A Line That Should Never be Crossed
This was all wrong.
Those were the thoughts running through Twilight Sparkle's mind as she tried to stand, only to make it to her knees. Where had it all gone wrong? She looked around at her friends.
Or what remained of them. All of them lay where Tirek had thrown them, their bodies contorted and twisted in ways that no amount of healing magic could help with, and even then their caved-in skulls would render any such aid pointless.
Healing magic did not work on the dead. Twilight would never forget the sounds of bones breaking, her friend's screams as they were contorted and twisted into shapes no sane mind would ever think of. The sounds of Spike's wings being ripped out, right before Chrysalis cut his throat.
The last one stung the most. The look of love he had given her, mouthing that everything would be alright. So many things Twilight had wanted to tell him, things she had been putting off for far too long. And now she would never have a chance.
"Turns out that the Magic of Friendship is your biggest weakness. A fitting end to your pathetic story," Tirek sneered as Cozy poked at Starlight's corpse. "Any last words princess?"
Chrysalis nodded. "Do plead and beg for your life, Sparkle. It'll make this so much more enjoyable."
Twilight groaned as she tried to stand once more, but she was too tired and had lost too much blood. With her magic stolen, there was little she could do now.
Cozy Glow laughed. "Golly, professor. I didn't think you were such a wimp. You've lost. Accept it! We've won!"
Twilight bit back the retort that came to her at that moment. What good would it do her? Equestria had fallen. No one was coming to her aid.
Off to the side, Discord watched with a broken expression. This was not how this was meant to go. "I am so sorry, Twilight."
Twilight spat, her anger blazing anew. "Don't lie to me, Discord. Because of you, Equestria is finished. Because of you, my friends, my family, are dead! Was watching Fluttershy be torn apart worth it? Was any of this worth it?"
Discord bowed his head. No, none of this had been worth betraying Equestria, his only friend, a second time.
Twilight turned back to the trio, who had done nothing during that little spat. But something in the back of her mind pushed its way to the front row. She could not say why, but she suddenly remembered a conversation she and Princess Celestia had once had, not long after she had become an alicorn.
"If there ever comes a day, Twilight, that all hope has failed, and you have somehow lost all of your magic. There is one final thing you may try."
"What is it, Princess Celestia?"
"I dare not say it's name, for to invoke even like this is not something to be taken lightly. Promise me, Princess Twilight, that you will never use such magic. Not until there is literally no other choice and the very future of the world depends on your use of it."
Twilight had promised. and only later had Luna told of her what her sister had spoken of. If such a time existed, then that time had come at last.
Pushing herself as high on her legs as she could, Twilight began to trace a shape on the ground with a hoof as she began to speak. "I invoke the Omega Oath. On the blood of the First Universe and the Slayer of Eternities, I beseech thee, oh Destroyer. Let the Judgment be passed. I offer myself so it may be so."
Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis all shared confused looks, even as Discord's eyes widened in horror, as Twilight removed her hoof to reveal the infinity symbol carved into the ground with her blood. As soon as Twilight removed her hoof, the symbol ignited in a burst of flame, before a shockwave blew outwards, passing harmlessly through everyone.
Chrysalis cackled. "What a waste! You spend the last minute of your life causing a little light show? I guess I was wrong about you, princess."
Twilight looked around hopelessly. Was that it? All that, for nothing? "I expected more, with how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna talked about this," she grumbled.
Discord shook his head, knowing what was about to happen. "You have no idea of what you've just done Twilight. I hope the price is worth it in the end."
Twilight gave him a confused look, but Discord looked away. It was as if he was afraid of something. Before she could ask him what he meant, she felt a raindrop fall on her. Looking up, she saw no rain clouds though. Only the snow clouds of the Windigos. Only for another drop to fall on her.
Cozy looked up as well and opened her mouth as more drops began to fall. She was rather thirsty now that she thought about it. She immediately, however, spat out what fell into her throat. "What the hay? That's not rain."
Tirek did as Cozy had. Though less disgusted by what he tasted, he was still surprised. "Blood. It is raining blood."
Twilight looked at her hoof. It was indeed blood. What was going on? Above, the clouds gathered into a swirling, blood-red mass, as thunder began to rumble. The windigos were ripped apart as lightning began to flash between the swirling mass of red clouds. However, before anyone could comment on this development, a bolt of blood-red lightning struck the ground between the two groups.
Discord rolled his eyes. "Show off."
As the flash faded, a new alicorn was revealed, made up entirely of celestial bodies. At her side floated a black Zweihänder that burned the eyes of those who looked at it. But it was the alicorn's eyes that made Twilight step back in fear.
Her eyes were filled with the very image of infinity. Eyes that held no remorse or love for mortals. The alicorn looked around with an unamused expression. "Who has used the Oath?"
Twilight, not knowing what else to do, raised her hoof and tried to smile, but it came out forced. "I did."
The alicorn's eyes softened slightly as her gaze fell on Twilight before she beheld the broken and mutilated remains of her friends. "What happened?"
Discord sighed. "They didn't monologue like they were supposed to, and went for the kill from the moment they showed up in Canterlot." He huffed. "What good villain doesn't monologue! That takes all the fun out of beating them."
Twilight groaned. Of course, Discord made a joke at a time like this. Because of course, he did. He never took anything seriously. To her shock though, looking behind the Lord of Chaos, she watched as a veritable army of every creature known to Equestria appeared on the horizon. Earth ponies, Pegasi, unicorns, dragons, changelings, hippogriphs. There were even a few zebras and diamond dogs amongst the horde.
And leading them were all, were her students from the School. Gallus, Sandbar, Yona, Smolder, Silverstream, and Occelus. Students that had shown time and time again the true magic of friendship. Now all stood together. Every race known to ponykind. United.
The new alicorn smiled as she saw the army rushing down to stand with Twilight as fast as they could. "No, Tirek. This is the true Magic of Friendship. Something the three of you will never understand."
Chrysalis laughed. "So what? We have all the magic in Equestria. You are nothing!"
The alicorn smiled darkly, revealing fangs. "I am your death, insect. You have chosen oblivion. My blade will drink well tonight on your blood and your souls. You will beg me for death, but I will not give it to you. You will never know the bliss of the afterlife or the torment of the damned. Only oblivion."
Cozy cackled. "You and what army? That pitiful bunch?" She asked, waiving at the assembled creatures.
The alicorn just smiled wider, which was somehow more unsettling than her previous expression. "I do not need an army. Know this before your end. My name is Cosmos. Remember that."
Before anyone could say more, Tirek charged up a full-powered blast of magic and fired it at Cosmos. Cosmos danced out of the way of the blast easily, before dodging another blast from Cozy Glow. Twilight wasn't sure if she was seeing things or not, but as soon as she had clear space, Cosmos grabbed a physical hold of both magic streams, to the shock of the two firing them, and pulled.
A thunderous crack echoed across the battlefield as Tirek's horns were ripped out of their sockets, while Cozy's horn exploded into thousands of pieces, leaving behind a jagged and broken mess, not unlike Tempest Shadow's own horn, Twilight, as she tried to fight back her gore at the site, even as the two fell to the ground in agony, their cries of pain breaking through even the most hardened of hearts of all those who watched.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna landed beside Twilight, but one look at the bodies around them told them all they needed. "Oh, Twilight. I am so sorry. We should have been here," Celestia whispered, her tears falling as Luna laid a wing around her sister.
Twilight sniffed, her sorrow finally finding a release as she watched Cosmos walk over and inspect Tirek and Cozy with a sneer.
Whirling around, Cosmos rammed her sword through Chyrsalis' midsection, the former queen having tried to sneak up on the alicorn while she was distracted. "Nice try," she whispered, before turning back to the other two, Chrysalis still impaled on the sword, and yet there was no blood coming from the wound, even as she slid down to the hilt.
Cozy looked up at her through tear-filled eyes. "Mercy," she whispered, trying to stay conscious through the pain.
Cosmos laughed, as she slammed the sword through Tirek's midsection, the blade growing larger to accommodate his size. "Mercy? You three have no right to beg for mercy after all you have done," she sneered. "No. You will feel all of this. A second will feel like an eternity."
With that, she rammed the sword through Cozy's midsection as well, but to her surprise, there was no added pain, as Cosmos lifted the sword with the trio impaled on it high into the air. Runes flared to life all along the blade, burning a bright red.
To the horror of all watching, the blood seemed to begin flowing out every available surface of the trio, before being sucked into the blade itself. Their mouths opened to scream, to do anything, but all that came out was a dry rattle. How long this went on for, no one knew, yet none could look away.
Finally, Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis slumped, their bodies flopping around like wet noodles. At this, Cosmos let them slide off the blade. As their lifeless bodies fell to the ground, she seemed to draw what looked like ghostly shapes out of their bodies, which dissolved away like ash on the wind.
"What are those?" Gallus asked as he and his friends joined Twilight and the princesses.
"Their souls," Discord said, as he too joined them. "All that remains of them now, and that will not last much longer."
Cosmos ignored him as she looked the trio of spirits over, seemingly trying to decide what to do with them. With a shrug, she blew on them, and the souls of Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow, faded away into nothingness like a mirage in the desert.
Everyone watched on in mute shock and horror, unable to truly understand what had just happened. "So. Did we win?" Silverstream asked, doing her best to remain her usual cheerful self, but it was proving difficult even for her.
"I think so," Smolder replied, before looking at the bodies lying around the now quiet battlefield. "But I don't feel like celebrating."
Cosmos nodded as she walked to stand before Twilight. "There is one more thing to be done. A price must still be paid. You understand this, Princess Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight nodded. With help from Celestia and Luna, she managed to stand to her full height. "And I will gladly pay whatever it might be." She bowed her head. "All I humbly ask is that I alone pay the price. Equestria has lost too much to lose anymore."
Cosmos smiled. For the first time since had arrived, Cosmos genuinely smiled with warmth. "And that is why you deserve the throne of Equestria, Twilight. You put others before yourself, nor do you seek power for its own sake. Equestria will need you. All of you, in the days to come," she said, looking at the assembled host. "Therefore, I will only take a small, trifling thing."
Reaching out with her magic to every creature there, and all across Equestria who may not have been there. Even across the dimensional divide to Canterlot High her magic reached out to seven students in particular. "Sleep now, Twilight Sparkle. Tomorrow, your new life begins."
Before Twilight could ask what she meant, she felt a tickle below her horn, before sleep claimed her.
Cosmos smiled as the assembled host collectively fell to the ground, the sounds of sleep coming from a thousand throats all at once. Looking down at the fallen, her heart sank in sorrow. She would not bring them back to life. To do so would destroy the whole meaning of the Oath. But she could give them the peace and rest they all deserved.
Carefully, her magic flowed over the bodies of Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Starlight Glimmer. Wounds healed instantly, and their bodies returned to a healthy and pristine condition. One could mistake them for sleeping as well, but for their lack of breathing.
Cosmos spread her wings. Behind her a portal opened and two shadowy figures stepped out. An emerald-eyed Pegasus as tall as Celestia, the other an equally large, amber-eyed nine-tail fox. Her guardians of lost souls across the multiverse. "You know what to do."
"As you desire my lady." The pair spoke together in harmony.
The Pegasus raised her wings, as the Fox raised his tails. magic filled the area and lifted those lost heroes.
"Rest now, everyone. You have all earned and found peace at last."
With a glow of magic, Cosmos, Her Guardians, and the bodies of Twilight's friends vanished.