Extra 2: The Dangers of Vengeance
Extra 2: The Dangers of Vengeance
Daytime…
Okay. Time for a spells test.
Chronicle stood in front of the Discord statue in his training range. It had been 'delivered' by Princess Celestia as a gift. The scars of his defeat still hurting, even after it's been two weeks since then. He hoped it healed, but apparently not.
Ever since the dream where he got petrified by a Discord-enhanced cockatrice, he's been getting other nightmares. In each of them, he was being hopelessly beaten by Discord. Sometimes it was by his friends turning against him, sometimes it was by befalling a(n un)natural disaster, sometimes it's being suffocated/drowned by cotton candy/chocolate milk, and sometimes Discord himself was doing the beating.
His family hasn't been in touch with him since Discord. A 'dream letter' from Lord Record Keeper told him that there had been an 'outbreak' of draconequui in most of the Equestrias they were on. A few have even invaded Hub Equestria and crossed over into the others. It took a good fraction of the Story Crew's RWCA (Reality Warper Control Agents) to stop them and even convert a few to their ranks.
As with most invasions, there have been casualties, a few of them Timers, a couple of worlds considered lost causes, and even one revelation that one of the Equestrias was actually a subcontinent of a client world sent into a pocket dimension by that world's Discord (after that Discord was defeated, it was sent back to that client world, which itself no longer became treated as one due to this). Also, the portal mirrors the family would normally use to travel to Hub Equestria and back have been thrown out of whack from the attack, causing mass fluctuations both in space and time. Transportation between worlds was extremely dangerous, even by dreamscape, which uses the mirrors as a means to link the family's minds.
There have also been time portals that were opened due to all the reality warping, and even a few have been sent a few years ahead/back in time or rendered in a state of stasis.
While Lord Record was busy fixing up home base, Timerity had experienced problems identical to Chronicle's and was taking it much harder than he was. Apparently, either "Eris" was "bitchier" than Discord, or she had a greater hatred for "her" draconequus than he did for "his". Mystic Wand was spared from this crisis, but he was currently focused on a huge project given by his Princess herself, and he still didn't socialize that well. Blue Diary was spared as well—his world's Discord not having run loose—but due to the portal mirror problem, he was unavailable, not to mention his world having also been sent forward in time and under stasis thanks to an off-world draconequus. Their mother Ebony Spell was busy consoling her world's Elements of Harmony, who were recovering slower than the ones in his.
He banished those thoughts as he began to list his arsenal in his mind.
I already know my blade's strength, telekinesis power, barrier sturdiness, teleportation range… Let's start with my magical clone limit. He flared his horn, then summoned as many clones as he could. Six of them now stood around him. Okay. Six is good. He then had them line up. Water-walking spell, cloud-walking spell… no need to test that. Binding Circle.
One clone began to draw a large circle with his hoof, making various designs in it as well. Once that was done, two clones cast the spell, one at the bare ground and the other at the drawn circle. Two "magic circles" formed. The magic exuding from them showed him that not only was the one in the pre-drawn circle more cost-efficient, it was more powerful. Also, he realized that a binding spell on a pre-drawn circle is self sustaining; it's just that the first time he performed it, it was on Nightmare Moon, whose own magic had enough potential to break out were it not for him maintaining it.
Satisfied with the results, Chronicle had them move over to the back of the line. Okay, now for the enhancement spells. He flared his horn again and his legs began to glow. Testing physical strength. He approached the statue, got up on his hind legs, reared a foreleg, then landed it on the stone. The resulting impact made him wince, but he saw that he made a crack on the statue. Hooves were certainly tough.
Let's skip running power, and go for jumping power. He had one clone do just that, and then leap as high as possible. At the apex of its jump, the clone teleported himself back down on the ground.
Now what else do I got? Enhance vocal power, decrease weight on items, rain-drinking spell, magic transfer, pinpointing spell, Glimmer Wings…
Deciding to check Surveillance, he took a look around to see if there was anybody who would see him with it. To his disappointment, there was Twilight Sparkle, and she was making his way to him. Giving a silent sigh, he dismissed all of his clones.
"Chronicle," she greeted.
"Hey, Twilight."
"Having fun with that statue there?"
"I guess you can say that."
"Well, Mystic Shield is here, and he's wanting an explanation as to why you haven't come over or even sent a magical clone in your place."
The stallion smacked his face with a hoof. "Dammit, I forgot."
"Well, you better limit your time with the statue and find some other way to spend your time that doesn't involve fighting." She turned around, then gestured for him to follow. Deciding to take a break as well, he followed.
C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS
In the library…
"So…"
"I was spending too much time with my gift from the Princess. At least I think it's from them."
"It is. The royal guards brought them in themselves while you were at Canterlot. I was there to see it."
The three unicorns were at the ground floor of the library, reading books. As expected of her, Twilight had loads ready. Mystic only had a hoof-ful, while Chronicle had at least a dozen, all of them books on spells.
"Isn't this fun?" said Twilight. "Reading book after book, filling our minds with knowledge…"
"Sure is." Mystic agreed, then faced the other unicorn in the room. "Chronicle, about what I did…"
Chronicle gave an exasperated sigh. "For the last time, Mystic, I do not hold anything against you for anything you did when you got corrupted by Discord. So don't worry about it. Just let it go."
"Easy for you to say. If what Twilight said is true, you never got corrupted."
"Which makes my suffering all the worse, because I had to see everybody I care about fall to his magic, you before my very eyes. And I was helpless to prevent it. I just feel mocked by fate by being spared just to experience all of this, you get what I'm saying?"
He was answered by awkward silence as the two purple unicorns turned to face each other, then at him, then they shook their head solemnly.
"Figures." Hmm…these spells seem useful. Very useful. I gotta try these out.
The two purple unicorns turned to each other again, and the male one said, "I'm worried about him. All those books are on spells."
"What's wrong with that?"
"It's just that those books are either combat-oriented, or the spells within can be applied in combat."
"I don't see a problem in tha—" It then hit her. "Oh. We need to find a way to get him to see reason."
"Yeah," agreed Mystic.
C—TS—MS—C—TS—MS—C—TS—MS—C—TS—MS
The next day…
Chronicle was at the training range again, this time with one of the books he read yesterday with him.
All right. The tether spell. Apply to the tail, and operate like a lasso or whip. Use to grab stuff. With that in mind, he took out a lasso, which he hadn't used since the Iron Pony competition. I hope I'm not too rusty, he thought as he tied the holding end to his tail, then started twirling it, getting a feel of it before starting his tether spell.
Some of the details slipped his mind however. A rope made out of magic emerged, but from his horn instead of around the lasso as he thought. This startled him a bit and the lasso on his tail dropped to the ground. Oops. Remembering the next steps, he lashed his head and willed it to grab a shovel. The 'tether' went straight for it, grabbed it by the handle, and contracted, taking the shovel with it. Unfortunately for Chronicle, it ended up flying straight for his head, thankfully smacking him with the flat end instead of the sharp edge.
He rubbed his head for a few seconds, then started swinging his shovel about with the tether spell, getting a hang of how it works. After taking twelve minutes to get accustomed to using it with his horn, he tried to figure out how to 'pass' it to his tail. It turns out that just thinking of it once the tether was cast turned out to be just what he needed to do. Just like that, another magic tether was now 'tied' to his tail.
Letting go of the lasso, Chronicle began to practice some more with his tether spell. Grabbing an old heavy tome with his tail tether, he pulled it toward him, then stopped it from hitting him with telekinesis. Using his magic tethers, he swung his bludgeons at the Discord statue, breaking off parts from it and/or breaking his "weapons". Whenever that happens, he just takes another. That's before he noticed something on the base of the statue.
Now how did I miss this?
There was a control panel of sorts, containing a few knobs large enough to bite into and turn. One was set to "solid stone", with its other settings being "ballistic gelatinous material", "iron", "plasticine", and "smoke". This made him curious. Using telekinesis, he 'turned' the knob to "ballistic gelatinous material". Upon that, a wave of magic washed over the statue, though no noticeable changes were seen aside from the texture.
Deciding to test it, Chronicle levitated the shovel and 'shoved' it into the statue's neck. It dug itself into it quite easily. Using the magic tether still tied to it, he pulled it out successfully. As it was, the magic tether spell can be manipulated around like he was using telekinesis on a rope. Meanwhile, the gash he made on the statue with the shovel vanished.
After one third of an hour, he was satisfied with what he can use the magic tether for, he went for the next spell. Wind Blast. Pretty straightforward. It's just like the magic shot, but you shoot a blast of air instead of your own magic. Now how do I test it out? Oh, I know. He walked over to the statue's control panel, and adjusted the knob to "smoke", wondering how it works.
Upon looking up, he saw that the statue was now smoke, but it retained its shape thanks to a magical aura around it, which was colored blue like its base. Chronicle backed up a bit, then started on the spell. He focused the same way as he does the magic shot spell. Instead of forming magic however, he 'compressed' the air just in front of him, then fired at the "statue". The compressed air made a hole through it, which reformed in a few seconds.
Now familiar with how to execute it, Chronicle fired air blast after air blast, gradually getting faster and faster as he slowly familiarized himself with the workings of the spell. Suddenly…
"Hey, Chronicle!"
He immediately turned to the source of the voice, forgetting that he was still shooting air blasts… and accidentally hit Pinkie Pie six times, making her reel back as she fell over. He gasped as he ran over to her. "Pinkie! Shouldn't you know by now that it's dangerous to interrupt me when I'm practicing? I might've—"
"I'm fine," Pinkie chirped as she got up. "My Pinkie Sense told me that the air blast wasn't lethal."
"That doesn't excuse you from doing what you did. It can't protect you from everything. Apparently it didn't protect you from the danger of what Discord was capable of because you were so into his antics."
"Sorry." This time, she seemed to mean it.
"Regardless of instincts, it is not proper or even safe to interrupt somebody who is practicing combat skills. As you just saw, I don't have enough precise control to just suddenly stop when I'm—as Rarity would say—in the zone." As a precaution, I'll form a barrier around the area so that I can't harm anybody outside.
"Okay."
"Now what is it that you want?"
"I was going to ask about what theme would you prefer for your next birthday."
"Oh." During his previous birthday as a Field Operative for Equestria, he had celebrated at Hub Equestria with his family and thus she wasn't able to hold a Pinkie Pie party for him. "Tell me, do you know the group P3?"
Pinkie seemed to lighten up. "You mean the idol singers famed in Baltimare, Fillydelphia, and Manehatten, also known as the East Coast? I do now! You did dress up as one of them last Nightmare Night, right? Sound Wave was her name, was it?" That mood was dampened when he frowned at her. "Are you still mad at me about that? I already apologized. And there was that new agreement we made, something about me bringing out stuff at your command."
"Yes. I'd like a P3-themed party. If possible, though I doubt you can, maybe having a vinyl record with some songs by them would work too."
"All right!"
"Anything else, Pinkie?"
"Nopey-dopey!"
"Then we're done here." Chronicle began to walk away, back to the training range. Once he was inside its bounds, he conjured a self-sustaining force field around it, learning the spell from Twilight. "I'll be home for dinner. Okay?"
"Okie, dokie, lokie!" Pinkie then pronked away.
Once she was gone, Chronicle gave a sigh of relief. Good riddance. I need to make more precautionary measures to ascertain that even she won't interrupt me. I need this training. I can't allow any more interferences. My friends don't understand. I don't think even Mystic Shield can understand. My entire family's busy from the Great Draconequus Outbreak. I have to be strong. Strong for them. Strong for Equestria.
C—PP—C—PP—C—PP—C—PP—C—PP—C—PP
The next day…
Chronicle was trying out another spell he learned from the books he picked up two days ago. Small Burn Trail. A small beam was emitted from his horn, which created a small burn on the ground. He aimed the beam around as he was using it as a writing tool to form a magic circle. He then did the same thing in the air, 'drawing' a circle of fire that just floated there.
Good. I can form circles to make the binding spell easier to maintain. He thought as he started using it on the Discord statue, which was at the "iron" setting. Disrupting the circle only slightly increases the effort I need to maintain a binding circle.
"Chronicle." a voice came.
The stallion groaned and turned around to see Twilight inside the training range, even though the barrier was up. Apparently, she teleported in. I'm gonna have to look up a means of preventing teleports into the barrier. "What is it, Twilight? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"I know that, but don't you think you're being a bit too—"
"Obsessive? Says the pony who was once one."
"Come on. I'm no longer as bad as I once was thanks to you and the rest of our friends."
He raised an eyebrow. "Your point being…"
"You all taught me the dangers of my past lifestyle, and you're falling down a path similar to mine."
"Since when were you this perceptive of the lives of others?"
"Is it wrong to worry about you?"
"I don't wanna talk anymore." Chronicle then fired some magic into his barrier, which quickly shrunk until it passed through Twilight, then he expanded it again, slowly this time as it pushed her away. "I'll be home for dinner. And if you try and teleport again, either yourself, me, or anybody else…" He purposely trailed off, his threat made very clear. He didn't know if she could actually teleport anyone aside from herself, but with her expanding knowledge and magical prowess, it was a fair possibility.
Twilight only nodded in response as she backpedaled away from the barrier and jumped over the range's fence before she could be sandwiched between the two. She then ran until he could no longer see her.
Thank goodness for that. Twilight wouldn't understand. This is not something an intellectual can solve. Only a fighter like me can. Because I know what it feels like. I hope Father can resolve the issue soon so he can help me.
C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS
The next day…
"Drat. This is harder than I thought."
Chronicle was trying two more spells, this time not combat-based, but mobility-based, which still made it applicable for battle. Right now, he was trying a spell that would enable him to "double jump". It was a simple spell, really. At the apex of his jump, he would cast the spell, which would conjure a temporary platform for him to land on, which would only last long enough for him to jump again. For some reason, he cannot cast it more than once in a row without dropping on something solid first.
Currently, he was having trouble getting the timing right. Sometimes it was too early and he would find his jump instantly arrested as the platform spawned through his feet. Other times it was too late and his fall was temporarily halted by the same thing. And the few times he got it on time? He had been too exhilarated on getting the timing right that he failed to jump again on time and fell.
Shaking his head, he tried one more time. At the apex of his jump, he quick-cast the spell. The moment his feet made contact with the temporary platform, it took everything in him not to feel exhilarated. Thankfully, he managed to successfully perform the jump…and landing on the ground without hurting himself. Good. Need a little more practice. With that, he continued jumping, practicing the double jump spell. Before he could get the hang of it though, he landed on something that definitely was not solid ground but a pony.
He looked down to see that Pinkie Pie had went below him, meaning he was on top of her. He didn't even bother thinking of how she bypassed the barrier, chalking it up to her weird abilities. "Hi!"
Frowning without a word, he cast a binding circle below them, then jumped to the side, leaving his friend pinned. Pinkie attempted to pull herself out, but failed, even as Chronicle began using his burn trail spell to 'trace' his binding circle's outline. "Pinkamena Diane Pie," he said. "Did I not warn you the day before yesterday not to interrupt me while I'm practicing?"
Pinkie just responded by quivering her eyes and making a puppy dog face.
He refused to face her, though he saw a glimpse through his peripheral. "Don't give me that look. It's your own fault you didn't listen. You don't ever know me to make jokes in this manner, right? Unfortunately for you, I only know how to teleport myself and items near me, so I'm giving you five seconds to get the hay out of here before I decide to practice on you to see if I can take you on with your Toon traits."
He stepped away, turned to finally face Pinkie eye to eye, his glower fearsome. He then let the binding circle go, releasing the earth pony before starting his count. It took a "Two" for her to get the message and she zipped away, leaving a cloud of dust. I won't have to worry about her anytime soon. She's too much of a nuisance when she doesn't know to shut up. This is a very serious matter. Something she wouldn't understand. So long as I don't anger her, I'll be fine.
C—PP—C—PP—C—PP—C—PP—C—PP—C—PP
An hour later…
Chronicle got the basics of the "double jump" down pat, so now he decided to go for the "wall stick", where he would be able to do exactly that. However, the book stated that he would not be able to cling to a wall, but it should help if he is going to run along them.
Starting the spell, he ran next to the outer wall of the library, the only vertical surface available to practice on. Casting the spell on the surface of his feet, so as to avert Magical Sickness (which he doesn't have) as instructed, he then planted his feet on the wall, all while still running. He failed to execute it properly and fell on his side. "Oww…"
Getting up, he tried again. Again, he failed. The third time, he managed to stick one hoof to the wall before falling again. The fourth, just two. The fifth, he was able to make a couple of steps before gravity pulled him down. Before he could proceed with the sixth, he sensed somepony knock on the barrier.
"What is it now?" he groaned as he turned around…and saw Mystic Shield.
"May I come in?" the other unicorn asked.
"…All right." Chronicle shot a beam of magic at his large dome barrier, which modified its 'settings', then said, "You may enter."
Mystic took a cautious step through, then pulled the rest of him inside. He then walked up to his co-teacher and close friend. He could tell that he was rather impatient right now. "Chronicle, I know I don't understand the pain you suffered from Discord and I know my pain can't begin to compare with yours, but the point is that you're using too much time on your training."
Chronicle didn't give so much as a reply.
"Look, I'm not saying you should stop. Just don't let it dominate your life."
Still no reply, just a harsh face.
"If you won't even listen to me, why did you let me in to begin with?"
And still no reply.
"Since when have you become irrational? I've always known you to be the one with the clear head when your friends don—"
He was suddenly cut off when he heard a familiar blade formed itself inches before Mystic's neck. The purple unicorn glanced to see another Chronicle having unsheathed it, ready to strike. He also realized that the one he was talking to was
"What are you doing?!"
"Fight me."
"What?!"
"Fight me! I need moving, thinking targets to practice on!"
Mystic broke out in a cold sweat. "You're scaring me, Chronicle. And even if I were to accept, you have me in a position where you would instantly win."
The blue unicorn withdrew his blade, dismissed his clone, then flash-stepped so that he now faced Mystic. "All right. Now let's fight."
"No."
"No? What do you mean, no?"
"I mean no. You're not right in the head." He secretly cast a minor barrier spell at his neck. "I've seen one of my old friends suffer the same way you are now. He may not have experienced the same suffering you have, but—"
Mystic wasn't able to finish as Chronicle unsheathed his "blade" and struck, which would've made him choke instead of literally lose his head. It hit the barrier and sent him reeling back so fast he flipped over. Thankfully, he still managed to land on his feet.
He had to act fast as Chronicle was now charging straight for him. In an instant, he formed a barrier around himself, stopping his attacks, then quickly backed away as his friend continued to push him…and was able to leave the confines of the large force field. Chronicle stopped just at the edge of his barrier, and watched Mystic dismiss his own, then frantically flee.
Once he was gone, the mare-faced stallion gave a sigh of relief. That should get rid of him. I'm sorry, Mystic, but if you can't commit yourself to help me, I cannot count on you. …I cannot count on anyone to protect my friends, not even my friends or the Princess. There is only me.
C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS—C—TS
Afternoon at Mystic Shield's Self-Defense Academy For Unicorns…
The dojo's owner as well as Twilight and her friends gathered around the tatami mat, the bookworm having brought them all together. They chose the dojo because they knew Mystic would want to involve himself. Spike was busy at the library, and frankly Twilight wasn't sure she wanted to involve him if their discussion eventually led to— She shrugged off the thought.
"What are we goin' to do about Chronicle?" sighed Applejack.
"Yeah," agreed Pinkie. "He's not being the nice guy he often is. Being more serious, even. I tried being happy around him, but it just seems to make him even more mad."
"I tried talking to him, but he just pushed me away," added Twilight.
"Same with me." Mystic. "He even demanded I fight him. Not as frightening as breaking a Pinkie Promise or the Stare, but it spooked me regardless."
"I went in for a scheduled duel, but unlike most of our 'fights', he took me down in less than three seconds!" Rainbow Dash. "It's like his combat abilities have went up by twenty percent! Maybe more!"
"I was going to talk to him as well, but…the way he was attacking that new statue of his, it scared me." Fluttershy.
"And did anypony notice his hair?" Rarity. "It looks a bit disheveled, like he had even less focus on making himself presentable than normal."
"Just like you to notice that, Rarity," commented Applejack.
"Regardless, given the present circumstances, persuasion doesn't work, it would be wrong to tempt him out of this, trying to cheer him up just makes it worse…" Mystic then swore. "Dammit, it's like our trip to the mountain all over again, except this time, we can't scare our target out of making the problem." He glanced at Fluttershy while saying this. "I only see one choice; I'm pretty sure you all know what I'm about to say, and I know that maybe only one will be willing to do it."
Twilight answered for everypony. "Are you saying we have to…" Gulp. "…fight him?"
Mystic only gave a solemn nod, eliciting a few soft gasps from the more sensitive mares. "Yes. I can't take him on by myself because he's just too good. Rainbow Dash can't either if she's telling the truth. We all need to reach out to him."
The six mares turned to one another. While Mystic Shield wasn't part of their circle, there was one thing he had in common with them; Chronicle was their friend. And you were supposed to help your friends when they need it. And while Chronicle doesn't think that way, he certainly needs them now.
Rainbow was the first to respond. Placing a hoof forward, she said, "Count me in. Separately we don't stand a chance, but together I know we can do it."
Applejack was next. "I'm in too, sugarcube."
Pinkie Pie. "All for one, and one for all!"
Twilight and Rarity stepped in as well. "Normally, I say we should send a letter to Princess Celestia, but I don't know if that would fix the problem or make it worse," said the former.
"I might have to agree with that," said Mystic. "Who knows what would happen if everypony was to find out that he battled Celestia and/or Luna, or worse, even won? No, it's best we keep that as a back-up and try and solve the problem ourselves." He turned to Fluttershy, then noticed that she hasn't stepped in. He walked up to her "Fluttershy, I know you're against this more than anyone, but we could use your help."
"Wh-wh-why? I don't even know what I can do to help him."
"Now, I know you were lying when you apologized for having to use the Stare on me. You do have control over it, and as much as I hate to say it, it's our best bet in getting him to come to his senses."
"I might have to agree with Mystic here," said Twilight as she and the others turned to the yellow pegasus. "I know his drive to better himself involves all of us, but from what he said to me, I think you're his main reason."
"You know, for a long time after the meteor shower the night before Twilight got Owlowiscious, I noticed him spend a bit more time with you, and sometimes I can see him being…flustered sometimes," Rarity added. "Now that I said it, I'm sure he's going to be mad at me about this."
"I think he needs all of us to be there," Mystic said to Fluttershy. "You especially. I know you don't want anypony to get hurt, but that would be unavoidable given the situation. Please."
The pegasus was given a pleading look, and when she looked at the others, she saw that the others were giving pleading looks as well. She knew they didn't want to have to involve her, but this was Chronicle, and they all have figured out that he had some special connection with her. They just didn't know exactly what, or if they did, they had a hard time admitting it.
Finally, she relented, "You're right. Chronicle needs our help. And if this is somehow my fault…" She didn't finish the sentence as memories she thought were nightmares flashed in her mind, namely the ones she still remembered when Discord had forcibly corrupted her.
Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder and she calmed down, then the earth pony turned to the two purple unicorns. "Well, we need some kinda plan first. I have to admit I often took Chronicle for granted since he was always on our side. But now that we have to fight 'im, I'm beginnin' to see just how dangerous he can be."
"And that's exactly why I called you here," said Mystic. "We need to gather everything we know about how he fights, and form our strategy from that."
"And if you hadn't, maybe Twilight would've," added Pinkie.
"Maybe. Now let's get thinking."
TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—MS—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—MS
The next day, early afternoon…
Chronicle was busy testing his magic shot's firing rate at the Discord statue, which he had propped up at a corner of the training range, when he sensed something make a loud knock into his barrier. Glancing to his right, he saw his friends slamming their hooves into it, knocking but ready to ram. There were circles of varying sizes—all big enough for a pony to stand in—on the ground, set. Conveniently, he would be able to use them as "traps".
Traitors, he thought, having checked on them via Surveillance and found out that they were planning on fighting him. Hah, like they even could. They're gonna regret messing with me.
Facing them, he said, "I'm giving you one chance to leave and not bother me until I'm done!" They responded with another pounding. "So, you want to get in so bad, huh?" He made a steely game face and flared his horn blade. "Well, come and get it!" He dispelled the barrier—just as the intruders were about to ram it, making them stumble over. The blue unicorn wasn't able to press his advantage though as he noticed that a bigger barrier had been set around his own.
He would later find out that Twilight had set it up prior, also adding a spell that would conceal everything that went on inside, because things were about to get ugly, and they didn't want anybody else to see it.
Chronicle knocked himself out of his surprise when he saw Spike trying to bring himself to breathe fire at him. He sneered, grabbed him via telekinesis, said, "You shouldn't have hesitated," then hurled him at the incoming ponies. "For I sure shall not!"
He unsheathed his 'blade' and—as Spike was 'caught' by Twilight—delivered a series of blows, striking them all—his charge, her assistant, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Mystic Shield, Pinkie Pie, Rarity—save Fluttershy, whom he just 'grabbed' and then 'hurled' away from the fight. As she slammed into the wall, he winced for a moment as he saw her collide into it hard, then crash to the ground, but only a moment.
"How dare you!" yelled Rainbow as she zoomed straight for his face. He countered by using the tether spell to grab her, then spin around with her while keeping the 'tether' short.
"If she doesn't come back, that's all she's getting." He then 'let go' of her, sending her slamming through one of the fences. "As for the rest of you, you're gonna get a tougher beating unless you back down now." Suddenly, he found himself bucked from behind and was sent tumbling. As he rolled, he saw that Applejack had somehow got into range to kick him. Assuming (correctly, as he was told later) that Twilight was now capable of teleporting others, he quickly got on his feet…just in time to see Mystic fire a magic shot.
He blocked that off with a quick panel barrier before feeling a kick to his gut and knocked up a bit before crashing to the ground. He did now know who it was that attacked him, but instantly teleported away to escape any further attacks.
Chronicle emerged just outside the training range, but still within the bounds of the barrier, and did a quick analysis of the area as he summoned a few magical clones. Rarity was just exiting a martial arts stance, Rainbow was already up, Twilight was in a defensive stance, Applejack has pulled her lasso out, Mystic was looking at him, Spike was on his feet, and Pinkie was nowhere to be seen.
With only battle instinct as his guide, he flash-stepped back…barely avoiding a pounce from the party pony, and blasted her with a beam of magic, sending her flying into the tree even as his clones started firing magic shots at his opponents.
"Oh no," gasped Mystic as he, Twilight, and Rarity erected force fields to repel Chronicle's attacks. Applejack was on standby, knowing that now wasn't a good time to let loose her lasso.
"What is it?" winced the other purple unicorn as she saw Pinkie crash into the tree's branches.
"That glint in his eyes. He's in a state of combat hyper-competence. It means he's completely 'in the zone' and is taking this fight very seriously. He's gonna be harder to reach out in that state."
"What should we do, then?"
"I don't know." Strategy isn't really my thing, to be honest. "All we can do now is continue as planned, but hit harder. He won't go easy on us, so neither should we!"
They then saw Rainbow attempt to ram them from the side, but the clones—all four of them—deftly flash-stepped out of the way, one of them teleporting, and the real one charged forward.
Knowing that the girls weren't very experienced in battle, Mystic was on guard from rear attacks. He noticed the circles on the ground, but couldn't figure out what purpose Chronicle has for them. Assuming they were in his favor, he dragged his hooves to erase them while not looking like he was intentionally doing so. Just then, as Rainbow then flew straight at the charging one from behind, dodging the "shurikens" being launched by the other clones, two things happened.
First, the clone that teleported emerged at the wall with the 'weapons'…just as Mystic anticipated. The 'charger' jumped to scale the panel barrier, putting himself in the pegasus's path, then jumped again, going over Rainbow and immediately landing on her back. The one who was at the weapons 'picked up' a frying pan and trashcan lid.
As the pegasus attempted to shake off whom she knew was the real Chronicle, the clone below confronted Mystic, ready to smack him upside in the head. Before charging though, he did a "backhand" smack with the lid…on Spike, who was coming up from his left. The purple stallion opened fire, but his shots were effortlessly deflected by the two weapons. Just as the clone went close, a lasso wrapped itself around his neck, and pulled…instantly dissipating him.
As the trashcan lid and frying pan fell to the ground, Mystic turned to face Applejack and nodded a "thank you". She seemed to be about to tilt her hat in a "you're welcome" when she gasped, "Look out!"
He wasn't able to heed the warning as the two who were in the air earlier crashed on top of him, Pinkie Pie with them. Chronicle instantly teleported before anyone else could do anything and his clones did likewise. With no more "shurikens" bombarding them, Rarity and Twilight lowered the barrier. The Chronicles then appeared right at the wall of weapons, each of them picking up an item. One of them had a tome, one the shovel, one the hammer, and one the xiphos. Two more were summoned and they 'picked up' a piece of fence and a broken bottle.
Everypony gulped at the sight of the sword as they regrouped (sans Fluttershy, who was apparently still out). While it certainly looked dull from disuse, a sword was still a very dangerous weapon, especially since that was its primary purpose. The four of them marched forward in an intimidating manner, 'swinging' their weapons about.
"Oh dear," grunted Mystic as he picked up the frying pan and trashcan lid and gave them to Rarity and Twilight respectively, only for the former to decline. "One on one, girls. Spike, choose who you're tagging along with." The dragon instantly went at Twilight's side, and then the six ponies charged, the Chronicles doing the same.
Pinkie bounded over "Broken Bottle", then instantly dropped on top of him, dissipating what turned out to be a clone. However, a circle below her began to glow with magic and she found herself utterly immobilized.
Applejack instantly 'disarmed' "Shovel" of his item by grabbing it with her mouth as he swung it, thankfully getting past the metal end, then bucking him as she spun from that move, getting rid of him as well. She then looked down and noticed the circles drawn on the ground. One close by began to glow and her right legs on top of it were pinned there.
Rarity charged at "Piece of Fence", then—as he made to swing with it—performed a forward flip, raising her hind legs into the air and over herself. Just before the fence could strike her forelegs, the force of her jump whisked them off the ground as her right hind leg slammed itself down on his head, dissipating him. She landed on her rump, a bit disappointed that the one she attacked wasn't the real one and so would've been able to execute a cleaner landing. At the same time though, she was relieved as well, as she didn't actually hurt hurt him.
Rainbow ran straight for "Hammer", her wings flapping as she closed in. At a set moment, she instantly zipped forward, tackling—and dissipating—him. She immediately stopped right on top of a drawn circle, a bit confused. The real Chronicle should've seen that coming. Before she knew it, the circle began to glow and she was bound down to it. No amount of flapping her wings was able to pull her out.
Twilight and "Tome" were exchanging magic blasts at each other, the latter having slowed down, and both were blocking with their items. The unicorn mare was hesitant, especially since a reading tool was being used as a shield. Spike wasn't however as he ran ahead, reaching the suspected clone and blasting him from under the book with a fire breath. Just after "Tome" dissipated from the attack, the dragon said, "I can't hesitate, not for my friends…"
Twilight then looked around and saw the circles on the ground, then gasped at seeing some of them glow, those rendering her friends pinned down them in the process. "The circles…binding circles!" Levitating the pan, she went over to them and began erasing the circles, which weakened their holding power and eventually released them. She also got Rarity, who was thankfully not 'bound', to do the same with the piece of fence. Spike was already following suit.
C—TS—S—A—RD—R—F—PP—MS
Erstwhile…
Hmm…I'm guessing Chronicle's state of hyper-competence is sapping those of his clones, Mystic thought as he engaged with "Xiphos", whom he guessed was the real one. He was swinging the pan against the sword, making sure it hit flat-end. He also noticed that his co-teacher was actually meaning to hit with the broad side and not the edges.
"Chronicle! I know you're in there!" Mystic cried out as he made sure of his footing and glimpsed Spike and the other two unicorns get to work on the circles. "Stop this madness right now!"
"You speak as if I've been mind-controlled. Well I'm not," he replied as the two continued clashing. "If I had been, or even can, I wouldn't be hurting like this in the first place!" Chronicle managed to find an opening and lashed out his left foreleg, having conjured the tether spell during the conversation. The magical rope snagged Mystic by the leg and he was tripped up, then the tether lashed like a whip and he was sent tumbling forward while flying backward.
That's when he noticed his other opponents surrounding him. They hadn't charged in yet (either one by one or all at once) due to risking 'friendly fire'. The moment Mystic was out of the way however, Spike and Applejack charged. Thinking and casting fast, he added a "magical tether" to his tail, 'placed' the one on his head to his horn, and snagged the two with them.
He began to spin around, taking the dragon and earth pony in tow and swinging them to dissuade the others from approaching, also shooting sporadically in the air to keep Rainbow from attacking from above and even blasting away Pinkie whenever she attempts to pounce without jumping beforehoof. After a while, he dismissed his tethers, hurling Applejack at the pegasus and the dragon at Rarity. The speedster was pushed back upon catching the farmpony while the white unicorn had it easier with 'slowing' Spike's velocity via telekinesis, then setting him down.
"Bring it on!" the blue unicorn called, both as a dare and as an attempt to dissuade them from this insanity.
Mystic answered by aiming his horn at him and "unsheathing" a blade of magic from it. This was effortlessly swerved this pathetic attempt at the "magic horn blade" as it attempted to strike him.
"I've seen you fight before, and we both know that you're nowhere near as athletic as—" He found himself cut off when the noose of a lasso found itself tied around his neck. The force of the pull made him rear up on his hind legs, and he was also choking.
As it was, Applejack, quickly recovered, was right behind him, and was the one pulling the lasso. "Darn," she muttered through her teeth. "I didn't wanna do this…"
Mystic backed up, went over to Spike, and said, "Someone should check on Fluttershy. She's been out for too long. I'm sure we need that Stare more than ever."
"Why are you asking me?" whispered the dragon as he saw his crush close in on the attack.
"You're not exactly long-range, and frankly, out of all of us, you're the least skilled in fighting."
Spike grumbled. "All right." With that, he went off to where Fluttershy had landed. Upon arriving there, he saw that she was already awake and standing, but was confronted by a Chronicle clone, who seemed to be just staring her down, and it was working. The dragon went up at the clone from behind, then unleashed a breath of fire…but the clone conjured a barrier just in time.
The clone turned around and unsheathed his horn blade. Thankfully for him, Fluttershy was still frightened enough not to take the chance to do a back attack. Spike shuddered a bit, then steeled himself as his claws heated up. This is gonna suck.
C—TS—S—A—RD—R—F—PP—MS
While Spike engaged with the clone guarding Fluttershy, Rarity galloped toward the real Chronicle and positioned herself (upright) to deliver a sweeping kick. It wasn't a literal one as that would mean dragging her foot along the dirt (!), but it was low enough to do its intended purpose. At least it would have had it hit; Chronicle had backed away, evading the leg and forcing Applejack to back up as well to retain her hold, then cast a barrier around his neck during that time to prevent her from choking him. He could easily teleport away, but he deemed it way too easy.
Besides, it would permit him to try battling a different way, now that during this maneuver somepony managed to tie another lasso that wound around his horn. While hitting the horn with something cancelled whatever spell he'd be casting, applying pressure to it like this made it very difficult to even perform a spell. Tying a ribbon around it won't do a thing, but a lasso would so long as it was pulling against his horn.
The white unicorn moved about so that they now faced each other, then assumed a martial arts stance. Mystic and Twilight attempted to shoot at him, but he warded them off with barriers. He then put up another atop himself and intercepted yet another pounce from Pinkie, who then jumped away. "Come on!" he sneered. "Let's see what you can do!" Accepting his challenge, she attacked.
What he pulled off surprised them, particularly Rarity and Mystic. Any punch she did was deflected with a smooth pushing motion at the leg. Any swing to his head he ducked under. His response to any forward kick was to turn to the side, catch her leg with his forelegs, then push so that she would fall on her back. Any kick to his side he would catch, then twist to make her fall to the ground and at risk of him bending and breaking her leg. The barriers he set up prevented her from attacking him from another angle or from anyone trying to intervene. They were also close enough to his body so that no sudden back attacks would work effectively.
"Those moves…they're from Ebon Belt's aikido!" gasped Mystic. "I didn't know he took his classes as well."
"I don't," Chronicle replied. "I learned it back home from my father. Never saw its usefulness until now." He then addressed Rarity as she got up from falling over yet again. "Not that good a karateka, or just hesitant? Either way…" He then decided to teleport, banishing his barriers as well before re-emerging at a corner of the "training range" away from them.
"Oh great, he's going crazy." Like all of his friends have at some point I might add, if what he told me about them is correct. Applebuck season, stage fright, panic concerning the Princess, too much attention, friendship insecurity, and that alleged incident at the Gala… "First he wants us to leave, and now he's practicing on us."
"Can't see why I can't do both." Chronicle poised as if to fire magic shots, but nothing seemed to come. They quickly realized that he was shooting "wind blasts", particularly when one knocked off Applejack's hat as she reeled back her lasso.
Mystic was quick to erect a wall of magic to stop the attacks while Rainbow decided to fly over it and charge, soon zooming around Chronicle in a circle, trying to decide on whether or not to form a tornado, but given the barrier's restrictions—even if it permitted wind to go through—it was difficult. Chronicle didn't give her the chance as he 'lashed out' a magic tether from his tail and around her wings, making her crash.
"You boasted that you've beaten a honkin' metal titan once. I don't care if that's true; I'm your size, I'm an accurate shooter, and I'm far from sluggish." At the corner of his eye, he saw Applejack get teleported to his side and ready to deliver a buck. This time however, he was ready and flash-stepped a few inches to the side so that the attack would fall short.
Meanwhile, Spike successfully defeated the clone with a fire breath. But not before suffering a few slashes from the horn blade and exchanging claw slashes in return. On the outside, he was relatively unharmed, but on the inside he was hurting a great deal.
"Oh, Spike!" she squeaked, feeling guilty for getting him hurt. "I'm sorry I didn't get back with the others. The Chronicle clone you just sent away scared me from doing so."
While still wincing a bit from the pain, he managed to speak coherently. "Well, we need your help. Chronicle's currently trashing us right now, and we're running out of options. We need that Stare of yours, but we also need a plan. He certainly knows how dangerous it is."
"You're right. I think I got an idea. But…I need help. Are you…"
"Yeah, I'm fine." The dragon approached the pegasus so she can explain in hushed tones. Spike nodded a couple of times as he listened. Once she was done, he asked, "You really think it will work?"
She gave a solemn sigh. "It has to."
C—TS—S—A—RD—R—F—PP—MS
Back in the training range, things were looking bleak for Mystic and the rest. Right now, Chronicle had got two ponies snagged in magic tethers as he spun around, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, with Rarity clinging onto the latter. This maneuver kept Mystic and Twilight at a distance and also kept them from shooting in risk of friendly fire. It also dissuaded Pinkie from just pouncing again, after the many times it didn't work.
"Just how is he able to spin so fast and keep himself focused after?" Twilight pondered to herself. "Sure, he's able to swing it about in different directions without any disorientation, but spinning at that speed should make even him—WHOA!"
She jumped out of the way as Rarity lost her grip and was almost sent flying straight at her. The white unicorn ended up rolling on the ground before landing on a haystack. Chronicle soon dismissed the tether he had on the farmpony and she plowed through the fence from the velocity. By the time he 'let go' of Rainbow, she was going so fast that when she was hurtled to the library wall, she smashed through the wood and was instantly unconscious upon landing on the interior's floor.
As he slowed in his spinning, not even feeling the slightest bit dizzy, he performed a back flip…and landed on top of Pinkie Pie before she could sneak-attack him. He then conjured a "binding circle" to ensure that she wouldn't be able to pull off any of her tricks. Then, as a stroke of luck, he cast the power transfer spell on the two purple unicorns, taking their magic for his own.
Unlike with Nightmare Moon, this time he was exerting a good amount of effort on the draining, forcing his targets to reel over and slump to the ground as they felt their magic be absorbed.
"Chronicle…" Twilight pleaded weakly.
"I gave you all your chance to back out. You chose not to. And now you're gonna pay the pri—" He was abruptly cut off when something struck him from the left. He had become so focused on draining that he failed to see Fluttershy pounce him.
The two rolled on the ground for a good while, and somehow at the end of it she was on top. For reasons he was unable to comprehend, with only her hooves, she prevented him from pulling away. Before he could cast a spell, he felt a dragon's claw wrap itself around his horn, nullifying his magic. This was enough to make him start struggling. He also closed his eyes, taking the Stare into account.
"Spike! Grab a leg!" he heard her say. A second later, he felt another claw wrap itself around one and pinned it down. "I'm sorry…" Her words seemed to be pained, and five seconds later, he was punched in the gut. The force of the hit was surprisingly strong he cried out in pain and opened his eyes instinctively—and was immediately subjected to the full power of Fluttershy's dreaded Stare.
If he thought seeing her (or his father) getting really angry was scary, this was worse. He could actually feel himself be literally paralyzed by fear, even as her eyes were welling up with tears. It was extremely difficult to think of anything else, and his guilt on seeing her have to do this to him didn't help. He figured that the Stare wasn't a mere psychological effect, but also some sort of non-unicorn magic.
"Chronicle! Please stop this!" she cried out. "Don't you see you're hurting your friends with what you're doing?! I know how much you hate Discord for what he did! I know because I feel the same! When I was corrupted by him, I was pretty much trapped inside my own mind, helpless as I was forced to do things I didn't want to do! When Twilight restored me, I wanted to believe it was all just a nightmare!"
The Stare faltered after that as she closed her eyes, steeling herself for what she has to say next. Chronicle, however, didn't immediately get up, his stamina drained, and his mind losing the fog that was his obsession to train himself. By this point, Spike had let go of his leg and backed away.
"Revenge isn't going to solve anything," she continued. "It may feel like a good thing at first, but it's not. Maybe it might bring you peace, but more than often it will leave your life feeling flat and empty. And if you continue down your current path, you might one day find yourself as bad as Discord, in terms of atrocity if not power. Worse, there may be those connected to him who will then decide to pursue vengeance against you, and before you know it, we have a cycle of revenge.
"You have a lot to live for. Don't throw it all away for this. You have friends who have suffered as you have. Maybe they can't compare to yours, but you're not supposed to do that. Friends help one another. Friends…" Fluttershy couldn't say anymore as she finally broke down to tears and hugged him, who hugged her back. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry I had to do this!"
With his mind finally clear thanks to all this, he finally replied. "No, I should be the one who's sorry. I ended up forcing you to do this to me. All of you. After I failed to protect my friends, then failed to even get revenge for them, I was left me with a very bad feeling, even though we did defeat him in the end.
"I wanted to better myself so that I would be more prepared the next time. I couldn't let it happen again. Not to my friends, most of all you." By this time, everypony else save Rainbow has recovered and slowly gathered around the two. "You're the second most tenderhearted person I know, the first being my mother. You're also strong and dangerous when the ones you care about are in danger, also like my mother. A clear touch of steel under that silk, to. For Discord to take that all away, and turn you into an unsympathetic █████…it drove all reason out of my head."
"Wh-what are you trying to say?"
"It started ever since that incident with the red dragon, when we saw you stand up to it for the first time. I was utterly impressed with such force you were able to exude. Since then, I felt like I needed to make you stronger both physically and spiritually without changing your sweet personality. Before I knew it, you've become more than a friend to me." He closed his eyes as he struggled to let out his next words. "I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, FLUTTERSHY!"
This anguished declaration elicited shock, from everypony in varying degrees, save Rarity seemed gleeful at this confession. Pinkie's gasp that followed was twice as long as the one she made during Twilight's arrival at Ponyville.
Chronicle opened his eyes again, tears beginning to come out. "And I hate the fact that it took Discord for me to finally realize and accept it. I was also afraid of what my family and their friends would say. It's against the rules of my…" He lowered his voice to a whisper; Mystic doesn't know of the cross-world incident to Solaris Equestria. "…secret mission." He resumed normal tone. "I was just too scared to start, and that's another thing that sets me apart from my twin sister." My family doesn't normally accept its members starting relationships before…introducing the outsider and inducting them. There's also the fact that being a Story Crew Field Operative, I would eventually have to leave you, and that's worse. He failed to let out any more words as he embraced her and, for the second time, cried.
During this time, Rainbow Dash crawled out of the hole in the library she was blown through, ready to continue fighting. However she stopped short on seeing her friends in a wide circle around Fluttershy, who was crying. And Chronicle was below her…also crying. Confused, she took a look at the others, and saw that they were no longer fighting.
She looked back at the two in the center, and was both a bit disappointed and relieved, disappointed because they won the fight without her, and relieved that they even won at all. It was there that everypony realized that the obsession has finally gone from Chronicle's mind, the moment they saw him cry.
C—TS—S—A—RD—R—F—PP—MS
Sunset, inside the library…
Dear Princess Celestia,
I've learned a very important life lesson. Revenge is a very costly and sterile thing. Sometimes, when times are desperate, it's all you have that can keep you going. But in all other cases, it can ruin your life and leave you empty, even ostracize you from the life you do have left.
That's where friends, true friends and not "enablers", come in. They're there to comfort you, to remind you that there is more in life to live for, even knock you to your senses if need be. Many times mine can be quite the idiots (and I take it upon myself to fix that), but their positive traits are why I haven't given up on them. It's worth the effort.
Twilight Sparkle's stalwart bodyguard, Chronicle
Once Spike was done writing the letter, he rolled it up, then blew his green fire into it, sending it to the Princess. Everybody was gathered at the ground floor, next to the table that had overturned when Rainbow crashed into it during the earlier fight.
"Girls, Mystic, I would like to apologize for my rash behavior for the past few days," Chronicle said. "It was…inexcusable. My contract swore me to protect you, and I failed that by fighting you all. How could I have let myself act this way?"
"It's okay, Chronicle," assured Mystic. "It's in the past. We all went in knowing we were bound to get hurt."
"At the very least, we now know just how dangerous you can really be to anybody who gets in your way," Pinkie said, her tone not matching the sentence.
"After that fight, I'm glad to say you're on our side," said Applejack. "We all are."
"There's still that statue though," Twilight pointed out skeptically. "The obsession seems to have started there."
"No. I would've fallen to my obsession even without it, trust me," Chronicle replied. "I still need to train anyway. I just have to avoid overworking myself like Applejack once did."
He got a wary look from the farmpony. "Hey."
"Come to think of it, the two situations seemed to be similar, except I was only harming myself, and excessive force was required to put a stop to me."
"How will we know that you won't get obsessed again?" Rainbow asked somewhat worriedly. "I don't think we can fight you a second time."
"You won't, I assure you. 'Sides, I was just subjected to the Stare. I do not want to experience that again. I was incapable of thinking anything else, not even my obsession, and that was what succeeded in bringing me to my senses where others have failed." He turned to the one who did it. "Thank you, Fluttershy."
It's weird to be thanked for scaring someone, but the yellow pegasus knew it was sincere, so she just nodded her head.
"Come on, everypony!" Pinkie suddenly said. "Group hug!" She gathered everyone so that they were around the friend they had 'rescued' today, further warming him in more ways than one.
"Thanks again, guys, for saving me," Chronicle said. Violence may not always be the best answer, but that only means there are a few situations where it is.
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Awesome.
Epic fight scene brah