Okay everyone, here we go!

The last chapter in this story (That took way too long to update, sorry!). Though I will warn you that it does end rather abruptly, and on a bit of a cliffhanger XD

Anyway, without further ado!

Begin!

End Of The Line

It was cold.

That was the first thing I noticed as I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings, blurry with sleep though they may have been.

I was sitting up against a large oak tree, surrounded on every side with plants, various animals and of course, more trees.

My back is killing me, I thought irritably. I suppose I better get used to it though, it's not like I have the comfort of a warm bed anymore.

Except…I could…oh yes, I could have a nice warm bed.

Said bed would also be occupied with a soft…warm…loving…

That's enough of that, I chided myself tiredly, standing up and stretching as best I could.

Yes, that was enough of that. There was a lot of ground I had to cover if I hoped to get anywhere near the blade of mortality.

Hmm, I should probably explain what I'm talking about.

A little under four weeks ago I dreamt a strange dream…except it wasn't a dream.

There was a guy there…he looked human, like me and wanted to help…help me escape Luna's madness forever.

How?

"By killing you," he told me, a sort of calm manipulation hiding behind his twinkling eyes.

"Killing me?" I asked incredulously, getting up off the chair quickly and backing away.

The man merely chuckled and held his hands up in a sign of peace.

"Relax Alexander, you mistook my terminology."

I stopped backing away from him and frowned, confusion towards his words filling me up.

"There aren't many ways to mistake what you just said," I snarked dryly.

"Perhaps," he stated, a tranquil smile adorning what little I could see of his face. "I apologize for my forwardness, allow me to explain…if you will."

He gestured yet again at the chair…I was about to comply, but only after a few seconds of checking him over for signs of deception first.

Wait, what am I doing?

"I believe I can explain that for you as well young man," he offered calmly.

That one shocked me. He could hear my thoughts and that…bothered me greatly. None the less I complied and sat down, waiting for him to speak up first.

He kept his gaze on me for a few moments, but eventually inhaled deeply and leaned back against his chair, sipping from a scotch glass absentmindedly.

"I offer my sympathies for what the mad queen has done to you Alexander," he began tiredly. "Unfortunately, even though I could rectify it, I've been placed under strict orders not to interfere directly."

"What do you mean?" I asked worriedly. "What has she done to me?!"

"She's…changed you, for want of a better word," he answered shamefully. "In simple Eng…Equis, she has taken everything that makes her who she is, minus her gender and form, and slowly melded it into your mind and DNA."

I don't know how or why…but I somehow understood everything he was trying to tell me.

"Why?" I asked fearfully.

The man sighed and stared at me sympathetically, sipping just that little more from his glass.

"She didn't want to change you into an actual Alicorn because it wouldn't be the form she made love with all those years ago. But unless she did something, you would be dead in roughly sixty years…So she came up with an alternative."

He took a final sip from his drink and placed the glass down upon a table…that had just appeared in front of us.

"Do you recall the rapist that she killed after cornering you into killing dear Twilight Sparkle?"

I winced but nodded…even after all this time, I still couldn't bear to think about what I'd done.

"Do you also recall what his corpse looked like when you finally looked?" he continued evenly.

"Yeah, it was old and dried up. I figured she aged him to death or something."

"She did…in a manner of speaking."

A moment of silence filled the air as he apparently contemplated his next words.

"I'm sorry Alexander, I truly am," he apologized wearily. "Luna stole all the remaining time he had left and stored it within herself…And not just to him either but many, many others. All of them rapists, killers…the worst sort of individuals, way back before she found you again a little under two years ago."

"Two years?!" I exclaimed loudly.

"A little under, but yes. The life force she took from the criminals is a punishment she uses on the ones that in her eyes, have no chance for redemption. The reason she actually stole their time however…was for you."

"Me?"

"Yes, Luna has stolen enough life force to keep you young and healthy for thousands of years…and I'm sorry my friend but it's already melded into your DNA. There's nothing I can do without breaking the rules, and there's no spell in all of existence that can reverse what she's done to you."

"She's…she's forced me to live longer on other pony's life force?" I asked, disgust and horror laced within my tone.

"That and everything else, but you'll discover them on your own. Time is short here and I must get down to the point of our meeting."

I could barely comprehend what he was telling me.

Luna had taken, no, stolen life from other's only to force it into me.

Why?

To make it so we ruled indefinitely? But what happened when my extra time ran out?

Would she just borrow some more?

"The point here Alexander, is that in order to escape you must first kill yourself," he stated simply. "But I do not mean in the traditional sense, but rather that you rid yourself of everything that makes you who you currently are."

"I don't understand what you mean," I said perplexedly. "You want me to…kill my personality?"

"No, not your personality, your morals," he corrected calmly. "Morals make a man who he is after all."

The man stood up slowly and stared at me sternly.

"Alexander…in order to escape Luna's insanity, you have to let go of your hesitation, your resolve, and unwillingness to do what must be done."

"Is he saying what I think he is?"

He walked over to me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, a look of finality in his expression.

"My name is Ton and I can help you rid yourself of the mad queen. But to do so, you must be willing to end her when the time comes…For there is no other way."

"I…"

It was one of the hardest decisions I had ever had to make.

To be willing to kill and escape, or reject his offer, inevitably give in…and accept Luna's love for me.

Was there really ever two choices?

"I hate what this is going to make of me…but if I stay here any longer then I fear that I'll never want to leave her."

"That's exactly what will happen Alexander," he confirmed sadly. "You will eventually accept her for who she is and love her like she loves you...And then you'll become the most powerful and feared yet respected rulers for many a millennia."

Respected?

"We would only be respected through fear…"

"There's one thing that's bothering me though," I admitted honestly.

"Oh?"

"I've been here for a little under two years…and yet I've never once seen or heard anything about Mom or Cadance. Whether by a guard, maid, servant or Luna herself."

Ton sighed and shook his head slowly, pinching his nose between his forefinger and thumb.

"It honestly surprises me that you haven't figured it out yet," he said blandly.

"Figured what out?" I asked warily.

He looked at me emotionlessly and exhaled loudly, before turning away and walking a short distance.

"That despite what she's said, Luna does not take prisoners."

No…he couldn't. He couldn't mean…not Cadance…not Mom.

Ton looked at me once more and sighed dejectedly

"I'm truly sorry my friend, but Cadenza and Celestia died a little under nine years ago…Horn decapitation via dark and deadly magic…a nasty and quite painful way to go."

"No…" I moaned miserably. "No, it can't be true, they can't be gone…Not Mom…Not my Cadance."

A torrent of depressive and furious emotions stormed their way through me as the finality of my situation dawned harshly upon me. Tears began to cascade down my cheeks as flashes of Mom and Cadance blinked in and out of my vision.

My Mother was dead.

Cadance was dead.

Twilight was dead.

I had nothing left. The only reason I hadn't attempted to take my own life was because I thought that Cadance and Mom were still alive.

But they weren't…so what reason did I have to keep living?

"What if I told you that there was a way to escape this endless nightmare?"

I jumped at the sound of Ton's voice and looked up at him, confusion, slight hope and depression causing my body to ache dully.

Ton turned around and clapped his hands together, a strange business-like stance and expression about him.

"What if I told you that killing Luna with an ancient blade would wake you up?"

I didn't understand what he meant exactly…but everypony I knew was gone. And if all it took to end it was a blade to Luna's heart, then I had little to no qualms doing it.

"I…I-I don't even know how to go about it," I said fearfully. "Luna's always watching me. How can I even get away from her? And besides she's…she's manipulated my emotions. When I wake up I'm going to be fighting against the urge to give unto her passion."

"That's where I come in," he explained. "I'm not allowed to do anything myself, but I can shroud you from her sight, as well as her control over your emotions."

This particular news nearly made me cry in relief. All I'd wanted for a long time was some privacy without her anywhere near me, including my thoughts.

Yet everything has a catch…

"However, I can only grant you this immunity for up to four weeks…but there is a small price to pay."

"What price?"

"The shroud will protect you from Luna's power, unfortunately everything else you face, you will have to do so alone…forcefully. I assume that it'll feel quite instinctual, but know here and now that you will HAVE to kill her once you get the chance…for it will be your only chance."

He looked at me sternly.

"Can you do that Alexander?" he asked firmly. "Can you let go of your morality and spill blood?"

T'was a simple question really…Kill or be killed.

Would I be the killer or the victim?

"I have nothing left, let alone a choice," I admitted bitterly. "And if all it takes is killing Luna to find peace then I…I think…No, I can do it. I have to."

I stood up and walked over to him as confidently as I could muster, despite how dead I felt inside.

"Mom…Cadance, I'm so sorry…"

Ton just smiled and placed his hands behind his back, standing professionally and watching as I stopped in front of him.

"I accept this," I said bravely. "I accept your deal and the price that comes with it."

Ton smiled and held his hand out for me to shake…I did.

"Very good my friend," he said shrewdly. "I do believe you'll be quite satisfied with what you eventually get."

…

Our plan came into effect a few days later.

Luna had to go and meet up with a disrespectful Griffon who would soon be reminded of his place, and would coincidentally leave me on my own for a few hours.

During all the time waiting, I'd also been fighting viciously with the urge to go to Luna and…do something.

Lick, kiss, hold, caress…There were so many temptations and I had to spend hours resisting them all.

It felt as horrible as it was wonderful. To have that constant sensation, to feel her, to hear her loving voice gently echoing within my soul…

Like I said, horrible yet wonderful.

Thankfully, the time finally came for Ton's shroud to take effect.

He had told me that he would shroud me when the time was right…and there wasn't a better time I was going to get than this.

There was no point in packing any essentials. For although I could be shrouded for a limited time of four weeks, it had an unfortunate side effect. As the shroud neared its final week, all of Luna's 'Protection' would begin to reveal itself once more, to me and her.

So in other words…I had to be swift.

After waiting for a little over an hour, I felt a strange tingling sensation tickling my forehead.

There's the signal… I thought quietly.

Hoping against hope that Luna hadn't heard me, I made my way towards the door and crept my way outside.

I instantly shuddered as the obvious effect of Ton's shroud became apparent. It was as though a weight had lifted off of me, whilst simultaneously dropping another lighter weight upon my shoulders.

Surprisingly, there weren't any guards outside the door. Although when I thought about it, it made sense why.

After all, Luna considered her watchful gaze completely incapable of making any mistakes.

Unfortunately for her…she was going to figure out just how vulnerable it actually was very soon.

"Remember that you're on a time limit. Luna will notice the sudden absence via her magic roughly eleven minutes after it's activated. I can only trick her into believing you're in her chambers for that long, so get a move on once it is."

Recalling these wise words, I swiftly made my way down the corridor before noticing an open window not a few feet ahead of me. Ton had informed me that as long as I followed through and gave into my instincts, then I would be able to achieve incredible things.

Apparently jumping down a few thousand feet and surviving was one of them.

I opened the window completely and carefully edged myself onto the thin ledge beneath it, looking down at the very, very…very scary drop.

Well…I'm fucked.

But then again, even if I didn't survive…I honestly didn't care.

Nonetheless, as I made to jump off the ledge and most likely assure my permanent demise, I felt…something strange. It was like walking to a familiar place…you didn't really pay attention, yet all the same you still arrived there.

That's what it felt like…like I'd done this many, many times. And thus I had nothing to worry about, heck I couldn't even feel the previous anxiousness that plagued my thoughts.

Spreading my arms wide, I balanced myself and closed my eyes, smiling somewhat at the soothing wind caressing my skin.

Then without really thinking about it…I stepped off the ledge and fell.

Down and down and down, until eventually…

I opened my eyes and held out my right palm as I hit the ground, using my sudden burst of incredible strength to steady myself as I forced my hand into the stone.

I'm…still alive?

Yes, yes I was, but I had no time to cheer about my apparent ability to jump and not go splat.

And so with little hesitation for anything but my new mission, I sprinted away swiftly with no care for the strange looking city that Canterlot had become.

Strange and somehow…familiar. Futuristic and yet…familiar.

I made it out of the city with no problems, although I did have to hide as I spotted Luna herself flying over me, a dreamy expression adorning her face in the brief glimpse I got of it.

I doubt she still had that expression when she eventually got back to our chambers and discovered me missing.

In fact from what Ton told me, Luna was absolutely beside herself with grief and rage.

She also apparently drowned the entire south guard regiment in their own blood,

And even though this was a monstrous act…I tried and failed to find it within myself to care. To care that every guard who failed to stop me leaving didn't survive her madness.

It's times like this that I wonder…what kind of monster did she make of me?

Although Ton said that he couldn't help me directly, he still implanted a sort of…tracker in my mind. I couldn't see anything that would make it obvious, yet even so my legs seemed to move on their own, guiding me to a supposedly abandoned temple in the wastelands.

Water and food were scarce, sometimes even impossible to come by. I noticed early on just how weak I felt…but I persevered, I had to. Even if I was running on nothing more than a few mouthfuls of water, and a handful of berries and nuts.

It took a very long time to gain any kind of ground. The guard, Luna's guard…they were everywhere. Even the forest I traversed on my way to the temple wasn't safe, said guard were constantly flying above the exotic plant life and trees.

Heh…if only I had more time, I could have spent an entire day observing the bizarre vegetation.

But alas, time was simply something I didn't have as a luxury. Because if I wasted any, the countdown until Luna's reconnection with my mind would draw ever closer…and I did not want that to happen.

It wasn't because I was scared, oh no. The little sessions between the two of us were done, it wasn't fear that drove me…not entirely anyway. In all honesty…it was the knowledge that if I was caught, the chance of this opportunity happening a second time was slim.

Ton had told me that if Luna caught me…and managed to lull me back into the warmth of her hooves, then she would easily be able to detect the remnants of his shroud, and block out any and all future attempts from ever happening.

"She won't attack you," he warned quietly. "She will break you, break your resistance, break your anger, and hate, and fear…until all that is left is a weeping broken shell of a man."

The sheer intensity of those words made me back away slightly…I still remember how terrified they made me.

"Do not get caught Alexander," he said. "Or you will never be free…never!"

With those words stalking me like a shadow, my progress in finding the temple was surprisingly quick. To my surprise actually, I managed to not only get there a couple of days before Ton's shroud wore off, but also without a single incident or sighting.

It was strange really…but for once things were finally looking up!

The temple itself was rather cliché. What with the undoubtedly ancient appearance, stone steps that led to the entrance, and peculiar symbols and markings on the rough stone layer.

Heh, I was surprised Daring Doo didn't just fly out of there with a boulder behind her. Said thoughts were quickly quelled however…especially once I remembered why I was here.

Why was I being so jovial?

Was it a front, a mask to hide my pain…or was I simply that sick in the head now, so sick that I failed to feel remorse?

Oh Luna, what have you done to me?

No…NO!

I would not become a monster, I refused!

And if I felt myself slipping down that path…well, then I'd make sure to fall beforehand. Whether by my own choice...or that of an easily provoked guard.

I made my way inside the temple entrance, said entrance lacking any kind of door or barrier. Heck, even as I walked through the inside, there was little to no fantastic works of art. The walls were half eroded, covered in cobwebs, and without a single shiny object within eyesight.

I'm not here for some shiny trinket!

No, I wasn't. I was here for some sort of divinity killing weapon…that just so happened to be buried somewhere within a derelict temple.

It felt all too convenient, way too convenient in fact. Yet I had little choice now, I had to try and find it…I had nothing left to do, to live for…not now.

"Where is it Ton?" I muttered irritably.

For a weapon that was supposed to be buried, there wasn't actually any noticeable way down.

Sighing wearily, I pinched the bridge of my nose and rested against the stone wall, a small wave of anxiety washing over me as I did so.

And then the brick I just so happened to be leaning on…moved inwards.

"The fuck?!" I yelped, backing away from the brick as if burned.

A rather loud clanging sound filled the vast yet empty temple, causing my attention to switch onto the floor…on my left. Said floor was…opening, for want of a better word, into numerous stairs, leading down to a faintly lit chamber.

I guess that's where the dagger is then…

Walking down the stone steps was…eerie. The darkness seemed to press in on me, envelop me even…it reminded me far too much of Luna. Every time I so much as thought about her…it sent shivers right up my spine. Sometimes it got worse and I began to hyperventilate, if only to calm myself down a few moments later.

I was terrified of her, I knew that and doubted…doubted just what I would be able to do even with the dagger.

How would I even be able to get near her? Ton told me that she couldn't touch the dagger magically without causing herself unbelievable agony. Thus if I held it then she wouldn't be able to touch me with her magic.

But physically…I couldn't let myself get close and yet I had to.

What was I to do?

...

And there it was, in front of me not a few feet away.

It was just lying there on a stone alter, not a single other object in sight to confuse me.

Nothing at all.

Is this Ton's doing? I know he said that he couldn't interfere…but this has been so easy, it must be him.

Its appearance was rather bland in all honesty. What with a plain black handle and crude, yet undoubtedly sharp looking blade, there was little difference between this and any other dagger the Night Guard carried with them.

And yet…there was something about it that made me shiver. Just looking at was enough to give me an uneasy feeling, as if it were forbidden.

Still, I had to take it, so take it I did.

The moment my fingers grasped around the handle, I immediately felt a very cold sensation run its way up my arm, numbing said appendage swiftly.

Suddenly, the stairs behind me began to rumble, before moving up to close itself once more.

"Oh shit!"

With absolutely no hesitation I sprinted back towards them and dived atop, pulling my legs up with me so they wouldn't get crushed. It was only when everything stopped moving that I scrambled onto my feet, chuckling helplessly as the adrenaline raced throughout my system.

Thankfully my right hand was still firmly clasping the dagger, it was almost as though it didn't want to come off.

But alas, I had what I'd set out to get…and there was only one thing left to do.

Use it to kill Lu-

"Found you…"

Those words…those two hauntingly terrifying words filled the temple, surrounding me, caressing my ears with their silky undertone.

Not yet…oh God, please no, not yet!

Turning around as slow as can be, my vision was swiftly graced with the visage of a…smiling Luna?

She was standing quite a distance away from me, yet was gradually shortening said distance with her slow yet graceful steps.

"Hello beloved," she purred softly, her eyes regarding me warmly…

To Be Continued In…

Alex Or Xander?

Author's Note

Surprise, I'm a dick!

Yes I know how annoying this ending is, but do not fret, for it shall be continued in the next instalment of Alex's life!

Basically the next story will open up right here, and continue from there. I have a pretty good plan to mix and match his conflicting personas.

Though if you think you've figured it out then by all means, do tell XD

Till next time!