//------------------------------// // Chaos Vs. Corruption // Story: Vanguard Of Harmony // by Enfield //------------------------------// The group all sat where they were, not moving, not letting go of each other. Each of them had another in a tight hug and they each looked at one another dumbfounded. They had been sitting in the same spot for almost five minutes. After a few seconds, Scootaloo spoke up. "I'd-I'd best get home. Get some sleep." "Yeah, you do that," Scott said as he patted her on the back. "Let me come with you," Rainbow Dash said, "I don't want my number one fan getting hurt." Scootaloo smiled and hugged Rainbow Dash again before they set off trotting down the road. Lauren let out a heavy and satisfied sigh. "Ahh friendship." "Yeah, it's a beautiful thing isn't it?" Scott said as they watched the two pegasi walk away until they were over the hill and out of sight. "I'd best get back to the farm," Applejack said, "Ah've got apples to buck." "I've gotta clean up the bakery now because of those stupid bears," Pinkie said in irritation. "I should go back to my shop," Rarity said, "I've got a lot to clean up and see if Sweetie Belle is okay." "Can-can I go with you?" Fluttershy asked, "I'm...uh, still afraid to go back to my house in case the animals come back." Scott grimaced but hid the look when Twilight turned to face him. "God I hope Fluttershy never goes back to her cottage." "So then," Twilight said, "Shall we go back to the library?" "We might as well," Scott replied. "Once we get there I'll tell you all about the place where I came from," Lauren added. Twilight grinned and watched as the group dispersed. She then motioned for Scott and Lauren to follow. The two exchanged glaces and followed Twilight. As the three walked through town they noticed a little bit of life had been restored and there were more ponies out and about than earlier. Scott smiled knowing that soon, the entire town would be restored and the whole kingdom would be fixed. The ponies who were outside did stop and stare at Lauren but then went straight back to what they were doing once she looked at them. "This is the most activity I've ever seen in the town," Twilight said as they passed by a few shops. "Yeah, but the towns got to be fixed up at some point," Scott added as they walked past a ruined building. Even to Lauren it was clear that a bomb had exploded next to it and blown the front half of it off, leaving nothing but a pile of rubble. Scott sighed and kept up pace with Lauren and Twilight. So much had been destroyed in a matter of minutes and he was unable to do anything to help. He did have the Element of Chaos but he knew that fixing the entire town with it could cost him his life. There was too much to fix and not enough life energy. "Wonder how the other towns are getting on?" he asked himself as he trotted behind Twilight. Twilight didn't hear, she was too busy talking to Lauren. "I can't believe that all that happened," Lauren said. Twilight let out a deep sigh. "I know, I was lucky enough to escape during the attack." "So what happened in Canterlot?" "Can we get back to my place? I don't like how everypony is staring at us." Lauren leaned down and whispered to Scott. "So they do say everypony here." "Yeah, you'll get used to it after a while," Scott said, "Just don't use it until they trust you." "Well how come you can use it?" Lauren asked. "Well that's because I came here as a pony, not a human." "What's that supposed to mean?" "I don't mean any offence. I'm just saying that the recent turn of events had led to a lot of distrust around here, it'd be best if you kept your head down." Lauren grunted and focused on walking. Scott sighed and walked closer to Lauren. "Look, I'm sorry if I meant anything insulting. I'm only here to keep you safe." he said, "We both know what's been going on around here and I'm not too sure if the townsfolk have retained their peacefulness." "It's okay, I understand," Lauren said as she pulled Scott's head closer to her. Scott smiled a little and kept pace with Twilight. Soon they made it to Twilight's library. Twilight knocked on the door and waited for a few seconds, she then sighed in irritation and opened the door herself. "I keep forgetting that Spike isn't here." "You really miss him don't you?" Lauren asked. Twilight nodded. "Don't worry, we'll get him back," Scott said. "I hope we do." Over the next few hours Twilight and Lauren talked to each other and exchanged information. Scott on the other hand was too busy keeping guard, he knew that Lauren was the only hope for Equestria and he had to keep her safe at all times. There would be no telling if the townsfolk decided to get rid of her or even worse, Douglas would make his return. Scott had his Chimera revolver at his side and he paced between windows, occasionally eavesdropping on Twilight and Lauren. A few times the conversation had been rather lackluster so Scott started to search the bookshelves for something to read. He found one book, pulled it off the shelf and read the cover. "Daring Do and the Legend of the Golden Corral. That'll do." As Scott sat down to read he shuffled closer to the two and tried to listen in on what Lauren and Twilight were talking about. He smiled in amusement as he heard what the two were talking about. "So do you like it here in Ponyville?" Lauren asked Twilight. "Yeah, it's one of the greatest places to live," Twilight replied, "Even if the kingdom is falling apart and the town got attacked I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." "I knew that I had done a good idea when I thought of Ponyville. Shame what happened here all those months ago, What happened after you escaped?" "I managed to get to Canterlot with Douglas' parents. We hid there and I told Princess Celestia about what had happened and she sent my brother and some solders to Ponyville to get rid of the Changelings for good. But after they left Douglas' parents feared for their son's life. They wanted him back alive and well so that we could change his memories back." "How did his memories change?" "Queen Chrysalis altered them after she captured Douglas." "How did she do that?" Lauren asked with great interest. Twilight shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, all I do know is that Chrysalis erased Douglas' memories and she changed them after he was captured. I'm still looking into how Chrysalis did it." "It's amazing that humanity has found this place. I didn't know that it existed." "Humanity didn't find Equestria, Equestria found humanity." Scott said. Lauren and Twilight looked up. "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "Well when I was first brought here I was taken by Discord. I didn't want to come here, I had no idea what the hell was going on but I accepted it over time." "But what about Douglas?" Lauren asked. "From what I can remember his car was hit by lightning and he ended up in Applejack's farm. After a little bit of studying I managed to find out that Chrysalis used a dimension tearing spell and she found Douglas and then brought him here." "But why would she do that?" Scott asked, not looking up from the book. "I'll never know." Within the corse of an hour Scott had gone through two more book and had tuned out the babbling of Lauren and Twilight. He was rather submersed in the books and in order to get the full feeling he used the Element of Chaos to transport his mind into the stories themselves and watch as it unfolded much like a movie. He became so engaged that it took Twilight a very powerful spell to break his concentration. "Scott!" she yelled as a massive bang rang through his ears. "Bleedin' hell!" Scott yelped as he was sent rocketing onto a light fixture. He hung there for a few seconds and then dropped to the floor next to Twilight. "What the hell was all that about?" "We've got a problem," Twilight said. Scott rubbed the back of his head from where the light had hit him. "What kind of problem?" Twilight didn't have the chance to reply because a rather loud and egocentric shouted through the door. "Twilight Sparkle! I know you're in there. Come out!" "Who's that?" Scott asked as he walked over to the window. "I know who it is," Lauren said. "Who is it then?" Scott asked while he tried to see who was at the front door. The voice one again boomed through the library. "Twilight, The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you come outside." Scott's expression went from curious to confused in a second. He turned back and saw Lauren standing behind him with her arms folded in disappointment. "I knew it," she said. "Who the hell is 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'?" Scott asked. Twilight grunted and stomped over to the door with her head down low and ears flat against her head in irritation. "Trixie is a unicorn who came to Ponyville a long time ago as a sort of one pony show. She would show off a lot and constantly brag about all of her adventures but really, I think that she made them all up." "She's got one massive ego," Scott said with a chuckle. Lauren smiled a little and Twilight was halfway to the door when a tight pain enclosed around Scott's chest where the Element of Chaos was resting. Something flashed in his mind, a funny looking necklace in the shape of what was a unicorns head with two wings sprouting out from either side. In the middle of the necklace was a small, red, diamond shaped gem. Scott started to get a bad feeling in his mind and he knew that it was right outside the door. "Twilight. Wait, it could be a trap." But it was too late, the second Twilight opened the door an unseen force grabbed her and threw her outside. Scott and Lauren watched in horror as they saw the shadow of a unicorn mare loom on the door. Scott span around and face Lauren. "Hide." "What? Where?" Lauren asked in confusion. "Just go upstairs and don't come down till I give the all clear." "Scott I've got to see what's happened to Twilight." "Just get upstairs and hide. I've got a nasty feeling about Trixie here, like something she has could spell disaster." "How bad is it?" "Bad enough to make my heart almost stop," Scott said as he looked to the door. Lauren didn't question him because he had backed into the black slime that was on the wall, after the slime dissipated she ran upstairs and looked for a window. She didn't want to miss anything. Meanwhile outside, Twilight was picking herself up and dusting herself off. "What was that for?" she asked, almost yelling at Trixie. "You weren't fast enough," Trixie replied. "Yeah, well that doesn't justify dragging someone out of their own house." "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't wait for anypony," a small and slightly shrill voice said. Twilight looked to her left and saw two unicorn colts standing a few feet next to Trixie. "Oh no, not again," Twilight thought as she shook her head. She turned to Trixie. "What do you want this time?" "Nothing much, only to restore my former reputation." "And how do you intend to do that?" "Simple, by challenging you to a magic duel." Trixie's irises flashed red for a split second but Twilight thought that it was only a trick of the light. "Okay then?" Twilight said, "What do you have in mind?" "Just a few basic spells," Trixie stated as she paced back and to, "Simple stuff that both of us know. Then we'll move onto the harder spells. Just to make this duel more interesting we'll have a little bet along with it." "Like what?" "Well if you win I leave Ponyville and never come back. But if I win then you are forbidden to ever return here." By now a large crowd had formed around the two. Twilight looked behind her and saw her friends and instantly felt braver. She did notice that Scott and Lauren weren't with the others, but then she remembered that Scott would be protecting Lauren and thought that it would be for the best. "Okay Trixie, I accept." Trixie grinned and tossed her hat to the colts. "Snips, Snails. Keep that safe for me." "Sure thing Trixie," Snails said as the two stood in front of the hat like guardsmen. Trixie's irises flashed red again as she took up an attack stance. "First spell shall be levitation. Let's see how much you can lift." "You can do it Twilight!" Pinkie yelled. Twilight's heart skipped a beat but her confidence soared, she knew that beating Trixie was going to be easy. All she had to do was use the newest spells, but as she was starting to do a spell on a large apple cart a whisper entered her head. "Twilight, after this, brace yourself." Twilight shook off the voice and picked up the cart. She knew what was at stake, she had to win. Without any more hesitation she tossed the contents of the cart into the air and caught them all in the cart before setting it down. Twilight gave a wry smile and saw that Trixie was unfazed by her performance. "Is that it?" she asked in an almost uncaring tone. Twilight straitened her stance and looked at Trixie quizzically as she walked over to her Library. Twilight watched as Trixie stood in front of the library and stared at it. The building quivered and then shook violently, suddenly the whole house was uprooted and dropped back into the hole, the library sat in it asque. Trixie then turned to Twilight and grinned. "Can you do better?" Twilight and the crowd stood dumbfounded at Trixie and stared at her as she walked over to Snips and Snails. "Stay still you two." Snips and Snails stood proudly in front of their idol. "Yes O great one?" Trixie stood over the two colts and picked them up with a levitation spell. The two looked at each other confused but then instantly consumed in a bright white ball of light. Once the light dissipated the two colts, were no longer colts. Snips had become a newborn foal whilst Snails was now an eighty year old stallion. Twilight and the crowd stared in amazement at the two former colts. "B-b-b-but how?" Twilight stammered, "Age spells are incredibly powerful and advanced. How did you do that?" Trixie snorted in amusement. "I'm not saying anything until you can change them back." Twilight gritted her teeth and focused her magic. Her horn glowed purple and Snips and Snails were levitated by a purple aura, the magic field gave off energy as the two span in a weightless state as they floated in the aura. Twilight concentrated and a loud boom followed, but when she opened her eyes the two were still the same. Trixie started laughing triumphantly as Twilight hung her head in shame. "Ha! I knew that you were no match for the Great and Powerful Trixie, and now I have shamed you, Twilight Sparkle. You are nothing compared to me. Now, since you have lost I hereby banish you from Ponyville so that I may install a new rule! As for your friends, they shall be my servants." Trixie then turned to the crowd, "If anypony is willing to step forward and defend Twilight and her friends then say so now." Nothing but silence followed. Trixie gave an evil grin and faced Twilight and her friends. "Looks like they know that you've been beaten." "Oh I wouldn't say that just yet!" Trixie span around and saw the crowd look behind them and slowly part. She watched as some stared in amazement and others bow their heads. As the crowd fully parted she saw a steel gray stallion wearing black armor and a black helmet stride over to her. Trixie was not only confused, but also slightly afraid of this newcomer but she didn't show her emotions, instead she kept her face as blank as possible. As the stallion walked over to her she stood taller and stared down the stallion but she dropped her gaze when she saw that he was sneering. "Oh how I've looked forward to meeting you," the stallion said. "Who are you?" Trixie asked. The stallion didn't reply, he looked down and saw the necklace that Trixie was wearing and he took it in his hoof. Trixie saw the strange burn marks that ran up his leg. "Hmm, I wonder what this is you have here." "It's a little something I got a while ago," Trixie said as she stepped back, "What is your name?" "My name," the stallion said as he inched closer, "Is Scott Websly." Some whispering broke out in the crowd and Trixie shifted uneasily. "Mind telling me what that is around your neck?" Scott said. Trixie looked down and tapped the gem. "This," she said in a cocky attitude, "Is the Alicorn Amulet." "Alicorn Amulet?" Twilight said under her breath, "I've got to get a book." "Here Twilight," Pinkie said almost a second later. Twilight smiled at Pinkie's abnormal abilities and started flipping through the pages. As she did Scott and Trixie kept up their confrontation. "So, a fancy little charm is what's giving you all those powers?" Scott said after Trixie explained what the amulet was. "Yes, and it's going to overpower whatever you have." "I can already see that the power is going to your head." Scott said as he paced back and to in front of Trixie, "You might want to take that off while you can." "I've spent months earning the money to get this, I'm not giving it up." "Alright then," Scott said as he got right up next to Trixie's face, "Then lets have a little showdown." Trixie suddenly became more interested. "Go on." Scott smiled and stepped back. "Glad I have your attention. Now then here's the bet, if you win Twilight leaves and I end up serving you. But if I win then you have to hand the amulet over and give yourself up. But to make this a much better confrontation I get to pick where we have it." "Go ahead, make your choice. Where do you want to battle?" Scott loomed closer to Trixie and grinned. "My Pocket Dimension." Trixie stood with her head tilted to one side. "Pocket Dimension?" she asked with confusion. Scott nodded and then looked at Trixie's hooves. "And you're about to see it." Trixie tried to move her hoof to scratch her head but it was frozen in place, she looked down and saw a black slime slowly ooze it's way up her legs and onto the rest of her body. "Don't worry," Scott said with a hint of amusement, "The crowd's coming as well." A series of terrified screams followed as Trixie looked up and saw the same slime consume the crowd. She gave Scott one last fearful look as the slime covered her eyes and blacked out her vision. "Hey! Wake up." "Huh? What?" Trixie said as she was helped up by a pony. Trixie then turned to the pony and said only three words. "Where are we?" The pony shook her head and Trixie walked away, she found Snips and Snails back as their original selves looking around the bleak void. "What are to to gawping at?" Trixie said. "I-I feel as if I've been here before," Snips said. "Yeah, it's just as dark as I remember," Snails added. Trixie shook her head in annoyance and walked into the center of the floating island. "Scott Weblsy! What is the meaning of this?" Suddenly the island started to shake and the center of the island that Trixie was standing on broke away and descended leaving the rest of the island to shift and shape into what looked like stands in the Circus Maximus. Trixie stared in amazement and the looked around the stands for Scott. "Where are you?" she thought. "LADIES AND GENTLECOLTS!" A voice that was unmistakably Scott's boomed through the void, "HAVE WE GOT A SHOW FOR YOU TODAY! TRIXIE, THE HOLDER OF THE ALICORN AMULET IS ABOUT TO GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH SCOTT WEBSLY, KEEPER OF THE ELEMENT OF CHAOS!" A sort of fake crowd cheering rang out, making Trixie cover her ears. It died out then Scott spoke up, but this time he was a little quieter. "Now we shall see who has the greater mind and the greater powers, but there are two different outcomes for who wins. If Trixie wins then Twilight shall be banished from the town and her friends will become her personal slaves, but if Scott wins then Trixie is to give up the amulet to him." Trixie snorted a little then stood up. "Just the amulet he wants? Well I don't think that he'll get it from me." Just as she finished her thought an armorless Scott materialized in front of her, around his neck was the Element of Chaos and it was glowing crimson. "Ready?" he asked. Trixie nodded and Scott smiled. "You get first pick." Trixie stared him down and charged up an elemental attack. She though that Scott would be expecting something like a small spell to show off what she can do, but the look in his eyes unsettled her. She decided to hit Scott with a powerful blast of energy and send him flying off the island. She let out a large bolt of magic and sneered, Scott merely swatted at the bolt and it bounced off his hoof with the sound of a ricocheting bullet before striking the ceiling of the stands. Scott shook his head in disapproval. "A magic attack? Okay then, if it's a magic duel you want then a magic duel you'll get." Scott took up a stance and the element glowed an even darker crimson. As Trixie stared at the the Element she felt the Amulet close around her neck, she gagged and tried to pull it off but Scott had her up in the air. Trixie struggled and Scott dropped her where she landed painfully on the floor in front of him. "You didn't try to do anything, come on I want a challenge," Scott said with a sneer. Trixie jumped up and fired several bolts at him, Scott dodged or blocked each one before firing a Chaos Blast at Trixie, Trixie managed to dive out of the way but it still scorched her hat. "You will pay for that!" Trixie said. Trixie charged up the amulet and let out a ball of lightning that shot towards Scott, Scott had no time to react as the ball of light consumed him. Trixie smiled as she panted with exhaustion from her spell. She grinned as she thought of the outcome of the spell, Scott would be reduced to ashes and she would take over Ponyville. As the ball of lightning dissipated her smile dropped when something slowly appeared out of the ball of light. Once the light vanished all that was there was a strange creature, crouched down on the floor. It slowly looked up and stared at Trixie. Trixie walked backwards slowly as the creature rose to a bipedal state. "Hi," it said. Trixie could only stammer as the creature rose up. "I see that you failed to take in the amount of power you would need to kill me." "Wh-what are you?" "I? I am a monument to all your sins." The creature outstretched an arm and pointed to Trixie with one of the appendages that were on the end of it's arm. "What are you doing?" Trixie asked fearfully. "I'm going to purge you, Trixie. Unless you give me the Amulet." Trixie didn't know what purge meant but she knew that it wasn't good, she took off the Amulet and tossed it to the creature. The creature reached down and picked up the Amulet. "Thank you, but do you know what this means?" he asked. "No, what does it mean?" "You lose." The creature made a snapping noise and Trixie felt the slime creep up on her again. Only this time it was much faster, she looked around and only saw the creature smiling and twirling the Amulet, then the slime covered her eyes and once again she was in darkness.