Wherein the Returners Reach the Endgame Part 4
Discord tapped his fingers together, his manic smile remaining in place. “So how do you want to do this? Am I going to attack you? Will you attack me? Oh, will we attack together?”
“Second one sounds good to me!” Applejack roared and fired off an aurabolt. The holy beam shot across the distance in a blink of an eye.
Discord’s top half split himself apart like a banana peel. The aurabolt passed through the gap without touching a single hair. Once the attack dissipated, Discord zipped himself back up. “A classic! I hope that’s not all you have to throw at me.” He crossed his arms and smirked, waiting for the Returner’s next move.
No new attacks came his way. The assortment of creatures remained still, wary looks on their faces.
Throwing up his arms, Discord said, “Come on, this is why you came here, right? No sense in being shy now.”
Giving a low growl, Trixie pointed her sword up at him. “Fire at will!” So saying, Trixie launched a trio of ice balls at the floating draconequus. Discord snapped his fingers, turning them into puffs of water vapor.
Trixie’s call to action spurred the rest of the Returners into casting their own magic. Stardust opened by casting haste on as many Returners as he could. The extra speed brought forth a wave of magical attacks that streaked towards Discord at a blistering pace.
Discord responded by flashing out of the line of fire, reappearing in multiple locations. “There! That’s more like it!” the copy Discords echoed.
The Returners paused and looked among the crowd of Discords, until Spotter thrust a hoof at one of them, shouting, “That one!”
Derpy and Scootaloo, closest to the real Discord, each let loose a wave of crackling electricity. The two magical attacks attracted to each other, combining into a gargantuan lighting strike that crashed into Discord. His body lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree, complete with a shining star on top.
“Ha, ha! That tickles!” A flash of white light teleported him away, reappearing next to Umaro. Discord nonchalantly leaned his elbow on the yeti’s shoulder. “Hey, I don’t think we’ve met. Are you related to Ronsos by any chance?”
Umaro grunted, swiping at Discord with one arm and firing off a biting blizzard gale from his orb with the other. The first strike Discord ducked but let the artificial snow storm hit him full force. He leaned into it, his eyes closed and mouth slightly open. “Aw, it’s like a cool breeze on a tepid afternoon. Thanks, my hairy boy.”
He flashed away again, popping back and now playing a grand piano. Rarity and Fluttershy were now the closest, the ponies whinnying and stepping away. “I feel as though there needs to be more music to liven things up around here,” Discord said as his claw and paw tapped at the keys at a rapid pace. The sounds of crushed glass, tubas, whistling, and an assortment of other random noises blared out from the piano. “But nothing’s coming to mind. Do you two have any suggestions?”
“I’d rather you stop completely!” Rarity shouted at the top of her lungs, her and Fluttershy’s hooves clamped down onto their ears. “This unspeakable racket is blasphemy against the very concept of music!”
“Not a fan of the classics, I see. Aw, well. This thing needs tuning anyway.” Shrugging, Discord reached down and picked up the piano as though it were cardboard and tossed it at Rarity and Fluttershy. The ponies shrieked, reflexively casting magic at it. The collision of raw, unfocused power against a construct of chaos turned into a shower of glittering diamonds and fluttering butterflies. “That’s so sweet of you.”
He laughed and teleported away, appearing above three younger fillies. “Speaking of sweet, have you learned any life long lessons, Sweetie Belle?”
The unicorn let out a squeak of fright, prompting Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to lash out with their magic. Sweetie Belle added her own might to the mix in a hurried attempt to tag Discord with a spell. Tutting, Discord slapped away the incoming attacks. “Still no respect for your elders, I see.”
Discord disappeared again but didn’t reappear in his usual flash. The Returners looked around but there was no sign of the draconequus in the dark, cloudy enclosure they were stuck in. Trixie lifted up her sword, but no magic was drawn to it.
Suddenly, a Discord appeared next to each Returner, holding their paw to their mouth to contain a chuckle. They learned down near the Returners’ ears, cupping their paws and talons together. “Boo.”
As though a paddock had been dropped on the battlefield, Returners everywhere whinnied in shock and fright. Magic spells, weapons, and tools were thrown in every direction. The Discords cackled at the sight, the artificial arena now a truly chaotic mess.
Twilight and Trixie swiped at their pair of Discords with their swords. The weapons cleaved through the Discords, dissipating them. But not before blowing a raspberry during their departure. “We’re not getting anywhere,” Trixie said, scowling. “He’s just toying with us.”
Twilight gave a grim nod. “Yeah. He’s just… just too powerful.” She slammed her sword down onto the cloudy ground in sheer frustration. “I’m not going to let him get his way! I can’t let down the zebras like this!”
“Then what do you suggest? Just throw magic at him and hope it hurts him?”
Twilight cocked her head, growing silent for a few moments. “Maybe… maybe we can hit him… with one really big spell?”
Letting out an exasperated groan, Trixie replied, “What kind of big spell? My biggest spell couldn’t defeat a unicorn. And if we miss, then we’ll all just be drained.”
Twilight set her jaw, opening her mouth to respond, but a poke to the side of her head drew her attention. She turned and saw a Discord the size of a cat laying on his side, his talon supporting his head. “Now, what could you two be plotting over here about? There’s an exciting battle you’re missing out on.”
“Discussing how to beat you, of course!” Trixie quickly spat out. “Why else do you think we’re here?!”
Discord gave a sideways shrug. “Doubt it’s going to be anything good.”
“If you’re so bored, then blink yourself out of existence!”
“Naw, oblivion’s worse. All it’s got to eat is black licorice and I hate that stuff.”
Twilight cut Trixie’s next diatribe off with a hoof. She turned to face Discord fully. “You’re right, Discord. We don’t have much left. So let’s end this quickly to spare everyone’s time. We’re going to hit you with everything we have and you just need to try to stop it.”
“Oh, really?” Discord righted himself, stroking his dangling beard with his lion’s paw. “So an all-or-nothing sort of thing?”
“Exactly. And if that’s not enough to defeat you… then there’s no point in dragging this out.”
Discord hovered where he was while copies of himself continued to torment the Returners behind him. Finally, with a wide grin, he snapped his fingers, making all his duplicates disappear. “Alright. You get one shot. Make it good.”
In a white flash he was gone, only to reappear high above the battlegrounds. “Attention, everyone! Attention!” Discord spread his arms wide, smiling down on the bewildered and panting Returners. “There has been a change in our regularly scheduled epic final encounter. I’ve made a deal with Twilight that you all get one last chance to make this interesting. If you fail, then it’s game over and I win!” He laughed, a tall iron throne with red cushioning appearing behind him. He sat down into it, summoning a glass of chocolate milk. With a confident smirk, he laid back and waited.
Twilight and Trixie beckoned the others to join them. The Returners, eyeing Discord with naked disgust, hurried over. Rivulets of sweat coated their bodies, though not a single wound stood out amongst the crowd.
Rainbow Dash reached the two former unicorn Imperials first and immediately wrapped Trixie up into a hug. “Thank goodness you’re all right. I don’t know how I did it but I’m glad I did.” She gave one last squeeze then turned to Twilight. “Alright, what’s going on?”
“Please tell us you have an idea,” Stardust said. “I’m running out of ethers.”
Twilight took a breath and nodded. “I think I do, and it’s going to take all of us to pull it off. I need you all to cast your most powerful magic and let Trixie runic it all.” Trixie gave Twilight a sharp look, but Twilight continued before she could say anything. “Are you able to reverse your runic and send the magic somewhere else?”
Trixie grimaced. “... Yes, but it’s going to give me a splitting headache afterwards.”
“If this works, it’ll be worth it. I’m going to morph into my esper form. You need to send all the magic from everyone here to me. I’ll then cast the most powerful spell I can manage. Discord will then try to block it or it’ll defeat him.”
The Returners took a moment to let this information sink in. Shining Armor came forward. “And… if this doesn’t work?”
Twilight lowered her head. “Then we fail.”
“Twilight, are you going to be okay?” Spike said. “This is… totally crazy.”
“If anyone here can handle that much magic at once, it’s me.”
“Chop! Chop!” came Discord’s voice. “Let’s not be dallying, now. I’ve got so many wonderfully chaotic ideas to try out!”
Twilight’s features firmed up, a heavy frown forming. “You heard him. This is our only chance. Let’s make it count.”
A long look passed between the Returners. A sigh escaped from Applejack, the earth pony swallowing past a dry mouth. “I’m tired of all this fighting. I want it to end.”
“Me too,” Pinkie Pie said. “I’ve got a lot of parties to plan at my new casino and I can’t do that while that big doofus is around.”
Rarity lifted up her mask. “I’ve always intended to retire this cowl once things were safe for my sister. Let’s give it one last hurrah to make it so.”
“Sounds lovely to me,” Fluttershy piped in.
Rainbow Dash thrust a hoof to the air. “Then let’s do it! No use waiting.”
All around, the Returners nodded and spoke their agreement.
“Well, at least Trixie will take center stage for a bit longer.” Huffing, she swept a hoof around her. “Stand around me and begin casting. Don’t hold back.”
One by one, the Returners made a large circle around Trixie. The surrounded unicorn raised her sword, the blade glinting in the unnatural light. Rainbow Dash smirked and cast first, a flaming bird forming above her and flying towards Trixie. Trixie’s runic sucked in the fire bird like a vacuum, the magic collecting at the base of her sword.
More and more Returners cast their magic, each spell gathered up and stored within Save the Queen. Trixie gritted her teeth in an effort to resist absorbing the magic into her horn, beads of sweet beginning to roll down her forehead. The sword glowed like a miniature sun, the magic inside waiting to be used.
Seeing this, Twilight burst into flame and leapt into the air. A pair of blazing wings sprouted from her back and lifted her higher into the sky. She spread her arms and wings wide, calling out, “I’m ready!”
“So is Trixie!” With a mighty roar, Trixie thrust her sword upwards, pointing the tip at Twilight’s back. A beam of pure white magic struck Twilight’s form, the esper jolting from the impact.
Twilight let out a reflexive cry as energy was forcibly injected into her body. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to manage the pain. The sensation of so much magic being poured into a little pony, even one as gifted as Twilight, was overwhelming. Every cell of her being threatened to overload and tear her apart. The only thing keeping her together was her esper heritage and even that was being stretched to its limits. With so much magic coursing through her, Twilight struggled to keep focus. It was tempting to let the power take over and let it lash out indiscriminately.
The vision of a small village filled with stone statues flashed through Twilight’s thoughts.
“You… won’t… get… away… with… this…”
Twilight’s eyes flew open, her pupils solid white. A word she had recently learned sprang forward, an appropriate name for the spell she intended to cast.
“Ultima!”
All of the gathered magic emptied out of her, coalescing into a single speck of blue light. It hovered in place for a second, then exploded outward into a giant sphere of destructive power. The magic expanded at an accelerated rate, reaching its intended target in an instant.
“Ooh, this is new!” Discord tossed away his empty bottle of chocolate milk and clapped his hands together. “You goodie-goodies sure don’t disappoint!” He reached out with a single talon and flicked at the oncoming Ultima spell.
His finger stuck.
Discord blinked and placed his lion paw against the oncoming ball of blue to push it away. His paw adhered to the magical surface like it was made of glue. Snarling, he kicked away his throne and pressed down with both hands, summoning his full magical capacity. The Ultima spell did not slow, no matter how much he pushed back.
His hands sank further down into the unstoppable magic, quickly reaching his elbows.
“That… this isn’t right,” Discord said, a tremble in his voice that he had never heard before.
He tried to pull away but the Ultima spell held him fast. Discord attempted to teleport his parts not contained within the spell away but even that was denied him. He willed his tail to detach but none of his powers responded to his commands. Discord’s fur and skin began to bubble and expand as he struggled to free himself. “No. No, this can’t be happening!”
Ultima continued to grow, unfazed by the chaos spirit’s plight.
“NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!”
Discord’s final defiant scream echoed out as his entire body became engulfed.
In a flash of blinding white, the Ultima spell winked out. No sign of Discord remained.
.o.O.o.
Twilight Sparkle wheezed and fell, her esper form evaporating around her. She sensed more than felt a force surrounding her and setting her gently on the ground. Sounds and sensations came muted to her, everything feeling distant as though experiencing events outside of her own body. A sense of numb detachment the likes of which Twilight hadn’t felt since wearing a slave crown over a year ago fell over her. Time ceased to have any meaning. Seconds, minutes, or even days could have passed. Perhaps she was dead, and this was her spirit letting go. Twilight didn’t have the strength or will to care.
The endless moment Twilight found herself in slowly faded away as voices began to filter through the fog. Unintelligible, but there were distinct variations in pitch and timbre. Her mind began to clear and she recognized that multiple creatures were talking around her. That revelation began a cascade of awareness as her numbness suddenly ceased to be, replaced by a weariness that engulfed Twilight like a twenty ton smooze.
“Ooooooohhhhhhhhhh…”
“She’s coming around.”
“Easy with that. We don’t want her to choke.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Sorry.”
Twilight’s eyes tried to open but all that she managed was to flutter them briefly before keeping them shut. The effort was too much even for that. Relying more on touch for now, she felt something being poured into her mouth and a set of soft appendages massaging her throat to ease whatever it was down. This continued for a few more minutes, but Twilight didn’t mind. Someone was looking after her and that was enough for now.
“How’s Trixie doing?”
“Give Trixie her sword so that she can stab her head with it!”
“About that well.”
A cough escaped from Twilight, spitting up some of the liquid. It dripped down her chin, but she didn’t care. Some strength came back into her body, allowing her to roll over onto her side.
“Take it easy, Twilight. Don’t try to do too much.”
“Whaaaaa…” Twilight slurred.
“You did it, Twilight! Discord’s gone. We haven’t seen him since you cast your spell.”
Twilight’s mind rebooted, allowing her to recall some of the events leading up to her current state. “Goooooooood…”
“Do you think it’s safe to move her? I don’t think we should stay around here any longer.”
“With Discord gone, this whole place could collapse.”
“Yeah, place her on my back. I wanna get out of here too.”
A pair of rough but strong arms wrapped around Twilight’s midsection. Twilight let out a groan of protest as this sent a whirlwind of turmoil through her stomach, nearly throwing up. Even as gentle as the arms were being, being picked up caused her head to spin, resulting in another pained moan.
“Sorry, Twilight. I’m being as careful as possible.”
The lift up was mercifully brief and she was soon placed down on a surface that was warm and soft. Twilight sighed, her body calming down and no longer experiencing loop-de-loops. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to let herself go and sleep for a week.
The sound of whizzing from above that grew louder by the second dashed that wish.
.o.O.o.
Shining Armor placed his sister on Stardust’s back with as much care as he would tuck his son into bed. Even so, Twilight protested every movement, prompting Shining Armor to finish quickly. He had just laid Twilight down, her face relaxing to such a peaceful expression that Shining wondered if she had fallen asleep, when a gasp from Spike jolted him. Shining Armor looked the dragon’s way, seeing him stare and point upwards. Following his gaze, Shining Armor drew back, taking in a sharp breath.
Above, four twinkling white stars hovered where Discord last existed. Many of the other Returners noticed too, a dull murmur spreading amongst them. The stars didn’t stay in the sky long, descending to an empty part of the field. They fell upon the still cloudy floor as gently as a feather, sparkling even more than before. With astonished eyes, the Returners witnessed the stars grow larger, stretching out and growing thin tendrils of pure white. Two stopped expanding within seconds, no larger than Big Macintosh, the tendrils growing more defined. Hooves and talons shaped themselves out of the tendrils, followed by wings and a horn. The glow from these stars faded, the whiteness retreading to reveal a white coat of a pony from one and a white and brown feathered griffon from the other.
Next to them, the other two stars continued to grow. One stopped at four times the size of an average pony, the image of a grand eagle with a serpentine body forming. Multi-colored feathers sprung out from a wide pair of wings, while four claws grasped at the air. A long snake-like tail ending with a tuft of feathers twitched on the ground.
The last star grew the biggest, twice as long as the other. Serpentine in form like the last, but with leathery wings, this star sprouted dark dragon scales along its entire length. Its head developed a pointed snout, two golden horns, and a single black horn protruding from its forehead. A mane of yellow and red ran down its back, flowing just past the wings. Four short but muscled forearms and legs finished the creature’s body, each pair sporting long golden claws.
All four newly born creatures shuddered, their breathing restarting after a year’s absence.
Shining Armor blinked and looked closer at the two smaller bodies. “Is that… Blueblood?”
“And Gilda?” Rainbow Dash asked.
The voices knocked Spike out of his stupor. “I think that’s… Tritoch. Yeah, that was his name.”
“Okay, yeah. But… who’s the last one?”
Standing next to Shining Armor, Spotter crossed his eyes as his horn sparked, Autumn Blaze flowing out of it and coming to land next to her summoner. Her body shook, her voice trembling as she said, “Th-tha-at’s Kaiser.”
Sunset Shimmer, staying close to Stardust to help with Twilight, drew back. “Oh, oh no.”
Blueblood, Gilda, and Tritoch began to stir, slowly blinking open their eyes and becoming aware of their surroundings.
The Kaiser Dragon’s revival happened quicker, the beast snapping open his eyes and revealing piercing red pupils. Those eyes settled on the Returners and the three creatures he had only recently been separated from. A deep bass laugh rumbled out of his throat, echoing across the cloudy expanse.
“Free. I am finally free.” The Kaiser Dragon pushed himself up then promptly sagged back down. The glow in his eyes dimmed as he visibly winced. “Ahh… too weak. Trapped… too long.” Taking a deep breath, the Kaiser Dragon wheezed out eight small motes, each colored differently. The little balls of magic shot off in all directions, disappearing beyond the black void.
This effort seemed to sap what little strength he had gathered. The Kaiser Dragon lay back down, taking long, slow breaths.
Sunset took this in, chewing her lower lip. Firming up her features, she trotted herself over to where she was in front of the Returners and said, “This is it. This dragon is our true enemy. I know we’re all tired, but we can’t let him recover.” She drew the Ultima Weapon and pointed it at the Kaiser dragon.
“Listen to her,” came the voice of a struggling Tritoch. The esper propped himself up enough to take in the gathered forces. “You must… finish this war. It will only… drag on with him… still alive.”
The Kaiser Dragon let out an amused snort. “You ponies are... one to talk. War… comes naturally to you. Or have you all forgotten the Empire?” He inclined his head towards Blueblood and Gilda, the two Imperials still having trouble recovering.
“Shut up!” Sunset roared and charged at the downed dragon. “This is for invading our home. This is for forcing my sister and I to abandon our poor ponies for a thousand years. This is for everyone!” She raised her weapon, its energy blade growing as she fed more power into it. With a mighty heave, she brought it down to cleave the Kaiser Dragon’s head from its body.
The ground beneath her erupted before she could make it. Sunset was flung back, landing with a thud. Groaning, she shook her head and looked to see what had prevented her attack. She gasped as the body of the Gold Dragon pulled itself out of the hole it had created, smiling wickedly at her from atop its tiny head.
The strange, cloudy enclosure that the Returners had been brought to shuddered. All at once, the clouds were blown away and a pinpoint of light appeared at the top. The light quickly grew, and then, like an egg being cracked in two, the black expanse tore apart. The two ends fell away, revealing the still floating debris of Discord’s sphere. However, their focus was not on that, but the seven draconic figures descending to the large chunk of land they now stood on.
The Kaiser Dragon chuckled at their stunned looks. “I would introduce you to my children… but I know you have already met.” Heaving himself up, the Kaiser Dragon spread his arms and wings out, basking in the moment. “You get the chance to play with them again. This time, it will be different.
“This world is mine. Enjoy your time alive while it lasts. Your hopes and dreams all end here. This will be your final fantasy.”
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Great, if these guys each are only 2% as powerful as Discord, this fights even tougher if they were starting fully fresh.
something like this Discord
Twilight’s eyes flew open, her pupils solid white. A word she had recently learned sprang forward, an appropriate name for the spell she intended to cast.
“Ultima!”
Yes that magic that killed me when I saw that Brachiosaurus basically disintegrate all my characters with one shot it was super annoying
So the fourth one was that one and I think it was one of the toughest super boss of Final Fantasy 6 although I did not play the other version because the Super Nintendo doesn't have him that's too bad I would love to test my skills on this dude
The Kaiser Dragon chuckled at their stunned looks. “I would introduce you to my children… but I know you have already met.” Heaving himself up, the Kaiser Dragon spread his arms and wings out, basking in the moment. “You get the chance to play with them again. This time, it will be different.
“This world is mine. Enjoy your time alive while it lasts. Your hopes and dreams all end here. This will be your final fantasy.”
Oh geez so this is going to be Like A Boss Rush great 😰 I wonder if ember is there or Oh dear spike sister the white dragon
So it looks like the battle is on the returners did everything they could try to hit him with the weapon using Magic on him but it just feels like he's just toying with them which that would be a waste a lot of magic and Power but it looks like Twilight has another plan but it's going to be the most dangerous one ever and it might kill her she has a plan to use all the magic from every other ponies and creatures on Trixie to reflect their magic on Discord and Twilight using her esper form to use her strongest magic of all ultima and it looks like Discord did not see this coming any try to reflect it but nothing in vain and he was in golfed and disintegrated him but it looks like it took a toll on Twilight but they finally got rid of Discord but unfortunately their celebration got cut off shortly it looks like the other ones who were trapped inside of Discord is glida prince Blueblood ( which I'm still surprised that he is alive after being stabbed through the heart ) and the esper Tritoch and the fourth one is a dragon but not just any of the Dragon it's Kaiser one of the leaders of the Chaos Dragons and they must kill chaos ( yeah I know it's a meme if you ever saw the trailer you know why lol ) but he didn't come alone the other dragons who the returners face off from the previous battle now they come to Aid him so this is going to be the final battle of Final Fantasy this is getting pretty intense right now and and I can't wait for the next one
I have a very, very important question to ask and it defines if this story is worth reading, because FFVI:
Does it include at some point a pony suplexing a train or otherwise huge thing that they had no business ever being on any side of said suplex?
10879618
Ohh like what they did in final fantasy 7 on Ruby weapon
To the chaos dragons
10879618
Check out the chapter "In Which a Meme is Born". Be warned, The Wyld Stallynz are not responsible for any sudden, unexplained happenings that may involve heads exploding.
I hope Gilda and Blue die in the crossfire of the coming battle.
And the 3D version, for posterity.
10881339
Now that is an awesome power right there
10881456
Funnily enough, the Japanese version of FFVIII also includes a reference to Final Fantasy.
10881461
Wow thats awesome I didn't know that
Defeat one evil only for another to take its place. Thing are never easy huh?
Don't think I didn't see what you did here, you sneaky author you.
10881899
It never was
The conclusion to the battle was amazing. Found myself humming the medley credits afterwards before remembering the Kaiser Dragon and the fact that Discord was a hodgepodge of Kaiser, Tritotch, Blueblood, and Gilda. Now the real fun begins.
Side note: The last line reminded me of Final Fantasy VII: Machinabridged.
Somewhere in the multiverse, Kimahri let off a sneeze.
If that isn't a reason to fear death...
I was just asking is this story going to continue on
10987242
Yes, definitely. I'm too close to the end to quit now.
Next part is being worked on. It'll be posted when it's done.
10987833
Oh ok got it
10995203
Thanks for giving this a shot! Hope the rest lives up to your expectations. You came in at a good time as we're nearing the end of this sucker.