The finale of the To be a Wonderbolt series ends with a war that will put two nations at risk. Can Equestria survive a war against a threat of great force?
Warning: If you haven't read the first two stories of this series you won't be able to follow along. I urge you to be able to read this with an open mind to read the previous installments so you can enjoy this one.
Rainbow Dash's journey has took her to the edge of insanity and to the brink of death itself. This final chapter of her saga as a Wonderbolt will put her at the very limits. Survival against an adversary of this caliber isn't guaranteed.
Equestria has been called into war against Draconia. The two nations pitted against each other by fate, and only one will survive. With no hope for peace, and fear running rampant, two sides attack one another with ferocity. No matter the outcome Equestria will never be the same.
This, final fic of the saga, will finally answer all the questions that haven't been answered while ending the story once and for all.
Art used with permission.
Artist: shokka-chan at Deviant Art. Proof Reader and Editor: kiheerSEDMAN
Ponyville Hospital, the birthplace of Hope Star, was filled with ponies wanting to see the new foal. Usually a birth would be just another family and friends exclusive event, though with Equestria at the brink of war, the people needed some good news to cheer them up. The crowds outside waited eagerly for news about Hope Star. They wondered about her race, appearance, and condition. The reporters were kept at bay by security.
Rainbow Dash wouldn't let anyone in the room where she and her family were, she was only allowing her closest and dearest friends in the room. No one else was allowed to see her foal. She didn't want any nut job trying to sacrifice her child as some sort of prophecy fulfillment.
Hope Star was being held by her mother, Fluttershy, and wasn't aware of anything. She didn't have an extensive thought process, and was just getting used to the new sensations her body was being acclimated to. She just knew that she was hungry, so she did the only thing a foal could do, and started crying.
Fluttershy calmed her baby down, and gently allowed her foal to drink from her. It was decided that they wouldn't use any formula 'crap' as her wife so lovingly called it. "There, there mommy is here." She cooed to the little foal who was just happy to be fed.
Rainbow Dash looked at the scene and her heart melted. Seeing her wife, Fluttershy, and her daughter’s bond was making her smile. She noticed Hope Star's mane was similar to Fluttershy's in style but colored like her own. She had passed on the rainbow haired genes she was dreading. Now she will have a tough time growing up, at least she is as cute as a button, did I just say that? I guess I have gone soft. Oh well I can't be ms. tough mare forever. Still with war looming can I really relax?
Scootaloo was disturbed by Fluttershy's open feeding of Hope Star, it was something she could live without seeing. "So Momma-Dash and Mom. Will you both still ... love me now that Hope is here? I mean... I’m not your real foal and she is." Scootaloo was facing the ground not daring to meet the gaze of her parents. Sure she was glad they had adopted her and made her feel part of their family, just didn't feel that she was needed now that they had a foal of their own. This idea came from her past. When she was younger and was adopted she was usually happy before the family either had a foal of their own or just decided she wasn't their type of filly. Her whole life had been like that and even if Rainbow Dash was like a mother to her it wasn't going to change the fact she wasn't their biological foal.
"Scoots are you stupid? We are having a happy moment and you ruin it with idiocy? Like I would get rid of my daughter just because I have another... After all I went through? You seriously need to let your past go." Rainbow Dash's anger suddenly died down as she scooped the depressed filly into her hooves. "Never think that for any reason, at all in this world, we would give you up. You are our daughter. I don't care what your birth certificate says. To me and Shy you are our daughter and will always be." She rubbed the back of the now sobbing filly and just let her cry. As she held her daughter close she thought about how they got to this point. It seemed forever ago that her journey started.
Rainbow Dash sat on her cloud looking at the envelope, she knew she was going to need her friend's support to open it. She was hoping it was an acceptance letter as her dream would come true if it was. She looked in the mirror and smiles at herself. She decided to let the emotional surge pass before calmly inviting her friends to a picnic to reveal the content of the envelope to all of them.
At the picnic she opened the letter, and mixed emotions came through as she found out she would be living her dream. Emotions rolled through the crowd of ponies as one of them emotionally poured her heart out. Her friend Applejack had been crushed with the realization that she would be left without a best friend. Rainbow Dash assured her it wasn't going to be that way and the tension faded slowly.
Rainbow Dash received congratulated from her idols, she finally has been acknowledged and was finishing the procedures to be accepted in fully. The physical was a success minus the fact she failed the psychological portion. Despite this she had been allowed in by an insidious Spitfire who used her rank to override the doctors decisions. Rainbow Dash was suited and ready to go.
She met with the group before having to get back into training which led to another emotional reaction from her friends. Mostly the farm mare who was not doing so well with acceptance. The rest of the week was just training and preparations for the big show being performed at Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash's first performance as a Wonderbolt was spectacular and her fame and career launched since then. She had a smashing party after her Ponyville debut, which lead to her and Fluttershy having some wild and passionate sex. The night surely would have been perfect, had the morning after not been so tragically heartbreaking.
One month later and her first actual performance, with a crowd at the Cloudiseum. Rainbow Dash was feeling it, the raw passion and elation from living her dream was building in her mind. She performed with a minor mishap, though not major enough to cause a disruption, it was still a threat to future shows if she didn't learn more control. That night in her celebration of her first show, she had a wild night with some mares she knew well.
Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Spitfire all went with Rainbow Dash to Canterlot for a night of fun. The night ended up being alright up until the point where more dramatics happened. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had a heart to heart talk again. They both bared their souls out for each other. The intensity of the conversation left them with an ultimatum. They had to decide whether they would try to work it out or let fate separate them. That morning Rainbow Dash was empty of heart and broken of soul. She decided to abandon all thoughts of her friends and pursue her own career. Spitfire enjoyed her plan coming together. She had been pulling strings to make Rainbow Dash go through this path.
After months of abusing drugs and partying, Rainbow Dash had been at the edge of reason. Her stardom constantly rising to the point she couldn't even be seen without being rushed or crowded. She had been abusing drugs and causing all sorts of problems by sleeping around with wives of pissed off stallions, breaking things out of rage fits, and allowing herself to ignore the fact that she was being manipulated.
Spitfire had poisoned tank and Rainbow Dash hadn't figured it out. When Tank died, it destroyed the last pillar of sanity Rainbow Dash had and she had a mental breakdown. That moment Spitfire almost felt guilty but she had too much to gain. She bottled up her real emotions and pretended to be a friend. That helped Rainbow Dash get through and she was able to start a cleansing process and be rid of drugs.
Two months after, and she had become a new pony. No drugs or alcohol or even the slightest hint of mare-hood on her body. She had been reformed from her broken state and made anew. When her next performance was literally minutes away she had found a letter in her locker. It was from Celestia.
Celestia's letter sparked a mission for her to reunite the Elements of Harmony. She had traveled all across Equestria at sonic speeds to meet up with all her friends separately. Even with them all back she had one final goal. She had to regain what fate took from her. She had to get Fluttershy. That train of thought lead her to battle with Discord who was only testing her resolve. It wasn't until Rainbow Dash vowed her love for the softer mare, and even claimed nothing else would matter as long as she had her back, that Discord ended the games and allowed them to talk and reconcile.
Before the finality of that moment Spitfire tried playing a card to keep Rainbow Dash from quitting the Wonderbolts, she had tried using deceit and lies but was figured out. Rainbow Dash still decided to stay on her terms, which didn't matter at all to Spitfire who just needed her to maintain presence.
When they returned to Ponyville the reunited friends, plus one almost adopted scootaloo, were able to get started on helping the town get fixed up. They spent days helping with what talents they had, it was a magical moment and things were starting to look up.
Then shit happened! First an awkward moment at the party, celebrating the reconstruction of Ponyville, was causing some problems. It was a minor issue that was resolved, but it still was an issue no less. Still if the tiniest hint of the past was to start drama it would have only gotten worse from there.
With many ponies still hurting from the past experiences and still dealing with their new found situations, the town wasn't prepared for the arrival of Lightning Dust. She had started a crusade against Rainbow Dash and was ruthless in her mannerisms. Lightning Dust even tormented and emotionally tortured Fluttershy. She angered Angel Bunny so much that he launched himself at her causing his untimely demise. While Lightning Dust was about to panic from her actions she was met with a hoof from Scootaloo that hit woke her from her self loathing state and made her leave before she caused any more damage.
Unfortunately the situation grew worse as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy nearly broke off their engagement. A broken Rainbow Dash let out an ear shattering cry of despair and froze in place at the revelation that she had just been dumped. Though they reconciled their differences and their bond strengthened it was still slowly piece by piece damaging the psyche of the great Wonderbolt.
Lightning Dust continued her plot to ruin Rainbow Dash only to have it backfire. She became the target of angry fans and of ponies who were out to detain her for her crimes. She wasn't able to eat, sleep, drink, or bathe properly. She had been flying and her wings were nearly useless from being overworked.
She had decided to try and repent. She went to Rainbow Dash and begged for mercy, and as her final stand took place, Rainbow Dash decided to give her her wish. Even though she had died after being forgiven, her death was yet another blow to Rainbow Dash's psyche. Soon the guilt was eating Rainbow Dash away.
Tensions flared more between friends when a couple’s retreat became available for four of the friends, their absence causing an event to be able to unfold. Twilight had planned on reverting Pinkamena to Pinkie Pie and was having Flash Sentry help her. They had planned for every imaginable difficulty except an angry Scootaloo interfering.
Scootaloo had been hanging out with Pinkamena when Twilight and Flash came into the bakery with their scheme in mind. She was the first to stop them and because of her silver tongue that she acquired from hanging around her Momma-Dash, she was struck by Flash Sentry which lead to a "your so going to get it " moment.
With Twilight's knowledge of how an angry Rainbow Dash's mind works she had fled Ponyville with Flash sentry and prepared for an assault by hiding in the Crystal Empire. Their arrival had doomed the empire and their protection would come at a great cost.
Rainbow Dash having returned from a peaceful trip had been informed of the incident at the bakery. Her mentally disturbed mind kicked into overdrive and murder was at the forefront of her mind. She had initially thought of murdering but an ass beating was her afterthought since murder is illegal...ish.
Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadence had all constructed a barrier of magic to prevent Rainbow Dash from hurting Flash Sentry. Rainbow Dash had remembered something about magic that Twilight taught her and used it against her. She had used the magical energy, from the Sonic Rainboom mixed with their own energy, to cause a catastrophic explosion to occur. The explosion shattered the magical blockade and caused a side effect of shattering the buildings and the floor of the entire crystal empire. It was practically destroyed. The ponies who lived there had been evacuated prior in case such disaster would occur. Rainbow Dash didn't even stop her revenge quest till she lured out the cowardly Flash Sentry. They had a fight that was not long lived and it ended with Rainbow Dash almost snapping the humiliated royal guard’s wings off while using a dark tone emasculating him in the process.
Rainbow Dash had stood victorious but was still forced to pay the price for her actions. Since she was able to somehow manage not killing anyone in the process of her retaliation, she was just fined and forced to help pay labor and materials for the damages she caused. No one outside a small circle of ponies knew about the events that occurred in the crystal empire otherwise the punishment wouldn't have been so lenient.
Rainbow Dash stopped being so reckless and carefree after her fiance gave her a verbal beating and admonished her for her actions. With the events behind them they had decided to get married after their months of waiting. They had also secretly had conceived a foal using a potion to transmogrify Rainbow Dash for a night. Their wedding was seen as a sign of the start of a bright future.
Life was getting better for all till Appleseed was born. Applejack's baby was the epitome of joy for the group. They had all been dealing with a lot of stress and problems. Appleseed was a symbol of hope for the group of ponies.
Pinkamena had ended that. She tried offing herself and almost took Pinkie with her. Rainbow Dash had saved the body but unfortunately Pinkamena’s persona died on that cold hospital bed. With an inception-esque moment, the nearly psychotic Rainbow Dash was able to retain her sanity when her friend Pinkie Pie had returned to her own body. She pulled through just as Rainbow Dash was giving her final goodbyes, before they were able to pull the plug. Pinkie Pie was alive and Rainbow Dash finally was able to smile again.
With Pinkie's sanity still in question and her capacity to live alone challenged she was forced into the arms of Twilight Sparkle who was more than happy to help the pink mare recover. Though with that week of recovery came some emotional attachment that made Twilight question her loyalty to her secret mare-friend Celestia. Pinkie Pie was good at being seductive and wasn't aware of Twilight's relationship, and if she was pretending was always a good thing.
With bonds being forged and worries being quelled it seemed that things were almost stabilizing until the incident that started the war happened. Rainbow Dash had accepted a tour gig on the condition that Fluttershy would be at her side the entire time. The first show had easy routines and stunts for her to do, as rusty as she was getting it was going to be a simple task getting into the swing of things.
Then in a twist of fate, Rainbow Dash performed her trademark Sonic Rainboom at the exact moment Discord was reassuring the diplomat from the dragon nation of Draconia that something like a Sonic Rainboom wasn’t going to happen. This triggered a fighting response from the ambassador that set in motion the chain of events that lead to the the current situation at hand. Rainbow Dash had to fight off, with the help of her squad, the dragon. The event caused her to nearly die and it created untold destruction. The dragon died, his body falling to impact on the ground below causing a massive crater and a shock-wave that killed many.
Rainbow Dash had been saved by Discord; who brought her to the ER in Ponyville, to avoid the chaos that was Canterlot. The mad god of chaos made sure that Rainbow Dash was able to be saved before he rushed off to get Fluttershy. He grabbed her and brought her to the Ponyville Hospital and left, but not before draining a lot of his magical stamina in doing so.
When the couple reunited it was a peaceful moment, for them it has at least. The tragedy was covered up by Celestia, and a certain group of esteemed ponies. The whole issue was kept from spreading across the borders since it would surely cause war, and it did indeed cause a war to happen.
While Rainbow Dash was recovering two Draconians decided to have a battle in Ponyville. The resulting all out struggle, between some ponies and two Draconians, resulted in the death of the Draconian prince. His death in Ponyville had shaken the tyrant king who could feel his son's life force shatter. It was a maddening day for all.
The declaration of war was a ridiculous event, and the time frame was almost too beneficial. It had seemed that whatever the surviving Draconian told the king had made it seem as if Equestria was a place that wasn't worth rushing into battle with. So one year was granted to prepare for combat.
Time passed, things happened, and the birth of a foal in a time where hope was lost gave the nation a morale boost.
So in the end that rush memories was all that Rainbow Dash needed to prepare herself for the coming storm. They had one month left and they were going to use it well. Resources were being brought forward and ponies were stationed all along the front. They had one month left before the ultimate battle for the good of all ponies would take place.
Peace was coming to an abrupt end all over Equestria. The subjects of the royal princess had one month left to enjoy their lives before the brutality of war would scar the land and kill many. She wasn't sure how much she would be able to endure knowing her subjects would suffer a horrible price for a misunderstanding. It wasn't fair, if only she could have stopped that event from taking place the world wouldn't be in danger of being torn by a grand war.
Princess Celestia, who was now single again, was sticking to her duties and forsaking her heart. She had been able to accept the fact she was no longer with Twilight Sparkle. Still even in her loneliest of nights she had her sister to keep her comfort. She had noted that Luna had been more affectionate as of late. She wasn't sure if it was out of pity or genuine care, she didn't worry about that since she had more important matters to deal with.
The final month, for most ponies a time of peace, was her month to secure everything. She had to make sure the bunkers and defenses were ready for the incoming threat. She had too much at stake to let anything slip her away from her attentive gaze. She was going to finally be a useful deity and not just a glorified princess. She had also worried about Discord, it seemed he wasn't feeling too well since his stint at Ponyville fighting off the Draconian.
Discord spent the final month battling his failing body, he had pushed himself past his limits when he reverted to his original form. The seal that was placed when he was entrapped in stone made it so he couldn't turn back to the form that had horrified the sisters long ago. He wasn't some cute parody of a villain he was a true monster back in his day. Murder, chaos, sex slaves...you name it Discord had it or partaken in it. He wasn't the kind of monster that was able to exist in the land of Equestria no matter how much he had reformed. That form was the true epitome of evil and anarchy, he had used it to fight off the Draconians but since it wasn't maintained properly due to his inability to break the seal he was forced to push past his limits and cause a decay in his magical will.
No longer was he able to use such intense magic and slowly his power was fading. He wasn't long for this world, he knew that. He planned on making an epic moment of his death when the time came. He wasn't going to be some target for them to easily take out, he was going to go out with a bang. He had already planned his final hour and the war hadn't even started. He was cautious of keeping his lips secured so nopony attempted to try and talk him out of it. He wasn't going to allow himself to become some invalid. He was Discord the master of chaos.
He had been avoiding the world and any attempts at linking himself to any of the emotional ponies that would be at his side claiming to be his friends. He had one pony he considered a friend and it was enough for him. He had no idea just how he would be able to let her know about his passing but he felt he could just let her be right now. She had a family now and he had no right to ruin her month of peace with his dying. He wasn't going to be that kind of Draconquus. He was going to be the kind that died before he allowed the tears over his death to be spilled.
The newly reformed Wonderbolts, lead by Rainbow Dash, were getting ready to perform their final show before the war started. They had decided to do this to cheer the nation of Equestria. Rainbow Dash had still not fully forgiven Spitfire but during these uncertain times it was best to just let it go. She and Spitfire with the help of Soarin were going to lead the final show of the Wonderbolts. After the war Rainbow Dash was going to quit the Wonderbolts fully if she even lived. She had a funny feeling she might die. Something about thinking of a future didn't feel right with her anymore.
She wasn't concerned with the thought of dying, she had lived a good life and saw her first foal born. That was all she needed. She had her foal and her family, nothing else mattered. She and the crew while training for their final show had made a pact to not go out like a bunch of losers. They planned to die like winners, if they died at all.
After their performance they took off their costume and vowed to never wear it again until the war ended. They had all special modified versions of their costumes with armor and weaponry molded on. It wasn't like they were truly going to be an aerial unit since they were going to be facing the massive threat with other soldiers. They were for all intent and purposes glorified soldiers. They didn't care about the glory they just wanted to kick the enemy's flank and survive to see their respective lovers.
With their final show behind them they all went to Rainbow Dash's house to celebrate and just live it up. They all started talking about the good ole days and Rainbow Dash remembered that it's been not so long since it all started for her career. "Has this ever happened before?", she asked wondering if this was usual Wonderbolts tradition.
"You mean a rookie owning the team after all the dramatic events...nah that hasn't." Spitfire said while chuckling. "Honestly this is the weirdest turn of events in the history of ever... we never had this happen before, then again... I never did what I did before..." The silence was pregnant and the tension grew.
"Well the past is the past eh? To our futures I say, let's drink up." Rainbow Dash countered to break the silence.
The group of ponies drunk up while Mistyfly and Fluttershy were watching Hope Star do random things. "Look at momma and smile." Fluttershy said while taking pictures. "Thats a good foal." She said with a smile as Hope Star looked up at her with a goofy smile plastered on her face.
Fluttershy was really into everything Hope Star. First burp, noises, accidents, etc. She had to document it all. She wasn't sure why she was so maternal but it felt like it was meant to be, as if the moment she became pregnant by Dash her life was there at its zenith.
"Momma can I be in the pictures too?" Scootaloo asked a bit afraid of hearing a no.
"Of course you can I was wondering why you haven't gotten in front of the camera with your sister already" Fluttershy said with a smile on her face.
Scootaloo smiled and held her sister gently close to her. "Like this?" She posed with Hope Star and was glad she was able to be included.
Fluttershy smiled and took more pictures while Mistyfly just watched in awe of the moment.
Mistyfly wanted to have a family all of her own, though she wasn't sure if she could have foals after the attack on her from the vicious Draconian. She barely survived that attack and wasn't sure if her body had really recovered from it all. She was told she had suffered massive wounds and some of her functions may not work though they never stated which at the time of the surgery. She didn't bother to ask when she recovered. She just wanted to get out of the hospital because it was driving her mad.
Spitfire had softened during the time that had passed. She was even gentle with Mistyfly and even offered to take care of her if things went bad. No longer was their commitment a question but finally it was sealed. They had decided to stay together no matter what. With the end of days coming it doesn't seem relevant anymore.
Rarity and Applejack had their worries with everything from the farm, boutique, and most importantly their lives. They didn't want to have Appleseed grow up with one parent and Applejack didn't feel like remarrying. Rarity didn't even allow herself to think of possibly re-marrying or even dating someone new if something happened to her wife.
"Sugarcube I won't lie but if I die I want ya ta remarry and get yerself a new partner. " Applejack said softly to her wife.
"No! I Just can't ... it would be dreadful just even thinking about it... you will live I know it... so let's not talk about this ok?" Rarity wasn't happy with the thought of losing her wife to the war but Applejack was going on the front line with Rainbow Dash and so was Big Mac. It was bad enough possibly losing a brother in law but also her wife. She felt as if Celestia was cursing her for not obeying her destiny of making it to the top in fashion. She had the chance to become a mega fashion mogul but turned it down for a simple life with a wife and child. She had never encountered such a scenario in any of her fantasies while growing up.
"Look I don't want my son growin' up without two parents, bad enough he has two mothers... I jus' want my foal ta grow up happy is all." She said confusingly to the other mare.
"He will, because you and Big Mac will make it back alright and we will all be a family." Rarity said before kissing her wife and shutting her up. She continued kissing her wife with passion. It wasn't going to end with just kissing as Rarity started massaging her wife's side.
Applejack knew what was coming, she was going to be pleasured in order to shut her big mouth up. She wasn't going to protest none. "Oh Rarity... right there Sugarcube, rub right there." She said while slowly moaning in surrender to the caresses of her wife.
Rarity started sliding her hoof further down her wife's body while their tongues intertwined in a passionate kiss. She started exploring the moist insides of her lover's mouth with her tongue enjoying the taste of the saliva. Rarity slowly massaged her wife's clit before sliding her hoof into Applejack's marehood.
The passion grew and so did their moaning. All through the Apple family farm their moans could be heard and luckily Applebloom was asleep otherwise she would have questions as to what the hay were they doing when she was trying to sleep.
Big Mac had to endure it for as along as he could before he decided to leave the house and look for something else to do. He wasn't going to sit there and hear his sister scream out in pleasure. He decided they needed their own place soon or it would just be awkward for the whole family.
Twilight was deep in thought while her lover Pinkie Pie was being extra snuggle happy. "Pinkie Pie...I was wondering...why did you choose to fight in the war instead of help with the food?" She was curious as to why the mare she loved would risk her life when she could have a safer job in the rear with the gear.
"Because Twilight, someone has to protect your flank from the dragons, and I sure don't want it to be somepony else." She said with a smile. "Plus I have been through sooooo much lately with all that bad mojo and juju, I just wanted to finally be in control of myself and see what I am capable of. I mean I've never been seen as the hero but just the random baker you know?" She said with a somewhat saddened tone. "I also don't want to be baking pies, as good as they are to eat, when the world is going to be falling apart. I want to be there, like Applejack and Rainbow Dash and you... would be if Celestia hadn't told you that you needed to stay behind in case she and Luna dies."
Twilight felt horrible about the whole thing. "I guess they do need a princess to rule the kingdom if both of the eternal deities die in battle... still separating us like that... allowing you to go to war while I am forced to be protected... I hate this... what if ... what if you die Pinkie Pie? I couldn’t bear it if you did. I would hate myself if I allowed you to go into war only to have you fall in battle... please reconsider.", she said pleadingly.
"Nope! Sorry love... but you know how I get once my mind is made up. Just like when I decide to make a friend I don't give up till I do." She said with a beaming smile.
"Oh Pinkie Pie... I love you." She said while holding her tight unable to let go for fear she would be gone if she did.
"I love you too Twilight... you gave up so much just to be with me... I wouldn't have ever expected I was worth that to anypony..." Pinkie Pie replied while holding her lover in an endless hug.
That night they just held each other with no rush to lust, or no means to rut, they just held each other in a pure and loving embrace.
All the ponies were trying to spend their last month of peace with their families and friends but the dragons from draconia were spending their last month preparing for war. Draconia was stock full of soldiers just practicing their combat skills and stepping up their game.
The mighty Pildragus was called from the grand mountain of Sinnuron to aid the Draconians in the war. The mighty dragon had no attachment to his land or his people. He wasn't even governed by the king himself. He had a desire to just be left alone and any dragon stupid enough to not heed his desires of solidarity were instantly destroyed or devoured. He was the ace up their sleeves, their trump card.
The king himself wouldn't dare approach Pildragus. Pildragus is said to be an ancient sentient life form predating Draconia and all the lands. Pildragus was deemed a deity and was offered sacrifices by the ancient Draconians but the newer generation of Draconians didn't swear fealty to him.
When the king ordered a troop of Draconians finest elites to request Pildragus' aide he was dumbfounded when they not only came back with him but were left unharmed by the mighty dragonic deity. Pildragus informed the Draconians that he had only one reason for joining the war. He was hungry for the cries of the innocence. His malice was sated long ago when he devoured the souls of the dead infants as retribution for his betrayal in ages past.
With the powerful deity on their side the Draconians gained a boost of morale and all celebrated with a feast of gluttonous proportions. They were the foulest beasts to roam the world and they were going to cause mass chaos and destruction on Equestria when the time came. The longest feast they ever had ended with Pildragus devouring a draconian child right in front of their family. He chuckled at the sad faces and told them it was to fuel his power and it was their patriotic duty to accept it and move on.
The king just ignored the action since he wasn't in the mood to dispute indiscretions and wasn't in the mood to lose an ally over one child of his land. Over the final month Pildragus got even more voracious and devoured more innocent hatchlings and almost deprived Draconia of heirs meaning that their war, if not victorious, will doom them all.
With both nations having spent their final month in their own way, it was now time the day of war was to begin. The two nations both in the eve of facing the greatest calamity of their times, and both nations facing extinction. In the end one side will come out on top, and that one side will barely survive as is. The only question is which side will be victorious?
One the forefront of the borders of Equestria stood the main platoon and currently leading the charge was Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Spitfire, Celestia, Luna, Discord, Applejack, Big Mac, and many others. Some were simple farmers turned fighters others were born ready to die as warriors. The earth ponies who weren't built for power were using Pinkie Pie's technological forces of destruction.
On the forefront of Draconia and leading the attack was Pildragus and the hunter squad of Draconia, many other dragons were on the front lines as well. The rest in hiding were planning ambush attacks by sneaking around the borders of Equestria.
The sound of the horn of war was heard all over the world as the first battle of the great war was on the way. In the coming moments of this brutal wars, many will die and massive damage will be brought on both nations. The only question is ... which nation shall rise and which nation shall fall?
The two opposing forces that were in the tragic war had met at the borders of Equestria and Draconia. The air space in between the two grand nations was full of flying creatures ready to annihilate each other with the motivation of preserving their species. The ponies of Equestria had no chance of surviving if their lands were taken. With the surrounding continents already inhabited, The ponies had no way to try a mass exodus.
The Equestrian army had been ready for this moment, their dedication to protecting their beloved homeland was keeping them in high spirits. Most of the ponies were ready to make the ultimate self sacrifice if need be to keep their loved ones safe and sound.
The Draconian army were thinking about their own upcoming extinction. If they didn't survive this war their species would die out thanks to their trump card. They had been granted the greatest weapon to use against the opposing army, at the cost of their infants and young ones. Pildragus had no morality, nor had any reason to favor any side. He was a living double edged sword that devoured his own people as sacrifice for his services.
With both sides seeing no other choice than to commit mass genocide to preserve their own existence, it caused even the most civil of souls to become brutal. No pony had any thoughts of trying to make peace, and each Draconian wanted only to devour their potential meals. When the sound of the tribal horn of war had been heard the Draconians and the Equestrians began their charge and the battle that would decide the fate of two nations had finally started.
Rainbow Dash had pumped her unit up by bellowing a loud battle cry and charging off into the heat of battle. Her team had kept close and they waited to use their new maneuvers against the insurmountable threat. No words could describe the fury that was being exuded from the soldiers in the sky as they made their way to the Draconians that fought against them.
The ground forces had began readying their destructive weapons specially designed by Pinkie Pie and modified by engineers. Pinkie Pie had spent an entire week discussing how to properly modify her party cannon into a weapon meant to obliterate opponents no matter how durable they were. The weapon now armed and ready was prepared to unleash unmitigated force unto whichever unlucky foe stood in it's path.
The magical unit lead by Celestia were protecting the defensive pegasi unit. The pegasi were protected by a magical shield from dragon fire since they were heavier set and weren't able to move as fast. The other magical unit, lead by Luna, was assigned to keep the Earth ponies safe from dragon fire. The two alicorn sisters had been keeping their respective units safe as well as themselves.
Their strategy was solid and the only way to get through their defensive grid was with sheer brute force, which they were countering with the defensive aerial unit. The dragons that got past the offensive unit, were to be kept back by the defensive unit until the ground forces could launch volleys of destructive munitions at the incoming Draconians. The plan seemed to be going off without a hitch and the enemies were taking heavy hits, then the Draconians played their trump card.
Pildragus, the albino dragon deity, was on the move after seeing some draconians fall to the well organized equestrian army. He had decided to break his guise and reveal his true self. His over sized body was cracked as a smaller and more sleek looking Draconian dragon emerged from the empty husk that fell to the ocean beneath him. His newer form, more agile and versatile, was able to match speeds with the offensive unit and succeeded in grabbing one of the Wonderbolt squadron members and ripping her in half violently. The blood spewing was imbibed by the psychotic Draconian deity and it caused a nerve to be hit on the enemy front.
"Yummy blood, I shall now devour your soul." The dragon roared out before draining the dead corpse of it's essence. It was an awful display of brutality and showed the Equestrian army that their perfect plan wasn't going to work so well against this new foe. He noticed the shocked look on another Pegasi's face and used the distraction of his savage display to grab another pegasus from the sky and repeated the process of his earlier actions.
Spitfire cried out "Noooo... Damn it... we gotta do something about that dragon Rainbow Dash... he is killing off our teammates... " The former leader of the Wonderbolts had felt ill about the brutal slaughtering of her two comrades. She knew that she had to remain calm or else she could end up a victim herself but it was distressing her to the core.
"Don't worry Spitfire... he will pay." Rainbow Dash said with a grim tone. The darkness of the war slowly began seeping into her heart and making her cold. She had to not let emotions become a hindrance for the slightest emotional outburst could be her undoing in this life or death situation. "Discord It's time you joined the fray." She yelled out while using her bladed wings to slice the underbelly of a Draconian hunter, letting his insides spill out of his breastplate.
Discord, who had disguised himself as a member of the Wonderbolts unit using his ancient magic, had been ready for this moment. He had his final moments planned out with a glorious end and would not let anything get in the way of his grand finale. He reverted to his dracongquus form for a split second catching the almighty Pildragus off guard. He waited for the stunned dragon to notice him coming closer before shifting into his ancient dragonquus form. The wicked and hideous form that was locked away by Celestia and Luna was now present in the battlefield causing the surrounding Draconians to double take and become confused.
With Pildragus momentarily taken aback, Discord used the fortunate cease of battle to launch himself at the deity and separate him from his brethren to do battle with him. He tackled the powerful deity with his true form and held him down while diving into the watery depths below.
The other Draconians had felt defeat was surely at hand, or at least they displayed that attitude to catch the enemy off guard. With their near failure imminent the Squadron leader had cried out in desperation to summon the back up units and the executioner.
Eizchal had been the mighty executioner for decades. His combat prowess was second to none and his penchant for beheading foes had gave him the prestige of destroying any fool who dare upset his lord. Once on the battlefield he was merciless, he rushed past the offensive squadron of pegasi and swiftly ended two defensive squadron members lives easily before continuing his torment of the enemy. They tried fighting back using their cannons but to no avail as he was easily slicing their projectiles into pieces. He had laughed at their failed attempts to end his life and decided he would destroy their morale by making an example of one of the Princesses. He wasn't sure which one to kill so he was going to just end both their lives and make his lord proud.
The unguarded borders of Equestria had been easily invaded. The draconian soldiers, who hadn't been on the main attack, had snuck off to destroy the Equestrian cities while the army was off fighting the war. They weren't as powerful as the main fighting force but were more skilled in assassinations and swift killings. The Draconians had continued sneaking through waiting to find signs of life in the cities near the borders and had found the towns devoid of any signs of ponies.
The ghost town had been giving the Draconian assassin unit an uneasy feeling. They had felt as if they were being watched and were began showing their nervousness by ruthlessly destroying the buildings and burning all in hopes they had killed off whatever was causing them such unease. "Not there." A voice called out almost mocking their destruction.
They didn't recognize the voice but it didn't sound like any creature they knew. "Are you even trying?" The voice had called out again with a snide tone. The draconians were bashing about and spewing flames as the wooden structures around them burned into nothingness.
"Who mocks us... you are going to die in the name of King Dragunda." Roared out the angry commander. When he got no response he felt that the enemy was gone and had a smile on his face.
"You still haven't got a clue." Said the hidden enemy. The unknown entity that mocked the Draconians were causing them to become agitated and unsure of themselves. "It's kind of sad that a baby dragon like myself is making a fool of you big strong tough dragons... but then again you have been so arrogant to look below that you haven't even looked into the sky above."
Spike had been goading the enemies and making them become addled with fear. He was trained in the art of deception and ventriloquism. He was taught in hopes that leading enemies into a trap could help the under powered side forces defeat the mighty foes if the main forces had fallen. Spike was standing on top of a full grown Equestrian dragon riding it as a mount.
"You fools felt so superior to all who oppose you that you let yourself fall nto a trap." Spike had pointed to the burning buildings and winked. The buildings were rigged with highly volatile chemicals that would explode under intense heat. The burning flames of the Draconians had caused them to heat up enough to trigger the violent and widespread explosions just as they had figured out and were unable to fly safely away.
The force of the destructive blast had killed some of the assassin unit and greatly injured the rest. With the trap successful and the enemy weakened the Equestrian dragons and Spike had descended upon their foes and mercilessly ended their pitiful existence. Spike was conflicted about having to slaughter, or take part in slaughtering of, other dragons. The Equestrian dragons were able to come together under Spike's guidance since they had the same goal. Without Equestria's vast abundance of gems the Equestrian dragons would starve and with the Draconians in charge they would be exiled or murdered senselessly as Rahtot had started doing before the war began.
The other assassin units hadn't been dealt with as easily and some had gained victory over the ambushes that had been set up. The units of Draconians that had succeeded in destroying some towns had quickly traversed the plains of Equestria and searched for the missing ponies. One of the units that were ready to give up their search and return to Draconia to explain to the King of the unusual situation that was going on was coming dangerously close to discovering a hidden bunker.
One of the Draconians in the assassin unit had began sniffing the air detecting the scent of a living enemy. He had alerted his brethren silently and they pursued the scent to a enclosed area with two pegasi guards curiously hovering above what seemed to be a strange storage unit. The leader of the unit half scarred from the ambush they encountered decided to send one of his scouts to deal with the guards.
The pegasi guards could feel the presence of something dangerous, and one of them was afraid of being killed "Flash... are you sure the defenses will hold? I mean I don't think the traps will trip if they aren't in the right spots." worried the lesser stallion pegasus.
Flash Sentry, who was given a chance to redeem himself, had the important task of protecting the bunker with some of the citizens from Ponyville inside it. He had been humiliated by Rainbow Dash over a year ago and was still unable to forgive her. He had a deep seated anger for her but with an impending possible doom nearly upon them, he had temporarily put that animosity aside to do his duty as a guard.
Inside the bunker were the most important things in the universe to Rainbow Dash. The family she had made with Fluttershy was the only thing that kept Rainbow Dash in the fight and with them safe she was able to focus on the battle. She had left her family to be guarded by the annoying ex royal guard. Her decision was based off how he was able to go hoof to hoof with her in combat that day she attacked the Crystal Empire to kick his flank, a most impressive feat, so she had conceded to let him guard her family.
Fluttershy, Scootaloo, and Hope Star, were in a part of the underground bunker where Rarity and Appleseed were at. Accompanied by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, the families were just trying to relax and prayed to Celestia that everything would be alright. Scootaloo who was being crowded by her filly friend, Diamond Tiara, was suddenly happy that she had somepony who really wanted to be around her. She was worried about Rainbow Dash's well being and had this nagging feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong outside their bunker.
Twilight had been separated from her friends and placed in a bunker that had an elite guest list. The famous and wealthy were the only ones allowed in the super secured bunker that was meant to house them. She protested profusely but the bunker had the most effective camouflage and highest security level out of all the others. It was a call Celestia would have not made any other way.
The outer perimeter of the Bunker had elite royal guards and some ground forces with barricades and modified cannons as its main defense. They needed this bunker super secure since it housed the nobles and elites of Equestria and the future princess if the war did end in defeat.
Twilight was worried about Pinkie Pie and the others. She had wished the Elements of Harmony could be used in war but it was not a course of action that was allowed since it would require Twilight to be exposed to danger. With an uncertain fate and a possible defeat at hoof Celestia had made it very clear as to what ponies were needed for the survival of their species. The decision riled many but nopony had dared to speak against their queen, it wasn't a popular move but it was one needed in the dire occasion.
The king of Draconia, King Dragunda, was dangling on the precipice of insanity. He had been hoping Pildragus would be able to slaughter the enemy with no difficulty, thus bringing the war to a quick and decisive end. He was being delivered messages from the war front as the scouting units had been very swift in reporting news and making sure the king was up to date.
"Why is this war even happening? I should have already been reported of my victory." He was furious enough to kill one of his servants in cold blood with no hesitation. "If I have to enter the fray I will slaughter all the ponies, and I won't stop till each pony is devoured or mutilated beyond recognition. " unbeknownst to him, his vow would soon be tested as the war would continue longer than he expected.
During the start of the war a gryphon delegate had tried entering Equestria but had been sent off by a guard that informed him of the current situation. The delegate had went back to his leader and relayed the message to the mighty gryphon ruler. The king of the gryphons, Garuda, had been undisturbed by the news but his son Greg was not as laxed as he was.
"Father I know this means nothing to us as a species but I do think we should aid Equestria in the war. I know you think it's just because of my affinity for Rainbow Dash but I beseech you father... please send some troops to help the ponies or they will perish." Greg had pleaded with sincerity in his heart and written all over his face.
"Why should we help our old enemies defeat their new enemies my son? Have you not forgotten that Equestria had fought against the gryphons long ago?" Garuda asked with anger in his tone.
"Yes but times have changed and the Draconians will not stop at Equestria, if history is your reason to not help Equestria then how about the future?" Greg inquired.
Garuda looked at his son and almost had attacked him for suggesting that the Draconians would even dare attack the mighty gryphons. "Son... I will have to think on it, for now leave my side as you have angered me and I would hate to strike you."
Greg almost retaliated and said something awful but kept his words inside his head. "Fine father... I shall leave you be." With that Greg had left his father's chambers and went off to cool down by flying in the sky.
Deep in the waters underneath the hectic battleground in the sky, Discord was having the fight of his life against an enemy with which he couldn't defeat. His powers waned while the other’s grew in the time it took for their war to begin. One year of Discord's internal suffering and debilitating ailment had made him weaker than he ever was before, and with his final hour at hand Discord would make an attempt to defy the odds and win. The problem was winning wasn't an option against the likes of Pildragus.
After having crashed into the ocean and dragging Pildragus into the depths of the deep blue, he had no clue as to how to proceed besides his instinct to use his chaos magic to aid him. The perilous fight took a brief intermission as Pildragus decided to mentally communicate with Discord and question his actions.
Why do you fight when you know as well as I do that you are going to die dragonquus?
Pildragus wasn't able to comprehend the death wish of his enemy, it was causing him to grow curious with each passing second. Do you not value your life?
Discord had no reason to answer the enemy but felt like humoring him, Well who says I am going to die, you oversized lizard?
Pildragus was not amused, You think you can insult me as a means to throw me off guard? It won't work.
Discord was bored and wanted to fight with what power he had remaining, I hate to say it, but I’m bored now, so I’m going to kill you.
Pildragus chuckled and prepared to defend himself. He wasn't sure just how much of his strength he would have to use to eviscerate his foe so he just went all out. His roar had a deafening effect and it pulsated the water molecules causing the force to push Discord back and slam him into the jagged rocks behind him.
Discord's body was beginning to fail him and it was just one attack. He knew he had to try and survive a couple of rounds to buy time for the ponies he was dying to protect. He had known Pildragus was very powerful, but this was worse even than his darkest predictions, the very idea that he could even put up a fight against such a threat was insane. Still even with this realization of his upcoming defeat he still fought on and continued to persevere for the moment.
His magical energy swirled into a vortex and combined with the water to unleash a blast that was powered by the flow of energy he was funneling. The attack was able to momentarily stun Pildragus and make him lose balance. Discord was using that as the deciding factor to rush in and go for some hits.
Unfortunately for Discord, Pildragus was expecting such tactics and moved right out of the way by strafing evasively. The dragon deity was amused at Discord's ability to mix the magical world with the physical world to be able to actually harm the deity. Pildragus lost his armor when he broke his shell and emerged with his newer body but the aura he had generated mitigated the damage from pure magical attacks.
Discord continued sending wave after wave of magical volleys and knew that his tactic would be found out if he didn't think of a plan soon. He saw a body fall into the water momentarily, capturing his attention, a fact that was not lost on his opponent. He was instantly hit with a force wave of destruction that pierced through his body leaving a hole in it as blood poured out.
Pildragus was laughing darkly, his ire earned by the useless rival that bled out before him. Already defeated and we haven't even gotten started. I wonder if your pony friends will be as easy to kill. I will personally enjoy eating each pony one by one and will spare none. Even the meekest will be torn asunder and I will devour their souls while they scream for mercy.
He was sure the enemy was going to die soon so he had planned to just leave the fallen warrior to die a pitiful death while he swam up and breached the waters. Though as he started making his ascent to the world above he was randomly pulled down even further by the dying dragonquus. He had no idea where his opponent drew the strength to continue on but was impressed nonetheless.
He tried breaking free from the grip of Discord but couldn't even get a single nudge in the edgewise. He was being dragged deeper into the depths where the darkness was looming. He never had felt such force as he did when being pulled into the deepest reaches of the dark abyss. He wanted to fight back but couldn't see through all the blood and kept missing the limbs of the body that was pulling him down.
The blood from the body dragging him down began attracting predators, sharks began to swim closer, summoned by the scent of blood that was scattered throughout the ocean beneath the battlefield. Slowly Pildragus got wind of the dragonquus’ final attack plan.
Discord had counted on the sharks wanting to taste the blood but it wasn't his blood he had intended to spread. With the last bit of his reserves fading Discord feared his mighty grip would soon falter and the dragon would escape. He tried thinking about Fluttershy and picturing her being devoured. The grisly image caused him to tap into his emergency reserves and draw strength from determination.
Just as he sunk them both into the abyss of the dark waters he realized the pressure was slowly crushing him. With his body being squeezed by pressure and the blood loss making him lose any hope of survival he had one final attack left in him. He was going to use the last of his power to mortally wound the dragon that sought to ravage the world high up above them.
Discord had his final thoughts, Good bye Fluttershy, and with that being said his life finally ended. His body started glowing as the frantic dragon he had in his death grip struggled in fear. The glow began to increase in brightness as his body began shedding flesh and muscles. Soon a skeletal form of Discord remained before the glow expanded rapidly, transforming things around it into chaotic entities.
As the last breath was drawn and Discord ceased to exist a small mist of chaotic essence shot out of the depths and soared into the air above. It's target would be able to use it for later, a small parting gift for a final hope against the impending devastation.
Pildragus was finally free of Discord's grip as the bones scattered below and fell into the seemingly endless abyss of the dark ocean. When he tried swimming up, his body was blocked by the massive pack of sharks that had been transformed in Discord’s last acts. He remembered the sharks being around the time of Discord's death, it was a shock to the system to see such change had taken place without his notice..
The massive sharks started attacking Pildragus and were able to tear right through the scales with their enhanced rows of teeth. The once mighty deity was helpless against the new enigmatic entities, his power proved to be no match for the group of menacing monsters.
When he felt his body being torn apart and his blood gush out Pildragus used whatever energy he had to attempt an escape and survive the ordeal before he was destroyed by the transformed sharks. With all his might he started bashing the sharks around him with his tail and arms. The attacks were not able to greatly damage the sharks but hurt them enough to push them back for a quick minute.
With the sharks momentarily passive, Pildragus used the last of his energy to shoot up into the sky and flee the dreaded sharks. He took a quick second to look down and taunt the sharks as he felt they deserved it, looking up, he realized he wasn’t under the battle anymore, which caused him to go into a panic as he attempted to ascertain where exactly he was.
His body still in the same position of looking around in confusion, and with that lapse in judgement he was unable to predict the breaching range of the enhanced mega sharks. With their chaotic state still in tact the entities were able to shoot out of the water and easily pull down Pildragus with their combined weight. Gravity aided them in this pursuit and soon Pildragus was sinking back down into the cold dark ocean.
The once mighty deity was being again attacked by the relentless sharks, more blood was pouring out from him and his wounds were developing to the point when they would soon become fatal. He clearly underestimated Discord and his ability to trick the enemy into a false sense of security when they had no clue just how capable the dragonquus was.
Deep in the depths of the ocean Pildragus was being maliciously torn apart by the sharks, and with each passing second hope was being taken from the deity. His last chance for survival would be if his divine abilities had returned before he was permanently incapacitated.
With an ungodly twist of fate just before the sharks could finish him off, the powers of the dragon deity returned and the chaos energy had faded forcing the sharks to return to normal. The punishment for their blatant attempt at destroying Pildragus was swift eradication of their entire group.
Pildragus was chuckling at how easy it was to eviscerate foes with his destructive powers and capabilities. He had learned a valuable lesson and unfortunately for him it would be too late to apply it. Without his knowledge Pildragus was slowly fading, blood loss quickly overcoming the oblivious dragon, and since he wasn't aware of it he decided to ascend once more into the sky and return to the battle above.
Discord had failed in defeating Pildragus, his last stand was in failure. With his final act came no victory and yet he was the one that managed to help the war effort the most. His final attack on Pildragus had unwittingly left the dragon deity with a timer that was ticking down, no matter how powerful Pildragus was he couldn't escape death.
Just as Discord had died in the depths below, his last remaining power that wasn't used to make the sharks transform, had been sent to another living entity. The pony who gained access to Discord's chaotic energy was none other than Rainbow Dash. He had placed his hopes in the sonic rainbooming mare since he was no longer able to fight on.
Discord’s decision would prove to be the one that saves Equestria, or dooms it...
Celestia felt helpless watching the two pegasi being easily slaughtered by the magically immune attacker. She couldn't do anything to prevent further deaths since he wasn't using an elemental based attack. His physical attacks weren't able to be held back by her magic since his armor negated the effects of her magic.
Luna was infuriated with how easily her sister was put into a state of dismay. She needed her sister to be strong and not let the enemy psyche her out so easily. "Celestia focus...he can't continue his merciless assault if we continue staying on course." She adamantly shouted.
Celestia was afraid of Luna's possible ignorance at the enemy's prowess. The battle was a life or death one and she didn't have the opportunity to delve into bad strategies against mighty foes. She kept her shields up but watched again as more of her subjects were obliterated by the mighty executioner.
More ponies attempted to take out the incoming threat and failed to do so, in the attack Bash Wing had sacrificed himself in order to save a fellow pegasus. His death was disheartening for the defensive forces and the fall in morale only hastened the rise in body count.
Eizchal was enjoying his cruelty against the ponies immensely, never had such pleasure come from destroying lesser creatures. His immunity to their magic made his advantage over the ponies significantly greater than just physical strength. His devastating attacks left dead ponies in it's wake.
He soon became bored of killing the weaker ponies that were merely pawns in the grand scheme of things. He decided he would target the two alicorns and annihilate them with the intent to deal the finishing blow against the enemy army. His strategy was to simply slaughter all his opponents, but causing their morale to be torn asunder and enfeebling the ponies further was a thrilling aspect of war.
His first attempt to close in on Celestia was hindered by Applejack and her brother launching a barrage of projectiles at him. He dodged most of them but got impacted by one direct hit and it actually managed to hurt him. He never felt the sting of pain before since his opponents never had the pleasure of hurting him in combat.
With the new sensation being registered his brain adapted to further outputting more energy into maneuvering to avoid being pelted by the annoying and painful artillery. He attempted a second go at attacking Celestia, wanting to kill her more than any other pony. His route of attack was interceded by the ground forces launching the volley of projectiles from their powerful machinery.
His anger grew with each failed attempt and further increased his malice. "You stupid ponies shall suffer even worse for daring to interfere with the Executioner." He ominously roared before hastening his movements and going in for a clear swing.
Celestia barely managed to avoid the attack but in doing so she broke the magical force field that protected the other ponies from the flaming breath and it caused the defensive line to scatter and reorganize. Celestia knew she was no match for the crazed dragon and in desperation she tried using a spell to hinder his movements and regain control of the battlefield.
Her spell had done nothing to slow down the wicked Draconian, and had only further enhanced his anger. Celestia saw the axe lift over the executioner’s head and could hear the noise of it about to free her head from her shoulders. It was a moment in which time in her mind slowed down and she was able to finally stop resisting and accept the inevitability.
When she was able to hear a loud gasp, she opened her eyes. What she saw next immediately had her wishing she was dead, she saw the one thing she couldn't bear to see after already living a somewhat solitary existence. Her sister Luna was dead on the floor with blood pouring out of the freshly killed mare, slowly pooling and covering the already bloody soil.
Eihzchal chuckled at how easily the other princess was willing to die for her sister, it was funny to him to see a desperately heroic attempt to save a mere pony's life. In his mind Celestia was going to die in the next couple of seconds but instead of going for the kill immediately on the distraught sun deity, he decided to taunt her mockingly.
"Well one useless royal pony down... I wonder how she tastes... you don't mind me snacking on her before I wipe your existence clean from this planet do you?" He cruelly taunted.
His quick scan of his environment had shown how easily affected the ponies were at the death of one of their leaders. He noted that he was also alone against the enemy and felt a bit odd about the lack of his allies in combat. "What are any of you useless ponies going to do about the death of your precious princess?" He brazenly roared.
He was so caught up in the swift execution of Luna that he didn't have time to avoid a sneak attack from one of the emotionally unstable ponies. The cannon that hit his armor landed on a chain and caused it to break, leaving the armor’s anti-magic capabilities at half strength. Without the protection from magic and the anger boiling inside Celestia he had no idea of his impending doom.
"Well since you wanted to be stupid enough to attack me while you had the chance to flee I guess I shall savor my meal another time." He insidiously stated.
Luna's death had caused Celestia's mind to break. Celestia, having suffered a millennium virtually alone, had decided that no matter how great the enemy was and how useless her spells were that she would not allow that vial draconian to breathe a minute longer.
Her rage caused her horn to glow in a dark fashion, and she called upon dark magics to deal with the impetuous fool. Her eyes began glowing a fierce onyx. The ferocity she was exuding was causing the other ponies to flinch, they were afraid of the rage she was displaying. The force of her anger made her magic even that much more powerful.
She began speaking in the traditional Canterlot voice "You who have slayed my sister, shall suffer an agonizing death at my hoof." The force of her voice was enough to gain the dragon's concern. She didn't stop at just words, she wanted to end this. She began blasting huge spheres of darkness that was swallowing whatever it hit . The spheres missed the Draconian who barely dodged them in time and exploded catching him off guard.
The force of the explosion caused the chain to break off and the armor to swing out wildly away from his body. With the armor not properly on his large frame the resistance to magic barely able to work. He was too full of himself to be afraid until Celestia shot a volley of dark magic on a beeline straight towards him.
The lightning bolts of dark magic had been precisely aimed, but he was still able to, as predicted, dodge most of them, but dove right into one of them causing it to pierce through the feeble resistance in his armor and internally devastate his body. The effect of the spell was slow in starting. It was a spell meant to weaken a body and slowly kill it off with pain so horrible the victim would wish for death long before it was granted.
"Suffer you miserable beast... I shall not grant you the swift death you will be begging for, and you won't be able to strike when your body won't obey you anymore. I shall watch as you die... slowly... " Celestia's dark rant ended as she just began staring at the now crippled Draconian suffer.
Eizchal began feeling very ill, his lungs felt like they were on fire, and his heart was rapidly beating. He was only able to breathe for a short period of time in intervals and it was driving him insane. He tried getting up and retaliating but his body wouldn't respond like she warned him. He wasn't going to beg for mercy but the pain was beginning to build up, intensifying with every passing second.
His eyes were starting to lose focus and he could barely make out even the most basic shape and just saw color. "I ... I ... I will murder you like I did your filthy sister... I will devour you..." His failed attempt at intimidation wasn't able to save him, and his chances for survival were becoming slimmer by the second.
His scales were starting to deteriorate and fall off one by one in a painstakingly slow manner. His teeth were loosening and starting to soften. "I am the executioner..." He was still unable to warrant any fear, even with his body unable to even lift from the ground. He was too prideful to even wish for the death he wanted. The pain became too unbearable and his mouth let loose a torrent of pain filled screams.
The loud and pain filled roars alerted the scouting unit of his impending death. He felt his eyes burn and lose sight, making him unable to see anything but the blood filling his sockets. He was still able to hear but barely and the last thing he ever heard Celestia say was "I am going to slaughter your king, and your entire family as well..." just before his sense of hearing left him.
The rapid beats of his heart continued as every one of his scales all fell off exposing, his sensitive body to the elements. He wasn't dying fast enough and the pain kept surging through his numbing body. His claws lost their sharpness and his once gleaming teeth dulled in seconds. He was being destroyed internally and every inch of his body was going to suffer.
His sense of smell went away taking away the last sense to let him know what was going on around him. He couldn't hear, smell or see anything. His tongue had been disabled and his sense of taste was gone as well. His last thought before death finally overtook the Draconian was of home.
His thought was corrupted by the spells effect and instead his warm happy image was sullied and became a horrible nightmarish one. Where his family and king were really safe in their homes, instead his wife was being taken by another draconian in front of his son. The king was beheaded and a pony was on the throne being worshiped by all Draconians. That was the image in his head the moment he ceased to live.
Celestia didn't look away and watched the Draconian start decomposing before her magic gave out and she began crying. She wasn't sad for her actions, she was sad she lost a sister. "Luna... why did you have to die.", she lamented over her sister’s body. She wasn't expecting for Luna to reply back.
"Actually sister... I didn't die... that was Trixie..." Luna hesitantly spoke. She approached her sister slowly and nuzzled her when she was close enough.
"Luna... how did...I saw you die!" Celestia yelled feeling betrayed.
"I am sorry sister... that wasn't me... just as I had planned to rush in and die for you some pony decided to preempt me and do it for me..." Luna sadly explained.
"It would have taken a great and powerful pony to have pulled off a stunt like that." Celestia commented.
Luna sadly smiled. "It was dear sister, a very great and powerful pony indeed."
The vanity spell had finally faded and the true hero that died for the princess to live was the only pony to have ever been called great and powerful by all. Trixie the show pony died a hero, her final stunt was the one that she would be most famous for years to come when the story of the great tragedy was told.
Flash Sentry was standing stock still, he could smell the stench of the foul smelling Draconian scum that lurked around. He knew he was outnumbered and possibly out matched. His teammate was nervous and most likely going to be targeted first, it was obvious his partner wasn't going to make it.
The unsteady pony was already beginning to panic, marking himself wide open as a target for the lurking Draconians. His body wasn't as well built as Flash's and his combat experience was barely laughable at best. He didn't sign up to die he just didn't want to let his land be invaded without putting up a fight.
Flash could hear the rustling in the trees beyond and knew the impending battle was unavoidable. He had no idea what he was going to do, in terms of strategy at least, but he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice if need be. He was ready and prayed that his partner would at least put up a decent fight against the dangerous foes.
The Draconians were ready to ambush their prey. They had continued their plan and waited until the opportune moment arrived. They had numbers on their side and were quick to underestimate the prowess of the only pony who was able to go toe to toe with Rainbow Dash, albeit for a short span of time.
They rushed in and attacked from all sides. Two of them lunged towards Flash Sentry while the leader easily cornered the other frightened stallion. The two Draconians were unable to get any hits in on Flash Sentry and were being repelled by his movements. The leader, on the other hand, had already began slashing away at the defenseless pony who was too scared to even fight back.
The brutal attacks on the defenseless soldier were hardly called for and were mostly for the gratification of the Draconian. The Draconian, who could have just swiftly ended the soldier's life, instead continued leaving shallow cuts on the pegasus as he cried out for help.
The sounds were making the Draconian grow aroused and he continued torturing the pony with malicious intent. His claws continued attacking the abused flesh and the Draconian began licking his lips wanting to devour the crying pony. The leader's wrath was extremely vulgar and his assault continued long after the pony had already passed out from blood loss.
The other two Draconians were growing exhausted from their constant failed lunges. They had nothing to show for their efforts and one of them while distracted had found a wing blade slicing through his underbelly and was instantly disemboweled. The other Draconian grew angry and made the mistake of letting his emotions control his actions.
The fatal error he made was lunging repeatedly and tiring himself out which proved to be his undoing. With the fatigued state he wasn't able to dodge Flash Sentry's wing blade attack and got his neck sliced open causing blood to spray all over the stallion's coat and the ground beneath them.
The death of the two comrades had caused the Draconian leader to stop playing with the dying soldier and just finish him off by snapping his neck.
Flash Sentry had a look of disgust upon hearing the sound of somepony being killed in such a sickening manner, "Why are you doing this?" His anger surged and caused him to rush in and attack the superior combatant. The tactics went to hell after he decided that the beast he was going to kill did not deserve the dignity of being taken down with strategy.
Flash couldn't let himself lose and his swift attacks were able to get the final Draconian to take him seriously. The problem was Flash had no idea just how powerful the last Draconian on the battlefield was. His underestimation of his foe would be his downfall.
He carelessly rushed in and managed to slice a bit of the Draconian's underbelly but not enough to cause the Draconian to become disemboweled. His underwhelming attack instead gave way for a surprising counter attack that would cost him dearly.
The Draconian who was wounded had enough time to take control of the situation and strike with a counter attack. He used his tail to slam into one of Flash's wings disabling it. The Draconian watched the pegasus crash into the ground and began his unnecessarily brutal attack.
The moment he was close enough he used his tail to slam into the other wing breaking it to a useless limb of broken sinew and bone. He smiled at the screams of pain Flash was howling out. It was music to his ears and he became aroused again. He had wished there were a female around to satisfy his urges, regardless of the battle he was in.
He began ripping off feathers and scratching the tender wings causing massive pain to his prey. His sadistic nature kicked in over time and his assault got more brutal. He began using his tail to crush the bones of the pegasus that was crying out in agony. His tail kept pulverizing his opponent until the pegasus was barely conscious.
Wasting no time, he lifted his foot high into the air before bringing it down onto Flash's head crushing the pony's skull in and ending his life. "That was too arousing... well maybe there are female ponies inside who would make good playthings." His insane thinking caused him to finish playing with the dead pony and move on to his next target... the bunker.
The ponies inside the bunker were not able to assess the situation. They had no clue of what just took place outside and with no knowledge of the danger looming they tried to just continue on hoping that everything was ok. Scootaloo however could tell something awful had happened, it wasn't an innate ability of hers, something just felt... off.
Scootaloo looked around at all the scared and huddled ponies, she felt they were pathetic to hide and wait for death. She wanted to be out there and kick some flank because it was what Dash was doing. "Diamond can I talk to you privately for a second?" She gently asked her filly-friend.
Diamond Tiara nodded and walked off with her to a less crowded area. "What's going on Scootaloo?", she nonchalantly asked.
Scootaloo was careful with her words, "Look if we make it through this I just want you to know that... I really do like you ... and if I knew what love felt like I bet it is what I feel for you." She slowly answered.
Diamond Tiara blushed and giggled, "Thanks... I love you too... but wait what do you mean if we make it through this... We are going to be fine Scootaloo we’re safe here."
As if on cue the doors of the bunker door buckled under the force of remaining Draconian.
The Draconian could hear the screaming ponies inside and it made his resolve to break the door down grow that much stronger. He was enticed by the offer of pleasure and food that waited inside just ripe for the pickings. "I shall huff and puff and blow your house down."
He was the essence of cruelty in dragon form. He continued slamming himself into the door and made noticeable dents. His tireless assault of the door was causing internal injuries but his mind wasn't focused on his own suffering just the potential suffering of his prey.
Just as he managed to break down the door he felt something crash into his body at insane speeds that forced his injured body to fly back and his brain to assess this new attacker. His eyes were able to see something orange and tiny, it offended him knowing something so small was able to hurt him.
Scootaloo had crashed into the Draconian as a last resort measure to keep the ponies safe. She felt so much pain from just doing so as the impact recoil had nearly sent surges of pain all over her body. She managed to reduce recoil using a crash mitigation lesson from Rainbow Dash.
"Stupid Draconian... you thought I was going to let you hurt my family?" She bravely asked while flinging herself into the air in hopes to lure the draconian away for however long she could manage to stall him. Please somepony help me..., she thought desperately.
She was surprised by how fast he had recovered and how eager he was to chase her. She continued flying at a high velocity but kept herself from going too fast to avoid losing the attention of the Draconian. Scootaloo had no idea what she was doing but knew the longer she kept the Draconian's attention the less chance of other ponies getting hurt. She was willing to risk her life for the sake of all the ponies she knew and loved.
The Draconian was angry, his speed increased as a result of his desire to rip the filly apart growing stronger. He was horny and hungry which made him even more desperate to quickly end the filly's life. He had no need for a nuisance possibly killing him while he was injured so severely, and so close to triumph.
He hadn't even noticed that he was being guided away from the bunker because his sight was locked on the orange filly. He wasn't sure why he felt such a sense of dread while chasing the filly, something about the entire scenario seemed off. He wasn't sure what was making him feel so off, but then it hit him. "Your stall tactic won't work on me puny animal."
Scootaloo heard him and immediately turned around to see the Draconian fly fast back towards the bunker... I have just one chance if I am going to actually pull this off. She began flying down at insane speeds. She used her raw ability of flying that was unlocked by her training with Rainbow Dash. Her wings felt the burn of the wind as she flew to new levels of speed. She pushed past the mach barrier and unleashed her own variant of the Sonic Boom.
It was like the Sonic Rainboom but less colorful and not as magnificent. The boom caused the Draconian to stagger and the dazzled him with the brilliant colors. He was unable to focus on the incoming volley of attacks that Scootaloo was hitting him with.
Scootaloo felt like a champion and had felt sure of her victory until she felt the speed rush stop due to her body not being able to handle such high speeds for such a long time. She had to retreat and hoped the bunker was empty of ponies since it seemed that they had no other defenses to aid them.
During her dive down to momentary safety she felt something crash into her and send her flying down at ridiculous speeds. She crashed into the ground beneath her and the ponies who were around watched in fear as Scootaloo wasn't moving. The pony who was worried the most had decided to run out to check on her daughter.
The distraught mother watched her daughter’s still form lay there unconscious and possibly dead. "Scootaloo... please don't die." Fluttershy sadly pleaded as she cried. It was at this moment that she noticed the Draconian descending and unleashed the rage of a mother who had just lost her child on the oblivious Draconian.
"You... How dare you!" She practically roared at the creature. "I don't know what you thought gave you the right to hurt my daughter but you do not... and I repeat do not! Hurt ponies!" She huffed in between her words, anger exuding from the usually quiet mare. "Now you take that claw of yours... and slice your cowardly neck."
The draconian felt powerless under the effects of the stare. He was only able to feel shame and fear as a result of being in direct eye contact with the mare. He couldn't look away and as he was ordered to end his own life his body decided to obey against his will.
He slowly brought his claw to his own neck and slowly dragged it across slicing through the tender flesh, and slowly bleeding out. The further his claw moved horizontally the more blood poured out. He was unable to stop himself and in the end, all he could think about was the irony of how he was brought down by his own clawed hand,
His body fell to the floor, limp and dripping blood till there was nothing left to give out. The stained grass beneath him which once was green was now tainted with blood and soaking into a deep shade of red. The death of a leader had occurred but not a grand leader, a foolish leader with no morals or dignity.
Fluttershy didn't look away for a second, she usually despised seeing death in any form and yet that one creature dying had satisfied her. She looked at the spot Scootaloo was still laying and started crying her heart out even worse than she had previously. She lost her senses and began sobbing uncontrollably.
Scootaloo felt no pain she was in an empty world of pure nothingness. The darkness was suddenly pushed away by the calming light of two majestic ponies. "Scootaloo... it's so good to see you my dear."
Scootaloo was unsure if she was imagining things but she saw two ponies who felt similar to her. "Mom... Dad..." She called out as if she recognized them.
"Yes Scootaloo it's your mother, and father as well." The mare spoke with her wings in place by her side. She got close to Scootaloo and smiled "We have missed you... and we are sorry we weren't able to be with you... but now you can be with us."
Scootaloo shook her head "No... I can't... I belong with Momma-Dash and Momma-Shy... I love them." She cried while pleading.
"Sorry... but you can't go with them now... your destiny is with us now... you fought hard and saved a lot of ponies... it was your death that brought about the death of the Draconian... you have completed your goal and are being rewarded Scootaloo... come with us and forget your pains..." The stallion softly spoke.
Scootaloo couldn't go with them... just because they were her parents didn't mean she deserved to leave the ones she had now. "I can't go... I’m not ready to die."
They both nuzzled her gently. "We weren't ready to die either when we did... sometimes the fates aren't kind, my dear daughter." The mare spoke softly.
"Can I at least say goodbye?" Scootaloo sadly asked.
"Yes... you may." The stallion hesitantly answered.
Scootaloo opened her eyes and spoke her last words "Momma... I don't have long so I will make this short... Please... don't let Hope Star become an orphan... live ... for ... her." She died after the utterance of the last word, and finally discovered eternal peace.
Spike had finished off his task quickly and started phase two of his unit's plan. "Alright you sorry lot of dragons, we’re behind schedule and need to rush to the bunker we were assigned to protect," He vigorously yelled. His inability to be efficient as a fighter was countered by his amazing ability at strategic combat. He had been reading books of various nature growing up, and recently he had been forced to read books that taught about war and war tactics.
His plan was easily the best ambush plan that went relatively well according to the results shown. He had easily suckered the Draconians and hoped it would be as easy to continue his victories over the enemy. He was riding on the back of another dragon and with his signal they all rushed to the bunker that was already being attacked.
The group of ponies that were stationed outside the bunker had watched as the legion of Draconians had been torn apart by the heavily invested and well built traps. They were hoping the advancing forces would be deterred or even annihilated off by the various mechanical death dealing contraptions, instead they were met with even more hostility.
The Draconians began advancing and using their dead allies to trigger the other traps and render them useless. They were enraged when they approached and had been ready to annihilate the ponies that dare trick them.
The unit had been composed of mostly pegasi ponies but for some reason they had among their ranks, a peculiar and pink earth pony. Pinkie Pie had been stationed elsewhere but before the war began she decided to leave her platoon and protect Twilight regardless of the lack permission, she was following her heart not her orders.
Thunder Lane was ready to die to for his brother at any given chance, his training had been limited in combat and he knew his chances for survival were slim to none but he had joined the war knowing that they had to fight against all odds. He was accompanied by some other ponies he knew like that one muscular one who had those tiny wings.
Along with those two Ponyville residents the elite royal guard was also stationed at the bunker to keep the defenses in place. The bunker was the most important one since it had delegates and leaders of all kinds being housed inside. Celestia had to make a stand at where the resources were needed most and in return she was viewed differently by those who weren't as protected.
Inside the bunker, Twilight was furious at her inability to help. She was forced to stay inside with unicorns that were expertly trained in barrier magic making sure nopony got out, or worse if anything got in, the bunker. With them in place she could only hear the battle taking place outside and was scared for the life of the royal guard ponies outside.
She knew there would be losses since she wasn't an idealist. She had read books about war before and the atrocities it brought, but she never imagined she would be stuck in a war where her lover and all her friends could die, and she was forced to stay behind as those she loved were put in danger.
She began crying and hoping that those she loved would make it through the hardships of the cold war. She never felt such desperation to see Pinkie Pie again and wanted nothing more than to make sweet, sweet love with her marefriend. She wanted her friends to make it through so they could celebrate life together.
Pinkie Pie began preparing for the incoming attack, her Pinkie Sense was guiding her movements and she was easily able to out maneuver the Draconian attackers. She used her expertise of cannons to easily set up the last resort measure while dodging the attacks.
Thunder Lane was able to keep pace with one of the injured Draconians and began out speeding him with ease. He didn't have any plan of attack besides stalling until the last resort measures were ready to be used. His limited combat skills were easily able to keep him alive against a wounded Draconian.
Snowflake, the muscular pony, was fighting head the head with a fresh Draconian all the while yelling "Yeeahh!" He had no fears to speak of and attacked viciously allowing him to stagger his foe with ease. He felt mighty while backing the Draconian off and easily subduing the enemy.
Pinkie Pie hurried herself and finished the preparations for the last resort device, it was a cannon that was set to simultaneously launch high impact cannons that would break through anything but at the cost of the structure's integrity, it was meant to be used in case the place was being overrun and would alert the ponies inside.
With the final part set up she launched the cannons and watched as all the enemies before them easily fell to the might of the super cannon. It was a shallow victory for the enemy was already weakened by the traps. Pinkie Pie felt no honor in taking down the weakened foes and wondered how such powerful enemies could be taken down so easily.
The second unit of Draconians, that were watching the first, had smiled at their plan going off without a hitch. They allowed the first unit to sacrifice themselves in order to exhaust the defenses and spring the traps. When the final boom was heard, they decided it was time to attack.
The unit of Draconians was made up of whatever could be scrounged from the initial attacks on the borders. They united and became a team of five Draconians, and even with their injuries they were ready to take out the ponies. The main targets were the elite royal guards and then when the guards fell it would be easy pickings from there on in.
The first attacker flew in with a mighty roar and startled the defensive unit that was already battle worn from the previous engagement. The first victim was one of the elite guards, he fell easily to the might of the attacking Draconian, but when he kept going for the other guard he was countered by Pinkie Pie and her spear. It penetrated his underbelly and went straight through his vital organs.
Pinkie felt she had no choice but to kill the Draconian in order to keep her teammates alive. "Just go already... you are only going to die or cause death... just leave while we still have a choice in the matter." Pinkie was sincere in her plea but was only met with an answer of hostility.
She then saw the opposing force reveal themselves and attack all together. It wasn't a fun sight for her, and she had no clue as to what she could do against so many Draconians. Thunder Lane began charging feeling foolhardy and unwilling to just surrender or die in vain.
Snowflake followed him into combat and they each were able to injure greatly their opponent before being struck down mercilessly by the Draconians they fought. Pinkie knew that would happen, her Pinkie Sense was letting her know this battle was going to end badly for all of them.
The elite guards rushed in and took out the injured Draconians, but in doing so they left themselves open to the others and got torn asunder by the last remaining pair of evil fiends. Pinkie Pie knew she was all that stood between the Draconian scum and the bunker with Twilight inside it. "No matter what happens to me I won't let my princess die!"
Spike and the other dragons had arrived in time to watch Pinkie being sent flying into the bunker door and falling limp. He knew that with Pinkie down it meant the Draconians had free access to the bunker. The only problem was that his dragon unit wasn't fit for unplanned combat against the mightier beasts.
He had to make a judgement call, "I don't know if we can take them out, but if we don't do something they will all die... Twilight is vital to our future and must be protected ... if you aren't up for the task, then head to the rendezvous and see how many others made it... I hope that at least some of you will stay with me... I can't do it alone."
Some dragons flew away from the combat, they felt they served enough. The other stayed and flew into battle with Spike unwilling to let the Draconians gain any ground without a fight.
The Draconians closed in on Pinkie Pie and smiled at her lack of movement. "Should we eviscerate her before or after we destroy the bunker and kill all the ponies inside?" The less damaged Draconian asked.
The more injured one was chuckling, "I say we let her die slowly as we kill all the ponies inside then kill her after she learns of her failure."
They both were in high spirits and knew they would please Dragunda and serve their kind well by eliminating the ponies inside the bunker. It didn't matter how important a pony was to their own species, they were still the enemy and wiping them out meant victory.
Before they could enact their plan they were attacked from the rear and became startled. "What was that," called out one of the Draconians attacking the bunker. The other one turned to see what was going on and found hostile forces attempting to take them down led by a small purple dragon.
Spike and his crew of dragons were blasting fire at the Draconians in attempts to get them to turn around and fight. The plan went swimmingly well and they managed to anger the Draconians. "Alright, now is the time we fight or die, remember we know their weak spots and we can use it to our advantage," Spike cried out.
The battle went horribly for Spike and the equestrian dragons. The mistake of challenging a greater foe had been the undoing of the mighty beasts that fought for Equestria. One by one they would attempt to make a killing blow on the Draconians only to miss or barely connect.
The more injured Draconian had been too wounded to dodge many of the attacks and was finally slain but at the cost of many dragons. The less injured Draconian easily took out the rest of the dragons until Spike was left.
Spike was alone against the mighty Draconian and clearly had no chance of attaining victory. "Well... this is goodbye," he softly whispered to the wind as it blew gently across the battlefield. He looked up at his foe and smiled, he didn't have any regrets and wasn't going to allow the enemy to take his pride away.
The Draconian wasn't happy watching an enemy smile before they were killed. He used his tail to pick Spike up and squeezed the dragon harshly, "Scream for me, I want to hear your bravado fade with each second of your pitiful crying."
Spike tried ignoring the pain and continue smiling, he wanted to make sure the Draconian wouldn't get the pleasure of hearinghim scream. His efforts were causing the the enemy to further punish the baby dragon and he was met with hot flames that burned his eyes. Still despite the searing pain he didn't cry nor did he allow himself to utter any sounds that could indicate to the enemy he was in pain.
"I said cry for me you useless excuse for a dragon... cry for me so I can finish you off," the Draconian demanded while losing his patience. He squeezed harder and heard some bones being broken and yet the baby dragon wouldn't utter the sound he wanted so desperately to hear.
Spike felt his body being broken and with the last of his bravado he said something that would seal his fate forever, "your mother squeezed harder than this last night."
The Draconian enraged by the insult crushed the baby dragon with his tail and slammed him on the ground. He was going to stomp on the dead body until he felt something pierce his heart. He looked at the object that pierced him in confusion and noticed it was being driven into his back by a certain pink pony.
Pinkie Pie finished off the last Draconian with barely any energy left in her. She was in shock and almost died, she held onto life by the desires she had to live. "Spike... didn't deserve this... this war is so pointless," she coughed out.
She walked towards the bunker door and tapped on it three times, "Open up... it's over they lost... we ... won."
The battle ended with Pinkie being lead inside the bunker and having to relay some unfortunate news to Twilight. It was a victory for ponykind but in the end at what costs?
At the raging front lines, the offensive unit was occupied in fighting back against the Draconian threat, seemingly isolated from the rest of the war raging throughout Equestria. Lacking a connection the the main chain of command, they were unaware of the catastrophic events taking place in the rest of Equestria.
Rainbow Dash was busy dodging two Draconians that had singled her out from the rest of the unit. She was using all her wing power to avoid the speedy Draconians and was looking for an opening to counter attack. With the combat growing in length the fatigue was starting to build up for both ally and foe alike. This was a battle where one wrong move meant death for any participant.
Soarin was busy fighting an elite Draconian all the while keeping situational awareness so as not to lose his wings to any surprise attacks. His movements were erratic as the pegasus was avoiding his opponent’s teeth, claws, and tail. He needed to remain as battle ready as possible and didn't want to die so soon in the war, after all he had plans to marry Swift Wind after his return.
Spitfire was just finishing off a wounded Draconian as she started feeling the effects of muscle fatigue hit. Her body was slowly losing its stamina from the intense flying and lack of rest away from the hectic fray. She was pushing her body above beyond the limits in order to keep the battle going in their favor.
The rest of the Wonderbolts were trying their hardest to tackle the Draconians or at least to survive long enough for the more competent members to pick off their opponents. Meanwhile, the second wave of Draconians were lying in wait for the opportune moment to enter the battlefield and turn the tide of war in the Draconians’ favor.
King Dragunda was waiting impatiently for his moment to enter the fray. He was in the throne room still preparing the last of the reserve forces for combat and waiting for the second wave to fall and all his forces to fail. His plan was to give them false hope of winning if they managed to defeat the army and to sacrifice his deity in order to consume it's soul and become one with it.
He could feel the life force of Pildragus slowly decreasing as the moments went by. He was pretending to get mad when the reports of failure were coming across from the scouting unit. With each failure his internal joy grew, and his external anger as well.
"Get the reserves ready in case the army falls to the enemy. We will sacrifice everything if we have to. I will win against the ponies and devour their souls," King Dragunda announced while grinning wickedly.
Rainbow Dash found herself using her superior speed to evade the two Draconians that were dead set on ending her life. She had been trying to reserve her energy with nowhere to relax and no time for it either. She noticed as she was flying faster her body was slowly wearing down. "Move... I don't want to die like this," she commanded her body.
It was seemingly the end for Rainbow Dash until she saw an opening and took it. She flew right past them both and when they were confused as to her location she disemboweled them with ease. She was smiling until she saw a luminescent orb of dark energy fly right at her. With no chance of evasion she braced herself for impact.
When the dark energy didn't hurt her she began wondering what just happened. It wasn't long until Discord's last thoughts played out and gave Rainbow Dash a grasp of the situation. It wasn't a happy occasion to know that Discord had failed but at least he had thought to entrust her with the last of his power and allow her to use it when the time came.
The Draconians were getting upset about their dwindling numbers and decided on a new tactic. They were going to stop pursuing the weaker members who were just delaying the battle and were going to fight off the three main attackers from the unit.
Setting their plan in motion, they began circling the ponies they aimed to eradicate. One of the Draconians lunged towards Soarin only to get a hoof in the eye as a response. With the pain searing through his optic nerves, he was unable to dodge the inevitable killing blow and fell into the ocean below.
The others thought out more carefully their attacks and two of them went for the worn out Spitfire. She seemed like easy pickings and, for all intent and purposes, that was the case. Slowly they continued circling her waiting for the Wonderbolt to mess up so they could eliminate her out with little to no risk of injuring themselves.
Rainbow Dash saw the two encroaching Draconians waiting to pick off Spitfire and rushed in to save her, but before she could get close enough another Draconian swiped at her and forced her to roll out of the way of his vicious claws. She was now battling a Draconian of her own and trying to get a chance to save Spitfire before it was too late.
Soarin was being chased by three Draconians until the other members of the aerial unit came to his aide. The lesser known Wonderbolts rushed in and were able to distract one of the Draconians long enough for Soarin to get out of harms way. He rushed in and used the opening to kill off another Draconian, but in doing so, felt his energy about to reach it's limit.
Spitfire was running off reserved strength and was slowly losing speed and agility. She was avoiding attacks by sheer luck at this point. She didn't know how long she could keep up the efforts, and with the others busy she had no clue what to do. She was still not going to give up, even if it meant she would pay for pushing her body so far later if she lived.
The rest of the offensive unit was still with Soarin fighting off the other Draconians and Rainbow Dash was still busy with the one blocking her path. Rainbow Dash thought about using the boost from Discord until she realized that the war wasn't over and it would be risky to use something as unstable as the borrowed power. She had to make a choice, watch Spitfire die or risk her own life for the ex captain.
She decided on plan b, and rushed through the Draconian blocking her, slicing him in the process. She was surprised he was stupid enough to allow himself to be harmed when he had the upper hand. She used the lucky break to rush in and distract one of the Draconians which gave Spitfire some chance of surviving the encounter.
Spitfire felt joy in the odds being somewhat reduced, but even with Rainbow’s intervention she still wasn't sure if she could make it though. With her fatigue reaching critical levels and the Draconian barely slowing down, it seemed unlikely to Spitfire that was going to make it through this. She could feel her senses fading as time passed on and soon she was barely able to fly straight.
This moment sealed her fate and before she knew it a Draconian was directly in front of her with a smile on his face. It seemed that he was slowly going to drag out her death in some sick and twisted act of cruelty. He grabbed her and moved her close to his face. She watched helplessly unable to do anything to resist, the odds of her surviving didn’t look good for her.
Just before he roasted the ex captain the Draconian felt something hit his back. He tossed Spitfire out of his hands and quickly grabbed whatever attacked him and stared at it. He had in his grasp, a pale blue stallion with a death wish that was soon going to be granted.
Soarin, despite going to be killed, had a smile on his face and felt at peace, "Spitfire, just live your life and hang in there." His last words were uttered with a dreadful finality as the Draconian roasted the pegasus and then devoured him whole. Spitfire had to endure seeing Soarin sacrifice his life for her. It wasn't worth it in her opinion, she didn’t feel she was worth the life of another pegasus.
Rainbow Dash upon seeing this, became enraged and killed the Draconian responsible for Soarin's death. She didn't stop at him either, she rampaged across the battlefield over the ocean and slaughtered the enemy forces long before she ran out her head of steam. Now with all the Draconians dead and nothing to unleash her rage on she started crying.
"Why... why did that have to happen? Why did he have to die? Why... Spitfire... you should have died not him... you..." She could barely speak her energy gone and her emotions running wild. Sighing, Rainbow Dash ordered her unit to the nearest cliff to rest before anything else came their way.
Spitfire collapsed as soon as she landed on the cliffs. Her body had finally given out and she going into was in shock over Soarin's gruesome death. She expected to see ponies die on the battlefield but not somepony that close to her. It was almost as if life was playing some cruel joke on her.
Pildragus had finally made it back to the fight in time to see the last of the Draconians get obliterated by Rainbow Dash. He saw her and smiled at how vicious she got at the death of someone that close to her. He was going to finish off the squadron as they relaxed and tried to gather some energy before more Draconians arrived, and started making his way towards them, itching to kill them all.
When he got close enough he began producing a huge sphere of flame that was going to wipe them all out except it dispersed before it was fully formed. "My powers... they are fading... oh no... am I dying?" Death was a new concept to Pildragus having outlived every Draconian ever to come into the world since his creation.
Pildragus finally understood what was going on. He hadn't even noticed until now that he was being used as a pawn for Dragunda's conquest. "That sneaky bastard, I should have known he was trying to sacrifice me for his own gain...well joke's on him, now I’m going to alert the enemy of his plan." Pildragus wasn't going to let any creature use him and get away with it.
He rushed to the cliff that his foes were resting at, "Before any of you attack me, I have an important message."
Rainbow Dash was using all her energy left to put up the facade that she was eager to fight, "Well go ahead, give us the message before I take you out." Her eyes were lit with burning desire. She wanted nothing more than to destroy every last Draconian in revenge for Soarin's untimely demise.
Pildragus chuckled, "In your state you couldn't even put a dent in me but I have no time for argument. I just need to inform you that this entire war was a clever ruse by Dragunda to claim my power and take dominance over the world. His goal has succeeded, I am afraid my death is inevitable, and when I die my soul shall be his to claim and he will become even more powerful than I was."
Rainbow Dash got angry, "So then why are you telling me this? Don't you want him to succeed? If not then why not do something about it instead of alerting us to our doom?"
Pildragus grew silent for a second before responding, "You see, I was going to kill all of you and continue eliminating you worthless ponies until my powers gave out just now... it wasn't something that I experienced before in my entire lifetime as an immortal being. This could only mean that I am dying and, and since I am not long for this world, it means I couldn't eliminate someone as mighty as Dragunda seeing as how my life essence is slowly draining away as we speak."
Rainbow Dash was growing tired of his presence and wanted the deity to hurry up and die, "So then what are we supposed to do about it? If you can't stop Dragunda yet still killed Discord, then how are we supposed to do anything?"
Pildragus laughed, "You aren't supposed to do anything but if your army was successful in ridding this world of the Draconians that invaded your land then you might be able to try raiding Draconia before Dragunda can absorb my soul completely. The chances are slim, but if you can kill him before he becomes a deity then you... can... " He never finished his statement as his body started disintegrating as his life ended.
Rainbow Dash started shouting, "What? We can what? Win? Survive? What?" when she was given no answer in return she started stomping her hooves in anger and crying out, "Damn it!"
Canterlot was only a mere shadow of its former glory having been overrun by the Draconian rush, the marauding Draconians that had invaded had long since been put down and the city reclaimed. With the war presumed over all the leaders and generals were having a meeting to determine the next course of action.
Rainbow Dash had to reveal the information she was relayed by Pildragus, the only issue was, she would have to ruin the overwhelming serenity and joy that the false news of the war being won brought. She tried to keep it under wraps by attempting to arrange a private meeting with Celestia.
"Celestia, I know we have suffered many losses and right now isn't the time for bad news... it's just I have bad news," Rainbow Dash hesitantly said.
Celestia, who was in a very happy mood a second ago, sighed and asked, "what is this awful news you must bring in this time of joy?"
Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment before responding with, "We still have one major problem that needs to be dealt with... I know we won the war but the threat of extinction still lies out there just waiting for us to let our guard down."
Celestia grew angry, "Rainbow Dash what are you not telling me?"
Rainbow Dash looked down, "Just before their deity died he told me that their leader was planning on absorbing his soul and coming over to destroy us all while our defenses were down."
Celestia frowned, "So the war isn't over after all?"
Rainbow Dash grew serious, "The whole war... was nothing but a ploy to weaken us. They were all being used just for one creature’s gain. We have to stop him before he steals the soul of the deity and kills us all."
Celestia gasped, "He plans on absorbing the deity's soul... King Dragunda must not succeed... luckily you came to me about this immediately. We must stop him from gaining such power or we will all fall to his might."
Rainbow Dash chuckled, "I felt you were going to say something like that, which is why I volunteer to lead a squadron straight into their homeland while they aren't expecting it and taking out the King before his ascent to deity."
Celestia began crying softly, "You have already endured so much Rainbow Dash and I can't ask the other ponies to do this either. All of Equestria believes we are safe besides the few who have first hand knowledge of the enemies true plan. What am I supposed to tell my subjects after all they have sacrificed?"
Rainbow Dash looked away, "You tell them nothing... this mission isn't to go on the records and the ponies won't say a word regardless of the outcome. I want to lead ponies willing to die for their country as this mission is of the suicidal kind. I don't intend to come out a hero, or even victorious against Dragunda... I just want to stop him from achieving his goal."
Celestia sobbed softly, her eyes displaying the intense sorrow she felt during such an awful moment. "Rainbow Dash, if you make it out of this alive I shall see that you are honored as a true hero of Equestria," she softly spoke while her tears spilled hot onto the ground.
"Well as much as I appreciate it, this isn't for glory... I want revenge on Dragunda... his army caused so much grief for our people and my foal Scootaloo, who is now dead ... all for nothing," Rainbow Dash darkly replied.
Celestia felt the anger pouring out of Rainbow Dash in waves, "I see... you aren't planning on coming back are you?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled, "No and if I do it will only be so I could be with my wife and surviving foal... I have no intentions of returning as a hero or even become some hot shot celebrity... I want a nice and quiet life with my wife and foal after all this... assuming I survive."
Celestia chuckled, "You speak as if you're already dead... please be careful and before you rush off to your doom Rainbow Dash... know you still have two more days before Dragunda should be able to absorb the soul... so rest up at least before you make your exit from this world."
Rainbow Dash smiled, "Don't worry I don't intend to die without a goodbye kiss from my wife." She flexed her wings and began walking away from the princess who smiled at her sadly. "Oh Celestia... if I don't make it back... make sure my wife is taken care of... I love her more than anything on this forsaken world. I just want her to be able to live a happy life even if I’m not there with her," Rainbow Dash requested.
Celestia was stunned by that last request, "It shall be done."
Ponyville miraculously was left relatively unscathed by the opposing army. The quiet town was a safe haven for those who lost their homes during the war. Rainbow Dash offered her house as shelter for pegasi families whose homes were now gone due to the war. With the bunkers keeping foals from becoming orphans it still didn't stop some wives from becoming widows. Many stallions that had families and wives died during the war. It was tragic for all ponies to endure the hardship of that loss.
The group of friends decided to gather one last time before Rainbow Dash was to leave the next day with some brave ponies to meet the enemy head on and dish out some well deserved justice. By some miracle, each member of the group had survived the horrific battles, but while living, they had their share of scars.
"You know...I am happy we won...I really am... just I can't believe I lost Spike... and almost lost Pinkie," Twilight sadly announced. Pinkie Pie rubbed her muzzle against Twilight's side gently letting her know she wasn't going anywhere.
Fluttershy began crying, "I know how you feel... I lost one of my foals... and might lose my wife." Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around her wife and began consoling her gently. Their life was already a mess with the recent tragedy, and with the upcoming mission looming it was too much for the canary mare to bare.
Rarity couldn't relate to them... they had each lost somepony dear to them but she still had her loving wife and foal. It made her feel frustrated that she was able to keep all she had only to learn her friends weren't as fortunate. She stayed silent and was surprised by her wife nuzzling her gently.
Hope Star and Appleseed, were both enjoying the blissful ignorance of being foals. They had no clue as to what was going on but Hope Star began wondering where her big sister was. "Wah wah wah," she called out. Which earned the attention of the group who all chuckled at her inability to speak.
Spitfire was getting mentally prepared for the suicide mission. She wasn't going to be talked out of it by her overprotective marefriend, "Listen Misty... I know our relationship was finally getting on track... but I have to do this."
Mistyfly wasn't able to fight in the war due to her slight handicap from the vicious attack unleashed upon her. With tears in her eyes she begged, "Don't do this... you already redeemed yourself... you don't have to keep feeling guilty... This war isn't your fault and you don't have to die for it."
Spitfire sighed, "I can't leave Rainbow Dash to go alone... Soarin died remember... he’s gone and without a wing pony Rainbow Dash has an even smaller chance of surviving... I owe her this much."
Mistyfly still in hysterics cried out, "I won't let you go... I’ll… I’ll block your every attempt to leave this place."
Spitfire tackled her marefriend to the ground before crying on her, "You think I want to die? I want to live ... I’m ready to die but that doesn't mean I wish death upon myself. I have to do this... not just for Rainbow Dash but for Equestria... I love you baby... I want to come back to you... and if I don't make it, I want you to know... I love you more than I have ever loved anyone else in my life. Just have faith in me... trust that I am doing this not for some guilt that I got rid of... but for a cause I believe in."
Mistyfly held Spitfire close, "I want to know what it's like to make love to you one last time before you go... make love to me Spitsy... I want to feel you one last time so that way if you don't return I shall always keep your warmth with me."
The two mares proceeded to make love on the apartment floor, all thoughts of death and war vanished as passion and love filled the room.
King Dragunda was feeling great, his kingdom may have suffered a heavy loss of subjects but nothing a couple hundred years of mating couldn’t fix. "Soon my lovely wife... I shall ascend from a king to a god," he vowed as he waited for the proper time to channel the spirit of Pildragus into his body and become unstoppable.
Queen Yilsra knew how happy her husband was going to be after his ascension, and yet she worried about her own life when she was no longer needed for his enjoyment. "My dearest Dragunda... are you going to keep me around when you ascend?" She asked hesitantly.
King Dragunda chuckled, "Why would I need a useless wench like you when I will have the ability to make fantasy reality, and create my own goddess to please me like no other dragon could." He was going to enslave the entire world and expand his rule. All his subjects would worship him and offer him gifts and all females that he laid eyes on would be his for the taking if he wished it so.
Queen Yilsra felt betrayed by the realisation that her loyalty and servitude amounted to nothing in the end, when her husband had made it abundantly clear she was no longer needed. "I see... so shall I take my leave of you now my love?" she asked in a hurt tone.
"Do as you wish, I will be too busy preparing for my ascension to even notice you're absence," Dragunda coolly said.
He felt untouchable, it was a the euphoric feeling to know in two days time he would be a god. He felt it was almost worth losing his son... "Actually it was definitely worth losing the little runt." His loud statement was overheard by his exiting wife. She was appalled at his words and felt something should be done.
King Garuda was in a discussion with some of his own generals preparing for the worst case scenario of Equestria losing the war. He had no knowledge of the events that took place, but had sent a scouting party to report anything they saw in case he would have assemble an impromptu army.
"Well if the Equestrians lose like I believe they shall, I suggest we-" King Garuda was saying before being cut off.
Prince Greg was royally pissed off, "I just found out that we are too late... Equestria won the war but without our help... Do you know how messed up it is for allies to not send help during war? We made a peace treaty with them after their war with us... we all agreed to put the past aside and strive for a better future. What happened to that plan father?"
King Garuda smiled, "So the threat of war is over... they survived and we got to avoid a messy situation. We can show our support now by simply giving supplies to the ponies and since they never formally asked for our help we don't have to explain ourselves... overall I say we got lucky."
Prince Greg looked disgusted, "Are you serious? You're such a dick, and I was proud of calling you my father... not anymore. I have assembled a squadron and we are going to aide Equestria in any way we can. I will tell you this father... Equestria looks awful right now and according to the reports the country of Draconia still stands tall and their King still lives."
King Garuda laughed, "Son I think you're time in Equestria has made you forget that we are not ponies... regardless of our treaty we don't share the same lineage and honestly I don't see why it should matter to us!"
Prince Greg shouted, "You heartless fiend... you don't understand... if it was us suffering you know they would have helped because those ponies actually believe in caring... to them friendship is magic, and while that sentiment is loss on us griffins, I believe in unity. You know the old saying father 'united we stand, divided we fall'."
King Garuda had enough of his son's lecturing, "If you want to rush off and play hero then do so... go ahead and see what you can do to help them recover or if they still have some Draconians around what killing you can assist in...I don't care just don't get yourself killed."
Prince Greg chuckled, "Sure, anyways I’m off... I shall return in 3 weeks time and if I don't then at least I died with honor father."
Rainbow Dash was enjoying the moonlit night as her family laid close to her. "You know something Shy... no matter what happens I feel I’m lucky," Rainbow Dash softly said to her sleepy wife.
Fluttershy giggled, "Oh and why is that my love?"
Rainbow Dash smiled, "Because even if I die tomorrow I died being loved by you."
Fluttershy blushed and beamed, "You know something... It's I who got lucky... you could have any mare in all of Equestria and you chose me to be your wife."
Rainbow Dash kissed Fluttershy softly on the lips before whispering, "No my love, there was one mare I couldn't have for the longest of times because she was so great and I was feeble in comparison... but lucky for me... she had secretly loved me and is now what keeps me going."
Fluttershy whispered gently into Rainbow Dash's ear, "I am going to put Hope Star to bed, and you are going to show me just how lucky you are that I secretly loved you all this time."
Rainbow Dash grinned, "That I will do ... my love."
The two married mares shared a passionate night, under the serene grace of the hauntingly beautiful lunar illumination. There last night together before one of the mares would have to take on the most dangerous task of her life. She was going to attempt to defy the odds and successfully prevent a mad king from ascending into an even more deranged god.
It was morning, and all over Equestria, the ponies were rejoicing in their survival of the great war that befell them. While most of the ponies were living in the ignorant bliss that had been earned, Rainbow Dash and a few select ponies were readying for their departure to the Draconian homeland.
Fluttershy felt she had to say goodbye to Rainbow Dash too many times in the past years and didn't enjoy the prospect of her lover never returning. She had tried every tactic to get Rainbow Dash to let some other pony risk their life for Equestria, but despite her efforts nothing worked and Fluttershy had to accept that Rainbow Dash was going to fly out to her very possible doom.
Rainbow Dash tried consoling her lover the night before, the tension was getting heavy and they fell asleep exhausted from arguing, their energy being drained from the intense sexual release they shared beforehand. Being married was hard, and while it was hard, it was worth every second of it.
"Please Rainbow Dash, don't go... I can't stand to lose you again. I've suffered enough haven't I?" Fluttershy cried out in desperation. Her heart wasn't able to take losing another pony she loved, especially the one she loved most.
Rainbow Dash began leaking tears profusely, "Shy we have been over this... I have to go... If Dragunda gets more powerful we will all die. I wish there was another way but, I am afraid, there isn't."
Fluttershy held Rainbow Dash tight, "Promise me... that you will come home to me... if you promise that I can at least feel okay knowing you don't break promises."
Rainbow Dash looked away, "I can't make promises I'm unsure I can keep. I can't promise you that Shy... it would be unfair."
Fluttershy began panicking, "Please tell me... tell me it... Promise me you will live ... I can't take this Rainbow Dash... we have gone through so much... so much, I deserve happiness with you..."
Rainbow Dash sighed while trying to back her tears, "Look Shy... just for you, and I mean this, I promise you that I will come home to you... and we will have our happy ending."
Fluttershy stayed silent and held on to Rainbow Dash for dear life. She wasn't going to acknowledge the promise until it was kept. She did not want to get full of hope if she was going to be disappointed again. Fluttershy had no idea if the promise would be kept but for the sake of both their futures she believed it. "Rainbow my love, I know you will return and when you do I will make sure you are happier than you can imagine," She vowed as the mood shifted for the better.
Spitfire was already dealing with her grief of Soarin and the other Wonderbolts who fell in battle during the grand war. She knew that she should have been the one to die instead. It wasn't any secret that most ponies blame her for his death and she herself was the one that felt it the most.
Mistyfly had been asleep from exhaustion and hadn't even been up to say good bye. Spitfire had no reason to wake her up and begin the water works all over again. With Mistyfly asleep Spitfire was ready to go and let nothing hold her back from accepting her destiny.
Pinkie Pie had been secretly working on a special weapon that didn't get finished in time to see combat in the war, she spent the entire night working on it and fixing it up. She didn't let Twilight know about her special project in case she would flip out. She finished it and even managed to give it a test run before she passed out from lack of sleep.
When the morning came she went to the library and noticed Twilight on the couch resting peacefully, "You must have been waiting all night for me Twilight... sorry but I can't wake you up and risk you binding me with magic. I have to go but I Pinkie Promise that I will return to you." Her soft hoof caressed the face of her beloved before she set off to join the suicide squadron.
Rainbow Dash had been declared leader of the mission and she let her squadron know that she was in charge, and they would obey her orders regardless of the implications. "This isn't a mission for glory... we aren't going to be heroes... instead we are going to murder them all no matter the cost to us. Our primary target is King Dragunda, intel suggests he will be the biggest and baddest of them all, and until we are sure who he is, we take out all who oppose us regardless of gender, age, or health," she grimly explained.
Each member of the unit had felt a bit ill about the possibility of committing genocide and yet they knew it was necessary if things got bad. Most of the unit consisted of Pegasi and the few earth ponies and unicorns who wanted to help and would serve as distraction units for the ground floor.
Rainbow Dash surveyed the area and noticed two mares who didn't belong in her group, "Pinkie, AJ, what the hay are you two doing here?"
Applejack chuckled, "What's it look like sugarcube? I'm here because I want to put some hurting on them Draconians."
Pinkie Pie jumped into the conversation with enthusiasm, "Yeah silly, we are here to kick some butts... I got my special death weapon I plan on using... no mercy!"
Rainbow Dash grew angry, "This isn't a bucking joke... you could die... did your significant others approve of this?"
Applejack sighed, "RD, you know darn well they didn't ... but at the same time ain't ya forgetting that ya got somepony waiting for ya ta return as well?"
Rainbow Dash felt sorrow coursing through her, "Alright... fine... but promise me you won't die."
Applejack smiled, "I promise and ya know I am bein' honest."
Pinkie beamed, "I Pinkie Promise that I won't die today, or tomorrow, I can't really promise for the next day but we will see."
Rainbow Dash chuckled, "Alright enough mushy stuff we need to get airborne pronto so I guess Applejack you need to find some pony willing to let ya ride on them because I can't have somepony lag behind."
Pinkie Pie smiled, "I already got it covered, my death machine needs a gunner, I was going to surprise you at Draconia with it but I might as well show it to you now." With that said Pinkie Pie ran off and returned airborne with a giant machine akin to a helicopter with a party cannon looking attachment underneath.
Rainbow Dash was in awe, "Mother of Celestia... that is one awesome death machine... well then with that on our side and the group of awesome ponies we have... I say we buck them all up."
The ponies all cheered and got ready to head out to their final battles. Regardless of victory or defeat they would never want to fight such hideous wars ever again. While they had no idea of what was to come, they were secretly being followed by some griffins that had the intent of helping the ponies out.
Prince Greg was flying behind the ponies with his own elite guards, He didn't want to make his presence known until an opportune moment had arrived. He had been flying to Equestria and went straight to Canterlot castle before his unit had tailed the suicide squadron.
He met with Celestia and informed of his willingness to help and his apologies for not being there sooner. Their conversation was brief and the gist of the situation was given. With his honor in jeopardy he decided he would accept the queen's request for him and his unit to help the ponies that were flying to their dooms.
With his agreement in effect he decided they would help when things were going downhill and let the ponies attempt their task without their initial help. It was mostly for the purpose of adding the element of surprise to the enemy. Since the ponies themselves don't even know that the griffins are there to aide them the enemy would have even less of an idea when they suddenly burst in and evened the odds.
That was their plan at least and Prince Greg had the incentive of helping his hero out. With the intentions of helping and the brute force they offered it seemed the tide of destiny would be in favor of Rainbow Dash and the final hope for Equestria's salvation.
King Dragunda was alone in the throne room. He was abandoned by his wife after he had felt she no longer was necessary. Loneliness didn't seem to affect him and he got some sort of comfort of knowing no one felt mighty enough to be in his presence.
"I don't need any of them. I will have ultimate power soon and then I shall enslave the world and nothing will stop me." He was dead set on his plan of domination and with the power of the deity almost within his grasp it was nearly coming to fruition. He just needed the right moment to absorb the soul since it was taking longer than he anticipated.
According to Draconian lore the soul of the grand deity that lied in Pildragus was only transferred if the recipient had made enough sacrifices and was willing to accept the craving for young and pure souls. He didn't mind the hunger for the youthful and innocent, he was ready to have a breeding pit for such occasion if needed.
He was just wondering what other sacrifice would he need. "I already gave my son up, and my best men... not to mention I even had Pildragus get himself killed in order to achieve success... so why hasn't the soul been transferred yet?" He thrashed about the empty throne room breaking things with no one to unleash his anger on.
A lowly servant entered the throne room and felt it was her chance to rise in power, "Your majesty... I know one thing you haven't sacrificed yet." She looked at him with the hope that he would hear her out.
"What is it you stupid wench... you better be right and not just be wasting my time or I will rape you and feast on your soul when I finish," King Dragunda violently warned.
She flinched from the mental image of her impending doom but felt she had this one shot, "You haven't sacrificed your queen... she still walks around the kingdom and you could help speed up the process if you get rid of her."
King Dragunda smiled wide, "Yes... I shall sacrifice my useless wife and if it works ... I shall reward you wench... now come here and service me, I am going to need some relief if I am going to play the part of a loving husband." He chuckled in his dark imagination.
The lowly servant went straight to the king of Draconians and did her duty by sexually pleasing the ogre-like dragon king. She feigned enjoyment as she began pleasing him with her mouth, she despised the taste but enjoyed what the future held if she could muster enough tolerance to it.
Rainbow Dash who was flying ahead of the squad was desperate to be out of sight from Equestria. She didn't want any reason to turn around and rush home. She had made the promise to stay alive but knew in her heart that it was a promise she might break. Little to no information was available about the enemies or how prepared they were for something like this.
She wanted to believe that she could do it and that everything would be alright and yet, reality had that funny way of saying buck you when it matters most. She had to stay strong and pull through while facing the most arduous task of her life. She had no room for error and hoped the other squad members thought the same.
She wanted ponies on her squad that she could care less if they died but instead she got two friends from Ponyville and her former captain as company on her suicide squadron. With the clock ticking and the fate of the world lying on their success, she decided to just grin and bear it.
The only issue now is... will they succeed and save Equestria, and possibly the world, or will they fail and doom them all?
Rainbow Dash, and her squadron of ponies, grew restless. They had arrived at the border of Draconia and took a small break since they had rushed towards the place and burnt up a lot of energy to reduce the travel time. They wanted to be in and out and return home if possible.
They had set up a tent and began divvying out the rations as they rested for a bit. "This will be main camp," Rainbow Dash declared. "This will be our meeting point if a retreat is forced."
Applejack looked around and smiled. "This spot seems perfect Rainbow Dash, we got trees ta cover us and it's right on the border. So we can toss everything off the cliff and hide if need be."
Pinkie Pie was checking out her aerial death machine and making sure everything was ready for their mission. "Rainbow Dash... I just want you to know... that when this thing is in the air again...it won't be landing until I have slaughtered as many Draconians as I can or... until I die."
Rainbow Dash grew worried at the statement. "What do you mean Pinkie? Look I know what happened was awful and we did authorize a genocide, but the way you're saying it, sounds like you actually will enjoy slaughtering them."
Pinkie Pie shed a tear that rolled down her cheek slowly. "They killed Spike... they didn't just kill him... they tortured him and broke him down and then they just wasted his life as if it was nothing. We lost a lot of good ponies, and my marefriend lost the closest thing she had to a foal."
Rainbow Dash held back her own tears as she replied with, "Yeah... I get it... those bastards killed Scootaloo... Fine Pinkie Pie I order you to annihilate all Draconians you pass by and destroy their villages. I want them all gone and everything destroyed, no mercy!"
The griffins noticed that the ponies were setting up camp and decided to remain undetected and make a camp elsewhere. The leader of the elite unit of griffins was the prince himself. "So this is where we test our mettle. I would like to let you all know that we will be fighting a grand enemy. We aren't going to do so unless the ponies need help, but be prepared to rescue them if need arises."
One of the members of the elite unit became curious as to why they weren't linking up with the pony squadron. "Your majesty, I know I am out of line for asking this, but I need to know, what is the purpose of secrecy again?"
Prince Greg looked at the soldier and explained to his unit what he had been thinking of the entire flight. "We are going to use stealth and the element of surprise. We have the edge since albeight, our allies aren't aware we are here, our enemies aren’t aware either. We can basically pull back any moment and no one would be any the wiser."
King Dragunda had been waiting for his servants to find his useless wife. He was going to sacrifice the queen in order to ensure the success of the ritual, as well as allow the activation of the spell to be done sooner. He wanted to already have the power that he had waited for so long to acquire.
His vision of a world enslaved by him was appealing in every aspect. He could taste the tears of those who were dealt sorrow from his executions, that he would personally oversee. He could smell the fear of his future subjects, as they are forced to obey or suffer death. He could see the restructuring of towns and cities to suit his needs and to have statues of himself in honor of his greatness. He could hear the suffering of many as he did whatever pleased him whenever he felt like it. Lastly he could feel the hatred as the rebels that were sure to come, form up to attempt a pointless rebellion.
He was dreaming of a world in which he was the grand ruler and no one likes him. He didn't need their love or admiration, he would just need their obedience and respect. It wasn't as if he wanted to be loved and well wished. He wanted resentment to surge through the lands and the subjects to revile in it.
He was the most revolting creature in all of history and he was satisfied with knowing that. He ordered whatever servants were still stupid enough to be around to hurry the capture of his wife. "I want that useless female here so I may execute her personally. I want to gain my new powers soon... I can already sense how mighty I will be."
The servants rushed off and once again King Dragunda was alone in the throne room.
Pinkie Pie made the final check on her destructive machine and decided to get herself ready for an all out assault on the enemy. "Rainbow Dash it's all checked out and ready for me to go, just tell me when to strike and I will." She lost her naivete along with her joyful tone during the war. All that was left was the dark and empty voice of a pony who'd been through hell.
Applejack was ready to man the weaponry on the helicopter-like machine. "I'm ready too. Let's get them bastards and teach them not ta mess with us ponies." Applejack had no taste for obliterating an entire species of living creatures, but she didn't really have a choice in the matter since she was only doing what was necessary for her family to be safe.
Rainbow Dash felt energized and ready to go, she made sure her unit were ready for the first and final attack on Draconia. "Alright everypony, we have come this far and now we shall do something horrible for the good of all Equestria. I know this isn't going to be our finest hour, and I know this land has more denizens then just evil Draconians, but this is what we need to do in order to ensure our loved ones safety. So now let us destroy all they stand for and annihilate those scaly bastards!"
The group of ponies cheered on, invigorated by the speech. They all got prepared for the raid of a lifetime. Each pony shook off the feelings of regret and worry and instead adorned themselves in the feeling of justice. It wasn't true justice, just rationalization of their horrid crimes they were about to commit.
Pinkie Pie and Applejack got in the death machine ready to lay down heavy fire as the ponies picked off any stragglers. All morality that made these ponies docile and civil were shed from their souls as they mentally prepared to enact such atrocities. The death machine lifted into the sky and Pinkie Pie finally gave it a name. "I dub you the Pinkie-geddon."
The queen of the Draconians was hiding out in the cities being taken in by a kind widow. The news of the search party had scared the queen into hiding. She never felt more betrayed in her lifetime. She was glad however, when the nice draconian widow opened her door, and allowed her in.
It was a small calm before an impending storm. She began hearing rumors that some Draconian saw a metal monster heading towards a village. The other citizens laughed at him and told him off while the panicking Draconian fled to safety. While the town, with barely any able Draconians, had been enjoying a good laugh at the expense of the young male they heard noises of explosions and saw flashing lights.
The noises had grown louder as the flaming light intensified. "What in the name of Pildragus is that?" A Draconian shouted. The townsfolk were mostly made up of women and disabled or very young men. The able bodied and strong Draconians were all used for the war front and the rest were acting as protectors of the castle.
Pinkie Pie was flying over a village while Applejack launched explosive shells at the defenseless Draconians, thinking of other things while doing so. They couldn't wrap their minds around the unspeakable acts of evil they were performing or they would risk gaining a conscience and failing their task.
Applejack aimed her sights on buildings of all kinds and with each hit a tear shed from her eyes. She was trying to block out the screams of anguish and the cries of the infantile Draconians as she tore through the cities with Pinkie's modified party cannon attachment. "Alright Pinkie let's get a move on... we got more Draconians ta kill."
Pinkie moved over to the other side of town and settled above as some of the Draconians prepared to fight back. "Applejack we got company." Just as the Draconians who were willing to fight were getting close to the death machine, Rainbow Dash and her crew came in and picked them off, easily tearing them apart with the benefit of surprise and agility.
Rainbow Dash flew next to the contraption Pinkie built and smiled "You didn't think we would let you have all the fun did ya?"
Pinkie chuckled despite the intense situation. "Of course not, now get out there and get killing. If we keep this up we’ll get to the castle in no time... just remember Rainbow Dash... No mercy!"
Rainbow Dash flew away and they continued their massacre.
King Dragunda was being alerted, left and right, of attacks happening on the main city. He quickly summoned his elite guards that hadn't perished in the war and sent them to eliminate the opposing forces. "Who the hell is crazy enough to attack my city and threaten my kingdom?"
One of the servants, who looked terrified, answered the mighty king. "Well sir the reports from the scouts indicate a flying metal monster and some flying ponies with armor and wing blades are attacking us. This isn't good your majesty... we lost all our able men and with no force to fight them ponies off we are done for."
The king roared in anger. "Damn it... I need the queen found and executed before they reach the castle... I need my power or this will all be a waste." His anger rose with each passing second.
Rainbow Dash was feeling confident and saw the castle seemingly clear of obstacles. "Hey Pinkie the castle walls... tear them down we are going to end this now."
Pinkie Pie smiled until she saw the incoming remaining force of the Draconian army. "Not so soon Rainbow Dash... it seems you still have some killing to do."
Spitfire saw the incoming force and quickly made a plan. "Rainbow Dash, we can hold them off while you and the death machine can focus on getting to the castle," She suggested.
Rainbow Dash wasn't sure about separating the winning group but at the same time she didn't know how much longer she had before Dragunda became a god. "Alright ... we’ll go... Spitfire... you better not die... and remember, no mercy!"
Spitfire saluted before she and the squadron of ponies engaged the enemy head on. With the suicide squadron and Spitfire taking on the rest of the Draconian elites, Rainbow Dash, and the two ponies inside the death machine, flew towards the castle ready to finally end this nightmare.
The queen of Draconia was in shock at the state of the city that hours ago was bustling with activity. She had seen the attacks but had been protected and kept somewhat safe. The city looked desolated, and the Draconians were either dead or dying. "Why did this have to happen? Our kingdom... our people... it's all gone..." she wept silently as she walked by searching for life in the rubble of what used to be the grand capital city.
Draconia, what used to be a land of proud Draconians, was now a ruined nation turned battleground. It was the height of civilization for the sapient dragons. They had structures and caste systems that would suggest higher intelligence than most archaic dragons. It was glorious in it's hay day, but now it was barely recognizable.
The Pinkie-geddon had laid waste to the nation of Draconia and the squadron of aerial ponies had decimated the numbers of survivors. The dark action taken by the usually peaceful ponies was actually working in the enemies' favor. King Dragunda needed the queen's end to induce a quicker soul absorption and with all his kingdom being annihilated the sacrificial necessity was completed by other means.
With the power at his fingertips the king of Draconia was ready to perform the ritual and absorb the soul of Pildragus and finally achieve his darkest goal.
Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, were making their way to the castle perimeter. "How many shells do you have left Pinkie?" Rainbow asked while they soared through the air. The castle was in sight and the entrances were being blocked by the few castle guards that had remained behind. The Guards were ultra observant and needed to be dealt with.
Pinkie Pie had no answer and left it to Applejack to deliver the bad news. "It ain't lookin' too good RD, we runnin' outta things to launch." She knew with the little bit of ammo left they would run out shortly and would be sitting ducks.
Rainbow Dash sighed in annoyance. "Then that means we have to make our way straight for the throne room and not use any shells till we’re sure they will hit Dragunda." She started flying above the castle looking for any alternate paths inside. The limited ammo supply and the lack of reinforcements meant they had only one shot at stopping Dragunda.
The Pinkie-geddon was following Rainbow Dash close by and making sure no Draconians caught wind of them just yet. The stifling seconds passed with worry exuding from the pilot of the death machine. "Hurry... we don't have much time." Pinkie knew that the longer they stayed out in the open the easier it was to get blind sided.
Rainbow Dash found a section of the castle she could easily lead the others through and signaled them to get close. "Alright guys this is it. We go in and we do our thing then we all go home, simple right?"
Spitfire and the rest of the aerial unit were busy fighting off much tougher Draconians than they had faced during the war. It was almost making Spitfire regret having the team being split up. With Soarin dead and Rainbow Dash doing whatever it is she was, it made her feel alone.
"Alright guys let's not give them any meals today. I want to see them all fall before any of us even begin to think of dying!" She cheered out to boost morale and rally the troops. It was desperation giving the false bravado an extra effect on the winged combatants.
She had never been less prepared for the outrageously skilled enemies. She tried using their disembowelment technique with the wing blades and it not only failed but was countered and she was smacked away. The force of the hit knocked her back plenty good and almost caused her to lose aerial balance. "This isn't good... these guys are much better than the ones we barely managed to fight off before."
She looked around and saw the other ponies desperately trying to avoid being mutilated and attempting to strike to no avail. This battle was going downhill and it seemed their plan had backfired. "Well Rainbow Dash, we can try holding them off as long as possible, so please hurry... and do what we came to do."
The Griffins that had been stalking the ponies had witnessed what was a futile attempt at fighting off the opposition. "Alright men let's do this," Prince Greg commanded. They were ready to intercept and help since the moment was right. Their screeching battle cry had confused the combatants in the battle that was taking place in the sky.
With the confusion causing momentarily still bodies the Griffins swooped in and began raining pain on the Draconian scum. The attacks were somewhat successful and they managed to push back and maim some of the enemies but without the death blow they just put themselves into a predicament.
"Prince Greg... the plan of attack is not working as we expected," one of the worried soldiers called out.
Prince Greg smiled. "Well let's improvise then... Alright all squadron units that fall under my command link up with a pony and try finding some way to kill these pests... we don't have time for strategy so let instinct guide you."
The griffins all followed orders and began tag teaming the Draconians with opportunistic attacks. Even with the numbers on their side the Draconians were not making it easy for them. The battle was raging on with both sides taking hits, it seemed that bodies would soon be falling onto the ground below.
King Dragunda had already begun the ritual and could feel the effects of absorbing such a great entity's power. The slow absorption process left him vulnerable enough to be taken out. Yet with his cleverness and last minute planning he had been able to prevent any means of interruption.
He heard the muffled retort of an explosion and grinned as the room he was in wasn't affected at all. "Sorry ponies... but I'm not stupid enough to hold a ritual in a throne room," he whispered grimly.
He kept hearing noises of battle and blasts and noticed they were getting closer. It was moments away from his ascension and already the tables were slowly turning. If they figured out where he was in time it would be disastrous for him. "I worked too hard for this moment... I will not let anything stop me."
"Damn it he isn't in the throne room... where the hay is this guy?" Rainbow Dash asked while dodging the claws of a guard. She used the momentum of her enemy to counter and slit his throat. "We need to find him!"
Pinkie Pie kept flying around avoiding attacks from the Draconians that were trying to stop them. "Darn it... I can't keep this thing stable long enough for Applejack to get a shot in... Rainbow Dash you need to clear the sky of enemies! Now!"
Applejack had been looking for any extra ammo and felt the panic begin settling in. "Darn it Pinkie... we're down to our last shell. After this we ain't goin' to be doin' any good up here."
Rainbow Dash disemboweled one of the guards and slammed her hoof into the neck of another before she used the situation to get some answers. "Where is Dragunda... you tell me and I will let you go free."
The draconian was a younger one. He wasn't as battle ready and only joined the guards to get ensured a mate. "I don't know where he is... I thought he was in the throne room."
Rainbow Dash didn't like that answer and she let him know right away. "Sorry... but that isn't the answer I was looking for," she said wickedly before she slit his throat and walked away.
Pinkie Pie looked away from the scene and just kept focused on flying her soon to be useless death machine.
Spitfire and Prince Greg were dealing with one of the more vicious Draconians. They were able to get minor cuts here and there, but overall, it was becoming exhausting for both of them to continuously dodge the swift attacks of the superior fighter.
"Darn it, what's with these guys... don't they get tired?" Prince Greg asked while nearly avoiding getting his head lopped off. "It's like they are aren't even alive."
"This is what we had to dealt with during the war, and before we die can you let me know what the griffins are doing here?" Spitfire asked while nicking the neck of the Draconian and flying around it.
"Well that optimism is sure getting us through this, anyways, we are here because we wanted to help."
"A little too late for that... don't you think?"
"Yeah... we didn't get to help out in the war because of political complications. I wasn't the one who ordered us to remain in our country."
"Well that's interesting and all, but why help now?"
"Because I decided to stand up to my father... a little late I know. Hopefully though it isn't too late."
"Well I tell you what, if we live through this then it wasn't too late."
"Alright well let's try to find a way to end this fight... if we continue like this we aren't going to make it."
"Yeah well it's hard fighting them off when they're faster than us."
"I have a plan but in order to pull this off we need to order a retreat."
"Before I even begin to agree to hear this plan out why a retreat?"
"Because right now they are too focused. If we use distraction techniques like our entrance we can catch them off guard and pick them off one by one."
"This better work... if we fall here, then Rainbow Dash won't succeed and this will all be for nothing."
"I promise this will work... just follow my lead." He screeched loudly as he flew into the sky above and with that call the griffins began fleeing into the woods.
Spitfire neighed loudly and signaled a retreat and the ponies followed the griffins into the cover of the woods.
King Dragunda was nearing completion of his ritual when he heard the death screams of fellow Draconians. "It seems the last of my guards are finally destroyed... now it's up to fate to decide if I am indeed the chosen one or if my kingdom falls because of my decision."
He kept absorbing the soul of the deceased Pildragus as the seconds passed by. The force of the soul was straining his body and Dragunda was feeling very weak. He tried not screaming out in pain but his nerves were flaring and he unwittingly let out a loud roar that gave away his position. "No I am so close!"
He heard the noises of the intruders growing louder and hoped his door would hold off the ponies. He made sure the room he had locked himself in had great protection from invaders. He could hear the voices of ponies outside his door and wondered if they had what it took to break in.
Rainbow Dash grumbled in frustration. "Damn it... if we use the last shell to break down the door we will have nothing to use on Dragunda... But it seems we have no choice... we will just have to hope we can take him out ourselves. Alright, Pinkie, AJ, let's do this!"
Pinkie Pie got the death machine in position and Applejack launched the last shell at the door that kept Dragunda in and them out. "It's a direct hit," Applejack yelled as the final shell collided with the door. Luckily for them they were far enough from the door to avoid the force of the explosion but weren't immune to the smoke that was quickly filling the hallway.
Rainbow Dash felt a shiver rush through her body as something on the other side of the wall of smoke was calling out something inside her. "What’s this strange feeling... let's go in we have to end this now!"
Pinkie Pie and Applejack flew in with Rainbow Dash. The place they broke into was filled with all kinds of artifacts lined along the shadowed walls, and in the center was a glowing orb.
A loud chuckle could be heard as they all looked around. The chuckle grew louder and the menacing being behind it said something that broke the morale of the ponies in the room. "You're too late... I’m already ... a god!"
The squadron had failed their mission. Their plan to rush in and stop Dragunda had backfired immensely. With Dragunda now a god and the ponies fleeing the more experienced Draconians it seems the world will be doomed to a life under the rule of a dragon god. King Dragunda now has the ponies who invaded his kingdom at his mercy with his new powers. Or so it would seem...
Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, were all looking up in the air to see the flying ogre-like Draconian king. His form had shifted. With no prior knowledge of his appearance they couldn't know that his new godly form was just manifested by his merging with Pildragus.
"It's good of you to all show up, now I don't have to chase you down!" Dragunda roared out. He was ready to take out the invaders and reclaim his kingdom before he began the task of total domination of the world. "Any last words before I obliterate you all?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled softly. "Yeah, I have something to say. Pinkie Pie! Now!"
Dragunda had a confused look on his face before the confusion was changed to one of pain when something explosive smashed into his face and temporarily blinded him. "Arrghh!" His fury was beginning to grow into a maddened tantrum of rage. He smashed the walls around him in the blind state he was in.
Rainbow Dash used that chance to begin landing in useless attacks against the godlike being. "Darn it, I can't cut through him. Pinkie any rounds left?"
Pinkie Pie looked towards Applejack, who shook her head sadly, before replying with, "No... were all out. But I have an idea. Applejack jump out now!"
Applejack decided it was best not to question Pinkie Pie's madness during an intense situation. She jumped out and was easily caught by Rainbow Dash before they both looked at the Pinkie-geddon begin on a heading that would end in a crash course into the chest of the enraged Draconian.
"Pinkie No!" Rainbow Dash tried flying to the aid of the pink pony but Applejack grabbed her tail and held her.
"Whoa Nelly, I think it's best we sit this one out... Pinkie had a plan if things went sour... she made her machine into a floating bomb in case it would ever need to go off." Applejack let go of the tail and waited for some kind of reaction of hatred.
Rainbow Dash began leaking tears. "I failed, and now Pinkie is going to die because I couldn't succeed!" She began preparing to launch herself but was surprised by a sudden yell.
"Catch Me!" Pinkie yelled while dropping from the sky as the Pinkie-geddon has just made contact with Dragunda and exploded violently in a brilliant shower of fire, streamers, and metal.
Rainbow Dash caught her like a valiant hero and smiled with glee. "Pinkie you're alive!"
Pinkie Pie giggled. "Of course I'm alive. I had an emergency ejection button on it! Duh!"
Rainbow Dash chuckled before remembering the situation they were in. "Is he?"
Pinkie Pie shrugged. "I don't know... I just know I made direct contact with him. If he isn't dead... then I don't want to be around when he gets up."
"You two should leave anyways... I caused this mess to begin with so it's my duty to end this!" Rainbow Dash vowed.
"Ya ain't doin' anything sugar cube, he's dead, look at him," Applejack informed as they looked at the seemingly deceased Draconian king. This statement was quickly proved false by a shifting in the scaly pile beneath them.
The movement of the presumed lifeless body had shaken the three ponies to the core. "You think that you could kill a god? Is that what you really thought?" He began getting up slowly with blood dripping from his wounds that were already starting to slowly close, flesh and scales regrouping over red muscle. "I am nigh invincible and you felt it was possible to destroy me with a simple blast?"
Rainbow Dash had no time for arguments. "You two get out now! I can hold him off. Go get the others and have someone send word to Celestia! Now!"
Applejack stomped her hoof in frustration before running off as fast as she could go. Pinkie Pie sadly followed as they knew the valiant Dash was just being brave. They ran off knowing it would be the last time they saw their friend alive.
Greg and Spitfire were side by side huddled in the concealment of a tree. Their plan to lure the Draconians into the woods had been complicated to start with. It had been slowly working but not as they planned.
Spitfire was trying to maintain composure in the face of overwhelming odds and yet reality was setting in. "We're all going to die aren't we?"
Greg sighed. "Maybe, if they decide to roast the forest instead of take the bait... I am assuming from what I learned about them they love to fight. If I am wrong we're all dead."
Spitfire chuckled. "You based this entire plan on their instinct to fight? Well it's better you take that blame in the afterlife then."
The roaring of a nearby foe stopped their banter and made them get ready for a do or die struggle against superior foes. The bait had been set and taken. The mighty Draconians wanted to personally rip the ponies apart, because burning them down would bring them no pleasure.
Trees began toppling down as the Draconians began rushing through the forest to get to their prey. With the scent of ponies still fresh on the air it easily lead their noses to their meal. The mighty elite soldiers that were kept from war, were ready to kill savagely. In the name of their ruthless king, they would be willing to do anything.
The ponies all began to seize up and hope the trap was enough to do away with the mighty foes. The griffins had prepared a trap in case things didn't fare well in straight up combat. The plan was to lure the Draconians to various parts of the forest and isolate them.
While the ones that were left alone were busy mucking around looking for ponies. The others that were being targeted would be mobbed and taken out. It wasn't an honorable strategy but it was what they had left to try. Honor brings great victory but strategy wins wars.
Rainbow Dash was shaking to the core, she knew it was a pointless stand. She had to somehow keep the Draconian god busy with her high speed movements in order to buy her comrades time. "Hey Dragunda... I have just one question."
Dragunda's recovery was slower than he anticipated. He was certain that he fully absorbed Pildragus but something was stopping his powers from working completely. "What is it, pony?"
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and changed her tone. "In the end what is this all for? Your people are all dead, your land destroyed... Why do you continue to fight when you have nothing to gain from this?"
Dragunda chuckled. "I don't care about them... if I did I wouldn't have sacrificed them all for my own gain."
Rainbow Dash looked sick. "Sacrificed? You mean... you sent your soldiers to die?"
Dragunda laughed wickedly. "You actually think I would sit out of a war I intended to win? The stupid fools didn't know that they were being used. I guess some fool did otherwise you wouldn't be here."
Rainbow Dash grew angry. "Those were your people... they all died for you... and just so you can become a lone god in a world that won't accept you?"
Dragunda rubbed his chin as if in deep thought. He smirked and then nonchalantly answered with, "Yes."
Rainbow Dash decided the time for words was over. Do or die, she was going to kick his hide. "You will pay for this!" She rushed towards him with blinding speed and landed a volley of useless strikes that were doing nothing.
"That tickles... I thought you wanted to hurt me not make me laugh!"
"Shut up!"
"This is utterly pointless I will just smite you with my godly powers!"
"Then do it!"
Dragunda had enough of these games. He wanted to begin his conquest. He slapped Rainbow Dash away sending her spiraling into a wall and began forming a giant death sphere made of dark energy. "As you wish..." He launched the giant death sphere towards Rainbow Dash and grinned menacingly.
Rainbow Dash saw the giant sphere incoming and tried moving her body. "I ... failed... goodbye... Fluttershy..." she closed her eyes waiting for the painful end that was surely to come.
The entire castle crumbled as the explosion devastated most of the building that used to be a symbol of royalty. The grounds around the building shook violently. All those who were in motion or doing battle stopped in awe of the massive force.
Pinkie Pie stopped running and looked back. "Rainbow..."
Applejack with tears streaming down her face walked towards Pinkie. "We have to keep moving... Rainbow wouldn't want us mourning like this... Not while we have a job to do."
Pinkie Pie wiped her tears and continued running with Applejack in tow. The pain they felt from losing a trusted friend was being suppressed temporarily by the call of duty. They had a goal in mind but after they completed their task they would surely weep.
Spitfire was in the middle of disemboweling a draconian they all had ganged up on when the blast had them all wondering what just happened. "That wasn't something the death machine was able to do... what was that?"
The dying Draconian was laughing as his guts spilled out. "It was our king... he has become a ... go..."
Greg was shivering. "This ... changes everything. We have to go, all troops this no longer is a mission but an emergency, we are all to leave now!"
Spitfire yelled, "No! if we all start going we will bring the Draconians with us... we have to continue our mission and kill these bastards off... then when they’re all dead we can flee. I don't know what's going on, but I do know this, I won't stop fighting until we made sure we can safely return home!"
Greg slammed his talons down roughly onto the ground. "We can't possibly fight something as powerful as a god off... if my dad was here sure... but he isn't."
Spitfire laughed crudely. "I never said we are fighting the god... just his legion. We are going to make his path to conquering our world a lonely one."
Greg smiled. "Fine let's continue the plan like before! Let's kill these bastards."
Dragunda laughed at the destruction he inflicted upon his castle. "Oh if only I could see your face, too bad you're nothing but ashes now."
Rainbow Dash's voice could be heard with a dark tone. "Oh... is that so?"
Dragunda blinked in surprise and yelled. "What?"
"I asked ... is that so?"
"What... are you?"
"I'm the anarchy incarnate... call me Discord!"
A rainbow maned pony much like the one he saw earlier appeared before him but with a much more menacing look.
"I killed you!"
"You wish you did."
"I saw the blast hit you... I saw you vanish!"
"You saw what I wanted you to see, haven't you noticed the full extent of your powers haven't manifested? I have been dispersing my chaos since I sensed your presence inside this room."
"So you... are not a pony?"
"Nope, but I am borrowing this body for a while. It isn't my first choices of bodies but it will make do."
"You must have been what took out Pildragus... I was wondering how the previous host died."
"Yes, I took him out and now I shall end you."
Rainbow Dash/Discord was ready to fight off Dragunda. With their battle being the final hope for the fate of the world. It was going to be a great one.
Rainbow Dash had been keeping a secret from everyone in the hopes they didn't try to do anything about it. Discord had left a bit of his energy inside Rainbow Dash after they made a pact. Rainbow Dash would allow Discord to siphon her energy each day to grow his own and one day it would be used to help her in her time of need. The draw back was, when the usage of his power occurred, it would drain Rainbow Dash of all energy left in her and make her weak and feeble afterwards.
The temporary weakness would be worth it if Rainbow Dash could destroy the godlike dragon king. The problem was Rainbow Dash didn't know how long it would last and if it was going to be enough. All she knew was that she had to try for the fate of the world rested on her capable hooves.
The skies over Draconia darkened as the will of two powerful souls began clashing. With the epic battle happening above the ruined castle the rest of the surviving factions had ceased their actions and started watching with interest. One particular bystander was fervently hoping for the king to be eliminated and for peace to return to her kingdom, she was ready for this madness to end.
With the enemies now turned to bystanders they all had a temporary ceasefire without verbally agreeing to such. The earlier confrontation had left dead ponies, griffins and draconians alike and even with that earlier motivation to kill each other still in their hearts this amazing sight was too rare to stray from viewing.
The other ponies watching this had the intent to run off and inform somepony to warn the queen of Equestria, but the battle taking place in the sky had full hold of their attention.
Each pony had one thought in mind. "You can do this Rainbow Dash." Even if in their hearts they knew not how she could stand a chance.
Rainbow Dash/Discord was ready to begin her assault. With the power borrowed from a god it was enough to rival the opposing force. "Now you die Dragunda!" She charged at him with chaotic energy flowing around her making her appear as a writhing beam of hope and justice.
Dragunda wasn't expecting something so fast to come at him. He got hit with enough force to send him flying back a bit and re assess the situation. "This is impossible. I have become the most powerful being in the world with no equal... how can you stand up to me?"
"Simple, because I don't care if you're tougher, I have a goal in mind and I plan to see it out." Rainbow Dash charged again but was smacked away roughly.
Dragunda had felt the force of a bomb hit his arm when he smacked her away and noticed that his hits were not doing anything. He then remembered the words from earlier. It made him grin.
Rainbow Dash chuckled. "If you think this is an illusion... you're wrong. No I didn't read your mind by the way, it's just plainly obvious you think I am faking not being hurt. Truth is, I can't get hurt because I have no time for feeling pain. I must kill you for all that I love to be safe. Even at the cost of my own life."
She flew at him again and evaded his counter attack. She used the opportunity to fly high and gain amazing speed. With the acceleration she managed to get and the velocity she was able to maintain, it was an easy set up for a massive Sonic Rainboom.
The Draconian king turned god, had no idea of the force Rainbow Dash possessed alone but fused with Discord's magic it was going to give him one hell of a wake up call. The brilliant display of lights he saw only further enhanced his lack of understanding of the pain that was about to be delivered. "Pretty lights... is that your best move?" He was going to laugh but the force of a thousand suns, metaphorically speaking, hit him and sent him blasting down to the ground below.
Rainbow Dash was panting, the force she exerted into the Sonic Rainboom was magnified by the power she held in her. The entire sky lit with the brilliant lights and the force shook the continent. "That... was... amazing." She looked down and saw Dragunda about to get up. "No... it wasn't enough... I have enough energy for one last attack."
She began her ascent and this time her descent wasn't going to stop at the boom... it was going to be a Sonic Rainbomb, a chaos infused version. "This is for everypony I love and care for. This will be my all, and you will finally die!" She dived down at amazing speeds, the force causing the air to bend to her body's form.
The Draconian was eyeing what appeared to be a divine beam coming down from above and quickly went into a defensive position on instinct to mitigate the damage. Though the force of his opponents attack was something that couldn't be stopped.
Rainbow Dash knew this would be her final chance to end this battle, and if she failed it was going to be a dark day. She crashed into the body of the Draconian king. Protected by the magic within she was able to reduce the recoil slightly but still it hurt like all hell. She saw the brilliant lights as the explosion set off and she was launched from the top of the body she impacted by the force of the magic that made the attack possible. With all her borrowed energy expended she was on the floor looking at the body of the king feebly.
All the onlookers were in shock at the fierce battle that took place. None of the creatures that had seen the battle knew what the outcome was and were waiting for a sign of who was the victor. each second was ages to the viewers of the intense showdown. With no victor rising it was assumed that they both had fallen.
Temporarily left in confusion, the survivors were unsure of what to do about it. The draconians had no king to rule them and no land of their own to stay in. The ponies had no idea if their mission was a success or failure. It was driving them all insane.
Rainbow Dash tried standing up but couldn't, her body wouldn't respond to her at all. "Darn it all... I refuse to die here."
King Dragunda chuckled darkly. "Too bad... once I get up... you're going to be eaten"
Rainbow Dash gulped. "Yo..you..you're alive?"
The Draconian began getting up slowly. "Yes... valiant effort, but I'm afraid it's over for you pony."
Rainbow Dash began panicking. "No... I can't die... not now... Fluttershy!"
"I will devour her and before I do, I shall ravage her, and then cook her while thinking of you."
"You won't touch her!"
"Oh? And who's gonna stop the mightiest being in all the world?"
Dragundas heart, felt clenched as if someone was holding it. Then a loud and gushing noise was heard as his heart was ripped out from his chest by an enemy he didn't foresee being a threat. "I will..."
The queen of the Draconians used this moment of vulnerability to kill her former husband. "You used our child, my child! As part of your plan... for that I can't forgive you. I waited for the moment in which I could end your miserable life. The moment is here, and now you're dead."
Rainbow Dash watched in horror as the once powerful enemy fell down unceremoniously while his heart still beat in the hand of the queen of dragons. She grew worried that she would be the next to suffer such a fate.
"Relax... I won't kill you. I want to, and I should... but I won't. If I kill you then I will begin the cycle of hate like my husband did so long ago... " The queen of the former nation of Draconia informed.
Rainbow Dash looked at her with hesitation. "So ... what happens now?"
The queen chuckled. "You're kidding right? There is no plan... I just killed the king of this ... ruined kingdom... I have no subjects... I have no family. There is no future for me."
Rainbow Dash didn't like the eerie calmness she was displaying. "So then... wha-"
The queen narrowed her eyes and looked at Rainbow Dash with anger. "No! I will not try to rebuild my nation as there is only a handful of us left. I am the last female of my kind thanks to you and your barbaric comrades. I have nothing left and I refuse to be the bearer of the new generation of Draconians... our species will die out. Thanks to you. I won't kill you because I rather you live with the knowledge that you killed innocent beings that were being manipulated by a hateful king."
Rainbow Dash could feel the hatred being pushed into her in waves. "So that's why I'm not dead... it's because you want me to live and suffer ..."
The queen smiled a bit. "Now you're getting it. Now go... I will most likely be executed for my hand in this nefarious deed, and you will be slain if you're still around. I resigned myself to my fate, but you still have your life to live out. I would say have a nice life, but part of me is glad you're going to suffer for your deeds..."
Rainbow Dash was beginning to gain mobility in her muscles and her body was beginning to respond to her thoughts of getting the buck out of there. "Well... if you're not going to kill me ... then I will be off... I would say I am sorry about all this... but to be honest... I'm not. We didn't start this and even if what I did was horrible... I did it because I couldn't risk this world being in his hands."
The queen laughed. "Well you sure seem confident. Let me guess you can move? Don't think for a second I can't end you if I choose so... as I said, I don't see a point in killing you, since the foul creature that brought on this mess, was the one I already slain. So go... I give you my word I have no intent on chasing you down and ending you. I do however have intent on finishing what you started."
Rainbow Dash was beginning to gain wing function and was ready to take flight. "What do you mean?"
The queen laughed. "You began the destruction of my kind, and I shall now end the line with my death. Once I die there shall be no new Draconians. The ones who will most likely try to end me will have no clue I'm the last female, and with that knowledge not in their grasp they won't think twice about killing me in the name of their fallen lord."
Rainbow Dash understood why she wasn't going to resist and just sadly flew off.
The queen watched the fleeing pony and smiled. "Finally my suffering ends... I can now die in peace and join my son in the other world."
Just as Rainbow Dash was out of sight the Draconian elites that were either heavily injured or barely alive had made it to the scene of death. "What happened here?"
The queen had the heart in her hand still and bit into it. "This happened!"
The instinct of the elites kicked in and they slayed the last female Draconian... thus causing their own extinction.
A year had passed since the day Draconia had fell as a nation and the assured extinction of the Draconians had taken place. Rainbow Dash was in the delivery room again with her wife Fluttershy, as they were expecting the arrival of their second foal.
When the foal finally decided to come out, much to Fluttershy's joy, the rainbow maned hero of Equestria had a huge smile when she saw her new foal. "Oh... my goodness she's so beautiful... and I know the perfect name for her."
Fluttershy was relieved about the whole ordeal being over. "Yes... I think that name is just right for her."
Rainbow Dash held the baby gently into her forelegs and whispered. "Welcome to the world, Scootaloo."
