The Battle for Equestria Part 2
“Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?”
-Discord
They had been expecting many different things.
When Honesty, Celestia and Luna had flown towards Rarity's penthouse, they had braced themselves for a fight. They knew that at least one of the Queens had to be in there, watching over the warring factions. The sisters had been prepared to use whatever they needed, be it words or physical attacks, to remove the abstracts from the two mares. Then it would be Honesty's turn; the red abstract had been gearing himself up for a long battle with his sisters that would see them hurting each other despite what they wanted.
It would be a cruel, painful battle. It would be filled with hurtful words and broken hearts. There would be blood and there would be tears. There was no doubt in any of the three's minds that this is what was waiting for them.
But the broken forms of Kindness, Fluttershy and Rarity were not at all the opponents they had been expecting.
"Princess..." Fluttershy whispered, before hurrying over to toppled chair and hiding behind it, her long tail flicking back and forth in agitation. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Fluttershy whimpered, repeating the same reframe over and over until it became the chorus to the depressing scene the alicorn sisters found before them.
"Fluttershy?" Celestia said softly, approaching with caution. Laughter's trap was still fresh in her memory and thus she made her way towards the trembling mare with a small amount of trepidation. Her horn lit up and she gently pushed the chair aside, looking down at Fluttershy. The mare was attempting to curl herself into a tight little ball and whimpered when Celestia reached over and brushed her mane. "Fluttershy, what-"
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said over and over.
Honesty, meanwhile, was staring at his sister in surprise. "Kindness... I don't understand... how are...?"
"Fluttershy opened my eyes," Kindness said, tears in her eyes. "She made me see we were wrong." Kindness shuddered. "But Doubt made me truly understand just how wrong we all were."
"Doubt?" Luna said, glancing up at the battle overhead. "What did Doubt-"
"We have sinned!" Rarity wailed. She fell to her back, one foreleg resting on her forehead. "We attempted to reach greatness but our wings were made of wax and we fell to the dark sea!"
Celestia's mouth was set in a firm line. "Then you see what you did wrong? You understand how your actions hurt your fellow ponies."
"Yes," Fluttershy said softly.
"We... we are so sorry," Kindness said, crawling to her brother and wrapping her forelegs around his own. "Please... please forgive me brother."
"Yes," Rarity said, sniffing back tears. "You must forgive us! We see now-"
"No," Celestia said sternly.
The three crying alicorns blinked in surprise. Luna and Honesty did too, startled by the harshness of Celestia's denial.
"Sister?" Luna said slowly.
Celestia looked upon the three alicorns, her eyes narrowed. "I am glad you now see the error of your ways. But begging for me to forgive you will not earn you the redemption you seek." She gestured towards the city. "While it is true that you were led astray by Doubt these are still the fruits of your actions. Just as I was guilty of abandoning Twilight and allowing her to fall into darkness, so are you guilty of your actions." Her face softened just a touch. "Begging for forgiveness will not earn you it."
"Then w-what must we do?" Kindness stammered.
It was Fluttershy who first realized what Celestia was getting at. "Make things right." She slowly rose, her legs a bit wobbly from her crying jag. "Its just like with Twilight or when any of our friends are upset with us... it means nothing if we just ask apologize. We have to make things right... Rainbow Dash would say that actions speak louder than words." Taking in a deep breath, the buttercream mare that so many pegged as being a coward bravely stepped towards her princess, looking her dead in the eye. "What can I do to help?"
Celestia smiled. "Doubt has taken control of the ponies that were brainwashed by you Queens. I am hoping that by combining your magic with the rest of your friends, you'll be able to free them and end this battle."
Fluttershy nodded her head, turning towards Rarity. "We need to fix this."
"Yes," Rarity said, shuddering slightly. She took a step forward and shrank before their eyes, splitting into two ponies: one the alicorn Rarity all had been talking to moments before, and another who seemed to be made from white gold, her wings encrusted with millions of gems that were forever falling at her feet like raindrops. She walked over to Kindness and helped her up before turning to Honesty.
"What now, brother?" Generosity asked.
"Now?" He looked skyward. "Now we go stand by our little brother... and we defeat this Doubt as a family."
"I will join you," Luna said, eyes flashing with magic. "Sister, you bring the rage of the sun... I will bring the coldness of night itself."
Celestia spread her wings. "Into the breach then."
And with that, the alicorns rejoined the battle.
~MC~MC~MC~
Spike twisted in the air, catching the Doctor just before he crashed through a window. "Thank you, Spike!" The Doctor said with a smile. "Afraid I am not quite use to these wings yet."
"You can thank me after we survive," Spike said, batting away a few earth ponies that had rushed them. The Doctor, Trixie, and Pinkie Pie had ended up on the street, trying their best to knock out the unicorns that were firing anti-flyer spells at the rebellion. It was difficult, as not only was their small group outnumbered 100 to 1, but each of them were forcing themselves to not use their full strength; Spike especially realized that a good swipe of his claw could behead an innocent pony.
"They just keep coming and coming and coming and coming and coming-" Pinkie grabbed her own head and banged her forehead against the ground. "oooooo... sorry about that, I got stuck in a loop."
Trixie glanced up, a dash of worry appearing on her face as she watched Faith and Doubt trade blows. One of the mob tried to take advantage of her distraction, only to be rewarded with a face full of magic for their trouble. Trixie leapt up, eyes glowing as she fired out a barrage of spells. Magical rope and magician's boxes appeared, ensnaring the ponies and trapping them nice and tight.
"Are you ok?" The Doctor asked, ducking a blow from one of the brainwashed stallions. He normally didn't like to fight but in situations like these he was willing to get his hooves dirty for the greater good.
"Fine," Trixie said, once more glancing skyward before turning to lead the charge at a battalion of unicorns.
"You want to be up there, don't you?" Spike asked. He grabbed a door and threw it in the way of a blast that had been heading toward Flim, giving his a salute before continuing.
"Of course," Trixie said, twisting around and bucking a unicorn mare that was trying to sneak up on her. "But that doesn't mean I HAVE to be up there." She smiled slightly as she paused, watching their targets try and mount a counterattack. "Besides, I am right where I need to be: taking care of these problems so Faith doesn't have to worry about them."
"A good way to think about it," The Doctor said, powering up his horn. "I have found that more battles have been won because of the actions of those off to the side than those of the heroes."
Trixie nodded. "And I don't need to worry about Faith... Twilight knows if she lets him get hurt she will answer to me." She narrowed her eyes and smirked. "Now then... let's take care of these fools."
And with that she charged in, the rest of her team hot on her hooves.
~MC~MC~MC~
Faith lashed out, grabbing Doubt by the throat. The mare merely smiled at him as he drove her towards the building. He had been beating her for about five minutes, his rage over her words driving him toward ignoring everything around him. he had lost focus and was no obsessed with destroying her.
Doubt cackled in glee as they neared the building.
At the last minute, however, Faith stopped dead, his wings beating as he slowed enough to prevent Doubt from being turned into a bloody smear on the side of the building. He locked eyes with her, black and white magic shining in his eyes.
"Did you think you could trick me so easily?" Faith said coldly. He pressed his foreleg against her windpipe, keeping her from moving. "You wanted me to kill Cadence in my blind rage. You wanted me to forget that you are inside her like some parasite, wearing her like a suit. Only one problem, Doubt." Faith's eyes flashed pink and when he spoke next it was in a different voice. "I'm in here, Doubt... and I want my body back!"
Doubt let out a cry as Faith pressed his horn against hers, opening the connection between the two of them. The mad abstract trembled and her dark coat began to drip away from her like hot tar. It fell from the mare Faith restrained, oozing off of her to reveal Cadence's true form. Her wings returned to normal and her healthy pink coat began to shine with its normal luster the moment Cadence opened her eyes.
"I'm... I'm back," she whispered. A huge grin blossomed on her face and she hugged Faith. "I'm back!"
Faith smiled too and Twilight hurried over and joined the midair hug. "It’s good to have you back," Faith said, before breaking off. "But we aren't done yet."
The three of them turned, watching as the black ball of ooze hovered in the air in front of them, twisting and turning like a mound of ants. They could feel the darkness that poured off of the sphere and it was only their resolve that kept them from turning away from the disgusting mass.
"You've failed, Doubt," Twilight said sternly. "Again."
Cadence nodded. "You wanted to destroy Equestria and fill it with doubt... but this is your last stand. We are going to undo the damage you did and free the ponies you corrupted."
Faith's mouth was set in a firm line. "You wanted to sully the names of Twilight's friends... but you have failed to take into account the power of forgiveness. it might take decades, but those girls will make up for their sins and Equestria will be stronger because this."
"You wanted to shatter Faith and ruin the abstracts... and yes, some have died." Twilight took a moment, remembering Laughter and Loyalty. "But new abstracts will take their place... just like a new Doubt will arise when you are dead and gone. Faith always told me that life isn't static and I know he is right; things will change and we will heal."
The ball of ooze that was Doubt began to laugh.
"What is this?" Faith said coldly. "The last bit of humor from a fallen foe?"
Doubt merely giggled. "You still haven't gotten it... have you?" The ball began to twist and the upper portion reformed to resemble Doubt's head when she had possessed Cadence. "Who said anything about spreading doubt?'
"You did," Cadence said in confusion.
"I did? Yes... I suppose so... and we all know I am so trustworthy, what with corrupting your friends and your family. Oh yes, completely trustworthy, your mortal enemy." Doubt's head shot forward. "I LIED!"
Faith slashed out with his wings, only for Doubt to pull back just in time. "What new game is this?"
"This isn't new, Faith. This is the same game we've been playing; not my fault you didn't realize that you were basing all your moves on faulty assumptions." The ball shuddered and a set of wings formed: one a pegasus wing, the other bat-like. "Haven't you wondered how I was able to do all this? You've said it so many times: Abstracts can't lie. Oh, your brothers and sisters were able to fool themselves and justify their actions but they never lied, did they? They just ignored the truth... two different things. But me? I've lied... and lied... and lied?" Doubt's tongue shot out, serpentine now, licking her newly grown fangs. "So, how could that be? How could I, an abstract... lie?"
Twilight's eyes widened. "You... you aren't an abstract anymore, are you?"
"And the slowest runner finally finishes the race!" Doubt exclaimed as a long tail burst out of the black ooze ball, flicking about. "Yes... yes, I haven't been an abstract for quite some time. I became something more... something different and strange. I took a page out of your book, Faith, and stole from another being... I stole his purpose and his power and made it my own. He wasn’t using it, you saw to that, so I decided to take his place.
“It opened my eyes and my mind..." a taloned claw burst out and gripped Doubt's forehead. "I learned to feel so many things... and the voices... the voices tell me so many things... telling me how to get my revenge on you and this country and all the abstracts that abandoned me... and let me become this... this... I"M NOT CRAZY!" Doubt screamed as her other arm, paw-like, burst out of the ball. She seemed to get a hold of herself and she smiled. "There are a few questions you haven't asked and one last kaboom before its lights out for all of you... but let me speed this along and clue you in." Doubt began to grow longer and taller, her body twisting and changing more. "Look at the chaos I have created... why hasn't Discord been freed yet?"
Twilight's eyes widened. She now understood why Laughter had been trying to tell them during her dream trap.
"That's right... I bled him dry and took all there was in that stony shell... he was a chocolate candy and I ate the creamy filling till it became my blood." Doubt said as finished her transformation. Her black head sat grinning on a replica of Discord's body, though all the color had been bled away, leaving it black and white. Clashing magicks swirled about her as she looked at them, a twisted smile on her face. "I am Doubt... the Spirit of Chaos." She snapped her fingers and the sky trembled. "Now then... shall we begin?"
Faith and Twilight glanced at each other, then at Doubt.
"No," Faith said coldly. "We won't begin... we shall end."
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Given that Discord was trapped in stone, he wouldn't have had a chance to defend himself from Doubt's devouring of him.
But now Doubt is all alone against an army of alicorns and he can't see where he is failing. Just focused on one thing alone and that is getting revenge on Faith. Previous chapter I'd have said its plans were going as were intended. Now though, I say that Doubt doesn't rank up there with big shots. Hell, even minor villains could rank above Doubt. What does make Doubt dangerous is that s/he (?) is still frikkin' dangerous. It's got powers, it's a parasite and it knows what to take over and how to act like them for a short time. Though when things go wrong, Doubt just cannot adjust and goes on to whine like a baby once it realized that it cannot win.
Goes to wonder... what will Doubt do now against the crap that's going on all around him?
But if Doubt isn't Doubt anymore, who is Doubt now? If Doubt, now Chaos-spirit, is no abstract anymore, who took her mantle and became the new Doubt?
poor discord, he got parasite'd
Darn, I was hoping Discord would show up as Laughter, but I suppose this is a pretty good twist, even though I feel extremely sorry for Discord
Seriously?
Doubt's big plan was to become a draconequus? And she thinks she can win? Oh, because the last draconequus did SO well in trying to take over Equestria...
Granted, Doubt is more vicious than Discord is, and one could assume her abstract powers stacked onto the powers she absorbed from Discord, but does she really think she's going to win this? I mean, as an abstract, she was beaten with just Twilight and Faith. Discord was beaten with just Celestia and Luna / Non-Alicorned Main Six. Now the forces against her have tripled in number and power, and she still thinks she has a shot?
Heh... good luck, Doubt. -grabs popcorn- Her destruction will be of great amusement to me. Time to see the SCHADENFREUDE!
And why do I get the feeling that someone on the good side is going to die?
Dayum I was expecting there to be other abstracts like how doubts is opposite of faith so I was expecting her to y'know somehow make those others come here but this........... I like this more
I really hope Discord is still there somewhere and he will let himself be known
2525878
Remember when we thought Laughter alone didn´t have a chance against Team Faith? Let´s give Doubt an opportunity to prove herself.
2525852
2525881
Well, the answer is obvious: if Doubt took the mantle of the Spirit of Chaos, it´s fait that Discord becomes the new Doubt.
2525852 Doubtception.
Also Doubt did the same thing to Discord that Evil Buu did to Majin Buu and Majin Buu did to Dabura in Dragon Ball Z.
2525852
That will be revealed later on... I will only say that, as seen with Loyalty and right now Laughter, the ascension of an abstract is not instantaneous. It takes time... a year could pass before the new Doubt arises.
2525878
My opinion on Discord is he was defeated the second time because he got lazy. He thought he had won and had it all figured out and BOOM! Twilight and the gang got in a single lucky shot. Had Discord wanted to, he could have killed them all with a look... but that is so... dull. So Discord went for a more chaotic, funny end and he failed.
Doubt doesn't have this problem. She has all of Discord's powers (which explains why she is able to do things other abstracts couldn't, such as create the brainwashed army) with none of his need for 'flair'.
Will the Elements of Harmony be able to stop him as they did to Nightmare Moon?
And the final battle has begun.
Prepare for artillery strike!
Sweet
And just when I was starting to think that Doubt was getting K'Od way too fast
Can't wait to see what she does next
THROUGH THE FIRE AND THE FLAMES
WE CARRY OOOOOON
[youtube=http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0jgrCKhxE1s]
Doubt is so... So.... CRAZY!
hah doubt has made a fatal mistake. she has become chaos, chaos is not abstact it is a definit and discord wasn't even the total definition of chaos he was only disharmony, there is still chance, anarchy and luck to gain the full power. now the elements of harmony can deal with her. and seeing as they have almost 2 sets. this gonna be good
2525818 doubt is classed as girl.
2525882 Q, that is all.
2525882
Yes. I wanna see something ala what Kimblee did to Pride at the end of FMA/FMA:Brotherhood, that is, Discord-who had been content to chill and watch the chaos at the time- stepping in and wrestling control from Doubt(from the inside out)/temporarily seizing control to allow the hero to win, with a sort of 'ahhahaha, no. You don't deserve to call yourself Discord' sort of thing because Doubt overstepped their boundaries/did something Discord didn't like.
For the curious-
(In FMA/FMA:B Kimblee-who had been absorbed by the Homunculus Pride-interfered in Pride's fight with Edward because (to quote Kimblee) "In the same breath that you spoke of 'Pride as a Homonculus' you ran screaming to steal the body of one of the lower life-forms you so despise, just to escape your own predicament." Giving him, as far as Kimblee was concerned, no right to call himself Pride. Up till that point everyone's favourite psycho had been oh so content to sit back among the sea of souls in Pride and watch them fight and kill each other.)
2526574
That would be glorious.
2526454 After Doubt took hold of Discord's body, I got a bit unclear on the subject.
Oh, Doubt. Haven't you read the Evil Overlord List? Turning into a
snakedragondraconequus never works.2525902 Actually, once Faith got serious, Laughter really didn't stand a chance against him alone, even without his team, though she failed mainly because she completely disregarded all non-alicorn ponies as inconsequential. Since they'd dove into his mind and freed him in order to get a direct line to Twilight so they could free all the others, and once it came down to a power struggle he easily won, had they actually succeeded in freeing everypony before Laughter died, it would have been extreme overkill.
Discord is dead ? NOOOOOO!! I hope he's still alive somewhere....
oh this is good keep on going
2525878 Discord could wist and alter reality at a whim, but only did so for 'fun'...
But I don't think Doubt is here for games, and with her vicious tendencies...
I don't think Discord is dead, probably thanks to his statue form. But, I don't think he will stay that way for too long if his essence isn't return soon. The question here now is what that creep can do with Discord's magic? From what I have glimpsed so far into her ugly imagination, it isn't going to be pretty at all.
C&Cs:
he had lost focus and was no obsessed with destroying her.
> Capitalize ‘he’ and replace ‘no’ with ‘now’.
it might take decades, but those girls will make up for their sins and Equestria will be stronger because this.
> Capitalize ‘it’ and add after ‘because’.
“Yes... yes, I haven't been an abstract... He wasn’t using it, you saw to that, so I decided to take his place.
> Need an ending quotation.
She now understood why Laughter had been trying to tell them during her dream trap.
> I think you mean ‘what’.
With all the chaos Doubt will be strong, sure, but he is greatly outnumbered, this time both sides thrown everything they had into battle, but it does not mean Doubt have upper hoof.
Doubt fails to realize that discord has been defeated already by twilight primarily and as such her powers are useless
Well, I should have seen that coming...
Nice update as it seems that the Elements, the princesses, and the Abstracts will try to finish off Doubt once and for all in the final battle. So please do keep up the good work upon such a great tale like this one.
Doubt as the Spirit of Chaos, should be an interesting battle ahead.
Explains why Laughter said Discord's stone was empty all those chapters ago.
2531292
You'd think so, wouldn't you? (The sound of Doubt's laughter rings)
Okay, so I finished. Actually took me approximately three hours, I think? Maybe three and a half. That's good; I really got into the story. Well planned, if seemingly on the fly at times. Very interesting idea, although my own personal aesthetic is supremely annoyed at some of your descriptions/character designs. I love many of the plot twists, and much of the characterization was fascinating to deal with. I quite enjoyed much of the duality present in this and the preceding story. Very few complaints; most of them are either along the lines of pacing or errors present in the writing.Congratulations of writing a riveting, intriguing story. I look forward to seeing how this ends; I merely wish I had waited until it was finished.
2534177
Yeah, I admit 100% that pacing is goofy here. if this were one of my novels, it would be fixed in editting. I write by flow writing: I litterally turn off all my senses and just type as fast as I can. It can lead to amazing things, but also making pacing CRAZY. With my novels, I do a first draft flow draft where I write the entire thing as a flow (using only a basic guideline of point a to b) then the second draft is all about tightening and expanding (deleting strange bits, adding to short parts) to make it a more solid story.
Since I write these purely for fun and to amuse myself, I tend never to do the second drafting, so yes, pacing is off.
2534660 That... actually explains a lot. It's certainly an interesting way of writing, and I am certainly enjoying the results. Also, I am sorry if I sound condescending. I try very hard not too, but now I'm worrying that my comments are being interpreted in a way that is offensive and I really try hard not to act that way and now I'm rambling. Great. But yeah, the point I was trying to get across in my comments was that in spite of that, I really enjoyed it. I wasn't quite sure whether or not you knew about the pacing, seeing as how I haven't exactly had a lengthy discussion with you, nor have I seen any indication of whether or not you did.
2534790
Yeah ... no. Why should I be bothered if the author isn't? It's the author's job to find the right proofreader, not the reader's.
2535783
Actually, it isn't my job to do anything, if we want to get technical. I don't get paid for this... it is something I purely do for fun. I have determined how much time I want to put in and I've already have bad experiences with every editor I've gotten.
2534744
Nah, weren't condescending in the slightest. It was a valid comment and I saw no fault in it.
Flow writing can be one of the most amazing ways to write, because it leads you into wild directions you never thought you would end up. You begin going to point a and thinking you know how a character would react, then suddenly the character does something totally different and it is like you discovered the truth.
2538518
Perchance To Dream
2536178
You've misunderstood my meaning by using 'job'. I am also a writer, I'm well aware that we don't get paid, and it's difficult to find an editor. But your story is difficult for me to read due to poor grammar and constant typos. I haven't read a chapter since I posted that original comment because it's just too much work to slog through. Finding an editor to work with you is invaluable, especially as a favour to your readers.
Edit: As far as I can see. The ideal is either to find the right proofreader (there's an entire group of them here on FIMfiction, and many would be happy to only look at errors, not the story) or to self-edit.
I'm certainly not demanding you do one of these. It's your choice and the fact that you've gotten this far without it tells me it isn't that important to you (and I wouldn't have brought it back up if someone hadn't argued the point with me.) But doing so would make your story the best it possibly can be.
Edit the second: I'm sorry if I come across as mean spirited or condescending, it wasn't my intention. Different people just like to read different things, and with the plethora of proofread fics on this site, it just seems this isn't the story for me to spend my limited time reading, that's all. I just like to let people know that there's a place for fics that work hard on being as close to technically perfect as they can be.
Oh...well...um...
Biggest mind-screw of the century thus far.
I...don't have anything to say about that.
And someone good is going to die.
2539011
Nah, not at all. Never took any offense to it in the slightest
2539947
Read again. Faith was a foal before his ascension, and by abstracts´ measure of time (they are eternal) he is still the "baby" of the family.
and 
are willing to help with that matter.
Besides, he is still a bit oblivious about the birds and bees. Fortunately,
2540066
The abstracts choose their bearers... they select those filled with an emotion or thought and make them their representatives. That's why Faith has had so many bearers in the past (IE, Clockwork).
But Doubt is different. She is no longer pure abstract.
2525866>>2525922
My eBits are on the EoH being powerless due to a lack of an active Laughter, until Discord frees himself, "Chest Buster" style, ascending as the new Laughter while leaving the wounded and weakened Doubt primed to "Taste the Rainbow".
2541041
The key line:
Not "before his fall", but "before his ascension". As in, back when he was a mortal Pony one month of age.
2544033
It is referring to coloration. When they ascended, they lost their bodies, remember?
2544625
Thank you. It was never mentioned that Honesty and Kindness retained their pre-ascension color palliates post-separation from the Mane Six, so it wasn't exactly the first thing to pop into my head. Or the second. Or the third. Or Pinkie Pie. Or the Fifth.
Either way, thanks for clearing that up.
I expected something like this to happen, yet I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. Since she was still using Cadence's body, I expected her at some point to go "This isn't even my final form".