Chapter Forty Nine: Urban Warfare.

***

“In the beginning, there was Light, and there was Darkness. The POWER that made all things could not have made the One without the Other, for however strong the Light was, the Darkness would be as strong; the brightest Light would always cast the Darkest Shadow. Upon this realisation, the POWER could have chosen to end IT’S mighty creation, but instead, IT chose not to do so. IT chose to accept this binary life, accept that in all things these two elements would exist. IT chose to allow IT’S creations to make their own choices, whether it be the choice to bask in the Light… or to skulk in the Dark.”
- Extract from The Fourth Book of Merlin: The POWERS Old and New.

***

Canterlot Streets. June 6th. Year 6 of the New Solaminan Calendar (2030).

It made sense now. Too much sense. How had he not understood it before? How had he not seen?

The power of the Avatar of Albion was an extension of the Light, a great power that was part of all things, but that power had an equal and an opposite: the Darkness - wherever the Light was most powerful, the Darkness would always be there too, waiting, watching. All beings could make the choice, even if only instinctively, between Light and Dark - it was less about morality, and more about motivation, what ends you sought. And then, when they had made that choice, it was a choice to side with either the one or the other great power, and that power grew - even if only incrementally - from the choice you made.

Human beings, by and large, were the sort of species that chose the Light more than the Dark, but when they chose the Dark it was all the more deadly. To Elliot's knowledge, after conversations with Hell Blazer and Giles and others, ponies were meant to almost always serve the Light - it was how the species was, or how they had become. After all, their magic was much more centred around Harmony as a concept, and it was a more intricate and important part of them. To see the Darkness take control of one like Celestia…

No, it wasn’t just control. It was invasive, pervasive, like she and it had become one. The Avatar had felt sick from the moment he had been in her presence, like she was toxic, something to be reviled and abhorred, but he hadn’t rationally clocked it. And yet.. hadn’t he already known, somewhere, deep down?

“Nothing to say, little man?” Solamina asked, interrupting his train of thought. Her voice had taken on a new resonance, of a kind the Avatar had not yet heard - it was as though another creature, ancient and terrible, spoke with her, behind her, alongside her. “Nothing at all?”

“Silence, cur!” he snapped in return, scowling at her. “I should have smelled the darkness in you from the beginning.”

He had known. He had always known. It felt like fate, like destiny.

“This Celestia is a powerful vessel,” Solamina retorted, grinning widely. “We have not felt such strength since we were Morgan le Fay in the Old Time, when Arthur bore your blade.”

The words both did and did not make sense to the Avatar - the part of him that was Elliot was confused, but more and more he felt the part of him that was the Avatar burn with complete, all-consuming fury.

“And Celestia herself?” he asked. “How did you convince her to join with you?”

“The Sun Princess’ mind was always a fragile thing,” Solamina said with a dark chuckle. “We entered when the worlds met in the Void, passing through the dimensions and seeking a Power to corrupt to our way. Breaking her took a time, but to us it was nothing at all.”

“And what of her mind?” the Avatar rejoined. “What did you do to Celestia’s mind?!”

“I am still here, little man,” Solamina said, her voice losing the corrupt other that it had gained. “The power I wield I wield for the sake of all my little ponies. The power I wield I wield to crush all who would threaten them.”

The Avatar snarled, before kicking off, ascending into the sky once more to meet her.

“You are a fool, then,” he said. “It will not help you. It has its own ends.”

“Foolish man, it has already helped me!” Solamina said, her smile dropping.

“It has helped itself,” the Avatar countered. “You are a pawn. And deep down, deep within yourself, some part of you knows that.” He paused, his face almost softening. “I pity you, Sun Tyrant, for now I know your aspect and its source. This was not the doing of the Princess of Equestria.”

Solamina’s face grew more and more angry as he spoke, her brows knitting together in a scowl of loathing and contempt as a dark aura of energy surrounded her. When he finished, she could hold it in no longer.

“Silence, you fool!” she screamed. “We are Celestia of Equestria! We are the darkness! We are your enemy, and we shall annihilate you!”

The energy she had been accumulating lashed out towards the Avatar, like a great, many limbed shadow with grasping tentacles, seeking to tear him apart. The Avatar responded by holding up a hand, and from it came a light that seemed to hold back the grasping shadow for a time - but slowly, that light failed.

She’s going to destroy us, he thought to himself as the shadow surrounded him, the light in his hand crackling as it tried to keep the power of the Darkness at bay. We will fail.

No, he replied to himself. This can’t be how it ends. It just can’t be. Too many rely on us.

We haven’t got the power to stop this! he argued back.

We could, the other him replied. If…

If what? That was the question. The power in his hand waned as the shadow persisted in its attack, and he felt a tightness in his chest, like the need to cough… and then he knew.

If we surrender, he said to himself. If we... if I accept that I am the Avatar of Albion. It is my fate. It was always my fate. I could never have denied this destiny, and I could never have had a destiny beyond it.

And now he knew - even when he had fought in the most hopeless of times, there had always been the sense that one day, after the war, there would be a life after the war, a life for him, a life that he could go on to live… family, love, children…

But no. From the moment he had agreed to bear this power, this power had been one with him, and he had given his life, his destiny, to it. There was nothing else, nothing beyond it.

For Albion to live, her Avatar must give all of himself to her defence.

And now he knew. He was the last hurdle. His subconscious desire to live, to live beyond the final day, to live a life after his purpose was done… that was what had handicapped him, that was why even now he struggled against Solamina. She had no such qualms, for her body could stand up to the ravages of magic, but he… he had been afraid.

But now fear left him. He sighed inwardly even as the light in his hands began to flicker against the relentless pounding of the shadow Solamina sent against him. He had agreed to this, he had accepted his fate, and none would ever accuse David Elliot of letting down those who relied on him.

In his other hand, Excalibur shone, a light building in it.

If this is to be my end, I shall make it the final end - of the Tyrant, and of the war.

He gripped the hilt of the blade tighter, his armoured gauntlet grinding against the metal of the hilt, and suddenly he held it up, a blinding light leaping outward from the blade, whiting out the entire plaza where they stood. There was a moment where no one could have seen anything, and then the light receded, leaving the two beings staring at each other across a blasted heath of a street, rubble all around. The Avatar’s armour once again glinted, the damage from their long battle seemingly vanished from the surface of the gleaming suit of plate. Excalibur shone with a pale blue light, as though renewed by some unknown magic, and when it moved, it left a faint afterimage behind it.

“This is not the Old Time, spirit of the Fay,” the Avatar said, his voice echoing slightly with a new, greater power. “But if you have returned to threaten Albion, my duty is clear. You shall fall by my blade, and the spirit of Celestia you have entrapped shall be free of you once and for all.”

Solamina laughed, a cold, cruel sound. “Then shall we begin, pathetic creature? I long to return to destroying your armies.”

The Avatar said nothing, but held Excalibur up in salute. The Sun Tyrant held up her glaive in a matching salute, and then pointed it straight at him. A beam of energy, composed of pure darkness like the shadows that had nearly overwhelmed the Avatar, lashed out. Faster than lightning, Excalibur pointed back at her, and a bolt of pure, brilliant light met the darkness at the midpoint between the two.

There was a large explosion as the two energies dueled with one another, and then both combatants broke off their attack, only for both to try again, creating another explosion, even larger than the first. Again and again the two clashed with their magics, neither backing down, for now both knew, this was not just a battle of powerful beings. This was a battle as old as time itself.

This was a battle between light… and dark.

***

Elsewhere in Canterlot.

A purple magical shield fizzled and crackled under a sustained and concentrated assault. Twilight,
Springfield and Rarity were all firing bolts of magic. Nearby, Applejack was firing short bursts from Desert Wind's old P220, unable to sustain fire with the unwieldy object due to the lack of a steadier. Pinkie Pie had found pastries, rocks and other debris - including, somehow, a rubber ducky, an apple core and a fez - and was throwing it at the shield, her face twisted in a grimace of anger that was quite unlike her. Nearby, the Doctor had his sonic screwdriver out, scanning the shield as though searching for some weakness. Hell Blazer was in on this too, firing fireball after fireball to try and break down their enemy's defences.

Commander Twilight Sparkle of Equestria growled as her shield spell began buckling slightly under the combined assault. Though she was one of the most powerful warriors and magicians in Equestria, she was fighting herself - a version of herself without her vast experience and training, but still a version with her raw power. In addition, Springfield and Rarity were both powerful in their own right, and the other attacks were taking their toll too.

In frustration, she extended her powers, creating a shock wave designed to knock everypony off balance. To her surprise though, a counter-shield formed, not made of magic but some sort of strange sonic energy emitted from the Doctor's screwdriver. The grim faced old pony scowled at her.

"Your tricks will not avail you this time, Sparkle," he said. "Now!"

Another hail of spells flew, and Sparkle was hard pressed to bring up a shield before they impacted, the shield absorbing a lot of the force of the attacks but not preventing an explosion that threw her backwards. Cursing, she rolled, stood, and fired a hail of spells designed to suppress her enemies. They took cover as she had expected, but then a lightning-bolt of rainbow colour lashed by her, knocking her off-balance and throwing her into a wall, where she noticed with irritation that she had taken a cut along her front.

"Dash!" she snarled. True to form, Rainbow Dash was standing nearby, a grin on her face.

"What can I say?" she said. "That was for Spike."

"And this one is too!" Sparkle heard the voice of her counterpart yell. She turned, only for another spell to blast her off of her feet and through another wall. A dust cloud filled the already darkening air, obscuring a lot of Sparkle's vision. Growling again, she created another shock wave, this one managing to catch Rainbow and throw her backwards, though she seemed uninjured.

"You're all fools!" Sparkle yelled, looking towards where the group of ponies had been. "Even if you managed to defeat me, Solamina cannot be defeated. She is the sun! She is the Empress of this land! She wields power the rest of you couldn't imagine!"

"She's also tied up with a friend of mine," a deep, sarcastic voice said, and Sparkle had barely a second to raise a shield before a fireball impacted, scorching the ground around her and even singeing her mane and tail. Hell Blazer, his coat flapping in the wind, grinned as he jumped down, throwing another fireball. This time, however, Sparkle was ready, and she blocked the bolt with no damage and retaliating with a concussive spell that exploded the masonry all around the traitorous Convie bucker, knocking him down.

"Your Avatar cannot stop her," Sparkle growled. "You might as well surrender now, and she might show you mercy when dealing out post-war punishment! She might even send you home as Ambassadors to your own world, instead of torching it when she finally -!"

"She. Will. Never. Touch. Our. Home!" a voice yelled, and Sparkle felt a strong kick across her jaw, knocking her once more to the ground. She scowled, and blocked another punch, and found herself staring at the livid face of Fluttershy.

"Look at what you've become in service to the humans," Sparkle said, almost pityingly. "You were always the gentlest of us, Fluttershy."

"Don't talk to me like I'm your friend!" the yellow mare screamed, kicking out and sending Sparkle grunting backwards. "Your friends helped you murder ponies, murder people, destroy lives! Turn them into puppets! You were monsters!"

"My friends stood by my side when I needed them!" Sparkle retorted, blasting Fluttershy back with another spell. "My friends were loyal to Equestria!"

“There’s a difference between loyalty to a country, and loyalty to what you believe!” Rainbow Dash yelled from where she was, glaring at Sparkle. “I don’t know what got into you… but Twilight, the Twilight I know… wouldn’t do this!”

Another spell smashed into Sparkle before she could reply, throwing her backwards again. She cursed.

"Enough of this," she muttered. She galloped a little way down the street, trying to clear some space between her and her attackers.

"Be careful!" she heard the Doctor yell to his comrades. "She might have more tricks up her sleeve."

"There's certainly one, old timer," Sparkle said to herself with a vicious grin. Her horn glowed briefly with a sickly blue light, and then a bolt of energy that same hue shot into the sky.

"Look out!" somepony yelled, but this was no offensive spell.

It was a summons.

The spell exploded in the sky with a noise like a deep, booming horn. That noise sprang from every surface, echoing throughout the city.

A moment later, there was a horrifying screech, nowhere near as echoing, but still loud and threatening, for it was close to where they were.

"Ah, fuck!" Sparkle heard the voice of Hell Blazer cry out. "She's called the thing back!"

A moment later, it had arrived, dead eye socket and glaring eyes blazing with a fierce rage, white bone and scorched musculature still exposed to the world, and furious grimace upon its face as it glared at the group of ponies.

Sparkle laughed, a harsh, cold sound. “Prepare to taste the justice of Equestria, you traitorous buckers!”

***

ERAS Eternal Sun, Sky above Canterlot.

Five minutes earlier.

"Attention, attention. Transport copters incoming. Repeat, transport copters incoming."

Errant Flight continued to listen to the sound of battle from the radio. There had been a brief, confusing moment where somepony had said that Solamina was among the air battle - indeed, the Interdiction had reported that the Tyrant was literally right in front of them, though their reports had been a lot of screaming and crying - but now things had settled.

“Grey Two to Grey Three and Five, cover me on this attack run.”

“Roger that, Two.”

“Got it.”

“Looks like they’re having all the fun without us,” Fell Spear said drily.

Errant smiled mirthlessly, feeling a bit light-headed from some pain medication that had recently been applied. He didn’t like being out here while his friends and colleagues were out there flying, fighting and dying against the forces of Solamina’s empire. He had always promised himself that he, like Ditzy - his Ditzy - Lightning Dust and the others, would go out gloriously, would never let others face the danger without him. To sit here, injured while his comrades fought to free their home, was not his way.

You’re reckless, a voice very like Swift Wing's seemed to say in his mind.

‘I don’t want to leave them out there alone,’ he replied. At this point, voices in his head was the least crazy thing he had experienced.

Even if that leads to your death too, the voice pointed out.

Sounds just like Errant, another voice, this one rather like Royal Flush’s, said, a dry wit in its tone. Always gambling big - probably unwisely too.

Better to go out a hero than wait it out and be left with nothing but regrets, a voice suspiciously like Lightning Dust’s put in.

Regrets are always the worst, especially when you lose somepony, another voice - this one similar to Butter Mellow - said. They stew and fester, and you’re left always wondering what you could have done.

So it’s better to take action and be sure you did everything you could, the Lightning Dust in Errant’s head said.

Because we have to do everything we can, a voice… a voice that sounded heartbreakingly like the Ditzy Errant had known, too wise and too hurt for her years. This war… this war is bigger than any of us. We have to succeed. We have to do everything we can to succeed. Whatever the cost.

“Alert, alert!” a new voice spoke on the radio before Errant could begin to reply to this cacophony that had begun to take up residence in his head. “Something’s happening above the -”

A great noise like a horn blared out from Canterlot, so loud that even Errant and Fell Spear had to try and cover their ears from the din of it.

“What the buck was that?!” the former Night Guard yelled.

“I have no idea,” Errant said, frowning. Then his ears perked up as he heard another voice on the radio.

“This is Interdiction One to all units, we are under attack by a Royal Guard boarding party - needing urgent assistance!”

There was a brief, pregnant pause as Errant waited for somepony to acknowledge - and then the calls came.

“Grey Two to Interdiction One - none of my flyers can get to you!”

“Upsilon Leader to Interdiction! We’re tied up, there’s too many out here!”

“Eagle Squadron just took a massive hit, we lost half the Squadron to the bucking Tyrant!”

“Sigma Leader is down, Sigma is regrouping!”

“Alpha Squadron is tied up too far left, we can’t reach you in time!”

“Blue Squadron is under heavy attack!”

“Green Squadron is being decimated, we’re pulling back to the rally point!”

“No one can get to them,” Fell Spear said quietly, his eyes wide. If the Interdiction was taken or destroyed, that was the Resistance’s flagship in the air. Errant blinked. No one else could get there - but he could. He was more than capable of getting to the Interdiction in time… if the injury he had didn’t reopen and bleed him like a stuck pig first.

Act so you have no regrets, Errant, Lightning Dust said.

Biggest gamble in your life, pal, the voice of Royal Flush added. Can you rescue the Interdiction before that injury of yours kills you? Errant could almost imagine the sharp hiss of an intake of breath as Flush considered it. Odds are even. Worth the risk.

Even if it kills you, you’re the only one who can do it, Errant, the Ditzy in his head said. It’s your duty.

They were right. They were all right. He had no choice. He got to his feet and headed for the door. Almost immediately, Fell Spear moved to stop him.

“Sir, you’re in no condition to…”

“Fell Spear,” Errant cut him off, “if I don’t go, the Interdiction will be lost. That isn’t going to happen while I’m alive. You can either argue or you can help me, but you’re not stopping me.”

Fell Spear fell silent for a moment, and then he closed his mouth, nodding.

“Alright sir,” he said, a soft smile on his face. “I’m with you.”

Errant Flight grinned, and headed for the exit. Without another word, he jumped out of the zeppelin and headed for the Interdiction. He couldn’t feel any pain, but he could already see the stitches tearing and the blood welling up. He didn’t have much time. Tapping his comm, he spoke.

“This is Errant Flight, Grey Leader,” he said, focusing himself. “I’m heading for the Interdiction.”

***

Canterlot Resistance/Defence Force LZ.

When the horn went off, the Undead was giving orders to his troops. The blare got his attention for a moment, but he dismissed it - if it was a threat, he would deal with it when the time came and have no fear.

The landing was proceeding smoothly enough. The Undead couldn't help but feel as though there were a slight ringing in his ears, as though there were still music playing from... somewhere. He shook his head. A lot of regular troopers and Resistance ponies had landed, and the Undead could see Sir Eleanor of the Knights of Albion talking to Prince Blueblood in the distance.

"Sir," one of the men said, walking up to him quickly and saluting. "We've secured the area."

"Good to hear it," the Undead said. "But we're not here to secure anything. We're here to take this city. Are enough regulars here to secure the LZ?"

"I think so, sir," the trooper said.

"Good," the Undead said again. Without another word, he marched up towards Prince Blueblood. The pony looked up at him with surprised eyes.

"Undead," he greeted. "Glad to see you in one piece."

"Give me time," the Undead replied. "Permission to spearhead the assault into the city, sir."

Blueblood looked taken aback by the bluntness of the reply. His eyes flicked to the already assembling group of Dead Men in the courtyard, and he sighed.

"Alright," he said quietly. "Target key locations - the palace entrance, any armouries. Try to find the militia barracks and silence that. We'll send support when we can but you'll be on your own for the time being while we're organising troops." He paused. "Remember to keep collateral down."

"We have purpose, Your Highness," the Undead said, saluting and turning to his men. "Platoon one, with me! Platoon two, left. Platoon three, right. Orderly. No civilian casualties. Move!"

Like silent ghosts or obedient machines, the well-oiled ranks of men and ponies moved out.

Blueblood watched them go with apprehensive eyes. In his experience, those who sought death tended to find it in spades.

***

Canterlot Armouries.

Sol Invictus stood in front of the two most powerful weapons in the armouries of Equestria. He had commissioned them himself - monuments to his God, instruments of Her divine will.

“They’re ready to roll out, Brother Invictus!” one pony yelled eagerly. “The holy engines are stoked and primed and the fires will burn our enemies to ashes!”

“Indeed,” Invictus said calmly. He hefted his warhammer aloft, looking to the darkened sky and closing his eyes. “Brothers! Sisters! Let us pray!”

The ponies around him bowed their heads in prayer as Invictus began speaking.

“Blessed Solamina, Goddess of hosts, Sun resplendent, support with Your Word and Spirit those who battle Your most unholy enemies! Strengthen them in temptation, and give them courage in the perils of their calling, that they might glorify You before all creatures! By Her Will!”

“By Her Will!” the ponies yelled.

“Let Your divinity guide those who speak with Your voice, and fight in Your name!” Invictus continued. “Let them strike down Your enemies in holy fire! By Her Will!”

“By Her Will!” the ponies yelled again, getting more and more worked up as he spoke.

“Let the machine of war be called upon - let Death be dealt upon the sinner and the unholy and the demons that assail Her realm!” Invictus yelled again. “By Her Will!”

“By Her Will!” the ponies yelled again.

Behind them, the two great weapons began shaking as the magic that powered them fired up. From deep within the machines, a great rumbling began… and two pairs of blazing eyes lit up.

***

Elsewhere in Canterlot.

The Undead marched at the head of his group of Dead Men soldiers. In his mind he could feel something beating, like the pounding of a great drum leading him to war. Behind him, the men were singing a marching song, slow and steady like the footfalls of their boots.

"Angel, angel, what have I done?
I faced the quakes, the wind, the fire.
I've conquered country, crown and throne.
Why can't I cross this river?"

The warriors marched with no fear, for fear was for the living. One of them had retrieved a banner from the Absolution, the banner of the Dead Men: it had upon it the symbol of their Earth, upon which was superimposed the flayed skull of the order. Under this banner, the Undead had fought many battles, and he had always known he would reunite the body and the soul in death beneath it. What better place - what better time - than here, at the end of this war?

Suddenly, a spell impacted at the Undead's feet, shaking him from his thoughts. The small explosion startled him, but he quickly recovered.

"Cover! Weapons free!" he yelled. The Dead Men sprang into action immediately, seeking cover behind ruined buildings and overturned shopping stalls. The Undead found himself crouching with two men and a Unicorn. One of them was from Germany, judging from his service patch. The other had a French flag beneath the flayed skull. The pony bore the symbol of the Night Guard beneath his.

"Sir," the Unicorn said, pointing forward. Sure enough, a squadron of Equestrian Militia were on their way towards them - although judging from the numbers, it could have been a full battalion.

"This is where it gets fun," the German man said with a grin.

"Kraber isn't it?" the Undead asked, giving the man a brief glance. He noted the heavy duty Bren Gun the man was holding - Kraber was known for his love of bigger weapons, and the Dead Men had recently requisitioned a consignment of older, but very serviceable, weapons. An ancient Webley (the exceedingly few American revolvers had run out of ammunition a long time ago) rode his hip. He was also, somehow, in possession of a longsword, most likely cribbed from the Knights of Albion.

“Ja, sir," the man said. "Joined when I heard South Africa was gone. People kept saying I was lucky. If I'm fokking lucky, my family burned in the Barrier and didn't get ponified by the PER."

"Not knowing is the worst," the Frenchman said quietly.

"This is why we have purpose, brothers," the Undead assured them. "Kraber, I want you to lay down suppressing fire. When they're suppressed, we'll charge."

"Excellent," Kraber said. The Undead couldn't see his face through the gas-mask, but he imagined the man was smiling. He took up a firing position. "On your order, sir."

The Undead turned to look at the approaching group of militia ponies. He narrowed his eyes at them.

"Now!" he yelled.

"Booyah motherfokkers!" Kraber yelled, and his Bren Gun barked out a deep staccato rhythm. Three ponies from the head of the militia group dropped, spurts of blood exploding from the impacts. The rest of the ponies took cover, though a bunch of spells flew their way. One impacted on the rubble near Kraber, and the man cursed, grabbing at his gas mask which had a massive crack through the visor from spraying debris. He took his headgear off, revealing scruffy dark hair and an unkempt beard, both streaked with premature grey. Though nobody could quite see his smile… truly a terrifying sight to behold, and part of the reason that most people were glad he was normally required to wear a mask.

"Right!" he said angrily, drawing the sword and looking at the Undead. "That's it! Tell me it's time, sir!"

"They're suppressed, Kraber," the Undead said with a smile. "Everyone, charge!"

Yelling a battlecry, Kraber brandished his longsword and charged, the Frenchman following him. Yelling his own cry, the Undead followed, readying his bayonet as he did so. A moment later, they were among the militia.

One of the ponies charged at the Undead with a spear, but he dodged it, grabbed the spear, and pulled the pony towards him, punching him in the face, before stabbing him with his bayonet. Next to him, Kraber sliced through ponies with the longsword - he was a blunt instrument fighter, but he was still effective. The Frenchman was behind him, firing his weapon in short, controlled bursts, killing pony after pony.

Still, the militia knew what they were doing. Spears impaled Dead Men where they stood, dozens of Militia swamping men and women and tearing them apart. Screams of pain and the shouts of the dying filled the air, but the Dead Men did not waver: they were of purpose.

“Drive them back!” the Undead yelled. “Victory will be ours!”

Even as he yelled the words though, he heard distant rumbling, as though something large were coming towards them. He gritted his teeth - whatever it was, he would kill it. He had purpose, and it would not be denied for anything. He cut down another pony, his bayonet snapping on armour. Snarling, he grabbed a discarded spear and stabbed at another Militia pony, impaling the mare in the throat. She gurgled, and he jabbed forward harder, a sickening crack of bone his reward. Letting go of the spear he swung his rifle up and fired point blank at more ponies, who fell back as the bullets tore through them.

“Not bad going, sir!” Kraber yelled with a grin. “Think we might actually have these little bliksems on the run!”

The Undead didn’t reply, focused as he was on firing his rifle and the music he could still hear in the back of his mind…

***

Canterlot Resistance/Defence Force LZ.

Lyra looked around the ruined, broken courtyard with wide eyes and an expression of mingled shock and horror. It had only been a few short months since she had been here with Ditzy, trying to see the human that had come to Equestria, or so it seemed to her - and yet this place was so different. Banners and posters praising Solamina and the war with the human race were everywhere. Guard towers, battlements… and worst of all, she could see the bodies of those who had fallen trying to take this part of the city. Royal Guards, as well as a group of Guards who were apparently called the “Eclipse Guard” who were Canterlot’s elite defenders, lay in pools of their own blood. Knights of Albion lay slain - and in some cases, ponified bodies lay in the heaped and baggy remains of uniforms and armour (and the semi-dissolved parts of their skin and flesh that had sloughed off of them).

“By Luna’s moon,” she heard True Grit swear from behind her, his eyes wide in horror as he looked around. Lyra pitied him - if she was freaked out looking around this place, how must this look to him? This place was his home - she briefly wondered if he had family in the city, and then wondered if he was scared about what had happened to them…

“Grit, Heartstrings!” a voice called over to them. She and True Grit turned, to find Dinky running over to them. “We’ll be moving out in a minute - are you ready?”

“Yes ma’am,” Grit replied sharply. “We’re ready and able.”

“Good,” Dinky said. “We’re moving into the city to follow the Dead Men advance. You two will be going in with mine and Prince Blueblood’s group.”

“Do we know what’s waiting for us?” Lyra asked. Dinky gave her a grim look.

“No,” she said. “But whatever it is, this is going to be the worst fighting any of us have seen. I can guarantee it.”

Without another word, she headed off to assemble more troops. Lyra and True Grit exchanged glances.

“Well that was ominous,” Lyra said with a small, nervous chuckle.

“Yeah,” Grit replied, sighing. “This is insane. This city was a haven of peace and harmony. Now look at it.”

“Solamina has a lot to answer for,” Lyra said quietly.

“Yeah,” Grit said grimly, a frown on his face. “And I hope Elliot makes her pay bucking interest.”

***

Elsewhere in Canterlot.

Yet another explosion flashed in the sky, and still, neither of the combatants had given an inch. Solamina was breathing heavily and her eyes were narrowed to slits filled with rage and contempt. The Avatar held Excalibur level, his own eyes staring and judging.

How many wars like this had there been between one like him and one like her? What might those worlds be like? How many Celestias had given in to the darkness, be it the external, like the spirit of Earth’s darkness that had once been known as Morgan le Fay and now possessed her, or the internal? how many had succumbed to madness? Were there worlds where he had done the same? How thin a line was there between those worlds and this one…?

All of these thoughts were irrelevant - his enemy was before him, and he would fight her until either she was dead or he was. That was the end of it.

They were stalemated - whatever attacks the one used, the other would block. Neither of them could break through the other’s defences.

“Are we to fight for eternity until the stars themselves burn to nothing?” he asked. “Or will you perhaps do the right thing and surrender Celestia and this land?”

“I… am... Celestia!” she screamed, and more bolts of energy lashed out towards the Avatar. Grimacing, he held up a hand and blocked the bolts as they flew. More and more of them smashed into the man, but he withstood the assault.

In retaliation, he span Excalibur again and sent more bolts of energy at her, which she blocked in turn with a shield of energy she conjured in the nick of time, but even so the impact of the attacks had thrown her back through the air, where she had to right herself. Still, this stage of the battle was a stalemate.

Enough of this, he thought. He tightened his grip on Excalibur and pointed it, one handed, at Solamina in challenge. Recovering from his attack, she scowled at the blade as though it had personally affronted her, before holding her glaive in a ready stance as well.

There was another moment’s pause as the two powerful beings floated opposite one another, both of them waiting for some unknown signal. The Avatar shifted the grip on his blade and grabbed it with his other hand, shifting into a guard stance. Solamina spun her glaive in front of her, at first slowly, and then faster and faster, until finally it became a golden blur.

A moment later, she charged and the two clashed in the air, a great shockwave of energy expanding outwards from the two of them and shattering windows and buildings.

“You can’t win this fight, human,” Solamina hissed. “I will burn your world to nothing, burn all this city and all this land and every single living thing within it to ash, before I give it up.”

“And that,” the Avatar replied with a scowl, “is why I will stop you.”

Author's Notes:

EDIT: Ah, crap, forgot author's notes. The trouble with fast updating: missing something.

So yeah, you'll notice this chapter has Viktor Kraber of Other Side of the Spectrum fame, for which I have to especially thank Doctor Fluffy for the permission to use him and the consultation in writing him.

Thanks to The Void and RoyalPsycho for their usual sterling support in writing. Thanks to all of my readers for continuing to support this story, I'm glad to be able to keep writing this. :-)

We're getting closer to the end now, so hang tight, because it's gonna get even worse before the end.