//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: A Nudge Too Far // Story: The Balance of Harmony // by The Rising Tide of Night //------------------------------// I awoke what seemed like hours later, feeling oddly refreshed for having just been pinned to the wall like something in a display. I also found myself looking up at what I determined was the cave ceiling. Confused, I pushed myself up into a sitting position, and after feeling no pain, felt around my side, finding no wounds. My inspection was interrupted by a nearby voice. “Feeling better?” rumbled the Endless One. I spun around to see him sitting there next to a small fire in his human form, stirring something in a pot that seemed to be steaming happily. I carefully took stock of myself. I was feeling better, oddly enough. I felt like I had slept for a week, and my bruises and wounds from my trek up the mountain had been healed. I noticed that my staff, dagger, and guns were lying right next to me, looking oddly clean. I picked them up, checking them, and noticed that the guns had all been reloaded as well. I started suddenly as I saw the Endless One kneel down in front of me, a large bowl of what looked like a vegetable stew in his hands. The smell was amazing, and I found myself famished as I wordlessly took the bowl from him, heedless of the temperature. I scalded my tongue on the first few bites, but the taste was worth it. He chuckled at my enthusiasm for the food as I downed the bowl and held it out for a second helping. “Eat as much as you like, little Twilight. I used your body’s energy stores to heal your wounds, so you will need a way to replenish them.” He gestured to my weapons, and continued, “I took the liberty of cleaning your weapons while you rested. I apologize if I have stepped out of line. I did find the artwork pleasing, though. Would I be remiss to ask if you are the artist?” I shook my head as I finished my second bowl, a pang of grief shooting through me. “No,” I replied sadly, my voice catching in my throat, “my friend Fluttershy did those. She died fighting Syrothrax.” His face unreadable as he refilled my bowl again, he replied, “I apologize. The loss of friends is always a difficult thing to bear.” He handed my bowl back and I attacked it once more with gusto. I got about halfway through my bowl before I stopped, resting the spoon in the bowl. I sat there for a moment, before looking up at him and asking, “If you don’t mind, can I ask why…?” “Why you are not dead?” he finished for me. He looked away for a moment. “Because I feel that the time has come for a change. I had thought that with Discord’s rule, life would become easier for me and my kin, which is why I had agreed to watch this.” He picked up a stone from the ground next to him. I saw with astonishment that there was a crystal in the shape of a star embedded in the center. “However, that has not been the case.” His expression unreadable, he reached over to me, handing over the element. I took it, astonished, feeling the familiar weight and resonance of the element of Magic. A sudden realization intruded on my astonishment, and I looked up at him. “Wait, I shot you! I saw you fall!” He chuckled, and tapped his forehead. “Yes, you did,” he replied, “And I will have quite a headache for a little while longer. But truly, little Twilight, there was no way you could kill me.” I bristled. “Then why challenge me at all if I couldn’t win?” “Because I wanted to see what you would do to save this world,” he replied, ignoring my indignant tone. “Your willingness to sacrifice yourself is admirable, if a little misguided.” His matter-of-factness made me look away, somewhat ashamed. “Do not worry, little Twilight,” he continued. “As long as you complete your quest, sacrifice can be borne.” He stood, extending a hand to help me up, which I took gratefully. He gathered up my weapons, handing them over to me, and I replaced Fluttershy’s guns, Pinkie Pie’s dagger, and Applejack’s rifle before taking back my staff. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and looked me directly in the eye. “Now go, little Twilight. I wish you luck. I will provide you safe passage away from this place upon your request.” I thanked him, then hesitated before accepting his offer. “Can I make one request first?” He nodded in reply, and I pressed on. “My friends… died here. I left Fluttershy’s body next to Syrothrax, and I don’t know where Applejack finally...” I paused, unwilling to finish that thought. “If… if you find them… could you…?” “They will be offered a place of rest, little Twilight,” he replied. “I will bring them into my chambers here in a place of repose. I will even allow you to visit them should you so choose.” “Thank you,” I replied gratefully, then steeled myself for the journey home. “Alright. Let’s go.” With that, I turned around to leave the cavern, and nearly fell over as I suddenly found myself outside the library building in Equs, darkness surrounding me. I shuddered at the thought of the amount of power required to move me that quickly and without me even realizing it was happening, and suddenly felt like I had been completely outclassed from the beginning. Shaking away a thought that threatened to send me reeling, I entered the library, making my way to the back, and slowly descended the stairs into the underground hideout. I felt my dread increase with each step as I entered the meeting room, looking around. It was empty at the moment, but I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I was glad of it, since I didn’t really feel like seeing anyone at that point. I carefully made my way over to the sleeping rooms, finding my old room. Quietly opening the door, I slipped inside, intent on getting in and out without seeing anyone. Spike was sleeping on his bed, his snores ruffling his hair as he lay sprawled under the covers, one hand hanging over the edge of the bed. Doing my best not to disturb him, I crept through the room to where I had placed the rest of the elements of Harmony. Pulling them out of the cabinet we had been storing them in, I placed them carefully in my bag next to the elements of Honesty and Magic, feeling their comforting weight in my hands. After securing the elements, I slipped out of the room, carefully closing the door behind me as Spike continued to snore lightly. I quietly moved through the meeting room and headed to the door, where I was stopped by the voice of the one person I had hoped to avoid behind me. “Twilight?” Big Mac’s rumbling voice called quietly. “What’s going on?” Dreading what was about to come, I turned around to face him. He was standing there shirtless and barefoot, wearing a pair of loose pants, looking at me curiously. Noticing I was alone, he looked around, trying to see if anyone else was there. “Where’s AJ?” he asked. I hesitated, trying to think about what to tell him. My apprehension must have shown on my face, for his eyes narrowed, and he started to approach me. “Twilight, where’s Applejack? Where’s Fluttershy?” I remained silent, begging him with my remaining eye not to ask those questions as he stood over me. In an effort to distract him, I opened my bag and took out the last two elements of Harmony, showing them to him. “We got them, Big Mac.” He glanced down at them, and his eyes widened in happiness. “So, that means you can finally beat Discord, right?” he asked. I nodded, still not trusting my voice. He swept me up in a great bear hug, pulling me off of my feet. “That’s great! Where’s AJ? Ah wanna congratulate her!” Seeing him so happy and excited broke something in me, and I looked up at him, grief plain on my face. He saw my expression, and immediately put me down, looking into my eye with concern. “Twilight?” he asked, panic starting to creep into his voice. “Where’s AJ?” “Sh-she didn’t make it,” I whimpered, finally letting out the truth that I had kept locked up inside. “W-what?” he stammered, dropping to his knees in shock. “They’re all gone,” I whispered, resting my forehead against his. He just continued to sit there, staring at nothing. “It’s just me, now.” I hugged his head against my chest, and I felt the beginnings of a sob. “I’m sorry, Big Mac.” I gently pushed him back upright, looking into his eyes. “I’m taking the elements to finish this. I can do it. Applejack told me so, and you know about her honesty. But if I don’t go now, I’ll never go. I’m sorry to do this, but I can’t have you raising an alarm or anything.” He just looked up at me, tears in his eyes, uncomprehending. I raised my staff and cast a sleeping spell on him. His eyes slowly closed, and I grunted as I grabbed him, preventing him from falling over. I gently laid him down on the floor before turning and hurrying up the stairs and out of the hideout. I stepped quickly out into the night air, hurrying out of town as fast as I could. Once I reached the outskirts I paused, thinking. Discord had never actually told me where he could be found. However, I knew of one place that I was fairly sure he might be. Gripping my staff tightly, I concentrated hard, and with a flash of light, vanished, reappearing in the great hall of Camelot. The great hall was almost exactly like I had left it. The only difference was that instead of being occupied by Princess Celestia, the hall was completely empty. Determined, I stalked up to the dais where the two thrones still sat, seeing no one, not even the Luna puppet that Discord had created. “Discord!” I cried. “Come out and face me!” “Now, now, Twilight Sparkle, there’s no need to shout,” Discord said from right behind me. I jumped and spun around to face his yellow and red eyes, hatred on my face. He looked around me, searching, until he finally let out a cry of triumph. “YES!!!! They’re all gone!” “Yes, Discord,” I growled at him. “They’re all gone. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be.” He started dancing a jig, bounding around the hall, leaping and bounding from the floor to ceiling. “Oh, Twilight, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see this!” He landed in front of me, an evil smile on his face. “I knew my little nudges here and there would leave it down to just you and me!” “W-what did you say?” I asked. “What nudges?” “Well, how else do you think your friends had the bad luck to get killed?” he replied as he sauntered away from me into the middle of the hall. I hurried down the dais, following him. “I mean, impalement has always been one of my favorite things. Why else would three of your friends end up impaled, even with that fancy armor you’ve been wearing?” His clothes changed to match the armored clothing Rarity had designed. “Very stylish, by the way. I’ve been thinking of picking up a set for myself.” “What are you talking about?” I demanded, furious. “Well, Twilight, if you must know, without a little help, there was really no way that Alpha would have been able to ‘stick it to the man’. I mean, his claws were sharp, but not quite that sharp. But a little chaos, a little nudging here and there, and he just manages to find the weak point in little Rainbow Dash’s clothing. And boom! One down!” He laughed as he danced away. “Of course, Rainbow Dash herself helped, too. If she hadn’t slammed him against the cave wall, you just might have been able to save her with your magic!” He tilted his head back, turning it completely over as he looked at me. “Alas, such is the limit of the great Twilight Sparkle.” I pulled out Fluttershy’s gun and fired a few rounds at him, furious. “Don’t mock Rainbow Dash!” I snarled. He disappeared and reappeared facing me, wagging his finger. “Now, now don’t take that tone with me. You’re just upset because you know it’s true.” His smile deepened. “You’ve got plenty of limits, you know. Just like your friends. Good old Rarity found hers, didn’t she? Yes, she did, don’t deny it. A little nudge here and there, and she gets caught instead of dear old Fluttershy. I knew the Changelings would have plenty of fun with her. I just thought she’d be a broken wreck for the rest of her life!” He was suddenly standing right next to me, examining his fingers. “And I was right – it just didn’t last very long.” I swung my staff at him, but he reappeared in midair, floating above me. “Now, Pinkie Pie – I always liked her, so chaotic, so me-like – she was a little tougher. That ability of hers had always helped you out, hadn’t it?” He vanished and reappeared right behind me. Anticipating his move, I jabbed my staff behind me, but he swiftly stepped to the side, unconcerned, grabbing my staff in his own hand. “Ah, ah, you need to relax, Twilight. Have a seat and take a breather.” A cruel expression on his face, he flexed his hand, dark energy forming into a ball, which he slammed into my right leg. I screamed as the energy coursed through me. I felt my leg twisting, bones breaking, pain blossoming as the energy seemed to touch every possible nerve point. I fell over onto the hard floor, whimpering and crying as I held my leg, praying that the pain would end. Discord sauntered away, unconcerned. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Pinkie Pie.” He took a few steps up the dais and continued speaking. “Now, she was a little difficult. But once I saw how your brother could fight, I had my answer. All it took was a little mistake, and she would be done for. A little crystal on the floor, a little shift in her clothing, and voila! Ex-Pinkie Pie.” “Y-you monster…” I gasped, fighting through the pain as my leg continued to twist and writhe. I tried to think of something to make it stop, but it was difficult to focus through the haze of agony. “And finally, your last two friends. Simple enough, I thought. Let the dragons take them out. But then again, you were resourceful. So I had to come up with a little something. Another little nudge, and just as you’re pinned under fire, the dragon swats little Fluttershy like a little fly, and splat!” He danced gleefully. “Pinned like her little butterfly friends! Oh, it was wonderful. As for Applejack, how else could that dragon’s tail have made it that far around? Just a little nudge, and Applejack gets a nudge in return. And she finally learns how to fly!” He crowed with laughter as I lay there, panting. The pain had finally subsided, but my leg was a twisted mess, and I knew I was in no shape to stand. I pushed myself up with my hands, and somehow managed to get into a sitting position. Discord appeared right in front of me, leaning over, a confidant look on his face. “Shall I give you a nudge as well?” he leered, and snapped his fingers, my world going black.