Author's Note

Can Make All The Difference In The World...

(Statement on hiatus to be made briefly.)

XXX - The Right Man In The Wrong Place

"So... What's the plan?"

"Plan?"

"Sunset, we're hanging from the ceiling of a cave-"

"Rabbit hol-"

"Twilight, I swear to God."

"Well, as a simple redhead, I don't remember bringing scissors capable of cutting through vines a foot thick."

"I don't remember asking for attitude."

"And I don't remember asking for you to screw off to some cave-"

"Rabbit hol-"

"Shut it, Twi!"

"Listen Sunset, I'm black. When I get hit by a shovel, it does more than knock me out."

"Does more? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Hello? Is there an echo in here? Talk about an ominous cave-"

"Rabbit hol-"

"I'm going to sew your motherfuckin' clit shut!"

Hanging from the ceiling like cocoons, Noah, Sunset, and Twilight remained for what seemed like hours bickering amongst each other like five-year-olds in an attempt to figure a way out.

Outside had seemingly gotten rough as the ceiling had multiple pebbles fall from it with the sounds of smashing, crashing, and slamming filling the empty cave, er, rabbit hole.

"Even if we do manage to get out of here, how are we supposed to fight back? Let alone sew my vagina closed."

Sunset sighed, "She's right. This whole time, your necklace has been missing. Did she snatch it up?"

"Probably. Judging from her crazed state, she most likely knew there was magic inside it. After trying to get into it so much and failing constantly, she would've put it somewhere for safekeeping."

Noah added, "Yeah, and I've been in here for days. Though those gummies were the sh-, delicious, I haven't seen my necklace anywhere. And this cave, don't do it, is laughably small."

Twilight asked, "So, then where do you suppose she put it?"

Sunset turned, "I bet she took it with her. Seeing as this is the final battle, she probably is thinking of using it as a backup. How, I doubt even she knows. Jeez, this is stupid."

Noah narrowed his eyes, "Then it's settled. Once we're out of here, I'll get the jump on her and take back my necklace. Using it and aiding our friends to defeat her. We just gotta hope they'll last 'til then."

"Okay," Twilight began, "But again, how are we getting out of here, exactly?"

Sunset faced Twilight and stared. As if they were synchronized, Twilight shook her head, resistant, and began to panic like a Japanese cartoon character.

"O-Oh, no! No way! Not a chance! Not a single chance, Sunset!"

"But Twi, we have to! What other option do we have besides chewing our way out? We've been up here so long, Spike has fallen asleep!"

"But Sunset, what about-"

"I know, but we don't need you to go all out. We just need a little to get out of here! Please! There isn't much time, and Noah is just gonna get more and more annoying!"

Noah questioned, "Okay, one: Screw you. Two: Did I miss something while I was gone? Why are you talking to Twilight like she has some sort of hidden power?"

"Because she does. While you were away, we discovered that because of the magic from Everfree, we had secret abilities within us. Stupid, I know-"

"Oh, very stupid."

"But we can still use them to defeat Gloriosa and save Everfree. And that stupid dock that I can only imagine has been destroyed a third time by now."

"Wait, so what are these abilities you guys have conjured?"

"It'll have to wait. Twilight? We could reallybenefit from you right now."

Twilight stared at the vine surrounding her neck. She could feel her head getting heavier and heavier as the blood slowly yet surely rushed to her head. If they didn't get down soon, they'd all suffer a brain hemorrhage. And those were the opposite of fun.

"Sunset, Noah, if I do this, and I go berserk, I want you two to know I've never had such friends like you guys. I've always been an outcast, but you guys just let me in like I was meant to be. And for that, I thank you. I'm so grateful. And I-"

Noah nodded frantically, "Yes, yes, yeah, I know. I'm the best friend you've ever had and can't imagine life without me. Now please hurry up so I may confront my life issues while still having one."

Twilight stared at the vines intently and felt pressure rush to her brain like she just ate a mouthful of rocky road. The vine began to blow from its seems before rushing out to envelop it in its entirety.

It moved. Just by half an inch, but it moved regardless, and it wasn't done either. As Twilight applied pressure, the glow intensified, and the vine moved ever so much more.

Twilight gritted her teeth as the vine proved to be more of a pain than she thought, but she continued. It shook and rattled like a baby's toy as Twilight's psychokinetic's toyed with it.

Twilight began to sweat, and Noah spoke up, concerned. "Hey, uh, are you okay? This looks a lot harder than I was anticipating..."

"Twilight spoke through her teeth, "I'm struggling because of these vines! They're putting so much pressure on me, I can only use my head! Damn you, Gloriosa!"

"Alrighty, just gonna sit this one out. Never piss off the quiet kids..."

The vine began to do more than shake, it rose. Away from Twilight's neck, she felt a substantial amount of her stamina return to her. With that, she applied more and more pressure.

Vines from all about her body began to do the same as the original. They moved an inch before shaking and eventually rising from her body. All across, green motioned like a tidal wave.

Noah and Sunset watched in awe as the vines moved more and more effortlessly. Twilight went from struggling to using the vines like they were a part of her all along.

They crowded around her but hung in the air. Though a few stuck to her legs as they gently brought her to the ground and on her feet. Like a goddess of water, Twilight levitated.

Her feet reached the ground after not too long, and the vines vanished into the rabbit hole. Squirming into the cracks out of sight like parasites from a distant planet.

"Well... That was... A-A thing," Noah spoke up as the glow around Twilight's hands dissipated. He was astounded. Is this how they felt when I transformed? He pondered.

Sunset smiled, "Nice work, Twi! Now, uh, you wouldn't mind helping us down too, would you?"

Twilight turned about to face them and exhaled. "Not at all, but I won't go any further than this. Got it?"

"Sure."

Twilight lifted her right hand and the sensation from before returned to her. Like a toddler, it played around and about with her fingers before intertwining and becoming one with them. Power was truly at Twilight's fingertips.

The vines around Sunset began to buckle and bust. Quietly screeching as they released their grip on the girl. Sunset, unlike Twilight, felt tingly as the vines pulled away from her skin. Like it was literal water bending before her very eyes and over her body.

As for Noah, he jumped at the slightest feeling of the movement of the vines. To him, they were like prehistoric worms attempting to molest him, but slowly backing away as the sound of sirens filled the air.

He wasn't different for nothing.

The vines brought Sunset from the roof of the... The... T-The rabbit cave, and stood her up on the rocks again as if she never left the floor. Similar to those around Twilight, the vines shrunk into the walls like they were meant to be.

Noah simply fell.

"Ow!" He shouted, troubled. "Dang it, my back! Twilight! What the heck, man!?"

Twilight reddened, "Sorry! I-I'm so sorry! My grip just felt irregular around you, and I was trying to get away as quick as I could! Sunset was like sand while you were like sandpaper! I-It didn't feel right!"

"Why?! Because I'm bla-"

"Noah," Sunset interrupted, "Don't you dare start. We need to go stop Gloriosa before our friends are trapped forever. Don't we?"

Noah rolled his eyes, "Whatever... prick..."

Twilight took a deep breath as the glow from her hands returned to their proper place in reality. "So, what's the plan?"

"The plan? Oh, it's rather simple."

Sunset folded her arms, "And what plan have you conceived to be so simple that it'd be enough to stop Gloriosa?"

"The magic of friendship! ...Holy crap, did I just say that garbage?"

Noah, Sunset, Twilight, and an awoken Spike emerged from the rabbit cave and fell like pawns to the raw brightness of the mighty sun. Specifically Noah, of course.

"Ah! Dang sun! Why is it so bright?!"

"I mean," Spike began, "We were underground for a while. You for days. Makes sense why it would be so strong as your eyes aren't used to it."

"Oh, shut up, you nerd!"

"Hey!" Twilight intervened, "Don't call my dog a nerd!"

"You're both nerds anyway! Who the heck pays attention to anything in school?!"

"Noah!" Sunset yelled, rather irritated. "We need to move fast! What's the plan for stopping Gloriosa?! It sounds like our friends are putting in work, but we need to get this over with!"

Emerging from the rabbit cave and rushing through the forest, the four of our heroes quickly came across a large wall made entirely of vines surrounding the main area.

As they stood at the wall, the four heard the rest of the Rainbooms attack Gloriosa with all they had. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough. With that, the four of them worked on a plan. Noah at the helm.

Noah folded his arms, "Whatever you bums." He sighed, "Okay, here's the plan. These vines are pretty thick, so I bet I could climb them. Sunset, Twilight, you're gonna enter the area and distract Gloriosa with the rest of the girls. And Spike, you're gonna go get us help if we may need it. But don't do anything stupid.

"When I reach the top, I'm going to position myself, pray, and jump off the side of the wall. Hopefully, if you guys do your job flawlessly, I'll jump onto her, grab my necklace wherever it may be, and then the real party begins.

"From there, we hit Gloriosa with everything we've got. A few punches here, a few kicks there, a couple of interdimensional blasts from our bodies there, and Gaia will leave, bringing Gloriosa back to her original self.

"Any objections?"

Noah looked to his left. Twilight stood timidly, yet still at attention. As for Spike, he had already runoff. Leaving a barely noticeable trail as the bushes he ran through shuffled.

On his right, Sunset grabbed his shoulder, "Hey, we've been here before. At least I have. You should know by now that failing isn't on our list. I'd expect you to."

"So... That's a no?"

"Of course that's a no."

Sunset and Twilight moved past Noah and approached a part of the vine wall together. The two stared at the green menace that appeared more threatening than it should've.

Sunset laid a hand on Twilight's shoulder, "Hey. You got this. Right? I get you're stuck in a dilemma, but we need you more than ever."

Twilight made a fist as she stared. The green within the vines stared back. It wasn't the wall that scared her, to be exact. It was what was on the other side.

Twilight breathed, "Yeah... Yeah, y-yeah I got this! I'll... I know I can!"

Twilight raised her hands to the wall and the sensation returned as her fingers glowed, and the vines began to shift. All the while, Sunset stared at Noah as he gripped two vines with his left and right.

"Hey," she spoke, and Noah turned his attention to her.

"Hm?"

"Are we just gonna drop this? I... I'm kind of worried about our..."

Noah turned away from Sunset, breaking her heart a bit, and spoke rather cold. "Let's focus on our friends not being trapped in this pit of grass."

Sunset looked away but ultimately acknowledged his request. He wasn't wrong after all, she just felt... Down about it. Like he was trying to avoid the conversation.

"Hey Sunset, we're good to go. You ready?"

Sunset took a deep breath, "Yeah, let's do this."

Twilight and Sunset stepped through the opening, and the vines returned to their positions immediately. Meaning even if he wanted, Noah couldn't just walk on in. He had to climb.

He stared at the wall as he placed a foot on a vine. "Okay... Time to get to work..."

...

"Gloriosa, please!" Timber shouted. "You've gotta stop this while there's still time! You could trap us all in here to die! You have to listen to me! Please!"

"That's not your sister."

Timber, surrounded by brown vines, turned about to find Sunset Shimmer standing defiantly, with Twilight behind. The rest of the Rainbooms saw this and cheered as they approached the two.

Rainbow Dash spoke first, "Where the hell have you guys been?!"

"Later, we've gotta get Timber while she's distract-"

*Crunch!*

The vines enveloped Timber like wrapping paper as they continued to grow. The girls were forced to step back as they appeared to do so at an alarming rate.

"No!" Twilight yelled, terrified for his safety.

The vines hauled him up to the increasingly shrinking roof as Gaia Everfree began to bellow to those below her. Her voice shaking every inch of grass and pounding against the eardrums of the girls.

"Is this not spectacular? Is this not grand? Magnificent? Noble? Incredible? I'm protecting this wonderous forest from evil corporate greed! I'm ensuring that my campers get to have the best trip they could ever ask for! Am I not the greatest director you've ever seen?!"

"You're insane!" Applejack roared. "You're goin' to trap us all inside of this thin' forever! What will we eat?! What will we do!? What about our homes!? Our school!? What about our families?!"

"To hell with your families! You're mother and father never loved you in the first place! If they did, they would've come along to join you! Besides, you have me! The most perfect counselor of the most perfect camp in the most perfect forest on the planet!

"You could stay here forever! I could give you immortality! You'd never need food or anything to do! You could just stand by me! We'd never get bored or tired or hungry! And that filthy rich bastard will be forced to find another forest to fuck over!

"Here, you could finally be at peace! No more anger! No more sorrow! Just endless days and nights of the greatest times of your lives! You could finally be happ- Ow! What the-"

"Miss me, nature freak?"

On top of Gaia fell Noah. He had dropped from the ever-shrinking roof onto her back and was shoving his hands through the vines to grab his necklace.

"You! What on Earth are you doing here?! How did you and your friends escape!?"

"That's none of your business, where the heck is my necklace you fu- er, craphead?!"

G6aia jerked and jolted like a penguin in a minefield as Noah attempted to grab anything that might be what he needed. The dome began to wobble and shake as Gaia and Noah danced in midair.

"Get off of me, you filthy monkey!"

"Wow, Gaia. Had no clue you were racist, man. I get the whole 'megalomaniac taking over the forest because of a stupid rich guy,' but jeez. No need to be harsh."

"What in the world is racist?!"

"Sunset!" Rarity began, "What should we do?!"

Sunset stared, "I-I... I don't know if we can do anything..."

Noah moved around in front of Gaia to see if it might be on the other side. He grabbed something below Gaia's waist that felt rather small and bumpy. He felt it up some more and grinned as wide as the sky as he felt the amulet in the middle.

"Ah hah! I knew you grabbed it! You sneaky godda-, dang it, goshdarn thief! Give me this!"

"Get off of me! Now! You're not stopping this!"

Gaia banged her fist against the closest vine, and the dome shook like mad. Noah, hanging onto nothing, lost his grip and tumbled down the vines on his sides.

He landed virtually in front of the girls, and Gaia's rage had caused hundreds of vines to rise from the ground. Like giant, bloodthirsty worms, the vines surrounded the eight of them similarly to Timber.

"Rarity!" Sunset shouted, "Make a barrier! Quick!"

Rarity acknowledged, "Right!" And a force field of beautiful blue diamonds bore of light promptly surrounded the group. The vines, instead, pressured around the barrier, and Rarity winced.

"I... They're too strong! Girls, I-I don't know how long I can keep this up! This is just..."

Rainbow Dash stomped her foot, "Damn it! You've gotta be kidding me! How did this even happen!? Why did we come here!? Why did I vote to go on this stupid trip!"

Sunset got down on one knee and grabbed Noah's shoulders. "Please tell me you got the-"

"Necklace? Yu—p."

Fluttershy smiled, "Can you stop her? Do we have a way to fight back?"

"Not a chance."

The girls felt their entire world crumble. "What are you talking about?!" Pinkie Pie stated, rather frantic. "You're supposed to be able to stop anything with that!"

"Gaia's stronger than I thought. The necklace reacted horridly to the magic and forced it black. Just see for yourself."

Noah wasn't wrong, the necklace's amulet was covered in black. As if the amulet had just died in Gaia's very presence, and was reduced to nothing but tar.

"I can't activate the darn thing like this. God knows what'll happen."

Sunset stood up and cursed. Everything had come to this, and it was such an awful conclusion. She couldn't think of a way to stop this if even Noah was hopeless.

"Wait!" She spoke up, as a light bulb went off in her head. Sunset turned about to and grabbed the shoulders of her introverted friend tightly bent down on one knee.

"Twilight, you're our best shot at this. Our only shot."

Twilight stammered as her pupils shrunk. "W-What?! Are you crazy, there's nothing special about me!"

"She's right," Noah added as he stood up. "The Twilight from Equestria combined her magic with the rest of the girls to create a power so great, it rivals my amulet's."

"But that power only rivals yours, it's not stronger!"

"No duh, but the... The... Uh God, the magic of friendship from the six of you should produce enough power to create an aura like a magnetic field or whatever. Giving energy to mine. Not to mention that you've also got Sunset by your side, so you're stronger than me by a sixth."

"Noah, there's no chance or very little chance that'll work! Should doesn't mean yes! At best, the energy from Everfree that gave us powers should supercharge said magic to... Oh."

"I... Well, Christ. That works too, I guess. How did none of us think of that?"

"But what about Midnigh-"

"Twilight!" Sunset yelled, "There's no time! You have to use your powers now!"

"But-"

"Give it a fucking rest, Twilight! We are going to die! Does that not mean anything to you?! All of us! In the ground! Forever! Drop the Midnight Sparkle shit so we can go home!"

"Sunset!" Rarity replied, appalled.

"No Rarity," Noah began, "She's right. I know you don't get it, but Twilight has been all introverted and shit over Midnight possibly returning. Unfortunately, she doesn't understand exactly what death is."

Twilight cried, "I do understand, but why don't you?!"

"What do we not understand?!"

"If Midnight is released, we'll just have even worse problems! She'll kill us, she'll kill Gloriosa, she'll kill everyone in this camp, and from there, it's just the Friendship Games all over again!"

"Now hold on just a darn minute," Applejack intervened. "You mean that evil version of you?"

"Yes!"

"But you don't have that same energy!" Sunset argued. "The only magic Midnight has is the one you have!"

"She'll still kill you all!"

"Than what the fuck are we supposed to do, Twilight?! Noah has no magic, we're all using what we have to keep this barrier up, and Gaia is only getting stronger! If we don't take this chance, Gaia will kill everyone."

"But..."

"C'mon, Twi!" Rainbow Dash urged. "We only have one shot at this!"

"I... But I... Fine! I'll do it! I... I'm sorry..."

Twilight, now shaking, closed her eyes and held her fists close to her chest. She was panicking, crying even as tears found their way out of her eyes. She was terrified, petrified of her situation, and was essentially being forced into it.

As she forced her well-being to cooperate, a large yet slender horn grew from Twilight's forehead as the magic inside her formed itself. Her eyes shot open leaving a pool of mint-green in their place.

It was her consciousness.

Twilight floated like an angel with no wings. As she opened her eyes, her surroundings were revealed to be an endless void of fuschia. Twilight spun her head around to get a look at her surroundings, but there wasn't a thing as far as the eye could see surrounding her.

"Where... Where am I?"

Her voice echoed a thousand times. It bounced off walls from so far away, she might as well have been in the deepest canyon known to man. Only, a thousand times larger.

"Please, I have to-"

"Hi, Twilight."

Twilight turned on a swivel and felt her blood run cold as the being before her towered, and its voice might as well have ended her life right there and then.

It was Midnight.

"I-I... You-"

"Oh, don't stutter now! You know my name more than your own pitiful friends! What's the big damn deal now, hm?"

Twilight clenched her jaw, "S-Sh... Shut-"

"C'mon! I know you can do it..."

"Shut... Just, shut..."

Midnight approached Twilight and gripped her shoulders and massaged them like a dear wife to her husband. "Twilight! Twilight! Twilight! Come on now, I'm cheering for you kid! Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!"

"W-Why... Why can't you just..."

"Can’t what now? You lost me."

"Just... Just..."

"Okay, y'know what? This is just sad now."

Midnight pulled her hands from Twilight's shoulders and grabbed her neck instead. She lifted her into the air, and Twilight quickly began squirming like a squirrel.

Twilight cried, "Let... L-Let me-"

"Have I ever told you how sad of an excuse for a human being you are? I mean, myself, I'm just a run-of-the-mill, classic selfish, pompous, condescending asshole of a villain. Quite a cliche these days, I must admit. But you? God, you're so much worse."

Twilight struggled to speak, "W... W-What?"

"Where are you right now, Twilight? Just look around you. You're in the middle of nowhere struggling to breathe in the clutches of a figure bore of your own imagination because you can't accept the past. And now, the very lives of your own friends are at risk because of it."

"I... I-I-I don't under-"

"I'm dead, Twilight. Me. Midnight Sparkle. I died when that dickhead of a friend of yours hurled me at a fucking bus. The evil that was me wasn't even inside you to begin with."

Twilight gasped, and Midnight continued. "The magic, since you were never supposed to have that much to begin with, was forced to take your very figure and being to transform you to handle it. But since you couldn't, it went all wrong, and now I'm here."

Twilight continued to stare cluelessly like a dog. Midnight groaned, "For God's sake, Twilight, I'm telling you to get over it!"

"You're... H-Helping?"

"I'm not helping. I'm pure evil to you. Your subconscious is simply trying to get through to you to relax. It needed someone you could see and instantly be forced to listen to. Someone who could say what they meant short, simple, and with a purpose.

"It was gonna send Noah, but... Well... Originality and whatnot. This entire arc is already shitty enough anyways. It didn't need any more shit from that twit than it already has."

"...I-"

Midnight let Twilight go from her clutches and she fell to her knees. She struggled to stand and breathe while Midnight simply crossed her arms and waited for Twilight to get a hold of herself.

As Twilight stood on one knee and gazed at her, Midnight continued. "You have to give it a rest, Twilight. Face it. Midnight Sparkle was killed off weeks ago, there's nothing evil inside of you. That's not a particularly long amount of time, but my point still stands.

"The only evil inside is your inability to let that go. To move on. I'm sure there's a proper term for that, but I'm supposed to be a pitiless mass-murderer, not a psychiatrist.

"If you don't move past this pointless fear, Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, all of your idiot friends are going to die. You'll be stuck inside of this dome of vines forever, and you'll never escape. Is that how you want it all to end, Twilight Sparkle?"

"I... I-I don't want anyone to get hurt. Even Gloriosa."

"You don't seem to have any other options, do you? Even Fluttershy seems to be on board with this."

Twilight stared at the ground. Despite all this reassurance, she still wasn't truly sure. Midnight could just be lying to get through to her in order to wreck what little havoc she could.

"H-How do I know you're not lying?! How do I know this isn't a ruse so you can kill all of my friends?!"

"...Are you serious?"

"Um... Yes?"

"Unless you sub-consciously want to murder all your friends-"

"No! Never!"

"Then no, I'm not lying."

Twilight stared at her hand. This was it. If she didn't use her magic now, then her friends, her family, everything she ever cared for, she'd never see them again. They'd be gone, never to be seen again.

Forever.

"...I... I-I-I... I'll..."

"C'mo-n..."

"I-I... I'll... I-I'll..."

"C'mo-n, you can do it..."

"I-I-I-I... I'll..."

"Ye-ah..."

"I... I-I... Damn it, I'll do it!"

"That's the spirit!"

"Yeah! I-I'll help my friends! I'll help the camp! I'll help my classmates! I'll-"

"Okay, let's not be cringe here, hm? This whole thing exists for a reason, after all."

"Too... Deal with the original's cringe?"

"...Close enough."

"So... What now?"

"Now, we watch the magic happen..."

"...So... Does she... Is she gonna, like, do anything?" Noah asked, confused.

Sunset sighed, "I... Hope so. I don't know what she's doing, but maybe-"

*BAM!*

Like lightning, Twilight returned to her proper form, now glowing with a beyond sensational appearance. She blasted the vines that surrounded the eight of them to bits as her magic spread far and true like the wind from the heavens.

Noah and the girls gained composure as they gawked at the new and improved Twilight Sparkle. She was extraordinary. Her magic radiated her body like the brightest light bulb in the world. She'd grown two rather large wings, two ears on top of her forehead, and her hair extended to the length of royal drapes.

She'd ponied up.

Noah was taken aback, "Sweet, merciful shi-, I-I mean, crap! What the heck happened to her!"

Twilight glared down as a newfound sense of confidence flowed through her bloodstream like a river. "Now's not the time for gawking, everyone. We have to stop Gaia before it's too late!"

"Hey, who put you in charge! Just because you're all-powerful with wings and long hair doesn't make you the leader! Where'd this confidence come from anyway!?"

"Is now really the time for this?"

"Very much so, yes!"

Applejack stepped forward, "Noah, who put you in charge in the first place? I don't remember any of us saying that you were! So who?"

"Your incompetence."

Sunset grabbed Noah's hand, "Noah, stop it. Twilight is the Equestrian Princess of Friendship and the Element of Magic. She led everyone here before you took over. Just let her take charge."

"But that Twilight is through the portal doing some other dumb crap!"

"Noah..."

"Oh don't, 'Noah,' me like a child! I got it, okay!"

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't act like one from the start."

"Bite me!"

Rarity spoke up, "Twilight, what do you recommend we do?"

"There are several jewels around Gloriosa's neck. Noah, I'm gonna need your help to get them. I believe I know their true purpose. Girls, I need all of you to divide and conquer. Get everyone out of these vines with all the strength you can muster."

Noah questioned, "Wait, but my amulet-"

"Is blackened? How about now?"

"What are you... What the...?"

Noah eyeballed his amulet all over. The black had faded. Like a plague or a smokescreen, it had just dissipated. Noah gaped as he rotated it in his hands out of bewilderment. H-How... How did this happen?"

"Twilight, what did you-"

"There's no time! Hurry up and transform!"

"I... Dang it!"

"Girls! Quickly! Save the rest of our classmates!"

Noah took the amulet in his hand and crushed it with the proper force to split it in half. The girls, all ponied up, spread across the dome at intense speeds as they approached the vines.

The amulet leaked like a barrel of oil as the white magic cradled his arm. They sunk into his veins like leeches, and Noah felt his arm begin to pump like a jackhammer.

Twilight pointed, "I'm gonna start removing Gaia's vines. Think you can keep up?"

"I don't plan on playing second fiddle any longer, so you can count on it."

"..."

"Sorry, that's the megalomaniac inside of me talking."

"...Go figure..."

"Hey!"

Twilight flew off in a flash. She approached where Gaia had first started to grow the vines and used the magic within her against it. The vines began to pump and cry as her magic was essentially tearing it apart. But they weren't the vines' cries.

It was Gaia.

"Stop it! Stay away from me, you freak! I need to save this camp!"

Twilight argued as she got the first vine undone. "Gloriosa, this isn't you! You have to wake up and realize what you're doing before somebody gets seriously hurt! Please! You have to listen to me!"

"I'll listen to you when I die alone, you purple monstrosity! Get the fuck off of me!".

Noah stumbled as Gaia shook the dome with a mighty cry. He bit his lip as the magic nearly finished pouring into him. All of his veins had turned a glorious white, and his pupils dilated.

*POW!*

Noah fell to his knees as the magic inside of him exploded with a grand fury. Surrounding him in pure white magic. With one hand, he felt his hair. Just like at the Friendship Games, it had turned completely white. he could tell based on its radiance.

His eyes were now also a blinding white, and a brand new magical aura shrouded him in magic. He raised a foot to once again gain composure. He readied his fists as the dust settled. He had once again transformed.

He was the Element of Righteousness.

"Noah!" Twilight beckoned, urgency in her voice. "Stop standing around admiring yourself and get over her!"

Noah rolled his eyes, Not even five minutes and I already miss the old Twilight...

Cracking his knuckles like a cliché 80s action hero, Noah rushed over to Twilight as his magic flew him over with ease. His speed piercing the ears of all, even Twilight.

He slowed as he arrived, "Okay, what are we doing again?"

Twilight shouted, "Help me remove the vines! I told you less than five minutes ago!"

"'I told you less than five minutes ago-' shut up!"

Noah grabbed a vine with his bare hands and began to pull. Unlike Twilight, he had to get physical with the vines as he lacked the same powers she did. Despite this, he made progress.

Gaia returned to shrieking in exasperation as Twilight and Noah pulled at the vines with everything they had. One after the other, the vines were torn off from around Gloriosa's body.

They fell apart and flailed in the air like grass. One by one, the vines took up space in the air and landed on the ground with a deafening thud. Shaking the ground each time like giant hammers.

Twilight tore an incredibly tight vine and glowed. "There! I found them!"

"Found what?!"

Twilight reached into an opening made from the tears and grabbed something from around Gaia's neck. She bellowed and thrashed about like a toddler in the midst of the ultimate tantrum.

"No! Let go of me! Let go of that! Get away from me, damn it!"

With a swift pull, Twilight yanked the object from around Gaia's neck and showed it off to Noah. They were the gems from the pedestal back in the rabbit cave all tethered together by rope. Each of them were surrounded by orbs of light, and had familiar color coding.

He stared... "Wait... Those are the gems from the cave. You don't think-"

"They were giving her all this power?"

"No, I mean everything here. You don't think that maybe they're the cause for all of this magic crap?"

"...Not really, no."

"What? Why?!"

"Forget it, we'll talk later. I have an idea..."

Twilight grabbed two points of the rope and pulled the rope apart. Each of the gems reacted like suns ready to go supernova as they hovered in mid-air. Light surrounding them even heavier than the orbs as they reacted to their environment.

Then, like missiles, the gems shot from near Twilight, except one, and found their way to each of the girls. As they slowed and reached their targets, beams of light surrounded each of the girls.

Rainbow Dash stared, slightly frightened "Uh... W-What's happening?"

"Just relax and let them do their thing!"

And that's exactly what they did. Each of the gems practically ate up the girls as they reacted to the magic within them. A spontaneous light show combusted from the seven of them as the magic went mad.

"Twilight! What in the- Twilight!?"

Noah turned to his left to find Twilight also being enveloped by the gems' light. One of them had stayed behind as it reacted to them. Noah stared in confusion before facing Gaia.

"What are those gems doing?!"

"I have to say, you children are such a pain in my side, but you're also desperate. Especially the purple one."

"Answer me, you megalomaniac!"

Gaia looked up from her prison of vines and stared daggers at Noah's eyes. He averted his eyes a bit, disgusted. "I'm waiting, you fu-, duck. Explain."

"That magic isn't from here."

"...What?"

"Those gems are magical, but not in the same sense."

Noah clenched his fist, "Stop beating around the bush and expla-"

"Could you shut your mouth?"

"Fuckin'..."

"...Thank you. The magic in those gems isn't from here."

"From this forest?"

"From this world. They're filled to the brim with magic from another planet or land."

"What? Why?"

"The gems are meant to contain a certain type of elemental magic within them that they give off to the wearer. Wearing all of them, or even two is impossible as they react negatively to each other. They need to be worn by those they deem worthy."

"...What makes one worthy of wearing one of them?"

"...Loyalty, generosity, amusement, kindness, honesty, redemption, and magic. One must be pure of either of these... Well... Y'know what I mean." Noah rolled his eyes.

"They must be pure of these elements in order to wear one of them. The magic will react and give the wearer incredible powers. Activated all together, the gems form a power bore of harmony."

Noah sighed, "So that's it. They're this world's versions of the Elements of Harmony. That would explain why the girls are so affected by them. And I'm guessing when fused, they create a single gem bore of righteousness too, don't they?"

"...You know a lot."

"That's because the gem, or well, the magic courses through my veins by this amulet around my neck. It's a long story, I assure you, but all eight of us are connected to these gems by our features.

"But I don't get it. If they're the equivalent of Equestria's elements, why are they reacting this way?"

"...Have there been any occurrences from where you come from involving magic?"

Noah folded his arms, "Well yeah. Three times in a row, in fact."

"Have any of these occurrences ever been interdimensional?"

"I... Oh crap, the portal!"

Gaia raised an eyebrow, "The portal, you say? Explain yourself."

"Back at my school, there's a portal that leads to a different dimension built into a statue. Dumb, I know, but it's legit. A couple of weeks ago, Twilight went mad with magic as she collected it and tore a hole through space-time.

"That hole must've allowed magic of all kinds to seep through into this world, and the Elements would be first on the list. Since they have the same function, they must've reacted terribly to the Elements of this world. Filling it with magic similar but from an alternate reality must've screwed with it beyond proportion.

"And now, the gems are essentially corrupted. And the girls don't react well to them anymore. That would explain how it was able to bring you back. Crap! This probably means Equestria's elements are corrupted too! I can't imagine what's happening over there...

"But... I don't get it. How was Gloriosa able to survive the corrupted Elements, but the girls weren't?"

"The magic flowed across the world, did it not? That must mean the magic from over there flowed into me as well and strengthened me. Making me stronger than the Elements. Because of this, I was able to use Gloriosa as a vessel, and protect her from the corruption until I made my return."

"But if you're stronger, why aren't the girls stronger too?"

"Magic is just an occurrence science can't explain yet, child. I've yet to understand why it's even a thing, and I doubt I ever will."

Noah sighed, "Talk about a plot hole... How long will the girls be like that? Can they escape?"

"Oh, they'll be like that for a little while, it's nothing to get worried about."

"I need a number, dumbo."

"Ugh, a couple of centuries. Six or seven, I assume."

Noah shouted, "Seven hundred years?! Are you insane?!"

"...What?"

"Don't you, 'what' me, butthead, I'm a seventeen-year-old black guy!"

"...And?"

"I'm human! I can only live for one century!"

"Oh... Well, that's just the cost of being mortal, mortal."

"There has to be another way!"

"You think I'm going to help you? The boy who wants to destroy my forest?! You'll have to fight me if you want to save your precious, ungrateful friends. You absolute, absent-minded mongrel-"

"I'm sorry."

"...What?"

Gaia Everfree felt her heart stop beating for just a moment as she repeated Noah's words in her head. All her life, not once as she heard the saying directed towards her. And from him, in a moment like this, she wasn't just taken off guard, she was slapped in the face by a sausage.

"I said I'm sorry."

"For what? What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I bet everyone, even myself for a moment, painted you as a malicious being who wanted nothing more than our destruction. But it's not that simple, so I have to make sure.

"Killing us isn't your end goal. Is it?"

Gaia stared with reluctant eyes as Noah continued. "You just want us away from your forest. Away from your home. You're not after our lives, You're not after power, you're not after enjoyment. You just want us gone... Don't you?"

"...You're a seventeen-year-old boy who's enrolled at a high school miles away with a mysterious, hidden power inside of a necklace... How do you know so greatly of my mind?"

Noah folded his arms, "It's not hard, y'know. I'm not the wielder of this element for nothing, after all. But still, it's quite simple. You don't want this Filthy Rich guy to make a mess-"

"'A squalid mockery.'"

"'A squalid mockery' of your home with a giant, fast food amusement park or whatever the heck he's up to. You just want to keep your home safe and beautiful, like anyone would when protecting their homes. My friends thought you were having a temper tantrum, and that you were out for blood. But I always had my doubts... Kinda.

"Then there was Gloriosa. She shared your feelings to such a degree nobody else did. I don't claim to understand your magic and whatnot, but if I were in your position, I'd use her as a vessel as well."

Gaia gazed into Noah's eyes with a heavy sense of wonder. This boy knew everything. How she felt, how wrong this whole scenario was, how it didn't have to be this way. But he was so young compared to her. So inexperienced. She'd lived for thousands of years, and then comes along this boy who understands her more than anyone after only living less than a quarter of her entire life.

"I don't-"

"Last time I encountered something inhuman, I killed it. A big ol' blast disintegrated them into nothing. one of them survived, but I threatened their lives with a fate worse than death. I haven't seen her since.

"Back then, I was sick. Blinded by rage, I was repulsive, rude, hateful, and just a genuinely shi-, er... I was a very shitty person. I'm proud to say that I at least had some semblance of right and wrong, but I still hate how I handled that situation. I could've made friends. Good friends... But they're dead now.

"I like to believe I've become a better person since then, sharing this rage with you. I don't curse as much, excluding a few slip-ups, I'm more considerate, and overall kind and respectful. I'm definitely not like the girls, and I know I sound a bit narcissistic complimenting myself like this, but it's something.

"...What are you getting at, boy? I'm still perplexed."

"I don't want to do this. I don't want to fight you. I know, it probably feels like it was all leading up to this, but... I just... I can't have my friends and I beat you senseless for something so... Just..."

"You and your friends appeared rather unhesitant to fight me not that long ago. Particularly you, leaping onto me and trying to kill me like that."

Noah scratched the back of his head, "In my defense, you weren't giving me a choice. You weren't giving any of us a choice. I just wanna talk this out now that we have the chance because despite what I'm saying, you're still in the wrong."

Gaia frowned, "Excuse me?"

"Gaia, you can't do this. I mean, trapping hundreds of students and adults under a massive dome made purely out of vines because you don't like that someone's gonna make a burger joint?"

"You just said my actions were justifiable!"

"I said your feelings were justifiable. I wasn't talking about this whole charade you've got going on. You can't do this, it's not right. These people have families and homes to go to-"

"What about my home?!"

"What about your home?"

Gaia gasped before glaring. Piercing his eyes with intense anger. Noah raised a finger, "Let me ask you this, Ms. Everfree. You believe it's wrong for one to have their homes ruined and others should stay away as those places are sacred."

"Yes! So why-"

"So what makes you think you should do that to others?"

"...I-"

"What makes you think you should ruin hundreds of other homes of whom have nothing to do with you? I know Gloriosa cherishes this place, but your magic, the gems, and all the other icky BS that's been going on has led her to do something like this while you chuckle from behind.

"She's not in control here. You are."

"But this is a better home anyways! The children and adults are free from all of the stresses and misery of the outside world. They can find peace, happiness-"

"They'll die. And their families will suffer."

"But that's-"

"Gaia, open your eyes! What you're doing is ludicrous! Can't you see?! What if someone abducted you from your home and trapped you in God knows where and let you slowly die because you can't survive off friggin' grass!"

Gaia's eyes riveted upon him intently. She was conflicted. Noah was standing in her way of this goal she desired so greatly, but he wasn't wrong. Her ideas, her plans, they were all... Awful.

She looked away, "But... But my home... It'll be ruined..."

"Gaia, I will do anything in my power to save your forest. You've clearly seen I'm no ordinary teenager. But even if my efforts are futile... I'm sorry. That's just the way it is. It's what we have to accept because we have no other choice. Otherwise... we spiral."

Noah laid out a hand to Gaia. "Please, Gaia Everfree. There's still time to right this wrong. To do the right thing, and not hurt so many innocent people. I know the only reason I say what I do is because I have no other choice, and you could easily kill me but... Please. I... I don't have any other option.

"Please don't do this."