Twilight coughed, the ringing in her ears slowly fading to a dull tinnitus. She opened her eyes, the glow of low flames and a smoky haze still filling her vision. Bit by bit she forced her body to move, to get her back up on her hooves.

“I’m not… dead… [i]yet[/i],” Twilight growled, focusing what little remained of her energy as she lit up her horn.

Across the ravaged wasteland in which she fought, she could see the scattered forms of her friends strewn across the ground. They had all fought so hard to get here. They weren’t dead yet, but she was now the only thing standing in the way of that.

“[i]Why do you still struggle?[/i]” the booming voice of her enemy thundered in her mind. “[i]It is futile. This world will end in darkness. It is the collective wish of all of ponykind and cannot be stopped[/i].”

Twilight began to walk forward, her legs threatening to give out underneath her. “It’s not [i]my[/i] wish. Even if you do destroy the world, I will never stop fighting to keep the spark of friendship alive.”

The swirling maelstrom of darkness that now made up the sky focused its ethereal gaze upon her and slowly began to creep downwards. “[i]So be it. You cannot win[/i].”

“I cannot lose.”

Twilight felt its overwhelming willpower press down on her, and she knew her words were empty, but she had to fill them with something. Everypony was counting on her. Her friends…

Her friends. Twilight felt a pulse, a tug in her heart. Friendship had a power of its own, and she had known that for a long time. Even working together with all of their might, they hadn’t been able to stem the tides of darkness. But their wills, their strength, their bonds… She still carried them with her.

Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy. Applejack. Rarity. Pinkie Pie. Spike. They had all fought alongside her, following her lead, even into danger. They had been willing to give up their lives, but they had all worked hard to make sure it wouldn’t come to that.

And there was everyone else who had helped her along the way. Celestia. Luna. Cadance. Shining Armor. Her Mother and Father. Big Macintosh. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Maud Pie. Lyra, Bon Bon, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, Derpy, and so many more. Their friends, their families, had all done their best to support them along their way, and in turn they had entrusted them with their hopes, their dreams and their futures.

Warmth began to spread through her, numbing the aches and pains of her broken body, filling her with renewed spirit. Yes, friendship had a power of its own. It wasn’t enough to win normally, but...

She knew what had to be done.

The light from Twilight’s horn began to spread downwards, across her head, down her neck, until her entire body was alight with a pale purple luminescence. Motes of light began to drift from her skin, and dust was kicked up in waves as wind picked up around her.

“Thank you for everything, everypony,” Twilight said, walking towards the darkness. “I’m sorry it had to be like this.”

Rainbow Dash groaned, opening her eyes. “Twilight…?” she mumbled.

Twilight continued walking forward and Rainbow Dash’s eyes snapped open fully. “Twilight! What are you doing, you—”

Rainbow Dash tried to stand, but her legs buckled beneath her and she fell. “You can’t! You promised we’d all get through this!”

Twilight turned back, smiled, then continued forward as she began to glow brighter and brighter.

[hr]

Applejack tossed Rainbow Dash a bottle of cider and cracked open one of her own, sitting next to her on the hills overlooking Sweet Apple Acres.

“Sure is beautiful. Almost never thought I’d see it back to normal like this.”

Rainbow Dash took a long drink of her own and stayed silent for a minute before finally mumbling, “I still can’t believe she’s really gone.”

“Eeyup.”

They sat there in silence until the sun began to dip low on the horizon, when Rainbow Dash stood up, announcing, “I’m going to find a way to save her.”

“Dash, if you do that, that thing comes back, and it was all for nothing.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “There’s got to be another way. I’m going to find it, and I won’t let you stop me.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Stop you? Idgit. Just let me get the others, and we’ll do this together.”

“Twilight…”