The Elements of Discord

by Midnightshadow

Chapter 4

The Elements of Discord

Chapter 4

An MLP:FiM Fanfiction by Midnight Shadow

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro and Lauren Faust. Please support the official release

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Applejack groaned, her head was sore and her eyes hurt. It was dark, she could smell hay and apples; she was still in the barn. Whoever those strange ponies were, they’d trussed her up something fierce but she could still see and hear, she guessed they would want to interrogate her once they worked out she was awake.

As her sight cleared she looked around cautiously, “Big Mac!” she hissed as she spied a familiar shape - the real one this time, she could tell from his cutie-mark. She tried to scoot around quietly to face him, “Wake up ya big lump!”

“Applejack?” Big Mac stirred, “That you? Ah mean... that really you?”

“Big Mac, you think I’d be hog-tied like this if it weren’t?”

“Good point but... Y’all sure ye ain't a spy?”

“Big Mac, so help me, when I get outta here I’m gonna bust you up so good..."

“Hush now, you two, and listen up,” said a familiar yet off-sounding voice as the pretender Applejack stepped closer, “Big Mouth here,” the pony looked at what appeared to be a fat and scowling version of Big Mac, “tells me y’all know about our invasion. I wanna know what you know, and I wanna to know it right now.”

Applejack looked up at herself, sort of. The orange pony with the shocking blonde mane and tail looked almost exactly like her, but somehow different, that’s if she didn’t count the rattlesnake cutie-mark.

Applejack looked over at Big Mac, who looked back at Applejack, “Missy, who the heck are you? And why’re you wearin’ mah duds an’ trottin’ up and down like ya own the place?”

“Amanita Jack at your service, and we’re movin’ in here ‘bouts. As ye say, what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine. That includes your two butts if’n yews didn’t notice.”

“Now you jest listen here, Missy,” said Applejack, struggling to get her hooves free and failing, “this here is Apple territory, ain’t nopony gonna take it from me whilst I’m still breathin’.”

“I can arrange for that.” said Amanita, eyes narrowing.

Applejack looked her right back in the eye, and spat.

Amanita was furious for a moment then broke off laughing, “you got some guts there gally. As I said,” she returned with a scythe held in her muzzle which she put at her feet menacingly, tone now serious, “if you don’t start talkin’, imma start slicing.”

“I plum don’t know what y’all talkin’ about,” said Applejack at last, “all I heard was our gal Twilight got herself in some sorta trouble.”

“Twilight, Twilight... hmm. Hey Big Mouth,” Amanita turned to the fake Big Mac, and Applejack was surprised to work out that this wasn’t an insult, that was apparently his name, “what intel we got on a ‘Twilight’?”

The big, fat, red stallion thought for a moment as he heaved his bulk away from the rest of the group and tapped his muzzle with a hoof, “Whurl sis, if’n she’s anything like the rest of us, she’ll be a magician, maybe a pegasus... no, wait, it’s only unicorns here that have magic, right? I cain’t imagine she’s all that important if’n she’s got herself in trouble.”

Amanita ground her teeth together at the offhand way her older brother was handling the situation, “if you say so..."

“Now you wait just a minute, our Twilight is one of the most powerful unicorns I have ever met, and whatever she’s up to, whatever you’re up to, she’s going to raise hell. You just untie us now and we’ll say no more about it, y’all go home, we sort out our Twi, everyone stays happy.”

Big Mouth thought for a moment, “Daybreak... what if’n our girl Daybreak had succeeded with her masterplan?”

“Say what now?” asked both Applejack and Amanita.

“Her... what did she call them? Elements?” said Amanita.

“The Elements of Harmony?” whispered Applejack to Big Mac, but Big Mouth heard her.

“Harmony? What useless pieces o’ trash they’d be. No, Discord. Chaos! Destruction and rebirth, that’s where true power lies,” said a large red pegasus with a rainbow mane. “She said she’d located them, it was her what led us here... I wonder...”

Applejack and Big Mac shared a look, in Applejack’s eyes was the silent pleading of please, please, please don’t mention I’m the guardian of one of the Elements of Harmony. Big Mac winked, and then opened his mouth to speak, “I reckon your Elements of Discord are as much a myth as the Elements of Harmony are. They ain’t nothing but an old mare’s tale.”

“Mare’s tale nothing,” said the pegasus, “my research was phenomenal! it far surpassed Daybreak Glitter’s paltry efforts. I, Rainbow Crash, discovered records of four of the Elements of Discord, indicating that they were lost to us over a thousand years ago through a rift in the fabric of our universe. It was that same rift we used to travel here and it will be that same rift we use to bring the armies of Queen Celeste down upon your pathetic little hamlet and wipe it, and your Equestria, from the realm. I learnt the secrets to stabilising the portals, I taught our mages the necessary magics and I will be the one to receive the Queen’s favour when her and her troops are arrive.”

Big Mac pressed the advantage, “I still reckon there ain't no such thing as no Elements of Discord - why, what would they even look like?”

“Look like? Foal, they are barely-contained elemental spirits of destruction, birth and renewal. They can look like anything.”

“Hah! Y’all be looking for something that don’t exist that can look like anything else. If’n you wanna believe that load o’bullpucky, I got some apple-pie trees t’be sellin’!” Applejack spat.

“Our legends tell of them as bright stars, once encircling the palace of Celeste - until Selena stole them away and sought to bring down our glorious Queen with them. She was defeated and banished for a thousand years to the moon, the elements of discord were thought destroyed - but I knew they never could be, they’re older than the universe, they were there when it all began and they’ll be there long after we’re gone. Selena sent them here, somehow, and I aim to locate and retrieve them.”

Applejack opened and then shut her mouth. For all his stoic silence, Big Mac was much better at this sort of thing than she was. When he spoke, he turned heads. She kept silent. I reckon, she thought to herself, I reckon this trouble with Twilight that Big Mac mentioned has summat to do with these Elements of Discord somehow. I don’t know why I’m seein’ double all of a sudden, but coincidence can take a hike... just like I gotta... but how? Applejack decided to keep her mouth shut and play it by ear as she studied the strangely familiar ponies around her. She’d get a break.

***

Celestia had done her best, the townsfolk had done their best. Things were as good as they were going to get for the future site of a battle. The older ponies and foals that they could were being teleported or airlifted to safety by the unicorns and weather patrol pegasi respectively, others who would not or could not fight were fleeing through Whitetail Wood towards Hoofington. Tearful goodbye’s were being said, some likely to be final.

“Report, General?” Celestia asked Bucephalus ‘Buck’ Stormhammer, an aged, wise pegasus stallion who had been in her faithful employ his entire life. She had grown close and saw him as a friend, as close as one can get with such differing lifespans.

“Our recon missions are coming back short, Princess, but we can estimate the Nightmare Force’s speed of travel. Permission requested to keep our distance. We’re not learning much more now than that which Princess Luna came back with, and we really can’t afford to lose any more fliers on these trips.”

“Permission granted. Is that all?”

“I... I don’t know Celestia. Something doesn’t smell right.”

“Howso?”

“Ma’am, you keep me around for my brains as well as my good looks, I take it?”

Celestia smiled despite herself and the situation, “That I do Buck. Speak your mind. Permission to speak freely.”

“We’ve got our eyes on the wrong ball.”

Celestia’s heart sunk, “what makes you say that? An army barely a few hours’ march from a hastily-reinforced and otherwise defenceless town is the wrong target?”

“The bigger picture agrees, yes. That storm was not the cause of your pupil’s... transformation. It was an unconnected event. It also preceeded it. If the armour has been there all along they may be entirely unrelated. Whatever or whoever caused that storm has yet to play their hoof and they’ve had a couple more days to prepare. Maybe our sudden preparations spooked them, maybe they’re reconsidering, but we don’t know what they want. This might cause them to retreat, or it might embolden them or force their hoof.”

Celestia nodded, her own examination of the book found in Twilight’s saddle-bags painted much the same picture, “General, alert a few trusted ponies. I don’t care the rank nor company, the standing nor status. If they’re alright by your books then I shall abide by your decisions. Tell them your fears, tell them to keep their eyes open. If my own investigation is correct, the army we need to battle is not out there,” Celestia pointed with one wing, “it may already be much, much closer.”

“Inside Ponyville limits?”

“Neigh, inside Ponyville City proper, inside the barricades. General, the signs point to a massive teleportation grounding spell of some strange, unknown sort. All signals tell me it was successful, the next logical move would be direct invasion by a well-prepared force undetectable by my resources until they move. By the time we do know where they are, it may be too late.”

Buck went white, “By your leave, Princess, I will do what I can.”

***

Earlier that morning, Ditzy Doo had been delivering the mail. Her real name was Ditzy Doo, but she was often called Derpy Hooves for her slightly clumsy nature and a lazy eye - it didn’t bother her so long as it was said without malice. The mail always needed delivering and she was nothing if not diligent. Banking in the air as she passed over Sugar Cube Corner flying south, she noted a lot of commotion around Ponyville Town Hall. She could see Zecora; the pretty striped zebra pony was easy to spot even when she covered herself up in her trademarked shawl. With her was a semi-familiar blue shape. Ditzy Doo’ eyes weren’t the best, especially not the one that tended to have a mind of it’s own, but she was quite certain it was Trixie she’d spotted. She did a loop around and headed out towards Mane Street, almost colliding with a grey blur zooming the other way.

“Hello little grey thundercloud,” said Ditzy Doo, giggling, “where are you off to at such a hurry?” Ditzy Doo remembered her father’s favourite nickname for her when she was in a mood.

To her amazement, the ‘rain cloud’ swirled around and around her, the air sizzling like a skillet, before stopping. A grey shape became visible and Ditzy Doo gasped, clapping her hooves in delight, “you’re a pegasus like me!”

“Oh, you,” said the strange pegasus, sneering, “I’m very like you indeed. Where it doesn’t count at least.” the strange pegasus alighted on a cloud, flicking her tail and her single solid wing in annoyance.

“What happened to your eye and your wing?” Ditzy Doo landed on the same cloud, and stretched her neck out inquisitively, wings half-open as she examined the newcomer, “don’t that hurt you, miss pegasus? I hurt myself plenty when I’m not careful. Papa says it ain't my fault none but it sure does smart. You’re a lot like me! I’ve still got two good wings though, even if we do share a lazy eye.”

“You’re nothing like me,” said Bubbly Grime with a snarl, her bale-fire eye flaring like a miniature sun of blue lightning, the ghost-wing stretching and flickering as the power warped in response to her anger, “you’re a weak, pathetic fool.”

Ditzy Doo was taken aback, this strange not-Ditzy Doo wasn’t very friendly. She pouted, “Papa says I’m no fool. I’m not the smartest pony, but I work hard! I can carry all the letters of Ponyville and I never lose even one. You shouldn’t be so mean. Mama always says mean ponies just hide their hurts. You gotta clean out your wounds for them heal. Mama’s smart. So’s Papa. I reckon I’ll be smart like them one day.”

“You’re a fool and so are they. They despise you like everypony else. Father and Mother just wanted to get rid of-” the strange pegasus shook her head and snarled, “why am I even here! Get outta my way you imbecile!”

With that, Bubbly Grime took off, almost knocking Ditzy Doo from the cloud as she sped towards the town hall.

“You don’t need to be so mean! My Ma and Pa love me plenty, and I always wanted a sister! Do you like muffins?” she called after the retreating shape, “I’ll bring you a muffin! Then we can be friends, you can be my sister!” Ditzy Doo watched the shape go, and said under her breath, “I always wanted a sister.” then she shook herself, straightened her mailbags and took off once more for her rounds, which were mostly uneventful until she headed finally for Sweet Apple Acres and the last delivery of the day.

***

Sweet Apple Acres looked strange, Ditzy Doo thought, there weren’t enough ponies around working on a day like this. She landed on the barn roof. It was very bad form, but something didn’t look right. She peeked in the skylight, and saw the oddest thing. Two Big Macs, and two Applejacks! One of each was tied up, and the other two were alternatively talking to the tied-up pair and to a bunch of strange ponies she didn’t recognize. She looked again, they looked... sort of familiar but sort of not. Papa and Mama always said to listen to how things were said more than what, so Ditzy Doo listened. The small group of strange ponies spoke harshly with one another, and harsher still to the pair of tied up ponies. Alternatively, the two tied up ponies were sitting close to one-another, reassuringly, their tails crossing. Ditzy Doo stood tall, this was a very, very special day.

She did the unthinkable. She took off the mailbags.

“I am not a clever pony,” she said to herself, “I am not a strong pony. I am not even..." she gulped, “a particularly brave pony, but I am a pony. I will do what I must. For Stampy, for Celestia, for Luna, for the mail and for muffins!”

She would have one chance. The barn door on the way in was barely big enough. Going out, there was only the high window - though fortunately it was large for adding hay to the hayloft and more importantly, open. One way in. One way out. Two ponies. One mail-mare.

Ditzy Doo steeled herself. She stood up straight, she breathed in like Papa had said when learning to fly. Feathers out! Wings up! Tail free! Head to the sky!

“For double chocolate chip muffins! Ditzy Doo to the rescue!”

She sprang into the air and swooped faster than a speeding lightning-bolt through the open door, tucking both wings in as she did so. Her front hooves collided with a very surprised-looking Amanita and Big Mouth, spinning them both around and dropping them to the floor as Ditzy Doo hooked said hooves in one smooth solid motion through the ropes still tying Applejack and Big Mac up. She wasn’t the biggest, strongest, or fastest, but she was big enough, strong enough and fast enough. Many years practice carrying the mail through hail and storm had strengthened the slight-looking mail-mare beyond mere first appearances. Now when it counted she had what it took, and she took Applejack and Big Mac with her.

With a disbelieving glance as she regained her breath, and then a whoop of joy, Applejack shouted, “So long suckers!” to the open mouths of the astonished doppelgangers as they shot out of the building and up, up and away.

***

They didn’t get far, but then they didn’t have to. They couldn’t, they daren’t go much further - they were already deep enough within the Everfree Forest and Big Mac was... well... big.

“Derpy... Ditzy Doo, that were the plum craziest, loco darned thing I ever did see. You could’a got hurt!” said Applejack, struggling out of the ropes now Big Mac had bitten through them.

“You were being hurt,” said Ditzy Doo, and she giggled despite how worn-out she was, “it worked, didn’t it?”

Big Mac looked up from chewing through his own ropes and said in his magnanimous way, “Eeeyup. She got ya there, sis.”

“Well we can’t stay here none too long. If what you says is true, Macintosh, Twilight and her nightmare army are’a commin’. They’ll be here a’fore too long. I gotta get me my harmony halter. I need that jewel.” Applejack stood up and shook herself, she’d somehow kept her hat and she straightened it in a determined way.

“Fluttershy is missing too, Applejack. We need somepony to get her jewel.” reminded Big Mac.

Ditzy Doo straightened, she’d been delivering mail for years. She was pretty sure she knew how to pick a package up, “Ditzy Doo will do it!”

“Do you even know where..."

Ditzy Doo frowned, “Who is the best mailpony in Ponyville? Never late, always on time? Knows where everypony lives?”

Applejack blinked and blushed, “Sugarcube, how could I have doubted you? I owe you an apology. Ditzy Doo, you are that pony. Get us Flutter’s harmony halter and bring it to the town hall. Big Mac and I will head back to Sweet Apple Acres, and when the ruckus has died down I’ll raid my secret hidey-hole for m’ own gem and meet you back at the town. Clear?”

“As muffins!” said Ditzy Doo.

“One, two, three, break!”

***

Ditzy Doo flew north, skirting Sweet Apple Acres in a wide circle. Some of those mean ponies had wings and whilst Ditzy Doo didn’t think they’d be after her, she didn’t want to take any chances. She dropped down into the trees relatively silently. Nopony was about. She shivered at the mess made of the chicken coup, and pushed open the door to the house carefully. The building was empty. Angel was missing. Without the bunny who was always so protective of Fluttershy hovering around, the small cottage felt vast and spooky. Ditzy Doo poked her nose around looking for Fluttershy’s special halter. The quiet little yellow pegasus had showed it to her a few times and Ditzy Doo was sure she remembered where it was. A few steps later and she had the box before her. She carefully opened it with her nose.

There it was.

If those big meanies had even suspected... Ditzy Doo’s brow furrowed, they were bad ponies. They should really be taught a lesson. Papa and Mama had always said to show kindness to everypony, and they were right. Ditzy Doo had lots of friends, she wasn’t going to let them down.

She bent to pick the jewel up in her mouth... but something strange happened. It started to glow, it lifted into the air, and so did Ditzy Doo! She squawked and flapped her wings in surprise but it didn’t feel bad. With a sudden flash of light, the gem-covered halter disappeared and reappeared around her neck.

“Oh no... I’ve broken it!” Ditzy Doo shot out of the cottage and headed straight for Ponyville as fast as she could, this wasn’t supposed to happen! She’d never failed in a delivery!

***

At Ponyville, she hurried straight to the town square; there outside the town hall were Celestia and Luna. They looked up with amazement as the grey pegasus with the cutie-mark of seven bubbles came speeding out of the sky towards them in tears, hollering, “I broked it! I broked it!”

“Calm yourself, be calm little one,” said Celestia softly once she’d got Ditzy Doo to stop her frantic yelling and prancing, “what have you broken?”

“Flu-Fluttershy’s pretty!” sobbed Ditzy Doo.

“Let me see... oh! Oh my, Oh Ditzy Doo, it’s not broken... it’s perfect!”

The jewel, previously shaped like a yellow butterfly, was now in the shape of a muffin.

“I see in the absence of our poor Fluttershy, wherever she is, the Element of Kindness has found a new bearer and a new totem.”

“And just in time no less!” cried Applejack loudly, panting and sweating as she and Big Mac entered the square at a flat gallop, Applejack’s apple-themed jewel glowing on her chest, “we’ve got trouble, big trouble, back at Sweet Apple Acres. A bunch of hooey-acting doubles have turned up, they look just like us, sorta, only different. They took me an’ Big Mac hostage until Derpy here, uh, I mean Ditzy Doo, saved us.”

“Doubles?” asked Luna and Celestia together, sharing a glance.

“Uhuh, when you see ‘em, check ‘em. There’s one ornery cowpony looks like me, and another big galoot that looks like our Big Mac, only not so handsome.”

“Is this true?” asked Celestia earnestly

“Eeyup.” said Big Mac, it was clear which part he thought was most true.

“In that case I fear we have little time to lose, we must-”

Whatever Princess Celestia was about to say went unsaid, as the ground started shaking.

Terrified ponies ran out of shops into the streets as windows shattered and tiles fell from roofs. Many stopped and stared at the town hall behind Celestia, at a burgeoning light show that was beginning from the very top. A grey figure, a pegasus with one wing and one balefully glowing eye, was performing magic. She had a small horn that was barely visible but her entire body was glowing in the same way that a unicorn’s horn usually does. There were horrified whispers amongst the crowd, wondering what it could mean, how a pegasus could have mastered magic, and such powerful magic at that. The lilting, gibbering voice of the pegasus could be heard over the steadily rising winds, growing more manic and detached as the spell reached its culmination. With a sudden huge burst of lightning, the top of the town hall was vaporized, raining rubble down into the crowd. There were several painful shrieks as injuries occurred, and the crowd scattered.

“Stars of Equestria,” swore Celestia, “we’re too late. It has already begun.”

“Hold fast, ma’am,” said Applejack, steeling herself, “t’ain’t nothin’ too late.”

“I’m scared,” said Ditzy Doo, “but I will be brave. For Papa and Mama.”

“Such... such shambles. This simply will not do.” Rarity stepped daintily around the wreckage as she emerged from her shop, also bedecked in her jewel. Applejack nodded to the white unicorn mare with the gorgeous purple mane and tail, she nodded back.

“Let’s get this party started!” said Pinkie, and she growled - and then giggled, as she emerged looking suspiciously fired-up from the nearby coffee shop.

“I came as fast as I could, guys!” said a blue streak of lightning playfully.

“From napping to action in?” prompted Applejack with a smile.

“Ten. Seconds. Flat.” They bro-hoofed and the speedy young filly alighted next to Applejack.

“Sister, your place is with the generals, I could never forgive myself if something happened to you.” Luna pointed with her horn urgently skyward.

“Luna, dearest Luna, how can I ask you to do this? How can I forgive myself if something happened to you?” Celestia looked aghast, her great head turning from the devastation and rising clamour in the ruined town hall and back to her smaller sister.

“You must - you have already proven you can raise the sun and the moon during my exile. I am the bearer of the Element of Magic, or were your words hollow and meaningless?” Luna looked defiant as with a single thought she tapped into the nascent energy of the jewel around her neck, a piece of the device which so long ago had banished her to the moon. In moments, she grew in size, her wings expanding to full adult status, her horn extending and armor sprouting from nowhere, made manifest by her will alone. She looked shockingly similar to Nightmare Moon, but her voice was calm, kind and without malice, “I am the bearer, for good or ill, it is my task. I do not have time to argue, now go!”

Celestia wavered for a second, and then bowed to her younger sister, “Your will.” and she took off, calling for her generals and starting the counter-attack.

Luna watched her go, then took a deep breath and yelled “ONWARDS!” and galloped full-tilt into the town hall, inside were rising voices and sounds of battle.

Ponies didn’t usually fight, but when they did it was brutal. There had been but few guards in the hall, an oversight which had cost dearly. Mayor Mare was bloodied and had lost the marks of her station somewhere in the fight, she was cornered by three strangely-armored earth-ponies. Luna didn’t hesitate, she speared one through the ribs and threw him across the room where he impacted with deadly force into a unicorn emerging from the huge glowing pillar of light. She dispatched the second with a flash of her hooves that almost took his head off and reared up screaming in front of the third, who promptly fled before her fore-hooves could find another victim.

“Mayor! Out! Get out now!” Luna covered her escape, rearing and bucking, her huge wings flapping and large horn on fire. The earth-ponies scattered before her and piled up around the back of the large room. A few brave but foolhardy unicorns from the rift tried attacking with lightning bolts but the goddess just shrugged them off, throwing them back with baleful fire.

“Pathetic foals, you think you can just waltz in uninvited? I’ll bring this building down and close this portal around your ears. Flee if you value your lives!”

Luna sprung into the air, swirling around the pillar of light, weaving her magic to destabilize it. Chunks of masonry started lifting into the air as the expeditionary force ran for their lives through cracks which soon became de-facto doorways out of the building as it crumbled before their very eyes. With an almighty explosion the building collapsed and the pillar of light twisted and twirled out of control before collapsing in on itself in a puttering implosion.

The pegasus who had performed the spell looked at the devastation and laughed mockingly, “You think that’s it? You really thought one measly gateway was the extent of my power? Behold. Second-level transportation harmonics.” Bubbly Grime took off, fleeing from the enraged Luna and laughing maniacally, as all over Ponyville were appearing bright blue spots of light, out of which popped invading ponies, one by one and two by two.

Celestia watched from her perch, she was as ready as she could be, “Generals, lay waste to the invaders. Take no prisoners. Buck and Swift Arrow, If your ponies have reached our allies, let us hope they will assist.”

“Ma’am, our treaties have been in force for close to a millenia - very few times have we had to call on aid, each time it has been answered.” Swift Arrow answered, with dark troubled eyes for all his brave words. The white pegasus with sky-blue mane and bow-and-arrow cutie-mark was another of her trusted advisors, grown strange in his long history of diplomatic association with alien cultures, but no less loyal for it.

“Let us hope it arrives in time.”

***

Down below on the ground, the fight had turned to melee and chaos. Pinkie seemed to be the only one enjoying herself. She was singing as she whirled and twirled, her hooves flashing every which way, finding their targets with pinpoint accuracy.

Oh an earth-pony battle is the best place for me,
for Pinkie!
for Pinkie!
With a big ol’ coffee-powered hoof kick I can kick me some pony,
for Pinkie!
for Pinkie!

Applejack shook her head. Unbelievable. Even in the midst of this. “Did that... did she say somepony gave her coffee?”

“Eeyup,” said Big Mac as he fought off two armoured earth-ponies with nothing but a stave held in his mouth, “I wouldn’t stand too close to her for a while if’n I was you.”

As if in answer, Pinkie Pie came twirling past and the pair of attacking ponies found themselves flying senselessly through the air in two different directions - somehow Pinkie had kicked them with all four feet. She landed daintily, “tadaa!”

“I reckon... I can do... better!” said Applejack, and she put her famous back legs into action, sending another attacker flying into three more who were cornering Bon-Bon and Lyra.

“Yay! This is so much fun!” said Pinkie, bounding off again.

“Pinks, sometimes you worry me..."

Rarity wasn’t dealing much better. She had her custom camouflaged helmet on - even though it mussed her mane and chafed. It was a lucky thing she did too, as a broken spear-point from a spear held in an earth-ponies mouth spun overhead, bounced off, and sliced through her tail. She stopped, her eyes went wide, “You... you... MY TAIL! MY BEAUTIFUL TAIL! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG THIS TOOK TO GROW OUT FROM THE LAST TIME!”

She was mad. She was livid. Her eyes flashed brighter than her horn as she turned to her shop and summoned an armada of scissors, “I am going to need EXTENSIONS because of this! They will require A PERM! They will require EXTRA CONDITIONER!”

With every yelled punctuation, Rarity sent more scissors flying through the air where they sliced off clothing, tails and manes from enemy fighters, clearing a circle around her as she raged.

Rainbow Dash flicked past her, wings whirring, fending off missiles and other attacking pegasi. Aerial combat was vicious, they’d already lost some good flyers but Dash was determined to stay in the air. A sudden flash of red and she found herself spiralling out of control where she slammed into the ground, winded.

Four heavy thumps and a large, red, rainbow-haired pegasus stallion landed in front of her, “And you are the famous Rainbow Dash, huh.” The stallion snorted, furling his wings, “I don’t see what’s so great about you. Scrawny thing.”

“Go eat clouds,” said Rainbow Dash, struggling to stand up, “you’re nothing but a big bully. I’ve dealt with worse than you back at flightschool.”

“Flightschool, huh? They don’t call me Rainbow Crash for nothing. I earned my respect in that shithole, nobody crossed me and got away with it. Where I go, ponies move.”

“Heh heh, it’s probably the smell. Keep up if you can flyboy!” Dash sprung into the air and swung low over the surprised pegasus, giving him a kick in the forehead. Crash snarled and sprung into the air after her. Dash was fast, but her double was faster. Where she went, he followed. They twisted and spun over the battlefield leading a merry chase, before Dash pulled up to gain height and hopefully the advantage. It was a small shrill yell that caused Dash to end the climb - Scootaloo had slipped the pegasi taking her to safety and the flightless young foal was in trouble. Without a second thought, Dash spun in the air and swooped past the surprised Crash without a second glance, who turned to follow, his bulk not so agile.

Dash sped downwards towards the young filly, she was surrounded by a group of ravenous-looking armoured ponies, the type that wouldn’t think twice before ripping her wings off. She pushed fast, hard... faster, harder, gritted her teeth, put everything into her dive... and with an explosion of multi-coloured light she broke the rainbow barrier and rode the sonic rainboom. She banked low, so low her hooves brushed the ground, her passage so swift and the energies swirling around her so barely under control that it sent fighters flying left and right. Dash hooked the filly from behind with her hooves and snapped upwards in a smooth motion. The heavier, stockier Rainbow Crash couldn’t quite manage the same feat. He went spinning through the group and slammed heavily into a building, where he lay, stunned.

Scootaloo opened her eyes and looked up into Rainbow Dash’s face and her smile lit up like the sun, “feels good, don’t it kid?” said Dash above the wind, her words whipped away by the torrent. They were high up now, far above the chaos and destruction.

“is this what it feels like, to fly?” Scootaloo spread her wings experimentally.

“Sure is. Want a real taste?” Dash grinned suddenly and let her go. For a brief second Scootaloo was frantic, but as she stiffened with fear she found herself gliding and tumbled to a stop on a cloud. Looking up, she found herself gazing into the very disapproving gaze of Celestia.

“That’s no fair Dash! You tattled on me!” called Scootaloo, jumping up and down on the cloud with anger.

Rainbow curved around and saluted Celestia, replying, “You stay there Scoots, out of trouble!” to the angry young foal before she flapped off.

***

Luna let fly a bright blue bolt of energy at the retreating, laughing pegasus with one wing, it burst over her head, passing harmlessly, though it sent eddies and sparks of balefire swirling through the darkening sky, “You will not escape me!”

“I don’t have to!” crowed the triumphant Bubbly Grime, “I just have to get close enough to activate the bridge-spell. It took a lot of work, this pattern, the vortices were hard to channel but I managed it. I stared into the Abyss, Selena! I stared it down and opened the ways, and our troops come en masse! You cannot stop us, we have won! The victory of my mistress will be complete before dawn breaks on this pathetic realm.”

Luna shrieked in anger, but the spell had been cast - for the second time that day the ground shook. The energies harnessed by the mad pegasus-cum-alicorn mage made the very air come alive with crawling, velveteen power as a great pillar of light burst forth from a clearing just inside the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Bubbly Grime broke left, Luna right and they slammed into each other around the other side with horns and hooves flailing, wings entangled as they dropped to the ground.

Luna rolled to her feet first and shook her head. As Bubbly Grime got to her hooves, the goddess of the moon backed away, ears splayed flat against the back of her head, eyes wide.

“That’s right you foal, flee! Flee whilst you ca-”

There was a screeching roar behind Bubbly Grime and she turned and looked up in horror as a dark, bat-winged, slavering shape stomped out of the darkness to snap huge jaws at the pegasus. Luna turned to smoke and fled, but the pegasus-mage wasn’t going to have things so easy. Triumphant sounds of an invading army turned to screams of pain and agony. Panicked whinnies and sickening sounds of breaking bone rent the previously peaceful evening.

Twilight Doom and her Nightmare Army had arrived, just in time to greet the invaders with open jaws.

---

Comments

[Mr Ignorable]

636730 WHADAFUCK IS HAPPENING?

[Snowstreak]

Big Mac with lines?
Woona as the Element of Magic?
Derpy as the Element of Kindness?

Y E S

[themanesix]

Ok this either needs to become a free for all or the ponies need to bail. They cannot fight the attack of the clones AND a zombie invasion at the same time........also GO DERPY FOR THE MUFFINS

[Darksymphony777]

A pony version of operation pool from codename and

I shall read on merrily.

[lazyreader19]

Oh fuuuuuuuuuuuck, this is gonna get messy....messier at least.

Almost makes me wonder how much fun it's be if Discord was free. Or who his mirror self would be