//------------------------------// // FINAL CHAPTER: Icarus // Story: Shim Sham's Bizarre Adventure // by Joey JoJo Shabadoo //------------------------------// The earth quaked, the ground tore open and the sky split apart, as reality was slowly ripped asunder by the boundless power erupting from Starlight’s Stand, Diva of Despair. After being struck by the Unicorn Arrow, Starlight lost control over the Elements she had absorbed as the arrow’s influence caused her Stand to become incredibly unstable. Sunset could only watch, petrified by the towering pillar of light as it slowly expanded, erasing everything it came in contact with, as the ground continued to crumble. Trixie was just as terrified, demanding answers. “Sunset! What did you do!? What’s happening!?” She yelled, but Sunset didn’t reply, she continued staring at the impending apocalypse unravelling before her. Aggravated, Trixie retracted her Stand. The stage disappeared, dropping the girls back to the ground and freeing the remaining Stand users hiding underneath. Upon landing on her rear, Sunset suddenly snapped out of her trance. “Whew.” Cheese gasped. “Glad that’s over with, I was getting sweaty under there.” The other Stand users were not so nonchalant as Suri pointed to the towering light. “Um... what is that?” “What the heck did you do!?” Gilda marched over to Sunset, grabbing her by the collar. “You said you needed our help to defeat Starlight, not make everything worse!” Sunset couldn’t answer. She had no idea their dilemma would escalate so drastically. Before Gilda could rant any further, Ride on Time flew in between them, furiously flapping its wings. “Back off, Gilda!” Dash called. “This isn’t her fault!” Gilda dropped the issue and Sunset, she wasn’t interested in a debate, she turned her aggression onto someone else. “Hey, Sombra! You’re the expert around here, how do we stop this!? I didn’t come all the way out here just to watch the world end!” “It’s just like what happened a thousand years ago...” Sombra explained. “Even with an immortal body, even with Stands and forbidden rituals, the power of the Elements of Harmony still couldn't be contained.” “You’re talking about what happened in those reports, aren’t you?” Sunset replied. “Indeed, it was only a matter of time before Starlight’s Stand became unstable. She's like a house with a gas leak. No matter how well constructed the building is, all it takes is one spark to set the whole thing ablaze, destroying it entirely. The spark in question must have been the Unicorn Arrow. It seems the stolen Stand powers were acting as limiters, holding back all the raw magical energy, but now that they've been released the energy has ignited inside her and that fire is spreading rapidly. All of reality is being incinerated and this time the princesses aren’t around to stop it.” “Well, how did the princesses stop it last time!?” Applejack asked. “They were the wielders of the Elements back then and so, they naturally had the power to suppress them.” “Well, that’s easy then!” Dash responded. “We’re the Elements of Harmony, so we’ll just use our powers to stop them!” “No! None of you are on the same level as the princesses! Starlight is releasing far too much magic for children like you to handle!” “Like you have any better ideas! If using the Elements worked before they’ll work again!” “Nonsense! Fighting Starlight now would be suicide! None of us have enough power to stop her!” “Maybe not alone!” Fluttershy intervened. "But, if we combined our powers together, we might stand a chance!" “What?” “She’s right.” Rarity added. “And I believe someone here has just the perfect Stand for the job.” The group looked at each other, confused. Sunset was growing anxious. “Girls, the world is ending, we don’t have time to play guessing games right now!” Pinkie popped up behind Sunset, pinching her cheek. “It’s you, silly!” “Me!? But, Sky isn’t strong enough to stop this!” “Well, duh! Not on its own it’s not!” “But, what if you used Sky's true power?” Fluttershy proposed. “You mean, like what we did against Sombra? But, I can only borrow Stand powers.” Applejack stepped forward. “Well, not this time. You're not just borrowing our powers, we're giving them to you. Everything we've got! All of us are!” “I'm not sure if Sky's powers can be pushed that far. You really think it's possible?” “Dude.” Bulk answered. “You’re borrowing Burly Heart, right now!” Sombra interjected. “This is preposterous. There’s no time to set up a ritual circle!” “Weren't you listening!?” Dash yelled. “Who needs a dumb magic drawing when we got Sunset’s Stand!” “As long as her friends are willing, they can give Sunset as much power as they can give, to make Sky Should Be High as powerful as possible.” Rarity added. “Well, Sombra?” Sunset asked. “You’re the 'true Stand master', you think it'll work?” “It sounds absolutely ridiculous.... but this kind of ridiculousness is exactly what got you this far in the place...” Sombra glanced over the other Stand users. “There are fifteen of us in total, if everyone lends their power to Sunset then our combined strength might be able to overpower Starlight and save this world.” “Alright...” Sunset took a deep breath. “Let’s do this... Give me everything you’ve got!” Sky Should Be High, appeared over Sunset as the rest of the Stand users revealed their Stands one final time. Sky wasn’t just borrowing their powers, but absorbing them, every bit of magic from friend and foe, all in the hopes of creating a power that could rival Starlight's. Just like their battle with Sombra, as Sky absorbed more magic the Stand merged with its user. After the absorption process was complete, Sunset was imbued with a golden aura. Her powers had yet to stabalise properly, but she could already tell that this was more than enough to not only defeat Starlight, but do so much more. The magic she absorbed was beginning to meld together, fusing into a new power, but Sunset didn’t have time to sit around waiting for it to finish, she needed to act now. With her new powers, she spread her golden wings and flew toward the light. The ever expanding pillar of energy consumed everything in its path, but as Sunset drew closer to it, she could still see the shadow of a person inside. If Starlight was still in there, then Sunset needed to force her way in to stop her. She charged full speed, fist first, but she wasn’t strong enough. The dense pillar of light, forced her out. She needed to dig deeper into her pool of magical energy, in order to gather the power to pierce the light. She charged again, this time her golden aura flared up, unleashing more magic. She pushed as hard as she could, she didn’t care how much power she needed to burn she refused to stop, not until she reached Starlight. Determined to not let her friends efforts go to waste, she stubbornly kept pushing until she eventually broke through, flying straight into the heart of the storm. In the center of all the chaos was Starlight, clasping at her head, like she was suffering. Sunset called out to her. “Starlight!? Can you hear me!? Starlight!?” Starlight responded. She lifted her head, her eyes still empty, possessed by magic. Sunset reached out her hand. “Here! Grab hold! I’m pulling you out of here, before the whole world collapses!” “GET LOST!” Starlight smacked Sunset’s hand away, rejecting her help. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” “Excuse me!?” “JUST LOOKING AT YOU GIVES ME A HEADACHE!” “That’s just the magic talking!” “IT’S TOO LATE! I CAN’T STOP! I WON’T STOP! I’LL PROVE MY STAND IS THE STRONGEST, EVEN IF I HAVE TO GET RID OF THIS WHOLE WORLD!” “NO! STARLIGHT STOP!” Starlight's emotions reached their peak, words could no longer reach her, as she was consumed by her own hatred and seeing Sunset's face only angered her more, causing her emotions to run rampant, intensifying her destructive magic. This new wave of hatred caused one final outburst, blowing Sunset away as a bright, blinding light enveloped everything until eventually... there was nothing. Starlight felt relieved, having ejected all the magic bottled up inside her. She fell to her knees in the empty white void and laughed. She threw her head back, laughing louder and louder, until all her stress melted away. She calmed down, raising her fist in the air, in triumph. “I DID IT! THE WORLD MAY BE GONE, BUT I PROVED THAT, WITHOUT A DOUBT, DIVA OF DESPAIR IS THE STRONGEST STAND! THE UNBEATABLE STAND! THE ULTIMATE STAND!” “Congratulations.” A voice echoed. Starlight jumped back up as a pure, white light suddenly descended from above, shining brightly, even in an already white void. The light shone from a pair of angelic wings that upon landing, opened and spread apart, revealing that Sunset Shimmer was not only still alive, but she had changed. Her clothes, her wings, even her hair had been washed in a pure white glow. The magic she had absorbed from her allies had finally stabalised and her Stand had ascended to new heights of power. A feeling of absolute dread and disgust fell over Starlight, like Sunset just booted her off her first place podium and stolen her trophy. “How? How are you still here?” “With the power I received from my friends. Thanks to them, it’s gonna take a lot more than childish screaming to stop me, now.” “Why? Why do you keep getting in my way!? Why can’t you just let me win!?” “You started this fight, Starlight. Don't start crying to me, because you're losing.” “Losing? Why? Because you have the power of friendship on your side? I’m not sure if you’ve realised, but erasing the whole world means your friends aren’t around to bail you out anymore. You're the one who's lost!” “Wrong! They’re still here! Their power lives on as a part of my Stand! A Stand that represents the flames of friendship! A fire that will never die! A Shining, golden ray of hope! Icarus!” “Icarus...? You can’t possibly have any more tricks left, especially now that you have no more friends to leech off of.” “Try me.” Starlight rushed toward Sunset, who simply folded her arms patiently. Starlight may have lost the powers she absorbed, but Diva of Despair still had plenty of strength at its disposal. More than enough to crush Sunset. Diva swung back and forth unleashing heavy blows across Sunset’s face, rocking her head from side to side in a brutal onslaught before finishing with a final gut punch, leaving Sunset hanging, limply on its fist. “Remember what you said, Sunset?” Starlight gloated. “It doesn’t matter how powerful the Stand is, the user is still just a person. Leaving yourself open like that was the last mistake you’ll ever make!” Starlight finished her assault with a final thrust that smacked Sunset onto the floor. “Give me a little credit, Starlight...” Sunset rose to her feet, unfazed. “You don’t really think I’m that stupid, do you?” “You’re... not hurt?” Starlight was, once again, driven into a rage as she fell for yet another one of Sunset’s traps. “How!? I pounded your big, stupid, face in! You should be a bloody mess!” “Under normal circumstances you’d be right, but we’re well past fighting with anything that could be considered normal. Now, let me show you what happens when you fly too close to the sun.” Sunset’s white aura burst forth an intense wave of heat, covering an enormous area, engulfing Starlight. The heat tore through Starlight’s body, searing her right down to her very soul, or at least, that’s how it felt. After the heat wore off, despite the burning sensation, Starlight’s physical body hadn’t received any damage at all. She didn’t understand why, but if her body was unharmed then Starlight was willing to fight through the pain and immediately retaliate against Sunset. She charged in again, this time, wildly throwing as many punches as she could, knocking Sunset around like a punching bag. “Fall! Fall! Why won’t you fall!?” Starlight refused to stop punching, she wouldn’t rest until she was sure Sunset had finally been beaten senseless, but it wasn’t working. Sunset barely flinched at all, her body wasn’t sustaining any damage and soon, Starlight started to tire. As her fatigue set in, Starlight hesitated for a moment and in that brief moment, Sunset’s aura flared up again, releasing another massive wave of heat, setting Starlight’s soul ablaze. Once again, despite her body being unharmed, the searing pain was more than real. “Figured it out yet?” Sunset asked. “N-no... I don't understand... what happened to you? What happened to your Stand? What even is your Stand?” “It's called Icarus and its aura is an absolute defense created from all the magical energy lent to me by my friends. Fourteen Stand users, entrusted me with their magic, all for the sole purpose of defeating you and saving our world. So, unless you can somehow muster the strength to overcome fifteen friends worth of magic, you’ll never lay a finger on me.” “But, what were those heat waves?” “Once Icarus absorbs damage, it reflects it back in the form of heat waves that incinerate your very soul. Icarus can’t hurt your physical body, but that just means your suffering will last as long as you’re willing to endure it.” Even in a void of infinite space, Starlight still felt backed into a corner, practically on the verge of tears. “This is impossible... even with the ultimate Stand, I... I can’t beat that... I can’t win...” She was completely shaken, unable to determine whether to be angry or frightened by Sunset’s power. “How!? How is your Stand that strong!?” “Because, unlike you, my powers weren't stolen.” “Is this another friendship thing?” “Looks like you’re finally starting to understand. Your powers were stolen, you treated the people around you like tools, a means to an end. All to fulfil your own selfish desires of becoming stronger. But, I'm not interested in power anymore. I just fight to protect my friends, my home and Equestria. The bonds of friendship I shared with my friends and the trust all the other Stand users shared with me, is what allowed my Stand to ascend, without the need for convoluted schemes, or rituals. A power gained through force, theft and manipulation could never beat one forged by real bonds!” “This isn’t fair... after all the planning I put in, how could I be beaten by something as abstract as friendship? How can friendship make you stronger?” “When people put their trust in others, they can work together to achieve things they never could on their own. Even former enemies can put their differences aside to achieve something greater than themselves. It’s not a difficult concept to grasp.” “Alright, I get it...” “Well, now that you’ve finally conceded, why don’t you explain yourself? There’s no way you planned on staying in this empty void forever, so after erasing existence, what was your next move?” Starlight chuckled to herself. “That’s right, I’m not done yet, I’ve still got one last trump card to play. I would have done this sooner, if you hadn’t shown up to upstage me, with your new Stand powers.” “You can play as many trump cards as you want, Starlight. As I am now, you can’t beat me.” “You’re right, I can’t beat you now, but what about then?” “Then...? You wouldn’t dare... Are you seriously going to rely on time reversion again?” “No, even better. With your friends Stand powers no longer weighing me down, Diva of Despair is free to utilise the full extent of its time reversion powers!” The hands of time on Diva’s chest began to turn. “My restrictions have been lifted! I don't need to rely on specific save points! Now, I can travel back to whenever I want!” “What!?” Sunset braced herself as time rewound, all the way back to a certain day, a day in which Starlight believed she would be able to defeat Sunset and her friends. As the bright light of Diva’s time warping powers died down, Sunset’s vision returned. She found herself just outside a rundown old house in the middle of the forest. She immediately recognised the house as Sombra’s hideout. Starlight’s threats turned out to be more than just desperate boasting, she really was capable of travelling further through time with her unrestrained Stand powers, but what point in time they were in was another issue entirely. Based on her observations, all she could tell was that it was some time during the day. Not wasting a second, she flew above the house to scan the area and spotted Starlight close by. She was lurking around the entrance to the house. “Well, isn't this lucky. I thought I saw her in the forest that day.” Starlight told herself, as she found Fluttershy sitting just outside the front door, unconscious. “I thought I’d have to fight her, but it seems she’s fallen into Sombra’s trap. Perfect.” Starlight approached Fluttershy, but before she could do anything, Sunset flew down, blocking her path, with her arms folded and wings outspread. Her blinding aura intensified, warding Starlight away. “So, this was your plan?” She speculated. “Destroying the world meant nothing to you, because you were just going to travel back in time, anyway.” Starlight was flustered by Sunset's uncanny ability to follow her, even through time, but at this point it was hardly surprising. “Your Stand may have ascended past mine, but that’s no longer a problem. If I snuff out your friends in the past, you won’t be able to use their powers in the future.” “Interesting... but here’s a thought: Aren’t my friends the reason you even have those time travel powers to begin with?” Starlight paused for a moment, as she realised what a horrible mistake she was about to make. If she dealt with Fluttershy now, she won’t have the powers she wanted in the future, making this whole endeavour pointless, but she wasn’t about to lose face in front of Sunset. “It appears that, in my haste, I may have made a... miscalculation... but that’s fine, we’ll just have to try this again. Let’s go back even further!” A bright light appeared again as Sunset and Starlight were swept back into the river time to another point in Starlight’s memory, as Fluttershy awoke from her nightmare, confused as to where the shining angel wings, that broke through the seemingly endless darkness and rescued her, disappeared to. This time Sunset and Starlight appeared in a small parking lot, near Canterlot High. Sunset didn’t recognise the area as being particularly significant, but Starlight certainly remembered something important about it. “Why’d you bring us here? Did you lose your car keys?” Sunset asked. “No. I came to find this sorry old man.” Starlight pointed to the unconscious body lying just across from her. “Discord? When was this?” “Right after we raided the school. This is where we found him after we retreated.” "And what are you planning to do with him?” “Eliminate him, obviously. If he never blabbed about Sombra’s existence, you never would have interfered with my plans. You’d still be running around clueless.” “Is your strategy to beat me really just travelling back in time to eliminate the people that inconvenienced you and helped me?” “Obviously. It’s clearly the simplest solution.” “More like the most psychotic.” “Shut up! Removing Discord now ensures my plan will proceed perfectly, by the time you and your friends start interfering, it will already be too late!” “I don’t think that really guarantees anything, all it really does is potentially skip our battle with Sombra, which you used to lure us into your trap in the first place.” “I-I know what I’m doing!” “And since Sombra was already interested in our powers, we would have met with him eventually, only this time, he would come to us and who knows how that scenario would play out.” “I said shut up! I found a way to trap you before and I can do it again!” "If you're so confident, then why haven't you attacked Discord already!?" "Because.... I-I..." “Honestly, now you’re just grasping at straws, but even if your plan could work, you’d have to get past me before you could even try it!” Starlight froze up, she knew getting past Sunset would be impossible. The blind fury and resolve that carried her this far was useless against Sunset’s new power, she was simply too strong to fight head on. There had to be a way, another way to fight Sunset that didn’t involve attacking her directly... “One more...” Starlight replied. “There's one location, one event, one specific point in time. If I can find that, I can change everything.” "Well, make it quick. Discord's waking up and I don't want to deal with any time paradoxes." Diva of Despair turned back the clock once again, as the girls were consumed by another bright light, as Discord regained consciousness. "Huh... angel wings?" He muttered to himself. "Oh my... I need to take better care of myself, I'm far too young to be knocking on heaven's door just yet." As Starlight travelled through time, she searched for a particular moment. She only heard of it from her colleagues, but she had to find it, this was her last chance. This time they appeared outside Canterlot Park, in the middle of the night. From across the street, Sunset saw a familiar scene. She saw herself, cornered by a hooded assailant, the day she first received her Stand. Sunset immediately knew what Starlight was planning, the one way she could guarantee her plans would succeed was to eliminate the one person who consistently got in her way, Sunset herself. Before Sunset could even attempt to stop her, it was already too late. Starlight and her Stand crept out of the darkness, as Diva of Despair plunged its fist straight through past Sunset’s stomach. In that brief moment, Starlight had finally outwitted Sunset, completely out manoeuvring her absolute defense. Time slowed to a crawl while Sunset could only look on, as the existence of her past and present self hung by a thread. In that split second, where time seemed frozen, both girls had already accepted that Starlight had finally won. Unfortunately for Starlight, there was one factor she never even considered, something not even Sunset herself could have predicted, despite having already lived through this very experience once before. Icarus’ powers activated. “What!?” Starlight’s heart stopped as Icarus’ heat waves burst forth from past Sunset’s body, sending Starlight flying. Icarus' power quickly healed the hole in past Sunset's stomach, as if it never happened. The present Sunset flared up her aura, blinding everyone around her in order to prevent any potential time paradoxes and quickly flew over to Starlight, who was writhing on the ground in her own misery, far away from the scene. “That's crazy...” She whimpered. “Even in the past, your Stand still protected you?” “I’ll admit, you scared me there, that was genuinely clever of you.” Sunset laughed, almost feeling sorry, that Starlight was cheated out of her victory. “But, it seems Icarus' powers are designed to protect me and it takes that role very literally.” “That’s not even funny, it’s just... depressing... I tried everything: I strategised as carefully as I could, I bided my time, experimented with my abilities and the abilities of others. I made Diva the strongest Stand imaginable... I even used real, actual time travel... and I still couldn’t beat you...” “You know, most people would be impressed if they were able to pull off even half the stunts you did, over these last few days. It’s just a shame you did it all for nothing more than a selfish desire for power. Where did this obsession even come from?” "Obsession? Right... ever since I got these powers, I've been obsessed with them. Spending all my time trying to improve them, because they were weak, so weak that nobody believed they could ever be useful." Starlight was ashamed of herself, after having her ultimate Stand soundly beaten, her spirit crushed and her mind dragged back into reality, she decided to use her powers to travel back, one more time. Back to the day she received her Stand. It was a cool Spring evening and as the Sun was setting below the horizon, Sunset found herself in the bushes just outside Sombra’s hideout, along with Starlight. “Why’d you bring us here?” She questioned. “This is where it all started.” Starlight pointed. While the two of them hid, in the distance they could see Suri and Bulk escorting a confused Starlight into the building. “I had no idea what was going on.” Starlight explained. “One minute I’m walking through the park and the next thing I know, I’m pierced by an arrow, overcome by some strange force and then taken to some weird building, deep in the woods.” “What happened in that building?” “Sombra happened...” Once inside the house, to ensure Starlight remained obedient, Sombra gave her a taste of what his own Stand was capable of. He reached out his blackened hand, latching onto her face and drowned the entire room in darkness. She couldn’t move, her feet were stuck to the ground and she began to sink. She fell deeper and deeper, as Sombra’s hand pushed down on her, with his piercing red eyes forever glaring. First her legs became submerged, then her arms, until she was finally neck deep, her body swallowed by the darkness. She struggled, but she couldn’t fight it, she could only look on in fear as the man slowly forced her further into the void, as her body grew heavier and her breathing became erratic, until eventually... she woke up. She found herself back in the hallway, like nothing happened. Sunset was noticeably upset by Sombra’s treatment of Starlight, especially after becoming a victim of those same awful powers, herself. “He used his Stand to intimidate you into joining his cause.” “That was his way of dealing with everyone.” “Well, you’ll be pleased to know those nightmares came back to bite him, when they helped me awaken Sky’s true powers. After that blunder, he never stood a chance against us, we kicked his butt.” “Good, he deserved it. Sombra, Suri, Gilda, Discord, Lightning. None of them took me seriously. I was just a burden to them, treating my Stand like it was a dud. All because I didn’t understand how to use it, yet. I never even wanted Stand powers to begin with, I was forced to use them, to follow his orders and when I did use Diva, all I got was ridicule, because I was weak. I thought, since we were all in this together, we’d help each other, but nobody cared about me at all. But, then I discovered Sombra’s notebook. Once I found out about the Ritual Circle, I pieced together Sombra’s true plan. To create the ultimate Stand. I wanted to show them, that my Stand wasn’t just capable of being strong, but the strongest Stand imaginable and what better way to do it than by using Sombra’s own plan against him.” Sunset added. “And then once you got that power, it went straight to your head, drove you crazy and you attacked anyone who looked at you funny.” “If I wanted to beat someone as ruthless as Sombra, then I had to be just as ruthless, but... maybe I took things a little too far.” "I think destroying the world is more than 'a little'." "Oh... what was I thinking!?" “Hey, I get it. I’ve been there. Once you obtain ultimate power, it’s hard to control yourself, especially when you’re all alone and feel like you have nothing to lose.” “And let me guess. What saved you in the end was the magic of friendship, right?” “Of course.” Sunset smiled. Starlight sighed to herself. It sounded so stupid, but she couldn't argue against it. The magic of friendship made Sunset far more powerful than she could ever hope to be. Still, there was something Starlight needed clarification on. “Hey, can I ask you something?” “What?” “Friendship... is that the reason you haven’t beaten me up yet? You’ve had plenty of opportunities and I’m sure your new powers are more than strong enough to finish me... but, you always let me go... why?” Sunset chuckled. “Beating people up isn’t what Icarus’ power is really about. It’s about reflecting the pain my opponent causes back at them, rendering their own power useless. Eventually they’ll get so worn down, they’ll have no choice, but to listen to me, reflect on their actions and hopefully realise the mistakes they’ve made, otherwise they’ll just keep hurting themselves. I don’t know how deadly Icarus can be if someone were to keep attacking it, but I'd really prefer not to find out.” Starlight remained silent as the two of them sat in the forest together, until it started to fade away, returning them to the present. In the void of nothingness, Starlight suddenly broke down, as the consequences of her selfish actions started to set in. “I can’t believe I did all this, just because I was made fun for being weak. For powers I never even asked for. To win a fight I never even wanted... and no amount of apologising is going to fix it. What are we supposed to do now?” “It should be possible...” Sunset thought aloud. “Is what possible?” Starlight sat up. “With the amount of magic the two of us have. If we worked together, we should be able to reverse the effects Diva's powers.” “How?” “Come on, Starlight. Who here has the power to revert the world back to the way it was?” Sunset reached out her hand. Starlight wasn’t sure what Sunset was implying. “How can my powers bring the world back?” “Well, maybe not on there own, but what if we shared our magic with each other?” Starlight took Sunset’s hand and pulled herself up. "Right, we'll do this together!" With the help of Icarus’ magic, Diva of Despair, used its time reversion powers, one final time, to revert the destruction it caused and rebuild the reality it destroyed. Slowly, but surely, the empty void began to fade as the shopping plaza came back into view. Buildings were reconstructed, the earth became stable and the Sun began to rise over the horizon, filling the sky with light, once more. It was an arduous task for the two Stands, as they expended every once of magic they had bringing the entire world back to normal and upon completing of their final mission, their presence and magic faded away. The rest of the cast were overcome with a flurry of emotions, trying to grasp what had happened to them, before eventually remembering the events that transpired. Sunset’s friends called out to her as they rushed over for a group hug. “Girls, please. I can’t breathe.” “I can’t believe you did it!” Pinkie yelled. “Me? You should be thanking Starlight. It was her Stand power that brought everything back.” Starlight waved meekly. “I don’t know.” Dash replied. “She was the one who caused this mess in the first place.” “I know... I’m sorry...” Was all Starlight could think to say. “Sorry!?” Decried Gilda. “After you betrayed us!? Attacked us!? That’s all you can say!?” As Gilda marched over, Sunset blocked her path. “Out of my way!” Gilda ordered as she grabbed Sunset by the collar, again. “You know, maybe if you treated Starlight a little better, this wouldn’t have happened. What Starlight did was wrong, but you’re not exactly in the right either.” Gilda had no reply as Starlight tried to diffuse the situation. “Maybe we can just start over, as real friends this time. You know, without the supernatural powers.” "I'll think about it." Gilda released Sunset from her grip and walked away. Sunset fixed her shirt before turning her attention elsewhere. “That goes for you too, Sombra!” Sombra flinched slightly. “You’re the real reason this all started in the first place. You brought Stand magic into this world, used fear and intimidation to control people and set Starlight down a path that nearly destroyed us all! I'd slap you if you weren't twice my size. What do you have to say for yourself?” “I have better things to do than stand around being lectured by a child.” Sombra turned his back and left, but not before picking something off the ground. “Here.” Sombra threw the object toward Sunset. “The Unicorn Arrow?” “Keep it.” He replied. “It’ll be safer in your hands.” With those final words, Sombra took his leave to parts unknown. “Hey.” Starlight asked. “What happened to all the Stand magic, anyway?” “We must have used it all up bringing the world back.” Sunset answered. Applejack was relieved. “So, those Stand thingies are gone? Thank goodness. The less magic ghosties we have running around the better, I say.” Dash however, couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. “Heh, yeah.... not, like we they were cool or anything...” Fluttershy put her hand on Dash’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. I’ll miss them too, but at least everyone is safe now.” “Indeed, I think I’ve seen enough bizarre magic powers for at least... oh I don’t know, a couple of weeks, tops.” Rarity expressed. Starlight returned to her group. “Um... so, what do we do now?” “We should probably head home and get some rest.” Coco responded. “We can always meet back here later.” "What!? Why!?" "To hang out of course! You know? Like friends?" “Oh... right.... I’d like that.” “Well, I wouldn’t.” Discord intervened. “Saturday is me-day and I’d rather not spend it with a bunch of trouble making teens, or with any teens for that matter.” Discord exited the scene, with one final comment. “Oh and girls, if you happen to get involved in more magical mischief, do me a favour and keep it as far away from the school as physically possible. It would make my life a whole lot easier.” The rest of Starlight’s group headed home, as Starlight and Coco continued their conversation. “You seem pretty nice. I wish you were around when I got involved in all this.” “I was around. I was just under mind control at the time.” Trixie left on her own, lamenting how she’d have to return to using her old tricks at her magic shows. Cheese returned to the bus stop. He couldn't remember where he was going before all this Stand business happened, but was sure the wind would figure something out for him. And, Bulk was just happy to have some new pals to hang out with. Sunset and her friends stayed behind to watch the Sun continue to rise over a new day. “After everything that’s happened over the past few months, the Dazzlings, Midnight Sparkle and now this? I could really use a break.” Sighed Sunset. “You know, I’ve been thinking about that...” Replied Applejack. “I heard the school is trying to raise funds for a trip to Camp Everfree, pretty soon. Maybe we can start working on that, take our minds off all these magic super villains for a while...” “Camp Everfree... sounds nice."