“Keep moving!” shouted a distressed voice struggling to pronounce itself over the sound of hooves splashing in mud and puddles.
Six ponies galloped through rain as quickly as their hooves could carry them, lost in the darkness of a wet and muddy forest. “We can’t outrun them forever!” stated a firm, but feminine voice. The voice belonged to none other than Applejack. The mare was covered from head to hoof in mud accompanied by dozens of bruises and scratches. “We’re going to have to think of some sort of plan sooner or later, Twilight.”
Applejack, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were all dirty and carried their own injuries. The six ponies were in a panic, they kept putting one hoof in front of the other, trying their best to keep up with Twilight, who was at the head of the pack.
“We should ha-” started Twilight, but paused mid-sentence when a howl echoed in the distance. The chilling sound filled the entire forest before a crack of lightning followed by a boom of thunder washed away the noise. “But how?!” cried Twilight. “Even with the rain masking our scent, how they can still track us?!”
“No time, Twilight! We gotta skedaddle before they find us!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she bounced over Twilight and galloped further into the dark forest.
“Pinkie’s right Twilight. Let’s keep moving,” said Rainbow Dash as she flew over the alicorn.
The six ponies continued flee further into the forest, until they came across a thick bog full of rainwater and mud. Twilight didn’t hesitate, even for a second. The pony immediately came up with a plan and began dishing out orders.
“I, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy will fly over the bog and help you three across,” said Twilight as she turned to Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. The group quickly complied with Twilight’s idea. They were in a hurry and had no time to think of anything else.
The ponies who could fly, grabbed ahold of those who couldn’t and helped them treck through the thick bog.
“Stop squirming so much, Rarity,” grunted Rainbow Dash as she tried her best to support the white unicorn’s sluggish march through the mire.
“Everything just keeps slipping out from under my hooves!” cried Rarity as she began to frantically kick her hind legs.
“Maybe quit kicking your back hooves so much,” said Rainbow Dash as she flapped her wings harder.
The six ponies slowly made their way across the quicksand-like mess before stumbling back onto somewhat solid ground.
“I’m pooped,” said Pinkie Pie as she fell face first into the mud. “My hooves can’t take any more running,” added the pony as she popped her face up. The pink mare’s face was now completely covered in forest mud, but she didn’t seem to care.
“I’ll say, my wings are aching after that,” groaned Rainbow Dash as she stretched her wings. A crack of thunder echoed across the landscape as the six ponies tried to clean mud from their manes and coats. Fluttershy jumped at the sound, but managed to calm herself down after a few deep breaths.
“W-we’re safe, right Twilight?” asked the yellow pegasus as she looked over at Twilight. “I mean there’s no way they could still be tracking us.”
“Perhaps,” said Twilight. “It might be best to keep moving though,” added the alicorn as she adjusted her saddlebag.
“I can’t go on,” said a voice. Rarity trotted forward, the mare was exhausted, she had been galloping all day with her friends, it was a miracle that the unicorn was able to make it this far. “My mane has been a mess for six days straight. Don’t you think it’s about time we find a place to rest, Twilight?”
“It might be good to get out of this rain. I noticed a cave not to far off in the distance, perhaps we should head there,” said Applejack.
Twilight took a moment to think it over. She and her friends had been fleeing all day, they all were tired.
“I suppose…” said Twilight as she took a quick glance back across the bog. “Lead the way, Applejack.”
The exhausted group trotted up to the wide mouth of a dark cave. Fluttershy took a step back and lowered her head.
“I’m not so sure if this is a good idea…” she said. “I think I just got my second wind. We should keep running.”
“At this point I would do anything to get out of the accursed rain,” said Rarity as she carelessly walked into the foreboding cave. The unicorn illuminated her horn and signaled for her friends to follow. The six ponies ventured into the mysterious cavern, the cave tunnels began to grow narrower and narrower as the sound of thunder continued to ring outside the cave, resonating off its walls.
“Um, Twilight,” whispered Fluttershy, but Twilight was too focused on other things to hear the timid pony. “Twilight,” said Fluttershy again as she tapped the alicorn on her back.
“Hmm?” said Twilight as she glanced back at Fluttershy.
“I found hoofprints,” said the shy mare as she pointed to a pair of tracks on the ground.
“Those are probably ours, sugarcube. We’ve probably gone in circles more than once by now,” said Applejack with a chuckle as she trotted over to the trail of prints.
“No, look,” said Fluttershy as she pointed towards where the tracks leaded. The trail had multiple hoofprints leading further into the cave.
“Survivors?” mumbled Rainbow Dash under her breath.
“Maybe…” said Twilight as she cautiously took a hoofstep forward.
“You’re not welcome here!” growled a voice from out of the darkness. The surprised ponies jumped backwards and prepared themselves for a fight.
“Who’s there!” shouted Twilight as she shined the light from her horn deeper into the cave.
A pair of violet-pink eyes lit up from behind the darkness, followed by a pair of green and a pair of orange. Trixie, Chrysalis, and Lightning Dust slowly approached the band of ponies, the three ragged villains looked tired, but seemed ready for a fight.
“Trixie…” growled Twilight as she dragged a hoof across the cave floor. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she pointed a hoof towards the unicorn.
“What are we doing here?!” shouted Lightning Dust as she spread both her hooves and wings. This is our cave! We found it first!”
“Yeah?! Well, this is our cave now!” shouted back Rainbow Dash, flaring her nostrils at her old acquaintance.
“HAHAHA How adorable! You six think you can just waltz in here and take over?” laughed a voice. “You don’t stand a chance against the likes of us,” giggled Chrysalis as she pressed a hoof against her chest.
“We’ve beaten you once and we’ll beat you again!” growled Pinkie Pie.
The group of ponies continued to stare each other down, waiting for somepony to make the first move. Twilight didn’t want to fight the three villains at a time like this, they needed to save their energy, but she and her friends couldn’t show weakness towards the villains. “Perhaps they don’t want to waste their energy on a fight either…” thought Twilight. Nopony had yet made a move, so it wasn’t too much of a presumptuous thought. “The three of you are here, but where’s Ajax…?” asked Twilight as she glanced past the three ponies. “If he’s here then we might be in big trouble…” thought Twilight to herself.
“That’s none of your business, Twilight Sparkle!” shouted Trixie as her horn glowed with magic.
The sound of howling was heard outside the cave. The nine ponies froze. Fear gripped each one of their hearts.
“W-what the hell was that?...” asked Lightning Dust.
“They found us,” whispered Rarity under her breath.
“What?! Who found you?! Who or what exactly did you bring here?!” shouted Chrysalis as she stepped forward. Twilight bit her lip and looked back at the entrance of the cave.
“Impossible, how could they-” began the alicorn.
“CAVE IN!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she quickly pushed Twilight out of the way. A massive boulder slammed down where Twilight had just been standing nearly crushing her. The entire cave began to shake as the ceiling overhead started to collapse and give way. The unfortunate ponies took refuge behind rock formations and hoped for the best. The ponies clenched their eyes when they heard the ceiling overhead give way, but there was no sound of a catastrophic collapse, the ceiling hadn’t been collapsing, it was being torn off. Rain began to flood the crevice that was once a cave as an enormous figure rose up and towered over the canyon.
“PRINCESS TWILIGHT! I KNOW YOU’RE IN HERE! NO CREATURE ESCAPES THE NOSE OF A HELLHOUND!” shouted a voice. The frantic barking and snarling of hound-like creatures could be heard during the thunderous storm, while the sound of rattling chains and collars mixed with rain and thunder.
Twilight slowly stepped out from behind a rock and confronted her hunter.
The dark silhouette of a forty foot figure, large twisting horns that held a burning ember of fire between them, the lower half of the creature's body was pony, but the upper half was humanoid. Twilight stood firm as a strike of lightning in the distance lit up the demon’s face confirming her fears.
“Tirek…” whispered Twilight as she stared at the demon with fiery eyes.
“What’s the matter princess of magic?! You don’t look so happy to see me, is something the matter?” laughed Tirek as he snapped his fingers. Twilight was lifted into the air and held before the demon. “I’ve grown strong once again, Twilight. With your magic I’ll reach an unprecedented level of power.”
“If I’m not mistaken, weren’t you a “lord”? How can you be a “lord” if you're serving somepony else?” asked Twilight as she struggled to break free of Tirek’s magical grip.
“I would watch my mouth if I were you, princess!” growled Tirek. “Don’t forget that I get to decide what to do with you after I drain you of your magic. Besides, only a fool would oppose Lord Malice… I would rather serve as a imperator than cease to exist!”
A scratchy high pitched voice began to speak trying to overpower the thunderous storm above. “Excuse my interruption Imperator Tirek, but what would you have us do with the others?” A small imp-like demon sitting atop the back of a fiery hellhound asked as it looked up at its master.
Tirek turned back to the exposed cavern and looked down at the other ponies. “What is this?” asked the demon out loud when it noticed Trixie, Chrysalis, and Lightning Dust. “It seems that you’ve lead me to a few other friends of yours, Twilight,” laughed Tirek as he extended his hand towards Trixie. The unicorn grabbed ahold of a nearby rock, but couldn’t prevent herself from being lifted into the air and held before the demonic being.
“Such magic… from a measly unicorn? Interesting…” said Tirek as he rubbed his goatee. “Where has a rare gem like you been hiding?” asked Tirek.
Trixie continued to struggle against the magical bonds holding her. “How dare you restrain me, monster! I’m The Great and Powerful Trixie! You’ve got no idea who you’re messing with!” threatened the light blue colored pony.
“HAH! Don’t bother struggling. I’ve already consumed enough magic to overpower any one of you. I owe it all to Princess Luna honestly...” said Tirek.
“What!” exclaimed Twilight.
“Oh yes… Twilight Sparkle. Princess Luna was kind enough to “gift” me her magic.”
“Excuse me,” said the small demon creature from before as it tugged on the coat hair of one of Tirek’s legs. “What about the others? Should we feed them to the hounds and be done with them?”
“Let’s see…” said Tirek as he looked back down. “What?...” mumbled the demonic being when he laid eyes upon a second Twilight. “Do my eyes deceive me?” he asked aloud as he rubbed his eyes.
“Take this!” shouted a voice. Lightning Dust bolted toward Tirek ready to strike, but with a simple lift of his arm, the pegasus froze midair.
“Cute, but the likes of you-” Tirek quickly spun around and lifted his other hand. A blur of light blue froze midair, inches away from the red demon’s face. “I suppose you thought that was terribly clever...” chuckled Tirek in front of Rainbow Dash. “You’re a fast one, but none of you ponies stand a chance.”
“My lord! Look, in the distance!” shouted the voice of the tiny imp-like demon. “It’s a wave of light!” The miniscule impish demon began to look through a small pair of binoculars. “No wait, it’s a wave of darkness!”
“Well, which is it?! It can’t be both!” shouted Tirek as he glance back over his shoulder. “I don’t think that light and darkness are easy things to mix up with one another.”
Twilight, Trixie, and all the other ponies’ eyes were wide in disbelief. The ponies stared off into the distance, past Tirek, their expressions frozen in awe.
“Um hello?” said Tirek as he wove a hand in front of the pony’s faces. “Guys?!” asked the demon as it continued to try to grab everypony’s attention. “Demon here that’s going to devour your magic and kill you… Um, hello?” but still no pony paid Tirek any thought. No matter what Tirek said, everypony’s attention was fixated on the distance. “What’s the big deal, here?!” shouted Tirek as he turned around.
In the distance there was a wave of blinding light spreading across the sky, a wave that cleared the sky of all stormy clouds. Following behind it was a blazing trail of darkness, a trail that left dancing ebony flames behind.
“What the…” mumbled Tirek as he fully turned himself around.
A figure could be seen at the head of the strange phenomenon. Tirek squinted his eyes, trying to distinguish what he was looking at. A pony, no… an alicorn, galloping across the sky towards him. A mane of many colors flowed in the wind as the pony continued to clear the cloudy skies.
“Celestia…” growled Tirek, but then he noticed something else.
The trail of darkness mixing with the princess’ light was coming from something on top of her back. A being that held a firm grip on the back of the pony’s neck. A man with long flowing white hair, smoldering with black embers.
“The guardian…?” whispered Tirek as he took a step back in disbelief.
Ajax was riding atop Celestia’s back and the two of them were heading straight towards Tirek. The man and pony had their eyes locked onto the demon. Tirek felt a chill run up his spine. Celestia and Ajax were now only seconds away.
“You are no match for me! Nopony or man can stand against my might!” shouted Tirek as he shot blasts of fire from in between his horns. Celestia danced around the beams of fire as she continued to focus in on Tirek.
“I must be seeing things…” mumbled Twilight, still floating in the air.
“Glad to hear that I’m not the only pony that’s gone crazy…” added Trixie as she continued to float next to Twilight. Everysingle pony couldn’t believe what they were seeing, Ajax, riding atop Celestia into battle, an anomaly they just couldn’t believe.
Ajax let go of his grip on Celestia and began to deflect the bursts of fire with a purple shield. Tirek fired a quick burst of flame at Celestia and the man, but Ajax deflected the fiery blow with his purple shield.
“Sorry about all that, Spike,” said Ajax as he placed the tiny purple dragon onto his back. Spike held onto the man’s collar and poked his head over his shoulder.
“It’s ok, dragons are immune to fire, even baby dragons, but I’m sure you already knew that.”
“Yea…-Yeah, of course,” said Ajax. Spike paused for a moment and looked at Ajax with a worried expression. “Just make a straight dive for him already, Celestia! We can’t dodge his attacks all day!” yelled Ajax.
“You don’t have to scream directly into my ear!” shouted Celestia as she pulled her wings in and dove towards Tirek. Celestia fired bursts of colorful magic from her horn as Ajax and Spike did their best to hold on tight.
Tirek began to catch the blasts of magic in the palms of his hand. The crimson demon laughed as he easily deflected Celestia’s attacks. “Sorry Celestia, but I’ve already consumed too much magic, even for the likes of you!”
“Is that so?” said Celestia with a smirk. The white alicorn’s horn glowed white as a bright spectrum of colors began to trail behind her horn’s path. “We’ll see how you hold up against this!” cried Celestia as she pointed her horn towards Tirek and dove with increasing speed.
Tirek raised up his arms as if he were preparing to catch the alicorn. The demon had a devilish grin on his face as he awaited both Celestia and Ajax’s arrival. The storm above began to disperse as a beam of sunlight engulfed the duo as they continued to hone in on Tirek
“Quickly get out of the way!” shouted the small impish demon as he flailed his arms about. He and the demonic tracking hounds quickly fled the scene, they weren’t as bold as their master.
Tirek however spread his legs and prepared himself for the full force of Celestia’s attack. A cyclone of destructive magic continued to hurl towards Tirek, Celestia’s attack had turned her very being into a ferocious gale of magic, but before she could drive herself into Tirek, the demon quickly spun around and evaded the full force of Celestia’s attack.
“You didn’t actually think I was just going to stand there, did you?” laughed Tirek as he looked back at Celestia. The white alicorn’s hooves dug into the ground as she came to a grinding halt. Steam rose out of the blazing trail in the muddy ground as the pony came to a sliding stop. Celestia slowly rose up and smiled at Tirek.
“No, but a girl can always hope... Besides, Ajax already took the necessary precautions, just in case you chickened out.”
Tirek looked up and noticed that Ajax was no longer on Celestia’s back. The demon quickly spun back around just in time to see the man above him. Ajax held his large ebony sword in his left hand over his head. Spike dragged behind him in the air, his claws firmly grasping onto the human’s rags.
Tirek’s eyes went wide as he reared backwards in an attempt to dodge Ajax. The man swung his arm with all the force he could muster and dug his blade into tirek’s right horn. The black slab of steel shot off sparks as it grinded against the demon’s horn, before cutting cleanly through it. Ajax stomped his feet into the ground and spun around as mud shot up behind him.
Tirek screamed as his right horn impaled itself into the ground. The demon stumbled backwards as it felt the area where its horn had been cut off. “Houndmaster! Unleash the dogs on these vermin!” shouted Tirek as he tried to catch his breath. However, the demon’s order went unanswered. “Houndmaster?!” shouted Tirek as he looked around, but there was no sign of the high-pitched small demon anywhere... he had been abandoned.
“Who are you talking to?” asked a voice.
Tirek looked back down to see Celestia slowly trotting towards him. Ajax followed behind the alicorn, resting his large blade on his left shoulder. The centaur-like demon seethed with hatred as he looked down at Celestia and Ajax. “Why is the guardian working with the likes of you, Celestia?!” asked Tirek as he took a step backwards.
“Don’t try to change the subject, Tirek. We’ve come for our friends and to put a stop to the likes of you!” shouted Celestia.
“No creature messes with our friends, demon!” added Ajax as he pointed his sword towards Tirek.
Celestia spread her legs and readied herself to charge the behemoth. She turned to Ajax with a smug look on her face. “I hope you’ll be able to keep up with that handicap of yours,” said Celestia.
Ajax glanced at his missing arm and looked back towards the alicorn. “Thanks to my handicap you’ll finally be able to keep up with me, Celestia… maybe,” he said with a confident grin.
“I think I’ll sit this one out,” said a voice. Celestia and Ajax looked back to see Spike running off. The two looked at each other and gave an assuring nod before walking towards Tirek.
The demon’s broken horn caused the burning ember above his head to spew fire in all directions. Tirek’s eyes fixated on the man and pony approaching him. “When I’m done with the two of you, there’ll be nothing but ash left!” he cried as he charged forward.
Ajax and Celestia began to jog and trot forward before sprinting full speed towards the demon. The man and pony both dodged the demon’s fire as he lashed out recklessly, both Ajax’s and Celestia’s eyes were fixated on their target. Tirek continued to cry out in blind hatred as the two charged him, but couldn’t manage to land a single hit on the man or pony. The unlikely duo slid across the mud and underneath the behemoth, right between his four legs. Ajax drew his ebony blade off his back and swung at Tirek’s hind leg.
Tirek’s leg raised up, barely avoiding itself from being severed. Ajax spun himself around and swung his massive sword upwards, but a bright wall of pink appeared in front of him just as he was beginning to raise his sword and blocked his attack.
“What?!” he thought.
A blast of energy propelled Ajax backwards, he tumbled across the forest floor before regaining his footing. The man looked up to see a cracked magical pink barrier with Tirek’s hoof firmly pressing against it.
“That was a close one,” shouted a voice. Ajax looked up to see Celestia flying above him. The alicorn continued to fire blast after blast from her horn, the sheer force sent ripples in the air around the pony as she continued fend off Tirek. “Thank me later,” shouted the alicorn as she flew away, still firing her magic towards the demon.
Celestia continued to fly around Tirek and barrage her with blasts from her horn while avoiding the demon’s fire. Tirek tried to crush the alicorn with his hands, the giant kept clasping his hands together, but Celestia always managed to avoid being flattened.
“I’ve had enough of you!” shouted Tirek as he swung his arm. Celestia was knocked from the sky by the back of Tirek’s hand. The alicorn tumbled through the air and hurled towards the ground, but something grabbed ahold of her and broke the fall. Celestia looked up and saw two green eyes looking down at her.
“You can thank me later,” said Ajax as he hoisted the alicorn up to her hooves. “You should quit messing around, Celestia. You always seemed much stronger when we fought in the past,” he added.
“Me? I was about to ask you if you were holding back on purpose,” said Celestia as she pointed a hoof towards Ajax.
The man raised his forearm and shrugged. “Then how about we quit messing around and put an end to all this.” Celestia stood up and turned to Tirek, the pony’s eyes turned to a fiery gold, she began to trot forward leaving a trail of burning golden hoofprints behind her. The sun above shone brightly as the alicorn approached Tirek. Celestia stomped her front hooves into the ground and glared at the demon before her. The forest shook with energy as birds fled from the treetops towards the sky.
“This is going to be good,” said Ajax as he stepped up next to Celestia. The man’s eyes glowed red as black fire began to churn around his entire body. The demonic looking man raised up his sword and roared a malicious cry. A burning trail of black footprints could be seen trailing behind him, burning next to Celestia’s golden hoofprints.
Tirek pounded a fist into his chest. ”You think you have the strength to defeat me?!” he cried, but in a flash of black fire a tiny figure appeared before the crimson titan. Ajax gestured an uppercut with his fist towards Tirek, the demon then suddenly felt an intense pain against his underside. A flaming fist of ebony fire erupted from underneath him and dug into his underbelly. Tirek felt his entire body being lifted off the ground until a second burst of energy propelled him up into the air. Tirek tried to find balance in the air, but a golden pillar of energy from the sky shot him back towards the forest floor. The demon once again flew through the air helplessly, the world around him spun, but he caught the spinning image of something below him.
Tirek saw Ajax awaiting him back on the ground, the man held his sword tightly behind him, a coating of black fire covered the dark blade, making it look as if it were nearly fifty feet long. Tirek couldn’t do anything, but prepare himself for the blow.
Ajax swung the flat side of the enormous fiery blade against Tirek, knocking him across the forest floor as if he were an oversized baseball. Tirek slammed against the side of a mountain, the demon sat up and tried to regain his senses, but felt a sharp pain in his chest. Tirek open and closed his eyes, trying to make sure he was seeing properly, but he knew what was going on.
His severed right horn was pushing halfway into his chest. The demon cried out in agony as it grabbed ahold of the horn and began to pull it out. Just before Tirek had nearly remove the entire horn, he heard the sound of galloping hooves approaching him. Celestia charged towards Tirek as fast as her hooves could carry her before taking up to the air. The alicorn reared her hind hooves back and kicked the horn all the way through Tirek.
A gush of red blood was the last thing to escape the demon’s lips. Tirek’s grip on the horn released as the demon went limp, his corpse impaled against a mountain. An enormous burst of magic shot out of the demon and scattered itself into the horizon.
“That was quite brutal even by my standards,” said Ajax as he walked up from behind Celestia. The man was back to his human self, no more black fire or demonic features.
“It wasn’t that hard, I just thought about you while doing it,” said Celestia as she turned around and walked past Ajax. The man let out a laugh, but found himself coughing near the end of it.
“T-that so?” he said as he turned around. “I don’t suppose you’ll let me ride you into battle anymore?” he said as he jogged to catch up to the pony. Celestia and Ajax came to the area where they had first encountered Tirek. The forest was now peaceful, there was no sound of battle or thunderstorm, only peace and calm.
Nine ponies frozen in disbelief and one ecstatic dragon were there to greet the unlikely duo.
“Wow! That was awesome! The two of you just blew him away!” shouted spike as he ran towards Celestia and Ajax. The man and pony looked up to see their friends staring at them with wide eyes. Celestia and Ajax looked at each other and waited for somepony to say something, but the only sound in the forest was that of a tiny purple baby dragon.
“And then he was all like! -Awahagh… Guys?” asked the dragon as he began to look between everybody.
Ajax stepped forward and slowly walked past Spike, the man now stood in front of a light blue unicorn. Ajax couldn’t see Trixie’s eyes, the pony’s purple hat covered the upper portion of her face.
“Trixie?” said Ajax softly as he waited for a response from the unicorn. The man crouched down so his face was leveled with that of the mare. “It’s me Aj-” Trixie lept forward and wrapped her hooves around Ajax, knocking him to the ground.
“I thought I would never see you again!” sobbed the unicorn, her violet eyes were filled with tears, but rather than show them to Ajax, she tried to inconspicuously wipe them away on his clothes by rubbing her face into his chest. Ajax gave a warm smile before wrapping his arm around the pony.
“Of course, I just couldn’t leave my apprentice all alone,” he said with a chuckle.
“What happened to your arm?” said Trixie with teary sniff.
Ajax looked over at his right shoulder, before giving Trixie an undefeatable grin. “Don’t worry about that, most of me is enough for the job.”
“Ahem.”
Ajax and Trixie looked up to see Chrysalis and Lighting Dust standing over them. Trixie pushed herself off and Ajax and the two rose up to their hooves and feet.
“Chrysalis,” said Ajax with a nod towards the changeling. “Lightning Dust,” he said after turning towards the pegasus.
“Ajax,” they both responded in unison.
“I think we might have a problem,” added Chrysalis as she pointed past Ajax. The man, alicorn, unicorn, and pegasus turned to see Celestia and the mane six glaring at them. The seven ponies stood reserved from the villains with unsympathetic eyes.
“You three wait here,” said Ajax as he walked towards the heroes of Equestria. When Ajax took a step forward, so did Celestia, the two walked a line directly towards one another. The man and pony halted between the two groups and stared at one another, waiting to see what the other had in mind.
“We did well out there…” said Celestia, breaking the silence.
“Of course, I was there to make up for all your mistakes,” said Ajax sarcastically.
“GIVE US THE WORD AND WE’LL CRUSH EM FOR YA, PRINCESS,” shouted the voice of a cowgirl. Celestia glanced back at the mane six and then looked forward towards Ajax.
“You don’t plan on crushing me, do you?” asked Ajax with a raised brow.
“Sorry… but,” started Celestia, furrowing her brows at Ajax. Sparks of energy shot up at the tip of her horn. Ajax quickly reached for a blade on his back, but the magic in Celestia’s horn suddenly vanished.
“-you’ll have to wait to fight me some other day,” said the alicorn, giving the man a quick wink.
Ajax froze for a moment before letting go of his sword. “I got to admit it, you got me.”
In a flash of purple, Twilight Sparkle appeared next to Celestia, the alicorn glared at Ajax with uneasy eyes, before leaning in towards Celestia, her eyes still fixated on the potential threat before her. “You don’t actually plan on working with him, right?” said Twilight.
“There’s no way in hell we’ll work with those losers!” cried out a voice. Ajax looked back at Lightning Dust, the pegasus’ eyes were boiling with hatred.
“Losers?! Come over here and say that to my face!” cried back Rainbow Dash.
“I don’t think we can work together anymore,” mumbled Ajax as he scratched the back of his head.
“We both know that we have to find a way to work together…” muttered Celestia as she began to think of ideas. “I suppose we can always work together, but keep our distance from one another,” she added.
“I think that could work for the time being,” said Ajax as he looked at Twilight Sparkle. Ajax tried giving Twilight Sparkle a friendly nod, but the alicorn showed nothing but disgust for the man.
“May I have a word, princess?” asked Twilight as she nudged Celestia. The white alicorn raised an eyebrow and looked down at the purple mare.
“Hmm?” she asked.
“Shouldn’t we discuss this? I don’t thin-”
“My mind's made up for the time being, Twilight,” said Celestia abruptly.
“I see…” said Twilight Sparkle as she looked back at Ajax. The man tried his best to ignore the daggers Twilight’s eyes shot at him. For a moment an awkward silence fell over the trio. “I suggest we launch a counterattack,” said Twilight breaking the silence.
“I and Celestia thought that we wo-” started Ajax, but stopped when Twilight turned to him. The man turned around and waved his hand at the pony before walking away. “Just decide on a plan together. I’ll be over here when you’ve finalized something.”
A few minutes passed by. Celestia, Twilight, and their friends conversed ideas with one another while Ajax, Trixie, Lightning Dust and Chrysalis sat off to the side. Trixie and Ajax passed the time, by exchanging stories about how they managed survived Tirek’s reign, Chrysalis and Lightning Dust however sat in silence waiting for heroes of Equestria to come up with a plan.
“What happened to the changeling hive?”
Chrysalis opened her eyes and looked over. Ajax was sitting down leaning against a log, Trixie laid across his lap with her hooves folded under her. The changeling turned her head back around and closed her eyes. Ajax and Trixie looked at one another.
“Hey Chr-”
“I wouldn’t talk to her if I were you,” said a relaxed voice.
The man looked up to see Lightning Dust laying down on a large branch of a tree. The pegasus had her hind hooves crossed and her traveling pack underneath her head.
“Why?” asked Ajax.
“The two of you already have bad history with one another, the last thing you need to do is stir up more trouble,” said Lighting Dust as she poked her head over the branch and looked down at Ajax.
“I’m not exactly-” started Ajax, but cut himself off when he noticed Chrysalis trotting towards him.
“I haven’t seen or heard from a single changeling in over two weeks. So I suggest you listen to Lightning Dust…” said Chrysalis. The changeling lips reared backwards, displaying her wondrously sharp fangs, her green eyes were filled with pain from loss. “All I wanted was to avenge my mother…”
A flash of light bluish green shot down to the ground. Lighting Dust stood on her hind hooves and began to push Chrysalis away. “Not now, Chrysalis. You’ve got nothing to gain from what you’re about to say, Ajax is-” The large changeling pushed aside the pony with her hoof and trotted towards Ajax.
“All I wanted was to avenge my mother after what you did all those years ago during your self-righteous purge against Equestria. Hell, you don’t even remember what you did that day!” shouted Chrysalis as she stepped closer towards Ajax. The man rose to his feet and held his ground. Trixie tried to stand between him and the upset alicorn, but Ajax gently pushed her aside.
“I was eight years old! I had to become queen when I was but a filly because of what you did! Do you know how hard it was for me and my people!? OF COURSE YOU DON’T! You could never understand what you put me through!” Chrysalis’ nostrils flared in anger, she now was face to face with the human.
The changeling took a deep breath before speaking again. “Needless to say that I failed to provide my species a decent life. I failed to achieve justice against my mother’s murder… and do you know what happened after that? OF COURSE YOU DO! UNLESS YOU CARE SO LITTLE AGAIN THAT YOU DON’T REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID! You hold my entire species hostage! You force me and them to fight in your petty little squabble against Celestia, for our very lives! ...And now here I am! ...No hint of any changeling life except my own! ...AND GUESS WHAT! I’m still stuck here serving you because you could be our only hope to save the world! I’m so sick of this! I just can’t take it anymore!” screamed Chrysalis as she stamped her hooves in frustration.
Ajax took a moment to let Chrysalis calm down and catch her breath before speaking. “I know you could probably care less about my side of the story. I could sit here and try to explain to you why I did the things I did, but I’m sure you couldn’t care less. I know you’re angry, but try-”
“What!? Wait to kill you another day!? Well, I’m sick of waiting!” cried Chrysalis as teardrops hit the ground, the pony’s horn pulsated green with magic.
“I can’t let you do that!” shouted Ajax as he reached for a sword on his back. “I don’t want to have to do this, Chrysalis!”
“OF COURSE YOU DO! YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED THIS!” she screamed as she aimed her horn at the man. “YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED ME AND EVERY OTHER CHANGELING DEAD!”
“Did I come at a bad time?”
The man and changeling looked over to see Twilight Sparkle standing by idly waiting. “We’ve come up with a strategy if you are ready to listen.”
Chrysalis and Ajax looked at each other before standing down.
“Good,” said Twilight as she trotted forward and lifted a twig with her magic. The alicorn began to draw in the ground. “Not far from here is a citadel that Malice had constructed. Tirek was the head of said encampment, but now that he is gone it should be an easy target for us. However, the longer we wait the more likely they are to realize that Tirek has been defeated. We should strike now, while their guard is still down.” Twilight finished drawing the attack plan in the forest floor. The villains and heroes were set to attack opposite sides of the fortress.
“What’s the point in all of this?” asked Ajax as he scratched the bottom of his chin.
Twilight focused her eyes on the drawing in the ground before crossing it out with a large ‘X’. “Tirek was rounding up all those who had escaped from Canterlot after Malice first returned. The plan is to liberate as many as we can, to help with our fight against the monster.”
“Sounds good, let’s get moving,” said Ajax as he grabbed his belongings. Chrysalis glared at the man as he packed, but Ajax avoided eye contact with changeling. An unsettling mood now filled the air between Ajax and his comrades.
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It was now nighttime across Equestria. The pale moon sat high in the sky illuminating an ebony fortress of steel, which sat on the edge of the everfree forest. A hub of captured creatures from all across Equestria, this was the place where slaves were taken before being sent elsewhere. Squads and battalions of demons patrolled the area and protected the fortress’ walls. The scent of heavy steel and blood filled the air of the iron citadel. A large wall protected the outskirts of the base, while a smaller wall protected the keep near the central portion of the garrison.
Avoiding torchlight and the patrols of demons, four figures could been seen scaling down the outermost wall entering the demonic encampment. The four shadows quickly crossed the courtyard towards the reinforced keep at the center, striking at patrols carrying torches and dousing their flame almost instantly.
Ajax led the group, the man held his large ebony sword behind him, just inches off the stone ground, trying to make as little noise as possible. “Quickly, over this wall and we’ll be inside the keep,” he said as he stopped before a massive metal barricade. Ajax, Trixie, Lightning Dust and Chrysalis quickly made their way over the wall and landed in the courtyard of the keep. “Celestia and her friends should arrive shortly, but that doesn’t mean we should wait around. Let’s start searching for survivors.”
The group pushed open a door and made their way inside, Lightning Dust noticed a guard at the end of the corridor and quickly bolted towards the demon and knocked him out with a hind kick to the back of the head. “The coast is clear, let’s keep moving,” said the pegasus as she opened another door. The four intruders entered a large holding area, where creatures of all kinds filled large crowded cages like animals.
“They’re like livestock…” mumbled Trixie.
“Let’s get them out of here,” said Ajax as he broke open a lock.
Whispers began to fill the prison as word spread of the infamous human’s surprising actions. Although Ajax was freeing the citizens of Equestria, his reputation caused them to still be uneasy around him. “Just keep quiet until we open every cell,” whispered Ajax, trying to make his voice just loud enough for every creature to hear him. The man walked up to another cell and began to fiddle with the lock, but noticed a pair of light blue eyes staring at him, inches away from his face. Ajax jumped back, startled by the proximity of the shadowy stranger.
“Did I scare you?”
“Luna?” asked Ajax raising an eyebrow.
“I take it that it was you who defeated Tirek?” asked Luna.
“Wait, how do you know about that?”
“My magic has returned to me, which means that either he decided to return the power he stole, or has been vanquished from Equestria.”
“I see…” said Ajax as he grabbed ahold of the lock with his hand and yanked it off the cell door.
“So why are you freeing all of us?” said Luna with an uneasy voice.
“Just wait for your sister to show up, she’ll explain everything to you. Right now I’ve got more important things to do,” said Ajax as he began to look around the enormous room. “I think we got them all,” he said as he looked at all the ponies, minotaurs, and gryphons that they had freed.
“What’s all this?” muttered a raspy voice.
Ajax turned to see an enormous gryphon chained up in a holding cell, the mythical creature glared at the human with fixated eagle eyes.
“Oh no… not the pigeon…” groaned Ajax.
“Do my eyes deceive me? I never thought I would see you again! Release me from this prison, so that I may tear out your throat, human! After all, everything that’s befallen Equestria is your fault!
“Ajax! I think we got everyone,” said Trixie as she galloped up next to the human. “Wait, we forgot about that-” she said pointing to Bjorn, but Ajax pushed the unicorn’s hoof back down.
“Naw…” coughed Ajax as he shook his head.
“Why you… Get me out of here you dirty ape!” cried the gryphon king.
Ajax continued to shake his head quickly mouthing the word “No” to the elderly gryphon.
“We need everyone for this though, Ajax,” said Trixie as she looked up at the man. Ajax sighed and ripped the lock off the Gryphon’s cell. In a flash of feathers, the gryphon was upon Ajax with claws ripping at his throat. Ajax kicked his legs into the beast’s underbelly, sending it crashing into the ceiling. “See?! Bad idea, Trixie!” shouted Ajax as he prepared a blast of black fire in his left arm.
“PRISON BREAK!!!!!”
Every creature paused and turned to see a guard standing at the doorway frozen in disbelief. “PRISON BREAK!!!!” The demon shouted again, alerting every demon in the stronghold. Ajax quickly dashed forward and raised his fist into the air and swung it down, smacking the demonic guard into the ground. The ground began to shake as hordes of guards began to charge up the stony staircase.
“Time to leave!” shouted Ajax as he turned back to the room of freed captives. “I SAID RUN!” he shouted. The freed prisoners turned to the exit at the other end of the room, but more demons could be seen charging down the hallway, weapons in hand.
“We’re trapped!” cried Chrysalis as she began to prepare a spell in desperation.
Suddenly a blast of magical energy blew a hole through the stone wall of the room. Everyone turned to see the settling dust revealing Celestia and the mane six, and behind them stood a large force of freed slaves. A hulking figure stepped through the hole and walked past the seven heroic ponies. It was none other than the legendary minotaur king.
“We even found him? Shesh, who are we even missing at this point?…” sighed Ajax.
Ironhoof gave a hearty laugh as he stood before the worried group of prisoners. “Do not be afraid! Show the enemy what you’re capable of! We will blow a hole right through them and walk out of this accursed citadel and retake our homeland, together!”
“Look who finally decided to show up,” laughed Bjorn. The gryphon stood up and dusted himself off, recovering from the blow Ajax had delivered him. “After we’re done here, we need to deal with the human,” said Bjorn as he glanced over at Ajax. Ironhoof nodded in agreement to the gryphon’s proposal.
“Stop right there!” shouted a demon as he busted into the room. The guard stumbled forward and bumped against a bright purple coat of fur. He looked up and saw the burly minotaur king himself looking down at him.
“R-Retreat!!!” The demon cried his last words as he attempted to run from the hulking brute. Ironhoof quickly grabbed ahold of the guard and crushed him with his unmatchable strength.
“We’re no match! Celestia! Luna! Both the Gryphon and Minotaur kings! A-A-And… THE GUARDIAN!? RUN! RU-” shouted another guard before being run through by a prisoner holding a spear.
The demons fell quickly to the hands of the prisoners, heroes, and once villains. In a matter of seconds the entire force of guards sent to stop the prison break were vanquished. No mercy was shown to any demon, no fear was shown in any pony, minotaur, or gryphon’s heart. They fought for their lives and home. They fought for what they believed in.
“We’re not out of this yet!” cried Celestia. “Quickly through the courtyard! We’ll break right through the main gate!” she shouted. Every creature began to rush down the stairs and fill the courtyard of the keep.
“Did we get everyone?!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she flew around, trying to make sure that no creature was left behind.
“It would seem like it. What do-” said Luna.
“My, my, my… what is happening here?” A voice rang in every living being's head. Celestia and Ajax looked at one another, they knew who it was. In a flash of bats and shadow emerged, Mephistochlees. The demonic warden that vowed to hunt down both Celestia and Ajax for escaping his prison. The fiend placed his claws at his sides as a demonic laughed filled every mind.
“What’s so funny? You’re no match for us!” shouted Ajax as he stepped forward.
“Maybe, but I brought someone here who is…”
“Don’t speak of me as if I’m just some servant of yours here to clean your mess,” said a calm male voice.
All eyes turned to see a pony entering the courtyard from a side door. The rattling of bones and trinkets could be heard each time the pony took a step forward. The cloaked stranger was covered from head to hoof in relics and ancient looking scripts of magical knowledge. The foreign pony wore a cloak with a deer skull over his head, masking his identity. Two red eyes could be seen glowing behind the empty sockets of the milky white skull.
“Get back!” shouted Ajax. “Stand back if you know what’s good for you!” he shouted as he pointed his sword towards the pony. The stranger turned towards Ajax and tilted his head.
“It’s been quite some time, Ajax? Nearly a thousand years since we last met, correct?” said the masked pony.
“You know this guy?” asked Trixie as she nudged Ajax from behind.
Ajax grit his teeth and began taking a few steps back himself. “I mention him briefly to you, but you might not remember. Back when we were searching through that ruined city for the Elements of Chaos, I told you that story about what had happened to those who once inhabited that ruined city.”
“You mean about the hemomancers? The same race that one of your friends belonged to?”
“Yes, that’s the one. Do you remember how their empire fell?”
“You said a powerful…” Trixie paused as realization took over her. “This is him?! Is this the powerful wizard that supposedly invented dark magic?!”
“Yes.” Ajax calmly replied. ”He’s the only foe whom I’ve ever known to be able to raise the dead. I guess this explains, how Malice has been raising undead soldiers to fight for him.”
“That also means this pony was Starswirl's peer!” shouted Trixie.
“I see you’ve been talking about me,” said the stranger, chuckling slightly.
“I hoped that you were dead, Riggy Mortis,” growled Ajax.
“I’m afraid death isn’t something that comes easily to a warlock,” said Riggy Mortis.
“Let’s just see…” replied Ajax.
“Oh, Ajax still filled with that fire of yours I see. Too bad you don’t have any of your old comrades to back you up. I heard that Malice took care of them all, back in the Everfree Scar. I’ve been thinking about looking into where their corpses might be...”
“Shut your mouth,” hissed Ajax.
“Enough of this!” cried Bjorn. “We have no time for idle chats. Nopony can be a match for all of us!”
“I didn’t want to take any chances, so I went ahead and guaranteed that this farce would end tonight…” said Riggy Mortis.
“What did you do?” thought Mehpistochlees turning his head to the masked pony.
A rough, but refined voice, which resonated with god-like power filled the air. “He went ahead and informed me about your blunders, Mehpistochlees.” In a bolt of lightning a towering figure appeared in the middle of the courtyard. A draconequus with glowing orange eyes, covered in dark dragon-like scales, the new ruler over Equestria.
“L-Lord Malice?” everyone heard the fear in the demonic voice that was in their head. Both Mephistoclees and Riggy Mortis bowed down before the sinister looking draconequus.
“I have no interest in speaking to you, warden,” said Malice as he shrunk down to a manageable size. Malice stretched and cracked his neck, before approaching those who had attempted to escape confinement. “I would like to speak to them however…” Every man, pony, gryphon, and minotaur already knew the power that the draconequus wielded, all they could do was hold their breath and hope for the best. “Oh come now, there’s no need to look all upset just because I’ve shown up,” chuckled the dragon-like draconequus.
“We won’t go down without a fight!” cried out Celestia. Everyone and everypony cheered out in agreement, solidifying their defiance to the demonic overlord.
“There’s no reason for us to fight, Celestia.” Malice snapped his fingers, summoning a tiny birdcage in his left claw. Inside the cage was a miniscule figure, similar to that of a serpent. “I had planned on letting all of you go, it’s quite boring having no one to defy me…” said Malice as he stuck a talon inside the birdcage, playing with whatever was trapped inside.
“Discord?!” cried out Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus managed to recognize the tiny figure even through the dark veil of night.
“I will let all of you go, but this one’s staying with me.” Malice began to twirl the bird cage around on a talon, with a smug grin. Discord banged off the corners of the cage as it continued to twirl around.
“You’re actually going to let us walk out of here?” asked Ajax, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Malice snapped his fingers, creating a sudden outburst of energy that blew away half of the entire keep’s wall.
“Your exit is right there…” said the Draconequus as he turned his attention back towards Discord.
“You’re letting them go?” thought a voice in everyone’s head.
Malice looked over his shoulder before turning to face Mephistochlees. The demon quickly realized his mistake.
“I’m sorry my lord. Sometimes I think out loud. It will never happen again, I swear!” the demonic fiend held up its claws, begging for its life as it fell to its knees. Malice raised a claw up and pointed it back towards the demon. Mephistochlees was lifted off the ground and with a flick of the draconequus’ fingers was brought before Malice.
“Care to look into my mind, warden? Take a glimpse at your demise,” said Malice as he looked back up at the rebellious force of heroes before him. “Go ahead and leave already,” growled the demon as his orange eyes burned into a hot red.
“Please, I can-”
“Silence! That’s enough out of you.” roared Malice as he looked back down at the demonic lord before him.
Ajax was the first to step towards the exit, Trixie, Chrysalis, and Lightning Dust were quick to follow him. It didn’t take long for the others to follow, no one wished to wait around and see if the demon would change his mind. Soon everyone began to flee as fast as they could. Malice’s voice however could still be heard all the way back at the demonic citadel.
“Let’s see if that physical form of yours can handle being turned inside out like a plastic bag!” The cries of pain from Mephistochlees mind rang out in every creature's head as they continued to make a run for safety. Cries of torment and agony, unlike anything they’ve heard before. Some even felt bad for the demon.
The refugees came across a tree line and hid themselves in the forest. Gryphons, minotaurs, and ponies began to attend to one another's wounds and needs, they had finally found rest for the first time in weeks.
Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie gathered around a fire that had been constructed by those who opposed Malice. They now had a decent sized opposition, but nothing that could compare to an army. Nearly a hundred ponies, with half as many gryphons, followed by about a dozen minotaurs, made up their forces.
“This is great! We’ve managed to break out nearly everypony and walk out with no casualties,” exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she laid back against a tree. The colorful pegasus watched as everyone continued to prepare a camp for the night. The starry night twinkled above them, peaceful and distant.
“But we left Discord…” murmured Fluttershy as she pushed a rock on the forest floor.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine, dearie. If Malice hasn’t hurt him yet, then I’m sure everything will be ok,” said Rarity. The white unicorn sat on a log next to the fire while a “kind” minotaur built the pony’s make-shift tent for her.
“I’m still trying to figure out why Malice let us walk away like that,” thought Twilight out loud. “If he’s trying to rule over all Equestria, then why did he let those with the highest amount of potential to successfully oppose him go?”
“You’re forgetting something Twilight,” said a voice.
The alicorn looked behind her and saw Ajax standing behind her, the man was accompanied by his team of villainous ponies. He gave an exhausted sigh, before sitting down next to Twilight.
“You’ve for-” Ajax’s speech slowed down before he stopped mid-sentence. Every pony, gryphon, and minotaur who had been setting up camp was now glaring at the human, their eyes filled with spite and hatred for the man. Even Twilight and her friends showed nothing but enmity towards the man. “Um…” mumbled Ajax when he saw all the death glares.
“You should be more than happy that we’re willing to let you leave here alive, monster,” growled a voice. The man turned to see the massive head of a gryphon suddenly press itself against his forehead. Bjorn’s hawk-like eyes stared at Ajax, if Ajax had to choose anyone who he thought hated him the most, it would definitely be this gryphon.
“Maybe it’s best that you leave.”
Ajax turned to see that Twilight had scooted her seat quite a ways away from the man.
“This can’t be coming as a surprise to you, little one,” said the gruff voice of a minotaur.
“Hey! We’re fine without the likes of you clowns! Ajax is just trying to be nice to you jerks for whatever reason!” shouted Trixie as she bit Bjorn’s tail and pulled he gryphon away from Ajax.
“You can’t actually be serious! You think we need your help?!” screeched Bjorn as he turned to the tiny unicorn who had bit his tail. The monstrous gryphon easily dwarfed Trixie, but the pony showed no sign of fear toward the gryphon king.
“He just wanted to help... maybe because he pities you,” said Trixie with a sly smirk.
“HOW DARE YOU!” roared the gryphon as it raised up a claw.
“ENOUGH!” A gush of bright light blinded every creature. Bjorn’s claw dug into the side of a tree, missing Trixie. Everyone stumbled around, blinking their eyes, trying to figure out what had just happened. A white alicorn stepped forward and approached the center of the commotion.
“No more fighting,” said Celestia as she stamped a hoof against the grassy floor.
“But Celestia-” said Twilight.
“I said enough Twilight,” snapped the alicorn, shutting the purple unicorn's mouth.
“No!” shouted back Twilight. Celestia was caught off guard by her ex-apprentice’s defiance. “It’s not enough! You tell us to work with this… this… MONSTER and you expect us to follow you blindly?!” shouted Twilight as she pointed a hoof towards Ajax. “This man is responsible for thousands of lost lives, he nearly even killed my brother!”
“He forced me to become a weapon for his own use! Making me hurt those that I cared most about!” shouted Luna as she stepped forward.
“What about Horizon Star! This here vermin is responsible for killing Equestria’s greatest general, princess!” yelled Applejack.
“HE KILLED THE URSA MAJOR, BUBBLES!!!” sobbed Fluttershy as tears poured from her eyes.
“Not even his own teammates like him! I overhead that Chrysalis wants him gone just as much as we do!” said Twilight as she stared at Celestia.
Celestia tried to settle everyone down, but bringing up remembrances of what Ajax had done, caused the heroes of Equestria to turn into quite the angry mob. “Settle down! I know- I said quite!” shouted Celestia, but the crowd was deafening.
”QUIET!” shouted the voice of a half-man half-demonic creature.
They all paused to see Ajax burning with black fire, his breath heavy. The man had managed to quiet everyone down. All eyes were upon him.
“I’ve made mistakes, but this isn’t about forgiveness for what I’ve done. This is about defeating Malice,” said Ajax as he brushed his hand through his hair. “Many of you may be wondering, as to why Malice let us walk out from under his claw today. I can assure you, that he didn’t do this in order to play a fun game of hide and seek with us.” Ajax paused for a moment and sat down on a log. Everyone continued to watch and wait to hear what the human had to say.
“Malice doesn’t want to rule Equestria. He seeks to destroy the entire thing and rebuild it to his own image. In order to do this, he needs the Elements of Harmony, which he already has, but he’s missing the second crucial thing necessary to achieve his goal. The Elements of Chaos.” Ajax stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again.
“As you all may know, I’ve recently used said elements, and I’m the only one who knows there whereabouts. Malice knows that they are our only hope to defeat him… he knows that we’ll lead him-.... that I’ll lead him to them. He’s making a bet that even with them, we won’t be able to stand against him.”
“I still see no reason as to why we HAVE to work with you. Just tell us where you hid them and we can be on our separate ways,” said Ironhoof. The minotaur stood firmly with his arms folded.
“Sure, I could tell you where I hid them and we could be on our separate ways, but then what happens?” said Ajax as he place his arm against his side. “Would you use them against Malice?” he asked as he pointed his arm towards the minotaur. “Or would you use them?” he said before pointing towards Luna. “Or do you expect the Elements of Harmony to use them against Malice for you.” Ajax now extended his arm towards Twilight and her friends. “Tell me which one of you will use them against Malice? Not only must the user be willing to put up with the consequences, but they must have an attunement to the elements, similar as to what Twilight and her friends have with the Elements of Harmony. So, tell me. Which of you will use the Elements of Chaos?”
“I will,” stated Bjorn as he stepped forward. “I will use them against Malice, so how about you tell me where you hid them.”
“Don’t be a fool, Bjorn. You know not what power you’re dabbling in!” shouted Celestia as she trotted forward.
“I would rather die using the elements than allow this fiend to get his hands on them again! Why is he still alive, anyways?! It was your job to make sure he never saw the light of day after we captured him!”
“I don’t like the idea either, but it’s all we got,” said Celestia as she pleaded Bjorn to consider the thought.
“Gah,” sneered the elderly gryphon as he turned back around. “Let’s just pray that when the time comes you’ll actually be able to defeat Malice.”
Everyone began to go about setting up camp again. Ajax turned to his comrades and signaled for them to follow him. “Let’s find someplace where we won’t be bothered…” he said as he led them to a site where no one had yet set up camp.
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”Honestly brother, it’s quite hard to grab ahold of you, if you keep squirming around like this.”
A dark throne room, filled with fire and pillars leading up towards a massive throne where a demonic like being sat, at the very pinnacle of the room. Surprisingly the room was filled with a rather sweet aroma, the smell was similar to that of cherry, but it was too faint to tell. Malice sat alone in the room, or so it seemed. In betwixt the monsters talons squirmed a serpent-like figure, trying to avoid the demon’s grasp.
“Are you afraid of me?” asked Malice as he snatched at his talons with his other claw. The demonic draconequus slowly opened his claws, but he had grabbed ahold of nothing.
“Afraid of you? Oh hoh ho no, of course not brother,” laughed Discord. The small draconequus’ head popped out from between Malice’s claws, but quickly sank back in between them.
“Is that so? We’ll then, why do you keep fleeing my gaze?” Malice held up his claw and opened it, he turned it around, but there was no sign of Discord anywhere.
“It’s just that, I get the feeling you’re a little tiny weenie itsy bitsy… mad about what happened all those years ago.”
“Mad? Naw, I let you out of your cage because I wanted to talk about your part in my plan,” said Malice as he dug a talon into his ear. The monstrous draconequus pulled Discord from out of his ear and held his filthy brother before him.
“M-my part?” asked Discord.
“Yes… your part,” chuckled Malice as he licked his lips.
“You want me to lead your army of demons as a general?”
“No,” responded Malice as he opened his mouth and held Discord before it. “What the,” muttered Malice when he felt an intense taste of mint, wash over his mouth. “GAH!” roared the demon as he spat off to the side.
“You wanted me to brush your teeth, right?” asked Discord as he held up a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush.
“Don’t you get it you imbecile!?” growled Malice. “I’m going to-”
“Let me go?” interrupted Discord.
“NO! I’m going to eat-”
“A healthy breakfast?” asked Discord as he held up a entree of breakfast foods.
“NO!!! ENOUGH GAMES! I’M GOING TO-” began Malice, but noticed that Discord was no longer in between his claws. “Discord…” growled Malice as he lifted a claw up into the air. An intense vacuum filled the room, as a ball of darkness appeared in the draconequus’ claws, a void of energy that drew everything inside it. The pillars of the chamber shook violently, but finally the one Malice had sought appeared in the palm of his hand. Discord squeaked when Malice gripped him tightly in his clutches. “It’s time to join your brothers and sisters, Discord.”
“You won’t get away with this!” shouted Discord.
“Oh come now, don’t give me that spiel. I don’t care what challenges you and your “friends” have overcome in the past, this is Equestria’s destiny. This is my destiny and you know it. You may have managed to set me back a few millennia… and so did that human, but you knew this day would come. You’ve had your fun ruling over Equestria, and so have her filthy inhabitants, but now it’s time to recreate the world to my own image.”
“We like this world! We don’t want it to change!”
Malice laughed at Discord, the draconequus’ grip on his brother continued to tighten and tighten. “You were always the funny one, Discord, but don’t worry, you’ll be right at home where you belong soon enough, with all your brothers and sisters. With you I will finally be complete and with the Elements of Chaos and Harmony, I will defy the very creator of this world, I will reconstruct it in my own image, and not even he or she will be able to stop me!” Malice suddenly chomped down on Discord’s head, he sucked the draconequus’ limp body into his mouth like a string of spaghetti.
“Now then… Let’s see where your friends will be leading me… oh brother of mine.”