Chapter 290 - The Final Trial
The next elevator.
All of you were tense, mostly, Discord wasn’t, and Starlight just looked like she wanted to blast something with her eyes glowing like that, but everyone else was tense.
“So, what do you think the next trial will be? He hasn’t said anything yet, so I’m thinking he’s not feeling so well with how we’re doing so far.” Smolder said, arms crossed as she felt a little smug about the situation.
“I just want this to be over. It’s rough not having a neck… Or depth perception.” You state, tapping your eye patch.
“Discord, that isn’t permanent, is it?” Chrysalis asked as she stared at you, stoically.
“Only if Anon’s head or body is destroyed. Which, ahrm, would be a rather permanent negative solution to his current issue. Nevertheless, it can be undone with a little effort in finding the rest of him. I’m surprised you’re even worried about that, you actually care that much?” Discord said as he stepped to your side, giving you an annoyingly gentle pat.
“Discord.” Chrysalis said, rolling her eyes as she grew frustrated with him. “We’re well past the point for that.”
“No, no, I mean you actually care about putting him back together? Think about it. With him looking like that, the next time somepony threatens to destroy Equestria, all we have to do is chuck Anon’s head at them and the day is saved! Really, I have been considering whether putting him back together is even worth it.” Discord said as he gave you a heavier pat, making you even more aggravated with him.
“How can you be Anon’s dad?! Do you know how incredibly uncool that is?” Sandbar said, suddenly speaking up for you.
“Ahrm? Uncool? Me? And how can somepony like you say that about a chaos spirit like me? And save it if you’re going to try to lecture me on how to treat him. I’ve been down that road so many times before that potholes have begun to appear. Besides, wasn’t there a bug in this very elevator who was treating Anon horribly because of this and that? And I don’t mean Chryssi. I didn't see you saying anything to her.” Discord said as his eyes shifted towards Ocellus.
Ocellus gulped, knowing exactly what he meant. “I-if… I… I apologized for that. I was just scared, and I already know that isn’t a good excuse. C-can we please not fight?”
“I agree with Ocellus, now is especially not the time to argue about anything.” Tempest’s glare sharpened as she looked over towards Discord. “Keep your jokes to a minimum. I don’t want to have to subdue you.”
Discord started to laugh, pointing at her. “You?! You subdue me?! NoSDGFDSGDFGDFGDFG” Suddenly, Tempest shifted right towards him, and even without the powerful explosive magic bolts from her broken horn, she was able to tie him into a pretzel with just her hooves.
Chrysalis started laughing. “Hahahaha! Finally! I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen all day.” Chrysalis then looked towards Tempest with a smirk. “You earned yourself a ride in my car, Tempest.”
You just looked over at Discord, as his head was now level with yours. He looked like he was in a bit of pain. “Well, that worked. You wanna grab my head and chuck it at Tempest there, buddy?” You just wanted to see him try, knowing he couldn’t actually do it in his weakened state. "C'mon, lets see you do it."
Discord actually did try to reach for your head, but he lost his balance, then fell over to his side. “...Well, don’t you all help me all at once.”
Suddenly, that oh so familiar voice began to come through the speakers. “So, you all made it once again.”
“Ugh, why are you even surprised? Can’t you just give up already?! How many more of these stupid trials are there?! There’s no way you have that many elevators in this stupid castle!” Starlight barked, her dark eyes flaring up.
“One more, one more trial is left. I must admit, I was rather frustrated that you managed to get this far. Time and time again, you all have managed to show me that no matter what I try, I simply can’t seem to win.” Tirek said, with a sudden melancholy.
“Drop the act, you charlatan. We know the only thing you seek is total victory.” Neighsay said harshly, almost like a father to a nasty and rotten child.
“Ah, but it isn't an act. In fact, this trial has no trick to it whatsoever. You’ll all even find it to be very straightforward and very simple in its execution.” Tirek said. Something was wrong, you had this terrible feeling he was telling the truth. Meaning something bad was coming.
Discord was already twisting himself back together, stretching as he began to contort himself back to his usual stance. “Fine, stop boring us and tell us what it is. I don’t know if you know this, Tirek, but your cliches have become a little too tedious for me to entertain anymore. Here I was hoping for some grand finale and you choose to go out on a whimper.”
“Oh, trust me, Discord, this trial is the biggest attraction in my castle, aside from yours truly. I promise you’ll be entertained, it’ll be an attention grabber for sure.” Tirek’s words sounded hungry for domination, you could practically feel the anticipation in his voice.
“Just tell us what it is then. Tell us what it is so we can get it over with. You’re done, Tirek. You made this personal by attacking my family. So, you know what? I’m gonna enjoy watching you get torn to shreds.” You were starting to wonder how any hero had any modicum of patience for this type of shit. You just wanted it to be over, you wanted to make him pay, you wanted to save those you care about and end this miserable adventure.
“Hmph, fine then. The next chamber will be a battle of destruction. Your band of do-gooders versus my newest personal guard. No tricks, no deception, nothing of the sort. The first team to be brought down wins. I think that’s simple enough, especially since you all have an advantage in numbers. Oh, and Chrysalis, since you managed to get this far without considering my offer, that means if you fall in battle…” Tirek began to chuckle darkly. “Well, I truly hope there are no hard feelings.”
Chrysalis said nothing, keeping to herself as the elevator came to a stop and slowly began to open in a darkened room.
“He’s going to have us fight the elements.” Tempest said, all of a sudden.
“What?! You mean we have to fight the professors?!” Sandbar said in shock. “We can’t do that! They’re our friends!”
Discord suddenly froze in place, he was muttering something, staring into the darkness.
“Hey, I’ve been wanting to slap around Rainbow Dash for a while! She wants to prank me in my own office? Fine! This has been a long time coming!” Starlight said as she gave an evil glare, her eyes glowing an intense red.
“Starlight! Calm down! You’re letting that curse get to your head! We have to find a way to snap them out of it!” You barked at her.
“Hm?” That voice. Tirek sounded off again as television screen after television screen began to turn on along the upper walls of the chamber. “Snap them out of it, you say? Oh, I’m afraid that’s going to be impossible.” It was Tirek once again, though oddly enough, his form was hidden within a dark silhouette. You could see him raise his fingers as he gave them a snap. Spotlights began to turn on along the other side of the room. Not only did it reveal five of the six, but Cadance was at the center of them acting in Twilight's stead. But, the way they were, they weren’t recognizable. They were in chains, gnashing at them like dogs. You were taken aback when Fluttershy noticed you from across the room, and with no warmth or softness in those eyes, began to try to rush at you and your party, being held back by the chains. It wasn’t long until the others followed suit. “As you can see, they are overwhelmed with absolute devotion towards me.”
“Oh no!” Silverstream gasped as she brought her talons to her mouth, shocked and horrified.
“What the?! What did you do to them?!” Smolder said as she pointed towards one of the screens. “Answer me!”
“Foolish dragon, isn’t it obvious? I had my little comrade feed all that dream energy into them, devouring their thoughts and love until the only thing on their mind was to protect my throne room with their lives!” Tirek started to laugh triumphantly. “I told you it’d be straightforward! The twist is I know none of you will do anything to stop them. Either they are immobilized, or you are. And without any spells, you have no way of evening the playing field. Meanwhile you’ll find that they have no issue using everything in their arsenal to destroy all of you. Yes, even you, Chrysalis. I will reclaim the fool, but unless you give up now, you will be destroyed with the rest of them. Your choice.”
Discord however, was not paying attention at all. He let out a shout of “Fluttershy! I’m coming!” And attempted to dash towards her, only to be blasted into the ground by Chrysalis.
“Don’t go near them! He wants to take you, Discord, over anypony else! Don’t isolate yourself from us or else you'll doom us all!” Chrysalis shouted towards him.
Discord easily lifted himself off the ground and looked back towards her with burning eyes. “Don’t try to stop me. I still have enough power to save her. And more than enough to deal with you. I don’t care about anything else but her!”
“Discord! For once, I am not looking to show my superiority over you. You are dooming us all by going near them by yourself. He can make her say whatever you want to hear. I can feel it, Discord, you’re willing to even make a deal with him to save her. But you know him, Discord, he’ll lie to you. Deceive you. And what’s worse, you’d even give up on Anon. I thought you cared a little more than that.” Chrysalis said to him. She looked genuinely disgusted with his behavior. She was right, of course. Poor Discord, even with her being right, you couldn’t imagine how crushed he felt seeing Fluttershy that way.
“I do care! I…” Discord looked upon you, then the rest of the group. His fiery eyes fizzled out as he slouched, and looked back at Fluttershy, his voice strained. “Fluttershy…”
“Tirek, this has gone on long enough! Equestria must be saved. And if I must defeat them myself, then I will do so without hesitation if it means saving more lives in the end. If you want to be shown any mercy, you will stand down now and surrender yourself!” Neighsay shouted, catching the attention of the others.
“Hey! We can’t do that! Even if they’re hypnotized, we can’t hurt the professors!” Shouted Sandbar.
“And we promise to get Princess Cadance back to family! Yona refuse to hurt anycreature! There must be other way!” Yona joined Sandbar in his protest.
“Oh, this is going to be good. Not much of a fight, but watching you all be torn limb from limb will be good enough for me.” Tirek said as he began to laugh evilly once again. “Oh, but I do have to commend you for making it this far in the first place. As a reward, I will allow for some last words.”
“Screw you! I’m with the Chancellor! What does Princess Cadance even do anyway?! She's a lousy princess!” Starlight said as she prepared herself, steam coming from nostrils as her horn began to light up.
“Starlight! No!” You jumped in front of her, not wanting her to take any shots. “We can’t just blast them either! We gotta figure it out, okay? It isn’t over yet! Snap out of it!”
“Seriously, Anon?! Since when did you become such a wimp?! Unless you got a better plan, then we’re about to be turned into kibble here. Get out of my way, or I’ll do to you what I’m about toGAH!” With a sudden groan, Starlight falls to the ground unconscious as Tempest stands above her.
“Sh-s…Geez, did you have to hit her so hard?” You asked her. Christ, she just knocked her out without much hesitation. You could see the lump on her head as it pulsated.
“It was necessary. When it comes to a mission, I expect it to be accomplished utterly and completely without issue.” Tempest said as she looked down on the fallen Starlight.
“My my, already there is dissent among your ranks. And what about you? Hrm, I actually don’t even know your name. Nosay, was it?” Tirek said boredly. “Doesn’t matter. You seem to be brimming with magic, and I’m not convinced you’re as brave as you make yourself out to be. Join me, allow your magic to become my own, and I’ll let you keep your free will… As my personal servant.”
“I’d rather be destroyed.” Neighsay said, with utter contempt towards Tirek. “Equestria, and my fellow compatriots who ventured into the foul depths of this accursed castle, will be protected by me as long as I draw breath. You have no sway over me.”
Tirek snickered as he prepared to snap his fingers. “Well, you won't be breathing for much longer. Guards, destroy them all, and bring me the buffoon so he can bow beneath my hooves!” Tirek bellowed as he snapped his fingers.
And with that, all the chains fell off the hypnotized six. But something wasn’t right. You didn’t hear the rush of mindless killer drones. You didn’t hear the grinding and gnashing of teeth or primal yells of your fallen friends. As all of you looked upon them again, they were all on the ground, as a purple haze hovered around them and then dissipated.
Wut?
“Uhhhhh… What just happened?” They were just laying there, sleeping.
“What is this?! I said ‘attack!’ ” Tirek growled as he snapped his fingers continuously. “Attack! Attack!”
Ocellus just looked on, peering ever so closer for a moment. “I… I don’t feel anything from them anymore. They’re… I think they're asleep.”
“Asleep? How can they be sleeping? They seemed ready to tear us apart before.” Neighsay said in utter confusion.
“How can this be?! HOW?! You all should have been brought to your knees the moment you cast a spell!” Tirek said, yelling in anger.
“I’ll tell you how.” That voice! Grubber stepped forward, bouncing an orb on his palm as he gave Tirek an arrogant grin. “While all of you were yapping your heads off, I tossed a couple of sleep grenades their way. No magic, no fuss.”
“What?!” Tirek said, flabbergasted. “Sleep grenades?! You couldn’t have… No! It can’t be that… NO! I am destined to rule this world!”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard that kind of stuff a million times already. But you ain't getting the world because ya made one simple mistake. Wanna guess what that was? C’mon, guess.” Grubber said, crossing his arms as he genuinely awaited an answer.
But Tirek said nothing. He became so angry that he punched forward, hitting the camera and sending every screen into static. He still said nothing more as the doors across the way slowly opened to a hallway, leading to the doors that opened to the throne room.
“Pfft, crybaby.” Grubber said with a disappointed sigh. “Darnit, I had the whole routine rarin’ to go on that one. Hey, Tempest, you saw me throw those grenades, right?”
Tempest nodded with a gentle smile on her face. “I did. Excellent work, Grubber. I’m sorry we didn’t get to do the routine together.”
“Yeah, a- Woah, wait, you were actually willing to do it with me? Poses n’ all?” Grubber asked as he suddenly got big watery eyes, looking to Tempest with childish anticipation.
Tempest nodded. “I did promise. You were going to remember to put your name before mine, right?”
“Huh? Uh, I mean, yeah! Aheh. I mean, it was my win, right? Erm, I was totally, uh, gonna make sure my name came first.” Grubber said as he looked away from her, lies written all over his face.
Tempest almost giggled, but straightened up as she looked towards the hallway. “Well, I think it was rude of him to leave so soon.” Tempest’s horn started to spark up. “If the trials are over, then it's time to make our final assault.”
“Indeed. It is time to bring that miserable centaur to justice.” Neighsay said as he gazed upon the fallen six. “Will they be alright?”
“Yeah, it was just slee-Woah!” Grubber is suddenly taken aback as Silverstream suddenly sneaks up in front of him, her face beaming with a wide smile. “U-um, can I help you.”
“I, uh, uhm…” Silverstream leaned forward and whispered. “Are you, um, a hero hedgehog?”
“Uhh, wha?” Grubber was just utterly confused by her.
“Yeah! Like, that was super awesome! I don’t know what that thingy was, but it brought down everypony without hurting them! That’s, like, what Hero Colt Anon would do. But you did it! I didn’t even know there could be heroes as awesome as he was!” Silverstream said with excitement at the prospect of another hero in her midst.
“Well, uh, I mean. Yeah, I’m pretty awesome. But ‘Hero Hedgehog’? Nah, not my style. I work as a duo with my partner, the super unbeatable Tempest Shadow. There ain’t no ‘Hero Hedgehog’ here. It’s more like, ‘The Dynamic Duo’! Yeah, that’s right, that’s what we are.” Grubber said as he nodded to himself, satisfied with the name.
You’d facepalm at that if it wasn’t for the fact that Grubber saved the fucking day, and that he was actually pretty endearing here.
“Well, that’s awesome too! So, are you the leader? I mean, I know you were with the Storm King before. But that was before, now you guys are like… Yeah, the dynamic duo!” Silverstream said with a giggle. Though, Tempest intervened right after she asked.
“We can answer those questions when this is over. We can’t waste anymore time here. We have to stop Tirek and rescue Twilight Sparkle and the rest of Equestria.” Tempest said to her as she began to walk towards the hallway.
“Yeah, I’m ready for this to be over. Had enough of this nightmare.” Gallus said.
And with that, everyone but Starlight and…
Oh…
You stopped when you noticed Discord was at Fluttershy’s side, petting her, running his paw through her mane. You stopped to walk towards him, feeling terrible about how much hurt he must be feeling right now. “Hey, Discord. You okay?”
“...Clearly not. Look what he’s done to her. The Fluttershy I know would have never looked at us that way.” Discord said as he gently hugged her limp body as she slept soundly.
Well, he was in serious mode alright, he wasn’t exploding at the mention of her name. “I know. We’ll stop him, I promise.”
“Hmmnnn… I didn’t mean what I said back there. Well, I did. But you understand I said that selfishly as it hadn’t crossed my mind what I was sacrificing, right?” Discord said as he looked at you with tearful eyes.
“I know, I know how you get, I know you would have regretted it the moment you realized you screwed up. C’mon, we’re about to go kick Tirek’s ass and there is no one else I’d rather do it with than you.” You said, giving him a solemn smirk.
“No... For once, I’ll let you do that on your own. I can’t abandon her, Anon, I’m sorry. But our little quest is nearly over, right? Can you handle this without me?” Discord said as he looked back at the slumbering mare. “I’ll let you plan the next big prank. I’m sure it’ll be hilarious…”
You sighed, and gave Discord a hug. There were still eleven of you, including yourself. And he’d be able to keep an eye on Starlight if he stuck around, so that was fine. Even then, Discord couldn’t do much without his powers, and with him as emotional as he was, it was probably best to leave him behind. Poor guy. “We’ll take care of it. Heh, just don’t go whining later that you missed your chance.”
“Oh, I’m not worried. It is not as if Twilight will know what my contributions really were when I lay it on her how much I saved her purple tush.” Discord said, giving you a cool grin, even as tears formed in his eyes.
Ha, just had to get one in. “Just don’t overdo it, alright? You gonna be okay, seriously?”
Discord nodded. “I will, just make sure to keep your head on your shoulders when you confront that muscle-bound brute. Seriously, I don’t want to have to glue it back on. It is so tedious.” Discord said with a weak laugh.
“I will, trust me.” And with that, and another hug, you rejoined the group.
It was time to take the fight to Tirek, and the odds were in your favor.
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ha make the attack while the villain and/or hero is monologing
This is why having tools and gadgets are pretty busted in Equestira, no one ever expects the non-magical solution.
Prediction Tirek, now that the chaos challenges are over, laid a trap to capture them all at the height of their pride to come before the fall, but because Discord stayed behind the one he wanted to capture doesn't get caught, he catches up and frees them all because they were taking too long. Tirek then has a melt down at the sheer proof of Deus ex Machina before him.
That reminded me of this:
Now for potential errors:
Uppercase ‘y’ should be lowercase. (?)
oh-so-familiar
Missing comma before ‘then’. (?)
Missing comma before ‘however’.
First uppercase ‘s’ should be lowercase. (?)
‘‘steam coming from her nostrils as (...)’’
The period should be a question mark.
any more
I may be wrong about some of the above.
I just have this feeling. The feeling that Tirek is faking all of this, making an act of how flustered he is. I know it isn't the case. But that thought pops up every single time he is present. I believe you said it yourself, at one point, that he is being genuine.
Grubber MVP, well played. Now, that all but one character have had a chance to progress the castle raid, I wonder what you might have planned for Neighsay. Is he going to have a big role in the final confrontation? Or am I reading it wrong and he has fulfilled his role already? Chrysalis is sure to be the key to victory, especially since we are taking Discord out of the picture. For now, at least.
Will Starlight be a problem? I think I'd make a clutter of adding her to the mix, disrupting the finale.
I really have no idea what's coming next. It looks like a walk towards the finish line.
FUCKING GRUBBER IN THE CLUTCH!