Shadowblaze was at first smug as the powers collided, but his look changed to surprise as he saw he was losing ground. Their power was coming closer and closer to him. “Unbelievable. I can’t believe that they were able to muster this much power. Ponies from the present are far stronger working together than I thought.”
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo cheered. “See, I told you!” said Scootaloo.
The ball of energy had nearly reached Shadow Blaze. “Yes, they are stronger than I thought…,” The grin came back to his lips, “But not nearly strong enough.”
The cheering of the children was suddenly cut short as Shadow Blaze’s horn began glowing stronger, and the advancement of the ball stopped in its tracks.
“Come… on…,” Fluttershy said, focusing her hardest. “Just a… little… bit… more.”
“A little bit?” asked Shadow Blaze. “You’re not even in my league. Let me show you the difference between a loser and an elite.” The glow from his horn exploded, and the ball was swiftly heading back in their direction.
Though they each did their best to oppose it, they couldn’t get back any of the ground they were losing. All their eyes went wide as they realized how hopeless it was. His spell broke through theirs, splitting up and hitting each one of them individually.
Each one of the ten went flying in different directions, hitting a tree and falling to the ground, unmoving.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were each crying as they ran over to their respective sisters.
“A-Applejack,” Apple Bloom said, her voice filled with despair as she bent over her sister. “Y-you p-p-promised you’d always be there. I already lost mom and dad. I CAN’T lose you too.”
“Rarity,” said Sweetie Belle. “You can’t die here. You still have to become a world renowned fashion designer.”
“Rainbow Dash!” cried out Scootaloo, tears streaming down her eyes. “You’re way too tough. You’re not supposed to lose to ANYONE. Please get up!”
“Now, now,” said the voice of Shadow Blaze, levitating the three fillies in front of him. Each of them was clearly terrified out of their minds being so close to him. “There’s no need to cry. None of them are dead. As soon as I broke through their spell I restrained its power as much as I could. It wasn’t easy though.
"I just needed them to learn the lesson I had to teach them. It doesn’t matter how many weaklings band together. They shouldn’t challenge the ultimate power. Although… I will give credit where credit is due. I thought that fifty percent of my power would be more than sufficient. I can’t believe I had to use eighty percent.
“Sometimes things just have to be learned the hard way. They thought that by banding together it would give them the strength to defeat me, even though with my story I made it clear that relying on others instead of yourself only leads to trouble.
"The ten strongest in the entire world attempted to beat me, and they were entirely unsuccessful. After witnessing the truth with your own eyes I’m sure even you children will have to accept the truth. The power of friendship is nothing compared to the strength of the confident individual in themselves. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Each of the three had their heads down, hopelessness beginning to creep into their veins. It was useless. They were far too outclassed. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?” screamed Scootaloo.
“I’ve already told you what I want. I want to create a world of power and strength, where ponies like Fluttershy do not exist. All can speak up for themselves in an assertive way, and no one will be taken advantage of because they will not take it. The timid and the fearful will be cast out.
"Without painful struggles one can never grow. Ponies have gotten far too used to their simple life of carefree worries. That needs to change. The first biggest change needs to be to cut off this extreme reliance on each other. The first law I will enact is the reseparation of the three races back into three. Places like Ponyville where all three races live will be cut off from the pegasi and the unicorns.”
“W-what?” asked Apple Bloom, horror crossing her features.
“That’s crazy!” said Scootaloo.
“No one is going to go along with that,” said Sweetie Belle.
“Oh, yes, they will,” responded Shadow Blaze. “They will because I am the strongest, and thus I have the ability to make the rules as I see fit.”
“But splitting apart the races will cause the Windigo’s to come back and destroy Equestria like they almost did before.”
“Ah, yes. Your silly little Hearth’s Warming Eve tradition. Even if the Windigo’s return I will simply destroy them. After all, if a single unicorn was able to defeat those things then surely I, as a much stronger being, can do so as well. The point is for the races to learn to think for themselves again.”
“B-but,” started Scootaloo, “what about our friends? I don’t want to lose Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.”
“That feeling of loss you’re experiencing in your heart is the voice of your utter weakness. You’re using your friends as a pillar to lift you up, instead of putting in any effort to create your own pillar to base your life around. When you grow stronger you’ll laugh at how dependent you were on them.”
“And what about the children?” asked Apple Bloom in disgust. “The Cakes are earth ponies who have pegasus and unicorn twins. Would you separate the babies from their parents?”
“It is an unfortunate circumstance, but my rules are absolute. If their kind had stayed within their race when they conceived this would not be an issue here, would it?”
“W-what?” Pinkie Pie said weakly, her heart burning as she struggled to rise. She wouldn’t let that happen to the twins. Try though she might she couldn’t get herself to move. It just hurt too much.
“What you’re thinking and planning to do is wrong!” yelled out Sweetie Belle. “How could you think what you’re doing is right?”
Shadow Blaze glanced at the fillies, a bored expression on his face. “I have already explained my reasons enough times. Maybe I was wrong. I guess their brainwashing was just too strong for you to see the truth. You should really be more respectful to me.
"If you want to continue to be so openly defiant then I will give you an ultimatum right now. I won’t be as kind to you as to the others. Either you curb your attitudes right now and submit to my new rule, or I will destroy you utterly.”
All three of them flinched, backing up from him. The three of them huddled. “What do we do?” asked Apple Bloom.
“We… we don’t really have a choice here.” responded Sweetie Belle.
“But if we give up then… then we’ll probably never see each other again for the rest of our lives,” said Scootaloo, a tear coming down her eyes. “I wouldn’t be able to take that.”
“He said he had to use eighty percent of his power to win. So maybe that means he’s weak and almost out of power. We might have a shot if we work together. We’ll split up and attack him from different directions.”
“I love my sister and my family,” started Apple Bloom, “but a life without you guys just wouldn’t be worth livin’.”
“Right! For the good of Equestria we have to do this!”
“Then let’s do it!” said Scootaloo.
The three of them broke up, each of them a foot apart as they charged at him.
Shadow Blaze sighed, shaking his head. “Fools, every one of them. No matter how much I try to explain to them the futility they just don’t get it.”
As they neared him his horn glowed as shadowy tentacles grew out of his body, each of them grabbing one of the girls. The tentacles went up into the air before slamming into the ground. This repeated several times before he suddenly stopped, bringing the three of them back in front of him.
Each of them felt like their heads were spinning. “Do you get it yet? Your power is nothing. Let me try this again. YOUR… POWER… IS… NOTHING! NOTHING! You are all weak little brats who can’t even understand how pathetic you are. This is your absolute last chance. Surrender or I will crush the life out of you.” The three of them cried out in pain as the constraining tentacles began squeezing tighter.
Each of them were facing one another. Sweetie Belle’s vision was blurry, feeling a sense of nausea and having trouble breathing from the continuous squeezing. ‘Scootaloo… Apple Bloom,’ she thought.
Rarity groaned. “S-Sweetie Belle.” She tried to get up, but her attempts were just as unsuccessful as Pinkie Pie’s.
‘Rarity… everyone. Everyone is going to die, and I couldn’t do anything to help. I can’t take it.’ A faint glow came from her horn. ‘My friends… my family.’ Straining with the little strength she had she reached out her hooves to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. ‘I… I won’t let them die. I won’t let them die! I WON’T LET THEM DIE! I won’t EVER give up on my friendship with my friends, because my friends are my life.’
Both of them forced their hooves out to her too. ‘The Windigo’s were defeated by the power of friendship. Only by the power of togetherness can we unlock our true strength. Alicorn’s are the perfect example of the strength one can gain by combining the three races together. I won’t let the peace of this world be ruined by him. If I don’t do something now I’m going to lose everyone. I won’t have it! Friends, family, Equestria… I will protect them all!’
As Sweetie Belle’s hooves met with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom’s her heart went ablaze. Her horn burst with an incredible green light, a magical aura surrounding her. Her aura extended past her and also encircled Applebloom and Scootaloo. With a determined look she concentrated, and pushed against the tentacles restraining them. When they slipped out and landed on the ground Sweetie Belle fired an enormous blast of magical energy towards him.
At first Shadow Blaze only looked with mild amusement as he created a magical shield. A shocked look came to his face as he started being pushed back. The shield began cracking, and as he flew backwards and crashed into a tree it shattered entirely, her blast obliterating the tree behind him.
“S-Sweetie Belle…” Rarity could hardly believe what she had just seen. Her sister’s magic was incredible.
“Wow…,” Scootaloo said, her eyes wide.
“Yeah…,” said Apple Bloom. “Where did all that come from?”
Sweetie Belle looked with contempt at the fading dust cloud. She knew that alone wouldn’t defeat him. She needed all of them. She placed a hoof on each of her friends. “Stay behind me. I swear on my life I will not let any of you get hurt anymore.
"He is wrong. He’s wrong about everything. The three races only work at their best when they’re together. Your love and bond with me give strength to my heart. This power is not mine alone. It’s the power of hearts working together for the same goal. A power far greater than anything he can understand. The same way that Clover the Clever did what hundreds of unicorns did not, I too have the lessons of friendship and how good it feels in my heart.”
Shadow Blaze stumbled forward, looking genuinely amused and surprised. He was actually in pain. ‘That little unicorn brat,’ he thought. ‘That level of magic was comparable to an alicorn. How could she possibly have that much strength hidden within her?’
He started laughing. “Well, that was fun! I admit you got me good. I underestimated you a little bit because you’re a child. I guess I should face you with the respect you deserve.”
“I won’t let you hurt my friends! Not a single one!” Sweetie Belle said angrily.
“Heh! If you say so. Time to die!” He shot a large blast towards her.
“Move!” Apple Bloom said, trying to pull her out of the way.
“No!” she responded, the aura swirling powerfully around her as her horn glowed an even brighter green than before, to the point it was almost pure white.
His blast met her shield. She closed her eyes, thinking of all the hearts she had lending her strength. Now she had to lend it back.
His spell split her shield into many pieces, each one heading towards everyone else there.
Shadow Blaze smirked. He had missed the little unicorn imp but all the rest of them were done. It showed her right for talking so smug. His grin quickly faded as he looked around confusedly. Where were all the explosions? Each one of them had been hit, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything.
“Everyone!” Sweetie Belle cried out. “Now is the time to get up and fight! When our hearts are as one we can win. Of course we couldn’t win before. Fighting with revenge or hatred in our hearts won’t give us the most power. Fighting for each other and our friendship is how we can become as strong as we can be.
"My connection with my friends helped me to power up, now all of you need to rise and fight once again. That’s the best thing about friendship. There’s always more willing to help towards a good cause, so if ten wasn’t working then we’ll just have to try thirteen!”
Rarity felt strange. She had felt his spell hit her, but instead of killing her she actually felt some strength returning to her. She let out a little laugh. “Well said, Sweetie Belle. I can feel the fire of your heart.” She wasn’t completely healed, but she didn’t feel as helpless as before. She felt her fatigue washing away as she began forcing herself up.
Fluttershy was almost up when she began falling down. Twilight used herself as a block, but she only succeeded in almost falling down again herself. Applejack managed to sturdy the other two of them.
One by one each of them struggled to get up, emboldened by Sweetie Belle’s speech.
Shadow Blaze couldn’t fathom what was happening. How were all of them getting up? His spell should have destroyed all of them. His eyes suddenly went wide. ‘No!’ he growled in his mind. ‘That damn brat! How can she be defying my expectations so much? When my spell met hers she shattered her spell intentionally, because she changed the energy of my spell from a destructive magic to a healing magic. I can’t believe how much skill she’s capable of.’
He began laughing, a deranged sounding laugh that caught all of their attentions. “So, what now?” he asked. “Yes, all of you managed to stand up, but you’re clearly not in any shape to fight me. Do you really think the addition of a single unicorn filly is going to change the outcome if we go at it again? All you’re going to do is rely on your borrowed powers again. It’s hopeless for you. Just give it up!”
Twilight used her hoof to remove the crown holding the Element of Magic. She threw it on the ground in front of her. “You’re right. This is a borrowed power, and it keeps us from accessing the entirety of our true strength because we expect it to do all the work for us. I’ll fight using a power that is entirely mine: the fire of my heart.”
“Same here,” said Rainbow Dash, her knees going weak for a second as she removed her necklace and threw it next to the other element. The rest of the other four followed suit.
That only made Shadow Blaze laugh some more. “That is hilarious. You finally realize the truth, and you throw away the only things that might allow you to win? Only one of your other friends is a unicorn. The earth ponies and the pegasi’s involvement will mean nothing in a contest of magic.”
“I can tell you one thing,” Twilight panted, still not feeling one hundred percent. “There is one thing you were wrong about.”
“Oh, and what’s that?”
“You said earlier that Fluttershy is the weakest of us. That’s why you tried to kill her before to illustrate the point. In actuality it’s the opposite. Out of all of us here Fluttershy has more courage than any of us.”
“And how do you figure that?”
“It’s easy for a pony like Rainbow Dash to do dangerous and risky things because she has absolute faith in herself and her abilities. It takes a lot more courage and depth to do something you’re terrified of, crying inside the whole while, than to simply have no fear of anything. But there is one more thing.
“Fluttershy, can I borrow one of your memories?”
“Y-yes,” she responded.
Twilights horn glowed, and Fluttershy’s memory appeared in the space before him, of the time Discord corrupted her.
“Fluttershy, looks like you’ve been left behind by your so-called friends,” said Discord, taking the form of a butterfly.
“Oh, no. I’m certain they’re doing their best to find me.”
“Well, it must be so upsetting to know how weak and helpless they think you are.”
“Not at all. I am weak and helpless, and I appreciate their understanding.”
The memory faded away. Fluttershy was crying a bit, because it only reminded her of Discord’s sacrifice.
Shadow Blaze looked at Twilight with a blank expression. “Okay, so what was that supposed to mean? You’re saying she’s strong and brave because she’s weak and helpless? That memory only harmed your case.”
“It’s the exact opposite!” Twilight snarled. “Fluttershy is not afraid to admit her flaws. Even more so she can admit them openly without contempt or shame. So often we become overwhelmed by only showing others the positive side and hiding everything negative that we can let it stop us from asking for help. And that in turn stops us from using our full power if we’re always holding something back.
“Let’s try it right now, and see if it works, hmm?” Twilight sighed and closed her eyes. She was surprised at how difficult the words seemed to be to form. Finally she managed to say, “I am weak and helpless. I let my pride of being Celestia’s student stop me from making friends for the longest time. I never have the courage to stand up to her most of the time, and I obsess too much with earning her approval.” She let out another deep breath, actually feeling better from getting it out.
Luna spoke up next, surprising all of them. “I am weak and helpless. I let my jealously and anger overtake me. Instead of talking to my sister and trying to work out a compromise of some sort I gave in to my feelings and became overcome by dark forces.”
“Sister…,” Celestia said, looking over at Luna. “I am weak and helpless. I failed to notice the degree to which my sister was being overtaken by those feelings, and I chose to seal her away for a thousand years instead of trying to find another way.”
Rarity spoke up next. “I am weak and helpless. Though I pride myself on generosity I can also be quite vain and think more of what benefits me than helping others.”
Next was Applejack. “I am weak and helpless. I let my pride get in the way of asking for help at times. During applebuck season I could have had everything settled so quick if I had only asked my friends for some assistance.”
Rainbow Dash struggled the most with the exercise. It was two words she never, ever wanted to associate with herself, but… she also knew that was why it was so important to say them. “I… I am… I am weak and helpless. I also let my pride get in the way of things. Too often I’ll act like everything is fine even when it’s not, because I favor my image as being tough too much. I’m… afraid some times that if I show weakness I won’t be popular anymore.”
The rest of them continued on, Shining Armor and Cadence about their failures during the Changeling invasion, Pinkie Pie of her easily shattered trust and irrational fears, and the three crusaders of their fears of never getting their cutie marks and of not matching up to their older sisters.
Though each of them struggled with letting out some of their biggest fears there was no denying it helped them inside.
Shadow Blaze was watching them with a strange expression on his face. He seemed legitimately confused. “Why? Why do this? What difference does it make? Why hold onto each other like this when you know it won’t make any difference?”
Fluttershy walked forward a few steps in front of the rest, a few tears coming down her eyes. “Because none of us are like you. We all do everything together with harmony in our hearts. Like Sweetie Belle said, it was only natural that we lost to you, because all of us were fighting for the wrong reasons, and thus stunted our own ability.
"Hearing all of their words, of revealing all the things that they usually keep hidden from the world, it made me realize something. We are all one pony inside. Each of us possesses in our hearts a power far stronger than the Elements of Harmony: we possess the power of unity. No matter what the danger, we live and die as one. Each of us wouldn’t hesitate for an instant to throw our lives away for each of the others.
"I would never abandon my friends to save myself. They give courage to my heart even when I’m scared. I know in my heart that most of the time I am weak and helpless. I make progress here and there, but at times I feel like I’m just the burden of the group. But even when I feel like I have nothing important to bring to the table I have friends who encourage me to be the best I can be.
“I no longer hate you. Really… I feel sorry for you.”
Shadow Blaze’s eyes instantly narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“You let the death of your friends ruin you. You ignored what they sacrificed for you and stopped trusting others. You attacked your best friend to try to bring her down to your level. You’ve lost the nobleness of your goal of helping others for the sake of your own pride and ego. You claim that you’re doing this for them, so that no more have to experience the pain of that loss, but you forced that pain upon me as a demonstration without a second thought.
"What you do now is no longer for them, but for yourself.” More tears came down her eyes as the last of her bitterness faded and her heart saw him as a pained soul. “For that I truly do feel sorry for you. I wish for just a moment you could truly understand what you have become.”
Anger crossed his features. “You… don’t you… how dare you… talking down… like you know…” He started shaking, his horn began glowing, but then it stopped, and his expression went blank. This sudden change of temper disarmed them, making them feel wary. “Fine, then.” he said calmly.
“Fine?”
“I have done all I can to help you understand. It seems every one of you is determined to be my enemy until the end. So I’ll try what you were talking about before, about admitting weakness and abandoning pride.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Don’t tell me after all your big talk you’re suddenly going to say you’re weak.”
“I was weak… back then when I understood nothing. But I’ll grant your wish. I will throw away my pride. All thirteen of you… I will give you one final chance. Both of us will not give up on our positions no matter what. That is clear to me now. So let’s put the matter to rest once and for all.
"Which is stronger… the power of ponies coming together, or the power of a single strong heart? I will use my complete power and hold absolutely nothing back. If you claim that my way is wrong then prove it to me. You couldn’t beat me before even with your elements and the ten of you working together. You think that simply adding in one unicorn will offset the difference in power now that you’ve thrown away your elements? Show me what you can do.
“I will give you five minutes. Do whatever you have to and prepare yourself. Do what you must and show me your maximum power.” With that he sat down on the ground and closed his eyes.