Meta Gamer in Equestria Bonus Chapters: Archimedes's promise

by reflective vagrant

Ch 15: Swan Song of a Champion.

Her song's energy blasted at me like her mere presence blasted at the vines, but as the words came the pressure from me and my augmented amulet pushed back. Naturally, she couldn't understand my words, my translation amulet disassembled to make this makeshift power booster amulet, but it wasn't a battle of lyrics. It was a battle of convictions and sheer energy. She had skill and experience in song weaving on her side, but my augmented amulet let me match her with sheer brute force.

But then I felt the pain surging through me. The sheer energy, even perfectly harmonizing from it being my own energy, was causing a shock to my system, like I was holding onto a joy buzzer that I couldn't let go of.

"Harmonic noise is painful, isn't it? I wouldn't know, being a pure bred siren." I heard her in my head. The magic of our songs linking us as our auras manifested giants of ourselves in the air. Hers a powerful fanged and menacing monstrous version of herself. Mine a crude humanoid cloud but none the less present and roaring back. "Give up and I'll make it end quickly."

I shook my head and sang the next verse like I knew it like the back of my hand. "Your faith was strong but you needed proof..." as my mind screamed back at her, not knowing if she'd hear. "This is nothing compared to what I've suffered in the past!"

She was playing mind games, trying to throw me off my game. She hadn't anticipated the threat I was proving to be. That was good, it meant she was scared.

"That toy is the only thing letting you match me. What are you using to fuel your song, sorrow? I have mastered every emotion on the harmonic plane. I could weave even love or hatred into these songs. Both at once if I wanted! Don't make me get serious! Stand down!"

The third verse started and I approached my emotional baggage from yet another angle, adding another layer and strengthening what I had already started with. "I know enough about harmonic magic to know you have to feel every emotion together at the same time to wield them. They have to be connected. Sorrow and loss, anger and hatred. Love and romance. They have to connect. I may not show them, but I can duel wield them too!" I screamed at her mentally as I felt the pain from the harmonic noise intensify.

"You're only going to get weaker, fish monkey! The pain will only grow and make it more unbearable for you! You were doomed from the start! I have overcome such a hurdle with such an easy method! I love myself and what is mine, and hate everything else! I have mastered the two grand emotions and wield them at the same time!"

This time I stayed silent and simply let my resolve speak for itself. My knees buckled but my song stayed strong as I sang into the fourth section. She could see the resolve in my face as she wielded the two opposite emotions together against me, yet I stood strong. As I spoke the line "and every breath we drew..." with near automation, I said to her mentally, "You use those two together? So can I, but you have the ratio all wrong. Backwards even."

As I entered the final section of the song, she called out, her desperation starting to show in the fact even she was starting to feel a little noise from her sirenite piece, pushing the limits of what a siren can nullify before they start feeling it too. "How? I can see you loving everything, sure, but hate!? What is letting you tap into both and face me evenly!? What is it you hate while loving everything!?"

As if it were falling into place perfectly as I called "it's a cold and it's a broken..." I answered her, throwing all my remaining energy into the song, allowing the pain to amplify it rather than dull it. "Myself!!"

Suddenly I could see her syrenite crystal shatter, and felt my own crystal shatter along with it. Tears flowed down my face. Exhaustion, emotional release, or just the sheer pain I felt... I wasn't sure the source of the tears, perhaps all three. All I knew was the world was getting dark as I felt several ponies struggling to catch my large form while I fell back.

The last thing I heard was Time Turner boasting. "You read the prophesy wrong, Queenie Coral! It wasn't one known by bittersweet hope. It was one known for bittersweet..."

---

I found myself standing with that familiar sense of being in a dream, but strangely, I wasn't on my familiar dream island of reflection in that sea of stars. Instead, I found myself in a largely white landscape. It was almost like clouds, but solid.

"Am I dying?" I called out to nobody in particular. I half expected an answer but nobody replied. Nobody was around.

After getting no response, I wondered if it was the afterlife. I felt like I heard a thump from all around me at once. Looking around, I saw something golden in the distance. I went to it and found it to be a golden fence with the famous pearly gates. I saw two figures just on the far side of those gates that I recognized.

"Speaks with Talons? Fluttershy?" I saw as clear as any example could be given, my late battle brother standing with a rare smile on his beak, battle scars and all, pounding his chest with his talon in a respectful greeting to me. Next to him was a version of Fluttershy back when she was still a pegasus, also giving me a smile, though a sweet maternal one rather than one from a brother in arms. But something was off.

Speaks with Talons was solid, but Fluttershy was flickering between being solid too, to being see through, to not being there at all, then back to being solid. Not a slow fade between them, but a full moment of solid, a full moment of a single level of translucent, and then a full moment of not being there at all.

"This... This is an illusion made from my own mind."

I looked at the image of Fluttershy, responding with simple body language, showing she was still being supportive despite acknowledging I recognized she wasn't real. I truly could only ever see her as kind. "If this was the afterlife, you'd be only in one state of being after what I did, not all three. You'd either be here, or not. And if you were here, you'd either be whole or not. The only reason you're flickering between them is because in my mind all three possibilities are believed to be equally valid and possible. If I were in the afterlife, I'd have the answer if I saw the real you. So this isn't the afterlife."

Again, I heard a thump from everywhere at once, but it was so brief I still ignored it. I stood back up and gave their images a respectful bow none the less. "Or at least it's not entirely the afterlife, yet. This feels like a dream but not a normal dream."

I looked over to the side of the pearly gates and found an old man standing at a podium. "Is this a death dream, Saint Peter? A dream held at the end of one's life, to help me reflect on my life or accept death before passing on?"

I could see the immaculate book sitting on his podium, currently closed. He simply gestured as if to ask if I wanted him to open it. To see if my name was inside.

I shook my head. "I know in all likelihood you are but an image of my mind, but that sliver of a doubt that this could be real still lingers, so I will speak with respect just in case. I have..."

I felt a hand on my shoulder, causing me to stop speaking. It was a middle aged hand, but neither the age nor the fact that a hand was on my shoulder made me stop. No, the fact that I could see a wound on the wrist as if something had been driven through it made me stop because I couldn't help but choke up when recognizing it.

I dared not turn around to see his face. Out of respect or fear, possibly both, but I dared not turn around as I fought for breath to speak.

"I... I tried to be good. I know one doesn't earn... passage through here... It's given or it's... not. I can't undo the mistake I did." I looked at the image of Fluttershy again, then put my eyes to the ground. "I've tried to pay penance... To strengthen the part of me that was too weak that day... To never make that mistake again. To never defile... what is rightfully yours and your father's again. I am not well learned in the ways you set up... The lessons you tried to teach. But I'm trying to be as you would want me to be... I know not if it's enough, or if like Moses striking the stone, a punishment must come even to one that is sorry, but... I am trying."

Again, I heard a thump from all around me at once, much louder than before. If it were not for the hand on my shoulder, I would have looked around for the source. But this was too important. I lifted my hand and reached to touch the hand on my shoulder, but fell short, ultimately curling my fingers in at the last moment. "But at the same time, I can't just give up. I said I'm trying, not I tried. If it's my time, then I apologize profusely for still resisting, but I have to keep going for as long as the Almighty lets me. I don't know if I do or not, but if I have a say in this, I have to go back. I have to keep going. I don't deserve the luxury of being able to opt out now if there's even a chance I can go back. On the off chance it's not the end right now and he deems there's more I have to do, then I have to see my penance through to the end. Not so much to pay my debt, but because it's what is right."

I heard that thump even louder still, almost too loud to not focus on, but my focus stayed on that hand, resolute to see this conversation to whatever end it may be. The hand seemed to squeeze my shoulder, as if in approval of my choice, if nothing else, then let go and pulled out of sight again.

The moment the hand was out of sight, I heard a crash from behind instead of a thump. I then felt hooves hug me from behind, wrapping around me as tightly as he could. I then heard Dawn Seeker, my assigned dream walker, scream as I felt his form tug at me like he was being tugged up by a cord. "It's now or never, Moss! Wake up!"

---

I felt the jolt of electricity shoot through my chest as a unicorn restarted my heart with a carefully placed bolt of energy.

I gasped for breath, not even aware of my surroundings as my eyes just stared blankly ahead. Adrenaline alone keeping me awake as the oxygen cycled through my system more fully. Slowly, I got my bearings as I laid in the grass, gasping.

I could see Doctor pulse, the only pony doctor that could have known where to shock my anatomy to get the desired effect, as well as his unicorn assistant.

"Thank my lucky stars you both attended Hope's party." Was all I could say as I felt like shit all over. Not just lethargy or bruising either. My entire nervous system felt shocked as if that joy buzzer from the syrenite was still going off, albeit duller.

"Ow... Why do I still feel the shock from the... song..." I said as the Speaker and the Servants took over looking over my health with their healing circle.

"We haven't any diamond dust to remove your exhaustion. Wound healing magic alone will not fix you. Do not strain yourself, Beast-kin."

I could see Time Turner trying his best to get my original gemstone back into my amulet. With some trial and error, he finally got it back in, got the unicorn assistant of Doctor Pulse to charge it then passed it to me so I could translate. I was in no condition to speak Equestrian in the raw.

When I repeated my question, they just looked at me with pity. "If you had as much harmonic noise exposure as Time Turner said you had..." Doctor pulse shook his head. "It's only natural you're still feeling the after effects. The pain should dull down and eventually fade in time, but I have no doubt there's going to be some... lingering effects even after the servants get the diamond dust to treat you, which I've ordered delivered to us here via emergency pegasus just as soon as the barrier went down. Your magic is a bit different, but the core principle should still apply with decent accuracy. Even when you heal up from all this... you're probably not going to want to cast many spells. Your body's nerves will always be at least somewhat fried and I can guarantee it's going to hurt like Tartarus every time you do. Even your small spells, the ones you call cantrips, will surely hurt pretty bad. I doubt it will ever fully heal after the stunt you did to save us."

I clutched and un-clutched my hand as Hope and her mom also came up to check on me too. "I'm sorry for wanting to hear that song, Uncle Moss. I didn't know it hurt you so much. That bad cloud thing from inside you was very scary, but you made it fight the bad lady. I'm so sorry you got hurt protecting me."

The tiny satyr doe put her head on my knee and hugged me, what tears she had left after getting her mom back now shedding onto my pant leg.

"It's alright, Hope." I said, realizing she didn't quite get the whole situation, being so young. Looking over at guards processing Queen Coral and her grandsons, all of their more basic crystals also shattered, I took a breath and sighed. "It did hurt me, but I think some good came from it too." I too shed a tear as I looked at my dominant hand. "I managed a permanent leash for that bad thing. I'm not all better, but I took one pretty big first step in that direction today." I could see her tilt her head at this point, my translation amulet shutting off. With my words now mostly to myself, I continued.

"I finally got a little penance, a little bit of a slap on the wrist." I flexed my dominant hand again, knowing it would never let me cast a spell willy-nilly again due to the threat of pain. Finally a tangible consequence to remind me there are consequences. Not that I would have done it just to do it. But since fate sent it my way, I decided to take the double edged blessing as a healthy dose of tangible humility rather than just a debilitation. "I think I can start mending properly now, the pain a welcome reminder."

I turned to Time Turner again. "I guess this will probably hamper my ability to contribute to future adventures. Tell me, is there anything I can prepare for without ruining any spoilers, Time Turner... Doctor?"

He shook his head. "Actually no. I love visiting museums and reading history books to see how much they get wrong. You were barely mentioned in Queen Coral's defeat, the guards of Ponyville taking the bulk of the credit. Not to say they don't deserve their time in the limelight too, just not for this per say." He looked at the guards taking their prisoners away and a press pony politely asking questions to the head guard. "After that, you just kinda fall off the history books. I was actually kind of afraid I'd end up sending you to your grave in a draw against her because of this when I realized what your music box crystal actually was. But thankfully, not today. Not that you won't have any more adventures, as even everyday things can be adventures if you want them to be, but no more 'big' ones worthy of history books, at least that you play center stage in. Enjoy your retirement as an adventurer, Moss."

I thought about it and smiled a little. Turning to Pinkie Pie, I asked her, "Is there any cake left while I wait for the medical pegasus to return? Maybe a little help with blood sugar after exerting myself and my spirits?" with a sincere smile. She fittingly already had one ready for me just behind her head, as if somehow knowing I wanted it at that exact moment despite me always being a bit of a grump about the cake before.

Author's Note:

The version of Hallelujah that I felt would best fit Moss's chosen song and the feelings he put into them.

Comments

[Golden_Reflection]

Hallelujah fits really well as Moss' "ultimate song" given how religious he is and that that word got him into a heap of trouble when he first used it in this series.

I hope that Moss has a nice retirement.

[Golden_Reflection]

And now that we've done the nice feels comment:

She ironically already had one ready for me just behind her head, as if somehow knowing I wanted it at that exact moment despite me always being a bit of a grump about the cake before.

Fittingly. The word you are looking for is "fittingly".

Pinkie offering Moss a cake here is not ironic, it is something that she would definitely do whether he asks or not.

[Golden_Reflection]

Also, the Queen said "hurtle" instead of "hurdle" at one point, but I'll take that as her being arrogent to the point of actually saying it wrong.

[reflective vagrant]

11894729
corrected.

11894727
addressed

[reflective vagrant]

11894725

I hope you have enjoyed his journey.

[Golden_Reflection]

11894884
I have enjoyed Moss' journey. Very much.