Author's Notes:

(Note: "{}" means whispering. To avoid confusion between human Razor and Razor Dash, Razor Dash's name will be expressed in her full name.)

Ryan threw the bracelet because Penumbra said that it is trying to track his location, just so you know.

Chapter XXII: The Final Countdown

"LET'S DANCE!"

We charged at each other with our greatest strength. *KABOOM!*

I was knocked back far into the barn, who knew that Razor Dash was this powerful? I stood up and cleaned myself. Only to see Razor Dash flying towards me and punched me hard in the face. Hit after hit, she beat me without even breaking a single sweat.

"YOU TRY TO COME HERE AND STEAL ALL THE MARES?! YOU IDIOT!"

*KA—*

"Denied…" I grabbed her fist, "Listen to me, I don't want to steal those mares. I don't WANT THEM AND NEVER WILL!"

I kicked her in the stomach, causing her to be knocked back. I grabbed my axe and tightened my grip on it.

"You and your stupid hunger for lust! I can't stand to get near you! AND YOU EVEN TRY TO KILL ME FOR NO REASON! *WOOSH!*"

"*CRACK!* WHOA! I came here also to beat the living daylight out of you! It's been a long time since I wanted to kill you!"

"FAIR ENOUGH! *CRACK!*"

"But I am not alone!" She pushed me back with her hind legs when I was trying to hit her with an axe.

"AGHKKK! Damn it!"

I ran towards her and tried hurting her with the axe, but she was faster now. She dodged every swing of the axe. She saw the opportunity to knock me, and she took it. I was dizzy, and now she pummeled me harder and harder, letting out all of her rage inside on me.

I stood lying on the on the ground, weak to even move.

"It's over, Ryan… I win and you lose. Say goodbye to your friends!"

Then a sudden feeling engulfed me, an unfamiliar feeling… It felt somehow, right but somehow, wrong also. I wanted to kill her, I wanted to break her of her every single bones. All these desires were all pointed to her, and now… I wanted everything to end right here, RIGHT NOW!

"Not yet…"

A powerful red energy blast knocked Razor Dash like a mile away. It gave me time to recover from the beatings she gave me. Bruises, wounds… gone and healed. This emotion that I am feeling right now was…

"RAGE… GRRRRRAAAAGGGHHHHHH!"

I began to recite the Red Lantern's Oath,

"With blood and rage of crimson red,

Ripped from a corpse so freshly dead.

Together with our hellish hate,

We'll burn you all— That is your FATE!"

The ring's power was pure hatred, hatred that is kept inside me for a long time. It made me vomit blood, lots and lots of blood.

"You have great rage in your heart." A voice called out.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Another energy blast was produced.

I stood strong, with this… new power I had triggered by my current emotion.

"What the… hay?" Razor Dash spoke.

Penumbra gasped, "*gasp* It's…"

"The Red Lantern!"

"Hah! That won't hurt me at— OOFFFF!" I hit her back like a freight train.

"RaZoR dAsH! YoU mUsT dIe!" I said in a distorted voice. So, this is the real power of the Red Lanterns.

I charged every energy I have on her; Hit by hit, jab by jab, energy blast by energy blasts. I was faster than her, faster than light. I gave her everything I had in me. All I had in my mind was… Fluttershy. I can't stop thinking about her, even when I fight. I want her to be safe.

"Please…" she begged

*WHACK!*

"…stop…"

*POW!*

"No more…"

*CRACK!*

I held my fist up high, but hearing those words made me doubt myself… from what I did today.

Am I some kind of monster? Is this what I have become? I froze for a second; Fluttershy would never want me to be like this… this… some kind of monster. I would never hurt people, I protect them. No matter what the cost, I would risk my life for them.

I deteriorated to my normal form. I was extremely exhausted from the beat down. But when I looked at Razor Dash… guilt washed over me, I almost did kill her. (For Ripperjack, that was intentional.)

"*huff* *pant* *huff*… I'm... I'm sorry…"

"Please… no more… I beg of you…"

"I… I am so sorry, Razor Dash…"

A red aura came out of my ring and surrounded Razor Dash. It raised Razor Dash up and cured her of her injuries, making her well again. It lowered her finally, and the aura disseminated. But one thing that was missing was the "eye-opening speech." Maybe it wasn't required after all.

"Uhhh… What happened? I think I hurt my head or something…" She assumed. I looked at my ring to see 5 colors are still there, but one was missing. But then, I remembered; Black isn't a color, it's a neutral. It doesn't count as a color but it did complete one part of the ring, the middle curved part. I guess there are 3 left to go…

I walked over Razor Dash and talked to her, "Razor Dash, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I think so. My head is aching though."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. You don't feel anything strange at all?"

"No, not really."

"Good! Finally, I've defeated all of the Night 6." The other 4 ponies came out of my head and manifested in the material plain.

"Congratulations, Ryan! You have defeated us all! It's time for you to face Dark. And we'll gladly help."

"Wait what?"

"We are actually against Dark. We don't have a choice because she'll kill us if we don't cooperate, so this is the opportunity to fight the evil princess once and for all."

"Well, that's great! I could use some help from you guys."

"But the question is, how will we use our special elements since you stripped us of it?"

I pondered on this for a moment. Suddenly, the ring beeped in the 6 colors that I have achieved. Red, Yellow, Blue, Indigo, Violet and Black. And then, I realized something.

"Remember what my ring did to you? Instead of removing your old elements, it replaced it with new ones! Penumbra, since you conquered your fear; your element will be the Element of Willpower."

"Helena, you felt great compassion when you saw that I was lying on the ground and helped me (But actually, I was fine). Yours will be the Element of Compassion."

"Dahlia Pie, I made you feel what it's like to be living in great joy and happiness again and never giving up. Just look to the stars for hope burns bright! Thus, giving you the Element of Hope."

"Ripperjack, you realized that in Death, there is no meaning behind it. Life is more valuable than Death and Life has meanings that you can use in the future. You have the Element of Life."

"Lustyshy, you realized that love is a special feeling and sex is just an act. Love has its own perks but Lust will just give you tons of problems. You have the Element of Love."

"And finally, Razor Dash; you realized that rage or wrath can't get you anywhere. The more rage is in your heart, the more evil you become. Vengeance was just something that makes you weak, and fulfilling it will do nothing. It won't give you peace, I should know. You now have the Element of Peace."

"Sweet! I always wanted a new element!" Razor Dash exclaimed.

"Yeah! You said it, girl!" Dahlia followed.

"Hey, Ryan. When you said I have the Element of Life, does that mean I get ta' bring other to life?"

"No. You can't just mess with life and death that easily. You have to help others that say life is worthless, somethin' like that."

"AH LIKE IT!"

The ring transformed them into new ponies, ponies whose purpose has changed with the aid of the ring. Now the only thing left to do was to head for Night Forge castle, and hope for the best…

I called Ray and the others for them to hear the good news, "Ray? Ray, it's me. Good news, all of the Night 6 has been defeated. Meet me at the castle, ASAP."

"Really? That's good to hear! Ok, we'll meet you there." And then they were gone.

"Good, let's get to the castle and face Dark. Once… and for all…"

"Everybody, let's move. We'll rendezvous with Ryan at the castle grounds." Ray announced.

"That's good to hear, 'bout time we move out." Silver sighed. The rest of the men readied their selves to meet Ryan at the castle. But as soon as they were reaching for the door, a familiar pony blocked the door.

"Where are you going, handsome?" Red Thunder asked.

"Oh no… It's Dark's sister, Red Thunder!" Ray shouted.

"Aww, you remember me! How sweet of you… NOW COME HERE!"

"Move out of the way, Red. You don't want to get in our way." Silver demanded. But Red wouldn't listen, she gets what she wants.

"Bring it! I WANT YOUR HUMAN STICK DEEP INSIDE MY PONY HOLE!"

"{Damn, this pony has a serious heat going on. Should we knock her out?}" Silver asked.

"{Go ahead. Knock the hell out of her}" Ray replied. Silver walked up to her and summoned Lightning's Edge.

"YES! MAKE LOVE TO ME! FILL ME WITH— *SMACK!*"

Red took a blow by Silver's Lightning Edge using the blunt side to prevent from injuring her. "Stay down." Silver demanded.

"God damn these ponies and their hunger for lust. They just won't stop!" Razor bawled.

"They'll stop if you just give them a good, swift knock to the dome."

"That works too."

"There's no time to waste! Let's go meet Ryan now. Let's move!"

So far, so good. Things right now have been going good, the Mane 6 are okay (excluding FS), I won against the Night 6 and they will help me fight Dark; and Silver and the others are on their way to the castle. The next smart thing to do was to us to meet up at the castle and find a way to beat Dark. If only I could unlock the other three colors, I maybe—…

*KRAKOOM!*

In a distance, a large beam just appeared from inside the castle to the skies; forming one big portal into some kind of another dimension. I was frozen in horror, it's happening… What I feared is already happening this moment! Dark has just begun creating the portal to Earth!

"Oh no, it's happening… We better get there fast right now! Dark's creating the portal and we need to stop her!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Razor Dash asked.

We ran to the castle as fast as we can. We must stop Dark at all cost, before she kills us all…

"Where's Ryan? It's been half an hour already. My feet are starting to ache because of all of these waiting!" Rarity complained. The 5 waited for Ryan to come but time has passed and he hasn't arrived yet to the castle grounds.

"Will you stop complaining, Rarity? Why don't you just sit there?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Ugh! Sit here in this disgusting dead grass? Over my dead body!"

"Girls! We'll just have to keep waiting until he comes. We don't want to get caught by Dark." Twilight requested.

"She's right, everypony. We'll stay low until he comes." Applejack followed.

"SHHH! Someone's coming! Everypony hide!"

They hid inside a bush. Twilight peeked and saw two guards talking to each other.

"Wait, I sense something…"

"What is it?"

"I sense a presence near us…"

The guard snooped around the area for a minute. Twilight's heart began to beat faster. He trotted towards the bush, when suddenly, another guard interrupted:

"TOXIN! SCORN! The princess wants to talk to you."

Twilight felt relieved, the guards returned to the castle, ignoring the 5. They went out their hiding spot and continued to wait.

Suddenly, Ryan called, "Twilight, it's me Ryan."

"Ryan! Where are you? We've been waiting for an hour now!"

"Sorry 'bout that. Are you seeing this right now?"

"Yeah, you have to get here fast."

"Don't worry, I'm right at the gates right now. I'll be seeing you."

"Guys! Thank God, am I glad to see you!" I shouted.

The look on the 5's face widened, they galloped towards me and hugged me tight. "Heh, you missed me that much?"

"You have no idea, darling!" Rarity uttered.

"So, these are the Night 6?" Twilight asked. I nodded, "They're just like you, but different in looks and elements."

"That is so… fascinating!" she exclaimed.

"You said it!" Penumbra followed.

"Is it bad if I say this is really weird and disturbing?" Rainbow questioned.

"You're not the only one." Razor Dash replied.

*KRAKAKOOM!*

The thunder became louder and louder. Something wicked this way comes, but the way I see it, this is something I should take responsibility for it if I did fail. Things have been going worse, and I couldn't say I'm sorry I missed the show.

"Ryan, we need to go right now." Razor said.

"Ok people and ponies, if we're going to go inside the castle, then we are going to need a carefully strategized plan. And I know just the guy who can do that." I pointed at Michael.

If it's one man that knows how to break inside the castle, it's him. Michael is one of those people whose IQ is like over 200 or something like that, and those guys like him are fit for these situations.

"Ok, then… Gather around and listen. This is going to be tricky as hell."

"THEY FAILED! HOW COULD THEY FAIL? THEY ARE ONE WHO SAVED OUTER-EQUESTRIA FROM ALL DANGER! HOW COULD THEY POSSIBLY FAIL ON A SIMPLE TASK?!" Dark shouted.

"It seems that they were easily defeated by some kind of new magic, the one that that human wears on his 'fingers'." Toxin replied.

"It's Ryan's ring! I should have known from the start! Curse that blasted human… You two, where are they now?"

"They are… Huh?"

"What is it, Scorn?"

"I can't sense them anymore! What did Ryan do to the bracelet…"

"YOU IDIOTS! SEARCH THEM BEFORE THEY GET HERE!" Princess Dark shouted.

"Yes, princess." Toxin and Scorn exited the throne room. Out of nowhere, a mysterious pony approached the throne.

"And as for you…"

"Yes… Master." An unknown voice called.

"If they fail…You know what to do."

"Kill Ryan… because he lied… he betrayed me… THAT MONSTER WILL PAY FOR WHAT HE DID!"

"Very good… FLUTTERSHY. Mwahahahahah!"

"Understand?"

We all nodded. "Alright then, let's go."

We stealthily entered the castle unnoticed. Passing several groups of guards while we were sneaking was the smart thing to do. Break in, fight guards, free Fluttershy and fight Dark was my idea of a smart move, guess I wasn't that smart.

"{Ok, guys… We're almost to Dark's throne room, we just need to—" Michael's sentence was interrupted when two ponies found us.

"Stop right there, fools!"

"We found them, isn't this nice Toxin?"

"Indeed it is, Scorn…"

Somehow, those two ponies seemed awfully familiar. And then, I recognized their faces. I noticed them from the party; they were looking at us at the balcony after that really disgusting reveal of that cake. When I glanced on the nearest window, they were looking at us like they wanted to murder us so bad. I saw them talking to each other while I were trying to break in the castle trying to save Razor.

"What are we going to do with the other humans, Wind? That human chained in the dungeon?"

"We're going to wait for the princess' instructions. We don't want to be excited, now would we, Thorn?"

"Hmm… You're right."

"Indeed, I am…"

"Wind, Thorn? The Princess wants to see you."

"Finally, let's go…"

The other one, I scared him when I was under the influence of the Red Lantern while I was being controlled by Green. But looking at them right now tells me something really bad is going to happen. They were pumped up to go 20 rounds with a mutant monster.

"Hold on… I recognize you two!"

"Wait, you know them, Ryan?" Razor asked.

"I do, Wind and Thorn! They're Dark's bodyguards!"

"THERE IS NO WIND AND THORN ANYMORE! THERE IS ONLY TOXIN AND SCORN!"

"Ryan, you and the others go. We'll handle this." Silver requested.

"Are you sure you can do this?"

"Can your ring turn me back into my human form?"

I nodded, and then I pointed my ring to him and a white light shone upon him. It diminished him back to his human form. He was like about the same as my age but a little older than me.

"Duuuuude… How old are you?" Ray asked.

"I'm about 20 years old. Ray, Razor and Michael will stay with me. You and the ponies should go ahead and fight Dark."

Suddenly, my ring beeped in orange light. "No, I… I mean, we have to fight them."

"What? Why?" Silver asked.

"They are one of the 9 opponents that I have to face in order to finish the parts of this ring. This ring is the reason why fighting the Night 6 was made easier for me, it even changed their elements! All I need to fight now is 3. Toxin and Scorn are one of them. And I need to fight them in order to finish this ring."

"Ok, so… the ponies can help us if they want. Let's go!"

The fight started fast. The two super ponies charged at us in high speed and then… I was dodging magic like raindrops.

We were losing; Toxin and Scorn were stronger than I thought. They aren't even breaking a single sweat and they're still stand strong. They like copied our every move and used it against us. This is an unfair fight.

"Agh! They're copying our every move! We can't defeat them in these conditions!" Michael shouted.

"What should we do?" Ray asked.

I looked at my ring, "I'm going to do something…"

"What is it, Ryan?" Twilight asked.

"If they can copy our moves, I'm going to do something that they CAN'T copy. Leave everything to me."

I concentrated on my ring and tried to ignite the emotion of Greed… Avarice, as to call it formally.

And then suddenly, I felt something. The emotion that Toxin and Scorn were feeling was the same, Greed! An orange light covered my whole body and turn me into the Orange Lantern. So far the Red Lantern was the worst that I have ever been into. I hope the others don't make me lose control.

"Hehehe… Hehehahahah… HAHAHAHAHA! MINE! EVERYTHING IS MINE!" I laughed hysterically. I had an urge to get everything that I want… including their powers.

"Toxin… What is this?"

"It's that ring. It defeated the Night 6 with ease but I don't think it can defeat us too, Scorn."

"Well, then let's rip his body to pieces!"

I was still laughing hysterically, saying words like 'It's mine! Everything is mine!'. But as soon as Toxin and Scorn came near me, I took hold of them using the ring's light construct and absorbed their powers. And then I called Silver and the others to finish the job, "HIHIHIHAHAH—ACK! *pant* Silver, kick their butts! But don't kill them!"

"With pleasure, Ryan."

Silver tightened his grip on his scythe and hit them using the blunt edges of the scythe. "Michael?! A little help here?"

Michael concentrated on his demonic powers. "GRRRAAHHH! Finally, I get to use this. Thank you, G-Men!"

Michael fought them with all his best with the use of his demonic powers. He's about 10x powerful in his form, not only he's powerful but also smart!

Punch after punch, the two ponies grew weaker and weaker and can't fight back anymore. After it's finished, Silver said his words to them, "Try to stop us again… And I'll break your neck…"

I, still in my Orange Lantern form, walked towards them. The orange aura overwhelmed them. And then I got to speak to them.

"I feel greed in your hearts… You desire the love of mares; do you, Wind and Thorn?"

"And what's it to you? They wanted you so badly, there's no mares left for us to grab!"

"Wind's right. You were hogging all the mares. So we gathered some of the colts and stallions who are against you to form an 'Anti-Human' Act to remove you from Outer-Equestria forever!"

"Don't you see? Greed is just something that ruins you; it destroys you slowly until you get insane and mad. Too much is too bad. Once you go past the point of no return, you can't go back anymore. Unless you still have some consciousness left in you. If you're just looking for someone to love, why not choose one? That very special somepony that ignites that fire in your heart will do. You can't just try to run around and have sex all day. You should learn from Lustyshy over here."

"Ummm… Ryan? Please call me, Lovelyshy." LS requested.

"…Lovelyshy over here. Why don't you be generous for a change, you know that being generous can get you anywhere, you should learn that from Rarity over here too. Listen, what I see in you is full of opportunities. Full of things that you can do well with our help. Now I'm going to let you choose. Do you want to continue this senseless act of greed? Or be generous, give those who are in need instead of steal from them?"

There was a long pause, I gave them time to think this through. Finally, they spoke.

"I want to be generous…"

"Me too…"

"Excellent choice, Wind and Thorn. You are dismissed."

The orange aura dispersed and disappeared. Everything went back to normal for the two ponies.

"How many are there of this Anti-Human Act?" I asked them.

"About a thousand."

"Dismiss them. Don't want things to be worse that it is, now would we?"

They shook their heads, "Be careful, there's still one enemy you have to fight before facing Dark. I heard that she has a pretty much a big advantage against you." Thorn warned.

"I know who that is. And I'm willing to take the risks…"

"Good luck, Ryan." The two ponies wished me luck and galloped outside the castle. "Come on, guys. Let's do this…"

This was something I should have seen long before… That I was going to fight my loved one. Some say I should just give up everything and walk away. But billions of lives are at stake here, and it's my fault that this happened. So far, I've gone past the point of no return. I've already gone too far that I don't know what it looked like when I passed it. And it's my responsibility to end this nightmare once and for all. I have this power, and I have the responsibility…

I reached for the door knob. Suddenly, all hell broke loose.

*BOOM!*

"AGGHHHH!"

The door bursted and the force knocked us back far into the wall. I opened my eyes but my vision was too blurry, but the figure that I saw walked near me. Her fur was dark yellow; her mane was a darker shade of pink and black clothing… I had the scariest guess who that pony is…

"*cough* Fluttershy?"