6. Elementa Trifecta I
“Hold on, do you feel that?” Gray Umbra asked, loosening his constriction around Luna’s body. “I believe we have a few new challengers approaching.” He turned his attention to the right, and chuckled to himself after Twilight manifested in front of him, supported by Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
“Gah! I thought we were fighting an alicorn?!” Rainbow shrieked, gazing upon the massive form of Gray at the moment.
“Why have you returned?” Luna wondered. Gray tightened his wrap again, forcing her to choke on her words.
“I didn’t give you permission to speak,” he hissed, pulling the lunar princess close to his face.
“Hey,” Rainbow Dash called out. “Let go of our princess!”
“Rainbow Dash, why on earth would I listen to you?”
“Ya’ll really wanna find that out?” Applejack growled, stomping on the ground.
“Gray Umbra, let go of Princess Luna now, and we’ll settle this like we should have from the start,” Twilight entered. The giant wyrm bellowed in laughter, waving Luna around in front of the small ponies.
“You are so confident in yourself now; you actually believe you can match me? You had difficulty before I inherited Discord’s powers. What makes you believe you can now take on a god?”
“I have some help this time,” she replied, charging her horn with magic.
“If by help you mean the meager ponies standing before me, then you’re definitely a lost cause,” Gray chuckled.
“Let me show you a lost cause!” Rainbow Dash shouted, zooming around the giant creature.
“It’s impossible for me to become dizzy, so try something else.”
“You’re not supposed to get dizzy,” Rainbow replied, Her pace increased until a visible color spectrum began to whip around the wyrm’s body. He followed Rainbow Dash’s movements, but realized too late what she was doing. He began to rise from the floor, lifting off high into the air by the rainbow vortex.
“What?! Set me down!” he cried, squirming about. Rainbow Dash hastened her pace, increasing the power of her vortex to lift Gray completely above the trees. Twilight created a magic springboard in front of her, prompting Applejack to launch herself off of the platform. Twilight fired several magic beams into the air, each falling a moderate distance away from Applejack. The magic burst into shining platforms, each bearing the cutie mark of their caster.
Applejack leapt from platform to platform, charging closer and closer to Gray Umbra. Rainbow Dash let up on her assault, flying away before Gray could counterattack. As he began to fall, Applejack sprung off of the last floating platform and drew her lasso, tossing it at the beast. She wrangled Gray’s tail and swung around him, using her momentum to swing around faster and higher until eventually she became level with his snout.
“What are you doing?!”
“Goin’ buck wild!” Applejack responded, letting go of her rope and landing on his snout. She charged up close to his eyes and spun around, rearing her hind legs back and tightening the tension in her flank. Gray’s eyes widened as Applejack’s hoofs slammed in the center of his pupils.
“GAH! You…!” he cried out, releasing his hold on Princess Luna. Before she hit the ground, a violet aura cased her, levitating her figure over by Twilight, Rainbow Dash flew in, extracting Applejack from the writhing wyrm and landing next to her friend as well.
“Well, that went better than expected,” she said with a smirk.
“You’ve only angered him,” Luna replied.
“You were our primary concern, princess,” Twilight relayed. “We couldn’t begin to fight Gray until we were sure you’d be out of danger.”
“You speak as if you’re sure of victory,” Luna gasped.
“Maybe not so sure,” Applejack replied sheepishly.
“But we have a plan,” Rainbow Dash finished. “I like to call it… Full Spectrum!”
“Really?” Applejack remarked.
“We’ll discuss a name later,” Twilight objected. “It looks like Gray is ready to strike again.”
“Oh, you’d be right about that!” he yelled, baring his fangs at the group. A roar escaped his foul smelling mouth, followed closely after by a swelling wave of black sludge.
“Move!” Twilight commanded, helping Luna into the air. Rainbow Dash lifted Applejack away from the smoking fluid that poured from Gray’s mouth.
“The forest!” Applejack cried, watching as the trees and plants began to wither at an alarming rate.
“The Everfree forest will outlast any evil that befalls it; it has a will of its own,” Luna explained. “Be more concerned with the beast in front of you.”
“What now? We can’t touch the floor unless we want to end up soup!” Rainbow expressed.
“I’ll create a platform,” Twilight concluded.
“No, you’ll expend too much energy,” Luna said. “Give me a moment, I have a spell that will benefit us all.” Luna’s magic amassed in her horn, and she called a flurry of clouds to position themselves under the four ponies.
“Uh, princess… some of us can’t walk on clouds,” said Applejack.
“A quick remedy is in order then,” Luna answered, firing a magic beam at the farm pony’s hooves. Four winged boots strapped themselves over Applejack’s hooves.
“Whoa.”
“Those are awesome,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“You may now walk above the clouds,” Luna explained. “And, for a short while, you will be able to glide through the air.”
“Alright! Now that’s innovation!” Applejack said, jumping out of Rainbow’s hooves. She landed safely on the fluffy white below, and sprang into the air, jumping higher than the others were flying. She came back down and smiled, ready to face the evil monster before them.
“So you avoided my acid pool, big deal,” Gray scoffed, rising above the makeshift platform. “I can still defeat you in the air,” he remarked, lurching his body over.
His form began to shift, bubbling and oozing with strange liquids and odd shapes. His powerfully strained voice filled the area again as his transformation continued. Gray’s size decreased, becoming no bigger than an adult dragon now. His serpent-like body grew ebony feathers and his snout sharpened into a bone-like beak. Gray sprouted two forearms, a set of sharpened talons protruding from the stumps of his newly formed limbs.
His transformation concluded with the growth of two hind legs, bearing lion paws and a razor sharp claws. A lion’s tail also sprouted from his rear, igniting with flame after appearing. The feathers above Gray’s new face combusted as well, burning brightly a hazardous orange and a threatening red.
“Another form,” Twilight murmured.
“So he can transform now?” Rainbow shouted.
“Only because of Discord’s influence,” Luna replied. “He has a mastery over chaos… He’s a master of himself.”
“I believe this is called a griffon?” Gray cackled. “Light and powerful… I like it.” He flapped his wings together and in one beat rose above the ponies on the clouds. He came down hard on the new battlefield, grinning.
“That’s bigger than any griffon I’ve ever seen,” Applejack said, gulping.
“I’m still getting used to it as well,” Gray replied. He reared his head back and roared into the sky, breathing flames as he brought it back down and over the four ponies in front of him. He lifted into the air and whipped past the group, banking back around and extending his talons out at the party.
“He’s coming in fast!” Rainbow cried, preparing herself.
“I’ll take him,” Applejack said, bounding past Rainbow Dash.
“Wait,” Twilight shouted, but the other pony was already rushing in.
“Foalish Applejack,” Gray screeched.
“I can handle myself fine!” she replied, jumping up and launching one of her hind legs at Gray. He retracted his talons and brought his arms up in defense, blocking the kick. Applejack remained in the air for a short period, but Gray used this opportunity to shove her away by sweeping his arms back out. Applejack landed past the party, sliding on the cloud before coming to a full stop.
“That was awfully rash, even for me,” Rainbow Dash scolded.
“Heh, sorry,” Applejack replied. “I just wanted to try my new boots out, and I figured I could’ve gotten in at least one hit.”
“Well, you did,” Twilight spoke. “But it didn’t do anything.” Gray took off, repeating the same motion as before.
“He’s going to be swifter in that form,” Luna informed. “You ponies will have to find a way to work around his speed.”
“Or just match it,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Now don’t do what Applejack just did,” Twilight warned.
“I won’t, egghead, relax,” she chuckled. “Give me something that’ll do some damage, and I’ll see if I can’t land a few well-placed hits.”
“Quick, hold out your wings,” Twilight instructed. Rainbow complied, flaring her wings to their full span. Twilight concentrated her magic over her friend’s wings, encasing them in a transparent veil.
“What is that?”
“A new spell,” Twilight exhaled, wiping some sweat from her brow. “I don’t know how long it’ll last, but it might give you an edge.”
“Heh, no kidding,” Rainbow added, flexing her wings. The coat sharpened at will, displaying blade-like qualities now. “Alright, I’m going to show this overgrown chicken why he can’t cut it in this world!” Rainbow bolted off, spreading her wings out and sharpening the magic blades over her feathers.
“Your turn,” Gray chuckled, holding out his talons again. Compared to his mountainous size, Rainbow sped at him like a small stone. Regardless, she refused to let up, clashing with Gray’s talons in the next second. She tumbled a bit, but stabilized her flight and swooped in for another assault. Gray could not alter his course quick enough, and was struck by Rainbow’s latest attack.
“She did it!” Applejack cheered, jumping for joy. Gray swiftly avoided another assault, but was struck from behind by the follow up strike.
“His size is too much of a problem,” Twilight made note of. “He may be faster and more dangerous, but all we have to do is keep at a swifter pace.”
“I am impressed,” Luna complimented. “You have begun to take control, like a true princess.”
“I’m far from there, Princess Luna,” Twilight replied. “Right now, I’m just a concerned citizen, trying to help her country.”
“We all are,” Applejack added.
Gray swiped furiously at the incessant pegasus that circled around him. Rainbow was able to get in one final slash before the shield over her wings shattered.
“Whoops,” she cried.
“Now that that is out of the way, I can destroy you!” Gray launched three large fireballs at his opponent.
“I don’t need swords to bust you up,” Rainbow shot back, avoiding each inferno with ease. She flew in close to Gray and whipped her body around, moving in for a hard buck against his beak.
“Tch,” Gray scoffed, smacking the small pony away at the last second. Rainbow yelled all the way to the treetop she crashed into.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried.
“Twi, cover me,” Applejack requested. “I’m going to go get her!” She bounded across the clouds, making her way towards the downed pony. Gray caught sight of her and dove in fast.
“No you don’t,” Twilight muttered, firing burning magic blasts at him. He was struck by a few of the attacks, and directed his attention to the two princesses standing by.
“Annoying pests,” Gray screeched, speeding towards his new targets.
“Princess,” Twilight called to Luna. “Help me form a barrier.” Luna complied, standing next to Twilight and igniting her horn. Twilight did the same, and both princess erected a large magical shield. Gray crashed into the barrier, suffering from a surge of electrical energy soon after.
“You…” Gray strained to say, twitching involuntarily from the shock. “I’ll destroy you all!” He inhaled deeply, releasing a solid wave of fire from his mouth. The flames ate at the shield, disintegrating the barrier inch by inch.
“Twilight, what now?” Luna asked, struggling to keep the shield up.
“Just hold on,” Twilight groaned. “Rainbow Dash and Applejack will be here shortly!” Both alicorns dug their hooves into the cloud, trying to remain in place as Gray’s breath powered against them.
“Come on, we gotta go!” Applejack shouted to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow hung woozily on a tree branch, moaning something to herself.
“He’s tough,” she finally said, pulling herself together.
“Yeah, we won’t be able to win this fight unless we work together,” Applejack said.
“All of us together,” Rainbow stressed. “The way it is right now, we’re only half of a team.”
“Now ain’t the time to be thinking down, Rainbow,” Applejack said.
“I’m not thinking down, I’m just thinking,” she replied. “I don’t want us to break apart. I don’t want to be uncertain about our friendship.”
“Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”
“It must have been Gray’s attack… knocked a few screws loose…” She shook her head and looked up to the cloud platform. “Twilight apologized to me, but I’m not sure if I was ready to accept it.”
“RD, don’t you remember? Twi said you don’t have to accept her apology until you’re ready. But what’s stopping you?”
“I guess… I guess it’s my fear of doing the same thing,” Rainbow admitted. “If I was to ever join the Wonderbolts, would I have to devote my life to them versus you guys? I didn’t want to think of the choice. And how about when we get older? What will we do when-?”
“Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t get upset or mad if ya’ll decided to stay with what your calling was,” Applejack said.
“Even if it separated us? Kept us apart and tore a rift in our friendship?”
“RD, where are you right now?” Applejack hardened her glare.
“What? I’m… I’m in a tree I guess?”
“You’re sittin’ here with me fighting a monster for the safety of our friends and family,” Applejack began. “How long did it take ya to rally back with Twi and face this beast?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“It don’t matter what the distance is, or how far it is,” Applejack said, picking her friend up. “Know that anyone of us will go the distance, because we’re friends. After all, if ya really didn’t forgive Twilight, would you be here, knocked silly into a tree by a giant fire-breathing griffon?”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Rainbow replied.
“Twilight is counting on us now, and I’m sure as hay not about to let her down by thinking such stupid things. You’re the most loyal of us all, Rainbow Dash.”
“What?”
“You stuck by Twilight, even when she admitted her wrong, and helped us with Gray, despite it seeming like her responsibility alone. Keep that quality up, otherwise, what you fear the most will come true.” Rainbow Dash watched as Twilight and Luna struggled against the powerful flames cascading out of Gray’s beak. She lifted Applejack into the air and smiled at the farm pony.
“Let’s show this guy who he’s messing with,” she resolved.
“You mean the best darn team in all of Equestria?”
“Exactly!”
“Where are those girls?!” Twilight groaned, pushing against Gray’s attack. Her and Luna’s shield began to splinter along the edges.
“I can’t hold this much longer,” Luna said, peering at Twilight. The younger princess looked past Gray and noticed two speeding figures heading in their direction. Her face lit up immediately filling her with a sudden wave of confidence.
“Drop the spell,” Twilight called to Luna.
“Are you mad?!” the lunar princess replied.
“Trust me, I know what I’m doing!” Luna hesitantly agreed, Twilight following suit soon after. The barrier shattered instantly, allowing the flames to spread all around the duo. Twilight teleported herself and Luna out of harm’s way, and directed Gray’s attention to the opposite end of the clouds.
“I see, trying to make me waste my magic? You could’ve teleported from the start,” Gray chuckled. “It won’t matter though, as my pool of chaos is infinite!”
“Luna, lend me some of your magic,” Twilight requested.
“W-what? Some of my magic?”
“Just do it, I promise I’ll give it back.”
“That’s absurd, Twilight. What kind of spell-?”
“Only one I can perform,” she finished, looking Luna in the eyes. “Please, princess.”
“Very well then,” Luna replied. “Whatever you are planning, it must be grand.”
“Assuming it works…” she chuckled.
“Behold, unlimited power!” Gray shouted, opening his mouth for another fireball.
“Now, toss me!” a voice cried from the side. Gray jerked his head around, only for it to swing back in the opposite direction from the force of Applejack’s kick. Rainbow Dash sped up, chaining Applejack’s assault with a furious hoof plant of her own.
Gray’s body jolted around from the successive hits, allowing time for Twilight to summon a large glyph above the griffon. She brought the spell down over him and positioned it around his torso, tightening the seal around his body then.
“I hold the fate of the world in my hooves, de pilo pendet. Grant me the power to vanquish her foes; Tempest!” Twilight cast, her voice resonating with almost as much authority as a Canterlotian one. The glyph surrounding Gray Umbra rotated fiercely, giving off a powerful electrical storm as it circled his body.
“Weather manipulation?” Luna gasped. “What have you been studying on your own time?”
“I’m the Element of Magic, princess,” Twilight replied. “It just comes naturally, especially when I know I have the faith of others believing in me.” She turned her direction towards Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who had landed not too far away.
Gray Umbra broke out of the binding spell Twilight cast, growling ferociously at his enemies.
“How,” he asked, flames lining his beak. “How do you have so much power now?!”
“She’s got us to back her up,” Rainbow Dash shouted, flying next to Twilight. Applejack followed shortly after, with Princess Luna standing close behind.
“Grr… the unity you ponies share… I can’t believe it weakens me to such an extent,” Gray spat. He strained against his body once again, transforming into a smaller figure, just inches above Luna’s stature. His familiar muzzle and gray sheen replaced the monstrous appearance of the large griffon. “I’ve wasted enough magic with my transformations,” he said.
“So you think turning back into an alicorn will help?” Twilight asked.
“Maybe, maybe not,” he said, smiling. “But, I must admit… out of all of the forms I’ve assumed today, I like the alicorn best.”
“You’d give anything you turn into a bad name,” Luna snapped.
“True,” he replied, finishing the morph. “But imagine the irony in this, the extermination of the pony race by one of its own kind.”
“You’re not a pony,” Applejack brayed.
“Yeah, you’re not even a being, you’re just a mess with a conscious!” Rainbow added.
“Hmm… that hurt my feelings,” he said, moving a strand of hair out of his face. “Allow me to show you how you’ve injured me.” Gray glided over the clouds and into the party, forcing them to separate in different directions.
“Watch out girls!” Twilight called.
“Together, you are mighty,” Gray noted. “But apart, you fare no chance!” He brought his head up high, causing three orbs of the poison on the ground to shoot through the clouds. The balls orbited their master, awaiting an order. Gray launched the first one at Applejack, then sent one at Rainbow Dash. Finally, he fired his third sphere at Twilight.
“We can handle this!” Applejack shouted, jumping into the air.
“Is that the best you can do now?” Rainbow mocked, dodging the ball as well.
“Don’t let it touch you!” Twilight warned, flying out of the way.
“HA! Foals!” Gray chortled. Luna cried out in pain as the orb that passed Twilight clung onto her coat.
“Oh no! I didn’t know you were behind me!” Twilight cried, reaching out for Luna. Gray shoved her away with his telekinesis, and commanded the other two blobs to assault the lunar princess.
“Watch as your precious princess becomes a part of perfection,” Gray boasted, laughing as the poison completely encased Luna.
“We have to get her out of there, I think Gray’s trying to absorb her like he did with Discord!” Twilight shouted to her friends.
“Leave it to me,” Rainbow said, zooming up to the evil alicorn.
Gray ducked under her charge and smacked the mare away with his wings. Applejack charged in now, pulling out her lasso like before and wrapping up Gray’s legs. He untied the knot and tugged on the rope, pulling Applejack towards him. When she came up close, he reared his flank around and bucked her off in a different direction.
“Girls, keep together!” Twilight called, firing several magic beams at him. He dodged each one and fired a blast in front of Twilight, separating the cloud underneath her hooves and causing her to fall through. She caught herself in time, but when she had re-emerged onto the battlefield, Gray was standing above her, grinning wide.
“I really do like alicorns,” he said, stamping over her head. She ducked back down, just barely avoiding the slam. Gray appeared on the underside as well, startling Twilight. He took advantage of the opportunity, using his magic to conjure a binding spell as well. “Unlike most creatures in this land, they’re the most original.” He tossed her through the cloud, and she landed on her side, bound in place. Applejack and Rainbow Dash struggled in similar binds.
“We had you figured out!” Twilight yelled. “Just because you turned back into an alicorn, you got more powerful?”
“By all means no,” Gray chuckled. “I’ve just been in this form the longest, so it’s easier to handle myself in.”
“Twilight!” Applejack shouted, but was silenced by Gray’s magic. Rainbow Dash suffered the same handicap.
“It was easier than you think,” he explained to the squirming princess. “All I had to do was get you to separate… just get you to think for yourself, just once!”
“So we dodged your frontal assault in different directions, that doesn’t mean we were disunified!” she shouted back.
“On the contrary,” Gray sneered. “The moment you dove out of the way, you were thinking of yourself. However small it was, there was enough of a window for me to widen that disunity. I once again kept you all thinking about your own safety by sending exactly three dangers at you. Once your communication was severed, you each tried to land an assault, but by then, I was in the right position, easily knocking you all flat on your flanks.”
“You’ll just destroy us?”
“I wish,” he sighed. “Your Discord is more resourceful than I thought, keeping me from fully utilizing chaos.”
“What?” Twilight shuddered at his statement. That would mean… he’s been holding back all this time?
“I’ve been holding back, though not voluntarily. However, I’ve found another way to meet my goal without having to fulfill the God of Chaos’ need for fun,” Gray revealed. “Nightmare Moon should allow me to override Discord’s child-like nature.”
“N-nightmare Moon?!”
“Of course, that would mean I would need to rid myself of Discord… A servant can’t please two masters, but what the hay? If he couldn’t stop me before I absorbed him, what makes me think that he can after I’ve consumed Luna?”
“You will not touch Luna!” Twilight shouted. Gray chuckled, kicking her over to the other two captive ponies.
“I’ll touch her all I want!” he cackled, jabbing his forehoof into the swirling sphere of liquid that held the princess. “Actually, it’s only Nightmare Moon’s essence I want, so after I’ve taken it, I’ll get rid of Luna thereafter.”
“You won’t succeed!”
“Oh, come now, you’re spouting generic banter now! Do you want me to follow up?”
“Gray Umbra!”
“Well, considering this will be my final moment hosting Discord’s personality, I suppose I can entertain you,” he said, visually thinking for a comeback line. The gooey sludge began to creep up his forehoof, consuming his body now, save his contemplative head. Luna’s form resurfaced, weak and battered. Her mane had lost its zeal, and she appeared more fragile than before. Gray quickly tossed the weakened princess to the side, allowing her to fall in front of the group.
“No! Princess Luna!” Twilight cried. “You… you monster!”
“Hold on, I haven’t thought a comeback yet…”
“Why?! Why are you so intent on destroying this world? I understand that you couldn’t exist as a peaceful creature, but wasn’t there another way to satisfy your bloodlust?” Twilight shed a few tears, looking down at her mentor now.
“Tch,” Gray snapped, giving up on his final thought. “You ponies were the ones that denied me my right of existence, getting in the way as I was beginning to release my anger upon this world. There's a reason oppose rhymes with dispose!"
“Then this is the last time we’ll try to reason with you,” she said. “You’re only other option is to be destroyed!”
“And how will you manage that?” Gray asked. Before he could complete his ritual, a powerful tremor shook the earth below. “What?”
Gray parted the clouds, and watched as the poisonous sludge he had excreted began to sink into the earth, drying up the forest. Dead trees began to uproot, and dirt cracked and crumbled under some tremendous force.
“What are you doing?!” Twilight screamed.
“Oddly enough, it’s not me,” he replied, searching for an answer below. He studied the earth carefully, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. One of the fissures in the ground split open now, revealing a marble structure of some sort under the earth. The new structure shot up from the ground, directly under Gray’s position. His current state forbade him from moving, and he was struck by the pillar, breaking the incomplete cocoon around his body.
Immediately, the spell binding the three ponies released, allowing them the chance to escape the now many rising structures. They sought refuge on an undamaged portion of the cloud platform, gaping at the altering landscape around them.
“What’s happening?” Rainbow Dash asked. Four bleached pillars erupted from the earth and tore through the cloud platform that Luna had created. Each tower held a celestial-shaped arc embedded with a pristine reflective mirror.
“Is this another spell?” Applejack asked, looking at Twilight.
“It’s not mine,” she replied. “Or Gray Umbra’s for that matter.”
The four pillars locked in place, towering high above the forest. From the center of the towers, in the clear space below, arose an even larger structure. The stone penetrated the surface of the earth, shooting up faster than the pillars had arose. Tree roots and dirt clogged most of the crevices of the wide stone base, but resting in the middle of the structure was a large center pillar, raised a few feet into the air. Positioned on top of that was the masonry of what seemed like a crescent moon, outlined in solar rays. This piece held an unusually clean mirror in its center as well.
“What on earth? I’ve never even seen such a thing, even in my pre-life!” Gray Umbra had returned from wherever he had been knocked away to. The ponies faced him, a wave of concern spreading over their bodies.
“D-does he have Nightmare Moon’s power?” Applejack gulped.
“It doesn’t seem like it,” Twilight said. “He would’ve changed, and besides, Discord isn’t here, so he’s still in there.”
“What happened to Nightmare Moon then?” Rainbow asked, looking around frantically.
“Blast,” Gray snorted. “Now all of that malice is floating about, probably evolving a conscious of its own,” he finished. “Oh well, I guess I can play around for a few more minutes. After all, Discord’s influence just limits me to having some fun before I can blow up the world. What a twisted way to stall for time.”
Gray prepared his horn for a spell, but was stopped by a large blast of white light. The alicorn demon was launched from his current position and sent flying off into the ruined forest below.
“Holy cow,” Applejack gasped. She turned to face one of the mirrors resting on the tower, and noticed it was pivoting about. Pivoting about and smoking.
“Did that thing just attack Gray Umbra?” Rainbow asked.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t attack us,” Twilight whispered, observing the moving mirrors. She let her gaze fall on the princess now, and held out her horn over Luna’s body. “Please be okay,” she murmured, casting a light green aura around the princess.
“Might wanna hold off on that Twi, at least until we’re out of harm’s way,” Applejack said, tapping her shoulder. Twilight looked up from her task and noticed a raging fireball speeding back towards them. The figure stopped in the air, breathing heavily and sustaining heavy damage.
“I’m legitimately upset,” Gray snorted, huffing and puffing, glaring at the stone structure next to him. “There’s… NO WAY I can have ANY fun with this thing firing lasers at me!” Two of the mirrors pivoted in his direction, and he widened his eyes like a mad horse. Dark magic exploded from his body, outlining his form in a cloudy mixture of black flames.
“He’s upset that he got hit?” Rainbow chuckled.
“No, he’s upset that something could injure him so easily,” Twilight corrected. “Back when Discord and I was fighting him, he absorbed Discord out of spite, because he was losing. Now, this monolith is standing in his way of victory.”
“Uh… does that mean he’s going to eat it too?” Applejack asked, folding her ears back.
“I’ll get rid of it first,” Gray Umbra brayed, concentrating the flowing magic to his horn. A large fireball manifested above his head, growing larger and larger with every passing moment. A grin spread across Gray’s face as his spell increased in size, its intense heat and light rivaling that of the sun currently in the sky.
“He’ll destroy the whole world with something that large!” Twilight shouted over the roaring winds the spell was creating.
“Well, that was his plan in the first place,” Rainbow Dash screamed.
“Bigger… Bigger… BIGGER!” Gray chanted, laughing like crazy now. “You think you can stop me? You think you can bring harmony to chaos?! I’m not about to go down so easily!”
“He’s gone mad!” Applejack yelled. “Doesn’t he care that he’s close enough to get himself vaporised if he drops that attack?!”
“Twilight, we gotta do something now!” Rainbow Dash cried.
“I… I don’t know what to do!” she shouted back. “There’s no way I can conjure up a spell in time that would save us!”
“So we’re just going to die here?!” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Hold on everypony,” Applejack interjected. “Them mirrors are doing somethin’ crazy now!”
All three of them gazed down at the structure. It had positioned its mirrors over towards the center piece, each one firing a magic beam of light at the glass in the center. The center mirror sparked a few times, and started to fade. Twilight’s eyes widened as she watched the mirror completely fade into what appeared to be various constellations and galaxies.
“It’s a portal?” she cried out, feeling the sudden gravitational pull of the monolith. She acted quickly, placing a dense shell over herself and her friends. They all broke through the cloud, and slammed hard down onto the earth.
“Ouch! What the hay Twilight?” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Man… that fall… it hurt so bad I can’t even lift a hoof!”
“Don’t worry, your bones aren’t broken,” she explained. “I’ve placed us in a gravity field. The area is subjected to heavier gravity now.”
“Why in tarnation would ya do that?”
“Because, Applejack,” she replied, “that thing is acting like a powerful siphon. It’s pulling everything into a portal.” Twilight strained to lift her head, but could catch from the current view Gray Umbra resisting the pull of the vortex.
He growled at the stone structure and released his attack. The supernova reached just above the pillars, but began to shrink. Gray’s eyes widened and he fired several more magic beams at the monolith. Each attack remained frozen in place, shrinking in size as it edged closer and closer to the mirror.
“This can’t be happening,” he said. “I am the master of chaos! I can will things and they become! Why can’t I destroy this stupid statue?!” Gray’s fireball disintegrated into small particles and was swallowed up by the vortex. He stared at the portal, mouth gaped open and body trembling. “This is… fear?!”
Gray reeled back as hard as he could, but the power of the portal proved too much. He came too close to the structure, and as effortlessly as plucking a weed from the ground, he was carried inside, his wailing voice filling the vortex for a short while.
Twilight watched as the four mirrors diverted their attention away from the large mirror, resulting in the monolith shaking uncontrollably once more. The portal zipped shut, sealing itself with a sonic boom that shook the entire Everfree Forest. Everypony shut their eyes, awaiting the next catastrophe to take place. Silence filled the area however, and Twilight opened her eyes to find no sight of a menacing alicorn. She lowered her gravity spell and rose to her hooves shakily, tending to the princess now.
“Whoa… what do suppose all that was?” Applejack wondered, staring at the now dormant mirror towers.
“Is Gray… gone?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning her head back and forth.
“I don’t know,” Twilight replied without quitting her task. “All I know is, we can drop our guard, because I don’t feel Gray’s presence anymore… anywhere.”
“Then that has to mean he’s been defeated!” Rainbow Dash cheered.
“I just don’t-” Twilight began, but was cut short by a bright light emanating from the center mirror of the large center monolith.
“Oh no, he’s not done yet!” Applejack cried.
“Oh come on, are you serious?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, preparing herself.
“Darn,” Twilight panted. “I don’t have enough energy to heal Luna and fend off Gray.”
“Don’t fret, Twi, that’s why we’re here,” Applejack stated.
“Yeah, we’ve got your back, all the way until the end!” Rainbow Dash resolved.
“Thank you… Thank you, girls,” Twilight replied. “I know that by working together, we can beat him. I have just enough magic for maybe one Harmonia, so I’ll need you two to distract him while I set it up.”
“We aren’t going to wait for Rarity and the others?” Applejack asked.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Twilight cried, watching as a hoof exited the mirror portal. “Be on your guard, and don’t let him bring you two apart!”
All three of them prepared for the alicorn’s first strike. Twilight closed her eyes and began to feel out the magic in nature. There was very little left. Rainbow Dash and Applejack tensed up as a body emerged through the portal, charging at them with incredible speed.
“Stop right there…! Pinkie Pie?” Applejack shouted, succumbing to her friend’s deadlocked hug.
“Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash yelled, breaking Twilight from her trance.
“Pinkie Pie?” she cried.
“Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie shouted, laughing.
“What? I don’t understand.. how did you?”
“It’s a long story, Twilight,” Rarity said, emerging from the mirror as well. Fluttershy followed, waving politely to the group.
“Aww, it’s not that long,” Pinkie said, waving her hoof at Rarity.
“We discovered something, about the Elements of Harmony, I think,” Fluttershy added.
“What was it?” Twilight asked.
“What is it, you mean. Keep your grammar in the correct tense, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said, pulling an old book from her mane.
“Har-Harmonolith?” Twilight asked, skimming through the book.
“We didn’t really get a chance to look through it,” Rarity said. “Well, except for Pinkie here.”
“Oh my, what’s wrong with Princess Luna?” Fluttershy cried, lifting the princess’s forehoof from the ground.
“Gray Umbra,” Twilight explained. “He tried to take her magic, but was thwarted by the sudden appearance of the… Harmonolith.”
“That would be our doing,” Pinkie said proudly, sticking her muzzle in the air.
“Ya’ll caused that big ol’ rock to break through the ground?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah, how exactly did you do that?” Rainbow Dash added. Pinkie Pie shut the mouths of her two partners and cleared her throat.
“Well…”
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3287195 Dragon Ball TX
The title is misleading I thought it would be a crossover with FF7 and the main antagonist would be Sephiroth:
3358523
It gave you some despair then... right?
“I’m legitimately upset. There’s no way I can have any fun with this thing firing lasers at me!”
This nearly made me crack open a beer just so I could do a spit-take. xD
One of the best "take me out of context!" lines I've ever seen.
Hi! I'm here because your story was submitted to the Good Grammar Directory. Unfortunately, your story does not qualify to be added to the group.
The main problem (at least, in the first 500 words of your first chapter) is specifically this: when someone is addressed in dialogue, a comma should go before/after the person being addressed, as mentioned in Ezn's writing guide. I'll explain:
Here are some examples of doing it correctly:
Whether it's a name (Twilight) or a pronoun in place of a name (my friend), a comma should separate the character being addressed from the rest of the line.
I found several instances where a comma was missing. Here are a few of them:
There should be a comma between "sorry" and "Princess".
There should be a comma between "comment" and "Princess Sparkle".
There should be a comma between "nation" and "my little pony".
There were also a few other errors, like a misplaced comma (“I wonder, if it has anything to do with Ponyville,”) and a missing hyphen (Princess Celestia pensively stated to the smaller lavender hued alicorn).
For these reasons, the story was not approved for our group. I understand that you may not want to make changes, or you yourself may not have submitted your story to our group in the first place. However, if you do decide to make changes and want to try again, feel free to pm me, and I'll take another look at it. Also, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Otherwise, have a good day. :)
Edit: I should also mention that your title might be grammatically incorrect. If you're referring to an alicorn with one wing, it would be "One-Winged Alicorn" or "One-winged Alicorn". "One Winged Alicorn" refers to one alicorn that is also winged. Whether "Winged" in "One-Winged" should be capitalized or not is a matter of style, but whether the hyphen is there or not is important.
3358523 That what I thought too.
1-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/tg/image/1335/77/1335772396717.jpg
3481605
I haven't responded to your comment because I put the story on hiatus, but now that I plan on reviving it, I will take into account what you have given me.
I understand that this story is riddled with errors of an amazing degree, but I plan on fixing that. It will undergo a serious proofread upon the publishing of the next chapter, and eventually all chapters will be managed accordingly.
Thank you for your review, and your time!
References continued:
Super Smash Bros ("New challengers approaching")
Rage faces ("that went better than expected")
Star Wars ("unlimited power!")
....Meh. I'm sure there are others, but despite that, I'm greatly enjoying this. I admit, I've had to turn off my editing goggles to do so properly, but it's still a great, fun read