Fluttershy took a glance down at her hooves, before looking out the window at the darkness residing beyond. A sincerity filled her eyes as she looked back at Rainbow. “I-if this is the only way to stop this awful war and save my friends, then of course I'll give up my Element.” She lifted a hoof to go through the motions now familiar to all her friends. “Pinkie promise,” she finished with a hoof covering her right eye.
Overtaken by emotion, Rainbow wept as she hugged the yellow pegasus. “Thank you, Fluttershy. Thank you! I knew I could count on you. I knew you'd listen to me.”
Fluttershy smiled and patted Rainbow's soaked mane. “You're my oldest friend, the only one I had until I met the others. You've always been there for me and listened to me, so of course I'd listen to you. I'll always listen to you, Dashie.” She let go and looked down a bit. “I never needed my Element to be kind to my friends—or anypony—before. It'll be … different, but I'm sure the others will remember that they don't need them either.”
Rainbow sniffed and rubbed her nose. “You're the best, Fluttershy. Maybe … maybe it's not too late after all,” she felt a little warmer. She looked up and dared to smile with honest confidence. “We just have to convince Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Together we can make Twilight and my double see reason. You'll help me, won't you? Help me convince Pinkie and Rarity?”
“Of course,” Fluttershy said kindly and carefully unrolled the rain-soaked bandage around Rainbow's aching chest. A couple of ribs had cracked in her fight with Flix earlier, and her treatment back in the castle hadn't been gentle either. Zecora's healing had done a lot, but she was still aching. “Oh m-my. W-what happened to you?”
“Never mind that,” she said and jumped up, wincing at the sharp pain from the sudden movement. “We have to get to Canterlot right away. There's no time to lose!”
Fluttershy pulled her back down with surprising firmness and looked at her softly but insistently. There was no way to resist that look, Rainbow knew it and didn't even attempt it. “You are in no condition to go out there like this. It's much too dangerous,” Fluttershy said and poured a mug of tea for both Rainbow and Flix, who had kept to herself the whole time.
The changeling took the tea without a word and held it in her hooves while staring sullenly ahead of her at nothing.
“Soarin' will be here in a few hours to help me get there safely. I'm sure we can take you two with us as well,” Fluttershy continued as she got up to search the place for fresh bandages. “Meanwhile you two need to rest and let me take care of your wounds.”
Rainbow sighed and settled down with her tea, somewhat reluctantly. But Fluttershy was right. She would need to gather all her strength if she wanted to fly in this storm, and there was no doubt that she would have to fly; walking or taking the train, if it was even operating now, would be much too slow.
She closed her eyes and resigned herself to Fluttershy's gentle but skillful care, trying to squeeze the most out of a few hours of rest.
She might have fallen asleep at some point. When she opened her eyes again, the darkness outside was complete and the storm was howling strongly in the trees. Her wounds had been tended and a thick blanket wrapped around her. She was feeling anything but strong from her rest.
“What time is it?” she wondered aloud, and her eyes drifted to the window. Despite the perpetual gloom all day, she could tell that the sun had definitely gone down by now. She turned around when a fragrant scent of vegetables caught her nose. “Fluttershy?”
“I made you soup,” the yellow pegasus said meekly by the stove. She was looking terrible, wracked by lack of sleep and worry. She had looked a bit frightened earlier, as she was wont to be, but the change since then was stark.
“Fluttershy?” Rainbow repeated, worried. She looked around the room at Flix sleeping on an improvised bed of blankets, then at the door. “He hasn't shown up, has he?” she said, suddenly understanding. “Oh, Fluttershy …”
“He'll be here,” she said and hugged the wooden spoon she had been stirring the soup with. “He'll be here, Dash. He promised he would.”
Rainbow looked out the window. She stood up and trotted over to the other mare, wrapping a wing around her back and gently teasing the spoon out of her hooves. “Get some rest, Fluttershy,” she said and led her friend over to the couch.
“But what if he—”
“I'll keep watch,” Rainbow assured her. She didn't want to say the next thing, but there was no way around it. They were wasting time; every hour they spent here was an hour that could mean the death of their friends. But it was obvious that Fluttershy was in no state to fly, and Rainbow herself didn't feel too strong herself. Just two more hours and they could still reach Canterlot before dawn, she hoped. “I'll wake you up in a few hours, no more, then we have to leave. I'm sorry, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy looked at her pleadingly. “But—”
“He's a Wonderbolt. We'll look out for him on the way, but he knows how to survive, trust me,” she said and wrapped her blanket around Fluttershy. “You need rest too if you're going to make it through the storm. I'll wake you.”
Fluttershy looked anxiously across the room at the door but eventually gave in and closed her eyes. “He'll be here,” she promised herself quietly before drifting off to an uneasy sleep.
Rainbow watched her for a time, before turning to the soup still simmering on the stove. She sighed and poured herself a bowl, sitting down next to the couch to eat it quietly. She hated sitting around, waiting. It seemed like all she ever did.
***
A single resounding tone shook the ancient stone walls of the castle, majestic and terrifying in its volume. It continued for a whole minute, unwavering and undimmed, and came to an end in a rumbling thunder of echoes and rebounding waves. Only as the last echo faded away did the great horn sound anew, waking heavens and earth to battle.
Dash shivered to her bones as she slipped out of bed after Twilight, standing up in silence to gaze out the window at the great near-solid wall of storm clouds raging around the castle. Feeble little lights were flaring to life all over the castle and its vicinity as Luna, gliding majestically above the towers, lifted the horn to her lips for a third time.
“Is it dawn?” Dash asked uncertainly.
“I don't think so. The dragons are coming,” Twilight said, her voice lacking strength as she watched the horizon. “Sooner than we hoped.”
“It … doesn't change anything, does it?” Dash asked and looked at Twilight with concern.
Twilight stared at the window, then glanced briefly behind her at the saddlebags in the corner. “Only that …” She looked down. “I'll have less time with you before … you must …”
“Twilight …” Dash reached out a hoof, pulling Twilight into a hug. “No amount of time would make it easier.” She closed her eyes, forcing herself not to cry. “I know I won't return to see you again, Twi. I know, because you know. I'm ready to go. As ready as I'll ever be, because I also know it is what I must do, because I know that you'll succeed.”
Dash pulled away to look into Twilight's eyes. “I don't have to tell you that I love you more than anything. You know better than any other pony could, better than I could ever know myself. Make sure my memory lives on, make sure I am remembered. That is all I wish for.”
Twilight was crying openly as she leaned forward to kiss Dash, pouring herself and all her passion into it. Dash returned it and felt a warmth spread through her mind as Twilight's horn began to glow. She didn't resist, trusting Twilight even without knowing what she intended.
Twilight's horn burned with brilliant flames and graced her forehead softly as their lips seemed to fuse and Twilight's mind touched hers. The world exploded into a far vaster expression than Dash had ever experienced or imagined. Raw magic flowed around and through her, filling her within and playing at the tip of her forehead, ready to be woven by her will alone. And at the center of that tiny point was Twilight, her love like the sun shining eternally for her. Thoughts of deep affection and sorrow intertwined and weaved throughout her mind, throughout their mind.
It was the most profound and beautiful experience Dash had ever had, and it seemed to last only a fraction of a second, but that one moment was enough. She collapsed into Twilight's waiting hooves, weeping. The magic left her mind gently, yet it seemed as if she stayed with it.
Dash had never cried as she did now, held in Twilight's hooves as the magic slowly dissipated, their heads merely touching for a long time.
Twilight sighed and the saddlebag in the corner stirred. Five necklaces and a crown drifted out from under the books and settled around Dash's neck and on her head. “I've cast a spell to make sure they stay on. You should not lose them no matter how fast and recklessly you fly,” she explained solemnly.
Dash lifted a hoof to touch the necklaces gingerly, tears still soaking her cheeks.
The door to the balcony opened by Twilight's magic. The wind was surprisingly still here in the eye of the storm, but the titanic walls of dark fury were not far. Dash did her best to hide her awe and trepidation at the sight. She had seen many storms in her life, but none of them rivaled what she assumed the princess had stirred up in the last twenty-four hours.
“Go now …” Twilight whispered. “Before I change my mind and beg you to never leave.”
Her wings and heart had never felt so heavy as she set off from the balcony, looking back at the purple unicorn. Slowly but surely the castle grew smaller, and the storm came closer. It felt like Eternity before the darkness and rain swallowed the last sight of Twilight behind her.
***
A giant shape loomed in the doorway, lit up from behind by a flash of lightning. Rainbow had to admit, if you didn't know the gargoyle, Kin would have looked very, very frightening standing outside your door at a night like this with dim red embers in his eyes.
She sighed and turned around. “It's just Kin,” she said to the shivering pink tail sticking out from behind the couch. “He's a friend, you can trust him.”
“Hrm,” the small giant of stone rumbled. “I did not wish to frighten you, but it had been many hours and I was getting worried.”
“And with perfect timing too,” Rainbow said. “Because we really can't wait any longer.” She refrained from mentioning that she had fallen asleep again and that it was a great fortune that the gargoyle had come knocking when he did. She silently scolded herself for it. “We're leaving this instant!” she proclaimed to forget her weakness.
Fluttershy dared a peek from behind her shelter. “B-but …”
Rainbow turned around to look at her. It was probably a bit cruel to say this, but Celestia knew they would never reach Canterlot with a terrified Fluttershy in tow, not in this storm. It would be like dragging a mountain all the way there. “Fluttershy, Soarin' isn't going to show up. He risked his life to get you to safety. Are you going to hide in here for him until the dragons come and take you, or are you going to go out there and be brave for him?”
Fluttershy whimpered and closed her eyes. “I—” Her face hardened, and she looked up with steel in her eyes. “I'm going to be brave,” she declared.
“Good!” Rainbow said and turned back around at the silent form of Kin. “Kin, I want you to walk there,” she said and lead the gargoyle out into the open, pointing north. “It's kinda hard to see now, but Canterlot is that way, almost straight north from here. You can't miss it; Giant castle on the mountain side. Look for any signs of a pegasus stallion with pale blue coat and dark blue mane. He or some of his friends may be in uniform, blue with yellow lightning patterns. Help him any way you can. Got it?”
Kin lifted a heavy hand to the side of his head. “Got it.” With that final salute, the gargoyle trudged off towards the north, soon disappearing in the storm.
“Flix! Get your shifty butt out here! We're leaving!” Rainbow yelled and turned back at the door where Fluttershy was wrapping herself in a double layer of scarves to keep out the cold. She held out a pair to Rainbow as well, who took them thankfully. “Thanks, Fluttershy. I swear we'll make it there.”
Fluttershy nodded sadly and held out the last pair to a gloomy Flix. The changeling took them with a mutter, eyes heavy from sorrow and lack of rest. When Flix was out of the house, Fluttershy carefully locked the door and stuck a small note in a bottle next to the door, safe from rain and wind. She frowned before hurrying to catch up with the other two.
The wind and rain whipped against them as they rose steadily but slowly into the dark skies above Ponyville. Rainbow stuck close to Fluttershy, making sure her friend was safe against the storm. She dared a brief glance back over the Everfree and felt thankful they weren't headed in that direction. The weather was pretty bad here, but what loomed over the forest was terrifying to behold.
“The dragons are attacking,” Flix remarked next to her after a time of flying.
Rainbow realigned herself and tried to stay steady as she looked to the south and narrowed her eyes. It was hard to see anything through the storm and this far away, but many flames were now lighting up the storm far behind them and over the forest.
Why had they waited so long?
“More reason to push on!” she called over the driving rain.
The great city of Canterlot was still not within sight. It was starting to worry her, as the wind kept pushing them back and to the south-west. She wished she could push through, but Fluttershy was already pushing herself as hard as she could. Flix was having some trouble too. Rainbow stared ahead into the dark clouds.
She had lost sense of how long they had been fighting against the wind when Flix called out again, almost losing her balance and getting blown off course in the process. The changeling struggled to right herself as Rainbow looked back around.
A glimmer of a rainbow trail broke through the clouds behind them, clearly headed north too, and faster them them. Horror grasped Rainbow as she realized what she was looking at. “What is she … Hay no! Flix!” Rainbow called out, picking up her pace and trying to break the wind ahead of Fluttershy.
“What?” The changeling yelled back.
“It's my double!” Rainbow was nearly screaming to be heard. “Can you lose her for us? I have to stay with Fluttershy!”
“Right!” There was a flash of green and with a swift turn the changeling was gone, helped along by a strong wind.
Rainbow backed up next to Fluttershy. “Holding up?” Tears streamed down Fluttershy's face as she nodded, too. Rainbow watched her and the approaching rainbow behind them with worry. There was no way she would be able to stay ahead of her double with Fluttershy in tow, but there was no way she would leave Fluttershy behind either. If Flix failed …
She shook off the thought and gave Fluttershy an encouraging look. “Come on! You can do it!”
***
Dash looked back as she tore through the clouds, boosted by the wind. It was a blessing that she was going towards Ponyville and not the other way, because fighting her way towards the heart of the storm would have been a nightmare exercise that even the Wonderbolts would strongly reconsider. Hopefully it caused the dragons some pause as well, because they were already swarming in on their target when Dash left.
They had not paid her any mind, however, and with the wind in her back she had made the trip to Ponyville in half the time. She even had to fight to slow back down as she descended towards Fluttershy's cottage, afraid that she might crash into a tree instead.
She stumbled a bit as she came to a halt on the road and looked up at the lonely house. All the windows were dark and there was no sign of life.
Dash hesitated as she approached the door, wondering if anypony was even around. Her gaze fell on the bottle by the door, with a note stuck inside. Dash leaned down to pick it out and unroll it. “Oh …” she muttered and gazed towards the north where Canterlot lay hidden, somewhere high in the clouds. So they had left.
She hastily stuck the note back in the bottle and set off, taking a brief detour west to pick up speed before turning back north with the wind in her side. Twilight's words echoed in her mind, along with the last image of the unicorn. She had to stop her double before she got to Canterlot. Twilight counted on her.
Even with the wind in her side rather than against her, she had to push herself hard to keep up a good pace and stay on course. She narrowed her eyes and adjusted her glasses before picking up pace, cutting through dense storm clouds and torrential winds.
She hoped it wasn't too late. If her double had already reached Canterlot, then—
A sudden prismatic glint of light caught her eye. Dash spun around and stared at a pale blue and rainbow dot speeding off in a wide arc. Had she seen Dash too? Dash didn't have time to contemplate details. She couldn't allow herself to lose her target now.
Pushing herself forward, Dash raced after her double. The other mare glanced back briefly, and Dash caught her eyes. “I've got you now,” Dash muttered to herself against the raging wind. “That's right, keep flying west, far away from Canterlot.”
It was going well. It was going too well. They were flying pretty fast, but she could easily fly much faster now that she had the wind in her back most of the time. So why wasn't her double matching her speed? Dash looked up and narrowed her eyes at her target. Was she wounded? That would make it easier.
Everything felt fine too. Dash would expect something to start happening if they got too close, but they were already close enough that she could clearly see her double.
Dash picked up speed, quickly catching up with her double. The other mare looked back and seemed to realize that she wasn't getting away fast enough despite her effort.
An uneasy realization struck Dash. “You're not me. There's no freakin' way I would fly that slow with Death chasing me.” She spun back around, ignoring the false target and breathing hard as the full force of the wind struck her. “Another damn changeling! I swear …” she thought, trailing off as she focused on fighting her way back against the wind.
She'd been led astray, and now her real double could be anywhere.
***
Fluttershy beat her wings frantically against the torrents of rain, fighting bravely through the storm. Every now and then she was thrown back by an unseen force, but she kept going like her life depended on it. It very well might, Rainbow thought as it became clear that they were making far less progress than she could have hoped.
Rainbow glanced back in the direction Flix had disappeared. There was no sign of the changeling or Rainbow's double, but it could not be long before she realized the diversion. If they couldn't get away, then they had to hide from sight.
“Come on, Fluttershy,” she called as she steered a little east, directing Fluttershy to follow her lead. “Stay close to me. You can do it!”
“I-I c-can't,” Fluttershy wept. “Dashie, please …”
She really couldn't. Rainbow could see her strength starting to wane. She was pushing herself too hard just to make any progress at all. Rainbow took another glance to the west. Was that a faint prismatic trail or just her imagination?
“Hang on, Fluttershy!” she said and backed up. “Hang on to me!” She swiftly caught her friend, feeling her body tremble from the effort.
“W-where are we going?” Fluttershy cried in Rainbow's grasp.
Rainbow's wings strained as she turned and ascended sharply towards the darkest clouds above. “Into the clouds!” she called above the rumbling thunder and screaming winds. “We can hide there.”
“Isn't that d-dangerous?”
Rainbow didn't respond. What could she say? It was a foolish thing to do, but there was no choice. She closed her eyes tightly for a second as they disappeared into the darkness of the clouds. Trails of lightning lit up the darkness in flashes as she opened her eyes again. Rainbow fought against the forces around her, riding the powerful winds.
Canterlot had to be close now. If she could only keep it up and reach somewhere …
“R-rainbow!” Fluttershy cried.
A sudden bolt and crosswind struck Rainbow. In a growing panic she felt her grasp on Fluttershy slip and herself torn from her by the wind. “Fluttershy!” she screamed and dove to catch her friend again.
Rainbow felt herself thrown across the cloud, spiraling out of control. Fluttershy was already a tiny yellow and pink dot far below, growing smaller by the second.
“Fluttershy!”
***
A flash of lightning and a glimmer of rainbow caught Dash's eye. She kicked out hard at the changeling trying to seize her, feeling her hooves connect with something solid, and turned swiftly, speeding towards the tiny dot spiraling wildly out of control. “Now I've got you,” she thought, gaze locked on her target while the changeling vanished in her wake.
Her double caught sight of her almost instantly but seemed to struggle to regain control. She was calling out something, but Dash couldn't hear anything over the thunder and winds. Dash was starting to think her double wouldn't regain her bearing when the other Rainbow finally found some stability and made a sudden dive.
The race was on at last, and there was no turning back! Dash dove swiftly after her double, trying to force the other pony off her course, away from Canterlot and away from the ground. She had to keep her where there was no possibility of hiding or escaping, and that meant west and as high as possible.
Dash made a sharp dive to cut her double off and force her back upwards. The two of them cut through the clouds like twin spears. The storm was still raging, and in her move to push her double to go higher, Dash found herself forced up against the wind, led towards the east and the forest.
At least it was away from Canterlot. As long as she could keep her double on this course, upwards and away from Canterlot …
***
“Leave me alone!” Rainbow screamed as she tried to force her way back north but found her way cut off by the insane pony behind her. She was trapped, her double was behind her and could see her moves and swiftly counter them. She was being herded, like a sheep by a wolf towards a cliff, and they were both going to die because of it.
And she had completely lost sight of Fluttershy. Her friend was probably lost in the storm somewhere way, way behind them. If she hadn't fallen to her death or crashed somewhere in the wild.
“You're going to get everypony killed!” she cried and tried to feign a left before swiftly turning right instead, but her double wasn't shrugged off so easily. “Everything is your fault! They'll all die because of you!”
The storm was getting worse, and there was no sign of things getting better. They were over the forest now, somewhere north of the storm's titanic heart. Rainbow had never seen such fury as what loomed ahead, thundering and groaning with untold power unleashed.
Surely … surely her double would not be crazy enough to follow her into the heart of the storm. A sinking feeling filled Rainbow's stomach. Was she crazy enough?
She looked up at the towering black wall of magical rage. It was her only hope now.
***
The wind hit Dash like a wall of liquid ice, leaving her body numb and wings threatening to fail her. She grit her teeth hard and beat harder, forcing herself forward against the storm and the pain. This was utter madness, but she was doomed to follow. Fated to chase Death to keep him away from her friends. Dash glared ahead, eyes fixed on her target as tears froze on her cheeks.
The monstrous cyclone in front of her looked like nothing if not certain death now. It seemed to drain all heat from the air, sucking it up to discharge in great thundering blasts of searing white lightning.
Something massive roared past her, and she barely managed to evade the long tail trailing behind it. Dash stared ahead, daring not to blink or look around. A dragon had just been flung through the air, right past her, like nothing more than a snowflake in a stiff breeze. It was almost certainly dead.
Her double was desperately fighting to gain altitude and quickly disappearing in the storm. A flash of lightning and she was gone. Dash climbed the torrential air currents in pursuit, pushing herself to catch up. She couldn't lose her now, she couldn't fail her friends or Twilight.
Rain was turning to hail, and lightning roiled through the titan clouds like a web of celestial spiders seething with unimaginable power. A merciless wall of rain and hail drove against her tormented body as she rode across the sky on a prismatic wave.
She was not fast enough! She could never be fast enough!
Tears streamed down her frozen face as she grit her teeth and pulled upwards through the roaring thunderstorm. The storm was too much, she had to go higher, had to reach the calm above the clouds. Her hair and feathers sizzled with energy as she raced between flashes of lightning, unable to see anything but the bright, searing lights. Perhaps she would never see again, perhaps she would be struck blind and live in eternal darkness … for the last few seconds she had left in this world of pain.
And then the hail and rain stopped. She was out, bursting into the open sky high above the world. The light slowly dimmed from pure white to dark red. She could see again. She was out, streaking across the clear sky like a multicolored bolt of lightning. The sky was bleeding with the scarlet drops of the setting sun. Ahead of her was her own trail, around and around … like the snake of legend biting its own tail.
She had to go faster!
Below her the storm raged on like some unstoppable beast of legend, a great black tornado swirling around the old castle. A black chasm of doom, and in its center glowed a cyan heart, a great dome of flickering blue light, like a blue moon fallen to Earth. Black streaks and roaring flames assaulted the great dome and were shot down by flashes of deathly pale white.
The dome was faltering, flickering under the force of a persistent assault. Great black holes were forming in the glowing pale blue. Dash stared in abject horror and déjà-vu as the shield flickered one last time and collapsed. A scream rose up from deep below as bolts of black flames struck at the ground.
A second wave of light flashed into existence, a weak purple flicker against the onslaught of darkness. A tiny lavender dot raced across the ground, speeding towards the dying embers of blue. A great flash streaked towards it …
In a second it would kill her. Her shield would shatter at the blow.
“TWI!”
Dash screamed and abandoned her trail, abandoned Death and Destiny. She spun into a downward flash straight at the ground, straight at the last flickering light of Twilight's life. She would not make it, there was no way she could ever make it, but she had to! She screamed at the top of her lungs and closed her eyes tight. Her body was frozen, she couldn't feel a thing, but a single thought drove her on …
A prismatic circlet of light burned around her head as she plummeted to her final fate, too fast to stop, too numb to feel, too desperate to think. And then the world lit up, brighter than ever before, in colors more brilliant and pure than eyes had ever before witnessed.
And her heart beat once …
***
Rainbow cried at the pain as she pushed herself on. She had lost her double and escaped the storm, but it had taken everything she had to give. She was losing altitude fast now, her muscles giving up the fight, and she was far away from Canterlot. Far away from her friends.
She had to get to Canterlot. Had to convince her friends … it was their only hope.
“I'll make it still,” she whispered as her wings refused to move any longer, turning her into a fatal dive. “I have to,” she thought as the world rushed to meet her and the whole sky lit up brighter than the sun itself.
“I'll never give up …”
Far above the world, Rainbow closed her eyes in silence as all pain and thought vanished from her life, and breathed out the faintest of sighs …
***
Twilight lifted a hoof to her head and felt the world spin and rush up to introduce her face to the ground as she half-galloped, half-stumbled across the bridge towards the battle. “Oh horse apples …” she moaned at the violent vertigo.
“Easy there, Sugarcube!” Applejack's steady hooves caught her out of nowhere before she hit the ground. “You alright? You don't look too fresh.”
“I don't have time to worry about that!” Twilight sank hard to avoid throwing up, grimacing at the sour taste of acid. “W-what's—ugh—the situation?” She managed to steady herself and look around at the battle surrounding them. Ponies on the ground were taking up position as best they could, aiming volleys of arrows, stones and magic bolts at the attackers above, or helping those who had been wounded. Above them in the sky, the dragons and pegasi were engaging in violent clashes.
“I really think you—” Applejack recoiled from Twilight's glare and quickly dropped the topic. “It's not looking too good,” she admitted. “The storm keeps away the worst of 'em, but many make it through an' we think this is only the beginnin'.”
“Where's Luna?” Twilight demanded as she searched the skies for the princess of the night.
Applejack shrugged. “Somewhere up there, but I haven't been lookin' for her.” Applejack tried to steady her friend, but Twilight was already marching towards town. “Wait, Twi!”
Vertigo struck again and nearly grounded Twilight for a second time. “Oh come on!” she complained and stumbled on, stubbornly trying to ignore her weak and complaining body.
Applejack caught up with her again and resolutely stepped in front of the unicorn, blocking her path. “Twilight, listen! You need to stop and breathe! What the hay have you been doin' anyway?”
Twilight stopped, much against her will, and took a deep breath. “The worst possible thing if it doesn't work,” she sighed. She really was in no shape to be doing anything right now. Above them dragons in the dozens were now making it through the storm, pressing the defenders in the air and assaulting the ground with blasts of flame countered by flashes of magic.
Was it supposed to go like this? Twilight closed her eyes to fight the dizziness and regain control of herself. If nothing happened soon, this was going to be a short and futile war. But she had to trust in Dash's visions.
“An' what if it does work?” Applejack's voice broke through the clamor of war around them.
Twilight looked down. She didn't answer. As she looked up again, her eyes caught the dark blue form of Luna, soaring down through the center of battle. Dragons all around—growing in number all the time and threatening to blacken the sky with their bodies—turned their attention at the regent. The princess' horn glowed and was joined by several horns on the ground.
The wave of magic surging across the town and castle nearly knocked the air from Twilight's lungs, and were it not for Applejack catching her once again, Twilight would have found herself met with the ground. Again.
“Whoa Nelly!” Applejack gasped.
Twilight glanced up weakly at the expanding dome of shimmering blue light. Dragons roared as they were struck mid-air. Bursts of energy crackled across the surface of the dome, searing any dragons unfortunate enough to not be thrown far enough by the oncoming wall of magical energy.
“The dome,” Twilight gasped. The moment of the dream was approaching.
The dragons were already recovering, directing their attack at the dome in growing numbers. Many were struck down by flashes of white lightning and hails of arrows, but they were soon replaced. Hovering near the center of the dome, Princess Luna poured her all into the protective wall around her subjects, while directing their assault on the dragons outside.
Many were cheering at the princess, cheering as the ranks of dragons seemed to falter. Twilight watched in silent terror as the dragons began to fall back.
It wasn't over. The dream wasn't over.
A distant laugh echoed through the storm and across the battlefield. Every eye but Luna's looked up at the remains of the dragons. Twilight blinked to shake off the vertigo as her eyes settled on a blue shape far above, descending through the horde of dragons.
Lazuli the dragoness settled close to the dome, calculating eyes peering at the princess through the magical veil. Her voice magnified by magic was easily heard all across the field. “You have stretched yourself too thin with all these walls between us, princess. Was that wise?”
“I am strong enough for you,” Luna said with a measured stare.
A sinister glow flickered in Lazuli's eyes, crowning her in darkness. “Are you now?” She turned around, her back to the princess. “Resume the attack, my subjects. Destroy these weak ponies and their loving princess. Show them the fate of the world!”
Dragons charged at the dome, flame and fury striking the seething wall of magic and being met by flashes of blinding white energy. Ponies cheered and resumed firing arrows through the dome, but doubt and confusion soon began to tinge each cheer.
Black streaks filled the flames, seeping through the air and the dome like a poison through veins. Twilight could only watch as the darkness corrupted and infected the magic around it, staining the bolts of white with sickly black streaks. Luna strained against the onslaught, as did the dome.
Lazuli turned around, her face twisted by the corrupting darkness. “Don't put all your hope in something easily corrupted,” she chuckled darkly. “Say your last prayers, princess!”
“Princess!” Twilight watched helplessly near the edge of the town as the dome cracked, great holes of darkness destroying and corrupting the magic, turning it against itself.
With a terrifying surge of darkness the dome fell apart, and bolts and tendrils of black flames struck at the stunned princess. In a breathless moment, Luna gazed up at the doom coming at her. “Corruption is a two-headed snake. It bites back,” she said as the darkness hit her.
A scream of agony sundered the air, but Twilight had no time to figure out if it belonged more to Luna or Lazuli. She had torn herself from Applejack's side and stormed through town towards the falling princess, her own cry drowned out by the war above her.
It didn't matter that she wouldn't make it. She had to protect the princess, whether it was too late or not.
Luna hit the ground in a cloud of dust near the central stone of the town. She wasn't moving as Twilight stormed across the plaza, purple light pouring in waves of pain and dizziness from her horn. She turned her head up as she ran, staring at the black bolt screaming towards her.
“I love you, Dash!” she cried as she stared into the eyes of death and beyond, to where a brilliant rainbow trail descended down through the storm towards her, reaching critical velocity.
The darkness struck Twilight's shield as the sky exploded with the light of a million stars.
… and one fraction of a second seemed to expand forever …
***
“What have you done?”
Twilight opened one eye, then another. Around her the world stood still, a billowing wall of pure color, the castle and the village only barely visible through the veil of pure light.
“I took the liberty of pressing pause for a second,” the voice continued.
Twilight looked up at Eden. The creature was standing near the central stone, looking at her with humorless eyes.
“I was going to offer you a last chance of miraculously surviving that bolt,” Eden added and gestured vaguely at the air. “But you seem to have gone and changed the script. What did you do, Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight looked around once more, then turned resolutely towards Eden. “I want my three wishes.”
Eden showed no change of emotion as her eyes remained fixed on Twilight. “You can wish all you want, but I don't think I'm going to give you anything at this point. What did you do? Answer me!”
“The Worst. Possible. Thing!” Twilight said, matching Eden's humorless stare. “Something I am certain even you would never let happen. One pair of Elements just vanished back in time, forever stuck beyond the reach of you and me. I know you can't affect the past, it being already fixed. I also remember that you can't touch me or the Elements, and earlier today I misplaced the other set somewhere in the uncertain future. I can complete the spell and give them a time and place to return, but I'm not going to unless I get what I want. So I'll be having my three wishes now!”
Eden said nothing, staring coldly at Twilight.
“If I die now, or don't get my wishes, then the Elements will be forever stuck in limbo. The Elements lost to all, forever. It's that, or my three wishes.” Twilight didn't break the stare or blink. “It's your call.”
Silence hung heavily over them as the air between them seethed, but Twilight wasn't going to break first. After what seemed like eternity, Eden closed her eyes and lowered her head. “You win, Twilight Sparkle. What are your demands? If it is within my power at all, I shall give it to you.”
Twilight made no move. “First, I demand that you give up all claims to the Elements of Harmony and the Magic of Friendship forever. I want you to swear that you will never lay claim to them again, unless the Elements themselves choose you, except for a limited time if their wielders are unable to use them or they are lent to you willingly and without trickery. In those cases you may use them until conditions are so that they can be returned to their former wielders, or a new group of wielders.”
Eden sighed. “It's that, or no one gets them?”
Twilight gave a single nod.
Another long silence passed, then Eden raised her paws in defeat. “So be it. I hereby give in to your demand, and relinquish all rights to the Elements of Harmony and the Magic of Friendship except under the conditions you have outlined.”
“Good.” Twilight relaxed her stare slightly. “Second, I want this war to end here and now, with minimal casualties.”
“I can not restore those who have already died,” Eden reminded her. “And I can do little for you and your friends.”
“I know, but many have not died who could still live. I shall hold on to my third wish for now. Those are my demands. I will complete the magic and bring back the Elements once I know the war has ended and everything is resolved. Only then.”
“So let it be,” Eden looked down. “I hope you are pleased, Twilight Sparkle. I hope it was worth your sacrifice. We will meet again at least once.” She lifted a paw and snapped her fingers. Eden vanished, and the world snapped back into action.
Twilight winced as the blast knocked her off her hooves and landed her in the dust. Above her the sea of light exploded in a prismatic nova, banishing the darkness and washing the corruption from the air. The dragons that had been were gone, blown away or killed in the blast. Even the storm seemed like only a distant memory in the wake of the explosion.
Twilight collapsed on her haunches next to the still form of the princess and watched as the light faded, leaving only a lingering flicker across the sky. As the last traces of rainbows died, Twilight closed her eyes and let out her tears. “I will never forget …”