Episode Seventeen: The end of Discord?
"PANCAKES!" Pinkie screamed as she sat up, eyes wide and her entire body shuddering.
"Pinkie! Its okay. You aren't in danger anymore" Twilight comforted her.
"No time for that! Those pancakes need Syrup! Wait...huh? Oh hi Twilight! Did we win?" Pinkie asked excitedly. Twilight lowered her head, barely noticing the smile leaving Pinkies lips.
"W-We won didn't we? Where's Fluttershy?" She asked, looking around. All she found was Rarity using her Magic to tend to Applejack and Rainbow Dash on the ground nearby. Another look around showed they were still in Discords castle underneath Celamont.
"With you and Rainbow out of commission we didn't have much of a choice...Fluttershy gave us a chance to regroup..."
"Well then we gotta go back! She's in there all alone and that big fat meany pants is a monster!" Pinkie argued, her armor instantly appearing around her as she stood.
"We can't use the scroll without all of us Pinkie. Rainbow hasn't recovered yet..." Twilight started.
"I'll be fine" Rainbow groaned, pushing herself into a sitting position. Applejack grinned, gently pushing Rarity's hands away and looping her arm in Rainbow's, the two leaning against each other to get to their feet.
"Applejack! I haven't finished!" Rarity argued, glaring at her.
"We ain't got time for that. We already wasted 'nough time jus' sittin' here. Twi' ya'll think ya can get that spell ready?" Applejack asked. Twilight looked at all of her friends. Every single one of them was waiting for her decision. She gripped the scroll tightly and nodded.
"Yes...but I'm gonna need everyone's help. Here is the plan..."
Fluttershy flourished her sword, hand upon her hip and fire burning in her eyes.
"My friends are worth my life and more and I won't let you hurt them anymore!" she roared, raising her blade to deflect his claws. Angel leapt to her rescue, rolling through the air and smashing his knee into Discord's cheek, sending him skidding across the cobblestone. Angel slowly pulled his hands from his pockets, grinning and rolling his shoulders
"Man, I've been dyin' to do that for years" he said with a grin, roaring as he charged forward once more, Fluttershy flanking his left and the two attacking as one, Discord forced to leap back to avoid the onslaught.
The Chaotician threw out his arm, a scythe forming in his hand as Fluttershy flared out her wings and dashed forward. Angel's eyes widened as the scythe flew straight at his sister.
"SHY LOOK OUT!" He yelled, tackling her out of the way. Discord grinned, twirling the scythe and slashing clean through Angel, stepping forward and slamming his foot hard into the injured beast-kins gut, sending him flying into the wall.
Fluttershy rolled in the air, trying to fly after him, only to have a chain catch her wrist. She glanced over her shoulder and gasped as more rose up around her, clamping around her ankles, neck, and other wrist, pulling her to her hands and knees. Discord sighed, the scythe fading as well as his claws.
"Tsk tsk tsk, look what you've made me do." he held up Angels arm in front of her face, waggling it a bit to make his point.
"If you had just done as I asked none of this had to happen. Sure, I might've roughed your friends up a bit, but it was never my true intention to kill them you know. Alas, now I fear I might have no choice." he crossed his arms, ignoring her attempts to break free of the chains that held her.
"Ah, silly me, I almost forgot" he chuckled, kneeling down and yanking the Element of Kindness from around her neck, chaos swirling about underneath her and the chains dragging her down into it.
"It didn't have to be this way Fluttershy..." Discord said sadly as he watched her vanish, tossing the Element onto his altar and resting his hands against the edge of it.
"Any moment now...they will return and all of the pieces will fall into place. Begin the attack on Eravil" he whispered to the shadows.
The eyes in the darkness vanished as the command was given, a short silence hanging over the Chaotician. For a moment he questioned himself on his chosen path, the next moment he was tilting his head to the side to avoid a kick from Rainbow Dash.
No time to change the past now
"ACHOO!" Applebloom sneezed, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering.
"Hey AB, you okay?" Scootaloo asked, putting the back of her hand against her friends forehead.
"S-Somethin' ain't right..." the Gaian mumbled, glancing at Big Macintosh. The giant scooped her up in his arm and marched into the living room, placing her on the couch.
"Big mac...Ah'm gettin' th' Chill again..." Applebloom said through chattering teeth. Big Mac only nodded, gently kissing her forehead.
"Girls, stay here with Applebloom. Ah gotta go run an errand." he rumbled as he made a beeline for the front door. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat beside their sickly friend, grabbing hold of her hand.
"Whats the chill?" Sweetie Belle wondered. Applebloom smiled as she sniffed, her eyes drooping down little by little.
"I-Its somethin' that's always been a part o' th' Apple Family line. Only one of us ever has it at a time. Though, ah think Granny still gets it every now an again...Whenever somethin' really really bad is gonna happen, ah get all sick like this...then Big Mac wanders off and when he comes back ah'm always feelin' better." Applebloom explained
"So its like some kind of danger sense?" Scootaloo asked, blinking as Applebloom dozed off. The remaining two friends glanced at one another.
"I wonder what Big Mac does to cure her..."
Macintosh gritted his teeth as Spike marched beside him towards the center of town.
"I thought it was Apple Family Policy to never tell a lie" Spike muttered as his armor appeared around him, Vinyl taking her place on Big Macintosh's right, already dressed in her armor with mana swirling around her. The Gaian sighed, cracking his knuckles as a suit of armor sprang up around his form.
"Ain't lyin'. Ah don't plan on joinin' yer little group. But ah ain't 'bout t' stand by an let somethin' hurt my home."
"So, she already passed everything over before she kicked the bucket huh? That explains why she didn't see Fluttershy coming. Her powers were fading...that idiot..." Vinyl grumbled under her breath.
"No time t' chat" Macintosh rumbled, charging into town as storm clouds gathered and darkness fell over the citizens of Eravil. From the shadows sprang several figures cloaked in darkness and wearing the Emblem of Nightmare Moon.
"The Knights of Nightmare? They should've vanished when she was torn apart by the Elements!" Spike grunted as one launched towards him, blocking the sword that came at him with his arm, roaring as he launched his free fist forward only to have the figure melt into the shadows around him and vanish.
"I need Light!" Spike yelled to Vinyl. The vampire nodded and pulled every bit of mana into herself that she could hold, throwing her arms and casting it outwards in a massive sphere, breaking through the shadows and revealing the Knights from their hiding places. One stepped forward, twirling a scythe between his fingers and wearing a maniacal grin.
"So, you're the fabled Celestial Warriors huh? Where were you bastards when we overran Celamont?" he demanded. Spike remained silent however, drawing his sword. Vinyl's entire form lit up with magical energy. Big Macintosh simply remained where he stood, fists clenched and muscles pressing against the armor he wore.
"Tch, you guys are no fun. They call me Gale by the way." he introduced himself with a fanged smirk. Vinyl shifted slightly.
"Boss..."
"No." Spike interrupted her
"But..."
"Too many days. I can hear you struggling"
"I took on more than this punk back when I was dry!" she argued.
"Aww, whats the matter? Trouble in paradise?" Gale taunted. Everyone fell silent as Big Macintosh stepped forward, the armor vanishing from around him.
"They call me Big Mac." he introduced himself, holding out his hand. Gale blinked, glancing over his shoulder at the other Knights of Nightmare. All of them shrugged in confusion. Gale stabbed his scythe into the ground, accepting the handshake. The pair took a step back from one another, Gale pulling the scythe from the ground and Big Macintosh raising his fists, though his runes remained dull as he slid across the ground in a boxers stance.
"Pretty quick for a big guy!" Gale laughed, slicing with the scythe. Big Mac ducked under it, sliding forward and slamming a hard right into Gale's ribs and sending him tumbling across the ground. The Scythe fell to the ground, Big Mac grabbing it and snapping it with a flick of his thumb.
"This here is my home an ah won't have ya'll tearin' it apart. Ah'll give ya one chance to leave." he warned, his runes slowly starting to come to life.
"The next punch will kill you"
Rainbow swore under her breath as her kick missed, twitching her wings and spinning in the air to send a second kick directly at Discord's head, the Chaotician blocking the kick with his arm and shoving the Skyborn away. Rainbow quickly threw out her wings and snatched the bolts from her belt, roaring as she charged once more, Discord sliding behind her as she flew by.
Swearing once more she flared out her wings and spun, eyes wide as Discord slid forward faster than she could blink, his fist buried in her gut and sending her into the ceiling, the Skyborn falling to the ground and clutching her stomach.
Nearby Twilight was struggling with herself, mouth moving frantically in a long chant that Rarity mimicked only half a second behind her, the two of them doing the best they could to keep their magic hidden from Discord. He slowly started to turn towards them, though Applejack was quick to react; Sliding between him and the Magians while Rainbow pushed back to her feet.
Once again Rainbow hurtled herself at the Chaotician, roaring at the top of her lungs with each strike, putting every lesson Spitfire had ever taught her into each punch, only for Discord to catch her arm in his, palming away a punch and leaping above one of her kicks. All the while he wore a sadistic grin, his piercing yellow eyes glowing in the dim light of the cavern like castle he had built.
Rainbow swore under her breath, rolling her arm around his and grabbing his elbow, roaring as she hurled her free fist towards him.
She cried out as he stepped forward, causing her to stumble and lose her grip while her punch sailed uselessly over his shoulder. In the same move he slipped his arm around hers and grabbed ahold of her elbow, pulling back his other arm and smashing his fist clean across her face, sending her tumbling across the stone floor and into a pillar.
"Rainbow!" Twilight cried out, blinking as Rarity grabbed her arm.
"They can handle this Twilight. We need you here." Rarity argued softly. Twilight clenched her fists, her magic rising once more around her as she resumed the chant. Applejack was next to the plate, glancing over her shoulder and letting out a sigh of relief as she caught sight of Rainbow crawling out of the rubble around her.
The Gaian took up her stance, rolling one of her shoulders and sliding forward on her left foot, twisting her hips and flinging a hard right into Discords arm, grinning as he stumbled back slightly from the punch.
She might not have been the brightest of people, but when it came to a fist fight, she was practically a genius. Too many times she had seen the Chaotician block Rainbows attacks rather than dodge. Which meant...
She grinned, continuing her onslaught, faking another right only to bounce off her toes and slam her leg into his ribs, gasping as he caught her leg.
Aw heck, not this crap again... Applejack thought to herself, dropping her body to the ground and pushing her hands hard against the floor, roaring as she rolled her legs, Discord stepping back and letting her jump to her feet. He sighed and raised his fists, mimicking her stance.
She gasped as he rushed forward, smashing his forearms against her chest and forcing her to stumble back. Applejack quickly caught herself, skidding backwards and ducking under a quick jab, roaring as she brought her fist up into his chin only for Discord to catch her fist in both his palms.
She hopped backwards, taking up her stance once more, glancing over her shoulder and seeing Rainbow at the ready. Another glance and she saw that Twilight was still chanting.
Jus' how long does it take t' cast one damn spell?! she gritted her teeth, flinging a punch as Discord bounded towards her once more, eyes wide as he snatched her punch out of the air. Applejack screamed in pain as he squeezed her fist and forced her wrist back.
Discord grunted, more in surprise than pain as Pinkie slammed her foot into his face from behind, sending him into his own throne and crumpling the chunk of stone.
"Thanks fer th' save Pinks" Applejack winced as she rubbed her wrist. Pinkie only nodded, drawing her blades and leaping backwards as Discord leapt from the rubble, the two catching eyes and grinning at one another. Pinkie bounced off a wall, Discord smashing into it only moments behind her, chasing her across the room and up another wall.
Pinkie flipped over him, twirling with her blades and forcing him to slide out of the way as she smashed into the ground, her runes in full glow.
"So you held back last time. You're more fun than I thought, but I should expect that from one born of Chaos" Discord chuckled. Pinkie merely twirled her blades and shifted her stance, her armor fading from light pink to a dull bright red as her hair deflated.
"I suppose it is time to get serious then." Discord sighed, his eyes glowing brightly as he rushed forward, blades growing from his arms as he slashed, Pinkie standing her ground and deflecting the attacks; The baker growling under her breath as she pushed forward.
She grinned as she caught his blades within hers, the two glaring at one another. Her hair suddenly inflated, the baker giggling as she kissed his nose
"TAG!" she squealed, ducking in time for Rainbow to leap over her and smash both knees into Discords face, causing him to stumble backwards. Applejack grinned, her muscles tightening and her armor groaning in protest as her runes blazed across her skin. The farmer roared with all of her might as she slung her fist forward into the Chaotician's chin.
She grinned as the very air before her cracked from the force of the punch, Discord sent flying backwards and followed by a nice resounding boom that echoed within the chamber. Applejack panted heavily, watching as Discord crashed through several pillars and a wall.
"Oh my gosh! Was that the Titan's Bellow?!" Rainbow asked excitedly, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
"We can trade secret moves later Dash!" Applejack yelled, slinging her lasso around her Skyborn friend and yanking her out of the way of a bolt of chaos.
"He's flingin' magic!" Applejack called to Twilight and Rarity. Rarity smiled, doubling her flow of Mana.
"You go Twilight. I can keep the spell going" Rarity said softly. Twilight nodded and in an instant she was beside her friends, the air thick with her magic signature from the teleport.
A wave of her hand and a barrier was erected, knocking back another spell. Discord chuckled as he stepped forth from the cloud of smoke and rubble, dusting off his suit and lab-coat.
"Twilight Sparkle. You're as powerful as I thought you'd be." he praised. Twilight twirled the spear of magic that hovered by her side, her eyes alight with mana.
"Hm, I suppose we don't really have time for smalltalk. A shame, there's so much I could teach you" he pouted for a moment. wiping away a small tear
"I don't need the Chaos. I have my friends!" Twilight declared, bouncing away another spell and flaring up barriers around her friends as they struck out, dodging around punches, kicks and spells, all trying to land a hit. Discord threw out his arms, a sphere of dark energy surrounding him and throwing back his attackers. When the sphere faded he stood before them as a monster.
Several blades of darkness swirled around his being. Pitch black armor coated his entire body while a single fang jutted out of his mouth and his eyes carried a menacing glow.
His hands had become claws, arms coated in several spikes and terrible misshapen wings sprouting from his back.
Mismatched horns grew out of his head and smoke seeped out of his nostrils, the room rumbling with every breath he took. His voice shook the very air around them.
"Behold a true God of Chaos! Do you still want to continue this foolish battle?!" he roared. Applejack answered by slamming her fist into his gut. Causing him to stare in shock.
"This is for my Daughter!" she roared, sliding a foot back and smashing her fist as hard as she could into his chin, sending him through the ceiling and creating a massive hole.
She threw out her arm, Pinkie latching on as the farmer spun, chucking her up after the Chaotician. Rainbow snaked her way into the hole after them, hugging the wall as she sped past Pinkie and caught her hands just before she lost momentum; The prismatic Skyborn roared as she chucked the baker as hard as she could.
Cracks began to form in Pinkies' armor as she neared the Chaotician, the pink fading to black as she roared with all of her might, slashing clean through him with her blades.
Her eyes rolled back into her head as her armor shattered and her blades vanished, Pinkie falling down the hole towards Rainbow who waited below, quickly plummeting down the hole to carry her friend to safety.
"Not yet!" Discord roared. Rainbow glanced over her shoulder, catching sight of him chasing her down the hole.
"Are you serious?! Hows anyone survive a hit like that?!" Rainbow argued, kicking her wings into overdrive and pulling up at the last minute to avoid crashing into the ground.
Discord did not care for such things, bending his knees as he smashed into the ground and grabbing hold of one of his many blades. His armor was cut into and a bit of black goop was dripping out of it. But beyond that he seemed completely unfazed from the onslaught.
"We can't keep this going Twilight. We need a plan!" Rainbow said through gritted teeth. Sparks danced across her body and sweat coated her brow. It was obvious to anyone that she was utterly spent. Glancing at Applejack she saw much the same. Though there was determination in her friends eyes, there was also knowledge that she was fighting a losing battle. Twilight had to act, and quickly. She blinked, glancing over at Rarity, a smile touching her lips
"I have an idea." Twilight gulped and grabbed hold of her spear, rushing directly towards Discord. He only grinned as he flicked his wrist and muttered a chant, Twilight shrieking in pain as she was swallowed in a column of black fire.
"Twilight!" her friends cried out, fire sprouting up before them and keeping them away from their friend.
"You know my dear. I knew this day would come. This day that you would try to strike me down, that the descendant of Starswirl would seek to avenge his soul. And do you know how I knew? hm?" he asked, watching as Twilight fell to her knees, some of the flames still licking at her magical armor.
"Because he told me himself! Right before I killed him." Discord chuckled.
"It was a magical moment! There I was, about to strike him down and the blasted old fool has a vision and starts spilling all the futures beans. From day one of your little adventures I've known the ending. But you keep fighting the truth. So I'll just make it easy for you to understand." Discord twirled one of his blades, stabbing it through her hand and nailing her to the ground.
"Leave her alone! You want a Magian to kick around?! Take me instead!" Rainbow screamed, hurling a weak bolt at him, only to have it knocked aside by one of his blades.
"It's not a Magian I'm looking for. Its the Blood of Starswirl. The Blood of an Archmage." Discord slowly pulled his blade free, with a fresh coat of blood and walked over to his altar.
"The last little ingredient to my lifes work." he said softly. Twilight shook as she stood, ignoring the pain in her hand and throwing out her arm, the Elements glowing, including Fluttershy's which rested on the altar.
"Aoi'tominos Hec'ket Vran'kir Aidimosni vex!" Twilight chanted under her breath, Rarity's voice meeting hers as she finished the spell. Discord froze as the words filled the air. This whole time he had forgotton the other Magian in the room. In shock he turned to see Rarity's hand bleeding, and her blood smeared over her Element.
Twilight snatched the Tiara from atop her head, clenching her fist and letting her blood drip over the gem. Applejack and Rainbow drew knives to cut their thumbs, adding their own blood to their elements, Pinkie bit into her thumb and slid it across her necklace. It was only after the display was done that Discord began to laugh.
"Very clever, but you are forgetting one thing! No Element of Kindness! No speck of my daughters blood upon her Element!" he gloated, knowing the spell could not be completed.
"We don't need hers. We have yours!" Twilight roared, her spear flying well and true, slicing across his nose, a lone drop of blood falling onto the Element of kindness. The Elements flashed, filling the room with light which Twilight pulled into herself, wrapping the spell around Discord as tightly as she could.
With one last defiant breath, Discord flung his blade upon the altar, smashing it into the relics he had prepared. He grinned as they began to glow, turning his gaze to Twilight.
"Well done Twilight, but this day is still mine!" he laughed as his body was encased in stone, still laughing all the way until his entire body was nothing more than a statue.
The relics upon the altar began to glow, shooting through the ceiling and vanishing in a brilliant light. The room fell silent, save for the labored breaths of the remaining warriors. Twilight smiled, collapsing as her eyes rolled back into her head.
"Hold on there Twi'! We're gonna get ya outta here!" Applejack promised as she hefted the Magian up in her arms.
"We can't leave...Fluttershy..." Twilight said weakly before sleep finally claimed her. Rainbow hefted Pinkie Pie onto her back, the baker mumbling about cakes as she let exhaustion take her.
Applejack followed suit, hefting Twilight onto her back, the friends turning to Rarity who was standing before a nearby door.
"She's in here. I-I can feel it." Rarity said softly. Applejack nodded, slamming her foot into the thick steel door and sending it flying off its hinges.
Inside the room sat Fluttershy, chained to the walls and floor. Clasps sat along her wrists, ankles, waist, neck, and legs;
It was a sad sight. Her head hung low as she rocked back and forth, at least as much as her bindings allowed.
"I'm sorry, so sorry, so sorry." she whispered again and again, sobbing between gasps of air. Out of nowhere she began to howl and pull on her chains, thrashing about and lashing out, her wings flapping wildly and the room filled with chaos as she tried to slash through her bindings.
"FLUTTERSHY!" the three still conscious friends screamed. Fluttershy froze mid-tantrum, slowly raising her head to see them standing before her. Her tears doubled as she watched them walk closer, her body falling limp in her chains and her wings fading.
"Y-You have to kill me..." she shuddered. Rainbow walked up to her, her eyes and element glowing for a moment. Fluttershy slammed her eyes shut, blinking as she felt the chains fall away.
"Get up and follow us." Rainbow said quietly, turning away from her. Fluttershy stammered and nodded, pushing to her feet and stumbling along behind them. She blinked in surprise as she spotted her father, nothing more than a statue in front of his altar.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Fluttershy panicked, rushing over to the altar. Her Element still sat there, but the relics were gone. She bit her lip as she lifted the Element that was bound to her, feeling unworthy of its power.
"Yea, great, lets get going Shy." Rainbow ordered.
"You don't understand...he wanted this." Fluttershy said, shaking her head.
"Why? After all the crap he put us through, why would he wanna lose?!" Rainbow demanded.
"Those artifacts, he used you like he used me. He copied the Elements power and made his own." Fluttershy explained, hesitating before latching the Element of Kindness around her neck.
"Whoa, wait. You're saying he made some Elements of Chaos or somethin?" Rainbow asked. Fluttershy nodded sadly, placing her hand against the statue, her head snapping back and her eyes glowing.
"That's right my dear. Thank you ever so much for chanting that spell for me, it was one of the missing pieces. Oh and when Twilight awakens I'll need you to thank her for donating her blood." Discord spoke, using Fluttershy to communicate.
"I should smash you to pieces." Rainbow growled.
"Just like the pieces your mind was in before I came along? Its sad really, none of you realize just how much I have helped you. Did you ever wonder why that spell of yours required blood? Why a Harmonic Power needed an offering? Because it wasn't strong enough. Because it needed a bit of Chaos for the home stretch. Just like the Archmage. Oops, I've said too much, Ta-ta!" Discord laughed, Fluttershy stumbling away from his statue.
"So we need to find those Elements as quickly as possible before they find their hosts." Rarity reasoned.
"We gotta get outta here first." Rainbow mumbled
"L-let me." Fluttershy stammered, snapping her fingers, the group appearing in the castle courtyard. Fluttershy sank to her knees, clutching her chest and panting heavily. The Element of Kindness glowing brightly around her neck.
"Fluttershy! Are you alright?" Rarity panicked
"I-I'm fine. S-She doesn't like it when I do that is all..." Fluttershy answered, pushing to her feet.
"We need to turn me in." She mumbled, trudging towards her next prison.
"Shy, we aren't turning you in. I'd rather die then give my best friend to a bunch of Magian scientists." Rainbow spat
"What?" Fluttershy asked in shock, looking between her friends. She clenched her fists, tears stinging her eyes.
"You promised!" she screamed, blinking as Rainbow slapped her.
"Shy, what do you think is gonna happen? That Celestia is gonna chuck you in a cell to rot? No...You're the daughter of an evil god. You've got powers of Chaos and powers of Harmony at a snap of your fingers. These guys are gonna wanna know what makes you tick, just like they did with me. And I am NOT letting ANYONE go through that."
"Well its not like she can go on the run. How are we suppose to hide her from Celestia?" Rarity hissed.
"Ya'll managed to hide from her Rarity." Applejack pointed out.
"No, my sister was watching out for me. I don't really count as a threat anyway. But Fluttershy..." she turned to her friend, seeing her grip her skirt and struggle for each breath. All the while the Element clinging to her neck continued to glow.
"Look at her." Rarity said simply. The three friends all turned to look at the Skyborn. She was in obvious pain, but still she kept the Element close.
"That's it! I got an idea. Look, Shy, think you can power on?" Rainbow asked. Fluttershy only nodded weakly.
"Rares, help her walk." Rainbow said, adjusting Pinkie on her back as she started to march towards the Castle.
Big Macintosh slid backwards out of the path of three of the Knights, all three launching towards him with swords at the ready. The giant of a man sucked in a breath, his runes in full glow as he slammed his foot into the ground, the ground cracking around him and causing the three to stumble.
Macintosh rushed forward, tucking in his arms and burying his shoulder hard into the three Knights, the sounds of bones snapping filling his ears. Nearby Vinyl was teleporting about Eravil, snatching innocent bystanders out of the way of the battle while Spike provided backup.
The dragon-kin was kept busy as he flung away bolts and parried away weapons with only his sword and his arm. But as quickly as everything began it suddenly stopped. The Knights froze, looking to the sky for a moment before slipping into their own shadows and vanishing. Big Macintosh panted heavily, glancing about but finding nothing.
"Strange..." Spike muttered as he too glanced around, his form and Vinyl's still hidden within the armor. Sunlight slowly peeked through the clouds that had gathered, revealing quite a bit of damage to the town.
Slowly people came out of their homes, gathering around Macintosh and the two Knights of Celestia. Their thanks fell on almost deaf ears, the three muttering acceptance as they continued to glance about. Why had the fighting simply stopped?
Guards awaited them at the main gate. Rainbow clenched her jaw, expecting them to try and arrest Fluttershy, but instead they were allowed to pass. The friends jumped in surprise as medics rushed to help them, Celestia and Luna standing before them as their wounds were dressed. A nurse reached for the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy shaking her head and taking a slow breath.
"I-It k-keeps me under control." she whispered. Luna nodded in understanding while waving the nurse away. The younger Princess took a seat next to the visibly shaking Skyborn and offered her a small smile. Fluttershy blinked in surprise, spotting bandages wrapped around Luna's head, several more showing briefly on her arms beneath her sleeves as she moved.
"Fluttershy, we have come to understand the truth about you. We believe it explains quite a lot. Why I felt a connection with you when we met on the battlefield. You know the darkness as I do." Luna said softly.
"I am more than aware you had no choice but to obey your father. Rather from fear of losing your friends or from being imprisoned." she continued, grabbing Fluttershy's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Nearby, Trixie clenched her fists but remained silent, hidden in a cloak Luna had given her.
"I-I don't know what to say..." Fluttershy stammered
"Say that you will let us help you. That you will let the nurses tend to you and remove the Element before it causes permanent damage." Luna practically begged. Fluttershy bit her lip, looking over at her friends, bruised and bandaged, all because she had been too afraid to act sooner.
She gulped and nodded, unlatching the Element and dropping it into Luna's outstretched hand. Nurses rushed to her side to begin the long process of healing her.
"Hey! If a single one of you tries anything funny with my friend..." Rainbow began to threaten, Celestia raising an eyebrow. Rainbow glared back.
"We have learned our lesson from what you suffered Rainbow Dash. There will be no experiments, no studying. We will only go as far as asking a few questions and if she refuses to answer we will back down. Is that alright with all of you?" Celestia asked. The three friends looked to one another before nodding approval.
"We want to be there with her when you ask." Rarity said, Celestia agreeing without hesitation. After another check of their condition they were left alone in the medical tent.
"Well, on the plus side, they were expecting us to win." Rainbow sighed, rubbing her bandaged cheek. She was sure her jaw was gonna be sore in the morning, but at the moment she was more concerned with her unconscious friends. Pinkie was mumbling about sweets, so most likely she would make a full recovery.
But Twilight was still out cold, stripped of her armor and her wounds dressed as best as Celamont's finest could do. Fluttershy suddenly froze, staring at the entrance to the tent. Rainbow glanced over and saw Spike, half of his face wrapped in bloody bandages and fresh scars coating his arms.
He marched directly towards Fluttershy and before anyone could react he had pulled her into a hug. Fluttershy began to stammer.
"Just shut up." Spike said quietly. He took a step back and undid the bandages around his head, his eye perfectly healed and the Dragon-kin smirking.
"That's payback for stabbing me in the back...er well you know." he joked, tears stinging Fluttershys' eyes. Rainbow wanted to be angry, but Spike deserved his tiny bit of revenge after what had happened. He turned away from her and looked to Twilight.
"What happened?" he asked as he stood beside her.
"She got trapped in some kinda fire. Messed her up pretty bad..." Rainbow said. Spike reached into his bag, pulling out a small book and waving it under her nose.
"Huh? Is that First edition?!" she gasped, sitting up quickly and gasping in pain.
"Relax Twi'. You aren't really in any condition to be moving around." Spike said softly.
"Spike! You're okay!" She gasped, hugging him and wincing slightly. He sighed and hugged her as gently as he could.
"Does this mean...we won?" She asked, looking around. Rainbow grinned.
"Yea, we won egghead. What the heck was with that last ditch charge anyway?" Rainbow asked.
"We needed Fluttershy's blood to finish the spell. Discord as her father has the same DNA makeup so I needed to get close enough that I wouldn't miss." Twilight explained.
"He got your blood too Twilight and now he has his Elements." Fluttershy said quietly from her bed.
"Yea...but we've got our Elements too. Its good to have you back Fluttershy." Twilight smiled. Fluttershy blinked in surprise, sparing her friend a hesitant glance
"Y-You aren't mad?" Fluttershy asked.
"Fluttershy, you could've easily killed all of us, turned your back on us and joined Discord. But instead you proved you were our friend and fought back. I'm more concerned than anything else. You took on family for us." Twilight replied.
"Alright, enough mushy stuff, get some rest Twi'." Rainbow demanded, her eyes wide as the Magian planted a firm defiant kiss on her lips. Applejack whooped from nearby, chuckling at the flustered Skyborn. Spike cleared his throat.
"I need to get going and start tracking down those Elements Fluttershy mentioned. Hopefully they haven't found their hosts yet." Spike sighed, making his way out of the tent. Vinyl peeked her head inside.
"Hey, I brought you girls a present!" she chuckled, the Crusaders rushing into the room.
"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle cried out, rushing to her sister and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.
"Dash!" Scootaloo gasped, tackling her idol
"Oof! Whoa, chill squirt, I'm kinda tender." Rainbow groaned
"Mom" Applebloom sighed in relief, rushing to Applejack and hugging her tightly.
"Applebloom...ya called me mom..." the farmer choked, pulling her daughter close.
"Ah thought ya weren't comin' back...i-it was like ah lost my parents all over again." she cried, Applejack shushing her and running her hand through her hair.
"That ain't never gonna happen Sugarcube. Ah promise." she whispered.
"Heh, you'd think they'd be throwin us a party or somethin. We did just beat a god you know." Rainbow grumbled
"That doesn't mean we can't party!" Pinkie giggled from beside her.
"Gah! Pinkie!" Rainbow shrieked.
"Whoops! Sorry Dashie!" Pinkie snorted, the tent filling with laughter. Fluttershy allowed herself a soft chuckle, hanging her head and staring at her hands. Her friends had seemingly forgiven her, despite all she had done.
I should be locked away...I should be put on trial and never be allowed to see the light of day...so why are they so happy to have me here?
"This doesn't make sense sister." Luna said softly. Celestia nodded, the two surrounded by their guards, Trixie trailing behind them within the circle of guards.
"I agree...But nothing Discord has done ever made sense. Not until the end..." Celestia sighed.
"We can only wait and see what comes of his actions. In the meantime we will need to ensure nothing unbecoming comes of the Element Bearers."
"We have already planned for such things Sister." Luna glanced over her shoulder at Trixie who carried a small injured bunny in her arms, letting a smile touch her lips. Discord wasn't the only one who could plan ahead.
"The girls power continues to grow. It shouldn't be much longer before she is strong enough to serve her purpose" Spell Nexus grinned as the Knights of Nightmare gathered around him, bowing their heads. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.
"And as luck would have it...there seems to be a job opening in Eravil. It must be my lucky day."
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Firstly: YAY! NEW CHAPTER!
Secondly: AWESOME new chapter!
Discord and the girls were all POW BANG SWISH SNICKERSNACK and Pinkie was all "I'm not left handed." and Discord was all "ME NIETHER" and "THIS ISN'T EVEN MY FINAL FORM!!!" and AJ was like "NOBODY CARES" FUS ROH KAPOW and Dash was all "SO AWESOME"
and I was all "DAMN RIGHT" and Discord came back like PEW PEW PEW and Twilight was all "NA-UH" and then blood magic and everybody came out a winner. Cept those losers in Eravil. They got wrecked and then left, but I guess they are happy Twi is still kicking, so they're sorta winners too.
I know I saw a few errors, including non-punctuation ones, but I wasn't paying particular attention to editing. Only ones I can remember and find were the lack of periods here:
and here
and here
(Which was also an excellent line) And the italics problem that wasn't there when I refreshed the page.
It was there, I swear it was!
So I guess Discord's plan was "Who cares if I get turned to stone, with the Elements of Choas on the loose, it's only a matter of time before I get released." Although that is assuming there is not another secret in his plan... and, well... there's always another secret. So... Anyway.
And Discord needed the blood of an archmage/supremely powerful bloodline as the Harmonic icing on his Chaotic cake? (Chaoake? Cakotic? Chaoticake?
) Or... is blood magic inherently chaotic in this universe?
Still so excite for this story.
6119642 In any variation of Blood Magic you might see, it has always been regarded as a Big No-No. (Dragon Age for example, even though we all use Blood Magic because its awesome)
But no, its not actually anything to do with Chaos, well not exactly, well not entirely true on those statements. It's difficult to explain without screwing up the story for everyone. It is however important to note that there cannot be good without bad and no bad without good.
And no, you're not crazy, there were italics issues. One of the bits of thought for Applejack wasn't properly set to stop the italics and I had to scroll around until I found it
6120005
That's cool. I am content knowing that answers to those questions do exist and if you are RAFOing it, it means we will eventually find out.
also
memecrunch.com/meme/8UAOG/blah/image.jpg?w=553&c=1
10/10 is good story.
I must have you know this story is the sole reason I got an account. It is just so good
Also, do I smell Trixie an Luna? (Idk what that ship is called)
6119642 Those professional sound effects. I think you just found your career.
6313558 That means SO MUCH to me. Honestly you have no idea how much a comment like this brightens up my day. And yes, that isn't just you, there is a thing going on there. I have no idea what its called, I just decided to write it because it was there.
6313558
I thought about it for a bit, and I am confident in the name "LunaTrix", because I'm crazy and I support it.
6313641 No problem. You really deserve all the praise everyone gives you for writing this great Story while you were basically dying.
6119642 I was thinking Luxie could work but that sound lime an factually characterized get name. I'm just gonna roll with you name.
6316088 I support this ship XD
I like this.
A lot.
Very
Different.
So deep and detailed.
+1
I'm still of the opinion that discord is not truly evil. I think he is setting up the board for them to be better prepared to face a bigger bad.
Reminding me a bit of Sebas from Overlord here.
That is so much funnier than it should be.