//------------------------------// // Chapter 36: Where the Monsters Are // Story: Turmoil Rising // by JFT //------------------------------// Trapped in what seemed to be the domain of the Father of Monsters, as imagined by Discord, the ponies were completely caught off guard; the nightmare was waiting for them. Not only was he present, but also a pair of his cohorts, one of which only the party planner and the wonderbolt were familiar with. While they were expecting resistance, they were not prepared for the large grotesque creature that came shambling out of the dark, an abomination that looked like somebody had smushed an equine and a lizard together. “We WaNt To PlAy,” the creature said. “We WaNt To PlAy WiTh DiScOrD, FaThEr.” “Patience, Chimeracorn,” the elder calmed it, “you will get what you desire soon.” In the middle of the group of ponies, Applejack heard him, and it jogged her memory. “Chimera… corn? As in the creature with a head of a tiger, a goat, and a snake for a tail?” The ram regarded her. “Oh? You’re familiar with her, are you? Remarkable creature indeed. Strength of all three species, yet the weakness of none. Mind you, having three separate brains attached to one body can cause a whole lot of distractions, which is why in this case, I’ve decided to simply fuse all seven brains into a single one… although the result, in this case, is questionable.” “That’s an understatement,” Rainbow Dash whispered to her side, as saw the expression on the creature’s face, making it seem as if she’s in a state of ecstasy. “What poor little creatures did you hurt to make that thing?” Fluttershy asked. Grogar turned a grim smile. “Are you curious?” “NO!” the draconequus immediately rose and clapped the yellow pegasus' mount shut. “She or anyone else don't want to know!” He laughed. “My my, aren’t your uppity. Fine, I’ll humor you. But surely your seven friends will be able to figure it out on their own, won’t they?” Spike was confused. What was the sheep talking about? Why would they be able to recognize the creature? He took a closer look at the abomination, and he honestly couldn’t fathom what was up. Yet as he absorb its appearance, something was beginning to dawn on him. This creature, this Chimeracorn, had familiar features: the body alone resembled an equine if the details were excluded; the horn was clearly something a unicorn would have, and the wings, for the most part, looked like that of a pegasus, or rather, both features would belong to an alicorn. The creatures’ mane was extra-long as if it belonged to the animal caretaker, yet it possessed the elegance of the fashionista, something that also showed in her eyelashes, her eyes, however, made it seem as if the creature wasn’t mentally present altogether. And even though the facial structure was equine-like, it bore large sharp fangs, like a carnivorous beast. Her body was mostly covered in scales, except for her feathery wings, and even those then expanded to have a fleshy design, as if they belonged to a dragon. It had hooves at the front, yet the hind legs were strangely contorted and had toes, they almost looked like dragon claws. What put him off, however, was its cutie mark. Did Grogar create this creature from a pony? It certainly would explain the equine look. The strange purple sun-like shape looked more like tendrils of the cosmos that he saw in one of Twilight’s old astrology books from Canterlot, and within it were seven rhombus shapes of seven different colors, each with a diamond at the tip of it. He couldn’t decipher its meaning. What was the point of these seven geometric shapes that Grogar was trying to say to Discord that his seven friends would be able to… and something clicked in his thought process. Seven! That was the key. He mentioned it before, fusing seven brains, just then he mentioned seven friends, and now… now he was looking at the seven shapes, each of every specific color that the dragon was familiar with. He turned to his friends, recognizing the familiar fur patterns: blue, yellow, purple, white, pink, orange. The seventh one, the green one was missing, however. Who was the other one? He doesn’t know any specific green pony worth mentioning. He rescanned the creature again, and finally realized he’s missed a detail: the creature’s ears! They were longs and scaly… and green! The alicorn noticed her companion’s suddenly erratic behavior, as his jaw began to wobble, yet his teeth weren’t rattling. “Spike, what’s wrong?” “I-i-i-i-it’s…” the little dragon had a hard time speaking from the shock, “us…” All the mares turned their heads to him. “Wait, what?!” Pinkie Pie responded. “That thing is all of us smushed together!” he loudly announced. Their heads turned to the creature, it still looked at them with a look of anticipation, and now that Spike had said his piece, they all noticed the similarities this creature had between all of them. Soon enough Rarity screamed out loud, and the rest of the elements and Spike did the same, while Tempest, Zecora, and even Discord, shut their ears from the high-pitched noise. They would soon be joined by them, however, as the Chimeracorn suddenly opened its mouth and let out a scream, that sounded exactly as the 7 of them screaming in unison, but much louder, overpowering their voices, forcing themselves to stop. After a few seconds, the screaming stopped, but the creature’s personality became even more expressive than before. “ArE wE hAvInG a ScReAmInG pArTy? CaN wE pLaY mOrE? ThIs Is FuN!” Her father sighed. “Now look what you did. You made her even giddier. At this point, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep her at bay.” “WHAT THE HAY IS WRONG WITH YOU, SHEEP?!” Applejack yelled. “Who gave you the idea for this bad joke?!” “Well… he did, obviously,” he nodded in their direction. There was only one person to whom he could be referring, and he stood by his best friend’s side, so everybody looked at him. “Discord, what bright ideas did you give him?” the wonderbolt inquired. “Nothing! I swear I said nothing to him, all I’ve been doing was running from him!” he denied. “It’s not like he had to say anything,” the ram explained, “after all… I can read him like an open book. What he fears so badly, is for me to start interfering into the life he still has left, to see harm come to those who are dear to him, especially the yellow one.” When those words were spoken, the said pony let out a gasp. “I caught them all. They were nothing before my power. I extracted their essences to create copies of them, and then time and again crossed them, and unfortunately, the early results were not particularly positive. And he…” The old ram began to cackle. “He was made to watch the entire process happen over and over again, his friends, becoming horrible failed experiments, until at last my work began to bore fruit. I finally managed to conjugate the Elements of Harmony, as well as their pet, into a singular perfect being that now stands before you. The strengths of all seven, and weakness of none… and it’s under MY COMMAND!” It was just so shocking. Now Discord’s words when they first encountered him made sense; with everything that he’s been through, he thought they were just copies of the originals. And even as they thought that the serpent patchwork slithered away in the commotion, behind the group, trying to sneak away. He didn’t get a few stone blocks away, when suddenly a large grey shape jumped in front of him, blocking his path, and the loud thud it caused made everybody else aware. The arimaspi towered over them on the opposite side of the corridor, letting out some incomprehensible sounds. “Pamaris is not going to let you get away, draconequus,” Bray answered. Rainbow Dash looked at the unimpressive minion who now stood by himself, blocking the doorway. “Well, it’s not like you’re gonna stop him if we all go through you, donkey.” Suddenly, a portal of dark light opened behind him, and the blue ram stepped out of it, joining his side. The blue pegasus was confused, as were the rest when they realized that Grogar was no longer standing next to the Chimeracorn. “Did you really just open a portal to move twenty hooves away?” Pinkie Pie asked him. Soon, another figure stepped through the portal; a familiar white unicorn with a green mane that had a pink streak in it, and a cutie mark with a bunch of leaves. “Gusty?” Twilight gasped. “I do not believe you’re in any position to question how Grogar uses his powers in his domain,” she scolded them. “You’ve nowhere to run now, so as far as he’s concerned-“ The ram lifted his hoof, silencing the pony. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re all at my mercy. Perhaps my newest creation could use a twin… and they can both play with draconequus together.” The situation was anything but rosy. There were three pathways and all of them were now blocked by the Father of Monsters and his minions, and to make matters worse, he announced that he will put them through what Discord had been seeing. And to be added to this equation did not sit well with Tempest, who was stuck in the middle of the clustered group, as well as the other companion that stood out from the rest… who for some reason was busy sticking her head inside one of her saddlebags. “What are you doing? It’s not like blocking the sight and sound will make things better,” she told the zebra. “'I'm not trying to hide,” Zecora told her, sticking her head out for a moment, “I'm searching for something to turn the tide.”Soon she pulled her head out, holding a small grey vial between her teeth, repeating it two more times until she had three. “Tempest, I need to know, how well can you throw?” “I once turned the princesses into obsidian statues at 50 hooves away if that counts for anything.” “That will do,” the shaman said, “now aim for their legs, and strike true!” She tossed the vials into the air. The broken unicorn leaped after them, and one after another bucked them in three different directions. As they smashed against the ground before their enemies, a cloud of dust erupted by them, obscuring their vision. Seeing them distracted, the alicorn issued a command. “Everypony! This way!” She ran in the direction where the arimaspi stood, he was large enough that they’d be able to get past him, running between its legs, with the rest of them following, with Spike swiping up Discord as they did. And running was all they could do. It wouldn’t be long before their opposition became aware they slipped past and they’d be hunting them down. After a few corners have been turned, the princess spoke again. “Everypony listen! I think it’s the best that we split up!” “What?!” the country pony shot. “Twi, are you nuts?!” “Yeah! Haven’t you ever heard the horror stories where there’s a monster chasing a group, and then they split up and they get picked off by it one after another?!” Rainbow Dash added. “I hate those stories!” Pinkie pied voiced the same concern. “Yes, I get it, but that’s not the problem!” she explained herself. “The only saving grace right now is the fact that this place is almost like a maze, so they’ll have a hard time finding us unless the Grogar has a way to track them, in which case, us sticking together would only be detrimental! Especially if they come at us together!” “Well, considering the sheep can teleport all over the place, I’d say that’s a sound plan!” Tempest agreed. “But I don’t want to be on my own in this dark place!” the shy pegasus complained. “You won’t, Fluttershy,” Twilight assured her, “we just need to break down a bit so they can’t come at us together. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, you go. Applejack and Rarity, go the other way. Tempest and…” Before she finished the sentence, the broken unicorn and the zebra already made a turn and disappeared. “Okay, that’s just the four of us them. Spike, give Discord to Fluttershy-“ “No!” he protested. “Just let me go so I can slink away in a hole.” “Discord, we’re not letting you go after what just happened!” the animal caretaker argued. “She’s the one that’s gonna come looking for me, and you can’t fight her!” And just then, somewhere further in the back of the corridor, a distorted cry echoed. “DiScOrD!” “AIEEEEE! She’s right on our tails!” he spazzed out. “Any moment now she’s gonna catch up to us and then it’s over!” Twilight could hear the sound of hoof and feet fast approaching. There was no way they’d outrun it! The fact that it already caught up to them meant that not just her abilities, but her senses as well were enhanced. It was likely hearing the sound of their galloping hooves from that distance. There was a way to avoid it, but it was risky. “All of you, keep quiet right now and do as I say,” the alicorn instructed. They quickly turned a corner and then promptly stopped. “Twilight, why are you sto-!” draconequus yelled, only to have a hoof shoved in his mouth. “I said be quiet,” the princess whispered and then motioned at a gap between two pillars on the wall. “Everypony, huddle together.” They did. They all pressed against the wall between the pillars, with Twilight holding Spike, while Fluttershy held on to Discord. The alicorn’s horn began to glow, concentrating her magic to create a barrier of illusion. After that they remained silent, all they could hear, however, was a loud gallop fast approaching, followed by a sliding sound. It was quiet for a moment before the heavy stomping of hooves and claws followed. A giant form passed their illusion and then stopped next to it. The creature twisted her head about as if she was trying to listen to the noise, yet she caught nothing. “DiScOrD!” its disturbing voice spoke. “WhErE aRe YoU, dIsCoRd?! LeT’s PlAy ToGeThEr! FaThEr SaId We CaN!” It just stood there, calling out for them, only a few feet away. Fluttershy felt the vibration in her embrace. The draconequus was absolutely trembling in her hooves while desperately trying to hold his mouth shut so he wouldn’t freak out, so terrified was he of the situation. After a few moments, the abomination slowly walked down the corridor, still trying to call for them. When the stomping sound was far enough that it could barely be heard, they finally knew it was gone, they all let out a sigh of relief. That was a mistake. The galloping sound was returning in their direction, and before they could react, Chimeracorn slid on the ground, stopping right in front of them, and then immediately charged in their direction, straight through the wall. They all cowered, yet all they heard was the sound stone breaking time and time again behind them while crying for the name. The creature had left a gaping hole in the wall, and it didn’t even notice them as it passed through the illusion. “Talk about good hearing,” Spike noted. “Even I’m impressed that my ears are that good.” “She’s gonna come back soon when she finds out we’re not there,” Discord urged. “There’s got to be a better place to hide.” They all looked through the hole in the wall, scanning about to see if their pursuer was in sight while looking for another place they could hide in. That’s when Twilight noticed a source of light in the distance, it was far brighter than what she had seen in this place so far, so a thought ran through her head. “This way,” she whispered, and took off, flying through the corridor with the dragon on her back, with the yellow pegasus following her, still holding the draconequus. “Twilight, where are you leading us?” Discord asked. “That’s the way outside.” “It is?” she gave him a surprised look. “Good. That’s the last place she’ll come looking for us and we can formalize a plan for us all to regroup.” “No! Twilight, you don’t understand! Out there we’re-“ Before he finished they already passed the threshold of bright light. The alicorn exhaled in relief that the shadowy close quarters were no longer present; just wide open… And then she stopped in mid-air, as did the pegasus, and all but Discord were left with hanging jaws. Twilight didn’t know whether she should marvel at the sight, or be absolutely terrified from the illogicality of this place. The infinite cosmos opened before them, distant stars and planetary systems were on display as far as the eye could see. Yet despite that, not far from them, a giant pipe, with a valve shaped like a dragon’s head was just standing in the air, without being attached to a wall, yet brightly colored liquid was flowing out of it, and as she looked around, there were more pipes attached to the foreground of the cosmos, each releasing a different type of colorful stream. When she checked where all of it was flowing, she finally realized that this place actually had ground, as small as it was, creating an outer earthly ring around a huge pit where all of the magical streams conjugated together into a swirling whirlpool, a nexus of ley energies; its magic was so overcharged that its excess essence seemed to be flowing upwards, as steam from a boiling pot, all the way up to… And that’s when the unsetting feeling set in. This open space, along with the floor also had a ceiling. This ceiling was a gargantuan black fortress that hung upside-down over the nexus, its energy coalescing throughout the superstructure. “Discord…” she had a hard time speaking from being taken aback, “what… is this place…?” After he was silent for some time, the draconequus finally spoke. “Tambelon… the seat, and the source of Father’s power. And in his realm, nothing is beyond his sight…” “What do you mean by that?” Spike asked. He received his answer. They caught glimpse of a bright light source from the corner of their eyes, as, on one of the fortress’ ledges, a portal of dark light opened. To their surprise, through it, six multi-colored equines fell out in a pile, and soon after, Grogar followed, with Gusty and Bray standing by his sides, and lastly, the arimaspi emerged. “Wait! When… how did he…?!” the dragon was at the loss for words. “That’s what I meant when I said that nothing’s beyond his sight in his realm,” Discord explained. “Inside the fortress, we still had a cover, but out here he'll sense us.” The ram suddenly grinned. His horns were still glowing, but this time, his frontal hoof was enveloped in a dark light as well. Twilight immediately recognized what he was about to do; he did it before! She quickly dived, and not a moment later, the ram stomped. The further end of the ledge where the mares were, snapped off, and they all fell towards the giant swirling pit below. Before they even reached the ground level though, they were enveloped on a pink aura and slowed down, as the princess managed to get there just in time. She flew up to where Fluttershy was still with her little friend, finally regrouping, and then came face to face with the Father of Monsters and his entourage. “Well, this was disappointing. I was feeling a bit generous and was hoping of sparing you all from the previously mentioned fate, but since you’re too stubborn, I guess I’ll have to deal with you how I said in the first place,” the ram said, before raising his voice. “Chimeracorn!” The sound of rock breaking began to erupt from the upside-down fortress. Some of the structural design was beginning to noticeably fall apart. Finally, one of the outer walls burst open, and the pony-dragon hybrid came flying out. “WhAt Is It, FaThEr?” it answered. He boisterously announced. “Playtime!” A huge smile appeared on the creature’s face, and its eyes darted at the group of equines, more specifically, the yellow one, who was holding her older sibling. At high speed, it dashed at her, yet just before she managed to come close, Twilight enveloped everybody in a large purple bubble, causing her to crash into it. Chimeracorn shook its head, then roared, as its horn began to glow in chromatic color, finally shooting a beam at the bubble. It withstood… for now. “Twilight, what do we do?!” Spike panicked, noticing the strain on her expression. “Be quiet, please! It’s really hard trying to hold her at bay and concentrate on thinking at the same time.” “Think about what, Twilight?” Applejack asked. “Like, how did Grogar get to everypony. By all accounts, if what Discord said was true, then only me, Fluttershy, Spike, and himself should’ve been found out. So why didn’t it work?” It’s not like he had to say anything, after all… I can read him like an open book. That’s when the princess finally realized what happened. “Discord. It’s you. You’re the one who let him know where they were.” “Me?!” he erupted. “But how was I supposed to know where they were inside?!” “You didn’t,” she explained. “You just already knew they were going to get caught.” Draconequus was visibly confused, so she elaborated further. “This is all a nightmare, YOUR nightmare, maintained by King Sombra. He sees into your fears and makes them manifest. I had almost forgotten about it considering how real it is and after seeing this place, but right now Sombra is solely focusing on you, he’s drawing on everything you fear and dread, which is why he was able to find them. For all of this to stop, you have to realize that this is just a nightmare and fight against it.” His gaze wandered to the fortress where his makes and his cohorts stood, including the pony mare. After a moment she noticed him, realizing he was looking at her, and in response, she turned her head away with a humph. He turned back to the alicorn with a despondent tone. “I can’t, Twilight.” “Of course, you can, Discord!” Rarity stepped in. “Sombra’s done it to all of us, we’ve all managed to free ourselves from our nightmares. You can too!” “But the outcome won’t change in the end. This isn’t a nightmare… it’s a vision of the future.” “Discord, what are you talking about?” the alicorn questioned. “All that we see here, I pushed it to that point. None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t been so prideful and told those three where the bell was hidden.” “Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow were beaten in the end, Discord,” Rainbow Dash reminded him. “We’ve managed to disperse the magic they took from the bell with the power of friendsh-” “YOU’RE NOT LISTENING!!!” he cried out. “If the bell had remained where it was, it wouldn’t have been kept in Canterlot after they were defeated, Chrysalis wouldn’t have been able to steal it, and Father would’ve never been brought back. My one action had triggered a chain of events that can no longer be stopped. This here, this nightmare… is the final culmination, the inevitable conclusion of everything I’ve done…” Chimeracorn’s eyes glowed, and Twilight noticed it. Discord’s dread was feeding the nightmare with power, which became all the clearer, when all of a sudden, the intensity from its attack increased to the point where it overwhelmed the princess, popping the bubble and knocking them out of the sky. They fell, and being disoriented they became aware too late that they were about to splatter against the only solid ground, which surrounded the magical vortex beneath the fortress. And just when they were about to smash against it, the ground bent and bounced them back, several times as they kept falling back, until they finally stopped. The party planner poked the ground. “Is this sponge cake?” She quickly bit a large chunk out of it. “Mmmmmm, tasty.” Tempest gave her an awkward look. “Whatever it is, it let us survive.” “Everypony else okay?” the alicorn asked. They all answered in unison with an okay… except for one. “Wait... where’s Discord?!” A scream came from above, as the draconequus nosedived and then glided across the floor where he ended up rolling in the dirt. Something crashed into the ground nearby, and from the rising dust of the impact, the twisted creature emerged and slowly approached the former Lord of Chaos. Twilight quickly rose and ran to intercept it, while the rest followed. As they ran, the sound of grinding rocks came up, and then a spitting sound, and they all noticed Pinkie Pie trying to remove whatever she just had in her mouth. “Yuck… all of a sudden it went salty and dry.” Meanwhile, the pony-dragon hybrid approached, displaying a gleeful smile in her twisted expression. It was finally going to play just as her maker promised. Yet just as she was in hooves reach of her target, she banged her face against a purple shield. Anger flared up in her and proceeded to bash her hooves against the obstruction that the princess had set up. They managed to intervene at the last minute, but it was only a matter of time before the creature found a way to bypass the protection. “You know, just give a word and I can keep her busy for a bit,” the broken unicorn offered. Twilight was about to decline when moaning interrupted their situation; draconequus was curled up in a fetal position, and he wept. “It’s all my fault. ALL OF THIS IS MY FAULT! You’re all gonna be turned into that hideous creature and I’ll be forced to watch it happen over and over and over-!” “Discord, listen to me!!!” the princess intervened, as she knew that if he gave in now, the monster outside will win. “I know how painful it is knowing you’ve done something that has caused unforeseeable consequences, especially if you’re thinking about how much worse it can get. But that’s why we have to try and change that!” “I can’t! I can’t forgive myself after what I’ve seen HIM do because of me, I can’t!” “You must, Discord! If you don’t then you’ll never have a chance to try and make things right again!” “But that’s the point, Twilight! I can’t change THIS! It’s already been set in st-!” “NO!” the yellow pegasus yelled, grabbing everybody’s attention, silencing the whimpering draconequus. “Now you listen to me, Discord! Nothing is set in stone. Regardless of what you think, things change. Years ago, I would’ve never imagined I’d get out of my comfort zone. I used to be really antsy, I still am, but not as I used to, I never would’ve thought I’d get to the point in life I am now. This nightmare, it will only come to pass if you allow it to happen, but it’s not destined to happen.” She hit the nail on the head, and the alicorn knew it. “Fluttershy’s right, Discord. This place isn’t your destiny.” “Destiny?” a dark voice spoke. “What would you know… about destiny?” Everybody’s head turned in its direction. Chimeracorn was standing still, looking down on the opposition… with red eyes and a green glow. “Sombra?” the Twilight asked. It shook its head, then opened its eyes, which were now chromatic again, before giving out a roar and proceeding to bash the shield again. The mare found this odd, something interrupted the nightmare for some reason, and it was enough to give them momentary pause, but they still had to fully convince their small friend to fight back. “You’re the only one who can fight this back, Discord,” she urged him. “But even if you say this is a nightmare, without my powers of chaos, I can’t do anything.” “Discord, this is happening in your mind,” Spike answered. “It doesn’t matter what power you hold while awake, you’re the one who can shape this place at will.” “Yeah! What happened earlier when we were falling and you thought we were going to splat?” the wonderbolt asked. “Well,” he spoke, “I panicked and I didn’t want anypony to get hurt, and I wished for the ground to be softer… and the first thing that came to mind was Pinkie’s sponge cake.” “AHA!” the aforementioned pony exclaimed. “I thought it tasted familiar… for a moment.” “That’s all the proof you need, Discord,” the fashionista stated. “Trust our words.” He gave them a concerned look, but there was nothing as such on the faces of the Elements, even the two additions nodded in response. Chimeracorn on the other hand became increasingly irritated that the object of her desire was in plain sight, yet it was being prevented from claiming it. Suddenly her horn was wrapped in a chromatic aura and then used it to pierce through the magical bubble, like butter. Twilight panicked and backpaddled to the group, as the creature crawled through the protection and was now inside their safe space. “DiScOrD, pLaY wItH uS!” it repeated. The mares screamed in terror as there was no way to stop it now. It quickly approached the yellow pegasus, and just as it reached her, Discord, on instinct, grabbed the monster’s horn, pulled it back like rubber, and released it, causing the recoil to send it flying backward, to the other end of the earthen ring. “It… it worked?” he said in amazement. “That actually worked?” It confirmed what the mares were saying. Chimeracorn on the other hand was angry. It lept into the air and with high speed, flew in their direction. “Quick, do something more looney!” Pinkie Pie suggested in a hurry. Discord was still skeptical for a moment, but he was reassured when the creature reached the bubble, and instead of breaking through it on touch, the protection snapped outwards, trapping it inside. Something else came to his mind as well. He snapped his fingers and with a bang, he found himself towering over the equines like he was used to. “Haha!” he let out joyful laughter, before snapping his fingers again, creating a copy of himself. “It’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten how liberating this was.” As they spoke in unison, the original looked at the copy, and lifted a small "ball" in which Chimeracorn was now trapped. “Tennis?” he made an offer to his other-self. “Would I?” he replied. The other one teleported on the other side of the earthen ring, they all pulled out tennis rackets and began to pass the “ball” back and forth. It seemed that the draconequus had been pulled out of his stupor and returned to his usual jovial self… or so it seemed. As the two Lords of Chaos passed the trapped sibling back and forth, the ball eventually stopped in the middle of them. “Hey! That’s foul play!” the other Discord yelled from the other side. “Hey, that wasn’t me!” the real one replied. “Well, then who’s doing it?!” the copy said back. A portal of dark light opened on the ground, and the Father and his companions exited through it. At the moment’s notice, Discord’s cheerfulness vanished, just like his copy, and he shrunk back to his small size, before running off into the embrace of Fluttershy. “I think we’ve played enough,” Grogar announced, irritation noticeable in the tone of his voice. “Yes, you’ve played enough, Grogar,” Twilight spoke. “Or should I say, King Sombra. Discord’s now aware that his power is limitless in his mind, just like Spike has. And even if you posed as his creator, no matter what monster you have in store, he has the power to overcome everything you throw at him. Right, Discord?” “Well, I-i-i guess… maybe… surely?” he replied in a jittery tone. Out of nowhere, the area around them echoed deep unnatural laughter, HIS laughter. Grogar was grinning. “You’ve no idea what a REAL monster looks like, pony,” the ram said. “But you will witness it… firsthand.” The ground trembled, and the magical water of the swirling pool erupted and splashed over the area where the Father of Monster stood, and he disappeared. Suddenly, the colorful liquid turned dark, with a light radiance, it began to grow, expanding into a massive mountainous form until it finally formed a sinister silhouette that resembled a head of a ram. But it wasn’t over yet, as his sides began to expand, one completely formed of darkness, and another of pure light. “I will taste the day…” the creature’s deep voice spoke, “… and savor the night.” The head of light let out a roar as it opened its mouth, and all of a sudden, the light of the infinite cosmos surrounding them, all of the countless stars began to dim, as it absorbed it all into itself. Meanwhile, the head of darkness let out a low growl, and as the light dimmed, it opened its jaws and began to absorb the blackness that remained in the empty cosmos, draining all the color from it. As this was happening the world began to shrink, replaced by the empty void the two heads had left behind. The ground under the ponies had completely disappeared, just as everything else had until there was absolutely nothing left, but the towering creature. “And now…” the deep voice said, “…embrace the inevitable end.” The two heads finally shut their maws, and that’s when the ram’s head opened its mouth. It became apparent what was about to happen. “Discord, quick! Stop him!” Spike yelled. Draconequus heeded his words and lept out of his best friend’s embrace to the far front of the group. The sinister ram suddenly released a beam of dark light aimed straight at them, only to be blocked. “You’re doing it, Discord!” Fluttershy praised him. “We told you, you can beat your nightmare!” “Can he?” That voice came from the sinister beast, yet Grogar’s head wasn’t the one speaking, as it channeled the destructive beam. Instead, it came from the head made of light. “You think that with what he had seen, what future awaits, he has clear consciousness?” “No,” its voice followed up, it didn’t come from the head of light this time, but from the head of darkness. “He knows the truth now. He has willingly deceived and hurt his friends in an attempt to help them, just so he could feel good about himself. He willingly freed those he knew could not be trusted, believing he could manipulate them, and in the end it all backfired, just as it did the first time, and somepony had to suffer for his actions, just as you all will.” The head of Light resumed. “He will willingly let himself submit to torment soon because deep down, he knows he had done things so inexcusable, that he doesn’t deserve redemption… And it’s only a matter of time now before his will falters.” As the Father of Monsters spoke, the language in draconequus’ movement betrayed the situation: he was growing weaker; even after all that was said, he still didn’t believe himself worthy after he had already spent his trust for the third time. Everything it was saying was true. Perhaps this is how it was meant to be, it would be the only way for him to make up for what he had done. Suddenly, just as he was about to let go, a grip formed around him by a pair of yellow hooves, pulling him into a snuggle. “You’re wrong, King Sombra,” Fluttershy stated. “Nopony is beyond redemption, as long as they have the desire to make up for what they’ve done.” Discord turned and gave her a look of uncertainty. “Even after all I've done? After all you've seen?” She nodded with a smile. “I believe from the bottom of my heart.” The princess joined at her side. “And we’ll help you get there, Discord.” And one after another, the rest of the elements followed, joining at draconequus' side with a group hug. He broke into tears, yet did not utter a single whimper, but instead two words. “Thank you…” The continuous beam that was assaulting Discord suddenly split in two, the beam of light disintegrated the head of darkness, while the black beam purged the head made of light, before reuniting back at the ram’s head, distorting it. All of a sudden, on the body of the giant black mass, a pair of red eyes with green residue opened. The umbrum king was desperately resisting, trying to refuse the losing battle of the mindscape, but in the end, it did little, as it roared in a final attempt of refusal, before getting expelled. “Is it finally over?” Tempest asked as the veil disappeared. They found themselves back on the platform above the green magical lake, in the middle of the crystal cavern. “Okay, we all present now?” Twilight asked. “Present!” the mares one after another answered, except for the animal caretaker as she smothered the draconequus with kisses. “I’m so glad, you’re back, Discord,” she told him. “Thank you for believing in me when I couldn’t,” he said. “Just remember that no destiny can stand in the way of atoning for something you-“ “Don’t you preach to me… about destiny…” They all stirred. That voice certainly did not belong to the Mother of Fear, and it was coming from a specific location. On the other side of the room, a mass of shadow was slouching against the wall, it began to move and twist until it finally formed a familiar equine shape. “He’s still here?!” the wonderbolt shouted. “I mean, it’s not like what we did had destroyed him, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity pointed out. “But that’s about to change.” Applejack knocked her frontal hooves together. The umbrum king struggled to get back up, it seemed that the battle of minds had been taxing on him. “Destiny has brought me to this point, ponies. From the moment I saw the vision of the Crystal Heart, I knew something was different about me. And after I had reunited with mother, she had liberated me of all constraints, to fulfill the purpose for which I existed.” He inhaled. “DO NOT TELL ME THAT DESTINY MEANS NOTHING!” The reply he would receive would not be to his liking. “Based on what’s just happened, Sombra,“ Twilight spoke as she stepped to the edge of the platform, “your destiny is about to come to an end. You tried to convince Discord that he was an irredeemable monster… but the only irredeemable monster I see here is you.” Soon the rest of the elements joined at her side, while the broken unicorn and the zebra backed away. "You may want to stand back, the whip is about to crack," Zecora told her. A bubble of light enveloped the elements and they began levitating. The moment that happened, panic set into Sombra, he knew what was coming, and he had no power to avert it. There was only one thing he could do as a final act of desperation. “MOTHER, HELP ME!” he cried out. His voice echoed throughout the crystal cavern, yet he was met with silence, there would be no help for him… or so he thought. There was a sparking sound coming from above him, and that was when he noticed sparks on the surface of the crystal wall, along with a strange tiny shadow among the glow, an oddity, buried under the surface. “You want my power, wicked child?” the feminine voice asked. “So be it…” The purple lightning bolts erupted and shot at the umbrum king, who cried out in agony preemptively, only to discover there was no pain. He felt a surge of power that was unlike anything, the power that could not be contained by his solid form. His shape collapsed into a mass of shadow and began to expand, filling the room with darkness. The Elements of Harmony saw it happen and unleashed their power, the bubble they formed expanded and met the darkness head-on. The two forces collided and began to contest who would overcome the other. Somewhere behind the group, Tempest and Zecora could do nothing but watch, yet they couldn’t even do that as the light was difficult to stare at, so they turned their backs against it. They were able to rest their eyes for a moment, but then… a gasp escaped the shaman. “What’s with you?” the broken unicorn asked. She looked in the direction she was staring and noticed what she was seeing. On the other end of the room where the entrance was, it would previously be too dark to see anything, but now that the light was illuminating the cavern they could see clearly into the mouth of the tunnel. A tall bipedal glistening figure with a cloak over its upper half was standing there for the two mares to see. The discovery settled in them both; it was the figure that Zecora saw through the eyes of another in her vision, and Tempest knew now that she was right in hearing somebody else being down here. “You guys! There’s-!” the former lieutenant tried to warn them, but then noticed that the darkness outside the bubble was beginning to envelop it before it all went white. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining, and the whole group found themselves in a blossoming field on the outskirts of Ponyville. “Oh no… not again,” Tempest put a hoof over her face. “Tempest darling, what’s wrong? the fashionista wondered. “I know what’s wrong,” Twilight answered. “Why are we in Ponyville if we’re supposed to be in the Frozen North?” “Wait one darn minute, are you saying we’re in another nightmare again?” Applejack questioned. “But how’s that even possible?” Fluttershy shared her concerns. “We used the power of friendship, didn’t we?” “Yeah! How did Sombra overcome that?!” added Rainbow Dash. “All I saw was him getting struck by lightning from his mama,” Pinkie Pie pointed out. “But that still doesn’t explain it, Pinkie,” Spike said. “The only other time somepony was able to stand up against the power of friendship… was…” The sun suddenly disappeared, replaced by dark gloomy clouds, and lightning began to rain, tearing at the landscape. In a panic, Twilight quickly erected a barrier to protect all of them, yet it seemed that it was conveniently missing them. The roaring thunder turned into a maniacal cackle, and from every corner where shadows were visible, they all began to move, coming together, merging into a single being that ended up towering over them. “Now, do not worry, visitors,” the sinister voice spoke. “I’ve no intention of harming you in a simplistic manner like this.” “Sombra!” Twilight shook her hoof at the giant black shapeless mass. “Enough games! In whose nightmares are we trapped now?!” It laughed again. “Nobody’s, little pony. You’re all trapped in a realm of fear, created and ruled over by its lord.” A familiar pair of giant red eyes with green residue opened, and then unexpectedly, another pair of eyes opened above those, but these were yellow and without pupils. They all looked down at them, and with a voice that sounded as if two beings were talking in unison, a giant yellow maw opened beneath the eyes. “ITS NIGHTMARE LORD!”