Chapter 7

"Holy crap!" I shouted, startled

The Dragon roared, rearing back

Several arrows shot off, Crystal drawing back his bow as he backed towards the door

I held my sword in a battle position, holding my ground, thinking quickly of what to do against this behemoth

Surprisingly enough the King was by my side, a bejeweled golden sword in his magical grasp, Crystal was at my other side, a battle axe that he nicked from a golem in his right hand

"This is going to be fun" Crystal smirked, "I've always wanted to die."

"Maybe" I said, "But not today, and especially not now."

It was then that I noticed a player climbing up the broken wall where the Dragon seemed to wait, her hair blowing in the wind

The Dragon seemed to have had enough of our banter, and breathed a mass of purple fire in our direction

Thinking quickly the King raised a magical shield in our defense, blocking the flames

Cheerful jumped off of a broken brick above the Dragon, landing squarely on its back, before taking a shot right in the back of its head

I could tell that it was a good shot, but no dice. The Dragon reared back and flung the poor player off into the air

Celestia and Luna were there to save her, waiting on the rooftops not too far away from the actual battle

[…]

Cheerful had held onto the bow, and took several pot shots at the Dragon as it assaulted our heroes

Crystal and Skarfly charged, each one taking a hit on each of the Dragon's wings, preventing it from taking flight

"What is this thing even doing here!?" Crystal shouted

"If I knew I'd be sending it back!" Cheerful shouted back

[…]

The King knew what he had to do, the Dragon was clearly letting itself get hit, there had to be a good reason

Skarfly saw that soon enough, as skilled of a battler as he was even he did not see as the King saw, the sky turning a deathly dark purple

"Prepare yourselves!" the shout came too late, as a massive beam fired from the Dragon's maw

Heading straight for Skarfly

[…]

In the split second I had to see the beam it was too late, it was going to hit me

But I knew I couldn't die yet, I still had a mission

As I opened my eyes I saw the King standing in front of me, his armor charred and melted, breathing heavily

He had reflected the beam

"Wha…What?" I managed to get out

The King pitched forward, crashing into the ground

Cheerful burst through the window, firing off several more arrows

But my attention was focused fully on the collapsed ruler or reality, as he lie there dying

"You can't die now, you're an Alicorn!" I protested

"Everything…has its…time…" he coughed out, "Mine is now."

Celestia and Luna were shocked, by the doorway

They had seen their father locked away, but this was different, this was death

"Take my…sword." He hacked, "Use it…you can…win. I believe…in you Skarfly…"

Then his eyes rolled into his head and he breathed his last

"Valosag!" Celestia cried out

That was his name, Valosag

I took off his cape and laid it over his corpse, then picked up the golden sword

The Dragon rose into the sky, dying from its own attack

"Did we do it?" Cheerful asked

"The King didn't think so" Crystal answered, "Get ready!"

At that moment a projectile from the Dragons burning body and crashed right in the center of the throne room

Herobrine stood there, no words, but I knew what he was here for

He was here to finish the job

I took out the diamond pickaxe, and held it inverted in my left hand, as the golden sword gleamed in the light of the burning dragon in the sky

"At least the demon likes setting the mood" Celestia murmured

Accurate, to say the least

Herobrine moved like a blur, I only barely managed to block, before swiping with the golden sword

Herobrine attempted to force me into a sword lock, I wouldn't have it as I jabbed with the pickaxe

This was quickly turning into a furious fight

[…]

Celestia and Luna had prevented Crystal and Cheerful from helping

"This is his fight, live or die." Celestia said

"He better not die" Cheerful muttered, "If he dies, I'll kill him."

Crystal chuckled

[…]

My sword and mind moved like a blur, a second nature, they had to for me to make it out of this alive

The longer I fought the more I knew I could do it, I couldn't die, not now. Cheerful wouldn't like that, and I still had Crystal to look after, no I had lots to look forward to in my blocky life.

Herobrine slammed his foot into my chest, knocking the wind out of me, not to mention knocking me across the room

I had barely managed to hold onto the pickaxe, I held it in front of my just long enough for Herobrine to become impaled during his next lunge

He stumbled backwards, before seemingly being sucked into the pickaxe

Celestia rushed forward and launched the pickaxe back through the crack in the sky, before a rumble sounded as it closed

"Well" I said, "That happened."

Cheerful rushed forward and gave me a onceover, "You, look awful."

"I would say you too, but I'd get a black eye from that." I shrugged

Crystal looked at the sky, "Glad everything's okay now, but what now?"

I looked right at him, then at the princesses

*3 months later*

There's been no real way of finding out how to get the three of us back, most of the rouge players have been caught and put to work, and the initial crime spike has dropped

As for the princesses they never got over seeing their father's demise, at least they knew he died in honor, acting in the interest of the country

They had made a special glass window for the deeds that my companions and I had accomplished, making Crystal happy for getting something out of this

The three of us currently reside in the newly refurbished tower on Ponyville Field, living out our blocky lives and spending time with Twilight and her friends

I still wonder though, is there any way for us to get home? And if so, what cost would it be to get back?

These questions bothered me for weeks, even though Cheerful told me to get over it

I'm glad I have both of them, they keep my well-grounded, and I wouldn't trade this life for the world

[…]

What? You think it's over? That it's finally done?

Inside of a small white facility, hidden underground somewhere in Equestria was a small group of scientists, shaking their heads at their screens

"He passed, in a way." One of them said, "He survived and so did the country."

"He's not a lab rat, this specimen will be a useful tool of ours." Another sagely answered, "Once the final trials of this world bear fruit."

They continued to toil in their little laboratory, even the smallest action they made would dictate the fate of Equestria

And of course, everything Skarfly did when the Trials finally began