The Third Generation Chapter Twenty Two
The Third Generation
Chapter Twenty Two
By Candle Light
“But seriously, what took you so long?” Discord said, looking down on the crowd of nearly a thousand ponies gathered on the rocky field outside of Ponyville. “Do you have any idea how frustrating it was to see you running around all clueless, taking your sweet time piecing everything together bit by bit? I know it’s only been a few days, but it felt like years to me.”
Kimono barely even heard him. Her mouth hung open, her eyes as wide as saucers, her heart pounding furiously. Or maybe it had stopped; she couldn’t tell. She was not ready for this. Perhaps, in her heart of hearts, she had known that this might happen, but she had prayed with all her might that it never had to.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Kimono.” Go. Run away. Wake up. It isn’t real! It can’t be real! “I know we’ve had our differences, but that’s all in the past, right? A thousand years in the past, by my count, though I suppose it has been less than a week for you. Anyway, bridge under the water, as far as I’m concerned.” It was all too real. The memories of that time: the happiness, the betrayal, seemed to drown Kimono as Discord lowered himself to the ground. “I told you you’d mean the world to me.” He walked closer. She tried to step back, but her body wouldn’t obey. “And here we are, back together at last. You knew I’d come back for you, don’t try to—oof!”
A streak of energy zoomed past Kimono, hitting Discord square in his snake body. He was sent hurling backwards about ten pony lengths, where he came to an unceremonious stop. It was enough for Kimono to snap out of her fright, and turn around. Twilight was standing crouched, her horn crackling darkly with magic. Kimono had never seen her counterpart so angry before; her face was screwed up in rage, mane whipping back and forth on its own. It was a downright scary sight. “Get your paws off my ancestor!”
There was a murmur across the crowd, but Twilight seemed to ignore it. She walked toward the chaotic demigod, her eyes oozing darkly. Discord assumed a sad – but very fake – expression. “That hurt, Twilight. We haven’t seen each other in a whole year, and this is how you greet your old pal Disc—”
“Silence!” Twilight roared, letting out another volley of crackling beams; this time, Discord dodged, but Twilight leaped from the ground... and came to a stop right before Discord’s face. Floating, like he did. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to her? To all of these ponies?!” Her horn flashed, and she swung her head in the same motion one would swing a sword. Discord raised his paw to catch it, but instead of physically colliding, there was a surge of pure chaos magic between the horn and the paw, keeping them both at distance. “They took you in, cared for you, treated you like a friend, but you robbed them of their lives and homes! And for what?! Because they didn’t want to conquer the world with you?!”
“Now, that’s just plain unfair, Twilight,” Discord said, eerily calm. He didn’t even seem at all fazed that Twilight was using the power of chaos against him. “You weren’t even there; how do you know how they feel?”
“She does know!” earth-pony Rainbow Dash called, stepping closer. “Because she is our friend! And friends, at the very least, try to understand each other.”
“Friends don’t use their friends as pawns,” Kimono’s Pinkie Pie agreed, coming up next to the cerulean earth pony.
“And friends definitely don’t turn into big meanies that just wants to take over the world!” Minty said, joining them. All around the crowd – though most of them still looked confused – there were nods of agreement. Many were looking up at Discord in defiance. None of them were afraid.
Why should Kimono be?
Her fear melted away, replaced with love and gratitude for everypony there. That’s right, she realized, this isn’t the same as before. I’m not the same as before. For the first time in days, she remembered the charm bracelet around her hoof. She lifted it up... and she felt as though the magic of harmony was erupting from within her barrel. She looked back at Discord, still trying to push back Twilight’s assault – and realized she wasn’t scared anymore.
Kimono had her friends with her. This time, it was time to stand tall with them. She walked over, and they smiled at her. Little Rarity came up as well. So did Star Catcher, still wobbling and supported by Applejack.
“Fine, gang up on me, why don’t you.” Discord almost sounded disappointed. That was all he got out, before Twilight finally overpowered him. She threw him to the ground with a loud crash, and without missing a beat, she formed her next spell in a matter of seconds. It extended from her horn and onto the Draconequus’ limbs. He was trapped.
Twilight’s friends and fellow Bearers came up next to their counterparts. “Face it, Discord,” pegasus Rainbow Dash snapped. “You don’t know the first thing about friendship!”
“Aren’t you ashamed?” Twilight’s Pinkie Pie scolded him. “Think of all the fun you could’ve had with them, if you hadn’t gone all world-conquering crazy!”
“W-wait!” Discord stammered. This time, Kimono, realized, there was real fear in his eyes. “You haven’t even heard my side of the story; y-you’re not going to just—”
“Put a sock in it, Discord!” grown-up Rarity said with a glare. “We’ve heard enough! And you’ve tormented these darlings for far too long.”
Nothing more needed to be said. Twilght’s crown lit up in unison with the necklaces. The Bearers’ eyes became pure white, as their bodies lifted from the ground. Twilight floated over to her friends.
Kimono thought she saw a hint of pity in Twilight’s eyes. “Goodbye, Dritl.”
The rainbow of light shot out from the glowing mass, flying in an arc toward Discord. “No... no, please, don’t do it, don’t—AAAH!!” The rainbow light engulfed Discord, who roared out in pain. Kimono watched, but was unable to feel anything for him. This was exactly what he deserved. He may never be truly gone, only locked away in stone... but it didn’t matter anymore. Kimono had, at last, overcome Discord.
“Psyche!”
***
The beam of rainbow dispersed. Discord jerked his limbs, and the bonds of chaos magic that held him flew loose. He rose to the air again, a big grin on his face.
“You really thought it was that easy?” he said, unable to keep the laughter from his voice. “Honestly, ponies; you give me your big ending speech, fully expecting the same trick to work twice. You’re just too much, you know that?”
Twilight’s heart felt like it had stopped. What had just happened just wasn’t possible. And yet, it seemed to be a fact, since Discord had definitely not been turned to stone. Was it because of the chaos within her, canceling the Elements’ effects somehow? No, she had been very careful not to let the harmony and chaos mix, for fear of hurting her friends.
“And now, everypony,” Discord continued, “it’s time for my favorite part: the gloating! Oh, how I’ve been looking forward to this.”
The others seemed to be too stunned to speak. So was Twilight; she just listened as Discord began talking, pacing back and forth on the air. “You see, my little ponies, it is very much as you’ve already guessed: after being so rudely thrown aside by my ‘friends’, I did my best to regain a foothold in my conquest. Sadly, by that time, the Princesses were much better at handling the Elements of Harmony, so I never stood a chance. I’ll admit that in my... frustration, I might’ve been a bit careless, and before long, I was on the run, jumping from place to place, hoping they wouldn’t find me. But they always did. Oh, woe is me, I thought, was there no justice left for the greedy, power-hungry villains of the world?
“But that’s when I had an idea. I knew I would never be able to reclaim Equestria so long as the Elements of Harmony were still a pain in my neck, so I started thinking, perhaps I could do something about them? Steal them, perhaps? Not while they were worn by the Princesses, that much was obvious. But what if I were to make myself immune? Easier said than done, I know; after all, I’m chaos. But then I remembered that I had just the spell for the occasion. It was rather unorthodox, but you do crazy things when you’re desperate. Isn’t that right, Twilight?”
Twilight gave him a withering glare.
“Oh... too soon? Oh well. Anyway, so I snuck back into the village and sought out my so-called ‘friends’, infusing them each with a piece of my soul. You already know all that, but here’s the kicker: I knew that by putting chaos into their souls, by the very nature of the magic, they would become connected to the Elements of Harmony, or at least the part of it keeping Equestria separate from the world of chaos. After that, it was just a matter of letting the spell knead their souls deeper and deeper into the Elements’ sleeping magic along with the pieces of my soul, thus connecting them with the Elements to create pieces that would protect me from all that pesky Harmony. I could have left it like that, but instead, I went through all the trouble of putting each and every one of the villagers into the spell with them, just so they wouldn’t get lonely. Think of it as my way of saying thank you for all the kindness and generosity the village had shown me. Aren’t I just a saint?” The malice in his grin made Twilight’s stomach churn.
“Lastly, I lured the Princesses to the Frozen North and put the final piece into place through the ancient castle’s connection – all so that they wouldn’t realize what I was up to before it was too late – and voila! Freshly baked Harmony vaccine! Well, maybe not fresh per se; I knew it was going to take a while, maybe even thousands of years, before the Time Capsule would naturally break down on its own, and the pieces would be reunited. No can accuse me of being impatient.”
“But you were impatient!” said Twilight. “A year ago, there was a chance to escape, and you took it! But because you left all your memories of the village behind with the spell, you never thought seek it out, did you!”
“Partial credit, Twilight; I left most of my memories in there. I still knew about the village, though I didn’t particularly feel anything for it. But even if I wanted to, there was no way for me to break the spell from without. Celestia can attest to that; she tried pretty much every trick imaginable for the first hundreds of years after my defeat.”
“But the spell weakened when you were captured again,” Twilight said, finally understanding one of the most important aspects to all this. “You lost your hold on the spell. Not that it made any practical difference for you, but it was enough for Kimono to regain her sense of self, and contact the Elements of Harmony!”
“So that’s how it happened.” Discord didn’t seem all that surprised. Kimono, on the other hoof, gasped at the revelation. “Yes, her intervention was the part of the plan I never anticipated. All that scheming, scattered across the land with the wind. But I wasn’t worried; I knew perfectly well what was going to happen if you baked a pony soul into the Elements: someone would think to try their magic, and poof goes the seal. That frustrating setback turned into quite an exciting ride,wouldn’t you agree? Why, I was at the edge of my stone statue the whole time: were you going to reach the castles before the cosmic energy could swallow Equestria? Were you going to figure out the spell before you unwittingly brought them all back to the village? At one point, I was genuinely worried you had thwarted me,” Discord made a dramatic gesture, “but in the end, old Kenbroth Gilspotten Heathspike came through for me!”
“No...!” Celestia exclaimed, casting a look at the earth dragon, who looked shocked at the accusation.
“Your highness, I assure you, I did nothing to help that creep!”
Celestia shook her head.“I know, old friend. It was my fault. I never dreamed that the link between Star Catcher and I could be used for such a purpose. You had the chance to put a stop to the magic once and for all, but you stayed your claw on my request...”
Understanding crossed Kenbroth’s face. “Oh dear...”
“That was the most fun I’d had in centuries! I had nothing to do with it, really; I merely sat back and watched as the disagreement between you two escalated, until dear Kenbroth could no longer make a sound judgement.”
“Those voices of doubt...” Kenbroth spoke, almost too low to hear. “They were yours, weren’t they!”
“All I did was give you a little nudge,” said Discord. “You were the one who didn’t know what to do with himself. In fact, you should be thanking me; after all, your dear Princess Celestia might’ve gotten angry at you.” He mocked-wiped his tears on his fake sad face.
Twilight’s last bit of patience snapped. “Enough!” she roared, and in the blink of an eye, a volley of dark arrows sped toward Discord. He tried to move out of the way, but Twilight steered them after him, knocking him into the air.
The ponies around her gasped and murmured as she walked toward him on thin air, ignoring the laws of gravity. Her mane was flaring like it was caught in a wind, tiny purple-and-black particles of magic coming off of it like sparks from a fire. This was it. With the Elements of Harmony out of the picture, she was the only weapon Equestria had against Discord. But Twilight was confident. She possessed the ultimate power, the likes of which she never knew existed. She was unstoppable.
“Well, well, somepony has leveled up, I see,” Discord noted with a grin. “So it’s chaos versus chaos you want, hm? A good battle to the finish? Very well, let’s put those new skills of yours to the—” Twilight was at him with another barrage of chaos beams. Discord dodged, looking annoyed. “Will you at least let me finish?”
Twilight realized, of course, that Discord was far more experienced than her in using the magic of chaos. But Twilight had two advantages: a lifetime of learning from the Princess of the Sun, and raw power. The chaos within Discord had eroded throughout the nearly five thousand years of Equestrian history, whereas Twilight’s had only just awakened. She was twice as powerful as Discord could ever be!
Twilight lit her horn, unleashing her full power as she grabbed Discord in a magic stasis field, amplified a hundredfold by the chaos that swirled within her. The extra dose of harmony from Andromeda did its part in keeping the chaos in check, but even so, Twilight wasn’t used to handling such intense magic, and it took her an extra heartbeat to figure out how to weave a simple teleportation spell into the mix.
When the two of them reappeared, the village was farther away, and Twilight and Discord were floating above the sea of boulders.
They stared at each other for a moment – Discord meeting the unicorn’s glare with a look of amusement – before Twilight threw herself into action. She yanked three boulders from the ground at once, spinning them like a lasso as she sped towards Discord. The boulders shattered as they came in contact with him, but the diversion was enough for her to circle around him, lodging herself onto his back. She erected a purple barrier dome to keep her there, protecting herself from Discord’s flailing arms.
Now was the time. Grasping for the harmony and chaos within her, she began to recreate from memory the spell that Andromeda had made for Dritl, the day he had become chaos...
But before the Time Capsule could even begin to form, Discord let out a steam of chaos from the spot on his back where Twilight clung, making her gag. Discord then flung his paw at her, like a pony swatting a fly with his hoof, sending her dashing towards the ground. She caught herself before she hit the ground, and out of raw instinct, she grabbed the boulders around her and threw them up at Discord, who pulverized them with no effort.
Twilight tried the same tactics again. It almost worked, but Discord managed to grab her with his claw before she could. “Temper temper, Twilight,” he said, grinning mockingly. “Must you be so violent? It’s almost as if I’ve offended you or something.”
“Very funny!” She unleashed a stream of concentrated chaos at him, which – though it must have felt to him like nothing more than an apple pie to the face – was enough to make him to let go. She moved her wingless body a few pony lengths away from him. “Do you feel nothing for what you did? They were your friends!”
“What, and friends aren’t supposed to help friends take over the world and fill it with chaos? Goodness me, I have misunderstood friendship.” Discord picked up a few boulders of his own, and started to swing them around. “Ahh, the memories. The Princesses used to try the same thing; breaking the mountains, throwing boulders, all to get a chance to infuse harmony directly into soul. Good times... well, except for the part when I was left for dead, of... oh my.”
Twilight had stopped listening. She had become a giant ball of chaotic, black lightning, her mane flailing wildly in the winds of her own energy. Roundabout tactics weren’t going to work. This was going to be a battle of magic, a test of who was the most powerful being in Equestria.
Twilight could do it. She was the chosen one, by the Elements and of destiny. It was up to her and her alone to put a stop to Discord and save Equestria.
***
“Sister...”
“I know, Luna,” said Celestia, her voice quivering. “This is the second act of the battle we were never able to finish.”
“Will somepony explain what’s going on?!” Shining Armor finally called out. Off in the distance, the two combatants had become nothing more than two blobs of darkness, sending out shock waves of wind and chaos every time they swatted against one another. “Why’s Twiley fighting Discord on her own? Why’s she using Chaos?”
For a moment, nopony said anything. Celestia had a theory, but she did not want to voice it carelessly. Finally, Applejack walked up to the Captain and said, “Shining, this is gonna come as a shock to you. It woulda been better for Twi to tell you herself, but you deserve to know. The two o’ you... you’re the descendants of Discord.”
“We’re... what?” Shining Armor looked as though somepony had slapped him. Celestia’s heart skipped a beat. So it was true. “But that’s... it can’t be...!”
“He and I,” Kimono took over, raising her voice to let everypony hear, “had a foal together, a thousand years ago. This foal was taken to Canterlot, in secret, before Discord trapped us all in the Time Capsule, and there he became the forefather of Twilight’s family.”
There was a lot of murmuring amongst the crowd. Cadence was holding a still-shocked Shining Armor, offering words of encouragement. “I-I know it must come as a shock, dear, but it doesn’t change who you are.”
The Captain nodded. “I know...” Their manes swayed from the force of each collision of the two dark blobs of energy in the distance. The stallion looked up at them. “But does that mean that I can...”
“Ah don’t think so,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “The reason she can do that is ‘cause the Elements gave her the powers, or something. Ah’m not too sure about it myself,” she added as Shining Armor gave her a confused look. “Maybe Twi can explain it to ya, once she gets back.”
“If she gets back,” said Shining Armor in a low voice, a worried look on his face.
Applejack gave him a nudge. “You don’t give yer sister enough credit. Has she ever let Equestria down before?”
At this, Shining Armor gave her a smile. “You’re right. Twiley’s got this. Even without the Elements, there’s no way way Twiley would lose to someone like—”
One of the two giant dark orbs crashed to the ground with such force, the surrounding area exploded around it. Boulders and bits of earth was flung into the air in all direction. Celestia attempted a barrier spell, but she was still too weak from her previous ordeal, so it was up to Shining Armor and Luna to shield the crowd against the incoming debris.
It was over within seconds. A silence ensued, as the remaining dark orb vanished.
“Sorry about that,” Discord said, appearing in their midst, making everypony jump. He was carrying Twilight by her hind legs. “I’m afraid I had to get a little rough; Twilight here has such a temper.” No one said anything. Celestia’s heart was mirrored by the looks of shock on everypony’s face. “What did you expect, really? I dunno how she suddenly got these superpowers, but clearly she doesn’t know how to use them properly. All brawn and no finesse, I’m telling you.”
Celestia and Luna took a few steps towards them, but Discord held out his paw. “Don’t waste your magic. You see, I’ve got one final reveal for you: from the moment I arrived here, my magic’s been spreading out all across Equestria. I’d say it’s halfway to Canterlot by now. In other words,” he smirked, “you’re already within my power, and there isn’t a thing you can do about it.”
He threw Twilight unceremoniously to the ground. Her friends, as well as Shining Armor and Cadance, all ran over to her. She looked dazed, but otherwise alright. “And so, fillies and gentlecolts... I won.” Streamers and party balloons appeared out of nowhere, as though Pinkie had fired her party cannon around Discord. “Thank you, thank you.”
Celestia’s blood was cold as ice. Was there really nothing they could do? But the more she wracked her brain, the bigger the dread in her heart grew, as she realized there wasn’t anything left. Discord was immune to the Elements, Celestia was too weak, and their magic had been nullified.
It was an indisputable truth. Discord had beaten them, once and for all.
***
Despite the hopelessness of the situation, Kimono refused to let grief or fear consume her. She kept her stare steadily at Discord. He may have taken everything away from her, but he would not take away her soul. Not this time.
“It’s been a fun ride, wouldn’t you say?” said Discord, meeting the citizens’ frightened stares with laughter. For a long moment, he kept laughing, like the mad-creature he was. When he finally calmed down, he looked down at the ponies like a foal would look down at his toys. “So... now that I’m free, Equestria under my paw, what to do now? I guess the first thing I’ll have to do is deal with all of you somehow. Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to harm you; in fact, I think you deserve some kind of reward for your contribution. Let’s see, what would be fitting... oh, I know!”
He clicked his claw. There was a flash from among the villagers of Ponyville, and suddenly, grown-up Scootaloo was hanging in the air before him. He put his clawtip to her forehead. “Do you mind if I borrow you for a moment?” Scootaloo looked up at him in pure horror. “Good. Now, let’s see if I remember how to do this...”
Scootaloo’s body was engulfed in light, and when the light subsided, she had been transformed. Her body had shrunk, while her head and hooves were at least three times the size of her middle-part. “Nah, that’s not it...” Scootaloo flashed again, and when she reappeared, she didn’t even look like a pony anymore. Reduced to the size of a foal, her pudgy face had eyes almost as big as the rest of her body, and her mouth hung open in what looked like a frozen, emotionless smile. “Ugh, definitely not,” Discord decided. On the third try, Scootaloo again looked like a pony, but her legs and body were thicker, and her snout was more defined. Her eyes were definitely smaller than those of a normal Equestrian pony.
Kimono gasped, realizing where she had seen that form before. Discord lit up. “Bingo!”
His snapped his eagle claw, and the whole world seemed to be swallowed by light. It wasn’t painful or uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, in fact; it was as though her fears and worries were dulled – which, in and of itself, struck Kimono as eerie.
When the world reappeared, they were someplace else entirely. Or so it felt, until Kimono saw that the village was still there. But the sky, the grass, the colors... everything seemed so much more vivid, brighter somehow, as though the whole world had become a painting, or a picture book. But this change paled in comparison when she laid eyes on the crowd before her, their shapes transformed.
For all intents and purposes, Discord had put them back into the dream world.
“Much better, don’t you think?” Discord – the only one who hadn’t changed – floated above the crowd, inspecting his work. “Why, I daresay this is an improvement. Shining Armor, you look even more buff than before. And Wysteria, how does it feel to be back in your old body?” He stopped, looking down on the six Bearers. Even with their new looks, Kimono could still recognize them by their manes and Cutie Marks. “Oh Fluttershy, Fluttershy,” Discord said, making a tsk noise with his tongue. “Don’t look at me like that. You know, we’re not all that different, you and I; you just choose to keep it all bottled up. It’s a shame, really; had things turned out different, perhaps we could’ve been friends.”
“Get bent, Discord!” pegasus Rainbow Dash snapped as she put herself between him and Fluttershy, flaring her wings aggressively. “We’ll find a way to stop you! You just wait!”
Discord snorted bemusedly. “Good luck with that. Come to think about it, this is the third time I’ve been set free on the world. And you know what they say: third time’s the charm.” He rose above the crowd, holding out his arms dramatically. “And now, my little ponies, let the third generation of chaos begin! Toodles!” He walked off into thin air, and vanished from sight.
***
Twilight was numb inside.
Not long after Discord had vanished, Celestia had told everypony to make their way to the village; something about the Princesses wanting to make a public announcement. Twilight walked alongside her friends, only half-aware of what the others were talking about. Twilight had lost. She had failed everypony. Her friends, her family, the Elements... she was practically a descendant of the Elements, with access to the combined powers of both Harmony and Chaos, and she still couldn’t do anything.
‘We’ll find a way to stop you.’ Rainbow Dash’s words rang in Twilight’s mind. Part of her still clung to the hope that there was something, anything, that they could do to reclaim Equestria. Perhaps Twilight could push back the chaos, and use her powers to break out of this prison? No, she could feel Discord’s power blocking her own, like a lid on her magic. What about the Elements of Harmony? Even if he was immune, was the same true for things under his influence? But then, why wouldn’t they be? Maybe Andromeda could help... what was she thinking? She was the Elements!
That, more than anything, twisted her gut. What must Andromeda think of her now? After all that time, waiting and hoping that somepony would come around and ease her regret, it was all for naught. She couldn’t have known about Star Catcher and Celestia. She must have left Twilight believing that finally, everything would be alright. Or did she think that Twilight could still set things right somehow?
The analytical part of Twilight’s head cut through the daze. Would any of this have happened had Andromeda thought to cut off all six of the counterparts from the Elements, not just Kimono? That way, Discord would never have been able to ‘knead’ his soul pieces into the Elements, and his plan would never have... Twilight shook her head; what was she thinking? The very fact that Kimono had been able to help with mending the seal with the rest of them meant she was still connected to at least that part of the Elements. ‘Cut her off from the Elements in Equestria,’ ...as in, the necklaces and crown, the physical representations that connected the power of the Elements to the world. Kimono would still have been connected to the seal, and so would the others. It wouldn’t have made a difference.
Maybe I ought to go see Andromeda? Unleash the Elements’ powers on myself again, ask her for advice... Twilight shook her head again. How could she face her now?
Finally, everypony was crowded in the village. A lot of eyes were still on Twilight; Applejack and Kimono had apparently told them about her relation to Discord. It was just as well. Twilight looked around; the happy colors, the eye-popping brightness of it all, seemed to clash completely with how Twilight felt inside. And the way the ponies looked... according to some of the villagers she had overheard, this was how the dream world had appeared. Twilight understood now just how strange it must have felt for the villagers the first time they had appeared in Equestria.
Pegasus Rainbow Dash looked less than amused, flailing her hoof. “This is just weird.” She picked up a rock – bending the flat of her hoof – and held up upright. “Really weird.”
“I’ll say,” Spike agreed. The baby dragon’s head was still roundish, but his nose resembled Kenbroth’s, and his tail was smaller. All in all, his was perhaps the least drastic transformation. “It’s like we’ve all been mutated.”
“Yeah, we look like hippos!” Rainbow Dash remarked. “Uh, no offense.”
“None taken, darling.” Earth-pony Rainbow Dash and the other counterparts were all gathered around Twilight, by the stage where they had hosted the party for Pinkie Pie a few days back. “I... I’m not sure how to feel, to be honest. It feels right, but at the same time, it’s as if the chaos hasn’t truly gone away.”
“It’s because of Discord’s soul piece,” Kimono said. “Our souls have not yet grown accustomed to their absence. Almost as though his soul piece is still there, like a phantom...”
“I never expected to ever see this place again,” Minty said. “Does this mean he put us back to sleep? Sure doesn’t feel like it.”
“I know right?” little Rarity agreed. She jumped around a bit, saying, “If this is a dream, it’s the most realistic dream I’ve ever had. Kinda reminds me of that dream where I was decorating the castle with pine cones.”
“That, uh, wasn’t a dream,” Cheerilee – whom Twilight hadn’t even realized had come up to them – reminded Rarity. “But I know what you mean. Everything looks the same, but...”
“...it’s not the same,” Twilight finished for her. “He’s using the same esthetics to mess with our heads, but all he’s done is trap us in a cage... one that’s consuming Equestria as we speak.”
“It’s close enough,” said the local Pinkie Pie. “I-I know it sounds weird but... I’ve kinda missed this look.” There was a wistful glistening in her eyes.
“Well, it does look homey, I’ll admit,” Rarity said. “Though perhaps a bit too bright for my taste. Not to mention, it’s courtesy of Discord.”
“Except, it’s really not,” Twilight said. She turned to the local village ponies. “I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you what happened back at the castle.” The six counterparts gave them her attention, as did a few ponies from Twilight’s Ponyville that passed by. “We met with the original Element of Magic, a member of the ancient pony race – the Equinus – called Andromeda. She showed us how Discord came to be: he was an Equinus stallion named Dritl, Andromeda’s son, who took it upon himself to become the vessel for the Chaos necessary to bring Harmony into the world. Andromeda created the Time Capsule and its dream world for him, in order to lock the chaos away, ebb it away, and eventually save his soul. Discord merely copied it, and modified it to meet his own ends.”
“But how did he escape?” Star Catcher asked. She was back on her hooves, though still a bit wobbly.
“Andromeda released him. She meant to save him from his loneliness, hoping that the Chaos within him had weakened enough by then that the Princesses would be able to keep him in check. We actually saw the Princesses meet Discord for the first time, and he seemed so happy about it... but I guess we all know how much that friendship really meant to him. Andromeda has lamented her mistake ever since. The only good thing that came from it was you, Kimono.”
“Me?” Kimono looked taken aback.
Twilight took a step closer to her, and looked her straight in the eyes. “Andromeda loves you, Kimono. You are the daughter she never had, and the one she hoped would heal Dritl’s broken soul. She tried to forget you, cut you off from the Elements so that she wouldn’t be reminded of losing you, but she could never forget. That’s why I look the way I do. Andromeda made me this way, as a memory of you.”
“I... by the stars,” Kimono whispered. Her eyes were starting to glisten as well.
“That... that is so beautiful,” said Minty.
“Not that it matters now,” Twilight said with a sigh. “He’s beaten us, remember?”
Kimono wiped her eyes. “Listen to me, Twilight. I know how you must feel, but none of this is your fault.”
“But it is my fault!” Twilight exclaimed, loud enough to make Kimono jump. “Andromeda awakened these powers within me so that I could put a stop to Discord. And now, her hopes have been crushed yet again.”
“Well, crying about it won’t help,” said Trixie, who had made her way through the growing crowd around them; ponies from both Ponyvilles. “What is this I see? Does the mighty Twilight Sparkle admit defeat?”
Twilight couldn’t bear to look at her. “Yes, she has. If the Great and Powerful Trixie wants to try to do something about it, go right ahead.” Trixie only snorted. Twilight didn’t look up to see the face Trixie must be giving her.
“I dunno, you guys,” the local Pinkie Pie spoke up. Was she smiling? “I... maybe it’s better this way. We can go back to the way it was; y’know, where we don’t have to worry and stuff.”
“How can you say that, Pinkie?” Minty said. “I don’t know about you, but now that I’ve been in Equestria, all of this just feels off somehow.”
“She’s right, Pinkie, darling,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to face her friend with a steady expression. “We have to fix this, one way or another. We’re all on edge, and we haven’t considered all the options. What do you say, let’s put our heads together and figure out a way to save Equestria.”
“I hate Equestria!” Pinkie Pie lashed out. The crowd around them gasped in unison, and her friends all took a step back. Twilight’s stomach twisted when she saw the anger in her eyes. “Think about it!” Pinkie gestured wildly as she spoke. “What have we been through since the dream spell broke? Minty almost died! Star Catcher destroyed someone’s home! We were almost crushed by the Mother Ursa, and we came this close to watching all of Equestria being covered in dark magic! Pain, misery, fear... I didn’t even know about those things until I came here!”
Pegasus Rainbow Dash recovered first. “Well, yeah, things get rough sometimes, but that’s just how it is. You get used to it, and then you’ll see it really isn’t so—”
“I’ve had it!” Pinkie roared. “Enough is enough! I don’t ever want to go through the fear of losing somepony I love ever again. And I don’t wanna ‘get used to it’! It’s just not worth it! Let Discord have Equestria! We’ll all be happier that way!”
Tears were running down Pinkie’s face. Her otherwise peppy, poofy-maned counterpart seemed to be in shock, her mane half-way deflated. The local Pinkie gave them a final gaze – a look filled with hurt, confusion and disappointment – before she ran off.
***
“Don’t you think we are being hasty, sister?”
“I wish it were so,” Celestia replied. The two Princesses were in a room behind one of the stages, preparing for their speech to Equestria. “But I don’t see any other option, not for the time being. That’s why we’re doing this: to buy us time. There is a difference to what Discord did.”
“I know. Still, I wonder if it will truly help us in the end. And even if we do it to these ponies, what of the ponies across the wasteland up north, or by the shores?”
Celestia swallowed, a sense of shame washing over her as she realized that this plan of hers landed dangerously close to what Kenbroth had done to Manehattan. “They are beyond our help now. We must do what we can for those of us who are left. If there is one upside to this, it’s that in his victory, Discord is no longer focused on us. We still have time to act.”
“Busy making up for lost time, no doubt. But how long do you think it will last? This plan does not sit well with me.”
“Then please, give me an alternative!” Realizing that she was shouting, Celestia coughed and lowered her voice. “Yes, it will be a risk, and even if we succeed, there are no guarantees. But think, sister, can we really fight back against Discord if he has our people at the tip of his claws?”
“You’re planning on having Twilight create another Time Capsule,” a voice came from behind them. Celestia turned around with a start, to find Kenbroth was standing by the doorway. “You want to put us all to sleep in it in order to protect us, while at the same time giving us a connection to the Elements that we might use against him.”
Kenbroth’s eyes held surprise, and it was enough for Celestia to feel the hypocrisy sink in. Celestia opened her mouth to explain herself, to make him – and herself – understand that what she was doing was different. But she had trouble articulating herself. Before she could form a sentence in her mind, Kenbroth said, “I must side with Luna on this, Princess; you are being hasty. We need more time to think this through.”
“Time is something we have very little of, Kenbroth,” Celestia replied coolly. Was she the only one who understood the gravity of the situation? “I’m more than open for suggestions.”
“We still have one of the Castles of Legend. If Discord is truly one with the Elements, perhaps we may use that connection to attack him from within.”
“It’s no use,” said Luna. “We were up there but a moment ago, examining the seal. If there ever was such a connection, he has scrubbed it out. And before you suggest it, prying it open using the Elements would only alert him to our attempts, and he would likely put us to sleep himself. To say nothing of the very real risk of shattering the seal itself.”
“But couldn’t we use Crystal Rainbow Castle to reach the other castles. Perhaps if Twilight were to send magic through to someplace that hasn’t yet been consumed by Discord’s magic, maybe we could—”
“That passageway is brittle, and will not support any spell of such magnitude,” Luna told him. “Surely you know this, Kenbroth.”
“Yes, yes I know,” Kenbroth said with a sigh, looking dejected. “But surely... I simply can’t imagine that there isn’t at least some way the Elements of Harmony can be used to our advantage.” Kenbroth looked thoughtful for a moment. “Come to think of it, the villagers are all connected to the Elements. It’s true, I had Whistle Wishes give me one of her special wishes, and there was a slight reaction from the castle. Perhaps if we—”
“We are aware, Kenbroth,” Luna interrupted again. “And it is for this reason that establishing a connection from within a Time Capsule might indeed be the best course of action; not only would it provide yet another layer of Harmony and Chaos to obscure us from Discord’s eyes, it would allow us to experiment with the connections to the other castles, and with the seal, through the ponies of this village. We would have time on our side, and for each passing year, our connection to the Elements would grow stronger. It is, of course, a colossal gamble...”
Kenbroth looked downtrodden. “I-I suppose you’ve thought of everything. It’s just, what you’re suggesting...”
Celestia sighed wearily. “I know this is uncomfortably similar to... what you did,” she said, voicing what was on both of their minds, “but right now, I truly see no other option. Flee and hide, so that we may fight another day. It is... it is, after all, my fault we are in this mess. Had I trusted you, and not been so quick to reprimand you, things might have turned out—”
“Say no more, Princess. We were both rather stubborn. What’s done is done; dwelling on it will get us nowhere. But since you seem to be a bit more willing to trust me now... let me examine the seal for myself, before we decide. I’m an earth dragon, remember? Expert in all things earth and magic. Who knows, there might still be a way.”
“Very well,” Celestia agreed. “But I will not have you taken again. This time, Luna and I will come with you.”
“I would like that,” Kenbroth said, smiling.
“We should get back to the task at hoof,” said Luna. “We will need to amend our speech in light of this. Should we perhaps postpone it.”
“No,” said Celestia. “The people need to hear that we have not given up. We—”
There was a knock on the door. Kenbroth opened it; Star Catcher was on the other side. “Excuse me,” said the pegasus, “I... I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment.”
“Of course you can.”
“I know you are about to make a speech to the public, and...” Star Catcher hesitated. “I would like to ask you if we may speak first. There is something me and my friends would like to say to Equestria.”
She had a solemn look on her face, and Celestia could guess her intentions. “Of course.”
***
Kimono had to see it. Though her heart ached just thinking about it, if she didn’t take this step, her past with Discord really would rule over her. With this in mind, she trotted through the picture book-like streets of her home town, arriving at the very familiar junction, where she set off between the houses and away from the village proper.
The mouth of the cave that was once her home gaped at her menacingly. Her friends had told her about the ominous aura that surrounded the place, and how it, unlike any anywhere else in the village, had aged normally. Kimono thought she could guess why that was. The final part of his spell, the piece of his soul that he let float around the village, must have watched her throughout her sleep. Guarding her cave, and by doing so, somehow canceling out the effects of the Time Capsule, letting time flow. The thought of Discord’s ghost silently watching her as she slept for eons sent a shiver down her spine.
She took a deep breath, and entered the cave. The torches that she had supposedly left out to make it homey – at least according to her friends; she herself remembered very little of the dream world – were still absent, but to her surprise, when she reached the door, she saw light coming through it.
When she opened it, Kimono gasped as she lay eyes on her old home, appearing as it did a thousand years ago. There was the bed, the desk, the mirror, the portrait of Kimono that Discord had conjured for her... all lit up by an impossible light without a source. She stared at the interior long and hard, before she finally took a step inside.
Discord, that cruel, cruel creature. He had recreated the room perfectly. Had it looked like this in the dream world, too? She went around the small space, examining the small items that she used to own: a broom, a pot, a quill, the books packed upon her shelf... although everything had been restored for her to reclaim, she did not feel especially keen to keep any of it. This was the room of a Kimono from another life. A life she had come to say goodbye to.
But for one, maddening moment, she felt herself thinking back on that time with fond nostalgia, wishing that things could be like that once more. How nice it would be to be with Discord again. Maybe if she called out for him, maybe he would still...
Kimono suddenly felt sick to her stomach. There was something about the magic surrounding this transformed village, something that made it hard for her to really feel the gravity of the situation they were in. She breathed heavily, letting the intellectual part of her brain steer her emotions back into place. This place did not belong to her anymore. She had to move on.
Kimono let a spur-of-the-moment feeling overcome her, as she spun around and gave the bed in front of her a hard kick. It broke under her hooves, and it hurt just a bit. She did the same to the desk, and then to the book shelf. She backed away, gazing over the ruined furniture. It felt oddly satisfying, as though she had defied the forces that sought to steer her emotions. Walking out of the room – not even bothering to shut the door – she felt that she had, at last, become free from her past.
***
Mayor Mare walked among the crowd, trying to pick out the individual ponies from their new looks. Luckily, she knew them all by Cutie Mark, but having to go around and identify them by flank made the work a lot more tedious.
Everypony seemed to be accounted for. Every able-bodied mare and stallion, every senior and foal... except for those three. It figured that they would be the ones to go missing. Mayor Mare had an inkling as to where they might be, so she made her way through the crowd, until she was in the midst of the Canterlot ponies. Most of them consisted of Canterlot Guards, but there was a good number of civilians in the mix. Shining Armor, the captain, stood on the roof of one of the houses, barking orders.
“Aunt Mayor?” a voice came from the side. “Is that you?”
Mayor Mare turned around to see a foal standing there. Since he didn’t have a Cutie Mark yet, it took her a moment to recognize him. “Star Burn?”
“It’s me!” the little one said, trotting over to hug her. “You look weird.”
“So do you, my dear,” the Mayor replied affectionately. “But what are you doing here? Where are your parents?”
“I dunno. I was visiting my brother in Canterlot Castle when I heard Ponyville was wrecked, so I was told to stay in his room Then all of a sudden, I was on the field.”
“Is your big brother with you?”
“He’s with the Captain, I think. Somewhere over there.” Star Burn pointed towards the gathering of ponies in armor.
“Well, you stay close to them, you hear? By the way, have you seen a trio of school fillies around? One of them is yellow with a bow, the other’s—”
“Are these the three you’re lookin’ for?” another voice came. A sand-colored stallion with a cowpony hat trotted over to them, and at his side, the three fillies in question followed along.
“Hi, Mayor,” the one she presumed was Apple Bloom said brightly. They looked nearly identical now, save for the colors of their coats and manes.
“Oh, thank Celestia you’re okay,” the Mayor said, breathing a sigh o f relief. “That’s the whole village accounted for. Say, who might you be?” she added to the unfamiliar stallion.
“Ah realize you might not recognize me, looking the way Ah do. Heck, Ah’m not sure we’ve ever met. Name’s Braeburn, cousin to Apple Bloom here.”
“Well, if she’s got family to look after her, I guess I can breathe easy.” Now that he mentioned it, Mayor Mare seemed to remember meeting a stallion by that name once before, one very proud of his home town.
“For all the good it’ll do. It’s a mighty fine fix we’ve gotten ourselves into. That Discord feller means business.”
“Oh, things will work out,” said Mayor Mare. “They always do. Dragons, rampaging villains; Equestria’s been through it all.”
“Yeah, cousin, don’t sell mah sister’s friends short,” Apple Bloom agreed. Her friends nodded. “They’ll figure something out.”
Breaburn sighed. “Ah hope you’re right. Morale seems to be all over the place. Ah’ve seen ponies screamin’ and mopin’, and others that look happier than a buffalo on stampede. Hay, even Ah’m feeling a bit weird, like, happier than I should be.”
“Yeah, me too,” said Scootaloo. “It’s like I’m under this weird spell that tries to keep me from thinking too much about what’s going on. But how can I not think about it?”
Mayor Mare couldn’t deny that she too had been feeling strangely happy. Worried, frightened, but at the same time, happy. The sensation wasn’t strong enough to actually make her feel better, but rather, it dampened her senses to the true gravity of everything.
“I should go check up the others,” said Mayor Mare. “A mayor never shirks her responsibilities. Stay with Braeburn, kids.”
With so many ponies in town, the streets were rather crowded. Most ponies stayed where they were, talking with their friends and families. The conversations seem to focus around Discord, Twilight, and how the Princesses were going to handle the situation. Very few ponies looked frightened, just confused; in fact, some ponies were smiling. But then, given everything Equestria went through on a yearly basis, coupled with the magic that seemed to dull their emotions, who could blame them?
***
No matter how Twilight strained herself, no matter how she reached for the vast magic reserves within her body, any spell that she unleashed was cut short after only a second, a pony’s length from her horn, turning into streamers and balloons with happy faces. Discord’s twisted sense of humor. Twilight had even tried standing right next to a rock, to see if her magic could influence things in close proximity; the results, while mixed, had been decidedly less than encouraging. If she concentrated with everything she had, she could make a spell work at almost the same strength as she’d had before she’d been empowered by Andromeda and the Elements, and given the power of Chaos.
After Pinkie Pie’s angry outburst, they had all agreed that the distraught earth pony probably needed some time alone. They would check up on her later, but right now, there were things to be done: earth-pony Rainbow Dash and Minty had gone to see how Wysteria and the other villagers were doing, and Star Catcher had gone to speak with the Princesses. Twilight wasn’t sure where Kimono had gone, but she had told them she needed to be alone for a while. Little Rarity had gone with Trixie and Cheerilee, Twilight wasn’t sure where. As for Twilight’s fellow Bearer friends, they were gathered nearby, watching her experimenting with her magic.
“No good,” Twilight finally sighed. “Discord’s magic field is too strong. It doesn’t even react to Harmony magic anymore.”
“You gotta give him credit,” Applejack said, straightening her hat. “He got us good this time, turnin’ our only weapon against him to his advantage.”
“Yes, well, you’ll forgive me if I don’t exactly wish to complement him for that achievement,” Rarity said dryly. “Surely there must be some form of magic that can work against him?”
“I’m still working on that,” Twilight told them. She still felt dreary inside, but Trixie’s words wouldn’t stop hammering at her mind, and it helped Twilight realize that she wasn’t really about to give up that easily. “I have a feeling the answer does lie with the Elements of Harmony. It’s not that we can’t use them, it’s just that they won’t work directly against him or his magic anymore. Technically, I could still lock Discord in another Time Capsule, like Andromeda wanted me to... the only problem is, he isn’t here right now.”
“Maybe if we provoked him into coming at us somehow,” said Rainbow Dash. “Y’know, set a trap?”
Twilight shook her head. “He’s not that stupid. He underestimated us before, but he won’t do it again. What we need is a way to get out of his magic influence. And fast; if we don’t think of something before it covers all of Equestria...” Twilight didn’t want to think about it. She swallowed down her rising panic.
“Could ya use your chaos magic to break through his, maybe?” Applejack suggested.
“Even if we could, he’d notice. Same if we tried using the full power of the Elements. Right now, our only advantage is that he’s too busy with his conquering to pay any attention to us. However we play this, we only get one chance, and we need it count.”
“Maybe I could whip up a diversion!” Pinkie Pie said. “No one can resist a Pinkie Pie Party!”
“You’re gonna throw Discord a party?” said Rainbow Dash with a skeptical look.
“It could work,” Twilight admitted. If anypony could distract a living embodiment of Chaos, it was Pinkie; her mind, in a weird sort of way, seemed to work on the same wavelength as Discord’s. “Alternatively, we could have one of us pretend to be on his side, get him to lower his guard...”
When Twilight’s gaze passed over Fluttershy, she whimpered. Applejack patted her on the back. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, we won’t make you do anything.” The yellow pegasus hadn’t said a word since Discord had appeared. She nodded meekly.
Plans and scenarios were forming in Twilight’s mind, but she couldn’t think straight. The stress, everything at stake, the shame of failure; it all accumulated in her head, weighing her down. If only they had more time...
***
“It’s all the same,” Minty said, her eyes wide as she looked around the transformed landscape. “Are you sure Discord didn’t put us back to sleep?”
“Twilight doesn’t think so,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Besides, darling, Unicornia is still neck-to-neck with Ponyville.”
“Yeah, but other than that, just look at this! Over there’s where I bumped into Sparkle Works that one time, and we accidentally kissed.” Minty laughed.
Rainbow Dash had a hard time sorting out just how she felt about all this. She was happy to see this place again, that she could not deny. But another part of her knew that this happiness was, at least in part, fueled by Discord’s magic; she was perfectly aware that, outside of this paradise, Equestria was being engulfed by chaos. That Discord could come back for them at any time, to make them his slaves. She should be worried, terrified; the fact that she wasn’t, scared her more than anything.
The two ponies soon found the place where the members of their village were hiding. The castle in the middle of town. The gate was wide open, and they could hear and see the ponies inside. No pony seemed to notice as they walked over the drawbridge; not until they were making their way through the crowd, which seemed focused on something, did their heads perk up.
It didn’t take long to find what was drawing everypony’s attention. At the back of the chamber, Sweet Berry was lying on the ground, and Wysteria was holding a hoof on her shoulder. “Sweet Berry please,” the lavender-hued earth pony said pleadingly. “I don’t like this any more than you do, but we can’t hide in here forever.”
“Then you go,” said Sweet Berry. Her voice sounded strained, as though she had been crying. “I don’t trust myself anymore. I don’t trust any one of us. Don’t try to deny it; none of us knows what to do with ourselves.” She sighed. “Why couldn’t Discord have washed away our memories too, like he did before? Then I wouldn’t be so confused.”
None of the ponies replied, but instead looked down onto the floor. Rainbow Dash could could tell that Sweet Berry’s words had hit home. Rainbow Dash and Minty stepped forward, and Wysteria made a small gasp. “R-Rainbow Dash! You’re back!”
“What on earth is happening here, my darlings?” she asked.
“A pony from Canterlot came by and told us the Princesses are holding a speech by the stage soon,” Razzaroo explained. “Wysteria and I think we should go, but not everypony thinks that’s such a good idea.” It wasn’t just Sweet Berry, Rainbow Dash noticed; a good portion of the village looked just as uncomfortable. There was a non-stop whistling from one corner, which had to be Thistle Whistle.
“Why not?” Minty asked. “They’re good ponies.”
Sweet Berry stood up, giving the two of them a glare. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’re the reason Discord’s returned! I’d hate myself for it... I’m not sure I even understand why I would, and that makes me sick. But by all means, you go and see them, then tell us how it went. Why do we all have to take the scorn?”
“No need for that tone.” Razzaroo cast her a disapproving glace. “Besides, if we don’t face them together, how’re they going to forgive us? Wouldn’t the smartest thing to do be to just get it over with? If they hate us, at least we know—”
“I know that’s the smart thing to do!” Sweet Berry shot at them. “But I can’t help myself! I wanna lash out, scream, hate!” She sat down again, and began to sob. A few ponies within the chamber looked as though they were contemplating walking over to comfort her, but they hesitated. A few moments passed, and then Sweet Berry said between sobs, “And now... you all hate me.”
“We don’t hate you,” said Razzaroo. “But I’m starting to hate what you’re doing to yourself. This isn’t you. Come on, get a grip.”
“Didn’t you hear me?! I said I can’t help it!”
“What’s that even mean? Of course you can’t help it if you keep telling yourself that! Seriously, snap out of it!”
“Please, girls, you don’t need to be this way,” Minty pleaded.
“No, Minty, this has gone on long enough. Sweet Berry, you know we could never hate you, but you’re driving me crazy here! Laying down and wallowing in our sorrow is not what we’re about!”
“And you get to decide what we’re about?” Sweet Berry shot back.
More and more ponies were joining in the fray, which was quickly escalating into an all-out quarrel. Rainbow Dash tried to call out to them, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. And even in this hectic and tense situation, Discord’s magic kept her from sinking into despair. Not by lifting her spirit, but by dulling it. Preventing her heart from feeling anything, good or bad...
Rainbow Dash felt sick. A reward, Discord had called it. This was no reward. This was punishment. To leave just a hint of the same happiness that their dream world had given them, but not enough to make them forget of all the hardship they had gone through. Leaving them with a sense that things shouldn’t be wrong, without taking away their knowledge that things were wrong.
A final torment to the ponies who, in Discord’s eyes, had betrayed him.
“You wanna know why I said that, Sparkle Works?” Razzaroo said, pulling Rainbow Dash out of her thoughts. “Because I’m annoyed! Yes, annoyed, and as you can tell, I’m bad at handling that.”
“So it’s happening to you too, huh?” Sweet Berry said. “Why don’t we just all admit that ponies are a rotten race with feelings we can’t control! Actually, forget that, I’m starting to think Pinkie Pie was right. It’s all Equestria’s fault!” She rose to her hooves, and looked over the crowd. “I don’t think I even want Equestria to forgive us. It’s we who should be forgiving them!"
Minty looked as though she was about to say something, but Razzaroo was quicker. “Yes yes YES, Sweet Berry. We should forgive them, because it’s not their fault what Discord did to us!”
“Discord came from their world, didn’t he?”
“Discord created our world. It’s his fault we weren’t prepared for facing any of this.”
“How can you be blaming the one who protected us from the pain, and not the pain itself?”
Razzaroo gasped. “You’re not saying we should thank him!”
“Why not?!” Sweet Berry roared. “Who knows, maybe if we ask nicely, we can even get him to erase our memories of Equestria, and we’ll all be back to being happy friends!”
A silence followed the outburst. For a moment, Razzaroo and Sweet Berry only stared at each other. Raz’s mouth hung agape, and her eyes were starting to shimmer. “Are you saying... we aren’t friends anymore?”
“No, but... yes... I dunno,” Sweet Berry near-whispered. “I want us to be. But look at us! We’re a mess! I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel anymore.” Her head sunk, and she looked away. “I think... I’m too far gone. Maybe it would be best if I just—”
Before she could say another word, Razaroo flung herself at her... and embraced her in a hug. It seemed to take both Sweet Berry and the crowd off guard. “No no NO, Sweet Berry, don’t you even dare! Whether you like it or not, we are your friends. And friends stay together. If we can run away from monsters the size of mountains, we can learn to deal with this too.”
Sweet Berry sniffled. “It-it’s not the same. Don’t you get it? I love you. I’m nothing without you. That’s why these feelings hurt so much; I shouldn’t feel so angry or annoyed at you. I’m just a low-life, good for nothing...” her voice trailed off.
Something sparked to life in Rainbow Dash. A memory... no, an instinct. She had dealt with these sort of things before, long, long ago, when she was Mayor. Though a lifetime had passed since then, the words came naturally. “Well, darling, it sounds to me like it’s not really us you’re annoyed at. You’re just confused, hurt and tired. You need rest; take as much time as you need. Trust me, it will pass eventually.”
“H-how do you know that?”
“Because if Equestria has taught me one thing,” said Rainbow Dash, “it’s that bad things don’t stay bad forever. Our friends were lost for days, but now they’re back. And we don’t have the Mother Ursa to deal with anymore, do we? You just wait, this mess will be behind us soon. We’ll find a way.”
Rainbow Dash smiled at her. Sweet Berry didn’t return it, but neither did she look away. The others did seem a bit less on edge. “I think going to see the Princesses’ speech is a darling idea, darlings,” Rainbow Dash continued, “but if you’re not ready, no pony will force you. I’m sure the Princesses will understand.”
“They will.” The ponies almost jumped at the voice that came from the crowd. It parted, and Star Catcher stepped forward. “As Celestia’s other, I can guarantee it.”
“How... how long have you been here?” asked Minty.
“I heard about half of it. And I understand that times are tough for all of us.” Raising her voice, she addressed the villagers. “Like Rainbow Dash said, don’t feel forced to come. We – the six of us truly responsible – will take responsibility. Come, Rainbow Dash, Minty; we have things to prepare.”
***
It had taken some work, but Shining Armor and his ponies had managed to herd all the ponies around the stage. It was a crowded fit, and they had to lift many of the ponies to the rooftops, but he had made sure that all could see the Princesses as they made their public announcement to Equestria.
His work done, he plowed his way through the crowd, and it wasn’t long before he found... “Twiley!” Even with her new looks, there was no mistaking the colors of that mane, or that straight-cut manestyle she’d insisted on wearing for as long as she could remember.
“Shining!” his sister called out. The crowed parted as best they could to let them meet. “Are you alright?”
“That’s my line, silly. I’m not the one who got the wind knocked out of me by Discord.” There was an awkward silence, as both knew what was going to be said, but neither knew quite how to start. Twilight’s friends just watched in silence, not wanting to ruin the moment between the siblings.
Finally, Shining Armor spoke. “So it’s true, isn’t it. You’re... we’re...”
“The descendants of Discord, yes,” Twilight finished. “I met with the original Element of Magic, Shining; one of those who brought the Elements of Harmony into our world, and became one with them. She’s Discord’s mother. And she asked me to stop him...”
“That’s...” Shining tried to come up with a good response, but failed. How did one respond to a revelation like that? “So, like, we’re... related to the the Elements of Harmony?”
“In a way. Not that it matters now.” She looked up at her brother, and his stomach twisted as he saw the look of despair in her eyes. “I just don’t know what to do! For every plan I come up with, there are a thousand things that could go wrong. The Elements themselves put their hopes in me, and I...”
“Don’t feel that you’re the only one responsible,” Shining Armor told her, giving her a steady gaze as he placed a hoof on her shoulder. “We all underestimated Discord. But we’ve still got one advantage, don’t you see? He was stupid enough to put almost all of Equestria’s most brilliant minds together in one place.”
“Maybe that was his plan. Make sure there was no one left to oppose him.”
“Then he’s clearly underestimating the pony spirit. Don’t you go and do the same.” Shining Armor gave her his best smile. To his relief, Twilight smiled back, and then gave him a hug. “We’ll get through this, somehow. Look, here come the Princesses now!”
The crowd grew silent immediately, as Equestria’s rulers stepped onto the stage. Princesses Celestia and Luna cast their gazes over the ponies gathered before them, and the air became tense with anticipation. But to their surprise, the Princesses merely nodded and stepped aside, as another group of ponies entered the stage. Their counterparts. Kimono, Star Catcher, Minty, Rainbow Dash and Rarity; only Pinkie Pie was missing. There was a murmur throughout the crowd, but Shining Armor had a suspicion as to what they were going to say.
***
“Hello, Equestria,” Kimono spoke first. She was nervous, to be sure. Though only a small portion of the nation’s population was gathered here, it felt as though all of Equestria was watching, judging her. A bit to the side, in an alleyway – apart from the main crowd – were her villagers. She’d heard from Star Catcher and Minty what had happened between them, and was surprised to see that most of them had shown up anyway. It filled her heart with the determination she needed. “My name is Kimono. And this is Star Cather, Minty, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. I’m sure you have at least heard of us by now: the ponies who were trapped by Discord, and who ultimately brought about his escape. Because once, long ago... he was our friend.”
The crowd was silent, listening intently. The pull of Discord’s magic made it hard for Kimono to reach the right emotion, but she did her best to fight it off. “We brought him back to health when he was on death’s door step. We cared for him like one of our own, hid him from the Princesses’ eyes... and in the end, when he showed us his true colors, it was too late to stop him.”
“Since our return to the world,” Star Catcher took over, “Equestria’s been hit with nothing but disaster. We unleashed the Mother Ursa by accident, and in our desperate struggle, lives were uprooted, and homes were destroyed. I accidentally destroyed an entire village, left its ponies to starve...”
“And despite all of this, everypony we’ve met here has treated us with nothing but kindness,” said Rainbow Dash. “The Princesses, the royal guards, the ponies of Ponyville... we cannot express our gratitude for your hospitality, darlings. How we wish we could undo everything we’ve done...”
“We didn’t mean to,” little Rarity spoke up. “It just sorta happened. I used this spell to protect the village, and... and then it kinda corrupted everything, and...” her voice trailed off, her expression growing sad.
“What we mean to say is,” Minty finished, “we’re sorry! We goofed it up, it’s all our fault.”
“We aren’t asking you for forgiveness,” said Kimono, “because we know we don’t deserve it. But I want you to know that, from the bottom of our hearts, that we are sorry.”
It was said. A pointless gesture, perhaps, but one that was necessary free them from their own guilt. Even if they would never be free from Discord’s clutches, Kimono would not let him destroy the only thing they had left: their friendship. The five of them bowed.
“Come on, no need for that!” somepony from the crowed called out. Kimono and the others looked up, and saw that a stallion close to the stage was... smiling? “These things happen, don’t worry about it. It’s not like you did it on purpose, right?”
“Darn tootin’!” an elderly voice agreed. “If we were to blame somepony every single time Equestria was in danger, we’d be pointin’ hooves all day!” More and more ponies were nodding and smiling in agreement. Kimono’s head was spinning. What were they saying?
“Yeah, girls, why are you suddenly the bad guys?” It was Rainbow Dash’s pegasus counterpart this time, landing on the stage.
“If anything, we’re the ones who made a stink o’ things,” Applejack agreed, joining them. “We shoulda been better prepared.”
Rarity, Pinkie Pie – who looked rather silly bouncing with that body – even Fluttershy came up next to them. The crowd grew silent when Twilight joined them. She looked over at the crowd, and then at the ponies on stage. “I was the one who were supposed to stop Discord,” she said. “It was a request from the Elements of Harmony themselves. If anypony should take the blame, it should be—”
“Quit yer bellyaching already!” another elderly green-colored pony spoke up.
“Granny, is that you?” said Applejack, her eyes wide. The elderly pony didn’t really seem that elderly anymore; her body looked just like everypony else’s, with only a few barely noticeable wrinkles to mark her as ‘old’.
“Ye bet yer apples! Who gives a doodle who’s to blame for what? Did we throw Spike out of town just because he wrecked the place that one time? ‘Course not! When there’s a stink, we fix it! Are you the Bearers o’ the Elements o’ Harmony, or what?”
“Yeah, Twilight, we believe in you!”
“You and your friends always pull through!”
“Show Discord what happens when you mess with Equestria!”
Kimono felt her eyes tear up. They weren’t angry at all. They were cheering them on! A feeling of genuine happiness mixed with the fake one from Discord’s magic, almost drowning out the latter. A small victory, perhaps, but it was a victory nonetheless.
***
Twilight was happy and devastated at the same time. After all this, they still believed in her, confident that she would set things right. They didn’t know. They didn’t realize just how severe their disadvantage really was, how badly Discord had beaten them. Still. Seeing all these happy faces, their looks of confidence, relit the fire in her heart. If there was even a single thread of hope left, she would seize it. For them.
Next to her, Kimono was smiling ear to ear. “Thank you, Equestria! You don’t know how much your kindness means to us. We don’t know what we can do, but we’ll do all we can to help.”
Come on, Twilight, think! The castles, the Ursa still dotting the land the land, the castles’ connections, the Elements... surely there was something they could use! It was as though a dam had broken in Twilight’s head, thoughts washing over her like a flood. It made her realize that they did have one advantage, and that was the fact that they could afford to be desperate. Discord had already ruined everything, taking Equestria for his own; there was nothing more to lose, so it was time to think outside the box.
Equestria... ruin...
Twilight shook her head. An idea was starting to form, but she couldn’t do that...
Or maybe she could... maybe, just maybe...
She glanced over the crowd; at the citizens of Ponyville, at the ponies of Canterlot Castle. Then she cast a glace at the Crystal Rainbow Castle, barely visible from this angle.
Could it actually work?
“People of Equestria!” Twilight called out, and the crowd grew silent. “I have an idea, but...” she hesitated. Suddenly, she knew how Andromeda must have felt when she had asked Twilight this question. “Do you... do you trust me?”
There was a long silence, one that seemed to stretch into infinity.
“Of course we trust you!” somepony in the audience – a pony Twilight recognized as Carrot Top – called back.
More and more, the audience started to call out in agreement. “You betcha, Twilight!” Scootaloo shouted. She and her fellow Crusaders – a pony that had to be Braeburn right behind them – were standing in the closest row to the stage.
So, Twilight realized, were Trixie and Cheerilee. Upon eye contact, the magician made a snorting sound. “I suppose you’re worth one more chance. Don’t flub it up!”
Even Trixie. Twilight’s smile grew. They knew nothing about the plan, or the risk it involved, but they were willing to trust her without question. “Thank you! I only ask that you give me just a little more time.”
“By all means, Twilight, take all the time you need,” said Discord. “I’m not busy.”
It took Twilight a moment for her brain to catch up. There was a loud gasp through the crowd.
“Oh, wait, yes I am. I was about to do some redecorating in Canterlot. I mean, since no one’s using it right now, might as well make it my new base of operation!” Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. How long had he been there? How much had he heard? “I just thought I’d drop by to check up on you, see how my adorable little pony friends are doing. I’m glad I did; you ponies are up to something, aren’t you? Looks like I’ll have to keep a closer eye on you.”
It was over. Discord would never allow Twilight to even go near the Crystal Rainbow Castle. Discord had truly, unquestionably won... unless Twilight did something about it this very instant! Twilight sparked her magic into action; she knew she couldn’t do anything to harm Discord, so she came up with another idea on the fly. A brittle idea with no planning behind it. She grabbed the ponies in the closest proximity to her in a magic field, pulling them unceremoniously together before the aura went up in streamers. Caught by surprise, Discord gave her a bemused look as she activated her crown. The magic of Harmony swirled around her, but instead of directing it at anything in particular, she simply let it swirl. Her plan was to keep it there, make a protective dome that even Discord could not penetrate, and she knew of a potential way to do it... but did she dare?
She dared. Inspired by Andromeda’s Time Capsule, she began experimenting with the powers of harmony and chaos. She wove a thread of chaos into the swirling harmony, but that only resulted in a violent reaction that shook Twilight to her core. Undeterred, she tried to separate a part of the harmony swirl and merge it with some chaos. This met with better results, but it too broke after only seconds. At least it felt like seconds; time became warped when the power of Harmony was involved, and what felt like seconds to Twilight might not have been any time at all for the others.
Twilight found herself sinking into a sort of trance, her head spinning faster than it had ever spun before. Soon, she had trouble distinguishing herself from the magic of chaos and harmony she manipulated. Just like the time with Kimono at the Frozen North, she knew that if she failed, all of Equestria would be doomed, and that thought kept her thoughts focused on the task. She kept experimenting, trying every combination of arcane, harmony and chaos magic she could think of... until she finally found a formula that worked, linking all three magics together in a complex, mutually-reinforcing pattern which bent their powers to her liking.
There was a bright flash... and when it subsided, the stage was enveloped by a bubble that glimmered in rainbow colors. It was a Time Capsule, of sorts, only it didn’t actually alter the flow of time within it. It only provided the same kind of protection against outer magical interference. The Princesses, the Bearers and their counterparts, even a few ponies that had been standing closest to the stage – including Trixie – had been sucked into the barrier. Cut off from Discord’s influence, they reverted back to their old, Equestrian forms.
Discord tried sending various chaos-spells at the barrier – his aim suggesting he couldn’t actually see it, or them, anymore – but every spell simply fizzled against the surface of the bubble and evaporated, like drops of water on a hot griddle. Eventually, he just sighed, and clapped. “Bravo, Twilight.” His voice was muffled by the barrier. “You’ve managed to lock me out. Or should I say, you’ve managed to lock yourselves in. Oh well.” Twilight’s heart froze as he turned his attention to the crowd. “I tried to play it nice, but if this is how you want it to be, fine.”
The Draconequus snapped his claws... and the villagers vanished. Princess Celestia let out a “No!”, but Discord couldn’t hear it. The demigod chuckled. “Guess I’ll leave you to it, then. After all... I have a lot of new toys to keep me occupied.” And with that, he, too, vanished.
The Element Bearers, their counterparts, the Princesses, Kenbroth and Spike, as well as Trixie, Cheerilee and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. These were the last free ponies in Equestria.
Special thanks to EquesTRON for helping out with the editing.
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They hit him with a rainbow. It's his fault it didn't scare him, why blame them?..
Dont leave us like THISSSSS!!!!
Evil cliffhanger.
wow i was beginning to think this story dead. Glad ta see its not. Loved the update and hope to see another soon.
Amazing chapter. Loved how you have written it. This and the whole story in general. The only thing I don't love is the evil cliffhanger.
This Discord is a major douchebag...seriously, he should change his title into the 'Spirit of Douchebaggery'. If the Canon Discord was there as well, even he would be shaking his head in disappointment at this Discord. He think that he is being intelligent by making himself immune to the effect of the Elements of Harmony, but he just put himself up to a far worse fate than being turned into stone. The Elements of Harmony was like a 'Second Chance' thing for him, and now he threw that away. I’m not even sure they will ever consider ‘reforming’ this Discord, after all that he has done so far.
What a way to end the chapter... Heh, can't wait to see the next chapter.
C&Cs:
“I-I know it must come as a shock, dear, but it doesn’t change you you are.”
> Replace the first ‘you’ with ‘who’.
“Do you you mind if I borrow you for a moment?”
> Remove the extra ‘you’.
...the fact that she wasn’t scared her more than anything.
> Comma after “wasn’t”.
“I don’t think I even want Equestria to forgive us. It’s we who should be forgiving them!
> Missing quotation mark.
This kind of reminds me of a story I am going to write soon. When I read the short description in the popular stories section, I had a mini-freak out, thinking that someone did my idea first. Turns out they have completely different premises.
5193160 Fixed! Thanks for catching those.
How the hell has it been a week for the G3 ponies? They've lived freakin' LIFETIMES! Stop trying to make their time in the G3 bubble meaningless!
“Get bent, Discord!” pegasus Rainbow Dash snapped as she put herself between him and Fluttershy, flaring her wings aggressively. “We’ll find a way to stop you! You just wait!”
Discord forgot to give them an attitude adjustment.
And the irony is that this likely IS what many of them want, just to get back to the G3 world they KNEW and had grown so closed to each other.
To be frank, I sympathize with G3 Pinkie Pie. And the fact she nearly lost Minty, I can imagine that effected her DEEPLY.
Every able-bodied mare and stallion,
WHY THE HECK didn't Discord TG the stallions like he did before!?
they reverted back to their old, Equestrian forms.
Heh. Too bad.
I knew you wouldn't go through with Celestia's plan.
"You know this world is actually pretty desirable, the problem is Discord is free making others suffer. Otherwise I'd say make the whole world like this."
5195383
"How the hell has it been a week for the G3 ponies? They've lived freakin' LIFETIMES!"
That's a good point, actually. It's only been about a week for Kimono, who can't remember that well what went on within the Capsule, but for the rest of them, it's most definitely been a lifetime. Thanks for catching that; I fixed it up a little.
5196147
IMHO, Discord would have NEVER made G3 ponyville such an ideal fairy tale, unless somewhere deep down he wanted them to be happy. Sure he has plenty of JUSTIFICATIONS, but in the end, they're just that, justifications, he didn't NEED THEM to be living in a happy world for his scheme to work, in particular when he clearly put so much effort into it. Discord DOESN'T WANT TO ADMIT that somewhere in him, he still wanted them to be happy.
5196147
And I think it would make a beautiful bit of 'constants and variables' (as Bioshock Infinite would say), if it was FLUTTERSHY who pointed this out to him.
And G3.5 had Twinkle Wish Adventure, which gave the G3 girls some actual flaws (with Scootaloo coming across as the most 'human').
5196147
Discord IMHO screwed himself over in the psychological warfare department with Fluttershy. He AGAIN underestimated her, and proves he doesn't understand her (fitting since he doesn't understand himself). By implying that she's like him, he's ALSO implying that he's like her, and Fluttershy can say she understand him, rather than just seeing hm a threat that need to be taken down. In his eons of existence, Discord has never had anyone whose seen his real face, and then declare they understand him in a non-hostile manner.
Congrats on having 800 views.
I can't get out of my head, the image of the heroes finding the ponyville ponies, basically acting their childish, innocent, G3 selves when the heroes find them, and the former G4 ponies likewise acting like innocent and playful versions of themselves, saying how great and nice Discord is. (Showing Discord eating his cake and having it too. And like in canon, showing Discord DOES desire friendship, but he thinks it's everyone who should change for him!).
BTW: It was G4 or G3 Cheerilee who was in the bubble?
I think them getting a taste of the ACTUAL G3 mentality, would let them understand WHY G3 Pinkie is so sick of Equestria.
Ah, Discord, you bastard. I hope you rot in hell. And I hope Twilight makes him suffer for everything he's done.
Making yourself immune to magical weapons by putting a bit of yourself into them is one of the cardinal Bad Ideas... because a clever person can always find a way to use that connection.
Several ways, in fact.
5199800
Isn't that on the evil overlord's list of things NOT to do, even?
5200109 Pretty much. This Discord is not genre-savvy! He's doomed.
Yaaaay this updated! I was reading this a long, long time ago, and I didn't know if it was going to update, or if it was on extended hiatus. But this makes me so happy! I totally did not expect the turns it took- Twilight descended from Discord, Discord so close to winning, and what on earth is the rest of Twilight's plan? This is too good; I never have read another story that took something oldschool and made it so amazing like this. Third Generation ponies are usually scoffed at, but this makes them great!
I hope this updates soon. I want to see what happens next!
Nice, sneaky little title reference, there.
If Twilight can't figure out a way to save the world for everyone... I suppose she at least has one last option left to her... Break the seal, and the do a little Quantum Tunneling of the universes Vacuum Energy. The result... Think of it as hitting the reset button on the entire universe. It would move faster then the speed of light too, so none would even see it coming.
Please tell me, WHEN is the next chapter coming out?
This story offers a lot of ideas of how magic works. I like the continuity.
Discord..I call HAX!
images.wikia.com/sonicfanon/images/e/e1/Discord_UMAD%3F.png
Yes, I'm mad! That was Hax planning!
I don't know why I love Pinkie's reactions here...yeah, real life stinks don't it?
That was a really awesome fight, and Twilight's stunt at the end took some serious balls.
...
Well, they're not horcruxes, but I'm allowed to be dramatic once in a while, right?
There are things that you never should put in a trap.
Yeah, you tell them, guys! Woohoo!
Doing your best is enough, really, and if that doesn't work, you can't really be blamed. That's what I say.
He's not wrong you know...