//------------------------------//
// Beyond what's seen. 
// Story: Worlds Reset 
// by TheMajorTechie 
//------------------------------//

Amber rubbed her eyes. That bubble hadn't been there before! And even if it was, it certainly wasn't as close as it was now!

A horrible screech filled the air. The looming bubble grew even closer, threatening to envelop them entirely.

"A-Amber?" Minty stammered, stepping away from the bubble walls, "I'm... I'm scared..."

Something dark shot out, piercing a nearby treetop. A mechanical grinding noise emanated from beyond the walls as the intruding object reeled itself back into its bubble, dragging the tree with it.

Thunk.

Everything went still for a moment. The tree had caught on the bubble walls and didn't appear to be moving any further.  The grinding sound had since halted as well.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR--

All at once, the noise sprung back in full-force. Minty's entire bubble shuddered, inching ever closer to the dark bubble that'd attacked them.

"Wun," the burnt pony rasped, "Wu-un! Leave!"

They stomped their hooves, eyes fixed on their invaders. They lit their horn, wincing. Crackling wisps of energy spiraled out in every direction; strands of mana connected to the bubble walls, anchors of magic lodged themselves into the ground, burying them deep into the solidifying soil around the burnt pony. Amber could only watch-- when did they ever learn such a spell?! This was even beyond her own ability, and she was the one that'd taught them!

For a moment, she saw the flash of a sadistic grin on their face. A bright, crimson light enveloped them.

Her vision lurched alongside the rest of the bubble. Another anchor had pierced the bubble wall, embedding itself deep into the ground beside the burnt pony.

"What in buck are you doing?" Amber shouted, "You're going to get yourself killed! You even said yourself that we should run!"

"Sometimes, running just isn't enough anymore, Amber."

Amber squinted at the arcing ball of light. 

"...Ruby?"

"We will discuss this later. I have a bubble to pop."

The crimson light subsided. The burnt pony-- Ruby was still visibly charred, but it seemed that whatever spell she'd been casting was both healing her and charging some kind of attack.

The bubble lurched again. A third anchor snaked its way into the bubble, latching itself onto the walls themselves.

Without warning, arcs of mana burst from Ruby, feeding through the wispy connections to the bubble and into the anchors, traveling up and out of Minty's bubble. The blood-red charge of mana vanished into the attacker's own vessel. Something appeared to swirl about for a moment within the darkness obscuring its innards, sparking and ricocheting about several times before fading entirely into the black.

A deep groan howled through the air. The anchors swayed in the artificial breeze, rattling about as if they'd grown rusted and slack with age. The dark bubble looming before them mirrored the actions of its appendages, rolling ever so slightly to one side. 

The anchors grew taught again, snapping into perfectly-straight lines of black before ripping themselves free. They made a frantic retreat from the innards of the bubble, waving and swaying about while they moved like snakes in a flame.

And then, silence.

The crimson glow about Ruby flickered for a couple of seconds before ultimately dying away. Steam rose from the charred mare. She wavered on her hooves before collapsing to the ground.

A shrill screech shot through the air. Amber tore her disbelieving eyes away from her once self-declared rival and back to their attackers. The dark bubble had drastically shrunken in size in the few seconds that'd gone by, and only seemed to be accelerating. Smaller and smaller it shrank, collapsing in on itself at an exponential rate until all that remained was a single, minuscule blip of darkness. The now marble-sized bubble fell anticlimactically to the ground.

Ruby stirred nearby, groaning. Had she really been holding onto that rivalry mindset for that long? It'd been, what-- five? Six years since they first were at odds with each other over some competition on who could levitate the most pencils at once. Nevertheless, Amber rushed to the mare's side. However annoying Ruby may have been throughout their years knowing each other, she did just save them. It was the least she could do to at least help her back to her hooves.

"I..." Ruby coughed, pushing away Amber's hoof. "I finally did it. I've bested you in something, Amber."

"What."

Ruby coughed again, a little bit of soot spilling from her mouth. "You really need to get better at reading others. Though, I do have to..." she rolled her eyes. "--ugh, thank you for saving me back when I was on fire and all. But now? I've been learning, and I don't need to stand in your shadow any longer, Amber. Your days of ruling the school are over."

She rolled onto her hooves, shaking the ash from her charred body. "This is where we part. I'll see you again soon, Amber."

Ruby lit her horn, surrounding herself in a bubble as she trot away.

Amber felt a small poke in the side. Minty Chips sat down in front of her. She glanced at the retreating Ruby, then back to Amber.

"So... is it just gonna be the two of us, then?"

It took a moment for Amber to respond. All that time, the burnt pony she'd been nursing and teaching was Ruby? It certainly explained the complete lack of appreciation for her efforts, that's for sure. That mare seemed to always be looking for ways to one-up everypony around her, regardless of what they were doing. 

Now that she thought about it, Ruby's defeat of the invading bubble was very likely just a way to show off. At least she got her satisfaction.

She turned back to Minty. Ruby didn't need Amber anymore, but by all counts, this filly certainly still needed a guardian until she could defend herself. Maybe she'd make a good sidekick in the meantime.

"Yes."