//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-seven: End Game // Story: The Element of Willpower // by Redwolf15 //------------------------------// Chapter Twenty-seven: End Game "Hahahaha" Discord applauds. "Oh, this is rich. Simply outstanding. You actually figured it out, and what's more you were able to change yourself back to normal, kudos." "What? What do you mean another Element? Aren't there just the Elements of Harmony?" Rainbow Dash asks Celestia. "Only the Elements of Harmony were the only known Elements. Luna and I suspected that there could have been others, but no matter how hard or how long we searched, not a single one would show up." "So how come a six has shown up now? And why does his look so much more different than our own?" Rarity asks, eyes fixed on my new sword/Element. "The nature of the Elements are of their own agenda." Luna answers instead of her older sister. "And each takes on the appearance best suited for their bearer. So when you needed a tool to beat the evil of Nightmare Moon..." "He needs a weapon to beat Discord." Shining Armor finishes for her. "Come on Discord, you promised you free Twilight and give back the Elements." I remind him. "Crossies, doesn't count!" He shows us the fingers on his lion paw, crossed in a knot like a balloon animal. "Fine, have it your way," the fire symbol of my Element catches fire, but not the regular fire or the phoenix fire gifted by Flex. This was my fire. My strength! With one push off the ground, I bound to where the other leaders were tied up. Nearly forgot about them. With a single swing through the air, my flames wash over them and release them from their bonds and removes the clown make-up. Krinox gives a low, wrathful at Discord. I can see the hatred inside him building up, blinding him. The fire of my Element dies away and I put a gentle hand against his snout, trying to keep him calm. "Easy mate, I know you are angry and want your revenge. But please, control yourself. I'm sorry to say, but he's out of your league." He stops growling, I can see his common sense returning. "You are right boy. I may be an old and mighty dragon, but even I know that I would stand no chance against him. I am sorry to do this, but you must carry my burden for me, and please, do not die." "It's fine, I created your burden for you. I was the one to find out the truth of your hatred. It's only suitable that I be the one to carry it." I swing my sword over my head as it lights on fire once more and give him a childish smile. "And don't worry about me dying. Your the only one who's allowed to kill me, remember?" I dash away from him in the blink of an eye, forcing my body to sprint at speeds I never achieved before. I appear before Discord just as fast as I disappeared from Krinox, allowing him to see me. And as I look upon his face I don't see surprise, worry, or even an expression of defence. Instead, I see expectancy. He knew I would attack him head on; good. I lift my sword over my head and swing it down. But instead of slicing through it just sort of... sliced right through him. But with no form of resistance, it was like I cut through air. In fact, I fell right through him, like he was a ghost. I pick myself up from the ground and look back to Discord, he hasn't moved an inch, didn't even look around to taunt me. I creep closer towards him, keeping my guard up if he tries something funny. I poke my sword into him, and it passes right through. He starts to flicker, like a hologram. I look down and find a little R2D2 looking straight up. I pick it up and the image of Discord disappears. Christ, it was a hologram. "Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope." I turn around to see a very disturbing sight of Discord wearing a Princess Leia costume. And I'm not talking about the one with her hair in buns in the first movie, I mean the one when she was a slave for Jaba the Hut in the third. I put my arms up as I receive a back hand with his lion paw. I'm thrown a good ways back, feeling that strike only slightly. I bolt towards him again, this time I know it's him and not some cheap image. I stop in front of him, just like before. He steps to the side and I come face-to-face with a cannon. "Eat it." He says playfully pulling a string and firing a cannonball. Thank god for the invention of bullet time. I watch as the cannonball is fired in slow motion, just like when I couldn't keep up with Nosferatu, I couldn't keep up with his speed so I viewed everything going slow. Guess I know how I did that now. I slice the ball in two, each half flies past me, and of course they explode. Michael Bay approves. For a hesitant second, Discord looks at me, his cannon, where the explosions took place, and back to me. "Well... that happened." With no warning I tackle him to the ground, and his princess Leia costume disappears too. Thank you for small miracles. We start rolling, trying to get the better of one another so we aren't the one to end up underneath. Too bad for him, I get on top. I raise my sword above my head, ready to plunge it into his chest. But instead of my sword pushing into his chest, a small compartment pops out and a spring powered boxing glove punches me in the face. I'm pushed off him with such great force that I start skipping over the ground like a stone on water. I abruptly stop, finding a pink aura has caught me. I look back to see Shining Armor's horn glowing, what would I do without my friends? I get off the magic glove and regroup with the rest, the tip of my blade scratching along the ground and leaving a small trail of fire. The trail grows bigger and starts moving on its own, like a snake through grass. Once it stops we're surrounded in a ring of inferno, separating us from Discord. Most of the others panic as they watch the fire cut off all exits. "Are you trying to burn us alive?" Flora shrieks. "It's okay. It's cold fire, acting as a shield to give us a bit of breathing space from Discord." I explain to the others while rubbing the spot where I was hit by the boxing glove. "It's not much of breathing space when it's burning all the oxygen." Cadence counters, covering her nose. "Don't worry, when I said it's acting like a shield, I meant that it was an actual shield. It's just taking the form of fire. Kind of like how a rainbow is projected when the Elements of Harmony come together." All the ponies stare at me quizzically. "How do you know about that?" Rainbow Dash asks. "Uh, let's not get into that at the moment. But I do have good news and bad news." "I would prefer it if we received the bad news first." Celestia answers. "Okay, the bad new; things aren't going over so well. I don't think I'll be able to beat him on my own. We need to hurry up and free Twilight." "And the good?" Luna asks as everyone leans in to see the little bit of light in this darkness. "Things are going according to plan." We hear Discord on the other side cursing up a storm. Literally, I could hear thunder and gale winds. I reach into the pocket of my coat to reveal why the king of chaos was so enraged. The others gasp as I pull out five small golden rings, each with a different symbol. "How the heck did you get those?" Sharla asks, just as curios as everyone else. "Swiped them from Discord while we were scuffling across the ground." I explain. "While we were wrestling I used my Element to slow my perception of time down as slow as I could and swiped them from him when it seemed like I was trying to push him off me." "Great job! But uh, how are ya going to change them back?" Chief Thunderhoof scratches his head. I put my own Element over the others, concentrating hard. I think on how large they originally must have been. Licks of flame start jumping from my Element to the others, bathing them in a warm fire. They began growing in my hand until they were about their original size and the fire washes off them. I give each to its respected owner. "Nicely done." Shining Armor praises. "But, how did you do it exactly?" "I'm the bearer of Willpower. If I can believe I can do it, I can." I brag. "But we have an upcoming problem. I have a plan to beat Discord, but we need Twilight to complete it, and I'll need all of your help." "Just give the word and we're there boy." General Swift replies. The other leaders give me an affirmative nod. "Okay, here's how things will hopefully play out. Sharla, General, when I give the word I need the two of you to grab Twilight. Vana, what potions do you have on you?" The shaman looks into her bag and pulls out a green vial. "Only a potion of to give back strength, one that last for a good length." "That's fine, keep that tucked away, we may need it some time later. Flex, Chex, Flora, Krinox, Corig, and Chief, I need you six to distract Discord for as long as you can. And, yes, that means you can use lethal force." A devilish grin to both the Diamond Dog and dragon. I hope I didn't just make a big mistake. "Shining Armor, I need you and your wife her protect us. She may not be able to use magic like you can as of the moment, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have any. I've found that just because something can't use magic doesn't mean it doesn't have it." "Why include Cadence in this?" The Captain asks worried. "Your stronger with her by your side." "What about us? Do we get a special part in this plan too?" Pinkie asks excitedly. "You? You five have most important job. If we can pool our Elements together this may work out and we can free Twilight. Though I wonder if five of the six Elements of Harmony can do the trick." "So what are we doin' exactly?" Applejack asks me. "I need to talk to my Element directly, and I think with your help I can pull it off, but while I'm chatting with it I'll be vulnerable. That's why I need you lot to fend off Discord for as long as you can." "And what of us? Or are we of no use to your plan?" Luna asks, feeling that she and her sister have been left out. "If things go south and the others are unable to protect us against Discord, you are our last line of defence until I've finished my chat. You two have known Discord the longest, so I'd imagine that if he would ever listen to anyone with reason, even if it's just for a short while, it would be you two." "I like this plan and all but, how are we supposed to fight Discord? We can't even touch him." The minotaur leader points out. I dip my index and middle finger into the fire being projected from my Element and scoop out a tiny bit of flame. I dab the flame off my finger and onto his chest, over top of his heart. He feels around where the fire burns. "It doesn't burn." "Of course not, it only looks like fire." I then proceed to do the same to Shining Armor do and the others who are about to face Discord. "What I'm giving each you is a one-one-hundredth of my Element's power. With this you will all be able to unlock your full potential, that way you guys will actually stand a chance against Discord and not be blown away in the first three seconds." "How come you didn't give me or the General this power?" Sharla asks. "I need you two right here where it's safe. I still need you to get Twilight." I sit down cross legged, my sword over my lap. "Okay, girls, form around me and concentrate on your Elements. Cap, I'm going to let down the barrier. Once I do, I need you to put a shield up once the others are out of range." I close my eyes and release the barrier, and I begin concentrating to communicate with my Element. Presuming that things haven't already gone to hell, I hear the others charge out and the sound of Shining Armor erecting his shield. I can feel my Element's power, and the foreign presences of five others. When I open my eyes I find myself in an empty, black place, like a void. In front of me is, me. Well my Element I should say, I just saw it as a perception of myself, but a little more fiery. "Well, what is it?" It asks, facing away from me. "I'm sure you know as well as I do what I came for." "I told you, you don't need to ask for permission. I am you and you are me, we share and we give one another what we need." "If that is true, if we are one and the same, then you know why I came to talk to you. I know now how or why I'm able to be the best when I try, how I can achieve greater feats than the next guy. But for once in my life I'm... I'm actually doubting myself. this is our last shot, our moment of glory, and it's all decided upon me. And I feel that, if I screw this up, what will happen? Will the others resent me? Will any of them even live past this? Will they regret it that I ever gave them such hope?" "Nonsense! You know you can do it, you just have to trust yourself." "I... I know. But I can't. I just can't. If we are the same then you understand what I'm thinking. And you're just as scared." I hold out my hand for him to accept it. "So, what's it going to be?" It looks at my hand, then at me. And it gives me a smile. "...But what else can you do? Your comrades are beaten, all defences broken, and I am still standing. Really Celestia, this is just sad." My consciousness comes full board, and I hear Discord talking. I look around to see a horrific seen. Everyone's on the ground, and I can see that each of them has been taken down in a different, chaotic fashion. Princess Cadence was caressing her husband's head, he was on the ground and looked to be in some sort of pain. Sharla stands between me and Discord, her axe in claw, acting as the very last line of defence if Luna and Celestia are unable to stall him long enough. "Though you may think it is, Discord, you know that I never was one to give in." The sun goddess replies, I can see a fire in her eyes. "Yes, yes, fight to the bitter end and all." Discord waves away. "But how do you plan on stopping me? You have no magic, remember?" "She's not the one to stop you!" I spring from my spot on the ground and fly towards Discord, delivering a left fist to him again. "Why always the face?!" He shouts, several feet away from where he once stood holding his nose. "You are awake!" Luna proclaims. "Did it work?" My Element lights a new fire, and soon the entire blade is consumed. "Let's find out." I answer. I grip the handle with both hands and pull back, my sword pointing towards Discord. "Remember," I can hear the echo of my Element in the back of my head. "I am right here with you. We can do it, together." With all my force, determination, and will, I thrust the sword towards Discord and the flames that wrapped it shot forth like dragon's breathe. Discord was too slow to react and his entire head from shoulders up was caught in the blast. I intensify the flame, making it hotter, bigger, and stronger, depleting myself of most of my energy. The fire eventual stops flowing and I fall to my knees, exhausted. The girls came to my side, worried that I could have over-done it. Sharla drops her axe and helps me stand up. Discord comes out of the inferno fine, he looks just like himself but with burnt fur and the tip of his goatee aflame, staring into the emptiness with a blank expression on his face. He blinks twice, realizing that he was surprisingly fine, looking himself up and down to find that no actual harm came to him. "Ha, barely even a scratch!" He boasts. "Ha-ha-ha. And who says that the inferno was meant to harm you? You were merely in between me and the real target." I point a lazy finger to an object past Discord. We hear the sounds of cracking and chipping, of something breaking. A terrified expression creeps cross his face as he realizes what it was. The stone statue of Twilight was beginning to fracture, strands of light shone through the cracks. I re-ignite my Element again, only a tiny flame appeared. I dip my finger in it and wipe it on Sharla. "Now!" On my command she gentle lets go of me and bolts off, flying past Discord faster than she ever could. Discord attempts to stop her by making the ground underneath her morph into statues of himself. I motion for Vana tosses the me vial, she passes it and I catch it through the air. I pop the cork off and chug it down, tastes like watermelon. I feel my strength returning to me, I jump on my feet and use my Element's power. I swing in an upward's arc, a crescent shaped flame flies through the air towards Discord. Just because this isn't my original sword, doesn't mean it can't do the same tricks. Distracted by the on-coming attack, Discord pops a bellows into his hands and blows the crescent out. Giving Sharla that extra time frame needed. As Twilight's stone imprisonment crumbled away, Sharla grabs her. Without any warning or awareness, Twilight is pulled off her hooves and is flying through the air. Sharla flies past Discord and skids to a stop by us, dropping a dazed Twilight. "What... I... Huh?" Twilight was unable to form a coherent sentence as she looks around to see both a very familiar and unfamiliar sight. "TWILIGHT!" Her friends get together and give her a hug, overjoyed to see their friend safe. "What? Hey, what's going on?" Twilight musters as she is being squeezed with affection. "Last thing I remember is seeing Discord and then everything goes blank." "Kind of a long story there sugarcube," Applejack replies as her friends let go of her. "We're happy t' have ya back. But to quickly summarize it fer ya, Discord's back and this fellow here's helpin' out ta beat 'im." I see Twilight's eyes turn as round as dinner plates as she sees me, awed at my unusual appearance. "Sharla, see if Cap's alright." She does as I ask. Twilight's eyes go from awe to worry as she follows Sharla to see her brother in his condition. "Shining!" She yells, rushing to her brother's side. "Hey sis," Shining Armor says in a weak state, trying to look strong. "Glad to see you again." "What happened? Did Discord do this?" "Afraid so Twilight. And a lot more while you've been away." Cadence says, motioning to her loss of horn and wings. "How could this have happened? What happened to me, and everything?" She asks, more confused than she ever has been. "Discord happened." I answer in a somber tone. "For about a month now you've been a statue. Since then he's been ruling, doing as he pleases because he can. But we're stopping him now. Twilight, I need you and the girls to use the Elements of Harmony." "But the Elements of Harmony aren't working on him." Twilight reminds me. "We tried before, and failed." I give her a smile, not one that is warm or mocking, but one that says she's wrong. "I never said for you to use the Elements on him." I show her my Element. "Use it on me." "What? Why you? What good would that do?" "Twiliy," Shining Armor says. "Trust him. If there's anyone who can actually beat Discord as he is now, it's him." "Hey! Have you all forgotten about me?" Discord roars in anger, hating to be ignored. He claps his hands together and a military suite appears on him, along with an old style mounted machine gun, the same kind used in WW2. Except this one has a barrel wider than my head, and it seems to be loaded with... watermelons. He pulls back the lever and lets loose his ammunition. Twilight ducks in safety from the oncoming projectiles, I on the other hand, do nothing. "Please," I scoff. With the simplest of thoughts, my Element lights anew and I wave it through the air. A fire jumps out from sword and washes over the watermelons, turning them to sludge and loosing all momentum. Twilight opens her eyes slowly, wondering why nothing happened. Her face turns to confusion and wonder as she sees my Element. "Bearer of the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle. Meet the bearer of the Element of Willpower. Jesse Ruesgen."