Shining Armor struggles to his hooves, mentally berating himself. How could he blank out at such an important time? He should be court-martialed for such dereliction, stripped of his position of Captain of the Guard for risking those who entrust their protection to him. He would hoof over his badge if he thought it would do any good; he knows Celestia would be more than willing to forgive his lapse - entirely too forgiving, as she has made abundantly clear before. If it was a recruit under his command she would be shoving apples for the rest of the month, and not the kind Applejack grows.

Fortunately, the scene hasn’t changed. Grogar the Necromancer still stands with Sombra, Radiant Hope, and Tempest Shadow, Torch towering behind them. They haven’t made any aggressive actions, merely waiting for some sign from the heavens (or Tartarus, he snidely posits, or the realm in-between Discord inhabits, either would be far more appropriate).

The dossiers of each flit through his mind, dissected with all the impartiality as if considering the players on a buckball team. Celestia provided all the information on Grogar, the rest lost to time. The goat thinks himself - accurately in Her Highness’s opinion, though Shining Armor is inclined to disagree - a true servant of Harmony. According to Celestia, this manifests in vast magical abilities, and he can’t doubt their reality - he saw Ember’s attack on Radiant Hope, and how quickly the situation turned when Grogar arrived. Any attack on him would have to be massive in order to overcome such regeneration, and not fire based if Purity of Fire does what it says on the tin.

Speaking of the healer, Radiant Hope would also have to be a priority. He doubts the unicorn’s physical fighting capability, but she would have to be removed quickly so they could deal with the more offensive members. Doubly important to silence her, or otherwise remove her casting, as she demonstrated against the former Dragon Lord.

Sombra and Tempest Shadow he regards with equal enmity, and a grudging respect. The Crystal Empire’s usurper shows no signs of the dark magic he is so infamous for, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there, and he wonders what he is capable of if he truly is imbued with Harmony’s power. The Storm King’s former commander was a threat before she regained her horn, as demonstrated when she came at the front of the task force to bring Princess Celestia to the Council of Creatures, willing or not. Now that she has it back?

The Storm King himself looks bored, treating the thick tension with the same nonchalance he treats everything. It rankles Shining Armor to see the power-hungry dictator at their side, his decades of sweeping through the southern seas like a hurricane brushed aside as soon as he professed even the slightest proclivity towards adopting the tenets of Harmony. And for Celestia to promise him even the hint of her future filly’s hoof…

His gaze sweeps to the two mares carrying his foals, though thinking of Chrysalis as a mare is nearly as unpalatable as thinking of Raikou as a fellow Equestrian (worse, an in-law, however distant). After all, if things had gone differently on his and Cadance’s wedding day… But now is not the time to dwell on possibilities. He is glad the changeling is at his side, he tells himself; she could just as easily have been working with Sombra, plotting their downfall, singing songs about the better ways to be bad while feasting on their love.

Cadance, on the other hoof… His focus breaks at seeing her lovely face, the way her flowing mane curls around her withers, not a hair out of place despite their harried circumstance. He can’t get past how lucky he is to be with her, to be able to run his hooves down her neck when they embrace, to feel the soft velvet of her lips, to steal a glance at the gentle swell of her belly when she isn’t looking. He would do anything for her.

“Cady,” Shining Armor whispers, trying and failing to keep the distress from his tone.

“Shiny,” Cadance replies, short and curt.

He winces. He can hear the rebuke in the single word, the same way she rejected his other attempts to curtail her activity, how she claimed that she was pregnant, not an invalid. Yet there is love as well, as always, noting his attempt to protect her and the noble (if misguided) intentions behind it.

“I’m just worried,” he starts, offering what he hopes comes off as a hopeful smile.

Her beautiful purple eyes flick from Celestia to Chrysalis to Rarity.

He wilts as her muzzle draws tight. She doesn’t need to say it. Who would be left, who could go hoof to hoof with Tempest Shadow or Sombra, to say nothing of Grogar, if those with foal sat out?

He would be.

He itches to test his mettle against the goat, to pit his shields against whatever these pretenders throw their way. He had done it against King Sombra. He had done it in Canterlot when the changelings invaded. He could do it again, unleash an expanding barrier that would once again expel them from the Crystal Empire!

The moon crests the western horizon, the opposite horizon, moving far faster than it has any right to and bringing with it the dark of night. Likewise the sun speeds up, looking like she is about to crash into her heavenly counterpart. Luna looks stricken, as does Celestia, both tracking their respective astronomical objects, seemingly unable to stop the impending collision.

Could this be the sign? The tension in the air rises, none daring to make the first preemptive move.

Then the sun and moon slow, coming to a stop. Half the sky is shrouded in twinkling stars, the other half bright day. It is an eerie sight, unnatural, and sends shivers down Shining Armor’s spine. Half of the stadium stays engulfed in darkness, shadows shifting as Storm Minions, already geared for battle, set up a defensive perimeter around the retreating civilians.

“The reckoning is finally at hoof,” Grogar declares, booming across the entire stadium. “A revival shall sweep across Equestria, bringing all under Harmony’s righteous shackles.” He straightens to his full height, stretching his legs and neck. “Remember,” he tells his acolytes. “Death is not the ultimate end. Keep Harmony at the forefront of your mind, embrace her, and we shall prevail against all who do not hold to Her ways.” He focuses on Celestia, the challenge clear.

“I must delay him,” Celestia states dispassionately. There is no eagerness in her voice, just the heaviness of necessity. “For as long as possible, before he gets out of hoof.”

Out of hoof? Shining Armor doesn’t have time to ask before Celestia trots forward.

“Wait!” Twilight calls, only for a swift shake of the elder alicorn’s head to stop her in her tracks.

“I will only be able to stall him,” Celestia admits grimly. “You must figure out a way to stop him.”

And then she is off, quickly closing the distance.

The sound of dozens of scampering hooves from the opposite side draws Shining Armor’s attention. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo lead the pack, all of Doug’s foals along with Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Cozy Glow.

Applejack is the first to respond. “Buck no,” she commands the incoming youngsters. “Y’all go back! Right now, ya hear?”

“We want to help,” Apple Bloom says, as stubborn as her dam.

“We can be a distraction,” Sweetie Belle continues, and her flag-carrying outfit is certainly that.

“Or which of you is gonna make us sit out?” Scootaloo demands, challenging any of them to meet her gaze.

“Fluttershy,” Applejack orders, glancing at the pegasus for confirmation.

“We need her,” Twilight counters, lips pursed in a tight line. “All the Elements, just in case.”

Their attention turns to the confrontation in the middle of the stadium.

“Herald of Fire, Skitterbots, Righteous Fire,” Grogar says, with the ponderous tone of the immortal. Flame wreathes his hooves as two contraptions jump out of nowhere, skittering about, one cloaked in frost while the other crackles with electricity. A ring of fire expands outward, moving with him, burning the very air around him. Their view ripples, the heat felt even two dozen yards away.

Shining Armor had once seen the effects of a dragon’s breath on an unlucky pony. The fire clung to her coat, resisting any attempts to extinguish it, and burned slowly, almost cruelly, as though the fire had a mind of its own and wanted to draw out the torment as long as possible. While they were able to put it out, it had sunk deep into her skin, leaving her scarred for life (until Radiant Hope had healed her, that is). The fire surrounding Grogar reminds Shining Armor of the dragon’s flame, touching only the tips of his shaggy coat; it burns, thousands of flickering candles, yet his regeneration keeps the many wicks from closing in.

“Options?” Twilight Sparkle asks without taking her eyes away from Grogar and Celestia, her quick voice hard, yet unable to completely hide her worry.

Shining Armor’s heart swells at seeing his little sister step up and take charge. While he might not have described her as shy, the reserved and often unassuming mare has certainly grown into her new role as Princess.

“Frontal assault,” Rainbow Dash proposes, as eager as Grogar to test herself against their adversaries. “Hit ‘em hard, hit ‘em fast.”

“His fire will burn anypony who comes close enough,” Cadance states as Celestia enters the ring. The white alicorn looks serene, like the heat washing over her is nothing more than a warm bath.

“Raikou, see if your orbs can punch through and petrify Grogar,” Shining Armor says, moving creatures about like they are pieces on a chessboard. Which ones would he keep safe, which ones would he sacrifice? “Everypony else, avoid him. Chrysalis, Cadance, focus on Sombra. Twilight, take Tempest. The rest of you, Radiant Hope. Keep her distracted, don’t let her assist any of the others.”

“And you?” Twilight asks, turning to stare him down.

“I’ll assist Celestia,” Shining Armor says, his voice steel. It may be a death sentence, but he won’t allow any of the others to take that place.

Celestia, however, doesn’t seem to need assistance. “Is that all?” she asks Grogar, more curious than taunting.

The goat growls, a twist of his head flinging out a triangular device at Celestia’s hooves. “Fire trap. Flammability. Elemental Weakness. Punishment.”

“Sorry, I’m immune to curses,” Celestia apologizes as the trap explodes at her hooves, coating the ground in flames. A grin crosses her muzzle, eyes twinkling. “Also fire. Comes with this, I believe.” She shakes her flank, the sun looking remarkably appropriate surrounded by fire.

“All shall be tested,” Grogar states, staring her down, no emotion in his burning red eyes. “Every. One.”

“I-I have an idea,” Cozy Glow puts forth, though hesitantly, unsure of the repercussions of sharing her plan. She shies down as Twilight turns to her. “G-golly. I-I’ve been talking to Tirek, sending letters, a-and he t-told me about a d-d-device I could make.”

“Go on,” Twilight says, everypony listening closely.

“Y-you know the recharging station we use to power the Cider Squeezy?” Cozy Glow frets as Twilight nods, rubbing her hooves over each other. “Y-you’re not supposed to hook up more than one or two enchanted items to it because it grows exponentially. W-well, if you hooked up enough magic items - say, the six powerful artifacts we learned about in class…”

“With the right items, yielding a harmonic balance…” Twilight stares a thousand yards away. “It would expand as it absorbed more magic. Even starting on a very low draw, it would quickly envelop the entire world. Then…” The blood drains from her face. “It would pull more and more magic, until every trace has been taken from even the smallest blade of grass.”

“So,” Cozy Glow says, forcing a smile, “better than living under Grogar?”

Twilight snorts at the audacity, that living under such an authoritarian would be worse than freezing as Equus drifts away from the sun. “But it wouldn’t work with any battery; you would need to hook it up to something capable of absorbing an essentially infinite amount of thaumic energy.” Her eyes suddenly widen, their flick at Doug not unnoticed.

To his credit, the human squares his shoulders. “Whatever you need.”

“But it would take too long,” Twilight speculates. “Days. And we need something right now!”

“Could you,” Doug says, frowning, looking mad at himself for even suggesting it. “Could you reverse the polarity?”

“Making it extremely small,” Twilight continues, nodding along, “but extremely potent.”

Luna’s horn flashes bright cobalt, summoning a crown, a helm, a conch shell, a talisman, a cloak, and a necklace. “Relics of the Elements,” she explains with a dire warning. “If they fall to the wrong hooves…”

“I won’t let you down,” Twilight says, hastily getting to work assembling Cozy Glow’s doomsday weapon.

“Die,” barks Radiant Hope at Celestia, though it lacks the fervor of her earlier command.

Celestia merely shakes her head. “That will not work,” she chides, cool against Radiant Hope’s scowl, “against one who has given their life to Harmony.”

“Enough,” Grogar calls, stepping back. He gives Celestia a grudging bow. “Others remain to be tested.”

The blue goat charges towards the Equestrians, the fiery ring a dread beacon in the night.

“Forgive me,” Celestia whispers, staring at the sky, before she explodes into a searing exarch, shod in orange and white, her mane a billowing yellow flame.

“Flamestrike.”

A pillar of fire erupts on Grogar’s position, enveloping them in a blazing twister.

“Engage!” Shining Armor shouts, throwing up his most powerful shield against Celestia’s - Daybreaker’s - blistering heat.

The blue goat rams into it seconds later as he exits the fiery pillar, seemingly unharmed; it only becomes apparent when the smoke clears that Torch has spread his now-tattered wings, protecting the acolytes from the worst of the flames. Radiant Hope presses her hoof against his side, horn lit, the smoldering holes quickly filling in.

“Flame Dash.”

In the blink of an eye Grogar disappears from the other side of the barrier, a trail of fire marking his movement. He appears next to Chrysalis, engulfing her inside the circle of fire, steam escaping her lungs in a shrill shriek as her hemolymph boils. Raikou is barely able to backflip away, whipping a crackling obsidian orb at the goat in the same motion.

“Flame Dash.”

Grogar once again blinks away, the petrifying orb missing him by bare inches, this time into the middle of a regiment of advancing Storm Minions. Those facing forwards are incinerated instantly, suits of steel armor sizzling, while those who happened to have their antimagic shields facing the goat are spared the worst of the injuries. Shining Armor is impressed by their resolve: rather than break ranks and try to flee they form a half-circle, attempting to surround Grogar, threatening him with long spears he blatantly disregards.

Then their former comrades stand, eye slits of their helmets glinting gold; they twist the protective shields away, exposing the remaining guards to the tremendous heat.

Shining Armor finally understands Celestia’s warning: every opponent defeated by Grogar would return on the other side, bolstering the opposing ranks while diminishing their own. Tartarus-damned Necromancers. They really would need to end this as quickly as possible.

“Flame Dash.”

Grogar again appears next to Chrysalis, but this time she is ready: a blast of green magic knocks him back, bolstered by Luna’s blue. A cobalt dagger whizzes through the air, slashing with expert precision.

Shining Armor can barely keep track, the battlefield quickly descending into chaos. A glance to the others shows Tempest Shadow throwing sparks that Rainbow Dash evades by a hair’s breadth and Applejack grounds and Spike tanks. Fluttershy locks flashing eyes with a defiant Sombra while Starlight Glimmer attempts to contain his magic. Radiant Hope seems to have surrendered to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, cowering with a horn covered in cake and pleading with Sombra to do likewise, all with a backdrop of stone that Shining Armor realizes is Torch, petrified by Raikou’s dodged orb.

Shining Armor turns back to face Grogar as the regiment of golden Storm Minions is intercepted by their King. Except that is the least of his worries: Cadance now faces off against Grogar, stalling his advance as Twilight hastily assembles what hopefully will end this. Permanently.

“Back off!” Cadance shouts, a blast of pink knocking Grogar back.

The goat turns to face Cadance, lowers his horned head, and charges.

He shatters Shining Armor’s hastily constructed shield, shrugs off Cadance’s and Chrysalis’ blasts, and ignores the cobalt dagger raking an unhealing line across his side.

The ring of fire touches her, igniting her golden mane like a torch, her pink coat lighting like she is doused in kerosene. Her shriek is inequine, worse than Chrysalis’, worse than anything Shining Armor has ever heard. He had hoped to never hear that sound, and it burns his heart to do so, as much as the heart on her flank is sizzling away.

“Got it!” Twilight shouts before hastily backing away from Doug. He carries the long tube on his shoulder like a carpet, nowhere near as threatening as it could be.

Shining Armor can’t see a difference, but Doug bravely charges the ring of fire. That’s suicide is all he can think; the human might be immune to some magic, but fire? He can see the beads of sweat streaming down his face, those that haven’t evaporated from the heat.

“Hah,” Grogar laughs as Cadance slumps down, her delay successful but costly. Too costly. “A grave cannot stop me!”

Faster than Doug can close the distance, though, Grogar charges towards the Elements of Harmony, only to be slammed by a flame-wreathed Celestia. Any spell or word he might have tossed out is knocked from his mouth, just as the light leaves both of their eyes as soon as they get within arms reach of the human. The heat surrounding Grogar fades, replaced with a chill wind.

Shining Armor absently notes the bubble surrounding the Crystal Empire has faded, the cold of the Frozen North seeping in, aided by an arctic aura surrounding Luna. But he’s more focused on reaching Cadance, desperate for some way to heal the burns that have seared away her coat, leaving her shaking and unresponsive.

“I need a medic!” Shining Armor shouts, cradling Cadance’s precious head, hoping against hope that something, anything, can be done for her. He wishes he had studied healing more, always confident his shields would be enough, and they weren’t-

“Open your eyes,” Doug pleads, only to realize that he is preventing any help by remaining close to his beloved. He backs away from Celestia, dragging Grogar’s limp body with him. “Chrysalis!”

“My reserves are exhausted,” the changeling explains, staggering forward. Steam still seeps from her mottled and distorted chitin, swirling against the frigid air. A malevolent smirk crosses her muzzle. “But if I could get a refill…”

At first, Shining Armor thinks she is talking about him. He would gladly do so if he thought it would be sufficient. But then he realizes she is talking about their three captives.

“I can heal her,” Radiant Hope claims, no sign of deceit in her voice. Even Applejack seems convinced, if wary. She bows her head, adding, “All you have to do is forgive him.”

Shining Armor wants to stride forward, to tower over the submissive unicorn, but that would mean leaving Cadance’s side. Something he will never do. “So he can try again later?” He shakes his head. Radiant Hope slumps forward as Tempest Shadow stands defiant even when captured. “Drain them.”

Chrysalis licks her lips as she advances.

Shining Armor buries his head against Cadance’s side, willing her to survive, to hold together for the few seconds it will take. He can hear her ragged heartbeat, slowing, her breaths getting shallower and shallower. He holds her tight, squeezing her gently, only for her to fade from his grasp.

He gasps, staggering to unsteady hooves, only to realize the landscape around him has reverted. Grogar and his acolytes stand, unharmed, staring at the sky as though waiting for some sign to appear. The princesses and Doug lay about him as though sleeping.

Was that a dream? A portent of things to come? …A test?

…If it was a test, did he pass?

Next Chapter: Ch. 194 - Shattered Chains Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 10 Minutes