Sprawling Light

-Canterlot-

Mephilzo’s dark energy flares out then disperses, black static rises off of his body. Before anyone could breathe, all four of the heroes take off at the same time, Sonic tries to punch him in the face, Silver tries to flank from behind, Applejack tries to kick him in the gut, and Fluttershy comes from the side to get a kidney punch in.

Every punch lands at the same time but he doesn’t flinch. He delivers a painful palm thrust to AJ’s face and sends her flying back, his eyes dilate. The beast punches her into the ground and picks her up by the mane. Then knees her in the stomach, then slams both of his fists on her back. She bounces off of the ground, and Mephilzo spin kicks AJ into a house. Her hat slowly floating to the ground.

He turns to see Sonic trying to blitz him, but Mephilzo smiles as he dodges Sonic’s initial jab. Sonic then backs up and starts going around Mephilzo, rapidly firing golden X-shaped projectiles at him.

Mephilzo sits there, unphased as he is pelted with these projectiles. “Interesting, you’ve adapted more rapid-fire ranged techniques to your arsenal, I must say I am relieved to not have to get hit with ‘Sonic Wind’ over and over again.”

Sonic spin dashes while hovering in the air while Mephilzo’s eyes watch intensely.

Sonic spinning creates ten golden orbs of energy. He fires the barrage at Mephilzo. The blasts all converge on his location, creating an even larger cloud of dust and debris.

Mephilzo chuckles as the white hedgehog swipes away the cloud of dust, still no damage taken, “So many new ranged abilities. If I were Perfect Nazo, I may be considerably damaged. You’ve gotten so much stronger that Shadic would only need a Super Form to wipe Nazo in any form off the map.”

His grin widens, “Unfortunately for you, I am beyond my half Nazo in strength. Multiplicatively even.”

As Sonic floats there with a grimace. Mephilzo looks up and sees a house being levitated above him by Silver, rather than just dropping it, Silver slams it onto Mephilzo’s. Mephilzo disintegrates the house as it crashes into him with a flare of energy.

He grins, “Oh, Silver, you shouldn’t have. Here, a gift from me.”

Mephilzo lazily points a clawed finger to Silver and fires a thin beam from his finger that pierces through Silver’s shoulder. Silver winces hard as blood leaks down the hole in his chest. Mephilzo then looks at Sonic, “Remember when Super Forms were thought to be invulnerable. Truly ignorant times.”

Fluttershy appears next to Silver and places a hoof on him, she focuses a little bit of her energy and heals Silver’s wound. She gently asks, “Are you okay Silver? it shouldn’t hurt anymore.”

Silver moves his arm around in a circle. “Thanks Flutters, I appreciate it.”

Mephilzo grits his teeth, ”She is going to be a problem.”

The creature looks up at the trio, and his eyes gleam in a familiar way, then he utters a word that fills them all with dread.

“Revelations.”

The trio’s eyes turn pitch black,

Sonic holds his head in his hands, mumbling while on the verge of tears as Mephilzo refreshes his memory on Kilo’s murder of the Freedom Fighters, he even forces Sonic to watch Rotor die. he makes Sonic watch Sally die. He forces him to sit through an agonizing replay of Kilo butchering Bunnie and Antoine as they try to fight in vain. “No, No, NO!” Sonic screams out.

Silver slowly floats down. He watches a memory from when he was younger. In his desolated time. Two figures in front of him, slowly walking away. He runs forward, but they are eternally out of reach. He yells out, “Mommy! Daddy! Please! I won’t eat so many rations! I’ll drink less water! Don’t go!” Silver falls to his knees as tears stream down his face.

Fluttershy, floats down and she starts screaming, “Mom, Dad! Please you have to get out of there! Get Zephyr and- “, then she watches as everything gets ripped apart violently. Then it reverses and repeats the same scene. Over and over. While in this trance, Fluttershy tries to close her eyes, or turn her head, but her senses force her to perceive the tragedy.

Mephilzo chuckles at them all breaking down in their own minds and he holds an open palm at charging a beam aimed for Fluttershy, “How is this still so easy?”

“Cause yer usin’ illusions you fuckin’ coward.”

Mephilzo turns his head to see Applejack. She looks straight into his eyes without a blink. “I wonder what mockery of power you’re using to stop my ‘Revelations’ from working on you. I also wonder why you’re alive.”

Applejack spits out a bit of blood, “My Element Ability is Honesty, freak, your petty illusions ain’t gonna work on me no more.”

Mephilzo stares but instead of condescension, he is intrigued. “And how does this ‘Honesty’ function, exactly?”

“You made me watch my lil’ sister get murdered in my own head back in Ponyville. I ain’t explainin’ nothin’ to filth like you. How’s about you just watch this?”

Applejack’s eyes gleam with energy as she slams into ground with her front hooves, a pulse of orange energy, washes over the ones affected by Revelations, There eyes all clear of darkness.

Mephilzo grimaces and tries to move from where he’s standing but his body has stiffened completely. His eyes flick to AJ, her red eyes gleaming.

AJ smirk, “Feelin’ stuck and helpless? Good. Hope yer little visions weren’t too strong. Honesty’s a real bitch.”

As Mephilzo grits his teeth AJ raises her foreleg and slams her hoof onto the street. A wide stake of energy, in the shape of an apple tree, shoots through the center of Mephilzo’s chest diagonally, planting him to the ground. He coughs up black blood. “You… can’t be… this powerful!”

AJ frowns, “I ain’t. My punches weren’t doin’ a thing to ya. But yer ‘Revelations’? That’s pretty darn powerful, so my Honesty took it, froze ya and now yer stuck to the ground like a cowpie in the summer. Now sit there a while, why don’tcha!?”

Mephilzo’s pained look turns to sheer malice, “You think you’re cute? A thematic power, to be assured.”

“But”

He grips the tree, his hands burning from the positive energy.

“ultimately futile.” He crushes and shatters the tree of orange energy, scattering orange splinters in every direction, the center of his chest is now a gaping hole.

He looks down and the wound stiches itself closed. He glares at AJ. “Nazo may have been onto something.” He prepares another attack but then he gets sucker punched by Fluttershy, the force moves his head backward and his feet slide back.

Fluttershy’s eyes were full of rage.

Mephilzo glares at the formerly shy pony, “That stung.”

Not relenting, Fluttershy spins and slams Mephilzo with a downward kick, Mephilzo blocks with a forearm. The force Fluttershy exerts makes a shockwave that pushes Mephilzo into the ground.

The evil being pushes her back with an outward flare of black energy. He smiles ”I always enjoyed you Fluttershy, dare I say, you’re my personal favorite.” He opens his arms, “Since I like you and not the hick. I’ll let you hit me as hard as you can.”

Fluttershy then looks him up and down, “I don’t care what you like. You never hurting anypony as long as I draw breath.” Fluttershy glances to Shining Armor, the crystal spikes dissipated, and he now lays on the ground bleeding. Mephilzo notices her glance.

“Oh no. You’re thinking of healing him with your, ‘Kindness’ ability, aren’t you?”

Fluttershy looks back, hiding a bit of shock on her face.

Mephilzo grins, “Of course you’re the healer, it fits you so well, but I said hit me as hard as you can, not play doctor. You step in his direction; I’ll kill him now. Are we clear?”

She glares at Mephilzo and growls out, “Crystal.”

In an instant Fluttershy warps a few hundred meters away, Canterlot Castle looming behind her, she yells, “Everypony get out of the streets!” Applejack and Silver help Sonic up, and they all get to relative safety in the air.

Then Fluttershy holds both of her hooves to the sides as her golden aura condenses around her, she grits her teeth once more, and her pupils disappear. Faint signatures of visible energy start blinking in each hoof. Lighting starts ripping through the cobblestone and making lines of fire on the roofs of the buildings.

A streak of lightning skates past Mephilzo and ho grins widely, “Yes! I can really feel your hatred!”

In a quick motion Fluttershy’s hooves come together as a very visible ball of yellow energy starts to form.

Silver’s eyes go wide, and he yells out, “You're gonna destroy the whole planet! Flutters, you’ve got to stop it!”

Applejack flies up to the hedgehogs looking back at Fluttershy with worry, “Sonic, Silver, move!”

The ball of yellow energy completely solidifies, “Final!”

Fluttershy vanishes with a Chaos Control.

Mephilzo sees a yellow glow illuminate his side, he feels the heat from this star destroying mass of energy.

The beast’s eyes are wide in genuine surprise.

“Kindness!”

She releases the golden energy skyward, and it engulfs Mephilzo’s upper body in an instant. The violent beam bores through the upper floors of houses in its way, as it expands to the size of Canterlot itself. As the beam reaches the veil in the sky, it scorches a wide hole that makes the sunlight shine on Canterlot. The beam stretches for thousands of miles into space before thinning and dispersing.

Fluttershy breathes heavily.

The dust clears and in the light shines down, everyone sees Mephilzo still standing.

Half of his face is burnt off revealing a swirl of dripping black ichor. His arms slough off his immolated shoulder and they dissolve into particles of darkness.

Mephilzo’s voice shakes, “What a fool I was to let this happen…”

Then a grin stretches across his face, “I mean I could have stepped out of the way.”

His body instantly regenerates. All lost flesh appearing in a blink. He turns around and looks up at the sun being allowed in, “That’s annoying.” He clenches his fist as the sky and the hole heals itself.

He turns back to Fluttershy, “Final Kindness? I see, it’s like a mercy killing, very dark, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy trembles as beads of sweat drip down her chin, she mumbles, “That was… everything I had.” Her Super Form flickers as she tumbles to the ground.

As Mephilzo approaches her he gets pelted in the back by projectiles from Sonic, Applejack even tries to punch him from every angle she can but to no avail. Mephilzo delivers a neck chop to Applejack, grabs her by the back of her mane and throws her to the side. Silver tries to smash carts or houses into the beast, desperately trying to protect his friend, but he doesn’t budge from the objects getting launched at him.

Mephilzo sneers, he swipes his claws down aiming at Sonic and Silver. Then he mutters, “39 Lashes.” They both get brutalized by invisible whips, which leave slashes across their chests and backs. It doesn’t stop and they can’t move.

All while Mephilzo looms over Fluttershy.

“I’ll make you see a true hell.”

He places a palm on Fluttershy’s forehead then grips tightly as they both Chaos Control to the moon in a second. Fluttershy pushes Mephilzo off of her. She tries to haymaker him, but he catches her hoof spins around her and puts her in an armlock. His other arm wrapped her neck as she struggles against his strength.

His voice drips with malice, “Fluttershy, how long can you keep up that Super Form with how much energy you’ve used? I really wonder if ponies get their blood boiled in zero pressure.”

He twists her arm and makes her look at Equestria.

“Look at how beautiful this view is!”

Fluttershy manages to open her eyes, then they widen all the way as her heart drops.

She sees the entire planet, being covered by a spreading and growing blackness. The only grace in the shifting cloud of evil are the dots of light Twilight had created.

“I hope that those disappear after I kill Twilight.”

Mephilzo lets go of Fluttershy, she takes the opportunity to make some distance. She feels her Super Form falter even further as Mephilzo holds out his hand.

Mephilzo grins “Oh, Fluttershy, killing you will be the hardest thing I ever enjoy.”

A black ball of black energy grows in his palm, and he blasts it forward into a beam.

She tightly closes her eyes, preparing for the end. When it doesn’t come, she opens them to see Shadow struggling to hold back the blast.

The intense hedgehog looks back at her, “I didn’t train you for a year for you to die on the moon! Get up Fluttershy, keep on fighting!”

Fluttershy activates her Element Ability and heals herself, her Super Form running on willpower alone. She flies up and slams her hooves on the blast, and with their combined strength, they divert the attack into the dark reaches of space.

Fluttershy’s stumbles where she stands and Shadow looks at her with concern, “I’ll handle this. Let me send you back to Equestria.” Fluttershy weakly nods, her form about to give out any minute.

Shadow places a hand on her and Chaos Controls her away.

Mephilzo then laughs, “Well! A surprise appearance from the Ultimate Life form himself! Oh, I have to see how you’ve improved beyond Chaos Controlling others!”

Shadow sneers at Mephilzo then he snaps his fingers, “Chaos Beacon.”

In a flash of light Sonic and Silver appear at his sides.

All three of them have the same glare of anger.

Before Mephilzo can say another word, Silver he crushes him between two giant boulders, both unnaturally dense, and becoming more solid as Silver’s grip intensifies.

Mephilzo holds the two rocks apart, he sees Shadow flying with two red Chaos Spears, “Well now Mephilzo. I Hope you’re ready!”

He throws both spears, and they pierce both of Mephilzo’s elbows then explode. As his arms collapse inward, Mephilzo is slammed between the rocks. Silver crushes the ball of rock so very intensely with his psychokinesis that the stone turns molten, he slams the molten ball onto the ground. Making sure to put his all into the attack.

He yells out, “This is for hurting, Fluttershy!” and he pushes downward and sinks the ground in, the crater almost being visible from the Equestria.

Mephilzo stands up in the middle of healing himself as Sonic holds his hands forward.

He screams, “Super Homing Shot!”

Mephilzo gets pummeled into the moon’s surface by a hundred golden orbs Sonic made, they each crash and explode into him this time knocking him around.

This time it actually causes real damage.

As the grey dust clears, Mephilzo regenerates but he has an annoyed look on his face. “Wretches! I am the Messiah of Dark Chaos!”

He slams both palms into the ground of the moon. Then he pumps energy into the moon, so much so that the surface starts to crack. Geysers of energy start to spew from the stone as the energy floods into this celestial body.

Mephilzo looks up at the trio. “Now DIE!”

With a final push, the energy built up inside the moon detonates and Luna’s old prison is splintered into thousands of city sized chunks of silvery rock.

Sonic and Shadow watch as Silver shields all three of them form errant moon rocks or geysers of energy.

But a streak of black zips behind him and Mephilzo slams both fists down on the shield, launching the cyan bubble, with all the hedgehogs inside of it, towards the planet. As they plummet through the atmosphere, Mephilzo breaks through the bubble and grabs Sliver by the face.

He forces him down form orbit like a speeding comet. The beast slams Silver into the ocean, and the time-traveler coughs up blood through Mephilzo’s fingers.

Silver grabs Mephilzo’s wrist tight enhancing his grip with psychokinesis, and rips Mephilzo’s hand off from the forearm. Mephilzo reels back as Sonic rockets down and kicks Mephilzo in the back of the head.

Mephilzo plummets into the depths and his back touches the sea floor.

Shadow comes upon him like Poseidon and pierces Mephilzo’s belly with a Chaos Spear. Mephilzo gasps, bubbles spewing out from his mouth, as Shadow drives it in the and teleports away.

Leaving the spear to explode.

The three hedgehogs hover on the surface of the water looking down.

Mephilzo warps up as well, the hole in his torso stitching itself closed with rapidly shifting black threads of sinew.

“Tenacious. An admirable quality.” He frowns, “You people keep thrashing against me. It’s getting on my nerves.” He holds his hand up, charging his claws with energy. “I think I should slash you to ribbons!”

Before he can attack, he feels an intense presence appear behind him. he smiles to himself.

“So, the Princess of Friendship deigns us worthy of her presence.” Mephilzo’s voice drips with sarcastic malice.

A furious Twilight Sparkle is behind him, she then yells out, “Mephilzo. Give back the Elements, now!”

“Let me think about it…” he holds his open palm to Twilight, “No.”

Twilight fires a small bolt of energy that stops Mephilzo in place, paralyzing him. His eyes tremble in rage at the pony princess.

Twilight looks at the trio of hedgehogs, her face full of worry, “We have to go to Canterlot now! The rest of us are there and we need to come up with a plan, he’s far too powerful for us to beat! Even in our Super Forms!”

They all Chaos Control away leaving the villain frozen in place.

For a full minute, Mephilzo is paralyzed.

As he is freed from bodily stasis, he pants for a moment, “Damn… When did Twilight learn such a potent paralysis spell… must be a result of her ‘Element Ability’ and somehow one of these abilities allowed them to dilate time itself, they trained for a full year in the span of three months. How to combat such an obstacle…”

As Mephilzo ponders, he stands on water. A few seaponies swim to the surface and stare at him, the stranger in their territory.

He looks down at them, and his face turns to disgust, “Revolting.”

Mephilzo snaps his claws and the ocean itself begins writhing, as he slashes into it with a thousand invisible whips. Mulching the seaponies into streams of crimson viscera.