An emotional numbness passed through Lyra's body, momentarily deadening the pain from her crushed leg.
She looked down helplessly at Berry, who had a sad, defeated expression on her face. She appeared to be resigned to her fate.
There was no sound save for the rustling of the wind and the gently crumbling of earth from the overhang Lyra was lying on. There was no other fully sentient life around, no-one who could help them.
Lyra tried to speak but couldn't find the words. She was too much in shock.
"Now, listen to me," said Berry, her eyes closed and her voice quiet. "You have to make me a promise. I need you to look after Pinchy for me."
Her words shook the unicorn to the core. Made her realise this was actually happening, that her friend didn't have long to live. Her breath started coming in short gasps as she tried to stop herself from breaking down.
"I know it'll be difficult, but you won't be alone. My friend Colgate often babysat for me and Pinchy likes her. She might even be willing to adopt her, but I think it'd be better if you did that," Berry said, now looking her in the eye. "You need somepony in your life, Lyra, to stop you from becoming disconnected from everypony. You need…"
She stopped talking suddenly as the earth in the cliffside shifted loudly, fragments of rock dropping away into the chasm below. They didn't have much time.
"You need somepony to care about and somepony to care about you. Having a daughter has been difficult at times and it's a great responsibility, but…" She began to tear up. "But I wouldn't change her for the world. I have no regrets. You have a big heart, Lyra. I know that you'll take care of her."
"Stop this," she replied, "Just stop it. We have enough time to work this out. Pinchy needs you."
Berry closed her eyes again. "She may hate you, at first. She'll need somepony to blame. But once Nightmare Moon has been defeated, she'll realise who was truly responsible. And she'll do anything for her mummy. You tell her this was my last order to her, for you to look after her."
Lyra gritted her teeth and, with a sudden surge of energy, tried to lift Berry again with her magic. The earth pony was encased by an aura of telekinesis. As before, the unicorn could only shift her by about an inch.
"Lyra, please don't. It's no use," she said, her voice trembling, "Don't make this any harder than it needs to be."
"Will you shut up?" the unicorn cried, her eyes streaming. "Shut up, you with your defeatist attitude. I am not going to let you drop. I can save you. I just need to find a way."
The pair fell silent as she exerted her full magical force, trying in vain to push herself to do the impossible. Her body shook as her horn glowed brightly, working to keep her secured against the ground as she attempted to save her friend.
Berry kept her eyes closed. She found it easier to cope with her situation if she could at least block out the sight of it.
She became aware of a wetness on her leg, the one she was holding onto Lyra with. Rivulets of blood were flowing from the wounds on the unicorn's leg, dripping from the metal glove that had imbedded itself in her flesh.
The sight of it served to strengthen Berry's resolve. Lyra needed medical attention and ponykind needed the Elements of Harmony so they could defeat the darkness that had consumed Princess Celestia.
Nightmare Moon could return at any moment, to ensure the trap set at the castle had killed them both. There was also the fact that they didn't know what had happened to Shining Armour, to cause him to shut off the invisibility spell.
Lyra had to get going now, get to safety and help the others. Her journey was going to be difficult with only three fully functional legs, so the sooner she got going, the better.
The unicorn released her magical grip on Berry again, exhausted. It was hopeless, though she still couldn't come to terms with the fact. Her damaged leg was now numb, with nothing but a prickling sensation emanating from it. She knew that was not a good sign.
"I want you to promise me," said Berry, "Tell me you'll look after my daughter. I need to hear it."
"No. I won't," she said, "Because that means you'll be able to let go. I won't let you do that."
"Lyra… there's so much more I wanted to say to you. So much more I wanted to share with you," said Berry, building up the courage to finally do it. "We would have been good together, I know it. You and I…"
She stopped, becoming choked up. "I just hope that someday you see yourself the way I see you."
Lyra sensed then that Berry was about to let go and felt a sudden rush, a compulsion to do something, anything to stop her.
"Berry, wait!" she shouted, "I've had an idea! I know what we need to do!"
The earth pony hesitated, a spark of hope igniting in her. She stared up at Lyra, who was looking around frantically for something that could help her, some miracle.
Berry's hope instantly died. There was another rustling of earth as the cliff crumbled further.
"You don't have anything, do you?" she asked.
Lyra scanned her surroundings. All she could see was the forest, which stretched out far into the distance. Dead ahead of her was the remains of Nightmare Moon's castle, the one building that hadn't been destroyed by the explosive magical charges.
The ruined building was empty, all except for six small treasures. The very thing they had come here for.
"The Elements of Harmony," Lyra murmured, a desperate idea forming in her head.
"What?" asked Berry, confused.
"Yes. Yes! I've got it!" she cried, "The Elements can channel a huge amount of magical energy – they were created by the most powerful unicorns of Celestia's day. I might be able to make use of that."
She thought quickly, wondering what the best way to go about this was. The Elements needed six ponies to focus their full might but they were equally powerful on their own. It was just that they only tended to be used as a full set, rather than individually.
"Whatever you've got planned, you'd better make it quick," said Berry, suddenly energised by the idea that she could be saved after all. "This cliff isn't stable. If you're going to do something, do it now."
"Okay, hold on," she said, "All of the Elements enhance a pony's innate power but it's probably not safe to try to use them all at the same time. If I'm going to pick one, the choice is obvious – the Element of Magic. Twilight's able to use it to channel the power of all the rest, so it must be the strongest."
She focused hard, extending the reach of her already-active telekinesis to stretch across the chasm and grab her chosen Element. She concentrated as she levitated it towards her, then placed it at her side.
She could feel the power emanating from it, even though she wasn't wearing it yet. It was a mighty artefact containing energy that had existed for several centuries.
With a strange sense of trepidation, she lifted it up again and firmly put it into place atop her head.
She was unprepared for the effects.
As soon as it made contact with her skin, her mind became consumed by a whirling maelstrom of memories, magic and power. It was almost too much to handle – she felt her sense of self almost being torn away, as though she was a speck of dust in a hurricane.
Her physical senses were deadened even as her mental state was taken to a higher plane. She stared dead ahead with blank eyes – the only sign that she was still conscious was her horn, glowing as her telekinesis continued working to prevent her from falling off the cliff with Berry.
The earth pony noticed the change come over her and felt a sudden spike of concern – Lyra looked like she'd become possessed.
"Lyra? Lyra! Can you hear me?" she cried, "Are you alright? What's going on?"
"It's incredible. It's like nothing I could have imagined. Is this what Twilight feels whenever she puts this thing on?" the unicorn said. She grimaced as the inherent power of the Element tore at her mind, almost as if it was assaulting her. "It feels… wrong."
"Lyra, if you're going to use that thing then do it now! It's having some weird kind of effect on you!"
She was about to respond but was stopped by a stab of pain in her skull. It rippled outwards, quickly building to a migraine – the magic-imbued tiara on her head was physically hurting her.
But she could feel the monstrous power within it and the boost it was giving her own abilities. If she could bear it a little longer then she believed she would be able to save Berry.
"Brace yourself," she said, breathing heavily, "I'm going to try again."
She focused, ignoring the rushing of blood in her ears, and her horn glowed as she reached out with her telekinesis once more.
The aura encompassed Berry's body and the earth pony watched with concern as Lyra pushed herself harder than before, her teeth grinding together with the effort.
Berry felt herself starting to levitate – the spell took her weight more easily this time as she began to rise up. She gasped as the cliff edge came within grasping distance, hope surging in her.
It took her a few moments to realise she wasn't rising any higher. The extra power Lyra had gained from the Element had only enabled her to lift Berry up by another couple of inches. The unicorn was visibly suffering now, sweat dripping down her face as she struggled to maintain her spell.
Berry reached for the cliff edge with her free hand, the metal fingers curling over the top and gaining a tentative hold.
At that point, Lyra could no longer keep her spell going. The aura around Berry's body faded again as she released her, gasping from her exertions. The Element was causing her such pain that it felt as though there was a vice slowly tightening around her head, the aftershocks of each further twist pulsing through her entire body, to the tips of her hooves.
A multitude of images flew unbidden through her mind, memories that she had never experienced in times she hadn't been alive in. She knew they were somehow coming from the Element itself – the memories belonged to somepony else.
Berry grimaced with effort as she desperately tried to keep her hold on the cliff edge, but she could feel the metal fingers losing their grip. With nothing else to lose, she attempted to pull herself up to safety.
She let out a short, sharp cry of despair as her hand slipped away, causing her to fall. Lyra cried out as the earth pony's full weight was dropped back on her leg. Berry winced, her guilt tormenting her as her body swung like a pendulum from the momentum of her fall.
"Lyra, you have to stop this! The Element isn't working and it's, it's hurting you!" she cried, "Face it, there's nothing you can do!"
"I am… NOT… letting you fall." Lyra spoke slowly through clenched teeth, tears glistening in her determined eyes.
"Lyra!" Berry's voice was choked, her emotions making it hard for her to speak. "Damn it, there's no point in us both dying here. I'm begging you, take that thing off. Give me a chance to properly say goodbye. I don't want this to be the last thing I see."
The unicorn couldn't respond. The images were racing even faster through her mind now, almost taking over her perception of reality. She witnessed historical events, nations being born, spells being conceived, all from the viewpoint of another pony. A pony that the Element seemed to have given her a mental link to.
Even through her agony, she realised who it was. From what she was seeing, it could be no other pony. A magic user whose power far exceeded hers. An alicorn. Celestia.
She knew the princess had been the original bearer of the Elements but she had believed that tie had long been severed. Twilight and her friends bore that responsibility now. So why was the Element connecting her directly to Celestia?
She was in too much pain to even attempt to figure it out. The only thought in her mind was to save Berry, and her current link to the princess' mind gave her access to a spell that could achieve that.
"Lyra, I'm letting go," said the earth pony, her voice trembling. "I can't watch you do this any more. You make sure…"
"No!" shouted Lyra, "No. The Element's giving me something… telekinesis isn't working, so I'm going to try something else. I'm, I'm going to try to cast a teleportation spell."
"What? You know how to do that? Then why didn't you…"
"I don't. I just have a sense of how it works," she said, "I'm hoping that if I just push hard enough, the Element will do the rest."
Berry looked away, a sense of hopelessness overtaking her. Lyra was clutching at straws now, she thought. If she allowed this to continue, the unicorn would keep pushing and pushing until she had nothing left to give.
Lyra closed her eyes, her body shaking, and focused her imagination, picturing Berry being sent to a spot far behind her, away from the cliff edge. She reached deep into the seething torrent of power within the Element, felt a rush of energy, and cast her spell using all her magical might.
She felt the weight on her leg disappear, the metal fingers pulling out of her flesh.
She opened her eyes.
Below her there was nothing but open air, the depths of the chasm too hard to see even in the sunlight.
There was a dreadful, sunken feeling in the pit of her stomach and her heart was pulsing. Had the spell worked, or had Berry… had she…
"Berry?" Her voice was less than a whisper, audible only to her.
Her sense of shock faded enough for her to realise she needed to get herself to safety. She pulled back her one good front leg and used it to steady herself, then pushed herself away from the cliff edge with a sudden rush of fear, vertigo momentarily taking hold. The Element's dreadful power still tore at her mind, the agony making it hard for her to do anything other than act instinctively.
She lay on the ground, breathing heavily, then with one last flash of her horn removed the tiara, casting it to the ground.
The abrupt end to its draining effects somehow felt even more painful than when it had been on. When she had been wearing it, it had deadened her physical senses so it could attack her mind.
Now it was off, she could feel everything. The burning sensation of the open wounds in her leg tore through her, her veins felt like tendrils of ice running through a body on fire.
She staggered onto her hooves, keeping her destroyed leg raised off the ground.
"Berry?" she called out. There was still hope in her but it was a dreadful kind of hope – deep down she believed the worst but without proof, she didn't have to accept it.
She tried to walk – her three legs responded at first, taking her safely away from the perilous drop, but she was too physically broken to go more than a few steps.
Her hooves gave way underneath her and she began to stumble to the left. Unable to keep her balance, she fell heavily on her side. She tried to stand back up but found she was unable to move.
The periphery of her vision began to darken but she fought against it, determined to stay conscious.
"Berry!" She screamed, a broken shriek that pierced the otherwise quiet surroundings of the Everfree Forest.
Suddenly she became aware of something wrapping itself around her, holding her, nuzzling against her neck.
"I'm here."
Berry Punch held her tight, not daring to let go. Against all odds, the power of the Element had won through. The earth pony had been on the verge of letting go when she suddenly vanished and reappeared several feet away from the cliff, near the edge of the woodland.
"You saved me," she said, "You brilliant, wonderful creature, you saved me. I'd given up hope. I was certain that was the end for me, that I was gone."
Her body was trembling, unable to recover from the terror that had gripped it minutes ago. The metal hands lay a few yards behind her – she had removed them as she approached Lyra, not daring to run the risk of hurting her again.
"I'm going to take care of you. I'll get you help – you've really banged yourself up," she said, still holding the unicorn tight. "You're like nopony else. No other pony would have pushed themselves as hard as you did to save…"
"Shh," Lyra said softly, nuzzling her head against hers.
Berry lifted her head, sensing something in the unicorn's voice. Her gaze met Lyra's and she saw it in her eyes – not just friendship, or affection, but something else. Something deeper.
She returned the unicorn's gentle smile, her heart filling with warmth.
But her happiness turned to horror as Lyra's breath suddenly caught in her throat and her eyelids flickered as her eyes rolled back into her skull.
She had pushed herself too hard, for too long, operating beyond her limits for an extended period of time. Her body had been unable to take it and her mind had been shutting down for the past few minutes.
She had fought against unconsciousness in the hope that she would see Berry one more time but now she was unable to keep it at bay any longer. She succumbed, her world falling into darkness.
"Lyra?" Berry murmured, her concern rapidly evolving into heart-chilling fear. "Lyra? Lyra!"
But the unicorn spy could no longer hear her.