Part 3: Chapter 12: The End

Celestia stood where she last was, alive, naked of armor. She opened one eye then the other, surprised that she was still alive. She checked herself and gave a sigh of relief that both her horns and wings were connected and still intact, although her horn had failed to respond to a small test of magic. Slowly she turned her head around, her neck stinging as it reached the point of no return, and gazed in awe at the stallion behind her.

He was not angry, not in the slightest, nor did he feel any need for revenge. He breathed normally; calm but awake and aware. His armor, on the other hoof, had taken the brunt of the magic and was glowing red from the heat of the use of the raw, unknown magic. Either he did not feel the pain of the metal searing his flesh or it was not actually touching his coat.

He stayed in place, hovering about three to four feet off the ground. He was facing her with his metallic wings open but still. His helmet, all charred and dented, lied on the street in pieces. His eyes were glowing blue, his mane and tail following suite. The Stallion's face was strangely calm. He wasn't smiling nor frowning, but a thin line, parallel to the street, etched where his lips would have been.

Alpha tilted his head to the right, looking past Celestia at the inactive P.O.R and frowned, closed his eyes and nodded, accepting that who he considered both a father-figure and a close friend had finally passed away. He opened his eyes and focused on Celestia, who had now turned around to face him, her crown by her hooves. He lowered himself to the ground and gazed upon the crown.

Alpha looked up at Celestia, who was wheezing due to the punctured lung. Without losing eye contact, he healed her lung and rib before lifting the crown into the air and gently placing it on her head.

Celestia, not wanting to destroy her chance at survival, stayed quiet. She watched as he took a deep breath and spoke. He was no longer passive but much assertive, unafraid, and made his point as clear as an open window. Once he finished talking, she nodded, and offered the crown in her surrender.

Alpha looked at the crown, waved his hoof the right, denying the crown to Celestia's surprise. "Your crown means nothing to me. It is not mine but yours as a birth right, so you may keep it until you are removed from your position. Your magic, however, has been removed." Five changelings in armor landed behind Alpha. "You will be escorted by the changelings until further notice, Your Highness."

Celestia could do nothing but nod her head and accept the fact that she had lost. She extended her wings and took to the air, heading to rebuild her castle. Four of the changelings took after her, escorting, protecting, and keeping the Princess in sight, Alpha held the last one down with his metallic wing. He turned and looked at the pink-fanged changeling.

"If she tries to escape or attack your squad, bite her." Alpha smiled as he watched Carl do a little jig in joy before nodding and taking off to catch up with his squad. He looked at the ruins and the smoke, noticing the heads popping out from the blackness and broken buildings as the survivors of the onslaught journeyed out to see their world safe.

As those who lived began to come out of the safety of their hiding spots and searched for lost family members and friends, Alpha walked to the inactive Pony of Rage and knelt down by it for examination. Beta was certainly no longer in his suit, but the suit, noticing Alpha's presence, activated and stood up, facing him.

Alpha felt his heart soar then drop as he realized that the suit was just acting on the commands that it was programmed to do rather than actually being used by his friend. He lowered his head in disappointment.

"WAITING FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS." The suit's old speaker blurted out.

He looked up at the suit with a frown upon his face. He stared off into space, his mind running and was silent for a bit.

"WAITING FOR-"

"Go to the mountain." Alpha interrupted, snapping out of the daydream. "Repair all broken and damaged…parts and de-activate until further commands."

The suit nodded in reply and teleported to the mountain, leaving the stallion alone.

Alpha sat down, closed his eyes and briefly rested.

The survivors had noticed the armored Stallion as soon as they exited their hiding spots and, in caution, gave him his space but crowded around him. Soon enough, over a hundred stallions and mares, colts and fillies crowded around the stallion, curious about whom he was. One brave filly broke through the pack and, to the surprise of her mother, slowly walked up to the stallion, reached out and tapped the shoulder.

She jumped back in shock as the stallion opened his eyes and extended the metallic wings that his suit gave him. He turned and looked at her. She watched as a smile slowly formed upon his scarred face.

"Hello there." He said with a cheery tone, ignoring the crowd and focusing on the filly. He giggled softly as he watched the filly run back to the safety of her father's legs.

She watched in both awe and moderate fear and the stallion slowly pushed himself up and turned to face her. He saw her look past him and realized that she was looking at his wings. Alpha smiled as he spread both wings up and out, each metallic feather razor-sharp and glistening in the sun.

"Who are you?" A voice pierced through the silence like an arrow pierces through the flesh of its target.

Alpha stood up on his two hind hooves. "I am Alpha; a pegasi-mutant; an escapee from the infamous and legendary Rainbow Factory." He sighed, looking for the right words.

"Are you the good pony?" The filly asked, her voice high-pitched and young.

"I…fought for what I though and still think is right. I stopped Celestia from the genocide she tried to attempt and in doing so, revealed the truth behind the Rainbow Factory and basically everything that you were taught was bad."

"So…" She spoke. "You are the good pony?"

Alpha looked at the filly and smiled. He returned back on to his four hooves and crouched. "Yes, I am the good pony." He said happily.

"Did you defeat the mean Princess?"

"Yup." He said, nodding his head.

"Did you kill her?"

His smile faded slowly and he shook his head. "No."

"Are you serious?" A voice cried out. "Why didn't you kill the bitch?"

Alpha ceased crouching and straightened his legs. "I did not kill her not because I understand completely why she did what she did, although I do not agree with it, but because that it is not my decision to kill her. I fought her; I lost my left wing to her." Alpha spoke as he removed his left wing, revealing the still raw appendage. "She killed my best friend, Princess Luna, scapegoated the changelings and the mutants, destroyed Cloudsdale, nearly burned Ponyville to the ground, and was about to level this city. But even after so much death, I will not kill her. She is currently on her way to Canterlot, escorted by five changelings in armor similar to my own," His suit lit up as he mentioned it and he put his wing back on. "I will check to see if Chrysalis is alive, but for now, Celestia will live until there is a suitable replacement."

"Queen Chrysalis? The Changeling Queen? She's a monster! She's a-"

"She's been scapegoated and lied about. I have and will show, in due time, the proof to show such. However, I am needed in Canterlot. The changelings are your friends, so respect them as such." Alpha said as he quickly left, desperately trying to escape another conflict.

He slowed himself and hovered just above the ruins of Canterlot, watching some buildings slowly repairing themselves; the bricks and mortar flying back into place, sealing up once again. Slowly but surely, Canterlot will rebuild itself. His ears picked up a familiar sound and he raced towards the source. Alpha smiled as he saw the colt and snuck up behind him before grabbing his wings and holding them in place, causing Charlie to scream out in both shock and terror. Delta reacted to the threat and shot a jagged yellow bolt at the threat.

Alpha ducked his head and missed the bolt before letting go of Charlie. "I see that you are still easily scared."

Charlie spun around and gasped in glee at the sight of his colt-friend, quickly hugging him. "You're alive!"

Alpha chuckled and hugged back. "If I would've died, I'd become a ghost so basically either way I would've come back."

Charlie released Alpha and the two landed on a nearby roof.

"I saw Celestia being escorted back here. I thought the goal was to kill her or did Beta think otherwise?" Delta asked, Charlie's suit glowed a faint green for a couple of seconds.

Alpha tried his best not to flinch at the name of his friend and instead tried to change subject. "Is Chrysalis alive?"

"She's fine; Celestia basically ripped both of her wings off but," Delta flexed Charlie's wing. "She'll create her own style of wings when she has rested enough. What did Beta say or do about Celestia's survival."

Alpha sighed and looked at Delta, who had removed Charlie's helmet and blinked.

"What?"

Alpha said nothing but continued to look at Delta.

"Alpha? What's-"

"He's dead."

"No shit Sherlock, he's been dead for ove-"

"That isn't what I mean." Alpha said, somewhat annoyed. "He's dead."

"What do you mean 'he's de-" Delta froze as he realized what Alpha was saying. "How? What happened?"

Alpha silently removed his wing again, showing Delta his injury before telling Delta everything. Throughout the story, Delta un-bonded with Charlie, allowing him to gaze at Alpha's missing wing and listen to his story.

"He set her up for me." Alpha finished slowly.

Delta slowly nodded; in denial or in acceptance Alpha did not know. He looked to the left and watched as the clouds in the sky covered the sun and began to rain.

The rain sizzled upon contact with the fire and eventually put them out as well as washing the blood off of the streets. The red water washed through the cracks and eroded veins in the streets and to into the grass, the liquid splitting in directions upon touching the bladed plants. They knew it would be a while until the blood-water will be soaked up or evaporated. Graveyards outside the castle had begun to dig themselves, shovels without their owners dug into the dirt and created neatly made graves; at the head of each coffin stood a block of marble with its hammer and chisel hard at work, etching the names of the deceased for the grave into the rock.

Alpha ignored the sounds and leaned over to Charlie, wrapped his metallic wing around him and brought him close, hugging the colt, happy to finally complete his dream. He looked down at the colt that had his head up against his armored neck with his eyes closed.

"What do you want to do today?"