Chapter Fifty Two: An End, Once And For All.

***

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."
Ecclesiastes 3.

***

Canterlot Palace Courtyard, June 6th, 2030.

It was the last gasp. The Avatar of Albion swung Excalibur with the fury of a man possessed: every step a blow, every blow a step, and every step torture on a body that was about to give out. Every iota of effort he had was focused on fighting, and he was trying to keep his body from giving out by channeling as much of his remaining power to healing the body as he could. The healing magic relieved the pain, but using the power made the pain even worse when it returned, and it always did.

Nonetheless, he could sense an endgame approaching, and incredibly, he could sense an endgame that did not involve his own defeat.

Solamina, somehow, was being forced back on the defensive by his attack, her glaive darting hither and thither, trying its best to hold back the furious attacks of the armoured man as he advanced on her. Now and then, her horn would glow as though she were trying to cast a spell, and yet he would strike out and she could not cast it, allowing it merely to dissipate.

He pressed on, pushing his offensive. He could not give out, not now. He lashed out, clashing with her, and he pressed forward, trying to overbalance her. She stumbled, staggering back, before lashing out with her glaive. He blocked the blow, before riposting, and she barely deflected the blow. He lashed out again - and this time his blade found its mark on her left wing, though she deflected the attack before it could do more than injure the wing.

"Your rhetoric rings hollow, Tyrant," the Avatar said, a vicious smile on his face. "Could it be that you, too, are drained from our battle?"

"Ingrate!" Solamina snarled. "I never tire - and I shall never yield!"

"I wasn't going to ask you to yield, Solamina!" he replied with a growl! before lashing out! his blade only narrowly being blocked by hers. "I was going to separate your miserable head from your shoulders!"

He pushed and she stumbled backwards again, but this time she was too fast, and her horn flared with a spell. He held up Excalibur to block the blast, and growled as he saw his enemy retreating - unable to fly away because of the injury, but still fast.

"No more running," he said, the timbre of his voice gone now that his energy had been so depleted. "This ends now!"

He charged after her, only for a handful of Archmagi to appear. He scowled, and dodged their spells, before bringing Excalibur to bear and unleashing a shockwave of magic that incinerated the impudent ponies. He took a moment to catch his breath, before seeing Solamina run inside a tower. He scowled, following.

***

Hell Blazer threw fireball after fireball at the oncoming Archmagi. These were quite unlike the small, unprepared Guard detail that he and the others had fought earlier in the Canterlot Observatory. These ones were battle-hardened and ready for a fight.

The problem with fighting the Archmagi was that they were covered in defensive runes and enchantments - were they so easy to kill, they would not have the more fearsome reputation. Bullets glanced from their defence, blades could not penetrate them, and even spells were only so effective. It took more fireballs than he had thrown in months to even kill one.

Nearby, he saw Lyra dodging their attacks as she generated shields and fired spells off faster than anypony Hell Blazer had ever seen. He had rarely had the privilege of seeing his Lyra in such a fight, and watching this Lyra fight was an impressive sight, no doubt. Nearby, True Grit was fighting using physical means - though blows that would normally crush a pony's skull were glancing from armour and enchantments, the Archmagi were not frontline warriors but sorcerers: their skill was in magic.

Their spells, though, normally served them in larger fights. This was the key advantage the Resistance ponies had - the Archmagi were slow to cast, favouring power spells that, while certainly deadly, were slow to charge and slow to aim. Against fast moving, single opponents like the two Unicorns and the Converted, none of their power attacks were fast enough, leaving them resorting to using more easily blocked spells and attacks.

Still they were relentless. Hell Blazer stole a glance and saw Lyra battling against another Archmagi. She flung a stone at the Archmagi as he strained to generate enough power to launch a great ball of energy at her. It hit him between the eyes, breaking his concentration and causing the energy to dissipate. Snarling with rage the stallion instead flung a much smaller fireball at her that she barely dodged. Another Archmagi closed in on Lyra, wielding a blade composed of magical energy that circled menacingly around her head. It took the sudden arrival of a haggard True Grit to prevent Lyra from being hit by the blade.

The Archmagi, untrained in this kind of close-quarters combat, struggled to find a means of properly engaging the Resistance ponies and stumbled over themselves in their attempts to fight them. The battle had descended into a brawl.

"Burn!" Hell Blazer heard an enraged voice yell, and he dodged out of the way as a spell shot toward him, charring the ground he had been standing on. A Unicorn mare approached, horn blazing, and he retaliated with a fireball that smashed into her, burning away at her defences. Still, the fire burned out before it could do more than char her armour. She growled.

"I will bucking tear you limb from limb!" she yelled, charging him. Before she could reach him, however, a spell smacked into her side, sending her rolling and tumbling until she smacked into a wall, where she lay still. Hell Blazer glanced up, to see Lyra throwing him a quick salute before returning to the fray. He grinned.

"Right then!" he yelled, turning to more Archmagi as they approached him. "Come and have a go!"

He charged more fireballs and threw them at the nearest enemies, one of the fireballs managing to incinerate its target, the other merely causing the stallion in question to raise a desperate, weak shield. Hell Blazer threw himself at the stallion, hooves flying,

"This!" he yelled angrily as he punched the stallion. "Is! For! My! Fucking! Hands!"

He punched until he heard bones snap, but before he could do anything else he was thrown off the stallion by a concussive spell. He cursed, spitting blood, and quickly getting to his feet, he threw a fireball in the direction of the offending Unicorn, who barely blocked it.

"That's for my sex life!" he yelled. "And this..." he added, throwing another fireball that knocked the pony to the ground, "is for my fucking hair! I miss my hair, you wankers!"

***

Twilight opened her eyes, and found herself in Canterlot Palace once more, this time in a courtyard. She frowned as she heard the sound of battle up ahead, and quickly galloped in that direction. Before she could manage more than a few metres, however, a spell slammed into the ground near her, throwing rock, masonry and dirt into the air in a massive explosion. She raised a shield quickly, her eyes widening as she saw Commander Sparkle charging at her.

"Persistent little bucker, aren't you?!" the enraged Element of Order yelled. "I guess I'll have to kill you good and -"

They were interrupted by a nearby wall exploding, before a body was blasted through it. The hole in the nearby wall exposed at least a good dozen-and-a-half Archmagi fighting Hell Blazer, True Grit and Lyra Heartstrings, spells flying hither and thither like lightning flashes in the sky.

"Commander!" one of the Archmagi yelled. "Help!"

Before Sparkle could move, Twilight dropped her shield and rushed her, knocking her to the ground, at once, two of the Archmagi charged at her, but she quickly threw spells at them, knocking one away and slowing another up in time for Lyra to ram the mare.

"Twilight, hi!" Lyra said breathlessly. "Fun party!"

"Shame Pinkie isn't here," Twilight said in agreement, a slightly manic smile on her face.

Then they returned to the fray: Commander Sparkle, eyes filled with rage, fired a spell off at Twilight, who blocked it. Lyra threw a spell at the insane Element of Order, who deflected it back at the two of them, before firing another of her own. Suddenly, a fireball - no doubt thrown by Hell Blazer - impacted near her.

"Crazy whorse!" Hell Blazer yelled from a nearby rock arrangement he was perched on. "Remember me?!"

Lyra took advantage of the distraction to throw a series of destruction and fire spells, forcing Sparkle on the defensive. Twilight, meanwhile, fired spells off at nearby Archmagi who were coming to the fight, managing to stop three of them and slow another just long enough for True Grit to ram him and smash his head in with his forehooves.

Sparkle snarled in frustration, a shockwave of magic exploding from her horn and knocking Twilight and Lyra over.

"Traitors and scum, all of you!!" she screamed furiously. "I'll kill you all -!"

Another fireball slammed straight into her, throwing her backwards. She, too, was protected by enchantments that protected her from the worst of it, but she was still charred from her, her fur singed and a definite burn appearing on her right flank, covering part of her cutie mark. She scowled, her horn glowing with cold blue energy that seemed to settle into the wound.

"Die!" she said coldly, another spell lashing out toward the ponies. Lyra raised a shield and Twilight quickly bolstered it, but they were both knocked backward by the force of the blow. Another fireball impacted by Sparkle, but she didn't even flinch, and soon Hell Blazer was forced on the defensive as more Archmagi approached his position.

Lyra threw another spell, and it managed to force Sparkle to halt for a moment, but she came on, her eyes promising death. Scowling, Twilight lashed out with her dagger, scoring a mark on her counterpart's face. She lashed out again, but her opponent caught the blade with her own magic, and it twisted in mid-air.

"No more games, broken mirror," she said calmly. "Time to smash you."

***

Streets of Canterlot.

Rarity was the only one of them who could even attempt to erect a defence against the corpse of Luna, but she was hopelessly overmatched. When Twilight and Springfield had been with them, they had been able to hold off the maddened thing that had once been a Diarch of Equestria, but now there was only Rarity. What had already barely been a fight had turned into a maddened scrabble for cover from powerful attacks that vaporised rock and masonry alike.

"What the hay do we do?!" Applejack yelled from behind a rock.

"There's no spell I know that can do anything to her!" Rarity replied, crouched behind cover, the Doctor with her, sonic out as he scanned for any possible weakness that could defeat the undead alicorn. "We have to try and escape!"

"Escape to where?!" Rainbow Dash yelled angrily. "She's an Alicorn - a dead one, but still..."

She was interrupted by another spell causing an explosion near her. Masonry rained down from the sky where it had been thrown twenty metres, smashing into the ground all around them.

"What the buck?!" she swore.

"Some kind of concussive spell," the Doctor called out to her, eyes fixed on his screwdriver. "She's trying to flush us out!"

"We can't get away from her!" Rainbow said angrily. "She'd follow us!"

"There must be some way we can distract her!" Rarity theorised.

"There is," the Doctor said, and before Rarity could stop him he was out, standing in front of the corpse of Luna.

"What are you doin'?!" Applejack called to him.

"Giving you a chance!" the Doctor replied tersely. "There has been enough death! Enough destruction! I've been powerless to stop it before now - but no more!" He held the screwdriver out, a field of energy expanding as he generated a sonic bubble. "Go now, all of you! This is for me!"

Rainbow Dash wasted no time, grabbing Fluttershy and taking off. Loyal though she was, she recognised a sacrifice when she saw it: the Doctor was buying them time, and she would take it. Rarity and Applejack exchanged helpless glances, both uncertain what to do, but they too knew they had little choice, and, as the Doctor struggled to keep the creature contained, they too fled. Pinkie Pie was the last to run, looking totally conflicted at doing so.

And then he was alone.

The creature snapped free of his sonic field, growling at him as he stood alone before it. It moved to stroll past him, but he took a defensive position.

"No!" he said. "You will not pass me, creature. I have stood in the way of mad gods, demons, monsters from a thousand worlds. I have seen madness that makes even your creation seem tame!"

The thing that had once been Luna said nothing, but its horn glowed with magic. The Doctor closed his eyes.

Ditzy's smiling face. Laughter.

"For her," he said, opening his eyes. He charged.

***

Applejack stopped, panting hard. She and Rarity had run as fast as they could from the street where Luna had been.

"I think we got away," she said after a moment.

"Where are the others?" Rarity asked, looking around frantically.

"I... I dunno," Applejack said, looking back the way they came. "I think we've gotten lost."

"And we left the Doctor behind," Rarity added softly. "Oh, I hope he'll be alright..."

"He's a tough ol' pony," Applejack said, though she sounded none too convinced. "He'll be fine."

Rarity gave her a look that told Applejack, in no uncertain terms, that she didn't believe her.

"Come on," she said. "We need to find the others."

They jogged down the street, only to find themselves caught in a crossfire.

It was an intersection. A group of Eclipse Guard were firing spells at a small group of BDF soldiers who were trying to advance further into the city. Though the fight was even, there were definitely more Eclipse Guard than soldiers. Taking cover, Applejack scowled.

"We gotta help somehow," she said quietly.

"Agreed, nominally, but how?" Rarity asked.

"Best bet'd be to have you lay down some spells to suppress their position and then bull-rush 'em," Applejack said, quickly looking the battleground over.

"That might work if I was Twilight," Rarity said quietly, "but I'm not: I can't do spells quickly or powerfully enough to make anypony take cover. I specialise in finesse, remember?"

"Then finesse a hole through one o' their heads, Rare," Applejack said with a grin. Sighing, Rarity moved from her position slightly, her horn glowing, waiting silently.

"Now," Applejack murmured.

Rarity shot a spell off sharply. One of the Eclipse Guard collapsed a hole drilled in his head, and the rest were momentarily shocked. It was all the opening Applejack needed: she got up and charged. Sighing, Rarity charged after her, and she saw the other soldiers following as well, guns firing.

A moment later, they were amongst the Eclipse Guard. Rarity fired a spell off at one of them, knocking him aside. Applejack bucked another in the face, yelling bloody murder as she did so. The Guard fell to the ground, his neck audibly cracking.

It wasn't all going their way though. A BDF soldier was killed by a spell, falling across Rarity's field of vision. Yelling, she charged into the Unicorn that had cast the spell, snarling as she did so. She knocked him to the ground, before hitting him with another spell that tore a hole in his head. His wide eyes stared up at her, and she backed away in horror, narrowly avoiding death at the hooves of another Unicorn Guard.

"Look out below!" a familiar voice called from above.

One of the Eclipse Guards suddenly found himself being jumped on by a certain cyan Pegasus mare. She laughed slightly, before plunging her wrist blades into his shoulders. She vaunted off of him and straight into another duel, knocking a spear away from nearly impaling her and rewarding its owner with a blade to the throat.

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said, eyes wide. "You're alright!"

Another Pegasus landed nearby, immediately getting into the fight as well. Fluttershy parried attack after attack, moving fluidly as she did so, lashing out with sharp, precise attacks that took her targets out quickly. A moment later, she had reached her friends.

"Where's Pinkie?!" Rainbow Dash asked with a frown as she blocked another blow.

"Haven't you seen her?!" Rarity said, now feeling even more worried. She threw a spell at an Eclipse Guard, blinding him before Applejack bucked him in the head, breaking his neck.

"Thought she'd be with you!" Rainbow said, scowling.

"Oh," Fluttershy said, as she blocked a few hasty strikes. "I hope she's ok..."

***

Pinkie Pie frowned as she stood by a doorway.

She didn't like leaving the Doctor behind. The old pony was gruff and sometimes a bit of a grumpy pants, but all the same, he was a friend. And friends didn't leave other friends behind.

"Well," she said to herself. "That settles it."

She turned around and ran straight back the way she had come.

***

Sol Invictus' Stand

Prince Blueblood dodged the first stab of Sol Invictus' weapon, a shining golden sword, while swinging his own blade in return. His sword was turned aside by Sol Invictus’ armour, the golden unicorn smirking at him.

All around them, ponies fought: Night Guard and Militia fought and died in a swirling melee. Blueblood's caught a brief glimpse of Dinky smashing a Militia pony's head into the dirt, a vicious grin on her face, before he was forced to bring his attention back to Sol Invictus.

“You,” the Converted agitator began as they fought, his voice loud and exultant with a noticeable undertone of anger. “You were born of this blessed land, born of a divine lineage and blessed with the privileges of royalty, which you enjoyed with impunity. You were granted the responsibilities to guide this nation. You led it in the earliest years of the glorious crusade.” With every word he spoke his voice became more deranged and angry. Slowly he and Blueblood circled around one another, their blades risen in a guard stance.

“And yet you cast it all aside for what? To consort with demons? To commit heresy? To turn aside the love and wisdom of her glorious majesty?” Every word was spat out as Sol Invictus’ loathing became more and more apparent.

“I did it because I finally realised what was right,” Blueblood shouted as he charged at Sol Invictus, his sword raised. It clashed with Sol Invictus; upraised blade and Blueblood had to suddenly backpedal to avoid the heavy banner that had been swung at him, the heavy metal pole just missing his head. “I was spoilt,” he said as he drew back his sword for another fight. “I lived a cushy life and let other ponies keep me comfortable whilst they worked constantly, often just to survive.” His blade barely managed to turn aside a heavy blow from Sol Invictus whose expression was becoming increasingly manic. “I turned a blind eye to my aunt whilst she lost her mind. I ignored her when she killed Princess Luna. I supported her when she slaughtered the Night Guard and helped propagate a lie. I buried my head in the sand every time I or somepony else thought to question her. Because it was easy. Oh, it’s easy to just sit back, enjoy your luxury, think none of it impacts you. And because on some level, I was afraid.”

Blueblood drew back from another incoming blow, dodging Sol Invictus and then slamming the pommel of his own sword onto Sol Invictus’ horn. The gold unicorn screamed in pain and barely struggled to keep his magical grip on his sword and banner.

“But I was shown what had really happened! I learnt what Solamina had done to everypony in Equestria and to the humans on Earth. I had my eyes opened and I realised that what was happening, what is happening, is wrong!” He brought his sword around again in a short arc towards Sol Invictus’ neck. It was blocked by the banner but a small portion of the flag attached to it fell away as the blade cut through the cloth.

Sol Invictus’ eyes widened at the damage that had been done to the sacred banner of the Solaminan Empire. A feral scream burst from his throat as he charged at the prince, his sword spinning rapidly as he rained blows down on Blueblood that he struggled to turn aside. Whilst the battle still raged around them many combatants had stopped to watch the savage duel between the two unicorns.

“You dare to defile a sacred icon of her Majesty!" the Converted yelled. "You dare to spout such heresies against her will! And you dare to slander her name! You are an apostate! You are unworthy of your title! You are unworthy of forgiveness! You are unworthy of living!”

The last word was screamed by Sol Invictus as he beat against Blueblood’s wavering guard with all of his might, forcing Blueblood to constantly step back as he was forced on the defensive. Invictus was good, no doubt. Blueblood, though, was fighting for the freedom of his country, and he was determined not to fail.

***

Canterlot: High Tower.

He burst through another door of the tower, edging ever closer to his prey. He pushed the last of his energy into the run, desperate to catch her. There was nothing that would stand in his way - those few Guards in this tower who tried were cut down without mercy.

He ran up another set of stairs, quickly finding himself looking down a long corridor. He dashed down it, gripping Excalibur tightly.

Suddenly, he found himself on what looked like a bridge. From the door he had burst out it led across a gaping chasm between this tower and another. And on this bridge stood Solamina, also panting from exertion, wings flared in challenge, one dripping blood. Her glaive was held forward, pointed at him.

"Astra Solamina," he said, walking forward slowly, tensing his muscles ready for this fight.

"Little man," the Alicorn began, her voice lacking the timbre from before. She frowned. "No. Avatar of Albion. Let us be fair."

The Avatar raised an eyebrow at this, but she wasn't finished.

"You and I have been matched for this entire fight," she said quietly. "We have thrown attacks at one another that would destroy armies, and yet we are both still here. I recognise you as a worthy foe."

"And I you," he replied warily. "Be aware, Tyrant. Words will not avail where deeds must. You cannot talk your way out of your demise."

"Nor would I want to try and cheat you of your prize," Solamina said, and now she grinned again. "But I am Astra Solamina Maxima. When I was Celestia, I ended the madnesses of Discord, I tore down the fortresses of Sombra. I fought the mad Unicorn Divine Right at the height of the unification war. I defended Equestria from Gellert the mad of the Griffon Empire. I have led armies for over ten thousand years, even without the might granted me by the power I wield, the mirror of your own." She paused. "What are you without the Avatar of Albion?"

The Avatar was silent for a moment, and then he put his hand behind his back, drawing a blade from a sheath that was not the Avatar's, but David Elliot's. The words 'speed-killer' could be seen emblazoned on the weapon.

"I am a man who has led other men in battle," he said slowly. "I have fought the best your Empire has created in its madness, and I have survived. I have lost friends, comrades, family." He paused. "My name is David Elliot. I am the Avatar of Albion - the representative of a world that has lost everything to you. And in their name, justice will no longer be denied."

”Justice?” Solamina spat in return. “You speak of justice to me? What justice could you possibly bring to bear against me? The justice of a conquered world? A dying race? A crippled nation? Your justice is meaningless. What is justice?” she sneered at him, a look of total contempt on her face. “Justice is decided by the strongest,” she continued without pause. “The strong are those who survive. The strong are those who win. What you would consider evil means nothing to a truly superior being, and there is little that is superior to me. You and your justice are certainly not amongst that number.” Solamina paused, her breathing heavy and her eyes filling with fury.

"Your madness has blinded you," the Avatar said in reply. "We have fought your armies for six years. For six years you have thrown everything you had at us, and yet after six years, we are still here!" He kept Excalibur up. "You are not the strongest. You are weak: you justify your weakness by destroying the lives of others, but like all evil, you can only destroy and attack that which you do not understand, or that which you fear."

"You think I fear you?" Solamina asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I think fear is the only thing you have left," the Avatar replied. "It is all you can engender, and it is all you can feel. And now you and the evil you have created with your fear shall end."

Solamina scowled, and her blade span in readiness. The Avatar tensed, raising Excalibur on one hand while keeping 'speed-killer' in the other hand.

She charged at him.

The first blow was a strong overhead that he blocked with Excalibur. He lashed out with 'speed-killer', and Solamina jumped backwards to dodge the blow, allowing him to slash at her with Excalibur. She parried the blow and riposted, but he dodged it and hacked downwards, only for her to block that blow too.

The two of them struggled for a moment, before she pushed, and he stumbled backward. He held Excalibur forward in order to ward his enemy off, but she charged forward, batting Excalibur to one side and bringing down another overhead. Desperately, the Avatar brought 'speed-killer' up, and though the bayonet was knocked out of his hand, it blocked the blow. He curled his now-free hand into a fist and punched Solamina across the jaw, and she stumbled again.

He gripped Excalibur with two hands and launched a series of hacks and slashes, and Solamina was forced back onto the defensive. She blocked blow after blow, until he lashed out with one final overhead hack that broke her glaive in two with a metallic crack. Snarling, she discarded the extended haft, and swung the upper half to bear like a sword. He blocked the hasty strike, spinning with the momentum to deliver a counter low on her opposite side that she blocked just as easily.

She swung the weapon again in a wide arc, and he blocked the ill-aimed blow, before stabbing forward. Fast as lightning, though, she spun the broken glaive back again, knocking the stab aside. He turned with the blow, pirouetting and bringing Excalibur down in another high overhead, which she blocked. As she did so, however, he kicked out, sending her stumbling back, and he lashed out at her as she did so, managing to catch her cheek.

Growling, she charged at him, swinging her broken weapon, but he managed to block her hasty blows. He turned aside one hasty slashing attack, before hitting her in the face with the pommel of Excalibur, a grin on his face. He held up a hand and, with a thought, summoned ‘speed-killer’ back to his hand. Holding the two blades in a guard stance, he beckoned Solamina forward.

"You insect!" she yelled, infuriated. Her horn flared angrily, the shadow that she had wielded earlier returning, and she brought her truncated glaive down in an overhead. Quickly, he raised Excalibur to block it, but this time the attack had power behind it, and he slowly sank to his knees.

"So this is how it ends for you, fool!" she said, grinning triumphantly. "Die now, knowing that your little island will burn before my power!"

He growled.

"No!" he said, pushing back, eyes closed from exertion. "Not... like... this!"

He pushed upward with all of his might, channeling the very last of the energy he possessed into the effort, sending Solamina stumbling backward. A moment later, he lashed out blindly, feeling the weapon impact against something. The ringing of metal striking metal filled his ears and then it gave way. His sword continued its arc as Elliot struggled to put his remaining strength into his final blow. He opened his eyes, and Solamina reared over him, eyes wide and filled with fire. Almost instinctively, he stabbed forward with ‘speed-killer’...

There was a massive explosion of energy, darkness wreathing the body of Solamina like a living cloak, and the Avatar was thrown backward into a wall by the sheer force of it. Groaning, he looked at where Solamina was stood, but he could only see darkness, and within it, the silhouette of an Alicorn, wings flared in challenge, mighty and resplendent...

He stood to his feet, bringing Excalibur back to a guard stance as he did so, and braced himself, closing his eyes and waiting for the inevitable returning blow... but no blow came.

He opened his eyes and blinked in shock.

Solamina was standing before him, eyes wide with shock, her wings spread but shaking and beginning to droop. A wide, ragged gash had opened up along her body, from shoulder to leg, and ‘speed-killer’ was embedded in her chest. She looked down, then looked up at him.

"Oh," she said softly, and then she collapsed.

Frowning, suspecting some trick, the Avatar walked over to her, gripping Excalibur tightly. He stood over her, looking her in the eyes. He could see the life leaving them, but she was still able to meet his gaze. And suddenly, he understood: the Darkness was banished. This Alicorn that lay before him, dying... this was Celestia, freed - freed for the first time, perhaps, in many years. Her eyes were wide open and filled with a look of fear but also one of hope.

"T-t-thank... you..." she said softly, choking on the words, and then she was still.

He blinked, not sure how to react. After six years, after billions of deaths, after all the horrors he had seen...

It was over.

***

Canterlot Palace Courtyard

Five minutes earlier...

Hell Blazer growled, throwing another spell out at the Archmagi around him.

"Fuck!" he swore. There were too many of them, all around him. Though he was throwing fireballs faster than he had ever done so before, literally feeling like he was scalding himself as he did so, he still knew that he was not causing enough damage. Against anypony but the Archmagi maybe, but they were too defended, their skill and equipment too advanced, too powerful.

"Fuck you!" he swore, throwing another ball and managing to incinerate half of an Archmagi who was moving in on his left. He dodged a spell thrown from another, before galloping away, dodging more. He took cover behind a rock, before throwing another spell.

"Dammit, Elliot, hurry up and kill the bitch!" he muttered to himself. "We need help down here!"

***

Twilight grunted as another spell smashed into her shield. She retaliated with a concussive spell that destroyed a chunk of masonry, but the vast majority of the force of the spell was deflected by the shield her counterpart had brought up. The Commander responded with another spell, this one a continuous beam of energy. Twilight brought up another shield, trying desperately to hold it up.

Nearby, she saw Hell Blazer throwing fireballs, dodging spells thrown from the half-dozen Archmagi surrounding him. Lyra and True Grit were back to back, alternating shields and offensive spells but slowly being hemmed in.

This was it.

Twilight growled. If this was going to be her death, she would fight to the last. And she would definitely kill this whorse.

She pushed her shield outward like a shockwave, knocking her opponent off balance, and rushed her, horn blazing with the most destructive spell she knew. Faster than she could react, though, her counterpart recovered and threw a spell at her, knocking her off of her feet.

Stunned, Twilight could only watch as the mare approached her, limping slightly. She smiled, a crazed rictus.

"It's time to end this," Commander Sparkle hissed. Her horn glowed, and Twilight glared defiantly at her counterpart, meeting death with as much dignity as she could manage. And then something happened she did not expect.

Her counterpart's expression softened from rage to confusion, the spell dissipating. A moment later, the confusion turned to wide-eyed shock. A moment after that, it turned into horror. She stepped back from her counterpart, shaking her head, and then she sank back and slumped to the ground, tears brimming.

"... what?" Twilight said, frowning. "I don't understand..."

She stood up, and turned to look around the courtyard. Everywhere she looked, ponies were milling in confusion, the Resistance fighters forgotten. Hell Blazer appeared from behind his cover, and blinked in shock.

"What happened?" he called out. "Why the fuck have they all stopped?"

***

Plymouth, England

To Jacob Levy the sound of explosions and gunfire had become a constant in his life. He had accepted it the minute he chose to become PER, accepted it the moment he chose to stay human, to fight the BDF and Equestrian Resistance in Britain instead of simply taking the easy way out. There were days when he wished that he, too, could take that option.

I stay human so that I can let others become better, he reminded himself sternly. Besides which, Levy - salvation is for other kinds of men.

He could hear gunfire in the distance: probably the BDF soldiers from nearby bases fighting with the PER troops and Converted Militia still out there. He had lost a lot of friends during this war, and he was sure he’d lose more before the end.

“Excuse me, Mr Levy?” Silver Morning, a Converted Militia pony asked - Morning was one of the ponies on the ground who served as a liaison.

“What’s up, Morning?” he asked conversationally.

“Commander Freedom Heart reports that he’s unfortunately been delayed,” the Converted said, sounding unhappy. “He says that you should try to pull your forces back.”

“Pull back to where exactly?” Levy asked with a slight frown.

“I’m afraid he wasn’t very specific, sir,” Morning said sorrowfully. “If you like, I could make an effort to…”

Silver Morning trailed off, his eyes suddenly widening. He stammered slightly, before falling utterly silent.

“Silver Morning?” Levy asked, frowning at the Converted.

In response, Silver Morning screamed. Levy jumped, shocked by the sudden outburst of noise.

“Silver Morning!” he said, shocked, “what’s -?!”

“No!” the Converted yelled. “No, no, no! Not me! This is not me! Not me! Never again! Can’t ever no never why no why how no…!”

Levy slapped him across the face, and the Converted quieted down, though he was still hyperventilating.

“What’s wrong?!” Levy asked.

Silver Morning fixed Jacob Levy with a gaze that the PER man would remember for the rest of his life. It was a gaze filled with despair and horror. When he spoke, it was only one word, but it was a response Levy would never forget. He would carry the dead tone and the horrified gaze with him until his grave.

“Me.”

***

Sol Invictus' Stand

It came suddenly.

One moment, Blueblood was blocking a particularly brutal assault from Sol Invictus, who was attacking again and again, desperate to break through his guard - and the next moment he was standing in the centre of a sudden, ringing silence, and nopony was moving at all.

The Converted had stopped moving - most of them were not even looking at the Night Guard they had been fighting anymore, instead staring off into some unknown space, looking at something nopony else could see.

Sol Invictus was gaping, his eyes widening in horror, as though he was beholding something too terrible to comprehend. His ornate, golden banner dropped from his grip, clattering to the ground.

"Sir?" Blueblood heard Dinky ask, the young mare frowning at him. Blueblood didn’t reply - he was too busy looking at Sol Invictus and the other Converted, confused at the sudden cessation of hostilities.

"They've all stopped!" another Night Guard called out. "All the Convies, all the Guards!"

The battle was over - it was impossibly over. Blueblood had read about many battles, but he had never heard of any battle ending with one side just... stopping.

Sol Invictus blinked once, before looking directly at Blueblood. His eyes held none of the anger they had once been full of. Instead... instead, they were utterly blank and empty.

"Invictus?" Blueblood said, frowning. "What is this?"

"That..." Invictus said, his voice cracking. He swallowed. "No."

"No?" Blueblood repeated. "What are you talking about?"

Sol Invictus did not answer. Instead, to Blueblood's surprise, he sat back on his haunches, then made what looked almost like the sign of the cross, one of the many reflexive gestures of the various denominations of the human's Christian faith. He brought his two forehooves together in prayer.

"Ave Maria," he began, speaking quietly as though to himself, his eyes wide and filled with indescribable terror, "gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen."

"What the heck is this?" Dinky asked quietly. "What's he saying?"

"Ave Maria," Invictus repeated, not even breaking his flow, "gratia plena..."

"I think he's praying," Blueblood said. He looked around. The other Converted had started moving, some of them trotting around in confusion, and some of them sitting back and starting similar prayers. More were crying, some silently sobbing, others screaming to the heavens.

"Did we win?" somepony from the Night Guard line asked.

Blueblood didn't answer.

He didn't know if there was an answer.

***

Elsewhere in the courtyard, a strange scene had begun. A strange mare, this one a Converted, had run at Viktor Kraber as he watched the other Converted mill and begin to react to whatever it was that had happened to them, and she had jumped on him. Minutes ago, this would have been a death sentence, a sign of Kraber’s imminent death or ponification, but no.

The mare was sobbing.

“It’ll be alright, Kate!” Kraber pleaded, stroking her thick mane. “I promise, it’ll be alright…”

She could barely speak. She was crying, gesturing to the Webley at Kraber’s hip with one hoof, hugging him with the other.

“No, no,” Kraber said. “I’m going to be there for you. No matter what. This time, I promise.”

“Can you?” she asked. “After what happened? After… oh, it was just hell! It was like being trapped in a nightmare I couldn’t wake up fro-”

“I promise,” Kraber said, this time more insistently, tears streaming down his face, into his beard, “I’ll be there. No matter what we have to do, no matter how long it takes, I still love you. And I never stopped.”

The people around him, Converted, BDF, and Dead Men stared down at them.

“I missed you so much!” Kraber said, making sobs of his own, burying his face and beard in his Converted wife’s mane, just above her left foreleg.

“Me too,” Kate said, hugging him tighter and tighter. “Me too.”

And then he heard a sound. Foals yelling at him, screaming in either sadness or joy. Not two, but… three? Two colts and a filly, jumping on him, hugging him, saying how they’d missed him, the other colt - the one that couldn’t have been Peter, judging by his accent - asking “Are you papa?” and hugging him.

“I was pregnant when I got ponified,” Kate explained. “His name is Blueberry Torte. He’s… He’s not a Converted. Oh, how I envied him...”

“Oh,” Kraber said, not sure whether to be sad or elated. Then: “Oh. Then yes, Blueberry… I am your father.”

***

Streets of Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash blocked another blow, before jumping backward, panting. The Eclipse Guard had been reinforced by more Guardsponies from elsewhere in the city, and slowly but surely, the BDF troops and Resistance ponies were being pushed back.

“There’s too many of them!” Dash yelled. “We’ve gotta fall back!”

“To where?!” Rarity asked with a scowl.

Rainbow didn’t reply, but merely kept fighting, a look of slight desperation on her face. Another pony charged at her, and she dodged, but before she could attack him, he stopped moving. Rainbow frowned. She turned around, and then found herself staring at a crazy scene.

The entire Equestrian contingent were entirely still. Some of them had fallen to the ground, some of them were standing, but all of them looked horrified.

And then some of them started screaming.

“What the hay?” Applejack asked, backing away from the Eclipse Guard. “What happened?”

“I have no idea,” Rarity said. “But… but…” She fell silent.

There was nothing to say.

***

Ponyville.

“WHY?!”

It had started five minutes ago. Mayor Mare had seen to it that she and the civilians of Ponyville were being amicably treated by the human occupiers: the soldier in charge of their guard detail, a man who had called himself Manfred Stein, had been polite enough. The Converted had been a bit antsy about being around humans, but Mare had been able to convince them not to do anything rash.

A few moments ago, though, there had been a sudden wave of… something. And then all Tartarus had broken loose.

“Warum?!” Schöne Blumen yelled, tears streaming from her eyes as she screamed into thin air. “Warum habe ich das zulassen?”

“Blumen!” Mayor Mare yelled at the Converted, trying to calm her down. “What’s wrong?”

“Mir!” Blumen yelled.

“What’s going on over here?” came the calm voice of the soldier, Manfred Stein.

“I don’t know,” Mare said honestly. “Blumen just started yelling…”

“Ich bin falsch! Ich bin gebrochen, gibt es Stücke von mir überall!” Blumen yelled. Stein looked at her, and though he wore a mask like all these human soldiers did, Mare could have sworn he recognised the language.

“What’s she saying?” she asked, frowning.

“‘I am wrong. I am broken, there’s pieces of me everywhere’,” the man replied slowly. “She’s a Convie, yeah?”

“Yes,” Mare said slowly. “Why?”

“Because she’s speaking German,” Stein replied. “The language of my country.”

Mare looked at Blumen, who was now sobbing silently.

“They’re all like this,” Mare said quietly. “Blumen’s among the worst affected, but all the Convies - the Converted - have started acting like this.”

“I think something must have happened,” Manfred said softly. “But what?”

***

Streets of Canterlot

The Doctor gasped as he was flung into another wall.

He had known the moment he sent the others away that he was marching into death - not just the death of this body, but a permanent death. He had fully expected to be incinerated or vaporised or otherwise annihilated by the necromantic abomination that had once been the second Princess of Equestria.

Unfortunately, it seemed that whatever consciousness was left was determined to cause him pain. She had grabbed him telekinetically, and had begun smashing him against walls and through rubble. He could feel broken ribs and other pains lancing through him, and scowled as the creature approached him again. He coughed, and saw blood splatter onto the ground. He closed his eyes and waited for more pain.

After a long moment, he opened his eyes.

The creature had stopped, her one good eye wide in shock. She blinked once, and then, like a marionette whose strings had been cut, she collapsed. There appeared to be a look of relief on her face.

He stared for a moment, then withdrew his sonic screwdriver, running it over her. The results indicated that the spell holding her on this plane had been dispelled. It took him another moment to realise exactly what that must have meant.

"Oh," he murmured. He blinked once, and then collapsed.

He was dimly aware of the figure of a pony standing over him...

***

Canterlot Palace Courtyard

He stumbled out of the door to the tower, Excalibur held lazily in one hand, feeling more drained than any being had the right to feel and still live. He could hear something - it sounded like sobbing. He looked up, to see one of the Archmagi, a Converted, screaming and sobbing, covering his eyes with his hooves as though unwilling to face the world.

Meanwhile, the Equestria-born Archmagi stared at him with horrified expressions, looking pale and shaky themselves. One of them looked up at the Avatar and quailed.

"We... we don't want any trouble!" he yelled, stepping back from him. The others cowered away from him, many of them covering their heads with their hooves and quivering.

He ignored them all, staggering past them and heading for the courtyard.

He stepped over a rock formation, and planted Excalibur tip-first into a large stone, trying to support himself. The effort was ultimately futile, as he let go of the sword and rolled down the rock formation, coming to a stop in a pile of grass. A moment later, a soft glow covered him, and then it was David Elliot lying in the grass, battered clothes and all.

“David!” he heard a voice yelling, sounding oddly distant. He opened his eyes, and looked to see Hell Blazer and True Grit running towards him. He smiled.

“Hello,” he said, his voice weak and shaky. “I think we won.”

“Jesus fucking Christ mate,” Hell Blazer said, looking more worried than Elliot had ever seen him. “What the fuck… did you…?”

“Solamina’s… dead,” Elliot said quietly. “It’s… over.”

“Can we do anything?” True Grit asked softly, looking the man over.

“No,” Hell Blazer said. “This is… this is his magic burnout. We always… we always knew it was gonna kill him, but…”

He paused, uncertain what to say.

“David!” another voice yelled. Hell Blazer and True Grit turned, to see Twilight and Lyra jogging over to them… and Commander Twilight Sparkle walking behind them, dressed in Archmagi armour, looking lost. Elliot frowned for a moment, before coughing.

“Is he…?” Twilight asked, and Hell Blazer shook his head.

“There’s nothing to be done,” he said quietly. He turned his attention to Commander Twilight Sparkle. “What’s she doing here?”

“She’s…” Twilight began, turning to her counterpart. “To be honest, I think she’s running on autopilot.”

Commander Sparkle, wide eyed with a blank expression and fresh tear tracks running down her face, looked up at her counterpart, then to Lyra, then to Hell Blazer, then down to Elliot. She said nothing, but she kept looking at Elliot, a slight frown starting to develop on her face.

“Sparkle...” he said, gesturing to her. “Come… here…”

“You killed my friends,” she said quietly. “I remember you.”

“Yes,” he said simply.”

“And we deserved it,” she added. “We… we did such…” She trailed off, fresh sobs wracking her body. “Wh… why? Why?!”

“Come… here...!” Elliot said insistently. Sparkle, sobs still wracking her body, took a step up to him, and then, suddenly, he sat up and grabbed her head, his eyes boring into hers.

“You…” he said, hissing every syllable. “You can… repair… what you’ve done… you can… make… amends… this is the judgement… of Albion...”

A moment later, he slumped back to the ground, drained, and Sparkle staggered away from him, her eyes wide, before she, too, fainted.

“What did you do?” Twilight asked, shocked.

“I… gave her… a gift… and a punishment…” Elliot replied. “She… she’ll have to live with what she’s done. It… seemed fitting… to do this…”

There was a pause. Hell Blazer, his eyes wet with unshed tears, coughed.

“Is there… is there anything you’d like, mate?” he asked, trying not to sound too affected.

Elliot actually chuckled at that, before his body was wracked with coughs.

“Just be here for me,” he said quietly.

“Always,” Hell Blazer replied.

“I think... that’s where I had the real advantage… over Solamina…” the man said quietly, his eyes beginning to glaze over. “I had... friends… that came to my aid in my time of need… friends that came to save me. She didn’t… have anything… she was alone…” He coughed once more. “There’s nothing… nothing worse… than being alone.”

“You’re never alone, mate,” Hell Blazer said quietly.

“I know,” Elliot said, looking his friend in the eye. He smiled. “Thank you.”

His gaze slipped off to one side, and his expression slackened. Twilight gasped, Lyra looked away, Hell Blazer closed his eyes, and True Grit’s face hardened.

David Elliot, the Avatar of Albion, was dead.

***

Author's Notes:

...

Thanks to RoyalPsycho, The Void and Doctor Fluffy for all their help. Thanks to my readers, favouriters and commenters. I hope you're not all too depressed after that.

Also: apologies for the google translate German.