[Facing the Beast... The 'Hellriders'* tune from the locked-in 'Einherjar'* area of Vana'diel* blared loudly... *c2014 Square Enix]
The walk to the end of the tunnel didn't take long. And there was thankfully a small pond to the right at the end of the tunnel.
"Girls just drink what you need, and please just two or three drinking at a time" Summer Rain directed.
They were soon ready to move on. Princess Twilight led them from there to the Commons.
Even before they could see her, Sunset Shimmer bellowed out "Come children! ...to your doom!" and then she laughed...
This would be a continual pattern anytime Sunset Shimmer spoke. She would talk like Sunset Shimmer, very loudly, then her voice would wind up into the most hideous and spine tingling, deafening roar.
They soon saw Sunset Shimmer... She was a terrible Beast now...
The Beast was taller than the main audience balcony some three stories up. She looked only remotely like the pony she was, but her grotesque body was patched with constantly moving squares of ice, water, fire, and other magical elements. She was always reared back on her hind legs...
The Beast was standing maybe 75 fore-legs out and away from the Audience Hall balcony. What little moving around she had done since taking Equestria over, had dug a pit in the ground where she stood.
"Come closer, I won't hurt you!" the Beast said laughing, followed by the usual deafening roar at the end.
Princess Twilight and her friends got as close as they dared.
Summer noted that it would be hard for the girls to hear what she said.
"Discord can't do anything right..." the Beast said next. This turned straight into an angry hideous growl.
"Equestria Ponies, lets go" Princess Twilight yelled.
They walked maybe 30 more fore-legs towards the Beast, together, and it was clear that Princess Twilight was using her magic to try and call the 'Elements of Harmony' back.
Summer Rain yelled "Girls, get ready, and say when Pinkie."
"Bah, you are boring me already Princess..." the Beast said, followed again by the same hideous roar.
The Beast simply waved with one of her arms at Twilight, and a shock wave quickly knocked Princess Twilight and the Equestria ponies to the gound several feet back from where they stood. They couldn't breath, it had knocked the wind out of them all.
"I've had enough of this... I'm done with you. Good bye." the Beast said, again followed with the hideous roar.
With her other arm, the Beast summoned a huge flaming ball, and simply threw it at Princess Twilight.
She and the Equestria Ponies couldn't yet breath, and couldn't move. They couldn't even scream... They could just wait to die... "It would be quick anyway" Twilight thought to herself.
The fireball came straight at them, but splattered quickly away from them at the last minute.
Summer and the Equestria Girls had quickly stood around them, joined hooves, transformed instantly into their Equestria Girls form, and the resulting shell had simply deflected the fire harmlessly away.
"Oh, Equestria Girls!" The Beast just laughed, then roared.
"Princess and Ponies, join the circle. Girls get your Twin on your RIGHT SIDE!!!!" Summer quickly yelled.
With the circle broken, Summer knew they were very vulnerable at this point. They could feel the heat from bushes burning around them.
The Beast was ignoring them, just talking, not paying much attention. Sunset Shimmer knew she couldn't lose.
"Oh let me remember a minute... Oh yes, Fluttershy's Sister, such a pity... I didn't kill her, but... ...maybe I helped!" followed by laughter trailing into her hideous roar....
This 'cheap shot' didn't have the intended effect. The Beast didn't know the Equestria pony Summer, and didn't know that, devoted True Friend that she was, she had largely filled the vacuum created Fluttershy's sister's death anyway, at least for now.
Summer did note however that Fluttershy's mom was right about Sunset Shimmer's role in her daughter's death.
Everypony was back in the circle, and they joined hooves, but nothing happened.
Summer thought they could easily die right now. Even so, both her Cutie Mark and Head were warm, Summer knew she wouldn't go out without a fight, whatever that meant.
Summer looked around the circle. "Pinkies trade places. Rainbows trade places." Summer shouted quickly.
"Oh yes, you simply must play Musical Chairs now!" the Beast jeered... Laughter then hideous roaring.
This insult only made sense to the Equestria Girls, but it didn't matter.
The Beast actually turned slowly at this point to face the ponies, and sneered at them with disdain.
"Useless ponies... 'True Friends'? Putting others first? What a joke..." the Beast said mockingly.
Then the Beast let out a hair-raising, long, bellowing roar.
"I don't care, die together then" the Beast yelled loudly, followed by another vicious, angry growl.
The Beast then slowly raised both hands high above her head, formed a huge ball of charged thunder between them, arched back then threw it at the twelve ponies.
Just then, all hooves joined, and these same twelve ponies all assumed their Equestria Girls form, stood up, interlocked fingers, and the shield returned.
Aside from the protection the shield brought, it also substantially muffled Sunset's bellowing.
Summer said softly "Girls, please close your eyes, and concentrate on your special element. You chose these even before the elements chose you.
Rarity, your element is Generosity
Pinkie Pie, your element is Laughter
Applejack, your element is Honesty
Rainbow Dash, your element is Loyalty
Fluttershy, your element is Kindness
And Princess, your element is just amazing
The elements chose these in you and nopony can take them away."
Shining Armor had sent two Pegasi guards to follow and watch the fight. Shining Armor warned that they would be next to die if the ponies failed, but they volunteered to go anyway.
They said the new shield was maybe 40 fore-legs in diameter, composed of a rapidly moving, constantly changing plaid of Purple, Lavender and the brightest White.
The guards couldn't see inside.
Summer and her friends had no clue what was going on outside either. It didn't matter.
This new shield instantly infuriated the Beast. She screamed as only a hideous beast could, and then rapidly threw spell after spell at this small shield before her, intent only on killing the twelve ponies underneath.
The Pegasi guards had to retreat substantially as the Beast's spells tore up everything, including nearby buildings, around this small ball and those inside it.
For 10 minutes or more the spells kept coming in rapid succession, using every imaginable magical element and combination. The shield didn't move.
Princess Twilight spoke up at this point "Girls, I can feel your power, your friendship really is magic. I don't know how this will end, but with you all at my side, I think we can win. Either way, I want you all to know that I will always love each and every one of you. Only true friends would have followed me on this nightmare journey, and help me stand up to this monster."
Almost as one, all twelve moved arms around those next to them, drew closer, and simply hugged each other tightly.
Absolutely enraged, the Beast climbed from her pit and lumbered slowly over to the shield. She lifted one arm high, and rapidly brought it crashing down on the shield.
The shield didn't budge. In fact, the Pegasi watching said it looked like it may have seriously injured the monster, as the Beast recoiled seemingly in pain, and appeared to cry out with a roar.
Bellowing loudly, the Beast tried this again with the other arm, and with similar results.
The shield didn't change. The shield didn't move.
The Beast lumbered slowly back to her pit, and the onslaught of spells began anew, much more quickly.
Summer Rain spoke softly at this point.
"Equestria Girls, just two days ago, we were sitting on the grass on the Soccer Field gasping for breath. I honestly didn't think I would ever see my Equestria pony friends again. You five precious, loyal people have made the difference. Thank you."
After maybe a minute, Summer added softly "And please, we need Sunset Shimmer destroyed..."
At these words, the shield around the twelve ponies slowly unfolded, growing greater in diameter as the outer circumference moved slowly towards the Beast who Sunset Shimmer had become.
The onslaught of magic from the Beast continued, but Princess Twilight and the rest felt and heard very little.
As the shield was half-way between the girls and the Beast, the shield was a blazing wall, extending for miles both up in the sky and along both sides.
"Girls, please keep your eyes closed, and focus on your elements" Summer said softly. Summer was watching their shield.
The Beast clearly realized the danger at this point, and out of desparation, threw everything she had at this wall that the shield had become.
Nothing hurt the shield as it slowly curled back down on the Beast, quickly containing her massive girth underneath it.
"Girls, please keep your eyes closed, and focus on your elements" Summer said again softly.
The shield kept slowly shrinking over the Beast, and so she rapidly formed one huge fireball, as a final attempt to destroy this shield...
...and simply incinerated herself, as she let out a hideous scream.
The shield shrank to the same 40 fore-leg size and hovered over the Beast's corpse as the flames she had summoned quickly consumed her monstrous body. With nothing left to burn, the flames simply went out.
"Princess" Summer said softly. "Sunset Shimmer is dead, thank you"
They all opened their eyes, and began to cry, hugging each other tightly.
[The tune that had been loud in the background up to this point, immediately faded away and it was quiet.]
Summer Rain and the five Equestria Girls had braved the Portal to the unknown, and stepped into a nightmare.
Now, Discord was contained, Summer's friends were alive, and Sunset Shimmer was destroyed.
Equestria would live to see another day.
Shining Armor was already there, and had 12 or so Unicorn's nearby. They would eliminate what was left of Sunset Shimmer.
Princess Twilight and her circle were still in Equestria Girls form, hugging tightly, and crying.
The shield still remained over Sunset Shimmer's corpse.
Princess said quickly "Wait Shining Armor, don't do anything yet.
"Summer, don't do it yet, but tell me how we release that shield." Princess Twilight said next.
"Princess, as soon as our circle is broken, we will change back to ponies, and the shield will disappear" Summer said quietly.
"Ok, don't do it yet, but please listen everypony, especially Equestria ponies. When the shield is released, I'm hoping our 'elements' will return to us. We need to see how they come back." Princess Twilight said.
"Shining Armor, please send a few Unicorn's over here, we need more light."
The circle was quickly bright, and Princess Twilight said "Ok, release the sheild."
Summer and the Equestria Girls backed up, and released the circle, nimbly sitting on the gound as ponies, and also catching their Twins as they too turned back into ponies. All twelve ponies were sitting in a circle.
The shield disappeared, and Princess Twilight's and the Equestria ponies' 'Element of Harmony' crystals rapidly shot over to the ponies and hovered over the head of each of their chosen carriers briefly. Then they embedded themselves into the Cutie Marks of their host ponies, and disappeared from view.
"Girls, congratulations. Nopony will steal our Elements ever again" Princess Twilight said, breathing haltingly herself, she was ready to cry.
The Twins broke down at this point, hugged each other and just cried together.
"Shining Armor" Princess Twilight said "I'm sorry but you should really find the Alicorn Amulet personally in Sunset Shimmer's remains before they are disposed of. And we need to find a safer place for it as well. It is very dangerous."
Princess Twilight was still fighting back tears, but she couldn't find Summer Rain.
"Princess please come here" Summer called out. It sounded like she was crying.
Summer was standing before what looked like two great statues, maybe 20 fore-legs past Sunset Shimmer's pit.
As Princess Twilight got close, she realized that Sunset Shimmer had turned both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna into these two huge hideous gargoyles.
They weren't done yet...