Author's Note

Last time: Eclipse prepares to cast the azoth spell on Nightmare Moon while Rarity awakens an element of harmony in conflict with Magic. Rainbow Dash persues Embermoon on route to Rarity's castle.

Mad X Science

Rarity watched Magic coming at her, time slowly returning from its standstill. Rarity’s mind was still on a high, but she couldn’t see any way out of this, Magic was approaching too fast, and her body could hardly move an inch before the attack landed.

Sweetie Belle’s stasis was breaking by itself into a state to act as a perfect conduit. In a moment the beams of the Azoth spell would converge on, then fry her. Rarity watched Saccharine, hopelessly broken, yet Rarity wanted at least to see whatever powers the feather would grant to her before the end.

And finally the alicorn feather. It acted faster than all the others. It condensed itself into a single point, and then an eruption of green energy washed out over the castle walls. Rarity felt it in her heart and in her head. Knowledge filled her as that magic took form before her.

Generosity.

Rarity knew its name the moment it appeared. A pony made of green light emerged from the feather, translucent like a ghost but still more solid than any color Rarity had seen before. It didn’t look like Rarity or Sweetie Belle but something in between them, like a fourth sister in their family.

It stepped out before Rarity, though Rarity knew it couldn’t block anything for her. Rarity could feel a connection to it, and understood it all too perfectly. Despite what she had just asked for, Generosity was part of her. Yet Rarity couldn’t use Generosity.

“That isn’t exactly right,” Generosity said, more in Rarity’s mind than with any voice. “Rarity, I can’t lend you our strength. But my power is yours to give.”

Generosity and Rarity’s hoof both moved toward Saccharine, though Rarity couldn’t tell which of them had made the decision or who was guiding whom. A second image of Generosity emerged and rushed to Saccharine.

Generosity’s magic flowed through her. Saccharine’s eyes flashed green and even the broken, detached parts of her animated. It was effortless, like weaving a piece of cloth back together. Rarity or Generosity or both connected every broken piece of Saccharine with threads of magic.

She animated and with a burst of speed, charged forward into Magic, tackling her and redirecting the attack just enough to miss Rarity.

Sweetie Belle was next. Rarity couldn’t save her, but she could give Sweetie the power to save herself.

Once more an image of Generosity leaped forward and grabbed onto Sweetie Belle. Sweetie’s eyes too turned green as the alicorn magic surged through her.

Like tendrils, beams from below, directed by Eclipse, came searching for her. Thankfully, Sweetie didn’t need much more instruction. She could immediately tell they were no good. The barrier protected her for that critical second as her state primed to be used faded.

It only lasted a second, then Eclipse gave up on trying to use her. Sweetie Belle fell to the ground, looking over herself and the magic that filled her.

Meanwhile, Saccharine clashed with Magic overhead, moving faster than ever before. An enormous spell erupted, and rainbows filled the sky, banishing that unnatural darkness. Rarity couldn’t tell if it Was suddenly down or if it had merely been too dark to notice it had been for some time. It was just those two fighting now.

“You think this is enough?!” Magic pounded Saccharine repeatedly. “Even ten times her strength isn’t enough to match me!”

“That’s right! You’ll always make the same mistake! Blueblood!”

Blueblood had understandably remained feebly hidden through this last bit of the ordeal. He still wasn’t sure about coming out, but Generosity rushed to his side. Soon his eyes glowed with the same green light of inspiration as Rarity’s.

He looked over his body as the magic of Generosity filled him. Blueblood didn’t know much magic, that wasn’t his expertise, but any unicorn could grab and pull and that’s just what he did.

The green clamped down on Magic like a hydraulic press, so much so that it took Blueblood off guard. He himself was surprised when Magic pulled off Saccharine hard and slammed into the ground.

Saccharine had no such mercy, pouncing on Magic, at last getting the upper hand with a flurry of blows.

“Okay, that was a bit more than I meant!” Blueblood called out. “Is that thing not still a child.”

He wasn’t wrong. Or maybe he was. Who knew if that filly was even still in there?

Rarity looked to Generosity, the obvious answer to her question.

“Let me show you,” Generosity offered. Rarity nodded and the element spread out over Luster. Rarity could see the state of things now, the two sides of that filly had fallen out completely.

“Saccharine! That’s enough!”

Saccharine got off of her at the order. They watched now as Luster Dawn lay there, clutching her head, eyes rolled back, gasping heavily for air.

“There isn’t much we can do for her,” Rarity concluded. “Luster Dawn is the one who has to win this battle and that will take time. But Magic is sure to lose.”

“Then it’s over?” Blueblood looked up at the rainbows.

Everypony turned to see an absolutely enormous drill made of rainbows tearing its way into what Rarity assumed to be Crater Cemetery. The size of it simply dwarfed anything that just happened here, even the rush Rarity felt seemed small now.

But for a moment, Rarity thought maybe it was over.

Eclipse floated in the air, not by her own volition but because gravity hadn’t the power to touch her, surrounded by the essence of power itself. Yet something was off.

That robot, what she had hoped to use as a focal point, was gone, Eclipse knew that much. There was no time to search nor ponder reasons why. It meant an immediate change in strategy, that she would have to gather the streams around herself instead.

The nightmare's reaction made Eclipse reconsider if this change was for the worse. As soon as Eclipse made that unexpected move, the six colors swirling around herself in a rainbow of light, its fragment recoiled, pulling back as if to defend the core it extended out from.

It had been planning something, something that had relied on her using that machine to cast the spell. Why? Some traps disarmed or malfunctioned, but beyond that Eclipse couldn’t tell.

She swept her hoof out, and the sphere of rainbows expanded around her, throwing the fragment back. It could not stand to be in this sphere of energy. Not only did every bit that touched it disintegrate, but it sent out a wave that devoured the darkness like a disease spreading through its body.

Destroying this, though it seemed hopeless a moment ago, would be effortless now. But also a waste. Eclipse could see more clearly her target now, as the spell was intended to destroy only one entity.

The monster before her was like a bulge at the end of a long, thin vine, one that reached all the way back to Crater Cemetery. And looking at that darkness, though bound, she could see just how tiny a fraction she had been fighting.

The fragment sent out was as hollow and light as a balloon, while Nightmare Moon’s true core was as dense as a ball of steel. Not even a full percent would be lost by this fragment’s destruction.

Eclipse had no hope her spell would destroy that core. However, she would do as much as possible, leaving a scar as deep and vicious as she could. To crack this impenetrable ball in hopes someone else may shatter it, even if she couldn’t imagine how.

Once more, the seven beams of light extended, this time far past the bounds of the Everfree. Then she brought them back into a single point, slamming them into Nightmare Moon. They twisted against one another, forming a drill.

The skies brightened and lit up with countless rainbows streaking across the Everfree. Though as much of a spectacle as that was, many ponies may have still missed it against the enormous drill of rainbow-colored light twisting its way into Crater Cemetery. Not one pony for a hundred miles could have missed seeing that, perhaps not even the blind.

The immensity of the azoth spell tore into this god, yet it seemed impenetrable at first, metal against metal producing only sparks. Eclipse wished there were some way to press even more effort into it, even if it meant death, for humiliating a god like this seemed a suitable end.

Yet this strength wasn’t hers, could only be redirected, and she knew only the death at the hands of one of her students could ever be truly glorious. She kept her focus and kept directing the power against a god that seemed both helpless and invincible at the same time. Both unable to react but hardly needing to.

Then, just at the last ounce of the spell’s strength began to dither, it happened. A sudden crack! The rainbows pierced straight through the ball of blackness! Then it all vanished. Grasping a tiny fragment of the power she had just wielded, forcing herself to stay cognizant for just a moment longer.

Yes, a crack, but only a crack.

Eclipse fell to the ground, exhausted and unable to see anymore.

Void Walker watched the spectacular display. Everypony else around likely drooled in amazement at such a display, yet Void Walker was from an age where gods still roamed and shaped the world. He knew it wasn’t enough the moment it began.

As it dithered, he turned back to Rainbow Dash, with her advancing army. He had honestly hoped the two witches would win out against that pony and make his job easier, rather than having to risk injury so close to a critical junction. But it seemed his mission to kill Rainbow Dash had to be more direct now.

Usually, it was best to let your enemies fight. With Rainbow Dash that wasn’t always the case. He had gotten what he wanted most out of this interaction, one of the remaining azoth spells was spent on Nightmare Moon and not Starlight. Nailbat would almost certainly do the same.

Only one detail unnerved him deep in his gut.

“Hm. That did more damage than Starlight’s did. By a lot. That isn’t good.”

Rarity watched the display breathlessly. The extent to which it worked, she couldn’t say. But that was out of her hooves for now. Rarity would rather focus on what could be in them.

She turned to find her sisters.

“Sweetie Belle! Saccharine!” Rarity rushed over to the two of them, grabbing their cold, metal bodies in her embrace. Saccharine once again largely fell apart, but Rarity knew she could fix that easily enough now. “Don’t worry, Saccharine. Once this battle is over, you’ll have the best body yet! A sweetiebot 10,000!”

“I still don’t get what happened. Did I save you, Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“No, you didn’t. And didn’t I tell you to run away?”

“Um. Maybe. But I helped by trying to come back and rescue you, right?”

“No! You made it worse!”

“Um! Well!” Sweetie Belle desperately searched for a way to get out of trouble. “But if I didn’t come back to the castle then um…”

Finally she pointed at Generosity who had been trying to hang back. Not that that could work. Rarity was omni-aware of her now.

“Then! I think maybe she wouldn’t be here?” Sweetie asked. “Or actually is that a bad thing, too?”

“A good question.” Rarity turned to Generosity, wondering if she should sic Saccharine on it. Or her. “I don’t remember telling you to stay with me. In fact, that’s the exact opposite of what I agreed to.”

“I’m not with you, but I am yours to give. You gave me form. You made me Generosity.”

Rarity watched over her. At once she understood and didn’t. She had questions but also the answers already.

What do you really want? Rarity knew Generosity’s values but also she couldn’t want anything clearly without a host to cling to.

Why was she with Rarity? Giving her away meant Rarity couldn’t use the power of Generosity herself, but still she was the conduit for it and together they remained. Rarity paid the price, as was agreed.

What could Generosity do? Shine with inspiration. Light the darkness and bring out the hidden potential in ponies.

The two of them were one, in a sense, so Rarity knew all of this.

“But we are different than the others,” Rarity pointed out. Everypony else seemed lost, unaware of their unspoken conversation. “We haven’t become the same person entirely, like Faith did or like Magic attempted with this one and with Twilight’s mentor.”

“Yes,” said Generosity. “Are you satisfied with your answer? I honestly don’t know if this will work, but I’m excited to find out.”

“Heh. Maybe we are operating on the same wavelength now,” Rarity concluded.

“Are you sure?” Blueblood pointed at her eyes. “I can’t tell if you’re still using that power, but it is changing you. I notice it turns your eyes green, but they aren’t glowing right now.”

“He’s right.” Sweetie Belle inspected Rarity’s face. “Your eyes are green!”

“Wait. Are my eyes just green forever now?” Rarity pulled on them, unable to see herself, but the others nodded. “This is just the worst possible thing!”

“I think they look nice!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Well I think they look hideous,” said Blueblood, trying to straighten out his own hair. “It clashes horribly with your mane and fur.”

“Thank you,” said Rarity. “At least somepony gets me. If I ever said anything bad about you, Blueblood, know that I meant it.”

The two smiled at each other.

“Is this one of those things I’ll understand when I grow up?” Sweetie Belle asked Saccharine, who would not be understanding at any point.

“I can read your mind, and I still don’t get you,” said Generosity. “Isn’t there something else you should be worried about? Nothing has been settled.”

“And who said you were supposed to?” Rarity asked.

“I can’t say you’re wrong, to be honest. If you let me, I’d just give everything away until you withered and died. The only thing making me realize that is my connection with you. I’d be completely oblivious just like Magic was otherwise,” said Generosity. “I can’t tell if you’re right or wrong to think of yourself.”

Yes, Rarity could feel the pull into two extreme obsessions. One to abuse Generosity’s gifts, the other to become selfless to the point of losing all sense of self. This thing was still a lion. But it was Rarity’s lion now. It was up to her to keep it balanced, to keep her own heart balanced.

Yet already Generosity was different than the others. Just being able to understand this was a problem, seeing beyond itself made it different.

“There is so much I can show you.” Generosity reached her hoof out. “Too much. Rarity, use me as much as you need but no more.”

“Now you’re starting to say things that make sense.”

The entity no longer felt foreign to her. Generosity really was a part of her for better or worse. Rarity would just have to deal with it.

Already, Rarity knew exactly what Generosity was capable of and wanted to put this new relationship to the test. Rarity summoned her to her side and together they looked out into the world.

Rarity could do it! She could access a dive state with tranquility.

It was too much. Things would get out of hand if she tried absorbing all that information at once. And Generosity wouldn’t allow such selfishness.

Something Starlight once said resonated in Rarity’s mind. ‘I made Faith a virtue’. Rarity was the one who had to make Generosity a virtue. Generosity was strongest when Rarity was giving her away.

“I swear I won’t abuse this power.”

“I know everything you’re thinking, remember? I know you won’t.”

Rarity did see something else. While Nightmare Moon was banished, a new threat was quickly approaching. Rainbow Dash wasn’t far away, but if Rarity wanted to keep the coming fight from being bloody, she would have to test Generosity’s abilities once more.

“We need to find Coco and Kerfuffle,” said Rarity. “I think somepony should be coming to help us with that soon.”

Dust stood in awe watching the sky light up with rainbows.

There was no collateral damage despite the size of that spell. There wasn’t even a mild gust to blow her mane. Dust remembered hearing the spell only targeted one pony, so it made sense there wouldn’t be anything wasted, spilling over. If anything she felt her strength briefly refreshed as color filled the sky.

Anypony who was able to dragged themselves out into the front lawn of the castle to watch the eruption of colors. Then they stood still as it faded. The disgusting presence of Nightmare Moon had never felt further away. Dust wasn’t sure if she could even feel it. There certainly had been some effect, at the least.

Through Dust’s eyes, it was as though that explosion of colors sped up the coming of the sun, already it was past dawn. Had it been this close to dawn? Had Nightmare Moon blocked out the sun? Or had Dust been staring out at these rainbows for much longer than it seemed?

Eclipse, looking even more aged than before, fell limp to the ground, but not dead. It took her a full minute to regain her footing and stand. Everypony gathered around, eager for any information Eclipse might have.

“Okay, that destroyed it, right?” Dust asked. If it hadn’t, Dust could barely imagine what else they could throw at that monster. “Or at least it’s almost dead now?”

Batton and a few others had about enough energy to wait upon Eclipse’s response, but nothing more. Even Eclipse’s strength was nearing its end. She placed one hoof over her face, composing herself before answering.

“I dealt a serious blow to it, but it isn’t dead, nor close to it,” said Eclipse. “The most I can say for us is that it will be down for some time and we’ve no fear of another tendril emerging until the True Halloween.”

It was as though a death sentence had been pronounced for everypony here. Yet Dust felt too exhausted to feel anything but numb. The muted responses suggested all the other ponies were in the same boat.

“Then we’ve only escaped for now,” said Batton. “All our hope rests on Nailbat. Or perhaps that accursed…”

Batton turned to Dust.

“And what of you?” Batton asked. “I have no choice but to retreat now. I’m willing to let you leave if you’ll take it. Or we could have some sham of a deathmatch.”

Dust considered it, though her concern wasn’t for Batton Pass, instead, she looked past that to the witch. Should Dust kill Eclipse right here? Eclipse would never be weaker. Though she’d been helpful a moment ago, she was still a villain with uncountable crimes which she would continue to add to. It would fulfill Dash’s mission to destroy a witch as well.

Then again, even just walking away peacefully sounded like a chore at this point. Overcoming the last drop of a witch’s strength was still beyond most ponies.

Eclipse met Dust’s eyes. The chance was gone just like that and Dust instead shook her head wearily.

“Go see if you can find survivors,” she ordered Fuse, who looked most up to it. “Then we leave.”

“Fine,” Batton agreed to the unspoken terms, “tell Rainbow Dash we’re going to retreat to the Pirate Coast if she’s wise enough to let us. This place is too dangerous. If Nailbat or even Starlight intend a more powerful strike than that, I dare not linger.”

“Holde,” Eclipse spoke up. “I had one more thought just now. If Nailbat is still–”

Eclipse paused her idea and turned to meet an oncoming attack that not even Dust had foreseen, erecting a barrier of light. There was a burst of flames that she managed to deflect as the intruder slammed into her.

Another ghost? No. Dust recognized the oncoming pony soon enough. It was Embermoon, that damn half-bug creature. Though perhaps she was more like three-quarters bug now. Dust could have sworn it was less than that not long ago.

“You’re late,” said Eclipse. “Your presence would have been well met an hour ago.”

Embermoon chuckled, looking over the lack of a response. Nopony here was in good enough shape to fight anything, let alone a witch who may very well be at full strength. Dust dreaded what this meant, and hoped Embermoon was somehow only here for Eclipse.

“From the looks of things, my timing is perfect! Look at you all. This will be too easy.” Another quick clash, this one sending Eclipse staggering back with a deep cut across her withers. It was already clear who would win this fight. “If I’m not mistaken, this will make me the last witch, won’t it?”

Dust was pretty sure she’d forgotten Trixie but was too tired to point that out. And Embermoon looked to the others with a sideways glance, letting them know they would fair no better than Eclipse.

Eclipse stoically met her gaze, already at her limit but not daring to show weakness.

“You’re fighting us?” Batton ran out into the fray. “Now?! For what? I still have money overseas. I’ll gladly pay ransom for–”

“I didn’t come here to make deals!” Embermoon interrupted. “You are willing to do whatever it takes to destroy your enemy, even working with a slayer, and so am I. The only difference is that Crater Cemetery isn’t what I’m worried about.”

Her neck snapped and she grew again in a sudden spurt. Green flames slowly burned away the pony portion of her until nearly all of her body, save the left eye and a small surrounding area had been transformed into black chitin.

“I figure out who ‘Rainbow Dash’ really is and I intend to be the wildcard she didn’t see coming!”

Another bulge and another burst of growth, though this time only in her right foreleg. Now the chitin struggled to contain the muscles of that leg. Small cracks formed along it and fire spewed forth from inside as the edges formed into spears.

This hulking bludgeon she pulled back, then swung at Eclipse.

“Seriously?” Dust collapsed onto her haunches, unable to do anything but laugh. Of all the rotten luck.

There was no chance Eclipse would be winning this fight. How to even get away from this?

Embermoon made a wild swing at Eclipse with that massive punch. Eclipse showed little concern for the others, trying to block with a blow of her own. Dust no longer regretted her decision not to try and fight Eclipse just then, as even in this state, she was able to meet this blow. The two clashed in an explosion of force, Embermoon’s hoof staggering backward.

Fluttershy created a wall of ice, protecting who she could from the impact, but this shattered immediately without absorbing much of the force, her head slinging low just after.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do anymore,” Fluttershy said.

Another stray bolt came at them, this one right at Fluttershy. Dust jumped forward and punched it with an electrified hoof, exploding it before falling to the ground on her side.

“And that was the last of my strength.” Dust was unsure if she could stand up just now. Yet she smiled up at Fluttershy.

At least the fighting had moved away from them. Embermoon only appeared to have lost the initial exchange. Those muscles her carapace could barely contain finally broke free. Spike tendrils erupted from within and then tore through the ground, giving chase to Eclipse. And apparently, each of them could cast a spell on their own.

As if that wasn’t hopeless enough, Dust noticed her left arm had been mutating as well. What she first thought were pustules quickly grew into something more like a pod, translucent and filled with green slime. Dust’s instinct told her to bust them, but there was no way she could get close enough in her current state. A few ponies from the Cartel tried shooting at them, but the bullets were swatted away by more tendrils.

It was already too late now. One of them popped, splattering slime everywhere, but from within appeared… Lightning Dust. A nearly perfect copy of Dust stood there with a drooling expression, like some zombie version of herself. Its form was not entirely stable, almost like it was made of thick wax slowly melting away.

The copy proved better than it appeared at first glance. It let out a howl of rage, cowled itself in lightning, and then charged at Eclipse with a speed approaching Dust at her full strength. A clone that could at least approximate Dust’s abilities.

And before long, more came. Copies of Eclipse, Moondancer, Batton, and Pinkie Pie soon emerged and all attacked Eclipse.

“It seems you were holding back a few secrets after all,” Eclipse managed to scoff out that much but could manage no more words as the onslaught quickly overwhelmed her.

Dust couldn’t even make out what was happening in the distance and just assumed those clones and tendrils were pummeling Eclipse into oblivion. A second Pinkie clone emerged and charged into the crowd, throwing the Cartel members about wildly with psychokinetic force while they struggled to muster any kind of response.

“Okay, this is hopeless.” Dust forced herself to her feet. “Come on, Fluttershy. We’ll see who Fuse could find but surely not even you would die for these ponies, right?”

For a second, Dust was almost worried she would be, but Fluttershy nodded in agreement. Those weary two made for the back of the castle but didn’t make it far. A clone of Dust landed between them and the castle. This was not something any of them could deal with!

But Dust saw hope just behind them. It was Fuse and they had a few ponies with them, only one of whom Dust recognized.

There was a mare with one leg and one crème colored, fainted from blood loss slung over Fuse’s shoulder. There was a white stallion and beside him…

“I think I found Rarity!”

That was Rarity, alright. Dust could tell right away something had changed in her. It was most visible in her eyes, taking on a green so deep it seemed to never end.

But Dust was more interested in the pony beside her. One of those damned robots but different. Tendrils of green magic wrapped around it, that same green light held gaps between her joints, holding them together like a powerful magnet.

Despite how fragile it first appeared, the robot moved forward in a flash and clashed with the clone. It easily withstood a few electrified blows, then threw them back. A drill of green magic and bits of metal formed by its side. It smashed the clone of Lightning Dust into the ground and the drill soon reduced it into a splattering slime.

There was no way that clone had been as strong as Lightning Dust at full strength, but that did unnerve her anyway.

Had it been capable of this the whole time?

Saccharine charged forward, pouncing on a clone of Pinkie Pie next, drilling it too into a waxy splatter, giving the Cartel ponies a needed respite.

Rarity used Generosity to take a look over the battlefield, a much smaller stage was more manageable. She saw Eclipse just moments away from destruction.

“Saccharine! Support fire that way!” Rarity pointed to where Eclipse was getting a royal beatdown.

“Are you sure?!” Dust choked, struggling to even shout. “It might be best to just let this happen and get out of here.”

“We do need her! Just for a moment longer.”

Saccharine summoned a repeating cannon and fired at that area, not bullets but bolts of green magic launched out of it. Rarity quickly learned that wasn’t enough to do real damage to the tendrils or exoskeleton of Embermoon, but the clones took significant damage. Just enough for Embermoon to wipe them out then retreat into a feeble defensive position.

Another round of pods burst. This time, it was three clones of Saccharine that emerged.

“Wait! But you can’t clone a robot!” Sweetie Belle complained. “Or can you? Actually, I’m used to there being way more of me than this.”

Interestingly, they weren’t clones of the complete Saccharine, nor any of her older forms. They were copies of her current self. But perhaps Embermoon failed to understand what held Saccharine together for large pieces of them fell apart far too quickly.

They opened fire on Saccharine but struggled to do any damage. Even still, charging in to destroy the source would prove difficult. Meanwhile, a small army of Pinkie clones was emerging behind Embermoon.

Rarity could open the floodgates and give Saccharine even more strength.

“It’s not a good idea to focus on any one pony too much,” Generosity appeared by her side and warned. “My strength is greater the more spread out it is. Be patient.”

“I know,” said Rarity. In some ways, talking to Generosity felt like talking to herself. Just a different part of herself. “Stick to the plan. Saccharine, to the side!”

Instead of charging right in, Saccharine made a circle to Embermoon’s right. She couldn’t make it too obvious that Saccharine was only protecting everypony while she stalled or Embermoon might go into panic mode.

Thankfully, this would look like an attempt to pincer Embermoon between Saccharine on her left and Eclipse on her right.

“I knew something like this would happen!” Embermoon called out to Rarity. “But I can tell you’re either afraid of your power or haven’t awakened it all yet! I have no such limit!”

To her best estimate, a good forty clones of Pinkie Pie stood ready, preparing to charge all at once. Rarity hoped their strength was only a fraction of the real thing.

The Cartel, whoever was able to mange, was retreating and breaking ranks. Batton remained to try and organize them to some amount but couldn’t get control to any meaningful degree.

“Rarity, I don’t think we can win this,” Fluttershy warned.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that.” Rarity winked. “I just need more ponies to work with and soon I’ll have them.”

The Pinkie clones finally got some invisible order and bound toward Rarity, the cartel, and Saccharine all at once.

And then, heavy artillery interrupted their charge, blowing them away!

Everypony looked to the south to see where it had come from but Rarity already knew! Rainbow Dash stood at the head with thousands behind her. A diverse mix with only cobbled-together organization marched forward, the few who with the range already giving support fire.

It would be enough for now!

“Let’s go!” Generosity took one step forward, spreading out and speeding up until she vanished from sight.

Rarity focused her, giving the empowering light of Generosity. Too all of them but Dash, the one pony who didn’t need it.

Dust laughed and fell behind Rarity and the others. Dash had done it again! It was mostly trash, but a lot of trash. They moved in, keeping the clones in check to the point Dust wanted to take back the ‘trash’ part. Were they always this strong?

No, Dust noticed their eyes shone with that same green color Rarity had. That pony had changed somehow and was doing something. But something Dust liked for once.

“Don’t get too close!” Dash called out to her forces. “Just keep her pinned down.”

Dust would have gone for an all-out assault but that was always her plan. Dash must have had this all figured out as usual. Dash noticed Rarity and the others and had a few pegasi extract them over to her side, going in a wide arc around the battlefield.

Embermoon now found herself assaulted from three sides.

The army of Oakenfield was as ragtag and disunified as always, not something Dust would have much fear of, let alone a witch. But the momentum behind them was enough to keep the steady stream of clones in check. Eclipse was slowly losing her fight with Embermoon’s right half, though. And if she fell, the tables would turn again.

“Rainbow Dash!” Dust took stock of the ponies who followed Dash here, that was Dash’s real strength. “Well this is great, but I don’t think these ponies are going to be enough. Even with all this green stuff.”

“I know,” Dash said with a smile, turning to the west. As she did, a swarm came storming in from that direction.

The pegasi elite forces led by Spitfire! Dust had forgotten there had been a small army of them waiting off to the west, they’d been so useless through all that!

“Rarity!” Dash called out to her friend. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but–”

“I’m on it.”

The same green energy wrapped itself around the new army. Led by Spitfire, the train of pegasi repeatedly dive-bombed at the budding pods, slowly beating back the tendrils with burst after burst. When it seemed they finally breached the defenses, splattering those pods before they could hatch.

But the hope they’d been neutralized didn’t last long. Embermoon was only forced to change tactics. Instead of letting them mature into a full mockery of somepony specific, they burst immediately into wax ponies.

These constructs put up a decent fight and there were much more of them. But it had to be putting more strain on Embermoon and the tide of the brawl quickly began to turn in Oaken Field’s favor.

She had no idea if it was on purpose but Dust found some small tendril of green magic around herself as well. Small enough to perhaps be collateral but still enough to lighten her wounds.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but can I get some more of this stuff? This excitement is giving me a second wind!” Dust brought out an electrical charge across her body once more. “I’m ready to join the fray too!”

But just a second later, Dust found herself short of breath.

“I can’t give you your strength back,” Rarity warned. “All we can do for you right now is keep you from collapsing.”

Dust wanted to protest but a smack from Dash soon followed.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to be stupid!” Dash shouted at her. “You already did your part, let me take care of this.”

It was weird, but Dust could accept that.

“Still.”

“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking,” said Dash. “I’d still need one more army, huh? Well, guess what?”

Dash looked north with the same confidence as she did before.

Nothing happened. Just some awkward silence.

“Well their timing’s not as good, but…”

She kept watching the horizon.

“Give it a minute,” said Dash.

Then it happened! A third army came marching from the north!

It was Moonlight Raven and behind her marched what must have been a few hundred unicorns, some even carried light artillery. No sooner than Dust saw them did a pegasus spotter approach the group and they opened fire on Embermoon.

“There we go!”

Thanks to Rarity, the blows hit much harder than they normally would, as Moonlight charged in to join the fray. Between the empowered air and magic strikes, Embermoon was put on a sudden defensive. Now the unicorns of the Sunset’s forces provided the barrage while the ponies of Oakenfield struggled against the clones.

At last, Spitfire managed to break through. Rarity concentrated on her specifically as she charged in at the ever-growing pile of green pods. Embermoon tried to turn the momentum of her right half against Spitfire but Eclipse and Moonlight clashed against it at the same time, all while the bug-witch took heavy bombardment.

Spitfire swooped in and grabbed onto a meaty stalk from which the pods had all originated. She covered herself in white-hot flames, attempting to burn it to a crisp. And from the way it writhed, it appeared to be working too.

That looked like the big breakthrough! Dust was confident they had enough momentum behind them to take down a witch even with one or two tricks left!

The remaining clones were slowly dwindling and Embermoon didn’t look like she was going to make any more. Yet one pony was conspicuously absent from the fray. Dust looked to the far east, to where Eclipse had been.

Seeing the building momentum and perhaps worried she would be the next target, Eclipse took the opportunity to flee, rushing off past the ruins of the castle out of sight. The last look Dust got off her, that witch was so badly deshelled and battered that Dust knew they wouldn’t have to worry about her anytime soon. Whatever plan she had in her mind would be left to the imagination.

Eclipse had one last chore before leaving. She found her pupil writhing in agony on the ground as the fresh battle raged behind her. Luster was struggling against some other entity that had entered her mind, all the signs were there.

A few unicorns had gathered around to try and ‘help’ her but Eclipse soon chased them away and dragged Luster Dawn off further away.

She had suspected it was a foreign entity. Eclipse made a similar pact at her age and it went about as well. It was of little importance as to what, but seeing this made things clear to her. Her student had been overtaken by some demon. That was what attempted to disrupt Eclipse’s spell and Nightmare Moon had noticed.

Rarity, then, must have been the one to save her life. But she’d get no thanks for it.

Eclipse grasped Luster Dawn’s neck. Her magic flowed through the filly, and then with one last ripping motion, she tore the parasite out from within. Without its host, it quickly evaporated into nothing.

Luster fell onto the ground. Eclipse gave her a moment to recover as she considered her situation.

Only the very last of her strength remained. It had been a long time since she found herself so badly wounded and battered. She’d need a full week to recover from this ordeal and even then it’d never be a full recovery. All she could manage was retreat.

Whatever happened next here would be beyond her control. She would consider offering some council, at least, but her enemies had too much momentum behind them and her too little. The odds favored fleeing.

Then at last Luster got to her feet. Soon she’d be well enough to depart.

“That takes care of that wretched creature.” Eclipse turned her back on Luster, watching the battle with Embermoon instead. Even now she considered if there were some way to take that witch’s spellbook... “I hope you learned your lesson– the outer realm is no shortcut on the path to power. I made the same mistake once when I was your age. I don’t think it’s an entirely bad experience, given…”

Something caught in Eclipse’s throat, staying her words. She felt heat more than pain, something hot and sticky came gushing down her neck.

Blood, an immense amount came out in spurts. It wasn’t the first time she’d had even that specific artery sliced. Yet it was still unexpected, even now.

Eclipse turned her eye slowly to the side, already knowing who it had to be. Luster Dawn held an ethereal blade and Screwball’s spellbook, breathing heavily and slowly, eyes wide with desperation, with hunger, with a willingness to kill at last.

And Eclipse smiled.

She had recovered from her ordeal faster than Eclipse imagined possible and found an opening against Eclipse herself! Only that Luster was surprised at herself gave Eclipse any dissatisfaction.

Eclipse turned, forcing Luster to withdraw the blade. Healing the wound would be difficult, but restoring blood was relatively simple. Eclipse set about it, rejuvenating it at about the rate it was lost. Still, she had already lost so much and would need to focus however slightly on this.

“Why are you smiling?!” Luster braced herself, thinking Eclipse had far more strength left than was let on.

“To be struck down by my successor is the only death I can accept,” said Eclipse. “It is the only honorable way to pass your legacy on. For so long my students were fools who failed to understand, but at last, you are different.”

“What?” Luster faltered, lowering her blade just slightly. At last, she understood, but understanding would not be enough.

Eclipse had no choice. A wave of force slapped Luster hard across the face, so hard it broke her nose and left it covered in blood.

“Don’t you dare have sympathy for me now, now that you’ve finally broken free of such weakness! I’m confident now more than ever that you have the potential to surpass me.”

Luster watched Eclipse with unblinking eyes. Eclipse could see it all coming together through her eyes, it all made sense to Luster.

“I changed my mind!” Luster stood firm this time, tears in her eyes but still ready. “I was scared before, but I understand the path now. I… I understand you.”

“You can’t go back,” said Eclipse. “One of us will die here! This may be the last lesson I teach you so pay attention. If you don’t kill me now, it will be the greatest disappointment in my life.”

Eclipse charged forward, this time in an honest attempt to kill Luster Dawn. If even one of her injuries were gone, she would have succeeded for Luster hesitated one last moment longer. Then she realized her own life was on the line.

Luster at last attacked Eclipse in earnest, matching her attacks. The child knew strength was on her side, managed to keep calm, and waited for Eclipse to bleed out. They exchanged small cuts as they moved back and forth trading blows but these only served to hasten the end.

To keep up the assault was to force her dying body to continue. At last, with real understanding, Luster finally pushed forward at full force, overcoming Eclipse’s waning power and plunging the blade into her chest.

Luster breathed forward as Eclipse took her last step in retreat. She took out her spellbook and dropped it at Luster’s feet.

As Eclipse’s vision dimmed, the last thing she saw was Luster Dawn. She had killed her mentor without regret. And it was all worth it.

Of course, Embermoon had one last trick up her sleeve. Again.

Her right foreleg had broken off, and then Embermoon transformed into this twisting, writhing beast whose form was too unstable to describe for more than a few seconds. Still, she mostly had four legs.

Nopony could get close to her as she lashed out in every direction with a screaming furry and force nopony could meet.

“I’m not sure exactly what happened,” said Dash. “If this is permanent or what, but it seems Embermoon lost her mind, at least for now.”

It reminded Dash in some ways of a werewolf, perhaps there was this beast inside her she’d been holding back. She hoped it wasn’t permanent. There were so many questions Dash wanted to ask Embermoon about what any of that nonsense she was spouting even meant.

Though Dash was certainly getting ahead of herself on that.

Embermoon not only matched the attacks from the ponies surrounding her but often succeeded, landing a devastating blow on her assailants. Dash had instructed them to fight with caution, keep the assault up but don’t charge in. Time was on their side.

“She’s got to slow down eventually,” said Spitfire. “I can already see signs of it, this one doesn’t have super regeneration like Trixie. It’s just a matter of time until we win.”

“Yeah, but that could be hours and the longer this goes on, the more ponies are going to get hurt,” said Dash. “We gotta end this right away.”

She watched the fight for a minute longer before the answer presented itself to her. Embermoon’s body writhed and mutated uncontrollably, and the most recent mutation revealed something to Dash.

That was something Dash had been curious about. She hadn’t seen Embermoon’s spellbook since all this began. Witches had all sorts of methods of hiding them, so it hadn’t seemed strange but now Dash could clearly see where she’d been keeping it. Embermoon had swallowed her spellbook.

And she must have been more cautious about it up until then. Only now, in her more monstrous state, did it occasionally become visible, though still wrapped in a sheet of chitin.

Spellbooks provided you with muscle memory as well as knowledge of spells. Even in her largely mindless state, it would grant Embermoon god-like skills in combat, making it nearly impossible to get one up on her.

“The spellbook!” Dash called her entourage. “I have just enough witch training to hold it for a short time, I think. If we get that, the fight is over.”

“On it!” Spitfire nodded to two nearby pegasi and they rushed in, carrying Dash, covered by unicorn fire.

Moonlight noticed Dash going in and charged forward to give the best distraction she could. The two crossed blades only briefly before Moonlight was forced back, but it was enough. The three pegasi and Dash got close.

Spitfire went in first, passing Dash to her second before trading blows with Embermoon. Spitfire managed to break the bones of that cage before getting thrown away like a ragdoll.

The second pegasus threw Dash straight at the book. As the two of them got swatted, Dash bit it with her teeth and rolled away.

Maybe ‘just enough’ had been an overstatement, Dash nearly puked as soon as she grabbed the darn thing. But she didn’t faint! And that was progress. Just enough wits remained to hold onto the book as a pegasus spirited her away.

Just the fact another pegasi was able to get in and extract her was a good sign here. It meant Embermoon’s abilities had degraded by a huge margin!

Embermoon dropped everything and charged at Rainbow Dash with an animalistic desperation. Dash couldn’t even tell how many ponies tried to take advantage of that with every manner of attack imaginable. Without the spellbook, whatever wits Embermoon had vanished. Her hundreds of generations of expertise were gone. She couldn’t deal with blows like that in her current state.

Every blow hit her with full force now, tearing through her chitin and tumbling her about. If this kept up.

“Wait!” Dash threw aside the spellbook and scrambled to get out of her helper’s grasp. “Hold your fire!”

But it was already too late. The armor on her back broke and four or five shots went straight through Embermoon. One through her head.

Embermoon’s expression froze and she fell to the ground limp. Dash already knew what that meant. It was over. Everypony must have known that, but several kept shooting at Embermoon’s body anyway, just to be completely sure. This, Dash didn’t bother to stop as the chance to help her had passed.

Dash couldn’t blame the ponies, Embermoon had been taking that intensity of fire so well up until now. They weren’t ready for such a sudden drop like that. Still, she felt sick.

There was a brief moment of silence, nopony wanting to be the first to celebrate the death of the witch. Then somepony let out a cry of victory and it infected the now-elated crowd.

An eruption of cheers rang out among the four armies, but Dash could only wince and turn away. She should have made what would happen clearer. Already, two or three better plans were swimming through her mind.

But no. Dash shook her head and opened her eyes again to face the facts. She trotted over to Embermoon and looked her in the eyes.

“Sorry I couldn’t understand you,” said Dash. “Now I’ll never know what made you so scared of me.”

She turned to look over her shoulder at the spellbook on the ground… only two more remained. Both with Eclipse.

No time to feel sorry for herself. Dash brushed aside a few ponies trying to congratulate her and found Spitfire instead.

“We have to see where the other one went!”

All the other ponies celebrated, but as far as Aria was concerned she only had one objective here. If Sonata had died in all that fighting, Aria wouldn’t be able to take it. She couldn’t even imagine what she’d do.

She pushed past as many ponies as possible, could easily feel the presence of that specter: Fluttershy.

And that was exactly where she found her sister. Both her and Fluttershy were badly injured and Sonata’s attention was stuck on Fluttershy, the two of them talking about something unimportant.

Aria let out a long breath before approaching. It almost didn’t seem real. She needed a moment to calm down and make sure this wasn’t just an illusion.

“Sonata!”

Aria called out to her, taking her attention back from Fluttershy.

“Aria!”

Aria floated out of her body, rushed to Sonata and grabbed her in an embrace.

For the first time in decades they weren’t just in the same room, but together, both themselves… and free. It didn’t matter if this would only last a moment, it was worth it. To do something she’d never thought possible again.

“I can’t believe it’s finally over!”

“I don’t think ‘over’ is a good way to describe it,” said Aria. “Nightmare Moon was barely injured by that. And that was from two versions of that idiot’s spell.”

“But she was injured,” Sonata pointed out. “More than the last few times.”

“That’s the whole problem. Plenty of people come up with these grand dramatic displays like this. They knock her over or delay her but it’s never enough. Not even close.”

Aria let go and trotted off a few paces. If only it had been over. They were both free but now there was so little time left. Still, they could do what they could with it.

“But here! I got you a present.”

Aria had one of the other ponies load it into a supply cart. This is what Aria led Sonata to. Fluttershy decided to follow for some reason.

The present was Sonata Dusk. Her body that is. The last time Sonata saw it, it must have been an absolute wreck as she stared at herself without recognition for a moment.

Though to be fair, she was stupid and it was still in pretty bad shape. It looked more like the current state of Aria’s. A leg had to be stapled on, and huge staples ran all along the back. Her left ear wasn’t quite facing the right direction, but at least the whole thing was covered in fur and no stuffing was coming loose.

It was rough, but something about having matching looks brought some tiny sliver of satisfaction to Aria.

“My body! You found it!” Sonata rushed over and straight into her body. Once more it sprang to life and jumped excitedly on its feet. “I forgot how good this felt without any chains on! Wait, where did you get it? I don’t even remember what happened to it. And I was there.”

“We left it with Nailbat’s ponies,” Fluttershy reminded her. “You were pretty out of it back then.”

“Oh, right! That feels like it was so long ago.”

“I went to them first,” said Aria. “They managed to mostly put it back together. That one pilot pony is pretty decent with this stuff. Though I had to help.”

“Let me guess, you did the staples?” Sonata ran a hoof along her now ridged back. “You and your giant staples. I still remember when you got that giant stapler for your birthday.”

Sonata flexed her left leg, which looked almost completely unscathed save that it was stapled back on.

“Is this my missing leg?” Sonata asked. “Boy, I really don’t remember what happened to that.”

“It isn’t, but I managed to find somepony who looks a lot like you. There’s a lot of spare parts floating around right about now,” Aria smirked, “if you know what I mean.”

“Can we maybe not be so morbid?” Fluttershy asked.

“Ah, don’t worry! Once you get over how gross this is, it’s pretty great!” Sonata smiled at Fluttershy. Again. “Fun fact: what I had here before wasn’t my real leg, either! That got eaten by a raccoon. Bet you couldn’t even tell it was a spare, huh?”

“It wasn’t a raccoon,” Aria said, hardly believing they were still discussing this decades later.

“Oh, Fluttershy!” Sonata would not take her attention off that annoying specter. “You need to try possessing a body. Though it’ll be hard to find a doll now.”

Every time Sonata talked to Fluttershy, it pissed Aria off a little. She had to still be under some aura effect. But Aria kept it down for now, not wanting to make a scene. She just wanted to leave.

“I bet that pony,” Fluttershy stopped to remember his name for a moment, “Blueblood. He’s into this sort of thing. Maybe he can fix you two up?”

“That’s a good idea!” Sonata looked back to Aria. “Let’s go find him.”

“I don’t think we have time for that.” Aria pulled Sonata back to her side. “We’re leaving. Like right now.”

“Leaving?” Sonata asked, looking sad which annoyed Aria.

“Yeah! I got everything I could hope for. So we’re leaving while we’re at hope’s peak. Come on.”

Taking care not to look at Fluttershy, Aria jerked Sonata in the right direction. She growled slightly when Sonata pulled back.

“Wait! But they need us!” Sonata whined. “And I wanna stay with Fluttershy.”

“Fluttershy is no better than her!” Aria pointed toward Crater Cemetery. “You only like Fluttershy because of her aura. She’s using you.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“What are you…?” Such a childish response! And yet Aria felt such a pathetic sigh wash over her that she couldn’t even respond to that!

Facing down Sonata with her ‘nuh-uh’ defense took Aria back for a minute.

“Um. I don’t mean to be rude, but you did promise us,” said Fluttershy. “That if we freed Sonata you’d help us.”

Aria flashed her eyes in anger at Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy never crossed the line!” Sonata jumped in front of her like she was taking a bullet for the pony. “She helped me and I want to help her. That’s it. And if you don’t tell them everything then I will.”

Aria didn’t want to believe she’d been overreacting to Fluttershy. She wanted to go far away and have Sonata all to herself for what days remained. But… she did make a deal. And Sonata would only mess things up more if she tried to fulfill it.

“Yeah, but you’re still an idiot.” Aria let out a long sigh. “It’d be better if I told them. I still know more than you do.”

“Then you’re staying?” Sonata relaxed her bullet-taking stance.

“You realize this is our last chance, yeah?” Aria ran a hoof across her neck. “Death is the only option for us if Nightmare Moon gets free. I need you to promise you’ll follow me without whining… if it comes down to that.”

Sonata hesitated while Fluttershy watched the tension with confusion. Then the horror of realization came across her.

“Wait! Are you two talking about?” Fluttershy ran in between them. “You can’t make somepony agree to something like that!”

“You don’t understand!” Aria got in Fluttershy’s face. She was different now. Didn’t back away at all.

“Aria is right,” Sonata broke up the standoff by siding with Aria for once. “I’d rather die than go back to the way things were. And they’d be worse this time.”

Sonata trotted over to Aria’s side and nodded in agreement.

“Maybe now you’re starting to get how serious this is?” Aria asked.

“I hope you understand how serious I am!” Sonata answered for Fluttershy.

Aria watched Sonata, who possessed a determination that was rare for her.

“Fine. I’ll stay until the end. But no longer.” Aria pushed Sonata aside. “Where’s Rainbow Dash?”

Luster looked down at her spellbooks. Not one, but two. Screwball’s and now Eclipse’s.

Why had it taken her so long to understand? Maybe it was for the best. She’d gotten what she wanted. And Eclipse wouldn’t have wanted her to feel any regret.

This whole experience opened her eyes to her path. She could do it, and she could find a way.

Somepony interrupted her before she could retreat. Rainbow Dash and some other pegasi landed not far from her, gawking at Eclipse lying in blood like the weak-minded fools they were. They couldn’t even kill their enemies?

Dash saw her spellbook, some of them moving as if ready for a fight.

“Easy.” Dash stayed all the others. “Put down the books, kid. I don’t know what your deal is, but I can help you. You don’t have to be like this.”

“Help me?” Luster snarled. “Help me, what?! Be like you? Live by your rules?”

Luster pointed down at Eclipse.

“Eclipse showed me the path I wish to walk, the path for me! You can’t force me to take another!”

“What are you even thinking? You just murdered that pony, and you want to do the same as her?”

“Exactly. You can’t possibly understand. And that’s why you can’t ‘help’ me.” She took a step back. “I will become the greatest witch! I won’t let the new path die.”

Luster used the last of her strength to charge the ground beneath her feet, ready to teleport far, far away from here. The other ponies moved forward to stop her, but she vanished before they could reach her.

Exhausted and with nothing to spare, Dash stayed the one or two ponies who would have attempted to peruse.

“She’s probably not going to be a problem… for a while.” Dash sighed. Anything to get rid of one of the infinite threats looming over her.

But at least it wasn’t a seemingly infinite number. All that remained was Starlight…

Dash looked out into the forest.

And that.

That huge attack went off and it barely put a dent in Nightmare Moon?

Three armies stood behind her now and yet it felt as though she were still unarmed. It made her forget all about Starlight for the moment. If only she had known back then what she did now. She shook her head, determined not to fall back to those old thoughts. She would only move forward from here out.

She couldn’t possibly imagine her next move against something like that but didn’t dare to despair. Her strength was in the courage she gave to others and had no business with that any longer.

But there was one new path open to her.

She looked to Sonata and Aria and decided it was best to give them a minute, but she would force Aria to hold to their old deal even if it meant calling in support.

Moving back to the scene where the battle had been, Dash would have thought they’d defeated Nightmare Moon herself. Maybe some of them thought that had been taken care of. But most of them were likely inspired by the fact that two witches had been destroyed.

The three groups were still celebrating their victory, though they weren’t mingling too much together. Dash would have to do what she could to change that. But one or two things were more important now.

Still, it was a strange feeling to know that her original mission of defeating all the witches was complete now. Nopony would ever doubt Dash again after this, for better or worse.

Then again, two spellbooks were still missing. Two major threats still loomed. Most of her ponies needed time to recover. And Dash hadn’t resolved the problem the way she would have wanted.

For now, Dash approached Rarity. She had some idea as to what happened over here. That green energy Rarity had been sharing with everypony retracted and formed into something not unlike a ghost by Rarity’s side. Together, they met Dash’s skepticism with a smile.

“That isn’t what I think it is, is it?” Dash asked.

“Don’t worry,” said Rarity. “This one is different. I made Generosity a virtue and I think I know how this works now.”

“I like to think I’m different from those other elements,” said Generosity. “They are parasites, obsessed and narrow minded. My relationship with Rarity is much more professional.”

“I think the whole parasite thing is my opinion speaking for you,” said Rarity.

“Well yes, but it’s a good opinion.”

“You only think that because I do.”

“Yes. But I like thinking what you think.”

“Well if you have an element of harmony then you’re on par with Starlight. I think? Hope?” Dash watched Rarity with increasing concern at the lack of certainty to that. “Come on! You gotta be at least thirty percent on her level, right? And why the heck wouldn’t you be if this is the same thing!”

“I’m not entirely sure if me having this power is a good thing,” Rarity warned. “What I’m using is alicorn magic. Pure order. And this world is very near the limit of how far it can be pushed in that direction.”

“Too far in the order direction?” Dash asked. “Rarity, there’s chaos and monsters everywhere. Every day is crazy. How can it possibly be too close to order?”

“It is an overreaction of chaos. There’s a point at which the system falls apart. And… well I’ve only just seen this but I’m starting to think Nightmare Moon and a good number of other things are part of the system.

Excessive order meant excessive chaos. The chaos-order horseshoe, was it? Dash was too exhausted to understand this any more than the face of it…

“Wait,” Dash said, not sure if she should hope she was on the verge of something. “And Starlight wants to create hundreds of ponies like you, become an alicorn… she has to be aware of this too! Is she…?”

“I can’t see Starlight’s mind directly, nor anypony’s with similar powers. But I don’t think I need that to make such a conclusion at this point. Starlight is purposely trying to push us over the edge.”

“Damn! So that’s why she wanted to give us those black feathers. We would have just destroyed ourselves with it. But like… how much can you do?”

“More than you would think,” said Rarity. “But not enough to defeat Nightmare Moon or Starlight.”

Well that was still something Dash could work with. One piece of a puzzle, to which she had a few more. Another came by not long after that.

Fluttershy came with the two banshees in tow. Dash could tell Fluttershy convinced Aria to keep helping them, even if reluctantly. Those two had bodies, but Fluttershy curiously didn’t.

“Where’s that fancy armor you were using?” Dash asked.

“I left it back in Ponyville,” said Fluttershy. “I thought bringing it down to where Nightmare Moon is would be a bad idea.”

“Probably a good idea.” Dash turned to Aria. “So.”

Before Dash could ask, Spitfire brought Batton Pass, badly battered to Rainbow Dash.

“A lot of the Cartel fled into the woods,” said Spitfire. “But we got most of their leaders and plenty more on top of that. What do you want us to do?”

Dash trotted slowly to Batton Pass. The rest of the Cartel Assembled behind her, not exactly ready for a fight but doing their best to pretend it were so.

“You can’t possibly fight me right now,” Dash warned. “You know I’ll go easy on you if you give up.”

Batton still turned to the remaining ponies. Their forces had been utterly devastated. Most of them had been completely exhausted from fighting, few looked like they could even manage to get up and walk to a jail cell without aid.

“Very well.” Batton raised a hoof. Most of her ponies appeared relieved at the chance to surrender. “I surrender. But don’t think you won!”

Batton stepped past Dash to shout at anypony who would listen.

“This pony ruined our one chance at vanquishing the nightmare! If she hadn’t interrupted and rushed our attempt to cast that spell, it could have worked.” Batton stepped back once again, resigning herself to arrest. “It makes no difference if I spend two days in prison. All of you will die shortly.”

Not even Dash was sure of herself after that. Aria came forth against this objection, immediately and before Dash could make her own response.

“Don’t be stupid. Do you think even double that would have been enough?” Aria asked. “There isn’t any amount of force that can destroy her. Rainbow Dash would have just as much luck singing her a song about friendship as you would if you could cast that spell ten more times.”

“You’re that Noctilucent girl, aren’t you?” Batton sneered at her. “You’re just too blinded by your faith to see there could be an end to this monster’s strength. Before she left, Eclipse told me that she cracked that monster. And if it can fracture it can break!”

“Oh, if only you were right,” said Aria. “I’ve seen ponies talking like that for decades. But.”

Aria turned to Rainbow Dash, exhausted but not at the end of her strength.

“Don’t give me that look. It’s hopeless, but you freed Sonata, so I’ll tell you everything I know, though I doubt it will be enough.”

“Fine. Then do it right now,” said Dash. “I won’t give anything the chance to interrupt.”

“In front of all of them?” Aria asked wearily. “Even that bat?”

“Yeah, even them. I’m just going to tell them eventually anyway,” said Dash. “I’m not hiding anything from her on out.”

“It’s the end of the world anyway.” Aria sat, too weary to fight on this point. “Very well. Broadcast it for all I care. I only kept my mouth shut for Sonata’s sake. The first thing you have to know is about our religion. We don’t worship that monster, but the daughter of the Darklord. Star Feather, or Luna as she is now known after her ascension.”