“Discord!” Fluttershy screams, rushing over to the downed draconequus. She wraps her hooves around his tubular body, unbidden tears welling in her eyes. “Are you okay? Talk to me! Say something!”
“F-Fluttershy?” Discord barely manages to eke out, his voice fading. He limply raises a claw, delicately stroking her sobbing face. “You… you’re w-worried about… me?”
“Of course I am!” Fluttershy wails, Discord’s head flopping back and forth as Fluttershy shakes him. “We’re friends, and-”
Anything else she says is lost as she buries her head against him.
“I… I’m sorry,” Discord quietly says, his head lolling back. “I-I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Oh, you’re just sorry you got sucked into your own trap,” Applejack practically spits out. “Not for any of the pain and suffering you caused.”
“Applejack!” Rarity exclaims. Fluttershy backs away from Discords, looking confused. “I know your thing is honesty, but come on! You shouldn’t say things like that!”
“Yeah, well, we were all thinking it,” Rainbow Dash says dourly. “A taste of his own medicine is perfect, if you ask me.”
“Rainbow!” Pinkie Pie says, in tears. “Can’t you see how much he is hurting?”
“No, she’s right,” Discord says weakly, barely able to raise his head to look at everypony. “I was only thinking about myself. I realize now that a true friend takes into account their friend’s feelings, and how their actions impact others.”
“Not just their friend’s feelings, but everypony’s feelings.” Trixie motions to herself. “Trixie admits that she may not have always done the same in the past, but these six have helped her learn about the magic of Friendship in ways she never thought possible.”
“Really?” Applejack says, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, Trixie may not have learned all the lessons, but she got the general point of them.”
“And,” Discord continues, seeming to gain the tiniest hint of strength. “I’m sorry that I put you all through this. I truly am. And not just because I find myself unable to conjure even the barest shred of chaos. But after this betrayal, I can understand you all shattering my statue. Assuming you all get through this, somehow.” Then he flops over, spent.
“No.”
Discord looks at Twilight, very surprised. “What?”
“Not a betrayal. A sacrifice.”
Applejack sputters for a moment before saying, “‘Scuse me, but what did Ah just say? Because Discord was being the most dishonest-”
“-Ungenerous-”
“-Disloyal-”
“-Unkind-”
Pinkie Pie hesitates for a moment before saying, “Making ponies feel really really bad and not laughing-”
“-and unfriendly thing possible.” Trixie returns the glances the others are giving her. “What? I’m just finishing the set, since Twilight wouldn’t.”
“That’s true,” Twilight concedes with a nod of her head. “You are all correct. Discord’s actions were about as unharmonious as you can get. But the important part is that he’s realized the error of his ways.”
Discord looks as contrite as draconequusly possible, which is to say that he looks like one of the Crusaders trying to pull a fast one. “I have, I truly have. You all gave me the opportunity to be your friends, and to teach my magic. If I had something to give you that would prove my gratitude and loyalty I would. I wish my word meant something. But since I have nothing, not even friendship, or magic, I have no way to prove to you that I am telling the truth.”
Discord slumps over, his eyes closing, and breathes his last.
“NO!!” Twilight exclaims as her horn lights. A raspberry glow fills the room, slowly shrinking down and down until it is a bottle sized glob of energy floating in midair. Twilight’s magic ceases, the glob falling to the floor and bouncing with a rubbery thump. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Trixie all pile onto Discord, tears in their eyes.
Fluttershy looks around nervously. She says, “Oh, are we done being angry at Discord?” as she moves over, grabbing the lump of pure magic and sliding it into Discord’s mouth. It makes a visible protrusion in his throat, accompanied by a dim glow that slowly gets brighter and brighter.
Discord hacks as he comes to, his eyes bursting open. His pupils, Instead of his normal red, are raspberry, and they quickly find Twilight. “You… you saved me?”
“Twilight Sparkle does not fail. Not here, not ever.” Twilight offers a small smile, then turns to Doug.
The entire time Doug has been sitting in a stupor, staring at his hands.
“Elements, are you ready?” Twilight asks. She glances to the four young ponies. “You all may want to stand back.”
“Are we sure this is going to work?” Applejack says, though she lines up next to Twilight just like everypony else.
Twilight opens her mouth, then closes it. After a moment she says, “Spike, take a letter.”
“Ready,” Spike says, the four youngsters and Trixie joining him in crouching in the kitchen, all careful not to touch him.
“From Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. The drain affecting Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the brave ponies in Manehatten was the result of a magical misfire. Doug Apple was attempting to stop Lord Tirek from his rampage when the mishap occurred. It is ongoing, and spreads through physical contact with affected ponies, though that may not be the only way. The drain affects those most able to give their magic, and will eventually kill everypony affected if it is not stopped. Myself and the Bearers of Harmony are going to use our powers to attempt to stop it. If we fail, may Celestia… may Faust have mercy on our souls.”
“And who do you want me to send this to?” Spike asks as he finishes writing.
“Princess Cadance. Instruct her to make some sort of release to the general public if she doesn’t hear back from us. She can… she can assume that it didn’t work if that happens.”
Spike nods, the letter disappearing in a burst of green fire. He then hunkers down, watching with wide eyes.
Twilight Sparkle and the other five Elements of Harmony levitate into the air, their necklaces glowing pure white. “Doug… I’m sorry,” she says quietly.
Doug glances up, staring Twilight in the eyes. He gives the briefest nod, as if he himself is pressing the button to fire.
Six arcs of color - purple, blue, white, yellow, orange, and pink - ripple outwards from each mare. They coalesce in the limited space of the room, forming a rainbow that plunges directly into Doug’s chest.
Doug barely reacts, his mouth opening but not in pain, merely curiosity.
A blindingly bright light fills the room, the sound of five bodies hitting the floor following shortly after.
A bipedal figure stands, black against the white background. He walks forward to the first fallen equine, checking her pulse. It is impossible to tell if he smiles or not, but he moves to the next pony, and the next.
“Di… did it work?” a southern accent ekes out as the figure steps next to a hat wearing pony.
“I… I don’t think so,” Twilight says from the doorway. Her voice is filled with sorrow. Suddenly a raspberry glow pierces through the white, color slowly returning to everything and everypony. It almost looks like her illumination spell isn’t working, because the five cutie-markless mares on the ground are almost completely gray, a tinge of color indicating their original hue. "Spike?"
"On it," the dragon replies, hastily scribbling out a letter.
“Well…” Fluttershy says as she limply gets to her hooves, “we tried our best.”
“Pony I feel awful,” Rainbow Dash says, trying to take to the air. Her wings beat uselessly. “Hey! My wings don’t work!” She turns to the human crouching above Pinkie Pie, her normally poofy mane laying flat against the ground. “Give it back!”
Rainbow Dash’s wings flap, but again they fail to propel her. She gallops instead, first one hoof and then another beating against the human. He doesn’t even flinch, weathering the blows as if they came from the wind.
“My magic,” Rainbow Dash sobs, crumpling to the floor. “Not again…”
“Y-you can fix this, right? Twilight?” Rarity asks, her voice shaking. “Twilight?”
The lavender alicorn doesn’t respond.
“I can feel it,” Doug says, his voice carefully controlled. “The magic. Whatever Discord did to me, when I got his magic, locked me up. Like dividing by zero.” He glances down at the draconequus laying on the floor, who meekly smiles back at him. “Then, the Elements cancelled it. Like they multiplied it by zero.”
“So… you’re undefined?” Twilight says, cocking her head. “But…”
“More like I can see the rest of the equation. I know how many ponies are affected. I know… I know how long they will last. It… it isn’t long.” Doug sighs, sinking to the floor. “You won’t last the night. And I can’t do anything!”
Doug slams his hand into the floor, driving his fist through the solid wood.
“That’s unacceptable,” Twilight says resolutely. “We can’t give up! We will find a way!”
Doug, mostly ignoring Twilight, frowns. He looks at the kitchen and the six creatures huddling there. “Odd.”
“Odd?” Twilight asks as Lemon, Hedge, Pomarbo, and Meringue step out. Lemon is missing her cutie mark, but they are each their original color. Twilight’s horn flares; she gasps as she studies their magic. “You’ve completely drained them! They should be dead!”
“I’m not dead!” Lemon says, smiling.
“I’m not dead!” Hedge echoes.
“They said they’re not dead!” Pinkie Pie exclaims.
“Well, they will be soon!” Twilight stamps a hoof. “They should be deathly ill!”
“I’m getting better,” Hedge says with a nervous smile. Her wings buzz, barely lifting her.
“No, you’ll be stone dead in a moment!” Twilight grits her teeth when they don’t.
“Inadvisable.”
“Way to ruin it,” Pinkie Pie whispers to Meringue. The yellow filly sticks her tongue out at her dam.
Twilight stares at them for a moment longer. Then she scans herself, sighing in relief. “Well, I’m still not affected. Or at least not showing the symptoms.”
“That’s good,” Doug says, staring at his fingers. He intones in a deep voice, “What’s Mine Is Mine.”
Suddenly, a great rumble appears outside. The six mares each wince in pain while Twilight quickly counts the five hundred rocks that appeared as if from nothing.
“Please don’t do that again,” whispers Fluttershy, holding her side. “It really hurt.”
“I can control it.” Doug looks at Discord. “This is overwhelming.”
“Then can you give it back?” Rainbow Dash asks, trying her wings again. “Please?”
“I… I don’t know.” Doug concentrates for a moment, then shakes his head. He looks at the rocks outside. “Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t say Show Me…”
“The money?” Pinkie Pie suggests. Then her eyes go wide, violently shaking her head. “Please please please don’t say that!”
“I doubt I will,” Doug says, ignoring Pinkie Pie as she makes the motions of a Pinkie Promise. “You’ll have to trust me.”
Her pout is approximately three times more effective than Discord’s at eliciting sympathy, but it isn’t enough.
Suddenly, every affected mare breathes a sigh of relief. A letter soon erupts from Spike’s mouth.
“From Cadance,” reads the dragon, “I am sorry to hear the plan failed. I sent out your letter to every guard unit in Equestria. What resulted, I cannot have predicted. Many ponies had fled Manehatten. They quarantined themselves, as if they were afraid of catching it. Many of them fell ill, just like the Manehatten guards. But that’s not the important part. Ponies, upon hearing your predicament, have flocked not away from those drained but towards. They are, to a mare, throwing themselves into the line of fire to buy you time. I can only hope their sacrifice buys you enough.”
“I can feel them,” confirms Doug, again staring at his hands. He slowly, calmly breathes out, settling into a meditative stance. “I can slow it down.” He frowns. “But I cannot stop it.”
“Then it’s up to me.” Twilight scans Spike, grinning that he is still unaffected. They disappear in a flash, teleporting back to the library.