13-The Return to Harmony: Broken
Chapter 13
Alan sprinted through Ponyville, all of the clues pointed here. The soap road, the dancing buffalo, the floating buildings, it all pointed back to ponyville.
The world flashed into darkness as another super-short day came to an end.
Alan slid along the soap road, trying to stop when he couldn’t see anymore.
He succeeded in only smashing into the town hall.
Cradling his side which had unfortunately smacked into one of the supports, Alan stood up. He didn’t have time for pain, he needed to find the girls.
The sun was back, and Alan quickly searched for signs of the six ponies, hoping to find them before his light was gone.
He hoped the Princess’ fears were misplaced. He hoped that Discord hadn’t done anything. He hoped that the girls were fine.
But a part of him said not to get his hopes up.
Shut up.
Alan checked the streets quickly, looking down the roads. Trying to find a hint of his friends.
He found them outside the library, staring down Discord.
Well, most of them, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found.
Alan blinked. That couldn’t be right. Rainbow Dash would never leave her friends.
Wait...
Oh no...
He took a few steps forward, and got a better look.
Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie stood the jeweled necklace of their Elements unnaturally bright against their grey coats.
They were never grey.
He got closer still.
Pinkie, bearer of laughter was frowning. Rarity was holding onto a rock, her eyes dashing wildly as she yelled the word “mine.” Fluttershy sent a kick at Pinkie’s head. Applejack’s eyes shifted underneath her hat, “I knew this would happen,” she said, an obvious lie.
No. No. No. They were pretending, right? They were acting like this to get Discord’s guard down. Right?
Right?
Then he saw Twilight, standing as proud as she could, her tiara around her head, shimmering with the power of magic. Her still lavender coat sent a bolt of hope through Alan’s heart, she was still alright.
But that meant he had to accept the fact that the others weren’t.
Then there was the glow. The white, magical glow of the Elements of Harmony which would split into the prismatic beam of rainbow that had saved the world once before.
Had they done it? Had they overcome Discord? Were they about to turn his mismatched body to stone where he stood?
His answer came when the light sputtered, and Discord’s mocking laugh.
Then the ponies left. Pinkie threw down her necklace and began heading to Sugarcube corner. Applejack seemed to make some remark or another before heading off to the farm. Rarity rolled her small boulder away, straining against it. Then Fluttershy left, but not without first smacking the back of Twilight’s head.
Twilight frowned, and Alan was just close enough to hear, “I can’t believe it. My friends...” her eyes turned fierce and she yelled to the sky, “have all become massive jerks!” But then her defiance faded, and her head dropped.
Alan watched horrified, as her coat, once lavender, turned grey. She turned, and slowly walked back to the library, head hung low.
Discord chuckled, before turning to the human.
Those red eyes held Alan’s for a second, just long enough to hear the word “Check.”
And then with a flash of light, and the echo of a laugh, Discord was gone.
Alan stood frozen for a second before he dashed after Twilight, who was still taking slow steps to the library.
<<<|Ω|>>>
“Spike, pack your things. We’re leaving," Twilight said, dumping the useless piece of jewelry into the trash. “Don’t ask where to, because...because I don’t know.” She began to pile her things into a suitcase.
“Twilight...” Spike began, only to be interrupted by the hurt tone in Twilight’s voice.
“Please, Spike. Just go pack.”
The young dragon’s protests died in his mouth, and he went off to grab his own suitcase.
As Twilight began to stuff her case, tears rolling down her face, she couldn’t help but wonder if she should bring anything else.
She didn’t have a checklist for it so...
And then she felt two strong arms encircle her neck. “I’m sorry, Twilight.” It was Alan, his voice sounded sad, “Please don’t go.”
She wanted to thank him. She wanted to stay and cry and tell him how terrible it was.
But she felt like she should be angry.
“Sorry?” She asked, a bitter tone in her voice, “Oh yes, I’m sure you’re sorry.”
That sounded harsh, but she was still angry.
“I’m sure you’re very sorry that you got to spend the day with the Princess sipping tea.” She pushed herself out of the hug. “While we were out there getting hurt, you sat in the throne room enjoying yourself. But that’s always what you’ve been good at, isn’t it, puppet master?”
The look on his face made her want to take it back. But she was too mad right now.
“I-I said I’d never do that again...” he mumbled,
“Yeah, because we can trust you.” The sarcasm in her voice bit.
“Twi, I—"
“You what?” She asked, tears starting to form in her eyes. “You wormed your way into my heart, just like all the others, and look where they left me!”
“Twilight, you know that’s not them. They wouldn’t do this to you.”
“Which is why they left me here, alone.”
“Listen to yourself! Your friends are in trouble, Twi. They need your help now more than ever. They’re caught in dungeons, forced to watch themselves become monsters. Don’t leave them to that fate.”
“Well they left me to this one,” Twi retorted. “If you want to save those jerks, be my guest. They can all go to Tartarus for all I care!”
No, wait, that wasn’t right.
“Twilight, you don’t mean that,” Alan said.
He was right, she didn’t really.
“Of course I mean it!” she yelled. “They left me, so I’m going to leave them. If you want to fight for them, go ahead.”
Alan’s face turned grim. “Yeah, fine, I’ll go fight for the jerks. I’ll finish with you,” and without another word he left.
Twilight didn’t want to see him go.
But she did.
“Don’t go...” she finally said, but Alan had already left.
Twilight bit her lip, and kept packing.
She had just sent her last friend away.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Alan walked down the road to Sweet Apple Acres, his duster blowing in a downward wind, getting the dirt-turned-pudding road all over his boots.
Nevermind any of that, he had to save Applejack. Once he had her, then the others would follow. It was just a matter of getting one of them.
Standing in the middle of the farm ground, Alan took a quick search around the place hoping to find the farmpony.
“Well look who finally showed up,” he heard the western drawl from beside the barn. “The coward that was too busy playing tea party to help.”
Alan almost physically recoiled at the insult. “What?”
“Ya heard me, ya two-faced snake in the grass. You’re nothing but a liar and manipulator.”
“A-Applejack...” Alan stammered, stunned, “I-You know that’s not true.”
“Ain’t it though?” She said, munching on an apple. “Haven’t ya been pullin’ the strings since ya got here?” She tossed away the core before standing. “Ya know, Ah’ve never really liked you, Ah never really trusted you, and Celestia knows Ah don’t want to be here with ya.”
Alan blinked, she...she never trusted him...she still doesn’t. “You...you don’t mean that, AJ.”
She laughed, “Listen to that! Are you accusing me of lying? Ah don’t know what got into the heads of all the others, but Ah knew you were bad news, Al. You ain’t got a noble bone in your body, and you went off and proved it by tellin’ us that you’ve been playing us for foals.”
“A-A...” the words caught in his throat, an image of the both of them drinking a shot of whiskey back in Appleloosa flashed in his mind. “Applejack, we...this isn’t you...this is Discord, and—”
“What da ya mean this ain’t me? This is the clearest my head’s been in years! Ah’ve haven’t seen things so clear in years! You’re a liar, a coward, a manipulator, and anypony who listens to a word you say is a foal!”
“Applejack, you-you’ve got to come with me,” he pushed. “We’ve got to stop Discord.”
“Stop him? Who in their right mind would go and do that? Just look at mah apple trees! Those apples are so big I could sell them for hundreds.”
Alan looked over to the overgrown fruit, causing many of the trees to bend over under the weight.
“As far as Ah’m concerned, Discord was the best thing to happen to Equestria!” Applejack said. “The real problem is the human in front of me.”
Alan turned back to her, his eyes wet.
“So listen close, human. ‘Cause I’m only gonna say this once,” she looked up at him, straight in the eyes. “Nopony like ya. Nopony wants ya here. So why don’t ya get the buck off of mah farm, and pester somepony else.”
Alan nodded, before pulling his hat down to cover his eyes. “I’ll be back for you, AJ.”
“Don’t bother.”
<<<|Ω|>>>
Fluttershy. Fluttershy would help him. He could get her to help.
The walk to her cottage had taken longer than he thought, what with the pink thorns that grew across the road, along with the wide patches of Poison Joke that he managed to avoid. But finally, he was here.
The crunch of the broken glass under his boots brought his attention to the shattered windows.
The cottage was unusually quiet, normally filled with the incessant calls of birds.
But it was silent today.
“Fluttershy?” Alan asked, “Fluttershy are you in there?”
His response was met with a rock flying through the window. Alan dodged, and the rock just barely missed his head by an inch.
“Fluttershy?” he called again.
“What? Did I miss, or are you just dense?” the normally soft voice answered.
“Fluttershy? Are you ok?”
“I’m fine, but I think you need your head examined,” she answered, followed by another rock.
“Fluttershy, can’t you come out and talk?”
“Why? So I can get face-to-face with the ugliest thing I ever saw since...well...ever...”
“Fluttershy, you don’t mean that, just come out so we can talk.”
“I’m sick of talking!” A stone came streaking through the window. “I’m sick of being a pushover! I’m sick of being carried!”
The image of a pegasus quivering in his arms came to mind.
“And I’m sick of you!” Another rock, this time, catching him in the side of the face. “Leave and don’t come back!”
So Alan left.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Pinkie.
He could always count on Pinkie. The little ball of energy would be ready to go down with the ship if need be. She’d probably do it with a smile, too.
Pinkie would never let him down.
He hoped.
Sugarcube corner had been totally abandoned. There was no one inside, and no one hanging around outside.
The Cakes weren’t even there.
Alan pushed the door open, letting loose a loud squeak from the damaged hinges. Broken dishes and crushed cakes littered the floor. Crumbs and shattered ceramics lay everywhere. Frosting-covered hooves leaving numerous trails along the floor. Display trays lay in glass shards across the counters.
It looked like a tornado had torn through.
Alan stepped in, following the path of destruction.
The crunch of glass and ceramic sounded with his first step inside.
He had never thought Sugarcube Corner would be this...quiet...
The stairs were covered in more crumbs and shards, but also accompanied by ripped streamers and popped balloons.
It was just so quiet.
Alan cautiously pushed open the door to Pinkie’s room. The decorations had been utterly destroyed, ripped apart, shredded, popped. They littered the floor in what could have been mistaken for confetti, if it weren’t for the grey pony ripping the streamers apart in the middle of the room.
“Pinkie?” Alan asked, tentatively.
She stopped her destruction. Turning her head, “Come to laugh?” she asked, tears in her eyes.
“Pinkie...I would never laugh at you.”
“Sure you wouldn’t,” she said. “Of course you wouldn’t laugh at me, because you’re perfect aren’t you?” she stood, her eyes were puffy and red, a frown on her face. “No, nopony laughs at me. Not the town, not my friends, and definitely not you.” She stepped closer. “Nopony laughs at my jokes, nopony laughs when I make a fool of myself, nopony laughs at me,” she stopped for a second. “No wait...that’s not right. They do. They just won’t anymore.”
Pinkie’s face went from forlorn to fierce in the blink of an eye.
“No more laughing behind my back. No more lies. No more two-faced friends. In fact, no more friends at all! Especially not a liar like you.”
Alan nodded, “I’m sorry, Pinkie,” and then he walked away.
As he walked down the stairs, he did his best to swallow a sob.
The image of the pink pony, her mane still straight, barely discernable in the moonlight came, unbidden to his thoughts. “Alan,” she had said that night, “you’re one of my bestest friends.”
But not anymore.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Rarity wouldn’t even see him.
“Come on Rarity! Let me in!” Alan yelled, pounding on the door to her boutique.
“NO! You’ll take Tom from me!” she answered, her voice muffled by the door.
“I don’t even know who Tom is!” He answered before knocking again. “Rarity! Rarity, please! Let me in.”
“Why? I’ve seen you, grabbing at everything. Grabbing our food, our homes, the clothes I made for you, even ourselves to be your friends. You’ve done nothing but grab since you got here! You’ll come in and you’ll grab Tom too, I know it!”
“Rarity! Rarity, please?”
But Rarity didn’t respond.
Alan knocked and pleaded, but still there was nothing.
Finally, Alan got up and left wiping his face to discourage any crying.
His cheek burned with the memory of the kiss the unicorn had given him.
<<<|Ω|>>>
“Dashie, Dashie, please come down.”
“Why?” the aloof question replied.
“You’re the only one left, Dashie. Please,” he pleaded, on his knees, looking up at the small cloud she reclined on.
“And I should care because...?”
“Please, Dashie. Just please.”
“You’re not answering my question.”
“You should care because of Equestria, Dashie!” Alan yelled, a wet trail falling down his face. “You should care because this is your home! You should care because I’m your friend.” That last one was barely a whisper. “And I need your help, Dash.”
A smug “Ha!” struck him across the face like a slap. “As if. They don’t need me, nopony needs me! Even if they do, well tough luck for them.”
“Dashie, please.”
The pegasus didn’t even hear that one. “Equestria can bite my tail for all I care. Clousdale, my home,” she said, patting the small cloud she was on, “is safe and sound. And as for friends, who needs ‘em?”
“Dashie, please,” Alan begged. “Just, please.”
“Am I not being clear here?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning on her cloud. “Here, I’ll put it simply for you,” she looked him straight in the eyes and said one sentence that broke his heart. “You can die alone for all I care.”
“Please,” was all Alan could say in return.
“You are one crazy son of a bovine, you know that?” the phantom hug hurt worse than any blade ever would, “Thank you.”
<<<|Ω|>>>
Alan walked through Ponyville, his fist clenching and unclenching. His eye twitched. His duster blew in the random wind, and his hat was pulled over his eyes.
“So, Discord, you took my friends, huh? That was your master plan, right?” He stepped over a pony that had been shrunk to the size of a penny. “You ruin my new home. You mess with their minds.” His hand went to Judgement, clenching the leather handle. “You came here to be the Devil, huh?” A vicious smile grew across his face, as his red-rimmed eyes burned with anger. “Well then, it looks like I’m gonna dance with the Devil tonight.”
<<<|Ω|>>>
That was it. She was packed. There wasn’t anything left for her to do her.
There was nothing left for her here.
Twilight stood in front of her door, she was ready to leave.
No she wasn’t.
Her friends were gone, all of them. She had nothing left for her here.
Celestia forgive her.
She was hesitating.
She didn’t know why, though, there was just nothing left.
“Twi...” the young dragon behind her spoke, “Twi...what about Alan?”
She didn’t have an answer for that.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Discord sat on his throne and laughed.
Oh, it had been so long since he had a good laugh.
Being made of stone made it hard to laugh.
But this! This was good. A snap of his long-unused fingers and a cloud of dust became a swarm of hornets. Or a hornet of Swarms, whichever was more improbable.
He let loose another laugh.
Oh it had been so long.
“Discord!” a voice called for him.
Ah yes, the human. Right on time.
“Alan!” Discord answered, standing, his throne just off-center of the middle of Ponyville, “It is so good to see my little troublemaker.”
Alan head snapped to the voice, and he saw the draconequus standing in front of a black marble throne.
Alan drew Judgement, “I am going to end you!”
Discord laughed, now that was a good joke.
Alan charged him, holding his sword at the ready.
Discord laughed again, taking a step towards the charging human. This will be so much fun.
Alan roared as he got close, swinging his sword at the creature’s midsection.
Only for the sword to bend at an impossible angle, as though it were made of foam.
Discord chuckled, “That tickled.”
Alan swung Judgement again, and again the sword gave way against the chimera.
Discord sighed, “You’re going to have to do better than that, I’m afraid.”
Alan grit his teeth before tossing the useless sword away, and drawing his knife.
Only for that to fall from his hand. It’s handle had been turned to butter.
Alan drew his throwing knives, throwing two before Discord had a chance to quip, and charging with the third in hand.
The two he had thrown fell to the ground like paper, and the one he stabbed with may as well have been a feather for all the good that it did him.
“Is that all?” Discord asked. “I expected more from the human.”
Alan shook. There was no way he was going to let this monster mock him. No way he was going to let him get away with this.
He was going to make him pay, even if he had to beat him to death with his own two hands.
Alan tossed his knife aside, and threw the hardest punch he could at the draconequus.
It was like punching a stone.
Pain shot through his hand, bloody knuckles throbbing.
He didn’t stop. He couldn’t afford to stop, no matter how much it hurt. He needed to stop Discord.
Suddenly he was lifted into the air, a grating laugh followed. “You are persistent, I will give you that!”
Alan swung at him, trying, daring Discord to let him get close enough.
Another laugh, “Oh, my little troublemaker, you just don’t know when to quit do you?” Alan floated closer, although just out of his arm’s reach. “Let me make it a little clearer for you. The one thing that can beat me is the Elements of Harmony. The Bearers, however, are not in sync with those Elements, making them useless. The one thing that can re-sync your friends is you, and you just did so well.”
A hot stream of tears began to fall from his eye.
“You know, I worried about you,” Discord told him, circling the human as he continued to flail uselessly. “I worried that you would perhaps save your friends. That you would be the chink in my armor. I had my own plan for you, Mr. Carnivore. I even had a whole line of fast food jokes lined up.” He walked over to one side before pointing, “Hey look at that! A Big Mac!” He chuckled at his pun before continuing. “But it seems that this is just so much better. Here you are. The only one that has not yet fallen under my influence. Here you are. The only one who can do anything, but you can’t do it. You were Celestia’s last gambit, and you failed.”
Discord smiled, getting tauntingly close to Alan’s fist.
“So, I’m going to let you stew. You get to watch your friends slowly turn into monsters, and you won’t be able to do a thing about it.”
Alan shed more tears as he tried to reach the draconequus. Just one good solid punch to his face, please.
“You have the great privilege, human, of being the one sane creature left in my realm. The perfect chaos.” Discord smiled. “So let me repeat myself. Check. And. Mate.”
With that, Alan was tossed back into Ponyville, and far away from the throne of Discord.
“And take your toys with you!” The beast called. All five of Alan’s blades followed him, landing next to him in the dust.
Alan lay there. He wasn’t sure how long, but he just felt like dying.
Finally, with nothing better to do, he sat up gathered his blades before looking for some shade to sit in.
It took him a moment or two before he stumbled into the shadow of the town hall.
There he sat, and there he cried.
Sobs racked his body as he finally let it go. His head in his hands, he cried.
His friends were gone. Oh yes, the physical bodies were still dancing, but dancing to the song of that thing. They weren’t here anymore.
The thing that had made Equestria so special was gone.
There was nothing left for him here.
How ironic, a part of his mind thought, now he wanted to go home more than ever, and now he was furthest from that chance. He doubted Discord would ever let him leave, and Celestia herself was at his mercy.
He was stuck here, in the corpse of a paradise.
He was alone.
For the first time since arriving he was totally alone.
He cried, roaring in anger as more tears fell down his face.
This was as bad as when Dad died.
Alan wasn’t sure how long he sat there, how long his head lay in his hands, nor how long his tears stained the ground. Eventually he heard something.
“Oh, Celestia forgive us, what have we done?”
Alan looked up, and there before him were his friends, all six of them.
Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, all of them. They all looked at him with guilty faces that threatened to break into tears.
Suddenly, he was pounced, “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!” Pinkie said, crying into his chest as she hugged him. “I didn’t mean it!” she yelled, before suddenly slamming her hooves to his face, bringing the corners of his mouth up. “Stop frowning please! We’re better now! It’s ok!” She insisted, her mane beginning to straighten.
He was suddenly hugged by Applejack, “Lies! They were all dirty lies, and I didn’t mean a word! You wouldn’t do any of those things I said.”
Fluttershy was next, “I’m so sorry, Alan, you are the kindest person I’ve ever met. Even if I met a hundred people, you would still be the kindest.”
Rarity hugged him, “How could I not trust you, someone willing to risk their own reputation to save my own? Anything I have is yours, Alan, I am so sorry for this.”
Rainbow Dash grabbed him from above. “I’ll never leave you again! Never, never, never, ever! I will die next to you if I have to.”
Twilight was last, smiling, “Alan, you’re one of my best friends. Anypony with eyes can see that, and you were right. I should have fought harder. Can you forgive me?”
Alan smiled, before reaching around all six ponies and giving them the biggest hug he could muster. “I’m just glad you’re back.”
Hugging them as tightly as he could, while still giving them room to breathe, Alan smiled, smiled as big as he could.
Finally he let them go, “But how?” he asked, “How did you break Discord’s spell?”
Twilight hesitated, before saying, “I’ll tell you later, but first, we need to stop Discord.”
Alan nodded before standing, drawing Judgement as he did. “I think I’m ready for round two.”
<<<|Ω|>>>
Discord laughed as a flock of geese scurried along the ground while a swarm of mice flew above him. So many jokes to make, whether puns, or play on words, heck even some bad slapstick was hilarious, and why wouldn’t it be? He made it happen.
Oh this power. This was power that overcame his mother’s, Faust herself. This was power that could stop time if he wished it, Rewind it! Change history! Though history played out fairly nicely when you consider the misery that Alan had fallen into.
He had missed the last human to come to Equestria, Alan was an excellent substitute though.
Speaking of...
“Discord!” The angry scream of the human came.
Discord stood, “You know Al I have to say, now you’ve gone from persistent to just plain stupid. I’ve already won. What can you gain by attacking me?”
Alan smirked, raising his blade, “It’ll make me feel better.”
Charging Alan swung with all his might at the draconequus, the sword merely bouncing off the feather covered hide.
Discord sighed, “You’ve tried that already, Al. Come on, now I know you could do better.”
Alan smirked, “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He took another swing at his enemy, hitting his reptilian leg, sending sparks flying. Suddenly, at the end of his swing, his other arm came loose from the grip dropping to his knife, and in a move that caught Discord by surprise, he buried it hilt deep into his thigh.
Discord roared, jerking away, as blood began to flow.
Alan smirked, “You have to focus on my attacks to negate them, don’t you? Like unicorns have to focus to cast spells.”
Discord chuckled. “Yes, but only then, my sorry little friend. I change, it is my nature. Right now I am very angry, and that will change to pleased once I crush you.”
Suddenly, Alan went flying. Thrown back against one of the buildings with such a force that the wall cracked and splintered.
Discord slithered in front of him. “Well, I hope drawing blood has made you feel better.” He said, before laughing. “I can’t believe you thought you could beat me.”
Alan smirked. “Who said that? I’m just the distraction.”
Discord blinked. “What?”
“Let me make this clearer for you,” Alan said. “Behind you are the Elements of Harmony, their Bearers together and ready to stop you.”
Discord’s eyes widen and he turned to see the six ponies, their magical regalia ready. Already they were being covered in the prismatic colorings of the Elements beam.
“And in front of you, is one revenge-crazed human,” Alan continued while standing, released from Discord’s spell. “So now all I have to say is this. White knight threatens black King. Check and Mate!”
<<<|Ω|>>>
Discord’s eyes widened as he saw the beam of magical rainbow come down on him.
Improbably, and for once, conveniently, time had slowed, and Discord needed that the time to think.
He himself was slowed by time, so he couldn't just dodge the oncoming beam of light.
There were the six Bearers, their faces carved into victorious smirks.
Behind him, there was Alan.
Discord didn’t even have to turn around to know that Alan was grinning ear to ear.
He wanted to wipe all of them away.
Discord’s brain went through thousands of different scenarios, searching for the one action he could do that would cause the most Chaos.
Finally he smirked. Yes, that would be good.
As time began to resume it’s normal pace, Discord snapped his fingers, and he and the human switched places.
The beam was now coming straight down on Alan, the grins on all seven of their faces turning to shock.
Suddenly Alan was engulfed in the chromatic light, erased from view.
Twilight stared with wide eyes, stepping forward, “Alan!”
<<<|Ω|>>>
Alan had always wondered, ever since the pilot episode, what exactly happened in the beam of the Elements.
What power had broken one thousand years of pent up bitterness? What could release one pony and petrify the next?
Well it seemed he had gotten his answer.
Sort of.
He couldn’t remember what exactly happened in that beam of light. He still couldn’t, but it was heavenly, he knew.
The issue was right now.
He...well, he wasn’t sure where he was. There he lay, white below him, white above him, and nothing else for miles.
Well, except for the heavily armored man standing next to him.
“Get up,” he said.
Alan stood.
The armored man had two swords. Tossing one to Alan, the armored one took his stance. “Fight me,” came the order.
Alan picked up the offered sword and gave it a swing.
The fight the sword gave bordered on ridiculous.
“Fight me!” he ordered again.
Alan looked and asked, “Why?”
“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
That made things simpler.
Alan took his own stance, and the two began to stare each other down.
Suddenly the armored man jumped at him, swinging the sword for all of its worth.
Clang!
The two swords rang as they met.
Only for the armored man to feint and slice him across the chest.
<<<|Ω|>>>
“Alan!” Twilight cried, her eyes white with the magical energy that flowed through her. She couldn’t see him, the colors were too thick and too bright to see.
Not now.
Not after just reuniting with him.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Clang-clang-fwip!
The blades met before the armored man’s blade bit into Alan’s flesh.
The armored man was tearing through him, and Alan could hardly keep up. His blade was providing so much resistance, and his own shortcomings when it came to the blade became obvious against the master.
Suddenly, a quick kick took Alan’s legs from under him, and he slammed into the floor.
“And you call yourself Arthur's heir,” he mocked.
Alan was covered in cuts, bruises, and scrapes, while the armored figure only had a slight dent in one of his pauldrons.
“You hardly have any skill. You hunger for conflict. Overall, you are simply, tragically human.”
“So?” Alan asked.
“Arthur had skill! Arthur was a negotiator! Arthur was better than you could hope to be! You shame his memory as well as his legacy.”
Alan gritted his teeth, “I am not here to be Arthur.”
The armored man cocked his head to the side, “Oh?”
Alan smiled, as he began to stand “I never claimed to be Arthur, I have not even taken the title of Pendragon. It is not my place to rule the army when none is needed.”
The armored man lowered his sword.
“It is not my place to rule when no one needs to follow. If I must lead, I will, and may that day be long in coming,” Alan said, lowering his own sword. “Today I fight because my friends need me, no other reason than that.”
The armored man nodded, before removing his helmet, revealing his face.
Gemstone eyes and a grey face.
“I am glad to hear it, Alan Williams of Earth. Because now, we can stop fighting.” He dropped his sword unceremoniously to the ground before holding out his hand.
The word “Mercy” was written on his palm.
“And we can finally fight as one.”
Alan took the hand of Judgement and gave it a good shake.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Discord laughed. Oh the looks on their little pony faces. The horror in their eyes once they saw Alan hit by their own attack. It would be even better to see what had happened to him. Banishment to the moon? Petrification? The possibilities were endless.
Then the beam dissipated, and Discord found himself staring at something he was not excepting.
The Elements of Harmony are interesting artifacts. They have an element of chaos about them, a random effect that the wielder cannot control. However, at the same time, it chooses the effect with purpose. It could distinguish which effect would be best for the target.
Whether friend or foe.
Discord blinked.
That...that couldn’t be right...
Twilight’s cry ended, more out of shock than anything else.
There, standing before the small crowd, stood Alan. His hat was gone, replaced by a circlet of gold, with a blue balloon at the forehead. His chest and shoulders were covered by a plate mail shirt, an apple at the center. In his left hand, there was a large, round shield, plated in gold with a red lightning bolt as the device. A belt of gold hung at his waist, with armor plating coming down for the thighs, a purple diamond as the buckle. His feet were covered in golden boots, with butterflies at the top of each.
Finally, Judgement had changed. It’s grey blade was now a perfectly pure white, the hilt was now gold. The gemstones had become a fuchsia color and at the center of the cross hilt, there was now the six-pointed star of Magic.
Alan opened his eyes, and pure-white light erupted from them.
“Discord,” Alan said calmly, his voice echoed with the sound of other voices, each working in Harmony to say the one sentence, “it is time to meet justice.” Judgement spun, and the word Justice came up, shining in the sunlight.
Discord took a step back.
This...this wasn’t right.
They...they weren’t supposed to do this.
They weren’t supposed to win.
Alan lept forward, swinging.
A ball of frozen fire came flying at him in response, only for it to dissipate against the shield.
Another slash from Alan, and Discord backed up. A long vine of jello sprouted from the ground, trying to bind the human.
It dissipated with a hiss the second it touched the armor.
No. No. No. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Discord began throwing everything he could. Flying leaves, electricity made from rocks, cotton candy, anything he could throw. Alan raised the shield, the red lightning bolt glowing. Once attacks struck it they rebounded, flying back at Discord with twice their original speed.
Barely dodging his own attacks, Discord quickly took to the air, outside of the sword’s reach.
If that armor could stand his attacks, then he didn’t want to think about the sword.
Suddenly, the Apple of his breastplate began to glow, and two wings of pure white energy sprouted from his back. With a single flap, Alan was level with the chaotic king, his sword and shield at the ready.
Discord backed up a touch.
The blue balloon began to shine next, and Alan opened his mouth. A supersonic giggle erupted from him. Discord was caught in the blast and grounded.
The glows began to fade, and Alan gracefully landed.
Meanwhile, the mane six simply stared on. Their eyes wide, and their mouths agape.
Discord pushed himself up, still dizzy from the sonic attack, before smirking. People like Alan, they all have one major disadvantage. Namely friends.
Firing off a ball of Chaos energy at the ponies, Discord watched as Alan merely...stood there?
Discord blinked.
He should have reacted. Should have moved towards them. Something! Not just stood there and let them be hit.
Discord then noticed the gem glowing on his belt.
Looking over to the side, he saw all six ponies protected by a gem-shaped wall of magic. His own chaotic blast held still in the wall.
Then the butterflies shone, and Alan leapt forward at an inhuman speed. Another slash, this time close enough to catch the red-feathered hide.
A flash of white and unbearable pain flashed through Discord’s brain. His hands went to the wound, and he became very much aware that his chaotic magic around Ponyville had come undone.
Discord staggered back, his veins burning with the touch of that blade.
He took a second to examine his wound.
Oh no.
There was no blood, no gore, just simply a swath of golden fur where feathers had been.
Discord’s eyes leapt to the blade. “S-stay back!” he cried. “Stay away!”
Alan took a step forward.
Discord let loose a terrified scream, before flying off as far and as fast as he could.
Rainbow Dash took after him.
“Halt, Rainbow Dash!” Alan’s new voice said.
The pegasus halted. “But he’s getting away!”
“Let him,” The Multitude of voices said. “My heart tells me he has a part yet to play in this tale, for good or evil.” Alan watched as Discord flew off into the distance. “Now. If you’d be so kind as to catch me.”
And then, Alan blacked out.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Alan slowly opened one eye and immediately closed it.
It was too bright.
A groan came from his side, “Al? Are you awake?” It was Twilight
Alan answered, “Yeah, now quiet so I can go back to sleep.”
Twilight giggled. “Hey now. Come on, you’ve got to get up so you can get your medal.”
“What medal?” He asked, lifting his arm.
“Hey! Whoa, be careful there, Alan,” She said, and Alan opened his eyes, confused.
There still in his hand was Judgement, but not the Judgement he knew. It was the new Judgement, the one with the silver-white blade and arcane star.
“We couldn’t get you to let go,” Twilight explained.
Alan blinked, before giving the sword a testing swing.
No resistance, no fighting. Just a clean, smooth stroke.
He turned to the unicorn, “You said something about a medal?”
--------------------------------
And that, Bronies and Pegasisters, is the Return to Harmony, my way.
“And I am so glad it’s over!”
Aren’t we all?
“Did you read them my note?”
Yes I did, and a few of them were very worried about you, Pinkie.
“Well, they wouldn’t have to worry too much, right Miner? You’re not going to let anypony get hurt, right?”
…
“Right?”
I can’t promise that, Pinkie, you know that.
“I-I know...it was worth a shot though, right?”
Yeah, yeah it was.
“Well, anyway, thanks for reading so far, be sure to leave us all of your thoughts and questions, and see you next chapter, Bye!”
Actually, real quick, guys. I do want all of you new readers to know that my updates are not normally this fast. I have an obligation to myself to keep writing my actual story, and this is just for fun. The only reason why I was able to get another chapter up was because I didn’t want you guys hanging on, well, a cliffhanger for too long. So it may take a while. But yes, thanks for all of your reading and comments, they make an author happy. Bye!
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golden fur?
PROCESSING
PROCESSING
PROCESSING
DING!!!
I Know what he is
C=========================
FIRIN' MUH LAZOR.
Personally I hope Discord finds redemption cause I kind of like him even though he's a major jackass
The part where pinkie pie tries to make Alan smiel by pushing the corners of his lips up nearly made me want to cry~
IT'S ALL SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!
Can't wait for more!!!! 
One of the most badass lines I have ever had the pleasure to see. Well done. Me thinks Discords new "wound" will be the ultimate downfall of him. And now Alan and Judgement have come to an understanding. Awesome. Though. . . I have to say. . . you said bornies in the authors notes. Just thought you should know. I also want to know how Twi and the others broke free this time. Was it the letters? Or Alan's presence? Time will tell. This was an epic finish to an epic chapter, well done! May your sword stay sharp,
~With regards, the Current Student of the Second True Magic.
. . . Looking at this again, I might die from the massive amounts of DAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW the reunion created. I blame you solely for this Miner.
.. . . On ANOTHER NOTE, I am fraking glad everyone is back to normal! Welcome back Pinkie! Now, what we need. . . is a PARTY! HIT IT!
I don't mind about Judgement getting a new look, but what about all that other armour?
Like, is that going to stay, or is it only gonna be used in emergencies?
I don't know why, but I get the feeling that that armour might look a bit stupid.
bornies and pegasisters......that just bugs me
either way good job,lik I have told many more in the past
KEEP ON RUNNIN'!!! BA-BY!!
awesome simply awesome
That was gloriously epic!! I almost wept man tears of bro-ness! Just the right amount of darkness just before the dawn of booyah! any darker and I would be able to enjoy it but it bounces right back to a level of awesomeness that strangely makes me think of Link in uber hero mode in almost every legend of zelda game.
that...that was fucking awesome.
Mistake noted, and fixed, sorry guys.
1156142
When you have butterflies on your feet? Yeah. It kinda does.
...Is Alan sharing a surname with Megan and her siblings intentional?
1155402 Uhm... he's a Golden Lab!
He should have a ranged attack called "smite of dawn"
Alan fighting Judgment was epic
1159601
Coincidence.
1161674 A nice one, though.
... Ehm. Right.
I need to qualify this next statement - I dislike that ending.
Previously, I have read stories with a similar plot device, and seen no problem with it. However, since then, I have taken up the practice of various medieval martial disciplines, so now, when reading that, I cannot help but feel that it is 'cheating' somehow to gain complete mastery of arms and armour via magic. Not to mention mastery of the armour's enchantments.
Of course, there is a caveat to that. If this newfound mastery was a temporary thing granted by being hit by the magical rainbow laser of friendship - (as hinted at by the fact he proceeds to pass out), then I would be mollified by the fact that it wasn't _him_ being awesome, but _the Elements acting through him_.
Plus, having your character suddenly pick up leet skillz does sound rather like a Gary Stu device.
Other than that reservation, I reckon this is a perfect chapter.
I also dislike Alan's reaction to finding out he'd lost. Of course, this is a personal difference, and, quite frankly, purely aesthetic as there wasn't enough time passed for any significant difference to arise from it.
Also, the fact that my reaction would be to begin preparations for a large scale scorched earth policy would likely cause a negative reaction in those who found out.
1161845
I'm glad you think gaining mastery by magic is not a good thing. Because he has not gained mastery.
Rather, after a year of being in the first stage, Judgement has decided to stop fighting him. If any mastery was attained, he merely mastered the first stage, and is now on the second.
I think you should switch these two over, it would make more sense to have the butterflies with flight and Apple Jack with speed, just saying
1168013
Possibly...It's just a massive butterfly on his chest doesn't sit well with my testosterone.
1168186
Doesn't need to be altered like that
goodoldai.org/talaria/image/talaria.gif
You could just make the boots like the Talaria
And the chest piece could be something like Megingjord, giving him the strength to move at such speeds, since Apple Jack is pretty fast and strong
Very nice. Very nice indeed. So many plot twists, along with complete mental break down.I was a little scared that when Alan finally lost all his friends he would just decide to be a hermit somewhere and be alone. I'm glad you went with the more human "Kill the bad thing" response, even if thats not what happened.
Hmm. Now that I think about it, will we get to see flashbacks of the Mane Six being Reharmonized?
1178443
No. Essentially everything was the same, with the exception of Twilight. And no. You're not going to find out exactly what happened for a while.
1178472 Gah! You and your cliffhangers, so. . . cliffhangery. Ohh well, I can wait! I am glad however that Alan managed to reach Stage Two. While this does let him access more skill, he's entered the longest part of the mastery, hasn't he? Wonder how long it'll take for him to get to Stage Three. Gotta sit tight and find out! -Goes off to get a months worth of supplies.-
1178510
Well, spoilers by the way, Stage Three is kinda fickle. It's essentially a berserk rage that's far more grace than brute strength. A Novice can enter the third stage, it's just very dangerous, since they would be both fighting their blade, as well as not having as much experience. Stage Two is essentially learning how to enter the third stage, as well as perfecting what he already knows. However, there may be accidental and coincidental triggers to get into stage three. IT depends. The Master of Stage Two can go into stage three at will, that was essentially the plan.
1178696 Phew. Alan has his work cut out for him, huh? Wonder what the triggers will be. . . Draconeques Ex Machina aside of course.
I was RIGHT! This is good...
My dissapointment is gone, now Discord has felt the Blade of Man pierce his foul hide.
All of their pain it made me laugh, but then I felt even better when Discord was no longer all powerful and easily defeated. My most hated villain, crushed by Man!
By your powers combined, I am.... Captain Equestria?
Well... I'll give you this; it's definately a novel approach. Not sure if I like it, but... well, I'm enjoying it so far. All right, I'll take the bait.
That ending... just didn't sit well with me. I thought the 1st chapter was pretty well done and most of the 2nd chapter. Personally I felt like there should have been more physical harm to Alan after his 1st attempt to stop Discord, but that's just me... however the part that doesn't sit well with me is the fight between Discord and Alan at the end. For one thing... Alan can now swing swords like a boss?
...as a stage combatant that makes me cry 
because I think about all the time I put into learning how to fight and whatnot and then Alan is... BOOM, awesome at it. Discord is able to bend reality to his will with a snap of his fingers, he's beyond Celestia's power, and yet Alan beat him... with a sword. Sure he was super charged with the Elements however when I read the fight Discord didn't seem like Chaos incarnate or... well Discord. It felt like a fight between a super charged warrior fighting an evil mage... for one thing... throwing a "ball of Chaos energy"? ...when in Celestia's name did Discord becomes so, so... BORING? Turn the very land against Alan, create thousands of images of himself (Discord), make himself look like Alan, one of the mane 6, or all of them, summon evil creatures, create a fog of laughing gas, or drop jello on top of Allan. When I read that fight, I felt like you lost the character of Discord, which I felt like you'd done a pretty good job of creating before. From what we've seen, and from how you've written him, Discord is not someone who's going to get into a direct confrontation unless he thinks there's nothing that can touch him, and even then he breaks the rules... like to the point where Discord's idea of a "direct confrontation" isn't what we'd consider a direct confrontation.
And just so you know I AM being a bit extra critical on this story than I am on a lot of other stories... and it's your own fault!
Because you've done such a good job that when the writing or story does something that makes me go "
" or "
" then it makes me cry a little. Because, you've got a really good piece of work here! Me beating you with a stick over parts that I feel are weak? It's how I show my love to stories and their author. 
...oh and I love the little "after the story" bits with Pinkie Pie.
....HI PINKIE!
From total failure to OP superman in same chapter... makes annoyingly less sense... in a good way of course.
I almost cried for Alan's misfortune. I'm glad it ended up well at the end of the chapter,
Well, good to know Alan's reached an understanding with half his sword...
I bet Chrysalis is gonna taste the other half when the time comes... 
wow......dang it you....my eyes
.....that was really well done
1155402 I don't know what Discord is, but after reading this a second time, I now know what Judgement did to him...!!
I won't spoil things, but suffice it to say, if/when D shows up again, it's going to be
awesome...!! 
ITS 3 AM AND ITS A SCHOOL DAY
ok bed wake up at 7 am read ok good plan
TANK YOU
“I am glad to hear it, Alan Williams of Earth. Because now, we can stop fighting.” He dropped his sword unceremoniously to the ground before holding out his hand.
The word “Mercy” was written on his palm.
“And we can finally fight as one.”
Alan took the hand of Judgement and gave it a good shake.
So... basically, Bleach?
at least that part of it reminded me of Bleach
Judgement is a Zanpakuto.
well done the writing actually triggered emotion 5/5
And...
Let the fanart... COMMENCE!
FIRE!
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4wysps7Kg1rx8jmbo1_500.jpg
I laughed a little when it said "Super sonic giggle" I laughed so hard
2015504 i leld