//------------------------------// // Edge of Time: Luna's Last Stand // Story: Chrono Reflect // by Azure Sandora //------------------------------// Edge of Time – Luna's Last Stand When Rarity and Twilight returned to Zenith, they found everyone already waiting for them. No words needed to be said among them. They were all ready for this fight to end, and had all accepted what the outcome would be. Rarity nodded to all of them, and they all walked over to the black hole, where Celestia was waiting for them. “I assume you've made your decision then?” Celestia asked. “I have,” Rarity said, “I'm going to do whatever it takes to stop Lavos.” Celestia closed her eyes sadly and nodded, “Thank you Rarity. For what it's worth, I'm sorry that it has come to this.” “Don't,” Rarity said shaking her head, “No one is to blame here. If anything, I'm the one who's at fault for fighting against the flow of time.” “No one can blame you for that,” DASH-379 said, “No one actually wants to die.” “So, we goin'?” Applejack asked, “Ah'd rather we not draw this out too much.” Celestia moved aside, revealing the black hole before them. All six of them stood before it, but Rarity continued walking toward it, spinning her spear over her head. She then thrust it into the black hole, sending black energy inside to expand it. As she rose to her feet, Pinkamena walked over to Rarity and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rarity just sighed somberly and patted her hand before turning to the rest of her party, “Alright girls. I think we've done this enough times to know what to do. Let's go.” One by one, all of them jumped into the black hole. Before Twilight jumped in, she squeezed Rarity's hand and then jumped down, leaving Rarity and Fluttershy alone. Fluttershy ran over to Rarity and hugged her tightly from behind. “You don't have to say anything, dear,” Rarity said softly holding Fluttershy's hands, “I already know.” The two of them held hands and jumped through together, ironically just like when they first departed for their journey together. The black hole closed behind them, leaving Celestia alone once again in her world. “Alone again,” Celestia said somberly, “Perhaps, this is our fault for fighting against time. I pray that you all make a better decision than we did.” play song They all arrived in what appeared to be a dead forest. There were trees all around them, but none of them were alive. The ground was barren, and the sky was dark with swirling clouds like it was going to storm. DASH-379 stepped forward and scanned their environment, “This world is… dead. Negative, it is barely a world at all.” “Hey, what happened to you?” Applejack asked, “You sound mechanical again.” DASH-379 turned Applejack and frowned, “I am merely speaking normally, like I always do. You on the other hand have lost your accent.” “Accent…?” Applejack asked confused, “What…?” “I think I get it,” Twilight said stepping forward, “We took on our original persona's while in Zenith, but in any other world we go back to how we were in our respective worlds.” “Still remember Equestria though,” Fluttershy said, “Remember Equestria and human world.” “In the end, you all still have your own worlds,” Pinkamena said resting her hands behind her head, “It would be odd hearing you guys talk like Equestrians in your individual homes. That being said, anyone know where we need to go?” “I think, it's that over there,” Rarity said, pointing to what looked like a large black tower a bit ahead of them. The tower actually went all the way into the clouds, which seemed to glow bright purple around the tower. “I am detecting a large energy signature within that structure,” DASH-379 said, “It is a black element, but that is all I can detect from here.” “Black element Luna,” Fluttershy said, walking next to DASH and holding onto her arm, “Luna waiting for us.” “She probably called back all of her avatars like Celestia did,” Applejack said, “Damn it, with how strong Celestia was, I can only imagine how strong Luna's going to be.” “If you wish to run away, you can,” DASH-379 said, “I am confident in my abilities as a superior model.” “I bet you're just as scared as the rest of us,” Pinkamena said with a smirk, “Dashie always puts up a front to hide when she's afraid.” “Is that true, darling?” Rarity asked walking up to DASH-379 and smirking, “Are you pretending to be brave for us?” “Cease this pointless banter at my expense!” DASH-379 said, looking away and clearly blushing. Despite their situation, that got everyone to laugh. “So, are we ready ladies?” Rarity asked. “As ready as I'll ever be,” Applejack said gripping her sword. “I ready to fight Lavos,” Fluttershy said adamantly. “Affirmative,” DASH said, with much conviction despite her mechanical tone, “Let us put an end to the Time Devourer and Luna once and for all.” “I accomplished everything I wanted,” Pinkamena said looking around at her friends before giving a maniacal smirk, “From here on out, I'm in your capable hands.” “Let's go,” Twilight said pulling out the Chrono Cross, “I'm ready.” Rarity looked at her friends, in her head each one of them replaced with the versions of them that she remembered. This time though, she didn't feel hopeless and alone. She felt empowered, knowing that her friends were right beside her. She turned to the tower and readied her spear. “Let's save the world, again,” Rarity said as if this were routine. She then lead her party toward the tower, silently thanking her friends for getting her this far. The interior of the large tower was very similar to the tower that Celestia resided in, but without the machinery. When Rarity and her group entered the tower, they felt a dark presence surrounding them. Crystal… have you truly chosen this path? “That voice…” Twilight said backing away a bit, “Was that… Luna?” “Yes, I have,” Rarity said stepping forward, “You made me believe that there was no place for me in the universe, and that I would be pushed aside.” “Was that not the truth?” Everyone turned to the side and saw Vice-Principal Luna leaning against a pillar with her arms folded. “According to the laws of the universe, my sister's laws, you must die in order for the world to move forward,” Vice-Principal Luna continued, “How is that fair?” “Honestly, that isn't fair,” Applejack said, “No two ways about it. If there was a way to undo this, then we would. But don't you see what fighting the flow of time has already done?” “I'm surprised to hear that from you, Applejack,” they heard Viceroy Luna from Medieval say from behind them, “You once told me that you'd give anything to have your teacher back, and yet you now condemn her to a fate worse than death itself?” “I said anything, yes, but this right here is taking things too far!” Applejack shouted, “You're willing to destroy the entire universe for this?!” “Yes I am!” another Luna shouted hovering above them, this one wearing skimpy black armor similar to DASH-379 but reminiscent of dominatrix attire, “I loved Rarity more than anything! Having to watch her die over and over again in every single world was torture!” she pointed to DASH-379, “I infected you with my virus in the hopes that the guilt of killing my friend would destroy you!” “You knew the Rarity in Machine?” DASH-379 asked, “But… how?” “I know Rarity in all worlds,” Chief Luna from Forest said, walking down from stairs before them, “Rarity special person to me in every world. Best friend in Medieval, former student in Standard, child who grant Machine self humanity,” she closed her eyes pained, “and… adopted child in Forest.” “I remember that,” Fluttershy said, “I never meet her, but I hear stories of how Chief lose child in terrible accident. Chief happy person before then,” Fluttershy rubbed her stomach with a sobered expression, “Losing child is terrible sad event.” “We were… close in all of those worlds…?” Rarity asked Luna, unsure of which one she was really talking to, “I… I don't…” “I had to distance myself from you in order for your powers to become stronger, and lead you to believe we were enemies,” Vice-Principal Luna said walking up to Rarity, “But I'm sure you remember when you were in elementary school. Before being Vice-Principal, I was your second grade teacher.” Rarity looked at Luna intently, her eyes widening as she remembered, “Wait… that's true. You were my second grade teacher. Does this mean, all this time you were planning this?” “Yes,” Vice-Principal Luna said rubbing her arm and looking away somberly, “I can't explain it, but somehow you and I have always been close to one another, and you always had a strong impact on me.” “That's why I fight so hard to save you,” Chief Luna said, now standing with them and placing a hand on Rarity's back, “Only smile with you near.” “You saved my life, and lit up my world,” DASH-001 Luna said, standing on Rarity's other side and caressing her cheek, “I couldn't allow you to fade into oblivion.” “So please Rarity,” Viceroy Luna said, now walking up to stand next to Vice-Principal Luna and take Rarity's hand, “Won't you let me save you this time?” “I…” Rarity said looking down, “I don't…” “What you're doing is just plain selfish, Luna,” Pinkamena said folding her arms, “Trying to keep one person safe at the cost of the whole universe? Just where do you get off deciding something like that?! What about what Rarity wants?! Do you think she wants the universe to be destroyed?!” “We do not wish for Rarity to die either,” DASH-379 said, “She has touched our lives just as much as she has touched yours. However, we also understand that in the end, it is Rarity's decision, and have chosen to support her decision.” “Yes, that what it mean to be friend,” Fluttershy said adamantly, “Support friend, even if they make decision that you not happy with.” “Rarity is one of the most noble people I know,” Applejack said with a proud smile, “Whether in this world, my world, Equestria, or any other world, Rarity's always been a wonderful and courageous person. She's making the right choice here, and as her friend, I'm going to walk with her till she sees this choice through.” “I love Rarity,” Twilight said holding her hands to her chest, “So seeing her do this is tearing me up inside. I want to just grab her hand and pull her away, running far away from all of this. But I also know that Rarity's not the type to run away. So… as Rarity's light, I'm going to stay with her till her last moments,” she wiped her eyes and then looked at Rarity with a confident smile, “That's what you want, right Rarity?” Rarity looked down, taking in everything her friends said, and then smirked, “Damn right.” All four Lunas stepped back a bit in shock. “Rarity?” Viceroy Luna asked. “While I do appreciate you caring so much about me, I'm afraid my mind's already made up,” Rarity waved her hair and looked Vice-Principal Luna right in the eye, “I'm going to stop Lavos once and for all, and clean up our mess. Now, you can either step aside of your own volition, or I can move you myself. Your choice, darling.” All four Lunas looked ready to burst in anger and devastation. “After everything I've done… you'd still choose this fate?!” Machine Luna shouted. “Funny story, you see I do remember my second grade teacher,” Rarity said putting a hand on her hip, “I also remember her being noticeably absent in my life after I graduated elementary school. Guess she had other things she needed to do, so I wasn't so important to her. “You see, I've come to realize just how selfish of a person you really are. You didn't want to save me for me. You wanted to save me for yourself. These five girls behind me, they've been by my side from the very beginning, and wish to help me accomplish my dreams. So that's why,” she turned around and sauntered back to her friends, turning back to Luna with her original sassy smirk, “I'm sticking with this group right here.” All four Luna's looked like they were holding themselves back from screaming. Viceroy Luna looked like she was about to start crying, Chief Luna was backing away horrified, and DASH-001 Luna was holding her head in frustration with her eyes closed tightly. Vice-Principal Luna looked down trembling, her fists tightening. “No…” Vice-Principal Luna said, “No….! I'm not letting this happen!” “You have to let me protect you, Rarity!” DASH-001 Luna cried, “If you don't, you will vanish!” “Does this mean nothing to you?!”Chief Luna asked, “You wish to die?!” “It's my life. I'll do whatever I want with it,” Rarity stated. “Then I'll just have to beat some sense into you!” Viceroy Luna said, all four Lunas standing up straighter at the ready, “I will not allow you to throw your life away Rarity!” All four Lunas vanished, and the entire room began shaking. Rarity and her party all gathered close together and pulled their weapons out. play song “What's happening?!” Twilight asked. “I am detecting a large energy signature above us!” DASH-379 said, “It is not Lavos, but it is something almost just as strong!” “I bet that's Luna!” Pinkamena said, “The real Luna, not the projections we've been seeing so far!” “We just need to proceed ahead!” Rarity shouted, “Let's get going!” The six of them ran toward the stairs going up. The first thing they tried to do was get to the elevator, but they found it stuck on the higher floors. “Come on! Seriously?!” Twilight fussed. “What is wrong?” DASH-379 asked, she and Fluttershy running to her side. “The elevator's not moving!” Twilight cried, “I am NOT looking forward to us taking the stairs!” she was cut off at the sound of growling. Two large shadowy monsters shaped almost like crabs formed behind them and slowly approached them. “Um, we have a problem!” Pinkamena said getting in her fighting stance. “Twilight, get that elevator running!” Rarity commanded getting her spear ready, “I know you can figure it out!” Twilight turned to Rarity and gave her a touched smile before giving the elevator her undivided attention. Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkamena all got in their fighting stances, and Fluttershy ran up to join the fight as well. The crab on the left charged at them first, but they broke up into two groups; Fluttershy and Rarity in one group, and Applejack and Pinkamena in the other group. Fluttershy rushed in to slash the crab on the left with her daggers, but was knocked back by it's large pincers. Rarity charged in with her spear and slashed it a few times to gather energy. She then jumped back and charged her black element, using Feral Cats on both of them. Applejack slashed the second one with her sword to gather energy, and then cast Vigor on herself to increase her attack. She then continued to slash it with her stronger blade, actually meeting its pincers with her blade. Pinkamena rushed in at the same time and spun around slashing with her bladed hoop, taking advantage of it being occupied by Applejack's attack. She then charged up her blue element and summoned her Party Cannon, hitting it back and freezing it. The two crabs both charged up blue elements and pointed their pincers forward, firing large bubbles of water at the group. Rarity actually did something very bold, getting on front of the group and slashing the bubbles away with her spear. She turned to Applejack and nodded, both of them charging up their respective elements and hitting the one on the right with their X-Strike. That seemed to do a lot of damage to it. Meanwhile, Twilight was having a hell of a time with the elevator, which even after she examined the controls and took them apart, they still didn't budge. “Come on!” Twilight cried, “What's it going to take?!” “Move out of my way!” DASH-379 demanded, pushing Twilight aside and charging electricity through her body. “Rainbow Dash, what are you thinking!” Twilight cried frantically. “I am getting impatient waiting for your way!” DASH said, “We are now trying it my way!” she thrust her fist into the controls sending electricity through it. A second later the elevator actually started coming alive. Twilight looked dumfounded. “I can't believe that worked,” Twilight said blinking. Pinkamena and Fluttershy used their Frigid Wave technique to kill the one on the right while Rarity and Applejack continued to trade blows with the one on the left. It looked like it was getting ready to charge up an element, but Applejack charged up hers first and shot her flame thrower at it. As its body caught fire, Rarity charge up her black element and hit it with her Grim Slash, finishing it off. “Did you get it working?” Rarity asked as the group gathered together by the elevator. “Um… it was actually Rainbow Dash who got it to work,” Twilight said. “All it needed was a kick start is all,” DASH-379 said grinning and rubbing her nose, “You are allowed to shower me with praise and gratitude now.” “Yeah yeah, thanks Dash,” Applejack said patting her on the back, “You did good.” “Let's get in the elevator before another random boss shows up,” Pinkamena requested. They all ran into the elevator and took it to the top floor. play song While they rose up, Rarity stood by the back window and looked out at the bleak atmosphere before her. Twilight walked over to her side and took her hand, also looking out at the horizon. “What a view, huh?” Rarity asked, “Last day alive, and this is the final sky that I see.” “Rarity…” Twilight said somberly. “It's fine though,” Rarity said, “I mean, it's not ideal, but I suppose that it's better than it raining.” “I… I don't know what to say…” Twilight said looking away, “I mean… what CAN I say…?” “Don't say anything,” Rarity requested quietly, “Just… let me have this final moment…” One by one, every one of them walked over to them and stood out the window, all looking out at the sad sky. No one said anything as the elevator rose. They just enjoyed the feeling of being together again. This might have been the last time they were all in the same world together. It was definitely the last time for one of them. end song When the elevator made it to the top floor, they exited to find themselves in a large domed room. In the far end of the room was what looked like Nightmare Moon, as she was wearing the same fancy black gown she always wore. Only this time she was on her knees chained to the wall, and purple energy was seeping into her body. If it wasn't for the fact that she was breathing heavily, they'd assume she were dead. “So now you see me, Rarity…” Luna said softly, “My true form… although you are probably aware of this form already…” “What are you going to do?” Rarity asked stepping forward, “You can't do anything from where you are.” Luna laughed ruefully, “Oh that's where you're wrong,” Luna said, slowly sitting up, “For you see… there are benefits to selling one's very soul to Lavos…” “I don't understand this,” Applejack said, “Why are you going to such lengths for one person?” “Because that one person means the world to me…!” Luna said, her voice shaking as she apparently started crying, “She made me feel as if I weren't alone in this horrid place…! That maybe… I could one day return to the light…!” “I sure you could return to land of light,” Fluttershy said, “We set you free, and you come live with us-” “NO!!!” Luna screamed cutting Fluttershy off, “I don't want to live in a world without Rarity! She is my life! My soul mate! I love her more than anything, and I will not let anyone take her from me! Not you, not Celestia, and certainly not this universe!” “You're doing all of this because you love her!” Twilight asked incredulous, “You're going to destroy the entire universe over this!” “TO HELL WITH THIS UNIVERSE!!!” Luna screamed, “IF IT WON'T ALLOW RARITY AND I TO BE HAPPY IN IT, THEN I WANT IT TO BE DESTROYED!!!” in her rage, the power seeping into her took hold and empowered her, allowing her to break her chains. She slowly rose to her feet and walked forward, elegantly holding out her hand and summoning her scythe before glaring at all of them with glowing red eyes, “I'LL DESTROY THIS UNIVERSE MYSELF IF I MUST!!!” play song “No,” Rarity said shaking her head, “I can't allow that! I won't allow that! That way of thinking is what almost killed my friends, and turned me into the very sort of person I hate! This whole thing started with us…” she glared at Luna with tears in her eyes, “AND IT'S GOING TO END WITH US!!!” The two of them screamed and charged at each other, slashing one another wildly with their respective weapons. Luna jumped away as DASH-379 fired at her with her arm cannon. DASH then activated the jets on her feet and charged at Luna to fight her close quarter. Luna blocked all of her attacks effortlessly and then slashed her back with her scythe. Twilight took a chance and charged up her white element. She then cast Holy Lance on Luna. Sadly she never knew if it was effective as Luna immediately spun her scythe above her head charging up her black element. She then held out her hand and cast Feral Cats on the whole group, doing massive damage to all of them and knocking them to the floor. “If you do this Rarity, you'll be gone forever!” Luna cried, “You'll cease to exist! No one will even remember who you are!” Wait... was that true...? She knew that she'd fade from existence, but did that mean she'd fade from their memories as well...? “That… not true…!” Fluttershy said forcing herself to her feet, “Rarity… best friend…! I never forget Rarity…! She protect me when I weak…! She hold me when I cry…! Even if whole universe forget… I NEVER FORGET RARITY!!!” Fluttershy rushed at Luna and slashed wildly with her daggers, actually breaking through her defense a bit. She jumped away just as Rarity shot up and charged at Luna with her spear. Once she had enough energy, both she and Fluttershy charged up their respective elements. Fluttershy spread her arms out creating a large tornado around Luna, and Rarity jumped in, using the wind to fly around slash at Luna, who was unable to block and fell to one knee injured. (Double Tech: Black Tornado) When the attack died down, Luna rose to her feet and slashed Rarity with her scythe, knocking her to the ground again. She then charged up her black element again, this time pointing her arm forward and casting Hell Wave, moving it around to hit everyone. Twilight rose to her feet and fired Luna with her arrows, thankful that at least that did some damage. She then charged up her white element and cast Mass Rejuvenation on the whole party, healing them. “You believe yourself to be exempt from the rules of the universe?!” Luna asked, “You are all slaves to the Gods that created you! I am the only one who can rescue Rarity from her fate! Your foolishness will erase Rarity forever!” “Negative!” DASH-379 shouted, “My memory banks are perfect, and thus it is impossible for me to forget Rarity's existence! As long as there is a single record of our time together, she will always exist!” DASH-379 flew into Luna and fought her close quarter again, this time keeping the pressure on her. Once she had enough energy, she charged up her yellow element, “Releasing all limiters! Activating ATHENA Mode!” Now in her altered state, she quickly charged up her yellow element again and cast Lightning on Luna to paralyze her. Rarity then rushed over to Luna again and slashed with her spear to gather energy. Once she had enough energy, she and DASH-379 both charged their respective elements, and charged at Luna at the same time. DASH punched Luna twice knocking her into the air, where Rarity jumped up and slashed her back down onto the ground making her bounce for a second. DASH then did her rapid legs kick while Rarity stabbed rapidly with her spear in the same manner. The attack ended with DASH-379 doing a spin kick knocking Luna back. (Double Tech: Beat Down) Luna rose to her feet just in time to roll out of the way as Applejack shot Fireballs out of her sword at Luna. “Rarity has always been someone special to me, in every world I can remember!” Applejack proclaimed, “She's played a huge impact on who I chose to be, and will continue to influence the woman that I'll become in the future! I'll never forget Rarity, even if the universe tries to force me to!” Somehow, Applejack was able to summon enough energy to cast Vigor on herself one more time. She and Rarity then both rushed at Luna and met her scythe with their blades. As they fought, Rarity briefly noticed the image of another version of herself, only much older and wearing black armor moving along with her. It was Applejack's teacher, Medieval Rarity. Both of them knocked Luna back, and then charged up their respective elements, hitting Luna with their X-Strike. Luna screamed and fell onto one knee again, but rose up as Pinkamena charged at Luna, attacking her with her bladed hoop. The two of them met in a weapon's clash glaring at each other. “What about you?” Luna asked, “You have no world anymore! Your world fell to the same fate that will befall Rarity!” “Yeah, I know that!” Pinkamena said pushing against Luna's scythe, “But even when my world vanished, my friends were able to survive in some way, even if they weren't exactly the same! I have no doubt in my mind that Rarity's soul will live on in the same manner! I know this… BECAUSE SHE'S MY FRIEND!!!” Pinkamena spun around slashing Luna back, and Rarity ran to her side. The two of them nodded to each other, and charged up their elements. Pinkamena held up her hand summoning a dome of mirrors around Luna trapping her. Rarity walked into one, and her image was reflected on all of them. She then shot out of each mirror at high speed slashing Luna for massive damage. (Double Tech: Crystal Ice Mirrors) When the mirrors died down, everyone gathered around Luna, who fell to her knees breathing heavily. “All I hear… are ideals…! Nothing more!” Luna forced herself to her feet and glared at all of them, “I won't allow you to take Rarity from me! With the power of Lavos, I will not only protect Rarity from you, but I will rewrite this universe to be a world where no one will ever have to be sacrificed!” “But… that's just not how the universe works!” Twilight cried, “Believe me, I wish it did too! I love her just as much as you do, and I am terrified of losing her! But this isn't the way! If you truly love Rarity, you'll see that this isn't what she desires!” “Shut up…! SHUT UP!!!” Luna screamed charging up her black element, “NONE OF YOU APPRECIATE RARITY!!! I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES!!!” she then shifted into her Shadow Form and charged at the group. “Twilight no!” Pinkamena cried pushing Twilight out of the way. She, Applejack, DASH-379, and Fluttershy all took massive damage as Luna dashed around them slashing them with her scythe. As they all screamed and fell to the ground, Luna slowly turned back Twilight, who was being helped up by Rarity. “No…!” Twilight cried looking at everyone, “They're all out cold!” “We can do this, Twilight,” Rarity said squeezing her hand, “We can stop her, together.” Twilight looked at Rarity, and then smiled nodding, “Right. Together!” she charged up her white element, “Spike! Come forth!” Spike's howl echoed in the room, and he then charged past Luna slashing her before stopping next to Twilight, standing between her and Rarity. Luna, still in her Shadow Form, tilted her head and then charged at them. Rarity rushed up first and blocked her attacks. Spike then ran behind Luna and charged up his black element, shooting Shadow Balls out of his mouth at Luna. When she flinched from that, Rarity slashed her back, and Twilight charged up her element. This time she cast Holy Lance again on Luna, and saw that not only did it take, but it canceled out her Shadow form and knocked her back. Spike rushed at Luna and thrashed about before she could defend herself, but Luna managed to jump back and charge up her black element, once again firing her Hell Wave at them. This time all three of them rolled out of the way. Rarity rolled to her feet just as Luna walked over to her and lifted her up. She then kicked Rarity and slashed her a few times with her scythe, but Rarity managed to block most of her slashes. It was clear that Luna was getting tired, yet she was still just as aggressive. Rarity blocked her attacks, but was knocked onto the ground. Luna then turned to Twilight and Spike, and slashed at the air sending black shock waves at them. Both of them managed to jump out of the way, and Twilight fired an arrow point blank at Luna, hitting her in the chest. Rarity took that as her chance to charge up her black element, and held out her hand. She then shot the biggest Shadow Ball that she could, making Luna fall onto the floor screaming in pain. play song Realizing that she wasn't getting up, Twilight immediately ran over to the others and began healing them. As she did that, Rarity walked over to Luna as she turned over to lie on her back. “Are you… happy now…?” Luna asked, “You're… going to throw away everything… that I've done… and for what? For… them…? For a world… that's discarded you…?” “Honestly, yes,” Rarity said kneeling down next to Luna, “Yes to all of that. I am happy, because my friends will get to continue to live on in their worlds, even if it's without me. I'm sorry that you suffered so, Luna. It's not fair, what you had to endure. It's not fair that they have to deal with this as well. But… they understand why I am choosing to do this. I would hope that… in the end you'd understand as well.” “I don't understand…” Luna said sadly, “I'll never understand why you're choosing to do this… I love you… Rarity… and I regret none of what I did… to try and save you… If I had to… I would do it… all… over… again…” With that, Luna became lifeless. For some reason Rarity couldn't hold back her tears, and she held Luna's body tightly as she cried. In the end, Luna wasn't evil at all. She just loved Rarity a little too much. Everyone looked somber watching the display before them. A few seconds later though, a bright light shined behind them. They all turned to where Luna was chained before and saw a red portal open up. “Dash, any idea what that is?” Applejack asked. DASH-379 scanned it. “It's composition is unusual,” DASH-379 said, “I cannot get an accurate reading of what it is.” “I think that leads to where Lavos is,” Pinkamena said, “This is it everyone. The final fight's right around the corner.” Fluttershy walked over to Rarity and placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, “I'm sorry Fluttershy. I have no idea where any of this is coming from.” “Luna love Rarity too,” Fluttershy said, “Okay to be sad. But fight not over yet.” “Yes, you're right,” Rarity rose to her feet and wiped her eyes, “Just… give me a second to retouch my make-up, and I'll be ready.” As she walked off, Twilight walked after her and placed a hand on her back. The two of them said nothing. Maybe Rarity was stalling a bit, but she knew that when she finished here, this would be it. In a few seconds, she'd be facing Lavos once and for all.