Enveloped by an aura of pure heat that singed the very ground beneath its hooves, Anger pounced toward Fluttershy, fire in its eyes.
Twin tendrils of flame coiled like deadly serpents around the ashen Nightmare, lashing out at Fluttershy as she attempted to escape the rising heat. With one whip after another, Anger advanced toward the helpless yellow mare.
Desperate, Fluttershy called upon something, anything she could think of to defend herself from the monstrous beast. And then, as she began to accept the possibility of death…she remembered the emerald flower.
That soft, sweet flower…such pure natural beauty, with its gentle and soothing scent of memories. For a fleeting instant, a soft warmth around the base of her neck filled Fluttershy to the brim, driving out all of her doubts and fears. Holding onto its image and aroma in her mind, Fluttershy snapped open her eyes and immediately jolted in shock.
She now had an aura to match Anger’s own, a sphere of green energy that repelled the crimson flames licking up out of the cracked ground. Every bolt of fire Anger let loose upon her was repelled, extinguished, and sent crashing to the ground. Striking with its ropes of fire, Anger tried to break through the sphere of magic…but upon entering the field of green energy, the twin infernos vanished into mist. A pulse of emerald light flowed out of Fluttershy, extinguishing the fiery aura of power that surrounded her furious opponent.
With a sudden surge of confidence, Fluttershy trotted toward Anger, the magic within her sprouting up new life from the dead ground. Pure white grass began to rise, healing the scars of the barren earth beneath her hooves.
Anger gnashed her teeth together, sending sparks flying, but would not retreat. Soon Fluttershy and her twisted reflection were face-to-face, the tense air between them an inverted mirror.
The blazing fire around Anger faded nearly to nothingness, extinguished by the pure green light emanating from within Fluttershy.
“What are you going to do, kill me?” snipped the lifeless inferno of gray, its voice weak and hollow in defeat…yet still carryied all of the rage of a roaring fire.
Kill her. She deserves it after everything she’s done to you, whispered a voice to Fluttershy’s mind. Taken aback, Fluttershy lifted her hoof above her head, poised to strike…but one thing stopped her.
When the whispering temptation had entered her thoughts, Anger’s mouth had moved.
Fluttershy pulled back, hesitating. She knew what she had to do, she knew that this pony didn’t actually exist and was only the embodiment of all evil within her…yet she couldn’t do it. Something within her could not allow any being to die at her hooves.
Closing her eyes, she let this feeling of unconscious sympathy overtake her, flowing from her heart out to the end of her hooves. The magical aura surrounding her rushed forward in a flurry of wind, wrapping around the dying embers of fire surrounding Anger and enveloping them in a sweet embrace.
Fluttershy opened her eyes and immediately looked down at the pony in front of her, concerned in spite of herself for its safety.
Anger…had fallen asleep.
Its body burned away, revealing a crimson weed which fluttered down and rested on the barren ground as white grass grew up around it in a shimmering circle of light…a protective aura that would guard this part of her Self until it must once again be released.
Fluttershy sat for an eternity in the garden of ash, watching over her Nightmare as it rested peacefully beneath her. She should feel guilty. She should consider herself completely in the wrong for allowing this part of her Self to survive.
Yet the satisfaction that overtook her, a sensation of contentment that she had saved this pony's life, told her otherwise.
Suddenly the wind picked up, shifting from a light breeze to a whirling gale. Confused and scared, Fluttershy gazed up to see the pure white sunlight breaking through the ashy cloud which surrounded her. The pure rays encircled her, a beautiful shield of light that descended over her body. She felt them literally pour magic into her very soul, sending shivers of magical energy down her spine.
All of a sudden she snapped her eyes open. Radiating pure white they saw all, in one instance and forever.
Every blade of grass that grew out of the storm-ridden earth outside of the realm of the mind shimmered and waved in unison, strong against the storm. Each tree which had grown up beside the cobbled streets of Canterlot stood at attention. All things became one with the Master of the Element of Kindness, as she took into her Self its magical energy.
And yet she was not consumed by it. If not for the dormant weed guarded against her heart, if not for the survival of Anger as a result of her kindness…she could not have survived the transformation. Her mortal body would have been destroyed by the sheer power of her Element.
Her innate sympathy, the kindness she could not help but act upon, had saved her from a fate beyond the strength of mortals.
Snakes fell to the ground like hissing droplets of rain from the deathly tree within the core of Applejack’s mind. Thunder boomed overhead as Deceit, grinning wolfishly, picked up one snake in her mouth and twirled it over her head like a whip.
Applejack began to panic as the unending horde of snakes fell upon her, writhing under her hooves. Every time she would smack one away with a powerful kick, two more would immediately take its place.
SHK
An inferno of pain erupted in Applejack’s hind leg, throbbing and aching and overloading her senses. One of the snakes had finally bitten her, and by the look of it, the rest were soon to join in.
Her strength spilling out onto the ground, Applejack desperately hauled herself up to one of the trees bordering the deadly garden. She hardly even noticed as she bumped her head into an upper limb of the tree, knocking loose one of its many rotten apples which fell past her face towards the ground.
Instinctively she caught the apple in her mouth.
The taste stained and burned her tongue, a foul tang that she would never forget. Jerking up her hooves to wipe it off of her tongue, she lost her grip and fell down towards the writhing mass of snakes beneath her.
Deceit smiled again and approached the falling mare, baring the concealed fangs that had been stowed away beneath her false teeth, ready for the killing bite.
Time slowed down as Applejack flailed in the air, staring into the eyes of a thousand waiting predators and their master, eager to feed upon her soul. She grabbed on to the lowest branch of the tree and hung desperately, squeezing her eyes shut, unable to escape the demonic chorus of hissing snakes below.
But even in this final refuge she was not safe. The sweat on her hooves, an uncontrollable consequence of pure fear, betrayed her as inch by inch she slid toward the mass of serpents, all of them staring up at her with watchful glowing eyes.
One image would not leave her vision as she fell ever slower towards her imminent death. Another pair of eyes, lavender in color…so wide. So afraid, so suspicious.
“Applejack, what do I do?!” Helpless hung the young mare, desperately flailing her hind hooves in an attempt to escape the crumbling precipice. Applejack slid down the face of the cliff and glanced up above her new friend, where Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were ready and waiting to catch her should she choose to fall, a leap of faith.
“Let go.”
Applejack let go of the dead branch.
As she slammed into the ground…she felt no squirming bodies beneath her, no sharp stinging pain of venom coursing into her veins; she heard not even a single hiss.
She opened her eyes.
Her body was glowing bright orange, brighter than any fire she had ever seen. Pure energy coursed where the fiery poison had before, restoring her lost strength. The brilliant glow surrounding her had repelled all of the deadly snakes, creating a five-foot radius of clear ground.
The snakes, now having experienced the pain of her unleashed potential firsthand, scattered and disappeared into their trees and holes in the ground. Those who did not were vaporized as Applejack called upon her inner strength, intensifying the fiery aura around her.
Deceit, the only snake left in this garden of shadows, gulped as Applejack approached, the thundering of the orange mare's hooves spelling her immediate demise. Deceit swung the snake that she had been twirling just moments ago, sending it spinning towards Applejack.
It burst into flame before it even reached her, vanishing in a cloud of ash.
Applejack jumped towards Deceit and slammed the gray mare’s body against the center tree, intending only to intimidate her. However, Applejack had underestimated her own strength.
The shove was enough to completely shatter the thick tree in the center of Applejack’s mind; limbs and branches came crashing down as the once-powerful trunk was demolished in a single blow. Deceit, the projectile which had carried out the strike, blacked out immediately upon hitting the tree. Her body crumpled to the ground like a sack of flour.
Applejack looked down at the barely breathing body of Deceit. As bits and pieces of its body began to fall away, she realized that Deceit's body had been a deception all along.
In the space Deceit used to occupy, all that was left was a single rotten apple core.
All of a sudden Applejack was lifted into the air by an unexplainable force; she struggled and squirmed as a heavenly light enveloped her body. And then...she felt it.
From the base of her neck to the end of her tail, a curious tingling sensation overtook her senses. Magical energy flowed into her body and soul, filling her to the brim. She looked down at her hoof. It had expanded ever so slightly from its normal size, inflated and strengthened by raw energy. Swinging it experimentally, she found that her strength had grown tenfold.
Yet somewhere deep inside her Applejack knew she needed a way back, a way to return to her previous, earthly weakness, lest her power consume her.
Leaning down her neck, she picked up the rotten apple core off of the ground with her mouth….and planted it right where the Tree of Deceit had once sprung up, in the center of the garden.
As soon as Applejack stood back up, her vision was consumed by the white light and she awoke beside her friends, ready to face the deceptions of others now that she had conquered her own.
Pinkie Pie’s hoof immediately rebounded off of Paranoia’s face, bouncing back as if it had connected with solid rubber.
With a furious look on her face Paranoia rose, standing up on her hind legs and slamming her front hooves on the table with a deafening BANG. Pinkie backed away from the straight-haired beast, never breaking eye contact.
Glancing shrewdly at her twisted reflection, Pinkie suddenly realized that it was being completely serious. It legitimately believed what it was saying.
Pinkie Pie fell over on the table and burst out laughing. Immediately, the blackness that had corrupted the white tablecloth retreated from her, fleeing from her presence like blood on a battlefield washed away by a cleansing rain.
“Waitwaitwait, you think that I always run away from my problems?” Pinkie had never heard anything more hilarious in her life. “Paranoia, do you even know me? When everypony else was scared stiff by Nightmare Moon’s silly tree-monsters, I was still partying it up, just happy to be with all of my friends on a totally awesome adventure. When the Parasprites attacked Ponyville, guess who was the one to not run around in circles like a somepony who’s totally loco in the cocoa? That’d be yours truly.”
“Yeah, how could I forget them? They’re some of my best friends!”
Furious, Paranoia jumped up and shoved Pinkie Pie off of the table, holding her down against the ground by the throat. Madness glinted in its eyes as it pressed forward, fully intending to choke the life out of its master.
Pinkie smiled and spoke in a completely normal voice despite the pressure on her neck: “You do realize we’re in a dream, don’t you, ya silly filly? You can’t exactly hurt me here.”
Her words echoed through the empty room: You can’t hurt me here.
Paranoia pushed down on the pink mare’s throat one last time, trying desperately to gain any kind of hold over Pinkie. However she failed miserable and collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion. Pinkie giggled; the sight of Fear itself rolling around on the ground was more than a little bit comical.
At the sound of her laughter the entire room shuddered. Pinkie laughed again, watching all of the dark and creepy scenery jiggling and wobbling while Paranoia frantically tried to regain her balance, slipping and sliding on the shaky wooden floor.
Pinkie trotted over to the embodiment of Paranoia within her, walking in a straight balanced line despite the room tossing like a ship at sea. Paranoia glanced up at Pinkie, holding her hoof against her face to keep from puking out of seasickness.
“Here, let me help you up,” offered Pinkie.
Glancing suspiciously at the hoof being offered of her, the gray-coated beast placed her hoof in its master’s.
Pinkie Pie blinked. The dark shaky room was gone, replaced by the comforting, cheerful inside of Sugarcube Corner that she knew and loved. She looked down at her hoof, finding that she now held a tiny object where Paranoia had placed her hoof in the smallest extension of trust.
The object was a small burnt cupcake, charred by smoke, with one bite taken out of its surface. She gazed into its core, finding a tiny piece of coal in the center of the treat. An ember that still glowed with the dim light of a once-bright fire which had faded away. She placed the cupcake carefully back onto the tablecloth, spilling particles of ash onto the pure white.
Glancing around…she noticed a familiar baby alligator waddling towards her from under the shelf on the side of the room.
Pinkie pounced on him and hugged him tightly, laughing and giggling with glee. One tear spilled out of her right eye before she could stop it.
Suddenly a ray of brilliant white descended from beyond the roof of the purified Sugarcube Corner, swathing Pinkie in sunlight. She glanced up and gazed into the light as it filled her and consumed her, coaxing her back into the real world.
Yet it was not the same; everything was just as before, but Pinkie could see so much more of it. She saw the space between spaces which she could now control and manipulate; she saw the holes in the fabric of the universe which she could now finally fit through. Everything beyond the realm of known possibilities was revealed before her vision, dimensions and alternate multiverses linking the world of reality with that of the mind, realms which she had been blinded to for all of her life.
Stepping forward into the light, Pinkie entered back into the universe, now wielding all of its deepest secrets and abilities within her mind and soul.
A crash of thunder resounded through the sky, rippling the tranquil sea of clouds like a reflection in a pond as Rainbow Dash slammed full force into the Nightmare within her mind.
Vibrations shuddered through Rainbow’s skull as it met Pride’s, who immediately was sent flying into one of the storm clouds that encircled the pair and formed an arena of shadows. The arena was penetrated only by brief flashes of blue light as the clouds fizzled with energy.
Pride shook herself off and flew back to Rainbow’s height, slightly annoyed by the blow. It yelled, “Just who do you think you are, anyway?!” Closing its eyes and staying still for a moment, the swirling clouds that surrounded the pair began to spin faster and faster, making Rainbow dizzy. Pride took a deep breath and then its eyes snapped open…glowing black.
Without warning all of the clouds converged towards Rainbow at once, pulsing with cyan light. She took off into the sky, calling upon her speed and her Element as the thunderclouds condensed into narrow projectiles, radiating heat as their blue lightning became superheated coronas of fire.
Rainbow focused, pushing her wings to their limits as she flew faster and faster, feeling the resistance of the nonexistent air within her mind slip past her. Each particle was an obstacle to be avoided, each molecule was a barrier. Squeezing her eyes shut, she felt the warmth beginning to flow from around her neck as her Element wavered in and out of existence beside her heart. Its power filled her, consumed her; she allowed it to enter into her mind and take over her vision. As she felt the magic of the Element of Loyalty become one with her thoughts…a single memory entered her mind.
“Gaze upon me, Equestria…for I! Am! RARITY!” screamed an arrogant yet familiar voice from one hundred feet above her. Rainbow shut it out, trying to force her mind into the state of pure focus necessary to pull of her special talent, a feat only accomplished once in the history of Equestria: the Sonic Rainboom, her most powerful ability, a trick that was sure to impress the Wonderbolts. If she could pull it off, that is…
Just as Rainbow was about to achieve absolute concentration, just as she shut out the voices of the crowd, the cheering of her friends, the jeering of her foes, another sound entered her ears: the cacophonous wail of her best friend falling to her death.
Not a moment’s hesitation was spared in Rainbow’s mind to weigh the choices—saving her friend, who had acted only cruel to her over the past few hours, or impress her lifelong idols and finally have a chance to join them—before she immediately turned around and shot towards the ground, determined that her friend would not die. Rainbow did not even notice the Wonderbolts also take off to save Rarity, beating her to the punch…until they too became victims as Rarity’s uncontrollable panic betrayed her and her flailing limbs knocked out each member of the Wonderbolts, one by one causing them to fall towards their death below.
Rainbow’s mind calculated the distance between herself and Rarity, between Rarity and the ground. She had been in enough crashes and accidents before to know exactly what would happen if she did not pull up immediately and save herself: if she reached the falling ponies in time at this speed, she would crash straight into the ground. However, she kept going, faster than she had flown in all of her life. Her wings ached, her muscles strained, but no pain could stand between her and the life of her best friend.
She did not notice the mach cone that formed around her, narrowing and lengthening, becoming a pointed dart of thickened cloud that pushed aside all of the air between Rainbow and Rarity. She did not notice as Rarity’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in pure shock and amazement. She did not even notice as her speed began to exponentially increase, beyond any limits set by pegasi in the history of Equestria. However, she did notice as she shot forward and caught all of the falling ponies in a powerful embrace, leaving a con trail of pure, beautiful rainbow light behind her, and as a deafening BOOM exploded behind her, shattering the very spectrum of light…yet for an instant, for less than a millisecond, she did not care.
None of that mattered. Her friend was safe.
Rainbow awoke from the memory, her vision now stained crimson red by magical energy. She glanced over her shoulder and nearly jolted in shock at the trail behind her, a trail of rainbow light tightly entwined around a beam of pure crimson left in her wake. Determination in her eyes, she turned around and faced the clouds that had chased her here, had chased her all of her life.
Without a thought she blasted through them, vaporizing them into a fine mist of gray that disappeared like the morning dew in the light of the sun. All of Rainbow’s focus was on one figure, floating above the core of her mind, grinning like an idiot and congratulating itself on a job well done.
Rainbow Dash, breaking the barrier of the speed of light, slammed into Pride one final time.
Pride’s body was completely obliterated as it absorbed the whole of Rainbow’s force, dissipating in a cloud of blue. Rainbow pulled herself to a stop, dizzy and disoriented. Never in her life had she traveled that fast…not during the Sonic Rainboom, not even in her wildest dreams.
She glanced around, taking in the setting. The sea of clouds had once again returned to its peaceful state, floating in a gradual, never-ending journey into the crimson sunset beyond the horizon. All of the dark thunderclouds which had once swirled like a deadly hurricane above the great sea had vanished, leaving only tiny traces, wisps of dark gray, puffs of dead smoke.
Only one of these wisps was left by the time that the breeze had slowed, a tiny cloud which stood resolute and still despite the winds. Rainbow, curious, flew to it and noticed that there was one thing sitting atop the faded cloud, a shard of the broken body of Pride:
Pride’s bright blue crown of thorns, stained red.
As Rainbow looked on in morbid curiosity, the crimson stains began to fade away from the crown’s surface. Tiny hairs began to poke out from beneath the crown, colored the same gray as Pride’s mane. The crown was rebuilding everything Rainbow had worked to defeat.
For a brief moment the cyan mare considered destroying the crown. It would be so simple, to just use the power of her Element to obliterate her last shred of impurity. That crown was the one thing holding her back from perfection…
And yet, that choice would be so easy. So simple.
Rainbow turned away from the crown in disgust and instead glanced up to the sky. A beautiful white light descended from its peak, beyond the clouds, from somewhere nopony could truly ascend to.
The light filled her and became one with her, injecting pure energy and magic into her mind and soul…and yet it did not consume her. The crown of thorns protected her from receiving all of its true power, power that could not be contained within any mind or mortal form.
She felt this magic rush down her spine, through her body, eventually reaching her wings, filling them with its energy. Rainbow felt her speed and wingpower increase tenfold, beyond anything that anypony had witnessed before.
Finally ready, Rainbow Dash awoke…ready to bring back the betraying wielders of Disharmony, ready to enforce her Loyalty to her friends, ready to become a Force of Harmony. As she awoke, her eyes radiated pure white, revealing only a fraction of the magic within her Self.
Rarity jumped to the side as her alter-ego charged at her; murder was in its eyes. She had spoken the final insult, the last straw to snap whatever threads of sanity that this beast had left.
Shrieking in pure rage, Vanity glared at her oppressor and began to glow bright orange, her empty eyes pure green. Rarity backed away, bracing herself for whatever attack this twisted freak of imagination had in store.
All of the gems on Vanity’s outfit floated into the air, swirling in a sparkling tornado of color. Each one was blinding, reflecting the light of this closed-off room a thousand fold on every face of every jewel. The tornado spun faster and faster, drew in tighter and tighter until it formed a whirling sphere of sharp projectiles surrounding Vanity. Then without warning the entire form collapsed into a narrow stream and shot towards Rarity, faster and deadlier than any bullet.
Concentrating on her magic harder than she ever had in her life, Rarity yanked the one pure gem left—the blue diamond which had led her into this realm of nightmares—out of the swarm and pulled it in front of her, positioning it directly at the base of her neck, in front of her heart. She felt its essence fuse with her Element, allowing all of the magical energy of the Element of Generosity to enter the realm of her mind. Focusing her magic, it became a tunnel, a vessel through which the Element’s magical energy poured into the diamond, inflating it and causing its form to shoot out blinding rays of blue light in every direction. The diamond shimmered and glowed, expanding into something completely different: a diamond-shaped medieval shield of pure magic.
Its brilliant light faded into a dim glow, radiating from the transparent-yet-solid, beautiful structure that was a shield of pure concentrated energy. Rarity could see all of the individual strands and threads of magic that composed it, interweaving and interlocking in an uncountable number of unbreakable bonds. Each thread was a different color and shade of blue, be it deep indigo or bright cyan, forming a gleaming tapestry of a thousand colors.
Every gem that Vanity possessed crashed into the magic shield and vanished without a sound.
Now confident in her abilities, Rarity pressed her offensive and advanced towards her dark reflection, which backed away in fear. The green fire in its empty eyes died. Its bright orange coat flickered and faded, once again becoming a bland whitish gray.
And yet Rarity knew that she could not truly defeat the beast. Her shield, her symbol of power, was meant to protect, but not to destroy. Its power depended on her adherence to her Element, Generosity.
Rarity frowned. How could she possibly be generous to a nonexistent creature, a twisted reflection of her Self? What could she give to a pony who had everything?
And then, suddenly…it clicked.
The greatest gifts of all are never material; those who only give away possessions are never truly seen as generous. All of the greatest gifts ever bestowed upon others are things that cannot be seen, things that must be felt. One could never lust for gifts of the heart the same way that they could lust after gifts of the physical world.
Only one gift could be given to a creature such as this, somepony that had fallen so far as to embody pure evil.
Friendship.
Rarity leaned down towards her enemy and offered a smile. “I’m so sorry that it had to end this way. Maybe, after all of this is done, you and I could try to start over, yes? Make amends?”
Vanity’s body shuddered, fading into nonexistence until only one part remained, a fragment from where its heart should have been. A once-shiny jewel, dull and drained of all its beauty until it became a dull, opaque orange color.
The only other thing that remained inside this desolate room was a note. A small slip of paper had been released upon Vanity’s defeat that fluttered to the ground on a breath of wind. Written on it were two words.
Thank you
Suddenly a deafening groan echoed across the cave as it began to collapse. Dozens of rocks and boulders fell off of the ceiling and crashed to the ground as the beautiful building above tried one final time to crush the emptiness of the cave beneath it. All of the pressure was centered on one point in the cavern, a spire that had cracked upon Vanity’s defeat and left one gap in the support that kept this part of Rarity’s Self alive.
Rarity took up the dead gem in her hoof and trotted over to the support, knowing what must be done if she could ever return to her normal life as a humble fashion designer in her humble world of Ponyville.
She placed the gem inside the broken spire.
It was a perfect fit. The rumbling of the collapsing cave stopped, leaving only the silence. Always the deafening silence in this empty cave.
Then suddenly Rarity felt herself float upward, carried on a single ray of sunlight that had pierced through the dampness and the gloom. She braced herself for a painful impact with the cave ceiling, but instead of crashing right into the sharp stalactites and hardened gems, she floated through the roof as if it did not exist. Rarity emerged in the center of the building in which she had woken, blinded by the beautiful white light that streamed through a hole in the ceiling. It caressed her in a warm embrace, ridding her of all doubts and worries, leaving behind only a feeling of purity and comfort.
The light filled her, pouring into the base of her neck, rushing past her heart and flowing through her veins, filling her with a tingling sensation as she became one with the light. She felt the diamond shield at her side, pulsing with pure power. It came closer and wrapped around her body, interlocking and weaving with her coat, becoming an unbreakable suit of armor woven from pure magical energy. Yet somehow her shield was not gone; it remained in front of her, only growing in strength and shimmering with magic.
All of a sudden the sensation of pouring magic stopped, although she could still feel the raw energy humming and vibrating within her. Rarity knew that it was time, time to unite with all of the Powers of Harmony and rid the wielders of Disharmony of their dark powers that had corrupted them into mindless, greedy beasts.
Opening her eyes, which glowed bright white with the magic of Harmony, Rarity awoke beside her friends. The full potential of Generosity was finally realized within her, ready to face down any force which opposed it.
Leaping into the empty air and stretching her hooves out towards the floating form of her Nightmare in front of her, Twilight Sparkle crashed headfirst into…absolutely nothing. Logic had disappeared from sight.
Twilight slammed into the nonexistent ground, her bones vibrating on impact. She yanked up her head and her eyes darted from point to point in the pitch-black room, looking for the grey outline of Logic against the shrouding darkness. The beast was nowhere to be found.
“Your decision to enter this room with the intent of my defeat was brash and foolish,” echoed the monotonous voice of Logic from everywhere and nowhere at once. “Not only do you hold no power over this part of your Self, you are burdened by your emotions and your senses. I am not. Allow me to demonstrate…”
Hundreds of blinding lights flashed all at once in Twilight’s vision. She attempted to shield her eyes with her hooves, but the lights were exploding out across her skin, a network of brilliant shimmering lines that glowed over her purple fur. Squeezing her eyes shut could not even take away the lights; they were inside her mind.
All of a sudden the lights stopped. Twilight rubbed her eyes, breathing deeply, tensing her muscles to prepare for Logic’s next attack. Once again the dead voice resonated through the empty cavern: “Shall we continue this pointless scuffle?”
Twilight thought hard, racking her brain for solutions. Logic not only has total control over everything in this place, but also has power over all of my senses. How can I beat that? As hard as she tried to think of a logical solution to this dilemma, none came to her. The only thing she could think of would be to give up and let Logic prevail.
“A wise choice. I will let you live and...who knows, you might even regain control over your body as if none of this had ever happened.”
Her expression hardening, Twilight closed her eyes and focused. Now was not the time to think; now was the time to act.
Concentrating on her horn and only her horn, Twilight let it fill to the brim with magic, glowing and radiating pure energy. The glowing aura that surrounded her horn expanded, settling into several layers of shimmering violet.
“I see you have chosen the far more difficult path leading to defeat. Oh well…I suppose you will not be convinced. You must be shown.”
The blinding lights returned, multiplied in power tenfold. They were everywhere at once, searing Twilight’s eyeballs with the intensity of a thousand suns.
Twilight magically willed away her sense of vision, and it disappeared. She was now completely blind.
Yet Logic would not be so easily deterred. With a thought, dozens of powerful explosions burst around Twilight, sending waves of force through the clearing. The vibrations entered Twilight’s hooves and rattled her bones and skull, jarring her mind.
Intensifying her concentration, Twilight’s magic flowed out from her horn and poured into the empty air, swirling around her and forming a cocoon of pure energy. The cocoon settled onto her body and clung to her skin, deadening all and any feeling. Her body was now completely numb to pain.
“What are you doing?” asked Logic, a subtle hint of curiosity entering its flat voice. “This plan is highly impractical. Though you may temporarily create a defense against my powers, you will be unable..."
Logic’s voice faded into the nothingness from whence it came. The cocoon of magic surrounding Twilight enveloped her ears and hardened, shutting out all sound. She was now completely deaf.
A overpowering stench floated into Twilight’s nostrils, and, concentrating hard, she completed her spell. Twilight Sparkle was now completely and utterly invulnerable.
The deafening silence surrounded her, pressing in on her and squeezing her body, surrounding her from all sides.
Twilight deepened her focus one last time, descending into a level of concentration nopony before her had achieved. A light breeze carried away the oppressive nothingness, whistling in Twilight’s ears. The breeze carried noise back to her, the sweet, soft sound of six voices breathing in unison, deep in slumber.
When she opened her eyes they were a brilliant white, shining with the very same radiance that they had so many years ago on the day of her entrance exam to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, magnified tenfold. Slowly turning her head from side to side, Twilight Sparkle first saw only pure white. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she noticed five spheres of color glowing within the pure white space—one of crimson red, endowed with speed; one was of golden orange, endowed with strength; one was a soft meadow-green, endowed with the hidden magic of nature; one was a bright cyan, endowed with all magic considered possible; one was a deep indigo, endowed with the magic that protected and shielded from harm. A sixth light began to glow violet, completing the circle of magical energy. Closing her eyes one last time, the violet aura drew the others to her, fusing her essence with theirs. All six auras combined, forming an indescribably beautiful sphere of shimmering light—some might have described it as a brilliant rainbow, others pure white.
Twilight Sparkle’s eyes snapped open, now glowing a brilliant white that overpowered those of the gray beast that had stared her down not a minute ago (assuming time had any meaning in the realm of the mind…which it did not). She had reemerged in the same room which she had left, only to find a tiny, cubic space not six feet wide, bland gray in color.
The empty darkness had been a façade all along.
Logic was staring directly at her, its hypnotic gray eyes swirling in and out of existence on its equally gray face. All of its attacks and powers had been only illusions, ways that it used its power over Twilight’s mind to fool her.
Twilight rose off of the dull ground, feeling it shudder beneath her hooves at the sheer power within her. She summoned that power and focused it all into one point in her horn, ready to unleash it upon the freak that had waited here within her mind, now finally defeated.
Logic sat there, unimpressed as always. Its expressionless, soulless face fueled Twilight’s anger, fueled the rising power within her. That power grew and grew, forming an uncontrollable monster of energy, roaring to be unchained and loosed on this sole deserving victim.
The pony cowered beneath her hooves, whimpering in fear. Its form was tattered and scarred, battered and bruised, though Twilight could not care less. This pony was the one who had just kidnapped her, turned all of her friends against her and mocked her for her troubles. The time for mercy was past.
Twilight’s horn glowed as she prepared to deal the final blow of justice to this evil, powerful enemy.
Twilight’s horn glowed as she prepared to deal the final blow of justice to this evil, powerful enemy. The enemy glanced up at her, its huge eyes filled with sadness, and said in a sweet, melodic voice, “Please! You have to believe me. The Cadance that brought you down here was an imposter.” It shielded its beautiful pink face with its hooves, bracing itself for the killing blow.
“Likely story.”
“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake…”
Twilight snapped out of the vision, looking at the helpless form of Logic with new eyes.
Suddenly Logic began to speak. Its voice was stunningly different, filled with barely noticeable yet beautiful emotions—regret and sorrow, bitterness and acceptance: “I know that you do not care at this point, but…it would not be intelligent to kill me here and now. You may need me someday-” Logic faltered, but continued, “and someday you may find some use for me outside of just another enemy to defeat.”
Twilight’s horn ached with the raw destructive power contained inside of it, straining to be released upon its target.
She glanced down at Logic, whose body betrayed no emotions. Was it her fault that she fought me? Come to think of it, her choice was probably either to fight me or be killed, thought Twilight.
Recalled the gray beast’s actions, Twilight Sparkle felt a painful twinge of remorse. From the beginning, Logic made it clear that she didn’t want the fight to happen. She even gave me a chance to stand down and walk away.
She was just doing what she had to in order to survive.
The deadly radiating aura around Twilight’s horn died down to a dim glow, and then to a shimmer, and then to nothing. Logic cocked her head questioningly—the first open show of emotion Twilight had seen from the gray mare.
“I’m sorry that I had to do this, Logic. You were right—I do need you to exist; you are one of the most important forces of my life, and the most powerful--and that’s not a bad thing at all.”
“But that’s not why I’m sparing you. I want you to understand that I am sparing your life because I want to give you a second chance at friendship.”
It took a moment that lasted a lifetime for Logic to respond. “Twilight Sparkle, you are truly a mystery wrapped in an enigma. This is just another example that you possess something I do not, an understanding of some foreign power, some mysterious realm of knowledge beyond my own comprehension—what you repeatedly refer to as ‘friendship’. I have always found it fascinating to study you from afar, but I have never fully understood what motivations drive your actions. You are by far the most intriguing specimen I have ever come across, and I look forward to studying you further.”
Logic sighed. “But, I suppose my studying will have to wait. In order for you to unleash the full potential of your Element, I must no longer be able to interfere with your thoughts and emotions—in simpler terms, I must stop existing for the time being. I suppose that the only thing I can do to return your favor is to cease to be for a time period. Then, when you are ready, you can free me and once again have to deal with the burden of my existence hanging over your life. I shall submit to your will.”
The body of Logic shimmered as a bright light entered the room from all sides, and then it faded in the sunlight. In its place was a tiny sphere, a compressed ball of gray matter that would expand and re-form upon touching it.
On top of the sphere was a tiny note. Written in black ink upon the note’s surface was one simple sentence: For when you are ready to give me a second chance.
Twilight turned up from the blob of nothingness that was the former enemy of her soul and stepped forward, into the light, finally ready to return to the world her friends lived in...a world worth fighting for.
