//------------------------------// // Episode 86: (Dark World): Shed Tears // Story: Pony POV Series Season Six: Dark World/Shining Armor // by Alex Warlorn //------------------------------// Pony POV Series Dark World Part 15 Duel of Tears Begins Anarchy had just gotten back from Rancor's birthday party. Upon entering the mortal world, the first sight that greeted him was his champion's charred remains. He stared at them with a twitching eye. A quick rewind showed the stallion had been hit by a missile from the Batcycle, after round two with the Batmare. "How is this even possible? He broke the back of Batmare...Pandora, what are you doing here?" "Oh! I was doing a test run. I wanted to see if I could inspire other professions outside of artists." "How did that work out?" "My first experiment was on a chiropractor. It worked a bit too well and he kinda ended in prison for it. But now he healed somepony's back! Isn't that cool?!... Why are you banging your head against the wall?" +++ "Dear Cousin Discord; Thank you for the infinite supply of blackbirds, plus the pie recipe for them. They'll be a never-ending source of deliciousness. Ponythulhu PS. My domain is lovely this time of year, perhaps you and Fluttercruel could drop by sometime, I'll bake you some blackbird pie." Fluttercruel sat on the arm rest of the throne munching a hamburger and bon-bons. "I told you we should have killed her already." "Oh be quiet," Discord said, irritated. "I'm serious. I know she's the most fun for you, but she's also the most dangerous." "Correction, my little princess. Twilight's the most fun because she's the most dangerous, you can appreciate that can't you? My adorable little blood knight." "Meh. I guess." She rolled her eyes towards him, "Erm, you are gonna destroy her, right?" "If that makes you happy, my little one." Cruelty smiled, showing sharp teeth. This relief reminded her of when Master had revealed her origins to her: Fluttercruel hugged him. "I KNEW you didn't have any Namby Pamby weaknesses like falling in love! You rock!" "Didn't Namby Pamby split your skull open?" "I returned the favor, after I cut his legs off one by one and had him begging me to kill him at the end. And I did, after making him lick my hooves clean, of course." "I never got the joke on that young mare." "WHAT joke? The only joke was him squirming." "But where's the confusion? The questioning of reality? Turning what is and isn't supposed to be on its head? Sure, making him lick your hooves clean was a nice touch, but all you did was send him straight to Celestia's Papa. If you're going to kill someone, at least make sure they're going to one of My Parents. You have a lot to learn." "You've been saying that forever!" "And I'll keep saying it until you learn that you need to save the mayhem for your -enemies-, not your toys." 'Maybe I do finally get it,' Fluttercruel thought in the present as she opened a little music box revealing two smiling plastic prim-and-proper prancing purple ponies, their minds swimming in the bliss of the dance. Bright happy plastic smiles on their faces. "Hey! How about we recruit a seapony to finish her off-?! You could say how they've gone against you, give her super-water manipulation magic, maybe plant a bomb if things get-" A cleaver went into her head, Discord caught the music box and placed it back on the mantle where she'd got it from. "You will not suggest such a thing again. young mare." Discord said in a no-nonsense tone. It made Fluttercruel shiver. She pulled the weapon out of her front lob, lop, shop, lollipop, urg! -- Frontal lobe! -- pouting. "The seaponies are off limits, each of their voices and songs are unique, and I will not be denied one." (Why are you so determined to preserve imitations of creatures you exterminated yourself?) 'Just a whim.' (You seem to be pretty staunchly committed to something that was supposed to be 'just a whim.') "Aw... are you feeling sorry for widdle ol' me?" ('Sorry?' For worthless sewage like you? That was so funny I forgot to laugh. Yet, you do enjoy the seaponies' music, don't you?) "What of it?" (All those meticulously-organized symphonies, each note on the page arranged just so, every musician in the orchestra cooperating together to achieve a most melodious HARMONY. I'd have thought the only music a miserable chaos freak like you could enjoy would sound like two cats trying to claw each other to death on a keyboard.) "Who's miserable?" (You destroyed something you liked in a moment of blind thoughtlessness, like a toddler. Then you go and remake them. Why? Because you're too big of a brat to permit your mistakes to ever actually mean something.) 'With Cruelty I have rediscovered myself! All ponies an island unto themselves! All ponies traumatized into stark insanity! Confusion and nonsense the only rule! THAT is the Equestria I live for!' (Heh heh! Ha Ha! Really? And how long before you get bored of that again? Just like you get bored of everything eventually.) 'Not everything, I don't get tired of her.' (Yes, everything. EVERYTHING. Why? Because underneath all your power, underneath your snark, underneath even your very EVIL, ... at your core, Discord, you're just the most BORING creature to have ever existed.) "Boring?!" Discord cried. A snap of his fingers later, a queasy chimpanzee made of tricycles chained himself to a gyrating shampoo puddle and rocketed into the sun. "Me?" (Let me put it to you this way: imagine a diehard optimist, someone who was AS optimistic as you are boring. Could you chain her to Your Mother's face, and she'd eventually have HER whistling a happy tune?) "So you find me boring." (Oh no. I certainly don't find you boring. Your entire planet of victims don't find you boring. Not even the Shadows-Who-Watch find you boring. YOU find YOURSELF boring. Only the truly boring GET bored to such an incessant extent as you do. Most people are able to maintain a functional level of interest in the world around them without needing to rewrite reality every other minute! So what does that say about you, Discord? All that world-bending power... and it barely takes the edge off your bottomlessly incurable, yawning BOREDOM.) First, don't belittle Cruelty, second, I can ALWAYS come up with new games no matter the rut I'm trapped in! Third, don't belittle Cruelty! (... For a second, I actually DID feel sorry for you. Oops! Feeling's gone. Ah well, nothing lost.) ++++ Checking up on Neighpon Discord had found the Kitsune were breeding flowers that produced sake and the Kitsune also shrinking cats to the size of mice and growing mice to the size of cats. The anthros, cat-fillies, and dog-colts meanwhile were more interested in love decagons among themselves than anything else resulting in chaos most admirable. The hydra-pony, dragon-pony, and ponythulu-tribute were having tea instead of fighting. The android maid pony was acting like a nanny to the backwards talking generation three point five pony. The Puffy and slimes ponies were busy cuddling everything that moved and each other. And the breezies had all chosen individual names for themselves while their political system was still in beautiful chaos. Before getting back to the castle Discord checked on Sunflower, still criminally neglecting her garden and her child. Discord scratched his chin in thought, then smirked and turned himself into a seed, sprouting in a sunflower, directly in her face all over again. "You know, Sunflower, I was wrong! This isn't the only way, there is another option available to you," his eyes become circles that swirled counter-clockwise, this time. "The way to make sure you don't lose something isn't to never care about it, its to care about it with every fiber of your being! Protect it with everything you have! Yes, that is the best way to ever prevent loss!" Suddenly, Sunflower's colors weren't gray, they were over-saturated, obtrusive, almost painfully bright to look at. She grinned maniacally. The design of Sunflower's cutie mark's grew until a pattern of sunflowers covered her entire flanks and rear legs. She instantly began replanting her sunflower seeds, digging an irrigation ditch, and building a wall with barbed wire and machine-gun emplacements around her garden. She also planted land mines around her garden walls and dug an underground fence to keep out gophers. She fertilized and watered each individual seedling. "WE ARE THE RAIDERS! WE'RE RAIDERS! WE ARE HERE, TO, RAAAAAID!" With annoyance Discord turned his head to see a gang of ponies on motorcycle swinging chains and mace headed straight for the garden figuring it had to have something valuable. Their logos were copied directly from some old movie. Discord rolled his eyes, and snapped his fingers. A circus tend fell on top of them, and out came clowns on tiny tricycles. And began hitting each other with rubber fish. Discord said scolding, "If I wanted a post-apocalyptic setting, I'D MAKE ONE! Hmmmm... Naw!" Sunflower remembered her daughter and painstakingly disarmed the entire array of traps and weapons, before calling her daughter over. The poor thing approached with tearful timidness. "Mommy? Are-are you alright now?" The foal looked into her mothers eyes. The moment she was close enough, Sunflower clapped a dog collar around her daughter's neck and fastened the other end around her own. She kissed and hugged her child, briefly weeping for her earlier hard-heartedness, and professing how precious she was. It was like she'd drunken love poison. The filly's eyes began reverse-swirling. Her colors became painfully bright, and her cutie mark expanding to the same degree her mother's hand. She went from diligently caring for her snapdragons to treating them as holy. And so Discord left the pair: mother and daughter, exchanging endless hugs, kisses and words of love to one another to the point of parody, all while tending to their garden and rearming the traps with a gusto that went beyond obsession. 'I think I'll try this from now on. Can't believe I didn't think of this before! Spread the merriment, my two little patient zeros! Ponies finally seeing things my way... might be interesting!' (So you say, so you say. But how many times have you said that now only for it to eventually bore you to tears? Can you remember? Oh yes, YOU CAN! Perfectly! Heh, heh, HA HA! Have to keep your subjects guessing! Can't have them figure out that their lord and master is still just a little brat scared to death of his Birth Mother! Still hoping his other mommy's memory might leave him alone, sad that deep down he's nothing more than a spoiled child who even he doesn't know what he wants. But wait! He has a rebellion to crush, so no time to think about that! But ... it always comes back to it, doesn't? No matter what, it always comes back to what you can't escape, over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over!) 'Shut up.' (In a prison with no doors, the walls built with your own claws, there you are, trapped forevermore. Fluttercruel makes you smile, but how long until the joy turns sour, like everything else after awhile? It's all a matter of time, which you have plenty of, and none of, isn't living forever sublime?) "shut up about her, shut up, shut up, SHUTUPSHUTUP!" " ... Master, are you okay?" Fluttercruel blinked inching away from him. Discord panted, sweating. "I'm! ... I'm fine dear. It's nothing! Absolutely NOTHING! ... Now where were we?" "Destroying Twilight Sparkle." "Oh right. That needs to be taken care of, doesn't it?" Discord took a tiny bell and rang it that went 'mew-mew-mew.' "Yes!" Traitor Dash was there in a micro-second. "HERE, MASTER!" She said, kowtowing in fright. "What do YOU want?" Angry Pie snarled stomping into the throne room moments later, dragging her limp leg behind her. The Valeyard's blue box materialized into being next to her. He popped out the door, smiling and clopping his front hooves together as he spotted Discord. So what's on the menu today, oh Patch-Worked One?" "Where's the REST of the jerks?!" Angry Pie snapped, looking around in vain for Liarjack, Twilight Tragedy and Rarigreed. "All in good time." Discord lifted a couple script pages, and pulled out some tiny reading glasses: "Easy-Level Construct: 'I am another faceless minion of evil for you destroy or be destroyed by. Die in the name of The Evil Wizard!' "Cutie-Mark-Less-One: 'What 'Evil Wizard?'' "'Uh... The one who only exists when you set the Dungeon difficulty level to 'Hard.' Boy will you be in trouble then. Uh, in the meantime, die in the name of The Evil Wizard!' Action: Attack PCs.'" Not looking up Discord wiggled his fingers and shot magic missiles at the gathered minions sans Fluttercruel still at his side. "Hey! What's the big idea-?!" "Ugh, I had to almost regenerate!" Traitor Dash said nothing as she twitched waiting for her smoking body to regenerate. "Master, I think that's wrong script," Fluttercruel groaned face-hooving. "Huh? Oh right!" He quickly folded the script into an origami crane that flew off on its own, then pulled off a posted-note stuck to his elbow, "Cutie-Mark-Less-One: 'Now I know. What can change the nature of a stallion is-" "No one cares about that!" Fluttercruel tore up the note and ate it. "Oh alright!" Discord cleared his throat and manifested the world's silliest podium imaginable. Donning an army helmet, he took out a pointer stick, while this week's randomly selected national anthem played in the background, (which, by some inexplicable intergalactic coincidence, happened to be Ecstasy Of The Bilious Waterpoodle by Steve Goodie.) The flag (a crayon drawing of Discord mooning against a tie-dye background) manifested behind him. "Unholy spawn, minions, slaves, pets, toys..." The Valeyard cleared his throat, with a slightly disapproving glower. "And partners-in-crime." The Valeyard smiled in pleasure. "I regret to inform you that Twilight Tragedy, now Twilight Sparkle, has betrayed your Lord and Master for what shall be the last time. Dismayingly, in addition to spurning Chaos for Order, she has stolen my personal mount, cheated Miss Hooves out of the restoration of all her children, and kidnapped and brainwashed Rarigreed and Liarjack to her warped way of thinking. In short, all four are now her willing accomplices. Now, I am sure this is a troubled time for all of you-" "LET ME AT 'EM!!!" Angry Pie snapped. "This is going to be so much bloody fun!" The Valeyard smiled. " ... " Traitor Dash ground her teeth. "Alright, maybe not. But on a personal note, I confess being disheartened by the thought of our long-standing allies being beyond hope! I shall leave it to you to determine their fate. Should you feel they can be brought back to the side of..." "They're already dead!" Angry Pie hissed. "I'll get to work on finding replacements after they're disposed of!" The Valeyard raised his hoof. "I'm sure they won't be a problem, Master, please don't worry," Traitor Dash assured with deepest self-revulsion. "I can't say that wasn't expected," Discord shrugged. "Would it kill you lot to be the least a bit conflicted just once? Where's the fun in you wanting to do it? I swear, I did too good a job corrupting you all." he muttered under his breath. He pulled down a map of Equestria, with LOTS of doodles on it. And stick figures himself and the others. "Alright, first part of our stratagem, you all get some brooms and dust bins, and I drop this really big mountain on top of them. Second part, we all go out for tacos. Third, you chip in to pay my tab. Fourth..." "MASTER, WAIT!!!" Traitor Dash shouted. Discord sighed, "Yes, Dashie Dear? What do you feel like sharing with the class today?" "Erm, wouldn't, wouldn't that be a big waste of a mountain? And I'm really sure we already implemented that plan against Grogar's minions!" Discord snapped his fingers, the big screen TV replaying that very plan. "Hmm...so we did. So do you have a better solution? I had this lovely idea that involves turning Sparkler into a water manipulating metapony with a remotely activated bomb, we could..." "I'm really, I'm absolutely sure that I can-" The entire castle started rumbling. "What?" Discord looked around in genuine confusion. (What? Here?) Somewhere the shaking caused a tea cup to fall off a table, as was the sacred law of reality that A should follow B. +++ "H-h-h-h-ey! This-is-is ma-ma-ma-kes ma-ma-ah vi-vi-oice s-s-sound sil-il-ily!" Apple Pie entire body quivered. +++ "I-I-I ha-ha-ha-hate h-h-how th-i-i-s m-m-makes m-m-my v-v-voice s-s-sound!" Angry Pie grumbled. +++ "Another air-quake?!" The breezie who had chosen the name 'Chu' shouted. The breezie next to her who had taken the name 'Kai' responded, "No, this, this feels like an Everything-Quake!" +++ "Mommy? Why is the entire planet below shaking? Why is our ocean shaking?" Waterflower the seapony asked her mother. Ocean Heart shook her head casually, "I have no idea honey, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Master's Six Heroes will take care of it. Now let's get back to showing you know to make Zap-SeaApple-Pie." "Okay, Mommy!" +++ Discord looked over as two symbols manifested on the ceiling and the floor. The ceiling was a bleeding red spell-circle with a symbol within that appeared as whatever its viewer feared the most, the floor was a pitch black eye with a single vortex in its center like a black hole. "This is new...I like it!" A garish mix of orchestra and rock music echoed through the throne room. Hellfire and Arctic winds erupted from the ceiling and floor symbols at the same time, clashing together, dragging up the bony form of a draconequus skeleton. Black rain began to fall up from the floor symbol, burning the ceiling as it hit, but sticking to the skeleton, slowly forming flesh, tissue, and skin from the bottom up. Hellfire belched from the mouth and nose, the light of existence within the shadow. The draconequus opened her eyes as she stood silhouetted in the midst of the hellish flames, ice and shadows spreading out from her hands and shattering to form her weapon which she used to disperse the flames and arctic wind to and reveal her true form to those standing before her. Front paw of a Tasmanian wolf and claw of a moa. Rear hoof of a kouprey and rear paw of a sabertooth tiger. Her tail was a shark's. She had the build and stature of a draconequus having just hit puberty. She had an ear piercing and a black t-shirt saying 'The Rockin' Beats Rock' that she tossed off. She held a black spear that seemed to eat at the warmth around it that was a about one head taller than her. On the blunt end was a little pink ribbon with the keychain-sized skull of something equine. Her mane style, was decidedly tomboyish. It reminded Discord of when Pandora had gone through that 'lion tail' phase for a few billion years before going back to her fox tail. "Ah, bugger," The Valeyard swore. "There's more than ONE?!" Angry Pie hissed. Dash just stared dumbly. Fluttercruel looked in awe like a moth to the flame. (Who is this?!) "I am Rancor Adrestia Typhon, Animosity. All behold me, and give into your passions! Your rages! Your lusts! Your dramas! Bring forth the blood of all who have wronged you upon my altar!" "I'm the only one who chooses the background music around here, girl!" Discord snapped his finger, causing the music to needle scratch to a stop. The teenage draconequus turned around and put her front limbs on her hips, "Ah come on! I was just trying to have some fun!" "Let's see... music, I'd give a nine, the entrance an eight, but the speech I'd have to say a seven. Would've been more ominous without the shirt, but I appreciate the randomness." "Who asked you?!" "So just who are you?" "Didn't you hear the speech?" "I might have been checking my email." "Ugh! I'm Rancor! Spirit of passions, violence, and revenge, AND ... your new little sister! You know after everything I heard about you I thought you'd be taller." "I slouch. And! The Rockin' Beats didn't have a good album for a year before their civilization was destroyed!" "By Destruction's power." "Yes, Destruction's power." " ... that is so hot." She looked around, "Soooo, who are all these guys?" "We were in the middle of something, thank you for interrupting. Mind filling us in on what you're doing here, runt?" "If you must know, Mom and Dad wanted me to 'grow up' and thought you'd be a great way to get it done. You know, I'm disappointed you didn't show up for my hatching." "I must have misplaced the invite." "Soooo, what do you guys do for fun around here? Dad's idea of fun-bonding-time is us two watching terrified mortals, and me walking among'em. Dad says it builds character." She summoned up a pile of luggage full of useless junk and tossed them to the side causing the room to shake. "I won't be staying that long, but best to be prepared, ya know?" "DISCORD HAS PARENTS?!" Dash and Angry Pie exclaimed at the same time. "Yeah, what's it to you?" Rancor turned towards the ponies like they were petty annoyances. RD's eyes became small. "Nothing." "EVERYTHING! Who do you think you are? Dropping in like this?! You've got a lot of nerve!" Discord glued Angry Pie's hooves to the floor. "Is the pink tough-girl always like this?" Rancor asked. "Meh, more or less. She was really fun, once upon a time." "Actually, I don't think she's that bad, Dissy..." Rancor said, "I think she's kind of cute." "Hey don't call me 'Dissey' in front of my minions!" Rancor chuckled. "Just pulling your chain, brother." Rancor looked to Dash and Angry Pie. "If you must know, yes, we have Parents, and three siblings, to boot. It's just most of us are too busy doing our jobs to come visit and Discord is the only one who's really interested in conquering the mortal world. It's his scene, not ours. Dad was going to drop me off, but He couldn't decide which Avatar to use." "He had that lovely pony Avatar. What was wrong with that?" "He couldn't decide if it wasn't scary anymore due to being an 'outdated model' or if that made it more disturbing," Rancor said with a straight face. "Ah." "He said hi though." Fluttercruel fluttered up to her, awe and wonder in her voice. "So ... you're another Draconequus?" "Yep! And you are?" "Fluttercruel." "REALLY?! You're Cruelty! Nice to finally meet you! Ya know, Dissey, everyequus is very cross you haven't introduced her to us yet! You have a responsibility you know." "Bite me. YEOW! Okay! That was actually funny!" "Thanks!" "But stop calling me Dissey!" "Nice weapon," Fluttercruel said looking at it with sparkles in her eyes. "Thanks! Isn't it the coolest?" "YES!" "Teenagers," The Valeyard muttered under his breath. Traitor Dash, Angry Pie, and Discord all found themselves nodding. "So what can I do for you, big brother? Mom and Dad say I'm supposed to get on your good side. So I guess I'm here to help. But I am not getting you coffee." "Well ... I did just have some minions betray me." "And?" "And I don't like it. No matter how many...how many times it happens. And we were just discussing how to take care of things." "Well," She tossed her spear in the air a few times, making it spin and catching it perfectly each time. She played with it on her fingers like a gymnastics baton as Fluttercruel watched with fan-girlish glee, "I guess I could take care of them for ya. I am revenge after all." "NO!" Traitor Dash shouted, suddenly finding her nerve. Everyone looked at her. "Master! I-I-I-I-" "Say it, Dashie," Discord said warmly, leaning in close. "Let me." "Let you what?" "Let me do it." "And what is 'it?'" " ... . let me kill Twilight." Discord leaned back, "Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn-yes!" Discord laughed and clapped, "It's about time! Of course if you take too long I think I may think you're not up the challenge and just send somepony or someequus else to take care of her for you, of course if I do that, then you won't be able to-" "I CAN DO IT! I SWEAR I CAN DO IT! JUST GIVE ME A CHANCE!" "Oh really? Well if you're that sure." "I AM I AM!" "I am, what?" "I am... Master!!" Discord smirked. "Well then, don't hold back, just so there are no excuses if you fail. Accept the full, undiluted, unfiltered power of the Element of Treachery, accept the gifts of the Draconequi. You'll need it against three Elements of Chaos being wielded at full power." "But where are they?!" "Your an Element of Chaos too aren't you?" Traitor Dash stared for a few seconds. "FEEL for them! The Elements have a... magnetism to each other! Drawn to fate and all that baloney! In the name of Entropy, The-Anti-Mother Of All That Is, get your flank in gear! I'll keep our deal, I swear to Entropy." "You can trust 'em," Rancor said, relaxing her spear behind her head. "The last ___ who promised on Mom's name and didn't keep their end...well, even if you knew who __ was, you wouldn't remember now." Discord turned on the wide screen TV, showing Traitor Dash flying. "Who wants popcorn?! Rancor, you can have the rabbit mcnuggets. Valeyard, you get the pears. Rancor, you like exploding chocolate milk?" "I prefer exploding strawberry milk." She blushed, "It is NOT fru-fru!" "Of course it isn't." ++++++ And all at once, the moon and sun changed ... to dusk and dawn. Panic and confusion spread among ponies and creatures all over the globe at this strange change to the world, their precious few constants. They had never seen twilight. "Half-Light!" Apple Pie gasped bewildered and scared at the sky, "What is it-?!" The purple unicorn narrowed her eyes, pulling Apple Pie closer to comfort her, "It's a message. From Discord. He knows." ++++ I flew like lightning, 'Just feel them huh?' Even harder than it sounded. I had to fight them first before any of the others could do the deed. If they fought Twilight first and won, there was no hope this world left, it would be completely doomed, and I'd have thrown away its one chance to be saved. I wouldn't let Discord steal it away from me. I wouldn't! I had waited too long, and hesitated and let ponies suffer too much! I felt sick at myself again if I was going to do this, I should have done this from the start. But, that was how things worked out... I remembered the night I had last seen Derpy. Why, why did I have to be tortured like that? ... Right, because I've earned it. "Rainbow Dash! You don't need to run away anymore!" "Just leave me alone Scootaloo!" I screamed at the ghost. It had to be a ghost, why else would she look like a filly but have her cutie mark? "Dash! Just stop! This can all just stop!" She pleaded. "It isn't over!" "Yes it is! Discord's won! The Elements of Harmony are gone! The Princesses are gone! And I-- And I have too blood on my stinking hooves for any of it to matter! I'm a monster!" Scootaloo smiled at me fluttering in front of me when she had been behind me a second ago. "But you don't have to be! The Elements are still there! You and the world can be saved!" I howled through my tears, "THERE IS NO SALVATION FOR A PONY LIKE ME!" I had no idea where I was going, so I just let my gut instincts guide me. Scootaloo had made more sense before she died. I was a sack of sewage in pony skin and everypony knew it. Scootaloo had been right when she hated me, I was just Discord's dog. I looked back, I kept feeling like she was still following me...Please, just let her leave me alone I...I don't deserve her cheering me on anymore. Calling me a monster when... when I killed her hurt less! I deserve to disappear. No matter what choice I made it benefited Master. No matter what choice I made, I always hurt my friends. Master said I could either do what he wanted, or he could rip the Element of Treachery out of me and stab it into Scootaloo's chest instead. A small flock of Griffins and Pegasi to keep me busy while the rest fled for their sanity into the desert and badlands I could have handled easy peasy. "I told you to find other 'cool' friends Gilda." Master never had an army, he never needed one, he had me to do his dirty work. With how much we both loved to hear ourselves talk, you think awkward silence would be the last thing we'd have. I barely noticed Gilda's colors were dulled. Gilda shrugged, "I did... other pegasi. How screwed up is that?" "And?" "And that bucking chimera a-hole ... he . . I ... when I could think like me again... the blood was all over my beak and claws and I could taste-! Dash let's go! Just the two of us! Us together! We're all we've ever needed! We rock! You and me!" The look in Gilda's eyes, it was manic yeah, but, desperate? "I'm sorry Gilda, I can't." "WHAT?! WHY! Those lame-os are screwing with your head! They're making you something you aren't! Can't you see they're buckin' brainwashing yous!? This isn't you!" " ... Gilda. Haven't you heard?" "Yeah, those dirty pegasi and other griffs lied and said you were working for that chimera freak-ass whose turned Equestria inside out. But I knew there was no way you'd hook up with a pyscho like that! You're too cool for that! That's why I said I'd keep ya busy! Cause I knew they were being stupid!" "... Gilda, you, we were wrong, helping others, being part of a larger group of buddies, it doesn't have to be about a reward or showing off, and it makes ya feel bigger, not smaller... . And this is a dirty job Discord is gonna make somepony do no matter what, so it might as well not be whose next on his list or a bucker who'd like doing what he says." "... What?" I don't think I'ver heard heard Gilda's voice be so small. "I am Traitor Dash, Element of Treachery, I serve Master Discord." "That joke wasn't funny Dash!" "I'm not joking." "What the Tartarus is wrong with you, Dash-?! Where's that kick-flank pony who was the only one ever cool enough to be my friend-?! She wasn't anypony's dog!" "She's gone to the same place that tough-but-loyal griffin who stayed by me like a friend should likely went to. She wasn't a brute and a bully." "WHY YOU!" Gilda roared, "We were two peas in a pod! You stupid ponies and your stupid butt tattoos! Think you're better than everyone else! Get a neon sign on your ass to tell you what you rock at! No doubts! No fears! No parents sayin' 'Stunt flying isn't what your meant for!' Your life handed to you in one neat package on your ass! 'The high and mighty pony all other species should aspire to!' Much better than the 'evil meat eaters!' Am I right?! Why else would you have a freakin' god holdin' your stupid hooves! Other species don't deserve it! 'Don't think like a griffin, don't think like a dragon, don't think like a donkey, think like a pony!' 'Praise be the pony, buck everyone else!'" She took a dive at me. I blocked her claws with my hooves, "I'm SORRY Gilda!" I cried. "Faker! Rainbow Dash doesn't snivel like a filly!! She'd bite it before rolling over and playing dead!" Gilda, her image was more important than our friendship. Would Discord think she made a better Element of Treachery than me? Would he crush her spirit and make her his slave instead? No! I couldn't, let that, happen, to her! No matter what happens. I always hurt my friends. I noticed the flock of Hippogriffs as they were waiting for me like a wall of hooves and claws. Inquisition wasn't with them. Had Twilight gotten them on her side already? "She's here! Get ready! Remember! I bet she can't regenerate if her pieces are dropped in quick-dry concrete! Remember Interrogation and Storm-Cracker!!" "I'm sorry, but I don't have time for you guys right now!" I Sonic Darkboomed at the moment right before contact as they mobbed me, they scattered like leafs. Changelings came at me from every possible direction like I was in a fast shrinking sphere of white insect-ponies shifting from the green camouflage color of the sky. "She might be immortal but she's just one pony!" "AGH! NOT NOW!" Using pegasi magic I spun until I created a tornado, I was the only thing safe at the eye of the hurricane. I flew up not caring how many survived or not, it wouldn't matter so long as I didn't fail, I couldn't dare fail. "For the glory of Queen Tiamat! Smite the lapdog of evil!" "Oh for the love-! GET OUT OF MY WAY~!!!" The dragon didn't get to reply as I flew into his mouth generating a Sonic Darkboom. The other two killing squads closed in behind me. "Take her down or die trying!" "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" I howled, at the hippogriffs, dragons, dragons, Scootaloo, Discord, Gilda, Rainbow Dash, my memories. "LEAVE ME ALONE! ALL OF YOU! LEAVE ME THE BUCKING ALONE!" I'm tired of this miserable joyless friendless empty coward's existence. I'm sick of angst, angst, angst, angst, whine. I'll enter pony heaven through the gates of hell. This is my redemption. ++++ I watched Apple Pie put her hoof on the boulder, commanding it to break and a split going right down the middle. Applejack patted her on the back. "Yah got it, sugar cube, good job!" "Thanks! Ah didn't know there was an easier way to bust rocks open!" "Neither did Ah, until...well, lets say Ah just picked it up recently," she replied, looking a little sad before smiling proudly to Apple Pie. Apple Pie had wanted to learn some Earth Pony magic as it was (we'd unfortunately...disturbed her previous attempts), and while it took some convincing on Applejack's part, she'd finally got Apple Pie to admit to learning the technique. I can't blame her for being confused, considering she'd spent her entire life kicking rocks apart with her bare hooves or having Cream Pie blow them up. Still, it was a useful skill...and she needed every one she could get. The three of us had a thousand years of combat experience, and saved the world once before that, Spike was a mountain of muscle and bone with a strategic, intelligent mind controlling all that power (no offense to other dragons, but their fighting style typically boiled down to incineration and sheer brute force. The fact Spike was able to strategically apply his was a huge advantage), and even Derpy had apparently saved the world several times. Apple Pie had simply broken me free of Discord's brainwashing, which while very impressive still meant she was the rookie. We had to teach her whatever we could before we confronted Discord, and there was no telling just how much time we had until that moment. So the only solution we had was to use that time to give her a crash course in saving the world. (You're already making her a child soldier.) No...This isn't a weapon, it's a skill. One that could come in handy considering the palace is built from rock. (Applejack used it to kill Tom, or have you forgotten?) I...No, I haven't but...That's not all it's useful for, and what are the odds we'll even encounter someone else like him? (You speak of "odds" in conjunction with Discord?  You're so naive.) ...Wouldn't I be more naive if I thought she'd be able to magically convince Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, the Valeyard, and Discord to turn over a new leaf by sheer charisma? I just wish she could. I look back while Applejack hugged Apple Pie close and praised her... The unmistakable thunder of a Sonic Darkboom brought all our attention to the sky. Derpy gasped. Spike mouth opened just a little silently. Rarity's eyes narrowed. Apple Pie took a hoof-step back the tiniest bit scared as AJ took a hoof step forward, eyes locked on the newcomer, not angry or intense, but sad. She quickly put an illusion around Apple Pie to hide her hopefully before she was noticed. The less Discord knew the better. It was Traitor Dash. She had soot and feathers that weren't hers on spots over her body. She was panting hard, sweat dripped off her muzzle. Her wings flapped to keep her airborne and stationary above and ahead of us as the crow flies to Discord's castle. "Dash?" I called out, hoping against hope that Rainbow Dash was back with us. Traitor Dash called out, "Twilight! Please let me kill you!" TO BE CONTINUED