//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: Evil's Uprising // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Back in the cave, the seven ponies remained trapped by the crystals that Shroudheart had encased them inside of. "Flash Force!" Flash launched a laser at the crystal, but the light simply bounced off the crystal and almost hit him, Twilight putting up a shield to protect them all. "Well, so much for that." "Oh dear..." Fluttershy quivered, "There has to be a way out of here." As she said that, a bunch of dirt went flying through the air. It landed on Applejack's hat, surprising the cow-mare. "What the-?" She took her hat off and turned to the mud, all seeing the Princess of Friendship scraping her hooves into the ground and slowly digging a hole into the earth. "Twilight, what are you doin'?" "We can't just stay here," she replied, "I don't have a plan, and I don't know what I'm gonna do once we get out, but we can't sit here and let Shoudheart make slaves of everypony we love!" The others smiled at this, glad Twilight wasn't wallowing in self-pity and hopelessness. "Let me help!" Rainbow added as she flew over to the hole, "I'm faster!" "I like digging!" Pinkie continued as she grabbed her mane end and twirled it into a drill, which started spinning as she leapt into the hole, Flash, Fluttershy and Applejack coming over next. "I've been known to get my hooves dirty!" "Move over, y'all!" "Oh yeah!" Flash used his sword like a shovel, "Shroudheart won't know what hit him when were get through here." Rarity remained where she was, staring at the muddy hole. "Normally, I wouldn't dream of digging, but right now..." She pushed the others out of the way, "SHOW ME THE MUDDY!" She dug like a mare possessed, the group following Pinkie as she drilled a tunnel under the spikes. They were in deep, so getting beneath them took a while, but eventually they managed to dig their way to the other side before moving toward the surface. Once Pinkie broke through the topsoil, she shook the mud out of her hair as the others pulled themselves out. They all nodded, knowing they didn't have time to rest. Flash could move now, but he still felt like his Sacred Light was out of the question. Instead, he would have to make do with his Celestic Gear as they rushed out the cave. And as they did this, the Everfree Forest seemed strangely calm as they ran through. Flash spotted a bunch of timberwolves behind some trees, but to his shock, they were crouched down and huddled together like a bunch of scared puppies. It appeared Shroudheart could instill fear into anything, even to the most dangerous of beasts. And when they finally reached the edge of the forest, they were met by the most horrible of sights. Ponyville was covered in dark crystals, all sticking out of the ground and buildings. Nothing was destroyed, but the place no longer looked good as they ran into town, only to spot somepony walking through it. "Derpy!" Flash exclaimed, the gray mare marching through the town, but something wasn't right. Her coat wasn't as vibrant, and the way she walked was too rigid, completely different to how she should have been. And when Flash jumped in front of her, he gasped when he saw her eyes were glowing green. "No." The others followed and saw more ponies starting to come into view. Including Applejack's sister. "Apple Bloom!" She ran up to the filly, finding she was in the exact same state as Derpy. "It's me!" She grabbed her, "Look at me, sugarcube!" But she simply pulled herself free of her sister and kept marching. "Twilight, you gotta free her! Please!" Twilight nodded and flew over, sparking her horn. She fired a spell at the filly's head, only for magic around Apple Bloom's body to form a shield that blocked the magic and blasted it back to Twilight. "Augh!" She staggered back, shaking her head. "I...I can't! Without the Elements, my magic isn't strong enough to stop Shoudheart's!" As she said that, somepony else walked into view. "Spike!" The dragon and Starlight were marching in the same direction as the others, not even noticing them as they did so. "Spike, where are you going?" She ran up to her first pupil, "Starlight?" "We must lay siege to Canterlot," Starlight replied in a monotone voice. And as they walked off, Flash saw Heart and Soul as well. "No!" Twilight called out, "Snap out of it, you two! You're stronger than his magic!" "HEART!" Flash yelled, "Wake up!" But Heart didn't respond, Flash turning to his sister. "Please Soul, your healing magic. If you can wake up, maybe it can save everypony." Soul didn't reply, she and her brother staying on course. Flash growled at the sight, only to turn and go wide-eyed, "No...not you three!" Iron Core, Grand Hoof and Lightning Blitz were all marching through the town as well, the three Defenders as equally brainwashed as the rest of town. Flash also spotted Rogue, Wild and Soarin, his friends not even giving their special somepony a second glance as they moved together. And just as Flash thought things couldn't get any worse, he saw his sister and his heart broke. "Sweetie Belle," Rarity's voice cried as she hugged her struggling sister. "Please stop!" Sweetie pulled herself free and kept going, Rarity turning to Twilight in tears, "I can't get her to stop! I can't get her..." She cried into Twilight's hooves, the princess pulling her close. "None of us can. We can't reach them!" Flash finished, wishing right now that Springer was here. If he was, he might have been able to connect to their minds and free them that way. A scream then filled the air, Flash turning to Sugarcube Corner. He ran inside, only to see Pinkie clutching onto Mrs. Cake's back hoof and was being dragged along. The married bakers were also hypnotized, their children in the same state as they all dragged a large wagon behind them, which had a black and red cake. Pinkie sniffed before turning to the others. "He made them bake a black licorice fruit-cake that says 'Congratulations to Our Favorite Supreme Emperor Shroudheart' in red frosting!" She leapt into Rainbow's hooves, "IT'S THE UGLIEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!" She cried, Rainbow turning to their leader. "Twilight, this is bad!" They all then noticed Soarin and the rest of their special someponies all walk by again, "Like, really bad!" Fluttershy started sobbing. "I've never been so sad in my whole life! Twilight started pacing back and forth. "I don't know what to do! I don't know how to free them, and I don't know how to stop Shroudheart!" She looked down in shame. "Everypony was so sure I'd do such a great job! Well, this is exactly what I was afraid of! Could anything else possibly go wrong?!" "Well...with the Tree of Harmony gone, the Everfree Forest could grow out of control and threaten the town!" Pinkie chimed in, the others turning to her. "Darling, that's oddly specific." Rarity responded, only for Pinkie to grab her and turn her in the direction of the forest, the group doing the same. They saw all the trees in the everfree starting to grow out of control, the foliage soon capturing the closest house. "Great," Flash sighed as the other gasped, "It's like the times we faced Sombra, Tirek and Discord's insane plants all at once." The vines were growing fast, looking like dangerous serpants ready to constrict everything into nothing. And as this happened, Twilight stepped up with a grimace, "Even if we figure out how to defeat Shroudheart and bring everypony back to Ponyville, if we don't stop the forest, there won't be a Ponyville to come back to!" Rainbow Dash flew off, returning a few seconds later carrying a bunch of different gardening tools she got from the flower store. "Ahem." She dropped the tools as Flash prepared his sword, the others each grabbing a gardening instrument. "For our friends!" Fluttershy cried. "For our families!" Rarity and Applejack proclaimed. "For our home!" Pinkie and Rainbow cheered as they all stood in a line. Flash and Twilight did the same, "For Equestria!" With that, they all charged forward and screamed in unison. "EQUESTRIA!" Canterlot... Guards manned the walls of the city, all preparing for an attack. And as they did this, they saw a giant army of ponies coming, the guards recognizing many from the town of Ponyville. And at the front of the line was Iron Core, Grand Hoof and Lightning Blitz. The guards prepared to sound the alarm, but before they could, Lightning Blitz unleashed a blast of electricity. They were all shocked into unconsciousness as Shroudheart appeared in front of the army before gesturing to Iron and Grand, who then fired their respective Force attacks. The twin tornadoes ripped through the door, the sight making Shroudheart laugh as he walked in. He glanced around, now smirking at the sight of the city as he saw several ponies out on the street. He quickly transformed into his cloud form, which spread through the streets and into every home and building. His dark influence spread everywhere as his main body headed to the castle and blasted its way through the gates. Several guards were waiting on the other side, but Shroudheart simply rolled his eyes as he summoned his shadow wings. With a single beat, a wave of darkness flew out, shattering through the unicorns' shields, magic so powerful that even Shining Armor's legendary shield wouldn't be able to stop what was coming. The guards were all struck by the wave, their physical energy vanishing in the blink of an eye. Shroudheart laughed as he morphed into a shadow and blasted through the doors, making his way through the halls. And everytime he found somepony, he consumed them with shadow and bent them to his will before reaching a certain room that he slammed the doors open for. "Honey!" He cheered as he walked in, "I'm home!" There was no reply, not that he expected one. "Of course." He flew over to the thrones and blasted them away, his shadows swirling around where they were before vanishing to reveal large black throne that he sat upon. "Soon, everything will come to a head. The final battle. And when that happens, everything will be set into motion." He began to laugh again, "I wonder if my cowardly little fake has completed the task I set for him? If he doesn't get it in time, everything I planned will be ruined." He let out a long happy sigh, "It's good not knowing everything that's gonna happen. Surprise is the spice of life." He looked to the stain glass windows, staring at the image of the seven ponies that were fighting against Nightmare Moon. "Hurry home now kiddies. We wouldn't want to be late." "Flash Cutter!" The pegasus fired a crescent blade, cutting down an army of vines and roots attempting to overcome his home. He panted at this, having been doing this for almost two hours. He didn't want to think what Shroudheart had been able to accomplish in that time. Twilight and Rarity were blasting them with their magic, while Applejack attempted to crush them underhoof. Rainbow Dash swung her axe as fast as she could, while Fluttershy spotted some animals trapped by the vines. She quickly used her shears to cut through them, freeing the creatures. "Come on, everypony!" She tried to herd them away, but more vines appeared and trapped them, making her shriek. Luckily, Applejack ran past with a large plow that uprooted the vines, helping Fluttershy get the animals to safety. The seven regrouped at this, only to see they had done zero progress. The forest hadn't been pushed back at all, and had actually been able to gain a few feet. "We've been at this for hours, but it's just growin' back too fast!" "We have to keep trying!" Twilight added as she charged, only for the vines to whip around and knock them all back. They hit the ground and Flash's sword slid away from them as the vines prepared to grab them. But before they could, beams of gold and blue flew down from the heavens, striking the vines and making them to shrivel up, the seven glancing up to see Celestia and Luna. The pair flew down and blasted the vines away, Flash rushing over to grab his sword as Applejack spoke up. "Ah know we're supposed to be able to handle things on our own, but ah've never been happier to see two ponies in all mah whole life!" A sudden flash of light revealed another pony at this, all turning to see Starswirl standing before them. "Nopony is meant to handle this on their own!" The sorcerer announced. "Starswirl! The Tree of Harmony, it's-" "I know," he nodded, "I alerted the princesses as soon as I could. I felt it when it happened. Like part of my essence just ceased to be." "I know what you mean," Twilight looked down in shame. "I'm sorry." But Starswirl reached down and lifted her head up, their eyes meeting. "Don't be. I've more than enough magic in me to keep the Everfree Forest under control." "You can do that?" Starswirl nodded again, "The Pillars and I planted the Tree of Harmony. Who do you think kept the Forest under control before it did?" He marched up at this, staring at the evil plants Celestia and Luna were blasting down. "It will take time, but with the princesses' help, I can keep it at bay!" His magic activated and lifted him into the air, the unicorn then unleashing a powerful blast of magic that struck the ground and disintegrated the vines at the root. Everypony went wide-eyed at this, "Aw, yeah!" Rainbow cheered, "Go get 'em, beardy!" Starswirl and the princesses fired laser after laser, destroying the vines as Twilight ran up to Celestia. "It's the evil Flash. The one Starlight and I faced from the other timeline. He's returned and he's taken control of all of our friends!" "Yeah!" Flash added, "He's calling himself Shroudheart and he's making them all storm Canterlot." "We've left Canterlot defenseless?!" Luna yelped, all turning back to the city. Celestia frowned, then turned to her faithful student. "Twilight, you must go!" She fired another blast at some more vines. "Defend Equestria, and we shall contain the forest." Twilight nodded before turning to the others. "At least now we're back to just one problem!" Pinkie chimed in as Twilight engulfed them in their magic. In a flash, the group were standing in front of Canterlot's entrance. She had been trying for the castle, but Twilight could feel some kind of barrier up around the city stopping her from going any further. "Oh no," Flash gasped as they saw the many ponies Shroudheart had captured. Some were standing between them and the gate, while others were up on the walls and on the balconies of the towers. They all stared down at the seven, looking completely emotionless as their eyes continued to glow green. "Awww...everypony's all evilly!" Pinkie cried as the ponies seemed ready for a battle. "Shroudheart's gonna force us to fight our way through our friends?!" Fluttershy asked, only to see Iron Core and Lightning Blitz step out of the crowd. She and Rarity quivered at the thought of fighting them while Rainbow spread her wings. "Not if I can help it!" She shot over the ponies and across the river in front of the gate. Attempting to fly over it, Rainbow found herself coming face to face with Soarin and the Wonderbolts as they appeared from behind it. She gasped as the pegasi formed a wall between her and the city, Rainbow staring her husband straight in the glowing green eyes. It was then that she was almost hit by a magical blast, coming from a unicorn on the ground, only for a barrage of magic beams to come out next. She was forced to take evasive maneuvers and fly back to her friends, Rainbow hiding behind Twilight's wing. "Okay...guess we need a different plan. Twilight?" "I don't know!" The alicorn cried, "I'm not prepared to fight against the citizens of Equestria! I guess that's one more thing I'm not ready to do..." "Well, we'd better figure out somethin' quick!" Applejack cried, pointing to the now lowering drawbridge. "Because none of them seem to have a problem with it!" The drawbridge hit the ground and allowed more ponies to walk out, the citizens of both Canterlot and Ponyville now staring them down. "Girls, we've got no choice." They girls turned to Flash. "If we were the ones being controlled, we'd be okay with our friends fighting against us in order to free us, right?" The girls nodded as Flash raised his sword. "Then let's do this!" He charged at this, the others with him, only for a cloud of shadows to suddenly land in front of them. Before they could react, it swirled into a spiral that consumed Flash, only for the cloud to instantly vanish a second later. "FLASH!" His friends screamed. "What happened to him?!" Fluttershy asked, but the others couldn't respond as the ponies now attacked them, pushing the six back as another battle began. "Whoa!" Flash flew out of the dark shadow and rolled along the marble floor, his sword flying from his hooves and hitting the ground a bit away. He quickly pushed himself back to his hooves, only to see he was inside the castle throne room. The place was much darker, crystal spikes coming out of the floor and the stain glass windows had been transformed into the exact opposite, now being made of dark glass and showing all of their victories as them being defeated. He then turned to the throne, seeing Shroudheart sitting upon it with a smile on his face. "Well then," he got up. "Here we are at the end of all things." "Yeah," Flash growled, "It is the end...of you." Shroudheart smirked at this, "You were an idiot to bring me here. Now I can take you down without having to fight through my friends." "True. But the rest of your team do. And how do you think they'll do against those Defender teammates of yours if they can't fight them properly?" Flash went wide-eyed at this, only to let out a hiss, "Whatever. I'll just take you down myself so the girls don't have to fight!" "Will you now?" Shroudheart raised an eyebrow, "Despite having no back-up, no Sacred Light and no Elements to help you?" "I can do it," Flash moved toward his sword. "Twilight beat you once without the Elements. And even if I can't, she'll find a way." Shroudheart laughed at this as the sword he used before appeared in his hooves. "True. But I've grown since that day." He moved down the ramp as Flash picked up his sword. "When your girlfriend beat me, I was but the learner. Now I am the master." "Only a master of evil," Flash replied, only for Shroudheart to charge at him. The pegasus was barely able to block his sword strike and jump back, Shroudheart leaping and attacking twice more with Flash blocking each attack. Flash then swung his sword, only for Shroudheart to block, the two then pushing against each other until their sword tips were pushed into the floor. But as this happened, Shroudheart pushed Flash back, the pegasi staggering as Shroudheart tried to slash at him. And as this happened, Flash weakly lifted his sword, blocking each blow as he tried to regain his footing. And as Shroudheart slashed down, Flash fell to one knee but was able to keep his sword up and stopped the attack. Once again in a deadlock, the pair glared into each others' eyes. "Your powers are weak," he chuckled. "Are you still reeling from that zap I gave you earlier?" Flash growled and quickly spun their sword in a circle, forcing his foe's front legs away from his body. He then tried to impale his dark alter-ego, but Shroudheart swung his sword back and knocked Flash's blade away. Flash then jumped back to his hooves and leapt into the air, Shroudheart following. "Twilight never figured out how you got those powers." Flash's opponent raised an eyebrow, "I know it's not just the Corrupted Shadow. So what is this? What happened to you to make you...this?" "Many things," Shroudheart hissed, "I won't bother going into too much detail, but let's just say that I was able to win in a battle of wills against a great evil. And through that victory, I became more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Flash growled at this, only for Shroudheart to let out a cackle, "Now...let me show you the true power of the dark side of magic." As he said that, one of the crystals around them started shaking. Flash heard the cracking sound and spun around to see a chunk of the crystal breaking off and flying toward him. He acted quickly and sliced the crystal in half, the two pieces flying past him, but more of the crystal then split apart and flew at him. "Flash Cutter!" He unleashed the crescent blade, but the crystals easily dodged the attack and slammed into Flash's blade, an explosion coming next that slammed Flash into the floor. Shroudheart let out a laugh before flying through the smoke, Flash rolling back to his hooves before both slashed at each other again, each blocking again. The pair danced around the room at this, Shroudheart being on the defensive and constantly attempting to cut Flash in half. Flash blocked each attack, only to deflect the last one, causing both ponies to spin in opposite directions. Flash then went for a slash, but Shroudheart blocked it. The two swords bounced away from each other before the evil pony swung his blade toward Flash's head, but the pegasus leaned back and the sword flew just above his face. He then quickly used his wings to push himself forward, Flash sliding and spinning around to try and hit the enemy's chest. But Shroudheart's shadow wings appeared and blocked the blade, turning to a rubber-like surface that Lightbringer bounced off. "Not bad. But you're still not fighting at your best." Shroudheart chuckled, "By the time your friends get here you'll be in pieces." "Wrong," Flash panted, "Twilight's coming, and you're going down when she does." He charged again and the pair locked sword, Flash already feeling himself getting pushed back, 'Come on girls. I really need some help right now.' Back outside... Twilight and the others continued to fight against their friends. They had managed to get past most of the ponies outside the city grounds and as they ran for the castle, more ponies appeared for them. "Rogue!" Applejack cried as the bat pony unleashed a sonic blast at them, knocking the group back as the others that they had out run before were catching up. Iron and Grand swung their weapons into the ground, unleashing spikes of metal and rock, instantly imprisoning the group as Twilight tried to teleport, only to reappear beside Rarity, the girl now seeing that this must be part of Shroudheart's shield that was covering the city. Lightning then leapt up at them and unleashed bolts of lightning, scaring the group as they ran behind one of Grand's rock stones. "Lightning!" Rarity screamed, "You have to stop!" "Rogue!" Applejack hollered, "Snap out of it!" "They can't hear you!" Twilight added as Rainbow spotted some rope on the ground and leapt out from behind the rock. Quick as a flash, she grabbed it and flew up to Rogue. Flying around him at super speed, she managed to tie him up and pulled him over to Lightning. She did the same to the unicorn and yanked them both over to the Royal Knights, who attempted to crush and stab her as she flew around. She dodged each attack, soon tying up all four. "Yay!" Pinkie cheered, "Way to go Dashie!" But as she said that, something flew down at her at high speed. "Pinkie!" Fluttershy grabbed her and pulled her down as a blue puppet shot over them. Pinkie gasped at the sight before turning to see Wild Smile marching up with Heart and Soul. The Wonderbolts and several other ponies they had escaped before were now there as well, Heart using his fire to burn through the ropes and release those tied up. "I don't know how long we can hold them off!" Fluttershy gulped. "And holdin' them off isn't what we need anyhow!" Applejack continued, "We need ta get ta dah castle!" "But we can't just leave them here," Rarity added, "All possessed and evil!" Iron got ready to unleash an Iron Force attack at this, Pinkie turning to their leader. "What do we do, Twilight?!" "I don't know!" Twilight exclaimed, "But we can't stay here!" Seeing no other choice, she grabbed them all in her magic and teleported away. She tried to get into the castle, but only ended up outside the gates. Seemed there was a second barrier around the castle, preventing entry that way. "I'm sorry we couldn't help our friends, but I didn't know what else to do." "At least we're closer to the castle," Applejack mumbled. "Yeah!" Pinkie said in an unconvinced way. "All we have to do now is defeat the evil version of our best friend, who has incredible dark powers and will brainwash us with the blink of an eye!" She let out a nervous laugh, clearly terrified of what was going to happen. Twilight began to bite her hooves, trying to think of anything that would help them overcome Shroudheart and his power. But her mind was jumbled, going over everything they didn't have, "I...We..." Before she could think of anything, a green drop landed on her nose. Everypony looked up and saw Discord, who was currently floating above them as he ate a pickle on a fork. "Oh my." He took another bite. "No Elements? No princesses? Seems like you're in a bit of a pickle!" He held out the vegetable before pulling back. "Or are you in..." He snapped his fingers and a jar of something appeared, "...more of a jam?" He dipped the pickle in the jam before eating it, "Mmm!" "Discord?!" Twilight yelped, "What are you doing here?!" The Spirit of Chaos finished his snack and poofed them away, then took out a banner that looked clawmade and had a doodle of Twilight on it that appeared to be made of crayon. "Well, I was going to hang these up all over the castle to celebrate your coronation, but apparently it's a bit premature." He rolled the scroll up and pushed it into his ear as Twilight smiled. "I'm so glad to see you! We could really use some all-powerful Lord of Chaos help right now!" "Moi?" Discord fake gasped, "Oh, I couldn't possibly." As he said that, the doors flew open as several mind-controlled guards ran out. "Oh, poodles!" Pinkie cried as the guards charged and Fluttershy turned to the draconequus. "Discord, please!" The Spirit of Chaos was now reading a book, but sighed and threw it away. "Oh, fine." He snapped away his reading glasses. "Just to be clear, I was really rooting for you to do this on your own and parlay that confidence boost into being the best protectors of Equestria you can be." Rainbow flew up to him. "A little less talking and a little more helping?!" Discord rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, causing a giant spider web to appear and capture the pegasus guards. A hole then appeared that the unicorns fell into while the earth pony guard found himself getting buried under several giant scoops of ice scream. Fluttershy sighed in relief. "Thank you, Discord!" Twilight led the others to the door. "I don't know what we'd do without you!" Discord smiled, then frowned and rubbed the back of his neck as they headed for the castle. "Now come on! We have to help Flash before Shroudheart can hurt him!" Flash and Shroudheart's fight had moved to an area between two lines of crystals. The pair found fighting in the confined space a challenge, but it was enough to make sure neither tried to fly away. And so, the pair clashed swords as Flash moved back through the corridor while Shroudheart advanced. Flash tripped over an outstretched crystal at this, Shroudheart swinging his sword for the defender's head, only for Flash to duck under it and roll back, dodging another attack. And as this happened, Shroudheart charged again, the two clashing blades again, only for both to lock in place as they spun their swords, only for both to strike a crystal under them. The two stared each other down, Shroudheart growling, "What you have....do you think it'll really last?! Even if you defeat me, some other evil will just show up and attack you! Why keep fighting a never ending battle?!" He pushed Flash back and their swords cut a groove in the crystals, Flash managing to regain his footing. "You think you're the first one to try and trip me up like that?" Flash replied while rolling his eyes, "I made my resolve a long time ago. To fight against any evil that appears. Because if I fight it, others won't have to." "You realise what that'll do, don't you?" Shroudheart chuckled, "If you keep fighting, you'll eventually come across somepony you can't beat. You have so much to live for, but you're willing to risk everything so somepony else won't have to. Don't you think your friends would want you to live? Have you ever thought how they would feel if you lost your life protecting them?" "Of course I have," Flash responded, "That's why I keep training. Keep getting stronger. So that I'll always return to them." "But you won't always return," Shroudheart cackled, "I've seen it. Seen your end. If you defeat me, you'll face a power you can't possibly imagine. One that will end with you losing everything." "You don't know that," Flash growled. "But I do. Do you remember your apprentice? When he came back in time? When he told you what would happen to you?" Flash glared at him as he continued, "Well, I know what happened to you. And you're still heading to that fate. If you defeat me, it will seal it for you." "Like I'd believe that," Flash instantly replied, "You're just trying to throw me off my game. The future isn't set in stone. You think this pony is strong enough to defeat me, but I don't believe that." "I never said he would beat you," Shroudheart laughed, "But the one you'll face is so powerful that the only way to defeat him is to push yourself to your breaking point and then go far beyond that." Flash hissed at this, remembering the vision he had seen in Aurarora. "Just watch. Beat me and you will be forced to face the one who hates you the most. And that hatred will fuel them into becoming the greatest threat this world will ever see...and in order to defeat him, you will have to give up everything that's precious to you. You'll give everything up to save this world and make your friends feel despair like they've never felt before." The statement made Flash go slightly wide-eyed, remembering the destruction that had happened to Ponyville and the villain he saw in that vision. And seeing a look of doubt on his opponent's face, the dark pegasus pulled his sword free. Flash did the same as Shroudheart attacked in rapid succession, his opponent barely able to block each blow, only for Shroudheart to push Flash's sword down before a tendril of darkness flowed out of him. It thrusted into Flash's face, knocking him back. Shroudheart tried cutting him next, but Flash quickly spun and blocked it with a swipe of his blade. The blow smacked Shroudheart back before pushing the sword away and threw another shadow punch, Flash ducking under it before another came out and slammed into his chest. "AUGH!" Flash was sent out of the crystal corridor, only to slam into one of the throne room's columns, his sword flying out of his hooves. He felt himself slump for a second, only to see Shroudheart throw his sword at him. Flash leapt away at this, the blade slamming into the column. The pegasi then saw the blade, only to see Shroudheart thrust out a shadow claw before clutching it. Remembering what happened earlier, Flash began to flap away as the sword flew down and cut right through the stone. If Flash hadn't moved, he would have been split head to hoof. He zipped over to his sword, Shroudheart charging at him again. The pair clashed again at this, their blades glowing golden and purple as they smashed together. Sparks flew off, the pair glaring each other down as they pushed against each other. It was in that moment the throne room doors flew open, Twilight and the rest of Flash's friends rushing inside. "FLASH!" They all cried, making the pegasus smirk, only for Shroudheart to grab Flash with his shadow wings. "NO!" Flash gasped as he was squeezed, making him let out a squeak of breath. Twilight unleashed a blast of magic at this, but the evil pegasus pulled away, dodging the laser before throwing Flash across the room. "Augh!" Flash crashed into another column, slumping over as his friends ran over to him. "Are you okay?" Twilight asked. "Nothing's broken," Flash moaned, "But he's tough. I can't land a single hit on him." They all turned to Shroudheart, who smirked at them as he leapt to where his throne was sitting. "Here to fight the good fight with nothing but your wits?" He laughed, the shadows forming around him as he raised his sword. "Admirable, but foolish!" He fired a beam of dark light from his sword, only for Discord to slither up and snap his fingers. Doing so caused a wall of magic to appear, which transformed the energy into custard as it flew through it. They all sighed in relief as Discord turned back to them. Shroudheart raised an eyebrow at this, then fired again, only for Discord to snap his fingers and transformed it into pink smoke. "Well, I guess it's on me to be the MVP today." Shroudheart fired again, Discord turning the attack into balloons. "I was betting on you, and I do hate being wrong." Another blast, this one he turned into butterflies. "Although if you think about it, I am your friend, so maybe you win because friendship wins?" Shroudheart kept blasting him, but he effortlessly transformed each attack without even looking. "Although Fluttershy should get most of the credit for that. She's my favorite." Hearing these words, Shroudheart smirked before changing his target. In the blink of an eye, his laser shot for Fluttershy, the pegasi gasped, only for something to leapt in front to shield her at the last moment. Time seemed to stop as the seven ponies watched the blast hit Discord in chest. It wasn't even half a second, but it felt like it lasted an eternity. And when time sped up again, it appeared to to make up for slowing down before and moved at three times the normal movement. Discord was sent flying past them, slamming into a wall as the others turned to him in shock. "DISCORD!" Fluttershy screamed as they ran over to him, the seven staring at his smoking unconscious body. Shroudheart chuckled, which broke into full on laughter, "Lord of Chaos. More like the Lord of Punching Bags. I have to admit, that was rather fun. I've watched a lot of timelines with Discord in it, and I've always enjoyed when he got his flank handed to him. Glad to know I now get to add my name to the list of those that can beat him." The others were barely listening to them as they gathered around Discord and Rainbow lifted his head. "Discord!" "We need you!" Twilight cried while Fluttershy teared up. "Oh," she hugged his neck and shook him, "Please wake up, please wake up..." Discord's face started moving at this, "Discord!" She cried as he opened his eyes, hugging him while the others smiled. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Twilight cheered, "We can't beat him without you!" "I doubt he would be much use," Shroudheart cackled from his throne, "I blasted him with the same magic I disabled Flash with. He won't be able to use his chaotic powers for a while." They all stared at Discord, only to see him cough before speaking out in a weak voice, "It would appear that you're on your own." He took a ragged breath before snapping his fingers, but not even a spark escaped them. "I have nothing left to give." His head fell at this, the group gasping as Flash yelled, "Discord! Come on! You're the Lord of Chaos! You can shake off a little dark magic!" But Discord just coughed at this, the group now realizing their situation. "That's it, then?" Applejack asked, "We're doomed? "And the penny drops," Shroudheart cackled as he pushed himself to his hooves. "You were doomed the moment you decided to face me." His sword began to spark with energy, "But you were worthy opponents. For that reason, I will make your end quick and painless...mostly." He raised his sword as the energy flew off the blade and gathered in a sphere above them. The ponies all went wide-eyed at this, only for Flash to whisper, "No...it can't end this way." He spun around and glared at the dark pegasi, "I refuse to let it end this way! We will find a way to stop you!" "HA! How?!" The sphere grew larger at this, "Gonna pray for a miracle?" "Why not?" Flash replied, "Miracles can happen. But only if you never give up and have the will to make them happen." He spread his wings, "If it's the only way to stop you, I'll make a miracle happen." "Well, you better make it happen quickly," Shroudheart laughed before swinging his sword at Flash. "BECAUSE THE END IS NIGH!" With that, the sphere shot for them, the girls all bracing for impact. And as they did this, Flash closed his eyes and dug deep. He thought about everything he had to lose. His friends, his family, his home. The vision he had seen in Aurarora, and the nightmare Shroudheart tried to stop him with. He would not let those events come to pass. So as the dark sphere came toward him, his eyes opened and shined gold.