Rise of the Element Gang, Book 3: Heroes United

by Power of Six

Chapter 21: Destiny in Unity

Chapter 21: Destiny in Unity

After Dusk gave us our Elements, we left the library seconds later right after leaving some indignant Cutie Mark Crusaders in relative safety there. The three little fillies weren’t exactly happy about it, but we weren’t willing to put them in further danger than we already had been. Applejack, Rarity, and even Dog at least were a lot more relaxed afterwards, convinced in the knowledge that the girls’ younger siblings would be safe and, while she hid it well, Rainbow also looked relieved that Scootaloo would also be safe.

Of all the times since this whole incident began, I had never felt more confident as I did now. My friends were back to normal, we had the Elements of Harmony with them again, we had additional support from more of our friends that I hadn’t even expected to see with the addition of a new one, and, best of all, I had Dusk back with me, his very presence enough to calm all of my fears. This time, we were going to defeat Discord and Dusk would be here to witness it.

Even if Dusk was with us though, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed or perhaps that was an understatement. I wasn’t even completely sure as to how or why I did it, whether it had been to give Dusk luck or a way of additional support, but I had actually gathered up the courage to kiss him in that moment in the last battle. He wasn’t even aware of my doing it at the time. Did this make my wrong then? Was it truly foolish to even think of pursuing something along the lines of romance with him?

It seemed that way, just a silly waste of time. But thinking that didn’t make me feel any better. I did my best to hide my tears and keep my head low as we galloped through Ponyville.

Discord certainly wasn’t difficult to find. We had only been searching for a few minutes, trailing silently behind a pair of Paraserpents that took us towards the center of town. There, they bowed to pay homage to their lord and master and report on the chaos they were helping to spread and keep in check. He sat upon a red and black throne in the shape of an elongated skull, two deer antlers sprouting out of the top and supported by plush cushions. Six more Paraserpents stood guard, three on either side of their master.

“Alright, he doesn’t even know we’re here!” Rainbow whispered from the hay bale we were hiding behind.

“Boy, is he gonna get a surprise.” Shield said at the same volume.

“Think them fellers are gonna be a problem?” Applejack asked, referring to his guards.

“We’ll take care of them, have no fear.” Strongheart assured.

“Ee-yup!” Dog put in. “We’ll keep them distracted while you girls and Dusk get to Discord.”

“Yeah. Time to see what those Elements do to his stones.” Leon finished. “We got the snakes covered. You all just take care of Discord.”

“A good plan.” Rarity said. “Well, shall we… Dusk, are you all right, darling?”

I looked to Dusk, our stallion friend, where he appeared to be staring at something in disbelief. I followed his gaze and soon I was sure that my expression mirrored his perfectly. At the foot of Discord’s throne, suffering signs of debasement and indignity were three statues: two of alicorns—one smaller than the other—and one dragon, but all with defiant expressions fixed on their faces. They were covered in graffiti, streamers, cotton candy, chocolate, and had white pointed caps on their heads, one reading “bore”, one reading “pushover”, and one reading “bozo”.

I felt my blood boil and I growled low in my throat. I had expected as much from when they went to distract him, but seeing our two fair rulers and great guardian reduced to such mockery as this actually here, right in front of me… if I felt that Discord deserved everything he was about to get, I was now utterly convinced that he did deserve that and so much more for such a crime against Equestria. I looked at Dusk again and knew he must feel the same, glaring at him and shaking.

Though it was against my better judgement… “We’ll make him regret everything he's done.”

Dusk looked back at me and gently squeezed my hoof in return. “And I’ll make sure you do.” I knew that he meant for far more than turning our rulers and guardian to stone.

“Okay, here’s the plan,” I said, turning to the others. “I’ll lead the Wielders and Dusk. We get as close as we can to Discord, while the rest of you spread out. If the Paraserpents start to attack, you come in and take care of them.”

The people I was addressing, Gold Star, Hearth Forest, Shield, Dog, Leon, Spike, Zecora, and Strongheart all nodded in affirmation, as did all the others. It wasn’t the most elaborate plan, but it didn’t need to be. We had the Elements back now, all we needed was the time to use them on Discord and revert him back to being a statue. Even he wouldn’t be able to counter the full power of the magic of friendship against him. He wasn’t able to last time. Especially now that we had Dusk’s stones, whatever purpose they served.

I was about to wish them all luck and start to lead them off, when I realized something else and it made me stop and smile.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“I was just thinking.” I replied. “When all this started and Discord gave us that riddle, he said we’d need more than the Elements of Harmony and the Element Gang to stop him this time.”

“So what? We found the Elements, we beat his stupid little game!” Rainbow said impatiently. "Now come on, let’s go already!”

“I know, I know. I just realized that, well, he was right.” I passed my gaze over Dusk and the attack group. “None of you are Elements and you could have just stayed out of the way, yet you still came to fight the battle to restore harmony. I suppose that was what he meant, because if it wasn't for you, the Paraserpents would have overwhelmed us.”

“Oh, yeah… I never thought about that.” Spike gave a small chuckle. “Heh, cool. You couldn’t have managed without me. I knew it.”

“Well, of course we would help.” Shield gave me a confident smile. “We’re Element Gang. Protecting Equestria is our job.”

“And my job as the Mystic King.” Gold Star added, giving the same smile.

“As well as my job as a Necro-Knight.” Hearth Forest put in.

“I could think of nothing else I would rather be doing in this dark time.” Strongheart bowed her head. “It was my honor to lend a hoof to you all.”

“An honor to all of us.” Dog added. “Especially since half our team is now gonna help beat the crazy villain threatenin’ our home.”

“I too am most glad indeed to have helped in your hour of need.” Zecora put in. “Now it’s time for Discord to be disposed and bring this chaos to close.”

“Yeah, time to finish this once and for all!” Leon finished.

I nodded in agreement and looked to Dusk to see if he had anything to add. In contrast to the others, however, he didn’t seem so convinced. He had that look of concentration on his face that I knew he only ever got when he was thinking hard about a particular issue, focusing particularly on the now glowing stones around his neck and put a claw to his chin. He always looked kind of… cute, in my opinion, when he did that.

Brushing aside this random thought, I had to say his name three times to snap him out of it and even then I could tell his mind still was focused on whatever it was that he had been thinking about.

“Oh, sorry.” He told me.

“Thinking about those stones again?” Shield asked him.

“Well, yeah. I’m also hoping the Elements are the catalyst we need to activate them.” He told us. “I’m just proud to be a part of this. Speaking of, I do kind of feel bad not letting the Crusaders come along. They did help us as much as anypony and I don’t want them to feel like they’re left out.”

“I’ll make sure they won’t be.” I promised. “Now, spread out and get into position. It’s time to finish this.”

“Yes, Ms. Sparkle.” Within seconds, we’d all galloped off into established hiding places and were nowhere to be seen.

I let that warm enriching feeling I got when I was with Dusk flow through me from his words. I always liked it when he called me “Ms. Sparkle.” Anypony else would think it would sound too formal and I myself knew that the only ponies who called me that had been my examiners. Coming from Dusk though, it just sounded… sweet, just right in a way.

Letting my thoughts and feelings for Dusk give me strength, I led the others towards the spirit of chaos, who had just thrown a flying apple pie at Princess Celestia, sprayed party streamers all over Princess Luna, and dressed Dragonis Maximus like a clown, guffawing and laughing all the while. He paused in his mischief and conjured a glass under a torrent of chocolate rain, allowing it to fill up from the brim to the bottom.

He rose the glass in the manner of performing a toast. “Chaos is a wonderful, wonderful thing.”

“Not as wonderful as friendship!” I declared, his head whipping up to look at us.

“Ugh, this again?” he asked mockingly.

Following this, he promptly drank the glass rather than the contents, then threw the remaining chocolate behind him. This was followed by an explosion and a screech from a Paraserpent in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everypony, remarkably, managed to ignore this.

“That’s right. You couldn’t break apart our friendship for long!” Applejack followed up.

“Oh, Applejack, don’t lie to me. I’m the one who made you a liar.” Discord raised a glowing finger as he said this, grabbing Applejack by her necklace and levitating her up to him. Clenching his fist, he did the same with the others, all struggling to remove their Elements. “Will you ever learn? Oh, boys, who's hungry?”

This last part was addressed to his guards, who slithered forward eagerly. “Food from Lord Disssssscord!”

Quickly deciding what to do, I tapped into her magic and ordered “Dusk!”

“Right! Everypony, attack!” Dusk cried out as I then heard multiple battle cries, Shield and the others coming out to fight the Paraserpents.

With this, I teleported up to my friends and surrounded them in a protective spell, lowering us gently back to the ground. As I descended, I watched Zecora catch two with a split kick to the head, Gold Star using his sword to block and reflect magic blasts back at their senders, Strongheart ram right into one, Dog freezing Paraserpents left and right, Leon using his cannon to blast some away, and Shield slam two rocks into the jaw of one, followed by his hooves down on its head. Spike who rode on his back finished it off by torching it with his fire.

Touching the ground, I suddenly felt grass around my hooves when I landed over where Dusk was standing in waiting, like our presence had destroyed that little patch of chaos. Zecora and Strongheart galloped over to join them, Shield sliding off the back of a Paraserpent as it fell, rounding on Discord with the others and Spike jumped off his back and raised his little claws like a champion boxer.

Bolstered by the presence of my friends, Twilight faced the lord of chaos defiantly. “I’ll tell you what we’ve learned, Discord. We’ve learned that friendship isn’t always easy. But there’s no doubt it's worth fighting for!”

“Oh, come on now, Twilight Sparkle.” Discord slapped his face, apparently unfazed by the loss of his guards. “We both know how this is going to end, friendship or none.”

“We know how this will end and it will be with your demise!” Dusk spoke up. “Separate, we’re easy targets, but together, we’re more than a match for you!”

“Ugh! Gag!” He teleported in front of us and frowned impatiently. “Fine, go ahead. Try and use your little Elements, ‘frenemies’. Just make it quick.” In the blink of an eye, he was back on his throne. “I’m missing some excellent chaos here.” Some flying pigs flapped by as he said this.

Dusk bowed to us and stood back. “Ladies first, Ms. Sparkle.”

“Thank you, Dusk.” she nodded to me. “All right, ladies! Let’s show him what friendship can do!”

“Wait-wait-wait!” Pinkie had become distracted by some chocolate rain and was gulping it down in bucket loads. After a few seconds, she rejoined them, snarling like a wolverine.

It was time.

Dusk’s view

Allowing the girls to do their thing, I watched as Twilight reached deep into her magic and surrounded herself and the others in a magical aura, awakening the power of each Element and blocking out everything else that might distract her. Together with her friends, I could tell she felt the power build stronger and stronger with every passing moment, finally letting it reach its peak and letting it all out in on magical burst, in the form of a rainbow. I also saw Twilight could see it consume Discord, smiling to herself as she knew as much as me that it would now be doing what she had commanded it to do: turn the Lord of Chaos back to stone. This wouldn’t take very long…

“You’re finished, Discord!” I confidently said before adding with a snap of my index claw and thumb. “Check and mate!”

“Oh, really?” Hearing that smug voice, I looked in shock as Discord was moving around in the rainbow beam like he was in the shower. “Have to say, showering in a rainbow is kind of nice. Maybe I should get one for myself.”

“What?” I was in disbelief what I was seeing, knowing something was wrong but didn’t know what it was.

“Hey, how come he’s not turnin’ to stone?” Dog asked, confused by this.

“Well, it seems as though you all are still missing something.” Discord said to us, keeping that smug. “I wonder what it could be?”

“But… this doesn’t make any sense.” I said, having a hard time making heads or tails of this. “We have everything we need. The girls are back in harmony, we have the Elements, and the seven stones to help them. Why isn’t this working?”

“Uh, Dusk?” Leon said with worry. “I think I know why it isn’t working.”

“What is it?” I asked him.

“Remember how that blue stone was glowing bright back at the library?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, it’s not glowing like that anymore!”

“What?” I then looked down and, to my horror, I saw that he was right. The stone that had my fur color was back to glowing like the others, its bright light gone. This only meant one thing and it was something I dreaded. “No… No! It can’t be!”

“Oh, I’m afraid it is, Dusk.” Discord said to me. “Once again, you failed.”

With the others joining me, we all watched in horror as the rainbow began losing its color, turning grey as the girls had once done. I saw Twilight try to increase the power, but it was already at maximum and soon the whole rainbow had faded away, leaving our foe a self-satisfied draconaquis, holding up his eagle and lion hands, both of which were glowing and absorbing the energy. He then snapped his fingers, the light faded and Twilight and the others smacked back to the floor in a heap.

“Girls!” I called out as me and the others helped the six mares to their hooves.

“Badda-bing, badda-zip!” Discord grinned and descended into fits of laughter again. “You know something? I think it’s even funnier the second time around!”

“What the… What happened?” Pinkie asked, staring down at her Element. “Why is there still chocolate rain? Not that I'm complaining, but why is everything still topsy-turvey?”

“Oh, my. Was I kind enough?” Fluttershy asked. “That’s it, isn’t it? I wasn’t kind enough to use my Element properly!”

“Calm down, sugar.” Applejack soothed. “Somethin’ fishy’s goin’ on here and it ain’t nothin’ to do with you.”

“The Elements didn’t work!” Rarity shrieked. “Twilight, what’s going on?”

She cringed with the dozen of eyes staring at her. “I… I don’t know. They should be working. We’re all here and we all have them, so they should work. Why aren’t they working?”

“Has this happened before?” Strongheart asked unsurely.

“Of course it hasn’t!” Twilight yelled back. “The Elements of Harmony always work if their Wielders are together, in harmony! It’s a powerful piece of group cast magic originating from several different vessels in order to cast the most powerful spells possible. Nothing should be able to counter their magic. But they’re not, so why aren’t they? Why aren’t they?!”

Seeing all this, I then began to realize what was going, especially with the stone.

“I think I know.” I said, gaining everypony’s attention. “Girls, the Elements alone didn’t stop Nightmare Moon.”

“What?” Twilight said in disbelief. “Dusk, what are you talking about?”

“Twilight, I just figured out exactly how the stones connect to all this.” I then began to explain. “The seven stones that I wear are connected to the Elements of Harmony! It’s just like you said, they have magic power within them and that magic is used to strengthen the Elements.”

“Hold on, you’re saying those things actually power the Elements?” Shield asked with surprise. “How?”

“I don’t know, but that’s not the point.” I then continued with the explanation. “Without these stones, the Elements aren’t strong enough to do much anything. That’s why Nightmare Moon was able to escape and Discord broke free from stone. The Elements’ magic wasn’t strong enough to hold. That’s why Fore Sight was searching for the stones, because he knew this would happen!”

“But you were there when the girls defeated Nightmare Moon and they turned her back into Princess Luna.” Leon reminded me.

“Yeah, only because I found the seventh stone and was able to activate them.” I told him.

“Well, do what you did to activate them last time and let’s use them to put Discord back to stone!” Rainbow said to me.

“That’s where the problem begins, Rainbow.” I said to her, now panicking. “I believe that what activates them is my faith in you and the girls to make things right. That’s what I was giving to you before. I’m giving faith to you now and yet the stones aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do! Why aren’t they working?”

“Perhaps they don’t work when the one using them is delusional.” I whipped my head back to face Discord. “I think you might have bats in your belfry, Dusk Noir. I know I certainly do.” A few of the winged rodents promptly flew out of his ears.

“You have something to do with this, don’t you, Discord?” Twilight demanded. “You’ve been trying to stop us every step of the way.”

“Except for the part where I told you how to find them.” he corrected. “It’s not my fault if you can’t follow instructions properly.”

“Shut up!” she shouted back. “Don’t play games with us!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow smacked one hoof into the other and glared at him. “What did you do to the stones, bub?”

He pointed to himself dramatically. “Moi? Et tut, Rainbow? How can you be so quick to judge? What happened to not judging a book by its cover?” He conjured up his own penned work, gestured to it and it vanished again. “Apart from proving once and for all that chaos is superior to harmony, I am guiltless in this.” I then looked down at the ground as I felt nothing but shame, mentally apologizing to Luna along with Dragonis and Celestia for failing them. “Now then…”

“Hey!” Shield shouted as I shot my head up and watched in shock as three bubbles formed around him, Dog, and Leon before they were taken over to him.

“Guys!” I said before the three were stacked up on top of each other in Discord’s open paw with Leon on top and Shield on the bottom. Soon after, Discord began juggling them, my fellow stallions screaming as he tossed them around.

“This is fun, right?” Discord asked as he continued to juggle.

“Put us down, you clown!” Shield demanded.

Feeling the rage inside me, I then slashed out on Discord and said “Leave them alone! Take me instead!”

“Well, if you insist.” Discord then stopped juggling them and snapped his fingers, the bubbles popping and the guys falling to the ground. They tried to get up, but some sudden force appeared and pushed them back down, pinning them on the ground as Discord spoke to them. “Sorry, boys, but you’re gonna have to stick this one out.” He then turns his attention back to me. “Ready to go, Dusk?”

Now furious, I was just about to jump right at him when…

“Ooh! That’s it, buddy!”

“Rainbow, no!” Twilight said, but it was too late.

Before anypony could stop her, Rainbow shot straight at Discord. The spirit of chaos raised an eyebrow at her, suppressed a snigger, and snapped his fingers, making her vanished in a flash of light. When it lifted, she was struggling as she was trapped in a mass of sticky, sickly cotton candy and Discord was pointing and laughing at her state like a playground bully.

“Let me go! Come on!”

“Ha-ha-ha! Oh, that's just brilliant!” He wiped a tear from his eye. “You actually thought you could beat me in a fight! Now, I don’t suppose anypony else wants to try their luck?”

He soon stopped laughed and his horrible eyes turned to the others, still keeping that smile on his face and his hands glowing with chaotic magic. Seeing this, I then decided to take the bull by the horns.

Twilight’s view

My thoughts were in a whirl as I tried desperately to formulate some kind of strategy against him, a countermeasure, and a secondary attack, anything that might work.

“Enough!” With that shout, Dusk stepped forward, calmly and slowly. “You’ve done enough damage, Discord! I won’t let you hurt my friends! No more! It ends now!”

“Oh, really?” Discord leaned over to look at him. “Just like you to believe in an impossible goal. As I recall, I wasn’t the only one who caused that pain.”

“I know…” He seemed to flinch a little from this, but he still didn’t move. “But was has happened has past and I intend to see that you never repeat what has happened here.”

“History does have a habit of repeating itself, as you know.” he countered. “Don’t you see that your cause is lost and that I will now rule eternal?”

“No cause is lost if there’s but one fool left to fight for it.” If Dusk was scared, he hid it. If he was doubtful, he didn’t let it show. Dusk just stood there, immovable and strong, despite his size.

Discord frowned and shrugged. “Then let there be one less fool.”

“Indeed.” Dusk closed his eyes and lowered his head.

Panic gripped me, knowing what was coming. “DUSK, NO!”

BANG!

I heard myself scream as Discord snapped his fingers and a bolt of chaos magic struck where Dusk was. When the dust cleared, I saw that Dusk was gone and his hat lying there, fearing the worst. The fear went away when I heard a cry and saw Dusk behind Discord’s head, throwing a kick as flames surrounded him for the moment. With his attack connecting as Discord turning around, Dusk had become El Dragon as the impact sent Discord flying into a nearby building. Landing while glaring at the draconequus, Dusk’s nostrils flared with black smoke and his teeth or fangs in this case bared as he gritted them, rage burning in his eyes as he gave a beastly growl.

“Well…” Discord said with a cough as he pulled himself out of the building, dusting himself as he stood up, “looks like somepony haves some trick up his sleeve.”

“Dusk, how did you…?” I asked in disbelief before he went ahead and answered my question.

“Speed boost spell from my magic.” He told me. “Learned it back in the old Element Squad days with Shield. I also used a little bit of strength-enhancing magic I learned with helping Dog to give that kick an extra… well, kick.”

A blast came in from behind, but it was blocked by a sudden yellow shield that appeared with the glow from Dusk’s horn and reflected it. Looking to where it went, I saw it hit a Paraserpent behind Dusk and knock it to the ground, the snake no doubt trying to attack Dusk from behind.

“Gonna have to try a little harder than that to sneak a fast on me.” Dusk said to it, not once looking away from Discord as he canceled his magic and made the shield disappear. “Especially to get past the shield that once took on the dark magic of Dargon.”

“Impressive.” Discord said to him with sly smile. “Guess being around those three didn’t make you weak. I can see why Diablo lost to you.”

“Enough talk, Discord.” Dusk then took a fighting stance. “I’m going to take you down!”

“You can try.” Discord said, taking stance as well. “All I know is that this is going to be real fun.”

With that, we all watched as the two disappeared and watched as blurs of red and brown clashed at each other in the air. It was only a moment later we could see them again, the fight still going between the three stallions before Discord’s throne and me and the others who had joined to fight him. The two exchanged blows, both dodging and attacking each other with Discord mostly dodging Dusk who threw multiple kicks and punches at him, my friend flying to meet Discord’s punches as the spirit of chaos stood there.

“Whoa!” Spike exclaimed in surprise. “Dusk’s really taking that Discord guy head-on?”

“Whoa! They’re… so fast!” Pinkie Pie commented as the swift movements of the two had pulled in large amounts of wind and were causing bursts that created a gale-force around them.

“Yet another surprise. Take look over there!” Zecora said, pointing to the side of the battle. “Surrounding Dusk, our foes don’t seem to dare.”

“She’s right!” Strongheart spoke out as we saw the Paraserpents staying far away from the fight. “The Paraserpents are staying away from Discord and Dusk!”

“Can’t say that I blame them.” Rainbow put in. “Seeing how those two are going at it, I wouldn’t to be in the middle of that mess!”

“Yeah.” Applejack added. “Dog sure wasn’t kiddin’ when he said he’s strong.”

“Yeah… he is.” I said, just amazed by what I was seeing.

Seeing how Dusk was fighting, I was just in awe by what he was doing. Even though he was outmatched, he was willing to face Discord to protect Equestria, to protect all of us, his friends… to protect me. Think back to what I learned about him, everything he did and all the threats he had faced, I was starting to understand why he did it all. Every fight he was in, every foe he struck at… he was doing it to save everypony, even me. His courage, his compassion, his will… all the things that made him who he was, all the things that I loved about him, they are what makes him a hero. Dusk once told me that, all his life, he wanted to be a hero like his father. But now I see he doesn’t really need to be like his father because he’s already proven to be a real hero. At least, in a way… he’s proven to be my hero.

The battle soon came to an end as Dusk delivered one final punch, the largest burst of wind yet spreading from the impact. We all shielded ourselves, unable to see if the attack had hit its mark due to the sheer wind against us. When it all began to settle, I lowered my foreleg, hoping to see Dusk had one. But, much like Dusk, my hopes were crushed when I saw Discord was still standing, having caught Dusk’s punch in his paw and was holding him there.

“Well, this has been pretty fun, more than when I fought the last Fire Dragon who faced me.” Discord said, sounding pleased with himself before he held out his arm, Dusk now dangling from under his paw. “But I think it’s about time to end things here.” With that, chaotic energy surged from his paw, causing Dusk to cried out from being shocked.

“DUSK!” I yelled out in worry. After a moment, the energy stopped and Dusk became limp, his transformation back to normal adding to my horror.

“Well, so much for the Hero of Light.” With that smug look on his face, Discord released his grip and let Dusk fall to the ground, my fellow unicorn sprawling as he laid there.

I reached out with her hoof, knowing it was already too late. I glared back up at Discord and my rage spilled over. Rational thought was gone in that moment, logic was lost. And all I wanted to do was do something, anything, to hurt the cruel, sadistic monster that stood before me.

“GET HIM!” Though they knew it was foolish—suicidal even—at my command, they all charged at the draconequus.

Discord just yawned and waited for each of them. Spike launched a fireball at him, which he turned into a volleyball and threw at him, knocking him into a wall with a loud pinging sound. Zecora jumped, spinning her staff, but he made it so it spun of its own accord, lifting her up into the sky and dropping her like a sack of bricks onto the ground, accompanied with a horn honking and the staff with a mind of its own beating her on the head. Applejack tried kicking him, but she dropped into a giant apple basket and Discord trapped her inside by turning it downward. Hearth Forest tried to attack, but Discord had used the water to trap her in gelatin. Gold Star even tried to strike him down, but Discord managed to dodge by splitting apart, causing the sword to pass through and hit the ground.

“Well, well, Gold Star,” Discord said to him, “the adopted son of Princess Celestia. Been wondering when you would get here.”

“Save it, creep!” Gold Star said as he pulled his sword from the ground and got ready to strike again. “You’re gonna pay for what you did to my mom!”

“Really? With what?” Discord asked with a smug.

“With this!” the Mystic King then slashed at him, but he was then shocked when Discord caught the blade in his claw and held it there. “What?!”

“Really? Do you think your little Demon Dweller was a match for me?” Discord said to him. “Hate to break it to you, but my Chaos Magic is on a whole different level than your Anti-Magic.” Discord then used the sword to pick him up and slam him into the ground. Dropping the sword in front of the Earth pony, Gold Star picked himself up as a glowing yellow cage appeared around him. He tried to cut it, but only got shocked as a result. “Nope! Can’t cut your way out of this, especially when you’re in a cage of Chaos Magic.”

“We have beaten your minions, Discord! We shall defeat you!” Strongheart declared, getting his attention as she charged at him.

“A nice dream, but even you have to wake up.” Snapping his fingers, he made the ground swallow her up. “Looks like the ground wasn’t strong beneath your hooves then.”

Rarity galloped up but she was soon screaming and hiding behind a rock when Discord put her in a jester’s outfit, wailing about crimes against fashion and clashing color schemes. The streamers that shout out of Pinkie's cannon coiled around Discord's fingers, whirled back around and wrapped around the pink pony, leaving her helpless as he bobbed her up and down like a yo-yo. Fluttershy had lost what little bravery she had and had been reduced to a quivering wreck, whimpering and hiding behind her mane. She peeked out as Discord leaned in close to her.

“Boo.” With a loud squeak, she joined Rarity in hiding.

The cloud of rage in my mind lifted in that instant as I beheld the sight around me. All of my friends had been taken down and the total time elapsed hadn’t even been ten seconds. Now it was just me and Discord, who now faced me.

“Oh, dear.”

“Well, well, Twilight Sparkle. This seems to be quite a pickle you’ve gotten yourself into.” His smile grew, his eyes burning with malice. “All on your own, nopony to help you.”

“She’s not alone.” I looked to see Spike getting back up. “She’s still got me!” He took in a deep breath and only ended up letting out a stream of black smoke. He tried again, but got the same result.

“A dragon without his fire? Oh, my! How shocking!” Discord snapped his fingers again and trapped her assistant in a giant gemstone. “Now then, where were we?”

I looked desperately around, knowing that I was now well and truly on my own. I knew I didn’t stand much of a chance and that Discord was sure to beat me, but I wasn’t going to just lie down and let him beat me. Fueled by the diadem on my head, I tapped into its power and prepared to send a spell at him.

“If you insist then.” He snapped his fingers and he was dressed in a baseball cap, uniform, and had a leather glove in his hand. “Let’s play ball!”

My response was to cast my magic right at his smug face, which he caught with the glove and threw back. “Strike one!” I only just dodged out of the way and picked myself up.

Another spell was met with the same result, feeling it whizz past my mane. “Strike two!”

And the third time, but at least I had tried. “Strike three! You’re outta there!” I dodged the first spell, but didn’t see that this time he sent two at me. No time to move…

CLANG!

I skidded across the floor from the impact, my face burning from the spell and my belly scraped from the ground. I heard the sound of the Element of Magic clattering across the ground and landing next to me. Weakened by the strike, I raised my head and saw Discord crossing towards me, smiling victoriously.

“Well, not that this hasn’t been fun, Twilight, but I’m afraid our little game must end here.” His hand started to glow again. “I’m sure you’ll look lovely next to your beloved Celestia.”

I tried to get up, but I just didn’t have the energy to move or to cast a spell to defend myself. I still couldn’t quite comprehend that, despite all we had been through, all we had suffered, we still failed. Discord was going to win and there would be nopony else to stop him. The Elements hadn’t worked, the Element Gang was defeated, all of our efforts had been for nothing.

Dusk’s view

Managing to wake up but not having the strength to stand, I looked over and was filled with dread at the sight. The guys along with Rainbow Dash were still trapped, Zecora was being beaten by her own staff, Applejack was stuck under a downward apple basket, Hearth was stuck in a blob of gelatin, Gold had been put into a cage that was shocking him every time he swung his sword at it, Rarity and Fluttershy were hiding behind a rock as my cousin was wearing a jester outfit, Pinkie was wrapped in her own cannon, Spike was trapped in a giant gemstone, and (judging by the grunts) Strongheart was stuck in the ground. Worst of all, I saw Discord towering over a hopeless Twilight, the villain smiling in triumph. I was so sure our plan would work, how could we have failed like this?

None of this made any sense. The stones were supposed to strengthen the Elements while they were being used. They did it before, why not now? Seeing how they were connected, they should have been glowing with them like the seventh stone did after I cast that spell… Wait a minute… I then realized that, when the stones gave the Elements power to defeat Nightmare Moon, they weren’t full color, but only had tints like I found them. If the amount of color represented the amount of power they could give, then Nightmare Moon shouldn’t have been defeated. Did my faith increase their power somehow? Then I thought about more what Fore Sight said while he was on his search.

Find the light… like how I used my own light to help the girls find Twilight and earned the seventh stone for it and how finding the light within my own shadow was what helped me escape the madness. That must be what Dialga had meant by “follow the light”. Unite the seven… like how reuniting the pieces of my necklace is what helped me find a way to defeat Diablo and how helping the girls reunite also helped the stone gain their power.

It was there that I began looking back on everything I’ve been through, throughout my entire journey. From past to now, all I had done while fulfilling my duty as a Fire Dragon, I had managed to bring people together. I even managed to bring together the bitterest of enemies and helped them to become friends, brothers and sisters-in-arms. I even reunited my family. I had done all this, not just helping those in need or as to uphold being Equestria’s symbol of peace and justice, but also to work towards my dream. It had been one I’ve had since I was just a colt. Seeing the many people in this world, the creatures of all kinds who call it home, I want to create a world where all are united in peace and harmony, a world where everyone has a chance to be happy! This was what I could bring into this world, the light of which I hold and the same light that the seventh stone represents. My light was the one thing I could help create among others: unity.

“Only when six unite as one will all evil be undone.” I said, reciting the prophecy of my Fire Dragon predecessor. “Of course! That’s the key to the stones!”

Feeling my strength returning as strong as my renowned faith, I looked down and saw the shining light of the stones had become brighter, a rainbow of colors before my eyes. Picking myself up, I finally pieced everything together: the reason why Discord went to such lengths to corrupt me, what the seven stones were, why Fore Sight had gone to such lengths to find them, why only I could find them, the role of which they played in defeating the Lord of Chaos, and, most importantly… the role of which I had played. Now that I had the answer to Discord’s riddle, I was ready to give it to him. Now, just like before, it was time… time for the Elements to unite!

Twilight’s view

As Discord prepared to turn me to stone, I wanted my last thought to be of Dusk and my friends, of all the wonderful times that we had spent together, all of us flashing before me as Discord prepared his spell. The first day I’d arrived in Ponyville, learning about the magic of friendship, meeting Dusk for the first time… those were the moments that I focused on in my mind and everything since then. At least I had a good life…

The light of the spell was getting brighter, traveling towards me seemingly in slow motion. I could hear the cries of my friends, Discord’s foul laughter, even Dusk calling out my name, this was it…

Until the light was blocked by a wall of duke blue and a brilliant flare that followed almost blinded me.

When it cleared and I could see again, I saw that I wasn’t turned to stone, that Discord was staring in complete disbelief, and that Dusk stood between me and him. He looked completely unharmed, glaring at Discord, and the stones around his neck shining more brightly than ever. He glanced behind me, his eyes bearing some signs of damage but still shining with the warmth that made me want to cry.

“I think this is yours.” Dusk said softly, levitating Magic back to me.

“Thank you.” I whispered, putting it on my head and accepting his claw as he pulled me back up. “But…how?”

“Yes, yes, how?!” Discord’s eye muscle was twitching. “Blocking me from your mind, okay. Resisting my influence, fine. Curing yourself of Black Blood, fair enough. But standing in the way of one of my spells, my spells, without even so much as a boo-boo? That… that’s just… impossible!”

I smiled at her and turned back to Discord, speaking in a firm but almost casual tone of voice. “Impossible is a word thrown around far too much, I find.”

“No, no, NO! This just isn’t possible! It’s unfathomable, inconceivable, and utterly preposterous!” I had never seen Discord lose control like this before. He almost looked scared. “How are you still even standing?! TELL ME!”

“Oh, but I think you know, Discord.” I said calmly. “I know now too, though it took me a while to figure it all out, to say the least.”

“What?” If Discord didn’t look scared before, he certainly did now. “What… what are you talking about?”

“Well, she gave me the answer.” Dusk gazed back at me again. “Twilight, while our friends certainly did help, I think that last part of the riddle was a little more specific.”

“Specific? What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Discord said we need more than the six Elements and the Element Gang to defeat Discord.” He answered. “We do need more than the Elements of Harmony. Specifically, one more.”

Everything stopped at this statement and I felt my jaw drop. Even the torments that Discord was causing to my friends seemed non-existent as everypony stared at Dusk. Discord too looked like he had walked up to him and slapped him in the face. When he laughed in his mocking way, it sounded insincere and forced.

“Do you know how ridiculous you sound? A seventh Element? Really! Give me a break!”

“Dusk,” I began. “I hate to say it, but he's right. There’s no such thing as a seventh Element of Harmony, there never has been.”

That didn’t seem to dishearten him. “But, Twilight, don’t you remember? You said yourself that, since I met you, I seem to have picked up a habit.”

I was about to say something against that, but I suddenly realized what he meant by that. When we’d first met, that Paraserpent Black Fang had separated the girls and I in the forest and he’d helped bring us back together. When its master returned and broke us apart, he’d helped bring us back together there too, both when Discord had corrupted us and when the Paraserpents had separated us, as well as being something of a driving force for some additional support against them from our other friends.

Then there were other times too: when Rarity had been kidnapped by Diamond Dogs, Dusk had been there to help find her. He even managed to get them to open to cooperation and even ask for help. When the town was arguing about Winter Wrap Up, Dusk figured out what we needed to do, along with me, and stopped a fight from breaking out. When the buffalo and townsfolk were fighting, Dusk rescued Pinkie and become part of a new friendship between the two people. When we were all panicking and stressed from the Gala, Dusk helped me bring everypony back together there too. So many other times when our friendship was in danger of falling apart, Dusk had been there to keep us together.

Dusk was even there to bring me and the girls together to defeat Nightmare Moon. Remembering all of this, I saw that Dusk really had been there, right at the start of it all, doing what he did best.

And those stones… he told me that his ancestor had been looking for them and he knew that they could help us defeat Discord, but we never figured how they could. Could it be…?

“Do you see now?” Dusk asked me. “Do you believe?”

That question in particular made me smile back at him. “Yes, I do.”

“What?! How can you possibly believe this crazy fantasy?” Discord demanded.

“Twilight?” I looked to see Fluttershy was peeking out behind her hiding place. “Is it really true?”

“I don’t know.” I gazed into Dusk’s hazel brown eyes and saw only truth staring back. “Maybe I’m desperate, or crazy, or just hoping for something. But I do believe him.”

“Oh, ho! Now the truth comes out!” Discord shouted. “Anypony else says it, you’d say they're crazy. But if he says it—ooh!—it’s the greatest truth that was ever spoken.”

“But it is true, isn’t it?” I looked straight at Discord. “You know it is, you’ve always known. That was why you targeted Dusk. It wasn’t just to get at me or beat the Element Gang, it was to distract him too, like you did with all of us. You tried to prevent him from discovering what he truly is… who he truly is.”

“Then… those stones…” Rarity whispered.

“That’s right, Rarity.” Dusk said as he explained. “These stones are not just some random pieces of rock. They’re something very important, the same as how your Elements began. I didn't even fully know at first, but I still kept them when I found them. They’re pieces of an Element of Harmony, my Element of Harmony!” As he continued, six of the stones each began to glow, gaining a bright aura of their respective color (all except for the indigo shard as it gained a white aura). “Much like the others, my Element’s true power comes from honesty,” the orange fragment was the first to gain its aura, “kindness,” then the one sharing the color of Fluttershy, “laughter,” the pink shard was third, “generosity,” then the purple shard, “loyalty,” then the cyan shard, “magic.” Finally, the violet shard received its aura. “These six lights, the… the Lights of Harmony, when brought together, are what bring out the seventh Element, the one of which you fear and tried to prevent from ever coming.” From there, Dusk then took stance, looking ready to fight Discord. “I will not let you hurt my friends, Discord! I know who I am!”

“No! No, you can’t do this! It’s not fair!” Discord insisted desperately.

“Yes, we can!” Twilight stepped forward and knew exactly what to say. “Dusk Noir, who keeps our friendship together when it seems like it will fall apart, represents the Spirit of…Unity!”

The instant I said that, the final stone gained its aura and all seven stones shone with the intensity of the rising sun, consuming Dusk in their brilliant glow. I saw tendrils of Dusk’s color magic shine both from them and his horn, connecting to the necklaces and crown the girls and I all wore. The other Elements also started to glow, including mine, and the chaos holding down my friends was destroyed, freeing us all. Small color outlines soared out of them and sped towards Dusk, adding to the magic and lifting him into the air, along with the matching fragments they went to. They all gathered at the base of Dusk’s neck and I could see his smile as he was swallowed up in the light. My eyes never left him the whole time as I didn’t care how bright it was.

No one’s view

Within that moment, the band holding the stone faded away as seven stones turned into small orbs of light in each of their respective colors. After doing so, with six of the orbs spiral around the midnight blue orb, all seven orbs flew a few feet away before rising above his head inside an orb of rainbow-colored light, their own light visible within it. The wind it created around him was enough to blow his hat off his head and away from the blue stallion. With the orb resting on Dusk’s head and the six orbs circling around the one of Dusk’s color, there was a bright flash that filled the area.

Twilight’s view

Curious as I felt what happened was over, I looked beyond it to see that the light eventually faded and Dusk standing tall and proud, ready for action. The small stones that had once been around his neck, held in place with string, had vanished and leaving his neck bare. While I wondered where they had went, I then looked up and was shocked to find a golden crown similar to the one that I was wearing that was aligned with shimmering silver and had seven jewels at the center of the front. Six of them were semicircle-shaped and, in a clockwise formation, encircled a jewel shaped like a star in the center, which was the same color as Dusk’s fur. Though it was at the center, it was the same size as the other jewels and shone just as brightly as they did.

“No, no, no! No, you don’t!” Discord pointed a shaky finger at him. “I’m still more powerful than you, I’m still top dog!”

Dusk looked up at Discord and shook his head. “You claim to be as constant as the northern star, but your heart is crammed with arrogance, spleen, and pride. Now, your pride has fallen with your fortunes and so will you.”

“Come on, girls! Let’s try this one more time!” Relieved from my disbelieving stupor, we swiftly got ready to take formation again. “Dusk, you’re in the middle!”

“As you wish, Miss Sparkle.” Dusk said to me. “But there’s still one more thing we need.”

“Oh, come on!” Discord said in exasperation. “You already have a new Element. What more do you need?”

“Did you forget already?” Dusk said to him. “My Element is called Unity for a reason. Its power comes from the Lights of Harmony. It’s not just the other Elements that hold this kind of power, it’s everywhere. Everyone in this world carries this light deep inside. When that light is shared with others, that’s when their true strength is revealed. I should know because that is what has gotten me through every challenge that came my way. That’s why my Element is Unity, for I know I will never be alone for I have… my friends!”

Just when he said that, the magic holding down Shield, Dog, and Leon was destroyed, freeing them.

“What?!” Discord said with shock as the three then went over to stand beside Dusk, giving serious expressions.

“Discord, did it ever occur to you as to why, not just two, but now three elementals of the Element Gang are Wielders of the Elements?” Dusk spoke up. “It’s not just because they are what we represent, it is because our destiny resides with the Elements of Harmony. The Lights of Harmony, the very same that was used to create the Elements, are the very lights we elementals carry within us, inside our hearts. All of which connects us, the bonds that we share, that is what gives us strength. And it’s because of that we will always stand strong and never surrender.”

“What… what are you talking about?” Discord asked in shock.

“What I am saying is that it wasn’t a coincidence that Rarity and Pinkie Pie became wielders.” Dusk exclaimed. “For we—all ten of us, wielders and elementals alike—are the Element Gang! And when you push one of us, you push…”

“All of us!” Shield, Dog, and Leon said with Dusk in unison.

“We are defenders of the innocent, guardians of Equus! I am Dusk Noir!” Dusk called out before going into stance. “With the power of fire, I am El Dragon!” Soon his fellow stallions did the same.

“Shield Steedor! With the power of earth, I am Apolloid!”

“Leon Aquilous! With the power of water, I am Posidacus!”

“Dog Fries! With the power of ice, I am Icedra!”

From there, I watched as Rarity and Pinkie Pie flew over and stood with them, both taking fighting stance.

“Raritina Turbor! With the power of air, I am Torna!”

“Pinkimina Diane Pie! With the power of lightning, I am ShockBlade!”

“Together, we are strong! Together, we are one!” They all exclaimed together. “Equus defenders, never surrender!”

“Each of us all holds the power of the light and these five ponies each had come to share that light with me.” As Dusk continued, Shield and the others started to glow in a strange aura. “Dog, who reassured me when I was in doubt, wields the Light of… Honesty!” Dog was the first with a violet aura. “Leon, who tamed the mightiest of beasts with his compassion, wields the Light of… Kindness!” Leon then began glowing blue. “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, wields the Light of… Laughter!” Pinkie tingled with happiness as she was next with yellow aura. “Rarity, who’s true beauty lies within her pure heart to help others, wields the Light of… Generosity!” Rarity looked as her green aura formed around her. “And Shield, who could not abandon his friends for his own heart’s desire, wields the Light of… Loyalty!” Shield then received his aura in orange. “And with these lights, they bring out the strongest of them, the light of which connects them and all who share them. The very light I have come to wield as my own: the Light of… Unity!” With that, I then watched as Dusk was surrounded in a great red aura. “Together with the Elements, they create a power beyond anything you can imagine, one that not even you have the ability to destroy. You may have tried to divide us, Discord, but your chaos magic cannot break us because we possess the strongest magic of all: the magic of friendship!”

From there, all ten of us then floated into the air, myself along with the girls and Shield, Dog, and Leon to form a circle around Dusk. From there, the aura around the elementals grew, combining into a rainbow aura that surrounded us.

“Everypony, ready?” Dusk asked as we all nodded to him. “Then, Element Gang, let the elements strike! Fire!” From that one word, a stream of fire appeared and formed a ring around Dusk.

“Earth!” Another ring appeared, this time around Shield, forming from a stream of orange sand and rock.

“Water!” Leon exclaimed, a stream of water forming a ring around him.

“Ice!” Dog received a ring of his own from a stream of cold winds and ice.

“Air!” A green wind formed around Rarity, becoming a ring of its own.

“Lightning!” At Pinkie’s call, volts of lighting appeared and formed a ring around her.

After doing so, each elemental motioned one hoof to Dusk with Shield motioning from below, Rarity and Leon from the left, and Pinkie and Dog from the right. From doing so, the rings became streams once again and left their respective elementals, each going to one of the six jewels on Dusk’s Element: earth sent into the cyan jewel, water into the yellow jewel, ice sent into orange, air into purple, lightning into pink, and fire into the lilac jewel. With this, all six jewels began to glow through which the seventh jewel at the center joined them and I could see Dusk’s smile as he was swallowed up in the light.

“Now, I just have one thing left to say to you Discord.” Dusk kept his eyes on Discord, the Elements starting to glow once again. “Have at thee!” With that, we all closed our eyes with him as the light spread to us all.

No one’s view

As the light continued to grow more intense, Discord continued to watch as his eyes were full of fear from the sight of it.

“No.” Discord said in disbelief before the heroes opened their eyes, all of them glowing white, as the two streams of rainbows appeared, one made of light and one made of the six elements wielded by the elementals.

The two streams spiraled around each other until they intersected a yard into the sky, a rainbow-colored beam springing from it as it headed for Discord.

“NOOOO!” Discord’s scream of defiance was silenced as he surrounded by the beam, his body being turned back to stone as his attempts to stop the Element Gang from using the Elements had failed.

Seeing this, the Paraserpents hissed as they converged on the heroes. But, before they could even close the distance, another beam appeared and struck the ground, creating a rainbow tornado consisted of spirals of fire, stone and dust, wind, water, ice, and lightning. It started out small but slowly began to grow as it approached the Paraserpents. Seeing this, Discord’s minions stopped and turned to run from it in fear. But their attempts at escaping failed as the tornado was able to pull them all into it, Zecora, Strongheart, Spike, Gold Star, Hearth Forest (who managed to pull herself out of the gelatin), and the Cutie Mark Crusaders (who had managed to sneak in to witness the whole battle) cheering for the Element Gang. After gathering all the Paraserpents, the tornado stopped behind Discord, now big enough to where it almost could reach the clouds. A moment after the eye of the tornado began shooting rainbow blasts, the rainbow beam divided into two, surrounding Ponyville in a magic force field before a bright white flash filled the area.

Twilight’s view

Hearing the sound of birds, the trickling of the stream, and feeling the warm sun graced our skin, I knew that everything was back normal and the magic was complete. The headache I had this time was nowhere near as bad as when I used them the first time. I had no idea how happy I was to feel the soft green grass under my hooves, see the clear blue sky above. Everything was back to normal, right down to the statue of the once-living, moving spirit of chaos.

There was a moment of silence, stillness that seemed to last for hours. After all that had happened, it was strange to think that we had actually won, that what had happened was actually true and not some strange dream. We had won, we’d beaten Discord. Just like Nightmare Moon, we had won.

“So doth fall Discord.” Dusk remarked. Like his words broke some kind of spell, now everypony cheered and celebrated their victory.

I immediately rounded on him and caught Dusk in a loving embrace. I was soon followed by the others, much to my disappointment. Soon, the non-Wielders were there as well, sharing in our triumph, even the Crusaders who came galloping out of hiding behind a rock.

“I thought we told y’all ta stay in the library.” Applejack frowned at Apple Bloom.

“We made sure we stayed hidden, sis! We really did!” her younger sibling insisted. “We only wanted to see…”

“Well… I suppose…” Applejack shook her head and beamed. “Oh, come here, you!” She swooped up her sibling, Rarity doing the same with Sweetie, leaving Scootaloo glancing hopefully at Rainbow Dash, who didn’t appear to have noticed. Though she did get her mane ruffled by Shield who smiled at her, one which she returned.

“Now we have put this battle to bed, I think I need some ointment for my head.” Zecora noted, rubbing where she had been struck by her own staff.

“I could see about helping with that.” Strongheart offered. “The medicine of my people is quite beneficial.”

“Yes, so I have seen. You must tell me the remedy.” suggested the zebra.

“Well, it’s quite simple really, you see…” I stopped listening and focused on showing Dusk everything I felt for him in my embrace.

“Yeah, we did it!” I looked to see Spike hugging my leg. “Although… I think that’s kind of put me off gems for a while.”

He’ll be back to eating them by next week. I thought, not responding to him and allowing Dusk to have all of my attention.

“Dusk, we did it! We won!” I pulled back and shook my head. “It’s… it’s kind of hard to believe really.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Eventually, a grin was plastered over my face. “But it’s true, we’ve really defeated him.”

“Hay, yeah, we did!” Shield punched Dusk’s arm and grinned. “And you… Look at you, I mean… just look at you! How awesome is that?”

“I know…” Dusk then used his magic to take the Element called Unity off his head before tracing his claw over the jewels. “It’s… remarkable. Me, an Element of Harmony.”

“A seventh Element of Harmony. Who’d have thought it, huh?” Dog noted in a similar tone.

“Great. Now I have to follow a fire-breathing Wielder now. That makes it perfect.” Leon said, sarcastically. I was about to give him a punch in the arm for that, but, surprisingly, Rarity beat me to it, with a stern look in her eye at him. It was then he began speaking normally. “But… I’ll admit, it’s still pretty cool. At least now, you and your new sister have something in common.”

“This is so great! Now we got two things to celebrate!” Pinkie cried out happily. “Does that mean we’re gonna need to have two parties? I hope so, ʹcause I think this needs two parties, ʹcause there’s just so much celebrating to do! This is wonderfulous and spectaceriffic! See what I did there?”

“Oh, that looks absolutely gorgeous, darling!” Rarity’s eyes were as big as the jewels in my Element. “Such a perfect blend of gold and silver… it definitely works so well for you.”

“It’s lovely.” Fluttershy agreed.

“Yeah, it’s a nice crown and all, but there’s one thing I don’t get.” Leon added. “All of the girls’ Elements look like their cutie marks. How come yours is different?”

“I… I don’t know. Why…” Dusk looked to his flank and his mouth fell open in shock.

When I looked, I saw why. The necklace wasn’t the only thing that had changed. The scroll that had once been Dusk’s cutie mark was gone and was replaced with the image on Unity: six colored semi-circle with small white sparkles in their depths arranged in a circle around a blue star outlined by silver and gold at its four points. Just like how Dusk’s color puppets looked.

“Whoa! Dude, what happened to your cutie mark?” Shield said as we were all surprised by this.

“I don’t know. It… it changed?” Dusk said in disbelief. “How…how is that even possible?”

“It seems that you’ve discovered more than just a hidden destiny.” Celestia had arrived with Luna and Dragonis, her smile as warm as the sun and giving her sister a knowing look. “I think that your true special talent has surfaced at last.”

“About time too, we should think.” Luna returned her sister’s look.

“Woof!” Dragonis said as he then shook his head and frowned. “Now I understand how Discord feels. Being turned to stone is not a pleasant experience.”

Though I was happy to see them all safe, those looks made me start thinking again and I could tell Dusk was too. He’d been in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters when all of this had started for some unknown reason and Luna had seemed rather interested in him for a while right now. She and Celestia and even Dragonis had to know something about this. After all, they’d known about the Elements during the Summer Sun Celebration, why not this?

But there would be time for answering questions later and none of them said anything on the matter. For now at least.

“I wouldn’t think so.” I saw Dusk run towards Dragonis and Luna, as I did to Celestia, and hugged the two. “I’m glad you’re okay…”

“As I am, to see you alive and well, Dusk.” she replied.

“Me too, Dusk.” Dragonis said.

“Now…” They broke the hug as Dusk looked at them. “Mind telling me why you’re not married now?” What Dusk said shocked everypony except for Celestia who smiled at them.

“What?!” Shield, Dog, and Leon said in shock.

“You guys are engaged?” Leon asked.

“Yep” Dragonis said, nervously scratching the back of his head. “After we first met, the two of us grew close, enough to where we decided that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“Okay, well, I get you couldn’t get married due to Nightmare Moon. But I don’t see how you two aren’t married right now.”

“Well, it’s been over a thousand years since we’ve seen each other, so we’re trying to pick up where we left off. We have to get used to each other like we were before. It’s how it works for a couple like us.”

“I understand.” Dusk then smiled at them. “Just remember to give me and the guys an invite once you pick a date.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know.”

“I’m proud of you, my student.” Celestia beamed down at me as I looked to her, breaking from my shock. “You and your friends have shown how truly powerful the magic of friendship is. I knew you wouldn’t let us down.”

“Never.” She looked up at her with concern. “Are you alright, Princess?”

“Quite fine, Twilight, I assure you. Discord has been vanquished once more and harmony is restored to Equestria. I couldn’t be better.” She looked up around at us all. “You have all played your parts in saving our homeland and I’ll see to it that is acknowledged. For now though, on behalf of us all, thank you. All of you.”

Everypony returned her gratitude with low bows and adoring smiles. I in particular saw Strongheart staring with awe at Princess Luna, who stepped up to speak with her Royal Canterlot voice.

“Yes, we thank thee all! Now, our sister, Dragonis, and we must return to Canterlot for a celebration must be organized and we must also inform the keeper of the gardens.” She looked over at Discord. “He will find the gardens are missing a sculpture.”

“And we shall take the Elements back to the vault.” Dragonis sad to us. “Ladies, Dusk.” With that, we then relinquished our Elements as the guardian then placed them back in the chest they once resided in with Unity being added to them. Looking around, I found Dusk’s hat and managed to place it where it belonged, the two of us smiling at each before looking back as Dragonis closed the box and looked to Luna. “Shall we go, Lunes?”

“Of course… Fai.” She said to him. Though she didn’t really seem like, I’m pretty sure she was flirting.

From there, we watched as the three then all flew off back to Canterlot. When they were out of sight, Dusk decided to speak.

“Fai?” He said with confusion. I wondering that too. Why did Luna call Dragonis Maximus that?

Author's Note:

After finally discovering his destiny, Dusk and his friends had finally brought an end to Discord’s chaotic reign and sealed the Lord of Chaos in stone once again. With the Element of Unity now revealed, the Elements are now stronger than ever. See what our heroes do in light of their victory next time!

Hey, guys! What did you think of the chapter? You have no idea how long I’ve been wait to get to this. It’s one of my favorite parts in the story. Well, they finally did. The Element Gang had helped the Mane 6 defeat Discord and Dusk had now found out his true destiny: the wielder of the seventh Element of Harmony, Unity. I bet you’re wondering on why exactly Dusk had gotten a crown like that, huh? Well, that’s something you’ll find out later. It also looks like Dragonis’ secret had been replaced with another. You all must have plenty of questions about all this and you’ll get them soon. In the next chapter, the Element Gang have their own victory party in Ponyville. Well, that’s all I got for this chapter! Don’t forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!