A beautiful light for a beautiful world

   The creature, although still small compared with the red planet, was way, way, way bigger than the Dark Beast. It was... hard to describe. We could say that it kinda looked like a crab, but only in the same way a venus flytrap kinda looks like a common daisy. You are sure that probably both of them have a common ancestor in the distant past, but that’s all.

   Its body was more or less spherical, and covered in a grayish exoskeleton, with four crab-like legs coming for the sides. It also had a four-eyed white mask in its belly, and above it, at the end of a golden neck, a horned ‘true’ head. In its back, two yellow chitinous wings. Also, it had two gigantic blue arms, each one ending in a hand, and in the palm of each hand, a white and red eye.

   The creature extended his arms, and the red planet stopped, clashing against some kind of invisible wall. Then, Francisco pushed. Surprisingly, it worked, and the abominable planet started to go back, and everypony that saw it from Equestria cheered.

   From the red surface, a tangle of tentacles stretched towards Francisco. The white mask on his belly opened and fired a web of energy beams, cutting the enemy tentacles, while still pushing. The red planet unleashed an immense horde of crimson insectoid creatures of different sizes, although no one of them was smaller than a Ursa Minor. However, two new fighters appeared at Francisco’s side: the Dark Beast and the Upgraded Dark Beast, existing as independent entities. Using all of their power, they protected the shapeshifter from the swarm of red monsters. Meanwhile, Francisco kept pushing.

   Eventually, the red planet was forced to retreat beyond the orbit of Luna’s moon. The shapeshifter stopped pushing, that place was as good as any other. At that distance, Equestria wouldn’t be damaged from the crossfire.

   While the two Beasts were incinerating the army of the red planet, Francisco took a few seconds to look at the mutated Earth. There it was, the world he hated, the planet he rejected. Bigger and with a different colour, but those were minor details. It was still Earth, and Francisco still hated it. But he didn’t want to hate anymore, he just wanted to... forget. Yes, to forget and be happy. A little portion of himself would be morbidly happy for destroying the red planet, he couldn’t deny it, but for the most part, hatred wasn’t the fuel for his actions, but the desire to protect everypony.

   He was going to do what had to be done. Not a revenge.

   Francisco’s body began to shine with an azure light, and he started to descend, right towards the red surface. The planet reacted by calling back its atmosphere and making it denser than before. The swarm of creatures attacked again, but the two Beasts launched a massive rain of fire breaths and energy beams, opening Francisco’s path. Some of the red soldiers managed to get to him, but they were disintegrated by the azure light, which became more intense as the shapeshifter was approaching the surface of the red planet.

   The Upgraded Dark Beast was surrounded, overwhelmed and devoured by the enemy soldiers. The normal Dark Beast managed to reach the atmosphere, but he dissolved when he made contact with the dark clouds. However, Francisco’s light opened a hole in them, and he kept descending.

***

   Outside their cottage, Adam and Eve were contemplating the battle. They saw the azure light of Francisco tearing the atmosphere apart, and then they saw him, like a gigantic beacon, destroying the last clouds. The Hivemind sprouted more tentacles and tried to stop the shapeshifter, but his light burned it. Its soldiers surrounded Francisco, but the light destroyed them all.

   The lonely couple saw the shiny blue giant clashing against the red horizon.

   “Adam,” said Eve. “Do you think this is what a sunset looks like?”

   “I don’t know,” answered he. “But I hope, because it’s beautiful.”

   The two errors hugged, knowing that their end was near, but they were happy about it.

   “What is that?” asked Eve, pointing at the ground.

   And they picked two things, two tiny round stones, which looked at them with yellow eyes.

   Then, the powerful shock wave caused by the impact of Francisco in the planet reached them, destroying their bodies, their house, and all the mountain chain.

***

   Francisco was tearing through the red flesh at highspeed. Like a blue fireball, he burned the entrails of the red planet, digging directly to the core.

   Eventually, he reached it. An immense cave filled with columns of flesh, almost  a biological cathedral, like the inners of a human heart. It was pounding, although not to send any blood, but information. Francisco could feel the electric pulses flowing through the red matter. That was the core of the Hivemind.

   Thousands of eyes, blues like the ones on the surface of the planet but smaller, opened on the fleshy walls, and the shapeshifter heard a chorus of many voices, all of them identical:

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”    

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”  

  “We are the Hivemind. We shall assimilate you.”       

   And several tentacles, with mouths and claws on their extremes, attacked Francisco, biting him and piercing his exoskeleton. The shapeshifter, still glowing blue, didn't try to defend himself. However, he said:

   “Yes, you will assimilate me. You will assimilate every me.”

   And his body shone again, this time stronger than ever. The color blue infected the tentacles of the Hivemind and filled the core, and then extended through the rest of the planet, which also began to shine. Like if it was a second moon, or a smaller sun, the celestial body glowed in the skies, bathing Equestria in the azure light.

   The Hivemind had been created by humans, and it wasn’t programmed to comprehend, not even to conceive, a creature like Francisco, with the powers of the drooling god. That way, the shapeshifter had it easy to overcome the monstrous conscience and take control of the whole planet. It had come from a different timeline, from a different Universe, and it could do it again. Now, it was a key.

   Using the capabilities of the Hivemind, which exceeded the power of any supercomputer, Francisco examined the Multiverse, searching for himself, for any thing related to him. Any world created by his death, any entity that could have come to existence due to his demise. If he saw a creature that could be a menace for Equestria or any other world, it was immediately extracted from its reality and absorbed by the Hivemind. The good beings or the harmless ones, however, were left untouched.

   No more monsters would come to his world of colours. At least, no more monsters related to him.

   However, performing such feat had a prize...

***

   Everypony was looking at the red planet, now far away from them, although still visible. They were almost holding their breath, while contemplating the azure light, waiting for something to happen. Anything.

   “Can you hear me?” sounded a voice in the air.

   “Francisco?” asked Pinkie Pie. “Is that you?”

   “Yes I am,” said the voice. It sounded distant, but at the same time, very close.

   “Where are you?” asked Celestia.

   “Inside of the red planet. Don’t worry, everything is going to end soon. I just wanted to thank you, all of you, for everything you’ve done for me. This last month has been the happiest of my life, of my two lives. I don’t know where I will go now, but wherever it may be, I will never forget you, my friends.”

   Then, the surface of the planet started to break, and the light became more intense.

   “What are you talking about?” inquired Pinkie Pie. She wasn’t understanding his words, but her Pinkie Sense was tingling, and she didn’t like it.

   “I’m sorry,” apologized Francisco. “I’m going to die with the red planet.”

   “What?!” gasped everypony.

   “I created it,” explained the voice of the shapeshifter. “Unwittingly, but I created it. I’ve used its power to clean the Multiverse from other monsters born from me. Equestria will never be threatened by them again. However, neither my body nor the red planet can hold this much energy. We will die. Consider this my apologies for having brought so much disasters to your world, I really didn’t want any of this to happen.”

   “No!” begged Pinkie. “Don’t be silly, it was not your fault, we are not mad at you! You can’t do that, you promised that you would return!”

   “I’m sorry, Pinkie. I’m sorry, friends. Please... be happy.”

   And the red planet exploded into a glorious flash of light, so bright that everypony had to cover their eyes. An azure wave extended and covered the world, its sun, its moon, and the space surrounding them. Magnificent aurora borealis were seen in the skies of Equestria when the energy released by Francisco’s death entered in contact with the atmosphere. The red filter vanished, and the colours returned to their legitimate place. The volcanoes and the seas calmed, and plants and animals started to wake up, feeling that the menace was no more.

   The light of the explosion kept shining for several minutes, before fading away. That was Francisco’s gift to the planet that had made him so happy, to those colourful ponies.

   A beautiful light for a beautiful world.

***

   A shapeless blob was crawling in a ground made of millions of tiny round stones. It had no arms, no legs, no mouth to speak or scream with, and only one eye.

   Francisco reached the Hand Tower. He was surprised to see that the drooling god was talking to other two shapeless blobs, both of them red. The entity moved his tentacles, and his guests disappeared. Then, Francisco approached.

   “Welcome back,” said the drooling god.

   “Who were they?” asked the former shapeshifter.

   “My two new messengers. I have send them to a world where they will be happy.”

   “That’s good... I guess...”

   “Congratulations, you did it. Even though you did not train your powers as I had intended, you saved Equestria, your beloved colourful world.”

   “Yes... yes, I did...”

   “Are you not happy about it?”

   Francisco looked at the drooling god with his only eye. He mumbled a bit, looking for the adequate words. Yes, he was happy. After all, he had... he was...

   Oh, who was he kidding?

   “Of course not!” he shouted. “I’m not happy at all! I didn’t want to end like this, I didn’t want any of that garbage to happen! I just wanted to go there to be happy, not to blow up myself in order to stop a mutant Earth from a future that doesn’t exist anymore! Just hear what I’ve just said, for the love of God! That sort of things shouldn’t happen in Equestria!”

   He wished to have hands, so he could punch the ground. Or himself.

   “But...” he continued. “But now they will be ok, they will be safe, so I guess I did the right thing, although I didn’t want to abandon them. I did the right thing, but I’m not happy about it. At all.”, Francisco approached the tower. “I guess I have no right to beg, but... can’t you do something?

   “I am afraid not. Now that you have died a second time, our contract is over. I must let you go.”

   “And can’t we make another deal?”

   “No. This time you do not hate the world you come from. Remember, that was the main requisite.”

   “Then... what will I do now?”

   “You must go to the Afterlife. Since you lived in both worlds, you can choose between Earth Afterlife or Equestria Afterlife, but I do not know anything of what may await you there.”

   Francisco looked down.

   “Are you sure you can’t do something?” he asked, one more time.

   “No,” answered the drooling god. “There are Rules.”

   Francisco turned back and started to crawl away. He wanted to cry, but he didn’t have lacrimal glands, either.

   Then, he stopped, suddenly, and looked back.

   “But I don’t come from Equestria,” he said. “I come from the red planet, that’s where I died this time. And I hated that world.”

   The drooling god gave him an inquisitive glance with all of his eyes. The shapeless blob remained silent for seconds, under the shadow of the stone tower, waiting for an answer, hoping for a miracle.

   Then, the drooling god laughed.

   “Bravo,” he said. “A loophole in the Rules, very well done. I guess we have another deal, then. Do you still want to be my Nyarlathotep?”

***

   Happiness. Equestria was overflowing with happiness. Not just ponies, but every creature, sentient or not, was cheering, dancing and laughing under the skies, which were blue again. Hope had returned, and stronger than ever, because they had just escaped from death. They were alive, and their world looked much more beautiful than they remembered.

   But one pony was not celebrating. Pinkie Pie was still on the balcony, staring at the sky, waiting.

   “Uhm...” whispered Fluttershy, behind her. “You should come inside, Pinkie.”

   “He may return now,” said Pinkie. “I have to wait for him.”

   “Darling...” said Rarity. “I’m afraid... I’m afraid Francisco is not coming back.”

   “But he made a promise! He would not break his promise!”

   “Pinkie, you don’t understand...” said Twilight. “Francisco... Francisco sacrificed himself for us. He had to break his promise, so we could live on.”

   The pink pony looked back at her friends, with a sad look.  

   “Come on, Pinkie,” Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. “He wouldn’t like you to be sad. Remember what he said? ‘Please... be happy.’ Will you be happy for him, Pinkie Pie?”

   “Y... Yes. Yes, I will,” and she smiled. A sad smile, but a smile. “I guess... I guess it’s ok that he had broken this promise. After all, it wasn’t a Pinkie Promise.”

   “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” said a voice.

   The mares turned around. There was a black stallion in the middle of the balcony, with one of his hooves on his eye.

   “Now it is a Pinkie Promise,” he said. “And nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise.”

   Immediately, he was hugged by all the six, specially by Pinkie Pie, who jumped on him and almost broke some of his ribs. Even Celestia and Luna joined them, glad to see that their friend from another world was back.

   “I knew you would return!” exclaimed Pinkie, embracing Francisco so tightly, that the black stallion almost couldn’t breath. “Oh, I’m so happy, that I want to throw the best party ever! Come on, everypony, to the castle! I’ve brought my Party Cannon with me, which means that I can have everything ready in less than ten minutes! Let’s go!”

   “Wait, Pinkie...” said Francisco.

   “Yes?” asked she, with a big and bright smile on her face.

   “Er...” the black stallion blushed and gulped. “I... I wanted to tell you something. I...”

   With her head, Celestia told everypony to leave the two of them alone.

   “I... I wanted to tell you, since... well, since... I mean...”

   The words were stuck on his throat, and it wasn’t an easy task with Pinkie directly looking at him with her big blue eyes and her ridiculously adorable smile.

   “I...” no, he couldn’t. His voice faded away in a comical squeak.

   However, still smiling, Pinkie approached Francisco and kissed him in the cheek.

   No one of them said anything. She knew.

***

   Happiness. Equestria was overflowing with happiness. There was a big party in Canterlot’s castle. What were they celebrating? The defeat of a terrible foe, the return of a beloved friend, and the fact that they were still alive.

   Or maybe they weren’t celebrating anything. Sometimes, just like Pinkie Pie, you don’t need a reason to be happy.

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