For a moment, nopony knew what to do. Blight stood not more than fifty feet away, and was lumbering forward, when suddenly, Princess Celestia spun to face Twilight. “The elements, now!”
“No!” screamed Blight.
Twilight and her friends joined together and their elements began to glow. As the ponies were lifted off the ground, a familiar white light surrounded them. For a split second, Twilght’s concentration broke when she saw Blight, who dove forward. He would have surely smashed into Twilight and her friends if weren’t for Alpenglow, who tackled Blight, distracting him for a few precious moments.
Twilight could feel the presence of her friends around her: Fluttershy’s kind heart, Rarity’s unending charity, Applejack’s earthy integrity, Rainbow’s fierce devotion, and Pinkie’s unbridled joy. Twilight basked in the warmth of their friendship, reminded herself how lucky she was to have them, and opened her eyes.
A beautiful rainbow spiraled above the ponies. It arced through the air and slammed into Blight, causing him to writhe and thrash about. He tried to shield himself with his vines, but the magic of the elements cut straight through. As Twilight and her friends floated to the ground, they could only see a smoking hole where Blight and the stump had stood. The princesses, her brother, and Spike gathered around. Alpenglow was cautiously walking towards the hole.
“Ponies, one; dumb plant monster, zero!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“Is he…gone?” asked Applejack.
Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but a groan from the pit cut her off. The ponies looked in disbelief as a vine grabbed the lip of the pit. Inch by inch, Blight climbed out, looking much smaller than he had before. He almost looked pitiful. Instead of legs, he supported himself on a tangle of twisted roots. The vines that made up his stumpy, hunched body were singed and bruised. His face, now covered in patches of stone, had the tired look of an old pony, but his eyes burned with renewed rage and hate.
“What did you do to me?!” cried Blight. Vines shot from his body towards the ponies, but stopped in their tracks and turned towards Alpenglow, who had thrown himself against Blight once more. Twilight bounded forward while the princesses gathered everypony together. As she started cutting the vines holding Alpenglow, she could hear their venom-filled exchange.
“You’re like a weed, Alpenglow,” hissed Blight. “Every time I think I’ve finally stomped you out, you come back. Do you even know how long we’ve been in there? Do you even care? No, the second we’re out, you go back to doing the only you know how to do: fight.”
“Maybe you’re right, Blight,” answered Alpenglow, his voice as cold as ice. “But this time, I won’t stop until you’re nothing but a greasy smear on the bottom of my hooves.”
Blight sneered and turned his attention to Twilight. “Tell me, little princess, does that sound like a pony to whom you would entrust the safety of Equestria?”
Twilight ignored him and continued cutting the vines. She had to use her magic to tear Alpenglow away from Blight, even though it seemed like the last thing the stallion wanted. His helmet fell off and skittered to the right before Spike scooped it up. Blight roared and plunged his roots into the ground, causing it to shake once more. Everywhere the ponies looked, vines split the earth and flowed through the town, completely engulfing it in a mass of thorns and razor-shaped leaves.
“Twilight, over here!” shouted Fluttershy.
Twilight turned and saw everypony gathered around Princess Celestia, whose horn was glowing increasingly brighter. Twilight turned to run, but then remembered in a panic Spike, who she saw was several feet behind her. He was running as fast as he could, the helmet and bag slowing him down with every step. Before Twilight could turn and grab him, Alpenglow threw him onto his back, and the three sprinted for the group.
Blight roared again. He surged towards the ponies, but the tips of the vines on which he walked became stiff. They turned grey and brittle, then exploded beneath him in a pile of dusty rubble. Twilight ran into the circle of her friends, with Spike and Alpenglow right behind. Princess Celestia’s horn continued to grow brighter. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, they were in a train car, surrounded by their various neighbors from Ponyville. Twilight let out a sigh of relief. They had made it.
“That…was close,” admitted Rainbow Dash.
“A little too close,” added Fluttershy.
Twilight took in the scene in the crowded train car. Everypony looked miserable, and as far as she could tell, none of them carried bags or suitcases. It seemed Blight had attacked the town so quickly, nopony had had time to grab any of their belongings. Most of the townspeople sat in their seats quietly, trying to understand what they had just been through. The princesses and Alpenglow were quietly talking in the corner of the car, but before Twilight could talk to them, she felt somepony nudge her shoulder. It was Rarity.
“Twilight,” she said, gently raising her hoof. She was pointing at Applejack, who was sitting at a window with her hat off and head down. The rest of the girls were gathered around her. Twilight followed Rarity over to the window and the two placed their hooves around Applejack. Twilight was just about to ask what was wrong, but lost her voice when she looked out the window.
From the train, Ponyville was unrecognizable. The shapes and outlines of the familiar buildings were lost in a sea of twisting, black-green mass. As Twilight looked ahead towards the hills surrounding Ponyville, she saw they were covered too, but not with vines. Hundreds of royal guards from all across Equestria marched towards the town, and among them flared the magic of unicorns. An enormous shield of changing colors began to form in the sky, quickly blanketing Ponyville. Before the town disappeared behind the shield, Twilight squinted and could just make out Sweet Apple Acres, silhouetted against the still rising sun. Vines jutted out of the barn and were spreading into the surrounding orchards, tearing up the earth and throwing apple trees into the air.
With a jolt, the train suddenly picked up speed, leaving Twilight and her friends to huddle close together as they watched Ponyville shrink into a blur on the horizon.