>>Did you really think I was a good guy? A hero? One of those destined to save the world?
Laughable.
Dear reader, the hints were there from my very first appearance in Starlight's little abode to my very attitude throughout this whole debacle. I have never tried to sell that I was altruistic to you. My motivations are my own - and different from all the others.
The world is horrible. Everything is a paradox, a lie, or a two way street with no answer. Freedom is hell, slavery is hell, it's all hell.
But some things being worse than others, I decided to make a change.
Can you blame me really?
Think of all the evil you've seen. Sure, there was beauty, but it was diluted, maddeningly dangerous, and the source of death.
Can you really say it was worth it?
No. You can't. Not with a clear conscience.
Now, it's my turn to say something.<<
~~~
The Concrete response was swift - the drones flew in and the roof-mounted weapons aimed at the gargantuan form that M now was. Lights shone in the night, the defenses of the Concretion screaming into the darkness.
M held up his mechanical hand, eclipsing the moon. In less than a second, all the lights went out. The drones fell from the sky. The defenses stood down. The street lamps extinguished. The buildings became dark, dead.
M's tremendous facial screen was the brightest thing besides the moon in this new dark city, casting a spotlight over the Concretion. Concretes may have had their emotional stunts, but they could feel fear, and M knew it.
"M! What are you doing?" Pinkie shouted from below.
M swerved his head to the ruins of the central skyscraper he had come out of. Very little of it still stood, most was just a pile of metal, windows, and Concrete circuitry. Standing on top of the rubble, protected by magic shields were what remained of the Element Bearers, Diane, Maud, and Starlight. M stooped down, putting his 'face' close to Pinkie, the light reflecting within her eyes.
>>I am going to raze this poor excuse of a civilization into non-existence. These Concretes have been a scourge for far too long. It is time to burn away that which rots this world.<<
Pinkie blinked. "You're... Going to kill them all?"
>>That is precisely what I will do. Every square mile of this city will be reduced to rubble. They shall return to the earth from which they were severed.<<
Diane glared. "I don't think that would be considered 'right'."
"It isn't," Fluttershy said. "It's called genocide."
>>A genocide of necessity. You all wanted to heal the world. You purged it of the darkness. This is the other half of the job.<<
Rarity shook her head. "No! Really, no! There's some good here! Look at Maud! Look at Diane! If she can see then others can see!"
"Diane is not normal," Maud said. Rarity shot her a not helping look.
"They've killed so many," the Inspector noted.
"This is what they've had coming," Twilight assessed.
Rarity balked. "You can't be serious Twilight. You? Condoning genocide!?"
"They killed Applejack!" the Inspector shouted. "They deserve the worst!"
"Sounds like you've forgotten about the forgiveness you yourself received!" Rarity spat.
"Think of the entirety of Neighagra Falls, Rarity, if you can't be bothered enough by the death of your friend."
"Of course it hurts, Rarity, but what about the others responsible? The zebras! Do you want to commit genocide on their race!?"
"Zebras can be cured," Twilight said. "Concretes cannot."
"They can become functional," Fluttershy countered. "You saw Foci. He's not unusual like Diane."
"He was kept in a basement with gadgets! He never saw anypony! I can hardly call him functional!"
"He wasn't an enemy."
"He had to be brainwashed!"
"He was brainwashed at birth by a force that no longer exits!"
"There is still no cure," Maud said. "The Concretes are doomed to failure."
Diane glared at her sister. "It seems to me that we can't be sure of that. Some could want to change. To see."
"You can't base the other Concretes on yourself."
"I'm not. But maybe I can show them what I have begun to see. To tell them."
"They won't listen."
"I might not give them a choice."
"This is getting us nowhere!" Pinkie shouted, grabbing her head. "We're just arguing back and forth over a question that has no answer!"
Starlight frowned. "I... I think Pinkie's right. I can't see the right here."
"Are you serious? They need to die!" the Inspector shouted.
"No no no!" Rarity interjected. "This cannot be okay in any way!"
>>You all bicker like children. I'm done waiting for you to make up your minds. I will be destroying that block of buildings over there. I suggest you leave soon or have someone try to stop me. You have to choose, and may I remind you that stalling is still a choice. It all comes down to your decisions.<< He stood up, walked away, and blasted an entire skyscraper into nothing. The power of his horns melted the metal into a stream of slag. Concrete screams rang out in the night as hundreds died in a single instant.
"Nope!" Pinkie yelled, leaping into the air, aiming right for M's head - only for Twilight to encase Pinkie in her telekinesis, pulling her back. Pinkie fell backward, landing back in the rubble.
Fluttershy gasped. "Twilight, stop-"
"No," Twilight said. "I'm taking a stand. This is where I draw the line. Not the Concretes, Fluttershy, not the Concretes."
Diane deployed her gun and fired at Twilight - the bullets flying in an unusual spread that Twilight was just barely able to stop with her magic.
"Diane no!" Pinkie said, breaking the gun from her suit. "No killing!"
"But that's what she's doing by keeping us here," Diane said matter-of-factly, gesturing towards another building that M had slagged.
"You can fight without killing," Pinkie said. She pulled out a pair of boxing gloves and socked Twilight across the face. "Like that!"
Twilight twitched, unleashing her full magic. The Inspector stood beside her, casting shields.
"Don't make us fight you," Fluttershy said.
"I know you won't change your mind!" Twilight said.
"Then change yours!"
"No." Magic bolts shot from her horn. Fluttershy tried to dodge, but the Inspector's crystal walls prevented her from flying. She was hit, tossed back across the rubble.
Pinkie rushed Twilight, ready to box her across the face, only to find the Inspector's shields blocking her. Twilight fought back, pushing Pinkie away with her telekinesis - only to find Diane whacking her across the head with a long iron pole. Twilight reeled - but managed to retaliate, melting the pole with her magic and driving Diane to the ground with a purple explosion. Diane rolled out of the line of fire, bounced into Pinkie's tennis racket and rocketed towards Twilight - and yet, the Inspector grabbed her in her magic.
Twilight took to the air, raining purple fire down on the two pink mares. Diane's armor withstood it and Pinkie just ate the fire. The two leaped up after her, just to be slapped across the face by the Inspector's magic.
Diane decided the Inspector was annoying, so she went after her with a chainsaw. Pinkie had to stop her - replacing the chainsaw with a baseball bat - causing enough of a delay for the Inspector to shove them back.
"We're losing because we won't be lethal," Diane stated.
"Eh, we can beat them. Plus, even when you fight, you don't kill your friends, even if it'll make you lose. Don't kill. Ever."
"...They aren't my friends."
"Just trust me on this, you have a lot to learn. Here, try a rubber mallet, works pretty well." Pinkie herself pulled out a cast-iron skillet and charged.
Twilight prepared a powerful spell - but she never got to cast it, for Fluttershy herself had regained her senses. She flew at Twilight's horn, grabbing it with her hooves and twisting. Twilight screamed in agony at the stress on her horn, firing off a magic bolt that Fluttershy dodged with a twist of her body.
You don't want to do this Twilight.
"Yes I do!"
It won't end well.
"I'm an alicorn Fluttershy! You're just a pegasus who's a little smarter than normal and way too idealistic! This is going to end badly for you!" She unleashed a wide beam of magic.
Fluttershy closed her eyes, took a breath, and elegantly dodged the attack. She began to sing. "I never thought such a small mistake..."
"Oh no, you aren't hiding your thoughts from me!" Twilight sent a rotary of spear spells that Fluttershy gracefully spun through.
"Could have caused so much heartache..."
"Stop it!" Twilight yelled, firing spells madly and with ever-increasing intensity. The pegasus just twirled, flipped, and glided through every one - all with her eyes closed.
"Oh- woaaaaaaaaah...."
"Stop it!" Twilight reiterated, rearing her head back for a strong disintegrating spell.
"Oh- woaaaaah-oh-oh-oh-oh..."
Twilight thrust her head forward, firing a laser that could easily vaporize a manticore. Fluttershy flew over it, swerving over Twilight's head. Then Fluttershy opened her eyes.
Twilight saw what she was going to do. She tried to initiate a teleport, but Fluttershy was too fast. She drove her two front hooves into the back of Twilight's neck at an extremely precise angle. There was an audible crack, and Twilight's limbs stopped moving in a single instant. Fluttershy caught Twilight, making sure to keep her head balanced in her yellow hooves.
"You... You broke my neck!" Twilight managed to get out.
"Yes. I did. Don't try to heal it, you could set it badly in your current mental state. We'll get you help when this is over."
"Y... Y..."
"Shhh... Calm... Calm Twilight. I'm still me. You're still you. We just had a fight."
Twilight began to cry. "It's just... not... not..."
"You don't have to say anything. I know. I know." She set Twilight down gently on her side, so not to stress the neck.
The Inspector, Pinkie, and Diane were staring at her, mixed looks of fear, surprise, and curiosity on their faces.
Fluttershy walked up to the Inspector. "You've lost."
"I have."
"We're going to go attempt to stop M now."
"Yes you are."
"...Rarity..."
"No. No. You win. Go celebrate in your victory and do something stupid. I'm not helping."
Fluttershy sighed. "Okay... If that's what you want." She turned to Pinkie and Diane. "Come on. Let's go." She spread her wings and flew after M, two pink puffs following close behind.
Rarity shook her head. "...They can't face him alone."
"They are going to kill themselves," the Inspector deadpanned. "You want to join in mass suicide, go ahead."
"I... Wouldn't be of any help," Rarity sighed, glancing over at the paralyzed form of Twilight, to the enraged form of the Inspector, to the confused form of Starlight. "...There has to be something I can do..."
Starlight blinked. "...Something Anubis said..."
"Hm?"
"Follow me. I... I have an idea."
"...You're going to help?"
"...I guess so. Really, I... I don't think this is my call. I'm not sure what to choose, but..." She looked down at her bare, Element-less neck. "I should not let my friends just go into danger like that, alone, without helping. It wouldn't be... Loyal."
Rarity nodded. "Of course, dear."
In the distance, M melted another building. He turned around to meet his challenges.
>>Just the three of you?<<
"Does that matter?" Fluttershy asked.
>>Not really. It wouldn't have mattered if you all showed up. You saw how the Nightmare was pushing you around.<< He raised a finger and his horns started glowing. >>I'll try not to kill you.<<
"Lucky us, we're cleared to use lethal force!" Pinkie said, pulling out a chainsword. "Cause you can just go back to your happy monitor room after this."
>>Quite.<<
"Oh, and by the way, M?"
>>What?"
Her hair went flat and her eyes dark. "You've made my friends hurt each other. You should be scared."
>>I have no reason to fea_
Pinkie swung the chainsword at his screen before the message could finish displaying. He fired back with a magic blast, but the chainsword was unaffected by it, hitting the screen straight on and shattering it. Diane followed up with a gun the size of a house that fired missiles with teeth on the ends of them, turning M's entire head to mush. Fluttershy landed on his back and started pulling wires.
M's shattered horns glowed - and his screen reformed along with the rest of his head. The horns repaired themselves fully. >>As I was saying, I have no reason to be afraid. Your magics are powerful beyond understanding, but so are mine. You are like a bee - powerful, painful, but self-destructive and ultimately ineffective in small numbers.<< He blew them away with a black and yellow beam. He then flicked Fluttershy off his back with a stray finger.
>>You all think you are in control, that you are exceptions to the rules. That's correct - you are exceptions. Defilers of reality, benders of shape - you break the mold. But, well, the standard mold is that the 'heroes' win. You're the heroes, right? What if you break that mold?<<
"Shut up with all your existential worldplay!" Pinkie yelled, bringing a hammer down on his head. "We've had enough of it to last a lifetime!"
>>But I thought you were willing to hear all sides? That you were better than the decaying ponies of this world? That you were willing to consider everything? Why now do you do what they did - refuse to listen?<<
Pinkie threw a giant javelin that exploded into firecrackers - to which Diane added several dozen grenades. No permanent effect. "Is this a fight or debate?" Pinkie asked.
"It's a debate," Diane said. "It's how he sees everything. The world is wrong, and he needs the world to know that. Even what he's doing right now is that. He just wants to prove his point."
>>There she is, in action, a mare who can see so much. I'm curious, with that magic in you, can you see the patterns? The rules of reality? Destiny itself?<<
"...Yes."
>>That must be a rude awakening.<<
"Not really. Makes sense, frankly. I knew the world was a bit too weird."
>>In truth, it doesn't really matter if you know or not, I expect there's more to it than just an 'arbitrary hand of destiny,' but at that point, what would it even mean? Our world is the way it is, and we have to deal with it on its terms. So I must become a giant rampaging monster and you the fools who fight it. Or perhaps we're just reading too much into this, that is always possible.<<
"You're reading too much into this," Fluttershy said, yanking out a big purple wire from M's back. That did something - he roared in pain and rage from a vocal box neither of them had heard before. He grabbed Fluttershy, bringing her up to his head, flooding her in his screen's light.
>>Why do you fight? You know your powers are nothing. You might die just by collateral damage, your body is so frail.<<
"I thought about standing by and doing nothing once. Never again."
>>I'll make you then.<< He trapped her in a block of crystal and set her in the middle of a road. >>Her place is not here.<<
Pinkie freed her with an icepick.
>>I said her place is not here.<<
"I'm exactly where I need to be, M. I'm here so I can tell you a little something. You think you understand how the world works? You think you know the way things are? Well, you're wrong! I'm wrong too! We're all wrong! Nobody knows how the world works, not really! Every answer we come up with is fraught with mistakes and biases in some way - every one! What makes you think you're the one who struck gold? Is it because you're artificial? Because you were made by a pink pony? That you defeated the Nightmare?"
>>I used my reason.<<
"Yeah, well so did a lot of other bucking ponies! And they were oh so wrong!"
M pointed a finger at her. >>You deserve that place as their leader.<<
"Oh, thank you, glad to know I have your damn approval!"
There was no motion for a few minutes. Some Concretes fired hoof-held arms, but they were largely ignored. The city burned around them. The moonlight was tinted orange with the smoke.
>>Amazing. You made me think. I haven't had a pony force me to reanalyze in a long time.<<
"...You haven't changed your mind though."
>>No.<< He punched her. Fluttershy crashed into the ground with a scream - and passed out.
M turned to the two pink ponies. >>Do you two want to have a go at talking this out?<<
"No," they said in unison.
>>Good. Even I was getting tired of my own words.<< They charged at each other.
~~~
Beneath the Concretion, Starlight dispatched a few Concretes - they had no armor, but they still flew in rage at the unicorn anyway. "Okay.... Stressing my horn here..."
"...Could you at least tell me what your plan is?" Rarity asked, looking around at all the red alarm lights and dead bodies - most of which weren't put there by Starlight. The Concretes were already starting to panic and turn on each other.
"Anubis said all the nukes were kept nearby. Since we didn't explode when M got huge, I figured they must be underground. All we have to do is override the lockout he has on the entire city and hit him with one."
"...Nukes are one of those giant missiles that were being shot at Canterlot, right?"
"Precisely!"
"What about the collateral damage!?"
"It won't destroy - or even irradiate - the entire Concretion, just a sizeable chunk. And frankly this is the only idea I had."
Rarity blinked, then nodded slowly. "Okay, okay, we can do it. I'm desperate. We're desperate."
Starlight clapped her hooves. "There!" She pointed."A symbol for radiation and a door with a lot of locks!" She melted the door with her magic, feeling her horn steam. "...Okay... Horn's having problems. Hopefully this is the right door."
They walked into a dark room. Without lights it was impossible to see. Rarity lit her horn, casting the small enclosure in a pure light. Consoles, buttons, switches, and screens lined the walls; through the windows they could see dozens of rockets and nukes sitting in a large warehouse.
Starlight whistled. "Well, pretty sure we only need one." She looked around, checking all the panels, restoring power to the room with a quick spell. "...I'm also pretty sure this isn't where you launch them."
"...Do we need to keep looking?"
"No... I think I can give this place power and hook it up directly to a missile. It'll just take some clever magic..." She blinked. "Hold on, is somepony out there?"
There did, in fact, appear to be a pony out among the missiles. She was easy to recognize, even from their vantage point - Marble. She was standing next to a single rocket with a laptop computer, typing furiously. A few seconds later one of the screens next to Rarity that had displayed a few dozen lines of red text changed to green text with a satisfying 'ding!'
Starlight blinked. "...I think she just removed the security measures on the rockets."
"...Why?"
"Because she's using one," Starlight said, pointing back out. Marble climbed into the top of one of the rockets, dragging her computer with her. A large box loaded itself on the rocket as well, slightly below the cabin she was in. The hatch doors of the missile chamber opened, spilling some rubble into the warehouse, but nothing exploded. The ground beneath Marble's rocket opened as well, serving as an exhaust vent for the immense power of the rocket fire. It flew out of the warehouse and into the sky, where Rarity and Starlight quickly lost sight of it.
The screen remained green. The hatch doors remained open.
"...She just made our job a lot easier," Starlight said. "Good thing she doesn't give a crap about the Concretion. Or, from what I saw of her, anything at all."
"Can you do the rest?"
"I think so, I'll just need to use some clever magics..."
"Careful with your horn."
"I'll try, but this is going to be pretty complicated..." Starlight began her complex lattice of spells. A few lights on nearby screens lit up and several buttons began to flash. One of the nukes had the floor open up beneath them, indicating it was ready for launch. Many lights on the nuke lit up and turned red. "Armed... Ready... Just need to-" Her horn let out a small explosion, knocking her to the ground.
Rarity blinked. "Starlight...?" she said, voice wavering. She walked up to her - both the heartbeat and breath still existed. Starlight was fine - just out cold. Rarity turned back to the controls - everything had power, everything looked ready, and the missile outside was humming slightly. She wasn't sure if that was good.
She bit her lip. She was going to have to launch it. But she didn't know how. She scanned the buttons - the big red one? Maybe the lever? Or the green button on that screen? Or was it that slider over there? She... had no idea.
"...Having problems?"
Rarity turned to see the Inspector behind her. Rarity grimaced. "...Yes."
The Inspector took one look at the controls. "...If you could read Concrete you'd know exactly what button to push."
"But I don't!" Rarity wailed. "I can't! Help me!"
The Inspector looked out at the missile. "...Why? I want him to pound this place to dust. Erase it. Destroy it."
"I know. But... But look at what he's done to us! ...No, not him. This situation. We're at each other's throats. Diane tried to kill Twilight, for crying out loud. Fluttershy broke her neck! Fighting against each other... It isn't right. We should stand together, prop each other up."
The Inspector said nothing, merely staring into the distance, eyes obscured by Applejack's hat.
"...Would Applejack have killed them all?"
"How dare-"
"I don't know if she would have or not. It's why I'm asking."
The Inspector looked down. "...No. She... She wouldn't kill them all. Wound them, disable them, deal a blow, yes. But she wouldn't erase them. Too much like what happened to her family."
Rarity put a hoof over the Inspector. "Dear... Rarity." At the tender use of her name, the Inspector looked into Rarity's eyes. The eyes locked - identical, blue, teary. No words were exchanged.
"...Big red button," the Inspector said.
"Of course it is," Rarity said. She moved the Inspector's hoof over to the button with hers. "Let's hit it together."
They looked at each other once again. In each of their eyes, they saw a reflection. They were both dirty, mangy, scratched, bruised, and battered. Their eyelashes had fallen out long ago, and their manes were unkempt. Besides their cutie marks and the hats, there was no telling the two of them apart. It was like looking in a perfect mirror.
"Ready dear?"
"Ready."
They pressed the button.
The missile in the bay unleashed a jet of fire, sailing upwards. The force was impressive, shaking some of the nearby missiles, but not setting any of them off. The scarlet jet of flame climbed out of the doors and into the sky, a bloody star against the blackness. It made a sharp turn and flew out of their sight. They held their breath.
Aboveground, M didn't notice it - he was busy having a pair of giant chainsaws taken to his back. He threw the two pink ponies off him, embedding them in a nearby building.
They saw the missile coming while M was focused in their direction. They quickly grabbed Fluttershy and ran - disappearing from the arena completely by ducking behind a lamppost.
>>...Concerning.<<
He felt the nuke touch him, exploding into his back.
He removed his consciousness from the body before it could feel anything else.
Twilight saw the city in her field of view explode, a mushroom cloud of fire sending shrapnel everywhere. She was not in the blast radius - but she saw the debris coming. She panicked - forcing herself to heal her neck, solidifying the broken bone. She yelled out in pain when it didn't set correctly, the pain beyond anything she had experienced before. Barely conscious, she managed to levitate herself behind a still-standing wall, prepared to avoid the shrapnel. She'd worry about the radiation later when she was able to.
Then she heard the BOOM, but decided she didn't care. She was just going to sit here and wait. She saw Maud walking around somewhere to her left. She didn't try to look at her - she just breathed. In...out. In...out.
Pinkie, Diane, and Fluttershy appeared. Fluttershy stumbled around, sitting next to Twilight. Even in her dazed state, Fluttershy managed to put her wing around Twilight, to feel her neck. She felt the spur that had formed.
Fluttershy broke down, weeping bitterly.
Twilight just slowly shut her eyes, crying through her eyelids.
Rarity, the Inspector, and Starlight showed up a few minutes later. Starlight's horn was smoking. The Inspector checked to make sure everypony was okay, but after that, not much happened.
It was over. They had won.
Nopony was celebrating.