There I was, standing at the edge of the EverFree Forest, armed to the teeth. The sun was at its peak, declaring it to be noon. Well, let’s get this over with. If I win I want to return in time for tea. With that in mind, I trotted into the woods while being careful not to step in any patches of Poison Joke. I decided that Discord might be at the castle ruins. I’ll just travel till I’m close enough to teleport there. As I made my way, I did find TimberWolves and manticores, but they didn’t attack me. Instead, they just stood at the sides of the path and watched me as I passed. It was almost as if they were aware of what’s going on. Quite interesting, nature, untouched by ponies. The way it should be. Somewhat along the way, a Timber Wolf cub caught my eye and I stopped. There was something off about it. It’s paw. I saw that there was a good chunk of his paw missing.
“Hello, young one. Are you alright?” I asked, approaching it. As if in response, it raised its damaged paw. I heard it make a whimper that could almost send Pinkie Pie into depression. Bending down, I said: “Well, since I’m about to die myself, I might as well do some good.” Hope this works on more than just ponies. I lit up my horn to cast a healing spell. Its paw glowed for a few moments, but it failed. “Shit. here, I’m going to try something stupid.” I remembered a regenerative spell in the dark magic spell book. Lighting up my horn again, encasing it in the purple and black magic aura, I cast the spell. The cub’s paw also got encased in the aura, but unlike the last attempt, the paw grew back. “There we go. Go on, give it a try.” the cub hoped away and almost pranced in its joy as it ran in a few circles, causing me to chuckle. When it returned, it jumped on to my back and nuzzled my neck. “No problem. Though it probably isn’t the best idea to join me for this trip.” but it ignored my words and decided to make itself at home on my back in its refusal. “Fine, but you better leave if things get out of control.” and I continued back down the original path. Looks like I made a companion. Fluttershy would probably be jealous about this one.
“The old castle, just as I left it.” I muttered, staring at the wreck of a structure. “Would he really want to be here?”
“Well I was planning on fixing it up at some point, make a little castle of my own even.” I nearly jumped out of my cloak. Discord, you little shit. I turned around to see Discord standing behind me. “I was wondering, why did you come back here?”
“To meet you.” I deadpan.
“Then I believe you wasted your time. I wasn’t here till I decided to see what you were up to.” Are you fucking kidding me?
“Why would you care after trying to kill me?”
“That’s for me to know. How about a little warm up?” when I was about to ask for some clarification, he snapped his paw. “Have fun with the manticores.” then he snapped his claw and disappeared. I don’t think I’m going to be a fan of where this is going. I heard the thundering steppes of what sounded like large animals. Nope, fuck this. I executed a teleportation spell, but it only gave me a head start. Not wanting to chance it, I teleported again. This time I reappeared right outside the edge of the forest. Knowing that they won’t leave their territory, I let relief claim me, even if it was short lived.
“Should have known you would have just teleported. What a way to ruin the fun.” Discord complained, sitting in his favorite chair. I’m not sure how he sounded so close when he was about ten yards away. I trotted my way over, thinking.
If I win, I wonder if I would be able to have a life somewhat closer to whatever a normal life would be here. Maybe after all of this is over, I won’t return. instead, maybe find a little isolated area, set up some wards, and contemplate.
I ran out of time for thinking when I finally reached Discord. “So, how do you want to settle this? Knowing you, you might have something in mind already.” I questioned.
“You’re certainly right I do. Luckily for you though, it’s just a game with a simple objective. All you have to do is hit me once.”
“That’s it?”
“Don’t let the simple sounding objective fool you, because it isn’t going to be easy to accomplish.” Of course not, why would it be? I rolled my eyes.
“You’re right, I need to reach you first.” surprisingly enough, his grin expanded. Upon snapping, a wall of black smoke appeared between us.
“Have fun.” he knocked a few times on the armrest of his chair, causing the chunk of land around him to tear itself out of the ground and levitate him into the air. “I sure do love a good show.”
The wall of smoke started to dispense more smoke out of nowhere. The dispensed smoke tore apart into six separate groups. Those six groups started to shape themselves. At first, the shape they took on was that of a silhouette of an earth pony. Then they were no longer smoke. Instead, I stood there looking at six solid, back faceless earth ponies with no distinguishable features to tell them apart. Then purple glowing cracks began to spread across there skin. After that, they began to grow sinister, fang-filled maws. Eyes popped into place too, except that they were completely void black. Looking down at their hoofs, I saw that they also had razor sharp claws that would make anyone prefer to be fighting a griffin. Fuck, this is going to hurt.
“Sorry little guy,” I said to the Timber Wolf cub, teleporting him back into the forest. “But you would only be in the way.” I refocused on the new threat that stood between me and the goal. To be honest, it was a little nerve-wracking to see such wild looking beings stand and wait for orders.
“Have you made peace with yourself, boy?” Discord asked. I looked up at him.
“Nope, but there’s nothing I can do now but accept it.”
“Well said, very well said. Probably the wisest words I’ve heard from a pony in quite a few years. Let’s begin our little game now.” as if that were the command, I instantly had to dodge two that lunged at me. Such speed! I barely had enough time to dodge the third attacker. Well, I didn’t exactly get out unscratched. Though it barely got me, the cut I received squirted blood for a few seconds before it calmed down, leaving a few lines of blood to cake leading down to my hoof.
“Shit!” I screamed, stumbling. The pain was too sharp to concentrate on a healing spell, but that was only the case for a moment. Though, when the pain became ignorable, I still wasn’t able to focus on healing due to being too busy dodging for my life. I knew that, even though I had a large amount of stamina to spare and could start teleporting if needed, stamina and magic are both limited and I would have to change to the offense soon if I wanted to stay in one piece.
Jumping off to the side, I dodged an attack, but I was attacked again before I could land. The result was a gaping cut across my barrel. I won’t last much longer if I don’t heal NOW.
“Stop.” I heard discord order, and his servants obeyed. I was discombobulated. Why would he stop when he was so close to winning? “Spirit, why don’t you heal? Go on.” then I knew. He’s playing with me, and I have no choice but to play along or die. Lighting my horn, I healed my cut and felt re-energized. Also, I took the opportunity to use some wind magic, giving me an increase in speed. It didn’t go unnoticed though. “Oh, you sneaky little devil, but that’s fine. In fact, it should make things more entertaining. Let’s see how long you last now.” he snapped his paw and conjured a stopwatch. “Alright, and…….begin!” he shouted, starting the stopwatch and releasing his demonic servants on me once more.
The speed boost worked like a charm. Now I was somewhat faster than them, causing them to become more organized and coordinated with cooperative attacks. I took off in a sprint and got behind one after it failed in its attempt to lunge at me and stuck it on the back of its head. It fell unconscious and dissipated into black smoke, disappearing into nothing. Now I know I can kill them. I also knew not to celebrate over only one kill when there were still five more of the fuckers left to worry about.
After the smoke dissipated, I made an immediate dodge to the side, seeing one of them fly by. What I didn’t see was the second one that lunged and that I carelessly jumped right in front of it, resulting in a cut on the collar bone. Shit, that was way to close. Maybe….. The one that cut me, along with the one I dodged and a tag along, made another lunge for me. Lighting my horn, I teleported away, leaving an illusion of a double in my place. However, I failed to make it solid.
Instead of cutting my double to shreds, they just simply went right through it. Knowing that the double would be useless now that they knew about it, I dispelled it. Before they found where I really went, I took out three knives out of their sheaths and sent them flying at their targets. Unfortunately, though, I only managed to get two of the fuckers. The other one saw the knives and dodged before it got hit. The unlucky bastards that got hit received a knife through the back of its head, causing it to dissipate like the first.
“Stop!” shouted discord as he pressed a button on the stopwatch. “Five whole minutes. You’ve definitely improved since you’ve arrived in Equestria, having no magical ability at all.” he took a moment to think, and I took it as a chance to heal. “Begin!” he shouted without warning, causing the remaining three to crouch, ready to pounce the way a cat would.
Alright, let's try this. Lighting up my horn, I cast an illusion of another double. Except this time it’s solid and has a few more surprises. I nodded to it and it to me. Then the chaotic servants started to charge at us. I took a few knives and threw them in front of their hoofs, causing them to stop. My double and I took off in opposite directions to flank them, lighting up our horns as we did so. My double got into position just before I did and launched a few ice spears, causing Discords servants to scatter in the opposite direction just to be blocked by me. I lit them up by casting Fire dragon, incinerating two of them. The third one got away.
“Oh, are you winning?” I heard Discord ask. “I don’t think so.” I looked over to the wall of smoke below him and saw five more figures were taking shape. Shit, should have guessed.
A quick inventory check told me that I still had fourteen knives and I still haven’t used my swords yet. I was also feeling exhausted. A quick healing spell fixed that, but it doesn’t refill magic. Looking over to my double, I saw him fade away. Fuck me. I guess having a solid illusion acting as backup takes more magic than I thought. Which wasn’t good. This meant that I couldn’t risk using magic unless if I had no other choice.
Returning my attention to the five new arrivals, I felt a white hot pain on my ass. I didn’t have to look to see what the cause was because the survivor from the last batch landed right at the edge of my vision. though, that didn’t me from checking the damage. I found a wide gash squirting some blood out the side of my ass. Fuck! It stung like a razor blade dipped in a mix of salt and lemon juice. There was more blood coming out than what I could ignore. If I leave that unattended, I’ll faint and bleed out sooner than I can afford. Risking it, I casted a quick heal spell. I watched the wound scab up and heal at an unnatural speed. I could care less about the blood left on my fur though. Alright, safe for now. I returned my attention to the sex once more, just in time to see them leap. I dodged out of the way, took out four knives and threw them. Luckily, I managed to get two of them. As they were preparing for their next attack, I took out both sets of twin swords.
“Bring it!” I shouted, my voice sounding like it had a taste for blood. Even if my tongue already tasted like it.
“With pleasure.” Discord replied. I didn’t pay any attention to him.
The remaining four came at me charging and I knew I had to be quick. I began charging right back at them. The two closest lept and I throw a pair of my twin swords at them. Both swords met their targets right through the head, causing them to drop dead and dissipate. Then the other two behind them lept, I lept too. Performing a bullet jump, I also had my swords spin with me, around me. This resulted in the two opponents getting diced and dissipating. Upon landing, I coughed as I tried to catch my breath.
“Excellent! You have been very entertaining thus far. Though, from the looks of how this is going, I don’t think you’ll last much longer.” Discord, even though he is pissing me off, was right. I felt like I was on the edge of collapse.
I could just….quit. Give up. That would be easier. All I would have to do is let them slit my windpipe. It would only hurt for a minute, then I wouldn’t have to worry about anything else ever again.
I continued to do nothing but stand there as I watched another six demonic ponies begin to for. Then, I heard an oddly familiar voice in my head. “You don’t need to do that. Trust me, I can help you survive. I can help you win.” the voice filled me with a drive. A determination to survive above all else and by all means. What do I have to do? I asked it. “Give me control, give in to your instincts. That’s all.” then I knew what the voice was. It’s the darkness one welcomes when the first use dark magic. I remember being warned about this, to never give it control, but I don’t have any other options other than to let them kill me.
To live or to die. For most, that’s an easy choice. It’s obvious they would want to live. Not me though. So instead my mind presented me a different question. To save others or to let them die. The residents of Equestria have never wronged me, let alone anything bat at all. All I’ve ever seen them do is help each other and play their role in nature, no matter how odd it felt to see them perfectly control the weather. So I made my decision.
Alright, you can have control. Hell, you have it for life, but the only condition is that you don’t harm anything innocent. “Excellent!” I heard it say, then my vision went black and my back hurt like hell.
Discord’s View
What’s he thinking, I wonder. I sat on my chaotic throne, waiting as my wonderful creations took form. Actually, I think I might want a better view of his final moments. When my creations were done taking form, I dismissed the smoke wall and levitate my chair back down to the ground. “Well, this has been fun and, I’ll be honest, it’s the best entertainment I’ve had in a few centuries, but it’s about time we wrap things up. Don’t you agree, Spirit?” he didn’t seem to respond or react at all. “Spirit?”
Then, faster than I could blink, large objects burst out of his back, sending blood everywhere. The object appeared to be made of bone. They started to rearrange themselves in the air above him, forming wings. Around his head was a purple aura. The aura also took on the shape of some demonic version of a voracious, wild animal. Then, everything on Spirit, weapons, and sheaths disintegrated. His eyes didn’t escape my notice either, for they shone a solid gold glow that leaked upwards.
“Ooo…. looks like you have done more than just try some of the dark magic from that book I see. This should be interesting.” Spirit’s horn lit up an even darker shade of purple than his aura, conjuring four swords around him. Looks like I might have to interfere now. I snapped my paw in order to hinder his dark magic, but nothing happened. “What? How?” He’s now immune to my magic. Did he really-
I was about to try again to test my theory, but before I could Spirit dashed at a nearly unimaginable speed and began slaughtering my creations. The first one was decapitated. The second one was incinerated in purple and blue flames. The third became a pincushion. The fourth was frozen and shattered. The fifth was swallowed up by the ground. The sixth one was tossed at least fifty years into the air, then slammed back down. All six deaths happened within a matter of fourteen seconds.
Spirit ran up to me so fast that I barely had enough time to yell: “Wait!” he stopped in front of me, a sword pointed at my torso. “Spirit, let's be reasonable about this.” he didn’t move, only spoke.
“I’m not he, for he is gone now.” his voice sounded deep, rough, and tortured. That confirmed it. He gave his entire being to the darkness.
“Then who are you now?” I asked.
“Mmmmm…. You may call me…. Infinite.”
“Well, Infinite, sorry about this.” I snapped my claw, bringing a boulder into existence above him, then using it to knock him out. I bashed his head in, causing him to drop. Out cold. However, I’ll give him the win. I snapped my claw. There, his precious princesses should be fine and safe in their castle, not that they can do anything.
“Discord!” I turned my chair to see who called, and to my surprise, I saw the six annoying ponies from the other day
.(Spirit)
I found myself in the dreamscape, on the stained glass floor like usual. I saw Harmony floating a few yards ahead of me.
“Do we always have to meet under these kinds of circumstances?” I asked sarcastically, walking to her.
“Hello Spirit, how do you feel?” she asked in turn. I sat right by her.
“Honestly, I feel dead. What happened?” she giggled at my answer.
“Well, in a sense, you should be head. You have not only your heart but your very soul to the darkness.”
“I did? Did I at least win?” I felt a migraine coming on.
“See for yourself.” a glowing white circle on the floor in front of me caught my eye. Looking into it, I saw myself as a monstrosity. A monstrosity overflowing with power. I saw it slaughter Discords creations with conjured weapons and a variety of spells in seconds. After a few seconds, the circle closed and faded.
“In that form, I would definitely not be able to face anyone I’ve come to know. Just a waste of space.” I commented, still looking down at the floor.
“Actually, I wanted to make an offer.” This should be interesting. I looked back up to the floating orb. “You have done nothing but sacrifice for my land. What’s even more commendable is that you’ve never asked for anything in return or for any recognition, only the opposite.” at this point, I was getting bored.
“I appreciate your words, but you know I’m more of a straight to the point type.”
“Oops. how did I forget something so simple?” this made me crack a smile. “I would like to offer you a life of your own.” What?
“Please elaborate on that.”
“The life you’ve had in Equestria is one that most wouldn’t even consider life at all. It was predetermined for you. You’ve been told what you must do, and did nothing but prepare for the task you were given. You realized at the beginning that you couldn’t make yourself known, let alone make any real friends. I offer you a life of free will, with friends. The ability to make your own decisions.” I slowly became more depressed as she said this. It didn’t escape Harmony’s notice. “What’s wrong?” I sighed.
“I still have knowledge of the human world, but not the memories of my personal life events. The whole time I’ve been in Equestria, I guess that what I wanted more than anything was to know what it’s like to….” I trailed off.
“To what?”
“To know that it’s like to have a family. I know it sounds silly.”
“It doesn’t. I can understand why you would think that. Every creature has some form of family, so it would only be natural for you to want one too. Luckily though, you are of age.” she stopped to let me process what she meant. When I did, I felt my cheeks heat up and she laughed at me. She did that on purpose! “So, do you accept my offer?” I took a moment to think it over.