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The Final Battle862 words

The Final Battle

"Ah can't believe that little rascal has such a set of lungs!" Applejack groaned as she got back up.

"Indeed! That was simply dreadful!" Rarity replied.

The others nodded agreement and grouped together just as a powerful bellow roared over Ponyville. All the animals who still stood suddenly stopped their battles and headed toward the source, forming a tight group.

"They're regrouping!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Everypony, form a group behind me! Don't let the animals catch you alone!" Everypony still carrying a pillow charged toward the charismatic mare, grouping up behind her and creating solidarity between each other, just as the animals had done behind Harry. Applejack stepped forward and faced the crowd.

"Ponies of Ponyville! This mornin' when y'all woke up, did ya think y'all'd be starin' each other down?" A few murmured noes cropped up from the crowd. "Did y'all think y'all would be swingin' yer pillows at friends an' neighbors?" Again, murmurs of negation. "Ah know Ah didn't. An' Ah especially didn't think Ah'd be standin' here starin' down several dozen critters from up over the hill. But that's where we are! Ah don't know why, but right now, Fluttershy's critters are standin' united against us, with pillows in tooth and claw, an' they're ready an' willin' to fight every last one of us until we drop!"

"But will we drop, beasts of the Matron? Will we fail her by allowing her slight to go unpunished?" A low noise came from the Menagerie. "I can't hear you! Will you let the Matron's slight go unpunished?!"

"Will you let them drive us out of our town?!"

"NO!" the small army shouted, its intensity only matched by the cacophony of roars and squawks and cries of the animals on the opposite side of the courtyard.

"Then let's show them what happens when they hurt the Matron!"

"Then let's send'em back to Fluttershy with their tails between their legs!" A unanimous roar rolled from the courtyard, powered by two armies as the charged each other, each ready to decimate the ranks of the other until none were left standing.

A shrill scream followed by a thunderous explosion silenced the roar in an instant, and a blinding light washed over all of Ponyville. All movement, all shouts, all thought ceased, except the instinctual need to cower before the unbridled power that pressed against every living creature that happened to be outside. The impulse lasted for a solid thirty seconds before it faded down, allowing the more bold creatures to slowly raise their heads.

The crystal tree was glowing with magic.

The castle's main entrance opened slowly, and a single figure walked out. A lavender mare, one both horned and winged, walked slowly toward the courtyard. Her mane was slightly disheveled, like a mattress that was popping its springs. Her eyes were wide, but her pupils were small, and they flitted around like sugar-filled children, moving this way and that without any sign of stopping soon.

"Good morning, everypony. Good morning, everybeast." She spoke with an unnatural calm that didn't match her outward appearance. "I hope you all are having a good day."

Twilight cast her eyes around, searching for two specific mares. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important. It's just that I've been trying to find the answer to a problem some of my friends are having..." She spied Applejack and Rarity on the far left side of the courtyard, each trying to make themselves small under her gaze.

"...Unfortunately, I can't seem to concentrate on that very well, due to the racket you all are making. Now, I know you all are probably just having a good time beating each other senseless, and I can see the value of the exercise that this little war provides, but I really must ask you to stop. As Princess of Friendship, I don't think this is something that should be happening at all, much less right on my castle's doorstep. So again, I would really appreciate it if you would all stop this fighting. If you don't think you can do that, that's fine too. I'll just put an end to it myself. Thank you for your understanding."

Twilight closed her eyes and smiled at the crowd. Everything was silent for a long moment, no creature wanting to break the tension.

Until a small pillow hit her softly on the nose and plopped to the ground.

Her eyes glowed a brilliant white as she opened them, still smiling. "So be it."

"Oh my..." Fluttershy poured herself another cup of tea to try and calm her frayed nerves. As it turned out, watching the crystal castle spew out pillows like an enormous hive of bees and descend on the town didn't help them very much.

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