Celestia's Chosen Hero... is Carl?

by Joey JoJo Shabadoo

Part 15: Together, We Shall Head Into the Epicentre of Chaos

Author's Note:

So, the final chapter turned out to be longer than I thought it would be, so I've decided to split into two separate parts.

Kind of annoying, but do not threat, all 2 of my readers, the actual final chapter should only be out in about a week.

For realsies this time.

The sound of the wind rustled through the forest of grass that concealed the clearing, deep in the depths of the Everfree Forest. A large, impenetrable barrier imprisoned Twilight and her friends as the demon stared them down.

However, this devil did not have a true face. Like so many before, the stallion standing before them was an unwitting vessel, a containment for evil. Despite this, no matter whom he possessed, the demon could never hide his savage, destructive aura, nor his sickening smile, dripping with arrogance and self satisfaction.

Twilight was left stunned by Mephisto’s ploy and his blatant disregard for the life he had stolen. “How could you? Taking advantage of Unis when he was at his most emotionally vulnerable? That’s low, even for you.”

Naturally, Mephisto laughed in the face of Twilight’s harsh words. “How could I? I’m the personification of all negativity in Equestria! Hatred, sadness, greed, gluttony, jealousy. I embody it all! What's 'low' to you, is just common courtesy for me!

After losing his little spat, Unis' little heart was crushed. The poor boy lost so hard he began to question his true purpose in this world, making him ripe for the picking! How could I possibly pass up the opportunity to possess Celestia’s own Captain!? He was the perfect bait to lure you into my trap and you practically handed him to me on a silver platter!

Excellent work, Princess!”

“You won’t have him for long!” Twilight proclaimed. “We still have the Elements of Harmony and I know for a fact Unis is trying everything he can to purge you from his mind! We just need to give him the extra push he needs!”

“My word, you’re delusional! How many times do I have to beat you into the dirt before you finally keel over!?”

“As long as the Magic of Friendship still burns inside us, we'll never fall! I promise, we'll erase your evil from Equestria for good!”

“Right!” Her friends rallied behind her, psyched up for their final showdown.

Mephisto didn’t know how to react. He wanted to laugh in their faces, but they were clearly beyond the point of mockery. The only option he had left was to simply be blunt with them.

“Twilight Sparkle. You can preach about the Magic of Friendship all you like, but you simply cannot do the impossible. My evil cannot be erased, for it is the culmination of all evil in Equestria.

From children to adults. From saints to savages. All sentient beings are capable of evil, no matter how small the act, or insignificant the consequences. Their actions will always breed negativity. So long as this remains true, my evil can never be abolished.

Are you honestly convinced that the friendship between six little ponies is strong enough to destroy two millennia worth of collected animosity?”

Twilight's resolve was unshaken. “Always have, always will.”

“When prey are backed into a corner, they’ll blindly put their faith in anything, no matter how slight their chances of survival. I suppose it’s better than sitting around, watching as your tree house is reduced to ashes and then crying about it when no one’s looking.” He grinned.

“What!? What does that have to do with anything!?"

"It must have been real hard to come to terms with the fact, that everything you held dear was reduced to ashes in mere seconds. You do a good job of hiding it, but that trauma still haunts you to this day, doesn't it?"

"You… you can’t just...”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. I’m sure that withered old stump meant a whole lot to you. After all, the sadness that followed was simply delicious. But, the memories of you watching helplessly as your home was obliterated before your very eyes and the heartbreak that followed? Now that was divine.”

Appalled by his behaviour, Applejack intervened. “Now, wait just a minute! You can’t just go around, opening old wounds like that!”

“Oh, be quiet, cowgirl. Unless you want me to reunite you with your parents.”

Applejack was immediately struck by shock, she didn’t think anyone would be brazen enough to strike her that low, so quickly.

But, not just Applejack, Rarity was bitterly offended by Mephisto’s blatantly manipulative words. “How dare you... you scoundrel! Abusing such painful memories, just to get to take a cheap shot at our feelings! Simply revolting!”

“And what are you going to do, Rarity!? Throw a dress at me!? Compared to Twilight and Starlight, your magic is severely lacking, useless even! All you can do is make pretty clothing that’ll be discarded and forgotten once it goes out of style.

Your art is fleeting, your magic is underwhelming and you can’t even fight. Remind me, why are you here again?”

Rarity was silent, too ashamed to speak up. It was as if Mephisto dove deep into the recesses of her mind and forced her own insecurities to the surface.

Snickering to himself as he reveled in the suffering of his victims, Mephisto continued his mental assault. “I’ve been feeding off of your negativity since the day you were all born! I know everything! All your dirty little secrets!

Like the nights Fluttershy spends, staring up at her pillow, wallowing in her own worthlessness. Was I too assertive? Not assertive enough? Did anyone even care? How about you stop getting out of bed altogether and save everyone the trouble? Your anxiety tastes far sweeter that way.”

Fluttershy covered her face in embarrassment. How was she supposed to act strong and brave when he inner thoughts were beings aired out in the open?

“What’s gotten into you guys!?” Dash yelled.

“Don’t even get me started on you, Rainbow Dash.” Mephisto chided.

“Try me, punk! I already know I'm an overconfident, try-hard! You’ve got nothing on me that I don’t already know myself!”

“Yeah, you tell him, Dashie!” Pinkie cheered.

Mephisto didn’t speak a word.

“Well?” Dash asked. “Give me your worst!”

Mephisto remained silent.

“Are you gonna say something or what!?”

“Honestly, Rainbow Dash. You’re not even worth commenting on.”

“WHAT!?”

Despite her cries of protest, Mephisto continued to ignore her.

“Ooh! Ooh! Do me! Do me!” Pinkie called.

“Pinkie Pie? I don’t think there’s enough time in the Universe to cover the mess of psychological issues clogging up that cesspool you call a mind.”

Pinkie was stumped for a moment. “Hey, I got off pretty easy.”

The rest of the girls were silent. The confidence and bravado they exhibited earlier had been dragged through the mud and left in a gutter to rot.

“What the heck is wrong with you guys!?” Dash decried. “You’re not seriously letting this jerk get to you, are you!?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed. “I mean, Carl has said way worse stuff to me, but he also reminded me to never let some mean words stop me from smiling!”

“Smiling?” Twilight muttered.

Mephisto grew tired of watching Twilight and her friends feel sorry for themselves, while their remaining, deluded companions nattered on incessantly. “Will you idiots shut up! You’re fruitless words of encouragement are giving me second hand embarrassment.”

“Mephisto!” Twilight suddenly yelled.

“Now, what!?”

“I need to ask! Do you really have all of our memories!?”

“We’ve been over this, Princess. I’m the summation of every living beings negative emotions. I have everyone’s memories.”

“Then tell me. How did we defeat Nightmare Moon?”

“That’s easy. Obviously, you used the Elements of Harmony.”

“Really? How?”

“How? What are you talking about? You probably just used the Magic of Friendship, like you always do!”

“Like we always do? But, Mephisto, Nightmare Moon destroyed the Elements of Harmony! So, how could we have used them!?”

“Wh-What!? I-!? Is this some sad attempt at trying to buy time!?”

“Answer the question!”

“How about I just destroy you instead!?”

“I knew it!” The sadness that weighed down on Twilight suddenly lifted, replaced with newfound clarity.

“What are you smiling at!?” Mephisto, conversely, was on edge.

“You really have no idea what happened... Carl already found one exploit in your memory and I just found another!”

“An exploit!?”

“Your initial guess was right, we did defeat Nightmare Moon with the Elements, but the fact that you even had to guess, that there was a gap in your memory you had to hide, makes on thing abundantly clear.

You may have all of our negative memories, but that only tells half the story! You don’t know anything about our positive ones!”

For once, Mephisto was the one who was speechless.

“It wasn’t just the Magic of Friendship that defeated Nightmare Moon, it was the realisation, that the ponies I met were my closest friends. The happiness I felt at that moment was indescribable and that spark was what revived the Elements of Harmony, but you wouldn’t know anything about that, because you only focus on the negative!

You use our past against us, to take advantage of our vulnerabilities, to ensure that nobody will ever be able to work up the courage to face you head-on! But, I’ve learned that the words you use to control people, are just words. They only control you if you let them and I refuse to be swayed by the words of a demon!”

“Who cares if they control you!? Your negativity gave birth to me and my powers can and will, send you into a spiraling nightmare of pain! You can spout whatever nonsense you want, but you can’t deny the negativity in your hearts, my existence is proof of that!”

“Those negative emotions may always be there, Mephisto, but so will the positive ones. Our memories of happiness, triumph and laughter, those are the memories you lack, the ones you’ll never understand and so long as my friends are by my side, you’ll never take those away!"

A bright light began emanating from Twilight and her friends, a light that blinded Mephisto.

“What? What is this? What are you doing!?”

”For the friends you hurt, the ponies you possessed. For the pain you inflicted onto Ponyville, to Canterlot. For Celestia and Luna and for every other creature who ever had to suffer at the hands of your evil for the past thousand years! We’ll finally put an end to you!”

The light of the Elements of Harmony engulfed Twilight and her friends as it exploded forth, shattering the barrier that had entrapped them, as a pillar of light shined through.

A cold shiver, shocked Mephisto’s system, a feeling of sheer terror as he stared into the face of his oncoming demise. “Wait!? Timeout! What is this!? The Elements of Harmony weren’t anywhere near this strong a thousand years ago!”

Twilight gladly answered. “You’re not fighting the Elements from a thousand years ago! You’re fighting a power that’s grown far greater! I don’t care what Celestia says! I don’t care what kind of vessel is protecting you, or how powerful you are! YOU'RE NOT SURVIVING THIS TIME, MEPHISTO!"

The pillar of light bloomed into a large rainbow, that launched into the sky like a rocket, before swerving back down and homing in on Mephisto’s position.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! STOP!”

Unable to escape, the rainbow of friendship consumed Mephisto’s darkness, as the various colours of light scattered throughout the meadow, washing the greenery in a spectrum of hues. The girls knew that Mephisto’s darkness couldn’t be erased so easily, so they pushed as much power out of the Elements as possible, to ensure he was completely erased from the world.

But, something felt wrong.

There were no final screams of terror, no last-ditch cries of resistance, Mephisto was silent. It felt as if their attack didn’t hit him at all and just as Twilight’s brain was rushing to piece together what could have possibly gone wrong, she heard the worse possible sound imaginable.

Laughter.

Horrible, mocking, ear-piercing laughter. A self indulging fit of wild cackling.

“GIRLS! STOP!” Twilight ordered immediately.

The light of the rainbow died down and the girls returned to normal, though slightly dazed.

“Mephisto!” Twilight cried. “How!? How did you-!?” She suddenly interrupted herself once she realised what Mephisto was hiding behind. “The Sacred Shield!?”

“That’s right!” Mephisto answered, filled with excitement. “I have to admit, Princess. You scared me half to death, for a minute there! Good thing I brought my insurance!”

“… a shield... that can deflect all magical attacks… including the Elements of Harmony…”

“Aren’t you a smart pony? But, don’t look so devastated. All that power you unleashed hasn’t gone to waste, just take a look!”

Mephisto directed her attention to the monoliths surrounding them. They had lost their imposing black sheen, instead glowing with the colours of the rainbow.

“Now, Princess. Care to explain to the class what these crystal monoliths do again?” Mephisto goaded, enjoying every minute of Twilight’s slow descent into despair.

“They… absorb magic… any magic…”

“And, care to take a guess as to what I’m going to use them for?”

“No…”

“Oh… well, you’re no fun anymore…”

Mephisto teleported to the monolith on top of the hill, directly in the center of the glade. Bolts of magical electricity pulsed throughout the clearing, jumping from one crystal to the next, converging in the center, feeding into Mephisto.

“With the power of these crystals, I can absorb the magic of the Elements of Harmony for my own personal use! No longer will I ever have to live in fear of the Magic of Friendship! I will control both the light and the dark! Positive and negative! I will be the sole determiner of what is considered good and evil.

Those who fight for love and friendship will fall! Those who dare oppose me out of hatred and vengeance shall perish! I shall exist as a being who surpasses morality! An unquestionable, indestructible, all-powerful god!”

The world grew bleak, as ominous violet clouds corrupted the sky, spreading rapidly across Equestria, seemingly devouring all light, as lightning crackled within their unstable vapour. The magic that had gathered into Mephisto’s vessel burst forth as he underwent his transformation, his ascension to godhood. His coat dyed a crimson, purple hue. Sharp, crystal wings. A wild, monstrous mane. An enlarged horn, all topped with a vicious smile. Mephisto had been waiting centuries for this moment, the day he finally became completely unstoppable. A perfect existence.

“You seriously gonna sit there and let him run his mouth off like that!?” Applejack yelled at Twilight, who merely slumped on the ground.

“There’s no point… the one weapon we had to defeat him… and he took it from us… what are we supposed to do now…?”

“Kick his butt, obviously!” Rainbow Dash added.

Rainbow Dash charged at Mephisto, full speed, hoping to send him flying like she did last time, but Mephisto treated her incoming assault as a total non-issue. Dash's hoof collided with his face like a speeding bullet, but Mephisto simply stood still and took the full brunt of her attack without so much as flinching.

"Uh oh." Dash whimpered.

"Indeed." He replied, as his horn lit up, unleashing a burst of magic.

When the light cleared, there was a loud thud. A stone statue of Rainbow Dash had crashed into the ground. She was completely frozen.

Infuriated, Applejack called out to the demon. "What!? Why don't you come down her and fight me like a real stallion!?"

Mephisto quickly appeared before her. No prior warning or burst of magic, he simply warped instantly and awaited a response.

Shaken for a moment, Applejack quickly retaliated with a buck to the head, but just like Rainbow Dash, it didn't do anything.

"What!? How!?" She cried.

"Idiot. A creature who fights for friendship can no longer harm me."

In another burst of violet light, Applejack was encased in stone.

“No! What did you do to them!?” Twilight called out.

Mephisto instantly appeared in Twilight’s face, as she leapt back in fright. “Don’t get so worked up, Princess. All I did was turn them to stone. Standard fare for those who fall victim to the Element's power. Although, I must admit, with the amount of magic flowing through my very being, holding back can be quite the challenge. You’re lucky I didn’t accidentally obliterate them.”

Twilight and her friends had their backs against the wall, literally, since Mephisto’s barrier had returned. He slowly inched towards them as there was nowhere left to run.

As a last-ditch effort, Twilight surrounded herself and her friends with her own barrier. All they could do now was buy time and pray for a miracle.

Mephisto came face-to-face with the barrier and simply pushed against it, effortlessly channeling large amounts of magic into his hoof, easily piercing through it, shattering Twilight’s last line of defense.

As the gap between them shrunk to a few inches, Twilight, unwilling to give up, her eyes burning with magic, threw out one final burst, directly into Mephisto’s face, burying him in a torrent of energy. Unfortunately, her wild explosion dissipated as quickly as it came and Mephisto hardly flinched, merely smirking at Twilight’s sad attempt at defending herself.

“Girls… I’m sorry…” Twilight pleaded. “I should have listened to the Princess... I had no idea things go this horribly wrong...”

“It’s okay, Twilight.” Fluttershy answered. “We still have Carl, he'll save us.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added, directing her attention to Mephisto. “Carl’s gonna beat you up!”

Mephisto was baffled by their response and burst into laughter. “Carl? That Earth pony!? He could barely defend himself in Canterlot! What makes you think he can stop me now!?”

“We don’t know...” Rarity replied. “But, Carl was brought here for a reason: To slay monsters like you.”

“They’re right!” Twilight announced. “Princess Celestia summoned Carl for the sole purpose of defeating you and I’ll believe in her, until the very end!”

Mephisto scoffed at the idea. “Celestia is a senile old fool, who should have destroyed me when she had the chance. But, she failed and her reign of friendship will be coming to an end and a new era of hatred shall take her place!”

Mephisto’s horn lit up, he was prepared to finish them.

“Any last words?”

“My only regret, is that I won’t get to see the look of terror on your face when all your plans completely fall to pieces.”

“Well, you won’t be seeing anything, ever again.”

And, with his final remark, Mephisto flash-fossilised the remainder of the Elements of Harmony. As a sign of his victory, he arrogantly tossed the Sacred Shield aside, no longer needing it, now that he had become indestructible.

“Okay, Carl.” Trixie asked, as the two laid comfortably on Starlight’s bed. “Pick a card.”

Carl reluctantly lifted himself up to play along with Trixie’s game. “Fine… I’ll take the seven of hearts.”

“What? No! You’re not supposed to tell Trixie what the card is! Now I have to reshuffle the deck… again.”

“You need to be more specific with your instructions.”

“Whatever… now, pick a card.”

“The seven of hearts.”

Trixie screamed in frustration. “Starlight! Carl’s being stupid, again!”

However, Starlight didn’t reply, she was preoccupied, staring out the window.

“Starlight?” She asked again, hopping off the bed. “What are you gawking at?”

Trixie joined her distracted friend and soon found her attention stolen by a bizarre phenomenon. “Woah. Uh, Carl, I think you should see this.”

“It better not be another fucking card trick…”

Carl joined the mares at the window, as he bared witness to the strange sight. Dark, violet clouds covered the sky, crackling lightning as they rolled through the air. “What the fuck? Is this some kind of freaky-ass pony weather? Because, I’ve never seen anything like this in my world.”

“I don’t know…” Starlight stammered. “But, It’s giving me really bad vibes.”

Carl simply waved it off as a mere nuisance. “One of the pegasi probably fucked up again.”

Suddenly, the clouds rained lightning bolts on the ground below, as screams of terror from the Ponyville citizens thundered in the distance. “Oh my gosh!” Starlight cried. “Something is definitely wrong!”

“You don’t think it has anything to do with Twilight and the others, do you?” Trixie asked.

“I can’t tell for sure, but they haven’t returned yet…. Carl, I think you should go look for them.”

“What!?” He gasped. “No way, this ain’t my problem.”

“Carl, bolts of lightning are terrorising Ponyville. Somepony has to put a stop to this.”

“Yeah, someone with actual magic powers.”

“Purple lightning is Mephisto’s trademark. I’m pretty sure you can do something about this.”

“How many times do I have to say it? I’m not doing shit until Celestia arrives.”

Just then, a golden light radiated in Starlight’s room and in a burst of magic, Princess Celestia herself, appeared before them.

Trixie was star-struck. “Oh my Celestia, it’s Celestia!”

“Carl!” The Princess called. “Thank goodness I found you! I take it you’re aware of the dark clouds spreading across Equestria!”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

“What? But, you’re looking right at them.”

“Damn… nothing gets past you, Princess…”

“This is no time for jokes, Carl. The time has finally come to confront Mephisto… where are Twilight and the others?”

“They went off somewhere with Unis and never came back.”

“And you didn’t go with them!?”

“Oh shit… was I supposed to?”

Celestia was visibly shaken, she could feel the stress weighing down on her, as flashes of potentially horrifying disasters rushed through her mind.

“Oh, no, no, no… I specifically told her to keep Carl by her side at all times...”

“So, are we fucked?”

Celestia took a deep breath and sighed, calming herself down. “No, we can still defeat Mephisto. I can only pray that his lust for power clouded his judgement and that Twilight and the others haven’t been permanently dealt with.”

“You know, if you didn’t want her running off on her own, you should have said something.”

“I did, but it seems something forced her into acting and Mephisto took advantage of it.”

“Welp, Mephisto won. Guess you’ve got no choice but to send me home and deal with him yourself.”

“Don’t be silly, Carl. Mephisto has finally obtained the power he so desires. A power that's made him an indestructible monster. Now is the perfect time to strike.”

“Ex-fucking-cuse me!? Have you lost your goddamn mind!? I’m not fighting that fucker now! He’ll murder me!”

“You’ll be fine, Carl. Trust me.”

“I'll be fine when I get the fuck out of here! You let that asshole become invincible on purpose and you’re surprised Twilight and the others got fucked!?”

“If you had gone with them, you could have defeated him already, before he had a chance to harm anypony, but it’s not too late. You can still stop him, Carl!”

“That’s the biggest load of horseshit I ever heard and I've been hanging out with Trixie the past hour! Fuck it, I’m not going!”

“Carl! You can’t quit now, not when we’re right at the end!”

Carl refused to answer, he was far too angry with Celestia. He was willing to fight, but intentionally letting the enemy become more powerful just seemed to make his mission needlessly difficult, bordering on impossible.

“Really, Carl?” Starlight criticised. “You’re just going to give up now? What happened to all that bravado when you were calling out Unis, earlier?”

“Hey, Unis wasn’t some ultra powerful demon with the power to level an entire city! I always punch above my weight class, but that guy is in an entirely different league! I'm not stupid, I know my limits!”

“Well, all Trixie hears are excuses.” Trixie goaded.

“Don’t you start.”

“I bet you’re just scared. Too scared to fight against something you’ve convinced yourself you can’t beat. Trixie sees right through your facade.”

“Facade!?”

“Magicians have a talent for spotting fakers. Takes one to know one, after all. Stop pretending and just admit that you’re scared, already, it's embarrassing.”

“Fine…” Carl conceded. “I know what that demon is capable of and… it scares me... There!? You happy now!?”

“Trixie is satisfied.” She answered with a pleased smile.

“You know, Carl.” Celestia spoke. “You’re not the only one who’s scared.”

“Don’t bother, Twilight gave me that speech already.”

“Well, she was my best student for a reason.”

“Look, I never wanted to fight in the first place. If you hadn’t forced me into this, I’d be checking the fuck out and be well on my way home by now.”

“Could you honestly say you'd abandon Twilight and her friends? After everything you’ve been through over the last few days?”

“What the hell do you know?”

“Enough to know that you care about them. You’re just too stubborn to admit it.”

“Now you’re just making shit up, you got no proof.”

“Then, why are you still wearing that scarf, or that rag around your leg? If you truly don’t care, then what’s the point in keeping up this charade? Just take them off already.”

Carl impulsively grabbed at his scarf, but despite his knee jerk contempt, he suddenly froze and for once, it wasn’t from a magic spell. He stared at the gift that was given to him. A sign of friendship and understanding. He looked at the rag, covering his wound. A gesture of pure kindness, that expected nothing in return. If the rest of Twilight’s friends had given him clothing to complete his dorky ensemble, he’d probably have trouble removing them too.

He sighed heavily. “Goddammit, I hate you people…”

“Well?” Celestia asked.

“Fine, I’ll go on your stupid suicide mission.”

“Thank you…. you can never make things easy, can you Carl?”

“You’re one to talk.”

“And thank you, Starlight and… um...”

“Trixie.”

“Yes. Starlight and Trixie. Carl’s lucky to have friends like you to keep him in check.”

The two blushed from receiving such high praise.

Celestia steeled herself for the battle ahead. “The time has come, Carl. Together, we shall head into the epicentre of chaos and under my guidance, you will fulfill your destiny and purge the great evil threatening this land, once and for all.”

“Yeah, cool. Can we just go already?”

Celestia and Carl headed outside and as they wandered through Ponyville, Carl remarked on how barren the town appeared. “This place is usually so busy, it’s kind of eerie. And what’s with all these black marks on the ground?”

A sudden lightning bolt struck the dirt, just inches from Carl’s face. “Oh! Shit! Okay! That answers that question!” Narrowly avoiding instant electrocution was the shock his body needed to get his adrenaline pumping. “Hey, Celestia! Do you even know where Mephisto is!?”

“That bright light and sense of overwhelming, oppressive power resonating from the Everfree Forest seems like a pretty good place to start looking.”

“Everfree Forest…?” A memory suddenly flashed in Carl’s mind. Swamp water, small cliffs, tall grass, giant black crystals. “Oh my god, I know where he is!”

Carl immediately made a dash for the Everfree Forest, assuming his hunch was correct.

“Carl! Where are you going!?” Celestia called.

“I know where that fucker’s hiding! Follow me!”

“But, I can just teleport us there!”

Carl stopped dead in his tracks.

“Oh.”

Celestia quickly gathered her magic and transported them as close to the eye of the storm as possible.

They appeared just outside the tall grass in the clearing by the cliff, the ground still disturbed from when Carl planted his face there only a couple of days ago.

“Do you feel that, Carl?” Celestia asked.

“You mean that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, when you’re about to walk into the meat grinder? Yeah, I feel it.”

“Good. So it’s not just me." Celestia sighed in relief. "Now that all the pieces are in place, we can only hope that they connect together and that we all come out of this encounter, unscathed.”

Just as the pair were about to set foot into the overgrowth, they were suddenly blindsided by a strong gust of wind. Celestia threw up a barrier as the razor sharp whirlwind tore through the field, shaving the meadow clean, clearing the path for them.

“I have a feeling he’s expecting us.” Carl bemused.

“Let’s not keep him waiting, then.”