Dissonance: A Hidden World

by Braininthejar

Chapter 28: The Heroes

Author's Note:

Five ponies were running through the dark alleys. Around them the streets echoed with the sounds of pursuit. As the group turned another corner, one of them took to the air to get a better look.

“We’re cut off. We can’t keep running, or we lead them to the hideout,” he said, landing in front of his friends.

“So, what do you propose?” asked Aurora.

Jingles smiled mischievously. “We do it my way. Follow me."

He stretched his legs, and then took off in a mad dash, the rest of the group doing what they could to keep up. Suddenly, there was music in the air, a fast-paced jingle that seemed to match the rhythm of their hooves. On the next crossing they passed a patrol of armored guards, who looked at them in astonishment before giving chase.

The seconds stretched into minutes, but they kept running, more patrols joining the chase. The path of escape was getting more and more convoluted; once or twice they took a shortcut that Aurora could swear hadn’t been there before, and on one occasion they led the whole thirty pony pursuit group into a dead end by sticking flat to the wall next to some wanted posters, and letting the pursuers ran past.

Suddenly they were in an empty alley, gasping for breath. Sauti shook her head in disbelief. “I’ll never get used to running and not tripping, you know” she said.

Jingles flashed a smile. “At your service. Now let’s get off the street before somepony sees us. This is where the safehouse is, isn’t it?”

He lead his friends towards a small door, and rapped twice. After a moment, a visor opened in the door, and a green eye looked at Jingle’s face.

“Knock, knock,” said Jingles grinning.

“Not that old joke again,” said the voice from the inside.

“So, you’d rather have a swordfish?” asked Jingles, peering through the hole.

There was a sound of scratching metal, and the door opened slowly.

“Come in, all of you,” said a scrawny grey unicorn.

The ponies walked into a dark hall, then up the creaky stairs. The unicorn led them into a dilapidated apartment, where two more ponies were sitting, looking outside through the shutters of the window.

“They’re looking for you all over the district,” said one of the lookouts.

Jingles smiled. “Good. That means they don’t know to look here.”

“That’s the problem with trying to organize everything,” said Whisper. “When you put everything in neat rows, all the streets look the same.”

“How long will you be staying here?” asked the other lookout.

“Only as long as we need,” said Aquila. “We’ll wait for the commotion to die down, and then we smuggle ourselves out of the city.”

The unicorn smiled. “Good. Much as I like helping you, I hardly have the means to accommodate you for an extended period.”

“We’ll, that might mean we see ourselves out early,” said Whisper. “Sauti?”

The older mare took a deep breath, and the gemstone underneath her cloak lit up in pink light.

The two lookouts glared at the grey unicorn, who rolled his eyes. “What seems to be the problem?”

“I know Plaster,” said Whispers. “Or, knew, I guess. He was a builder. He didn’t even know what ‘accommodate’ means.”

The three ponies looked at each other, and then tensed, their bodies lighting up in green flames that peeled off the fur, revealing black, chitinous armor underneath. They walked towards the five ponies, blocking their way to the window. Around them, the building erupted with the sound of running hooves.

“You may as well surrender now,” said the changeling leader, as Jingles and Aurora rushed to barricade the doors, seconds before more changelings could rush in. “Your paths of escape are already cut off. Kindness might stop us from fighting, for a time, but we don’t even need to fight you, just delay you long enough for Passion to get here.”

Aurora stared him down. “You know you’ll die too when he arrives? The first thing Hate does will be collapse this entire building.”

The changeling tensed some more, but did not step back. “If such is the will of the Queen, such is my duty. When our master gets here, you’ll be in chains, or you’ll die. There is no other way.”

“Then perhaps we could make one?” asked Aquila.

Everypony looked at her.

Aquila turned around the room, with half-closed eyes, her horn glowing softly. “There is enough here for me to work with, I think. Do you think you could dispel the fumes, so I can cast freely?”

“We can,” said Sauti, “but I don’t think I can maintain my aura at the same time.”

“No need to,” said Aquila looking at the changelings. “Not being able to hurt anyone might slow me down anyway.”

“You’re not an Element,” said the changeling, observing the unicorn cautiously. “You were chosen for high magical potential, but your talent hasn’t even fully realised yet. You aren’t capable of anything that could break you out of your predicament. What are you trying to accomplish here?”

Jingles and Whisper flanked Aquila, their Elements starting to glow brightly.

“Yea, What are you trying to do, Aquila?” Asked Whisper. “I haven’t seen you try anything like this before.”

Aquila lit up her horn. “That’s because I’ve never done it before. I didn’t even know how much I can do until you got me training outside of the city, where the air was clear.”

“Any moment now,” warned Sauti.

Aquila stared down the changeling, a cocky smile playing on her lips. “Do you know why I got my old name?” she asked, her horn lighting up into a pillar of bright light.

“Dowsing division,” said the changeling. His eyes were already widening when the walls around him exploded, pipes tearing out to shoot streams of water at him and his companions.

The air filled with dust, pieces of wood, and clouds of steam. Judging by the angry hisses from behind the door, the effect was not limited to the one room.

Aurora pounced forward, silencing her mind to catch the changeling off guard - she collided with the chitinous monster just as he was about to spit a glob of resin at Aquila. The impact sent him flying backwards, shattering both the shutters and the window frame, and knocking him outside.

“That’s how I know there is a water tower on the roof,” said Aquila.

The building resounded with a groan of wood and metal straining. Sauti stepped to stand just behind Aquila, a tendril of pink light stretching from her jewel to grab Aurora and pull her closer. Then there was a deafening noise, and Aurora knew the roof had given way, then the top floor. Then the ceiling above their heads was crashed in, a wave of wood and water flooding in, sweeping away the two remaining changelings, and punching a hole through the floor underneath. Aquila screamed with effort as the water swept around her, briefly forming a vortex around the five ponies, before hitting the barricaded door, shattering it into splinters and sweeping away anyone still behind them.

Aquila swooned, but managed to catch herself at the last moment. “Through the hole,” she said. “There is a large sewer right under the basement.”

Jingles was already jumping in, ready to catch Sauti on the floor below. Whisper looked around the room and gestured for the girls to follow suit. Aurora grabbed her sister around the barrel and spread her wings, dropping into the unknown space below, letting Whisper cover their retreat.

He jumped down a moment later, joining her in what turned out to be an apartment, now completely ruined by Aquila’s display of magic. Whisper lit up in an orange aura and then stomped on the floor, causing it to cave in.

“Ladies first,” he said, pointing at the basement. There was already some commotion audible on the floor above them.

***

“So, the hideout is lost,, along with three contacts,” said Bubble Burst, as she finished listening to the story, “and you still don’t know where Cristal is, or even if she’s still alive.”

“We did manage to learn something,” said Sauti. “We found the notes she left behind. It wasn’t much, but I think we’ve figured out where Deception’s lab in Iustitia is.”

“There have been ponies shipped there,” said Whisper, “many more than she usually takes. Cristal though Deception must be working on some new kind of monster.”

“What kind of monster would she need?” asked Bubble Burst.

The two spent a moment in silence, Whisper’s eyes glaring into Bubble’s single one.

“I’ve already had to evacuate Portus after Cristal disappeared,” she said. “If you get yourselves captured walking into a dragon’s den-”

“You know we will anyway,” said Whisper. “We owe it to Cristal.”

“Do you owe it to her to doom our cause?” asked Bubble. “At your current power you might be strong enough to meet a single Shattered, but not in their own fortress. And if we lose you, we might lose all the jewels at once. Then it might be centuries before the Shattered slip up again. All we have achieved so far could be for nothing.”

“All you have achieved will be for nothing if you stop now,” said Aquila, stepping in to stand at the side of Whisper. Aurora’s eyes slid over the cutie mark now adorning her little sister’s blue coat - a full moon. She shifted nervously, suppressing the urge to look at her own, still blank rump.

“It is true,” said Sauti, joining Whisper. “You say we’re too weak now, but only through adversity do we grow. And if we abandon our friend to an unknown fate, how can we call upon the power of friendship?”

Bubble Burst turned away, her wings ruffling in frustration. “Then do it, if you have to,” she said. “But I can’t afford any more losses right now.”

“If you can’t afford more losses,” said Aurora, “that means you’ll give us all the support you can?”

Bubble Burst turned to face her, very very slowly. When she finally spoke, there was defeat in her voice. “I will.”

***

“Are you a changeling?” asked Whisper peering between the tangle of pipes blocking the way.

The black pegasus filly emerged from her hiding spot, reaching up to straighten the beret on her head. “No, sir, I’m not.” She raised an eyebrow. “Why are you asking me that?”

Whisper shrugged. “Had to make sure. I’ve spent the last couple of days asking our agents that.” He looked around. “So, you’re our guide tonight?”

The filly looked at the ponies gathered in front of her.

“That’s me,” she said with a smile. “The name’s Charcoal. I know every way through the industrial district. But you’ll have to wait till well past sunset. You guys won’t fit through some of the best shortcuts, so I’ll need to find a way to hide you for a while.”

Whisper looked up, past the towering chimneys above them, towards the slowly reddening sky. “We should be able to stay hidden for a while more.”

“Oh, I can point you to a good hiding spot,” said Charcoal, fluttering into the air. “It’s hot, but that means the guards don’t like checking in there. Follow me.”

She flew out of the dead end and past some pipes, keeping just low enough to see around her while staying in cover. The team followed her, first Jingles and Aquila, then Sauti, with Aurora and Whisper guarding the rear.

The setting sun peered from under the cloud of smoke, casting long streaks of orange over the industrial district. The ominous shadow of the Tower of Justice was falling across the city, making it look like a giant sundial.

Aurora shuddered, putting her wing over Whisper’s withers.

***

“Ooh, I think I see something starting,” said Pinkie Pie excitedly.

Aurora glared at her. “It did not end well.”

“Oh, right” said Pinkie Pie, and she seemed to deflate a little.

“I can’t help but notice your story is taking more and more jumps,” said Obsidian.

“It was you who said we don’t need to see everything,” replied Aurora. “I’m trying to show you all the important parts.”

“That sure was a cool way to get a cutie mark,” said Scootaloo. “Why did you two get yours so late?”

“I think it was all the suppressed magic,” replied Aurora. “It was normal to get them that late in my times.”

“Hey, I want to see what happened next,” said Rainbow Dash impatiently.

“Well,” said Aurora, “We couldn’t really use Jingles’ confusion magic to get in; it would cause an alarm too soon, so we had to sneak in the old way. It took us hours of skulking around to get into the basement levels of the factory. When we finally got there, it was every bit as nightmarish as we had imagined.”

***

Aurora and Jingles were holding tight, squeezed between the pipes on the ceiling, waiting for a scientist to go past. The mare was an orange earth pony with her mane in a bun, dressed in a lab coat and soft boots that prevented her steps from echoing across the empty halls. The two pegasi froze as she stopped right beneath their hiding spot, before turning and walking into the nearest door.

Behind her corner, Aquila slowly released her breath. “Why don’t we just take her out?” she whispered. “It would be easier.”

“It would,” agreed Sauti. “But we don’t know what else is there. Could we hide the body quickly enough? Would anypony react to her absence? The later the alarm is sounded, the more we’ll learn.”

She inhaled, slowly, and the soft glow of her gem spread to Aquila and Whisper, leaving an invisible muffling film on their hooves. They sped through the corridor, clearing the next corner before the scientist could return.

Two corridors further, Sauti gestured with her hoof and everypony stopped. Aurora and Jingles joined their friends, gliding silently.

“Problem?” asked Whisper.

Sauti turned towards Aquila. “If violence is what you wish for, it awaits ahead. There’s a creature lurking there, that we won’t be able to sneak past,” she said softly. “It is there to alarm others, so we need to take it out quickly.”

Aquila looked at her with a smile, clearly impressed. “That’s a nifty sense to have. Can Kindness look into all the hearts?”

Sauti shook her head. “No, it cannot. And neither can I. It’s just a trick a wizard learns when she can’t see.”

“So, what do we do?” whispered Aurora.

“Leave it to me,” said Jingles. “It’s not a big monster, but a loud one? A sentry?”

Sauti nodded. “Hiding above the door.”

Jingles put on a lab coat and an orange wig, and then walked openly down the corridor, stepping confidently. Everypony held their breaths as the pegasus walked closer and closer to the large, double door at the very end.

Without warning, Jingles reared, whipping out Aquila from under his coat, shooting her horn straight up, a beam of blue light striking the ceiling.

Aquila looked in surprise towards where she had stood a moment before, then turned purple, frantically disentangling herself from Jingles’ hooves.

“That was weird,” she said, regaining her footing, as her friends rushed in to rejoin her. “What did you do?”

Jingles raised an eyebrow at her. “What I always do. I used the power of Laughter to dispel the worries of my friends.”

“You know,” said Aquila, “I’ve known you for months, and I’ve never seen you laugh.”

“No love for comedians where I grew up,” replied Jingles. “I laugh on the inside.”

Aurora looked up. There, between the ceiling pipes, there was what looked like a small ice sculpture, a bizarre, furry creature with spindly legs and bat ears, frozen with its chest puffed, a moment before releasing what would probably have been a loud scream.

Aurora swallowed loudly. She couldn’t even tell if that thing had started as a monkey or a spider. This was something she’d expect to see in the Discord-touched wastelands, not in the middle of the city. Is that what Deception does to living things?

“We still haven’t seen any of the ponies they’d taken,” she whispered.

Sauti pressed her snout to the door, closed her eyes, and for a moment she seemed to be listening intently. Then she shuddered, almost swaying on her feet. Everypony looked at her in alarm.

“You’ve found it,” stated Whisper, glancing from her to the door and back.

“I… had to make sure,” said Sauti. Gasping for breath. “We’re here..”

Everypony looked at each other behind her back. Then, slowly, Whisper and Aurora pushed the door open.

***

“Wait,” said Twilight, “that mare you snuck past, I know her. Her color has changed a bit, but I’m sure it was Dr Stone. That was Deception herself, wasn’t it?”

“Stone?” asked Aurora, “So that’s what she calls herself now? She was Dr Stein in my time. Anyway, yes, she was, but we didn’t know it back then. We had already got past some lab assistants before. We had no idea who she was until-”

“Hey!” said Rainbow, “Are you telling a story or showing us a story? Because both are cool, but I’d like to have one or the other.”

“It’s not nice to interrupt,” said Fluttershy. After a second she added. “I’m not sure I do want to see what happened next.”

***

The lab was enormous, more like a hangar than a proper laboratory. The lamps high on the ceiling bathed the room in cold, white light. In the middle there was a work station with a number of rails set into the floor, allowing different equipment to be rolled in or out. Right now it was a collection of tables covered with notes and strange canisters, a pony-sized jar of green liquid standing in the middle. Rows of similar jars lined the back wall.

Slowly, the ponies walked in, eyes and ears sweeping the room in search of danger. Aurora spread her wings, and flew to the center of the room. She stopped in front of the jar, peering through the liquid, at the shape inside.

“I think it’s a changeling,” she said.

The rest of the group gathered around her.

“It seems so,” said Aquila, “but it’s different. It has a mane, and-”

“It’s Cristal,” said Whisper.

Aquila and Aurora looked closer at the thing in the jar. At first sight it had all the insectile features of a changeling, but the muzzle was that of a mare, something Aurora had never seen before. The blue mane flowed in the fluid like tendrils of a jellyfish.

Jingles stared hard at the jar, then flew up, and started flying around the room. “There are more like her here,” he said. Each is different, but they’re all… changed. I think some are dead already.”

“We are too late,” said Sauti, exhaling heavily. “But why would Deception try to turn ponies into changelings?”

“Yea,” said Aquila, trying not to look at the jar in the center. “Changelings are already pretty good at being changelings, aren’t they?”

Whisper turned away from the jar and towards the notes on the table. “Perhaps we can find something here? Jingles, you look for some way to set this place on fire.”

“So, we’re just killing them all?” asked Aquila, looking around. “Just like that?”

“We can’t rescue them,” said Sauti, “not without knowing how all this works. Most of them are half-way changed, and only Deception knows what’s inside their bodies. And if we leave them here, she will keep working on them, until they’re dead, or monsters in her thrall.”

“So, you want to burn them, and that’s it?” asked Aurora, tapping her wing on the glass.

Inside the jar, the thing that had been Cristal stirred. One eye opened, an unpony thing with a slitted pupil, staring into Aurora. The pegasus flinched away, staring at the creature. The instruments surrounding the jar started beeping alarmingly.

Whisper had taken a quick glance at the notes and, visibly unable to decipher their contents, swept them into a single stack he put inside his coat.

“Jingles?” He called.

“There seem to be some oxygen pipes here,” said Jingles from above. “And some others I can’t identify. It should be enough to do it.”

This was when an alarm sounded - a loud, whistling shriek just outside the door. It was answered by a loud roar, somewhere outside, then a sound of running hooves, growing heavier as it got closer.

“We’re out of time!” shouted Aquila. She rushed towards the door, flinging it open with her magic. In the corridor behind it she saw a pony in a lab coat disappearing behind the corner, and something big barreling towards the lab at full gallop. She tried to slam the door shut, but since it swung both ways, the effort proved futile.

“Ready yourselves!” called Jingles, flying low, his jewel glowing. “I should’ve watched the door,” he added under his breath.

Whisper and Sauti likewise prepared, their Elements lighting up. Aurora checked the bracers on her forelegs, a pair of thin blades emerging over her hooves. Aquila stepped aside, lighting up her horn.

The thing slammed through the door like a charging rhino, which it may in part have been. Aurora caught a glance of a shell-like, thick skin, broad shoulders, and bat-like ears. Then the creature flipped forward into a roll, landing with its limbs spread wide, getting rid of the excess momentum before it could carry it head-first into the gathered lab equipment.

Four beams of light struck the outer shell, surrounding the monster with a dazzling halo of colors. It huddled up, but didn’t show pain. The four legs spread wide, and stuck to the floor with a suckling noise. Then it pushed forward, and its front opened into a toothy maw, three dark green tongues shooting forth like coiled snakes.

One tongue flew at Whisper, who had to roll aside to avoid it, the tongue ripping through his trenchcoat and nearly grabbing him as it coiled back.

The other two tongues flew at Sauti. The mare had enough time to shield herself with a pink bubble of force, but the impact dislodged it, sending her bouncing like a ball through the lab. She crashed through one of the tables and then into a wall of jars on the wall, cracking the one she hit.

“It’s resistant!” shouted Jingles, as he flew over the monster, crashing a pair of cymbals over its bat ears, the only obvious weak spot he could see. The beast rolled over, swinging one of its limbs at him as he flew past, but he barrel-rolled out of the way of the swing. The monster landed upside down, its double joints turning the other way as the limbs flipped over to match its new position.

“Then how about this?” said Aquila, her magic grabbing another table and flinging it at the monster, its contents flying all over the floor.

The tongues grabbed the table in mid air, and then, to everypony’s surprise, set it aside gently. This was when Aurora flew over the creature, hitting the side of its head, the left blade aiming inside the ear.

It didn’t achieve what she hoped. The blade went in, but apparently the brain was not there. There wasn’t even a cry of pain she expected. For a moment Aurora could see an eye pop up from between the protective flabs of skin to glare at her. Then the monster rolled forward, propelling her off its back. She flew at the jar in the middle of the room, her vision exploding with bright lights as she hit the glass, the surface splintering in front of her. The hybrid inside started thrashing wildly, sharp teeth snapping, causing Aurora to recoil in horror. She heard the tongues whip out again behind her, but her body, still stunned from the impact, was too slow to react.

The strike didn’t come. Aurora turned around. Whisper was standing between her and the guardian monster, a thick orange aura surrounding him like a giant block of amber. Three monstrous tongues were lodged in it, the black stingers at the tips slowly pushing their way towards his chest.

“Sauti?” he asked with strained voice.

“Here,” said Sauti, emerging from behind the beeping instruments, which were now flashing alarmingly. Her jewel burned bright, a lance of pink light shooting along the tongues, into the monster’s open mouth.

This time it worked. The beast stumbled backwards, swaying, the tongues lolling out of its mouth, too discoordinated to coil again.

“Not magic-proof on the inside, huh?” smirked Aquila. Her smile faded when she saw the door open again, the spider-like sentry monsters skittering through one after another, spreading out on the floor and the surrounding walls.

“Aquila, here!” shouted Jingles above her, pointing his hooves at some pipes along the ceiling.

Aquila nodded, shooting her horn up. Jingles managed to land, covering her with an umbrella, just before half the ceiling was engulfed in flames, broken pieces of pipes raining onto the floor.

The monsters stopped, backing away from the burning debris. Some sort of fire suppression system activated on the ceiling, but it was woefully inadequate, the sprinkling water only adding a cloud of steam to the chaos.

Aurora joined her sister under the umbrella. “Is that your plan?” she hissed at Jingles.

“No,” he said. “Lend me your power.”

The three Elements lit up again, Aquila contributing as she could. The aura of mixed colors swirled around the five ponies. Something exploded above them and a heavy girder fell on top of the large guardian monster. Behind them, the jar finally shattered, the hissing hybrid breaking free in a single bound, skittering along the wall in search of an escape route.

Jingles closed his eyes and everything disappeared in a bright flash.

When they recovered, Aurora and her friends found themselves in the corridor outside the lab. The teleport took them less than 50 feet, but that was enough to get through the fire, and all the sentry monsters.

Jingles looked around, and raised an eyebrow. “It’s much easier when you have line of sight. Now, RUN!”

***

A metal grate slowly rose from its resting place. A biscuit-yellow hoof pushed it aside with a scraping noise. A pair of ears emerged, followed by a pair of eyes, scanning the surrounding area. There was some noise in the distance, a sound of shouting and galloping hooves, but in the immediate surroundings there was nopony in sight.

“The coast is clear, I think,” said Jingles, emerging from the hole, and crawling behind the nearest pipe. Aquila emerged behind him, followed by the rest of the group.

“How long did we spend underground?” said Aquila, looking up at the sky. “It’s almost sunrise.”

“It seems the surface is on alert,” said Whisper, peering from his hiding spot, his ears moving, trying to make sense of the distant noises.

“Even if they don’t know about the secret lab, smoke in the main vent system will do that,” said Jingles, looking for a vantage point he could stealthily move to.

“This mission has gone all kinds of wrong,” said Aurora bitterly. She looked at Sauti. “What are our chances of leaving the industrial district?”

“We’ll have to use veils,” replied the old mare, her muzzle scrunched in focus. “There’s a lot of fear in the air… the chaos will help us.”

“I just hope Charcoal made it out okay,” said Aurora.

“Well, the sooner we move, the better our chances,” said Jingles, perking up. “Just look for some junk for me to work with, and give me a couple seconds.”

***

A couple minutes later, the five ponies were sneaking through the yards between the factory buildings. There was a clink of metal when Aquila stumbled, the metal rim of her air inlet disguise catching on the curb.

“Shh, somepony’s coming” hissed Whisper.

There was a sound of approaching hooves. The group froze in their enchanted disguises, like a bunch of foals playing trees and rocks in a school play, a single guardspony running obliviously past them.

Jingles released his breath slowly, and gestured at his friends to continue walking.

“Say, what was that formation?” said Whisper. “I don’t remember seeing guards in red armor.”

“Do you think he’s one of Hate’s?” asked Aurora.

“He didn’t seem very elite, separated from his unit like that,” whispered Sauti. “In fact, he seemed scared.”

Aquila’s eyes narrowed. “Scared of what?”

They proceeded on, more cautiously than before. But try as they did to stay away from any commotion, it seemed the sounds followed them. There was no organized pursuit they could evade, but somehow, despite their efforts, they found that whatever was happening there, was now all around them.

They smelled the blood before they turned the next corner. There, a unicorn guard was sprawled on the ground, his eyes still staring up at the spear embedded in his chest plate. His armor, blue rather than the traditional silvery white, was battered, as if trampled on, blood still dripping slowly from underneath it.

Whisper shifted forward, dropping the grate he had been carrying. “Just what is going on here?” he said under his breath.

Just as he was about to touch the body, it flashed white and disappeared, only the splatter of blood on the concrete marking the spot it had occupied.

Sauti paled. “We need to get out of here.”

Everypony turned at the sound of flapping wings. Charcoal descended from some hiding spot high above them, landing in front of the five ponies. “Guys,” she said in an urgent whisper. “You need to get out of here, fast.”

The team was already discarding their disguises, leaving the clunky metal behind to exchange supernatural stealth for speed.

There was a loud explosion nearby, and then a sound of galloping hooves. Charcoal ducked aside, looking for cover, while the team prepared for a fight.

A blue armored pegasus flew into the courtyard. He was carrying a red suitcase in his teeth, and had an expression of utter panic. He was fleeing from a trio of red-armored guards chasing behind him, zigzagging to avoid the shots of the enemy unicorn, though for some reason it didn’t occur to him to just fly up and out of range of his pursuers.

The four ponies rushed past, seemingly oblivious to the intruders on their territory. On the other side of the yard, another blue guard, a pegasus wearing a baseball cap instead of a helmet, jumped out from behind the corner, the first pursuer colliding face-first with the bat held in his teeth.

“It’s been like this for an hour,” said Charcoal in a distressed tone, “They’ve all gone crazy.”

Whisper just broke into a run, leading the herd in the direction the red guards had come from, leaving what looked like a fight to the death behind him.

There were more bodies there. It wasn’t clear what had caused the explosion, but it clearly hit two ponies. One, a blue unicorn, had been thrown so high up, he got stuck in a broken window one floor off the ground. His body flashed, and disappeared just as Aurora was flying past it.

The other, a burly, blue armored earth pony, was on the ground by the wall, lying in a mangled heap, but somehow still alive. As the group was running past him, he suddenly opened his eyes, welling with tears, and looked up to the sky.

“Why… don’t you just let us die?” he croaked.

There was a white flash, and a door appeared in mid air right in front of Jingles. As he retreated with a flap of wings, a misshapen monster strolled out of it, towering over the ponies.

It was Discord, his serpentine body dressed in a purple jacket with a matching skirt, and shoes. He marched out, stepping in the air, before looking down on the crippled earth pony.

“Don’t worry. You’re all dead already. You’ll stop moving once the game is over.” The pony gave him an anguished look, and disappeared in a flash of white.

“Discord!” shouted Aquila, stating the obvious.

***

“What!?” shouted Twilight Sparkle. “Did this really happen? I mean, I know Discord. We’ve all fought him. But he was never that... monstrous!”

“Yea,” added Rainbow Dash, struggling to keep her wing over Scootaloo's eyes, with little effect. “He turned Equestria upside down for fun, and some ponies did go crazy for a while. But he was never that kind of cruel.”

Fluttershy just kept staring, her face looking like she was about to throw up. Pinkie Pie handed her an empty popcorn cup.

“Yes, he was like that,” said Aurora, slightly taken aback by her audience’s reaction, judging by her tone. “This wasn’t the only time I met him and that’s exactly how he was in my time.”

“Ponies change, Twilight Sparkle,” said Obsidian. “Why wouldn’t a creature of chaos? By the look of it, this thing is so warped, it’s barely holding to reality.”

***

Everypony moved away from Discord, standing together with their rumps against the wall, with Aurora and Jingles flying above their friends, and Whisper trying to shield Charcoal.

The lord of chaos snapped his fingers, and the mangled earth pony disappeared. He then looked over the six ponies.

“Well, yes, I am,” he said to Aquila. “And who might you be?” He leaned forward, until his eyes slid over Sauti. Then his mouth stretched into a toothy smile. “Why, It’s the Elements of Harmony!”

“We haven’t planned on meeting you tonight, Discord,” said Sauti, her voice stiff with tension.

Discord blinked. “Of course, you didn’t. You just wandered into my game by accident. You must be doing some hero thing here.” He turned towards the Tower of Justice with a pensive look. “You’re lucky old Vengeance is getting crazier by the year. In the old days she’d be here as soon as the fire started.”

“So, you’re just... playing here?” asked Aquila.

“He is,” said Sauti, “This is very cruel, you know,” she added, turning towards Discord.

“Not my fault you’re so useless,” replied Discord with a shrug. “I was bored.”

“What?” said everypony except Sauti, who just clenched her teeth.

“What?” parroted Discord, “Do I have to explain it to you?” A blackboard came into existence behind his back, and his purple suit was replaced by a professor’s gown. “I’m not the kind to just sit still, and do nothing. Unless there’s something really entertaining to watch, but you guys aren’t. You’re supposed to be heroes. Great forces clashing for the fate of the world! Ever since I learned about you, I’ve been waiting for you to do something interesting. Perhaps topple the Shattered, and build some new world for me to play with. But no! Each century you’re weaker and more useless. Boooring!”

He snapped his fingers again, and the board disappeared with a squeak. Discord stepped forward, growing with each step until he stood over the ponies like a giant. “I remember your old companions. They wouldn’t huddle in fear of me. At least they had some courage.”

“They all died,” said Sauti. “And we are no cowards, We risk our lives daily.”

Discord turned around, and looked at her over his shoulder. “Oh, right. So daring of you to break into the labs, like thieves, then set everything on fire because you couldn’t solve anything. It doesn’t take great heroes to do that, you know.”

“It’s not an accident,” said Whisper. “You’ve been spying on us.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “Oh? But why would I? Would it be fun to watch you do your heroes' stuff?”

“We do what we can,” said Aquila. "We might be weak, but it doesn't mean we aren't heroes."

“Really?” said Discord. He was now wearing a blue skin-tight suit, and a red cape, his size back to what passed for normal.

“Y… yes,” said Aquila. “It’s not power that makes a hero. It’s doing what’s right, even when it’s dangerous.”

“Now,” said Discord, his fingers preparing to snap again, “that’s a steaming pile of…”

Sauti’s barrier spell erupted over Aquila like an umbrella. Discord withdrew his fingers, instead snaking in the air to put his eyes level with the unicorn.

“You see, all those stories you hear about heroes, they aren’t about brave ponies. Or did you spend your entire foalhood waiting for a brave colt and his dog to free you from the Shattered? I can make night into day… well, except here, with all those chimneys anyway… but even I can’t make a pony matter without some power. And you know what? If you were real heroes, you’d have saved those ponies underground. And perhaps these guards too.”

He rose, looking down at Sauti. “This is very cruel, you know,” he said in a mocking tone. “A real Kindness would have the courage to make me stop. And she could do that too, even if she had to… let’s say… take their place?”

“You said they’re already dead,” said Sauti.

“And if I lied?” asked Discord.

Sauti hesitated. “Then you can’t be trusted with anything you’d agree on,” she finally said.

“So,” said Discord. “You don’t have what it takes. Do you really think you even make a difference?”

Sauti swallowed loudly. “I believe, I do.”

“If you did,” said Discord, “you wouldn’t be cowering with fear. Those shiny baubles you’re wearing? If you were real heroes, those things would be enough to drive me away. A glorious story of valiant ponies saving the city from a master of chaos. Instead-”

***

“All this villain talk reminds me of somepony,” said Rainbow Dash with a scowl.

Obsidian scowled back. “Don’t look at me. I missed that entire millennium.”

***

Discord flew back, and formed a frame with his claws and talons, looking at everypony.

“You’re just a bitter old mule. When have you last been kind to anypony? And no, putting them out of their misery doesn’t count. And what of your ‘friends’? An ex-con Honesty? A Laughter that never laughs? This is really pathetic. What’s next? You give Generosity to a changeling? Oh wait. You don’t have it. Vengeance would kill you all with a sneeze if you tried to enter the tower.”

Everypony’s heads turned in the direction of the Tower of Justice. “You mean it’s there?” asked Jingles.

Discord shrugged. “Of course. They all are. It’s not very creative, just sitting on them like that, but It’s more than enough against the likes of you.”

“Will you stop that?” said Aurora.

Discord raised an eyebrow. Aurora flapped her wings, approaching him at face level.

“It’s a game for you, we get it. You’re like bazillion years old, and bored out of your wits.” said Aurora. “But you know what? It’s not a game for us. For any of us. We live, and die here, and we’re trying our best to make the world a little bit better. So why don’t you move out of the way, and let us do our ‘hero thing’? If you really want some heroes to stop you, you can be a hero and stop yourself for once!”

Aurora finished, breathing heavily. Her frustration spent on the initial outburst, it seemed she didn’t have any idea how to continue. Behind her, her friends froze, all looking from her to Discord and back.

The lord of chaos stared at Aurora, as if he had seen her for the first time, his mismatched, red eyes boring into hers.

“You know,” he said, scratching his goatee with his talons, “I may have to change my plans for tonight because of you.”

Aurora swallowed loudly, suddenly aware of what she had done. “Um… how so?”

“Well,” said Discord, “I was thinking of starting something new today, changing your friends until they were no longer bearers, and taking the Elements away, to see if I can find somepony better to wield them…”

Just then a red-armored unicorn ran onto the scene, skidding panically to a halt as he saw Discord. The draconequus snapped his claws. "The game is over." The pony swayed, his body shifting as injury after injury came into existence all over it - Aurora could see the wounds not so much open, as suddenly always have been there, until the unicorn exploded with a soft splat.

“But now I have a better idea,” continued DIscord as if nothing had happened. “Let’s play a new game.”

He snapped his claws again, and suddenly everyone was standing on a roof overlooking the industrial district. The sky was already pink, and the ponies could see that their surroundings had been warped by Discord’s presence; the main factory complex was untouched, the fumes spreading from the chimneys dampening even the chaos lord’s magic, but the buildings the closest to them were slowly turning into a tangle of metal that made eyes hurt when observed too long.

“You look like a strong flier,” said Discord, turning towards Aurora. “How about a race?”

Aurora, still sickened and disoriented by what had just happened, turned towards him, not quite understanding. “What do you mean? There’s not much point racing you.”

Discord nodded. “Quite true. Quite true. But I’m sure I could give you a suitably heroic challenge.” He snapped his claws, and the nearest pipes moved. Metal twisted, ripping itself out of the structure. Two openings faced Aurora, now suddenly filled with row upon row of teeth. The smooth surfaces cracked and darkened, forming a pattern of scales. Two pairs of bat wings sprouted from each of the monsters, flapping faster and faster, until the creatures rose into the air like bizarre dragonflies.

“Now,” said Discord, “The sun is rising. Vengeance may be too crazy to notice things most of the time, but she’s not blind. She’ll be here any moment, and when she is, everypony will die. Right now, none of you will make it out of here in time. Unless…”

“Unless what?” said Whisper.

“Well,“ said Discord, “I only care about the Elements of Harmony.” he turned towards Aurora. “Getting you out of here is no big deal for me. Just ask me, and I will snap my fingers, and send you to your hideout. And your sister... and that kid too. I don’t care,” he finished, waving his paw dismissively.

“Or… you can gamble your sister’s life, and try to save these losers.” Discord grinned widely. “Race my pets and win, and everypony lives. Lose, and you will die, along with everypony you care about.”

He turned around in the air, and spread his arms wide. ”So, what will it be? Will you save the only family you have left? Or will you try to prove that you’re a hero? Whatever you do…” Discord pulled out a golden pocket watch, “...I suggest you hurry.”

Sauti opened her mouth to speak. Discord snapped his fingers, and her mouth disappeared.

Discord wagged a claw. “Nu nuh, no voting. It’s her decision alone.” A black curtain fell from nowhere, separating Aurora from her friends. “So, what are you going to do?”

Aurora swallowed. She tried to calm down, but when she closed her eyes, she could hear the sound of Discord’s pocket watch ticking, louder and louder. She looked towards the Tower of Justice, a giant, ominous shape in the distance; then towards the curtain covering Aquila, and the others; then towards the monsters still hanging in the air at the edge of the roof, their wings flapping in a steady rhythm. Finally, she turned towards the lord of chaos.

With a clunk, she dropped the blade bracelets from her forelegs. Turning around to reach different clasps with her teeth, she disentangled herself from the rest of her equipment.

“Where do I need to fly?”

If Discord’s grin could get any wider, the top of his head might fall off. He definitely had more teeth than just seconds before. He pointed his claw across the city. “You go round that chimney and then back here past this one.”

He rose into the air, the flying worms coming to his sides. The black curtain disappeared, showing the frightened ponies behind it.

“Well, we better start then, shouldn’t we?” said Aurora. She started flapping her wings faster and faster, preparing to take off at top speed.

Discord flew in front of Aurora, the monsters positioning behind her. He took a small red flag and raised it in his talon. “Okay, get ready… threetwooneGO!”

Aurora dashed forward, as quickly as she could. She could hear the flapping of wings behind her, but apparently the monsters lacked her ability to accelerate. She left them behind in the first couple of seconds.

Rooftops blurred underneath her. She flew over the factory buildings, then over the blocks of the nearest residential area. The giant chimney was still quite far in the distance. It wasn’t a part of the main factory setup, serving mainly as a magic dampener for its district. The sound of wings behind her was gradually getting closer, meshing together into an angry buzz. Aurora kept flying as fast as she could, but all the while she kept thinking of what to do. Her eyes turned towards the top of the chimney. Slowly, she started to build up altitude.

The rooftops shrunk beneath her. She could see some ponies looking up into the morning sky, many of them guards. Such reckless flying within the capitol airspace was bound to attract some attention. For a moment she got scared that somepony might try to shoot her down. Luckily, the monsters chasing her were bound to attract more attention.

She felt sudden tension in her wings. She was ascending of course, making her flight more laborious, but there was more to it than that. She was now approaching the chimney, getting closer and closer to the plume of smoke at the top. She could feel her innate magic weaken as she got further from Discord, the colors of her surroundings dulling, while the details got sharper. Her back muscles protested painfully, her wings suddenly barely large enough to provide any more lift. Behind her she could hear the flapping lose its rhythm and fall behind; whatever she was suffering through must have been much worse for conjured monsters, their forms struggling just to remain real.

She flew a tight turn around the giant chimney, reducing the flapping to just glide for a moment. As she started flying back, she caught a glimpse of the two monsters reaching the chimney on its opposite side. They were barely flying, even worse so than she was, and what it meant was that she would get a head start again. This time she would be flying down too.

She pressed on, leaving the chimney behind. The descent allowed her to build up speed faster. Soon the pressure started subsiding. Her wings still hurt from the effort, but now she was quickly regaining her full flight capacity. Soon she could make out the tiny silhouettes of her friends and Discord waiting near the finish line.

Then she saw Discord’s talon rise. It was too far away to make out the details, but just from the gesture of his wrist, she knew it when he snapped his claws.

The flapping of wings, which had been quite far behind her, suddenly grew, and changed. It was now a roar, like some sort of a giant, mechanical saw. Aurora chanced a look behind. She could see a contrail of opalescent pink she was leaving by flying at that speed. Behind it, the two worms had increased their speed as well. She could see them fly with their maws open, rows of teeth rotating inside. It was as if they were sucking in the air as they flew, and there were now plumes of flame and smoke behind their tails. The distance between them and Aurora was shrinking fast.

“That cheating son of a…”

Aurora stared dead ahead, fighting the tears that appeared in her eyes from flying through the dusty air. There was no point in looking back now, nothing mattered except the space in front of her. Her wings protested again, as she put all of her strength into flying faster, the sound of pursuit growing louder behind her. The air seemed to get thicker in front of her, its resistance fighting against the momentum she had already built up. She was now close enough that she could see a grin on Discord’s face, and the horrified faces of her friends. The shadows shifted, ever so slightly, and she knew the sun had risen over the horizon.

She pushed on once more, and suddenly, like an invisible membrane bursting, the resistance was gone. The roar of the monsters disappeared in a deafening boom, and everything blurred from the speed. Aurora reached the second chimney in seconds, flying past it before the fumes could rob her of her speed. She made a sharp turn towards where her friends had been standing, and saw the two monsters falling from the sky. There was a giant ring of opalescent light spreading across the air where she had been seconds before.

Discord was looking at her, an expression of mad joy on his face. He snapped his claws, and everything disappeared in white light, but not before Aurora could catch a glimpse of a slender, white alicorn appearing in the sky above.

***

“That was where I got my cutie mark,” said Aurora, “but that was not the most important thing. It was that-” she paused, looking at her audience. Everyone was just staring, mouths half open, the expressions running a full spectrum from amazement to disgusted shock.

The only face that did not express much was Obsidian’s. He looked at the ponies around him, then at Aurora.

“I think it’s a good time for a break,” he said.