Strings

by naturalbornderpy

Chapter 23: The Game Part Two

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:

THE GAME PART TWO

9

Luna couldn’t fully believe what she was hearing. To prove the contrary she shook her head most adamantly; shut her eyes from the imposter posing as her sister. So why had she remained where she was? Why had she let it continue to talk, while a retreat had been perfectly available?

“You can’t do that,” she told the shape. “No one can bring her back. She’s dead and Discord’s the cause of it all. You can’t change my path with pretty promises. Justice will be found here tonight.”

“You say it to be impossible, dear sister,” the shape taunted, “but you don’t even realize something close to it has already been done.”

Luna said not a word. She didn’t back away either.

The shape continued, “Discord brought Sombra back from the dead when everyone thought him to be gone for good. Why could the same not be done for Celestia?”

Luna shook her head. “Discord brought back a monster! Sombra was never brought back alive—he was brought back as something else entirely!”

The Celestia-shape was unfazed. “That’s because Sombra began as a monster. He was brought back to life and remained as he had been. Evil will always be evil.”

Luna said through tight lips, “And say I agree to your proposal? What would I need to sacrifice for my sister’s return?”

The shape smiled. “You’d only need to end this game. Give it all up and forfeit to Discord.”

“He would kill me if I did,” she said, “as well as Twilight and her friend.”

“But what if that were not the case?” The shape got to its hooves and began circling the dark alicorn. Luna, meanwhile, kept her distance while keeping pace. “What if Discord could give you back your sister, and all he would ask in return is that you’d leave Equestria forever.” Something radiant flashed beneath its eyes. “Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted, Luna? To be away from the rest of the world with just your sister for company? Imagine leaving all the responsibility of governing behind. No more worries. No more cares. Discord will take care of everything while you’re away… and you can have your sister all to yourself. What was the last thing you even told her, before you left her? Did you even tell her you loved her? Or are raw emotions still alien to a being such as you?” It waited for her to speak. When she didn’t it added, “Haven’t you ever wanted to live for the first time in your long, long life? It can be granted to you. All you need to do is give up the game.”

Luna asked, “And what happens to Twilight and Rainbow Dash?”

“Why do you care? You left everyone once before, you can do so again.”

Luna waited a long time before speaking. There was such burning behind both eyes. “You’re only trying to tempt me. I know it’s nothing but a lie.”

The shape smoothly closed the gap between them. “But what if it’s not?”

“Celestia cannot be brought back!”

“But what if she could?”

Luna gave pause to think.

10

As soon as she was out of its scope, the door leading to the classroom slammed shut and evaporated into the hedge. All this she did not see, as she was still in mid-sprint in the one direction she wanted to go—forward, without ever looking back.

“Mistake…” she huffed out. “This was such a—”

A few hurried corners later found her gawking in the direction of two small fillies that had no place in that maze. On the soft grass they crawled, surveying the tall walls surrounding them. The area to their backside was blocked by another slice of hedge, but they were not looking that way. They were looking at Rainbow. They were looking at mom.

“No,” Rainbow whispered in the eerie silence. “That’s not fair. That’s not fair, Discord!”

Both of her multi-colored fillies shied away from her sudden outburst; both turned around to clamber towards the wall that blocked them. Only now that wall pulled in on itself, revealing more and more slim passage of path.

“Wait! No!” she called, before lowering her voice. “I’m sorry. Mommy’s sorry. Just stay there… just stay—”

But her two children had already dropped their winded wriggle in favor of something more accustom to them. As if on the same mind they both fluttered from the earth, for a tiny moment holding hooves before parting. Gracefully they flew. They flew like mom and dad.

“No! Please, no!”

Rainbow galloped forward, unseeing of the grass she trampled underhoof. Her eyes were fixed at the steadily rising set of fillies ahead of her—soaring higher and higher, cutting further and further into the maze.

“Stop! Please wait!”

When Rainbow had nearly caught up with them she leapt into the air on nerve-wracked legs. The tip of one hoof scraped the backside of her daughter, but there was nothing to grab hold of. Both of her children disappeared from view a few seconds later, as they hovered across another hedge and away.

“But…” she croaked, falling back to the ground. “But… you can’t…”

A newly created gap in the wall formed itself a few feet behind her. She had not noticed. She honestly couldn’t have cared.

“Hi, Rainbow.”

Soarin stood behind her. When some of her anguish had finally dissipated she had carefully pondered who might end up appearing next. It only made sense it would be him.

“I think we should talk,” Soarin said. “I think it might be important.”

“I’m fine right here…whatever you are,” she said, as her red-rimmed eyes once again checked the air for a meek glimpse of her kids.

“No, I think it’s a little too important for that.”

A pair of hooves tugged at her forelegs, forcing her up. From there they led her through the newly made space in the wall, where a large, bright field lay ahead. The gloom from the rest of the maze had been cast aside. What were in view now were the sun and the trees and the softly blowing wind. She knew it had no place inside Canterlot’s maze. Still, she let herself get carried inward.

“You need to stop crying, Rainbow,” the Soarin thing told her. It placed her in the middle of the field, close to the shade of a large standing elm. She sat and didn’t move from her spot—also didn’t meet the face of her husband (or what was supposed to pass for it). Although the few glimpses she happened to take informed her they had left nothing amiss.

“You can save your breath, Discord,” she said dismally. “You can’t make me feel any worse than I do. Job well done, sir. Now just leave me alone while I finish your stupid game.”

The Soarin thing knelt down beside her with large gorgeous eyes. “I’m not here to make you feel bad, Rainbow. I would never do that. Your husband would never let that happen.”

Rainbow mumbled, “Too bad you’re not my husband…”

“That doesn’t matter,” Soarin said, with a smile that was all his own. “What matters is what he offers you, Rainbow. Discord doesn’t like to see you in his game. He had not counted on it. You have not done anything to him—he does not want to see you hurt, unless absolutely necessary.”

With venom she read his face. “Tell that to Fluttershy, then,” she growled. “Tell that to my busted wing.”

Soarin was undisturbed. “Discord has many regrets, as I’m sure you’d believe. But now he’s trying to rectify them all, starting with you.” He sat on the grass next to her, took her hoof without asking. “You love to fly more than anything else. Everyone in Equestria knows that. So why should some accident cause that to change?” He peered to her bandaged wing. “Discord can take away as he pleases, but he can also give. He can be a generous creature.”

“So you’re going to give me a new wing? That’s the deal?” she huffed back.

“Why stop there?” Soarin countered. “My not two new wings? Why not better ones than ever before? You must have been envious of Twilight’s wings, right? Why not your own pair of the same? With just the snap of his fingers Discord can give you what you want.” He leaned in closer, pulling her single leg closer to him. “Imagine the sky again, Rainbow. Imagine flying with our kids. Imagine everything that’ll go back to the way it was.”

Rainbow couldn’t look at those bright eyes any longer, so she angled her head to the side. “And what would it take?” she questioned weakly.

“All you need to do is give up this game,” it told her. “You can return home, live with your family. Discord will forget you ever tried to impede in his progress.”

“And what about Twilight and Luna? What happens to them?”

“Why should you care?” it said more forcefully. “Besides in those brief moments when they thought they needed you, where have they been in your life? In your time of need they abandoned you. When you were injured beyond repair, where were they? Besides hiding from responsibilities.”

Rainbow shook her head. “They were…” she started. “Celestia had just died. Neither of them knew how to react…”

“That still doesn’t make it right.” The Soarin shape grabbed another leg and directed the mare to him. Now they were inches from each other. “Discord is offering you a new life—a way to start over. All you need to do is stop trying, Rainbow. Just give up this silly game. It’s so easy. Do it for me.”

So close to him—it or whatever—she couldn’t escape his glare, or the heat from his anxious breathing. She looked into her lover’s eyes and told it her answer.

11

Shining Armor led her through a lush field of trees and fresh grass, the sun overhead cutting out any darkness left from the murk of the maze.

After the image of her brother came into their childhood home to help pry her from the floor, Twilight at first reacted like the others. Shining Armor can’t be in the game, she told herself. But that still doesn’t make this not a part of it.

A moment of contemplation later she strolled alongside him, hopeful to distance herself from the darkness of her old home—the hills of ash she could have sworn used to be her parents. The radiant clearing was nice. The exact opposite of what she’d expected to find waiting for her in Discord’s game.

“I want to show you something,” Shining told her, as they trotted down a small mound of earth. “You’ve come at a very solemn time.”

Beyond the small hill was a procession already organized. A black casket had been placed in the overlong shade of a large elm; a number of thin white chairs had been set into tight rows in front.

“Granny Smith was old, Twilight,” Shining said as they entered the little scene. “And she passed away peacefully in her sleep. I think that’s the way most would want to go.”

Twilight viewed the perfectly still head of the Apple clan in her final resting place, before surveying the rest of the procession.

“I don’t understand,” she said cautiously. “Where is everyone? Where’s all of her family?”

“They’ll be coming, Twilight,” the Shining-image responded. “It’s all just a matter of time.”

Since he was still staring at the casket below, Twilight took another look. What she saw only made her shy away while she silently moaned.

The body of Granny Smith had been replaced with Applejack’s, an aged version that caused deep lines to outline her face while her hair became dry and brittle. In death she almost appeared tranquil, as if it were nothing more than sinking into a warm bath.

“I…” Twilight stammered, “I don’t understand what you’re trying to show me.”

As Shining began to speak again, the still body of each of her friends filled the casket, one after the next. All were old and all appeared completely undisturbed by the arrival of death. “It’s simple, Twilight,” the Shining-image said. “The passage of time will claim us all, as life intended. Everyone but you. Take comfort in the images you see. For this is all you’ll have to look forward to in your long, long life. Even I will join them in time.” The image of an aged Shining Armor now found its way into the box. “All but one, Twilight. All but one…”

At the tail end of the line of friends and family to enter the casket went the beaten and bloodied body of Twilight Sparkle. But this one had not aged a day. She had died, by what appeared to be in some horrible way. Yet besides her wounds she had not been changed by any such detail.

“That is the only fate you have left, Twilight,” Shining said coldly. “Age will never claim you—the simple notion of passing on in your sleep will never come to fruition. Your end will only arrive by some bloody means. Unless you make a choice today.”

Twilight backed away from the scene altogether, her breath labored and hard. Her head swam from the onslaught of carefully detailed images. The knees on all four legs told her to let go, but still she stood.

Shining walked over. “You can go back to normal, Twilight. Nothing is forever set in stone. All you need to do is give up this game.”

She turned to him with a well-worn expression. “Discord already said he had nothing to do with my immortality. Even if he wanted to, it’s something he can’t remove.”

The image of her brother only came closer. “And what if he had been lying about it? Discord has been known to perform a great and many things. He is older than you could possibly imagine, and has the knowledge to prove it. Why should the idea of removing your immortality be something beyond his reach? How many more do you want to lose in the course of your life?”

She shook her head, barely a movement. “My friends are still counting on me. I will not be the one to doom them to your horrors.”

“Discord will not harm them, Twilight,” he reassured. “Discord only wants to rule in peace. If you give up this game, he will remove your immortality, and let you and Rainbow Dash return to Equestria, where you will give up this foolhardy quest once and for all.”

“And what of Luna?”

“Luna may not be convinced of Discord’s good nature as most. She may need to go… away for a time, to think things through.”

And just how clear it all came to be. “Luna doesn’t deserve that. I’ll stick by her side through this.”

“Even when she didn’t stick by yours?” he sneered—a bit of her brother edging away from the image. “She left you, Twilight. She left everyone in their time of need. And now she only wants to hurt everyone again—show them exactly how we found such peace from such anguish. Why would a ruler ever want to be so cruel?” The Shining before her calmed down. “You accept his gift; you leave the game; and Luna will not be harmed. She will just be put away. When has she ever truly been a friend to you, Twilight? You actually want to spend the rest of your immortal years with her? Princess of the Night? Princess of the cold shoulder?” He paused to give his next statement weight. “Normality awaits you, Twilight. All you need to do is give up.”

As the eyes of her brother first changed from light-blue to orange and then to red and yellow, Twilight thought about his offer. It didn’t take her long.

12

As Luna held her head down to ponder all that had been said, the Celestia-shape sidled to her and wrapped a wing around the mare. Tenderly, it curled up into the nape of her neck, trying desperately to lend her warmth. “Please Luna,” it cooed. “Let us be free for the first time in our lives.”

With weary eyes Luna peered at her sister. Into its eyes she glimsed and held on—the faintest trace of a smile on her lips. She said softly, “I am sorry, Celestia. I am sorry for a lot of things. I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there to save you, like when you saved me from myself. I’m sorry I couldn’t have protected you in your time of need. But no matter how bad I may feel I know I cannot ask to bring you back.”

The shape unhooked its wing from the alicorn and retreated a small distance. All that happiness on that perfectly white face dissolved to a hard sheen. It viewed her with caution.

Luna continued, “I have learned that there are things much bigger than what I want, when there is all of Equestria to consider. More than anything I want you back, my sister… but not at the expense of leaving a monster to rule over our land. Discord must die today, no matter the sacrifice. I’ll always love you, Celestia, and your memory will never fade from this world. I will see to it.”

The Celestia shape stood tall and stared at her with distain. A single eye twitched and anything that might have convinced her earlier that she was somehow her sister, vanished from her mind.

It asked hastily, “You would turn your back on your own sister?”

“That is not what I am doing. Celestia would have wanted it this way.”

“You let her die once when you couldn’t save her. And now you’re going to do it again?”

“I have already given you your answer, Discord. Now end this charade.”

The shape backed away while it’s slowly dissolving face pulled off in two directions at once. It somehow wanted to bar its teeth at the Princess, and yet laugh at the same time. It made for a grotesque display.

The first things to change were its eyes.

13

“I am sorry, Soarin,” she told him. “But my flying days are over.”

The Soarin seated before her lost what little warmth it held in its features. She felt the pressure on both her hooves increase.

“There’s more to me than just my love of flight,” Rainbow continued, “and there’s more at stake here than just what I want. Ponies like me for who I am, and not just for the fact that I can fly. And that’s something that’ll never change.”

Soarin viewed her with narrowed eyes. “And that’ll keep you happy as every pegasus in Equestria looks down upon you? As every-single-one of them laughs behind your back?”

Rainbow shook her head. “They’re not the ones that matter to me. My friends and family are. I will not give up this game. I trust in Twilight and I trust in Luna just as much as they trust in me. I will not let them down… and you will not get the answer you want.”

The Soarin close enough to kiss let loose of her hooves and stood up abruptly, where he then gently strolled away. “If that is the way you will have it, my sweet…” he called back.

With rising attention, Rainbow watched as her husband flickered from the world. To her dismay, a creature of many limbs had been kept underneath it the whole time.

14

“Please Twilight,” her brother pleaded, as he placed his forehead to her own, “I don’t want to watch you suffer anymore.”

With more effort than it should have taken, Twilight pushed the Shining-image away, who immediately glared at her with mistrust.

She said, “I’m not suffering, Shining. I’m only have yet to figure out how to use this gift I’ve been given. I was chosen, and whether I like it or not, I need to live up to the task. All I know is that if I live through this night, I’ll still have each and every one of my friends for the rest of their days… and I’ll just have to make that enough. And I know as long as evil beings such as Discord continue to exist in this world that I’ll always need to be there to stop them. I will not give in, Discord. I will not return this gift.”

The Shining-image peered at her with derision. “You lie, Twilight Sparkle! You do not care for your friends in the slightest! You don’t even care for your own flesh and blood brother! How are they going to feel as they grow old while you simply live beyond them?”

Twilight let the image huff in rage. “I care about them more than you’d ever know, Discord. And that’s exactly why I would never accept your offer. Ponies like me will always be needed in Equestria, even if they might not want to be.”

“Oh you good little ponies,” Shining blurted out through clenched teeth. “You think you’re so smart and so clever!”

The Shining-image’s eyes fully changed to ones of red and yellow—the rest of its equine body jerkily snapping out from existence, leaving a cramped and compacted draconequus in its wake.

Discord stood erect again, using both hands to crack his thin neck. He moaned as he stretched. “Why couldn’t a single one of your close knit relations be something other than a stubby little pony?”

Twilight’s heart picked up and she angled her horn at him. “I’ve passed your test, Discord! Now tell me where the center of the maze is! Your game is almost up!”

Almost as if forgetting all about her completely, Discord spun around. “You’re interested in the center of the maze? Oh my daft dear, didn’t you know?”

Twilight braced herself as he brought his fingers to his face.

“You’ve all been there the whole time.”

He snapped his fingers.

15

Like some poorly executed school play the maze around her crumbled to the ground. A great number of tall and thin hedges dominoed one on top of the other, creating a continuous clacking sound in the air. The large elm that had been prominent in the last scene had suddenly been stripped of every leaf, leaving a type of brown skeleton behind. The golden sun that had filled every inch of that beautiful field vanished from the sky, letting in that bitter chill that filled every inch of the night.

The barren field at the center of the maze remained, but no longer was it the paradise Discord had shown them.

With that same level of misunderstanding, Twilight watched as Luna also took in the abrupt change to the scenery. She crossed over to her as Rainbow Dash did the same.

“You were here the whole time?” Twilight nearly shouted.

“Yes,” Luna answered, “but we three must have been invisible to the rest. Did some figure of your life offer you a gift in return for your departure from the game?”

The two mares nodded.

“And did any of you accept such terms?”

“Nadda.”

“No, Princess,” Twilight said.

Luna smiled. “Then I am glad. I know whatever he must have offered you must have been a priceless temptation… and the fact that you’ve both turned him down proves just how strong your friendship means.”

“Our friendship,” Twilight said, “you’ve always been our friend, Luna.”

Luna nodded at the compliment.

“Hey you guys! What’s going on?”

Carefully stepping over each fallen length of hedge, Applejack and company crossed the meters of debris to join the other three. In the gloom of the night Twilight could hardly see a single one of them; the only indication of their movements being the tear-shaped jewels swinging from their necks.

“We made it to the center of the maze,” Twilight told them. “We had all been tempted by Discord, but each of us turned him down in turn.”

Rarity said, “I knew you all would make the right decisions.” She glared at Rainbow Dash. “Even after making a horrible first one.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“Oh, sorry to interrupt, friends!”

A loud voice from behind them.

“But here I thought we had a game to play!”

The eight of them turned to find the source of the voice.

In the direct center of the field waited the draconequus, arms crossed and with an expression not quite matching a sneer or a grin. Both pupils in both eyes contracted and expanded with no semblance between. Twilight had never seen them move as fast as then, or with such blazing fire from within.

He’s lost it, she thought distantly. He’s lost it all.

From that creature she wanted to run. Only she had come too far for any such notions.

She glanced at the ponies on either side of her, each holding that same expression of stubborn determination. That view alone was enough to steel her acidy stomach.

“You have lost, Discord,” she said thickly. “We have bested your game. All three of us have reached the maze’s center—even you labeled it as such. The walls are down and there are no more corners to hide your tricks. You have been defeated.”

“Have I now?” Discord placed a finger to his questioning mouth. “Let me see if you are right.” With an elastic neck he surveyed the entirety of his body, stopping every little while to poke or prod at a part. Eventually he returned his head back to his neck. “No, actually I think I’m doing just fine.”

Luna came forward. “We won your game, monster! Now leave Equestria for good. You deserve worse for all that you’ve done!”

“You’re right,” Discord said. “I do deserve worse. I deserve a proper end—a real defeat. You are not giving me that.”

“Hold your words, Discord!” Luna yelled. “You are only wasting your breath.”

“I don’t believe so. You say that you have ‘bested’ my game, but you have only bested a single one of them. I am always playing a game. I watch the pieces move and I make them dance as I please. Even myself.” He paused. “You have won my game and now you are asking me to leave. That will not due. Not this time. You need to defeat your villain. Not sweep him under the rug like some mound of dirt.”

“We have defeated you!”

“Not enough, Princess. Perhaps it’s a fault of my own. Perhaps I made it too easy for you. Maybe you lack proper incentive to finish your task. You have wished for my death for quite some time now, so why is it that you are not delivering on your promise?”

Twilight stared in mild horror as Luna turned to her. She wanted to find a calm face of understanding, but instead it only mirrored her own: unsure, uneasy, and unaware of how this was supposed to go. Discord’s game had been won. But now he wanted more.

Discord screamed at them, “Conquer your villain!”

All eight of them shuttered from the voice and held guard. Twilight’s mind swirled with a hundred notions at once, but sadly none equaled to much.

The draconequus said tiredly, “Have it your way.”

He raised a hand and from the corner of her eye Twilight watched as Applejack raised into the air. Before she could do much of anything she was hurled towards him, stopping only inches from his exasperated face. “This is what you get for not playing properly.”

“Wait!” Twilight screamed, little too late.

Discord propelled the poor mare into the dirt before kicking her with his hoofed appendage. The cowgirl grunted from the blow and went sailing into the air, her hat slowly tumbling down as she flew beyond it.

“No!” Twilight shot upward and grabbed her before she could get all that far. She wanted to consol her injured friend—check for any broken bones—but the sight on the ground already stalled her.

“This ends now!”

Before the dust had even settled following that sudden act of cruelty, Luna charged forward, held bent and horn leading the way. Every few gallops she shot out a narrow strip of energy that hurt the eyes to witness. Discord did not shy away from such power, instead choosing to shape his body around the blasts. A hole he created in his side; several holes along his chest and arms; he even made one of his eyes disappear as the piercing white light illuminated the inside of his skull.

Twilight had been expecting him to laugh all throughout Luna’s endeavors. Oddly, he only appeared bored and tired by them.

“Better,” he said calmly to the charging alicorn, “but still not enough.”

Patiently he waited until she got mere inches from him—until her long and sharp horn was almost close enough to slice away skin—before he roughly grabbed that same instrument of destruction and shoved it downward. In one swift motion Luna collapsed to the ground, emitting a dreadfully flat smack as she hit the hard-packed earth.

Twilight landed and gently set Applejack down. While she held her stomach and her face contorted in pain she already tried to stand.

“Leave her alone!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in the distance.

While Twilight had been busily tending to her friend, her other companions ran ahead in a group.

16

Luna spat a wad of blood onto the dirt, before climbing back to her hooves. Before the rest of the group could swarm the beast, she glared up at him, only to find he was already looking down on her. “You better give me everything you have, Luna,” he said, “before I take it for myself.”

She had wanted to reply. Say something to instill some fear into the monster—or better yet some courage into her—but those words vanished once a great many bodies overran the draconequus.

Pinkie Pie wrapped herself around the back of his head, pulling at both eyelids. With two mighty thrusts, Rarity and Rainbow bucked at the back of both of his knees, causing him to kneel on the ground and cry out in pain. Although Luna would never admit it to anyone, she found it was a wonderful sound.

When Discord tried to wrap a hurried hand around the mare on his head, another voice claimed his attention.

“Get back!”

Already sucking in air, Spike stood tall before the towering creature. Spike must have been taller than five feet or more, but compared to Discord he would always appear a timid creature. The three ponies surrounding Discord leapt off at the last instant, before a wall of churning red and yellow coated him entirely.

The sudden bright fire compared to the gloom of the night made them all shield their eyes. For some time Spike heaved it out. What remained made Luna shudder away.

“Hehehehe…” Discord giggled lightly as the ponies stepped back.

Still on his knees, the draconequus held out both arms in a come-hither gesture. His flesh had been scorched and burned at nearly every spot on his body—even a few lacerations along his scalp gave way to perfectly white bone. Even as he giggled, did his wounds go about sealing themselves. Twenty seconds later a completely whole Discord knelt before them.

And I thought a Discord without laughter was the worst, Luna thought as she prepared herself for what was to come. Whatever tiny thread that held him to Equestria has snapped… and now it is us who must deal with what remains.

Discord came forward. “Have I not done enough for you? Have I not destroyed what little hope it is you have? What more must I take away?” His giggles dried while his face hardened. “Am I not a villain of worth to you ponies? End this. End this now!”

He held out another hand and this time Fluttershy was picked from the group. She squeaked as she rose from her hooves; Spike tried to hook a claw around her but the pull proved too strong.

“Fancy meeting you here again,” Discord muttered to the trembling mare as she hovered before him. “Sorry our last talk didn’t go exactly as planned, but I guess I was just a little busy at the time. Still friends?” He grinned.

Fluttershy could only stare at him with rising dismay, before another sight stole her attention. Several inches of dark-blue horn had miraculously shot out from his chest, right along where his heart should’ve been. From the dull shine of the moon, the blood cascading down its narrow form almost looked like slick tar.

In a thump Fluttershy landed on the dirt before Rainbow Dash pulled her away.

The glistening horn exited the draconequus and soundlessly he fell to his back. Luna deftly shook her head, knocking away some of the gore from her horn. She peered down at him, muted shock on his face.

“That hurt,” he said candidly.

“I’m glad,” she told him. “What you’ve done deserves more than anything I could do to you in this life. You’ve hurt countless ponies—you’ve gotten them killed while you reaped the rewards. I will only be satisfied once you close your eyes for good and fade from this land.”

“And yet you still don’t understand,” he said softly, through blood-stained teeth. “All your weapons and all your spells with never be enough to finish me for good. I am chaos. Ever moving; ever changing. You cannot send chaos away; you cannot slash it until it yields. It must be stopped for good. It must be held in place until it breaks apart.”

With added worry, Luna watched as the hole in his chest rapidly collected the blood surrounding it. After it cleaned the mess over the gash, the wound itself sealed up as if nothing had happened at all.

“You will understand, Luna,” he said, bringing a hand to his face. “I will make you understand how this story is supposed to end. You only need a little motivation.”

Before she could stomp a hoof down atop him, Discord snapped himself from the ground. Luna whirled around to check if he had teleported behind her, but a far worse situation came to light.

“Over here, Princess!”

At the edge of the clearing, and next to the wounded body of Applejack, stood Discord with a wriggling Twilight in his grasp. With two strong arms he held her horn and the bottom of her jaw, as the rest of her flayed about trying to knock the creature away.

Only Discord looked as hard as stone.

Already Luna was galloping over.

“I guess there was always one solution we never thought of, Twilight,” he snickered, “to cure you of your immortality. So simple, really.”

A brittle crack in the night as the alicorn’s neck snapped in his hands.

Comments

[PurpleDragon]

a tear shed for those lost