Celestia and her students hurried to the edge of the city. The ground shook and fragments of broken stone flew through the air as Poseidon and Gaea fought against the crumbling mountain. Not wanting to waste a moment, Rainbow Dash flew on to see if she could help the king and queen on her own. She found them at at the foot of the mountain, struggling in their efforts.
“Hey!” Rainbow called. “Need some help?”
Poseidon glanced up to Rainbow. “It's not safe out here!” he shouted. “get as far from here as you can!”
“No way!” Rainbow protested. “Celestia teleported us all the way here to help you guys, and that's just what we're going to do!”
“Celestia brought you?”
“That's Rainbow Dash, one of Twilight's friends and the wielder of Loyalty,” Gaea pointed out to her mate.
Poseidon smacked aside a boulder and glanced back to Rainbow. “Oh,” he he remarked, seeing the technicolour mane and tail of the pegasus.
Rainbow looked at the scene before her. Gaea was so focused on keeping the mountain from collapsing she could not take care of the boulders that fell about them, and Poseidon was struggling to fend the stones off with just a little river. Rainbow tried to figure out some way she could be of assistance, but the thundering around her was drowning out her thoughts. Then, she found inspiration in the chaotic din. “Hold on to your feathers!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I got this!”
The pegasus tore through the air straight for the the mountain in a rainbow blur. She streaked close to the ground, kicking up a great cloud of dust in her wake as Rainbow zigzagged between the falling boulders. The rocks fell like rain, but they were no threat to the nimble little pony. As Rainbow reached the middle of the mountains ruined face, she banked hard away from it. With a mighty beat from her wings, Rainbow summoned all of her strength and ripped the air asunder with the force of her body. The air exploded with a thunderous boom, and waves of wind and hue raced across the face of the mountain, shattering the loose stones and blowing away the obscuring dust.
“Now!” called out Rainbow. “Before it starts to fall again!”
Ignoring the spectacle that danced above them, the alicorns worked together to close up the mountain. Things were getting under control when Celestia caught up with the rest of her students. The princess panted, exhausted by her efforts in the last few hours. She looked upon her father; battered, cut and dirty. She hoped that he was only as injured as he looked. Then, further away, Celestia's eyes rested on a sight that washed away all of her pains. Her mother, her real mother, was standing tall and mighty, commanding her powers like only she could.
Celestia ran to Gaea, her joy washing the dirt and ash from her face. She called to Gaea, who almost dropped her spell; so happy she was that Celestia was safe. The two of them spoke of their happiness through their eyes, sharing only a moment that to them felt like all the days they should of had together.
Gaea returned to her work. “Have you found the Elements?” she asked her daughter.
“No,” answered Celestia. “Luna's hidden them. She is being quite cautious this time.”
“I see... We may have to use some other way of cleaning up this mess.”
The earth gave another faint tremor. While the mountain was mostly repaired, it was still very unstable and could fall at the slightly provocation. Gaea sighed, frustrated at the temperamental earth.
Rarity approached Gaea. “Excuse me, your majesty, but I couldn't help but notice that those earthquakes are being a real bother to you.”
“Yes,” Gaea responded. “While Discord had me imprisoned, the earth slipped from control, and they refused to listen to that monster.”
“Good for... It... But, your back now. It will listen to you, right?”
“Yes, but it is turmoil now, and I haven't had a chance to calm it because I am trying to fix this mountain.”
“Well, you can leave that to Poseidon, Twilight and I,” said Rarity proudly. “I've been practising what you taught me back in Ponyville, and I'm sure we can handle it from here.”
“Really?” asked Gaea, doubtful of Rarity's boast.
“Quite. Twilight, dear,” Rarity called. “Would you like to help us?”
“Love to,” Twilight answered, and joined Poseidon and Rarity. The three of them began their magic; Poseidon threw water up the side of the mountain, softening the earth. Meanwhile, Rarity and Twilight set to stitching the stone back together; Twilight squishing the rock crudely together, while Rarity wove the grain of the stone into a tight mesh.
“It's not much different than making a quilt,” assured Rarity. “We can take it from here. You go show that naughty earth who's boss.”
“Thank you,” said Gaea. She bowed her head to Rarity and Twilight, and disappeared into the earth.
The mountain was soon finished, and the tremors had ceased. Gaea had still not resurfaced, but Poseidon reassured them that she was fine. “It can take some coaxing to get a tantrum under control,” he explained. Pleased with the answer, they gathered together to plan their next move.
“Luna has hidden the elements and we don't have time to go hunting for them,” began Celestia. “Father, do you know of anything that could help us fight Discord or restore Luna?”
Poseidon rubbed a hoof to his chin. “Discord said something earlier. ' The Fire of Friendship didn't work...' Gaea must have tried to fight him with that.”
“That's how he got out?” Celestia asked.
“I don't think that was all there was to it, but he brought it up.”
“Well, maybe we could use that Fire against Discord,” Applejack pointed out. “We'll ask Gaea what went wrong when she comes back up.”
“Or I could tell you what happened,” Discord suggested. Everypony looked at Discord standing between Fluttershy and Pinkie. They jumped away from him and got ready to defend their selves. Discord flapped his hands at them dismissively. “Calm down before you blow a fuse. I just wanted to save you some trouble.”
“That sounds as likely as a tap dancing chicken!” snapped Applejack.
A line of tap dancing chickens in tiny suit and top hats crossed the road.
“Hey, look A-” began Pinkie.
“I see 'em...”
“I'm just going to be straight with you,” assured Discord. “The Fire of Friendship won't work because you all hate me.”
“What?” exclaimed Twilight.
“Yep, Gaea engulfed me in that conflagration and it was just like being out on a spring day. You should of seen the hate in her eyes. So different from the mare you think you know.”
“Silly filly!” giggled Pinkie. “Gaea is super nice. At most I think she would be grumpy.”
“No,” said Poseidon coldly. “We know only hate for Discord.”
Discord smiled. “You see; he admits it. With the Elements gone, I'm untouchable!” Discord's laughter rang through the ears of his enemies, and he soaked in their despair.
“Where are the Elements anyway,” Twilight asked, refusing to give up.
“Oh, don't bother.,” chided Discord. “Not even I can get to them.”
“So, Luna put them on the moon?” asked Poseidon.
Discord froze. “So what if they are. It's not like any of you can reach them.”
“No,” agreed Poseidon. He then pointed behind Discord. “But she can.”
Discord turned to look behind him. Rising from the earth was a massive stone spike. It was followed by the head of a great stone horse with lava lighting up its eyes and flowing from its mane. It pulled itself from the ground like it was water, and stood tall of great pillars, obsidian hooves capping the end of each. Great wings of flame unfurled, blocking out the sky, and the colossus stared down at the draconequus with swirling red eyes.
“Gaea!” Poseidon called. “We know where the Elements are!”
“Luna's hid them on the moon!” Celestia shouted.
From inside her monstrous creation, Gaea looked skyward. The great lunar orb that she and Poseidon had raised to the heavens ages ago hung low and black in the sky. Somewhere on it was their hope of rescuing Luna and vanquishing Discord. Closing her eyes, Gaea hope that her fortress would hold, and she reached out her magic to the sky.
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Luna looked in awe at the might displayed not only by her family, but Celestia's students had considerably grown in might since she faced them years ago. Doubt in Discord began to crawl across her mind, and the idea to flee began to creep up on her. These notions were all banished from thought as Luna felt a disturbance in the air. There was something intangible resisting her, slow and deliberate. Luna cast her gaze to the sky and let out a gasp.
The moon seemed to grow as it silently moved towards the earth. The world grew darker as the corona of the sun became engulfed, and the hue of the sky slipped into a bloody red. The only strong light left shone from Gaea's fiery shell that towered over the houses at the edge of Canterlot.
Luna raged as her kingdom fall around her. She felt betrayed, angry, weak... “No,” cried Luna as she stamped the floor in defiance. “We are not weak. We will show those who defy us our might.” Luna's starry locks grew and flowed around her, and she flew off in the sinister mist.
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Discord had not counted on another being able to directly influence the moon. He tried to blast away Gaea earthy fortress, but the fire and lava lashed back at him, defying the usurper with all of their will. As Discord readied another attack, he heard the other ponies called out to him.
“Discord!” Twilight hollered. “We beat you before, and we'll do it again! Everypony!” Twilight's friends gathered close to the unicorn, determination carved deeply in their faces. “Charge!”
Rainbow flew straight for Discord as bolts of magic streaked past. Discord slipped away just in time, and when he reappeared was greeted by a sharp pain in his back. Applejack had raced around the edge of the battlefield, and caught Discord with his back turned. She kicked him as hard as she could, sending the draconequus tumbling across the ground. As Twilight, Rarity, Celestia and Poseidon kept the pressure on their foe with their magic, Applejack pull some rope from a nearby carriage and fashioned a lasso.
Discord slipped away again as spells blasted a crater where he lay just a moment ago. He hid behind a rock, preparing a counterattack. As he peeked over the rock to survey the situation, he found himself staring into a pair of big blue eyes. Pinkie loudly blew a curled up noisemaker, making Discord jump in surprise. The sound caught the attention of the unicorns and alicorns, who redirected their efforts back onto Discord. He stepped back from the spells, tripping over Fluttershy who had been hiding behind the same rock from all of the violence.
Applejack raced over, twirling her lasso high above her. She tossed it out to the dazed Discord. As it slipped around his shoulder, Applejack pulled tight, trapping the mischief makers arms to his sides. They closed in on the ensnared serpent, scowling at their captive.
The unicorns and alicorns prepared to trap Discord, if only momentarily, with all the bind magic they knew. As they raised their horns to their prisoner, lightning rained down from the sky. Everyone leaped for cover as the powerful bolts struck close, singeing the tips of tails and wings. From above descended a swirling black mist, landing before the bound Discord. The darkness parted, revealing Luna, her eyes and armour glistening in the fiery light.
“Luna, so good of you to finally show up,” Discord said sarcastically.
Luna glowered at Discord. “So sorry, But it seemed like you had things under control.”
Discord wiped the frown from his face and slurped up the rope. He stood up and dusted himself off before responding. “Whatever. It's more fun to shared ones toys anyway.”
Luna smiled. “So true. Which ones would you like?”
“Luna!”
Luna turned to the Poseidon. She took in the despair that filled his eyes at the sight of his fell child.
“Luna...” he pleaded again.
“You should be able to handle the little foals,” remarked Luna to Discord. “We shall play with the grown ups.” In a flash, Luna blew across the ground in a black cloud, ramming into Poseidon and Celestia. The two spun an the ground as Luna took the the sky, lightning trailing behind her.
“Celestia, you stay here with your friends and protect Gaea,” said Poseidon. “I'll try to get through to Luna.”
“You can't face her on your own now,” Celestia protested. “You're too hurt.”
Twilight stepped up to the alicorns, and placed a hoof reassuringly on her Poseidon. “Don't worry, your majesty. We can keep Discord busy until you two return.”
Celestia, smiled proudly at the courage of her students. Poseidon closed his eyes, resigning to placing his faith in six little ponies facing a terrible foe. Ready for their own battle, Poseidon and Celestia took off after their wayward kin.
The sky grew ever darker as the moon came closer. Tongues of flame licked its surface as it broke through the atmosphere. Soon even a pegasus would be able to reach the moon's surface. The alicorns peered far into the eerie vast around them, watchful for Luna hiding among the black clouds.
Celestia thought back to the first time she had faced her sister in battle a thousand years ago. It was a long, hard battle that had scarred the land even to this day. Celestia was also protected by magic armour like her sister now wore, but now she flew through the air exposed save for her crown and collar. She glanced her father, who, on top of being injured, was even less protected.
Then, something caught the princess's eye. Above them, a shadow blocked some of the flames in the sky. Celestia motioned upward, and Poseidon, acknowledging the sign, broke away. The two of them listened for an attack, ready to react at a moments notice. Soon enough, their was the glint of silver diving at Celestia. Poseidon cried out a warning, and Celestia rolled away as Luna ripped through the air, dark mist billowing in her wake.
Celestia corrected her flight as Poseidon gave chase, trying to force Luna to land. From behind the white princess, the lingering mist gathered. It move on silent wind towards Celestia, and engulfed the mare. Celestia struggled against the stiffening mass as it dragged her back to the ground and away from the battle. Losing altitude fast, the solar princess built up her power and let loose a great burst of radiance, dissipating the dusky prison.
For a brief moment the sky was once again blue. Luna, being the only combatant with nocturnal eyes, had lost her greatest advantage, and Poseidon seized the moment to close in on his daughter. He pulled his limbs in tight and dove like a missile at Luna. The two crashed into each other in a tangle of legs and wings, plummeted to the earth far below.
Celestia dove through the air after her sister and father. As the light faded once more from the world, she shone a ray to act as a spotlight on the wrestlers. She did not want to lose sight of them when the darkness returned. Celestia was getting closer and closer as her marks fell farther and farther, and she hoped that they would pull away before they met with the ground.
Blasts of magic shot out between kicks and headbutts from Luna as she tried furiously to escape. They were falling to the forest far below Canterlot, and the wild spells had set trees ablaze and rocks tumbling through the air with the alicorns. The ground was getting closer, and Poseidon spread his wings, trying to direct their fall into the lake beneath them. Seizing the opportunity, Luna licked hard into one of her father's wings. His grip loosened, and Luna spun away. Poseidon tumbled through the air a moment, but it was a moment too long. Luna rushed at Poseidon and stomped him him fiercly towards the water. He hit the surface with a great splash as the rocks fell around him. Not wasting a second, Luna's horn fizzled the the buildup of electricity, and she scattered her lightning all across the body of water.
From above, Celestia screamed, but her voice was lost to the winds. Luna laughed deep, revelling in her victory. Celestia charged at her sister, screaming in anger, but Luna just whisked herself away letting the mourning princess crash into the lake.
Celestia floundered in the dark water. She shone her light everywhere, searching desperately for Poseidon. Her light eventually came to rest on a dark mass floating amongst dead fish. Celestia kicked her legs, trying to get to the figure as fast as she could. When she reached it, Celestia was relieved to see it was indeed her father. She pushed the limits of her magic to try to teleport them to shore. A light from her horn flickered weakly, and Celestia began to feel lightheaded. Her lungs were beginning to burn, and the sight of Poseidon began to fade from her eyes as he started to drift slowly away... Further... further...
With a blast of light, the water fell from around Celestia. She coughed the water from her lungs and blinked her eyes, trying to regain her vision. Glistening next to her in the twilight was the still figure of Poseidon. Celestia scrambled to his side and began to tend to the beaten stallion.
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Discord strolled about the rubble, admiring his handiwork. Without the Elements of Harmony, Twilight and her friends were no match for a spirit like him. Pinkie was trapped in her own bubblegum hair, caught between trying to pull herself free and chewing on herself. Rainbow drifted slowly through the air blown up like a balloon, only able to flap her wings in a vain attempt at flying. Rarity had run off crying to hide her baldness. Fluttershy had perched herself precariously on a pebble, trying not to fall into the mass of dragons she imagine was below her. Applejack's hooves had become great swollen marshmallows, and she couldn't take take a step without tripping over herself. Meanwhile, Twilight had sheltered herself and Gaea in a force field, hoping to stave off Discord long enough for help to return. Gaea had pulled the moon in close enough, but only the alicorns were left to fly up and retrieve the Elements.
“Well, Twilight Sparkle, this sure was fun, wasn't it?” Discord teased.
“It's not over yet,” said Twilight defiantly.
“Oh, don't kid yourself. Look around you; your friends are beaten, the sky is falling, and, judging by all the lighting flashing across the sky, Celestia and Poseidon aren't doing any better.” Twilight tried her best to put on a brave face, but something deep within her feared that it all may be true. “Now, my little pony, let me in.”
As Discord prepared to strike the force field, there was a low rumbling that seemed to roll from the earth. Gaea, who had been still during the battle and focused on her spell, now stirred. She turned the glowing eyes of her hulk back unto Discord, and dove underground. The giant burst forth again like a great shark outside of Twilight's shield, and pounded the ground with her dark hooves. Towering over Discord, her eyes and hair rolling with the deep fires of the world, Gaea faced her old foe.
“Good show, good show....” Discord said mockingly. “It's very impressive, but what do you plan to do with it?”
Though the constructs mouth did not move, Gaea's voice came forth, rumbling like the stones in the hills, hissing like the sand in the wind. With but a word, she spelled out the doom of the serpent. Discord's lie this time had never reached Gaea, and he knew that this truth was his end.
“Forgive.”
Gaea spread the fiery wings of her craft and arced them high over her body. The crimson flames began to change to a brilliant magenta, and their light pierced far across the land. The lava in the beast followed suite, and there was a steady pulse that emitted from scene. As the waves rolled out, the ponies were freed from their chaotic torments, the crazed world that was Canterlot began to renew itself, and Discord found himself unable to flee under the oppressive energies that flowed over him.
Gaea raised her horn, a tiny fire budding at its tip. The flame then blossomed into twin blazes, slowly churning into each other and wavering with the beat that grew ever faster. The Fire was ready; the hate had been quelled. Gaea began to lower her head to bless Discord with the pure flame, and hoped it would end his strife for good.
Lightning streaked across the ground towards Gaea, ripping up the soil and leaving a deep glass scar on the colossus. Gaea paused, and through the dark spied Luna. The mother's heart went weak as terrible thoughts about Celestia and Poseidon flashed through her mind, but she pushed these away for the time being. Gaea had to finish her task with Discord, or there would be no freedom.
Discord, however, was heartened by Luna's solitary return. Sensing a moment of weakness in Gaea, he launched a ball of chaos at the flaming horse. He hoped to cast her away, but the alicorn's magic was denser then he counted on, and there was only a dripping mess of mud where the giant's chest was. The loose earth spilled forth, and the colossus, weakened greatly, twitched violently as it tried to remain standing.
Luna soared closer to the ground. She saw only the weakness in others now, and scowled at how Discord, a mighty spirit, could not even handle a single alicorn. “We will show that weak coward what real power is,” Luna thought to herself. She spied the hole that Discord had made in Gaea's armour, and knew how she would show her might to the world.
Luna lowered her head, and slipped though the air on silent wings straight for Gaea. The mighty beating from the giant slid over her without faltering her course, but Luna was not unaffected by their magic. While her armour protected her from harm, the healing power of the Fire of Friendship began to sink into her heart. The darkness in Luna struggled against the invading force, trying to finish it's quest for power. Luna closed her eyes tight as the evil desires cried out in pain. So engrossed had she become with her internal battle that she did not notice her horn slip into the muddy wound of Gaea's behemoth.
For and instant, everything was calm. The fire was extinguished, the beating stopped. Then, the great horse fell apart like a sand castle as two alicorns burst through the back of it covered in mud. Twilight and her friends held there breath as they waited in the dread silence that hung in the air. Even Discord remained quiet. For a while, nothing stirred. Then, a dark figure began to get on its hooves.
Luna stood up uneasily. She was weak, sore and terrible confused. She flicked the mud from her wings and tried to focus her vision onto her surroundings, but the dark world of red played with her played with her eyes. Something trickled down Luna's forehead, tickling her nose. She started to wipe it away, but the colour in the strange light caught her attention. Against the black mud and her dark coat, Luna saw the blood that stained her hoof. She hastily patted her head, afraid that she had injured herself, but she found no wound. Luna slid her hoof along her horn, and more blood lifted from its surface. Even more scared, Luna desperately searched about her praying that she was wrong.
The princess's eyes fell upon the broken form of an alicorn half buried in the mud. Red life stained the earth about the mare's chest, pouring forth from a deep wound that pierce her heart. The realization of what had happened gripped at Luna like an icy claw, and her eyes widened in horror at the truth.
“No...” Luna whispered, stepping away and begging for this to be just another nightmare. “No, no, no...” She glanced around, looking for help. Luna spotted Twilight nearby, starring in shock at what had happened. “Help me...” Luna asked, her voice cracking as her eyes struggled against her tears. The other ponies just stood by, unsure if there was anything they could do. “Help me!” Luna bellowed, her mane flying back from the force of her voice.
Discord turned and began to walk away. “This is too much for me...” he thought to himself. “Fun is fun, but you just play too rough, princess.” With a snap of his claws, Discord was gone.