"Life."

"What is life?"

"None truly know what life is as a whole. None have experience all that life has to offer. But all have experienced a taste of life. Yet, as much as we have tasted it, tried it, lived it and loved it, we do not know what it is, or more importantly, where it came from. How did we, living organisms, come into existence? How did we begin to thrive, and when will we stop? That is a question that is, unfortunately, even out of my reach. Wouldn't you agree, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight floated in a vast sea of darkness. Nothing was within her sight but pitch black space. She felt as if she was in water, yet at the same time felt as if standing on land. She didn't know where she was or what she was doing here, but one thing was very clear to her: the voice around her expected an answer.

"I... I don't know..." she spoke, still unsure of her surroundings or what impact her answer would leave upon this world.

"You sound troubled" the voice, now recognized to be female, spoke in a rather soothing manner "There is no reason to be troubled, my dear. I am merely asking a simple question. Do you perhaps know what life is?"

The lavender mare became even more confused and terrified of where she was and what the voice was asking her. She struggled to give out a proper answer, her hooves trembling and her teeth chattering. This was unreal to her. This had to be some sort of a dream.

"L-L-Life?" she repeated the voice's question "W-Well... Life is... well, you see..."

"Relax, my child" the voice calmed her down "I was merely wondering if you knew the answer. It is okay if you do not. I can-"

"No... I got this one..." Twilight spoke after a while, letting out a sigh "Life is... Life is what we choose it to be. It binds us and helps us make friends. It's what we live every single day and shapes us into the ponies we are destined to become!"

"That is your answer?" the voice curiously spoke with a bit of venom, frightening Twilight a bit.

"Y-Yes" the purple maned Unicorn nodded in confirmation.

"I see..." the voice sounded less than pleased now before becoming more angry "You stupid, stupid excuse for a-" the voice calmed down "No. No, you'll understand one day. Your life will change, Twilight Sparkle, for better or for worse. And it all depends on what you choose at the end of your journey. This is not the end, my dear. You will follow your destiny soon enough."

"What?" Twilight questioned "What does that mean?! Hey, answer me! I NEED TO KNOW!!!"

XXXXXX

Twilight awoke quite abruptly from her slumber in the lower decks of the Dragonship with a gasp. She looked around and saw her bedsheets had been shifted quite drastically, telling her she was shaking in her sleep. She let out a sigh once she gathered the voice and the sea of nothing was but a dream. She needed a breather, and the upper decks of the ship were just her ticket.

She was already out of her armour, obviously. Only a fool would sleep for hours with their armour still on. She wore some comfortable purple pajamas that had been given to her by Teal. The latter said she looked good in them. Twilight couldn't imagine why. Slowly, she went out onto the deck where the soft wind of the night brushed by her face in a soothing manner. She let in a deep breathe and and let out a deep sigh before heading to the forward-most point of the ship accessible to her. She stared out into the huge land before her, the stars of night glistening and dancing above her. She didn't know why, but she always preferred the night over the day. Perhaps it was the near quiet tone of things? She supposed she would never figure out truly why.

"You can't sleep either?" a familiar voice behind her spoke. The lavender mare turned around to see Teal also without her armour on, wearing a dark green onesie and a cup of hot coffee in her left wing. The teal mare smiled at her crush.

"No, sorry..." Twilight sighed.

"No need to be sorry, babe" Teal smiled as she got closer to her potential marefriend, wrapping her right wing over her back "I can't sleep either. Though, that's mainly because you talk in your sleep."

"I-I did?" gasped the lavender mare "S-Sorry about that..."

"Again with the apologies, eh?" chuckled the moss green maned Pegasus "Well, I forgive you. And I'm sure everypony else does as well. Now, I believe you owe me something."

"What?"

Teal said nothing as she leaned in to give Twilight a passionate kiss on the lips. The Unicorn was shocked at first, but soon began kissing back. Their session continued for a few more moments until Twilight pulled off, and looked the other way, confusing Teal.

"Are you okay?" she asked her crush.

"Yeah, sor- I mean, yeah..." the purple maned mare stopped herself from apologizing "I've just been a little... agitated recently... Like, a few minutes ago recently."

"How so?"

"Well..." Twilight was about to tell her friend, but ultimately chose not to "...no, it's nothing. I'll be fine."

"Twilight, I know what happens when somepony gets agitated and doesn't talk about it" Teal gave the lavender hunter a concerned glare "They start melting into sticky goop stuff that's hard to wash out. Or, is that something else... Either way, you can't keep your feelings stashed up inside you like that. Twi, I'm your friend! Albeit a friend you haven't had for a while, but a friend nonetheless. You can tell me anything."

"Teal, it's okay" the agitated mare sighed "Go back to bed, okay? I just need some time alone."

"Eh, fair enough" she shrugged "Just don't be too long, okay? You're gonna need the rest if you want to kill that Gore Magala thing dead. I mean, you've come this far! Wouldn't want its trump card to be you half asleep."

"Okay" giggled Twilight before going back to staring out the front of the Dragonship. Teal smiled before going back down into the lower decks. Once Twilight heard the door close, she sighed.

"What is life?" she pondered "I mean, I have my own idea, but I wonder if there's a set answer? Whoever that pony was who contacted me through my dreams was probably has the answer..." she sighed again "Teal's right, I best get to bed..." The lavender mare nodded to the land in front of her before turning around and heading back to the lower decks. This was going to be a long battle, and she needed all the rest she could get.

XXXXXX

Arrival in Ponyville came early the next morning. The Dragonship, steered by none other than the great and amazing Teal Speck herself, slowly docked right beside the train station, much like it had in the Crystal Empire. The stopping thud had awoken Rarity from her 'beauty sleep' and greatly enraged her. She emerged from the lower decks still in her frilly pajamas with a scowl across her face.

"Teal Speck!" she huffed "What is the meaning of this?! Can't you see I'm trying to get my beauty sleep?"

"Well, your 'beauty sleep' will have to be put on hold" the teal Pegasus had already taken a somewhat disliking attitude towards the archer "Look around you, honey; we're already in Ponyville!"

"Oh, so we are..." Rarity finally realized after taking a small look around.

It wasn't long before Twilight and Sun Stone had come up from their sleeping quarters. In such a short time, the little light brown filly had picked up some words from her elder sister and began speaking much faster then she had before. Some words Twilight wasn't too proud of came out of Sun's mouth, but she was nonetheless very impressed. Since they got up, they had talked all about their interests.

"...and from what studies show, a Diablos actually has a second stomach!" the lavender mare gushed "One is for consumption, and the other is for digestion! It's all so fascinating!"

"Tell me more, Miss Twilight!" Sun Stone was highly curious about what her sister's crush had to say.

"Well, a Diablos can-"

"I think that's enough egghead stuff for one day, wouldn't you agree, babe?" Teal suddenly interrupted the two from continuing their conversation "Besides, I think Celly wants to talk with you. There were, like, a million other ponies there who wanted to speak with us, so no point in wasting anymore time then we need."

"But, Teal, Miss Twilight has so much things she wants to speak!" the light brown filly didn't quite say a perfect sentence.

"I know, Sunny" the teal hunter sighed as she got her armour on "But this is important for saving the world and such. Now how can Miss Twilight tell you all the amazing things about... um... Diablos guts-"

"Stomachs" Twilight corrected.

"Right" Teal nodded before going back to her original sentence "-when there's no world left, eh?"

"I guess you're right..." Sun Stone sighed.

"Wanna come with?" the teal mare asked her now saddened sister, to which she immediately perked up and nodded furiously "Great!" she turned back to Twilight "The princess is in the hospital, obviously, but like I said, there are others there."

"Like?" the lavender mare asked Teal.

"Like a bouncy pink one, an ash grey Unicorn, a blue Alicorn..." she listed a few off the top of her head "Oh, and cute yellow one who introduced me to everypony."

"Even Fluttershy, huh?" Twilight thought to herself.

"Anyways, the more time we waste here, the less time we'll have to discuss what to do with ol' Gorey" the teal mare continued "Let's head on downtown and meet up with Celly and her friends, why don't we?"

"I don't think she'll appreciate you calling her Celly, but sure, why not?" Twilight shrugged before nodding.

XXXXXX

After a tediously long walk to the hospital, what with all the bickering from both Teal and Rarity, the four finally reached their destination. They entered the hospital to see that, much to Twilight's surprise even though she was told not a few minutes prior, Luna and Dark Thunder had come to Ponyville, both of which were wearing their armour currently. Luna immediately saw the lavender mare and embraced her in a hug.

"Twilight!" she smiled "It's been so long! And now look at you; all suited up and ready to fight anything!"

"Luna, it's been a while" Twilight smiled before realizing Teal had never met her, finally turning to her and beginning the introductions "Luna, this is my friend Teal. She's been with me on many of my adventures. And Teal, this is Luna, the pony who trained me to be the mare I am today."

"Pleasure!" Teal extended a hoof in friendship "Anypony who's a friend of Twilight is a friend of mine" she then turned to Rarity before looking back at Luna "Well, almost anypony..."

"Excuse me?!" Rarity shouted in frustration.

"Quite the interesting characters you've come across, Twilight" nervously chuckled the princess of the night "Do tell me that you've met... others on your journey."

"That would be me" Dark spoke up "She and I along with Pinkie helped destroy a Changeling hive and defeat Dire Miralis."

"Ah yes, you were telling me about that" Luna recalled "Well, I think we're all quite familiar with each other now. My sister, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are waiting upstairs."

"You're sister?" Teal asked curiously.

"Um... Never mind" the blue Alicorn covered up her secret "I forgot she wasn't coming."

"Well, hey, you can borrow MY sister then!" the teal mare laughed before nudging Sun Stone, who until this point had been dead scared of everyone, towards Luna "Don't be scared, kiddo! Just say 'hello', okay?"

"Um..." the light brown filly began "He... Hello...."

"Aww, how adorable..." Luna gushed "Do you wish to accompany me up the stairs?"

Sun Stone merely shook her head and rushed back behind her big sister's leg, slightly disappointing the princess of the night.

"Sorry about her" Teal smiled as she shrugged "That's what happens when you're raised in the wild, fearing all ponies and watching both her mothers die right in front of her."

There was an awkwardly long silence. No one said a word as they all just stared at Teal in either anger, confusion, sadness or disbelief. Finally, Rarity broke the quietness.

"Well, I do believe we should head up now" she said as she made her way to the stairs.

"Agreed."

"Yep!"

"Without a doubt."

"Okay..."

All of the mares left for the second floor where Celestia and the others were waiting, leaving Dark Thunder in confusion about what just happened. He was left mouth wide open at the mention of how Teal's sister came to be here.

"So, is anypony gonna tell me what the hell just happened?" he asked no one in particular "Hello? Anypony? No? Okay..."

XXXXXX

"Twilight! So very nice to see you again" Celestia smiled as her student and said student's friends, including Dark Thunder who had rushed up the stairs as fast as he could, entered the room "I've heard you've met many ponies on your travels and defeated many great foes, like the legendary Dah'ren Mohran and the powerful Dire Miralis. I'm so proud of you! However, there is something of extreme importance I must tell you."

"Is it about the Gore Magala?" Twilight asked.

"Something like that..." Rainbow spoke up, letting out a nervous chuckle "Well, you see... The hunters in Canterlot found something in the Canterlot caverns."

"Oh no... Don't tell me the Gore made its nest there!" the lavender Unicorn worried.

"Fortunately, no, it hasn't" the princess of the day sighed with a smile, much to the relief of her student "However, we have discovered something far, far worse than a nest or a hive of sorts."

"Wait, are you telling us there's something worse than a Gore Magala out there?" Teal questioned with actual concern in her voice.

"Perhaps not..." Celestia said, to which everyone in the room sighed in relief "...but it is most definitely a close second."

"WHAT?!" everyone yelled in shock and fear, with the exception of Pinkie, Celestia and Rainbow Dash.

"Y-Y-Y-You mean th-th-there's something.... w-w-worse?!" Fluttershy managed to say from the initial reveal of the new threat.

"Unfortunately, yes" the white Alicorn sighed "After searching through the Canterlot caverns not a few hours prior for any traces of the Gore Magala being there, my hunters discovered traces of tar. Now I understand what you may be thinking, and I can assure you we had no part in putting it there. However, after doing a bit of research on the subject, apparently 1000 years prior to today, a great beast said to be so powerful, it could control the very moon itself. It was known as-"

"The Gogmazios..." Twilight finished her mentor's sentence with awe in her eyes "According to ancient lore, it was considered the king of monsters for its sheer strength and incredible resilience to anything inflicted onto it. It ravaged the land and was the Faust and Nyx's greatest challenge yet, and even they could only seal it away, not kill it. Since then, it's the seal has been protected by those of the royal line, and all that is known of this monster is its terrifying howl and its ability to control a tar-like substance. In many respects, its just like the Gore Magala."

"I see you're quite educated on the matter" Celestia nodded with a grin, to which the lavender Unicorn blushed with a smile on her face "Yes, it's true; the Gogmazios has been under the watchful eye of the royal family for generations. But to have it awakened in my time... I'm sure you must all know what I ask of you to do, correct?"

Everyone able nodded, some courageously, others quite hesitantly.

"I'll stay behind, your highness" Rarity suggested "I don't wish to be involved with anything relating to tar. And Teal and I have some... differences..."

Celestia let out a sigh and nodded as well. No one said anything as the uninjured hunters left the hospital to defeat the beast opposing against them. As soon as the door closed behind all of them, the princess of the sun sighed before realizing something interesting.

"Wait... The Gogmazios was firmly sealed in the cavern since I checked it last..." she thought "It had a few thousand years left on it, so it wouldn't have been opened unless... unless... a member of the royal blood-line opened it themselves..."

She shuddered at the though. She just hoped that worst fears weren't true...

XXXXXX

The express train to strictly Canterlot and Ponyville was, much to the satisfaction of the group, still running. If it wasn't, the trip all the way up the mountain would've taken too long, and the Gogmazios broken loose would have destroyed Canterlot, or worse. Thankfully, that wasn't the case as the train sped towards Canterlot Mountain posthaste. As most of the group formulated a plan to defeat the Gogmazios, Pinkie stuck her head and tongue out the window of the train car, causing a few ponies to giggle.

"Pinkie..." Twilght smiled "I'm not sure that's socially appropriate."

"What? Nah, it's okay!" the bouncy mare grinned "Besides, what's the worst that could-"

"DON'T!!" everypony in the car stopped her from finishing her sentence. Pinkie merely shrugged and went back to sticking her tongue out the window like a dog. The lavender pony present sighed and went back to discussing the plan of attack, but not before Teal expressed her thoughts on a certain subject.

"Still can't believe we couldn't bring the Dragonship with us" she sighed in disappointment "Do you know how badass it would've been if we went into Canterlot, cannons ablaze and killing dead that Gog-massie-oes thing!"

"While I would have loved to bring it as well, we need to keep it a secret to everypony" Twilight explained "No particular reason, but I'd just feel safer if we were to hide the ship for now."

"Fair enough..." the teal Pegasus rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Now, the Gogmazios has control over an odd tar-like substance that stops you in your tracks... theoretically..." the lavender mare continued.

"Theoretically?" Dark Thunder's left eyebrow rose up.

"Dark, this is a thousand-year-old monster we're dealing with, perhaps even older!" Twilight did her best to explain the situation "Doesn't help that its been locked up for a while and nearly nopony knows anything about it!"

"Alright, alright, calm yourself..." the ash grey Unicorn hushed "So it uses tar, right? I'm sure it's just like getting webbed by a Nerscylla web. Just shake it free and it won't harm you."

"But... what if it does something else?" quietly asked Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy states a good point, Twilight" Luna spoke "Not even I know what the Gogmazios is capable of. True, I am a descendant of the legendary hero Faust, but even I'm clueless as to the extent of its power."

Suddenly, Twilight felt a cold wind flow over her. It was dark and foreboding, filled to the brim with hatred, anger, and just flat-out darkness. But for some reason, it felt so warm and familiar to her. She felt it call out to her and her alone, as if a mother awaiting for her child to return. It was an odd feeling to describe, but anyone who ever had a mother who loved them would know exactly what Twilight felt.

"...babe? Twi!" called out the familiar voice of Teal Speck "Are you okay? You kinda zoned out there for a second."

"Hmm? What?" the lavender hunter snapped back into reality "Oh, sorry about that... I was just thinking about something..."

"What were you thinking of?" Luna asked politely and curiously.

Twilight didn't want to tell her friends about the odd wind flowing through her body. She had to think of a lie quick. Before she was about to give her answer, a thought struck her mind: who or what released the Gogmazios? He/she/it couldn't have gotten far in such a short amount of time, which meant the freer might still be on the mountain.

"I was just thinking about a possible theory..." she began "What if the freer of the Gogmazios was still on the mountain? Surely with such a small timeslot, he/she/it wouldn't have been able to get down from the mountain."

"Unless it WAS an it" Dark reasoned "What if it was the Gore Magala? It could already be gone by now."

"I don't think so, Dark..." Twilight thought aloud "I've also been thinking about the necklace I used to get the ultimate weapon. I know I left it back at the ruins, but I distinctly remember it looking like a-"

"Moon" Luna finished "I was there when you first picked it up. Didn't you say it had become something more brilliantly shining than what it was before?"

"Exactly!" the bookworm nodded "Just like phases of-"

"The moon..." Teal gasped in realization "But, there are only two mares in all of Equestria that can control the moon, and one of them is with us right now. Does that mean one of them is a traitor?"

"WHAT?! HOW DARE-" Luna began before being hushed by Fluttershy softly, calming her down "...what I meant to say was, surely you don't believe I or my sister was the one who released the Gogmazios."

"It's okay, Teal" Twilight nodded "I think I might know who did this. Does anyone remember the final battle recorded in Equestrian history?"

"You mean between the two sisters?" Dark asked before chuckling a bit "Who doesn't? It's, like, the most famous story ever! They teach it in schools, clubs, and even cooking shows!"

"Right, so I was- wait, really?" questioned a confused lavender mare "Um, never mind. Anyway, I was thinking... We never did find out what happened to the younger sister Nyx, right?"

"Babe, you're not implying that she was the one behind this all, are you?" the teal mare present asked her crush.

"I might just be" nodded Twilight "Any number of things could have happened to her! She could have been sealed away, eaten by a monster, or anything really! But I know one thing for certain; Faust would never kill her sister or put her in danger."

"Which means..." Teal's eyes widened.

"It couldn't be..." Luna gasped in worry.

"Do you mean to say..." Dark questioned.

"Yes" the lavender Unicorn backed her thoughts "I have reason to believe that somewhere on that mountain, Nyx is still alive. And worse yet, I think she's controlling the Gore Magala to do her bidding."

As if on cue, a screech was heard above the train. Everyone stopped in their place, for they knew exactly what flew overhead them. Nonetheless, they peered their heads up out of the windows and saw none other than the Gore Magala flying towards Canterlot Mountain. Mouths agape, they stared at the dark beast set to terrorize the land should it continue attacking it. They watched as it majestically glided through the air, a trail of black scales following it and gently falling down from the sky. It was terrifying.

"I'm going alone..." Twilight said, earning a gasp from all ponies present, including Pinkie "All of you can take out the Gogmazios, but I need to do this alone."

"But Twilight, we're your friends!" Teal argued "We're coming with yo-"

"Teal, no!" the female Unicorn shot back "Sorry, I just... need to do this by myself."

"The Gore has taken more than just your home, Twilight" Luna added "It nearly took mine as well."

"It was the reason my brother lost his legs in the first place!" Dark Thunder exclaimed.

"It distracted you, which in turn prevented you from saving my sister's mother figure..." Teal sighed.

"Look, I know the Gore has done terrible things to us" Twilight sighed "But... Something's calling to me. It wants me..."

"Do you think it's Nyx?" Fluttershy asked "Or... s-s-something worse?"

"I don't think the beast is intelligent enough for manipulation" the blue Alicorn of the team once again spoke "I know it's smart enough to fight, taunt and kill, but I'm fairly certain manipulation is far out of its reach. My ancestor must be doing this, should she still exist. Perhaps somepony else is doing this? I'm sorry, Twilight, but I'm just having a hard time believing that over the course of a thousand years, my greatest aunt Nyx survived the time and is now using the Gore Magala to do her dirty work."

"I know it's difficult to believe, but when you put all the pieces together, it starts to make sense" the lavender mare tried to explain "We all know that Faust and Nyx fought a long time ago when the latter betrayed the way of a Monster Hunter. But what exactly happened was never recorded. Whatever happened that allowed her to stay alive would, without a doubt, force her into enrageme-"

The train suddenly shook violently, interrupting Twilight's sentence and bouncing the ponies up into the air a bit. The stomping of four distinctly familiar legs made its way across the locomotive and right on top of the team's car.

"The Gore came back?" Dark questioned "But, surely it couldn't have known we were talking about Nyx, should she actually still live."

"I think this proves my theory, guys" Twilight's voice rose up a bit.

"Twi, that could mean anything" Teal rolled her eyes with a smile, slightly worrying a certain shy yellow Pegasus mare "It could be that it's hungry, bored, angry. But I'm not sure that-"

Two more claws could be heard on the roof of the train car, more than likely the dark dragon's wingarms crashing down as well. Another screech, higher in pitch than the first one, was let out from the Gore Magala. Twilight knew what this meant; frenzy mode had been activated. Before anyone could react, the beast put its arms into a hammer-like fist and smashed them down into the car, creating a giant hole. It stared with now protruding purple feelers sticking out of its head before gripping the sides of the car with its arms and screeching at the party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgojcdH3BJg

The team was blown back by the force of the roar, all the way back to the end of the train car. Well, everyone but Pinkie Pie. She just removed her head from the window, analyzed the situation with an eyebrow raised and whipped out her heavy bowgun, firing several rounds at the beast with a completely straight face. The Gore lost its balance and fell off the train, pleasing the pink mare before she smiled and went back to sticking her head out the side.

"Pinkie, that was incredible!" Twilight said, shocked at what her friend had just done.

"It isn't over yet..." Dark looked outside the car and saw the Gore Magala getting back up and dashing towards the train. Twilight and the others peeked out as well and gasped.

"Get ready, everypony!" Luna shouted right as the dark dragon jumped back onto the top of the car. Twilight wasted no time in pole-vaulting up to the roof and engaging the beast, her friends following not too far behind. But without warning, the Gore Magala fired a blast of dark fire at her, knocking her all the way back to the caboose.

"Twilight!" Teal yelled at the lavender mare in concern before turning to blind dragon with a face of pure hatred "Hey you! Yeah you! You break my mare, I break your bones!"

The teal Pegasus whipped out her dual blades and went into demon mode, a red light enveloping her and making her angrier than before. She rushed towards the Gore Magala with rage in her eyes and slashed its face, knocking it off guard and sending it tumbling off the left side of the train. However, using one of its wingarms, it held onto the roof of the car, the train dragging it along the ground.

"I got this one!" Dark nodded before pulling out his longsword with his magic and rushing towards the dragon. Luna, whipping out her charge blade, rushed ahead of the Unicorn and positioned herself in front of him before launching him up into the air. Flipping in the sky like a graceful dancer, he brought his sword down onto the Gore Magala's arm and knocked its grip off of the train car, tearing off some scales in the process and forcing the beast to be flown back all the way back to the caboose.

"Ugh..." Twilight shook her head "That was a doozy... I wonder how the- GAH!!!" she looked up and saw the Gore Magala staring right back at her "Oh, this isn't good..."

The dark dragon screeched in her face, forcing her to cover her ears. Looking to her side, she saw her insect glaive lodged in the roof of the caboose. However, before she could reach it, the Gore pressed her body down with its good wingarm and drooled dark saliva all over her. Suddenly, it became confused, which in turn confused the trapped lavender mare. She took this time to use her magic to levitate her glaive over to her and slam it down on the creature's head, scarring it and releasing her from its grip.

(Music stop)

"Ha HA!! Take that, you jerk!" Twilight laughed in triumph as the beast stumbled around the roof. It shook its head as to remove fatigue from itself before extending its wings weakly flying away from the train, heading towards the mountain.

"Twilight!" Teal called out, rushing towards her before giving her a big hug and a kiss "Are you okay, babe?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine" the lavender hunter blushed and smiled "But the Gore Magala is still at large."

"At the very least, we managed to injure it and ward it away from us for the time being" Luna looked at the silver lining "But Twilight is right; so long as it lives, it poses a threat to us and Equestria."

"We have to take it out as soon as possible" Dark agreed.

"Or Equestria is DOOMED!!" Pinkie Pie, who had joined up with the group, panicked.

"At least we know that it lives in or on Canterlot mountain" Teal confirmed with a smile "It'll be easier for Twilight to take it out."

"So... you agree with my plan then?" Twilight wondered.

"While I'm slightly disappointed that you would decide to do this by yourself," Luna sighed before letting out a smile "I think we'll be willing to accept and understand your choice. While it may not make any sense to us, we trust you."

"We'll go for the Gogmazios while you head for the Gore" Dark Thunder nodded "Give it a good blade to the head for me, okay?"

"Will do, Dark" Twilight smiled. The team stayed silent for a while, pondering on what to do next. It was then when Twilight realized just exactly where they were pondering, and a blush appeared on her face again.

"Um, guys?" she gained her friends' attention "Maybe this isn't exactly the best place to be thinking about what to do next."

Everyone perked up to the lavender Unicorn's note. They soon looked around as well and sighed, all giving out a collective "Yeah...". They all headed back to the car with the ripped open roof.

XXXXXX

The train finally arrived in Canterlot, heavily damaged and completely wrecked. The conductor, who had no idea the Gore was even on the train in the first place, was thoroughly shocked and quite surprised to find out that his train had been nearly destroyed and almost irreparable. In other words, he went completely insane.

"MY TRAIN!!!" he shouted as he stared at the wreck he was driving this whole time "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY TRAIN?!!"

"Sir, calm down" Teal began to hush him "I'm sure we can-"

"MY LIFE IS RUINED!!" the conductor sobbed "I HAVE NO WIFE OR KIDS!! THAT TRAIN WAS MY SOUL MATE!!"

As he continued to weep, the team simply walked away. They finally met with a hunter with Yian Garuga armour who appeared to be the captain of the squadron. He saluted the group and began to explain the situation.

"Good thing you showed up" he said "Princess Celestia messaged us and told you were the finest hunters she had."

"Well, I dunno about that..." Teal blushed with a cocky smile "But we're certainly all you got left."

"Celestia says that the Gogmazios has awakened, correct?" Luna questioned "Where was it last sighted?"

"Unfortunately, just outside the city" the hunter sighed "We managed to trap it in the stronghold, however the hell we did that, but I'm not sure how long that iron door is going to last."

"Right, we'll take out the Gogmazios, and Twilight over here will take out the Gore Magala on top of the mountain" Dark Thunder nodded.

"So the Gore has taken residence on top of Canterlot Mountain?" the hunter commander sighed "Very well. Defeating these dangerous monsters at the same time would prove to be a wise strategy. But, will it only be you going up there?"

"Yes" Twilight nodded "I know it sounds weird, but I feel as if this is something I have to do alone."

"Well... suit yourself..." the hunter nodded before turning to the others "You lot. The Gogmazios, like mentioned before, is in the stronghold. The stronghold has a few ballistas and cannons to shoot at the beast, as well as a Dragonator to-"

"Wait, how did you guys get a Dragonator?" the lavender mare spoke up.

"Oh, right..." Teal scratched the back of her head with her front right hoof "When you were away, we took a look at the Dragonship and discovered how Dragonators worked. We sent the message out across the land, and everypony began making their own Dragonators."

"Our Dragonator is merely a prototype" the hunter explained "We haven't even tried it yet, but I doubt it won't malfunction."

"True, true" Pinkie nodded "This chapter can only go on for so long, and the last thing we need is some kinda shocking twist where the Dragonator doesn't work and all who's left is Teal to save it, and she sacrifices her life to move the Dragonator into the Gogmazios's heart, which makes Twilight sad because they have a thing going on!"

"P-Pinkie!" Twilight shouted, blushing at that last part of her sentence "I-I... You... But... WHY?!"

"Babe, it's okay" the teal Pegasus hugged her crush "Besides, I think everypony knew by now."

"R-Right..." the Unicorn sighed and nodded. After a small break of getting prepared and upgrading armour, it was at long last time to engage the Gogmazios and Gore Magala. After Twilight put her full armour on, said her farewells and made her way to the mountain lift, Teal caught up with her. This was the very first time Twilight saw legit worry in the mare's eyes.

"Do you have to do this by yourself?" she asked.

"Yeah..." Twilight nodded with a sad frown "Sorry, I-"

Her sentence was interrupted when Teal all of a sudden removed her crush's helmet and gave her a passionate kiss. This kiss was different from any other they shared; it wasn't filled with cockiness or smugness, but rather filled with love and sorrow. Teal legitimately loved her, and only now did the lavender Unicorn fully realize this. Soon enough, Twilight began kissing back as well, wishing her luck fighting the great Elder Dragon. Eventually, they parted and smiled at each other.

"See ya later, Twi" the teal mare grinned before putting Twilight's helmet back on.

"Thank you, Teal" she nodded and smiled behind her helmet before quickly hugging Teal and heading off to fight the dark dragon that haunted her since the beginning of her adventure.

"I love you, Twilight..." the Pegasus smiled quietly before she too turned and walked away.

"I love you too, Teal..." Twilight smiled, not directly hearing her marefriend, but knowing confidently that's exactly what she said.

XXXXXX

Luna, Dark Thunder, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and, of course, Teal Speck reached the Stronghold just out of the city where the Gogmazios was being held captive, a term all of them took lightly. This thing would escape if they didn't kill it now. Only problem? This was a monster from day's past. Who knew what it even looked like, let alone how it would attack. Teal had to be smart this time.

The team got over to the main gates, where a tar-like substance was oozing out of the cracks. Fearing the worst, they slowly backed away from the doors. They were thankful they did that in the long run, as the second they started backing away, a giant black beast emerged from the gates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyHHCwwkfbI

Its body was huge, with six limbs; two for its giant wings and the rest for its legs. Its Lao Shan lung-like head had a glowing red pattern underneath it, as well as what seemed like thousands of spines all across its head and body. The wing fingers were spiky and the elbows had claws, giving a more Gore-like appearance to it, and its eyes glowed blood red. However, two features stood out: the tar-like substances dripping from its pores, and the giant spike in its back. Teal gave a closer look at it, and gasped in horror at what it was.

"That's... That's the Dragonator in its back!" she exclaimed "How powerful is that thing?!"

"Powerful enough to shrug off a Dragonator attack, it would seem" Luna noted before beginning a strategy "Okay, Dark and Pinkie? Go around it and try to distract it. Teal, Fluttershy and I will- Wait, where's Fluttershy?"

Before the search for the timid mare could commence, a gigantic red laser came forth from the Gogmazios's mouth, forcing the party to dodge out of the way. They were flung from the force of the impact, creating a giant crater in the ground. Afterwards, the dragon moved slowly towards Canterlot, not caring what got in its way.

"We have to slow it down, first of all" Dark shouted to his teammates "If that thing makes it all the way to Canterlot, it's game over!"

"You think we don't know that?!" Teal shouted before looking at Pinkie's general direction "Pinkie, bring its attention back over here!"

"Okie dokie lokie!" she grinned before lining her shot up with the Gogmazios and firing several large shells at it. Naturally, they did a decent amount of damage, but failed to gain the attention of the beast.

"Uh oh..." Pinkie worryingly said "Well, I'm all out of ideas. Thoughts, anypony?"

"We'll need something stronger than a Dragonator to gain its attention" Dark pointed out "But what's the one thing that can gain a monster's attention more than that?"

"Pinging?" Teal suggested.

"That's an urban myth, Teal" Luna sighed "I still don't understand why ponies ping at a monster when it clearly doesn't work."

"Why don't we try music?" Pinkie suggested.

"But Fluttershy isn't anywhere to be found" Dark sighed "I'm guessing she fled when the Gogmazios appeared. Honestly, I don't blame her. Being timid and seeing something that big appear in front of us is a pretty big deal."

"Still, we're kinda lost without her!" Teal worryingly shouted "FLUTTERSHY?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"O-Over here..." the soft voice of the timid mare spoke up behind a few barrels of gunpowder.

"Fluttershy, you must come out to aid us!" Luna shouted as nice as she could.

"B-B-But... T-That monster..." she whimpered "It's s-s-so... big..."

"Flutters, look," Dark tried to reason with her "if you don't help us distract the monster, a lot of ponies are going to die."

"W-What?" the yellow Pegasus nervously asked.

"Yeah!" Teal confirmed "If that there monster gets to town, everything will go to hell. Ponies, houses, animals, you name it! Nothing will survive so long as that elder dragon stays up!"

"Ponies will... die?" Fluttershy's anger began to build up inside her "No... no..." she dropped her hunting horn and flared her wings before flying right into the Gogmazios's face.

(Music Stop)

"Now you listen here, Mister!" she spoke down to the large tar dragon "Just because you're big, doesn't mean you get to bully others, let alone kill them! Now you go right back to where you came from, or we. Will. Hunt. You. DOWN!!"

The Gogmazios simply stared at Fluttershy with a stare that could kill if it was possible. The usually timid mare, however, didn't flinch. She simply stared back. This was when the ancient elder dragon snapped and let out a horrifyingly loud roar, letting tar force its way out of its mouth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkyNUkGATF0&index=133&list=PLW9n301Gjga3LXAqSHG44WK7y_IbYYBf_

Slowly, it turned back around to face the other hunters ruining the time out of its prison. It growled before spreading its seemingly thin wings that turned into gigantic ones. It then began flapping them, creating a huge gust of wind that blew everyone around, slowly rising from the ground and into the air. Despite its huge size and heavy weight, it was apparently capable of flight. It flapped upwards until it finally reached a point where it turned around and began heading towards the city.

"Okay, I definitely wasn't expecting that" Teal stood in awe and horror as the great dragon headed toward the city.

"We have to stop it!" Luna exclaimed.

"Yeah, thanks captain obvious!" Dark shouted before sighing "Well, that was a fruitless attempt at stopping it. What are we supposed to do now, eh?"

"We stop it" Fluttershy bravely nodded "Most of us have wings ourselves. If we fly up and land on its back, we could have a shot at it."

"Interesting idea..." Pinkie thought "Okie Dokie Lokie! You guys go on ahead! Darkie and I will stay on the ground and prepare the city's front defenses should that super huge dragon thing get through you!"

"A wise idea" the Unicorn nodded in agreement "That means you guys, Teal, Flutters and Luna, will be up there. Be safe, okay?"

"We will" Luna nodded before she spread her wings and took off. She was soon followed by the other Pegasi. After taking a bit of time to wave them off, Pinkie and Dark headed for the city defensive walls.

XXXXXX

"I'm staring to think this was a bad idea!!" Teal complained as the team of winged horses were blown around by the force of the Gogmazios's wings, the loud flapping noise nearly channeling out their speech.

"We have no other choice!" Luna reminded the teal Pegasus before looking over the beast's back "There! A see a place we can land!"

"This better be worth it!" the moss green maned mare sighed before she and the others landed on the somewhat sticky back of the beast, the wind and flapping no longer affecting them as much "Eww... This stuff is gross..."

"We must stop complaining and find this thing's weakpoint" the princess of the night stated "Perhaps its head? No, that would be too obvious... And its back seems very hard... Unless..." she fiddled with a loose scale before tearing it off, revealing a steaming red body underneath "Aha! Strike the dragon here!"

"Whatever you say, boss" Teal nodded confidently before unsheathing her dual blades and ramming them down into the Gogmazios's back. The beast let out a terrible roar of pain before it slowly began to descend back down to the earth.

"Um... I'm not sure if, y'know, one stab will quite do it..." Fluttershy pointed out, now back to her timidness.

"Right... Maybe a few more?" the teal mare suggested before ramming the weak point again multiple times, causing immense pain for the Gogmazios and forcing it to descend faster "Nah, I don't think its working. Dearest Lulu, will you be so kind as to apply light pressure to the wound?"

"Gladly" Luna smiled before whipping out her charge blade, switching to axe mode and forcing the edge down into the fleshy red part of the beast, finally forcing it down to the ground "And like that, we're finished."

"Um... Doesn't look like it!" Teal exclaimed as she noticed the dragon was still moving forward, albeit crawling, taking little consideration for its wounds despite the pain flowing through its body "Well, I'll give it one thing; its persistent."

"Now's not the time for jokes, Teal" snapped the lunar princess "Hopefully Pinkie Pie and Dark Thunder have the defenses ready."

(Music Stop)

"Y'know, I think I found out why the sisters couldn't defeat this thing..." a familiar voice spoke rather calmly. Teal, Luna and Fluttershy looked up and saw that not only were they right next to the Canterlot defensive wall, but Dark Thunder and Pinkie Pie standing on top of it. Below them were what seemed like thousands of cannons, all aimed at the Gogmazios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nig3XOWfY7Y&list=PLW9n301Gjga3LXAqSHG44WK7y_IbYYBf_&index=74

"They didn't have loads and loads of FIREPOWER!!" the bubbly pink mare hopped up and down excitedly "GET 'EM, BOYS!!"

One by one, the cannons fired their shots at the beast, doing powerful impact damage unto it. Some of the cannonballs went straight into the Gogmazios's chest, others hit its head and limbs, but all of them did some form of damage. Finally, after about 2067 shots, the great elder dragon told in legends as undefeatable, was defeated. It let out a powerfully loud cry of pain before finally falling to the ground and dying with holes and cracks in its body and scales.

(Music Stop)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv8-Pz0p_K8

"No way... We actually defeated this thing?! HA!" Teal laughed as she, Luna and Fluttershy slid down its body and onto the soft ground "Some legendary monster, eh?"

"That was quite the feat, Dark Thunder and Pinkie Pie" Luna applauded.

"Well, it was nothing, really..." the ash grey Unicorn rubbed the back of his head and blushed "Pinkie and I just warned the defensive guards and prepared the cannons."

"But however did you get there so quickly?" Fluttershy asked the pair.

"Well... You might have to ask Pinkie Pie about that..."

"Truth is, I don't really know myself!" she giggled. With this, all the ponies present began to have a good chuckle. As they did, Teal stopped for a moment to think about how her marefriend was faring.

"Twilight..." she sighed with a smile "Best of luck to you, babe..."

XXXXXX

Twilight, clad in her Dire Miralis armour, walked around the Canterlot caverns that were underneath the mountain. She stared at the beauty of the caves. She had only been there once before; on a school trip with Princess Celestia. However, she was too young then to truly appreciate the caverns.

"Maybe I should go here for my wedding..." Twilight thought aloud, blushing slightly "I mean, it would be pretty interesting, and effective! Everyone would have a good time, and I'd have a chance to study the crystals. Perfect!"

As she smiled and giggled at the thought, she saw an ancient plaque a little further through the tunnel. Approaching it curiously, she saw what appeared to be a story drawn out in pictures. The colours were faded a bit, but the lavender mare could figure out the meaning behind the plaque anyway. She took off her helmet and began looking. The first picture showed two Alicorn sisters, one black and one white, fighting off hoards of monsters on their own.

"Faust and Nyx" Twilight noted "They seemed like nice mares. I wish I could have stayed back in time a little longer, but oh well- wait, what's this?"

The second picture showed the two sisters engaging a black dragon of sorts. It had giant wings and purple horns, with a long tail. Its most defining feature was its lack of eyes. The Unicorn shuddered in fear, knowing exactly what this monster was.

"The Gore Magala..." Twilight sighed "But, how is it that it lives to this day? I mean, sure, we don't quite know its age length, but they couldn't live for a thousand years. That's impossible!"

Her questions were answered as she gazed over to the third and fourth pictures. The third showed the sisters fighting a golden beast with brown horns instead of purple, with giant wings and bright orange eyes. Purple mist spewed forth from the creature. The fourth showed the black Alicorn greedily absorbing the dragon's mist and becoming corrupt.

"I've never seen that thing before" Twilight analysed "And could that be the reason Nyx rebelled against her sister? She was simply corrupted..."

The final picture showed the two Alicorn sisters fighting under a pile of corpses. However, what gained Twilight's attention was the fact that the corpses weren't just of monster-kind, but pony-kind as well.

"That battle must have been grueling for both of them..." Twilight sighed.

"It was" spoke a familiar voice from behind her. She turned around to see that a very old black mare with a long and messy purple mane and a dirty cloth over her body was watching her. Twilight gasped, but quickly took her stature again.

"Nyx" she said simply.

"Twilight" Nyx calmly spoke before slowly approaching the Unicorn "My, what a fine creature you've become..."

"Take one more step and I'll-"

"You'll what, deary?" the Alicorn smiled "Kill me? Oh, I'm afraid that won't accomplish anything now. Perhaps if you were born a few hundred years ago, you could've stopped me by killing me, but it's too late now."

"So, what now?" Twilight asked "Are you gonna monologue about your evil plan?"

"I think we both know what I plan to do, Twilight" the old mare cackled "I plan to ruin this world by spreading the frenzy virus and corrupt all who touch it. Besides, mares my age don't monologue. They tell stories."

"I'm listening..."

"Let's begin where that plaque there leaves off, hmm?" Nyx smiled "The battle was won by my sister, as you can see, and she was about to finish me off. But the poor thing couldn't. So instead, she trapped me inside this wretched mountain alongside my lover. He was the only thing I could hold onto then... Of course, we had a child soon after, but I couldn't bear to watch it grow in this hellhole. So, my lover escaped and raised her himself. Overtime, I grew old, as did the child. The child had another child, which had another, and the cycle repeated itself."

"Why are you telling me this, exactly?" the lavender Unicorn asked curiously.

"Very well... I'll finish this up" the black Alicorn sighed disappointingly "The line was lost to history, but I always remembered. Have you ever wondered why you were never affected with the frenzy? Why whenever you touched that little scale of yours, you wouldn't become some mindless zombie?"

"How did you know about the-" Twilight was about to argue until she finally realized where Nyx was going with her story "Wait, you aren't implying that..."

"Yes, Twilight" Nyx gave off a toothy grin "It's your old grandma. Wanna come over and give me a hug?"

"I-Impossible..." the lavender mare denied this fact "H-How... WHY?!"

"You must be so confused. You poor thing..." the old mare shook her head in worry "Stay with me, and I'll answer all your questions."

"N-No..." Twilight shook her head "NO!! I have a life to live, thank you very much! Not to mention a marefriend I would much rather like to stay with than you!"

"Aww, you poor thing" Nyx chuckled "Actually, speaking of life, remember when I asked you what it was to you? Now, why don't you answer that question correctly, hmm?"

The Unicorn thought long and hard about her answer. Finally, after a bit of suspense, she let it out.

"I stay true to my previous answer" she nodded confidently.

"Ugh... Again, you get it wrong!" Twilight's great grandmother sighed angrily "I'm disappointed in you, Twilight. Perhaps a small fight with the Gore Magala will perk your memory..."

"The Gore Magala?" Twilight questioned "How many times do I have to fight that thing before it dies?"

"If my calculations are correct, you shouldn't be fighting the beast for much longer" Nyx cackled "But this time, you'll be fighting a different variation of it. Unfortunately, when I revived the Gore, it was imperfect..."

"Revived it?" Twilight asked.

"Of course, deary" the Alicorn nodded "Why do you think its scales are shaped like the moon? I was the original Princess of the Night, if you put two and two together. I had to recreate its physical body, the poor thing. I thought everything was going just fine, until it attempted metamorphosis..."

"Meta... Wait, what?"

"You ask too many questions" Nyx groaned "I think it would be better to show you..." she let out a very well mimicked Gore screech. Soon enough, they both heard stomping on the floor, more than likely coming from the star of the show itself. The sound came from a very dark tunnel off to Twilight's left, but when she looked over she didn't see a jet black monster ready to kill her. No, she saw one singular red eye ready to kill her. The Gore stepped out from the darkness and revealed its new body. Its left side was mostly the same, but on the entire other half and a bit of its wing, was golden with spines all along its wingarm and a fixed brown horn on its head. On the golden part was a single eye. Just what had it become.

"While part of the reason it couldn't change properly was because you injured it," the old mare next to the lavender one spoke "I blame myself for making it imperfect. Now look at it; it's dying because it couldn't transform..."

"Then put it out of its misery" the Unicorn suggested.

"And waste what little time it has left?" Nyx cackled "I feel sorry for it, great granddaugher, but I won't let that get in the way of my plans. Besides, it's too powerful to waste its potential. Now, attack her!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSbnhyLhZKA

The Gore Magala let out a horrifying screech, something unlike anything Twilight heard before. It sounded like the Gore's original, yes, but this one was darker and more possessed than the previous one. The lavender mare had no time to think on it however, as the beast slammed its wingarms into the ground and charged forward, forcing her to dodge out of the way.

"You two have fun now, okay?" Twilight's great grandmother laughed "I must be on my way now. Farewell!"

"Nyx, you get back here!" Twilight yelled. In her distraction, she was hit in the back by one of the Gore's breath shots. She tumbled to the ground and hit a wall. The dragon let out something resembling a laugh, but the lavender pony wasn't too sure.

"Fine, you wanna do this the hard way?" the mare asked before putting her helmet back on her head "Then I guess it's finally time to finish you off for good. This is it; the final battle! Let's make this count!"

Suddenly, the monster began flapping its huge wings, lifting it off of the ground. It fired white balls of frenzy with purple highlights around them at Twilight, every single one of them she dodged. She finally ran forward and released her Kinsect at the Gore, distracting it long enough for her to pole-vault onto its back and mount it. She then proceeded to stab its back with quick thrusting motions while the beast itself tried to knock her off. However, Twilight successfully completed the mount and the Gore was knocked on its side, allowing her to attack it.

"This was for the Badlands, and this was for the Ice Ruins..." the lavender mare chanted every time she landed a hit on the Gore's head "So long as I live, you will never hurt anypony again! Do I make myself clear?!"

The dragon, becoming frustrated with Twilight's bickering, slapped her out of the way with its untainted wingarm and got up before attempting to fly away. Realizing this, the lavender mare pulled out a paintball from her pouch and threw it at the Gore, marking it. It finally went away from the field of battle, but Twilight pulled out her map and followed it to its next location.

XXXXXX

The Unicorn got there just in time, in a fortunate turn of events, as the beast had just arrived as well. Growling, it turned back to Twilight before slamming its claws into the ground again and letting out that very same terrifying screech. A purple horn grew on the other side of its head as the air around it became darker and harder to breath in. It charged up a breath attack before letting it go and causing a massive explosion around its mouth, knocking Twilight backwards.

"Ugh... I don't have time for this!" she rubbed her head as soon as she got up and stared at the Gore Magala "You're going to pay for everything you've done to this world!"

Once more it let out a screech before charging right at the mare. However, Twilight pole-vaulted over it and onto its back. Unfortunately, she was quickly knocked off by the constant shaking of its body. It slammed its wingarm down onto the lavender mare's fallen body, trapping her. Finally, it began charging up a breath attack. Twilight simply closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. However, it never came. In fact, she felt the Gore's pressure lift off of her. Opening her eyes, she saw that her Kinsect had buzzed around it, making it become very agitated .

"Of course... My Kinsect..." the mare huffed in relief before getting back up and attempting to attack the creature. But she stopped in her tracks when the Gore jumped up and ate the purple bug, swallowing it and growling in dissatisfaction. Twilight couldn't believe her eyes; the bug that had been with her for her entire adventure was just eaten alive and killed. While it was merely a machine, she couldn't help but feel sorry for it. However, remembering her partner would have to wait. She whipped out her glaive and pointed it straight at the beast.

The Gore Magala did nothing but screech again before it turned around and blasted a wall with its breath. The wall crumbled down and revealed a passage outside the mountain, to which it began to take off. Not having any of it though, Twilight hastily grabbed onto its tail and was pulled along with the creature.

Slowly, she climbed along the tail of the Gore until she finally reached its back. She began stabbing the living hell out of it, forcing the Gore to fly out of control. It continued to do this until it landed on the very top of Canterlot mountain; a flat surface of dirt with a singular brown rock in the centre. Nyx was awaiting them at the top as well.

"Well, well, well..." she chuckled "Good to see you two are playing nicely."

Getting up from the fall, Twilight ignored her grandmother's comment and looked dead in the eye of her arch enemy, before charging right at each other one last time.

"Get ready, you overgrown lizard" Twilight's face became very cross before her voice became very loud "This is for Ponyville, you son of a BITCH!!!"

(Music Stop)

Time seemingly stopped for all living beings present on the mountain. Nyx stared in horror and Twilight stared in anger, whereas the Gore Magala simply stared in shock. A blade had been impaled through its head. Twilight's blade. Slowly, the dragon stumbled over on its side and let out its final breath, closing its one eye for good. Twilight kneeled on all four of her legs, dropping her glaive and sighing. Soon enough, she began to laugh. Nyx looked up and saw this before becoming very angry.

"You laugh after you've killed a creature?" she asked her granddaughter.

"N-No!" the lavender mare continued to giggle "I'm laughing because it's finally over! Finally, I can go back home and live my life with my marefriend, go on hunts with my friends now, and maybe do a bit of relaxing. I'm laughing because I won! Because I deserve it! But not just me... My friends got me this far. Without them, I'd still be locked in a Changeling cell, or trapped in a prison, or inside the belly of a Dah'ren Mohran. Heck, I bet I'd still be learning how to hold a sword without help! Everypony... thank you..."

Suddenly, some clouds moved out of the way to reveal the night sky and the moon within it. Without a word, Nyx began to laugh. A confident smirk came across her face.

"Perhaps it's not quite over yet..." she smiled before looking straight at the Gore's corpse. Confusingly, Twilight did the same. Her expression was wiped clean off her face as soon as she saw the Gore Magala's body twitch. Slowly, its black scales exploded in tiny little explosions as it began standing up again. It became shrouded in darkness, concealing its identity.

"Once I saw that scale of your explode, Twilight," the old Alicorn laughed "I knew there was another hope for this beast should it fall in battle. I must say though, colour me impressed. You've finally 'killed' your enemy. Only... you haven't."

"What are you talking about, Nyx?" the Unicorn's face became very cross again.

"I'm talking about the-" was all the old mare could say before the beast cloaked in darkness dashed forward and ate her whole. It let out yet another dissatisfied growl. Frozen in shock, Twilight simply stood there, giving the beast plenty of time to dash forward again and knock the Unicorn back, putting her into an unconscious state.

XXXXXX

As soon as Twilight came to, she once again found herself floating in darkness. Only, this time was different. This time, she could see a glowing golden figure standing in front of her. The figure wasn't bright, but at the same time the lavender mare couldn't make out any details on its body, other than its upright stance, its arms and legs, and oddly small head. She identified it as a humanoid figure, but nothing else.

"Who are you?" she asked the figure.

"I am the one you call Gore Magala" it spoke in an intimidating male voice "I have lived for centuries awaiting one to revive me and allow me to take my rightful place among gods."

"You're the... Gore Magala?" Twilight questioned "But how? You don't look like a dragon at all."

"This form is temporary. We are currently in your mind" the voice spoke again before getting back on topic "You have followed me and stopped my every attempt to infect this world. Why? Do you not appreciate a world where ponies and monsters live side-by-side?"

"Not like this!" the mare argued "Was this really your plan the whole time?! I don't buy it."

"But alas, this was my plan" the Gore confirmed "Though, I can agree perhaps it was not the best of my plans. However, I will not stop until every living thing on this planet has been infected with my power. Would you care to join me?"

"Wha- NO!" Twilight yelled "Why would I want to join you?!"

"Because you are the only one capable of surpassing my past master and becoming my new one" the figure revealed "This is why Nyx asked you that question. The correct answer, to her at least, was destiny. This is your destiny, Twilight."

"No..." Twilight shook her head "I refuse! I've come too far, and I'm not stepping down now" holding out her hoof, her insect glaive somehow came into her grasp and she pointed it at the figure "You will pay for what you did."

"That is your answer? Very well then..." the figure raised its arms into the air "I needn't a master anyway. You are of no use to me now. Face the wrath of me in my true form. I am Shagaru Magala, and I will finish what I have started all those years ago!"

XXXXXX

After a while, Twilight came to in the real world. Getting up and looking around, she saw her insect glaive on the ground next to her. After picking it up, she noticed her helmet was missing, as well as the rest of her armour and a bit of her skin was slightly scratched up. Her face was covered in dirt, but she looked forward and pressed onward toward the black shadow in front of her.

This is a cutscene. Please ignore the human figure and pretend that's Twilight, kay? Thx! Dialogue is below should you want that instead...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhCxdewbqNY

Twilight walked along the ground, continuing to stare at the black shadow in front of her. Finally, she stopped to look at the smoke. What could possibly be behind it? The figure said it was the Shagaru Magala, but that creature was ancient. Could it be that the Gore and Shagaru were one in the same.

Her question was answered when the black shadow stirred, causing her to gasp a bit. The shadow finally blew off when the Shagaru Magala flapped its giant wings, revealing its golden body and spikes along its back. It stepped forward and analyzed Twilight with its intelligent and orange eyes. Suddenly, it stopped and stared at her for a brief second before slamming its wingarms into the ground and boosting itself into the air, flying right over the lavender mare. It spread its wings once it reached a certain altitude, blinding its opponent with the moonlight's brightness reflecting off its scales. It continued to look at her before growling and charging right at her.

Twilight moved out of the way as quickly as she could, nearly getting caught by the claws of the now deemed-to-be elder dragon. It skidded along the ground before roaring at the Unicorn in rage. The two stared intensely at each other for a moment before the Shagaru Magala roared once again, this time more loudly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZX8yybloCc

The beast dashed forward at Twilight, forcing her to dodge once again. However, it was smarter this time. It grabbed Twilight with its wingarm before smashing her into the ground brutally. Somehow, Twilight managed to recover from that, and roll out of the way just before the Shagaru Magala slammed its wingarms down where she was laying.

"Not this time!" Twilight shouted before pole-vaulting onto its back and attempting to stab the everliving hell out of it. Just before she did however, the dragon brushed her off and attempted to breathe some of its frenzy on her whilst she was still in a knocked down state. She was able to roll out of the way, but just barely.

"How many times are you gonna do that, huh?" she shouted again "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of ancient elder dragon hell-bent on infecting the world? What else do you have for me?"

The Shagaru Magala let out something like a laugh before flying up and spinning around for a sec before expanding its wings and letting out a blood-curdling roar. As it did, thousands of scales brushed off its body, each that landed created an explosion of purple and white on the ground. One fell under Twilight and launched her skyward, where the elder dragon caught her and flew higher into the air, right before throwing her back down onto another scale and doing massive damage to her.

"I-I see... you d-don't... mess... around..." the lavender mare huffed as she now struggled to get back up "But it'll... take a lot more than that... to keep me down..."

The elder dragon landed right in front of her and growled before charging right at her. However, Twilight remembered this moment, and immediately pole-vaulted over it and onto its back. But instead of stabbing it, she instead forced it over to one of the mountain's edges.

"Let's finish this... Together!" she shouted just as she pulled the beast down the side of the mountain. That didn't stop them from fighting however. As they tumbled, Twilight slashed at the Shagaru's back legs while the creature in question attempted to grab her again. The lavender mare, having enough of the foolishness, grabbed onto the dragon's belly and rode its body like a sled down the mountain, ripping away and crushing the spines on its back, as well as scar its head.

The elder dragon tried to stop this however. It pressed its wingarms down and slowly began to stop falling. It then rolled back around and knocked Twilight over before it fired a frenzy blast at her. The explosion sent the mare flying down the mountain once again, the elder dragon in hot pursuit. Thinking fast, the lavender Unicorn pressed her glaive into the stone and jumped right at the beast, bringing her blade down onto it and knocking it down, sending them rolling down the mountainside again.

What came next even surprised Twilight. They shattered through some glass and went into the vacant throne room of Canterlot Castle. The Shagaru and her, both torn and rattled by battle, stared at each other, completely exhausted. Finally, Twilight got back into a proper stance and charged right at her nemesis, the beast doing the exact same thing. Her glaive and its wingarm clashed multiple times until finally the Shagaru got a hit on her and sent her flying backwards.

"N-No..." she panted "I can't lose now... I WON'T LOSE NOW!!"

With the last of her strength, she pole-vaulted right on top of the dragon and stabbed it not with her carving knife, but her glaive, pure and true. This pain forced the beast out the window and made it fall down into Canterlot.

(Music Stop)

Everyone in the city watched as the golden monster fell from their castle. Teal watched especially as a certain purple pony fell down with it. She gasped and hoped Twilight for the best.

"Everything you've done..." Twilight began "Every crime you've committed, every creature you killed, every single pony's lives you made miserable... Your legacy ends today. Now, for the love of god, just give up and DIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!"

As soon as the elder dragon hit the bottom of its fall, it was impaled in the chest by the sheer force of Twilight's insect glaive. It let out a terrible roar of pain before the call died down... and the Gore Magala, now Shagaru Magala, withered away. The Unicorn who committed the act held no remorse for it. She breathed heavily before she fell to the side of the beast. The last word she heard before going into unconsciousness was...

"Twilight!"

XXXXXX

Twilight slowly opened her eyes and let out a groggy moan. She felt warmth and comfort underneath her, and after shuffling around for a moment she realized she was in a bed. Looking around, she quickly came to terms she was in a hospital. No heart monitor was heard to her ears, but deafness wasn't an issue, as she could hear the birds singing from outside the open window. But once looking over to said window, she saw a teal mare with no armour on and wetness in her eyes.

"Teal?..." Twilight asked, still half asleep.

"T-Twilight?" Teal asked, now beginning to cry more "You're awake? Oh, thank god..."

"Teal, are you... crying?" the lavender mare asked.

"No... I'm just, y'know... sweating through my eyes..." the moss green maned Pegasus denied her crying "But you... You've been asleep for two days, Twi. I thought I lost you..."

"But I'm here now" Twilight smiled kindly.

"Yeah, you are..." Teal sobbed before bawling her eyes out and hugging her marefriend "Don't you EVER do that to me again, okay?! Please... I love you too much..."

"Teal..." the Unicorn smiled "I love you too..."

XXXXXX

After that moment happened, Teal calmed down and, with some help from Twilight, stopped crying. They then began to talk about what happened after the fight.

"There was this huge party!" Teal excitedly nodded "There were games, and treats, and cake! But best of all, the little kids got toy swords and beat the living crap out of that dead golden Gore Magala thing. It was awesome! Oh, that reminds me!" she brought out her bag and pulled out a slice of cake "Here, I saved a slice for you."

"Thanks" Twilight smiled before calmly eating her cake "So, what happened next?"

"Next it was pretty normal" Teal grinned "Ponies got back to work and living in peace! All thanks to you, babe. Wish you could've been there, but, y'know... You were asleep and stuff..."

"Right..."

"But hey, you're awake now! Doctor says you just suffered from minor burns and cuts, and a broken leg... But besides that, you should be A-OK by this week."

"That's nice to know" Twilight nodded "Honestly, I can't wait to get out of this place and just relax..."

"Or we could make out..." Teal suggested nervously.

"Or we could make out" the lavender mare rolled her eyes and brought her marefriend in for a kiss, surprising her. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for her to start kissing back. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity.

After all the crap they had to go through, this was their moment.

And nothing could ruin it.

Nothing.

Author's Notes:

That was such a cheap-ass ending, but I think it was swe- Actually, hold on a moment. I'm not doing this AN normally. This is special.

This is the end to the greatest project I've ever done. Period. I started this story off thinking no one would enjoy it and it wouldn't be as good as my other story. No, it wasn't as good. It was even better. But if it wasn't for all the support you guys have given me over the time it took to finish this, this story would be nowhere. From the bottom of my heart, thank you... Everyone...

In other news, we hit 50 likes! I already mentioned this, but this means I can do the bonus chapter! Just for you, tealspeckles! I hope you enjoy!

There are two more chapters after this (epilogue and bonus), so stay tuned. Oh, and again, sorry for the cheap ass ending. I'm good with action, not so much with endings. Sorry!

Until next time... Thank you, and have a beautiful day.

- SuperKamek