The Ashes of a Phoenix

by Xehanort107

The Longest Night

Twilight kicked open the doors to her castle with a force strong enough to wake anyone residing in its echoing halls. Twilight saw nothing as she and Fluttershy walked the empty halls; a sullen echo of wind from the open doors resounded like the cry of ghosts from their prison, begging for freedom.

The two mares had checked every corner of the halls and every room upstairs, even the chamber where the ruins of Clover’s mirror still lay in shambles. Fluttershy rejoined Twilight to take another look at the wreckage.

“Why does Clover want to hurt us? What does she have to go back to?” Twilight asked, looking at Fluttershy with curiosity.

“Twilight? Is your Fluttershy going to be ok?”

“I don’t know. I just hope that your friends are keeping her safe. We’ll find a way to get you home. We just need time.” Twilight tried to remember better times, but the look on Fluttershy’s face was tense; it pierced Twilight to see the strained pain on her that screamed in her ears.

“We’re out of time.” Fluttershy said with agitation. “I shouldn’t have gotten mad at Clover. Now I ruined the only chance to get home. I just want Sunset back. Twilight, what do I do?”

“Calm down, Fluttershy. I’m sure that there’s another way to open the portal. There has to be.” Twilight scoured the room and noticed a large book on the ground. It felt odd to her that the glass and frame of the mirror hadn’t been cleaned up. Rarity is so diligent to make sure that every room is clean, even if it isn’t her house she’s cleaning.

As she thought about it, she noticed that the guest rooms that her friends slept in were all abandoned. Never had she seen any of her friends, except Pinkie, leave their room in shambles; everyone usually made sure their bed, at the very least, was made, but not a single one was tidy enough by any of their standards. It was as if they had all disappeared before they had even left to go to the library.

Adagio swooped by the window, she seems distraught, like a dark terror had brought her to an untimely realization.

“Twilight! I found her. She just went into that dark forest a few miles from here.”

Twilight looked confused. “The Everfree Forest? What would she be doing there? There’s nothing there except Zecora and…”

“What?”

“The Elements of Harmony!” Twilight said with fear and announcement. All of them looked at each other with bewilderment.

“What do they do, Twilight? What’s so special about the Elements of Harmony?”

Twilight thought to herself a dilemma that conflicts her friendship and her morals. She still couldn’t trust Adagio, nor the other sirens, but she also had to inform them of the impending danger that would come if they were uninformed of the power of those magnificent crystals.

“They’re magic,” Twilight explained, “The Elements are the most powerful gemstones in all of Equestria. They were our weapon against those who threatened us, but they have another side to them. When I came to Canterlot High, Sunset stole my Element of Harmony, my crown. When she put it on, she became possessed. She almost destroyed the entire school and our world, too. That was only one; I can’t imagine what would happen if Clover got her hooves on the magic of all six.”

“She won’t! We’ll help you. We can go to Everfree and make sure they don’t get the Elements. You hurry as fast as you can.” She was about to leave before whispering something to Fluttershy. “I know we had our differences, Twilight. I’m sorry for whatever pain or misery I caused you. I hope I can make it up to you.”

Adagio and her friends flew quickly towards the forest. Twilight ran to her room to grab the book that kept their worlds connected. By the time Twilight returned, Fluttershy already had her saddlebag and was standing by the door. Somehow, they knew they were going to need these and knew this was a moment for Twilight to look Fluttershy in the eyes and see what she never realized; every single moment that led up to this was seen in her eyes.

“I didn’t notice, but you really do have Fluttershy’s eyes, but you don’t have her heart; you’re not the same as my Fluttershy, but Sunset would be proud to have you instead of her.”

Fluttershy smiled caringly and hugged Twilight. “Same for you.”

Unlike Clover, Twilight knew the Everfree Forest and all its inhabitants. Fluttershy, on numerous occasions, visited the forest to see the strange creatures that dwelled there. Twilight remembered how powerful the magic inside the Elements of Harmony can be, and how fractional their usage of it was. Princess Celestia had even said to her that despite being the wielders of those artifacts, the six of them were only scratching the bare surface of their true power. Only the creator of the Elements of Harmony can truly harness their strength.

The trees of the Everfree were like thorns on roses. They were abundant, but something distracted the mares from noticing them. They trotted through the forest as if the trees were nonexistent. Even with the shortcut, it took them what felt like hours to reach the center of the forest. Again, it occurred to Twilight what will happen if Clover removes the Elements; danger will once again befall them.

Clover was already staring at the glorious brilliance of the gems that lie encapsulated in the tree. It almost felt rude to disturb them; however, Clover only waited a moment before turning to see the mares she despised so much. Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie with her. Rarity and Applejack were further away, but still visible.

“Brilliance and perfection do not define me as well as do these gemstones,” Clover announced, “As old as I, but not quite as young. Dare I not to retrieve the right to control that deserves me so fittingly? And yet, thou cometh and seek vengeance... nay, murder, in quid pro quo of a lawful deed committed by me. Rise your weapon and challenge mine army! Outmatched over twice folded, victory can only be mine! Begone at once!”

At that moment, Twilight realized Rainbow Dash’s eyes were different. They were empty, but still open. It was like she had moved out of herself and watched life like a movie. Fluttershy was too hurt to notice. She had already kicked Clover again, this time not as hard.

“Insolent! Ignorant! Belligerent equine! Friends past, now mine, seek vengeance in mine honor! Let the blood of her passionate heart become lava and flow her every pore; let anger consume you!”

Rarity came from behind Fluttershy and used her magic to hold Fluttershy while she wrapped her hooves around her torso. Rainbow Dash and Applejack came from her front, examining the place where pain will be most brutal. Rainbow struck first, leaving a bright red mark on Fluttershy’s golden face. Applejack reared and kicked her in the stomach.

Twilight tried to stop them, but Pinkie Pie was in her way, quickly appearing wherever she looked. Twilight didn’t want to hurt her friends, and she knew Fluttershy felt the same way. Clover knew it, too, and it added to her wickedness.

Clover carelessly returned to prying the Elements from the tree. Whatever magic was used to embed them was strong enough to keep them there. Only an impact could break the hold. At that time, the sirens flew in, after struggling to untangle the vines that trapped them along the way. Clover looked on at them.

“Ah! You, who once were called friends, have brought to me great disdain. I look at your chest, which bore my magical prison. Only minutes of hours will you remain. I see’st thou withering. Come and reap your vengeance and hatred! I grant pity on you, whose imminent grave has already been dug.”

“It’s true, we may perish as quickly as we came to be, but you have been a millenia overdue, Clover.” Adagio recklessly charges at Clover, but crashed instead into the tree. The impact was strong enough that by the time Adagio shook off her headache, Clover had surrounded herself with the Elements of Harmony.

“Twilight!” Adagio cried, “Stop her!”

“It’s too late! Saviors are lost to you, now that the rightful owner of existence has reclaimed her prized jewels of hierarchy. Bow before your new queen!” Clover lifted the Elements with her magic. They glowed brilliantly, as if the light surrounding them had dimmed so black that it had been transparent to light more powerful than even Celestia could produce in hooves so black as Luna’s night. “In the darkest dream, or wickedest nightmare, you never witnessed my arrival. My perfection, which I have dreamed of all my life has finally come to me. Alas, as I regret most wretchedly, my victory is all in debt to you, my enemies. You will have the honor of witnessing your graves being dug from underneath you by the absolute. Once more, bow before your queen!”

Fluttershy stood alone against the being before her, now radiating with immortality and immeasurable energy and chaos. Twilight and the sirens were frozen in fear. They wondered if Fluttershy was, too. Even Rainbow Dash and the others were dazzled by the enlightenment.

“You took Sunset from me,” Fluttershy started saying, “You killed her, you heartless meanie!”

“I will kill you with the hooves that demolished cities, ruined countless lives, and lived to see her own world betray her. Nay, you needn’t a burial. Cremation will spread your ashes into the inferno of thine hopeless city. Equestria will be burned in flames! So it is said, so it will be done!”

Before Clover could blink, she failed to notice Fluttershy, who had grabbed onto her torso, refusing to let go of her at all costs.

“Treacherous wench! Ungrateful heathen! Be despised by your ancestors and join your friends in the dark abyss!” Clover effortlessly threw back Fluttershy, her saddlebag releasing the book she kept inside. “This book? So humorous that you bring that which grants me passage through the infinite worlds outside. You were always so naive, Fluttershy. Have you any remorse for being the sole reason for the destruction of this world and worlds to come? Or is there still hope for your kind, you believe, and my efforts will be thwarted by your unyielding, incessant interference. This book has but one purpose, but to be the gate to unlock the dimensions, and the Elements, which you used so crudely, the keys to unlock it.”

Clover grinned as the Elements moved into place, lining themselves on the spine of the book in an almost mystical fashion. The last Element, the star that represented Twilight and the magic of Friendship, took its rightful place on the face of the book, gittering a radiant light that burst forth a tear in front of them filled with light so bright that nothing could be seen beyond it, yet dark enough that it didn’t hurt their eyes to look at it.

Fluttershy got back to her hooves and took one last look at Twilight. They both knew this was the last time they would see each other. Fluttershy smiled in her usual way as she charged towards Clover, pushing them both into the portal. Clover tried to push her away as the light engulfed them, but she refused to let go.

When the light dissipated, Fluttershy opened her eyes to see Clover collapsed to the ground. She looked around and noticed she had returned home; it was Canterlot High that imposed its might over the street where they lied. The starless night made it feel almost serene and tranquil. Fluttershy smiled at the peaceful moment where nothing could hurt her anymore. Clover pushed herself up and punched the asphalt as hard as she could. She hated Fluttershy more than ever, but when she opened her eyes, she wished she could unsee it.

“Not here! Of all the dimensions, of all worlds that could succumb to me, it must be the one where you get your happy ending.”

“This is where we first met. This is the place where I first learned about you, where I trusted you, where I thought you were still the same person who was my friend; no, my love. Best of all, this is the world where magic doesn’t exist. Those Elements of Harmony are useless now that the bridge between Equestria and here is severed forever.”

“How wrong you are. This is the world where I deceived you. This is the world where you thwarted me at every turn. This is the world that will be your grave. Watch and behold as I exhibit the full power of these gems and use every iota to destroy you! Thy mortal soul will have no mercy from the reaper. Fare thee well in the afterlife, whatever deity may accept you.”

Clover held the book in the air, but instead of gleaming with brilliance, a dark, black pulse zapped the book out of her hands. A strange, empty energy surrounded Clover. For once, she felt the honest feeling of fear. The energy sparked and shuttered. Storms rushed the skies with lightning and rain. The earth shook and broke apart. The wind torrented through the alleys. It was clear to Fluttershy that this energy was unlike anything she had ever seen or imagined.

The energy lifted away, revealing the body of Sunset on the ground. Fluttershy rushed to her, believing Sunset was still there and not caring if Clover was there too. The energy overhead dispersed and revealed a heavenly body, angelic in almost every regard. Her silk-like, dark hair waved with purity and her bright blue eyes seem to stare into Fluttershy’s soul. Her skin seemed to shine with every strike of lighting. Her body curved with every rumble of the earth. The wind only faded through her hair, making her look only more attractive. Even with a new body, Fluttershy knew this was still Clover; her beauty didn’t faze her.

“Do not believe that victory is yours, I am far from extinguished. You believed that those Elements had put me down for good, but indeed they have done the complete opposite. It has restored my body. I am far superior to that weakling you hold so tightly in your hands. Dare you to challenge me, or watch as your precious world becomes consumed in the ashes of a phoenix?”

Clover lifted her hand gracefully, and in one swift motion the school, which had stood so proudly the moment before, was reduced to rubble, leveled to the ground without effort. The sounds alerted Rainbow Dash and her friends to wake from the sanctuary of sleep. They rushed outside to see the ocean of smoke rise above them and feed the black storm overhead. Quickly noticing Fluttershy, they rushed to help her and the unconscious Sunset to the stairs of the school. Clover watched each of them cautiously.

“Who is she?” Pinkie asked, semi-horrified by the energy in the air.

“That’s Clover, The Clever!” Fluttershy said spitefully. “She possessed Sunset and is trying to destroy our world.”

“Try as hard as you can, dear mortals. You cannot defeat that which exists by the heaven’s command. Fluttershy hath been the one whose recklessness and hope, her love of that weakling in her arms, presented me with the medium through which my eternal life flows. Now, I feel the urge to spare you, but after your ridicule and abuse towards me, you will perish where you stand. Prepare, for this is where nothing can save you and I will be your end. Begone!”

“Fluttershy!’ They cried as a burst of energy struck her and Sunset. A barrage of smoke engulfed them. Clover smiled as the others stood paralyzed by the fear that they were dead.

Fluttershy held Sunset close. In that one instance, she’d swear she died, too, but her despair was too strong for her to be dead. Sunset twitched in her arms and opened her eyes to see the look of true pain and honest horror on Fluttershy’s face and how it revealed a glimmer of a bright smile.

“What happened?” Sunset asked tiredly, trying to process the fact that they are submerged in smoke that blinded them from the outside world.

“Sunset,” Fluttershy weeped. “You’re not Clover. She made you think that. She needed you so she could live forever.”

“I know.”

“And it’s my fault that she’s going to destroy everything. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, she’ll kill them all. She just tried to kill us.”

“She’s still alive?”

“She has the Elements of Harmony.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“Fluttershy, I don’t want to die. I want to tell you that I saw the pictures in the practice room, how I was never in any of the pictures. You all accepted me, but treated me like a nobody, like I didn’t exist. I thought about how nice the Dazzlings were to me and I almost wanted to be their friends instead. It wasn’t their fault they were evil.”

“I know, it was Clover’s fault.”

“I almost thought it was mine.”

“That would be the most unbearable thing. You probably…”

“Yeah. I wanted to die.”

“So you started over. You became Clover.”

“She wanted me to become her so she could control me. I needed to believe it first.”

“I promise, Sunset, that if we survive, I will make sure you get the respect you deserve. I’m so sorry I didn’t realize it sooner.”

“I’m here, now. I’ll fix everything. Help me up.”

Fluttershy lifted Sunset to her legs and carried her out of the seemingly never ending smoke. Clover was unamused.

“Next time, I won’t give you the courtesy of failing to kill you. You will just crumble away with the rest of your world. I’ve already dealt with your friends, now you will succumb and be the last martyrs of humanity.”

“You’re wrong!” Sunset declared, inching her way towards Clover. “I will stand against you. We will stand against you. You can scream at us and fire your magic all over the place, it won’t matter. You have no reason to kill us. You had every chance and you failed. Do you have empathy, then please show it and leave us alone.”

“Fools! Look behind, where the graves have already been dug. I have done murder ten times worse than death. Your friends are all gone!”

Sunset turned and saw that the school’s rubble had gone deeper underground, where the bodies of her friends lie at the bottom.

“Empathy, I have none, now come and give your life to me!”

Sunset looked at Fluttershy and said softly, with the conviction of a martyr and the hope of a priest, she walked towards Clover with open arms. Clover lifted her into the air and prepared her magic to kill her once and for all. Sunset looked at her and said without a hint of dishonesty. “You cannot kill me.”

“Are you honest? Have you degraded yourself to a beggar who refuses to believe?”

“If you could kill me, prove it. I’m yours to torture at your will.”

“Fine!” Clover fired an enormous ball of magic at Sunset, bursting in a multitude of colors, each fading to white and vanishing before they reached the ground. Sunset felt the strength in the blast and coughed a little blood, which stained the ground as it landed. Regardless, Sunset was alive. Clover was furious.

“Look at you! Even if you survive, you can’t even stand how you’ve wrought yourself in my presence. I will never let you mock my power. You are nothing!” She blasted her again. Sunset could feel the power thrust through her body, wringing her inside out like a wet towel. She resisted, looking Clover in the eyes after every blast; she never let her have the satisfaction of seeing her in agony. Clover grew furious as her attacks ceased. She threw a heavy sigh into the air, which burst like a clap of thunder.

“I may not be able to kill you, but I can send you where no spirit can exist, alive or dead.” Clover declared as she tore a rift in space. “You have one chance.”

Sunset looked at Fluttershy one more time, the same way Fluttershy looked at Twilight, only this look was permanent. “No.” Sunset shook off Clover’s hold on her and fell to the ground.

“How did you escape my grasp?”

“You gave me your magic! Now I get to give it back to you. I’m going to give everything to you; my magic and my friends’ magic: the magic that we share together. I refuse to allow my friends to be victims to your greed. You may be all-consuming, all-powerful, the bane of dimensions, whatever! I will find the unified power to defeat you.”

“How can you even begin to harm me, let alone defeat me?”

“Because I don’t want to die.”

Sunset lifted her hand and a single stream of light touched Clover. Her aura of magic dispersed and she collapsed to the ground. Clover fired back and knocked Sunset into Fluttershy. Fluttershy lifted Sunset back up and held her hand. In an instant, a strong glow emanated from their hands. Clover watched and quickly struck a rift in space before they could move.

“No! There will be no victory for you, who so ignorantly ruined my uprising! You will have the honor of dying before you will get revenge upon your virtue." Clover opened another rift beneath her and pulled from it the Fluttershy from Equestria. Sunset's face expressed pure horror, for if she fired the magic in her hands, she might hurt Fluttershy. Sunset dropped her arm. Clover smirked wily. "It is said that a true battle should never end in retreat, but I have no such morals. Fluttershy will be mine until you can fight me without hesitation, without the mockery of friendship to hide behind. I will return here when you have died, and the remnants of your saviors have withered out of existence. In the meantime, there are so many more dimensions out there. I will rule them all! You will rue the day you gave birth to Clover, The Absolute!”

Clover vanished in an instant. The storm subsided and the earth stood still. The wind calmed and blew the dust from the rubble into the bright stars above. Fluttershy and Sunset went into the rubble to retrieve their friends. They were injured, but they were alive.

Life as they knew it was gone. Nothing remained but the memory of better times. Everyone sat down on the rubble of the stairs, eyes wet with grief. There was only one hope left, and Fluttershy saw it as she looked into Sunset’s eyes. Sunset had the power from Clover’s magic to restore the school, but she knew better. She wanted to tear a rift in space, but she already knew what lied ahead. Twilight was probably dead because of Clover's spell on her friends. They have no idea where Clover is. Worst of all, Sunset looked around with sullen indifference. Her goal was completed, she found Fluttershy and she's happy. Fluttershy had hope, and so did her friends. Rainbow Dash went to Sunset and smiled. “Thank You,” she said. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you. I guess I was just jealous that you had friends who once tried to control us and make us worship them. Can you forgive me?"

"I forgive you, Rainbow Dash. Maybe we can take a photo I can actually be in and hang it up in the band room. It'll be a nice reminder of us when were gone."

"Yeah."

They all felt the breath of night consume them and they collapsed to the ground. Sunset said one last thing before they collapsed for the night.

“I have one thing that Clover doesn’t. I have friends. That’s enough for me.”

Comments

[Astorius]

So pony Fluttershy is stuck on the wrong side of the portal?

[Xehanort107]

8082674 Um... Wow... Oops! I really forgot about Pony Fluttershy. Oh well, I guess I'm writing one more chapter to finish it off...

...Or I write another story based on getting Fluttershy home. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Thank you for catching the dumbest mistake I ever made as a writer (ok, not entirely true, I've done worse. But it's up there)

[Cheer]

Wow. This was... kind of a trainwreck.

The first couple or few chapters were good and interesting and then things just started rushing forward. This kinda story needed longer, slower buildup. The end not at all felt deserved.

[fanreader999999]

Mmm

[reboot-this-pc]

9054997
I actually feel the exact opposite, the first few chapters where trite to my but this dimensional battle between Colver the Clever and the Equestria Girl's I'm happy to read

[reboot-this-pc]

9731647
also, I feel like this is what plays as the camera zooms out on that last scene

[Shady Mist]

Please make a sequel.