Discord paused as he felt Rarity cease her filing of his hoof and gazed down at the unicorn mare seeing her beginning to tear up, “Discord… the ponies of Equestria did nothing to deserve this cruelty…” Discord reached down and put his eagle claw under her chin, raising her head up so that she was looking directly at him. A calm smile then appeared on his face as he stared into her eyes,
“The ponies? No, they did nothing to deserve this. It was your leaders… your… previous rulers who deserve this. Do you know what it is like to be imprisoned in stone for one thousand years?” Rarity raised her hoof to speak but she was immediately silenced by Discord, “Being fully conscious, unable to sleep, unable to eat? To be alone with your thoughts knowing that the reason you are imprisoned is because of the actions of two alicorns?!” Discord stood as his smile disappeared and a very dark look appeared on his face, Rarity falling from the throne but quickly regained her footing, backing up a few feet as Discord took another step forward, “To not even know that your torture could last for an eternity?! You don‘t seem to understand that before those two…” Discord spat to one side as he growled, his eyes locked on the statues of Celestia and Luna next to the throne, “Princesses… ruled Equestria that I was high king! They deserve to know EXACTLY what it feels like to be imprisoned and KNOW that they will NEVER be free again!”
Discord closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, turning his head from the statues back to Rarity and opened his eyes once again, “It is by far the cruelest torture known to ponykind and I am going to do all I can to ensure that my rule remains for all time. My assassin will take care of that purple pest and once that is done, I shall be unstoppable.” Discord turned away from the grey unicorn and folded his paw and claw behind his back, letting out a growl as he did so, “Know your place, Rarity.”
Rarity paused as her gaze was locked on the back of the draconequus. She then silently shook her head and took a step forward, “My place… is by Twilight‘s side, Discord.”
“Funny…” Discord remained facing away from her for a minute of silence until he finally spoke again, “I thought I broke you a long time ago… and yet it seems that you still cling to hope that your friend is going to stop me. Things really have been fun… bringing her mind to the brink of shattering…” Discord held his eagle claw palm up forming what seemed to be a crystal form of Twilight. The being of chaos stared at it and smiled rather darkly, “You never know what that last little spark will be that will finish her off for good.” He closed his eagle claw into a fist, crushing the statue and turned his gaze back to Rarity, “Do you honestly think you can benefit Twilight by being at her side?” Discord turned to face her, walking forward until he was staring down at her, now only a few feet away, “What can you do that she cannot? When she had the choice between five of her friends she chose Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but why not you? Certainly another unicorn by her side would make things better in the long run, right?” Rarity continued to back up as Discord continued to come closer until she stopped and closed her eyes, throwing her head down to the side while tears streamed down her face,
“Just stop it! That was a horrid thing to force on her and one of the cruelest acts I‘ve ever known! Things are hard enough without you trying to break her spirit every step of the way!” Rarity then opened her tear-streaked eyes and gazed up at Discord, slowly shaking her head, “But that‘s just it… our friendship and the true power it has can never be broken. It can be weakened, even strained, but it will never break. Not ever.”
Discord gazed down into the defiant eyes of the unicorn and clapped his hands together a few times sarcastically as a smirk appeared on his face, “Such a touching sentiment.”
Discord held his claws out towards Rarity and the unicorn shivered, her color returning to her body and she blinked her eyes, staring up at him, “Wha…?”
“If you really think you‘ll make a difference then go ahead, be with your little friend.” Discord leaned down so that he was eye level with the unicorn, “And when you realize how weak you truly are, you are more then welcome to return.” Rarity only gave a silent nod before she ran from the throne room, said her goodbyes to Fluttershy and left the castle in full sprint towards the eastern Everfree Forest.
Written Dreams continually gazed upwards into the treetops, a bright smile remaining on the pegasi’s face as he hummed. The two continued walking for a good half an hour and were soon deep within the Everfree Forest. Twilight began to look around nervously the more they walked, the twisted and mangled trees giving off a rotting odor that stung her nostrils, “Written, we‘re headed the right way… right? If we keep heading this way we‘re going to reach the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.” Written Dreams turned his gaze to Twilight, nodding while he continued to smile,
“We‘re heading the right way. We are actually heading past it so passing straight through and out the back is our best bet in terms of speed.” Twilight paused as he finished speaking, turning her head and gazing down a long, winding and overgrown path. Written continued walking for a few moments more before he noticed that Twilight had stopped walking. He turned back and returned to her side, looking down the path before looking back at her, “Are you alright Twilight?” Twilight didn’t look at him, her eyes steadily welling up with tears as she stared,
“Sunny Town is down that path… I still wonder if Zecora is alright…” Written’s ears drooped as his eyes widened and he took a step back,
“She… was cursed?”
“She sacrificed herself to save Luna and I…” Written closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, shaking his head as he looked down,
“What do you want to do?” Twilight slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him before she shook her head and turned looking down their original path,
“If we can just stop by her home for a little while I‘d appreciate it.”
“It‘s not even a detour Twilight. Of course we can.”
The two continued walking for a few more minutes before the large, rotting, tree home came into view of the two ponies. Twilight hung her head as she trotted over to it. Written sat down and closed his eyes, saying nothing as he also hung his head.
“There now Twilight, shed no tears. I am here, so rest your fears.” Twilight gasped as she looked up seeing Zecora standing outside of her home smiling softly at the unicorn. The curse on the zebra was in full effect against the moonlight giving her coat a raspy and very slightly decayed look. Part of her left ear had rotted away and her mohawk had small pieces missing in patches along with her coat. Twilight ran up to her, embracing Zecora tightly and Zecora put a hoof around her, holding Twilight closely as she smiled, “I must say to mind the smell… if you could not already tell.” Twilight paused for a moment, sniffing a few times before she shuddered and gagged, taking a few steps back and broke away from the embrace,
“Oh Zecora I didn‘t even notice… How are you? Apart from the obvious I mean…” Zecora smiled softly as her hoof raised and she rubbed her own neck,
“I am doing well Twilight. Young Mitta has been treating me very well and helping me to adjust to this new life. I must say that things aren‘t that much different now then when I was alive… except that with my home in this state parts of it have become unusable. How are you though Twilight? What brings you back to the forest?” Twilight patted her coat a bit as she let out a light sigh and shook her head,
“I‘ve been better to be honest Zecora… as for what Written and I are doing back in the forest; we‘re nearly at the end of our quest for the Quill of Eternity.” Written stepped forward till he was standing next to Twilight and slowly nodded as he began to speak next,
“Right now we‘re on our way to the castle of Queen Chrysalis so we can find where to go after that.” Zecora nodded her head with a soft smile as her gaze turned to the dark blue pegasi standing next to the unicorn,
“You seek the changelings ever unseen.. Yet you wish to meet their queen..? How do you plan to make it inside and to her highness?” Written paused, appearing to he lost in thought as Twilight gazed over to him before he finally spoke again,
“Chrysalis and I have previously met for a short time actually. I‘m sure that she will remember me when we arrive.” Twilight gave him an odd look as she blinked,
“Wait.. You met her before and didn‘t ask her where the quill was?!” Written raised his hoof to stop her before he shook his head,
“I had no idea of her ties to the quill at the time Twilight. I‘d be glad to tell you the story but.. I‘m sorry to say that we really must continue on.” Twilight slowly nodded her head before looking back to Zecora with a hopeful gaze,
“Will you be able to accompany us Zecora..?” The zebra had been silent as the two talked before she let out a soft sigh and shook her head, looking back to Twilight’s face,
“Unfortunately I cannot. This curse binds me to my home and that cursed town.” Twilight slowly nodded before she embraced Zecora again tightly and smiled,
“It was really wonderful seeing you again Zecora… I promise we‘ll visit you again on our way back.” Few more words were spoken before the two continued on their trek towards the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.
Another hour had passed until the two reached the bridge spanning the infinitely deep chasm connecting their side of the land to the ruined castle before the two of them. Written gave a nod before he began to trot across, gazing up at the castle in deep contemplation, “It‘s been a long time since I was back here…” Suddenly a beam of magic shot from the trees and hit the binding ropes on the bridge. Written blinked and jumped across to the other side, watching as the bridge fell into the fog below, still connected on his side. Twilight had leapt to the side to avoid the blast and Written spread his wings calling out to Twilight, “I‘m coming back over!”
“No you‘re not you little foal. This is a no fly zone!” There was a glow around the area of a sinister red for a moment and Written grunted as he collapsed, his wings snapping back to his sides. He stayed conscious though, panting a bit as Twilight looked off into the trees,
“Show yourself!” The mare cried out as she took a step back. Her call was answered as a hooded pony trotted out of the trees and stood twelve feet from her. The mare’s hooves planted against the decayed soil as her face was shrouded under her hood,
“Anti-flight spell… I doubt even you have that one Twilight.” The voice was rather superior sounding along with a bit higher as well. Twilight’s eyes widened in response as she took another step back,
“But… but you were helping me!!” The robed pony stopped where she was and raised her hoof, sliding down the hood to reveal the face of none other then Trixie, however, her coloring was of a lighter grey color opposed to her blues and white mane,
“Maybe at one time but to be honest, Twilight, you knew this was coming ever since you humiliated me in Ponyville.” Trixie began to slowly circle Twilight as she spoke, only rarely taking her eyes off of her, “After that I tried to continue my shows; traveling from town to town but something had changed… word of what had happened had spread so far so fast that I was laughed out of almost every town in Equestria that I visited!!” Twilight shook her head quickly as she took a step towards Trixie,
“Trixie please! I didn‘t mean for you to be humiliated! When the ursa came into Ponyville I simply put it back to where it was supposed to be!” Trixie narrowed her eyes, her horn glowing a crimson color as she growled,
“It‘s too late Twilight. Discord helped to open my eyes to what you really are. You‘re just a rebel going against the true king of this country!” Trixie swished her mane before pointing her hoof at Twilight, “But I insisted that I be the one to do the deed that Gilda was not able to do and that is to rid Equestria of you.” Twilight’s horn began to glow as her eyes widened,
“Trixie wait! You‘re under Discord‘s influence! If you just let me cast my memory spell on you then you‘ll be back to normal!” Trixie simply shook her head in response, waving her hoof as if to shoo Twilight away,
“No, Twilight. You see, Discord didn‘t do this to me. I did.” Trixie noticed Twilight’s quizzical look before she continued, “When the elements of harmony were used on me only one thought was in my mind: how I wanted to become greater then you. I was transported to a place I had never seen before and before me was a door. However, I could not open it, not with all of the magic at my disposal. I was alone in an empty void of a place for an entire year. My thoughts and magic the only company I had. And so I decided to work on my magic to pass those long days… even developing a few new spells for myself like the one I cast on that little blue colt over there. My thoughts eventually turned to revenge. Revenge on you and any of your little friends that got in my way… A few days ago my magic became strong enough to open that door and I awoke in the very room I was sent away from. And there was Discord, his claw outstretched to me and a smile on his face.” Trixie turned her gaze back to Twilight and smiled, a look of deep insanity adorning her face, “You‘re going to die here Twilight. But not without a proper duel. I still hold my honor as a unicorn.”
Twilight had been completely silent as she took in every single one of Trixie’s words, closing her eyes and she then let out a slow breath, “You are consumed by your jealousy and hatred Trixie…” Twilight opened her eyes and slowly nodded her head, “I accept your--”
“Twilight no!!” Both unicorns looked to the struggling pegasus as he had begun to stand back up, “You can‘t duel her! You‘re in no condition to fight!”
“Quiet fool!” Trixie shot him again with a second blast of her spell, Written hitting the ground hard as his eyes began to close. Trixie looked back to Twilight and nodded her head, “You are prepared then?” Both unicorn’s horns began to glow and Twilight nodded as both she and Trixie stood ten feet from each other,
“I am.”
“Then… DRAW!” Trixie lowered her head only slightly and a powerful beam shot from her horn. Twilight leapt to the side and fired her own shot but Trixie held out her hoof, a crimson shield forming in front of her and Twilight’s spell disappeared as it hit it, “Your magic is weak Twilight. Try not to make this too easy for me--” Twilight then ran towards Trixie with a yell, firing another beam that Trixie leapt out of the way of before Twilight pivoted and bucked Trixie hard in the face. Trixie was sent flying by the impact, slamming hard into a tree and hit the ground with a thud before she stood up again and spat blood off to the side.
The two unicorns continued their fight for a number of minutes, dodging and shields playing a major factor heavily hindering any damage either would have taken otherwise. After their twentieth minute Twilight was panting having dodged to the side away from one of Trixie’s shots before Twilight ran into a tree, the momentary stunning enough for one of Trixie’s shots to connect, making Twilight bounce off the tree and skid along the ground coming to a stop next to the infinitely deep chasm. Twilight began to struggle to her feet as Trixie began to laugh darkly, “Come now Twilight; you might as well face your death with dignity… that‘s right. Stand up for me.” Twilight’s legs began to shake before she planted her hooves and did her best to stand strong, a line of blood trickling down her muzzle from her forehead.
Trixie’s horn began to glow brightly and she smirked, turning her horn back to Twilight, “Goodbye Twi--”
“How dare you harm my friend you brute!!” Trixie’s eyes widened and she looked to the side in time to see the bright beam rocketing towards her before she was shot in the side and stumbled a few feet. Rarity leapt from the trees with an angry look in her eyes, “Attacking a weaker opponent then yourself, you ought to be ashamed!” Trixie simply smirked as she looked back at the white mare,
“Shall I simply restyle your mane again and make you run back home crying?” Trixie put up a shield to the responding blast against her but she flinched as it pushed her back, “Nngh… giving it your all this time Rarity?” Both unicorns fired a powerful blast from their horns and they met, stalemating for only a moment before the connection began pushing back towards Rarity, Trixie standing proudly with a dark smile on her face, “How fitting that I get to destroy both of you this day!” Rarity groaned as she replanted her hooves into the soil beneath her. Her eyes slowly shifted over to Twilight, who’s horn was merely sparking as she watched with watery eyes.
Rarity’s eyes began to slowly widen seeing the ball of energy traveling towards her but still she tried, growling as she closed her eyes. Trixie suddenly grinned, a large explosion emanating from the beams as the connection reached Rarity’s horn, bits and pieces of horn scattering everywhere as the white unicorn slammed hard into one of the twisted trees and crumpled into a heap. Trixie nodded with a satisfied smirk before she turned her gaze back to where Twilight was standing, “Now as for--” There was a piercing sound, Trixie’s eyes widening as her face began to turn pale. She began to shiver as she slowly and shakily looked down, seeing nothing other then Twilight’s mane until Trixie let out a gasp, a cold feeling filling her as Twilight withdrew her horn from her chest. Trixie took a step back, gazing into the mare’s face for another moment as tears formed in her eyes, “No… you… I‘m the…” Trixie then collapsed, a pool of blood forming around her as her life slipped away into the decayed soil and dead grass under her body.
Written Dreams stood up and flew across the chasm, running over to Twilight and embraced her tightly, Twilight’s eyes closing tightly as she began to sob into Written’s mane. There was silence for only a moment before the two heard a cough from Rarity. The two hurried over to her and Written helped the mare to sit up against the tree. Blood was caked on her face from a hole in her forehead where only a small bit of her horn still remained. She gazed up at the two of them and smiled softly,
“I suppose I don‘t look very glamorous as I am now…” Apart from the head injury her body was also black in some areas, horridly burned from the explosion. Written shook his head as he smiled down at her, a few tears filling his own eyes as well,
“Oh shush Rarity… you‘re still beautiful.” Rarity let out a slight giggle before she began coughing again and looked up at Twilight who was doing her best to hold in her tears,
“Twilight… thank you for everything you‘ve been doing in trying to stop Discord… if you had chosen me before… then I wouldn‘t have been able to save you now. I always had faith in you Twilight. I know that you will stop Discord and that every decision you made was for all of us.” Twilight leaned in and gave Rarity a soft nuzzle, tears beginning to stream down the purple unicorn’s blood-stained face
“You‘re going to be okay Rarity… I promise you‘ll be okay just… just don‘t…” Twilight began to cry as she choked on her words. Rarity looked back to Written and chuckled softly, keeping her gaze on his own
“Written… I hope you‘ll forgive me.” Written tilted his head slightly as he looked down at her,
“For what..?”
“I was never able to finish that outfit for you…” Written cleared his throat and wiped a few tears from his eyes,
“Th-That‘s okay Rarity… take your time. I know it‘s going to look amazing when it‘s done. It‘s your work after all…” Rarity slowly closed her eyes and let out a slow breath,
“And Twilight…? When this is all over and Discord is defeated? I‘d like you to tell Spike… that I just wanted to wait until he was a little older… to be his mare-friend.” Twilight tearfully nodded her head, her tears streaming down her face as Rarity softly smiled, the color slowly leaving her face as she let out one final breath,
“I promise that I‘ll tell him Rarity. G-Get some rest now and we‘ll talk to you in a little while…” Twilight then paused, falling silent as she simply stood there, staring at the lifeless form of one of her closest friends. The element of Generosity was dead.