Luna was exhausted. The battle against Discord had stretched into long hours and chases through the tall buildings of Canterlot. She felt drained and her wounds ached and burned. Discord’s club was absurdly heavy but he waved it around like a twig, and was fast enough to land a few hits on her, breaking ribs and rendering her left wing useless. The former wave of flying blades was now reduced to three short swords that swung erratically in the air in a feeble attempt of hurting the agile draconequus, and a long blade, as long as an adult pony, was held in her mouth with difficulty.
“C’mon Luna dear, I thought we were fighting here?” mocked Discord, while motioning towards himself with both “hands”.
Luna emitted an indiscernible grunt in a failed attempt to retort through her panting and the sword in her mouth.
“Such an unmannered child. Didn’t your mother teach you not to talk with your mouth full?” Another fit of laughter came from Discord as he dodged the few flying blades with ease.
“You know, it has been fun while it lasted but it’s about time we put an end to this, I believe the winner is already clear”
With all of her remaining energy, Luna charged towards him with no hesitation in one last struggle. Much to her surprise and frustration, Discord also dashed towards her, closing in their distance far faster than she had predicted, not giving her time to swing the large sword.
Before she could react, Discord dropped his club and grabbed her forelegs in his hands and looked at her straight in the eyes. Luna tried in vain to break free, far too exhausted to release herself from the grasp of her captor. She tried swinging the blade towards his throat, but before the arc of the swing met its target, Discord gave her a swift strike with his forehead on her own, making her drop the sword and scream in pain.
They just stared at each other’s eyes for a few seconds, Luna with pure anger on her face and Discord with a delighted smile. He was the one to break the silence.
“Do you have any idea of what it is to be trapped for a thousand years on a statue?” his smile disappeared “I’ll tell you what it’s like: It’s boring and frustrating. No one to talk to, nothing to twist and deform into chaos, etcetera etcetera. But worse than that, do you know how I felt being trapped once again; the same way, right after breaking free? Know that just made me mad. But now” his manic grin came back full strength “now I’m going to show you all what chaos really means”
“You know you deserved every day of it Discord. Your ways brought only misery and suffering to all ponies in Equestria. That is all you are capable of, and that’s why you will be stopped! My sister will stop you once again!”
“Now Luna my dear, you shouldn’t lie like that. Your sister died along with that overgrown star of hers; I saw it happen, and so did you. And if she didn’t anyway, I’d still get to show her the end of her pathetic little kingdom.”
Discord looked towards the sky as if he was thinking about something. “Once, I said that I don’t turn ponies into stone if I remember it correctly” Luna stood terrified, still in his grasp as he turned his gaze back towards her “You’re not quite a pony; am I right?”
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“Wait Twilight! You can’t fight Discord alone, it’s crazy!” Said rainbow Dash far louder than she intended.
“I know
Everypony in the room stared at her in disbelief.
“I know it is madness and every single cell in my brain has been telling me to stop and think about it, but somehow, I also know that I can do this. Celestia gave me her powers for a reason and I respected her until the last second. I still do.” She tried to sound calm but her voice showed her fear.
“But what are you going to do without the elements? Rarity is still unconscious and you can’t just take them all and use them by yourself, you remember what happened the last time” Fluttershy added, thinking about the failed attempt to give the element of loyalty to Spike.
“Sorry girls I don’t have time to explain. I can do it alone, Princess Luna is out there fighting by herself and doesn’t have much time left” Barely in time for her to finish the sentence, Twilight’s horn lit up and in a flash of purple light she was gone.
With a second flash she reappeared at one of Canterlot’s main streets. She looked around in shock and for a while, believing that she was at the wrong place. But taking a closer look at the deformed and thorn-covered houses and stores, she recognized a small bookstore where she used to go when she still lived there. She was indeed at the right place.
She remembered her goal and thought about what to do next. She needed to find Princess Luna, but she had no idea where she could be. Canterlot was a huge city and she couldn’t run blindly through the streets. But then, she felt something. It was a strange sensation, like a sound coming from far away, but she could feel it on her skin. Without any better ideas she decided to follow it, and as she got closer to the source it intensified.
What Twilight didn’t know was that the “sound” she was hearing was actually one of the perks of being an alicorn. Being all types of pony and none at the same time, alicorns had the connection with the earth that the earth ponies had, but were still able to channel magic, turning them into natural sensors; capable of locating any magic sources, and right now, the only one in the entire city of Canterlot was Discord.
Twilight galloped as fast as she could, and soon she found what she was looking for. Discord stood in a plain deserted area that used to be a small marketplace before the events of the day. His back was turned on her, and he was playing with what seemed like a statue. He juggled with it and dropped it down repeatedly, laughing like a child as he did.
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Twilight looked at the statue. It was exactly like one of the statues in the palace garden, one depicting the two Princesses in scale. But this one was unbelievably realistic, and the terrified expression on the statue’s face seemed out of place.
“This is getting boring already without the screaming and begging for your life. You really are no fun you know that?” Discord held the statue in his hands as he spoke. He stared at its face and once again burst out laughing “Okay, I admit, this is quite entertaining, but if what you told me is true, then I still have another Princess to take care of”
And with a powerful throw, he sent the statue flying nearly a hundred meters above them, and prepared his club like a baseball bat. Twilight finally realized what was going on and as the statue started its descent, she teleported it away from him and to her side, leaving Discord staring at the sky with a wondering look.
“Finally someone else to stand up against me, I was starting to get really bored here. Now would you please show yourself and give me back my statue? I was about to find out what it looked like inside, it’s purely scientific I can assure you”
A large purple ray of magic bolted from behind a few wrecked stands, and in a few seconds, the Sun began to ascend on the horizon. Discord looked puzzled towards the source of the spell.
“Celestia! Good to see you again so soon, I was starting to wonder if you were really alive. I can’t wait to show you what I did with the place” He spoke cheerfully, pointing at the burning buildings.
Twilight slowly walked from her hiding place and into the light, turning Discord’s face of joy into one of disbelief.
“What the hay happened to you Celestia? Did you fall in a bucket of ink or what?” He mocked, not yet fully understanding the situation.
“I’m here to stop you Discord; you’ve caused enough suffering already”
Discord fell down to the ground laughing, after recognizing the voice. Of everyone, every single pony in Equestria, Celestia chooses her? The weak bookworm, so insecure as to allow him to bend and twist her mind like a paper clip, was now the successor of Celestia. This had to be a joke.
“You’re joking right? If you are good one, I almost choked here” Twilight stood still with a blank expression on her face “you’re not joking. Right. What makes you think you have the slightest chance of defeating me? Chaos makes me stronger and if you just think a bit, this place is a complete mess right now. Half the population already knows their princess died and that I’m back, and the other half is dead. I can feel the panic and fear, and if I’m lucky we’ll soon be in the brink of a civil war. I am nearly as strong as I used to be before the whole being-trapped-in-a-stone thing”
“Celestia trusted me, and I know that I can defeat you. I can’t let you bring any more suffering to the ponies of Equestria”
“Wow, spoke like a true Princess. I guess that you can talk just as fancy as the other two. Let’s see if you can fight just as well” And without giving her time to retort, the club swung down towards her.
Twilight dodged as fast as she could, jumping to the side. She wasn’t prepared for this. She had never fought before and she didn’t even have a weapon with her! She had just charged blindly into the fight without any kind of plan and was already regretting it. She hadn’t even brought the elements with her and they were probably the only weapon she could use.
Out of sheer impulse, she cast a spell and out of nowhere she pulled a large, purple glowing sword and blocked Discord’s attack with it. She held it in the air with her magic, glad to have at least one weapon. It was a long and thin blade with a wing pattern on the grip and runes written all over the blade.
Just as fast as she blocked she did a wide swing with it as Discord was about to strike her from the side with the club, managing to cut him in the chest. The cut was long but too superficial to do any actual damage.
“Oh my, the ever politically correct Twilight Sparkle using one of my forbidden spells to create a weapon. Where is this world going to?”
“Shut up Discord! While I was trapped inside my own mind I studied that book of yours completely and learned all of your spells! And also, you are in dire need of a proofreader”
Discord’s book was full of combat spells and offensive magic. Twilight found one of them very convenient at the time and cast it upon herself. It was the foresight spell, a spell that allowed her to foresee her opponent’s movements seconds before they were performed.
Their battle raged on just as the former, and for hours they swung their weapons, erratic bolts of magic flying through the air and in complete disregard for the surrounding city. Twilight’s knowledge barely made up for her lack of combat experience, but she dodged and attacked with predictable moves, easily dodged by Discord, but also managed to dodge all of discord’s attack’s due to her spell.
“Twilight listen to me” Called a voice from inside her head. A voice she would always recognize.
“Princess Celestia!? Are you alive?”
“Sort of; but there’s no time to explain right now. Twilight, you cannot defeat Discord in combat, he is absolutely tireless and you will eventually run out of energy. Our first battle lasted nearly four days, and that was at the peak of my power. You must use the elements or you won’t stand a chance”
Twilight tried to focus on the princess and the fight at the same time, without much luck. With a loud roar and a stomp on the ground, she created a magic shockwave, throwing Discord nearly half a mile away.
“There, we have some time now. I need your help Princess how am I supposed to use the elements? They aren’t with me right now!” Twilight was starting to panic as she heard Discord shouting in rage in the distance.
“I can’t explain this properly right now Twilight, but the elements aren’t just pendants or jewels, they are a force, a force you can use and summon if you have the will to. But you will need time to do it and I think that just pushing Discord away won’t work”
Discord was flying towards her like a bullet. Twilight waited until he was close enough and just as he stopped and used his momentum to perform a powerful swing sideways, she lowered her body into the ground and barely dodged.
The sheer force of the blow created a shockwave that crumbled various building behind her. Twilight needed to find a way to restrain Discord long enough for her to summon the elements; however she was going to do it. She could only think of one way out.
Before Discord could react, Twilight focused all of her energy on her horn and cast the spell that Discord taught her. Out of thin air, came dozens of chains and shackles that locked onto Discord’s limbs and sinking deep into the ground. Upon the spots where the chains sank, fell large pillars of what seemed to be steel, holding them down, and a large cage formed around Discord’s body.
“Talk about overkill” Mumbled the voice.
Discord raged and pulled against the chains, and Twilight could already feel the weight of the spell on her. Her magic powers had increased dramatically but that spell had made her faint form exhaustion.
She thought about what the Princess had said. She could summon the elements if she wanted, but how? She took a deep breath and focused. She thought about the pendants, and concentrated on them, trying to teleport them to her. It didn’t work.
Then she remembered the element’s significance. She thought about her friends and how their personality reflected into the pendants, and the link she felt with them when she used the elements. The pendants were not important, as Celestia said; the elements were a force, not an object. She then focused on the idea of the elements. On the memory of her friends. And slowly, six spheres of light began to form around her. Five of them took the form of ponies, each one a spectral representation of one of her friends, and the sixth glided towards her chest, and took the form of a necklace similar to the one the princess used, only with a purple stone in the middle.
Discord stared in despair. He wouldn’t go back to the stone prison again. Not without a fight! Mustering all of his power he created a large shockwave that broke through all of his restraints. Without even bothering to take his weapon, Discords charged towards the alicorn with rage in his eyes.
But before he could get close enough, the five spectral figures took to the air and began to fly around him, creating a perfect sphere of multicolored light, holding him in place.
“Give up at once Discord! I have the elements with me now, you have lost”
Between the flying specters Discord’s face could be seen, twisting in pure rage.
“You can’t keep me locked forever! I am one of the primordial beings! I reign over chaos! There will always be chaos and I will break free once again!”
“I’ll make sure that this never happens again myself”
For the first time, Twilight took flight. She flew right above discord and closed her eyes. The magic of the elements enveloped her and she floated gently in the air, even without flapping her wings. A thin beam of magic left her horn and flew towards Discord and the other elements. Their glow intensified, and with a blinding flash of light, they were gone. What was left was once again, Discord’s statue, this time, its expression more enraged than ever. Twilight almost felt pity.
Almost.
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Back at the palace, the four ponies still in the hospital waiting room were overjoyed to see their friend teleporting back to the castle, bringing along a statue and Luna, now freed from the stone prison. The four small ponies gave her a group hug, relieved after seeing her friend’s safety. Flutershy was the first to speak up.
“Is that him?” she pointed at the statue.
“Discord, yes, it is him” Answered Twilight.
“But how did you do it? I mean; without the elements?”
“Look I know it is all very touching and you have a lot to catch up on but, Twilight Sparkle, I believe it is already time for you to speak to the people. The refugees from Canterlot are all here and are disoriented at the present situation. I think that now would be a great time for you to present yourself. And also clear any kind of misunderstanding, after all the population doesn’t fully trust me and some are spreading rumors about Nightmare Moon once again” Interrupted Luna.
“Wait I can’t just make a speech like this! I haven’t prepared anything and the people don’t know who I am, how would I…” She was cut off by the voice in her head.
“Calm down Twilight. I know you can do this. You just harnessed all the elements alone and defeated Discord. Are you afraid of a bunch of scared ponies now?”
She raised her head, now with newfound determination and headed towards the large gardens, where hundreds of tents were set to shelter the now homeless ponies. She looked down to the crowd from the makeshift podium that was set for her in a rush. And looked at them. Many didn’t even noticed her presence, others stared at her with a mix of curiosity and fear. Twilight massaged her temples with a hoof.
She raised her head, now with newfound determination and headed towards the large gardens, where hundreds of tents were set to shelter the now homeless ponies. She looked down to the crowd from the makeshift podium that was set for her in a rush. Many didn’t even notice her presence; others stared at her with a mix of curiosity and fear. Twilight massaged her temples with a hoof.
“This is going to be awkward”