War in Equestria: The Tale of Bright Blade

by Michael_Ravencroft

Chapter 30

Chapter 30: The Return of a Friend

By the next morning the relief work was well underway. During the battle Princess Celestia and Luna used their magic to teleport themselves and the Elements to Ponyville. Once there they met up with Spike and Bright Blade, and began to clear out any and all Daemoni that were in or around town. Thankfully they were able to drive them out, and put out the fires that were spreading through the town. Princess Celestia was busy erecting a barrier around the town to keep out any more potential threats, while Princess Luna had taken on the morbid task of dealing with the dead.

"Here you go Princess, we were able to compile a list of the deceased thanks to some of the citizens," said the Brawn Corp. soldier.

"I thank thee." Princess Luna then began to read the names of the ponies that had fallen during what was now being called the "Second Siege." "Let's see now…"

Foals:
Silver Spoon
Featherweight
Snails
Berry Pinch
Piña Colada
Tornado Bolt
Peachy Pie
Tootsie Flute
Half Note
Truffle Shuffle
Lickety Split….

Princess Luna turned her gaze from the list to the tents that were set up to identify the dead. One of the ponies she noticed was a maroon colored mare, Cheerilee they called her, consoling a pony whose cutie mark was that of a strawberry and grapes, Berry Punch. The purple earth pony seemed to be crying over a body bag, it was slightly opened allowing a rose colored horn to show. Princess Luna looked back to the list. Berry Pinch…After that she decided to skip the foals and go to the adult casualties.

Adults:
Wind Whistler
Golden Harvest
Dr. Whooves
Minuette
Carrot Cake
Cup Cake
Cherry Berry
Sea Swirl
Raindrops
Noteworthy
Lemon Hearts
Mr. Greenhooves
Cloud Kicker
Filthy Rich –

"BON BON!" somepony cried out. Princess Luna quickly looked up and watched as a mint green unicorn mare was desperately clinging onto the body of a cream colored earth pony mare. She laid there motionless, eyes closed, a smile on her face. "How can you just leave me like this, you promised that we would always be together, oh Bon Bon!?" she cried. Princess Luna could only pray silently to her mother's spirit, to comfort and help the poor ponies who were lost.

"Soldier, please insure that all the names are correct and updated, so that my sister and I may deliver our condolences to the citizens later," said Luna.

"Yes your Highness," said the soldier.

Just then Princess Luna's Iris Caller blinked; she pressed her hoof to the crystal and listened to the voice that followed. "LUNA GATHER EVERYPONY AND MEET UP WITH ME QUICKLY," shouted Princess Celestia.

"Ouch, Tia, why must you scream? And what has gotten you all flustered," asked Princess Luna.

"I just received a message from Fort Avalon, Luna, it's Twilight…she's alive!"

Luna wasted no time after hearing that; she zoomed off throughout Ponyville and searched for their companions.

---

***Back at Fort Avalon***

Soon enough the group had returned, only this time they had five extra passengers come along with them. Rarity and Applejack had decided to bring Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom with them to the fort, fearing for the safety of their little sisters. Applejack wanted to bring Granny Smith, but she refused to leave the farm unattended. Rainbow Dash, much to her dismay, could not find Scootaloo's parents so she decided to bring her along as well. Pinkie Pie insisted that she bring Pumpkin and Pound Cake with them as well, their logic being that they were safer with them at the fort then back home.

After getting the little ones settled Applejack, Bright Blade, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spike, Fluttershy, and the Princesses, all rushed to the infirmary. And there she was, lying on a bed, with an EKG meter keeping rhythm with her heartbeats. A white earth pony mare, with a Red Cross and heart studded cutie mark, noticed the large group and trotted over to meet them.

"Nurse Redheart is she alright," asked Princess Celestia.

"Aside from some minor fractures, and a broken right foreleg, she's fine. Twilight's only sleeping for now, until she wakes up we won't know if there's any psychological damage, but for now that's all we can do, forgive me your Highnesses," said Nurse Redheart

"No you and your staff have done a fine job, as long as she's safe and alright that's all that matters," said Princess Celestia.

With that Nurse Redheart went back inside the infirmary, promising to keep an eye on Twilight and to contact them if her condition changes. The group then met in the throne room to make sense of what has happened. "I don't like it," said Rainbow Dash.

"What in the hay are ya talkin' about RD," asked Applejack.

"I mean, Twilight dies and three days later she magically returns from the dead, just like that, what if she's a Changeling, what if she's Chrysalis in disguise!?" inquired Rainbow Dash.

"That is impossible Rainbow Dash," said Princess Luna. "When the forts were built a series of spells was cast upon them, to ensure against spies, such as Changelings. If Twilight was indeed a Changeling she wouldn't even be able to enter the keep."

"Well that's good," said Rarity.

"I still don't get how she survived that…I-I saw Trixie destroy her right in front of me, I couldn't sense her anywhere," said Bright Blade.

"It's alright BB," Spike said as he walked over to the golden earth pony, and placed a comforting claw on his shoulder. "She's alive, that's all that matters."

"In any case, why don't you all get some rest, we've all been through a lot. Besides, there are some who need to be attended to," said Princess Celesita.

They understood, with that the six of them bowed to the Princesses and took their leave.

---

***Unknown Location – Enemy Base – Grand Hall***

"Let me see if I've got this right, Discord. You disobeyed my orders, took some of the horde to Ponyville, burned and killed many, only to have a dragon and an odd alicorn wipe out your troops! Oh wait no, not just those two, but the rest of the Elements of Harmony, along with the Princesses, came in and saved the day, is that about the gist of it Discord," asked Tikara Balak.

Discord only stood there, a steely look in his eyes. "Yes, yes I did, and I don't regret it since I achieved what I set out to do! So go ahead and imprison me in stone already, but just know it's not going to be easy," said Discord defiance heavy in his voice.

Tikara Balak stared at the dragonequess with his yellow gleaming eyes. Then he started laughing, evilly, but he was laughing. Discord didn't know whether he had lost it, or if he was planning some kind of hideous torture for him. "Well, it's about time you showed some initiative! To be honest I thought you were going to act like a beaten dog all the way to the end," said Tikara.

"So you're not going to turn me to stone," asked Discord.

"No I'm not, but now you are ready to see my master plan."

"You mean the 'project' that you've been working on in that Sanctuary of yours since this war started!?"

"Yes, come Discord and see the fruits of our labor," said Tikara Balak.

Tikara Balak trotted towards the giant doors of his Sanctuary, Discord waited for the doors to open, but they didn't. "So, are you going to open the doors or not," asked Discord.

"The doors are sealed for right now; the only way to get in is by teleportation. Stand close to me or you won't get in,"said Tikara Balak.

Discord, cautiously, approached Tikara Balak, the Spirit of Chaos stood next to the dark alicorn. Tikara's horn glowed with dark magical light, enveloping them in a bubble of energy. In the next minute they were gone in a flash. Discord reappeared in darkness, unable to see anything. He groped around in the dark, trying to find Tikara Balak, but there wasn't anything next to or around him. Annoyed, Discord called on his chaotic powers to form a ball of light. The ball flickered into existence, lighting up his surroundings, albeit dimly. Discord began to walk forward, until he bumped his nose in front of something. "OUCH, what the – what is this!?" Discord reached out once again, there was something there, he used his claw to tap the surface. It made a very familiar sound, almost like…

"Welcome Discord, to my Sanctuary,"said Tikara Balak.

Discord looked around him as some torch lights began to ignite themselves. He was inside some kind glass container, on top was a machine connected to the container that had different readouts, and situated on top of that was a round smoothed out stone orb. At the bottom was a platform with four long iron pincers that held the glass container in place. "What is the meaning of this BALAK!? Why am I in this thing!?" shouted Discord.

"You see, there was a reason why I brought you into the fold, Discord. You, Spirit of Chaos, have something I want,"said Tikara Balak.

"What are you talking about, what could you possibly want from me!?"

"I need your chaos powers, I need your essence!"

Tikara Balak's horn lit up and activated the machine; the contraption came to life as the readouts started displaying random bits of information. The iron claws started to spark up, surrounding the glass container with dark magic. Discord's eyes went wide with surprise, then narrowed with anger and rage. Discord summoned his chaos powers to blast a hole in his prison, from his lion's paw he fired a beam of energy at the glass, but no damage was done. He fired again from his claw, again not a scratch. Discord tried to teleport outside of it, but found every avenue of teleportation space blocked by the dark magic. Slowly Discord could feel himself getting weaker, his attacks, although not causing any damage, were starting to become less powerful. He then resorted to punching, clawing, and ramming the glass in a desperate attempt at freedom.

"You…you can't do this to me! Chaos is what I am, it's more than just my power, if you take that away then I'll die," pleaded Discord.

"A shame really, I was originally going to go with a different approach to get the chaos energy I needed. But then I thought about you, the very embodiment of chaos! I knew you would be perfect for this," said Tikara Balak.

"Why…why did you wait so long, why didn't you just get it over with a year ago, why drag this out!?"

"Truth be told I had other affairs I needed to get in order, also your powers were weakened after your second run in with the Elements of Harmony. But now you're back to full strength, like a ripened apple, you're ready for the harvest," he answered.

Discord was on his knees now, losing the strength to stand. His breathing was labored; fear now gripping his heart, his eyes full of panic. The draconequess's tail began to disappear, turning into sparkling particles of chaotic energy. The particles then floated upwards, being consumed by the machine above. Parts of Discord's body began to do the same, the Spirit of Chaos looked upon himself in horror, and steadily he began to lose feeling in his lower body, the deathly numbness creeping its way up. Discord banged on the glass, desperation having completely overcome any sense of pride or superiority he once held.

"Please, I beg you, I'll do anything lord Balak, just turn it off! TURN IT OFF!" Discord yelled.

Tikara trotted closer to the machine, his armored face mere inches away from the glass as he stared into the eyes of Discord. "Do not worry Discord, you must rejoice, this is a wonderful thing. You'll be a part of something much grander; your sacrifice will not be in vain, trust me," said Tikara with a mocking sympathetic tone. The dark alicorn's horn shined once again, the machine then roared with a new found vigor, the readouts going faster and lights blinking faster. Discord's body was quickly changing into particles, faster than it did before.

"TIKAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

That was the last word Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, would ever speak as his entire body burst into twinkling particles. The machine immediately sucked up all the remnants and funneled them into the stone orb, which was now glowing with an eerie violet light. Tikara Balak turned off the machine; he levitated the orb off the top and brought it close to inspect. After a minute he nodded, and began to trot off into the shadows.

"One more to go…"

In the wake of death, our heroes' fallen friend Twilight Sparkle has returned from the dead, injured, but alive. But while they celebrate, Tikara Balak has killed his general, Discord, breaking down his body for its chaotic essence! What does all this mean, what is Tikara Balak's "Master Plan!?" Secrets and lies, treachery and loyalty, all held together by a thin sliver of string; see which of these breaks in the next exciting chapter of War in Equestria: The Tale of Bright Blade.

Comments

[Candy Drop]

Poor Discord...
Also the "Twilight comes back from the dead" part seems a bit fishy.
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[Michael_Ravencroft]

1510985 No, really!!?

I hadn't noticed

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[Michael_Ravencroft]

1512874 Spike well have his time in the sun, don't worry about that. I didn't give him powers just so that he could look cool, but that's later down the road, like final battle later.

[stardust flare]

why you do that to discord man why ;P he just wants to troll you thats all.................

[Michael_Ravencroft]

1537636 Soon all will be made clear Stardust, but not before I gut punch you all in the feels!
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And the last thing I need are trolls! Twilight, Pinkie Pie, you know what to do!
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