//------------------------------// // The Endgame // Story: We Fight as One // by chaos2012 //------------------------------// Hovering in the sky, Eclipse stared down at the creature Discord had become. His sheer change in size and stature was enough to cause the bleached alicorn's pulse to increase inside of her chest. She watched as the dirt that was pulled off the ground from earlier fall to the earth at the speed of a light feather, held up from the sheer amount of aura emanating from the draconequus. In fact, just hovering in the air she could almost feel the atmosphere shake from the sudden change in pressure. 'His power has exploded in comparison to what it was before...' She whispered to herself, 'if we knew that he would change like this, we would have stopped him before he did that.' Never once did it cross her mind that his power was being controlled through his horns because Discords horns did not glow when he used any of his power. An increase in power is unheard of, since a unicorns power is cut off when their horn is removed. Increasing the pace of her front set of wings, Eclipse lifted her forebody away from the ground to keep her chest facing her opponent. She charged her horn just in preparation, the long bone becoming enshrouded in the emerald glow of magic. Looking down, the solid red eyes of Discord simply stared right back at her, almost seeming to gaze through her soul. She watched him intently, checking for any form of movement that would signal him ready to come onto the offensive. A pulse of magic or a muscle flex to show that- Music BOOSH! Faster than she could register, Discord’s wings catapulted him off the ground into the air, creating a crater in his wake. Eclipse's eyes went wide as the large deity rushed towards her. Reacting on instinct, she created a shield around herself just before Discord’s claws reached her face. Massive sparks of magic ricocheted off the barrier as he pushed his talons against the obstacle stopping him. Pulling his claws back, Discord roared out into the night as he brought his head back before throwing it forward mightily into the shield. Eclipse winced in shock as a small crack formed across the top of the shield from the impact of his headbutt. Seeing him preparing to hit it again, Eclipse teleported away to give herself a moment. That however didn't last as Discord shot through the air towards her spot nearly as fast as she reappeared. Seeing she had to fight back, Eclipse formed a large block of magic below her hooves. Lifting it up, she kicked it out and launched it at the incoming spirit to slow him down. That didn't work as Discord clenched his lion paw into a powerful punch, shattering the magic. The alicorn watched in shock as Discord opened his jaws in an attempt to latch down onto her throat. Tucking her wings in, she dropped down and dipped under the spirit just before he bit down, but his long tail whipped down and wrapped around her throat before she could get away in time. Gagging at the sudden tightness, Eclipse quickly slipped her hoof between the tail and her neck and pushed out to give her enough space to slip out. As soon as she was free, she quickly encased her right wings in magic and swung backwards, striking Discord away from her and encircling herself in a shield again. Roaring out in anger, Discord threw his taloned limb out and backfisted the shield with enough strength to throw both it and Eclipse towards the ground. Eyes wide at the approaching ground, Eclipse increased the density of her barrier just before it crashed through the ground, splitting the floor and forming a fissure thirty feet across. As she stopped and flew out, she saw Discord already coming down her direction. Forming a condensed ball of magic, she shot it up into the air. Discord's eyes suddenly glowed brighter, then blasted blood red beams out from his irises. The two opposing attacks collided in between the two combatants, the clashing magic swirling in a massive mess of colors that warped the air around them before going off in a bright explosion and lighting up the sky. The shockwave from the blast was strong enough to send Eclipse several feet back through the air before she was able to steady herself. Flapping up, she gazed back up into the sky at the creature she was facing. 'What is with his power? It's as if it is a completely different aura than before.' She whispered to herself. The glow in Discord’s eyes began to shine once again as he flapped his wings in a powerful gust towards the alicorn beneath him. Gritting her teeth, Eclipse charged her horn once again and launched up to counter his attack. Both opponents flew faster and faster at each other, their own magic glowing brighter as they neared the other one. At the last moment, both unleashed their power in a blinding flash that enveloped both of them, the large shock wave traveling in every direction. The trees below shook so hard some were near snapping from the concussive force. Rising out of the smoke, Eclipse shook her head to try and clear her blurry vision. As she began to refocus, she attempted to fly backwards to get herself away from the large cloud, but she was too late. Discord burst through the cloud with his paw tightened in a tight fist. Before she could even think to cast a shield, a powerful hook into her right cheek struck her full force. Eclipse felt her body fall down to the ground again, crashing through several tree trunks and landing *!* the forest floor. Crawling to her feet, Eclipse spit out a small amount of blood onto the ground. She used her to tongue to rub against the split on the inside of her cheek made from the impact against her teeth. Feeling the cut on her mouth made her wince at the initial touch, so she began using the particles of magic flowing through her bloodstream to begin closing up the wound. Glaring, she used her multiple wings to brush off chunks of earth that stuck to her fur. After she was done, she looked up into the sky at Discord, who was still hovering in the air. "So Discord, it seems you have gotten stronger with your change. Does it please you to see us injured?" Discord gave no response as he stared down below, all that was coming out of his throat a deep, rumbly growl. Eclipse tilted her head in confusion. "Are you not even going to answer us now?" Once again, Discord didn't talk. Has he really changed to where he can't understand us?' Eclipse thought to herself, 'his body shifted to this form, but has his mind been altered as well?' Flapping her wings, Eclipse picked herself off the ground and flew up above the trees. As she increased her elevation, she noticed how the terrifying red eyes of Discord never left her form. His once always grinning face grinned no more, but instead had become a mask of pure hatred and anger. The comical eyes vanished behind the dark form that took over him, as if a demon from Tartarus had possessed him. "Discord?" She asked out loud. "Are you even there anymore?" Cautious, she slowly approached the deity in the sky. "Discord, answer me if you can hear me." Her tone was now more stern, expecting him to finally answer from her demanding him. Once again, he just stared back at her, his face stripped of any form of knowledge of the question. Sighing, Eclipse increased the strokes of her wings to lift her several feet higher. "You are gone, aren't you?" The draconequus did respond after the last statement, but not in words, instead with action; his mouth slowly opened up, revealing his line of serrated teeth in his jaws. From the back of his throat a deep red glow began to creep up into his mouth, streams of red smoke trailing out and around his snout. Eclipse eyed the strange new sight with caution, unsure exactly what was happening. As the glow began to become a visible ball of red aura, the bleached alicorn started to pump her rear wings to slowly pull herself away from Discord. Her heart rate increased a few paces as his mouth opened up a little more, showing nearly all of the glowing sphere in his throat. Yet nothing could prepare her for what happened next. Music Discord quickly opened his mouth to full stretching capacity, followed by a blast of magic erupting out from his throat. Eclipse gasped in shock as it rushed at her, teleporting just milliseconds before she was struck. Reappearing forty feet away, she turned to watch the attack race across the sky at a speed almost too fast to even see as it headed straight for a mountain in the distance. The moment it struck, the entire mountain exploded in a column of red energy. Boulders disintegrated instantaneously in the unimaginable level of magic. A small chill ran up the fused alicorn’s spine at the sight of the destruction. Her multicolored mane blew behind her as she looked up at the column of magic stretching into the sky. Her fear of what had happened to Discord grew by the second as she witnessed the power he had now. If she didn't stop him here, she had no idea what he would do to the rest of Equestria. Her eyes then floated over to Discord while she conjured her sword again. Taking a breath, she set her sight on what she had to do. "We cannot let Discord unleash his power upon the land. This must end today." Rushing forward, she brought the sword over her head to slice Discord down the center, but he reached out with his talons and physically gripped the blade in the center. Eclipse felt her heart skip at the act. "Wh-what? impossible." Discord grabbed her sword, which at this power level should be able to cut through nearly every material in existence. Yet despite this, he was actually holding onto it without the weapon even breaking the skin. Before she could fully contemplate the situation, his powerful grip increased, causing the sword to sputter and pulse until he clenched fully, shattering the blade into hundreds of small particles. Eclipse watched in horror as her magic was broken with seemingly no trouble by Discord’s power. 'That was the same level of power we used when dueling him in the forest. His own magic shattered against ours, yet now he can stop it with his new body.' She shakingly thought to herself. Flapping her wings, Eclipse tried to fly backwards away from Discord, but in an instant he vanished in a blur before reappearing to her right. Reaching out with his paw, he latched onto her her head and launched her across the sky into the face of another mountain. The stone shattered from the force of her body colliding into one side before completely passing through the other face of the mountain. Eclipse yelped in pain as she tried to come to a stop in the air, her body bruised and cut from the intense impact experienced. Trying to mend her pain would have to wait as she saw Discord flying towards her again. Grunting, she pushed her wings as hard as she could to stabilize her flight pattern back to normal. Charging up her horn higher than she would before, Eclipse created an arc of magic and swung upwards at Discords body, yet his eyes once again shot out his lasers and clashed with the incoming attack. Flying right through the bright explosion, the enraged monster extended his claws out towards the alicorn to slice her open and end her life. Teleporting away, Eclipse quickly made another shield around herself and flew through the sky. She had to give herself some space between herself so that she nay decide what to do, but Discord immediately took off after her. Wanting to try a new strategy, she lifted her elevation up into the clouds high above the ground to swim right into the dark mix of thunderclouds that had built up high into the atmosphere. "If the center of that cloud contains enough energy, perhaps he can be stunned long enough to hold him for a sealing spell." Even with everything that was happening, Eclipse wanted to somehow stop Discord without killing him. One reason for the unknown factor on what his body would do in death, including something as extreme as self destructing. Another reason was the simple fact of killing; Even with the single reason of him attempting to kill her, she truly did not want her own conscious to be tainted with the fact she had to kill another soul. Passing through the dark cloud and coming out the top, the alicorn watched as Discord was closing the gap between her and him. Taking control of the clouds, Eclipse forced the large cloud tighter and tighter together until it was only three feet across. Sputtering with electricity, the small cloud practically ummed with power as Eclipse launched it down at him, forcing it to detonate right by his body. Twelve lightning bolts burst out in a powerful display, seven of them striking their target directly across his form. As the voltage spread throughout him however, Discord tightened his body into a ball before throwing his arms out to the side, expelling all the electricity in two enormous columns of lightning. Eclipse almost stuttered her flapping due to the display. In a blink of an eye, Discord teleported again right in front of the stunned alicorn and grabbed her by the throat, freeing a loud gasp from her. Pulling the tall pony right up to his face, the draconequus growled at her, his fangs dripping saliva as if he was a voracious timber wolf prepared to devour its next meal, something that seemed was going to happen as he lunged forward towards her face. Eyes wide, Eclipse created a chain around Discords throat and arm and pulled them apart, keeping his snapping jaws just inches away from her muzzle. Growling and snarling, the beast continued to try bite and latch onto her face, sending a terrifying chill up Eclipse’s spine. Holding her breath as the grip around her throat tightened, she tried to speak up as much as she could. "D-Discord, *cough* listen to us. Stop this." Her words went onto deaf ears as the beast continued to bite at the air, chunks of saliva flying out of his mouth from his savage assault. His soulless eyes began to glow again as he prepared to attack her once again from this range. Halting her pleas, Eclipse saw with open eyes exactly what had happened now; Discord was no longer a conscious being now. He had become a beast with no soul or motives, except the goal to kill her and perhaps everything else that stood in his way. He was long lost to what he was before and perhaps would never return. Now she understood why he subdued his power. Tilting against the death grip on her throat, she thrust her head forward while slicing down with an immensely condensed line of magic. The bright line of aura cut down Discords face and across his right eye, making the beast scream out in pain from the gash across his retina. As she felt the claws loosen around her, she kicked out against his chest and broke free of him. Flying away once again, she stopped to cough several times, clearing her throat from the tightness she had before. Looking back, she watched as Discord turned his face towards her, a deep red slash across his face and shutting his eye closed. His teeth glinted in the light coming from inside his mouth. "So... It really is going to end like this then." Eclipse said. "Death for either you or us." Eclipse closed her eyes as she began to focus her power. From her white coat, a light emerald glow began to form around her body outward. The aura soon spread until every inch of her body was covered in it, casting a light across the sky. Ever since the beginning when she first fused, Eclipse had been holding back on the level of magic she was using in fear of what kind of damage would happen from her unleashing it. She didn't even know the limit of her strength in the form she had now. At the moment however she knew holding anything back meant the risk of losing her life and her home. music In a quick flash, a ball of energy completely encircled the alicorn, totally blocking her out from Discord’s sight. The large beast tilted his head in curiosity, watching the swirling aura pulse around his prey. His claws retracted and extended out several times in preparation to hunt down the pony before him once again. Steaming drips of saliva ran off the long fangs hanging out of his mouth as his bloodstream was filled with adrenaline, making him ready to kill. The ball around Eclipse burst outward from the center, revealing the alicorn. Her white coat had gained a light golden glow that radiated along the surface every few seconds. Her mane had nearly double the length it was before, the deep blue coloring filled with golden stars throughout the length and sparkling like the night. A plasma chain forty feet long was wound in a tight fashion by her side leading up to a long double bladed scythe writhed in blue flames. Eclipse turned her head towards Discord. Opening her eyes released a rich emerald glow coming from her irises and rising above her head. The determined gaze she sported was more focused than anything she possessed at any other time in the existence of both bodies she had before her fused form. Her horn cast a powerful glow as she flapped her shimmering wings. "Alright Discord, you want to finish this fight? Then lets end it now!" Music Discord roared in anger at the sight of the alicorn in front of him. Opening his mouth wide, he charged another large sphere in his mouth. Seeing the incoming attack growing, Eclipse formed a large green ball at the end of her horn. The two godlike entities released their attacks simultaneously, the collision lighting up the darkened sky. Colliding with each other, the two forces burst into massive columns of red and green explosions, expanding outward and leveling the forest in a quarter mile radius. Blurring into view, Eclipse raced through the sky towards Discord, the draconequus flying at her as well. The two collided in the clouds, each body pushing and kicking with all their strength. Ducking under a claw swipe, Eclipse kicked out with her back legs away from him. Gaining a small space between them, she conjured a net and shot it at Discord, wrapping around his wings and halting his flight. Growling, he shot out his eye lasers and cut through the green material. As Eclipse dived down at him, her front wings became encased in a silver aura that covered the front face. Flipping forward and throwing her wings to her side, long blades launched out from her wings and barreled towards Discord. The monster blurred out of the way before the attacks struck him, causing the white blades to miss as they shot down into the forest and cut down every tree they passed through and disappearing underground before stopping. Reappearing behind Eclipse, he swiped his claws at her neck but was stopped by the plasmic chain of her weapon. Eclipse wrapped his claws tightly and pulled him down while flipping behind him. Throwing a loop around Discords throat, she stepped down on his back and pulled against his windpipe. Growling and gasping at the chain, Discord thrashed around attempting to throw her off his back. As she pulled harder, Eclipse put one of her hoofs against his head and stepped down, pushing him further against the chain. Suddenly, Discord teleported out of her grasp before reappearing at her side and grabbing her head with his talons. Teleporting again and pulling Eclipse with him, Discord reappeared in the mountain range to the north of them. Diving down, he slammed her face into the side of the nearest mountain while flying parallel with the stone. Eclipse yelled in pain as she was dragged against the rock, the mountain crumbling behind in their wake. Using her strength, she stuck her hooves against the edge of the mountain and kicked off, forcing both of them off. The sudden change caused Discord’s grip to falter, causing one of his talons to slip inside of Eclipses mouth, which she bit down with all her might. Screeching in pain, Discord let go of her and flew back several yards. Eclipse caught her breath after she was released, the right side of her face cut horribly and her eye shut. Taking the chain she had in her magical grasp, she began spinning the scythe to her side so fast it was just a blur, creating bursts of wind in its wake. In an instant, she brought it over her head, releasing the length of chain and slashed down diagonally at Discord. Dodging it just in the nick of time, the weapon cut through the air with so much force, the mountain two hundred feet behind was sliced in half down the center. Thousands of tons of rock slid off the top as it tumbled down the side of the bottom. Out of the corner of her eye, Eclipse saw Discord charging her again, prompting her to launch her still spinning scythe his direction. Barrel rolling to the left, he dodged the weapon and prepared to shoot another blast from his mouth. What he didn't notice, however, was the sudden yank on the chain by his face, pulling the scythe back towards Eclipse with deadly speed. With no effort, the razor sharp blade sliced through Discords left arm, removing everything from the shoulder down. The spirit screamed in pain as his taloned arm dropped from his shoulder and tumbled through the air. But not even the stream of blood rushing out his amputated limb was enough to stop his attack from being released. The large red sphere rushed right at Eclipse, who spun the scythe over her head and sliced down, splitting the incoming attack into two lesser spheres that passed on either side of her. Each collided with the ground nearly a mile away, their own blasts nearly as large as the full one from before. She looked back at Discord, but to her shock he was already on top of her. His still good arm slashed at her chest, his long claws carving deep streaks across her body. She screamed in pain, but was silenced by his closed fist slamming above her head, which sent her plummeting into the ground. Not giving her a chance, Discord fired another energy ball from his mouth directly on top of her, engulfing his target in the enormous blast. The column of red suddenly exploded in a bright flash of green, dissipating in the upper atmosphere. Down inside of the crater through the clearing smoke, Eclipse hobbled up from the ground, her body now showing the wear she was receiving; over a third of her coat was stained black from the heat of the previous blast. Her face along with most of her body on the right side littered with massive cuts and bruises dripping lines of precious blood. The rear wing on her left side hung limp to the ground, the bone broken and popped out of its socket. What was hurting her the most however was the burning sensation in her chest and head; the intense levels of magic she was wielding was draining out at an alarming rate, causing her body to start shutting down due to the strain it was putting on her body. This massive power given from the earrings was also a double edged sword to the wielder. Seeing his prey weakened, Discord dive bombed Eclipse to finish her off. Arm stretched out and claws extended, he roared in exultation to his victory in sight. Gritting her teeth, Eclipse summoned her scythe once again and launched it up at Discors. The draconequus wasn't going to fall for the returning blade a second time, banking his body to the left as the scythe past by him. Yet Eclipse had played the spirit, channeling her magic through the chain, encasing both the weapon and herself in green aura. In a flash, she and the blade suddenly switched positions, her being in the air and the weapon on the ground. Taking hold on the chain, she whipped it up hard and forcing it up at the shocked Discord faster than he could react. The burning blade tore straight through his good shoulder and severed the left wing off, forcing him to spiral out of control to the ground. Using her three good wings the white alicorn dived down to the ground and landed directly in front of the bleeding Discord. Conjuring a dozen chains she quickly shot them out and wrapped one to each of Discords limbs and tail with the rest of them tied around his body. The enraged spirit began thrashing against the sudden restraints holding his body back. Lurching forward and back, he roared out as the chains stretched and pulsed against the strain being put on them. Pulling with all his might, Discord clenched his arm to the point of his muscles tearing through his skin, until the chain finally snapped from the pressure. Eclipse eyes went wide in shock by the sight before her. "He is still strong enough to break the magic... You truly do astonish us, Discord." Shooting out several more chains, Eclipse launched them out and bore them into Discord’s back and latched them into the ground, pulling them down and forcing him towards the ground. Discord used his paw to push up against the force digging into his skin. Even held down by so much, he was focused on nothing but attacking his target, the predatory instinct taking over all his actions. Eclipse was sweating now from everything that was happening; partially from exhaustion because of the strain on her, but also because of fear at Discord breaking free. She knew that if he did at this point, there was no way she could stop him. Pulling against the restraints on his hind legs, Discord lifted his head off the ground and opened his mouth once again in another attempt to strike. Seeing the glow come from his throat, Eclipse grunted in pain as she created another chain and forced it into his mouth and tied around the back. The moment she did, her mind pulsed in agony from the strain from her magic caused by holding him down at this force and the new chain holding back the pulsing attack in his mouth. A thick stream of blood trickled out of her nose due to the strain put upon her, but she refused to let up in the slightest. Lurching his head forward, Discord tried to force his attack out of his mouth, but the chain in his jaws was holding it at the back of his throat. He screeched in anger as he increased the power of his energy, trickling out the sides of his muzzle and lighting up all around him. Even the chain in his mouth was beginning to melt against the power, causing Eclipse to shake in fear of her defeat. "No... This can't be it." Her fear suddenly changed when the ball inside his mouth began sputtering, pulsing erratically. Discord’s eyes went wide in an expression he had not shown once during the entire fight with the alicorn; something not even the princesses would expect from him. Fear. Forced against the chain, the energy in his mouth had become too unstable, and detonated in a flash inside of his muzzle. The explosion expanded outward and sent Eclipse tumbling across the ground over a thousand feet before skidding to a halt. Gasping for air, she forced her head around to see the massive crater she was just ejected away from and saw the ground smoking, charred, and stripped of any form of life. Even looking there right now she couldn’t believe what had happened; her eye released a single tear that dripped down her cheek, leaving a clean trail down her bloody fur. the fear she had gripping her heart had faded away in that instant. Discord was defeated.