A small butterfly emerged from the last car of the train from Ponyville to Canterlot. It had been hiding until now, but after witnessing a scorching sandstorm, a horrifying winter frost, and finally feeling the authentic glow of spring, it thought it was the perfect time to come out of hiding.
It was like being in a dream. The hopeful little butterfly ventured outside, stretched its four delicate legs, fluttered its fluffy mane, and carefully unraveled its fragile antennae. A sweet breeze and a vibrant aroma welcomed it.
Anyone who got close enough to the small butterfly would understand that it was not a butterfly at all. It was Fluttershy transformed into Breeze.
"What pure air! What a beautiful forest! This horrible nightmare has finally ended!" exclaimed Fluttershy, speaking aloud with the innocence of a hundred children. In front of her, the beauty of the radiant forest seemed to invite her to explore its trails. She could almost hear the murmur of the kind creatures waiting to meet her.
Then, she remembered her friends.
"Oh, heavens! What am I thinking? Twilight and the girls must have defeated those terrible villains and must be looking for me. I must hurry and find them!" exclaimed Breeze Fluttershy, convinced of what was happening, and quickly checked her mane.
Hidden beneath one of her braids was a beautiful brooch shaped like butterfly wings with a pearl in the center. This was a gift she had received from Queen Novo herself after saving the baby dolphins from Mount Aris.
Breeze Fluttershy took the brooch and waved it. The magic of the pearl enveloped her, and in a delicate burst, she turned back into a pegasus.
In front of her true eyes, the magical world around her was even more beautiful. Amazed, Fluttershy flapped her wings, soared into the air, and greeted the idyllic celestial forest around her with open hooves.
The forest felt her warm gesture and immediately responded... with anger and rage.
Fluttershy, in her past, had endured bullying from her peers in flight school, an experience she already considered horrible back then. However, now in the present, what she felt in that moment had no points of comparison. An oppression so intense, so crushing, that it was simply too much for her delicate and sensitive soul.
Under the furious gaze of the hundreds of celestial trees, Fluttershy lost consciousness in the air and fell limply to the ground.
***
"So much trouble just for a book? Keep your silly book!" exclaimed Magi after rummaging through Fluttershy's saddlebag. She had hoped to find something valuable, but once again, all she found was disappointment. Irritated, she placed the book back into the saddlebag and threw it next to the bound Fluttershy, who was struggling to escape from the janitor's closet.
With a click, Magi changed her appearance to look like Fluttershy.
"It's not personal, dear, but this is a matter of life or death. I hope you understand... See you!" Smiling, the impostor Magi said her farewell before closing the closet door. Inside, the real Fluttershy tried to let out a scream, but the gag prevented her from uttering a single word. Desperate, she continued to struggle, being careful not to trigger any of the several explosive boxes accompanying her.
"Help! Please help me! Friends! What do I do?!" pleaded the helpless pegasus, with tears already streaming from her eyes. None of her efforts to free herself yielded results.
Her strength began to leave her, crushed by the immense anguish she felt inside.
"Twilight, please come back! We need you!" prayed Fluttershy, giving up. If only Twilight were there, if only she had told them what to do...
Then she remembered.
Twilight had indeed told her what to do. Earlier, when she was attended to by Twilight in the infirmary. Twilight had asked her to keep the magical brooch she had received from Queen Novo within reach. With it, if captured, she would have the chance to outsmart Vainilla by transforming into a Breeze.
With that small hope burning inside her, Fluttershy pressed her head against the closet wall and began to maneuver to feel the brooch hanging hidden in one of her braids. After several failed attempts, she finally reached it.
Magic enveloped Fluttershy's body, and magically, she was a Breeze!
"I must warn my friends quickly!" exclaimed Fluttershy, free as a Breeze, and began to search for an exit in the closet. In her search, she found her saddlebag. Without much thought, she wrapped the saddlebag with the magic of the brooch, making it smaller, and placed it on her tiny back.
An explosion erupted in the room, pushing her backward. Fluttershy approached an opening that had appeared in the door.
Vainilla was right there.
Fluttershy's heart was about to leap out of her mouth. Had her friends escaped in time? Were they caught? What should she do now?
Fluttershy's primal instincts kicked in. Now, there was only one thought in her head: to flee.
With the most agile flight a Breeze could perform in a confined space, Fluttershy, with her eyes closed, shot out of the closet and flew between Vainilla's legs. Following the instincts of a Breeze, she was guided by the air currents until, miraculously, she reached the outside.
A new explosion, many times larger than the previous one, erupted behind her. The shockwave hit her from behind, pushing her with the same wind. Fluttershy drifted away on the horizon, letting out a scream that no one heard.
***
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh." The horrifying memory of the recent explosion she had experienced woke up the unfortunate Fluttershy. Disoriented, she looked around...
The celestial forest observed her once again. This time, she would receive a double dose.
Fluttershy fell unconscious again.
***
"Boom!" The thunderous sound of a sudden impact awakened Fluttershy.
The Pegasus tilted her head, more catatonic than conscious. Unreal images surrounded her...
She had seen Twilight running between the trees... or was it Rainbow Dash? Then Vainilla appeared with black armor in the sky... then disappeared again.
Fluttershy's head was a complete mess.
Fluttershy tried to stand up, or so she thought. She felt like she was swimming... everything was luminescent...
"Haha, haha, haha, haha," Fluttershy laughed, while the celestial trees seemed to dance to an invisible melody.
She continued to jump among the celestial trees... the bushes sang so cheerfully...
Fluttershy's mind lost itself even more in unreality. It was like Discord's house... was Discord playing with her?
"It's not funny, Discord! If you're going to throw a surprise party, you should bring a good piano!" protested Fluttershy, not knowing what she was saying anymore. "So we could dance together... one hoof forward... another backward..."
Fluttershy continued to trot without rhythm to where she had seen Twilight go...
"La, la, la, ... Huh?" Fluttershy finally reached a clearing... and her eyes witnessed a terrible scene.
Someone who looked a lot like Twilight was trapped, being squeezed by brutal black chains, while spectral claws pulled part of her body, revealing something akin to her soul. On the other side was Vainilla with a perverse smile on her face, reveling in that torment.
The screams of agony from the pony at the brink of her life shook Fluttershy's body to the core.
Suddenly, the inner strength in the pink-maned Pegasus awakened. Her fur bristled. A fury that she had rarely felt filled her completely. Her friends needed her. It was the call of destiny.
A neigh shook the air. Without any plan or thought in her head, Fluttershy launched herself to charge at Vainilla with all her might.
Balor heard a neigh behind her and then felt something approaching rapidly from behind. Chaos took hold of her mind. Here? How? An ally of the princess? An unknown enemy? The midnight emissary?
She instinctively raised her magical shield. The pressure, already bearing down on her, increased.
Then, a pink-maned Pegasus emerged from one of her sides. With closed eyes, she advanced towards Balor at full speed, charging. However, there was no impact; the pony passed by and, in a straight trajectory, ended up colliding with a tree.
Disoriented by the crash, the mysterious Pegasus took a few steps back, deliriously stumbling until she fell unconscious on the ground.
Balor, in a strange mix of shock and bewilderment, recognized her.
"Fluttershy!" she exclaimed, shocked. This was the name of Princess Twilight's close friend, bearer of the Element of Kindness, a unique piece of the Tree of Harmony symbolizing friendship.
Balor's mind went blank, without a logical answer or starting point for a question that could explain how what she saw was possible. Ceridwen, before her own eyes, had captured that pony! That was an irrefutable fact!
Like a train plummeting into an abyss, the entire plan she had concocted in her mind began to shatter. All the pieces she had perfectly placed in her assumptions flew into the air. The analysis, the factors she had taken into account, the timing...
The failure was catastrophic.
Finally, Balor made her first and only mistake in the battle. She blinked.
***
Rainbow Dash never doubted, not even in that moment of great despair. She always trusted that something or someone would come to save her. Although her faith sometimes led her to underestimate her own safety, and on other occasions, she had lost confidence over trivialities, when it came to her friends and the fate of Equestria, her loyalty remained unbroken until the end.
A blink, that was all she needed.
A few seconds earlier, she had spotted Fluttershy emerging from the forest behind Balor. She couldn't help but think something like, "Why do you always come late?"
When she saw Fluttershy charge at her enemy, her thought changed to, "That's Fluttershy! Go! Save Equestria!"
Then she saw her pass by and collide with a tree: "Really? Don't play with me like that!"
Finally, when Balor began to blink: "Well, that's it. It's over."
All the magic that remained in Rainbow Dash focused on a single point.
Rainbow Dash gave her last strength and issued her final command to the Twilight-Dash fusion. Something simple. "Go all out."
Rainbow Dash and Twilight separated from the fusion, grabbing the chains that imprisoned Twilight-Dash. The ghostly grip dissipated in the air, and Twilight's soul returned complete to her body.
Twilight-Dash, freed from the control of Rainbow Dash and Twilight, would only have a second of existence before fading away. She turned her entire body into light and charged the opponent in front of her.
Like a true rainbow bolt, the fusion advanced unhindered, breaking through Balor's defenses. It hit him head-on, dragging him like a projectile through trees, rocks, and the lake... it kept advancing.
In each millisecond, the existence called Twilight-Dash continued to advance and disintegrate. Her opponent was also fading away.
Twilight-Dash smiled. Her consciousness began to fade.
However, what she felt in what remained of her consciousness... was glorious. Her existence had fulfilled its purpose. Her friends were safe. That was all that mattered...
Finally, everything faded away in a beam of light.
The last thing Balor saw as she closed her eyes was a blinding flash of light.
Then, she was back in the golden orb that adorned the ceiling of the war room.
The emblem of the unit had once again split, the direct connection to Badwhiz had been severed, and almost all her magic reserves had been depleted.
She had failed.
After stepping out of the glow of the orb, without uttering a single word, she took a seat alongside the rest of her comrades.
A deathly silence hung over them.
They had all witnessed with their own eyes the true power of their comrade, as well as the machinations of the princess that had thwarted their efforts to capture her. No one among them could accuse her of negligence. The battle had overwhelmed her.
Yet, the weight of defeat fell upon all of them.
Among them, the one bearing the greatest burden of bitterness was Ceridwen. She clenched her fists in anger. She could be singled out for failing to capture Fluttershy, but given the initial circumstances and how they had validated her success, it would be difficult to make a case without involving the others.
Mannah was not exempt either. She had proceeded with the operation aware that the princess would offer strong resistance. As the sub-leader, the greater organizational responsibility for this failure rested on him.
Morrigan, usually carefree, looked noticeably tense. The soul-taking spell that Balor used was one she had taught her herself. If the princess had overcome that magic, one of her trump cards, what else could she resort to?
Perhaps the only one who might escape unscathed was Taranis. But witnessing Balor's defeat, his spirit crumbled. There were also other reasons.
Balor, finally, had a vacant and lifeless gaze. They had lost the sealing crystal cube; it was hidden in Badwhiz's mouth. Once the princess found the body, if anything remained of it, and discovered the crystal, it would be only a matter of time before she deciphered it and opened it. Balor had estimated that this process would take at least three days. But after displaying so many combat skills... was she really sure that the princess wouldn't achieve it sooner?
At this point, she was no longer sure of anything.
The silence persisted for several more minutes.
Finally, Mannah stood up. He couldn't allow the state of defeat among his comrades to continue. The battle had been lost, but not the war.
"Ceridwen! Taranis! Grab your weapons and accompany me. We won't give the princess a chance to regroup. Morrigan, stay here and monitor the position of our enemies. Activate all our secondary defenses," Mannah ordered, determined to enter the battlefield. He jumped down from his seat and magically equipped himself with a golden chainmail. He also had a conch shell by his side.
Immediately, Ceridwen stood up, spreading her wings and preparing her golden staff. She also equipped herself with two rosaries of black pearls.
Morrigan, on the other hand, took Mannah's place and began summoning scrolls with enchantments, while a larger scroll unfolded above her head, taking the appearance of a strange halo made of paper. This scroll was filled with illegible arcane symbols.
However, Taranis remained in his place, still looking at the enchanted pond.
"Taranis! Must I repeat my orders?" Mannah roared with fury.
In response, Taranis only waved his hand, calling his comrades while pointing his finger at the pond.
"Balor, is this part of the plan?" Taranis asked anxiously.
Balor, whose gaze was lost somewhere in her thoughts, finally reacted. She looked at the pond again.
"Eh?" she responded in surprise, along with the rest of her comrades, who returned to see the same thing Taranis saw.
Definitely, it was not.
The images reflected in the enchanted pond showed something that neither Balor nor any of the Knights of the Order had foreseen.
In the celestial forest, three victorious friends walked together along a straight path marked in the earth.
"Hehe, well done, Fluttershy. That's the way to go, friend," cheered Rainbow Dash as she carried Fluttershy on her back.
"Thank you, Rainbow... but I'm feeling better now. I can walk," replied the disoriented Fluttershy.
"I don't think so; it's better if you rest. You were exposed to too much magical stress," said Twilight, walking steadily ahead of her friends, although her eyes showed noticeable dark circles of fatigue.
They set out shortly after Balor's defeat. Although they were initially filled with happiness and joy for the unlikely victory, they were disappointed when they remembered that it wasn't over yet.
Twilight was the one who brought them back to reality. The Knights of the Order were their opponents, and they were still out there, unscathed, waiting for their moment.
"We must find the sealing crystal cube before the Knights of the Order. Then, we'll take refuge and free our friends, and then..." a weary Twilight reminded the rest of the ponies.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash recovered quite quickly after the battle. Fluttershy, on the other hand, could hardly speak. After being carried for several meters, she finally regained her lucidity and told them fragmentedly what had happened.
Twilight was full of a multitude of questions, but she had no time to waste.
Finding the sealing crystal was of vital importance. She still had some magic left to perform another fusion...
A fresh breeze swept through the celestial forest, and the light from its leaves spilled like rain around them.
Twilight could still feel the magic in the celestial trees, but no longer their anger; she had deactivated the spell that bound her to nature. Nevertheless, the forest didn't attack them, nor did it attack Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy.
The forest was calm. Twilight didn't understand why. Was it because Balor had been defeated, or was there another reason?
Twilight paused for a moment. A sudden drowsiness invaded her. Her pony instincts urged her to rest on the green grass under the shade of the mystical trees.
It was like a premonitory call. Fatigue began to weigh on her eyelids; her hooves started to feel heavy... but time was an unforgiving enemy. They had to keep going!
However, the forest whispered... Twilight's mane briefly fluttered with the same glow as the leaves of the celestial trees.
"I need to rest..." Twilight murmured. Without waiting for her friends' response, she stepped off the path and lay down on the lush grass. The contact of her fur with the living ground only intensified her tiredness. Looking around, she saw bushes of golden and scarlet tulips she had never seen before, along with strange flowers that resembled multicolored dew clouds.
Everything was so magical and supernatural. Strangely familiar... but empty.
There was no sound in that forest, only the sound of the wind among the vegetation, as if in a desert...
Suddenly, her forgotten hunger began to manifest. The grass beneath her looked so clean and fresh that she was already thinking of eating it right there.
Then, not far from her, she noticed a strange object among the herbs. Intrigued, she stood up and approached.
It was a saddlebag.
"Fluttershy's saddlebag? How did it get here?" exclaimed Twilight, recognizing her friend's colorful saddlebag immediately. Without hesitation, she picked it up.
At some point in her delirious stroll through the forest, Fluttershy had lost her saddlebag. Then, carried by the tumult of battle, the saddlebag had ended up beside the straight path formed when Twilight-Dash charged at Balor at the end of their battle.
Twilight's sensitive sense of smell detected a very familiar scent emanating from Fluttershy's saddlebag. It was a scent she only smelled when in a library. With awakened innate curiosity, Twilight opened Fluttershy's saddlebag to see its contents...
"Twilight, come, look!" Rainbow Dash's call interrupted Twilight, who, without thinking, put on the saddlebag and swiftly joined Rainbow.
"What's happening, Rainbow? Did..." Twilight fell silent next to her friend.
Not very far away, by the side of the road, a little ahead of where they were, lay a body.
It was Badwhiz.
The same pony who hours ago had threatened and fought against them. Now he lay on the ground with his armor shattered, not wearing his wings or horn. There were no traces of his dangerous gem either.
The three ponies, standing, including Fluttershy, who had gotten off Rainbow Dash's back, were in shock.
"He didn't turn to stone?! Didn't they say they hit him with a rainbow?!" the trembling Fluttershy asked, falling prey to her fears again.
"He must have resisted the final attack at the last moment. Maybe he's more resilient than we thought," Twilight reflected aloud as she observed the area where Twilight-Dash had disappeared, leaving a noticeable crater.
"So, made of tougher stuff, huh?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash with a tone between amused and challenging, exhaling strongly through her nose. Without waiting for a response, she approached Badwhiz's body.
"Rainbow, be careful; it could be a trap," Twilight cautioned with a mix of concern and caution at her friend's reckless behavior.
"Ummhh," Rainbow Dash stopped and seemed to think for a moment. Suddenly, without saying a word, she delivered a strong kick to Badwhiz's stomach.
The pained Badwhiz rolled on the ground, letting out a pitiful groan.
"Well, it looks like our little showman is just taking a break after we kicked his friends' butts," commented Rainbow Dash, placing her hoof on Badwhiz's body to signal to her friends that he no longer posed any threat.
Twilight and Fluttershy could finally breathe easy.
"Come on, Fluttershy, I need help here. Let's make this guy spill everything," ordered Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy, though initially hesitant, after an urgent second call, hurried to stand beside Rainbow Dash to help Badwhiz to his feet.
Twilight didn't want to be too harsh on the guy, but she had no choice but to let Rainbow Dash take charge... she felt exhausted.
"All right, Mr. Badwhiz. Now that we're 'still' being kind, could you please tell us where the crystal is that you have our friends locked in?" asked Rainbow Dash, readying her hooves with a threatening gesture, as if about to crush apples.
"Hey, Rainbow, I think he's..." added Fluttershy delicately, trying to calm her friend's fury.
And at that moment, tragedy struck.
Badwhiz's swaying, unconscious head detached and rolled calmly until it reached Twilight.
A cold gaze, filled with hatred but free from any darkness, stared directly into the eyes of the Princess of Friendship. It was the same look she had received when they first met beside the train.
Twilight's exhausted mind took too long to understand what was happening. She was as disturbed as her friends by what was unfolding. What she saw before her eyes could only have one explanation...
It was a trap.
Badwhiz's head began to dissolve into a gray, deformed mass, similar to papier-mâché. The same happened to his body.
The ponies, unable to react, were attacked. A powerful blast shot out from one of the trees, exploding at Twilight's feet. The resulting explosion sent the princess flying, landing far away from where they were.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash shielded themselves with their wings, taking the shockwave from the explosion. Still, they were pushed several meters back.
After rolling on the ground along with other tree debris and surrounded by a thick cloud of dust, they finally came to a stop.
"Cough, cough, Fluttershy, are you okay?" called Rainbow Dash to her friend through the dust.
"Ahhh, my head," Fluttershy was dizzy and trying to get up.
The dust suddenly cleared, and Rainbow Dash froze.
"Here I am! Where's Twilight?" said the concerned pink-maned pegasus, with clearer vision. However, Rainbow Dash didn't respond.
"What's happening, Rainbow?" asked Fluttershy, confused.
"Don't do it," responded Rainbow Dash with anger.
"Don't do what? Is something wrong?" asked Fluttershy, unaware of the danger that lurked.
"Don't you dare do it!" Rainbow Dash responded with even more fury.
Behind Fluttershy was Badwhiz with the sealing crystal, aiming directly at her friend's neck.
"Okay," Fluttershy sat down. That was it. Fluttershy disappeared, absorbed by the crystal. Badwhiz smiled with a cracked pink gem on his neck.
Rainbow Dash had kept her calm until then. She had followed Twilight's orders. She had been rational. A good pony. But she had finally reached her limit.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Rainbow Dash screamed and launched herself at her opponent, filled with all the fury that could fit in her. With all the strength she had left, she flew towards Badwhiz at full speed and, with a kick, sent the sealing crystal on his left helmet flying far away. Then, with another attack, she aimed a kick at his head.
It wasn't enough. Badwhiz's magical shield activated at the last moment and resisted the blow that would have knocked him unconscious.
The counterattack began.
Badwhiz shot a beam as thick as a tree, narrowly missing Rainbow Dash.
The pegasus, even with her speed reduced by fatigue, didn't give up and continued attacking Badwhiz's barrier from different angles.
Badwhiz continued shooting more bolts...
***
Twilight opened her eyes, feeling the thunder resonating nearby. The aftermath of a new battle unfolded before her. With palpable fatigue, she rose and surveyed the battlefield.
In the distance, she spotted Rainbow Dash facing off against Badwhiz, as if they were immersed in a chaotic dance. However, a stray bolt changed the dance's rhythm and headed towards Twilight. Reacting with difficulty, she ducked just in time. The massive bolt streaked through the air, missing its target, unleashing an explosion that sent an entire hill flying behind her.
The stunning scene left Twilight dumbfounded. Her now alert senses kicked her mind into high gear. "Did the Starheart gem possess that power? It shouldn't be like this!"
In her studies of ancient magical artifacts, she learned that the Starheart gem had the ability to counter spells and absorb magic from the surroundings. However, the amount of magic emanating now was overwhelming, far exceeding the amulet's normal capabilities. A terrifying realization seized Twilight.
"The Starheart gem is overloaded. It could explode at any moment. But if that happens, then..." Her words were suspended, immersed in terror. They were in the midst of a magical forest whose power was unknown. If the gem exploded, releasing the absorbed magic from the environment, the resulting explosion would be unimaginable.
"Rainbow Dash! No! Don't continue fighting, it's enough! Stop!" pleaded Twilight in the distance.
But her pleas came too late. The Starheart gem on Badwhiz's neck reached its limit. Cracks expanded, and beams of energy unleashed in all directions. Rainbow Dash, horrified, halted her attack, but a lightning bolt from Badwhiz struck her before she could move away.
At first, Badwhiz seemed unaware of what was happening, but he soon understood. "What is this?" he exclaimed, terrified. The gem on his chest unleashed rays, and its blazing light intensified.
A massive crack emerged, and suddenly, everything turned into light.
Sound and noises extinguished.
Light flooded everything.
First, Badwhiz's silhouette disappeared.
Then, Rainbow Dash lay unconscious on the ground.
Then, the path.
From the ground, a sphere of pure energy began to grow, an explosion fueled by the magic of the forest.
The trees fell silent, their magic being absorbed.
The explosion continued to expand, forming a dome of light.
A terrible vision of destruction.
A sense of doom permeated the air as the inevitable end approached.
When harmony and order fail...
Chaos and destruction are present... then... darkness...
No one should go that far...
The expansion of the magical explosion swept everything in its path: rocks, trees, fragments of the train, and even the essence of the wind itself. Twilight, helpless, clung to a large rock as the tide of energy advanced inexorably.
Exhaustion consumed her. Her wings no longer responded, her legs barely supported her weight, and her horn throbbed irritably. She had no tears left for the friends she had lost. She only held onto Fluttershy's saddlebag that she had found among the ruins.
The explosion continued its march, but for Twilight, time seemed to stretch into eternity. Exhausted, she desired no more fights. With a tired sigh, she turned her back to the explosion and lay alone on the side of the large rock. She gazed at the horizon where she had recently fought alongside her friends.
It was a horrifying sight.
The beautiful forest that had recently flourished was withering rapidly. There was no trace of the sacred aura or brightness; only decay and corruption. Trees crumbled into dust, and others exploded into a black and repulsive tar. The unnatural magic that fueled them had extinguished, allowing them to fade into the landscape.
A landscape shattered by the battle between her and Balor. Twilight was also responsible for the desolation. Her hooves were stained with the same violence.
The wind howled within the barrier with a sound akin to wolves in a storm. The roar increased behind her. Twilight felt the ground shaking, but not just the ground; she herself was trembling.
Why had everything turned out this way? Could she have done something to prevent it? These were questions without answers. She only had the strength to question herself; there was nothing else left to do at that moment.
Between the whistling wind that enveloped her and the remnants of the world falling behind her, Twilight felt something sliding at her side. It was a sealed book that emerged from Fluttershy's saddlebag.
In a more instinctive than conscious reaction, Twilight took the silver-edged book and examined it. With a beautiful cover decorated with reliefs of a forest and birds and insects in the corners, the title read: "World of Chaos, a real board game of surprises and secrets"...
The roar intensified, the ground began to slide. Below, a subtitle read: "For all my friends, especially for Twilight Sparkle, the smartest and noblest pony in all of Equestria... Created with love by Fluttershy and..."
She couldn't read more. A light veiled her sight, and a warm sensation enveloped her. Finally, Twilight was absorbed by the explosion and disappeared from this world.
Inside the war room, the walls groaned, giving in to the unleashed fury. Serpentine cracks began to tear apart the integrity of the room. The enchanted pond, in a magical frenzy, boiled with intensity, reflecting the chaos and destruction unleashed within the great barrier.
The Knights of the Order, aware of the gravity of the situation, had erected a defensive perimeter around Mannah, raising magical shields as the last line of protection. Fear manifested on their faces, marked by uncertainty and tension.
However, amid the turmoil, one Knight remained unperturbed. Sitting outside the perimeter formed by his comrades, Balor calmly observed the epicenter of the enchanted pond, now shrouded in the eerie light of the uncontrollable explosion consuming every corner of the room. His face barely showed emotion, illuminated by the ominous glow of the unfolding tragedy before them.
The wind persisted in its haunting howl. The trees, sparse and condemned, turned to dust in the maelstrom. Any trace of water had vanished, and the earth crumbled, sliding toward an immaculate horizon. The explosion, fueled by the powerful magical forces unleashed, grew at a frantic pace. It had relentlessly devoured a third of the space within the great barrier and showed no signs of slowing down.
The formidable barrier, which had once contained entities of incredible power, now trembled in its entirety. Its collapse was imminent, subjected to an uncontrollable force. The explosion had already taken over half of the remaining space.
Abruptly, the fury of the explosion halted. The walls of the luminous dome began to sway, and its pristine white was splattered with a palette of colors. Colorful dots danced throughout the dome, like flashes in a spinning diamond. Rays of color illuminated the great barrier from within.
Gradually, the multicolored light faded, giving way to darkness. From within, darkness consumed the light and colors. In rapid succession, everything was plunged into darkness. The lights diminished, scattered like distant constellations in the firmament.
At the epicenter of the explosion, darkness seemed to devour itself. Without warning, all shadows receded, collapsing toward their origin. There were no additional roars or tremors. Everything fell into a deep silence, like a whisper in the wind.
The terrible explosion that had ravaged the interior of the great barrier disappeared, as if it had never existed.
Nature caught its breath in a soothing calm.
The doors of the last carriage of the Ponyville to Canterlot train finally opened. Upon reaching their destination, the Knights of the Order emerged from the shattered carriage, far from the terrible explosion that had devastated the area moments before.
Outside, a rain of ashes tainted the desolate wasteland.
One by one, the knights took positions, forming a perimeter. Upon confirming it was safe, the sub-leader Mannah finally emerged, accompanied by Balor.
Soon, relevant orders were given, and the Knights of the Order immediately set out to survey the surroundings.
Mannah, waiting for the conclusion of the search, stayed close to the carriage.
Balor, not far away, remained as her escort while performing detection enchantments.
Several hours passed, and the Knights of the Order explored the interior of the Great Barrier on five occasions.
Finally, they returned with their sub-leader and delivered the results of the exploration.
They found no trace of the princess and her friends, nor of Badwhiz. However, they found the sealing crystal cube completely intact and full.
Balor was surprised; it shouldn't be possible. The explosion had consumed the entire interior of the Great Barrier, leaving a gigantic crater in its place. At the bottom of this crater, among the rocks, her companions had found the sealing crystal that should have disintegrated along with everything else.
Incredulous, Balor held the crystal. After explaining and answering some questions about the find, she quickly returned to the carriage to examine it in detail.
Balor's thorough examination lasted two hours, and surprisingly, all the results were consistent. The crystal was in perfect condition and contained the magic necessary to proceed with the second phase.
Reluctantly, Balor stepped out of the carriage. Her companions surrounded her immediately, awaiting a response. Balor didn't want to admit it, but her duty compelled her.
"The 'Midnight Station' operation has concluded. The mission has been completed," declared Balor with a martial voice that resonated throughout the desolate place.
There were no celebrations, congratulations, or proclamations to fuel pride. None of them desired this victory.