I landed on one knee on a stone platform as I materialized at my destination: the Void. I looked around and gasped in awe at the almost indescribable sight around me. In the distance, I could see what resembled swirling galaxies and all sorts of strange, twisting lights, like some kind of bad acid trip. It almost reminded me of when my old friends and I would play Super Smash Bros. on Final Destination; I half expected a giant, disembodied hand to suddenly show up out of nowhere and laugh menacingly.

“Well, we made it!” I turned to see Cadence standing on a slightly higher boulder behind me. “Now what?”
I looked around and saw a massive platform somewhere in the distance, much larger than all of the others and surrounded by a wall; the thing looked kind of like a coliseum. “I’d check there,” I said, pointing towards the structure. “If I were an evil overlord, and I was for a while, I’d be waiting in there.”

Cadence nodded in agreement and leaped down to join me on my rock. “Where’s Spike?” she asked, looking around in confusion. Just then, I heard a strange ‘poof’ sound, and Spike hit the ground in front of me.
“Ready to help,” he mumbled, dazed, before jumping up and shaking his head. “So, what’s the plan?”
I started hopping across the floating stone platforms in the direction of the coliseum. “We move forward,” I called behind me, and Cadence and Spike followed suit.

Twilight stared as Allen suddenly looked around in confusion. Just moments ago, he had been pacing back and forth, planning out his next move, when all of a sudden he started looking off in the distance with a worried expression.
“Is the mighty human warlord actually concerned about something?” she asked teasingly. Hearing this, the others all started watching Allen’s movements closely.
“Silence,” he growled, still watching the horizon. “That can’t be possible,” he murmured, “the secret to getting here was lost ages ago.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean? What’s going on?” she asked quickly.

Allen took a flying leap, landing on the top of the wall of the coliseum he had built to keep his prisoners, and a smug grin slowly spread across his lips. “Well, well, well, looks like somebody has embraced his new role of hero,” he said with a light chuckle, and turned his gaze back to the lavender alicorn. “Sorry, princess,” he called as he waved a hand through the air, “but I’m afraid I can’t take any half-measures in this regard; Drayke is going to die here.”

As he spoke, several crystal spikes slowly materialized along the walls of the coliseum, each one shifting and twisting until it had the form of a Crystal Sentinel. Once they had fully formed, each one leaped from its spot and began to trek across the empty space to meet their target.

Princess Celestia laughed. “You fool; the Sentinels are nothing against a wielder of magic, and Drayke had a crystal that has the potential to match even my power,” she called out angrily.
Allen rolled his eyes. “I have seen firsthand what your ‘power’ can do,” he said with a dismissive wave. “If Drayke can match it at best, then this should be no problem.”

Suddenly, Rarity perked her ears up. “Girls, do you feel that?” she said, her eyes suddenly brimming with hope.
Applejack nodded. “I reckon I do,” she said happily, “and I think it’s just in time.”
“I think you may have overestimated your abilities, Sanguis,” Luna said wisely, “because I think Drayke may have an asset you didn’t think he would get his hands on.”

Allen stared at the ponies in confusion. “What is it?” he demanded, “What does he-” he suddenly stopped, his eyes growing uncertain for a moment. “No,” he breathed, “that can’t be right.”

Twilight smiled hopefully. “That’s right, Sanguis,” she said bravely, “the Elements of Harmony!”

Allen glared at the ponies, unable to think of something to say, before a calm look crossed his face, and he smiled pleasantly. “Well then,” he sighed, “I guess I will be able to find out just how powerful I have become, won’t I?” he asked aloud, and floated back to the wall where he could watch his crystalline servants battle his adversary.

“Uh, what’s that sound?” Spike asked fearfully as we continued jumping across the floating platforms towards the stone structure I had pointed out. I could hear something too, almost like a an angry mob was heading our way. I stared intently in the direction of our destination, and my eyes widened in surprise.

“Sentinels!” I cried, holding my sword out in front of me. There appeared to be about twenty of the things, all in a mad dash to meet us. Back before I became the Obsidian King, these things had kept me in hiding during my stay in Equestria, until I met Allen and he unwittingly gave me control over them. Now, it was my turn to go toe-to-toe with these assholes.

I looked over at Cadence worriedly. “Run!” I ordered, pulling out the Sword of Harmony and holding it at my side.
Cadence took a step forward and, I’m only assuming since she was wearing her visor, rolled her eyes. “After spending so much time around you and Allen, I think the only appropriate response to that is, ‘like hell I will’!” she cried, and a light blue glow surrounded her horn.
I smiled gently. “I figured as much,” I murmured lovingly, and turned back to see the Sentinels getting closer.

“Bring it on!” I cried as I charged forward, driving the sword into the lead Sentinel and jumping, tearing the creature in half as I ascended. I brought my blade back down on top of another, which parried my strike with its bladed arm. The beast tried to grab me with its fingered appendage, but a blast of blue magic blasted it into the endless void below. I rushed over to Cadence and we stood back to back as Spike stood between us.

“Any way I can help out?” Spike asked nervously.
“Not at the moment, but I’ll keep you up-to-date on that situation,” I growled as I severed a Sentinel’s sword arm, and promptly grabbed the limb and drove it into one of its companions.
“Nice one!” Cadence called as she fired off several shots at a Sentinel, sending it staggering backwards over the edge.

Allen smiled savagely at the sight of his Sentinels’ defeat. He knew this was a possible outcome; after all, the boy had beaten several of these creatures on his own with only a sword.
“I still have one last trick up my sleeve,” he whispered as he held his arms in front of him, a ball of jet-black magic forming between his hands as he did. Slowly, the orb began to take on a slid, multi-faceted form, like a black diamond the size of a softball. Then, with a mighty heave, he pitched the ball in the direction that Drayke and his allies were fighting the Sentinels.

“Try that one on for size,” he growled as the crystal ball began hovering in the air, and several larger crystals began to materialize and float around it.

“What the fuck is that?” I cried when I saw the massive thing forming on a massive rock plain several yards away from us; it looked like a giant mass of crystals had suddenly appeared and were mashed together wherever they would fit. I could see in the center there was a black crystal that was acting like a black hole and attracting the crystals it had generated, and the mass was starting to take on a final form. Around the main crystal, it had created a shell that had two massive arms growing out of it and sat atop a massive ball. At the ends of the arms were giant, spiked, club-like appendages that looked like they could deliver a pretty nasty blow; a point that was proven when it slammed one into the floor beneath it.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure it’s called “really bad news!” Spike cried as he ran to take cover behind a nearby rock.

I looked over at Cadence. “I think now would be a good time to use the Elements,” I said quickly, and she nodded as her backpack opened and the six Elements of Harmony floated out. I held the Sword of Harmony near them, and they flew into the slot on the hilt one by one until they were united into a single, white gem, just as I had seen in Argentum’s memories.

“Alright, you overgrown asshole, take this!” I cried as I slashed downward towards my enemy, and a wave of rainbow-hued energy blasted the creature and ripped one of its arms off.

The creature stopped for a moment and looked at its severed arm as the limb disintegrated, and then the jagged shoulder began to jut out as a mass of crystals grew out from it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered as the beast whipped its newly form arm, causing a new set of spikes to stab out of the end. Then, it slammed its fists down at me, which I barely avoided with a quick dash backward.

“Okay,” Cadence said uncertainly, “that thing can heal itself. Now what?”
I narrowed my eyes, taking note of the arcs of black magic emanating from the primary crystal and striking the surrounding pieces as they rotated around the core. “I need to get a height advantage,” I said tactically. “I may be able to knock out that main crystal and send this thing crumbling to the ground.

Cadence nodded and turned so her side was facing me. “Then get on!” she said urgently, motioning for me to get on her back.
I stared for a moment. “Seriously?” I asked, dumbstruck.
Cadence stamped a hoof. “We don’t have time for this!” she yelled, and I quickly ran and swung one leg over the armored alicorn, straddling her like… well, like a horse.

“You sure you can lift me?” I asked uncertainly as she started to take a running start before taking off.
Cadence huffed. “I’m a lot stronger than I look, you know,” she said teasingly, pretending to be offended, and took a great leap and soared into the air. “I’ll try and position us so you can get a good hit against that black crystal!” she cried, and I began to swing the Sword of Harmony every few seconds, firing a wave of energy at our massive foe. Unfortunately, the crystals that protected the creature’s heart moved so randomly that it was hard to predict when I would be able to get a direct shot.

“Can you get us any closer?” I asked, and suddenly found myself wrapping my arms around Cadence as she did a barrel roll to avoid a massive swing from the creature’s spiked fists.
“Does that answer your question?” the pink alicorn called in annoyance.

I suddenly got a bad idea. The chances of it working were slim at best, but we were already fighting a losing battle; how worse could it get from here? “Cadence,” I said slowly, pulling my crystal from my pocket, “get me directly above this asshole.”
Cadence peered back at me. “What are you thinking?” she inquired, starting to sound strained from the continuous flying.
I grinned dangerously. “At the risk of you refusing, I’m going to refrain from revealing the details of my plan. Just get me directly above that thing!”

Cadence swooped low to the ground, flying away from the crystal beast, and shot back in the air as she turned to face the creature again.
“Whenever you’re ready,” she said uncertainly as we drew closer to my desired point.
I narrowed my eyes as I watched our enemy’s position below us. “Roll, now!” I cried suddenly, and Cadence flipped over on her back as I slackened my grip on her, causing me to plummet directly towards our enemy.

I held the Sword of Harmony straight in front of me in my right hand as my crystal glowed red in my left, and my armor materialized over my body.
“Let’s hope this works!” I yelled as the wind rushed past me, and I flew past the protective crystals and struck the core of the beast dead-on, ripping it out with me as I hit the ground and rolled for several yards. I stood up as the creature let out a rumbling roar and fell to the ground, breaking into pieces that slowly turned to dust. I saw Cadence land a few feet away, her visor folding away as a look of relief crossed her face.

“Never, ever, scare me like that again!” she said angrily, suddenly rearing up on her hind legs and hugging me tightly as Spike ran out from his hiding spot to join us.
I laughed and returned the embrace. “I don’t think I can promise that,” I said apologetically, “but I’ll try my best.”
Cadence nodded as we parted, and turned to the coliseum. “Let’s go; we still have one more fight ahead of us,” she said grimly, and we quickly headed for our final destination.

Allen sighed deeply. “Well, I cannot say I didn’t see that coming,” he said quietly. “I suppose I should delay the inevitable no longer.”
With a mighty leap, the possessed boy dropped down from the coliseum's wall to where his prisoners were chained below. “Okay, everyone; it’s time for the grand finale!” he cried, and snapped his fingers as the chains enveloping the trapped ponies suddenly shot out and wrapped around his arms, directly transferring their magic into his body. They all cried out in pain as their strength was ripped from their bodies as Allen laughed maniacally.

“Hear their screams, boy!” he yelled, his voice becoming more and more distorted with every moment he spent gathering power, “Hear their screams and know you failed to protect them! The final battle for Equestria is coming, and you get a front row seat to watch everything you care about burn!”