Avatar: The Last Alicorn. Book 4: Alicorn

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 33: Do you know?

There was chaos on all sides of them. Ponies yelling and screaming, struggling to uncover themselves from the ice. Water benders struggled to send the freezing water off and away, while also working to remove the water from their fellow soldiers lest they freeze to death. There were a few yells and calls for help from the shattered ships and a few of the water benders quickly moved to the task of unburying them.

None of this mattered to Twilight as she stayed in a group hug with her friends, hooves wrapped tightly around all of them. The six were together again, along with their support bunny and dragon. The elements were back and it was finally time to finish what they had started. She couldn't keep the tears from falling.

“I truly am sorry for how I acted,” Rarity said as she tried to withdrawal herself from the hug. “I just... I was...”

“I understand,” Twilight said softly. “Thank you. Thank you so much. You have... you have no idea what this means to me. I thought I'd never see you again. That everything was... was...”

Rarity nodded as she finally managed to pull herself free. She used her magic to unbind the amulet from around her neck and slowly slide it down, back around Spike's. “Thank you for everything, Spikey.” She leaned down and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. “I'll need you to watch this a little longer though.”

“Grrk!” the dragon responded, locking up and his cheeks burning bright red. He gave a feeble little nod and giggle.

“Bah, I never doubted you for a second,” Rainbow said with a wave of her hoof.

“Really now?” Applejack asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Well... maybe for a second,” the pegasus said sheepishly, making the girls giggle.

“THIS ISN'T OVER!” Trixie's voice penetrated the bubble of their friendship, making the ponies turn towards the mare as she rose from the ice. “I still have you, avatar! On this day you fall by my hoof!”

“Wrong, Trixie,” Twilight said as she glared at the mare. “We're back together now. The Elements of Harmony will defeat you and crush Discord!” There was a dazzling glow from her head and her element formed. “Girls, shall we?”

“I... I'd rather we don't have to fight,” Fluttershy said before her element appeared. “But we can't let that big meany win.”

“I've been waiting quite a while to kick his butt, this is going to be awesome!” Rainbow said with a laugh before hers sprang to life.

“Ah think it's about time we end this here rodeo!” Applejack said before her element formed.

“We're going to have the most awesome 'just saved the world' party ever!” Pinkie said with a giggle before her element popped into existence.

“Yes, it really has been too long,” Rarity said before her element materialized in a glimmer around her neck. “I believe it's time we clean this world.”

“You think your elements are enough?” Trixie roared. “Get them! All of you!”

The ice across the floor rose up into the air, allowing the ponies to see Nightmare Moon, Solar Flare and Sweetie readying their bending. A moment later the ice and fire blazed at them. Flowerbloom and Scootaloo charged across the floor after them as well.

“Ahhh!” Trixie suddenly screamed.

“No!” Twilight yelled, before holding up a hoof. The fire stopped as if it hit a wall. Rarity waved a hoof and the ice scattered, flying off and away from the ponies, out into the open air. With a single wave of her wings, Rainbow sent Scootaloo and Flowerbloom flying back into the three. “Trixie, this ends now!” Her eyes glowed white as the elements began to sparkle. A ball of white light enveloped the group and then spread out, coursing across the world.

Screams tore through the air as ponies took cover, before being enveloped in the light. The glow continued to expand, ever further and faster until the entire tower was enveloped, all the way down under the sea. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

The ice no longer stood on top of the tower, instead thick clouds of steam billowed up into the air. The black ice below was now crystal clear, the sun penetrating it all the way to the deepest depths and allowing them to see the ponies hiding within.

The soldiers had formed a sort of bubble, huddling amongst themselves and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. They kept their heads lowered and eyes trained on the ground. Twilight wouldn't have been surprised to hear them start mumbling about how they were just following orders.

The greatest sight however, was seeing Flowerbloom starring at them, confusion on her face. After a moment she stared at Applejack and gave a sheepish grin. “Errr... yah know ah wasn't, errr, truly mahself right then, right?” The other two girls tried to keep their eyes away as they backed away. Right into Celestia. And it truly was Celestia.

“I do not believe the Avatar or anypony else will blame you for your recent actions,” the unicorn said with a sigh. She raised her eyes towards them. “Though I must offer my apologies as well, I--”

“I'm... I'm still going to... defeat you avatar,” Luna mumbled half heartedly as she wobbled a bit from side to side.

Celestia walked over to her sister and gave her a gentle hug. “Be calm, sister. It's over. You've already lost. Just let the Avatar do as she must to heal the world. The Water Nation is safe now.”

The once ruler gave a nod, her eyes lowering as she gentle mumbled. “Fine...”

Twilight didn't envy the one time ruler. Being released and then rebound to Discord's will so quickly couldn't have been pleasant. She looked up. “Good, now Trixie, it's time for... time for... Where's Trixie?”

The ponies looked around, searching the skies for her. “You've got to be kidding me!” Applejack snapped. “After all that, she just--”

“AHHH!” Flowerbloom shrieked before she was yanked into a small little portal.

“Flowerbloom!” Applejack yelled before galloping forward.

“Wait, stop!” Twilight shrieked, pushing a hoof out and using the ice to stop Applejack in her steps. All around them little portals appeared, sucking the other ponies inside. She looked down into the tower and the ponies within were absorbed as well. Within moments the only ones who remained were their small group and the plethora of corpses.

“Who... what? Why?” Rarity asked, looking around frantically.

“Discord,” Twilight said with a growl. “Show yourself!”

“Now now, Avatar, so testy,” Discord said with a chuckle before his likeness formed in the ice across from them. “I thought you'd thank me.”

“Thank you for what?” the alicorn asked, glaring.

“Why, getting all these ponies somewhere safe and sound. How did you expect to get all these ponies home, after all?”

“Teleporting them, obviously. We have the elements, Discord. Surrender,” Twilight said with a stomp of her hooves.

“Oh, now where is the fun in that?” the spirit asked with a low cackle. He crossed his arms while a third hand waggled its finger at her. “Why, such a story needs a truly climatic ending. With an audience to truly enjoy it. I've gone through all the work, so I do hope you'll attend.”

“We're going to destroy you now!” Twilight yelled. The spirit disappeared instantly.

“If you want to play, you have to come to my party. Tah tah,” his voice echoed through the air.

“AHHHH!” Twilight yelled in frustration. “I hate you, Discord!” She glanced back to the others. “Come on. It's time we finish this.”

“Are... you sure? He doesn't seem very worried,” Rarity said nervously.

“He has our friends and family. I don't think we've got much choice,” Applejack said. “But, before that, ah think we better make sure our elements are good an' purified. We don't want a repeat of... well...”

Twilight nodded. She closed her eyes and their elements began to flow as light radiated from within. She frowned and opened her eyes after a few moments. “I... think they're pure. I don't think he has the same plan this time.”

“He's probably just being too cocky,” Rainbow muttered.

“Let's hope so. Come on, girls. I think I know where he is.” Her horn glowed as the group was enveloped in a white light once again. When the sphere disappeared, they were gone.

------

“Gahhh!” Rainbow shrieked as the group appeared on a small patch of jello grass. “Ew ew ew ewwwww! It's all squishy, what is it?”

“Jello,” Applejack said flatly. “You're freakin' out worse than Rarity, yah sure yah wanna do that?”

“... You try landing in something squishy without being able to see it, see how thrilled you are,” Rainbow snapped.

“... Point.”

“... Ewwwwwww! It's all over my hooves and in my tail and ew ew ew!” Rarity shrieked as she pranced around, trying to get it off but only managing to get more on her hooves. “Noooo! It's everywhere! Ewww!”

Twilight ignored her and looked around. Everything was the way it had been last time. Weird trees, floating houses, odd animals. The main difference is there weren't any ponies by the houses anymore. “I don't like this. Girls, stick close together and don't let him separate us. There's...” She frowned and closed her eyes. “Anypony else hear that?”

“Kind of... a dull roar,” Rainbow muttered.

Pinkie gasped. “Discord is having a party, I can feel it!”

Twilight frowned. “Whatever it is, it can't be good.” She looked deeper into the world of chaos. Whatever it was, they'd face it together. “Come on. It's time to end this.”

The ponies nodded and galloped towards the source of the sound. The dull roar soon became almost ear breaking as they got closer and closer. Twilight couldn't help but imagine all kinds of new horrors awaiting them. But she was sure whatever it was, they would face it together.

What she wasn't expecting was the sight that awaited her over the next hill. She froze, making her friends bump into her.

“Holy... buck,” Applejack said, the only one able to make a sound. Even then, her words were drowned out by the crowds.

A massive valley had been formed over the rise and inside it was filled with ponies. Hundreds of thousands of them. Possibly millions. Twilight just stared at the rows upon rows of them, yelling, screaming, talking. She didn't even know there were so many ponies in the world, let alone they could all fit in such an area. Even as massive and wide as it was, going off into the distance beyond what she could see.

Then she realized the valley wasn't really that deep and they weren't that far away. They were each about the size of a fourth of a normal pony. Possibly smaller. They also looked more... curved than she'd ever seen.

“Oh my goodness he chibi-fied them!” Pinkie yelled with a giggle, finally able to speak.

“They... they are quite adorable,” Rarity yelled as she looked over the ranks. “How did Discord manage to get so many?”

Then it all went silent as Discord appeared in the center of them, a large stage rising up from the middle of the crowd. Twilight stared as the creature floated in the air, eyes locked on her. Taunting her, daring them to come forward.

“Come on, girls. It's... time we ended this,” the alicorn said. She took a deep breath before walking forward and into the valley. The mini ponies stared at her, at least the ones close enough to see her. They backed away and parted like a great sea, allowing her and her friends to pass. She looked out over the sea of faces, the eyes filled with fear and hope. The silence was deafening. There were just too many ponies and yet it was so quiet. It didn't feel natural. She wondered if they even could speak, did Discord take that away from them? Another twisted game for his amusement?

The walk was long and the faces seemed to go on forever as the ponies watched her. This was the final battle, the last chance to set things right. All these ponies were depending on her. Hoping for her. Waiting for her. She couldn't let them down, not now.

She finally made it to the stage and stepped up, gulping nervously. Once they were on it, the stage seemed to be almost miles across and the ponies seemed so far away. Yet there were still so many of them, as far as the eye could see. “What's the meaning of this, Discord? Why did you bring these ponies here? This is between you and us.”

The spirit chuckled. “Why? I merely wanted to ensure we had a proper audience for this final showdown. All finales should.” A wicked grin formed on his lips. “After all, what good is it to defeat your greatest enemy so thoroughly, if you don't let everyone know? I do believe I've managed to get... well, everypony important. There are quite a few of your kind, you know. It wasn't easy finding a place to store them all. Lucky your little desert is so empty and barren. But first, I think a present is in order.” He snapped his fingers and Trixie appeared before him. The alicorn let out a yelp.

“Discord, what are you doing? I was-- AHHHH!” The ruler let out a scream as dark purple smoke rose from her body. Before Twilight's eyes, the wings reseeded into the pony as she writhed in pain, collapsing on the ground. When it was over, she was nothing more than a unicorn, panting and sweating. “Y-you... you monster... w-we... we had a d-deal...” She let out a soft, gentle sob. “I-I worked... I worked so hard and... and...”

“And you were ruler for a while. An alicorn as well,” Discord said as he once again nailed his files. “But I'm afraid I can't just spend my power willy nilly at the moment. Frankly, you're not important enough to keep holding on to.” He snapped his fingers and she disappeared. He then held out his hands as the dark purple mist began to rise from the crowd, flowing back to him and entering in his hands. There were shrieks and cries as ponies were suddenly four times as big and bumping into each other, forced to spread out farther across the valley. He took a slow, deep breath. “There, Twilight. I do believe this is what you wanted? Me to take you seriously?”

Twilight gulped and took a nervous step back. This wasn't how she had imagined it. He'd been toying with them all along, but now he seemed... different. Focused, as if he saw them as a real threat. It sent chills down her spine. “N-not particularly.”

“Oh, but now I am.” He leaned back, a casual grin on his face. “Just ignoring you never, ever works. I know that well enough. So shall we?” He held out his paw to her.

Twilight glanced towards the crowd, all those ponies, jumbled together and trying to unbury themselves from each other. So many that depended on her now. She took a deep breath. “Okay, girls! Elements!” She and her friends focused on their elements and they appeared. She felt the magic flow through her as she was once again connected with them. They were as one, a force of harmony and friendship. Discord wouldn't win.

She stared at him, he looked so cocky. She didn't care, not this time. She formed the magic and gathered it around herself, before shooting it out. It formed a rainbow over her and then shot into the sky, before turning and falling straight down at Discord.

The spirit of chaos watched it. Then, a few moments before it could hit him, he disappeared. He appeared a few feet behind them. “Really? You think I'll just stand still for you to zap me into stone? Such a silly little mare. I'd rather not have a repeat performance.”

Twilight frowned and turned. “Discord, stand still!”

“Really? Now why would I do that?” the spirit asked with a chuckle before he soared off, back paddling through the air. Twilight grabbed her friends in her magic and flew after him. The two soared over the crowds, the ponies starring up in shock.

“It's not going to be that easy, you know,” Discord said as they passed over a group. He waved his claw and screams tore through the ponies. The earth ponies let out cries of pain as they began to change. Wings sprouted from their sides, their teeth turned to long fangs, they--

Were blasted by Twilight's magic, the corruption purged and leaving the ponies dazed, but still ponies. “You can't win, Discord!” the alicorn yelled as she flew after him. “Our elements are stronger!”

“Twilight, can we still teleport?” Rainbow asked.

“Of course,” she said as she focused on the spirit, slowly gaining.

“Then just teleport ahead of him.”

“... Oh,” she said softly. Her horn glowed and they disappeared, only to reappear in front of thim. A blast of white light shot out from them and sailed at the spirit.

Discord merely chuckled and dove down into the masses, making the ponies scream as his magic enveloped them. Some were transformed into cheese, others into paper dolls, even more into rocks, moles, ant eaters, the corruption spreading as they screamed. Ponies not even touched by him were affected by their neighbors, the magic traveling along outwards like a wave. Twilight thrust a hoof out and the white light spread out through the masses, purging away the corruption, but it wasn't enough. It spread too fast. She thrust her hooves out. “Girls, hold steady,” she said. The orb of white expanded out from them, growing larger and wider, enveloping the ponies below and traveling through their masses quickly.

Discord let out a yelp as it singed his tail. He rose from the crowds and then disappeared, reappearing on the stage, blowing on his tail that was now growing roses. “That wasn't very nice.”

Twilight and her friends appeared on the stage. “It wasn't meant to be. Discord, this ends now. There's nothing you can do. Your reign of tyranny ends now.”

He sighed. “I was hoping to lead you on a bit longer, have a little extra fun. But... I suppose I have no choice. You've won, Twilight. There is nothing more I can--” He let out a shriek as the white light of Twilight's magic shot out and enveloped him, not allowing him to finish his sentence. He screamed as the power enveloped him, his body slowly turning to stone, starting at his claws and tail. It slowly began to spread up, before stopping. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. The stone began to reseed, spreading out from his body until he was back to normal. A purple glow enveloped him before lashing out, traveling through the white light and into the sphere around the girls.

The alicorn let out a scream, taking a step back as the elements cracked further, one by one. Before shattering. Twilight's eyes widened with horror as the white light died around them and the jewels from their elements scattered to the wind, crackling and fading to nothing but fine dust, before disappearing.

Discord was on his hands and knees, panting with exertion. He slowly began to chuckle. “I... I did it. I finally did it. Over a thousand years of painstaking work, but it's done! I've finally not only destroyed Harmony, but her elements as well!” He reared back his head and roared with laughter as lightning cracked in the sky. “It's done! I win!” He drew himself up to his full height, cringing as pain tingled across his body. “I really must thank you, Twilight. I couldn't have done it without you and your friends pushing yourselves so hard.”

“What... what have you done?” the alicorn asked, her hoof touching the crown on her head. “Where are the elements? What did you--” The crown turned to dust, scattering in the air.

“All it takes is one small crack, then I just had to push and prod at it. Push you, break you. Weaken you. Make you work just a little too hard,” Discord said with another dark chuckle. “Now they're gone! Finally! I win!” He turned over to the masses. “Of course, we'll have to celebrate, now won't we? After all, it's a brand new world of chaos for all to en--”

His words were silenced as a five ton boulder landed on his head. After a few moments it melted and the spirit turned towards Twilight and the others. A large chunk of the stage was missing. “Really? I've already won. You can't honestly thinking you can do anything else.”

“We have to,” the alicorn said with narrowed eyes. “We... may not have the elements, but that doesn't mean we'll allow you to continue tormenting everypony! We'll beat you without them!”

“It ain't gonna be easy, but we've taken down scarier things than yah,” Applejack said with a shake of her head. “Besides, ah still owe yah for what yah did tah mah sister.”

“Yeah, besides, a party is supposed to be fun for everypony!” Pinkie yelled. “Not just for the big stupid head who's pulling pranks on everypony!”

“I've given up quite a bit to fix this world,” Rarity said firmly. “I'm not about to allow one small defeat to stop us here.”

Rainbow stomped a hoof down. “Besides, you're making it a pain in the flank to fly anywhere! There's no way we're going to just let you keep ruining the skies for everypony!”

“Yeah, and I'm going to help!” Spike yelled as he raised a claw.

“I... I agree with Twilight! And Applejack! And Pinkie! And Rarity! And Rainbow! And Spike!” Fluttershy yelled. The friends galloped forward.

Discord rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Really? You must be joking. You're just ponies, frankly... you're not strong enough.” He watched them with amusement as they charged him. He held out his hands. “But if you wish to play, well, I'm always up for a game.” He let out a low, dangerous laugh.

Comments

[eric-emanwu]

Ooohhh, mythology gag. (what?) Ok pinkie, so in that other world, the spirit of the avatar was tied to their being merged with the spirit of light: Raava. That's what allowed the easy reincarnation, holding all 4 elements and the like. However, Raava was in perpetual conflict with Vaatu, the spirit of darkness. Due to the meddling of the first avatar, the only way to beat vaatu involved the fusion of spirit and avatar to seal Vaatu in the tree of time. However, when avatar Korra failed to defeat Vaatu in time during her time, Vaatu and his vessel extracted Raava from the avatar's body, and beat her down until she became only a sliver of her former self, trapped within Vaatu until Korra got her back in the climatic battle. This draws some inspiration because Discord refers to "harmony" as a she rather than as an abstract. My guess it that in this universe, Harmony was a real spirit which fought discord, but who was "killed" during one of their fights. However, in order to safeguard the ponies, harmony put her essence in the 6 elements of her namesake to be used by the avatar and her 5 best friends to keep Discord out forever. That's why discord was so happy to get rid of the elements. He thinks he's gotten rid of her forever. Buuuutttt, if I remember the lore of both universes, you can't destroy harmony any more than you can destroy chaos. So even though the elements were damaged in their original form, its power is still there somewhere. Perhaps in Rainbow power from season 4? Well, regardless, we're on track now for a showdown.

Lord knows that the one we got already was nerve wracking enough. Trixie tried again to put twilight down, but now that she has the elements, she sent out a harmonic pulse, which got everyone put back in order, from the kids, to the soldiers, to even the princesses. Also, partially evil luna is positively adorable. Anyways, in preparation for the final battle, Discord brought all the world to the desert, creating a great stage, and turning all the other ponies mini to fit them all in for their final battle. And since they were ready, that meant he was ready to take some of his power back so he's ready to take them seriously. And he did, conveniently removing Trixie from the board as well. He kept moving, kept running, kept forcing them to rainbow gatling gun the crowd, so that by the time they actually hit discord, he was ready for them. Ready to try and use his own powers to try and disintegrate the elements.

But like I said, you cannot destroy harmony any more than you can destroy chaos per say. So, let's see what it takes to finish the song. (oh yeah. Since nobody's said it yet, I'll say it now. You named each chapter after part of the expanded theme song. Though with the extended version, and from what I can tell, without a lot of the "shortened" lyrics.)

Oh and on a final note, I still think you're a stinker for not showing what it took for rarity to come out. Just...since it's a pattern breaker for the 6 elements, the whole thing feels incomplete without knowing what her big personal revelation was about her element like we did with the other 5. Especially since this is Zuko, and his arc was just as important as Aang's. I'm not the author so I can't change it, but I can still give the reviewers complaint. Eh, perhaps it's just me. (although, I suspect spike's necklace did have something to do with it as well.)

Anyways, I suspect we have only a few chapters to go. Although, since bending didn't affect him aside from earth bending, why doesn't he just break twilight and AJ's legs and be done with it? [Must take note of that.] (Shut up Discord! I'll party blast you first.) [but the reviewer is giving me ideas.] (Don't make me come over there Mr.) [come over..]] (The review was abruptly cut off by the sound of a crazy battle between two beings of chaos)

[Jeweled Pen]

5899866 To be honest, I haven't actually seen anything from Kaara's adventures past the first season. The harmony thing just came to mind when I thought of a different story with 'Elements of Chaos' and I was all 'Hey, what if the Elements of Harmony were the remains of a spirit of Friendship that Discord destroyed long ago?' And so Harmony was born!

I'm just lucky the avatar lore matches up so well with it. :) I might do a short mini-story explaining Rarity's final escape some day.