CHAPTER Title: Rarity, Element of Generosity, Gives All
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. " - Elie Wiesel
Trixie didn't know what that strange ache in her chest was, but it seemed to be gone now.
Rarity swept her sword in an elegant arc, transforming it back into a large sewing needle.
"No!" Diamond hissed. "I'm Nightmare Nhilis! I'm taking all the grime and filth of this world with me to Tartarus where it belongs. Every time you refuse me, you’re only making things worse."
Unlike Scootaloo, Rarity knew the last thing you wanted to say to a suicidal pony was 'Why don't you do it yourself?' "Maybe the spirits of dark magic aren't so bad after all. They're helping us save you."
"They're only saving themselves!" roared Nhilis, firing a blast of raw black magic.
Rarity flung herself to one side and rolled out of the way, but the blast left yet another smoking crater in the lawn where she was just standing. 'Hay Seed is going to be working overtime after this,' Rarity thought.
"Diamond Tiara, dear,” asked Rarity politely, even as she kept moving, firing her needles one by one. “If you're so certain that 'important ponies' can't die here, then what makes you think we can kill you even if we wanted to?"
A wall of black flames sprang up, melting the needles well short of Nightmare Nhilis’ armor. "Because I've betrayed Discord. I'm the true villain now. That means you can feel sorry for him and pretend all his crimes never happened, and focus all the hate, anger, and fear you felt towards him on me. If he had just come to his senses and surrendered, you would have spent forever thinking of ways to pay him back a thousand times over for all he'd done."
Discord flinched, looking at Nightmare Nhilis.
"Young filly, that is not the pony way!" Golden Tiara had not neglected keeping her body in shape, and she closed the distance between herself and her now grown-up foal with a single lunge. She alternated between trying to give Diamond a hug and strike her nerve points.
Nhilis flickered in and out, teleporting away from every attempt. "Sure, keep telling yourselves that."
+++
Rarity Belle
As I said before, darlings, the battle was quickly devolving into complete anarchy. There were no more coordinated attacks, no more flanking maneuvers, no more combination techniques. Wemaintained enough horse sense to avoid hitting each other with friendly fire, but that was about it.
The Flutters continued to stand watch over the unconscious Gilda, as Twilight had asked. Princess Gaia’s power might have been depleted, but Fluttershy had her Stare ready, and Fluttercruel had raised a windscreen.
Even though an Alicorn version of Rainbow Dash had tried and failed to stop Nhilis, our own Rainbow Dash didn’t seem the least bit discouraged. She zipped around like lightning, darting in to strike wherever she saw an opening. Perhaps she's hoping to paralyze Nhilis' magic center with a well aimed head-blow, and thus prevent the bomb from detonating. I’ve only ever heard of master martial artists accomplishing that feat, but if any of us could do it, Rainbow would be the one.
Applejack used the Truth to fight Nightmare Nhilis hoof-to-hoof, hoping to keep her preoccupied from realizing another scheme to make things worse, but Nhillis kept teleporting, forcing Applejack into a game of keep away.
"I am suicide's siren call!"
"Yer self-pity dressed up fancy."
Golden Tiara didn’t even seem to care whenever she was struck with collateral damage.She and Silver Spoon both now kept pounding away at the iron walls of the fortress around Diamond Tiara's heart.
Princess Luna, Princess Celestia... I truly and sincerely wish we could just once face a villain who would listen to reason. With Celestia as my witness, I vow I'd become that villain’s friend on the spot if she was persuaded to peacefully change her ways.
Pinkie Pie unleashed every party trick in her arsenal. I actually had to look away, lest my sanity crack from seeing my friend make balloon animals out of the laws of physics. Colorful wrapped presents exploded left and right, releasing grump-seeking missiles jam-packed with tickle-feathers. Pinkie herself seemed to be in two or even three places at once... swinging on a rope attached to nothing and firing that special bazooka of hers, while somehow also using her forehooves to toss pies in Nightmare Nhilis' face.
Nhilis caught the pies in her magic, only to have them explode, covering her in Diamond Tiara's favorite filling. I hope to never witness Pinkie Pie drinking coffee again! The first two times were bad enough!
Trixie tried to confuse Nightmare Nhilis with illusionary clones and quick teleports, repeatedly getting close, only to be driven back by shadows and puppets. Spike was on Trixie's back the whole time, chomping at Nightmare Nhilis' peytral whenever he got close. Was Spike hoping to eat the gem? Dragons were tough, but I never want to find if dragons are that tough on the inside!
Princess Luna kept turning into a shadowy cloud, trying to sneak up on her and slip into her head, but Nhilis kept spotting her and firing white hot needles and magical flash grenades, forcing Luna to retreat and try again. Even now, Luna seemed completely unable to work her magic on Nightmare Nhilis directly.
Princess Celestia’s magic was likewise being negated with the unwilling aid of the spirits of dark magic. I realized that she was systematically trying everything in her magical repertoire… unicorn spells, lightning strikes, harmony spells spun from pure rainbows, beams of powerfully focused sunlight, bolts of darkness, eerie golden flames akin to Chrysalis’ magic, and even strange water-based spells that I didn’t recognize at all... all for naught. Restraining Nightmare Nhilis now was dangerous, but Celestia still used the most powerful and precise Earth pony magic I'd ever seen to guide plant life to wrap around the Nightmare's legs, and pegasus magic more powerful than I’d imagined possible to try and keep Nightmare Nhilis grounded.
Twilight Sparkle was trying something with different rune combinations that all went sailing over my head, metaphorically speaking. Something to do with… restraint? Attempting to stop Nightmare Nhilis from teleporting, perhaps? But no ward, no barrier, could prevent the passage of decay.
"Become a filly!" Twilight blasted Nightmare Nhilis with a surge of magic that looked impressive even by her standards, and still nothing happened. "Ugh! It's like trying to counter seven different casters all at the same time!”
Nightmare Nhilis gave my friend an offended look and fired back with the same magic, only reversed, reducing Twilight to a broken old mare. Twilight hastily restored herself to her rightful age before her body could fail on her.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders fought as one pony. Credit where it is due, they never once seemed to enjoy ganging up on their former schoolyard tormenter. Braided Scootaloo swept in from the air, with Sweetie Belle blasting her peytral with magic from the front, and earring-wearing Apple Bloom lobbing what concoctions she had left from Zecora or was able to mix-up on the spot. Amazingly, her formulas did seem to ever so slightly lessen Nightmare Nhilis' strength and reaction time for however long they lasted.
Nightmare Nhilis conjured snakes with snakes for tongues, all scales and bones and not much else. They swam through the air like sharks, randomly splitting up like the heads of a hydra as they went. Twilight actually screamed and conjured a table to stand on in fright, before she came to her senses and started frying them with her magic.
Nhilis created hornets of black flames, too. I squished them with my gems before they got too close, but my gems were burned to cinders in the process.
Then the edges of her wings and her horn began to “glow” with blackness, as if they were devouring light instead of casting it. She charged like an angry bull, leaving a trail of dead grass and ash behind her. The Flutters pulled Gilda out of the way just in time, and Trixie and Twilight teleported the others to safety along with the foals.
Nightmare Nhilis hadn't yet threatened to set off the bomb if no one would execute her. Was she bluffing about the deadpony switch? Applejack hadn’t alerted us to any such deception. Diamond was still trying to make eliminating her seem like a heroic deed, but how long could that last?
Princess Luna's original plan...liberate Discord’s spirit by pushing Nightmare Nhilis to the edge of death... had all been called into question by the bomb around her throat. Worse, removing Discord might not even weaken Nhilis much, at this point.
Disabling the countdown had bought us a little time to think of another way, but that was all. If Nhilis could still set off the bomb any time she wished, then we could no longer simply contain her, and the rest of the trigger conditions ruled out any obvious solution. Even if we wanted to risk Sweetie Belle being turned to stone, we didn't dare use the Elements now. This battle couldn’t be allowed to drag on any longer, or Celestia knew what kind of weight Diamond would add to her ultimatum next!
Brute force wasn't going to work here. I suppose that ought to have been obvious from the start.
"It's time for me to be more generous than I've ever been," I said to myself.
Did I have a plan? Oh yes. A good plan? Debatable. Utterly insane? Oh, most assuredly.
Would I go with this course of action if there had been any other available in existence? Most assuredly not!
Was I scared? OUT OF MY BUCKING MIND! I hadn’t gone insane though, at least, I sincerely hoped not. I hoped I wouldn’t regret this. Do I feel ashamed that I couldn't think of something better? A little, but I don’t blame Twilight or the Princesses for not being able to think of something better. I pray they understand.
Is it fair? No, it is not. Not at all.
Make sure Sweetie Belle, my parents, and Opal all know how much I love them. Oh, and tell Spikey-Wikey that I wish him to live and be happy!
(Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): You have my word.)
Now, to communicate my plan to the others...
I doubted that any soundproof barrier would have been effective against Nightmare Nhilis, and I couldn’t think of any way to prevent her from sending shadows to spy on us, either. Fortunately, she was distracted, and Discord would likely not lift a claw to help her.
Another piece of good news: While Alicorns like Princess Celestia were said to have many miraculous powers, hearing the faintest whisper from far away like a comic book hero was not one of them. Nor did Fluttershy ever tell us of suddenly gaining super-hearing or the ability to read lips. And with the spirits of dark magic rebelling against Nightmare Nhilis, it’d be fruitless for her to ask them for a lip-reading spell. Huh? You have to know how to cast it? That’s a relief. My only hope is that after being undetectable for such a long time, she got so used to it that she didn’t bother to learn that spell from one of Twilight’s books.
My foolish plan was going to be hard enough to pull off in this maelstrom, but explaining it in enough detail without being overheard by the enemy was absolutely vital, and that was going to be a daunting challenge unto itself. And convincing my friends to go along with it? I might have greater success attempting to pull Canterlot Mountain along with my teeth.
All things considered, enacting my mad scheme was actually likely to be the simplest part!Celestia be praised, I am not Applejack, I'm good at hiding things when I need to.
I backed up a few paces, slipping away from the battle. Nightmare Nhilis was so besides herself with frustration at this point, she wasn't likely to notice me putting some distance between us at first.
If only I had a cake to ruin, or a book to rip the page out of, I knew that would get the attention of the co-conspirators I needed.
Wait a minute! You're right! Maybe I do!
My chaise longue isn’t the only essential accessory that I’ve learned to summon! I pull out my fashion trunk, and open it to find a French dress design book, along with some tasty sweetened scones. I’d stashed them there earlier. In case I ever became faint with hunger during an all-night fashion emergency, you understand.
(Interviewer's Notes: (Pegasus): Yes you did, and nopony can prove otherwise.)
I rip a page out of the book, and stamp a sweetened scone with my hoof. As surely as gravity pulls things to the ground and flowers bloom in the spring, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie's ears both twitch.
Pinkie Pie pops up beside me a moment before Twilight's teleportation brings her to my opposite side.
"RARITY… ?!"
"RARITY, HOW COULD YOU!"
Acting skills, don't fail me now! “MY EYES HAVE BEEN OPENED, DARLINGS! WE’LL ONLY BE GETTING OURSELVES KILLED IF WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOLVE TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND I WOULD BE REMISS IN MY DUTY AS YOUR FRIEND IF I FAILED TO CONVINCE YOU OF THAT!"
If something is too good to be true, it probably is, but be it Alicorn Princess or demon mare-foal, everypony believes what they want to believe. Hopefully, Rainbow doesn't do the deed to spare Twilight and Pinkie Pie before I'm done!
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Don't worry! I've gotcha covered!)
Thank you, darling. Now to tell my friends my real intention before they draw more attention. I don't suppose you could tell them.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Sorry, that’d be against the rules.)
I understand, dear. At a speed I dare any pony in Equestria to match, I sewed 'Hush! Listen!' onto a piece of cloth, showed it to my friends, and ate it.
Then I whispered, "Pinkie Pie, we need your Pinkie Sense and the most precise prediction you've ever given with it. Twilight, I'm afraid you're going to have to break some rules."
After Twilight told me that lip-reading spells aren’t for magical offense but magical strategy, I explained my plan as concisely and quietly as I could. My friends had their hooves rooted to the ground as their eyes grew larger and larger, leaning back from me ever so slightly as I laid everything out.
Behind us, Nightmare Nhilis turned into a Chineighese dragon, except she was breathing fire. Didn't she know her dragon biology? The others began dogpiling her, dragging her long serpentine body down into a dust cloud raised by their struggles.
Pinkie Pie breathed in deep, puffing like a balloon. "Rarity... ARE YOU-" I closed Pinkie Pie's mouth with my bare hooves, and she struggled, but that slippery eel wasn't going to get away from this unicorn!
"Maybe I am!" I shouted quietly, do not ask. "But just as you're Laughter, I am Generosity, and I'll give what I need to give!"
Twilight pulled out some sheets of paper. "Actually, Rarity, I've already written up a twelve-point lecture on how the stress of the situation has clearly caused you to suffer a critical lapse of judgement and-"
I snatched her lecture notes, tore them up, and ate them too.
Pinkie Pie slipped from my grasp. "HEY! Eating all kinds of stuff is my thing! Well mine and Spike’s, but Spike just eats gems so-" And then I had her in my grip again.
Meanwhile, Nightmare Nhilis had turned into a towering armored Neighponese ogre/minotaur hybrid, brandishing a sword and spear. Princess Luna offered Applejack a conjured katana, but Applejack just looked at her funny. Even in a true battle, Applejack fought with her hooves.
"Rarity, I'm not helping you do this!" hissed Twilight.
"Would you rather have half of Canterlot blown up because of one suicidal filly?"
I admit, I could appreciate the theatrics of us having a foalish debate over something this dire as our friends pushed back and forth with our enemy behind us.
Pinkie Pie's eyes widened, and she gestured for a time-out with her hooves. I arched an eyebrow, giving her the benefit of the doubt.
"Okay... I think I might have an idea to... well, help things not go so bad... but it means trusting somepony neither of you is gonna wanna trust, and I'm pretty sure I'm crazy too for wanting to trust.” She hung her head, pink curls drooping. “But... I'm super sick of all this fighting. I want to get on with the 'we saved the world again' party and the victory group-hug."
"So you'll do your part?" I asked.
Pinkie Pie nodded slowly, and lunged, hugging me tightly. "I can’t promise my idea is gonna work 100%... it... might not fix things perfectly... but it's better than not fixed at all!"
I didn't ask for details. I didn't have time. I simply trusted my friend.
"Pinkie Pie!” pleaded Twilight. “For something this important, you can't expect me to-"
"I expect you to, Twilight Sparkle." I stamped my hoof.
"I think it's a good plan," said a filly’s voice calmly.
We all startled. Looking up at us was Silver Spoon.
Behind us, Nightmare Nhilis became a monstrous spider, but Luna and Trixie cloaked everypony with invisibility spells. Nhilis summoned nine shadow ponies wearing uninspired black cloaks who could apparently see them anyway, and Celestia and Luna barred their path with swords made of flaming white light.
"Except for one detail. I do Miss Rarity's part instead," said Silver Spoon with a straight face.
"How did you-"
"I'm a filly of the elite. I'm good at being unnoticed and hearing things I'm not supposed to. You should be happy Diamond's too tied up to notice."
The giant octopus monster Nightmare Nhilis had meanwhile become now had its tentacles tied up thanks to Rainbow Dash and Applejack, before she untangled herself by changing to her dragon form again. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stepped up, using their cloaks to block a blast of decay magic fire-breath. Trixie tossed one of her smoke bombs, followed by one of Apple Bloom's remaining potion grenades, freezing the inside of the dragon's mouth.
Gilda had regained barely enough consciousness to see what was going on, but not enough to move. I wouldn’t blame her if she thought she was having a fever dream.
"You’re lucky Sweetie Belle isn't nearly as good as me, or she'd be offering to take Miss Rarity's place too. She does have part of Diamond Tiara's heart... she might be the better choice, actually. Dad always taught me how elites have to be like Guard captains and make tough calls sometimes." It was disturbing how cold Silver Spoon sounded. "It's only logical."
"THAT ISN'T-! I MEAN-!" Twilight struggled to say something to that, her mind twisting in knots.
"Sorry about this, but I'm more expendable than you or Sweetie Belle, Miss Rarity." Silver Spoon made a strike at my horn... good for a filly who had to live through the changeling invasion, but she was no black belt.
I caught her in my magic. "I’m sorry, Silver Spoon. If you're trying for the 'tap on the horn’ trick, you'll find that only works in theater for knocking unicorns out. You're a foal, you have more to lose… and Diamond Tiara is going to need your help more than mine when this is over!"
Silver Spoon shuddered, eyes wide and mouth open. She nodded silently.
I touch my Element of Harmony, and in a sprinkling of glittering rainbow sparkles, my suit of armor once again became a necklace. I took it off with my magic and gave it to Silver Spoon. "Be a dear and give this to Spike. Tell him it's for safe keeping."
"I will," Silver Spoon said quietly, not looking me in the eye. I gave her a gentle push and on her way she went.
"Now, hold on!” said Twilight. “I still haven’t agreed to this. I don't know for sure if I can even do it!"
"Of course you can, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said, uncharacteristically forcefully. She got in Twilight's face, her eyeballs pushing back on Twilight's. "After all, you copy any magic you see right? And you've seen this done before!" It was a little disturbing how Pinkie Pie said that.
"Pinkie Pie that isn't quite how it-"
"It'll work!"
"... For the record, I did this under protest, and two of my friends pressured me into it."
I gave her a hug. "We love you too, Twilight."
Twilight sighed. "However... there's one tactical flaw in your plan, Rarity... and we’re going to need one more pony."
Without even asking for opinions on the matter, Twilight teleported in a fourth member for our scheme. She blinked, bewildered and demanding to know what was going on. Forgive me for omitting vital details, darling, but I'm certain you can appreciate the need for secrecy.
I had no doubt that Twilight would be able to persuade her, she had experience with that after all. As for myself, I took advantage of those few moments to pen a brief letter.
'Dear Princess Celestia,
Once, not so long ago, you informed myself and Rainbow Dash that one day we might be forced to make terrible sacrifices in order to keep blood from staining the hooves of our friends. You were right. I don't like this. I never liked this, and I am certain Rainbow Dash feels the same. It is not my one purpose in life, but it is the responsibility which I must now carry on my shoulders.
'I do not regret becoming friends with Twilight Sparkle. I do not regret becoming the Element of Generosity, or choosing to help Diamond Tiara. Perhaps I regret the things that this responsibility has denied me, and the time it has denied me with those I love, but I would not make any other carry the burden. Thanks to these two years, I have grown as a pony. Not to say I was some selfish 'favor-broker' before, but I do believe I have a greater understanding of myself than I did before.
'I can only hope at this point that I have and shall continue to inspire others, and that regardless of what trials and ordeals await my friends, they never have to face such a terrible decision again. The Element of Generosity brought me here, but if I wasn't already generous, I wouldn't have become Generosity in the first place. Like any lady, I have become more refined. This is true beauty.
Your faithful subject,
-Miss Rarity Belle,'
I turned to Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and our latecomer, who had just completed her own preparations. "Twilight, do it."
Twilight gulped, then closed her eyes and touched her horn to mine. I felt her Element of Magic reach out and grasp my own; as I suspected, I was the only one here that could do this. The Element that Silver Spoon had given to my confused Spikey-Wikey glowed intensely, and then its light abruptly faded away.
+++
Twilight fired a signal flare that exploded with a loud bang! This got nearly everypony's attention, but what kept it was what they saw.
Pinkie Pie looked like she had a horrible headache from too much coffee, or maybe like she’d been given a brutal tongue lashing by the concept of Fate itself. On her back was Rarity, gray, lifeless, her eyes seeing nothing. Her face had nothing to express. Rarity's body was an empty collection of flesh and bone draped over the former rock farmer's back. It was not Discording, not in the least. Her cutie mark was missing.
Twilight and Trixie stood beside her, neither looking happy. Trixie was crying.
Many of the ponies' hearts skipped a beat. Their minds went blank and had to reboot… It felt like the world itself had been turned upside down. Unconsciously, there was a terrible sense of wrongness, like some unknown, unspoken, fundamental law of creation itself had been broken.
Luna narrowed her eyes, and Celestia felt a pang of fear.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo simply couldn't believe what they were seeing, and had no words.
Applejack rubbed her eyes in disbelief, confused and horrified at seeing this was no illusion.
Fluttercruel was shocked and bewildered. Fluttershy was on the edge of fainting, the world becoming a dim blur.
Gilda dimly wondered what the crazy ponies had done now.
Golden Tiara felt a chill at the sight, as perfect sanity left her no illusions as to what had been done.
Rainbow Dash vainly struggled to make sense out of what she was seeing, to make any sense, to find the slightest rhyme or reason, and failing. Discord's chaos felt more rational.
Spike inhaled sharply, then growled, fangs showing and eyes narrowed to slits. Beside him, Sweetie Belle was hyperventilating, dark mists starting to gather around the sickly green glow of her eyes and horn. Both were startled out of it when Silver Spoon gave them a surprise dual hug from behind.
"She wouldn't let anypony else be the one," Silver Spoon whispered, her eyes misting over.
Twilight raised a hoof to her chest. "Rarity chose to give everything she was to me... so I could finally knock some sense into you!” Twilight lit her horn like a beacon, gathering a storm of magic over their heads. The clouds flashed, and thunder boomed! “She gave me the power! She did it all for you, Nightmare Nhilis! Are you happy now? You said this wasn't over until somepony was never-heard-from-again... Rarity's called your bluff! Are we finally going to stop now?"
Nightmare Nhilis gave a mechanical, soulless laugh. "Oh no. My ambition has cost the life of another. Please.” She stamped a hoof, scattering the storm clouds. “Did you really think I'd fall for this trick when it didn't even fool me the first time?"
Discord cringed and gulped, adjusting an imaginary collar with a claw. "Princess, that's no trick."
"As if I'd believe anything you have to say."
Trixie teleported and got right up in Nightmare Nhilis' face, jabbing her chest with a hoof. "You might have grown up, but Trixie sees that you’re still an ill-mannered heckling brat! Rarity sacrificed everything so that we could create a miracle!"
"She sacrificed herself for nothing. Miracles don't exist!" Nhilis blasted Trixie at point blank range, sending her flying backwards. Before Trixie even had time to hit the ground, she was surrounded by walls of black wind, as Nightmare Nhilis summoned a spiked drill that worked at lightning speed to dig a bottomless pit for Trixie to plummet into.
“Don’t worry,” said Nhilis in a bored tone. "She's no more dead than Rarity. Everypony knows that heroes always survive falling down a steep cliff, isn't that right mother? And don't go getting all excited, father. I took care not to damage any of the magic-suppressing rune tunnels with that hole. Your magic is still limited."
"... How very considerate of you."
“YOUNG MARE!” bellowed Golden Tiara. "THAT THING IS NOT YOUR FATHER!"
"I know, mother, I'm not stupid. Discord was so lonely and starved for family that 'understood' him that he insisted on 'adopting' me."
= Live-A-Live: Giant Robot Bonanza R:TS MIx =
"FOR THE ONE AND ONLY TRIXIE!" shouted Twilight at the top of her lungs. She galloped towards Nightmare Nhilis, teleported out of the way when Nhilis tried to blast her, and actually slid like a hoofball player through grass and mud, ducking beneath a black wind wall that Nhilis slammed down. Twilight landed solid hits on the Nightmare’s shins and chamfron, seeming to kick and dodge instantly with precise teleports.
Like a dam had burst, the rest of the heroes rushed to join her, but a bouncy pink barricade pushed each of them back, even the princesses, as if Pinkie Pie was in fourteen places at once. Only Spike and Sweetie Belle stayed where they were, but that was because of Silver Spoon holding them back.
"WAIT!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "Everybody, stay back! Twilight hasn't had a chance to learn to control her new power!"
"But, what about Trixie?!" asked Spike.
Rarity's body, meanwhile, had been placed alongside Gilda's, sharing her body heat.
"The power of love and friendship shall win over all, Nightmare Nhilis!" declared Twilight.
Nightmare Nhilis scowled. “Are you for real? Can’t you go five minutes without another corny speech?!”
Discord added, “She does have a point. You know what they say about repeating the same action and expecting different results!”
Twilight conjured twin snakes made of fire and sent them rushing in to attack. Nightmare Nhilis created a dragon made of black flames that swallowed them whole.
Twilight hit the dragon with a freezing fog that became billowing steam instantly on contact. Immediately, she summoned a whirlwind to knock the Nightmare over and clear the fog, but Nhilis had braced herself with a net of black vines.
Nightmare Nhilis conjured spear sized versions of her white hot needles. Twilight summoned an enchanted mirror and hastily ducked behind it... only to have the needles shoot right through the mirror like it wasn’t even there, but when the shattered pieces of the mirror flew apart, Twilight was nowhere in sight.
Twilight reappeared in a teleport flash, firing a barrage of her strongest stun spells before instantly teleporting away. Some of the spells made it past Nhilis’ barding.
Nightmare Nhilis snorted. "Stun magic? I warned you. Multi-Negation Defense"
Black spheres formed in front of, behind, and to the sides of Nightmare Nhilis, zipping this way and that to absorb a second wave of stun spells. “You can't dodge forever. Spear-Flower!"
Black lances of dark magic shot from the Nightmare's horn, flying in every direction like an exploding pincushion. Twilight's teleports dodged most of them, but one lance grazed her shoulder like a knife through a roast, and blood dripped down her leg.
Twilight responded with a powerful fireball spell, but Nightmare Nhilis didn't even move the black orbs to intercept it. Nhilis took the fireball right in the face, ignoring singed fur and smiling at the pain.
Transparent black pony skulls swarmed from her horn like watercolors on glass, coming at Twilight from all sides.
Twilight fired a boomerang-shaped wedge of pure Destruction magic which wiped out the skulls and homed in on the black orbs, negating their existence.
Nightmare Nhilis flapped into the air and slashed down with her horn, pouring her empty magic into the shape of a giant sword that Twilight was barely able to avoid, rolling out of the way before it carved a deep gash in the ground.
As Twilight rolled however, lasers shot from Nightmare Nhilis' eyes. The beams struck Twilight's leg, transmuting it into blue crystal. Twilight gasped, but was brought up short by Nightmare Nhilis' telekinesis around her throat.
"I despise having to resort to something so tasteless and trite, but maybe this will finally get somepony to do what they should have done the moment they laid eyes on me."
Nightmare Nhilis yanked Twilight towards her and impaled her through the stomach with her horn... except instead of blood, more blue crystal erupted from the point of entry, spreading across Twilight’s coat. Twilight struggled like a worm on a hook.
"You needn’t be concerned, Twilight. I’m sure they'll be able to glue you back together. Eventually, after your friends go on a quest to find all your pieces." Her face briefly became demonic. "Which will never be followed up on or mentioned ever again."
= Naruto - "The Raising Fighting Spirit" =
An egg timer dinged. Pinkie Pie pulled it out her mane and smiled and waved. "Okay! That'll do!"
The image of the crystallizing Twilight shattered, revealing a crystallizing Trixie without her hat and cape.
Nightmare Nhilis and Discord both gaped at her in absolute and utter confusion. The heroes displayed an entire dining table’s worth of bewildered dinner-plate-sized eyes.
"That's one boast the world's never taking from me," Trixie said with a pained grin. "A performance that fooled a Nightmare AND a Draconequus… Tell Trixie that isn't getting her in the history books as the greatest showmare of all time."
Nightmare Nhilis snorted and flung Trixie free of her horn. Thankfully, the crystal parts didn't shatter, but the crystal still continued to spread.
+++
Verily, is this the end of the One and Only Trixie? To sacrifice herself upon this field of battle for the good of all Equestria? Surely statues will be placed in her memorial. Ponies will line the streets in mourning. Her friends will give the most tearful and heartfelt eulogies in her honor. Ponies will praise her final performance as the greatest Equestria has or will ever know!
Princess Luna, ye have come to pay thine last respects? Deliver me to the warm bosom of Elysium!
Princess Luna's horn touched the parts of Trixie's body that had turned to crystal, and-Hey!
"We art fairly certain Father does not have a bosom."
Princess Luna most impolitely de-crystallized Trixie's body and restored her to perfect health! Grand theft martyrdom!
"No fair! Didn't you read the script? This… this was supposed to be Trixie’s heroic death scene!"
Luna smiled, seeming amused, yet understanding. "Apologies, my little pony. Ye don't to get become an overnight legend that way. Ye art not getting off that easy. Ye must live up to and honor the friendships ye have made. Living is the hard part. We sentence Trixie the Unicorn to meet her end in old age, in thy bed asleep, surrounded by thy loving friends and family. As Princess of the Night, we sentence ye to LIVE."
She lovingly nuzzled Trixie.
Trixie must confess, she wanted to wear Twilight's harmony armor with the disguise as well, and Twilight was willing to lend it, but it fought against her. It hurt. Trixie may have been compatible with the other Elements, but Twilight's kept rejecting me, like a magnet forced into place with the wrong poles aligned. Trixie feared it would be so. On the day that Trixie stood in for Twilight and healed Neatly Spell with the other Elements, she was so happy that she didn’t even mind the pain.
+++
"Come on, Rarity, you have to get up!” pleaded Sweetie Belle, gently shaking Rarity’s body. “It’s over, you can stop pretending now. Rarity? Rarity, please!"
"Ah’m so sorry, Sweetie Belle," Applejack said solemnly. “Rarity… well, she’s not there.”
+++
"NIGHTMARE NHILIS!” boomed the voice of the real Twilight Sparkle, echoing from everywhere and nowhere. “You say that miracles don’t exist, but I say you don't know what a miracle is!"
= Final Move On Star Dream Music - Kirby Planet Robobot =
Nightmare Nhilis spun about, looking left and right, so of course Twilight teleported high in the sky above her. Trixie's hat and cape flew off, and Twilight fell at terminal speed, her horn pointed straight down.
Nightmare Nhilis sneered and charged her horn, but chains exploded out of the ground, wrapping around nearly every part of her body. “What the...” She tried to teleport, and the familiar flash and pop of teleportation failed to move her anywhere!
The chains dragged a second Rainbow Dash out of the ground, no longer Celestia-sized and missing her barding, but definitely still an Alicorn, grinning at Nightmare Nhilis."Let these chains bind the sinners! That's a pretty cool line, don’t you think?"
"I killed you!" Nightmare Nhilis snarled, immobile and distracted.
"I'm immortal, brat!" 'Just enough mana left in this body to pull this off. Good luck, Rarity.'
"Nothing binds me!" The chains began to rust.
"Don't have to for long!"
Nhilis gasped, remembering Twilight, and brought up a barrier between them, Twilight used her brother's 'horn drill' spell to bore right through it.
Nhilis brought up a second barrier, and then a third, but Twilight drilled through those too! She fired a bolt that should have cut right through the shields and blown Twilight to atoms, and Twilight just teleported around it!
At the same time...
"Silver Spoon!" Pinkie Pie picked up the filly. "GOOOOO!" Pinkie threw her like a hoof-ball, right into Sweetie Belle, causing the fillies to tumble with Silver Spoon giving Sweetie the mother of all hugs. Then Silver did her dance and chanted "Bump-Bump-Sugar-Lump-Rump!", and Sweetie Belle instinctively danced and chanted with her.
The feedback traveled like a shockwave along Sweetie Belle's link to Nightmare Nhilis, paralyzing the Nightmare in shock. Discord, with his own link to Nightmare Nhilis, wiped a tear from his eye.
And Twilight Sparkle, using her momentum, thrusted her horn through the lightning bolt-shaped hole in Nhilis' champron. Her horn flashed, glowing brilliantly.
Golden Tiara gasped in shock.
The Nightmare rolled her eyes up, not seeming to be in any pain at all. "There’s simpler ways to kill me."
"I’m not killing you, Diamond! I’m helping you, like I helped my friends with Discord's corruption!"
Nightmare Nhilis smirked, despite being wounded. "Did you forget what happens when you cast a memory spell on a Nightmare?"
"No! I Haven't!"
Nightmare Nhilis' eyes widened... as she realized that Twilight wasn't taking her memories and forcing her to relive them, she was giving her memories! No! More than memories! She was- she was-!
Just as she finished the transfer, Twilight was blown away from Nightmare Nhilis. Threads of black magic stitched the wound closed in an instant, but the “gift” had already been delivered.
Discord glanced around and withdrew back inside Nightmare Nhilis' mind, but not before he dropped the dagger he'd offered Pinkie Pie at Nightmare Nhilis' hooves.