//------------------------------// // Episode 114: (Dark World) Friends vs Friends // 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 31 "Friends vs Friends" By Alex Warlorn Edited By Kendell2 and Louis Apple Pie dreamed of her ideal world. Rarity and Spike were shackled and pinned. AJ was her Element of Chaos among her own ashes trying to regenerate in time, she wouldn't even with Twilight's help. Derpy The Clown laughed at everything. Twilight The Unicorn was alone. -'Stairs of Time' .hack//Links- "EEEE-KEEEI!" A pink and a blue comet in a spiral dive hit Nightmare Eclipse in the back, wings, sides legs, and neck to the high-pitched battle cry. "THANK THE ALICORNS FOR MIRACLES!" AJ said in total appropriateness as her mind finished loading into her new brain. "You're welcome!" "No! You're NOT supposed to be here, Your Majesty!" yelled the Nightmare. The links in Nightmare Manacles' chains exploded in spectacular fashion. Their shatterer and Nightmare Manacle locked eyes. "The heck happened here?!" "You call that an radical entrance?!" Nightmare Manacle snapped. "NO it's an awesome entrance! And... oh Celestia... so you really are..." Rainbow Dash looked at the shade of her Nightmare in horror. "You don't DESERVE to call yourself me! At least I REMEMBER my crimes!" Rainbow growled. "So I don't let my crimes rule me, I'd rather do that than being a self-loathing suicidal crybaby!" "Who you calling a crybaby? You heartless jerk!" "Omnicidal maniac!" "Karma Houdini!" "Oh you did not just go there! You-" Rainbow Dash sighed, face hoofing. "I thought I was through harping on past me..." "Ditto!" "Is randomly inserting yourself into battles the only way you can make an entrances?!?!" Eclipse exclaimed. Rainbow Dash shook her head and growled as she remembered the situation they presently where in. "FREE WILL! FREE WILL!" RD zipped among her friends touching them calling out the name of her Element Of Chaos. The chains dissolved off of Rarity and Spike who instantly got up and breathed fire and fired a copy of the 'Failsafe Spell' at Nightmare Paradox at the same time. "AAAAAGGGGH!!!" The Nightmare's concentration broke. "MINE!" Rarity said taking in Spike's burns. "FREE WILL!" The clown make up and costume vanished off of Derpy at RD's touch and the junior Loyalty got up and shook herself. "That's not funny!" "FREE WILL!" Dash tapped Apple Pie and the filly woke up and shook her head, "Whadda time ta fall asleep, Ah'm sorry, everypony." "RAINBOW DASH! HOW COULD YOU!!!!" Twilight snarled. "YOU'RE WELCOME FER SAVIN' YER PLOT!" "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE PRINCESSES SAFE, YOU JERK! WHAT ABOUT 'PLAN B?!'" "THEY INSISTED!" "INSISTED?! YOU'RE THE ADULT! YOU COULD HAVE JUST BUCKING PARALYZED THEM!" "I couldn't bring myself to impose on Their Majesties' free will!" Twilight felt like she was about to have an aneurysm. "Free Will? Dash... be honest with me... is that really the REAL reason, or were you aching to beat up Discord THAT BADLY?!" *Sorry Twilight... Blame me for this. You needed help. I gave them a brief update about the Alicorn Witch and asked them to come.* 'I hate you, like a thousand burning suns.' *I'm sorry.* Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash, but now that she'd calmed down a little, she saw the pegasus looked...worried. "Rainbow, why did you REALLY come back?" Rainbow gave a sigh. "Look...I...We lost Pinkie Pie..." her eyes actually teared up just a little. "Fluttershy's gone, Derpy's daughter...My foalhood friend, my best friend, I know AJ keeps talking about Pony Heaven..." "But..." "But...I didn't want to lose anymore of you, okay?" she said, voice small, almost pleading. "I felt somepony warn me about...HER," she said, pointing to Paradox who was at present occupied with trying to fend off Spike, Rarity, and Derpy while simultaneously trying to heal her burns and recover from the mental backlash of having her spell interrupted. "The Princesses said they could feel how strong she was and you'd need help...I'm sorry, Twilight but..." Twilight hugged her friend tight. "...I feel the same way...I understand." Rainbow hugged her back. Twilight then realized something. "Wait, I thought the Princesses were powerless!" she exclaimed, blinking as realization hit her. "How are they even helping at all?" "Oh... heheh... that. Funny story. But no time to chat-" "Sorry," Twilight said putting her horn on Rainbow's head, "Didn't want to use this, this'll hurt in the morning, but I've been in the dark enough." +++ "Rainbow Dash...fly us up as high as you possibly can," Princess Luna ordered, serious. The two holding onto my back for dear life. "What?! Why?! There's no tim-" I stopped as Luna gave me a hard look. "If we and Celestia are going to aid yonder friends, we require our magic. If we are closer to our Concepts, we can regenerate. Rancor verily did the same thing after her duel with Spike." Celly blinked. "Uh, so why didn't we do that before?" Luna and me both looked at each other, no way was I telling her her blech, 'coltfriend' was the bad guy. "Because that...wasn't our fight, we didn't need to and it wouldn't have been worth the effort considering...the villain the others had to face was so badly weakened...But we're needed now," Luna said, she didn't have to tell me twice. "Alright, hang on!" I turned upwards, going into a Sonic Rainboom. The air got thinner as we went higher and higher...no...its not enough...not nearly enough...my wings can't get enough air, I couldn't breath. I don't care if my Element keeps rebuilding my body I need air! I fall back down, painting. Come on! I try again, and just fall back down again. This can't be it! "No...Twilight...the others...I can't...I have to do this..." "It's alright...Rainbow Dash...you did the best you could..." "No..." I said, growling. No, I'm not going to give up! I can't...Pinkie, Fluttershy...Scootaloo...Derpy's filly...I can't...I can't lose anypony else! "I'm not letting Twilight and the others alone...nothing's stopping me! Not bucking physics, not some 'Alicorn Witch'...and not me..." I said, thinking of why I was so scared of using every ounce of my power. I didn't want to hurt anyone, didn't want to KILL someone...But if I didn't, my friends were going to DIE. And I was MORE afraid of that! I let the Princesses go and got some distance, letting the power explode. I erupted in red energy and rainbow lightning. I was Ender Dash...and I felt different than before...I didn't feel crazy or bloodthirsty...I just felt...free. Free to use this power for whatever I needed to. "Grab on! We're going to give this story a happy ending if it kills us!" They looked freaked for a bit before grabbin' on. I flew straight up, taking as much air in as I could, I'd need it. I control the lightning around me like my own hooves, forming a canopy for the fillies, I was moving so fast, almost as fast as my normal Sonic Rainboom. "Almost there..." I said, waiting till it was now or never time. "Three...two...one..." I counted down to myself, timing this to the last second. "Sonic Endboom!" I exploded forwards, feelin' the atmosphere around me shatter and us rocketin' up. I didn't even look back at the electrified rainbow I knew was there. I don't think I've ever flown that fast. Thank the Princesses my Pegasus magic is boosted, including the magic protecting 'em from the g-forces as we climb higher and higher. And...I stopped...I felt weightless. I looked back down, the planet...its so beautiful from up hear...until I try to breath and find myself suffocating. I panic...until I see Celestia fly up in front of the sun, Luna in front of the moon. One glowin' golden, the other silver as light rushes into 'em...it's so beautiful I don't even care my vision's goin' fuzzy. I feel hooves catch me and start bringing me back towards the ground. +++ Twilight broke the connection, "So once they got me back to the atmosphere and my Element of Chaos got me kicking again, we came to help you guys out!" Twilight's jaw dropped. "You...you flew them into space?...On your own?" Rainbow Dash cracked a proud smirk Twilight had missed for SO long. "Yep!" Twilight couldn't help smiling. "That's our Rainbow Dash." "No, this is our Rainbow Dash!" The Magic Nightmare snapped! "Darn right!" Manacle resonated. "I bet I could fly out of a whole solar system if I wanted! A galaxy!" Unfortunately, the sight of two fillies preparing another attack and the other Nightmares emerging to help their comrades reminded the heroes there was a battle going on. "It might be too early for a group hug," Twilight said, a little sheepishly. = 'Blinded By Light' Final Fantasy XIII= "Ready, Lulu?" "Ready, Celly!" "AIM FOR THE GHOSTLY NIGHTMARES!!!" Twilight screamed at the two little Alicorns. Nightmare Paradox's eyes widened in shock and alarm. "EEEE-KEEEI!" "OH NO, YOU DON'T!" The paradox Nightmare said, a millisecond later a Sonic Rainboom hit the Nightmare square in her helmet cracking it. "Thanks to whoever brought down the walls and ceiling! I CAN LET LOOSE!" Rainbow Dash exploded, into a glowing red angel of death, only this time, it was rainbow colored lightning crackling about her form and the red was brighter, more beautiful. "Guess I have to fight Twilight Sparkle to save the world after all! Time for the happy ending already!" "Agreed incomplete me!" Nightmare Manacle blew the two fillies backwards with a Sonic Rainboom simply by flapping her wings. Nightmare Manacle snarled as she formed a storm cloud and tried blasting the Princesses with lightning, it was all the twins could do to suddenly play defense. "Rainbow Dash!" called Derpy to the loyal Nightmare, flying up. "Why par woe doing this? Blue aren't a pad pony, you never punted to spurt ponies!" Manacle had a look of self-loathing not all that out of place on Traitor Dash, except with bubbling rage. "Because of Discord, old me betrayed Equestria, and we ALL betrayed each other! We betrayed the world! We betrayed EVERYTHING we loved! Everypony betrayed everypony because of that sick buck! I'm TIRED of all this betrayal! I'm loyal to my friends and together we'll fix everything! Discord will PAY FOR IT ALL! And when we're done, no one will EVER betray anypony EVER again! I'd delete this world as many times as it takes to save it!" Derpy sighed. "You pill hate yourself, won't blue, Rainbow Dash?" "I never stopped!" yelled Manacle, sending a wave of lightning the mare had to hold back using the full strength of her Element. Nightmare Whisper surged at Apple Pie again, only to find a fully healed Applejack jump in her face and give her a buck to the snout, causing Paradox to recoil as well. "Hush now, quiet now-" "No!" Applejack yelled at the vision of the Apple Pie clan, Applebloom, Granny Smith, and Big Mac at a family reunion, breaking free. "Fluttershy..." Applejack said, looking up at the kind Nightmare. "Why are yah doin' this? Yah ain't a monster, yer the sweetest mare Ah'd ever met. What happened to yah?" Whisper pinned her ears. "I'm just helping my friends...Is that wrong?" "Shy'...Ah meant why did you turn into...THIS? What happened to yah?" The Nightmare actually shivered. "I don't want to talk about it...I know you worry about me, Applejack...But we're going to make a better world...a world were there's no cruelty, were no one's hurting." "But is it worth killin' so many ponies fer?!" "...To me, it is...they don't feel any pain when it happens, think of it as just going back to the start. Just starting a loop over, like the seasons. Besides, it's kinder this way, kinder than them suffering under Discord... " Applejack teared up. "...Sorry, Fluttershy..." "I'm sorry too, Applejack," Whisper said, tears constantly streaming from her eyes, glass butterflies forming and slicing into Applejack's skin. The mare groaned, regenerating and leaping at her. The Nightmare shade prepared her butterflies, but waited, expecting an illusion to come first...only to be bucked in the horn by the real thing she believed to be fake. She retaliated by trying to spear her with her mane, getting several hits before the mare jumped back and began to take the defensive. Granfalloon headed straight for Derpy once more. "Come on, smile smile smile!" she cackled, sending her swarm of balloons once again. "Failsafe Spell!" called Twilight, teleporting in front of it and focusing on the chaos half of her Element, channeling Tragedy to cancel out the wave of Endless Laughter. "Pinkie...This...this isn't you! You're not some monster clown! Can't you see people are suffering because of Paradox?" The Nightmare merely laughed. "Hehe, silly Twilight, Eclipse and the others are my friends friends friends! Why wouldn't I help them?! And no ponies suffering! Cause none of this ever ever ever will have happened! Don't you remember those Groundhog Day Loop plots on TV?! Nopony but the one trapped remembers a thing! The rest just go back to the start not remembering anything. When we finally make our world, nopony will remember any of this! They'll just be so full of happiness they'll never never never be sad sad sad ever again!" Twilight shuddered...that voice...it was so much like Pinkie's...and that scared her more than anything. "That's not true, Pinkie! You're ERASING ponies! They're...they're dying!" "Hehe, you're silly silly silly, Twilight! That's not not not how these plots work! Everypony knows knows knows they're played for comedy!" Twilight gave a sad sigh. "...I'm sorry, Pinkie," she said, firing a beam. The Nightmare blocked it, but it only exploded like fireworks, blinding her and letting a second blast knock her to the ground. "But I can't take your word for it right now!" The happy Nightmare gave another demented laugh and summoned a barrage of Party Cannons from all directions, forcing the mare to dodge the assault that blew a hole in the floor and sent a mushroom cloud of confetti into the sky, the shock wave knocking Twilight off her feet. "Heheheh . . . Starsong, Toola-Roola, it'll be my Never Birthday gift to you... heh, Eclipse will make sure there's no 'No Except Yes' and 'Yes Except No's to... to cause... heheh. None of these bad things will have ever ever ever happened! And, hehhehe, our world will finally be back!" "Aunt AJ!" called Apple Pie, Spike grabbing Nightmare Mirror by the flanks, his claws digging into her and pulling her back with the little filly on his shoulder. The filly looked to Mirror with tears in her eyes. "Why...why are yah doin' this? Yer...yer my auntie...Yah...yah really think Ah shouldn't exist? Yah want tah hurt meh?" Mirror actually looked saddened for a moment. +++ That...that rotten Valeyard! He...he...Apple Pie. Wake up Apple Pie! The varmint's gone now! The poor girl. She's grayer than slate. He broke her with that stupid story! (No, Applejack, he broke her with a lie.) What? (The story doesn't end that way, Superstallion faked his death and lives happily ever after with his love.) That rotten liar! Ah should of known! Apple Pie...please snap out of it... (He just lied to Derpy too, you can feel it, can't you?) Yeah, Ah can! That's it! Ah'm tired of my friends bein' hurt by his lies! (Lies may be useful, but wouldn't the world be better if they didn't exist? Then you wouldn't be in this mess at all.) ...Yer right! The world would be better off without Deceit! Without lies! Then Discord COULDN'T have won in the first place! (And if that world doesn't exist?) It has to be made! This world of lies is absurd! And it would be be better off GONE! +++ "No, Apple Pie, it ain't YA who shouldn't exist! It's this absurd world of Discord's no good lies that shouldn't exist!" Mirror replied. "And Ah'm helpin' my friends FIX that. And when we're done, ya'll live in a world where Discord ain't hurtin' ponies with his lies! The whole family will! That's what Ah'm doin'!" Apple Pie whimpered. "But...but Ah don't want yah doin' this for meh, and Ah don't think anypony else does either." Mirror suddenly snarled in rage. "Ah know they don't! That's a harsh truth Ah've accepted! And Ah've accepted the ponies in Twili' world will be HAPPY! Including you!" Apple Pie gave a sigh. "...Sorry, Saint Aunt AJ...But we've got to stop ya." "Then you'll have to face the truth!" the Nightmare roared, opening her wings, countless emerald eyes staring right into the two. "Your a freak! Dragons aren't supposed to be generous!" "You're just a little fangirl in way over her head!" "Rarity only loves you because you're big: a thousand years ago she wouldn't have given you the time of day!" "You only exist because a murderer crushed the world, you're a mistake!" Apple Pie's Element glowed bright, reacting to the contradictory nature of the generous dragon she rode. "Hehe! Yeah, it don't make sense does it? That a little fangirl like meh is a hero now! And why is it a bad thing good came out of bad? Ponies always say look at the silver linin'!" Spike felt Apple Pie's energy pulse into him and couldn't help laughing as it pointed out the paradoxical logic. "Why should that upset me? Everyone always says being unique is a good thing! And why should that upset me? She's my girlfriend, isn't she? So what if I had to grow up so we could be together? That's a GOOD thing in my book!" the dragon replied, spitting a cloud of ink in the Nightmare's face, causing her to recoil in surprise as she was blinded, allowing Spike to hurl her to the ground by the flanks. Spike looked over his shoulder at Banneret, then back to Mirror. "And I know not be afraid of what I am." Mirror snarled, slamming her hooves down and sending pillars of crystal spikes through the ground. And Spike was a big target. A crystal grazed his leg as he took off into the air with filly in toe a moment before he could be impaled a hundred times over. "Ya know the difference between yer average Nightmare and me? AH KNOW AH'M CRAZY! AH KNOW MAH FRIENDS ARE CRAZY! AH KNOW AH'M EXTREME! Ah know Ah'm makin' innocent ponies hurt! Ah know Ah'm a worthless filthy hypocrite fer workin' with 'Shy when she's the Kindest of Lies! Ah KNOW how many times we've murdered ponies who didn't do nothin' tah deserve it! Ah know Ah'm earnin' mahself a nice pretty harness on the devil's big ride in Pony Hell! But ya know what else? Ah know that fer everypony else it's gonna be WORTH IT when they ain't gonna live in a world where ya gotta talk horse apples every five minutes just ta keep from hurtin' yer friends feelin's!!!! AH KNOW ya got some pretty soundin' words to grandstand about how Ah'm wrong wrong wrong! Lies have a throne in the heart of every pony whisperin' that it's their best friend! And if me bein' hated by everypony and deservin' it is the price fer them bein' free of that fake friend, then fine by me! We WILL make a happier world! No more worlds held together on lies! Just... no more lies... please, just, more no lies... " Spike was surprised at the pain and sorrow in the Nightmare's voice. Nightmare Whisper appeared along side her just long enough to gently nuzzle her. Banneret snarled, opening his mouth and sending a billow of flames at his counterpart, only for a wall of crystal to rise and block it. "Now now, Spike, leave them be," said Rarity politely, looking up at him with sad eyes. "Spike...why are you doing this?" "Rarity..." For a moment, Banneret had a sad, longing look on his face. "Rarity, please come with us...become one of us, so we can protect you. Be with me again. You're the only one missing. We can be altogether, be friends again, just like it used to be. I'll give you the universe for nothing in exchange but your company. I'll give you my power, oh my Lady Desire if you want it. I'll make myself your slave." "I'm sorry, Spike," Rarity said, understanding on her face, a part of her wanted to cry. "I'm sure your Rarity loved you as much as I love my Spike...but I can't join you." "So be it..." said Banneret, almost sounding...heartbroken. He then sent a torrent of flames, Rarity using a wall of crystals and then jumped over, Anger glowing as she lifted a huge crystal and threw it into Banneret's face full force. Banneret roared in pain and staggered back, but then twirled around, tail-whipping her into the ground. Banneret bite into a decoy illusion when she was down as she climbed out and continued her assault. Derpy manipulated Nightmare Manacle's lightning once again, sending it right back at her. Manacle dodged, but ran into another thunder cloud Derpy had created and stunning her. The Alicorn twins gave another battle cry and were a pair of rockets that impaled the stunned shadowy Nightmare. Nightmare Manacle gasped in pain, and Nightmare Paradox did the exact same thing, bleeding from where the Alicorns sisters had gone through Nightmare Manacle, just like every hit her Nightmares sustained. "Princess Celestia..." The Nightmare gasped in disbelief. "Why does everypony keep calling me Princess? Was our dad a king?" "I'll explain later, Celly!" Paradox recalled all her Nightmares into herself. Even them facing even odds against the heroes was too risky in her mind. She couldn't take risks when she wasn't sure what information of previous loops Discord had implanted in incomplete Twilight's brain. This loop was defective. "Now you're the one whose trump cards are all used up!" Rarity shouted, stones encasing the Nightmare's legs. "RAINBOW DASH!" "SONIC END-BOOM!" The Sonic Rainbow-speeding Pegasus hit the Nightmare head on again, the sun and moon plate that covered half her face shattered. It revealed half a face with borderline forth-degree burns that refused to heal, the the scar was shaped like a magic wand with a star top. "Guess Alicorn Trixie really did leave her mark on you!" Twilight shouted. The Nightmare blinked, inside the eye on the burned side of her face was now tiny hands of a clock. "Time stop." Everything froze. The hands on the clock began to spin backwards. "You will wander forever." Suddenly they were back with Ender Dash zooming towards the Nightmare at full speed, her mask intact. The Nightmare shattered the stones holding her and brought them up as a barrier between her and the Rainboom and teleported out of the path entirely with the extra millisecond it gave her. She blasted Ender Dash from behind with a gail of freezing wind, didn't wait for her to break free and summoned a black rod that impaled the charged up Pegasi, making her crash. "Time marches only as I command! I believe its time for this façade of you actually having a chance of winning to end," The Nightmare looked down at her counterpart, "Did you really think you were the first version of you I had to amputate from her false friends? We ARE Twilight Sparkle after all!" "Her name is Twilight The Unicorn!" An ancient but beautiful sword shot through the air and struck at the center of the Nightmare's cutie mark. The sword bounced off barely messing up the fur and hit the floor with a clatter. "That's weird, that always works on Pony Rangers." As Minty Pie finished climbing out of the hole in the Castle roof, EVERYONE, from Nightmares to Alicorns to mortal and immortal Ponies alike stared bug-eyed. "COUSIN MINTY PIE?!" Apple Pie exclaimed. This was too crazy. Something was... different about her. Her movements held a resolve to them. She had scars on her hooves. "Hey, Apple Pie, nice to see you're doing okay." She managed a weak smile. "You aren't supposed to be here! You aren't important!" Nightmare Paradox was besides herself. "Is the rebellion with you?!" Applejack asked. "Rebellion? No! It's just me!" "Just you?! Minty Pie have you gone crazy?! You're going to get yourself killed!" Twilight exclaimed. *I honestly didn't tell her to come, she did this all on her own.* "You could've encouraged the untrained civilian with no magical powers to turn back home. Very easily." *Are you kidding-?! She's fought through fiends and dark lords to get here to help you! What makes you think one little voice in her head could have stopped her?! Apples are as stubborn as mules and Pies are as crazy as foxes!* "I know I'm not to blame for letting an amnesiac filly and MINTY PIE join a fight against SIX NIGHTMARES!!!!" *The Nightmare would have killed everyone, then turned you into Nightmare Purgatory, then killed everyone else if your friends didn't come when they did. Don't you think it kills me inside too to see them in harm's way?!* Twilight noticed the time-travel scroll at Minty Pie's hooves, torn in two. "Uh, that scroll wasn't too important was it? I kinda accidentally tore it in two when I was climbing up." "It's okay," said Nightmare Paradox, matter-of-factly, shooting fireballs at Minty Pie. "There's this phenomenal substance known for reuniting broken scroll pieces. It's known as 'glue.' I think I'll make some of you." Twilight charged to bring up a forcefield, but Minty Pie dodged the fireballs with experience and threw the scroll in the ball of one, incinerating it. "Now that's just horseapples." The Nightmare felt a headache coming on. "Uh. Thanks Minty Pie," Twilight said, her jaw AND Apple Pie's hitting the floor. Since did cousin Minty Pie move like that?! "Welcome! "Minty slapped her hooves together, "Wait a second! I think I saw all this in that silvery pool in the castle basement." AJ lifted an eyebrow but said nothing. Minty Pie pointed at the Nightmare. "You're Twilight's BAD Alicorn self, while her GOOD Alicorn self is, wait wait." "Lulu, what's going on? I thought we were just helping the ponies who woke me up face the evil witch." "I promise, Celly, I'll all make sense later. For now just... roll with it." "Okay, Lulu! Rolling with it sounds like fun!" "HEY! You're the mare from when I woke up!" Rainbow Dash said in recognition, "GET LOST BEFORE YOU GET HURT!" Rainbow Dash shouted, trying to get the black rod out of her body but it was being stubborn. "Twilight," Minty said looking at the unicorn, "Pinkie Pie says you better keep your promise about not blaming yourself for...for her...for her growing old." "WHAT THE...?!" Twilight exclaimed. 'Is the afterlife offering free rides to the world of the living or something?!' "Well, there was this pool in the castle basement, I was so thirsty I almost drank from it, then I kinda looked into it first, and..." Twilight's Nightmare shook her head incredulously. "How we could have once been part of the same soul is a mystery for the ages I doubt even I could fathom." "Did you know there a thousand year old civilization of Season Spirits underneath the castle?" asked Minty, inexplicably trailing into a new subject. "I got tricked into almost wiping out the Summer Spirits, but I made real friends with some of the Winter Spirits, and it got them the courage to stand up to their queen and..." "Poof," Paradox said. Minty Pie was shrunk down to the size of a doll. Nightmare Paradox towered over her. "Word to the wise, Minty: showdowns are NOT the place for recaps or backstory." "They aren't?" the doll-sized Minty said. "I'm sorry. I've only really been in tough one-on-one fights so--" Then the nightmare teleported her off the side of the castle. "-faaaaaaarrrrrrrr." Twilight teleported her above Nightmare Paradox, the Nightmare's eyes widened, she quickly teleported out of the way, looking scared. Twilight slowed Minty Pie's fall, and used the falsesafe spell on her, then drained her magic more by adding to the 'protective aura' against the Nightmare's telekinesis, hoping that Rainbow Dash and the Princesses could handle on their own. She'd be out of mana in no time if she had to support three more ponies even splitting it with Rarity. Minty picked up her sword in her mouth. It glowed four colors of the four seasons. "Soh, Twilighth, Id thikud Id seened thised." "Minty, please, I beg of you, LEAVE. You are NOT HELPING!" Minty sadly shook her head, "Sorry, no can do. Id sawd howd thangs goh if Id leave." Boulder sized hot-cold rock bombs appeared in front of the faces of every pony and dragon present. "REMEMBER ME?!" The Nightmare shouted while they exploded. The Nightmare then spoke calm. "Okay, check list: -Rainbow Dash, pinned down and couldn't flee, boom, she'll be regenerating for a bit. -Spike, dizzy for the moment, as tough as my number one assistant should be. -Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, they're still moving, thank goodness. -Apple Pie, Derpy, oh and Minty, unconscious and bleeding to death. You should probably teleport Minty to one of the bedrooms and transform the door into that of a bank vault. For her own good. -Rarity scrambling to take all their injuries for herself before they die and applying tiny stones and her telekinesis as emergency bandages. -And Applejack, still regenerating. -Check for illusion call signs. Nope. Everything checks out. Just you, me, and me myself, oh stop staring in shock, ready-aim-fire!" A beam of death fired from the Nightmare's horn, Twilight returned fire at once with her own! Twilight cringed, and forced herself to continue. If she kept her Nightmare busy, then Rarity and AJ had time to save the others' lives! Black threads began to spider their way down the Nightmare's beam, crossing silently, unseen, along the beam of Twilight's magic, closer and closer to her horn, to her brain, her heart. Twilight didn't see it coming. Never saw it coming. Couldn't see it coming. Her mind and eyes were focused on stopping the Nightmare no matter the cost. Feeling anger of seeing her friends near death. The rage. The hate. The hurt. The fury. She wanted to see this version of herself BURN. To SUFFER! Just like Discord had! Just as Discord...just Discord deser- The sword of Four Seasons cut off Magica's replacement horn. The beam wasn't strong enough to vaporize Twilight, it wasn't meant to, all the power behind it was a concussive blast, knocking Twilight back spinning. The Nightmare cut off the spell. "Apple Pie I'm sorry," Minty said looking at Magica's horn, as truth had shown her. "YOU! WHAT PART OF LIE ON THE GROUND AND SILENTLY BLEED INTO DEATH WAS HARD TO UNDERSTAND?!" "I'm an adult Earth Pony born and raised on Sweet Rock Acres right next to the Chaos Capital of the world and survived a trip through a 'see everything at once' pool and survived a fight with the Queen of Winter and the king of the sober darkness. I'm made of harder stuff than ourself who spent her days collecting green socks. Not that that's bad or anything you know but-" The still-furious Twilight who'd seen her horn fly off snarled. "YOU TRAITOR!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!" Twilight snorted ready to clobber her. "The horn! Look at the horn!" Twilight glaced at Magica's horn and saw the black threads dissolving off it. She realized what almost happened. "Minty, you saved my soul, you just saved Equestria!" "All in a day's work, Twilight!" Minty said with a smile, with an attempt at a salute. "AAAGGGH!" The Nightmare couldn't stand this absurdity. "So close! Soclose!Soclose!Soclose!Soclose!Soclose!Soclose!" The specters of the other Nightmares joined in her cursing. She almost hugged the pony, but stopped, remember before. "Thank you. You're a very helpful pony." Twilight, turning to face the Nightmare, her horn regenerating, "Nice try, but I refuse to become you! Because that's what free will is all about!" "Yeah, I saw in the weird pool, this one world, a pony named White Cross, who was supposed to become the new Dracoltula, but he refused to turn evil when Coltsavania's spirits empowered him and..." "ENOUGH WITH THE POOL OF TRUTH ALREADY! IT'S BEEN DONE TO DEATH!" The Nightmare exasperated. " . . Twilight, I think, you? And me? Us touching? I think, after looking in that pool, I think it's part of what's supposed to happen." Minty sounded unsure, no more like scared, terrified. Twilight froze in place for a moment. Minty Pie... wanted the two of them to TOUCH. The Nightmare cursed, "This is ridiculous! It's like I'm in a castle infested by hybrids spawned from some unholy union of Discord and Pinkie Pie!!!" ----- *A zillion and one universes over.* "Distortion are you okay dear?" Queen Pinkie Pie said, wearing her smilie face and birthday cake crown today. "Yes mama," the demi-draconequus colt said, "Just felt like somepony said something mean about me." Pinkie Pie hugged her son. "Well don't you worry about it, ponies say mean things all the time, but most of the time it's just because they're hurt, angry, or don't realize they're talking to a person." "Huh?" "Mean things said just to be mean don't mean anything, and not fun 'don't mean anything' just 'pst, whatever' 'don't-mean-anything." Said the Alicorn. "Okay mama." He hugged back. ----- "UGH! Now I've got the feeling somepony somewhere just gave me the brush off!" The Nightmare growled. "Thanks, your Majesties," Rainbow Dash said as the healed Alicorns fillies pulled the black rod out of her. "Girls!" Twilight shouted, stopping in front of Dash. "I'd say it's about time for formation!" "You would fire the Rainbow of Light at me?! Fantasy! I am a GALLERY of Nightmares! You'd need a HERD of veteran Elements of Harmony to steal my perfection from me!" Dash sighed. "Twilight I know you don't need two Elements of Loyalty, so I'll keep her... them... busy." And she flew off to do just that. "Twilight! You DO have a way past her trick with the whole 'undo the flow of time' thing, right?" Spike asked. That was when the ice shards began to rain down on him, Rarity had to catch them and throw them back before they could impale him. At the same time, self-multiplying pony-seeking throwing stars were thrown in Apple Pie and Derpy's general direction, forcing them suddenly on the defensive as Rainbow Dash chose to simply zoom into the swarm until she looked like a pincushion, the throwing stars not having complex enough programming to detach themselves if they struck the 'wrong' target. A giant upside down playpen landed on top of the Alicorn fillies and fused with the ground. A blast of sound hit Applejack, destroying hear hearing until it could regenerate and ruining her focus as the Nightmare then fired off spells to incinerate/electrocute/vaporize/crystalize the surprisingly nimble Earth Pony. *Don't get angry, Twilight, it's just what she wants. She's getting desperate! She's shown her entire hand! She has no more tricks up her sleeve! She knows that even if she can just reverse any damage it's not helping her getting you to become a Nightmare!* "FAILSAFE SPELL!" The various dances of death ended, Twilight dumped extra power into the spell, knowing this time it wasn't a reckless act of a child trying to force her solution. The magical constructs dissolved along with the spells in use. Clearing the battle field once again. "NIGHTMARE PARADOX!" "That's Nightmare Eclipse!" "I saw memories when I touched Minty Pie! Memories of a world that no longer is! Just like you want to make! Where everypony had their wishes come true, regardless of the effort they did or didn't put into it! But they laughed! They cried! They got angry! They loved. Just like the ponies who existed before them who chose to be remade in the hopes of making a world where everypony could just be happy if they wanted! Each version would be strange to the other! But they were alive. ARE ALIVE! We each have a right to exist for what we are! "Life is about growing! And as long as you can grow, it doesn't matter what you know or don't know, how long you've existed, or how you came to be! Whether you need or don't need somepony else to live, whether they happened to give you permission to live or not. And each version of us who have existed or will exist is as real as the rest!" "Then come, Twilight Sparkle, bring forth the Elements if you're that confident! If I am a force that is wrong, then just try to stop me!" "Alright Everypony-" Twilight shouted. "-All together!" "Honesty!" Said AJ. "Laughter!" Apple Pie shouted. "Generosity!" Rarity called forth. "Kindness!" Fluttercruel cried out. "Loyalty!" Added Rainbow Dash. "And Magic!" Twilight finished. The six lights within the ponies united as one and came together and the blast of rainbow light rose up to crash down on Nightmare Eclipse. "Too bad." The Nightmare sighed. "Alright, everypony! All together!" They came forth. An inverted rainbow Nightmare of smoke and chains. A clown Nightmare with crayon wings. A flower haired Nightmare with butterfly wings. A mirror winged nightmare with countless green eyes. And a Nightmare of a dragon in gleaming gold and jeweled armor. Elements of Harmony jewels appeared, each larger than a grown adult stallion. "Loyal even into the gates of Tartarus!" "A never-ending laugh on meanie-pants everywhere!" "Kinder to end the pain than continued suffering." "Face the truth you never had a chance." "I give my soul itself to you all." The ponies didn't have time to react except to feel shock and horror as the six boulder-sized Elements of Harmony the Nightmare wielded shone brighter than the sun and came together, and devoured their rainbow of light and swept forth with a terrible wailing whooshing sound like a wave motion gun. The swept through the ponies. =Armageddon From Live-A-Live= The gigantic rainbow of light didn't stop, it became a domed sphere, and expanded like a nova. The castle was destroyed to its foundations. Sky Ocean evaporated, the seaponies were annihilated before they could ever hit the ground. The miserable and gray ponies of Ponyville saw the coming destruction and embraced it with open hooves, their ends were completely painless their entire town was blown to nothing. Sweet Rock Acres was reduced to molten rock, then the molten rock to mist, the rock farmer's dust was scattered indifferently. Cloudsdale was torn apart, the hippogriffs swiftly joining the seaponies in death. Changelings exploded like bombs from the emotional overload before the sphere ever touched them. Dragons lasted a few seconds more before their scales, then skeletons were reduced to the same dust as the rest. Tiamat lasted the longest, surviving long enough to curse her fate and hoping the next life would be kinder for her chosen species. The ponies of Neighpon went last, the oceans boiled to nothing, the sky torn to shreds, and the various mutant and living object ponies having just enough time to kiss each other goodbye before nothing remained. The entire planet cracked, and detonated, ripping the sun and moon to space debris, scattering everything across empty space. Almost nothing lived. Inside a sphere of magic, Twilight Sparkle, colder than cold, shivered as she turned her head her body floating helpless. She saw the outlines of her friends. She dared to hope, but then the outlines feel apart, the perfectly shaped forms breaking apart like sand castle; not even bones remained, just ashes. "Nothing left," Said Nightmare Eclipse in spite of there no atmosphere around her. "N-N-N-NOOOOOO!" Twilight Sparkle cried and sobbed hysterically! "An illusion! A trick! Something! ANYTHING! CELESTIA!" "It's all very real," said the Nightmare. "There is nothing left. All gone. All dust." "No-oh-oh-oh." Twilight Sparkle quivered. "Should I send you spiraling off into the nothingness between worlds then?" "NO!" "There's only one way to fix all this. Only one way. Only one choice. Only one real path. And you know it." "...no." "Is that so? I guess you must LIKE IT ALL like this then. Alone. Nothing-" Twilight Sparkle's heart shattered into a thousand pieces. "NO! Please! It can't be like this!" "Then you know what you have to do. Don't you?" "...Y-yes." "And that is?" "Everything. I have to reset everything. Everywhere, everywhen. Reset it all." "We knew we'd see the truth, Twilight Sparkle." The Nightmare gently touched her horn to Twilight's head. "Because we always do." Threads of Darkness spread from Twilight's forehead. "Yes," she said back, "We, always do." ((We always do.) ++++ GAME OVER The words flashed on the screen followed by a sad jingle. Pinkie Pie blinked at the message. Bomb Pie dropped his controller in defeat. "I give up." Morning Light held onto hers in shock. "It's impossible. No matter what we do, the real end boss always has another trick up her sleeve. We can't win." She pushed once on the directional pad.   -->Continue?     End?   Continue?   -->End? Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes, "Oh no, you didn't!" "But mom!" Morning Light protested, her hoof almost pushing the Confirm button, "We just can't win." "I know it looks that way dear, but I promise there is a way to win, you don't need to give up so close to the end. And . . . wouldn't it be kinda sad, to just give up now?" Pinkie Pie coaxed her adopted child. Bomb Pie looked at his fostered sister since she was holding controller 1. "It's up to you." Morning Light's hoof hoovered over the controller; the game waiting for her choice.