Chapter 13: The Minuet
Time and Space Await…
-Wind in the rain, we wish only to be strong…
Interlude 7:
All he does is laugh. Even as the five remaining elements spiral and alight around the two alicorn sisters, all the draconequus does is laugh. It is amusing to him because of the determination they bear and because he knows what they do not.
“Hahaha!” he chuckles, doing several somersaults as he floats around above them. “You should see your faces.”
“Laugh while you can Discord!” the smaller alicorn jeers back at him, bearing on her face the same intolerant assurance as her sister who says nothing, standing firm.
“Ooohahaha!” the draconequus cackles. “Oh don’t you worry about me princess. Fire away. My body is ready,” he grins cheekily, spreading his arms out wide as if to embrace their attack, a small mock target appearing at his center. The pink maned alicorn clicks her tongue at this, insulted by his derision, but unfazed. The elements of harmony burst into a bright glow, their swirl of colors converging over the two sisters’ heads. It flares up, forming into a streak of translucent blue and pink light that arcs into the sky toward the draconequus. And still, all he does is laugh. The bow of color passes through him, striking the ground with no impact, a mere band of distorted light.
“Wahahah!” the draconequus whirls about in an uproar. “Ohhhh…” he breathes. “You know it’s hard not to be impressed with myself sometimes.”
“Discord!” The pink maned alicorn calls up to him, watching him bask in a spotlight that should’ve destroyed him. “What did you do!?”
“Me?” Discord questions. His jaw drops as he gestures to himself with his talon hand, putting on an expression of fake victimization. “…Hm.” he scratches his chin in thought. “You know not very much now that I think about it…”
“Isn’t it great!?” He grins and assumes a relaxed, smug recline in midair. “You have your dentist friend to thank for this…m…minute…or whatever her name was.”
“What did you do to her?” the smaller alicorn questions.
“Oh not much,” the draconequus twirls his hand as if to wave off a flattery. “Sweet nothings can destroy the world though you know.”
“Perhaps we need to use more power Tia?” The smaller alicorn suggests.
“You want to try again?” Her sister asks. The alicorn nods and the two turn to face the draconequus with renewed vigor.
“Hmmm,” the draconequus sits up, furrowing his brow. “Sorry, sisters,” he smirks. “There won’t be any harmony today. Just pure pandemonium!” He shouts this last sentence with a swirl of his body and a flick of his tail, a movement that seemingly ruptures the air, sending a wave of force like an air burst from a falling meteor. The wave tears the two sisters off their hooves, sending them tumbling back as the objects swirling around them shatter into bladed shards of hail. They grind to a halt in the soil, battered and peppered with cuts from the pieces of the elements, many of which now surround them, stuck into the dirt like knives.
“Haha!” the draconequus laughs. “Who knew it would be so easy! Embrace the madness my little ponies! It’s Discord’s world now! Oh…” He stops for a second seeming to ponder his own words. “Perhaps I should rename it…heh.” He grins as an idea pops into his head. “Perhaps something like…Discortopia! Ha! Ahaha! How brilliantly contradictory!” A swirling mass of pink cotton candy clouds forms like a gathering thunderstorm as the draconequus continues to laugh over his success. But, as he celebrates high above, the smaller alicorn manages to open one eye, a seeping cut just below the other, so she keeps it tightly shut. The fresh wounds feel like the pieces of crystal are still wedged in them and she finds it difficult to stand.
“Tia…” She says faintly. “Did we fail again?” Her sister doesn’t move. The alicorn with the bright pink mane seems breathless and her countenance is dimmed, her body torn and her determination gone.
“Tia?” The younger alicorn painfully drags her beaten body over to her sister, cringing as the dirt sifts through her wounds like salt. But her tears are not from her physical pain. “We can try again right? Tia?” Luna puts a hoof around Celestia’s back, shaking her gently, trying to get her attention.
“Tia?” The alicorn’s eyes well up and she begins to sob. “No…” She whimpers, laying her head down on the torn checkerboard tile next to her sisters’. The older alicorn’s eyes are shut, and they do not open.
“No…wake up, Tia…We can still try… Tia…” Their horns touch, but only one of them sparks.
“You…” comes a deep, hollow voice.
“Hm?” the draconequus stops his reveling, nothing more than curious about what will be thrown his way next.
“I’m not going to rely on these artifacts anymore,” The unicorn steps forward, placing himself in front of the two defeated sisters.
“Sombra…” The small blue alicorn pleads with him. “Please don’t…”
“I have no other choice,” the unicorn states, a dark ambition in his voice as his eyes burn green.
“Ooooo,” the draconequus marvels. “This should be interesting. What are you going to do?” the unicorn glares up at him.
“I’m going to destroy you, Discord.”
Interlude End...
It is a battle without limits, a clash between legends. Here, the light from the marble of the Timescape meets the glass of the Grand Kaleidoscope. One attempts to distort that which has no form and the other attempts to destroy that which assumes any form. One cannot be broken and the other is already broken.
Colgate finds her power to be boundless. No matter the strength or vigor of energy she throws at the mad mare before her, it always comes back. It is a shower of diamonds, a cascade of thousands of sharpened grains of sand that hurtle from her horn. Nothing has worked before. Until now, it has been failure. But such an abounding strength cannot fail at the purpose toward which directs its might. It is a power that tears foundations, an upheaval that not even the strongest structures can withstand. Every building falls when the ground is rent beneath its pillars.
Except for this one. If Colgate’s power is something that tears the ground, then her opponent is one that has no need of it. As she had done before, Colgate wields her strands of projected dental floss like whips. Yet this time they seem less like dental floss and more like she has found some way to fight with the strings of existence. The white strands strip through the blueness around them like flails, tearing what should not be torn. They leave pockets of blackness in their wake, gaps that desperately seal themselves shut as space repairs itself.
But even this existential rending leaves Screwball only angrier with each offense. Like paper, her limbs are torn from reality, wounds that do not bleed but whose empty black voids are quickly filled in with replacements. The mare’s body is continuously shredded and reformed, a pain that does not faze her, but only increases her madness. Their battle is one flashing blue and pink light, Screwball, soaring about the liquid expanse of the Timescape in a bubble of pink magic, viciously attempting to ram Colgate. Even in the instance the mare was able to avoid all of Colgate’s attacks, bouncing and zigzagging off nothing like light reflected off a mirror, Screwball is met with Colgate’s own bubble, a dome of blue that encases her, a stalwart force that deflects Screwball out into the void again. More and more hatred is poured into each of her returns; she is a rogue comet bent on obliterating her star. But she does not have the force.
With a silencing, space shaking sonic boom, Screwball slammed to the watery floor, the small ripples tickling the underside of Colgate’s hooves. For a moment, their fight became silent. Screwball glared Colgate down with her swirly eyes, far from exhausted, but twisted with frustration.
“You won’t get the best of me this time Screwball,” Colgate snapped, her strands of floss standing at the ready as they emerged from the water below her. Screwball spat and grit her teeth, her face unable to convey just how much fury she felt on the inside.
“Hark, hark,” She said, vitriol and sarcasm seated in her tone. “The dogs do bark… The beggars are coming to town, some in rags, some in tags and one in a velvet gown!”
“Real words please,” Colgate smirked. Screwball’s eyes widened in indignation as she stomped her hoof and screamed.
“You’re nothing special!” Her stomp was like a punch in time, the space in front of Colgate shattering like glass, leaving a jagged black hole out of which emerged a black hand. It was large enough to grab her and crush her and it went for her like that was its intention. But it was stopped, its black knuckles clenched around the surface of Colgate’s magic blue bubble. It slammed down on the dome with a weight Colgate didn’t anticipate. It was as though Screwball had turned space inside out. This hand was trying to pull her into the void it came from, some flip side of reality. As it pressed down on her and pulled, Colgate watched her shield crack. Not now, she thought. There was no way she was going to let something like this beat her at this point. She was stronger than it. Static spiked from her horn in sharp jolts as Colgate prepared herself. A vibrant cerulean beam burst from her horn, swirling through the phantom hand in spiraling helix. But rather than obliterate her foe, the destructive beam seemed to repair everything in front of her instead. The tip of Colgate’s horn popped violently as the hand was forced back into its void and the space in front of her warped back together like a blender working in reverse. Recoiling from the pain in her head, Colgate had little time to recover. Screwball barreled toward her in the wake of her distortion, a pink bolt of lightning ready to impale. Colgate bowed her strands of floss over her and Screwball rammed into where they converged, small centimeters away from Colgate’s face. For a few moments, the two powers clash, pink and blue magic and lightning radiating out from where they meet, Screwball’s eyes deadlocked to Colgate’s through Colgate’s cage of strings.
“I won’t lose to you!” Colgate yelled defiantly, pushing all of her effort forward. In a flash of blue, Screwball’s pink aura shattered and Colgate’s strands of floss drilled forward and tore through her as they met, nothing to protect the rogue, pink comet anymore. The strands separated and pulled the mare apart. In the silence of the existential boom Colgate could hear the water below her slosh gently, her strands of floss wavering above her like tall reeds in a pond. There was no blood, just four different fractions of pink, four jagged and ripped shards that looked like paper, pink on the outside and starry and surreal on the inside, drifted peacefully down. Had this mare been made of paper? Colgate marveled at the sight, wondering if she had simply ripped apart a sock puppet.
Yet, the torn shreds suddenly leapt to life, swirling and converging to a point. Fusing, they sloshed together like clay, quickly and perfectly reforming the mare that Colgate had just torn apart. Screwball plopped to the ground with a light splash panting slightly as though she had just stopped running, but brushing her tail back and forth in the water behind her, clearly ready to fight more.
“What did I dream?” Screwball grinned, eyes alight again. “I do not know. The fragments fly like chaff. Yet strange my mind was tickled so, I cannot help but laugh…”
“What?” Colgate said, half at seeing Screwball seemingly unharmed and ready to go again and half at her strange rhyme.
“One to make ready,” Screwball ignored her, her eyes still set with determination to kill her rival. “And two to prepare; good luck to the rider, and…” Screwball paused, her body glowing pink again.
“Away goes the mare!” Screwball boomed forward in a rush that sent a shining pink bow expanding across the water in her wake. Colgate renewed her defenses and Screwball rebounded of her shield and their battle, as it stood, had essentially reset.
I don’t get it, Colgate thought. She was strong now wasn’t she? Didn’t she have all the power of the Timescape at her disposal? Could she not cast any spell she set her mind to without exhaustion? So then…what? Why couldn’t she defeat this mare?
Wind in the rain, we wished only to be strong.
Another cataclysmic boom shook the blueness around them as Screwball clashed with Colgate again.
There is only assurance in this child’s eyes. Who made the young ghost doubt her footsteps?
Was this not it, Colgate thought? Did she only feel strong while lacking the actual power? This couldn’t be right. She had watched herself tear holes in space, grapple with pure chaos. So then…why?
Colgate watched as Screwball rocketed in for another strike, but made no effort to stop it.
“Am I still not strong enough…Ruya?” With a bang like a cannon, Colgate was sent tumbling over herself, violently splashing through the water, smacking her face across its surface several times. Her strands of floss crumbled into sand and Colgate skid to a halt. She lay there, face in the water and mane plastered sadly across the back of her neck and over her eyes.
“Ahahahah!” Screwball spiraled around in the air with glee, watching as Colgate made no effort to rise. “You finally give up, Clocktail?” Colgate raised her head, her weary eyes met with the sight of Ruya’s ashes and the fragments of the element of harmony, both seemingly undisturbed by the chaos of the fight around them that had shaken space itself.
Remember all of the lights? Never have the stars of night looked so dim nor have they failed to dazzle me so as in the face of these. I loved all of those lights…and they loved me back.
Colgate eyed the gray, lifeless shards amongst the ashes of her friend, recalling the words she had said over and over.
“So many lights…” Colgate mumbled to herself. “Remember all of the lights.” Colgate looked to her right as a small splash of water alerted her. She was met with Ruya’s thin presence, a frame she could see through to the blueness behind her. The filly’s face was sad, concerned for her again defeated friend.
“Dentist pony?” She said.
“I’ll never defeat her on my own will I?” Colgate asked. Ruya lowered her ears.
“Well…no…” she answered.
“I get it…” Colgate looked away, standing slowly and resolutely to face Screwball, who was still grinning eagerly down at her, waiting for her next move. “This might be goodbye then…”
“Minuette…?” Colgate heard Ruya approach tentatively, but then stop.
“Celestia and Luna are going to need this element of harmony,” Colgate said. Ruya’s sad face burst into a smile.
“So…” She paused. “You do get it?”
“Mm…” Colgate responded. “I’m so stupid. You’ve been telling me this whole time and all I wanted to be was strong. So I will be. My friends need me, so I’ll help them. Right?” Colgate looked back to Ruya for assurance, but she was gone. Colgate smiled.
The cold gates open and close…
“That’s all I need.” All that was left was to get back to where Celestia and Luna were. That shouldn’t be too hard, she thought, considering she had all of time’s magic at her disposal. The power had obviously gotten her here; it could get her back.
Wind in the rain, I am surrounded by light
But shrouded in darkness.
I wish only to be strong.
“So…” Screwball grinned, her body lighting up pink. “Ready to accept your fate, Clocktail?”
“Sure,” Colgate said. “I’ll never be stronger than you.” Screwball smiled widely at this reply.
I am daunted by the abyss,
Sewing thread that gains no life.
The horizon is so much bigger.
“Not on my own that is,” Colgate added.
“What?” Screwball frowned, glaring at Colgate.
“I’ll need some friends.” She focused. As pointedly as she could Colgate focused on the place that she had left. She thought of Celestia, she thought of Luna, she thought of Sombra. Hmmm…Colgate pondered, he’s not going to be very- no no! She stopped herself. The checkerboard tiles, the Everfree, she recalled the scene she had left.
There is meaning in the water of the soul
But the truth is bowed in its prism.
How can it be known?
“I hope I’m not too late,” Colgate’s horn sprung to life, lighting up in a vibrant cerulean glow. The small, jagged pieces of the element of harmony rose up around her, surrounded by the light blue aura of her magic and waves instead of ripples of water radiated out from where she stood. Screwball’s face twisted in rage at this sight. Colgate closed her eyes and though of her friends. Celestia, Luna, Ruya, Berry Punch, Derpy, Lyra, and Bon Bon. This was all for them
I need only those lights,
My lights…
“The cold gates open and close,” Colgate said.
“When are you going to learn!” Screwball yelled, bursting forward, a pink beam of light. However, a burst of red light sent the mare spiraling back as Colgate joined all the pieces of the broken element of harmony back together, the ashes at her feet swirling up and sifting their way through the cracks of the broken gemstone. The burst of red light seemed to get sucked back in and a sudden flash of white light blinded Screwball as she recovered from her spin, the brilliant display sending a pillar of crystal clear water soaring up into the infinity above. In its place was a shining red gemstone. Colgate smiled at it, its red glow refracted in the drops of pure water that ran down its sides, a reforged element of loyalty. It looked just like the others. Colgate looked down at her chest. The gem was a perfect fit for the necklace that Ruya had given her and she clicked it into place, smiling at her success and looking back up at Screwball with a renewed vigor.
“I think I just did,” Colgate said. Her horn started to spark, arching bolts of energy that boiled the water beneath them as they hissed across its surface.
“Enough already!” Screwball screamed, charging Colgate as the water around her began to form a massive cyclone. Despite her speed, Screwball never got to touch Colgate. Everything seemed to slow down and, just as they had arrived, space seemed to fold in on itself. The massive energy spiraling around them collapsed and as the water encased them, they were swallowed into the folds of the Timescape.
Interlude 8:
There is no end to the unicorn’s rage, but there is also no reality in which it will make him victorious. Discord sits above him on his throne of air casually dodging beams and burning green spheres of magic meant to be lethal. He catches one fireball simply out of curiosity and eyes it facetiously. Then, with a snap of his fingers, her turns it into a harmless, ripe, green apple.
“Snack?” Discord looms above the unicorn and holds out the apple.
“Do not play games with me!” The unicorn bellows. His voice amplified, it echoes across the checkerboard hills and the force of his magic as he readies for another strike sends cracks though the ground, shaking the outer trees of the remaining Everfree down to their roots.
“Well,” Discord replies, “I just thought you might get hungry using all that magic and-”
“I will tear the horns from your head!” the unicorn shouts back in defiance, another burst of green fire sending out a shock wave that shakes the tree branches as he fires it from his horn. Discord slithers his way around it nonchalantly, shrugging at the unicorn’s dismissive reply.
“Suit yourself,” he says as he lounges back and takes a bite out of the apple with a crisp crunch. He quickly sits up, making a contorted face and spitting out what he has nearly eaten.
“Blech!” He hangs his tongue out and wipes it repeatedly with his lion paw as if trying to get the taste off. “Turns out dark magic makes incredibly sour apples…” Another column of fire sears past Discord as he wiggles to his right, eying the bitten apple shrewdly.
“Discord!” The unicorn’s shouts increase in volume as his rage climbs. Fed up with his current method, the unicorn directs his magic bellow himself. He sends jets of cursed flame out around him as the unicorn launches himself into the air, an emerald meteor directed at Discord.
“Well, I don’t want it,” Discord says, turning his back on the unicorn. “Here, you can have it.” And he tosses the apple over his shoulder. The unicorn ignores it, but, as though it were suddenly a grenade, it meets the unicorn’s horn and the fruit explodes. The unicorn is sent spiraling back to the ground, smoke trailing off his horn and hooves. He can feel his limbs crack as he strikes the ground, skidding to a painful halt only a few meters in front of the alicorn sisters. The younger one still has her face buried in her sister’s wing. She raises her head at the sudden sound, watching the unicorn slowly and painfully try to get back up, battered, with no progress to show for his wounds.
“Sombra…” the smaller alicorn says, the fur under her eyes dried with tears. “Please stop…”
“If Discord is to be victorious…” the unicorn replies, gaze resolutely forward, his speech pained. He is barely able to stand, his front left leg still rests on its knee and he can’t seem to put his full weight on it. “Then I will die trying to stop him.”
“Ooooo!” Discord laughs. “How brave and endearing!” The draconequus puts his hands to his cheeks in a mock cutesy impression. “Say,” he asks, “want to hear a riddle?”
“I don’t want to hear anything from you!” The unicorn’s eyes blaze green. Discord slouches in disappointment.
“Fine then,” he shrugs. “But the answer was bomb.” He snaps his fingers and the unicorn is abruptly blown from his feet by an explosion from underneath him. “Ooooahahahahaha!” The draconequus chuckles uncontrollably. The unicorn lands painfully on his side, nothing but Discord’s laughter drowned by incessant ringing to fill his ears.
“Sombra!” The smaller alicorn pleads
“Hm?” Discord looks over at her. “You know I almost forgot about you. How’s big sis?” The small alicorn looks up at him indignantly, tears pooling in the bottom of her eyes.
“Ahaha!” Discord bursts into laughter again, but stops. “Hm?” His curiosity is piqued by a ripple in the space below him. Before he can even sarcastically ogle it, a brilliant bolt of blue lightning split’s the air, ripping through the space before the draconequus in a webbed pattern. The tears swirl and warp sending sparks jumping from their folds. The cracks in space all seem to gather to a point, forming a watery blue circle. And just as quickly as it appeared, a shower of sparks glitters into the air as it vanishes into a bolt of blue that strikes the ground. In its place stands a familiar pony with her midnight blue and silver mane.
Interlude End…
“Blue pony!” Discord threw his arms in the air as though he was greeting an old friend. “I thought you exploded out of grief.” Colgate glared at the draconequus’s smug face floating tauntingly in the air above her, the once broken element of loyalty now shining a crisp red from the necklace around her neck.
“You’re going to pay for everything you’ve done Discord,” Colgate snapped back at him, half smirking, confident this time that she had what it took to finally set things right.
“Everypony keeps saying that,” Discord shrugged. “But I swear I didn’t do that much… and,” he paused and with a sudden flash, popped from his place in the sky to directly in front of Colgate, his one protruding fang still a staggering annoyance every time he got close. “I think you’ll find I won’t have to do much now either.”
“What makes you think you’ll get the chance?” Colgate sneered, narrowing her eyes and frowning at the draconequus.
“Oh, who’s a silly pony?” Discord grinned, grabbing Colgate by the cheek and shaking her head. Colgate wrenched herself away.
“Whatever Discord,” she said. “I’m here to save my friends from you this time.”
“Look around you,” Discord said, putting an arm around Colgate’s back. “You already gave me my chance. I don’t need another one. But I’m flattered that you’d give me one.”
“What are y-” Colgate met Luna’s eyes first. The small midnight blue alicorn was staring at her, the fur under her eyes dried with tears. She was surrounded by what looked like glass and shards of crystal protruding from the checkerboard tile beneath them. And behind her was her sister. Celestia lay on her side in a puddle of her own pink mane, facing away from Colgate, cuts and abrasions slashed randomly across the alicorn’s body and legs.
“You see,” Discord said. “Now I don’t know how you managed this little doohickey,” the draconequus ran a finger up and down the gem around Colgate’s neck, “but the rest of your precious harmony rocks are gone.”
“You’re wrong,” Colgate snapped back at him, taking glances at Luna, dreading the worst for Celestia. Was she already too late? “My friends-”
“Friends?” Discord stopped her. “You may want to consider whether or not any of these ponies are actually your friends anymore.”
“We’re going to destroy you Discord,” Colgate glared at him, fed up with his banter.
“Oooo,” Discord seemed to wince in jest at her words. “It didn’t end so well for the last pony who said that.”
“You…” Colgate heard another voice behind her.
“Oh,” Discord grinned excitedly. “Here he comes.” Colgate turned around. Sombra was there, struggling to his feet at the edge of the Everfree, battered and cut up like Celestia, but still conscious. His eyes were burning with a green flame and when the unicorn lifted his head to look at Colgate, his gaze was filled with bloodlust, a desire to destroy what he saw.
“How can you possibly claim to be on our side after what you’ve done,” Sombra said, his voice gravelly as he struggled to hold back his rage. “Where is my niece?” He asked. “Where is Ruya?” Colgate lowered her ears and looked away.
“Ah…” It was all that came out when she opened her mouth to make an excuse. But there wasn’t anything she could say, not to Sombra. And there was no excuse. Her actions had led to Ruya’s death. There was nothing Colgate could say that would make the filly’s death not her fault, because it was her fault. But while Colgate had been struggling to accept this and do what she needed to do in spite of her grief, Sombra had not. While Colgate had been away in her bubble of time, her friends had been here anguishing and falling apart. None of them were in good shape it seemed. But the hate in Sombra’s eyes said more than his voice ever could.
“Tell me where Ruya is!” Sombra’s voice boomed and Colgate tensed, the volume far beyond normal. Perhaps the rumble she felt through her body was her fear playing tricks on her. Nopony’s voice could be that loud.
“She…” Colgate struggled with the words for a moment. “She’s dead.” Was there any other way to say it, she wondered? Sombra roared, a grievous yell that shook the air. In an instant, the Unicorn was in front of Colgate a trail of emerald flame billowing in his wake, leaving a path of shattered checkerboard and scattered soil. Colgate only had time to flinch as Sombra was suddenly standing over her, his shadow seeming far larger than it should have. Colgate felt like she was in an eclipse, Sombra’s burning green eyes seeming brighter than the sky behind him.
“She trusted you,” Sombra said, his voice low and his horn lighting up with the same green flame that flowed from his eyes.
“Sombra…” Colgate attempted to dissuade him. “Ruya was my best friend… I didn’t want any of this. I’m here to set things right.”
“Wherever you went…” Sombra stared down at Colgate intently. “You should have stayed.”
“I wish you could have seen what I saw,” Colgate said.
“And if you’d have seen what I saw,” Sombra replied. “Then you would know there was nothing you could fix.”
“Sombra,” Colgate pleaded. “The elements, you can’t-”
“Enough!” Colgate teleported several feet away as Sombra bellowed and reeled back to strike the ground with his front hooves. The impact sent a shock wave out from around him and the ground below his hooves hissed with smoke and green cinders, the embers snaking their way around his legs. With no time to react, Colgate threw up a shield with her magic as Sombra, as soon as he knew where Colgate had gone, fired a blast of flame from his horn. Colgate felt like she had tried to stop a falling boulder. The blast pushed her across the ground, her hooves dragging across the tile beneath her. With a sudden boom, Colgate’s shield shattered, the blast of fire scattering around her and splashing across her body. She struggled to keep her balance, feeling suddenly light headed in the wake of the attack. It was clear that she didn’t have the power that she did before. The Timescape wasn’t here to help her in this fight. Colgate stumbled a bit, trying to clear her senses. Had she already pushed herself too far? That was only one attack. Sombra wasn’t going to wait either.
Colgate braced herself as best she could as she saw the unicorn’s horn light up for another strike. He fired, but there was no time. Colgate was prepared to dive out of the way when something suddenly intercepted the attack. There was a flash of sky blue as Sombra’s ball of fire hit it and it skid back toward Colgate. Colgate caught the pony before she slid by, putting a hoof around her back and putting her own defensive magic on top of the other pony’s. This time Sombra’s fire burst into pieces and its embers scattered to the ground away from the pair as their shields dissipated.
“Luna?” Colgate said as she observed the alicorn’s weepy determination in the face of Sombra’s attack.
“What are you doing Luna,” Sombra yelled. “That mare didn’t just betray me. She betrayed you too!” Half crying, Luna looked to Colgate. Her eyes were red and her hooves visibly shook as she stood.
“You,” Luna sniffled and talked through her tears. “You better actually be able to fix this.” Colgate puffed out her chest to emphasize the element of harmony.
“I can,” Colgate said, trying to sound as sure of herself as she could. Luna looked like she needed it. Luna examined the jewel around Colgate’s neck, its red glow shining off the water in the alicorn’s eyes.
“Then help my sister,” Luna said, looking back up at Colgate. “I want her and Sombra to be…Wrong about you.” There was something about this gesture that made Colgate want to smile. Luna had faith in her. The look in her eyes got Colgate’s heart pumping, her feelings bolstered with a rush of confidence.
“I won’t let you down,” Colgate let go of Luna and trotted around behind her into a gallop. There would be plenty of time later to thank her.
“Lunaaaaaaaaa!” Colgate heard the rage filled cry of Sombra shake the air behind her and the force of his magic shake the ground as he engaged Luna. Colgate kept running toward Celestia, taking the responsive flashes of blue light as a sign that Luna was still fighting. And, even in between these fits, there was still the raucous laughter of Discord. Colgate clicked her tongue in disdain as she ran, seeing him do gleeful flips in the air as he watched the scene he created unfold, as though Colgate needed anything more to light a fire under her. Her heart raced as she ran and silently promised that Discord wouldn’t be so happy soon.
Celestia was still in heap when Colgate approached her, the unconscious alicorn looking like she had been given a thousand paper cuts by a flurry of envelopes. Eying the scene, Colgate puzzled over what to do. She didn’t know any healing spells and she lacked the overwhelming power she’d had before.
“Princess?” Colgate said. “Uh…” She stammered correcting herself again. “Celestia?” There was no response and looking down seemed to hurt her eyes.
“What happened to you…?” Colgate whispered under her breath, a ground shaking blast from behind her rekindling her sense of urgency. “Uhhh…” Colgate tapped around on her hooves frantically, finding herself squinting.
“What is-” It was the element of harmony. The red gem had begun to glow brighter and brighter as she stood by the remnants of its companions. Colgate heard the small pieces begin to clatter, the ones sticking out from the ground wiggling in place as though they were trying to get somewhere.
“Hmmm…” It was faint, but Celestia stirred the battered pony’s eyes straining as they fluttered open, her limbs wincing as she tried to move.
“Celestia?” Colgate perked up into a near smile.
“Wh…” The mare’s voice was faint and weary. “Why is it so bright?”
“You’re okay!” Colgate smiled, diving in to hug Celestia, putting the mare’s head over her shoulder and embracing her about her neck.
“Ow ow ow ow ow,” Celestia squirmed, still rather disoriented, but fully aware of the pain her wounds caused her.
“Ah-” Colgate immediately let go and took a step back. “Sorry.”
“Minuette?” Celestia said, blinking. “But you…”
“I…screwed some things up,” Colgate said. “I understand if you hate me, but… I’m here to fix what I can.” Celestia looked at the gem around Colgate’s neck.
“Is that…”
“Your missing element,” Colgate finished. Celestia looked back at Colgate, narrowing her eyes.
“Why did you leave?” Celestia asked.
“I thought I was protecting you,” Colgate said. “From… me… I guess?” Colgate wasn’t really sure. “But Discord manipulated me. He’d been in my head ever since I strayed from the Everfree…”
“And yet you came back,” Celestia responded.
“I never meant to be on his side,” Colgate said. A loud crash interrupted their conversation and the small limp body of an alicorn rose into the air high above them, leaving a trail of smoke as it plummeted to the ground. The breeze from the blast sifted through Colgate’s mane as she watched the body of her friend reach its apex in the sky. Her horn lit up encircling the alicorn’s body in a cerulean aura as her body blurred into its decent. Colgate halted the pony’s momentum inches from the ground. Luna hovered there, looking back at her upside down friend, her body battered and singe marks in her mane and on her cheeks.
“Now,” Luna winced, “would be a good time to do that fixing thing you said you could do.”
“Fixing?” Celestia raised an eyebrow at Minuette.
“Tia!” As soon as she heard Celestia’s voice, the seemingly too battered to move Luna flipped herself over and leapt out of Colgate’s magical grip.
“Ah- ow, ow, ow,” Celestia winced through her smile, unable to return her sister’s hug.
“Oh, oops,” Luna quickly let go, grinning sheepishly and floating back to the ground.
“Sorry,” Celestia straightened herself. “I got a little beat up.”
“Y-yeah…” Luna swallowed to hold back the tears pooling in the bottom of her eyes.
“Looks like you fared a little better than me,” Celestia raised a hoof and ruffled the hair on the top of Luna’s head.
“Yeah, but-”
“You two,” A voice cut Luna off, “would side with this traitor?” Celestia, Luna and Colgate were suddenly surrounded by a ring of emerald fire, the only gap directly in front of them. A few feet away stood Sombra, glaring with fiery eyes.
“Sombra what are you doing?” Celestia asked, glancing apprehensively side to side at the cursed flames.
“I should ask you that,” Sombra said. “Why would you trust Minuette again after what she’s done?” Colgate’s eyes darted around, looking for a good way out. Instead, her eyes landed on something that hovered up from the ground in front of her. It was a small crystal shard, glowing pink.
“I…” Celestia glanced at Colgate and then back to Sombra, lowering her head with a pained look that made Colgate nervous.
“Because she’s our friend!” Luna blurted out.
“Luna,” Celestia stared at her sister, watching her as the small alicorn came to Colgate’s defense.
“She came back didn’t she?” Luna said. “With the element of harmony.” Luna turned her head to look at her sister a clear shutter of fear in her eyes as she searched her sister’s for support. “Right?”
“I thought you didn’t trust her to begin with Luna…” Celestia said.
“Well… well I changed my mind,” Luna said. “Besides… aren’t you tired of it, Tia? Of not being able to trust anything around us?” Celestia paused, unable to escape the genuine exhaustion in her sister’s tone.
“Luna…” Celestia said, stunned. But, before long, her shocked expression turned into a soft smile. “That might be one of the most mature things you’ve ever said.
“Wh-” Luna puffed her cheeks in indignation. “I told you I’m not a filly anymore Tia…”
“Guys…” Colgate whispered, trying to get their attention before Sombra did something violent.
“Hm?” They hummed in union, Celestia looking up from Luna and Luna turning her head. Colgate silently pointed to the shining gem shards floating around them, all different colors now, some hidden behind Sombra’s flames. Celestia nodded and turned sternly to face Sombra, standing between Luna and Colgate and spreading her wings over both of them.
“Luna’s right Sombra,” Celestia said. “Minuette is…our friend!” The alicorn stomped her hoof as if to emphasize her resolve while Sombra’s face turned into a scowl.
“Your friend killed my niece!” Sombra yelled. “And destroyed the elements of harmony!” Celestia’ glanced down, her wings shrinking back to her body, hesitant.
“Ruya knew what she was doing,” Colgate yelled back. Celestia was willing to defend her so the least she could was make sure Sombra didn’t get to Celestia. “And that filly taught me a very important lesson, two actually.”
“She’s dead! You’re lying!” Sombra’s horn blazed green, a cannon that was going to fire at any moment.
“I’m not!” Colgate shouted. “She taught me how to be strong and that you can’t break an element of harmony! Because the real elements aren’t in the gems!” Sombra had no verbal response to this, only a roar and stream of fire to match his rage. But, as the flames reached them, the shattered pieces of the elements lit up, the scattered crystals creating a prism of color around them that separated and doused the flames. Celestia, Luna, and Colgate huddled together inside their shield, the roar of the flames around them seeming to echo in its confines. Celestia put herself over Colgate and Luna while Luna looked across at Colgate half in terror and half in wonder. Colgate wiped her forehead, the heat already bringing her to a sweat. Colgate looked forward, seeing nothing but the river of fire that Sombra intended to eliminate them with. Perhaps he was her biggest mistake, she thought. Of all the things she had done, it seemed like she had at least a chance now of reversing her meddling in time. But this, Colgate wondered, how could she fix this? The endless streams of fire reflected off their colorful shield were a cry for vengeance. A cry that had not stopped since Sombra saw Colgate crying over Ruya’s ashes. This ran deeper than any spell could fix.
As the flames intensified still, their prism shield burst into a band of light that fanned out, extinguishing the fire around them in a wave that shook the air. It barreled past Sombra forcing him back as he was drug across the ground as he tried to hold his place, the fire on his horn and in his eyes fizzling away as the light past.
It was quiet. Sombra straightened himself out, his gaze still reverting back to glaring at Luna, Celestia, and Colgate. A mix of colors still illuminated the trio as the shards of the elements hovered over them, the red gem on Colgate’s neck shining brighter than ever. Sombra squinted at them.
“Is that it then?” he asked, his tone less menacing. “Am I to simply forget Ruya?”
“Sombra,” Celestia pleaded, “now is not the time to-”
“I won’t forgive you that easily!” Sombra yelled. This was no use, Colgate thought. Sombra was intent on his revenge. If he wasn’t going to back down for now, then they needed to get him out of the way somehow so they could deal with Discord.
“Clocktail!” A voice interrupted them. High above Sombra was Screwball, a variable Colgate had forgotten she left behind. “I don’t know what you did, but I finally got back here and I’m not letting you get away!” No, no! Colgate cursed her luck. They weren’t going to be able to deal with both of them. She hadn’t even been able to beat Screwball when they were in the Timescape. There was no way they were going to able to deal with her and Sombra at the same time and still be able to use the elements on Discord. Colgate watched as Screwball smirked, the mare ready to go into her blaze of charging and bouncing around, just like their last fight. Colgate glanced at Luna and Celestia, the two poised, horns shining, looking like they were ready for anything. But even with their help how could they deal with-
Colgate perked up, her ear giving a twitch. She knew what Screwball was going to do. Maybe she could have the two threats deal with each other. Silently, she readied her magic, hoping she could replicate what she had been doing in the Timescape for just a moment. One spell was all she needed.
“Sorry about this Sombra,” Colgate said.
“Hm?” Sombra narrowed his eyes at her and Celestia and Luna looked at her, just as perplexed. On cue, however, Screwball showed no hesitation and ripped through the air toward Colgate like a jet. In that split second Colgate strained as hard as she could, the light from her horn even overpowering the elements around them. Two blue, swirly gaps opened up in front of Colgate. Screwball shot straight into one portal and flew off in the opposite direction out of the other. And that was all she needed. Colgate’s horn dimmed and she slumped to the ground. Screwball, however, beamed toward Sombra.
“Wh-” Was all Sombra managed. Neither he nor Screwball had time to react to the change. Screwball blasted into Sombra, the crash throwing out a shockwave and tossing the pair off into the distance where a pillar of gravel flying into the air signaled their impact.
“Minuette!” Celestia said as Colgate slumped over. She wasn’t sure if the mare was worried about her condition or shocked at what she had done. Either way, there wasn’t time. It wouldn’t take Screwball long to get angry over being tricked again.
“Now’s our chance,” Colgate said, her legs trembling as she forced herself to stand.
“What did you do?” Luna asked frantically, glancing toward the crash site and back at Colgate.
“Elements,” Colgate said. “We need to use the elements.” Colgate looked up, spotting Discord up in the sky, a presence she had nearly forgotten had probably been watching them the entire time.
“Hm?” He seemed to notice Colgate was looking at him. “Elements?” Discord slithered down through the air, now munching on something in a small brown bag.
“That’s right,” Luna said, nodding at Colgate and taking her place next to her and glaring up at Discord. “The elements! We’ve got them all now you dirty worm!”
“Oh you,” Discord popped up in front of Luna grabbing her by the nose and talking to her as though she were a dog. “Acting all cool.”
“Don’t touch her,” Celestia stood next to Colgate and shooed Discord’s hand away as Luna slapped it with her hoof. Discord shrugged and teleported back above them, lounging back in the air and munching on whatever he was eating. They looked like raisins, which was weird enough for Discord, Colgate supposed.
“Hm,” Discord shrugged. “Whatever. I already broke your little trinkets so what are you going to do? Oh, I know! How about a game of pin the tail on the pony?” Discord raised a hand containing a tail, one that looked a bit too much like Celestia's own glittery, pink one.
“Wh-” Startled, Celestia looked back to find she was indeed missing her own tail. She stared back up at Discord angrily.
“Play time is over for you, Discord,” She scowled.
“Oh I doubt that…” He said shrugging and carelessly throwing a handful of whatever was in his bag all over the place. “Hungry?” Discord asked, popping one of the snacks into his mouth and shoving his hand into the back for a handful. The small objects spilled haphazardly, a few stray ones falling and hitting Luna and Celestia on their noses as they both continued to stare Discord down, not amused. Colgate was glad she had gotten them on her side. Discord’s overconfidence likely meant he didn’t know what Colgate knew.
“Suit yourselves,” Discord said, shoving the handful he had into his mouth, yet still not without letting a number of them fall. Then again, Colgate should have expected Discord to be a messy eater.
“You didn’t pick my brain of all my secrets Discord,” Colgate said. “If you did, then you’d know that you can’t break an element of harmony!”
“Oh no?” he said, tossing his bag to the side and giving Colgate a smug grin. “Is that what they told you? Though, I also think they don’t look quite like they did before. How do you describe something that’s fallen into a thousand tiny pieces?”
“The elements of harmony can still defeat you, Discord!” Luna shouted. Colgate’s necklace began to glow brighter, the myriad of shards around them erupting into their various colors again, surrounding the trio in a clear, spherical rainbow.
“That’s right,” Colgate affirmed the elements glowing brighter and brighter, their magic swirling together. “Because the real elements aren’t in the gems!”
“Ahahaha!” Discord burst into laughter. “You should see yourselves right now. The expressions on your faces, so intense! So sure of yourselves! Ahahahaha!” As Discord burst into his second bout of laughter a rainbow burst from the top of their colored sphere, arching its way toward Discord. Yet, he was too busy laughing to care or notice. It was a sight Colgate was overjoyed to finally see. As the colored light danced off her eyes, she couldn’t help but smile. She had finally set right what she had nearly ruined.
“Ahaha! Hilarious!” Discord continued his hysterics, raising a hand into the air as the rainbow of light spanned over him and he froze in place. His body grayed and his laughter stopped. With the force of an earthquake, the sphere of light around Colgate and her friends exploded, the wave of light fanning across the land in all directions. The ground shook and the light became too intense for Colgate to look into and she felt herself being lifted from the ground.
But, everything went suddenly silent. Colgate opened her eyes and there was nothing but white. She was floating in an empty space. Before she could speculate, she watched the red gem on her necklace detach and float in front of her. Soon, it was joined by the others.
Cerulean: There is nothing that can take a fading light and give it life like I can. Find cheer, find life. I know you will need me. For Laughter.
Pink: The comfort of your feathered wing will accomplish more than the might of your horn. For Kindness.
Orange: These actions of yours will hold fast to the path you have always believed and will always believe. For Honesty.
Violet: Giver of heart, I am of a beautiful mind, a kindness that is not truly kind. For Generosity.
And the star: My simplicity is deceptive and those who dive too deeply find themselves confused and they become angry at the incongruity. Their mistake is that these mists were not meant to be taken on alone. For Friendship.
And the objects circled back to the Colgate’s gem, red: In the light of the sun my banner shines the brightest and the winds of force will always test the muse of its sway in the breeze, but its facing will always find favor in its friends.
To whom does your allegiance lie? Answer without uncertainty. Answer as though there is only one choice, not because there was only ever one given to you, but because to choose the other is to destroy yourself. Shout one name to the heavens because it is who you swore your love to; it is what you stand for, what you struggle against, and why you suffer this unbearable ache deep in the heart of your spirit. In the end, I am what holds your ties, strengthens your love, deepens your toil, and shows you your true self.
For Loyalty.
It had been this gem that had been the most important for her, and Colgate looked at it fondly, reminded of the filly who helped her reforge it. Without that filly Colgate might have given up if she had not been reminded for what she was fighting. It was that filly who showed her all of the lights around her, and how to be strong. And, it was her who showed Colgate the real elements of harmony. It was that filly who had been her friend.
“Because the elements of harmony aren’t in the gems,” Colgate said, reaching out and touching the red gem with her hoof. “Right, Ruya?” But after that, everything turned white and Colgate heard the ground rumbling again and, as though she were flying, felt the wind rushing through her mane.