Slave of Eternity

by Secrets and Lies

26

Author's Note:

Revised January 16th, 2014

(26)

Celestia’s mind raced with thoughts she couldn’t bring herself to believe as the words, ‘Now you are all doomed’ left Zachary’s lips.

"No! No, it can’t be! Discord couldn’t have... How could he have?" Celestia’s distraught appearance became clear to the possessed Zachary as his new yellowed eyes darted towards her.

“Do you not understand,” he hissed. “Is it not clear to you?” He then returned his focus towards the horrified ponies and clarified, “I am in possession of your savior’s body, and not only that, but I am also the new Master of the Prevailer and the keeper of the Catalyst Stone.” He rose his fist before him, looking over his new hand in astonishment.

“Incredible. Truly incredible. His body is remarkable; so young, so powerful. And the power that fool was holding could have ended me much sooner, too bad he hadn’t the competence to use it properly.”

Spitfire asked frantically, “How did you do this, Discord? What sorcery is this?”

He withdrew his attention from the crowd and placed it on the pegasus pony answering, “I am not Discord. Discord was the name I gave my draconequus form. I am the Prince, the spirit who inhabited Discord now inhabits this body–and I have made this body my slave. Though truly, since I am the last of the spirits, that does make me the King, doesn’t it?”

Celestia began to falter under the realization as to what Discord now was. His magical power and immortal spirit, combined with Zachary’s magic, the Prevailer, and the Catalyst Stone–he was too much for any of them to handle, let alone Om if he was still present in their reality. Their faith–like dimly glowing candles–had truly been snuffed out; there was no alternative or good way to end this. Discord–now Zachary–was truly a being that could contend with divine might.

Zack held his hand out open and stated, “I could end this right now, you know?”

Above his hand formed a sphere of light that shockingly looked like the apocalypse orb he had created earlier. In only a few seconds, he had created several orbs that each could bring about extinction in their galaxy. Their magical powers combined and unleashed was too great for the alicorn to sense. However, she speculated that if such a blast was to go off, it would not only wipe away their universe, but implode their reality around them. It wouldn’t stop there though, the dimension that held that reality together would collapse upon itself, and the external force that would follow in its aftershock would break apart the surrounding dimensions. Literally everything would end if Celestia was certain. The orbs hovering in his palm slowly faded into nothingness as he smirked and curled his fingers into a fist again.

He smiled at the terrified alicorn and continued his former statement, “But that wouldn’t be fun, would it? I’m in a much more joyous, patient mood again. But with such limitless ambition my former mind blinded me of, I can now see what truly needs to be done. In order to bring about absolute peace, I will need to cross over through the dimensions, murdering the other spirits and divine that stand in my way; I cannot solely rule one reality in peace and know that elsewhere beyond, peace has yet to be obtained.”

He turned from the group and looked over the mountain saying, “I will miss this place, seeing it eradicated so soon would make me a tad disappointed.” He gave a smirk and noted aloud, “I guess nostalgia is my only weakness now.”

As Zachary’s focus was drawn away, Twilight Sparkle came before Celestia and denoted, “Princess Celestia, we can still win this! If we use the Elements of Harmony to turn Zac–, him to stone, we can stop his plans! I can’t say for sure if Zachary is still alive, but we would have to try and kill both of them to save Equestria!”

Celestia was unsure if that would actually work, or even if he would allow them to do so; but in reality, it was the last thing they could do to stop him. The other five were around Celestia, listening in on Twilight’s plan carefully. They knew what had to be done, even Pinkie and Rainbow Dash had no outward quarrel against Twilight’s plan. For Equestria’s sake, they put away their emotions and feelings to perform this one last strategy.

Celestia said nothing in return, but was in total agreement with Twilight’s proposal. She was a bit surprised that Zack couldn’t hear them, nor cared to give them anymore attention then he has been; so she went along and conjured the chest that held the Elements of Harmony artifacts. The box opened up as Twilight magicked the Elements to herself and friends. As they adorned the artifacts, the Elements–except for Twilight–turned to face Zachary. The purple unicorn lagged behind as her eyes caught on her brother, Shining Armor. He nodded and gave an assuring smile to her and she returned a similar expression.

Twilight wasted no more time as she rose up in the air, overcharging her artifact with her own magic. The magic streamed between the others as they too rose up above the mount. Their artifacts glowed brighter, filling rapidly with powerful magic. Celestia watched from afar, praying that this would somehow worked. Zack finally turned to see what the six ponies were doing and drew in a long sigh as he gripped the Prevailer tighter. The magical artifacts intensified with energy and soon they were nearing their capacities. Twilight opened her eyes, which were now blazing forth a white and powerful inner energy that was blinding to anyone who looked into it. Spitfire, Shining Armor and Neighmo watched in awe as the mares were soon to unleash their powerful, ancient magic.

As the magic was nearly on the verge of releasing, something abruptly halted the process. Celestia screamed out as Twilight was thrown backwards through the air with the Prevailer lodged in her chest. Shining fell to his knees, horrified upon seeing what had just happened to his sister. The channel of magic that flowed from the center Element was cut off from the rest as the magic drastically faded from them all. A stream of blood trailed off from the mare as the possessed Zachary suddenly appeared beside her still in the air. He withdrew the sword quickly while placing his hand around the unicorn’s horn and ripping it from her skull.

It was all too quick for one to take in, yet Celestia–in a wild frenzy–shot a powerful blast of magic his way. Zack reached his arm outward, using his own magic to pull Fluttershy over to him. He then disappeared and left the mare to take the coming blast from Celestia. The yellow pegasus was overwhelmed as the magic scorched her body, ending her instantly. Celestia’s eyes finally found her absurdly deft enemy behind Rarity now as he grasped her neck and snapped it before she had even realized what had happened to Twilight. He then teleported over towards Applejack who saw him coming, but like the others, was far too slow to avoid him or fight back. He forced the Prevailer through the mare’s body, slicing her in two and moving on to the next pony.

Rainbow Dash was the only pony quick enough who attempted to flee. As she desperately tried to fly away from Zack, something slammed into her back, which sent her into the mountaintop. As she tried to scramble upward out of the rock and dirt, she turned to see the possessed Zachary standing over her with the Prevailer floating by his side.

“Zachary,” she pleaded in horror, “please! No!”

He swiftly reached down and began to choke the mare with his left hand while using his other hand to grab hold of one of her wings. He then began to tear the wing off, watching–with twisted enjoyment plastered across his face–as muscle, ligament, blood and feathers were pried from the pony's back torso. Even while being choked, she screamed out in mass agony as her wing was finally severed off. He wasted no time with the other wing as he found overwrought enjoyment out of the cyan mare’s cries and spasms. Blood drenched his arms and hands as he finally held her up off of the ground. Without warning, he finally finished her by slamming her head against the rocky mountain, cracking her skull open and dropping her there in the blood-tainted dirt.

He leaned up again and slowly turned towards the last mare, Pinkie Pie. She was on the ground now, and was found cowering behind Celestia’s tall legs. She shuttered and shook with horror her mind couldn’t comprehend. Neither of them could believe what was happening as Zachary smiled and waved his hand towards the mare. He lifted the sword to his face and opened his mouth, letting his tongue lick the surface of the blade clean of blood–all the while staring at both the ponies before him.

From behind the two mares, Shining Armor created a powerful shield of purple magic that was constructed between Zack and Celestia. Zack began to amble forward and as he reached the shield, he simply walked through it like it wasn’t even there to begin with. Shining couldn’t believe it; he had exerted so much magic into that one spell and Zack simply strolled through it. Spitfire raced above to make a direct, head-on attack towards Zachary, risking it all. As the mare was near impact, he swung his sword forward and Spitfire met firmly with the blade’s edge. Her body split into two separate pieces behind Zachary as he continued forward.

Neighmo raced in front of the pink pony and Celestia with two crossbows in his hooves as he snarled, “You will never take Celestia or this poor mar–” He was cut short as Zachary’s weapon bore through the captain’s neck. As his body and head fell over separate ways, Zack finally stopped before the two. Shining came towards them as his horn glowed violently with magic.

“I won’t let you,” he said as the stallion shot off a bolt of magic towards Zachary.

The magic struck his side, yet he was unmoved by Shining’s strongest offensive strike. Zack looked over towards the pony with an agitated expression as he reached his arm outward and placed a finger on the tip of the unicorn’s horn. A magnificent pain shot through Shining as he shouted in torment and fell backwards. From his horn, his body began to disintegrate into flakes of hot, burning skin. As his body faded from existence, now only Celestia and Pinkie was left atop the mount.

He looked over at the alicorn and kindly asked, “Would you please move, Celestia?”

“Never!”

“...So be it.”

He reached his hand outward and a flash of light shot over the Princess. In no more than a second, the alicorn was frozen in a thick icy shell. Pinkie hopped back away, unsure as to what to do or where to go. The crying pony darted as fast as she could away from Zachary as he pushed the alicorn ice chunk over and onto the mountain’s rocky surface. Zack watched from afar, seeing where the pony would go exactly. Pinkie raced towards the cliff side and came to a sudden halt, nearly sliding off of a drastic drop off. She breathed heavily and frantically, looking for a way to escape down the mountain safely.

“Where are you going, Pinkie Pie?” Pinkie turned and gasped as Zachary approached from behind her. Her hooves neared the edge as she tried to stay as far away from him as she could.

“I’ll jump,” Pinkie exclaimed, seeing as how that was the only true escape she could think up. Zachary smiled and continued to move towards her. Without hesitation, the pink pony jumped to try and end her life before Zachary did, but she was unfortunately caught in his magical aura. She was flung back up onto the mountain and was rolled over to her side behind Zachary. He turned to approach her while she lay in the dirt, crying out for mercy. She could no longer bare to run or even stand, her emotions and quivering form could not support her as she gave up and wept on the ground. As Zack approached the mare–he titled his head and looked over the pony with a puzzled look.

The pink pony grieved out in tiresome breaths, “Why? Why would anyone do this? What’s the matter with you? I thought you loved us Zachary? I loved you!”

Zachary gave false comfort to the mare as he said in a soft tone, “Oh, poor Pinkie Pie. Don’t be so sad. Let’s see a smile on that face.”

He rose the Prevailer up to deliver a final blow to the mare. He held it high in air, so that he could watch the pony’s blue eyes shimmer with new tears before he let it down. His wide eyes and toothy, beaming smile pierced through the pink pony and she now begged for death. He stiffened up his posture and drew in a deep, quick breath before throwing his sword arm downward.

His momentum was brought to a sudden halt that even took him by surprise. Something had wrapped around his forearm. A blackened chain had constricted his arm and stopped his attack. Before he could look and see who had done this to him, his arm was yanked back and the Prevailer flew from his hand backwards and stuck into the earth. Another chain swiftly wrapped around his other forearm, then two other lines of chains wrapped around his legs and soon he was tightly fastened to the mountain top. The chains’ ends had dug themselves into the earth and were held by a navy blue magic aura. He pulled and tried to break free from the chains, but somehow the links had begun to sap him of his magic and strength. Before him walked the Princess of the Night, whom he gave an enraged and vindictive expression towards.

“What? What is this,” he spat out. “I cannot be detained by such petty instruments!” Another chain then grabbed ahold of his neck and fastened his body in the air. Luna replied with silence as she turned away and looked over at Pinkie. The pink pony was very much confused as to what the alicorn princess had done to detain Zachary.

“Get up,” ordered Luna. “He won’t hurt you any longer.”

Pinkie did so without question and walked over towards Zachary. The burning fire of rage flickered in his eyes, he was furious and outraged by his captured state. Luna’s horn glowed with magic and soon her sister was set free from her icy prison. Celestia rose upward when she had recovered and was infuriated, yet baffled by Luna’s sudden appearance.

She joined her sister and sternly questioned, “Where were you? Where have you been?”

“Firelight Woods. Zachary had lost many of my artifacts. I felt the need to find and retrieve a certain one, The Ebony Chain.” She looked back towards Zachary and continued to explain to him and the other two mares, “The Ebony Chain can be used as an immovable object, apprehending even the likes of a spirit being. Not only can it hold them, but it saps them of their magic and strength–not all of it, but enough to hold the beast steady.” Laughter had overtaken their ears as Zachary cackled aloud.

He looked down at them and chuckled, “Do you really think I’m just a spirit? You have been greatly deceived, Selena. I am now more than that with the Prevailer and Catalyst Stone.” He flexed even greater this time, which made a straining noise in the artifact that bound him. “You may be able to hold me for a few measly minutes, but I will break free and kill you all!”

Pinkie–who was being surprisingly quiet and levelheaded–asked Luna, “So what do we do now?”

Luna answered, “I will form into my shadow state and enter Zachary’s mind.”

Celestia wondered aloud, “What do you plan on doing? How will that help?”

“Discord has yet to fully take over Zachary. Through lunar magic–a magic many are unfamiliar with–I can sense Zachary’s corrupted state of mind. He is still alive, and I will find him and help him fight back against Discord.”

“Will it be that easy,” questioned Pinkie.

“Far from it... I will be venturing into a realm beyond our own. The realm of the unceasing mind. A corrupted one will be difficult to traverse, many dangers will plague me and I may not return. I’m not even certain that this will work, but to save Zachary, I must try.”

As those last words were said, her body shifted into a starry, shadowy veil that whisked upward into the air. The formless shadow then hovered over and into the reluctant, possessed Zachary. Luna had done this many times before, often in other’s dreams and nightmares, but this would be different. She seeped in through his eyes and soon delved deep into the blackness of his mind.

For hours Luna seemed lost, feeling neither awake or asleep. A strange form of alienation plagued her own mind, bringing out the most primitive of fears she had stored away. Many times she had completely forgotten about her quest or what she had done, only to remember and to forget again. Time was lost to her senses while her being was suspended in a place which no longer resembled or felt like a mind. Her conscious drifted through starless nights over wave-less seas, void of life and reality itself.

Luna opened her eyes finally to find herself standing in a bleak world. A darkened forest surrounded her, lifeless, windless, and colorless. Only she–the intruder–remained true to her real form; her mane and coat still kept its colors compared to the world around her. The wooden towers about her stretched and sprawled out to an infinite altitude. The tops of the tallest of trees could not be seen, as they were blanketed in a gray fog that failed to fall or rise. It was a ceiling of clouds that remained still, devoid of ridges or bumps.

The grass around her hooves felt wet, yet the time of day–whether it be morning or not–could not be confirmed. The forest land beyond her wavered with hills and valleys which stretched outward into a curtain of murk. The air was cold and uninviting, making the woodlands seem alive and cautious of her presence. Even the sounds that would accompany such a forest were nearly absent, except for the occasional rustling and steps of unknown things far around her and out of her vision.

Luna had never seen a mind like this. It was void, hollowed out and in its place was filled with nothingness. It felt nothing like a mind, she related it more with a tomb then an asylum for the consciousness. She felt him however, Zack was in this place. His life force–so very hidden and minuscule–was close by and Luna could sense it. With her senses adjusted to Zachary’s presence, she began to walk through the woods in search for him.

She took her time, not to be hasty or loud. She didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention, so she kept as quiet as possible. Even though Discord was in control of Zachary’s mind, he had yet to fully take over. As a spirit in a new, unfamiliar body, it took time for him to seek out the remainder of Zack’s conscious. He would eventually do it, but Luna hoped he would get to Zack before Discord found him. She hopped onto a toppled log a few paces away and began to ascend it to get atop the hill. She could not see the end of the log due to the thick fog, but continued upward. It was a long tree that stretched upward even over the ground and soon the earth became invisible to the low-lying fog.

Her ears picked up a strange noise moving from atop the log towards her and she stopped to see what it was. It creaked across the wooden surface and from the blanket of haze rolled a bicycle without an occupant. The vehicle was uncolored–like the setting around her–and it stood perfectly upright like it was being ridden by an invisible being. It rolled slowly and made its way around Luna as she anxiously watched it. As it passed, the bell on its handle rang out twice and the noise echoed throughout the eerie forest. It went down the log and into the fog behind her, the empty noise that she had grown accustom to returned with the bicycle’s departure.

After that strange occurrence, she continued up the fallen trunk until she reached a white door. It and its frame stood perpendicular to the log and behind it was the forest still. She used her magic to turn the brass knob on the door and opened it wide. A new place became known to her and through the door lay another realm absent of color still. Without much thought, she stepped through it and found herself in a very small apartment. Luna appeared to be in a mistreated living room, with torn up furniture, stains in the carpet, walls and ceiling, and a fowl odor that overtook her nostrils. It was then she realized what the smell was, it was freshly spilled blood from something close by. She peered around the room and began to investigate.

Her eyes found another doorway and she decided to walk through it. As she entered into it, she unexpectedly came across Zachary. She had to step back from the sudden astonishment of finding him, and upon seeing him she was not at all filled with hope. His body sat still in a flimsy chair, while his face was down on a rickety, thin table that was covered in blood. The red liquid dripped onto the tile floor below and over a small, shiny object that was halfway submersed in the puddle. She walked around his corpse to see that a rounded, deep wound was through his skull on both sides, and his hand still held fast to a charcoal colored object. He had shot himself with what Luna could perceive as some sort of projectile weapon, but for whatever reason, Luna did not know.

Suddenly, a small whimpering sound caught her attention from behind. She turned around and saw a smaller human huddled up in the corner of the room, curled up in a ball watching Luna from afar. Once the boy saw that the alicorn was looking at him, he shuddered and hid his face, terrified to look at her. He appeared no more than nine, and his appearance highly resembled Zachary’s. That’s when she realized it, this was the remaining consciousness left in Zachary, in the form of a child. Luna wasn’t quite sure what this part of Zachary represented; possibly imagination she thought, or perhaps some form of root emotion or motivation. She was clueless as to what was before her exactly, but whatever it was, it was Zachary still and she had to protect him. Luna approached cautiously, but stopped when the boy spoke out.

The child’s voice faltered and quivered with each breath saying, “H-he killed himself! Right in front of me! He didn’t even know I was watching him, he just placed that gun to his head and–”

“Who is he,” Luna rhetorically asked.

The boy looked up into her eyes and slowly replied, “I don’t know...” He then put his hands over his ears and stated, “I can’t get it out though, the ringing! Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!” He repeated the phrase over and over again, shaking his head with his hands and tightly closing his eyes.

Luna tried to quiet him down by placing a hoof on his shoulder and sternly comforted, “Please be quiet, Zachary. Please.”

He suddenly stopped trembling and looked up into Luna’s eyes. The look in his face showed sudden enlightenment, as if he had seen something he couldn’t possibly believe. Luna was a bit baffled by his sudden change of expression, seeing child-like wonderment in the Zachary’s hazel eyes.

“I don’t know you,” he said in a soft tone, “but I do know you.” He began to look around frantically as his calm breaths turned quicker and shorter. He became frightened as he looked above him towards the ceiling.

“They’re here,” he whispered to Luna.

“Who’s here?”

“The demons with embers in their eyes. Who hide in the dark edges of your bedroom and steal your wishes and faith. The ones in the corner of your eye, but don’t turn around!” Luna knew something was behind her now that Zachary had mentioned it.

A large, silent monster stood directly behind her and she nearly turned to face it before Zack cried out, “No! You mustn't! If you see them, they’ll drag you into pits of razors and hellfire! Look at me if you want to live!”

She nodded and kept her eyes on the boy. This was not her mind and if she diverted from its plans she would most certainly pay the consequences. Whatever it was behind her, she dared not look, but its presence loomed over her with an evil intent that could be felt originating from it. The boy–who was looking over behind Luna at the demon–got up onto his feet and placed his hands on the sides of her head, motioning her body as they turned together. As they rotated, a new door became known to Luna’s vision that she had never seen upon entering the kitchen. A door which below its base poured a warm, sunny light. Zack began to cautiously walk backwards with his hands still lightly clasped to Luna’s cheeks. As the two approached the door it swung open and both were pulled into the light.

As the light faded, the door closed and Luna found herself in the child’s bedroom. The small room was filled with color and the orange, afternoon sun draped over the wooden floor and walls, basking the area in a dream-like glow. Two small beds were on the sides of the room; on the bedposts of each bed were the names “Zachary” and “Jason” hand-painted in blue paint. Thick quilts draped over the bedspreads and large mounds of pillows leaned up on the bedposts–they both looked very comfortable and warm, even if they were a tad too small for the alicorn princess. Striped curtains were hung around hooks of the wide, arching window and the ceiling above was dotted with random glow-in-the-dark stars and planets Zachary and Jason had supposedly put up. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as color returned to her eyes, yet something still seemed off about this environment. Below the window was a toy chest and the little Zachary raced over to it. He cleared some larger toys off of it and opened it up as Luna watched him. He dug through the treasure trove of playthings, removing larger toys and action figures to pull out what he truly wanted.

He finally found what he was looking for as he joyously breathed, “Yes! Here they are!” Before pulling them out, he turned back around towards Luna and confided, “Not many people know about this, so don’t tell my friends at school! But these were my mother’s toys, they were passed down to me and I have to say they’re my favorite–even if they aren’t meant for boys...”

He began to pull out two stuffed animals before her, and upon seeing them, Luna was taken back by their strange appearances. The two dolls he showed him depicted both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Both the toys were made of fleece, with large embroidered eyes and cutie marks.

He held up the pink one with a large, gravity defying stuffed mane and began, “Out of all of them, I’ve spent the most time with this one, Pinkie Pie. Whenever I’m alone or worried, she’s always there for me.” He put the pink one down, which stood by itself and smiled continually.

Next, he rose up the cyan pony with folded wings saying, “This one is the coolest! I really, really like her, even if I don’t play with her a lot. But whenever I’m afraid at night, or if a storm is outside, I can hold on to her and she’ll protect me. And finally–” he said while turning back around and hunting through his toy box again. He pulled out a toy and held it away from Luna’s view for a moment.

He then revealed the stuffed animal to be her as he held it up in front of him, “This is Selene. She’s so beautiful! I kind of think of her as a mother to the other ponies, or like a protector. Whenever I’m hurt and made fun of, hugging this pony comforts me a lot.” He looked away from the doll and towards her now asking, “And I think you’re her, aren’t you?” Luna encompassed the look-a-like doll in her magic and levitated it up before her.

Zack asked again, “Well?” She knew it was her, but her mind was thinking of other things. This place was too comfortable she began to think; its atmosphere and feeling felt as if it wanted to keep the occupants inside its borders. Even she had a strong desire to stay in this warm area of solitude.

“This place is no bedroom... it's a prison,” she mentally concluded. "It has to be. But why would Discord want Zachary to be alive still?"

The boy before her was obviously oblivious to what had been done to him and was perfectly content with living in such a holding pin. She began to think that maybe Discord had done this to Alwaid, capturing his consciousness and sealing it away without his true knowing. There was purpose behind this she could not come to. She thought that maybe he did this to sustain the mutual life force where he had all of the control still. Maybe Discord couldn’t function without the native consciousness still inside the body. If that was true, then she had to bring him out of this place. She wasn’t certain how far she could take Zachary’s consciousness, but she figured that by taking his consciousness out of his mind, she could force Discord out of Zachary’s body. But the answer to if it would even be possible eluded her.

She hovered the fleece doll onto the ground next to the other two and beseeched, “Zachary, the demons, they’ll only get worse if you don’t come with me.” He scratched his head, confused as to what she meant.

“Like on an adventure?”

She stressed, “Yes, like on an adventure.”

He held up the pink pony and asked with an eager smile, “Can Pinkie come along too?”

She slapped the toy from his hands and said with rising vexation, “Now isn’t the time! We have to go.”

Zachary’s gave a look of concern as he questioned the pony, “Why? I like it here. Even though I left the room for a moment to see that man shoot himself, I wanted to go back.”

Luna knelt down close to the boy’s eye level and imparted the truth as best as she could to him, “The demons want you here... they want you in this place. They have you fooled, Zachary–trust me on this.” She pointed a hoof towards the door and said, “I can take you away from this place, and when I do you’ll know how deceived you were.”

There was sudden tapping on the door and Luna promptly stood up before Zachary. The alicorn folded a wing out to protect him while her horn began to glow with magic.

“Zachary, the demons are here! Stay behind me!” She looked down beside her to see that Zachary was doing the exact opposite of her commands. He slowly began to walk towards the door, with his eyes transfixed on the knob ahead of them. He passed under the wing and ignored Luna as she wondered what had gotten into him.

“Zack! Stop! Don’t answer that door!” With those words, another quick and hard rapping pounded on the door. The knob twisted, yet it seemed whatever was outside could not get in due to it being locked. Zachary continued to walk forwards, reaching his hand out towards the handle on the door. Before he could stretch his arm out to pull open the door, Luna yanked him back quickly with her front leg and he stumbled backwards. She placed a wing around him and held him close to her while watching the door intently. The knocking continued almost constantly over the door with a force that now shook its wooden frame. With each blow it seemed it would be toppled down at any second.

A strange wind blew over Luna’s mane from behind and she turned frantically to see what had caused it. When she looked around, she saw the colorless forest behind her and not the room she was in. She turned back to see that the front of the room and door was gone as well. She had found herself back in the dead, dark forest she had originally found herself in, yet only now she was still holding the ever silent Zachary. Her ears perked up when she heard the knocking again in the far off distance–echoing off of the ancient and high trees that hung like narrow shadows on a bleak, gray veil. The boy shuttered under her wing and Luna pressed closer to him.

Zack breathed out a sigh of defeat, “Now you’ve done it... you’ve made them angry, very angry.” Upon hearing those words, Luna knew she had to escape this place as fast as she could with Zachary. In most dreams, Luna could sense the way out of the mind, but at the moment she was having much difficulty seeking it out. The exit was usually located in the cerebellum by following the limbic system like a tunnel outwards, but the fog and lifelessness of this place clouded her sense of direction. She knew she had been in the limbic structure already, the area of the brain where emotions, behaviors and long term memories thrive; but Zachary’s brain was skewed and warped that even it was broken down into a chasm, placing the conscious Zachary into an unconscious, vegetable-like state. Only this boy she looked over now was the last and remaining hope to salvage what was left of the former Zachary.

Luna knelt down and demanded, “Climb on my back. Do it now!”

The small Zachary did so without hesitation and threw his legs over her back, securing himself. He then held his hands around her sides as Luna rose up and galloped off through the forest. She was afraid to fly just yet, not wanting to slam into a tree that might suddenly appear in the mist, so she stayed on her hooves and swiftly ran forward. She wanted to stay safe and unharmed; because even though she knew she was in the mind of someone else who could not be harmed, Luna could still take injuries in her form. She was an outsider and who kept her own limitations to take form in Zachary’s mind. It was a risk she had to take.

She jumped and dashed over logs, streams, gullies, large rocks and boulders that she found while rushing through the fog. The noise still followed her though, the constant drumming and tapping on the door, never growing softer or louder. It stayed with them, no matter how far they fled. After a long while, Luna stopped to catch her breath. She hadn’t ran like that in a long time and her legs weren’t use to such exercise. She looked about her surroundings–it looked the same still and the knocking was always present in the distance. She turned her head around to see if Zachary was okay.

As their eyes met, he told her bitterly, “Great evils lurk around us.” She slowly turned back around, tensing her form for a sudden encounter with the demons.

As her eyes fell over the shadowy woods before her, a pair of yellow eyes became known to her through the black. The suddenness of it all made her step back in fright, but Luna quickly recuperated and rose her head high. From the darkness it crept out, and when its form was visible, she was a bit taken back by its appearance.

It was an earth pony, a stallion with a dark coat and blackened mane and tail. It bore a crooked smile as it held up a twisted dagger before them. Then something new had caught her attention in the corner of Luna’s eye as she darted her eyes to see it fully. A few other stallions came out around the trunk of a large tree while rolling out what appeared to be cannons. All except one seemed masked behind black rags wrapped around their faces. They also wielded crossbows which they aimed at Luna and Zack, making their presence even more threatening. One of them–the leader of the group–was a brighter hued unicorn stallion with a wicked and wide grin plastered across his face. He adorned a cowboy hat and button-up shirt which gave way to his identity. From what Celestia had told Luna before, this pony’s name was Ray Sunshine.

Luna was being approached from all sides it seemed as another being made its way behind her. She turned to meet with the being that appeared to be Pinkie Pie, only very different than the pink pony she hadn’t seen no more than an hour ago. She was a filly alicorn who floated up above the ground and crossed her hooves, snickering at the Princess of the Night. Celestia had told her about this event too, and that Starswirl had possessed the pink filly’s body. All of these creatures took forms of Zachary’s previous enemies; it all made sense that they would take the form of something he feared or worried about in the past.

They crept closer to her from all sides, but Luna had a plan of her own to try and stop them. She focused deeply on her magic and conjured four pools of starlight magic around her. They appeared to be four distinct blots of her shadow form she used to travel by as they boiled with magical energy. The liquid-like magic began to take shape and rise up from the ground–the shape they took were four nearly identical bat pony stallions with yellowed eyes and savage looks. They were draped in their full armor as they spread their wings and bent into an offensive stance.

Cannon fire rang out as the bat ponies dispersed. The four split off instantly to take on the other projections, avoiding the projectiles. A mass skirmish had broken out between the bandits and thugs versus Luna’s Royal Guard while Luna handled Starswirl herself. The alicorn filly charged up a bright, pink ball of magic that she soon fired at Luna. The Princess of the Night was too quick for the smaller pony as she sidestepped the attack with the aid of her wings. She then pushed up off of the ground and into the air, firing crescent-shaped bolts of silver energy towards her foe. The barrage of attacks was too much for the pink alicorn to avoid, so she used her magic to create a shield around her. Through the explosions and mayhem, Luna used her horn to break the shield, letting her horn pierce the filly’s chest head on. All the while this occurred, the specially trained Royal Guards Luna had conjured easily took down their opponents. The projections of Zachary’s invaded mind were no match for the lunar magic-infused ponies. The insentient bat ponies stood emotionlessly, yet triumphantly over their fallen enemies as the memories faded and flickered away on the forest floor.

Before she could move onward, a great disturbance overcame her senses as her eyes met with a multitude of other eyes which became clear through the dark woods around her. Great numbers of the same enemies they had just fought swarmed around them. A vast army of duplicates enclosed the group from all sides as Luna and her guards accumulated in a tighter group. A thunderous booming could be heard above them as Luna looked up to see several large rocs keeping flight above her. The large birds were representing the one lord of the rocs Zachary had fought years ago in the Icicle Mountains–Sheol was its name and several were here to smite her into the ground below. The flapped above her keeping watch over the small group of dark-colored ponies, silent yet fearsome.

At any moment the armies around her could come over them and slaughter her and her stallions; yet they did not and held their positions as if under command. Then it hit her why they would do this, Discord had discovered her whereabouts. Not only did she find him, she practically found the remainder of Zack and brought it before him. His presence became known to her as the armies subsided, creating a narrow path for the master of this mind to walk forwards. He took the form of his new self–Zack’s self–and his outward expressions revealed dark intentions for Luna. As he finally walked before her and the surrounding forces closed behind him, he commended the alicorn princess’ attempts.

“You did quite well,” he spoke in a tone intertwined with his old, draconequus voice and Zachary’s voice. “I’m not sure where you learned such interesting magic, but I congratulate you on your folly attempt.” He rose his arm out and motioned his hand and fingers saying, “Now give me Zachary and I will let you escape.” Luna unfolded her wings outward as the boy gripped the hair on her back tighter. She widened her stance and appeared before him on the verge of attack as her horn ebbed with rising magical energy.

Discord smiled as he noted, “You think you can defy me in my mind? How adorable.”

He straightened his fingers forward as her bat ponies dissipated into shimmers of dust in an instant. He then adjusted his palm out, which reeled back Luna and sent her into the air. Like a puppet, he hovered her about with his fingers, letting her limbs stretch outward without her control. Little Zachary had fallen off, but rose quickly, slipping on the leaves below his feet.

Luna tried to focus her magic, but she couldn’t do it. Discord had cut her off somehow from reaching her stores of magic from within. He had complete control of her it seemed, yet a small fraction of her magic still remained in her horn from when she was about to unleash it to try and stop him. A minuscule remainder of this magic could be used, but for only one small instant could she use it. She began to think up a way to do this as quickly as she could, trying to find the most successful way out of this situation. As Luna did this without Discord’s knowing, the elder, headstrong Zachary walked before the younger, timid Zachary.

He sneered and affirmed his suspicions, “I thought I had taken over every emotion, behavior, thought, action, memory and will–yet I had lost place of the greatest factor of your mind, motivation. Nestled away beyond my grasp, you hid yourself, yet I knew you would come out eventually. Like you had a chance of escaping, I don’t see how you would do such a thing in the first place.”

“Get away from him,” Luna screamed, trying to break free from Discord’s grasp. A wave of pain singed her entirety and she was silenced temporarily; yet her mind still worked on discovering a strategy. Zack watched her writhe in pain as he stepped away from Discord. Discord continued to approach Zack slowly with a warm, deceitful grin.

“There is no more running, Zachary. Give in to my desire–say goodbye to your consciousness.” Zack fell backwards after tripping over a wide root. He scrambled back in an awkward crawl, pinning himself against the base of a large tree. Discord stopped to look over the pitiful sight the boy was, keeping his focus on him alone.

When Luna came to, a plan finally surfaced as she mapped out Zachary’s brain. With her magic, her own mind searched far across the realm of his mind until she finally did find an exit. A small opening in the lower reaches of the brain where the larger organ met with the brain steam. From there, a physical way out was possible and without a doubt or second to lose, she used the remainder of her magic in her alicorn horn. A shadowy, starry veil was drawn from her horn as it wavered around and overcame the smaller Zachary. As it did, the boy was wrapped in the magic and whisked off through the woods as fast as she could muster towards the exit.

Discord blinked with disbelief and soon comprehended what had just happened. In the wake of his anger, he flew after the blot of magic instead of stopping Luna, which was the real cause of the magic. Discord raced wildly after it, breaking through immensely large trees and shooting through mounds of bleak hills like they weren’t even before him. The magical veil which carried the boy slipped through the forest at an incredible speed, yet Discord was gaining rapidly on the lunar spell. It was nearing its target, the brain stem which appeared to be a sunken, curved tower in the middle of the mind. Discord reached out to try and grab it, but he fell short as it swiftly slipped away and snaked through the top of the roofless spire.

Downward Zachary traveled into a dark and mysterious tunnel; and with unwanted uncertainty, Luna prayed that this would work out in the end.

Comments

[EpslionBear]

I think I can safely say the shit hit the fan and drowned everyone

[TheBronyMatrixFilms]

... *BRAIN OVERLOADED!
BRAIN FAILED TO PROCESS MURDER OF MANE 6
WARNING! BRAIN MELTDOWN IMMINENT
BRAIN V.15.99 CRASHED!*

[BrianPony]

Wow. Just wow.

[Secrets and Lies]

To anyone who ventures into the comments,

SPOILERS BELOW

[Cade117]

3184528
Thank you for the warning.