//------------------------------// // 1.8 Valiant stand // Story: Unforgiven Memories // by Hidden Brony //------------------------------// Disclaimer: I do not own Hasbro, My Little Pony or any characters, places, or events in the extended cannon, although it would be awesome if I did. Memories of a Lost Time Chapter Eight: Valiant Stand         Don’t get too confident. I could rip your victory from your hooves at the last possible second and deprive you of something you didn’t know you wanted until now. You may be untouchable, but they are not. Just as the Mare of Magic is fair game, so is the Mare of Loyalty. It seems you need a reminder of who exactly is in charge, here.         Streak had eschewed a disguise, instead choosing to board the train in his own normal form. Leaving the train, however, he would be disguised, this time by Shining Armor. Celestia would use resources trying to find where he was since he was undoubtedly spotted getting on the train to Canterlot, while the Elements, Shining, and Cadance would escort ‘Change’, the moniker his disguised form from before was to be known as.         On the ride, there was precious little conversation. Most of it was Streak explaining last minute details to Cadance about her part. Eventually, however, Rainbow Dash walked over to him.         “Hey, Streak,” she began nervously, “do you think we’ll really win?”         Streak looked her in the eyes, “It’s all that I can do, Rainbow Dash. If I thought otherwise then I would have failed long ago.”         Rainbow looked at him uncertainly. He knew her well enough to know she had a question she wanted to ask, but was unsure of asking it. Knowing that nothing he did would speed up her decision, he sat quietly until she spoke up. “Do you think you’ll survive winning?”         Streak sighed, “I can only hope so, but I most likely will not.”         Rainbow looked at him in horror before joining him in his seat. She scooted until her whole side was pressed against him. He felt her lean into him, and he smiled. Across the train car, Twilight was watching the two with jealousy in her eyes.         You are foolish to think you can outwit me.         I’m not trying to outwit you. I’m trying to survive and live a quiet life.         The Librarian returned to wherever she was when not bothering Streak. Nihility spoke up.         Do you have some kind of plan set up, or are you just winging it?         Were you sleeping for the last twelve hours? I just went over our plan. Twice.         Not our plan for getting to Celestia, or even our plan for beating her. I heard you talk to Cacance. Do you have a plan for actually killing her?         I assume that 'smack a bitch' doesn't count?         No.         I'll figure something out. You'll probably just come and save my ass.         Not while trapped in the Void.         Wait, trapped in the Void? What do you mean, trapped in the damn Void?         Nihility was silent. Not a sound was heard from him.         Nihility, what do you mean? I thought you were a part of me.         I am. It is... complicated. I shall explain when we get back to Ponyville.         You imbecile! He was not to know!         I think I have a damn right to be informed of things involving me.         I said I would tell you when we got back, and I will.         Streak felt a wave of fury wash over him that vanished as fast as it began. That was not good.         Rainbow felt Streak shiver. "Hey, you okay?"         Streak put on his best fake smile, "Fine."         "Then what's up with the shiver?" Rainbow asked.         "And the fake smile, and the lyin’," Applejack commented.         “Really, Rainbow Dash, I’m fine.”         Rainbow glared at him, and he caved. “Alright, alright. I think I might have pissed off the Librarian.”         Rainbow arched an eyebrow, “And that’s that much of an issue? What can she do, besides hop into our heads and talk?”         “She controls everything. She could cause a sudden shift of wind to blow you off course at high speeds and cause you to crash, potentially killing you. She could cause a rat to bump into a rock, starting a rockslide that hits this train, potentially killing us all. I just pissed off literally the most powerful being in known existence enough that I felt it through the mental link,” Streak sighed.         “What about Celestia? Or Discord?” Twilight asked.         Streak looked at Twilight, “She made them.”         There was an uncomfortable silence. After nearly an hour of staring out of the window and enjoying Rainbow Dash’s closeness, Streak’s train of thought was broken.         “What did you do?” Rainbow asked quietly, so that only he could hear. “What could piss off something that has lived as long as her that much.”         “That’s the part that scares me the most, Rainbow Dash. I just don’t know.”         The rest of the train ride was in silence.         Everything went exactly according to plan. Streak left the train with the seven mares and Shining Armor, and nopony the wiser. Nopony stopped the group, due to only one of them not having significant political power in every breath they uttered. A cursory glance by the castle gate guards later, and Streak was inside the power base of the most dangerous threat to Equestria ever; Celestia herself.         “Alright, everypony remember the plan?” Streak asked for the final time.         “Yes,” Shining Armor nodded, Cadance next to him seconding the motion.         “Of course we do,” Rainbow complained, “We only went over it like, a million times!”         “Rainbow!” Twilight admonished. “Behave!”         Streak would have chuckled at the cyan mare should the situation have let him. He offhandedly noticed that she had kept her hair brushed, a fact not left unnoticed by Rarity.         Streak nodded at them, “Then let us proceed.”         After the six Elements had left, Cadance put a hoof on his shoulder, “Are you sure you don’t want them to know what you really plan? You probably won’t survive.”         Streak looked forward with determination, “I know that, and so does Rainbow Dash, which means the rest of them probably know that I’m probably going to die already. Celestia will fall this day, by my hand or not.”         Cadance went to say something else, but Shining Armor put a hoof on her withers, shaking his head. Streak’s mind was made up.         The overly large doors to the throne room sat open at the very beginning of Day Court. Even with the search for the most wanted criminal in Equestria, the day-to-day functions of Equestria still had to function. This, however, made it the perfect time to strike against Celestia’s reputation.         Shining Armor walked past the line of petitioners in full captain armor. When he got to the front of the line, he shouted using a magically amplified voice. “Guard, front and center!”         The guards were confused to their order, but obeyed nonetheless. With all the royal guards in the throne room in front of him, Shining Armor started his speech. “According to precedents set by Princess Celestia herself over a thousand years ago, an alicorn can be removed from office if they are deemed a threat to the nation.” Nobody seemed to know where this was going, not even Celestia at this point. “I stand here with a signed petition from all six Elements of Harmony, one of the three alicorn Princesses, and the captain of the guard. This petition is for the removal of one of our very own Princesses.”         Hushed murmuring was heard throughout the courtroom, but was swiftly cut off by Shining Armor. “She has been found guilty of over a thousand counts of murder, hundreds of counts of torture, mind control, slavery by proxy, and one count of attempted murder. This alicorn abused her position for the entire time she has had it, and even was caught once.” All in the room, save Celestia, were thinking Luna. Celestia had an idea of what was going on now. “For these crimes she has been deemed a threat to the nation, and with nearly every major power in the Equestrian government backing our cause, the unicorns Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Shining Armor, the pegasi Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the earth ponies Pinkie Pie and Applejack, and the alicorn Princess Mi Amore Cadenza hereby strip Princess Celestia from her rank and her seat.” A gasp was heard from all, even the ever-stoic royal guards. “Day court is cancelled for an unknown amount of time. Guards, escort the petitioners to their homes and spread the word.”         Celestia stood up off her throne, “Guards! Belay that order! Shining Armor, what is the meaning of this?”         “Guards, she has been stripped of her title. Continue as you were,” Shining Armor replied.         “You’ve been found out, Celly dearest,” Streak announced as he walked into the room.         Celestia looked at him in shock. This is not how things were supposed to go! “You!”         Streak grinned, “Miss me, Celestia?”         “Guards, seize him!”         “Continue as you were,” Shining Armor commanded calmly.         The guard was torn between loyalty to the Princess and loyalty to Equestria. Eventually one of them made his choice. He turned to the petitioners, “Move along, citizens. You heard the man, day court’s closed. Let’s get you home.”         That one stallion was enough to get the rest of the guard to hesitantly follow the orders of their commanding officer. The first stallion looked at the shocked look on the Princess’s face, “This is not an accusation to be made lightly. If you’re innocent, you’ll prove it. If you’re guilty, they’ll prove it. One way or the other, we will know for certain.” And he left with the rest of the guards and petitioners, leaving only Celestia and Streak in the room.         “You,” Celestia seethed, “You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day you returned. Wasting resources looking for you, having to listen to idiots report that they’ve found nothing from all corners of Equestria. I should have just killed you like I made Starswirl kill Brick and Ironhoof.”         “Go ahead, Celestia. You know why I’m here,” Streak taunted.         Celestia grinned, “You’re here to kill me, of course. I made you into what you are, and that’s a killing machine. You probably didn’t even see different courses of action, did you? There’s always revealing me to the public, but they would never believe you. There’s hitting me with the Elements and hoping that works, but they’re locked behind a door only I could open. Then there’s killing me, which leaves only one issue. Actually killing me. You think you can kill a Guardian? With the combined might of three of us, we were able to imprison one. I hit Luna by surprise, and I don’t like relying on luck.” Her grin turned vicious. “Face it, Streak. You’ve lost. I can undo everything you’ve done. Your death will just be a footnote tacked on to my tally. It will read, ‘Streak, number two-thousand and twenty-four and number four-thousand and three.’ ”         “Oh really?” Streak grinned widely. “You can undo my giving your captain of the guard the memories of what you did. You can undo me giving half of them to Twilight. You can even undo all the people who have had the story explained to them, but do you really think that you can undo a spell that is projecting this conversation, both audio and video, onto every flat surface in every city in Equestria?” * * *         Cloud Chaser was sitting in her house when everything went wrong. Everywhere she looked, she saw the throne room. She stood up, “What’s going on here?”         Her jaw dropped slowly as she both saw and heard Shining Armor’s speech. “No, no this can’t be happening! She can’t be!”         She was still trying to figure out what was going on as Celestia started talking, “I should have just killed you like I made Starswirl kill Brick and Ironhoof.”         Cloud Chaser was shaking, tears running down her face. No, this was Celestia, the beloved ruler of Equestria. She couldn’t have done what they’re accusing her of. * * *         In Baltimare, a stallion named Star Hunter hugged his wife and kids. “It’s all right,” he said, trying to mask the shaking in his voice. He had to be strong. “We’ll figure everything out. We’ll be alright.” * * *         In the streets of Los Pegasus, ponies were wailing in despair. The light that had guided them for generations was just revealed to be evil, by her own words, no less! Where would Equestria be without Celestia? * * *         Sitting in a bar in the Crystal Empire, a griffon was having a fine day drinking her sorrows away. She had been tossed aside like trash, and even years later it still hurt. Suddenly the walls of the bar were replaced with a large, fancy room. She blinked slowly and turned to the bartender, “I think I’ll close my tab. I’ve had enough.”         The bartender had a look of shock on his face, “Lady, you’ve had two drinks. Plus I think we’re all seeing this. I don’t think there’s enough booze in the world to cause this.”         The griffon stared at the walls as the confrontation inside played out, her face slowly getting harder and angrier. She glanced at the appalled face of the bartender, “I’m closing my tab, I have places to be.” * * *         Celestia’s smile fell, “What have you done, Streak?”         “I’ve exposed you for the monster that you really are, Celestia. Every single pony in Equestria just heard you admit to killing over four-thousand ponies. That’s murder, Celestia, and punishable by death,” Streak taunted. “Not so confident now, are you?”         Celestia growled, “If I’m going down, so are you.”         Streak laughed, “Do you honestly think I came into this city expecting to leave? How stupid are you? My part is played. I have had my revenge, and I have protected Twilight from forces that you don’t even know are using you as a puppet, at least for now. I am content to die.” * * *         Twilight’s and Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. He wasn’t even planning on surviving? Not even going to try? They quickly sped up to be the front of the group. Twilight wondered, however, about what the power Streak protected her from was. * * *         Celestia narrowed her eyes at me, “You dare call me a puppet?”         “I call it as I see it,” Streak mocked. “It’s over, Celestia. It doesn’t matter if Twilight and the girls come back with the Elements to attempt to purify you at this point. At least, not to me. As I said, I have played my part, and you have played yours beautifully. Now it is time for Equestria to play hers.”         Celestia’s carefully monitored rage boiled over at being called a puppet. Celestia screeched in anger, “I shall flay the flesh from your bones! I shall tear you apart piece by piece and feed your remains to rats! I shall visit horrors upon you the likes of which the world has not seen! I have not been defeated, merely delayed! Things will be slower with me in the open, but I will have it all!”         “Celestia, I hear voices and you’re crazier than me,” Streak shook his head. “Go ahead, you get one free shot. Flay my flesh! Tear me apart! Bringeth the horrors! I have beaten the Void, you don’t scare me anymore!” * * *         Unknown to him, a tear traveled down Star Hunter’s face. His defiance had brought some small comfort to his family, and there was no way he could properly be repaid. * * *         “I shall scare you soon, Streak! I shall scare them all! No more benevolent Celestia! From now on, I shall slay all that stand in my way, starting with you!” Celestia’s horn glowed, opening massive portals to the Void. They took up the walls, the windows, the ceiling, and most of the floor, save where he and Celestia were standing. “I have created an immortal army out of those I have slain! Their souls feed my army, growing more powerful with each enemy slain!”         Celestia’s horn got a layer of overglow, and somehow Streak saw shapes flying through the air. Shapes that were exactly the same as the Void behind them. Celestia was commanding the demons of the Void. The war wasn’t over, it was only truly beginning.         “Now DIE! Die you insolent gnat! Feed, my children! Tear him apart piece by piece! Make him suffer!” Celestia yelled maniacally. She had finally gone off the deep end. It was about now that Streak figured that Cadance had turned her spell off and gotten the hell out of dodge.         Streak felt himself be surrounded by the denizens of the Void, felt their confusion. Where was the mortal they were supposed to destroy?         “I think this is where I step in,” a familiar voice called out, wiping out all the portals save one that had opened midair. From this portal stepped Nihility. “Miss me, Streak?”         Streak grinned, “Nihility, you bastard! I knew you’d come through for me.”         Another demon walked up to Nihility, “Sir, what do we do? The Creator demands we kill a mortal, but then directs us at the Woken One.”         “This is an easy fix, ignore her. The Woken One is our new Master. Voidborn, attack! Death to the Creator!” Nihility exuded an aura of dominance and respect. He was the strongest, and damned be the fool that challenged him.         The other demon saluted Nihility. The hordes that Celestia had summoned to kill Streak suddenly whirled and attacked her. The raised platform that Celestia and her throne were on was soon covered in an irregular and seemingly shimmering dome of black made of the newly dubbed ‘Voidborn’ demons. Through the black flashes of light could be seen as beams of pure magic tore through the demons. Walls cracked, blackened, wherever the beams hit. Pillars that held up the ceiling crumbled as sections just disappeared.         Streak turned to Nihility, “You realise that there is no way you’re backing out of explaining this now, right?”         Nihility smirked, Streak had no idea how he knew, but he did, “I expected nothing less.”         The door of the throne room was thrown open by a purple aura with a slam. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and their friends ran into the room.         “What is going on?” Rainbow shouted in surprise.         “It’s simple, Rainbow Dash,” Nihility replied gesturing to the dome of demons, “Celestia tried to turn our brothers against us.”         Twilight’s horn started glowing, “Who are you?”         “His name is Nihility. He is me, and I am him,” Streak turned to him. “At least, that’s what I have been told.”         “Do not doubt me, Streak,” Nihility chuckled. “I am as much a part of you as your left hoof.”         “And my wings?” Streak shot back. “If you’re a part of me, you can be removed.”         Nihility was silent. The whole room was silent. Rainbow and Fluttershy had looks of horror on their faces, and to a lesser extent so did the other Elements.         “And your soul,” Nihility responded after a second. “You can still remove that, but you will die. I am a piece of that.”         Rainbow piped in. “This is well and good and all, but what are we going to do about Celestia? She’s not dead, and the Elements are here. So,” she trailed off.         Streak swept his hoof towards Celestia, “Feel free.”         “Wait.” Nihility held up a hoof, “Let me get my brothers out of the way.”         “Celestia isn’t going to just let the Elements be used on her, Nihility,” Streak deadpanned.         “Watch and learn, newbie,” Nihility grinned. “Voidborn! Bind her! Bind her magic! Bind her wings! Bind every bit of magic in her body save the barest sliver of what she needs to live!”         The Voidborn from before, how Streak knew this he’ll never know, flew from the dome and saluted. As one the Voidborn charged, absorbing themselves into Celestia wherever they touched.         “What–NO! Get out!” Celestia started firing more rapidly, hoping to stop the Voidborn’s advance. “Stay away!”         Her bolts slowly lost power, to the point that they barely scorched the walls, and then stopped. When no more Voidborn were visible, she collapsed, no strength left in her limbs.         “What did you do?” Streak asked.         “Everything you do is magic. Breathing, walking, sleeping, even just existing costs magic, since it is a vital part of mitosis. We demons feed on magic. We are just eating it first, stopping it from getting from the Wellspring to her.”         “Clever, I’ll admit,” Rainbow pointed out, “But this room is about to fall apart. We need to use the Elements now, or they will never be used.”         Streak stepped out of their way, gesturing again at Celestia’s now-prone form.         Twilight nodded and the Element of Magic started glowing. Slowly, the other Elements added their glow to the lead Element’s. Right as it seemed that everything was going to work, Streak heard a voice.         You seem to forget yourself, Streak. Don’t think your job is finished. It never will be.         What do you mean?         I mean that you seem to forget your place. Allow me to show you why crossing me is not a good idea, insect.         Streak felt the wave of anger again, and his eyes widened at a cracking sound. He watched as a huge chunk of the ceiling fell in what seemed like slow motion. He traced the trajectory and saw it was heading right for Rainbow, the only mare whose Element had yet to add its glow to the others’. He sprung into action, diving into the oblivious Rainbow. The duo landed where they were not under the chunk of ceiling, but as Rainbow landed, her head hit a piece of rubble, knocking her out.         Streak looked at the remaining Elements, their channeling leaving them lost to the world around them. He couldn’t let them fail. He had to help them. He took Rainbow’s Element off her neck, kissed her on the forehead, put the Element around his neck and joined the other five in their positions. He closed his eyes and let the Element take over. He felt surprise that was not his own, before determination. As the Element glowed, he felt a tug on his consciousness. * * *         Streak looked around. He was a pitch black void. He could see nothing around him. His breathing began to pick up. Damn it. He was back in the Void, wasn’t he? Any second now, he would feel a familiar agony as he was pulled apart piece by piece.         “Peace, Streak. You are in the realm between realms. You are safe,” a soothing voice called out throughout the vastness.         “Kindness, this is not the time for pleasantries. We had thought you dead a thousand years ago. How do you still live?” another voice demanded.         “Honestly, Honesty! You’re no fun!!” a third voice giggled. “He has no clue what’s going on right now, you can’t be mean!”         Streak whipped his head around, searching for any source for the voices. His panic kept rising, despite the words of Kindness.         “Streak,” a somehow familiar voice thundered, “I grieved for you when she killed you. You have no clue how it feels to see you again.” It was a voice he had never heard before, yet at the same time he knew it.         An authoritative voice spoke over the other voices, “Quiet.”         There was instant silence. This silence did little to calm Streak’s nerves. He was in the dark, he was confused, and he was panicking.         “Mortal, I am Magic, leader of the Elements,” the authoritative voice rang out, “I do not know how you still live a thousand years after Loyalty watched you die, nor do I particularly care. What I do know, is that you are using the Element of Loyalty, an Element that already has a Bearer.”         The familiar voice rang out again, “Magic, he could have not known our laws. Do not punish him in his ignorance”         Streak spoke up quietly, “Ignorance of the law does not mean immunity to the law.”         Honesty chuckled, “I like this mortal.”         Magic continued, “His ignorance allows us to give him a lesser sentence, Loyalty, not give him immunity. He broke our laws, and must be punished. Even he knows this.”         “What punishment would you give him, then?” Loyalty asked. “Dissolution into the Void? He’s already had that, and I will not let you do that to him again.”         Honesty growled, “Know your place, Loyalty.”         Magic was silent for a while. Streak feared the worst, that they would just leave him in this place. After what felt like hours, Magic spoke up again, “We cannot afford to have the Elements of Harmony in conflict with itself, not with the world in the condition it is in. We will cut off his connection to the Elements, preventing another incident.”         “No.” A simple word spoken without inflection. A single word that carried the weight of whole realms behind it when spoken.         Magic was shocked into silence for a second, before responding, “This is not a suggestion, Loyalty. It will be done for the greater good of the realm.”         Loyalty spoke in a flat tone, “I lost Streak for a thousand years. I refuse to lose him again if I can help it. Fuck the realm.”         “You have another Bearer,” Kindness tried to play damage control. “Isn’t she enough for you?”         “Don’t you dare accuse me of betraying my Bearer, Kindness. Do not think I have forgotten that you were one of Luna’s Elements,” Loyalty growled.         “Enough, the mortal—” Magic began.         “He has a damned name, Magic,” Loyalty snapped, “Use it.”         There was another silence. Magic finally spoke up, “We will deal with this privately, Loyalty. I will send Streak back, but don’t think this will be the last you see of us, mortal. I will call for you later, and I wouldn’t want to be you if you don’t heed the call.”         Before everything faded, Streak heard Loyalty’s voice once more, ”Streak, remember this: You and your friends were supposed to be the Bearers, not Celestia and Luna. She knew that. Right our wrong, fix our mistake, however you have to do it.”         ”LOYALTY!” Magic roared. ”I’m sending him back. Now. You and I will have some things to discuss.” * * *         Streak saw words floating in red. They read: Loyalty         Streak Laughter         Ironhoof Generosity         Wonderbolt Honesty         Sombra Kindness         Brick Magic         Starswirl         –Loyalty * * *         Streak opened his eyes to a rainbow beam shooting into Celestia. He watched as the prismatic beam washed over the terrified Princess. When the light faded, he felt himself returning to the ground, and realized that while talking with the Elements he had floated into the air. A quick check showed the other Elements—Bearers, Streak reminded himself—returning to their senses and looking at the world around them. Rarity was the first to see him standing there, Element of Loyalty around his neck.         “Wha–Streak? How?” she stuttered.         Twilight turned around with confusion. “What about—” she was struck speechless,         Nihility looked at him, “I’ll be damned.”         Streak looked from mare to mare as they all looked in shock between him and the unconscious Rainbow Dash at his hooves before saying the first thing to pop to his head, “I honestly didn’t expect that to work.”         Applejack got in his face, “Why is RD knocked out? Why are you wearin’ her Element?”         Streak got inches away from her nose, “The Librarian decided to be a bitch and drop a damn ceiling on her, and I got her out of the way. She was knocked out, so I picked up her Element and prayed. Any more questions?”         “Just one,” Pinkie said, “No, wait, two. Maybe one, maybe three, potentially more, based on the answers, so I’ll go with two for now.”         “Pinkie,” Streak groaned.         “Did it work?”         Streak looked over at Celestia before asking Nihility, “First priority is my brothers. How many of the Voidborn survived the Elements?”         “All of them. This does not bode well for the Elements’ cleansing having worked,”         “How so?” Twilight asked.         “The Voidborn should have been seen as invaders into her body and been purged. At the best they should have been shoved out of her body, and at worst they would have been destroyed.”         “That’s horrible! The Elements are not weapons, they are tools!” Rarity exclaimed.         “A hammer is a tool, so is a saw,” Streak reminded, “and a wrench, and the knife that Fluttershy let me borrow back at her cottage. They can be used to kill, but weapons are just more efficient at it.”         “Plus the Voidborn are not alive in any form of the word. They do not pull magic from the Wellspring. They do not breathe, eat, drink, or sleep. They do not age, do not die by natural causes. They are, at best, semi-living parasites.”         “This all doesn’t answer my question,” Pinkie reminded. “Nor does it inform me how many more questions I have to ask.”         The group walked over to the prone form of Celestia. Streak looked into her panicked eyes. She knew that her fate was to be decided in this moment.         “Voidborn, allow her to speak,” Streak said. “Allow her a chance to prove that she is truly redeemed.”         “Thank you, Streak!” Celestia gasped out, moving her body to try and hug him. “It was horrible, being trapped inside my own body for over a thousand years, unable to do anything!” Streak batted her away, she gasped, “Streak, it’s me! It’s Celestia.”         “That is yet to be determined,” Streak said levelly. “Even if that is true, don’t expect that a light show and an apology will have me forgive you.” Streak gave her a level stare, “Name the Bearer of the Element of Magic one thousand years ago.”         Celestia looked at him confused, “That was me, Streak.”         “Name who it was supposed to be.”         “Streak I don’t know—” she was interrupted by a slap.         “Don’t lie. Who was the Bearer of Loyalty?”         “Streak, she can’t have known! The Elements weren’t used by anypony but her for the last thousand years until us!” Twilight exclaimed.         “She knew. She knew damned well, and made sure we were all dead!” Streak stomped on the ground. He looked at Celestia, “Ironhoof was Laughter’s Bearer. Wonderbolt was Generosity’s Bearer. Honesty chose Sombra. Kindness found Brick for a Bearer. Magic picked Starswirl. Loyalty chose me. You removed us all from the equation the second you couldn’t manipulate us!”         Celestia’s eyes widened, “How did you–how do you—”         Streak growled, “Do you think that any Element will work for any-fucking-body that wears it? Why do you think that I’m wearing Rainbow Dash’s Element?”         Celestia tried to speak, but no words came out.         “Pinkie, this answers your question. She has not been fixed. Not even close,” he turned to the modern Element Bearers. “My suggestion is to just slit her throat and get it over with, but I leave the decision up to you.”         The Bearers were speechless as he walked over to Rainbow Dash, loaded her onto his back, and walked out of the room.         Nihility watched his other half walk out of the room with sad eyes. “Looks like it’s time for me to leave. My advice, however, is the same. She has caused much pain over the last thousand years, and if you give her the opportunity she will do it again.” He waved his hoof at Celestia and a few Voidborn left her body. “In case you decide to let her live, I have returned her mobility to her. She won’t be able to run for long, or fly, and she definitely won’t be able to use her magic, but she can move around by herself unaided.”         Nihility got close to Celestia’s face, “Do not mistake this for weakness. If you are ever in my presence again, Celestia, I will not hesitate to butcher you where you stand, reformed or not.”         Celestia struggled to her hooves, panting from exertion, as Nihility left with not a glance backwards, portal closing behind him.