Taking the train back to Canterlot, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony were pretty tensed up seeing as the fate of Equestria rested on their shoulders. Twilight was unable to sit down, instead she was pacing around frantically while her friends looked out the windows in worry.

“Come on, come on! Can’t this train go any faster?!” she shouted as she finally snapped, running off towards the head of the locomotive.

Fluttershy looked at her impatient friend going on to pressure the driver into speeding up. “Normally I would be against screaming at other ponies, but I'm with Twilight on this one; we can’t afford to waste any time.”

Rainbow Dash took a step forth in agreement. “Yeah! I can’t wait to kick that jerk’s flank for what he did to Twilight!”
Pinkie Pie bounced up; her entire body pumped up with a strong fighting spirit. “We’ll teach this meanie not to mess with the wrong pony!”

Then it was Rarity who shared a piece of her mind. “Goodness gracious, I cannot live in a world where such hideous monsters roam around! His sense of fashion is simply atrocious; I'll make sure he sees true beauty before we take him down.”

All of them turned towards Applejack, expecting her to say something. “What? What are you looking at? I’ve got nothing to say.”

“Buzzkill...” muttered Dash under her breath.

The train accelerated under the orders of the Element of Magic; it’ll be just a couple of minutes until they would arrive at Canterlot where they’ll put an end to Star Kong’s evil.
Bane appeared before Twilight once again. “Are you sure you-”

“Shut up!”

The conductor turned around in confusion, wondering if she was shouting at him.

“Keep your eyes on the tracks! We don’t want to crash the train!”

Well, now she was.

Star Kong stood before the broken gates of Canterlot with a malicious smile plastered all over his face. Celestia, Luna, Cadance and all the Guardians were currently inside this one city. All he had to do was to get in, kill them all, and leave before the Elements of Harmony arrives. It was the smartest thing to do in his position; eliminate any and all opposition before they can find out his sole weakness in his current form. He clutched his left pectoral, most specifically the region where his heart was located.

“I’ll kill them before they find out...”

He levitated and flew straight into town, passing by and scaring the life out of everypony that saw him. Canterlot was quite big and the castle sure was far away, but at the speed Star Kong was going, it was only a matter of seconds before he would arrive at his destination, destination where he would finally settle the score with Drag.

He stopped flying once he arrived at the courtyard for, he had spotted his targets. They were all discussing about the repairs, until they noticed the demonic God standing mere feet away from them.

“What is that?” screamed Cadance as she saw something who’s power surpassed anything she had ever seen before in her life.

Luna stared at the creature in terror and confusion, with the former growing stronger once she recognised who was standing before her. “Oh no, he’s gotten bigger.”

“Feel my insurmountable power! I’ll crush you six with my bare hands!”

Drag pulled out his holy great sword and Pink followed suit; taking out his diamond shovel. “Damn, looks like we forgot about Devil Kong.”

Alduin spread out his wings, ready to take to the skies. “You’re not Balgo, but you’ll do as a worthy opponent!”

Celestia, despite remaining calm on the outside, was starting to panic as she got a feel for the demon’s power. It was clear that they stood no chance, even the six of them together, at taking down this new foe. “Be careful everypony! He’s much stronger than us, let’s not be careless.”

“It doesn’t matter how well you fight; you’re all gonna die!”

Finally, the train arrived at Canterlot and as soon as the doors opened; the Main 6 bolted out of there. They ran, and flew, as fast as they could in direction of the castle, the only place that Star Kong could have gone to.

As they blitzed past any and all debris in their way, the group noted that the citizens appeared quite terrified and confused. Especially the unicorns, clearly, they must have felt the demon’s incredible magical power passing by.

“We’ve got to hurry up! Star Kong was here! He must have gotten to Celestia and the others before us!” pressed Twilight Sparkle.

After a long and stressful run, they finally made it to the castle’s courtyard just in time to witness the aftermath of what was a deceptively short battle.

“Sweet Celestia, it can’t be!” screamed Applejack as everypony took in just how bad things were in there.
Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Alduin and Pink have all been greatly injured and were no longer in any condition to fight. Broken bones, large bleeding wounds, you name it. They were messed up pretty badly. Only Drag remained, now bleeding profusely and kneeling down before Star Kong, panting as he was clutching his great sword which was planted in the ground.

“Leave them alone you monster! You want me dead, don’t you? Well come and kill me, I’m here!” shouted Twilight to get the attention of the false God.

He cocked his head back and looked off to the side. “Without all of Ponyville to back you up, you’ll be easier to mutilate. Rest assured; I dug up a grave just for you six.” He then turned his entire body to face the remaining six. He looked much more intimidating now that he was seeing red. He pointed behind him at an unmarked grave with a sinister grin.

Rarity looked at the incoming monster, worried that their power alone might not be enough to stop him. “Twilight? Are you sure we can do it?”

Twilight stared at the demon power walking towards them, but then her gaze focused on Drag, who looked back at her in response. “Girls? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

“What exactly do you have in mind?” asked a panicking Dash. A simple gesture at Drag made it clear to the Pegasus about the unicorn’s plan. “I- Oh, I get it now.”

“Just. DIE!” Star Kong unhinged his mouth to reveal an entire new set of arms springing out to get them. The six ponies focused all the Hope in their bodies and redirected it at the injured paladin.

Star Kong took a step back, his arms blocking his face before he realised it wasn’t an attack. His face now expressed sheer confusion as he could no longer feel the immense power hiding within them. He then cackled loudly, not thinking too much about what happened. “Are you giving up already? Some hero you are!”

The beast raised his hand, ready to strike them all down in one swift blow until he felt something grabbing his shoulder.

“This one’s a long time coming, bud.”

Star Kong peeked behind him. “The fuck do you mean?” He froze once he saw Drag back on his hooves, his eyes now glowing a bright blue. “Wait, what?!” The Tauren’s power was unlike anything he had ever felt before, excluding Balgo.

In what looked like a blur to everypony around, Drag punched Star Kong in the face with enough power to distort it, sending the false God flying into a wall. Pulling himself out of the debris, Star Kong healed his face in an instant, now overcome with rage. “Oh no, you fucking don’t!”

Standing up, the demon rushed the paladin with all his might, throwing down series after series of punches, kicks and claw swipes. The Tauren blocked all of his attacks with relative ease. Star Kong grew increasingly frustrated, eventually landing a punch strong enough to break through Drag’s guard. He grinned and followed up with a strong swipe, slashing at his opponent’s cheek.

Losing his balance, Drag turned the tables by using the momentum of Star Kong’s swipe to deliver a kick to the demon’s face. Having destabilised his adversary, the Tauren mustered up all the anger in him to deliver a series of lightning quick jabs right as the demon took on a blocking stance with his arms.

Star Kong could feel his bones cracking under the might of the paladin’s rush. The finishing blow send him back, breaking his left forearm. He grimaced for a moment, before regaining his confidence as his injured arms healed themselves. “Ha! Care to try again little maggot?”

Drag knew that simply brute forcing his way through this fight wasn’t going to end well. Star Kong could simply heal back every damage he received. Forcibly, he had to have a weak point, or a weakness in general. That’s when the Tauren noticed something peculiar, every time the demon healed; the region around his heart would faintly glow with magic similar to those of Equestrians.

“Oh God, I think he may have broken my spine.” Pink’s voice got the attention of both fighters, the humanoid still had some fight in him, albeit not much from the looks of things. Most importantly to the paladin; his friend still had the Merchant’s weapon on him.

“Then let me cook.” Star Kong rushed at the humanoid and threw out a wild haymaker, but Drag got in the way and took the hit instead. The punch knocked them both out of the way, hitting a flight of stairs leading to the castle.

Since they were at a good distance from the monster, Drag told Pink his plan. It was quite simple really; the Tauren would hold down Star Kong so that Pink could take the shot. He needed to hit him in the heart to make it count.

“I see; I’ve used guns before; I can do it.” responded Pink as he clutched the sniper in his hands. The paladin stood up and approached the demon with his fists clenched.

“Enough games, demon. Let’s put an end to this once and for all.”

Star Kong grinned as he curled up all of his hands into fists, letting the veins pop up to show off. “Yes, this one’s a long time coming, bud.”

Everypony watched on, feeling tense regarding the weight of this battle’s outcome. Whoever wins gets to decide the fate of Equestria. With all their Hope stored in Drag, he couldn’t afford to waste it, for this power was only temporary. He needed to finish Star Kong right there and then, and to try not to let him get away again.

Channeling all the righteous fury inside him, Drag roared triumphantly as he sprinted at the demon, shoulder tackling him before he could retaliate. Weaving off to the beast’s side, the Tauren grabbed his head and smashed it into the ground.
Then, he put the monster in a choke hold so he won’t be able to squirm. “Now, Pink!”

Pink had already aimed his weapon at the demon’s heart. Without further ado, he pulled the trigger and massive beam of energy shot out the gun, going straight through Star Kong’s chest and most importantly, through his heart.

Drag jumped out the way just in time to avoid the deadly blast. Right when the shot passed through his opponent, the Guardian powered up his fist with the Light and decked the demon in the face, causing him to tumble and fall on his back.
Right after he hit the ground, Star Kong spat out a heavy amount of black smoke from his jaws. Then, he slowly shrunk back to his normal height, his skin and fur returning back to their usual colors and his additional limbs deteriorated into nothingness.

Devil Kong sluggishly pulled himself out of the dirt, looking at his hands in disbelief. “No way, I... I don’t believe this!” His look snapped towards Drag. His eyes were burning with hatred, and everypony around the two could feel the demon’s murderous intent. “Oh no, you fucking didn’t!”

The demon summoned a pair of gauntlets around his fists and smashed them together, ready to pummel the Tauren. Visibly unimpressed, Drag pointed a finger at his hands with a slight amount of confusion. “You’re going to kill me with these hands?”

“What!? Don’t fuck with me after what you’ve done!” Devil Kong nonetheless, looked at his hands, his expression of rage turning into shock. “It can’t be!” His hands were beaming with light, causing them to explode in a geyser of blood. His face now looked absolutely shocked, frightened and dumbstruck.

Drag slid over to his face, his eyes staring deeply into the demon’s soul. “What’s the matter? You look a little pale.” Elbowing the beast with all his might, the Tauren broke his opponent’s rib cage and knocked his ass to the ground yet again, showing just how big the gap in power was.

However, Devil Kong wasn’t about to give up without a fight. His look of fear had returned to sheer rage as his eyes bled even more. “I’m going to tear your body to bloody pieces!”

Sprinting at the Tauren, Devil Kong rushed in to take a bite out of him but Drag easily dodged the predictable attack. Finally letting all his anger out, the paladin powered up even further and delivered a brutal blow to the beast’s face.
Stumbling and struggling to regain his composure, the demon could do nothing against the second punch flying straight into his jaw. Then, Drag let it all out with a devastating flurry of jabs, all aiming at his adversary’s face.

At first, Devil Kong clenched his teeth and endured the pain, trying to find an opening, but soon enough the barrage of punches overwhelmed him. His face was now twisted in an expression of agony as he finally let out a scream of pain. With each passing seconds, his face became more and more deformed under the brutal weight and strength of Drag’s rapid-fire punches.

Finally choosing to get it over with, Drag delivered the final blow, sending the beast flying straight into the unmarked grave he had dug up earlier.

The grave was too small for the demon, causing his arms and legs to bend upward as his upper and lower body sunk in. “Gah, it’s... it’s too small!” Devil Kong tried to pull himself out, but Drag stomped on his face with his hoof, pushing him further down.

The demon’s bones cracked under the pressure as he was pulled down further and further. His voice was now broken with fear and agony, barely able to form a single sentence. “This... can’t b-b-be happen-ning to m-me!”

“Go back to the shadows, and never return!” With one final push, Drag snapped Devil Kong’s spine and filled his body with holy magic. This caused the monster’s body to finally explode in a massive rain of blood, and it rained for what felt like minutes to everypony around.

“Finally... it’s over for real this time.” muttered Twilight under her breath as she watched this rather macabre spectacle.

The inside of the castle was still in fairly good conditions all things considered. There was more life in it now that repairs have started. But there was something quite different with it now, regarding the windows to be precise.

There were two new motifs present. The first one depicted Twilight returning triumphantly to Canterlot with Princess Celestia while Balgo and the other Scalers were leaving. The second one showed Drag beating Star Kong with the power of Hope.

The Tauren was looking closely at this new change, clearly stuck in his mind as he wasn’t paying attention to anything happening around him. The power that had surged in him during the ultimate showdown was gone for good this time, but a part of it still stayed inside his heart to give him comfort.

“Admiring the new motifs? I must admit they are rather stunning.” Very quickly was he taken out of his thoughts as Celestia approached the pondering paladin.

“Can’t argue with that.” He looked briefly at the alicorn before setting his gaze back on the windows. The princess wondered if he wasn’t feeling well, which would be very understandable regarding the current situation of Canterlot.

“Is something the bother?”

Drag stared at the second window in silence for a while before finally giving a response. “No, actually I feel much better than I did a few days ago.”

Intrigued, Celestia questioned him further. “And why is that?”

“I’ve finally found my place, princess. I’ve made peace with everything that had happened in my life and now; I feel like I can start anew.”

The alicorn smiled after witnessing the Tauren’s feeling of acceptance. He did look much happier now than he did when she first met him. He was no longer easily irritable, no longer fighting amongst his allies and lastly, he was much calmer than before.

“I am happy to hear it, paladin. Like I already said; you and the other Guardians are more than welcome in Equestria. We mean it.”

He was now smiling. Finally deciding to move on, Drag took his eyes away from the window and walked away.

“Going somewhere?” asked Celestia.

“To Ponyville.” He looked over his shoulder at the alicorn. “Everyone’s waiting for me after all.”

“I’m sure they are.”

Author's Note

Well, I did it. It's done.

Moving on, I've got other projects to work on.
Namely, an Equestria Girl fanfic and three sequels for this fic.
I doubt any of them will be longer than this one, but I aim to improve my writting and hopefully not make the same mistakes I made here.