Chapter 10 - The Merciless and The Merciful

The seven ponies have ventured many trials that attempted to stop them from reaching this point in time. The Mane Six have defeated the Mare of the Night, the God of Chaos, the Harvesting Queen of Compassion, The Harbinger of Hatred, made up for their accusations to one another, survived the raging blizzard, avoided being caved-in, got freed from solid ice and reached this particular moment that will be the final step for returning harmony. They have said farewell to their families and friends, promised to return unharmed to them. And now they have reached that final confrontation: The conflict that will decide whether Equestria is doomed or saved from the Great and Powerful Trixie. Twilight has never felt this strong before without a solid plan, feeling invincible with these five mares at her side and that one red stallion who made this all possible. Trixie knows that they are her final obstacle and feels prepared to take them out with all the magic and might she has left.

'You have finally returned...,' Trixie hisses.

'Indeed we have...,' Brush says and shrugs. 'I forgot to say "hi" to Luna from you. I'm sorry for that... She may not be open about it, Trixie, but I can see in her eyes that she misses the nighttime conversations you always had together.'

A nervous twitch repeats itself around Trixie's left eye, showing how every tiny unspeakable subject angers her with ease. 'SH-SHUT UP! I don't care about that! Luna can fly to the moon for all I care!' the blue mare shouts and kicks the soft mud under her hooves at the red stallion.

Brush merely closes his eyes when the dirt hits him. It covers his red face and dark mane a bit, but mostly drops back on the ground when the stallion shakes his face a little. '-Heh-  That's an ironic use of words,' he whispers with a soft snicker followed.

Though Brush may seem to act careless, Trixie on the other hoof has clearly ran out of patience, bending down and pointing her horn towards the stallion. Showing no sign of restraint or giving the ponies a moment to prepare; Trixie starts to conjure a new spell that causes her face to glow in the ghastly blue radiance of her magical horn. 'You want Irony?! I give you irony!' she screams out again, fearless of the concequences when her power will strike the ponies merciless.

'W-Watch out!' Twilight shouts to her friends and ducks to the ground, just like the other mares do in panic. Anxious about the unpredictable state of Trixie and her lust for revenge, all mares stay as low in the dirt as they can to have a chance to avoid the spell. Though Rarity despises the dirt alot as well, she finds hiding in it far more pleasant than being frozen again. The only one that stands out of the group is Brush, who looks unconvinced at the madmare. Twilight looks up at the unicorn in front of her, uncomprehending why Brush would stand around like a red bullseye. 'Wh-What in Celestia's name do you think you're doing?! Get down, idiot!' Twilight hisses up to him.

But the stallion doesn't respond to her or the others who all yell at him to get out of the way. He simply stares noticably calm at the blue mare, while the threatening light of Trixie's magic touches his skin. 'You wont,' he whispers.

'GRAAAAAAAAGHH!' Is all Trixie screams without holding back her power, overtuned by the sound and light that explodes from her alicorn horn.

Twilight's breath stops as she looks with wide eyes at her friend, about to become struck with unknown power. Even if she could, she wouldn't be able to protect him in time. All the mare can do is gaze up at the smirking stallion while he slowly fades in the bright light that encroaches.

'NO!' she screams.

But it's too late to do anything now. The entire crater lits up in the blue light. The mares and stallion are in the center, unable to tell what is going on. Light blinds them, they can feel a cold that almost feels like burn, their ears are plugged by the eardeafening sounds of the raging magical current. But as soon as the power of Trixie exploded out of her horn, it also fades away, leaving seven ponies on their original position.

When the sound stops and they still feel very much alive, they are all puzzled about their survival. They could all see their lives flash through their eyes, knowing that the blast should've been strong enough to erase mountains. Yet, they don't even have a scratch when they look at themselves.

'Wh-What happened? We... We're alright!' Twilight gasps as she checks her body for injuries, astonished and relieved that she and her friends remain unharmed. 'Th-The spell backfired?'

The other mares look up from the dirt as well, surprised at how the tables somehow turned in their favor. A moment ago they could feel the doom rushing at them from Trixie's magic, about to end any chance for succes in one swift move, yet now it is her that lies exhausted in the mud. The blue explosion has drained the alicorn mare from most of her energy, forcing her to take a quick break. The only place where her attention is aimed at is the red stallion though, standing just as calm as before the light closed in on him.

'Did Brush cast a spell or something? How come nothing happened?' Twilight thinks in her head and looks past the group at the ground. Mud has dried up all the way from Trixie's position to Brush, splitting into two ways around them. Unreal as it may be: The spell seperated into two beams right before it struck into them, roasting the dirt around them into a dry crust.

'I knew it,' Brush mutters, as if he knew for that they wouldn't even be touched by the spell. 'You had enough time to think while we were off in Canterlot, didn't you? You are confused now, Trixie. I can see it in your eyes. After all the confrontations you've encountered, the emotions that rushed through your veins, you no longer know for sure what is reality and what not. Am I right?'

Trixie growls. If he was wrong about it, Trixie would've probably laughed. But now that she's unable to fake one, it proves that the blue madmare was deliberately missing the ponies. Whether or not she could've easily struck the mares is a mystery, but it seems like she missed the stallion on purpose atleast.

'You want to destroy me so badly..., but you know that I'm the only one who can provide an answer to your questions,' Brush sighs. 'Admit it: You need me more than you admit,' Brush keeps on talking, believing it to be true before Trixie even has the time to admit it.

'I merely hesitated for a second...,' Trixie whispers between her breaths. 'The next time I charge, you won't be so lucky!'

The red unicorn sighs again, slightly dissapointed in Trixie for still wanting to go on with this insanity, aside that she has already shown to be a huge dissapointment ever since her betrayal to begin with. 'I know that...,' he merely muttters in understanding.

Meanwhile, the six mares behind him are standing out of the mud again. Still with tiny pupils in their eyes from the shock and dripping mud from their bellies and chins.

'Wh-What happened? A-Are we winning?' Rainbow Dash gasps.

Applejack has already cooled down, thanks to her extrodinairy stamina as earth pony. 'Ah think the last sparks are out of that creepy horn of hers!' the blond mare shouts, believing this to be the chance they all waited for: An opening to attack. 'Let's give her a piece of our mind now!'

'Very well!' Rarity agrees, eager to give Trixie a piece of her mind.

Rainbow Dash stretches her wings and starts to hover in the air, ready to strike as well. 'Let's do it!' she shouts confident.

Though, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie seem less certain to go. Either they are sceptical about Trixie's exhaustion, feeling uncomfortable to fight Trixie when she's already down, or it's some other reason.

But the other three friends don't realize it, ready to burst towards the exhausted mare. Yet, before the earth pony, the pegasus, and the unicorn could even set one hoof further in the dirt, the purple unicorn jumps in their path. 'No, wait! We're not!' Twilight demands to keep her friends from doing something incredibly stupid as direct confrontation.

'Wh-Wha? This is our chance, Twi! If we won't stop her now, how will we ever be able to get close?' Rainbow Dash asks at her friend.

But before Twilight answers it, Brush has already taken the liberty of answering it for her. 'Twilight is absolutely right. At this rate: Trixie will actually win before we do. That's because we're doing this all wrong,' Brush backs his fellow unicorn up and turns away from Trixie to walk to Twilight's side.

'Doing wrong? What are you talking about! Trixie is geting what she could'a seen comin'! It's about time she gets what she deserves!' Applejack dissagrees with a childish mood.

This dissagreement of her was one that she didn't thought deeply enough about. If she did, she would've understood how childish she is acting right now. It causes Brush frown at her, seemingly angry and dissapointed for what Applejack just dared to say. '...You've just proven my point, Applejack... You're thinking in a wrong pattern: The same pattern which caused you to lose your friends in the first place! You hate her! You HATE Trixie!'

The meaning of the word "hate" has gotten more value in these past days. The spoken words of Brush burn on not just Rainbow's, Rarity's and Applejack's minds, but also on Pinkie Pie's, Fluttershy's and Twilight's. Hate is the destructive emotion that brought nothing but chaos and fights so far: Splitting their friendship apart and causing Trixie to make such insane actions. Brush was the embodiment of hatred once, knowing better than no other pony how it feels like to be angry for no reason all the time. If they dare to dissagree with him now on this matter any further, it would be a total undeserved and heartless response that anypony should be ashamed of to even think about.

Their hate for Trixie is no better than the hate Trixie shows to them. Even if Trixie hates them for zero acceptable reasons, while the mares have reasons enough, hate is still hate. Twilight merely looks silently at the two ponies facing off, knowing in her heart that Brush knows much more about this than she does. It almost feels strange to her for not being the one that is in total control over the situation, now being as clueless as any of her friends. Though she has no problem to accept the idea of letting Brush take them wherever it is that they need to go to stop this crisis, despite her constant desire to know everything.

'Ah... Ah...,' Applejack stuttters, not sure what to say to the frowning stallion before her. She truly realizes and accepts Brush' point now: Fighting hate with hate won't work. Even if it looks like it's the only way out, it's not THEIR way of doing things. Every mare feels the same as Applejack: Revelated, yet also somewhat defeated. '...Ah guess you're right, partner...'

Brush nods and smiles, glad to have resolved the errors in their way so quickly. 'Thank you for understanding, Applejack. Now I'm certain of what must be done now,' Brush whispers and turns his head towards the panting blue alicorn again, who can't stop glaring at him.

'What are you blabbing about, Brush?' Twilight asks the stallion, who doesn't look back at her. 'Tell me... Do you still have some more ideas?'

Brush nods and looks over his shoulder at the purple mare. 'That's right, Twilight. Everything is clear now,' he tells her happily, as if everything is going just as planned to him.

'It is?' Pinkie Pie whispers to the rainbow-maned mare next to her, keeping Brush from overhearing her selfproclaimed ignorance. 'Dashy, do you know what he's talking about?'

Like her, nopony is sure about what the plan is that the red unicorn speaks of in this tensive situation. Yet, Brush really seems to have a plan, or simply lies about it to keep Trixie on the tip of her hooves. But before they could speculate further, the unicorn has already turned around to his friends and begins to explain from the start.

'Ages ago Lady Fame's windigos were defeated by the Revival of the Friendship to society. Lady Fame's power originates from the hatred that radiated between the ponies, feeding her capabilities and power at a constant rate-,' Brush explains to the mares.

But he stops speaking when his story is suddenly taken over by the mare next to him, being the only pony that understands him completely. '-Yet, with friendship being the opposite of hatred, it is also her greatest weakness! The Harmony that can defeat her is not one that comes from six mares and six elements, but one that comes from the citizens of Equestria itself!' Twilight tells, almost sounding forceful to make it believable to both herself and her friends.

Twilight looks at him as well and smiles, having said exactly the same thing as Brush was about to tell. He feels happy to see Twilight understand him, being one of the only ponies that know what happened in the past. It works: Their friends have no trouble believing atleast this part, understanding that they have to focus not just on the friendship between the six of them, but include every single pony out there as well. In a way, they're all friends.

'That reminds me of something...,' Fluttershy whispers to her friends. 'We have no Elements of Harmony because we don't need them...Right? Because we ARE the Elements now? Instead of the Elements being empowered by our friendship, it will be US who will be empowered by the friendships of everypony? Th-That's what happened ages ago as well?'

Spectrum Brush smiles and nods, agreeing to the pegasus' speculations. 'That is correct, Fluttershy. You all know it as "The Fire of Friendship."

The Fire of Friendship: A force that stopped the windigos and their Great Blizzard. It came to realization once the three kingdoms saw past their differences and found an emotion that was lost: Friendship. The harmonic power was unchained from all the once-hatred filled hearts from the citizens in the land that got to be known as Equestria and was unleashed by the six ponies that were about to be frozen in a cave: Platinum, Clover, Puddinghead, Smart Cookie, Hurricane and Pansy.

And now Brush intents to repeat history with these six ponies, knowing that it was strong enough to succeed where the mere Elements of Harmony could not: Defeat Lady Fame's overwhelming power.

'That is your plan?' Rainbow Dash grunts, questioning their red friend's masterplan. 'That has only been done once in all time! How can you be so sure that it’s gonna work now?! And it didn't even permanently put Lady Fame out of commision ages ago!'

But the stallion simply shrugs, unable to give a clear "yes" or "no" answer to her. 'I just know that you can do it. The Elements of Harmony were your safety net. And now you are all more than capable to do without them,' he tells them with complete confidence.

'B-But how? Really, I have no clue!' Pinkie Pie mumbles confused, unable to follow the puzzling story of Brush so far. 'Are we supposed to believe in everypony out there? Do we have to keep them in the back of our heads or something? Because I do! I bet we all do! But I still can't see how that is supposed to "activate" anything! Can this really beat that twisted twissle of a Trixie?'

'Yes... Though like I said before: There's only one thing more you must understand before you can...,' he whispers. 'You've learned two lessons so far. Lessons that are needed two hold onto the very Elements of Friendship you represent.'

'#1: You're never alone. No matter where you are, you're friends are always with you in their own way. Don't ever get fooled in believing it's not.'

'#2: Hatred will never solve a thing. Hate is the opposite of friendship: destroying both Harmony and Chaos in its destructive path.' he repeats the words of truth, so believable that it almost makes it sound like he's an expert on this part about friendship. 'But it takes one thing more to recognize and hold onto friendship...'

'What does that mean...,' Twilight mumbles. She doesn't mean to say it in a sense of irritation, but plainly from wonder; curious for what Brush means with this "Third lesson" that the stallion is speaks so highly about.

They all believed that Honesty, Kindness, Joy, Loyalty and Generosity were the elements that keeps and creates friendship, alongside the sixth element of Magic. Yet, Brush is saying that it's not enough. Before he can answer to her, they're interrupted by the denying white mare that steps forth.

'Sorry I'm saying this... But this is insanity!' Rarity interrupts them, unable to not call Brush's suggestions and speculations completely pointless. 'Like Rainbow Dash just said; The Fire of Friendship hasn't been seen by anypony alive in this time! For all we know it could be just a myth!'

'No! It really happened!' Twilight says before anypony even gets a chance to agree with the white mare. The smart unicorn knows the event from experience of course, having seen it from the memories of Lady Fame while her friends were all frozen solid. 'The Fire of Friendship really did occur!'

The other ponies, except for Brush, look surprised up at the purple mare. For a moment they could've sworn that Twilight Sparkle just said that the Fire of Friendship is fact, despite not having been there alive. The only possible proof she could have of that event is a history book.

With big eyes, Rarity looks at the confident purple mare. 'H-How do you know?' Rarity asks, confused and curious for her friend's opposing claim.

'Because I've seen it with my own eyes...,' Twilight mutters, a little ashamed for trusting Trixie to show her the past, despite the cruelty that the alicorn has inflicted on everypony.

It all sound crazy to the five mares, being forced to put all their hopes in a farfetched plan of the stallion and take the mare's words as proof. It's basicaly impossible, not to mention risky. But even if they would like to differ, they feel urged to believe them anyway, trusting their friends no matter what. Their faith in each others is so strong now that it makes them believe a miracle faster than friends lying to each other.

Rainbow Dash sighs, feeling the weight on her heart for having to submit to somepony else's story. 'Alright... So in the case it DID happen: What are we supposed to do?' she asks calmly, yet a bit sceptical too.

They expect some elaborate plan created by Brush, who actually lets out one chuckle of doubt instead, highly unusual to the other reactions he has given them so far. Twilight was about to wait for Brush to explain the upcoming explaination about what to do next, only to become anxious to hear that uncommon sign of laughter. 'Eh... I don't know that,' he mutters shamelessly.

An awkward silence follows after the stallion's last words. From the looks of their wide eyes and stopping breaths, Brush can assume that he's about to get some VERY negative responses. A moment ago, Twilight believed Brush knew far more than they do, yet has a poking doubt in her mind that makes her realize that Brush may actually not know more than her AT ALL on this matter!

'...You... don't know?' Twilight whispers, almost unable to believe he could actually mean it. The idea of Brush making a joke now is more likely to her now.

But Brush nods positive to Twilight's words, admitting that he indeed doesn't know what to do now. 'Even I don't really know the "manual" for the creation of the Fire of Friendship, Twilight,' he tells them without any sign of desperation heard in his voice. 'But I have trust in it that it should simply happen when you're ready for it.'

'THAT'S ALL YOU GOT TO SAY?!' Twilight shouts at him, clearly unamused by the stallion's careless attitude.

Brush makes a little jump away from the angry mare, surprised by her sudden outburst. 'Eh... I guess that sounded worse than I intended to make it sound like...,' he mutters startled.

'Smooth move, dummy...,' Pinkie Pie sighs.

Brush feels a little awkward, especially to hear that even Pinkie Pie calls him names now for such a bad answer in this tense moment. If that wasn't already bad enough, all the mares' eyes are aimed at him in shapes of glares, able to even make the "mighty" Spectrum Brush shiver from anxiety. Angry voices and words of desperation wave around the stallion's head, calling out to him to better finish what he started, rattling on and on about that this is no time to be  a joker, that he CAN'T be serious about not knowing what to do next, and ask him if he's gone completely loco.

'W-Wait... Let me finish!' Brush mutters, trying to find a hole in the endless stream of angry voices.

The mares remain quiet immidiatly, thinking that the stallion BETTER have some good news for them this time. If he has; they'll follow along the way again. But if he has another comment about not knowing what to do; They'll just continue with complaining his ears off.

'When I said "I don't know what to do" I was talking about how to manifest the Fire of Friendship. That does not mean I don't know what we have to do next!' Brush quickly tells them, followed by a sigh of relief.

It sounds like complete nonsense: Not knowing how to get the endresult, but still knowing what to do next. Though their call for answers remains unanswered, the mares continue to listen quietly to Brush's explaination and hear what he meant.

The red unicorn takes a deep breath and realizes that he may have been too blunt. He wasn't like this at all the past months: Being more leader than he is now. If he were more like the Spectrum Brush of THEN, then he wouldn't be making such a scene that only causes confusion and slow results. For a moment it makes him think back about the months of leadership he shown during his travels with Luna and Trixie. He was a cold, yet a perfectly self-controlled leader. This is one of this times that he has to show that side of him again: A leader with only the goal in mind and a plan to make it happen. Forgetting about the cheering ponies in Canterlot, his family, his promises, his mistakes. He takes one more deep breath, the look in his eyes turns calm and radiates with power, clean of any emotions that would hamper the path to the goal. Twilight notices the change of attitude immidiatly, seeing it in her red friend's eyes. This is what seperates the stallion from them: The necessity to discard emotions in harsh times, while the mares must stay true to their friends through the emotions that connects them.

'Alright, Look,' he grunts, ready to get down to business. 'Trixie is not the Trixie I know. That girl is empowered by the possibly-most powerful mare ever known to Equestria, having become virtually invincible. A direct confrontation with her is the same as giving up, though comes with alot of agony.'

His friends have lost the intention to give him mad looks, knowing that Brush has suddenly somehow turned into somepony that sees nothing but logic and error. It is frightening at first, looking at an entirely change of attitude that's almost as drastic as when ponies were turned around by Discord months ago. But considering that the stallion is still prepared to do whatever it takes to return harmony to Equestria, they remain silent and listen closely to him.

'I stay true to what I've said before: You DON'T need the Elements of Harmony now as long as you have faith in your friends and acquaintances, just like they have faith in you this entire time. And NEVER, I mean NEVER walk the path of hatred that I, Trixie, and even Princess Luna have walked in the past. There are many ways to bring an end to fights... And I shall show you one of them.'

They have no idea what he's talking about. What does he mean with "showing how to end a fight?"  

'But when ARE we ready, partner? We can't wait much longer DURING our confrontation against that madmare!' Applejack tells him and looks again at the angry blue mare in the distance, who almost breathes normally again. 'We need sum more time!'

Brush gives a stare at the six mares that remain insecure about this whole plan. He knows that they're still courageous, yet also anxious, no matter what. He continues to hope that his friends are ready for it. 'You're right, Applejack. You can't "Just do it." There's one more thing before you can summon the Fire of Friendship from your hearts,' he repeats again, seemingly knowing what must be done after all. 'You need time? I'll give you all the time you need.'

Like the other mares, Rainbow Dash looks a little anxious at Brush when he made this sudden promise, all knowing only one way how Brush might be able to slow down the violent Trixie. 'How? What will you do?' she asks him.

No response is given at first. Brush merely turns around at the panting blue mare and looks over his shoulder at his friends. 'I'm going to have a little chat with her... in a way she'll understand,' he grunts.

The stallion just suggested to confront the Great and Powerful Trixie, all by himself.

'Y-You're kidding, right?' Twilight asks, hoping that Brush is making some kind of sick joke again.

His promise does not bode well on his friends' hearts. He just said it himself: Taking on Trixie directly is the same as losing. If he would confront her himself, who knows what might happen to him.

'B-B-But you're injured, darling!' Rarity brings up. 'You're more insane than a hero if you take her on by yourself!'

Brush looks at the bandages that are wrapped around his waist. Though he can still feel that it's sensitive and painful, the stallion merely shrugs. 'I will only need to hold her off, while you will start the fireworks. The personal issues between me and Trixie shall be resolved in the meantime,' he tells them with an awkwardly timed grin.

But before he can look around and step towards the alicorn, a purple unicorn jumps in front of him, preventing him from passage. Twilight looks him in the eyes, giving notice that she doesn't want Brush to continue with any reckless actions any further. Brush ain't surprised that Twilight would do this, having already expected that she would, but not sure "when."

'-Ehm-, Twilight? Didn't we already do this before?' he grunts, recalling a few days ago when Twilight discovered his whereabouts in Ponyville.

She only continues to sneer at him, while keeping a threatening battlestance up to be able to block the stallion from passing her. 'I'm not going to let you go on with this... INSANITY, Brush! How is fighting Trixie on your own going to solve anything? Vengeance is the last thing we need now!'

'I know that, Twilight... This is no case of vengeance, I promise. It is a very important LESSON to see and hear what I shall do to Trixie...' the stallion assures her, telling her that he has other plans for Trixie. The way he speaks his sentences tickle Twilight's brain, giving away that there may be extra meaning behind the red unicorn's words than he lets out, other than that he's going to "fight" Trixie. 'But you do well to remember those words you just said... I only need to prevent her from reaching you six for a bit longer, while resolving black spots in my history book.'

'Hold her off? For what?! You'd get hurt even further and not be able to help us at all about how friendship can solve this crisis!' Rainbow Dash shouts back at him. 'Atleast tell us what you have in mind, rather than keeping quiet about it!'

Even if Twilight and her friends can't help but feel a worried for the stallion's safety, Brush remains calm and continues to look down at her with the serious eyes on his face that lack emotions.

'Listen: No matter how you look at it: I'm not one of your circle. I may have come up with ideas that led to succes so far, but still I'll never be one of the Mane SIX. In the end, the job of restoring peace and harmony falls upon your shoulders. The best I can do now is confront Trixie and resolve past difficulties, which will also buy you time...,' he whispers at her, trying to convince her again for letting him pass. 'You're the Mane Six... You'll know what to do when IT happens.'

He tries to walk past the purple mare, believing to be done about explaining it and convincing them. But before he can even set one more step, Twilight jumps in front of him again and headbutts him under his chin, bashing him backwards with her head. The blow pushes Brush on his back in the dirt, stunned by the surprising assault Twilight made.

'NO, WE DON'T! YOU came up with this plan, YOU find a way! This is NOT the time to act like the mysterious hero!' she complains angry to him about that he always has to get beaten up, while they always have to stay behind and look oblivious at whatever he plans again. 'And besides, you said it yourself: We aren't the Mane Six because we're chosen, but because we have such a good bond! That doesn't mean we can't be friends with anypony else! Why don't you finally get that through that thick skull of yours?! Do you honestly think that us being friends means we can't be friends with anypony else?!'

Brush lies speechless on his back, staring aimlessly at the sky above him. The others hold their breath, figuring that Twilight maybe overdid it a little by headbutting the already-injured stallion. As the words of the purple unicorn are reaching through his equine ears, the stallion notices how an innocent face with a pink mane looks down at him.

'Twilight is right, you know...,' Fluttershy whispers to him. 'Just rushing off to fight won't do anything good.'

"Awakened" by the whispers of the pegasus, Brush quickly stands back up, scratches the spot on his chin where Twilight hit him and grunts. 'Alright, maybe you're right... Let's see how much that impatient mare is about to give us more time...,' he mumbles, not amused about letting Trixie be uncontrolled and soon ready to attack them all together again.

'That's the spirit!' Pinkie Pie cheers behind him, taking his sarcasm as honesty yet again.

'I was- ...Nevermind,' the red unicorn sighs, not taking the effort of correcting the happy earth pony anymore. Instead, he rather focuses on shaking the dirt off of his back, which covered his red back and pallette Cutie Mark in a coat of dark-brown filth.

'Promise ya won't do anything crazy, alright partner?' Applejack asks of him, a little troubled about that Brush is hellbend on fixing everything himself again, just to keep others from being involved.

Brush looks from his Cutie Mark up at the earth pony, not entirely sure what she's getting at with this. 'Eh, what?' he bluntly asks.

'PROMISE on it! If there's one thing you do, it's keeping your promises!' Twilight tells him in aggitation and pokes the stallion's head with a hoof, as if she's trying to push her words through into his head.

Brush grunts, looks over his shoulder at the glaring purple mare, looks further to the glaring blue mare in the distance, and then looks further to the other mares. He has to think about his friends, but they want to do everything alongside each other, including him. Though against his wishes, he is simply unable to say "no" to his friends at this crucial moment, leaving him with little choice.

'...Ok... I promise...,' he mutters against his wishes.

That was all they wanted to hear, knowing that Brush won't rush off on his own anymore. Having given in to the mares' demands, Brush remains with them as docile as a foal. The seven ponies gather in a circle, trying to discuss about a idea or strategy that could prove to work now. The Fire of Friendship is their shared goal, yet the means to do it are still a mystery. They all know that Brush has a plan, but he needs a little "push" in the right direction to share it with others. Involving him more closely may be the solution to keep him from scheming on his own.

But the stallion merely looks over his shoulder from time to time, noticing how the furious blue mare is still breathing deeply, though it's out of rage rather than tiredness this time.  Trixie is unable to calm down anymore, having lost all signs of restraint to him and Twilight. Having waited enough for the seven ponies to talk, the alicorn begins to take a few steps forward to them.  

'Anypony got any ideas?' the smart unicorn asks.

'Well... Violence is a no-go. That's for certain,' Rarity repeats what they know, while trying to find a different way. 'Oh, the tragedy... I-I don't know anything. Whatever shall we do? I have no wish to lose you all, dears!'

The feeling is mutual. Their friendship is stronger than ever, yet it still doesn't seem to be enough. It's a very depressing matter, considering that they have no clue what it could be that they ARE missing! Could Bruh be right, or are they just hallucinating that they need more than the six elements of friendship?

'Can't we really just dig those Elements out of that pit?' Applejack asks and points at the one spot that is still frozen solid in mud. 'It sounds alot easier than using ourselves as Elements!'

'We can't...,' Brush sighs while he stares at the clouded sky. 'That ice is far tougher than any normal ice. Digging through it would take us about 21 hours atleast. WAY too much with Trixie ready to attack us within 10 minutes.'

A momentary silence falls. Everypony agrees that with these facts it's impossible to get the artifacts of the Elements of Harmony before Trixie strikes again.

'Is it REALLY not just possible to buck her to the moon while she's down? We'd be rid of Trixie and Lady Fame for quite a while AND we get to have the satisfaction of being a pain in that madmare's plot!' the blue pegasus suggests with a grin of satisfaction on her face.

'Rainbow, for crying out loud...,' Twilight sighs and facehoofs.

'Just kidding, just kidding,' Rainbow Dash jokes with a chuckle, followed by Pinkie Pie chuckling along with her about her untimely joke.'

'The Fire of Friendship... Hey, can't we just light a bonfire?!' Pinkie Pie suggests, giving any possible theory no matter how farfetched and unlikely they are. 'A bonfire in homage to our friendship? That could work, right?'

'No, that won't do... -Ugh- This is way tougher than when we had the Elements of Harmony...,' Twilight mutters, starting to run out of ideas. 'No, we can't think about artifacts anymore! It IS possible to do it without them! As long as we're together and we know that everypony out there is with us, we CAN solve this!'

Brush was a little hard of hearing to the mares' pointless ideas and moments of despair. Yet when the red stallion overhears the mare's words of confidence, he looks up and knows that it's exaclty what he needed to hear now from them in this desperate time: Hope. Glad to hear that hope remains no matter how grim the situation, Brush shows a faint smile on his emotionless face. His trust in his friends was indeed not in vain.

'C-Can't we solve this peacefully?' Fluttershy asks with a whispering tone. Though it's highly unlikely to happen, Fluttershy's suggestion would be the best outcome. If there's an emotion that fits best with violence, it's hatred: Something they can't allow themselves to stoop to again.

Brush silently looks at how his friends are still deeply in conversation about making a plan or assumption, while he KNOWS that this isn't something that you can plan ahead. Friendship is no science to him: It requires the right moment and a personal touch. Though Twilight may have the best intentions, and is far more informed than the others, her way of thinking just isn't going to work this time. Many things may be in common between them, but there's a noticable difference between the purple mare's and the red stallion's ways of thinking that are both good and bad in different situations: Twilight usually thinks in logical studious ways, while Brush thinks out of the box with his artistic view. It's basically what could make them a very good team on brainpower. With that in mind, Brush looks between the talking six mares and the approaching maniac. Trixie will only need to preform one move that could cost them victory, while the mares only need to learn one tiny thing to assure victory. He is the key to tilt the scales in their favor and knows what he simply has to do.

He looks into Trixie's direction again, keeping an eye on her condition. But to his horror, Trixie has begun to walk towards the group! With icy-white eyes filled with murderous intentions aimed at the ponies,  Trixie takes one slow step at a time through the mud. 'B-Blast... She's prepared already?!' Brush thinks in his head, afraid that without obstacles they will be mere seven bulls-eye.

'Brush? Wh-What do you think?' Fluttershy whispers to the distracted stallion, who looks up in response at her when he realizes he's being spoken to.

'Eh... Well...,' he mumbles, not sure what to say to her. He only grows more anxious when the other mares stare at him as well, waiting for some smart plan he got hiding in the back of his mind. Even if it doesn't burden him as much as first due to his lack of emotions, it's still a very tense moment for him where he HAS to decide something fast.

'I think that...,' he mumbles while he looks over his shoulder again, realizing that Trixie is closing in rapidly. Taking her time, breathing deeply to keep her head cool, Trixie drags her white hooves through the muddy ground to move forward. There's only one thing he can do now, which involves the one thing nopony would expect from him: He has to break his promise.

Making use of the one moment that the mares let their guard down, the red unicorn suddenly turns around and rushes out of the group, doing the exact opposite of what he was told to do. With mud splattering around the route he gallops down, the distance between the red and blue ponies are closing in rapidly. 'FORGIVE ME!' Brush shouts behind him at his friends, who look up surprised at the insane action Brush is about to do.

'Wohow, there! Where are ya' going?!' Applejack asks in surprise, too late to stop the stallion herself.

A nervous twitch appears on Twilight's forehead, growing tired of Brush and his ignorant stubbornness again. '-UGHHH!- That stubborn moron! What is it with guys having to prove themselves all the time?!' the unicorn grunts aggitated and stomps with a hoof in mud, only to splatter it in her face by accident.

Rarity sighs and rubs on her forehead with a hoof, starting to grow a headache out of the stress she continues to endure. 'Why is it always the unique ones...,' she mutters in dissapointment.

Brush ignores the shouts of his friends coming from behind him, putting all his focus on the dangerous being that he approaches. He dares not to think about the difference between them, afraid that the slightest of hesitations could cost him his health. When he feels like he reached a distance good enough to converse, he stops before Trixie, looking at her with a straight face that asks for a personal showdown. Trixie feels her heartrate pumping up, feeding her fury for every second she looks at the repulsive stallion's face.

Brush keeps a straight face, filled with confidence and resilience. Yet, his heartrate rises quickly as well. Though he denies to accept it, fear is crawling through his veins. But he controls it, knowing that he can't let fear stop him now. 'This is between you and me, Trixie...,' the unicorn grunts. 'We shall settle our past right here and now...'

Trixie doesn't even show a wide grin on her face to mock him, continuing to look down at him with disgust. Her magical snow-white mane hangs partionally over her eyes, coated with mud on the ends of the mane and tail. In all honesty, Trixie looked like a beautiful alicorn mare at first. Yet now with the insanity and filth that she has to endure, she looks like a total witch that could eat foals for breakfast.

'Oh, yes... We WILL have our fight, Brush... The moment I remove you from Equestria is the moment I'll feel peace of mind...,' she whispers, almost as quiet that only she could hear it. 'But FIRST I need to take care of those six insects that violate my sight even more than you...,' she hisses and continues to walk further, passing the red stallion without any attempts of assaulting him just yet.

Brush looks surprised at her, hardly able to believe that Trixie delays the chance to battle him to take out the Mane Six first. 'W-Wait! This is between you and me! Come back and face me, Trixie!' he repeats, trying to keep Trixie's attention from the mares she is approaching.

But his words fall on deaf ears, hearing only the bitter whispers in her twisted mind. The blue alicorn has set all her thoughts on the six mares that continue to mock her for every moment they remain unharmed by her. Brush grows a little desperate over what he should do now, not having expected from Trixie to be tactful enough in her insanity right now. Without the Mane Six, restoring Harmony is impossible.

Luckely, he has been with Trixie long enough to learn a few things about her: She CAN'T decline a direct challenge. An idea hits him, giving him the right words that are required to make Trixie forget about his friends and make her turn around to focus on him alone. 'I challenge you, the Great and Powerful Trixie, to best me!' he shouts, burning with confidence.

Hoping that Trixie would respond to the words that she must've heared countless times in the past, he starts to realize that Trixie slows down. She sets all her hooves back on the muddy soil, coming to a complete halt. Not setting one hoof further towards the six friends, Trixie's head slowly turns back to the confident stallion that just dared challenged her one-on-one. No matter how far gone she is, Trixie would never ignore the direct call for a challenge to the Great and Powerful Trixie.

'You're incredible, Brush...,' Trixie whispers at him and turns around to walk back. 'I betrayed you..., I froze you up..., I harmed your friends..., I nearly stomped you into the ground! So why... WHY do you keep on being such a thorn in my side?!' she yells over at him again, as if everypony but her is deaf. 'You're not even half as powerful as Ignis was! You're JUST a pony!'

The red unicorn grins, amused about the story Trixie brings up. '-Heh- You're right, Trixie. In terms of power: I'm JUST a pony. Without Ignis haunting me, I don't have many tricks that could stop you... But like they say: If you're not strong, you have to be smart. And I'm far from a common stallion on that part, you know...,' he chuckles, giving the alicorn no satisfaction from his concealed depair. 'I can't believe that with all that knowledge you now possess; All the knowledge that passed on to you from Fame, you're still too dimwitted to know how to use it...'

Trixie forces herself to laugh and chuckle insane, running plainly on instinct now. She wants to keep up to insult him by laughing like this, as a desperate attempt to break a spirit. But Brush remains unaffected by her response, while Trixie actually does show to have been provoked to a maximum already. '-Haha!- You'll regret insulting me, you ignorant worm! I'll swat you like the miserable insect you are!'

With that said, she gives a second response: Firing a white beam from her horn in an attempt to freeze the stallion back into solid ice. Having anticipated the sneak attack, Brush jumps out of the way, barely avoiding the beam that freezes the dirt on the spot where he stood. Trixie has accepted Brush's challenge.

His friends have stopped shouting at him, looking anxiously at how their friend has started a war with Trixie after all. If they aren't shocked when Brush merely misses a freezing beam light, they shout at him to make distance. It would give him more space and time to miss her, giving him a slight advantage. But yet again he doesn't listen to them. Instead of keeping his distance, Brush suddenly starts to rush over to the mare, while avoiding every spell that the cackling mare fires at him. Hellbend on closing the gap between them, the stallion eventually stands within a meter radius around the mare. Trixie doesn't care though, firing beam after beam at the red unicorn, which he continues to avoid.

'Poor, poor little Brush... You try so hard, yet you are not strong enough,' Trixie chuckles, mocking him like he means nothing. Several parts of dirt around Trixie have completely frozen up by her magic, none having hit the stallion even slightly. Still, Brush remains quiet, while he stares up to the alicorn as he leaps around her. 'You may have kept some knowledge about Ignis' spells... But that doesn't mean you're as strong as he was! You're nothing but a bad painter now with an ego, ready to bite the dirt!'

Brush grunts, not intending to deny the simply yet complete truth. Trixie still has the knowledge and magic of Fame coursing through her body, while he has been completely cleansed of Ignis' dark magic. Though anypony would think he's in a disadvantage now, Brush has an entirely different view on that matter. Not just because Trixie is too messed up to be able to properly use any other trick than freezing him or push him away, but also because he has a plan.

´Fame was weak! She was nothing but a coward! Unlike me! You are not even a shadow of Ignis' powers, while I control all the knowledge of Lady Fame! Your defeat is imminent, Spectrum Brush!' she cries out in rage, unable to accept any other answer. Like a firehose, she continues to shoot spells like there's no tomorrow. The thought of that she could run out of energy again doesn't occur to her.  

But STILL Brush remains resilient, holding not a single thought about surrendering to her. No matter how much Trixie continues to fire at him, all he does is jumping around her to avoid it. His own horn remains unused, not even conjuring one tiny spell to fire at her in return. It is almost as if he has no intentions of even attempting to attack Trixie.

'This between you and me anyway...,' he says between his breaths. 'Not between Ignis and Fame...'

Clouds of frozen dirt and soil fly up in the air everytime Trixie hits the ground with her spells, creating a mist that nearly blinds the audiance of six from the fight. Feeling both angry for Brush' insolence and scared for his wellbeing, they feel like their hooves are nailed to the ground. They are not in despair though, but they don't feel confident as well. Right now they're forced to come up with a way to save the day, without any clue how. They must reach out in the dark for a light.

'W-We have to help him!' Fluttershy yelps.

Nopony dissagrees, all knowing that their red unicorn friend needs their assitance if he wishes to claim victory. He may have brought this conflict upon himself, but that doesn't mean they should leave him for it.

'Hold on, Brushy! We're coming!' Pinkie Pie shouts, ready with the "cavalry" to assist him in the struggle.

The furious blue mare and the serious red stallion are too deeply focused to notice the approach of the mares. The ponies are already halfway to Brush' side when he suddenly takes notice of the hoofsteps coming at him. He turns around for a second, not giving Trixie enough time to charge him while he lets his guard down. He realizes that the girls are not planning to stand and watch. He jumps further off from the blue mare, creating distance between them again.

'NO! Stay out of this!' he shouts at the brave mares, who only have the best intentions. 'This is MY struggle! You will all stand back this instant!'

The mares stop abruptly, wanting to help him badly, though Brush's forceful words prevent them from joining his battle.

'B-But Brushy, what are you doing then? You're not even fighting back!' Pinkie Pie mumbles, a little puzzled why she they can't help him in this uneven battle with the red unicorn and the blue alicorn.

'Exactly... This fight cannot be resolved by more violence... That's NOT how we work things!' he shouts further to them, though he keeps his eyes focused on the threatening blue mare in front of him. 'If we wish to return harmony, do you really think conflict can bring that? Do you think I hate Trixie for what she did? No! I blame myself for making her a victim in my foolish journey! If I hadn't taken her to join Luna and me, she wouldn't have been turned into this! It's my fault for letting her too close to power, without considering that she may be capable of betraying us! So it is my choice to end our fight, one way or another!'

To them; Brush is blaming himself again for an indirect disaster. It was Trixie who chose this path herself. But convincing the stallion won't do any good, knowing how stubborn he is. Brush won't accept their help, no matter what. They don't see the big picture behind the red unicorn's intentions, believing that it's nothing but misplaced accusations on himself.

But Twilight does. This is exactly what was needed to her in order to solve the puzzle further, striking Twilight's mind like a sudden spark that zaps every loose end of the pieces together. Her grudge for Brush unreasonable actions vanishes like snow in the sun, making way for realization as clear as daylight. 'That's it! It's so obvious!' she whispers to herself, dazzled over the fact that she never could've come up with it with her tactful mind and the stress that burdened her. 'But what do you hope to do about "it," Brush?' she whispers, curious how Brush intends to stop Trixie now, even though she has a lingering theory that has to be the solution in her head.

Trixie merely responds with a forced heez of laughter. The idea of Brush believing that he has a chance of winning sounds absurt. But though the scales are tided in her favor, the mare can't help but feel anxiety, as if she has to do combat with the stallion on her own strength. The relentless confidence and mind of Brush is what makes him much more frightening than the powers of Lord Ignis.

'How cute... You blame yourself again, Brush? Let us dance...,' she says with a flirting tone, mocking him about the first time she managed to make him let his guard down by sounding like this in the Frozen North. 'I shall lead... you to your DOOM!'

But Brush knows better than this: Trixie is desperate in provoking him in return to make him slip up. 'A nice offer, Trixie,' he grunts, remaining unaffected by the corrupted mare's spiteful taunts as he gets ready to avoid more of the alicorn's spell barrage. 'But you seem to forget that I remain in charge of this operation to stop Lady Fame... Trust me: The outcome will be different this time, Trix.'

Trixie's smirking face changes back into a frown and bare teeth of rage in an instant. Such arrogant behaviour of somepony she compares with an insect is unspeakable. 'Let's see some words proven, rather than spoken, hotshot!' she spouts furiously again and starts to charge through the dirt with horn aimed for her opponent.

'Why don't you use your own dictionary for once?' Brush sighs and charges just the same.

With horns aimed at each other, though on different heights, the two ponies charge towards each other. Mud flies in two directions aside them, like two boats speeding through water towards each other. This is their final clash, being the one to decide who remains dominant over the other: Trixie VS Spectrum Brush.

Just as their horns are closing in, they start to brim with energy. Like a minus and plus charged, their horns start to connect with power as they close in to each other. Once their horns touch, a reaction is followed. Like a meteorstrike, the area around the two ponies explode in ice and fire, covered in mist. If Brush hadn't used magic as well, he most certainly would've been injured to the point of not being able to fight back.

'Take this!' Trixie screams, firing a blue beam from her horn that pierces a hole in the smoke.

Brush gives no words, being solely focused on avoiding the madmare's flurry of attacks. The red stallion jumps around the blue mare, dark and light manes wave around each other through the winds of the movement, and orange and light-blue glowing horns strike against each other with cinders and sparks fizzling by the touch. The blue gem on Trixie's chestplate has never been glowing as much as it does now, giving all the power it contains over to the madmare. The six ponies outside the fight can only look nervous with sweat-covered foreheads at how their friend is fighting an impossible battle all on his own. Brush is able to hold his ground for so far, but for how long can he continue like this?

'Wh-Wha are we supposed to do now?' Rarity yelps. 'Are we REALLY to just stand by and watch this go on?'

'Just ignore him an' his silly pride! We oughta help him out now!' Applejack proposes and is ready to storm off towards their friend in distress.

'No, wait...,' Twilight suddenly tells her friends, asking them to stop rushing headlong to the stallion. 'L-Let's watch him fight a little longer...'

The ponies can't believe Twilight is actually saying this. Have both of them gone insane? Brush has challenged a demon, while Twilight agrees to it. As if things didn't make sense already, this is just mindboggling.

'W-What in the stars are you sayin', sugercube?' Applejack asks with an overthrown tone, as if she's struggling to refrain from calling Twilight insane.

'Watch him suffer by that monster? Are you mad?!' Rainbow Dash asks more open than Applejack, not afraid to say exactly what's spinning through her head.

But Twilight simply nods, though she's clearly not pleased with the decision she has to take as well. 'Brush is trying to tell us something like this... Something he can't just say openly to us. We have to figure it out for ourselves and understand the meaning of it,' she calmly explains in a vague way, like Brush would.

'How far his sanity can drop?' Rarity asks rethorically, still bitter about the stallion's abominable decisions.

'I-I don't think that's it...,' Fluttershy tells them, sounding like she sides with Twilight's proposal.

'What then? He's simply out there fighting Trixie out of vengeance for what she did to him! I wouldn't know a better reason than that!' Rainbow Dash spouts aggitated again, believing to know what she thinks is truth.

'I really doubt that Brush would stoop to vengeance. It's just not his way of things. Besides, he hasn't even tried to harm Trixie! All he did was avoiding and deflecting every attack she launched at him so far!' Twilight contradicts.

She knows Fluttershy is right. Everything suddenly seems so clear to Twilight: The uncontrolled fury of Trixie, a meaning of friendship, the source of Lady Fame's power, the blame. Twilight knows what must be done, what she has to force herself to. It won't be easy, but she knows that she and the others can if they are wise enough. If they do, they'll never have to fear of losing each other again.

The beams continue to be fired, making so many holes in the cloud until only the red and blue ponies remain. This round has only been going for about five minutes, yet Trixie is already breathing like she was drowning this entire time. The same rules count to Brush, though not as tired as she is: Trixie knows she can't easily beat Spectrum Brush without an element of surprise.

'WHY-DON'T-YOU-STAY-DOWN!?' Trixie gasps exhausted and furiously, unable to get a clear shot on the stallion.

'You can't hit me when I'm too close, Trixie...,' he tells her and chuckles. 'Isn't it ironic? You beat me in the Frozen North because I let you too close to me... And now it turns to my favor instead.'

'SHUT UP, YOU FREAK! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT: ALWAYS THE WISECOLT! I HATE YOU!' Trixie cries, trying to hit the stallion with her hooves, which he simply avoids without too much effort.

'Hate me? ...You're saying you hate me, Trixie?' Brush repeats calmly as he ducks to avoid another flail from Trixie's magical tail.

'No... I don't hate you...,' she whispers, tired of mowing around and firing spells that miss all the time. 'I DESPISE YOU!'

'Despise me... Is that what you believe this time?' the red unicorn sighs, as if Trixie is hallucinating everything. '...Alright then. Let me tell you something about hatred...'

While Trixie keeps on trying to strike the stallion down with brute force, though most of her crazy mowings miss completely, she can't  ignore the speech that Brush gives her. He uses her moment of weakness to penetrate her thick skull, forcing her the absolute truth that he always wanted to face her with.

'You don't even know what hatred is, Trixie... Hatred is when somepony, who'm you've considered one of your best friends, betrays you for their own selfish needs... Hatred is when somepony freezes your hometown completely up, just out of an act of veangeance! Hatred is when somepony puts your best friends into ice, and believe it's righteous judgement!'

'Sh-Shut up! You know NOTHING!' she shouts in denial, firing another blue beam from her horn that misses the stallion by an inch. Her aim starts to fail more and more after each spell, just like her stance and breathing begins to weaken as well.

'It is YOU who knows nothing, Trixie! You've lived all your life in a lie! You've always  believed that you were the greatest unicorn of all, until you were proven other wise. Instead of accepting the truth and move on, you swore revenge on the ones that were greater than you in one specific thing and did everything you could to prove to yourself that YOU are the greatest of all!' Brush shouts, while ducking down to avoid a mow from Trixie's wing. 'Your lied to yourself to be able to believe that you hate somepony... You never hated Twilight for what she was able to do to save Ponyville... You just couldn't accept the truth that she saved you!'

'Th-The truth?! What do you know about truth!' she gasps, exhausted by her outrage. Slowly failing to keep her rage up, Trixie's tiredness starts to kick in. Barely able to lift a hoof up anymore, the alicorn has no choice but to listen at the tireless stallion.

'You don't hate Twilight for proving to be more talented, the audiance for laughing at your failures, or Luna or me for wanting to be friends with you...,' he speaks further to her. 'You're afraid! You're afraid of the truth! You're afraid for the change in life! But get this: CHANGE HAPPENS TO ALL OF US! YOU MUST ACCEPT IT, RATHER THAN FIGHT IT!'

Tears appear in Trixie's eyes, freezing into crystals the moment they fall from her face. Scared and confused she crawls through the mud, pushing her hoofs on her ears to keep Brush' words out of her head. 'No! NOOO! It's a lie!' she screams.

Brush takes another deep breath before he continues, looking down at the cringing blue alicorn in the mud. Twilight and the others can hardly believe their eyes. Trixie almost seemed invincible, having control over every spell that exists. Yet even she has her limits, which she has seemingly reached now.

'You know what is true, Trixie? Do you know what you really think of me? ...You FEAR me!' he shouts at her, as if it should make it more believable.

'P-P-Preposterous!' she stutters. 'I-I have nothing to fear from you, Spectrum Brush!'

The stallion walks up to the blue mare, who seems too tired to try any moves on him now. Confident and slightly tired from jumping around like a toad, Brush takes a deep breath as he stands before the mare's face and speaks on.

'You're afraid of me because you know that I will try everything in my power to make you wake up and see reality as it is, instead of the dreamworld you've been living in your entire life! You know how much I value the friendship you, I, and Luna shared together for months... Enough to go to the extreme and wish to save you even now when you are completely insane!'

The words still manage to reach Trixie's ears, even though she presses her hoofs tightly on them to the point that it hurts. Tears continue to flow over her blue cheeks, sad and scared about that she cannot win from one measily stallion. The truth burns in her ears.

'Now wake up, Trixie...,' he whispers and reaches his hoof out to her. 'It's never too late to see your mistakes and make amends... I know, because we are the same as well... I've experienced the same thing as you... And you know what? In all honesty, even after all this: After all the pain you've caused and the chaos you brought... I'm still willing to forgive you...'

'Whaaat?!' Rarity gasps.

'Oh, no, he didn't!' Rainbow Dash shouts in astonishment.

Even Fluttershy's jaw drops from surprise. Nopony could've seen this coming: Brush is ready to forgive the mare that betrayed and hurt countless ponies.

Twilight looks unaffected by Brush's words and nods. 'I see...,' Twilight whispers, having confirmed for herself what Brush tries to prove. 'Sometimes you have to show forgiveness to your friends in order to keep friendship... Something I failed to show to my friends lately... You couldn't just tell us to forgive us, could you? It wouldn't have the same impact and devotion.'

'Y-YOU WHAT?!' Trixie shouts just as confused as the rest and looks up with wet eyes at the smiling red unicorn.

'I said I'm willing to forgive you, Trixie. I hated you for your betrayal first. But now I realize that it was me who was wrong as well. If friendship is to be held: You must be able to show forgiveness, like I am willing to show to you now,' he whispers with absolute honesty from his heart. 'It's never too late to turn yourself around and see what truly matters. I have a feeling that when you were acting to be humble and kindhearted, you felt much more satisfied than when you were all alone. If you truly regret the horrors you've caused, and are willing to learn from your mistakes, I and Luna would love to remain your friend.

The calm has moved in once more. The wind stops blowing over the crater, the mares hold their breaths, Trixie stops sobbing and Spectrum Brush looks down at her and continues to smile without an end. With a hoof still reaching out to her, Brush is able to wait for ages if that's what it takes to get an answer from the blue mare. He has done what he always wanted to do: Show mercy to others, like he was able to give to himself for his own past.

'What do you say, Trixie? We can still be friends,' he whispers.

For a moment Trixie seems overwhelmed, having accepted realization of everything. With widened eyes full of tears she can't stop looking up at her past friend, who's willing to turn the clock back to the "good old days." It almost seems to good to be true, looking like Trixie could jump into his arms any moment now and cry her heart out for all the evil she has committed.

But Trixie snaps out of her moment of silence and tears, rushing the hate and fury back into her mind. 'Sh-SHUT UP, YOU MONSTER! STAY AWAY FROM ME!' she screams with fear and jumps back on her hooves, followed by slamming the surprised stallion away with a hoof.

'-ACK!-' Brush gasps when he crashes into the dirt, bouncing and rolling over the mud like a pebble thrown over a pond. When he comes to a sudden halt, facedown in the mud, he stops moving at all. The only thing he eventually manages to move is his face up in order to breath. Other than that, he seems to have been utterly broken by that one blow.

'Brush!' the other ponies shout out in panic, knowing that that low blow must've hit him hard.

But Trixie wasn't done with him yet. For confusing her and being a thorn in her side all this time, while still offering to be her friend in the end, the mad alicorn has little mercy left for the stallion. Pent up by his words of mercy, she walks up to Brush who tries to stand back up. Without restraint or warning, she presses one of her hooves on his head, smashing him back into the wet mud with his nose.

'NO MORE! I WILL NOT LET YOU TORMENT ME ANY FURTHER, BRUSH! IT'S TIME TO BEG GOODBYE!' Trixie shouts with tears flowing from her eyes, along with drops of sweat from her face.

The alicorn is afraid: Afraid of anything that goes through her head. Believing Spectrum Brush to be the reason of it all, she stops seeing clear completely and only believes that getting rid of him will save herself. She then presses the stallion's face deeper into the wet mud.

'-Urk!-' Brush grunts, showing no resistance to the pressure of Trixie's hoof, knowing it would prove futile. Unable to breath properly through the wet soil, Brush starts to grow a little scared of passing out now. He can only lie still and hope that Trixie will stop soon, hoping to make her believe he's unconcious. If she will keep this up though, Brush is afraid he'll be unable to help his friends anymore. All his efforts for the past weeks have been for this crucial moment and may actually become all in vain.

'C'mon... Calm down already...,' Brush thinks in his head, wishing for Trixie to stop keeping his head down.

Brush feels how his lungs are starting to beg for fresh air, which he can't provide. His worries are proven rightful: Trixie is upset enough to take no little chances anymore. His vision becomes blurry, turning from brown dirt into a black nothingness. Spectrum Brush is about to pass out cold.

'D-Darn...,' he gasps in his head.

A few bubbles slip along his face, popping when they reach the surface of the mud. Brush is out of air.

'I win! You lose! ACCEPT THAT!' Trixie screams down at the seemingly lifeless red male, keeping her hoof pressed on his unbrushed mane.

'LET HIM GO, TRIXIE!' Twilight shouts at her with fear in her eyes. 'YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR ALREADY! IF YOU HURT OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ONE MORE TIME...'

'Then WHAT?!' Trixie shouts back and pushes the stallion's face even further in the mud to the point that only his mane can be seen. 'You can't do anything about it! You all let your friends down! Look at him; The sucker has passed out already! I'm Great and Powerful! Nothing can stop Trixie now!'

They all feel rage moving through their veins, furious about the cowardly actions Trixie continues to show. They feel like taking her down so badly, wishing to make her stop at last. Wishing to turn the clock back and stop Trixie before this all happened. They're willing to go that far, hating hate more than ever.

But when they look at each other to see if the other's agree, they are all shocked at the sight of their faces: Glaring, bare teeth in their grins of anger, burning rage glowing in their pupils. They realize that they nearly let anger take its course once again, making them think about vengeance over friendship. This doesn't feel right. If they are to succumb to rage once again, if they have the urge to take down Trixie at all cost, they would  violate everything that their stallion friend stood for.

Then it hits them all: Brush's intentions.

Together they all take a deep breath, they keep their cool, they remain calm. They let the rage flow away in the cold wind of loneliness 'Trixie… you were once simply a mare with talent, full of pride…,' Twilight whispers. 'But you betrayed Brush…, betrayed us all! You froze our homes, you deceived us, you hurt our friends!'

Trixie remains quiet as she stares at Twilight. Her eyes are still wet from tears, though she stopped sobbing now that she's won from the red unicorn that pushed her this far.

'Brush knew what needed to be done... Our friendship was crushed by you, because we could only think about ourselves... If we would allow vengeance take the best of us again, we would be no better than you or Ignis. Brush was able to forgive you even now to prove that he believes in peaceful resolutions. Even after all the things you've done to him, he believes in you!'

'So I...,' Twilight whispers, making everypony wait for the pause she takes to honestly believe in the following words.

'I forgive you.'

'-Mhm-' Applejack grunts, understanding what Twilight means. But still she feels like she has trouble acceping it, considering how much damage Trixie has brought to her, her home, and her friends. And yet, she sighs and shows a nod of acceptance, followed with a smile. 'Ah forgive you too, partner.'

'I... I forgive you too, Trix,' Rainbow Dash sigh. She has a little trouble to forget how the blue mare mocked and hurt her, but is cool enough to follow her friends' example. She manages to see how Trixie must feel like, how she must've experienced everything she went through while being tested by the cruelty of loneliness.

'Oki-Doki-Loki! I can't stay mad at any of you! We should totally hang out sometime, Trixie! I'd love to see more of those magic tricks of yours!' Pinkie Pie forgives with laughter, being one of the ponies with the golden heart that holds no eternal grudges to others. 'Maybe that ice actually comes in handy! The summer was hot after all! Maybe we can go iceskating sometimes?' she rattles on, not knowing when to stop.

'O-Ofcourse I forgive you, Trixie. I-I hope we can be f-friends maybe?' Fluttershy stutters, praying for the best outcome for everypony. If forgiveness is all it takes to give a chance to turn Trixie into the mare that seemed so kindhearted to her during the challenge, she feels more than willing to grand it.

Like a world being turned upside down, Trixie looks confused at the forgiving mares. There was a point where she managed to break their spirits, torn them apart, froze them in ice. And now that Spectrum Brush is down, they're STILL able to go to insane extends like this: Forgiving her for the horrors she caused.

'A-Are you all insane?' Trixie hisses. Her wide eyes look at the six brave mares before her and forgets to aim her hoof on the stallion's head. Brush slips free, turns around on his back and coughs dirt from his mouth, still showing a sign of being with them. Slowly regaining his vision again of the clouded sky above them, he turns his face to the left to see what is going on between the mares. Though mud is all over his face and in his ears, he can still make out what is going on. He chuckles softly between the coughing up of dirt. The words of harmony sound like music to his ears.

Rarity however is a little stubborn in letting old hatred be bygones. 'But she made my hair green once... How could I possibly-' she mumbles.

'Rarity!' her friends shout impatient, knowing that Rarity is accidently talking herself back into the miserable memories of Trixie and her past. She has to let the past be past and look into the future.

'Oh... Alright. I doubt I can stay mad forever,' she sighs. 'As a lady, forgiveness is a requirement to be given. I... grand you forgiveness as well, Trixie.'  

They feel happy. Forgiving somepony this openly feels so relieving. It feels like an absolute statement that allows them to completely let the anger go away and regret nothing. Though friendship exists out of six elements, there are still extra emotions that needed to hold onto friendship. Brush knew it all along: Forgiveness is like an unwritten seventh element, being the key to let out all the hatred that tries to grow over time in a friend's mind.

'And I'm sure everypony else is willing to forgive you, Trixie. Everyone deserves  a second chance,' Twilight whispers, loud enough for the baffled alicorn to hear it.

'BLASPHEMY! YOU SIX ARE JUST AS PITIFUL AS THAT RED MONSTER!' she screams with tears filling up her cold eyes again. 'I DON'T CARE ONE BIT ABOUT YOUR MERCY! I WILL MAKE YOU EAT YOUR WORDS AND BURY YOU ALL TEN FEET UNDERGROUND!'

But she doesn't. Neither do the six mares feel threatened by her words. In their hearts they've already won, now knowing what they lacked to bring harmony to Equestria.

A bright light suddenly glows over the surrounding landscape, giving a warm feeling on the touch. Trixie looks surprised up at the light that appears east behind the six mares, who don't seem surprised at all. The alicorn first believes that it's the sunrise, knowing that the night is almost up. But even if it is, it shouldn't be able to see the sun at all because of the winter clouds that fill the sky! That's when she starts to realize that the warm white light isn't from the sun. It doesn't even come from air at all. It comes from the city that is settled in the east of them, holding every single pony of Equestria within its safe walls: Canterlot.

The light from the unicorn city starts to expand, filling the air more and more with it's harmonic aura, evaporating the blizzard's clouds by the mere touch of it's power. Six divine colors split from the light and move like waves in the water above them, like an Aurora Borealis in Ponyville. A night sky is uncovered, with a yellow radiance coming from the horizon behind the mountains: The Twilight of a new Dawn.

Trixie slowly backs away, clearly afraid of what is happening all of the sudden. She looks surprised at how the Mane Six start to glow with a pink aura, magically causing them to float in the air. Without any Element of Harmony worn by any of the six mares, they have proven that Harmony was inside them all along, having BECOME Elements off Harmony by heart.

The ray of light from Canterlot crashes into them from the air, like a rainbow hitting the ground, creating a crackling sound of power that fills the air around them. It responds to the power of friendship that connects them all together, causing their aura to light up the entire crater in seven colors.

'IMPOSSIBLE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY ARE STILL FROZEN UNDER ICE! YOU ARE UNABLE TO PROCESS THIS MUCH POWER ALL ALONE!' she screams between her rapid breaths.

'Your right Trixie…,' Twilight whispers calmly. 'We could’ve never done this alone…'

With those final words said, Twilight can feel the power of all her friends and family coursing through her veins until it reaches a maximum. Her eyes begin to glow with a bright white light, marking the begin of a new time of harmony in Equestria. The power explodes out of the mares, creating a towering inferno of seven colors that bursts into the air from the ground. The spiraling light reaches the top height and falls together, like waterdrops forming a puddle together. Everypony can see the glowing mixture, the size of an aged oaktree. The ponies in Canterlot know that this means that it worked, Trixie knows that she can't do anything to stop it, and the six friends know that the second coming of the Great Winter comes to a stop now. An event of ancient descriptions has manifested in Equestria for a second time: A burning pink heart comes out of the glowing magma-like rainbow, melting all the ice in the vicinity the instant it's correctly shapen. Trixie is staring in desperation at the thing, of which she knows that it can actually overwhelm Lady Fame's power and defeat her.

'Thank you, Brush. Without your help,Equestria would’ve been doomed along with our friendship,' Twilight thinks and smiles down at the stallion, who slowly regains his consciousness by the bright light that touches his face, granting him the warm feeling of friendship that he adores so much.

'I knew you six could do it…,' he whispers with a smile at the six mares with the giant burning heart floating above them.

'Curse you! You think this friendship nonsense will stop ME?! I will freeze you six, Spectrum Brush, the princesses, and your families! You can’t win from the great and powerful TRIXIE!' is what Trixie has spinning through her head, though she wanted to scream it out loud. But her breath stops, she stops blinking, and can't say anything but growls, gasps, and stutters. The corrupt alicorn has reached the very limit of what she can take mentally. Any common pony would normally pass out now. Trixie has finally acknowledged utter defeat.

'Trix, we're coming to save you!' Rainbow Dash yells at the mute Alicorn.

'Consider ya’self saved from ya’self!' Applejack backs her up, pumped up by the warm feeling that they all feel running through their bodies.

'Let’s just… get along,' Fluttershy giggles, happy from the warm feeling that burns inside her heart.

'Now this is what I call "heartwarming," Pinkie Pie giggles.

'This feeling...,' Rarity whispers with joy. 'I feel like every bit of stress has been entirely erased out of my head, darlings!'

Their friendship has never reached a point where they could FEEL the bonds of friendship with their hearts. It feels warm, friendly, and tranquil. It's a feeling that they would never would want to let go of, feeling like a living sun each. It's only moments before they have to let it go and have it connect with the pink hearted that manifested from the friendships of all beings in Equestria.

'This is what it feels to be a complete part of Harmony, isn't it?' Twilight whispers, trying to give it a description to what she experiences. 'This is feels to be a part of Equestria's harmony. -Hehe-... I'm going to need more paper when I decide to write to Princess Celestia what I learned today about Friendship...'

The time has come. Ready to activate the full potential the magical heart, they are suddenly surprised to hear a sudden shift of sound in the air.

'ENOUGH!' The Royal Canterlot voice of Trixie bellows through the area, shaking the very earth that she stands on. Giant cracks appear on the ice that hold the Elements, the dirt turns back into dry soil in an instant, and the remaining snow and ice vaporizes into thin air.

They all watch silently at how Trixie suddenly ends her insults, despicable personality, and calms down. Something is happening; Something that makes the mares pause their moment of glory in order to see what is happening. Trixie’s eyes are no longer blinded by fury, fear, or anything else. In fact: Not a single emotion can be read from the blue alicorn's face. Has Trixie truly lost it now?

'Eh... Trixie?' Fluttershy mumbles, while still hanging in the air by the magic that she is holding back. 'A-Are you alright?'

But she doesn't answer back at her. The blue gem on her chestplate lights up, followed by a swift spell that comes from her horn. The blue body of the mare has been cleaned of dirt by her magic, including her ghastly-white mane, making her look more like the beautiful mare she looked like hours ago. The alicorn merely looks up at the six floating mares with her snow-white eyes, without saying a single word.

'What's going on?' Rainbow Dash asks her friends. 'Is... she alright? This is so unlike Trixie to be quiet like that.'

The alicorn heard her well, yet doesn't respond. Her eyes simply turn to the stallion that lies on the ground. The red unicorn looks up, unsure what has happened. That's when their green and white eyes meet, staring deep into each other's souls. That's when Brush realizes the meaning of this change.

'…You’re not Trixie, are you?' Brush asks.

'And you were Ignis' vessel, weren't you?' she whispers with a completely different voice that is sounds soothing to ear, like a mother whispering to her child.

Though the others don't know it, Brush and Twilight most certainly recognize it. But before they are even able to say a word further, they are interrupted by a familiar mare that approaches through the air.

'Lady Fame… It’s been a long time,' a voice surprises all of them, coming from the white alicorn that flies down into the crater. Her multicolored magical mane and golden crown are recognizable by one glance.

'P-Princess Celestia!' the ponies gasp in surprise, not having expected the royal visitor in a dangerous place like this.

The blue mare turns away from the weakened stallion and looks at the white mare in front of her as well. Both alicorns show no attention to the seven ponies, though the don't seem to give any form of response to each other as well for a minute.

But eventually the body of Trixie nods. A nod that speaks for bookpages of words: Lady Fame controls Trixie's body.

The seven ponies remain quiet, surprised by the following turnout: Lady Fame has managed to take control over Trixie all of the sudden. Was it the loss of sanity that allowed the ancient mare to take control? Or was it possibly that Trixie let her? Whatever the case it may be: Trixie is no longer master over her own body, just like Brush when he was possessed by Lord Ignis months ago. With the power of the Fire of Friendship still shining over them, it is up to the six mares when they decide to cleanse the blue madmare from her possessor.

'Hello Celestia. It’s been too long indeed,' the blue alicorn speaks calmly to the white alicorn, showing not a speck of anger or violence in her voice. A faint smile even appears on her face. 'I’m glad to see you fare well.'

Princess Celestia show no similar response of joy on her face. Brush and Twilight know that the princess stopped Lady Fame a thousand years ago for the sake of Princess Luna. Seeing the princess this quiet makes it seem like she still has no room for mercy for her former mentor.

'Wh-What is going on? Do they KNOW each other?' Rarity asks out loud, though nopony answers to her question, asking themselves the exact same thing.

The alicorns ignore the audiance, being in the awkward reunion as they are. It is Celestia who suddenly dares to say the next words, over which she thought deeply over in her head '...Lady Fame, why did you allow Trixie to control you like you did?' she asks.

'She...She did WHAT?' Twilight whispers, barely able to believe his own ears. Even Brush looks up surprised of hearing that Lady Fame was purposely letting Trixie dominate her. To what point would she do that?

Lady Fame sighs, seemingly ashamed of something. 'I'm sorry that things turned into this, Celestia... I KNEW that it would turn into a mess like this. But I just had to know for certain... I just HAD to know if you earn the title of ruler of Equestria, like you did ages ago when you defeated me and Ignis. I wanted to know... if our influence didn't corrupt you for future times...,' the blue alicorn explains her actions and looks hopefull up at her past pupil. 'I'm happy to see that you are still the same mare I knew ages ago.'

But Celestia doesn't accept the compliment or result as a reward, still angry about the harm it caused to Equestria. 'You know that your judgement isn't the most valued one, Lady Fame...,' Celestia mutters. 'And now you've only done worse for yourself.'

'...I know...,' Fame whispers, looking down from Celestia's eyes to the ground in shame. She doesn't feel like she deserves to look her in the eye anymore. 'But I know YOU value it to some extend...'

Nopony knows what to say then. The five ponies around them don't have anything to say at all, knowing nothing about the connection between mentor and pupil. Even Brush and Twilight can't find the right words, remaining silent and listen to the two alicorns to say something next. Trixie's controlled body doesn't even peek at the princess in front of her, completely humble to Celestia's presence, while Princess Celestia keeps a straight face this entire time, though the experience could be tearing her apart without anypony noticing.

'…Do you despise me for what I did?' Celestia whispers. Obviously she's talking about the day she sealed her mentors into two crystals.

But Fame smiles, having anticipated Celestia to ask that question the moment they would stand face to face again. '...No, I honestly don't, Celestia,' the blue mare whispers and slowly attempts to look Celestia in her memorable eyes again. 'I never hated you for what you did to me and Ignis. It was meant to happen by fate, without any other way out of it. In truth: I’m actually very proud of you for having done it.'

Celestia doesn't say anything back, obviously listening to the words of truth that come from the mare's mouth.

'After Discord enherited portions of our magic, I was not afraid of what he would do to me, but of what would happen to YOU. You know that everything I did was for your sake, though it may have still been terrible decisions.'

'Fame…,' Celestia whispers, with a noticable different tone than she spoke with so far.

'I know you can never forgive me for what we did to little Luna... I was so busy with thinking of keeping you in specific unharmed, that I didn’t pay enough attention to your baby sister.  If only I was strong enough to stand up against Ignis like you did... Things may have been different then...'

The white mare shakes her head. She doesn't want to be reminded of what Fame did then, knowing already full well that she didn't mean it to happen. 'Like you said... It was fate; Destined to happen.'

'But this time I was perfectly aware of what was going on,' she contradicts the princess' words of comfort that Fame deems unearned. 'I had no wish to confront you personally... So when I was found by Trixie, I let her have her way and dominate Equestria with the powers I once used. She seemed like the perfect mare to be taught a lesson and possibly teach you one, in the case you WOULD have changed. I wanted to see if you could still had the willpower and cunning that you've shown me ages ago, the kind of courage that is required to protect Equestria after all these years. My chosen research... of Friendship...'

Lady Fame suddenly begins to snicker softly and stands back up to look at Celestia from the same height. Even though she continues to tell everything she wants to tell her past pupil, she can't stop looking at how the young white mare has grown as tall as herself.

'But I never expected this to happen: You have cared enough for Equestria that it manages to protect itself! And without the Elements of Harmony no less!' she praises, entheusiastic about how Celestia's promises and willpower has achieved a better world than during the reign of Fame and Ignis. She looks around her with big eyes at the mares and stallion, happy. The blue alicorn that wanted to have their hides a moment ago has completely turned around into a mare full of happiness and emotions. Even though they all know that the Fire of Friendship can't be reverted now, and will the powerful alicorn's soul out of Trixie's body soon, she can't help but be overjoiced by this one chance she's given to talk to precious pupil and say the words she couldn't say ages ago. She has accepted the Fire of Friendship and eternal imprisonment in her crystal as her punishment.

'I was too angry to listen to you when I was so young... And you're absolutely right: I really do value the words you told me now...,' Celestia whispers, trying to sound the same. But everypony can easily notice that the princess has to try her best in order to keep her face straight to the point it hurts. 'I know that you did everything for me out of love. I really do... Thank you, Lady Fame. Thank you for everything you've done for me.'

The blue alicorn sniffs, feeling her heartbeat speed up from this words that mean so much to her. If given the chance, Fame would probably hug Celestia and never let go. But just to do her pupil a favor, she will attempt to remain as royal as possible as well, keeping her emotions stacked away as much as she can in her own mind. 'The one you should thank is yourself, Celestia, and the amazing subjects you rule over. It makes me so proud to see you have grown this much.'

Fame coughs her tears away.

'You've really grown... I-I couldn't be more prouder of you: As proud of you as if you truly are my flesh and blood daughter...'

Celestia is almost unable to keep her emotions secluded. Even if Lady Fame was responsible for bringing this mayhem to Equestria again, she was still the most important mare in the princess' youth. She can’t control the pressure of one tear that starts to roll over her cheek, dropping from her chin down on her left golden-decorated hoof.

She takes a deep breath and speaks calmly. 'Lady Fame… I must tell you that my student Twilight is studying the meanings of friendship. Her stories have filled one bookcase full already.'

Twilight looks up when she hears her name, while still floating in the air next to her friends. It starts to sink in to her that the reports she wrote, the letters of everything she learned about friendship and sent to her mentor, are just like the scrolls in the Hall of Friendship that she saw in Fame's memories.

The alicorn looks at her and allows the truth to sink in. The scrolls that she was so interested in and got burned down by Ignis are being rewritten by Celestia's student. 'Really now… That's wonderful news... Thank you, Celestia,'  she whispers.

All has been said that was needed to be said. Fame looks up to the sky, where the burning heart still waits to banish Fame out of Trixie. Once it is done, she will probably never be free to walk Equestria again. A sparkle blinks in her eyes. She is still amazed at how strong the power of friendship turns out to be, able to recreate a power that was only seen once in a lifetime. After letting out a deep sigh of acceptance, she looks at the six floating mares in the pink light.

'Now then, Mane 6. Complete what you started! Banish me back into my crystal! Free Equestria from the final alicorn tyrant that threatened the Harmony of this beautiful world and ensure it's safety!'

It's their sign that the time has come. Together they breath deeply and let go off the magic that they held inside. The heart starts to light up further, responding to the friendship that connects Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Their auras forge melt together, bursting like a beam of light into the air. Like an arrow, the light pierces through the heart. A hole has been created, bursting it open into a pink inferno that blazes down to the ground like holy fire, spreading over the entire area when it strikes. Frost and ice that covered the plants and ground starts to melt with an insane speed, without harming anything other than that. The light continues to spread out over the ground, intending to go as far and wide as Lady Fame's magic has gotten. Brush closes his eyes when the light moves over him, though it couldn't have hurt his eyes. It's not like sunlight, but a light of compassion.

And in the center, Lady Fame gives Celestia a final look before she vanishes. Celestia takes a deep breath, with a gnawing feeling of longing to keep Lady Fame with her. But she takes heart and accepts that this too is fate, therefor inevitable.

'This light… So soothing...,' she whispers, with tears coming from her eyes from joy. Without any form of pain, Lady Fame is drawn back into the sapphire-blue crystal on the chestplate, while speaking of her final realization. 'I-I finally understand what friendship is about…'

Fame's breath is gone from this world.

***

Birds appear from the south and leaves on the trees start to gain their youthful green color again. The apples on Sweet Apple Acres glow in the morning sun, coated by the dew that came from the molten snow. Winter has passed completely, just like the cold and the clouds. Today shall be another hot summer day.

'W-Wow...,' Pinkie Pie sighs, feeling drained from all the energy that was coursing through her body.

Her friends don't feel any more different that her; drained. The little glow of pink aura that slowly fades away still allows the six mares to land safely on the ground, where they wobble and struggle to keep standing.

'I feel... dizzy,' Rarity says and lies down on the dry ground. 'I just need a moment of rest...'

Even Applejack and Rainbow Dash struggle against collapse. Though they may be the fittest ponies of them, even their stamina can't stand up against the amount of magic that they had rushing through them.

Only Twilight stands a better chance, having felt a similar sensation like this. Though she would love to lie down and rest like her friends, she pushes herself to stay up and walk towards the red stallion that looks away from her. Brush has recovered from his beating. Though the air around them remains as silent as void, she begins to hear a familiar sound: Somepony is crying. Only when Twilight appears at the red unicorn's side, he notices her.

'Twilight...,' he whispers and nods in front of him, signalling her to look. It wasn't him who is crying.

She doesn't say anything back yet. She merely turns her head and looks down at the ground, where a blue pony with a white mane lies on the ground in a fetal position. It's Trixie, who has turned back to her original unicorn self. Tears stream from her eyes like a river, unable to stop crying. Lady Fame's presence has obviously vanished, granting the body back to its original owner. She lost everything that she believes to have made her "Great" and "Powerful."

'Trixie?' Twilight says quietly, gently trying to catch her attention.

But Trixie remains unnaffected, keeping her back turned towards the two unicorns.

Brush has nothing to say. He hasn't seen Trixie for days since her betrayal in the Frozen North. Before that, he knew her as a friend he had for months. To see her now; To see her this broken, it makes him kind of saddened.

Twilight feels strange. Normally she should despise the whimpering pile of sorrow that crawls on the ground for all her selfish acts and call it just deserts. But her promise of forgiveness was honest, unabling Twilight to hate her anymore for what she did to everypony. She actually feels sorry for the blue mare, considering the traumas she went through to be stopped from her destructive career.

And somehow she feels a tiny bit responsible for Trixie's actions. In the end: most blame goes to Trixie and her messed up way of thinking, of course. But her humiliation last time in Ponyville could possibly be the catalyst of this.

'Trixie… It’s me; Twilight,' she whispers again, only louder now for Trixie to definitly hear it. 'Look, I know that we may have gone off on the wrong hoof and we both know that you brought this nightmare upon yourself…'

Trixie stops sobbing and looks over her shoulder at the purple mare, still with tears soaking up her vision.

'But I’m certain that we could’ve been good friends if things wouldn’t have turned out as they have now!' Twilight admits, trying to convince her. 'We can both forget the past and correct our mistakes, Trixie. Turn over a new leaf, right?'

Trixie remains silently still and continues to listening to her. Twilight is familiar with this situation. She recognizes the past between Celestia and Luna and the events now: both a huge misunderstanding. If things didn't go as they went, everything could've been all different. Thanks to what she learned today, she knows she can do what her mentor was able to do.

'Will you accept my friendship?' Twilight asks her with a smile, reacing her left hoof out to the sad pony to help her up from the ground. If Trixie will accept her help, it means all is forgiven.

Trixie looks in silence at Twilight, without any thought going through her head. Her tantrum has stopped and she rubs the tears out of her eyes. Looking up at the purple unicorn, who continues to offer her help, Trixie starts to realize what she must do. She slowly turns around to Twilight and lifts her hoof up.

'NO!' she  suddenly shouts and hits Twilight’s hoof with her own. 'I-I will never forget this! We can’t be friends! Trixie doesn’t have or need friends!' she shouts with a nervous voice.

'B-But Trixie, don’t you think that that is why everything turned out so poor for you?' Twilight asks surprised to her reaction. 'Everyone needs a friend! I don't want you to go through experiences of loneliness anymore! Isn't that what you hate most: To be alone?'

Trixie only grunts, because she has no words to counter that statement. Still, she refuses to acknowledge Twilight's opinion. 'No! No way! Trixie is and always will be alone!' she yells again. Then she turns around and quickly runs away from the site, still surprisingly full of energy. Brush and Twilight won't be able to catch up.

'Trixie, wait!' Twilight yells into the distance, wanting to prevent another disaster like when she let Trixie leave the last time she left Ponyville. Twilight can only look at how Trixie runs away again into the morning sun, away from Ponyville.

Brush sighs and shakes his head. 'She’s a stubborn mare, isn’t she?' he grunts. 'She will be back. Don’t worry. As long as she knows that she is welcome here, and everypony in Equestria believes this tragedy was done by Lady Fame alone, she can't stay angry.'

The stallion turns around to walk back to their friends, clearly under the impression that Trixie really will return this time.

Trixie isn’t as smug as before. Being able to reach the top and still get beaten really did a number on her ego, giving her new doors to open in her decisions. Maybe this time things will be different. Still, Twilight feels sorry. Her favorable thing would be that they could've made amends and let bygones be bygones.

'So... We DID win this time, didn't we?' Rainbow Dash asks again, while laying down on the ground in exhaustion, still wanting to simply hear that it's done and she's claimed the victory.

Brush snickers and nods. 'Yea, it's all over now. You were all fantastic,' he praises them and gives a wide smile. 'I always believed that you had it all in yourselves.'

Multiple sighs of relief can be heared from the five mares. If they would have had to endure any more dramas and puzzling ideas, they would'nt have been able to carry it out. All they want now is to go home, take a hot bath, and go to sleep.

'Well... Guess Ah better get back and harvest before everypony returns,' Applejack says with satisfaction and stands back up to walk back to Ponyville.

The others laugh at the joke she made. Applejack's airtight schedual sounds like it could even be carried out by her when Equestria would be doomed.

'Wha? Ah'm serious,' Applejack grunts, not having intended to say it like a joke.

'Well, we can't go home yet!' Pinkie Pie tells them. 'What about our Saved-The-Day-Again-Party in Canterlot?! We HAVE to go back and celebrate, girls!'

They realize that the pink earth pony is right. Every single pony of Equestria is still in Canterlot, probably already celebrating about their grand victory. The dissapearance of the winter weather has probably not gone unnoticed.

'She's right! We should head to Canterlot immidiatly!' Rarity gasps, afraid of keeping everypony there waiting for their safe return.

'I get to enter first!' Rainbow Dash shouts, trying to claim the first cheers of Canterlot for herself.

'No way, Rainbow! That honor would be mine!' Rarity shouts back, just as needy about being the messenger of good news to everypony.

'Y-You should go after me... I wouldn't mind being last,' Fluttershy whispers, a little nervous of sounding selfish.

But Twilight shakes her head and pokes her two argueing friends, who look up at her. 'Wouldn't it sound fair if we go TOGETHER?' she suggests, being the most reasonable idea.

The pegasus and unicorn don't complain, accepting it rather easily.

Brush snickers about their pointless, yet funny arguements. He wouldn't ever want to miss this chance of returning to Canterlot, alongside his best friends. One of these days they'll most likely ask him about what has happened in the months of his dissapearance. Normally he would feel bad about recalling the past horrors that lie in his past. But now, now that Fame and Ignis will both be sealed away for good thanks to him, he can finally forgive himself.

In a group of seven ponies they walk out of the crater, which has now dried up in solid and climbable dirt. With laughter and talk they walk alongside through Everfree Forest.

All the action has made the ponies forget all about Princess Celestia, who stands in the center of the battlefield, right where Lady Fame vanished. The alicorn looks at the ponies that return to Canterlot with joy, and smiles. 'They’re really something, don’t you think?' Celestia asks to herself, looking at Twilight and Brush in specific. 'They really do remind me... of me.'

Whether ít's a Princess who may or may not made the right decisions in the past, a stallion who couldn't help but feel guilty for something he couldn't stop, or a group of friends that feel bad for ever doubting each other, they all realize their mistakes and the truth:

Sometimes you must leave the past behind and show forgiveness.