Chapter 8: The Fate of Equestria
"Look!" shouted Spike. "Up there!" And there he saw, along with Luna and Shadowstealth, the princesses Twilight and Cadance were fighting it out. Beams of bright blue and dark red streamed across the skies of Canterlot. The battle raged for several minutes, neither princess willing to give an inch, until at last, Cadance scored a hit against Twilight. Even thought she felt the pain, she shrugged it off and blasted Cadance with her own beam, causing her to fall to the streets below near the castle gates. Luna, Spike, and Shadowstealth quickly ran to Cadance and soon Nightmare Twilight stood before the four of them. Cadance was quick to get up despite her nasty crash, but she looked ragged. Her mane and tail were a mess and she had bruises on her body.
"You are weak, sister!" Nightmare Twilight jeered.
"I'm sorry, Twilight," sobbed Cadance. "I couldn't save you."
"And you cannot save yourselves! Look around you! My Tree of Harmony feeds on the souls of everypony in Equestria, tainting their minds with their darkest, cruelest memories! They are being reminded that there is darkness in everypony! The sorrow and regret that they should have felt for their selfish actions is consuming them!" As she spoke, Princess Celestia was seen still in the hospital wing, still in a coma, but nearing the final phase of the Shadow of the Dark Sun. Nopony was around her and she would die soon. "And soon," continued Twilight. "Your precious Princess of the Sun will be no more! And Equestria will belong to me, her successor!"
"Spike," warned Shadowstealth. "It would be very hard to persuade Twilight to come to her senses at this stage. Do you wish to go through with this?"
"Well... what would you say?" asked Spike.
"Something that should be said as a saving grace," answered Shadowstealth. "I've been more around the block than what most ponies would think. I've seen a lot of things and I've witnessed how a lot of ponies act." And as Shadowstealth spoke, the insides of the Tree of Harmony were shown, with tentacles wrapped around consumed ponies unconscious and merged with the inner walls. Among them included Twilight's friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Shining Armor, several crystal ponies, Flash Sentry, Goldengrape, Lyra, Sweetie Drops, Dr. Hooves, Muffins, Golden Harvest, Cherry Berry, Thunderlane, Bulk Biceps, Mayor Mare from Ponyville, Trixie, Suri Polomare, Flim and Flam, Coco Pommel, Cheese Sandwich, the Wonderbolts, Cheerilee, Silver Shill, and many others. And of course, Discord was being held captive with the others. "It's true that maybe as a whole, most ponies think only for themselves and lack virtue, but even if they give in to their darkest thoughts, there is still a light inside that never goes out. And that is called letting go of the past."
Inside the bowels of Discord's mind, the spirit of disharmony found himself confronting an apparition of the evil centaur Lord Tirek.
"What a pity," said Tirek. "Your friendship is just an imprisonment. Those ponies used you... suppressed you... prevented you from living up to your name and reputation."
"But... friendship is important to me..." said a sniveling Discord. "Fluttershy taught me that. Friendship is more powerful than magic. What am I without friends?"
"Without friends, you are yourself," insisted Tirek. "But you let friendship go to your head. And look where it got you. Trapped like a lab rat."
"No..." wailed Discord. "You can't make me give in like this."
"Soon, you won't have much of a choice. Because you are trapped in darkness, your mind will be plagued again and again until you submit. And soon, that will be everypony's fate!"
"No!"
"We remember things that have happened before," said Shadowstealth, still speaking to Nightmare Twilight. "And coming out of them and learning from our mistakes is something we may have all yet to acknowledge as a whole, but when that times comes, we are stronger than ever. Friendship isn't only magic. And it's not just an essence. Friendship is something so powerful, no magic can take it away. Only choices can do that. It is choices that make us who we are. It is choices that shift our lives. It is by choice if we wish to let go of wrongdoings from the past and move on. We don't have to move on, but if we do, we are stronger than what we would have been if we held on to past feelings."
"Wow, you're good," said Spike.
"Interesting speech, Suppressor of Shadows," said Twilight. "But now that you seem to be finished, how would you like to be a snack for my tree?" Her horn started to glow.
"Twilight!" shouted Spike. "Don't! Don't do this!"
"Nice try, my assistant," sneered Twilight. "You're just trying to stall me! It won't work!"
"I know," said Spike. "But... if I can't stop you... then please... let me join you!"
"What?!" Twilight, Luna, Shadowstealth, and Cadance were astonished.
"I know it sounds crazy," said Spike. "And maybe I might be worthless to you. But... I can't change your mind. Not by force... and not by persuasion. So... if there's no other way... I'll take your side. Maybe... we could rule Equestria together."
"That sounds dumb," said Twilight, although she was starting to massage her forehead. "Why would you join me?"
"Because..." murmured Spike. "Because I love you, Twilight." Nightmare Twilight gasped. "I always have," Spike went on. "And I always will. Even if you are being driven by Nightmare Moon to do these... terrible things... I still love you. That's why I want to join you." Cadance then looked at the bewildered Nightmare Twilight and saw a prism reflection on the Element of Magic of her crown. Then, rainbow colors flashed across her eyes.
"Spike is right," she said, wiping away her tears.
"Cadance?" said Luna.
"Twilight," Cadance went on. "You're right, too. We may not be able to snap you out of this, but if you allow Spike and I to be at your side... we will continue to love you, no matter what terrible things you do."
"You... you would do that?" asked Nightmare Twilight. "For me? But..."
"That's what love is, Twilight. Putting somepony else's needs ahead of our own. In this case, we would want nothing more than for you... to be happy... and to be loved. And you are loved. Sometimes, when ponies do awful things to each other... it's hard to see that. But there's always a way to know if there is still love. And that is when ponies feel sorry for the things they do and feel it in each other's hearts. Do you feel that, Twilight? Your friends... Do you feel their affections? The love they have for you as well as your love for them. You once said that friendships would be tested. Is this the test you want? To make others feel your pain by having them experience their darkest thoughts? You can't change their thoughts, Twilight. But you and your friends can create your own world of harmony... and love."
Something could be said about Cadance's words because then, a bright blue glow emitted from the top of the enormous Tree of Harmony. At the same time, Shining Armor vanished from inside the tree and reappeared near the other survivors.
"Shining!" cried Cadance, hugging him.
"What happened?" said Shining Armor. "Am I alive?"
"Yes, but look!" The captain of the guards looked up at the blue glow, which suddenly shot towards them like a shooting star. The survivors and Twilight braced for impact, but when the light touched down, a jewel in the shape of the Crystal Heart, Cadance's cutie mark, was seen suspended in mid-air.
"What is that?" asked Shining Armor.
"A seventh Element of Harmony!" gasped Luna. "The Element of Love!"
"Love..." repeated Cadance. "Of course! Love! Shining, we can use this element together!"
"Will it save Twiley?" asked Shining Armor.
"Without a doubt, my love." The two touched horns and the Element of Love somehow attracted five of the six elements, pulling out of Nightmare Twilight's grasp.
"What?" said Nightmare Twilight. "What's going on? My elements!" She then saw the Element of Magic jewel being extracted from her crown. "You can't do this!"
"Sorry, Twilight," said Spike. "It's for your own good."
"NO!" Twilight reared up on her hooves and slammed down, but suddenly, she turned into a silhouette and a small light shone within.
"Who's there?" said a familiar voice. "Can anypony hear me?"
"Twilight?!" cried Spike. "Is that you?!" And the real Twilight suddenly appeared from the light.
"I'm sorry, everypony," said the real Twilight. "I tried to tell you all the trouble I was causing... but Nightmare Moon's magic was too strong!"
"Don't worry, Twilight!" Spike shouted. "We're going to save you!"
"Listen, Spike. If anything happens to me, please save my friends!"
"But we're saving you, too!"
"I know, but if I don't survive from all this, please make sure my friends are okay!"
"You'll be fine, Twilight! Stop talking like that! It's bad enough that you were the one being controlled by Nightmare Moon to begin with!" Twilight then started to fade away.
"Hurry, Spike!" she said. "Cadance, Shining Armor... All of you, do what you have to! I love you!" Nightmare Twilight's body came back into focus.
"No!" she cried. "I cannot be weak! I am stronger than anypony in Equestria!" She fired a crimson red beam at the survivors, but Cadance and Shining Armor's love for each other protected them in a shield.
"You may be strong," said Luna. "But love is the ultimate harmony! And it is harmony that will banish the evil inside you!" Luna wielded the remaining six element jewels while Shining Armor and Cadance used the seventh. The intense power created a rainbow shockwave that spread across all of Equestria. Nightmare Twilight screamed as her body flashed with rainbow colors. The gigantic Tree of Harmony dissolved into rainbow wisps. And the entire land of Equestria became engulfed in a massive rainbow force field, reversing all the damage. Then, Nightmare Twilight's garments all broke apart and dissolved and her body was enveloped in a shadowy pillar.
"It's time," said Shadowstealth, activating his horn. Back in the medical wing where Princess Celestia was, dark wisps were leaving her body, causing her to slowly wake up from her coma. The dark wisps gathered into Shadowstealth's horn, but he then transferred the wisps into the dark pillar. "Nightmare Moon... take back your dark magic. The Elements of Harmony only contained your spirit after exorcising Princess Luna. Now, with the power of seven, you will be gone for good."
"It matters not," said Nightmare Moon. "As long as there is darkness in everypony's heart, I never truly leave this world!"
"I think the rainbow would disagree." The Tree of Harmony was seen back in its proper place in the Everfree Forest and the original six elements returned to it. And all across Equestria, the ponies who had been taken captive all instantly reappeared in their homes, towns, villages, and cities and rejoiced from being returning alive.
"I'M ALIVE!!" cried Discord, showing up in Ponyville with a party hat and blowing into a party blower while throwing confetti.
"Hey, mister!" snapped Pinkie Pie. "Throwing parties is MY business! Don't you dare try to put me out of a job!" Elsewhere in Ponyville, Fluttershy and Muffins met up with each other for a bit of small talk.
"Oh my goodness," said Fluttershy. "What an ordeal! Right, Muffins?"
"Whew!" agreed Muffins. "I'm glad it's over too, Fluttershy. But look at it this way!"
"Huh?"
"You got to be a tree!"