Death Cometh

by Dracthul

Chapter 9: Discord

Author's Note:

Another chapter for your enjoyment!

*intro Discord!

The Canterlot gardens were a wonderful sight to see. The vast expanse of hedges, flowers, and other fauna gave it a colorful beauty that rivaled the castle itself. Within these gardens were all kinds of statues of mythical creatures, ranging from manticores to dragons. There were so many that they had their own dedicated section in the gardens.

The whole class of Ponyville’s only school had been taken on a field trip to the gardens, observing the plants around. They were all tasked with finding their favorite plant to research, but the trip would mainly be listening to their teacher explain the things around the gardens.

The teacher, Cheerilee, took them to the section where the statues resided, her favorite part of the whole trip.

Her class followed behind her in a somewhat organized clump, each foal taking in the splendor of the area. They were already captivated by what they saw, and then they saw the stone statues crafted to near perfection.

“I want to start our field trip here, in the world-famous Canterlot sculpture garden,” Cheerilee told her eager students. She pointed at one statue of a group of ponies that seemed filled to the brim with joy. “That one over there represents Friendship.” She pointed to another with a pony holding a flag in triumph over what were to be their enemies. “Alright, my little ponies. This one represents Victory.”

Each of the sculptures represented a part of the world that made it what it was. Kindness, Love, and everything in between could be found if you had enough time. Every one of them had been made by Equestria’s finest over the years, their work preserved by magical enchantments that kept them intact.

Cheerilee turned around to see three of her students' bickering. “Girls!” she interrupted with. The three fillies in question looked at their teacher with apologetic looks. “Now, this is a really interesting statue. What do you notice about it?”

The one she pointed out was very different from the others. Unlike the others that represented good qualities, this one was unrecognizable.

It was a two-legged creature with two arms, but it also had a tail and horns. Its body was slim and snake-like, but the strangest thing about it was its body parts. One leg appeared to be that of a goat, and the other resembled a dragon’s claw. Instead of normal hands, it had a lion paw as one and a five talon claw for the other. One horn branched out like thin antlers, and the other was a crooked and warped variation of a unicorn horn.

The creature was a mix of different animals that made up its body. Whoever made this statue had no clear design for it, adding in features as they continued to sculpt it.

The statue was locked into a position of disbelief, its body contorted. The stone that made up its body was also perfect. The other statues had little imperfections that would be expected of sculpted stone, but this one seemed immaculate. Its body was smooth, and its horns sharp to the touch. It was almost too perfect.

Cheerilee decided it had been long enough to speak again, her students having taken in the statue. “This creature is called a draconequus. He has the head of a pony and a body made up of all sorts of things.” The foals oohed at the explanation. “What do you suppose that represents?” she asked everypony.

The same three unruly fillies gave their guesses, but they insulted each other by putting down their guess. Petty insult after petty insult and the eruption of a brawl eventually required Cheerilee to intervene.

“Actually, in a way, you're all right.” That caused them to drop back to the ground, suddenly calm as if no scuffle had happened. “This statue represents Discord, which means a lack of harmony between ponies. In fact, you three have demonstrated Discord so well that you're each going to write me an essay explaining it.”

As the school group moved on from the statue, something changed. A powerful thump rocked its stone chest as the discord from the fighting fillies seeped into it. The negative emotions awoke the creature trapped within the rocky prison, his laughter escaping his solidified lips.

Another thump came from the heart, cracking the stone around it. Discord could feel his power returning, his mind entering overdrive as he felt his body once again…

---

If this world wishes to be so resistant to my will, I will have to force myself upon it. As I wait to strike again, I will assist these ponies, further infiltrating their hierarchy as Sorin. My revenge will be sweet, and the souls I devour will be even sweeter. Soon enough, I will be feasting…

To say Sorin was in a bad mood was quite the understatement.

He lacked his normal charm and instead seemed blunt as of late. He rarely left his room, choosing to research as much as he could over the past week or so. While Twilight avidly supported research, even she knew his new habits were harmful. She summed his behavior up to little more than a personal issue, and she did not want to force him into telling her. So, she tried to keep things simple with him for now, avoiding any sore subjects.

While she did not think he would purposely harm her, a unicorn’s magic is very malleable. If a pony is happy, their magic will reflect that by performing more difficult spells for the better of ponykind. If they are angry like Sorin is, there can be very negative consequences. Powerful spells of destruction have been unleashed from evil ponies in the distant past, and she did not want him to take one step down that dark path.

When he came down the stairs to the kitchen, Twilight offered him a plate of breakfast that Spike had cooked up for all of them. He accepted it with a grumbled “thank you” and sat down at the table. He lifted his fork with his magic, cutting into some of the pancakes he had, stuffing them down his gullet.

With Pinkie Pie speed, he devoured everything on his plate, wiping his mouth off with a napkin. He then reached for the glass of grape juice Spike had poured him, downing that in one large swig.

Twilight cringed as she saw him shove so much stuff down his throat, fearing for his stomach.

“Want any more?” she hesitantly asked with a fake smile.

“No, thank you. I’ll be off to my room again,” he said stonily.

She opened her mouth but watched as he walked away and up the stairs.

“What’s up with him?” Spike asked with a hint of sarcasm. He turned off the stove as he took his plate to the table.

“I’m not sure, but he has been like this for a while now. It can’t be good for his health to be doing so much studying.”

“Says the bookworm.”

Twilight whipped her head to him with a face of disapproval. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Spike nervously replied, turning away from her as he ate his breakfast with the same speed as Sorin had. They continued to eat in silence while Sorin continued his reading upstairs.

He looked for something he could use against the Elements, hoping to find a weakness. As he continued to search, he found that the Elements themselves were linked to the very balance of the world. That would explain their shielding of Twilight and her friends from his whispers. His power was still too diminished to overpower world-bound energy.

In the meantime, he would have to work around them, manipulating them into forsaking their nature and embracing their darkness.

As he skimmed through one of many pages, there was a thunderous clap from outside. At first, he ignored it, but then he remembered pegasi controlled the weather, and that it was not supposed to rain today. In fact, there was not supposed to be a cloud in the sky, which led him to believe something was amiss.

He closed his book and came back downstairs, finding the library door already open. He trotted through, stepping onto the stone pathway at the mouth of the treehouse.

“What in Celestia?”

Sorin turned to the voice, finding Twilight gazing up at the sky, Spike doing the same. Sorin looked up and saw… pink clouds.

What trickery is this?

Flying above him at incredible speeds were chunks of pink clouds that seemed to pulsate. He squinted his eyes, realizing the clouds were made out of fluffy cotton candy, something he hated to clean from his teeth. Another thunderclap caused the clouds to burst into rain.

Sorin found himself suddenly drenched—to his annoyance. As it continued to rain, some landed on his mouth, and he tasted something sweet. Raising an eyebrow, he stuck out his tongue and caught one of the droplets, instantly recognizing the taste of chocolate milk.

“It’s… chocolate milk,” Spike shouted out, confusion written on his face. Twilight fared no better, baffled by what she was witnessing.

“We better get to Sweet Apple Acres before this rain kills Applejack’s crops,” she said, breaking into a sprint with Spike and Sorin close behind.

As they raced across town, more pink clouds formed, raining down thicker chocolate milk and leaving Sorin’s exposed fur sticky. The sky darkened and lightning bolts danced in the sky, spreading out over the town without striking the ground.

He thought as he ran, questioning what caused these abnormalities. It could be the result of some weather breakdown in Cloudsdale, but he doubted that would create cotton candy clouds infused with chocolate milk. Something also seemed off about the whole situation that made him think it was not an accident.

The three found themselves headed down the long dirt road leading to the Apple family barn. The trees along the road fell over from the weight as their apples grew tenfold, some landing on the road.

Reacting instantly to one of the downed trees, Sorin pushed off the ground with his hooves, vaulting over the tree trunk in a single bound. His hooves slammed back onto the ground, splitting the rocks beneath him.

They carried on, nimbly avoiding the trees as popcorn exploded from the nearby cornfields.

“This is getting excessive,” he shouted ahead.

“I’ve got a plan. I’ll explain once we get to Applejack,” Twilight shouted back, Spike now on her back.

They rounded the fencing of the path’s end, spotting Applejack on a hill, popcorn rising all around her. They also saw mutilated rabbits walking on the fields, their warped legs making them four feet tall.

Twilight held a book in front of her as they all came to a stop, seeing all the other Elements around Applejack. Sorin came up to her, watching as she finished reading through the page and put the book aside.

“Don't worry, everyone,” she said, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I've learned a new spell that will fix everything.” Spike backed away as she started to form the spell, light exploding from her as it charged. With a grunt, the magic took effect, light erupting from her horn and over the area as a purple blast of energy. It washed over the oversized trees, the popcorn, the clouds, and the strange animals.

Sorin opened his eyes, finding that Twilight’s plan did nothing. Everything was the same as it was before, chaos running wild on the farm.

“My fail-safe spell... failed. What do we do?” she said in disbelief. She had practiced that spell countless times before, but it did absolutely nothing. She did not understand what was going on, and neither did anypony else.

“Give up?” Spike asked, getting a sigh from Twilight and Sorin alike.

“Now might be the time for plan B,” the stallion offered. Sadly, there was no other plan, so she was going to have to come up with one. Rarity placed an umbrella on Twilight’s back, letting her think of what to do as the scene continued to unfold.

“Time for ‘plan B.’” Her face perked up with a purpose as she turned to the weathermare in the sky. “Rainbow, can you corral all those clouds in one corner of the sky?” The pegasus shot into the sky, already starting to gather the cotton clouds together. “Applejack, I need you to bring those high-strung storm clouds down to Earth.” The countrymare whipped out her lasso, twirling it towards the collective mass of clouds Rainbow Dash had made.

Twilight whispered into Fluttershy’s ear, explaining her role in the new plan.

“Oh dear, I hope none of the animals see these delicious chocolate-filled cotton candy clouds.” As the cream-colored pony finished, the nearby creatures diverted their attention to her. “I'd hate to have to share them.” They then bolted over to the grounded cotton candy, feasting on the sugary mountain in front of them, shoving a disappointed Pinkie Pie aside.

“And when y'all are done with that, feel free to have some popcorn for dessert,” Applejack finished with, the Elements now in a circle as the chaos was put under control.

“You see, Spike? You should never give up. There's nothing we can't overcome if we all work together.” Twilight smiled at her little assistant, who burped out a jet of green flame. A rolled-up scroll with the Canterlot seal appeared from his breath, dropping to the ground.

Twilight levitated it in front of her, unrolling it at the same time. Her eyes sped across the words on the page.

Sorin looked over her shoulder, seeing the hastily written letter. Whatever it was, it was time-sensitive.

“What is it, Twilight?” he asked.

She gasped as she finished reading the abrupt letter, quickly rolling it back up.

“Come on, Princess Celestia wants to see us all in Canterlot immediately!”

This may prove more interesting than I thought…

The burdensome doors creaked open as the guards let them through and into the great room. The Elements plus Sorin swiftly went through the chamber to the base of the stairs where Celestia stood waiting. She stopped her pacing upon recognizing the seven ponies before her.

“Princess Celestia, we came as fast as we could!” Twilight called to the princess.

“Thank you, Twilight. Thank you, all.”

“Is this about the weather? And the animals' weird behavior? What's happening out there? Why isn't my magic working? Is there—“ she rambled on, being silenced by Celestia’s raised hoof.

“Follow me,” she answered, turning to lead them through the castle.

Sorin followed closely behind the Elements, his eyes wandering to the epic hall they were now in. Great windows with colored panes depicting different significant events and ponies made up most of the walls, and the sunlight shined through them. A long red carpet was rolled down the center of the room where everypony was walking.

“I've called you here for a matter of great importance. It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago, has returned.”

Sorin turned back to the princess, intrigued by her words.

Who is this ‘foe’ she speaks of?

“His name,” she started, stopping to face the group, “is Discord.”

“Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone.”

It was then that they all noticed the stained glass window of an abnormal creature. While stone, its body was a compilation of things that made it look like something from one’s nightmares.

“I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken.”

“No longer connected?” Twilight inquired as they continued to walk towards the end of the hall.

“This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are kept inside since you six recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos.”

“But why us?” she asked.

Pinkie Pie pointed out the window decorated with imagery of the six mares using the Elements to defeat Nightmare Moon.

“You six showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe. Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord,” Celestia explained. “And your magical ability I have heard of will be useful, Sorin. Alongside the Elements, you will bring an end to Discord’s schemes!”

“Princess Celestia, you can count on—” Twilight replied, showing her readiness for such a task before being interrupted by Pinkie Pie again.

“Hold on a second! Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys. Chocolate rain!” Sorin put a hoof to his head in annoyance.

“Don't listen to her, princess. We'd be honored to use the Elements of Harmony again.”

Celestia went over to the mystical doors at the end of the hall, angling her horn with its lock. At the center was a sun-shaped object with a slot shaped perfectly for her horn, which she carefully inserted. With a simple incantation, she unlocked the heavily warded doors, making them open up with blue light.

Inside was a golden chest covered in a darker blue fabric that looked like pure silk. Gemstones were encrusted onto the front of the chest, giving it a lustrous shine.

Sorin had been studying the princess as she unlocked the door. He could sense the massive power put into the enchantments on the doors, but the Elements of Harmony were held in a simple chest upon a stone pedestal.

Celestia lifted the box with her magic, bringing it in front of the ponies. She started to unlock it with her magic. “Have no fear, ponies. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord,” she opened the chest wide, revealing the Elements, “with these!”

They all gasped as they saw nothing inside the chest. Only the pink lining of the box’s interior was visible, meaning the Elements were gone.

Celestia dropped the container in shock when her magic faltered, staring at the emptiness of it.

“The Elements! They're gone!”

“That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break. This doesn't make sense!” Celestia stated, beginning to pace around the room again as she furiously thought.

“Something is afoot here,” Sorin said in a cold but strong voice—and he was right.

The echoes of something laughing filled the room, reverberating over and over again off the walls like a warped tune.

“Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?” the echoes spoke.

Celestia recognized the voice of her old enemy, looking up at the ceiling for the winged creature.

“Discord!” she shouted. “Show yourself!”

He simply tsked at her mockingly before answering with, “Did you miss me, Celestia?”

His last two words become more solid, Sorin looking to where the voice came from and spotting another stained window. This one had the picture of Discord pulling strings attached to ponies.

His body flashed white as the creature on the window came to life, speaking to everypony.

“I missed you.” The image flew off the glass, hopping to a nearby window, walking on decorated orbs.

“It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that, would you, because I don't turn ponies into stone!”

“Enough!” Celestia interrupted with a steel shout. “What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?”

“Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while,” he teased, snapping his fingers and making the six Elements on the window disappear.

“You'll never get away with this, Discord.”

“I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite boring,” he answered in ennui, fidgeting with his digits.

“Hey! Nopony insults the Princess!” Rainbow Dash shot towards Discord, who vanished, causing her to slam into the hard glass in a daze.

He reappeared on the window, only this time he was the size of the entire window.

“Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent.”

“That's right. I'll always be loyal to the princess!”

“We'll see about that,” he eluded.

Rarity made motions of disdain as she turned away from the windows. “I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window.”

Discord jumped to the pane behind her, leaning down to her level. “The beautiful Rarity, representing the Element of Generosity, if I'm not mistaken?”

“So you know who we are, big deal,” Applejack said with unamusemt at his little tricks.

“Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack,” he replied in good stride.

“You seem to know our strengths too,” Twilight pointed out, which everypony acknowledged with apprehension.

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and yours is the most powerful and elusive element: magic. Fluttershy's is kindness, and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine—” he said, starting to dance on Twilight’s head in the glass. “—laughter.”

The pink mare giggled at his dancing, earning a reprimand from Twilight.

“And you,” Discord started, enlarging his face so his eye could stare directly at the sole stallion in the room, “Sorin. The Elements’ new ‘sidekick.’”

Sorin let out a snort at Discord’s comments. His magic was concealing his true power, so the trickster had no idea who he was dealing with.

He knows the Elements and their strengths. He may very well know their weaknesses, which may be helpful. I can extract the information from this ‘Discord.’

“Stop stalling, Discord!” Celestia demanded, hitting a hoof on the floor. “What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?”

The Lord of Chaos snickered upon Twilight’s head. “Ah, so boring, Celestia. Really?” He sighed. “Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way.”

With another flash, he disappeared from the windows, his voice carrying into a whisper.

“To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events.”

His body darted around the hallway as he revealed his riddle.

“Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.” He ended with a laugh, gone for now.

“What do you reckon he meant? Twists and turns and endin' back where we started?”

“Maybe there is a long road full of bends nearby?” Sorin offered.

Twilight trotted away to one of the clear windows to think. As she repeated the words “twists and turns,” she realized what was in front of her. Outside the window was the castle labyrinth, a huge maze made out of giant hedges.

“That's it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the palace labyrinth!” she exclaimed to her friends.

“Good luck, my little ponies. The fate of Equestria is in your hooves.” Princess Celestia bowed her horn, giving her blessing to the seven ponies whom she entrusted to defeat Discord.

“Thanks, Princess. We won't let you down.”

The seven ponies turned to the exit, already making their way outside. Celestia was left alone, only hoping that her ponies could stop the Lord of Chaos.

---

“W-We have to go in there?” Fluttershy said in fright of the labyrinth entrance.

Despite being a part of Canterlot, the labyrinth was not something many ponies visited. Going through the labyrinth could take hours if you got lost, and there was no other way out unless you could teleport or fly away. The hedge maze was also not a pleasant place to walk through.

The entrance loomed over the ponies in the shape of an arch, large flags blowing in the wind next to it. The walls were small towers of leaves with crude thorns weaved into them, spikes jutting out in random spots.

The seven ponies stood before said entrance, reluctant to enter. Luckily for the group, they had a future Wonderbolt in their ranks.

“Nope! Dopey Discord forgot about these babies,” she said, flapping her wings for emphasis. “I’ll just do a quick flyover, and we’ll have the Elements in no time.”

With a flap, she rose above the labyrinth, about to zoom over it, when she dropped to the ground. As she tried to catch herself, she found her wings did not respond. Looking back, she saw her wings were gone, somehow removed from her back—much to her horror.

“My wings!” she screamed.

With a flash, Fluttershy looked back and saw her own wings gone, causing her to scream as well. Twilight and Rarity saw each other’s horns disappear with the flash, then seeing their own missing.

Sorin felt the sudden block on his magic, feeling his horn vanish. As he tried to cast a spell, it did nothing.

A green ball formed underneath the arch, growing in size until morphing into Discord himself, who was laughing maniacally. He threw up his claw and paw, lightning striking the background as he revealed himself.

“You—You should see the looks on your faces. Priceless!” he mocked, floating into a ball while continuing to laugh.

“Give us our wings and horns back!” Twilight commanded, stamping her hoof in defiance.

“You’ll get them back in good time. I simply took them to ensure there’s no cheating.” He teleported back to the ground, waving a single talon around.

“You see, this is the first rule of our game: no flying and no magic.”

“The first rule?” Rainbow asked with hesitation.

“The second rule is everypony has to play or the game is over, and I win.” He clicked his fingers together at the thought of his victory before flying into the air.

“Good luck, everypony!” he said while disappearing in a bright white flash, leaving behind the sound of his laughter.

Sorin narrowed his eyes as he stared where Discord had just been, intrigued as to what the Lord of Chaos’s true plan was.

While the stallion now lacked Equestrian magic, he still held his true power, but that made using it more suspicious. He did not know what Discord would think if he saw him using Void magic without a horn, but he could imagine.

“Never fear; we have each other!”

“Yeah! Like Twilight said, there’s nothing we can’t overcome if we all stick together,” Rainbow Dash added, the ponies now lining up next to each other.

“Alright, ponies, let’s do this!”

As Twilight finished, they all put a hoof down, chanting, “Together!” as one.

The ground rumbled as another hedge sprung out of the ground, closing Sorin off from the others. More walls came from the earth, separating everypony and putting them on their own path.

“Stay calm!” Twilight shouted over her friends’ screams. “Everypony head to the middle as fast as you can, and we’ll regroup there.”

They all agreed except for Fluttershy, who was shaking since she was now by herself in the twisting maze.

“Divide and conquer!” Sorin yelled, beginning to move out.

“At least being by myself means I will be able to do as I please without prying eyes.”

He trotted forward, checking his surroundings for threats as he walked.

“So this is Discord’s plan: split us up and take us on one by one?” He let out a snide huff. “We will see. He does not know what he is dealing with.”

Now sure that no one was nearby, he closed his eyes and concentrated with all his will. Without his horn, he resorted back to connecting to his blood and giving it instructions.

His body came apart as his black blood lurched out of him, pulling away from its fleshy boundaries. His eyes bled as the final part of his essence released with a sick schloching sound.

His eyes turned a dull blue, his pony body still functioning. He had split himself into his essence and his physical body, allowing him to control both. It also meant Sorin would be near defenseless, so he needed to be careful.

His legs moved forward after a second of adjusting, starting to head to the center autonomously. Yogg-Saron’s shapeless form drifted into the air, peaking over the walls.

Looking through his spectral sight, he could see just how large the labyrinth truly was. It stretched across the many nearby hills, blanketing everything he could see in front of him green.

He felt a tinge at his arcane senses, this form letting him feel it more acutely. He looked to its location, finding Discord floating across the sky.

His black mass of a body weaved over the walls, following its target.

Sorin continued along the path, already growing tired of the trek. Fork after fork in the road he went, using his other half to guide him along the way. He wondered how long it would take for the others to make their way there since the maze was so easy to get lost in.

He had to admit, whoever made the labyrinth did well. He had never seen one so big, let alone so difficult to navigate. He discovered there was a pattern in how the hedges were placed, but the pattern did not help with finding a way out.

He heard voices of other ponies occasionally, opting to remain hidden for now by not responding. He knew the others were nearby, but that meant nothing in a maze. Turn after turn, he felt more and more lost, despite getting closer to the center.

His essence had finally caught up to Discord and hid in part of the walls to watch what would unfold. He saw Discord talking to Rainbow Dash, holding a cloud that resembled the mare’s Cutie Mark in his claw.

The loyal pony looked at the cloud, starting to see something else within it. It transformed into the floating city of Cloudsdale.

Yogg-Saron continued to watch, seeing the city break apart, ponies running away screaming. The structures collapsed, and the cloud the city rested on started to fall to the ground, ripping apart. Huge chunks of city tumbled from the sky.

Rainbow Dash was mesmerized by the image. She had to save Cloudsdale, which meant she needed the wings Discord offered her.

She reached for the cloud, and when she touched it her wings sprouted from her back, in their place once again.

The Old God watched as Discord’s eyes turned into a mind-bending illusion, Rainbow Dash’s becoming the same.

What’s this?

The Element of Loyalty lost her color, turning grey all over as she flapped her wings. Her visage turned cold as she shot into the air, headed to save Cloudsdale and abandoning her friends.

He had felt the power Discord projected into Rainbow Dash: Void magic. He was shocked by this because Void was almost unwieldable. Most mortals could barely make it take physical shape on Azeroth after years of study, but Discord was using it freely.

The Lord of Chaos instantly became a real threat to Yogg-Saron. If he could wield Void magic, his capabilities grew a thousandfold, making him a formidable opponent. Through manipulation, he turned a pony against their nature, something similar to what Yogg-Saron could do. While he would likely defeat Discord if they battled, he did not want to risk losing all his progress so far. One wrong move could put him back in chains, and he would never let that happen again.

He floated away, crawling over the ground as he watched Discord like a hawk. The creature laughed, relishing his glorious defeat of the Elements.

Return.

Sorin made one last left turn, spotting movement at the end of the path. He sped up, jogging over to the source and quickly finding it. As he leaned his head around the corner, he saw five mares, four of them colored grey and almost looking like stone.

He pulled his head back, feeling his essence nearby. The wispy sludge climbed over the wall in front of him, seeping towards his body. He lowered his horn as the blood raised into a tendril.

As the two touched, Sorin’s eyes ignited, and his blood poured back into his veins. His body shook from the force of the two entities becoming one, but his muscles became firmer by the second. The shaking stopped, and the last of his blood seeped into his horn, connecting with the rest.

“Now then,” he said to himself, turning the corner. He broke into a sprint, eager to catch up to the Elements.

They turned to him, seeing his charging form. He slowed down in front of them, sending dirt to his sides as he abruptly stopped.

“Sorin, I’m glad you ma—” Twilight greeted him, having to find her footing as the ground shifted beneath her hooves. Like quicksand, she sank into the ground as the labyrinth around her came undone. She screamed as a crater appeared beneath her, making everypony fall into it.

Sorin slammed into his shoulder upon landing, dislocating it with a pained grunt. He gasped for air, finding the wind knocked from his lungs and dirt in his mouth.

He slowly took in the fresh air, spitting out the earthy substance in his mouth as he caught his breath. No pony fared any better because they were all getting up carefully, their groans filling the air as they tried to stand.

Sorin’s shoulder popped and twisted on its own, bending back into the socket. With a loud snapping sound, his shoulder connected properly, and his movement was restored—another benefit of supernatural blood coursing through your body.

Everypony was now standing on all four hooves, their pain starting to subside. The large dust cloud around them faded as they were able to breathe again, their alertness returning instantly.

“Well, well, well,” Discord repeated, making himself known. His wings were flapping at a steady pace as he floated in front of everypony. “Somepony broke the ‘no wings; no magic’ rule.”

He snapped his talons. Sorin’s horn reappeared, the same as it was before, and so did Rarity and Twilight’s. Fluttershy’s wings were also returned to her.

“Game's over, my little ponies. You didn't find your precious elements.” He snickered at the helpless ponies who were the ones supposed to defeat him. He made an inverted umbrella appear in his hands, its pink color reflecting the color Pinkie Pie once was.

He opened the umbrella, slinging it over his shoulders as a smug grin was drawn onto his face. The ground rumbled once again as lightning struck all across the desolate area behind Discord, covering him in purple and blue light while he continued to grin.

“Looks like we might be due for a big old storm of chaos.”

Comments

[yonalkaru]

awesome chapter dude and if discord thinks he can mess with yog-sarron then he is in for a surprise. awesome chapter dude keep up the good work!!!

[Nosoni]

Cant wait to see the next chapter Discord is in for a rude awakening once he engages in glorious battle with Yogg-Saron

[MeTaLGuArD]

10997130
Discord's having a grand old time dismantling the one weapon Yogg is trying to still deal with. If anything, a bargain of some kind would be struck to try and break apart the Elements for good while making sure Sorin still has an out in case the plan fails(which we already know it will, unless Season 3 is VERY different in this story).

On the other hand, Discord is a threat, and the Elements are the only reliable method of containing him, so Sorin might prefer to play along and deal with the most immediate danger to his future rule. He can afford to play the long game, after all, as he rebuilds his strength.

[Dracthul]

10997431
You have given me some ideas for the next chapter, and I thank you! The new version will be far juicier