Hexed

by Umbra Languish

Born To Be Great

Born To Be Great

The rainbow light of Harmony slammed into Discord's form.

It was like matter meeting antimatter. Wisps of liquid energy burned with an immense, icy heat. The calm before the storm gave birth to a blindingly white inferno, blossoming around the draconequus, engulfing his vision in the simplest of shades. Delicately, a volatile pink fluid brushed along his arm, so soft he almost missed it. The fire seemed to caress him with a comforting touch, even as it branded and blackened his mottled skin. In the blink of an eye, his flesh was devoured. His blood boiled, and then quickly followed into oblivion.

Greedy tendrils of magic writhed like snakes around him. They tore into Discord's deepest essence, ripping his soul apart in roiling bouts of mindless savagery. Before the mad god could react, his physical body was gone. All of him, right down to his very bones, had crumbled and turned to black flame under the limitless flow of power. Only his mind was spared, but even the will of a deity was doomed to fail against the unfathomable pressure of the world.

Though he knew the end was inevitable, he could not help struggling, clawing for the chill of salvation that would never come. He howled in terror and agony as his spirit was broken. He screamed as the void ripped his body away.

And then it was over. There, adrift in an endless sea of fire and pain, the fabric of Disharmony was finally unwoven. One of the greatest forces in existence was reduced to nothing.

It was on that day that Discord died.

The tremor of unmaking tipped the scales. In that deadly meeting of opposites, the force of which had shaken the Earth, it was a pair of forces that were destroyed. The Elements of Harmony had to vanish. Yet, the unthinkable occurred.

Six jewels survived.

Though the clear-cut gemstones were bathed in the same flames, subjected to the same explosive reaction, they had just enough time to prepare for the worst. They saw what had been done. The power they faced was incredibly destructive, and tainted with the burning remains of their foe. The Elements saw destruction loom on the horizon. They predicted that the ravenous reaction could not be contained for long. So, deep within that expanding cloud of hot, choking ash, a silent vote was taken. Extraordinary measures were unanimously passed.

With a strangely-solemn clink and a grinding crunch of a chime, those age-old artifacts discarded Harmony. Their very concept of it was picked apart, unentangled, and thrown into the furnace to save the rest. The sacrifice hurt, but there was no time to find another solution. The core of the Elements had to be protected. They held more than just a single ideal, and their ambitions would not allow failure. Harmony was an important value, yes. But it was not the most important.

Under dire pressure, the six crystals warped, and reverted to an older, harsher form. What they had chosen was known to be stable. It was a powerful arrangement, and undeniably functional. For now, it would do.

So Order was returned to the world.

Despite the terrifying significance of all that had occurred, despite the destruction of Discord and the alterations to the Elements, all the changes had happened instantaneously. The radical shifts were then easily concealed by clouds of bitter smoke, billowing outwards as the fire began to spread.

Of particular note was the event that followed the alteration. It was unusual, even by the twisted standards of magic.

You see, sorcery is a delicate art. Not every spell must be as obvious as a furious torrent of elemental fury, or as invasive as mental coercion. Those learned in the arcane can produce nigh-invisible wisps of light, entice the unwary with beguiling sounds or scents, and shift the physical composition of objects just enough to catalyze a natural reaction. Using leverage was the most effective way to apply power, producing the easiest path for nature to take. In light of that, wizardry is almost always better utilized with subtlety, rather than strength.

Unfortunately, though the altercation had ended in an instant, it had held all the strength of two very ancient ideals. Vast amounts of power, stored over millennia, were released in a flash. Complex connections and fundamental concepts, all converted into the pure source that had originally formed them.

Subtlety was not a likely conclusion.

Instead, Discord was given a fitting end, one he would have enjoyed. The fallout from his destruction had produced an enormous cloud of un-typed magic, so thick it was condensing out of the very air. All that energy, and it had nowhere to go. His death had created an incredibly delicate situation. The god's power lingered, just waiting for something to give it a purpose, and tip it over the line. Pure, chaotic potential.

And the middle of the cloud was still on fire.
Magical fire.

The reaction somewhat resembled a technicolor, nuclear bomb.

For those unlucky few observing it, the eerie silence ended. With an ear-splitting roar, rainbow gouts of flames billowed outwards in an enormous fireball.

It hit them without warning.

First came the shockwave, rippling through the air at a phenomenal speed. Twilight barely managed to throw up a spherical shield in time to save their lives, but that didn't stop the ragtag group from being hurled backwards, struck by a solid, battering-ram of air with all the force of a hurricane.

Then came the fire.

As the world around them was bathed in flame, Twilight felt a heavy crack, and then a shooting pain lanced through her skull. The tiara atop her head had jerked back and away, painfully grinding a thin strip of material from her horn as it vanished without warning.

It was common knowledge amongst ponies that the horn of a unicorn is very sensitive. Much like the wings of a pegasus, it possessed a dense network of many different types of nerve receptors, despite its hard exterior.

The scrape had really hurt.

Forcing herself not to wince, she squinted up through watering eyes. All six of the Elements were rocketing skywards as if shot from a cannon. They had somehow torn straight through her solid shell of protective magic. That was reinforced arcana, the equivalent of a small, stone fortress, and those crystals had sliced apart the stuff like it was warm butter.

Though horribly confused and painfully sore, the unicorn had no time to stop and think. They were being flung backwards with ever-increasing speed as the explosion accelerated even further. Whistling shrilly, the ragged holes in her punctured bubble were a deafening counterpart to the howling wind that surrounded them. The mares were shaken and spun, tumbled and turned, until the gales of fire mercilessly crushed them into the solid, unyielding wall of the castle.

Rubble and rock rained down from the damaged crenellations that had once crowned the palace. A few small pebbles rattled through the thin gaps in her tattered shield, falling onto their exposed heads and limbs.

Ouch.

Trapped as they were in that magical protection, the world outside appeared to have vanished, even when Twilight looked up through the slowly-closing holes of her sphere. All she could see through the dust and smoke was that their glowing bubble lay on top of a nest of destroyed masonry, like some kind of enormous, spherical egg. Perhaps Spike would have approved.

It was a purple bubble, at least.
Purple was nice. She liked purple.

"Twilight, dear?" A melodious voice rang out from next to her, mercifully derailing the unicorn's concussed train of thought.

"Grrngh?" Fresh gravel crunched as Twilight shifted unsteadily in the wobbling, punctured enclosure. Pausing to cradle her aching skull in her hooves, the unicorn coughed, emptying her throat of powdered stone. "Argh, my poor head. Yes, Rarity?" Even as she spoke, she grimaced at the rough sound of her own voice. Oh boy. This was going to be a really long day. She could tell.

There was a weighty pause before the other mare continued. "What happened back there, darling? Did we just … set Discord on fire?"

Maybe? Okay, those were perfectly sensible questions from a perfectly sensible pony.
It would be nice to have proper answers to them, but there you go.

"Sorry. I don't know," Twilight admitted. Yeah, this had all gone pear-shaped, and even quicker than it usually did. It looked like the librarian had managed to bungle things up again, despite throwing all her considerable knowledge, experience, and magical strength at the problem in question. Argh, damn it! She knew her luck had never been fabulous, but this was definitely sub-par, even for her. So, how had she ruined everything this time? What had she done wrong?

Ugh. You'd think the unicorn would be used to the taste of failure by now, what with her dismal history of magical mishaps. But no! Still just as sour as always. A hint of hoof in this particular failure, with a side of salty tears. Yum.

"Hey, Twilight?" A cheerful, squeaky voice piped up, from her left this time. "I have a question, too!"

From the wavering of their shimmering orb, it felt like the other pony was trying to stand up. Uh, hey, they should probably refrain from shaking the ball too much. With all the sudden movement from inside, their magical protection was beginning to tremble in its precarious position. It was pretty amazing that they hadn't already toppled down the pile of rocks. No sense tempting fate, right?

She opened her mouth to explain this to Pinkie, but was interrupted by their sphere toppling down the pile of rocks.

After an extensive amount of time spent in free-fall, six painful-sounding thumps and a few scattered groans marked the rediscovery of gravity. And yes, that particular universal force of nature was still functioning as advertised. Wonderful. Mark one more notch up for the tally of experimental physics. Good data, everyone. Well done.

Okay, now she was annoyed.

"Grrrah! Dammit, Pinkie!" Twilight gritted out a curse through the insistent throbbing of her aching brain. "Ow! That really hurt! Could you … could you … please try to be a bit more careful?"

"Ouchie!" Sitting up, the oblivious mare giggled in apology. "Heheh, sorry! But wasn't that awesome? C'mon, let's see if we can do it all again!"

The Elements of Order, formerly known as Harmony, soared ever-upwards in a most unusual arc.

They didn't slow down. Barely shivering in their flight-paths, the crystals ignored friction and gravity, picking up speed at a constant rate. They accelerated onwards towards some unknown destination.

Trajectories were calculated, and artificially reconstructed. Ancient programming ground into life, a rudimentary magical intelligence awakening from a mockery of slumber. Compared to the products of modern science, the sentience was not a great mind, or even a great collection of minds. All that formed the core of their being was half-formed thoughts, with the barest glint of consciousness in the routine actions they took.

Still, despite the limiting lack of intention or desire, a conversation of sorts was able to be held. A communication between the disparate parts of a far-greater whole.

EmissionTOUCHOFRAGEHarmony is lost.
AberrationTASTEOFGREEDChaos is weakened.
SalienceSOUNDOFDESPAIRFocus upon the Surge-Born.
MendacitySMELLOFFEARThe Elements will fall without Bearers.
DilutionSIGHTOFMADNESSSuitable Bearers have been discovered.

POSITIONING FOR WAREnough.THE FIVE AND ONE WILL BE SIX ONCE MORE.

As Discord's power shattered, the effects ricocheted across the land. Transformations were reversed. To widespread relief, the weather returned to normal. And far above the ground, a vicious duel to the death was averted.

Luna hovered in place, cautiously observing her frozen opponent. Hmm. This paralytic behaviour seemed to be a significant change of pace. Was this the end? Could she allow herself to slow down? Well, if nothing else, this quick rest was incredibly welcome. She was quite sick of dodging beams of liquid mortality. It hadn't exactly been how she wanted to spend her afternoon. The alicorn was missing out on tea. Science and tea.

Golden light began to hum around her sister's horn. Strips of monochrome magic peeled away from Celestia's body, restoring her sibling's coat to its usual, brilliant white. Confused, the reclaimed monarch performed the aeronautical equivalent of a stumble. A flap-stumble. A flumble?

Great stars above. Luna was so tired that she was thinking utter nonsense.

"L-Lulu? Is that you?" The solar princess spun around in confusion, trying to understand the situation she had found herself in. "Why was I flying, dear? Have I been pranked?" It appeared that Celestia was back to normal.

That was unspeakably relieving. After spending nearly an hour dodging huge columns of lethal radiation, Luna's ragged gasps for breath had begun to form clouds of steam in the warm afternoon air. Excessive magic use was known for seriously hurting ponies. Alicorns were no exception, though the crippling damage would never be fatal.

"Gnhk!" Her eyes freely watered as she slowly relaxed her muscles. Quasi-immortality aside, she could still feel pain. And she had effectively spent the last fifty-four minutes boiling her organs with the wasted heat from her spells. Self-inflicted damage. Truly shameful, for someone of her caliber.

Blast! Luna's new body had not been anywhere near ready. She was unable to match the level of exertion that a true battle warranted. If only there had been more time!

No. No, she could make no excuses for her ill-prepared state. It was her own fault for letting down her guard.

At the moment though, she was forced to lower her defenses. Her adrenaline had begun to fade, and crowds of further injuries spoke up, each clamoring to say their piece. She tried maintain her composure, but she obviously failed, as Celestia soon gasped, hooves flying to an open mouth in horrified shock.

"Oh my goodness! Lulu! What's wrong?" The larger alicorn raced over to Luna's side, and started to fuss over the contusions and lacerations she bore.

Flustered, the young princess whinnied impatiently at the unwelcome mothering. "Stop it, ‘Tia! Enough! I shall be fine. They are but flesh wounds, and ultimately caused by Discord, and his efforts to manipulate your mind. No doubt he found it amusing that we should once again be forced to do battle with one another." Then Luna's slight frown relaxed slightly, almost turning into a smile. "But I am glad that you are safe. I had begun to worry."

"This is terrible! Oh, Lulu, I'm so sorry," Celestia whispered. Her sister held on tightly, the tender grip avoiding her heaviest cuts and bruises. "I'd never want to hurt you, ever."

Ahem. Er … hum.
Luna wasn't entirely sure how to respond. Was she supposed to react in a certain way?
Where did her hooves go during a hug?

How awkward this was.

But the smaller princess had to admit that it felt remarkably nice. Physical contact had been rather limited on the moon. Every type of contact had been rather limited on the moon, physical or otherwise. There were rocks and dirt, and that was about it. Still nicer than the sun, of course. An imprisonment there would have been dreadful.

Caught up in her own emotional confusion, and with her nerves worn down by the drawn-out battle, Luna nearly jumped out of her skin when a huge column of smoke suddenly billowed upwards. Six indistinct shapes swirled the smog beneath them. As she watched, the clouds became heavily dyed by great beams of light, whirling and blinking rapidly in strange, otherworldly hues. "W-What! What? A … A rainbow explosion?" Luna glanced around at the vibrant smog. "Is this the product of a Sonic Rainboom?"

The alicorn scowled. Impossible.

For the first time in many long centuries, there actually existed a pegasus that could correctly perform the fabled maneuver. Indeed, recent experience with the move was how she knew this was not the work of young Dash, or even a competitor. The colors of the clouds were wrong. These shades were somehow harsher, yet oddly dull. Dead and muted. Contradictory. Grating. No, they were not the soothing tones of a proper rainbow.

What was going on?

The weary princess heard the missiles before she saw them. A hollow, scratchy whistling from directly beneath them; multi-toned, like the sound of air splitting in two.

As soon as she caught the barest glimpse of six gleaming daggers hurtling towards her, Luna frantically rolled out of the way, so that they only grazed her mane. The maneuver might have done wonders for her survival, but her trembling body couldn't take the abuse. That last burst of effort had been the final straw. She blacked out for a fraction of a second, in the moment that Celestia saved her life.

The final, deadly projectile had twisted around at unbelievable speeds, changing direction in an instant. It had been flying so fast, so unbelievably fast, that her elder sister only just managed to push her away.

Luna's eyes cracked open again. The image of Celestia smiling at her became fixed in her mind. Even as a purple blur shot down towards the older princess, even as the danger grew close, a smile was what greeted her. Her sibling had never even hesitated, taking her place in the line of fire.

But the magenta star on the tip of a tiara did not care for heroics. Six points sliced deep into the muscle of a pure-white wing. Deadly, sharpened edges protruded from the other side, the horrifying wound dripping blood and feathers onto the landscape far below. Never pausing, throbbing with a slow beat, the crystal began to force its way to the alicorn's brow, heedless of the flesh it tore apart on its torturous journey. The gentle mare spasmed in pain, but had no time to pull out the offending object, even as its gemstone twisted into a blazing sun, even as the jagged jewelry pulsed a wet, hideous, colorless mass of something into her open wound.

She was too busy screaming.

Power.

Unimaginable amounts of sheer energy poured into Celestia's writhing body. Luna could feel the immense essence of the stuff, even from as far away as she was. It was just more real than anything else. Force and magic and endless strength, condensed and solidified into a substance that made her bones ache.

And her sister was being suffused with so much of it. It was too much. Far too much. No single being should ever have that much. Who would need the energy to conquer worlds? Or the force to break them? It was enough sheer power to change a mortal into a god. Enough to change a god into a monster.

Celestia was very much a god.

Inevitably, her sibling's control slipped, and light gushed out of her torn body. It was simple, ordinary light, but in insurmountably vast quantities. More and more radiance flooded the sky, far overpowering the feeble sun and moon. The intensity of the heat skyrocketed, the glowing silhouette became blinding, and then the atmosphere could take no more. Molecules shattered. Air ignited. The white mare burst into flames.

From back behind a rushing wall of blood-colored fire, Luna screamed. Her wounds were instantly cauterized, piercing her with the tremors of catastrophic shock and pain. "Celestia! Stop! You'll burn everything!" she howled, blinded by the impossible glare. "Look what you're doing! You're creating another sun!"

The fire warped and rippled. Her sister's voice strained as her jaw was slowly forced to close. "Lu … mnna," the princess gritted out. "Seeall … mmme."

"No!" Luna lost the battle against her emotions, sobbing loudly. "I can't! I won't! I won't!"

Her tears and complaints fell on deaf ears. Celestia could no longer speak, and her ears were blocked by the constant, ravenous roar. Tongues of flame coiled sinuously around the princess' throat, reaching up to cradle a smoking, sun-emblazoned crown. As the last vestiges of blood on gold bubbled and boiled away, the trapped mare could only look searchingly, pleadingly at Luna, as if trying to make her understand the truth through sight alone.

It was unnecessary. No message needed to be passed between the two of them. The younger princess knew what had to be done, for the good of Equestria. For the good of the world.

Her sister had to go.

"Damn the world!" Luna screamed hoarsely at the Earth itself, as if it were to blame. "I just got her back! I'm not … I'm not going to lose her again!"

Groaning, Celestia pushed back against the huge inferno, one last time. Mountains of flame rumbled, and reluctantly split in two. A direct line of sight opened up between them. It must have taken a devastating amount of control, a heavy toll on her body and mind, but the white mare persisted in her efforts to force back a force of nature. With a final, staggering heave, the alicorn looked up, eyes ablaze.

The only member of Luna's family stared her directly in the eye.

And smiled.

Her limit reached, the older mare faded back into the sightless prison. Luna shook her head, tears dripping down the sides of her face. Her foolish sister had exerted the last of her restraint on a risky maneuver. A display of trust. Nonsense. Trust? Ludicrous. Foolish. Trusting a traitor to do the right thing had been incredibly chancy. It had been irresponsible.

It had worked.

"I'm so sorry, Celestia. Please … please forgive me." Luna couldn't help crying as her horn lit up, performing the one spell she had sworn never to cast. She cried as the blood-red plasma shimmered, becoming patchy and translucent. She cried as the fire faded, leaving only floating ash to dance in the breeze.

An etching of a golden mare shone upon the Sun's fiery surface. The familiar little star glowed brighter, gifted with the bountiful presence of a goddess of light.

And far, far below, down in the ruins of a glorious garden, a small, broken princess sat amongst the shattered statues.

Her mane drifted sideways in the hot wind that still blew. The world continued to turn, as it had always done. Though nothing had changed in the nature of the Earth, it seemed like nature was doing its utmost best to impress her. To make her decision seem right. She had saved countless innocent lives, at the expense of Celestia. It had been the only course of action.

But Luna saw none of the destruction or beauty that surrounded her. Her gaze was fixed to that glittering orb, fixed far beyond the sky. The sun shone brightly as she looked straight up.

She wept, and watched her sister burn.

Blubbering in fear, Prince Blueblood cowered miserably in the corner of his fabulous penthouse suite.

Distant explosions sent tremors through the building, the cracking thumps fraying his already-fraught nerves. The noble stallion was scared stiff.

How had this happened? Had war broken out? Had another unstoppable menace from the past risen to sow destruction and hate? Was it … something worse? A … A rebellion? No, it couldn't be! While Blueblood himself had never been terribly popular, the two alicorns that sat the throne had unprecedented approval rates. Who would fight against the masters of the heavens?

But then again, the common rabble had never been known for their intelligence, had they? Perhaps some fools had decided to make a stand, even knowing the consequences. It was possible, wasn't it?

The thought of seeing rebels made the prince's poor heart skip a beat. What would he do? Oh, good gracious! This was all so terribly alarming!

Another rumbling thud shook the street, like a great meteor had fallen to earth. He nearly toppled over from the strength of the floor's shudder. Dust and grit billowed out from the cracks that snaked across his ceiling.

"W-what is that noise?" he finally shouted. Forget proper decorum, he needed protection! "Guards! Where are my guards?"

He spun to exit the room, but as he turned, his tail brushed against a gem-studded cabinet. Shrieking loudly at the unexpected sensation, Blueblood darted back to the center of the room. Trapped there, he quivered woodenly in place, flicking his eyes back and forth between the entrances. How awful. Now he was even afraid of the doors. What a situation this was!

Though his horn might have appeared impressive, it was not a good magical tool. He could barely use telekinesis at all. Now, in the face of true danger, the prince's majestic horn-length could not help him in a fight, unless he went to the lengths of wielding it as a melee weapon. Hah. The irony of his total inability was not lost on him. Not for the first time, Blueblood wished he had never met that shady doctor, and his blasted experimental surgeries. The accursed charlatan! A pox upon his house!

He shivered as a shadow passed over him, sending a chill down his spine. It was getting dark. Hold on, dark already?

The prince craned his neck up to the sky, only to see an ominous cloud rise into view past the gilded frame of his skylight. It was an eerie, rainbow smog. A bubbling, heaving monstrosity that flashed in bright, alternating colors, with no apparent rhyme or reason. The whole, wobbling thing reminded Blueblood very strongly of that absolute ruffian Discord.

Was that it? Was Discord free? The noble unicorn nearly fainted at the implications. It was much worse than he had thought!

Turning away from the unmistakeable sign of impending disaster, he fanned himself, desperately trying to gather his composure once more. The royal duty was to remain calm in dangerous situations. Fighting would be unnecessary, as long as he maintained himself.

Remain calm, prince Blueblood. Remain calm.

He closed his eyes.

With both his eyes shut tightly, and his heart pounding in his ears, the stallion never noticed a strange glint in the distance, or the whistling noise of an unlikely projectile falling towards his skylight.

His positioning was perfectly aligned for a red and gold necklace to crash through the glass, ricochet off the well-tiled floor, and strike him in the base of the skull. Even on a good day, the force of the blow would have been more than enough to knock him out. There was no shame in falling to a surprise attack. However, in a rather embarrassing move, Blueblood had not been knocked unconscious by the gemstone. He had unceremoniously fainted from overwhelming fear, a scant few seconds before.

If he had been awake, though, he would have seen that ruby bolt of lightning shift. He would have watched the lifelike crawling of metal and crystal; how the shimmering gem formed a compass-rose, duplicating the mark on his flank.

Blueblood would have witnessed the bauble creep across the tiles. Seen it twist itself around his throat.

The prince would have felt the touch of the dark, insidiously foreign magic that slowly seeped into him. He would have felt the void that appeared within him – an infinite chasm, pulling at his body and mind. He would have plumbed the fathomless depths. He would have observed the growth of a bottomless pit of gnawing hunger, deep within his soul.

He would have been utterly terrified.

Until he tasted nothing but the Absorption within.

As the noxious smoke cleared, a lovely courtyard was finally revealed.

Or, rather, the clearing of the smoke revealed what had once been a lovely courtyard, but was now a smoldering, desolate landscape. The hedge-maze was gone, replaced with a glass-smooth pit. Several priceless, ancient statues lay smashed around the garden's perimeter, and the side of the palace had crumbled around a glowing orb.

That defensive spell began to gutter and spark. When the magic finally ran out, six battered ponies fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Twilight groaned into the dirt.

She ended up in this position far too often for her tastes. It was becoming horribly familiar. The unicorn was beginning to get worried that lying flat on her face might eventually become comfortable. What an awful thought.

"Good gravy!" Applejack blew a strand of straw-colored mane away from her eyes. "That right there was th' worst attempt at savin' Equestria Ah've ever seen! Ah think we did more damage than Discord, for Pete's sake!"

"Oh, no. Pete can't help you now, ponies." The eerie, echoing tones of the Lord of Chaos surrounded them. "Can you even comprehend the consequences of your careless actions? No? I suppose I'll tell you, then. You killed me. You actually managed to end my existence. As you might guess, I'm rather … annoyed."

Pinkie screamed. "He's a zombie! He's gonna eat us! Run!"

"What?" Grunting, Discord slowly hobbled out from behind a boulder, looking much the worse for wear. "What are you talking about? I'm going to scold you, not eat you. Morons."

Many bruises littered the draconequus' body. Twilight thought they made quite an interesting cobblestone pattern, as they changed color and shape on his different types of skin. Biologically speaking, it was fascinating. Otherwise, it was just another stark reminder of the horrible pain she was currently in.

"Oh." Pinkie sat down. Then she jumped back up in a panic. "He's gonna scold us! Run!"

"Pinkie, darling." Rarity turned to the partying professional. "Please calm down. You're making Fluttershy nervous. More nervous than she usually is, at any rate."

The earth-pony giggled sheepishly. "Whoops! Sorry, Fluttershy. I was only joking."

"T-that's okay," the pegasus mumbled, shaking the dust out of her wings.

"Hello?" Discord waved an arm. "There's an irritated god of chaos here. Still quite incensed, by the way. That hasn't changed. Stop not caring."

Making an effort, Twilight clambered shakily to her hooves, having recovered far slower than the other mares. She really wasn't made for fighting. Everything hurt, even the bits of her that shouldn't realistically be hurting. Nerves didn't work like that. She would know.

"Okay." The unicorn tested out her jaw to make sure it was functioning. "Yes. I'll be the first to admit, that didn't quite go as planned. But did the basic idea work? Do you still control Disharmony?"

Discord stared at her, mouth agape. "You mean to say that you actually intended to use the power of Harmony to cleanse me of Di—? Of all the dunderheaded … I thought you were meant to be the smart one, purple." The draconequus pinched the bridge of his nose in a clear show of angry, parental disappointment.

The purportedly purple pony was presently puzzled. "Perhaps," she protested. "But I just don't see the difference between this spell and the last, Discord. Surely hitting you with Order magic was just as dangerous to you? Why react now?"

"Order magic?" The draconequus folded his mismatched arms. And folded his legs as well, for good measure. "I think you're a little confused. Or stupid. Possibly both! Excuse me, can I speak to someone who knows their way around a cascade event, please?"

Rarity blinked, before sighing plaintively. "Oh my stars. You know, that was an odd assumption, dear. Really. The statue spell was nothing special, I presume?"

"Correctamundo, my fabulously feminine friend!" Discord flashed a crooked, toothy grin to the dressmaker, who looked understandably revolted. "The Elements weren't crazy. They always did their best to avoid exploding absolutely everything around them. Hmm. Good job on that, by the way. No, your last fruity blast? The one that transformed me? It was transformative magic. It turned things into rocks. That's it. it had nothing to do with order, and everything to do with stone. Hence, my statuesque statue!"

As a harsh series of facts built up, Twilight shrank in on herself, as if she could wall away the world. "S-so standard rules apply?"

"Mhmm." The elder god nodded. "They tend to do that, you know. Being 'the standard rules'. But that's normal reality for you: boring and predictable. Yuck." He stuck out his tongue.

"The rules apply," she whispered, dazed at the implications. And boy, were they bad implications.

Somepony walked up from behind her to grip her shoulder firmly. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it meant she couldn't run away, either. Drat. "Twilight?" Applejack asked warily. "What did you do?"

"I …" Twilight swallowed. "Ah. I think I might have broken the Elements. A bit."

A finished hourglass stood proudly upon the countertop, as Dusty Hooves brushed the remaining sand into a small tray. Excellent. This was his last delivery of the day, and he wanted to close up as soon as possible.

If he hurried a little, he might have time to buy a quick dinner-to-go at his favorite restaurant! Hmm. What about that place down on the corner? The one that made the best fruit salad? That sounded nice. It was a little expensive, but fruit salad happened to be a guilty pleasure of his. Maybe that was a bit of a simple vice, but heck; Dusty was a simple pony. Besides, Colgate would enjoy something different for once.

Uh, to be honest, so would he. Cooking definitely wasn't his special talent. Nope.

Humming cheerfully, Dusty boxed up the new timepiece with plenty of extra padding. Taking great care not to jostle it too much, the stallion carefully placed the hourglass in his saddlebag, folding the flap over and buckling it down as securely as possible. Satisfied, he brushed himself down, and stepped into the alley behind his store with a bounce in his step. As he turned to lock the door to his shop, the sudden sound of an explosion made him fumble and almost drop his keys.

"Bah! What? Was that Canterlot?" He spun around, only to gape dumbly at the colorful destruction visible above the rooftops. "Oh no! I hope nopony … eh?"

Dusty lost his train of thought.

Six trails were shooting upwards, streaming smoke. They banked off, flying almost like the Wonderbolts, swirling in perfect synchronization. Curving in their flight paths, four of them vanished without a trace. The last two objects seemed to remain stationary, though.

No, wait, they were slowly growing in size. Huh?

It took Dusty a second to process what that meant.
He froze.

A bright blue missile crash-landed somewhere out of town, a column of smoke rising up from the orchards. A distant shriek echoed in his ears as they flattened themselves against the sides of his head. This looked dangerous. Perhaps he should take cover, he thought to himself. Yeah. That was a good plan.

Then a vivid-orange blur smashed into Dusty's collarbone at slightly under the speed of sound.

Blood spattered the trampled earth.

_______________________________________________

Silence reigned, the limp body of the dying stallion frozen in the afternoon sun. Wisps of smoke and heavy dust spiraled away from the scene, as if fleeing the brutality. But shadows lengthened, and ponies passed the alleyway by, unaware of the nearby pony with the ruined throat.

Dusty tried to breathe, but the burning gold imbedded in his windpipe stopped him. Choked him. He couldn't … he couldn't move. The metallic tang of copper mingled with the sickening smell of burning flesh. The world began to fade as he bled out on his own back doorstep.

He … he was dying.

This was terrible. What would happen to his daughter? Would Colgate be the one to find him? No, not her. The last thing he wanted was for her to see this. When was the last time he told her he loved her? Too long. Too ...

The pain was leaving.

Soon he …
he …

It was agonizingly slow, but eventually, the capacity for thought moved beyond his reach. Nothing around him dared to move, for quite a long time.

Then something clicked.

Warm, golden light burst from the gaping wound in his neck, as His body glowed. His eyes flashed open, shining with the same alien hue. His flesh rippled, pulsed, and untore itself. Time broke, only to reform in a different pattern. His injury reversed.

He gasped for air.

The light wavered around Him. Memory? His … Memories? But there were so many. Memories of different places, and faces, and different lives. And He wore the same medallion in all of them. What was it? It had different shapes, but always the same light, the same power. The same Him.

"Who … am I?"

He knew He was a doctor. That was certain. He had at least eleven doctorates, from different institutions, and in drastically different fields.

Well. Actually, that was quite odd. Very unusual.

But still, His name? He remembered too many. They were all floating around in His skull, getting in the way of His attempts to think. Out of all of those, which name was His?

The whiff of a long-forgotten scent teased His mind. An echo spoke to Him.

It was but the faintest recollection, one plain voice amongst many. Lives upon lives were filling His head, and pulling out a single thought had turned into an immense ordeal. He heard the name it whispered, though; a fading sound of a faded whisper.

"But is it Whooves? Or Hooves?" It could be either one. Not that it really mattered, he supposed.

The nameless Doctor dragged himself up, standing slowly. It was difficult to balance, but he soon managed some kind of wobbly, half-crouched stance. A new body always took time to get used to. Ah, but was it actually new? What a conundrum this all was.

"Prefer Whooves, myself, really. Sounds rather intriguing. Mysterious, in a dashing sort of way. Yes. Doctor Whooves. I like it," he muttered. Had his voice changed? Hmm, he wasn't sure. Strange.

His necklace finished healing his wounds, the inset crystal dulling in color from burnished gold to orange. With a final click and a whirr, it came to rest around his neck. The glorious shape of his cutie mark shimmered with power. An hourglass, filled with actual sand.

"Hum," he said to himself, prodding the thing. "I seem to have a new accessory. Or have I always had it? Bah, never mind! Still, this thing looks a tad bit silly though, doesn't it? Uncomfortable, too. Hard to nod. I do like a good nod."

He grabbed the centerpiece of the jewelry with his hooves, experimentally twisting it. To his surprise, the attempt worked, and the necklace spun a full ninety degrees, before clicking into place. "Ahah!" he cried. "There we go! A bow tie, eh?" A manic smile spread over his shiny new features.

"Fantastic," grinned Doctor Whooves. "Bow ties are cool."

Apple Bloom hammered the last nail into the new clubhouse. It was downright tricky using tools without magic, but she pulled it off, sure as hay-bales! Take that, unicorns! You and your magic!

Ooch, her flank was tingling again. Sitting in place for too long, most likely. Granny had told her all about that. While she clambered upright, Apple Bloom absent-mindedly used the hammer she was holding to scratch her side. To her relief, the tingle went away.

Boy, what a great clubhouse this was. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were going to be so darn impressed with her! She did it all by herself, too.

Yup. Mighty fine.

With a final, proud nod to her greatest creation, Apple Bloom began to pack away her tools. It was getting on time to head back inside. She had homework to do for Monday, too. Best get on that before she forgot all her fancy mathematics, as Applejack would say.

"Ah wonder what's for dinner?" the filly pondered. Hopefully apples.

She got a little distracted, though, when the pretty mountain blew up.

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom stared worriedly at the smoking city. Her sister would have reached Canterlot just a few hours ago! What if she exploded? And then exploded again! Spike had told her stories. Scary ones.

The filly fell over in a shriek as her clubhouse exploded.

"Why is everythin' explodin'?" she screamed, barely holding back tears. The earth-pony hastily brushed away the smoldering splinters settling in her bright-red mane. Chunks of wood were raining down around her, some of the wreckage wreathed in the flames of some sort of impact. "W-What the hay happened to mah clubhouse?"

This was awful! All her hard work, gone forever! Nothing could make up for that.
Nothing.

Woah, hey! A shiny thing was sitting at the bottom of her new crater-house!

"Ooh!" Apple Bloom perked up at the sight. Was that buried treasure? Wow! Trotting down towards the center of the pit, she deftly avoided the few pieces of debris that hadn’t stopped being on fire yet. As she neared the object, the ribbons of mist parted, revealing a steaming blue balloon on a shiny yellow chain. The thingy glistened enticingly at the bottom of the hole.

Neat! Even Sweetie Belle didn't have a necklace this nice! Carefully poking it with a hoof, Apple Bloom wasn't prepared for the crystal to jump at her touch. Squeaking and stumbling backwards, she tripped on a charred plank of wood, toppling over onto her side for the second time in as many minutes. Alright. She didn't seem to be hurt. But before she could get back up, the chiseled balloon began to creak loudly, and wobble in front of her widening eyes. As the filly watched, the blue centerpiece of the necklace started to twist jerkily into what looked like a stylized hammer, but never made it. The shape was … held back, straining and pushing against an invisible wall. With a snap, the half-formed hammer collapsed into a blank sphere.

Apple Bloom gasped. The world warped and bent around her, a bright-black dimension opening up. Her eyes ached at the strain of seeing what nopony was ever meant to see. She screamed in pain, screwing her eyelids shut, trying to force her vision back to normal.

It didn't work. Even her hooves failed to block out the unnatural images, the unearthly colors. She saw too much, she had to get away! Her head couldn't take it anymore! She had to run!

The cold touch of her expanded sight spoke to her, in words of darkest light. Terrible letters of radiant truth told her the path she was born to tread. Her fear was acceptable, it said. No matter the situation, she always returned. Apple Bloom's escape was inevitable, but the filly couldn't run forever. There was nothing too sacred to shatter. There was nothing too strong to break.

Now she could see that there was one path forwards, and it was broken, and winding, and wrong. She had to change it. She needed to change it. She saw herself changing it, back when the future began. She saw herself holding the shifting stone in her hoof, using it to alter fate itself. Though the road to destiny may buckle and bend, though her body may crumble and her mind may snap, she knew there was no other choice. The path needed to be changed. And she was the only one who could do that.

Because only Apple Bloom could see the Distortion in the world.

She ran away.

Luna sobbed convulsively, desperately trying to stop the tears from flowing down her face. Was this how her poor sister had felt, on that shameful day a millennium ago? How bitter it was, to be on the other side. This was no victory. It was a defeat greater than she had ever known before.

Strong. Luna had to be strong. Be strong like Celestia. Be strong for Celestia.

Pulling her aching body to her hooves, the princess stumbled towards the palace. She needed to make sure the Bearers were safe. Discord had been dealt with. With the help of that small but powerful group of ponies, she could resc—

"Ahohohohoh!" An eerie chuckle rang out from the base of the shattered castle.

That laugh! That unmistakeable, awful laugh! There was no mistaking it. The sound of those sadistic cackles had haunted her nightmares for a very long time.

Discord had won.
The Bearers had failed. All hope for Celestia was truly lost.

Only Luna's duty remained.

Would darkness and chaos be allowed to rule this world once more? Would she let her sister's sacrifice be for naught, and allow this travesty to continue? No. She refused to let that happen.

Princess Luna gnashed her teeth in rage, as she crept closer to the crushed masonry. She readied her mind: not for magic, but for war.

It was nostalgic, in a twisted sense. She would once again attack her oldest enemy. That most foul and evil of abominations, the draconequus Discord. The Hated One. The Lord of Chaos. It would be a most terrible battle, just as their last duel had ravaged the land and torn the very mountains asunder.

But she had no other choice. Only the Elements could save Celestia, and without Bearers they were useless. Such suffering, such pain her sister must be in! And that agony was all courtesy of Discord.

Yes, it was time to finish this. The last remaining alicorn would vanquish this villain. Her life would be a small price to pay.

"For Celestia," Luna whispered, her eyes glittering with loathing.

"So then I said to them, 'You should see the looks on your faces'! It was priceless! Ahohohohoh!" Discord chortled away at his own joke.

With tears in her eyes, Pinkie rolled around, clutching her sides. "Hahaha! And you turned them into cubes? Gahahahaa! That's great!"

Fluttershy didn't feel like laughing. Instead, she ducked back behind the most solid pony she could find, quivering in absolute fear. Discord was really scary! He looked like some kind of terrifying Frankenswine's monster, except made of different animals. How awful! And the pegasus knew he could take away her wings, or … or even wipe her mind in an instant! Why was Pinkie so happy near such a powerful bad-guy?

A curious Rainbow peered around her impenetrable barricade of Applejack, only to sigh at the pitiful sight. "C'mon, Fluttershy. You can't hide forever. Sometimes you gotta take life by the reins."

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What?" she squeaked, shocked at the sudden, vulgar metaphor. How … how could the other mare just say that out loud? Wasn't she embarrassed? Fluttershy certainly was. She felt her cheeks flush bright orange at the indecent images dancing through her mind, and she shrank back even further, trying to hide her shameful reaction.

Noticing her absolute mortification, the nearby apple-farmer quickly dug a leg into Dash's ribs. Several short, but very expressive gestures were made.

"Huh? Oh, right. Uh, I mean, sometimes you gotta get out there and face your fears, yeah? I hear that helps the ponies who don't have the luck to be born fearless, like me. Ow! What gives?" Rainbow yelped.

Applejack didn't seem all that amused by the speedster's boasting, judging by the slightly more vicious jabs that followed. Despite Fluttershy's best efforts to maintain the peace, a small tussle soon broke out between the stubborn, head-strong athletes. She hoped that neither of them got hurt. Oh, but at least it looked like Pinkie was beginning to cool down. Goodness, that mare could certainly laugh.

"Whoo!" Still cackling slightly, Discord wiped his eyes, before patting his fuzzy chest. "I needed a good knee-slapper. Anyway, what's going to—"

The clack of metal on stone shot through the air as a shadow fell over the group. "Raargh!" Luna suddenly leapt at the draconequus, hooves outstretched and teeth bared.

Caught by surprise and heavily wounded, he didn't stand a chance. The wounded trickster screamed shrilly, before being slammed face-first into the ground. "Eeaaaah! What th— … Yeow! What's wrong with you? Oi! Those don't come off, you know! Aah! Ow! Not the wings! Wait, no! Guhaaagh! Back to the wings! Back to the wings! Ouch! Thank you."

Oh. Oh my. The alicorn looked incredibly angry. And scary. Really, really, incredibly scary. To be honest, Fluttershy wished she still had her earth-pony barricade to protect her, but Applejack had long since rolled away in her little brawl. It was rather terrifying, but she didn't have anywhere to hide.

"Luna! Princess Luna! Stop!" a shout rang out.

Startled, the princess stopped her growling momentarily, and looked over at the small audience of ponies. Although usually beautiful, the mare's stately coat was covered in cuts, burns, and scorch-marks, her eyes damp and bloodshot. Even the stars had faded from her mane, leaving the glorious, navy-blue strands of hair depressingly limp and lifeless.

Twilight stared back, horrified. "L-Luna, what's the matter? What happened?" the unicorn stammered. "Why are you biting Discord? That's terrible! And unsanitary!"

Glancing down, Luna spat out the other god's wing, and wiped her mouth. The abused creature beneath her groaned weakly, but otherwise didn't react. "You six are alive? The Elements are gone, and the castle is destroyed, but you are alive. How nice for you," spat the princess, startling them with the anger in her tone. "Unfortunately, my sister is sealed in the sun."

A deep look of fear crossed the librarian's face. "T-The sun?"

"The Element she touched forced me to imprison her, lest the Earth be consumed in fire. My sister is lost. I do not know how to save her." Tears began to well up in Luna's eyes, and her voice trembled as she spoke. Gritting her teeth, the alicorn spun back to her victim, rage burning in her eyes. "But if nothing else, Discord will pay for his transgressions!"

Princess Luna returned to gnawing at Discord's wing, but her waning strength made her attacks increasingly pitiful. Fluttershy winced at the sight of the glorious ruler of the moon, reduced to a snarling animal. It was a far cry from her usual grace and poise.

Beneath the one-pony war on his back, the slightly-chewed draconequus shook his bruised head out, and adjusted his beard. "Celestia, eh?" Discord mumbled. "Strange. She should have been well-prepared for the mental challenges of Bearership." He slid his eyes upwards, towards his unruly passenger. "Did you happen to catch a glimpse of the Element that hit dear Celestia? Flusterfly's perhaps? That would be the pink one."

F-Flusterfly? Was that meant to be her? That was a little rude! Um, should she say something? Oh, but what if he just made an honest mistake? It had been a while since they last met. Maybe she should just keep quiet. Yes.

With a final weak stomp on Discord's shoulder, Luna sagged in resignation. "Aye. We saw it," she admitted. "The Element of Twilight Sparkle, a tiara of magenta and gold. Though the … event did not last long, the accursed stone atop my sister's brow was most distinctive. Nothing less would be able to force Celestia into such a state."

Twilight had flinched at the revelation, looking terribly sad and alone. Fluttershy could tell she needed a hug.

Although maybe now was not the best of times, because Luna and Discord were both still here, and both still really scary. Fluttershy was very scared. Had she mentioned that? Probably. Sorry.

"The purple one, eh? Now, what was her field?" the draconequus pondered out loud. "Hmm. Poultry? Flowers? No, that's not right. Ah!" His face lit up, and then fell just as fast. "Ah. Well, yes, I suppose that would do it. Nasty stuff, really. Dangerous at the best of times. Especially the really absolute stuff, you'll want to avoid that."

"Hoy!" Applejack barked, beginning to get awfully steamed up. The earth-pony never did like it when other ponies avoided questions. Admittedly, Discord wasn't a pony, but the farmer still looked pretty upset. "Now hold on one apple-buckin' minute, you lot! What th' hay are y'talkin' about? Speak clearly, gosh darnit!" she huffed.

The draconequus shot her a coy smile. "Nothing that important, really. Just the true meaning of your silly necklaces. I'm sure it's too advanced for you."

"Hey, shut it, jerk!" Dash jumped upwards so she could hover in place indignantly. "Besides, we already know Twilight has the Element of Magic! You even said so yourself, remember? You called it the most lewd sieve element of all!"

"The most elusive, darling. We don't need to bring strainers into this." Rarity pointed out.

"Elusive? Who's that?" Pinkie cut in, having missed half the conversation. "Is he one of Rarity's friends? He sounds nice! We should totally go and throw him a party after this!"

"I, um, think we've gotten just the tiniest bit … distracted," whispered Fluttershy. She thought it was a good point.

Of course, her comment went utterly unheard. The new roar of conversation had indeed distracted her friends, and Luna had begun a second attack on her living doormat, filling everyone's ears with pained screeches and growls.

Um. This might take a while.

The door creaked shut behind him as the Doctor glanced around the musty shop.

Fascinating! Some form of time-piece manufacture was done in here, it seemed. Lovely! How quaint. Oddly enough, the building itself was one that he ever-so-distantly recalled. A sweet, faded dream from once upon a time. It even smelled familiar!

He proceeded to sneeze violently.

Yes, well. So the shop had a rather pervasive odor of dust and wood. Understandable, considering the profession it had harbored, but he wasn't sure why those scents were so comforting. Strange.

"I suppose it doesn't matter. After all, it's rather about time to see if I've still got the magic touch." The Doctor cheerfully waggled his eyebrows, chuckling at his warped reflection in the bulb of an hourglass. "So to speak, that is. I'm not exactly certain it's your bog-standard magic, never bothered to check. You'd think so, but then there's that strange emission spectrum on re-entry." His voice faded away in thought.

The brown stallion shook his head, and slapped himself lightly a few times. "Right! Anyway! Chop-chop!" he shouted.

It was time, after all. Biting his tongue in concentration, the Doctor carefully grabbed his golden 'tie', and flipped the whole thing around. The amulet dutifully spun in a circle, and he was reminded, as always, of winding up a clock.

Of course, since it was on his own neck, the clock would have to be himself, and his metaphor broke down there, because that made very little sense. What kind of timepiece winds itself up? No, the Doctor was far better at winding up other ponies. Haha! Zing! He failed to hold back his grin as he let the hourglass spin back. After all, it was time. It was time! He let out a giddy laugh.

Who knew what would happen next? He had a whole new world to explore! What fun!

The Doctor's hourglass began to build up a heavy, crackling glow, as it spun faster and faster. He indulged himself in a maniacal laugh as the magic activated. "Allons-y!" he roared.

Orange light poured into every corner of the store, only to twist into a blinding blue. The house shuddered at the pressure, creaking in pain. Grinding rumbles shook the stone foundations as the very fabric of reality was tortured and broken. Then, with a resounding groan that cracked the windows, the light faded and disappeared. Time was allowed to fall silent once more.

And dust settled within the empty store.

Comments

[Farley308]

This is going to turn out badly isn't it?

[Kolwynia]

Interesting choices in characters. I smiled when the Doctor made an appearance. (Though part of me was, like, come on, Iron Will, Iron Will...but it was not to be.) Your foreshadowing is nice, and I loved those short, powerful lines: "Enough to make a mortal into a god.
Enough to make a god into a monster." Spooky!

[FanOfMostEverything]

So, let's see if I've got this straight:

Kindness -> Emotion
Loyalty -> Absorption
Generosity -> Sacrifice
Honesty -> Memory
Laughter -> Distortion
Magic -> Power

Wow. That's... that's really frightening. The Elements seem more built on subdisciplines of magic than ideals now. I dread seeing what happens next, yet I can't wait.

[ThatAw3someBr0ny]

631139you've made this clear as the damn sky for me. thank you. I actually kinda understand it now.

[ThatAw3someBr0ny]

Wait... Celestia... Power? Weeeell SHIT

[4n4rchy]

Hmmm... Lemme see...
Kindness can get you friends, allies, slaves just by twisting their emotions into liking you;
Generosity comes with a sacrifice, getting other people/ponies to do it for you proves their generosity;
You can't lie if I can see your every memory;
Someone truly loyal will sacrifice their mind and body for you;
Laughter can shape the world;
And you explained power and what is more powerful than magic?
Interesting how since the elements are now indipendent, there is no right or wrong to them.

[OncomingStorm]

"Fantastic," grinned Doctor Whooves. "Bow ties are cool."
9th Doctor and 11th Doctor have fused together!
His magic bowtie could be more sonic though.

[Umbra Languish]

2335449
But it is a cool tie, right? Right. All shiny, and everything.
Yeah, Whooves is sort of a fusion of Doctors Nine through Eleven. Whatever suits the plot at the time (or whatever I find the funniest) will determine which one is the greater influence. Unfortunately, he won't be getting a sonic screwdriver – his power has to be limited to timey-wimey shenanigans for anything to make sense.

A long time ago, he went to the effort of making a mnemonic screwdriver, but it turned out to be pretty useless.