(24)
At high noon, Discord sat perched atop the mountain overlooking the vast ocean of fallen mist. The sun had broken through the high cumuli that tumbled overhead and its rays glistened in yellow illumination off the shores of fog that rolled below Dragon Peak’s waist. The cloud would never disperse along with the morning, it would take the entire day for it to wash over Equestria. The fog would eventually pass as it traveled into the bays, deserts and ranges beyond Equestria’s dominion. With the ever-flowing fog below, Dragon Peak was like a leaf in a shore-less river’s drift.
The very top of the peak itself was sliced away flat by the draconequus when he arrived. He needed a perfect battlefield to do his finest, and for his enemy to do his finest as well. His unrelenting magic made the process of smoothing the mountain’s head effortless and soon after he waited and watched through the clouds as the events of the ponies and human unfolded. He could sense their gathering energy, as well as the fleeting energy of the changelings which made him bite his lip. In the process of all this happening, he noticed a presence far behind him in the center of the battlefield. He knew who it was and turned to greet her.
With his paw and talons held together, he welcomed his favorite Princess, “I knew you of all ponies could survive such an attack from me.” He was referring to how he threw Luna into Canterlot, burying her in the mountain itself. “Your lunar magic ceases to amaze me, Selene.”
Luna trotted forward with a look of disapproval on her face. He was true, her lunar magic made it possible to escape the prison of earth around her. She had veiled herself in shadow, no longer bound as a solid. In this form, which she had used many times, she weaved her way through the rocks safely. The Princess of the Night walked next to Discord overlooking the gray sea before them. He couldn’t quite understand why she wanted to meet him here, even after all he had done. Creeping curiosity had almost gotten the best of the draconequus before she spoke out.
“What do you plan on doing... after all of this? After all of this pointless killing and waiting, I don’t see a point to it.” Discord looked over at the mare, but her eyes seemed zoned in below the clouds towards Ponyville.
“I thought I told you and Celestia,” he sighed. “All I want is peace. Though I wish not to do this, I have to secure that tranquility. The pieces have already moved, and there’s no going back and stopping what’s been done here and beyond Equestria. I can give this world what it truly desires to thrive and prosper, but now I must do it at a cost.”
“Your honied words of extermination are almost believable.” She turned to look at him, fearless and headstrong; and with bitterness in her tone she bit back, “Is it not so hard to let go? To give up? We can still save this world, Alwaid.” She bent closer to him as her hoof found its way into his open palm beside him. “Come with us, Alwaid. We can still make a better tomorrow. We can leave in peace, only if you stop now and give up.”
Discord looked down into the alicorn’s eyes and replied in a frigid voice, “What’s done... is done, Selene. I choose to walk down this path, for if I do not, no one will... and if no one will, we will never see peace. I must sacrifice everything to achieve what is right. Why can’t you see this of all creatures?” Luna’s hoof broke away from Discord’s gentle grasp as she stepped back away from him. He turned and watched her; her silent gaze–unbroken by emotion–looked over before the draconequus.
“You’re too much,” she breathed wearily. Her emotions could only be felt in the words that came from her mouth as she continued, “Why can’t you return to whom you once were? Alwaid the kind, Alwaid the gentle. Alwaid the mighty, Alwaid the protector–”
“Alwaid the fool–Alwaid the ignorant!”
With sudden burst of rage, Luna proclaimed, “I liked you when you were ignorant!” Discord stopped, letting the words she spoke ring through his ears like the shrill of thunder. “You were like a brother to me... I use to envy you. I took your wisdom you shared with me to heart... you were the one who told me to never give in... to pick yourself up when you fall... In my banishment, I was the one who pushed myself, to learn the forgotten ways of lunar magic. I’ve even surpassed my sister in sheer power, all because of the inspiration you’ve given me.” She could no longer hold back the pains from the past as tears began to build in her eyes. Discord remained emotionless as his sister began to break down before her. Luna’s somber visage–the powerful and feared mare–now wept before her enemy like a child.
“I still love you, Alwaid... however, if you have to kill all of us–the strong and the weak–and bathe this world in fire to start again, then do so already. Me and Celestia tried to keep peace, we tired to so hard, Discord. I wish you could understand. But I just pray that when the lonely god looks out over his new kingdom, I hope he finds that everything is good.”
Luna’s body began to dematerialize into shadowy starlight as it sailed off through the haze beyond. The draconequus turned and crossed his arms, overlooking the fog from his original spot. The words she said truly weakened him, and his mind began to slowly crack under the pressure of it all. He had to keep it together, for it would all be over soon.
The loud whir of the dual propellers thumped through the blaring wind. The noise of the aircraft resounded through Zack’s ears as well as the patter of fretful hooves and quivering, hopeless voices from behind him. The airship continued to make progress upwards, nearly reaching the cloud barrier above them. They would have to pierce through the rising fog to see their destination clear. In no time, the flying vessel performed this as sheets of dense fog enveloped the vehicle.
As the deck of the ship was veiled in the thick mists, silence ensued over the troubled ponies. Valiant and Marestorm stood quietly by each other with eyes searching over the faint world around them. Gale huddled closer to the large stallion beside her unintentionally as the fog fell over the ship and the absence of noise ensued. Both were as antsy and worried about the coming battle as the others, but the eerie, soundless atmosphere that fell over the occupants of the ship did not ease their stress. Though this was not the time or place for such thoughts that Valiant was turning in his head, however he couldn’t quite take his mind off of the dark mare who’s eyes shimmered like gold. He had taken to fancying her, as she did to to him–though it was never spoken, both knew what their feeling were to each other. This was the only comfort Valiant could find or wish for in the situation they all were in; and if things turned out all right in the end, he knew that Gale Marestorm would be his mare.
Zachary stood at the forefront of the airship’s deck, breathing in the cold wind that came with the risen haze they punctured. Zack closed his eyes and with a calm mind, began to think through his strategy of attack. No matter how hard he tried to focus, he couldn’t keep a straight thought and mindset on the battle ahead. Voices of dismay and voices of inadequacy plagued his mind. Zack didn’t understand though, he thought by absorbing the Catalyst Stone that he would be cured and his sanity would return, but the pounding in his head continued. He was no longer seeing visions or hearing voices, but he felt so unsure and already defeated. He was the hapless hero who dared to say that he would come out of this clash alive. The weight of it all began to take its effects on him as his hands trembled and his breathing became sporadic.
A tug on his left hand brought him back to Equestria, and as he felt the pull a second time, he turned to see who was wanting his attention. Out of all the others who would have wanted him, he was a tad dazed to see Rainbow Dash before him. She looked up when she had gained Zack’s focus; she had to step back and look nearly straight up to see his face due to Zachary’s impressive height.
She smiled warmly and said, “Hey Zack...”
“Hi, Rainbow Dash,” he responded with words that fell flat. He knew he had just sounded discouraged and kicked himself knowing that now the ponies will know for sure that he wasn’t prepared to fight Discord.
The cyan pegasus took notice of this cue, but went on, “I just wanted to say... that I’ll be rooting for you the whole way, pal. I know you can do it! I believe in you!”
“Thank y–”
“But Zack,” she began to ask, “is there something wrong?” Now he knew he had really messed up, letting his emotions slip like that in front of her. To his surprise though, everyone one else aboard was busy talking to others, paying no attention to the two on the bow of the ship.
“Is there anything I can do to help,” she continued, edging a little closer to him with a look of deep concern.
“I-I’m fine, thank you...” he quickly replied as he turned away from her. He clinched his fists in anger and in a short moment, he turned back to face the confused mare.
He chose his words carefully as he said in a quiet volume, “No, I’m not fine. I’m afraid. I-I don’t know why of all people–, ponies I’m telling you this. But, to answer your question, yes, there is something wrong.” Before she could answer, he tried to assure his motives to her, “Look, I think anyon–, pony in my shoes–, hooves would be quite afraid in this predicament, wouldn’t you agree? I’m not only fighting for my life, but for yours and your friends and the Princesses and this world. Rainbow Dash, can’t you see that?”
His words began to lose strength as he went on, “After all I’ve been through–and I can assure you I’ve been through a lot–it would seem I’m still the... the lonely, scared person I’ve always been. I thought I would be some great hero, some magnificent, fearless warrior who would embody everything a hero is meant to be, especially after my time in Firelight Woods.” Zack put his hands out to his side and indicated, “But just look at me. I’m no storybook hero or savior. I couldn’t care one bit about my own life, but letting a world burn from my one failure? Yes, Rainbow Dash, there’s something wrong, and it’s me.”
He looked up above her to see that everyone was still paying no attention to his ramblings as he swiftly pivoted back around and looked forward off of the ship. The vessel had now broken through the clouds and the peak was in sight. The world around them glowed in a Summer’s ting; bright yellows and whites, but a dull gray sky still tumbled below them. The clouds rolled over themselves in great billows as the ship sailed practically through them. High swirls of delicate cirrus clouds whipped far away as ranges of mountains–as far as the Icicle Mountains–could be seen even further. It was very pretty to the ponies aboard, and many seemed to ease up momentarily. Zack still anxiously watched ahead as the great peak came closer. He had bent down cross-legged, rubbing his chin with his thumb while he pondered in silence.
The cyan mare trotted next to him, they were eye level now as she glanced over at him. She drew her eyes back and stared off towards the mount in the sea of clouds, mutually sharing the same view.
“Zachary,” she started, “if the world ends today, so be it. I’ve lived a pretty awesome life and I don’t think I could have had it in a better way. Sure, I never got everything I wanted, or didn’t win first in every flying competition... or never gained someone’s attention I truly wanted–but hey, ya know, life’s life, and... well...”
She began to hesitate as more words fumbled out, "I’m not very good at this sort of thing as you can tell. I’m not the brightest mare, nor the funniest, or the most talented; I wish I could give you wiser words, Zack. But... just know... that I have hope in you. You’ll do this, you’ll do great. I just–”
Zachary bent to his side, reached his arms out and grabbed hold of the mare in mid-sentence. He then pressed her closely next to him and held her tight. Zack placed his hand on the back of her head and let his fingers slip through her multicolored mane. As soon as Rainbow Dash could figure out what he was doing, she returned his gesture with a firm hug back.
“That’s all I wanted to hear...” Zachary breathed out as a large portion of his stress washed away. He repeated slower, “That’s all I wanted to hear... Thank you.” The mare said nothing in return, but instead closed her eyes and pressed the side of her head closer into his chest, listening to the strange creature’s heart beat which was much like her own.
After a few seconds, which seemed like hours to the love-stricken blue mare, her eyes shot open in sudden enlightenment. The boat had become too quiet and it was soon very obvious to both Zack and Dash. Rainbow put her head up out of Zack’s chest to see that the entire group of ponies, her friends, the Princesses, the Generals, the Captain of the Guard, her idol, and even the crew and captain of the ship were quietly staring at the two.
Neighmo grunted out empathetically, “Aye, don’t mind me.”
Blood rushed to her face in embarrassment as she pushed off of Zack and aggressively punched him on the shoulder, failing to play it off as a playful punch.
“Ahhh, good one, Zack! That’s some 'secret story' you have there. I’m sure glad you whispered the entire story to me... cause, you know, the airship is loud and I... I couldn’t hear you that... well... heh...”
“Really,” squeaked Pinkie. “Cause it looked like you two were having one of those intimate moments. Am I right? Or am I right? Or am I right?...” She said while taking the time to look at every pony on the boat and repeat the phrase over and over again.
Dash flew over to Pinkie and defended her actions by saying, “Gross! As if, Pinkie Pie! We were... talking battle strategies! Ya!”
Rarity rose a hoof and denoted, “I thought you just said he was telling you a story?”
Rainbow Dash, now frantic in appearance, raced over to Rarity and replied, “Yes, you’re right! BUT, we first talked about battle strategies and then he told me story about a battle he had.”
Pinkie hopped back and blurted out, “Was it the time he fought a thug pony in Canterlot while stealing bits out of the Fountain of Friendship to buy me a ribbon? Which I lost...”
Applejack spoke up saying, “Or the time he saved me, Rarity and Pinkie from that psychotic kidnapper?”
Twilight then stated, “Or the time he stopped Starswirl the Bearded and his army of zombies from invading Canterlot, while he possessed and alicorn version of Pinkie Pie’s body?”
Pinkie snickered and commented, “That tickled when he stole my body.”
Fluttershy affirmed the cause saying, “We all know you’re a terrible liar, Rainbow.”
Zachary stood up and said over them, “Please, all of you, stay focused on what’s ahead.” He turned back around and concluded, “We’ll get to Dragon Peak, I’ll kill Discord, and we’ll all go home.” The questioning of Rainbow Dash’s motives ceased on those words as they closed in on the mountain.
The airship finally made its way to the top of the mountain and Discord had become visible in the distance to everyone. His back was facing towards where the airship had peaked over on the far side of the plateau. Zachary’s eyes squinted towards his foe as he placed his hand firmly around the handle of his blade. The airship hovered down in crescentic glide, floating only inches above the flattened mountain top when it halted. Neighmo’s keen and quick maneuvering abilities was an asset for getting Zachary upon the ground quicker.
A rope was flung off the side as Zachary grabbed hold of it and descended upon the smoothed scalp of the mountain. As his feet were planted firmly on solid ground, his eyes scanned the area around him. What was once Om’s cavern, where Zachary had been assured of Discord’s coming, was sliced clean away as if there had been no mountain side cave at all. The wind hadn’t calmed upon his arrival, the gusts atop the mountain blew loudly into his ears and whipped his clothing and hair about. To his surprise, the other ponies had dropped down and teleported down by his side. He thought that he would be alone on the battlefield and that they all would be on the airship watching from safety.
Celestia answered to Zachary’s bemused looks, “I assure you we will all stay clear of the battle. We still stay safely on the outer reaches of the mountain and will continually pray for your victory.”
“And hey,” chirped up Shining Armor, who had been nearly silent the entire time in Zachary’s presence, “Don’t worry about our safety. Me and Princess Celestia will use our magic to shield everypony from any harm that comes our way. Do your best, Zack!”
Zachary nodded towards him and began to turn around to face his foe. With sudden alarm, Zachary shot backwards upon seeing Discord now much more closely before him. Zack placed his hand on the Prevailer, ready to draw his weapon–Discord simply looked down over his smaller opponent and frowned.
“Oh, don’t give me that look,” Discord said to Zachary, “I don’t bite.” His expression changed to a much more pleasurable one as he looked over the crowd of ponies now far behind the human.
His voice rang out as he clapped his hands, “Place your bets, everypony!” With a spark of magic, a basket was conjured beside him with the words, 'Bets’ woven in its frame. The betting basket was levitated around in front of the ponies who simply glared at it or Discord. No one placed anything inside the basket–except for Rainbow Dash–who spat in it.
Discord groaned in response to Dash’s negativity, “Oh, how mature of you, Element of Loyalty.” He disappeared the basket with a snap of his fingers as Zack took an offensive stance towards the draconequus.
Discord looked back down at Zachary and while walking around him scoffed, “Hold your horses, horse lover.” He walked over to the side of the mountain and looked into the sea of wavering fog. He motioned a claw towards Zachary to come closer, and with much hesitation, Zack began to slowly creep over.
Discord sighed and said, “Just come over here for a second–and will you relax? If I wanted to kill you I would have already done so. Now, come over here, I have something to ask you.” Zachary finally approached Discord and met with him by his side. The herd of ponies also looked over the edge to see what Discord and Zack were looking at.
Zack commented, “I see nothing but fog.”
Discord rose an eyebrow and replied, “Well, ya, duh." The monster then moved his paw over out in front of him in a wide sweep, and with it the fog opened up to reveal the scenery far below. Discord then pointed a claw over towards a distant landmark below and asked Zack, “Is that Ponyville?” Zachary looked far off, squinting his eyes to see the tiny village. “Well,” Discord reiterated, “is it?”
“Yes.”
“Good!”
The draconequus then rose a claw upward and pointed it at the village. As soon as his finger was outstretched, a red brilliance emerged from the village. At first, Zachary had no idea what his enemy had done, but then it became clear to what Discord accomplished when the light subsided. Ponyville was lit a blaze much like he had done to Canterlot. His eyes strained to look directly at the horror before him; he felt as if he had been punched in the gut and the air in his lungs were forcible sucked out. The entirety of the recovering ponies in Ponyville were now burned alive in the instantaneous inferno Discord had created. Celestia drew back away from the cliffside as the other’s mouths were agape with terror and dismay. Tears began welling up in the pony’s eyes as each had a hard time grasping what had just happened to their home, family and friends.
After a moment of recuperation, Zack looked over at Discord and seethed, “We had a deal, damn you.”
“Well you were two minutes too short. So damn you, deal breaker.”
Celestia turned her head towards Neighmo’s airship and called out her command, “Quickly, Neighmo! Go back to Ponyville and check for survivors!”
Neighmo replied back through his megaphone upon the ship, “Aye, my Princess!”
As the ship began to turn away from the mountain, Discord turned away from Zachary, pointed his claw at the leaving airship and blurted out, “Nope!” As soon as his word left his lips, the airship caught fire and in a blaze sailed downward below the fog coverage. As it dipped out of sight, the great blaze which was let loose over the vessel flickered below the clouds and shortly dimmed. The draconequus turned to see Zack nearly seeping with fury at what he had done to both Ponyville and his long time friend Neighmo.
He drew the Prevailer and spat, “Stop it! It’s me you want, now have at me already!”
Discord revealed the intentions of his actions by responding softly, “I’m glad I could rile you up so quickly. Previous Masters were much more battle-hardened and emotionally stable than the Prevailer wielding-virgin you are. But if you want to die so quickly, then I’ll be so merciful and grant it as slow as I can.” Discord began to hover backwards and into the air, placing himself on the far end of the battlefield.
Zachary turned around slowly to face his far off enemy; his eyes affixed on the beast which flooded his mind with fears and uncertainties. Like a levee breaking, the climax of this battle brought all of the pain and chaos his mind had been holding back. It was as if the Catalyst Stone had brought no peace or harmony to his mind. The voices came clear and booming as loud and as deafening as ever before. Even his vision was failing as everything began to form into a blur of colors.
"You will fail, you will fail," called out Caroline. "This will be your downfall, and it is all your doing!” Her voice screamed and beckoned in incoherent bursts, like a group of shouting individuals surrounding Zachary. He couldn’t focus as his grip around the sword’s handle quivered and began to slip away from him.
And as if it had all been cured in one moment, something had attached itself to Zachary’s side and had kissed his cheek. Without any sudden reaction, he turned to see the pink pony that filled his vision with comfort. The voices had stopped, his sight began to recover and his emotions recuperated far quicker than ever before. Pinkie Pie leaned her head back and smiled as her eyes gave way to unceasing amounts of affection over him.
“You’re okay. Pinkie’s here for you.” He had nothing to say out of the shock of the moment. His lips trembled for the right words, but nothing came to Zachary. The world around them seemed to stop and to Zachary, the situation came to pass like the silence before a terrible storm. When one could see and feel the great threat on the horizon, yet find comfort in the fact that you would be out of harms way. That even though the storm blotted out the warm rays of the sun, the sun was still there on the other side of the thunder wall. Hope had risen up inside of Zachary once again.
“Do your best, Zackie,” she continued with words that soothed his being. “I love you,” and with those words, she slipped away from him and galloped back towards the group as fast as she could.
Zack never looked back as the pink pony left him, he only looked down at his hand as his eyes fell over the legendary, white blade. His fingers tightened around the hilt once again as his strength returned–he felt now on par with the enemy. And with one great push of faith, from everyone who prayed for him to his own will wildly rooting him on, he took a short step forward–then another step, and soon he was in an all out sprint towards Discord. The battle between the two great ones had begun as the world watched anxiously.
Dust and rock was thrown up with each long step Zachary took as Discord gave Zack’s feeble, head-on attack a childish sneer. The draconequus rose his arm forward and pointed directly at his oncoming opponent, much like he did when he lit both Ponyville and the airship on fire. He waited until Zachary sprinted close enough and at nearly point-blank range, he let loose. A great ball of fire consumed Zachary and exploded over him, cloaking his body in a spherical form of flame and smoke.
Zachary then leaped out of it, only being stopped momentarily by the magic, yet physically unharmed by Discord’s attack. With the aid of the Catalyst Stone inside of him, his magic was increased by nearly tenfold, making him able to withstand such magical assaults. Discord was a bit surprised by this fact that Zachary could recover so quickly; and from that shock he barely avoided a sudden death as Zack stabbed forward towards him. Discord maneuvered his slender body around and quickly slipped to Zachary’s side at a safer distance. Upon seeing Discord’s swift and agile movements, Zack began to wonder how hard it would be to even touch the slim target the draconequus was. Zachary quickly pivoted his front foot towards where Discord had snaked over to and bent over, grabbing the ground with his free hand so that he wouldn’t lose much momentum to face his enemy. As soon as he had stable footing, he burst towards Discord for another attempt.
Discord couldn’t move far each time Zachary swung or stabbed with the Prevailer. Zack, too, was quick, but not as fast as Discord was; however the draconequus was having difficulty preparing an attack while his opponent was continually on the move. Zack’s failed attempts on striking the beast began to irritate him as he tried to force the blade to move faster at the cost of losing control of the sword strokes. As Discord saw this opportunity in Zack’s movements, he gained the advantage by ducking under the coming blade. With no time to react on Zack’s part, he tripped Zachary. Zack had to think fast and somewhat recuperated after a shamble of steps to secure his footing once again.
He turned to see where his enemy had slipped off to, but the battlefield was empty besides the far off spectating ponies. Suddenly, the ground beneath him shifted and cracked open around him. It happened fast and nearly took Zack off guard, but soon he realized what had spurted up around him. Eight large, tall tentacles, which glowed violently red with pulsing magical energy surrounded him. Before the tentacles could wrap over him, he angled his arm back and swung horizontally with full force. His body spun gracefully and in one movement, the tentacles were sliced off around him and the magic faded away.
He looked upward upon hearing a short chuckle and spotted Discord high above. Zachary had let his opponent out of sight and gave him enough time to strategize. He could sense a magical impulse rising in the draconequus, he knew he was about to unleash a ferocious amount of energy–so he prepared as fast as he could in that short moment before the barrage. Discord threw his hands in front of him and in an amber, harsh gleam of light, fired a missile towards Zachary. Zack knew he couldn’t take a hit from such an attack like before, this one was different and could severely injure him if it was to make contact with him at full force. The ball jolted forward at a remarkable speed, a speed at which Zack wouldn’t be able to get around. He swung his weapon forward in a diagonal motion as the death sphere came close to impact. As the blade met contact with the orb, it was successfully deflected back behind Zachary; however he had no idea where it would land and made no attempt to break eye contact from his foe. In the same movement Zachary made to swing his sword with, he spun forward and sent the Prevailer high towards his enemy.
The death ball soared through the air and soon began to curve back down towards the mountain. Celestia watched as the missile rose, and soon the magical attack was directed towards the herd. They all noticed this and began to wildly panic as Celestia’s horn glowed bright and yellow. In a burning flash, the group was teleported away from where the energy orb would land. The attack struck the side of the mountain and detonated in a maroon blast that made Dragon’s Peak rumble. It was as if a volcano erupted; the cliff side blew apart shooting rock, smoke and fire off of the mountain and into the air. The herd was transported–through magic–on the other far end of the battlefield and watched in awe as the explosion overtook the sky.
Discord watched as the Prevailer was propelled towards him with the aid of Zachary’s own magic. With little to no effort, he flew out of the way of the attack. As the sword flew off, Zack threw his fist forward in front of him and controlled the blade’s return. The Prevailer began swaying back behind Discord in a violent spin. Discord noticed this without a fret and swatted the blade with his tail. It was flung towards the far end of the battlefield and it sunk deep within the mountain’s rocky terrain where it landed. What Discord didn’t realize was that another attack was on its way towards him as well. Zachary had shot a narrow beam of magic towards his opponent, which lit Zack in a red hue as the propelled magic soared skyward. It was the same attack that sapped him of all of his magic in the fight against Excubris; but now that he had absorbed the Catalyst Stone, this attack costed hardly any magical energy on his half.
With quick thinking, Discord fired a similar bolt of magic before it impacted his body. As the two magical blasts met, a great expansion of energy went in all directions from the impact point, throwing back both Discord and Zachary. Zack was thrown a few yards back, tumbling across the rocky surface, while Discord remained airborne. As soon as Zachary hopped back up onto his feet, he was met by another, smaller magical strike that nearly took him off of his feet again. As he saw the neon red sphere coming towards him, he braced for impact, shielding his head with crossed arms out front. He had built up enough magic throughout his body in time to take most of the impact, but still Zachary was seared around his arms when the attack struck his body. The orb formed into smoke when its energy dissipated, leaving scorch marks around Zack’s arms. He threw his hands down and widened his stance when he noticed Discord preparing to strike again. Zachary knew he didn’t have time to magic is sword back from the far end of the battlefield without him being distracted by Discord’s barrage of magic, so he had to make a run for it while circling his opponent. As the draconequus unleashed another fiery red ball of destruction, Zack raced for his sword in an all out sprint.
Zachary leaped out of the way as the missile struck where he once stood, obliterating the rocky ground into fragments. Zack had to stay focused on Discord, while keeping in line of where the Prevailer was. Discord threw ball after ball of deathly magical attacks towards Zachary, only to aim and miss him by mere feet. He then realized what the human was doing and soon concocted a plan to stop Zack. The Prevailer was far closer now and Zachary was nearly there when before him materialized Discord in a flash of light. The draconequus held out his paw as a steady and harsh radiance built up around his claws. Zack ignored his presence as he ran straight for Discord, who sent forth another great ball of destructive magic. It sailed swiftly forward over the ground, sending up dust and pebbles in its wake. Before the orb could hit, Zack built up energy into his hands and leaped over the ball while pushing the sphere under him, spreading his legs and letting the missile pass underneath his body safely. As the orb missed its target and collided with the ground a ways behind him, the propulsion of the blast sent Zack’s body much faster through the air. He then bent out his leg as his foot made contact with Discord’s face. The first successful attack on Zachary’s part was, to him, the best.
Discord’s body twisted out of the way of his blade as Zack fell back towards the ground. He tucked and rolled as he made contact with the mountain again. Zack looked up from his knelt position to see his blade in arm’s length. He reached forward, but before he could grasp the handle, he was apprehended by a force he couldn’t easily break from. Discord had enveloped Zack’s form in a magic akin to a unicorns, which froze Zachary in place. With a swipe of his claw, Zachary was sent flying across the battlefield away from the Prevailer. Discord removed his magic from Zachary’s form, letting his body tumble and crash against the rocky plateau. When Zachary’s body was slowing down and coming to a halt, Discord used his magic to stiffen Zachary’s body once again. As the draconequus twirled his claw about, Zachary’s body followed throughout the air, often crashing and colliding with the battlefield.
As Zack was being battered and scraped, he had devised a plan and soon desperately focused his magic. The Prevailer, which was behind Discord, finally upheaved itself from the rock and came tip-first behind the draconequus. Discord’s ears perked up, noticing the sword’s whistle as it glided through the air–he easily sidestepped the weapon as it passed by him and towards Zachary. As he did this, he lost focus of Zachary for a mere moment, which was enough time for Zack to break free from Discord’s control. Zachary was in the air when Discord had lost focus, so he fell back towards the mountain while the Prevailer whisked to its master. Discord aggressively flung another sphere of chaotic magic towards Zachary in annoyance of his deception. Discord’s attack trailed behind the Prevailer and before Zack could react, both the Prevailer and orb met with the human as the ball erupted in a blaze of smolder and flame.
The ponies along the sideline gasped as Zachary shot forth from the explosion with a trail of flame and smoke. He hit the ground lifelessly and at first seemed knocked unconscious to the herd. The Elements–desperate for Zack’s victory–shouted and beckoned for him to get up. Discord, however, remained vigilantly watching Zachary’s body, he could sense that his opponent was still alive. The draconequus knew he could finish his enemy right here, unleashing a devastation that would disintegrate Zack’s body completely. It would have been too easy for him to just kill off the fool. He felt that he deserved a worthy fight, and the battle itself already was the best he had had in an eon; so he let his worthy combatant recuperate.
Zachary did eventually begin to stand after a moment to catch his breath. He put his hands flat on the ground and pushed himself up, rising up onto his knees and finally back onto his feet. He bent over to pick his sword up off the ground and raised it back before him. His clothing was beginning to rip and singe from the burning, magical attacks Discord had been shooting at him–and seeing how Zachary now had visible cuts and bruises along his skin only made Discord smile with satisfaction.
Discord smiled at his resilient foe from across the plateau and asked, “Tell me, do you have a plan to stop me?”
Zachary looked up towards Discord and returned a smile responding, “To be honest, I’m just making it up as I go along.” Discord gave a toothy grin as he held back his abrupt laughter.
“I thought so... and to be honest, warrior, I’ve been having a fantastic time playing with you. But sadly, you are beginning to bore me... So it seems your time has come to an end. Unless you improvise a brilliant strategy soon–which I doubt you will–you will be meeting with the Foreseer shortly.”
As he said this, two illuminations shot forth in a brilliance beside Discord. From the lights came forth two doppelgangers in the form of the draconequus himself. They slowly rose their hands up and gave Zachary equally sly looks, appearing to be on the verge of attack.
Before Zack knew what they were planning, the three Discord’s shot ball after ball of the same destructive magical attack as before. Nearly a dozen were fired at Zachary and he knew he had to do something quick to avoid the spheres. It would be impossible for Zack to avoid such a barrage of projectiles, so he had to desperately think of how to avoid or counteract such an attack. Zachary had been winging it so far, he was still an amateur to magic and only knew how to do certain magical abilities correctly; but a sudden impulse shot through him and he focused intently on his own body.
With the Catalyst Stone inside him, a great abundance of magic began to flow through his essence. It was as if he was being filled with a soothing liquid as the magic seeped throughout his muscles and soon he felt his entire atmosphere change around him. The world grew darker in his eyes as his body began to give off a subtle, blue aura. While looking over his arms and legs, he had almost forgotten about the attack that should have hit him by now. His eyes frantically looked up to see that the dozen orbs of chaos were still on their way towards him, but now were proceeding forward at a much slower rate. He knew now what had happened and that time around him had slowed down–at least to him that is. As the spheres flew closer, he rose the Prevailer and swung at the oncoming orbs knowing that now he could deflect them at the speed they were going.
Zack’s friends–which watched from afar–were amazed at what they were witnessing. Zack was moving at incredible speeds while the foreign magic that the Catalyst Stone bestowed upon him burned around his form in a sky blue tint. The Discords didn’t stop at only shooting a dozen missiles at their foe, but upon seeing that Zachary was deflecting their shots, they fired relentlessly towards him. Their irked and twisted faces revealed their true anger. Discord wasn’t getting his way because Zachary wasn’t dying the way he intended.
As Zachary continually swiped and blocked ball after ball of energy, they flew off and over the mountain. Each sphere fell across Equestria and under the veil of haze, they lit the countries and valleys with bright yellow and red explosions. Twilight watched over the cliff as the fog coverage below flared with each blast. She quivered with horror as she knew her homeland was being devastated below. Discord became so aggravated by his inability to strike his foe again that he swung his arms out to his side and absorbed his two doppelgangers into raw, magical energy to prepare for a monumental attack. A dark purple, liquid-like magic contorted around his arms, which sparked and fizzed violently as more and more magic was built up into his hands. As Zachary batted away the last of Discord’s missiles, he darted over towards him. He was still heavily influenced by his own time-warping magic and to everyone else, he sped over to Discord like a bolt of lightning, throwing a mass amount of dust and rock in his wake.
As Discord finally primed his deadly assault, he shot his hands forward to unleash it upon Zachary; but before he could, Zachary had already moved within range, grabbed Discord’s wrists and pointed his attack skyward. His magic boomed over head in a twisting spiral with multiple, curling rods of energy. They interwove between each other, spreading out over the sky in a purple and blue radiance. The magical attack snaked through the atmosphere, finally breaking away and folding back towards the planet. It curved back down and around the mountain–the quake itself from the magic’s denotation around the mount shook its very roots and foundation. The earth and unicorn ponies who watched had a difficult time standing on their hooves due to the amount of tremors, yet Discord and Zachary stood silent before each other as Zack still held Discord’s hands upward.
In no time, Discord’s magic rushed back through him, nearly overpowering Zack as he tried to slam his hands down. Zack could feel his own strength failing, and in that moment devised a plan of attack. He focused his magic on his feet as he let Discord’s strength overcome him. As this happened, Zachary straightened himself out and threw his feet upward, now radiating with intense magical energy. As he forced his feet into Discord’s stomach, the magic was let loose from his build up and the two were thrown away from each other. Zack slid upon falling back, landing on his feet in a graceful fashion as Discord tumbled and finally floated back up. As the dust settled, from it the draconequus was revealed to be furious as his face twitched and his breaths became shorter. His nostrils flared as he curled his fists and stared down his battered opponent. He couldn’t believe it; after a blast like that, Discord knew he would have overpowered any being on Arteria–even the former Master of the Prevailer.
As his senses were riled, overlooking the human who’s strange magic began to ebb away, he could feel the exerted energy drift from Zack. Not only was it the Catalyst Stone’s magic–which was something Discord could handle–but it was the human’s own magical energy entwined with it. Together they formed a new magic, something that broke through the very essence of reality; he then knew that that was the reason why he was having such a difficult time with his enemy. His magic was from another realm outside of Arteria’s and because of that, Zachary’s magical attacks caused much more harm to him than the pony’s petty attempts he had received in Canterlot. Not only could he feel the effects of defeat, but his body was also weakening. His physical form was now so old that it was beginning to deteriorate; Alwaid’s draconequus body was a shell with underlying cracks that were breaking under the pressure of this new magic. Discord could never remember a time in his life that he had been more afraid–though he kept his composure, he could still defeat this alien.
As the blue glow of magic from the Catalyst Stone faded from Zachary’s body, he could feel a great amount of energy leave him. The amount of magic he used in those moments to slow his perception of time down drew out large quantities of his magic; if he would have kept using such magic, it would have begun to drain his own life force. Thankfully though, Zack had plenty of magic left in him, but his body was beginning to tire and lose strength. He couldn’t let his opponent see this though, so he veiled his weakening body before the draconequus and rose the Prevailer ahead of him, preparing for the next attack.
Between the two, a long silence fell over the battlefield as the spectators anxiously watched; but soon they were back at it as Discord threw out his hands, firing two stray bolts of magic towards Zachary. Zack swiped his hand out in front of him while he dashed to the side, creating a wall of ice which took the blow of the coming attack. As the ice shattered, Zachary used his magic to form the broken shards into long and thick icicles which he then launched at his foe. Discord weaved around the projectiles as the two raced towards one another and made contact again.
Discord swiped furiously at Zachary with magic infused claws that could easily decapitate him. Zachary held his sword out, bending it to each attack to try and block Discord’s quick strikes. With a firm stroke, Discord knocked the Prevailer out of his hands and lashed out his other hand while Zachary was unarmed. Zack twirled around his opponents coming claws and bent his knees while walking back away from the attacker, however Discord continued to charge him, flinging his claws out to try and slash Zachary. Zack maneuvered and leaped out of the way of everything Discord could throw at him, and this enraged him even more. The draconequus bent his head in and tried to snap at his opponent, thinking that a surprise attack like this would work, but Zachary curved around him easily. The human then wrapped his arm around his enemy’s neck, placing Discord in a choke hold.
Zachary exclaimed bitterly, “You said you wouldn’t bite, you cheater!”
He then heaved his opponent over his shoulder and slammed Discord onto his back out in front of him. What he didn’t expect was Discord opening his maw and from it he fired a blazing blast that sent Zachary off of his feet and skidding backwards across the mountain top. In no time, Discord flew upward and snaked over the ground at an incredible speed. Zachary dug his fingers into the ground while still sliding and shot back upward as well. As the two saw each other, they held out their hands to prime their magic. The two collided as each of their attacks exploded over them, creating an expanding ball of energy which lit the battlefield in a bright red inferno. Celestia gasped as her and Shining Armor created a bubble around the herd as the wall of destructive magic overcame them.
As the blaze parted ways, Shining Armor lowered his shield as they all witnessed Discord and Zachary still fighting against each other. Each was holding his own ground, taking turns being offensive and defensive whenever one would have the upper hand. Zachary had summoned his weapon once more to parry and strike his opponent. Discord tried to slice his enemy with his claws while sometimes firing a blast of magic at point-blank range, which Zachary would deflect. Their flurry of attacks seemed impossible to follow with the naked eye; each was as ferocious as the other, driven to extremes by their own powers.
What Zachary didn’t realize was that the sphere Discord shot at him that he batted away was on its return, taking a wide veer far off behind him. The orb finally came back down and struck Zachary’s back while Discord sidestepped away with his leg out, tripping Zachary onto his stomach. As Zachary fell, Discord immediately grabbed his leg and began slamming him into the rock repeatedly. He eventually tossed him aside and began to charge up another attack to unleash on Zachary. As Zack rolled over the dirt, he stuck his blade into the ground and threw himself up onto his feet. The magical blast was sent forth from Discord, but Zachary dodged out of the way while curling his sword back, ready to stick his blade into the beast’s belly.
Zachary was too quick however, he never realized what Discord was planning and it was too late as he came into contact with him again. Zack felt something tear through his insides and out of his back–four razor sharp claws from Discord’s lion paw had made its way through Zack’s chest. Zack stopped as he felt the pain overtake his core and the breath leave his lungs suddenly. His strength began to fade rapidly as he lost the energy to hold the Prevailer up. The white sword fell into the dirt below as the ponies shirked in devastation.
Discord pushed Zachary away with a overly joyous smile plastered across his face, seeing as how this major threat to his existence and future reign was no more. Zachary shambled backwards, holding his hands on his blood soaked chest. His knees began to tremble as he tried to stay firmly in place before the draconequus. He looked up towards Discord, trying to focus his blurring and dimming eyes. Zachary’s words were nothing but gasps of air as he tried to speak. As his own blood dripped from his chest onto the mountain rock below, he turned slowly towards the far off crowd of ponies, trying to convey a message through his eyes that he was sorry.
A sudden, new pain spiked through his core as his muscles tensed in agony. Discord had held out his talons, sending streams of red lightning over Zachary’s body. The human fell on the ground, writhing and wailing in torment. Pinkie couldn’t watch as she turned and hid her face, trying to cope with what was happening. Rainbow Dash was shaking her head in disbelief as Twilight placed her hooves over her eyes and wept.
Discord withdrew his electrocuting magic over Zachary’s body and in an instant, shot another ball of chaos at point blank range. The blast sent Zachary flipping and rolling over the the mountain’s surface, and as his body came to a slower rate of speed, he neared the mountain’s cliff. No pony could save him it seemed since they were so far away and that unicorn magic could not affect Zachary; but Rainbow Dash swooped high over the mountain and came swerving downward as Zachary rolled off the cliff side. In desperation, Spitfire followed behind her to try and protect the cyan mare.
Discord saw this feeble attempt by the pegasus and tried to shoot Dash down with an orb of magic. Discord shot ahead of the pegasus as the ball sailed directly towards the mare. As the sphere was about to strike down the Element of Loyalty, Spitfire raced ahead of it and took the blow, being consumed by fire. Spitfire fell from the explosive blast and slammed across the battlefield in a heap of smoke. Her coat was heavily burned as her body came to a halt, appearing dead before the ponies. Rainbow saw this, but knew that she couldn’t stop now. Spitfire would have wanted her to save Zachary–so she raced downward and flew over the cliff side Zack had fallen over. Once Dash was out of sight, Discord grinned and lowered his hand; he knew that he had won, he sensed no more energy in his opponent–neither magic nor life energy. Discord turned towards Celestia and the group of ponies and began to amble towards them with open arms of false comfort. Celestia stepped in front of her kind as her alicorn horn illuminated a menacing and harsh light.
Rainbow Dash flew through the fog coverage and sailed dangerously close to the jagged cliffside. She could see his plummeting, lifeless body below and flapped her wings even faster to try and catch up to him. The fog was blinding to the pegasus, but her determination helped guide her as she lifted Zachary and pulled upward. Zachary was much heavier than she had anticipated, but fought to keep her flight steady as she turned upward and began to slow her descent.
The two broke through the fog and the world of Equestria became clear around them. Rainbow noticed a boulder that was clinging onto the mountainside which they could use as a platform, so she flapped to a halt and clumsily landed on the natural landing pad. Zachary rolled away from her and nearly fell off the mountain again, but his body ceased and lay motionlessly on the edge of the large stone. She rose to her hooves and staggered hastily over to him. She came by his side and held his head up, trying to find the right words to say in the devastating moment.
“Come on now, Zackie! Come on! You can do it, buddy,” she shook him lightly while repeating the words. With each word, her voice quivered more as her failing placid behavior gave way to her true, overpowering emotions. Zack’s eyes remained shut as blood now dripped from his lips and from the open wound upon his forehead.
“Please!” she begged with intensity, “please Z-Zachary! Wake up! Sa-save us! We need you! Please, for me, Zack! Zack! ZACK!”
Rainbow Dash never even looked up to see what Equestria had become. Before them the valleys burned in infernos that captivated the farthest forests. Black smoke burned from the nearly flattened mountains around them and the blood soaked tint of fire cloaked everything in its vivid color. Equestria would never be the same.