//------------------------------// // Episode 102: (Dark World) "Will All Be Mine" // Story: Pony POV Series Season Six: Dark World/Shining Armor // by Alex Warlorn //------------------------------// My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Pony POV Series Dark World Part 25 "All Will Be Mine" By Alex Warlorn "The Windy-Goes are my slaves! The lemon-ponies are my slaves! The diamond dogs will be my slaves! You will be my slave! I am the Queen Of Endless Winter! You will fall before me, little minty green pony!" I brought up the Sword of Summer up just in time to avoid being frozen to death but the force of the attack sent me flying back almost over the ravine behind in the Winter Queen's Cavern Of Perfect Stillness. I asked myself, 'Minty Pie, how did you get into this mess?' "You may have tamed Erberis! I don't know how you got past your own deepest desires and wants in the Crystal Mirrors. But one pony armed with one enchanted weapon cannot hope to overthrow my perfect white frozen dominion!" The Sword Of Summer given to me by the Lemon-Ponies shielded me from the Queen's magic with a sphere of warmth, but the sphere shrank smaller and smaller as the Queen Of Endless Winter mercilessly continued her assault. The Queen's royal robes fluttered in her chilling wind. What the buck am I doing here? I'm no hero. I'm no savior. I'm an idiot driven on by memories of a pony who never existed and another pony's memories that aren't even mine. The only thing I have in common with that Minty is that we both mess things up. "Ahhh don't ya stop now, this mare really needs her heart warmed up with a few good laughs." 'Wha?' "Howdy!" "Angry---- Pinkie Pie?" I had never seen the clown instead of the monster.  But I knew her all the same. "What're you doing here? Is-Is Apple Pie alright? Is this really you? The Pinkie Pie that Minty and Twilight remember? Or am I just going cold crazy?" "Naw. You're not. I'm just here to tell you not to give up. I know the end of the road seems far away, in fact it's a LOT farther...but this is just some dark woods that you're almost out of..." "But...Pinkie Pie! The Queen used me! I was manipulated, tricked." "So was I. You wised up a lot sooner than I ever did. And you did a lot less harm than I did. All you did was give some lemon-ponies a few nasty bruises. You've gotten this far. Isn't it kinda a shame to give up now?" "But I can't win. I'm nopony." "You don't know unless you try! And no pony is nopony! I've check, there's not a listing for 'Nopony' in the phone book or anything!" I laughed. "There we go! See? Now that's some of the Minty I remember." "But I'm not that Minty!" "Not all the way. And that's not a bad thing. I'm not all of the Pinkie Pie from back then either. That just means we've grown. Now that sword of yours gives warmth to anything right? I'd say that mare's heart is in pretty big need of some warmth right now." "I didn't think of it like that before." "It's all about using what ya got!" She hugged me, it felt so wonderful, like an old sock I hadn't worn for a long time but was just as warm. I hugged her back. It felt like two pieces of a puzzle. Puzzle Mint would have loved that metaphor. No. "Pinkie, I'm Minty Pie, not just Minty." She just smiled at me. "And that means we can't be friends?" I smiled back. "Heh, you've got a point there!" "Good. Because I've already learned about loving ponies for who they are instead of who they were in another universe. Don't worry it'll make sense later for you. And you're one brave pony. Believe it!" "Thank you Pinkie Pie." "And one more thing: friendship can override fear sometimes, a lot!" That was when I saw them, the Windy-Goes, the little ponies shaped beings, they swarmed their queen. "What-what are you doing? Stop! Stop I say!" The Queen demanded. "Minty! Run! We'll hold her!" Said the Windy-Goes who had greeted me when I had fallen into their inner world. "No. I won't leave you!" I got up, bravely? Yes bravely! "Fool!" The Queen bellowed. Then I got an idea. "Everypony! Tickle her!" The Windy-Goes did as I asked, they were doomed for defying their Queen anyway. It was worth the warmth inside having a friend gave them. "What-hehehe-stop-stop-I-I-I-shall-hehehehhe, des-destroy you-oh-oh-oh all-eheheh!" I leapt up boldly, and brought the Sword of Summer down and-gently touched the Queen's chest. Half an hour later in the newly renamed Chamber Of Happy Seasons I hugged my little friends and new queenly friend. "Pinkie Pie! I did it! I did it! Did you see? I am a hero after all! I'm free!...Pinkie Pie?" ++++ "I wonder," Discord coughed, "That hippogriff hatchling that Fluttercruel talked with at that last Hippogriff rebel meeting, I wonder how things could've gone, if she had time to develop a friendship with her. Would you have changed, my filly? Would you have begun to see our toys as people? Maybe I should have taken you to those rebel meetings sooner, Fluttercruel. You know, I think it's actually fun being 'Wild Tempest' and 'Paradigm Shift,' with those Hippogriff and Virgacorn rebels. I think I finally get the fetish Alicorns have with living mortal lives. Heh. Maybe I should've given it a whirl." Discord sighed as he laid back in his throne. "Nothing to do now, but wait for the end," (They will arrive. You will fight. You will lose. And you will suffer because that is the only reason I allow you to continue to exist!) "Could you at least have let Fluttercruel go? What had she ever done to you BEFORE this all started?" (Pst. Making her suffer made you suffer. I need no other reason.) "Going for poetic justice, eh?" (Horrible, isn't it? Being 'all powerful' but you can't even bring the one thing you care about more than yourself back with a finger snap.) "At least she's finally with Fluttershy now. Away from you, nag." Discord broke into coughing fits again. Dang, did he even still have lungs? He though those were gone already. (Everything existing in this world, here, exists to add to your torment. Even tangentially. Loyal servants who repeat your mother's betrayal. Subjects who have never willingly embraced your warped way of thinking. The whimsical zoo of conjured creatures you're always adding to, doomed to be erased like they never existed, like your diseased family erased however-many ponies and creatures from ever being! Absolute power, but still wired to the railroad tracks. A beloved daughter, heheh, who you get to watch die over and over.) "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." (Of course, who failed whom? Then again, she was just garbage created from garbage, even garbage mixed with a sweet beautiful innocent flower like Fluttershy -- A flower you ruined! -- is still gabage.) "At least I got some happy times with her just before the end." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." "...daddy...please don't hate me...for failing you..." (It's only after the greatest joy the greatest pain can be felt. Why do you think I even allow you to gaze into The Truth? Because I want you to witness your ideal world which I will deny you forever, and ever, and ever.) "Cruelty...Fluttercruel. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Distortion... I'm sorry." +++ Filling Rainbow Dash in on EVERYTHING, unsummarized, was a chore. Especially without Pinkie Pie there, she was always the best storyteller. But it had to be done, as quickly as possible. Learning that Soarin' and Spitfire had been near her for a thousand years, -- as souls housed within Rarity -- left Rainbow Dash with mixed feelings. Rainbow Dash returned the favor. She had not hurt anypony while escaping Sweet Rock Acres. Although she had met Apple Pie's mother and grandmother. And what impressive dragons they'd both been! Very nearly succeeded in chewing her up to spit out her Element, the way Spike had planned to do to Angry Pie. Apparently, the Apples 'n' Pies and the Diamond Dogs had been spreading the word about the Chaos Six's defection from Discord. Most passed it off as more of Discord's nonsense. But the mother and grandmother trusted their own family and both were leaders of the dragon part of the resistance. As much as all three of them agreed he needed to go; the dragons still expressed one SLIGHT misgiving about dethroning Discord. Namely, that it would undo the 'uplifting' of former ponies such as themselves into the mighty and majestic dragon race. Of course, they were both willing to lay down their lives, so what was a minor downgrade for freedom's sake? Yet STILL... it would be so REGRETTABLE... Dash had fed them a little white lie: no way would they lose their dragon-ness, she was 100% sure of that! And yes, of course there'd be another way to continue 'uplifting' ponies who clearly deserved to ascend into dragonhood... such as Banana Pie, apparently. Apple Pie cringed at that part. Spike cracked a slight, wry smile. "One more reason we need to get a move on," Twilight groaned, getting up. "If word gets 'round that Discord's holed up in his castle, alone, injured, unprotected... the rebellions will be tripping over themselves to assault this place in full force. Chaos and confusion galore! For all we know, it might actually HEAL him." "Well... can we take a 'tick, so we can all say bye ta Pinkie?" AJ asked as she adjusted her hat. (Oh, COME ON!!!! ANOTHER delay?! MORE ill-timed prattle?! You girls already spent how long trading unabridged backstories with Rainbow Dash!) "Of course," Twilight replied. "Applejack, you can go first." "Pinkie Pie, Ah promised ta look after our family to Applebloom when she died. You were... are... a part of that family, cousin. And...Ah did my bucking best ta look after ya while Ah could, even if ya spent more time lookin' after me. Thank ya, Pinkie Pie, fer sharin' what time ya had left with us. For showin' me Ah should be concentratin' on the time Ah have left, not how it's gonna end. An' maybe I can be worthy of bein' called a saint." AJ went on, praying for Sparkler and Fluttershy as well, but created an illusion around herself and Rarity so Derpy wouldn't see them praying for Fluttercruel's soul. Derpy had grief to work through. Sparkler, her eldest daughter, was dead. What would she tell Dinky Hooves? With all the rubble around, it was sadly easy to construct a temporary tomb for her. Rarity used her magic to construct a proper sarcophagus for the young unicorn. She was still an artist, and what she crafted from the shapeless rubble was a masterwork fit for a queen. A lifelike engraving of Sparkler on the lid and all sides. Engraving her name, approximation of her age, (timekeeping became an unusual concept during the Reign of Chaos) and time of birth in High Equestrian hieroglyphs on the base along with her loved ones, cutie mark, and special talent. It hurt Derpy to think that her daughter's life was summed up in one stone box holding her baby's dead body. A thousand years as an endlessly dancing crystal statue, her body stolen, and finally this. "Derpy," Rarity whispered, "I know how you feel." "How can you?" Rarity touched the gem on her neck, "Because I've lost a child too in almost the exact same way." Derpy had little to say to that, "Will the pain ever go away?" "Do you want it to?" "No." "Then don't let it...right now, just accept it. Once Discord is gone, we'll have time to heal. I promise." "Thank you, Rarity." Derpy shuddered in relief at her touch. There was talk of doing the same for Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, but... (DEFEAT IS ABOUT TO BE SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY, YOU BLITHERING, DITHERING, BLUBBERING PACK OF JACKASSES! DO THE WORLD A FAVOR, AND PUT YOUR EULOGIES ON THE BACK-BURNER FOR JUST ONE LAST STINKING BATTLE!!!!) ...They all had to reluctantly agree that the rest of the funeral rites should be saved for a more felicitous time. "We're a dirty mess, do you think we should clean up?" Applejack asked. 'Applejack? Concerned? Being clean?' Rainbow Dash's head spun. "We're off to fight a final battle with evil incarnate, not strut in front of an audience for a play. We don't have time to waste on appearance," Rarity said. 'Rarity? Appearance? Waste of time?' Rainbow Dash stopped herself. Traitor Dash had known these ponies for a thousand years, but Rainbow Dash was still getting to know them again now that she had a clear mind. Applejack, she moved just a little more gracefully, she spoke just a little bit more refined, she thought more before acting, she was a little bit more sensitive, her motions reminding RD of both Rarity and Fluttershy. But, still dependable, still reliable, still hard working. Still her friend. And Rarity this muscle toned mare, Traitor Dash had known her for a thousand years, but Rainbow Dash tried to superimpose the Rarity she knew a millennia ago on her. She was rougher, less refined, more rough and tumble, (like herself maybe), more brutal. But her calm, her reason, her love for her friends, that was still there. 'These are still your friends Rainbow Dash, never forget that, they bled and fought to save you. And you've made your choice, you're still their friend.' ++++ They were now on the move, heading towards Discord. Yet their hearts were still full of thoughts. "Fluttershy, you have no idea how much it hurts me that I only got to see you for a short time. But at least we got to say goodbye. Thank you for that Fluttershy, thank you." Twilight thought Spike looked proud and dignified as he looked at Rarity. She silently admitted to herself a part of her missed the baby dragon who depended on her (and vice versa), but she couldn't deny the pride she felt, seeing the intellect that had developed behind those giant eyes. There was so much they could talk about now that they couldn't before. So much they could count on each other for. Twilight looked forward to the time they'd have afterward. "Spike?" "Yes, Twilight?" "I am just so proud of the dragon you've become. You're brilliant, you're mighty, you're stronger than your base nature, and you are worthy of Rarity." "Thank you, Twilight." Spike hugged her with one finger. Twilight smiled, not letting herself cry, she was so small to him now. *But size doesn't matter. Spike will always be your friend.* (Spike can always be relied on.) 'Thank you.' "Lady Traitor Dash, Ah mean Miss Rainbow Dash, Ah was wonderin', did ya know Saint Applebloom of Sunnytown too?" "Wha-hey, don't sneak up on ponies like that." "Ah didn't sneak, Ah was right next ta ya, ya looked like ya were thinkin'." "I was. On how much things have changed." "Everypony keeps sayin' that. But the world isn't that bad, is it?" Rainbow Dash cringed. This little filly had lived her whole life in this nightmare created by Discord, and could ask this question? "Oh Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't mean ta hurt yer feelin's none." "It's nothing." "If it was nothin' it wouldn't have hurt ya." "Please Apple Pie, drop it." "How can Ah drop it if Ah ain't even holdin' it?" "Pinkie Pie will you--!...Sorry." "Ya really cared about her, huh?" "She was my very best friend." "Ah'm sorry." "...yeah, I did know Applebloom when she was just a filly. You never seen a foal who wanted her cutie mark so badly. You wouldn't believe the craziness she and her friends caused sometimes." "Does it hurt?" "Having her gone? What do you think?" "No, Ah knew that! Ah mean, when Ah touched Miss Angry Pie, it hurt her, cause Anger and Laughter are opposites or somethin'. Ya got opposites inside you right? Do ya got heart burn or somethin'?" "...no, not at all." "Yer lightin' is all pretty now, like a rainbow, not just red like before." "Huh. How about that. I hadn't noticed." "It's nice, it fits yah a LOT better." "Thank you." "So can ya still do it all?" "Do what all?" "Lots of things, the things with the chains, and when you turned all glowing red and sparking." "....the 'things with the chains' came from Treachery, and don't really go with Free-Will, and for 'turning all glowing red.' It's...it's not that I don't think I can do it. I'm just worried that I still can." "Huh?" "When I changed to 'Ender Dash,' I didn't like the pony I became. I'm trying to become somepony better than that, I like to think I've made a bit of progress and...I'm worried I'll hurt somepony who isn't one of the bad guys, and isn't immortal." "Rainbow Dash," Twilight said. "EEP! Please! Will ponies stop popping up around me!" "Rainbow Dash I...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but...I need to know. You saved our lives, including mine...please tell me. I know you aren't for Discord and never were. So please tell me..." Twilight quivered. She asked in a small voice. "Do you still want to kill me?" Rainbow Dash was silent. So silent. It scared Apple Pie a little. "Do I still want everything just back to the way it was before? Absolutely. BUT! You're right. There are still nice things and nice ponies I have no right to erase." She ruffled Apple Pie's mane, she giggled. "But after Discord's toast... I'm going to focus on trying to restore as much as the good old days and its good old ways as I can, within the world we currently live in. Starting with the Wonderbolts, I think." (You disappointment me, Rainbow Dash.) *I'm proud of you, Rainbow.* Apple Pie and Twilight hugged her. "And Twilight?" "Yes?" "I'm sorry. I was being pig-headed, I screwed up bad." "It's alright, we all forgive you," Twilight whispered, and no one had reason to contradict her. The ponies nuzzled each other. RD spread her wings around the two ponies. For some reason, it made Rainbow Dash think of a soft spring rain. Rainbow Dash had been too disrupted by AJ and Rarity to think about it. But hearing about washing, and thinking of her choice..."I don't feel dirty." "Well ya look kinda dirty," Apple Pie said. "No I mean...every time I Discord made me, everything I did what Discord told me to do, I always felt dirty, even if I washed my own skin off I still felt dirty. But...heheh, you're right, I'm covered in dirt, and I feel cleaner than I have in a thousand years." Apple Pie laughed, "Yeah! That is kinda funny!" The two nuzzled. Twilight for her part, just smiled at them. "Apple Pie." "Ya, Half-Light?" "Your optimism is a part of who you are, DON'T lose it. Your hope is our hope after all." "Don't be silly Half-Light, all our hopes are all our hopes!" "Heh, true enough." Twilight nuzzled her. "You'd make an awesome Blue Lantern though," Rainbow said with a chuckle. Apple Pie's eyes went bright. "You read comics too?! Ah love 'em!" Rainbow gave a nod. "Yep, well, haven't really been able to enjoy them much since the day of chaos, but who doesn't love comics? The Blue Lanterns were pretty cool." "Do yah remember their oath?" "How could I forget?" "In fearful day, in raging night, With strong hearts full, our souls ignite, When all seems lost in the War of Light Look to the stars-- For hope burns bright!" the two said together, sharing a laugh. +++++ "You always...just go with the flow," Magica told me as she was dyin'. "Well! Looks like you ladies certainly cleaned house!" Said Big Banana Boss Discord. I laughed. "Even in the darkest of times you hav'ta find something to laugh about!" I tell him. It's almost like another world, Ah was fightin' Miss Rarity's rock-ponies, and lyin' to Magica so she'd die smilin', now here Ah am with Half-Light and all my new friends. We're gonna turn the world upside down. Ah jumped right into this here adventure, Ah figured winning was a sure thing. After all, we were the heroes. And the heroes and their buddies always survive, or always come back to life later. Even after the Valeyard showed meh heroes can lose, Ah still thought we'd all come out of this alive just if we tried hard enough. But Miss Fluttershy and Miss Pinkie Pie ain't comin' back. Ah should have known better, mah family knows that the dead don't really come back. We accept they're free, and hope they're someplace better and we enjoy the happy times we had with'em! So don'tcha ever go thinkin' Ah'll ever forget Poison Apple, Magica, Caster or Puella. Ever. If life is gonna keep givin' us lemons, we'll keep makin' lemonade, and it ain't the lemons' fault, if ya take it out on the lemons, you just tick off the angry mommy lemon. It's time tah write our happy endin'! +++++ (Discord should be at the top floor at near the outer wall, in his throne room. He's moved it there thinking you'd never look there.) *Don't go the direct rout, he'll expect that.* 'Understood.' Their path had now taken them into the Hall Of Shame, all the statues of the same mare standing on her rear hooves with her forelegs crossed looking down, eternally disapproving. "Who is this lady, anyway?" Apple Pie asked. "We don't know," said Twilight. "He's never told us, last time I asked I ended up in the arctic." "And Ah ended up in the Amanezon," said Applejack. "...All things considered, that wasn't so bad, actually." "Must have been somepony who meant a lot to 'em," Spike said, "Look at 'em, why are they all glaring down? Why 'Hall of Shame?' Maybe she was the last piece of Discord's conscience." "Or maybe it just means to be shameful for WHOEVER enters." Rainbow Dash injected, not interested in a 'Discord sob-story' after being his favorite torture toy for a thousand years. "I guess." "Applejack, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said, "I need something very vital from both of you and I'd really rather not wait or I wouldn't be pressing it so soon after...after we've lost...I don't like saying this but with Discord almost on us I can't wait. I've talked this over with the rest of us and we agreed that Discord is known for pulling our chains just when we think we finally have Equestria back. We can't wait. I'm very sorry." "Rarity, what is it?" AJ asked. Rarity took in a deep breath, "Applejack, Rainbow Dash, please give us, me, your Elements of Chaos." Everypony and Spike stopped. Rainbow Dash yelled, "WHAT?! Are you on a DIET of those things or something?" She folded her wings protectively over her chest. "I am sorry for the way I acted before, Rainbow Dash. Your actions do not excuse mine. I am sorry for that moment where I let my greed get the best of me, and nearly ended you your life." "I thought you were over your greed." Rainbow Dash stated. "Over it? Oh no. I am still greedy to my core. I practically HAVE to be, to an extent. Element of Desire, and all. I've simply learned to prioritize and recognize the desires of others as well as my own. If I wanted to rob you, I'd have simply taken your Element for myself. My telekinesis is powerful and precise enough to animate an army of golems. You couldn't stop me." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, unconsciously sliding into an aggressive stance. "Is that so?" she asked quietly. "Look, just because Rarity wants something really bad, doesn't mean she's going to steal it. She's not a thief." "Spike do you love me?" Spike nodded at Rarity. "Then please let me speak for myself." --- I looked my friends. Rainbow Dash is nervous and scared. Dear Applejack is concerned and worried. My Spike looks hesitant and confused. Derpy is tense with her gaze locked on me. Twilight's put her emotions behind the world's best poker face, she's trying to figure out her own best next move. Apple Pie's eyes never leave me, pressing slightly against Twilight. I can't blame any of them. --- "I'm sorry." Rarity said her voice utterly calm, "But please." AJ said, "Rarity, feedin' yer greed ain't that good an idea if ya ask me." "This isn't about that. I don't just want them, I need them." "NEED them? Sounds like an addiction to me," AJ said. "Maybe it is. But I've spoken it over with all of us, and we've agreed that this is best done sooner than later." "Souls only you can hear." Rainbow Dash said, she had been the most creeped out by Rarity being a big Ecto-Containment unit. Earlier, she had asked Rarity why she couldn't hold Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. "Because they had done what they had stayed to do," was the only answer she'd give. "Yes, Rainbow, souls only I can hear. But you've seen them haven't you, Twilight? When you came inside me?...Oh dear, that did not sound right." "Why do ya wanna hurt 'em?" Apple Pie asked. "They're yer friends. OUR friends." "Actually it won't. Their Elements aren't like mine. They each have both Elements of Chaos AND Harmony," Twilight said mathematically. "Rarity," Applejack said, "As the Element of Honesty, NOT as the Element of Greed, can you tell all of us, honestly, that you're doing this for OUR sakes, not just yours? That you'll use this power to help us and we'll be better off giving them to you than holdin' onto them ourselves? Can you? As the Element of Deceit, Ah can detect any half-truth or deception, and right now, mah inner radars are at full sensitivity. So there's no room for fancy-schmancy political double-talk here. Ya already got Greed, Truth, Cruelty, Magic, and now Pinkie Pie's Anger. Do ya REALLY need Deceit and Treachery too? Have all the ghosts inside ya REALLY voted this the best idea? Or is this just so you can have a 'full-set?' Ah ain't givin' ya nothin' if it's just so you can collect enough box tops to send away fer yer free scooter!" "...First let me say, that the glass isn't half-empty or half-full it's perfectly even. Please, yes I am after the Elements of Chaos to have the complete set inside me. I've chosen this road when I took Fluttercruel's and I won't stop now, I'm not a junkie, though, so I won't pretend that I 'can't' stop. "But each Element carries an echo of yours hearts. And the ponies within me are willing to work together with them. And yes, I do believe I'll be more effective with the Chaos Elements together, because it is not just me here, residue from your hearts CARRIES ALONG with the Elements, just as Twilight's heart rebelled against...against Angry Pie. The Elements of Chaos CAN work separately, just like Harmony, but they're all simply Elements of a whole, it's only together that they're as strong as they can be. I can be the best weapon you, we can have." Twilight said; "I remember Celestia once telling me that using all the Elements by herself made their effect weaker. She says it's a large part of what turned them into stone." Applejack gave it a long moment of thought, then sighed sadly, "Sorry, Rarity, Ah can't give it away right now. Ah don't think Ah can trust yah with it." Rarity dignified and calm and bowed her head. "I understand, Applejack. I really do." AJ put Rarity's hoof to her orange chest, the light shined inside Applejack where Rarity's hoof was. "Yours!" Everypony held their breath. "Wait...what..." Applejack smiled, "Bad lies make for happy surprises, and one lie leads to another." Rarity managed a small laugh, "I suppose they do." 'Ah hope this is the right choice.' *Don't worry Applejack. It's like the Elements of Harmony, if you knew you were supposed to become friends with Twilight somehow, this would have made your friendship artificial, and the Elements would have never awakened. Rarity needs to become what she'll become of her own choice. Even if she's not consciously aware of it.* "Thank you for the gift Applejack." "If ya want the crown of the liar that bad, for us, then Ah won't stop ya. Because Ah know-" AJ and Rarity gasped out together. Their bodies shuddered. A similar light appeared within Rarity, while Applejack's continued to glow. Rarity screamed and clutched herself. It felt like she had just poisoned herself. "No! Everypony stay back! We can handle it!...I said I wanted to behold all truths, not just one...there is no contradiction or chaos...they all make up the same whole...I can do this...we can do this..." She was sweating profusely. Her body was shaking. She fell to her rear legs' knees. Rainbow Dash realized first, "Rarity! You have Honesty and Deceit in the same heart! You're killing yourself! AJ ABSORB IT BACK INTO YOURS!" "NO! TRUST IN ME! Spike! Trust me! Rainbow Dash! You're proof! You're THE proof! It's possible! You hold Loyalty and Free-Will in the same heart! Then I can hold Honesty and Deceit together! YOU GAVE ME THE COURAGE!...all together now...all together now...we can hold together..." ++++ The ideal world, is not the world where no pony can lie. The ideal world, is where no ponies need to lie to be safe or to win a battle, only to make surprises happier. I accept that truth is destructive when misused or misplaced. I accept that false information is like a weapon. In a better world it's not needed. Surprises, Fantasies, and falsehoods, are not the same thing. And being trusted...is the ultimate honor...Apple Pie... Even the truth can be deceiving. Even a liar tells the truth. Things like honor, good triumphing over evil, and justice should be believed in if they're true or not, because they're WORTH believing in! +++++ Rarity pulled in a sudden sharp breath, then slowly let it out, and got up slowly. "Thank you, Applejack, for trusting me." "Yer welcome. And don't forget, we don't need the jewelry to be Elements of Harmony, not anymore, and Cruelty proved it works the same with the Chaos Elements. And Applebloom given meh her Element of Kindness didn't make her stop bein' one." Twilight examined this Rarity, the amount of magic in her, balanced out by Twilight's old Element of Magic, and the combined will of Rarity and her passengers. Rarity sighed. And within, she welcomed in a green maned Applejack with a reddish orange coat, and a white teenage pony with four hearts as her cutie mark. "Five down, one to go. Rainbow Dash, I... I'll ask this just once more. Then I'll never bother you with it again, whatever you decide." Rainbow Dash groaned, "Why is it when someone gives you a real choice, they still make you feel like only ONE choice is real. Total horseapples. Sorry, Rarity, but I'm done taking either/or options." Hoof. Chest. Grab. Pull. Lighting bolt black crystal in hoof. Twilight heard a little filly cry-out and faint. Twilight looked to see Apple Pie looking in surprise and alarm. Derpy however lay on her side her eyes looking in one direction. Spike stared with his jaw open. Applejack shuddered and went to Derpy's side to bring her around. The one most shocked was Rarity. She took several hoof steps back, her eyes were on Rainbow Dash's face, not the Element of Chaos in her hoof. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings a bit forward, holding the Element firmly in her cyan hooves out to Rarity. "Not so hot when you have to do it the dirty and ugly way is it?" Rainbow Dash asked. "No-no it isn't." "Not so tasty looking now, is it?" "N-no it's not." "This is what you wanted so bad?" "Y-yes." Rarity said weakly, small, actually kneeling. "Isn't this how you were gonna do it before?" "Y-yes it was." "So what's wrong?" "I don't-I don't want it like this! Not anymore!" "Good." Rainbow Dash broke her Element of Free Will in two like it was cane sugar. Before their eyes, red lightning crackled, and each divided piece reconstructed into a whole Element each. She gave one copy to Rarity. The other one went back to where it came, her chest sealing up behind it. Rainbow Dash had lost nothing. Rarity's hooves were shaking. "RAINBOW DASH!" Applejack admonished as she helped Derpy to her hooves. "I wanted to do this my way," Rainbow Dash said. "That wasn't nice," Apple Pie said. She WISHED she could say that was the first time she'd seen someone's heart get ripped out, but that didn't make it any harder to watch... "Right choices and nice choices aren't always the same thing," Rainbow Dash said. "Rainbow Dash! You-you-you-" Spike was at Rarity's side, holding her gently as she slowly stopped shaking. "Spike, it's alright. I think I needed that," Rarity said humbly. Twilight sighed. "Everypony, calm down. Rainbow Dash, how did you possibly know your Elements could replicate instead of say, exploding on us?" Rainbow Dash said, "Choices are choices, and our choices effect others. I figured if I pictured that it would work like that, maybe it would. Better gamble than putting ALL our eggs in Rarity's basket." Rarity flinched at her stare. "Now, I don't know about you, Applejack, but as big as my death wish USED to be... somepony's gotta stick around to keep an eye on Our Little Superweapon, here. Checks and balances. See she doesn't get too crazy with power." Now Rarity and Applejack were both blanching. Rarity looked down, she knew how it had to seem...seeing Rainbow Dash do that...rip her Element out and show it to her, like she had wanted to take it...it was humbling. "Rainbow...thank you...sometimes even Honesty lies to herself...Sometimes its hard to look at one's own actions and see themselves as anything but perfect...even when you think you've spotted all the flaws...there's still more that need to be uncovered..." Applejack slowly marched over and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Rarity...yer right, Ah should know, Ah used tah be Honesty. 'Ah can buck that whole harvest! Ah ain't over mah head!' Hehe, Ah was a stubborn pony...Rarity, do yah know why Ah handed my Element of Deceit over to yah? It wasn't because Ah didn't want tah be immortal anymore, if Ah did, Ah'd have waited till this was all over and ripped the whole thing out so Ah could die...No, that ain't it...The reason Ah gave it to yah is because it was the KIND thing tah do. "Don't think Ah'm enablin' an addiction, Ah ain't. But yah wanted my Element of Deceit, Ah learned from my little sister that givin' an Element away in an ACT of it lets it split. The KIND thing tah do when you can give somepony somethin' they want is tah give it if yah can part with it. On top of that...Ah'm tired of Discord or whoever makin' us not trust each other, if we don't trust each other, it's gonna be the hedge maze all over again...and Ah don't want that...Yah can't have somepony's trust unless yah give 'em some of your own first." Rarity gave a small smile. "...That is the truth...And I trust you with my life like you've trusted me with yours," she said, giving her friend a hug. She then slowly looked to Rainbow Dash, looking thoughtful. "...Thank you for showing me the lie I was feeding myself...I still thought I would've been fine getting the Element of Free Will how I tried to before...You WANTED to die, part of me was telling myself it would've been a mercy kill...I'm sorry...I was wrong...You don't hand a suicidal mare a the rope to hang herself unless they're suffering so much letting them live is the crueler thing." Rainbow Dash gave a glare. "Will you just stop?" Rarity gasped. "Yeah, I'm glad you didn't kill me, I'm glad until I got my head on straight you had me tied to a bed and set that mare to keep an eye on me so I couldn't try to rip my own Element to pull the plug. But I'm tired of 'what ifs', what if I'd chosen to turn right around and Sonic Rainboomed Discord into the ground a thousand years ago? Maybe it'd have killed him, maybe I'd have shattered every bone in my body and not left a scratch on him. It doesn't MATTER. I've spent the last THOUSAND YEARS obsessing myself with 'what if'. What if I'd made the other choice? What if I'd not turned down Grogar's offer to take out Discord? What if, what if, what if. Buck 'what if'! I didn't rip my heart out and show it to you so you'd be thinking about what ifs." Rainbow stated, then gave a smile. "I did that to make sure you had YOUR head on straight. So you'd see that little truth about yourself, you're welcome by the way, so your choices from now ON would be good ones because you're in your right mind. Not so you could be tearing yourself up over something you didn't do. You made the right choice then, I wanted to make sure you'd make the right choice from now ON." Rarity was speechless. "Rainbow Dash...you just lectured..." "Yeah, I know, Twilight, even gave me a soap box." "Oops! Sorry! I don't know why that keeps happening!" Rarity gave a small smile. "You're right...What if isn't important, dwelling in the past and learning from it are two completely different things. What is and what is GOING to be are the important things," she said. "And giving me Free Will?" "I figured if Greed, Deceit, and Anger are all things that can mess with your choices, you needed Free Will in there to protect you from them," Rainbow said, then gave a smirk. "AJ's right, can't have trust without giving a little first...and you can't have Loyalty without Trust," she continued. Rarity offered a hug, and Rainbow CHOSE to accept it. "Rarity, are you ready?" Spike cut in, before the tension between them could grow any greater. "Only one way to find out." Rarity placed the final Element of Chaos against her chest. Thankfully, Rarity did not turn into a draconequus, nor, explode. There was however several bolts of multiple pastel colored lighting inside an ever shifting silver and gray sphere, and as Rarity floated off the ground with her body arcing backward. The castle shook again. A chorus of singing spirits swirled around outlines of the Elements of Chaos which suddenly manifested around Rarity's body. It finished up with it all imploding in on Rarity, the force of her magic keeping her friends protected. After their optic nerves had healed/regenerated from the blast of violet light, Rarity was already standing health and whole on four hooves. Within, Rarity welcomed the echoes of a blue earth pony and pink pegasus. Rarity looked herself over in the crater she was standing in. "I don't have extra eyes or anything do I?" Everypony shook their heads. "That's a relief. I was worried about that actually. Oh! Are my eyes glowing?" Heads shook. "Are they red?" They nodded. "Oh, let me fix that. I like my eyes blue thank you. Silverish colors? Traces of violet and blue? My cutie mark still the same? Thank goodness. I think I'll go with my retro Ponyville colors instead. Old is new again. Hmmmm...Maybe I'll make my coat a little shinier... There! Twilight, these cursive markings along my back and hooves don't mean 'bringer of suffering' or anything do they?" "No, Rarity, they don't." Twilight finally got the wits to speak. She smiled.  "I think they just look nice." "Thank goodness." Spike hugged her, and wouldn't stop hugging her. "Rarity!" "Oh Spike." Rarity replied warmly. Derpy asked, "Everypony okay?" "That was cool!" Apple Pie shouted kicking up her hooves. (Can we bucking get back to defeating Discord now please? I think I can hear the rebels coming to muck everything up with the best of intentions.) *Yes. You're all running out of time.* Rarity looked at the statues. "...Her name was Shady." Everyone looked at her. "How do you know that?" "I don't...but some of the echoes I just welcomed do... And the innocent Discord they remember, and the monster Discord we know, act nothing alike... Let's go!"