling, and began joining the others in flooding the chamber. Twilight still wasn’t sure how this was happening, but it mattered little now. She suddenly saw the stairs, lowered her head towards the ground and galloped even quicker to get out. “We’re nearly there, just hang on!” she called to Fluttershy, even though the pegasus could barely hear her friend.

Twilight made it to the stairs just before the water managed to catch up with them. She raced up the stairs, taking each step in three’s. She looked back once more and saw the water was just beginning to flood the stairway. Feeling slightly relaxed at their situation, she slowed her gallop, but quickly realised that Fluttershy still needed help, so began to take the stairs three at a time once more. After ten minutes or so she could see the first hint of light from outside, and smiled.

She leapt the last few and was soon back into the light of dawn. She looked eastward to see the top of the sun rising over the mountains. “Look at that sunrise, Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered. “Although Celestia is the one who raises it, you were the one who gave us it.”

Fluttershy weakly raised her head and looked in the direction of the sun, her eyes narrow and her back covered in her blood. She raised a small, although pained smile, as she watched the sun’s rays shoot out from the sun and into the sky.

Twilight’s smile faded when she saw the full extent of Fluttershy’s injuries, and turned to face where the boat was. She gasped in horror when she saw their only chance to escape drifting away from the island, while her friends watched with solemn eyes as it departed. “I’m sorry, Twi,” Applejack said. “We just got here and saw the boat float away. We couldn’t stop it in time.”

Fluttershy let out a breath of air, and fell off Twilight’s back and onto her right side. “Fluttershy!” the five ponies cried, rushing over to the fallen pegasus and trying to get her back up. They all jumped at the sound of something being broke apart. They watched with horror as one of the mountains that looked so sturdy, suddenly collapsed on itself. From within came a great whoosh of water that began filling the Horscan sea up. The spell that held this place together was broken, and now a place of magic was collapsing on itself. It would leave no trace of Heimdallr’s existence – none.

“We did it, girls,” Fluttershy whispered, loud enough for them to hear.

“No, Fluttershy. You did it. You saved us all,” Applejack said, tears pouring from her eyes. She knew what was happening, but didn’t want to believe it – Fluttershy was saying her goodbyes.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I didn’t save you. I brought you all here and now you’re going to die because of me. I brought this about. I did this, and for that I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Fluttershy. Just save your energy,” Twilight said, whilst trying to think of a way to save them all, but yet every escape plan that she had escaped her. She looked towards Rainbow. “Rainbow, go. Save yourself. You don’t need to die here.”

Rainbow looked at her plainly for a moment, and then replied, “You’re kidding me, right? I would rather cut off my own wings than leave you all.”

They all bowed their heads as they realised this was it. “Well,” Fluttershy whispered, “I’m glad I’m with you all, here at the end.”

Twilight smiled, and then wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy, even as tears poured down her cheeks. The others followed in quick succession, having one last group hug before the end. “We’ve been through a lot, all of us,” Rarity said, sniffing back tears. “We’ve had some good moments, and some bad ones, but I still wouldn’t pass any of it for the world.” The others agreed. “I just wish I could say goodbye to my sister,” Rarity added, “and my parents.”

“We all do, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “But I’m sure they will hear us, wherever they are.” She emphasised this by shouting into the sky, “Applebloom! Granny Smith! Big Mac! I love you all! And remember me!”

“Sweetie Belle! Mother! Father! I love you with all my heart! Don’t forget me!” Rarity followed Applejack’s example.

Rainbow looked at them both, and then followed their example. “Mom! Dad! I know I might not have been the best daughter you had! I know I might have been harsh in what I said to both of you the last time we saw each other! But I have always loved you both dearly, and I couldn’t have asked for better parents! Remember me as I was!”

Pinkie, with tears in her eyes, called out in the sky. “Mom! Dad! Inkie! Dinkie! I’m sorry that I ran away like I did! There hasn’t been a moment gone by where I wanted to see you all again and see how you’re getting on! I love you all! Always!”

Twilight was last. “Mom! Dad! Shining Armor! Cadence! Spike! I hope you can hear me, but I love you all so much! And I’m sorry!”

Fluttershy glanced at the cold water that closed in around them, then up towards where the sun was rising. She gave a small smile, as she knew she was the one who gave the world this, but the cost to her seemed a bit too much. Why did her friends have to die also? It mattered little now, for she was beginning to feel nothing. She breathed a small sigh of content as she prepared herself to join her mother and father.

And then the world went black.

Comments

[Fluttershy20]

Well this is it; this is the result of what happens when I listen to too much music by Howard Shore. Plus this one was a complete bitch to finish.

Hope you enjoy, and if you're angry about that cliffhanger, I would like to point out that a specially trained monkey wrote the end, so blame him.

[David-The-Peach]

nice job...i got to ask what inspired this cues when i was looking around and i saw dragon lord i thought of the online game dragonfable.

[Fluttershy20]

1751389 A lot of things really: lord of the rings, the elder scrolls, the name Dragonlord because it is awesome to name but a few. I hope you enjoy the rest

[Alondro]

1584178 What about "G Gundam"?!

THIS HOOF OF MINE IS BURNING RED!!!

That show was like a giant robot soap opera. It was so cheesy and lame it was awesome.

[Fluttershy20]

1751469 Oops, don't kill me just yet, or you won't know where the treasure is... that's not going to work is it? Blimey you read fast though.

[Sky Charmer]

What?! No Spike? static3.fjcdn.com/comments/Black+_1335d36837e789e29376517698eafa71.jpg

[Fluttershy20]

1751487 Sorry I couldn't fit him in this one. Next story, however...

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

1751419 Too true, but I was referencing how Kamina helped Simon believe in himself in Gurren Lagann.

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

1751284 I won't kill you because I know that they'll be saved by Vidarr!

[Fluttershy20]

1751510 What gave you that impression? hehehehe

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

1751528 Because he's still alive and well, and he has already proven that he can carry all of the Mane 6!!!

[Fluttershy20]

1751538 Ah, but can he save all of them?

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

1751554 It'll be difficult to keep Fluttershy alive long enough to get proper medical attention, but she's obviously your favorite pony (you're using her name in your username, after all), so you'll come up with a way to save her.

[Fluttershy20]

1751577 True she's my favourite pony (and that love for her grew after last week's episode), but if I say any more I will give it away and I would hate myself, so I'm not saying any more.

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

1751600 Okay, but I hope you have a way to allow there to be more Dragonlords.

[Fluttershy20]

1751619 I've had an idea recently where another one of the mane six is revealed to be a Dragonlord, and a whole story comes out of that, but other than that no.

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

1751646 Aww.

[Bronydragon]

1751646
DON'T SPOIL ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dragon

[Fluttershy20]

1751771 I'm not I swear.

[Sky Charmer]

1751491
Yeah, I just assumed since it had something to do with Dragonlords, it would have Spike in it.

[Sky Charmer]

.1480072
I just noticed something. He isn't blinking. He is the record holder for holding his eyes open while clapping for the longest time!

[Rennoc215]

An update?

Terribly sad... The feels...
I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!

[Fluttershy20]

1752009 Thanks for pointing those out, and I hope you enjoy the rest

[andmos]

Dette er rat strange that I can Norwegian and did not see this error before I read this again:
Dette er rart.
See if I got similarity of errors, ok?

[Fluttershy20]

1752103 Okay and once again I can't thank you enough for doing these translations for me. You've been a big help, truly.

[Cobrawolf_Meiji2012]

This needs a sequel!

[Fluttershy20]

1752222 We shall see about that...

[DanvilleBengal]

One thing I have noticed, is this. And yes, you can hate me for wanting you to spoil the story already, I have read all of this story on Fanfiction.net so I understand generally what happened to Fluttershy, from the dragon attack to meeting Firewing (Fluttershy's father), to finally meeting Hellmajiner ( i know it's spelled wrong, so sue me) . I have to know, is it possible that since Fluttershy is a Dragonlord, could Spike be one too, and if that is the case, what kind of truly screwed up event would have to happen in order to have his latent powers arise?

Just wondering....

[Nessos25]

This scene could only remember more of "the Lord of the Rings", if one of them would have mentioned the Shire, but that only underscores the epic of it.

[the Joyless1]

cliffhanger
nnnnnnooooooOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD NO
wh-hy-hy-hy
good job though

[Battoushy]

That cliffhanger.

[E3gner]

Very impressive good sir.
I, for one, actually liked the cliffhanger, it made a nice change of pace, plus the fighting scenes were glorious.
I could almost taste the blood.....
Very cleverly written good sir, and now to cap it all off.
How will Fluttershy deal with her near-immortality?
Will the main-6 survive from their wounds, psychologically and physically?
Will Princess Trollestia make a final appearance?
When will I stop asking stupid questions? *slap*
err. sorry about that. In any case, good luck and have fun

[Bronydragon]

1751803
Only wanted to make sure that I don't have to come over and do things. Have fun with your imagination about that.

Dragon

[Fluttershy20]

1752379 Spike isn't a Dragonlord, only ponies can be, and no I don't hate you for spoiling it. Good thought, by the way.

1754375 Thank you, those fights were tough to write, and I will answer those questions for you in no particualr order...
A: No... B: Maybe... C: Through friendship. Enjoy

1754617 Don't we all.

1756880 Please don't kill me

1753397 I'm surprised how many acted like that when it came to his death, I seriously didn't expect it.

[Bronydragon]

1757134
It depends on you.
Do anything wrong enough and, Celestia shall be my witness, you'd beg be me to kill you.
Nah just kidding. I like your story. Unfortunately I wasn't able to read the last seven chapters just yet.
Or should you be worried? I'm a crazy guy, sooooo...

Dragon

[Cellin]

She reared up on her hind legs and spread her forelegs out wide. “Who the mare?!” she exclaimed.

*Nova Face-hoof's so hard the hoof comes out the back of his head, Sin grabs a shot-gun and puts it in his mouth, Saint grabs a funnel and memory bleach*

[Fluttershy20]

1759720 Don't worry about rushing it. Take your time with it, it is a novel after all.

1759836 That was a Doctor Who reference if you didn't know already. The Doctor does the same thing and promises never to say it again in The Eleventh Hour. Plus I hope you're alright after that facehoof.

[Pax]

I have a question. Will there be more? Something is missing. Something so so very important. What is it?

[Professor Donger]

DOS FUQ

[Bronydragon]

1763645
Thanks for understanding. I have so many stories to read in my fave list and have little time when I read one.
With your 10k+ word chapters it is hard to keep it up to date.

Dragon

[Fluttershy20]

1765570 Which one, the song of captivity or Vale Decem?

1768507 You're welcome. 10k + chapters will be something I'll try to avoid in the future, I know it is off putting to see a 10k + chapter up there and so little time to read it.

[Bronydragon]

1769238
Yeah that's right, but please don't change anything just because a silly reader/beginner is saying that the chapters are big and I'm not able to read them too often. I really enjoy reading them, when I got the chance and time for it.

Dragon

[Fluttershy20]

1769274 I won't change the chapter length for this story for anyone. It's all practice in the end.

[Bronydragon]

1769474

Dragon

[LunarSeraph]

B-b-b-but... Fluttershy Has to live!

[payasofobia]

YES! New chapter!

[payasofobia]

Wait, NO!

YOU CAN'T KILL FLUTTERSHy!

[crystalponies]

can you pretty please make another ending a happy one please

[crystalponies]

the mane six cant die they just cant

[Fluttershy20]

1778189 It's not over yet...