Lunar Spartan

The doors to the castle were broken down forcefully, letting Aniketos and Luna walk in with their blades drawn and ready for any contact they would face. So far there was nothing except a few torches that remained lit and burning, illuminating the floor that used to welcome all before Sombra's dark turn towards disharmony.

"Sombra!" Luna shouted out. "You cannot run nor hide any longer! Come out and surrender!"

The two stopped still, listening to Sombra laughing from an unknown area. "Fools. You do not believe I would surrender as if I was a worthless peasant. Ha!"

"The Equestrian Army are closing in around your Empire! You have no chance to fight against those you have brought disharmony to!" Luna replied.

Sombra appeared from the shadows, making the Spartan and the princess point their blades towards him. "That may be true, but I will bring all of you with me once I've finished with you both!" He drew out two rapiers and charged towards them, the sword fight commencing and most likely will not end until the King lies breathless. With a magical shockwave, he pushed both Aniketos and Luna back, separated from each other's reach. He waited a moment, allowing the two to charge back towards him and continue the fight, facehoofing Luna and magically shocking Aniketos. He jumped back towards the stairs and galloped up them. Both Aniketos and Luna regained their composure and chased after him, running up the stairs as well but not expecting more Crystal guards to be left. The Spartan bashed forward with his shield with Luna jabbing her sword forward when the shield was lifted. Soon enough they reached the second floor facing Sombra again with a dissatisfied look. Magic erupted again, this time splitting the two apart with a magical barrier. For the separated two, they watched Sombra divide himself into dozens and charge towards them.

Aniketos swung his shield against one to his left and made an upward slash to another on his right. He jumped back, blocking a jab and breaking the rapier with his shield, thrusting forward while ducking his head a bit and feeling the other rapier scrape against his helmet. Pulling out, he spun and slashed the neck of his next victim, booting another in the face following up with his momentum and watching the clone fall towards the main floor, head making contact first. Luna was dealing with her own fighting, using a magical force to push a few back away while those that avoided it charged and made their attack. She blocked and misdirected one of the rapiers away from her and making it stuck onto the magical wall, swinging her blade to the right and making contact with the other two, one slicing the neck and the other in the eyes. She stabbed down into the body of the one with the eye injury, looking up after and seeing more that she pushed away come charging towards her. She was growing exhausted, her breathing being slightly quick and heavy as she stood ready for the next attack. She knew Aniketos had to be tired as well, after all he did just come back from the Griffon Kingdom. They were close in defeating the monster that started their known world conflict, and knew exhaustion could not intervene with the head of Sombra being held up high for those to see. Failure was not an option.

Once the distraction was rid of, Luna unleashed a stronger force of magic breaking the wall that separated her from her loving warrior. Once the two met eye-to-eye, she smiled greatly seeing him still standing tall, him nodding to her as a sign that he wasn't finished yet. Both turned to face again a dissatisfied Sombra, in turn ran up another set of stairs and leaving them behind with more Crystal guards to distract them.

"You're only prolonging the inevitable. Cease your running and surrender," his reflection spoke out.

"Silence you! I will not be defeated so easily!" Sombra yelled out.

"You are already defeated. With your Empire collapsing, there will be nothing left except for your head."

"Sombra!" Luna yelled out, pulling her sword from the lifeless stallion. "It is over!" She charged up the stairs with Aniketos following behind, now reaching the third floor where for sure there was no escape beside jumping off and falling towards the main floor. The two stared down towards the defeated king. "Lay down your blade, Sombra. You can still live if you only you surrender."

"If you continue to fight, you will be slain by either one of our blades," said Aniketos.

Sombra ignored their warnings and charged forward, attacking head on with his rapiers while at the same time used his magic to strike them down enough to make any damage towards them possible. He felt one of their blades make contact with his leg, making him scream out and back up to recollect himself. The two charged towards him with relentless force, not letting up for any chance of catching his breath. Both their eyes, all lifeless and determined to end his own, end what he gained. With a large magical pulse, he shot towards Aniketos, him being a bigger threat, and saw the Spartan fly back towards the wall hard and collapse onto the ground incapacitated for the moment. Luna looked furious towards him, attempting to run back to the Spartan but not letting her get the chance as he jumped over her and stood in her way. "Going somewhere?" He laughed, striking her with both his rapiers which she blocked. The tides turned as she was the one in the defense, her being concerned for Aniketos and if in anyway was hurt badly. "You should focus on the one who is attempting to take your life, your highness!" Sombra yelled out, thrusting his rapier in her leg and making her yell out in pain.

Luna flew back and landed farther away from Sombra, her stabbed leg being in more pain then it would be in. His blade had to be normal, knowing that such a thing wouldn't make her flesh feel like it was burning. Standing on it was difficult, making her lose focus as Sombra was suddenly in front of her and backhoofed her far to the side near Aniketos. Her blade collapsed onto the ground, the pain in her leg growing much more around her body as she attempted her best to regain her fighting stance. However, she was not able to stand and remained lying on the ground both confused and in growing pain. Sombra stabbed the other leg, making her scream out in more pain as she remained defensless to Sombra's rapier.

Such scream woke up Aniketos, being fully awake upon hearing the yells of his princess. From where he laid he saw Sombra over Luna, having his rapier pointed down towards her chest. "Sombra! Stop!" Aniketos yelled out.

"Ah, you've finally woken up I see." Sombra deeply laughed.

"Don't you dare…" The Spartan growled out.

"Or what? Kill me?" Again, Sombra laughed. "I'd like to see you try once this goes through your lover's chest!" Soon enough the tip of his rapier went through the armor and chest of Luna, making her gasp out and her eyes widening from the blade entering her.

"No. No! NO!" Aniketos quickly stood up and charged towards Sombra, making him move away and pull the rapier out from Luna. He knelt down and lifted her up a bit, seeing the blood coming from her chest and mouth, tears coming from her eyes as it grew harder to breathe. "Selene. Selene stay awake." He put pressure on her chest to stop the bleeding, making her squeak out in pain as she felt the pressure. "Shh, it's okay. It's going to be alright. Just…" He looked up towards Sombra, looking pleased at his own suffering. Looking back down, he saw the lifeless body of Princess Luna. "Selene." He called to her, his chest being in pain. "No, no, don't do this to me. Selene, please." He brought her close to him, his hands shaking and his strong character collapsing to nothing more than an emotional commoner. He yelled out to the top of his lungs, distraught and angry that he failed to protect what he swore he would do. Luna died in his arms, along with her taking a part of him that would not return. He held the necklace he gave her and closed the wooden moon in his shaking fist.

"You see…" Sombra started, receiving the deadly and lifeless eyes of Aniketos. "I heard about the story of how Tirek was not able to be defeated by traditional weapons and defenses. So I took into account of how he was able to be wounded and not heal in the process. And once I learned that it was your bronze from the world you came from that was able to defeat him, I figured since bronze can defeat Tirek, why not an immortal princess?"

Aniketos grinded his teeth. "You bastard…" He laid Luna down to the side, closing her lifeless eyes. "I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

Sombra laughed loudly, knowing that it wasn't likely now that he had the advantage. However, the presence of magic coming from the Spartan started to rise higher than expected, making him grow concerned. He felt the building begin to shake as the magic around Aniketos continued to grow, a golden magical aura surrounding him. "What is the meaning of this!? Where did you receive such magic!?" Then it hit him. As like Celestia said, he was being healed by their magic, having to use more magic each time he was to be healed to the point it took two of the princess and other magical ponies to heal him completely. That was where he got his magic!

The light exploded out throughout the palace, making Sombra cover his eyes as the light shattered every window possible and shined brightly out for all those to see around the known world. Once the light died down, Sombra was wide-eyed seeing that the Spartan had changed. Aniketos had golden armor, dory in one hand and kopis in the other, a red cloak, red eyes, and vulture wings coming from under his cloak. "You will pay for this with your blood, King Sombra!" Aniketos yelled out, as if he had two voices in one body. For what Sombra did not know, Aniketos knew where the power came from. Ares.

"Your highness," Green Oak spoke out, noticing that Celestia looked very concerned as most of the forces moved forward through the mountains and towards the city capital of the Empire. "Are you faring well?"

"I, I am not sure. I feel like something had vanished from me just now." Celestia looked towards the captain. "Maybe the magical blast caused some dizziness in me, like the others that were affected by such blast."

Green Oak nodded. "If you do not feel well as we continue then we can stop."

"No, keep marching on. We must take the capital to assure that surrender is done."

"Your highness," one of the scouts yelled out, approaching the princess of the sun. "Your highness, I discovered the whereabouts of both Princess Luna and Aniketos of Sparta."

"You have? Good. I was beginning to worry that they had been captured or-"

"They both entered the palace of Sombra. What followed suit was flashes of magic which looked to be as if they were fighting."

"What!?" Celestia yelled out, growing afraid and slightly angry for their reckless decision to move forward without any assistance. Already she knew that her sister was far too exhausted to face an enemy like her former lover. Even with assistance from Aniketos, it would do little to help as he had only returned from his journey back to Equestria, he being tired as well from his own conflicts though he would not admit such. "Guards! Make haste to the capital!" Luna, oh dear. Please be safe.

Aniketos and Sombra remained still, staring down at one another, not a single move was made. The sweat on Sombra's forehead ran down towards his chin, falling and quietly splashing once making contact with the ground. From there, the two charged against one another, their weapons making contact with one another as they both struck hard with all they had knowing that this was the battle to end all battles. The final showdown to see who would be victorious in this war. With much enhancements to the Spartan, Sombra continued to hold his ground, effectively blocking each attack made with his rapiers, one blocking the swing of the kopis and the other pushing away the thrust of the dory made towards him. The edge to the third floor was met, and the king quickly used his magic to teleport himself onto the very top of the building outside, noticing Aniketos following not too far behind. Both their cloaks moved along with the wind that came after the rain, they stood still once again and staring down in each other's eyes.

"Did it hurt?" Sombra asked with a smile, seeing the Spartan neither move nor react to his words. "To see the one you love die in your arms because you were not able to protect the very thing you treasure most in this world. My, my, a tragedy if I must say so. And even if you were to defeat me, it would not solve the problem of bringing your beloved princess back. There is magic that is not strong enough to bring back and heal the dead, even the forbidden ones."

"The more you speak, the longer you postpone your defeat Sombra," said Aniketos.

Sombra crossed his rapiers and rubbed them together. "Then come try Spartan!"

Aniketos did so by flying straight towards him, returning his feet to the ground and swinging his kopis diagonally which was blocked. He followed up by stepping back and spinning around along with his dory, making Sombra jump back and only meeting the tip of the dory brushing his chest. It cut him, but not as deep for it to be fatal. Being close, he again struck down with his kopis which again was blocked but was quickly followed up by him stabbing down his dory through the cloak of Sombra. Now stuck, he swung up aiming for his neck but met no flesh as the King teleported at the last minute behind Aniketos and thrusting his rapier through the right wing and partially through his back, making the Spartan yell out in both pain and anger. Following up on his missed swing, he spun around and swung down to Sombra, this time severing his left ear from his head. Sombra yelled out and moved backwards to regain his composure, feeling the blood begin to run down his cheek and drip off from his chin.

Sombra watched the Spartan pull out his dory, this time stabbing it through the severed ear, assuring that there would not be anyway to retrieve it. He attempted to charge up a magical bolt that would surely kill his opponent, but such magic did not come as he had used up almost all the magic he had in him, forgetting his uses for it in defense which was very costly. Realizing this, he slowly felt exhausted from the fight he was in, knowing now that he would need to focus well enough or lose the remaining magic that held his rapiers.

"You are defeated, my friend." His reflection spoke.

"Do not speak such lies," Sombra quietly replied, blocking another strike from Aniketos and backflipping onto the ground when kicked up towards his jaw. He got back up, meeting another strike that he barley blocked. He countered it by slashing diagonally, only making a mark onto the golden armor.

"Lay down your blades, accept defeat that was destined to come."

Sombra ignored him, blocking yet again another strike from his opponent's kopis and following up with a jab to the right check of the Spartan. He took advantage of such chance and attempted to end such fight once and for all. With all the magic he could muster, he charged his horn with what could be his most deadly magical bolt that would surly leave a large hole, and fired straight towards Aniketos, striking through the heart of the Spartan and making him fall off the tall building with smoke coming from his blackened chest. Sombra breathed heavily, his vision being hazy and his legs struggling to keep himself up in his defensive position. Having defeated both the princess of the night and the deadliest warrior in this world, there was now no stopping him from regaining his dominance to rule the world as defeating two powerful foes would be proof of that.

"It is time for harmony to regain control."

Wind echoed into the ear of Sombra, who struggled to look up to not believe what was true. As he finally did, he saw the Spartan staying afloat with his wings, staring down on the King with his red eyes. Landing back onto the ground, he slowly walked towards Sombra, pulling up the dory that was stabbed onto the ground. His hooves were as heavy as stone as he tried to move away, but there would be no luck as he gasped out in disbelief as the dory pierced down through his chest and out from his body, making him stuck where he stood as blood began to poor out from his mouth. Aniketos picked up the kopis that was flung out from his grip moments ago and sheathed it, turning back to the now defeated King with nothing but silence. His silence was met with laughter, making him question what was to happen next. Soon he noticed the entire building begin to shake, along with clouds in the distance quickly approaching the capital with thunder and lightning.

Sombra coughed out blood, still smiling. "You think you've won. Idiot!" Lightning struck down between him and the Spartan. "If I fall, then all around will fall with me! Curse. A curse that will lock all away forever!"

Aniketos did not waste time with the King, walking past him and leaving him with his insanity that had risen from him. It did not factor off the threat of the capital to be destroyed, for the magic around him felt strong and truthful with the intentions. He flew down back to the third floor and lifted the lifeless Luna in his arms before taking flight again and flying away from the building and from the laughing Sombra. He looked back as he flew away, seeing the clouds that quickly approached falling onto the capital and as he landed on an area he knew he and Luna would be safe in, he looked back towards the Empire, and saw that it was nothing more than a blanket of snow. Removing his cloak, he laid it down and placing Luna down on it, resting his knees next to her body as he struggled to cope the loss of her. Death in battle would bring honor to her back in Sparta, but honor would not bring her back into the world he now lived in. Instantly, he thought of an idea which he would desperately attempt to see would work. How he was healed by all the magic absorbed by him, how could he not do the same to Luna. From there he focused, attempting to harness and understand the magic that flowed through him, and soon enough watched as his hands glowed with the magical aura of both gold and blue. He placed his hands down onto Luna's chest, watching her body become surrounded by the magic he harnessed, pushing out all that he could into her. A flash of light surrounded him as he started to return to his normal appearance, and in a moment, he saw another pair of hands on top of his, that being of the goddess Selene herself. Everything around him returned to him as he looked around, being both astonished and confused for seeing Selene herself make an appearance to him. I am glad that you have stayed with me through all of this, Selene. He looked down to Luna, his eyes widening as he saw her open her eyes and look at him with a smile.

One month later…

The fall of the Crystal Empire had spread throughout the known world, shocking those that heard the tale of its rise and dramatic downfall. As Celestia and her forces had reached the capital, they were met with nothing but snow, and as such did not declare it being either a victory nor defeat. Still, with the threat now over, and the Griffon-Equestrian treaty being much stronger than before, all those rejoiced for the war being over with those that had fought returning home. In Canterlot, Aniketos was honored for his valent assistance in both Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom, his title of Sparta being fully recognized as equal as the highest nobility that could be given to somepony that is not a pony. All of it did not matter to him though he would not show it, for it was his duty to defend such threats such as that. His life as a Spartan not all about titles and riches, but instead bringing honor and victory back home with Sparta as the victor. However, himself being honored with a large statue of himself with his kopis pointing outward was something he appreciated. Actually, he had gotten two, one that would be in the Lunar Guard secret temple along with other great guards, and the other being placed in Griffonstone. With all celebratory events coming to an end, he was finally able to commit what he had said many months ago to Luna before his departure.

Accepting the attire, the ponies would wear in a wedding, he stood tall and proud in a custom-made suit, watching as Luna walked down the aisle with the biggest smile wearing the most beautiful dress that he has ever seen. Even though the marriage had to be done in secret, it did not matter to both him and Luna, for they truly wished to be together for as long as they could. Immortality was not a question that was brought up, it not even a thought they worried about. Both stood a few inches from each other, staring at one another with eyes full of life.

"Do I look presentable?" He asked her, which made her laugh a bit.

"Of course," she replied. "I love you, my Spartan."

Aniketos smirked, nodding to her comment. Today will be an exception. "And I love thee, my princess."