//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: The Final Chapter // Story: Twilight VS Anime // by Lupine Infernis //------------------------------// 1055 AD, April 19th Previously on Twilight VS Anime… “Yo, yo, yo – we be the Alicorn Sisterz!” Celestia waved her hooves randomly while wearing sunglasses and talking hot smack. “Shout out to all the dudes and dudettes who don’t try to ship us together!” Luna said with equally ridiculous posing. “What?” Twilight pondered. “Also, your friends are out of it.” Twilight’s friends collapsed for some reason. “What?” “Don’t worry, my love!” Trixie shouted as she, Iron Bull, Lightning Dust, and the Flim Flam brothers broke through a wall to start beating up the sisters. “We’ll save you!” “What?” The sisters fell, defeated, and their prisoner was released from her shackles in a burst of moe, magical princess-like energy. “I’m not happy about this.” Star Secret sighed. Twilight blinked owlishly. “… What?” The fabric of space and time suddenly ripped open, and Discord popped out to snatch up Star Secret, guffawing villainously. “El oh el – I am so evil!” “I’m still not happy.” Star Secret repeated blandly. “… WHAT?!” Episode 8 物事は奇妙な取得しようとしています Monogoto wa kimyōna shutoku shiyou to shite imasu – The Final Battle: Cataclysm of the Reigning Lord Reality didn’t so much as break as give up and commit seppuku when Discord crashed through the fabric that kept the universe woven together. Twilight literally heard glass shattering as anomalous holes and cracks formed in the air, spreading and widening and giving glimpses of the unknowable dimension that occupied the same space as the world she knew; colours she could not imagine nor comprehend flashed against the sky – was it the sky? It could have been the ground sea – as the throne room’s walls and windows dissolved away until only the floor remained. Even the crowd on the bleachers were sent away in a flash of white light, leaving only a few foam hooves and assorted cans of soda. It floated sat hung in the expanse of this alternate dimension, and Twilight took several steps back, experiencing a sensory overload; it was all she could do to keep her gaze on Discord. Discord, who was even larger than he had been in Ponyville, so large that she could only see a portion of his upper body and head; his arms weren’t attached to his torso, and instead stretched out of swirling vortexes of blue-white energy in different spots. One was clutching Star Secret – still frowning and itching to smack a filly – as if she were a doll and the other was flexing its eagle-like talons while dripping with molten hot lava lightning. Twilight groaned and rubbed her temples. ‘Oh stallion, I am so going to get a migraine from this…’ “I am so very surprised you managed to make it this far,” Discord boomed with a flash of his immense teeth in his giant maw. His neck spasmed in and out of existence, and Twilight caught glimpses of a second mouth without lips and lined with triangular teeth. “Not unpleasantly, mind you. After all, there’s nothing more satisfying than doing something with your own two hands, isn’t there?” “It’s the guy that bullied us!” Trixie cried, pointing her accusing hoof… accusingly. “Quick –beat him up and Trixie shall steal his lunch money!” Twilight’s friends – both old and new – moved as one and leaped high into the air towards the towering behemoth with an updraft so powerful that it caused her to stumble forwards and faceplant. As expected, she was ignored, and her friends let out powerful and dramatic battle cries as they heroically met the Lord of Chaos head on. Discord was not intimidated. “Oh come now…” With a snap of his talons, the space around the heroes distorted as time was forced to move at a snail’s pace, effectively freezing them in mid-air. “You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?” He snapped his talons again and summoned several pony-sized phantoms of himself that assaulted the heroes with a hundred punches; at first none of them reacted, but when Discord allowed time to revert, they contorted and shuddered violently as the energy of the punches came simultaneously. Many were blown back by the sheer inertia and those that weren’t were knocked down into the floating island. “Muda muda…” Discord snickered, blowing on his talons suavely. “Now, while they’re down for the count, I think it’s high time I addressed the workponyship of my two remaining minions.” Celestia and Luna, still trembling and weak from their injuries, exchanged frightened glances. “Wh-what are you talking about?” Celestia asked, struggling into her hooves and turning to face her lord. “We did our best!” “And it seems as though your best wasn’t good enough,” Discord sighed forlornly. “Really, now – you two were supposed to be the strongest of my minions, and yet you were defeated by them anyway. How disappointing.” “Th-they teamed up against us!” Luna protested, joining her sister. “What were we to do? We were outnumbered!” “And outmatched. No point in attempting to exempt yourselves from punishment; truthfully, I never intended to keep any of you around anyway. All of you…” Discord grinned sadistically as his talons gripped the edge of the island. “Were just a way to get some good laughs.” His enormous talons easily slid through the island’s surface and sent out numerous cracks in the linoleum. A few raced beneath the alicorn sisters’ hooves; they stayed and stared in shock until the cracks began glowing red-hot, and with the waning reserves of their strength, they ran away just as blazing jets of fire billowed from the ground. “How could you betray us?!” Celestia cried dramatically as she and her sister cowered behind one significantly smaller and considerably annoyed Twilight Sparkle. “Chosen Killjoy! I… I know we may not be on the best of terms… what with my sister and I disabling your friends and generally driving you to insanity and everything… but surely you’ll protect us from this monster?” Luna nodded, eyes big and teary. “Yes! Surely?” “I mean, look at my sister – she’s so moe!” “Yes! Moe!” Twilight just sighed. “Princess Celestia, it’s kinda hard to believe you’re in danger when you’re running from fire, of all things.” Celestia blushed and cleared her throat with a fake cough. On the other side of the island, Discord rolled his eyes and pulled his talons out from the ground. The cracks that had formed were sealed up in an instant and the fires snuffed out. “Ugh, you’re the type that sits down with her friends and a movie, and just spends the entire length of it pointing out inconsistencies and flaws.” “You have no idea,” Rainbow Dash groaned from where she had been cratered into the floor. “I put on Assignment: Highly Unlikely 3 and she pointed out about 200 things she didn’t like. It’s a freaking action movie, for Faust’s sake!” “You can have a good action movie while keeping it within the realm of possibility!” Twilight cried. “I have to agree with her,” Star Secret nodded, completely unbothered by her captivity and the mind-melting dimension they were in. “Has anypony watched Blast Scenario: Final Cataclysm? That’s a realistic and enjoyable film.” “Exactly! I’m so glad somepony thinks that, too.” “That movie got one and half stars out of five.” Flim interjected from where he and his brother lay sprawled out across Iron Will’s back. “More like a third.” Flam corrected. Twilight scoffed. “Only because the critic was more interested in explosions and improbable feats of physical prowess.” “Okay, can we just get back on track here?” Discord waved his arms about in irritation, much to Star Secret’s displeasure. “I only rented this pocket dimension for about an hour, and the guy who owns it is a shark when it comes to haggling. Literally if you look at him from the right angle and through the seventh dimension…” Twilight rolled her eyes, but decided to drop the subject. “So… we’re finally here, huh? I’m guessing this is the ‘final obstacle’, so to speak? The last enemy to defeat in order to restore balance and logic?” “You say it as if it’s a simple task,” Discord laughed. “I am the final boss of the player character’s quest. I am the rope climb of gym class. I am that one math question at the end of the test that messes you up because it’s really simple when the other questions before it were super-hard. I am… Discord!” “Yeah, I figured,” Twilight sighed. “Okay, so… who’s going to fight you now? All of my friends at once?” “I’m not your friend!” Lightning Dust cried from somewhere beneath the pile of Fluttershy, Rarity, Trixie, and Applejack. “Also, I am about to suffocate!” “Friends? Oh ho ho, goodness, no…” Discord bared his teeth at her in a technical smile. “I’m such a pimp that I can no sell any of your friends’ attacks and smack them around like they’re a bunch of lamps.” “You smack around lamps?” Star Secret asked, drawing her eyebrows together. “No, my dear Chosen Killjoy… you are the only one that can stop me.” Twilight blinked. “What.” “I’m sorry, Twily…” Pinkie groaned, struggling to get up. She used her oversized sword as a crutch, but it achieved little. “His power is overwhelming. It’s like trying to resist a chocolate cake with ripe strawberries on top and shavings of white chocolate.” Twilight shuddered as she felt a droplet of Celestia’s drool land on her shoulder, and stepped to the side. “What am I supposed to do? I don’t even have powers, and I refuse to cave in to this insanity!” “You must, darling!” Rarity cried dramatically. “For the good of Equestria, you must find the strength deep within yourself!” “Remember what you said on the mountain!” Rainbow Dash added. “When you kept eating dirt and got super salty over it.” “Or when ya’ll first entered th’ throne room an’ said all tha’ good stuff ta th’ princesses!” Applejack chimed in, rolling on the pile to better face Twilight and inadvertently covering Lightning Dust’s flailing hoof. “Remember?!” Twilight did remember. “Sparkle!” Twilight blinked in surprise at the new voice and looked forwards, craning her head up slightly towards Discord’s hand. “Star Secret?” “I agree with you about this nonsense!” The captured mare shouted down, her expression fierce and determined. “I, too, believe this is outside of my comfort zone, but you must remember what is at stake here!” Twilight blinked again. “Logic and common sense!” Star Secret grunted as she struggled against Discord’s massive paw. “The forces of evil will always be opposed by the forces of good! Light will always battle against dark! You know this, Sparkle – you’ve fought against various enemies that would wish harm upon Equestria. With the Elements of Harmony, the manifestation of all that is righteous, you’ve chased away the dark that would smother us all! “But this new enemy… this ‘Anime’… it will not be defeated by the logic and sanity you desperately try to hold onto! Against improbably large swords…” Pinkie glanced at her weapon. “Against impossible feats of physical prowess…” Iron Will and Applejack looked at each other. “Against bombastic villains and heroes that have a penchant for explaining their back stories…” Everyone coughed to clear their throats. “It will fail! Think of magnetics, Sparkle! Think of positivity and negativity!” Twilight looked down at her hooves, her brow furrowing. “A positive force attracts a negative force…” “Anime is positive and your logic is negative,” Star Secret panted from the efforts of her futile escape. Still, she continued to fight. “To defeat it, you must become positive as well! You must repel Anime… with Anime!” Twilight grimaced in despair. “I… I don’t know if I can do it. I never wanted this; I just wanted to stay home and read a book.” “You can do it, Sparkle! You may not believe it, but there is Anime within you, within all of us. The magic and power of friendship? Overcoming immense odds by drawing on the support of one’s friends? Learning about oneself by facing numerous trials in life? Those are key elements in Anime, and they are elements you have already displayed whenever you and your friends accomplish a feat or learn an important lesson.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Learn… an important lesson?” “Dear Princess Celestia, I learned something today…” “… friendship is a wonderful and powerful thing…” “… real friends don’t care what your cover is…” “… the best thing to do is to stay true to yourselves…” “The potential for good and evil exists within every stallion, mare, and foal!” Star Secret cried. “And so the potential for Anime exists within us all! Find that potential, Sparkle; find it and bring it forth to repel the Chaos Lord. I know you can do it, Sparkle. I… I believe in you!!” Twilight pressed her lips together as her eyes watered. ‘She believes in me…’ She sniffled and closed her eyes, feeling an unfamiliar fire build in her chest. ‘She barely knows me yet she believes in me.’ “Faust, that better have gotten her moving…” Star Secret grumbled beneath her breath. “That was some grade-A fibbing,” A tiny Discord popped out of the giant Discord’s ear and gave her a thumbs-up. “You really are a politician.” “Yeah, Star Secret’s right!” Rainbow Dash nodded firmly, and pumped her hoof into the air. “Go, Twilight! If you can’t do it, then nopony can!” “Ya’ll can do anything ya set yer mind ta!” Applejack cheered. “Little pony, for the good of Equestria, you must find the strength within!” Iron Will shouted with a supportive flex. “Believe that you are worthy to be believed in by others!” “The Great and Powerful Trixie does not date those with low self-esteem. The only ones worthy of being courted by Trixie are those who are as great and powerful as she is! Show her that you are that type of pony, Senpai!” “You’re our best hope!” “Correct, brother! The best hope is what she is!” “I’m pretty much blacking out from asphyxiation over here, so rah, rah and support, support, now get your butt moving!” ”hooray…” Twilight felt the fire within spread through her body. Hearing wind chimes, she cracked open her eyes and saw pixels of white-purple light dancing about. She didn’t resist it. The words of her friends echoed in her head, of those with her… and beyond. “Something’s happening…” Coco Pommel stared in awe at the curling ribbons of prismatic energy that covered the sky. Deep within her soul, she felt a strong sense of power. And it wasn’t just her – the misshapen, titan ponies that persistently hunted Manehatten’s denizens had also stopped to stare up at the sky, and she could see the same form of energy leaving their bodies to float up into the stratosphere. “Suri!” Coco cried excitedly. “Do you see this?” “Coco, zip it, mmkay?!” Suri replied from somewhere behind her. “Mr. Ceph over here wants to show me a new trick~” ‘Mr. Ceph’ let out a tired groan. “Soarin, they’re doing it!” Spitfire held her hoof in front of her chest emphatically as she stared up at the swirling vortex of rainbow light that surrounded Canterlot. “Concentrate on friendship and give them your all!” “… Captain, we have literally just fallen off a cliff. Please take me to the hospital.” “What was that? I couldn’t hear you over the smell of the pie I brought for lunch and didn’t get to eat.” “That was four weeks ago! I’m sorry!” Twilight could feel it. She could feel the power of friendship flowing through her like a wild forest fire; it made her feel as if she had donned her Element and she was preparing to direct the full force of its magic onto her unfortunate opponent. But there was no Element to direct that power this time. She would have to deliver it unto Discord – by her own hoof and horn. Star Secret had spoken the truth: she might not like it, but if resorting to Anime’s own methods was the only way to utterly defeat the source of it, then there was nothing more to be said. Calling on the wellspring of power, Twilight ushered it to enshroud her physique in a ghostly, purple aura. Filled with determination, she puffed out her chest and glared daggers at Discord, her eyes glowing white and making her all the more intimidating. “Discord…” She said. “I… I…” “Ooh, what’s the matter, Twily?” Discord sneered mockingly, though on the inside he was twitchy with anticipation. “Suddenly lost your nerve? Don’t feel bad. You can just lie down and accept that my rule will last forever.” The remark further bolstered Twilight’s resolve. “I understand it all now, Discord. I understand why I have been sent on this journey,” She spread her wings, the tips of her primaries turning white with energy. “It was to give me substance, give me a reason to fight! I see it clearly; I see, now, why my friends have fought so hard!” “Yes, you tell him, darling!” Rarity cheered alongside the others. “To show me that if I do not fight… then I will never be allowed to rest and read my books in peace!” Her friends quieted and awkwardly looked at each other. “Er, well… I don’t suppose there’s a more grandiose reason than that, darling?” Twilight stabbed her hoof forward as the energy surrounding her frothed intensely. “For the crime of disturbing my peace and quiet with your explosions, exposition, filler, and distracting violations of the laws of the universe that we scientific ponies revere and swear to uphold, I, Twilight the Killjoy, shall deliver your comeuppance!!” The power within her growing to uncontainable levels, Twilight grimaced and let out a booming battle cry as her aura condensed and shot straight into the air like a geyser, shaking the very molecular bonds of the pocket dimension. “GRRRRAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!” Discord shielded his face from the blinding light, and his mouth was turned up in an excited grin. “Oh ho ho, yes! I knew you had it in you, Twilight Sparkle!” “Bravo, Twilight!” Celestia clapped happily as clouds of dust billowed from the geyser of power and blew back her mane. “Doesn’t it just make you wish to sing, Lulu?” Luna blew through her lips in disgust and covered her face with her wing. “Ugh, not under these conditions…” Twilight curled in on herself as a white coating of hard light washed over body. A slab of metal, diamond-tough and shining with lustre, materialized out of the hard light, covered in golden floral etchings, and adhered to her chest. It curled and stretched to fit her form as another flash of white burned the Element of Magic’s insignia upon it, bright pink and dazzling. The same metal materialized onto her hooves as protective shoes; they flowed up the front of her legs and stopped at the knees. Twilight unfurled in one grand gesture, and stretched out her wings; the white light covering them seeped down to coat her feathers before flashing to a bright purple aura that frothed and flickered, as if her wings were alight with oddly coloured embers. Twilight inhaled deeply; she crossed her forelimbs across her chest momentarily before throwing them out to the sides, dispersing the remnants of the hard light and the geyser of power, and letting out another shiver-inducing roar. “HYYAAAAGGGGHHH!!” Twilight crouched, shattered the floor beneath her when she jumped, and hovered at an altitude level with Discord’s massive head, wings spread but completely motionless, though she had no trouble keeping aloft. “This is the end of your reign, Discord!” Twilight yelled, wisps of purple light hovering in the black expanses of her eyes. “You’ll learn the power of friendship if I have to beat it into you!” Twilight Sparkle, the Chosen Killjoy A socially awkward mare about to throw down with a god Rainbow Dash’s eyes bulged out to ‘squee’ levels of size. “So… awesome!” Trixie panted heavily and futilely attempted to fan herself before inevitably fainting with a lecherous expression frozen onto her face. “Well, well – I certainly shan’t hold up this show,” Discord chuckled, summoning a gilded bird cage and tossing Star Secret in. He left her to float in the air as he cracked his fingers and scaled his size down. His feet touched the island and he stood straight, hands clasped behind his back, emitting an air of superiority and unimaginable strength. “Rule of Anime, my dear Twilight: going from large and bulky to small and lean means that one is a lot stronger.” Twilight said nothing as she floated back to the island. Her burning eyes bore down on him. Discord smirked fearlessly as he watched her descend to his level. “Of course, I can’t really be called ‘small’ seeing as even my base form still towers over you all by a considerable amount, but them’s the breaks when you hold enough power to shatter reality, isn’t it? Don’t feel too disparaged by…” Discord froze as Twilight’s armored hooves touched the ground and he found himself looking straight ahead rather than downwards. “Ah… you appear to have… had quite the growth spurt. I didn’t really notice that with all the posing you were doing.” “The arrogant are always blind, especially to their demise,” Twilight retorted, her mane flowing behind her in a dramatic wind. “Now, face me – the power of friendship will cast you down into a sunless purgatory!” Discord’s cheeks puffed out as he snorted amusedly. “Okay, that was lame. Heck, I’d have to work to come up with something as lame as-” WHAP Discord blinked as he found himself hurtling through the air, and blinked again as Twilight suddenly appeared before him, face cast in shadow and eyes like hovering spotlights as she raised both forehooves over her head. “Oh my.” CRACK Twilight raced after Discord as he plunged downwards, fast as a lightning bolt, and positioned herself in his trajectory to deliver a devastating uppercut that sent him twirling up. It all just came to her like she had been practising her whole life. When she called on her power to shield her body in a bright purple corona as she spiralled upwards to smash into and pass through Discord like a vengeful spectre, it was as easy as breathing. “This rush of power that courses through my veins…” Twilight looked down at her hoof and as she came to an abrupt stop. “It’s indescribable. It feels as if I can accomplish anything I set my mind to…” Twilight’s ears twitched as she heard Discord cough behind her, and clenched her teeth furiously; she lowered her hoof, spun around, and ascended even higher as her wings stretched out to their full span, the feathers glowing like a supernova. “But all I wish to do now is purify this baka with the guiding light of friendship!” “Alright, I get it!” Discord grunted as he brushed some dust off his chest and looked up, his face one of slight irritation. “Friendship is great, but it’s not as if it’ll…” His bottom jaw flopped down to his feet as Twilight roared and sent out a barrage of different coloured spheres of energy; the sheer, overwhelming number of them and their brightness briefly put his brain on hold as it struggled with the sensory overload. Once it recovered, a crooked grin spread across Discord’s face as he summoned two scimitars into both hands. “Ooh, now things are interesting.” He threw himself into the fray. The spheres of energy weren’t just numerous and bright; they were constantly shifting and moving about in complex patterns and shapes. There were seemingly no gaps for Discord to slip through, but he found them, and if he couldn’t, then he slashed at the spheres and made them dissipate. He was gaining ground, and Twilight upped the ante by charging some of the spheres that shot out from her wings with extra magic. Discord found this out the hard way when he slashed one, and it exploded violently, knocking him back. “You think this is tough?” He laughed, easily righting himself and coming back for more. His scimitars were blurs as he weaved through the gaps, slashed the spheres that blocked his way, and avoided the spheres with more luminescence than the rest. “Puh-lease – I invented the term ‘bullet hell’, and I was playing with tougher patterns than this when you were just a twinkle in the eye of your oldest ancestor!” Twilight growled and unexpectedly tossed in a crescent wave of energy with her sphere barrage. “I don’t know what a ‘bullet’ is, but I’m just getting started!” “Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!” Discord laughed maniacally as clanged his scimitars together and fired a ball of chaos magic that collided with the crescent wave and formed a massive explosion that he flew through, unharmed. “Don’t hold back!” He was close enough that Twilight’s spheres went by before they could formulate a shape, so she abandoned the assault and launched herself at him, her expression fierce with determination. They collided, and the shockwave of kinetic force sent nearby islands of floating rock twirling through the pocket dimension. “Whoooooaaaahh!!” Applejack held onto the holes she had punched into the floor for dear life as the island that held them spun around like a merry-go-round on a caffeine rush. “Iron Will was never a fan of the carnival!” Iron Will cried, struggling to keep his grip on the floor while the majority of those on the island clung to his hulking form for anchorage. “Uh, h-hey! Iron Will feels someone grabbing back there!” “So sorry, my friend!” Flam quipped. “Whhhheeeeeee!!” Pinkie exclaimed happily, forelegs wrapped around the minotaur’s horns while the rest of her body floated dangerously in inertia’s grasp. Twilight’s hooves were clutched tight between Discord’s hands, and the two pushed against one another for supremacy as they sneered, limbs trembling and beads of sweat rolling down their brows. Twilight’s bright purple aura flickered and churned like a great flame while Discord’s dark aura, somehow flashing with all colours and none of them at once, writhed and oozed; the two opposing energies emitted white sparks where they clashed. “Shimen soka, Twilight Sparkle…” Discord chuckled darkly. “Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight grunted, trembling as she was forced back inch by inch. “‘Defeat is clear’,” The draconequus’ eyes shone bright yellow as he suddenly pushed her hooves to the side and pulled his head back. “And so is the winner!” CRACK Twilight’s sight was flooded with stars as her head snapped back from the vicious headbutt, and she was too dazed to defend herself as Discord spun around, adopted a martial art stance, and drove his elbow into her gut. Spittle bursting from between her lips, Twilight shot across the infinite expanse of the dimension, her aura trailing after her like a contrail. Discord went after her, putting on a burst of speed that produced another shockwave that resonated across the area and sent several more small islands flying. Catching up and overtaking Twilight quickly, he halted in her path, snatched her by the back of the head in his talons, and dove down into a floating land mass. “Here’s some dirt in your eye!” That sentence was more painful to Twilight than having her face smashed into rock and grinded against it for a dozen or so yards. With a flash of power, she shot out another barrage of energy spheres from her wings; they exploded instantly upon making contact with Discord, and the explosion fractured the island in half while sending them both flying off in different directions with contrails of smoke. Twilight righted herself with a frustrated snarl. She needed more power! She needed to be more Anime! “Don’t think,” She murmured to herself, eyes shutting tight as Discord produced another sonic boom in the distance to come after her. “Just feel.” The wellspring of power within her intensified. “The rightful light of justice will crush you with its righteous light!” Twilight roared as her power swelled in her throat and surged forth as a massive beam of destruction. Discord stopped as soon as he saw the beam, and crossed his arms in front of himself. He was on guard, and prepared to take the full brunt of the attack once it was upon him. ‘… Although, I could just move out of the way. I mean, it’s taking quite a while to get to me. Come to think of it, I could have used the time I’m spending thinking about dodging to actually just-’ Discord was swept up in the rush of purple energy, and his thoughts on dodging were dashed against the rocky face of a floating island. Also, his face. Also, his pride. The terrific power of the blast carved away the island’s formation like a chisel against stone, and still had enough strength to continue drilling through three more masses before finally dissipating. Discord groaned as his smoking and charred body stopped tumbling and he could balance himself out. “Oof, that’s a big owie!” He conjured up an aspirin bottle and shook out three pieces of candy into his paw while looking ahead through narrowed eyes. “My, my – she hit me quite a ways; I can barely even see-” Twilight suddenly flash-stepped in front of him. “Oh, now I can see you much bet-” POW Eventually their island stopped spinning at such speeds to make them fly off, and Twilight’s companions could finally stand and keep their balance long enough to watch the fight from afar. It wasn’t hard; the auras that surrounded Discord and Twilight made them stand out against the eldritch skies, and the shockwaves from their titanic blows made visible distortions in the air. The strongest of them could even be felt. “My, she’s quite motivated,” Rarity said, awestruck as she watched her friend conjure a great dragon of magic to attack Discord. “Ooh, you know, this has inspired me to create a new line of dresses that showcase these spectacular visuals.” “I knew Twily had it in her!” Pinkie sniffled, full of pride as she wiped away a tear. “They grow up so fast…” “She is certainly strong, but I fear that Discord is toying with her,” Celestia grimaced worriedly as she watched Discord counter the spectral dragon by ripping a hole in reality and allowing the tentacle of some inter-dimensional being to slither out and pull the poor thing in. “As powerful as she currently is, there is a reason that she had to come here, and that reason is…” Celestia trailed off and blinked as if just remembering something. Turning around, she scanned the skies until her gaze settled on a spinning cage in the distance that’s momentum had yet to run down. “Whoops.” “You’ll never defeat me, Sparkle!” Discord cackled sadistically as he pulled an enormous sword out of thin air; its serrated blade was hewn from obsidian and its hilt and pommel fashioned from quartz. The length of the sword surpassed Discord’s height by several inches, but with no ground or wall to scrape against, he was free to use it to deadly effect. “Gyah!” Twilight was flung back several yards as the greatsword slashed her across the chest, inexplicably leaving her skin untouched but smacking her with the force of a train. She smashed into a floating land mass, sending up a cloud of dust and chunks of debris. Dazed, she had no chance to react when Discord suddenly materialized in front of her, turning the sword to the side and slamming the length of the hilt against Twilight’s neck. “To survive chaos, one must be strong; to wield it, one must be beyond strength itself.” Twilight grimaced and bared her teeth as she struggled to push the sword and Discord’s combined weight off her. “Glk! Grrr!” Discord laughed merrily at her struggles and pushed harder; his other hand grasping the edge of the immeasurably sharp blade was completely unharmed. “You are strong, Sparkle, but that’s just it…” He leaned in close, his sneer widening to cheek-splitting proportions as his eyes glowed brightly in joy. “‘Strong’ has its limits. You were a fun match, but now I think it’s time to end this.” Twilight winced in pain. “Erk…” Discord continued sneering at her. Twilight continued struggling. Discord blinked. “Hrf…” “… Yes… that is to say, the Chosen Killjoy shall soon be stricken from her friends’ memories, and become nothing but a fleeting thought of what could have been.” Discord said rather loudly. Twilight gave him a look of confusion through her discomfort. Discord blinked again. “I, Discord, will defeat Twilight Sparkle!” He shouted, clearly enunciating each syllable. Twilight blinked. “Bad guy is going to win! Very bad, much despair!” “…?” A few seconds of awkwardly matching each other’s stares later, Discord yelped as something large, metal, and yellow smashed into him from the side; the sword pinning Twilight to the island also vanished into wisps of shadow, allowing her to finally free herself from the rocky crevice she had been embedded in. “Wh-what was…?” Twilight gasped, rubbing her throat. A giant bird cage slowly spun away from her, along with the glowering captive inside that just reeked of annoyance and tangible rage. Twilight had no idea that someone could smell angry. “Sorry I’m late!” Celestia shouted off to the side, looking very sheepish. “I was meant to toss her over when Discord had you pinned, but it took a while to… I-I mean, look! I have found Star Secret and brought her here! Quickly! For you to join forces!” Twilight blinked in puzzlement, and Star Secret groaned before muttering, “We’re to hold hooves, and I’ll transfer my power over to you so that you’ll finally have the power to match Discord.” “Oh. Oh! Yes, it all makes sense!” Twilight lit up her horn to break the cage’s door off and levitate Star Secret out of her prison. “The power of our friendship will chase away this foul darkness!” “I somewhat regret having turned you onto the same path of insanity as the rest,” Star Secret sighed, one eye twitching as Twilight hugged her tightly. “Also, I’m pretty sure I said, ‘hold hooves’.” Star Secret’s words were drowned out as Discord materialized in front of them, shattering the cage as if it were glass, and growing back to his titanic size with an enraged roar that shook the dimension’s fragile, ether tethers. “You’re a pain in my side!” He bellowed, pointing a house-sized talon at Celestia, who stared blankly for a second before remembering to squeal and cower in terror. “I’ll split you into seven pieces and scatter them into seven different volcanoes so you can burn in agony forever!” “No, you won’t!” Twilight shouted boldly. She didn’t even flinch as Discord’s massive face turned to glare down at her. “The Chosen Killjoys stand together, and it is our burning hearts with which we shall stop your reign of tyranny! Right, Star Secret?” “I’m gonna shove crystals in your face when I take over Equestria…” “What?” “Nothing.” “Oh, how cute, you think you truly have a chance just because you’ve a got a little friend,” Discord was too annoyed to even snort in derision, and just raised one huge hand that held a burning black sphere of fire that grew larger and larger with each second. “At least you won’t be sent to the afterlife alone!” He spiked the fire sphere, and Twilight and Star Secret vanished in an enormous explosion of ivory and ebony flames; the shockwave of heated air cast Celestia aside like she was made of paper. “And now for you.” Discord’s paw snatched Celestia before she could fly away, and brought her up to eye level; his glowing eyes narrowed and his lips pulled back maliciously as he watched her struggle futilely. “Take comfort in the fact that you’ll be the first, and you won’t have the unfortunate luck of watching your sister suffer. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha!!” “Ah hah hah hah hah hah…” “Ha… ha ha… ha…” Discord’s mirth died down. “Er, is there an echo in here?” “I think I understand now…” Discord blinked and turned back to the cloud of smoke that was formed from his attack. “You villains just want to rule it all, don’t you?” Two orbs of white light surrounded by purple flames hovered through the smoke, and as the cloud dispersed, they were followed by a churning cloud of miasmic energy, specked with clusters of star systems and swirling nebulas. “You feel all this power swelling through your body, and you so, so badly just want to show it off, don’t you? It’s not enough that some ponies know your strength, everypony has to. It would be a crime for them to not acknowledge how powerful you are, how equal you are to an omnipotent deity.” Twilight stepped out of the smoke, literally walking on nothing; her legs were long and toned, her body covered in iridescent fractures, as if she were one step away from breaking apart like a chunk of earth. Her wings were spread wide, and the feathers shimmered with all the colours of the rainbow whilst emitting burning white flames. Discord’s eyes went wide, and he unconsciously loosened his grasp on Celestia, who was quick to fly as far away as possible. “And because you are so strong, you must make others miserable because by making them feel weak, it makes you feel even stronger,” Twilight chuckled darkly as she fearlessly approached the behemoth that towered over her ten-fold. “But really, it just shows how dependent you are on how others think of you. A true god doesn’t need to prove anything.” “Wow, that’s… some power you’ve got there…” Discord chuckled nervously. Hearing the quiver in his tone, he brutally crushed it out, and drew himself up arrogantly again. “But turning into some over-edgy character thought up by a foal with the loosest definition of ‘cool’ will do you little good; I am still the Lord of Chaos, and before me, you are still a gnat.” Twilight merely shook her head and closed her eyes. “I could be the weakest and smallest gnat, and I would still be looking down on you, ‘Lord’.” Discord’s cheeks burned bright red with anger. “Unfortunately for you…” Twilight opened her eyes. “I am not small nor weak.” Discord snorted contemptuously. “You’re right: you’re dead.” He clapped his hands together, brought them high over his head, and pulled them apart to summon an enormous ball of black and white fire. “Now, for the love of your new Lord, die already!” He threw his arms down, and the fireball – more like a miniature sun – hissed and spat as it travelled forwards, seeking to finally crush the rebellious pony once and for- Twilight leapt at it, drilled right through with her hoof extended, and emerged out the other side, sending the chaotic sun into supernova; the explosion behind her cast her face in shadow, leaving only her eyes to glow as if she were a vengeful spectre. Discord merely blinked in shock, and wondered how in the world his attack was so easily defeated… Right before Twilight’s hoof crashed into his chin. The deep, booming noise of the impact sent shockwaves across the dimension, so powerful that they ripped apart the bonds that held the fragile plane together. As Discord’s massive form was carried upwards by Twilight’s punch, the space above them shimmered, wavered, and… Fractured. “Oh…” Rainbow Dash blinked as the tear in reality widened further like a gaping maw, and swallowed Twilight and Discord in a flash. “Oh.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened as the blinding white ‘nothingness’ zig-zagged towards her and the others. “Oh!” Rainbow Dash turned to run, as did everyone else, but she was pulled up into the air by an irresistible force, and flailed in panic as one by one, they were sucked into the fracture. “W-wait, this totally isn’t what we plaaaaaaaannnnn- Crashing through multiple barriers that separated one plane of existence from another wasn’t the most pleasant experience – never mind the hoof that continued applying force to his poor, poor chin – but Discord still managed to catch glimpses of what lied beyond the beyond as they passed through. It helped take his mind off the hoof that was giving him the most severe uppercut in all of the multiverse. In one dimension, two-legged hairless monkeys with technicolour skin were singing off against other monkeys in what appeared to be a concert. In another dimension, what appeared to be Applejack was swinging around a huge warhammer, locked in battle against a giant wolf with a sword in its teeth. In yet another dimension, what appeared to be Nightmare Moon was facing off against another hairless monkey with pink skin and a suit of plate metal. Several fleeting looks of other strange and fantastic universes passed by before the pressure on his jaw eased up; even so, he found his body paralyzed by the sheer ferocity of the blow. Hanging in the empty, unknowable space that was the ‘Between’ of the universes, Discord watched in equal parts awe and fear as Twilight arced above him like a purple comet and began gathering her energy. “For all of the innocent you have threatened…!” Twilight’s power swirled around her in a maelstrom of purple and black wisps. “For the nation you tried to impose your tyrannical rule on…!” Twilight coiled her right forehoof all the way back. “For the reading of my books that you have interrupted…!” Twilight pushed her forehoof down and plunged towards Discord’s face with a contrail of rainbow light streaking after her. “Kishi Kaisei: Shattering Blow of the God Slayer!!” Discord smiled weakly as his world was set ablaze. “I knew… you had it in you…” Elsewhere… The Hyper Omega Extended Uncut Cutie Mark Crusaders watched, shell-shocked and pale, as the last of Diamond Tiara’s cardboard fortress crumbled to the street; the magnificence and visage of power it once held completely exempt. Now it served as both Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara’s tombs. “Is it finally over?” Sweetie Belle whispered hesitantly. “Yeah, it is,” Apple Bloom looped her foreleg around Sweetie Belle’s neck and held her close, burying her tears in her friend’s mane. “It’s all done an’ done – no more runnin’.” Scootaloo watched them, and didn’t interfere; her heart was still heavy with her act of betrayal. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said they didn’t hold it against her anymore, not after she came back when it mattered, but that didn’t mean she forgave herself. … And it wasn’t just the weight of betrayal. Scootaloo found herself… missing Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. After spending the better part of three arcs with them, some form of companionship was bound to form. Heck – Diamond Tiara had actually given her some of her sundae. You don’t just forget something like that. But now they were buried beneath seven hundred pretend-tonnes of cardboard. A rather unfitting fate for the two ponies that had such impact on her and her friends’ lives – both the good and the bad. Wetting her lips and holding back her tears, Scootaloo turned to her remaining friends. “Listen, girls – I just… I wanted to say-” Her words were drowned beneath an odd and incredibly loud noise like somepony wiggling a sheet of metal next to a megaphone, and when the three fillies turned to face the noise, they were met with a quivering wall of rainbow light. The wall passed over them and continued surging across Ponyville, going through walls and buildings and ponies, leaving all undamaged but… “What was that?” Sweetie Belle asked. Apple Bloom jerked her hoof at a nearby house, a frown coming onto her face when it didn’t blow up. “Aww, shucks – ah think Twilight an’ the others finished their quest an’ junk.” “That stinks.” Scootaloo pouted, scuffing the dirt with her hoof. “Well, it was fun while it lasted, right?” Sweetie Belle said with a shrug. “Hey, who wants to try getting cutie marks in capturing crocodiles?” “Sweet!” “Tha’ sounds like a barrel of fun!” “Cutie Mark Crusaders Crocodile Capturers, yeah!” “Cutie Mark Crusaders Crocodile Capturers, yeah!” “Cutie Mark Crusaders Crocodile Capturers, yeah!” The three friends laughed in excitement as they charged off towards the ponds, leaving the many, many pieces of ruined cardboard in the middle of the road. Several pieces suddenly shifted, and Diamond Tiara poked her head out, blinking owlishly as she looked around. “Um? Hey! Don’t just leave us to clean this up! That’s beneath me! Ugh, where’s my butler when you need him?” Silver Spoon poked her head out next. “Uh, DT? Is that your hoof touching me?” “… No?” “… Help.” “Suri, Suri! The Anime is leaving us!” “Mr. Ceph, don’t leave me!” “Wow, I’ve never seen a squid look so scared before. Not even in my mangas.” Spitfire smiled proudly as Canterlot became awash with cleansing light. “You did it, girls. You did it…” “… Boss, am I supposed to still be hurt like this?” Meawhile… “Huagh… huagh… huagh…” As the rush of unfathomable power leaked out of her veins, Twilight was struck by overwhelming fatigue; it felt like the time Rainbow Dash dared her to do the Running of the Leaves in one of Rarity’s dress, though at least she wasn’t as sweaty. She was only partially aware of a solid floor beneath her hooves and the walls of Canterlot’s throne room around her. With monumental effort, she lifted her head to look around, and saw her friends – her closest friends – rushing over, their faces strained and concerned. She didn’t even notice that she was the same height as them again, and only had one question on her mind that demanded answers. “Girls…” She murmured tiredly, letting their words of concern drum against her like raindrops on a window. “Is… Did I…?” Applejack nodded and directed Twilight’s gaze to the side. “Yeah, ya sure did, sugarcube.” Twilight saw Discord lying in the middle of the throne room. Defeated. She could tell he was defeated because his eyes had been replaced by swirly black lines, his tongue was sticking out, and he was clutching a white rose to his chest. Twilight laughed and shook her head. “Finally… Logic… is safe. It was… a worthy life…” Twilight collapsed from exhaustion, and as darkness consumed her, the last words she would ever hear filled her head. “Come on, girls – help me lift her!” “Eugh, she’s all sweaty, and reeks of determination.” “Land sakes, Rares – just get her feet, would ya?”