//------------------------------// // Goodbye, Farewell And Amen // Story: And Then There Were 10...Er...67 // by Grey Ghost //------------------------------// It was a nice morning, the train quietly moving through the tundra, at least it seemed that way in the royal car, its three occupants blissfully sleeping the morning away. Chrysalis had her hooves wrapped around Jason, drooling a little onto his shoulder. Rarity meanwhile, with a frazzled mane, was sprawled out over Jason’s chest, her back legs twitching every now and then. All the while Jason slept with a smile on his face, his arms around the two mares in a happy embrace. That was until some jackass decided to knock. “Your majesties,” one of the train’s crew members called, knocking louder on the door, “We’re about an hour out from the empire, and Princess Rarity requested to be woken up early,” he knocked again before Jason threw a shoe at the door. “We get the message... go ‘way...” the young man grumbled, blinking a few times to drive the sleep from his eyes. “Hmm... ‘Princess Rarity’... I do like the sound of that,” Rarity said as she sat up, placing her hooves on his chest. “Good morning everypony...” she muttered, letting out a yawn before rolling off the bed and gracefully landing on her hooves. “I’m going to be getting myself ready for the morning, I’ll see you both for breakfast.” She entered the bathroom, locking the door behind her. “She does realize she could just use her changeling magic to fix her appearance right?” Chrysalis asked, not bothering to open her eyes. “She probably just needs the alone time,” Jason said with a shrug, closing his eyes again. They laid like that for awhile, content to just lay there, the gentle rocking of the train car almost lulling them back to sleep. “You know... we should probably get up too.” “Ugh... must we?” Chrysalis finally opened her eyes, a pout forming on her face. “Yeah, it’s our first day back and Rarity will give us shit if we don’t at least make ourselves presentable.” Jason pulled away from her embrace, sitting up. He let out a loud yawn, cracking his jaw. He stretched out, pulling his clothes on, running a hand through his beard, “I should probably shave...” “I rather like the beard,” Chrysalis commented, fluttering her wings to smooth them out as she got to her hooves. “Funny thing about facial hair, it always comes back thicker when you shave it off,” Jason said, giving her a smile. He moved to the bathroom door, knocking, “Rarity, let us in, we need to get ready too.” “Jason, I’m not decent,” Rarity replied, busy doing whatever her morning routine entailed. “I’m coming in whether you like it or not.” Jason banged on the door in one more effort to get her to open up. “OK fine, I warned you.” The next minutes were full of shouting as Jason shifted into Ghostfreak to phase through the door and got into a small argument with a very annoyed Rarity. Chrysalis broke them up by simply blasting the door off its hinges. “They can bill us later,” she said, stepping into the shower. “You two coming?” she asked, turning the water on. “This is going to be one hell of a relationship...” Jason said, stripping his clothes off and stepping inside. “Hell is right,” Rarity said with a roll of her eyes, “Though did you really get dressed just to take your clothes off again not five minutes later?” Jason turned to her, giving her a playful glare. “Quiet you,” he commanded, tossing a bath sponge at her. “Oh you want to play like that, hmm?” Rarity asked, levitating the sponge with an evil grin on her face. Thus begun the epic sponge brawl of ‘73, a battle so great that train workers throughout Equestria would tell its tale to wide eyed foals for generations to come. Or perhaps it was just a intimate moment between spouses, but thats not nearly as entertaining is it? “Jason!” Applejack’s voice called out as the three walked out onto the train platform. Despite their little fight in the bathroom, they had managed to get themselves rather nicely shaped up, with Jason having shaved and gotten Rarity, within reason of course, to give him a haircut. “Hey sis, how’s it hangin’?” he asked as she galloped over to him. The two shared a quick hug before pulling apart. “Aw heck, we was missin’ ya somethin’ fierce. Pie was ready t’go after ya but we wasn’t gonna let her interrupt yer honeymoon,” the farm pony said, throwing the party pony a look, though Pinkie didn’t seem to notice. “We missed you guys too,” he said with a smile. “The trip was great by the way.” “You can tell us on the way to the castle,” Twilight said, getting everyone’s attention. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’re expected.” “Yeah yeah, I got the letter,” Jason said with a sigh. “Spike don’t you dare touch our luggage, the staff will handle it.” “Phew... I thought I’d have to carry all of that...” Spike said, letting out a sigh of relief as he glanced at the huge pile of luggage, 98% of which was Rarity’s stuff. The group started to walk, with many of the crystal ponies heaping their gratitude onto Jason and the girls for saving the Empire. Spike and Rarity loved it but, for Jason, it was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. “Now I know why Daring Do has a pseudonym,” Jason muttered under his breath, looking around. “Hey, you know you guys got statues?” Spike asked as they came up to where his statue was. Now the small square was dotted with statues, each of a different Displaced, each in a rather heroic pose. “Huh, they work pretty fast don’t they?” Jason asked, letting out a small whistle as he looked up at his own statue. “The crystal ponies love to hero worship, apparently,” Chrysalis said, looking said statues over, her gaze landing on the Gilgamesh statue, “Oh, he’d have loved our trip to Los Pegasus, Rarity was a hilarious drunk.” “Yes, well, let’s try not to let that happen again shall we?” Rarity asked, looking rather embarrassed, “But I think Nemesis would have loved Prance, it’s a chef’s paradise.” “Don’t mention Prance,” Chrysalis said in something between a growl and a groan, giving the smaller mare a glare. Jason rolled his eyes, personally having hated that part of the trip, with the exception of Medulla. “I think Team Rocket would have loved that safari we went on down in Zebrica, whole lot of weird creatures there. I swear there was a grue in that one cave.” They moved up to the last statue: Ben as Diamondhead. They all gave it a long look before they moved on, having really nothing to say about it. “So, what exactly are we doing here Twilight?” Jason asked as they neared the palace. “Well... we pretty much just have to smile and wave as the dignitaries arrive,” Twilight sighed, looking rather downtrodden. “That’s a relief,” Jason said with a sigh, “I was afraid I’d have to negotiate or something.” “Jason, all we’re doing is waving, doesn’t that bother you?” Twilight asked, looking up at him with a frown. “Not really,” Jason said with a shrug. “Not sure why it bothers you.” “Twilight, the two of you get to smile and wave like royalty!” Rarity cut in. “In all honesty I’m rather jealous.” “How exactly is that different than smilin' and wavin' like not royalty?” Applejack questioned with a raised eyebrow. “It isn’t,” Twilight said, letting out a long sigh as her ears flopped down. “Just talk, will you!?” Chrysalis nearly shouted at Twilight, “Sweet Faust you’re always going on about expressing yourself and yet here you are just sulking! You’re ruining my good mood with your moping!” “Well... it’s just... I don’t really do much as a princess,” Twilight admitted, “I mean, the wings and more powerful magic are nice, but I haven't really done anything princess-like.” “You haven’t exactly gone out of your way to be involved in government, you know,” Dash spoke up. “You just do what you’ve always done - be the town’s librarian.” She blinked, taking in all the looks they gave her. “Hey, just cause I’m an athlete doesn’t mean that I don’t know how the government works.” “She picked up some stuff from all the nobles that hang around my castle,” Jason said, to which Dash nodded with a bashful grin. “Twilight if you want to be more involved with national government, or even local government, you should just talk to Celestia. I have no doubt she’d help you.” “I suppose you’re right,” Twilight said, perking up a little. “Good! Now you two run along, can’t have you being late, can we?” Rarity said, gesturing toward the palace. “Alright then guys, we’ll see you later,” Jason said with a nod as he and Twilight broke off from the group, heading toward their destination. “Ooookay... I’m not gonna ask why you guys were singing but uh, I’m going to go to my room and crash for the night. Rarity and Chrysalis are waiting for me,” Jason said from the doorway of the balcony, his eyebrow arched as the alicorns ended their weird song routine. The princesses all wished him a good night and the young prince returned to his quarters, getting into bed with his spouses. They didn’t get more than an hour of sleep before Jason’s dream melted away, revealing the usual meeting spot of his personalities. Hughes was sitting in a chair, arms crossed, watching as Hodgepodge freaked out about something. “The hell’s up with him?” Jason asked before Hodge lifted him up and shook him. “It’s terrible Jason! Oh the horror!” Hodge hugged Jason close, rocking back and forth. “He had a vision,” Hughes explained, rolling his eyes. “Some evil creature stealing a unicorn’s magic.” “You have to wake up and tell sunbutt and moonbutt before it steals all da magic!” Hodge shouted, shaking Jason again, “Or he’ll destroy us all! Destroy us all! Destroy us all!” Hodge dropped Jason at that point, repeating the same line again and again. “Look just go tell the princesses, I’ll shut him up,” Hughes said and Jason suddenly found himself back in bed. “Every time I try to relax...” he grumbled as he got out of bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping mares. He carefully moved out of the room, walking down to the other royals’ sleeping quarters. After several minutes and some startled alicorns, the five royals were gathered around a table as Luna and Celestia recounted the tale of Tirek, a centaur who had tried to steal Equestria’s magic, only to be betrayed by his brother and locked away in Tartarus. “So, I take it you want me to handle it?” Jason asked, looking at Celestia, “I’m pretty sure I can handle that-” “No, I’m afraid I must send another... Discord,” Celestia said, causing the others to gasp, though Jason just shrugged. “Eh. About time that lazy bastard did something.” He yawned again, blinking a few times to stave off sleep. “Yes, well... there is something else we must discuss, Jason,” Luna said, fluffing her wings a little. “You see during your wedding Gilgamesh and I had a... tryst, as it were...” Jason just stared at her before letting out a long sigh. “Why am I not surprised with that guy? Let me guess, you want me to call him up so you can ask him out on another date?” “No, I um...” Luna started, shuffling her hooves a little, “I uh...” she lowered her voice considerably, “I-I’m p-pregnant with his foal...” Jason stared at her for a few moments before looking around at the other princesses. Seeing their lack of surprise, he surmised that they already knew. “Okay, seriously, you guys couldn’t have written me a letter telling me my adopted father knocked Luna up?” The princesses flinched and looked away, with Cadance coughing. “We uh... didn’t want to interrupt the honeymoon.” “Alright, I’ll call him up and-” “No!” Luna shouted, startling them all. “Please. He already has a family, I don’t want to make things complicated for him.” “Both he and the kid have a right to know Luna,” Jason argued, “I can’t keep this from him.” “Please Jason, we’ll tell him, just not now...” she begged causing him to sigh. “Fine, but we’re going to tell him.” The young man got up, stretching out his limbs. “We’ll figure this all out in the morning, I’m going back to bed.” Without waiting for their reply, he left the room and headed back to bed, rejoining his spouses in the void of dreams. “So yer telling me that Luna is having a foal by Gilgamesh?” Applejack asked as the group trotted into the Everfree. Due to the growing town, a large path had been made through the forest, which were patrolled by the Valor guard. “Yup,” Jason said, nodding his head. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing, “And she made me Pinkie Promise not to tell him. Not sure what’s she’s thinking.” They soon came upon a familiar gorge, with Dash letting out a sigh. “I can’t believe we had to give back the Elements,” she lamented, looking down into the gorge. “It had to be done or the Tree of Harmony wouldn’t have survived,” Rarity added, though she was frowning as well. “You guys still seem like the strongest of friends to me,” Jason pointed out, though he was just going off of stories they had told him. “Ah just hope another 'friend' of ours never makes us sorry we had ta’ give em’ up,” Applejack stated, wearing a frown of her own. “Oh come on girls, do you really hold so little faith in me?” Discord asked as he floated down toward them, holding onto an umbrella. “What are you even doing here Discord?” Dash asked, crossing her arms with a slight glare. “Well, I came to make sure my good friend Fluttershy was okay,” Discord said, scooping her up and giving her a hug. “I don’t want her to worry while I’m off making sure our foal stays safe.” “What? You’re not gonna gloat about your big mission?” Spike asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Well, I mean, I could, but I’m not doing it for me, I’m doing it for all of you,” Discord said, putting Fluttershy down and gesturing to the gathered creatures. “Uh, what?” Applejack asked, looking rather confused. “Well, you’re my friends, right? I’d do a lot to keep you all safe. It’s why I asked Tia if there was anything in the kingdom I could help with.” “You... volunteered?” Dash asked, her eyes a bit wide. “Well yes, I was feeling a bit... useless,” Discord admitted with a sigh. “You and me both,” Twilight mumbled. “Oh come now Twilight, don’t be so down,” Discord said, reaching under his wing and pulling out their friendship journal, “I’ve got to say, this little book of yours has some wonderful lessons in it. I even bookmarked my favorites so you could give them another look.” He tossed the book to Twilight, who caught it in her magic. “When I get back I’ll give you that hoof massage I promised, Flutters.” “Oh, good. That will be... nice.” Fluttershy smiled, nodding. “Ta-ta everyone!” he said as he opened up a door in the air and walked through it, said door exploding into dust when the door closed behind him. Tirek hummed to himself as he stalked through the back alleys, looking for another unicorn to drain when he paused, hearing a pop from behind him. “Well, this is rather clichéd isn’t it? You, just stalking around a dark alley like some kind of monster,” a rather familiar voice said. Tirek turned his head, spotting the rather bored looking Discord. “Discord, you’re free?” Tirek asked, a frown forming across his face. “As a bird,” the spirit of chaos said, letting out a tweet. “I commend you on your escape,” Tirek studied the spirit closely, a hand slowly moving toward his cloak. “Sorry but I can’t say the feeling is mutual,” Discord snapped his fingers, a pair of manacles appearing on Tirek’s wrists. Tirek’s frown deepened, staring at the chains, “Oh, I should have known you would want to have Equestria all to yourself.” Discord just laughed, “Oh, you misunderstand. I’m not here for me, I’m here for my friends. Though to be honest, it’s mostly just for my dearest Fluttershy and the little spawn of chaos she’s got growing in her.” “Fluttershy? You're not saying you're friends with ponies?” Tirek asked, a look of disgust crossing his face. “You make it sound like a bad thing,” Discord said, crossing his arms. “I am surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this 'friendship' is but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly you've had to abandon your true nat-” Tirek started, only for Discord to cut him off. “I know what you're doing Tirek,” Discord glared, “You think you can manipulate me? The lord of chaos?” “Perhaps not but I still have this,’ Tirek said, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a very familiar stone. “W-where did you get that?” Discord asked, backing away slightly. He knew the stone well, it was the same one Hex had used to steal his power, and it still held said stolen power inside of it. “Oh I merely took it from a unicorn who thought himself my better. From what I understand, its power is tied to you.” Tirek smirked as the stone started to shine, causing Discord to hold his head and cry out in pain. If the Lord of Chaos would not obey him willingly, then he would do so unwillingly. After attempting research at the Hive’s library, Twilight found some ideas in the parts of the journal that Discord had bookmarked, so the girls gathered their souvenirs and reconvened at the Tree of Harmony with Jason and Chrysalis in tow. Spike had decided to stay at the Hive and take a nap. “So... what do we do now?” Jason asked as he looked at the box, scratching his bare chin, suddenly missing his beard. Twilight looked from the gathered objects, letting out a sigh. “I don't see anything on them that would give us a clue as to where the keys might be. They're just... ordinary, everyday objects” Jason reached down, picking up Boneless, tossing the rubber chicken up and down for a few moments before looking at the box. A smirk slowly spread across his face as he wound his arm back, chucking the chicken at the box. It stopped in mid-air, shifting into a key and flying into one of the keyholes. The girls let out a collective gasp before tossing the rest of the objects at the box, each turning into a key which went into its respective keyhole. “And suddenly I feel like I’m in Kingdom Hearts.” Twilight frowned, looking at the empty keyhole, “There's still one key missing. The key that represents the element of magic. My element.” Fluttershy waddled over, placing a wing over Twilight’s back, “Oh, but I'm sure that if we've gotten our keys, you have too, Twilight.” “Think, Twilight. When have you completed a difficult magical task, and in doing so encouraged another pony to do the same?” Rarity encouraged with a smile. “I haven't. If I had, I would have written about it in the journal,” Twilight lamented, looking at the ground dejectedly. “Well, you’re never going to if you keep throwing that little pity party of yours,” Chrysalis chastised before pausing, closing her eyes. “What is it?” Jason asked, knowing that look, which meant a drone was sending her a message. “Celestia has requested you and Twilight head to Canterlot immediately,” Chrysalis said, opening her eyes. “Best not keep Sunbutt waiting. Rarity and I will hold the fort!” “Come on Twilight, lets go see what’s going to kill us this time,” Jason said, shifting into XLR8 and grabbing the poor alicorn, taking off toward the castle before she could protest. It didn’t take them long to reach their destination, with Jason bursting through the doors and dropping a rather frazzled Twilight on the ground. “We got here as soon as we got the message.” “We could have just teleported,” Twilight grumbled, trying to fix her mane as best she could, “Now what's going on? Is it Tirek?” Celestia gave a sad nod, sighing, “I'm afraid I put too much trust in Discord and the effect that friendship would have upon him.” “Discord has betrayed the ponies of Equestria and joined forces with Tirek,” Luna added, her face as hard as stone. Twilight gasped, her eyes widening a little. “How could he do this?! I thought our friendship meant something to him! I thought he had changed.” “I don’t think he did,” Jason spoke up, reverting to normal, “Discord has a nice life going. A loving fiancée, a kid on the way. I don’t know about you guys but I don’t think Discord is doing this willingly.” “That does not change what is happening,” Celestia started, “Tirek has stolen enough magic that he now has the strength to steal flight as well. Without pegasi to control the weather, there will be no rain in Equestria. There is word he has gone after earth ponies as well. Without their strength, they will not be able to tend the land.” Luna spoke up next, “Ponies will no longer be in control of their world. That power will belong solely to Tirek.” “There is no doubt that Tirek will soon be after alicorn magic. With Discord by his side, we will not be able to stop him from taking it,” Celestia added, making Twilight gulp. “Once it is in his possession, his power will know no bounds, and all hope will be lost,” Luna continued, nodding to Celestia. “But there is one solution. It is only by making this sacrifice that Equestria and the lands beyond it might be saved. We must rid ourselves of our magic before Tirek has the chance to steal it from us,” Celestia declared, causing Jason to blink in shock and Twilight to gasp. “Tirek is set on possessing alicorn magic. When he comes for us, we cannot have what he is looking for,” Luna added. Twilight took in a breath, steeling herself, “I'm more than willing to do my part and give up my magic.” Celestia shook her head. “You misunderstand. Our magic cannot just disappear into thin air. Somepony must keep it safe.” “That somepony is you, Twilight.” Cadance nodded, gesturing to the youngest alicorn. “Why me?” Twilight asked, still trying to wrap her mind around it all. “We do not believe that Tirek is aware that a fourth Alicorn princess exists in Equestria. If we transfer our magic to you, Tirek will not know where it has gone.” Celestia was about to say more when Cadance cut in. “Wait... what about Stardust?” Cadance asked, looking at the others with a frown. “What about Stardust?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrow, “If you’re worried about Tirek getting my alicorn magic, he shouldn’t be able to unless I turn into him. It just occured to me, couldn’t we ask Xemnas for his help? I mean the guy’s powerful and I doubt Tirek knows about him.” “That would be a good idea,” Luna started, “If we knew Tirek couldn’t take his magic. As it is, Xemnas rivals us in terms of power and it would only hurt us if Tirek took it. For now it is best if he remain in his prison.” “Now... are you ready, Twilight?” Celestia asked, looking down at Twilight. The purple alicorn took in a deep breath before nodding her head. “Taking on this task will be one of the most difficult things I'll ever do, but with the help of my friends–” “I'm sorry, Princess Twilight, but you must keep your new abilities a secret,” Celestia cut in, “I fear that your friends being aware of your new power could put them at great risk. Do you still think you can take on this responsibility?” Twilight frowned before nodding her head, her resolve still strong, “This is the role I am meant to play as a princess of Equestria! I will not fail to do my duty!” Celestia nodded, “Then we must begin at once.” The three senior alicorns all faced Twilight, each charging up their horns. After a moment they fired a beam of magic directly above her, forming it into a bright orb. Just looking at it made Jason wince and look away. A fourth beam came down from the orb, hitting Twilight’s horn, sending the collected magic into her. When Jason looked back, the three senior alicorns all wore tired faces, their flanks bare, though Luna still looked like someone spilled ink on her ass. Twilight was hovering in the air, surrounded by a white aura, her eye glowing white. “Oookay, Twilight just went Super Saiyan,” Jason joked, mostly to himself, watching as Twilight returned to normal. She seemed normal, though seemed rather dazed. She ran over to Celestia the two exchanging a hug. “It is done...” Celestia said rather tiredly, looking like she was going to collapse. “You two should return home. Tirek will be here soon...” “We’ll get through this, everyone got that?” Jason asked as he looked them over, hoping that the cold feeling in his stomach wasn’t some sort of foreshadowing. “Jason, the sun’s only just come up, why are you pestering me about this kind of thing?” Megan asked with a yawn as she sipped at her coffee. Jason had barged into her room at the crack of dawn and begun to pester her about Tirek, mostly how she had managed to defeat him. “Mom, I really need you to tell me everything you remember about him,” Jason pressed, leaning in rather close, hoping to show how important this was. “Jason, I beat him with the Rainbow of Light and as you can see,” she lifted up her amulet, popping it open, revealing it to be empty, “I don’t have it any more. Why the sudden interest, anyway?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she sipped at her coffee. Jason sighed, shaking his head, “Nothing you need to worry about at the moment mom, just... be ready for anything, okay?” Megan blinked, not having expected him to get so serious, “Of course, Jason. You be careful, alright?” she asked, watching him exit the room, leaving her alone in the dining hall with the various staff members. Shining Armor blinked as he looked up at the sun, which was zigzagging around the sky. A sudden pop broke his train of thought and he suddenly found himself staring Discord in the face, the spirit wearing his helmet. “Shining Armor, why, whatever are you doing here?” Discord asked, though Shining could immediately tell something was wrong. Discord’s smile seemed... forced and hollow, and his eyes had a rather glazed look to them. “Back off, traitor!” Shining snorted, jumping back, assuming a fighting stance. “The only one Discord betrayed was himself,” Tirek cut in, sucking the magic from a guard before dropping him to the ground, “Abandoning his true nature to make friends with weak-minded equines who offer him nothing!” Shining fired a blast of magic at Tirek, only for the centaur to collect the blast into an orb, which he promptly swallowed. Tirek smirked, grabbing the stallion by the muzzle and draining the magic out of him. Shining Armor collapsed to the ground, groaning. He turned to Discord, barely conscious, “How... could you... do this...?” he asked before blacking out with a moan. Discord’s eyes widened at the sight, a spark going off in his mind. This wasn’t right, perhaps he could still– Discord grunted in pain, shaking his head vigorously. “Why dont you go and have a little fun?” Tirek suggested, putting his arm around Discord, “I won’t stand in your way.” With that he turned, leaving the brainwashed spirit to do as he ‘pleased’. “What a weak minded fool,” Tirek muttered to himself, making his way to the throne room, draining any ponies he encountered along the way. He burst into the throne room, tossing the doors to the side as he moved over to the princesses. He lifted them up and proceeded to suck out her magic, only... “What have you done?!” he moved onto the next and then the last, only for nothing. “Where is your magic?!” Twilight groaned, having teleported herself into a crack in a large rock. “And my teleporting was just starting to get under control...” “Princess Twilight!” a loud voice commanded, instantly getting her attention. “Tirek!” she gasped, her mind racing. “You have something that belongs to me!” Tirek bellowed. Twilight took a deep breath, doing her best to calm herself before she burst out of the rock, utterly destroying it. She zipped past Tirek and made a quick u-turn, trying to land. She skidded across the ground, eventually bumping into something. She looked up, gulping as Tirek glared down at her. She quickly backed away, trying to come up with a plan. “You're going to give me what I want!” Tirek asserted, opening up his mouth. Twilight seized the chance, teleporting on top of the library. She quickly grabbed her telescope, zooming in on Tirek, watching as he fired a blast of magic directly at her. She dove into the library just as the blast hit, only for it to bounce off the tree’s protective wards and fly back, hitting him in the face. “Ha!” Twilight shouted, triumphantly, “They said I was daft to put so many wards on the library! Who's laughing now, huh!? Nopony blows up my home!” she taunted, doing a little dance before remembering her current situation. She teleported directly into Tirek’s face, unleashing a massive blast of magic, which blew him back and carved out a path in the ground. Tirek emerged from the blast, seemingly unharmed. “Now I see what your fellow–” he started, going to be interrupted as a smaller blast of magic went off in his face. “Hey jackass,” Jason called, sword in hand, decked out in his armor. “She’s not alone.” He conjured up another Flare, which Tirek easily caught between his fingers, then popped it in his mouth. “Well fuck. OK, let’s try this. Omnitrix, Second Sight,” he commanded, shifting into his Mewtwo form. He tapped the Omnitrix, shifting into Mega Mewtwo Y. He flew into the air, calling down a Thunderbolt, causing Tirek to growl in frustration. “I don’t know what manner of creature you are, but I will have my prize!” the centaur roared, charging at them both. Jason focused his mind before throwing his hands out, hitting Tirek with Psychic. Tirek grunted, pushing against the telekinetic force, slowed but not stopped. “Any time you want to go, Twilight,” Jason grunted, pushing the centaur back with as much power as he could muster. “Oh, right!” Twilight called back before firing off another blast of magic, aiming it into Tirek’s face. He let out a scream of rage, slapping the blast away, and sending out a magic pulse that disrupted Jason’s Psychic. Jason let out a cry, holding his head as the feedback sent a shock of pain throughout his body. Tirek took the opportunity to backhand him, sending the ailing pokemon hurtling into a nearby mountain. “Son of a bitch...” Jason groaned, shaking his head, trying to focus. He floated out of the crater he made in the mountain, sighing as he watched Twilight and Tirek trade blows. He used Bulk Up on himself before flying at Tirek. He drew his fist back, before slamming it into Tirek’s jaw, using Dynamic Punch. The blow staggered the centaur, sending him reeling. “On my mark, Twilight,” Jason called, grabbing the dazed centaur up in his telekinetic grip and flying high into the air. He reached near orbit, spinning Tirek around a few times before hurling him back to earth. “Now!” he thought-shouted as Tirek neared the ground. Twilight bolted into the air, firing a blast of magic that slammed Tirek into the ground, burying him under several tons of dirt. “Think that got him?” Twilight asked between pants, looking up at Jason as descended to the ground. Before he could reply, a blast of magic tore out of the ground, cutting a circular pattern around them. “No Twilight, I don’t think that got him,” Jason replied, grabbing Twilight and dashing to safety just as Tirek ripped out of the ground with a roar of pure fury. “This guy’s a fucking damage sponge. Ugh, I feel like I’m playing Fallout 3. I swear to Yggdrasil If I have to shoot that guy in the foot to kill him I’m going to scream.” Twilight growled, firing off another blast of magic, with Jason adding in a Hyper Beam. Tirek responded in kind, the three beams slamming into each other, their power collecting until it burst outward in a massive explosion. A few moments of silence passed before the three of them emerged from the rubble, all looking rather battered and worn. “It appears we are at an impasse. How about a trade, Princess Twilight?” Tirek’s horns glowed and a moment later, the rest of the Element Bearers appeared, suspended in bubbles, along with Spike, Megan, Nightmare Moon, and Discord. “Their release for all the Alicorn magic in Equestria.” “Mom!” Jason shouted, reverting back to normal. He let out a scream of rage and before Twilight could stop him, he leapt at the centaur, sword held high. Tirek reached out and swatted the raging jotun out of the air, the sudden motion sending Laevateinn tumbling away. “I’m not sure what you are but I can feel the magic in you,” Tirek commented, watching in amusement as the Omnitrix scanned him, “And that device on your wrist, it has more power than I had thought possible.” Before Jason could recover, Tirek leaned down and began to inhale both his magic and all the power that the Omnitrix possessed. Jason blinked as the world started to fade, the sounds dulled, the colors starting to bleed. He took one last breath before he collapsed and the icy grasp of death took him. Jason groaned as he came to, looking around. He found himself in a rather desolate field, with shriveled plants littering the ground and a mist obscuring his vision. “Hello?” he called out, getting to his feet. “This is Niflheim isn’t it? I died...?” He frowned, a mix of emotions washing over him. On one hand he was rather satisfied that he had died in battle and on the other well... he was dead. “Aye, that you did youngling, rather weakly if you ask me,” a booming voice commented from above him. He turned, his eyes widening as he looked up at the speaker. Towering over him stood a giant of incomprehensible size. “Y-ymir,” he stuttered out, backing away slightly, all other emotions drowned out by utter awe. “Yes, I was the first of our kind, and I had hoped the inheritor of our legacy would have put up a better fight,” Ymir scoffed, looking down at him. “‘Tis not his fault he had his life force taken from him,” another voice spoke, this one belonging to a rather tall old man with a long grey beard and one missing eye. “Lord Odin,” Jason said, staring for a moment before dropping to a knee in respect. “Nay Corypheus, rise,” Odin commanded, beckoning the young man to his feet. “We have watched you ever since you first left Midgard and I am proud to say that you have surpassed all expectations.” Odin looked him over before presenting his spear to Jason. “I never thought this would come to pass, but you, one of the last jotun, have shown your worth and have earned the right to succeed me.” “Succeed you? I don’t...” Jason stared for a moment before Ymir boomed down at him. “Just take the spear already!” “Aye Corypheus,” Odin added with a nod, “Take Gungnir and with it my power, it belongs to you now.” Jason stared for a second more before reaching out, wrapping his hand around the spear. He let out a gasp of pain as power leapt from the spear, his body feeling like it was on fire. “Take this power, Corypheus, return to the battlefield, and show your enemy your true power.” Odin commanded as the world started to fade to white. “And this time, don’t die,” Ymir added. “Tirek!” a very familiar voice shouted, causing the centaur to pause. He felt more powerful than he ever had before and it felt amazing. So when he looked down at Megan, holding a sword in her trembling hands, eyes bloodshot, he couldn’t help but laugh. “You still think you can play hero, hag? I do believe you're well past your prime, dear Megan,” he taunted, his voice echoing for miles. “Shut up!” she shouted, tears streaming down her face, “You killed my son!” “So I did, he should have known better than to challenge me,” Tirek said with a snort, glaring down at her. “You know, I never did pay you back for last time.” He smirked, starting to charge up a spell, only for a spear to whiz through the air and implant itself in one of his horns, disrupting it. Jason stood next to Megan, panting a little. “J-jason? You’re alive?” Megan asked, looking at him with wide eyes, threatening to burst into tears. “Yeah, but I’m on borrowed time here, so we’ll talk later,” the jotun said before holding his hand out, the spear returning to his grasp. “You stay safe,” he commanded just as Tirek fired off a blast of magic. Jason blocked it with the spear, hurling it back into Tirek’s face. “How do you still have magic?!” Tirek demanded, drawing his fist back and slamming it down, only for Jason to jump out of the way. “I acquired what can best be called the Odin Force, the powers of a god,” Jason explained as he leapt high into the air, slamming his fist into Tirek’s face. The massive minotaur let out a cry, holding his now broken nose, several massive drops of blood falling to the ground. “You insolent whelp!” Tirek sneered, healing his nose. He let out a snort, glaring down at the jotun, “Your soul is mine!” he declared, charging, his hooves cracking the ground as he moved. “You’re not cool enough for that line, asshole,” Jason glared. He moved forward, planting Gungnir into the ground, launching himself into Tirek’s stomach. Tirek wheezed, backing up, clutching his stomach. Jason ran up to one of his gigantic legs and heaved, tossing the centaur to the ground. To be honest, all the power felt good but it couldn’t stay like this for long. It was too much all at once and if he didn’t have his magic returned to him soon, the godly power inside of him would burn his body out. “You will pay for that,” Tirek spat as he got to his hooves, looking absolutely pissed. Before either of them could react, a bright ball of light rose into the air, with six ponies inside of it. Triek stared for a moment, firing a blast of magic at them, only for it to do nothing. “How is this possible?! You have no magic!” “You're wrong, Tirek!” Twilight countered, flying high with the rest of the Elements, each looking rather ridiculous by even pony standards. “I may have given you my alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all!” Six differently colored beams fired at the centaur, causing him to stumble back. He gave a grunt, starting to push back against them. “Nothing you have can defeat me!” Tirek shouted, moving closer to them. “How about a blast from the past than?” a very, very, very familiar voice called out. He looked down in disbelief at Megan, her youth restored, holding her amulet. “What? No! You can’t!” “Who’s too old now, Tirek?” Megan asked as she opened her amulet, unleashing a rainbow that joined with the one the Elements had created. Tirek shouted in disbelief before the double rainbow drained him of all his stolen magic, sending him straight back to Tartarus. The girls rose up into air, high above Equestria, surrounded by all of the wayward magic. With a loud bang, they burst out, spreading the magic over Equestria. Jason gasped, stumbling back a little as his magic returned to him, pushing the Odin Force down into his bones where it settled. The Omnitrix chirped, reactivating as its power returned. “You okay?” Megan asked, quickly moving over and hugging her son the best she could. “Yeah, I’m okay... mom,” Jason said with a smile, patting her head, “So uh... you’re a kid again,” he commented, looking down at his youthened mother, “Any idea how long that’ll last?” “No idea, but I hope it’s a while,” she said with a smile. “Jason!” Chrysalis shouted, slamming into Jason and knocking him over, “Oh sweet Faust, I thought we had lost you,” she sobbed, burying her head into his chest. “Hey, that asshole couldn’t keep me down, babe,” Jason assured her, wrapping his arms around her, stroking her mane. Their little moment was ruined as a rainbow ripped out of the ground in the Everfree forest, arcing over toward Ponyville. A moment later the trembling intensified as the Golden Oak Library grew massively, becoming a huge castle, its leaves turning to crystal. “Fuck yeah, tree castle!” Jason shouted, fist pumping. “Take that Ben’s Twilight!” “We could go check it out, let them all know you’re okay,” Megan suggested, giggling a little at his antics. “I mean, you did kinda just die.” “Don’t remind me,” Jason said as he got up, brushing himself off, “Shall we?” he asked, holding his arm out to Chrysalis, who giggled, wrapping her hoof around his arm. “Yes we shall.” she purred, the three of them making their way back into town. By the time they got to the new castle, the girls were already inside, joined by the princesses , Nightmare Moon and Discord. They were all in the throne room, which had six thrones in a circle, each holding one of the Elements’ cutie marks on it. There was a smaller throne next to Twilight’s, obviously for Spike. “Jason!” the girls gasped rushing over to him and giving him a hug. Rarity took it a step further, jumping into his arms, wrapping her forelegs around his neck. “Don’t you ever, ever, ever do that again, you understand me?” she asked, fighting back tears, planting a kiss on his lips. “I promise Rares, I won’t,” he assured, stroking her mane. They stayed like this for a few moments before Discord cleared his throat, getting their attention. “I just... I’m sorry,” he said looking down, wringing his hands. “Oh but Dissy, it wasn’t your fault,” Fluttershy assured him only for him to shake his head. “Yes it was, I wasn’t strong enough to fight him and I nearly helped him take over the world! One of my best friends was killed because I was too weak to fight back!” Discord wailed, putting his head in his hands, starting to cry his eyes out. “Hey,” Jason said, moving over to him, placing his hand on his arm, “I’m still alive, okay? We all made it out and thats all that matters. No one is going to hold this against you.” “R-really?” Discord asked, looking at each of them in turn, only for them to silently agree with Jason, “Oh thank you!” Discord cried in joy, pulling them all into a tight hug. The Elements started to glow slightly before a rainbow formed around them. Jason blinked, watching as it zipped out of the castle. “You see that?” Jason asked Chrysalis, who just rolled her eyes. “Damn ponies and their rainbows.” Hel blinked as she looked up from her copy of Romance of The Three Kingdoms, watching as a rainbow zipped through her throne room. “Was that a rainbow?” Toya asked, looking at Hel, who just shrugged. “You know... I can’t help but realize how dreary it is around here. Perhaps I should consider redecorating.” Eclipse just glared as a rainbow passed over and through her domain, causing her minions to recoil from the light. The rainbow whizzed through silent Jotunheim, the windigos screeching in celebration of their leader’s triumph. Ancient eyes watched the rainbow from a throne of brimstone, resolving to punish this intrusion. No one in Nidavellir saw the rainbow, as they were all underground and missed out on the realm-spanning event. The light elves all gathered to watch the rainbow pass overhead. Blueblood watched with an aching heart, wanting nothing more than to go home. All across Midgard, various news stations reported on the mysterious moving rainbow that had swept across the world. The breezies watched in awe as the rainbow passed through Vanaheim, reminding them all of their pony friends. “You know, you got a new castle Twi,” Jason said as he looked around the throne room, leaning on a wall, “Fits the town very nicely.” “Why thank you Jason,” Twilight said with a smile, “You know it’s all a bit overwhelming...” she blinked watching as Jason facepalmed, “What?” “We completely forgot about Nightmare Moon when we hid away the alicorn magic...” he said with a sigh. Twilight blinked before facehoofing, “We totally did...” They both looked up as the rainbow flew back in through a window, going off with a flash of light, leaving the room completely decorated for a party. “Woo hoo, it worked!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing up and down. Rarity groaned, shaking her head. “No! Bad Pinkie! Rainbow Power is not for setting up parties!” Jason just snickered, closing his eyes, his mind starting to wander through the events of the past few months and how much everything had changed. He thought back to that day he had decided to go to a con. A smile grew across his face as he watched his loved ones. “And you know what? I’m glad I did.”