//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Friendship is Epic // by Bramble Rose //------------------------------// MLP Friendship is Epic 07 The small, broken bundle in black robes that was The Master lay across the back of the towering bone-pale figure of the Colossal, looking past the dripping blood-red mane to the ponies staring back at him from behind Twilight's purple shield. "EEEYAHAHAhahaha! Finally! I knew you'd have to show up here eventually, Doctor! Finally, enough magic for me to be restored to myself, to be regenerated to my full strength! All I need now is to wait for that pitiful unicorn's pitiful magic to wear out, and I'll be able to take your key from you!" The domed purple shield wavered and shrank under the red glow surrounding it, deforming a little bit. "And what clever plan will you pull out now? I have everything around you! You have nothing!" Doctor Whooves didn't move, didn't flinch, but rather just stared determinedly up at Master Colossal, his eyes narrowed. "Well, hello there, Master Spur. You've looked better." "This is all your fault, Doctor!" snapped the Master, hidden under his dark cloak. He tried to say more, but he was interrupted by a fit of coughing, hunching over the Colossal's back. Twilight, sweating heavily as she struggled to keep the shield up around them under the assault, quietly whispered, "What's the plan?" She stood over the cowering form of Broken Spoon, her quivering legs standing as an additional shield over the terrified mutant. Doctor Whooves stepped back as the protective dome shrank, pressing Derpy and himself up close to Twilight. "Don't worry," Doctor Whooves finally said, just as quietly. "I have a plan. It involves coming up with a better plan before your shield comes down." He grinned to Twilight and gave a reassuring grin and a wink. Twilight was less than reassured. She hadn't felt magic this powerful since she'd battled Nightmare Moon! There was no way she was going to last against this! "Just a little bit longer," Derpy squeaked at Twilight. "We just need a few friends to help us!" Twilight glanced at Derpy with an exasperated look. Her friends were dead! Where did Derpy expect to find friends in this world, this horrible place? But perhaps there was one who could help ... "Broken Spoon!" Twilight cried, "I need your help!" "I can't!" wailed Broken Spoon, "I can't do magic! I'm broken, and useless!" "No, you're not!" Twilight snapped back, "Nopony is useless! I know you have the potential within you to be something great! You are not broken, you just need to find your inner magic, and I know you can!" Broken Spoon had never had anyone ... believe in her! She had thought Master Colossal was scary, but the thought of trying, and letting Twilight down ... It was *terrifying*! The fear flooded her, froze her with indecision. It was tempting to just not try - to deny that there was even a chance ... but she so, so wanted to do magic! She closed her eyes, seeking out that ... that barrier that always seemed to be there, whenever she tried to use magic. Her name had hurt... she couldn't remember her name. And this pony said that magic came from knowing who you were ... so who was she? She was ... she was just some broken pony, taking care of a machine, with dreams of doing something more, but never being able to. Magic ... why couldn't she find it? She wanted to, so very badly. "You can do anything you set your mind to," Twilight said, and the words sparked something painful in Broken Spoon's mind. She had a brief flash of a hospital, of somepony ... the painful memory shattered apart into bits and pieces that skittered away from her. All she had was the memory of having once had a memory, but she couldn't say what it was. Broken spoon pushed at that memory, even as it slipped out of her mental grasp. It had to do with something called a hospital. What was a hospital? She had the impression it had to do with ponies being hurt ... but that didn't help. *Everything* had to do with hurting ponies. Wait! She knew! It was- Her brain exploded in fire, again, and she let out a cry of pain. Why? Why did this happen every time she got close? What had that word been again? She sobbed, under Twilight ... she *was* broken. Broken, broken, broken. Twilight let out a sharp cry, the purple shield bursting, and the red light of the Colossal's magic sending the whole group of ponies flying helplessly back. "And now," the Master said triumphantly, "There is nothing standing in my way, as I-" "Hold it right there, Master Colossal!" cried a clear, strident voice. All eyes turned towards the tall wall of junk that surrounded The Compound, where the Crusaders stood tall, their white leather outfits gleaming orange in the late afternoon twilight. Sweetie Belle spoke again, from where she stood between her two friends and allies. "No more games! We are here with a purpose! We seek an end to the horror! There will be no more compound, no more war, no more pain! No more division! You will all surrender, and we shall seek a cure for your condition!" There was laughter from all around the Compound, as mutant ponies gathered to watch the conflict. "No pain?" scoffed one. "The only time there is no pain is when you are dead!" "We won't fall for your tricks!" called another mutant. Master Colossal scoffed. "You have always avoided us, Crusaders! You have always avoided a confrontation with us! And we know why that is - you know you are outclassed! But let me ask the Colossal! Colossal, do you want to surrender to those little fillies?" "Mmmmmnnope," drawled the Colossal, turning red eyes up towards the three on the wall. "There you are! You really think you little foals can defeat Master Colossal?!" cried Master Spurs, and let out a screeching, insane laugh that reverberated through the courtyard, a laugh that broke off into a wracking cough once more. "You've lost track, Master Colossal!" Sweetie Belle cried, her voice carrying above the chaos and confusion. "It's been many long years, and we are fillies no longer, but mares! You have dwelt here, lording over misery and destruction, but we have built, and created, and grown! Your strength constantly shrinks as you destroy all your support, but our strength grows with every day! You may not believe in us, but we do not need you to! We believe in ourselves, and our own power! We stand before you without fear, which is more than can be said for your followers! In the end, you will stand alone, because your followers follow only out of fear! And we! We are not alone!" Sweetie Belle's long white horn glowed with a brilliant pink color. The wall beneath the hooves of the Crusaders suddenly buckled, twisted, and let out a terrible screech of protest. The individual metal plates bent and folded, and pulled back, and in one great and horrible metallic shriek, the wall tore open like a door, showing all the ponies of Sweet Apple Acres standing ready. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara stood stall and proud at the front of the mob of ponies, their eyes flashing, their horns glowing as brightly as Sweetie Belle's. "And not a one of us are scared of any one of you!" Sweetie Belle declared defiantly. There was a long, silent moment that stretched out as the two sides stared at each other expectantly. There wasn't even a breath of wind. The pegasus wings flapped idly as they all hovered in place, on both sides. The horns of the sweet apple acres unicorns glowed in readiness, while the horns and hooves of the mutant ponies shined with jagged and sharp metal weapons. Then a low, delighted chuckle came from Master Spurs. "Oh, oh goodness! How delightful! I have a full audience for my victory, and I don't even have to hunt all of you down to destroy you! Is that what you think I've been doing? Destroying? Wasting my power? Nono, dears, I've been *saving* my power! While you all have been wasting it on your trees and your little, pointless lives, and your silly little skirmishes with my minions, I've been saving it up ... for now. Colossal! Are you ready to destroy them all?" The Colossal's lips peeled back from his teeth in a skeletal, wicked grin. "Eeeeyup," he said softly. His horn glowed red, and so did the ground. It rocked and buckled, and cracked open, and then a rumbling wave, with red light streaming out of opening cracks in the ground, streaked out towards the assembled Sweet Apple Acres ponies. The land buckled under their feet, knocked them down, but more, red smoke streamed out, swirled into a tornado of motion that sucked the pegasus ponies out of the sky and smashed them into the earth. A purple flash washed out over the land, erasing the red light and leaving all the Sweet Apple Acres ponies groaning, and in pain. Twilight was standing once again, panting, grinning. "Like my failsafe spell, Colossal? There's plenty more where that came from!" Doctor Whooves grinned. "That's a good distraction, Twilight," he said softly, But now that Derpy's friends have shown up ... I think we need something a little more." Twilight looked curiously over to Doctor Whooves, a question in her eyes. "Think, Twilight. There's not enough magic in the soil to grow food ... so where does the food from The Machine come from? What possible source of magic might still exist in this blasted wasteland, that could create food for over a decade?" Twilight's eyes lit up. "Of course!" she cried, eagerly, but then she drooped again. "But ... I can't do it myself..." Doctor Whooves gestured out at the Sweet Apple Acres ponies. "You're not alone." Twilight nodded with determination, and turned back out towards Master Colossal. "Right! You think you're so strong? Well, I've seen stronger! And I've *beaten* it! The Elements of Harmony are there, as a failsafe for all of Equestria! And they can never be contained, never be destroyed, as long as a single heart out there beats with friendship! You may have killed the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, but in every pony lies the potential to become one with the Elements!" The windows of the tree house shone brightly, and a great thrum of music swelled out from the depths of the machine. There was a crashing noise, and five stone spheres ripped from the machine to float around Twilight Sparkle. "NOOOOOOO!" wailed Broken Spoon. "NO! They'll all STARVE! You destroyed it! You destroyed it!" She stumbled towards the machine, tears streaming down her face. "How could you destroy it? I should have known I couldn't trust you freaks!" Twilight smiled gently to Broken Spoon. "Don't worry, no one will starve. No one. I'll make sure to fix *everything*." Then she straightened from the sobbing mutant and faced Colossal again. She didn't have much to go on ... but she'd been making it up as she went along, last time! Maybe every pony had a little of every element of harmony somewhere inside them! "Sweetie Belle, who banished the bullies with her words of truth, represents the element of Honesty!" One of the stones shattered into sparkling stardust, which flew over to circle around Sweetie Belle, who smiled and ducked her head modestly. "Apple Bloom, quick with a teasing joke to lighten the mood after battle, represents the element of laughter!" Another shower of stardust, and Apple Bloom was smirking with an aura of light around her, as well. "Durn Tootin'!" "Scootaloo, who is always there to back up her friends, no matter how deep they get into it, represents the element of Loyalty!" Scootaloo reared up as a circle of stardust surrounded her, kicking at the air. "Silver Spoon, who was always there to comfort the ponies, to serve them food every day, represents the element of Kindness!" Silver Spoon blinked, looking surprised that she had been singled out in any way. "And Diamond Tiara, who gave up her childhood, so that others could have hope that she did not even possess herself, represents the element of Generosity!" Diamond Tiara smiled sadly and shook her head, tears streaming down from her eyes, which shone with the hope she hadn't felt in years. "And when those elements are brought together with the spark of friendship, the sixth element appears! The element of ... magic!" Twilight paused dramatically, posing, waiting for the elements to transform, for her own element to return to her ... but nothing seemed to happen. The auras just sat there, glowing, for a few moments, then they started to fade, the dust settling towards the ground. "Wuh... wuh ... wait! That was supposed to work!" Twilight protested. Master Spurs laughed raucously. "Silly little pony!" he cackled. "You're not the element of magic anymore! You've lost your link! And now you can DIE!" Colossal's red light lashed out to catch Twilight across the face, her head whipping to the side, and her body following. She tumbled and rolled across the ground before ramming up hard into a wall, painfully, then slumping to the ground. Another lash sent her flying again, and again, as she was slammed up against walls, and the tree, or whipped up into the air so she could be driven into the ground. "Wait!" cried Broken Spoon, running up to Master Colossal. "Please! You've beaten her!" Indeed, Twilight slumped to the ground as The Colossal paused, barely even letting out a small groan. "You've beaten her, you don't have to kill her!" Twilight shifted, tried to get to her feet, fell, got up again, but her eyes were dazed, unfocused ... The Master giggled madly. "I don't have to ... but I WANT to!" "Eeeeeyup." The red light lashed out to catch Broken Spoon across the face. "AND DON'T TALK BACK TO ME!" screamed Master Spurs, as the red light struck at the mutant unicorn again and again. She sobbed, helplessly, beaten down to the ground. This was worse than ever before, worse than any punishment he'd ever delivered, and she was sure that this time, she was going to die. And then ... it stopped! Her watery eyes looked up to see Dull Edge standing over her, having just taken the most recent set of lashings meant for her, his nose bleeding. "You leave her alone!" cried Dull Edge angrily. "She gives us food!" "You said it, Dull Edge!" agreed Hoofcutter, standing up next to her lackey, facing off against Master Colossal proudly. Master Colossal roared in anger, tossing his head. His horn glowed that sickly red glow, and both Dull Edge and Hoofcutter flew across the compound to slam into a wall, then slump down to the ground. The Colossal turned back immediately, rage in his eyes, towards Broken Spoon, but drew back in surprise. Just seconds ago, she'd been cowed, broken ... but now ... she stood with her head tall, her eyes narrowed, her mane blowing around her shoulders in a wind that did not exist. "You.... you tyrant... " she snarled lowly. "You think you're so big and tough..." A sudden image flashed through Broken Spoon's mind ... a great bear, blocking out the night sky ... no, the bear *was* the night sky ... and it was big enough to crush houses! She had stood against it ... She remembered! She remembered the night sky! The night wasn't a legend! The world wasn't supposed to be stuck in endless late afternoon! "I've seen bigger! I've seen tougher!" she cried defiantly. "You think this world you made is so strange!" Another image flashed through her mind - a single creature ... but made of a patchwork mishmash of creatures in a single monstrous form, striding over the landscape in a rainstorm ... she remembered rain! Rain was real, too! She hadn't thought it would be so ... chocolatey. "I've seen stranger worlds, and lived through them!" "You think you're soooooo creepy!" she snarled, stepping towards Master Colossal. He took an involuntary step back at the light in her eyes. In Broken Spoon's mind's eye, she saw strange, insectoid ponies changing into ... her! Not Broken Spoon, but her, as she should be! And attacking her! And she ... she had used magic against them! "I've seen waaaay creepier!" She stood up taller yet, her chin lifted proudly, and sparks sputtered and gouted from her horn. "You think you're sooooo magical... but your paltry pyrotechnics and your subpar sorceries are as NOTHING before MY awesome wonder and mystical splendor! Cower in fear, oh Minion Minor, for I am the GREAT and POWERFUL TRIXIE! AND I WILL NOT LET YOU HARM ... MY FRIENDS!" Her horn exploded with light, and Broken Spoon lifted into the air. A stone sphere had appeared above her head, and the light was washing over her ... the dull purple color of her coat brightening to a brilliant azure, her dull grey mane and tail taking a sparkling silver sheen. Her broken spoon cutiemark shattered, and with a bright flash, was replaced by the wand-and-night cutie mark of the greatest equine in all the land, the six stars of her cutie mark appearing one after another. The round stone broke apart into a sparkling rain that settled down over Trixie's head, re-forming itself into a brilliant purple hat covered in stars, and a pendant at the front in the shape of a silver moon. The sparkles washed over her shoulders, weaving a matching purple cloak to wave impressively in the wind engulfing her. Doctor Whooves reached over, and with one gentle hoof, closed Twilight's dropped and gaping jaw as she stared in utter bafflement at the Broken Spoon's transformation.