Flash Sentry Chronicles: The Legend of Everfree

by Banshee531

Stand for Everfree

Back at the camp, Rarity had handed out all the outfits, everyone now ready to start the fashion show. She was sprinting around, checking to see how everyone's fit and smiling at the results. That is, till she saw two certain people missing. "Where are Twilight and Sunset?" She then heard some slight grumbles, now turning to the others, "They're missing our dress rehearsal."

The rest of the girls on the dock all shrugged, Pinkie even giving an "uh-uh" to show she had no clue.

"I suppose we can get started without them," Rarity turned to Vinyl Scratch, who was setting up the music on the shore. "Whenever you're ready!" She nodded and pulled out a record, placing it on a player. The music began, and the girls all began to walk down the dock, though Rarity had to give Fluttershy a reassuring push. She then turned to Applejack, who was looking over the red shirt and blue skirt she had made for her. "Told you you'd like it."

"It's alright," Applejack rebutted while trying to hide a small blush, "Ah guess." She poked her fingers together before smiling at Rarity, "Ah do get to keep it after camp though, right?" Rarity did a quick nod before gesturing for Applejack to start strutting her stuff, the farm girl doing just that.

And once Applejack was gone, Rarity turned to a pair of wooden manikins that were wearing Twilight and Sunset's dresses. "Now...where are those two?"

Meanwhile...

At the cave, Flash continued to struggle against the roots holding him down. "RAAAAAHHHHH!" He yelled, trying to summon the energy again. But every time he began to build up power, the roots around him appeared to suck it right out. "AUGH!" He groaned, slumping over at this, "I can't...huff...it's no use. I can't build up the power fast enough."

Sunset grimaced at this, "Those Geodes were probably what gave you the power. The further away they are, the less powerful your magic is."

"Great," Flash sighed as he pulled on the vines again, only to feel them constrict, "Urgh! So what do we do now?!"

"I'm thinking. Just give me a minute." Sunset replied, her eyes turning to her other friend, "Twilight? Any ideas?"

The girl didn't respond, instead just staring at Flash. Her mind was a jumbled mess, her eyes twitching and bobbing as they kept on Flash, the memories of the confession now swimming through her brain. And before she could stop herself, her mouth moved and asked, "Flash?" he looked up at her, "I have to know. Did you really mean what you said yesterday?" She felt a slight heat on her cheeks, "You know...about having feelings for me?"

Flash went wide-eyed at this, only to look away as he began to blush, "You wanna talk about this now?!"

"Well...you know." Twilight responded with a slight mumble. "When is the right time."

"Yeah...I get it." Flash muttered out before letting out a sigh, "I'm...I'm sorry. You weren't meant to hear that."

Twilight felt her eyes expand at this, "Why?! Was it just a lie?!"

"NO!" Flash's voice echoed through the cave, glancing back at her, "It's just that...just that..." He looked away again, "I never thought anything could come of my feelings." He paused at this, expecting Twilight to respond. But as silence embraced the two, Flash let out a sigh, "I...I don't know when it happened. When I stopped seeing you as a friend and then saw you as something more. It just...kinda happened. One day I woke up and when I saw you, I had this feeling in my chest. Like nothing I'd ever felt before." His eyes slowly went back to her, his face a combination of serious and sadness, "Twilight, you're smart, kind, fun, loyal, honest, generous and...so many more things that would take way too long to list off. Any guy would have to be an idiot not to like you in that way."

Twilight felt herself going full red at this, "Flash...why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because...because..." Flash mumbled out, "I...was scared. I was so scared you would...you know. You wouldn't like me and...I didn't want to lose you like that." Flash let out a sniff, "I didn't want to lose my best friend."

"Flash..." Twilight barely said, her mind trying to find what to say next.

That is, till Spike spoke up, "Listen, I know this little talk is really important." They looked down at the dog as he walked over to Sunset, "But can we maybe save it until after we stop an out of control nature spirit from trapping everyone in an eternal forest trap?"

"Uh...yeah. That sounds good." Flash replied, only to raise an eyebrow, "Wait a minute. You were definitely tied up before. How'd you get free?" The puppy then bit into a root holding Sunset, pulling it with a slight tug. Within seconds he bit through, the vines loosening around the girl, the others smiling at the sight.

In the woods outside of camp, Snips and Snails were filling water balloons at a pump. But as they did this, they saw something in the corner of their eyes. Turning around, they saw a certain glowing Gaia Everfree floating toward them, Snips quickly kicked a bucket of water balloons away while Snails hid the newly full one behind his back. She floated past without a second glance, both sighing in relief before watching her fly away.

"She looks...different," Snail told Snips.

"Yeah," Snips added, "She looks...taller."

Over at the dock, Rarity was overjoyed at the sight of her designs being shown off. As this happened, she turned to the campers watching from the sidelines and let out a joyful laugh. "This is only a preview. I've got another entire line I'll debut at the real thing." But as she said that, the music suddenly cut out. Rarity turned to the dj at this, "Why did you stop the-" She then let out a gasp as she and everyone else saw something floating over, "Oh my goodness!"

Gaia Everfree floated into the center of the camp, a sinister smile on her lips as everyone focused on her. "Attention, campers!" She yelled as Trixie let out a scream.

"It's Gaia Everfree!"

"She's real?!" Heather yelped as Bulk Biceps did an even louder scream.

"We're doomed!"

It was at this moment Timber arrived, now staring at his transformed sister, "Gloriosa?!" He yelped as he pushed past the Royal Knights, "What are you doing?!"

"That's Gloriosa?!" Applejack yelled, glancing at the others. "Am ah goin' crazy, or are her feet not touchin' the ground?"

The others nodded as Pinkie added, "Freaky-deaky!" Had they been looking at her, they would have noticed the pink skinned girl was also doing the same thing.

"I have an announcement to make!" Gaia called out, "Filthy Rich wants this to be the last session of Camp Everfree." As she said that, the gems around her neck began to glow. "But don't worry, I've got this!" With that, the light flew up her arms and reached her hands as Gaia slammed them into the ground, causing the entire camp to shake.

The trees around the camp rocked until something appeared behind them, a barrage of giant roots that grew straight up. They formed a large wall that quickly encircled the camp before anyone could think to run for their lives. The Rainbooms saw this and looked at either side of the dock, seeing that the root wall coming from both sides. All they could do was leap off the dock, hitting the ground as the roots ripped it apart before joining together, forming a perfect ten meter circular wall.

The Rainbooms moaned as they rolled onto their backs, now seeing what had happened to the dock. "Oh, come on!" Rainbow barked, "We literally just finished building that!" They then turned to Gaia as she stood back up, her feet now back off the ground...and began to sing.

As she sang this, her arms summoned the magic again, thrusting them up to unleash the power and make the wooden wall grow to thirty meters in height. The campers all screamed at this, many running whenever Gaia moved closer. She placed a hand on the totem pole, causing roots to start growing around it.

She moved over to a student who was frozen in terror and grabbed her by the chin.

The student pulled away, running for the lunch hall where many other students were heading. Celestia and Luna ushered them inside, then noticed Gaia walking up to them.

Celestia stood with her arms spread wide, about to tell Gaia to stop. But before she could, the woman raised an arm and caused another wall of thorny roots to shoot out of the ground, encasing the building.

As this happened, Timber just stood there, not responding as he saw his sister become a crazed madwomen. He then noticed an axe in a nearby tree stump and ran for it, grabbing it before going for the wall. Gaia saw this, now seeing him try to cut through. But when he managed to cut one root, two new ones appeared, making the wall even stronger.

When Timber tried to swing again, he found something else grab the axe and hold it in place. He turned to see himself now face to face with his transformed sister.

She smiled as he tried to pull the axe away from her, only for a bunch of roots to fly out and grab the tool before lifting it and Timber into the air.

As she sang that last part, her hands glowed green, and when she swung her arms around, the energy shot out in all directions. Doing so causing the wall to grow higher, the girl then turning to the campers that hadn't gotten to the lunch room, such as the Royal Knights that were in the gazebo with Trixie, Sandalwood and Bulk.

She held up her glowing hands, causing vines to grow around the gazebo, even large flowers now beginning to bloom along the ground.

She turned to the flower, showing a small smile before anger replaced her face, the woman now remembering what Filthy Rich wanted to do with her home.

She thrust her hands out, the vines around the gazebo morphing into more roots, trapping the kids inside.

Vines appeared around the sundial, allowing her to stand atop it. She looked out at her home one final time, deciding then and there that nothing would take it away.

She began to float upward, the geodes around her neck glowing brighter and brighter.

The magic exploded out of her, causing one final large burst of growth from the roots. As this happened, the Rainbooms were watching everything from behind one of the beached boats. They were all staring with wide eyes, Fluttershy breaking the silence, "Oh..." she hid her head in her arms, "Why do these kinds of things always happen to us?!"

The others girls sighed as well, Rarity sitting back against the boat. "What are we going to do?" She asked, only for Rainbow to stand up.

"What we always do!" She held out her hand, "Save the day!" The girls stared at her for a moment before smiling and getting up, one by one placing their hands on Rainbow's while letting out cries of joy and agreement.

"Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy!" Pinkie cheered once they pulled apart. "This is gonna be so much fun!" She hugged Rainbow for a moment before gasping, "I only wish we had time to make superhero capes!"

"Oh, me too!" Rarity nodded whilst Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Enough about our wardrobe!" She groaned before pointing at the madwoman behind them, "We've got to stop Gloriosa from trapping everybody in here!"

They all nodded before turning to their opponent, the group quickly getting to work. The students were still screaming and running around, Gaia trapping them from any place to hide as the mad nature spirit continued to make the camp more overgrown. In doing so, she accidently knocked the totem pole over and it began to fall toward Lyra and Bon Bon, the girls seeing this, only for Rarity to jump in front of them.

The girl summoned the power of her magic, unknowingly causing her to pony-up as she raised her arms and created a giant wall of diamond crystals that blocked the totem pole. Rainbow then shot over to grab Lyra and Bon Bon, pulling them over behind some bushes where Fluttershy and some more campers were hiding.

Rainbow nodded at this, only to suddenly pony-up herself. She then shot off to find more people to save while Fluttershy found a hole in the ground. She knocked on the ground and several gophers broke out, looking up at her. "Um...hi. Do you think you can give us a hand-um, er, paw?" She stroked her hair as she ponied-up, "We could really use a way out." The gophers chattered in agreement and started digging one large hole that the campers could use to escape.

While this happened, Rainbow Dash...dashed around the place, trying to help anybody she could. As she did this, Applejack ran over to a nearby boulder and used her super strength to lift it right up. Doing so caused her to pony-up before she threw the rock straight up, then leaping up and punching it toward the wall. The force of the rock allowed it to smash through the roots, creating an opening as she landed.

But seconds after that happened, the wall sealed itself up. Applejack growled at the sight, rolling up her sleeves at the sight. "Alright. Time to do some good old weed whackin'!"

At the same time, Fluttershy's gopher friends had managed to dig under the roots and made their way back up. They broke through the surface and on the other side of the wall, then chattered into the hole. Fluttershy heard this, the rodents telling her to send them through. She nodded and gestured to Bon Bon, but before the girl could escape, roots began growing out of the hole and sealing it up. Fluttershy gasped and staggered back, looking over at Gaia and seeing she had spotted them. But before she could try and grab them, a bunch of pink flashes made her look around to see Pinkie throwing glowing sprinkles at her wall.

The girl ponied-up as she threw a handful, creating three holes while Applejack tried to stop them from sealing up by shoving a bench into it. The sight made Gaia growl, who then focused on that spot, causing the roots to crush the bench and make Applejack jump away. Pinkie saw this as Fluttershy and the others ran over to her. She prepared to throw more sprinkles, only for several roots to shoot out of the ground. Pinkie and Fluttershy leapt away, the other students not being so lucky as they were soon trapped in a plant bulb shaped coil of roots.

Pinkie fell over as she hopped back, several roots now reaching out to grab her. But as they tried this, Applejack tackled them. She tried to crush them in her arms, but they flailed around so much, she lost her grip before being thrown away. She let out a cry as she hit the dirt, more roots now appearing around her. And as this happened, Rarity arrived just in time to put up a shield around them. The roots tried to wrap around them, but she expanded the shield enough to break the roots.

The rest of the campers were much worse off, anyone not already trapped soon finding themselves captured by the root cages. Rainbow tried to save them, but her speed wasn't enough. It was here that she saw she was the roots next target and tried to escape, managing to avoid several attempts to grab her, only for a load of roots to appear in front of her. She couldn't stop in time, the vines grabbing her by the waist before getting lifted up, the girl crying out as she was hoisted into the air.

But as she began to flail around, an explosion ripped the roots in half, causing her to fall. She turned to see a smiling Pinkie as she tossed her sprinkle can up into the air, Rainbow catching it, only for the can to suddenly glow pink. She panicked for a second before playing hot potato with the can, then threw it at the wall. The rest of the girls braced themselves as it collided and exploded, cutting another large hole into the wall.

But once again, the roots grew back as fast as the girls could destroy them. Applejack sighed at the sight, turning to the others, "This isn't working! Her magic is too strong!" They all looked up at this, now seeing Gaia grinning at her victory.

"Oh...if only our friends were here." Fluttershy muttered as they saw Gaia summon more roots.

Back in the cave...

Spike had bitten through some of Sunset's bindings and a few of Flash's. Doing so allowed them to pull themselves free, and right now he was biting through Twilight's. As her roots became loose enough for her to wiggle out, she smiled down at Spike as Flash managed to pull himself free from the cocoon of roots holding him. "Nice work, Spike!" Sunset exclaimed, the dog wagging his tail at this.

The teen then went over to the rock sealing the exit, trying to push it away from the hole...but it wouldn't budge.

"Stand back!" Flash yelled as he began to build power again, no longer feeling it drain out of him. But before he could smash them out, Twilight leapt in front of him.

"No!" She held her arms out before pointing to the roots. "If you smash the rock away, the roots could pull some of the cave out and make the whole thing collapse!"

"But...then what do we do?!" Flash asked, Twilight giving him a frown in response.

She then felt a hand touch her shoulder, turning to see Sunset, "You'll have to use your magic!" Twilight went wide-eyed at this, letting out an 'eep!'.

"NO!" Twilight screamed, shaking her head before saying, "I-I-I mean...I don't think um...I don't think I can lift something that big."

"It's our only chance of getting out of here and helping our friends!" Sunset countered, only to see Twilight flinch back. But as she did this, she looked away, only for her eyes to see Spike glancing up at her. He gave her a nod, only for a new hand to pat her shoulder.

She turned to the hand, seeing it was Flash. His face was no longer showing worry or hesitation over earlier, instead showing a calm smile. "You can do this. We're here with you. If anything happens, we'll stop you before you go too far." The two stared at one another, Twilight now feeling a warmth in her chest that burned all the doubt and fear away. She nodded back, slowly turning to the boulder.

She held out her hands as they began to glow, the boulder doing the same. The boulder began to shake...but it didn't move. She began to grunt, thrusting her hands as a blue light began to appear on her head. Flash saw this, recognizing it to be similar to Midnight's horn, only to shake his head.

He patted her shoulder again, "You got this."

Twilight nodded as the rock began to move. It pulled against the roots holding it, the vines soon snapping and allowing Twilight to push the rock far enough away from the hole for them to leave. But as she did this, she began to fall over, only for Sunset and Flash to catch her. She smiled up at them, giving her a second to rest before the four headed out of the cave. And when they did, they were greeted with the sight of a giant wall of thorny roots that was growing larger by the second.

"Ooookay," Flash commented, "Now I've really seen everything." He turned to Sunset, "Does magic always do crazy things like this."

"No time! Come on!" Sunset yelled as she ran off, the other three chasing after her.

The Rainbooms had been trying to come up with a new plan, but found nothing as they now saw the insane camp councillor land on the sundial.

"Why are you fighting me?!" She screeched, "I'm doing this to save our camp! I'm doing this for you!"

Rarity let out a small chuckle as she answered, "Gloriosa, let's just think about this for a moment, shall we?" The others nodded. "I mean, I think Camp Everfree is absolutely delightful, but I just don't know that I'm quite ready to give up my weekly trips to the spa."

Those words made Gaia go wide-eyed, one of her eyes twitching as green lightning began to spark around her. "To the spa?!" She mimicked in a fake sweet voice, her voice quickly increasing in tone, "TO THE SPA?!" As she screamed, the lightning flew into the ground, causing it to shake as more roots flew out, all of them beginning to wrap around her waist.

And as they lifted her up, Rainbow tried to run up at her, only for Gloriosa summon a root to trip her up. "WHOA!" She yelped as she flying, accidently slamming into her friends, the almost sound of a bowling pin following this.

It was at this moment that Timber, who had managed to get himself free, ran over to his sister. He took a deep breath before yelling, "Gloriosa!" Gaia turned to him, "Stop it! This isn't the way!"

"I appreciate your concern, Timber." Her face grew more unhinged as she thrust her hands out. "BUT I GOT THIS!" The lightning flew out again, this time making a barrage of roots that instantly tackled Timber.

"Augh!" He cried as he felt himself be tightly, but not painfully, gripped. "No..." he moaned out, "You don't!" But Gaia ignored him, the power flowing through her making her now making her both blind and deaf to the truth.

On the other side of the wall...

Sunset, Twilight and Spike were now staring at the massive dome of roots, Flash now super running around the whole thing before racing back to them. "It's no good," he panted as he came to a stop, "I can't find an opening." He then turned to the roots and slapped his hands together before pulling them apart, lightning now sparking between them. He fired a long blast at the wall, zapping it for a few seconds. But as soon as he managed to burn through one of the roots, two more grew in to replace it.

"Aww..." Spike groaned, "What do we do?"

"Good question." Sunset sighed as she crossed her arms, "If we can't cut the roots...maybe we can move them." She turned to the bespectacled girl. "Twilight, do you think you can use your magic?"

She shook her head in response. "I uh...I don't want to use too much," Twilight looked away, twiddling her thumbs, "Midnight Sparkle could take over."

"Twilight!" Sunset yelled, making Twilight jump in place. Flash opened his mouth to stop Sunset, but the girl then grabbed Twilight's hands, a red energy flowing from them. The magic flowed through her and she suddenly ponied-up, paling at the sight as Sunset gripped her, making Twilight look at her directly, "Twilight...our friends are in there! We have to save them!"

Twilight stared at her, biting her lip as her whole face tensed up. But as she stared at Sunset, she saw a look of both fear and trust within the other girl. Seeing this, she did a small nod, "Okay..." Sunset let her go, Twilight walking up to the wall and placing her hands on it, a purple aura surrounding them. The roots in front of her glowed and shook, but remained where they were. She closed her eyes at this, grunting as she tensed up...but the roots wouldn't move. And as this happened, Flash saw the blue light on her forehead again, Twilight opening her eyes to see it as well.

"Ahh!" She gasped, making her stumble back, falling to her knees. Tears began to appear in her eyes as she looked up at Sunset, "I-I-I'm sorry. I can't."

"Twilight..." Sunset slowly responded, Flash now helping Twilight back up. As he did this, Sunset closed her eyes, tapping her foot as she began to think, "There's got to be a way to do this. If Twilight's power isn't enough, and neither is Flash's...wait. She has eight geodes."

"So?" Flash asked.

"Eight geodes. And eight of us have been granted powers." She turned to Flash, "What if each of us is only getting our power from one of them? That would explain why we can't overpower her magic."

"I...guess? So what do we do?"

Sunset let out a low hum, "If we were all together, we might be able to unite our powers and equal hers. But since we can't get together..." She looked up at the wall, seeing it now begin to bend and grow inwards, slowly forming a dome around the camp. It was here Flash went up to the wall, closing his eyes to let his power flow to his ears. Doing so allowed him to hear what was going on inside, now hearing the many screams of fear and pain, along with Timber's voice.

"Please, Gloriosa! What you're doing is crazy! You have to listen to me!"

"No!" Gaia barked back, "You never cared about this camp, so why should I listen to anything you have to say?!" More cries of pain filled his ears after this, making Flash cut off the power before turning to Twilight. He looked down at his hands, bits of lightning surging in them.

"Twilight," she glanced over at him, seeing him hold out his hand, "We have to work together." Twilight stared at his hand as he continued, "If we combine our powers, maybe mine can supercharge yours enough to let you break through these roots."

"What?!" Twilight yelped, instantly backpedaling at the statement, "I-I-I can't do that! If you do that, I won't be able to control it. Midnight Sparkle-"

"Is gone!" She flinched as he suddenly yelled, the girl continuing to go backward as Flash stood still. "Midnight Sparkle is gone Twilight. She only exists because you think she does."

"No, she isn't!" Twilight screamed, new tears forming in her eyes, "I know she's still there...she'll take me over if I let the magic flow! I...I can't do it!" She showed the biggest frown to the teen as she said, "I...I don't want to hurt you."

But Flash just shook his head, "Twilight...you won't hurt me." He held his hand out again, "Do you trust me?" Twilight stared at the hand, only to do a small nod, "Then trust that no matter what, I'll never do something that I think might hurt you. You can do this. You won't become Midnight Sparkle. You'll have full control of your magic."

Twilight kept her eyes on his hand, only to walk up and grab it. As she did this, Flash summoned the energy again. The lightning surged around the two, Twilight not feeling any pain. And as it happened, Flash ponied-up. But he didn't just grow wings and ears, as the energy began to solidify around his body, forming the same armor he had worn during the Friendship Games. Twilight gasped at the sight, only to stare down at his hand, 'Its so big...and so strong' The energy flowing around them grew brighter, Twilight now feeling her own power increasing. But she was too focused on Flash's hand. 'But most of all...'

"Let's do this!" Flash told her as they turned to the wall, Twilight nodding.

"Yeah!"

'It's comforting.' She lifted her free hand up, a mix of purple and gold light now appearing around the roots. This time though, they slowly moved aside until an opening big enough for them to pass through formed. Sunset smiled at this and headed inside as she heard Timber call out again.

"Please Gloriosa!"

"That isn't Gloriosa." Timber and the others turned to them, Flash and Twilight walking through the hole. As soon as they did, Twilight let the roots go, dispelling her magic before she could lose control. She pulled her hand from Flash's, but instantly regretted it as she felt the comfort vanish.

"Twilight!" She then heard Rarity cry.

"Sunset!" Applejack yelled as Rainbow stood up.

"And Flash! You're all okay!" They nodded before running over to Timber, Flash charging up his hands to try and cut through the roots holding him.

"That isn't your sister," Sunset added, "It's someone who's been consumed by Equestrian magic." They looked up at Gaia as her eyes grew completely green, more and more roots now growing around her.

Timber began to tear up while Flash burned through the roots. "Whoever you are, you have to let my sister go! Please Gloriosa, come back! I need you!" But Gaia didn't listen, her entire mortal form now consumed by the roots. "GLORIOSA!"

But as he did this, the roots suddenly surged, completely overtaking Timber. "NO!" Twilight yelled as Flash and the girls leapt back. The roots then started coming for them, the three running away at this. But as they did this, the root tower reached the top of the dome as it completely closed. When that happened, a flash of green energy flew throughout it before unleashing bolts of green lightning.

Whenever the lightning struck the ground, more roots exploded out as Flash and the Rainbooms joined up. Seeing this, Applejack yelled out, "Rarity!" The fashionista nodded and summoned multiple diamonds that formed a dome around them.

But as this happened, Flash leapt out before it completely formed, the girls gasping at this, "FLASH!" Twilight yelped, "What are you doing?!"

"Giving you the time you need to come up with a plan!" Flash replied before turning to the roots now flying at him. He held out his hands, the energy around him turning into a pair of swords made entirely of light. "Nice." He then charged at the incoming vines, slashing them all away. As he did this, he headed to the spot he believed Timber was. "Open wide!" He yelled before performing several slashes, cutting everything to ribbons and freeing the younger of the Everfree siblings.

Before Timber could say anything, Flash dispelled his sword before reaching out and grabbing him. Pulling the older teen up into the air, he swung his legs around to knock some more roots away before catching him. "Hang on!" He leapt away, dodging the roots while throwing Timber onto his back. With some amazing parkour skills, he leapt over the next series of roots before throwing Timber at the dome. Rarity saw this and opened a panel, allowing him to fall inside.

"Alright Timber, stay here and stay out of the way. You're not pretty enough to save twice." Flash added as he summoned two swords again, the teen slashing away at whatever vines he spotted getting closer to them.

Rarity then grunted as she felt a bunch of roots slam into her shield, Flash taking down those vines a second later. "I can't keep this up forever!" She commented.

"Me neither!" Flash replied as he kept cutting down more roots. Considering he hadn't slept in over twenty four hours, it was a miracle he was even still on his feet. "Whatever you girls are planning, I'd appreciate you hurry it up!"

Sunset nodded before turning to Twilight. "It's up to you. You can use your magic to pull the brambles apart!

"No," Twilight shook her head, "There's too many of them. It would take too much magic. I can't!"

"It's the only way!" Sunset pleaded, "you have to embrace the magic inside you!"

Twilight began to hug herself. "But...what if she takes over?" Sunset saw tears beginning to form in her eyes yet again, the girl looking away. "I don't have Flash to give his magic to me! What if...what if instead of saving everyone, I turn into Midnight Sparkle and only make things worse?"

"That won't happen!" She glanced back at Sunset, seeing her and the rest of her friends giving big smiles, "We won't let it."

They all nodded, only to flinch as they heard a cry of pain. All turning to the yell, they saw the roots had grabbed Flash by the wrists, Flash yanking himself free, only for a barrage of roots to suddenly slam into him as he screamed, "Augh!"

"FLASH!" Twilight gasped as she saw her best friend get tackled by the roots. And as she saw this, she closed her eyes, summoning the power within her. Her head and hands again glowed as she reached out to try and push the roots away...only for them to not budge.

The root's grasp on Flash and the shield only loosened, but then redoubled and squeezed the dome tighter. "RAUGH!" Flash cried as he was pushed against the shield, making it crack and send a backlash that made Rarity cry out and fall over until Applejack caught her.

More and more cracks appeared on the shield, causing Timber to scream, "We're dead! We're all dead!" He put his hands over his head as he cried out, "I knew that magic stuff was bad! Its gonna doom us all!"

As those words entered Twilight's ears, she tensed up, shaking as Sunset stared at her. She tried to find the words, only for Flash to suddenly yell, "Don't listen to him!" Twilight stopped shaking as she heard this, Flash now saying, "You can do this!"

"He's right. Come on, Twilight!" Sunset reached out and grasped Twilight's arms, her hands glowing red as she connected to her. "You have to be stronger than she is!"

Twilight looked down at her hands at this, now feeling even power than what Flash gave her now flowing. But this time, he wasn't there to keep her calm. Instead, a horn appeared on her head as her glasses transformed into the same one Midnight had used.

Her eyes shot open, now glowing the same blue color as her horn and glasses. "Twilight!"

Inside Twilight's mind, she was once again in the pink void that housed Midnight Sparkle.

She floated there, alone and defenseless as a laughter filled the air. She began to glance around, only to suddenly see a giant face of her crazed alter-ego. "You will never control me!" She laughed while flying back to allow Twilight to see more of her giant form. "I will always be a part of you!" With that, Midnight morphed into a large cloud of green light.

The light flew into Twilight, the girl gasping as she felt it phase into her. Twilight tried to swat it away, but it refused to go away, now absorbing her. She started panting as a sudden large black wing sprouted out of her back. It was then followed by another, her glasses vanishing as they were replaced by Midnight's as the horn appeared on her head.

"NOOOOO!" She screamed, trying to curl herself up. But as she did this, a new voice rang out.

"Twilight," she heard Sunset's voice, "Listen to me!" A flash of red light appeared behind her, making her turn to see a ghostly red image of her friend. "You are in charge!" It was then that another flash summoned a ghostly purple image of Rarity next to Sunset.

"You are a light, darling!" She assured her, "A force for good!" The ghostly blue image of Rainbow then appeared beside Rarity.

"Yeah! You can kick the darkness's butt!" Another ghostly image, this time of Pinkie appeared.

"We're here for you, Twilight!" The green image of Applejack then formed.

"And we'll be here, no matter what!"

A yellow image of Fluttershy came next. "We believe in you!"

Then, between Sunset and Fluttershy, Flash appeared, glowing orange with a giant smile. He then spoke. "When Midnight Sparkle took over, it was when you were using magic completed devoid of any emotion. It was nothing but pure power. But this magic is different. Embrace it and you'll see, it's not like before." He gestured to the rest of them. "And this time, you're not alone. We're all here, waiting and believing in you."

Twilight continued to spin in a circle, seeing the smiling faces of all the friends that surrounded her. And as she did, Sunset yelled out, "You...are not...Midnight Sparkle!" Those words echoed through her mind as Twilight remembered everything she had been through since the Friendship Games. This wasn't like before. She wasn't alone, and she never would be ever again.

"No!" She screamed as her glasses returned to normal. "I...am...Twilight Sparkle!" Cracks began to appear along her wings. "And the magic I carry inside me is...the Magic of Friendship!" When she announced that, her wings exploded and horn vanished, a purple consuming her before exploding out.

Back in the real word, the roots had completely enveloped the dome, all about to crush Flash against it. But before they could, a purple light began to seep out from the gaps, growing brighter by the second. Then, the light exploded, ripping away the roots from the shield, freeing Flash.

He looked up to see a hole in the shield, and a certain someone flying out of it. It was Twilight with her own set of wings, ears and extended ponytail, now flying upward. He could only smile as he watched her, "Go get 'em!" Twilight nodded back before reaching the tower of roots, thrusting her hands out and making the roots glow as well. She then pulled her arms apart, ripping the roots at the same time.

Doing so revealed Gaia Everfree, the girl gasping at the sight. "No!" She cried as she tried to pull the roots back, but Twilight easily stopped her, "STOP! DON'T!"

And as this happened, and as if sensing that they had all accepted the magic they wielded, the geodes glowed, now beginning to fly away from Gaia. They quickly ripped themselves off of her necklace and floated down before splitting apart. Each gem then flew in a different direction, the purple one flying to Twilight while the yellow one flew to Fluttershy. The blue one floated over to Rainbow Dash and the green one went to Applejack. Pinkie got the pink one, Rarity got the white one while Sunset got the red one. The orange one floated over to Flash, the teen staring at it for a moment before reaching out and touching it, the girls doing the same.

As this happened, the eight were consumed by a bright light. One by one, they were all transformed into a new set of clothing. And when Flash's eyes adjusted to the light, he found he was still wearing his armor, only now he was dressed in overalls the same color as his hair, which the armor was on top of. He also wore black boots and black gloves and had a hood that went over his head. His upper arms, between his elbow and shoulder, had his emblem stitched into it. And on the front of his chest armor was where his geode sat. It that transformed into a coin shape, with a blue shield image engraved on the front of it.

He turned to the others and saw that most of them had all changed into new outfits, liking the looks of each. They all had their now coin shaped geodes woven into the fabric of their clothes. The only one still in her camp clothes was Twilight, but she soon grabbed hold of her geode and underwent the metamorphosis. He might have been biased, but he thought her's was the best one of all.

Back on the ground, Timber could finally open his eyes, looking up to see the eight teen all floating up in a line. The light from their geodes that spread around their bodies then exploded straight up into beams of light that mingled together to form a multicolored orb of energy. It floated in place for barely a second, then exploded out in all directions.

From outside the root dome, the light burst out of the gaps, forming new beams of light that shot straight to the sky. After a few seconds, the roots began to transform as well. They crystallized and morphed into a dome of pure white gemstone. But it didn't last long, for cracks began to form from the points the light was shooting out. And from those cracks, more light began to escape until the dome couldn't take it anymore.

KABOOM!

A brilliant explosion of rainbow light filled the air as the crystal dome was disintegrated. And as the light began to fade, Camp Everfree was revealed, the place now looking exactly as it had done before Gaia arrived. She had lost, and the camp and all its inhabitants, had been saved.