Day 20
I woke up to a light breeze, soft grass, and Fluttershy’s face in the dark of the pre-sunrise early morning, smiling in happiness that I had finally awoken. I had a wicked headache and a sting in my soul. Nothing had gone right since I had entered Equestria. I had hoped to spend some time here, then head home. No. It had almost been a month, and I had been attacked and nearly killed twice. I had come face to face with hell on Equestria. These ponies I had been a fan of had not been strong enough in our time of glory to stop her, despite facing down Nightmare Moon and Discord.
I snorted as I awoke in the worst mood I had been in since I entered their land. I wanted to lay into the six of them. I wanted them to feel the bitter pain I had felt as they left me hanging. I wanted to hurt something… but I knew that wouldn’t get us anywhere, so I tried to simply swallow my anger. It helped that everypony there had a bit of a somber look to them.
They gathered at my feet.
“We’re sorry, Zytharros…” Twilight apologized. “We saw her and were scared.”
Applejack looked away. “After what you did for me, I was a damn coward in her presence… I’m so ashamed…”
Rainbow was scared, hiding speechless behind Fluttershy, who offered her apology as well. “I was unkind to you. I should have given you my power.”
Pinkie’s mane and tail were flat once again. “I tried, Zytharros… but I couldn’t get past… my… fear…”
Finally, Rarity stepped forward, crying. “This was clearly. The. Worst. Possible. Thing! Ever!!!”
My heart melted, and the pain of last night left me. The one thing I hated more than being abandoned like that was holding a grudge. I gathered the girls to me and just hugged them, letting them know through our shared tears and apologies that all was forgiven. They were relieved, and somewhat amazed that I was so willing to forgive.
Rarity was especially shocked.
“After what we did to your poor heart… you’d still forgive us?” she asked.
“I can’t remain angry for long,” I said. “I just physically can’t. It hurts too much.”
Rainbow looked down. “You’re a far better pony than we are…”
We hugged in a massive group hug for a while before we released. I turned back to Ponyville.
“Uh, sugarcube… where d’ya think you’re goin’?” she asked. “We’re exiled, remember?”
“Twilight,” I said. Something didn’t feel right.
She bounded to my side. “I feel it, too…”
Pinkie’s body began twitching. “Me three… It’s a bi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ig doozy…”
Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash lined up behind us. The magic barrier flickered, then died.
“Princess Celestia…” I said. I hesitated only for a second before bolting back.
The rest of my group followed. Ponyville was in trouble. The Princess was in trouble. Most of all, our loved ones were in trouble.
“Apple Bloom…” Applejack said. “I’ll redeem myself in your eyes, even if I have to die doing it.”
Pinkie Pie frowned in bright pink fury. Her hair shimmered back to its normal pink, popping back into place. “Sugarcube Corner was the best place to throw parties… It better not be touched!!”
Rainbow Dash kept pace, even though she knew she could get there faster. “All for one,” she simply said. “All for one crystal-fisted PUNCH to the BRAIN of one Tangerine HOPES!”
Rarity grew hot with anger. “Sweetie Belle… Carousel Boutique… I will never forgive Ms. Hopes if she damages even a square inch of your beings!”
Fluttershy followed in silence, determined to lend a wing or hoof at any cost.
Twilight and I charged together towards our hometown. Our exile lasted only one day, but in that time, Equestria had fallen – I was certain of it. Twilight was certain of it.
This time we would make no mistake. This time the Elements of Harmony would awaken.
Tangerine Hopes had pissed off the wrong ponies.
As we approached Ponyville’s valley, we were stunned to see the wreck of the land. Trees were snapped in half. Lifeless pony bodies were everywhere, and comments were made as we passed by ponies we knew.
“No… Bon Bon…” Rarity said, shedding tears for her friend.
Twilight sobbed. “Octavia…”
Pinkie began crying. Her party buddies were no more.
For each friend we passed, there was more sadness, yet more determination than ever. It seemed like Tangerine had specifically targeted all the favourites of the Bronydom and then laid their heads on pikes as we entered Ponyville, following with some of the other, less-popular ponies. Their bodies followed, humiliated and abused in ways nopony should ever be disrespected, all cutie marks removed from their flanks by force.
Finally, a kook-eyed pony’s blonde mane appeared in a tree.
“Derpy!” I called. Fully expecting her to be dead but finding her alive was a wonderful twist to our bleak walk, but she had little good news to deliver.
She fluttered down from the tree, sobbing. “It was horrible… Horrible! Everyone died so suddenly… Tangerine came and wiped out the whole town in one hour… I barely escaped…”
“Derpy…” Applejack said, almost in a panic. “Apple Bloom! Where is she?”
“The only sanctuary left in Equestria,” she said. “My house. There are about six of us left.”
“Who?” Twilight asked as we took off for Derpy’s humble abode.
Derpy tripped over a stone, landing on her face. She quickly got up and pressed on… pain could wait. “There’s Apple Bloom, Lyra Heartstrings, Vinyl Scratch, Scootaloo, Pipsqueak, and myself. We’re the last ponies alive in the area.”
“What about Cloudsdale?” Rainbow Dash asked. “And the Wonder Bolts?”
“Where’s Sweetie Belle?” Rarity shrieked. “She’s not with you!?”
Derpy fell silent for a few seconds. “Sweetie Belle was the very first to die. The Wonder Bolts responded to her death first… and were the next to die,” she finally recalled. “Equestria fell really quickly after that, Cloudsdale included.”
We broke into the abode of Derpy Hooves, converted into a makeshift base of operations. Rarity collapsed in tears in the middle of the floor. The remaining Cutie Mark Crusaders, still blank-flanked, closed and latched the door. Apple Bloom threw herself into her waiting sister’s arms.
“Princess Celestia explained everything,” she said, crying in terror. “I’m sorry… I’m not angry anymore… Poor sister… I’m so happy you’re home…”
Applejack and sister hugged for a long time, the last of their family in the area.
“The pain…” Fluttershy said. “The pain in this room… it’s overwhelming…”
Derpy nodded. “We’ve been recuperating from the shock in here,” she said.
“Where’s Princess Celestia?” I asked. Twilight, hearing the question as she checked up on everyone present, clued in.
“She’s fightin’ Crystal Fist in Old Canterlot,” Vinyl Scratch said, her calm, cool, casual demeanor evident even in how she spoke. “Said she was gonna make the old witch pay.”
“Oh no…” Twilight moaned. “Princess…”
The Elements of Harmony lowed in mourning. Vinyl lifted her glasses, eyeing us with fire-red eyes.
“Why the long faces, dudes?” she queried. “The Princess’ll take care of her.”
“She’s got no idea what she’s up against,” Applejack said. “We were walloped before we even lay a hair on her.”
The entire room collapsed into a black hole of silence.
“The seven of you?” Scootaloo asked. “Even you, Rainbow Dash?” She looked at her idol with an amount of concern so great it couldn’t be measured.
“’Fraid so, squirt,” Rainbow said. “We weren’t ready for her.”
Derpy bit her lip. “Then… what’s gonna happen to the Princess?”
There was an uneasy silence from the Elements of Harmony, but it told everypony everything they needed to know: the Princess had likely flown straight to her death.
“Oh no…” Lyra said. “What can we do to help?”
I sighed. “The best thing you can do is stay here and remain alive to preserve the memory of Equestria as it was before this whole debacle.”
“De-what-now?” Applejack asked.
“Problem,” Twilight corrected.
“Oh.” Applejack said, smiling.
“Does anyone know what she’s been up to since Tangerine took over?” I asked.
“You mean Crystal Fist, dude…” Vinyl tried correcting.
“I refuse to use that name,” I said, shaking my head. “It is not her real name.”
“We use Tangerine Hopes on purpose,” Fluttershy said. “While I was waking up after our last battle, I realized that Crystal Fist is the evil side, the corrupted entity behind the destruction. If you call her by that name, she gains power and Tangerine, the poor host of the corruption, loses power.”
“That was how she managed to destroy other versions of the Elements of Harmony and leave Equestria ruined… what was it… seven times over?” Rarity said.
Rainbow Dash nodded. “She got them to call her Crystal Fist. Every time they did, she gained power and made Tangerine Hopes lose it. Eventually, Tangerine succumbed and Crystal Fist eliminated that dimension.”
“She’s slowly disappearing into her captor’s mind,” Pinkie said. “If we don’t stop her here she’ll take over and destroy all existence as we know it.”
“We don’t know how she does it, but-” Twilight started.
Suddenly, the earth shook. We ran outside. Sparks slashed up the sky and curtains of clouds began twisting into a whirlpool. We wondered what she was doing, and knew it wasn’t good.
“We have to get to Old Canterlot – and fast…” I said. Once again, something didn’t feel right. In fact, this was the worst uncomfortable feeling I had ever felt. I quickly scooped up Applejack. Rainbow took Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, with great struggle, took up Twilight.
“Remember, Fluttershy – she’s already destroyed everything you love,” I said. “She almost crushed Applejack under Canterlot…”
Her eyes registered shock at the memory.
“She completely destroyed Old Canterlot…”
Fluttershy’s eye twitched.
“And… she made Applejack kill her brother.”
“That… big… dumb… MEANIE!!!” Fluttershy screeched. “Hold on, Twilight… you’re going for a ride!”
She blasted off, creating an instant sonic rainboom of her own to the shock and surprise of every last member of our party. Twilight flailed in the air, helpless against the pressure of the air on her back. Rainbow and I followed with our mares in tow. I also picked up Rarity with magic in the same way I had picked up Applejack before.
We landed on the edge of Old Canterlot, revisiting a city of destruction we had hoped to never have watched again. Every step into the city was a step of overcoming fear for those who had survived and of shock for those who hadn’t stayed. Rarity was not responding emotionally to anything now. Her emotions were drained. In fact, she looked like she didn’t care anymore. Sweetie Belle was gone, her parents were gone, her customers were gone… she looked like a thoroughly defeated pony.
I sidled up to her. “You’ll survive,” I said.
She didn’t respond.
“Anything I can do to lighten your mood?” I asked.
She sighed. The rest of us looked at our forlorn comrade as we continued walking.
“I never got to say goodbye…” she said. “I didn’t get to say goodbye… you didn’t get to wear your dresses… we didn’t-”
I hugged her as she simply looked in shock over my shoulder, out towards nothing, emotionless and cold. I conjured up an image of Sweetie Belle in my mind.
“It won’t be the same thing, but…” I projected the image on the earth. “Would you say goodbye to a hologram of your sister?”
Rarity was shocked. There was her sister, playing, flipping, messing up her shop, running with the Cutie Mark Crusaders… She was… alive…
Rarity’s heart broke as a still image of a sweetly-smiling Sweetie Belle appeared. She looked at me, smiling for the first time in twenty-four hours, and walked over the hologram. Kissing the dirt underneath her sister’s forehead and shedding tears onto her eyes, she smiled. She casted some magic on my horn and, with my assistance, relived some of her best moments with Sweetie Belle on the ground. To her amazement they were not of tea parties, fancy to-do, and Canterlot-esque imitations of royalty… they were of the Sisterhooves Social, getting messy, and failed costumes.
All stuff Sweetie Belle had taught her to learn to love.
She stared at this mysterious world of memories colouring the cobblestone below for five minutes, silently saying goodbye to all she knew.
“Oh, Sweetie Belle…” Rarity said. “I would go to ten thousand Sisterhooves Socials with you… if I could only see your face again… hold you… love you… anything…”
She placed one last kiss on the forehead of her sister as the image of the now-dead, innocent filly faded from view. Rarity gained a sad smile as she closed her eyes.
“Thank you again, Zytharros,” she said.
I smiled. “Glad I could help.”
So we continued walking.
As we approached the castle, Pinkie Pie froze.
“There are decorations here… decorations for the…” she said, then stopped. She had been so party deprived, so happiness deprived. The Element of Laughter couldn’t stand being so serious. “I… I wanna party…” she said, sniffling.
We stopped. I looked at her. “Would it help to remember the parties of weeks ago?”
Pinkie nodded, looking at me with the hopefulness of a two-year-old holding his very first box of Smarties that he understood meant chocolate and sweet foodstuff inside. So I showed her the same I had shown Rarity, but this time it was of my arrival and recovery parties. Everypony looked so happy and alive…
“If she wins, there will be no more of these,” I said.
Pinkie’s eyes slowly lit up with worry. “No more parties… ever?”
I shook my head. The hologram wasn’t working with her.
“Imagine – little colts and fillies never growing up knowing what a party was… yearlings not being able to celebrate… birthdays passing by without cheer…”
“That’s horrible…” she said, freaked out.
Rainbow continued, realizing what I was saying. “Our elements… We now hold the fate of everything important to us in our hands….”
“Parties and happiness…” Pinkie said.
Applejack spoke, “Honesty and hard work…”
“Loyalty and trust…” Rainbow Dash added.
Rarity included, “Generosity and high fashion…” in the list.
“Kindness and peace…” said Fluttershy.
“And friendship…” added Twilight. “Each of these things are threatened today.”
“Each one is amplified by one thing – humility,” I said. “Humbling yourself to listen to your friends is how each of these things is expressed. Each is tied together with the others in an inexorable – Applejack, unbreakable – bond in this way.”
I approached Twilight. “This is why I said I could do no more than amplify your power. I only have power if you are willing to lend me yours, accepting humility in your hearts.”
“Such a touching sentiment…” that evil, two-toned voice said, standing nearby on a rock.
“Tangerine…” Fluttershy declared.
We turned to face her. She held a large mare in her magic spell. The mare was limp. Her pastel hair dangled to her side, unwavering in the wind that only it knew.
“No!” Twilight shouted. “Princess Celestia!!”
“Have your useless princess back…” tossing the limp Celestia to the dirt below like a worn-out toy. “She was fun for a couple hours, but she got dull with her talk of ‘sparing her subjects’ and trying to get me to… ‘leave Equestria’… I finally had enough and finished her off.”
The Princess coughed and raised her head to look in Twilight’s eyes. She choked out, “Twilight… I’m sorry… I…”
Her head fell limp to the dirt. The entire group tensed up. This time, there was no charging. Each pony clearly remembered what had happened the last time.
“Are you done yet?” the pony snorted in frustration. “I’ve gotta get on to destroying this world and Zytharros’.”
She shot a magic beam up to the sky. It was rent open, the very stars and dimensional fabric tearing and fraying at the seams, loosely waving in winds only dimensional travellers were familiar with. Slowly, an image of Planet Earth appeared in the sky.
It was then we realized she was going to use Equestria and Earth as weapons against one another and do their dimensions in at the same time.
“Now, if only I could break this fourth wall junk…” she said.
She looked over at us, then smiled a black smile at Pinkie Pie.
“You will help me break that wall!” she shouted, diving into another portal. She grabbed Pinkie by the tail and pulled her through. The pony flailed helplessly in the hooves of our enemy.
“Pinkie!” we shouted.
Pinkie chuckled, then laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Tangerine asked indignantly.
“You must’ve been named for your mane,” Pinkie commented. “It looks exactly like the right colour!”
The girl was dumbfounded. She was even more weirded out when Pinkie simply slipped her tail from her grasp and laughed again. Her face quickly twisted into a half-annoyed, half laughing, confused mess. Soon, though, she slugged Pinkie, knocking her back towards us.
“Ow… That wasn’t nice…” Pinkie said, rubbing her bloodied proboscis.
The combat commenced… or rather, the second rout. Once again we collapsed as Tangerine beat the snot out of us. Just as Twilight collapsed a second time, she caught a pattern of slight hesitation in Tangerine’s behaviour, stopping her cold with a levitation spell.
“Hey!” she shouted. “This isn’t what’s supposed to happen!”
“You didn’t count on a few things…” I said.
She groaned. “Oh, shut up!!!” she shouted, firing an ugly green laser in my direction.
The laser was heading for me, coming closer, and faster than I could dodge. I braced, staring my death down the barrel of a unicorn’s horn.
What happened next took only a few seconds, but felt like it took forever.
The laser came towards me. A white pony leapt from my left. The pony crossed paths with the laser, taking a direct hit. The laser fizzled out her back, leaving a fried patch of hair. Her trajectory changed, she flew backwards, connecting with me and rolling twice. I reeled in pain, then opened my eyes. What I saw was horrific.
“Rarity!!” I screamed, my eyes filling with tears.
The pony was arched over my barrel, eyes open in a contented state of bliss, her mouth smiling. Her exposed front end was fried from one end to the other. I was certain her internal organs were nothing but dust. Her skin slowly became covered in gray, beginning with her face and sprinkling down her body to her hindquarters.
I lay her down on the ground and sobbed over her lifeless body. Twilight dropped her prisoner and ran over to look at their friend.
“I’ve done it!!” Tangerine said, absolutely ecstatic. “I’ve killed one of the Elements of Harmony!!”
I grew hot with anger, hotter than I ever had before. “You…”
“Are you going to accept defeat now?” she crowed proudly. “You can’t use all the Elements of Harmony now! You’re done! Your world is finished!!”
“You did not destroy the Element of Generosity,” I said flatly.
She laughed, pointing to Rarity with her hoof. “Tell me how. There she lies, dead and gone, with no hope of revival.”
“I will tell you exactly what you just did… and then you will cower before perfect generosity,” I commanded. Through my tears, I explained emphatically and with great dynamism, “You took away everything she ever loved – her dresses, Sweetie Belle, her shop, and her friends. You made her desolate, desperate to give anything to aid in your demise. Well, she just gave the last thing she had – her life – and when you have given everything else up and then give that up, you become…”
I paused, giving time for my next words to sink in.
“…perfectly generous.” I continued.
The mare began to realize what she had just done.
“You not only helped her give it all, she wanted to give it all when she was done. She was willing to give her life to protect mine. She will forever have my loyalty because of this.
So you see, not only did your action not have the effect you wanted… it had the opposite effect…
You just gave the Element of Generosity its…
…perfect…
…strength.”
She gasped. I began concentrating on an amplification spell. She tried to use her magic to get out of the dimension, but she couldn’t. A halo of purple enveloped her from beyond the grave.
“What the hay?!” she shrieked. “Why can’t I leave!?”
“The Element of Generosity stops you,” I said.
Pinkie, Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Applejack stood behind me. The wind kicked up. They began glowing. The shards of the Elements of Harmony hovered around us, slowly and gradually drawing to their respective bearer.
“No…” Tangerine whimpered. She tried to run, but the Element of Generosity encased her in a magical purple box. She couldn’t go anywhere – and, for the first time in hundreds of years, saw a singular timeline – the timeline… of her demise.
The Elements of Harmony granted their bearers their magical articles.
A voice popped into my head, a kind and sweet voice not unlike Fluttershy’s.
“Crystal Fist must die,” she said. “I will restrain her from within myself. You do the rest.”
“Tangerine! But what if you die, too?”
She began crying. “Don’t hold back. Let me die with this monster. I’ve lived too long… much too long… I don’t want to live anymore… Please… as the Seventh Element, please do as I request.”
A lump appeared in my throat. “I will not miss,” I said.
So, gradually, our powers grew. Tangerine was not moving. Crystal Fist was bound up in Tangerine’s will, fighting with herself to regain control. Our glows intensified. A funnel appeared on my horn, directed backward at the Elements of Harmony.
I opened my mouth just as the Elements of Harmony fired their blasts into my funnel. A white ray flew out of my mouth. It connected with Tangerine Hopes, causing a crazy, demonic scream to erupt from the mare.
Pinkie Pie opened her mouth. “I am the defender of all that is fun and joyous, the Element of Laughter!” Her pink beam joined the power already pouring into the funnel.
“I am a friend and confidant, the one always there when you need a helping hand, the Element of Loyalty!” Rainbow Dash’s blue beam joined the fracas.
“I am the Element of Kindness, the one who will never harm a fly if she can help it!” Fluttershy announced. Her yellow beam joined in.
Applejack called out next… “Do not speak a lie in front of me… I can sniff out even the whitest of lies, the Element of Honesty!” Her orange beam shot forth.
I spoke for Rarity. “I give where I can, and although there are those who say I give to a fault, I will never stop… the Element of Generosity!” A purple glow enveloped Tangerine Hopes.
“And I am the element of Friendship,” Twilight said, “The sum total of all these pieces put together!”
The six of them shouted in unison… “Together we stand as one, fighting for the freedom of all races everywhere! We are rooted in Cephas, the Element of Humility!”
Tangerine Hopes vaporized in the sea of white. Slowly, the beam fanned out and spread across the world. It repaired those who were broken, revived those who had died, repaired the rift in the dimensions, and restored Canterlot to its’ former glory. The sun shone again, and the clouds slowly made way for the evening light to emerge.
Rarity got up… “What happened…?” she asked. “Did we get Tangerine Hopes?”
“We did,” I said. “We certainly did.”
After a few seconds of silence, everyone burst out in emotion, half-laughing, half-crying. The stress was gone. The darkness was vanquished. We could all breathe easier again. Equestria had been restored.
I had hoped to stay longer in Equestria, but I knew I would have to go home soon.
I just hoped it wasn’t too soon.