Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis

by Jasper77W

Chapter 75: The End- Part 02: Friendship is Magic

A long time ago, in a history older than the princesses themselves; a Queen ruled over the world. Where she came from, where the world came from; still remains an even older mystery. As far as the Queen was concerned, one day she was given the task of organizing the world and improving upon its blueprint.

To make the Earth and its inhabitants more manageable, she created two fundamental elements: Science, and Magic. Science was logical, new, and it drove innovation. Magic was warm. It was the very essence of life, and could only be poured into inanimate objects through a living form itself. Science dictated the physical realm and parts of the spiritual, whereas Magic interacted with the souls and played little part in the true world.

The two coexisted in peace, for many centuries. Then Science was slowly worn away, Magic having a special place in the hearts of the inhabitants of Equestria. Slowly Equestria became a world of magic, driven only by the primitive innovations left behind by science. Those that supported science rose up and fought for what they believed in.

The Queen watched her subjects fight. Initially she wished for evolution to bring about the painful change, but eventually she gave in and terminated Science with the assistance of the Magic Faction, deeming it a failure without seeing the experiment to its end.

Soon she realized her mistake, for she had no control over the individuals that dwell on her world. Science lived on in the minds of its supporters, and the world was cast into turmoil. Her interference had obliterated the world's balance.

Thus she created Fate, and along with it she planned her blueprint and hid it in the sun. Then, to cast an eternal spell and ensure that the universe's blueprint will never be tampered with, she sealed the sun in an eclipse that lasted for decades upon decades in order to nurture the spell.

Her true name was lost in time as she came to be known as Queen Penumbra.

The blueprint was kept safe to ensure nopony will ever make her mistake ever again, not even herself- so she sealed her own power inside a crimson stone, set it as the key to her precious blueprint, and cast a curse upon it.

Without her power, the Queen slowly faded away to non-existence... But she rested in peace knowing that no pony will be able to tamper with the universe, with Fate; not even the alicorns that came after her to rule over the land.

All that attempted to unlock the blueprint required the stone to open the seal. All did it for greed, for the power of the universe. All succumbed to the stone's curse and used its power instead, and all perished in their own lust for control.

Only a subject with true purpose can resist the stone's temptations and unlock the blueprint. And even when it is unlocked, it would cost the subject's very existence to alter.

To change the universe required true sacrifice.

The stone was eventually lost, never to be found again until recent times.

For millennia Fate watched, waiting for somepony to acquire it and do something noble.

One day an Empress of a lost empire picked it up from where it hid in the shadowy depths, brushed off the dust, and stared at its curse with a smile. She did not give in to it, no matter how much it tried to appeal to her.

This Empress understood. She had been through hardships. She knew exactly what she wanted, and it wasn't power.

She contacted Fate, asking him if she could edit the blueprint.

Fate decided to test her resolve as he was programmed to do so by the Queen, thus told her she had to reach the sun first.

The Empress simply smiled, tilted her head to one side, and said she'd build a ship. A big ship, and one day she'll come for it.

*

"Captain Armor! Sir!" One of the officers on the bridge of the NEMESIS shouted. "You have to see this!"

Shining Armor turned away from the makeshift conference table set up in the command center and walked to the large windows that lined the very front of the bridge.

"What's going on?" He inquired.

"BACK IT UP! BACK UP!!" Somepony was yelling, the entire ship lurching as it retreated.

Shining Armor stabilized himself on a hoofrail. Then he looked out the window at the Tower as it rose into the sky.

He moved closer, peering down at the city below as it came closer. It was going up into the air.

"The entire city's lifting off!"

The NEMESIS backed up just outside the city, the nose of it brushing against the tip of a skyscraper built into the walls of Valhalla.

The very universe itself seemed to quake as the city made its ascension, the myriad of high-powered engines driving the thing pulsating a brilliant blue and scorching the snow below with hot smoke that curled on for miles upon miles.

A giant spaceship. A ship far more impressive than anything ever seen before, even the barricade and the COLOSSUS.

Shining Armor stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, at the monstrosity as it slowly lifted itself from the ground.

*

Rainbow looked up. The very sky and clouds were making way for them.

That meant they didn't have a lot of time. They had a whole army ahead of them to fight, including Val and Eclipse.

"Let me save the world, Rainbow." Val said, a fresh katana in her hands.

"You can say that to my corpse." Rainbow snarled, clenching the cleaver.

Nightshade's good eye flickered up to the sky, where the broken moon hung half concealed in the light of day. She pulled out an odd cylindrical object, and fired it at the sky.

A line of purple light slithered to the heavens, then exploded in a fiery display of lavender smoke.

*

A pair of glistening sapphire blue eyes slid open in the shadows, black slits in the center contracting as they adjusted to the light.

A pair of ancient demon wings clicked menacingly as they slowly spread across the darkness, shedding light on the armored body beneath. It glistened from both the sun and the reflected light from the earth, old and scarred however well kept and maintained.

"Brothers, sisters..." The archaic yet surprisingly powerful voice seethed. "...It is time."

"Mages! Link our worlds!" A different voice boomed over the broken moon, echoing in its every carved detail and cavern.

Giant pentagrams that reeked of dark magic switched on one by one across the moon, deep purple fumes slowly rolling across the silvery dusts as more glyphs came to life, dancing in circles around their mother glyphs.

From the deepest caves of the moon came a cry, followed by the fluttering of a thousand leathery wings. A tidal wave of shadows poured forth and entered the portals.

The creature with the sapphire eyes stood up on her legs, watching as her subjects flooded into the pentagrams. She cast one look around her at the place where she simultaneously remembers spending a thousand years in isolation and decades of seething in revenge. It was all coming down to this, regardless of what the future may bring. This will be the last fight.

"Sister..." She bowed her head in the direction of the sun. "...Watch over us, for light is required by every shadow." She said, then with a powerful beat of her wings she flew up into space- then dove right back down again like a meteor and slammed through the portal.

*

A mist of shadows exploded across the sky, and down from that crashed a dark demonic form. Dark purple ashes ran across the ground as it looked up, and fixed the science faction with a cool calm gaze from its unusual ivory eyes.

Both sides held tight onto their weapons, unsure of whether or not to attack. Rainbow kept her eye on the creature as it tilted its head to one side. Val raised an eyebrow, katana raised in a battle ready stance.

Then another came crashing down from space with a loud 'poof', landing on four legs and spreading its bat-like wings.

Then another. And another.

Soon the sky was filled with shadowy explosions, clouds ripping apart from the constant blasts of magic.

Nopony knew who fired the first shot. All they knew was that it all went to hell pretty quickly.

Val's assault units charged forth, firing at the batponies. They teleported from shadow to shadow, avoiding the bullets then tearing their enemy's heads off from behind. Some went down, but the majority of casualties was on the science faction side.

The Strikers joined in, launching high explosives at the crowd. They themselves became hazardous high explosives as Magic Faction Apollos flew in overhead, reinforcements from battles won elsewhere.

Some of the assault units suddenly morphed into insect-like creatures and started attacking as well, the sharp little horns on their heads firing green bolts of corrosive magical energy.

Rainbow saw Val leave the fight, walking back to the castle and slicing at the occasional attacker that made it through her forces. She ran after her, blasting and cutting robots out of her way as she sprinted through the battlefield. She was stopped by three elite assault units as they unexpectedly ducked under her swings and fired at her.

She dodged their bullets and managed to take one down, but they were delaying her and more units were closing in.

Then a blue blast of magic knocked them down into individual robot parts.

"Go after Valkyrie. We've got it from here." Princess Luna said, her horn flaring as she tore a Striker in half with her telekinesis.

"Luna...?" Rainbow looked up, at a loss for words. "How...?"

"There's no time! Shut down this ship!" Luna roared, crushing an assault unit under her hooves as it's bullets sparked uselessly off of her enchanted armor.

Rainbow nodded, then ran after Val.

Eclipse caught sight of the pegasus as she ducked under prism fire from the sky and took aim.

Her priorities were immediately diverted as she had to conjure up a shield to block a flying knife. It bounced off of her orange barrier, but Rainbow had gone out of sight again as a result of this slight delay.

"You're a lot harder to kill than I thought." Nightshade said, flicking the knife up with her hoof and yanking out the safety pin.

"As are you." Eclipse said, sprouting cannons from her glowing wings. Then she shot the floor, a plume of smoke rising from the crack in the floor. Nightshade coughed, taking a step back and shielding her eyes from the jet of hot gas.

When the smoke faded, Eclipse was gone.

*

"VALKYRIE!" Val heard a scream from behind her, and turned- prism cannon charging in her hand.

Rainbow tackled her before she could fire, and the both of them went crashing down the hall.

Val threw a punch at Rainbow's face as they skid, and Rainbow retaliated by slamming Val's head into the ground. They hit the far wall which broke them up, the both of them trying to stagger up before the other.

Val got there first and launched a kick into Rainbow's side. The pegasus gasped for air and fell back down again, her recently healed ribs straining under more force.

Val aimed her prism cannon at her forehead, the loud hum signaling a charging bolt of energy.

Rainbow looked up, a small trickle of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Can't believe a simple kick is going to be what gets her killed.

At some point she had given up. After everything, a little bit of her gave in to the blissfulness of not having to care at all- and for a split second, while she was still snarling at her enemy; it showed in her eyes.

But Val didn't fire. Instead, she discharged the bolt against the far wall and took off running.

Rainbow scrambled up and shelled at her with her cleaver, the high caliber rounds ricocheting off the metal halls. No hits scored.

She grunted, helping herself up with the cleaver and stumbling after Val.

Val had taken a lift up. Rainbow hoofed the button with frustration, waiting for the other elevator to drop.

Finally it did, and after enduring two minutes of out of place elevator music; she stumbled back out again.

The same hall to the throne room.

"What are you doing back here?" She whispered to nopony in particular, limping towards the blasted double doors.

The throne room was not as it was when she first came in. The explosives had created a giant hole in the middle of it, and much of the once grand black marble had been obliterated. Sunlight poured through a gaping breach in the tower wall instead of the giant floor to ceiling windows that once were.

It was almost saddening.

"You could've killed me." Rainbow said as she limped into the room, Valkyrie standing against the throne with her back to her. Eclipse stood off to one corner, observing, her crimson eyes glowing in the shadows.

"I didn't feel like it." Val replied.

"Really? Is that it?" Rainbow growled.

"I can hurl a train at you, shoot at you, slice at you- but every time I knew you'd get back up again if I didn't kill you. Just... That time... You looked like you weren't going to." She said.

Rainbow's eyes dimmed a little. Then she shook it off.

"I'm not giving up. Not just yet." She said firmly.

Val nodded. "There's little point in killing a mare who's already dead on the inside." She turned around. "You know, you've really been a frustrating character for me. I'm the immortal one here, and yet- you never seem to be able to die either."

"Perhaps you're not immortal enough." Rainbow suggested, and Val laughed.

"That is PRECISELY what I thought!" She said, then opened a panel in the throne and pulled something out.

A necklace.

A red and black necklace.

That was shaped like an alicorn.

She grinned at the look on Rainbow's face, tilting her head to one side as she held it up. She had the exact look of a little kid that just found a crab on the beach- a little kid that seems unaware of the fact that the crab was going to snap it's claws at her.

"Recognize this?"

Rainbow swallowed. "Where'd you get that?"

"I found it in an old castle. It's kind of easy to find things when the world belongs to you.
Anyhow, I stumbled upon this little gem and a manuscript left behind by its previous owner... And that's how I found Genesis. You see, the amulet is the key to Genesis. It opens its gates." She held up the amulet, peering at its glimmering red crystal as rays of sunlight hit it. "I've resisted its temptation for quite a while now, but... I guess it's time to put it on. Not for greed, but for necessity." She said, looking back down again at Rainbow.

"You do realize you're an earth pony, don't you?" Rainbow chuckled, albeit nervously.

"Ah, yes, I do have a solution." Val got out a piece of cardboard and rolled it into a paper horn. She propped it on her head with all seriousness, then laughed at Rainbow, scrunched it up and cast it aside. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm neither pink nor fluffy nor a unicorn. I will be dancing on rainbows in a minute though. You see, the amulet's power can be tapped into by anyone. Anything. It's interface is universal- and history knows that all too well."

"You will lose yourself if you put that on." Rainbow warned. There was, surprisingly, the missing note of desperation in her voice. She wasn't afraid to fight Val. She was genuinely warning her, for her own good.

Val splayed out her hands and shrugged to complete the gesture. "But haven't I done that already?"

There was no humor in her voice as she flexed her cybernetic fingers. Just something cold.

The amulet glowed a dim red as she moved it towards her neck.

She caught a sudden blur of motion to her right, and instinctively dropped the amulet and raised her hand in defense as Eclipse formed an incineration cannon around her hoof.

She pointed it at Val and fired without a moment's notice.

It didn't go as she'd hoped it would.

The bolt of pure thermal energy bounced off of Val's palm, the reflected ray vaporizing the entirety of her back legs in less than a second.

She fell, a surprised expression flashing across her face before being replaced by agony as what remained of her lower body oozed against the wall and floor in a sticky pool of melted flesh and molten armor. She raised her arm up to attack again, but the cannon shimmered and burst into a thousand tiny orange pixels, gone for good.

She watched on with utter hopelessness as Val approached her, a long sword deploying from her wrist.

The next thing she knew she was being hoisted off of the floor and impaled to the wall by the shoulder.

She thought Val would yell at her. Maybe scream a little. Or maybe some of her low, angry, whispering.

But none of that came from the cyberpony. She just stared with a lost look in her eyes.

"Eclipse..." She murmured softly, desperately trying to grasp the current situation.

"You knew it would boil down to this if you tried to put the amulet on." Eclipse grunted, her hooves clawing at Val's arm to take some of the pressure from the sword off of her shoulder.

"I know, I know.... But... I didn't want it to ever..." Val retracted the sword, catching Eclipse in her arms and gently kneeling down.

"You had counter measures... I really should've seen it coming..."

"I never intended to use them, Eclipse... Not ever and ever." Val slumped back, and sniffed.

"Please, please... Don't use the amulet... I made sure its curse would be lethal to the spirit... Please..."

"But it's the only way now..." Val whined like a little child, anxious, guilty, and desperate.

Then Eclipse, for the first time, smiled.

"You seem sad, Val. Is that what's making you think that way? Remember, I've told you, since the day we met, that the amulet is never, and will never be, the answer."

"No! I know! It's just-" Val wiped her eyes with the back of a hand, then cradled Eclipse and rested her cheek against her neck in an effort to hide the pain on her face. "I really, really liked you." She sniffed again.

"You were my dream, Val." Eclipse whispered, closing her eyes. "I believed you'd succeed where I'd failed. You haven't been perfect, but you've been stronger than me. Please don't fail me."

"I won't, I won't..." Val sobbed. "Eclipse, I'm sorry..."

"...Don't be..."

You were my dream... The words echoed in Val's head for a while after she finally let Eclipse go. She had passed away in her arms, believing. Whatever rebirth system that Val had put in place for her was disabled the moment the counter measures kicked in.

Octavia had joined them sometime earlier. She had heard her hoofsteps, and the conversation she had with Rainbow in hushed tones. She, however, paid them no attention. She didn't feel up to it.

But eventually she had to, as she let out one last sigh, and turned.

"Regardless of our relationship, I'm sorry for your loss." Rainbow said as she stood side by side with Octavia, gently resting the tip of the cleaver on the ground.

"Don't be." Val said after a moment as she walked to the amulet. "You didn't take this when you had the chance. In all honesty I probably would've let you have it."

"We don't want the amulet. We want Genesis." Rainbow replied evenly, dipping her hat a little.

"Don't we all." Val muttered, picking up the amulet. She didn't put it on though, as she examined it. "You didn't pick it up, but you could've stopped me."

Octavia glanced at Rainbow. Clearly they had had this conversation earlier already. She didn't seem happy about it.

"I thought I might give you a chance to decide on that matter yourself." Rainbow said, standing oddly still. "We've all done our best to get to this point. Maybe a few minutes ago I would've gone for it straight away without a second thought, but seeing you and Eclipse... No, she believed in you. She genuinely believed in you, and you're either the world's best actor or you're genuine. Every word you've said, you've meant."

Val listened carefully. What game was Rainbow playing at? Rainbow seemed to have noticed her suspicion.

"I'm not trying to trick you. I'm not playing at any word games." Rainbow said. "I might be a little skeptical about it, but I believe you too. You've had the amulet this entire time, yet you've never thought of using it until you've grown truly desperate."

"Thanks." Val chuckled light-heartedly, still a little upset over Eclipse's death.

"Guaranteed we're still enemies, and I still don't like you... I can respect and relate to your motivation and cause." Rainbow said softly. "But I've come here for the same thing. You know I can't turn my back now either."

"So what do we do?" Val chuckled. "There's only room for one."

"We do what we've always done." Rainbow whispered, gently, and held the cleaver in an offensive stance.

Val laughed.

"Ha! Fight it out?" She then coughed. "Sure."

Rainbow looked down for a second, guilt briefly flashing across her features.

"You know, you don't have to be here if you don't want to be." She said. She wasn't addressing Val.

"You've been growing more and more distant, Rainbow." Octavia said, a touch of nostalgia in her voice. "I can't put a hoof on it, but I've always wanted to be with you every time you go through one of these hard times. I know that much hasn't changed."

"It's nice to have someone protecting my back, but..." Rainbow chuckled. "You have to realize that we're probably both gonna walk out of this as tombstones."

"Been there done that. I hope you're up for it." Octavia said, laser tommy gun by her side.
Rainbow chuckled again, raising the cleaver.

Val spotted the gesture, smirked, and pressed the amulet against her neck.

A flash of red filled her eyes, consuming her usual neutral blue. The amulet's crystal glowed furiously as powerful alicorn magic flooded into its host.

Val screamed in frustration, trying to restrain the power. She took a step forward, the floor exploding into shattered tiny little pieces by her feet.

A chaotic and uncontrolled burst of magic burst from her finger tips, utterly obliterating what remained of the throne room.

Rainbow and Octavia coughed, smoke rising from the giant gap between them and Valkyrie. Flames rose from the expanded hole in the ground, reaching several stories down.

Val finally managed to contain the amulet's power, scrunching it up into a ball of crimson energy in her hands. She crushed it back into herself, then used a tiny portion of it to repair the throne room again.

It wasn't as it was.

It was much larger now, a giant hall even grander than before. Black pillars rose from the ground to support the sky-high ceiling, chandeliers sprouting from above. Despite the scale of it all, there was nothing about it that pointed to tyranny. It was grand, black, but simple and elegant.

"Forbidden fruit ALWAYS tastes the sweetest." Val grinned, lightning arcs of pure magical energy dancing over her arms.

"Quite." Rainbow muttered grimly. This suddenly seemed like a bad idea.

Val flicked her wrist, a school bus materializing in mid air and hurling towards the pair.

Rainbow dived right and Octavia dove left, the two of them taking cover behind some pillars. The school bus crashed into the ground and flattened itself against the far wall.

Octavia swung out of cover and released a barrage of laser fire. Val held up her hand, a tank suddenly dropping in between her and Octavia. It blocked all of her shots, then with a furious roar fired the main cannon. Octavia was forced to roll again as the artillery round skimmed off the ground and exploded elsewhere against a wall.

Rainbow darted out from cover and cut off the tank turret's barrel, sliced the turret in half, and flew towards Val.

Val summoned another bus and hurled it at her. She shouldered through the windshield and emerged from the back in an explosion of glass shards and rainbow light.

Val blocked her swing with her katana, taking a step back.

Rainbow continued her fast-paced attacks, keeping Val occupied so she couldn't use her alicorn powers.

But then Val shot a bolt of magic into the ground by her hooves, sending her stumbling back as she redirected her aim to her head.

Octavia intervened, flicking her off aim with the stock of her tommy gun. Val brought the katana up, and she slipped past it like water, twirling the stock back into her shoulder again as she unleashed a torrent of laser fire.

Val magicked a metal shield into existence, but it vaporized under the shots. It bought enough time for her to make some space.

She threw her hand in the air, spiked pillars stabbing forth from the ground.

Octavia was forced to swing away, but from the other direction Rainbow came busting back into the fight.

Val turned and flicked her away with her katana, then pulled a rocket launcher out of thin air and slung it onto her shoulder.

Rainbow looked up briefly from where she crashed, then quickly grappled onto the incoming rocket. She spun and slingshotted it back at Val.

Val dropped the launcher and ran her katana through the rocket, dissecting it cleanly and preventing detonation. She flicked the launcher up with her foot, then spun and kicked it towards Rainbow. It transformed into a missile in mid air.

Rainbow sliced it in half as she launched forth. Val warped her katana into two short daggers, then crossed them in a welcoming fork for Rainbow's cleaver. Her arms buckled under the blocked strike, and for a second the two came face to face.

Then that moment ended as Rainbow pulled back and lashed out from the side again. Val blocked it again, then spun and cut at Rainbow's legs.

Rainbow rolled over the daggers then fired a few near point blank shots at Val.

Val managed to deflect them with her daggers, her hands a blur of motion. Rainbow leapt back as Octavia fired a barrage of lasers at Val, who quickly flicked up a stone hedge and ducked behind it. She then re-emerged from the other side and tossed one of her daggers at Octavia. Octavia spun out of the way and slapped a new drum into the tommy.

A fire truck greeted her as she swung back out into the open again. She quickly dove to the side, the giant vehicle shattering her former cover and tipping onto its back with a loud crash.

Rainbow launched a hard kick out to Val. It hit her hip and sent her stumbling back, temporarily stunned. Val flew up to the chandelier to put some distance between herself and Rainbow. Rainbow fired after her as she left, the loud consecutive bangs echoing through the throne room. The high calibre rounds from the cleaver tore through the support pillars around the room, showering the ground with marble.

Octavia grappled up onto the chandelier and melted the chain with her tommy gun. Val suddenly felt her stomach drop, and turned to greet Octavia's hoof with her face.

She took a step back, almost falling off, then lashed out with her dagger.

Octavia dropped the tommy gun and hit her arm from both directions, slapping the dagger out of her hand. She then flicked up her gun with a hoof and held down the trigger.

The ground was coming up fast. Val dodged out of the way and kicked the chandelier. Octavia saw her move coming and quickly leapt off the chandelier, grappling onto the roof to break her fall as her shoulder hit the floor.

Val back flipped onto the ground, cushioned by a few concentrated bursts from her thrusters. The chandelier slammed into the far wall and embedded itself in black marble.
Rainbow flew down from above, cleaver flashing.

Val stomped on the ground, a giant halberd rising from the floor, dancing with red alicorn magic. She pulled it from the earth and swung it at Rainbow as she charged. Rainbow was expecting it to give way, but to her surprise it held. She slipped past Val and tumbled onto the ground as their weapons clashed.

Val turned, the blade of the halberd shifting into an oversized hammer as she swung it over her head.

Rainbow pulled the trigger on her cleaver, the recoil of which slid her out of reach of the earth shattering hammer. She flipped onto her hooves again, the claw on her grapple embedded in the ground to prevent her from sliding too far.

Val heaved the hammer over her head and swung it again. Rainbow quickly closed the distance and cut it in half before lashing out at Val again.

What remained of the hammer shifted to a nightstick in Val's hand, and she quickly tucked it in to block Rainbow's strike. Blades sprouted from the nightstick and it turned into a tomahawk.

Rainbow quickly backed away. She needed to rethink her strategy, Val would be far faster than her with smaller weapons. She'll need to use the wrist blades mounted to her grapple.

Octavia darted back in as she backed away. Val turned, swinging the tomahawk up to catch her jaw. She jammed it against her wrist blades and pushed it down, then struck her across the face with her spare hoof.

Val deployed a sword from her arm and jabbed it at Octavia. Octavia seemed to snake around her stab and within a fraction of a second she was only centimeters away again. Val felt a sudden burst of pain in her abdominal region as Octavia drove her knee deep into her stomach.

She might've been fast, but Octavia was even faster. She'll need to put some distance between herself and the grey mare, at least enough so she could effectively use her melee weapons. Right now Octavia was forcing her back at such a rate that she was too close for even a dagger.

Val ditched the tomahawk and struck out at Octavia. Octavia deflected it elsewhere with disturbing ease and quickly lashed out at the cyberpony, landing three more hits before she could do anything more.

Val stumbled back, but Octavia wasn't giving her any space- not even for breathing. It had gotten to a point where she was striking with her elbows now, because fists would be too wide and inefficient at this proximity.

Finally Val was forced to jump away, flipping over Octavia in an attempt to flank her. Octavia kicked her legs out from beneath her right as she was about to land, forcing her on her back. She quickly rolled back and onto her feet again as Octavia slammed the stock of the tommy gun into the ground right where she had been a second ago.

Val raised her hand, an alicorn power infused prism beam charging up in her palm.

Then Rainbow was between them, her cleaver absorbing the red beam with a bright flash.

Val frowned- that cleaver, what makes it so resistant to the amulet?

Her eyes flicked to the red crystal on its hilt, glowing with arcane magic. She growled, flicked out another katana, and charged.

Rainbow took a step back in a defensive pose, parried Val's slash, then stepped forward again and rolled the cleaver around in her hoof- making several tightly packed and lightning fast vertical swings.

Val was forced to back away, not even attempting to block or deflect the cleaver as it shredded at the floor. Then Rainbow broke the rhythm and spun, the cleaver going in a wide arc around her.

Val pulled the katana close to her body, letting the force of the hit travel through the katana and diffuse in her. The floor where her back foot was cracked.

She split the katana in two and whirled them at Rainbow. Rainbow blocked and deflected, then curved the cleaver back towards Val.

Val crossed the katanas, clamping the cleaver in the center. Then with a powerful pry, she twisted it away from Rainbow's hoof and sent it elsewhere.

Rainbow tried to close the distance for a fist fight, but Val stomped on the ground and sent a blitz of metal spikes sprouting from the ground. Rainbow quickly dove away, a few lucky spikes managing to rip into her trench coat.

Val tucked the katanas away and clicked her fingers, a giant boat appearing out of thin air. She made a quick hand gesture towards Rainbow, and the amulet hurled it towards the pegasus.

Rainbow's ears folded back for a second as the giant shadow loomed over her. Then she growled, flew straight up, flipped, and launched a kick into the front of the boat as it was about to crush her.

Val's eyes widened as the boat flipped onto its back and was sent back at her. She reached out with her magic and turned the boat into a grenade launcher. She caught it by the stock and flipped it into her hand.

THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.

Rainbow flew up to where her cleaver had been lodged in a pillar and yanked it out, explosions from the grenade launcher ringing out all around her. She used it as a shield to defend herself against some of Val's grenades. She jumped from pillar to pillar, trying to avoid the ground.

Octavia, on the other other hand...

She was obliterating the grenades before they could detonate, her laser tommy tearing through their metal shells and reducing their innards to black dust.

Val saw her coming, and morphed the launcher into a mini gun. Octavia's eyes widened and she quickly swung behind nearby cover.

"Rainbow! We'll have to retreat! Valhalla's exiting the atmosphere and we won't survive! The science faction have the tower locked down tight, we can't get to you!" Magnum yelled through the comms, gunfire and screams filling the background static.

"Then go! Get off the city- the tower's shielded, we'll be fine!" Rainbow yelled back, then screamed as a line of mini gun fire tore through her left wing. She hit the pillar she was meant to land on with a crack, then fell down and snapped the broken wing against the floor.

"Rainbow! Rainbow?"

Her earpiece had fallen out of her ear. She didn't have time to get it, and had to drag herself to safety as a wall of bullets tore through the ground.

She looked at her wing. It dangled limply, but was still mostly connected. One bullet had struck off center, luckily it didn't break bone. It did sever a major muscle however, meaning she won't be flying again anytime soon.

With a grunt she got back up again, ignoring the pain.

She readied the cleaver, then grappled onto the far wall. Val saw her as she zipped across the room, and fired after her. The rounds bounced uselessly off of the cleaver.

Rainbow launched the grapple again, this time swinging directly towards Val.

Val ditched the mini gun and pulled out the katanas again, joining them by the hilt and forming a double ended sword. She hit Rainbow on the side as she charged down.

Rainbow rolled onto her side then back to her hooves again, saw the throne nearby, and kicked off of that to gain some air.

To Val's surprise, Rainbow fired the cleaver instead of lashing out. The recoil flipped her over Val- she landed, and struck out with the cleaver.

Val deflected the attack with the back end of her sword, then turned and attacked with the front end.

Rainbow blocked it with her wrist grapple and slashed at Val's legs with the cleaver.

Val barely managed to get away in time- it made a cut on her right leg and lifted a small portion of her armor.

Oddly, it didn't heal.

It was that cleaver, and that crystal- it had to be, she thought with a growl.

She had to destroy it.

Then the entire city shook, and they turned towards the giant screen behind the throne. It showed the earth below and its curvature just on the horizon as Valhalla exited the planet's atmosphere.

*

"Come on, Rainbow..." Magnum muttered, watching the city rise. She and a few others were on one of the many evacuation ships flying back down to a safe altitude.

"Damnit, is there no way we can help her?" Scootaloo cursed. "Nightshade, can't you teleport us in?"

"I tried going in already- but Val must've somehow changed the overall appearance of the throne room, it didn't work." Nightshade muttered grimly.

"Well... What do we do now?"

The question struck empty on everyone. There was nothing they could do but follow it with their space-capable ships for now, and try blow it out of the sky if Rainbow fails.

*

Rainbow was knocked down onto the floor with a red flash, her cleaver flying from her grasp and lodging itself in a wall far away. She tried to scramble up, but the impact of a cement truck near her knocked her down again.

Val snapped her fingers, the truck coming to life and charging towards her- ready to run her over.

Rainbow rolled out of the way, scrambled up and spun to dodge the crimson beams of alicorn energy Val was sending her way. They hit the pillars and exploded with a shower of fiery sparks.

"Come out, Rainbow!" Val hollered, slowly walking down the steps to the throne. Her footsteps echoed in the abrupt silence, slow and steady.

Clunk, clunk, clunk.

CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK-

Octavia ran out from the side, ramming her shoulder into Val's side. They tumbled across the room and hit a pillar. Her laser tommy had long since run out of ammo, and was nothing but a melee weapon now.

Val held up an arm and knocked the gun's stock away, then elbowed Octavia down on the shoulder. Octavia grunted and fell on one knee, then dove forward and rammed her hoof into Val's stomach.

Val gasped, but grabbed hold of Octavia's hoof and flung her up and around. Octavia broke free in the last second, but was heavily thrown off as she stumbled back.

Val didn't waste any time. She shot a prism bolt into her stomach with her left palm, flicked out a sword from her right and slashed her from the chest across to the shoulder. The cut broke the tommy gun in two.

Octavia screamed and went down, her blood splattering onto the surroundings.

"TAVI!" Rainbow cried. She swooped in between Val and Octavia, the impact of her landing creating a shockwave which rippled through the ground and shattered solid marble. She wrenched one half of the broken tommy gun from the air and pummeled it against Val's head. The force of the hit knocked Val clean off her feet and sent her rolling to the far end of the room.

Rainbow quickly turned to Octavia, dragging her behind cover as Val fired at them from where she was downed.

"Buck, buck..." She cursed. The scene was far too familiar to her. Thank goodness the cut wasn't too deep, she would've died right then and there if it were a few centimeters deeper. She'll be able to live through this one- but she'll be out of the fight.

"I can't feel my arm..." Octavia swallowed weakly.

"Can you take care of yourself?" Rainbow asked urgently as Val's firing stopped.

"I walked into this expecting death. Don't worry about me- go give some hell." Octavia grinned, painfully. She coughed, and Rainbow tried not to worry as a few specks of blood splattered onto the floor.

"Be good." Rainbow muttered, kissed her on the forehead, then swung out of cover again.

Unexpectedly, Val was standing right there.

"Sh-" That was all Rainbow managed before Val slammed into her and sent her sprawling against the far wall. She groaned, slowly getting up- a persistent ache pounding at her back.

Her eyes quickly flicked up to her cleaver, and she flew towards it to retrieve it. Val followed the direction of her gaze, her eyes resting on the cleaver. She snapped her fingers and a grenade dropped into her palm. She flicked off the pin.

Rainbow landed on the ground, cleaver aimed straight at Val's head.

Val tossed the grenade at her and dove behind a pillar, the explosion tearing past her. She ran around the other side, flanking Rainbow- who was still holding the cleaver up as a shield.

She heard Val charging at her at the last second, but was still too late. She swung to the side in a defensive attack, which Val blocked with relative ease. She shoved the cleaver away with her left hand and fired into Rainbow's chest with the right.

Rainbow screamed, a burning sensation tearing at her flesh as the resulting explosion knocked her onto her back. The cleaver was, once again, removed from her.

She looked down at her chest- the clothing was burnt, and she could feel blood matting the inside of it. Whatever Val had fired at her had both burned her flesh and seared it closed.

The cleaver-

She slowly got up, the pain in her body keeping her from moving top fast, searching for it. Finally she spotted It... Clutched tightly in Val's hand.

"I should've known that an Element would've been resistant to the amulet." She muttered. "But..." She dug her fingers into the slot in which the crystal rested.

With a burst of pure ancient magic, she clawed the Element of Loyalty from its place in the cleaver.

Rainbow was far too exhausted to stop her. Her body was too beaten to do anything at this stage- wounds, old and new, were starting to take their toll on her.

Val grinned menacingly at the crystal, then fused the amulet's energy into it. The crystal glowed, resisting- but within seconds it became overwhelmed by the amount of destructive magic being poured into it.

With a soft pop, the Element of Loyalty shattered into tiny little shards then disintegrated into black dust, the magic removed from it.

Rainbow slowly rose to her hooves as Val laughed. She felt something snap inside herself as she watched Val break the cleaver in two and toss it away.

Even though it was a possibility she expected, seeing the cleaver which had grown on her over so many years broken in two and lying uselessly in a corner triggered some feeling of loss in her.

She had felt that far too many times, far too recently. The feeling of dropping into an endless pit, of loss. Even though the cleaver was no where near as valuable as any of her friends, it had always been there with her.

"Troublesome thing, it is. I'm curious to see what sort of thing you'll do now that you don't have your weapon." Val said with a grin, cocking her head to one side. She raised her hand, a red sphere of arcane energy charging between her fingers. "With you out of the way, I'll be free to rule the world."

Rainbow froze. What?

"You, I- but Genesis-"

"That was before I had tasted even a fraction of the amulet's power." Val laughed, dispersing the ball of energy at her fingertips since there seemed to be a conversation going on between herself and Rainbow. "That was stupid of me. Really, who needs Genesis when I could easily just terraform with the amulet and STILL keep my position of supremacy?"

"Val, you made a deal already- Eclipse believed you. She trusted that you would do the right thing!"

"She was quite idiotic." Val replied coldly. "Honestly, at this point, I can't even comprehend why I felt the way I did about her. I would've never made the mistakes she did- if I were an alicorn like her, I would've never ended up a mortal at the beg and call of another mere pony." She laughed. "Can you believe it? An ancient god like her died TWICE. Once killed by you, which I had to provide her with another vessel, then the second time by me. Fate is such an odd thing- why and how such a stupid creature became the ruler of all the world, at least once upon a time, is beyond me."

"What?" Rainbow frowned.

"Oh. I must've forgotten to mention. Eclipse IS Penumbra." Val grinned at the look on Rainbow's face. "I brought her back, and put a collar around her neck in the form of a vessel in flesh and blood."

"Val, you're messing with things that you can't even begin to-"

"Blah-dee-blah! I've heard that too many times." Val growled. "You know what she tried to be? I'll be that. But I'll do it right. She was an alicorn, and a queen. Not a real one though, because she failed miserably."

Val slowly approached Rainbow, Penumbra's power pouring into her from the amulet like a fountain. It crackled at her fingertips and twirled around her body in a storm of red lightning.

"I'll become what she'd merely tried to be. I will be God, and Queen." Val snarled, a red bolt of magic charging up in her palm once more as she leveled it at Rainbow. "Let the new age begin with the execution of an old enemy."

She fired. The bolt of highly concentrated alicorn magic hit Rainbow as she held up her hooves to defend herself.

Then it was refracted across the room, tearing up the walls and floors and slicing a pillar in half.

Rainbow herself remained untouched, the spot where the bolt of energy hit her hoof glowing with prismatic smoke.

Val's eyes widened. No, this was impossible- this simply can't be- the loyalty crystal was gone, she should be powerless without it.

"The cleaver had always been a weakness. I could get separated from it." Rainbow muttered. "You're a strategic pony. I thought about that for a while, in my confinement under Haven. It didn't take me long to realize something was off. You killed the Elements." She frowned. "But why? They were no threat to you. They weren't weapons, they were neutralizers of chaos and disharmony. That's when I realized you must've had something that could succumb to the Elements' power." She nodded towards the amulet.

"What did you do?" Val snarled, but all it took for her to realize was for Rainbow to look up.

Her eye.

Her cybernetic eye.

"I'll admit, it wasn't easy going into a fight like that without depth perception, but I'm glad it payed off." Rainbow smirked, the red glow of her 'cybernetic' eye pulsing with magical energy. "I had to get AL to perform a special operation to get this transplant. But in the end, Val... It has made me invincible- at least from you." She slowly stepped forward, forcing Val back with nothing but her presence. "You've tried to kill me. A thousand times over. You know what insanity is, right? It's trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results every time." Rainbow stopped, looking her opponent in the eyes. "You can't kill me, I AM Loyalty." She growled.

"Loyalty won't stack up to the amulet." Val replied, though her voice gave away a certain degree of uncertainty.

"Perhaps not on its own." Rainbow said. "The Elements, all six; would've been much more powerful. But I have them right here."

"They're dead. The crystals were destroyed, I made sure of it!" Val yelled, losing her cool. The situation had turned on her quite abruptly.

"Yes, yes you did." Rainbow said, the amusement gone from her voice. She knew that all too well. "You see, as long as ponies exist, so will harmony, and so will chaos. All the energy from the Elements had to go somewhere- and go somewhere they did."

She tapped the side of her skull, next to her glowing red eye. Fractions of rainbows shifted about in the red mass of the Loyalty crystal, splinters of the other elements. Suddenly a wall of rainbow colored light exploded out behind her, creating a wall of dancing motes- singing a beautiful song in unison. They shifted, hovering about her, speaking, singing. Then five joined her side- pink, yellow, orange, white, and purple- they danced at her hooves.

"Friendship. It's present everywhere... Not only between friends, but family and even lovers. It pulls everyone together. And, you could say; it pulls their very essence together- their soul- it binds them, makes them one yet still individual." Rainbow continued, the mass of voices and entities still hovering behind her. "These ponies, Val; are the former elements of harmony. The ones you killed. The elements won't exist if not all six are present. You killed friends, groups of them. Bonded together by the elements of harmony. Their souls, the very essence of life and magic, implemented into the energy of the elements. Now all that energy is left within the final piece... My piece. Our power is combined, even if my friends can no longer physically stand by my side." The purple mote seemed to give an approving chirp, while the orange one provided a reassuring nod. "Val, you tried to kill us with science. You tried the same with magic, and repeated your attempts with almost everything else. But I'm telling you, it'll never work, even with your alicorn amulet- and you know why?"

She reached out to her side, bit of rainbow light coming together at outstretched hoof. A new, less smooth and more jagged looking capsule formed. Instead of a red glow, it had the full spectrum.

With a loud ka-clunk the cleaver forged from the Elements sprung out into its full length- the smooth broad blade was replaced by a more textured edge, which in no way dulled the blade. Some sort of arcane magic cannon sat where the high calibre firearm's barrel once was. The handle was curved, ending in a silver hilt. Rainbow light emitted not only from the crystal in the center, but also from the small nooks and gaps in the sword.

"Because friendship IS magic. The most powerful kind there is. It would've been useless against you normally, but you've become corrupted. Disharmonious." She lifted the giant blade, stepping into an offensive stance. "By putting on the amulet, Val, you've secured nothing but your own downfall."

The city trembled again.

"Preparing launch to: the Sun." HEX reported, and Val looked up.

"No! NO! Disengage launch!" She yelled.

"Order revoked." HEX replied, and Val narrowed her eyes as a holographic recording popped up on the throne.

It was Val, before she had put on the amulet, a pre-recorded message. She knew what the message contained, and she growled at it because of that.

The message didn't start till a few seconds later. It just begun with Val, pre-amulet, standing there with her arms behind her back, a disappointed look in her eyes. She began with a sigh, then looked up again.

"The only reason this message would ever pop up... Is if... Well, you- I- failed." She said, and the current Val yelled at the ceiling:

"Stop the recording!"

"Denied." HEX said sternly. "You've personally put protocols in place in case you go rogue yourself. Your command has been revoked."

"I understand that, at this stage, I probably can't control myself anymore. The amulet will probably turn me into a power hungry tyrant." The recording continued. "And, of course... That simply cannot be allowed. Rainbow Dash-"

Rainbow looked up, surprised to hear her own name from the recording. The holographic image of Val wasn't looking at her, presumably because she couldn't have predicted her location, but there was a look of certainty in her eyes.

"I know you would be here. You'd always be here. You're probably already trying, but... If I really have the amulet on, and this message is playing... Please... Kill me."

The request was sudden and unexpected. Rainbow felt herself hesitate for a very brief second.

The recording faded, replaced by HEX's automatic announcement: "Security Protocol 117 is now in effect. Diverting operational control of all non-Ascension related Valhalla systems to nearest administrator: DaintyDash98."

Dainty?

Rainbow looked up. That can't be right...

"Admin control confirmed." She heard her voice. Was she in the tower?

"Dainty!" She cursed, went to tap the mic in her ear- then realized she had torn it out earlier.

"Sis?" The voice answered, anyway, through the throne room's comms systems.

"Where is the NEMESIS?" Rainbow asked slowly, sternly. She kept her eyes on Val, and could tell she was listening by her perked ears.

"Hold on, let me search it up-"

Rainbow froze at that. She wasn't on the NEMESIS.

"Hey, they- I mean- we're closing in on your location right now. Shining Armor might try send some ponies to board the city-" Dainty continued, but Rainbow had stopped listening.

"Don't do it." She said, glaring at Val.

Val stood still. She hoped that she wouldn't go after Dainty, and was ready to tackle her if she tried. She can scream at Dainty for entering the tower later- if it isn't just the filly that makes it out alive.

For a moment she believed Val wouldn't go after her- that maybe the amulet still left some of her personal morales behind.

Nope.

The moment Val dove for the door, she dove for the cyberpony. They collided mid-air and the both of them went sprawling across the throne room. The rainbow cleaver was ready in her hoof almost immediately, without a second for thought.

With a quick pull from her grapple she flung herself towards Val.

Val spun and grew a comically large bright red sword from her arm. Their weapons clashed, opposing polarities of magic exploding in sparks between the two blades.

Rainbow backed away and put some distance between herself and Val. She was the one thing standing between her and the exit, and thus Dainty.

None shall pass, she thought, giving the cleaver handle a hefty 'KLa-KLUnK' and bringing out the arcane magic cannon.

Val was in the middle of an offensive lunge when she had to abruptly divert course to avoid the wide beam of over-powered rainbows. The very edge of it grazed her left shoulder plate. She growled, annoyed, when it didn't repair itself.

Rainbow fired again, and this time Val blocked it- sort of. The explosive reaction between the prism bolt and the red blade sent her flying off her feet and crashing into the stairs behind her.

"Take off the amulet, Val!" Rainbow yelled. "Or you'll die with it around your neck!"

"Pry it off my dead body, why don't you!" Val yelled back, the stairs rising behind her and pushing her back to her feet. A large crimson barrel popped out from her other arm and slid over her hand, forming a cannon.

Rainbow split the red beam of magic in two with the cleaver, quickly snapping it back to a defensive position. The two diffracted beams melted the columns behind her, bringing down a small portion of the ceiling.

The universe beyond shimmered behind a glowing blue energy field. They had entered space.

Rainbow dodged left, the off-target beam of energy obliterating a wall. The force field beyond flickered a little as bits of black marble and metal warped through it, exiting into oxygenless and gravityless space.

The NEMESIS was in the background, all of its weapons trained on the flying city.

*

"Take it out." Shining Armor whispered, hiding his eyes beneath the rim of his cap. He felt his own heart drop even as he said it.

He was about to kill a filly and a war hero. But it will all be worth it, he had told himself again and again. It will all be for the better- maybe not for me, but it will be.

Valhalla was nearing the safe zone- and from what he had gathered from intel and some of his analysts, it meant that Valhalla will be able to teleport straight to the sun. It'll be gone, and they'd never be able to catch it again. This was their last chance, them and what little remained of the magic faction space fleet- and unfortunately, the now captainless CYCLOPS wasn't fully charged yet.

They had lost contact with Rainbow long ago. He had waited, they all had, but no response came back.

"Captain! Valhalla is retaliating- none of our attacks made it!" One of the officers yelled urgently, snapping him out of his lost trance.

He quickly looked up.

It was like the battle with the entire science faction fleet all over again. Valhalla had one hell of a complete arsenal- it seemed even more well armed than the COLOSSUS was! The NEMESIS had to almost instantly execute a tactical retreat- and even then...

"Engines one through seven have been hit! We're losing mobility!"

"We have lost contact with all dispatched fighter squadrons!"

"Hull breaches at sectors SK-five, KG-seven, HN-three, TW-three, and KT-six!"

"Fires at KG-seven and KT-six! Dispatching units now!"

"Shields have been depleted! Generators damaged!"

"Primary weapons alpha through gamma have been destroyed! Secondary weapons beta and kappa have been damaged beyond functionality."

"Retreat! Retreat! Tell our remaining forces to pull back!" Shining Armor yelled. Valhalla had stopped firing at them, at least. All he could do was grit his teeth as he watched the damn thing slowly float away.

In his frustration he heard a brief line of dialogue between one of bridge operators and somepony else.

"...this is an unauthorized departure! Repeat, you do not have clearance to leave the ship!"

To which, the response was;

"Christ, how the buck do I turn off this stupid radio?"

*

Rainbow rolled under Val's attack and sent an elbow into her gut. She grunted, the force of Rainbow's strike breaking a rib. She stumbled back and coughed blood, but other than that showed nothing else but a growl.

Rainbow quickly backed away as Val made a gesture and sent a barrage of cars towards her. Most of them missed her and bounced off the floor with hefty clunks, but the few that were actually coming her way she either sliced in half or pulverized completely.

She slung one of the halves across to Val with her grapple. The half-ton car slammed into the cyberpony's side, knocking her into a wall with an explosion of concrete dust and destructed building materials.

Val shoved the carcass away, slumping a little- not from defeat, but from inability since most of her skeleton had just been crushed. It wasn't a direct result of the Elements of Harmony, however, and she quickly healed herself up.

With an angry snarl, she flicked the half-car up with a foot and kicked it towards Rainbow.

Rainbow hit it with the hilt of her cleaver, knocking it up and out of the tower- sending it into space.

Val charged, her sword flashing towards Rainbow's throat- but she took a beam of energy to the side of the head before she could reach her.

Rainbow stumbled forward, her parry having met nothing but thin air as Val was sent cartwheeling to the side from the impact. She looked around for the source of the energy beam.

"What're you looking around for? Kill her!" Magnum's voice came through the comms.

"Magnum? I thought you all evacuated!"

"I stole a ship. Dainty patched me through to Valhalla's comms... That filly's a genius, no idea how she does it. Anyhow, I've got the orbital rifle with me, I can give you some support fire for a few minutes."

"Why only a few?" Rainbow asked, suspicious. Then she had to dive aside as Val lunged at her, half of her face still mending back together from the rifle blast.

"Don't exactly have a good oxygen supply with me. Had to get out of the ship and take the special suit thing."

"Goddamnit! Get back to the ship- if I don't make it here at least you'll live!" Rainbow yelled, flicking Val's sword aside with her cleaver.

"We both know that's BS. Val'll hunt us down one by one. Jump."

"Wha?" Rainbow barely managed to skip up in time as the bright purple beam of concentrated energy went past her and hammered into Val's shin.

"Mother fu-" Val cursed, her legs collapsing beneath her. She quickly rolled away from Rainbow as she slashed at her, ready to bring the cleaver down in a finishing strike.
But as she raised it, Val sent a bolt of energy right into her chest.

Rainbow fell back, her cleaver falling from her hooves as the energy bolt seared her clothing. The Elements of Harmony protected her from the worst of it, but while it acted as a defensive shield against the amulet, Val could still harm her. It merely leveled the playing field a bit more than when she didn't have it.

Val rolled up to her feet and brought her sword down on the stunned pegasus. She brought her arms up to defend herself, and they clashed against the blade.

"Rainbow! Move! I can't get a shot!"

"I... Can't..." Rainbow grunted, the floor buckling beneath her hooves as Val pressed down. Where the blade contacted the pegasus a chaotic storm of clashing magic formed, sparking rainbows and molten red magic. She was going to lose. "Damnit- Magnum! Take Dainty and run! Take her and go goddamnit!"

Rainbow screamed as the blade slowly slid through the Elements' protective shield, sinking into her flesh. Heat waves irradiated from the sword as Val charged it.

Then she broke through. Rainbow collapsed, her forearms buckling beneath the pressure. Molten flesh dragged from her wounds to the sword as Val spun and brought it back around and sliced her at the knees. She fell, screaming, which then ended in an abrupt gurgle as Val sent the gigantic sword through her chest.

Without a second to spare, a quick trigger pull ensured Rainbow wouldn't be getting back up again as the beam of magic tore a giant hole in her body. She went limp, the force flinging her down the steps of the throne room and sending her crashing to the bottom, broken and defeated.

"Rainbow!"

A purple energy beam hit Val in the temple, sending her tumbling to the side. It didn't end her maniacal laughter though as she slowly got up, the destroyed part of her face mending itself back together.

Magnum fired again, with a cry of fury, aiming for the amulet. The beam of energy which could normally destroy a tank on its own merely pinged off the artifact.

Magnum's cursing and Val's uncontrollable laughter were mere blended noises to Rainbow as she laid on the floor, a sticky pool of blood forming around her as her life fluids drained from her body. Her vision was slowly fading to black as she struggled to breath through the hole in her chest, the majority of her lungs having been completely melted away. Her heart dangled through a few arteries... It won't take long for her.

The Elements were trying to keep her alive. She could feel its gentle magic pulsing at her wounds, trying its best to heal them. It only extended her time here, it wouldn't save her- and she knew.

It's about to be over... She had made a mistake... And now everypony else will pay for it.

And she was scared. She was scared of the resignation she could hear in her every thought. I've done all I could.

Then she felt something hard strike her spine.

She didn't bother with screaming as corrupted-Val kicked her across the throne room. Her body had grown numb, she could feel the horrible things happening to her- but they didn't hurt anymore.

"Still alive, are we..." She heard Val mutter.

"It's getting late, Magnum... Take her and go..."

She could hear Magnum yelling obscenities through the speakers. But to her relief, after a few agonizing seconds, she saw her shuttle leave.

"Entering jump to: the Sun." She heard an AI say.

"Val..." She struggled to say, passing barely enough air through her throat to make out the words. She choked on her own blood before she could go any further.

"Yes?" Val cocked her head to one side mockingly.

You've betrayed us all, you monster, you've killed us all, she wanted to say. She just didn't have the physical strength left to say it.

She turned away instead, staring into the dark floor in her own shadow. A purple mote trembled there, worried, yet still nudging her nose to encourage her.

"I'm sorry..." Rainbow choked, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

You've come too far! It seemed to say, spinning round and round in agitated circles.

No... I'm not giving up. I'm just sorry... Because you'll never forgive me.

I had always been a monster. From the very beginning when I shrugged on this coat and put on this hat, I knew what I was stepping into. I was a monster fighting other monsters. In front of my friends, Dainty, those close to me, I had always disguised myself. I pretended to be okay. I pretended to be moral about everything I was doing.

But all this time I had been killing ponies I'd never known, Twi. Ponies I'll never meet. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters and friends and family. I'd never given them a second thought, always for the greater good- that's what I always told myself. The truth isn't that I'm a guardian angel. The truth is I'm a selfish, murderous little pony that kills others to give herself a purpose. To justify her own existence.

I know I've never told any of you this. I always kept you out of this, all of this. The dark side of Equestria as I'd always called it- the dark side of myself. I've been telling you all a lie.

So now that I'm giving you the truth, will you still be my friend?

Will you forgive me for being a monster?

The purple mote paused. Others appeared around it. Orange, pink, yellow, and white. They didn't even discuss it. They just nodded.

Rainbow closed her eyes again. If this was what it takes... After Genesis, it won't even matter anyway.

Suddenly her heart spiked, shifting violently. It looked as if it were about to explode.

Val frowned, pausing.

Then, incredibly, Rainbow started slowly lifting herself up. Spit mixed with blood drooled from her mouth as she ground her teeth together in a snarl, as if trying to scare the pain away. She quivered, struggling on all fours, only half up. Her legs looked like they were about to give out from beneath her.

Plumes of reactive smoke rose from her gnashing wounds, slowly sealing them back together again.

There is no cure for monstrosity. Perhaps forgiveness... But never a cure.

Val realized what was going on a second too late.

By the time her sword swung towards the pegasus' neck, Rainbow had already brought a hoof up to block it.

Where there would normally be a hoof, however, there was a huge claw, attached to a scaled arm that merged back into her body. Val looked up, the effects of the so-called virus had already taken over most of Rainbow's physical form.

Sharp draconic teeth had sprouted in her mouth, tearing the gums to make space for the new meat grinders. Already her fur was shifting to scales, and one of her pupils had turned to a narrow vertical slit. Strong angular webbed wings shattered her existing feather ones into nothing but pink mist, sprouting from her back in a flurry of blood.

She flinched, but it wasn't anything she hadn't expected.

She let loose a low growl, claws wiping the blood from her sharp bare teeth. She gave Val a glare that turned her blood cold.

"Val... If I can't drag you to hell... I'll bucking bring it with me." She flexed her demon claws.

"Why- HOW- Do you PERSIST!?" Val hissed.

"Because you've destroyed everything that would've been in my way." She snarled. "I had no idea what would happen the day I stepped into that warehouse and looked at your contract." She growled, her claws tightening around the sword. "I didn't accept it. Now you offered me a new one... To kill you... I guess this one'll compensate." She said, then almost effortlessly threw Val through a set of pillars and into the far wall.

The cyberpony crashed onto the floor, broken but healing. She struggled to get back up again, simply from the disbelief that Rainbow lived.

"We may both be monsters, Val, but I've always been like this- and to me, you're just a rookie." Rainbow growled. The effects of the virus might be dulled in her body, but they were still enough to heal her up. Already her more physical traits were fading, the gums healing as the fangs retreated. But it still fueled her with something that was meant to destroy her- something psychological that the amulet-corrupted Val lacked.

Purpose.

She had always been a demon protecting everything she loved, and, to recent knowledge; so had Val. But the moment the amulet corrupted her, she had lost that purpose- what remained was an empty goal, not even an ambition; to conquer the world.

"I've got Dainty-" Magnum yelled through the speakers. "Just need to make it back to the shuttle-"

"Jump procedure in action." HEX reported. "Arriving at target destination in three, two, one."

Suddenly the shields outside flared with an energy so immense it outshone both the elements and the amulet.

The Sun's solar energy bombarded Valhalla almost instantly as it slowly traveled further into the star. The shields held, keeping the city intact. Streaks of red, orange and yellow light swirled about the city, solar flares wrapping around Valhalla and curling like fiery flower petals.

"Oh! Magnum? Magnum!" Dainty's voice- but Rainbow couldn't divert her attention. Not right now.

"Do I still have to pry that thing off of you?"

"Ask that to my sword." Val snarled, lifting herself up with said weapon.

"AFTER ALL THE TROUBLE YOU WENT THROUGH TO MAKE ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE!? YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!" Rainbow screamed at her, then with a snap of her demon wings blasted into Val like an out of control vehicle. She rammed her into a wall, the sword falling away.

"All of it was useless. All that saving the world bullcrap." Val spat, sprouting claws from her hand and dragged them across Rainbow's side.

Rainbow yelped, backing away as fresh blood gushed from her wound. It tried to heal itself, with minimal success. She had already used the virus's remaining regenerative capabilities, there simply wasn't enough in her anymore. She snarled though, baring her teeth, then lashed out at the cyberpony.

Her claws rammed into Val's shoulder, impaling her against the wall. Once again the Elements reacted with the amulet's magic, plumes of smoke drifting to the air from the wound in Val's shoulder. She growled, keeping her screams muffled at her throat.

She pressed a foot against Rainbow's chest, then fired her jet boosters. The blast flung Rainbow back, her claws tearing from Val's shoulder.

Val let out a tiny scream as she fell back onto the ground. She didn't fall down though, landing on her feet and clutching her injured arm. With an angry snarl the giant red sword appeared in her hands again.

Rainbow roared, shoulder charging into Val and forcing her halfway through the wall. Val slammed the sword into her scaled arm and pushed her back. Both of them had several wounds at this point, both internal and external. Val was wincing with every step, and Rainbow was taking careful breaths to avoid hurting her broken rib cage.

"Take off the amulet, Val! Take it off and you will heal!" Rainbow said, as loud as she could. "Take it off and you will LIVE!" She yelled. The effects of the virus were starting to wear off on her, they weren't permanent after all.

"NEVER!" Val barked, a giant red barrel popping out from the arm and transforming with a storm of other pieces.

Rainbow summoned the cleaver again and swung it, flinging out the arcane prism cannon.

They both fired at each other.

If earlier magical reactions were deemed big, this was... Well... Considering there were now two fully charged beams of concentrated magical energy hitting each other head-on, the effect was much, much bigger than big.

Val didn't manage to see nor hear anything of the resulting blast. Everything just went white and blank for her, just a second before she felt her body tear at the shoulder and knee. She opened her mouth to scream, but all was silent. She couldn't hear herself.

Then she felt her back hit something hard, possibly the ground. When the brilliant white light faded and she could see again, all she saw were blurred shapes and fading colors.

"Ugh..." She groaned, trying to get up. Her right arm gave out from beneath her, and her face hit the cold hard ground once again. Her ears rung, though a soft rumble was slowly making its way through the static.

The throne room had been almost completely destroyed. Pillars and bits of ceiling lay shattered on the cracked marble ground. The steps to the throne lay in jagged pieces, and the throne itself had been partially crushed by a fallen chandelier.

"Opening access gates." HEX said, in her neutral monotoned voice.

The wall behind the throne room shifted, then slowly slid into the ground. A brilliant orange light lit up the throne room. Brilliant, but gentle.

They were here.

Beyond was a white alloy bridge with alien looking decor leading to another grand set of gates, which belonged to a majestic white and gold castle hovering in the center of the sun.

It had an odd aesthetic to it. Not science, not magic, but both... It had the best of both worlds.

Val gritted her teeth as she slowly crawled her way towards the exit. She didn't have a goal in mind anymore, at this current moment, she couldn't think of anything. She had entered a sort of dream state, where all she could do was resist the pain in her broken body and crawl towards the light.

She painfully dragged herself up the broken steps of her own fallen monarchy, desperately trying to catch some form of purpose before it all floated away.

Finally she was able to peer over the stairs and set her eyes on the bridge and the castle beyond.

This, this was her purpose. Genesis, this was her goal. The final step to ensure she would never ever exist again. Yes, this was what she had truly, and always wanted.

The amulet screamed for her attention at her neck. It cried for her to tap into its power once more, to use its rage and corruption and greed just once more.

With a shaky hand, she plucked it from her neck. The red glow from her eyes faded, and the screaming in her ears ceased. She was free again.

"Gah..." She felt a sharp pain in her side. Even with the amulet removed, her wounds were permanent. They were like scars, reminding her of her sins and mistakes.

Then she heard hoofsteps behind her. She didn't need to look behind her to know who it was.

Rainbow slowly limped up next to her, each step giving her a painful grimace. Both of them had been injured badly. Her left arm dangled lifelessly by her side, and there was something obviously broken about her right leg. Her wings were a mess, and if those weren't enough of an indication, there was blood trickling down a corner of her mouth and from a wound on her forehead. The virus had worn off completely at this point, and there were no traces of scales on her body anymore.

"Crap." Val muttered as Rainbow wrenched her up by the neck and slammed her down on the steps. She brought her arms up to defend herself, and immediately had them knocked aside and received a hoof to the head for all her trouble.

Rainbow drove her elbow into Val's stomach then rammed her up the jaw. Val felt a few things inside snap, but they were healing, unlike the wounds inflicted from earlier. Then she felt her mane tangle a bit as Rainbow wrenched on it and shoved her head against the stairs.

Val tried to get away from Rainbow's relentless beating, but nothing on her was functional anymore. Joints, prism cannons, everything had either already been broken or had been snapped by Rainbow in her rage.

Rainbow gave Val one last smack upside the head, breathing heavily as she sat atop her beaten form.

"We ain't even, you son of a bitch." She muttered, wiping a drop of blood from her own nose. "But that made me feel a hell of a lot better." She got up, and Val let out a long displeased groan. Rainbow held out her hoof, her intentions apparent.

"Take it." Val's lungs inflated again, and she gasped. She almost threw the amulet at Rainbow.

Rainbow caught it and tucked it into her coat pocket, then reached out again.

"What do you want? You win, alright? Just... Take the amulet and leave... Or kill me and leave. I bet that'd be easy right now." Val muttered from where she laid weakly on the ground.

"You said it before I did. There's no point killing a mare who's already dead on the inside." Rainbow said. "To make it clear, I still hate you, but I'm not going to put in the effort to kill you. Now, give me your hand, idiot."

"I... What?"

"You want to see Genesis don't you?" Rainbow sighed. "Come on."

"You... Forgive me?"

"Yeah. There's no point in holding a grudge since one: It's all about to be resolved and none of this will matter anyway and two: I might as well forgive you since I know you won't." Rainbow replied calmly.

Val averted her eyes for a moment. She was right, she knew. Even if it were just for Eclipse's death, something she will hold onto forever, she'd never forgive herself- let alone for all the crimes she had committed against the world.

She took Rainbow's hoof, and the pegasus helped her up. Both of them almost fell together when that happened, and had to help stabilize each other.

"You ready to go?" Val asked, shakily standing on her damaged legs.

"One more thing." Rainbow whispered, turning back to the throne room. She slowly stepped back down the steps again, looking around at the destroyed decor. "Dainty?"

"...Rainbow... You're still alive..." She heard a sniff.

"I am."

"I... I didn't dare look..."

"I don't blame you." Rainbow whispered, closing her eyes. "Hey, ah... Is Magnum alright?"

"She's breathing... She just got knocked out."

Rainbow nodded and let out a sigh of relief. Even though it technically no longer mattered, on some level it still did to her. She took in a deep breath, controlling her voice and trying her best to keep it steady. "Dainty, I'm going now."

"But you'll be back won't you?"

Silence. Say it, Rainbow, just goddamn say it, she thought. This is the last goodbye. You've tried telling her before, you've got a second chance now- just bucking say it.

"Yeah." Rainbow took in a shaky breath. "Yeah, I'll be back. You and Magnum take care of Tavi in the meantime alright?"

"We... We will."

This wasn't fair, Rainbow thought. She wouldn't even get a chance to see her one last time. All she could hold on to was that young innocent voice.

But maybe it would be better this way. So she wouldn't have to go through that period of painful hesitation in the face of inevitability.

"Hey... Don't let the evil cyber lady get you."

Rainbow laughed, looking behind her to check Val's expression. She expected to find Val shaking her head in dismay, and was surprised to see her turn away in shame.

"She won't." Rainbow assured her. "Hey, ah... I've got some things to say to Tavi, alright Daints? You don't mind do you?"

"Nope. Logging off- bye, sis."

"See ya." Rainbow replied, her voice trailing off. She moved off to the side and pressed her forehead against a pillar the moment the connection was severed.

Octavia was still laid down on the other side of the pillar, unconscious. She had probably passed out from blood loss, but her chest was still heaving.

"Tavi..." Rainbow said quietly as she softly walked around the pillar and knelt down next to her friend and partner. God, it had been so long... They had been together for far too long. Goodbye had to come at some point, both of them knew, but neither had planned for the moment- ever.

Rainbow finally couldn't hold it back anymore. She had no reason to at this point. It started as a choked whimper, then she finally burst into tears and grabbed ahold of the unconscious grey mare.

"Tavi..." She cried into her neck. "I..."

When the time finally came for her to say something meaningful, she couldn't find it. Look after Dainty? She will. Keep everyone safe? She knows she will.

Regardless, apologies, it seems; never run out.

"I want to stay, Tavs... I want to stay... I want to stay with you and I don't want to go..."

After all of this things will be different. All will be good and peaceful again, and they could just be normal friends- not mares constantly on killing sprees.

Except she won't be there to see it. The world will continue on without her, and she won't be able to watch... Not even from the afterlife.

Destroying an existence is something far scarier than destroying a life. In the afterlife, a conscious remains... But when even that is gone, nothing stays. Not a single thought, particle, or image- nothing.

"Rainbow Dash..." Val slowly limped towards them. She stopped halfway down the steps. "Please... Just give me the amulet... You can stay, and I'll be gone forever. Please, just give me the key..."

"You're too useful here." Rainbow whispered, not looking up. "All that knowledge of science... Even the revival machine... It was your dream to make the world a better place and leave this timeline behind, wasn't it? It'll be better for everypony. Much more so than if I stay."

"Nopony will trust me. You are their hero, you deserve to stay. All I'll get for staying is hatred, nopony will listen." Val approached them, pleading. "You have far too many ponies who care about you here."

"Your parents, Val... Don't you want them to know that you've changed now? Don't you have anything to say to them?" Rainbow turned her head a slight bit.

Val opened her mouth to speak, but only shut them again and looked away. Rainbow turned back to Octavia, glad that she was unconscious... She had no idea how she'd meet her eyes if they were open.

"Sorry, Tavs..." She whispered, giving the grey mare one last hug, praying that she won't wake. "Bye..."

She shut her eyes and turned away, attempting to rid her mind of any leniency to stay. This was going to happen- she was going to make the world a better place. Val will maintain that, she knows she will.

She stood, turned, and finally allowed her eyes to open again. They were solely trained on the exit now.

"Let's go." She said with a light gulp. She felt frozen inside out, stiff. Already she could feel her mind drifting off, to imagine her friends without her, and to the hypothetical future where she would somehow still exist. It made tears well up in her eyes again, along with a pit of guilty however well deserved self pity.

She tripped on one of the last steps and stumbled a bit in her state. Val tried to help her, but forgot about her own broken leg for a second and fell as well. The two kind of just collapsed against each other.

"Bucking bullcrap." Rainbow muttered, face pressed against the floor, half laughing and half crying. "This is what the fate of the entire world has amounted to, two mares who can't even bucking walk without falling over for no reason."

"Mmmn." Val grumbled, pushing herself up off the floor. "I blame you. If you hadn't cut me up so much I would've caught you."

"If you hadn't blasted me with alicorny alicorness I would've been able to walk myself without falling over in the first place." Rainbow retorted, getting up painfully.

Val reached out to pull her up. Rainbow took her hand, but suddenly Val's leg snapped in half altogether in a shower of metal parts and electrical wires and the two of them fell flat on their backs again.

"Phuck." Rainbow sighed. "I'm starting to think we should just crawl."

"Is this the part where history books go all propaganda and stuff and leave things out?"

*

After Val had a few minutes to put her leg back together again in a semi-functional state, they supported each other and their broken bodies across the bridge.

At last they made it to the castle gates. Queen Penumbra had certainly made the place grand- perhaps it wasn't even really a consideration in the design process, since she would've had the power to do essentially anything. This was probably just a piece of cake.

"My life would be so much easier if I had just killed you in the first place." Rainbow looked flatly across at Val, the two of them standing with theirs arms over each other's shoulders, trying not to fall over.

"Yep. But hey, you would've never made it this close to Genesis if I weren't here."

"Fair point."

"I'd also like to point out you'd be rolling over here or something on your own without me, even if you figured out the amulet was the key."

"The history books will never know." Rainbow muttered, placing a hoof on one door as Val placed a hand on the other.

Together they pushed the gates to the castle open.

"Ah..." Val shielded her eyes from the bright light that flooded through.

They entered a giant white hall, crystal chandeliers dangling from the high ceiling and glowing a soft orange. The walls were made of- they didn't exactly know what it was. It was just a clean white, had the gleam of marble but seemed to retain that distinct hardness of metal. The roof, however, was carefully crafted from clear crystal... The sun's flames wrapping around the edges of the castle while space filled the rest.

There was a magnification field in the center of the roof, zooming in on Earth and making it visible. The dirt brown planet slowly turned in space, glitters of silver occasionally reflecting back the sun's rays- drifting remnants of space battles and the destroyed Barricade.

"Five million lives..." Val muttered.

"What?" Rainbow turned to her.

"Five million were on the barricade when it fell." Val said, and Rainbow fell silent. Then Val chuckled. "But it's just a number, isn't it? For ponies who have killed again and again like us... It'll never mean more than that."

"No... It will. We just have to stop pretending it doesn't mean anything." Rainbow replied.

The wall on the other end of the gigantic hall slowly turned transparent, and a pair of tall glass double doors that reached all the way to the ceiling slowly opened.

"Is someone else here with us?" Rainbow whispered.

Golden light spread across the hall from the open doors. Another long walkway lay beyond, amidst swirling masses of glowing particles. A pony-like figure emerged, silhouetted by light, then stepped to a stop at the doors.

"I hope we don't have to fight that thing." Rainbow muttered, and Val laughed.

"Rainbow Dash, meet Fate." She said.

The figure walked towards them. Rainbow noticed stallion-ish features as he got closer- he seemed to be some sort of robot, clad in silver plating with the occasional golden indicator light sparkling on his thin armor. Two golden eyes stared at the two curiously- and despite the metal face, it was still able to express emotions relatively well.

Most importantly, he didn't seem hostile- armor, sure, but purely aesthetic- and no weapons.

"Valkyrie. Rainbow Dash." He nodded to the two.

"Fate... Pony robot... Wait, what?" Rainbow fell down and clutched her head.

"Penumbra created Fate, who guards Genesis. He's a golem, not a robot. Robots are science, golems are magic based." Val began.

"So... Do you control Genesis? I mean... You ARE Fate, like... Fate-fate? Prophecies and what-not?"

Fate chuckled, his robotic laughter oddly soothing and melodic.

"No, I merely watch and document. Ponies make their own fates." He said, then nodded. "Mythology seems to depict me differently, however. Personally I have no idea why, although I could refer to the millions of years I have documented."

Rainbow rolled about on the floor. Really, the past few months have been ridiculous, but it seems to be getting worse, somehow.

"So... What do you do here? I mean... You live in a big empty palace... I know you're a robot- golem- whatever, but... Doesn't it ever get bored?"

"When you have the whole world to watch and observe from, boredom never seems to be a part of it." Fate chuckled. "Though, I sometimes do wonder, if that is part of my code."

"Hey, I..." Val stuttered for a second, a little ashamed at what she was about to say. "Is... Is Penumbra here?"

"The Mistress? She had not returned since you killed her." Fate turned to Val. "But of course, that is just a lie she has informed me to tell you should you ever arrive. She was confident you wouldn't. She had shut herself away in her chambers since her arrival."

"Oh..." Val lowered her eyes. "I... I've got a lot of apologies to make." She turned to Rainbow, then to said mare's surprise, she knelt down before her. "Rainbow Dash... I know that I am in no place to make a request... But please... Once you're done with Genesis... Can you please delete me?"

"I'll give you a new body, if you want to kill yourself afterwards then-"

"No, as in... Delete... Actually just erase..."

The magnitude of Val's request slowly sunk into Rainbow. So... What she wanted... Was what Rainbow had been dreading all this time?

"But... Why?" She whispered.

She hated Val, but she understood that her bad actions were driven by good intentions- and since everything was about to be alright again, she kind of found it easy to forgive her. This... Her request... Seemed a bit too much.

"Is this why you wanted Genesis? It is, isn't it?" Rainbow peered down at her, and she refused to meet her eyes. "You didn't want to exist anymore. Genesis was perfect for you."

"I had done too much wrong. I can physically fix it but nopony will ever-"

Then Rainbow struck her across the face.

"What? Forgive you? I have, haven't I? Love you? Eclipse has, hasn't she?" She hissed, and Val staring in shock from where she had fallen over. Rainbow closed her eyes, then took in a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Bucking crybaby." She muttered, and pulled Val up into a hug.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Val whimpered. "I just don't want to exist anymore... I caused you so much pain... I caused everypony so much pain... I was so selfish, and..." She broke down, completely. Rainbow had never seen her so shattered, not even during the end of the Awakening incident.

"You know, I've said this a bunch of times in a bunch of different contexts... But... Friendship, respect, all that stuff... It's always earned. And it takes time to earn them, to develop them. You'll be fine, Val. You'll be a great mare in the new world- you'll play your cards right this time, won't you?"

"I'm too scared..."

"Isn't that the root of the problem..." Rainbow sighed to herself. Val was scared to face her own guilt, to face the world again- that's why she wanted out. "From how I see it, you have two options. Live, make the world a better place. You have that power. Die, exist in an eternity of your own guilt and be forever known as a villain to the world. That would happen anyway if you choose to not-exist, you just won't be there to see it. Val, a close friend of mine once said to me that choosing not to choose isn't really a choice. You can't run from a problem forever. Plus... Somepony'll miss you, wouldn't she?"

Val sniffed, and nodded.

"Perhaps you should go to her. Her chambers are that way." Fate said softly, pointing to the left where a new set of doors appeared.

Val gently let go of Rainbow, turning in the direction of the door. She stopped mid-step, turned back around and hugged Rainbow again, squeezing her.

"I'm sorry. I wish you could've made things different and given me the amulet. You're a horrible pony, really, adding to my guilt like this." She mumbled into Rainbow's shoulder.

"Are you sure you still want to... Not exist? I'm still making that decision yours."

She nodded again.

"Yeah. I still believe everypony'll be better off without me... Even Eclipse." She swallowed.

"Alright... I won't stop you- if that's what you truly want, then you can have it... After all, you've worked hard to get to this point." Rainbow said softly, patting her on the back.
"Is this the most depressing hug ever?" Val wondered allowed after a while.

"Oh, shut up. You don't get to have self pity and commit suicide at the same time." Rainbow muttered.

"You know, I want to say I'll miss you, and I'll mean it, but... It wouldn't make much sense at this point, would it..."

"No... No it wouldn't."

Finally they let go of each other.

"You better hurry off to your princess now." Rainbow said, offering a sad smile.

"Queen."

"Whatever. You better go." She said, turning towards the doors at the far end. Somehow she just knew Genesis was in that direction. She straightened her coat and tidied her hat, letting out one final sigh. "Afterall, the end is here."

Val nodded. She wiped the tears from her eyes, then laughed.

"Don't mess it up, you've only got one shot at this." She reminded her jokingly, walking off towards the door to the left.

"Don't worry, I'll improvise..." Rainbow replied, and followed Fate towards the far door, closer to Genesis, and closer to the end. "...It's what I'm good at."

Comments

[NaughtSought]

Wow, this is still going... and going... and going... I'm never going to get finished with this if I wait for it to be complete am I? yes, I read the chapter titles, yes, there may be sarcasm somewhere here

[Jasper77W]

5103850
I mean, you can make a start once the five million parts to the end are over

[Jasper77W]

5112160
I can tell you I've finished writing. Just need to edit and stuff. One more chapter and an epilogue woooo

[NaughtSought]

5112200 and yet the next reply you made... Really Jaspy, do you really expect so little of me?

[Jasper77W]

5113509

[NaughtSought]

5113531 You cut me deep Jas, you cut me real deep.

[Jasper77W]

5113747
Cleaver deep?

[NaughtSought]

5117354 I'd say a little less than the Val/Dash Romance but A little more than the cleaver.

[reader238]

now that I have finally gotten a chance to read this "day and a half" there is one thing that I am curious about. what happened to the TARDIS? in the beginning the SF used it to go back in time to kill Starswirl the bearded while he was still a child, and creating the paradoxical alternate timeline where the SF reins supreme. but since starswirl was a child when they killed him, nopony would have even known about him or what he could have accomplished until after they received the memories of the original timeline. so considering this I have to wonder if somebody thought to steal the TARDIS again from this second timeline in order to ensure that starswirl actually dies?

[Jasper77W]

5375378

It's plot holes like this that are the reason I plan on rebooting the series at some point(to a lot of people's dismay cause it's really long :P). But since doctor and derpy swapped roles in the new timeline, at some point in those adventures the Tardis got left somewhere. Finding it and preventing Starswirl's death would've created a third layer of memories and generation of splinters, which sure could revert everything, though would make things worse in general. I'd assume that the SF either tossed it out into space somewhere or kept it under tight security, once they learnt of what had happened.
And as for splinters and the whole memory thing(which I don't remember properly explaining): Since killing Starswirl would create a paradox in which the universe alternates continuously between the state where he did die and the one where he did not, to prevent something like that from happening which would most likely obliterate everything, the universe merged things together and made changes where necessary. The responsibility of being the Doctor was shifted to prevent another event like such. Splinters are caused where characters cannot be merged, most likely because they are so different(Val and Blithy, Rainbow and Silver, etc).

[tranhdxrbntd]

update?

[Jasper77W]

5539447
Never again apparently
but seriously tho I'm tryna make it good