3rd person P.O.V.
"Ugh."
Vinyl groans in pain as she slowly regains consciousness. Her eyes begin to open as she slowly sits up and rubs her head.
"Dang it, Rough Draft, you didn't have to hit me that hard," she mumbles as she remembers the last thing that happened before she was knocked out. She carefully gets herself up, picks up her shades and bass cannon, and checks her surroundings. She's still in the library, and Flash Sentry and his band are still lying on the floor, unconscious after getting hit by her bass cannon.
Suddenly, at the thought of knocking out Flash Sentry, she begins to remember everything that she's done before Rough Draft knocked her out. She remembers her mind flowing with anger and hate when she heard that Sunset Shimmer punched Octavia. She remembers the Rainbooms Loyalists and the E.M.R arguing at each other, and she had already turned on her bass cannon, ready to fire. When the fighting started, she was already blowing Loyalists away with her cannon, blinded by her desire to fight magic and desperate for redemption for breaking Rough Draft and Octavia up. She couldn't stop herself from fighting or rid herself of all the rage that was filling her thoughts as she fired her weapon rapidly.
And then Rough Draft and Sonata tried to tell her that what she's doing isn't her. For a moment, the thoughts began to disappear as she heard them out, but then they started up again, and Vinyl only had enough control to warn them before she fired her cannon at them.
"Aw man," she mutters to herself. "So that's what being brainwashed feels like."
Then she hears groaning from the other side of the library. Cautiously, she turns on her cannon and carefully walks over to Flash Sentry and his band, who are slowly getting up. Flash Sentry adjusts his eyes before he sees Vinyl with her bass cannon aimed at him and jumps.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, easy, Vinyl," he says, panicking as he and his bandmates raise their hands up high. "We surrender."
"How do I know you aren't still brainwashed, and you're just saying what I want to hear you say before you attack me?" Vinyl asks suspiciously.
"Because we don't want to fight each other anymore!" Flash shouts in fear. "We realized that we're being brainwashed again!"
Flash's bandmates nod in agreement, but Vinyl doesn't buy it.
"Do better!" She orders.
"Uh, the Jonas Brothers insult was funny, and your music is better than ours?" Flash says with a nervous smile.
Vinyl keeps her cannon aimed at them for a few seconds before she smirks and puts her weapon away.
"And don't you forget it," she says.
Flash and his bandmates sigh in relief and get up.
"Okay, now that we're back to our senses, we can agree that we just made a horrible mistake by starting this fight against ourselves, right?" she asks.
"Yes," Flash says seriously, and his bandmates nod to back him up. "But does this mean that the unknown person with dark magic is behind this?"
"Looks like it," Vinyl says as she scratches her chin. "And the only people who weren't affected are Rough Draft and Sonata. Everyone else is probably still fighting endlessly for Tavi and Sunset Shimmer."
"Okay, so that means we need to knock everyone out to free them from this spell?" Flash Sentry asks.
"Not necessarily," Vinyl says. "Something tells me that we need everyone accounted for if we have a chance to take down whoever is behind this."
"But how can we do that?" One of Flash's bandmates asks.
Vinyl scratches her chin again in thought and says, "I think I have something that will - "
Suddenly, the library doors burst open, and Caramel, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin enter the room with their weapons aimed at Vinyl.
"There she is," Rainbow Dash says. "I knew we'd find you, Vinyl."
"Wait!" Flash Sentry shouts as he moves in front of Vinyl.
"Flash, get out of the way," Applejack commands menacingly.
"No, I won't," Flash says. "This isn't you. You are all being used by the unknown being with dark magic."
"Likely story," Caramel says as he prepares to swing his club at the guitarist. "Why are you defending the enemy anyway? You are Loyalists. All of you."
"Traitors!" Soarin barks.
"Vinyl is not the enemy, you guys," Flash says. "We were tricked into fighting each other, just like with the Dazzlings. We're just feeding the mysterious person with dark magic by fighting the E.M.R."
"Why should we believe you?" Applejack questions as she prepares her lasso.
"Applejack, you're the Element of Honesty," Flash says as his bandmates stand by him. "Look into our eyes. Are we lying?"
Everyone turns to Applejack, who is still prepared to throw her lasso at Vinyl. She glares at Flash and his bandmates as she keeps spinning her lasso. One of Flash's bandmates gulps nervously as they have no idea what Applejack is going to do. Finally, Applejack sighs, and the green glow in her eyes begin to fade.
"No," she says as she drops her lasso. "Y'all are telling the truth."
"What?! You can't be serious!" Rainbow Dash shouts in disbelief. "They obviously got to you."
"Yeah!" Soarin and Caramel shout in agreement as they turn to Applejack.
Applejack turns to Caramel and gives him and says, "Caramel, you care about me more than anyone. Do I look like someone who has been brainwashed to side with Vinyl? If so, attack me."
"W-what?" Caramel asks in surprise.
"You heard me, sugarcube," she says. "If you think I'm lying, then you better raise your club and give me one good swing so that I'm one less enemy against our friends to worry about."
Caramel stares at his girlfriend in shock. Applejack spreads her arms apart and stares back at her boyfriend. Soarin and Rainbow Dash glare at him, waiting for him to attack while Vinyl, Flash, and his bandmates watch in worry. After a few seconds, Caramel sighs, and the hypnotizing green and his eye begin to evaporate. He lowers his club and looks at Applejack apologetically.
"I could never doubt your honesty, AJ," he says as he runs to hug Applejack tightly. "And I could never think that you'd betray our friends."
"I know, sugarcube," Applejack says as she hugs Caramel tightly with one hand and runs her fingers through his hair with the other. Caramel sighs happily as Applejack leans her head against his as they embrace.
"Oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash shouts as she and Soarin angrily turn to Vinyl. "Do you have a secret weapon to turn our friends against us?"
"No, but I do have this," Vinyl says as she raises a pistol, aims it at the blue couple, and shoots two yellow darts at their heads.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin groan in pain, and Applejack, Caramel, Flash, and his bandmates turn to Vinyl in shock.
"What did you do to them?!" Flash shouts.
"What I just did for them," Vinyl clarifies. "At least I hope that's what I did."
Vinyl bites her lip and carefully approaches Rainbow Dash and Soarin. Everyone surrounds the blue couple before Rainbow Dash suddenly glares at Vinyl with no hint of green in her eyes.
"What the heck, Vinyl?" She snaps, annoyed. "You could have at least tried to snap us out of in a less painful way!"
"What my girl said," Soarin groans as he rubs his head.
Vinyl lets out a breath that she didn't know she was holding before looking at Rainbow Dash and Soarin apologetically.
"Sorry, guys," she says. "We might be running low on time, and I needed some guinea pigs for those brainwash-neutralizing darts or B-NGs."
"You seriously thought of darts for snapping people out of a spell?!" Applejack shouts in disbelief.
"Can't be too careful after demon Sunset Shimmer and the Dazzlings," Vinyl says with a shrug.
"Well, then maybe if you hit the whole school with those things, we'll call it even," Rainbow Dash says.
"I'd love to, but those are the only ones I have," Vinyl says. "This is just the prototype that can only carry two darts at a time. Doc has more darts in his car, but not enough to get the whole school to stop fighting."
"Great, so we have a way to get some of our friends out of fighting instantly, and one way that will probably take too long because it involves talking about friendship and love which neither of us are super experts on," Soarin says.
"And by the sound of things, we're making an unknown force of dark magic more powerful the more everyone fights," Flash Sentry adds. "So, what do we do?"
"We need to find Rough Draft and Sonata," Vinyl says seriously. "They're the only ones who aren't under this spell, and they were trying to contact the pony Twilight Sparkle before they had to knock me out."
"They're trying to bring Princess Twilight into this?" Caramel shouts in surprise.
"Of course," Applejack says enthusiastically. "She understands magic and friendship better than anyone. Maybe she can help end the fighting and stop whoever is behind all of this."
"But how do we know they will reach her?" Rainbow Dash asks worryingly. "She might not respond in time to help just like with the Friendship Games."
"Then we need to make do with what we can without the princess," Vinyl says determinedly. "Starting with finding Tavi and Sunset Shimmer. If we can get them to stop fighting, then both the Loyalists and the E.M.R will at least be officially leaderless, and that might give us a chance."
"But they could be anywhere," one of Flash's bandmates points out.
"Then we better start looking," Applejack says seriously. "I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I ain't waiting on Princess Twilight to help us, and there's no telling what Sunset and Octavia might do to each other while they're fighting over Rough Draft. We got a school to save, and we're not gonna do it by debating in the library. Caramel, you with me?"
Caramel blushes and says, "I thought you'd never ask."
"Then let's get to it," Applejack commands.
Vinyl, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry, and his bandmates nod in agreement as they raise their weapons and prepare to charge to find Octavia and Sunset Shimmer.
******************************************************************************************
"For Octavia and the E.M -"
The E.M.R follower doesn't get to finish his battle cry as Sunset Shimmer knocks him off his feet, grabs him by the shirt and throws him to the lockers, knocking him unconscious. Then she takes flight and starts soaring through the halls looking for Octavia.
Ever since that green flash briefly appeared several minutes ago, she and Octavia were separated from their duel, and Sunset has had to deal with other E.M.R. fighters while her mind is still focused on Octavia. Her desire to take down her one obstacle against being together with the boy she deeply loves consumes her every thought.
"Where are you, you uptight, gray cow?" She growls as she reaches the main hall. She flies up to the second floor where another E.M.R. fighter shoots darts at the girl, only for her to destroy them with her swords of fire. Then she charges at the student and grabs him by the throat.
"Where is she?!" She shouts. "Where is Octavia Melody?!"
"Right here, Shimmer!" A voice cries out downstairs. "Now, get down here, and let's finish this like women!"
Sunset Shimmer grins as she flies down and lands several feet away from Octavia.
"You forget your place, Melody," she growls. "You do not understand the odds of going against me again."
"Oh, I understand, Shimmer," Octavia growls. "I understand that you fled away from me when given a chance just to delay the inevitable."
Sunset Shimmer laughs movingly.
"Oh, please. Even if you could take away my magic, you have no chance of stopping me from taking the love of my life back," she boasts.
Octavia's rage rises as she says, "Let's prove that then. If you're so determined to keep Rough Draft away from me, then why don't you face me right here, right now without your fancy wings. Just my club and shield and your pretty little swords."
"And why would I do that?" Sunset Shimmer asks.
"Because you shouldn't put your faith completely in magic to win Rough Draft," Octavia says, smirking. "I want him back fair and square. No darts or magic apart from your swords. Just you and me. Woman against woman. Don't you want to feel like you've earned taking him from me?"
Sunset Shimmer hesitates before she looks back at Octavia.
"Just the wings?" She asks.
"Just the wings," Octavia confirms with a small nod.
Sunset Shimmer grins, and with a focused sigh, her fiery wings and tail disappear with a loud whoosh.
"By your lead, cow," she says as she takes a fighting stance with her two firey swords.
"My pleasure, witch," Octavia says as she takes her own fighting stance with her club and shield.
The two girls stare at each other with hate in their eyes as they prepare for the inevitable charge. With high-pitched screams, the two girls charge at each other, and their duel begins. Sunset Shimmer swings her swords at Octavia violently while Octavia parries them with ease and swings her cello bow-shaped club with every opening she has.
"You plan on protecting yourself with that shield the entire time?" Sunset Shimmer questions tauntingly.
"Who says it's just for protecting?" Octavia asks with a smirk.
Sunset Shimmer looks at Octavia curiously before she launches another attack with her swords. Octavia blocks both of them with ease with her club and shield and then pushes Sunset with them. Sunset Shimmer takes a few steps back before Octavia starts swinging her shield at Sunset Shimmer's head. Sunset Shimmer barely snaps out of her daze in time to dodge the cello shaped shield, but Octavia continues to swing at her opponent until Sunset Shimmer blocks it with her swords.
"Remember, Shimmer; my bow was used to disfigure Adagio with just one swing for shooting my darling. Imagine what my shield can do to your pretty face, " Octavia says proudly. "You should have seen how Adagio's face was bandaged up, and her hair was completely gone at her hearing. Then again, if you bothered to stay by Rough Draft's side as a caring girlfriend should, you would have noticed."
Sunset Shimmer growls in anger, and she starts attacking Octavia more ferociously. Octavia continues to defend herself with her club and bow until she finds herself blocking one sword with their shield and another from above with her club only for Sunset Shimmer to quickly move the second sword from the club to swing for a side attack and cut Octavia's left side. Octavia screams as she limps away, kneels down, drops her club, and holds her side, hissing in pain.
"And maybe you should think before you say anything with that uptight mouth of yours," Sunset Shimmer says with a grin. "All that boasting is gonna get you hurt."
She then swings her swords at her wounded foe, and Octavia quickly protects herself with her shield. Sunset Shimmer continues to attack the shield, keeping Octavia from picking up her club. Octavia immediately stands up to avoid keeping herself in a helpless spot on the floor, but her opponent is still relentless.
"You'd know all about getting people hurt, now wouldn't you, Shimmer?" Octavia taunts as she struggles to block every attack with her wound still fresh. "You couldn't break Rough Draft's heart without turning him into an emotionless zombie again."
"At least I left him with good intentions!" Sunset Shimmer barks. "I did what I thought was right to protect the guy I love, even if it meant sacrificing our future. Even if it meant I could never become Sunset Dra - OUF!"
Octavia takes advantage of Sunset Shimmer's monologuing and uses her shield to force Sunset arms up, leaving her stomach open to hit with her shield with a hard swing. Sunset Shimmer groans in pain, and her swords disappear as she plummets to the ground. Octavia screams as she grabs her cello-shaped shield by its neck and slams it to the ground, barely missing Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer rolls back and forth as Octavia continues to swing her shield down at her like an ax.
"That! Is! My! Future! Name!" Octavia screams with every swing. "I am the future Mrs. Draft. You have no right to take what belongs to me!"
As she raises it again to attack, Sunset Shimmer sees an opening and kicks Octavia hard in the stomach. Octavia drops her shield, and Sunset Shimmer quickly stands up and kicks the shield away before she punches Octavia on the right cheek. She throws several more punches at her gray rival before Octavia catches one of her fists, pulls Sunset Shimmer toward her, and head-butts her. Both girls back away from each other holding their foreheads in pain, but then Octavia sees her club lying on the floor, and she quickly grabs it and charges at Sunset Shimmer, who comes to just in time to quickly conjure a sword and parry her enemy's attack.
"What claim do you have to be with Rough Draft?" Sunset Shimmer growls as she and Octavia struggle with their weapons locked. "All you do is ridicule him for who he is and nothing else. You support his writing as far as writing fanfiction, and that's it. You wouldn't let him evolve."
"You want to talk about holding him back, hypocrite?!" Octavia hisses. "After everything he's been through, you probably wouldn't want him out of the house ever again. You would want him in his room all the time while you're saving the world so that he's there safe and sound to kiss and hold you when you come back."
"I would not!" Sunset Shimmer barks. "I would learn to trust that everything will work out, in the end, no matter what happens. I would show him the world I came from and show him sights this world can never behold. What do you have for any worth? You're just a rich snob. Everything special about you comes from mommy and daddy having lots of green pieces of paper to raise you out of love and make you uphold fancy traditions. My parents taught me a different lesson, Melody. They taught me to earn what I want. I have to work my way to get out of the mud to obtain my prize. You at least have your parents as well as your friends to support you with everything that goes on in your life. Why should you get my boyfriend too when you have enough people to comfort you in your life?"
"You think I care about being rich or famous?" Octavia rebukes. "I would enjoy being penniless as long as I can be with the one person who understands me better than any of my friends or family. If Rough Draft and I lived with practically nothing but our love, art, and any children we have, I would still be happier than I have ever been in my entire life! That's something a non-human being from some magical world wouldn't understand."
"I understand more than you think, Melody," Sunset Shimmer growls. "I know what it means to have nothing but your dreams more than anyone. Only Rough Draft knows what it's like to only now have real friends and want to be with someone special until the very end. I will do everything in my power to make him happy. I don't care if we're penniless while I support his writing either. I'm willing to stay in this world with him until the very end. If he says the word, I will even take him and our children back to Equestria, and we stay there!"
"Never!" Octavia screams as she pushes Sunset Shimmer back and starts swinging her club at her violently.
With only one weapon to wield, both girls rapidly swing their sword/club at each other. Their weapons clash again and again as they put their hate, jealousy, determination, and even to a twisted extent love to every attack and parry they use. Eventually, Sunset Shimmer's attacks become more forceful, causing Octavia to lose her footing and fall to the ground, struggling to hold her arm up as her opponent slams at her club viciously. Sunset Shimmer hammers at the club again and again as if it's Octavia herself, unaware that Octavia has found an MN-DG lying next to her and is trying to grab and shoot right at her opponent's stomach.
"Sunset, stop!"
Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer is tackled to the ground by Sonata Dusk and Princess Twilight Sparkle. Sunset Shimmer struggles violently to free herself as her sword disappears from her hand.
"Twilight, Sonny, let me go now!" She yells.
"No, Sunset Shimmer, you need to stop this," Princess Twilight pleads as she pins her friend down. "This isn't you. You are being manipulated by dark magic."
"Is she now?" Octavia asks with a grin as she drops the gun, stands up, raises her club to her face. "Well, I know just the cure for that."
"Tavi, stop!"
Out of nowhere, Vinyl pounces on Octavia and tackles her to the ground. Octavia drops her club and struggles as Vinyl holds her down with her weight. Caramel, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Flash Sentry, and his bandmates follow behind.
"Twilight, you made it!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack say simultaneously as they notice the pony princess restraining Sunset Shimmer.
"Vinyl, what in heaven's name are you doing?!" Octavia shouts. "Have you gone insane?!"
"Yes," Vinyl answers bluntly. "In fact, everyone has gone insane in case you haven't noticed."
"Listen to us," Sonata pleads as she stands between Vinyl and Octavia, and Princess Twilight and Sunset Shimmer. "You all have been tricked by an evil demon named Eternal War."
"Eternal War?" Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Caramel, Flash, and his bandmates ask simultaneously.
"Likely story," Sunset Shimmer growls. "Eternal War is just some legend from Equestria. You're just trying to trick us."
"Finally, the first thing we've agreed on all day," Octavia grumbles as she struggles.
"It's true," Princess Twilight says. "You all have been manipulated by him since the Battle of the Bands. He brainwashed you so that you would fight each other and give him enough power to destroy cause all live in the universe to kill each other. You need to snap out of your need to fight each other."
"No, we don't," Octavia snarls.
"Yes, you do, Tavi," Vinyl says seriously. "You're under the control of this Eternal War person, and so was I. I would still be fighting if Rough Draft and Sonny didn't try to bring me to my senses and knock me out when I couldn't control myself."
"What? You had Rough Draft in your sights, and you didn't retrieve him for me?" Octavia shouts. "You shouldn't have let him out of your sight. Where is he now?"
"He's in the courtyard, getting himself killed!" Princess Twilight shouts.
At those words, Sunset Shimmer and Octavia stop struggling. The green shimmer in their eyes slowly evaporates as they stare at the pony princess.
"What did you say?" Sunset Shimmer asks despite knowing full well what she just heard.
"He attacked Eternal War so that he could free Princess Twilight and me from his freezing spell!" Sonata cries out in worry before she points to the main entrance. "He's trying to take him on right now!"
Sunset Shimmer and Octavia turn to the entrance and look through the glass doors. Sure enough, Rough Draft is swinging his Stingsaber at a giant black demon who dodges his attacks with ease. The two girls watch in horror as the demon swings his blunt sword at Rough Draft's side, and he plummets to the ground in pain.
"ROUGH DRAFT!" They scream simultaneously.
Vinyl and Princess Twilight let both of them go, and both of Rough Draft's ex-girlfriends stand up and watch as Rough Draft stays on the ground while the demon laughs mockingly. They turn to each other with determined looks on their faces.
"Truce?" Octavia asks.
"Truce," Sunset Shimmer answers as her fiery wings and tail appear, and she flies out of the building while Octavia picks up her club, shield, and the MN-DG she dropped on the floor and runs after her, leaving everyone else alone.
"Okay, we got them working together to help our friend," Caramel says. "Now, what is our next step?"
Vinyl turns to Princess Twilight and says, "Twilight, we have some special darts we can use to snap some people out of their brainwashed state, but not enough for everyone. Is there any way that you can snap them out of it with your friendship magic or something."
Princess Twilight scratches her chin in thought and says, "I can certainly try. But even if we stop the entire school from fighting, Eternal War might still be unstoppable."
************************************************************************************
Rough Draft's P.O.V.
Pain.
That's all I feel as my face is flat on the ground. My right cheek feels swollen, my ribs are sore, and the pain levels of where my gunshot is practically going to eleven. My Stingsaber lies next to me as Eternal War walks around me. He puts his blunt sword away and claps mockingly.
"I must admit your persistence is quite mirthful," he says. "For someone who has never been properly trained for any kind of combat, you're braver than most creatures who served me willingly. It makes what you think you're trying to do even more entertaining."
My body wishes to resist saying anything for fear of Eternal War beating me more, but my mind fights through it.
"How...can you be so sure that you will win?" I challenge. "You said yourself that love tends to stop you whenever you think victory is yours."
Eternal War laughs loudly as he steps on my back and puts his weight on his foot, making me groan painfully.
"You are such a child," he says. "Love as you know it in this pathetic high school is destroyed. Dying if not dead. By now, the princess and your dim-witted friend are dead or close to it for trying to stop my new war. Everyone's minds are so twisted that they will deal with anyone who is not fighting or doesn't support the fight on whatever side they're on. Face it, Rough Draft, you've completely fai - AAAAHHHHH!"
Eternal War's foot is lifted off my back, and I slowly turn my body around to find a long, fiery blade sticking out of his chest. He stumbles back away from me and stares at the blade in disbelief while Sunset and Octavia run towards him from behind in wrathful anger. Sunset flies toward Eternal War and pushes her sword further into his back while Octavia swings her club and shield at his head.
"Get! Away! From him!" Octavia shouts venomously, hitting him with every swing as Sunset plunges her second sword right next to where the first sword is connected to Eternal War's back.
Eternal War manages to collect himself and catches Octavia's club-wielding hand with one hand and catches her shield by its neck with the other and head-butts her. Octavia falls to the ground in pain as Eternal War reaches behind and grabs Sunset by one of her wings and slams her to the ground. Both girls groan in pain, and Sunset's wings, tail, and swords disappear, leaving two thin holes in Eternal War's chest that disappear. Eternal War stands in front of Octavia and Sunset, clearly not in any pain from his wounds.
"What do you think you two are doing?" He asks, like a disapproving teacher disciplining his students. "I gave you no command to stop fighting each other."
"Who says we are still under your control, you git?" Octavia asks as she slowly tries to get up.
Eternal War stares at the gray cellist in confusion. It takes a moment before he notices that there is no green in her eyes, only wrath against him. He turns to Sunset, who reignites her wings, tail, and swords as both Eternal War and I notice she doesn't have the green in her eyes either. I smile as I slowly grab the Stingsaber and stand up.
"I guess your revenge against love isn't as secure as you think," I say as I ignite my weapon and make my best fighting stance despite the pain I'm in.
Eternal War stares at us in anger.
"No!" He hisses. "How can you break free from my spell? You loathe each other so much that you should be fighting each other to get to this worm!"
"We may hate each other, but we care about Rough Draft's safety more," Octavia says as she raises her club and shield up.
"And mister, we just saw you beat him down to the ground," Sunset growls as she prepares to attack again. "So, I hope you like pain because we're just getting started!"
Eternal War stares at the three of us, furious. He lets out an unearthly scream as his long sword reappears in his hands.
"Fine!" He screams impatiently. "Join him in suffering. I still have your entire school under my control, and my strength is beyond any of yours. You have no chance of stopping me."
"We'll see," I say quietly so that Eternal War can't hear me.
I turn to my two exes, and they both nod to me. I nod back before we turn to the pitch-black demon, and we all charge at him at once.
*************************************************************************************
3rd person P.O.V.
"Let go of me! Let go of me, I say! The Great and Powerful Trixie must rid this world of these Loyalists who are trying to take away Octavia Melody's boyfriend!"
Bulk Biceps and Sandalwood hold Trixie and her Illusions to the ground as Princess Twilight walks over to them.
"Listen to me," she says calmly. "This is not the real you. You don't want to hurt anyone."
"Trixie will harm whomever she wants to harm," Trixie yaps bitterly. "Trixie must show her worth to her friends who have given her and her Illusionists the chance to fight magic!"
"But that's not who you are," Princess Twilight says as she places her hands on Trixie's face. "You don't want to harm your friends. You want to amaze them with your tricks and music. If you go down this path, who will be there to be amazed by what you can do?"
Trixie and the Illusions hesitate to respond. They look at each other as if they were communicating with their facial expressions before they sigh simultaneously.
"You're right, Twilight Sparkle," Trixie says as the green glow in her eyes starts to fade. "We must not be fighting each other."
Princess Twilight smiles, and Bulk Biceps and Sandalwood let Trixie and the Illusions go.
"Hooray, that's half the school already!" Pinkie Pie shouts bubbly out of nowhere, free from Eternal War's grasp as well.
"Yeah, but I hope Vinyl has managed to get the other half alright," Rainbow Dash says.
"You rang?" Says a voice from behind.
Everyone turns to see Vinyl entering the gym with a handful of both Rainbooms Loyalists and E.M.R fighters following her. Half of them rubbing their heads as they were shot with Vinyl's B-NG.
"BTW, you'll never believe who I found trying to rip each other's hairs out with their bare teeth," Vinyl adds as she points to a shaken up Principal Celestia and a twitchy Vice-Principal Luna.
"Principal Celestia. Vice-Principal Luna," Princess Twilight calls out as she runs over to the two adults. "Are you okay?"
Principal Celestia sighs before giving Princess Twilight a weak smile.
"We're okay, Twilight," she says.
"Oh yes, we're just dandy," Vice-Principal Luna says sarcastically before she quietly grumbles, "We're just gonna have to work our counselor overtime for several weeks."
Princess Twilight sighs in relief, not hearing Vice-Principal Luna before she turns to Vinyl, Doc, Sonata, Caramel, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin, who are huddled together.
"How many people does that make who are free from the spell?" She asks.
"Probably almost everyone," Vinyl answers bluntly. "We have enough special darts to snap about another twelve out of their fighting spree, but that's about it. So I guess we're just gonna have to talk about friendship or just knock out the rest before we go after this Eternal War guy."
Princess Twilight frowns at this.
"That's not good enough," she says as she starts scratching her chin. "We need to get them out of fighting each other now. Sunset Shimmer, Rough Draft, and Octavia Melody can't hold off Eternal War for long. What's worse is that we have no means of taking away his magic."
"Not true, we still have our MN-DGs," Vinyl contradicts.
"That won't be enough," Princess Twilight says. "Rough Draft shot Eternal War a couple of times with Sonata's gun to break us from the freezing spell. You won't have enough to stop him."
"Actually, maybe we do," Doc says. "The Rainboom Loyalists all had their own guns before they discarded them to fight us with their magic.
"That will only neutralize his magic," Princess Twilight counters. "He just told us that whenever ponies and other magical creatures from our world have stopped him in the past, he becomes a spirit before he finds a way to respawn. We have to take him down permanently."
"But we don't have any gadgets that are used just for capturing something like Eternal War," Rainbow Dash says and turns to Doc and Vinyl. "Unless that's another surprise you kept from us."
They both shake her heads sadly before Sonata suddenly gasps.
"Wait a second!" She shouts in realization. "Vinyl, your darts are supposed to neutralize magic permanently, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Vinyl answers, confused. "The magic flowing inside people are frozen in place so that they can't be used anymore."
"Freezing, that's it!" Sonata says in excitement before she turns to Princess Twilight. "Remember? Eternal War said his entire self is bonded with Equestrian magic. He's basically magic itself, right?"
Princess Twilight thinks about it before she asks, "Yes, but how does that help us?"
"Don't you see, Twilight? It means we can trap him permanently," Sonata says. "If the E.M.R's darts freeze magic, then that means if we hit Eternal War with enough of them, his whole self will be frozen, and he'll become nothing more than a statue."
"But won't he be able to cancel the effects of the darts just like we've been doing because he has been feeding on the Magic of Friendship?" Rainbow Dash asks.
Princess Twilight gasps in realization and says, "No, he won't. The Magic of Friendship can only do that when you stay true to your truest, purest selves, but Eternal War can't use it because he is a force of darkness that wields corrupted friendship magic. He doesn't believe in the importance of unity and love, so he can't use his powers to stop the darts from taking full effect. With the very essence of magic bonded with his whole self, he indeed could be trapped forever. Sonata, you're a genius!"
Sonata blushes lightly.
"Well, I don't know anything about that," she says humbly.
"Come on, what are we waiting for, then?" Vinyl says. "Let's go free everyone else and catch ourselves a demon and fast! There's no telling how much longer Tavi, Rough Draft, and Sunset Shimmer can hold him off."
*****************************************************************************************
Rough Draft's P.O.V.
Nothing we try seems to affect the beast.
I don't know how long we've been fighting at this point, but Octavia, Sunset, and I can't get another hit against Eternal War. Despite using only a long, blunt sword, he has inhuman speed to parry any attacks easily we throw at him even though we outnumber him. In fact, it feels like he's been getting faster and stronger the longer we fight while the three of us grow tired.
Eternal War laughs mockingly again after he blocks off an attack from Octavia and me and kicks Sunset in the stomach.
"Is this the best you three can do?" He asks mockingly. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You may have an idea of how to wield those weapons, but you never learned how to use them skillfully. None of you ever learned at a ripe young age how to devote yourselves to the art of combat; to spend every waking moment training your skills with whatever weapon you use. I've known countless ponies and other magical creatures who grew up beginning to master their abilities in close combat, archery, siege, command, magic, and so on before they were half your age. But you three? You don't even fully understand the concept of the weapons you wield. You'd rather devote your time to useless things like stories, music, and love."
"Funny how some of those pointless things have stopped you and other evil creatures in the past," I mock as I continue to strike at him only to continually be blocked.
"That was before I had everyone any of you have ever cared about slowly begin to destroy themselves," Eternal War says boastfully as he parries more attacks by Sunset and Octavia. "With their anger, I am growing more powerful while you three grow weaker by the minute. There's no way you can break anyone free from my control."
"We got free from your control," Octavia says as she blocks Eternal War's sword with her shield.
"That's right, and with our love, we will do it again," Sunset says as she swings her swords at the demon. "You may have tricked us into fighting each other, but we will learn to overcome any problem and become stronger than ever. That's what spoiled the Dazzlings' chance to take over this world, and that's what it will take to stop you."
Eternal War stares at Sunset while still moving to block another attack from Octavia and me, and he grins.
"Overcome it, eh?" He says. "Why don't we test that, then?"
He blocks our attacks again, and with inhuman speed, he hits Sunset in the head with the bottom of his sword and head-butts Octavia simultaneously. Then he turns to me and swings at my legs before I can properly block him, and I plummet to the ground in pain. He kicks the Stingsaber away from me and kicks me in the stomach for good measure before he turns to Sunset and Octavia. With his big claw-like fingers, he grabs them by the side of their throats and lifts them high, leaving them dangling and choking for breath.
"Let them go!" I cry out in fear.
"Oh, I'll let them go," Eternal War says triumphantly. "But it's your decision who I let go alive and who I let go dead."
"What?!" I shout.
"You heard me," he says. "If you three think love will always find a way to prevail, then let's find out. You are still struggling to figure out who you love more, right? So let this be an ultimatum for you to decide once and for all. You choose who it is you love more, and that girl will live while I crush the neck of the other. Though, to be honest, neither would accomplish anything for either of you. One will get to die painlessly, and the other will get to watch everything you all value slowly destroy itself before I kill you both. Either fate can be interpreted as a punishment or mercy, but you must choose, Rough Draft. Who do you love more? Octavia Melody or Sunset Shimmer? Better choose now, boy, before they both run out of breath."
I lay down helplessly and injured as I watch the two girls I have ever loved struggle for breath. But then I notice Octavia and Sunset doing something secretly, and they both give me looks of trust. I don't respond with my own look of trust for fear of Eternal War noticing and then take a deep breath before I make a risky decision.
"I think they will both live," I state.
"Ha! Don't be so stubborn," Eternal War mocks. "That is not your decision to ma - AAAAHHH!"
Eternal War screams in pain and drops Octavia and Sunset, who gasp for air before they quickly rush to my side. Eternal War takes a knee as he finds a fiery sword impale his right side and a couple of darts on his other side. He turns to the three of us angrily, and I smirk at his misfortune.
"I didn't say I made the choice, Eternal War," I say while Octavia and Sunset help me up, and I ignite the Stingsaber as we retake our battle stances. "If you really studied everything about me and the girls I love and my friends, then you should know just as well as I do that they are not the kind of girls that need rescuing. They are always the ones who have a fighting spirit and were able to take care of themselves. But then again, I suppose it's true what Sunset has said before; a lust for power and common sense rarely go well together."
Sunset Shimmer smirks at me for quoting her while Eternal War merely laughs as the fiery sword disappears, his wound heals, and the darts turn into dust again as he stands up.
"Trust?" Eternal War asks. "A foolish and naive little concept. Tell me, Rough Draft, why do you continue to hold on to both girls? You put your faith in them multiple times and trusted them with your life only for them to abandon you when you least expect it. They brought their greed and jealousy to this school's knees, so neither of them are the perfect girl you've been childishly wanting all your life. Why put your faith in them? Why love either of them at all? What could you possibly gain from either relationships that were doomed from the start?"
I frown and slightly lower my blade as his questions hit me hard. Sunset and Octavia look at me worryingly while Eternal War grins.
"Don't listen to him, Rough Draft, he's trying to get to you," Sunset says.
"You know he's not saying it for your benefit, darling," Octavia says.
I don't answer right away, which worries Sunset and Octavia and excites Eternal War. But then I look up and raise my sword again with a determined look.
"You're right, Eternal War, they have let me down before," I say. "But if there's anything I've learned about love during my time with Octavia or Sunset, it's that it’s not perfect. We've fought, we've disappointed one another and broken each other's hearts, but our loves can mend if we hold on. True love is not something you just cast away when it's inconvenient. It's something that is hard and takes a lot of work and trust, but as long as you keep holding on, it will be worth it in the end."
Octavia smiles sweetly at my quote while Sunset gives me an encouraging smile. Eternal War, however, groans in annoyance before he suddenly pounces. The three of us only have a moment to raise our weapons before he smacks Sunset hard with his free hand, hits Octavia with the bottom of his sword, and headbutts me. We groan in pain as Eternal War steps on my chest and leans close to me.
"You mortal beings and your pointless sense of sentiment." He snarls. "What good is putting faith in childish attractions? Maybe I ought to slowly kill them in front of you to give you a better picture of reality. We could find Octavia's cello so I can strangle her with its strings. I bet Sunset would like to have her face skinned before I impale her with both of her swords and see how she likes it. Perhaps by watching the light leave their eyes so that they become nothing but dull, lifeless husks, you'll see that love is just an illusion that all life in the universe must learn does not exist. This is a fight that you can't win no matter how many times you impale my new body, Rough Draft. In the end, you will be the same thing you have been through so much of your life, all alone."
I struggle to free myself from the weight he's putting on his leg while Sunset and Octavia are still groaning in pain helplessly. Eternal War's glowing green eyes pierce right through me as he reaches for my throat, and I don't have the strength to stop him.
Suddenly, a machine powers up, and we all turn to see Vinyl standing in front of the main entrance and has her bass cannon aimed right at Eternal War.
"He's not alone," she says.
Before Eternal War can react, Vinyl pulls the trigger, and the powerful sound waves coming from her cannon send the black demon flying. He screams in pain as he crashes to the remains of the Wondercolts statue, barely missing the portal, and is pinned there as Vinyl keeps firing her cannon.
"I should have known that my thoughts weren't my own this whole time," she growls as she walks over to me, Octavia and Sunset. "I've heard your voice so many times in my head that it was hard to tell if you were some other personality inside my mind. You tricked me into betraying my friends, and you made me build an army to use it against the Rainbooms. You used me just for your sick desire for power! I'll kill you for this! I'll kill -"
Before Vinyl can continue her rant, Eternal War manages to wave his hand, using his magic to force Vinyl to drop her cannon. Vinyl's eyes widen as Eternal War runs over to her with inhuman speed and grabs her by the throat with an irritated look.
"Oh, Vinyl," he says in a disappointed tone like a parent talking down to their child. "I don't recall giving you permission to free yourself from my control either."
"I wasn't asking," Vinyl chokes out with an angry look.
Eternal War stares at the DJ and shakes his head disapprovingly.
"Perhaps I was a little too confident to think you were beyond losing control by being knocked out. I do still have some getting used to after over a thousand years without my powers," Eternal War says. "No matter. You may have been my favorite piece of the puzzle, but I must insist that I regain my control over you and bring you back to the fight. You and the E.M.R still have much to do to feed my hunger after all."
"Still not used to having magic for a thousand years, eh?" Vinyl asks with a confident grin despite struggling for breath. "Tell me, if you thought I was still under your control over the past fifteen minutes or so, then what makes you think everyone is still feeding you right now?"
The black demon stares at Vinyl in confusion before his green eyes widen as he looks at the school in worry.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, this isn't right," Eternal War says to himself before he angrily turns to Vinyl. "What have you done?!"
The DJ grins mischievously and says, "Let me answer that in one word: FIRE!"
Eternal War only has a moment to react before he finds dozens and dozens of students popping out from the bushes and surrounding him from the front entrance to both sides of the Wondercolts statue, all armed with MN-DGs. I look around to realize everyone is here. Doc, Derpy, Caramel, Applejack, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Lyra, Bon Bon, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, both Twilight Sparkles, Sonata, the Crusaders, Trixie, and the Illusions - everyone from both the E.M.R and the Rainbooms Loyalists are here with their guns aimed at Eternal War. I smile widely, knowing that Sonata and Princess Twilight did what I hoped they would do while Octavia and Sunset slowly recover and realize what is happening.
Eternal War growls in anger before everyone begins firing their guns at him. He roars in pain as dozens upon dozens of darts land all over his body. Amid the chaos, Vinyl is freed from the demon's grip and takes out her own MN-DG.
"This is for messing with me and all of my friends, you monster!" She shouts angrily as she fires at the black demon.
I cheer excitedly as everyone keeps firing multiple rounds at Eternal War while Octavia and Sunset smile at the sight of everyone working together.
"Don't stop shooting!" Doc calls out.
"That's right, I can see the darts starting to take effect!" I hear Princess Twilight shout.
Eternal War's eyes widen as he realizes what they're saying, and he grinds his teeth in hot anger.
"ENOUGH!" He screams as he waves his hand, and all the students drop their weapons and freeze into place. Their eyes widen with fear and Octavia and Sunset, and I look at each other with grim looks as the darts covering Eternal Wars body turn it to ash just like before.
"Children, children, children," Eternal War says. "You are an unpredictable bunch. I'll even say there are times across the past few millennia where I would have found an even better use for the likes of you under my rule. But if you continue to resist me, I'll have to find a way to make you fight each other by force. You can either fight for my power and my destiny as all life was created to do, or you will be no more than puppets that will fight anyway to feed me. One way or another, you will obey my will as all life was meant to do."
"Y-y-you're wrong, Eternal War!" Princess Twilight manages to shout despite being stuck in her frozen state. "If you've been fighting against love all your life, then you should know that love can't be destroyed. Look around you. You tricked this entire school into fighting against their friends, and we found a way to free them from your deception. Your plan failed. We united together to face you."
As Princess Twilight makes her big speech, Eternal War turns to her angrily to counter her argument, his back facing me. Sunset and Octavia. I struggle to move as I try to think of something to break everyone free from Eternal War's spell.
"Darling, are you alright?" Octavia quietly asks.
"Still sore, but I'm okay," I whisper back. "Could do with everyone finishing whatever it is that they were doing."
"It sounded like they were trying to trap him by firing all their darts at him," Sunset whispers. "But how does that work?"
"B-because he's bonded with Equestrian magic."
The three of us turn around and see Sonata also frozen and looking at us worryingly.
"What was that, Sonata?" I ask quietly.
"He said it himself that he's one with the magic," Sonata manages to say despite her body frozen. "That means that if we neutralize all the magic in his body, he will be frozen. That's what we were trying to do."
"But how?" Octavia asks. "You all loaded him with darts, and it looks like it did nothing."
I frown, discouraged until I turn to Eternal War, whose back is still on us. He starts walking towards Princess Twilight as he angrily argues with her and looks about ready to kill her if we don't do something fast.
But then suddenly, it hits me: Princess Twilight is talking, and Sonata just spoke to us. Neither were able to do that when Eternal War first froze them. Then as Eternal War walks towards Princess Twilight, I notice that he's limping on his right foot. His walk and stance are still tall and proud, but he hasn't been doing that before. It takes a second before it hits me
"No, the darts are working," I say.
Octavia and Sunset look at me, confused, and I point to his leg.
"He wasn't limping before," I point out. "And Princess Twilight and Sonata weren't able to talk when he froze them in place before I freed them.
Their eyes widen as they realize what I'm saying.
"Then, that means some of the magic in his body is frozen," Sunset whispers excitedly. "His magic is growing weak. The plan was working."
"But how can we get our friends to attack him again?" Octavia asks.
I scratch my chin in thought.
"Pain seems to constantly distract him from staying in control," I whisper as I turn to the Stingsaber that is lying a couple feet away from me and then turn to the hole in Eternal War's back. "I say we take advantage that he's looking away from us, and I'll stab him in the back with my Stingsaber. If I keep the blade impaled in his back, the anti-magic electricity will put him in so much pain that he can't conjure any magic to stop everyone from hitting him with enough darts to trap him."
"Rough Draft, are you sure that's the best idea?" Octavia asks worryingly. "You are in enough pain as it is, and if we fail, he will kill you."
Sunset nods in agreement.
"I have to try," I say determinedly. "If I don't, we're all going to die anyway. This is the best chance we have to stop him once and for all. We need to do this for us, for our friends, and for the whole universe. I need both of you to be with me with this."
Both girls look at each other worryingly. The fear of me getting myself killed is written all over their faces, but deep down they know that this might be our best chance. Finally, they both sigh and look at me encouragingly.
"I'm with you to whatever end, babe," Sunset says with a smile.
"As am I, darling," Octavia says, smiling too. "How shall we proceed?"
"Do you still have some darts left in your gun?" I ask quietly.
Octavia nods before I turn to Sunset.
"Do you think you can quickly regain your wings and swords?" I ask.
Sunset nods with a mischievous grin.
"Alright, then. Octavia, you shoot him from behind, and as soon as he's hit, you, Sunset, will fly over there and stab him in the back, then I'll go in for the stab using the wound on his back."
"Got it," both girls say.
We carefully get up and prepare to attack Eternal War who is still arguing with Princess Twilight. My determination falls for a moment as I take both Octavia and Sunset's hands. They turn to me in confusion until they see me kiss their hands.
"In case this is the end," I say.
Both girls smile sadly and kiss my hands to return the affection before we reluctantly let go. Octavia takes out her MN-DG and aims at the demon's back carefully.
"Charge as soon as the first dart hits," I instruct Sunset, who nods in understanding.
We wait for a second before Octavia takes a deep breath and fires. The first dart hits the back of Eternal War's head, causing him to groan while the remaining darts hit his back. While he yells in pain from the effects of the darts, Sunset summons her wings and tail and charges to the other side of the courtyard, conjuring a sword in hand and stabs the demon in the back. I run toward him, grabbing my Stingsaber as I go, and just as I hoped, Eternal War is too distracted with his wounds to stop me from igniting my weapon and thrust the blunt blade right through him with the open wound. His screams of pain are unearthly before he turns to me as best as he can.
"You don't learn, do you?" He says venomously.
"Actually I do," I say as I watch the blue electricity in the blade enter his body.
Eternal War screams even louder as jolts of electricity flow all over him. He tries to reach me with his arms, but Sunset quickly stabs his right arm with one of her swords, and Octavia dislocates the other with her club. He stands helplessly as the full effects of the Stingsaber take effect, and all of our friends are freed from his spell.
"He's too distracted to cast any magic," Rainbow Dash says.
"Attack!" Doc calls out.
Sunset and Octavia duck for cover as everyone else grab their guns and start shooting Eternal War again. He growls helplessly as he gets hit by wave after wave of darts.
"Fools!" He shouts. "You cannot stop me!"
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," I say with a grin. "Look at your hands."
Eternal War looks to me in confusion and then turns to his dislocated left arm. He gasps in horror as he sees his hand turn from pitch black to desaturated gray.
"What's happening?!" He cries out.
"Isn't it obvious, Eternal War?" I ask with a grin. "You wanted magic, and you got it and everything that goes with it. You said yourself that you are bonded with Equestrian magic, so while the magic is nullified, you freeze with it."
"No!" Eternal War hisses as his hands begin to freeze, and the effects of the darts start to spread to his arms and legs. "You will not deny me my destiny! I am beyond your mortal knowledge of life and death!"
"But that isn't enough to stop us, Eternal War," Princess Twilight says as the students continue firing. "I don't understand your reasons behind everything you have done since before the age of Equestria, but you doom yourself by denying that love and friendship will outlast your twisted desires. If you don't accept it, you'll lose everything you ever had."
Eternal War continues to struggle as the darts continue to cover his body, and his feet start to freeze into place while his arms are completely frozen. Finally, Princess Twilight, Vinyl, and Rainbow Dash tell everyone to stop firing as Eternal War's body continues to turn gray and freeze into place from his torso and closing into his head. I begin to relax my hands and turn off my Stingsaber as there is no need to keep it forced into his back.
"It doesn't matter if you've beaten me, boy," Eternal War says as he struggles to look at me. "Even if I'm trapped forever, that won't save you from your situation. You are still toying with the feelings of those two wretched girls, and as long as you hold on to both of their hearts, you will bring nothing but pain. One way or another, you will have to choose, or you will lose both of them and be as alone as you ever have been your whole life."
I look up to the black demon, and he grins to back up his words. I turn around to see Sunset and Octavia looking at me worryingly even though they are too far away to have heard what he said. The effects of his taunting weigh heavily on me until I take a big sigh and glare at him angrily.
"You're right," I say. "Sooner or later will have to make a choice, and it will lead to having my heart broken and losing someone so precious. There will be problems to come even then without your interference, and there's no telling if any relationship will last. But at least I will eventually face it knowing you won't be around to see it."
Eternal War grinds his teeth angrily and roars at me as if he's trying to attack despite knowing he can't move most of his body. He continues to lash out at me until the effects of the darts reach his lungs, and his voice fades. He can't do anything but look at me with hate as his face begins to freeze. I glare back as the green glow fades to gray as he stops moving altogether.
For a few seconds, no one does anything. People begin to look at each other, wondering if it's over. Octavia and Sunset stare at me, and I lift my turn to Princess Twilight, who smiles at me.
"Well done," she says.
With those two words, I let out a long breath. I didn't know I was holding. Everyone starts cheering joyously and hugging each other and laughing in celebration. I turn to Sunset and Octavia before my feet give in, and I fall to my knees. Octavia and Sunset break into tears as they run over to me, get down on their knees and hug me tightly, Octavia on my left and Sunset on my right. I hold them as tight as I can with whatever strength I have left as they kiss all over both sides of my face while whispering, "Oh, darling/babe," in relief. I feel tears come down my face as relief fills my body, and the shock over what just happened overtakes my mind. The three of us hold each other close as Sonata, Vinyl, Doc, Derpy, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Caramel, Lyra, Bon Bon, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and human Twilight walk over to our side.
I lift my face to see them, and I smile at Soarin and Caramel.
"Hey guys," I say calmly. "You guys doing alright?"
They both chuckle before they give Applejack and Rainbow Dash side hugs, and Soarin says, "Doing alright. You?"
I turn to Octavia and then to Sunset, who are both hugging me tightly before I turn to the others.
"I'm a bit better," I answer. "Just holding the loves of my life close after we just saved the universe."
Both members of the Rainbooms and the E.M.R., apart from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, look at each other in confusion.
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration, dear?" Rarity asks.
"Nope, he's spot on," Sonata says. "Eternal War was telling his evil plan to me, Rough Draft and Princess Twilight. His plan involved getting the whole universe to destroy itself if we didn't stop them."
Octavia and Sunset finally lift their heads from my shoulders and turn to everyone in surprise.
"Seriously?" Octavia asks. "We saved the whole universe by defeating this monster?"
Rainbow Dash frowns and turns to Vinyl coldly.
"No thanks to you, E.M.R. guys," she says, pointing at Vinyl. "If you guys weren't so skeptical about magic in general, we wouldn't have gotten into this mess."
"Excuse us," Lyra snarls. "We were the ones who warned you Rainbooms that this Eternal War character was ever here."
"Yeah, and the only reason we started fighting you was because Sunset Shimmer punched Octavia," Bon Bon says. "If it's anyone's fault for feeding this guy magic, it's you guys!"
"How dare you!" Rarity shrieks with Fluttershy hiding behind her worryingly. "You were the ones who stopped trusting us after the Battle of the Bands and brought half the school into your paranoid beliefs!"
"Stop it!"
Everyone turns to me as Octavia, Sunset, and I break our hugs, and I slowly stand up with both of my exes helping me.
"It's everyone's fault," I say, surprising everyone. "Vinyl, Doc, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, the Crusaders, Octavia, Sunset, me, we're all to blame. Eternal War used all of us for is plan and we let him. We let him trick us to distrust our friends. We let him hurt some of the people we care about. We let prejudice between the Rainbooms and the E.M.R. take it this far. I let my desire for love hurt the people I care for the most, even before this stupid battle was feeding that thing. Look around you, guys. This is what distrust between our friends has brought us. Even without Eternal War, you've let your fears about what magic will or will not do to you get the better of you, and I helped by being a part of both sides. I was afraid of magic, just like the E.M.R., but I also learned how wonderful it could be with the Rainbooms. But what both sides have in common is the friendship that both of your sides have. You both want the same things, but you let your pride for whatever position you are in to destroy the friendships you had before you were just the Rainbooms or the E.M.R. You are all my friends, and I want both sides to get along as they used to long before I was a part of either group. That's where I stand in all of this, what about any of you?"
Nothing is said after I said my peace. Octavia and Sunset come to my side and place their hands on my shoulders for support as we stare at our friends. Vinyl, Rainbow Dash, Doc, Applejack, Caramel, Soarin, Lyra, Bon Bon, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Human Twilight, and Derpy look at each other, silently contemplating my words. All around us, students from both the E.M.R. and the Rainboom Loyalists whisper to themselves, unsure of how to react. I turn around to see Princess Twilight, and she gives me a small but encouraging smile.
When I turn back to face the Rainbooms and the E.M.R. again, Vinyl looks frustrated. She still holds her bass cannon as she stares at everyone around us. A couple of tears begin to run down her face as her eyes turn to stare at mine. I don't know what is going on in her mind as she looks at me, but it looks like she has her answer.
With a scream, she raises her bass cannon up in the air and smashes it to the ground. Everyone turns to her in surprise, Fluttershy and Derpy squeal in shock as they hide behind Rarity and Doc respectfully. Vinyl continues to angrily break her beloved machine, picking up pieces and thrusting them to the ground, breaking them into smaller pieces. She kicks and stomps until the cannon is nothing more than a pile of junk. Octavia and I turn to each other in shock as Vinyl lets out another frustrated scream and turns to us.
"He's right," she begins. "Darn it all, Rough Draft is right. I never wanted to cause this much trouble. I never wanted to be viewed as anyone's enemy: not Rough Draft, not Pinkie Pie, or Rainbow Dash or Applejack or any of you guys. I just wanted to give my closest friends a chance to defend themselves. Every time I decided to do something that would hurt my friendships with the Rainbooms, I kept telling myself that it was necessary to protect my other friends who don't understand magic any more than I did. Even without Eternal War tempting me in secret, I tricked myself into believing that what I did against the people I fought the Dazzlings with was the right thing to do. I let my fears get to me, but even when the E.M.R. was needed to save Rough Draft, I knew that what we were doing was still wrong in some way. We may have saved his life, we may have developed weapons like my bass cannons that would defeat someone like Eternal War, but was it worth it if we are still arguing with the people we care about?"
Octavia, Sunset, and I smile at each other as Vinyl speaks. I look around, and I see the Rainbooms, the E.M.R., and all of their followers look at each other and silently agree with Vinyl.
"I'm done with this," Vinyl continues. "I'm done with fighting. I'm done with the stealing, the secrets, the lies, I'm done with all of it. I don't want to graduate from CHS with all of us, bickering at each other. I want us to part in real friendship together. I hereby disband the E.M.R. From now on, if there's any more conflict between friends with magic and friends without it, I will have no part in it."
The members of the E.M.R. gasp in surprise over her announcement. Vinyl turns to Rainbow, Applejack, Caramel, Soarin, Pinkie Pie, Human Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity, and walks over to them with a look of shame.
"I am so sorry for everything, you guys," Vinyl says sincerely as tears begin to fall down her face again. "You guys had the right intentions all along, and I was too blind to see it. We all were too blind to see it. I hope that you can forgive me, forgive everyone from my side for what we've done."
The Rainbooms stare at the DJ. Lyra, Bon Bon, Derpy, and Doc walk over to Vinyl's side with their own apologetic looks. The Rainbooms look at each other, silently debating before Rainbow Dash sighs and walk over to Vinyl. Vinyl raises her head and stares at Rainbow Dash, unsure of what she's going to say.
"You know, we did kind of strike first starting with Sunset and then with me," Rainbow Dash admits as she rubs the back of her head. "Plus, we were all on board with kicking your butts just as much as you were with kicking ours, so like Rough Draft said, there's blame to share."
Vinyl chokes out a chuckle as Applejack joins in.
"Well, our group of friends already include a couple of former demons and an ex-siren," she said with a friendly smirk. "I'm sure we can find room for you fellas."
"Yeah, we are a reeeeeeeally forgiving group." Pinkie Pie says cheerfully.
"And besides," Rainbow Dash adds as she elbows Vinyl playfully. "Who else is going to play some awesome tunes while the seniors celebrate graduation?"
Vinyl stares at Rainbow Dash surprised and then looks at Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Soarin, Caramel, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight, who all smile at her. She turns to Doc, Derpy, Lyra and Bon Bon who happily nod in agreement and then to me, Sunset and Octavia, who smile at her encouragingly.
"Well then," Vinyl says as a huge grin grows on her face as she turns to face the Rainbooms again. "What kind of DJ am I to say no to a gig offer like that?"
Rainbow Dash smiles, and without another word, she and Vinyl hug each other. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as everyone else cheers. The other members of both the Rainbooms and the disbanded E.M.R. begin to hug and shake hands with one another while the other students huddle around all of us to join in the unity. Octavia and Sunset turn to me and happily kiss me on both sides of my face.
"I'm so proud of you, darling," Octavia says sweetly.
"Me too, babe," Sunset says.
"Thanks, but the credit goes to everyone this time," I say humbly. "It took teamwork to stop Eternal War."
"That's not entirely true."
The three of us turn to Princess Twilight, who walks over to us with a proud smile.
"We may have defeated Eternal War together, but it was you who gave us the chance to, Rough Draft," she says. "Without you, I wouldn't have known what was happening much less have come here to help, and you were the one who freed Sonata and me from Eternal War's freezing spell so that we could try to stop everyone from fighting each other."
"And you planned to immobilize Eternal War with your Stingsaber so that we can trap him for good," Octavia says, taking my left hand.
"So without you, none of this would be possible," Sunset adds as she takes my right hand.
"Face it, Rough Draft," Princess Twilight says. "This time, you are the hero."
...
The hero.
My face turns into shock as those two words ring in my ears. I turn to Octavia and Sunset, who both look at me with proud looks. It takes a moment before I realize that all eyes have suddenly turned to me. I turn around to see Vinyl, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Doc, Derpy, Soarin, Caramel, Lyra, Bon Bon, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Human Twilight smile at me. I smile back at my friends as -
Wait a minute.
Vinyl, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Doc, Derpy, Soarin, Caramel, Lyra, Bon Bon, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Human Twilight.
"Uh, guys, has anyone seen Sonata?" I ask
Everyone looks at me in confusion before we all hear a loud bubbly cheer. We all turn to see Sonata standing on top of the remains of the Wondercolt statue, shaking her fist into the air excitedly.
"Three cheers for my buddy, Rough Draft!" She shouts out loud.
I only have a moment to react before everyone starts cheering even louder than before. Suddenly, my feet leave the ground, and I see Soarin and Caramel lifting me on their shoulders, cheering, "This is our bro, Rough Draft! Rough Draft, the hero!"
I stare at everyone, surprised, contemplating everything that is happening before a big smile enters my face. Joy fills my entire body as I shake my fists into the air, and feel tears coming down my eyes as I see everyone cheering and applauding for me. One of the students finds the Stingsaber in the crowd and hands it to me so that I can ignite it and hold it high in the air as the celebration continues. My heart feels overwhelmed as Soarin and Caramel carry me around the courtyard with everyone surrounding me. Sonata jumps up and down on top of the broken statue, shouting, "Hooray for Rough Draft! Hooray for Rough Draft!"
I laugh and cheer with everyone before my eyes turn to Eternal War, still frozen stiff. My smile falters as the last words he said to me echo in my mind.
"Even if I'm trapped forever, that won't save you from your situation. You are still toying with the feelings of those two wretched girls, and as long as you hold on to both of their hearts, you will bring nothing but pain. One way or another, you will have to choose, or you will lose both of them and be as alone as you ever have been your whole life."
As everyone still cheers happily, unaware of my change of demeanor, I turn to Octavia and Sunset, who are standing next to each other in the middle of the crowd. They smile at me with pride and love filling their watery eyes, but I can see that they are not quite as happy as everyone else either. I can tell that deep down they both know that despite this victory, the three of us are still in a terrible situation that we don't know how to deal with. I turn away and stare into space while the celebration continues, as one question begins to fill my mind.
Who will I choose?