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// Now or Never 
// Story: Disappear 
// by ShimmeringStallion 
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Now or Never





Gather cast a venomous grin towards Twilight Sparkle as she backed up, while her friends stood between her and the stalking stallion, which did little to avert his attention from her. “Did you think I’d spend my time reading in the Canterlot Archives, and not come across your name several times? I know all about you, Twilight Sparkle. More importantly, I know of the potency of your own magical abilities as a unicorn.” Gather slowly stepped towards her, before suddenly firing a fast, short beam of magic at her, which her friends reacted to by promptly shoving the fear-stricken mare away, as it collided with the wall behind her, dissipating upon impact and leaving a small, dark crater in the section of the Royal Wedding Hall wall where it had hit as Gather continued to speak. “I won’t let you leave without letting me take your own magic for myself.”

“STAY AWAY FROM HER!” Rainbow Dash ran at Gather, trying her hardest to prevent the stallion from reaching Twilight, but the stallion grabbed Rainbow with his magic, bringing her close to him and powerless to move from within its magical aura as he taunted the wingless Pegasus mare. “You are far beyond useless. You don’t have the stamina or strength of a natural Earth pony, nor the focus that is common with a unicorn. You don’t even have the wings of a Pegasus pony! You’re simply a ‘nothing’!” Gather threw her back from where she came, where she was sent screaming towards her friends. Colliding with Pinkie Pie, it softened the impact with the floor and lower section of the wall, breaking her fall in the process.

Rarity had enough of Gather’s attitude. “Ladies, I believe it’s time to show this brute that we mean business. Twilight, help me put these on everypony.” Rarity had the Elements of Harmony coiled in her tail, in their jewel-encrusted case. “Hurry, Twilight! We don’t have much… time?” Rarity turned around, seeing Gather lying down, with his hoof holding his head above the floor. “Ah, yes. Your ‘last ditch effort’, your great ‘trump card’, your own final trick: ‘The Elements of Harmony’. I suppose this is the end for me, hmm?” Gather chuckled, before bursting into a fit of laughter. “GYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! WH-WHAT A JOKE! Ha ha ha, alright, alright, go ahead! Use ‘em! I’ll make no attempt to stop you.”

Rarity tried figuring how why Gather was being so nonchalant about the fact that the Elements of Harmony were in the possession of the mares. “I wonder… Perhaps he never learned of the powers of the Elements of Harmony. This could be our chance. Twilight, we’re ready!” Turning around, Rarity saw that Twilight was levitating her tiara in front of her, looking at it, and at Gather, as the white mare became worried for the purple unicorn, voicing her concern in the process. “Twilight? Is something wro-”

Twilight spoke up. “He knows. He has to…” The other ponies cast awkward glances at each other, as Applejack questioned what her friend meant. “Knows what, sugar cube?” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “Hey, remember Discord? He knew about them, too, but he was still petrified once we used them!” Fluttershy walked up to Twilight, placing her hoof on her friend’s back. “Twilight, we don’t know what will happen, but we know that doing nothing would be far worse than knowing how we could have done something.” The yellow, timid mare hugged the skeptical lavender pony, nuzzling her in order to comfort her. “We believe in you, Twilight. We’re your friends, and you can count on us.”

Twilight had tears in her eyes. She felt hopeless, but her friends were always there for her. When she was weak, they were her pillars of strength, and right now, Gather had seemed to leave his guard down. Filled with confidence, she addressed the stallion. “Gather? It’s not too late. I’ll give you a chance to surrender, and leave Equestria at once, as long as you promise to return the horns and wings you have acquired.” Letting them have their moment, Gather stifled his laugh, going from a sinister smile to a coy smirk for his response. “I’ve come this far, so you get your chance to use your useless Elements. Then, knowing the futility of the situation, I’ll scatter you and your friends to the far reaches of the world.”

Gather stood up, glaring straight at the ponies across the Wedding Hall, all traces of humor removed from his face, leaving a sadistic scowl in its place as the ice blue-eyed stallion pierced their stares with his own. “You’ll never know ‘Friendship’ as a savior of your precious ‘Harmony’, again. It will fail you, and you’ll be alone, finally knowing your place in this world as the worthless, ignorant insects that you are.” Gather scraped his hoof along the floor. “I’m not ‘asking’, I’m DEMANDING that you use your elements! DO IT, AND KNOW YOUR PLACE AS NOTHING, NOTHING COMPARED TO ME!”

Twilight had become terrified, but found the courage to focus by having her friends around her. The elements glowed as they did in the past, when they first used them to stop Nightmare Moon, and when they used them to seal Discord in his 'stone statue' prison. The six mares let the magic flow through them, magic found from within; from the power of their friendship. Gather stood firm, but was amazed at the ‘show’ being performed in front of him, as he saw it. As the elements focused their magic, a rainbow shot out from above the six mares, arcing in the air before coming down on the stallion. The force was unlike anything he had ever felt, but he held strong, enduring the powerful force of magic.

Suddenly, the sounds of screaming could be heard in the Wedding Hall. Gather was gritting his teeth, but he wasn’t screaming. Losing her focus only slightly, Twilight Sparkle recognized the voices she was hearing: “Princess Luna? Princess Celestia? Cadance? Shining Armor? Wait… Even Fluttershy and Rainbow!? Something’s wrong. We can’t keep this up!” The Spirits of the Elements of Harmony, having lost their focus, fell back down to the ground, unable to complete what they had sought to accomplish. Twilight collapsed on the ground with her friends, as she looked ahead. Gather had a scorched circle around him, and was panting harshly, as the sound of their collective breathing had suddenly found itself host to a demoralizing cackle brought about by the stallion that stood before them.

“… H… Ha ha… Ha ha ha ha ha, HEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!”