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Am I Evil 24: Metal Gods.

By Mandroid
Created: 2020-12-19 14:00:58
Expiry: Never
anonslice of lifesafe/aie/humanizederis

  1. =Am I Evil 24=
  2.  
  3. >It was the biggest night in Canterlot, possibly the entire kingdom. Dignitaries and officials from far and wide, from every corner of the kingdom were in attendance tonight.
  4. >The Grand Glittering Gala.
  5. >Your week in town had been more preparation on top of what you’d already done.
  6. >After the five of you had returned from the desert, you had all set to work.
  7. >First order of business was getting back in touch with the road crew, as no band was complete without one. You’d met Huey and the twins in a bar and recounted the whole tale of meeting the Child in the desert and the revelations that came with that.
  8. >”Shit, I could have told you that.” He had said before he shook your hand like an old friend.
  9. >What followed was two weeks of safety inspections, rehearsals, re-worked stage shows, and tux fittings until you reached now hiding out in Artemis’ apartment fixing your tie.
  10. >You get it done right and look to him.
  11. “Am I straight?”
  12. >He turns and cocks an eyebrow. “You look like you might have seen one or two up close.”
  13. “Takes one to know one.”
  14. > ”A prince never tells.” Artemis says as he reaches over and adjusts your tie.
  15. “Thank you.”
  16. >”Yeah well you’d be lost without me.”
  17. >”You’d think at this point he’d know how to tie a tie.”
  18. >You look over your shoulder and spot Eris in a suit. “You were wearing that suit when we met you.”
  19. “I always used to just make it looser and slip it off. No dress?”
  20. >Eris tugs at her collar and smirks. “I make this look too good to squeeze myself into a dress.”
  21. >”That and she probably doesn’t want to wear underpants and a dress would end up flashing the crowd.”
  22. >”Arty, know the reason I broke up with you?”
  23. >”I could do better?” he answers.
  24. >”Because you got a big fat mouth.” Eris says, grabbing his cheeks.
  25.  
  26. >You back away and get your tie situated, thinking back to what Arty said.
  27. “Mmm…you guys remember when we met?”
  28. >Artemis and Eris get a far off look in their eyes. “I remember driving our van down the road…” Arty says.
  29. >”And seeing some strange guy in a suit with a guitar on his shoulder hitchhiking.” Eris finishes.
  30. “Strange? Not handsome?”
  31. >”You grew on me.”
  32. >Artemis chuckles. “What were you even hitchhiking for? You’ve never said after all these years.”
  33. “I was trying to get out of the worst place on the planet, I didn’t expect to end up in magic-land pine forests after I went to take a leak.”
  34. >”And that awful place was?”
  35. “New Jersey.”
  36. >Fuck New Jersey.
  37. >Eris rests her head on your shoulder. “Ever miss it?”
  38. >You contemplate that for a minute.
  39. “Where I lay my head is home…Had no family, barely any friends, and my latest band had broken up the week before that. There was culture shock, but as far as I’m concerned, this is where I belong.”
  40. >”With me?” Eris ask.
  41. “Yes dummy, with you.”
  42. >You lean your neck down and kiss her, she does that cute thing where she lifts one of her legs up.
  43. >A knock at the door heralds Sombra sticking his head in. “Five minutes, dickheads. Let’s rock and rumble.”
  44. >You look at your friends, your family, and pull down your mask.
  45. “Right now, the place we belong is on that stage. So let’s kill this.”
  46.  
  47. >Sombra leads you down a corridor where Chrysalis is smoothing her eyebrows out in a mirror on the wall.
  48. >”Be careful, that’s worth more than our lives.”
  49. >”I’m priceless, Artemis. Is everyone ready?”
  50. >All of you nod, Chrysalis turns and looks at you before taking a deep breath. “Moment of truth.”
  51. >”Make or break.”
  52. “Do or die.”
  53. >Chrysalis comes in close and snatches you all in her arms. “I just want you all to know that no matter how this turns out, I’ve never felt closer to anyone in all my years. I love you all.”
  54. >”Gaaaaaaaaaay.” Eris says.
  55. >”Hush. Let’s go kick ass!” Chrysalis cries.
  56. “Hell yeah!”
  57. >The Changeling Queen turns on her heel and hurries out into the main ballroom as the rest of you follow.
  58. >Your stage is set up in the ballroom right in front of the big bay window overlooking the city below and countryside further beyond.
  59. >Several cheers and whistles come your way as you silently walk to the stage, an older gentleman standing at the microphone. “And providing tonight’s entertainment, we proudly present, The Neon Knights.” He says.
  60.  
  61. >Chrysalis takes the microphone from the man who quickly heads off stage and looks out over the gathering audience. “I dare say, this is easily our most well-dressed crowd.” She says to break the ice. It gets a few chuckles.
  62. >She wasn’t wrong though, everyone in here was in a tuxedo or gown that cost more than most cars. Not exactly the stereotypical rock concert stock.
  63. >You’d have to do something about that.
  64. >Chrysalis loosens her tie as the rest of you get either behind your instrument or get them on your shoulder.
  65. >”Like our esteemed mustachioed man said, we are the Neon Knights, and we play heavy metal.” She shades her eyes and looks out over the crowd. “We got some old blood here, you guys want a history lesson? Listen up.”
  66. >Chrysalis sets the mic and you grab your pick, taking a deep breath through your mask to center yourself.
  67. >You look out over the crowd and spot Princess Celestia by the stairs opposite the door. She’s giving you two huge thumbs up with a big smile.
  68. >And if that didn’t do it, nothing would.
  69. >”One, two, three, hit it!”
  70.  
  71. Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTUgGPUrDpE
  72. >Sombra two counts his sticks together.
  73. >On cue, you, Eris, and Artemis begin a blasting riff with him. Your guitars were tuned to make an especial flat and blunt noise and the riffs engineered to smack the listener in the face.
  74. >You play for a few licks before the stage goes dark save for a spotlight on Chrysalis. Eris kneels down and fingers out a bassline while Sombra keeps on tapping a beat out.
  75. >Chrusalis gestures around while tapping her foot and weaving a historical lesson about the history of rock and roll and heavy metal, none of this music class bullshit.
  76. >You all agreed to start at the very beginning.
  77. >The rest of the stage lights up when she points to it. The sound of Eris’s bass, Sombra’s drums, and finally yours and Artemis’s rock.
  78. >You and he jump into the air while you slam out your rifts, then you slide your pick down your neck.
  79. >You begin your first solo of the song, spinning around low to the ground the same way the rifts reminded you of, all while bobbing your head like a madman.
  80. >That solo ends dramatically with everyone holding their notes, then you tap a few out and it’s right back into it.
  81. >Chrysalis continues her lesson, you look around.
  82. >Dignitaries and celebutants are loosening their ties and consuming more and more punch.
  83. >What’s even better, they were dancing.
  84. >Dancing like rich white people dance, but still, this was good.
  85. >You look out and see Princess Celestia instructing a few delegates in how to get their groove on, smiling up at you and her brother.
  86. >Two could play like that.
  87. >Right before you and Artemis’ next bridge, you whip your mask off and jump off the stage.
  88.  
  89. >Your bandmates don’t miss a beat, continuing to play and dance around.
  90. >You feel the floor under your feet tremble a bit and see the light fixtures sparkle.
  91. >In the cleared space among the crowed that you land in, you stalk around like a cheetah before you begin your solo, but you dare to be different. You tap into the power inside of you, the eternal metal magic, and let it flow into you, just like the night on the glacier.
  92. >Sliding your fingers down your neck, you launch a gust of air at a woman, lifting her dress up.
  93. >Normally that’d get you a slap, but this time you get a coy smile and an eye roll.
  94. >You start playing a looping guitar bridge in time with your footsteps aw you weave through the crowd. You wink at fans and dance with others, spinning on your toes and flourishing to make a show before you settle on rocking back and forth as your solo intensifies.
  95. >From your guitar, lights spring forth and spin around in rhythm with you.
  96. >People are awestruck by the power of Tirek coursing through you as you extend your solo and lead into another fade-off.
  97.  
  98. >As the last verse starts, you hurry back to the stage, climbing on right as Chrysalis starts singing again.
  99. >Chrysalis continues her final verse as Eris and Artemis gather around you. Sombra starts spinning his sticks with each strike of the cymbals and the energy rises.
  100. >Chrysalis releases a final scream to signal your final solo and you drop down to one knee near the front of the stage and the cheering super-rich fans.
  101. >You start bending your strings in unholy ways to make this guitar dance for you, letting out a cacophony of noise and majesty that even you’d never thought of till this very moment.
  102. >Artemis and Eris bang their heads around you and Chrysalis holds the microphone to your pickups.
  103. >Which comes at the perfect time. You start playing as fast as you can, letting your hand slide up and down the neck of your guitar over your strings and letting your passion take over.
  104. >The head of your guitar responds in kind, the knobs glowing red hot before they start vomiting out colorful fireworks, the microphone stand mirroring it.
  105. >You continue to play from your heart, egging the crowd into more and more intense cheers before you all break away and slam on your instruments.
  106. >You all hold those extended solos for what seems a blissful eternity before you let loose one final slide and a stomp to end the song.
  107. >The crowd cheers and raises their lighters, Chrysalis taking the microphone. “Alright, yeah! If you liked that, we have even more heavy metal mania for you toni-“
  108. >WHAM.
  109. >Everyone in the room looks towards the main doors as another rough slam hits them.
  110. >WHAM.
  111. >Chrysalis chuckles. “Seems like someone was late to the party, eh? Security! Let ‘em in!”
  112. >A guard reaches over and unlatches the door, then he’s flung back by the force of them slamming open and sending a powerful gale into the room harrowing a mournful dirge.
  113.  
  114. >It wails over the ballroom, snapping everyone from their jovial trance and blowing clothes, curtains, tables, and people back towards you.
  115. >Cutting through the sound, you heard the chiming of a single pure bell and the pounding of rain and thunder.
  116. “What in the-?”
  117. >”Anonymous!” You hear Eris shout.
  118. >Momentarily that is, the moaning wail from some sort of guitar gets louder. Your hands and the hands of all those in attendance snap to their ears instinctively to stop them from bursting.
  119. >All at once, the noise and wind cease. You peek your eyes open to see the color drained from the world.
  120. >Everything in the ballroom was now some shade of grey, except for everyone on the stage. They were also all facing towards the doorway where an inky blackness covered contained therein until a pair of red eyes blinked open inside it.
  121. >It stepped into the room on a cloven hoof and draped in shadows that collected into a tattered cape around it. Behind it on the floor it dragged a stringed battle axe that left constant blood trails on the floor. He towered over all the guests in attendance, his horns almost hitting the chandeliers as he surveyed the room.
  122. >”Mister Bones, you make your master proud.”
  123. >His voice shook the very fabric of space.
  124. >As the one note wail fades, you hear the clattering of bones from the door and the Black Priest summons his host.
  125. >A skeleton reaching the satyr’s shoulders and wearing a sombrero and ponoch, deep carvings on his bones walks in leading a funderla procession of smaller human frames behind him, and bringing up the rear, a carriage lead by fire snorting skeletal horses that seemed to be made of fingernails and teeth, atop which stood the same boney puppets carrying bass guitars, chimes, horns, and a drumset.
  126. >”Oh my god…” you hear Chrysalis say.
  127. >”It’s…it’s Grogar.”
  128. >The Ancient Necromancer, The Black Poet, The Mournful Lyric, The Carver of the World, stood high in the center of the ballroom, then he looked at you.
  129.  
  130. Music; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrVKmTPFYZ8
  131. >He tils his head to the side as he walks towards you, eyes fixated on all of you.
  132. >You feel your knees shake as the band huddles together, Sombra baring his teeth behind you from the sound of it.
  133. >”What is this, that stands before me?” he says, either about himself or you.
  134. >He extends a gnarled finger towards you and points, the tip glowing black
  135. >You feel your soul start to drop into an infinite expanse but the feeling quickly passes with a momentary golden sheen making a bubble around you.
  136. >”Wh-what??” Eris says.
  137. >”What the hell--?” Artemis says “I’ve read the tomes, why aren’t we inside out?”
  138. >Sombra puts his hand on Artemis’ shoulder and points. “Arty…look.”
  139. >The crowd that Grogar steps around, the other attendees of the Grand Glittering Gala stand perfectly still…until they all turn to watch their master with jet black eyes and open mouths.
  140. >And at the head of them near the stage was a princess in a golden tiara, her right hand clenched in a fist that glowed gold with the sheen.
  141. >You FEEL the moon tremble behind you as Artemis takes a step forward. “I’m going to—I should—Where is my helmet!?”
  142. >Grogar chuckles and takes a step towards you. ”Be silent, herald. Your lord walks among you. Your insolence will not be forgiven a second time.”
  143. >He waves a hand and blows the window out behind you…before the entire back wall and ceiling of the castle room collapses and turns to dust in the wind, blowing away.
  144. >You hazard a quick glance out and see the expanding wall of colorlessness extend over the city, over the countryside, and up into the sky. Turning the whole world black and white…mostly black though.
  145.  
  146. >Grogar continues to loom over you. “I have felt you since your awakening…so long ago…as the world finished its rotation around the cursed sun…”
  147. >He seems to savor each word like a succulent piece of meat for how long he draws them out. “I have felt your power grow, and climb, and magnify my power over this world…returning the magic my counterpart once stole from me.”
  148. >Grogar grips his axe tighter and brings it over his head with a sick smile, slamming it down on the shield with a crack that shook the planet. In the streets below, gaps in the ground opened up and spilled black soot onto the streets.
  149. >Artemis gasps and bleeds from the mouth as the moon glows blood red, the color of Grogar’s pinprick eyes, and begins to drip onto the planet below it.
  150. >”The Sun shields you from my shadow…I -have- been diminished with the awakening of my host…”
  151. >He brings his axe back, dragging gouges into the ground with it as he holds it across himself. “It is of no consequence…my mournful song will drain the power from this world…and you will be its last living beings…”
  152. >You feel Eris grip your arm and your gut tighten.
  153. >”You…whom this world once called evil, will bear witness to your better, to the rise of New Tambelon…”
  154. >He holds his bone axe over his knee and begins playing out a droning clamor of sounds and screams from his band back on the carriage which shoots torrents of smoke out from underneath it. The torrents rise into the sky and become new clouds, blocking off everything save the dripping moon.
  155. >Grogar looks up to the sky with a manic smile as the last ray of starlight begins to vanish. “IS IT THE END, MY OLD FRIEND!? THIS IS HOW YOUR WORLD DIES! LET THIS SHOW YOU THE POWER OF MY MUSIC! THE TRUE PATH FOR HEAVY METAL!”
  156. >You feel the pang in your gut explode into fire in your veins and you just can’t take it anymore. You pull away from Eris and march over to the edge of the dome.
  157. “OH KISS MY ASS YOU OLD HACK!”
  158. >Your interruption distracts Grogar for a heartbeat and you hear the familiar sound of a string breaking, then silence from the ghastly band that dares not play without its leader.
  159.  
  160. >Grogar turns his bloody gaze down to you jamming your finger up at him.
  161. “You heard me grandpa, kiss my ass.”
  162. >No one else says anything, but you can feel Sombra take a step back through the floor.
  163. >Dickhead.
  164. >Oh well, whatever.
  165. “You roll in here big off your britches and trying to take over the world or something dumb like that and you have the gall to think you’re the true path for heavy metal? That it was just left where you last had it and never went anywhere?”
  166. >You turn your finger into flipping the bird.
  167. “Well fuck you, buddy! We worked our asses off to move this music from the shadows where you left it and let it take its place in the harsh light of the sun!”
  168. >Grogar snorts dust from his nose. “I carved these elegies onto the soul of the world in millennia past, pup. You could never match even a fraction of my master of metal.”
  169. >He holds his arms out wide. “Look around you…”
  170. >You do that. Turning around and seeing all the black eyed, slack jawed slaves to Grogar’s sounds emanating from the skeletal stage behind him. Behind you out over the city you saw endless hordes of red eyed shambling corpses standing motionless, all staring up at the now city wide stage you found yourself on.
  171. >”My metal has made you five the last living beings in this kingdom not a part of my will…what could you POSSIBLY do to change that?”
  172. >You think for a quiet minute and then stab your finger up at him.
  173. “WE challenge YOU to a ROCK OFF! Our best song will kick your as-ah!”
  174. >”Just one moment please!” You hear Chrysalis shout before you get pulled back.
  175.  
  176. >The band pulls you into a huddle in the bubble.
  177. >”Anon what the fuck.”
  178. >”Do you SEE HIM?”
  179. >”He’s got -literal actual zombies-.”
  180. >”And we have fucking guitars.”
  181. >You take a half step back and hold up two fingers.
  182. “Okay.”
  183. “First off, when did my badass bandmates get replaced with a bunch of scared little bitches?”
  184. >Sombra, Artemis, and Chrysalis all glower back at you.
  185. >”Anon, seriously, what do you expect to DO?”
  186. >You can barely believe what you’re hearing.
  187. “I expect us to go up there and blow him the fuck out, is what I expect! We -know- we can play harder than some droning wail!”
  188. >Artemis grabs your shoulder. “Anon that is LITERALLY GROGAR.”
  189. >”He basically -invented heavy metal-, dude.” Sombra says. “We picked it up on a whim! What chance do we have!”
  190. >”Not to mention the entire WORLD is counting on us at this point!” Chrysalis says.
  191. “Guys…”
  192. >You grab your guitar and hold it up.
  193. “We always said music could change the world, but now ours actually CAN! And he -is- his band! The face, the name, all of it! Those boneheads won’t play without him! We can blast him back to the pit he crawled out of by working together and become legends!”
  194. >You get three concerned, scared, and unsure looks back.
  195. >And your gut sinks.
  196. “Guys…”
  197.  
  198. >”I got an idea.” You hear over your shoulder.
  199. >All three of you look to see Eris picking up her guitar and strolling over next to you. “We could just shut up and go play and have a good time, it’s not like we really give a shit.”
  200. >The others are quiet for a bit before Chrysalis laughs once.
  201. >”We are bad guys…”
  202. >Sombra chuckles. “It’s not like apathy for the common man isn’t our thing.”
  203. >”Contempt even.” Artemis adds.
  204. “So you’ll do it?”
  205. >Sombra looks up at you. “What would we even play?”
  206. >You steel your eyes and look each of them dead on.
  207. >”There’s only one thing we can play.”
  208. >They all catch on quick and nod.
  209. >”The Masterpiece.” You all say in unison.
  210. >It’d been the work of months, years even. All of you knew it by heart. Every note, every chord, every lyric. It was metal in its most pure form as you could make.
  211. >”…Get to your places.” Chrysalis says, picking up her mic.
  212. >Artemis rushes over and grabs his guitar, taking his place by Eris who gets into a low power stance.
  213. >Sombra grabs his Adamantine drumsticks and sits behind his kit.
  214. >Chrysalis points up at Grogar. “We may be bad guys and this may be our world too, but I don’t give a DAMN about that! All I want to do is wipe that smug fucking grin off your face.”
  215. >The old satyr breathes heavily, annoyance crossing his face. “And how would you do that?”
  216. >Chrysalis points to the drum kit. “SOMBRA, HIT IT!”
  217. >The Crystal King grows a manic grin and raises his muscled arms up, about to unleash the fury that you’d held him back from for so long.
  218.  
  219. Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ4Nel-aHZM
  220. >Sombra’s sticks hit the cymbals and his legs become a blur as he unleashes his power onto the set.
  221. >You feet the ground beneath your feet shake and shudder, though unlike before. Before you could feel the planet quake at Grogar’s approach, now it felt like Sombra reached down into the core of the earth and jumpstarted it, echoing the adrenaline fueled heartbeat back up and shaking the surface.
  222. >Black crystals spring up from the floor around Sombra’s kit, each cymbal strike sending more up and tracing down the side of the palace wall.
  223. >Sombra settles on a fast, heavy rhythm and everyone else prepares. Thumping their chests in solidarity and preparing for what was to come.
  224. >You take center stage and watch Grogar’s eyes flutter and his zombie slaves twitch ever so slightly.
  225. “Chew on this, you old fart…”
  226. >You tilt your guitar headstock into the sky and call upon the raw power of Tirek.
  227. >And ‘lo does your god answer.
  228. >As you release the screech of the titanium beast in your hands, silver lightning cuts the sky in half and strikes your guitar. And from the gap in the world shoots forth gouts of fire and flame that herald the arrival of a chrome champion riding a metallic dragon.
  229. >From the legends of old sprung forth Tirek’s champion; Hellfurion, Cremator of the World. Clad in chromate steel with talons that could slice the stars. Behind him roars a great beast as a metallic dragon serpent slithers through the rift behind him.
  230. >The mountains surrounding Canterlot explode their tops, shooting fire into the sky as Hellfurion dives into the horde of undead beneath him on wings of steel and sunlight.
  231.  
  232. >As the fire from the planets core shot into the sky and burned the necromancer’s smog away, the worlds defiant scream against the entropy of Grogar, your band joined you in your unholy chorus.
  233. >Chrysalis grabs the mic with both hands and screams as loud as she can into it, sounds only matched by the carnage below you.
  234. >Hellfurion wades into the scores of undead, swinging his scalloped claws and razor talons through the spiteful creatures below and immolating the pieces he carved from them.
  235. >It was a thing of monstrous beauty to watch the metal messiah rend his way through the streets, where his feet fell leaving trails of flame which burned the traces of soot away.
  236. >Furion’s serpent, the great Deathscream, flew into the air and unleashed streams of molten iron from his gaping maw into the air with a terrifying scream where they cooled and rained down upon the monsters, tearing them apart.
  237. >Grogar was a crafty old man and caught wise, extending his axe towards your champion and unleashing a low strum of black magic towards his gleaming metal body.
  238. >You and Chrysalis turn towards Hellfurion as Sombra and Eris rebuke Grogar and unleash a wall of noise towards him.
  239. >The noise strikes the chrome knight in his chest, resonating off his metallic body and blasting away the darkness. In the radius around Hellfurion, civilians which he had until this time avoided, fell to their knees and shook their heads as their eyes cleared.
  240. “IT’S WORKING! KEEP PLAYING!”
  241.  
  242. >Artemis takes his place next to you as he slams away on his guitar, his eyes becoming a star field as the night sky churned above you. Comets smashed into each other and far off suns turned to supernovas, bathing the landscape before you in brilliant light that reflected off the moon in the sky.
  243. >However from the last vestiges of shadow from the smog came the flapping figures of skull faced bat creatures which descend upon the city.
  244. >You in particular, Grogar was playing dirty.
  245. >Hellfurion leaps into the sky and lands on Deathscream, taking to the sky as he grabs hold of molten chains on the beasts back with one arm.
  246. >Deathscream opens its mouth and breathes a torrent of flame at the creatures above you while Hellfurion holds his arm out and sense pointed metal spikes rocketing through the air, impaling the beasts and affixing them to a wall.
  247. >Hellfurion leaps off his steed as it flies up further into the air, rapidly shedding chrome scales which fall into the air and explode into showers of motel sparks which burn the winged monstrosities at the touch.
  248. >Grogar was nervous now, thrusting his glowing black hand into the sky as he tore chunks of earth, marble, and stone from the ground and throwing them at Hellfurion in an attempt to douse his flaming body.
  249. >Chrysalis belts it out as your champion dives between the stones, either kicking them into dust or chopping them with his molten arm, leaving the pieces aflame to fall back to the earth before he finally exploded, sending a hail of metal down onto the world.
  250. >Lightning sparks from your guitars as he lands in the destroyed ballroom. Grogar jumps back and raises the bladed side of his axe as Hellfurion charges him through the crowd of guests, all awakening in the presence of his majestic form.
  251. >You drop to your knees and let all of your fingers pick at your strings. At the same time, Hellfurion tackles Grogar in the chest and angles his razor wings down, sending himself and Grogar flying towards one of the fire spewing volcanoes on like a fury filled rocket.
  252.  
  253. >As the two demi-gods land on the rim of the volcano, Grogar tries to strike with his smokey axe.
  254. >Hellfurion catches the handle of the axe with his hand and whips the other out, producing a flaming motorcycle chain that he whips at Grogar, gashing him in the chest.
  255. >Guests around you regain their senses, Princess Celestia included and watch the spectacle unfold.
  256. >Half watch the dueling entities on the rim of a bleeding wound in the world, surrounded by smoke and fire and lightning and noise.
  257. >The other half watch your band thrash about on stage performing your magic. An art lost to the world of spells not governed by words and gestures, but by the squeal of electric guitars and the strength of the words you let erupt from your heart.
  258. >You continue to play as an inferno spews from Hellfurions eyes to match the radiating darkness spilling down Grogar’s cheeks.
  259. >The two beings, in melee, were evenly matched. Grogar would swing with his axe which got tangled in Hellfurion’s chin who would swing back with a sword made of searing plasma that would extinguish in Grogar’s icy grip.
  260. >Your prophet needed more, and you would give it to him.
  261.  
  262. >Chrysalis drops to her knees as you pick your way up your guitar neck.
  263. >She sings notes so pure that Sombra’s crystals begin to explode, further dicing the remaining shambling corpses and the heavy piece striking Grogar’s backup band, shattering their fragile bones and sending them clattering to the ground.
  264. >Chrysalis’s lyric causes the creases in Hellfurion’s armor to glow hot orange as he uppercuts Grogar into the air and leaps after him.
  265. >A guitar wail from you attracts the metallic fragments of Deathscream and sends them rushing after their master, reforming mid-flight and rebirthing the great chrome steed to fight another day.
  266. >Grogar sprouts two pairs of dripping black bat-wings from his back and charges at the metal messiah, teeth gritted and axe in hand.
  267. >Hellfurion extends his arm into the air and catches a falling star, stretching it out and letting it cool into a steaming iridium spear affixed with an engine and exhaust ports.
  268. >With a flap of his steel wings and a roar of his mount, Satyr and Automoton clash in the sky.
  269. >The titans clash in the sky, sending thunder and lightning spilling over the world. You feel so at one with your metal that you can feel Grogar’s hold on the world weakening, all that does is make you strike your strings harder.
  270. >You glance over your shoulder and pass the final solo off to Artemis who drops to one knee and bends his guitar over his other like a petulant child that he shreds on.
  271.  
  272. >Hellfurion and Grogar clash in the molten clouds, an axe made of corpses and shadow sparking against a spear made of atomic fire.
  273. >In your heart you felt Grogar hanging on by his fingertips to this world. Artemis must have felt it too, because he cranks his gain way up and finishes the solo at the same time Hellfurion finishes Grogar.
  274. >The chrome champion opens up his chest and lets the necromancer see his fiery heart at the center of his body.
  275. >Grogar gets naught but a screech out before the nuclear fire of the heart engulfs him and blasts out of Hellfurion, striking something and blasting a hole in the world.
  276. >Time seems to freeze as Hellfurion and Deathscream impale Grogar’s flaming corpse with their spear and drive him through the rift in the world.
  277. >The Neon Knights memorialize this moment with the longest held note you’ve ever done and a drum solo from Sombra that causes the mountains spewing fire into the sky to collapse at the top, sealing off the pathways to the core.
  278. >That night, Equestria gains a momentary second sun and you swear you see the horned, red skinned, brass armored face of God as Hellfurion takes Grogar back to the realm of metal to await his judgement.
  279. >Your final note rings out across the world as the rift explodes into Tirek’s Horns.
  280.  
  281. >You fall you your knees and breath for the first time in six minutes.
  282. >That was…
  283. “Holy shit!”
  284. >That was the only word you got out before the second loudest thing of the night erupted from everywhere at once.
  285. >Everyone in the room, everyone in the city, everyone in the WORLD it felt like were on their feet applauding, cheering and whistling at you.
  286. >You rises and help Eris and Chrysalis up.
  287. >”They like us…” Eris says.
  288. >”They -really- like us.” Chysalis responds.
  289. >”Can you blame them?” you hear someone ask.
  290. >Celestia, her dress a bit singed and hair frazzled but smiling all the same, elbows her way to the front of the stage.
  291. >”Sister!”
  292. >Artemis breaks rank and embraces his sister. “Are you okay?” he asks.
  293. >The monarch closes her eyes for a moment, enjoying the probably rare embrace she gets from her bratty brother, before chuckling and releasing him.
  294.  
  295. “Nothing some rest won’t fix, Arty, though it could have been much worse. You and your friends did it! You save the world and you saved it your way! I’m so proud, little brother. Mother and father would be too.”
  296. >Artemis turns a particular shade of red and backs away from Celestia. “Uh…y-yeah Celly.”
  297. “Arty, get your butt up here and see this!”
  298. >Artemis looks over and runs over as Celestia backs off.
  299. >The night prince joins you in overlooking the city below you from what remained of the area behind your stage. People as far as the eye could see littered the streets of Canterlot looking up at you, holding lighters, horns, or bras in some cases up at you in celebration for the feat you had pulled today.
  300. >Chrysalis chuckles. “So…we’re not really topping that any time soon in our careers…now what?”
  301. “Well, we can always try. Future’s a bright place, after all.”
  302. >”I meant what do we do in the next six minutes.”
  303. >All five of you contemplate for a moment.
  304. “Dude, encore.”
  305. >”Heeeell yeah!” Eris says.
  306. >You grabbed your instruments and got ready to show the whole world that the elements of harmony weren’t the only things it had going for it.
  307. >Now it had five more fundamentals.
  308. >Fire, blood, noise, lightning, and metal.
  309.  
  310. -The End.
  311.  
  312. =Epilogue=
  313. -Ten years later-
  314. >You sit backstage in the green room of the K-Colt TV studios on the couch with your guitar in your lap, noodling away at the strings.
  315. “What do you think of this? It could go on the next record.”
  316. >Eris sits with her feet up on the couch, leaning on your shoulder and reading a magazine. “The next album is already full, Anon.”
  317. “The one after that, then.”
  318. >Eris chuckles. “Jeeze, are you always on?”
  319. “I thought the point of going solo was to explore more creative outlets. It’s not my fault that I’ve got ideas.”
  320. >Eris turns the page. “A two-person band isn’t exactly “solo”.” She says.
  321. “It is when it’s your name and face we put on all the covers.”
  322. >”Why -do- we do that?”
  323. “Because you look better in tantalizing outfits than I do and I still like going to the store without someone recognizing me.”
  324. >Eris adjusts her but. “I -am- the pretty one.”
  325. >You kiss the back of her neck, she purrs.
  326. “Yes, you are.”
  327. >”I thought I tasted something familiar.” Someone says.
  328. >You and Eris turn your heads and spot an old face standing in the doorway.
  329. >”Hey! It’s Chryssy!” Eris exclaims with glee, rising up.
  330. >The girls do that kissy cheek thing and you get a peck and a hug when you stand up.
  331. “What are you doing here, you old crone?”
  332. >Chrysalis leans back on the wall in her leather jacket. “I was on this show a few days back spreading awareness of the deforestation down in Cervidas. Imagine my surprise when, a night before my flight back, I read that two of my old cronies are on the same show.”
  333. >You laugh.
  334. “And they just let you back in?”
  335. >”I can charm my way into anywhere, you know that.”
  336. “Oh don’t we all.”
  337. >”Doesn’t everyone on this hemisphere is more like it.”
  338. >”I thought I smelled something rank! Sombra!” Chrysalis says.
  339.  
  340. >The Crystal King walks in from the direction of the stage just as some no doubt clever zinger sends the crowd into a laughing fit. “Hello beautiful.” He says, picking Chrysalis up in a hug.
  341. >”Holy crap, did you get bigger?” Eris asks.
  342. >”Wanna find out?” he asks, leaning on the wall.
  343. “Easy, seabiscuit.”
  344. >You take his hand off the wall and stand next to Eris.
  345. “Three divorces should have made you wise by now.”
  346. >”I’m sorry, does my life as the number one charted artist confuse you, number four?”
  347. >He always brought that up
  348. >”What are you doing here anyway?” Chrysalis asks.
  349. >”I brought him!”
  350. >The shadow on the wall detaches and a blue haired man with a scraggly beard in silk, navy blue clothing and a trimmed cape steps out. A cold iron crown sits atop his head.
  351. “Arty?! How the fuck long have you been standing there??”
  352. >Artemis chuckles and walks over, hugging Chrysalis and then you. “Being a fly on the wall has its uses in politics. How are you all! Oh it’s been -way- too long!”
  353. >Arty goes around and hugs each and every one of you with a beaming smile.
  354. >”You look like retirement is treating you well.”
  355. >”I wake up in less strange places with stranger people, yes.”
  356. >”That hardly sounds fun…” Chrysalis says.
  357. >”You -would- say that, you bimbo.”
  358. >She pinches his cheek.
  359. >From your position in the room, you step back and laugh once.
  360. >”What’re you laughing at, dickless?” Sombra says.
  361. “This—it’s the first time we’ve all been back together since the split.”
  362. >The others look around at each other. “So we are…” Chrysalis says.
  363. >”Do we…do something with that?” Eris says.
  364. “For old time’s sake…?”
  365. >”Can we even negotiate more time on this show?” Sombra says.
  366. >”We’re the Neon Knights. We saved the world and I’m a reigning monarch, I can MAKE them give us time.” Artemis says.
  367. >You look at all your old friends and put your hand in the center of them.
  368. “One more time?”
  369. >You smile when they all put their hands in.
  370.  
  371. >The studio executives don’t even need convincing; they promise the show as much airtime as it needs for the historic event.
  372. >The host uses his old comedian skills to stall the audience while a ragtag group of roadies are rapidly assembled and gear set up.
  373. >Eventually it was told to the audience, that the Neon Knights had come together for a reunion show in that very building.
  374. >It went over as well as expected.
  375. >When it was time, you all walked out on stage to an adoring public and a feeling you hadn’t quite felt in ten years. Going solo was the right choice, but nothing felt quite the same as Neon Knights fans.
  376. >Chrysalis grabs her mic over the din of cheers. “Look what the cat dragged back from the dead!”
  377. >Sombra punctuates that with a triple bass tap.
  378. >”We thought we’d come out here and show you what we’ve all learned in the last decade, so prepare your ears for orgasm.”
  379. >You’d all agreed on the song back stage, something that never made it onto the last NK record.
  380. >Chrysalis gets close to the mic. “This is the greatest and best song in the world.”
  381. >You take the stage and start your next masterpiece.
  382. Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tq-UsaRchI
  383.  
  384. -The End-ier End.

BiE 1: Introductions

by Mandroid

BiE 2: Train, pains, and narcissism.

by Mandroid

BiE 3: Exposition and espionage.

by Mandroid

BiE 3.5: More trains, soon to be back pains.

by Mandroid

BiE 4: Home Improvement.

by Mandroid