The Element of Willpower

by Redwolf15

Chapter Fifteen: Truth

Chapter Fifteen
Truth

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Let's see here. Left, go right, continue past each turn until you find that fork, take the left route, there's the red rock, and presto. I stand in front of the iron doors to Corig's room, unguarded. I hold my spear and bravely open the doors. The room was empty, the emerald throne vacant, the mountain of gems unprotected. And the door to where the Dragon Lord ajar.

I open it wider and walk in, keeping up my guard. It was dark, there was barely any light. I hear chains chime. Large chains by the sound of it. It came from up ahead, into where it gets darker.

I hear a snap, like someone clicking their fingers together and the room lights up. I shield my eyes with my free hand while I keep my spear held ready to strike in case someone takes advantage of the situation. But I don't hear growls or laughter like I would have expected, instead I hear someone giving me a slow applause.

"Very well done." Corig. I'll never forget that bastard's voice. "Not only did you not break after staying in the Pit for over a week longer than someone's average duration. But you also made it possible to rile up all the slaves and fight against my guards, giving them back their hope and freedom. I knew you would be fun." My vision starts returning, getting used to the light. And what I saw made my rage soar. Corig stood atop of the Dragon Lord, still wearing my coat. Dragon's scales were picked off in various spots, teeth were pulled out, he had spears sticking out of his body, his arms, legs, and mouth were chained, wings were shredded, and he had absolute fury in his eyes.

"Dragon!" I called to him in hopes that I can still save him.

"Don't worry, he's sill alive. For now at least." Corig jumps down and tosses some things at me. I instinctively drop my spear and catch them. In my right hand was Silver Fang, sheathed and undamaged, and my knife in my left. I look at Corig in wonder as to why he gave me my weapons back. "You're not one to use a spear. If we're going to fight, I want you to be serious about this."

I strap my knife and sword to my side, a familiar and comfortable feeling. "You just dug your own grave." I slowly unsheathe Silver Fang. How good it feels to hold my old friend again. I wait for him to make the first move. And I'm rewarded for my patience. He lunges at me, his black spear head, sharp to the point that it could cut anatom in half aims for my heart. With a quick sidestep I dodg out of the way, but he was prepared for that and swings the spear at me. I use Silver Fang to successfully block it, but from the shear force of his strength I get sent flying. I land on my back and roll out of the way as Corig decends upon me, his spear penetrating the ground where my head was. I pick myself up, the intent to kill in my eyes.

I feel a tick, like a spark egnite in me that I know all too well and have missed for far too long. Magic. But there was something else along with it, definitely magic, but it wasn't what I was used to. Silver Fang catches on fire and I swing it, a huge and powerful wave of fire flies in a horizontal angle at him. But instead of him dodging the fire, he thusts his spear at the wave. and gets absorbed. The entire fire wave was absorbed by his spear. The black head now had a faint orange glow to it.

"He-he-he," he chuckled at what seemed like a joke to him and runs his figer down the edge. "Zepcrodium. Unbalievably rare. Stronger than a diamond, never decays or wears out, is powerful enough to even absorb magic itself," he brings his arms back, the had still pointing at me, "and I can use the absorbed magic for my own purposes."

His spear shoots forward like it was to pierce someone infront of him. But instead this time, fire shot out of it. I bend
backwards, feeling the heat of fire as it passes over me. Singeing my hair. Well, looks like my fire is out of the question. Close combat only.

I right myself up and charge at Corig. Silver Fang and his spear clash together. We trade blow for blow. Dodging or parrying each others srike. Neither of us got more than a scrape. We fight for what my seem like an enternity. He blocks a downward strike, but I don't pull back. I keep the force on him so he has to defend.

"Why Corig? Why do this to him? For the slaves I could understand. But what your doing to Dragon, that's not slavery, that's torture. So why are you doing this to him?" He puts great force into a swing that gives us space.

"Why would you care what I do? None of this concerns you so why would you care about him?" He points a finger at the chaind dragon.

"Because," I say in a calming voice, "the only one who gets to kill me is him." I look at the Dragon Lord. His ruby eyes widen, I still remember his words clearly in my head like it was yesterday. If only it were.

I turn my sword backwards so the end points down and charge at Corig again. Corig gets ready to parry my attack, too bad for him he gave me another plan of attack. I swing my sword in my new style, it was easy enough to block, which is just what I wanted. I make a quick draw for my knife and stab his leg. He lets out a loud howl of pain and kneels down to grip his injured leg with one hand. Blood spews out, not fast or gushes, but it doesn't stop.

He thrusts the spear forward. I move out of the way and put the edge of my sword against my forearm, the spear sliding along it harmlessly. I grab the spear and swing Silver Fang right-side up, I cut the spear in half. The end I held was about a good two and a half feet long. The zepcrodium head adding another twenty+. He pulled the knife out and struck at my gut, but was parried by the broken half of his spear. And by parried, I actually mean he had the pointy end jammed into his paw. He howled in pain yet again. That something from earlier that I couldn't figure out began stirring inside me. It was something crazy to high hell and I was wearing it like a fine cloak.

I ram the butt of my hilt into his snout, he falls on his back. I sheathe Silver Fang and I jump on his chest and start volley after volley of punches to his face. Why didn't I stop? This wasn't like me, so why did I enjoy it so much? After leaving his face bloodied and bruised I spread apart the coat revealing his furry chest.

"It ends here Corig. Let it be known that the Prime Alpha was brought down by a single human. Struck dead by his own weapon." I fiedish grin creeps along my face as I lift the spearhead high above me. Murder filled my eyes. But I stopped when I saw it. On his chest, right over his heart. It was there. The backwards D. The mark of Discord.

My head clears and I let go of the spear. It falls harmlessly to the ground. "That mark," I say in a shaky voice, "how did you get that mark?"

He looks at it the best he could. "Not sure. All I remember is a voice offering me retribution. I took it and this was on me." He coughs up some blood.

"You son of a bitch, you're a puppet of his and you never knew it. You're his slave." I jump off him. Was it fear that sunk into me? No. It was worry.

"I am no one's slave!" He retorts lifting himself up. "I was given a chance for revenge and I took it. Plain and simple."

"And who offered it to you? So you can have your revenge on who?"

"Isn't it obvious? That bastard of a dragon over there." He looks at the Dragon Lord. "After so long we'll finally have it. After all you did to us we'll have our revenge. The war will be over. We'll finally have concurred the dragons!" War? What war is he talking about?

The Dragon Lord thrashed around, rejecting his accusation. I pick up the spear head and stride over to him, he had something to say and I felt it needed to be heard. I lift it over the chains that bound his mouth and broke them in a single strike.

"LIAR!" He yelled at Corig. "It was you dogs that got greedy, because of you we are now reduced to beast of anger and greed! It was you who started the war! Not us!" I continued to break the rest of the chains. "You knew our customs and approved of our agreement. It was your own fault!"

"I'll kill you!" Corig roared with such ferocity that it could shatter glass. He would have if he didn't wince in pain in his leg.

"No you won't." I cut him off. "Dragon Lord, let me see your chest." I stare at him intensely. "NOW!" I commanded.

He stands on his hind legs, and there it was, the backwards D. I laugh hysterically. "You idiots. You stupid sons' of bitches."

They sneer at me. "And what are you laughing at?"

"You. The both of you. You made a deal with the devil and now you're paying for it! I don't know what war you're talking about, but it doesn't matter. You two have been played fools and never knew it." I laugh more. I feel like The Joker. "What revenge is it that you want any ways?" I look at Corig.

"He and his damn dragons took all the gems for themselves! Because of this we were sent into starvation, eventually leading into a war."

"It was you and your damn dogs that started it!" The great purple dragon bellowed.

"You're both wrong." A voice echoes through the caves. One that didn't belong to any of us. But I knew who it did belong to. "It wasn't either of you." The gems from the room over flew through the doorway and started circling around. They began to stack up and form a shape. Pretty soon they created an exact replica of him.

Before us now stood the Discord himself, made entirely of gems.

"What? Who are you?" Corig asks shocked at the intruder.

"Aw, you don't remeber me? I feel so hurt, Fleet Feet." Gem Discord called him that like they knew each other.

"No. It's impossible. Grom? Is that you?" Corig asks him.

"In a sense. Though I once did go by that name, it was just an alibi. Isn't that right Diamond Head?" He then adresses the dragon.

"Only one ever called me that name." His eyes went wide when he was called that. "Bornak? Is that really you?"

"In a way, yes."

"Discord," my voice has a rage. The only thing that stopped me from not attacking him as the fact that I was left out of the loop on something important. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"Oh and Jesse. I am so glad to meet you once again. Tell me, how are you liking Equestria so far?"

"Don't toy with me! How do you know them? They called you Grom and Bornak, they know you. And would someone tell me what freaking war you keep talking about?"

"The war that those dragons started!" Corig answers imediately staring a hole into the Dragon Lord.

"You mean the war your mutts started!" Dragon shouted back.

"Well your both wrong. As much as I loved watching the beautiful chaotic war you brought on yourselves. It was actaully moi who did it." Disord confesses looking proud. The gem eaters tear themselves away from each other and look at him bemused.

"What?" They ask in unison.

"Grom, what are you talking about?" Corig's voice is shaking, like he's trying to accept it as a joke.

"First off, my name is Discord. The Diamond Dog you knew as Grom and the dragon Bornak were just disguises. And Because, you two were in the way. You ruled the world at the time. And I wanted it. But you lived in prosperity," he nearly gagged when he said that last word. "So I thought 'hey, why don't I get them to turn on each other. That way I can rule without having to worry about them.' And I did. I took the guise of each species and got in close with both of you. Then when your backs were turned I did the crimes that the both of you blamed the other for. And so you fought each other, killed each other, and hated each other. And I sat back and watched the chaos and took the throne afterwards. The end." The two looked at him, then at each other. They were fooled, they were friends and turned on each other.

"Wait a minute," I cut in catching on to something, "Didscord, you never came into power until about a month ago. You couldn't posibly have done that so soon. And what do you mean they were in power? Celestia and Luna rule Equestria, not them."

"Who said anything about this being a month ago? This happened several millenias ago." He says coyly.

"What?! But they're alive." I point at Corig and the Dragon Lord. "How could it have been millenias ago if they're alive now?"

"Why, because of us." He says with a glee.

"Exuse me?" I ask having touble comprehending the fact that I helped Discord. "What do you mean 'us'?"

"When we first met, what happened?"

"You were crazy beyond belief and then sent me here." I deadpan.

"And what happened in that alley in between those two events?"

I think hard, my hand goes over my sword. I look down to see the snake coiled guard and remember. "Some weird snake thing imprissoned me and I busted a hole through it."

"And do you know what caused that?" He was too eager let me guess. "You used your own power to actaully absorbed my own chaos magic and use it against me!" He falls on the ground laughing. I did what? I used my what?

"What are you talking about? How did I absorb your chaos? What are you talking about? What power do I have?" I begin to threaten him.

"Oh the puny mind of the unimaginative." He gets up still giggling. "When you broke that sphere you absorbed some of my own magic, taking it for yourself. But unfortunately for you, you were already filled to the brim with your magic abilities. But you forced mine into you, pushing an equal portion of your magic out needing a new host. And who might be around to give it a new home? ME!" He bursts out laughing again. "Thanks to you I have been using your gift to amplify my own ends to extents even I on my own was unable to even muster. Like reviving these two to start a war they never finished. And haven't you ever felt a little, wonky, whenever a trace of my presence was around? The letter, the marks, everything relating to me. That triggered my chaos in you, HAHAHHAHA." I don't believe what I'm hearing, was it because of me that he got free? Because Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and even the Elements of Harmony were defeated? Because he's ruling now? It was all my fault? "And now that these two know the truth of their hatred and war, I have no further use for them." He snaps his fingers and a gust of wind comes from no where.

I looked at Corig and the dragon, and to my horror, they began to flake away. Little pieces of them started peeling off from the wind. They were dematerializing. I could see their fur, skin, scales, everything peel off until it reached bone. And it didn't stop. They had a similar expression on their faces. They were dieing, again. But this time it was a slow and dreadful expierence. They watched themselves waste away into nothing.

"Stop it." I let out a little more than a whisper. "Stop it Discord. Stop it damn you!" He looks at me, a mocking expression on his face.

"Why? They're dead already, might as well return them. Dust to dust and so-and-so."

That fire I would always feel in time of dire need starts returning. How I got faster against Nosferatu and stronger against Balto. I could feel it. "Damn it I said stop!"

"Then make me." He says it like a brat who won't stop being a nuissance. But there was something in his eyes, a challenge. A challenege, eh? Fine I'll give him what he wants. I clench my hand into a fist.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP IT!" I punch the crystal version of him.

"Ouch." The last I see of him s a look of astonishment on his sparkling face before his body explodes into small chunks and fly everwhere. But I felt no pain, not even a tickle. I look back at the dematerializing creatures. It didn't work. They kept falling to pieces.

"Corig... " The dragon tries speaking while half his jaw deteriorates. "All this time... I hated... you... for a... crime... never committed."

"I know... old friend. We... were fooled." Corig is look just as bad. His entire left arm is gone and a hole in his chest gradually growing. "I wish... I could take... things back... everything... I've... done. Everything I've... said."

"We... let greed... and hate blind us... I'm sorry." I tear roled down the dragon's face.

I rush to Corig's side. "Hey, come on you can't die here." I wrap my arm around his waist, I can feel it flake and crumble at my touch under the red coat. "You two finally found peace between each other. And now you know who really started this war. You've spent thousand of years hating each other. You can't die here. I won't allow it!"

"Child," the Dragon Lord's voice is calm, "there is... nothing... you can... do. We... blamed each other... for... years."

"That's why you can't die!" I turn the great scaly beast. "You hated each other because of someone else. Don't you want your revege?"

"Of course... we do!" Corig yells back at me, both legs are gone. "But... what can we... do...? We're ghosts..., soon to... return to... limbo." He looks defeted.

I stare at him, horror of realization that he's giving up. "...... You can fight." My fire is burning bright.

The last of Corig, Prime Alpha of Diamond Dogs wastes away in my arms. Two words echoing through my ears. "If only."

I look to the dragon, tears roll down my face. "You can't mean this."

"If only... there were... a... way." Just like Corig, the great king vanishes to dust. Tears pour out my face. Why? I barely know the dragon, and Corig enslaved me. So why did I cry for them?

"Don't die." I weep, thinking that it's not too late.

"Then don't let them." A familiar voice in my head. "Use me. Do the impossible and use me for what I can truly do. Discord can use me, so you can too."

Who are you?

There's a long pause before it speaks up again. "............. Your strength"

"Stop dieing." I take its advice and think that there's still time. That they're still alive. "STOP DIEING!" Fire. Fire inside me. Getting brighter. Getting stronger. Getting more powerful.

I began screaming. Sreaming pain. Screaming sorrow. Screaming rage. Screaming hate. I don't know what they hell was going on. But I could begin to feel power. Great power. Bottomless amounts of power. And I kept screaming.

The cave began to shake and shudder. The walls and ceiling began to crumble. The wind from no where came back. It picked up the remains of Corig and the Dragon Lord and circled me. My body felt like it was on fire. I kept yelling for them to stop dieing even though they were already gone. I kept screaming. I kept forcing it so they would live again.

I didn't know what was happening. Things were happening too fast. Too much was going on. Why did I kept screaming for them to stop dieing even if they weren't? What power do I have? What am I doing?

I didn't have the answers to any of those questions. I was growing scared, fearful. I could feel the world around me shake violently, like I was the center of a great quake. And I did the only thing reasonable.

I blacked out.

Comments

[Redwolf15]

God this chapter was a bitch to write. Sorry if it sucks, has massive plot holes, I lost my train of thought, and everything else you have a problem with, I honestly didn't have enough motivation or creativity for it. So if you didn't like it or thought it could have been better, I agree with you. Believe it or not but I was actual able to male it better than it was a week ago.

Here's the answer you want: It was just one of those chapters that you just can't think about without it sucking.
Here's my answer

Seriously though, no motivation. I hate myself for this chapter and apologize. Now if you have any common sense you probably killed yourself because of me, but if you haven't, then I promise you shit will get better. In the next chapter or two.

Spoiler though: shit will get really good in the next two chapters because that's when we finally get to Ponyville. So there's something to get excited about.

[Zman537]

1471347 Jesse just went supersayian. Let the badassness comence!

[lolz anonymous]

and to the blackness with all.

[AficionadoAvacado]

1471347 Hell I liked this chapter. Yes it was..difficult at times. But still excellent.