The Everfree Chronicles: The Alchemist

by Roran Dreamon

Chapter 19: Darkness in bloom Part 2

'I will not grow a goatee. In the old days they made you look diabolic. Now they just make you look like a disaffected member of Discord's crew' - Corrupted Nightshade

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Feeling the piercing glares coming from five mares and the confused stares from the other three while a snickering Discord was still between me and everypony else.

"Yeah...this is going to be very, very hard to explain and even with a family tree I have absolutely no idea of how he got into my family...which disturbs me even more that he is somehow related to me."

"But you knew didn't you!"

"Well, not really knew that he was my uncle until after my father told me about him, oh and Discord, my father says you are still a royal pain in the flank for turning his mane into cotton candy that one time and also for turning his book collection in chocolate bricks."

"Anything else nephew?" Discord said with while batting his eyes at me trying to act all innocent and sweet, failing horribly when Luna shot him with a bolt of magic and Celestia was giggling under her hoof as Discord picked himself up.

"Oh, and he also said that if you ever get out that you should talk to him about the noodle incident...whatever that is." I said with a shrug as I levitated Discord off the ground before dusting him off with a feather duster.

"You are not old enough to know what happened that day."

"Oh come on! I am twenty years old, I can handle it."

"Alright than, it will be your own fault if your mind caves in from the embarrassing thoughts that will come.."

"Wait what?" I said before he whispered into my ear about the incident and almost immediately I was blushing deeply and was fidgeting in place trying to get away from him but Discord held me in place and wouldn't stop talking until three minutes have passed and when he finally let me go I was busy just shaking my head as fast as I can to try and dislodge what he just shoved into my head.

"I don't want to eat candy canes...how does that even work?" I said while putting a hoof to my stomach, trying to calm it down as I tried to digest whatever I was just told, the things I was just told made my gut knot up and flip over as I repressed the urge to throw up.

"Oh come now Nightshade they are delicious!" and with that he made one appear at the snap of his fingers and made two appear, one for himself and one for me and when it floated about and forced itself into my mouth I immediately spat it out and a slight shade of green.

Looking at Discord I can tell he was simply enjoying my disgust of that incident and just as Twilight and her friends got behind him to pounce the crazy chimera he teleported back to the front of the maze and when he looked at us all he essentially told his plans through confusing riddles and rhymes, but to me it was just an easy way of messing with their heads.

"Ta-ta ladies!" he said before leaping into the air and vanishing yet again but this time leaving me stuck in the middle of seven sorely angry mares.

"Umm....I'm in a lot of trouble aren't I?." I said with a small nervous smile and my ears splayed back as I weakly laughed to myself.

"Yes. Yes you are." Celestia said with the angriest stare I have ever seen and just as Twilight and her friends entered the maze and was separated from each other by Discord, Celestia, Luna and I teleported back to the throne room and I was immediately hoof-cuffed with anti-magic bracelets and it took me a second to realize that these are the same ones that were put on me a few years ago.

Canterlot Gardens, Maze

Nightshade's Shadow POV

Snaking my way through the maze as a column of smoke on the ground I breezed through the winding turns and dead-ends until I reached the middle with a smirking Discord relaxing on a hammock resting lazily without a care in the world. Just as I was creeping up beside him I heard the sound of a bear trap go off and found myself stuck between its metal jaws, the teeth not doing any harm to me but it prevent me from moving or shifting my shape to one that was able to get out of the trap.

"Your not very sneaky are you nephew." he said as his sunglasses were lifted off his eyes and were disposed off by being hung up on a low hanging branch as he turned his head to look at me.

"It is hard to be stealthy as a snake in the grass when the sun is at its highest point in the sky and that the grass is no larger than a thimble...and can you please get this trap off of my flank, I can already feel it falling asleep." and from a snap of his fingers the crushing bite from the bear trap was gone. "Thanks."

"Your welcome, so...are you going to tell me why you are spying on me or are you just going to sit there in silence like a fly on the wall."

"......"

"Am I going to have to tell you another embarrassing story about your father?" he said with a sly grin as I immediately reared up and backed away from him as I slammed myself into a bush for both shade and a hiding place away from the mis-matched menace.

"Oh by the stars no! That noodle incident was bad enough and thanks to you I can never have whip cream with my ice-cream ever again." shuddering to myself as I remembered about the part where the whip cream was used for....indecent purposes.

"Fine, spoilsport, what are you here for?"

"Well..."

Canterlot Palace, Throne Room

Nightshade's POV

"And that is the reason why I will never, ever, touch candy cane or whip cream ever again." I said with another shudder while still painted a light shade of green, and by the time I was done shuddering both Luna and Celestia were laughing their flanks off and I can quite literally see the tears falling down their face as they were laughing so hard. "I'm still going to the dungeons aren't I?" I said meekly as they started to calm themselves down from the laughing fit they were in and eventually pulling themselves off the marble floor as both turned to look at me.

"Yes, your not guilty of aiding in Discord's escape." she said as it raised my spirits, "But you are guilty of not telling us that you are related to the spirit of chaos." and just as quickly dashed them away.

"Now hehe now Tia, don't be so rude to him, and besides remember that time you drank way too much cider and you ended up mrph!" Luna said before rudely getting a shoe-covered hoof in her mouth.

"I thought we discussed that we would never speak of that ever again."

And as the two started to bicker and flicker at one another I levitated myself quietly over to Luna's throne and plopped myself on it as the two started to yell at each other before I levitated myself between the two and wrapped them both in a wing.

"Now now, no need to be yelling at each other, and I smell a juicy story but getting sent to the moon is not worth it...but come now can we not just talk this over like adults?" I said with a frail hint of a smile.

They looked at each other for a moment before looking at me and the two of them gave each other a sly grin that I barely caught a glimpse of before getting hugged back and the hoof-cuffs were removed before they broke away from my wings.

"You know Nightshade, if I didn't know better that you were trying to distract us from capturing and imprisoning Discord...you wouldn't be doing such an evil deed now, would you?"

"No, I am actually trying to stall him from leaving the maze by using my shadow to occupy his time, hopefully the girls can get the elements quickly and to him just as fast, I did not like the sight of my pretty forest being candy...and I hope that nopony is eating it." I said while looking out the gilded window, my forlorn gaze staring off at the forest below, my hopes going out to the guards at the castle is keeping ponies and critters at bay from eating the trees let alone the plants.

"What can possibly go wrong?" Luna said as me and Celestia both facehoofed at what was just said.

"Everything can." I said as I felt the ground shake and slightly fell over before catching myself with my wing.

Looking around to see what it was we all galloped to the nearest window to try and find if anything is broken or out of place, I found something first.

"OH damn...the gardener is going to be very pissed when he sees this." yelling aloud as I heard a few guard ponies gallop into the room to report to Celestia what they just saw.

"Why?" Luna whispered to me as she glided over to my window.

"Cause the whole bloody maze is gone." I said in disbelief as I used my magic to enhance my eyes so I can see my dark blob of a shadow standing next to Discord, and I did not like the sight of it one bit.

Canterlot Garden, Maze Crater

Nightshade's Shadow POV

"Your my hero." I said with an evil grin, my gaze switching from the five disharmonized mares before me, each one yelling and fighting with one another.

"I know my boy, I know, just look at all those mares! Not a single one knows who they truly are anymore...except for that one, I suggest you stay away from her."

"Like the plague?"

"Yes like the plague." Discord said with a sigh as that insufferable mare called Twilight Sparkle started to argue with Discord over the fact that he 'cheated' inside the maze.

I was to busy watching the mares fight one another to not see or hear the pony that created me slam down next to me, snorting in anger.

Nighshade's POV

"I leave you alone for one moment, one measly little moment to spy on my uncle and what do you do? You join his side and corrupted my friends! Just look at them! Their grey! And rude! And bucking rude!"

"I resent that!"

"No you don't Applejack, stop lying!" "AJ keep lying, it looks good on you."

We both just stood there silently staring at each other, our glaring was growing in intensity until finally small sparks of magic started to arc off our bodies and into the ground, and it wasn't before long until Discord disappeared after explaining to Twilight about what he has essentially done before prancing into the air and vanishing like a fart in the wind.

"Twilight, take your friends and go home, see if he didn't take the elements and moved them away, and for Celestia's sake try to fix your friends, none of them look good in gray." I said, directing my gaze to Twilight who nodded and followed her friends back home, and before long they were out of sight as I wheeled myself around to glare at my shadow.

"And you will be coming back with me right now."

"Nah, I'm good staying right here where I am."

"I wasn't giving you a choice in the matter." I growled as I grabbed him by the tail with my mouth, biting down hard making him yelp out in pain as I slowly dragged him back to the palace here. The entire time I was dragging him back he was flapping his wings in an incoherent manner which was doing nothing more but sending dust and dirt up into the air which only served for me to bite harder until he suddenly went limp and dropped to the ground in defeat.

And it was with my dragging that I noticed that he had a funny look on his face, and by funny I mean perverse because his tongue was hanging out of his mouth and that his eyes have rolled to the back of his, and it was from that look that I spat out and resorted to levitating his fat body in the air before trotting back to the palace with him still limp in the air.

"How am I ever going to explain to the solar princess and to my Lulu that my shadow has gone evil on me...and on the rest of Equestria and the Everfree......I swear the things I put up with in this past two years." I grumbled in anger as I walked by a small legion of royal guards as they nodded to me and than gave a questioning glance to the shadow in the air.

As they let me by I hummed myself a jaunty tune I heard one of the shadow guards humming during his shift and it took me a few days to find out that it was meant to be sung while out on a boat at sea but the tune was catchy enough for me to enjoy it while trotting in peace...or as peaceful I can get it at this point.

"As I was saying Luna, if you are that nervous I can always be the one to--oh your back, was Twilight successful in finding the elements of harmony back from Discord?"

"No, they weren't, Discord didn't even hide those blasted jewels in the maze, he said so himself which means that not only did they waste their time and get all grey for nothing, they didn't even try to solve the riddle he said when he got out." I said while waving my hoof around my shadow to the glass pictures.

"What do you mean by grey? And not solving the riddle?" Celestia said as I facehoofed as hard as I could but not hard enough to actually break my nose but still hard enough for them to hear it.

"What I am saying Tia is that they turned grey and became they exact opposite of themselves...and the riddle was that his plan is purely deception and to deceive those not keen on fine points...and that the elements of harmony are back in that town on the Everfree border." I said with a smug smile as I heard both Luna and Celestia facehoof as well as they figured it all out after I did.

"Are you telling me that-" Celestia said before I cut her off with a simple wave of my hoof.

"Yes, they just wasted their time running a maze for no reason without even thinking on what Discord said...your student isn't very bright is she?" I said while looking at my shadow who is currently manipulating his hooves into sock puppets as he mimicked me and Celestia.

It got deathly silent within the throne room as Celestia glared at me for simply implying that her student isn't the sharpest tool in the shed let alone the brightest bulb in the bunch, and it was with me watching my shadow being a nuisance by mocking me that I decided to shake him like a rag doll and it was when Luna came over and tapped me on the shoulder with her hoof did I stop and watched my shadow hold his stomach in an attempt to keep his lunch down.

Levitating my shadow over to me I lit my horn again and gave a smile to Luna before teleporting myself and my shadow back to my own castle, and upon appearing back I was greeted with the sight that would haunt me forever.

I saw my assistant, strapped to one of the tables in the kitchen, with some stallion that I have never met before, spraying whip cream...

I just turned around saying 'Nope' as loud as I can and as quickly as I can and got out of there as fast as I could while dragging my shadow along since he was trying to watch the pair enjoy themselves.

"Okay...Discord has seriously earned himself a timeout...not only did he just de-harmonized my friends and corrupted my shadow...but now he corrupted my assistant and a guard! I swear if he does anything else to me or my kingdom....I can't be held responsible for what I am going to do to him!" I shouted out loud as I threw my shadow into a magic bubble and sealed it shut behind me, my last glance of him was that he was blowing raspberries at me.

What a foal.

It was when i was trotting back to my room to rest up for a few minutes after what happened in Canterlot that I was intercepted by one of my sentries, galloping as if the devil was chasing and by all rights it might as well have been.

"My liege, we have a problem." his voice was trembling, trying to find the courage and guts to speak up of something terrible that just happened.

"What is it?" my voice tinged with hope that nothing foul has occurred or anything that requires drastic action.

"Its the forest...it....it...you have to come see it for yourself." he finally said as I sighed sadly, knowing all to well that this is not going to end well for me.

Following Rose Thorn to the battlements outside the castle I smelled something sickeningly sweet in the air and my first thought was maple syrup, lots and lots of maple syrup but when I got over the climbed over the last of the stairs did I find that it was not syrup at all.

It was my entire forest, turned into candy canes.

"Sir...can I go out there and have a piece?" Rose said with a slight nervous laugh before I exploded in anger as he flew backwards.

Canterlot Castle

Celestia looked towards the Everfree Forest and saw a small plume of black fire rising out from the middle before dying down just as quickly as it came. "Did you hear that Luna?"

"I felt that....we might need to get under the bed sheets..."

"Nightshade is angry?" Celestia said as Luna quickly teleported in pillows from her room and in her haste constructed a pillow fort around herself.

"Yup." Luna said before using the last pillow to conceal her head, leaving out her horn with a white flag tied to it while Celestia sighed and gathered all of the friendship reports she had been given throughout the year by her student and wrote a quick letter before sending each letter off one by one, hoping it would reach Twilight in time.

Ponyville Library

"What the devil is that noise?" Twilight said as she was reading the scrolls that was being magically sent through Spike to her by Celestia, reading the short message on the first scroll 'Hope this helps.'

"I don't know but make it stop!" he said before belching out another letter, groaning in pain and holding his stomach, trying to resist the urge to throw up.

Everfree Castle

Simmering waves of heat could be seen leaving my body as I stared off into my forest, the candy cane trees laughing at me the entire time I was standing there. My gaze slowly fell to the floor as I started to take calming breaths, trying to control my anger that flared out of control, drawing in on inner wells of strength that I had only used when my normal wells of strength were used up or that something very devastating has happened, and this particular event calls for it.

"Um...sir? Are you alright?"

Looking down at Rose who was busy scraping off mud from his armor, his wings caked in it as I looked behind him to see that he fell in a mud puddle that has formed by the forge.

"Yeah...I'm alright, just angry at Discord for violating my forest with his perverted magic...Rose Thorn, tell the guards to patrol the walls and the outer perimeter of the towns and the forest's edge for any signs of Discord, and if you find any signs of that jerk do not engage, just report back of your findings....and please for Solaris's sake, someone please check if the kitchen is clear of ponies..." I said as I went to the armory outside of the castle, the smith currently present, Steel Buckler, was busy hammering a new guard sword into place.

"Keeping yourself busy I see Buckler, those blades, spears and armor your forging are fine crafted, helping us keep the diamond dogs at bay and out of our woods." I said while glancing around for my old armor and weapon, hoping it was still where it last was but sadly it wasn't.

"Aye, that it does, what brings you down to the pyre works mi'lord?" Steel Buckler said in a gruff tone, the old stallion was anything but old but his rough-and-tumble appearance says otherwise.

"My armor and sword, Buckler, it seems that somepony has made it personal." my voice was growing slightly dark from the lack of any signs of where my sword and armor is in the armory.

"Was it Celestia again? You know you shouldn't have let her get away with such disrespect but than again, it is not my place to decide who gets what." he said with a small smile forming on his lips, knowing that what is going to happen will bring him a lot of bits for his services.

"Nay Buckler, just someone that I thought was good enough to be free from prison but it seems that he hasn't changed not one bit..." I said while looking my armor over, seeing that if it will hopefully fit my now slightly larger body seeing that not exercising much or eating healthy was doing for my usually perfect figure.

"Family troubles?" Buckler said in genuine confusion, not knowing if I was telling the truth or was just lying to him like I did to my adviser when I said I was going out for a walk and came home with Luna's lipstick covering my face.

Good times

"Family troubles." I said while hinting to the giant forest of candy behind us and it was when he actually got a good look at the forest did he realize that he wasn't just seeing things and it was when I wasn't paying much attention to him did he mutter about losing a bet about a candy forest with a pony named 'Rose Luck'.

The small shrug Steel Bucker gave was all that I needed to hear as I levitated and strapped the armored plates to my body, making sure the thin blades are tightly attached to my wings and that they wouldn't hinder the flight before, during and after the ensuing beat down that I am going to be giving. Snugly placing my helmet where it belongs and a quick look over followed by me levitating my sword belt to my left side and snapping it into place before leaving the forge to the courtyard.

Looking at all the guards scrambling to their stations, hearing my small news that something dangerous has the potential to be heading this way forced both seasoned and fresh recruits to scurry to their posts in the event the threat does arrive. Stepping onto the cobblestone floor of the training grounds, my armored hooves leaving a small dent beneath where I stood as I quickly lifted myself off the ground and slowly made my way above the portcullis and when I started to tell them the news of what is going on a few of the raw recruits were already trembling in fear, and even one of my more seasoned guards had a slight quake to his hooves.

It was when I left my home behind did I realize that by doing this I might lose a member of the family that even though he might be rude and morally evil but still family.

A family member that might die by my hooves.

But sadly he was threatening the lives of every single pony in Equestria and probably the rest of Equiss. Sighing sadly in might flight to Ponyville to check in on Twilight's progress and hoping that she has found the elements of harmony in time to reverse the damage that has been done and defeat my least favorite uncle once and for all. The breeze flowing through my feathers was the one comfort I had at the time, my mind fighting itself one side wanted to spare Discord while the other side wanted to banish him away for reverting back to his evil self.

It was half way during the flight that I saw that Ponyville was no longer itself, forcing me to stop in my airborne tracks as I got a good eyeful of twisted and slightly disturbing Ponyville. Almost all the homes were floating in the air, a few were even upside down, the streets are made of playing cards, buffalo are dancing in the street in dresses and the bunnies are tall or taller than trees. It was a bloody nightmare and I really wanted to wake up from it and yet at the same time not want to.

"I am not sure if I should be impressed that he managed all this by himself in such a short time or terrified that he managed to this much damage in such a short time." I said as I hovered by the town's clock tower, the clock was going in reverse and at an insane speed so telling what the exact time it was next to impossible.

Gliding around town I can there was no ponies out in the streets and the emptiness of the streets only made me wonder where exactly had everypony had gone off to but at the sound of a window snapping shut and a door slamming closed I can see that what few ponies that are in town are now closing themselves off from the rest of the world, hoping to avoid the chaos that has enveloped their town. As my eyes scan the surrounding area, the card road slightly wavers from the weak breeze that my wings are generating but as my gaze falls on a pile of rocks with a familiar throne placed crookedly on top of it and lounging in said thrown was none other than my uncle, Discord.

He was ignoring me for a while but when I stepped on a conviently placed twig his head sharply turned and made me cringed at the sound of bones cracking as I heard a loud thunderclap right behind me as he was now floating beside me, drinking something that I did not want to know.

Before he even says a word I pulled out my sword that was placed underneath my left wing and smacked him with the flat end upside the head as he dropped his wine glass of chocolate milk, thinking that I had only wanted to see him now turned into a full scale battle.

As Discord reeled back from the smack to his cheek I flew in and took a swing at him again but this time trying to get him distracted long enough for Twilight and her friends to find the elements of harmony, revert themselves back to who they originally were and blast Discord into a stone prison while at the same time not get mentally destroyed myself.

"So that is how you want to play than nephew." Discord said as he snapped his paw to form a crooked metal claymore, the blade was jagged and bent in so many placed but at the same time it was heavy and powerful enough to be treated as a legitimate threat.

"Than let us play." I shouted which slightly threw him off guard, earning me enough time to conk him on the horns with my sword, making even myself wince at the pain I just caused him.

Fun Fact: Hitting a unicorn or other magical creature right on the magical apparatus that allows them to harness, control and release magic is painful. The ranking of how painful is weakest at a headache to its strongest which is the exact feeling of somepony hitting you upside the head with a giant mallet than crushing said head with a second mallet on the opposite side.

As soon as Discord has recovered from his temporary headache he snapped his hawk talon together to make something happen but instead it only caused him a mind splitting headache followed by an explosion that threw me back a few feet, putting me in a daze as I felt my eyes roll around in my skull.

Fun Fact: Trying to cast magic while under the influence of being 'horned' will cause it to fail and for a small explosion to take place where you are standing. The more you learn.

Shaking off the small concussion I opened my eyes to Discord slamming into me from above, I let out a not so many yelp as I was smashed into the cobblestone below, my teeth nearly coming down on my tongue as I get picked up by the tail and started to be swung around back and forth like a yo-yo making the experience humiliating and also my stomach churning something fierce.

It was when my face turned green and that my front hooves was keeping my mouth shut did Discord stop the rapid spinning and twirling long enough to toss me into a shrubbery and it wasn't before long that every single pony in town heard the most violent sickness they have probably ever heard.

That was not my finest moment and neither was it for my stomach as I kept on heaving out whatever contents of my stomach at the time into the shrub, my body feeling exhausted and frail for several minutes as I prayed that I would never have to go through that again. My prayer however was cut shut when Discord grabbed me by the tail again as he slowly swung me side to side, my body still weak from the vomit episode earlier but now it was coming back full force from the rapid onsetting of vertigo.

"Oh Celestia make the world stop spinning please! I can't take it anymore oh spirits.......my stomach...." I said in a weak guttural groan as my hooves grabbed at my stomach, the remnants within are already to fire when given the permission as I fought hard to keep it down but the way Discord was swinging me about made it a losing battle.

It wasn't before long that I was tossed into a building but instead of breaking through the wall from the impact I instead was bounced off its now slick and stretchy surface and headed back to Discord. Trying to spread my wings to change directions away from Discord has only ended in failure, as my wings jutted open I felt a very painful and very sharp pain crack across my muzzle, my eyes shutting in pain and my left eye shutting closed due to the side of the impact zone and also apparent black eye that has taken residence on my head.

Cracking my good eye a bit I see a smirking Discord floating closer to me, his lion's paw holding a rather large wooden mallet and before he had a chance to use it on me a small clock with wings came up to him and rang rather loudly before being vaporized into a flower pot as it dropped on top of my head making my vision blurry and little stars to enter my field of vision abruptly.

"I will be right back." was all he said before teleporting away at the snap of his talons, my guess back to his throne to deal with somepony less important and powerful like myself.

Once he was out of sight I let out a small shuddered sigh of relief, slowly picking myself off the ground on my shaking legs, the fear of being killed still running in my system as I slightly hobbled over to the mallet and shifted it to the point where I can grab the handle with my teeth, the weight of the wooden hammer now resting firmly between my chompers. My eye looking towards Discord's throne direction I hobbled and galloped, my left foreleg hurting a lot from being landed on incorrectly, the ankle probably sprained, another thing my uncle will pay for.

'Your not getting away from my distraction this easily.'

Ponyville Town Square

"You may fire when ready." Discord said, waving his hands in front of his chest as a target board shifted into existence, the arrogant prude blatantly ignoring the six mares slowly glowing as I slowly shuffled behind him, placing my sword on a rock beneath him, the blade pointing towards me as the handle was facing the girls. Raising my mallet as high as I can and calculating what I was about to do and the odds of me getting hurt I hypothesized that the outcome will be worth it.

It was that moment in time when everything is moving in slow motion, the girls were slowly being lifted into the air, the elements of harmony gathering energy to seal Discord away in a stone prison for hopefully another thousand years or so, my mallet slowly arcing downward and as the girls were just at the right angle to see what was going on the blunt head hit the tip of the blade, lowering it the ground as it raised the handle into the air. Right into Discord's family jewels.

Every euphuism you can imagine is playing through my head at this moment, a nutcracker cracking open a pair of walnuts, a baseball bat hitting the ball, somepony hitting a watermelon with a mallet, a crocodile eating a melon, a watermelon exploding from being struck by a thunderbolt and the list goes on but all at once was all I can think of as I heard Discord give off the most un-masculine scream everyone in Equestria has ever heard.

But of course when time resumed itself I was well within the blast zone of the elements so when I looked up past Discord's crumpled form I saw the rainbow beam hurling right at the both of us and right before impact I can only shout out loud that this was going to hurt.

For Discord it was painless as he was slowly standing upright in a terrified pose as he was turned to stone. For me I was being oddly treated to the tickling sensation of the rainbow colors while at the same time getting burned and de-furred...something that I know will have to get fixed up back home at the castle.

After the whirlwind of rainbow lights has completely disappeared I was laying on my side, staring off into space as my eyes were rolling around in their sockets for a while but when I tried to get up I felt something very soft and fluffy beneath me. Looking down I see a pile of dark colored fur beneath my armor, the parts of me exposed feel cold and as a gentle breeze rolls by it chills me to the core and it was only when I looked at that pile of fur I realized that it was my own.

I was just de-furred by the elements of harmony...and my body is still aching in pain from the rainbow lights.

Taking another look at myself I see that most of my fur has been shed clean from me, only the parts that was protected by my armor in the inner sections were spared from the energy beam but it still does hurt whenever I make a move that would put some strain on my body.

Groaning in pain and slowly getting off the ground I tried to teleport myself back to my home but my horn only glows faintly before dying down, my magic reserves must have been drained by the elements and that means I would have to take the long way back.

It was during my lone walk home that I felt something tugging at my leg and when I looked behind me I saw Scootaloo staring at me on confusion but with a small disarming grin she gave a wide heart warming smile before flapping her wings to make it buzz and hum and was soon on my back, laying on the still heated metal ignoring the the heat coming off of it as we slowly made our way to the Everfree Forest. My ears perked up and swiveled around to hear the girls talking about me, wondering what I was doing here and why I was in full combat armor and as to why I was even fighting my family member in the first place but what they don't know was what was going to transpire if I did not interfere.

During the fight

"Discord, if you do this than you can go back onto the path of self-preservation. You will have willingly condemned yourself to a fate far worse than death!" I shouted as our blades struck against each other, sparks flying across the air as we both took swings at one another, trying to go for the killing blow if possible.

"What do you know of fate Nightshade! I have ruled all of Equestria and beyond for thousands of years and you tell me that I am making a mistake! My only mistake was not stopping Celestia and Luna from imprisoning me the first time and ending my reign!" Discord shouted back, raising his talons up and bringing it down across my back, the sharp nails scraping across the metal and ringed plates but the talons have managed to claw up the base of my wings, making flying now painful and has severed crippled my movements.

"Uncle, this is your only chance that I will give you, stand down, change everything back and accept Celestia's judgement." I said as our blades have once again crashed into one another, our blades barely moving in place as friction started causing the impact zone to heat up, the metal slowly glowing from the pressure and friction being placed on it. My eyes glaring deep into his crazed gaze, sweat pouring off the both of us as we both are refraining from using magic in such an area would result in the deaths of many ponies in the general vicinity.

"And if I don't choose to just, give in to your demand?" he said calmly as we brought our faces close together, the blades being the only thing keeping us separate for the moment but only for that moment.

"Than I will bring you down on my own and make your suffer a fate far worse than dying by a metal blade can offer." I said calmly as he forced my sword back before taking a hard swing with his own, raising my blade to protect myself the impact resulted in it shattering completely, the hilt and a part of the blade was all that was left making me wince at what could have possibly been my head if I was not fast enough.

Staring at the blade than at me Discord took that opportunity to go on an offensive edge and began to wildly attack with reckless abandonment, not caring for any collateral damage that he might cause but ignoring it all the same.

'So he choose this path...what a shame....I never wanted to do this but now I must.'

My horn glowing softly than in a mere moment to painful intensity as I glared at Discord from the ground, my wings flaring out weakly from being damaged but the magic coursing through my body was being channeled for only two purposes and both of them will leave me severely exhausted and unable to retaliate if he makes a move against me.

With a bright flash I vanish into thin air, leaving behind nothing but a smoky outline of my body on the ground and as soon as Discord landed to where I once was his goat leg stepped on my ashes in time to have his fate sealed.

From under the ground my body slivered out, being made of complete darkness as it oozed off in globs of black slime, my eyes being nothing more than two pinpoints of bright crimson but when Discord tried to grab for me he only grabbed the black ooze instead and immediately froze still as he realized what I have just done. Cackling madly I dragged him down into the abyss with me and was immediately in the realm of eternal eclipse, my father's realm and once we were there I immediately grabbed Discord and slammed him down onto the ground with a whip of black chains, the same material that was made of my father's tomb. His body unable to move as the chains bond his arms and legs including his tail and neck, not allowing him to move even a muscle.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!" was all he could say before a large glob of the black ooze slapped itself over his mouth sealing it shut.

I looked at him, my eyes glazing over with corruption, black mist pouring out of my sockets as I let out a low growl from deep within my frame, my hatred for my uncle seemingly coming out of no where but the thing that is scaring me the most was that my darkest part of myself was making itself apparent and I know that it was only a matter of time before it would try to completely take over and reduce me into nothing more than a hollowed shell of my former self.

A small cloud of death escape my mouth as I felt a sharp pain ring through my head, a tiny miasma cloud is ejected from me before forcing itself back in, the sharp pain returning before quickly fading away as I heard not one but two voices raging inside my head but both were not fight each other, instead they were trying to fight for control over Discord's fate.

'MAKE HIM SUFFER! TORTURE HIM UNTIL HE BEGS FOR THE END!'

'That monster will suffer, but not by thy hoof. That abomination shall suffer at our hooves for destroying our family.'

'KILL HIM!'

'No!'

'LOOK AT HIM! SO CONTORTED AND TWISTED AND CONDEMNED AND SUBMISSIVE! HE WILL KNOW TRUE SUFFERING!

"Enough!" I shouted to nopony in particular but with that breaking in the madness I unchain Discord before launching him out of the dark realm but when I come back the two voices within my head return to their battle unknowingly causing me to take the punishment that Discord has come up for me.

After the battle

'They will never know what lurks within my mind nor what Discord is truly capable of doing.' I mused quietly to myself, the sound of my hooves echoing off the tree's within the Everfree forest, the only reminder that I am alone besides a sleeping Scootaloo laying nicely across my back.

Trotting slowly back home I cross the now stone bridge that connects my castle to the rest of the Everfree forest, the ponies that is living within my domain has changed their homes greatly, they still have kept the walls around their towns but they have modified the infrastructure, the roads and even the walls that protect them from outside influence with the stone reserves I had 'acquired' from Equestria. It was almost night time when I reached the outskirts of the Everfree capital of Nexus, the city walls made of entirely black marble, and past those walls was the buildings of those that chose to move in. The old palace was atop the hill in the center of the capital, the rest of the buildings circled around it in an intricate pattern and each row of buildings is lower than the one closer to the palace.

I loved the design that Nightmare Moon has left behind, thinking that such a design would rival Canterlot's design but seeing how the two are completely different one being on the side of a mountain that could fall off at any moment while mine was in the very center of a forest that every pony thinks is cursed and evil.

Sighing as I moved through the front gates, the guardponies that were on duty immediately came to my aid and questioned me as to what happened, why am I somewhat naked and also why am I carrying a small sleeping filly on my back. My only response was "Family troubles" and left it at that, the few guards that heard that gave a curt nod before returning to their posts, the few normal ponies that left their daily routine quickly returned to it, not wanting to leave a comment on my de-furred status.

'Luna is gonna be surprised when she sees me again that's for sure.'

As soon as I reached the castle I deftly moved to my room and placed Scootaloo on the bed, tucking her in with my hooves since my horn is sore from the extreme amounts of pressure I placed upon it and that my wings are still in pain from getting slashed up by Discord resulting in me being grounded for a solid two weeks. After tucking Scootaloo in I went straight to the medical ward and was placed in the bed and got worked on my the doc ponies, all of them questioning me what happened as my only response was the same I told the guards, "Family troubles", and they all collectively nodded before going back and forth with the healing magic and medical salves they had for the few ponies that get injured on the job.

It was a month after the Discord event that Twilight and her friends were recognized as the hero's of Equestria, a huge party was thrown for them as I stood at the top of my castle, looking at Canterlot as my eyes can see the small fireworks exploding over Canterlot, the ponies obviously enjoying themselves. Celestia had sent me an invite and a small apology for accusing me of working with Discord, the invite was for me to come to Canterlot and enjoy in the festivities but I declined it, my fur was still coming in and I am still feeling down that I had nearly killed Discord when I had almost unleashed my inner demon on him along with letting the small fragment of Nightmare Moon out as well.

Staring at the night sky that has settled over Canterlot I sighed to myself, thinking deeply, my wing covering Scootaloo as she watched in amazement at the spectacle before her. Taking care of Scootaloo was fairly easy, teaching her how to fly was not, the problem was that because she was abandoned by her biological family she was never truly taught how to use her wings and fly and because of that it has left them weak and not fully formed from not being used so I had to look through several books within the archives to find a way to undo the damages that has been done and give her the greatest gift the poor filly can ever want.

The ability to fly.

And search I did, I spent that month searching bookies and scrolls for a way to reverse the damage and with luck I had found what I needed. A potion that would repair severe muscle damage and with that repair I can slowly but surely teach my adopted little sister to fly, the perfect birthday present for her.

'You are ready my love.'

That stray arrant thought whispered in my head, not clearly sure who or what said that but the feeling that it gave me was the only proof I needed to keep moving forward. The few things I have left in this world that truly matters to me is with me in this castle and is in the castle up north on the mountainside. The will to protect those I care for was far more powerful than that dark voice within my head that is constantly trying to lull me onto the path of darkness that nearly killed me.

"Brother, what happened to all of you? Your all...furless." Scootaloo said as she tried to not giggle, my pelt was still coming in but it was short and the chill in the air wasn't helping nor was the fact that I didn't have my scarf on nor a blanket to keep me warm.

"Well....lets just say that Discord shaved me down when he got out." I said, looking away from her as my face scrunched up a bit from the flat out lie, not really wanting to tell her the truth of what had transpired that day.

"Oh, well wow that's mean of him, I mean come on, winter is pretty much here and he does that without even leaving a scarf for you to wear." she says as she yawns a bit at the end, the night time cold weather putting her to sleep rather quickly, the abundant amount of energy she usually has when she is out crusading with her friends has not been seen since I took her under my wing in her flight training.

"Yup, it sure does, that's why whenever somepony tries to shave you down as a prank you get back at them with something much worse, like shave them down than tar and feather them...that or just cover them in industrial strength itching powder." I said that last part with a small grin, remembering back to when I did that to Rainbow Dash for leaving me with Pinkie Pie that one day.

That mare just does not shut up at all...even with earplugs it doesn't drown out the noise.

After taking Scootaloo to her room for the night I went to my own and pulled on a large checkered scarf, courtesy of Rarity after paying her with a large diamond the size of her head that covered for a fancy dark grey suit and a nice cloak to go with it. Looking into the wall mirror to make sure everything I was wearing was properly tucked in and that I was not going to freeze to death I made my way to the balcony and spread open my wings and flew off to Canterlot, the cold chill in the air now much more apparent than it was before as I shivered from the sharp freezing air.

A good twenty minutes of flying I arrived at Canterlot, my wings feeling slightly sore but I pushed on, taking my flight path directly to the castle instead of landing at the train station and walking up the main road in seeing as the nobility there still think I need to be dealt with for 'rebelling' against Equestria. I paid no heed to those fools whenever I would visit but on this occasion I directly ignored them and flew straight to Luna's balcony, the mare on the other side of the door getting herself ready for tonight,

Breathing deeply and exhaling I brace myself and levitated a small bundle of night roses that I was holding in my hooves during the flight and tapped on the window, hoping for Luna to turn around. When she did she gave a startled gasp but upon seeing me she opened the balcony door and pulled me in for a hug and seeing how I still have a short pelt the kind gesture had the secondary effect of making me nice and warm.

Looking up at her I present to her the roses and with a gleeful gasp she took it and gave them a sniff and with a smile she placed with within a seemingly ready water filled vase.

We both stared at each other nervously for a few minutes, not entirely sure what to do next but with a loud gulp and a nervous cough I asked the big question.

"You ready for our date Luna?"

Comments

[moonlightmare]

More please!

[Roran Dreamon]

3635066>>3635118>>3635155 Thanks for your input, I might or might not be able to change much anyways, if its what the audience wants then they are going to get it but I might do a redo of the entire thing once its done. Clean up the entire thing and hopefully it wont look like it was mashed together on a night by some drunk person.