Mareoid Fusion

Chapter 6: Identical

This story begins during the Neo-Ridley fight in Metroid Fusion. Metroid is owned by Nintendo and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro. Major thanks to Pissfer for amazing ideas, editing and awesome-ifying it. Music added for enjoyment/atmospheric effect. As stated before, by clicking onto the links to music you agree to not mention “poni poni poni” on the persons video. They were nice enough to put in the work of getting the music on Youtube, at least show them respect by just commenting on how the music is good and not on how you got to it.

Princess Celestia couldn’t help but feel anxious for the unit’s return. Tracking down the X Parasite was a big responsibility, and the added variables of aliens, homicidal creatures and rampant growth didn’t help the situation any further. But she did find solace in that one being of great power had come out of this on her side, declaring itself the destroyer of things such as Ridley or the parasite, and the bane of evil.

Although she did feel slightly apprehensive at this new being’s words, she couldn’t help but feel impressed at how it seemed to live up to them. Everything it did was methodical, tactical and to the point. This was exemplified by its conduct throughout this violent quest to protect her citizens, being nothing less than a mechanically precise hunter. Celestia shook her head, she kept forgetting her own words when it came to the alien. She had a gender and she had a name. The self proclaimed bounty hunter went by the strange name of Samus Aran, and the princess did her best to make sure anypony in on the operation knew to treat her like any other equal being; respect went a long way.

Her mind did a double take for a moment when she noticed her sister looking at her questioningly, as if awaiting an answer. She realized that her mind must have been wandering when Luna had begun speaking. “I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t catch that.”

Her sister rolled her teal eyes, then repeated the question, “We asked if thy had any doubts as to this outworlder. We find herquite trustworthy and heroic considering her actions thus far.”

Celestia had to stop and think about this question of trust for a moment. This alien being had appeared into their world alongside the vicious and carnivorous Ridley. Although this alone is cause for speculation, she could not rule out the deep hatred that emanated from Samus when Ridley was mentioned. Near the end of the fight in the ballroom when she had finally reached the brawl and intervened, she could sense the solid anger that poured from the very hunter’s soul. This was enough for her to know that Samus was not in league with the shrieking creature.

But something still held a nagging doubt in her mind as to Samus’ loyalties beyond “mutual enemy”. She had to wonder, if it weren’t for the fact that they were both fighting against Ridley, would Samus still have been their ally? And if not... then could they stop her?

A commotion at the edge of the clearing brought Celestia back to attention along with her sister. Striding out of the dark woods was the bounty hunter in question, two ponies assisting a third just behind. Celestia recognized this limping pegasus as the lieutenant of the group and couldn’t help but wonder at how he had become injured during the search for a single parasite.

“Welcome back, I trust you eliminated the parasite and that there is a reason for this pegasus’ injury,” Celestia inquired as she approached the advancing group. Closing in to the group also was the other five Elements of Harmony who had seen their friend enter the clearing.

“Yes, ma’am,” came the reply from the unicorn private who was left assisting the pegasus after Rainbow Dash left to talk with her friends, “and Lieutenant Spear was injured during a fight with a Hydra. Hit a tree and got knocked out cold.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Faithful Spear harshly whispered into his comrade’s ear, “makes me sound like an idiot.”

Celestia on the other hand, was displaying a look of slight horror. “A Hydra. And you fought it? Where? And is it still here,” She exclaimed, choosing to ignore the fact that the Lieutenant had flown into a tree.

Spear spoke up, deciding to give the newer guard a way out of being debriefed by a mildly-shocked sun goddess. “Yes ma’am, a Hydra. I know it sounds crazy that there was one here, but it seems the X Parasite found it first and killed it before cloning, just like Samus said they do.” Samus gave a quick nod to confirm. “She also ended up taking it out in its swamp home at least two kilometers north of here.” Celestia grimaced at the idea of killing such a large and rare being, but knew it was for the best if it had just been the ravenous clone of an already dispatched Hydra. “From what we could tell, all X Parasites had been eliminated.”

This perked her mood somewhat, knowing that more likely than not, they could continue on their mission to dispose of the bringer of death upon her peaceful land. Turning her head to her lunar counterpart, she gave a nod to confirm the job’s completion. Luna did likewise, then pointed her horn to the sky. Closing her eyes in concentration she slowly built power into her horn, peaking with a blinding indigo aura. Her eyes opened and instead of the teal irises there was nothing but a radiating white glow.

Celestia looked to the night sky and saw the change, the majority of the stars remained in their places but a small collection had been brought together and brightened to a remarkable scale. If one were to even glance at the sky they would be awarded with what looked to be a diamond, out of place but shining brighter than possibly even the sun itself. This was the signal for the guards to return, already prepared in case of night operations.

"Lieutenant?" Celestia spoke up, distracting everyone from the radiating night sky.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Bring the Elements of Harmony here immediately, and while I am speaking to them gather the guards. They should all return momentarily.”

With the Lieutenant gone in compliance with the Princess’ command, Samus was left standing near the cave mouth along with the two princesses and Private Enchanter. A question crossed her mind and after a second of contemplation she decided it was the right time to discuss their plan of attack in accordance with the cave and subsequent tunnel.

Twilight still couldn’t believe it. Even after hearing it come directly from her mentors mouth she couldn’t fully come to grips with it. Even after rationalizing it as true and necessary she still couldn’t believe that she was being tasked to go with her six friends and the alien creature to destroy the monster Ridley without Princess Celestia by her side.

Celestia had given her the reasoning, and she even understood it, “Samus herself requested to travel in small groups to reduce battle confusion and the possibility of friendly fire. From what she has said, she has been in similar situations to this many times in her life and being flagged by high numbers of personnel has only hindered her performance in the past. We will be scouring the mountainside in search for any openings or X Parasites.”

The worst part was that it made sense to her. The reasoning and logic behind were solid and as they have had no experience in this sort of thing, it was best to listen to the only creature here who was actually trained. Trained to kill. Alien in biology and customs it seemed. One would never find that kind of training in Equestria, no matter how much the world outside the country begged to differ.

Twilight looked to her sides as the barrier flared back to life behind them, casting the small group in a somber pink shadow. She saw her friends, the ponies as close to family as they could be, all standing on the razor’s edge, all wearing masks of grim determination. What terrible lies those masks were.

Even she, the shut-in book worm, could tell they had no idea what they were doing. That their mettle would be tested and that the dark thought of possible death hung to their minds. She could almost picture the scythe poised over each of them, ready to slash down and claim a life at any given mistake. It made her want to vomit. To cry in a corner and long for her peaceful library and quiet town.

But when she cast her eye over the bounty hunter, she saw something different. She didn’t see a fake mask, wrought with the signs of cowardice. Instead she found herself gazing upon a disturbingly calm face. The look that spoke volumes of expertise, forged through countless days of living in this endless veil of impending doom. It shared its serenity with her and the rest of her friends as they looked upon it, revitalizing them with newfound strength and the willingness to take that first step forward.

That first step into darkness.

The cave tunnel reminded Samus very much of her battles through the subterranean environments on Zebes. The dark, with just a purple tint playing off the walls from Twilight’s spell, and the bitter foreboding. Down in the depths she didn't know what to expect next. Would she run into The Crocomire and be forced into a barbaric shoving match? Or would she be trapped underwater with the space pirate Draygon?

Samus banished these thoughts into the corners of her mind; best not to think of anything that could hinder oneself while on a mission. She took a look behind herself while continuing the trek along the otherwise-plain tunnel. She saw the ponies, all trying their best to falsify a brave face. She didn't think any less of them for it. This was probably their first mission and they had full right to be afraid of the monstrous task ahead of them.

Turning her head forward once more, Samus continued the thought. Of course, she knew that she would probably do most of the fighting anyway. One-on-one she could win against Ridley. Of course it took all of her skill and cunning to do so, but after beating him several times in the past it had become routine for her. That didn’t stop the adrenaline from pumping at his sight, however. He wasn't one to underestimate: he became a space pirate leader for a very good reason.

Samus felt something soft under her heel and paused to inspect it.

"What is it, Ms. Samus." She ignored the question as she quickly switched to her scanner to get a better look at the blue goop underfoot. What the results came back with were shocking to say the very least. As she returned to full height she ordered everyone into a shield by Twilight then blasted the spot with a missile.

Rubble sat at the bottom of the small pit created by the explosive. The substance either destroyed or buried. The ponies exited the shield with nothing short of absolute confusion. But Samus immediately charged ahead at a sprint, ignoring all the questions directed to her. Her mind was too busy with her own, "how could that be here?"

As they traveled down the tunnel, they found an opening above them that could have also been used by Ridley. After careful consideration, the group decided splitting up was the best way to find him. The Elements of Harmony would continue down the current path and use their superior numbers to their advantage while Samus would take the above path alone. Although they were all reluctant to follow this decision, no-one could think of a better way.

Samus rolled as she landed at the top of the shaft. Looking back down she could only see darkness, the ponies having already moved on. She looked back ahead and began carefully making her way forward. Her thoughts dwelled on the fact that once again she was alone, surrounded by darkness and hunting down a monster. Not that it disrupted her mindset too much, but after a lifetime of solo missions, losing families and seeing allies die, she didn't mind company to stick by her side.

This conflicted with her own suggestion to battle Ridley in few numbers, something she was acutely aware of, but in her mind the mission came first. Loneliness could wait.

Twilight and her friends followed Samus steadily down the tunnel, her horn lighting the path for her friends to see and strengthening the fact that they were together in this. Of course they were still frightened, the cave was dry, dark and held nothing of the fun and love that they were used to. Even Pinkie Pie, the party-going smile enthusiast remained straight haired, sans grin.

"T-twilight?" The unicorn barely heard the word, even in the silence.

"Yes, Fluttershy?" She glanced back and saw the yellow pegasus with her body threatening to curl up defensively.

"Um, I know we already talked about this, and I'm so sorry for asking again, but when we find... find-"

"Ridley," She finished for her.

"Um, yes, Ridley. When we find... him, will we just use the Elements and it will be done?" She shrunk three sizes as she talked, slowly devolving into a quivering ball of fur and flesh.

Twilight let out a sigh at this, if only there was actually a straight answer. She didn't actually know the effects of the Elements on Ridley. No-one did, not Celestia, not Luna, not even Samus could know if they would work. And that's what she told her, truth and all, they were going in blind with hope as their only companion.

Eventually they came upon a severed wall, a jagged opening running through it that was easily the size of Ridley. The ponies each gave a gulp as they looked at the thick stone, sliced apart as if made of clay. Looking at each other they silently made their way, one at a time, through the makeshift doorway.

It didn’t take them long to gather up on the other side and silently observe their surroundings. The wall had been separating the tunnel from a massive, dome-shaped cavern. The ceiling was shrouded in darkness and stalactites extended just low enough to make out. The ground lay misshapen under various holes and rubble but the most notable feature was the giant cracks which looked as if formed from something gigantic stomping its feet.

The six ponies followed the trail with their eyes, and what they saw partially hidden at the end caused Twilight to throw up a silencing spell around them. The action could not have cut it closer, as at the same moment she did, Rarity and Fluttershy had both released glass shattering screams. The ponies inside still heard them, but the crouching Ridley remained unaware of their presence.

Twilight was about to turn around and reprimand them for the mistake when an earth rumbling boom shook shook the cavern. All the ponies looked up to see the source of the explosive sound. At first it seemed nothing would come of it, but not even a second later the ceiling above them ruptured, releasing a shower of stone.

The grey and motionless tunnel led to nothing more than another grey and motionless room. If you could even call it that. The ceiling was high enough, concealed in darkness with jutting stalactites as decor, but one could barely walk five feet before they hit the opposite wall, and even less for the other two sides. Samus did a quick scan of the room, not even bothering to look at the probably barren cavern roof, and came up with nothing. Not a single exit besides the way she just came in, and not a single form of life.

Yelling in frustration Samus kicked at the wall beside the entrance causing a large crack to spring in place. She had left the ponies alone. Against Ridley no less. She felt like dirt. Even worse than dirt, she felt despicable, how could she have been so brainless? Of course splitting up meant more coverage in a search, but how could she expect them to fight Ridley? She turned to leave the area and attempt to quickly find the equines, hopefully before Ridley did.

That’s when she heard the tell-tale shriek. Not even able to turn her head in time, she felt a massive object slam into her, pile-driving her into the ground. The rock gave way like paper, allowing the attacker to continue using its weight and gravity to send Samus hurtling through another small cavern before colliding and then tearing through another level of rock. Samus got a quick look at the hostile. Ridley. Of course it was Ridley, she hadn’t even bothered checking the ceiling, and of course he would have hid there. Now, due to her negligence, she was being subjected to a multi-level tumble through space and solid stone with the beast driving her down the whole way.

After blasting through the second floor she caught sight of something horribly unexpected: the pony group was now standing opposite another Ridley clone in the large room she was passing through.

A moments glance was all she could witness though, as the combined weight of herself and Ridley brought them quickly to the bottom of the cavern and then through it into the black void.

The moment Samus hit the ground for a third time she jammed her arm-cannon into Ridleys abdomen and then let loose a quick trio of missiles. The point-blank explosives tore the bounty hunter out of his grip and into true free-fall while the space pirate attempted to swipe at its burning mid-section.

Taking a quick look around Samus could see nothing but darkness in their ever increasing decent and the form of her opponent. Taking advantage of her brief moment of escape from his clutches, Samus charged a wave beam and took aim for his maw.

Ridley slashed forward in an attempt to disrupt the hunter but missed by mere inches when she flinched to the side. His miss gave her the opportunity to release the beam directly towards his head, tearing away bits of flesh and forcing him to back away into a defensive stance.

Samus decided to put more distance between herself and the monster by spreading her limbs and slowing her fall slightly, giving her a height advantage and allowing her to shoot straight down at him. In this position he could only dash the distance between her and him if he decided to make himself vulnerable for the split second it took to bring his wings out.

Ridley himself flung his body horizontally so he was facing her as he charged a fireball of his own while she was orienting her own body to face him. Samus saw this and began firing her wave beam rapidly. Unable to get enough hits off, she was struck by his discharged fireball and slammed into the chasm wall by the force. Her body began rapidly gyrating, quickly disorienting her before being caught by Ridley who let out a shriek a foot from her face.

With his free claw Ridley began to slash at the metal body, his movement was slowed by the wind resistance but he was still able to get a few hits off before Samus brought herself together and then blasted the hand holding her with a missile. His hand was forced open and Samus followed it up with another pair of missiles to his maw. One of the projectiles sailed past, smacking into the wall and breaking apart giant chunks of rock while the other hit home right between his eyes causing a shriek to ring out and his skeletal body to glow a deep red.

Anger seemed to fuel his movements as he immediately retaliated with a ferocious body slam, pinning Samus against the wall where she rapidly grinded out a trail of solid stone from the jagged pit.

The Fusion suit systems began blaring red in alert to her rapidly depleting energy reserves, Samus ignored it per usual as it didn’t help to be reminded in a fight that you were losing. However, she realized this meant she had only a few moments to get Ridley to back off before her suit failed.

Smashing the wall with one hand, she released a shower of various stones into the fall. Quickly selecting one she grasped it then drove it into Ridleys eye, eliciting a pained shriek and the reflexive defense stance from both his arms.

Samus immediately grasped one of his claws and then pulled herself towards him, getting herself within touching distance of his head. Once close enough, she charged a diffusion missile then abruptly shoved it past his groping claws directly into his gaping mouth.

The missile tore through his jaw and skin, erupting from his mouth in a shower of crystals and blood. The explosion rocked his body and sent a grand echo throughout the chasm, shaking rocks loose from their foundries along the walls.

Ridley’s body went limp, his face massacred and his jaw completely unhinged from his skull, he had no energy left to fight. But Samus didn’t stop there, his body hadn’t disintegrated, he hadn’t died yet.

Looking below, Samus caught sight of the floor in the seemingly endless void of darkness. In the middle rested a giant stalagmite, almost out of place in its resemblance to a medieval trap.

Grasping his midsection with both hands, Samus flung Ridley’s form between her and the rapidly approaching end of the bottomless pit. Straightening her figure, her feet struck his torso, driving it faster into descent.

The blow stirred the space pirate somewhat, causing him to catch a glimpse of the end of their fall. Looking back at Samus he let out a shriek like none she had ever heard. A cry filled with fear, anger, but most of all, pain. It was desperate. But Samus matched it wholeheartedly, the floor not even a hundred feet below them, she screamed with all her might. Putting every ounce of her energy and strength into the battle cry, she kept herself stable upon the horizontal body.

The ground approached, less than twenty feet, and both warriors were still screaming.

Every pony in the room was stunned, too shocked to speak or even properly think. They had just witnessed another Ridley crash through the ceiling and then floor of the cavern while battling Samus. It didn’t help that the first Ridley was standing not fifty feet away from them. It also didn’t help when he turned his head and noticed the group standing huddled in the sound bubble, mouths agape and thoughts scattered.

Twilight’s mind came back to the task at hand, noticing a leering Ridley across the room. “Girls! Move! Quickly!”

This pulled the girls out of their stupor, all except Fluttershy, who was still cowering on the cavern floor, mumbling to herself.

The space pirate let out a well-known shriek and launched itself into the air, tearing up pony sized boulders in his talons’ wake. The five standing ponies panicked. Within seconds they would be set upon by the beast, and they knew it. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have this though and gave a quick nod to Twilight before blasting off at Ridley, the afterimage of a rainbow in her wake.

“Rainbow, wait!” By the time Twilight had finished calling out her friend’s name, the speedster had already traversed the room and was keeping Ridley busy.

Twilight fed off her friend’s bravery, turning to speak to the group, “alright, listen up. We need to use the Elements but we can’t if Fluttershy is quivering on the ground like this. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, you focus on coaxing her out. Applejack, you’re with me.” As another shriek rent the air, the girls looked over to the battle between pegasus and dragon. A blue blur whipped about the alien creature, its erratic swipes getting closer and closer to his target, “I don’t think she can keep this up much longer.”

“Alrighty, lets go get this flying, no-good varmint!”

“We shall have her up and ready in no time at all!”

“Yeah, no harder than baking a cake. Take too long and the cake could get burned! Except here, we’re the cake, and it’s not very funny.”

Splitting apart, the group set about their tasks quickly. Pinkie and Rarity attended to the shaking pegasus while Applejack and Twilight galloped towards the fray.

The pair arrived in time to watch as Ridley caught Rainbow with a lucky swipe, knocking her out of the air. Catching the pegasus in a magical grip, Twilight charged a bolt of arcane energy, normally meant for powering equipment, but with an improvised twist. The pegasus hit the ground with a puff, but quickly prepped herself to takeoff once again, as the farmer dashed towards Ridley.

Ridley landed, with the resulting boom cracking the stones underhoof. But if the miniature earthquake had been felt by the earth pony, she didn’t show it as she swiftly spun around to deliver a powerful buck to his midsection. Bringing his claw up to swipe away the newest combatant, Ridley was stopped by a searing second of pain as he was hit by Twilight’s spell. The distraction gave the orange apple farmer enough time to ram her hind legs into his gut, the blow sent a powerful wave through the aliens body and actually made him rock backwards on his legs.

Not given a second’s rest, Ridley took another hit from the airborne pegasus, sending him toppling to the ground in a shower of stone.

A whoop was given by farmer and flier alike while Twilight concentrated on readying another bolt. The two athletes took a moment’s rest when suddenly Ridley stuck out a claw and took hold of Applejack. Throwing the pony in his grasp at the unicorn, Ridley bought himself a moment to regain his footing before taking to the air after the pegasus.

Rainbow Dash gave a quick yelp before attempting to retreat but soon found the air rammed out of her as Ridley crashed into her flying form. The fallen pegasus landed on top of her friends, eliciting grunts of pain from all three as they looked up in horror at the beast looming over them right when it released a terrifying shriek. The sound sent the cluster scrambling backwards if only to escape the painful sound.

Determined to not let her friends down, Rainbow Dash untangled herself from the pile and stood defensively before the space pirate, barring him from her friends. Not missing a beat, Applejack whirled back to face Ridley before speeding forward. Twilight was a little slower to recover, but faced him nonetheless, with a spell on mind and a charge in her horn.

With a battlecry the two athletes charged Ridley and began assaulting him from all sides. Utilising their ability to strike in completely different places at once, the duo tag-teamed the much larger creature from any angle that presented itself. Hoof met hardened flesh and claw met air as Ridley was unable to even focus on a single pony. The confusion reached a crescendo when he was struck yet again by the searing bolt of energy from the unicorn, but this time it struck deeper, having been laced with ice magic.

The vulnerable skin of the normally rock-hard pirate cut open instantly as the spell hit home on his shoulder. The pain stalled his movements for the briefest moment, allowing both Rainbow Dash and Applejack the time to body slam the beast back into the ground with an explosive boom rivaling even Samus’ artillery. The ponies kept at the brawl, kicking and ramming wherever they had the room too. The fight lacked the finesse of an admirable conflict, but with their lives and those of their friends on the line, they had no quarrel with fighting dirty.

The team’s style fell apart as Ridley began slashing repeatedly in any given direction he could, eventually pulling off a lucky hit, knocking Applejack into the nearby cavern wall. Rainbow Dash called out to her in worry, just to get knocked down herself while she was distracted. Rearing up onto his legs, Ridley shrieked down at the lone pegasus and opened his jaw to consume her. Catching a flash of light in his peripheral vision, Ridley spun to his side, narrowly avoiding another energy bolt of ice. Facing the unicorn, he kicked the downed pegasus towards her and managed to strike home, buying enough time to snatch up the dazed farm pony, holding her in a death grip.

The two struck ponies lay in horrific silence as Ridley held their friend up in the air, murderous hunger in his eyes and his claws tightening slowly, they were helpless to watch as Ridley brought his maw down around Applejack.

Then violently drop her with a shriek and deafening explosion filling the cavern simultaneously.

The space pirate whirled on his feet, his body hiding what he was facing from the three ponies. He waited. One second. Two. Then let loose a sound above all the others, a sound of utter hatred and anguish, before streaking towards the offender with claws outstretched in reckless abandon.

Another explosion rocked the cavern. The creature’s body was flung back as a purple metallic figure strode towards the downed ponies. Each let out a surprised gasp, they had seen her fall. They had seen her crash into the depths with another Ridley in tow, and yet here she was, clad in her powerful armor and still fighting for the rest of them.

Samus gave a quick nod towards the three ponies left out of combat before continuing to rain assault upon the weakening space pirate. Twilight knew what she meant and gathered her friends quickly before setting off to the other three to prepare for the final phase of the fight.

The trio galloped immediately returned to the rest of the group, Fluttershy having finally snapped out of her episode of cowering. Rarity seemed to be in shock, the reappearance of Samus taking her by surprise, while they simply found Pinkie grinning from ear-to-ear.

Twilight gave an encouraging nod to her friends as she spoke up, “alright girls, now that Fluttershy is back up and ready we can begin our phase of the fight.” She gestured to the jewelry splayed on their respective forms, each representing their power in harmony, untold energy pulsing with the friendship that each pony had for the others. They all nodded in turn.

“As Samus distracts Ridley we will get into position and unleash the Elements of Harmony upon him. If all goes to plan, then that will be the end of this.”

A look of concern crossed Rarity’s face. “And what, my dear Twilight, will happen if this does not go to plan?”

Twilight didn’t skip a beat, “well I’ve developed several contingency plans just in case that one has failed. Plan B in this scenario would be if the Elements only weaken him, which would force us to join Samus into... eliminating him.” This brought about several crestfallen looks from her friends, they were hoping to not even think of that possibility. “Plan C would be if they had no effect whatsoever, then there wouldn’t be much we can do but allow myself and Samus to continue using Ice to try and weaken him, which would in turn lead back to Plan B.”

Rarity kept on, “and you have knowledge of spells that will help make this happen, correct?” Twilight gave a solemn nod. Yes, she had studied for this. But she didn’t have to like it.

Breaking up the rapidly dropping mood, Fluttershy spoke up for the first time that evening, “girls, I- I’m sorry, but we should hurry.”

A few of the ponies looked back at the battle while the others glanced at Fluttershy in surprise, but all got the general idea and snapped to attentiveness. The Elements began to thrum with magic, eager to unleash their powers upon the unjust and wicked among them.

Samus took a blow to the chest, Ridley took one to the leg. Each was blown back several feet before skidding to a halt, each began to feel the exhaustion set from the restless night. Samus could tell the suit was on its last legs, but she could also tell Ridley did not have much fight left in him either.

A shriek and a yell erupted and the two clashed at one another again. Samus sent out a slew of missiles while Ridley tore chunks of rock out from beneath his claws in a mad dash. The two played cat-and-mouse as they usually did, complete with eruptions of stone and ice, Samus making her last-second evasions while Ridley persisted with constant mobile assault. Both showed their prowess to the utmost degree in the field of battle, dodging, counterattacking then leaping away again; it was nothing short of a spectacularly violent dance. The stone floor their stage and the movements of one another their tempo, each fought rhythmically, gaining and losing ground within moments, every twitch of muscle having profound repercussions on the fight itself.

Ridley caught Samus with a sideswipe of his claw, then carried on the momentum with a swing of his tail. Being struck by the first, Samus was knocked over by the second and sent hurtling away and onto her back. Metal scraped on stone while the H.U.D. flashed red. Both Samus and her suit’s systems were dazed by the impact. The space pirate let out a terrific shriek then bounded toward her form. Halfway to the her prone body he was blinded by a flash of brilliant white light that bathed the cavern in a milky glow of radiating purity.

Ridley looked for the origin of the light, faltering when he found the six ponies floating above the ground, enshrouded in an unearthly glow. The purple unicorn in the middle wore a tiara upon her head which was violently throbbing with its magic. Her eyes flashed upon and in them he saw more of the same light, only now it was intensified beyond comprehension. But he knew what this meant, this was their weapon, this was their Samus Aran. And he had to stop it.

Letting loose a violent roar, Ridley sped forward in an attempt to stop the ponies. He’d barely started towards them when he found himself flying head-over-heels in the opposite direction. Samus was now standing in the spot he had been occupying not moments ago but she looked in no better shape than he.

Struggling to stand, he and Samus stood staring at each other for but a moment before another explosion of light filled the battleground. Except this was of many colors, arrayed in a brilliant spectrum. Both warriors looked to the ponies in time to see the rainbow of power shoot out of their forms, join in the middle and then blast off towards them both.

Samus watched as the beam sped to Ridley, it’s angle coursing for his torso with no time for him to avoid it. Samus watched as it neared, it’s warmth and thrum of energy accelerating in intensity as it approached. She then watched as it completely veered away from Ridley, and instead struck her body in a technicolor glow.

She didn’t even have a moment to gasp before the harmonic magic overpowered her senses. Her body curled up instinctively, the power that coursed through her made it impossible to stand upright, her systems thrown into a panic by the sudden occupation. Inside she felt a stirring, a store of energy welling up within her. It took over her thoughts, driving away the pain and exhaustion from the ongoing battle. The energy transformed inside her, spreading across her like a pulsating wave. She felt it meld with the suit, with her very being, slowly becoming a power that she could not contain.

Samus stood as the energy exploded outwards, allowing the energy to release into the air in a blinding crescendo of colors. Every crevice in the dark cavern lit up, every feature bathed in the glow, including the ponies and a stunned Ridley who had been expecting the beam to contact the beast directly.

Now Samus stood erect, tall and fully rejuvenated. Her body felt like it was built for this, which wasn’t too far from the case. Her armor had transformed itself, now opting for a variant of her Light Suit, in which colours from throughout the spectrum adorned its shell. Although she did not take on a vibrant, rainbow color effect, they could still see the kaleidoscope of light reflecting off of her in a brilliant display of harmonic power.

Samus took a moment to register this information, and found that along with her new suit came a vibrating collection of power within her arm cannon. She felt the warmth of it reach her arm as she looked back upon Ridley who was now taking steps toward her, a shriek rising up from his throat.

Raising her cannon, she took aim and began charging the beam. But Ridley seemed to sense what was happening and what lie in wait inside the weapon, and instead immediately turned around and spat out another cluster of violet, plasma fireballs. Joining together a few feet ahead, they formed a portal of identical size to the original one that had brought them here.

Turning for a moment to let loose a quick shriek, Ridley faced the portal then sped towards it. Samus met his cry with her own and allowed the charged shot to explode from the weapon in a clustered collection of color. The blast echoed throughout the cave, whipping the manes of the ponies as they stared in awe while the beam traversed the air between Samus and Ridley. The shot struck home in the small of his back, the burst radiating out over his wings and torso before enveloping him in a disintegrating light.

As his body slowly fell into the dark abyss they saw it deteriorate into a rippling pile of flesh and gnarled bone before being swept away by the portals increasing current.

All heads swiveled to Samus who was in the midst of another transformation. Her suit itself began fading away, as if the color was being sapped. The suit returned to its purple form a few moments later, having discharged all its energy into that one attack. Samus took a second to collect herself before staring into the portal. Through the door to black nothingness she saw her home, she saw all the death and destruction, the lies and corruption. She saw the true evil it had unleashed. And then she saw her parents; smiling, bidding her nothing but to do what makes her happy. What she believes is right. She saw the Chozo race, silent and steady. They had trained her for this. They had seen her through the worst years of her life, and molded her into an evil-hunting machine.

Sure her universe was a vicious one, full of strife and everything she hated. But that was just it, it was her universe, and she had a job to do.

She gazed back upon the ponies. The lives that had been almost torn asunder by the deeds of the X parasite. She felt as if she understood them, Ridley had done even worse to her, at least they would be able to keep those they love with them from then on.

The portal began shrinking back down, slowly counting down to an ultimatum. Giving a salute to the ponies, Samus sprinted into the abyss as it collapsed, spotting a glaring red light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

A/N

Sup you lovable Metroid nerds, you. I have returned with the sixth chapter. Now, before you all linch me I have to say one thing: This ending made the most sense!

Now, what do I mean by that? Well I mean that considering Samus, the X-Parasite and everything leading up to this point, this ending was the only logical one. Not one where Samus has a sappy "goodbye" and certainly not one where she STAYS. I made a mistake when I made this story where I had attempted to tell My story, when in reality, you are supposed to do what makes sense. Especially with something as precious as this.

So, I made the ultimate decision to have the final fight and then give Samus the only logical path home, the way she came in. Honestly, there should be no problem with this. But, I will say this. There is one more chapter, and those of you who have paid attention should come up with a solution to your woes.

Now, I leave you guys with a little present, a deleted scene. At the start of this chapter I had REALLY wanted to finally kill somepony off so I tried to do it to the Private. But I found a problem, I had created too good of a failsafe solution for this earlier. I had literally used too much foresight earlier in the story making it so I could not actually murder the Private. I'll let you figure out what exactly this failsafe was.

(Oh, and also, I absolutely hate post-editing this thing on FIMFiction, I have to manually go to each paragraph and REINSERT IT. I am literally spending like forty minutes or so just pressing tab on this dang thing.)

DELETED SCENE

“Tha...That was one of those parasites. Right? Wha-what happened to it? Where did it go!?" They couldn’t stop staring. The private slowly transitioning from horror to a stoic blank stare out into the decrepit wood. He couldn’t find the right words on the matter. Everything drew up blank in his mind, any sort of comforting phrase or even reassuring gesture just evaporated in his mind upon arrival. What could you say after what just happened?

It was impossible to ignore it, and the rapidly approaching outcome, yet he could do nothing but stare blanking at the now silent forest. His presence the epitome of deathly quiet.

Samus looked upon the two figures, a slight frown betraying her face. She wanted to look brave for this, to not have to show him that even someone like her couldn’t emotionally detach themselves from what was inevitably about to happen. Nothing could come from it though, her emotions broke through, showing to all two ponies within what seemed like the whole world that she was only human.

She couldn’t find much to say either, not even a word managing to pass her lips. For her mind was gone, temporarily shouldered to the past, reliving each moment of dread that came before the eventual end. The sorrow. The pain. Everything shattering around her without a glimpse of hope. Why did this seem so frequent?

The privates mind at first had raced in pure panic at his action. He leapt without thinking and sacrificed it all. He guessed that after almost losing one comrade, he cracked under the thought of losing another. He wasn’t frightened of the upcoming consequences for his decisions though, if anything he was... content. His mind replaying the earth shattering information all soldiers live one day for war by those around them, “the only way to live is to accept that you’re already dead.” That was it than. He was already dead. This was just the unveiling.

Already he could feel it inside him. He could feel the change occurring rapidly, no time to think, no time to talk or even regret the things that had brought him here. For what was he if not another collection of life and tissue for the beast within?

He brought his eyes down to bear upon the pegasus prone beneath him, latching onto hers, not pleading but instead just solemnly confirming in his own mind that she was still there. Just bringing the acknowledgment to mind that he had done his job. That the consequences weren’t all so grim.

One nod to her.

Then one to Samus.

Stepping away from the rainbow pony, Private Star Enchanter kept his head high and proudly walked up to Samus with nothing betraying his thoughts. His hoofsteps struck the ground with purpose and his gait didn’t falter even as he approached his comrade-in-arms.

Samus, on the other hand, had a hard time hammering down her sadness until her face showed nothing but a grim mask. Loss has come and gone for her before; her parents along with the entire colony on her home world, the baby metroid that sacrificed itself to save her from Mother Brain, Adam who had made the ultimate decision to do what was necessary for others to survive. This came at a new level though, a tribulation that no person would ever wish to carry through.

But it had to be done, and not only that but it had to be done soon for neither she nor he wanted to stick around long enough to watch the parasite make its end.

Samus switched her gaze onto the pegasus who was still unnerved, laying in confusion where the Hydra once was. Bringing up her hand, she motioned for her to turn around and walk away. The pegasus began to protest but the bounty hunter immediately brought her hand up again and did the same gesture only to add a harsh point at the end to solidify that things were done and she needed to leave.

The mare grudgingly began to slowly trot away after picking herself up. She didn’t fully understand what was happening. She didn’t even understand what had happened to the giant monster she had rammed not too long ago. She could see it was gone, but instead of the victorious mood she had anticipated all she got was an atmosphere befitting the grim reaper. Everything pointed to something bad, something beyond her comprehension for the moment.

Enchanter kept his eyes trained toward superior, resisting the urge to stare at the one he had saved and sacrificed so much for. He felt a hand slowly come down upon his head, resting there for reassurance, telling him that although they both knew what was going to happen, the best of any possible situation from this was going to be the outcome.

He let his eyes waver, bringing them up to stare back into the eyes of his quickly made friend. Although he did everything to halt it, a tear broke free from in its path and ran down the side of his face. Leaning in slightly, he brought Samus in for a hug while looking up at the star filled sky. Memories washed back over him as he looked over a night he witnessed long ago. Just a foal with his dad, making a mark upon their bonding through a family map and an adventure.

He remembered the one time he had come to here with his father. The time when he became so scared, he had fled the woods to return home only to be caught by his dad and then brought home properly. He always refused to revisit Nightmare Wood after that, he refused his father and his attempts at bonding through adventurous outings. He always wondered what it would have been like, to see him one last time before he had perished on one of his journeys, to tell him “yes” and bring back the smile that had soon completely abandoned the old stallion for years.

Breaking from the embrace, the private closed his eyes and backed up a few paces before standing stock still, at attention and ready to end it before the parasite did.

Samus brought her weapon to bear, her mind in overdrive to break through the emotional barriers and mechanize her thoughts. This was for him and this was for the world. The only way she could help him now was to not miss. She silently approached, the only sound warning him of her presence being the energy whirl of a charged wave beam.

Samus angled the weapons to the side of his head, taking care to keep the metal from contacting his skin or fur. Before she let loose the collected energy, she heard a single sentence escape the unicorns lips with a choke, “ you think I did him proud?”

She couldn’t guess at who he meant. Whether it was his father or his commander. Maybe he even meant for them both to be proud with what he’s accomplished. But it didn’t really matter who he meant specifically, because the answer was instantaneous and without a single doubt in her mind.

“Yes.”

Laying on the ground in a slight daze, the Lieutenant was forced to watch as his subordinate leapt above a downed pegasus, taking in the parasite that was making its way to her.

He was stunned, his initial thoughts just a parade of no’s. His dizziness didn’t allow him to coherently piece together much else. But he still could understand the gravity of the situation in perfect clarity. He knew that the private, his comrade, his... friend. He was a dead pony. And nothing could fix that.

His mind couldn’t take much more and blacked out for a few moments, trying to restore a sense of order in the chaos. He came back seeing the private exit an embrace with the alien before slowly stalking his way backwards and then standing still, eyes closed and muscles tensed.

The lieutenant knew what he was doing. He knew what he was bracing for and he did not want to accept it. The lieutenant screamed internally for this to end, for it to not be true. But as Samus stepped closer, he couldn’t do anything but slowly accept it. Even his dazed brain could get that far, he just wish he could have last words with him. He just wished that instead of laying here, blacking out among the muck of a mutated bog, he was over there, comforting his savior and brother-in-arms to the best of his ability.

But sometimes things don’t happen the way we want them to, and for him, this was one of those times. He slowly slid back to the ground, his head surrendering to the intense weight that seemed to be resting upon it, his eyelids soon following suit, closing just as a blast of energy tore asunder the dark serenity that had enveloped the swamp.

Rainbow Dash was the first to make it back to the camp. All of her friends instantly materializing in front of her to receive news of what happened. Everypony clamoured for an explanation of the roar, what had befallen the ponies and human who had ventured into the forest and what she had done in her time.

She didn’t give an answer though. Each question bouncing off of her hide as if she had gone deaf. Nothing mattered to her, she just wanted to sit. She just wanted to forget the atrocity she had just witnessed. Even if it was necessary.

This unnerved everypony in the clearing. Rainbow Dash, self proclaimed fastest flier in Equestria and Element of Loyalty... was speechless. Not only that, but she seemed completely scarred, as if something terrible had transpired in that forest. The guards themselves at least knew of her and what she had done for Equestria, this alone caused them some worry seeing her in such a state. But for her closest friends and the princesses, it was like seeing a great flame snuffed out. And all they could do was stare as it flickered hopelessly, trying to grasp onto what little life was left.

Eventually, the pink party pony decided to take it upon herself to free her “bestest-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world-and-maybe-even-universe-thingy” from whatever funk she had landed in (metaphorically or physically). Bouncing up to the cyan pegasus with extra spring in her bounce, Pinkie Pie took one last leap before slamming plot first in the ground not a foot away from Dash.

Now on her haunches and at eye level with the mare, Pinkie Pie stared deep into the red abyss of color that was her friends oval eyes. Slowly, and with careful hoof work, she reached deep into her own mane before finding the object of choice and then dragging it from its temporary home. Never once did she leave eye contact as she took the now visible, red apple from her hair and then placed her other hoof upon it. Once the other appendage made contact, a flurry of movements commenced that would have made a crack addicted Flash jealous. When the almost literal dust settled, the pink mare had three smaller, yet impossibly whole, apples pasted to her flank with what appeared to be frosting.

Apparently not finished, she then proceeded to reach down into her tail and then pull her hoof back out, this time with a stetson hat in tow.

“Applejack, where is your-”

“Trust me Twi, we both know the answer and I would rather just not acknowledge it for now...”

This object came to rest upon her head. Checking over herself a final time, the mare looked back into her friend's eyes before grinning wildly and then bursting out, “hey, Dashie! Who am I?”

Pinkie Pie suddenly sprang to her hind hooves and gave a great “YEEEEEHAAAAAWW” before touching back down on four limbs and speaking in a heavily accented southern drawl, “well Ah’ll be,” she spit once on the ground, “seems ta meh dat dere treh cood use a gewd buckin’. Workin’ hard and all dat.”

Nearby, a pony of similar appearance gave a loud facehoof before turning to the pony adjacent. “I don’t sound like that, do I?”

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, sat silent for a moment longer. Unchanged and completely stoic, but it didn’t hold for long, and before Pinkie lost all hope that her antics didn’t get through to her shocked friend, the cyan pegasus gave a quiet snicker. “That’s Applejack alright... hat and all.” The response was deathly low, as if she was trying desperately not to be heard by anything outside of the two ponies circle.

This was enough though. This sent the pink pony into an uncontrollable fit of joy. Leaping forward and scooping Dash into a hug, Pinkie Pie embraced her friend for what the small victory was worth. The widest of all her grins splayed out upon her face, and the happiest feelings danced in her heart. She had just made her friend smile, what else was there to life?