23. See You, Space Cowboy
Atlas leisurely strolled through the forest spanning between his cave and Vanhoofer. The area wasn’t as chaotic as it used to be just a few months ago, as only the occasional odd animal or wrongly colored tree disturbed nature's natural beauty now.
After having eaten a hearty lunch with his two daughters, Atlas had excused himself to go for a walk in the woods. The two of them were probably preparing themselves for their big day tomorrow; reviewing spells, practicing their flying skills, and whatever else that could give them an edge for the coming battle.
After a long time of training, preparing, and scheming, it was finally time for the final showdown with Discord.
They believed that Discord’s power had been waning ever since they wrestled the sun and moon from his control. Thanks to the harmony and hope spreading around the country weakening him in the process. Atlas, of course, knew the real reason for the ‘weakening’ amount of Chaos all around them, since all of this was according to a plan that was by now almost twenty years old.
Discord must have realized that the sun and moon suddenly not being under his control must have been Atlas’ doing, and thankfully left the two heavenly bodies well alone after the fact; even if he could have easily regained control. Ever since then, Discord had started to create less and less chaos. At first, it was barely noticeable, but as time passed, more and more things returned to their natural state; up to the point where ponies could almost live normally now.
Just as Celestia and Luna knew the final battle was just around the corner, there was no doubt in Atlas’ mind that Discord knew as well. Being the good showman that he was, Discord had plotted out a natural order of things that would make his defeat look more realistic, and must be preparing himself for the inevitable event in his own way.
Atlas kicked a small pebble lying in his way while wearing a frown. It always had bugged him to just send his own son towards a thousand years of imprisonment, but now that the fateful day was just around the corner, these feelings were renewed and magnified.
He’d love to just go with some sort of back-up plan, but for some reason Discord seemed hell-bent on actually going through with this according to Atlas’ knowledge. Of course this would lead to Equestria being unified and lead into an age of prosperity, but it just seemed unfair.
As he was pondering the situation, his ears picked up the sound of merry ponies in the distance, which caused him to furrow his brows. He was in the middle of a large forest so it didn’t really make any sense for a large group of ponies to be anywhere close to him. Intrigued, Atlas made his way over to where the sounds seemed to be coming from. It didn’t take him long at all, as he was suddenly faced with a two story building in the middle of a clearing.
The signs outside identified it as some sort of pub, and the sounds of merriment inside mixed with the happy shouts of drunk patrons. It didn’t make any sense at all. The location was much too far removed from any civilisation to be sensible and as far as Atlas knew this part of the woods had always been remarkably pub-less in the past.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Atlas entered the building into a large room. Just like the pubs in Vanhoofer many wooden tables were hosting even more colorful equines, all of them drinking and celebrating over something. They barely paid him any mind as Atlas approached the bar on the far end of the room. One of the many stools at the bar was still empty, so he took a seat, before taking in the impressive collection of alcoholic beverages on display on the back wall.
“What can I get for you stranger?” a familiar voice asked from behind the counter.
“A flagon of mead would be nice,” Atlas smiled recognizing the speaker. “Are infinite refills included?”
Atlas turned his head to his right where the bartender was cleaning a purple glass with a dirty rag, as he came face to face with Discord. He had grown even larger than the last time Atlas had seen him and was wearing a stylish two-piece suit.
“But of course,” Discord replied, slamming a empty glass down in front of Atlas, which changed into a flagon of mead on its way down.
The ponies around them didn’t pay any mind; which caused Atlas to believe they were just constructs summoned forth by Discord’s magic just like the rest of the building. Smiling, Atlas lifted the mug in front of him and downed a few gulps of the sweet liquid. True to his word the mug immediately refilled itself as soon as it was set back down.
“So,” Atlas begun, “to what do I owe the pleasure of this get together?”
“You know just as well that this is probably our last chance to talk for a while,” Discord said, picking up another glass to clean, “a thousand years give or take if you want to get technical about it.”
Immediately every other patron in the room disappeared, much like the smiles on Atlas’ and Discord’s face. Atlas fumbled around with his mug for a bit, while Discord continued to clean his glass, both of them looking for the right words.
“How’d you know?” Atlas asked after a while of not taking his eyes off his mug.
“You probably didn’t realise,” Discord answered, “but I’ve been watching you.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Atlas chuckled. “You should have come to say hello every once in a while.”
“I couldn’t…” Discord sighed. “Celestia and Luna would have noticed…”
“I had plenty of alone time in parts of the cave they had no access to,” Atlas replied slightly miffed. “You could have dropped by anytime.”
“Well… yeah... “ Discord rubbed the back of his head. “But I just felt like… like I couldn’t keep up the act if I did…breaking character and all that.”
“Oh…” Atlas said stunned. “Then why show up now?”
“As I’ve said before… This will most likely be the last chance we get to properly talk,” Discord said with another sigh. “I know the final showdown will be tomorrow so I couldn’t just sit idly by without at least coming to talk one last time.”
“That’s awfully nice of you,” Atlas smiled. “Because I really wanted to see you as well, but didn’t know how to contact you, or if you’d even come.”
“If you had called for me, I probably wouldn’t have been able to resist,” Discord said, slithering over the bar and onto the stool next to Atlas, a colorful drink with a little umbrella appearing in his hands.
“So… tomorrow…” Atlas stammered.
“Yeah, I think I’ll conveniently show up in Vanhoofer for a surprise visit,” Discord said, stirring his drink. “I’ll deliver a cinematic fight to those two, that, I can promise you will be my best performance yet. I’ve had a lot of time to practice, after all.”
“That would really save us the hassle of looking for you,” Atlas chuckled. “Try not to get hurt.”
“Oh, I won’t,” Discord said, waving away Atlas worries with his free talon. “If I don’t want to, there’ll be no way a spell could hit me. My powers are quite… extensive, as I’ve come to realise in these past years.”
“That’s good to know,” Atlas blinked. “Then please don’t hurt Celestia and Luna too much. It’s okay if you rough them up a little, just not too much, okay?”
“I would never,” Discord said, taking a sip of his drink. “After all they’re my cute little sisters, aren’t they?”
“They sure are,” Atlas said. “I’d just wish we wouldn’t have to do this, so you could support each other properly, as siblings. But... I fear we’re both too deep in this now,” Atlas admitted, more to himself than to Discord.
“I guess,” Discord replied. “But at least we’ll be able to go back to normal after my prison sentence is over. And in the long run… a thousand years doesn’t sound like much at all, does it?”
“I suppose it doesn’t,” Atlas said. “It’s still a long time though.”
“I’ll get over it,” Discord said. “So, now that we got the sappy stuff out of the way… want to make an awesome plan for tomorrow?”
Atlas emptied his mug in one go, slamming it down on the counter, causing it to instantly refill itself. He took one long look at Discord, who was flashing him a smile.
“Fuck yeah!” Atlas called. “Let’s celebrate tonight, and make tomorrow a day that Equestria will never forget!”
“Now that’s more like it,” Discord laughed. He clapped his hands twice, causing all the other patrons to reappear. “You up for some party-games?”
“You bet I am!”
Atlas lazily sat in a camping chair courtesy of Discord himself. He was currently located on a hill outside of Vanhoofer, just high enough to overlook the whole city. Just as promised yesterday he had found the place stocked with everything anypony could wish for to enjoy a good show. Binoculars, popcorn, comfortable seating, shade from the sun and relaxing music were available in abundance.
The two of them had partied the night away and let out all their pent up emotions, yet still, as he was now sitting there for the end to come, Atlas couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret and sadness. He had sent Celestia and Luna off to fight their own brother, even if they didn’t know it yet, and it pained him to do this to his children.
On the other hand, this was all for the greater good. Atlas was manipulating everything from the shadows to send Equestria down a path to prosperity and unification, and sacrificing everything he had to in the process. At the very least this was the last stage he’d have to actually do anything, and from tomorrow on he could focus solely on the task presented to him by Hades. Once Equestria was in capable hooves he wouldn’t be needed anymore.
Both sides of the upcoming fight knew exactly what they had to do, and now it was only a matter of time before the final showdown began. There was nothing left for Atlas to do except to sit back and watch, so that’s exactly what he did.
He was throwing popcorn in his mouth via levitation and sipping on some ice cold tea from time to time, watching the sun rise in the distance. If he squinted his eyes, he could barely spot the forms of Celestia and Luna in the distance. The white and blue blobs slowly cantering towards the center of Vanhoofer, all six mana batteries in tow.
In the end, Atlas never found even a speck of the Elements of Harmony, yet the uncanny resemblance of his batteries, combined with the apparent change all of them were undergoing led him to just say, “fuck it.” It would appear that he had created the complete equivalent of the Elements by accident and decided to just roll with it.
They didn’t have any super harmony powers like they had in the show, but they might gain them at some point in the future. Apparently, the vast amount of mana stored inside them brought forth some magical voodoo changes within them, which he just would have to closely monitor in the future. Who knows, maybe they’d combine into a super cool robot at some point.
The story he had concocted with Discord yesterday told a fib of how the supposed re-harmonisation of the country had weakened him. Celestia and Luna were to battle him until he was at his weakest, and then cast a super powered petrification spell with the aid of the “Elements of Harmony”.
Of course, the sisters had protested when Atlas told them that they’d have to fight without him, pointing out just how much stronger he was in terms of battle power compared to them. And while it pained him to do so, he explained to them that after the fight, the two of them were to become a symbol of peace and harmony. As alicorns, they’d have both the looks and the power to prove their worth to the citizens, so Atlas would only be in the way.
It took some convincing, but eventually he convinced them to go through with his plan. They still had some doubts that they’d be able to lead a whole nation, but Atlas assured them that they were more than capable, and after promising to help them from the shadows, all doubts had been washed away.
Atlas checked the sun’s position once more, and just in time, a huge poof of confetti announced the chaos god’s arrival in the center of town, almost in front of Celestia and Luna's noses. The citizens of the harbor town had been most likely ogling the two strangers, but now that Discord himself showed up, they began running for their lives, hiding in their houses.
“Ahhh! What is this?” Atlas mouthed the lines he knew Discord must be reciting right now. “What are you two? Can’t say I like the color scheme, so drab. Oh, and what’s this? Wings and a horn, was there a market sale for bad OC’s that I missed?” Atlas chuckled at the lines they came up with yesterday.
Celestia and Luna would no doubt rise to his jabs, especially Celestia, who had a personal grudge against the Draconequus. Provoking them was step one on the antagonising side, while Celestia and Luna were supposed to keep their cool. Even if Atlas told them to always stay calm in Discord’s presence, there was no doubt in his mind that it wasn’t long before-.
Just as he thought that, the first beam of light cut through the early morning air, colored in a bright yellow. It marked the beginning of the battle, and it was Celestia that was the first one to rise to Discord’s goading, just as planned. Atlas floated the binoculars over to get a better look following the battle with great interest.
Discord began fighting back by throwing stuffed animals at Celestia and chocolate pudding at Luna; most likely calling them party poopers in the process. From there, everything escalated quite quickly. Discord led the two on a merry chase all around town, making sure everypony got a glimpse of the two ponies that were fighting for them, occasionally making it look like he was hit by one of their spells.
Some collateral damage was unavoidable, but Discord did his best to covertly try and direct the flow of battle away from buildings. It was quite a show, making Atlas proud of all of his children. Celestia proved her casting abilities with extreme accuracy, setting up traps for Discord along the way, while Luna flew circles around the Draconequus, cutting off his escape routes as well as she could.
Discord gradually looked worse for wear the longer the battle dragged on, but Atlas knew that it was all an act. If anybody would have paid attention, they’d have most likely noticed that Discord was a tad too overdramatic.
On and on their battle went, until finally they arrived back at their starting point, the center plaza of Vanhoofer. Discord was out of breath, dirty, and seemed to be bleeding from several scrapes and bruises covering his body. Celestia engaged him into conversation, most likely asking for last words, or maybe offering him a chance at redemption, which Discord naturally scoffed at.
Luna took place next to her sister, and out of their saddlebags they levitated three elements each, making them float besides them. Discord was out of energy and practically crawling along the ground, trying to get away, but the sisters didn’t give him any time to. The elements began to glow with an ethereal energy, the sisters eyes suddenly a bright white. In the meantime Discord stood up on wobbly feet to face them, ready to take his final pose before the curtain fell.
Celestia and Luna discharged their spell, energy shooting out of all the elements, creating a rainbow of mana that shot straight at Discord. Just before he was hit, though, Discord slightly turned his head to the side, looking straight at Atlas. A smile was on his face and he gave a little wave, followed by a indicated bow with his head. Moments later he was trapped in a cascading rainbow all around him, that only left a intricate statue in his wake, depicting Discord in his final moments.
Atlas would have to make sure to cast every protective ward he knew on it, so that it would never, ever break. But for now, he would need a few moments to himself, as the tears flowed freely down his face. Trying his best to smile for his son, Atlas waved back.
“See you, Space Cowboy.”
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It's here! Huzzah! I literally shouted when I saw this update! WOOHOO!
And boy oh boy... Poor Atlas, poor Discord. I really want to see more of genuine Discord here, he's such a cool dude. I'm sure we'll get there, but... sigh... we have to wait a thousand years. Can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces in the far future when Discord goes "Hah! You just got pranked!"
Now we just have Starswirl, the Castle of the Two Sisters, Sombra, and Tirek to look forward to before Luna's corruption. And Luna's corruption will probably tear everyone apart.
Everyone.
*silently salutes, a single drop of liquid pride rolling down his muzzle*
!
Rip in pepperoni
F
Great chapter, can't wait for the next arc.
Aw ;w;
I hope Luna and Celestia will learn the truth soon ;w;
Poor Discord. The one who had the right and power to cheat fate worked hard to make it happen.
At least we know it wasn't in vain.
8678775
On tree bright side, our descendants will enjoy that discord
Man, I wake up in the middle of the night to find you posted this. What a treat!
I found this little typo that slipped through the cracks
Missing something after suddenly, I'm thinking shone, but that doesn't really flow in my opinion. Oh well, it's up to you.
Huh, you know, maybe discord can get out early, perhaps when the sisters find atlas mourning at the temporary loss of his son, crying at the statue after several years pass. Cause, I mean, he doesn't really interact with the sisters too much after he gets out, so maybe he can take a vacation from being a statue for a little while, just enjoying his time in the background staying hidden, having a stone replacement set in when he's out? Maybe I'm thinking too much about it.
He could probably still talk from the stone to atlas like in the Daddy Discord PMV, even if he doesn't leave his prison.
We'll just have to wait and see.
I nod in respect Discord. Thanks for the update Orthoros. I look forward to the next arc.
8678818
Indeed.
8678790
F
68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m679m3KsQp1qd0lxe.jpg
I'm still sad they decided they had to go through with this, to make this pocket dimension accurate rather than their own... I hope discord can pull through the 1000 years intact... I'd hate to see him go through all that and be broken...
I did figure this was coming eventually, you told us in advance and everything.. But this chapter still made me feel really sad. I'm a big softie I guess.
Saying that must have hurt Atlas a lot
He sure ain't no gangster of love.
Sic Semper Tyrannis, Discord. Even if you were one of the good ones, at heart.
What a wonderfull performance Discord.
Darn it now you got me sad :c
8678775
for sure! I'm just glad that for now they got that one last drink in before the petrification.
just going to get all my crying out of the way now, plzkthx
Wonderful. Simply, wonderful.
I can't wait for more of this. It's too good.
I assume there’s going to be a bunch of long time skips coming up. After all, Atlas has a huge project and I don’t think I can take 900 years of rune-carving.
Tears man tears T_T
Dammit! THE FEELS!!
I had a really sad song on while I was reading that whole scene, so right now I'm an emotional wreck.
...I need more
And because of this story I see Discord in an even better light, even though he was always was my favorite male character. Luna is favorite female character.
I guess present day would be coming up soon, what with the runes on the edge of space being the last and most time consuming thing to do.
need I say more?
the feels just wow.
i admit i do have a tear in my eye's hear.
at some point Atlas is going to have to come clean to Celestia and Luna and it is close to when Starswir is back to teach the sisters.
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F
8678790
*Cries In Pony*
F
f
J.T Sexkik is that you??
8681976
Yes
GOD bless you, you magnificent you *wipes a tear from his eyes* now i and my fellows shall wait for the rest of the chapters ooh! Please do throw in chapters that features present equestria but the question is how will you fit season four and up of canon mlp into the story?
But what of the pudding?
Its all i cot find
I absolutely love this story. It is beautiful written and keeps me entertained. But I have the horrible feeling that it will be ending soon, and I will cry when it does. Not even joking. I will burst into tears after the last chapter is released.
Some loose ends have been tied, while others have yet to show their relevance. I eagerly await the next arc.
This has been pretty great so far and I eagerly await for more!
Actually, that whole comment. (The one I replaced with this). Was just me being a bitter asshat cause the author killed a character I liked.
I goofed. My bad.
GOD DAMN! this hirts4.....😥
Atlas is a terrible father for letting Discord get stoned like that.
10711601
If I ever get to be a father, I promise that I shall endeavour to get stoned alongside my children! ;D
10711601
Then you obviously didn’t get the entire point that was made