The danger met, the ponies in pairs, the heroes of past and present had joined forces to end the nightmare. Though the villain had picked his lair, he best beware, as he was facing the mighty Star Swirl the Bearded and didn’t have a prayer.

What pony or monster would dare to attempt to ensnare this mage extraordinaire? Why, the Pony of Shadows, a perhaps once square heir to the title of one who would defend Equestria’s welfare. While this twisted pony of darkness continued down the path of warfare, Star Swirl had power to spare to protect his associates; and unwelcome hangers-on’s welfare.

A shiny shield deserving of great fanfare went up from this wizard’s horn most rare. Nowhere was there a trace that Star Swirl and his band of prepared heroes would err, amazing even though most of the ponies there were, in fact - mares.

Even if these poor ponies were unaware that their strengths just couldn’t compa—

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE, SHUT THE BUCK UP YOU PATHETIC OLD MISOGYNIST!”

Startled from both magic and meter, Star Swirl dropped his shield; which would have been fatal for a number of ponies, if it weren’t for the fact that the Pony of Shadows likewise ceased his attack.

All eyes were now on Twilight Sparkle. Eyes belonging to over a dozen ponies, one small dragon and the looming, and somewhat confused looking, creator of shadow. For a moment, no pony said anything as they simply stood in place inside the massive hall of marble pillars holding up a brownstone ceiling among similarly colored walls.

If there was a hint that Twilight regretted her outburst, she didn’t outwardly show it. Instead, her eyes were still full of fire. An angry, raging fire that she directed at Star Swirl, even as her chest heaved up and down with heavy breaths.

Smirking to herself, Sunset Shimmer held out a forehoof. “Pay up,” she said to one of the purple entities standing by her.

Spike cleared his throat and gently ribbed Sunset in the side with an elbow.

Somewhat flustered expression on her face, Sunset put down her forehoof and then raised the other one to hold out in front of a different purple entity. “Pay up,” she repeated.

“Oh, no problem!” Starlight Glimmer exclaimed as her horn glowed electric blue for a moment. A bag full of bits appeared, “Totally worth it!” she added as the bag fell into Sunset’s waiting forehoof.

As his surprise abated, Star Swirl’s eyes filled with seething rage as the immediate threat of the Pony of Shadows was forgotten. Not that it mattered, Twilight was now holding everyponies’ attention regardless of prior intent.

Gathering enough wits to defend himself, Star Swirl began to speak. “You dare raise your voice at—”

“JUST SHUT UP!” Twilight demanded. “WHAT PART OF ‘SHUT THE BUCK UP’ WAS HARD TO UNDERSTAND, EXACTLY?!” She leaned forward, her breath striking hot against Star Swirl’s beard. “DID I STUTTER?! AM I NOT SPEAKING LOUD ENOUGH SO YOU CAN HEAR ME OVER THE CONSTANT WINDBAG WHICH NEVER EMPTIES THAT IS YOUR MOUTH?!” Twilight shook her head. “Starlight was right! This is all wrong!”

“Yay!” Starlight exclaimed happily.

“Shut up, Starlight,” Twilight said simply without bothering to make eye contact with her castlemate.

Star Swirl’s eyes widened in surprise as he began to stutter meekly “I…I…”

“SERIOUSLY! JUST SHUT THE BUCK UP FOR A MINUTE! OR LIKE, IS YOUR NEXT SENTENCE ANOTHER INCOMPLETE SPELL OF YOURS I NEED TO FINISH FOR YOU?!”

“Oh, clap!” Pinkie exclaimed as she clapped her forehooves together.

“Arrows have been let loose from their bows!” Flash Magnus exclaimed

Star Swirl began to shrink his shoulders, his eyes going wide. “Er, um, I…”

“LET ME HELP YOU OUT, THEN! ‘I, STAR SWIRL THE BEARDED, AM THE BIGGEST FLANK-HOLE EQUESTRIA HAS EVER SEEN OR SMELLED, AND I THINK JUST BECAUSE I KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT MAGIC TO BANISH MY PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY DEALING WITH THEM LIKE A BUCKING FUNCTIONAL ADULT, THAT I HAVE LICENSE TO TREAT OTHERS LIKE DIRT RATHER THEN FESS UP TO THE FACT I HAVE ZERO SOCIAL SKILLS AND AN INABILITY TO HELP ANYPONY WITHOUT, IN TURN, FOISTING MY PROBLEMS ON SOMEPONY ELSE?! THAT ABOUT COVER IT?!”

Raising their right forelegs, along with Spike who raised his right arm, Starlight, Sunset, and the small dragon pumped their right appendage in the air in a circular manner as they simultaneously shouted “Oooooooooooh!”

“Alright,” Applejack interrupted, “Ah hate to be that pony—”

“Then don’t!” Rainbow Dash interjected.

Eyes narrowing, Applejack continued, “Are we just going to ignore the giant shadowy monster in the room?”

“Oh, it’s fine,” The Pony of Shadows said. “Watching Star Swirl get dressed down by a mare is the best thing I’ve ever seen.” He shook his head. “Out of curiosity, has any pony ever told you that you should figure out how to chill?”

Her forehead tightening so hard and fast it almost looked like she’d pull a muscle up there, Applejack let out an exasperated sigh as Rarity and Rainbow Dash took their own turn pumping their forelegs in the air as they shouted “Oooooooooooh!”

Taking her attention off Star Swirl, Twilight shot a glare at the Pony of Shadows and leveled a forehoof. “And YOU! Spit out Stygian!”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me!” Twilight said. “Spit him out!”

The Pony of Shadows narrowed his eyes. “I will not just ‘spit out’ Stygian!”

The other ponies and dragon present turned their head one way then the other as attention was now focused on Twilight and the Pony of Shadows.

“Come on! Drop it! Droooop it!”

“No!”

“Don’t make me come in there!” Twilight said in a vaguely threatening tone.

The Pony of Shadows let out a short, derisive “Hah!” and shook his head. “As if you have the guts to—”

Rolling her eyes, Twilight took a quick leap and dove straight into the center of the Pony of Shadows, disappearing into the inky black mist.

“Holy crud!” Starlight bleated, her sentiment echoed by the ponies around her.

Sunburst’s eyes widened and his glasses nearly fell off his face as he leaned forward and gawked in surprise. “Well that’s not in any book I’ve read…”

Sunset just shook her head. “I’m telling you guys, Twilight has just completely run out of bucks to give at this point.”

“Uh…” The Pony of Shadows tapped at his chest, finding it was quite solid to his shadowy touch. “Is… is that what it’s like to be possessed? Wow, that’s unnerving…”

Giggling to herself, Pinkie reached into her mane. “I wonder what else we can throw in there!”

Her face bathed in a magenta glow from her horn, Twilight flapped through the inky blackness of the Pony of Shadows. Though the darkness of her surroundings seemed like it might swallow her whole into the oppressive and seemingly unending void of despair, it was somehow not nearly as frightening as the rage-filled glare still plastered across the Princess of Friendship’s face.

Spotting something besides more empty darkness, Twilight landed next to a grey pony in a beat-up tunic who was huddling on some sort of solid vertical plane of this shadow realm. “Are you Stygian?” Twilight asked.

“I was once. Until my friends betrayed me,” Stygian said in a sad tone.

“Not really how they tell it,” Twilight replied in a dry tone, “They say that you betrayed them. That you wanted their magic…”

“No!” Stygian insisted as a rubber ducky floated by in the darkness. “I wanted their respect! I brought them together. I planned strategy and I read all I could about the beasts we faced. But I didn’t have magic or stre—”

Twilight quickly placed a forehoof up to Stygian’s mouth. “Look, I didn’t ask for your boring life story. Why don’t we get out of this shadow entity and you can tell the whole thing to the Pillars?” she said, lowering her forehoof as a bit of cotton candy floated by. Twilight instead held her foreleg out as if she was offering Stygian to take it. “Come on, I’ll even help.”

Stygian narrowed his eyes, his azure irises and pupils suddenly replaced by empty white sockets that blazed with anger and shadow beginning to wrap about his body like a dark flame spilling out from him. “Even if my friends did still care, what makes you think you have the power to help me?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Hello? Princess of Friendsh—”

“Because it’s what she does,” Starlight said as she floated down behind Twilight in the darkness, the electric blue glow around her dissipating as she walked closer to the other ponies in the area. This elected an irritated glare and equally vexed growl from Twilight that Starlight seemingly took no notice of. Starlight continued in a soothing tone, “I wasn’t so different from you—”

Sunset’s voice suddenly bellowed inside the realm of shadow. “Starlight, get out of the nebulous shadow creature!”

Starlight turned and fired off a pout into the darkness. “But, I’m trying to help!”

“I’m pretty damn sure Twilight doesn’t need your help!” Sunset said. “As you said, ‘this is what she does’!” There was a sigh from Sunset Shimmer. “I swear, Starlight; I know you have relevant experience here, but not everything revolves around you, you know!”

Starlight puffed out her lower lip further. “But—”

“Wait,” Twilight said, “You can hear us out there?”

“Verily!” Rockhoof exclaimed.

There was a giggle from Somnambula. “We can hear everything! Tell Stygian he’s super forgiven!”

Stygian’s face lit up

“WHAT!” Star Swirl exclaimed. “I didn’t agree to—”

The sound of a ‘Smack!’ reverberated through the dark realm, Star Swirl punctuated his statement with a surprised yelp before mumbling something about an orange harlot who smelled like an exploded fermentation chamber and her devil parchment.

“Okay,” Twilight said, “but he can hear you all too, so…Uh, what’s the Pony of Shadows doing?”

“Dude, he’s totally freaking out!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

A quieter “Dang it, Pinkie!” was uttered from Sunset as a newspaper suddenly appeared and likewise drifted listlessly through empty space.

“WHAT IS HAPPENING?!” The Pony of Shadows exclaimed. “WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PONIES AND THINGS INSIDE ME?!”

“That is what SHE said!” Mistmane called out much to the delight of the ponies outside the shadows.

Twilight simply sighed and shook her head. “Starlight, can you give us some space?”

“Oh… okay,” Starlight replied in a gloomy tone. “But, are you sure you don’t—”

“I got this,” Twilight stressed. “Just wait outside with the others, alright?”

Starlight took a deep breath. “Alright, fine,” she said dejectedly as she turned. Her horn began glowing electric blue again, fully encompassing her in a similar glow as she began to float past a large, wooden grandfather clock.

Twilight cried out into the void. “AND PINKIE, STOP THROWING THINGS INSIDE THE GIANT MONSTER OF PURE DARKNESS!”

“Awwww…” Pinkie’s voice replied in a sad tone.

Twilight turned back to Stygian. “Now then, were where we?”

“You said you could help me.”

Twilight nodded. “Totally. I can absolutely do that.”

“Stygian, just come out here!” Mage Meadowbrook shouted. “Mistmane and Ah just grew your favorite cake!”

Flash Magnus spoke up. “Aye! And Pinkie Pie has already begun hanging up streamers in this stone temple of evil!”

“See!” Twilight said motioning to the emptiness behind her. “Let’s just get out of here and you can come celebrate with everypony and talk out your problems like a normal pony instead of throwing a magical fit and threatening the world with extinction.”

“HEY! We HEARD that!” Starlight exclaimed.

“Good!” Twilight shouted back. “You were meant to!”

“Fine!” Starlight growled back. “But Sunset and I are not- Sunset?! Why are you laughing?!”

Stygian grit his teeth as his eyes glowed white once more and shadow began to completely overtake his body. “I… I want to believe you…” He let out a short growl. “But the darkness will not be st—"

With a magenta glow from her horn, Twilight ripped the newspaper from the open air and brought it across Stygian’s face with a light ‘thwap!’

“Ow!” Stygian meeped as his eyes once again returned to normal and the shadows around him dissipated somewhat. He shot Twilight a somewhat hurt glance as the princess released the newspaper from her magic and glared upwards. “Hey, Pony of Shadows! I’m taking Stygian. Deal with it!”

“Uh… erm… FOOL!” The Pony of Shadows bellowed. “I will not simply release Stygian!” The darkness shifted, somehow becoming blacker with ill intent. “But perhaps if some pony where to trade places…”

A dual snicker belonging to Sunset and Starlight could be heard.

Twilight simply let out an exasperated sigh and raised a forehoof to her head. “Let’s go…” she said to Stygian as her horn glowed magenta and she enclosed Stygian in her magic.

“Erm, but…”

“It’s FINE!” Twilight stressed as she fapped her wings, lifting off as she levitated Stygian to follow. “Don’t worry about it,” she added as a familiar heap of beard, bells, and pony flew into the shadows, screaming the entire time.

Light mixed with darkness as laughter poured forth from the Pony of Shadows. Evil laughter that reverberated over the stone walls with their menacing descriptions and frightful statues. As the cackling grew, so did the creature himself, his blazing body of white and black growing large enough to touch the ceiling of the massive cavern the ponies, and single dragon, found themselves in.

Applejack shot Sunset and Starlight a glare. “So,” Applejack began, “at what point did it seem like a good idea to give the giant shadow monster a super-powerful wizard as a vessel?”

Sunset simply sneered back at Applejack. “Oh, come on! Pretty much every pony here was at least thinking it!”

“Oh, really?” Applejack said dryly. “Even Fluttershy?”

“Erm… especially Fluttershy,” Fluttershy replied as Mage Meadowbrook nodded in agreement.

Applejack let out a sigh. “Well, Ah’m sure Ah’ve had worst days than this one, but this is still a pretty cruddy day to be my last.”

Making landfall and gently lowering her cargo to the ground, Twilight relinquished Stygian to the other Pillars. She then glared over the ponies and dragon present, her gaze focusing on two ponies in particular. Two ponies who - even as maniacal laughter echoed throughout the hall, looked back at Twilight like cats who had just broke into a canary store and had a feeding frenzy.

“What?!” Sunset said in a protesting tone as she floated a particularly plump looking grape from a nearby snack table that had been set up and popped it into her mouth.

“We can’t just get rid of Star Swirl by offering him to the Pony of Shadows!”

A series of annoyed protests erupted amongst the ponies.

“But if we banish the Pony of Shadows now, that’s two PoSs at once!” Spike pointed out. “Sounds like a good idea to me!”

Applejack took a step forward. “As much as I don’t like the old coot either, don’t we kinda need him to banish anything? Ah thought we had to pair up and all that…”

Somnambula pushed Stygian closer. “Twilight can try pairing up with Stygian!” she suggested as a slight blush appeared on Stygian’s face.

The Pony of Shadows laughed once more. “Do you simpletons really think you can simply SUBSTITUTE A—”

“Dude,” Sunset called out, “There’s like… uh…” Somewhat clumsily, Sunset attempted to count how many ponies were present. “…A LOT OF us! And one of you! We just don’t CARE!”

“You foolish ponies honestly think your power compares to mine!?”

“Uh, no d’uh?” Pinkie replied.

“Perhaps you were a match when we first met, but with the power of Star Swirl and my Well of Shade, I’m invi—”

“Then we’ll just BLOW UP this place!” Starlight exclaimed.

“But, erm, it’s of historical significance!” Sunburst protested. “We didn’t even know it existed until just now!”

“Erm… YES! Listen to the scholarly po—!”

“Just SHUT UP!” Twilight shouted “Every pony! SHUT UP!”

The Pony of Shadow glared menacingly at the tiny purple princess bellow him. “YOU DARE—”

“PoS, SHUT UP!” Twilight screamed.

“BUT, PRIN—”

“NO, HEY! SHUT UP!”Twilight narrowed her eyes. “It’s Twilight time!”

Simply staring down at the pony who was but a mere fraction of its size, the Pony of Shadows remained quiet this time.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight turned to face the other ponies. “Again! We can’t just banish or destroy the Pony of Shadows with Star Swirl inside him!”

Sunset smirked. “I’m fairly certain we’re powerful enough to do just that.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Twilight said. “We can’t do it because it’s morally repugnant.”

“Oh, right, right!” Starlight said as a sudden realization seemed to come over her. “I’ve always had a bit of a blind spot with those... things…”

Applejack cocked her head slightly. “Uh, Ah guess partially in the interest of not being ‘that pony’ anymore, Twilight, don’t tell me you still like Star Swirl?”

“I still like what he’s done for the field of magic and probably some of the times he’s saved pony kind,” Twilight countered. “And no, I don’t like the way he’s acted or treated you guys or, me. The doesn’t mean he deserves to be banished to Limbo orkilled!”

Sunset popped a few more grapes into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “Dohesn’t it though~?” she slurred out in a warble.

Twilight glared at Sunset. “Sunset, could I get you to shut up for a minute while I make my point?”

Sunset’s turquoise eyes opened slightly. “Yeah, alright. That’s fair…”

Twilight continued, “Star Swirl’s behavior is deplorable. Just horrible… But it’s not like any of you have come up with any ideas besides straight up murdering or pummeling the guy!”

Sunset and Starlight both chuckled to themselves. “Yeah…” they uttered wistfully.

Twilight let out a groan. “Look, this is a friendship problem, right? The answer can’t be 'just give up on Star Swirl! That’s basically the same solution you were all getting on Star Swirl’s case about!”

The group went quiet, merely shifting uncomfortably at Twilight’s words.

The Pony of Shadows cleared its throat. “So… Should we have that epic showdown now, or…”

“No,” Twilight said simply as she disappeared with a magenta glow of her horn and a ‘pomff’, only to reappear a split-second later with a screaming Star Swirl huddled in a mass of his own jingly cape.

“Awwwwwwwwwww…” The Pony of Shadows exclaimed as he began to shrink down to a size only slightly larger than the average pony and a shape that had turned vaguely grandfather-clockish.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH—”

Twilight not so gently kicked at Star Swirl with a forehoof. “Would you stop screaming! I already rescued you!”

“AAAAAAAHHHHH-Oh…” Star Swirl said as he opened his eyes and noted his world was no longer that of pure darkness and shadow. “Okay, then…” Star Swirl got back up to his hooves with an expression that at least suggested he still held onto all the dignity he had when he first entered the gorge. “I suppose you’re expecting a ‘Thank you’, strumpet,” he said, floating his bell hat back atop his head and adjusting it.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “No. Now apologize!”

Star Swirl narrowed his eyes at Twilight. “What?!” he exclaimed in a tone that was clearly demanding an explanation.

Twilight swatted a forehoof across Star Swirl’s face. “I just pulled you out of a undimension that you’d have spent with some sort of depressing shadow creature with for all of eternity if you both survived the next few minutes!”

The Pony of Shadows raised a forehoof. “I’m still confident I could have won!”

Spike folded his arms across his chest. “Twilight took Star Swirl out of you, in like… a second. Do you think she’d have not thought of that if she wanted to fight you?”

The Pony of Shadows sighed heavily and hung his dark ethereal head. “I miss my music…” he muttered to himself.

Twilight continued glaring at Star Swirl, “The least you can do is apologize for how you’ve treated everypony today!”

Star Swirl put on a flabbergasted look as if he couldn’t process what was being said to him. “What?”

‘Smack!’

“What country are you from, Star Swirl?”

“… What?!”

‘Pow!”

"I’ve studied the globe and ‘What’ is not a country I’ve ever seen! Do they speak Equestrian in ‘What?’

“… What?!”

‘Clober!’

“ ‘Equestrian’, mother bucker?! Do. You. Speak. It?!”

“… Yes!”

“Then you understand the words I’m speaking to you right now!”

“… Yes!”

“Then use your words to apologize to my friends and I!”

“… What?”

Twilight’s horn suddenly blazed with magenta energy, her own horn seemingly humming with killing intent. “Say ‘What’ again! Come on! Say ‘What’ again! I dare you, I double dare you motherbucker, say ‘What’ one more Celestia damned time!”

Star Swirl simple mumbles incoherently before offering a weak, “I- I’m sorry…”

“Didn’t quite catch that!” Twilight said, her horn glowing all the brighter.

“I… I’m sorry, Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Star Swirl said hastily. “My behavior since you rescued me and my friends from Limbo has been inexcusable.” Star Swirl swallowed as he looked at the blaze of pure magic energy coming from Twilight’s horn. “I can see that now.”

“Now apologize to my friends! Especially Starlight and Spike!”

Star Swirl took a deep breath and turned to Starlight and Spike. “I’m… sorry… Starlight… You’ve proven that even a once evil pony… can uh… erm… Adjust well enough to be a contributing member of society, I suppose.”

Pinkie snickered. “Jury’s still out on that one…”

“HEY!” Starlight protested.

“Mind controooool~” Pinkie sang with a smile on her face.

Starlight sighed and muttered out a small. “Fair…”

Star Swirl turned to Spike. “Erm, and you…. uh… devilish Imp… I’m sorry that uh… you’re a devilish imp.”

Rarity scoffed. “That was barely an apology! That was a back-hoofed apology at best.”

Spike simply shrugged. “You know what, I got laid today… I ain’t even mad.”

Star Swirl turned toward Twilight, an annoyed glare on his face. “I trust that will suffice?”

“No,” Twilight replied as an uncharacteristically devilish grin crossed her face. “Now apologize, to Sunset.”

“WHAT?!”

‘BzzzzZZZZAAAP!”

Sunburst let out a distressed yelp as Star Swirl glanced up frightfully at the spot the bell hat he had been wearing had just occupied before Twilight disintegrated it.

“Apologize to Sunset Shimmer right bucking now!” Twilight demanded.

After a moment of careful consideration, Star Swirl replied with a simple “… Incinerate me.”

“… What?!” Twilight replied, a word that was soon echoed by all present but Sunset who simply found herself smirking.

“I said ‘incinerate me’! I would rather die than apologize to that temper tantrum throwing harlot!”

Sunset’s turquoise eyes rolled around her eye sockets so hard that the night only visible through the hole in the ceiling above turned day for a moment. “Christ, dude…The pot is so black here that it’s absorbing light.”

“Uh…” The Pony of Shadow raised a forehoof. “Racist much?”

“You wanted to cover the world in darkness!” Sunset snapped. “You don’t count!”

“Wow! Rude!” The Pony of Shadows replied. “Just because I’m a creature created out of pure jealousy and sadness who craves the despair he causes other ponies, doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings.”

Sunset mealy ignored the comment and turned. “Twilight, it’s fi—”

—With a glow of her horn, Starlight gently lifted and turned Sunset so she was facing Twilight. —

“—ne. I was going to tell Mr. Pot there to unroll it and shove it up his flank-hole sideways, anyways!”

Eyes filling and then spilling over with pure hated, Star Swirl glared at Sunset as he stomped towards her. “Madam! You are by far the worse creature I’ve ever met in my travels, and I have fought beasts that defy description!”

The Pillars all gasped.

“Oh my…” Meadowbrook uttered. “That includes the horror beast of Id.”

The rest of the Pillars shuddered.

“It was all genitals…” Rockhoof murmured as he stared far, far into the distance.

Mistmane shrugged. “Well, I had a good time…”

Sunset’s eyes furrowed. “What’ssa matter? The mirrors you make portals to dump your problems out of stop reflecting when they’re done? Or maybe they just do that as a defense mechanism!”

With the exception of Sunset’s, every single jaw in the area dropped.

“Oh… Oh clap!” The Pony of Shadows uttered as he attempted to clap his forehooves together. “Oh geez… They’re just shadow… Could somepony…?”

“I gotcha, boo!” Pinkie shouted out as she clapped her hooves together.

Somnambula turned towards Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle, please hold your magic. There is no need to incinerate Star Swirl at this point…” She glanced at the bearded pony whose face was contorted in absolute rage and shame. “There is simply nothing left to burn.”

“I… You… You dare… Tongue lashing…!”

The Pillars collectively collected their jaws off the ground. Flash Magnus’s wing suddenly flew up in the air. “And I do believe that’s the end of the dual Sunset and Star Swirl started. Game set and match.” He looked about his peers. “All in favor of making Sunset Shimmer the new leader of the Pillars?”

“Aye!” the pillars cried, Flash Magnus’s voice joining them.

“What?!” Star Swirl roared. “Neigh! 1,000 times neigh!”

“The ‘aye’s have it!”

“WHAT?!” Star Swirl protested. “How DARE you all! My vote counts for—”

‘POW!’

Star Swirl was once again cut off by yet another newspaper that was smashed against the side of his face.

“Your vote counts for ShQUAT in MY new Pillarsh!” Sunset exclaimed. “OR shall I say, Shunset Shihmmer’s Kick-ass Team of ASS kickersssh!”

“Please no…” Star Swirl murmured in quiet horror.

Rarity nodded. “You might want to workshop that name, darling… It’s potentially offensive to donkeys…”

“WORKSHOP LATER! POWER TRIP NOW!” Sunset shouted. She leveled a forehoof at Star Swirl. “Now your only job ish to fetch me drinks and tell me how pretty I am every day!”

Star Swirl let out a tortured groan and turned towards Twilight. “Are you certain I can’t convince you to incinerate me?”

Twilight let out a small chuckle, the tension she had felt up to this point finally beginning to leave her body.

“What about me?!” Demanded the Pony of Shadows.

“Erm.. What about you?” Fluttershy replied, her sentiments clearly echoing that of her comrades.

“I’ve had something taken from me! I demand recompense!”

The ponies present all exchanged confused glances.

“Or you’ll what?!” Starlight asked.

“Or... erm… I’ll ABSORB the ambient energy of this dark place and destroy you all!”

His face tightening, Spike raised a claw, palm facing upwards. “If you could have done that, wouldn’t you have done that already?”

“I uh… erm…” The Pony of Shadows closed his eyes and began to quake. “It’s… it’s working!” The Pony of Shadows grunted. “I can… huff…puff… FEEL myself growing LARGER!” he exclaimed, clearly not growing larger at all.

Sunburst just stared at the Pony of Shadows in amazement, floating off his glasses momentarily to clean them with the end of his cape and placing them back on his muzzle as if he couldn’t believe what he was watching. “This… this is the saddest thing I have ever seen, and I once caught myself in the mirror after I forgot to shower or even leave my house after a couple weeks of binge reading.”

The ponies around Sunburst let out various noises of disgust.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh, like we all haven’t been there before…”

“Uh, Twi—”

—Everypony around Sunset reached out and spun her to face Twilight and not Spike.—

“—light. Literally no other pony here besides you and Sunburst has done that before…”

“Oh…” Twilight said with a slightly embarrassed smile as Pinkie giggled to herself as she tossed salt water taffy into the Pony of Shadows.

“THERE! I just grew like… Half a hooves length!”

“Just stop, alright?” Twilight said. “Look, I have a solution that’s mostly beneficial to everypony!”

“Really?!” The Pony of Shadow exclaimed, his dark face lighting up with a smile.

A series of concerned murmurs rolled through the crowd of ponies.

Starlight leaned in close to Sunset. “What is she talking about?” she whispered quietly.

“No idea,” Sunset replied, not nearly as quietly, “but with Twilight qualifying that statement with mostly, even I’m pretty worried here.”

“Oh, Starlight~” Twilight called out playfully. “Can you come over here for a moment please.”

Sunset cringed as Starlight swallowed. The purple unicorn trottedup slowly to Twilight, a worried expression on her face. “Y-yes, Twilight?” Starlight stammered out. “Oh bestest, best friend in the world?”

“Oh, Starlight, relax!” Twilight said with a dismissive wave of a forehoof. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You’re not?” Starlight replied as Sunset let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

“Of course not, silly!” Twilight said with a smile on her face. “I just need your help for a moment…” With that, Twilight leaned in close to Starlight and began whispering in her ear. Starlight’s eyes opened in surprise before her face relaxed and a wicked smile overtook the concern.

“Oh, Oooooh… I’m so game…” Starlight said.

“Game?” Sunset said. “Game for—”

Without warning, Twilight’s horn glazed with black energy that arched out like lightning above her. The bolts ended in a small disk-like hole that began to grow to accompanied by an ill, reverberating sound like fabric being torn inside an amplified echo chamber.

Pinkie Pie gasped. “Star Swirls back-end hole!”

“Ick…” Sunset exclaimed.

Applejack shook her head. “Just be glad you haven’t seen the inside of it.”

“… Fair,” Sunset said, “but why…?”

Starlight’s horn immediately began to glow with her magic and the sounds of reality falling apart were suddenly accompanied by a continuous terrified, confused bleat as Grogar was snatched forcefully from deep inside the dimensional colon. Encased in the glow of Starlight’s magic, he was quickly tossed into the mass of darkness that was the Pony of Shadows to the sound of breaking glass, wood, and gonging bells.

“Gah!” The Pony of Shadows exclaimed. “I taste… goat… and power…” he added with a grim smile as he began to grow and grow. “So much… malevolent energy!” Twisted horns began to sprout from the Pony of Shadows’ head as both fangs and tusks erupted from his jaws. “Why… I’VE BECOME MORE POWERFUL THAN I’VE EVER BEEN!” The malevolent mist now reached well up into the ceiling of the massive stone halls, his blackness spilling out and filling the world around him. “I’VE BECOME UNSTOP—”

“Alright, Element Bearers and Pillars!” Twilight called out. “Let him have it!”

“WHAT?! WAIT! NOOOOOOOO!”

Half a dozen brightly colored beams suddenly flew forth from the Elements of Harmony as their bearers stood side-by-side their Pillar counterparts. The Pony of Shadows howled in pain as the beams coalesced behind him, this time ripping open a portal of swirling pastel purple and blue. As the shadows and the creator which they sprung from began to empty into this new portal like water down a drain, a beam of red magic suddenly fired from Sunset Shimmer’s horn... pointlessly destroying a random stone pillar until Spike gently placed a claw on the back of Sunset’s head and redirected her beam to strike the Pony of Shadows. Sunset’s magic was followed by an electric blue beam belonging to Starlight, and finally, a green jet of flame erupted from Spike’s mouth.

Being pulled at by the portal behind him and pushed back by the magic and fire in front of him, the Pony of Shadows let out one last scream just as Grogar burst forth from the darkness. The twisted goat letting out a few more desperate bleats as it attempted to dig its hooves into the ground before it was swallowed by the portal to limbo.

Then there was only time for one small cry of, “Oh no! The snack table!” from Pinkie as everypony’s world exploded with color.

With a gasp and a strained grunt, two purple forelegs appeared over the side of the newly enlarged hole leading to the remains of the Well of Shade. With a resolute expression on her face, Twilight pulled herself up out of the hole as her friends flew up, levitated up, climbed up, or were floated up behind her.

“Hey, Twilight!” Sunset shouted out. “Whatsamatter?! Forget you could fly?!”

“I… hey shut up!” Twilight protested, unable to conceal a small smile on her face. “Why aren’t you flying, then?!”

Starlight gently lowered Sunset to the ground as the orange alicorn smirked at Twilight, “I’m so drunk I wasn’t sure I yelling at you and not Spike… What’s your excuse?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Twilight said, her smile growing. “Okay… bring it here you, two.” Twilight said as she leaned forward and took Sunset and Starlight in a surprise hug.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she stretched out with all four of her limbs and her wings. “Oh, it felt soooo good to do that again!”

Pinkie Pie beamed widely. “Friendship Power rush! Whoo!” she exclaimed as she leaped several meters into the air, embraced Rainbow Dash a mid-air tackle hug, and sent both ponies falling back down into the Well of Shadows.

“Pinkie Pie what the BUCK!” Rainbow Dash screamed as she quickly rocketed back to the surface, her forelegs grasping tightly to one of Pinkie’s back legs.

“Whoops! My bad!” Pinkie said from her upside-down position.

Rarity took a moment to look down at her chest, noting a familiar gold clasp with a large, purple diamond-shaped gem inside of it. “The Elements! They didn’t disappear!”

Smile on her face, Fluttershy spoke up, “Maybe because we didn’t banish anypony? Erm, except the Pony of Shadows that is, and that awful, awful goat… They totally got banished.”

“Look!” Applejack said as she pointed towards the edge of the crater.

Holding a foreleg down into the pit, Star Swirl lifted Stygian up and onto the flat surface around it.

Breaking the three-pony hug, Sunset sighed. “Okay, did like… every pony with a magical horn but me forget they could either fly, levitate, or even teleport?!” Sunset shook her head. “I had to remind Starlight she could levitate, and I’m pretty sure both you purple ponies here have teleported into the bathroom, at least once, just because you didn’t feel like getting up!”

“Can confirm!” Spike shouted.

Starlight and Twilight both chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of their heads.

Glancing up and away for a moment, Star Swirl took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned to face Stygian. “Long ago, you needed our help, Stygian. But instead of listening, we turned our backs on you.” Star Swirl opened his eyes. “Pride clouded my judgement.” He placed a forehoof on Stygian’s shoulder briefly. “I owe you an apology.”

Pinkie Pie gasped as Rainbow Dash let her fall roughly to the ground with an “Ooff!” Where she proceeded to gasp again without bothering to even get up off her back. “OF COURSE!” She pointed at Star Swirl. “It was Grogar! Grogar was the reason Star Swirl was such a big, big meany pants!”

Star Swirl’s head immediately swiveled about so that he could glower in Pinkie’s direction. “INSOLENT PINK ANNOYANCE!” he snapped. “CAN’T YOU SEE I’M TRYING TO MAKE MY APOLOGIES!”

“Or, uh… He’s just a jerk…” Pinkie concluded.

Star Swirl turned to face Twilight. “Speaking of apologies, I owe you one, still… Thank you for helping us see the errors of our way, Strump-er Twilight…”

Twilight just smiled and nodded. “Apology accepted.”

Star Swirl returned the nod then cringed as he turned. “And you, too, erm… Sun-” Star Swirl coughed and sputtered. “-Sun-Sun-Se—” Star Swirl coughed again, this time his cough becoming throaty and harsh. “-Su-Su-Sun Se—” Star Swirl collapsed and doubled over, this time coughing as if he might eject both his lungs.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “… Would it be better if I just preemptively told you to take your apology and shove it shidewaysh up your dark back-hole?”

Star Swirl took a phlegmy inhale through his nose and got back to his hooves. “Yes… yes it would.”

“Okay then,” Sunset said. Her face tightened slightly. “You can take your friggin’ apology and shove it shidewaysh up your dark back-hole!”

Star Swirl nodded. “Right, of course…”

“And that goes double for that sssshhtupid looking cape of yoursh!”

Star Swirl narrowed his eyes at Sunset.

Sunburst laughed nervously. “Let’s not… let’s not get too personal here…”

“Quite,” Star Swirl said. “Well, Twilight,” he said refocusing his attention to the purple princess present. “It seems I never accounted for the Magic of Friendship.”

Pinkie kissed a forehoof and waved it in the air. “Gooood-night everybody!” she said to nopony in particular.

Spike snickered. “Hey, you keep this up and maybe you’ll be Equestria’s next Prin—”

In a blinding white light, Star Swirl was suddenly gone, replaced by a small, smoldering crater.

“—cess…” Spike concluded, a look of dread suddenly coming over his face.

Her jaw hanging agape, Twilight turned to the obvious culprits. Starlight and Sunset both just shrugged and shook their heads in a ‘Wasn’t me!’ fashion.

“Uh…” Rainbow Dash stared down at the still smoking spot Star Swirl had stood in moments prior. “Did Star Swirl just explode randomly?!”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile to herself. “Uh-oh, SshpaghettiOs!”

“Sunset!” Twilight snapped.

“Whaaaat?!” Sunset replied coyly.

Author's Note

Managed to pause Shadow Play Part II at the perfect moment.

"Starlight, you little shit!"