I once said that I would never lose to the Grave Wardens even if they came after me. And I was telling the truth.

Before, when they tried to jump me in ones or twos I could easily kick their flanks. And that would have been true even in life, since I was always a good fighter. And since death no longer held any fear for me I could weather a thousand blows if I had to. Not that they’d be able to hit me.

Yes, even a squad of Grave Wardens wouldn’t have posed much of a threat. But what about two squads? What about if they all had crossbows? And what if…they were tougher than I thought?

The idiots that always tried to go after me were idiots. They weren’t the best and brightest of the Grave Warden’s ranks because the best and brightest wouldn’t ever try something so stupid. But what if the smart ones decided to fight too?

I can defeat ten Grave Wardens with one hoof tied behind my back. But twenty? I’d have to use both hooves. And thirty? It would be tougher, but I’d win with my ability to resurrect myself. And that’s true even if I fought forty, or fifty.

But what about a hundred? What about two hundred? What if it were more than that?

They can tear my flesh and strike me with magic, but they can’t kill me. But that still doesn’t mean I’m invincible. If I don’t want to kill them all it’s harder to fight. And the Grave Wardens are trained warriors; nearly as good as I was in life.

And there’s just so…many.

They fill the courtyard and balconies, firing in waves with their crossbows as their comrades on the ground attack me with axes, hooves, and spears. And no matter how many I take down, they just don’t stop.

The Castle of the Two Sisters is the battleground for this location. It’s perfect because it’s not only abandoned, but because the ancient walls and architecture is mostly intact. The balconies surrounding the courtyard I’m in are high and provides a huge amount of room for archers on the second floor to fire at me.

Meanwhile, on the ground floor the courtyard is packed with ponies all geared for war. They’re not wearing light armor this time. Some have chainmail, others have plate armor on. And like I said…there’s a lot of them.

Applejack stands behind her ranks of Grave Wardens, directing them as they come at me in waves. Looks like she’s leading this battle. Well, fine then.

I could run. I know it even as I duck their blades and send them flying. I could run. Applejack knows it too. I totally could. But unfortunately I’m me, and both she and I know I’d never run from a fight, much less in front of her.

…Still, this many ponies feels like cheating.

How many Grave Wardens has she committed to this battle? If I had to guess, it would be all of them. Applejack doesn’t do things in halves.

Even so, she should have known better. I’m dead. I can regenerate my body. And I can move faster than the speed of sound if I need to. Even an army couldn’t stop me.

But…what about an army of undead-hunters? They’re good, all of the Grave Wardens. When I took down the Royal Guards and Wonderbolts they barely scratched me. But they were fighting with their hooves. These guys, they use weapons.

And they go in for the kill.

I duck an axe and hit a stallion hard enough to send him flying backwards into his friends. But even as I do, I’m hit with three crossbow bolts from snipers at different angles. At the same time, two other Grave Wardens strike at me from opposite sides, one mare using a spear to try to impale me while a unicorn tries for a decapitation with a short sword.

My body blurs and the mare’s spear breaks and she crumples to the ground, her jaw broken. On the other side the unicorn loses his horn. But even as they fall, more Grave Wardens surround me and more crossbow bolts hit me.

It’s not as if they could kill me. I can’t lose. Not to them. But the crossbow bolts are annoying. Even I repair all their damage, the force when they hit me throws me off, and if they hit me in the head my body stops moving long enough for the other Grave Wardens to regroup.

I fly upwards. Time to get clear the peanut gallery before I take on the melee fighters. But no sooner do my hooves leave the ground than I am hit by fifty different spells. My body falls to the ground, riddled with burning holes and torn apart by the magic of countless Grave Warden unicorns.

I can’t lose. I can’t. Even if Applejack says—I won’t pass on here. No matter what. I still have him—I won’t die. And if they want to take me down, I’ll go down fighting. And they can’t beat me in any case.

If it was before I’d eaten the soul I’m sure they would have been able to take me down after some time. But I’m stronger now. I have most of my power back. So I can’t lose to mere mortals.

But—

My hoof hits a mare hard enough to dent her helmet and skull. She goes down, but her friends don’t even blink. They’re too well-trained and they come at me. Spear, two swords. Okay.

I step forwards and then twist my neck to avoid the crossbow bolt. I can’t lose. I’m too quick. I lunge for the first stallion and see him flinch as I close the distance between us in the fraction of a moment. Fine then. If they won’t back down I’ll hurt this idiot enough to make them all think twice—

Thunk.

For a second I don’t understand. My hoof is raised and I’m about to rip the stallion in front of me apart, but then I fall over. What?

Oh. A hatchet is lodged in my head. I pull it out and get back to my hooves, ignoring the three attacks as they cleave parts of my body apart. Three strikes and they fall back, bones broken. But who—?

Another flash of silvery metal and I catch the second blade as it spins towards my chest. I look over and see Applejack holding two more hatchets as she watches me across the sea of Grave Wardens.

Of course. How could it be otherwise? But even that won’t stop me. I toss the hatchet aside and feel more crossbow bolts hit me. Six, this time. But the damage is inconsequential. I heal up and keep fighting.

I can’t be defeated. How could I? Applejack has to know this is doomed to failure. I’m too powerful. The soul I ate—

It’s not enough. I know it. Maybe if I’d consumed more, I’d have more strength. But as it is, the single soul gave me much of my power back, but there’s still a gap in my abilities. Did Applejack know that? No, she can’t.

Another group of Grave Wardens charges me. I take them down. But the crossbows bolts are like rain—

Which idiot said fighting in the shade was fun? My body is torn apart with every passing second by the hail of attacks even as I regenerate.

I can’t lose. It’s inconceivable. It’s impossible. I’m dead; I don’t fear the living.

But.

They just don’t stop.

----

…How long?

I parry a dagger as it thrusts towards my face and throw a mare back into the crowd around me. Two more bolts pierce my leg. Ignoring that, I hit another stallion before he can stab me with a spear.

How long has it been?

A unicorn charges me with an axe in her mouth and another held in the air with her magic. I dodge both and flatten her. Another stallion jumps at me, horn broken, shortsword in his mouth. I hit him, and wonder if I’d fought him before.

Probably. It’s been so long—

Hours. Or has it been a day? No, it only feels like a day has passed. It’s probably only been an hour, maybe two. But I’ve been fighting non-stop since then.

Yet if I’m tired—and I am—then the mortal ponies fighting me must be even more worn out. I can see gaps in their ranks where before they filled every space in the castle with more waiting in the wings. I’m taking them down, slowly. But I’m still tired.

An opening presents itself as the stream of Grave Wardens charging me falters. Applejack notices the gap too late and calls out a warning to the archers on the balconies. Again, too late.

I fly upwards suddenly, dodging the bolts that fly at me. The Grave Warden unicorns start trying to tag me in as their archers desperately fire to keep me pinned, but they can’t stop me.

My shape blurs, and the air cracks as the upper balconies are suddenly full of falling bodies.

Finally.

Below, Grave Wardens on the ground pull out crossbows and start firing at me as I systematically hit the few remaining fighters on the higher levels. They’re pulling back, trying to get behind cover but I just swoop down and hit them, ignoring the projectiles that rip apart my body. I have to knock out as many as possible before they can regroup or else they’ll just come back later with more numbers.

It’s the third time I’ve done this. Well, third successful time. Applejack’s strategy kept me grounded through most of the fight. Her unicorns and snipers would destroy me whenever I tried to fly upwards. And when I did manage to take down the upper floors she’d call in reinforcements that had been waiting outside the castle. And though they couldn’t ever destroy me, enough concentrated magic and crossbow bolts could keep me healing long enough for them to reassemble their formations.

Three times. But by the looks of it, there’s not enough Grave Wardens for a fourth. In the first moment I’ve had to think, I cast my senses around the castle and realize that most of the remaining ponies are either incapacitated or unconscious. Only those in the courtyard are still fighting. Besides that…three. Two mares and a stallion are hiding in the rest of the castle. No need to worry about them. And the ones below me aren’t a threat.

But they are still fighting. Taking advantage of my inaction, fourteen ponies strike me with crossbow bolts and I snarl as I regenerate myself, forcing my body to recover once more.

It takes longer than I’d like. A second compared to the flicker in between milliseconds. Not too long, but it marks my exhaustion. And I am tired.

But it’s nearly over.

The upper floors are filled with the bodies of the fallen. I descend to the courtyard and smash into the foundations, raising a shockwave of masonry.

Applejack and the remaining Grave Wardens charge me, fearless, aiming for my head. I blur again, and they fall.

Applejack is the last pony to fall down. Did I hold back against her? Only a little bit.

She coughs up a bit of blood but still looks ready to fight. In fact—

I dodge left and her crossbow bolt shatters against a far wall. Applejack lowers the crossbow and glares at me. I stare back.

“Shoulda known…that wouldn’t work.” She says, coughing. “Not on you. Monster.”

Monster. That word hurts me more than any of the Grave Warden’s attacks. I lift Applejack up roughly and she dangled before me in one hoof.

“Well?” Applejack looks at me. “Gonna say something? Or will ya kill me, Rainow?”

Nettling words. They sink beneath my skin and burn. And it’s unworthy of Applejack. I stare at her grimly.

“Not gonna say anything?” Applejack’s eyes flicker left just for a second. I track her gaze and see a flash of pink hair. Pinkie? No, not Pinkie. Another pony with a pink mane. And who do I know that—?

“If you ain’t gonna talk, I will.” Applejack interrupts me. She looks upwards and raises her voice. “Second wave.”

What? What second w—

Boom. I hear the wall explode outwards a second before I’m blasted off my hooves. A single spell hits me so hard that I crash into the far wall and break every bone in my body, my flesh literally tearing itself off my body with the force of impact. And before I can even begin to restore my body a hoof smashes in my skull and the wall, sending what remains of my corpse flying into the next room.

Ow. I don’t feel the pain, but I haven’t had my body wrecked like that since—ever. In just one attack. Who—

A dark shape. A pair of wings, a glowing horn. She stands above me on a pile of rubble, as if looking down upon me is the most natural thing in the world. She is alone, but behind her is a name, a legend that lasted a thousand years. Her mane is midnight, her eyes brilliant stars.

Oh horseapples.

Luna addresses me as my body slowly recovers. She doesn’t even bother with attacking me but merely waits for me to recover in the certainty of her victory.

“Thou art trespassing in our ancient home and insulting our guests, Rainbow Dash”, she says. “We find this a grave offence worthy of your death. But since thou art death, we shall be content with your destruction.”

Fun fact. Luna speaks like she’s in some kind of ancient drama. Normally that’s funny, but it’s not so amusing when she looks like a knight out of legends. No; not knight. An ancient warrior-god.

Luna leaps from her perch to face me on the ground as I struggle to my feet.

“I must admit that when Applejack requested our help, we were eager to see whether we would prevail against you. However, it seems our estimation of your abilities might have been wrong. We found it curious how thou kept avoiding our presence despite your return. Was our royal presence and martial might intimidating to one of your unholy nature?”

…What? I’m having trouble following Luna’s trail of thought, and not just because my brains are still splattered all over the floor. It’s true I almost never saw Celestia, Luna, or Cadence and Shining Armor, but that was because I only appeared when my friends were in danger. If they were around them they were usually safe. But she’s talking, so I let her keep talking while I heal.

“Perhaps thou hast heard of our legendary titles. The Night Guardian, Star Shepard, Manicore’s Bane, Shadowdancer, among the many accolades of our past.”

…Really?

“Despite thee being of unholy nature we were content to allow your existence so long as you upheld justice and protected thine friends. But as your dark nature is revealed so too shall I no longer idly stand by while Equestria is danger.”

Luna begins to circle me, and I her. Despite her flowery language I can tell she’s on guard. And so am I, for that matter. I’ve never fought an alicorn even while dead. Seems the whole immortal thing means alicorns don’t die that much. And this one…Twilight, Cadence, or even Celestia would probably be an easier match.

Luna lowers her head. Her horn is glowing so brightly I’m having trouble seeing with my mortal eyes. But at least my deathly senses aren’t affected. Her magic is one thing, and I’m pretty sure she’s as strong as well but what really makes me think Luna’s dangerous is her eyes.

Even Applejack. Even the Grave Wardens, used to fighting the dead all the time. Even they have a bit of fear in them when they fight me. But Luna? I look into her eyes and see no fear whatsoever.

Luna stops circling at last and takes a step forwards. Her horn reaches a peak of incandescent brightness, and I can practically feel the magic warping around her.

“Though it is shameful, your weakness after fighting so many Grave Wardens means that this battle belongs to me. I shall have thee know the difference between us, Rainbow Dash. Let us settle this as immortals do. En garde!”

She leaps. I fly into the air. We clash.

And though the fire of battle is in me, and though her spells rip me to shreds as fast as I recover, I cannot help but feel it. In the back of my mind, in my very soul.

Exhaustion.

----

Exhaustion.

I stand over Luna, swaying. My body is torn, broken, pieces ripped apart that I can’t find the energy to fix. Below me the Princess of the Night tries to rise, but she’s too battered to do more that twitch. She pants for air and gasps weakly. I wish I could do the same.

I’m not gasping for air or breath like she is, but that’s only because my body doesn’t need to breathe. But my soul is worn out, and unlike our bodies, that’s an entirely different magnitude of exhaustion.

Behind Luna, Applejack staggers to her hooves. I’m amazed she’s still standing. I had to hit her several times during the battle to keep her from supporting Luna with her crossbow, but I must have held back too much. Or, more likely, she’s tougher than I thought.

Applejack sways falls back to the ground. I watch her steadily. She’s no threat, and neither is Luna. I just have to wait until she falls down by herself.

But Applejack isn’t done. She reaches into her saddlebags and pulls out of all things…a pocket watch. She studies it intently and glances over at me.

“Looks like…a minute?” Applejack nods to herself, and stands upright. “Ah can do that.” She can barely walk, but somehow she comes towards me, stumbling over the broken ground. “Come on. Ah ain’t done yet.”

She walks towards me. Then she trots. That turns into a gallop. She charges and leaps at me.

I catch her in midair and slam Applejack into the ground. Not hard. I only hear her ribs creak but all the air goes out of the farm pony. She lies, stunned as I turn to survey my surroundings.

…Nothing moving. What was that she meant? One more minute? One more minute for what?

Applejack tries to get back on her hooves, despite being unable to breathe. I deck her with another blow. Even if she’s my friend, I’m too angry to hold back.

Angry?

Yes, I suppose so. She tried to kill me. My friend.

For good reasons.

Even so. Even so…I can’t let her. And don’t friend stand together, though thick and thin? They don’t abandon each other. They don’t. She betrayed me. For that I should, I should—

Eat her?

Applejack groans at my hooves and I realize my mouth is open. No. Never. That not who I—

Even so. Even if she heard…how could she trust Grave Whisper anyways? She’s just a random pony.

But you know she’s right.

…

Even then. I can’t—I don’t want to—

…

I—I need to go back. To him. Everything will be okay if I can talk to him—he’ll tell me what to do.

I know what I must do.

I can’t think. I’m so tired—I let Applejack go and stumble away. I’ll go. I’ll leave and find him. I need him. I need—

My soul leaves my body and I fly upwards. Out of this castle. Why didn’t I do that earlier? I’m not thinking straight, that’s why. And I wanted to show Applejack—I don’t run. But I won so—

A shimmering violet field of magic appears in my vision. I try to avoid it but too late. I hit the wall of magic and crash back to earth. My vision is blurry, and I feel—pain!?

Yes, for the first time I feel it. Actual pain. What? And I’m back in my body? Why?

And then I see them. Two ponies. A mare, and a stallion. I hadn’t paid attention to them among the many fallen Grave Wardens. Why bother? What could two ponies do that hundreds could not? What would they have that is unique to them?

One thing. One word that trumps all others.

Love.

I can practically hear the music – a light, wonderful tune of piano keys and violin strings being played as I look at them. As they touch horns the light grows and expands. Yes, even the world seems to slow down around them. Their bond is magic, their connection greater than any other.

Of all the beings in all the world, none can match the purity of love between these two. And behind them, taking in the brilliant light of their love and reflecting it a thousand-fold is…

The Crystal Heart.

Oh no. No.

I back away, my deathless heart beating in fear for the first time. Not that. Not with them.

For the first time I am filled with true terror as I realize Applejack’s plan. From the start I thought it was folly. Challenge a being that cannot die with hoof and mere magic? Impossible, even for Luna. But the attacks with every Grave Warden and Luna herself – all of that. Was it only to wear me down? To buy time so I wouldn’t escape while they set up the one thing that could destroy me?

Of course. And as I look upon the shining glory that is the Crystal Heart and its keepers, I know.

This is the end.

“Rainbow Dash.” Cadence is the first to speak. Her eyes are filled with a compassion deeper than I have ever seen save in the eyes of my friends. “We know you have suffered. Even if death, you’ve been more loyal than any other.”

Shining Armor steps forward. His eyes are full of respect for me, and he lowers his horn once in acknowledgement before speaking. “—But it’s time to rest, Rainbow Dash. The dead shouldn’t be among the living. So we will help you find that peace.”

No, not like this. My eyes dart around frantically, my otherworldly senses search for any cracks in the magical shield they’ve put up. But there is none. And as I look at them and the Crystal Heart shining in the sky behind them, I know it’s over.

I gaze up at its awful, wondrous light in despair and silence. Oh. Of course. If there was any force that could slay the immortal dead, it would be that. Even Sombra couldn’t match its might. Even Chrysalis and her entire army were helpless just when faced with Shining Armor and Cadence alone.

So. This is really how it ends?

…

Heh.

I sweep a bow with one hoof, my body restored back to its normal form. A smile is on my face.

Cadence and Shining Armor smile back. Both bow their heads. Their horns glow brighter, so bright that the light itself pierces my soul.

And I? I fly into the sky and charge at them. But the light pushes me back. Yet I hit the Deathboom in time and the dark light flows outwards, death made incarnate. It will hit them. It will stop them, halt their magic—

Shining Armor and Cadence touch horns.

And the Crystal Heart shines with love.

Love.

A wave of bright radiance strikes the light of my Deathboom and consumes it. No; it takes in the darkness and reflects it as pure light. It washes over me and I fall to the ground, defeated in an instant.

Pain. But not just pain. Light, love, happiness, all flow into me in such an incredible flood that pain is what it feels like.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

Applejack…?

She’s standing over me. Tired. She looks so tired. As am I.

The light embraces us both, uplifting us both. It takes away her injuries, and rends my soul. She speaks – last words in the obliterating silence.

“Rest in peace.”

I look into her eyes. My friend. Her gaze is steady even as I am dying. Such cold eyes. Such hard eyes. But that is Applejack. She carries the heaviest burdens of us all, and even when it means killing me she wouldn’t hesitate.

But of course, in my case it is different. I am a threat, to her family, her friends, to Equestria itself. So no wonder she wants me dead. I can understand that. I can accept that.

So I stop fighting. The light consumes me, burning my soul, redeeming it. Searing away my very existence. Pain. Glorious pain. I feel alive. I am dying, and I feel alive.

It tears my essence apart. Already my hooves are gone, simply erased by the magic of the Crystal Heart. It hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt.

I want to scream. But I’m looking at Applejack, and she’s looking at me. And the thought strikes me, and I see it in her. It’s hurting her. Even though I’m an abomination. Even though I’m a monster she despises. Even though my death will save everyone. I am still her friend.

So, I smile. Just for a moment. To show there’s no hard feelings, right? Because in the end, I am who I am. And if my death means I would save my friends, if they asked it of me, how could I refuse?

And I see her expression change.

Just for a moment. Just for an instant, her hard façade breaks down and I see the old AJ underneath. The honest, stubborn farm pony that would do anything for her friends and puts their well-being above her own. And for just a moment as I’m dying, I forget I’m already dead. And two ponies stared at each other. And in the silence of oblivion, I felt it. That familiar sensation.

Love.

Not romantic love. Probably not. Not the love you hear about in fairytales and bedtime stories, at any rate. It’s not the love between young mares and stallions, that hot, passionate love that burns out, no. This is deeper. I feel it in the very heart of who I am. The love for a friend. The love for another being. And I see it in her.

Love.

And the Crystal Heart shrieks—

And shatters into a million pieces.

It’s so sudden and unexpected that for a moment I can’t take in what’s happening. But even as I watch, the fabled Crystal Heart, last defense against evil, greatest treasure of the Crystal Empire and all that…breaks into countless fragments and falls to the floor.

I feel like there should be some kind of momentous sound, some awful, terrible sound to herald the moment. But no. The Crystal Heart breaks apart with a tinkling noise and the pieces fall to the ground, mere bits of crystal.

The magic is gone.

Shining Armor stares at the broken artifact with horror. Cadence looks as well, but her eyes fall on me and Applejack. She is the Princess of Love. She knows what caused its destruction.

Funnily enough, Applejack doesn’t. She stares at me in horror, probably wondering how I managed to destroy it. And me?

I can only laugh. Silently, weakly. I lie on the ground unable to move. My body is fading away, parts of it dissolving to dust even as my soul does likewise.

It’s over.

I’m dying, even though I’m already dead. The thought is enough to make me laugh, weakly. It comes out as a raw chuckle; the first real sound I’ve made in…years. But it’s enough, yeah. I get it.

From the start, it’s all been my fault. The dead, all this tragedy, everything. So why not die? I guess it was just wanting to live that kept me from accepting my fate. Funny. Because I had somepony to fight for? Even now, I see his face in my mind. Maybe that’s why. I just didn’t want to say goodbye to him—

What?

…? Was I passing out there? A stray thought as I die, perhaps. But yes, he’s in my thoughts even now. My one true love.

No. That was Rarity.

Again. But what else would keep me here?

What about your friends?

…What?

What about your friends?

My—my friends?

Your friends. Not him but your friends.

The little voice in my head whispers louder. Maybe it was me being so close to death that did it, or maybe the magic just wore off in my head. But at last, I hear it. And I remember. My friends.

And only too late do I realize what’s been happening. Only then do I put the puzzle together and uncover the truth. Too slow, too late.

The story of my death.

Hoofsteps.

They sound out in the empty courtyard, breaking the silence. Nopony really notices. Shining Armor and Cadence are clustered around the broken Crystal Heart, and Applejack is watching me die with tears in her eyes. But I hear it. And I know.

The first to fall is Cadence. She’s bending down to pick up a shard of the Crystal Heart when her eyes roll up in her head and she collapses. Shining Armor is trying to pick her up when he falls down too.

Applejack turns to look and sees him, for the briefest of moments. Somehow she manages to bring up a crossbow and fire a bolt off, but she misses as she falls unconscious. At least she’s not dead. It’s a small mercy, but more than I could ever ask for.

There are no mercies from him, after all.

A piece of the Crystal Heart is crushed as he walks towards me. I meet his gaze, and I feel the same sensation in my heart. Joy, love, emotions of purest affection. But having experienced the magic of the Crystal Heart, only now can I compare it to what I felt around him. And so I know what I feel is a lie.

But I would know that anyways. Because to look at him in the flesh, in his recreated body is to realize who he is. And his name comes to my lips, the name he never told me but which I now know upon seeing his face.

Sombra.

The dark king of the Crystal Empire laughs softly as he halts before me. He towards over my broken form, his dark miasma twisting about his legs and purple magic seeping from his eyes. His voice is deep when he speaks, but lacks the deathly hollowness I had heard from him before. It just sounds like the voice of a stallion, the same voice I had heard so many times in spiritual form.

“Rainbow Dash. You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

Sombra nudges my body and I struggle to move. But I can barely twitch so he laughs again.

“Ah, love. I have felt it burn my soul before, but even I never dreamed you would use it against the Crystal Heart itself. For therein lies its greatest weakness. It cannot destroy a being that loves with purity of heart any more than I could ever use it for evil.”

I look at him. Just look at him. It’s all I can do. All the pieces make sense now.

“Yes, you understand, don’t you?” Sombra kicks my head gently and a bit of my flesh flies off. “It was I all along who courted you as a spirit. And each time you so eagerly flew into my embrace, I took some of your power and made it my own.”

Yes. It all makes sense now. My exhaustion every time we joined, the way he always seemed invigorated afterwards. And I never sensed he was growing stronger because he hid it from me.

“You are powerful.” Sombra raises one hoof and admires his body. “The power to resurrect your flesh—I could only do it partially, and only while I was alive. But you have the strength to defy death itself and continually rebirth yourself into this world. I admit, your strength frightened even me at first, but now that I have it, Equestria is mine at last.”

Damn him. I struggle to get up, but I can’t do it. Sombra laughs again and this time his hoof smashes my leg, grinding the bone to dust.

“Does it hurt, Rainbow Dash? Do you feel pain, knowing that the one you thought you loved with all your heart has betrayed you like this? Well, know that all your suffering was at my hoof.”

He waves, and suddenly I hear the earth shifting. Dead ponies begin digging themselves out of the soil, standing before Sombra.

“The being behind all the dead rising in greater numbers—me. The force that has stolen your power and left you helpless—me. The one who took your mind, altered your thoughts and actions until you could no longer think—me. And now, with the gates of life and death breached, I can now raise an army of unlimited numbers. All thanks to you.”

He smiles at me. “I greatly enjoyed our time together. Your efforts to please me were most amusing and pleasurable.”

I growl and this time rage gives me the strength to move. In an instant I’m on my feet and I lunge at Sombra. But he knocks me aside with a tap of the hoof and I am sent flying. His strength, no, my strength flows through him, and I am as helpless. That doesn’t stop me, though.

I fly at Sombra but his horn glows and suddenly my wings are gone. A beam of dark violet magic slices through my wings and tears off my legs. I fall to the floor and crawl towards him, but he steps on my back and his undead ponies hold me down.

“Your efforts are futile,” he gloats. “And now, I believe I will enjoy using you as a toy before I dispose of you. You, your friend Applejack, and the two usurpers to my throne. First I shall break you all, and then I will eliminate Celestia and anypony who stands in my way.”

He turns towards Applejack, horn glowing. Desperately, I try to regrow my legs and wings, to fight off the dead holding me down. But I’m too weak to do even that.

Sombra steps towards Applejack and then stops. His head turns. So does mine. We both stare into the shadows.

“Come out.” Sombra growls. “No living being may hide from me.”

“Ookie dokie lokie.”

A pink pony steps out from behind a broken wall. I groan at the sight of her, and wish it were anyone else. But even Celestia wouldn’t stop Sombra, not now. But Pinkie? Please, no. She should have run.

Pinkie Pie walks forwards towards Sombra slowly, tugging at a piece of string. Attached to it is a familiar sight.

“What’s that?” Sombra points to the object Pinkie’s tugging along.

“My special anti-meany-pants device!” Pinkie says. She sounds…almost cheerful. But there’s an edge in her voice I’ve only heard once or twice before. Carefully, she aims it at Sombra. “It’s a great hit at parties, but I don’t have any confetti in it at the moment.”

Sombra looks at it, but he clearly has no idea what it is. I on the other hand, know perfectly well what Pinkie has and I don’t understand why she’s using it like a weapon. It can blow away one or two changelings, but not kill an undead pony and certainly not Sombra. What is she doing?

“What is it?” Sombra’s horn begins to glow ominously. “Answer me, or I shall make your death even more painful.”

“It’s a Party Cannon.”

“A wh—”

Boom.

A thousand nails explode outwards in a cone of devastation. Sombra, for all his magic doesn’t even have time to react before they tear into him.

Nails. Pointy bits of metal. Hurts if you step on them. But if. What if you hit a pony with one that’s travelling a hundred meters every second? What if you decided to put a hundred of them in a Party Cannon and fire that instead of confetti?

That’s what Pinkie thought. That’s what she wondered about. And I have to say, it takes a kind of twisted mind to think of something like that. I mean, once you get the idea it makes sense. But who would have thought of using an innocent Party Cannon to kill ponies?

Pinkie. And you know what? Her idea worked.

For a moment after the explosion I can’t hear or see anything. The flash of light was so bright it overwhelmed my mortal senses, but as the smoke clears I can see Sombra.

Headless Sombra.

A magical force field shimmers and warps before exploding into violet fragments. Looks like Sombra did put up a shield to protect himself, but the force of the nails shattered it. And not only that.

The dead ponies holding me slump, and then fall over. Their brains, chest, and even legs and riddle with countless holes. So am I. But I’m dead, and Pinkie aimed high.

“Whew!” Pinkie shouts and trots over to me, wheeling her deadly modified cannon behind her. “Good thing I got all those nails, huh Dashie? And hey, was that Sombra? Did I kick his undead flank or what? Hey, we should have a party! We could call it a killing-Sombra-with-a-Party-Cannon-party—”

I don’t have time to yell. Sombra’s headless corpse moves suddenly and Pinkie chokes as he grabs her and lifts her off the ground. Another moment and his head is fully restored, his body undamaged.

“Impressive.” Sombra’s eyes flash fury as Pinkie struggles and choked sounds come out of her throat. “If I were not possessing a greater power than before, I might have fallen to your weapon in battles past. But today I am immortal. And for harming me however briefly, I will make your suffering eternal.”

His hoof tightens. Pinkie Pie’s bones begin to crack.

No.

Sombra looks around just in time. My soul hits him and his soul is ejected from his body. Both our mortal shells topple to the floor and vanish into dust as I push against Sombra, thrusting him out of the physical land of Equestria and into the afterlife.

You still oppose me? I have all of your power and you have nothing. You are but a little ghost compared to my might.

I will kill you.

We are both already dead. And you cannot even hold me back.

He’s right. In my desperation I managed to push against Sombra and strike at his soul with my own. But as soon as he recovers he pushes against me, and it’s like pitting a mountain against an ant. No matter how I try to devour his soul or tear apart the fabric of his being I can’t even scratch him. And he doesn’t even need to try to harm me. All I can do is evade his overwhelming presence and annoy him while he attempts to destroy my spirit forever.

You are weak. So pathetically weak!

Sombra attempts to rip my soul apart but I dodge. I can’t explain it, but even in the afterlife there are places I can flee to where he cannot. For all he has been a spirit for thousands of years, he hasn’t ever battled in the afterlife. Neither have I, but it means that while we are unevenly matched, it is hard for him to hurt me.

But as soon as Sombra realizes this he changes tactics. His attention focuses down on Equestria below as I hit him ineffectually. I sense what he is doing. Through the opening, the invisible rift that allows the dead to return to Equestria Sombra reaches in and pulls more souls through. These unwilling spirits he forces into bodies and orders to attack Equestria.

By the tens of thousands they rise. Not every day, but every hour, every minute. An overwhelming flood of the dead assaults every populated area in Equestria even as I helplessly try to destroy their master.

I struggle with Sombra, an endless battle for supremacy in the void above Equestria. Time has little meaning here, but it is a battle that is fought on two fronts. Even as Sombra fights me above in a battle in which I am outmatched at every turn, so too do his dead armies besiege Equestria.

The undead are rising everywhere, attacking in coordinated waves every major pony settlement in Equestria—already countess towns and villages burn in the wake of their passing.

My soul batters at him, but he has all of my strength, my power. He laughs, holding me effortlessly at bay as he summons more and more of the dead.

The pony settlements waver as the dead crash against their walls in an endless stream. First one city falls, and then another. All seems lost.

But then the dead begin dying! A huge mass of souls is suddenly liberated all at once. And every front begins to push back the dead and their souls are released, fleeing back into the safety of the void.

Sombra struggles to send them back, to maintain his hold. He is weakened, so I fight back. And his rage and shock echo throughout the afterlife. And I wonder what could have caused this—

Party Cannons. I see them deployed on the stone walls, firing down at the hordes of the dead. Pinkie’s colorful designs are lost, replaced by hard metal and graceless steel. They glow, still blue-with the forge fires as ponies fire them down into the crowds.

Nails. Small rocks. Even giant rubber chickens. Actually, only Cheese Sandwich fired those. But they shred the dead, wiping them out by the tens or even hundreds. The Grave Warden’s crossbows can’t even keep up, and they’re assigned to sniping stragglers. The hordes waver, and then break against this new weapon.

Sombra rages and I rejoice. But in that victory comes my defeat. Turning his attention from the broken undead he devotes his attention to catching me, hunting me down even as I flee. I cannot evade him forever, and at last I am caught, helpless.

I laugh, even as he strikes me down. But then he invades my very soul and takes—

The last of my strength. My very being is desecrated, my essence faded, cast aside. And he laughs. And then I feel true fear.

He appears before them as they gather in the wake of the last attacks. Five of the most powerful beings in the world, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, Cadence, Discord. Rulers of their respective domains. Unmatched in magical power. Only Twilight is missing, still flying on her way to Canterlot.

And then, he destroys them.

One by one, as if mocking their weakness. First Shining Armor, then Luna. Two warriors down in an instant, smashed by his hooves. He is strong. He has my strength. They are twigs and he is the storm and he breaks them.

In an instant, Discord strikes at Sombra with his magic, transforming him, confusing him with shapes and modes of being I can’t understand. But Sombra’s magic is dark and twists even chaos. Even as the battle rages, Discord weakens—falls. He had used too much of his power protecting Equestria, and now…

Celestia and Cadence strike at Sombra with all their magic. And destroy him. His body is torn to bits, blasted apart, his magic defenses breached in countless places by their magic fueled by their rage.

But.

He is immortal. And so he returns in an instant, his wounds healed, his magic replenished.

If. If he had just his own strength maybe they would have triumphed. Even alone, Celestia might have matched him. But he has my gifts, my unearthly powers. Death can no longer contain him, and the living cannot hold him back.

He breaks Celestia even as Cadence tries to burn him from the face of the earth. And he toys with her at the last, letting her waste her magic on him, mocking her inability to save her husband, her friends…

She falls, weeping once he is done amusing himself. Only then does he lower the magical barrier and let my friends charge into the room.

Destruction. Devastation. Fallen, the pillars of Equestria. And standing above them all, Sombra.

He issues his challenge, his voice booming out across all of Canterlot—all of Equestria.

“Come, children of the light. In the frozen wasteland I will be your end. Come with armies; come with steel and magic and fire. Only death awaits.”

The others hold Twilight back as she screams at Sombra’s back for him to turn and fight. But all he responds with is laughter. She, they, all things are beneath his contempt.

He leaves the broken forms of Princesses and Gods lie in his wake.

And then he comes for me.

This is the ending. This is how it all ends. I try to muster even a fraction of my soul to oppose him one last time, but I have nothing. I am nothing.

For a while he toys with me, as only spirits can do. Let us just say he subjects me to agonies, and only when he tires does he finally discard me. Without anything left I fall to Equestria, a fragment.

I fall to earth like a shooting star. Yet my spirit leaves no crater as it lands, and all that breaks away are parts of myself. I am broken.

It is over.

Around me I can feel the dead rising. Sombra’s call echoes through the afterlife, calling upon the unwilling souls to rise and answer his summons. I hear it too, but I am helpless to respond either in vengeance or obedience.

I am dying.

Truly dying. It isn’t just the destruction of my body this time. I was dying in truth the moment the Crystal Heart burned me. But if that was a slow poison, Sombra had cut off my limbs and left me bleeding by comparison. It is far quicker, but still a painful death.

Very painful.

Not because I can feel much. Indeed, I can barely comprehend the hurts inflicted upon my soul. No, it hurts because I’ve let everyone down. Everyone.

My friends, Equestria, even the dead. All will suffer because I was the one who opened the gate, who rescued Sombra, and gave him my power. I, who loved unwisely and trusted too much. And now I will perish before the end.

There’s nothing I can do.

Nothing.

I cannot even muster the energy to fly as a spirit. I can only watch as my very being dissolves. I have no strength left. None at all.

But still, something inside me calls me to fight. It tells me to not to pass on, to create legs that I might stand, to create hooves that I might fight, to give myself a voice that I might shout defiance even to the last. But there’s just nothing in me that has the power for it. Not even my rage against Sombra, not even the depths of my hatred can provide me with a second more of life. What could give me that strength? What could defy my death that has so long been overdue?

Loyalty.

—Ah.

My soul whispers that word. A simple statement, a pledge to infinity. An oath, a way of life, knowledge and certainty. The heart of my being.

Loyalty. Friendship.

I am broken. My soul flickers and breaks, and I feel my very being slipping away. I am…dying. In truth this time. I have nothing left to give, no power in me to even exist any longer. But this time above any other I am needed. Yet I am empty, broken.

But I am needed. And so long as I am needed, I will rise.

—So I stand, one last time. My soul shatters, and my spirit breaks. I unravel, but what remains is enough. Enough for one last chance.

So I move, despite my broken body. I fly, though my wings are torn and ragged. I move, though my soul itself fails. Because I must. Because I am called, and because I cannot rest just yet. So I go.

For friendship.

For vengeance.

To protect those I love.

To punish those who would take away from me.

To save a life.

To end a life.

Despite pain.

Despite death.

I will not cease.

Not yet.

Because in my heart I can still see.

Five mares, and a small dragon.

A shining light.

Five Cutie Marks.

A rainbow in the sky.

A smile on every face.

And it calls to me. A single word that death itself cannot break.

Loyalty.

Author's Notes:

Major spoilers, so read this only if you want to make sure you caught everything. As things are nearly ending, I’m going to play a little game to see how many readers got what.

Maybe I wasn’t too obvious or things weren’t that well-written, in which case let me know. But here’s a little tally for those who might have figured out some things before they were revealed. Add up your points and let me know how many you got in the comments!

Elementary Twilight Deductions – Figuring out that Rainbow was the behind the dead rising. (+6 Points)

Advanced Pinkie-Sense Investigations – Uncovering Rainbow’s hidden thoughts. If you have a format set to something other than the Standard – Light format you may have seen it already. Otherwise, highlight strange gaps in Chapters 8, 9, and 10 to hear the whispers. (+10 Points)

Discord Leaps of Logic – Deducing that Sombra was the ‘he’ Rainbow encountered in the afterlife. (+20 Points)

Bonus Achievements:

-Getting the Skyrim prophecy reference. Alduin’s Prophecy = Grave Whisper’s Prophecy. (+2 Points)

-Getting the Dragon Age reference. The Grave Wardens = Grey Wardens. (+3 Points)

-Guessing what Pinkie needed nails for. The Party Cannons. Or just guessing they’d be used at some point. (+8 Points)

-Getting the Zelda: Majora’s Mask reference. “You’ve met a terrible fate, haven’t you?” (+4 Points)

Reward for getting 0-19 points: Nothing. I guess it wasn’t that obvious.
Reward for getting more than 20 points: Nothing. Feel good about yourself.
Reward for getting everything right: Bragging rights? Also, predict how the story ends so we can all marvel at your genius.