//------------------------------// // The return of Dark Harmony Part 1 // Story: The love of chaos and harmony or the romantic adventures of the O&O gang // by Shadowlight Wanderer //------------------------------// Chapter 12 (Slight violence may occur in this chapter, I am stating this only for formality) The blur of white and blue lights, all foggy and in disarray. He was awaking slowly. Odd. And it meant something really, really bad. Slowly, his sight become sharper and Discord was able to recognize his surroundings. Some kind of cave. And in the far corner, he spotted his friends, laying down on the pile. He smiled. They were alive and in some areas the plan worked out. Then something else caught his attention. He was located far higher than them. He craned his neck and looked around. His irises quickly shrunk. He was wrong. This wasn't bad. This was critical. He was chained up to the Tree of Harmony. The chains were made of pure aura and bonded magic. Discord tried not to freak out. Not many things could scare him but...if he stay close to the Tree for too long, it could end up very badly. He tried to teleport or to make the chains disappear. Instead, his whole body exploded with pain and the smoke raised up from his skin. Discord hissed. No, they planned it too well. "Enjoying yourself up there ?" A voice spoke from the shadows" I sure hope so. Personally, I would just use you and get rid of such a pathetic trash, but Cruelty insisted upon this welcome gift. She is an idiot, like all of them, but I can admire the creativity. In that move there is that sweet sense of irony. The invincible god of Chaos tied up to his sworn archenemy. Even now it's draining magic from you and I wouldn't try to use any power you have left if you want to stay in one piece." This explains why I am so weak Discord thought. That made a lot of sense. The Elements of Harmony could banish him or encase in stone. But the contact with the very Tree...well, it could suck all the magic from him and then...he didn't want to know. "So this is your plan ? To destroy me here ?" "Oh, it would be to simple and short-termed. But I can assure you, having you out of the way is a very nice bonus" The pony stepped out of the shadows. Discord narrowed his eyes and inhaled hastily "Twilight ?" Indeed, there was a purple alicorn standing down below, somepony identical to a lavender princess Discord new all too well. But there it was getting complicated. The cutie mark, darker mane and eye colour, all different, suggested the presence someone else. And maybe the evil smirk and a hint of malice also gave the weird Twilight away. Alicorn flapped her wings, ascending to the level of chained draconequus. "You mean that idiot I took that body from ?" she started to laugh, looking Discord straight in the eyes " I am sorry to disappoint you, but goodie princess checked out and let Despair this body !!!!" ******************* A few minutes earlier Spike slowly opened his eyes. Where the hell was he ? He looked around. A cave...familiar cave...a Tree of Harmony ! He shook his head. All he remember was that explosion, Discord yelling and everypony running. Then those weird streams of light and... his head being hit from behind. Something was really wrong. He needed to get out of here and get help. He looked around. His friends were laying around, motionless. Spike sighed and stirred in the chains. His captors really did their homework, his handcuffs will be extremely difficult to bite through or even melt it down. But on the bright side, his legs weren't tied up. He started to crawl towards the centre of the cave and hid behind a rock. Then two voices started to speak. Spike carefully looked above the rock and almost got the heart attack. He saw Discord chained up to the Tree, looking as if in terrible pain, and somepony who resembled Twilight. But Spike knew her foster mother/guardian/adoptive sister long enough to see it through. That was definitely Twilight's body. But if it wasn't Twilight...then who was it ? And in that moment, his heartbeat increased when he noticed other ponies emerging from the shadows. ****************** "So, I hope you figured it out ? It would never allow myself to eliminate an idiot. Leader must have authority you know "called fake Twilight aka Despair. "You are a...product of Dark Self spell. A ritual that allows an individual to create a copy of anyone they desire. However, it brings back their worst flaws and instincts. But...I thought that it was long since lost, destroyed and forgotten" Despair flew closer and patted him on a cheek before gliding down to the ground "My superior being is a living proof that the spell isn't a legend" alicorn added quietly. "But it doesn't add up." Discord muttered " There is no way that someone from this time knows this magic. It had to be some creature from the Old Era... Sombra is destroyed, Tirek has no materials, Grogar is not supposed to appear until season 9..." His eyes got big "Chrysalis !" "Took you long enough " Despair growled " We have to stay on schedule, so I fill you in to save time, since you going to die anyway. You see, old bug indeed created me and my sisters from those pathetic harmony bearers. She wanted to use us to take over the Equestria, because we came from the ponies, who control the Elements of Harmony. But she miscalculated two things. Firstly, that we may not be satisfied with her ruling over us. And secondly, that we represent the exact opposites of the Elements, so the Tree may not be exactly thrilled to see us. It tried to kill us. But my brilliant mind predicted that and I managed to use some of my power to turn us into our original, wooden form, before the Tree managed to completely vaporize us. Still, dying hurt like a ***** !" She swore and started pacing around, her eyes not leaving Discord's. "Even the stone encasement doesn't hurt as your entire body melting down. But, as it turned out, it was still a price worth to pay. For you see, the Tree sucked in a large part of us. "But since you yourselves survived in that wood..." Discord interrupted " you were still able to corrupt the Tree from within. But it wasn't completely possible when you didn't have a real physical form. Come to think of it, that explains why Tree didn't protect itself, decomposing your logs. You waited for somepony to destroy that wood. You were able to posses your counterparts bodies. Those were the streams of light flowing through the forest. And now...you want to conquer the world by using the Elements, am I correct ?" Despair chuckled "I can't answer that. You are close, close but not quite. But I am not falling for a "proud villain explaining all the plan" trick. I want you to meet someone." Four ponies emerged from the shadows and marched to Despair's side, two for each. Their expressions varied from boredom to borderline wrath. "Those are the ones created with me, my warriors of new era, the Dark Harmony : Sorrow, Treason, Greed and Cruelty." she said, pointing at "fake copies" of Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy. Discord felt his innards turn into a block of ice. How could he let something like this happen ? He was supposed to be omnipotent god and he was took down and tied up like it was a piece of cake. He hissed once again as the smoke raised high in the air. The magic was leaving his body faster than expected. He didn't have time or luxury to be mad at himself. He needed to think of something. Fake Fluttershy, which Despair called Cruelty, flew slowly to his eye level. "Hi there sweetie !" she purred and Discord flinched, seeing Fluttershy's eye so filled with hatred "You will suffer a death thousand times after I will be done. I guess the fact that you can't die will make it even more fun." "You monsters...You will pay for what you've done to my friends. When I got out of here..." Discord tried to kept his voice calm, but seeing Fluttershy in such a state was a torture more than a pain caused by his magic being sucked away. "And who is going to stop us ?" Despair smirked " You ? Even if you somehow free yourself from those chains, before the Tree turns you into dust, you won't have a power to even teleport. The fatal flaw of Tree of Harmony is that it is more than willing to sacrifice itself for other beings. When it defeated for us for the first times, she absorbed our energy, but it couldn't purify it because we were still alive. We used it to corrupt it and now look at it". She pointed at the black crystal veins spreading from the point where Discord was chained up, to the black branches and the Elements themselves, partially consumed by blackness. "That Tree is stubborn. However, when it absorbs your magic, it will become weak and we will be able to retrieve the Elements for our use. So, thank you for your contribution, Discord." Discord shook his head, fixing his gaze in the distance "There is something more to it than that. I can feel that you're hiding somethingggghhh!!!" Discord bent in half when he was kicked in the stomach with full strength "YOU WILL NOT QUESTION US, YOU PIECE OF GARBAGE !!!!" roared Cruelty, Discord took a shaking breath "Fluttershy, I refuse to believe that you are gone. If you are still theeeerrrrrhh!!! Another hit followed. "If you are, give me some sign. I WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU !!!" A yellow hoof, flying down to strike, was suddenly stopped in the middle of the way. Cruelty looked at her limb with a hint of shock before the leg backed up, hitting her in her own face. "Agggh!!! You will pay for this ! " the pegasus flew down. The dark ponies gathered in group, discussing something in agitated manner. Discord managed to hear: "damned counterparts" and "relapses"." He smiled weakly. Fluttershy and the others were still there, prisoners in their own minds. Now the question remained: how to get them to the surface ? ***************** Spike held his breath when Cruelty was hitting Discord. Seeing draconequus so helpless was unnerving to the point where the dragon wanted to simply charge right ahead and free his friend. Only the remaining power of will ordered him to wait and come up with something better. Sadly, he realized that he may not be able to think of something good in time. He was never the best strategist. But then something caught his attention. Discord called out Fluttershy and pleaded for pony, who wasn't supposed to be here, to stop the violence. Cruelty shouldn't be affected by that. But she stopped. Now that was more interesting. That meant that the personalities of his friends was merely suppressed, not completely destroyed. Yet. From what Spike heard, Dark Six corrupted the Tree. It was mainly in their power, probably obedient to them. Elements themselves however, remained partially untouched. That untouched parts had to be Twilight and the girls. They had to battle for control with their evil counterparts. If only there was something to help get the upper hand...hoof...whatever. Suddenly, Spike felt his body shiver. That was why they needed the Elements out. With them, they would finish the corruption and with them turned to their side, completely overtaking the bodies they were now possessing. Spike knew that no matter the price, he had to keep the Elements away from the clones. He looked at Rarity, who was examining the cave with quick, nervous looks as if she feared that someone will took the surroundings away. Greed. Spike felt the need to get the evil spirit out of white unicorn and burn it with fire to make sure that it will never hurt Rarity again. No matter what will happen between the two of them in the future, if he doesn't help her now, she won't be having any future. And that was something he couldn't allow as long as he was alive. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice a pair of hooves grabbing him from behind. He tried to fight back but the grip was really tight. He looked up to met pair of dark green eyes, narrowed and hostile "You know, Ah really tired of a smartass who thinks he can trick the Mistress of Lies. I to loose, got that ? No one fools Deception. Nice fur ya have there " Blond mane fell over the eyes of the orange earth pony, as "Deception" leaned over her prey. Spike could only think two things "I am so screwed" and "the hell was that about the fur ?" ********************** "So you still have problems with...hmm...assimilation " Discord chuckled as he eyed Despair with hint of strange merriment. "This is only a minor setback. We will deal with them quickly and they will perish for good" alicorn hissed back "Sooner than you think. And then nothing will be able to stand in our world. The entire world will bow down to us !" "Yeah, as I should care. Wake me up when it will be my cue to go" Treason yawned and fell down on the ground. Despair eye twitched "You know, we are not only the opposite Elements. We come from the six ponies that have other sides, flaws insecurities and secrets. And we are an amplified model. So better speed things up. Clock is ticking. Clock. Is. Ticking." ******************* 'Sorry AJ" Spike thought when he bit an orange leg. Deception flinched and her grip loosen enough for Spike's struggling to become slightly more efficient as now he was more pulling away from the Applejack's bad version, than just being kept squeezed to death. Of all the copies, Deception was probably the worst made. Since it was possessed, Applejack's eyes turned into dark spheres of green that looked like a dark, dirty water from the swamp. Her mane was frazzled and dirty. But the worst part was cutie mark with free green apples, instead of the red ones. "You think this is over ? We will send your friends a birthday cards, throw them a party and only later eliminate them. We are superior to you, you don't have a chance. I remember when I was at the party with the squirrel name Gerome. Fun guy really, but nothing special. And yes, we will make Equestria a clear place, with monarchy..." the evil clone rambled That crap of a talk, unconscious lying of his enemy and the fact that he needed to fight for his very life, made battling this fake AJ extremely difficult. Unfortunately, his foot slipped on a crystal fragment of the floor and he fell to the ground. Of course, in an instant a pair of legs landed on his chest, pinning him to the ground. Spike considered using fire, but that idea was quickly rejected. If Applejack was still alive, attacking and wounding Deception could hurt her as well. Something different. Anything ! "You see little dragon, you don't have to wonder where your goddess is " earth pony leaned closer " Cause she is right here. And she is fresh out of mercy ! You are a potato !" And suddenly, her eyes rolled in her sockets and she fell on top of Spike. Spike glanced at shock at the tall figure in front of him "How..." ******************** "...are you proposing to defeating me when I still have a secret weapon !" Discord exclaimed with triumphant expression. "There is no solution for our misery. We are all gonna die" growled Sorrow " So can I kill you first please ?" Discord sighed "No, what I meant is..." Despair looked at him with pity "Oh, please, I know about your backup plan. It's..." ******************* "...Princess Luna ?" Spike shouted as the alicorn massaged her hoof. "I am sorry that it took so long. Me and my sister needed to regroup and think of a way to get you out. We figured out that those who captured you were indeed a Dark Self spell." Luna explained, pulling up "You mean...some ritual that created those opposite personalities ?" Luna flinched slightly as the shadow appeared in her eyes "Back in the old days...the spell I used to become engulfed in Nightmare Moon and to let her overpower me...it was my own variation of Dark Self spell. I was sad, broken and alone, I couldn't think of any better solution. I was relieved when I heard that when I was on the moon, the knowledge that hurt me was forgotten and couldn't harm anypony else. Sadly, it seems that I was wrong." "Someone remembered..." "Yes...as for the spell, I am almost certain that Sombra was the one who created the original version. When we were allies, he tried to teach me during our...our..." Spike could be mistaken in the faint glow of the cave, but he was almost certain that princess blushed "...anyway, the spell works on a few stages. Firstly, it creates exact replicas of the ponies, only with opposite personalities. Secondly, the clones merge with their counterparts, leaving one body with two souls. And finally, they corrupt the bodies completely. Good news, the need really powerful source of magic to complete the process. Bad news..." "They may be close to achieve the one" Spike glanced upon the sick looking Tree "Yes. We don't have much time. We have to join Tia immediately." Luna grabbed Spike and started galloping away from the Tree. "What about Applejack's body ?" Spike looked back and saw that the orange earth pony was still lying motionless. "Believe me, she will be fine. Once possessed, the body shared with dark consciousness changes. They are stronger, faster and can heal in a matter of minutes. I doubt even decapitation would stop them. So we have little time before that Deception fully regenerates. After all, I only knocked her out." "All right, I guess you know what you are talking about...soooo, how did you even get here princess ?" Spike asked. "Before Discord was taken by the evil versions of our friends, he used his powers to teleport me and Tia into relative safety. When we recovered from the shock, we agreed that the best option will be to follow the enemy and strike when it's the right moment to do so. So here we are, and we are busting you out" "But...technically we were guarded by one of them...how could you know that they won't be prepared for that?" "Oh, we didn't know. But we assumed that least one of you will go investigate and distract the guard long enough for us to take action" Before Spike managed to point out how ridiculously risky that plan was they arrived to the place where the prisoners were kept. Spike noticed Pie sisters, Crusaders and Big Mac discussing something quietly and looking afraid. They saw Spike and Luna coming. "Thank Celestia that you are here. We were really worried about you" Sweetie Belle looked at Spike and there was indeed a glimmer of worry in her emerald eyes. Luna's eyes scanned the area "Speaking of my sister, where is she ? When we split up, she was supposed to free all of you and get you out of here." "She did..." Limestone begin "...but then she told us to wait here and galloped in the direction you came from" Luna froze before shaking her head "No, no !!! Tia, you fricking suicidal maniac ! What is she thinking ?" Big Mac gave a princess questioning look "What is happenin' to her ?" "My sister walked straight into hell. And they're saying I am the reckless one." Luna growled with annoyance, before speaking in more regal manner " Spike, Big MacIntosh, come with me. Rest, get out through that corridor, as far as you can". ******************** "So that was your plan ? For the princesses to save you ?" Despair eyed Discord carefully. "Yeah, I mean that was kind of a nice plan when you feel that your head is going to explode from magic overload" "That sounds lame " Treason muttered in her sleep. "Life is lame" Sorrow stared blankly, a madness lingering in her gaze, as a stream of saliva flowed down to the ground. "I couldn't disagree more" a strong voice echoed throughout the cave. In the entrance stood Princess Celestia, her aurora borealis mane flowing through the air. "Oh look who decided to join us" Cruelty smiled sadistically " one more for beating up !" "Not today. I am here to free Discord and make things right. And you..." Celestia looked at Despair " I won't stop until you will see the judgment and be gone from this body. Twilight Sparkle is not only my former student, she is like a daughter to me. Right now, I am a mother who lost the children. And I lost too many along my long life to just walk away. You wouldn't even know what I am capable of right now" Discord moved in his chains "This is all really sweet but CAN WE MOVE TO THE PART OF FREEING ME ? I NEVER EXPERIENCED DEATH BEFORE, I WOULDN'T LIKE TO CHANGE THE STATE OF THINGS !!!" White alicorn spread her wings and a sparks of golden aura filled the air with fresh smell of bananas "I was getting to that" Despair narrowed her eyes. Celestia dashed forward as the evil alicorn shot the black ray of light. The princess swirled around and soared through the air and shot her own beam, directing it at Discord's chains. After a few seconds, Celestia's aura started being sucked in by the Tree and princess flinched in pain but didn't stop the spell. And finally... the chains shattered and draconequus fell to the ground. Celestia smiled and then was hit by a ray of black light. She shrieked in pain and fell to the ground next to Discord, her golden aura still absorbed by the Tree, mainly overtaken by their foes. "Celestia...I will make it up to you... I promise..." Discord whispered She nodded, watching their enemies closing in on them. "Discord...you wouldn't like what I am going to do...but I will be all right...find Luna and the others, okay ?" Discord's eyes widened "Celestia, what are you doing ? No, don't you da-" He disappeared in a golden flash. White alicorn stood up, shaking, and faced Despair. "Let's see if your darkness can devour my light" she challenged them. ********************* Spike, Luna and Big Mac were running through the crystal corridor when suddenly a bright light blinded them. "What..." Spike blinked when he saw Discord spread on the ground. "Emm, hi ? " Discord waved at them weakly. "What the hell happened to ya ?" Big Mac yelled. Discord was about to say something, but then a muffled yelling from behind his body and indigo aura enveloped, his body rising him above the ground. "Hyyyyyp !!!!" Luna, inhaling deeply " Please, never do that again. What is going on ?" Her horn stopped glowing and Discord almost fell once again, but Big Mac and Spike caught him under arms. "Celestia. She...teleported me here, staying to fight for herself and I...I couldn't do a blasted thing !!!" the spirit roared in frustration " I was exposed to the Magic of Harmony...or Negative Harmony...for far too long and now I can't even levitate, not to mention creating anything useful. I can't make chocolate rain, or flying pigs, or dancing buffalos or turn world upside down. Gods, I can't even TELEPORT. I HAVE TO WALK ! WALK !! WAHAHALK !!!" Draconequus froze with his claws held high in a dramatic gesture and noticed a glares the remaining trio was giving him. Spike facepalmed and said "You know, I really love Rarity and I am already starting to miss her, but there is no reason for you to become a substitute." Discord sighed "Alright,I guess that I am very upset that I can't help you fight right now. But seriously, this is really annoying. I don't want to be useless." "You won't be useless. " Luna shook her head " So you are saying Tia sacrificed herself for you and bought you some time ? Well, even if that is the case, don't let her sacrifice be for nothing. I have to help my sister, if the Tree is really sucking our magic in, she must be exhausted by now. Spike, Big MacIntosh, take Discord away from here, the further the better. I believe that Tree has a long area of magic absorption, but the further you go, the faster Discord's abilities will be back. And when he recovers, he will make a final blow. Got it ? Discord, I don't want to hear any objections now. You are not in shape to fight anyway" "Thanks for a reminder of the day, Lulu " Discord muttered, before a mischievous glance appearing in his eyes " I actually think that it may be good to regroup cause I have a plan ! You see, I was used the variation of Dark Self before on the very same ponies, back when I first confronted them. I think that if I could use the Elements, I would be able to reverse the spell. Or maybe I can make those clones obey me, since that magic is partially chaotic. But in both cases, the problem is that, as you may remember, Twilight enchanted the Elements before Fluttershy started reforming me. So even if I had all my powers, I wouldn't be able to take them away. Twilight herself must remove that spell, she and only she can do it" "Leave it to me and my sister. We will pull Twilight out of this monster no matter what " Luna declared " But I fear what usage of the Elements under such circumstances. Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony using The Elements of Harmony. Even if that was possible, that would kill you for sure. I know very well that when you are immortal, you can become reckless when it comes to the perspective of dying...are you aware what your plan may bring upon you ?" "More than aware" Discord's eyes remained in place, cold as steel. Luna felt her eyes become weirdly moist. Maybe it was because of the crystal dust in the air. "You three, take care. If something happens to me and Tia, you are our greatest hope to defeat the Disharmony. Don't die here. This is an order ! I want to laugh it off with you over a drink. Now go. We will try to deal with Despair, you figure out how to reverse the spell. Good luck !" And with that, she disappeared. Earth pony, dragon and draconequus looked at each other "We shall move." Big Mac said quietly "Yeah. I think I can even run now" Discord stretched up and tired to snap his fingers but the phased through each other. He swore under his breath " No, still nothing". Suddenly, the sounds of galloping was heard in the corridors. "Get them now !" yelled Despair. "You are not getting anything !!! They are all miiiinneee!!!! I want to posses this little dragon so badly, my own, miiiine " howled Greed. "HONEY, WHERE ARE YOU ???!!! I NEED TO BREAK SOMETHING TO YOU...OR IN YOU ? MWAHAHA !!!" laughed Cruelty. Trio looked at each other "Okay, that is horrifyin'" Big Mac whispered "I always wanted for Rarity to say that she love me, but I didn't mean that" Spike gulped "Gentlemen, there is only one solution to this..." Discord raised his paw in the air " FRICKING RUN !!!!!" They turned around and dashed through the corridor. After a minute, they reached an exit and emerged into the fresh air of the forest. ***************** Discord couldn't run any longer. He didn't run in a millennia. Spike flew above them, shouting to go faster. Discord watched as Big Mac trips over the branch and Spike helps him got up. That plan could work. It had to work. "Discord, how are you feeling ?" 'Damn it, what can you feel after being almost turned into an ash ?' "We are still too close. Maybe a protection spell, but nothing more ?" "You are joking, right ?" 'No, as much as I want an try, my powers are still not still fully back yet' ************************** Spike rubbed his spines „ But we need Twilight to this and she is...” „...not available at the moment” Discord, Spike and Big Mac quickly pressed themselves to each other’s backs, assuming the battle stands as they watched a lavender alicorn emerging from the shadows of the forest. „And she will stay gone, as long as I have a saying on the matter”. she grinned maliciously as the five other shadows walked from behind her. Cruelty, Treason, Sorrow, Deception and Greed. Greed and Cruelty walked two steps closer and looked at them directly in the eyes. Spike felt his muscles tense as he looked into dark, cold eyes of a pony in front of him, not similar to the beautiful sapphire orbs he fell in love with. He could sense that Discord experienced the same by looking at Cruelty. They had to be somewhere there. „So boys, this is the end of the line for you. Your desires will never meet reality” Greed slowly brushed her mane with her hoof, causing few locks to fell loose. She looked at Spike smiling as the dragon was boiling with anger „You will never see your precious loves again !!!” Cruelty laughed and the rest of the group joined her. They laughed until a sharp voice snapped „SILENCE !!!” The dark six looked at Discord, who was breathing heavily „You think we are that shallow ?” he chuckled „ Maybe we were but now there is so much more to that. We won’t let you take our love and friendship away.” „No matter where they are or how long will it take, we will free them and keep them safe from you !!!” added Spike „We won’t give up on them in this world or next. For our friendship to survive and our families reunite” said Big Mac. „Fluttershy...” whispered Discord „Rarity...” Spike closed his eyes „We are coming for you and the girls. And we will win you back, no matter the cost !!!” Discord and Spike shouted in unison. „Yep !!!” Big Mac said, when the trio confronted the six ponies. Twilight rolled her eyes and whispered „We shall see...” ************************ 'And now, we may never see them again. What shall we do ?' Discord mind was racing, when suddenly, Greed moved closer to Spike "So what is it gonna be, Spike ? Give yourself to me and I consider leaving myself in your claws..." Spike shivered, but stood firmly and said "I will pass, I won't be used as a slave. Besides, I love Rarity, not you" "How dare you ?!!! You will be mine, like it or not. Everything in this realm will belong to me and it's mine only !!!" "Oh, did she just insulted your ass, miss Avaricious ?" Deception chuckled "I think he just has a problem. His love is not here anymore..." Sorrow rolled her eyes "Well, it's the same ass" Treason yawned shamelessly. "ENOUGH !" Despair yelled " We will and your pitiful existence now and nobody will..." BAM ! Despair looked at her horn and the red apple that was directly on top of it "Who threw that apple ?" she yelled in fury. "CHARGE !" The group of ponies emerged from the forest and charged at dark six "What..." Despair managed to hiss before two alicorns fell from the sky and grabbed her. "You will not " Despair kicked in desperation when the princesses disappeared with her. Spike looked at Greed "Chase me if you really want me, sweetcheeks !" he put his tongue out and dashed towards the forest. Before he became absorbed by the sea of green, chased by beautiful, but extremely furious evil spirit, he exchanged a glance with Discord. Lord of Chaos nodded and used his accumulated power to send a telepathic message. Get the one you are with back to the Tree of Harmony. I know what to do He saw Big Mac trying to hold Deception with the help of Applebloom, Pie sisters cornering Sorrow. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were handling Treason, Despair was with Celestia and Luna and that meant... "Owww !!!"He screamed when he was hit in the stomach third time this day. Good. She was angry. Now he could manipulate her to going back to the Tree. So he did and he ran. **************** The alicorns reappeared high above the old castle of the royal pony sisters. Despair kicked Celestia who countered with an equally strong buck. Evil alicorn tried to use her magic, but the attempts were quickly blocked by Luna They fought, falling down, connecting and disconnecting with each other. And then... Celestia screamed as her skin, burnt black, hissed after the touch and she spiralled down. "Sister !!!!!" Luna yelled. Despair laughed and laughed over and over. But suddenly, her breath become hitched and laughter turned into cough. She felt another presence in the mind. 'No, no, it cannot be so cliché' she shouted in her mind when deep behind the veils of thoughts and feelings another purple alicorn opened her eyes. Twilight Sparkle has awoken. Purple wings folded as alicorn dove, flying as fast as she could, before catching the sun princess with her magic. "Princess !! Are you all right ?" alicorn asked in worry. Celestia looked her in the eyes "Twilight, is that really you ?" "Yes but I don't have much time. She is already taking control back. It's hard to fight it..." "You want to see all your friends free and happy" "More than anything in the world !" "Then remove the spell you used against Discord so he wouldn't take the Elements away" "I think I know what you are planning... I should do it !" "I will help you" Celestia put a hoof on Twilight's head as she shared her knowledge of that spell, helping the Princess of Friendship, a her horn started glowing ******************* 'Harmonia, please ! If you want to help your bearers, and keep balance in Equestria, if any part of you is still conscious, please, help us' thought Discord as he entered the cave in front of the Tree. Behind him was Big Mac, struggling with Deception, Treason who actually flew to her own doom, Sorrow, yelling and swearing something in the direction of their sisters and lastly, Spike chased by furious Greed. They were all in positions. Now only Despair remained. 'Harmonia, I...I am sorry. I...I would rather die, that let something happen to them' he put a paw on the trunk, not feeling the burning heat. ******************* "So you faked it ? To get me out ? " Twilight muttered as she was finishing the spell " That was Luna's idea, wasn't it ?" "Well, I fell for real, but I could save myself easily" Celestia smiled " I knew something that strong will get you out for a while, which was exactly what we needed. I know I can count on you as you can count on me !" Twilight's horn stopped glowing. On that sign, Luna hugged them tightly and disappeared with them. ********************* Discord felt the Tree...sigh. As if it exhaled and inhaled. On the edge if his vision he noticed Celestia and Luna materializing with alongside Twilight on the ground. They were all here. And then, he was blinded by light that shot out from the Tree, illuminating the entire space. "Well, we shall see how it will go." He felt his body turn into smoke as he and the others were absorbed by the core of Tree of Harmony, into a kaleidoscope of shapes and colours.