"This can't be happening." Gloriosa looked into the sky as Midnight continued to rip open gateways to Equestria and to countless other worlds with her magic and claws. "This just can't be happening!"
"The Power of the Everfree must've resonated with Twilight and allowed Midnight to be resurrected." Sugarcoat examined the cracked orb that continued to spew out dark magic. "Yet for some reason, Midnight isn't in control of Twilight's body anymore. She's still here. Why is that?"
"Midnight wanted me to use magic again, and the second she found an opportunity, she leapt at it." Sci-Twi looked down at her trembling hands. "I'm thankful that she's no longer a part of me, but I'm really worried about what she's going to do as her own free-willed entity..."
"We need to stop her, and fast!" Rainbow Dash threw her arm towards Midnight as she spoke to the girls. "If she continues opening up portals like that, then who knows who could be in danger?"
"But look at the Power of the Everfree!" Gloriosa pointed over towards the orb herself. "It's been fractured, and that monster is harnessing all of the evil that now plagues it! It's only a matter of time before that darkness takes the orb entirely, and turns this forest into a nightmare scape devoid of hope!"
"Then we've gotta fix it, and fast!" Sunset Shimmer's hand glowed a bright shade of yellow as she poised her hand over the cracks. She fired a bright beam at where the darkness was pouring out and managed to hold it back. "I'll contain the dark magic for as long as I can. How we can restore it, I have no clue, though."
"So what now?" Sour asked, walking over to the orb. "Duct tape? Glue? Some flimsy welding tools? It's over, girls! Just accept it!"
"It's never over, Sour!" Sci-Twi shouted back at her before she walked over to the orb. She gently examined the crack and readjusted her glasses. "Midnight might have cracked the orb, but there's still a way that we can harness the power that lurks deep inside of it."
"And how do we do that?" Fluttershy slowly stepped forward. "It looks awfully evil, and I don't think that that crack's gonna be sealed up any time soon."
"I have a plan, but there's no guarantees that it'll work." Sci-Twi looked back at the rest of the girls. "You girls can all Pony-Up, right?"
"Yes?" They all chimed together.
"Then use that power. Make it resonate with the Power of the Everfree. Combine the six elements and strike at the orb's heart, cleanse it of the darkness, and reawaken the true power." Sci-Twi stepped backwards. "It might be expelling dark magic at the moment, but I know now. Magic only stems from the heart of the user. It has no bearing on what happens to the rest of the world. Midnight's power is strong, but you girls have something that she doesn't."
"What's that?" Gloriosa approached Sci-Twi.
"You have your friendships. You have your bonds. And you have your rainbow-coloured magic." Sci-Twi nodded at the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts. "Together, you can call upon that very same power to restore the orb to normal, just as you did when you defeated Midnight back at the Friendship Games."
"It's a long shot, but I suppose that it couldn't hurt." Rarity looked at the orb, the crack only getting bigger and bigger, spewing more dark magic and making Sunset grit her teeth with her heightened concentration. "What have we got to lose anyways? Midnight's already ripping the world asunder, there's no way that it could possibly get worse."
"Alright." Sunset Shimmer took her magic away from the orb, letting the flow of dark purple energy flow smoothly once more. "Let's give your idea a shot, Twilight."
The girls all took a hexagon formation around the altar, raising their hands to the air as they all started to glow their skin colours. Gaining pony ears, wings, horns, and tails, their emblems appeared beneath their feet in the middle of a magical rune.
"Honesty!" Applejack called out as her rune glowed brighter.
"Loyalty!" Rainbow Dash added once her rune lit up too.
"Generousity!" Rarity also called out.
"Laughter!" Pinkie Pie leapt up and threw confetti out to her sides as the mark below her began to shine.
"Kindness." Fluttershy nodded calmly and clasped her hands together.
"Magic!" Sunset finished, generating the final rune.
The Rainbooms were all tethered together by a bright rainbow-coloured chain and shone even brighter than before. The runes turned clear white and fired beams that created a hexagonal prism around the altar. The walls of the prism glimmered brightly, even in the dark vortex above of them.
The six corners of the prism's inside glowed the shades of the rainbow, and thin lines of energy converged onto the center, right onto the Power of the Everfree. The most powerful blast of light then occurred, fixing the crack and negating the stream of darkness once and for all.
"Go, Twilight!" Sunset called out as the prism opened up on one of the sides. "Get to the Power of the Everfree!"
"Okay!" Sci-Twi nodded as she jumped into the prism and laid both of her hands on the orb.
The Power of the Everfree glowed brighter still, carrying Sci-Twi into the air and illuminating her eyes. The orb pulsated the colours of the rainbow once more, and as Twilight's grasp on the ball tightened, she could see an entirely different reality. She felt like she was flying through space at light speed with her hands far behind her as she saw things that she had never seen before.
Images of her entire life flashed before her. From when she was just being born, to her first day at school, to the time she spent at CPA, to the Friendship Games, and even to the discovery of the orb itself. Every picture flashed by at the speed of light, and at the end of it all, Twilight could see an extroadinarily radiant corridor of light.
"So warm..." Twilight stepped forward towards the light, reaching out to touch it. When she finally felt something, she clutched onto it tight. "I remember now. The Magic of Friendship." Sci-Twi readjusted to the light and saw all of her friends, giving her bright smiles as they gave her gentle nods. "The ultimate tool to end conflict. The final weapon capable of banishing the darkness. And the magic that will safeguard my world, and many others.
"Midnight Sparkle poses a threat not just to this world, but to many others as well," said Sci-Twi. "I want to defend them, but I can't do it alone." She looked at Sunset in the eyes and gave them all a smile. "Together. That's what you girls are known for. Together, we can defeat Midnight, save our world, and make sure that she never haunts anyone ever again!"
With another blast of light, Twilight returned to the altar looking completely different. Her hair flowed brightly and had stars twinkling in it. She wore a dress with sky-blue gloves and shoes with her Cutie Mark resting on her collar. She had a bright white horn poking out of her hair, a pair of angel wings, and her glasses were completely gone.
"Whoa..." Pinkie Pie and Lemon Zest both dropped their jaws together as they looked at Twilight. "Awesome!"
"My name is Twilight Sparkle." Sci-Twi nodded as she looked at her new body. "I am the embodiment of magic, and the chosen one decided by the Power of the Everfree. I know all of my counterpart's powers and can bend the forest's power to my will. I, along with all of you, shall defeat Midnight Sparkle and save this world from decimation. For my name is..." She flew up into the sky and pushed her hands out, creating a bright burst of light that closed off all of the rifts Midnight had summoned, as well as shrink the portal that she had created. "Constellation Sparkle!"
With a swing of Constellation's arms, a giant tree-like creature was formed. The arms and legs were composed entirely out of pieces of the Everfree Forest, and the head, knees, palms, and chest had holes in them. With yet another swing, she encased the Rainbooms in bubbles and carried them into the conjured treant, making it light up with the colours of the rainbow.
"Hey! What about us?!" Sunny cried out from the ground.
"Oh. Sorry. My mistake." Constellation used her magic to teleport the Shadowbolts onto the shoulders of the treant and root them in place, securely locking their legs into the shoulders of the creation so that they didn't fall out. "Now, we shall face Midnight with pride!"
"So that's how you want to play it, is it?!" Midnight snarled as she looked ar Constellation and the giant. Swooping down to the ground, she fired a massive laser and pulled out a massive chunk of the earth. "Well, that's just fine with me. A giant-on-giant battle should be worthy of the last fight your miserable species shall ever see!"
With her own dark magic, Midnight uprooted Miasma's Cerberus mech and set it down on the ground. However, it paled in comparison to that of the one made by Constellation. Looking over at Gaia Everfree approaching her with a furious look on her face, Midnight fired a beam of darkness at her, causing her to fall unconscious and fly directly towards the Cerberus.
"Now. Let's see what this all mixes together into!" Midnight flew in between the two forces and grabbed onto both of them, imbuing her power into both of them as she and they all glowed a foreboding shade of dark purple.
A dark sphere of energy cocooned the three of them and was shot high into the air, straight into the vortex. It grew in size and shot out even more lightning before deluging darkness down onto the forest floor. The stream was so powerful that it was causing a crater to form where the beam was hitting.
What descended from the beam was the size of the Housetree that Gloriosa lived in, and was a combination of flesh, nature, and machine. Wires and vines portruded out of the legs, arms, and back, as massive wings with pulsating black veins were unfurled. Demonic red eyes opened up as the monster's claws were unfurled and conducted lightning between each clawtip. The chest of the creation was glowing black and purple, and with a massive roar, the beast threw its arms backwards and arched its head towards the sky.
"A fusion of all things evil and powerful in this forest, added with the dark side of the chosen one and the Power of the Everfree, I am the ultimate amalgamation of raw power," the monster spoke in Midnight Sparkle, Miasma, and Gaia Everfree's voices all at once. "The true bringer of the apocalypse, and the ultimate demon entity of destruction and conquest. I am Midnight Eclipse!"
"Let's finish this!" Sunset Shimmer shouted at Midnight. "I'm not going to let some monster destroy our worlds!"
"Yeah! This ends right here, right now!" Lemon Zest violently pressed her finger against the palm of her hand.
"We shall end this, once and for all. Now and forever, my dark counterpart." Constellation remained calm, despite the monster that she was facing. "To finally cleanse Twilight Sparkle once and for all, we shall destroy you, and let the light rule over these worlds once more!"
"Then bring it on!" Midnight flexed her middle finger, to taunt the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts. "This final battle shall decide once and for all the true meaning of magic, as well as the fate of the world!" Midnight threw her arms back, unfurling her wings even wider. "Prepare yourself! Unlike the Friendship Games, I will NOT hold back this time!"