August 21, 2019
"Wait, what do you mean, Onyx?"
"I mean your old friends from twelve years ago are back. Those Pegasus and Earth Pony bastards that ran my stock up the spiked wall, rump-first."
"Do they know everything, though? You said it yourself. What's happened?"
"We tried throwing them off, but it's no avail. They have no interest in the Diamond Pearls anymore. My business is nothing to them. They're only after one pony, and one pony only."
"And Hematite?"
"He was not a Dragon of his word. He gave them the location. They're on their way up to Central Equestria to find her themselves."
"Rrrgh, goddamn Dragons... So, what do they want? They're gonna go after Twilight, then what?"
"Then who f***ing knows what, Delta! We're all in deep lava right now! We can't go toe-to-toe with rogue/former Royal Guards and Las Pegasus mercenaries! We'll be overwhelmed!"
"Shit... SHIT..."
"This is BAD, Delta."
"Yeah, no kidding. If Dark Khan and Liver Gaze get their hooves on Twilight, it may very well be game over for Equestria's current generation."
"But what do we do? You know better than I that we can't let them take her, even if she deserves the punishment she'll endure in their grasp."
"Yeah... Yeah, I know... F***...!! I guess I'll have to, I don't know, postpone the deal between us! Twilight and her friends, now that they know what she's done, can't use the Elements of Harmony. There's too much of a barrier between them."
"So you're coming back...?"
"I..."
September 18, 2019
"Listen, Blaze. I know what I said I'd do. I know I told you that I'd move on from this; and I have. We're here, in the Silver Shoals, raising two healthy and happy foals. We started over, and made it better than when we did in the past.
The slate has been completely wiped clean for us, but I can't ignore this. Darling, please, look at me. It was the only thing I could do. Either we go back one last time or we risk losing the entire nation.
I don't want you to come with me. You need to stay here, look after the kids. I told you once before that the past will always haunt us, that we will eventually have to look back on it again. That time is now. It's either everyone or one stallion.
Onyx told me everything, told me what was happening, and when and where. I know what I have to do, and it isn't even a choice. We're the only ones that are aware Liver Gaze and Dark Khan are even coming for her.
Do you want our children to die under the reign of two sociopathic crime syndicates, or do you want them to live knowing their father put everything on the line to make sure they had their chance?
It's all happening back in Ponyville. Trust me on this. I would never put us in danger. You know that. Nothing is gonna go wrong. Nothing.
It's all already done, Blaze Dawn. It's over... Honey... You are out, but I'm not. You still have the chance to be happy, be normal, and raise these kids to be the best they can be.
I have to go. Be good and true to yourself. Teach the children what I couldn't... I love you, Blaze."
September 30, 2019
Five years have passed since Twilight had been confronted by her demons of the past. Five whole years since she's had to work her flank off in order to rekindle the friendships she's had with the other Element Bearers and even the Princesses. In that time, they've still been able to band together and repel threats to Equestria, but the barrier of shattered trust was still present and as powerful as ever. Twilight has done a lot between then and now. She'd defeated Chrysalis yet again, befriended a misunderstood villain named Starlight Glimmer, and even, with the aid of the Young Six, thwarted Cozy Glow's plan to sap Equestria of all its magic. Despite her actions speaking louder than words, none still spoke louder than the indirect murders of twelve years ago. Old friends died for her to make new ones. Old adversaries worked with her so that she could become the monarch of the very thing she forsook.
'Delta was right. That really is ironic.'
Twilight stood at the balcony of her castle, her somber expression staring out at the land before her. Ponies, old and new, strode around Ponyville with open vigor and friendliness. This quaint little country town was about the friendliest and most welcoming place she'd ever come across, and it was a place she didn't belong. Her heroism is a mask, her nature is ran anew by the snake she truly was. She may have been the Element of Magic, but that was no emotion. It was no entitled integrity like the other Elements were to her new friends. Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, and Laughter; all things she could never bring back then, and now. She closed her eyes as she sat on her haunches, her head hung in sorrow. As she did so, several shadows peeked up from over the top of the castle, looking down at her.
"We found her. She's alone. Moving in on the target."
Delta had journeyed far to come back to where this had all ended. The Silver Shoals may have been a part of Equestria, but it wasn't part of the mainland, nor was it marked on the official map. Just as he'd wanted, it was the perfect place to disappear, but now he had come back to settle some old scores. Having reentered in the southwest quadrant, he made his way through the San Palomino Desert in an effort to return to the Ghastly Gorge. After traversing both it and the dangers of the Bogg and Everfree Forest, Delta had finally arrived in the one place he'd never thought he'd find himself in: Ponyville. Many faces around there didn't know nor recognize him, but he could tell the faces of the Elements when he passed them. He didn't bother with them, as his mission is with the False Princess, not the links of the main Element of Harmony. Making his way into Town Hall, he snuck past security and reached the bell tower atop the peak, surveying Ponyville for the third survivor. During his search, Delta's eyes managed to trail over a few other ponies on the rooftops, all facing the town's residential tree-castle.
'Those ponies... I recognize them...'
He gritted his teeth as he looked up towards the castle, seeing more of Dark Khan's subordinates at the top of its weird, crystal branches.
"OK, then, Mr. Khan... Where are you...?"
He scanned the small armada traversing the top of the town before he did a double-take on one. A dark purple Pegasus stallion was walking towards the castle, unlike the others, whom were running.
"Yeah, there you are... Now, where's Twilight...?"
Back to the castle again, he continued searching for the False Princess, eventually finding her on a balcony, wallowing in her own sorrows.
'Oh, give me a break...'
He saw the Khan mercenaries preparing to drop from above. Charging up his horn, he pointed it towards the castle in attempt for one hell of a sniper shot. Focusing it all to a focal point, he fired a thin stream of laser magic.
Twilight Sparkle jumped out of her stupor as she heard the crackle of thunder nearby, along with the sound of a large bell ringing in the distance. When she turned to see what had happened, she fell to the side upon a narrow green laser of magic hitting a pony that was about to get the drop on her. Looking at the unconscious stallion, she widened her eyes as yet another one of her past sins had found her.
"D-Dark Khan..."
"Hey!!"
Her ears perked up as she turned to the edge of the balcony, looking off towards the Town Hall bell tower. A green figure waved at her, one that she recognized.
"If anyone's gonna kill ya, old friend, it's gonna be me!"
Twilight's ears flattened before she jumped back, hearing movement above her. Another stallion faceplanted into the floor before her as two more climbed up the rail, glaring at her with killing intent in their gazes. Another stream of green magic pushed them off, sending them sailing towards the ground.
"Go, Sparkle! Run! Get to the Everfree!!"
Delta fired his magic at more of the ponies working for Khan, sliding down the side of the tower and hopping to another building's rooftop. Bucking back a Rogue Pegasus Guard circling up behind him, he jumped down into the alley between the houses, rushing out into Ponyville's streets and zapping another few flying over the town. As to be expected, he now had the full attention of the enemy, and Elemental allies.
"Delta?! What the-"
Rainbow Dash yipped as a line of green struck the Unicorn behind her, dropping him to the ground and smashing him through a few crates.
"Not a time for conversation! Help Twilight get the Everfree! Get the other Elements to help!"
Nodding after a moment of assessing the situation, Rainbow flew through Ponyville, avoiding or battling it out with whatever got in her way. Delta turned and made way for the dangerous forest. As with when he arrived, he knew through there again was suicide, and that was exactly the point. The Everfree was too dangerous for the chase to continue into it, not as recklessly as through a town like this one. Sliding under some debris caused by Khan's soldiers, he spotted a yellow Earth Pony hopping over him to the next building.
"Liver Gaze, shit...!"
He turned and attempted to throw off the second crime militia leader off, swerving through the maze backyards and alleyways. As expected, Liver was as perceptive as ever, but it wasn't him he was after.
"Delta!!"
The green Unicorn's ears perked up as he felt the breeze made by a flap of wings. Looking up, he was just in time to see Twilight land beside him.
"H-How--?! Why did you-?!"
"It's as I said, Twilight! No one else gets to have your head!!"
The two continued running with Dark Khan's ponies behind them and Liver Gaze above them, both in hot pursuit and growing closer and closer. Luckily for them, the Everfree was just up ahead.
"C'mon, Sparkle! With me!"
"They're gaining on us!"
"Focus on what's ahead! Forget about them! Just get to the forest!!"
Nodding, Twilight pushed herself to her limit, running with her newly-made adversary as they pushed their innate magic into their legs. Just as it seemed as if they were gonna get caught, they dove into the treeline, moving in and around trees to rapidly lose their tail. Deeper and deeper they went, losing the ponies on their six with ease. Nopony knew the Everfree completely, and that was to the duo's advantage and disadvantage. Thankfully, they weren't alone.
"Twilight!!"
The Element Bearers, carried by Rainbow Dash and, surprisingly, Fluttershy, were flown in and landed with the two, jogging beside them as they kept going. Applejack thumped down next to Delta, tilting up her hat as she narrowed her eyes at the stallion.
"Y'all wanna tell us what that was all about?!"
"Rrgh, some more old demons coming to stab Twilight in the back. Those were the ponies she worked with to get out of Las Pegasus twelve years ago!"
Rainbow flew down above him.
"Wait, those were the guys who killed your friends?"
"Yup! And now they're back to use Twilight as leverage for authority! If they get what they want, things could get real bad."
Delta pointed ahead.
"There's a clearing up ahead with some rocks. Climb up!"
Following his lead, the Element Bearers ascended upwards, hearing the ponies still following their trail approaching with rapid speed and succession. Going rock after rock, each pony used their talents to get across the gaps, eventually making it to a platform near the top. Delta landed with a thud as he leaped the last bound, panting as he looked around at the others.
"Alright, we all here? Honesty? Loyalty? Everyone?"
Delta got the affirm from five of the six mares, Fluttershy remaining quiet as her eyes were locked onto something in the distance. Delta blinked, giving her a concerned look.
"Kindness?"
"B-B-Big scary Dragon...!"
All eyes turned upwards as, yet another familiar face joined the fray. Hematite, now the size of a one-story building, soared towards them, roaring out to the heavens and shaking the forest as he passed and circled around.
"Oh, f***!! Everypony back!"
They turned to go back down, only to stop when a hoof pulled up a mercenary from Dark Khan's forces. The mares let out an alarmed yelp as Delta bucked him off the side of the small rocky mountain. More were climbing or flying up over the side as Hematite reeled back his claw. Diving inward, the group took cover from the claw as it scraped by, only nicking the Rarity as Rainbow Dash tackled her into the small cavern, which had four entrances to it.
Rushing to one side, they were met with Pegasi out for blood. In the forefront was Dark Khan himself. Looking to their right, they spotted Liver Gaze with an armada of Earth Ponies, and to their backs where they came in, the Rogue Guards and mercenaries were stalking towards them. Their last and only hope for an exit, on their left, was blocked by a large draconic claw. They were surrounded, and had nowhere to run. Delta quickly looked around before his hoof tapped the floor. Perking up, he did it again, looking down as he felt how hollow the rock was. Widening his eyes, he concentrated his magic to his horn and threw it down, smashing in the floor and taking the Elements of Harmony down into a freefall.
It wasn't long before they hit some measure of land. The inside had platforms of its own, and some extended like narrow bridges to the other side of the interior. Everypony managed to recuperate and start their descent downwards. As they went, holes were punched in all over the walls, the army outside trying to force their way in. The way in from above was blocked, given the cave in piled up on the platforms before the hole, so this bought the crew a little more time. As they were about to reach the bottom, Hematite's claw came bursting through, nearly snatching up Pinkie Pie had it not been for Applejack biting down on her tail in order to hoist her up out of its reach.
Delta grimaced as the situation was getting worse. Magic shots were being blasted through the holes made by the ponies outside, and Hematite could practically sniff them out with pinpoint accuracy. Looking to the side, he dove down with Rainbow, landing on a bridging rock formation with Twilight. Seeing the shadow of the claw coming from the hole, he ducked down after tossing the cyan mare up so she could fly from the incoming obstacle. Delta kept Twilight down as Hematite's claw brushed past them after bursting in, sitting back up as it was ripped back out.
"F***, F***!!! Uh-Uhm..."
He looked around at all the others as they continuously avoided the barrage, growing exhausted by the second. This couldn't go on much longer. Delta knew this.
"Alright, that does it... Twilight. Get everypony out of here."
"What?"
Delta climbed up onto another platform.
"I'll distract them long enough for you to make an escape."
"Are you crazy?! They'll kill you!"
"It's you that they want! I can use a transparency spell I learned a while ago to create holograms of you and your friends! I can lure them away for a short time, but you have to hurry out of here and get to Canterlot. The only pony with more military authority than them is Princess Celestia."
He shook his head, growling under his breath.
"Just take care of your friends, Twilight!"
He made to climb up again.
"I intend to!"
He was dragged back down to the platform by Twilight yanking on his tail.
"ALL of my friends. There's got to be something we can do!"
"There's no time!"
"Delta-"
*SMACK*
Twilight's face reeled to the side as the noises outside were slightly muted. She put a hoof to her reddened cheek as she turned back to Delta, seeing him glaring at her.
"Listen to me, and listen good, Twilight. Ever since we took you into the group, you've been looking out for yourself! You used me, and the others, to forward your own agenda. It's high time you learned one last friendship lesson from your old pal: Delta."
He lessened his glare as the two sat there, panting as Delta frowned.
"You've looked after yourself long enough... It's time you start looking out for others..."
He pointed out one of the holes, back towards the town.
"Go, Twilight... You still have a lifetime of mistakes to amend, while I've already made peace with my sins. You'll be safe, once these ponies are off your scent for good..."
A rumbled shook them for a moment before they turned back to each other, Twilight's eyes watering as Delta took a step back, turning and climbing upwards again.
"Delta..."
He looked back down at her as he made it up.
"I... I'm so sorry... I really am..."
"... I know..."
He looked ahead, seeing a hole he can dive out of.
"I know..."
Igniting his horn, Delta raced forward, using the transparency spell to create the holograms of the Mane Six as he jumped through, the mirrored images following suit. Sliding down the side of the mountain and steadily cruising towards the ground, he warded off as many of the Khan and Liver ponies as he could, rushing through the thick brush and dangerous settings of the Everfree. As per to his plan, the army was now following him, Hematite included. He had ignored his nose for his sight, and was stomping after Delta with the hundreds of ponies swarming ahead of him.
As Delta kept running, Twilight and the gang jumped out of the holes in the side of the mountain facing away from the chase. Keeping themselves in low profile, Twilight was the last to come out, and instead of following Delta's orders, she crawled up to the side of the mountain, looking around it to watch. The other Elements joined her as Delta reached a clearing they could see, dismissing the transparency spell as he focused all of his remaining power on retaliation. Twilight huddled in on herself as tears streamed down her face. She had not been there twelve years ago when the other seventeen of her old friends had perished by these two crime syndicates, but sitting there, watching one of the three survivors fight a hopeless battle made it feel like she was watching those seventeen fade from her eyes.
"C'mon, Twilight..."
Applejack pulled back on her.
"We... We should get a head start. We don't wanna be here when they get done with him. Let's make it so that this weren't fer nothin'."
Twilight swallowed down a lump her throat as Applejack gently pulled her along. Rarity did the same, nudging Twilight along as they made their way back to Ponyville. As Twilight flew alongside Fluttershy and Rainbow, she glanced back, seeing the last of her former friend's fight.
Delta grunted as two shots hit him from the front, making him stagger backwards a bit as he fired back into the foliage, wiping out two Unicorn mercenaries. Lowering his front body, he brought in his hind legs and snapped the jaw of a Khan Pegasus swooping down at him, turning around and putting him in the dirt with a hoof-stomp. Seeing an Earth Pony coming his way, he readied himself to fire his magic once more, but got tackled before he could even light his horn. There, on the ground, was where he was truly pinned in his final moments. The army was on top of him, piling onto his every direction like a collection of angry wasps coming in for a nasty sting. He had managed to kick a few off, though one had been lucky enough to strike him in the forehead, chipping off his horn. As more came down and held him to the ground, a Rogue Guard readied a spear-...
-and put it through his chest.
Twilight could practically feel a physical, sharp pain go through the front of her barrel as the magical connection she still shared with Delta was severed. Given that friendship entailed magic, there was a connection everypony felt when becoming friends, and when one friend passes away, those who were close feel it. Panting out as she held Pinkie in her grasp, she crash-landed in Canterlot, right in front of the castle. Her heavy breathing caught the eyes of her fellow Elements, whom checked her to see if she was OK. Other than the neverending tears and shame she felt, she was unharmed, but that didn't stop the pain of failure from edging deeper into her heart. She had not made amends with her past, she had done little to try and move on. The sins that stain her hooves forever remain, and there was nothing she could do now to rid herself of it. All she could do was lie there in the dirt, and cry.
Blaze Dawn looked over her two children as they slept peacefully within their crib, sharing a little teddy bear their father had given them. It was adorable how the little ones incorporated the nature of trust and loyalty to friends. Just like the group had... It was enough to make her smile, but as she looked up at the window, and stared out into the Silver Shoals, she knew what the pain in her chest meant. The connection between her and her husband has been severed, by death. Her expression slowly fell as she turned and trotted over to the window, looking up at the moon as tears welled up in her eyes. In her mind, she wanted to berate her husband for being such a fool, but she remembered his words from the moment he left. This... THIS was the plan. Delta was telling the truth. She had made it. She got out of the dirty business they'd involved themselves for seven years, but he didn't, and the only way out was a sacrificial redemption. It was a cliche move to play, but it was his, and his fate was sealed and fulfilled, even if he would never be recognized for it. Despite all that he would be leaving behind, all that he abandoned to uphold the group's final principle, nothing had gone wrong, and as he said, he was not coming back. His sins were elated, and his half-a-decade of turmoil and restless anger has now been quelled. For him, it was time, and knowing that everypony that remained was still alive, and can move forward, his move had meaning, and for that, it was enough. He could finally lower his horn and lay down his hooves...
He could finally rest in the peaceful victory he'd longed and dreamed for.
