Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element

by Master Mr B

"When the sixth element is revealed, a special element can appear that is a combination of the other six. It serves as the controller that bounds the power if the six elements together. But nobody, not even the royal sisters, have ever uncovered this...Seventh Element..." Follow my OC as he takes part in the adventures of FiM. And possibly win the heart of Twilight Sparkle...

95. Twilight's Kingdom Part 2

Twilight's Kingdom Part 2

Pony's Log Number 426: I could never imagine that this would be the result of combining two of the greatest powers in the universe...

(As usual, I don't do the "Previously On My Little Pony" segments.)

(Main Theme)

Once both Twilight and Mario had recovered did Princess Luna continue the conversation.

"Tirek is set on possessing Alicorn magic," Princess Luna continued, "When he comes for us, we cannot have what he is looking for."

"I'm more than willing to do my part and give up my magic," said Twilight firmly.

"As am I," Mario added in the same tone.

"You both misunderstand," said Princess Luna, "Our magic cannot just disappear into thin air. Somepony must keep it safe."

"That somepony is you, Twilight," said Cadance.

"Wuh?!" Mario exclaimed.

"Why me?" Twilight asked curiously.

"We do not believe that Tirek is aware that a fourth Alicorn princess or an Alicorn prince exists in Equestria," Princess Celestia explained, "If we transfer our magic to you, Tirek will not know where it has gone."

"It's only wishful thinking, Mom," said Mario, "Plus you cannot forget that Tirek has Discord on his side. Who's to say Discord hasn't already told Tirek about us?"

"Nevertheless, I believe this solution is the best way we can save our magic from falling into Tirek's clutches," Princess Celestia replied before turning to Twilight, "Do you understand what we're asking of you?"

"Yes," Twilight replied timidly as she opened her wings, "It's just...I'm only now learning how to control my own Alicorn magic. To take on more-"

"Twilight," Cadance interrupted as she walked up to the purple alicorn, "you represent the element of magic. If there's anypony who can do this, it's you." Princess Celestia and Princess Luna nodded in agreement.

"Twilight is definitely capable," said Mario, "But...umm..."

"Yes?" Princess Celestia asked, with a slight hint of annoyance in her tone. Mario cowered back slightly at her stare.

"Y-y-you're the one who told me what can happen to a pony if the magic concentration inside their body is too high," said Mario meekly.

"What happens?" Twilight asked and saw Mario bit his lip and look away, "Honey, come on. I'm a big girl...tell me!" Mario sighed as he looked at Twilight serious look on his face.

"You'll explode," Mario said directly.

"EEP!" Twilight squeaked.

"You need not to worry about your wife, Mario," said Princess Celestia, "We would not be asking Twilight to do this if her body wasn't capable of containing all our magic. Plus Twilight will have you to help her."

"Oh!" said Mario surprised, "G-g-great! How can I help?"

"You and Twilight share a bond via your love magic," Cadance replied, "Twilight will be holding onto our magic, but your bond will allow our magic to amplify your own magical abilities."

"Cool," said Mario simply.

"As the Element of Love, you are the controller of the other elements," said Princess Luna, "so you'll be able to help Twilight keep our magic under control as she learns to use and control it."

"So...I'm getting both a power boost and will be Twilight's magic stabilizer," said Mario before adding softly, "that's a big responsibility..."

"Taking on this task will be one of the most difficult things we'll ever do," said Twilight as Mario nodded in agreement, "but with the help of our friends-"

"I'm sorry, Princess Twilight and Prince Mario," said Princess Celestia, "but you must keep your new abilities a secret."

"What?!" Mario interjected.

"I fear that your friends being aware of your new power could put them at great risk," Princess Celestia explained as she took a step forward.

"Isn't that already inevitable at this point?" Mario pointed out, "If Discord has already revealed our presence to Tirek..."

"All the more reason for you to keep these powers a secret so neither Tirek or Discord can use your friends against you," Princess Celestia replied, "Keeping this secret will keep them safe. Do you and Twilight think you can take on this responsibility?" Mario looked over to his wife, waiting to see what she wanted to do.

"This is the role we're meant to play as a princess and a prince of Equestria," Twilight replied with determination, "We will not fail in our duty!" Mario sighed.

"We're taking a huge risk doing this plan, Mom," said Mario but then smiled, "But if there's one thing my wife and I are good at, it's succeeding even when the stakes are high. Let's do it!"

"Then we must begin at once," said Princess Celestia, "Mario activate your love magic and tap your horn against Twilight's. Otherwise you won't be able to connect with our magic." Mario nodded as he made his horn glow pink and tap the tip with Twilight's. The three princesses gathered around Twilight and Mario as they made their horns glow brightly. Then their eyes glowed white as three magic beams merged above Twilight and Mario, creating a giant orb of pure magical energy that was about the size of a miniature planetoid. Twilight and Mario cringed nervously as the orb shot a beam right at the two alicorns and headed directly at them.

Elsewhere, Tirek was busy draining some more ponies of their magic to increase his own strength and stature. Discord just watched a short distance away with a devious smirk on his face when his body suddenly wobbled about. Discord then shivered nervously.

"That can't be right," Discord muttered.

"What can't be right?" Tirek asked.

"Nothing," Discord replied quickly, "Carry on." Tirek just walked away to collect some more magic as Discord just looked at two already drained unicorns.

Back at Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Cadance were now sitting on the floor, looking very drained. They turned to see Twilight hovering in the air as her eyes and body were glowing white. Mario was floating as well, but closed his eyes to get his body to land as the three princesses approached them. Mario then made his horn glow so Twilight could get back to the ground. Once her hooves touched the ground, Twilight closed her eyes to get the glow out of her eyes. The two alicorns then rushed over to Princess Celestia and hugged her, each of them shedding a tear as they did so. Twilight and Mario both gasped when they saw that by draining her magic, Princess Celestia no longer had her cutie mark. Princess Luna and Cadance lifted their wings to show that their cutie marks were gone as well.

"It is done," said Princess Celestia, clearly out of breath and physically drained.

"Will you be alright?" Mario asked, not hiding how worried his was feeling.

"We will manage," said Princess Luna bravely.

"Just focus on keeping our magic safe," said Cadance, "And more importantly, don't lose hope little brother. Everything will be alright." Mario felt like he was about to cry, but managed to recompose himself as he gave Cadance a brave nod.

It was already dark when Twilight and Mario returned home to Ponyville. Mostly because they had to find a quiet way back to avoid drawing any attention to themselves and that meant it took most of the night to even get back to Library. The alicorn couple then tried to tip-toe about as quietly as they could, especially since they saw that Spike was sound asleep in his basket. At least Spike was asleep until he decided to wake up at that very moment they walked by.

"You two weren't gone very long," Spike remarked as he sat up from his basket, "Does that mean everything's okay?"

"Yep!" said Twilight replied quickly as she turned around to face him, "Everything's fine!" Twilight then chuckled nervously as her horn sparkled a bit and some books went floating behind them. Mario just gave a squeaky smile and said nothing. Good cause or not, he was not going to lie to Spike or anypony else...unless Twilight got herself tongue tied or something.

"In that case," said Spike, "I'm going back to bed. Sun's not up...and neither am I." Spike then went back to sleep.

"That's strange," said Twilight to Mario, "The sun should be up by now..." Mario looked at his pocket watch. He and Twilight gasped once they came to a realization.

"The sun should be up by now!" they said together as they rushed to their bedroom and looked out the window to see the moon still high in the sky.

"Do you want me to..." Mario asked, but Twilight raised a fore-hoof in front of Mario as she took a deep breath.

"You can do this," said Twilight to herself as she made her horn glow and sparkle. Twilight tried to focus as hard as she could, which caused the moon to wobble a bit. Mario just kept his horn glowing so her magic was steady. Twilight was focusing so intensively that she started to float in the air, her mane and tail even started flowing a bit.

"She'd be gorgeous with a constantly flowing mane and tail," Mario remarked as he floated in the air beside her.

Uh...shouldn't you be focusing on keeping your wife stable?

"Oh, yeah, sorry," said Mario as he used his love magic to get Twilight back to the ground.

Okay...thought only Pinkie could talk to me, but...let's move on. Suddenly, the moon went down really fast and then started moving randomly about the sky. The sun and moon switched places in the sky a few times before Twilight finally got the moon to stay down and focused on getting the sun in the right spot in the sky.

"Okay, I know you're dealing with alot of magic and all," Mario pointed out, "But the only directions you should be moving the sun and moon are up and down!"

"Oh, I'd like to see you try and do this!" Twilight snapped annoyingly.

"Did you forget that I actually raised the sun once?" Mario reminded her indignantly.

"Yeah and you had a headache for a week!" Twilight retorted.

"Well with my magic boost, I bet it would be easy," Mario bragged.

"Then next time you raise the sun!" Twilight shot back, poking his chest with a fore-hoof.

"Fine by me!" Mario snapped before they blew a raspberry at each other.

Back in Canterlot, the randomly moving sun had not gone unnoticed as Shining Armor and two guards were outside the castle. Suddenly, the two guards behind Shinning Armor floated into the air and Shining Armor found that his captain's helmet was missing.

"Shining Armor," said Discord as he made himself known wearing Shining Armor's helmet, "why, whatever are you doing here?"

"Back off, traitor," Shining Armor snapped angrily as he shoved Discord away.

"The only one Discord betrayed was himself," said Tirek as he appeared while draining the magic out of one of the guards and dropped him, "Abandoning his true nature to make friends with weak-minded equines who offer him nothing!" Shining Armor fired a magic blast at Tirek, but the centaur grabbed the magic blast with his hand, smashed into a tiny orb and ate it. He then grabbed Shining Armor's head and drained the stallion of his magic. Discord watched as Shining Armor collapsed to the floor.

"How...could you...do this?" Shining Armor asked Discord weakly before passing out. Discord looked slightly unnerved. It was almost as if...he was starting to feel a little guilty...

"Why don't you go and have a little fun?" Tirek told Discord as he wrapped an arm around the draconequus's shoulders, "I won't stand in your way." Tirek then walked away. Discord just looked around for a moment before he chuckled deviously to himself.

Inside of the castle throne room, Princess Celestia just sat tiredly on her throne while Princess Luna and Cadance sat along the sides. They were just doing their best to conserve their energy and wait for the inevitable. Just then, the room began to rumble. Princess Celestia slowly sat up as Tirek allowed himself into the throne room by smashing through the front door. He then tossed the broken pieces aside and marched right up to Princess Celestia. He then used his magic, which caused a yellow orb to appear between his horns every time he did so, and picked up Princess Celestia and inhaled. He was stunned to see that nothing happened.

"What have you done?!" Tirek demand as Princess Celestia just smirked and said nothing. Tirek then grabbed Princess Luna and tried to inhale her magic, but got nothing. He then did the same with Cadance with the same results.

"Where is your magic?!" Tirek demanded angrily, but none of the three princesses said a word.

Back at the Ponyville library, bright glows were seen from outside as Twilight was struggling to keep her magic under control, even with Mario's help. They both decided to make their exit.

"I'll get the door," said Mario as he used his magic to try and turn the knob, but then he realized the hard way just how much his magic had been powered up when he blasted the door to pieces instead.

"Uhh...woops," Mario remarked.

"I'm so in control of my new magic," Twilight remarked in a snarky tone.

"Eh-heh-heh," Mario laughed sarcastically and glared at her, "Very funny." Twilight just sighed.

"We have to gain better control," said Twilight quietly to her husband, "We sure can't practice here."

"You're right, dear," said Mario, "Come on!" Mario then ran off with Twilight right behind him. Neither pony noticed that Spike had been watching them and quickly ran off after them.

"Uh, Twilight, Mario," Spike asked, panting as he tried to keep pace behind them, "where are we goin'?"

"Oh, uh, hi, Spike," said Twilight nervously, "Uh, gotta go...somewhere...else..."

"See ya!" Mario added quickly before he and Twilight literally rocketed into the sky, creating a explosive sonic boom as they took off and sent Spike flying away.

"Waaaaaah! Whoa!" Twilight screamed as she flew at a speed she was not used to at all.

"Woo! Now this is what I call flying at top speed!" Mario called out, enjoying the high speed, but not for long.

"How do you fly moving this fast?!" Twilight retorted fearfully as Mario flew beside her.

"With lots of practice and control," Mario replied, "just hold onto my fore-leg and I'll keep you in steady. Just keep calm, sweetie, and I'll guide you." Twilight did just that as they both zoomed right past Rainbow, who was just observing the town from a small cloud. Then their shockwave knocked Rainbow backward and off her white cloud. She recognized the purple and orange colored streaks flying away.

"Whoa! Twilight? Mario?" Rainbow said in surprise as she tried to chase after her. Down below, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack had seen the two alicorns flying at high speed. The three ponies shared concerned looks before they chased after the two alicorns. Fluttershy had been talking with Shenran when she noticed the two alicorns flying above.

"You go check it out," said Shenran, "I still need to finish my patrol for Mayor Mare." Fluttershy nodded, gave him a kiss before going to catch up with the rest of her friends. It was then Mario figured that he and Twilight should just get back on the ground to the avoid drawing any unwanted attention to themselves.

"Okay, sweetie," Mario instructed, "Now let's just take the descent nice and gentle...Oh! Oh! Twi...Twi! Not so fast, not so fast, not so fast!"

"Yiiiipe!" Twilight screamed as she headed to the ground with Mario holding into her fore-leg. They both made a hard landing before they skidded several yards across the ground before coming to a complete stop.

"Ooh!" Twilight yelped once they had stopped skidding.

"That was...a pretty good landing coming in that fast," said Mario impressed, "Good job, honey." Twilight gave him a smile but then noticed that the rest of the girls were in front of them.

"Oh, my goodness, are you two all right?" said Fluttershy.

"Jumpin' junebugs, Twilight and Mario!" said Applejack, "When did you two learn to fly that fast?" Twilight then twitched from a minor surge of her magic before she began to sweat heavily.

"I must have caught a particularly strong breeze...or something," Twilight said sheepishly before teleporting herself and Mario between Rarity and Applejack.

"Must have been "or something"," Rainbow remarked, "because there wasn't any breeze up there."

"Well, she was holding my fore-hoof up there," said Mario, "and you girls know that I'm getting really fast with my flying. The last time I measured my flying speed was about Mach 1.4."

"Mario, pulling Twilight along while flying that fast is dangerous," Fluttershy scolded, "You could have hurt her or worse." Mario rolled his eyes at the yellow Pegasus.

"She's fine!" Mario protested as Twilight walked in front of Rainbow, "besides, we probably just got caught up in the momentum. That can happen from time to time ya know!"

"Either way, I don't know what happened," said Twilight, "but we don't really have time to figure that out right now." Twilight then got another twitch but just smiled innocently.

"Right, honey?" Twilight asked. Mario blinked before shaking his head.

"Y-y-yes dear," said Mario, "we've got more important things to worry about." Mario and Twilight both headed toward the Everfree Forest.

"Another visit to the Castle of the Two Sisters, I presume?" Rarity asked as she and the rest of the girls gave Twilight and Mario over the top smiles, "We'd be more than happy to accompany you!"

"Not today!" said Twilight as she got another magic twitch and Mario quickly made his horn glow pink discreetly to stabilize her magic.

"We'd rather just have our one-on-one time together if you don't mind," Mario added.

"Tirek may still be a threat," said Twilight, "I know Shenran is patrolling the town, but I need you all to stay here and encourage everypony to stay inside." Twilight tried to take off again, but Mario placed a fore-hoof on one of her wings and shook his head. Twilight just closed her wings and they walked off together. The rest of the girls just watched the couple disappear into the distance with worried and puzzled looks on their faces.

Meanwhile back in Canterlot Castle, Tirek was just sitting comfortably on Princess Celestia's throne while the three princesses were forced to sit before him on the floor.

"Getting rid of your magic so that I cannot take it from you?" Tirek remarked, "That was your plan? How does it feel knowing that soon, every Pegasus, unicorn, and Earth pony will bow to my will, and that there is nothing you can do to stop it?" The three princesses glared as Tirek made orbs of each pony tribe appear with his magic and then crushed all the orbs with his hands.

"You will not prevail, Tirek," said Princess Celestia bravely. Tirek then used his magic to create a rectangular portal that lead straight to Tartarus.

"Give my regards to Cerberus," said Tirek smugly as he used his magic to toss them into the portal and sealed it shut.

"You meant our will, didn't you?" Discord asked as he appeared and started animating a stained glass window with him treating the glass murals of the three princesses like string puppets.

"Of course," said Tirek as he walked up to Discord and gave him a necklace with an upside down triangle medallion on it, "Here, I want you to have something. This was given to me by someone very close to me. I give it to you as a sign of my gratitude and loyalty."

"Oh, my!" said Discord as he admired and tugged his goatee, "I do love a good accessory. I suppose that's Rarity's influence." Discord then created a stained glass mural of him and Tirek. Discord was riding on Tirek's back as they held swords in the air that crossed. Well...Discord held a foot long sandwich which Tirek's sword cut off a piece of it. Tirek laughed.

"Amusing," Tirek remarked as he walked away, "But we have no time for such a things. With the princesses out of the way, we can now-" Tirek than stopped in his tracks when he saw the murals of Twilight and Mario ascending into Alicorn status.

"Are these meant to be humorous?!" Tirek demanded angrily.

"Oh no, I haven't touched those two yet," Discord answered calmly.

"There's a fourth? And a fifth?!" Tirek exclaimed, "And you didn't tell me this?! And since when can a stallion ascend to Alicorn status?!"

"I was just as surprised as you are," said Discord, "But if you call him a princess, it really gets under his skin." Discord chuckled as Tirek just growled.

"Apparently Mario Star is Equestria's first ever Alicorn prince. He's quite powerful, is known as the fastest pony alive, and is married to Princess Twilight," said Discord, "but to answer your question, Tirek, I just needed assurance that you truly considered this a team effort. And now I have it." Tirek then grabbed Discord by the neck.

"Then where can we find this fourth princess and Alicorn prince?" Tirek demanded darkly, "Where is their castle?"

"Castle?" Discord replied and laughed, "No, Princess Twilight and Prince Mario live above a library in Ponyville. Castle?" Discord laughed again as Tirek let go of him.

"Not for much longer," said Tirek sinisterly as he rubbed his hands together and used his magic to melt both stained glass murals. Discord then got a very evil idea.

"However," said Discord, "Princess Twilight and Prince Mario both have this...bodyguard who might prove to be trouble if we don't take care of him first..." Tirek tiled his head with interest as a sinister grin spread across Discord's face.

Back in Ponyville, Shenran was in his house drinking a tall glass of water. With help from his fiancé and her friends, they had just finished making sure that everypony was safe at home in case Tirek showed up in Ponyville. He had just released a satisfied sigh as he finished his drink when he heard somepony banged open his front door and then closed it just as loudly.

"Greetings my friend," said Discord sinisterly as he leaned against the wall, "I'm surprised you're not with Fluttershy. I thought you loved her and promised to watch over her at all times." Shenran snorted as he slammed his glass on the kitchen counter.

"What do you want, Discord?" Shenran asked sternly.

BASH!

Shenran was given the shock of his life when Tirek bashed down his front door and walked inside the house.

"Tirek!" Shenran exclaimed as he tried to grab his swords, but Discord teleported the swords to his claws.

"Why you dirty no good-AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shenran could finish his statement as Tirek sucked up his Pegasus magic, causing Shenran to plop to the floor. Shenran groaned as he looked at the draconequus with a fierce look on his face.

"If you lay one claw on my Fluttershy..." Shenran warned in a weak tone.

"You'll do what?" Discord taunted as he handed Tirek the dual swords. Tirek then crushed them to pieced in his claws and lets the pieces fall to the floor, "Tirek and I have big plans and we can't have you getting in the way. You can kiss your chances with Fluttershy goodbye." He laughed sinisterly. Shenran growled inwardly at Discord before the draconequus and Tirek walked out of the house, leaving Shenran struggling to get back to his hooves. Tirek had taken notice that Shenran was trying to get up as they walked away from the house.

"Hmm, do you think this Shenran won't be any more trouble?" Tirek asked Discord.

"Pfft, of course not," said Discord, "he can't fly, he's weak, and you destroyed his only defense weapon." Tirek just smirked before he turned around and fired a magic blast. Discord gasped.

BOOOOOOM!

The magic blast blew Shenran's house to smithereens.

And Shenran...was still inside!

Discord was left agape as Tirek laughed at the flaming wreckage.

"Now he won't be any trouble for us," Tirek smirked deviously as he walked away. Discord bit his lower lip nervously. He hadn't expected Tirek to actually do that.

Out in the streets of Ponyville, the rest of the girls and Spike had just gathered together. The rest of the streets were empty and several houses had their windows boarded up.

"Alright, y'all," said Applejack, "I think we've warned everypony to stay inside. Now we just have to wait for Shenran to get back so we can go catch up with Twilight and Mario."

"He should be here soon," said Fluttershy confidently, "Besides, I'm sure Discord will catch Tirek and this will all be over soon."

"I'll bet he takes his sweet time," said Rainbow bitterly.

"Or perhaps these things just take time," said a familiar voice. They all looked to see Discord standing nearby.

"You're back!" Fluttershy gasped as she jumped into his arms for a hug and then hovered before him, "Did you bring your cucumber sandwiches?" Discord then used his magic to make a plate of cucumber sandwiches appear on a plate.

"I did," Discord replied before dumping them into the ground, "I imagine they'll be your last descent meal for quite some time." Before the girls and Spike could react, Discord imprisoned them inside of a metal cage. The girls and Spike all shouted exclamations of shock and puzzlement.

"Ta-da!" Discord cheered as Tirek arrived behind the cage.

"You've gathered up all of them?" Tirek asked him as he leaned on top of the cage.

"And her little dragon, too," said Discord as he pointed a fore-finger at Spike. Spike tried to bite the finger, but Discord pulled away just in time to avoid being bitten. Poor Fluttershy was crying as Applejack held the yellow Pegasus close for comfort. The orange pony also glared angrily at Discord.

"Why are you doing this?" Fluttershy sobbed, "I thought we were friends!"

"Oh, we were," said Discord, "But Tirek offered me so much more than just tea parties. Surely, you saw this coming."

"I didn't," Fluttershy cried as she looked away, "I really didn't."

"Just you wait until Shenran realizes what you did!" Rarity said sternly. Tirek then laughed.

"Discord already informed me of your little bodyguard," said Tirek, "and he's been taken care of." Fluttershy looked at Tirek in disbelief. Spike then looked around and his eyes nearly popped out.

"Oh...man..." said Spike as he covered his mouth in shock. Rarity and Pinkie gasped as they looked in the direction Spike was facing. Applejack and Rainbow cringed.

"Oh sweet Celestia..." Applejack said softly in a sad tone. Fluttershy looked and saw the smoldering remains of Shenran's house.

"SHENRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Fluttershy wailed in pure anguish and devastation as her tears poured from her eyes. She then broke down as heavy sobs escaped her mouth. The others gave Discord bitter glares as Fluttershy wept. Discord couldn't make eye contact with any of them. Tirek didn't bother to wait for Fluttershy to finish crying before he lifted the cage with his magic and sucked the magic out of everypony inside it, Spike included. Discord looked away until the deed was done. Tirek then dropped the cage into the ground and his body and strength grew far more than it had from draining any of the other ponies of their magic.

"You really think they'd do anything for them?" Tirek asked.

"If Twilight and Mario have magic to give," said Discord, "it will be yours. Soon there won't be a Pegasus, Earth pony, or unicorn who will be able to stand up against us."

"Us?" Tirek exclaimed, "Who said anything about us?"

"You did," said Discord, but was given the shock of his life when Tirek lifted him into the air with his magic.

"You've helped me grow strong," Tirek bragged, "you've provided the means by which I can obtain Princess Twilight's and Prince Mario's magic, and now you are no longer of any use to me." Discord looked sadly back at the group. He especially took notice that Fluttershy was laying on her stomach, facing the direction of Shenran's destroyed house and was still sobbing heavily. Before Discord could do anything, Tirek inhaled all of his chaotic magic. Then the centaur let him go so the draconequus landed hard on his stomach.

"But you said this was a sign of your gratitude and loyalty," Discord protested weakly as he showed Tirek the madallion, "A gift from someone close to you."

"My brother who betrayed me," Tirek answered, "It is as worthless as he is." Discord now understood how it felt to be betrayed as Tirek stomped away.

"Surely, you saw this comin'," said Applejack.

"I didn't," said Discord sadly, "I truly didn't..." For once, the draconequus was telling the truth. He then looked back to see Fluttershy still weeping, her shoulders still shaking from her sobs.

"Please don't cry, Fluttershy..." he said feebly once Tirek was out of hearing range.

"She has every right to!" Rainbow yelled furiously, "You and Tirek destroyed Shenran! Her special somepony! There were gonna be married in a few days! And now he's gone!"

"That's not true," said Discord as firmly as he could despite feeling weak, "Shenran...is alive!" The girls and Spike looked stunned as Fluttershy quickly stopped crying and looked back at him, showing her tear stained cheeks and red, but also colorless, eyes.

"I was jealous of the love and friendship Fluttershy and Shenran shared," Discord admitted, "So I had Tirek steal his magic personally and destroy his swords. Tirek caught me off guard when he suddenly decided to blast Shenran's house to kingdom come. I was barely able to teleport him out just as the house exploded."

"Where is he?!" Pinkie demanded, "and you better not be lying!" Fluttershy looked like she was going to burst into tears again if Discord was lying.

"I teleported him to Canterlot," Discord answered, "Tirek and I have already been there so Shenran should be safe. Magically drained, but he's safe." Fluttershy just looked at Discord sadly and said nothing before she turned away. Discord just looked away as well. The shame could be seen on his face, but nopony, or dragon, showed him any sympathy.

"This doesn't change anything," Applejack said bluntly.

"I know it doesn't," said Discord quietly with a heavy sigh and his back against them.

"Then why tell us this at all?" Rarity asked sternly, "Why let us think Shenran was gone and then say that he was alive all along?" Discord turned to face them as a small tear left his eye.

"Because I couldn't bear to see Fluttershy cry," he replied in a very remorseful tone.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Mario were just sitting together at the edge of a cliff above the Castle of the Two Sisters. They hadn't really said a word since they had tried practicing using the Alicorn magic. They hadn't had much success in control is very well and they had gotten into a couple of heated arguments over it as well. It hadn't taken long before Mario felt bad for losing his temper.

"Honey..." Mario asked quietly.

"Yes?" Twilight asked with no emotion in her tone.

"I'm sorry," said Mario. Twilight turned to face him before giving him a soft smile.

"I'm sorry, too," said Twilight, "guess trying to control the Alicorn magic is harder than we thought."

"Yeah," said Mario, "I don't wanna fight with you anymore. I just want to help you master all that magic and I'm not doing a very good job." Twilight just smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Well, when at first you don't succeed, try, try again," Twilight told him, making Mario chuckle. Twilight then narrowed her eyes, "we can do this."

"Yes we can," said Mario, regaining his confidence. Twilight then made her horn glow as Mario made his horn glow pink to keep the magic stable. Then they teleported from the top of the cliff to a lower ledge.

"See! Ha!" Twilight said confidently, "Perfectly controlled teleportation."

"Great job hon-" Before Mario could complement his wife, they both teleported to one of the towers of Canterlot, a cliff overlooking a large waterfall, on top of some rampaging buffalos, and finally, plus also literally, caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Oh for pete's sake!" Mario grumbled. Twilight growled.

"Um...I wasn't venting at you," Mario told her calm. Twilight blinked and huffed.

"I know, dear," Twilight replied.

"PRINCESS TWILIGHT! PRINCE MARIO!"

Twilight and Mario gasped.

"Tirek!" they exclaimed together.

"You have something that belongs to me!" Tirek shouted. Twilight and Mario made their horns glow and blasted their way out of the large rock. They rocketed into the sky at high speed. Now Twilight and Mario had better control of their speed and zoomed past Tirek before he could react. Twilight then looked back and tried to land, but just like last time, they ended up skidding several yards forward before they smacked into one of Tirek's fore-hooves. They both looked up to see Tirek glaring and looking down at them.

"That is one BIG centaur!" Mario squeaked fearfully as he and Twilight backed away.

"You two are going to give me what I want!" Tirek demanded as he went to inhale but Mario and Twilight teleported away before Tirek could take their magic. The two alicorns arrived at the upper most balcony of the Library. Twilight quickly used her telescope to locate Tirek while Mario pulled out his hi-tech goggles to search as well. Once they saw Tirek in the distance, the centaur looked in their direction and fired a giant magic blast at them!

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Twilight and Mario screamed as they were tossed away from the explosion and landed nearly as pieces of papers and book covered in flames rained down from the sky. Twilight and Mario had grabbed Owlowiscious and Charlie respectively in their fore-hooves and held them close when they landed hard on the ground outside. Twilight and Mario gasped.

The Library...their home...was destroyed.

"You MANIAC!" Mario screamed as he sat on his hind knees, "You wrecked it!" He then added in pure rage:

"DARN YOU! DARN YOU TO HAY!"

Twilight just watched Mario's fury when Owlowiscious grabbed Charlie by the shoulders and flew away. Twilight extended an arm to reach out to them as they disappeared into the sky. She then stood up when she saw her husband. She could see that Mario was still furious. She didn't bother to calm him down. She was also very angry.

"No more running away," Twilight said softly with her teeth clenched.

"Now...it's personal," Mario added darkly, gritting his own teeth. Together they exchanged firm nods, opened their wings, and then teleported to Tirek. They both gritted their teeth as they flew toward the centaur at high speed.

"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Mario screamed at the top of his lungs as he and Twilight combined their magic to launch a very strong and powerful magic beam. Tirek did his best to block, but when Mario's screaming was at its loudest, the magic beam amplified in size and strength, knocking Tirek backward as the magic beam combusted into a massive explosion behind him. Tirek glared as Twilight and Mario landed, glaring at him angrily.

"Now I understand what your fellow princesses have done!" Tirek bragged.

"Good!" Mario yelled, "'cause you gonna wish you stayed in Tartarus when we're through with you!" Mario and Twilight then charged up their horns before taking off into the sky so fast that the ground rumbled. A purple and peach colored streak could be seen as behind them as they flew about the skies side by side, but this time, they were in full control of their speed. Tirek then fired a magic beam at the two alicorns but Twilight put up a shield around herself and Mario to block the attack. Then both alicorns flew right through the magic blast unharmed and landed before Tirek. Together, they fired a magic beam at his face. Tirek grunted angrily before pushing the beam away with his hand. He then used his magic to pick up both Twilight and Mario. The two alicorns fought to break free but Tirek tossed them both away.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Hooooo-waaaaaaaaaa!" Twilight and Mario screamed respectfully as they were sent flying into a mountain far away in the background. Both alicorns put up barriers around their bodies to minimize damage from the impact.

"Is that the best you can do?!" Mario snapped. Tirek replied by lunging at both alicorns and burrowed right through the mountain. Twilight and Mario struggled to climb onto Tirek's back. They then teleported themselves above Tirek, charged up their horns and fired a magic blast at Tirek from above. The impact caused a shock wave that sent Tirek crashing to the ground, making Tirek grunt. Mario and Twilight then fired a powerful blast at Tirek from above, which created a large explosion. The two alicorns then landed and noticed that Tirek was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble as Tirek used his magic to cut up the chunk of ground Twilight and Mario were standing on. He then tossed the chunk away with the two alicorns standing on it. Mario and Twilight flew off before the chunk smashed into the ground behind them. Tirek roared angrily as he slammed the ground with his fist, making it rumble and produce several crags. Mario landed and used his naturally fast ground speed to maneuver around the crags, even doing a large black flip from one crag to the next. Twilight stayed in the air, blasting and dodging the crags. Mario then front flipped into the skies to fly beside his wife as Tirek fired another magic blast.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Mario screamed as he and Twilight charged up their horns and fired another combined magic blast. The two magic blasts collided...

BOOOOOOOOM!

...creating a massive explosion. When the dust settled, Tirek was buried alive under some rocks, but managed to free himself without any trouble as Twilight and Mario approached him.

"It appears we are at an impasse," said Tirek.

"Why?! What's the matter, Tirek? Had enough?!" Mario taunted angrily and gritted his teeth. Tirek smirked deviously.

"How about a trade, Princess Twilight and Prince Mario?" Tirek offered as he snapped his fingers and made several bubbles appear. Inside of them were the rest of the girls, Spike, and Discord. They all had sad looks on their faces.

"Their release for all the Alicorn magic in Equestria," Tirek proposed. Twilight and Mario gasped, seeing that their friends had already been drained of their magic. The others shouted protests to Twilight and Mario, except for Discord, who just sat quietly in his bubble feeling sorry for himself.

"What's it going to be, Princess and Prince?" Tirek asked. Twilight had a very worried look on her face as Mario growled and gritted his teeth. Neither pony was sure of what to do and even Mario wasn't sure if he could race and capture all the bubbles without risking harm to anypony.

"Don't do it, Twilight and Mario!" Rainbow shouted.

"We aren't worth it!" Fluttershy added.

"Oh, but you are," said Discord sadly to Fluttershy, "Shenran would testify to that and Mario does call you his family. You and Mario both taught me that friendship is magic. I had magic and friendship, and now I don't have either." Twilight and Mario looked at Discord sympathetically. As much as they wanted to be angry with him and give him a piece of their minds, neither pony had ever seen the draconequus look so guilty and ashamed. The fact he was even imprisoned in a bubble was proof that Discord truly understood how it felt to be betrayed and that what he had done was wrong.

"Enough!" Tirek snapped, having enough emotional moments, "I want an answer, and I want it now!" Twilight then looked at her friends when she saw a color band flash across each bubble. Then a rainbow flashed over her eyes.

"Well, you can't always get what you-"

"Mario stop!" said Twilight, cutting her husband off, "Come here." Mario glared at the centaur before walking up to his wife.

"Listen honey," said Twilight quietly, "I know for a fact that you have a difficult time putting your trust in somepony who makes decisions that sound crazy or don't make sense. But I'm asking you, my Mario. Will you trust me as I make a decision that makes no sense?" Mario blinked, now realizing what Twilight was going to do, but rather than question her or stop her.

Mario smiled.

"I trust you," Mario replied calmly. Twilight smiled before they turned to face Tirek with serious looks on their faces.

"We will give you our magic, in exchange for our friends," Twilight told Tirek as Mario nodded in agreement. Everypony else gasped in complete shock.

"As you wish," said Tirek as he snapped his fingers to lower the bubbles to free all but Discord. Everypony and Spike looked up to see Discord still inside his bubble.

"All of our friends," Twilight demanded.

"Now!" Mario added.

"After the way he has betrayed you, you still call him a "friend"?" Tirek asked.

"He's not a bad draconequus," Mario replied firmly, "he just made a bad decision!"

"Need I add that thanks to him your friend Shenran is no longer alive?" Tirek added. Mario and Twilight just narrowed their eyes, but they both noticed that Discord was shaking his head and snapping his fingers.

"Then let us cast judgment," Mario answered sternly.

"Release him!" Twilight demanded.

"If that's what you want," said Tirek as he snapped his fingers to make the bubble land and pop, releasing the draconequus beside Fluttershy.

"Thank you, Twilight and Mario," said Discord before turning to Fluttershy, "I'm sorry."

"I know," said Fluttershy sadly with watery eyes as she looked away.

"Your turn," said Tirek deviously as he inhaled both Twilight and Mario's magic at once. The two alicorns screamed in pain before collapsing to their sides in exhaustion.

"YES!" Tirek roared in triumph as his body more than doubled in size and strength. One could say that Tirek had now achieved his "perfect" form. He then walked away as Twilight and Mario struggled to sit up. Mario wanted to help his wife, but he was too weak trying get himself back on his feet. The rest of the girls and Spike gathered around the alicorn couple.

"Twilight, Mario, what were you thinking?!" Spike asked.

"Before we answer that," Mario asked weakly, "where's Shenran?"

"He's alive," Fluttershy replied, "Discord teleported Shenran to Canterlot when Tirek blew up his house while he was inside." Mario just hummed in itself.

"Mario, if I may ask..." Rarity said slowly.

"...why in Equestria would you and Twilight give up all the Alicorn magic to Tirek?!" Rainbow snapped.

"Because we don't need it," Mario replied, leaving everypony, even Twilight, stunned.

"Sometimes success doesn't come from relying on our own magic and magical talents," said Mario as he finally stood up and helped his wife, "but rather success comes by remembering your true, true friends and how much they love and care about you."

As Mario finished speaking, a bright flash appeared in the air and there before the group...

...was a magenta Power Heart! The seventh Power Heart!

Mario started but then he chuckled. Soon his chuckling turned into laughter. The others gave Mario as the alicorn prince was now laying on his back laughing himself silly. Then Twilight started laughing and helped him sit up. Soon they were laughing together while holding each other with their fore-hooves while jumping up and down in their hind legs. It was like they had never been magically or physically drained.

"Okay...I'm not seeing what's so funny," said Pinkie uneasily to the others, "and I'm the Element of Laughter." Mario and Twilight stopped jumping up and down and smiled to each other as their laughter settled down.

"I knew you would be the one to help me find the seventh Power Heart! I just knew it!" Mario told his wife happily.

"Well, come on, let's go collect it!" Twilight replied with a giggle as they rushed over to the Power Heart and jumped up to it.

(Cue "You got a Power Heart" fanfare)

"Ahh yes...hahaha..." said Mario chanted happily as he and Twilight floated into the air and hovered around the heart.

"We did it! We did it!" Twilight cheered as they twirled around the Power Heart. Mario then flicked the Power Heart into the air. As it came down...

"WA-HOO-HOO!" Mario and Twilight cheered as they posed behind the Power Heart. Then they both landed back on the ground and the Power Heart went into Mario's body. Mario's body then glowed pink a few times as the Power Hearts all hovered into the air, still fully powered. The others cheered.

"You did it, Mario!" Spike cheered, "You got seven Power Hearts!" Mario smiled when Discord approached the group once they had calmed down.

"Tirek tricked me into believing that he could offer me something more valuable then friendship," Discord explained as he showed the group the necklace, "But there is nothing worth more. I see that now. He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of his gratitude and loyalty. But when I say that it is a sign of our true friendship, I am telling the truth." Discord then put the medallion around Twilight's neck as a rainbow shined across it. Twilight then gasped as the purple color in her eyes returned.

"You think that might be the last one we need?" Applejack asked.

"I think it is," Mario replied, "And I've got all the Power Hearts we need now, too."

"We have to get to the chest," said Twilight as she ran off while the others, including Discord following behind.

"Wait honey!" Mario shouted, "Look!" The group looked at Mario, who showed that his horn could still glow pink, "I've still got my love magic."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Rainbow asked excitedly.

"Does it really mean..." Discord asked, getting rather excited himself.

"Time for all of us to team up!" Mario shouted as Rainbow gave a squee. Mario then charged up his horn making everypony, Spike and Discord included, glowing pink, "It doesn't matter what obstacles Tirek puts in our way! We'll blow past everything he throws at us." They all charged up a fore-hoof, or claw in Discord and Spike's case before doing a group hoof/fist bump.

"FRIENDSHIP BOOST!" Mario shouted as they zoomed away. The boost lasted just enough to get back to Ponyville where Discord and Spike stayed behind. The Mane seven made their way to the Tree of Harmony and gathered around the chest except for Mario. Twilight then held up her medallion by the chest. The medallion was then grabbed by a magical glow, transformed into her key, and it put itself into the final keyhole. Twilight and Mario smiled. Just then, there a loud rumbling. Outside, Tirek had made his way toward the Castle of the Two Sisters and was using his magic to devastate the Everfree Forest.

"Together!" Twilight told the others, "I think we have to do this together!"

"But Mario still doesn't have a key or a keyhole!" Rarity pointed out.

"And we don't know how the Power Hearts are supposed to be used on the chest!" Fluttershy added. Mario was pondering to himself, trying to find an answer. He noticed Tirek causing mayhem when a rainbow flashed over his eyes and a pink heart appeared in the middle of his eyes. Mario narrowed his brow in determination.

"I know what to do," said Mario to the others, "You girls focus on using your keys to open the chest. I am going to stall Tirek!"

"WHAT?!" the girls exclaimed.

"Mario, that's crazy!" Twilight protested.

"You're right, it's downright crazy and doesn't make any sense," said Mario, "But just like I trusted you. I need you to trust me. Can you do that for me?" Twilight was afraid, but she smiled bravely.

"I trust you," Twilight said softly as Mario smiled and headed up to face Tirek alone. While Twilight did trust Mario, she and the rest of the girls rushed to the outside of the cave. They were anxious to see what would happen. Mario then stood before Tirek, who had immediately noticed the alicorn.

"What do you want?" Tirek demanded.

"To stop you from destroying all of Equestria!" Mario said bravely. Tirek laughed.

"Be gone with you!" Tirek shouted as he launched a giant magic blast at Mario, which was a direct hit.

"Mario!" Twilight cried out in shock as the other girls gasped. But Twilight, the others, and Tirek were shocked to see Mario was completely fine. The seven Power Hearts had exited Mario's body and created a pink barrier to protect Mario from damage.

"Well, well, well," Tirek remarked and then laughed, "You brought me more magic!" Tirek then tried to inhale, but got nothing.

"What?!" Tirek yelled, "Nothing can resist Lord Tirek!"

"That is where you're wrong, Tirek," said Mario as the Power Hearts lowered their barrier, "The magic of these hearts doesn't come from ponies, but from love." Tirek blinked but then laughed.

"Love?" Tirek retorted, "You are telling me that "love" is gonna defeat me? It's just as pointless as friendship!"

(Cue Mario and Luigi "Stand up and fight" music)

Mario smirked.

"No. Love is the Seventh Element of Harmony," Mario explained confidently, "and it is important to continue to spread love, compassion, and sympathy to others even when those ponies don't appreciate the love you share with them." Mario then noticed that the yellow Power Heart began to glow brightly.

"Love also shares a connection to the other Elements of Harmony in various ways," Mario continued,

"Love is Generosity: Even when ponies take advantage of you, that you should always remain true to who you really are!
Love is Loyalty: When you remain loyal to your friends, whether you win or lose, you'll always feel like a winner!
Love is Laughter: It is great to spread laughter and joy to others, but there is nothing more valuable than making those you care about smile!
Love is Kindness: The best way to show how much you love somepony is by being firm so they can achieve their goals!
Love is Honesty: Giving honest and truthful encouragement to others is what will help them find their self-confidence so they can do incredible feats.

and finally...

Love is Magic: Success doesn't always come from trusting your own magical abilities, but by trusting in the magic of friendship!"

As Mario recited these lessons the rest of the Power Hearts began to glow brightly. Down at the cavern, the other ponies couldn't help but smile. Soon Mario's body was hovering in the air as the now brightly shining Power Hearts circled around him. Tirek was stunned.

"Are you telling me that "friendship" and "love" are what make you powerful?" Tirek asked in disbelief. Mario smirked as he recited, which was a slightly modified version of a very familiar spell:

"From all of us together, together we are friends. Through the power of Love and Friendship, there is magic without end!"

The Power Hearts then merged with Mario's body. Mario gave a loud cry that echoed throughout the land as his entire body was engulfed in a bright light. His body was then surrounded by a giant vortex as thousands upon thousands of pink hearts converged into his body. Tirek and the other ponies watched in amazement as Mario's body...began to grow.

Suddenly there was brilliant flash of light, the area was the altered to create what appeared to be a giant battlefield. The bright light surrounding Mario's body began to vanish as the vortex slowly reduced its intensity. When the vortex had faded completely, there stood Mario. His body now just slightly smaller than Tirek, but in the end, the result was the same. Mario was a giant! Mario blinked in surprise as he examined himself.

"Wow!" Mario exclaimed in amazement. Tirek seethed with fury.

"How is this possible?" Tirek demanded furiously.

"You called your brother a fool and a traitor for embracing the magic of friendship," said Mario boldly, "but now that same magic that you despised will be your downfall!" Tirek roared angrily as Mario stood up on his hind legs and stood in battle position.

The Battle of the Titans was about to begin.

(Cue Mario and Luigi "Size up your enemy" theme)

Tirek gave a loud laugh.

"I'd like to see you try and hurt me with your so called friendship magic," Tirek challenged.

"You asked for it," said Mario as he walked over to Tirek on his hind legs. He then got on all fours and squatted down. Just as he opened his wings, Mario leaped high into the air, even doing a few flips before landing pm his hind hooves square on Tirek's head. Then leaped into the air, spin about, and slammed his hind-hoofs.

"GAH! GAH!" Tirek yelped from both stomps as Mario hopped up and stayed on his hind legs. Tirek roared as he used his magic to summon some giant chunks of rock and then threw them at Mario from different angles. Time slowed down as Mario leaned to the left and then to the right, and then leaned back as far as he could to barely avoid a giant boulder from smacking him square in the face. Then Mario wobbled a bit as he tried not to fall over and stood back up.

"UGH!"

Mario had apparently stood up too soon because another rock smacked him square in the chest, knocking Mario off his hooves. Mario groaned as he stood back up on all fours and then got back up on just his hind legs.

"So that's how you wanna play?" Mario asked angrily, "if only I could..." Mario then held out a fore-leg and his Ultra Hammer, now big enough for him to hold, appeared in his fore-hoof.

"Perfect," said Mario with a smirk as Tirek lunged at him. Mario reeled back and then...

WHAM!

Mario did a perfect uppercut, knocking Tirek back a good hundred yards into the air and he then landed with a thud. Tirek was dazed for a moment. Mario then charged up another jump attack, stomping Tirek's head twice before backing away. Tirek recovered quickly and growled angrily at Mario. Mario growled back. Tirek then summoned some more rocks, but these were much smaller, which only meant Tirek could fire them off more quickly. Instead Tirek threw them into the air in a rather rhythm like pattern, but Mario hadn't noticed that. He was more focused on knocking the rocks away with proper timing. He managed to send the first few rocks right back at Tirek, but a rock hit Mario, leaving him a little disoriented so he couldn't figure out how to knockback all the other rocks, taking damage in the process. Mario had barely recovered when Tirek charged at him again. Before Mario could summon his hammer, Tirek used his hands to grab Mario's forelegs. The two engaged in a rather intensive wrestling match. Mario tried his best, but Tirek easily overpowered him and lifted the alicorn into the air. Tirek then threw him as hard as he could away from himself.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh! Ugh! Oof! Ugh!" Mario yelped as he landed hard on back, and flipped over a couple times before landing on his stomach and groaned. The rest of the Mane seven were looking very worried.

"Oh dear," said Fluttershy, "Mario needs us." Twilight bit her lip, but then remembered what Mario had said.

"We need to open the chest!" said Twilight, "Come on!" The girls followed Twilight back to the chest.

(end Giant Battle theme for now)

Each pony placed a fore-hoof over their own key as they turned them at the same time. The top of the chest began to glow as a rainbow shot out of it and entered the Element of Magic in the Tree of Harmony. Some magical energy then flowed out of the center of the tree and entered the other elements, including the Element of Love. Strong magical power beams then descended onto the six ponies. Twilight just embraced the magical energy and smiled as she and the rest of the girls disappeared and were encased inside magical orbs. Then each orb burst to reveal that each pony had powered up.

Pinkie had blue and yellow balloon decals on her hooves, her cutie mark restored, as well as a yellow, orange, and blue stripe in her pink mane and tail. She was now Super Pinkie!

Rainbow had lightning bolt marks on her hooves as well as along the outer sides of her eyes as well as her restored cutie mark. Her wings were now rainbow colored and her mane was longer, thicker, and more spiky. The same could be said about her tail, which was loosely shaped like a lightning bolt. She was now Super Rainbow!

Applejack had apple decals on her hooves in red and green. Unlike the other restored cutie marks, hers had been altered to feature a giant apple surrounded by two smaller apples. Her mane and tail, which were thicker and longer, now had red and lilac highlights in them and her hair ties were now giant green ribbons. Her stenson hat also had an apple decal on it. She was now Super Applejack!

Fluttershy had various colored butterfly decals on her hooves with her restored cutie mark. Her wings had a turquoise stripe in the middle with dark pink on the ends of each wing as well as pink heart decals on the outer tips of her feathers. Her mane and tail had grown in length as well as volume and had highlights of sea-blue, cyan, and lilac. She was now Super Fluttershy!

Rarity had diamond decals that were not just on her hooves, but also had white outlines of diamond decals on her mane and tail. Her cutie mark was now one giant blue diamond with three smaller diamonds on the left side. Her mane and tail were also longer and had more volume as well. They also had stripes of pale blue, violet, and yellow highlights in them. Unlike her regular mane and tail styles, the curls were more defined at the very ends of each section of her hair. Her tail was also divided into two strands that had their own large curl at the end. She was now Super Rarity!

Finally, Twilight had white and pale yellow diamond stars on her hooves that sparkled in the light along with her restored cutie mark. Her wings now had bands of magenta and purple on them. Her mane and tail had an additional stripe of yellow and violet running through them. She was now Super Twilight!

The other powered up ponies, gathered around Super Twilight before they flew out of the cave.

(Cue back "Size Up Your Enemy" theme)

Back outside, Mario was not doing too well. He was struggling to find openings to attack Tirek. At the same time, he was taking quite a beating from the centaur's attacks. His mane, tail, and fur coat looked very frazzled from all the damage he was taking. Tirek lunged at Mario again and tried to wrestle with him once more. Tirek easily picked up Mario again, tossed him into the air, and slugged him with a strong left hook, sending Mario flying a couple hundred yards. Mario grunted painfully as he tumbled to the ground before struggling to get back to his hooves. He had barely stood back on his hind legs when Tirek charged up his magic and launched a magic blast as big as himself right at Mario!

"YIKES!" Mario yelped. Since he was too tired to think of a way to block or defend, he got a painful shock of his life as the magic blast struck him and sent him tumbling into his back. Mario found it very difficult to get back up again. He even dropped to his hind knees twice before he could stand on all fours and then his hind hooves again. He couldn't help but lean forward a bit in exhaustion, his body aching from all the damage he had taken. The Power Hearts then reappeared around Mario, each them flickering red. Mario knew what that meant. If he took any more damage, he and the Power Hearts would in big trouble. Tirek laughed at Mario's worn out condition.

"Looks like the magic of friendship and love has failed you, Prince Mario," Tirek gloated deviously as Mario just panted and sweated heavily, "You have fought gallantly, but now it is time for you to-"

"Not so fast Tirek!" somepony shouted. Tirek and Mario looked to the side and saw a giant orb rise into the air with six familiar ponies inside.

"Honey?" Mario exclaimed weakly in surprise. Tirek angrily shot a magic blast at the giant orb, but his attack was easily blocked.

"How is this possible?!" said Tirek, "You have no magic! Not even the Power Hearts!"

"You're wrong Tirek!" said Super Twilight boldly as the other girls hovered around her, "Mario and I may have given you our Alicorn magic, but just like my husband, I carry within me the most powerful magic of all and we're here to share it with our friend!" The Super Mane six then hovered their orb between Mario and Tirek to keep the centaur from attacking the alicorn prince. Super Pinkie then popped out of the barrier and floated over to Mario.

"Looks like you could use a little "rhythmic cupcakes"," said Super Pinkie. Mario smiled as Pinkie then tossed some cupcakes the size of her head into the air toward Mario in a particular pattern. Mario made sure to pay attention to the pattern so he could gobble up all the cupcakes Pinkie gave him. Pinkie did about four different patterns and Mario managed to all of the cupcakes, making his body glow pink once he had finished. The Power Hearts were no longer flashing red and Mario had regained all his strength. Even his tail, mane, and coat were no longer looking tattered and frazzled.

"Alright! Maximum health restored!" Pinkie cheered as she and the rest of the Super Mane six hovered up to Mario's mane and rested there and began to cheer for him.

"Go git 'em partner!"

"You can do it!"

"You've got this Mario!"

"Show 'em what love and friendship can do!"

"We believe in you!"

"Go Mario Go!"

Mario then felt his body glow red for a moment. Unlike before, this meant his offensive power had increased. Tirek roared as he lunged at Mario again. Mario growled as he and Tirek wrestled once more. Mario struggled at first, but then he managed to overpower Tirek this time around.

"What?!" Tirek exclaimed as Mario lifted him into the air.

"TO THE MOOOOOOOOOON!" Mario shouted as he jumped high into the air and pile-drove Tirek onto his head. Tirek was now too dizzy to attack.

"Applejack, Rainbow, Twilight," Mario called out, "Time for a Drill Stomp!" Mario then used his love magic to give them the knowledge needed on how to do the move. The three gave him determined smiles once the knowledge sank into their minds. Mario then did a spin jump into the air as Super Applejack hovered directly above Tirek on her hind legs. Mario then rotated clockwise in the same fashion until he was underneath Super Applejack, who was also rotating in the air in the same direction. Then the two ponies combined their power to spin stomp on Tirek's head for damage. Then they broke away as Super Rainbow took her place and Mario repeated the process again, slamming into Tirek's head a second time. Then it was Super Twilight's turn. This time, they rotated counter clockwise before linking up, spun in the air at an even faster rotation speed, and slammed hard onto Tirek's head a third time for extra damage. Mario then side somersaulted away back into position.

"Great job!" Mario told them as the three super ponies floated next to him. The three super ponies smiled and kissed Mario's giant cheek to say "you're welcome" before hovering back onto the top his mane. Tirek groaned as he got back up and growled as he used his magic to create a hammer out or rocks that floated in front of the centaur. The hammer spun about in the air before trying to attack Mario. Mario used his own hammer to block it with an uppercut. Then the hammer tried to attack by spinning at its side, Mario blocked the attack with a sideways hammer chop. Tirek repeated these two attacks two more times each, and in a random pattern to keep Mario on high alert. then made the hammer glow brightly as he charged it for an extra power strike. The hammer then went for a fast overhead attack, but Mario blocked it, destroying the rock hammer in the process. Tirek growled angrily as he backed up a good hundred yards.

"Get your hammer ready darling!" Super Rarity called out as Tirek charged angrily at Mario at high speed. Mario reeled back his hammer...

WHAM!

Mario did a hammer chop, which sent Tirek flying into the background, right over the Castle of the Two Sisters and landed so hard that the battle area shook.

"Great job, honey!" Super Twilight shouted.

Tirek then jumped high into the air and slammed his fist into the ground. This time, waves of earth started flowing toward Mario. Mario was used to jumping on just his hind legs so he carefully timed his jumps over each wave. He barely was able clear the last wave, which was taller than the rest. He wobbled a bit as he came for a landing but managed to stabilize himself. Tirek then used his magic to create a deep pit right behind Mario, making him lose his balance a bit since he was standing at the very edge of the pit.

"Careful Mario!" Super Fluttershy as Mario nearly fell in but managed to step forward and regain his balance on just his hind legs. Tirek went for a body charge to knock Mario into the pit. Mario quickly took note that Tirek was charging off center and got an idea.

"Ole!" Mario called out as he side-stepped so Tirek missed him and wobbled a bit to avoid falling into the pit.

"Get him Mario!" Super Rainbow shouted. Mario reeled his hammer...

WHAM!

Mario did another hammer uppercut to Tirek's back end, sending the centaur tumbling into the pit. Mario then leaped over the pit as Tirek tried to climb out.

"Knock 'em senseless big brother!" Super Applejack shouted. Mario began slamming his hammer down on Tirek's head continuously to keep the centaur form escaping. Tirek was barely halfway out when the constantly hammer strikes left him too disoriented to move. Mario then reeled back him hammer a second time.

WHAM!

With a strong uppercut, Tirek flew out of the pit and crashed landed to the ground a short distance away. The impact left cracks on the ground as Tirek's just sat in a complete daze as Mario walked up to him stood ready to keep fighting. Tirek recovered, roared loudly before he leaped back a few hundred yards, charged up his magic and launched another mega-sized magic blast at Mario. Mario narrowed his eyes.

"Not this time!" Mario said sternly as he grabbed his hammer reeled back. Just as the magic blast came in range, Mario swung his hammer. It was perfect contact, but Mario was struggling to knock it back as the magic blast was pushing against his hammer.

"You can do it, Mario!" the Super Mane six cheered as Mario gritted his teeth and pushed his hammer forward with all his strength.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Mario screamed as he finally was able to overpower the magic blast and sent it rocketing right back at Tirek! Tirek was so surprised that he got a direct hit from the magic blast, damaging him heavily and stunning him. Just as Mario approached the centaur, he saw a gold star flicker on Tirek's chest.

"Alright!" Mario exclaimed.

"What is that?" Super Fluttershy asked.

"Thanks to you all helping me, I've done enough damage to expose Tirek's weak point!" said Mario, "One good critical strike in that location is all we need to end this battle and make Tirek release all the magic he's stolen!"

"Awesome," said Super Rainbow, "and...just how will we do that?"

"With a move I'll going to call...Finishing Rainboom," said Mario confidently as he squatted down on all fours and then leaped high into the air, higher than he had ever jumped in his entire life.

"Once I find a flat star," Mario instructed as they launched into the sky, "All six of you are going to hop onto it. Then I'll toss you guys at directly at Tirek, your job will be to guide your momentum so you can strike the weak point and create the Finishing Rainboom. Unlike a regular rainboom, you guys will be flying much faster than Mach 1 and the Rainboom won't happen unless you strike the weak point precisely. Everypony understand?"

"Yeah!" said the Super Mane six as Mario finally slowed down once he reached the very edge of the planet's atmosphere. Mario grabbed a nearby flat star that looked just like one of his star cookies. He held it out as the Super Mane six jumped on top of it. Mario twirled once to charge up then twirled three times in the opposite direction before tossing the flat star back down toward the planet's atmosphere.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Super Pinkie cheered as their star re-entered the atmosphere at high speed, as it passed through the mesosphere, their star platform got overheated and shattered. Yet it wasn't a bad thing because the Super Main six received a nice multi-colored slipstream that had all seven colors of the Elements of Harmony and began to rapidly increase their speed. Since Twilight was leading the charge, she carefully adjusted their momentum and increasing speed toward the gold star that marked Tirek's weak point. Soon their slipstream began to shift into a V-shape as they drew nearer and nearer at the centaur. Tirek had just about shaken off his dizziness when he noticed the Super Mane six coming straight for him. Before he could even react...

CRITICAL RAINBOOM!

In a triple take moment, the Super Mane six blasted through Tirek's weak point, creating a giant Rainboom as they flew by and leaving a giant Elements of Harmony colored rainbow behind them. Tirek screamed as his entire body was engulfed by both a bright light and the rainbow as his body released all the magic he had captured. In the process, his body rapidly shrunk in size and stature until he was reduced to his powerless state. He was then instantly caged and transported back to Tartarus where Cerberus growled and guarded the cage attentively. Mario, still a giant, landed back on the ground to see everything.

(Battle Victory fanfare)

Mario did a twirl on his hind legs and posed.

"Oh yeah!" Mario cheered just as the Super Mane six zoomed by in front of him. Then flashes of light appeared from his chest, startling him.

"Whoa!" Mario yelped as the bright light expanded, recreating the vortex of pink hearts. This time around, the pink hearts were floating away from Mario as they returned the alicorn prince back to his normal size. Mario had his eyes closed until the vortex had faded away completely. He then noticed that he was back to his normal self, even his cutie mark and magic had been restored. The Super Mane six cheered as they landed in front of him.

"Way to go, honey! You did it!" Twilight shouted happily.

"Aw, I couldn't have defeated Tirek without all of you," said Mario bashfully. Mario's horn flickered pink as the seven Power Hearts reappeared before them.

"Thank you for letting me use your ultimate power," Mario told the Power Hearts, "that magic helped me and my friends defeat Tirek." Mario and the Super Mane six were taken aback when they heard the Power Hearts...chuckling to each other.

"Oh, Mario," said the yellow Power Heart with wise but angelic voice, "you had only tapped into a small portion of our magic."

"Wait! What?!" Mario exclaimed. He was more shocked that he hadn't been given the ultimate power rather than the fact the Power Heart was speaking to him! The Super Mane six were just as stunned and surprised.

"The magic that made you giant was given to you because you understand what it means to be the Element of Love," the yellow Power Heart explained, "for over a 1000 years we have been waiting for the bearer of the Seventh Element to appear and remind us all that pure love still has a place in Equestria. You, Mario Star, have done just that. You have shown us that such love exists within the Elements of Harmony and that such love is most powerful when combined with the magic of friendship." Mario and the Super Mane six smiled.

"It is with great pride that we bestow upon you the ultimate power," the yellow heart continued, "Do you have your key?" Mario blinked.

"My key?!" Mario asked, "I...I'm afraid I don't." He then showed the Power Hearts the barrette clip, "I mean...when I presented my Cherry Blossom pin to the chest it didn't...huh?!" Mario stopped speaking as the barrette clip glowed and hovered into the air as the seven Power Hearts hovered around it and shined so brightly that all seven ponies had to shield their eyes.

"Until we meet again, Mario Star," said the yellow Power Heart, "Thank you for reuniting us with the Tree of Harmony!" The seven Power Hearts then disappeared as the barrette clips magically transformed...

...into a giant key that was made of the same crystal as the Tree of Harmony instead of gold!

The giant key slowly hovered just within jumping distance, glowing as it was filled with the love magic of all seven Power Hearts. Mario exchanged smiles with the Super Mane six who urged Mario to collect it. Mario then jumped up and went to touch the key. The moment his fore-hoof made contact he was engulfed into a bright light once again. The Super Mane six oohed and awed in amazement as Mario made a firm landing back on the ground.

Mario's coat was now as white as an ocean pearl. He now had sparkly golden stars on his hooves and a mane and tail that was now gold as well. They also flowed on their own and sparkled in the sunlight just like Princess Celestia's. He was also taller and slightly more muscular, giving him the same height and stature as Princess Luna. His wings were now one and a half times the size of his body and had stripes of each color that represented the elements of harmony with gold at the tips of the feathers. His chocolate brown eye were now the most beautiful shade of blue one could imagine. He was now super...

...oh wait. He already had a super form when he would use his Element of Harmony.

Hyper?

No...that doesn't do justice.

Ultra?

Better...but there's only one word to describe Mario now.

He is now...

(Cue Mario 64 "Ultimate Clear" fanfare)

UTIMATE MARIO!

"Come on everypony," said Mario as he pranced, side somersaulted, and then opened his large wings and rocket into the sky. The rest of the Super Mane six soon followed just slightly behind him. As he flew about, he left a large tail of sparkles behind him. At the same time, Mario's body began to collect all the magic that Tirek had released, making his body glow brighter and brighter until he and the rest of the Super Mane six were encased inside a gigantic orb of raw magic. They soon reached the center of all Equestria where they were so high in the sky that they could see the entire land before them. It was at that moment Mario's body had collected all the magic Tirek has stolen as the rest of the Super Mane six circled him. Mario then reached maximum power.

"TO EQUESTRIA AND BEYOND!" Mario screamed, his voice echoing throughout the land as a massive ring of pure magic expanded from his body and the Super Mane six separated into three groups of two. Rarity and Twilight headed toward Canterlot, where Shining Armor and his two guards were still sitting on the floor of the bridge. Then Shining Armor found that he could make his horn glow again and stood up, feeling her magic, strength, and cutie mark had been restored. He gave Rarity and Twilight a smile to say thank you. Fluttershy and Rainbow flew over to the group of grounded and weakened Wonderbolts and other Pegasi. They were quickly restored of their own magic, cutie marks, and their ability to fly again. Muffins especially was very pleased as Rainbow and Fluttershy flew in front of her. Back in Appleloosa, Applejack and Pinkie hopped about excitedly before the still drained Earth ponies as the magic wave went past them, restoring their magic, strength, and their cutie marks. The Earth ponies began to smile and dance happily. Finally, inside the prison hold where the three drained Alicorn princesses were chained and held captive. The restoration of magic in Equestria caused Princess Celestia's chains to dissolve and soon the sun Princess found that her horn was glowing to show her magic and cutie mark had been restored. The same happened with Princess Luna and Cadance and the three Princess quickly made their way out of Tartarus.

The Super Mane Six and Ultimate Mario returned before the Tree of Harmony via another magic orb. They quickly teleported out of it and exchanged smiles with each other as their bodies stopped glowing, but retained their powered up forms. They watched as the giant orb hovered above the chest. Then it rested on top of the chest...

...producing the seventh keyhole!

Ultimate Mario smiled excitedly as he closed his eyes and made his diamond-like key appear before the group and it hovered into the air until it was directly above the chest. Mario's key sparkled as it began to rotate rather quickly and then the key plunged itself into the keyhole and turned the lock. The seven ponies were then startled when the Tree of Harmony gave off a bright light and the ground began to rumble. Mario's key dissolved to allow a huge rainbow to shoot out from the chest. The rainbow broke through the ground above them and ascended into the sky before descending on the other side of Ponyville. The chest then rose into the air and traveled along the rainbow road until it reached the other side. The chest immediately planted itself into the ground. Only a few seconds passed before a bright light appeared and a giant crystal castle tree sprouted from the surface. It also had a pair of flag banners hanging from a pole on the left side. Ultimate Mario and the Super Mane six teleported before the new castle. Mario was the first to power down as the rest of the Super Mane six did so as well. Together, they started at the castle in awe and amazement.

"Sweet Celestia!" said Rarity, "Are you all seeing what I'm seeing?"

"I know I do," said Mario, "I...I can't believe that...my key was what made all this happen!"

"Guess you did have a role in helping us open that chest after all," said Applejack as Mario smiled, "You made a castle appear."

"But...whose is it?" Twilight asked as Mario pondered.

"I believe it is yours, Princess Twilight and Prince Mario," said a voice. The Mane seven turned to see Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Cadance, and Spike standing before them. Discord appeared from behind the group and gave them a friendly wave before standing beside Spike.

"Fluttershy," he called out as the yellow Pegasus turned to face him. Discord smiled as he stepped aside. There behind him was Shenran, alive and his magic restored. Discord had even repaired his dual swords as they rested comfortably in the sheath Shenran usually wore. The Pegasus stallion gave Fluttershy a warm smile. Fluttershy wasted no time smiling, bursting into tears, and rushing over to him as they shared a teary but loving embrace and kiss with each other. Everypony else smiled, through Rarity and Cadance couldn't help but shed a few tears of their own at the sight. Mario gave Discord a firm nod for his good deed, which the draconequus smiled in return. Princess Celestia waited patiently for the engaged couple to settle down before guiding everypony inside the new castle.

"You both have been wondering what you are meant to do as princess and prince," Princess Celestia told Twilight and Mario as she lead the entire group down one of the castle hallways, "Do you both know now?"

"As a princess, I believe we have the power to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria," Twilight answered,

"As a prince," Mario added, "It is our duty to show ponies just how magical friendship can be."

"This is the role we are meant to have in our world!" said Twilight and Mario together, "It's the role we choose to have!"

"But we didn't defeat Tirek on our own!" said Twilight, "Mario was able to collect seven Power Hearts. With their power, along with power from the Tree of Harmony..."

"And help and encouragement from our friends," Mario added as Twilight chuckled.

"Mario was able to wear Tirek down so the rest of us could make him release all the magic he had stolen," Twilight continued as she teleported herself and Mario between the rest of the Mane Seven, "It took all of us to unlock the chest! All seven of us!" The group shared a hug together. Shenran just let the group have their moment. He might not have gotten his chance to shine this time around, but he would have his chance someday. He was going to become a permanent member of the group soon enough.

"Then it is unlikely you two are meant to take on this task alone," said Princess Celestia as she opened a pair of doors to another room. The Mane Seven and Shenran gasped in surprise and amazement.

"Wowee!" Pinkie exclaimed. Inside the room was a chamber that had eight thrones. Seven of them had the cutie mark of each of the Mane seven on it. The eighth throne was smaller and designed for Spike and had been placed right next to Twilight's throne. As expected, Twilight and Mario's thrones were side by side of each other.

"You are now Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship," said Princess Celestia, "and you are Mario Star, the prince of friendship." All but Twilight and Mario took a seat to try out their new thrones.

"But what is the princess and prince of friendship without their friends?" Princess Celestia added as the group shared a hug with each other. Fluttershy then pulled away a second and pulled Shenran into the hug as well. Then Twilight and Mario looked at Discord, who just peeked into the room, unsure if he should walk inside or not. The former used her magic to bring him into the room so he could join the group hug.

"Wait a minute," Discord exclaimed, "where's my throne?!"

"I don't think you're quite there yet," said Fluttershy as she hovered up to the draconequus. Discord chuckled.

"Yes, well, I suppose not," Discord replied as he and Fluttershy smiled.

"Don't feel too bad, Discord," said Shenran, "I didn't get a throne either."

"True," said Discord, "but you have a better chance of getting one if you catch my drift." Shenran and Fluttershy just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders together.

Neither pony knew if their marriage would earn Shenran a throne or not.

Outside the Castle, many of the Ponyville ponies approached the castle in awe. They had just gotten to the front door when Twilight and Mario opened it and stood before them with their wings open.

[Twilight and Mario - Once they finished singing, all the ponies smiled excitedly.]

Each one of us has something special
That makes us different, that makes us rare

[Fluttershy - She and Rainbow mirrored each other as they flew above the group of ponies walking inside of the castle.]

We have a light that shines within us
That we were always meant to share

[The Mane Eight - Rarity and Applejack faced each other as they sang. Then Pinkie and Rainbow stood beside Rarity and Applejack facing each other. Fluttershy and Twilight did the same along with Mario and Shenran so they made a V shape while they sang together.]

And when we come together
Combine the light that shines within
There is nothing we can't do
There is no battle we can't win

[The Mane eight - Then Shenran stood slightly behind Fluttershy as the rest of the group gathered around the star in the center of the room's floor. Then seven Power Hearts appeared above the group, circling the ponies before each color Power Heart hovered above the pony with same color Element. The Power Hearts then made each pony glow when a fast moving Element colored rainbow shot from the center star and flew out of the castle.]

When we come together
There'll be a star to guide the way
It's inside us every day

See it now! See it now!

[The Mane eight - As the group sang, the element colored rainbow took off. First it flew through Manehattan, where Coco Pummel was busy sewing and smiled as she saw the rainbow go by. Then the rainbow swirled around Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Soarin as they flew about the skies. Cheese Sandwich was just walking with Boneless two on his back. Then he saw the rainbow zoom across the sky and blew his noisemaker. The rainbow then flew through the land of the Breezies. Seabreeze and several other Breezies smiled as the rainbow went by. In Rainbow Falls, Silver Shill was busy at his now legitimate goods tent in Rainbow Falls when the rainbow swirled around him and flew off, making him grin. Finally, in Horse-a-lulu, Sakura and Anemone were working in their garden together when the rainbow swirled around each of them before flying off, making them smile happily.]

Let the Rainbow remind you
That together we will always shine
Let the rainbow remind you
That forever this will be our time

As a mandolin solo was played, the element-colored rainbow swirled around Discord who was now standing in the middle of the celebration. Princess Celestia was just watching the festivities when Discord presented her with a bouquet of flowers. And to everypony's surprise, they were regular, healthy, pretty flowers. Princess Celestia smiled at the gesture while Discord gave her a smile and a wink.

[Twilight and Mario - As they ended the song, the rest of the Mane eight gathered around them as somepony took their picture.]

Let the rainbow remind you
That together we will always shine

Mario and Twilight both agreed...

..that their future had never looked so bright.

Well...what did ya think? I said this chapter would be EPIC. Mario even did a Goku battle cry for all you Dragon Ball Z fans. Plus the Battle between Mario and Tirek was based off Mario and Luigi Dream Team. I listed what you guys can search for if you want to listen to the music while reading that part. And I even included a Filly Fantasty six reference in here too!

And for the Madagascar parody, having Mario shouting "Hay" instead of "Tartarus" just sounded better to me.

When the girls all got their rainbow powers, I used "Super [name] instead of "Rainbow [name]" for obvious reasons. (looks at a cyan Pegasus)

I have to wonder how many of you thought Mario becoming a giant was the ultimate power! Well, I wouldn't be a good writer if I didn't surprise you guys every once and a while.

And this marks the end of season 4! Onward to Season 5! As usual, there will be an intermission chapter before we start what I'm going to call "The Equality Arc" for now.

NOTE: I'm still in standby looking for a back up channel that works best for my note-taking because of the whole Netflix situation. The intermission chapter will come in a timely manner, but the first chapter of season 5 might take a little longer to be posted...

Hmm...as for the intermission chapter...I can only give you one hint:

Alicorn Casual Friday

Peace Pony Fans!