"How many more times Tia, I feel better now," Luna said irritably, unable to move due to the healing aura that surrounded her.
"Just a few more minutes, Luna," Celestia insisted, maintaining the field around her body. "I want to make absolutely sure that you're in a fit condition."
Luna sighed impatiently, but allowed her to continue without further resistance, verbal or physical. She had been this way for about thirty minutes, ever since Celestia had come into her room to discover her in the state that Blackhole Doom had left her in. Distraught and frightened, she had started to perform her magic on her little sister until she was fully healed from her injuries and in a fit enough state to walk in. She had attempted to do it herself, but she just didn't have the energy in her.
Despite her many painful limbs, bruises and cuts she had sustained in her battle with Discord's new minion, she was convinced that it had been worth it. Dusk had all of the pieces now, for that was what had kept his mind intact when Blackhole had taken over. All she had to do was use that mind magic to jump start that part of his mind so that he would gain strength and eventually overcome Blackhole and regain control of his body. At least, that was what the plan was, whether or not it would work was another issue.
No, she thought, it would work. The pieces were what gave him the power, as well as the strength that his mind already possessed. She had only been there to give him enough energy so that he would be able to triumph over his darker self, defeat Discord's magic and return as the good-hearted, intelligent stallion she knew. Then, it would just be a matter of whether or not he would be able to figure out the rest…
The aura finally faded and Luna regained full use of her limbs, her injuries completely healed and her strength restored.
"There, that should do it." Celestia frowned at her. "What were you thinking Luna? You could have been killed!"
"I've been through worse, you know that," she reminded her. "Besides,I can take care of myself."
"Well, somepony looks like they almost took care of you, that's for certain." She frowned at her further. "I'm truly having concerns if this is part of your plan."
"To fulfil what is written, it is necessary," retorted Luna, stretching out her limbs.
"Necessary that you almost died?"
"Necessary to stop Discord." She gazed directly back at her elder. "You know what is at stake here."
"I know," she insisted quickly, "but is it worth almost losing you, when we don't even know if it truly does exist?"
"I do know it does, even if you don't," reminded Luna. "Besides, you know that all is lost if he wins. I'm making sure he doesn't."
Celestia's gaze lingered for a few more moments, then she looked at her with a kind of admiration. "You truly do believe, don't you?"
"I do," she said firmly. "Don't you?"
"I really don't know what to believe, I just don't want you to think I'm doubting you. "Her expression became one of concern. "I'm only trying to look out for you, my sister…"
"I know… and I appreciate that." The two of them shared a gentle embrace. "Thank you Tia."
"Anything for you, even if you can be reckless sometimes." They shared a laugh and broke apart. "So, Discord had a new ally then?"
"Indeed, a stallion who calls himself Blackhole Doom." She shuddered at the thought of him. "Imagine King Sombra if he had the strength of a Cyclops, the ferociousness of an angered dragon and the cruelty of Discord and he is the end result."
"My goodness," she gasped. "And you went to fight him?"
"I did, for it was all I could do. He was… quite formidable," she admitted, remembering the way he had cruelly beaten and tormented her throughout their duel. "He revels in chaos as much as his master, perhaps even more so."
"Then things are worse than we first thought," she declared. "Do you know where he came from?"
"He is…" Luna paused. Even though she knew this, it was still difficult to say. "He is Dusk…"
"What?! How is that possible?" she asked urgently, her eyes wide.
"In the same way he used the Corruption Entity to transform me into Nightmare Moon after his defeat, I believe that Discord created him from the fear that Dusk would become him in his mind, using his chaotic powers to bring him to life," Luna explained. "He is stronger, faster and more powerful than Dusk, as well as crueller and more angry."
"His treachery and deception truly know no bounds," growled Celestia. "We must act quickly, if we are to stop them both."
Luna was about to respond, when she felt a sudden jolt in her mind, like somepony switching on a light, a reminder of sorts from the magic that she had implanted into Blackhole's mind. She knew it could only mean one thing and the very thought of it made her smile in triumph, for now the battle seemed won. He was back.
"I don't think that Blackhole will be a problem anymore," she said.
Celestia was taken aback. "What? How do you know? And why are you smiling?"
"I know and because my efforts haven't been in vain," replied Luna.
"I see." Celestia nodded in understanding. "Then, assuming the Fore Sight was correct, do you think he can figure it out?"
"If anypony can, he will. For now, we can only do what we can."
"Very well." She turned to leave. "I need to send Twilight's report back. If Discord has corrupted her, she needs to be reminded of the magic of friendship."
"You're sure that will work?" asked Luna doubtfully.
"I am, trust me," Celestia smiled in a reassuring way.
Luna nodded, knowing her big sister knew what she was doing and watched her sister go, allowing herself another smile after she left.
"Hopefully, she won't be the only one," she murmured quietly, praying silently that this would work and she that was right.
Dusk had never been so happy to awaken from what felt like the worst nightmare he had ever had. Despite what was happening around him, he still found himself grinning and feeling the ground beneath his hooves with utter relief washing over him. He'd done it, he'd actually done it, he'd won! Never before had he felt so much pride in an accomplishment, he'd actually done it! Then, everything else began to sink in, what was happening and what had happened.
Several other things happened when Dusk regained consciousness after his mental battle and ultimate triumph over his darker self. First, there was the fact that he no longer felt his oppressive presence in his thoughts, his own desires and wishes growing stronger with every passing minute and threatening to consume his own. Needless to say, he was thankful to be master of his own thoughts again, especially as his mind now felt… stronger, more fortified than before, somehow. He was going to have a hard time taking him over again.
The other most significant thing he noted and that he reviled in horror at were new memories that weren't his own, but he viewed through another's eyes. Horrible, terrible things… the sounds of his friend's cries as he tormented them whilst he laughed… reducing living things so they withered and died and spreading chaos at his very touch… his hooves striking flesh and breaking bone, as Princess Luna cried out from each blow…
Dusk physically grabbed his head and collapsed on the floor, tears welling up in his eyes. The mix of emotions from all of this… he was enjoying them, yet at the same time, he wasn't and was horrified to be even performing such acts. No, it wasn't Dusk that felt the joy… it was Blackhole who was doing it, he was the one hurting his friends… or was it really him? Did he take some joy in it too? How could he tell? No, no it was Blackhole's memories, his acts, not Dusk's… but that didn't make it any easier…
"How could he?" Dusk wept, holding his head in his hooves. "How could he be so cruel…?"
The worst part of all of this was that it was his fault. He had left Ponyville, his home, his friends, to protect them from Blackhole Doom, to prevent him from ever hurting them and he'd failed. Blackhole had beaten him, taken over his mind and now, thanks to his failure, he had been allowed to wreak havoc and misery without restraint. What would happen when they found out? What would they do to him? Probably just cast him out like a criminal and leave him in the wilderness… it was no less than he deserved…
Discord was right… he was useless… Discord…
But in the midst of his sorrow and grieving, Dusk realised something in that instant. Until that moment that he had fallen asleep in that cave, Blackhole had been a lingering presence in his mind, like a mild itch that couldn't be scratched, but could be ignored and handled. Only when he had started falling asleep had Blackhole's presence become stronger, after Discord had touched him and he'd felt that little jolt the instant that he did… like he'd done something… and Dusk could take an extremely educated guess as to what.
Looking around now, at the state his once beautiful home was now in, he could see that there was only one being that was truly responsible for all of this. He might have been a destructive puppet through his darker self, but he was nothing compared to the one who was holding the strings. He had been the one who had planted the idea in his mind, he had been the one who brought him to life, who had tricked him with his lies and deceit despite his knowledge of it, admittedly no less than he'd expected, but he had still fallen for it. All of his grief now, his anger and regret, was focused on him.
"Discord," he growled in a low voice, wiping away his tears. "This is your doing. Even if I'm not an Element of Harmony, even if I am truly useless, I'm going to do whatever it takes to bring you down. For good."
With this vow in mind, he set down to sift through the new weapons that he had been given: knowledge. As painful and horrible as they were to watch, he could analyse the memories of Blackhole Doom to see exactly what Discord had done, both to him and his friends, figure out some kind of plan and dedicate his best efforts to bring him down. He might not be strong physically, but he was sure he could think of something with the memories he'd been given, even if he wanted nothing more than to purge them from his mind.
He witnessed him bowing to his master, pledging himself to chaos… Blackhole, not Dusk, he reminded himself… wasn't it? No, it wasn't him, he'd never bow to Discord… there had to be something here. One particular thing he saw was one involving the girls. He saw how colourless their fur was, how differently they were acting than how he knew them and it didn't take him long to figure out what he had done. He recognised it from historical accounts he'd read from Discord's previous rule:
So it was that they who were victims of the chaotic one had their hearts turned as dull as their fur. My mother, usually a kind soul, became vindictive and cruel, whilst my hard-working father became lazy and selfish. I would surely have submitted, were it not for our benevolent rulers, who did banish him and returned my parents to their natural state, bringing much-sought harmony to our fair land. Celestia forbid what may have happened if he had continued in his reign… I might not be here today…
It was definite. Discord had corrupted them with his powers and turned them into the very opposites of who they were supposed to be. Fluttershy had become cruel, Pinkie had become a cynic, Applejack a liar and Rarity became greedy. Rainbow Dash looked as if she'd abandoned them completely and Twilight was swiftly losing faith in friendship's magic as a result of it. It made his heart ache to see her in such a state and he wanted nothing more than to be there and comfort her… if she could even stand to be around him again after what he'd done, if any of them could…
No, he had to stay focused. Worry about that later.
The fundamental question was why had Discord done this? He had targeted them specifically and corrupted them deliberately. Then, they'd started to fight each other, which was what Discord enjoyed, but there had to be more to it than that… of course, the Elements! They couldn't use them if they weren't in harmony with each other first, so Discord would be eliminating his one threat to his rule by breaking apart their friendship! He checked his own body and saw himself fully in colour, so he was safe, but they weren't.
In an instant he established where he was, where the library was from here and sprinted off. They had been there, from what he could see from his memories and Twilight had been trying to get the reference guide to the Elements. That book had to be important in finding them again and then they needed to be in harmony to use them. He had to find them, figure out some way to break them from their discorded state and, hopefully, save Equestria from Discord's chaotic rule… how was he meant to do that?
That relief returned when he saw that great tree. Oh, how he had missed it! But, before he could even start looking for the girls, he saw something glinting on the ground nearby and hurried over to them. There was no mistaking that these were the Elements of Harmony, left discarded and thrown away on this pile by the look of it, all of them except for Magic. But if they were here and had been left in this state then that could only mean that the girls had already tried to use them against Discord… and had failed as a result.
Gently, he reached out and ran his hoof gently over them, feeling all the facets of the jewels in the centre, the power of friendship radiating from them, though not as much as before. It was like they had been diminished in their purpose, now that their wielders had abandoned them. They'd all gone their separate ways by the look of it, their friendship broken… he would never see them again, not that they'd want to… there was no hope now…
Except for one thing, something that had just occurred to him in that moment. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a flash of magic and the appearance of the one responsible, laughing away at some unbelievably funny joke. But Dusk didn't find anything funny about this, glaring at him as his eyes closed with mirth.
"Ha ha! Oh, it was brilliant Blackhole! You should have seen them when they tried to use their precious Elements against me! We've almost won!" he declared triumphantly.
Dusk realised that he hadn't seen yet that he had returned, as he was too caught up in his own crapulence and pride. Deciding to play along for now and suppressing the urge to hit him hard, for what good it would do, he affected his darker self's deeper voice.
"Almost, master? If they have failed, surely we have already succeeded."
"That may be true, yes, but we need to make sure they've given up completely," he told him, still not having noticed Dusk was back. "Once Twilight is truly broken and unwilling to fight, she'll leave and never bother us again. You can have some fun with her, if you like."
Not wishing to keep up the pretence a moment longer at the mention of his best friend and mare of his dreams, Dusk glared right at Discord and spoke normally, feeling no fear.
"The only thing I want to do with her is to help her bring you down from the pedestal you've chosen to place yourself on and watch you fall from it, hard and fast!"
"What?!" Discord whirled around and beheld Dusk for the first time. "You?!"
"Yes, me," Dusk confirmed.
"B-b-but how?" He was staring at him, uneven eyes wide. "My magic, it forced out Blackhole, he beat you and took over! How are you back, how are you still here?!"
"Let's just say I had some help."
"No, you should have been beaten, unable to return! My magic is stronger than yours, I am stronger than you!" Dusk noted that, while Discord sounded annoyed, there was still a hint of curiosity in his voice. "So, how did you do it? Let's find out, shall we?
He shot his claw forward and Dusk felt him invade his mind again, trying to retrieve the answer he sought. But Dusk was now even stronger than when he'd last tried this, for he had felt the ability resist when Discord first tried to corrupt him, though he had overcome it and beaten him. This time though, he was much stronger and was not only able to force him out of his head in seconds, but also shine a ball of bright light, forcing him back and blinding him.
"NO!" Discord spun around after he'd recovered and glared at him, anger definitely boiling over now. "How did you manage that? That's impossible!"
"You all of being should know Discord, nothing is impossible," Dusk countered, standing ready for another attack.
He saw anger flicker across Discord's face again and also a little… fear? "How are you managing that? You're nothing!"
"True enough, but you're never getting in my head again." He held Discord's gaze, unflinching and steadfast. "Now, I'm not a violent pony as you know, but I want you to understand that I am trying very, very hard not to jump up and punch you so hard, you'll be looking out of the back of your head!"
Discord was silent for a few moments, but recovered himself and returned to his confident, charismatic persona, floating in the air once more.
"Well, that does sound like an interesting experience, but we both know you could never manage it."
"Try me, you'd be surprised what you can manage when you try," retorted Dusk. "You lied to me, Discord!"
"Honestly, first Twilight now you? Why is it so hard for you both to understand that deception and misleading is kind of my thing?" he pointed out.
"You tricked me and forced me to become a monster!"
"Did I really force you, or were you just itching for a little playtime and I just gave you the go ahead?" he asked slyly.
"Don't try to dupe me again, Discord!" Dusk warned. "I've learned, I know better and you know I can beat your influence. I don't know how myself, but I'll resist you now with every last ounce of strength!"
"You can't hold me back forever. All you've done is returned yourself to normal just so I can corrupt you all over again," he said, grinning maliciously.
"You can try and I'll keep placing more walls to block you, no matter what," he responded defiantly. "You'll find I'm not so easily deceived the second time around."
"I wouldn't say that, for you have still deceived yourself." He shook his head exasperatedly. "Why don't you just face the facts, little Dusk? Even if you are back, you're still useless. You can't possibly hope to stop me and my chaotic rule. You know it and I know it, you're not even an Element. Why don't you just give up and enjoy the chaos? I seem to recall you were doing so easily enough before."
He wasn't wrong about that, not entirely anyway. Dusk could still feel those words having some impact on him, enough to make him look away and consider, but not for long. This time, he was armed with a new knowledge, a new question that had to be asked now that he considered it further. And who better to ask than the lord of chaos himself.
"You're right Discord," he admitted. "I'm not an Element, I can't stand up to you forever and I certainly can't stop you. But let me ask you just one thing."
"And what's that?" he asked in an impatient voice.
Dusk looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Why me?"
"Um… what?" Discord, ironically, looked confused.
"Why target me, I mean?" Dusk started to pace around Discord, keeping his eyes on him. "I know why you targeted the girls. Disrupt the wielders of the Elements so they can't use them because they're not in harmony with each other, therefore destroying the only chance they have to stop you and securing your victory and eternal reign of chaos once more."
"Figured all that out? Well done," he said sarcastically.
"Yes, I did," he replied nonchalantly, determined not to let him get to him. "But then, why go out of your way to go after me, discord me and put me in an even worse state. I'm not an Element and, according to you and me, I'm nothing important, so why waste your time going after a non-entity as me?"
"Well… isn't it obvious?" He tried to sound casual, but Dusk could tell the question had caught him off-guard. "I saw the opportunity for a new servant and I took it, plus it would be one more blow to your oh-so-special Twilight when she failed to rescue you."
"I don't doubt that," he said, his heart panging at the mention of Twilight, "but I think there's more to it than forced servitude and emotional warfare. You went after the girls because they were a threat, in the same way you went after me and to stop them from being a threat. Therefore, we can conclude that the reason you went for me is because I'm a threat to you too."
Discord stared at him in disbelief again, then burst out laughing, rolling around on the floor. "You? A threat to me? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Like saying an ant is a threat to a boot."
"Even enough ants can be a formidable force," retorted Dusk. "If the girls weren't there normal selves, they couldn't use what was special about them, the Elements, against you. That means there's something unique to me that could stop you, so you had to stop me using it so I wouldn't be able to us either! Something I can use to stop you!"
"Oh really? And what, pray tell, would that be?" he asked mockingly, wiping away his tears.
"I um… I don't know yet," Dusk admitted, suddenly feeling a bit diminished. "But I do know that I'm going to figure out what it is and I'm going to use it to end you and your chaos once and for all!"
Discord picked himself up off the floor, still chortling from his speech. "Well, let me know when you figure that out, I'd hate to be left out of the loop. Now, if you don't mind, I need to be somewhere."
"I figure out what it is!" repeated Dusk, feeling a little foolish now he'd said it. "I'll… I'll find it and use it!"
"I'm sure you will," he said sarcastically, summoning a cuckoo clock as he said it. "Anyway, toodles for now."
As he vanished in another flash of light, Dusk now felt a little more foolish than before for suggesting such a thing. How could even think of being the end-all piece to defeat the lord of chaos himself? Perhaps Discord was right and he was little more than another tool to make Twilight give up in her fight, not being anypony of actual significance. Everypony would be affected by his rule, what made him so special?
Wait, why was he still listening to that snake-tonged deceiver? Regardless of what Dusk actually thought, he knew that Discord was just trying to trick him and he'd seen just there that he'd slipped up a little when Dusk had first made his point. He knew something Dusk didn't and that was what he needed to defeat him, he had just been trying to distract him from that. Well, he wasn't going to let him. He'd figure out what it was and use it against the draconequus… somehow.
Deciding he'd have a clearer head in a place of knowledge, he headed towards the library, picking up the Elements as he went. He might as well keep them safe. Noting the two large holes made in the great tree with some despair and shock, he stepped inside, found the hollowed out book and placed the Elements inside. At least now they were reasonably secure. Now, where to start exactly…
A loud hooting made him turn around and his face lit up at the sight of his faithful pet.
"Ophelia!" She flew onto his outstretched leg and nipped him affectionately. "I missed you, my little one…"
The hoot she gave in response told him that the feeling was mutual. There was almost a guilty demeanour to her, he noticed, like she felt bad about leaving him before. He stroked her gently, to let her know there were no hard feelings and he was just glad to be back. Hooting gratefully, she flew off and returned with something, a black piece of fabric… no, something else…
"My hat…" He held it in his hooves, staring at it for a moment.
He had been a little surprised when he saw that Blackhole had kept the necklace on he wore, but now that he had his faithful pet and the piece of clothing that had become signature to him, he felt a kind of completion… well, not wholly. He still needed his friends back, his home… Twilight. Well, now that he had these, he was confident he was one step closer to completing that.
Placing on his 'thinking cap', he set down on one of the tables, placed his hoof on his chin and delved into his mind, to consider his next move.
Utterly depressed, without friends, hope or spirit left in her, Twilight trudged randomly around Ponyville… or rather the 'new and improved Ponyville', with a cloud of chocolate rain hovering over her head, completing the image of sadness and despair. The Element of Magic was still on her head, but she could no longer feel its power. It was as useless as she was.
She didn't care or even look up when long-legged bunnies stampeded by, buffalo performing ballet pranced past or an earth pony floating and babbling whizzed by. She had failed, her home was in chaos, her friends had gone and even the stallion she felt the most for, the one who had been motivating her all this time, was lost forever in some dark place, waiting for help that would never come. She'd never even said goodbye…
Discord appeared next to her laughing and chortling away, but she wasn't even surprised. She just didn't care anymore about what he did. What did it matter anyway?
"Oh, my stomach!" he made her lift her head up. "Twilight, you've got to see what I just did!"
She looked and saw a pink earth pony having pepper being sprinkled on her by a giant shaker. When she sneezed, the houses around her proved to be nothing more than cardboard cut-outs and fell over with loud creaks. A fitting metaphor for her own life, in a way and one that made her feel even worse than before.
"It's priceless!" He seemed to notice Twilight's mood and scooped the cloud raining on her in a cone, taking a bite out of it. "Come now, Twilight Sparkle. You've got to get into the spirit of things! After all, this is your new home."
She looked to where he gestured, seeing the town hall floating upside down, the patchwork ground and grass, half a bridge missing and her mind was made up. This place had too much pain, too many bad memories and it was no longer the place she had called her home for the past year. It was time for her to leave, there was nothing left for her here…
"Not anymore..." With that, she trudged off back to the library to collect Spike and her things, to go to… well, she didn't know.
The sun shot down and was replaced by the moon, plunging her into a metaphorically appropriate darkness, she noted with mild interest. The Elements were gone, no doubt stolen and so was Ophelia. She probably saw Twilight's failure to uphold her promise and save her master, now leaving her. The last thing she had to remember him by, the last vestige of his presence gone.
The tears began anew as she climbed the stairs and opened the door to her room, where Spike and one other pony she couldn't make out lay stood; or rather lay in the former's case.
"Pack your things, Spike, we're leaving," she ordered him. "Don't ask where we're going, 'cause I don't know yet. Just not here."
As she said this, she pulled out her suitcase and levitated a few random books to pack. She also removed Magic and put it in the near-by trash can. She wouldn't need that anymore. She glanced up at the other pony, barely looking at him as she packed. Was he or she walking closer to her and why should she even care?
"Look, I don't know who you are, but if you want to get-out a book, I'm afraid the library will be closed for the foreseeable future," she told the pony bitterly. "Now, can you please get out?"
"Twilight Sparkle."
She felt her eyes widen when she recognised that quiet, polite voice. It couldn't be him… then she saw him, clad in his hat, the necklace she'd made him dangling around his neck. In his eyes, she saw in there a strong regret, a guilt, but overwhelmed by something she didn't recognise, but it made her heart glow to see it. Glow, like she could tell his horn was beneath his hat, which was levitated off to reveal it as he neared her, that sweet smile playing on his lips.
"Dusk…?" she whispered, unable to gaze at anything other than him. "Is that… really you?"
He didn't respond to this directly, he only smiled more warmly than she'd ever seen him do before and spoke one word:
"Remember."
At that, he lowered his horn so it came into contact with hers and she felt something reawaken inside her, that had just started to the instant she'd laid eyes on him. Even if he wasn't doing this, she was sure the feeling would grow stronger anyway… he was just that special to her.
Discord was making a few more houses float up into the air, making confetti shoot out of their chimneys, which promptly either slithered away like snakes or flew away like birds, in celebration of his ultimate victory over harmony. Now, nothing would stop him in his final takeover of Equestria, not the Elements and certainly not the princesses. He had won!
And yet… Dusk returning presented a problem. He had been able to resist his influence, something which very few could do and then there were the writings of Fore Sight about him. He didn't know about them, of course, but what if he found out or managed to figure it out? He doubted it but it was better to be safe than sorry.
But how best to deal with this? He had more chaos to catch up on and Dusk had proven resilient to his direct influence. It would be best to eliminate him completely, just to be sure, but how would he go about it? Then, he had the perfect idea of how to solve this problem.
Tapping into his chaotic magic, he formed them like clay in his hands, moulding and shaping their bodies until he had a sizable force of them, their black scales glistening in the light, their wicked eyes glinting with malice. Oh, how he'd missed the little dears!
"What issssss your will, Lord Disssssscord?" requested one of the Paraserpents, as they bowed before him.
He made a chocolate sculpture of Dusk and showed it to them. "Find this pony and devour him, however way you see fit." He crushed it in his hands, so it shattered like glass.
"Asssss you wish," they hissed, bowing once more and slithering off to find their quarry.
"Oh and if his little friends try to stop you, feel free to eat them too!" he called out to them, chuckling at the thought of it.
Now in an even better mood than before, he set off to cause even more chaos, pleased that his reign would be secure, prophecy or not. He wasn't losing, not this time…