Recurring Nightmare

by D.K.N

Celestia detects a disturbing development in the Everfree Forest, and sends the girls to investigate. Little do any of them know, it's the start of something far larger than they could ever have anticipated. Rating upped for violence in Ch. 3.

3. Chapter 3

And now we come to the final chapter.

I am upgrading the rating to "M" because of the brutality of some of the fight-scene finishers; feel free to inform me if you have or receive official confirmation that this chapter's material does not, in fact, warrant an M rating. I'd rather unnecessarily mark it as an "M" than risk having it removed by the mods for having M-rated action scenes in a "T" fic.

Since I cannot find a way to alter an already-up chapter without re-typing and then re-uploading the whole damn chapter, here are the battle music disclaimers for all three chapters:

Kingdom Hearts is the property of Disney and Square-Enix

Mass Effect is the property of Bioware

Kirby is the property of Nintendo

Onward!

-CHAPTER START-

The sky was blood-red with random whorls of violet and/or black. Every second, the range of Nightmare Calamity's birth-pulse of chaotic darkness energy raced out farther, transforming the area. The combination of Discord's insane randomness and Nightmare's corruptive darkness turned everything into a nightmarish hellscape where everything was utterly wrong, angles and symbols and not-beings that should not exist were everywhere, it was somehow both scorching hot and bitterly cold at the same time, and the fabric of reality itself was stretched and wrinkled in ways it wasn't supposed to, as ponies, places, and things mutated and warped in mind-breaking ways. Celestia, who had taken peeks into other realms in the past, described it all as "Tzeentchian".

Celestia then grabbed hold of her sister and the seven girls telekinetically and teleported them all into the deepest room of her palace, and upon arrival she immediately activated every single defensive spell, every holy artifact, every defense she had built into this safehouse. The wave of Chaos reached that section of the castle and flowed around and past the room like a river around a boulder, leaving it and its occupants dry… but inundating everything else. The expanding wave of corruption stopped when it reached the outer limits of Canterlot… for now.

Hordes of shadow-demons came into being all over the city, and immediately went on the attack. Those who hadn't been warped and twisted by the initial wave of mutative, corrupted chaos were set upon by these creatures. Some ponies managed to fight back, others managed to escape – with or without assistance – but still others fell to them. Men, women, elderly, children, all were targeted. Some were left beaten and traumatized but (barely) alive, some were killed and then revived as twisted things like those first victims, still others had their very life-force and souls absorbed by Nightmare Calamity Itself, where they were tortured and tormented within It, being subjected to terror and agony incomprehensible to flesh and blood. Before long, the eldritch location that was once Canterlot was filled with the sounds of shifting masses of reality, crackling energy, the tortured moans, screams, and unfathomable tones uttered by mutated victims, and the footsteps of the eerily silent shadow-daemons.

Inside the safehouse, the seven Element-bearers clung to each other, still trying to shake off what Pinkie called "eldritch-brand willies". Celestia and Luna double- and triple-checked the safeguards, going over each and every rune and magical fiber with excruciating detail. There was a whorl of orange and green fire in the center of the room, which came away to reveal Philomena, Spike, and the girls' animal companions.

"See?" Spike said to the phoenix. "Told ya it would work."

"S-Spike?" Twilight reacted with shock. "How the hell did…"

"It's magic" the boy dragon replied. "I ain't gotta explain crap."

Angel hopped over to Fluttershy, the grumpy rabbit showing uncharacteristic concern. Opalescence tried to maintain her cool façade, but it was obvious that she had been shaken by the sheer wrongness that everyone and everything had sense clear down in Ponyville. Dash walked up to her tortoise.

"Tank…" she said. "I'm… I'm sorry… about what I…"

He slowly smiled at her and placed a comforting foot on her foreleg. Winona, Gummy, and Owlowiscious each went over to their respective owners. Trixie stared silently for a few seconds.

"…If we get out of this, I need to find a pet…" she muttered. Fluttershy's ears perked up and her head snapped to attention and turned to focus on Trixie. She was already mentally composing the inevitable song.

"What the Hell is going on up here?" Spike asked the group. "The whole town heard and felt when you guys purified Dash, and we all saw you girls go chasing after that shadow, which I'm guessing was Nightmare. Then when you got near here, things went totally crazy. Even way down in Ponyville, everyone could sense something… wrong. And then that big roiling red-and-black nasty-looking thing expanded out and completely enveloped Canterlot."

"Nightmare has merged with Discord," Luna explained, "and the two have become a single being that calls itself Nightmare Calamity. Its mere birth has wounded the fabric of reality."

"So if the 'fabric' of reality is torn," Rarity said, "how do we go about mending it?"

"Nightmare Calamity's existence endangers this entire star system" Luna replied. "If it were to unleash its full daemonic might, everything within over 1,000 light-years could be consumed and/or destroyed …Sister, what do we do from here?"

"…I don't know" Celestia replied in a shaky, worried tone. "This is far beyond anything I could have imagined. A daemonic entity of this level of power… I cannot think of anything we can do…"

Everyone stood in mute horror at this. If not even Celestia knew what to do…

"THIS WORLD SHALL BECOME MY THRONE."

The group jumped and shivered as Nightmare Calamity's thoughts reverberated in the heads of everyone for hundreds of miles around.

"I HAVE BEGUN A TIMELESS CHORUS THAT SHALL ECHO ACROSS THE PHYSICAL REALM AND THE IMMATERIUM. JOIN YOUR VOICE WITH MINE, AND SING UNREALITY EVERLASTING. EMBRACE THE PRIMORDIAL CHAOS FROM WHICH THE UNIVERSE SPRANG FORTH, AND RELINQUISH YOUR SOULS TO ME… EMBRACE CHAOS ETERNAL…"

Again there was silence from no-one being able to speak.

"Man…" Dash said after nearly a minute. "I… I really hope Scootaloo is okay down there…"

"She should be fine" Pinkie replied. "The corruption hasn't spread outside Canterlot."

"I know that. But she's probably terrified right now…"

"Cheerilee and Derpy were rounding up all the kids" Spike said. "Cheerilee knows how to fight if need be, and if anyone can make children feel safe and happy, it's Derpy."

"Not that anyone will be safe or happy for much longer…" Twilight sadly muttered.

"DO NOT GIVE IN TO DESPAIR…"

The sudden voice - male, deep, foreboding, and strong, yet warm and calming - boomed throughout the room. To one side of the room, there was whorl of sparkles of magic and light that coalesced to form the ethereal, semi-transparent spirit of an alicorn, taller than even Celestia. Every color imaginable made up this ethereal form, and his flowing mane and tail looked to be made up of Creation itself. His mere presence strengthened, inspired, and overwhelmed. He was the Originator, the First Alicorn, He who created life on this world and sired the line of alicorns who ruled over the world, overseer of all quadrupedal sapient life in the galaxy.

"Ouranos…" Luna whispered in utter awe. She and Celestia both knelt down before him, the others soon following; even if said others didn't know who he was in the way the Princesses was, they somehow knew that he was their unquestionable ruler of all.

"THERE IS A WAY TO DEFEAT AND DESTROY THE NEWBORN GREATER DAEMON KNOWN AS NIGHTMARE CALAMITY."

"D-Does it involve yourself, sir?" Fluttershy asked.

"NO. MY CONNECTION TO THE MATERIAL REALM IS WEAK. I CANNOT MANIFEST THE POWER TO DESTROY CALAMATY AS IS. I COULD IF HE ASCENDED TO A TRUE DAEMON LORD, BUT HIS DOING SO WOULD ANNIHILATE THIS WORLD AND EVERY OTHER WITHIN MANY LIGHTYEARS. BUT THERE IS A WAY YOU, BEARERS OF THE ELEMENTS, AND YOU, MY DESCENDANTS, TO VANQUISH HIM WHILE HE IS STILL YOUNG AND NOT AT HIS FULL POTENTIAL POWER."

"What happens if we fail?" Trixie dared to ask.

"IF CALAMITY GAINS HIS FULL POWER, HE WILL BECOME A FULL-BLOWN CHAOS GOD, AND THIS ENTIRE GALAXY WILL BE AT HIS MERCY."

"What must we do?" Twilight asked.

"EACH OF YOU SEVEN BEARERS OF THE HARMONY ELEMENTS MUST VENTURE TO A SEPARATE POINT IN THE CITY. THOSE POINTS ARE PART OF THE LARGEST MAGICAL NEXUS ON THE PLANET, UPON WHICH CANTERLOT WAS BUILT. THERE, YOU MUST EACH DEFEAT THAT POINT'S DARK GUARDIAN, EACH OF THEM PLACED THERE BY NIGHTMARE CALAMITY AS AN EXTENSION OF HIMSELF. THIS WILL PREVENT CALAMITY FROM TAPPING INTO THE NEXUS LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO STRIKE HIM DOWN WHILE HE IS WEAKENED BY THE SEVERING."

He turned to face Celestia and Luna.

"YOU, MY DESCENDANTS, MUST USE YOUR POWER TO KEEP THE CORRUPTION FROM SPREADING LONG ENOUGH FOR THE ELEMENT-BEARERS TO PERFORM THEIR TASK. AFTER THAT, YOU MAY ASSIST THEM DIRECTLY AGAINST THE DAEMON."

Ouranos then turned to look at Spike and the animals.

"YOU ALL MUST SPREAD THE WORD AMONGST THE PONIES AND ANIMALS DOWN IN THE TOWN, AND CONVINCE THEM TO ASSIST BY SENDING THEIR EMOTIONS OUT TO THESE GIRLS. IN THIS TWISTED REALM, EMOTIONS BECOME REALITY, AND THE HOPES, BELIEFS, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND OTHER POSITIVE EMOTIONS SENT THE GIRLS' WAY BY LIVING BEINGS WILL LITERALLY STRENGTHEN THEM ENOUGH TO EASE THEIR TASK. FURTHERMORE, YOU MUST ALERT THEM THAT THEY WILL LIKELY NEED TO PREPARE DEFENSES, FOR CALAMITY'S MINIONS WILL MOST LIKELY ATTEMPT TO HARM THEM. THERE IS AN ARMY REGIMENT STATIONED HALFWAY DOWN THE MOUNTAIN; INFORM THEM THAT THEY MUST PARTICIPATE IN THAT DEFENSE."

"…I'll make sure it all gets done, sir" Spike replied, dead-serious. The animals nodded in agreement.

"ONE MORE THING, YOUNG DRAGON."

The tip of Ouranos' horn glowed, and Spike was bathed in a golden light that coalesced at his throat.

"I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE POWER TO SUMMON HOLY FIRE. IT IS BRILLIANTLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST DEMONS, DAEMONS, AND OTHER CREATURES OF DARKNESS. WHAT IS MORE, YOU CAN USE IT TO HEAL YOUR ALLIES; REGARDLESS OF INJURIES OR ILLNESS, SO LONG AS A SPARK OF LIFE REMAINS IN THE BODY OF WHOMEVER YOU WISH TO USE IT ON, THEY WILL BE RESTORED FULLY."

Spike nodded.

"AND FOR THAT ONE NIGGLING WORRY IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND ABOUT NOT DEVELOPING? DO NOT FRET. YOUR WINGS SHOULD START GROWING IN ABOUT A YEAR OR SO."

As Spike turned away, excitedly mouthing 'I'm gonna have wings!', Twilight walked up.

"U-Um… How will we get to the nexus points?"

"I WILL PLANET PSIONIC BEACONS FOR EACH OF YOU THAT WILL LEAD YOU TO YOUR CORRESPONDING POINTS. I HAVE ALSO BESTOWED LIGHT BLESSINGS UPON YOU TO RENDER YOU IMMUNE TO THE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY WARPING EFFECTS OF THIS REALM. AS FOR THE SHADOW-DEMONS OUT THERE…"

In a puff of smoke, duplicates of Twilight, Rarity, Trixie, Applejack, Pinkie, Dash, and Fluttershy appeared.

"I WILL CREATE MANY OF THESE SEMI-SOLID ILLUSIONS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS THROUGH THE CITY. THEY WILL FOOL THE DEMON SOLDIERS. THEY WOULD NOT FOOL NIGHTMARE CALAMITY, BUT HE WILL BE FAR TOO OCCUPIED BY OTHER THINGS TO NOTICE WHAT YOU ARE ALL DOING UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE."

There was a faint rumbling in the ground.

"TIME IS GROWING SHORT. WE MUST ACT QUICKLY. FINALIZE YOUR PREPARATIONS AND THEN HEAD OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I WILL NOTIFY THE OTHER DENIZENS OF THE HIGHER PLANES TO BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING. I WISH THE BEST OF LUCK TO YOU ALL."

With that, Ouranos vanished.

-SCENE BREAK-

A dome of golden light, around 10 feet across, popped up just outside the front gates of Celestia's palace. Dozens of semi-solid duplications of the Mane Seven shot out in every direction. The dome faded, revealing the actual Mane Seven, the Princesses, and Spike & the animals. Celestia and Luna took to the air, shrouding themselves in protective magic as they took position high above, starting their work to keep the rift in reality contained. In a whirl of green and orange fire, Philomena and Spike teleported themselves and the animals back to Ponyville. The girls set out, each following the psychic beacons to their respective points; Rarity toward the north point, Fluttershy and Trixie to northwest and northeast, and Applejack and Twilight to southwest and southeast. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie lingered at the starting point for just a bit longer.

"Dashie…" Pinkie said, catching the blue mare's attention. "This… This is for in case one or both of us don't make it out of this alive…"

And then she pulled Dash close and kissed her, making the pegasus' eyes shoot wide open in surprise. About a second in, Dash's wings snapped open and her face went bright pink when it sank in exactly what Pinkie was doing, and a few seconds later she found herself leaning into the kiss, returning it. After almost a full minute, Pinkie slowly pulled away.

"Well… Now I have something more to look forward to after this whole thing's settled" Dash said. Pinkie giggled and hugged her.

After a little more, they reluctantly pulled apart and headed at best speed for their assigned points at the east and west ends of the city.

The journeys to the points were pretty quick and easy; the duplicates were leading shadow-demons on wild goose chases, keeping their attention off the real things. Due to avoiding various obstacles, all seven got to their assigned locations at the same time despite the differences in speed and distance. At each location was a darkness dome similar to that which Nightmare Maelstrom had trapped them in to fight her Shadowbolts, except for being about three times as big. They all gathered their courage and walked through the domes and into the pocket realms that contained and sat over the nexus points.

-Spike-

"…And that's everything."

Spike had finally finished explaining everything to the gathered population of Ponyville. Tank, Angel, Winona, Opal, and Owlowiscious had gone off to round up the animals that Fluttershy had befriended over the years and rope them into helping however they could; Philomena had, for some reason, teleported out of the town, heading for parts unknown, though she had assured Spike she meant to fetch more help.

"So all we need to do is send our thoughts their way?" a green unicorn with a lyre Cutie-Mark asked.

"Yeah" Spike replied. "The boundaries between what's real and not are kinda screwy up there. That can work in our favor; hopes and dreams have direct tangible effects in there. Our thoughts of encouragement and hope for them will literally give them strength and power."

"We'll start setting up a perimeter" said a Royal Guard captain who'd been left on the scene after Maelstrom. "The group from the Army Base halfway up the peak should be here in a few minutes to further bolster our defenses."

As ponies scrambled to get into various positions, several individuals were thinking deeply about the "power to make hopes & dreams into reality"…

-Twilight Sparkle-

Twilight looked around at the twisted void she was now in. She could feel her tiredness and aches & pains from fighting Nightmare Maelstrom fading away, her strength returning to her; Ouranos was right when he said ponies' thoughts would help her. She moved forward cautiously, looking around for any sign of the "Dark Guardian" that the pony deity had mentioned. Soon, she neared the center and saw a figure in a black cloak, which turned to look at her.

"It was inevitable that you would try to come here sooner or later" the figure said in a female voice with a haughty tone; her voice was familiar in a way Twilight couldn't quite put her hoof on. "I suppose you think you'll be able to weaken Master?"

"I don't know who or what you are," Twilight replied, "But I will get through you."

The figure chuckled. "You really shouldn't talk about hurting yourself, you know."

"…What? Who… Who are you?"

With a flourish of red-hued magic, the figure cast off her cloak, revealing herself. Twilight stared in shock. Though her fur was a dark grey and her mane & tail were black, and her eyes were golden-yellow with black sclera, the figure was otherwise an exact duplicate of Twilight herself.

"I'm part of you" the not-Twilight said with a toothy grin.

"H-How is this even…" Twilight stammered.

"Every being that possess a Heart" explained the dark double "has Darkness in their Heart, with extremely rare exceptions who are called Princes or Princesses of Heart, of which there are less than two-dozen in this entire galaxy out of hundreds of billions of sapient beings total. Celestia is the only being of this world who is one. But I'm getting off track. Anyway, for all intents and purposes, all beings have Darkness in their Hearts. Most go through their whole lives without completely giving in to it, and a few live without ever even truly tapping into it. But it's still there. All the dark emotions of a Heart – rage, jealousy, desire for revenge, hatred, cruelty, treachery, selfishness, intolerance for other beings, and others – come from that Darkness, feeding off it and being fed by it in return. I am the inherent Darkness of your Heart, Twilight, made manifest here as a separate being to do battle and ensure that the Master who enabled my birth does not fail in his endeavor. And… if I manage to defeat you, I will gain full and irrevocable control over our body, and you will be erased!"

-Mane Seven-

In all seven of these nexus-points, the girls stood before their dark selves, being told much the same thing. Each of the seven Element-bearers stood their ground, ready to face off against their Darkness-made-manifest. Suddenly, as one, the seven Dark-Sides' eyes glowed, and around each of them sprang various dark creatures, all of them bearing the same emblem somewhere on their body - a twisted, thorny black emblem with the vague impression of a heart in the design - and jagged blood-red slits for eyes.

(BOSS MUSIC: Kirby 64 – "Miracle Matter")

-Pinkie-

The first of the creatures came at Pinkie from above and either side. Alerted by her Sense, she leapt up, kicking them both in what she guessed were their faces as they came close. She landed just in time for her dark double – a hyper-aggressive and bloodthirsty girl with completely flat black hair – to come in with a strike. Pinkie blocked the hit, and then responded to her Sense and blocked another. She then lashed out with her own hit aimed for her Dark-Side's neck, only for the Dark-Side's own Sense to allow her to block it. Soon the two were locked in a fast-paced close-combat battle composed solely of dodges and blocked hits, neither able to land a blow on the other. After nearly a minute, they each landed a punch to the other's face simultaneously, and broke away to get some distance and size each other up. A small emotion-demon came at Pinkie from behind, only for her to elbow it in the face without looking, stunning it, and then grab hold of it with her tail and smash it head-first into the ground, killing it.

After several seconds, Pinkie and her Dark-Side charged each other again.

-Rainbow Dash-

Two blurs – one rainbow-hued, the other grey and black – zipped through the air in every direction, occasionally clashing at very high speed, each contact releasing a shock wave. Rainbow Dash was operating as fast as she could, in body and in mind, working to keep up with her Dark-Side while trying to think of some way – any way – to gain an edge. So far, she couldn't come up with anything, and the aggressive, arrogant thing hounding her wouldn't give her much room to think anyway. At least the altitude and pace of the battle meant that the creatures her Dark-Side had summoned got very few chances to try and interfere.

"Bleed and die!"

She caught hold of her dark counterpart to stop her tackle, the momentum sending them both tumbling through the air, pounding at each other as they went, breaking apart several seconds later and again becoming too fast for most eyes to see.

-Fluttershy-

In contrast to the hectic, ultra-high-speed clash between Rainbow Dash and her Dark-Side, the duel between Fluttershy and her Heart's Darkness was more akin to a careful, almost choreographed aerial dogfight between aces, each movement calculated and precise, each attack carefully planned, executed, and – sometimes – countered. Were it not for the situation, one might almost think they weren't trying to kill each other.

Fluttershy and her Darkness met near the top of the dome and dove close together, spiraling around each other while lashing out with strikes and counters. Near the ground, they broke off and pulled up, Fluttershy taking out one of the smaller emotion-beasts that leapt at her as she passed over it. Her dark double flew in close again and exhaled sharply while throwing her head from right to left, launching a blade of wind magic right at Fluttershy. Fluttershy narrowly dodged the wind-blade, which sliced off the last half-inch of hair at the tip of her tail. The Dark-Side got in close, launching herself at Fluttershy's neck with teeth bared, and the yellow pegasus bended backwards to avoid the attack, punching upward and hitting her Dark-Side in the guy as she passed overhead… and getting clipped in the side of the head by her Darkness' rear leg.

The Dark-Side laughed cruelly as she circled around for another pass. Fluttershy shook the cobwebs out of her head, punched out another emotion-demon, and took to the air again, meeting her Darkness head-on.

-Twilight-

Fireballs and semi-solid magical projectiles flew through the air as Twilight and her Heart's Darkness tried to obliterate each other. Twilight could keep up with her Darkness. The problem was that she couldn't keep even with her Darkness and fend off the emotion-demons attacking her at the same time. She was steadily losing ground, being forced to divide her attention while her Dark-Side could devote everything to trying to crush her. She could feel Ponyville's wishes giving her strength, but it was still a tough slog, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up.

-Spike-

Explosions and projectiles of various types filled the air, along with the shouted orders and such of the Equestrian Army and the unearthly sounds of the demon army. Saddle-mounted machineguns and grenade launchers fired into the advancing horde, cutting down demons, while artillery guns and mortars blew more away. Pegasi flew overhead, dropping explosive charges on the demonic masses. Yet however many demons fell, more just kept coming. Spike let loose another wave of pure-white holy fire. Every demon touched by even an ember of it dissolved away into nothingness within seconds.

"Not sure how much longer we can hold this position, sir!" a Sergeant shouted to the Major in charge of the defense of the town.

"We got no choice, Sergeant!" the officer replied. "The town and its population will be ripped to shreds if those things get past us! We'll fall back to secondary positions closer to the town if things get any hotter, but until then we don't budge!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Suddenly, there was a massive shape flying overhead. It roared and breathed out a massive stream of fire… at the demons. The huge flames burned away dozens of the things in seconds, culling their numbers noticeably. Everyone looked up at the titanic, red-scaled winged saurian flying overhead, raining death on the approaching horde.

"Sweet Celestia…" the Major said, joy creeping into his voice. "It's an Ignis Dragon…"

"Looks like Philomena did find help…" Spike muttered.

'Not only help found' Philomena sent telepathically to Spike, the phoenix herself nowhere to be seen at the moment. 'More help to Canterlot.'

Over in the shelter in Ponyville, everyone gathered together, comforting each other, watching over each other, trying not to let their fear conquer them, and sending their thoughts and hopes to the seven girls, giving them whatever strength could be spared. Cheerilee and Derpy continued to watch over the children.

"Hey…" Silver Spoon suddenly said. "Where are the Crusaders?"

At this, the two caretakers looked around, only to realize that the troublesome trio was indeed gone.

"I can't find Big Mac or Granny Smith, either" Caramel said as he walked over. "I think we got a couple others missin', too."

"Hey, where's the boss-lady?" one of the three Wonderbolts assigned to protect the civilians asked. "I'm not pickin' her up outside. No sign of Soarin', neither". The others shrugged their shoulders.

As they began to search around, the battle outside continued unabated, the Ignis Dragon's flames and the gunfire of the Army forces lighting the night.

-Trixie-

Trixie caught her breath, shrouded in her Lightning Aura and surrounded by the dissolving bodies of several emotion-demons. No sooner had the last one faded than her Dark-Side attacked from the right, Trixie raising her forelimb to block the attack, her blue Lightning Aura and her opponent's red one clashing with a crack of thunder. They struggled and pushed against each other, bolts of electricity arcing between them and zapping any emotion-demons that got too close. Unfortunately, the Dark-Side got the upper hand, throwing off Trixie's balance and then hitting her with a lightning-charged punch that sent her tumbling across the area. The Dark-Side then leapt high and far forward, aiming to come down on the stunned Trixie with an earth-shattering gravity-assisted blow.

Four magical shields, each bearing a different energy signature from Trixie's that was nonetheless similar to hers, appeared stacked between the dark being and Trixie. When the Dark-Side impacted, they compressed together like a spring… and then sprung back, sending Trixie's Heart's Darkness flying clear across the area. Trixie shook her head as she heard four sets of footsteps coming close to her.

"On your feet, sis" a female voice said. "No way we're lettin' you give in now."

(Music: "Miracle Matter" END)

Trixie opened her eyes and picked herself up, turning to look behind her… and her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she laid eyes on the four unicorns now present. The two younger mares, around Trixie's age, both had blue coats with light-blue manes & tails; the slightly older one with a teddy-bear for a Cutie Mark (occupation: official in a toy factory) had her mane cropped short with the bottom spiked, while the slightly younger other had a pair of ice skates for a Cutie Mark and had her hair in a single braid. The stallion with deep-blue fur, a slightly-wispy white mane & tail, and a stethoscope for a Mark stood next to a middle-aged mare with off-white fur, powder-blue mane & tail, and a shooting star for a Cutie Mark.

Nixie, Pixie, Cirrus, and Morrigan – Trixie's sisters, brother, and mother.

"Wh…" Trixie was stammering, her eyes holding back tears despite herself at the sight of family she hadn't seen in over a decade. "H-How did you all… What…"

"Celestia's phoenix tracked us down and informed us of the situation" Cirrus said, his calm tenor bringing up long-buried happy memories in Trixie. "We tapped into that 'make wishes into reality' bit attached to this reality rift and used that to bring ourselves here to your side, just in time". As he walked over to her she disengaged her Lightning Aura, allowing him to hug her. "We've been so worried about you for so long, Trix."

In the arms – err, forelegs – of the one pony who had always been there for her, who she had and still did love more than anyone else in the world, she couldn't speak, trying her absolute hardest not to let herself completely break down and pour out her over-a-decade of troubles; that could wait until the current threat was put down. At least, she hoped she could hold off long enough.

"We understand why you left, Trixie" Nixie said as she walked up.

"When we realized that it was our fault that you left…" Pixie started.

"…that you felt like you weren't special…" Nixie continued.

"…that you weren't your own individual…"

"…all because we three looked and sounded so alike…"

"…and were always trying to do things together…

"…we felt horrible…"

"We, mom, and big bro tried everything to find you…"

"…but we never could…"

"We always wanted to apologize…"

"…to do whatever it took to make it up…"

"We found our own special talents that turned out to be different from each other…"

"…and changed up our looks to make it even harder to ponies to get us mixed up…"

"…though we've never quite managed to break the habit of…"

"…finishing each other's sentences…"

"We're so sorry, Trixie" they finished in unison.

"I even fixed up your room for you…" Morrigan said as she walked up to her long-lost daughter, barely containing tears of joy. "The banner reading 'Welcome Home, Trixie' is old and a little faded, but it's still there. It's been there ever since I put it up less than a week after you left, all those years ago. …Your old stuffed bunny is even still sitting on your bed, waiting for you. I… Oh, my baby, I'm so sorry! I never meant to hurt you or get confused, and every time I think about the stress I was under at the time and what it did to me… what it made me do to you girls… to you… I can't forgive myself… Losing your father to that disease was bad enough, but losing you to my own inaction… I failed you as a mother… But starting right here and now, I will make it all up to you. I swear on my name that I will… I love you, my little magic-trick Trixie…"

The group hug that was about to ensue was interrupted by a crimson blast of explosive magical energy from the other side of the area. Without missing a beat, Cirrus' horn glowed, and a shield sprang up and blocked the hit. The reunited family jumped to attention.

"Isn't this sickening… After all they did to us, you'll take them back just like that?"

The Dark-Side sauntered up, aura flaring, flanked by six of the emotion-demons.

"Why…" Pixie asked "…does she look and sound like a dark Trixie?"

"All sapient beings have darkness inherent in their Hearts" Trixie responded. "This is mine made manifest as a separate being of pure malevolence and negative emotions. She's guarding the nexus-point I need to secure. I have to destroy her physical form so she'll return to slumber inside me, without a mind of her own to drive her."

"And I don't plan on letting that happen" Trixie's Dark-Side said. "Once I've beaten you and claimed our body as solely mine, you will be erased, and I will kill those who you cherished to sever from the world every last link to you. As we speak, your six little friends are fighting their own Shadows, who shall accomplish that very task with their respective Base-Selves."

"I just got my little sister back after over a decade of looking for her…" Cirrus spoke in a low, dangerous tone. "I will not let anything happen to her again."

"Do you have to be the one to destroy her?" Morrigan asked.

"Yes," Trixie replied, "but I don't have to beat her to within an inch of her un-life without help, if that's what you're asking. Be careful, though; she has all my abilities… and I've become quite powerful over the years…"

"She may have your abilities…" Pixie started.

"…but she doesn't have ours…" Nixie finished.

Trixie's Dark-Side's horn glowed a black-tinted red, and dozens of emotion-demons spawned in.

(BOSS MUSIC (for rest of Dark-Side fights): Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: "Enter the Darkness")

"Come" she said.

Trixie's Lightning Aura sprang to life even brighter than before, water spontaneously came to be and flowed around Pixie, a swirl of fire encircled Morrigan's horn, the ground beneath Nixie rose up to her will, and a fierce wind enshrouded Cirrus. The creatures charged, and the family rushed forward to meet them.

-Applejack-

Applejack stared down her Heart's Darkness, who stared right back. The entire fight had been a mix of "slow" even-paced brawls and of moments of near-stillness punctuated by sudden, split-second bursts of blistering speed as one combatant attempted to exploit a miniscule opening in the other, only to be foiled by a lightning-fast block or dodge. And of course, the semi-frequent interruption of small groups of emotion-demons trying to get Applejack from behind, only to be dispatched with nary a glance from the blonde-haired mare.

The Dark-Side lunged forward again, Applejack catching her blows, and the two getting into a grappling match. After a few reversals, the Dark-Side grinned and looked behind Applejack. AJ took a quick peek… and saw the wave of emotion-demons about to dogpile her as her Shadow-Self leapt out of the way.

There was a big blur of red, and the demons were sent flying through the air in all directions. Applejack lowered her forelimbs from the protective position in front of her face, and her eyes widened in shock at the sight of her big brother standing over her, his face looking more serious than she'd ever seen.

"B-Big Mac?" she said. "How the hay did you get here?"

"Figured you could use some help" Macintosh replied. "We heard 'bout that 'make wishes into reality' bit, and used it to teleport ourselves here to help ya out."

"We?"

There was a thud behind them as Apple-Bloom landed on top of a particularly large emotion-demon and double-kicked it in the face, her Apple-Clan bucking-legs strength being enough to cave its head in; she leapt off and landed on the ground as the demon toppled. Granny Smith slowly walked through and between four emotion-demons… and as she slowly walked by them there was the almost-unperceivable blur of motion as her limbs struck out with pinpoint accuracy, felling each demon as she passed it.

There was another blur of motion from two individuals, and when it was over Granny's left front hoof was raised and Applejack's Dark-Side was on the ground several feet away, clutching her stomach.

"How are you faster than me?" she gasped out at the Apple-Clan matriarch.

"I'm not faster than you" Granny Smith replied. "I'm an old lady; you're faster than me. It's just that I move while you're still thinkin' about movin'."

She then turned to her middle grandchild. "Your darkness, I reckon?"

"…How'd ya know?"

"Lucky guess."

More emotion-demons rose to fight, as the Dark-Side got back to her feet.

"I'll help Applejack handle her Shadow" Smith said. "You two deal with them darklings, keep 'em off of us."

"Yes, ma'am" Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom said. Big Mac turned and kicked an emotion-demon twice his size that leapt at him; the extreme force behind the blow sent the demon hurtling through the air at a speed Rainbow Dash would envy.

Granny pulled out her cane, taking a fighting stance with it, as Applejack moved her hat to hang off the back of her neck by the drawstrings and readied herself. AJ's Dark-Side leapt at her, and the girl charged forward to meet her.

-Rarity-

Bursts of water, spears of rock, and razor-sharp gemstones filled the air as Rarity and her Heart's Darkness battled it out. Rarity snarled as she called forth another large sphere of water, infused it with concussive-explosive magic, and launched it at her dark counterpart. The Dark-Side somehow went underground, avoiding the shot. Rarity heard her pop up right behind her, and knew she wouldn't be able to react in time. Her body turning far too slowly, she saw the gem-spear coming at her… and then saw it go off-track as a high-velocity sphere of magic hit her Dark-Side in the side of the head, sending the presently-airborne Shadow-Pony over her to land on the ground a few meters away. Rarity looked over where the shot had come from, and gasped.

"Mom? Dad? Sweetie Belle?"

"Sorry we're late, dear" her father said. "You wouldn't believe the traffic."

"What kind of family would we be if we didn't help you out, hon?" her mom said.

"It's time for me to see how well Trixie's training has paid off!" Sweetie-Belle shouted. She levitated up several stones and launched them with surprising force, each of them striking a smaller emotion-demon between the eyes, destroying half of them and stunning the others.

Rarity shook her head in an exasperated manner, yet couldn't shake the smile off her face. "I guess I really am stuck with you guys…" she said with no hint of malice.

"Yep!" her dad said cheerfully. He then formed a small sphere of magic, turned around, and kicked it hard, forcing Rarity's Dark-Side, who had been trying to sneak up on Rarity, to duck and abort her attack. The Dark-Side snarled and launched a rock spear at him, only for the mother to make a pillar of water shoot up from the ground in its path, throwing it off course.

Rarity flashed a confident grin at her Heart's Darkness, and charged her.

-Twilight Sparkle-

Twilight knew she was starting to get boxed in. Between her aggressive Dark-Side's continuous attacks & advances and the small horde of emotion-demons attacking her, she was running out of options and of room. She could now see her Darkness charging up a large ball of fire so bright it almost hurt to look at, while Twilight herself was stuck fending off emotion-demons, unable to launch a counter to stop the spell's preparation. Twilight's Heart's Darkness grinned evilly as the spell neared completion… and was suddenly struck by a hammer of gravity magic from on high, causing her to lose focus and the near-completed spell to shoot forth into the emotion-demon crowd, wiping out over two-thirds of them. A pulse of telekinetic magic blasted away the demons trying to claw at Twilight, and the young woman felt as healing magic washed over her.

"Are you alright, honey?"

Twilight looked to the source of the voice, her vision being almost wholly taken up by a white-furred mare with purple-and-white-striped mane and tail, with light-blue eyes and three stars as her Cutie Mark. She looked younger than she really was, age having been quite kind to her. Twilight felt herself starting to tear up.

"Momma?"

To the right there was another pulse of gravity magic that sent several emotion-demons flying. At the epicenter of it was a blue-furred stallion with dark-blue mane and tail, golden eyes, and a Mark of one crescent inside another.

"Well, Velvet," Twilight's father said to his wife. "I'd say we got here just in time. What does that make us?"

"Big bucking heroes, Nightlight" Velvet replied.

"Aren't we just? …You okay, honey?"

"I-I'm fine" Twilight replied, getting to her feet. "How did you two…"

"We happened to be watching over a group of ponies hiding from those demons outside" Velvet explained. "The hideout happens to be near here, and we were able to sense you inside this pocket realm. Some Royal Guardsmen showed up to take our place defending the wounded, so we set out to come and help you."

"Wonderful…" Twilight's Dark-Side growled. "It's the whole damned family… This may have just become difficult…"

"That's an understatement" Twilight replied with newfound confidence. "You're going back where you belong."

"Never…" her Dark-Side snarled. "Your body will be mine!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it" Nightlight said sternly.

Twilight's Heart's Darkness gave a wordless shout as she launched a Dark Fireball at Velvet, who leapt to the side and fired a trio of pink-hued flame bolts back at her. The Dark-Side dodged two and shielded against the third, and the second her shield came down Twilight was there, lashing out with a flame-coated kick. The Dark-Side swathed her forelimb in fire and blocked the blow, casting a hateful gaze at her Full-Self counterpart. Twilight glared right back, a spark in her eyes.

-Pinkie Pie-

Pinkie's eyes widened as a whirlwind of Philomena's fire popped up between her and her Dark-Side, stopping the latter's charge. It subsided, revealing four ponies: two girls, one with grey fur, violet eyes, and a geode Cutie Mark, the other with bluish-grey fur, golden eyes, and a gold nugget for a Mark; a light-brown-furred stallion with golden eyes and a pickaxe Mark; and an older mare with light-grey fur, blue eyes, and three stones as her Cutie Mark.

"M-Mom? Dad? Inkie? Blinkie?"

"How come you never visit home, sis?" said Inkie, the gray-furred girl looking back over her shoulder at her pink sibling.

"Yeah" Blinkie said. "The farm's really dreary and dull without you around."

"That would be in part due to the fact the farm borders a mine" said Clyde, the father. "Though that does not in any way mean that your absence is a positive thing, Pinkamena."

"I suppose introducing you to the family business when it wasn't Gemstone Season wasn't such a good idea in hindsight" her mother, Sue, said. "The rocks are quite dull and boring when the crystals aren't growing. You even left us before the first Gemlight Night; that's the first big night of Gemstone Season, where the full moon's light reflects off all the gemstones and crystals and makes the entire field glow with beautiful light. …It could have been one giant disco ball for one of your parties, dear."

"…I'll have to be sure to come and visit for the next one, then" Pinkie said, her voice unusually calm but still quite happy. "Can I bring my friends along?"

"Of course, dear" her father said.

"Yeah, yeah, big happy family reunion" Pinkie's Dark-Side butted in. "Can I get back to trying to kill you now?"

"Inner darkness made manifest…" Sue muttered. "I've read about this in some of the family's ancient texts from about 800 years ago. I never thought I'd actually see it happen. I don't recognize those creatures she has with her, though."

"Can't ya feel it, Sue?" Clyde said. "Raw negative emotions given form by this twisted place – near-mindless demons literally made of dark emotions, unversed in the ways of normal existence."

"Can we destroy 'em?" Blinkie asked.

"Go right ahead" Pinkie replied. "Feel free to help me weaken her, too, but I literally have to be the one to deal the final blow."

"…Let's get to work, then" Clyde said.

Pinkie's Dark-Side gave a slasher's grin. "More blood to water the ground with…" She roared and leapt at them, her demon underlings joining her.

-Fluttershy-

Fluttershy rolled to avoid a barrage of compressed-wind "bullets" from her Heart's Darkness, who shifted fire, forcing Fluttershy to take further evasive action. The hail of projectiles stopped, and the Dark-Side maintained pursuit. Fluttershy banked and rolled, trying to throw off her pursuer, to no avail. Finally, she saw a chance. She pulled up, looping and coming out directly behind her Dark-Side. She boosted forward, aiming to strike her target in the wings… and the Dark-Side spun around in mid-flight, hurtling through the air backwards as she spat out a cannonball of compressed air that smashed into Fluttershy full-on. Fluttershy, stunned, plummeted toward the ground.

As she neared the ground, she felt something – no, someone – catch her, warmth enveloping her.

"Wake up, my little butterfly…"

Fluttershy opened her eyes… and her eyes lit up as she saw who was carrying her. A tall, thin pegasus mare with golden-yellow fur and a red mane & tail, with deep-green eyes and a trio of sunflowers as her Cutie Mark.

"Mommy…"

Golden Shine touched down, gently lowering her daughter to the ground. She reached out, brushing Fluttershy's bangs away from her eyes and looking the girl over, finding no serious injuries (though there was a fresh bruise on her face from the fight against Nightmare Maelstrom's Shadowbolt). The two stared into each other's eyes, everything being said without spoken words.

"How cute…" Fluttershy's Heart's Darkness said in a mocking tone as she flew overhead and touched down several meters away. "Mother and daughter together again… Gag me, why don't you…"

"Who and what are you?" Golden Shine asked, her soft voice growing harsh and serious.

"I'm the Darkness inherent in your little Flutter's Heart, given a body and a mind in this dark realm by Master Calamity. And once I defeat her, she'll cease to exist and our body will be mine and mine alone!"

Nothing more was said. Shine looked to her daughter, who nodded, and they braced themselves, spread their wings, and charged the Dark-Side.

-Rainbow Dash-

Dash and her Dark-Side squared off against each other, both of them panting and looking roughed up. Suddenly, their attention was caught by a buzzing noise growing louder… along with the sounds of impacts stunning and knocking over some emotion-demons. Dash looked behind her, and her eyes almost bugged out of her head when she saw Scootaloo using her speed and her scooter as weapons, lashing out at emotion-demons and scooting away before they could land a hit.

"Squirt?-!" Dash shouted. "What the Hell are you doing here?-!"

"I came to help" Scootaloo said.

"Now gonna be much help against me alone, pipsqueak" Dash's Dark-Side said.

"…Who says I came alone?" the orange filly replied with a smirk.

Before either Dash or her Dark-Side could process this, twin blurs tackled the latter from out of nowhere at high speed, sending her tumbling. The two figures flew in next to Dash: Soarin' and Spitfire.

"I was planning on giving you a speech on not doubting yourself after the Maelstrom incident," Spitfire said to Rainbow Dash, "but I think we can pass on it, given the present circumstances."

"She's getting back up" Soarin' said, pointing to Dash's Dark-Side, who was indeed getting back on her feet.

"Damned interlopers…" she snarled. "You couldn't just let me finish my task, could you?"

"When your 'task' involves killing the girl who'll someday be one of us, no" Spitfire replied.

Rainbow Dash looked to Spitfire in astonishment. "R-Really?"

Spitfire smiled. "All you need to work on, Dash, are your formation flying and your landings."

Dash blushed and grinned sheepishly at the latter. "Y-You heard about that, huh? H-Hey, at least I'm made of tough enough stuff that I hardly ever get all banged up whenever I botch a landing… But, yeah, I guess that I botch any of them at all is a mark against me…"

"I can help you with those" Soarin' said. "There's a bit of a trick to it, sure, especially with the level of speed you can reach, but it shouldn't take too long for me to help you get the hang of it."

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Hey, you saved me and Spitfire's lives at the last Young Flyers' Competition. I owe ya."

"And then maybe you can teach me how to fly, Dash!" Scootaloo chimed in. "Well, I mean, I can hover, but I haven't got the hang of actual flight yet…"

"Alright, alright. I'll do what I can."

"Yay!"

"Are you all quite done?" Dash's Heart's Darkness snapped at them. "I've got a Rainbow Dash to erase and a body to steal, and time's a-wastin'. Come on!"

"Soarin', help the kid against the demons" Spitfire ordered. "I'll help Dash take down her Shadow-Self."

"Got it"

Three blurs of motion signaled the simultaneous movements of Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Dash's Dark-Side as all three launched themselves into the air. The double team of the leader of the Wonderbolts and the fastest pegasus in the world worked to wear down the Shadow-Self, while the other two pegasi began carving their way through emotion-demons, Scootaloo stunning them and Soarin' finishing the incapacitated ones off.

After a while, though, Dash and Spitfire finally realized something rather disconcerting: the Shadow-Self was showing no signs of tiring. She had "only" Dash's level of strength, durability, and speed, but her stamina was seemingly infinite. The three touched down after nearly 10 straight minutes of combat; by now, nearly all the emotion-demons were destroyed. Dash and Spitfire panted for breath, while Dash's Shadow-Self stared them down, hateful glee in her dark eyes.

"Now what do we do?" Dash said. "I… I'm not sure anymore we can overcome her…"

"Are you really going to give in so easily, my little prismatic pony?"

Dash gasped at the slightly-echoing voice that seemed to come from nowhere. It was hauntingly familiar. She looked around, seeing nothing, but then a shimmering light resolved into a ghostly, semi-transparent form… one that made Dash's knees go weak. It was a pegasus mare, with dull-pink fur and blue mane & tail, eyes the same red as Dash's, and two blue lightning-bolts as a Cutie Mark.

"The Cobalt Storm…" Spitfire whispered. "Firefly…"

Dash's reaction was different: "…Mama…"

When Rainbow Dash had been just five years old, her mother Firefly, famous among all pegasi as "The Cobalt Storm", "The Tamer of Thunder", and "The Bolt from the Blue", had been among many to attempt to contain and disperse the devastating Hurricane Epona… and had not returned, being declared "Missing – Presumed Dead", and leaving the heartbroken Dash – whose father had flown the coop – to raise herself.

Firefly's spirit smiled, her voice echoing slightly. "You've gotten so big since I last saw you, my little Rainbow. Though, it has been 13 years, so that's understandable. I wish I could hug you…"

Dash was about to say something, when her Dark-Side lunged at the spirit… and passed right through her. Firefly gave an annoyed glare… while Dash became flat-out enraged, an unnaturally low growl issuing from her throat. Her Dark-Side leapt away, taking a fighting stance.

"I have a way to defeat her" Firefly said to her daughter.

"…How?" Dash said. "She knows every move I do…"

"But she doesn't know my moves. My ultimate technique… I'll need to synchronize with you, though. Don't worry, I won't wrench control from you; it's more like we'll both be controlling your body. My knowledge of how to perform the technique will become yours as well. But we'll need a minute to sync up." She turned to the Wonderbolt standing nearby. "Can you keep Dash's Darkness occupied for that time?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am" Spitfire said, still a little stunned at the situation. But she shook her head to clear her thoughts, and then charged Dash's Dark-Side, the two of them taking to the air in another dogfight.

Firefly 'walked' over to Dash, and then walked into her, taking up the space currently occupied by her. Soon, only Rainbow Dash was visible, her eyes closed. Dash could see, hear, smell, and feel her mother's warmth, bringing back memories of her early childhood, and a few tears of joy fell out of her closed eyes, a beatific smile on her face. Firefly combed through Rainbow Dash's memories, learning whatever she could about the daughter she hadn't been there to raise. Flight school; the first Sonic Rainboom; little Fluttershy; Gilda the griffon; the move to Ponyville; growing up there; the hero worship of the Wonderbolts; meeting Twilight Sparkle and getting pulled into the events surrounding Nightmare Moon's release; becoming the wielder of the Harmony Element of Loyalty; purifying and freeing Princess Luna; the various hijinks in the town, involving a sleep-deprived Applejack, a grumpy Ignis Dragon, Zecora the zebra, parasprites, finding and freeing Trixie from Nightmare, the Running of the Leaves, the second Sonic Rainboom, diamond dogs, Appleloosa, Pinkie Pie's psychotic break, and the Gala; Discord's brief and terrible second reign; finding Tank; the Mare-Do-Well incident, the fall to Nightmare, being purified and freed with her confidence restored, the formation of Nightmare Calamity, the recent kiss from Pinkie…

In less than 40 seconds, Firefly knew more about her daughter than anyone else… and felt nothing but maternal pride for her little girl.

Half a minute after that, Spitfire lured Dash's Dark-Side down to the ground, and both saw that Rainbow Dash was now blazing with power, her body crackling with electrical energy, her eyes glowing, a fierce wind radiating out from her as her aura flared. She planted one foot forward as if preparing to charge… then vanished from sight, the ground shattering from her kicking off of it. Faster than anyone could react, Dash's Darkness was subjected to an extremely powerful kick to the chin from directly below, which rocketed her up into the air.

'How… did she move so fast?' she thought, trying to get her bearings and stop her uncontrolled flight. She opened her eyes, looking up, just in time to spot Rainbow Dash flashing in, striking her and sending her shooting down toward the ground at an angle… only to flash in again in her path, hitting her again to send her back into the air, and again, and again. Within seconds, the Dark-Side had become Dash & Firefly's personal pinball.

"Holy crap…" Soarin' muttered, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, standing over the dissolving body of the last emotion-demon as he looked up at the incomparable beating being delivered.

Scootaloo was too shocked and awed for words.

"This is it…" Spitfire muttered. "Firefly's ultimate technique; the source of her title "The Cobalt Storm"…"

Up in the air, the hyper-speed asskicking neared its end. Dash/Firefly seemingly disappeared from sight, only to reappear with her left fore-hoof 'buried' in the Dark-Side's stomach. Before the Dark-Side could hit the ground, she was caught in an instant by a chain-bind made of bluish lightning, the other end wrapped around Dash's left foreleg. She gave a yank, pulling the Dark-Side up and close… and then struck the Dark-Side in the torso with both right hooves with every last bit of physical strength and stored energy she had built up. At a speed enough to render her invisible, Dash's Heart's Darkness was sent into the ground, impacting with such sheer incredible force and speed to shake and shatter the earth and kick up a humongous dust cloud. She was 'killed' instantly.

Rainbow Dash leisurely flew in for a landing; within her, Firefly felt as the darkness, again mindless and bodiless, reintegrated with Dash's Heart, returning to its natural, comparatively-harmless state. Firefly then 'stepped' out of Dash's body, turning to face her body.

"That…" Dash said breathlessly. "That was… unreal… Mom… You are beyond awesome…"

"And now so are you" Firefly's spirit replied.

The other three walked up to join her.

"Now I know that Dash's awesomeness is hereditary…" Scootaloo said, her voice filled with wonder and awe. Firefly giggled in response.

Nearby, a glowing circular rune appeared on the ground. Rainbow Dash steeled herself and walked toward it.

-Rarity-

A trio of stone spears, courtesy of Rarity's father, skewered a half-dozen more of the smaller emotion-demons, while Sweetie Belle managed to take two more out by using a crystal-pattern shield spell as an impromptu bludgeon, crushing the two demons into the ground. Across the area, daggers of gem & stone from Rarity joined high-pressure "bullets" of water from her mother in blasting at the Dark-Side, who was now struggling to return fire against two opponents at once, but whose defense was as impenetrable as ever.

"Just hang in there for a little while longer, mother" Rarity said.

"You have something planned, dear?" the woman asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Just pray that she doesn't look down."

On cue a few seconds later, Rarity's Heart's Darkness gave a surprised shriek as something grabbed hold of her feet and started slithering up her legs. Her attack spells cut out as she looked down and saw…

"Sand?-!"

Before she could react, it surged upward and encased her wholly, leaving only her face exposed. Rarity walked forward, her horn glowing.

"My elemental affinity is Earth" Rarity said. "That encompasses gemstones & crystals, stone, soil, mud… and sand."

"But… I know every one of your moves!" her Dark-Side said. "How did you do this?"

"You know every move that I knew upon your creation" Rarity corrected. "I just came up with this one a few minutes ago. It was painstaking work – devoting the mental and magical focus to break down and convert the soil and stone beneath us into sand while simultaneously launching more overt spells at you, and then directing the sand to underneath you without you noticing. But… Well, I am known for my impeccable work ethic…"

By this point, Sweetie Belle and the girls' father had finished off the rest of the emotion-demons, and walked over to join Rarity and her mother, looking at the helpless Dark-Side.

"You scheming bitch… This won't hold me forever! I'll get out of here, and when I do-"

"You won't be getting out of there" Rarity replied, her voice cold. The sand crept up, smothering her Dark-Side's face, now covering her completely. "Return to your slumber."

With that, she magically forced the sand to compress instantaneously with extremely high pressure. The semi-muffled sound of nearly every not-bone in the Dark-Side's body being snapped and near-pulverized filled the air, and from the sand jetted out black mist that, in a normal organic, would have been a burst of blood in several directions. Rarity released her hold and allowed the sand to fall away, just in time for the last of her Dark-Side's mangled body to dissolve into raw Darkness. Rarity felt as her inherent Darkness, now without mind or physical form, return to her own Heart, dormant and harmless as it should be.

"Promise me one thing, honey" Rarity's dad said. "Never use that on an actual living being when Sweetie Belle's watching. Or any other kid. Or anyone with a weak stomach."

"Yes, yes, I understand, father"

Several feet away, a circular magic rune appeared on the ground, glowing.

-Applejack-

Applejack's Heart's Darkness staggered backward, clutching her forelimb where Granny Smith's unperceivably-fast strikes had broken it in two places. Applejack rushed in, dealing several punishing blows to her midsection. A leaping strike to the back of the head by Apple Bloom left the Dark-Side disoriented and stunned, and then a rising uppercut from Big Macintosh sent her flying, her jaw nearly shattered. She hit the ground with a thud several meters away, barely moving. Applejack walked over and stood on top of her. She glared daggers at her Whole-Self, but could no longer talk.

"Y'all have done enough misbehavin' for tonight" Applejack said, raising her right forelimb to strike. "Now go back to bed!"

She brought her strike down on her Dark-Side's head, shattering it into particles of darkness. The rest of its body dissolved soon after, and Applejack felt as her now-mindless inherent Darkness returned to her Heart and to sleep. She turned to the others.

"I'd say that was a perfect Apple Family Ass-Kickin'." she remarked.

"Most definitely!" Apple Bloom chirped.

"Eeeyup" Big Mac offered his opinion.

"I figured that Calamity fella wouldn't have considered outside help when he decided to do his whole 'darkness made flesh' idea" Granny Smith remarked.

"…I'm still worried about the fact that thing is part of me" Applejack said.

"Don't you worry none, AJ" Big Macintosh said. "She's what would happen if you gave into darkness and tossed away all your light. Hearts need light and darkness for balance; having all of one and none of the other, no matter which one, is bad more often than not - since it takes an extra-specially-rare type to have all light and still be alive and sane, while we all just saw what havin' all darkness does - but havin' both of 'em is a part of bein' alive. We all know your light's strong enough to keep your darkness in check."

"…Thanks, bro"

Nearby, a white rune sprang into being on the ground.

-Fluttershy-

The two-on-one aerial battle continued without interference from any emotion-demons, all of them having been destroyed by the mother-daughter team. What Golden Shine lacked in strength compared to her daughter, she apparently made up for in speed and agility. She was practically flying circles around Flutterhy's Heart's Darkness, the result being that the Dark-Side was rapidly losing herself to frustration, especially the few times she was distracted by Shine to the point where she barely avoided bone-crushing blows from Fluttershy. However, she took some small comfort in that she knew what to expect from them.

And then Fluttershy's speed nearly doubled, while Golden Shine's speed abruptly dropped, allowing her to strike the off-guard Dark-Side with a blow of frightening power. This was Golden Shine's special ability inherited by Fluttershy: the ability to take the physical reinforcement magic that was inherent to some degree in all ponies, and divert nearly all of it to either her wings for blistering speed or her body for enormous strength; for the experienced Golden Shine, the switch was nigh-instantaneous. And over the course of this very fight, she'd been helping Fluttershy refine it.

The Dark-Side was sent tumbling uncontrollably through the air, leaving her open for the speed-enhanced Fluttershy to get in close, switch over to strength, and smash her downward, sending her careening into the ground with a crash. This was quickly followed by Fluttershy and Golden Shine coming down on her with great speed in a double gravity-assisted blow; Shine's hit crushed nearly every darkness-composed rib and caved the ribcage inward, while Fluttershy's stomp all but pulverized the dark being's neck. Fluttershy then got off of her Dark Side, walked over directly in front of her, and knelt down face-to-face. Her eyes closed, and then snapped wide open while filled with her power, her unconquerable Will. The Dark-Side's eyes glazed over and their light faded, and soon its body dissolved away into nothingness. Fluttershy felt as her now-mindless Heart's Darkness reintegrated with her, and she filled herself with calmness and serenity to force it down to dormancy as it should be.

Fluttershy then pranced over to her mother for a congratulatory hug, as several feet away a glowing white magic rune-circle appeared on the ground.

-Pinkie-

Emotion-demons fell one by one as the stallion moved amongst them, wielding a pitchfork as a weapon with startling skill and precision. Nearby, his eldest daughter Isabelle – or "Inkie" as she liked to be called – aided him, the gray-furred girl using a pickaxe with the hilt decorated by tiny crystals from the geode she'd found as a child that had called forth her Cutie Mark. He noticed her tail give a twitch, and she immediately leapt to the side to avoid an attack from directly above by a flying emotion-demon, which then she struck between the eyes with her weapon, destroying. Clyde was, by now, used to the unique precognitive power that his wife had passed on to their children. Celestia knew it'd saved his hide more than once over the years.

A little ways away, Pinkie, Blinkie, and their mother had engaged Pinkie's Dark-Side in battle. The Dark-Side shared the girls' short-term precognition. The problem for her was that, against three opponents at once with the same ability, she couldn't always react fast enough to the cues in time to avoid or block every attack. They had been slowly but surely wearing her down. Avoiding a leg-sweep from Sue led to taking a right cross from Blinkie. Avoiding a headbutt from Blinkie resulted in taking an uppercut from Pinkie. And so on.

And then Inkie had joined in, leaving the last four emotion-demons to fall to Clyde. Sue backed off and allowed the younger, faster girls to wear down the last bit of the Dark-Side's defense. Soon, a blow from Pinkie left her Dark-Side unable to recover in time to avoid the next blow from Inkie, and so on and so forth, resulting in a devastating, nonstop barrage of blows from the three sisters. It ended with all three of them landing a rising punch at the same time, sending the Dark-Side into the air several feet and then crashing back down on her stomach. Pinkie walked over and stood on top of her, right forehoof placed on the back of the Dark-Side's neck.

"Had enough?" Pinkie asked her darkness.

"Fuck you…" was the dark being's snarled response.

Pinkie sighed and moved her right forelimb while applying pressure. There was a snap, and the Dark-Side went completely still. The Dark-Side's body dissolved away, and Pinkie closed her eyes and took deep breaths as she forced the darkness down. She opened her eyes, and she was good old Pinkie Pie again. She turned to her family and gave a huge grin, to which they responded with various-sized smiles of their own, her sisters then tackle-hugging her, the three girls giggling while their parents looked on.

Several feet away, a white circular rune appeared on the ground.

-Twilight-

Another directed pulse of gravity deflected a Dark Fireball away from Nightlight. A barrage of fireballs from Twilight and Velvet rained down on Twilight's Dark-Side; she brought up a shield, which cracked under the withering barrage, letting some of the damage through. Twilight then teleported in directly above her Dark-Side's head, coming down in a way to smash the dark being's head into the ground, and then teleporting away before she could retaliate. She warped in beside her mother. The two shared a look and nodded, and then placed their horns near each other's, both of them glowing with gathering power. A small ball of reddish fire appeared above them, steadily brightening and growing in power. Within several seconds, it started to shift to orange.

Twilight's Dark-Side was about to lash out and break their spell, when she suddenly felt an invisible force pulling on her. She look in the direction it was coming from, seeing Nightlight standing with his legs braced and head lowered, a small pitch-black sphere hovering just in front of the tip of his horn. The pull increased in power, leaving Twilight's Heart's Darkness bracing herself against the ground to avoid it. The ball of fire being conjured by Twilight and Velvet was now as big as a head and a yellowish-orange color.

Nightlight's spell increased further in power, until finally Twilight's Dark-Side could not resist any longer, being yanked helplessly through the air toward him. As she got close, he abruptly cut off the spell, spun around, and let her momentum carry her into a powerful double-kick that sent her rocketing in the opposite direction, tumbling to a stop over 50 feet away.

By now the ball of fire had become as big as a pony, and was a bright white with a slight tinge of blue – a sign of how much heat was being magically contained in it. Twilight and her mother braced themselves, pointed their horns – and the spell – at the Dark-Side, and let out one final pulse of magical power. The sphere of magical fire compressed to half the size of a head, becoming a brilliant shining blue, and then shot off through the air toward the Dark-Side at high speed.

The Dark-Side was unable to get out of the way in time. The hyper-compressed fireball impacted her, engulfing her in a huge, near-blinding explosion of intense heat and fire. She was vaporized instantly. Twilight felt the natural darkness return to her Heart, integrating seamlessly.

"I…" she spoke slightly breathlessly. "I didn't think I had it in me…"

"Combination spells…" Velvet replied. "You should see what your father and I can do if we have to."

A few feet away, a white circular magic rune appeared on the ground.

-Trixie-

Elemental blasts of all types flew every which way, as the family carved through emotion-demons effortlessly and bombarded Trixie's Heart's Darkness from every direction. A spinning fire-disk from Morrigan stunned her enough to leave her open to a lightning-charged lariat move from Trixie, which in turn knocked her into a burst of high-pressure water from Pixie. She landed in a heap, struggling to pick herself up, an unnatural growl coming from her throat as her reinforcement aura wavered.

"Everyone!" Morrigan shouted. "Let's end this!"

"Earth!" Nixie shouted.

"Fire!" Morrigan called out.

"Wind!" Cirrus shouted.

"Water!" Pixie cried.

"Lightning!" Trixie finished.

"By our power combined…" Morrigan spoke, her voice lightly echoing.

Trixie's Dark-Side could do nothing but stand in shock as she looked up, seeing a barrage of stones, a torrent of water, a serpentine column of fire, a slicing whirlwind, and a compressed, crackling ball of explosive lightning energy all coming at her at the same time.

Everyone: "FIVE ELEMENTS BARRAGE!-!-!"

The attacks all hit at once, combining into a tremendous explosion of elemental magical energy. The Dark-Side didn't have time to scream before her body ceased to exist. Trixie allowed her Lightning Aura to dispel, and felt as her now-mindless Darkness re-merged with her Heart, returning to 'sleep'. She breathed a sigh of relief as her mother, sisters, and brother walked over to her.

Before anything could be said, a white magical rune-circle appeared on the ground nearby. Trixie steeled herself and walked over to it, standing in the middle of it. She focused on the tiny, tiny bit of Ouranos' power that the equine deity had given her, and she felt it leave her and interface with the rune. The magic lashed out through the leylines connected to this nexus point and 'hit' Nightmare Calamity; at the same time, the barrier-field bubble ceased to be, returning Trixie and her family to real-space.

All across the city, six other nexus-points underwent the same process, six more bursts of Holy-class magic shooting through the leylines and hitting Nightmare Calamity, stunning and weakening him. There was an unearthly roar of pain and frustration that echoed through the city.

An arrow made of glowing magic appeared overhead, pointing Trixie toward Celestia's castle – or rather, toward the statue garden where Calamity waited.

"Let's go" Trixie said, and her family followed.

-SCENE BREAK-

The walks to the outside walls of the garden were pleasant as the girls made conversation with their families. Soon enough, they all reached the meeting point. Many introductions were made.

"…And this is… the ghost of my mother, Firefly…" Rainbow Dash finished, some sadness in her voice.

"Um… Actually, dear…" Firefly's spirit interrupted. "I'm… not a ghost. The me you see now is an astral projection."

A few of the group gasped lightly as they knew what this meant. Dash looked confused. "Huh?"

"An astral projection" Twilight explained "is where the user enters a unique meditative trance and literally projects their soul outside of their body to travel and interact elsewhere."

"…But… to do that would mean that…" A look of increasing shock grew on Dash's face. "Mom is…"

"Still alive" Firefly finished. "Yes, dear, I am. I'm alone, I have no way to get home that I know of, I've lost a wing from Hurricane Epona," she extended her right wing, which upon closer look was more transparent than the rest of her, "and I haven't the slightest idea where in the world I am, but I am still alive."

Rainbow Dash stood in complete shock as it hit her. When it finally sank in, a few tears fell from her eyes. She tried to speak, but a light sob came out instead.

"Are there any noticeable landmarks where you are?" Spitfire asked. "What's the climate like? What are the star patterns?"

"It's pretty much one big desert and a few caves that lead to a modestly-sized underground river. I don't pay any attention to star patterns; I was never any good at that kind of stuff."

"Can you remember any of it?"

The interruption from Luna, who had been standing off to the side unnoticed for the past few minutes, made several of the group jump in surprise.

"The night sky is my domain" the princess said. "If I can hear – or better yet, see – any of it, I might be able to tell where you are."

Firefly nodded and walked over and into Luna. After a few seconds, she stepped back out. Luna closed her eyes as she sifted through the bit of information that was transferred. As Firefly never paid much attention, the details were vague and fuzzy, but… The red-orange star next to a yellow-white one at two-o-clock overhead at 3A.M., the tail-tip of Scorpia Major next to the wingtip of a Blue Swan visible at a low angle regardless of time of night…

"I've figured out your general area, I believe" Luna said. "I will send a search party after we have dealt with Calamity and his aftermath."

"Thank you, Your Majesty…" Firefly's spirit bowed to Luna. Dash had a look of unbridled joy on her face.

Celestia flew in, landing amongst the group. A pulse of tangible hatred radiated out from the huge dome of darkness encompassing most of the statue-garden, making most of those present shiver as if exposed to a horrible cold.

"I'm afraid that only the Element-Bearers, Luna, and myself can safely enter Calamity's realm" Celestia said. "Anyone else would be instantly torn apart mind, body, and soul."

Goodbyes and well-wishes were said, and the nine walked through the gates and approached the massive dome of darkness. They readied themselves, and stepped through.

-SCENE BREAK-

Darkness. Shifting, roiling black, violet, blue, and red everywhere they looked. Hunks of stone & earth floating through non-space, impossible patterns and hues racing across everywhere and nowhere, and at the "center" of it all a massive, vaguely-draconic creature with glowing red eyes that the nine floated through space towards.

"LIMITED CREATURES OF MATTER AND REALITY" a deep voice boomed in their thoughts. "YOU FUMBLE IGNORANTLY THROUGH MY REALM, YOUR MINDS UTTERLY INCAPABLE OF TRULY UNDERSTANDING WHAT I HAVE WROUGHT AND WILL CREATE. I AM BEYOND MORTAL COMPREHENSION. THIS GALAXY WILL BE MINE. WHAT POSSESSES YOU TO FEEBLY ATTEMPT TO STAVE OFF TRUE CHAOS ETERNAL?"

"The will to live that is inherent in all sapient beings everywhere" Celestia replied. "And the knowledge that they depend on us to save them from suffering unimaginable. Your existence is anathema to reality. For the sake of all that is, we will destroy you."

The seven Bearers of the Elements glowed with power, reaffirming their existence, transforming the hopes and wishes of the world into their strength.

(FINAL BOSS MUSIC: Kirby 64 – "02's Theme")

"IF YOU WILL NOT EMBRACE THE DARKNESS WILLINGLY, IT SHALL BE FORCED UPON YOU. I SHALL PLUNGE THIS UNIVERSE INTO UNENDING DARKNESS AND INSANITY, STARTING WITH THIS WORLD… STARTING WITH YOU!"

Three glowing red spheres of energy appeared around Nightmare Calamity. Each one broke apart into a hailstorm of crimson bolts of energy that rushed toward the nine heroes. They all broke formation and flew off in different directions… and each of them had a cluster of the bolts chasing them. They flitted about, trying to shake their pursuers to no avail. Celestia and Luna each threw up a shield spell which the storms of bolts chasing them impacted against harmlessly, and then cast shields to neutralize the bolt clusters pursuing the Element-bearers. The seven girls regrouped.

Luna was the first to strike at Calamity. She let loose with a barrage of star-shaped energy blasts, streaking through non-space toward the daemon. Calamity responded by raising one of his hands; in response, several of the massive chunks of stone and earth moved between him and the incoming blasts, intercepting them and being mostly destroyed by them. He waved his arm forward, and the rubble shot forward at the heroes at nearly the speed of sound. Twilight managed to teleport the other six girls and herself out of the way, while Celestia and Luna warped themselves to safety.

The "original" girls struck next. As Trixie cast a protective shield spell, they quickly grouped together, and after a few seconds the six-hued wave of magical energy shot forth from their Elements of Harmony, right toward Nightmare Calamity. The attack struck, and the daemon roared in pain and anger. When the attack subsided, however, Calamity was still alive, the spot in the center of his chest glowing red where the Harmony Elements had struck. The glow subsided, leaving a discolored grey behind. He was hurt, but still capable of action.

"ARROGANT CREATURES! YOUR DEATHS SHALL BE INSTANTANEOUS, WHILE I SHALL SUFFER THE PROGRESS OF INFINITY!"

Two barriers then encased him, the defenses powerful enough that Calamity could barely be seen inside them. From the center of the side facing the girls, there was a red glow… that became a massive beam of red and white energy shooting straight at them. The girls broke formation, getting distance between them and the beam of death; even with the distance they achieved before it passed, they felt the ambient heat spike up to uncomfortable levels, and that was with the active Harmony Elements protecting them.

Rainbow Dash moved next. Supercharged by her Harmony Element and the strength given to her by all of Ponyville, she held up her right forelimb as if she were a being with hands preparing to throw something. Lightning-type magical energy – her mother's deep blue and her own magenta – formed and then coalesced into a 30-foot-long ornate spear made of lightning magic. She threw it forward, and it shot toward the protected Calamity with incredible speed. It impacted the external barrier-shield, sending cascading ripples of power and transferred kinetic energy, and at the same time it transformed into a huge surge of lightning ripping across the barrier. In a few seconds, the barrier-shield shattered, leaving just a single barrier protecting Calamity.

Calamity's response was to summon six huge black crystals, which then shot toward the girls… and, upon getting close, each of them split into a deadly fusillade of thousands of razor-sharp crystals the size of a leg. Trixie, Twilight, and Rarity combined their magic and that of their Elements to form a huge, glowing white shield spell that blocked the barrage. Just when the trio started to waver, Celestia swooped in and let loose a wave of holy-fire that burned away the rest of the incoming crystals.

Twilight and Applejack moved forward next. Empowered by her Element, Applejack tapped into her latent Earth-style magic, and she & Twilight weaved it together with Twilight's supercharged Fire-style magic. After several seconds of preparation and charging, they let loose what appeared to be a huge dragon-snake made entirely of lava. The lava serpent crashed into Calamity's barrier, becoming a thick sheet of lava that covered most of the shield facing the heroes. Twilight then magically flash-froze the lava, forming thick rock that soon shattered… making the barrier it was coating shatter as well, leaving Nightmare Calamity unprotected.

As Rarity formed an intricate gem-style shield that deflected a firebomb from Calamity, the other six girls charged and then fired their Elements of Harmony. Again the six-colored beam struck Calamity square in the chest, causing him to roar out in rage and pain. This time, the glowing red took longer to cool into grey.

"ENOUGH!-! I AM THE VANGUARD OF UNIVERSAL DESTRUCTION! I SHALL NOT BE DEFEATED BY MERE CHILDREN!"

A giant plate of dark armor formed over the spot on Calamity's chest. He then formed three extra-strength barrier-shields around himself, completely hiding him from sight. All of the countless large hunks of stone and metal that were floating throughout the dark realm began randomly shooting about at dangerous velocities, forcing the Princesses and the Mane Seven to constantly take evasive action.

"Enough of this…" Luna snarled. From the tip of her horn came a small sphere, completely pitch-black. It shot up high, and then pulsed. Slowly at first, the massive pieces of rock and metal flying about the area started being drawn to it, magically-selective gravity holding them fast to it, forcing them to conform their shape to it. The rate of attraction steadily increased, as did the size of the pieces being pulled to it. Within a minute, every last piece of random stone and metal in the area had coalesced into a humongous sphere of rock. Luna gave a shout and threw her head downward, and the tremendous globe began a collision course with Calamity, its massive size obscuring the high speed at which it was traveling. The impact was devastating, and under this punishment the shield failed and shattered, the rubble hitting the second shield and then falling away.

Trixie and Fluttershy began charging their elemental magic, as did Rarity & Pinkie. After around half a minute, they fired – Trixie's lightning and Fluttershy's wind combined to form a whirling maelstrom of directed energy, while Rarity's water and Pinkie's wind became an ultra-high-pressure, tightly-focused water cannon. The two attacks impacted at the same time, straining to break the shield. Twilight, Applejack, and Dash unleashed waves of fire, stone, and lightning at the weakening barrier, which soon broke away under the onslaught.

Everyone's attention was drawn to a glowing light. They looked, and saw Celestia charging a small sphere of glowing fire so bright that it hurt to look at. It was a miniature star. Luna's eyes widened, and she telekinetically grabbed hold of the girls and flew away from Calamity at best speed, getting distance. Just as she reached a safe distance, Celestia let fly her attack and then teleported beside the others, raising her strongest shield around them and herself. The little ball of thermonuclear fusion impacted the final barrier-shield. There was a blinding flash, as a megatons-strong thermonuclear explosion engulfed Nightmare Calamity.

(BOSS MUSIC END)

When the light faded (the group's eyes having been protected by a spell from Luna), Calamity was unprotected, and his not-flesh was smoldering. The armor protecting his chest was cracked and broken but still in place. The seven Element-Bearers floated down to within a few hundred meters of him, staring him down with their glowing eyes.

(MUSIC START – Kingdom Hearts OST – "Beyond the Door")

"HOW… HOW CAN YOU MORTALS DARE TO STAND AGAINST ME? DARKNESS AND CHAOS ARE THE TRUE NATURE OF EXISTENCE, AND YET YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO STAND AGAINST WHAT IS THE NATURAL STATE OF ALL THINGS…"

"You're wrong, Nightmare" Twilight said. "I've seen enough things in my 20 years to fill a lifetime. Joy, laughter, friendship, love, redemption… So I know that, without a doubt… The natural state of things… the true nature of life… IS LIGHT!-!"

(Music at 0:35)

From the seven Elements of Harmony came a seven-colored beam of purity that cut through non-space in a fraction of a second – the Rainbow of Light. It hit Nightmare Calamity, passing through the chest armor like it wasn't even there. Calamity contorted and twisted and roared as the light began to cascade through his body, brilliant beams of seven colors tearing their way through him in every direction. Everywhere they shined, reality itself stilled and calmed, being healed.

(Music at 0:52)

In a flash of blinding light, Nightmare Calamity – and thus, both Nightmare and Discord – was completely, utterly annihilated. A wave of never-ending light blasted outward, enveloping everything. A distant observer would see the black and red dome surrounding Canterlot being pierced through from within by a brilliant glow. It then shattered and dissolved away into nothingness, the entire city being enveloped by the base of a huge column of light that shot up into the sky.

-SCENE BREAK-

Over in Ponyville, floodlights illuminated the area. In addition to the locals and the Army forces (including Spitfire, Soarin', and the main girls' families, who had returned down to Ponyville when the girls entered Calamity's realm), everyone who had been mutated or killed in Canterlot, in addition to every soldier that fell to the demon horde, had spontaneously reappeared, alive and well, in the town after the humongous pillar of light appeared. The pillar had faded away a short while ago. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened: the girls had succeeded in saving the planet.

But there had been no sign of them.

Celebration turned to anxiousness and worry as not a single thing was seen or heard of them since the pillar of light. The gathered families fretted, slowly starting to become convinced that their kin had saved the world at the cost of themselves.

(MUSIC: Mass Effect OST – "Victory")

Suddenly, approaching the town at a walking pace came a point of light. When the people looked closer, it was coming from the tip of Celestia's horn. Luna walked parallel to her several feet to the side… and in between them, the girls, exhausted but alive, walked with them. Instantly, a thunderous cheer rose up from the ponies gathered in town. A few wept with joy. Families and fans rushed forward to welcome the saviors of the world.

In-between the rushing ponies, Rainbow Dash saw the transparent figure of her mother's astral projection, who gave a beaming smile filled with pride, and then disappeared.

'I'll find you, mom' she thought. 'I promise.'

Dash's thoughts were interrupted as Scootaloo leapt at her, knocking her over and hugging her as tightly as she could. The parents and (where applicable) siblings of the other six showed up next, embracing their tired but victorious daughters/sisters.

"You know what this calls for?" Pinkie Pie shouted in her usual cheerful tone, Gummy now happily perched on her back. "This calls for the biggest party Ponyville's ever seen!-!"

Another cheer rang out in response; it was universally agreed that the saving of the planet called for a full-blown festival. Celestia and Luna smiled to each other and looked up to the stars. They, and only they, saw Ouranos smile and then fade from sight.

-STORY END-

A note: I looked EVERYWHERE, ALL OVER THE DAMN INTERNET, trying to find video of the original-series Rainbow of Light, which I have never actually seen. And I found NOTHING. So if my version was horribly, fans-frothing-at-the-mouth-with-rage wrong, I am sorry.