From down below, flying past the many clouds that were in her way, came the blue pegasus, Rainbow Dash. Flapping her wings to keep her speed at a constant rate, she zoomed past in the air like a jet as she headed for the night sky above. Reaching her destined height, she looked to her right as she swiftly came to a halt.
There it was. The floating island that the dislodged city and palace of Canterlot were sitting on, hovering not too far from where the pegasus was. The entire city and its many buildings were appearing to be leaning over in different directions, thanks to their roots not fitting in right with the floating piece of earth. From this distance, the pegasus could see that the chaotic magic of Discord was already taking place, for there were some buildings in various parts of the city that were already on small floating isles of their own. In a corner of the city, the ground was warped in appearance, resembling the checkered hills that once struck Ponyville. In another corner, small green clouds were raining red fruit punch on the small houses, dousing them in it with some grayed-out ponies sitting there and doing nothing but open their mouths widely toward the raining punch.
Seeing all of this, facing the floating island, Dash grew determined. This was it, she thought. This was her final destination, and to truly fulfill her destiny, she had to confront and defeat the source of this madness before it could spread all over the world.
Moving them back, Dash threw her front hooves forward, propelling herself directly towards the palace whilst flapping her wings to fly there.
---
“Ah, ha ha ha! How splendid all of this is! Simply glorious!”
The draconequus, Discord, was sitting on his antler-adorned, gray and red colored throne on the upper end of the stairway in the back of the Canterlot Palace's throne room. He had a happy expression on his face, laughing to the ceiling and enjoying the moment.
Discord sighed happily, looking ahead with a calm look.
“Ahhh... No more friendship and harmony to stop me now and definitely no more of that horrendous, stone-turning beam of rainbow energy. I simply cannot believe that I didn't try to corrupt her the first time around. How idiotic of me to not do that! ...Ah, but I have rectified that now, and now she's on a total chaotic rampage, destroying everything in order for me to build my new kingdom. Oh ho ho ho! This simply cannot get any easier than this.”
“Your reign will not last long, Discord.”
“Hmm?”
Still with a relaxed expression, Discord looked up and back. Floating above and behind his throne, to his left and right sides, were the princesses, trapped helplessly in what appeared to be hovering blue bubbles. Celestia's long hooves were stretched outward in all directions as her prison hovered up and down, while Luna appeared to be curled up in a ball-like position inside a smaller bubble. Both of them were glaring at the draconequus.
“Indeed! At what length do you think you will rule this land, draconequus?” asked Luna. “Harmony will strike back sooner or later!”
Discord chuckled. “Oh, Celestia and Luna… Still clinging onto the hope that some ridiculous miracle will happen and overthrow me from my seat of Chaos here. Eh, I hate to say it, but it's quite delusional of you two to hope something like that.”
Tilting his head down, the draconequus looked at his lion paw that he brought up.
“My fine ladies, I shall ask you this. What could possibly happen from here on out?” he asked, flipping his paw over to look at it and wiggle it a bit. “I've removed the link between Twilight Sparkle and her crown that empowers the Elements of Harmony, turning her upside down in the process as well. Unless she's been turned right side up again which I doubt, what can the rest of the Element wielders do, now that their leader has... been lit on fire? What are they going to do? Use the power of Kindness? Loyalty? Honesty? I don't think the Elements work that way, do they? Hmm.”
After wiggling his paw, he then snapped its fingers. A quick flash occurred, and out of thin air, a glass of red fruit punch appeared. He caught it with his paw and held it.
“And before you say that another group of ponies could always take their place and become their new wielders... well, who's to say that I won't repeat again what I did to come to this? Hmm...? Face it, my dear princesses. Harmony as you know it...”
Bringing the glass to his face, he then formed a sly smiling expression.
“...is gone. Forever. And I do mean that quite literally, really.”
The draconequus proceeded to sip the juice from the glass. As every ounce of juice went into his mouth, the princesses continued to glare at him. After a bit, Luna began to look worried, losing a bit of her glare.
“...Is... Is Harmony truly finished...?” she asked.
“Do not let his words get to you, Luna,” said Celestia. “Twilight's friends will find a way. I am sure of it. We must not lose faith in them.”
“I truly hope they will, sister. I dread what will happen if they do not.”
“You and I both, Luna.”
Discord soon finished drinking his glass, moving it away from his mouth. Just as he was about to toss it away, though, the sound and the sight of the throne room's entrance doors being forced open was heard and seen, making him immediately focus his eyes towards them.
“Hmm? ...What?”
What just barged into the throne room via its front doors and caught the attention of everyone was none other than the Element-wielding blue pegasus herself. Flying onward to the throne, Dash then stopped near the stairway and landed on the royal carpet, looking onward.
“Princess Celestia! Luna!” exclaimed Dash, surprised at the trapped princesses in their bubbles.
With her sudden entrance causing him to be a bit surprised, blinking his eyes for a bit, Discord then calmed himself down and smiled.
“Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss Element of Loyalty herself, Rainbow Dash. How rather... unpredictable, really,” he said, sarcastically, chuckling. “Oh, no, I really did not see you coming at all, to be quite honest.”
“Stop with the sarcasm, Discord,” said Dash, looking firm at him. “I know you were expecting me, given how I acted in front of you in the past.”
“...Okay, so maybe I was after all.” The draconequus shrugged, rolling his eyes but still smiling. “Very well. I'll do it your way and act all serious from now on, Rainbow Dash. Hmm.”
Tossing the glass over to his eagle claw, Discord leaned a bit to his right and put his closed paw against the side of his face to hold it up, sighing.
“So tell me, little speedy pegasus. What makes you think you can stand up to the Spirit of Chaos himself?” he asked. “If I recall correctly, the first time I've met you and your friends, you really didn't do much to me before I brainwashed you here in Canterlot's gardens. And my, my, what an easy brainwashing that was.”
Hearing him, Dash smiled. “What makes me think I can take you on here? Heh. What I just did back in Ponyville, that's what!”
“Really...? Well, what did you do back in Ponyville, then? Despite the fact that there's a rampaging flaming unicorn there who's destroying everything in sight?”
“I don't have to tell you here, Discord. You're the Spirit of Chaos after all. You should be able to see for yourself.”
Discord stared at her, his smile slowly fading.
“See for myself, huh...? Hmm, why not? It's only a quick peek anyway.”
While the draconequus sat himself straight up on his throne, Celestia was staring at the pegasus with a slightly surprised look on her face.
Something feels... different about her, the princess thought. Something that seems rather... calm, as if she...
Realizing what she was feeling and sensing from Dash, Celestia's eyes widened themselves a bit.
No... Could it be true after all? She thought.
“I'm sooo not going to be surprised if it’s just you being overconfident as usual, Rainbow Dash,” said Discord, holding his glass up to his eye and peeking into it. “Because overconfidence, honestly, gets you literally nowhere. Just a tip for you here, that's all.”
At the bottom of the glass, a quick flash of white light occurred. The see-through transparency of the glass's bottom was gone, and as if he was looking into a sightseeing spyglass, the draconequus now saw a vision of something.
“Now, then, Ponyville. Where is--- Huh?”
Through the glass, Discord saw a view of the town from an angle. Something was different, he quickly noticed.
“Wait, what? Isn't the town supposed to be on fire?” he wondered aloud and alarmingly, seeing the ruins of the town's many buildings. Controlling the “camera” with his magic to pan and zoom here and there, he searched throughout the town frantically. ”Well, there's burnt ruins everywhere, but what stopped it? ...A better question is, where has my faithful student gone?!”
Discord continued to search through, now looking for Twilight. After a bit, he finally found her.
“What?!”
The unicorn was lying there on her back in an open section of the town, next to a giant crater. She was not alone, though, for the rest of her friends, as well as the town ponies, were surrounding her, tending to her and nursing her many injuries on her body.
“Wh-what is this?!” Discord asked, surprised at what he saw through the glass. “How is Twilight back to her normal self all of a sudden? I see a lot of hurt marks on her...”
He looked at Dash, lowering the glass from his face.
“It was you who did this?! How?! The last time I saw, she was nigh-on invincible to anypony, including you! How did you break past her defense?!”
Just then, Dash heard the inner voice echoing from inside of her again.
It is time... Show your soul. Fulfill your destiny.
As she heard the voice, her inner Harmonic energy began to reach out to her, urging her to use it. At this, Dash formed a grin on her face.
“How did I stop her? Well... you thought that, by brainwashing her, we couldn't use the Elements of Harmony ever again, right? Well, it looks like you thought wrong, Discord, as there was a hidden secret about them that none of us knew... Save for a certain historical record about them, that is.”
“What historical record? What are you talking about, Rainbow?”
The pegasus chuckled.
“My true destiny! That's what!”
At that point, Dash reached and tapped into her energy within, summoning it forth. Wasting no time, the calm energy then burst outward from within, quickly spreading towards every single part of her being and filling them. It was not till long that Dash felt the super strength and the lightness of the form coming back to her.
Whereas she went through a slow transformation before, this time, it seemed to be quick. With the Harmonic energy already spreading throughout her like rushing water, it made her feel like her entire body was about to burst from within in a good-feeling way. She felt that she needed to let it all go, and to do that, she needed to scream to the sky.
A low growl was heard from her, coming from beneath her grin. She then growled louder and louder, until finally, the pegasus tilted her head towards the ceiling above and let loose a loud, echoing scream.
And at that scream, she exploded. White-colored energy in the form of tiny particles swiftly spread outward and into her surroundings, causing the royal carpet to move about as the energy winds reached the entirety of the throne room. Discord was blown back against his throne by the sudden force of the winds and particle energy, shielding himself against them with his arms, while the two bubble prisons were moved back a bit.
Soon, the winds died down and the wave of white energy ceased. The draconequus moved his arms away, and together with the princesses, he looked onward to the pony that now stood before him.
Discord gasped, with his eyes wide open.
“What... what is this?!”
Seeing her, they quickly noticed that Dash was no longer the blue pegasus she was only a moment before. She became a white one, and her rainbow mane and tail were morphed into waving colorful flames with separating embers. Her wings were enlarged to the size of Celestia's, the cloud of her cutie mark became storm grey, and the irises of her eyes were ruby red.
With a surrounding aura of white particles flowing upward from her and making her wings move along, the transformed pegasus stood there, smiling right at the draconequus.
“Surpriiiiise...” Dash slowly said.
“...Is that... the energy of Harmony I am sensing here?!” Luna wondered aloud, looking onward with the same surprised look.
“...The Flame of Harmony,” said Celestia, staring at Dash. “So it is true after all.”
“What? You knew about this, sister?” asked the moon princess, looking at her.
The sun princess nodded. “Some time ago, our scholars had unearthed several historical texts and records from our underground ruins here in Canterlot. Among these records was one that had spoken of this, the Flame of Harmony. It was a special form that one could only harness if all of the Elements of Harmony were wielded at once, if the user was showered within their full power, if he or she had a strong inner willpower, and only if Harmony was on the absolute brink of collapse. Such a thing had occurred long ago where one pony had used this form to defeat an ancient evil. And before that, there were signs that had shown that this pony was destined to become such a being. Signs that I had already seen… before this very moment.”
“...Huh? You knew that I was going to become the Flame?” asked Dash, looking at the princess.
“I had suspected it, yes,” replied Celestia. “And those suspicions were brought further to being confirmed the moment you had arrived here. I had felt that there was something different about you, Rainbow Dash. Something calm... and harmonic. As if you had absorbed the energy of all of the Elements together.”
“Hehe,” Dash smiled. “That's exactly what happened down there. My friends had backed me up there for it to happen, and now I intend to use it against this creep here.”
“B-b-b-b-b-but how?!” Discord asked, throwing himself forward. “The Elements shouldn't have worked there at all! Not without somepony wielding the Element of Magic.”
“We didn't need Twilight to wield it. All we needed... was our friendship. Don't you get it, Discord? As long as there is friendship, and by that, I mean real friendship, Harmony will always continue to exist. So even without Twilight, we still managed to make the Elements work, only instead of the rainbow beam that you fear so much...”
Dash grinned again and lowered her head a bit.
“You now have me to be afraid of.”
With that, the draconequus stared at her for a few moments, shocked at this sudden revelation. Then, he calmed down, sat himself back, closed his eyes, and smiled, chuckling afterward. Hearing him chuckle, the grin on the pegasus turned into a frown.
Then, his chuckling turned into a string of loud laughter, laughing to the ceiling above. Afterward, he looked towards the pegasus with a wicked look on his face.
“So! Like everything else that is wrong in this world, Harmony has its own dirty little secrets, I see,” he said. “A totally foolproof backup plan in case things don't go its way... Ha ha ha! Well, then, Rainbow Dash. Miss so-called Flame of Harmony...”
Discord sat up from his throne and stood. Looking at the glass he still held, he then tossed it behind him. The glass went over his throne and landed behind it, making a minor fire explosion on impact.
“Let's have some fun, shall we? 'Cause it’s been far too long since I've had any real fun.”
The draconequus began to float up from the ground, going toward the ceiling above and stopping there.
“Come forth, Rainbow Dash! To the skies above us!”
With that, Discord proceeded to propel himself upward, crashing straight into the ceiling above and going right through it, creating a hole in it with debris falling from it. Seeing him exit through the hole, Dash took a step back and lowered herself to the floor, preparing to take off after him.
“Go! Defeat him! For all of us!” exclaimed Luna.
“Yes! Good luck, Rainbow Dash!” exclaimed Celestia.
The pegasus nodded. With one flap of her large wings, she quickly took off for the hole and exited through it.
---
Flying through a long, but narrow tunnel that the draconequus had made, Dash flew swiftly towards the incoming exit. Flying out of one of the palace's top walls, she soon made her way towards the night sky above.
As she flew, the pegasus glanced to her left and right, searching for wherever the draconequus may be. Soon, she stopped in the air, now floating hundreds of feet above Canterlot.
Floating in a bipedal position, Dash glanced around, her expression as firm as ever.
“Where'd you run off to, Discord?!” she shouted. “Come on! Or are you too much of a chicken to face me now?!”
As a response, she heard loud, monstrous-sounding laughter echoing from somewhere.
“Typical... You're a bit too confident these days, Rainbow Dash. Hmm, very well, then. As you wish. Although... you might find me a little bit different now.”
Before she could say anything, suddenly, the pegasus heard a loud swooping noise directly behind her. She looked, and before she could even get a good look, something then pushed her from under her and behind, forcing her lower body upward and causing her to spin like a ball at a wild rate, making her yelp as well.
Regaining control of herself, Dash stopped her spin and floated upright, shaking her head to ward off the dizziness. Then, she looked ahead at what had just flown past her from underneath.
“Whoa, what the...?!”
It was none other than Discord himself who now flew ahead, though as Dash immediately noticed with surprise, his appearance had significantly changed. The body of the draconequus became drastically longer, sporting a more slender, reptilian-like look to it. His overall size and his animal limbs became gigantic, being ten times the size of Ponyville's town hall tower with his own wings being twice his size alone.
Discord was flying ahead in a slight wave-like motion, much like that of a dragon. After putting some distance between him and Dash, he then turned around and stopped in the air, raising the upper part of his body while the lower part of it remained below and to his left. Accompanying the rest of his changed form, his own facial appearance was transformed as well. His horns were longer and slicked back, his snout became longer with several baring fangs, and his yellow-and-red eyes became lizard-like.
What the pegasus was seeing ahead of her no longer resembled the draconequus from before. The Spirit of Chaos was now a fully-grown dragon.
To this, she grew a firm look.
“So, this is your true form, huh? A dragon!” she exclaimed.
Discord chuckled. “Fitting for someone who embodies all that is disharmonic, no? It's been quite a long while since I've last assumed this form, really.”
The dragon brought up his hands and smiled at them, moving their individual fingers afterward. “So... the Flame of Harmony, eh? Looking at you here, I wouldn't exactly call it Harmonic, especially with the firey mane and tail. Ah, but then again...”
His eyes turned their focus on Dash.
“They're still rainbow-colored after all. Something that's annoyingly so closely associated with Harmony. Not to mention your coat being white as well as the large wings. They truly scream 'Bringer of Harmony' to me.”
“Yeah, you got that right,” Dash said, frowning. “And it is my destiny to be that bringer.”
“As you've said already... Ahh, but you know, you don't have to follow that destiny, really. Why stay on a predetermined path when you can break off of it? Why stick to it when it’s easier to... defect?”
“Defect? What do you mean, you big creep?!”
Discord chuckled. “I didn't expect Harmony to endow its chosen one with a flaming form of its own. It reminds me too much of my own Flame of Chaos, which you defeated just a while ago. And that proves... that you are a worthy replacement for Twilight Sparkle... So I offer you this.”
Lowering his claw, the dragon lent out his paw towards the pegasus.
“Join me, Rainbow Dash. Leave Harmony behind. And join the greatness that is Chaos! Together, we will make wonders and turn Equestria into the ultimate playground. One that is fully devoid of the nastiness of Harmony!”
Dash quickly gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, forming a very angry look.
“Join you?! And go against the Element of Harmony that I represent the most?! No way in Tartarus, Discord!” she exclaimed. “I will never turn my back on Harmony! I may have represented the rest of the Elements to become the Flame of Harmony, but my strongest is still that of the Element of Loyalty! I will always be loyal! To everypony, and especially to my friends!”
The pegasus lowered her head a bit, giving off an intimidating look from her.
“I know what you're going to do to me if I join you. If I lose to you, even. You're just gonna brainwash me like you did to Twilight. Brainwash me to the point where I'm not even myself anymore, just like how she acted. Only when I did knock some sense back into her was she herself again... So with that, you think I'm gonna let my life be taken over by you? You think I'm gonna take this life for granted?! Huh?!”
“...Smart. You have read my mind perfectly, Rainbow Dash,” said Discord, lowering his paw. “Honestly, what good is it if I leave you like the rebellious annoying little pony that you are? I can't take any chances, really. Very well. Looks like we're gonna play a little game of 'Pony vs Dragon,' then.”
Looking to his right, he then proceeded to propel himself in that direction, with his body beginning to move in a wave-like motion.
Upon seeing him, the pegasus prepared herself. She moved both of her right hooves back a bit, forming a ready stance.
“Gotta warn you, though,” said the dragon. “I seriously don't want to go back to that awfully cramped prison, so yeah... I think you should expect the Spirit of Chaos at his finest.”
“...Hmph. You're not holding back, in other words... You know, I went through a lot fighting your puppet down there. I realized that I was holding myself back... Now that I'm here with you, there is no way I'm gonna hold back either!”
“Heh heh. Of course you won't.”
Flying in the same direction and putting some distance from her, Discord then turned around and assumed the same position as before, appearing to be ready.
“Very well. Let's make this quite memorable, shall we?”
The dragon then made a “come-here” motion with his paw towards Dash.
“Your move, Rainbow Dash.”
Seeing him, she faced the dragon, still in the same ready stance as before. Then, she was reminded of something, causing her to exit her stance.
“You know, Discord,” she said, calmly, with a resolute frown. “There's something else you should know. Not only are you seeing the Flame of Harmony in front of you, but you're seeing something else as well. Something that is on display. Not just for you, but for all of Equestria to see as well. I didn't understand it back then when the signs were there, but...”
Looking down, she put the side of her hoof on her chest.
“The Elements of Harmony. They didn't just power me up to this. They also brought out something from deep inside of me. In fact, the Elements gave their power directly to it, and it, in turn, bloomed inside of me to make me this... Now I know what it is that they brought out, and it’s ready to undo everything that you did.”
“Really...?” The dragon chuckled. “I wonder what it is, then? 'Cause it sounds quite familiar.”
After a bit, Dash then lifted her head to look at the dragon.
“For the sake of all of Equestria, for the sake of every single pony that you've affected, your game is over, Discord!”
Gritting her teeth, she crossed both of her upper hooves in front of her face, forming the letter “X.” Summoning up as much power as she could, her entire body then shook wildly.
“Here with you...”
She then let loose a long, loud growl from her as her power continued to increase, as her body became lighter and stronger. The same amount of them that she had when she became angry at Twilight before. Soon, everything reached their high point, and all Dash could feel now was the urge to explode to a great degree.
She swiftly brought down her hooves and screamed towards the dragon ahead.
“...and my soul on displaaaaaaay!!!”
The moment she screamed, the aura around her exploded into her surroundings, going into the far distances as the aura was now larger and denser. Alongside it, her flaming mane and tail had expanded to a great degree as well, raging faster than before. She assumed the same level of power that she had when she grew angry at Twilight before, staying true to her word of not holding back.
A second after her scream died down, Dash flapped her wings back, blasting herself towards the final opponent that she had to defeat.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! So it is, then!” exclaimed Discord, looking wickedly happy. “Have at you, Soul of Harmony!”
With the flaming pegasus coming straight towards him, the dragon propelled himself forward in a straight motion, now flying to her as well. As the two of them were closing in on each other, Discord inhaled a large amount of air, his chest puffing out as he drew in the air with the inside of his chest having a faint glow of brown.
Reaching the pegasus, he pulled himself slightly upward. As he let the pegasus fly under him, the dragon exhaled as soon as she was under his mouth, letting out a loud roar as well. From out of his mouth came a barrage of brown rocks of varying sizes as well as a brown mist, breathing them out towards Dash below.
“Whoa, what the--- Aaah!”
A swift rock half her size had hit Dash, knocking her back. As she flew back, a stream of smaller, but faster rocks then flew past her, constantly hitting her as the dragon breathed out the rest of his rock barrage.
With the last of the rocks, Discord flew on, while Dash continued to be knocked back. Opening her left eye, she saw a giant rock twice her size coming straight at her. Grunting in pain, she then yelped, flipped herself over to stop her backward motion, and quickly threw a hoof, propelling herself towards the rock. The hoof hit the rock on impact, breaking it apart and allowing herself to go through it.
Lowering her hoof, she then faced the dragon that had just turned around and stopped far from her, with his upper body raised again like a snake.
“Breathing out rocks instead of fire, huh? Guess I should expect just about anything from you,” she said.
Discord chuckled. “Indeed... Let's see if I can't stop this little jet fighter of you.”
The dragon threw out and aimed both of his paw and claw at the pegasus, with a yellow glow enveloping both of them. On the path towards her, flashes of light appeared along it on the left and right. What Dash was now seeing were five giant air balloons of varying colors, half the size of the dragon himself, which were now blocking the path towards him, positioned in a zig-zag line. The balloons had black, wicked-looking faces on them that were smiling towards her.
“Come get me, if you can,” the dragon taunted, with the balloons' faces mimicking his facial motion.
“Hmph!”
Not wanting anything else to get in the way, Dash flapped her wings back and threw her front hooves forward, blasting off towards the balloons. As soon as she neared them, the faces opened their mouths and began to inhale in the air. Then, they exhaled, blowing out huge streams of wind towards her. Her speed slowed down, and she was now fighting against the winds that were pushing her back.
Dash grunted as she pushed against them. To this, Discord smiled.
“What use is your speed if it can be slowed down by the mighty wind alone? Eh?”
“Ugh... You're gonna have to try harder than that, Discord!”
“Hm...?”
Struggling against the winds, Dash focused on her wings, putting her strength into them and tensing them up. She slowly moved them forward as far as she can, almost touching and covering her face.
Then, with a loud yelp, she flapped them back as hard as she could. With the strong flap of her wings, she took off like a rocket, now flying through the winds despite their strength. Within a quick second, Dash flew through the balloons, popping all of them on contact.
“What?!” yelped Discord, surprised.
“How about this?!” Dash yelled. “My head, going straight into your gut!”
With her rocket-like speed, the pegasus was heading straight towards the dragon and aiming for his body. She flew straight into his chest, hitting it directly with her head and front hooves. With both of her speed and strength, the hit created a great force that knocked the dragon back, sending him flying and making him look as if he was just hit by a large speeding soccer ball.
Discord yelped in pain as he flew back, feeling the super strength of the Flame of Harmony damaging his insides all over. After a second, he slowed down and stopped himself, clutching his chest with both of his paw and claw together, and with his face stricken with pain.
The dragon groaned, opening his eyes to look down at his chest. “That was sudden... I had no idea that the power of the Elements of Harmony was this strong. And here I thought the dreaded rainbow beam was all they could do. Ugh...”
Dash floated there, saying nothing as she firmly stared at him.
Letting go of his chest, the dragon then looked onwards to Dash and smiled.
“Time to step up my game, then.”
Discord chuckled. He moved his claw up and began to slowly move it to his left.
“I wonder if you can get out of this?!”
Swiftly stretching his left arm out, as soon as he stretched it all the way, the claw itself appeared to be entering a yellow portal that opened up, enveloping it in whole. Seeing him, the pegasus quickly noticed that something was opening up next to her.
“Huh--- Aaah!”
A yellow-glowing tear in the air appeared, and the tear opened up to let Discord's claw out of it, allowing him to grab and trap Dash into his grasp with her head out on top. With her in his sudden massive hold, he proceeded to squeeze her as hard as he could, with the pegasus grunting in pain as she felt her entire body being compressed heavily with limited movement.
“Ugh... Let me go!”
“Aw, what's this? A little teeny pony being squeezed to bits, eh?” Discord sarcastically said, chuckling. “Don't worry. I'm just holding you there while I do this!”
With Dash still in his grip, the dragon began to move forward to her while his hand was still in the portal, taking the portal along. As he flew to her, his chest began to glow a red hue.
“Time to make good use of the fruit punch I drank. I hope you like it with a bit of... acid,” he said.
“Ugh, what?”
The dragon began to inhale in the air again, puffing his glowing chest out. Then, nearing his target, he exhaled and roared, this time exhaling a breath of red fruit punch over the pegasus, drenching her within. As soon as the exhaled liquid touched her white coat, Dash felt a great burning sensation from it, increasing as it went all over her. She screamed in pain as the liquid burned all over her entire being, for this was no ordinary fruit punch.
Ending his exhaling and flying past her, Discord stopped near her and turned around to face her.
“Hehehehehe,” he giggled with a funny look. “How ironic. You burn with rainbow fire coming off of your head, yet your body can't handle the heat itself. Absolutely amusing!”
With her eyes forced shut, Dash groaned, growling at him afterward. “Very funny, Discord!”
“Oh, what's the matter, Dashie-washie? Feeling helpless? I think you need some livening up!”
With the drenched pony still in his hold, the dragon brought her in through the portal, now holding her close to him as the portal closed.
“I wonder how you're like as a golf ball?” he asked.
“Golf ball?”
Bringing up his paw, a white flash then occurred, and now he held the grip of a large golf club. He threw the pegasus downward, and in the midst of her flying down, he put his hands together on the grip, raising it up to his right and putting it behind him.
“Fore!”
Discord swung the club downward and up, hitting Dash with the strong force of the club's head. As if she was being hit by a bullet train, the hit sent the pegasus flying to the left of the dragon, screaming as she was knocked away with the burning fruit punch flying off of her. After a bit, Dash stopped herself in the air, her face being struck with pain. Along with the bruising hit from the golf club, the remnants of the fruit punch were still seething on her coat.
The dragon chuckled. “Actually, how about I just use this to knock some nonsense into you?!”
The chaotic serpent flew on to her. Halfway through, he put his hands together again and raised the club above his head.
Still feeling the pain, Dash opened her eyes, quickly seeing that the dragon was about to hit her again. Nearing her, he swung the club down. But in the midst of his swing, the pegasus put her hooves upward. Both the hooves and the club's head clashed with each other, with the hooves stopping the head and struggling against it.
“Knock some nonsense into me? You mean to make me crazy,” Dash said, gritting her teeth as she struggled. “That's not gonna happeeeeeen!”
With that yell, she flapped her wings back, pushing and throwing the club away from her. Immediately afterward, she flapped them again, now propelling herself towards the midpoint of the dragon's torso. Reaching it, she then swung a series of swift hard hits from her upper hooves straight at the body, with each hoof digging deep into his gut. Above her, Discord's face looked like he was trying to vomit, grunting constantly with his eyes popping out and eventually causing him to drop the golf club.
Finishing up her hits, Dash flapped her wings forward, moving her back several feet. Then, flapping them back again, she went for the same point with her hooves out in front. With her strength, she hit the dragon's body hard, the great force of it knocking him away for the second time.
Yelping in pain, Discord flew back. After a bit, he slowed down and stopped, clutching his gut with his hands. He groaned aloud as the pain inside of him was now greater than before, feeling as if a large hammer had just crushed his insides.
“...You... are such a strong little pony, indeed. Can't believe Harmony would go to such lengths to stop someone like me,” he said. “Agh, my stomach...!”
“Feeling sick there, Discord?” Dash asked, her eyes looking determined again. “You oughta be.”
“Eeeugh... Alright, you've done it now, Rainbow Dash...!”
With his eyes narrowed and his sharp teeth clenched hard, the dragon growled and let go of his stomach, glaring at the pegasus afterward.
“You've certainly riled this one up... No more messing around now. I can't have you damaging my insides any longer!” Discord exclaimed.
Lifting his head towards the sky, the dragon let loose a loud, deafening roar. A roar that reached far into its surroundings, attracting the attention of every ear that heard it.
“Come at me, you big dragon freak!” yelled Dash. “This is my destiny, and it won't be fulfilled until you are gone!”
“As you wish, puppet of Harmony!”
Wasting no time, the Spirit of Chaos propelled himself forward, this time with a harder push that increased his speed. Reducing the distance between him and the pegasus at a faster pace, nearing his enemy, the dragon inhaled a large amount of breath with his chest glowing orange. As the pegasus neared his mouth, he exhaled on her, breathing out a large and furious stream of burning fire towards her.
Seeing the glow beforehand, the moment Discord breathed out, Dash flapped her wings to the left, launching her to the right and letting the incoming fire go past her.
“Finally. I was wondering when you'd act like a real drag--- Huh?!”
Before she could finish, Discord suddenly made a sharp U-turn, with his dragon body forming a half-circle. With his chest still glowing, flying for Dash again, he quickly inhaled and exhaled again, breathing fire out towards her.
“Whoa!”
With the dragon coming from her left and as the flames neared her by an inch, the pegasus flapped her wings forward and flew back, dodging them again. Before two seconds could even pass, the dragon made a U-turn once again, trying to breathe fire on his target once more. Again, she dodged back, and the flames went past her.
“Wow, he's definitely getting serious now,” Dash noticed.
Having missed her for the third time now, Discord growled in frustration.
“Persistent! How about this, then?!”
Turning around, he swiftly put his hands forward. As his arms stretched out, the hands themselves went into two yellow portals that opened in front of them. To her immediate left and right, the pegasus saw the other end of the portals open up. The dragon's hands came out of them.
“Oh snap!”
The hands then quickly moved in on her. Deciding not to dodge, Dash swiftly put her upper hooves towards the palms of the giant hands. Both the hooves and the hands clashed with each other, with the pegasus struggling against them.
“Ugh...! Trying to trap me in again, huh?” she said.
“Harmony must be crushed!” exclaimed the dragon, struggling as well. “I dare not to go back into that eternal prison!”
For a while, both the harbingers of Chaos and Harmony continued to struggle, with neither side gaining. Then, pushing herself harder, Dash's hooves were finally appearing to move the hands back.
“Whether you like it or not,” Dash said, grunting. “You are and will be going back to where you belong!”
Giving her hooves a final push, after a brief bit, she moved the hands away and immediately flapped her wings back, launching herself forward and letting the hands crash in on themselves.
Growling with frustration again, Discord quickly brought back his hands and closed the portals. Then, he threw his hands forward, glowing bright yellow this time. At the heeding of the dragon, along the path to him, several purplish-white orbs that were the size of the pegasus appeared. Scattered a few feet from each other, the orbs proceeded to fire white-colored lasers, firing one after another, towards her.
Seeing the incoming lasers that were heading towards her, as she flew onward, Dash swerved herself to her right, letting the lasers go past her. She then moved up and spun herself like an airplane to her left, dodging more of the lasers. Almost reaching the dragon, she then swerved down, right, and up, flying past the rest of the scattered orbs.
“Arggh, you're far too nimble!” Discord exclaimed, surprised.
Screaming with her hooves out in front, the pegasus reached the center of the dragon's body and crashed herself into it for the third time. The dragon was sent flying back again, this time with a louder and more painful-sounding scream.
Going back farther than before, after a few seconds, he slowed down to a halt and stayed there with his body looking limp, the lower portion of it raised up this time. For a few more seconds, he remained in the spot. Then, suddenly, he set his body upright. Swiftly bringing down his arms, the dragon let loose to the sky the loudest and most raging roar thus far.
As his angry roar penetrated everything in its far surroundings, a great large-sized orb appeared around him. The surface of the orb resembled a checker board that looked glass-like with transparency, sporting a shining tint to it as well. Within the orb, Discord was leaning forward with his body looking limp again. He was clutching the same spot with his paw, and his right eye was shut with his teeth clenched.
“What's this? A shield?” Dash asked, seeing it.
“...You are one super determined pony, Rainbow Dash,” Discord said, groaning. “You always were, in fact. It's just that I've never seen such a high level of determination from you, until now. Eeugh... I've underestimated you, really.”
“Hmph!” The pegasus frowned. “Looks like I've hurt you so much that you had to put a shield around yourself, huh?”
“Indeed,” the dragon said. He smiled afterward. “And now, heh heh, you cannot do anything to me. I doubt you can break through this protective shelter of mine. Think what Twilight did, only so much stronger than hers. Sooner or later, you'll have no choice but to wait until I've recovered, and then this battle between Harmony and Chaos will be anew again.”
“...Hmph, only for me to beat you into a pulp all over again... No...”
Dash lowered her head and narrowed her eyes.
“I think I'd rather finish you off right now,” she said, calmly.
The dragon laughed. “Fine by me, Rainbow Dash. Don't be surprised if you end up as a squatted insect on my windshield, though.”
“I won't... Count on it.”
Dash looked down at the hoof she brought up.
“You know, when I fought Twilight down there, when I struggled against her big beam attack on me, something inside of me grew wild. The energy of Harmony inside of me, it suddenly felt like it kicked itself into overdrive. So much that it allowed me to overcome and defeat her, reverting her back to her old self again... I still remember that feeling...”
She then looked at the dragon ahead, clenching her teeth.
“...and I know now how to get to it again!”
With that yell, she threw her front hooves down, going into a quadrupedal position in the air. Both her aura and her rainbow flames exploded, with both becoming even larger than before. She then proceeded to grunt constantly, trying to summon as much of her power as she could and trying to make that feeling come back to her.
“...Hm?” Discord looked onward with a slightly curious look.
For a few more seconds, the pegasus continued to power up with her shaking at a violent rate. Feeling the inner need to let the power go within her, letting out a loud grunt, she exploded once more with the white particles of her aura swaying themselves out of her and into the surroundings, fading into the distance. With this explosion, her aura instantly changed into a colorful rainbow one, and the irises of her eyes sported the rainbow tint to them, swirling wildly around her pupils.
“Ohhh yeaaaaah...! Think I'm gonna be a splatted mess on your shield, huh?” she said, grinning. She chuckled. “No... I'm going to be the bullet that pierces it.”
The dragon stared at her, saying nothing in response. Then, he realized something.
“Wait, you're using the power of Harmony to... Oh no.”
His eyes widened up, with his lizard slit pupils shrunk as he now knew what Dash was about to do.
“How could I forget this...?!”
Dash laughed. “It's over, Discord! Too bad you didn't last long, just like before!”
Still in her quadrupedal stance, she took a “step” back, moving herself back and preparing for her launch.
This was it, she thought. After many moments of struggling against her opponents, all she needed to do to restore Harmony was this. The one move that was once a myth in this world and that she became a master of. The one move, she knew, that had forged her destiny in the first place.
With her rainbow aura and the rainbow swirls in her irises, along with her raging rainbow flames, Dash became a sight to behold even to the dragon, whose limp body was now trembling in fear.
“No, no...!” grunted the dragon, shaking his head in denial.
As she slowly lowered her head, crackles of rainbow-colored electricity began to appear around her every half-second. After a bit, her power finally came to its absolute maximum.
With one massive flap of her wings and a raging scream from the top of her lungs, Dash was set free like a rocket. From her launch point, a massive, gigantic, circular explosion of rainbows erupted, becoming larger and larger as it swiftly spread outward. Unlike the Rainboom from before, the inner colors of the ring became more flame-like, waving and moving about, and the ring as a whole was surrounded by crackling rainbow electricity. The ring continued to spread, until it became large enough to reach the eyes of everyone in the world.
From her point of explosion, Dash was speeding towards the dragon at her absolute fastest, with a long rainbow stream trailing from behind her. With the great distance between her and the dragon, it was not until long before she reached the shield.
Dash plowed through the dragon's shield, shattering it into glass-like pieces. Immediately, with her might at its max, she hit and dug extremely deep into Discord's gut, the strength of the hit being five times stronger than the previous attacks. With this huge amount of strength, it resulted in a great force that knocked the Spirit of Chaos back the farthest that he had ever been, with him screaming in agony at his loudest.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
As he flew back, the dragon began to fall from the air, spinning uncontrollably as he fell. A large, brightly glowing circle of rainbow could be seen at the spot where the pegasus had landed her final hit on him.
As Dash watched in the air with her aura and eyes still endowed with rainbows, the dragon was appearing to be shrinking in size as he spun and fell. As he shrunk back to almost his normal draconequus size, Discord was heading for an open spot in the gardens of Canterlot below. He soon hit the ground, causing a small explosion of dust and smoke as he made the rough landing.
It was finally done. Or was it? Dash wasn't sure. Still, she smiled, knowing that she was the victor in this battle. With that, she proceeded to propel herself towards the gardens, flying to where Discord had landed.
---
In this grassy open spot of the gardens, Discord, back as his draconequus self, was lying there face-flat. For a while, he stayed there, until a loud groan was heard from him.
Using his hands, he proceeded to push himself up from the ground, struggling to stay up. The great pain from his gut radiated outward to the rest of his body, feeling like someone twice his size had beaten him up. Continuing to struggle, he soon moved his body upward and stood on his feet. He stumbled a bit as he tried to keep himself standing.
“Oh my... That was a doozy,” he said, his head feeling lightheaded with his eyes rolling around. He then twitched and grunted, feeling the pain shooting through him like a bullet. He leaned forward and clutched his gut again with his paw, only to notice that the spot he was clutching had a circle of swirling rainbow colors.
He then heard a set of footsteps behind, already knowing who it was that stood behind him.
“Why, Rainbow Dash?” Discord asked, breathing heavily with his eyes normal. He then turned around to face her. “Why is it that you and the rest of Equestria favor Harmony so much? Why shun poor old Chaos? Why avoid it like it's the ugly duckling?”
“The answer is simple, Discord,” Dash replied, smiling with the particle aura gone, her eyes back to red, and her mane and tail assuming the stationary shape of a flame. “It's because we wouldn't want to be wasting our lives doing weird stuff and being your puppets to play around with... Life. It's too precious to waste, you know?”
“...I see.”
Just then, the glowing circle on him began to glow brighter, and as both of them noticed, a glowing outline of rainbow then surrounded the draconequus. Still clutching his body, he looked at himself all over, only to feel the insides of his body suddenly going cold with parts of it going senseless and numb.
Knowing what was about to happen next, Discord looked towards the white pegasus with a somewhat sad look.
“Am I fated forever to be in this cursed stone prison?” he asked.
“Only if you don't stop being the Spirit of Chaos,” Dash replied.
Discord stared at her for a bit.
“...Never... I will... never turn my back on what is fun to me...”
With that final line from him, suddenly, the entirety of the draconequus' body, from head to feet, began to glow bright white. The glow was so bright that only his overall shape was seen in the midst of it.
From there on, a sudden non-wind explosion of bright white light erupted, enveloping Dash within and causing her to shield her eyes with her hoof. The explosion, the sphere of white light, then proceeded to spread outward, covering everything within it as it moved. First, the palace itself was engulfed, then the city basked itself into it. Soon, the entire floating island, from top to bottom, was engulfed, and now there was nothing but a giant white sphere floating above the ruined Ponyville.
After a few seconds, the sphere vanished, leaving nothing in its place. At the side of the giant mountain where the remnants of Canterlot were, the sphere reappeared there. It soon dimmed, and the entire province appeared to be back in its place with the waterfalls resuming their flow, looking unaffected as if nothing had happened to it in the first place.
Back in the gardens, Dash opened her eyes and moved her hoof away. She noticed the mountain ahead of her, confirming to her that the place was back to normal. Not only that, but she saw that the draconequus standing in front of her had been turned completely into stone, still in the same position with the clutching paw and still with the same sad expression.
“...I did it,” she said, beginning to look happy at the sight of it all. She laughed in joy. “I did it! Whoo!!”
Dash threw a hoof up into the air, launching herself upward and floating there. The pegasus then flew up, turned upside down, and flew down in a complete circle, repeating the loop-de-loop a few times. She continued to laugh with great joy, knowing that she had finally fulfilled her destiny.
She looked around as she floated there in a bipedal position, sporting a great smile on her face.
“Wow, I can't believe I did it. I saved the world all by myself!” she exclaimed.
“Indeed, you did, Rainbow Dash.”
Hearing a voice behind her, Dash turned around.
“Princesses! You're alright!”
“Yes, we are, thankfully,” said Luna, standing on the ground alongside Celestia with their manes and tails flowing along. “Discord did not harm us much, but the way he trapped us inside the bubbles... Ugh, I do not think I would want to be in such a small space like that ever again.”
“Well done, Rainbow Dash. The chosen Flame of Harmony,” said Celestia. “By fulfilling your destiny, you have defeated Discord and restored Harmony back into its rightful place, just as the Flame from long ago had done... I cannot recall a more terrible time than what had just happened, to be honest, other than the period when he ruled the world with no opposition.”
“I agree, sister,” said Luna, looking at her. “Discord became pretty close to reigniting that period again. I still cannot believe what he did to Twilight Sparkle, honestly, converting her to his cause and all.”
“Yes. Most likely, it was forced, rather than by choice... Still, you did well in reverting her back, Rainbow.”
“Yeah,” nodded Dash. “It wasn't easy, but at least I did my best when I fought against her and Discord as well.”
The sun princess nodded. She looked at her sister, and they both nodded to each other, deciding to do it.
“For all you have done thus far to arrive at this point,” said Luna, looking at Dash. “For restoring Canterlot back into its rightful place...”
“We shall give thanks and bow only to you, savior of Harmony. To you, and your friends who had helped you reach such a long-lost form,” Celestia said.
The princesses proceeded to lower themselves to the ground with their heads low and their eyes closed, bowing down to the one that had saved the world.
To this, Dash folded her upper hooves and put on a proud smile, chuckling and safely knowing that everything was finally back to normal.
---
Epilogue: “The Day to Live”
---
Awaken... my chosen one.
Dash's eyes snapped open, her body having been jumped a bit by the voice she suddenly heard. Her rose eyes moved left and right a few times, trying to gain focus on her surroundings.
“Wha...?”
As her sights were set straight, she quickly noticed that she was not in her bed anymore, remembering this time that she had only fallen asleep the moment before.
“What is this...? Where am I now?”
Dash, as her normal blue self, found herself standing in what appeared to be an area that was filled with layers of bluish-green mist all over. The seemingly endless layers of mist surrounding her were moving at a very slow pace. Several night stars seemed to be scattered all over the area, with the size of them being bigger than the ones seen in the night.
This place seems... heavenly, Dash thought. Ethereal. As if she was welcome here, a feeling unlike the dream of darkness that she had before. Was she dreaming, then? Lucidly? Or was she here for real?
“You have done well, fated one,” echoed a female voice.
“Huh?”
The pegasus looked around, hearing the same voice from before. Then, she realized where it was coming from.
“Hey... I recognize you,” Dash said. “You're the one I've been hearing lately. The one who woke me up that morning, and the one who made us all realize what my true destiny was, showing those scenes to us and all.”
She looked down at her chest, touching it with her hoof.
“It's you, isn't it? What really transformed me into the Flame of Harmony... You... are me.”
“Correct. I am you. Or rather, it is you who is my chosen vessel.”
With that realization, the pegasus then felt a feeling of calmness within her, with her chest beginning to glow a large circle of swirling rainbow colors. Seeing it, she lowered her hoof, and she then felt like something was exiting out of her from within. The glow on her chest began to protrude outward, and like a round object that was exiting a pool of water, what appeared to be a large, brightly-glowing, multicolored sphere was making its way out of her chest.
The sphere of swirling rainbows soon exited out of her, with Dash no longer feeling the calmness inside her. The sphere then floated up to the front of her face, causing her to form an expression of awe as she looked at it.
“I am, indeed, the source of your transformation into the Flame,” it said. “For I am the true power behind the Elements of Harmony. I am all that keeps the peace throughout Equestria, stabilizing all that the denizens of this world hold dear... I... am the Soul of Harmony.”
“...Woooow, so you are... How awesome!” exclaimed the pegasus, smiling. “Heh heh, looks like I was right when I said that it was my soul on display for everypony to see, and that I was gonna be the one to save Equestria.”
“Indeed. Just as you felt in the dream that foretold your destiny.”
“Yeah... Wait, so it was you who made me dream that?” Dash asked, looking puzzled. “On that note, you can see the future as well?”
“I can. But my ability of foresight is limited... Nevertheless, I see that my choosing of you was not made in error. And for that, I am glad.”
“Choosing...? So you mean...?”
“I can sense that you have many questions swirling in your mind, Rainbow Dash... Linger still, then, for I shall answer all.”
The sphere proceeded to move itself to the right of Dash's head and stayed there with the pony looking at it.
“We are here, in what is known as the Lane of Destiny,” said the Soul. “It is an ethereal plane of Equestria, in which special or chosen ones arrive here to either discover their destiny, set them on the path towards it, or both. By now, you know that once ponies gain their mark, it sets them on their journey to reach their destinies... Such things do not require entrance to this place, for it is only for those with hidden, truer destinies. Unknown ones, such as yours.”
“My true destiny to become the Flame,” said Dash, looking at the mist and stars all around them. “Hm. I always thought that I was to become the fastest flier in all of Equestria as well as to take care of its weather. I never knew that I was also to be its savior.”
She looked at the sphere next to her. “So am I really here in this place, or is it another dream you're giving me here?”
“Your physical self remains on the bed in your home. I have merely brought us, your soul and myself, here.”
Glancing ahead, the pegasus took a few steps forward and stopped.
“So it’s a dream, then. A lucid one,” she said.
“Yes.”
As the Soul moved up and stopped next to her head again, something then appeared in front of them. A panoramic, flat-looking box, it was, floating a few feet above Dash's height. For a brief moment, the box displayed nothing but a black screen, then it started to show something.
The screen began showing what appeared to be a white, leaf-less, crystallized tree, rooted deep near the back end of a dark cavern. Dangling from their many branches were several crystallized orbs that were emitting sparkles from them, floating upward and making the tree a sparkling sight to behold. At the end of five of these branches, a colored gemstone was embedded within each of them, having the individual colors of red, blue, green, yellow, and purple. In the very center of the tree, a large, white, six-pointed, star-shaped gemstone was seen, and below it were the engraved marks of the sun and the crescent moon.
“Long ago,” began the Soul. “When the world was young, there existed nothing but darkness and chaos. They ravaged throughout the world as they saw fit, leaving nothing but destruction and death to every young life form that lived and to every soul that had just been born. Not a single ray of light and hope had shone through this darkness... until one fateful day. Hiding away from the ravaging chaos, a great number of brave young life forms had made the decision to sacrifice themselves, using their souls and their energy to form and condense themselves into one single soul. A soul that then bound itself into one single tree seed.
“In their shelter of protection,” it continued. “Those who had remained behind after the sacrifice had taken the seed and planted it deep under the earth. It took many months for it to grow, but in the end, the sacrifice had proven to be not in vain. The seed had subsequently grown into a beautiful, peaceful tree. A stark contrast to the darkness around them. Thus, they had named it, 'The Tree of Harmony.' And with the birth of the Tree came the entity that would power it.”
“...You,” Dash said, looking at the crystal tree with a bit of awe.
“Yes... As you can see, young one, that tree is the birthplace of the Elements of Harmony.”
“Woooow...”
Having just heard the origin of the Elements, the pegasus was utterly fascinated by it all, looking even more in awe than before with her eyes widened.
“Yeah, I could tell. The gems on the Tree. They were how the Elements looked like before we obtained them,” she said, pointing at them with her hoof.
“Correct. Their unbound forms, to be precise. Mere conduits in which to channel my power through them... With the birth of Harmony came the first wielders of it, and it was through them that the world knew peace for the first time. Throughout time, many have taken the mantle, restoring peace to the world and preventing those who would dare to threaten it from doing so. Indeed... I have been split many times to empower each of the individual wielders. Those who would carry the Spirits of Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. Splinters of myself that would help them unleash the power of friendship on their enemies... Pieces which would form back as one should they ever lose connection to the Elements due to whatever cause. Should that happen, then I am forced to wander this world, searching for the next set of wielders.
“But, as you felt in the prelude of your destiny,” the sphere continued. “I would also be whole if a certain set of requirements were met. For when I shatter into the six Spirits of Harmony, I always leave my core in the soul whose willpower is the strongest. I have always done this, ever since he became the first.”
“He?” asked Dash, glancing at the sphere.
“The first Flame of Harmony.”
With it still on the Tree of Harmony, the screen ahead of them then cut to another scene. This time, it was a large and wide view of a desolate wasteland with what looked like a few remnants of plants and grass here and there. Most of the area's ground appeared to be scorched with black spots all over, with dead trees in some spots and huge craters in another. The sky above was a dark shade of red, adding to this dark and desperate scene.
In the center of a large scorched spot, there appeared to be six differently-colored ponies with five of them lying on their sides and front, looking to be injured with various cuts and bruises on their coats. Only one of them was standing ahead of them, struggling to stay there with the same injuries.
The screen cut to a frontal view of him and his features were shown with his teeth clenched. A cobalt-blue earth colt, he was, with a red slicked-back mane and tail. He had green eyes and his cutie mark was that of a yellow lightning bolt, much like Dash's own. Along with the rest of the ponies behind him, he wore an Element of Harmony on his neck; a golden necklace with a blue gemstone on it that was in the shape of his cutie mark.
“Hey... it's him. The pony from the ancient record I've read,” said Dash, recognizing him.
“Yes... Before this very moment, I have always split my core when I turn into the Spirits of Harmony, taking them along,” said the sphere. “Now, no longer, because of this. I had foreseen his defiance and willpower, but again, I can only see so far as well as some things... I had never known that I could empower a single life form with the full might of Harmony.”
The scene then appeared to skip forward a bit, now showing the colt with an expression of surprise as he looked down at his necklace. Various colored streams of energy were being siphoned into his necklace, coming from his friends who still lay behind him with one of them looking unconscious.
The streams stopped and the screen then faded to white. A second later, it faded back into the scene and now the colt stood there, transformed with a firm frowning look. His red mane and tail became moving, waving flames that emitted embers from them, and his coat turned into a golden yellow color. His eyes were ruby red and his cutie mark was now a red lightning bolt.
“Whoa...! His coat there. It's literally gone gold!” exclaimed the pegasus, awed by the sight of the first Flame. “How awesome!”
“Indeed... And with such a transformation, all on his own, he had vanquished the enemy of his time. In the thousands of years afterward, no one else had managed to reach the form as he did, despite my choosing of the one with the strongest willpower. Either the initial power, the Great Beam of Harmony, was enough to restore the peace, or the wielders had simply failed to defeat their threat. Although... before you rose up to become the second, there was one who almost managed to attain it.”
“What? Who?”
“Her.”
Cutting away from the golden colt, the screen then displayed what looked like a view inside a darkened interior of a building in the embrace of the night. A large hole in the ceiling was seen, shining down the moon's light onto a spot inside the building. In the center of the lightened spot, there stood a tall stone pedestal of sorts. On top of the pedestal, there was a large stone orb with the mark of a six-pointed star on the side of it. Below the orb, five stone extensions were seen protruding out from the base that held the orb on top. At the end of these extensions, on top of them, were the five Elements in their normal forms.
Next to the pedestal in the moon's light, there appeared to be somepony standing there. Dash saw her, recognizing who she was.
“Princess Celestia...? But why is she... Wait, of course!”
The mane-waving sun princess stood there in front of the pedestal, looking firm at it. Then, with a few flaps of her wings, she flew up to the top of it with her horn glowing yellow. Using her horn, she levitated the Elements up, enveloping them with the same glow. From the top of the large orb, the Element of Magic was then seen exiting out of it with the same glow, rising out of it from the yellow portal.
Taking a look at the Element of Magic, Celestia then proceeded to levitate all of the Elements around her into a circular motion, spinning around her vertically and then horizontally. She tapped into their power, causing them to spin faster and faster until they spun like a speeding wheel. Then, moving her wings and body upward, she made a small explosion of light and rainbow, causing her mane and tail to shoot themselves all the way up.
“Hey, her mane and tail...!” Dash exclaimed. “They...”
“Rose up like fire? Yes,” said the Soul. “But notice how they are not separating embers from them. Notice how her coat color stayed the same, as well as the color of her eyes... Even though she had all of the Elements by her side, even though she was wielding my power and that I chose her to be my core, in the end, it was not enough to make her fully transform. For she was lacking one thing...”
“The Magic of Friendship... Right,” nodded the pegasus.
“And thus, the rest is clear.”
With the spherical aura of light and rainbow around her, the sun princess flew up and out of the large hole in the ceiling. She made her way towards the one that waited for her in the sky, whose large bat wings were keeping her afloat in the air.
“Yeah, I definitely know how it went, alright,” said Dash. “She banished her to the moon and locked her up inside of it.”
“All while losing their connection to the Elements. To me... Not only did Luna turn on her sister, but Celestia using the Elements, without the one thing that is needed to use their power in whole, had further severed their link. That, and although she had the stronger inner willpower of the two, Celestia could not muster it up from within. She was afraid of hurting her beloved sister.”
“Huh? She was?”
“Yes.”
The scene cut to a close-up view of the sun princess, showing her as her tears came out of her eyes while preparing her horn. It then zoomed out as she swung her head down, her horn commanding the six gemstones to fire out a large rainbow beam towards her sister's incoming green energy beam.
The two attacks clashed, and it was not long until the rainbow beam was pushing the other back. The green beam was canceled out and the rainbow beam engulfed Nightmare Moon in whole. Afterward, the beam shot itself upward, heading straight towards the moon above.
“...Man, so she was, huh?” said Dash, with a slightly sad frown. “I'd be the same if I went against any of my friends like that... In fact, I was the same when I confronted Twilight in Ponyville. Only that I didn't shed any tears about it. At least I kept my guard up throughout the whole thing.”
“Any good soul would be the same, indeed... Thus, when the sisters lost their link to me, I was then forced to wander the world once again for the next millennium. In the time since, there had been no threats to the world. Even though she had lost her sister, your faithful sun princess had done well in keeping Equestria safe... Still, I kept my search up for the time being, searching for the one whose inner willpower is the strongest to place my core being inside and granting him or her the potential to become the Flame. After such a long time...”
The Soul moved up to the front of Dash's face.
“...I had finally found you. The one with the rainbow mane and tail. A trait that is synonymous with Harmony, as you surely know.”
“...So I was born with you, then?” Dash asked.
“Yes... When you were still in the womb of your mother, I had merged with your soul. Thus, I had been with you since the very beginning.”
“Huh... How awesome.” The pegasus smiled, chuckling as she rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. “Yeah, rainbows are definitely the face of Harmony, alright. It's kinda strange how rare we rainbow ponies seem to be, though.”
“Indeed. It is a strange and rare genetic trait. One that I had nothing to do with, if you wish to know... Perhaps it was also your destiny for your soul to be merged with me, having been set by some entity that can see all of time itself? Nevertheless, I am glad to have found you. Whereas Celestia could not muster up her will, you did... and that is why I said that my choosing of you was not made in error.”
“Hehe, I guess. I really couldn't bear to see that creep Discord take over the world, so I just did what I had to do.”
“Of course... and for that, I am proud.”
The pegasus chuckled again.
“Soooooo... with all of what you've said so far, I think I can connect the rest of the story,” Dash said. “When I did my first Sonic Rainboom as a little filly, you split away from me into the Spirits, didn't you?”
“Correct... By doing what no one had seen in a long while, by shattering me apart, I had ridden along the waves of your Rainboom to those who had seen it, to the five who had gained their destinies because of it. It was I who had forged the friendship between the six of you.”
“Hm, and then, we became the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony... Right. I think I get the whole story now.”
“Yes... and I can sense that your mind is clear now.”
Dash nodded. “Yep.”
With every question in her mind having been answered, the pegasus felt at ease, knowing how it all made sense to her now. She began to walk past the sphere with the panoramic screen fading away in front of her. She thought about what the Soul had said, how it all weaved together. Then, she stopped with a sad frown on her face as her head tilted down, sighing sadly as well.
“...You know,” she said. “It's great that I became the second Flame of Harmony and all. But... my friends. What about them? Don't you think it’s kinda unfair that none of them got to transform as well? We could've taken on Discord together while he was a giant dragon.”
“...Indeed, it is unfair. But there can only be one Soul of Harmony, and only the one that I choose can transform. I am sorry, but that is the reality.”
The sphere moved up to her, floating a few inches above her this time.
“Do not forget, my child. It was your friends who had helped you transform. No one else. Without them, all that you know would cease to be.”
The pegasus sighed again. “I know... I did sort of say I was fighting for my friends after all when I confronted Discord.”
Dash lifted her head up to look at it, smiling. “I won't forget it. I can promise you that.”
“Hmm... You may be the only one of your friends who has gone through a special destiny, but... with ease, I can say that another of you also has a special destiny ahead of her. One that will also represent all of the Elements, but in a way that is separate from becoming the Flame.”
“Huh...? Another of my friends? Who?” the pegasus asked.
“That is for you and her to discover.”
“...Hm, keeping it a mystery, huh? Heh, I think I like discovering stuff for myself, honestly.”
Smiling, Dash then looked around once more.
“So, uh... What will you do now? Go back to my friends or what?”
For a brief moment, the Soul said nothing, floating there in silence.
“...Uh, Soul of Harmony?” the pegasus called, staring at it and waiting for a response.
“...No, my chosen one... I... shall remain here with you.”
“Huh? Really?” Dash asked, looking a bit surprised.
“Yes... Since you have become the second Flame of Harmony and have saved this world, it is wise of me to stay within you. You may have stopped the spread of Chaos, but that does not mean it is the only threat you will ever face. Not in this lifetime... Something is approaching this world, Rainbow Dash. Something darker than Chaos... If it is not stopped, this darkness will swallow the world at a speed greater than Discord could ever manage to reach.”
“What...? Wh-what is this darkness, exactly?” asked the pegasus, looking suspicious.
“I do not know... but I sense that it is coming. Thus, you must prepare for it. By remaining inside of you, I will grant you the ability to transform into the Flame whenever you desire, so that you may hone the form to its absolute perfection. You did well in your battles against Chaos, but you must improve if this new foe is stronger than anticipated.”
...Whoa, what? Dash just thought, taking a step back with an expression of surprise and with her mouth a bit open. Me? Getting to transform whenever I want? But, but I thought it was just a one-time thing...
For a brief bit, she continued to look surprised at this sudden revelation. Then, she formed a firm, smiling look.
“Well... if you want me to keep the form, if you want me to improve at it... then I will,” Dash said, nodding. “Besides, heh heh, I think I look more awesome as my white flaming self, anyway.”
“Hm, then it is settled... Although the form is now yours to use as you desire, you also now have a great responsibility with it. Take care not to abuse it, my child, and do not forget that you are the only one with this special gift.”
“...Right. I won't.”
The Soul lowered itself to the pegasus' chest, moving closer to her as she watched.
“I shall merge back inside of you, now that everything has been made clear. Though I may have exited your friends to be whole again, it does not mean that they have lost the power to wield the Elements. For I have left pieces of myself within their souls. Thus, as long as the Magic of Friendship still binds you together, the Great Beam of Harmony shall shower your enemies within its light. Should that fail, though, then you may rise as the Flame of Harmony again and cleanse the threat away from this world... This will be the last we shall ever speak, my chosen vessel.”
The sphere moved straight into her chest, entering inside of her.
“Until the very end... you are, and will always be, the one Soul of Harmony.”
The Soul entered her completely, leaving a bright glow of rainbow on her chest. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up as the great feeling of calmness swelled all over her again.
The glow on her chest dimmed down and she opened her eyes. For a second, they were ruby red, only for them to be reverted back to her normal rose afterward.
A few feet ahead of her, something seemed to be opening up. A door, it was, and past it, a room of bright white light was seen, shining its light towards her.
Dash formed a proud determined smile on her face. She had acknowledged everything she had learned just now, and with the power remaining inside of her for what was implied to be the rest of her life, she knew never to abuse it as well, just as the Soul had said.
“Don't worry,” she said, beginning to walk to the door. “I will prepare for this darkness. I will prepare for anything, for that matter. I will never lose… and you can count on that.”
Dash entered the door, walking into the great light that soon enveloped her.
---
The pegasus' eyes were slowly opening themselves, waking up from the light that was in her vision a second before. Gaining focus as the blur in her sight went away, the ceiling of her room was the first thing she saw, noticing that she was back on her bed in her room.
Blinking, she looked around. It appeared to be in the early morning with the orange-colored light of the sun shining through the open window in her room.
Seeing the morning light, Dash sighed with a smile, her eyes half-closed. For a while, she stayed there, looking relaxed as she was. Then, she sat up, pushing her blanket off with her hoof and sitting there with her head slightly tilted down as the feeling of slumber still lingered within her.
After a few seconds, she yawned loudly, stretching all of her hooves out as she did. Then, staring ahead with fully open eyes, she looked down, putting her hoof on her chest.
The great calm feelings she felt in the dream when the Soul re-entered her. They still persisted within her to this very second, confirming to her that the power really was staying with her. To this, she grinned a bit, knowing that she could transform into her awesome flaming form whenever she wanted now. Could she try it now, then? She wondered.
Nah, not now, she thought. She had just woken up after all, and she needed to do her usual morning routine first. Perhaps later at Canterlot, then, for a very special event was being held there.
---
The hours had passed by.
The blue pegasus was now standing in front of a large red curtain that was hanging over a large wall, in the same building in Canterlot where the Elements of Harmony were kept. She stood in the middle of a long and large hallway, standing on a red carpet that was leading to a large door on either side. On the left and right side of the curtain, as well as all around the hallway, were various stained glass mosaics. Each of them were depicting an event in history with most of them involving the Elements.
The pegasus was not alone in the hallway, for she was surrounded by crowds and crowds of ponies that had filled most of the place, endlessly chattering about as they waited around. Standing near her were her friends, looking onward to the curtain that hanged over the wall.
“Gee, who would've thought that somepony like you would save Equestria on her own?” asked Applejack, smiling. “And bein' powered up by the Elements of Harmony no less?”
“I don't think any of us saw that night coming, honestly,” said Rarity.
“We definitely didn't see it coming, alright,” said Twilight, having been nursed back to health since the incident. She looked at the blue pegasus. “Only she did.”
Dash nodded, smiling as she looked on.
At the base of the hanging curtain, there stood the sun princess herself, glancing around the hallway with a smile. Celestia then looked at the six friends and began her speech.
“We are gathered here today to honor the great heroism of one special somepony who stood up to the villain Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos for the second time,” she said. “As all of you may know, these six friends had saved the world twice in the past. This time, however, as a group, they could not. It was then, through their support for her, that a miracle had happened. A miracle that none of us had ever known about, until that moment.”
Closing her eyes, the princess' horn then began its yellow glow. The curtain behind her was soon enveloped in the same glow. She jerked her head upward, unfolding her wings as she did, and the curtain opened itself.
What the curtain hid before was that of a newly-built stained glass mosaic. In the center of this mosaic, six colored gemstones were surrounding what appeared to be Rainbow Dash herself in her Flame of Harmony form. She was firing off, from a raised hoof, a beam of rainbow at the shocked-looking Discord above her at the very top of the mosaic. In the background behind them both was that of a rainbow-colored gradient.
“And so, we shall dedicate this to you, Rainbow Dash, for your efforts against Discord as the long-lost Flame of Harmony,” continued Celestia, opening her eyes towards the blue pegasus and smiling, the glows fading away as well. “May you and your friends forever treasure this within your hearts.”
With that, the crowds of ponies began to applaud for her, stomping their hooves on the ground and cheering loudly at her. Glancing around, Dash began to blush a bit, smiling almost innocently as well.
In the midst of this, though, she was reminded of something, making her look a bit surprised. For a moment, her head tilted downward a bit, her eyes shifting left and right as she thought about something. Tilting her head back up and glancing ahead, the pegasus then nodded to herself.
“Uh, um... Princess Celestia?” she called as the applause died down. “I have something to say to everypony here, if you would allow me to.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.”
Dash proceeded to walk up to where Celestia stood. As the princess stepped out of the way for her, the pegasus then stopped at the spot. She took a glance at the mosaic above. Then, she turned around and faced the crowds that were now putting their eyes on her.
“...Um... Gee, I don't even know where to start or how much I should say on this,” she said, looking down and rubbing the top of her mane with her hoof. She then looked ahead again. “Um... this morning, I had a dream. Though, it wasn't an ordinary dream. In it, I spoke with someone and, well, it turned out to be something that I was born with from the very beginning. Twilight, you know how, when we first got the Elements of Harmony, we also ended up representing each of the Spirits of Harmony, right?”
“Yeah,” said Twilight, nodding. “What about them, Rainbow?”
“Well, it turns out that the Spirits were inside of us all along... and when you guys were transferring the energy of the Elements to me, those were actually the Spirits exiting from out of you.”
“What? We were actually harboring them inside of us?” asked Rarity, looking a bit surprised.
“Really? But... I thought we were just making a connection to them so we could use the Elements,” said Twilight.
Dash shook her head. “We had them all along, and then, they exited out of you to fuse with the one inside of me. As I learned in the dream, what they fused into had turned out to be the real power behind the Elements. It called itself the Soul of Harmony. It was the one I was speaking with in my dream.
“I learned a lot in our chat together, you know,” she continued, glancing around at the crowds. “If I were to explain everything right now to everypony, it would take a while. So I'm just gonna get right down to it, then... Guys, Discord isn't the last that we'll see trying to do bad things to this world. There always had been bad guys in the past and there always will be. It's always been like this throughout Equestria's history.
“Well, then, I gotta warn you guys,” said Dash, her look turning into a determined one. “There is a darkness coming. A darkness that looks to be greater than what Discord has ever done.”
“...What? A darkness?” asked Applejack, looking suspicious, yet puzzled. “And it’s gonna do worse things than him?”
“Who or what is this darkness, Rainbow Dash?” asked Twilight.
“I don't know,” replied the pegasus, her eyes downcast. “All I know is that it’s coming.”
To the sound of this, the crowds of ponies began to murmur to each other about it with some of them looking scared and surprised.
“Whatever this darkness might be... I must prepare for it,” Dash said.
“...So you're sayin' that we need you to be the Flame of Harmony again,” said Applejack. “'Cause I doubt the old-fashioned rainbow beam will be enough to stop this darkness. If it really is stronger than Discord, that is.”
“Yep. But... we don't need to do the energy transferring thing again, you guys.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Dash's eyes moved back up to look ahead, putting on a determined smile on her face.
“Heh heh... Watch this.”
Closing her eyes, the pegasus lifted her head up as she reached out for the calmness inside of her. The second she tapped into it, the Harmonic energy within her spread all over in an instant, much quicker than when she transformed in the throne room days before. Already, she felt the need to burst from within.
She lowered her head and quickly jerked her head upward, unfolding her wings at the same time. In the middle of her wings unfolding, Dash exploded with a quick white flash, instantly turning her coat white and enlarging her wings with her mane and tail bursting into flames. Despite this explosion, only a single rush of wind came out of it, sweeping back the manes and tail of everypony as it came through.
As she lowered her head, a red glowing outline of a lightning symbol appeared on her neck. The glow then turned into a full glow and, a second later, the glow extended around the front of her neck with a bright yellow color. It then dimmed down, leaving behind the golden necklace of Loyalty on her.
The flames that were flaring off from her mane and tail had soon died down, with both assuming the stationary shape of a flame. Dash then opened her ruby red eyes, still with a determined smile on her face.
At the sight of the transformed pegasus, the crowds of ponies gawked and gasped in awe, having seen the rainbow flames that flared a second before. With the large wings and pure white coat, she was a sight to behold, looking almost as beautiful as Celestia herself to some of them.
“Whooooooooa!” yelled Pinkie Pie with an expression of great surprise. “You can Super-ize yourself without the Elements now?!”
“Wait, what?!” exclaimed Twilight, looking just as surprised. “But I thought the power had left you days ago?”
“It hasn't, Twilight,” replied Dash, looking at her hoof that she raised up. “The Soul of Harmony is staying inside of me, giving me the ability to transform at will now. It's doing this so that I could get better at using the power of the form. If I'm going to be against the darkness by myself, then I have to train. No matter what.”
“It's staying inside of you...? But, what about the rest of us, then?” asked the purple unicorn, staring at her.
“Yes. If the Soul is remaining with you, then we can't use the Elements anymore,” said Rarity.
“Yeah. It's soundin' like we have to depend on you from now on, Rainbow Dash,” said Applejack.
Hearing them, Dash lowered her hoof and looked at them. Smiling with a kind look, she proceeded to walk to them.
“You guys are still connected to the Elements,” she said, stopping in front of them. “The Soul told me that it left pieces of itself within you when it exited as the Spirits. So... if you guys still prefer to use the Beam of Harmony...”
“...No, it's alright, Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight, smiling as she looked away. “On second thought, it’s better if we just leave it to you, really. Besides, considering what Discord had done to get us separated twice now just to stop us from doing the Beam of Harmony...”
“Yeah, Twilight's right,” said Applejack, smiling as well. “I mean, if this darkness really is stronger than Discord, then, again, I doubt that the beam will work on it anyway.”
“I agree,” said Rarity. “Honestly, having the power of all the Elements into one single pony is better than having them spread around six ponies.”
“What they said as well. Besides, anyway... even if we might no longer use them, I think we shouldn't forget that it was the Elements that brought us together in the first place,” said Twilight, looking at the white pegasus.
“Yeah, and you shouldn't forget that it was through us that made you reach this form, Rainbow Dash,” said Applejack. “As long as you keep fightin' for your friends, it's all good.”
“Right,” the white pegasus said, nodding. “Just as the Soul had said to me.”
Glancing around at the crowds again, Dash walked backward to the spot she was in before. She put on a resolute smile again.
“So, as I was saying, I must prepare for this incoming darkness,” she said. “I will train to the best of my ability and will discover everything there is to being the Flame of Harmony. So that when it comes... nay, when any threat may come here to try and ruin everything...”
She flapped her wings down, launching her upward. Stopping in the air, she then raised a hoof up and threw it down, stopping near her face and making her look like she was putting up a closed fist. At this throwdown, a small explosion of white particles erupted around her, forming an aura that surrounded her. Along with the aura, her mane and tail resumed their flaming forms with colored embers separating away from them.
“...I will kick their flanks out of this world and back! And you can count on it!”
With the declaration from her, the crowds and crowds of ponies began to whoop and cheer for her as loud as they could, stomping on the ground to applaud for her as well. With a happy face, Pinkie Pie began to jump high into the air a few times, joining in on the wild cheering. As the crowds cheered and applauded on, to Dash, it began to feel like she was in the Wonderbolts stadium again.
“Whooooooooo!!” yelled Pinkie, continuing to jump high into the air. “All hail Super Dashie!!”
Dash chuckled, lowering her hoof as the feeling of being proud came over her. Then, she turned around to look at the mosaic of her.
Days and nights had passed since the pegasus had read that chapter in the book on the Elements of Harmony. Who knew, back then, that the chapter was but a small glimpse of her true future destiny? Who knew that she was going to save the world all by herself? At first, she didn't think she was going to become the thing that was lost to the ages. She didn't think she would represent all of the Elements at once.
In the end, she did. Now, she hovered here as the very thing she had read about that night. She was, and always will be, the Soul of Harmony. The light of which is on display for everypony to see again and again.