A large cloud of dust surrounds the area. The group of ponies can barely see what's going on between Discord and the enraged stallion. They all start to worry.
"What do you think is going on?" Shadow Blast looks on.
"Ah don't know, and Ah don't like it..." Applejack shook. With one of the elements out cold and the other in a psychotic trance, there was nothing the others could do now that Discord was playing by his own rules. If she did something now, it would only end badly. But she couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had to help him, she needed to.
"Applejack..." Twilight turns towards the country mare "I know what you're thinking, but it's too dangerous...”
"But ah have to! Charcoal is over there all alone fightin' Discord and we're over here just sittin' here like a bunch of scaredy fillies!"
"You saw what he did to Rainbow Dash, who knows what he'll do to you!" Rarity tried to snap some sense into her. There was a short pause between the two of them. The unicorn was right, but Applejack's feelings outweighed the danger.
"Ah don't care! I'm goin'!" The stubborn mare stomped a hoof before running into the fray.
"Applejack!" Twilight cried out, seeing her vanish into the dust.
Charcoal stood in the center of the dust cloud, seething with anger and trying to pinpoint Discord's location. Only his menacing laughter can be heard as the lord of chaos blended into the unsettling dust.
"SHOW YOURSELF YOU COWARD!" the dark stallion roared.
"Some temper you've got there. It's a shame you can’t use magic, not like it's gonna have any effect on me anyway." Discord scoffs
"I DON'T NEED MAGIC TO CRUSH YOU!" Charcoal starts kicking into the ground and air, stirring up more dust and making the battlefield a bigger advantage towards his opponent.
"And here I thought you were going to put up a better fight than this. I am very disappointed." Discord appears in front of Charcoal and swipes him across the face. The stallion flies back as the swipe tears a gash across his cheek. He lands on all fours, blood slowly falling down the side of his face, and then starts to charge at him again. Discord vanishes and reappears behind him, grabbing him by the back and lifting him up before slamming him down to the floor. Charcoal cringes tries to stand, but he is pinned by the deity.
"Let's see how far we can push you before you snap!" Discord's eyes began to change into stripes of different colors, hypnotizing Charcoal and putting him into a discorded trance.
Charcoal is floating inside a black plane, and all he can hear is various voices of different ponies. He grips his head as certain voices get louder.
"Where... am I?" he looks around, and several familiar ponies begin to surround him.
"It's all your fault..." one of them said
"You should have used your magic...” another echoed
"She's dead because of you..."
"No... it was an accident..." Charcoal whispered. The ponies begin to chant around him, getting louder every time.
"It's all your fault..."
"It's All Your Fault."
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!"
"STOP IT!" He cries, shutting his eyes as tight as he can. Everything went quiet. He then felt a floor beneath him and he was now on solid ground. When he opened his eyes, he looks around to see that he was in the same classroom where the event took place. A small crowd of ponies formed a circle around two figures. He trots closer to see a younger version of himself standing before a body lying on the floor. However, this was much more different than he remembered. From what used to be Cinnamon with nothing more than a head injury, was now a body with a maimed and disfigured head sprawled across the floor, blood pooled around it and a gear cog wedged in the skull. The dark stallion couldn't take it, and vomited on the floor. He looks up to see everypony look at him.
"Look at what you've done. You killed her." one of the ponies said. The younger version of himself turned towards him, hooves covered in blood and his eyes crying the same liquid.
"Seems like this past will forever haunt you, won't it?" the colt mumbles. Charcoal grits his teeth and shakes his head violently.
"No, I won't let you get to me!"
"But it was you that caused all of this."
"It wasn't my fault!"
"You took a life, and you'll have to bear this weight on you forever..." The colt's voice began to sound dark and evil, with a black substance leaking from his mouth
"ThErE Is nO esCApe..." Skeletal hooves stretched out from the ground and grabbed at Charcoal, pulling him down an abyss.
"No! Let go of me! I won't go!" he tries to fight back, but their grip becomes stronger. Tears run down his eyes as he screams at the top of his lungs. A bright light suddenly covers the room and gripping feeling of the hooves disappeared.
Charcoal was in the same black plane again, and this time it was quiet. He couldn't help but break down into sobs after what he just witnessed, rivers of tears flowing from his face and falling down onto the floor he stood on.
"You're still the sensitive colt I once knew. You never changed, did you Charcoal?" a familiar voice said. He quickly looks up to see Cinnamon. She still wore the armor, but her helmet was gone. She slowly trots up to him and wraps her hooves around him, holding him close and resting her head on his shoulder.
"I don't blame you. I never did." She said softly.
"At the time I thought you were..." Charcoal looks away
"I'm sure you did think that... but everything is okay now." She locks eyes with him "It's time for you to let go, and move on from the past."
"I can't..."
"Yes, You can. You're not alone anymore. You have friends, you have family..." she grabs his hoof and holds it on her chest plate "And you still have me." Her voice began to echo in his mind, and he slowly felt a weight lift off of his heart.
"Charcoal..." her voice began to echo and fade. He shut his eyes as her voice began to call his name over and over, her voice changing and getting louder. He finally came to, looking around and seeing Discord knocked onto the ground. He looks in front of him and sees Applejack lightly shaking him and calling out his name. The dust began to settle, giving the two of them a clear view of the area around them.
"Charcoal, Charcoal! Are you okay?" The country mare cries. He leans up and feels the gash on his cheek. He winces in pain, giving him a sign that he was back in reality.
"What happened? Last thing I remember I was in Canterlot... and then...” he stopped and remembered what had happened when he found out who was under the armor.
"That was a cheap shot you pulled..." Discord stood up and glared at Applejack. She took a step back and stayed next to Charcoal.
"I think I dragged this on for far too long. It's time I wrapped things up." He raised his claws and pointed towards the rest of the group "It was fun while it lasted, but it's time to say goodbye..." Charcoal ran towards them as fast as he could. Discord fires a large burst of magic in their direction. They all brace for impact as the dark ball of energy zips at them at high speed. The dark stallion jumps in front and takes the brunt of the attack, blocking it with the edge of his horn. He fights it, but the force of the back is slowly pushing him back. He couldn't deflect it, in risk of destroying a portion of Ponyville, but at the same time, he isn't going to let it destroy the friends he finally managed to attain. Charcoal took a risk; he tried to absorb the magic.Twilight looked at him in surprise, realizing his intent on taking in all that magic.
"Charcoal! You can't do that after all the work we put into venting your pent up magic!"
"I have no choice! It's either him, or us!" he yelled
"You know what's going to happen, don't you?!"
"You don't think I know that?!" Discord readies another attack and eyes the both of them.
"You know your magic can't hurt me!" he laughs
"That's right... but this isn't my magic." Charcoal grits his teeth and absorbs the dark energy all at once. Discord's eyes widen as the stallion's body is now enveloped in a dark aura. His eyes were now glowing a deep purple and he had a sly grin on his face. Discord fires a few more bolts of energy, but the dark aura brushes them aside. Charcoal quickly runs up to him and stops short, pointing his horn upwards.
"If you want me gone so bad, I'll be glad to take you with me!" He forces all the magic in him to the tip of his horn and lets it all loose in one short burst. The dark aura brightens, blinding the area and a loud explosion sends shock waves across Ponyville.