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// Harmony vs Misery; the Starchild 
// Story: Gloom and Doom 
// by casualbrony10 
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	Twilight spun around just in time to take a blast of raw dark energy to her face. Her fur was burned off of her muzzle, her nose smashed and bleeding, and several teeth knocked out. Her friends frantically tried to rush to her aid, but a wall of black fire sprang up between them. Rainbow and Fluttershy tried to fly over it, but the wall changed into a barrier of crackling shadows. Twilight shook with pain as she struggled to stand back up, only to be hammered back down. She looked up to see the heart floating towards her on it's own. 
"An impressive struggle, it appears that my puppet was not as worthy as I thought. Oh well, it matters little." Erebus' voice echoed from the heart itself. "Gloom, get back up, you can still be of some use." The heart glowed and Twilight's seal was wiped away in an instant. Gloom exploded from the ground, showering the area with stone, dirt, and dust. Gloom collapsed, snarling and foaming like a wild animal until he saw the heart and started to walk towards it memorized. "Not yet," Erebus stopped Gloom and held him in a magical grip.
"NO PLEASE! I'm not complete! Without you all I know is PAIN!" Gloom desperately tried to reach the heart, but Erebus held him.
"Every instant separated from me is suffering, isn't it? You need to reunite with me, don't you spirit of misery?" Erebus seemed to get some sort of perverse pleasure at watching Gloom squirm, "Let these few moments of agony be a lesson. I can speak through you Gloom, but some degree of control is still in your imperfect claws. Do not let go of the heart again, understood?"
"YES! PLEASE!"
"Good." With that the heart popped itself back into Gloom's mouth and reentered him. Gloom's frantic spasms immediately ceased and his face became impassive. "Ah, much better, now, where were we?" The alicorn amulet hovered into Erebus' claw, "Hmmm, it would never fit around my neck or Gloom's. If I remember right I made this specifically for unicorns and alicorns, useless to me now." He crushed the amulet to pieces and walked to where Twilight lay. "Don't worry dear, I'm not going to draw you into the heart like everypony else, you and your friends will die instead. I'm not an idiot, I've seen what friendship magic can do and I'd rather not have any of it in my heart." He stomped on Twilight's chest; she coughed up blood, "Die well." A claw reached for her neck. Twilight fired her horn wildly, the weak blasts ineffective as Erebus ignored them, but Twilight still had one final option. She removed her suppression spell entirely, seized the claw and held on tight. "Huh? What are you?" 
Twilight blazed with chaotic purple magic as her power surged from her unrestrained, instantly blowing her horn into bone fragments. Waves of blinding purple light exploded outward from her, just barely held in by Erebus' barrier.
"Everypony RUN!" Twilight screamed as she held Erebus in a death grip. Her coat was burning away as tears appeared in her flesh, her magic surging forth and destroying anything in it's way including her body. None of her friends moved, they just stared in shock, tears glistening in their eyes. She saw Spike's mouth move, but could not hear over the roar of magic. They had to run, otherwise they would be caught in the explosion when every ounce of matter in her body converted to energy, but they didn't move. Instead she felt a familiar presence touch her mind. It felt like a torch burning within her thoughts, lighting up the dark.
"I won't leave you Twilight, I can't leave you to die," Sunset's voice echoed in Twilight's head.
"It's already too late."
"No, it's not. I owe you everything Twilight, I can't just let you go, none of us can," Then Twilight felt other minds connect to her through Sunset. She realized that through their mental connection she was sensing her friends in the deepest way, like staring into their very souls. Applejack, her mind was rigid and simplistic, but strong and immovable, like the hard wood of an apple tree. Fluttershy was a cool breeze, a soft, almost musical whisper filled with more compassion than the warmest hug, with a bright glow coming from deep within. Pinkie was light and airy, bubbly with a feeling of sweetness, endlessly changing and rearranging in a mad but joyful dance. Rarity reminded her of the gentle clink made when gems bumped together and her minds eye saw sparkles glittering in a dazzling display of beauty, her mind was almost perfectly structured like a crystal. Rainbow was a flash of lightning, a gust of wind, powerful and wild, always moving and racing, never slowing down. Finally, Spike, Twilight gasped as she felt a great inferno within the tiny dragon, a well of untapped potential lying just beneath the surface, it was not the light that was Sunset, but instead it was heat and power. The 'fire' did not burn, instead it was warm, filled with love, kindness, and innocence. In reality Twilight was now almost entirely enveloped in violet flames as energy erupted from the hole where her horn once was. Her mind began to fade and her vision dimmed. Twilight felt drawn to the other consciousnesses shining in the mindscape, she could feel them calling to her, begging her not to go, but she was being pulled away into the void. Sunset reached out to her.
"Twilight, please, take my hoof, I don't know how, but we all have to make it through this, we need you, we love you." Twilight reached out as she flickered like a tiny dying ember. Their minds met and something miraculous happened. Seven wills joined Twilight's own, reigniting the  spark that was her mind, dragging it back from the abyss. Her wild magic began to flow guided by the 8 friends, to what purpose none of them knew, but it was driven by the bond they all shared. Erebus fell backward, his hide smoldering as Twilight released his claw, but he was still otherwise undamaged by Twilight's suicidal effort. 
"A wasted effort, even power like that cannot destroy me child, not now, not like that. You die in vain. Wait, what is..?"
Twilight's ravaged body floated in the air, shining like a star. The other ponies and dragon were also glowing, then they all turned into pure magic, flowing like waves of light into Twilight. Twilight herself was reminded of when they had opened the box of harmony to defeat Tirek and they all turned to light and flowed into the chest before erupting as their rainbow forms, but this felt different, more pure. Twilight disappeared as the light enveloped her, it was so bright that Erebus shut his eyes and held up a claw in defense. He blindly fired his magic into the light, but his attacks did not seem to have any effect.
All at once, the light dimmed. When Erebus looked again, he saw a flame in the shape of a heart, about the size of a pony. The fire glittered in a myriad of colors swirling through the strange object. Energy flowed out from the flame, growing and forming into a shape around it. 4 legs took form, then a head, a tail, a mane, two wings, and a horn. The light became solid as it formed, becoming a glittering coat of starlight, the mane and tail were blazing rainbow fire. Two eyes opened, both shining white with magic. Erebus stared slack-jawed as the new being looked herself over with awe. She resembled the large alicorn that had appeared over the concert when they defeated the sirens, but her proportions were those of a pony instead of a horse, giving her a smaller and stockier appearance. It was the strangest feeling, 8 minds united as one, 8 energies combined into one body, but the individuals were still there, they were just in sync, flowing together like streams into a river. She was each of the 8 friends and all of them, but yet she was also something new. She realized Erebus was speaking to her and listened.
"What have you done princess? Have you devoured your friends?! Absorbed them into that wound you call a soul?" 
She giggled at the creature's confusion, was that really what he thought happened? It was ironic that the only witness to something as beautiful as the manifestation of the love and magic between the closest of friends was so utterly unable to appreciate it.
"You-you dare laugh at me Starchild! I don't care what trick you pulled, you die all the same!" A wicked claw swished through the air, aimed to behead her where she stood, and stopped dead on a single-raised hoof. The shockwave of the impact pulverized all the ground around them for dozens of meters, but neither one moved an inch. Erebus stared in shock, then attacked in a flurry of lightning fast swipes. Pinkie's reflexes, Rainbow's speed, Rarity's grace and attention to detail made it a simple matter for his opponent to read every single one of his moves and avoid them with ease. 
Hmm, Starchild? Erebus had a habit of calling Twilight that, but it felt more appropriate when addressing herself. Yes, she liked the sound of that, Starchild it is then. Thank you Erebus, for my name. As "Starchild" thought she absentmindedly began to counterattack, combining Applejack's brawling and strength with Rainbow's lightning fast hard style martial arts. Surprisingly, Rarity also had experience using her hooves for combat, her style was more of a soft martial art, gracefully redirecting rather than striking like Rainbow's. All three came in handy for pummeling the shocked "god" into the dirt. With pleasant surprise, Starchild realized that each blow she landed on Erebus sounded like a miniature explosion and made both the ground and trees around them shake. How strong was she if she could hit that hard without even trying? Erebus retreated back from her and fired a blast of magic. Both Twilight and Sunset were prodigies in magic and now that Erebus was not so far above them in power it was a simple matter to warp space in front of the energy attack and redirect it to a spot right behind him. Erebus stumbled as his own attack struck him from behind. He ended up stumbling face first into a magically encased hoof which hurled him backwards. Erebus leaped back up, pieces of his face falling off, only to see Starchild's glowing face an inch from his own. Cracking a smug smile, she inhaled, then exhaled with a burst of dragonfire. When Erebus could see again, all he could see was flashing lights as Starchild danced around his clumsy attacks and struck him from all directions with both magic and hoof. With a roar he attempted to force his way into her mind, but was met with a stare more powerful than any stare that had ever been stared. In desperation, he tried to fly away, taking off with a boom, but everywhere he tried to fly, she blocked his path, moving faster than what should be possible. 
With an immeasurably strong kick, she shattered his chest, exposing the heart. 
"Hold still," She commanded firmly but calmly. She pinned Erebus in place with her magic and lowered her horn to touch the center of the dark heart. When the connection was made, all the light and love that had created the Starchild flowed into the heart and everypony within. Erebus screamed and fought back with all the pain, hate, and rage of those he held trapped combined with his own. A friendship between 8 beings and the boundless love from the hearts of  ponies and a dragon was pitted against the torment of thousands and eons of hatred. Erebus watched in disbelief as the heart's darkness began to fade and light started to return to it.
"I don't understand, how can one friendship undo the world's darkness?"
"Easy, all those you have taken into the heart are lost and scared in the darkness, if they see a light they want to go towards it. Our friendship inspires others and helps make new friendships in turn, that's how friendship grows, that's how it overcomes loss. Your power relies entirely on you, you force strength out of others, but it is not your own. Don't you see Erebus? That is why no magic you can wield can ever be as powerful as the magic of friendship. You have to force the feelings you want out of ponies, take the magic you need, friendship is offered freely and no one has to lose for everypony to gain." The heart was now half light and half dark.
"But I was born from the evil in ponies hearts, I have seen that darkness first hand. I used it to create Gloom, I have felt the darkness within even the bearers of Harmony! You can't deny it's power!"
"Where there is light there is also darkness Erebus, but the light exists in spite of the dark, not because of it. If your hate is stronger than why do ponies instead choose to love and forgive time and time again?" The heart now shined a blinding white as the last of the shadow left it. Every soul within cheered with joy as they were lifted out of the dark by the Starchild and reminded how much they are loved. Light erupted from the heart, breaking through Gloom's body and shining out of his mouth and eyes as he screamed. Starchild felt Erebus' mind retreat from his failing puppet as he attempted to cut his losses and let Gloom burn alone. "No, you will face justice," She followed him through his connection to Gloom and her mind followed his deep down into the Earth. 
A great chasm opened in the mindscape as she followed the decaying connection down into the prison of Erebus, deeper even than Tartarus. Her light lit up the deep, illuminating that which the Sun had never touched. Right as she began to lose the connection, her light illuminated the form of the god of darkness himself. He was massive, filling the great rift, contained only by a thin veil of rainbow light. His features were equine but also alien, he bore a striking similarity to a statue Spike that had scared Spike in the Castle of the Two Sisters or to the horses of the human world Sunset lived in. No mouth was on his muzzle, just two nostrils and a gleaming black coat of fur. Despite the feeling of revulsion permeating the space around him, Rarity would like his coat, it was perfectly groomed and shined with a twisted beauty. His maned was not hair, but a dark purple haze of gaseous fumes. The same dark purple glowed on his hooves and lined his wings, which resembled that of an albatross. 3 blazing eyes adorned his head, slitted like Nightmare Moon's. The third eye was where a unicorn horn would normally be, the horn itself was absent on Erebus. Each eye was a different color, one a yellowish green, another deep maroon, and the middle was bright violet, but the colors in his iris seemed to shimmer and shift like oil swirls in water. There was no cutie mark upon his flank. Erebus reared back on his hind legs, a deafening roar echoing through the cavern despite no mouth for it to come from.
"How dare you look upon me worm! If this is to remain my prison, then you will rot here with me! If it takes me another 10,000 years ALL will be mine!"
Starchild replied, "Equestria is my home, and all who live in this world are my friends, but you Erebus, you are not welcome here!" Channeling all the light radiating from both her and all the ponies she had freed, she formed an arrow of pure psychic light and launched it into the middle eye. The psychic contact made her light dim as she shuddered. For the first time since her birth, Starchild felt true pain as Erebus counterattacked. Even Eregloom at his most fearsome was but a shadow of the true Erebus, even if it was only through the mind. It felt like the shadow was trying to stain her very soul as she in turn tried to burn it away. She had the upper hand, but it was so big and so powerful that she feared she would not be able to do enough damage before she would tire and Erebus could turn the tables. Finally the connection failed as Starchild was pulled back to her body, the last thing she felt from Erebus was unimaginable agony and rage. Back to reality, Starchild watched as the heart exploded with the magic of friendship, tearing Gloom apart from the inside out as thousands of lights shot out of the heart and rained down to the ground below. Each light landed and faded, leaving a worn out pony behind. In a matter of seconds every pony Erebus and Gloom had taken was returned and the crowd covered the area below. Starchild watched with some sadness as what remained of Gloom burned away, and for a moment, she could see the form of a small windigo writhing in the fire of friendship before fading away, leaving only the shining Crystal Heart behind. She took the heart in her magic and descended to the ground below. The ponies watched in awe as the glowing goddess landed among them, holding the heart. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Discord walked out of the crowd and stood before Starchild. 
"Who are you, o savior?" Luna asked. Cadance was speechless before the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. Celestia smiled knowingly.
"Amazing, truly amazing," Discord said, even popping out a camera and taking pictures.
"Don't you recognize me?" After the short statement, Starchild exhaled slowly, shutting her eyes as if in sleep. With a pop suddenly 7 smiling ponies and a baby dragon stood in the goddess' place.
"It's us," Twilight said.
"Ta da!" Pinkie added. For a moment the huge crowd of ponies gathered around stood gawking, then a deafening cheer rose up for the heroes of Equestria.