The Beginning and End
Well, here goes. This is my very first extra special fanfic. Hopefully you like it, if not, tell me why in the comments. I suck at introductions, so this will be a little rough. Here goes nothing!
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Twilight Sparkle stood atop a mountain, looking over Ponyville and the chaos Discord had wrought. It hurt just to look at, and was changing even as she watched. She could barely call it Ponyville anymore even, it was so warped and... wrong. A profound sense of wrongness just oozed from the town, chilling her to the core.
Night came, blessedly, shrouding the town in darkness for a few minutes. She turned from her silent vigil, looking up at the bottom of the mountain. She had originally entered through a small cave, which seemed to slope downwards, but still ended up at the top of the mountain. More of Discord's games, more chaos, all so wrong. She sighed, looking down at herself. Her once lavender coat was stained gray by Discord's taint. As she watched, she was slowly losing more color from her hooves.
"It's not fair! This is all so terrible!" Her sudden outburst startled Spike, who dropped his bundle of sticks. They clattered and rolled all over the ground. He shivered and gathered them up, starting a fire with his natural dragon breath. Even though the sun was now high in the sky and shining bright, it felt like the middle of winter. As the fire crackled and sparked, he went over to Twilight. He wrapped his arms around her, and as tears fell unheeded from her eyes he tried to comfort her.
"Come over to the fire, you're going to freeze if you don't." He tried to lead her in that direction, but she stubbornly refused.
"What's the point? Chaos has won, I won't last long now." The temperature was suddenly raised to sweltering heat as the sun set.
"What do you mean 'won't last long now'? Don't talk like that, Twilight, you're going to be fine."
"No, Spike, I won't. I'll just become grayer and grayer until eventually I fade away. It's the punishment for failing Princess Celestia, for failing my friends, for failing all of Equestria." Her voice rose as she listed, echoing off the mountain cliffs.
"You didn't fail anyon-"
"Yes I did, Spike. I am... or was, the Element of Magic. The others depended on me, I was all that held them together. Without me, the others strayed from their elements, rebelled against them. Then the elements fought back, they're all gone now." This time she got quieter, falling to her stomach, the last word barely a breath.
"Isn't there anything that can be done? Princess Celestia wouldn't just abandon us, right? Why not try contacting her?" Spike's voice grew hopeful, if there was one thing Twilight loved to do it was writing to Celestia.
"She did abandon us, Spike. She sent us on this mission, knowing we were woefully unprepared for the challenges to come. She left us, her and Luna both."
"I don't believe that! Princess Celestia would never leave her faithful student alone t-... to die." A tear slid down Spike's cheek. He pulled out a scroll and quill, determined to do something, a routine that would snap Twilight out of this. "Come on! I'll start for you. Dear Princess Celestia. What would you like to say to her?" He waited, tapping the quill and his foot.
"Dear Princess Celestia, Discord won, Harmony in Equestria is dead. Thanks for you time, your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said sarcastically. "What does it matter, she wouldn't reply anyway. Just like the last two we sent." It was true, over the past couple of days they had sent a couple of letters with no reply, but Spike was desperate to see the Twilight he knew, and not this sad and pathetic creature before him.
"Come on, Twi, you gotta try, for me. Please." He paused for a moment, "They were my friends too, you can talk to me." She just covered her head in her hooves.
"They weren't my friends anymore, Spike. Discord ruined them, twisted them. He killed them the moment he cast whatever spell he cast on them. Now they're gone, forever, and I'll be joining them soon." She shivered as a blast of icy wind enveloped them. Spike sighed, trying to discern something that he could put in the letter, but none of that would help. Twilight wasn't acting like herself at all, and it was all Discord's fault. Spike wanted to find that particular draconequus and... he didn't even know, but it would be painful. He walked over to Twilight and picked her up, putting her back on her hooves. Her coat even felt weird, not soft as it normally would be.
"Twi, you're not thinking straight now, Discord has done something to mess with your mind. You have to write this letter, get your mind on track. Even if it has to be your last letter, narrate it, please."
"Fine! You're kind of naggy, you know that Spike? Alright, so what do we have so far?" He showed her what he had written, Dear Princess Celestia. "Wow, you got really far, Spike. You're almost halfway done, what do you need me for?" She looked quite serious. Spike stared at her blankly.
"Just say what you want and I'll write it, okay?" He held the quill expectantly, stretching his fingers. Letters tended to be quite long, and his hand cramped up.
"Alright, so let's see, where to start? Dear Princess Celestia, this is my very last letter to you. We've failed in our mission, Harmony in Equestria is dead, along with my friends. Applejack was the first to go, being exposed to disharmony the longest, though she wouldn't have admitted it. The liar told her last lie when she said, 'I feel perfectly fine!' she just faded away, leaving her necklace, which Rarity was quick to snatch. The others followed quickly, as that provoked Fluttershy to say something and it set off a chain of events in which they all just disappeared. I watched them fight, unable to stop them. I ran, unable to watch as my friends basically killed each other with their actions. Spike and I ran from Ponyville, though I can hardly call it that anymore. Where are you, Princess, when we need you the most? You and Luna were the earlier Element holders, could you not tell us that if Discord won and chaos ruled, that it would cause a backlash from the Elements? Could you not come and help us? No, I bet you and Luna left right after we went into the labyrinth. You didn't expect us to defeat Discord at all, did you? You just sent us as cannon fodder so you could escape, gather your strength, try again later. Whatever, you don't answer my letters anyway, so why am I even asking? I'm sorry, Spike's giving me that look that says I went too far. Can't change it now, ink dries fast you know." She broke off narrating, "This is pointless, you know I'm right. The only reason the Princesses wouldn't reply to our letters is if they are dead or they ran. Discord definitely would have gloated all over me if he had managed to kill them, so they must have run. Actually, he would have gloated if they ran too... bah! He's the literal embodiment of chaos, who knows what he would have done." Twilight was really worked up over this stamping her hooves and turning more and more gray. As she noticed this, she stopped. "Not much of me left, is there?"
Spike nodded, tears running freely down his face, both at Twilight's words and actions, and at the thought that he was about to lose the single most important pony in his life. Twilight was his mother, his friend. What would he do without her?
Twilight looked at him and stopped, just froze. A flash of emotion stabbed through her. She realized what she had said. She had been slandering the Princesses in a letter addressed to them. That was nothing like her. More of Discord's meddling. "I'm sorry, Spike. I got out of control for a minute there, didn't I?" She sounded very remorseful, as Spike nodded.
"It's good to hear you're getting back to your old self, Twi." Spike looked down at the letter, now stained and in some places ruined by tears.
"Right, now, back to that letter. Where was I?" She thought for a moment, "Oh, right! Start a new paragraph, Spike. 'I'm sorry for that last part, Princess. Discord's influence is hard to ignore. I'm just so frustrated, and now I'm starting to fade and die too. I know that whatever you and Princess Luna decide, its for the good of all Equestria. Anyways, this letter is kind of getting long and ramble like. Time to reign it in. As my colors fade, I cry out to you, but you don't answer, you never answer. Why have you allowed this to happen? I refuse to believe that Harmony is truly dead in Equestria, but the protectors of it, us living embodiments of the Elements are all gone. I feel it, it's coming. Dear Princess, the lesson I learned today is that sometimes everything just fades away..." This isn't exactly what Twilight had said, but Spike left out some parts in the letter because she had spoken so fast. As the end came, she had screamed many things she would have regretted if she was still around. But it was only Spike.
He took the letter, reading it over and, judging it to be good, sealed and sent it. He didn't expect anything back, but it seemed right, these were Twilight's last words, they needed to be recorded. He sat for a long time, sat and cried. The world around him was ending, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. He sat and cradled the Tiara that sported Twilight's cutie mark, having saved it from the trash. He cried, for his friends, for Twilight, for the world, for himself. Then, something happened. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly he heard a voice, taunting and evil.
"Well, aren't you a sad sight." Spike turned, and beheld the vision of the one creature he hated above all others in Equestria.
"Discord!" He stood, still holding the tiara, the only thing he had left of Twilight. "What do you want? Come to gloat in your victory?"
"Me, gloat? Never! I merely came to pay my respects to the dearly departed." He snapped his fingers, and suddenly he was holding the tiara. But, as soon as it entered his hands, he dropped it. "Ouch!" His lion paw hand was smoking as if it had been burned.
"What?" Spike was genuinely confused with this turn of events. Discord looked at the offending tiara accusingly.
"I should have expected this. Being an agent of chaos, the Element's of Harmony certainly don't like me. I never thought they'd be so rude though." His expression was one of deep loathing.
"Go away Discord, you're obviously not welcome here." Spike snatched up the tiara quickly, and was not burned. He looked at the jewel set in the center, and saw something, a twinkle of light. "Huh?" He whispered to himself.
"Oh come now, Spike, don't be so cruel. I'm missing some excellent chaos just to come visit you. The least you could do is be nice." He chuckled, "Great view you got, though. I can see almost everything from up here."
"Nice?! You ruined my world! Killed my friends! And drove Princesses Celestia and Luna away!" Spike worked himself into a frenzy, and the jewel glowed brighter.
Discord smiled, "So what are you going to do, attack me? You saw how well that worked out before! Harmony in Equestria is dead, and I have won! Accept it."
"I have something right here that can hurt you, and you know it." Spike held the tiara up, brandishing it like a dangerous weapon. The jewel was glowing almost blindingly bright.
"What are you doing? That worthless piece of jewelry shouldn't have any power left. Especially not with your friends being dead!" Discord almost looked scared, the eye with the smaller pupil swiveling around crazily.
Spike looked at the tiara, seeing past the light to... something. "You may have destroyed the physical representation of the bearers of Harmony, but their spirits live on!" He smiled, placing the tiara on his head. "Didn't you know, the Element of Magic is the most powerful, for it keeps the others in check. It is the balance point. As my friends faded, they didn't move on, they stayed right here. This held them together, and now every one of them will help me defeat you!" He charged at Discord, breathing fire as he ran.
Discord snapped his fingers and appeared where Spike had started his charge. "Oh, that's priceless! You look so ridiculous with that thing on your head!" He laughed, clutching his belly. "But, enough fooling around. You make a nice speech, but you're wrong. Desperately clinging to the last object that represents your friends, you're seeing things that aren't there."
It was Spike's turn to laugh. "You're scared, Discord. You know I'm right! I can see you trembling. You can see them too, can't you?" As Spike spoke, he stepped forward, closer to Discord. The jewel flashed, and suddenly standing next to him were the Bearers of the Elements. They looked odd though, transparent. They looked more like pony shaped explosions of light. But they advanced with Spike, eager to help him.
Discord looked terrified now. He tried to teleport away, but something was wrong. Fear gripped him, making him lose concentration. "So what? Even if they are here, you don't know how to activate the magic! Besides, you only have one Element!"
"I may have only the one, but it is strengthened by the presence of the others! Give up, we will beat you!"
The lavender colored light moved in front of Spike,and the others formed up around him. He looked around, smiling as his eyes slid over each one. Even though they were just light in the shape of ponies, he still was glad to see them. He recognized the pure white contrasting with purple of Rarity, the pink of Pinkie Pie, the multicolored Rainbow Dash, the yellow and pink of Fluttershy, and the orange of Applejack. Of course, then his attention focused in front of him, to the lavender of Twilight and beyond her the chaos of Discord.
"Now Discord, your defeat is here. I'll make sure you never return to hurt anyone else again!" Spike began floating, accompanied by the Light-Ponies. His eyes closed, then opened with a bright flash of light. The others circled him, adding their strength to his. A furious rainbow shot up, arcing around to strike Discord. He screamed in agony as he just disappeared. No turning to stone for him, that was too easy for Spike's tastes. As the magic faded and his feet touched ground, he looked around and found that nothing had changed. Well, that wasn't true, Discord was gone. But Ponyville was still chaotic, he was still standing at the bottom of the cliff looking down on it.
"Discord is gone, but his influence remains. You must work hard to restore the balance, we can no longer help you." The voice was Twilight's, but also it wasn't. It was strange, like an echo of her voice. The others faded, until just she was left.
"Goodbye, Twilight. I love you." Spike dropped the tiara, it's glow now gone, it seemed dark and cold.
"Goodbye, Spike." And then she, too, was gone.
Spike sighed and began the long trek off the mountain. It was going to be a long road, alone. He would have to save Equestria though, and move on.
~The End~