Story Finale, Chapter 27
MY HEAVEN

It was a cold day, and the rain was pouring heavily. A fleet of DRAVMs soared towards the Royal City of Canterlot as missiles streaked overhead, detonating in the streets. The world of the Equestrian Empire had been flipped upside down, and there was mass chaos as the military evacuated the civilians.

Acceptable losses Shining Armor thought bleakly as he watched Canterlot torn apart, dozens of innocent ponies assuredly dying. MY HEAVEN sat above Canterlot like a beacon of doom, the ancient ship alive and ready to leave Equestria forever.

“Captain, you’re on! Broadcast the final speech to the soldiers of the Peace Fighters!” Lieutenant Strong Spear exclaimed from the cockpit of their DRAVM. Shining Armor joined her and looked stoic in the eye of the camera.

“For two years we have struggled, my comrades. Since we have learned the truth of who the Princesses really are we have fought against what they plan to do to ALL who live upon this earth’s soil! Abandon us all to the fate of mass chaos and a cold death when the sun dies so that you may continue to live?! DESPICABLE! They would leave us to die for their own selfish reasons! We vowed not to let this go unpunished, and today we uphold that vow. Our Princesses plan to leave Equestria in a spaceship named MY HEAVEN. Though this ship has enough room to hold thousands of ponies, canines, felines, minotaurs, and ALL races of this planet all together the ONLY living things going on that ship are the Princesses. Your mission... OUR mission is to kill our faux-Goddesses and use MY HEAVEN to save all species on this planet! Stand proudly, my soldiers, for there is no greater weapon than our WILL and DEFIANCE in the face of the Princesses!” Shining declared, switching the broadcast off as their fleet of DRAVMs neared Canterlot, the Feline airforce strafing the city.

Canterlot Tower in his eyes Shining Armor was preparing himself to enter the castle when his DRAVM was hit with a rocket, forcing it into a rough landing in the streets below. Smashing the side hatch open Shining cursed his sudden misfortune and looked up at the top of Canterlot Tower, the shadow of MY HEAVEN darkening the city.

“Lieutenant! You know the plan! The rest of you aid in the assault on the tower!” Shining ordered, immediately moving away from the crash site to get to the entry gate for the castle.

Proceeding down the street the remaining Peace Fighter DRAVMs landed in the streets of Canterlot, depositing their load of troops. Peace Fighters of all species rushed for Canterlot Tower, missiles still raining on Imperial positions.

Turning the corner of the street Shining saw what could only be described as a bloodbath, the true epitome of a warzone. It was a close quarters madhouse, with both Imperial and Peace Fighter soldiers forced to fight hoof-to-hoof. Debris and rubble littered the street, and the shadow of MY HEAVEN was cast over it all.

The return of the Felines as a military force to be reckoned with had shocked the Equestrian Empire, and her soldiers were fighting desperately against the cat people. It was clear that they had not been ready for such a tenacious enemy.

Missile impacting right in the midst of their ranks the Imperials began to retreat, with the Felines not letting up for an instant. Watching the battle Shining Armor saw Master Sharpclaws rush into the lines and stab a young Imperial soldier in the throat, sawing forward until the blade ripped free of his neck. Kid barely looked old enough to serve in the army, much less fight in a war.

“CITIZENS AND SHEEP OF THE EMPIRE, WE ARE THE PEACE FIGHTERS! THE TIME FOR THE TYRANNY OF FAUX-GODS TO COME TO AN END HAS COME. VE VILL VIPE CLEAN THIS PLANET OF YOUR PRESENCE, AND REPLACE IT WITH THE GOODWILL OF OUR CAUSE! ABANDON YOUR HOMES, ABANDON YOUR CHILDREN, ABANDON YOUR LIVES, AND SUBMIT TO THE VILL OF THE PEACE FIGHTERS!” Sharpclaws bellowed, her naturally loud voice carrying itself through the city.

Knife out and seeking blood the Feline Master caught eye of a Pegasus mare crouched in an alley, her grey coat of no help to hide with Feline eyes seeking her. The mare had blonde hair and bubbles for a cutie mark.

Deeming Sharpclaws a threat the Pegasus took off straight for her, the Master ducking hard and grabbing the Pegasus’ hoof as she streaked over her, pulling her back and putting her down on the ground, burying her knife to the hilt in her head.

Sharpclaws stalking off Shining Armor and his compatriots followed, brushing by the small foal sobbing over the corpse of her now-dead mother.

They should’ve run... Shining again thought, bleaker than ever.

The flaming wreck of a DRAVM wobbly soared directly overhead, landing in the streets with a mighty BOOM! The first casualty of the battle on the side of the Peace Fighters. A missile landed in the road up ahead, a lucky shot blasting open the front gate of the royal palace.

“Ze way is clear, Master Armor! Now let’s go!” Sharpclaws yelled, taking off for the open gate. Shining and the rest of the team picked up the pace to catch up with the crazy Feline.

-=-=-=-=-

Once inside the royal palace the sounds of war outside were muted to dull booms as the palace was eerily quiet and devoid of chaos. “OK, let’s hurry up and get to the top of this place” Shining Armor said, moving out with his companions in tow.

Despite not having been in the castle for very close to three years Shining remembered where all the halls and doors went to and lead his team down the shortest paths to the massive spiral staircase that would take them to the dark heart of Equestria.

Slowly ascending the stairs they group would momentarily pause at each window they found to check up on the battle outside. The Peace Fighters were doing quite well, but still taking losses at the hooves of the Empire. At one window in particular a Peace Fighter DRAVM was hovering outside, the thunder of the rotors shaking the window and the machine guns blasting away in the street. Shining had just moved away from the window when the pilot of the aircraft fired a missile, the backblast shattering the glass.

Moving on the group listened to the sounds of war outside, reflecting on what the civilians might be thinking about at this moment as their city was ravaged.

They’re probably believing the Princesses’ lies even more now Shining thought bitterly.

Eventually reaching the top of the stair Shining opened the door to the mural hall, which was the final stretch before the throne room. The panes of glass stained with artistic representations of event in Equestrian history. The defeat of Discord, the freedom of the Crystal Empire, and many more. Shining had no idea which ones were orchestrated lies and which ones weren’t.

“This is it, everyone. It’s time to end this war” Shining Armor declared, putting a hoof on the door handle.

“You think they’ll actually be in there?” Lieutenant Spear asked, tensed up and ready to go.

“Only one way to find out” Shining answered, turning the handle and shoving the door open, the small team poured into the throne room, hooves and paws on carpet and marble as they scanned the room for any enemy soldiers.

“Shining Armor, your misfit band of ‘revolutionaries’ has had the gall to come all the way to Canterlot, to your home, and you lead them here. You could’ve been saved, Shining. We would’ve brought you with us” Celestia said as she sat upon her throne at the far end of the room. Her sister was nowhere to be seen.

“The Peace Fighters are a billion strong, and they all stand against the tyranny with which you and your sister rule this land! We’ve come a long way since the beginning days of this war, Princess. And my allies are ready to reveal to the world the kind of disgusting sociopath you are!” Shining Armor yelled, him and his cohorts finally standing before Princess Celestia.

“Arrggh SHINING!” Celestia screamed, firing a massive magic bolt at the Peace Fighter leader, who casually deflected the shot.

“I fear not you, Celestia, for I am emboldened by the might of the Peace Fighters! From the far corners of the Fascist Felines, to the neighboring borders of the Canine Republic, we ALL stand defiantly against you! Your reign ends, and you WILL save all on this planet before the sun dies!”

Celestia stood from her throne and stuck her face up, looking down her nose at Shining Armor, taking a few steps down towards him. “What gives you the right to tell ME what to do?! I am GOD, Shining. I am YOUR GOD, Shining Armor. I am the GOD of this whole planet. I make the rules, I make the decisions! And EVERYTHING I did was for the good of the future! Had you been in my position and forced to make the decisions I did you would have been CRUSHED by the burden! You think it was easy making the decisions I did?!” Celestia barked.

“Everything you did? Do you know what you did? Look out that window. LOOK OUT THAT WINDOW NOW!” Shining screamed, pointing outside to the fires raging in Canterlot, smoke trailing into the sky and the sound of war and violence seeping in through the windows. A DRAVM soared by at that moment, firing its machine guns into the streets all the way, the shell casings clattering against the window. “YOU DID THIS!” YOU TOOK OUR ONCE PEACEFUL NATION AND RIPPED IT ASUNDER! MARES, STALLIONS, EVEN THE FOALS HAVE SUFFERED BECAUSE OF YOUR ARROGANCE! WAR AND CONFLICT ARE ALL WE KNOW NOW!”

“No, Shining Armor, it was YOU that took our land and thrust it into the chaos of war. It was YOU that started this war, having the AUDACITY to stand against me, your GOD, and defy my rule! YOU started this war! YOU ruined our world! It’s all YOUR fault, Shining Armor! YOU took peace and turned it into the BLOODIEST war in the LONG history of our race! Luna and I were poised to leave this star system, and restart our species elsewhere, but you and your insolent wife had to go and FUCK it all up!” Celestia thundered.

“DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT CADENCE THAT WAY YOU INSUFFERABLE CUNT!” Shining thundered, levelling his gun and firing at Celestia, who blocked the shot with a magic shield. Before a fight could break out a DRAVM slammed directly into the throne room and exploded, tearing the room apart and leaving everyone in it dazed.

Shining Armor shakingly got to his hooves and looked around, seeing Princess Celestia already up and heading for the hole in the wall.

“STOP!” Shining demanded, immediately chasing after her and tackling her out the hole, the Princess of the Sun shook the Captain off and took to the skies, heading straight for MY HEAVEN like the coward she was.

Shining Armor shielded himself with a magic bubble and landed in the streets before Canterlot Tower, shaking himself off and barely containing the urge to just scream in anger. Captain Armor looked around in the sky for Celestia, not seeing any sign of her anywhere.

It’s over, we lost.

Suddenly there was a mechanical whirl and Shining looked up, seeing the bottom of MY HEAVEN’s midsection opening up, revealing a hangar with some kind of machine in it. There was a dull thud and suddenly the machine was falling, coming to life mid-fall and slamming hard into the streets of Canterlot directly in front of Shining Armor.

It was a METAL LANCE, but different from any other model seen before. Printed on the side was the same dark magic peace sign seen on the other METAL LANCE models shimmering black, and the name METAL TIGER displayed right next to the peace sign.

“THIS, SHINING ARMOR, IS THE PINNACLE OF OUR MILITARY MIGHT! THE PINNACLE OF OUR TECHNOLOGICAL PROWESS! THE CULMINATION OF ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF CAREFUL PLANNING!” Princess Celestia thundered from inside METAL TIGER, piloting the walker herself.

Shining had to take a moment to isolate and remove his immense fear of the war machine standing before him to inspect it. It was bipedal, with more weapons than anything Shining had ever seen before. On the right side of the body was a railgun, longer than any railgun seen on previous METAL LANCE models. On both sides of the head were 40mm auto-cannons, and on the left shoulder was a quad-mounting of 120mm SpiralFire missiles. The chin sported seven slug blasters, and there was a silo built directly into the back of the walker for a massive warhead. It was a staggering 60 feet tall, and all black unlike the previous ones which were gray. METAL LANCE phase one had an anti-missile laser, and METAL HORNET was aerial, but both of them paled in comparison to the threat METAL TIGER posed.

“THIS IS METAL TIGER! A WAR MACHINE UNPRECEDENTED BY ANY BEING THAT HAD COME BEFORE IT! IT CAN FORGE THROUGH ANY BODY OF WATER, TRAVERSE ANY KIND OF TERRAIN, AND DELIVER UNTO ITS ENEMIES UNMATCHED FURY AND FIREPOWER!” Celestia thundered from within.

“WE HAVE TEN MINUTES, SHINING ARMOR. IN TEN MINUTES MY HEAVEN WILL FINISH ITS CYCLE AND THE SHIP WILL BE FULLY ACTIVATED, AND IT WILL THEN LEAVE EQUESTRIA FOREVER, WHETHER I’M ON IT OR NOT. PREPARE YOURSELF, SHINING ARMOR. FACE ME!” Celestia bellowed, turning the head of METAL TIGER and firing the slug guns at Shining.

The Peace Fighter Captain dove for cover as the slug guns roared, the rounds slowly chipping away at the concrete all around him. Knowing that he had no missile launchers on him Shining realized he would need to find an alternate way to destroy the massive walker.

The answer came from the skies above, as another missile screaming into the city of Canterlot and impacted on the castle tower, blasting it apart and raining chunks of stone and masonry into the streets.

Getting on the radio Shining Armor yelled “Feline artillery, be ready to deliver missile payloads on my designated target, titled METAL TIGER. You can see the damn thing standing in the streets, so you get those missiles on target!”

“Fire vill rain from the skies, Master Armor! Ve are awaiting your directives!” the Feline artillery officer replied.

“FIRE!” Shining bellowed, waiting seven seconds before he watched the missiles from far beyond the borders of Canterlot soar towards their target, screaming across the sky before raining down on METAL TIGER, exploding on and all around the massive military machine.

As the smoke cleared METAL TIGER slammed its right foot down, Celestia trying to cut through and see Shining to fire back. The walker seemed damaged, but only just barely. Looking into the relatively large viewport into the cockpit Shining saw the Princess of the day looking down on him, her arms and legs spread and locked into the controls of the unit.

While the rocket racks reloaded some miles away Celestia took this time to fire at Shining, the 40mm auto-cannons spitting out high-explosive grenades at an alarming rate which rained down on Captain Armor, constantly producing explosions which assaulted his ears.

“READY TO FIRE!” Feline artillery yelled over the radio, just as Celestia’s bombardment ended and the cannons began to reload.

“DO IT!”

Sticking his head up from behind the rubble Shining watched METAL TIGER bristling as it stood, Celestia deciding which weapon to use next. The tell-tale shriek of Feline missiles was starting to be heard, and moments later they impacted on METAL TIGER, slamming into the massive metal beast all around. One missile hit the right leg and Shining saw the walker go down, elated that the barrages seem to be working, though this attack seemed to be smaller.

When the smoke cleared again METAL TIGER was back on its feet, dented and charred but operational. Celestia looked pissed in the cockpit, and turned the walker’s head to look at Shining Armor. Turning the railgun and arming it Celestia pointed it at Captain Armor, preparing to blast him apart with a solid metal slug.

Before the Princess could fire the weapon however another barrage of missiles slammed into METAL TIGER, again causing it to stagger and the one leg to collapse. The railgun turned wildly and completed the charge cycle, automatically discharging a projectile which lanced away from Canterlot and into space.

Dazed from the sudden attack Celestia sluggishly got METAL TIGER back to its feet, assessing the situation she was in. Shining was wondering how the Felines managed to fire off another salvo so quickly, and got on the radio.

“We’ve decided to fire half every ten seconds, that way there will be an absolute constant barrage of missiles on the target, albeit with a smaller payload!” the artillery master explained when Captain Armor questioned her.

“Understood! Keep it up!”

METAL TIGER ignored Shining momentarily as Celestia armed the quad-mounting of missiles on the left shoulder of the machine, firing off all four away from Canterlot and towards the Feline artillery position some miles away.

“Feline artillery, you’ve got missiles coming in on you! You better clear out of there and find a new spot!” Shining Armor declared, not receiving a reply over the radio.

“Damn it!”

Satisfied that Feline artillery was done for Princess Celestia refocused her attention Shining, readying the railgun again and preparing to fire on him. The magnetic coils charged up and the barrel stared him down. Knowing he would not be able to outrun the massive blast the projectile would create Shining Armor did the the only thing he could do.

He ran towards METAL TIGER.

Galloping across the rubble-littered street Shining raced under METAL TIGER’s body, between the legs, feeling heat wash over him from the engine’s exhaust. Raising its right leg METAL TIGER turned around to follow the target.

The railgun automatically discharged, blasting a tunnel into Canterlot Mountain.

Reaching new cover Shining Armor hid from the massive walker, watching as Princess Celestia looked for him, the heavy steel feet of the machine thundering in the streets. METAL TIGER walked by Shining’s hiding place and stopped, Celestia looking around for any sign of the stallion.

Shining knew the right leg was damaged in some way, and that the missiles were depleted, leaving METAL TIGER with the slug guns, cannons, railgun, and the warhead mounted in the back, as well as the damaged leg.

Looking up Captain Armor saw a wing of Peace Fighter DRAVMs soar in, firing at the walker. Three gunship models firing their small rockets which impacted on the right side, scratching and denting the thick armor. The small rockets wouldn’t be enough to damage the legs, but it would be enough to distract the Princess while Shining tried to reestablish contact with artillery.

“Feline artillery, come in! Answer me!” Shining Armor demanded, carefully watching METAL TIGER. The DRAVMs weren’t doing so well against the walker, and Celestia was starting to blast them apart with the slug blasters.

When the DRAVMs were finally gone Celestia turned METAL TIGER around and finally spotted Shining Armor, arming the 40mm launchers and preparing to fire, to finally end the war with the Peace Fighters and leave Equestria forever.

“ARTILLERY! FIRE NOW!” Shining yelled into the radio, hoping the Felines could hear him and were still there to help.

The wailing shrieks of banshees filled the afternoon sky as the largest bombardment of missiles Shining Armor had ever seen streaked into Canterlot, their sheer numbers blotting out the dying sun as they rained in, the hundreds of them detonating on METAL TIGER’s hull, constantly slamming into the walker. One massive explosion obscured the right leg and from the smoke Shining saw half the leg collapse into a building, smashing it open and kicking up a metric ton of dust, the cacophony adding to the sound of METAL TIGER’s destruction.

Where did all those missiles come from?! Shining wondered.

"FIRE FROM THE SKIES!" the speaker on the stallion's radio roared.

Finally METAL TIGER collapsed before Shining Armor in the streets of Canterlot, the viewport shattering and the intense roar of a massive machine smashing into stone reverberating through the wounded sky. Shining Armor reached into the cockpit and grabbed Princess Celestia, roughly dragging her out and throwing her to the ground, shattering her horn in the process. Once down Shining pinned his left hoof to her throat to keep her down and trained his SPP-M6 on her with his right.

“SPEAK! NOW!” Shining thundered, demanding that Celestia answer for her crimes. The faux-Goddess of the Sun opened her eyes and stared at her former Captain, the former commander of her Empire’s Army, and remained silent for the moment.

“There’s nothing to say” Celestia said after finally relenting, satisfied with everything she had done and showing no regret.

Shining Armor struggled to find words to respond to this, to cope with the knowledge that he would never have the satisfaction of understanding why it all happened the way it did.

Shining Armor, former Captain and leader of the Royal Guard and Imperial Army, pressed the barrel of the gun to Celestia’s head and pulled the trigger. The hefty report from the mid-caliber round travelled throughout all of Canterlot, sounding not like the final call of a warrior’s victory, but rather the sound of continued violence it always would be. Pulling his hoof back Shining released his hold on the lifeless corpse of Princess Celestia.

Looking down at her side Shining Armor saw a weapon holstered on the Princess, undoing the strap and pulling the gun out. It was a customized weapon similar to Chrysalis’ SPP-M6, but this was not an M6. It was an old wheelgun, known as a revolver in other countries. It was ornately engraved and constructed out of brushed titanium, giving it a shiny appearance. The grips were pearl, and stenciled on the side of the barrel was the phrase Gift Of The Goddess.

Shining Armor holstered the gun and looked up as the tremendous sound of fires blasting echoed throughout the world, the thrusters of MY HEAVEN pulsing as Princess Luna signified it was time to leave.

“Luna...” Shining hissed, taking a thruster pack from METAL TIGER's cockpit and soaring up into the sky toward the massive ship, landing on the side next to the A of HEAVEN and opening a hatch there, snaking into the ship and trying to navigate its twisting corridors. Twisted like the dark hearts of the Princesses.

Well, just Princess now Shining smugly thought.

Entering what appeared to be a recreation room the Peace Fighter Captain made for the sliding doors leading out of the area and found several Imperial soldiers waiting there for him, engaging them as soon as he saw them. The four Imperials took cover behind pillars in the hall as Captain Armor opened fire with his CSC-12C, mowing the enemy down and moving past their corpses. The engines kicked into overdrive and the sound reverberated throughout the ship as MY HEAVEN gained more power.

Save them...end the war... Cadence whispered in Shining’s mind.

Kill her... Achieve your final victory... End the suffering of all... Twilight whispered, her voice joining Cadence’s.

You are our savior. You are the protector of Equestria and all races that call her home... Stop her, achieve your final victory... Reclaim peace and prosperity for the lives of all that live on this planet.

You are the first and last line of defense, Shiny. You are a warrior, poised to always deliver unto his enemies crushing defeat. Kill Luna, end your conflict. Claim triumph over the tyranny of the selfish.

Entering another hall Captain Armor discovered that the door ahead of him was locked, forcing him to head right up a staircase to the top deck. On the upper deck of the two-deck ship Shining Armor was ambushed by more Imperial soldiers, lobbing a grenade into the midst of the one group and cutting the other squad down with his gun.

Proceeding past their corpses into what could only be described as the observation deck Shining was forced to duck into a room to go around what appeared to be a glass pillar in the center of the hall.

Save them...end the war... Hurry... Save them... Kill her...

Coming out the other door to the observation deck Shining took a left and proceeded down another flight of stairs, finding himself at a crossroad. To the left was assuredly crew quarters and the bridge, to the right was the unknown room that Luna was in.

Save them... Kill her...

Stepping through a sliding door Shining Armor was greeted by an open hangar with a raised platform in the middle, sitting a few feet above him. The room was a little dark save for a light streaming in from a hole in the direct center of the ceiling.

“Shining...Armor...” Princess Luna’s voice echoed throughout the room, coming from somewhere up on the platform. The Captain tensed up as Luna approached the edge of the platform, looking down her nose at Shining like Celestia did.

“Princess Luna” Captain Armor growled, spitting out her ‘Princess’ moniker like it was snake venom. Luna bristled at his blatant disrespect of her position as a perceived Goddess but didn’t voice her disapproval, considering there were more pressing matters at the moment.

“Shining Armor, MY HEAVEN is about to take off and leave Equestria. Our plan was to leave this system and start our species anew in a different one, though there’d be a few stops along the way, but you and your group of delinquents came along and screwed it all up. Now you’re here on our ship, about to leave Equestria with us” Luna told him.

“I’m here to kill you, not save my own hide from a blatant abandonment of our planet. Our home planet” Shining explained.

Kill her...

“Our home planet...” Luna started, shaking her head. “You claim to know the truth, but that what you see is naught but a small portion of the bigger picture. Regardless, if you’re here to kill me like you said, then you better be prepared for what comes afterward. Sister Celly will avenge my death.”

“Celestia? Really? Will she really come after me?”

“Yes. And if you’re here to kill me then you better try so while we’re still here on Equestria, because Celestia’s on the bridge about to take off” Luna told him.

Shining Armor couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, shaking his head. “It never stops with you. Just lies and lies and lies and lies and you just can’t stop yourself!” the Captain stated.

Save them, Shiny... Kill her... Save them. Hurry...

“How do you know this one’s a lie?” Luna questioned, growing tired of arguing with an inferior being.

“Because Celestia’s dead. I killed her... And it felt good” Shining flatly declared, smugly smiling again.

“Now it’s YOU who are lying!” Luna exclaimed, stamping her hoof.

“Am I? Why don’t you try reaching out to her? I know you share a magical connection. Try calling to her. Try begging for her to come save you because you depend on her like a little baby” Shining said, keeping his hoof tensed to raise his gun.

Kill her... KILL her... Do it now, Big Brother... KILL HER...

Princess Luna took a moment to try as Shining suggested and screamed in anguish and took to the air with a flap of her wings, her horn glowing white. Shining Armor raised his gun and suddenly went limp, unable to pull the trigger or move. He hovered through the air towards Luna, and realized she was levitating him. The Princess of the Night flapped over to the nearby wall and it slid open, opening the entire right side of the hangar and levitating Shining out the open door several thousand feet above Canterlot.

“You may have killed my sister, but I will not let this go unpunished. Are you scared, Shining? Scared of falling to your death? Beg for your life” Luna angrily smirked, watching as Shining looked down at the distance to the city below.

The Captain looked and stared Princess Luna straight in the eyes, spitting right in her face and growling “fuck you, I will never again bend to your will.”

Luna wiped her face off and stared right back at Shining, who swore he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes as she said “...I feel so sorry for you” before cutting the flow of magic to her horn and letting Shining drop, beginning his doomed fall to Canterlot.

“Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it” Shining exclaimed as he fell, knowing there’d probably be no way for him to survive.

I got her, though. I killed Celestia, and finally did something that pissed off Luna. She’s weak, and I think the Peace Fighters will be strong enough to go after her Shining thought.

Halfway to the ground Shining stopped falling and felt weightless, opening his closed eyes and looking up in confusion and seeing Cadence holding him, her wings flapping hard as she struggled a little to hold his heavy body and remain in flight.

“I got you, you’re OK” Cadence whispered, the two soaring down into the streets where Cadence dropped Shining off in front of Lieutenant Strong Spear.

“Shining! Are you OK? Did you get the Princesses?” the Lieutenant asked, looking the Captain over to see if there were any wounds on him.

“I got Celestia, she’s dead” Shining started, cut off as the thrusters of MY HEAVEN thundered as Luna fed more fuel to the engines and began to turn the ship. The actions answered the Lieutenant’s questions about Luna.

“We’ll get her later. Cadence, I ju--” Shining said as he turned around, stopping himself when he saw not Cadence standing before him, but rather Rainbow Dash.

“What about Cadence?” Dash asked, confused as to what Shining was going to say. Shining shook his head, swearing that it was Cadence that had saved him. Rainbow seemed to be doing better but Shining could still see that look in her eyes; that look of a broken pony.

It wasn’t Cadence, it was just another hallucination.

Cady...?

“I thought... Nevermind” Shining said, looking around as he mentally took a step back; he’d won. They won. It wasn’t a total victory, the sun was still going out and the planet was still doomed, but Celestia was dead, the Empire was collapsing, and Luna was on the run.

Shining Armor looked up as the thrusters of MY HEAVEN began to fire in full and the ship accelerated, heading straight for the heavens above and racing away until it could no longer be seen.

Captain Armor looked around and saw looks of disappointment on Lieutenant Spear and Rainbow’s faces, as well as several other Peace Fighters who were gathered around.

“It’s over, we lost...” Lieutenant Spear muttered, turning to walk away. Shining looked around and saw similar dejected faces from the other Peace Fighters, and couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in them all for their collective attitude.

“No! No we haven’t! We won today, actually! Sure it wasn’t the victory we wanted but it was still a victory damn it! Princess Celestia is dead, and her sister’s on the run. I’d say we won! In fact this was one of our biggest victories! We’re finally starting to set things straight, and we WILL go after her. To the heavens above, to any solar system, and to any and ALL planets necessary to find and kill Princess Luna. Peace Fighters, be bold, for we are a billion strong, and we all stand tall against the tyranny of our former Goddesses!” Shining declared, standing on the ruined husk of METAL TIGER.

“But Shining, how are we supposed to go after her? We don’t have space vehicles!” Rainbow Dash asked, stepping forward and looking up at the Peace Fighter leader.

Shining smirked and looked down at her and the rest of the Peace Fighters that had gathered around, having just one thing to say in response to this.

“Someone somewhere wrote down how to make a spaceship.”

Author's Note

THE END OF PEACE FIGHTER!

Legal note: Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. Lieutenant Strong Spear, Master Sharpclaws, and all related characters belong to me. All other original characters belong to their respective owners. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.