“Chosen?”
A voice called out to him through the dark and he shifted in place. His body was heavy and felt weighted down as he struggled to move. His thoughts were sluggish and it took him time to process that it was Sasa reaching out to him. Her voice was faint and he focused as her voice reached out to him once more.
“Chosen!”
“Sasa?” He called back to her.
“Oh there you are.” She sounded relieved as she spoke to him. “Where are you?”
He opened his eyes and looked around him, the area was dark and he could not see any landmarks. His orange eyes focused and he could make out the shapes of things just out of his sight range.
“I have no idea.” He admitted to her as he struggled to get to his hooves.
“Try to find out. I can’t sense you.” She replied to him. “I can hear you but if I needed to I would not be able to find you. Discord has agreed to bring you back if they get to the center of the Labyrinth. Are you okay for now?”
“I’m fine for the time being. He doesn’t seem to have hurt me in any way. He only sent me away from you.”
“Understood. I’ll let them know. Keep me informed.”
The Elder Witcher rolled to his belly and forced his body to stand as the weight began to lessen on him. His legs shuddered as he forced them to hold himself up. He began to look around him as the weight began to fall away and his legs easily held him. The area was dark and shapes flit through the darkness as the stallion tried to focus on them individually.
“Where am I?” He whispered to himself as he lit his horn.
The shadows screeched and he backed up a step at the sudden noise. The shapes flit away from the light of his horn and they fled into further darkness. He looked down as a reflection caught his attention. His horn remained alight as he looked to his hooves and he could see his own reflection in the road beneath him. He went to his knees and a crystal road stared back at him.
“Crystal roads are not common in Equestria.” He muttered. “Interesting.”
He got to his hooves and followed the road forward. Shapes loomed ahead of him as he approached them. His head tilted slightly as he found a wall in front of him. He looked around it to discover that he was staring at the side of a house. The house was made of the same crystal as the road he stood on. The Witcher looked across the street to see more the outlines of more houses as his eyes adjusted fully to be able to see past the light of his horn.
“Okay, so this is a town of some kind. Follow the road.” He muttered as he moved around the nearest house and back onto the road.
He could hear the scrabbling of claws and the sound of muted growls coming from the edges of the light of his horn. His hooves were silent on the crystal road as he walked slowly down the crystal road. Shapes and sounds flit at the edges of his vision and he strained to see them. His magic reached out to his saddlebags and was pushed back.
“Hmm… I can’t access my saddlebags and Sasa can’t find my location. This is shaping up to be quite the problem. Wherever Discord sent me is proving to be a mystery by itself. For now, I can’t use the World Spirit just in case it destabilizes where I am and makes things worse than they already are.”
His musing was interrupted by a roar coming from behind him. He looked back as the sound of claws on crystal caught his ears.
“That’s getting closer and louder.” He said aloud and took to his heels as he listened behind him.
He could see a large structure ahead of him and he galloped for the base of it. As he neared it he extinguished his horn, he could see the wide stilts the structure stood on and he slid behind one of them as his ears pricked to listen, intent on the one who had pursued him. The sound of claws passed by him as a roar shook the air and he could feel the vibrations as they rattled through him.
“Gods below.” He whispered as the sound faded.
He looked out and cast his eyes around him. The Elder Witcher stayed still and silent as his ears pricked and listened. He had met many monsters that sounded similar to what he had heard they were not the same. This creature had given off no scent and from what he could tell had left no track, despite the sounds that had come from it. Once it had completely faded he emerged from his hiding place and left his horn extinguished. His orange eyes gave off a sight glow in the pitch darkness around him.
Shapes flit out of his sight and he was constantly looking around him for the source. He stayed in place and closed his eyes. His ears focused on the sounds that the shapes might make and he honed in on a single sound. His ears stayed focused and he slowly began to walk forward, following the sound of weeping. His claws came out of his hoof and they clicked on the roads smooth surface, the only sound he made as he moved.
He opened his eyes when the sound became louder and he could see a vague shape twenty feet ahead of him. He advanced slowly on the shape and it did not move or flee his approach. He stopped and looked around him as the sounds went silent around him. Even the shape no longer made a sound and his instincts began to scream for caution. He approached one step at a time, the closer he got the more the shape began to look like a pony.
He reached out a hoof toward the shoulder of the ‘pony’. Instinct began to scream at him to back away and he paused before touching the figure. His eyes widened as the figure began to move and turn to him. He pulled his hoof back and his claws gripped the road under him. The face that turned to him was a horror even to him. Its eyes were missing and the flesh was sloughing off the bones. Flesh hung loosely in places and it's teeth, were much like his own, shown back at him through the pulled back lips as the face lunged forward to bite at him and he leaped back. His sword was in his magic a bare moment later as the figure vanished into the darkness.
His horn lit and bathed the area in the light once more. His eyes scanned the area around him. He could not see any sign of the figure and that only made him more on edge. He could hear the sounds of claws and the scream sounded out once more. Shadows flit through the edges of the light and he watched as he began to move in the direction that the figure had fled. His claws clicked as he moved slowly forward. His hooves left the crystal road and onto soft grass.
As he walked his mind went over what monsters he knew of that could hold the figure that he had seen. His mind came to the same conclusion the first time he had considered the options, there was no monster that he knew of that could wear a figure that looked similar.
“It must be something that I have not encountered. Or something that is native to Equestria and I have not seen before.”
His sword stayed close to him as he moved. His horn cast a wide light around him as the shadows continued to tease and avoid him. His magic flowed easily from him as he bade his horn to light a larger area and bathe the shadows in the light. He watched as the shadows screamed and evaporated in his magic as the light came over them.
“Interesting.” He mused aloud.
The Witcher fell silent as he moved through the grass and found a wall of darkness ahead of him. His hoof reached out and he pushed it against the wall ahead of him. He leaned forward and tapped his horn against the wall and it rippled under the touch. He pulled back as the feeling of being closed in came over him. He was not sure where the feeling had come from but he knew enough to know that it wasn’t from him. His eyes scanned the world around him as the sound of claws faded out once more.
“So once again, where am I?” He said to himself as he considered what he knew.
He lowered the enchantment on his wings and spun around to take to the air. His wings held him aloft as he soared for the sky. He slowed his flight as the feeling of being closed in washed over him once more and he spun to allow his wings to beat as he put his hooves on the ceiling of the dome he was in. He had seen Rainbow fly upside down before and now he found himself using the maneuver. His claws clicked against the dome and he pulled one hoof back to rake his claws over the dome as it rippled under his claws. His sword grated over the dome and it did not even scratch the smooth surface.
“What in the Gods name?” He whispered. “Sasa?”
“Chosen? Did you find out where you are?”
“No. I know I’m in a dome of some kind that is perpetually dark.”
“Dark? Can you describe it?”
“How are you and the girls doing?” He questioned her.
“I’m okay but I have no idea about the others. We got separated by Discord.”
“Great.” He muttered aloud. “I can’t find a way out of this thing.”
“Can you get out through magic?”
“Might be my only option. How much time has gone by since I vanished?”
“A couple of hours, or so.”
He was about to respond to her when the sound of claws caught his attention and he looked to the left to find nothing as the sound grew louder. He spun to the right as the sound of breathing in his ear forced him to release his hold on the domed ceiling. His eyes widened as the figure from before braved the light to attack him. His wings collapsed and he allowed himself to free fall. His wings opened as he spun to face the ground and they stopped him from colliding with the ground. He dropped to the ground and his wings folded to his sides once more.
“That was a bit of a shock.” He deadpanned as he looked up to see the figure fade into the dark once more. “Wonderful.”
“Chosen?”
“Yes?”
“Can you describe where you are?”
“It has crystal roads and the buildings are made of the same thing. With a structure in the center of the city, also made of crystal.”
“Crystals?”
“Yes. Hard to dent and they seem unaffected by the monster that is rampaging around within the dome. I didn’t get a good look at it but it was big enough to force me to run and hide from it.”
“Sounds familiar. I mean the description of the area, not the monster.” She clarified to him. “Hang on. Discord is here.”
Oblivion stood in silence as he waited for the feline to reply. His hooves danced under him as the feeling of entrapment went over him and he braced for the figure to attack him once more. When nothing happened he remained on edge.
“CHOSEN!”
He nearly went to his knees as Sasa screamed through their connection. He could feel her body becoming undone as he reached out to her. He could feel her coming apart and he reached out to her form, instead of her mind. The Witcher grunted as magic flowed over him from her. He could sense that it was not her own magic and he knew it to not be his own, which left Discord. The black Alicorn reached out to the World Spirit and he filtered it through himself to her.
"Sasa!?” He called out to her and received only silence.
He pushed more magic into her in response to her silence. He could sense that she was not conscious and he worked to stabilize her form. He was not sure what Discord had done to her but he had felt the pain and terror that had lanced through her in response to the Draconequus. His magic flowed from him as he funneled it into the sabercat.
“Sasa?” He reached out to her once more as he felt her coming around.
“Chosen!?” She called out to him once, he could sense her panic.
“Your fine. I got you.” He assured her as she calmed.
“He…he...used his magic on me after he realized that I could not talk to him. He said that hurting me was the same as hurting you. I’ll kill him.” She snarled.
“Are you okay otherwise?” He asked her.
“Yes. I’m all right. That hurt Chosen.”
“He tried to break you in my place.” Oblivion reasoned.
Sasa was quiet as she seemed to consider what he had said. “Chosen you should stay away from this creature. I don’t think it could break you but I would rather you not run the risk.” She said to him.
“Right now I think I am far enough away to avoid most anypony.” He admitted as he looked around him.
He looked around him as the world around him rippled. “Interesting.” He said aloud and waited for it to go back to normal. “I think I may be able to get out of here by using magical force. It seems to act differently…Wait.”
He went silent as he reached out to the area around using his magic. He filtered in the power of the World Spirit and it rippled around him. He brought out the Element around his neck and the area screamed at the magical presence of the Element. He pushed the Element back and it went silent once more.
“Chosen?”
“I tried to use the magic of the Element and the area screamed as though I had burned it.”
“I think I know where you are.”
“Oh?”
“The only place that sounds like what you describe is The Crystal Empire. It was banished by its ruler over a thousand years ago. Celestia and Luna fought against that ruler, who I can’t recall his name, and when defeated he banished the Empire with him.”
“That might explain the roads and buildings but the only pony I have seen is a horror of dead flesh and blood. I don’t think that is a pony of this world.”
“Maybe it is a product of the spell used to banish it? What about the other crystal ponies?”
“I haven’t seen any ponies. All I have seen are bits of shadow and they avoid me and the light my horn gives off.”
“They were banished from this world so there is a chance that is the form they have taken on since then.”
“That’s…I suppose that’s possible.” He agreed. “That explains where I was sent but…”
He paused as a feeling of unease went over him and he spun to confront anything that came toward him. Nothing came toward him as he spread his wings and waited. His ears flicked back and forth as he scanned the area around him.
“Chosen?”
“Nothing. Just a feeling. I touched the dome and every now and then I will get the feeling of being trapped and it signals something coming toward me. This was different and so far nothing has come.”
“Be careful Chosen. We have a new issue.”
“Such as?”
“I think Discord did something to everypony.”
“How so?”
“Rarity is convinced that a very large boulder is a diamond of equal size. Applejack is a liar. Pinkie is a very grumpy pony that if you so much as chuckle she is even angrier. Fluttershy is just plain rude. And Rainbow just flew away and left us here. And since we did not reach the middle or the end of the Labyrinth he has no intention of bringing you back.”
“So they are acting the opposite of their Elements?”
“Pretty much.”
“Stay with them while I get out of here and I will join you when I can. I can escape on my own.”
“Got it. Be careful.”
He turned and pulled his wings down to his sides as he broke into a trot to take him back to the wall of the dome. He reached the wall of the dome easily and with nothing coming out of the darkness to drive him forward. His claws dug into the turf as he reached out a hoof to tap the wall. It rippled under his touch and his horn illuminated the wall ahead of him.
“Okay, how much magic do I need to get out of here?” He asked himself as he began to call upon the World Spirit.
He gathered magic into his horn and began to channel it to cover his body. He reactivated the enchantment over his wings and continued to channel more magic. The glow from his magic grew and the shadows fled as his body was saturated in azure flame. He closed his eyes as the pressure within his horn grew and he opened his eyes as a roar sounded off behind him. He spun to face it as the monster from before raced toward him. Red eyes stared out from the mass of darkness and he thought he saw a pony inside as his magic spiked and he vanished in a blink of an eye.
He opened his eyes and sagged in his own skin as he beheld the front doors of Canterlot castle. He sighed as he brought his head back up to his full height and walked into the castle. He could see the light from Celestia in the main throne room and he angled to meet with her. She had been there when the Empire had been sealed and he felt she should know how he was sent there. He would rejoin Sasa after he spoke with her. He pushed open the throne room doors, for once the guards didn’t bother trying to stop him.
“Oblivion? What are you doing here?” She called out as she came down from her throne to greet him.
“Discord sent me away once he realized that he could not take my horn.” He informed her.
“Your horn?”
“He took the horns of the Unicorns and the wings of the Pegasus for a game in the labyrinth. They needed to reach the center to…find the Elements. Oh, Gods.” He suddenly cursed as he realized that he had been right. “Sasa. The Elements weren’t in the Labyrinth were they?”
“No. We were right. They are in Ponyville.” Sasa confirmed. “We were right when we said that it would be too easy to find them in the labyrinth.”
“The Elements are in Ponyville.” He said to the monarch who looked surprised. "They were never in the labyrinth.”
“And are they on their way to them?”
“Yes.” He assured her. “Anyway. The reason I came here first instead of rejoining the others is that I was sent to the Crystal Empire.”
“What?” Celestia’s eyes were wide as he spoke. “That was banished over a thousand years ago.”
“I know. Sasa informed me. I figured I would inform you that it seemed to be able to be reached.”
“Discord sent you there?” She repeated to him to confirm and he nodded his head. “Hopefully that does not mean the spell on it is weakening.”
“The spell on Discord weakened due to the Elements changing hooves. I used my Element in there and the whole dome it was enclosed in shuddered. If nothing else the Empire remembers them. I would be on the lookout for the Empire in the future.”
“You make a strong point about the spell weakening. If it does return I hope we are ready for it.”
“You will have others to help you no doubt.” He said to her. “But in the meantime, I had to use a vast amount of magic to escape it.”
“Discord did not pull you out of it?”
“No. He had informed them that if they made it to the end of the Labyrinth then he would bring me back. Since they did not reach the end nor the middle he did not have to act on his promise to bring me back.”
Celestia pursed her lips and anger rolled through her spirit and he shrugged, dismissing the issue. “We would have found a way to bring you back had you failed.” She assured him.
“I know. But I am able to rescue myself in this case.”
“Chosen! The Elements are failing!” Sasa called out to him. “We need you here.”
He glanced to Celestia and gave a polite nod to her as his horn flashed.
His eyes opened as the light from the Elements invocation failed in front of him. Sasa looked back to him as she fell to the ground behind Twilight. His head gave a slight tilt at the sight of the group of mares and the baby dragon who wore Rainbow Dash’s Element around his neck. Fluttershy threw her Element necklace aside and rarity greedily picked it up and sprinted back to the side of a large boulder.
“Care to explain?” He asked Sasa as the feline came to him and nuzzled his shoulder.
“Twilight decided that since I am connected to you that I would be a suitable stand-in for you and Spike would be Rainbow Dash. That clearly did not work.” She informed him as he turned his attention to twilight.
“I can see that.”
He could see the mare’s spirit rolling within her and for the first time since he had met her, she began to falter. His ears pinned back as she lowered her head and he stared as her tail and hind legs began to turn grey. Like the others, she was beginning to fall.
“Giving up already?” He asked her as he approached her.
“I can’t fight him alone. All our friends have turned into whatever they are or always have been.” She sniffled.
“They were tampered with. Discord made them what they are now. Think of it Twilight. What do you know of them? What did you know of them before they stepped into the labyrinth? Their greatest feature. Rarity.”
“Generous.”
“And now she is a greedy pony that covets items above others. Fluttershy?”
“Kind and loving.”
“Now turned cruel after the labyrinth. Applejack?”
“Honest to a fault.”
“And now she is a liar. Rainbow?”
“Loyal no matter what happens.”
“And she suddenly chooses to abandon us all. Pinkie?”
“Always fun and laughing.”
“Suddenly angry and hates the sound of laughter.” He said to her.
“What does it mean?” She asked.
“They did not suddenly become this on their own. They became the opposite of their Element. Discord knew that if we were not in sync then the Elements would fail. He is a spirit of disharmony and chaos. Disharmony is the opposite. Without harmony, we will fail in our attempts to stop him. He knew that and he used it against us. We can still fight back Twilight.”
“But without the others, we can’t stop him.” She said to him.
“Then bring them back. Show them who they really are and bring them clarity. I will stall Discord and try to lessen his impact on this area. I can stop the spread of his chaos if you give me some time.”
“Chosen?” Sasa asked him as she drew up alongside him. “I am with you.”
“I will send Sasa with you to allow me to know when you have the others with you. She will keep me updated when you are close.”
Sasa gave him a sideways look but ultimately did not argue with him. She walked to the mare and nuzzled her as the last of the grey coloring vanished from her fur. Twilight smiled as the cat joined her and she looked at the Witcher as he began to walk away from her.
“Do you know where he is?”
“I can find him.” He assured her. “When you have all of them Sasa will guide you to me. I will keep him in check as long as I can. Bring them back Twilight and they will stand with you once more.” He said to her over his shoulder as he broke into a trot.
Oblivion looked ahead as the spirit of the draconequus stood out ahead of him. He brought forth his armor from the Element and let it settle in place as he reached the top of a checker box hill and found Discord sitting in a throne atop another hill. The Witcher was silent as he slid down the hill and walked calmly toward the creature that had started to watch him closely. The draconequus watched as he came to within a dozen feet of him and stopped. Oblivion breathed in and his horn lit as he focused on a section of the checker box landscape and his magic pulsed as he dismissed the pattern, leaving only natural green grass and trees.
Discords eyes widened slightly at the stallion. “So you made it back somehow. I can’t help but think there is more to you than the others. Trying to steal your Element was useless and sending you away didn’t seem to work in the long term.”
“You did send me far away that is true. But you didn’t take into account my own magic and how I am perfectly capable of rescuing myself.” Oblivion replied as he rolled his shoulders.
“You act as if you could stop me. Without the Elements, you can’t change anything.” He growled.
“Maybe not. But I can make things more difficult for you.” He replied and his horn charged once more as he dismissed another section of checker box grass.
Oblivion watched as Discord raised his paw and snapped his fingers returning the area to its previous appearance. His horn charged once more and he dismissed the full area once more and used his magic to expand the circle that he corrected.
“Chosen, we have Applejack.” Sasa reached out and informed him from afar.
“Keep going. I have his attention on me.”
Discord growled and his fingers snapped as Oblivions horn charged and removed any piece of chaos magic that the draconequus created in the immediate vicinity. He could see the anger from the creature as he was constantly having to redo his work. Oblivion kept his armor in place and his horn alight as he interfered with the creature’s actions. Discord snapped his fingers and appeared close to the stallion who avoided him as he reached for the stallion’s horn once more. Oblivion pulled back and began to trot around the area, keeping the draconequus moving and chasing after him.
“We have Fluttershy.” Sasa called out.
“Keep going.”
He moved into a lope as Discord came after him in earnest. The creature managed to get a near grip on the long silver tail and that spurred Oblivion to move faster and keep Discord at arm’s length at least. The draconequus stopped and both fingers snapped as chaos rolled over the land and Oblivion was forced to bring more of his power to bear and sent out a powerful pulse of magic over the area around him and corrected the entire area, including Discords throne. The creature's jaw dropped and he glared at the stallion who had stopped and was now watching him in reply.
“Now I know there is more to you than I thought before. So how about we team up instead. We could wreak some lovely chaos.” Discord said his voice low.
“I think not. I am perfectly fine being on the other side of this fight. You can affect the world around you and so can I. I will correct what you make so long as I can.”
Discord had steam coming from his ears as the stallion spoke. He began casting his own spells more quickly and Oblivion kept up by using an area of effect type of spell that corrected large swaths of land versus small spots.
“We have Rarity and Pinkie! We are looking for Rainbow Dash. Keep him on you Chosen.” Sasa called to him.
Oblivion began to fire magic of his own at Discord, forcing the draconequus to act on many fronts. While the creature was quick with his casting when it was the only task he was doing, he slowed down when forced to act on more than one front. Oblivion broke into a hard gallop as he fought back against Discord with more magic. As he circled Discord he could see the draconequus growing angrier with him as time went by.
“We are coming Chosen!” Sasa informed him. “Keep him distracted.”
Oblivion slid to a stop and watched as Discord spun to face him, his body twisted and in place. The Witcher was quiet as Discords body spun to realign itself in place. His ears flicked back as the sound of hooves caught his attention and he glanced in their direction. He watched as Sasa came around the corner of a card tower with the mares on her heels. Each of them wore their Element around their neck as they neared him. He paused as Twilight drew up close to him and the others joined them quickly. Sasa came to stand at his side and a snarl pulled from her as the Draconequus went back to his throne.
“Oh, all of you again?” He said to them as he stared down at them.
“That's right. You couldn't break apart our friendship for long.” Applejack said to him as she regarded him once more.
Discord looked at the farm mare and his claws began to glow as he gripped the necklace of each mare and drew them to him. “Don’t lie to me Applejack. I’m the one that made you into a liar, so I should know.”
“Knew it.” Sasa quipped and roared as the mares hung on his grasp.
Twilight’s horn glowed as she focused on retrieving them. Oblivions horn lit as he channeled magic into her horn to make the spell stronger. He watched as her magic flashed and she teleported to land in the middle of the mares. Oblivion continued to channel into her horn as she cast a shield spell and used it to get her friends out of Discords grip. He lowered the ball of magic to the ground and they were set down close by him. His horn went dormant as he walked to stand closer to the group of mares.
Twilight looked to each of them and then back to the grinning Draconequus. “I'll tell you what we've learned, Discord: we've learned that friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt it's worth fighting for!” She called out to him as the creature made a face at her as he got out of his throne and hovered close to her.
“Ugh, gag. Fine, go ahead. Try and use your little Elements. Just make it quick. I'm missing some excellent chaos here.” He said to her as he went back to his throne and sat down, a cocky grin on his face.
“All right everypony. Let’s show him what friendship can do.” Twilight said to him and she closed her eyes to focus on the Element that she held.
Oblivion closed his eyes as his armor began to tremble on his body. He could feel the other Elements begin to activate as he stood motionless. He opened his eyes as Twilights eyes opened to reveal the white magic of the Element of Magic. Azure flame poured over his armor and he could feel their magic begin to trigger. He looked up as the rainbow tore away from the group of them and arched through the air and down toward the now uncertain creature. As the colors went over the Draconequus he contorted his body as he tried to fight against the onslaught of the magic that was being brought against him.
Oblivion watched as grey stone inched its way up Discords body and then farther up his body more quickly. His head was covered and Oblivion watched as his expression was one of fear and uncertainty as he fell to the Elements once more.
“That would be Elements of Harmony with two wins and Discord with zero.” Sasa quipped, cheerfully from her place on the sidelines.
The magic faded and Oblivion felt his armor slide across his body and go back to surround the wolf medallion around his neck. He looked at them and he could see each one's spirits were bright and back to their normal. At his side, Sasa rubbed her head against his shoulder and he could feel her sigh.
“Back to the way it belongs.” She said to him and he nodded in reply as the world around them righted itself and returned to normal.