The Eternal Storm 2 - Eternally Devoid

by TDarkchylde

Ten - The End

Corona lunged at Princess Luna with her sword drawn.

Princess Luna only had a split-second to react, conjuring a magical blade of her own to parry the incoming lunge. "Sister... I know you're in there... snap out of it! You're not like this!"

"Shut your traitorous mouth before you poison me with your blasphemy, please!" Corona cried as she tried to strike again.

Luna parried that blow as well. "I don't want to hurt you!" she cried. She was struggling from the start. To begin with, she was no match for Celestia magically on her best day, or Celestia's worst. Her magic was already severely drained. She had teleported Spike and the two false Element Bearers to the castle... then teleported herself and a carriage of ponies a few hours later. She had further drained her magic in several attempts to reverse the spell Nightmare Discord had used to turn Twilight Sparkle into stone. She'd had no time to sleep or recharge. On top of all of that, on a normal day, Celestia had 1000 years of additional practice with a blade than she had... and she had no idea just how much false experience Nightmare Discord had added to that when he twisted her into General Corona. She didn't even have a real blade handy to defend herself, she was forced to use a solid magic construct instead. As the final insult, she simply had no desire to harm her sister, even to save her own life.

This was going to be a long day for her, she realized...

The Element Bearers had taken Twilight's statue and retreated to the VIP wing with Spike and Vinyl. Even there, though, they could hear the fight going on in the throne room. They could hear Corona's blade colliding with items there, and bodies getting slammed against the walls and the ceiling... mostly Luna's.

Rainbow Dash was growing agitated. She shook her head. "I respect Luna and all... but we can't just sit here doing nothing. We've got to help her."

"Are you out of your mind?" Vinyl asked. "In case you didn't notice... those aren't normal ponies out there. They're the Princesses. Any one of us would end up getting splattered against the wall if we even thought of heading out there!"

Sweetie Belle sighed as an anguished cry and a thud resounded from the throne room. The entire palace seemed to shake from that one. "Rainbow's right, Vinyl... she can't do this by herself. She's our friend, and it's cruel to leave her out there all alone."

Vinyl shook her head. "Sweet Stuff... please... you can't honestly be considering this."

"Uhm... I think she did, Vinyl," Pinkie said. Another cry resounded in the distance. "I can think of some way better ways for those two to resolve their differences than a fight. Maybe we could get a race or something going instead. Dibs on the announcing spot!"

"Somehow... I don't think that's going to work," Spike said. "It sounds like they're trying to kill each other out there..."

"All the more reason we should try to give Princess Luna some support," Rarity said. "Even if we can't help in the fight, it she knows we are with her, it might give her enough morale to prevail."

Spike facepalmed. "Not you too, Rarity..."

Apple Bloom gulped. "Ah agree with Rainbow Dash and the others. She's done too much for us, we can't abandon her. Honestly, it's the only decision that makes any sense, even if it is crazy..." She was startled as her Element necklace began to glow, along with her body. "Huh? What's goin' on? Ah feel funny..."

She wasn't the only one. Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were all experiencing something similar.

The light soon reached a blinding point...

Nightmare Discord had managed to get halfway through his giant bag of popcorn as he watched the fight between the Princesses take place via his crystal ball. He was cheering the transformed and traumatized Celestia on with each strike she attempted.

He was the only one that knew the truth of it all... he hadn't erased the Celestia that was. She was trapped inside the mind of General Corona, forced to watch everything that was happening but completely helpless to interfere.

He laughed as Corona's blade finally met Luna's body. Though it was only a glancing blow, it still managed to draw some blood. "This is priceless! I should be charging for this fight!" he said, laughing.

Then, he felt a powerful magic in the direction of Canterlot. It wasn't Corona. It surely wasn't Luna.

The crystal ball began to crack as the image faded... then it shattered violently.

"Horseapples..." he said quietly.

Within his own mind, another voice replied... this of the real Discord. "What's wrong? Are those ponies proving themselves full of surprises? Why don't you just snap my talons and end all existence like you threatened to do already?"

"Shut up, old man," the Nightmare-driven version replied.

"Oh, that's right... you can't. I certainly could, but I simply have no desire to."

The Nightmare blinked.

"Did you honestly think you could control my power... the power of Chaos itself? I was only letting you do the things I had already wished to do." Discord laughed loudly within the recesses of his and the Nightmare's currently shared mind. "And don't think any of those ponies you think you killed are actually dead. I just sent them to a different plane of existence for a while. I do hope they appreciate the creatures there that are showering them with affection... strange though they are. I mean, sentient hairless primates? Even I couldn't come up with something as crazy as that, especially a planet ruled by them..."

"Get to the point already, old man... you're really starting to bore me," the Nightmare replied.

"Ah yes, I was rambling a bit there. Long story short, I might not be able to kick you out of my body, but I can still make the rules around here. I'm done enabling you. Unless it's something I'd want to do already, use your own damned magic, kid."

Nightmare Discord growled. "Pet. Are you done preparing the modifications to the spell I taught you?"

Trixie nodded. "This mare has done as you commanded... the spell she used before shall not affect you this time."

"It's about time something went right," he said. "Shut it all down."

Luna winced as she was thrown upwards into the ceiling by her sister. "Please... stop this madness..." she begged. She was already bloodied just from the body blows, and a well-timed hoof to the face had caused one of her eyes to seal shut from the swelling.

Corona flew upwards and was having none of her sister's pathetic begging as she knocked her upwards into the sky. She swung her blade once more.

Luna desperately parried, but she had reached her limit in the process. The magical blade she was wielding shattered. "You have to... come to your senses... please..."

Corona laughed as her sister started to fall, completely spent and defenseless. "You're beaten. It is time for your sentence to be carried out. Farewell, my traitorous sister..." She raised her blade... then everything went white as a teleportation spell went off right in front of her. "What sorcery is this?"

As the light faded, six ponies could be seen encapsulated in a bubble of magic. Five of them were wearing the necklaces holding the Elements of Harmony. Their eyes all glowed with a white light.

The sixth pony didn't even appear to be a pony at all. She instead appeared as an apparition of pure magic, tinted with a lavender glow. Her face was featureless except for two solid white eyes. Where there would have been a mane and tail, there was instead a flowing field of indigo-tinted magic. Atop the field that would otherwise have been a mane sat the tiara housing the Element of Magic.

"You did it..." Luna said weakly as she fell toward the earth below.

"Princess Celestia... it is time for this facade to end!" a voice said, originating from the pony made of magic.

The Elements all began to glow in concert, then a rainbow started to encircle General Corona. Another rainbow followed... then one more. Rainbows encircled the General like electron trails orbiting an atom's nucleus.

"No... I can't fail... I can't fail!" the General shouted. Her horn glowed as she tried to teleport out of the rainbows.

"Counterspell," the six ponies said in unison, quashing the spell before it could even be completed. "Be restored."

The rainbows closed in on the transformed Princess. As they passed through her, her entire body began to glow with a white light. A moment later, the light dimmed and Princess Celestia reappeared. "How... Luna!" She quickly flew down to grab her sister before she would hit the ground... but she was too high up and Luna was too far down already.

The six ponies inside of the magical bubble looked down. "Standing Sonic Rainboom." The resulting boom could be heard all the way in Ponyville. In the time it takes one to blink, the magical bubble was sitting near the ground. Princess Luna landed harmlessly on it.

"How did you..." Princess Celestia said as she reached ground level.

"Perfect Harmony," the Six said in unison. "Though it comes with a price, we cannot remain this way for long. One of us is already lost."

Celestia's eyes opened wide and her pupils shrunk as she got a good look at the six ponies... especially the one who seemed entirely comprised of magic. She started shivering as she began to truly understand what had happened. "Twilight?"

The magical pony simply nodded once.

Celestia lowered her head as she picked up her sister's battered body with her magic. "I'm deeply sorry, my student..."

"It's not your fault, Princess," the Six replied. "This was the only way. We have to hurry."

"...I understand... Twilight... goodbye," Celestia said as she moved her sister onto her back and flew into the Palace.

"Princess."

Celestia stopped at the Palace doors.

The magical pony pointed at her heart with one of her forehooves. "Always."

Celestia nodded, fighting back tears.

"Harmony shall prevail." With that, the Six disappeared in a flash of light.

Nightmare Discord growled as he felt his link to Princess Celestia terminate. "Well, there goes a waste of a perfectly good torture session..."

His day was about to get worse as a blinding light filled the Royal Sisters' old throne room in the Everfree Forest.

"Nightmare. It is time to end this," the Six said as the light faded and they came into view. They were still inside of their magical bubble. "Polymorph."

The doppelgangers of Rarity and Pinkie Pie standing guard at the door were wrapped in a multicolored light. They didn't even have a chance to react as the magic did its work. A moment later, Chief Sentinel and Blackout were restored to their normal bodies and left unconscious on the ground.

"They're using magic..." Nightmare Discord realized. He looked down at Trixie, who was still hard at work using her spell. "How are they using magic?"

"This... this mare does not know, Nightmare..." Trixie said, trembling and backing off underneath an unsteady column.

The tails of the Six began to twitch in unison as a small rock fell and landed on Trixie's head. "Sorry," they said. "Twitchy tail. We really should have warned you..."

Trixie's magical attempts ceased as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"This cannot be happening!" Nightmare Discord shouted as he moved his arm and prepared to snap his fingers.

"Dimensional Anchor."

As he snapped his fingers, nothing happened. "You ponies can't defeat me again! I won't let you!" Maddened, Nightmare Discord went for his last resort... sheer physical force. He swung his fists with everything he had, striking the magical bubble.

None of it was doing any good. He couldn't even get past it.

Nightmare Discord was panting as he continued to strike. Finally, his blows began to slow and weaken. Even a Nightmare-augmented Chaos God had his limits, and he was hitting them hard.

"Are you finished?" the Six asked. "Binding Chains."

Chains of rainbow magic burst out of the ground underneath Nightmare Discord and held him tightly. He bellowed angrily.

Inside his mind, Discord was laughing at his misfortunes. "Popcorn?"

The Six sighed collectively. "For all the ponies you've maimed, disfigured, mentally destroyed and killed... you are done, Nightmare. Once and for all."

Nightmare Discord shouted, "I can't be destroyed, even if you're somehow this powerful! Banish me and I shall return once more! You can never vanquish me for good!"

The Six said nothing as their Elements began to glow. For a few seconds, nothing happened... until the chains binding Nightmare Discord began to glow brightly.

The resulting magical explosion could be felt by anypony with a horn anywhere in Equestria.

"Au revoir, kiddo," Discord taunted mentally as the Nightmare lost its grip on his mind and body.

When the smoke cleared, the Nightmare was there in its true form - a black mist without form, next to a prone Discord. Frantically, it made a beeline for the unconscious Trixie.

The Six collectively shook their heads. "Sanctify The Wicked. Let's see how you like your own treatment of others."

There was no sound as the Nightmare's essence began to compress down and solidify. A few seconds later, a black gem fell harmlessly to the floor.

"Ow... those rainbows really hurt... bravo!" Discord said as he stretched out. "It feels good to be me again, really. You might want to keep that gem away from your pet dragon, though."

The Six stared at Discord without any sign of emotion on their faces.

"...Right, the whole statue thing," Discord said, sighing. "Let me at least try to undo some of the damage my misguided offspring caused..." He snapped his talons and Applejack, Fluttershy and Scootaloo appeared... then Scootaloo changed back from a dodo into a pony.

"...Ah had the weirdest dream..." Applejack said as she rubbed her head. "Ah was bein' mobbed by these weird hairless things, an' most of 'em kept sayin' Pinkie Pie was best pony... whatever that meant..."

Fluttershy was curled up in a ball. She squeaked as she noticed the change in surroundings and looked up. "...We're back? Yay..."

Scootaloo said many things, most of which are not suitable to be recounted here.

The Six just continued to stare at Discord.

"Right, right... Canterlot..." He snapped his talons. "There. Back where it should be, safe and sound. Not a single hair harmed on anypony's head."

Applejack walked over to the others. "...Sis? What're you doin' with mah necklace?"

Fluttershy shrieked as she saw the condition of the Six. "Twilight? Is that you? What happened?"

The Six sighed. "In a moment, girls," they said. "Restore these ponies' minds, too."

"Yes, yes... that's one thing I did agree with my kid on, Trixie is much better behaved without an identity, but so be it..." Snap. "There. When she wakes up, she'll be back to her charming, arrogant self," he said.

Scootaloo ran up to the others. Her wing was still broken. "Wow... that's so awesome! I wish I could have done that..." She then noticed that Rainbow Dash was among the Six. "...Just how long were we gone anyways? There's no way she could be walking this quick!"

The Six looked at Scootaloo, then resumed staring at Discord.

"...Oh, come on... I didn't even cause that one..." he protested.

They continued staring.

"No. You six are the standing pinnacle of magic, heal her yourself," he said.

The Six collectively sighed. "Heal."

A warm sensation crept into Scootaloo's damaged wing. She tested it gingerly as the sensation faded. It seemed as good as new.

"Is that everything? Can I go back to my statue now? You six are starting to creep me out with the whole legion voice thing..." Discord said, sighing. Yes, even he had limits to his patience.

"We don't trust you to stay in it if you put yourself there, silly," the Six said.

"Ugh, fine," Discord said as he struck a pose he thought was fairly heroic... in reality, it looked ridiculous. "Friend me... not like it'll stick."

"Back up, girls," the Six said as the Elements started to glow once more.

Applejack, Fluttershy and Scootaloo backed off as requested.

A rainbow beam fired upwards from the magical bubble, then sloped downward and hit Discord squarely. His body began to petrify from his feet upwards. "I'll be back, you know," he said.

"Yes, we know..." the Six said, sharing annoyance. "We'll be waiting."

"But of course!" Discord said as the stone spell finished petrifying his body.

With a final blast of magic, Discord's petrified body was teleported back to the Royal Gardens. With another burst of magic, the Six, Fluttershy, Applejack, Trixie, Chief Sentinel and Blackout were all teleported to Canterlot.

Princess Celestia had just gotten Luna into a bed as a bunch of ponies mass teleported back into the Palace... right into Luna's private bedroom, in fact. "What in the..." Celestia asked.

The Six were the first to their hooves, even getting back up in unison. "Sorry, Princess. That was less smooth than we had hoped for... it was the limit..." The magical bubble surrounding them dissipated and their mental union was broken.

"...Remind me never to do that again..." Rarity said.

"Are you kidding? That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I was using magic... real magic like unicorns and everything!"

"Uhm... we were all usin' it, Rainbow..." Apple Bloom said as she rubbed her head. "Ah got a real bad headache, though..."

"Let's do it again!" Pinkie said, bouncing.

Sweetie Belle yanked her hoof out of the way as Pinkie started to bounce. "...Watch it, Pinkie! You almost stepped on me..."

Twilight sighed as her own magic started to unravel, and her form with it. "It's time... without the Elements to sustain me..."

"Wait, what?" Applejack said, confused. "What happened now?"

"Twilight, no... please... you can't mean..." Fluttershy said sadly. She tried to run over to hug her friend, but there was nothing there to hug.

"When I got freed from my own stone imprisonment, my body wasn't able to be changed back, but the power of the Elements fused my mind with my magic and freed that," Twilight said, sadly. "...But my magic isn't infinite. It's about to run out, and when it does..."

"Twilight... no!" Scootaloo said. "There has to be another way!"

Princess Luna opened her non-swollen eye. "...Perhaps... the Elements freed her... maybe they can restore her as well..."

"Sister, you shouldn't be awake yet..." Celestia said, concerned. She turned to the others. "Still, she may be right. Hurry. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, give your Elements to their rightful Bearer..."

Wasting no time, they each slipped their necklaces off. Honesty went back to Applejack, Kindness to Fluttershy.

"Now, focus on Twilight," Celestia instructed.

"Wait... if her magic escaped the statue, isn't it still there?" Scootaloo asked.

"It shattered..." Twilight said. "I don't have a body to go back to."

Twilight's friends focused on her, and on the Element they each carried.

"...Nothing's happening..." Rarity said.

"They're spent!" Rainbow Dash observed.

Applejack growled. "We can't jus' give up! We can't... Ah'm sure as hay not gonna!" Honesty began to glow weakly.

"It just wouldn't be the same without you, Twilight... we were going to have this huge party that Ponyville would talk about forever and everything!" Pinkie said, sadly. Laughter, too, began to glow weakly.

"There's nothing kind about this..." Fluttershy said. She squeaked as Kindness began glowing.

"I would give anything to keep you here, Twilight... you know that, right?" Rarity said, pleading. Generosity glowed.

"I would take her place," Rainbow Dash said flatly. "I almost bit it already... I'm not scared to go." Loyalty glowed.

Magic glowed weakly atop Twilight's head. "What's this?" she asked.

"You really do care for one another, don't you?" a voice began to say. To those who had regained their Elements earlier, it sounded exactly like that to them. Fluttershy heard the voice Sweetie did, and Applejack heard the one Apple Bloom had earlier listened to. "You don't want to lose your friend... you're all willing to do whatever it takes."

"You're danged right..." Applejack said, softly.

The others nodded in agreement.

Each then felt a slight weakness within their bodies. "Well, she is the key to our power... we really don't want to lose her either, but restoring her will take more power than we have remaining. If each of you give a part of yourself, however... this will work. Are you truly willing?"

Each one nodded without hesitation. "Yes," they said in unison.

Just as Twilight's magical body began to fade, newfound magic wrapped around her. Light filled the room.

"Focus," the Elements guided. "Keep her in your hearts."

The magic continued to work. As it swept across Twilight's body, parts that were just magic were being replaced with flesh and blood. Sensation began to return as her nervous system reformed. Her senses became real as her head was restored. The bands of magic met up in the middle, and a flesh and blood Twilight Sparkle stood there, reborn.

"Ah don't believe it... it worked!" Applejack said as she poked at her friend's body.

Twilight winced. "Hey! Quit that..."

Each of Twilight's friends and the onetime Cutie Mark Crusaders closed in on Twilight and a group hug ensued.

Laughter resounded from the Elements' essences. "Looks like it worked... but it took a bit more than we had thought. The Elements of Harmony will have to remain inert for at least ten years to recharge after all of this. Between Perfect Harmony and rebuilding a body from scratch..."

Princess Celestia nodded. "We understand... at the least, Harmony is in our hearts."

"You know... I didn't even realize you were an actual thing..." Rainbow Dash said, dumbfounded. "I thought the Elements were either just pieces of supercharged jewelry, or something from within..."

"You learn something new every day, Rainbow..." Twilight said. "Still... I never realized it, either."

"Well, the Princess is right, in a way," the Elements replied. "Harmony is in everypony, and we are a focus for that. However... good magicians tend to leave a little of something in their work. Think of us as that little something left behind."

"...I think I understand..." Fluttershy said.

"Our time is almost up," the Elements said. "It was good meeting you again, Princesses. Friends. Until we meet again... which hopefully isn't too terribly soon."

"Indeed," Princess Celestia said.

The Elements went inert and their glowing stopped. For all intents and purposes... they were simply very fancy, well-crafted pieces of jewelry and would remain that way for a decade.

It took a few days for Chief Sentinel and Blackout to physically recover from their ordeal. Mentally, however, it took a lot longer for them. Blackout would find himself not wanting to go anywhere for a while without a fainting couch, and Chief Sentinel got a little out of shape from overindulging on the sweeter varieties of baked goods.

Still, Rarity would argue it may have turned out for the best in some form or another, especially when an impromptu Pinkie Party broke out at the Carousel Boutique main office in Manehattan and Pinkie herself was nowhere near the place.

As for Rarity herself, her business continued to expand rapidly. Nearly every town and city of mention in Equestria has a location, and she even has stores in the Griffon and Zebra-run lands.

It took a lot longer for Trixie. She had to live with being the one who brought the Nightmare back to Equestria in the first place after it was imprisoned in the Sun. She was forgiven by Twilight and her friends, but never truly forgave herself. She moved back in with her family in Canterlot and went back to being a showpony... only she remained closer to home after everything that had happened. Despite how the Nightmare had twisted her, her sense of loss that drove her to command the Elements of Harmony was real.

Vinyl Scratch and Sweetie Belle became a couple... at least, musically. While Vinyl would drop the bass and keep the beats going, Sweetie's soothing voice provided the perfect foil. The combination would prove to become one of the most in-demand musical acts in Equestrian entertainment history.

Scootaloo went back to Cloudsdayle and finally executed that Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow Dash pulled one off right alongside her during the tryout.

Rainbow Dash herself went back to being an active Wonderbolt. When her equilibrium was healed by the magic of the Element of Loyalty, it stuck.

Eventually, Scootaloo blew through the Junior Wonderbolt ranks. She and Rainbow Dash were picked to lead a second squad. It was a huge success.

Big Macintosh's leg healed up enough for him to resume his work on Sweet Apple Acres. Of course, that required a fair amount of spiked cider and some heavy-duty rope so he would stay in bed long enough to fully heal. Sometimes, it even took a kick in the head from his sisters. It paid off in the end.

Applejack went right back to raising Applewood, but she decided to start making time for her own passions as well... her work and her friends. Overall, it led to a much happier farm pony... and better times for the farm.

Apple Bloom quit her job at the Ponyville Carousel Boutique location and started her own design business. She found it much more worth it when she decided to stop limiting her designs to just clothing. Her business eventually branched out and is now known for designing almost everything from clothing to roadways to buildings.

She even made a small fortune helping the Royal Guards complete that experimental aerial troop transport.

Fluttershy's house was rebuilt thanks in part to a charity record released by the reclusive Hyperaktiv. It sold like wildfire, to the point that Fluttershy was able to expand it to include an enclosed veterinary hospital.

As for Hyperaktiv herself, a.k.a. Pinkie Pie, she actually decided to cut back on her touring and workload. It was partially a business strategy, and it paid off. Her fans, driven by the newfound scarcity of new material, sold out every single show she did for five years running, and nearly all of her records made it through at least three reprint runs each. What did she spend the additional time doing, you might ask?

Partying, of course. She did have one minor scare with a doughnut overdose, but otherwise it was all good, clean fun.

Twilight Sparkle went back to her job as a professor at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns... for about three weeks until the head administrator abruptly retired to take care of family matters... something about a daughter that had moved back in after suffering extensive mental trauma. There was no opposition to Twilight being elevated into the job.

At first, she hated it. It was nothing but paperwork and number crunching, she felt. She learned to enjoy it more when she found out part of the job included reporting to Princess Celestia daily. In person.

Spike, with Twilight Sparkle's blessing, enlisted in the Royal Guard shortly after Twilight's promotion. A few ponies get startled by the dragon Guard as they go to the Palace to petition the Princesses, but all in all it worked out for the best.

Discord is still a statue. He hasn't made good on his threat to return yet. Whether that is because he cannot, or because he could but doesn't think the time is right... that is yet to be seen.

The gem the Nightmare was imprisoned inside of was placed in one of the most secure vaults in Canterlot Palace and promptly forgotten about.

Princess Luna recovered from her injuries and resumed her duties after a few weeks.

Princess Celestia took a vacation once Luna recovered for the first time in recorded history. She was gone for a year.

Equestria survived just fine. Luna even took over raising both the Sun and the Moon as her sister had for a millennium. Her subjects went from being afraid of her to respecting her, to actually liking her when she changed the yearly tax day to Annual Ponies in Socks Day. Sure, the populace still had taxes to get done, but now they can do so in socks.

Seriously, what's not to love about that?

The best part of all of it was that Twilight Sparkle, her friends and the onetime Cutie Mark Crusaders made it a point to all get together every once in a while back in Ponyville... sometimes once a week, but never less than once a month.

Their friendship was worth it, even though it still wasn't easy to coordinate the get-togethers...