//------------------------------//
// Alternate Ending: Absolution 
// Story: Frieza goes to Friendship School 
// by Thought Prism 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle weighed her options, unable to stand still as he mind raced. Pros and cons lit up in her synapses like hearth's warming lights as the pondered exactly what the best course of action to take with Frieza was. Which was more important, her ideals or her responsibility? My duty to Equestria is obviously important, but I wouldn't be in this position in the first place if it weren't for friendship. Oh, what do I do?

It was then that she remembered the recent return of the Pillars, and the mistake she had nearly made regarding Stygian. She wouldn't make that mistake again, especially with Starlight here to remind her. If there was a chance Frieza could change for the better, even the slimmest one, Twilight knew she had to take that chance.

When she stopped moving, the other three ponies, two friends and one friend-to-be, stood with baited breath.

"I've decided. Frieza, I'm afraid I have to decline your proposition," Twilight declared. "You will remain here, under close supervision. You have done many abhorrent things until now, but that's because you didn't know there was another path. My friends and I can help you see that there is a better way; a means to put the past behind you and a road to happiness and redemption," she added, smiling as she remembered.

Starlight clapped her hooves, sharing Twilight's smile. "If I can change, then so can you, Frieza."

Twilight nodded, recalling what she, Princess Luna, and Discord had been like when she first met each.

Frieza, however, did not seem to be taking the news well. He was shaking on his hooves, the look his eyes alternating rapidly between utter disbelief and utter contempt.

Pinkie took a step back, parts of her body also shaking, except randomly and uncontrollably wild. "Not that I don't respect your decision, Twi, but I have a bad feeling about this."

Oh. That's a tad concerning. Sure, maybe Frieza will be a bit harder to reach than the others were, but now we have experience, Twilight thought. "It'll be fine, Pinkie," she reassured. "I'll have guards called in from Canterlot and everything."  

"Actually, uh..." said Starlight. "Maybe you spoke too soon." Her hoof tentatively rose to point at Frieza.

When Twilight looked to the former alien again, her heart skipped a beat. Frieza's eyes... she had never seen such unadulterated loathing on a pony's face before. The air around him was growing darker, as if the very light was being drained from the space nearby. Her magical senses now registered a hum of power, one that rapidly built in magnitude.

Twilight's jaw dropped. A chill ran down her spine - and the rest of her body - as the room suddenly reduced in temperature from comfortable to frigid. The temperature difference created a rush of wind, sending small dust particles swirling about her office and ruffling her mane. Frieza's body became completely encased in a sphere of total blackness, which slowly expanded as it rose into the air.

"What's happening!?" exclaimed a shivering Starlight, frantically turning from the orb to Twilight.

Maintaining her composure, Twilight quickly scanned the still-rising magic which had converged upon Frieza. However, this particular darkness was nothing she immediately recognized, which meant she couldn't safely dispel it. "I don't know! Definitely nothing good!"

She could only stare, huddled next to Pinkie and Starlight, as the shadows continued to grow in size, undulating from the scope of the malicious forces contained within. Eventually, the sphere peeled apart, revealing not a white pegasus colt, but a Frieza completely transformed.

He stepped forward, his three-toed foot producing a ring of white frost on the carpet. Frieza now stood on two, both colored a deep blue along with the rest of his body. Jet black armor, unornamented yet imposing, covered his shins, torso, shoulders, and forearms. The top of his head gleamed with a purple sheen, and twin horns jutted to the side like icicles just above his ears. Thin bands of sparkling ice encircled his long, prehensile tail and trailed down below his condescending, red-pupiled eyes.

Frieza clenched his fist, his tail flitting to the side in casual arrogance. And then, he spoke, his tone as cold and ruthless as a blizzard in the dead of night. "It seems I have regained the barest fraction of my power. More than enough to extinguish all life on this planet."

The blood drained from Twilight's face. Pinkie gasped.

Starlight sheepishly cringed away from Twilight. "Uh... my bad?"

There are bigger things to worry about than fault, now, thought Twilight, mind racing as she kept her focus squarely on the newest threat imperiling Equestria. Now that she had the full picture, she knew exactly what had happened, she just could believe it. Frieza's hatred was so great that it reached critical mass, acting as a nexus and drawing in vast quantities of ambient negative energy. Just like with Nightmare Moon.

While Frieza was still distracted by the process of self-examination, Twilight steeled her nerves, wings spread and prepared for what was to come. "Girls, I need you to listen carefully. Starlight, evacuate the school. And the whole town, if you can. Teleport everypony someplace safe," she ordered.

Starlight blinked, needing a moment for the words to register. Once they did, her expression mirrored Twilight's. "On it," she said, before vanishing in a flash of teal light.

"Pinkie," Twilight continued, "get the others. We're going to need the Elements to stop Nightmare Frieza. I'll hold him off."

Pinkie gasped again, even more dramatically this time. "Nightmare Frieza? Ponyfeathers, I'll be back in a jiffy." Then she too made a quick exit, by jumping into a nearby flowerpot.

Frieza scoffed at their actions. "You only delay the inevitable."

Twilight stood firm. Knowing that, at this point, words would not reach him, she said nothing. Instead, she charged up her horn at full power, her usual magenta glow flaring to white from the full power of an alicorn. As friendship is magic, hatred is anti-magic. I wish this weren't the case, but besides the Elements, the only thing that will work against Frieza now is brute force. I hope Starlight works fast.   

Frieza looked at her as a pony might an ant, totally ambivalent to Twilight's display. He shook his head, then narrowed his eyes. “You know, that name you gave this form is... wrong. I am not a nightmare. What stands before you now is the core of Frieza, unburdened by the trivialities of sadism, wit, flamboyance, and anger. The distilled, absolute truth of my being, and an embodiment of the cold, unfeeling void that is the universe. Yes, for what little time you will remain alive, that is what you shall call me: Absolute Frieza.” 

Twilight balked. Ok, now I'm a bit worried.

Then, Frieza brought his own power to bear. A flaming indigo aura burst to life around his whole body. "But enough talk. Have at you!"

With a burst of speed that would have made a wonderbolt jealous, and far faster than Twilight expected, Frieza lunged. She didn't even have time to flinch in surprise before he unleashed a furious snap kick to the underside of her chin, sending her crashing through the ceiling. Twilight cried out in pain, her body barely feeling it as she careened head-over hooves through the remaining floors of the building and into the open air, so magnified was the throbbing in her jaw. Sweet Celestia, that blow probably would have shattered an ordinary pony's skull.

Snarling, adrenaline coursing through her veins, Twilight righted herself with her wings, angling to face the gaping hole from which she had emerged. She rapidly adapted to the new information regarding Frieza's speed. So, the instant his dark form burst though in pursuit, Twilight was ready. She teleported to a spot on the roof behind him and fired a beam of magic the width of her head at his back.

It bounced right off, deflected into the sky. She might as well have thrown a ball of wet tissue paper. Oh, buck me.

Frieza whirled in midair, aiming a single pointed finger at Twilight. A pitch black beam of his own fired out from it, narrow and lightning fast. Twilight juked out of the way with a flap of her wings, sure in that instant that his attack would miss underneath her body.

She did not expect the beam to curve, juking to hit her left hind leg. When it struck, the limb instantly went numb from a chill so intense it burned, her leg caked with ice. Twilight screamed, teleporting away again. Reappearing a safe distance away, Twilight endured the pain, tears escaping from her eyes as she abandoned all pretense of strategy and allowed instinct to take over. It was life or death. 

Frieza's unfeeling expression remained the same as he escalated his attack, now launching beams of cold shadow from all ten of his fingers at once. As they arced through the space between him and Twilight, she put up a forcefield around her body, as Shining Armor had taught her, and then added a wall of blistering flames on top of that.

Her defenses held, barely, the beams making it most of the way through to crack Twilight's barrier. With another pulse from her horn, she repaired the shield, but let the surrounding inferno die off so she could see what the self-titled Absolute Frieza would do to try and snuff her out next. Her expectations were moot, however, as he now casually floated in place with his arms crossed.

"Hmm. Weak, but durable," he said, not even bothering to conceal his musings. "This is inefficient."

As Twilight hovered in place, panting with exertion, Frieza simply flew off, straight up. He was little more than a black speck in Twilight's vision by the time he stopped. Before she could begin to ponder what her latest adversary was doing, a voice she recognized cried out. "Twilight!"

Whirling, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief when she met the eyes of Rainbow Dash, her most loyal friend racing to her side. "Holy hay, it looks like you've been through Tartarus," she said, without a trace of her usual confidence. Twilight could have used some of that. 

"Looks like we got here just in time," she added, gesturing below. There stood Pinkie, with Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack close behind. 

You have no idea how right you are, Rainbow. Twilight was practically about out to fall out of the sky from the agony of her wounds. Instead, she managed a controlled decent, landing on the grass by her friends. As weight was placed on her half-frozen leg, she winced.

Fluttershy placed a hoof over her muzzle when she saw the state Twilight was in, partially hiding her fearful expression. "Goodness! How dare he!"

"I concur," said Rarity, aching at the sight of Twilight's ragged form. "Pinkie already briefed us. I knew Freezer was a bit unusual, but to think he was capable of this..."

"He'll do worse if we fail," Twilight said, clenching her eyes shut and shaking uncomfortable visions out of her mind. "I wish I didn't have to ask this of you, but you have to hold him back while I get the Elements; I can't keep Frieza occupied from the Everfree."

Suddenly, Applejack blanched. "Uh, I'm not so sure we can, either..." Her voice trailed off as she raised a shaky hoof. At the same time, a grey blanket of shadow fell across them, the sunlight abruptly blocked.

Twilight's fears were confirmed when she and the others reluctantly followed Applejack's upwards stare. The sight she beheld threatened to snuff out the last embers of hope in her breast.

The sun had been eclipsed. Not by the moon, but by Frieza. He held a single finger aloft, and above it had formed an absolutely massive iceberg. It was already the size of a mountain, and it was still growing before her eyes as swirls of snow converged, deepening the encroaching darkness. 

Twilight could hear faint screams coming from outside Ponyville as its citizens took notice. She nearly joined them, but instead settled for hyperventilating. If he throws that thing with any significant force, it'll smash into the town like a comet. And I know how well that turned out for the dinosaurs.

"Pffft, that's the best he's got?" squeaked Rainbow as beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks. "It's just a bit of hail. I, like, break up hailstorms all winter, heheheh."

Applejack clutched her hat to her chest. Pinkie's hair deflated. Rarity looked like she was about to faint. Fluttershy burst into tears. Twilight fell to her knees, shallow reassurances dying before they crossed her lips as she desperately wracked her brain for something, anything that could get them safely out of this.

And then, there was light.

"Look!" Pinkie exclaimed.

With nothing better to do, Twilight did. Her castle was glowing. Namely, the starburst at the top, which steadily grew in brightness to a level that was almost blinding. Then, it burst forth, directly towards her.

Twilight's malaise was instantly cut away by a familiar warmth. As the light suffused her body, her strength returned, along with her resolve. She could feel the magic of friendship filling her to bursting as she was carried into the air, the tremendous excess coating her hooves, wings, and mane. 

When she saw that the same thing was happening to her friends, their sad frowns replaced with eager grins, Twilight barked out out a laugh in recognition. "It's the Rainbow Power! Harmony is with us!"

However, there was no time to gawk at extra hues or extra cutie marks, for Frieza chose that moment to unleash Armageddon with a flick of his wrist.

"Let's go!" Twilight exclaimed.

She could almost feel their collective response before she heard it. "Right!"

As one, they burst into the heavens, a literal circle of friendship (well, hexagon, but close enough). As the encroaching mass of ice descended, displacing a cone of air, they rose to meet it like a shooting star, trailing brilliant light. Coiling her legs along with her sisters in arms, Twilight Sparkle readied to strike.

With a triumphant cry, six supercharged hooves collided with the ice at once, shattering it into a million harmless pieces. Charging through the resulting cloud of mist, they continued their ascent, quickly reaching the same height as Frieza, who looked even more absolute than before. Absolutely shocked, that is, as he stared at their new appearance with wide eyes.

"Not this again," he said, fists clenched. "You were to die, crumbling as do all."

"Well, too bad, cuz we don't break that easily!" proclaimed Dash.

"Darn tootin'!" affirmed Applejack.

"I should have partied you out of commission when I had the chance!" added Pinkie. 

"We have one now," said Rarity, firmly. "Light him up, ladies!"

Conviction unwavering, Twilight opened her heart completely, her five fellows doing the same. She could feel the energy born of their companionship with eachother and all of Equestria building upon itself as it bounced between them, their collective strength surging higher with every pass as it begged to be unleashed against their foe—

Until Frieza rushed forward to punch Fluttershy in the face.

She went flying downwards like a meteor, and made a lengthy impact crater like one too, a massive gash cutting across the field.

The corona of magic around their bodies vanished. "Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Lesson learned: no charging," he said matter-of-factly, before spinning to whip his tail at Pinkie. She too was sent hurtling through the air.

"No assaulting my friends!" Twilight retorted, grabbing him in her telekinetic field and hurling him straight down before he knew what hit him, making another dust-strewn explosion on impact. Then, she teleported to where Fluttershy had crashed.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Although, Twilight almost didn't need to. She still carried the Rainbow Power, and was already standing up, barely bruised.

"I'm okay, somehow," Fluttershy replied, shaking out her mane.

Still, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Hovering under their own willpower, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow arrived by her side a moment later, followed by Pinkie, who was also barely hurt.

"Looks like we're gonna have to do this the old fashioned way," said Applejack, scraping her hoof against the dirt like a bull before a charge. "I like the old fashioned way."

Rarity nodded, equally riled. "Retro chic it is."

In unspoken agreement, Twilight turned with the others to face Frieza.

The debris settling around him was instantly cleared by a resounding shockwave. Elbows at his sides and knees bent, Frieza let out a piercing battle cry. Every blade of grass within a hundred-foot radius was flashfrozen in an instant as his hate-fueled aura expanded in size and intensity before popping out of sight. 

Once more, Twilight readied her magic, horn ablaze. Alright, Absolute Frieza. I have ponies willing to watch my back. Try as you might, you'll lose, and that's why.So, by all means, attack.

When Frieza burst into motion, straight for them, Rainbow Dash reacted first. She went from zero to rainboom in an instant and met Frieza's fist with her own, colliding with the sound of a thunderclap. The pair immediately began trading lightning-fast blows, their punches, kicks, parries, and dodges almost too fast for the eye to see. In an effort to break through, their pace rapidly accelerated even further, such that it seemed both of them had multiple extra limbs.

"What's the matter?" taunted Dash. "Can't hit a girl?" Though, from what Twilight could tell, neither could get a solid hit in.

"You will tire," Frieza replied, not giving an inch as he pressed his assault. "And then you will be crushed, for that is the fate of all who oppose me."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Sure I will. Hiyaaaah!" Using her wings as an assist, she rolled into a forward flip, clearing a kick from Frieza and bringing her heel down onto his head. Or rather, that's what would have happened had Frieza not raised both his arms to block. "AJ!"

"Got it!" Thanks to her enhanced speed, Applejack was already next to Dash. Eyes narrowed, she tensed, unleashing a buck to end all bucks into Frieza's side while his focus was on the pegasus. He went sailing upwards at a forty-five degree angle, letting out a howl of frustration as he struggled to stabilize. 

"Nice job!" Now that she had a clear shot, Twilight took it, cutting loose with a hypercharged ray of alicorn magic the width of a train car. It roared into the heavens. But Frieza was prepared, and with a sweep of his hand he produced a great wave of ink-black hatred to intercept, triggering a cacophonous explosion as the attacks cancelled out.

Weather out of bravery or recklessness, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash flew off in pursuit, the latter arriving first. But Frieza was prepared this time, and slipped his tail through Rainbow's guard, grabbing her by the neck. He dove past Applejack with a grimace, the earth pony unable to react in time.

"How dare you!" Twilight sprung after him, trying to break Frieza's grip with her magic, but it was too tight. He slammed Rainbow into the side of the mounted the school rested against, sending up more stones and collapsing part of the building.

Rarity, who had raced along with Twilight, cracked her neck and creased her brow. "Could I trouble you for an instrument, darling?" she asked.

Knowing her well, Twilight smirked, and a quick conjuration spell summoned exactly what Rarity wanted: a sewing needle the size of her whole body, forged from adamantine alloy.

Returning the smirk, Rarity grabbed the needle with her horn and screeched a battle cry of her own, making for Frieza. "Guess where I'm gonna thread this!"

As the dust cleared from around Frieza and Dash, Twilight could see that Frieza still had her pinned, now with one of his hands as he readied an orb of darkness in the other for a finishing blow. 

But before she could react, one of her friends beat her to it. With a shout of "Surprise!", Pinkie Pie burst from behind a tree, firing a stretchy-armed jab into Frieza's cheek. This knocked him off balance enough that the sphere of wicked cold went wide, freezing Rainbow's shoulder instead of her heart. That was when Rarity appeared on the scene, forcing Frieza to jump back off of Dash with a precise thrust of her needle rapier.

They took to the air as Rarity pressed her assault, rapidly stabbing at Frieza like the world's most lethal sewing machine. Frieza was on the metaphorical backfoot, managing to dodge or redirect almost every one of Rarity's attacks, his head whipping from side to side as he flew backwards. A single riposte nicked his cheek, drawing a thin trickle of blood. Snarling, Frieza fired more homing beams at Rarity from his fingers to force her away. Only a projected shield from Twilight saved her, with nanoseconds to spare.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy flew over to help up the injured Rainbow Dash. No objections here. She's certainly more suited for than joining in on the fight if I'm being honest. Kind words and a reproachful stare aren't going to be very useful at this point.

Before Frieza could target Rarity again, Pinkie slammed into him shoulder first at full speed, knocking the both of them through the air. "How'd ya like that present?"

Frieza did not reply. Instead he took a deep breath and began jabbing at the air with his palms, launching a rapid-fire barrage of icy hatred blasts. "Haaaatatatatata!"

"Alright, more it is!" Pinkie exclaimed, reaching into her expanded mane for a pair of strawberry cupcakes, which she then hurled with earnest.

The sky was filled with death and pastries as they continued to fling their projectiles at eachother, Pinkie and Frieza weaving and circling through the air to avoid the shots. Eventually, Frieza stopped, switching tactics. Raising both his hands, he formed twin disks of ice, razor sharp and thrumming with infused power. 

But before he could hurl them, Pinkie giggled. "Where are you looking?"

Twilight hadn't even noticed anything until she pointed out, but yes, the cupcakes Pinkie had thrown were still airborne, somehow hovering perfectly still in a rough sphere around Frieza. What?

Pinkie clapped her hooves. "Partycave Grenade!"

All at once, the cupcakes resumed moving: except now directly inward. Unable to dodge, Frieza braced himself before being enveloped in a humungous, sizzling fireball. Twilight stared. Nope, still not going to question it.

"Woo!" said Pinkie. Then, she starting a do a little victory jig, hopping backwards and shaking her rump. "Go Pinkie, ooh ooh, go Pinkie— AAAHH!"

The scream was in regards to one of the two ice disks to come flying out of the cloud of smoke, which nearly cut her in half before she jerked herself out of the way like a marionette. The other was aimed at Twilight, who deftly teleported out of the way without taking her eyes off of Frieza's position in case he tried something.

Soon, the last embers of the fireball had dissipated, revealing a lightly singed Absolute Frieza. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack were all flying over to where Twilight and Pinkie hovered to form up again, but were now directly in the path of Frieza's redirected attack. How does he keep bending his shots like that? Twilight mused.

"Nope!" said Rainbow Dash, smashing one of the disks with a rolling roundhouse kick before it could get to Fluttershy.

Rarity, weapon at the ready, parried the other one dead center. However, she let out a gasp when it was her needle that was cleft in twain, and barely managed to avoid the bulk of the disk at it opened up a gash in her side. She screamed in pain.

"Rarity!" shouted both Twilight and Fluttershy at the same time. Fluttershy rushed over to tend to Rarity, pulling out a first-aid kit from somewhere. Twilight's nostrils flared as she whirled on Frieza. That fiend!

Beating her to the punch was Applejack, who rushed in from behind Frieza as he readied another barrage of death beams. They all went wide, fired prematurely as Applejack wrapped her hooves around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides. With effort, Twilight cancelled them all out with beams of her own one after the other anyway, refusing to entertain the possibility of her friends suffering further.

Frieza growled, trying to shake Applejack off with over-the-shoulder whips of his tail. "Let go of me!"

"No can do, ya varmint!" Applejack held on despite the mighty blows, steadfast, and even retaliated with a furious headbutt to the back of Frieza's skull.

As they continued to struggle, Pinkie creased her brow. "Girls, I'm not sure we can keep this up. At this rate somepony will end up hurt really badly." 

"Exactly!" said Dash, her hooves crossed. "What we really need is an opening to hit him with the full force of the Rainbow Power. Then he'll be sorry!"

"But how?" asked Twilight. "All six of us need to be unoccupied for that." 

Nopony had the chance to answer, thanks to Frieza. "Enough of this! HAAAAH!" With another immense flare of dark power, he flung Applejack off, his arms springing open.

With a roar, Twilight seized the opening to fire another full-force blast of magic. At such close range, Frieza could only block. But block he did, holding back the alicorn's power with this bare hands as he was forced backwards slightly. Soon, has was actually pushing forwards.

Sweat dripped across her brow as Twilight mustered more and more of her will against Frieza's. "Gah! I won't be able to keep this up forever!"

Fluttershy finished patching up Rarity as best she could, the unicorn's teeth clenched shut despite heavy breaths, then faced Twilight with worry. "I'm not sure I can bear the sight of so much violence for much longer. If only we had some sort of distraction, then we could do Rainbow's plan and end this."

Almost on cue, a wave of oily, multicolored energy buffeted Frieza from above. It knocked him off balance enough for Twilight's extended spell to finally connect properly, propelling Frieza into the distance. What the—?

"Sorry I'm late, friends. Genre convention demanded I arrive at the last possible moment."

Twilight had a pretty good idea as to the identity of the voice's source, but looked up anyway. It was in fact Discord, wearing a tie-dyed martial arts gi and sporting a toothy grin.

"Discord!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "You came!"

"What took ya so long?" asked Applejack. "And 'genre convention' ain't gonna cut it as an excuse. Look at Rarity!"

At this, Discord winced. "I know, I know. I was also busy convincing the Guard, ol' Sunbutt, and that coot Star Swirl and those Pillars of his to stay away. This is way above their pay grade."

As much as she respected those listed, Twilight couldn't argue with that. It was time to cut to the chase. "Ok everypony, one more time!"

Her friends met Twilight's determined eyes with their own one by one before they got back into formation, shining light encompassing them. At the same time, Frieza was ascending like a beast possessed, all traces of mercy having long since vanished. However, Discord floated in his path, and with a snap of his lion's paw, three more Discords appeared by his side. 

"Have a taste of my special Multi-Form Technique!" he exclaimed before diving to meet Frieza head-on.

While Discord and his clones came to blows with Frieza, fists flying with impossible speed, Twilight focused on the magic of friendship within her heart. Soon, she could feel the myriad connections between herself and those with her. Reaching deep into those bonds for salvation, for triumph against all odds, she once again felt her magic surge exponentially, and this time it would not be stopped.

Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow each brought to bear everything they had in the form of six streaks of color. Frieza dispatched the last Discord with a furious uppercut, who vanished in a puff of smoke just as the six Elements became one, lancing downwards as a rainbow of devastating majesty.

Upon beholding their weaponized harmony, Frieza did not falter. "I won't allow it to end this way, you loathsome creatures! Now, perish!"

He braced one arm with the other at the elbow, drawing on the full extent of his inner darkness as he was engulfed in an indigo inferno. And from his outstretched hand fired an enormous blast of shadow and cold so intense that it froze the very air itself, flakes of dry ice spiraling out of its path.

When the two beams met, the shockwave was so intense it shattered every window for miles and sent gale-force winds whipping outwards. Light and darkness pressed against eachother in a deadlock, producing a growing rumble.

"Wait, isn't this the part where we win instantly?" asked Dash. "Why aren't we winning instantly?"

"How can this not be enough?" added Fluttershy. 

The power of Harmony flowing through Twilight, she asked herself the same question. And as the full manifestation of Frieza's overwhelming hatred started inexorably advancing towards them, she found the answer. "Frieza is a monster, fighting to satisfy his own twisted ambitions. But we don't fight for ourselves, we step up for all those who depend on us! That's why we won't be defeated! We can't be, for them, no matter who we face! Remember who you fight for!"

All traces of anxiety fled from Fluttershy's face. "For the meek!" The light coming from her body grew even more vibrant. 

"For family!" exclaimed Applejack, following suit.

"For the future!" shouted Rarity.

Then, Pinkie Pie: "For happiness!"

Next, Rainbow Dash: "For eachother!"

And finally, Twilight Sparkle: "For all of Equestria!"

With a collective cry of triumph, the Rainbow Power redoubled in strength, shining like a prismatic beacon in the sunlit sky. It cut through Frieza's ultimate attack like a hot knife through butter, completely unimpeded.

As it passed the halfway point, rapidly drawing closer to Frieza, he balked. "No! Impossible! Not again! I am absolute! I—"

His protests were cut short as the last motes of ice from his attack faded away, now enveloped by the rainbow. Frieza howled in fury as his stance broke. Flakes of ash broke off of his body as his power was literally stripped away. Soon, the pony beneath reappeared as the last of the darkness vanished. And then not even that remained, the forces of harmony completely vaporizing him.

Everything ceased, the Rainbow Power spent. As Twilight and the others slowly floated to earth, the alicorn stared at the wisp of smoke where her greatest and most unexpected foe last stood and let out a great sigh of relief.





Despite the immeasurable forces at play, in the aftermath of the battle, no one besides Frieza was killed. It was a near thing, though. When Twilight saw that Spike was safe and sound, she broke down, squeezing tight in an embrace that she could have sworn lasted hours. Similar reunions occurred between her friends and their families, adopted or otherwise.

Starlight had nearly driven herself to total magical exhaustion teleporting all of Ponyville's residents to safety, and had fallen unconscious from the exertion. She would need to spend days in the hospital recovering, along with Rarity and Rainbow Dash. The latter was used to physical rehabilitation at this point despite her irritation at the whole process. Rarity, meanwhile, would be left with a large scar from the ordeal. Twilight was worried she wouldn't take it well, but was put as ease when Rarity simply stated it was just a nice excuse to wear her work more often.  

Even Discord, who reappeared completely unharmed later that day, understood the gravitas of the situation, helping to reconstruct damaged homes and businesses, and only replacing a few windows with sugar glass in the process. 

And while Twilight flitted this way and that, explaining to the townsponies and friendship students exactly what had happened, and providing reassurance that it was all over, she couldn't help but take their questions to heart. She took a moment to look to the heavens in contemplation. Really, why was Frieza sent here? For us to change him for the better? If so, whoever did put him here must be rather disappointed by all this. Not even Harmony deemed him worth the risk.

As another pony flagged her down, Twilight shook her head. I suppose it's best we just move on, like always.