My Little Pony: the Harmony of Friendship

by Godzilla313

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Ponaeros was on a fast march, heading for the mirror. He had to secure it, and fast! He had not been prepared to fight a war on two fronts, and with his northern flank starting to collapse, he would have to use the mirror, start over, and then come back. The twins had told him that magic doesn’t work there as it does here, but with what he could do, that would not be an issue. This was creating quite an interesting arc in his formation. The north was caving but forming a 90-degree angle back towards Manehattan, the coasts were falling and pressing in. Baltimare, Fillydelphia, and other places were close to liberation, and the Crystal Empire with Yakyakistan were about to link up with the Grittish army and free Manehattan. Yet, where the twins were, they were making swift advances, so a huge arc had formed across Equestria, and it was hoped before his advance towards Ponyville that they could squeeze him out. Yet, now, with this danger, all that could change in an instant.

At the center of it was Ponaeros’ best elites with the twins and their death metal band. Wherever they were, their foes would quickly surrender and flee without a fight. Ponaeros was now realizing that, if he had kidnapped more and then bent them to his will, he just might have been able to end this within a matter of days. In fact, he now realized, all too late, that had he befriended the bards at the start, he’d already be in charge, immortal, and god of this world centuries ago. Still, with that mirror, he had another chance at locking this down. Therefore, he realized that what was about to happen next was an all or nothing play. He would have to win here, or it was all over. Yet, what could stop him now.

The princesses were gathering in the expanse between Canterlot and Ponyville, ready to go. They only hoped that Discord could get all the bards and Bardies there on time. They had learned the song, and the original bearers of the Elements of Harmony were going to be the singers/chanters in this, with the bards and Bardies singing and playing in the back. The four princesses would cast their special love spell to tap into the Tree of Harmony itself in an attempt to tap into the elements now imbedded in the tree. With all the parts combined, they stood a chance of breaking the spell over the twins and neutralizing the power that Ponaeros wielded. Perhaps they could put an end to this foolish war that has now already cost many ponies their lives. Once the spell was cast, Twilight could join her friends and act. Yet, they still needed the others, and Discord was certainly late. Perhaps it was more than it could be done for him to get them all there…

…and then they looked up!

Discord was coming down wearing military khakis and a helmet with four stars on it, brown knickers and boots. He had all kinds of medals on it, and he was coming in…by parachute! And it was not just him, but all the bards and Bardies were coming this way, but with looks on their faces that showed they were not exactly willing participants in this entrance! Everyone on the ground just shook their heads as they all began to land on the ground, Discord landing right on the large stage constructed for the central players in this plan. Adjusting the mirror sunglasses on his nose and placing the horse whip under his arm as he strutted, he said, all gruff, “The object of chaos is not for some poor pony to act the fool for his country; it is to make the other dumb pony to act the fool for his!”
He then popped Twilight in the fanny with the horse whip and said, “Look alive, there!”
She gave off a high pitched squeal and then looked at him angrily. Discord looked confused and said, “What? Is this not the appropriate dress and behavior for battle?”
They just stared at him as the whole ensemble disappeared as he sighed and said, “You really can be a spirit killer, you know.”
He snapped his fingers and Rainbow Dash now appeared, as good as new, as he said, “I almost forgot her. I think you’ll need her for this.”
They all let out a happy squeal and hugged their friend. She was happy for them to be reacting like this, but to keep her image, she shimmied to get loose and said, “Okay, okay, okay! I’m happy to see you, too.”
“Darling!” exclaimed Rarity, “We almost lost you! Don’t ever do that to us again.”
“All part of the duty I pledged to when I joined the Wonderbolts,” said Dash, “I mean, we’d rather perform than fight, but this is part of the duty as well.”
“And we are proud to have such a dedicated force in the land,” said Celestia, “But today, we seek to end this war.”
“I know,” she said, “Easy Trotter filled me in. But, I don’t get it. What did he mean when he said the words would come to me?”
“I am not sure,” said Twilight, “But we just have to trust the bards.”
Dash sighed and nodded, not sure this was going to work, but rolled with it anyway. What did they have to lose now?

The bards and Bardies all took their positions and awaited the princesses to do their thing. At about this time, the advancing lines could be seen. Equestria’s own was already moving past, fleeing, but Dash saw this and got on a mic and screamed, “HALT!” in the best command voice she could muster. She then admonished, “Hey! And just where do you all think you’re going?”
The lines all screeched to a halt and one said, “You’d better get out of here too, if you know what’s good for you. You want no part of the monsters heading this way.”
“Oh, so the enemies are coming?” she said, and then steeled herself and said confidently, saying, “Well then, get behind us, because we stand for the Elements of Harmony, and this is as far as the scumbags are getting!”
That caught their attention, and then they also saw what looked like a folk music/rock music symphony formed, and seeing who some of them were, they suddenly found a courage they had not been able to find for some time since the twins had been kidnapped and coerced. They stood their ground and prepared for whatever was coming.

Ponaeros was feeling smug and confident, but some of his scouts came and said, “Great dark lord! The fleeing lines have stopped and are standing their ground…and get this…behind a large stage with every single bard and Bardy I think the land has. In fact, all four princesses are there, along with five other ponies of various kinds standing with them.”
Ponaeros was confused at first, then amused. He realized what was happening. They were going to try to counter the twins with everything they had, seeking to make some kind of last stand. He began to giggle, and then laugh, and then laugh hysterically. “Oh, this could not be any better! We can get all four princesses at once and then use them as a bargaining tool to get everypony else to surrender! This is rich! They really think they can stop me? Hahahahahahaaaaaa!”
He got a glint in his eye and gave a command for everypony to go to forced march speed. They were going to meet this threat head on!

It didn’t take long for them to advance, but once there, Ponaeros gave the command to have everypony stop. He got on a loudspeaker, but before he could speak, Celestia was using the royal voice and said, “Ponaeros, you are losing this war! You really thought your crazy plan could work, but everywhere you do not have direct control, you are losing on every hand! You are desperate, and you are looking to end this, but indeed, it will end this day, but not the way you think. Yet, this is your last chance. Surrender, or feel the full power of what this land has.”
Ponaeros then laughed again with hysterics, and after regathering himself, said, “Really? I have the two most powerful bards under my horn. With my help, they are more powerful than ever. I’ve even learned a bit from them. Your pitiful bunch of vagabonds don’t stand a chance, Sun Butt!”
Celestia pursed her lips and got a look on her face that seemed to say, “That’s it! You just crossed the point of no return.”
She then said with the royal voice, but between her teeth, “I dare you to call me ‘Sun Butt’ again!”
Ponaeros just grinned sinisterly and said, “Sun…Butt!”
Celestia closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, now ready for action. Twilight never had remembered seeing Celestia this angry before, and she had to be certain that things were not going to go well for Ponaeros. She then said, “You don’t get it, do you? We have a power greater than anypony could manage to muster, even after a thousand years of learning black arts; the power of love conquers all.”
Ponaeros just said, dryly, “You can’t be serious.”
Luna chose to chime in and said, “It is not just one part or another. This is all love can muster, for this is indeed the harmony of friendship, and the power behind its magic…”
With that, they began to activate the spell as Twilight said, “For it is the love of friends for each other.”
Her horn shot an energy beam as Cadence added one, saying, “For it is the love of two lovers combined as one!”
Luna added, “For it is the love of a mother for her young!”
Celestia finally added, “And it is the love that give all and expects nothing in return!”
Unaffected, Ponaeros gave command for the twins to act, but they, the band, and the whole corps were mesmerized at the sight of the beams combining and filling the atmosphere with a calming and stilling peace. With that, the bards and the Bardies started in their aspect. They began to cast and play, added to the power of the magic, and now everypony on the side of the Tripes, save for the twins and Ponaeros, was now moving to the music and bobbing their heads to the marching beat that was coming out. Twilight was able now not only to sustain her spell, but also to take part with the others. As she focused on that, she, and they, suddenly felt linked in their minds, and started to bodily feel as if they were intertwined with the magic, and Twilight suddenly found voice and began to chant:

We hear you talking about the war that’s raging, the tyranny you’re staging;
Everypony’s crying, too many dying; but love and toleration is what you should be trying…

With that, the refrain kicked in as every bard and Bardy started to sing, “With love as our strength in the games that we play; in the sadness of war, know that peace finds the way!”
They repeated this a few times, and now the power was starting to really overcome the other side. Soldiers were dropping their weapons on the Tripe side, and staring blankly as if getting an epiphany. Ponaeros thundered for the twins to act, but they just stared themselves, almost in awe. Dash suddenly found her voice and started to chant:

We’ve got Wonderbolt, thunderbolts, saving fillies and the colts;
Catching you by surprise, get your eyes to mesmerize!
The war you’re fighting is no good, you’re not doing as you should;
For these wrongs you must atone; those colts and fillies could have been your own.

The refrain hit again, but louder this time, as now all the Equestrian soldiers were joining in. The Tripes started looking sad, thinking of all the loved ones they left behind, and also of the lies they had been told over a year ago. He had convinced them that they had been oppressed and wronged, but now they were examining themselves. Sure, some had cheated them, but never once did they look internally to see how it might have been they helped contribute to their own plights, and how they could have worked together to solve, not just the problems that put them there, but also how to put in place a way to insure they did not contribute to whatever their bad situation might have been. There are always peaceful alternatives. With this, Applejack started in, saying:

We hear y’all talkin’ ‘bout takin’ the land and makin’ a stand;
But yer tearin’ up the soil, wreckin’ ponies’ toil.
Dontcha care at all what yer causin’ now t’fall.
Put yer hatred on th’shelf, ‘cause yer only hurtin’ yerself.

On the next run of the refrain, the Tripes were now looking angry, and not at Equestria. They now knew that they were raping the land and hurting themselves. After horrible wars normally follows bad famine, and if they kept it up, they would hurt everypony for which they though they fought. They now knew that they had been duped, and this had to end. Ponaeros was livid! He started to muster all the evil magic that he had learned over time and tried to bring it to bear, but every time he cast, it just fizzled two inches from his face as the spell was snuffing out anything else that could have been tried. He did not realize just how powerful the Tree of Harmony was, because, had there been somepony near the place where it was, he would have seen the area so bright it could melt winter snow! Now Fluttershy joined in, suddenly finding a courage she was seldom able to find and started to chant…

You’re hurting little bunnies, you’re all a bunch of meanies!
You care not about a bird or bee; you have no heart for charity!
Your meanness blocks the sunny sky, making everypony cry!
Be as harmless as a dove; stop the hate and learn to love!

The refrain went again, and at this point, all on the Equestrian side was now prancing in place, all in step with the music. So in sync were they now that the ground was starting to shake. They stopped when the refrain stopped, and Rarity suddenly found her voice and chanted:

You talk about having control; your hate and war is really droll.
Your preaching really is a bother; it makes a world that has no color.
Peace has beauty—no despair; it’s a gem that’s really rare.
Stop the fighting and the strife and enjoy the finer things of life.

The refrain rocked through again, and now every Tripe started stripping off their uniforms and throwing them down. The stomping started again, and they joined in as they crossed over and started now to embrace those who, only moments before, they were ready to slaughter. At this, Pinkie stole the show! Doing only as Pinkie can do, she suddenly came onto the stage on Ponaeros’ side from who knows where and started to chant:

Oh, these Tri-Ponies, they’re all really phonies;
And it is so tragic that this baddie stole your magic.
I know you two can really see that you are where you ought to be!
No more do you two have to roam; with us you’ve really found a home!

With the sixth element adding her part, the spell was tremendously strong now, and the twins were now doing a phenomenon called “Snapping back,” where someone who has been brainwashed suddenly realized that they’ve been deceived. Sure, Ponaeros made some points, but, like all those looking to bend one’s will a certain way, Ponaeros never rally told the whole truth, and because of his magic, made it seem that he was right. No, a spell had not been cast on them per se, but one did hinder their logic to where they were convinced to be there themselves. After that, such magic kept them distracted from such thoughts. Yet, now, that was being broken and coming to themselves. Moreover, Downy now recognized the tune she had been working on, and she muttered, “The failsafe spell…”
Feeling as if they had awoken from a bad dream, they suddenly found themselves tapping into the magic, and they both glowed brightly. When it faded, they were both standing in just their coats, but somehow, their manes were restored and all the piercings were gone. With that, Quill and Downy started to chant, trading off as they went:

Let us tell you ‘bout music, singing, joy that it’s bringing;
This war today is ending; ponies are all mending.
For now, your time is ending; hear the message that we’re sending.
You should never have come back for to make this big attack.
You really should have run, but now you’re just all done!

They joined in the refrain, adding their magic, and suddenly both they and Pinkie vanished before Ponaeros could lash out at them out of spite. This time, however, the refrain was being repeated over and over and over again, and the magic was such that the thunder of the stomping hoofs could be heard anywhere there were soldiers of any stripe or nation. It started as a soft echo at first, but built up, as the Tree of Harmony had its roots and branches connected to every part of the land, and it was now channeling what was going on in the plains between Canterlot and Ponyville. Moreover, it was having the effect all hoped it would have. Every soldier everywhere was stopping the fight and getting into the peaceful touch the whole thing was sending now. None of them now had a desire for this anymore, for now, nopony could have told anypony else exactly why they were fighting, or what the whole point of this was. They could not even tell you what it was that they as individuals would get out of this, and now just wanted all the pain and suffering to end. Before long, everypony was now chanting, “With love as our strength in the games that we play; in the sadness of war, know that peace finds the way.”
At that, the song stopped, and now Ponaeros stood alone on the stage. Celestia was looking confident now and she said, “For the last time—and this IS your last chance—surrender. It is all over.”
Ponaeros started to seethe, and both his horn and eyes started to glow. He was enraged now, having come so close to being a god, and now having it stripped from him all at once. At this, he knew he had no other choice. He thundered, “YOU ARE WRONG! THIS IS FAR FROM OVER!”
There were spells he had not yet tried that, had he mastered them long ago, none of this rigmarole would have been necessary. Yet, he let revenge and building an empire take his attentions off that, and he never allowed himself to gain his full potential. Yet, now, he had to try them, even though he was not sure how it would go. Yet, because of what he had learned from the twins, he was going to mix the two. With that, he began to chant some ancient and lost language, and his whole body began to glow. He then began to absorb every chunk of matter around him, including some of the soil and rock around where the stage had stood, because what he was doing would have need of this matter to allow him what he was doing; though it was magic, the laws of the conservation of mass still applied. He suddenly grew to Tirek proportions after having absorbed all Equestrian magic, and he thundered, “IT WORKED! INDEED, IT WORKED! OH, I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS LONG AGO!”
He shot a beam to the ground before him and burned a huge hole into the ground. He then thundered, “YOU FOOLS! YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOU COULD DEFEAT THE ALMIGHTY PONAEROS, DID YOU? I AM NOW MY NAME; THE VERY ESSENCE OF WICKENESS. LOOK UPON ME AND DESPAIR! PREPARE FOR YOUR DOOM!”
NOW all seemed lost…

…except for one thing.

The Tree of Harmony was so charged now, it was backwashing the magic back to the source from where it had been gaining it and charging everypony there. Moreover, Quill, feeling bold, got into a mic and shouted, “No, YOU are the one that is finished!”
Downy jumped in and said, “Love shall defeat you!”
“LOVE!” thundered Ponaeros in reply, “THAT FOOLISH EMOTION SERVES NO PURPOSE, AND HAS NO POWER NOW ENOUGH TO STOP ME!”
“Wrong,” said Twilight, “For, as the twins have said, all you need is love.”
The leader of the musicians took that as a cue and struck into “All You Need is Love” from when they had learned it from Ponystock, but now they had all this magic with them, love, peace, and all these voices to join in. The six, the princesses, and the twins all joined in on the verses and everypony on the chorus. Ponaeros lifted a massive hoof and prepared to squash them all just as they started and brought it down swiftly…and then he thundered in great pain! He staggered back as he now nursed his hurt right foreleg. When he stomped, a magic dome appeared for a brief moment over them, and stomping it was tantamount to stomping as hard as one could on solid steel, and the steel not give an inch. He was stunned! He knew he had cast things right, but this hurt, and that was not supposed to happen! He hollered in rage and fired energy at them as they went along, and again it happened and bounced right back at him. He regained himself and tried to move, but now ethereal bonds and chains began to hold him. Try as he might, he could not break free. The ethereal bonds were starting to envelop him in rainbow colors, and the more he fought it, the worse it got. There was now no emotion left in him but blind rage, but the more he fought, the worse it got, as if a pony caught in quicksand, struggling to get out, but only hastening his demise. Finally, there was a loud bang and flash, and when they were all able to regain their eyesight, there stood a giant statue of Ponaeros in an enraged pose. Yet, it seemed the Tree of Harmony would have the last word, as electricity shot up from the ground and went through every part of the now stone unicorn, and he exploded into a fine dust. Ponaeros had bit off more than he could chew, and because of his arrogance, he lost all, and was no more.

There was silence there for the space of fifteen minutes, nopony sure just what really happened, and when Twilight finally was able to speak, she said, “I don’t get it. We had him beat, and yet that happened.”
Celestia pondered it, and then she said, “It had to be the Tree of Harmony. I somehow believe it rejected him as an abomination, trying to achieve things that should be best left alone.”
“Meaning?” probed Twilight.
“Meaning he was now a freak of nature,” answered Celestia, “And so much so, that the Tree could not bear it existing any further, and purged him from our midst.”
Luna then added, “And I do believe it is for the best. I could not imagine that thing standing there for centuries and having other ponies with evil intent turn it into come icon to be worshipped. It need not be inspiration for other.”
They all pondered that, and after another respite of silence, Twilight then said, “Then, I think it is time we all went home and started to put the pieces back together. It’s over, and we have to get things back to the way they are.”
“I could not have said it better,” said Celestia, “We need to clean up, mourn our lost, and find a way to move on.”

Author's Note:

There's one more chapter left to go, so please be watching for it.