The Dangers of Stupidity

Chapter XXVI: Zenith

The four of us ran along a large hallway, the black stones of the walls swallowing every bit of light except the yellow glow from my blades. A ghostly apparition of Sephiroth appeared in front of us and I jumped into the air, cutting it in half. Every single one of these ghosts that I killed did nothing but increase my rage. I looked back at the three mares following me, and it nearly became two, if my reflexes were any slower. With a shout, I launched one of my blades outward, smashing the shaft of an arrow just before it pierced Applejack's barrel.

"You'll thank me for that later." I remarked, breaking back into a sprint.

"Sure Ah will, sure Ah will."

I flung out another blade the moment that a spear flew from the wall, nearly pinning Luna to the other side of the hall. The further we went into this hallway, the closer we got to dying.

Which meant we were closing in on our goal.

We reached the end of the hall, where a small grey marble door sat against the wall. There wasn't a doorknob, but the door splintered like wood with two strikes from the pommel of my blade. The next room was a simple featureless chamber, made from the same marble as the door. In the center of the room were four large treasure chests, each one printed with a different marking; three red apples, a blotch of darkness with a crescent moon in the center, a trio of balloons, and a sky blue lightning bolt wrapped around a small Blade of Exile.

"I know we're trying to save an entire world here, but I need a picture of this!"

I pulled my phone from my pocket and snapped a quick picture of each chest, then stepped forward to claim my treasure: a silver claw-like weapon with three blades attached to it. I swung it forward. Each blade was at the tip of a chain.

The Nemesis Whip. Hory shet, this is awesome!

Each of us had an unusual treasure in our chests. Luna's was a pair of devious blades that attached perfectly to her wings, Applejack's was a borderline deformed pistol suited perfectly to being mouth-wielded with her cutie mark printed on it, and Pinkie Pie's was a miniature gatling gun that automatically attached itself to her party cannon. At this point, I was starting to fear her a bit.

"Okay guys, no time to waste. We're almost to Sephiroth's chamber. Let's do this!" I shouted as I ran to the next door and cut it down with my blade. Inside was a decent opposition: two phantom Sephiroths, three Undead Legionnaires, and a Minotaur.

"Applejack, hit the Legionnaires. Luna, you take the ghosts. Pinkie, we'll take out the Minotaur." Three gunshots rang out as two of the Legionnaires fell to the ground in a pile of bones. The third simply deflected the bullet with his shield, which it punctured but didn't hit the Legionnaire with enough force to kill. It was enough, though, to knock the shield from his hand. Another round tore straight through what was left of his head. Luna flew into the ghostly Sephiroths with her blades, causing them to dissipate into nothing. I lunged at the Minotaur, gatling gun fire keeping it distracted as I jammed a blade into the back of its thigh, sending the beast to the ground. I spun wildly, creating a fiery tornado that lifted the Minotaur into the air just in time for me to wrap the chains of my blades around its neck and pull it to the ground. The gunfire stopped as I climbed onto the Minotaur's back and clasped its head in my hands. Little by little, I pulled and twisted until the man-bull's head ripped free from its neck, leaving a pool of obsidian blood on the ground. The three mares stared at me in shock before remembering that I was now the God of War. We continued on through the next room, which was, for lack of a better phrase, a dick in the form of a room. This was the first section of a building that had ever been a dick to me! It constantly spawned monsters, forcing us to abandon our movement to fight. It shot flames, arrows, spears and even swords out of the walls, giving me and Luna an obligation to either blast them or cut them apart before they could strike any of us. Finally, I decapitated the Cyclops that prevented us from advancing to the last room.

"Alright." I said with determination. "This is it. Beyond this door is Sephiroth. You all-AH!" My sentence was interrupted by a blue blur knocking me onto the ground. I looked up, only to find my vision obscured by a rainbow-colored lightning bolt.

"Rainbow Dash, get off me!"

"Arrick? How'd you get here?"

"I think I should be asking you that. Right after you get your plot off my face!"

My eyes were finally usable once again, and I looked around, noticing that all of us had gotten in here somehow. All of us except Benson.

"Where's Benson?" I asked them.

"Well, we were running through this hallway that was absolutely filled with traps, and he kind of, fell through a hole in the ground?" Rarity was clearly ready for my wrath.

"That's fine for now. We have to have the Elements ready before we go in here. They won't cause much damage to him, but they'll distract him long enough that I'll be able to. Twilight?"

As if on command, her magic started blazing, and I could tell that it was difficult to keep that much energy locked away for more than five seconds at a time. I sheathed my blades and prepared to use Zeus' Thunder. A massive lightning bolt blew the door open and I stepped through the smoke, my friends behind me. Sephiroth waited for us, sitting on a large throne clearly made from pony skeletons.

"Sephiroth! Enjoy your last moments, because they're about to end!" I pointed my blade at him menacingly.

"They are?" He answered me dubiously. "You must be mistaken. If any of you even dare to attack me, I will tear you limb from limb with a flick of my wrist. In fact, your friends here would make perfect additions to my throne."

A fire ignited in the pit of my soul, changing me. My eyes flickered with unbridled rage, an aura of power radiated from me, and the grip around my blades became nearly tight enough to snap the handles like twigs. Even my Blades of Exile had changed their glow from borderline neon yellow to a blood red.

That blood would soon become Sephiroth's.