• Published 20th Feb 2012
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Ascended - BlackWing



2 Years after the events of Monster, 1 year after the epilogue. Sequel. Firebolt fan character.

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Discovery (15)

Discovery

Luna was still on her way back to Canterlot, while Discord had teleported to the underside of the castle, 8 miles down.

"Ah, yes, here you are. Nightmare, you lost weight." The draconequuis teased about the new body, being a mere necklace instead of a sword.

"Discord, shut up and get me out of here." The medallion quivered as it spoke.

"Ah yes, but first, I need to borrow Black Law again, I have some certain ponies I need to wipe off the face of the planet, and as much as I am loathe to go without my wonderful chaos for even a moment, sacrifices must be made." He said, staring at his fingernails nonchalantly.

"I am too weak in this state. I require a host to regain my strength, and I think I know who."



"So, did you have a good time?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, I think it was just what I needed." Nightshade responded, rubbing his two fingers down her spine as they sat next to each other. She had a kink in her back for the past couple days, and the gentle massaging was just the thing to relax the tension.

"The way I figure, I'll see Scootaloo again one day. Until then, she's watching over me. I think I can finally accept what happened." He said, giving her a peck on the cheek. The two of them had become much more comfortable around each other. That didn't mean each touch didn't set the other on fire with emotion, it just meant they no longer had to worry about fainting.

"Still, I wish it never happened, and I certainly wish to never go through it again, but I know that since I'll live longer than anyone, except maybe the princesses, that it will. I can't even think about what I'd do without you my little butterfly." He gave her a firm hug, and she let out a squeak like a dog toy being squeezed.

"Hey, I just remembered, it's fall now. School is starting up again. Maybe I could teach?" Nightshade was looking for ways to make money again, as he had given his portion of the sugar shack to Pinkie Pie. She ran it all on her own for two years, and was better at it than he ever was. It didn't make sense for him to pop in and stop her from doing what she loved, so he made it a gift for her birthday. That and he was trying to fill the void left by Scootaloo. What better way than to teach, since he'd be around kids all day? The school had increased in size, and a number of foals were now at that age, including the cake twins.

"But what would I teach? Cherilee has already got the basics, and Lyra is teaching beginner magic. I'm glad they let her teach, after all, it was Nightmare that burned the school down, not her, and it would help her take her mind off things. Soarin is teaching flight to the pegasi now that he's retired from the wonderbolts. I'm not really sure what to do about it." He didn't really have to worry about money, since he was still getting his fair share from Trixie's branch of the sugar shack, and it's not like Fluttershy would ever kick him out. He just wanted to contribute, as he had been gone for two years, and then moping around for a month and a half in a depression.

"Don't worry." She returned the kiss. "You'll figure something out, you always do."


Their chat was interrupted by Twilight teleporting into the room.

"Quick, grab on!" She instructed, giving no explanation. The look in her eyes screamed urgency. They both obliged, and with a flash, found themselves in the library, along with the rest of the mane six, as well as Luna. They quickly grabbed hold of the moon princess, and after another flash, they all found themselves in the Canterlot royal garden, looking at a statue of Celestia.


Here lies a stick in the mud. She'll be out in a couple days, and I'll be having fun.

Insincerely, Discord.


Luna explained what happened.

"The chaos those humans caused must have allowed Discord to escape."

"The very thing you thought I would do?" Nightshade inquired.

"That is correct." She said with a sigh. "Unfortunately, we can't find him. This isn't like him at all. Normally, he'd go around causing a ruckus, but there hasn't been a single sign of him."

"So, he's the guy who flipped Ponyville upside down the week I got here? If he's the spirit of chaos, you have to expect the unexpected, but, then he's just as likely to do something expected just to throw you off. The way I see it, he's not going to do his normal thing. He's probably laying low to gather his strength, or allies. It's not something he'd normally do, which is exactly why he's doing it." He explained.

"I don't get it." Twilight said. Rainbow Dash had her hooves on her head.

"Oh silly! It's easy! If Discord's always Discordy, then we expect him to be Discordy, if he's Discord all the time, then we get used to Discord, and it would be an even bigger surprise for him to NOT be Discord, and while it's a surprise, it's not fun like a surprise party." Pinkie Pie apparently got it, and everyone else was just even more confused.

"Okay, so, me and Pinkie Pie are the only ones here capable of comprehending his motives and means. That gives us an edge, because we can figure out what he's likely to try next. If he's looking for allies, he'll probably try for Nightmare, since he used Black Law to fight your parents Luna, except Nightmare doesn't have Black Law anymore, I do. It's hiding in the basement. Ever since I called on it back when the humans attacked, I've kept it in a vault, with the blade sticking in the inside, making the vault itself magic proof. That way, the blade is protecting itself." He told the group. Luna was relieved that the sword was safe, and that given the clever way it was locked up, even the spirit of disharmony couldn't get to it.

"Okay, let me just check something." Luna disappeared in a flash of light, then reappeared. "Yep, Nightmare is gone. It's trapped in the dream catcher, so Discord took it with him. Now what?"


"Well, if he wants Black Law, he'll try to recover Nightmare's strength. That means he'll either try for me to regain it's lost power, or for someone else, to have it recover it naturally. Nightmare probably told him I'm a no go, so that means he'll be looking for someone who's susceptible to it. The only other ones who've had contact with it are Lyra and Firebolt. There's no way Lyra would ever go near that thing again, so that leaves..... oh no." Nightshade's eyes went wide.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked.

"She originally had Nightmare because she wanted wings. She still wants to fly really badly, and given what you've told me about Discord, he'll twist her desire to make her accept it. Just like how he manipulated the six of you. Even if she says no, he'll just override it. We have to get back to Ponyville, RIGHT NOW."



"No way. I know what that is. There is no way I'm going near that." The unicorn ignited in fear. "Get it away from me, what ever you are!"

"Have you ever thought that they lied to you? They just doesn't want you to fly. They're jealous of you! None of them could control Nightmare, and you can, it's as simple as that. Nightmare is weak, you are strong. You can easily control it. Poor naive little Firebolt. Always mocked. Always forgotten. Nopony ever cared about you. You've always been on your own. Take hold of your dream! Fly!" Discord was in the form of an eagle, sitting on Firebolt's window, holding Nightmare in it's claws, and trying to be as convincing as possible.

"No pony maybe, but I have Spike. He cares for me." She said, a small quake in her voice, but her decision resolute. The shape shifted trickster looked at her for a moment, but his patience ran out.

"Oh for goodness sake!" Discord appeared in his regular form. "That dragon brat only fell for you because he was tired of getting rejected by Rarity! He doesn't love you, he's on the rebound!" Discord touched her head, and all the colour drained from her, making her grey. He flung the necklace down in front of her, and with a wicked smile, she put it on. Solid, feathered wings appeared on her, and she flew off into the sky after the draconequuis, who was fleeing the scene. Spike ran up the stairs and was about to take off after her, when suddenly 6 ponies, the princess, and Nightshade appeared in front of him.


"Guys! You gotta stop her! Discord came and did some really weird thing, then she took Nightmare and flew away!" Spike was looking with tears in his eyes. The group could still see the emblazoned mare in the sky, chasing after the mix-matched form of Discord. Luna, Rainbow, Nightshade and Spike flared their wings, and took off in hot pursuit, while the rest of the group followed on foot.

Firebolt found herself surrounded, Nightshade was the first to speak.

"Come on. We've been through this. This isn't you. We know it isn't. Snap out of it."

"Lies! You just don't want me to be happy! You're jealous of me!" She was clearly under his influence. They were about to argue, when the group was interrupted.

"What? Hohoho! This is wonderful! I never thought I'd see the day! I thought all of them were sent away, but one or two must have survived in hiding! Oh happy day! My wonderful creation, come to spread some chaos? Let's fly away and shake up the world!" Discord was talking to the human flying behind him, and turned to face him.

"Wait a minute. I never made any pegasus humans. At least, I think I didn't. That was so long ago, but who cares! A human, here in Equestria! This is wonderful!" Discord proceeded to do a celebratory dance, grabbing Nightshade by the arms and swinging him around in his little jig. The winged human just looked at him confused, as he was tossed around like a rag doll.

"Wait what? What do you mean 'creation'? What do you mean pegasus human? I'm confused. Do you know something about me?" Nightshade asked once he had finally been let go of, and had regained his bearings.

"Oh do forgive me, in my excitement, it seems I've forgotten introductions. I am Discord, the handsome and all powerful spirit of disharmony, your creator and GOD. Alright, you may now bow before me." He said, looking up and to the side, clapping his hands like he was summoning a servant.

"Eeh, no. That's not gonna happen." Nightshade raised his eyebrow. "I've got a better idea. How about we sit and have some tea while you explain my origins in detail, then we have some witty banter, followed by a heaping helping of me kicking your ass?" Discord nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I do so love your attitude. Very well." The mix matched serpent said. He was particularly fond of his creation's cleverness.

"Hey everyone, I'm gonna have a chat with Discord, can you handle things over there?" He asked, the whole group nodded and began their fight. Discord snapped his fingers, and a table, two chairs, two teacups, a teapot, and a serving tray appeared, all upside down, 30 feet above town hall.

"Only a half cup for me thanks, too much and I'm running to the bathroom all day." Nightshade said, flipping himself upside down and sitting in one of the chairs. It didn't phase him in the slightest. Discord proceeded to take a teacup, slice it in half vertically, then fill it with tea, streaming up from the upside down kettle, and filling the half cup, without the hot liquid spilling from it.

"Ah, very nice." Nightshade said, still not surprised. "I never thought I'd see the Alice in Wonderland tea party up close. The upside down thing is a nice touch by the way."

"Wait, WHAT?" Discord looked shocked that the creature before him took his chaos in stride. "You mean, this has been done before?"

"On several occasions actually. What? You thought you were being original?" He replied. At that moment he couldn't help himself, more than anything, he wanted to troll the spirit of chaos into oblivion. He thought better of it. He didn't exactly want to piss Discord off, not knowing what he was capable of.

The tea party abruptly stopped, as the table, chairs and teapot disappeared, but not the cups. The two righted themselves, and Discord began to explain. "Well, if it's already been done then that's boring. Shall I begin?" They both sipped tea as the draconnequuis cleared his throat.

"A long time ago yaddi yaddi yadda, there was a bunch more earth ponies than pegasi and unicorns, so I changed a whole whack of em into bipedal, hairless, tailless monkeys. While they were omnivores, I gave them a specific craving for the meat of Equines, and made them incredibly violent. It was so funny, all the ponies running around as their mutated family members tried to eat them!" The draconnequuis began.

"Eventually Aurora and Chronos got mad about me changing their precious little ponies into monsters, so they collected the whole lot of them, and used the elements of harmony on them. They weren't very good with using them as those six are, so instead of changing them back, they were only able to make them less violent. The humans spent a couple generations here, and were quite good at making things. Inventors, designers, and what not. They made a whole bunch of things that the ponies still use today. I guess they had my creativity and brilliance." Discord laughed, and took his arm off to give himself a pat on the back at his own compliment.

"They still had some chaotic tendencies though, starting several wars, trying to kill each other, so the whole lot of them got sent somewhere else." He sighed. Nightshade was just wide eyed. Discord had actually managed to surprise him. Who would have thought that would be humanity's origin.

"Well, all my little children got sent away, and I couldn't get them back. I got mad that they ruined my fun, so I borrowed Black Law from old smokey, who was ever so glad to help after I used the hatred expelled from the humans by the elements to create it, and killed the hag and geezer. Things were great for a while, spreading chaos all around. Then I found out that those two had some kids, who were NOT HAPPY about me killing their parents, and turned me to stone. I escaped after a couple thousand years." The draconequuis didn't look to happy about having been a statue.

"Ah, yeah, I popped up about a week before that happened. I ended up being a statue for two years, and let me tell you, it is SOOO boring. I mean, I almost went crazy in there." Nightshade said, sipping from his cup. It was Discord's turn to be surprised again.

"What do you mean, 'popped up'? Weren't you in hiding or something? Also, I remember I made sure not to make any pegasus or unicorn humans, how do you have wings? Did a human breed with a pegasus or something?"

"Is that even possible?" He replied.

"Actually, now that I think about it, no. If a human and pony were to eh hem, 'do the do wah diddy', the pony DNA would take over, so the offspring wouldn't be human in the slightest." He explained.

"Okay, so wait. Not only is a human/pony union capable of producing children, but the child would be entirely pony, since humans were ponies to begin with and your chaotic magic would be negated by the non chaotic parent?"

"Yep, that just about sums it up. So how do you have wings anyway?" Discord asked. Nightshade looked over his shoulder at the battle taking place. He was confident they could handle Firebolt, while he took on the very important duty of keeping the draconnequuis distracted. If he got some answers out of the deal, it was even better.

"Well, that's a very long and very boring story. To sum it up, I ate Nightmare. Yes, that's right, ATE it. Like a slice of cake. Didn't get sick or anything. It possessed me, but I was stronger than it, and trapped it in that little necklace." Nightshade said, pointing his thumb over his back towards Firebolt.

"It left all it's mojo with me, but none of it's mind. So I'm not a pegasus human, I'm an..... earth pony human? Actually, given my powers, maybe I'm a unicorn human? Don't really know at this point. And I don't really care much either." Nightshade finished his tea, and tossed the cup away. Discord didn't know what to make of him. Was he an ally, being powerful and naturally chaotic? Or was he an enemy, having defeated Nightmare, and arriving with the ponies he wanted to destroy? Or even worse, was he a rival, intent on taking over his position?


"What's you're game anyway?" Discord asked.

"I like Monopoly, but I have to say 'Go Fish' is my favorite." Nightshade responded with a smirk. Discord let out a sarcastic laugh, then asked again.

"What is your intention?"

"To live my life." Giving Discord another vague answer was starting to wear on his nerves.

"You know what I mean." The spirit of chaos said, annoyed at being played with.

"You're the spirit of unpredictability, how can ANYONE know what you mean?" The human smiled.

"WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON! MINE OR THEIRS?" He was getting mad.

"Hmm, well, let's see....." With a flash, Nightshade was behind Discord, and drove his fist into his spine.

"Gah!" Discord coughed. He clearly wasn't expecting him to suddenly become violent, and definitely not be that powerful. He snapped his fingers, and his head popped out from Nightshade's neck, only to have a fist meet his chin. Discord flashed away, and appeared under him. He flew straight up at the human, but was sent back down with an ax kick. He teleported again, before hitting the ground, this time above, only to be met with the reverse motion of the previous kick, sending him upwards.

"How do you know my every move?!" The serpentine creature demanded.

"Because, nothing you do surprises me. Really, did you honestly expect to be able to catch a being you created off guard? That's like trying to trick yourself." Nightshade laughed as he drove his fist into Discord's face.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Time for the old switcheroo!" His talon popped out from behind the human, and poked him on the nose. All the colour drained from him. His main personality trait being switched.

"Alright, so, are you ready to help me kill the princesses and cause some chaos?" Discord asked the now grey human. Nightshade seemed lost in thought for a moment, scratching his chin.

"Nope! I'm still gonna kick your ass!" He laughed, bringing his leg high and driving it into Discord's neck.

"How is this possible? I changed you! You should be all different from when you were before!" The confused trickster yelled.

"Because you reversed my main trait. My main trait is being helpful and kind. I was helpful to my friends. Now it's being hurtful and mean. I just decided to be hurtful to you instead. Pays to know what you're dealing with. That way you can plan for every outcome." Nightshade stared at his fingernails nonchalantly, mimicing Discord. The draconnequuis for furious.

"I AM THE KING OF CHAOS! NOPONY CAN MAKE SENSE OF ME!" He was actually throwing a temper tantrum.

"For starters, Pinkie Pie can, and she's a pony. Secondly, so can I. In fact, most of my species can. Nothing you do surprises me, because I've seen it all before. There are SIX BILLION humans, and each and every one of them is at least as.... creative, as you are. We needed an outlet, so we made the internet, where anyone can take their ideas and give them form, to show to others, and to be saved permanently. An entire planet of idea factories, cranking out everything from ways to split an atom in your own back yard, to poptart cats who fly through space pooping rainbows. While here it may be original, and nobody laughs because what you're doing is mean, to me, everything you do is a cliché, and I don't laugh because it's lame. Drinking a chocolate milk of glass? Reversing personalities? You aren't the spirit of chaos, you're the spirit of irony. You are the equivalent of giving a six year old human the keys to the universe, and letting them go on a 100 thousand year joyride. Face it pal, you lose. Humans invented over 150 different languages, so I will never run out of ways to tell you how much you suck." Nightshade began laughing maniacally. Discord looked like he was about to cry.

"Forget this, I liked you better the other way. You're much too mean like this, and that's no fun." He snapped his fingers, and the colour returned to the human.

"Well, sorry about that. I get cranky when I get messed up by ancient spirits of disharmony. Well, now that the witty banter is out of the way, we can skip straight to the good part." He cracked his knuckles. Grabbing Discord's beard in one hand, he pulled the draconnequuis' head down, so he could look him in the eyes. He opened his mouth slightly, showing off all his razor sharp teeth, and said,

"Boo."


"Nightmare, change of plans, we're getting out of here. This human is a freak!" The spirit of disharmony yelled back to Firebolt. Nightshade was about to hit him, but he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

"Well crap, he's gone. I guess that means I can help deal with miss hot head herself." He said, his balled hand striking the air where Discord had been just a moment ago.


In the mean time, Firebolt was holding up against Dash, Luna, and Spike surprisingly well. She wasn't taking Nightmare's normal, rage filled approach. She was doing it playfully. She was actually having fun. Darting around the trio of aerial combatants in a kind of battle dance, lashing out once in a while to try and hit one of them. She hummed the entire time.

Spike got lucky, and was able to grab the blazing mare. He tried to get his claws around the dream catcher, but to no avail. She just kept moving it out of his reach. She threw the dragon off her back, and with him now belly up in the air, drove her hooves into his stomach. She descended at fast as she could, causing the draconic teen to plummet ever faster, until he crashed into the ground, her hooves being forced further into his soft underbelly at the sudden impact. Spike coughed up blood, due to broken ribs puncturing his lungs. The thick red fluid splattered on Firebolt's face.

"Sorry, I couldn't save you." Spike said between gasps before passing out from lack of air. Even at his death, Spike was not worried about himself, he was apologizing to her. This made her come to a sudden realization.

"That dragon brat only fell for you because he was tired of getting rejected by Rarity! He doesn't love you, he's on the rebound!"

It was a lie. Spike cared for her more than anyone could ever know. The colour returned to her. She was no longer grey, but her normal yellow with red and orange mane, and tears streaming out of her eyes.

"SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!" Twilight ran to her fallen assistant. The rest of the ground crew followed, as well as Luna, Dash, and Nightshade.

"No, nonononononono! Spike! I'm so sorry! I never wanted to hurt you, I...." Firebolt was crying her eyes out. The dragon coughed again, allowing a little more blood to come up.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Part of the reason I love ya is 'cause you can kick my ass, you feisty little pepper." He said with a smirk, small drops of blood running down his cheeks. She looked at Nightshade and Luna, both of which were lying on the ground, clutching their stomachs.

"Heh, too much for one, but between the three of us it's nothing more than a medium kick to the ribs. Lucky Luna was here to split it with me, you dragons are tough suckers, takes a lot to hurt ya, as well as heal ya." The trio of injured immortals, (Spike is a dragon, he'll live till something kills him, and they get bigger, and thus stronger as they age) let out a laugh, and Firebolt looked at the dream catcher she was wearing.

"As for you, I'm not gonna put up with you any more. Try to hurt MY Spike? Ill show you!" She took off the necklace, which was shaking in defiance. As her wings of flesh and feather disappeared, she became alight with brilliant white flames, as bright as a supernova, as she brought her hoof down on the pendant with as much force as she could muster. It shattered.

"WWWRAARRARARARARARARARARAARARARARYYYYAYRYARYAYRAYAY-sssssssssssssssssss" The malevolent spirit escaping from the broken knotted ring was caught in her flames, and screeched in anguish as it was burned into nothingness with a hiss. Luna simply looked in surprise at the angry unicorn, who had just permanently obliterated the ancient evil which she had fallen prey to previously.

"Well, fire always has been a force of purification. From disease to evil spirits, it's all cleansed in flame." Nightshade said plainly. "I guess that means it's gone for good."

"But what about your dream of flying? I mean, flying is AWESOME! Aren't you sad you'll never be able to?" Rainbow Dash wasn't making her feel any better about giving up her dream.

"I can't burn Spike with my flames, so even if I get excited, I still can't hurt him. I'll let him be my wings. That way, we can fly together."


"You know, I can't help but feel we're forgetting something." Rarity said thoughtfully. The rest just pondered what it might be that they couldn't remember, something important.


Meanwhile, in the Canterlot royal gardens, the Celestia-statue was raging mad.

"I can't believe they saw me like this and just left me here! I mean, between Luna and Twilight, they ought to have been able to break me out! I suppose that chasing Discord was more important, but still. It is BOOOOOORING in here. Note to self, when I get out of here, don't turn Discord back to stone, kill him. It would actually be merciful."

Okay so, we learned a bunch of stuff. First we found out that humans are actually discorded earth ponies. Second, we found that because of that, it's possible for Nightshade to have a foal with a pony. It only works on Equestrian ponies though. Weird. Then again this is Discord. He's seriously screwed up. I also like the bit where Nightshade insults the hell out of him, and he throws a temper tantrum. Spike is gonna be just fine, and now Nightmare is gone for good. What happened to Discord? He ran his immature little ass away. He's gonna go in the fetal position in a corner for a bit, suck his thumb, and try to come up with a NEW plan, since the first one was a miserable failure. Nightshade didn't use Black Law, because for one, he doesn't like to use it, it's an object of pure hatred. Two, even though magic won't work when he's carrying it, Discord is a trickster. He'd hate to wind up on the wrong end of the blade. As for why they didn't use the elements of harmony, they're locked up in that room, and only Celestia is able to open it. Not even Luna can. She bumped up the safety measures on it since Discord stole them the last time.

Excerpt from chapter 29, Sacrifice, part.1, of 'Monster' (Outside the fourth wall)

Aurora: You twisted my little ponies into freaks, no offense, and then murdered me and my husband.

Nightshade: *Looking at Aurora like she either just spoke nonsense, or unravelled the secrets of the universe*

She was saying no offense to Nightshade, since she just called him a freak. Didn't see that one coming did you. Nightshade didn't get *Ponified* because technically, in Equestria, human's are mutant ponies.

That's right, I planned this right from chapter one of monster. I hadn't even written it yet, and I already had the sequel half thought of. Of course, I added Firebolt later, but the character addition was early enough that it was easily workable.

Didn't release chapter yesterday because I was busy with college. WHAT? I have a life BESIDES writing fanfiction? Yes I do. I don't have a job or a girlfriend, but I do have school. Sorry for depriving you of your fix. It's not my fault ponies are more addictive, and infinitely healthier in terms of body, mind and soul, than heroin.