//------------------------------// // 16. In The End // Story: Dash of Humanity // by Kaidan //------------------------------// The sun was starting to go down and it was time to put my plan with Luna in motion. I hoped everything would go off without a hitch, or this whole thing would turn sideways on me and hurt everypony. I figured that if I was lucky, I’d bring this to a decisive resolution. Well, Dash, here I go. [I still don’t like this plan.] I struggled not to think about the one part of the plan I’d left out. If she didn’t like my plan, she’d hate how I planned to end it. There wasn’t much left of me to call Don, however, and I needed to take drastic action. Getting out of bed, I took off the Element of Loyalty and put it into a saddlebag, along with some other basic provisions. My head began to ache and both ears were filled with an annoying buzzing as soon as the Element was off. It was definitely the only thing helping me hang on, yet Discord wouldn’t show if he saw me wearing it. After strapping the satchels onto my sides, I crept to the door and looked out into the large common area of the library. Pinkie was sitting down reading a book, and Applejack was carrying on a conversation with Rarity. It sounded like Fluttershy was in the kitchen with Spike. I walked down the stairs, slowly and confidently, as if I was just stretching my legs. Pinkie began to shiver, despite it not being cold in the room. Before I could ponder her odd twitching, she put the book down and jumped up onto the stairs. “Hey, Don, where ya goin’?” Pinkie asked. “Uh, to get some fresh air?” I smiled and took a step forward, yet she didn’t move. “Wait, we’re supposed to stay inside until Twilight says otherwise. She probably has some super-duper plan to fix everything!” Applejack looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. I had known it’d probably come to this, yet had hoped somehow it might be as easy as just walking right outside. “Well, I’m going for a walk.” I pushed my way past Pinkie and headed straight for the door. This time it was Applejack’s turn to sense something was off. “Pinkie, go find Twilight.” She fixed her gaze on me, causing me to feel like I was being interrogated. “Why ain’t ya wearin’ the Element of Loyalty, Don?” A wave of pain washed over my mind, causing me to clench my eyes shut and struggle to control my breathing. “I. . . need fresh air.” “Applejack, why don’t we go outside with her?” Rarity asked. “I’m sure whatever it is, Don wouldn’t lie to us.” “Yeah,” I parroted. “I wouldn’t lie to you.” “Horseapples. Ah can read ya like a book, and you’re lyin’ to me right now.” Being a pony lie detector is the stupidest special talent I’ve ever heard of. [Yeah, why do you think Las Pegasus banned her from the casinos when we took Cadance to her bachelorette party?] There wasn’t time for this, and I was tired of putting on an act—the irony of which wasn’t lost on me. For things to go according to my plan, everypony had to buy the lies I was selling. Without another word, I brushed past her side, whipping my tail against her flank as I passed. The close contact flustered her for a moment, but not nearly long enough. “Ya put a hoof on that door, Don, and ah’ll hold ya down ‘til Twilight explains what the hay is going on,” Applejack threatened. “Wait, why would you need saddlebags for a walk?” Rarity asked. “Heh, looks like we’ll do this the hard way.” I shoved the door open and felt something clamp down on my tail. Out of reflex I kicked backwards and heard Applejack grunt. Rarity gasped, luckily not thinking fast enough to try and use her magic on me, and I took off flying out of the library. The sky was still violet as the last rays of sunshine faded away. My throbbing headache got worse as I exerted myself and made it hard to concentrate on flying. A light pole came out of nowhere and nearly hit me. I tried to bank to the left and dodge it. With my focus divided by the pain, my roll turned into a tumble and I hit the ground, skidding to a stop. A lasso sailed past where I had just been, reminding me that five ponies would be chasing after me. I still needed to put on the speed, though, and beat them to Discord. Once I was back on my hooves, I galloped towards the Everfree and felt a tingling along my spine. Rarity seemed to be trying to grab me with her magic, but wasn’t nearly strong enough to do so at this range, or given my determination to stay in motion. “Get back here, Don!” Applejack yelled. Lights began to turn on in some of the nearby houses as I sprinted through the streets. Heads began to peek out of windows to watch the Elements of Harmony chase me through town. It seemed to be drawing plenty of attention. Up ahead was the outskirt of town. My lungs felt short of breath from the exertion, and I was now able to feel every beat of my heart exerting pressure on my brain. The headache was getting worse, and I really didn’t want to find out what the second phase of removing the Element might be. By the time I reached the final street, half the town seemed to be awake. Pegasi were hanging back in the sky watching, while the ground-bound ponies stuck to the relative safety of their homes. There was a purple flash in front of me as Twilight appeared, wearing the Element of Magic. Before she could react I collided with her, knocking her to the ground. I beat both wings to lift off so that I wasn’t also sent tumbling. Luckily, I was able to take flight for a short time as I headed into the Everfree. I stole a glance back to be sure the others were far enough behind me, and stopping to help Twilight. It should give me the time I needed. “Thanks for coming, Luna,” I said. “And thanks for this.” I gestured up and down at my human body. “It was not me. That is your own subconscious self-image,” Luna explained. “Pfft, I’ve seen Diamond Dogs that looked better,” Dash said. “Barely any hair, all tall and lanky. Ugh.” I let Dash’s comment slide and looked around the dreamscape. It was pitch black and rather foreboding to be standing here in the vast emptiness, waiting for everypony to fall asleep and show up to the meeting. Twilight and Luna had understood the need for secrecy to scheme against Discord, but I’d hoped for a dreamscape with less despair and more color. “Could you do something about the ambience?” Luna’s horn glowed, and I found myself in a set of dark-blue chambers. It was much easier to spot Twilight and Scootaloo now, who had also come for this dream meeting with the princess. “Twilight said you know how to beat Discord.” “Yeah, personally I’d have settled for just having this chance to get out of Dash’s body. You wouldn’t believe the thoughts running through her head.” I stuck my tongue out at her, causing her to cross her forelegs across her chest. “Hey! I’m not the one with a ridiculously gigantic hentai collection!” Dash retorted. “What’s hentai?” Scootaloo asked, tilting her head to the side. “Ask your mom.” I smirked and saw Twilight tapping her hoof impatiently. “Oh, right, plan. So, Discord offered to send me back to Earth if I surrendered the Element and sacrificed Dash.” “Twilight told me as much,” Luna stated. “Well, he seems to be quite the narcissist and I think we can lure him back out of hiding by giving him exactly what he wants: me.” “You can’t be serious! This was your ‘plan’? To sacrifice Dash?!” Twilight shouted. “I agree. Surely there is more to it,” Luna said. “He’s right, I’m just the bait,” Dash explained. “Discord’s impatient to end this for some reason, so if Don and I wander into the Everfree without the Element of Loyalty on. . .” The Everfree was a damn nightmare to navigate at night. It was bad enough it was a new moon, and that the tree canopy was thick enough to block out almost all the sunlight on a bright day. However, the plants were largely covered in black bark which made it even harder not to run head-first into one of them. I came into a clearing that actually had an open view of the night sky, and decided this was as good a place as any to rest and catch my breath. [So, what now?] Now we wait. [Wait, that was the plan? Just sit here in the middle of the most dangerous forest in Equestria and wait?] Well, what do you want me to do? Shout out his name? [It’s better than nothing! Ugh, I have a bad feeling about this. . .] “Diiiscooord!” I shouted, and began to cough. I quickly started wheezing and collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch my breath. The ringing in my ears worsened until my head felt like it was being cleaved in two. [Put the Element back on—this pain is gonna kill us both!] You’ll be fine, Dash. It’s me who’s dying here. [Exactly, so put the bucking Element back on! Now!] And I’m sure Discord will show up if I’m wearing a bright, shiny super-weapon. There was rustling in the bushes, and it took me a moment to gain my bearings. With the headache fading slightly, I was finally able to work out which direction the noise was coming from. My wheezing hadn’t vanished completely, and when I saw what was stepping out of the bushes I doubted it was about to get any better. A familiar shape, covered in dark brown hair, emerged. Its sides were covered by two large wings and an ominous stinger floated above its back. The manticore began a low growl, almost like a purr, but with a certain “I’m about to violently kill you”-vibe to it. Shit, you’re right! I struggled to sit up and tried to open up the saddlebags. The latch was giving me trouble as well as some double vision. I don’t know how the Element would get me out of this one anyway, so I gave up and decided to run back for town. No sooner had I stood up, a wave of vertigo hit me. I lost my balance completely, falling to the side. I felt some muscles spasm as the vertigo passed. Sorry, Dash, I fucked up. I didn’t mean to get you killed as well. [What do you mean, “as well”?] “—will have to flee the town. I have a feeling Discord doesn’t slouch in the surveillance department. If I just walk into the Everfree, he’ll never buy it,” I explained. Looking down into my lap, I saw Scootaloo looking up at me expectantly. As odd as it seemed to me to have her in my lap and be massaging her back with my fingers, it calmed me down immensely. Almost enough to forget about the final solution to this dilemma. “That’s where I’ll come in,” Twilight said. “I’m guessing you’ll need me to help run interference, make sure Applejack doesn’t actually catch you in a lasso or something?” “Pretty much. Dash here is fit, but who knows what’ll happen with the Element off. I won’t lie, lately I’ve been feeling more like an image of a pony in a broken mirror, and not a human like I appear now.” Looking around the imaginary field we were meeting in, it struck me again how beautiful Equestria was. “You’ve definitely got something worth fighting for here. Once I draw Discord out everything’s going to rely on you, Luna. Whether we succeed or fail depends on what you do next.” The manticore was towering over me now. I continued to push myself backwards, though now that he was in the position to kill me, there was no way I could roll over and fly away in time. It was just a matter of maintaining eye contact and dying with dignity. Bastard sure was taking his time, however. He just loomed over me, letting our rumbling growls and foul breath. The beast suddenly straightened up, and in a cloud of smoke vanished. When I saw what had replaced the manticore, I wished it had really been a wild predator all along. “Discord, about fucking time!” I shouted. “Do you know how fucking hard it was to get away from the others?” [Laying it on a bit thick.] Everypony’s a critic. “Well, well, look who came crawling back to beg for mercy. I must say, for a moment there I thought I’d misjudged mankind.” Discord conjured himself a modest chair to sit in as we talked. For my part, I could do little but lean back against a nearby tree and focus on hanging in there until backup arrived. “You have to send me back—I did what you asked! Kill Dash for all I care, she’s been erasing my personality since I got here! You’ve got to help me, please!” “Well, a deal is a deal. You certainly made quite a scene in Ponyville. Then again, humanity’s lack of subtlety is one of their best aspects.” “That’s it?” I hesitated for a moment, unsure how to buy time. If he really did zap me back to Earth, he could finish off Dash before the others got here. Even Twilight couldn’t predict if just being in close proximity to the Element of Loyalty could deflect a spell. Her running theory was that it would not. “You’re just gonna send me back, in good health?” Discord chuckled. “Health is such a fickle thing, isn’t it?” He snapped his fingers, creating a doctor’s lab coat and a stethoscope to wear around his neck. “Well, Don, I have some good news and some bad news.” Rolling my eyes, I let out a loud moan, then clenched my eyelids shut as another wave of pain washed over me. Dammit, they really need to hurry up. This headache is killing me! “Fine, bad news first,” I said. “Well, I just got your lab results back and it doesn’t look good. There was an itsy-bitsy case of systemic organ failure, probably a result of some nasty parasite that visited Earth with you.” Discord leaned forward to whisper into my ear. “You really should have done what I said from the start. Poor Anthony’s done a triple shift trying to fix his broken friend.” That definitely wasn’t the news I’d wanted to hear. Sure, perhaps Discord could magic me up a cure, or being back in the “right body”, minus my rainbow passenger, might fix me. Normally, systemic organ failure was the thing you got when your body was tired of circling the drain and decided to plunge straight down it. “Can you fix it?” I asked. “Sending me back to my body, I’ll get better?” Discord smiled and conjured up a lollipop in my mouth. I spit it out at once, finding the pineapple flavor revolting. “Of course I can cure you! Why, aren’t you going to ask about the good news?” “Wait, the cure isn’t the good news?” Dammit where are they? Could we have accidently lost them? [I think we’re screwed, Dude.] “You won’t have much time, I can only contain him so long,” Luna explained. “Twilight and the others will be following me in hot pursuit. Once they get there, I just have to slap Loyalty on and you can fire the rainbow-death-ray thingy at him,” I said. “It shouldn’t take that long.” “I’ll lead the girls there, and I’ll be able to track you. Just don’t hit me too hard when I make my grand entrance in town.” Twilight smiled and let out a nervous laugh. “Well, I won’t lie. I’ve never had to pull a punch before, so I’ll do my best.” “So that’s it then? That’s the entire plan, Dude?” Dash asked. “You’re not hiding something from me?” I glanced over at her. “Of course not!” It was hard enough to keep a good poker face while simultaneously hiding my thoughts from her. “Besides, if you get control back it’ll be you executing the plan, so obviously I can’t hide any of the steps from you.” “If you still have doubts, Dash, we’ll find another way,” Twilight stated. “I’m not going to lose either of you; not to that serpent, Discord.” “What about me?” Scootaloo asked. She was still sitting in my lap like a cat, only with ten times the potential if I could weaponize her cuteness. “You promised I could be part of the plan and help! I want to save you too, Don!” I took a deep breath and smiled at her, knowing she might not forgive me for what was going to happen next. “Yes, Scootaloo, I do. In case anything happens to me, you have to Pinkie promise to keep an eye on Dash for me, okay? And do good in school and all that.” “But I want to punch Discord, or be a distraction, or maybe I can chase you on my scooter!” Scootaloo hopped off of me and began to hover in the air, displaying her fighting skills. “He’ll never see me coming!” “Scootaloo, this is dangerous. Besides, after Discord sends me home Dash is going to be really lonely. She’ll be utterly lost without me, so I need you to promise to look after her, Scootaloo. That is how you can help.” She thought it over for a minute and landed. “Okay. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Scootaloo smiled and walked over towards me. “Thanks, Squirt,” I turned to Luna. “She needs to be safe while we execute this plan. Put her in a deep sleep so she doesn’t try to chase after us and get hurt.” Scootaloo stepped backwards, frowning. “But I could still help! I don’t want to just sleep the whole. . . whole. . .” Luna’s horn stopped glowing and Scootaloo faded out of the dream. “It is done.” “Nope!” Discord stood up and made his chair vanish. “The bad news was that you’re dying. The good news is that I’m sending you back to die on Earth!” He laughed at me, and I really wished I could knock that smile off his face. “You think you’re clever? We had a deal!” “After all the trouble you put me through? After the Elements nearly activated and imprisoned me again?” All hint of laughter was gone from his voice. His stare pierced me as he towered above me. “No. I’m sending you back to die, Don. They’ll never find Dash, and one by one I’ll pick off the fractured Elements. This is your punishment for being a nuisance.” Silver light started to filter into the opening in the forest we were in. Above me, the new moon was turning to a full moon, and I began to chuckle. “I’ve always found laughing in the face of death rather pathetic. Well, let’s get this show on the road,” Discord said. He snapped his fingers and nothing happened. Glancing down at his hand, he snapped his fingers again. I could feel the raw power emanating from him, yet by now Luna was focusing all her concentration on countering his magic so he didn’t just teleport away. I laughed loudly as he snapped his fingers over and over. He was able to do a few parlor tricks, like making flowers appear or causing stones to turn to rabbits. However, his ability to vaporize me or teleport away seemed to be completely gone. “Are you really that naive?” I asked. The surge of confidence helped me ignore the aches and pains as Dash’s body continued its attempt to expel me. “Did you learn nothing from the duplicity of humans while on Earth?” “What? No, this isn’t possible!” Discord said. “What did you do?” “You told me in town one alicorn was no match for you, so I brought two. And like a fool, you walked right into the trap.” I reached for the saddlebag again trying to get the Element of Loyalty out for when Twilight got here. “Oh no, you don’t!” Discord leaned over and put his claw around my throat, choking me. Shit, I didn’t think of that. [Kick him, quick!] “I don’t need magic to kill you, you insolent little wretch!” I struggled to speak or cry out for help, but could feel his tight grip blocking off my feeble attempts to breathe. Kicking my hind legs against him didn’t seem to do much besides anger him more. “Sometimes, the messy ways are the most fun.” He picked up a large rock in his other hand and lifted it above him. “And I do think your splattered brains will be very entertaining.” The burning in my lungs had gotten so bad that I thrashed around, desperate to get one last breath of air. He had me pinned to the ground, dead to rights, and I couldn’t even focus enough to apologize to Dash. As he prepared to cave my skull in, a violet blast of energy collided with Discord’s side, knocking him backwards. My chest expanded and air rushed in to fill the void. I immediately started coughing as my sore throat spasmed. Then I noticed the rock Discord had been holding, falling straight for me. Before I could make any effort to dodge it, a purple aura surrounded the rock and tossed it harmlessly aside. My saddlebag opened itself up and the Element of Loyalty levitated itself out, fastening itself around my neck. Twilight can make one hell of a dramatic entrance. [Remind me never to piss her off. I could feel that blast impact him!] The dream meeting with Luna was over. Now the dream had reverted to normal, and we should’ve been waking up any moment. Dash and I sat on the ground silently as we waited. Twilight and Luna had already woken up, whereas Scootaloo would’ve stayed sound asleep until the next morning. “So, Don, I still know you’re up to something,” Dash said. I moaned in defeat. “Fine, if it makes you feel better, let’s just say I’m going to do anything to make sure this plan works.” “I’ll do anything too. Just don’t—” I glanced over to see why she had stopped speaking. She was wiping something off her face. “Liquid pride?” I joked, trying to recall where I’d heard that phrase before. “Hah! I don’t cry—I mean, liquid pride or whatever! Just don’t you dare get some stupid idea in your head that you have to die to save my life, or Equestria, alright? You deserve better.” “Thanks, Dash. You want me to kiss you and make it better?” I reached for her to pull her in for a hug. “Ugh, you’re insufferable!” Dash batted my hand away. “Look, you tell anypony this and I’ll find a way to come to Earth and kick your flank. You’re the real hero here, not the Elements. You could have tried to run away, or surrendered, or maybe even taken over my body but you didn’t. Thanks to you, we still have a shot at this, okay?” I chuckled, knowing just what sappy, inspirational thing to say. “So, Dash, do you know what that makes me?” “No, what?” “A big damn hero.” Twilight ran into the clearing, followed closely by the other Elements of Harmony. Judging by the looks of concern they were giving me, Twilight had filled them in once they had gathered at the edge of town to follow me. “Discord!” Twilight shouted. “For your crimes against Equestria you’re going back to your prison, indefinitely!” The Element of Loyalty was glowing softly around my neck, soothing the fearsome headache that had been assaulting me for the last hour. “Nice, Twilight. You come up with that all by yourself?” I quipped. “Insolent! Insignificant! Ants! How dare you attempt to imprison a god?!” Discord screamed. His voice caused the ground to rumble, and though Twilight didn’t show it, I could tell she must be as terrified as me. “Your overconfidence has always been your biggest weakness,” Twilight said. All of the Elements were glowing brightly, except mine. Discord stood up and remained on-guard, focused on deflecting any attack Twilight might’ve made until the Elements charged up. He pointed a claw at me. “He is still interfering with the Element! And I can feel Luna’s spell weakening. The instant she weakens, I’m teleporting out of here. I’m going to scorch every inch of Equestria until you surrender! I’m done playing nice!” “This is what you call playing nice? Terrorizing ponies, attempting to kill them, stealing lives?” Twilight looked over at me, a hint of pleading in her eyes as she frowned slightly. [Come on, Dude, charge it up!] I’m trying. I’m thinking about you and Scootaloo and the others, it’s just not enough. I want to kick his ass, I swear! [Don’t focus on the anger and all that junk, just loyalty! You can do it.] I swallowed and looked up, seeing Luna silhouetted against the moon. There was no way for me to tell how much time she had left. She was putting every ounce of her strength into a single task, and even then, her counterspell might wear off of Discord before I got the Element to full strength. There’s no time to dick around, we need the Element of Loyalty, and we need it now. [What are you saying?] I’m saying goodbye, this is the best shot I know how to give you. [Wait, are you. . . Don’t!] You should get control back, spend more time with Scootaloo for me, okay? I closed my eyes and focused on the memories in Dash’s mind. From my corner of her brain I could see the connections linking her memories together. This was the highway that I had briefly probed when I had first gotten to Equestria. Every emotion, memory, and experience of Dash’s life was laid out before me. Dash was still calling out for me, telling me not to do something stupid like sacrificing myself. Unfortunately, the choice wasn’t up to her. Equestria didn’t need some human, it needed Dash. Everypony here needed the loyalty that only she could provide, yet I had one last thing to give. Her voice became little more than an echo as I let go of everything. I stopped thinking of myself as a human, I accepted myself as another memory—an experience—that was just part of Dash. The silvery strands connecting her memories together blazed brighter and brighter, illuminating the void I now floated in. I started in her most recent memory and followed the trail backwards. I knew what I was looking for, but wasn’t sure what form it would take. I felt more and more of myself fade, to be replaced by a warm, contented feeling. At first, I had thought I would be more scared of letting go, of letting myself be absorbed. Yet the serene peacefulness of it removed any doubt from my mind about what I was doing. There. A memory that looked like it would work. I could feel loyalty radiating off of it like heat from the sun. This is where I would dwell, where I would focus the last of my effort. Settling down in the small clearing, I sat next to Dash and Scootaloo as they shared a hug. “Of course I’ll take you under my wing, Squirt.” Joy crept over me as I smiled. Gone were my feelings of anger, anxiety, and so many other emotions. I could not remember what it was like to be hungry or lonely. All I knew now was the love and loyalty of two ponies. It was all I could focus on. And it was wonderful. A sensation like sleepiness overcame me. I felt warm, as if Dash’s wings were wrapped around me and not Scootaloo. The clearing began to fade from sight until I could no longer see. All that was left was my loyalty, and deep down I knew that was all Dash needed.