Previous Chapters Next
Close
Chapter One: The Gathering3,174 words
Chapter Two: Preparations4,024 words
Chapter Three: Siege3,418 words
Chapter Four: Chaos vs. Darkness3,921 words
Chapter Five: Crushing Defeat4,302 words
Chapter Six: The Fall of Canterlot3,443 words
Chapter Seven: Darkness Rising3,769 words
Chapter Eight: Regrouping2,706 words
Chapter Nine: Assault6,858 words
Chapter Ten: Equestria Assemble1,188 words
Chapter Eleven: The Battle of Tambelon6,773 words
Chapter Twelve: Climax3,091 words
Chapter Thirteen: Wrapping Up1,484 words
Bonus Chapter: What If?2,457 words

Chapter Four: Chaos vs. Darkness

The thing about magical teleportation is that, whenever the pony undergoing it pops back into existence, they experience disorientation for a moment. This can be dangerous, depending on where one ends up. This is why unicorns capable of teleporting are trained to have a very clear idea as to where they want to go. Unfortunately, in stressful situations, sometimes they forget that training.

Such was the case with Twilight Sparkle that day.

Twilight and her six best friends appeared in a flash of light in the gorge that held the Tree of Harmony. Unfortunately for them, they appeared a good distance up in the air, and the resulting confusion meant that none of those with wings could properly use them. The six ponies (plus one dragon) plummeted, screaming all the way, before slamming into the ground. Luckily for them, the fall wasn't high enough to be fatal, though it still hurt. Everyone groaned as they tried to disentangle their limbs from all the others, fighting through the pain.

"Owww..." complained Rarity as she climbed to her hooves once again. Then she looked at her perfectly curled mane, which had been, naturally, ruffled and frayed by the impact. "MY MANE!"

"Focus, Rares!" snapped Applejack. "We've got bigger things to worry about. You know, like the Tree of Harmony we came to save?"

Rarity pouted. "Well, you don't have to be so rude about it!"

"No, she's right," said Twilight, shaking off the lingering dizziness. "We have to get to the Tree, fast. Who knows what could be attacking it?"

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as her whole body began to shiver and quake.

"Uh, Twilight? My Pinkie Sense is kinda kicking into overdrive right now. I don't even know what it means, but I know something bad is already happening."

"I don't think we need your Pinkie Sense to tell us we're in trouble," added Rainbow Dash.

At her friends' perplexed looks, Rainbow pointed. Twilight followed the hoof, shifting her gaze to the Tree of Harmony for the first time. For the moment, the Tree looked unharmed. What really worried Twilight was the group gathered in front of the Tree, mostly because the group consisted of Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, the Storm King, Cozy Glow, and a large ram Twilight didn't recognize. What was worse, they were all wearing black necklaces that resembled the holders for the Elements of Harmony, with the exception of the ram, who had a crown instead. Twilight grew pale, clearly having realized what they were doing.

"GIRLS! WE HAVE TO STOP THEM!" she screamed, lighting up her horn once more. She began charging towards the team of villains, followed closely by her friends.

Their enemies turned upon hearing Twilight's cry, but they all had sadistic smiles on their faces, particularly the ram. His curved horns began to spark with black and yellow magic, and the studs on his necklace glowed. Bolts of lightning lanced out from his body, flying at Twilight and the others. They didn't even have time to react before they were blasted off their hooves or out of the air. Not even Spike escaped unscathed. As the mares and the dragon screamed and crumpled to the ground, the ram activated his horns again, telekinetically shoving them all to the side.

"HA! Take that, Twilight Sparkle! That's just the beginning of the suffering we will inflict on—" Chrysalis gloated, but a glare from the ram silenced her.

He turned back to Twilight and the others. "I thought our distraction would keep you occupied for longer," he admitted, "but it matters not. We've built up enough energy now." He turned back to face the Tree of Harmony.

Twilight tried to struggle to her hooves, but the ram must've mixed some paralyzing magic into his blast. She couldn't even twist her legs to get her hooves on the ground and push herself up.

"Stop it..." she managed to croak out. "You don't know what you're doing..."

"Oh, be quiet, Princess Sparkle," growled the ram. "We know exactly what we're doing."

The gems in the necklaces and crown began to glow with black light, as the group of villains levitated off the ground. The ram took the center, with the other five positioned around him, their necklaces flaring. Grey beams shot out of each of them into his crown, which pulsed with shadowy power. Within one second of charging, the crown fired a pure black bolt into the Tree of Harmony.

The tree did manage to resist at first. The Elements of Harmony, visible within its branches, glowed brightly, and a faint rainbow light began to emit from the Element of Magic, pushing back against the black beam. But as time went on, the rainbow power began to grow weaker and weaker, and the darkness advanced closer to the center of the Tree. As it pushed against the chamber holding the Element of Magic, the crystalline surface began to crack, faint white light beginning to creep out from beneath.

Then, with one thunderous snap, the Tree of Harmony exploded.

Twilight, as the paralysis magic began to wear off, managed to get out one horrified scream. Shards of crystal flew everywhere, forcing the villains to cover their eyes. As the bits and pieces of the tree scattered across the gorge, the Elements of Harmony, Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic, all plummeted to the ground, where they shattered. Their bright colors dulled, fading away, leaving nothing but grey, lifeless stone remaining.

"NO!" Twilight screamed again, shaking off the final bits of the magic. She charged over to where the elements had fallen, telekinetically seizing the pieces of the Element of Magic, and trying desperately to force them back together. But the broken shards had no reaction, and Twilight, tears beginning to drip from her face, dropped them to the ground. Her friends rushed up to her. None of them had the same look of utter despair on their faces as she did, but their faces ranged from shock to terror.

The projection of Twilight that the Tree of Harmony had previously used appeared before the ponies, but it was clearly weak, flickering and fading out of existence.

"Bearers...of Harmony...I..." was all she managed to say, before she disintegrated into a cluster of white stars that flew away.

"You monsters..." Twilight sobbed out, glaring at the villains and clenching her teeth, "...do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

The ram, standing the middle of his comrades, put a hoof on his chin, as though deep in thought, but he was clearly mocking her.

"Well, let's see," he muttered, drawing it out for as long as he could, "I think we've just destroyed your greatest weapon." Then he threw back his head and howled with laughter, joined by the other villains.

"Say good-bye to your precious friendships," cackled King Sombra. "After all, without the Elements, what purpose does your friendship serve?"

"Sorry, Headmare Twilight!" Cozy Glow laughed. "Looks like you shouldn't have put all your faith into some old artifacts!"

Twilight gritted her teeth, even as her eyes wandered down to the broken symbols of her friendships. Another sob threatened to escape her throat, but she disguised it as a cough. This was not a moment for showing weakness.

Rainbow Dash flew into the air, throwing her forehooves up and punching. "So what if we don't have the Elements?!" she snarled. "We've beaten all of you (well, most of you) before, and we can do it again!"

"She's right!" yelled Pinkie Pie. "You meanies won't stop us, even without the Elements!"

The ram chuckled to himself again, taking another step towards the six mares and one dragon, but suddenly, a blinding flash, accompanied by a popping sound, erupted next to the group, blinding everyone momentarily. When it faded, there was now a familiar draconequus floating next to the mares.

"Twilight! Fluttershy!" exclaimed Discord, bending down to get a look at the ponies. "I just felt this massive shockwave of magic reverberate through Equestria, and I knew you girls had to be at the center of it. Seriously, what is going—"

He never finished, as the group of villains caught his eye. His bright red orbs wandered from the shattered remains of the Tree of Harmony, to those responsible for its destruction, lingering a minute on Tirek, before he finally settled his gaze on the ram. In that instant, Discord's confused smile quickly faded, replaced with a furious grimace, and he clenched his mismatched hands.

"Grogar..." he growled.

"Ah, Discord," said the ram. "I was wondering when we'd see each other again. This is a bit earlier than I'd anticipated, I admit. You don't have it in you to call me father? Even after all this time?"

"Wait a minute," Twilight interrupted. "Grogar? The Grogar?!"

The eyes of the six mares shrunk to pinpricks. Now that they knew exactly who they were up against, it made sense that he'd managed to shatter the Tree of Harmony. Every foal in Equestria knew the story of Emperor Grogar and his conquest of Equestria, long before the unification of the three tribes. If he was real, and here now, that meant the ponies were now up against someone more powerful than anything they'd ever faced.

"You're no more my father than you were thousands of years ago!" Discord spat back. "Why did you return? Got tired of collecting dust in whatever wasteland Gusty banished you to?"

Grogar cackled again. "You didn't honestly believe I'd just sit on my rear and watch as ponies claimed the land that was rightfully mine, did you? Also, you may want to pay attention," he gestured to his necklace, "as my bell is back where it belongs."

Discord dropped down, landing on his mismatched feet. "Doesn't matter," he snarled, "I'm not afraid of you. I never have been."

"Discord...?" came Fluttershy's quiet voice from behind. "Can you...?"

Discord quickly moved to shield the mares with his own body. "Leave," he commanded. "Get out of here. Warn Celestia and Luna of what's coming." He didn't have to say it, the implication was right there.

Twilight was still trembling, but she managed to get to her hooves. "Come on, everyone," she said to the others.

Spike and the mares obeyed without hesitation, turning and rushing out of the gorge.

"Can't you just teleport us again?" demanded Spike, as he took to the air.

"Not in the span of five minutes!" Twilight shouted back as they ran, climbing up the steps. "Magic needs time to recharge!"

The Storm King turned to Grogar. "You want us to grab 'em?" he asked, electricity dancing between his fingers.

Grogar shook his head. "They won't get far. Besides, I want to have some fun." A quick pulse of magic levitated the crown off his head, placing it in the Storm King's hands. Grogar stretched his legs to the side, as his horns and necklace studs glowed with golden power.

Discord cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna enjoy this, 'Dad,'" he sneered.

Grogar didn't reply, but launched the first attack, firing a black and gold beam each horn that combined into one blast. Discord wasn't having it, however, snapping his fingers and transmuting the magic into globs of chocolate pudding, which fell to his feet.

At the sight, the Storm King's jaw dropped. "He can do that?! How's Grogar gonna—"

Tirek lit up his own horns, magically forcing his comrade's jaw shut. "Don't worry about it," he insisted. "Grogar knows what he's doing."

Discord began focusing his power on the ground beneath him, levitating out several chunks of earth. With one mighty heave, he sent them all flying towards Grogar. The ram merely grinned, however, leaping from his position to land on top of one of the projectiles. As his allies rushed for cover, Grogar leaped from rock to rock before they crashed, eventually launching himself off the last one and flying directly at Discord's face. The surprised draconequus didn't have time to snap his fingers before Grogar headbutted him right between the eyes, sending his long form flying back into a wall.

Grogar easily landed back on his hooves and laughed once more, as Discord climbed back onto his feet.

"You can hit pretty hard, I'll give you that," he growled.

"Oh, you haven't seen the half of it!" cackled Grogar.

He charged another beam between his horns, but Discord simply teleported away before the blast could hit him. Grogar's eyes darted from side to side, searching for his enemy, until Discord sprang out from beneath him, wrapping his lengthy body around the ram's torso.

"I'll be wrapping this fight up soon enough!" quipped Discord, though his voice had none of its usual playfulness.

Grogar struggled, but Discord held firm, flying upwards and carrying his opponent with him, until Grogar's face slammed into one of the gorge walls. Discord flew backwards, smacking Grogar into another wall. Unfortunately for the Spirit of Chaos, he began to laugh at this, angering the ram.

"SILENCE!" Grogar roared. His horns began sparking, as bolts of black electricity began to swirl around them. Grogar's entire body became electrified, shocking Discord into a pained scream, and forcing him to release his grip. Grogar then surrounded himself in his own telekinetic aura, before hitting Discord with a blast of magic, sending him falling down into the gorge.

The Storm King winced as Discord's body slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark," he commented.

Chrysalis could only watch in awe. "So this is the power of Grogar," she breathed.

Grogar levitated himself down, coming to a rest beside the fallen Discord. He then levitated up his enemy to face him. "So, Discord," he began, "seeing how we've clearly demonstrated that your power is no match for mine, I suppose we must—"

He was interrupted, as the fluffy hand on the end of Discord's tail snapped its fingers. His arms turned into bars of iron, and he raised them up, clocking Grogar on either side of his head. Grogar roared with fury, backing away from Discord as he clutched his own skull.

"Acting. Ta-daa!" sang Discord, snapping his fingers again.

Several gigantic scoops of ice cream, in all flavors, plopped down from the sky, rolling toward Grogar like massive boulders. The dark sorcerer grunted, his horns glowing with pure magic energy. He fired several magic beams, each one obliterating an ice cream scoop. But upon reaching the last one, as he prepared to fire, Discord snapped his fingers, causing wooden corks to fly out and jam themselves onto the tips of Grogar's horns and causing the magic to fizzle out. This left Grogar vulnerable, as the ice cream rolled over him, pulling him inside it.

Discord howled with laughter. "You never did have a sense of humor, Grogar!" he shouted. "It made things so much funnier when you—"

This time, Discord was the one interrupted. That interruption took the form the of ice cream scoop exploding, sending globs of half-melted ice cream flying everywhere, including one that hit Discord in the eyes, blinding him. In what was once the center of the ice cream ball, Grogar floated, his horns and neck studs glowing black and gold. Roaring once again, he conjured two long arms of pure magic. One reached down and seized Discord in its massive hand, while the other made a fist and began pounding on Discord's head. With every blow, the sound of a squeaky mallet was heard, though Discord clearly felt real pain from each hit.

Finally, Grogar ceased his assault, but maintained his grip on Discord. The Spirit of Chaos was clearly dazed, his eyes replaced by red spirals, and his body slumped over the massive hand. Grogar smirked as he charged up another lightning blast, before firing it directly at Discord's head.

Unfortunately for him, Discord's hand were still free, and his snapped his fingers once more. A massive rubber glove appeared between him and Grogar, and intercepted the electrical attack, completely nullifying it. With another wave of his eagle talon, Discord sent the glove flying towards Grogar, where it enveloped him, blinding him despite his annoyed screeches.

Discord then conjured up a hacksaw and began sawing through the fingers binding him. All the while, Grogar was struggling inside the rubber glove, firing blasts of magic that stretched the material as far as it could go. Eventually, Discord cut his way out of the hand, and Grogar managed to pierce the glove with his horns, leaving both combatants free once more.

However, anyone watching could easily tell who had the advantage at the moment. While Grogar looked as strong and steady as ever, Discord was clearly panting and winded, barely able to stand. Try as he might to disguise it, Grogar's attacks were taking their toll on him.

This fact didn't escape the dark sorcerer's notice. "Chaos starting to run dry, Discord?" he mocked. "The ponies may believe you to be all powerful, but against me, you are nothing."

"Is it too much to ask that you just shut up and fight?!" Discord shouted back, clenching both hands into fists.

He snapped his fingers once again, summoning several replicas of Pinkie Pie's party cannon from nothing. The cannons all aimed themselves at Grogar before firing, but instead of confetti or party supplies, they blasted massive chunks of cotton candy at the ram. Grogar simply smiled before stomping his hoof, creating a barrier of dark magic. The pink globs splattered against the shield, completely obscuring him from view, but doing nothing to actually harm Grogar.

With another stomp, Grogar sent out a shockwave of pure magical energy, intending to slam Discord against the wall again. The draconequus was ready this time, however, splitting his body into a cloud of tiny cubes, allowing the magic to pass harmlessly between them. As soon as it ended, the pieces reunited into Discord.

Undaunted, Grogar sent another beam of magic at Discord, who slashed the air with his eagle talon, opening a portal to another dimension and causing the attack to be sucked in. With a wave of his arms, Discord sent the portal towards Grogar, intending to trap his "father" inside the vortex.

Grogar was having none of it, though. His horns lit up with golden light, and he charged forward, bashing his head against the portal and causing it to shatter like glass. The studs on his necklace lit up, pulling up the pieces and forming them into a massive dagger shape, which flew right at Discord. The draconequus only avoided the attack by transfiguring the dagger into chocolate milk right before it hit him.

He had no time to recuperate, as Grogar charged him once more. Gritting his teeth, Discord snapped the fingers on his tail, creating a portal on each side of him. He thrust one hand into each portal, as more appeared surrounding the ram. Multiple copies of Discord's arms emerged from each portal, seizing Grogar from all directions and pinning him in place. Discord's tail then stretched out and began slapping Grogar across the face repeatedly.

Grogar, unable to take anymore, ignited the studs on his necklace, creating multiple bolts of gold energy that shot outwards, blasting away all the duplicates of Discord's arms. Grogar was soon freed from the hold, while Discord was forced to pull his arms back, covered with small magic burns.

With another pulse of magic, Grogar telekinetically yanked Discord across the gorge, before placing a hoof on his throat.

"Yield," he ordered.

Discord, unable to formulate a response, tried to snap his fingers, only for Grogar to stomp down on his lion paw. The ram moved to crush Discord's eagle talon too, but Discord snapped his fingers just in time, creating a swarm of flash bees that angrily circle Grogar's head, zapping him with their tiny bolts of electricity. Grogar angrily began swatting the bees, forcing him to step off Discord's body.

Discord, clearly struggling, nonetheless managed to stand back up again. He snapped his lion's paw, summoning a set of springs that went under Grogar's hooves and expanded, pushing the ram up into the air. As Grogar flew up, Discord conjured a large, flat disk of rock, which Grogar crashed into headfirst. Then he plummeted to the ground, only for Discord to charge him once more, his eagle talon transformed into a massive wooden mallet, and struck Grogar with a roundhouse punch as hard as he could.

While the blow certainly staggered Grogar, nearly driving him to the floor, he snapped back upwards, his horns flaring with power. He sent another bolt of black lightning at Discord, zapping him and eliciting a pained scream.

"This has been amusing," Grogar declared, "but our game has gone on long enough."

Discord attempted to climb back to his foot and hoof once more, but Grogar was having none of it. His horns glowed with power, summoning a cloud of darkness, and dropping onto Discord. The draconequus was blinded by the shadow, and thus unable to see the next attack coming. Grogar stomped with both front hooves, kicking up dust and breaking off a chunk of the earth in front of him. With a few aimed pulses of magic, he carved the dirt and stone into a massive, clenched fist, and launched it into the darkness, where it slammed directly into Discord's skull.

Discord was sent flying out of the cloud of darkness, bouncing across the gorge and sliding a good distance before coming to a stop. As Grogar stomped over to him, he weakly raised his lion's paw and snapped his fingers, but the only result was a single blue balloon appearing out of nowhere, and floating away.

"Ah, crud..." he complained as he slumped down into the dirt, defeated.

Grogar smiled his wicked smile. "You never were a match for me, Discord," he laughed. "And your chaos amounts to little more than party tricks. You are a truly pathetic creature."

The studs on his necklace glowed gold, levitating Discord into the air. From Discord's mouth came a multicolored, glitching blob of chaos magic, accompanied by rubbery squeaking noises. Grogar pulled until he'd extracted every last drop of magic from Discord's body, before allowing his creation to fall to the earth once more.

Over by the ruins of the Tree of Harmony, Grogar's allies stood watching, slack-jawed at the battle they'd just witnessed, particularly Tirek.

"He never stood a chance," Sombra mused. "The Lord of Chaos, tossed aside like some weak child..."

"He wasn't kidding," added Cozy Glow.

Grogar turned on one hoof, walking back over to his comrades with the limp Discord and his chaos magic still held in the invisible magic grip. "I will divide Discord's magic between the six of us," he revealed. "With his power, we will be even more unstoppable."

He was as good as his word, pulling apart the blob of chaos magic until it was divided into six equally-sized pieces. He then passed one piece to each member of the legion, while keeping one for himself, and they all devoured the magic without hesitation. Tirek even grew larger upon consumption, his horns curving inward before jutting out again.

"What is the next phase of our conquest, Emperor Grogar?" asked the centaur, smiling evilly and clenching his fists.

Grogar returned the grin. "Now," he declared, "I believe we have six ponies to hunt down."

Still floating by his creator's side, Discord swallowed in fear.

2,568 views