The Leaves are Changing

~the characters can be viewed at www.deviantart.com, under the artist IceOfWaterflock, in folder Autumn~

Rarity sat on her balcony, watching her daughter play tag with a group of other foals. She sighed at the sight of her child standing, running; her mind drifted to Light Wings, and she shook the thought away before it could take hold. She was old, quite old, and there was no extra room in her remaining life for grief. She turned to go inside, already planning another set of dresses. She would go quietly into the night, but not leaving things unfinished. She would provide for her daughter long after her soul met Gaia.

Down on the ground, the young pale purple Unicorn jogged in a circle, avoiding being tagged by her best friend, a Griffon boy named Tigerjay. He was Gilda's son, and Gilda, being forgiven by Ponyville for her previous actions, was living in one of the houses nearby. It seemed like she had taken the place of Fluttershy, who had flown away after Coronus's passing, taking care of the animals around and leaving her door open to all who would need help.

Her son was the new Pinkie Pie. The original, saddened by the loss in the air of Ponyville, had fled to recover. No traces of her parties had been seen since. The young tiger-rumped Griffon was great at baking, and spent most of his time in the company of Mr. and Mrs. Cake's decendants.

A mare glided down and landed on the drainpipe of a nearby building. Her pale blue fur was unmarked, but three of the four colours in her mane and tail were darkened black. Two golden bands were clamped around one foreleg. Flipping her mane out of her eyes, Rainbow Dash's daughter smiled at the rowdy kids below. Shaking her head, Rainbow Dark took off again.

An Alicorn suddenly slammed his back against the wall, daring to glance out fo the alley. There. Trotting down the road, his father was calling. An Earth Pony, a common pony. Like the Prince wanted to be. As the red king continued past, the prince let out a relieved breath and started climbing the wall, magicking his hooves to the wall. He crested the edge, flattening himself against the tile and shimmying across the roof.

"Oh, hey Crimsonleaf." A voice called out from behind him. The prince spun, only to see a young yellow dragonness cresting the wall behind him.

"Hi, Sunrise." He replied, straightening out his back. "Spike let you out of the tunnels? You get to see the light of day?"

She laughed, her claws clicking on the tiles. Unlike her father, she preferred all fours. "You hiding from Bic Mac again?"

"You mean High and Mighty King Macintosh?"

"Yeah, him. And I know you wish you were common, but you aren't. You probably have something to do at the castle, which is why he wants you."

Crimsonleaf rested his head on one hoof. "There's always something going on at the castle that the Prince has to attend. Is there nothing Celestia and Luna can handle anymore?"

Sunrise peered over the edge of the building. "Well, there is the fact that he can't raise the sun. When your mother passes away, you'll have sky duties with Luna. He's probably trying to prepare you for all of the publicity."

"I know, I know." He spotted the group of kids romping below. "Hey, want to see how much mischeif we can do before he catches me?"

Sunrise squealed, her wings flapping. "Let's do it!"

Twilight plodded over to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack asked her to come over so they could reflect on old times. Zecora, Gilda and Rarity were invited too, and they all arrived at about the same time, except Zecora, who had to navigate the Everfree. Exchanging weak, trembling hugs, they settled down in the shade of the apple trees and looked across the orchard.

"You know, when I thought of my life, I never thought I'd end up here. Under the shade of the trees, my friends beside me, Spike with a daughter, you with children..." Twilight trailed off.

Gilda looked at her Unicorn friend. "Did you ever regret not having a foal?"

She shook her head. "It's hard enough making sure your kids stay out of Everfree! With one for me as well, the town would be overwhelmed!"

Applejack sighed. "Applebloom has been pretty good helpin' out though, hasn' she?"

"Yes, yes, but there are a lot of kids. Far too much for the former Crusaders to handle." Rarity interjected. "Even Rainbow Dark can't keep up."

"Well let's list the new additions!" Gilda exclaimed. "Figure out how much trouble they can get into!"

Rairty magicked a bolt of plain fabric and a marker from her saddlebag, presenting them to Gilda.

"Well, there's Squishy, Rarity's filly. Umm... and Tigerjay, my cub... and Sunrise, Spike's hatchling. Saucey, Apple's granddaughter... Oh, there's Chibi, Zecora's filly..."

"Is that my foal's name you spoke? Has she pulled another joke?" Zecora chimed as she crested the hills.

"No, just in a list."

The zebra nodded and lay down, her golden earrings clincking on each other.

"Any others?"

"No, I don't think so..."

"Is that it? How do they manage to get in so much trouble?"

Applejack looked up, back towards town. "Speaking of trouble..."

The others turned to look, seeing a small cloud of dust racing up the path. In the front, was a large red mass, wings outstreched-

Crimsonleaf whinnied in excitement, bounding past the aged mares and skidding to a stop among the trees. The others of the group set to a meal. Squishy trotted over to her mother, curling up against her mother's flank. Tigerjay grabbed apples for himself, Squishy, and their parents, spilling them out and giving them around. Task completed, he snuggled between his mother's talons. Chibi, Zecora's filly,had goined in the run later on, and pranced over to her mother, wide eyes sparkling. Sunrise sat down beside Twilight, putting one wing lovingly over her adoptive grandmother's back.

"Corrupting the local children again?"

Crimsonleaf looked down from the tree he was attempting to climb, seeing the pale yellow mare standing nearby. Her wild pink mane hung around her shoulders in a loose braid. A young filly was with her, looking almost exactly like Applejack, except she wore her mane and tail loose.

"Oh, hi Applebloom, Saucey." He yelled, grabbing apples in his magic and offering them to them.

"You managed to get all of them this time? How long do you think it'll be until Mac catches up?" Applebloom commented.

Crimsonleaf shrugged. "Probably pretty soon. Celestia's gift of invinciblity was pretty great for him."

Two more mares cantered up, one an orange Pegasus with a purple mane-tail, and the other a white Unicorn with a blue and pink mane-tail.

"Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle." Crimsonleaf nodded to each of them in turn, offering each an apple.

In silence, they all settled down, the peaceful farmland streching on as far as the eye could see.

There was a clatter of hooves, and a shadow streched over the peaceful group.

Twilight turned around, looking at the newcomers. "Celestia, Luna, care to rest a moment?"

Celestia sprawled out on the grass, old joints creaking almost as much as Applejack's. Her wings weren't in the best condition they'd ever been, and a good portion of her mane had gone gray. Luna, however, remained standing. Unlike most ponies thought, neither of them was immortal. Due to being returned to a young age - courtesy of the Elements - she was only now beginning to look like a mare, and had been slowly taking Celestia's place as she got older.

Crimsonleaf hopped out of the tree and gave his mother a loving nuzzle. Luna looked almost lonely for a few seconds, but she trotted off through the trees and vanished in the distance.

"What's with her?" Gilda asked. "Where's she going?"

Celestia sighed. "She barely gets any quiet time anymore, so when she has the chance, she likes to walk. It clears her mind."

Lapsing into another comfortable silence, the mares and stallion - plus one hatching and a couple of Griffons - shared the warm sun and gentle breeze.

Flora of Fire

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Celestia looked around the group, her eyes resting on Crimsonleaf, who was lying nearby, and her gaze was that of a mother looking at the child she loves more than the world.

Crimsonleaf noticed his mother's gentle gaze. "I know you're good at stories, Queen. Why don't you tell one? It is a nice day."

Celestia smiled softly at her colt's trying attempt to be formal. "Why not?"

She streched out, crossing her golden-shod hooves, and looked up at the sun, closing her eyes in thought.

"How about the story of how Equestria was made?" Tigerjay piped up, eyes gleaming with excitement. "Momma doesn't know it, but I've heard it's really good!"

Gilda blushed profusely and used one talon to push her son back onto his belly. "Sorry about him."

"No problem." Celestia muttered. "He's holding us together. Now, let us begin our story. Now, my mother told this to me long, long ago, and I will tell it to you in the words she used."

"So, in the beginning, there was chaos, and chaos was a birthday cake. There was nothing special about this birthday cake, other than the fact that it was the only thing to exist, other than nothing. So chaos floated through nothing, whatever nothing may be. And suddenly, from the cake, came something. Something was like nothing, and beat back chaos and nothing to make planets and stars and clouds and water and grass and sky. And in this way, something controlled nothing and chaos and kept them as far away from its creations as possible. But chaos did find it's way in occasionally, in the form of war and earthquakes and tornadoes and the birthday parties of foals. But, as chaos snuck in occasionally, something was making more somethings, and they were animals; birds and fish and turtles and dragons and griffons and ponies. And something was very pleased with these things.

"But, at first, all ate plants. As time passed, the animals had more children than there were plants, and because of this, the grass and trees began to fade away. In shock, something asked nothing for help. So nothing came down to earth in the form of a great raven, and made all the creatures line up. It gave out special powers to each; fire for the dragons, sharp claws to the griffons, gills to the fish, wings to the birds - because, in the time of creation, birds could not fly, just as the fish walked on land - hard shells to the turtles, and other things to everything else. And some started eating meat, but the balance was the same, and the earth returned to its' former glory.

"But at the end of it all, there were three ponies waiting for gifts. They stood in front of nothing, expanctant smiles on their faces. Nothing reached back, expecting another special power, but there were none left. Looking at the ponies, it tore it's own wings off and set them on the back of one, and it became a Pegasus, flying instead of running. Nothing then tore out its' own magic heart and gave it to the second pony, who accepted it, and grew a horn to show her abilities, and she became a Unicorn. Now, as the other two left, nothing faced the last pony. She looked up from the ground, where she had been digging up a grassy clump.

" said nothing, <but I have nothing left to give you but my own body.>

"<It does not worry me,> the pony replied. <I will become strong with my own help. I will harvest the crops and plant the seeds, will tend to the gardens and take care of the wounded. When the time comes, I will be the infantry, guiding the creations you have made to freedom.>

"<You do not need to do all of that for me.> Nothing muttered.

"The pony looked up further, straining to see nothing's eyes, and smiled. <You are more than nothing. You are something as well.> She smiled, but it was more determined, and she planted her feet in the dirt. <And I will do what I've told you. I promise.>

"Nothing was surprised, but as the pony cantered away to join her friends, he could hear them laughing together. <Despite their differences,> nothing declared, <they will act as one.>

"And nothing vanished."

There was silence between the ponies as they listened to Celestia's voice trail off. Her eyes opened again, and she looked down at her subjects.

"Was that a good enough story, Tigerjay?"

The young Griffon nodded. To him, her words had shown images in his head, of a great, nine-tailed raven who oozed with power and darkness, and the wingless birds, and the walking fish, and the planets and the stars- "It was great!" He exclaimed.

The assembled ponies laughed, and Celestia found her smile reappearing.

They were so much like the ponies she had known when Twilight was still a filly.

Fluttershy's helpful nature had actually come through in Chibi and Gilda.

Rainbow Dash was in Rainbow Dark, for obvious reasons, but also in Scootaloo.

Applejack's youthful spirit was caught in Applesauce.

Pinkie Pie's randomness was showing through Tigerjay's blue feathers and orange-black fur.

Twilight Sparkle's love for reading and learning was in Sunrise.

Rairty's love for helping was in her own daughter, who's real name was Squishyheart.

Celestia paused, a last thought crossing her mind. Luna... Luna was becoming Celestia.

She smiled at the thought. Her sister, once feared by all as the dreaded Nightmare Moon, had become just as love as the Sun Princess. With a yawn, Celestia put her head on her hooves and fell into a calm, deep sleep.

Crimsonleaf lifted his ears, hearing something like a dog's whine, high and keening. If the other ponies heard it, they didn't pay it any mind. The keening became a white noise, and Crimsonleaf squinted, baring his teeth against the squealing. The others started to hear it too, standing up and glancing around in confusion.

Gilda screeched, shoving her talons over her ears. A thin trickle of blood ran from each one. Tigerjay ran towards her, but was scooped up in Sunrise's claws as she took off flying. Rainbow Dark grabbed Gilda's tail and started dragging her away, but the Griffon was writhing in pain.

Scootaloo and the other Crusaders gathered up most of the ponies - Chibi, Saucey, Squishy, and Crimsonleaf - and began running them towards town.

Sunrise was carrying Tigerjay a good distance ahead of the others, despite the Griffon's constant struggle.

The keening just... stopped.

For a moment, the air was still and silent. It ended just as oddly as it began, with the sound of a wave crashing on rock and the howl of wind. A large mass appeared above the remaining group; Zecora, Twilight, Applejack, Gilda, Rarity, Celestia and Rainbow Dark.

The mass continued emitting the horrific noise, all the while shifting into a solid, dark shape. A giant bird, with no wings and a clean-cut hole through it's chest. Nine dragon's tails swept the air around it, as it opened it's beak - or at least, where the beak should be, and probably was, but it was head-on, and the colour of mysterious forms - and let out a cat-like wail.

The gaint creature struck out with it's tails, constricting all the remaining group and holding them far off the ground.

Tigerjay kicked out and was dropped, landing on his feet and facing the giant, wingless bird.

It turned to face him, or at least, in his general direction, and on the sides of the great face opened two eyes of feiry red. Tigerjay screamed in terror and the bird-thing whipped it's tails, but the second he turned to run, it vansihed into thin air, bringing it's seven victims with it.

The Wind is Rising

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~If there's something that doesn't make sense, it's because I keep going back and making minor changes, like introducing Applesauce (Saucey) and now, as you will figure out, the first keening was coming from Ponyville, and it stopped while the bird was teleporting~

Luna scrambled to her feet as the keeing stopped, looking over her shoulder, back at the barn. She squinted, trying to see through the trees. Some black bird? She heard galloping hooves and a distant scream, and the bird vanished. Trying to calm her rising panic, she shot out of the tree cover and flew towards the small group of cowering ponies.

Seeing a flicker of orange in the corner of her eye, Luna checked her speed and turned.

"Fire." She whispered. "Fire! Ponyville's on fire!"

Yelling, she flew low over the remaining group, pointing towards Ponyville before flying over to help. There was a flicker of releif as she saw the weather force moving rainclouds, but it diminished as the clouds dissolved in the raging heat.

"You guys, go to the Everfree, to Chibi's house. Stay there until we come and get you! Do you understand?" Scootaloo asked, wings twitching as she prepared for flight.

The kids nodded, watching as the only older help they had flew and cantered towards the blaze. Sunrise felt tears well up in her eyes as she watched the flames.

Tigerjay was the first to notice. "Hey, Sunny, what's wrong?"

She wiped her face with one claw. "My dad's in there..."

Tigerjay turned her face away from the fire, and Chibi silently led them towards the Forest. Crimsonleaf was carrying Squishy, and her curled tail bounced with his steps.

Chibi nosed open the door of the hut, sighing as she held it open. "It is still empty, that I feared; I believe our rescuers still aren't here."

"You don't need to rhyme everything, Chibi. Zecora isn't here." Saucey whispered.

"Sorry. I wasn't thinking. It's just normally when I come home, my mother..." She broke off with a sniffle, and wandered away to light the firepit.

The remainder settled down, Sunrise picking a book off the shelf and curling up to read it, mouth moving silently on a few words. Crimsonleaf stated he was going on guard and trotted outside. Chibi was kneeling beside the fireplace, vainly trying to start a fire to warm her friends. Tigerjay had already gotten out ingredients for cupcakes, and was set on finding a bowl. Squishy was handing out blankets, not getting one for herself and not caring. Applesauce was muttering about Applejack and fire in her sleep.

All looking up as the door swung open and Crimsonleaf trotted in, holding it open as Scootaloo ducked in.

"Sorry, guys. The fire's still blazing, but everyone's accounted for. I couldn't bear how I left you guys out here alone, so I came back."

Tigerjay looked up from his batter. "How can we help?"

Scootaloo smiled. "We're setting up a camp here. There's enough clear space that ponies can come and sleep here. It's closed in, and I'll get Belle to magic up a sheild for the night. You guys are doing great already."

All nodded in agreement, and most of them settled down to go to sleep. Squishy handed Crimsonleaf a blanket, and he accepted and went up against the wall, curling up and closing his eyes. Scootaloo blew out a few of the lamps, lighting the room from the kitchen.

Scootaloo lay down against the door, as if blocking anything from getting in. Squishy, shivering in the cold, trotted over and lay against Scootaloo, who rested a wing on her back to warm her.

Sunrise closed the book and replaced it on the shelf, turning to check on Tigerjay. He was banging flint together, trying to light the cooking pit. Hopping down from her chair, Sunrise padded over, sending a small spark into the pit. It caught on the dried twigs, and soon there was a nice smell wafting around the hut as pine needles and cupcakes heated. Sunrise sat on one side of the fire, warming her cold blood, while Tigerjay made sure his precious goods didn't burn.

After all, it was basically the only thing he could cook, and he was - other than Sunrise - the only creature there with fingers. He could see the fire from here.There was a storm building up over Ponyville, the Pegasus squad working overtime to slam clouds together and move them in place. Unicorns and Earth ponies were digging a wide trench around the outside of the fire, creating a wide brown ring.

Tigerjay sighed. With that precaution, they must have been pretty sure they couldn't stop it.

Spike woke up with a faint warmth on his back. Opening his eyes, he glanced up at the roof. A thick layer of smoke covered it. Grumbling, he calculated where he was before puching the thin layer of earth between him and the surface, sending the smoke swirling into the sky.

He squinted, trying to see the sun to figure out what time it was. Instead, there was a large, dark cloud, and most of the Weather Squad was flying around it.

Confused by the sudden cloud, he enlarged to hole, pushing his head through. He looked around, his eyes focusing on the ruined, blackened buildings and toppled trees. His eyes narrowed as he saw a group of Unicorns fiercely defending the library, being forced back inch by inch.

With a roar of rage, he climbed out of his tunnel, the ground collapsing around him as he struggled to escape. Pouncing on the flames, he smothered them under his paws, wings unfurled. The unicorns cantered away as Spike single-talonly protected his childhood home.

Luna, after nudging a cloud, finally saw him. Her eyes quickly connected the rising blaze and the new escape route for it, formed by Spike's sinkhole.

"Spike! Spike, the library tunnels!"

He heard her, and decided to take a last-second measurement. Taking a deep breath, he set the library alight in green messanger flames, and it dissloved and drifted away to the Palace. Now that his disraction was gone, he got to work on the worst of the fire.

The wind howled against the trees, and sent a chill into the small hut. The cooking fire had gone out a while ago, and everyone was sleeping.

There was a sharp rap at the door. Squishy jumped up, suddenly awake. It was quiet again. Squishy looked around, confused. Had she been dreaming?

There it was again. On light hooves that she gained from her mother, she tiptoed over to the door, pulling it slightly open.

It wasn't a giant demon, like she had thought. It was a stallion, with a pale gray mane and tail and scarlet fur. He knelt down to Squishy's eye level.

"May I come in? I haven't seen anyone for days."

"Are you lost?"

"No, but I need to rest before I can find my home." He looked past. "May I come in?"

From where she had been watching, Scootaloo stood up, narrowing her eyes, but relaxed. "Yeah, warm up by the fire."

He walked around Squishy instead of over her, and sprawled around the fire pit. He was an Earth pony, and his Cutiemark seemed to be an orange-rimmed star. Without looking up, he responded to her gaze. "Pointless, isn't it?"

Squishy, shocked by him noticing, bolted beside Scootaloo again. She sighed.

"By the way, my name's Starlight."

Spike stood in the center of town, watching the rain pound the last few embers into nothing. He sighed at the amount of destruction. Ponies had mentioned both a bird and a dragon, but Spike doubted there were two. Luna had mentioned the bird she saw at the farm, that had taken the remnants of the Mane Six and their friends. A giant, black bird.

Where had he heard of that before?

His pupils shrunk to dots. The legend of Creation. Nothing was a giant raven, who tore off his own wings and heart as gifts... it fit the demon perfectley.

If nothing had taken Twilight...

Spike's talons curled into fists and lit with a foxfire that definatley wasn't for messaging.

If nothing had taken Twilight, than nothing was going to pay.

Hallow's Eve

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Scootaloo watched Starlight warily. Due to the fact that she was a pony, she did trust everyone, but something about him seemed off. He didn't speak much, but of course, neither did Luna or the evacuated ponies. Three weeks in the Everfree taught you a lot about a pony.

Starlight sighed, without turning to face Scootaloo. "Pictures last longer." He commented.

Scootaloo blushed and looked away. Again, he had noticed. It was almost like he had eyes in the back of his head.

"Who are you?"

He paused, as if thinking over the response. "...I believe I'm a pony." He stated, finally turning to look at her. His golden eyes peirced through hers, as if he was reading her mind, looking through her memories. The feeling vanished as he continued. "A stallion, to be exact."

"That's not what I meant."

"I am entirely sure of what you meant." He replied, rolling his eyes in mild annoyance before turning away. "Do you know the legend of Hallow's Eve?"

"Well, it was long before I was born. And when I heard it, all I was interested in was the free candy!"

Starlight sighed, curling in tighter as if to hide his stomach from the cold wind. "It's a long story." He admitted. "Far too long and far too... gory... for ears like these."

A he waved a hoof at the general surroundings, Scootaloo saw something running across the ankle. It almost looked like a extra, smaller hoof, but he had set it down before she had time to look properly.

Suddenly, he rolled onto his feet. In the rounded moonlight from the window, she noticed his flanks were glistening with sweat. His eyes looked wild, reflecting in the dim light.

"Are you okay?"

He looked up, as if he had forgotten there were others in the room. "Fine." He choked out. "Nothing a walk won't fix."

"It's how you got lost before, wasn't it?"

Again, the confused look crossed his face. "I don't know what you're talking about, but if you want to come, you may as well."

With the hardly-comforting farewell, Starlight shoved the door open. Scootaloo was getting up to follow when he quickly backpedalled through again. His hooves made soft noises on thr floor. Surprised, she looked down. They weren't hooves... they were... paws?

He shook his head quickly, and when his eyes met hers, they were small with terror. "Help." He squeaked. "Help me."

Jumping forward, she grasped him by the ear and pulled him outside, edging around the hundred-odd sleeping ponies and vanishing through the trees. After cantering forward until the loud snores coming from the camp ceased, Scootaloo let go of Starlight, letting him slide to the ground.

The stallion tried to get up and walk, but his trembling legs gave out. As he trembled, sweat pouring down his flanks, Scootaloo considered going back for help.

Suddenly, his fur was lengthening, his tail twitching randomly as he curled up tighter. In a matter of seconds, he scrambled back on his feet, scarlet fur spiked with sweat and dirt.

Scootaloo surpressed a scream.

It wasn't Starlight standing in front of her anymore.

It was a wolf.

The giant bird flashed back into existence, it's captives still struggling in their scaly bonds. Nothing glared at them.

<I'm not letting you go.> It growled, slowly dropping it's tails to the near-invisible ground. Slowly releasing the weakened ponies, they collasped.

"Why not?" Rainbow Dark yelled, scuffing her hooves against the bblack stone.

Twilight struggled to her feet, placing a hoof against the Pegasus for support. "Before when?"

The bird-dragon glared at it's new prisoners. <Before I gave you my wings and my magic!> It snarled. <The Earth ones were the only creatures content with their First Forms.They are the only ones left without harm! The only ones that demanded nothing of me!>

It struck out with one tail, constricting Princess Celestia from where she was crumpld on the floor. She screamed in pain. <You were never even supposed to exist!> It screeched, throwing her into the air. One wing snapped as it crumbled underneath her flank. Blood began seeping from the small outer wound, the bone shards poking out through the skin. <My children listened to none of my warnings! They did now know what they had done! I knew! I warned them!> Still mad with rage, nothing picked her up again, this time slamming her into the ground. <You weren't supposed to exist!>

Celestia closed her eyes, the soundless ringing in her ears blocking the rage of the demon. Around the foggy white haze, she could see Twilight, crying in fear, being held back by her friends.

The haze suddenly increased as another rocky impact slammed against her side. The ringing increased until it seemed her ears would burst, before black spots crowded her vision and everything went peacefully quiet.

Luna shot up from under her blanket. She had the Nightmare Moon dream again, where she raged out of control and her night ruled all.

She jerked her head to the side as something moved. Confused, she saw it again. No matter where she turned, she couldn't see it. She reached up to pat her mane in thought, but her silver shoes went cold as she prodded her neck. Stunned, she shook her head, her mane falling in front of her eyes.

The black-blue swirling mass drifted lazily in front of her eyes.

Biting back tears, she closed her eyes.

"Celestia... Celestia is dead..."

Cotton Candy

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**WARNING TO ALL READERS - This will get graphic. Not clopfic graphic, just reading-between-the-lines graphic. And no, it's not gore. **

Distraught, Luna trotted further into the depths of Everfree. Her temporary sheild was protecting her from both the cold and the Poison Joke as she wandered aimlessly.

Looking back towards the town, small flickers of fire arced randomly out of the wreckage. Again, Luna saw her billowing, nightly tail, and again, a few more tears ran down her face.

She felt like she needed help. Celestia's teasing nature, despite being annoying, was hard to miss. Luna only knew one other creature that held that level of annoying authority.

Luna contempatled this choice. If it went wrong, there was little she could do to change it back. The Elements had disbanded long ago, and although Luna knew where they were, they had no bearers. She closed her eyes with a sigh and readied the teleportation spell, selecting her target in the castle's garden.

A flash of light, and a large stone statue appeared, it's smooth marble finish out of place in the dark forest. Luna felt some pity for the statue, being trapped in such an obnoxious pose for eternity.

"Well," Luna whispered, "eternity ends today."

The statue was illuminated in magic, and slowly grew brighter before darkening completely.

As Luna caught her breath, the statue began to break off in egg-like shards. The inside of the stone was just as smooth as the outside, marred only by the occansional muscle line. The creature inside streched out his claws, yawning with comical exaggeration.

"Ah, beautiful chaos." The creature sighed. "Destroyed again."

Luna moved into sight of the draconequus. He waved a claw, summoning a small pink cloud and crushing it between his talons in frustration.

"I need your help."

"Nobody ever needs my help. They help me."

"Discord, Celestia is dead."

He actually looked shocked, his small red pupils growing as he looked down at the Moon Mare. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"Why did you," he waved a paw at the shells of stone, "awaken me?"

"You're the only creature annoying enough to match Celestia." She admitted.

He sighed, waving his lion's paw. "Luna, Luna, Luna, did you really think this was a good idea?" Before she could respond, he wrapped his tail around her belly and lifted her into the air. Her eyes were level with his. "Really, I thought you would have known enough about your dearest sister to know that she shouldn't have a replacement."

"W-what do you m-mean?" Luna stammered, his thick tail tightening around her middle.

"Let's see how many times she's let you down." He explained, holding up two closed fists. "For starters, she sent you to the moon. She let you have control of only what everyone else didn't care about. She watched you be attacked by a bunch of fillies. She never asked you how you felt." One paw was now completely open. "She tormented you with her constant tricks." Three toes were left. "She made a stained-glass window of your failure." Two. "She made sure your side of the story was never told." He smiled, his one long fang hanging beside his mouth. "And she always had that hint of Molestia in her, didn't she? There was always the few words she never said, because you were her sister. Well, I have something to tell you." His two front paws had all fingers extended as he constricted her tighter. "I. Am. Not. Your. Sister."

He lowered her to the ground, holding her upside-down. Her eyes widened in fear as he grabbed her shoulders with his claws, before changing his mind and covering her mouth with one.

"Luna, Luna, Luna, precious little Luna," Discord whispered, "where's your sister to save you now?"

Crimsonleaf kicked out in his sleep, muttering about fire. Sweetie was standing beside him, gently stroking his sweaty flanks to try and soothe his dreams. She could only wonder of what was happening in his nightmare. Apple Bloom was nearby, desperately sorting through a pile of burned food. Almost all of it was beyond consumption, but whatever wasn't couldn't be wasted.

Sweetie half-thought about where their new Queen had gone. But, there wasn't any reason to worry. The mare had always been prone to walks alone.

Senses

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**Yeah, still semi-graphic... I wasn't just going to end it there - 'she's never seen again and nopony wonders about it yadda yadda yadda' so let's all put on our poker faces and brave these next few chapters out... **

Something was moving outside, almost silently. Sunrise could hear it, perched on the windowsill, leaning forward to hear better. It was far away, she noted, but not too far. Easy to reach at a moderate speed.

She remembered Luna going for a walk. Was she in trouble? There were a lot of things in the Everfree that were more than a match for the mare. Worried for the Princess, Sunrise went to jump outside, only to be met by a beak clamping on her tail.

"Let go!"

Tigerjay obeyed, sending Sunrise rolling into the grass outside. "Where were you planning on going?"

"Can't a girl go do her buisiness without being questioned?" She lied, scuffing a talon through the dirt.

"Oh." The Griffon blushed, dropping back on all fours. "Sorry."

As soon as he vanished back inside, Sunrise targeted the noises again and set off at a run.

Panting slightly, Sunrise crawled through the web of branches, careful not to make a sound. If she endangered herself, she couldn't help Luna. Closing her eyes so they adjusted faster, Sunrise tried to listen to what was happening.

There was almost no noise, nothing of the turmoil she had heard before. Instead, there was heavy breathing.

Breathing that was far too heavy to be of a pony.

Setting her jaw and preparing her mind-bleach, Sunrise opened one eye. The darkness was still thick, but she could make out a pony-like figure lying on a large, distorted rock. She was moaning slightly.

Was she hurt? No sane pony would be lying in the open at night unless they couldn't help it. Filled with fear for her Princess, Sunrise's senses took an adrenaline jump. Everything was brighter, clearer.

And she could see her Princess wasn't lying on a rock.

A thick red tail held her down, while a massive body was curled below her. A dragon claw and pony hoof held her between them, jabbing her back into the body below. All the while, Luna was moaning in a cross between pleasure and pain, while the creature below breathed quickly and heavily.

Sunrise slammed her eyes shut, mentally pouring the mind-bleach. When she opened her eyes, she fixed them on the ground, which was covered in stone fragements.

One of Twilight's stories surfaced in the puddle of bleach, filling her head. Had Luna released... Discord?

Slowly backing up through the bush, Sunrise bolted back to camp, ignoring her strained breaths. If either of them even heard her, they were in no position to follow.

Tigerjay was preparing to set out after Sunrise when she came running out of the dense forest and crashed into his chest. Her forehead was soaked in sweat, and Tigerjay wiped it off with one paw, trying to open her squeezed-shut eyes. When her breathing slowed, she slowly opened her eyes, not shocked to see the worried Griffon only a muzzle-length from her face.

Any other circumstance, and she would have felt that this was very romantic. But she was still filled with shock at what she had seen. She dove through her mind bleach to remember how to speak.

"L-Luna in f-forest and-d D-Discord..." She stammered, looking up at Tigerjay. "D-Discord was... was... Luna..." She shuddered, pressing up against the Griffon's chest in mental disarray.

He placed a talon on her back and stroked her shoulders, trying to stop her trembling. She whimpered and pressed in further, eyes shut again. But despite her repeated shudders, she was calming down, the young Griffon's warm body relaxing her tensed muscles.

"Please, can you tell me what you saw? I want to know what happened."

She glanced around a few times before waving a claw for him to lean forward. She whispered a few quick words in his ear, and his heart rate increased dramatically.

"H-how are we going to help?" He choked out. "We can't do anything to a d-d-draconequus..."

"I don't know." Sunrise whispered back. "But there has to be something."

"...I don't think there is..."

"We can't just leave her to be-"

"I know." He placed a talon across her muzzle, keeping her from continuing the sentence. "I agree. We aren't leaving her with him forever. Just until we come up with a plan. I will find a plan."

Sunrise glanced out towards the trees. Her dragon hearing surpassed Tigerjay's, and she could still hear Discord's heavy breaths. "I just hope she'll be alright..."

Tigerjay settled a wing on her back and guided her inside. "Let's just rest up. We can plan better in the morning. Agreed?"

Sunrise swallowed the lump in her throat. "A-agreed."

Darkest before the Dawn

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** Less cloppy in this chapter... sorta... but this should be the last one**

Discord rolled over, dropping Luna to the ground. Despite the lack of constriction, she couldn't stand. Her legs were trembling and she was covered in feverish sweat. The draconequus was looking at her out of one eye, making sure she didn't run away.

Getting to his feet, Discord looked at Luna sprawled helplessly on the ground. Rolling his eyes, he magicked her into the air, her feet brushing the grass.

"Still thinking it was a good idea?"

Luna gritted her teeth, forcing her muscles to lift her head. "..................y........yes..............."

"Surprising, actually." Discord muttered, making her walk in circles. "I thought you were stronger than Celestia."

"W....what do you....... mean?"'

"She never told you how we 'met'? She didn't just want me turned to stone because of my chaos. After all, the stained glass in her hallway is fake. I actually tormented nopony. I was leader, and it was a little distorted at times, but I didn't hurt anypony when I returned, did I? Didn't then, either. There were exeptions of course, and your sister was one of them. I have to say, she fought much longer than you did."

"You did ....... this ........... to her too?" Luna asked. "But she.......... she never said anything.........."

"Of course she wouldn't, my precious little Luna. What would be worse than admitting that? The pure Alicorn of Equestria, great Goddess of the Sun, marred by the draconequus leader? That would bring much worse consequences than simply turning me to stone and putting me in the garden. Many less questions that way." He floated Luna over his head, twirling her slowly like she was some foals' mobile. "But, alas, you can't trap me without the Elements, who are, as of now, missing or dead. I see a proooobleeem."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to be like Celestia?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you try to be leader, you have Molestia moments, you seem to enjoy tormenting me, you don't care about anypony, you think everyone else's versions of a story are wrong... you know, you seem to be trying really hard to be like her. So, why?"

"Oh, you think we're the same?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Rhetorical." He sneered. "Anyway, I don't turn ponies to stone."

"You mentioned that last time, remember? Before Rarity called you tacky."

He swung one paw up, spinning the new Queen in circles. "For starters, she didn't call me tacky, she called the window tacky. There's a difference. And also, I think statue ponies is a perfectly valid arguement."

"I don't think you can do it!"

"Do what?"

"Turn things to stone."

Discord growled. "I can make cotton candy clouds rain chocolate milk that explodes once you drink the glass. Ever seen your sister do that?"

"No. But I still think you can't turn things to stone."

He dropped her on the ground, pinning her under his tail. "I hate ponies." He muttered. "I hate them a lot."

"Are you ready?" Tigerjay asked, looking over his shoulder.

Sunrise gulped, afraid of what could be seen in daylight. "As I'll ever be."

"You don't have to come. We've got a bunch of ponies from all over Ponyville coming with us, and we'll be okay if you want to stay."

Sunrise looked behind her, at the small hut; it looked warm and inviting, but she didn't want to listen to the impending battle from the windowsill. "I'mcomingwithyou."

Tigerjay sighed, running a talon between her shoulders. "Promise me, if things start going bad, that you'll come back here."

"...Okay."

Luna gasped for air under Discord's thick tail. "You....can't.....turn....things....to.....stone...."

"I can so!" Discord snapped. "But there's nothing here."

Mind racing, Luna realized what she had just done. She was buying time for her rescuers, which she was sure were coming, and had now doomed them to stone.

"In fact, here come some ponies now. Still don't think I can do it?" His scarlet eyes burned into hers.

"Fine!" Luna screeched. "You can! Just... just please, don't hurt them...."

"Okay." He looked around, making sure nopony was close. "I'm off to make some chaos."

He flashed white and vanished, leaving Luna gasping for air on the ground.

"There!" A mare cantered ahead, skidding to a stop in front of the Princess. "Luna! Princess Luna! Are you alright?"

The Goddess slowly got to her feet, trying to hide her hindquaters behind her billowing tail. "Fine."

The others came out of the thicker trees, and Luna realized how easy it would have been for Discord to destroy all of them.

"I've done something terrible." She whispered; in the near-silence of the forest, it was easy to hear her. "I've released a powerful creature. Many of you are too young to have heard of him, but he was the former leader of Equestria. His name is Discord." She sighed, looking at the ponies. "And without the Elements, there's nothing we can do to stop him."

Petals

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~only 100 views until it hits ONE-THOUSAND!~

Sunrise padded along beside Luna, trying to make her talk. Despite her efforts, the Princess wouldn't say more than a few words of 'I'm fine' or gently comforting Crimsonleaf over his mother's passing. The dragonness was trying to get Luna to admit what happened, but she knew that the Alicorn was far too proud.

Luna watched her hooves as she walked on, in the midst of the group. Discord had been right. It was to much to admit.

She felt a new batch of tears rising in her eyes, but she tried to hold them back. Her sister was dead, and that was permitted, but after those had dried... she shuddered at what everypony would think if they knew. Discord wouldn't reveal himself until the playing field had been cleared and he had a surefire victory. Luna thought she saw him moving through the trees, but he vanished again before anypony else saw him. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to steer her mind back to before any of this happened.

"Tia! Tia, Discord's back!" She leaped into his paws, hugging the draconequus until she lost her grip and fell back on the ground. Celestia, so much younger, watched him through a swirl of pink mane. Discord returned the stare, smiling slightly. Celestia blushed and looked away.

Luna had never thought anything of it. They were still young, none of them could properly use their magic or wings, and nothing seemed to be happening. Of course, the presence of two powerful deities in the castle nearby enhanced the feeling of warmth. As Celestia stood quietly nearby, Discord and Luna romped, running about the gardens in young euphoria. There was one time when Luna tripped and Discord fell on her, but that was all, they got up, shook themselves off, and continued running.

Butterflies and cotton candy.

That was all that mattered.

Luna sighed, walking around the ponies - her subjects, she remembered - and entered the small hut, lying down beside a surprised Squishy and falling asleep.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Sunrise muttered, front paws on the outside wall as she looked through the window. "It must have been...you know... terrible..."

Tigerjay looked at the ground between his talons. "No matter what happens, I think Equestria is in for some pretty deep sh*t now. Oh, sorry." He glanced up at the young dragonness, who was glaring at him for the strong language. "Slip of the tongue. Anyway, now not only do we have giant dragon-bird made of absense running amok, we also have the Element of Chaos preparing. I'd say the word was appropriate."

"I know." The dragon landed back on all fours, tilting her head up to look at the sky. "I'm glad Luna was strong enough to raise the sun for today, despite all of this. Who's going to teach Crimsonleaf?"

"Has anyone thought of the fact that now, wherever he is, the last stallion of the pure-blood Apples is lying in the cold, trembling as his last breaths -"

"Don't even say that!" Sunrise growled. "Don't say ANYthing like that! We've lost our Queen and King, and Luna is the new Queen! Think of how Crimsonleaf must feel!"

Tigerjay cast his eyes down at the ground again. "Sunrise, how does a Queen choose a King?"

"You know that."

"Yes, I do."

"Then why are you asking?"

"Sunrise..."

Her pupils shrank as she realized what Tigerjay had already figured out. "You mean..."

He nodded, looking out towards the remnants of Ponyville. "Yes. Discord is our new King."

Luna slowly opened her eyes, suddenly looking into the face of an aged mare. The new Queen reeled backwards, preparing an offense spell and opening her wings.

The mare shook her head slowly, her long horn cracked along one edge. Magickless. Luna relaxed. She could easily take this old horse. The mare smiled as Luna shut her wings and tilted her head.

"Who are you?"

The mare contemplated this, her faded pink mane hanging in thin knots around her neck. "Who do you think I am?"

Luna was shocked by this reply. It almost sounded familiar, something she had heard before, somewhere. She shook off the odd feeling and raised her head. "I am Queen Luna of Equestria, also known as the Moon Goddess."

"And the daughter of Corona, Maker of the Sun and Earth, and Altitudo, Maker of the Moon and Seas. Sister to Queen Celestia, who in turn was the mother of Prince Crimsonleaf, who will take the throne when you pass away. Am I correct?"

The suspicion in Luna's voice faded, replaced by curiousity. "Who are you?" She repeated.

The mare sighed. "It does not matter."

"It matters to me!"

The white horse lifted her ears at this, and shifted her hooves so she stood taller, regal in her physical power. Slowly, a pair of hidden wings opened, delicate feathers torn and broken with age.

"It does not matter because I am no longer alive. But my bloodline is proud and powerful." She paused, a small smile playing over her muzzle as Luna's mouth gaped in awe. "We call ourselves Queens of Equestria, I believe."

Discord lay on a large cloud, twirling a strand of fluff through one talon in boredom. He sighed, looking down at the camp below.

"Silly, silly ponies." He whispered, breaths turning to steam in the cold wind. "You are fine now, but winter is in the air. What will you do when the snows fall and coat everything you love in a blanket of silence?" He pasued, half expecting a response from somewhere below him. When nothing happened, he continued. "The first seeds have been planted. And as you mortals know, a few seeds can grow an entire crop." The cloud dropped from his claws as he rested his chin on one fist. "Sometimes faster than you think."

With those final words, his talons slipped past each other and he vanished in a flash of white light.

Scootaloo braced herself against the wintery wind. She was lucky that there were no prickly shards of ice in the clouds, but the tips of her wings were becoming numb. Attempting to move another cloud, it just moved around her hooves and recollected around them. Snorting in anger, she kicked it before gliding down to the ground.

There were a few Pegasus fillies around when she landed, all trying to fly. Scootaloo smiled, but she shook her head. "It's worse up there than it is down here, I'm afriad. We don't need any of you falling from the sky today."

As she walked back to the hut to warm up by the fire, she could hear the fillies muttering about how cool it would be to fly. Don't worry, little ones, she thought. I felt the same way. You'll be skyborne soon enough.

Dome

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TWO MOONS LATER, MID-WINTER

Sunrise clambered up the wooden beams of the dome, her yellow scales flashing with from the light of the fires below. Jumping off of the wood, she reached out into the open air, her claws catching on a blowing piece of fabric. Extending her wings to change her direction, she swung back at the wall, landing on her hind legs on the beam. Pulling the thick nails from her mouth, she proceded to hammer them into the wood using her tail.

Tigerjay landed beside her, tail sticking straight out as he struggled to balance on the thin wood. "I don't know how you can climb up her every day and patch up these holes. I'm surprised you haven't fallen yet."

She shrugged. "My wings can't really work, but they make good parachutes."

"What about when you rescued me from nothing?"

"That was different. I had no idea I was flying."

Tigerjay rolled his eyes, claws digging into the wood. "I'm going to head back down. You coming?"

Sunrise shook her head, pointing at another tear a few beams up, and one on the other side. "Still have work to do. The Pegasus can't hold as many nails as I can, and I'm faster!" She smiled and prepared to jump up.

As she climbed away, Tigerjay smiled. "Tell me how proud you are when you fall off!" He yelled up. She yelled something unintelligible and continued higher. Laughing, Tigerjay let go of the beam and opened his wings, gliding down to the ground in a lazy spiral. It was a long free-fall, and he had more than enough time to think about what would happen come spring.

Unicorns and Pegasi had been flying all over the Forest and the remaints of the town, knocking down trees and collecting the wood. Earth Ponies had been clearing away massive piles of charred wreckage from the town, revealing soft, brown dirt. Almost immeadiately, the base had been built, while the soil was still soft. From there, a ring of beams, on top of those, another set of posts, until it formed a massive dome, connected at the top and supported by a few tall trees harvested in full growth from the forest, their branches woven into the woodwork.

The tarp was made of any avalible fabric, including curtains, blankets, parts of clothing, carpets, and everything else. This was streched over the wood and nailed down, macigked to fit perfectly around the tree's growing branches without tearing. The nails, however, were not as enchanted, and large seams opened regularely. It was Sunrise's job to fixed them, and she loved scaling the walls without any form of safe-fall mechanism. Tigerjay had tried to help before, but ended up breaking a wooden beam that Sunrise had to put back togather with flame. He hadn't helped since.

He could see her hanging upside-down from the roof, flapping her wings for balance as she held a section of tarp shut. Smiling to himself, he prepared for landing and shut his wings.

AS his claws hit the warm dirt, he smiled again. Multiple buildings, built like multi-level tents, were thriving under the warm dome. Three larger poles of wood streched above the rooftops, magic fire lit in the cups at their top. No sparks ever flew from them, and if they fell, the flames would go out without burning.

Earth Ponies lived closer to the edges, where the best soil was, and grew crops long past the growing season should have allowed. The Pegasus had moved clouds in during the early days of development, to keep the soil soft with light rain, and had never moved them out. On the now-dry clouds, small houses stood proudly, the occasional pieces breaking off to form another cloud. The center was home to Unicorns and Luna, who was living in Ponyville instead of Canterlot, for the time being. She felt partially responisble, and didn't want to leave until everyone had been declared stable. She didn't have a majestic palace made of remnants. She didn't want any more than anypony else did.

He did agree that it would have been easier just to move everypony to the nearest cities, but none of the citizens of the new Ponyville wanted to leave the place where they were born. Including Tigerjay. He shook the dirt from his claws and slipped into the stream of walking ponies. Weaving through the crowds, he approached the nearest ground-fire and lay down to warm up.

Something heavy landed on his back, and he yelped, trying to turn around to look at whatever had landed on him.

"Hi!" Chibi was looking at him, her face upside-down in the tops of his eyes. "You looked so cute, I had to come over! I haven't seen you in forever!"

"You saw me yesterday, Chibs." He reminded her. "You've seen me every day this week. And last week, and the week before that. Now get off, you're heavy."

She backpedaled, walking around him. She was bigger now. Not full-grown, but still much heavier than she had been at the beginning of construction.

"So, Chibs, what have you been doing? Crop planting?"

"Actually, no! I've been building!"

He rolled over, inviting her closer to the warming flame. A thin layer of snow was coating her legs. "Where? I haven't seen you at any of the indoor sites."

"Outside, back in the forest. At first I was just building myself a cart so I could bring my mother's things here, but one of the colts saw me working and invited me to help. So I've been hauling limber and re-enforcing the lower supports." She streched out, the melting snow soaking her from the knees down. Tigerjay had to turn away to hide his blush. He rubbed a talon over his cheeks gently, as if expecting the colour would rub off. Narrowing his eyes to focus his attention somewhere else, he waited until the heat had faded from his cheeks.

When he turned to continue the conversation, he realized at somepoint, Chibi had left. And for some reason he couldn't explain, it made him sadder than he had ever been before.

Sunrise looked down from her perch, although, it did seem like she was looking up to her. She was currently upside-down, tail pressed against a newly hammered nail. She loved being up high enough to see everything in the dome, and being part dragon, was not at all scared by both hanging by her talons and the height. She had often locked her claws around a piece of wood and slept high above everypony else. sometimes going for nights without returning to her treehouse home.

Seeing the last edge flapping nearby, she clambered across the beam, her tail sticking out as she balanced. If she swayed too much, not only would she fall, which wasn't really a problem, but chances are her claws would pull the beam down with her. And due to the fact that a major snowstorm was approaching, it would not bode well to have a massive, ragged tear gaping in the roof.

As she approached, she felt the pressures on the beam change. If she hadn't been on the surface to check for snowfall that morning, she would have thought it was simply a snowdrift sliding off to the ground. But when she had gone out, there was only a thin layer, and no fresh flakes had been blowing through the holes moments before.

Curious, she climbed out of the hole, little claws poking miniscure dots into the fabric. Almost immeadiately, she was picked up and carried off of the dome and into the forest.

Squeezing her eyes shut against the bitter cold, she cursed at herself. Nopony's magic had been strong enough to make a new barrier around the new town, due to the fact that Luna was still raising the sun, and the two previous protectors, Celestia and Twilight Sparkle, were now gone. Of course, noone knew what condition Twilight was in, but since Celestia was confirmed dead, there was little thought to the others not having the same fate. So the camp had come to terms with the loss of the final Elements.

She was suddenly dropping, and got ready to parachute to the ground. Unknown to her, the drop was only a few meters, and her opened wings merely plowed through a puffy pile of snow. She lay flat for a little while, trying to figure out what was happening. No predator would simply drop a captured kill on snow. Rocks, maybe. But not snow. And if snow, never anything this deep.

Sunrise was not claustriphobic, which was good for a dragon that used to live underground. She was more than comfortable with the idea of lying face-first in the snow until she figured out what was going on. Of course, like everything that ever happens in Ponyville, there's never a logical explaination.

The thing that had dropped her pulled her back out, clicking it's tongue.

"Really, could you at least bother with resisting?"

Sunrise scratched out a lot of names on her mental list. She rolled her eyes as she narrowed it down.

"Really, could you at least bother with coming in and getting me?"She snapped, shaking snow off of her back.

"Someone's grumpy." Discord replied. "And why would I sacrifice being seen for one measly little dragon?"

"Why would you stand on the roof? How long were you waiting for?"

He blushed a little. "Doesn't matter."

She glared at him. "You've been up there for most of today, haven't you?"

"Doesn't matter."

They were silent for a while, Sunrise glaring daggers and Discord looking mildly ashamed.

"FINE! I've been up there for at least four hours!" He growled. "What makes you so sure of yourself?"

"Oh, I'm fine with knowing you were shivering up there for more than a few minutes."

Now, for anyone getting confused at this point, Discord had regularly captured ponies and the other creatures living with them, attempting to corrupt them. The first few times it was terrifying, but because of the daily attempts, they had just become part of the schedule, even if it was annoying. Luna had been the first captured, and had placed an effecitive restricting spell on him before he used his magic. Now, he could only play his games if the target had agreed or given in.

Of course, that really pisses him off.

He growled, shoving his head into the closest snowdrift. "Come on! I'm so bored with you mortals. I can barely teleport, so I can't even bother anypony else! I hate ponies!"

"I know, I know, you've already given me this rant." Sunrise reminded him. "It's Tigerjay who hasn't heard it yet."

He sighed. "Can't one of you just give up?"

"No. Can I leave now?"

He waved a paw from the pile of snow. "Yeah, whatever."

Sighing in frustration, Sunrise jogged away.

"Get Tigerjay over here, by the way!" Discord yelled out from behind her.

"NO! Go do something productive for once!"

Wanderers

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Sunrise shook her head as she jogged back to the Dome. "Will he ever learn?" She muttered to herself.

"Who?"

She spun, expecting to see somepony standing nearby that could hear her. Instead, there was just snow. She scanned the ground. Hoofprints came to a certian point, and there were a lot of them, like a group huddled together. She glared at the space above where the prints stopped.

"Stupid Unicorn." She growled. Far too many wandering ponies were around. Most of them shouldn't be. "Your cloaking spell is still on."

"Crap." A voice replied. A few more hoofprints appeared as the speaker shifted, and the air shimmered and seemed to peel away in layers.

A lime-green unicorn looked down at the snow. "Sorry about that."

"I have a feeling you aren't the only one?"

He sighed. "Smart little dragon." He muttered. There were a few more flickers, and other ponies appeared.

A brown Pegasus with a tan mane and tail flicked an ear in greeting, but didn't say anything. His Cutie Mark was a golden watch on a coiled chain. The second was a blue Earth Pony, with a robin-egg mane and tail, a black eye patch on his left eye, and a bomb Cutie Mark. The final was only a colt, who was grey-blue with a teal mane and tail. His Cutie Mark was a foaming wave.

"I'm Lamplight." The Unicorn stated, turning to show off his Cutie Mark. Sunrise said nothing, mostly due to the fact she didn't want to embarass him further by telling him she had never seen a lamp that old. "This is Rapture, Bomberman, and that's Thumper." While the other two muttered something along the lines of 'hello', the brown Pegasus merely looked at her curiously.

"What's up with him?" She asked, pointing a claw at Rapture.

"Don't mind the silence."

"Why?"

"You don't need to know. You're a child."

This common remark enraged Sunrise. Claws out, she tackled the Unicorn, pushing him onto his back and planting her claws on his throat. "I run up that dome every day to secure tarp without a safety rope. I just argued with the Element of Disharmony. I have stronger magic than you, and I can and will breathe fire. I am no child."

Lamplight let out a little squeak, and Sunrise hopped off of his chest and into the snow. He scrambled to his feet, glaring at his companions as they stifled laughter.

"If you really must know, he's mute." The green stallion huffed. "Good enough?"

Sunrise blushed. "Sorry, I didn't know..."

The Pegasus just shrugged and fluttered his wings in a nonchalant manner. Sunrise found her own wings fluttering in a similar way. They kept up the silent conversation for a few more moments before Lamplight cut in.

"Okay, you're best friends now. Is there any way we can go inside the tent for a while? My friend needs to warm up."

Sunrise cast a glance at the colt. His teeth were bared, and he was pressed up against Bomberman, who was not pleased with it. "How far have you come without any winter gear?"

"None of your buisness."

She planted he feet in the snow in front of them. "Well, sorry, but I have orders to question any unfamiliar ponies. And if your friends have been out in the snow long enough, Thumper may not be the only one in need of our medical service."

Lamplight countered her gaze for a few more moments.

"We've been walking for a week now. We're nomads, so we don't stay put in one place for long. That's why we came towards the tent, you know, familiarity between gypsy folk."

"Hate to break it to you, but if you want gypsies, I'd take your little herd and continue in the opposite direction." She snapped, starting starting to walk without waiting to see if they were coming. "Because this happens to be a very permanent self-sustaining town."

"Meh." Lamplght retorted, trying to hide his embarassment. "It has a tent on it, and that's good enough for me."

Sunrise ignored him and kept walking, hearing the hooves sliding through the snow behind her. Unknown to the herd, Sunrise could hear the vague hum of a weak teleportation spell, and sighed.

"Ignore him, he only wants the attention." She called out, not even checking her speed. Rapture was close behind her, head bent low to her eye level as he looked around curiously. There were muffled squeaks from the others as the spell's humming stopped. Grumbling about how many times he would interrupt, she stopped and turned around.

Discord's expression changed from a distorted mask to a shocked frown. He lowered his claws and shut his wings, turning to face her innocently. She glanced at the three terrified gypsies before looking back at him.

"Forest. Go. Now." She pointed a claw, and he sighed and shuffled back through the snow, waiting for his meager magic store to recharge enough for another teleport. He looked back over his shoulder once, smiling and holding up one claw.

Sunrise rolled her eyes at the obscene gesture and looked at Lamplight and the others. "Come on. You're not the first ponies he's done that to, and you won't be the last. Get your rears in gear!"

Beside her, Rapture mimicked her expression, narrowing his eyes and frowning. Shaking off the sheer terror of coming face-to-face with a mild form of chaos, the ponies started walking again.

Sunrise bounded ahead through the snow, hoping that the sarcastic unicorn might freeze to death. Of course, when she reached the doorway, he was still fully alive and keeping up. Rapture was gliding aimlessly in the sky above, watching Bomber and Thumper as they trekked through the snow. Sunrise stepped aside, letting the nomads enjoy the warmth from the burning torches.

As they looked around in astonishment, Sunrise jumped up to the closest beam. "I'll be up here if you need me."

She waited for them to move, but they just gaped at the city-like interior of the dome. Rolling her eyes, she scaled the walls, hoping to find the stash of nails left behind when Discord captured her. Again.

Dimmed

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Luna ran her hoof against the soft fabric. It looked much better than when they had started, at least. All of the hues had been whitewashed, giving it a slightly more 'it's-supposed-to-look-like-that' appearance.

Clearing her mind of random thoughts, she concentrated on the task at hand. Crimsonleaf was standing on the cover a bit further down, still attempting Celestial Enhancement. The sun was moving lower, which was a great improvement, but she finished it for him anyway before moving the moon. It was almost effortless now. As the moon reached the brightest spot, Luna let it stop.

Crimsonleaf turned to look at her. She was about to congratulate him on his efforts, until she noticed his eyes were full of tears.

Careful to stay on the supports, she galloped over. "What's wrong?"

He lunged forward, his front hooves wrapping around her neck. She was frozen with shock as the colt's wings slid limp along the tarp, his body wracked with sobs.

"I miss her." He choked. "I want her to be here. I need her, Luna."

She rested one hoof on the back of his neck, his limp orange mane running over her silver shoes. They stood like that for a long time, each passing second driving a new shard of ice into Luna's heart.

She couldn't replace Celestia. Ever. Every morning strained her, the unfamiliar magic still ripping her strength to pieces even after almost three months. She was trying to be leader, but she couldn't take care of Ponyville and the rest of Equestria. Canterlot had been adapted a long time ago to function without the presence of Alicorns... back when Luna and Celestia were the same age, same power, and in the end, same time of death.

She knew all of the important affairs were being handled for now. Those words cut open the last sliver of resistance from her core. For now. Someday she would have to leave this fragile, broken Ponyville in exchange for Canterlot, and never have enough precious time to take care of this little place. She doubted Ponyville would continue existing if she left.

Her storming conscious settled momentarily as Crimsonleaf stepped back, his hooves dropping back to the wood. He re-folded his wings at his flanks.

"I'm sorry, Luna. Don't tell anyone, okay?" He turned without waiting for an answer, gliding down to the ground and back into the tent.

The Goddess stood silently, holding back her intense emotions. She had to get away.

Flapping her powerful wings, she lauched skyward, dancing between the clouds until she was far from the tent. Settling on a warmer cloud, she lay down. She felt strangely more comfortable the further she went from the others. Gritting her teeth against the cold wind, she took off again, darting around the clouds as adrenaline raced through her chilled veins. When her exhaustion fianlly caught up, she landed, flailing through the snow as her hooves scavenged for stable ground. Attempting to move forward, she surged through the drifts, head raised high and teeth showing as she struggled against the forces of nature,

There was something watching, however, that she couldn't see. It was a vastly powerful creature, one of the Firstborn Spirits of nothing and something. There were five Firstborns in the beginning; Corona of Fire, who created the Sun, Altitudo of Space, who created the Moon, Maris of Water, who created the seas, Faenum of Earth, who created the plants, and Fulmen of Electricity, who made the storms.

Corona took the form of an Alicorn, Altitudo took the form of a great dragon, Maris turned into a rainbow-hued snake, and Faenum became a golden wolf with bird's wings tipped in green. Fulmen turned her form into that of a tiger with the wings of a bat.

They split the spoils of creation. Corona became the mate of Altitudo, and these two divided the land into sections, giving each species a section in which they ruled. Altitudo gave birth to two Alicorn filles, and when the coupled Firstborn began having to travel all over, they promoted the two foals into the powers of the Sun and Moon. And all was fine.

Until Fulmen became jealous. She came out of her underground palace - the only domain unused by the others - and seduced Maris into her palace, and when she released him to return to the sea, she began dabbling in Darkness. Faenum was troubled by the corrupted Firstborn, and attempted to destroy the unborn child. Faenum's powers were great, but Fulmen made a last-moment counter that deflected most of the attack. Both believeing nothing more could be done, Faenum sighed and returned to the surface, leaving Fulmen to rage underground.

Corona and Altitudo were worried at the sadness of Faenum, and drew the Keepers of their sections togther in order to protect the two new Goddesses. Maris rose the sea in a threat to flood the Firstborn's underground realm, and in the end, Fulmen prowled out of her den, body flecked with dried blood and dirt.

Faenum watched the Firstborn stumble towards the flooded castle, immortal paws making small ripples on the surface of the water. Faenum's wings twitched, wanting to dive at the feline Firstborn and destroy the unborn kit. But Fulmen made no aggressive moves, if she even noticed the judging eyes of the Earth Maker.

Maris's winding form dashed under his water, red mouth open, rows of yellow teeth shining as he drew closer to the battered creature. As the snake drew nearer, he twirled his body, waves splitting the surface and battering the walking tiger. Faenum felt like stopping him, but her own feelings stopped her.

When the water settled, Fulmen was still standing. Maris's great body loomed out of the water behind her, pink tongue flicking as the Firstborn continued her trek.

After what seemed like years, Fulmen brushed the closed gates of the castle with one paw, leaving bloody stains on the polished gold. Maris withdrew his waters back to their place, leaving the other Firstborn to stand on sodden ground. Fulmen was pulled into the castle by the tail, and thrown into the dungeon, for her immense power had been drained by the enchanted waters of Maris. Faenum found herself walking to the dungeon every hour, checking on her sister.

The greatest storm known to the new lands began building, with no rainfall. Instead, great winds and thick lightning struck the earth. The summond creatures returned to their homes to prepare for the storm. And when Faenum went to check on Fulmen, the tiger was sprawled on the floor, flanks heaving. Faenum teleported into the chamber, and for a long time, the winds ripped stone into mountians, and the lightning carved valleys. The winds let out one final gust, and with a flash of lightning, the storm clouds vanished. The world recovered.

And in the dungeon, Fulmen's barbed tongue tugged across a small bundle of fur and scales and feathers. Faenum was still with her, displeased at this turn of events.

Between Fulmen's paws, two mismatched red-and-yellow eyes opened for the first time.

And now, as the desendant of her siblings struggled through the snow, Faenum waited. And on the wind, the great golden wolf could hear the distorted yowling of a laughing tiger.

Luna shut her eyes, feeling small shards of ice lodging themselves in her lids. Her entire body was growing numb, and she was scared of dying. She was scared of herself.

Faenum shook out her wings, their ancient width shedding centuries of dust and stone and shimmering in the light of the moon. The Firstborn drew the warmth of her brother's sun and her sister's moon, and melted the snow in front of their struggling child. Flapping her emerald wings, she danced to the ground.

Luna's shoe clicked against a stone as she sank into the snow. It was dissolving around her, seeping into the dead grass and soaking her already-cold fur. She let out a shiver as the wind bit against her skin. Pain ripped through her entire body as she stumbled forward. She could see a cave now, visble through the warming wind. Luna's tongue was hanging out in exhaustion as she limped forward, making her way into the darkness and collapsing on the warm stone.

Faenum dug deeper through her earth. One of Maris's springs was under this dirt, and she was determined to raise it. Her stubby claws were cracked and bleeding, but she kept going, ignoring the stones cutting her paws. When warm, steaming water finally burst from the earth, the wolf nearly passed out in exhaustion. Putting aside her own troubles, she returned to the entrance, pulling the Moon Goddess into the warmth of the cave and out of the reach of the raging wind.

And like she had for Fulmen, she sat down to wait. Somewhere in the dark underground, Fulmen was laughing, her glowing green eyes piercing the layers of rock in order to watch the struggles of her neice.

Dancing with Wolves

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Luna's eyes could barely open. Tears of pain ran down her cheeks, matting her fur and collecting under her chin.

UNIMAGINABLE.

She felt like she was being torn apart inside. And all the while, she was vaguely aware of another creature in the warm cave with her, a predator. She had seen flashes of golden fur when she managed to open her eyes. There was no fear. Only pain.

"Tigerjay!" The griffon was pushed into the ground as Sunrise tackled him. He was about to laugh and push her off, before seeing the dots that were now her pupils.

"What is it?"

"It'sLunashe'sgonenopony'sseenhersinceshewentouttoraisethesunwithCrimsonleaf." The dragonness was unintentionally diging her claws into Tigerjay's shoulders with every word, where the words themselves could be distinguished.

"Stop spearing me!" He grunted, shaking her off. "Now, repeat that. Slowly."

"Luna's missing." Sunrise choked. "I don't know where she is. No-one's seen her since she went up with Crimsonleaf to change the sky. Crimsonleaf swore she was right behind her when he came in, but he never turned around to check."

"What do you think we should do?" His voice took a steely tone as he continued. "Where's Discord?"

"I don't know," as Tigerjay got ready to run, she scrambled to continue, "but he's inside. He's finally given in to the fact he was catching pneumonia and decided we can deal with his," she paused to make air quotations, "extreme handsomeness. His words, not mine."

The griffon scanned the crowd, hoping for the tall figure of Disharmony to come striding by. As usual, Discord moved on his own terms, and was nowhere to be seen. Tigerjay sighed. "I don't know what we can do. She's a strong mare. If she's not back by the time the sun has to rise, we can worry. Until then, we have to hope. If you see Discord, punch him for me."

Sunrise nodded, slowly calming down, watching as Tigerjay took off into the empty air of the Inner Dome. She waited until he had almost reached his cloudbank home before running off to the infirmary.

"RELAX!" The mare shouted, trying to restrain Discord. "I'm trying to help!"

"No, you're trying to spear me!" He hissed, writhing out of the grip of her magic and pressing up against the wooden wall.

Waving the needle in her magic, the exasperated nurse attempted to inject him again, trying to get his immunity levels up. She had managed to take blood while he was sleeping, but he hadn't shut his eyes since. Now, he was curled up and growling, wings flared out as he tried to look bigger. When the mare stepped closer again, he raised his head and attempted to bite the needle's tube, careful to avoid the actual point.

"What's going-" Sunrise walked around the corner, immediately taking in the overturned bed and the small prick on Discord's arm. "Oh."

"She's trying to stab me!" The draconequus stated, pointing a claw at the nurse. "Look!"

"How long has this been going on?"

She sighed, dropping the needle on the only table that was undisturbed. "Since he woke up." Sunrise cast a sideways glare at Discord, who seemed to be calculating the distance between him and the needle shaft. "At least we got one valuable piece of information." She added. "We know exactly how long it takes for him to store enough magic to teleport."

"How many times has he gotten away?"

"Well, the first time he came back on his own, we've had to send Pegasi once because he was half-sedated, and at least ten times I've gone at retrieved him myself. So, at least twelve times." She looked up at the clock. "About to be thirteen."

As soon as she finished speaking, Discord flashed out. Both creatures sighed.

The nurse looked down at Sunrise.

"Want to go for a walk?"

In a void of darkness, five creatures stirred. One was already awake.

Nothing glared down at the mortals, thick feathers trembling as he sensed the air around him. He knew of what was happening, even with blind eyes.

The one called Twilight Sparkle, once bearer of the powerful Element of Magic, is crying relentlessly.

Her friend, Element of Generosity by the name of Rarity, is refusing to look towards nothing's shadowy form.

Applejack, old bones creaking under the once-bright fur of Honesty.

Gilda the Griffon, lacking in an Element, standing idly.

Zercora the Zebra, also without an Element, wordless in her sadness.

Rainbow Dark, daughter of the deceased Rainbow Dash, who was the bearer of Loyalty, leaning on Gilda through force of habit.

And below nothing, the broken form of the final Element, untitled in it's power. And the corpse that once had the name of Celestia.

And it was that abomination that he directed his blind eyes towards. The simple act was difficult, pain searing through his face as they moved fractions. He wasn't going to open his eyes in daylight. It would have burned him if he had stayed longer. In fact, the other two Alicorns were only alive because he had felt the scales on his tails crumbling. And he had opened his eyes then.

Too much sheer light. The last efforts of the Sun Goddess.

"Abomination." He growled, lifting the body in one claw. The skin on them itched with the touch. It was old magic. Hissing as the skin crumpled and burned, he threw the body aside, where it skidded against the endless obsidian, simply rolling until the momentum was lost. He heard the increased wailing of the one named Twilight.

He hated these creatures. They had taken so much. He wanted to crush their measly bodies now. But he was still fragile. Sunlight. Oh, how he loathed sunlight.

If his children had not made the mistake of mating, neither princess would exist. Chaos's mortal form would also vanish. But nothing could not interfere with the pasts of the Firstborn.

The marks had already been made.

Singing

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"You know, Luna, I am proud of you."

The Moon Queen couldn't move. Every nerve seared with pain, and her fur felt like it was made of fire. And somewhere, close, there was a voice. It was gentle, comforting, but stuck in the almost-silence normally held for the summer wind and the falling of snowflakes. She tried to respond, to ask what was going on, but her breath burned across her dry mouth, and her tongue was doing nothing but taking up space.

There was some sounds of movement, and in a sudden, cold spasm, her mouth was filled with snow. The burning pain down her throat subsided as she struggled to swallow, the icy hunk settling in her stomach as remnants melted over Luna's tongue.

"Can you move?"

Luna tried to open her eyes, placing her front hooves on the ground and trying to stand. Her grip failed, and she toppled sideways. Something warm and soft as fresh spring grass was under her, pushing her back upright with strong shoulders.

"There's a good reason that you shouldn't exert yourself, my niece. Please, be calm."

She trusted that voice. It sounded like home and spring and happiness, and she liked those things. "What's going on?" She rasped. "Where am I?" Niece?

"You are safe. What do you remember?"

"I was drowning... drowning in snow..."

"And you went into a cave, remember?" The voice insisted. "And then you passed out."

"Who are you?"

"My name is unimportant. I need you to try and open your eyes."

Luna lifted a hoof to poke her muzzle. It was simply dried tears, basic eyes gunk. As she scraped it off, she thought about the pain. Mostly, why that pain had occured.

When she opened her eyes, there was no sudden light. It grew brighter slowly, as if her eyes opening was slowly pushing back the shadows. Soon, she could tell she was in a small cave, a steamy ground spring on one side and a tunnel on the other. Between them, there was a golden wolf, with a set of birds' wings folded neatly at her sides. There was something between her paws, hidden like it was behind bars as she sat patiently.

"Good." The wolf was the speaker, her lips drawn awkwardly back, despite the fluency of the words. "You're seeing everything okay? Focusing properly? Motor skills functioning, at least. If not uncoordinated..."

"I'm fine." Luna interupted. "Now, what's going on? Other than the fact I'm talking to a winged wolf, which in itself wouldn't be weird, except were underground and I seem to remember excrutiating pain."

"Luna..." The wolf glanced down at the solid shadow hidden behind her paws. "There's something you have to know. And even if you don't like the words, it's happened, and you can't stop it. Okay?" She nodded.

Moving one paw, the wolf swept the bundle from between her legs, skidding it across the damp stone and in front of the Queen in one fluid motion. As the object slid to a stop, it growled.

Luna's pupils shrank as she glanced between the bundle, the wolf, and herself. "Wha-but-no-this-I-didn't-"

The wolf raised a paw, and Luna cut off her babbling. "I know it's not the outcome you wished for. It's not even up to you. And I know how bad this will be. For both you, and this impending battle. And I can take this," she pointed a paw towards the growling lump, "and dispose of it, if you wish."

Luna grabbed the bundle in her teeth, ignoring it's increased snarls. Moving it as far away from the wolf as she could, she glared at the calm creature.

"No. It's-"

"He's."

She almost snarled at the wolf herself. "He's mine. You can't have him."

"That's your choice." The canine had an added hint of venom to her voice now. Helping had not been out of kindness. "Good luck finding your way home, by the way."

And, much softer than Discord, she faded out, leaving a warmer hint in the air before icy wind began whistling through the tunnel. Suddenly, the spring stopped bubbling, turning still and cold as the temperature in the cave dropped. Luna shivered, looking at the bundle she had not expected to recive.

It looked exactly like it's father, other than the eyes, which looked like hers. But there was no way of hiding the sire from the eyes of ponies everywhere. She sighed before lifting the kit-foal-cub in her teeth and walking out of the tunnel. The cold seeped into her bones as she stepped out, the snow once again biting into her coat.

Closing her eyes, she started walking.

"Discord?" Sunrise called out. "Are you here?"

The nurse sighed. "We should be getting back in. He has nowhere else to go. He'll be back, trust me."

The pony began plodding back through the snow. Sunrise sighed before jogging after her. There was just too much waiting.

The draconequus in question stuck his out from the branches of the tree, making sure the miniature search party was gone before climbing down. His tail was painfully bent from being pushed into an odd angle as he had launched into the branches. Grumbling, wishing he was still above most physics, he streched it back into shape.

He thought about the hideout he had kept until the cold had really hit. Trying to measure the teleport distance, he started walking. It wasn't as cold as it had been on the night he finally gave in, but it was still cold. Absentmindedly rubbing his arms, he shuffled through the snow, leaving deep trenches that would have been easy to track, if not for the snow filling them back in.

Discord's ears pricked as he heard something through the wind. Not voices, but cries. Pained, hopeless cries.

And despite his nature, he sped up, almost on all fours as he dove through the snow. And the cries became louder, closer.

"Luna?! What are you doing out here? You'll freeze to death!" He exclaimed, seeing the Alicorn kneeling in the snow. He moved to pick her up, only flinching slightly when the Queen moved away.

"P-p-please g-g-g-go..." She shivered. "I-I-I-I-I'm f-f-f-in-n-n-n-e..."

"You're not fine." Discord insisted, lifting the frozen Alicorn in his arms. She was shivering, as fast as if she could shake out of her own skin. "I'm bringing you to the tent. Is that okay?"

She might have nodded, but it could have just been a stronger tremble. He accepted it anyway, stumbling back the way he came.

Sunrise was on her way down from the roof when Tigerjay came out of nowhere and landed on the beam below. "Sunrise! Sunrise, there's no need for you to come down. Go straight home!"

She glanced behind her at the treefort. "Why?"

"Just trust me! And hurry!"

As he flapped back over the tents, Sunrise leaped up the wooden rails, every claw fitting every grip, finding each hold with weeks of practice, not checking her speed as she changed to vertical, shimmying up the post and climbing fast. It wasn't long before she was standing on the wide, tarp deck of her home. The door was open.

Suddenly cautious, Sunrise pressed up against the wall, moving forward only enough to be able to see around the edge of the doorframe.

A golden paw pulled her in. "Good. Tigerjay found you."

"Discord?!" Sunrise began struggling against the paw that was holding her. He had her pressed against his chest, absentmindedly stroking the crest on her head. It took a while for Sunrise to realize he was crying, and she stopped fighting.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's Luna..."

"What about her?"

"I found her out in the snow. I brought her back, but all we can do is wait. If she doesn't recover... her life is not the only one on the line..."

"What do you mean?!"

He lowered Sunrise to the ground, walking into Sunrise's room. Confused, she followed.

There was something on her bed, small and fragile, and that didn't look at all like it belonged in the small, wooden room. It was a miniature, skinny, stumpy version of Discord. And it was sleeping peacefully, twitching occasionally.

"WHAT IN EQUESTRIA?!?!" Sunrise shrieked, being swiftly cut off by a paw over her mouth.

"Shush! When he's awake, all he does is growl." Discord hissed, glancing over at the mini. It just rolled over, leaving a dip in the fabric where it had been lying before.

Sunrise struggled to keep from yelling. "Whatisthatandhowdiditgethere?!"

"Well, it's a long story..."

Frozen

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Discord leaned over the bed, front paws on either side of the creature in front of him. His son, he remembered. That didn't mean he had to like it. It didn't like him.

Slolwy, he lifted one paw, inching it towards the peaceful cub-kit-foal-thing. As soon as he was within touching range, the dragonequus's head shot up, teeth bared and growling. Discord pulled his hands back, stumbling as he pressed up against the wall.

Inching away, the new father tried to look unthreatening. Still, he could hear the growling long after the cub-kit-foal was hidden from sight.

Discord slumped to the floor with a sigh. This was not going the way he planned.

Tigerjay was holding Sunrise under one wing as they stood in the doorway. Luna was sprawled on the bed in front of them, parts of her coat shaved off where tubes and needle pricks showed.

Her skin was discoloured all the way up to her knees and parts of her wings. There was a good chance that not only would she be grounded, she wouldn't be able to walk, either. And she still wouldn't wake up. And even more disturbing, her sparkling mane had gone dull and dark, still billowing gently, but not in a way that looked alive.

"What can we do?" Sunrise whispered, breaking the deathly silence. "Is there anything that might help?"

"This is beyond us." The nurse replied, her soft gaze filled with hidden tears. "If the frostbite has gotten deeper than we thought, then she'll be leaving us sooner rather than later. She's barely alive as it is."

No, Luna thought, only hearing sections of words. I'm alive. Can't you see? Make me better... please... I don't want to die... I can't leave Crimsonleaf alone...

"He's not alone." Luna's eyes opened. She was standing, across the room from Sunrise, Tigerjay and the nurse, and could clearly see her mane and tail solidifying on the body between them. The Queen turned, expecting to see another pony, some kind of friendly face for the last breath.

It wasn't a pony. It was a dragon, bent over in order to fit in the large room, scales reflecting in the colours of night and peace. "He's not alone." She repeated. "He has his friends."

"I can't leave him! I can't leave Ponyville! I can't leave my son!"

"Your son is in good hooves, Luna. The ponies here will care for him long after this point. His father, despite the mutual hatred the two seem to share, won't leave him alone either. Everyone's safe, Luna. Nopony is alone."

"How is this going to turn out?" She asked, trying to block out the cries of the yougn dragonness as she shook her Queen's limp shoulders, ran her claws through blue curls of mane... "What's going to happen to Discord, and the Dome, and nothing? Isn't there something I can do?"

"You already have done something." The dragon whispered. "You gave birth to the Seventh Element. You've done so much, Luna. Now it's time to let someone else do their part."

And she rested a paw on Luna's shoulder. Reality twisted and folded, turning into colour and light, images flying by as the two silently teleported. And when they stopped, Luna was alone.

"There's nothing you can do." Tigerjay whispered, holding Sunrise off of the body of the Queen. "She's gone to a better place now."

The procession led through the main streets. Everypony was dressed in black, standing at the sides of the road as a set of ten ponies, Earth, Unicorn and Pegasus alike, walked through the center. They were dressed in complete armour; the Pegasus in gold, the Unicorns in silver, and the Earth ponies in bronze. Behind the coffin bearers, another group walked, head up and coats cleaned. Tigerjay, Sunrise, Squishy, Chibi, Applesauce, Scootaloo, Crimsonleaf - dressed in golden Regalia, and Discord, who, despite his magic returning, was behaving. None spoke, simply following the coffin bearers, trying not to look at the ponies on the sides. Sunrise wasn't looking up from her feet, despite gentle nudges from Tigerjay.

As the coffin entered the central crossroads, a trio of Pegasi shot down from the roof, glowing batons in their mouths. As they sped up, the batons began emitting dust, floating in the air and sparkling like stars. Dropping the batons down to the ground, the Pegasi split apart, making individual loops before combing at a three-way spin. There were a few moments when the air itself was still, and everything was silent, before the trio broke the sound barrier and an echoing crash emitted from the sky. Streaks of silver, blue and black orbited away from the breaking point, hiding the trails of the Pegasus as they landed, their heads bowed in respect.

Rainbow Dash had requested that these same fliers would put on a show at her funeral. They were much younger than, faster, stronger... but the Wonderbolts were more than willing. But unlike Dash's show, there was no cheering as the sound barrier was broken. There was just noise.

Sunrise helped the Pegasus lower the coffin, her tiny wings straining to try for flight. This wasn't the queen any more. This was just another gravesite.

Crimsonleaf was looking down at the shimmering Regalia around his neck, seemingly lost in thought. He had a good reason for thinking. His mane hadn't changed. He wasn't King.

And Tigerjay didn't have the heart to tell him why.

The clouds shuddered before letting white flakes float down to the ground, just enough sunlight getting through to set the snow sparkling. And in this harsh, beautiful world, there was silence.

First Words

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Discord was curled on the bed, positioned exactly out of reach from the little demon that he had accidentley spawned. It was asleep, for now. But one move, at it would sink it's needle-teeth into his hand, or whatever was closest to it's mouth.

"I hate ponies." He muttered.

The little creature lying peacefully in front of him shot onto it's feet, growling. Too loud.

As Discord slowly moved away, trying to look unthreatening, the little creature stood up on it's hind legs. Eyes narrowed evilly, it pointedly replied with, "Hate."

"What did you just say?!"

Seemingly pleased with this reply, more words were added. "I hate you!"

"You little runt!" He growled, lunging across the room. The little draconequus yelled out one more "hate you!" before leaping off the bed and vanishing underneath. Discord slammed into the wall.

There was to sound of claws on wood, and it scrambled out the other side of the bed. "Runt runt runt! I hate you, runt!" Scampering away, it's claws gouging the wood, it vanished into the next room. The once-element of Disharmony face-pillowed.

"Hate runt hate runt ponies hate runt little!"

Sunrise screamed as Discord flashed into existence in front of her.

"It's driving me insane!" He yelled, drawing his claws down over his ears. "It won't stop talking!"

"I wonder who that reminds me of..." Sunrise muttered, looking down at her paws.

"What?"

"NOTHING!" She quickly replied, eyes glancing up at him.

He was silent, raising one eyebrow suspiciously, but shrugged it off and started hovering beside her. "Is there anything known to shut me up?"

"Stone." She joked.

"That could work..."

"Discord!"

"What?!" He stuck his paws out in front of him. "You said it! I simply approved it."

"You're annoying."

"I'm taking that as both an understatement and an insult."

"Good."

"I hate ponies!"

And from somewhere across the dome, another call anwered; "Hate!"

Discord's pupils shrank. "Dear Equestria it's found me! Quick, hide!" He lunged behind her, his recovering powers twisting his body until it was virtually inivisible. "Run!"

"It's fine. You're just overreacting. You might be bad, but there's no way it's worse."

"It issssss..."

"Can it fly?"

"...It doesn't exactly need to..."

A sparkle of light flashed above Sunrise, taking the shape of a small draconequus before falling onto the dragonness's scaly back. It shook out it's fur, looked around, and purred contentedly. Rubbing up against her side, it wove between her front legs, purring and looking up at her through a pony's eyes.

"You're adorable!" She scooped it up in her front claws, hugging it as it purred and rubbed against her scales. "See, there's nothing to be worried about."

"That's what you think." He replied, unbending from wherever he had gone. The second the cub-kit-foal turned to look at him, it's little eyes narrowed and it started hissing. Disord drew back. "Eeeugh."

"Oh, he's just being silly." At Sunrise's voice, the growling changed to purring.

Discord's jaw dropped. "No. No no no no no. Not you."

Still purring while casting sidelong glares at the stunned draconequus, the cub-kit-foal didn't speak up.

"Come on, Discord. He's adorable. Have you named him yet?"

"No. I was think something along the lines of 'Little Runt', 'It'... you know, something along those lines."

"He needs a real name... how about Apollo? Or Oranges? Orrrr..... Obsidian?"

"Obseedan!" It mimcked. "Obseedan!"

"It doesn't need a name..."

"OBSEEDAN!" The cub-kit-foal, now aptly named, leaped at his father, staring into his unnerving eyes. "You named Little Runt! I named Obseedan!"

"Okay! Okay! Your name is Obseedan!"

"No Obseedan, Obseedan!"

"That's what I said!"

"You said Obseedan! My name is Obseedan!"

"Discord," Sunrise interrupted, "I think he means Obsidian."

There was a slight pause. "I knew that."

Somewhere far beyond the reach of any magick, may it be that of Chaos and the neverending abyss or of Light and Alicorns and Elements, there was a long, rolling meadow, the grass just tall enough to avoid being sharp, while short enough for the smallest foal to see it's mother; the sky as clear as a sapphire overhead, dotted with sparse clouds only for the purpose of patches of shade; the air clean and fresh as the spring-fed rivers tracing their odd, weaving paths through the warm soil.

Two Alicorns stood silently, looking out over the calm plane, regal stature far less than imposing.

"Well? Is it everything you thought it would be?"

The recipent of the question looked up at where the sun should be, but there was nothing. The light seemed to simply be, not really being shone from one place as it was just there. "No."

"Why not? This is the ultimate Utopia. Clear skies, clean air, fresh grass... there are many species that need what we now have."

"Then give it to them." The other snarled. "Those species are dying, and we're just here, prancing about in everything they can't have, and we'll have it for eternity! That's not even close to fair!"

"Life isn't fair, sister. You have to learn that."

"Well, it can be unfair to us! We've been raised in disgusting perfection while everypony else has to work their flanks off just to feed their foals! Can't we have what they have and they can be happy instead?"

"Luna, these decisions aren't yours to make."

"Yes, they are! I'm the daughter of two Spirits! I'm just as much of a Goddess as you are!"

"And Discord, if you can even remember him? You know, the Element of everything evil, that you ever-so-nicely released from imprisonment and then had a foal with? Him? He's a God. Just like us."

A navy hoof swung, and there was a fleshy thud as it connected with the jaw of the white Alicorn. She stumbled - gracefully - and turned to face her sister, blood running from her lip. "Fighting will not help, Luna. We can't die. You can't kill me."

"I can hurt you!" Twisting, she battered her sister with her wings and back hooves, landing on the opposite side as blood bubbled through the multiple cuts on Celestia's flank. "I can hurt you..." Luna repeated, her voice breaking with tears instead of anger.

"Luna, please..."

"I can hurt you as much as you hurt me!" Sparkling tears ran down her cheeks, blurring her vision. The blows were strong, but slow, losing fuel. "One thousand years... trapped on some barren, cold stone... so... so far away..."

She stopped attacking, but backed away from the once-Queen still standing in front of her.

"Please, this does nothing..." The wounds were already closing, the blood evaporating into the fresh air and leaving only the faintest copper scent before vanishing completely. "And if you run, you will be running forever, going nowhere, but it will take you just as long to come back!" She raised her voice on the last few words, tilting her head up.

Luna listened, forgetting about keeping up her gait. Her hooves tangled, and she fell to the ground. As she held her front hoof close, willing for the bone to mend faster, she looked up at her sister.

Celestia had started walking as she fell, and was standing over her, looking down at her like she was some vile insect instead of a sister. Those calm, gentle eyes, and the warm flank that had protected her from many a bad dream were distant ice now. The gentle wings that sheilded her from Discord's wrath were tightly folded.

There was no solar warmth here.

She had to look away from her older sister, her gaze landing on the golden shoes on the Alicorn's delicate hooves. Instinctively, she looked at her own hooves, far too small and young to be lying amid this eternal summer. But here she was.

Rolling onto her back and kicking up at the exposed throat of her sister, she forced the older Goddess away, scrambling to her hooves and galloping away, silver shoes silent on the grass. With every step, every section of her gait, pain raced through her. Not her hoof - that had already healed. But every thump of hoof connecting with grass meant that her sister was not following her.

Looking back over her shoulder, she saw her. The pure, white, perfect Alicorn, calmly watching as the gaping wound across her neck sealed. She had not moved.

"The sun must set, in order to rise!" She called out, her voice sounding the same as it would as if she was running alongside.

But she wasn't getting further away.

Luna would never be far away again.

Fanning the Flames

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So, this was what it had come to. The ever-present goddess sighed, running one claw over her forehead, the short fur bristling in it's path. Yet again, she had to untangle her brother's mess.

She reached out with one claw, gently pulling on one of the threads that knotted around her. This one, unlike the others, was merely a byproduct, an easy change. As the knot unraveled, a pony vanished from Canterlot. Noone noticed; noone would remember his name again.

That was one of the simple ones. There were other knots that were harder - falls of civilizations, deaths of to-be-famous ponies in the midst of war, the wrong foal being in the place of the right - small things that meant a lot. And then there were knots that could not be untangled. EVER.

These were major events, and quite a few of them had shown up lately. Or, whatever passed for lately when one was surrounded by strands of time instead of actually being a part of it.

The first knot had occured farther back than an recorded history - when Celestia and Luna were born. That had turned into Discord's birth, and from then on the knots had just increased by far more than thousand-fold. By the time the tighter ones had been fixed, something else would go wrong. She had help lately, without the concious notice of the helpers. Six mares had been unraveling many... interruptions... along their own time line, that, due to the presence of old magic, had not reformed new knots along the way. But the efforts had grown slower, further in between, until they vanished almost completely.

Now, another set of knots had appeared, extremely close to each other and made of the time that refused to change. She made a sound, like a sigh crossed with a growl, and swore in thousands of languages - Equine, Griffon, Dragon, and other - at her brother. Poking the knots experimentely, she squinted at them, tilting her head to try and see better.

Scenes playing out in still shots along the crossed strands; a young draconequus being held by a female dragon, a still body being laid to rest amid the snow, an older, more powerful draconequus glaring at what she assumed to be his son...

She flicked the strand, sliding it so she could see another knot. After it slowed, she peered into an earlier knot - the one leading up to the others; a blue Alicorn, spell ready, a statue appearing - no, it was breaking, the creature trapped inside overpowering the Alicorn...

Feeling sick, she flicked the stand again, looking away from the far too graphic images, moving backwards in time until she saw the event she was most familiar with. Her brother, seven creatures in tail, the town burning behind him. Angry, she shoved the line, sending it spiralling through the others into the distance.

Damn, she thought, I'll have to find that again later...

Ignoring it for the moment, she looked up through the endless circles running through the colorless air - if it had enough material to be called air, for it had no color or shade - and towards the single dot of colour in this endless, barren 'sky'. The little dot was pure colour, all of it, and not just in the visible spectrum, and was just drifting there. It showed her where the exit was, the way she had to move to go up instead of down. And if she needed to actually interfere with time, it was always there, sparklign in some part of her vision, guiding her back where she entered the line and needed to return here.

She shook out her sleek coat, scuffing her paws on the ground. She was hard to describe past this point, for her fur was long yet short, her scales rough yet smooth, her skin dry yet wet, and these were constantly shifting. She had wings, but they were that of a bat, a bird, a butterfly, a ladybug and all in between, and her tail was that of a dragon or a rat or a pony. Her muzzle was seemingly lupine, but also draconic, feline, humanoid, and equine all at once. Her color was not as much color as it was light, colorless yet rainbow-hued, black and white and grey and gold and bronze and silver, and shone like the sun given fur.

While her brother had nothing, she was everything.

She was something.

And, spreading her great, many-skinned wings, she shot upwards and towards the little dot, grasping a single thread of time as she went, her long, curved claws fixing on one single moment as the dot filled her vision. There was a vague sense of weightlessness for a few moments, as if she was outside of her body - not unheard of - and looking down at it through another's eyes, before she was slammed back in, her paws taking the shape of hooves, tail growing short and sprouting long, golden hair, wings taking the single form of a bird, and muzzle shifting longer, eyes moving back, ears rounding at the tips, horn growing fron her forehead, mane sprouting and falling haphazardly around her head and shoulders, eyes opening and letting their purple depths adjust to this level of sunlight.

The Alicorn struggled to her feet, letting her golden hooves stabalize her pure silver form. The purple eyes spun once before focusing. A step forward was successful. She gave in to the instincts of this form, running forward, age-old programming rebooting in her mind, hooves pounding into the grass, wings folded to keep her grounded, head slightly raised -

She slowed to a stop at the top of a large hill, vaguely aware of the snow crunching under her feet. This form was one of her favourites after all. So much pure joy, power, grace... whatever it was, she whinned, rearing up to strike her hooves into the wind. As the last echoes died, she landed back on all fours, snorted stale air into the wind, and ran again.

Tigerjay paced. It had become a regular pastime now, due to the fact that Discord's kidnapping had slowed - a few ponies were looking rather gray lately, he had to remember to check on that - and a break in the schedule would have been welcomed. He kicked a chunk of snow, noticing how heavy it was.

He looked over at the sun, lodged in just-before sunset, while the moon was almost perfectly above him. Three days. It didn't seem like long to anyone in the realms where the sun was normal, but for Ponyville, it was stuck in dusk. Everything had a kind of sepia tone, the temperature was dropping, and slowly, the crops were dying. Crimsonleaf was trying his hardest, going out for hours on end, horn flaring with old magic, but had only been able to raise the sun to it's present point.

And this was why he paced. He could think clearly, without the noise and bustle of the Inner Dome. Deciding his talons were cold, he took off, circling in the dead air instead of on the ground. Another problem there. Flying was harder when night fell, because the helping thermals had vanished. Now, it felt like stones were piled down his back, weighing the muscles that pumped so easily before.

He had already contemplated asking Discord for help. Being one of the holders of an old magic store, he probably could do something. But he found this hilarious. Ponies stuck in twilight eternal? Food stores shrinking? Mood growing sadder with every passing day? Neither celestial body able to move? In his words, it was the funniest thing he had ever seen!

"What a twisted sense of humor." Tigerjay growled to himself, finding his eyes drawn again to the setting sun. He hovered, despite how painful it was on his already worn muscles. "How did you move before the Goddesses were born?" He muttered.

"Hello!"

Tigerjay's wings locked, and he fell out of the sky, landing awkwardly in a mound of snow. Jerking his head up, he looked around quickly.

"You're funny, falling out of the sky like that!" The voice giggled. He could see the owner now, a silver Alicorn with a golden mane, tail, hoof and horn combo. Her eyes were a glittering purple. "Did you mean to fall out of the sky? Or was it an accident?"

"You scared me!" He protested, shaking out his feathers. "I can't fly when I'm scared!"

"You're a funny Griffon. Most of them are mean."

"Endless joy on my part. The name's Tigerjay. What's yours?"

"Som-" She caught herself, glancing around for any hints on a good name. "I'm Twilight!"

"Like Sparkle?"

"No silly! I don't sparkle!"

Are you retarded? He had to surpress saying that out loud. "Do you need shelter or anything? Our town's just over there."

"No, I am fine! I am happy right here!" She tilted her head, looking past him. "Why's your sky so pretty?"

"Oh, that... you haven't heard of the Goddesses death?"

Crap. Forgot about that one. Come on, need somewhere that wouldn't have heard about that... "No! I'm from far away!" That was smart. Her brain facehoofed. Could you find anything less intelligent to say? Is it possible? "I mean, I heard about it, but I thought the sun and moon would start moving again like they did before-" I'm shutting up. Shut up now.

"Before? Wow, your history books must be old!" Tigerjay replied. "Ours don't go back any further than when Nightmare Moon got put up in the sky!"

Something, now known as Twilight, had to keep from uttering something she would probably regret. She looked away, allowing her eyes to switch. The sheen changed from purple to green, and the snow turned black. When she faced Tigerjay, he was a blend of white, red orange yellow and green. Heat leaked from his body and into the air around him, staining it with yellow strands.

"Hey, your eyes changed color!"

"They did? I don't think so." She made a fuss over trying to look at her own pupils, failing miserably. Time for a subject change. "I can move the sun for you!"

Doubt it... "Well, go ahead and try, but I don't think -"

Twilight spread her front legs, her chest almost brushing the ground and she tilted her head down. Her mane began moving as if it were blowing in the wind, but the air was still. Magical turbulence, Tigerjay remembered. She opened her wings, their tips touching the snow as her horn began glowing. The copper-colored aura around it intensified until it matched the hue of the sunset.

She opened her eyes, still seeing despite the otherworldly white glow filling her eyes. There was Tigerjay, his body heating up as he stepped back cautiously. There was the ground, black as ink. And there was her target, a burning sphere of pure white in her vision. She jerked her head up in one quick movement, her wings opening as wide as they could go, her front legs tucked close to her body, mane and tail writhing in the energy swirling around. The glow of her horn increased, flashing in pulses.

Tigerjay glanced at the sun. It was getting brighter, matching the rythym the strange Alicorn was beating out. She stayed focused on the sun, but she spoke to him.

Do not be afraid, little one. I will not hurt you. She whispered. Tigerjay could understand the words, although he didn't recognize the language.

As she talked, she was tilting her ears back, giving the impression that she was falling backward. Slowly, the sun was rising, and the moon was moving away at the same pace. All of the Alicorn history books said the Sun and Moon could only be moved in one direction. Those books lied. It was simply that no living Alicorn was powerful enough to go completely against nature.

The sky flashed into a clean, pristine, bright blue. The clouds changed from grey to white. It was daytime.

...

Tigerjay was frozen with shock. The sun was in the sky, moving against all natural order he knew. Who was this Alicorn?

Twilight fell forward, kneeling with her wings spread limply across the snow, chin just above the snow. But she wasn't showing any signs of exhaustion, weakness, or even breaking a sweat. But she was talking to something... it sounded like Corona?

She stopped muttering, getting to her hooves and walking over to Tigerjay. She seemed taller, having to kneel slightly to look at the young Griffon. He seemed shocked, confused even, but he had a good reason. Gently, she picked him up by the tail and began trotting in the direction Tigerjay had said the Dome was.

A Proper Introduction

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~Need to know how teenage Obsidian sounds? Example... um... think Soren, from the Legend of the Gaurdians. He sounds like Soren in my head, but sometimes there's WAY too much going on in there... *takes breath* So yeah. Obsidian sounds like Soren.~

"What?! I'm trying to work!" Sunrise growled, swinging at Tigerjay with sheathed claws. He got out of the way, but just barely.

"I need your advice on something."

"Like what? I'm not looking up what types of dirt are edible again."

He put his claws up and rolled his eyes. "I was little!"

She secured the tarp before turning around to glare at him. "So what do I need to do for you now?"

Tigerjay felt himself blushing involuntarily. Damn puberty... why must I be surrounded by so many girls?! "Well, I don't know if you've noticed the sky..."

"Yeah, it's dark. Been dark for the past few days. I am fully aware of this." She picked up the nails and waved a paw for him to follow. "So what's important?"

"Come." He picked her up, and held on, despite her squirming and growls of protest.

He darted out of the next hole - where Sunrise had been heading - and landed a safe distance away from the flapping sheet. Sunrise's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking.

"T-t-t-t-the sun is u-u-u-up?!?!"

Obsidian was growing. FAST. He had gone from being about the size of his father's arm to almost three-quaters of his height in a matter of days. Discord, as always, had forgotten to warn anypony about the first few days of draconequus coming into their powers - meaning for a good forty-eight hours, there would be absolutely no control over the young draconequus. The havoc had already begun to wreak itself, having turned a bunch of calm cloud houses into chocolate-spouting cotton candy, a lone bird into a pteradactyl and most of the food inside the dome into assorted snakes.

And while his father killed himself laughing, Obsidian was trying to fix it.

He put his talon over his forehead, sighing before unleashing an almost-Fluttershy-potent stare on the bunch of hissing reptiles in front of him. Keeping their attention with his unexpectedly equine eyes, a group of Unicorn stallions took their chance to revert their forms into food. Obsidian was left staring at a pile of corn.

Still being in his father's bloodline, he materialized a pair of red-rimmed sunglasses, putting them on as he looked for the 'dactyl. It was probably mad now, due to the fact that most of the clouds had been returned to normal, and couldn't eat them.

Oh look, there it goes now, screaming it's head off like a prehistoric banshee.

Cursing, Obsidian launched into the air, leaving the Unicorns to deal with the rest of the snakes. He knew he was lucky his mother was an Alicorn; his wings had developed stronger, and could actually support him without the help of levitation. Although, levitating required much less energy.

Obsidian opened one wing, rolling into a high-speed dash. He had to get to the pteradactyl's eyes. If he could slow it down, he could change it back.

Extending one claw, he managed to grab the 'dactyl's leg. Not thinking the whole manouver through, his spin failed with the extra weight, and the 'dactyl began falling. Wrestling the dinosaur's wings to it's sides, he climbed up it's back, fixing it with an upisde-down stare.

The ground was getting closer. They had already fallen past the height of the torches, which was already dangerously close in a free-fall.

He needed a few more moments... just a few... more...mom-

The creature shrank under his claws, feathers sprouting through thick skin, bones thinning. Within the span of a blink, the bird fluttered away, quite happy to be small again.

Another good point of levetation - it didn't take long to come into effect.

Obsidian stopped falling mere hairs above the roof of the tent below. Floating calmly now, he flapped his wings a few times, making sure they weren't injured, before drifting off to go help the Unicorns.

Smiling slightly, he repositioned his sunglasses.

"How did the sun come up?! Crimsonleaf can't be strong enough to move the sky against the grain, can he?"

"No, it wasn't him. I was out for a walk and there was an Alicorn, and she's a little loopy upstairs, but she just made it rise. I don't know how."

"What did she look like?"

"Silver, with a gold mane and tail. Oh yeah, her horn and hooves were gold too... and her eyes were either purple or green."

"I haven't seen her around..." Sunrise pouted. "Any idea where she is?"

"I have a feeling wherever she is will be pretty easy to tell once she starts talking."

"You could help!" Obsidian yelled, watching his father floating above. He was reclining on a cloud of his own, his head hanging back over the far edge to watch the ground.

"Helping's no fun!"

Obsidian really wished the stare worked as well on his father as it did on snakes. But it didn't.

As well as his previous Unicorn force, when he had returned there had been an Alicorn mare as well, prancing around the snakes and somehow avoiding being bitten. In fact, they seemed to be avoiding her at all costs. Ignoring this as the kind of thing he had heard happened around the pony known as 'Pinkie Pie', he had proceeded to stare the snakes down.

"Oh, you're doing it wrong, silly!" The Alicorn protested, shoving him out of the way with her flank.

"Yeah? And how do you suppose we should do it?"

She sighed and shook her head, as if that was the stupidest question in the world. "Like this!" And she fixed the snakes with a red-iris stare. Without any movement from the Unicorns or her own magic, the snakes simply coiled up, shrinking away from her gaze, and faded back into their vegetable forms.

Obsidian couldn't lift his jaw off the ground. He could hear the stallions laughing, but at that moment couldn't do anything to stop them. The Alicorn stood up straight again, flipping a few strands of her mane back behind her ears. Her eyes had faded back to a purple color, although nopony noticed.

"That's how you do it. No wings, no magic, as your father used to say." She added the last as a snide remark, and was not surprised when a stream of angry growls floated down from above, including a few choice sayings that Obsidian wished he hadn't heard.

Rolling her eyes, the Alicorn flared with sudden magic, making the cloud Discord was lying on - or, as of now, standing - flip completely upsidedown. The dragonequus didn't fall far, but it was enough to severly damage his normally perfect facade, and hear the laughter that was being exchanged below.

Glaring down over the edge of the cloud, Discord let loose a rage-powered kick, sending a few stray bolts of lightning and a downpour of chocolate milk on the ground below. It didn't stop them laughing, but it made Discord feel better. Taking this chance, Obsidian spiralled silently up, stopping under the far edge of the cloud. Almost holding his breath, he somersaulted, pushing away from the bottom of the cloud with his back legs.

Unfortunately, Discord knew he was coming. Leaping off the edge of the cloud, he waited until his son was already flying away before throwing the cloud, letting it spin through the sky with the speed of a frisbee and a trajectory to match. It hit Obsidian in the back, and stayed stuck as he tried to shake it off. As the laughter changed targets, Obsidian returned the cloud, finally managing to get it off his back. When Discord caught it, he used the momentum, flinging it back at Obsidian with double the speed.

They were all laughing at this insane game of catch. As the two Bearers of Disharmony tried not to catch the spun-candy nimbus with their faces, the sun was setting - with the normal bend of nature returned, the crops that weren't snakes had begun looking better, feeling the presence of the sun, ponies were heading into their huts for some sleep, and somewhere, beyond it all, the second Creator waited.

He was known for his patience.

When he was patient, glaciers seemed like they were faster than the great tornadoes that ravaged the new planet before Order was created. When he was patient, lives began and ended in blinks. When he was patient, he could outlast even the supposed immortal. He had done this many times before.

And under his feathers, he could feel his inner fire stirring, and had almost cried out in shock. In had been millenia since that fire had sparked at all. Now, he could feel it dancing around, hot tongues running up the sides of his core, ember drifting lazily up his throat, only to be extinguished by the subtle chemical tang in the air. He suppresed a laugh. The ponies and the other would question him if he laughed, for the only time he had spoken was before he killed the Alicorn.

He did regret that. A Queen for a hostage worked much better than the ragtag group that represented the original recepticles of the Elements of Harmony. And in the omniscient way he had grown to accept, he knew that the other Queen was dead as well, and that the new King was a Bearer of Disharmony and minor levels of Chaos.

What made him truly angry was that this new king had once been his most treasured possesion, had taught the young creature unstable old magic until Fulmen had found out and took him away. And, true in his anger, he had given the runt much more old magic than was allowed, until he was more powerful than the two Goddesses. The runt grew stronger in his chaos, could not fully control it as of the time he was encased in stone. When he was released, that was different. He knew what he could do, had tested his limits trapped in that solitary prison, and did not wait upon his release. As cotton candy and grey coats expanded over the land, he had laughed in this infinite darkness, feiry eyes fixed on the images in his mind. But after the second time the new God was trapped, he decided to revolt. He tore away from the cold, infinite embrace of absence and began making his own choices.

And that would have been fine with him, if the God had not continued using the powers gven to him. He could have fit in, been powerless yet regal, ruling for much longer than the pitiful Alicorns who had all but vanished, giving with a kind paw and empowering with steely talons, but he had not shirked the powers he had been given. This is what truly angered nothing. So he had forced a son that would kill the last Equestrian Queen, who in time would become stronger than his father, in time...

He had time.

Indirect at Best

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SPRING

"Where am I? Hey, is anypony there?" Obsidian's voice echoed for what seemed like forever, but he couldn't see the space around him in order to tell exactly how far it could echo.

<Your father sent you here, you know.> The voice laughed. <He wants you to stay here forever and rot in your own skin, like he rotted in stone... you've taken his place, can't you tell?>

"No!" Claws raked across fur, blood ran down over sharp teeth, dripped onto the ground. "He wouldn't do that!"

<Oh, I have known him far longer than you have.> The bodiless voice crooned. <He has betrayed many creatures who thought he was an ally.>

"No! He's good! He's my dad! He's my friend!"

<Oh, we all must have our little dreams, I agree. We all want to have some little shard of hope to fall back on...>

"NO!"

<He hates you, Obsidian, you saw how he loved making fun of you...> There was a pause, a muffled snicker, <...I won't betray you. I'll give you everything you've ever wanted. Just think about it, and it will be yours...>

There wasn't a long pause. <Oh, that's all?>

He hadn't meant to think it, but it hadn't stopped tugging at the back of his mind. And now, the danger wasn't some imaginary rescue mission.

Sunrise might be in danger.

Obsidian jolted upright, feeling his back soaking with sweat. Realizing it was just a dream, he fell back on the pillow, sighing in a cross between relief and exhaustion.

What a nightmare.

Of course, he was still thinking about Sunrise... there was a good possiblity that his 'actions' the night before had caused his fever dream. He liked the young dragoness more than he wanted to admit, and knowing that Tigerjay was sweet on her too didn't help. He knew - in some mixed up primal instinct gained from his left claw - that Griffons weren't the best at sharing, and that included mates.

Even if the disemboided voice wasn't real, he did want to have Sunrise all to himself... he wasn't willing to resort to dulling Tigerjay, at least not yet.

The young Griffon stood on the surface of the dome, feeling the warm breeze run across his face. Although the Winter Wrap-Up had been cancelled due to lack of intrest, the snow was still melting, the animals were waking up, and the birds had begun flying back. Although the ground closest had been thawed magickly - it was needed to plant extra crops - the rest was slowly returning to the state it had three out of the four seasons.

The Griffon had a reluctant partership with Obsidian in taking care of the dome. Both knew Discord would reboot his old, trickster side once he felt up to it - his pneumonia had returned breifly in the last few weeks - and he could cause much more chaos once the animals were up. Neither wanted to find dulled ponies and make sure to note the memory spells needed, but Tigerjay had an eagle's eyes when it came to noticing the colour change, and only Obsidian could keep his father at bay while they were cured.

And the base line was that at least they hadn't killed each other yet.

Sunrise was helping raise the lower sections of the tarp. It had been built so that the lower portions could be rolled up and secured in order to still provide shelter from the rain and create a breeze as well. The torches had already been extinguished, and at the moment were being deconstructed for storage. The next week would be busy, but it would mean a lot more air traffic would be allowed and the Unicorns and Earth ponies to wander without crashing into a low flier.

Speaking of low fliers, Sunrise had begun thinking about Rainbow Dark, last seen in the scaly grip of a demon. She really hoped all of the ones taken were alright. She knew they were long past being able to save Celestia, but still...

She shook her head, dispelling the gloomy thoughts. The sun was warm on her back, filling her with a sense of belonging and joy. It was spring. Things could only go uphill from here.

The first thing Starlght was aware of was that he was lying in a very cold and wet pile of slush. Standing up, he shook off the wet chunks and looked up at the sky. Judging by the sun and the temperature, it was spring.

"I was out for longer than last time." He mused. "An entire season. Wow, beats the old three days..." Scuffing a hoof through the dirt absentmindedly, he sniffed the air. There were equine scents nearby, lots of them. At least that meant he hadn't run far from civilization, like last time...

Setting off at a trot, he really hoped this wasn't where he had last ended up. There would be far too many questions if he left without any trace and returned a season later. That had happened before, but it was a small camp, nothing like the destroyed town before...

Letting that thought trail off, he peered through the thick trees, following his nose to the edge of the forest. He hadn't seen this strange dome before, at least that he remembered, so it was probably safe. Night was falling already, and he would be happy if he could just get a decent meal before leaving. As he stepped out of the trees, an ornage blur tackled him from behind.

The voice was so familiar it made him wince.

"Where in Equestria were you?"

Scootaloo looked down at the scarlet pony pinned under her hooves. He looked normal, but she knew him too well to think that the skin on the surface was his only coat. At the moment, she was being angrily glared at, but she didn't care in the least. He was thin to the bones, and had none of the powerful aura most stallions exhumed. The last time she had seen this pony, he hadn't been a pony at all, decidedly more lupine, and had taken off silently into the inner Everfree. She had lost him in the thick leaf cover and prickly thorns, and felt genuinely saddened by the loss. Even as a wolf, he had been strong, handsome, gentle...

Now he seemed to have nothing. He was a bag of skin and bones, ears drooping and coat matted.

"Come on, let's get you seen to. You look worse than Rainbow Dash did after crashing that one time!"

Starlight could barely whimper as he was hoisted around the waist and pulled into the air.

Discord lay back on his cloud, swinging his tail in a supposedly bored fashion over the edge. He was intrigued by the way the dome was functioning. Everypony seemed to have a purpose in preparing for summer, or more unpreparing for winter. During his decades of imprisonment, Discord had come to the realization that he was the only one of his kind, and enjoyed this thought immensely. Every species had traditions, codes of honour, royal palaces...

Although the two latter had been discarded - he hadn't the patience to build a palace out of anything, and honour was below him - , he had come up with a set of events that he would soon begin celebrating. Anypony saying they didn't want to would be shunned by the others who still believed in 'inter-species relations' and 'universal acceptance'. Oh, these traditions would be lots of fun, for everypony involved.

And now that Celestia and Luna were out of the way, he ruled! This was not a thought that he believed would ever be realized, and was pleasantly surprised when it finally came to be.

"Ah, spring!" He yelled to noone in particular. "I've waited far too long for you to come!"

THANK YOU!!

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OKAY there is only one reason for this chapter that isn't really a chapter-

THANK YOU EVERYPONY!!!

I can't beileve I got a Featured! My initial stages of reaction over the span of ten seconds:
Second 1) Loaded FIM, saw a new featured
Second 2) Huh, good for them (I feel good for the author when I see a new story up there, I hope the other writers do this too!)
Second 3) That picture looks familiar
Second 4) So does that title...
Second 5) Isn't my username IceOfWaterflock?
Seconds 6 and 7) Brain catches up
Second 8) ...
Second 9) AYSFYCHICATHBVIBBISBISHVBSVAOVSDV!!!!!
Scecond 10) Screamed like a little girl who just figured out a bat landed in her hair (in my head) and started bouncing (in real life)

SO THANK YOU! You have no idea how happy I am seeing my story up there!

So, special thanks to:
1) Readers
2) Raters
3) Commenters
4) Favers
5) Watchers
6) Knighty (you know, for making the site and all...)
7) Lauren Faust
8) EVERYONE

I'M SO HAPPY IT'S HILARIOUS!!!!!!

*and for anyone displeased by the lack of storyline in this chapter - do not fear! There will be more tonight-tomorrow! Thanks again!!!!!!

Brink

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<So, you still wish to go home?>

This question drew gasps from the normally silent creatures around. Timeless imprisonment had left them without any more conversation, and their demonic captor wasn't helping, always watching with those burning, pupilless eyes.

<Well? I am quite sure you still have lungs and throats, although it can be arranged that you don't... anyway, speak up!>

The Griffon present swallowed, as if being trapped here made it impossible to breathe. Nothing seriously considered just ignoring them again, but the female had flown into the air and landed on his beak before he noticed she moved.

"What I think, you dirty old fleabag, is that you should let us go and then hang yourself by your own tail!"

<Ugh. So brunt.> Nothing attempted to roll his eyes, but the true effect was lost. <You knew using the teeniest bit of force used to get you whatever you wanted, when you wanted it. Of course, you hid all of that from your friends...>

She was still glaring at him, so he tipped his head down, letting her slide to the ground.

<I really wish you were truly open with your friends... none of you know everything, do you? Zercora, why did you come to the Everfree in the first place? Rarity, who is Sweetie Belle? Rainbow Dark, who's your father? Gilda, why did you come back? Applejack... okay, I admit, there's nothing I can say about Applejack... I would ask Celestia something, but she's sorta... unable to speak at the moment...> He trailed off for a moment before focusing again. <And Twilight, why did you always try so hard for Celestia? And I think somepony would speak up, or Applejack's going to bite her bottom lip off.>

"We don't have to tell you, you stupid egghead! Why can't -"

Gilda was silenced as Twilight Sparkle set a hoof on her talon. "No. He's right."

Five other sets of jaws dropped. Nothing merely smiled.

"We've never told each other everything. I'll admit to that. But if anypony wanted to know, we would tell them. Do any of you really care?"

Nothing's eerie smile grew wider as heads shook. Oh, this would be fun.

"And I don't want to hurt you, whatever you are, but I think we have to." Twilight looked up at the bird, who was still grinning.

Old magic... nothing knew what was coming. Of course, against him it would have next to no effect, but he knew when to play along and when to end the game. Momentarily, the magic barrier was lifted. Gilda and Rainbow Dark seemed to feel it, lifting into the air. Twilight and Raritys' horns sparked.

"Positions, everypony!" A calm look settled over Twilight's face. Cold, aged, but steely and calculating. A minor magic flare, and a set of six gold decorations fizzled into existence. They settled on the old Bearers and their replacements, shining despite the lack of light. Mere moments later, they began pulsing the shapes set in the gold, lighting the closest blackness.

Nothing was bracing himself. The magic would be painful, but it would be quick, like getting a needle, or getting your leg ripped off seconds before the anesthetic kicked in. His feathers were standing on end, his tails curling close. There were a few curious grinding noises, and the dark raven had kneeled in front of the Bearers. His eyes darted between them, metallic flecks glittering in their depths.

The fire in his core leaped higher, threatening to rise from his jaws. He hoped it would stay hidden for the time being.

There was a brilliant flash of light. All was hidden, before slowing disappaiting back into darkness, lit only by the two Unicorn's magic and the residual glow of the Elements.

The assembled were staring in horror at the sight unfolding before them.

"I... I didn't think it would... would actually kill him..." Twilight whispered, eyes wide.

"Ah hate to crush that, Twi,..." Applejack was looking up at the hulking mass in front of the,, wishing she had better light. "But ah don't think it's dead..."

Indeed, the creature was still letting out rasps of breath, although they seemed too precise, almost as if there was some metronome ticking them on and off. Adding to the effect, the skin seemed to be falling off their captor, in huge hunks that would have been far too rotted to look at in normal light. But oblivious to the discoloured, bubbling flesh all that was attention-grabbing was the metallic sheen under the skin. Soon, there looked to be a massive mound of icy shards, other than the eyes. Slowly, like a cloud over the Everfree, the surface of them peeled off, dropping lifelessly to the ground.

Startling all the Bearers, Gilda and Rainbow plunged to the ground as Rarity and Twilight's light went out. The Elements dulled and rusted, crumbling around their necks - and forehead. And in the darkness, two pinpricks of red suddenly lit, enlarging and shrinking as if focusing.

A flurry of sound erupted as the mound moved, pushing up onto ancient talons, lighting its' own metallic glory with the electric shine around the eyes. Metal ground, a few distinct cracks could be heard as what sounded like gears began moving again. Whatever had been living about the creature had vanished. Fire flickered from aluminum jaws as the beast breathed, or at least fueled the inner fire.

The town crowded around the last torch, lowered to the ground to act as a bonfire. Night had fallen, and a few icy winds still manged to swerve through the houses and bite into the fur of the ponies sitting around.

This had been hard to arrange, but Discord had pulled it off, using the 'beliefs of his species' as his trump card. So he got to use the last torch out, and was rather enjoying himself. He knew he could of thought of a better name than 'the Spring Party', but he was short on time, and... well, it was all trivial. He got to party all night, and that was good enough.

"So, I need five volunteers!" He yelled, shocking everypony in the crowd. Slowly, timidly, hooves were raised. He selected five at random, letting them find their way through the crowds on their own.

As they got closer, they looked away from him more and more, trying to keep walking forward. Discord could smell ther fear. He was mildly surprised that none of the ponies nearby couldn't. It reeked a little, but it was a break from the candy and happiness, so he enjoyed it slightly.

"Ah, thank you!" He pointed to the only filly, with a cream coat and bright orange mane. "You, go stand over there."

She did as she was told, seemingly relieved to be further away from the draconequus.

"Further!" He yelled, swinging his paw rapidly until she was out of sight between the tents. Putting his voice back to a normal volume, he pushed the stallions back into the crowd, ignoring their whimpers of mild fear. "Now let's party!"

As the filly returned, Discord moved aside to let her pass, laughing as she blushed before merging back into the crowd.

Obsidian was scanning Sunrise's library, looking for any interesting books she might have. The subjects were quite limited, being whatever was salvaged from the burned wreckage, or sitting in Zercora's hut. Not trying to be intrusive, he had avoided the stack on the table beside her bed. He had only come for some light reading while his father created reasons to drink hard cider.

One book kept catching his eye. It wasn't anything special, after all, it was a refrence guide to fauna of Equestria, and much too informative to be interesting, but he kept pulling it out and putting it back without realizing. After being drawn to it again, he pulled it out and lay down, leafing through the pages for something interesting.

Just medical diagrams of deer and ponies. Mostly guts. Being male, he was vaguely interested, although the lack of blood was disappointing. The next page showed a full-page shot of a male and female dragon...

Obsidian's wings opened, pushing out from behind his shoulders. Shutting the book quickly, he shoved it back in its' place and looked around to make sure nopony had seen. Blushing profusely, he glanced back at the book, trying to figure out if anyone would notice if he tore it into pieces and burned it. Knowing his wings were still opened and there was no way he would be able to shut them for the next few minutes, he rolled onto his belly and sighed.

~After a good four hours and quite a bit of hard cider in tow- ... one second, I have to go get Discord out of a tree again...~

Sunrise had, after a few failed attempts, managed to climb the tree up to her house. There was a strange fuzz blocking out her hearing, and her vision seemed a little fuzzy, but the cider was still sweet on her tongue. Stumbling into the wall three times before noticing the door was beside her, she zigzagged into the house, heading subconciously towards her bed.

Obsidian jerked awake, scrambling backwards against the wall. Trying to fit behind the bookcase and failing miserabley, Obsidian picked up the stench of alcohol and stopped trying to fit behind the shelf. Looking through a gap between some older books, he was easily visible, but Sunrise didn't seem to notice, walking into her room, swaying in a way that declared she was extremely drunk.

He managed to get free of the shelf before his wings opened this time. Shaking them a few times to try and get them to move, he kept looking at the room where Sunrise had vanished into. It was dark, and snoring could be heard. Try to keep his eyes averted from the darkened room, Obsidian snuck out onto the deck, leaping off before flying away to his own tent.

Unknown to him, a pair of green eyes pierced the darkness, and a set of talons curled into a fist.

Starry Nights and Clear Skies

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"Hey, wait up!"

Three days had passed since Discord's impromptu party, and he had been seen lurking around schemeing something else - probably trying to prank somepony important - while the rest of the ponies recovered. The current exchange was taking place in the airspace of the dome, out of earshot of any Pegasi and the ponies below.

Obsidian stopped flying, turning and waiting for the Griffon to catch up. He REALLY didn't want to talk to him today.

"Geez, what's your hurry?"

"Going outside. Is that a problem?"

Tigerjay grunted. "I thought maybe you were preparing for another night with Sunrise."

"I've told you, it wasn't like that!" Despite everything Obsidian had said, the Griffon wasn't believeing him. The fact that Sunrise had been sleeping off her hangover since the party hadn't helped, and Obsidian had already decided she'd be too intoxicated to remember seeing him at all.

"Well, until she tells me, I'm not believeing you!"

Obsidian grabbed the Griffon by the shoulders and stared at him. "I. Did. NOTHING. Do I make myself clear!?"

"Get off!" With a short shake, Tigerjay got free of the floating draconequus's grasp and backed up out of reach. "Clear as crystal. I just don't believe you."

"Do I have to settle this using force?"

"Ha! Like you could EVER beat me."

"Care to take your chance?" Obsidian floated backwards, putting his fists in front of him and glaring. "Come on, let's get this over with."

As the Griffon backpaced to get a flying start, Obsidian contemplated how hard the male would have to be hit in order to deter him. Griffons were a stubborn species, and prone to impulsive desicions that their stubbornness would not allow them to change later...

He moved to the side, not bothering to watch the feathery blur tumble through the air behind him.

...of course, there was always the fact that, like all flying creatures, a simple stroke into the thin bones of the wing could be more than needed, due to the fact that their thick skulls took the brunt of thousands of hits without breaking and were therefore only possible for mild disorientation. Remembering a pressure point from the book - I told myself never to think of that book again. EVER! - he caught the Griffon on his next pass and kicked down hard between his wing and his shoulder.

The fact that his dragon's claw had a much weaker impact must have been the only thing keeping him from breaking Tigerjay's ribs, because a bruise spread immediatley as he curled up, whimpering in pain.

"Uh... unfair..."

"That was perfectly fair!"

"Not... really..."

"Oh, I could have done much worse than that. I am really beginning to think you aren't going to back off. I have dirty tricks too, you know. That was not one of them. In fact, if I wasn't holding you up, you'd be a little multicolored splat somewhere on the ground. Do you want that to be arranged?"

Tigerjay glared daggers at his captor - and through show of strength, superior - but looked away when the grip on his tail loosened. "No..." He muttered. "You win."

"I can't hear you~"

"YOU WIN!" Tigerjay screeched, balling his talons into fists. As he regained control over his wings, he kicked out with a back paw before darting away.

Obsidian let go of the Griffon's tail and flew backwards, barely avoiding the kick hitting home between his legs. After yelling a few Griffon insults after the retreating competetor, Obsidian went back to his original course.

He wanted to go check on Sunrise, to see if she was awake. He had a question for her.

Sunrise tried to steady her feet. Not only was she exhausted, she couldn't seem to get her limbs to move right, and her vision was either fuzzy or she was shaking harder than she thought. Mumbling to herself, she commanded her body to walk forward, and it responded by pitching forward. She expected a long fall, ending in a face-full of wood; instead, she stopped about halfway down in some kind of fur.

"Easy, there." Two strong paws pushed her back upright, and she found herself looking into Obsidian's worried eyes. "You okay?"

"Fine." She gritted her teeth against a sudden wave of nausea, feeling herself falling sideways before she was caught again.

"Jeez, your eyes are all funky. Look, I'm taking you back to your room, and you can sleep this off, okay?"

"No!" She shook her head way too fast, stumbling sideways.

"I get it, I get it, don't hurt yourself." He tried in vain to align her eyes, waving his talons in front of her face. "So what were you planning on doing?"

"My job." She stated, her eyes still rolling despite Obsidian's help. "Imma gonna climb up the walls and fix the roof. Can I go now?"

"Nope, not letting you. You'd kill yourself." He looked down, partially thinking about just locking her in her room and sitting against the door, partially thinking how cute she looked when her eyes derped. "You can barely stand. How do you expect to climb?"

"Imma not staying here." She tried to get around him, but even if he had tried to block her, it wouldn't have changed the outcome. She was staying put, at least until Obsidian figured out how to solve this problem.

There was a silence that was bordering on awkward before Obsidian decided. "I'll carry you outside, but you're not going out of my sight. Is that clear?"

She didn't reply for a good ten seconds. "THAT'S GREAT!" She suddenly shouted, before quickly passing out.

Obsidian sighed and shook his head slowly. Gently picking her up by the extra scales on her neck, he flew down from the treehouse, heading out to find some Unicorn with even the mildest detoxification spell.

Night had fallen, and now that Sunrise had regained control over her motor skills, Obsidian took her outside for a walk. There had been a silvery Alicorn out for a few minutes - putting the last touches on the stars, if the rumors were true - but she had vanished inside as the two approached.

Now, they had taken a break on the opposite side of the town, looking out across the mostly untouched wilderness up to Canterlot, whose glittering lights were visble even from the current distance.

Sunrise shivered, pressing up against Obsidian's side. He settled a wing on her back slowly, testing to see if she was okay with the small action. She closed her eyes and sighed as his warmth enveloped her cold scales.

"It's so pretty out..." She muttered. "Cold, but pretty."

"I agree." More than just the sky...

"You sound like you're holding something back."

"I... I am..."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you. You'd probably take it the wrong way, and then it'd be awkward..."

"No, I swear. I won't tell anyone, and I'll keep it between us."

Obsidian sighed. There was no getting out of this now...

"Well... I... I... um, sorta..." He swallowed the rapidly forming lump in his throat. "I kinda..." He trailed off into mumbling.

"What?"

"I kinda like you." He was barely at hearing level, and anywhere else he wouldn't have been loud enough. But in the still, cold, silent air, he was audible.

There was a silence that Obsidian percieved as awkward. "I know... it's weird, I shouldn't have said it. You can go back in, if you want..."

"Go back in? Why would I do that?"

"I thought..."

She laughed, pressing in closer to his flank. "I like you too. You're better than any of the ponies, and to be honest, Tigerjay lacks in the relationship area. He's a friend at best." She smiled, looking up at him through her massive pink eyes. She scooted up so she was beside his shoulders. "But I really like you."

She streched her neck out and kissed Obsidian on the cheek. Nothing too fancy, but enough to make his wings pop up. As he blushed profusely and tried to force them closed, Sunrise leaned up against him, laughing harder than she had in weeks.

Contamination

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~So, how's everypony doing? Ready for winter? I'm not. I would like winter if it wasn't cold... anyway, we've topped 4000 views! Yay! And Obsidian and Sunrise make such a cute couple <3 ~

Twilight Who Never Sparkled, Silly was walking around, bored after making the night. She could still see the lengths of time running about her, but they were larger, more detailed, catching images before her eyes. This made it incredibly easy to watch for knots - each pony's timeline normally wove around another, but when they went taught, it was a presign of a disturbance.

There weren't many in the town that were problemous. Everyone got along well, which was a good relief from the anarchy-wracked realms around. She had kept a close eye on the newest draconequus, under her own orders to not interfere until she was back in her infinite form.

The creature in question had gone out with a young dragoness while she was putting up the stars, and she had felt compelled to watch them and make sure nothing went wrong, but her morality had won out and she had left them alone. She didn't like not being able to see everything whenever she wanted to, but she couldn't interact without this form and remaining in this space-time. And she had to stay until the other Alicorn was strong enough to move the sun and moon, or more problems would occur that she didn't want to bother with fixing.

Seeing a knot forming, she trotted off.

Obsidian jolted up from where he was lying on cold stone. He was back in the barren, desolate wasteland.

"I thought..." A sinking feeling settled in Obsidian's stomach and heart. "I thought that..."

<...Somepony actually liked you? Sorry kiddo, but that's not how things work for draconequus. Nopony wishes to like you. Now, because I have done my part, you have to pay up.>

"Payment? But I didn't-"

<Well, you woke up before I could continue. Not very considerate. Anyway, the payment isn't actually bad for you. You just have to tell me you accept.>

"Accept what?"

<Powers of chaos.> The voice took a tone that made it obvious that this was common information. <Your powers will become as strong as your fathers'.>

"That's going to happen anyway, isn't it?"

"And nothing happens to me?"

<Only little things.> The voice shrugged.

"Well, okay... I accept?"

A odd kind of smoke took form in the air, floating for a few moments before enveloping Obsidian's form. He struggled against the smoke, coughing and clawing at it, until it finally managed to seep in through his mouth and nose. He stilled almost seconds after, his eyes closing and body settling back into a normal standing position. Streching out his claws a few times, he took a deep breath.

"A long time..." The not-Obsidian began, before coughing into the back of his paw. "It's been a long time since I felt mortal."

Twilight backed up from the hunk of unnatural metal as it sagged forward and the light in it's eyes dimmed.

"What's going on?!" She screamed, plunged into darkness as the meager source of light flickered out. "You can't just leave us here without telling us what's going on!"

"Calm down, Twi." Applejack's hoof on her shoulder pulled her back into a state of somwhat balanced psychology. "He can't hear ya, there's no use in losin' your voice, y'hear me? Ah don't think it's possible for a machine to go dyin'. At least, not like that. He'll be wakin' up soon enough, and we'll have ta fight him."

"How do you know?"

"Oh, Twi. Haven't you realized everything that can go wrong will?"

Discord knocked on the door a few times, waiting for his son to get up. For once in his life he had made an actual breakfast, and there was no way the little runt was going to miss it.

Shoving the door aside with one paw, he stormed up beside his son's bed, peering over the pillow. Obsidian was muttering in his sleep, paws twitching. Rolling his eyes, Discord leaned back, ready to roar, when Obsidian's head shot up and his eyes instantly focused on his father.

The older spirit took a few steps back, falling on his rump with shock. Not only did he wake up so weirdly, his eyes...

...they were different sizes.

Just like his.

Discord knew exactly what this meant.

"SPIKE! YOU'VE GOT TO HELP ME!"

The large dragon raised his head from the stone, momentarily confused. He had set up a new den in the mountians of Canterlot - ponies knew he was alive, but not where he was. Finally seeing the draconequus floating in front of him, he started growling.

"Oh come on. Don't be like that. I'm not after your precious Elements, even though they're in the library behind you. I need help."

"That's obvious. You've needed help since you were born." He laughed at his own joke, but was still wary. Twilight had instructed him to hide the Elements in his hoard so they would never be found by anypony without the benefits of Equestria at heart.

"Please, don't make jokes about my states of mental deprivation. I need to stop discord."

Spike cocked his head. "You know, I was joking about you needing help, but I am really beginning to believe being trapped in stone has gotten to you..."

"Well, it sort of has, but - wait a sec - no! No no no! You don't understand!"

"If you need a psychiatrist, I can get you somepony from Canterlot in no time at all."

"Listen to me, you numbskulled overgrown lizard!"

"That's Mr. numbskulled overgrown lizard to you."

"Fine, whatever you want to be called, I need a book."

"Dealing With Multiple Personalities?"

"What? NO! The history books on how you beat me." He glanced over the dragon's shoulder. "Didn't you keep the Elements right there?"

Spike looked back over his shoulder, noticing the missing garments for himself. "What did you do with them?!"

Discord shook his head and put his hands up defensively as the dragon stood up to his full height. "Calm down, calm down. I did nothing, I swear."

"Pinkie Pie swear?"

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Good enough? Anyway, I didn't take them, but I know where they are. Or, where they were."

Spike settled slightly, sitting down. "And?"

"Well, you see... ahaha... this is awkward... okay, so, my mom - you wouldn't know her, I'm sure... well, her dad just happens to be, you know, the embodiment of absense and darkness... and he's sorta pissed off at me right now... you know how he had Twilight and her friends? Well, Celestia and Luna are dead, and Twilight must have summoned the Elements - there was magic residue all over the place where she was kidnapped, in her signature violet sheen... so anyway, there's one problem with using the Elements on my grandpa... what doesn't kill him makes him stronger, and whatever he's hit with, he destroys. And he can't die, which means the Elements don't really exist anymore. And I have reason to believe that he's preying on my son..."

"Crimsonleaf is King? Good for him." Spike was still trying to understand what Discord had said.

Discord blushed, scuffing the rocky floor with his hoof. "Well not exactly. I didn't want to tell you, but... I'm King."

"Y-y-y-you? But Crimsonleaf was next in line! Unless..."

"I GET IT, I get it." The spirit interrupted. "Do you know what made my eyes like this?"

"That was random."

"From birth my grandfather had poisoned me. I was a God since I opened my eyes and realized the wasteland he trained me in wasn't the real world. And he didn't have a pleasant way of giving me my powers. I had to watch him break... everything... that I loved before I could use those powers."

"And where do I fit in here?" Spike had relaxed completely, although he still partially believed Discord was suffering from multiple personality disorder, the chaotic draconequus wasn't being agressive.

"Well, the thing my son loves... it's..." Discord took a deep breath, wishing he had some cider with him to calm his nerves. "He's in love with your daughter."

The dragon's eyes narrowed.

Spike's angry roar echoed around the mountian, matched by Discord's girly scream.

Sparklers

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Discord was wedged painfully between Spike talons as the dragon glared down through hate-filled eyes. The spirit was terrified and slightly embarassed - he hadn't screamed for decades, at least, not in terror - and his life could be ended at the merest flick of a claw.

"Hear me out!" He yelled, rubbing his hands together nervously. "If you kill me, she'll... well, she won't die, but she won't care about ANYTHING. It'll be like a full-body numbness. She'll break her leg and not even notice until somepony sees it bend the wrong way and dragging on the ground. You've got to help me!"

The claws lifted slightly, letting the pinned draconequus breath a little bit easier.

"I'm not doing this for your son, or you. I'm doing this for Sunrise." He took a deep breath, snorting a plume of smoke. "What do you need?"

Discord stifled a nervous laugh, and petted the missing hairs on his tail. "Well, I lied. I don't need a book." Pivoting back towards his previous personality, he struck a pose. "The fate of Equestria is in your claws!"

The nervous laughter stopped at Spike's glare. The purple dragon grabbed Discord by the tail and started stalking out of the cave.

The dragon that Discord had last seen as a mere hatchling had grown considerably in the last hundred-odd years. His scales were sleek, and shone in a way that made it seem impossible that they had once been dull. Of course, his sheathed claws had been shown to be dangerous, and the tooth-filled maw holding Discord's tail was kind of nerve-wracking, but they were travelling faster than any other mode of non-teleportation.

The draconequus, however, greatly disliked being held upside down against his will. It was not a very pleasant experience. And in the cosmic sort of way karma finds hilarious, what they were about to see cresting the horizon was not much better.

Spike's wingbeats grew stronger, pushing him far past the speed he should have been able to go. The air streched around, and for a second Discord thought they were about to pull off a sonic dragonboom, before Spike's angry roar filled the sky and his claws dug into the ground.

It was oddly beautiful. This was not a thought that would have crossed Obsidian's mind in the normal circumstance, but trapped inside his own body with no means of control, it was peaceful. The sky, once a shimmery dawn pink-orange, was coated in thick grey fog, the random lances of light flickering through mesmerizing when one could look at them instead of the ground that was now littered with-

No, this was not a thought Obsidian was allowed to contemplate. The great power now possesing his body cut the train tracks short, sending the engine hurtling into neverending space and leaving Obsidian's huddled spirit back on the thought of how pretty it was, leaving no remnants of speculation of what had just happened.

It was oddly beautiful. The sky, flickering in the smoke pluming from the fires of his -

The sky, flickering in the fog, felt warm on his skin, almost as warm as the burning wood that he -

"Would you shut up? I'm trying to concentrate." Obsidian's spirit reeled in fright at the sudden ability to hear, before realizing the power in his body wanted him to be quiet.

I like being thoughtful. See, it's so pretty, now that everything I love is going down in fla -

"I said shut up! Do you want me to make you braindead as well?"

No, that would not be nice. I'll be quiet. Mostly.

"Start now, then."

Okay. Oh sorry, I forgot, I'm still thinking, sorry -

The creature that was once Obsidian rolled it's eyes and continued stalking through the burning fragments of the dome. There would be bodies, corpses, really, but if there were some still alive, burning under the wreckage, he should at least cut their agony short. He was quite happy that he was not the benovelent spirit, like his sister, and did occasionally wonder how she survived without any maiming. Pushing Obsidian's feeble spirit into the deepest cores, he looked around, slitting his eyes against the ash blowing in his face.

Nothing had to seriously think about how stupid these ponies must have been to not fireproof their homes. It was the first spell any unicorn learned - other than basic telekinesis - especially those along the dragon borders or who would raise a hatchling, like Twilight Sparkle did.

Ugh. He loathed that unicorn. No, stay on track. You're here to kill survivors.

What are you going to do if you find Sunrise?

The power paused, kicking a small peice of tent away from Obsidian's senstive hoof. "There is no need to worry about that. I have no fear in knowing that your pitiful father will soon be returning, and will attempt to defeat me."

What if he does? Will I be in control again, or will I die with you?

"That's not your problem." Nothing growled, and sent another train spiralling into shadow. "Now please, let me kill something without your incessent babbling!"

The not-Obsidian froze as a loud whistling sound came from the other side of the smoky roof. Spinning to one side, he drew back his lips and hissed, glaring at the foggy blanket.

The flame pulse hit down right where he had been before, and the dragon - carrying it's reluctant passenger, slammed into the earth. Pivoting to face the demonic creature, Spike narrowed his eyes and roared.

Nothing looked like he was about to go primal and fling himself at Spike's face, but regained control and stood up, brushing soot from his front paws and letting his snarl drop into a simply dissatisfied frown.

"Must we be so aggrivated?"

Spike's eyes narrowed further, but he fanned his wings to clear some smoke and sat down. "What have you done to the town? To Ponyville?"

"Is it not obvious? I set it on fire, you retarded reptile. That would be why you're sitting amid burning wreckage instead of cute little pastel houses." The not-Obsidian made a gagging face, before rolling his eyes and glaring up at the draconequus hanging from the dragons' jaw. "Oh, you again. Are you really stupid enough to think you might kill me with a mere dragon?"

Discord was unnerved. He had expected something to look different - larger claws, darker fur, blazing red eyes - anything, just to show it wasn't his son anymore. But his powerful grandfather had even resized the eyes, making them just as equine as they had been before. And the voice, all pronounciation and pitch intact, made no change from the way it had been before.

There was no denying that somewhere in there, his son was still living.

And despite the circumstances leading up to this fateful, feiry meeting, he felt a small shard of hope.

One hour earlier...

"Hey, Obsidian, wait up!" The draconequus turned around to look at whatever had been calling his name, and quickly smiled.

"Oh, hi, Sunrise. Were you looking for me?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if you'd want to come out with me for a while, you know, it is a nice day and all."

"Sorry, I can't. Have work to do today. Maybe you should take Tigerjay out, break it to him that we're dating... he was sweet on you..."

She looked downfallen, but forced out a smile. "Yeah, I'll tell him. Can we go out tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Obsidian lied through his smile. There would be nothing to walk out of by tomorrow. He really hoped she would take him up on the idea of bringing Tigerjay out... he didn't want to hurt her... or him, at the moment.

As she bounded away, Obsidian glanced back at his hands, feeling the power inside of him regain control.

Thanks. Will she be alright?

What about her books? Could you move them someplace safe?

<Whatever.> A void opened in space time, and the entire bookshelf - including a few novels hastily collected from the bedside table - reappeared in Twilight's library, safely inside Spike's cave. The dragon was sleeping, and the flash of light was silent.

Thanks. She'd be devastated if she lost her books.

<I'm going to subdue you for a few minutes, okay? You won't be able to do anything.>

Yeah, that's fine. Sunrise will stay in love with me, right?

<Right.> Nothing had to keep his laughter from entering his voice.

Mortals were hilarious!

Current time...

"There's nothing you can do!" Tigerjay bit down hard on Sunrise's tail, locking his jaw despite the flurry of scratches he was receiving. "We have most of the townsponies, and it's summer. We can rebuild."

"You're wrong! Obsidian's in there!"

Tigerjay struck out with one paw, knocking the dragonness sideways and keeping her rolling until she slid painfully into a tree. She opened her eyes, tears sparkling in their depths, as he stalked up in front of her.

"This is all Obsidian's fault! He set the stupid thing on fire! He killed whoever was inside! He hasn't killed himself, because I know he's going to kill us too, and he would have planned too far ahead to be killed by his own fire! This is all his fault, Sunrise! If he's dead, it means we'll still live!"

"No! He's not like that! He's not a murderer!"

"Sunrise, please. Don't make this harder than it is. He is a murderer. The best thing that could happen now was that he's dead."

"NO!" She swung her tail, smashing it into the side of Tigerjay's beak. He screeched and backpedalled, shards of bone falling through his claws. "He's not a killer! He can't be dead..." Her anger was replaced by a deep sadness that seemed to rip apart her very soul. "I... I loved him..."

Not-Obsidian lifted his paw, jerking it quickly to the side. The wreckage lifted itself or was absorbed into the earth, and the fire went out as the dust settled.

Discord found himself reliving something he had wanted so desperately to forget. His failure, replaying with not six ponies, but his own son, and a barren circle of dirt as the newly-cleared battlefield. This time, he wasn't the powerful overlord. He was Twilight, fearing for her friends, her life, her country, and seeing everything she had grown to love ripped away by a drconequus of unimaginable power.

This revelation made Discord's eyes sting with tears. They didn't help, didn't block out the gruesome reality, just made him look weaker. Swiping them away with his claw, he glared at the thing that had once been his son.

The younger draconequus tucked his elbows in, letting his hands glow with a spectral red light, levitiating slightly into the air. Discord flicked his tail as a signal to the dragon behin him to get clear, and began channeling his own magic, shining with a yellow hue.

Surrounded by smoke and dappled sunlight, the two spirits of chaos charged.

Eternal

View Online

~Song mentioned later was introduced to me by Mindblower, who's fanfic is awesome and yet I do not have a link to and should really get around to finding... it's called Envy and Arrogance~

This place...

It was never supposed to look like this...

Have I been here before?

I remember sun and light...

I couldn't have ever been here. This place is nothing but fire and darkness...

...and joy...

This can't be...

...the kind of joy only ever felt in the...

home?

Obsidian suddenly threw his spiritual essence into retreiving his left wing. Folding it tightly, he sent his body spinning to the ground. Discord skidded past, claws still sparking with haze. Seeing the creature writhing, he lowered his hands, instead hovering a safe distance away.

I didn't let you destroy my home!

<Yes, you did. You said as long as she was fine, you'd->

I DON'T CARE! LET ME BACK IN!

The struggle looked almost false, the way that the thing in control seemed to be fighting itself. It was mildly disturbing, but this thought never crossed Sunrise's mind as she skimmed over the burned ground. Her paws, normally clumsy on gravitationally correct ground, seemed to vanish as she launched herself to the rim of the battlefield.

"GET OUT!" Obsidian's shreik echoed through the unnaturally still air. Almost as fast as it had lost control, the other power returned.

"You've driven me to this, Obsidian." The other mocked, rising one talon to his throat. "Your question before, if this body dying would kill me? I hate to regret not telling you sooner, but the corpse of a host does nothing to me."

It was a quick, swift motion, and Obsidian regained control mere seconds too late.

"NO!!" Sunrise's shout was louder than Obsiadian's final scream, shocking all present. She darted across the ground, falling onto her knees beside him, ignoring the blood beginning to pool around her feet. "You can't... you can't die..."

There was a rustle, but a mechanical one, not the kind made by animals foaging through leaves. A series of pings not unlike a security code being entered, and a series of whirrs and clicks followed suit. With the screech of rust, two spirals of metal twsited open, relighting the two pricks of scarlet light.

More groans of steel shifting, and the lumbering beast revitalized. Glaring down at Twilight Sparkle and her measly band of friends, he made a series of moans not unlike a disgusted snort. <Come.>

There was the reverse of the flash of normal teleportation, almost seeming to blanket the area in further darkness, before the vague silhoettes of the former vessels vanished.

Sunrise cradled Obsidian's head in her front paws. The blood oozing from his throat had been thick and black at first, but had returned to the normal cherry sheen and density of a normal pulse.

"Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry, go to sleep my little baby. When you wake, you shall have all the pretty little horses. Dapple and grays, pintos and bays, all the pretty little horses...when...you...wake..." Tears were streaming down her muzzle, making dark streaks down Obsidian's neck. His pulse was racing as his body panicked to heal what his mind knew he couldn't. “Way down yonder, in the meadow, poor little baby cryin’ mama, birds and the butterflies flutter ‘round his eyes. Poor little baby, cryin’ mama.

"Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry, go to sleep, my little baby. When you wake, you shall have all the pretty little horses. Dapples and grays, pintos and bays, all the pretty little horses.”

"I'm so, so sorry, Obsidian..."

I love you...

The following silence was broken by the sound of scratching metal, and the impact wave of a powerful teleportation spell. The discarded bodies from said spell got to their hooves - claws - and looked around the barren landscape.

Twilight was the first to speak, as nothing waited pateintly for them to catch up to their current predicament. "Discord?! How did you where are we what's going on?!?!?!"

He cast a sideways glance at her, and to shut her up, replied. "This sentence is false."

As she struggled to understand the paradox he had just inflicted, the others took in the scorched ground, casual spirit of Disharmony, Spike, and Sunrise, cradling the body of another draconequus.

"Discord, what's goin' on? Ah demand ta know where Ponyville got to!"

The spirit was crying, tears invisibly stremaing down his face. "This is Ponyville."

Before she could continue, he held up his paw. "And I'm sorry. For everything I've ever done to you. For turnign you against yourselves. And I need you to trust me. I'm not the enemy here."

Gilda, separating herself from the group, timidly walked over to Sunrise. "W-what happened?"

The dragonness didn't look up, just burrowed her muzzle deeper in his mane. "He's...he's..."

Tigerjay suddenly appeared over the hill, with four others in tow. There was Chibi, eyes narrowed at the cruel twist of fate being played out before her. Scootaloo, her wings flared and head up, looking for something to attack. Applesauce - who Sunrise admitted she didn't know very well - seemed to swell with strength and anger. And Squishy, who seemed to have discarded her prim appearance for two streaks of soot under her eyes. Tigerjay launched into the air, screeching a battle cry, and watched the others charge. Glaring at the demon standing indifferently a distance away. He looked down once, making sure his mother was alright, before scraping his claws against each other and charging at the beast.

Is this heaven?

It depends. What do you believe heaven to be?

I don't care what heaven in. I just want to go home.

So home is your heaven?

I guess so...

The girl. Do you miss her?

Sunrise?

Yes. The dragonness.

I miss her. I can't believe he tricked me... he made her love me...

You are wrong then.

What do you mean?

She loved you before then, and she loved you after.

She can't. Noone loves draconequus. That's why we're disharmony.

Please, listen. She loves you.

~When you wake, you shall have all the pretty little horses...~

She's singing...for me?

She loves you.

~Dapples and grays, pintos and bays...~

Fight it. You can go back.

I...can?

~All the pretty little horses...~

Be gentle. Your body is in a different space than you. It will be painful.

I can stand pain.

Time seemed to slow as nothing spun, tails whipping across the new army and knocking them all aside. Dust and ashes flew away from their impact, leaving long dark marks of exposed earth. Bones shattered, and hope flew apart in slivers of light.

This will be more dangerous than anything you've ever done before.

I'm ready.

You will need help. Tell me you will retreat once this battle resumes.

...I will.

Sunrise's sobs only increased as Gilda screamed beside her, seeing her son's pastel body launched through the air and slammed into the ground.

You must hurry. Time never stops.

It stops when I want it to.

No. It can't be. Only two beings have that power.

Maybe three.

The new army fell, finsing their caretakers and parents quickly beside them. Mutters of happiness and painlessness echoed around, but there was no truth.

You can change this.

Yes. I need to go back.

For her?

For me.

And a pair of sapphire eyes flickered back to life.

Libra

View Online

~Okay, I had the chapter done, but then my internet kicked out, and I lost all of it. So, upon waiting for word from knighty about the topic of retrieving said chapter, I will attempt to replicate it.~

It was silent, quieter than it had been even when the only noises were the crackle of soot and charcoal underhoof or the laboured breaths that sounded like thunder. Still and silent. The sun could no longer penetrate the blanket of ash, and had given up trying. Instead, it was a gloomy twilight, holding the battered bodies of many ponies and non-ponies, as well as the unmoving ironwork of a demon.

A creature stirred.

Before the creature had been... well attempted to be... destroyed, it had the same ragtag, discordant coat of it's father, as all creatures mortal gain traits from their parents. But the short fur was a mixture of long and short, and shimmered with some kind of spiritual light. The scales on the tail had also changed, becoming semi-reflective and much sturdier.

One one paw, the claws had grown longer and thicker, extending in the blink of an eye and always ready to spill the lifeblood of something.

The other claw had not only changed claws, but the leathery skin had hardened into a dinosaurian scale, heavier on the surface with softer, more sensitive skin on the underside.

The first back leg had gotten thicker, muscle running along the inner side, out of reach from a common attack. The fur had also grown shorter, and felt - even though it had not been touched since it had changed - almost like fuzzy sandpaper.

The second had dark green scales, marked by a pearly-white dewclaw and pair of thicker talons that served as both the claw and the toes. These claws looked sharp, and probably were, but that theory had not been tested.

The scales on the leg changed to a dark salmon colour and coated the tail, broken up by short pink spikes. The tip of the tail, once a soft plume, was now made of thin quills, which looked to be only useful for picking one's teeth, until they contacted and shot poison into the bloodstream of the target.

From the head came two horns - one almost like that of a unicorn, but bent and twisted into a curl that would leave even the strongest stallion wailing, the other a throwback to the antler of a young buck - each having shed the soft roundness of childhood for the icy sheen of maturity.

And the wings, only slightly larger than the fathers' before the death, had also changed. The feathered one was now double the height of the bearer when outstreched, and the widest section was his entire height, able to fold in half when not in use. This wing was coated in long, delicate feathers, each being sky-blue in the center, darkening to navy at the tip and being a snowy white at the base.

The other wing was the same size, but with the bone structure of a mammal, thick and heavy, while being coated in sparkling purple scales on the inside and a darker shade on the outer. Unlike the bat it drew from, the webbing was not skin and therefore throughly opaque.

This creature let out a sigh and looked up the sky, eyes closed and sensing the new things around it. Strands, of a material he could not specify, and doubted even existed normally. Taking a deep breath to calm his frayed nerves, he dropped his muzzle back to a normal angle and opened his eyes, focusing on the demon staring at him.

<Ah, you've decided to join me?>

The new creature tilted his head, studying the angles of the strands to determine where the next plane was. Moving one claw slightly up, he opened the seam, the inside of which seemed to seethe with moving colour. It would be disorienting, but not unescapable.

That would have to work. He needed some time.

No, he did not need time. His friends... no, his family... needed it.

The demon was still unaware of this happening behind him, and merely looked at the calculating look on the creature in front of him. With a quick motion, he thrust his other paw out, sending the shocked iron beast flying into the seam. With another motion, the seam closed.

That will not hold him for long. He is actually strong.

He lifted his ears, but did not turn to face the being that had appeared behind him. "I need to help my friends."

Yes, I know. You still breathe for a good reason. I will hold him for longer than the dimension will.

"He's already proven himself stronger than me. How can we beat him?"

There are others like your father. Elements of Order, to be honest, but you will have to get their help.

"The Firstborn? They're foal-tales."

To be honest, so are we.

He turned then, looking at the other supreme creature he now shared an existence with. It was the Alicorn he had met before. "You... you're something?"

None other. Now go, before he realizes you've tried to trap him.

He moved, another dimension bending dance. This one was more fluid, severing the ties that held him to this plane, in a motion that defied the laws of physics in it's grace and movement alone. The second he slowed the spin - if that was an aquedate title - he existed on thousands of realities at once, seeing the second creator in her true, ever-encompassing form. With a salute of farewell, he selected his dimension and vanished.

Sunrise fell forward as the body of her friend vanished under her claws. Instead of getting up, she just scratched at the thick dirt and cried.

The first thing she was aware of was Gilda's comforting claw between her shoulders vanishing.

Moments later, the second realization hit as a different claw began resting gently on her shoulder. She expected Tigerjay, but was too miserable to bite him.

The third was that, when she opened her eyes, Gilda was just in range of her long-sight, cradling the broken but breathing body of her son.

The fourth was that it seemed like the dread had lifted, instead becoming a soft, warm hint in the air.

The fifth was that there was no sign of blood, anywhere.

The sixth was that the demon-bird had vanished without a trace.

The seventh, that when she turned around, there was a set of soft, corcerned oceanic eyes looking back at her.

Lucky number seven.

"C'mon we have to leave. I hate to move you all along, but-"

Obsidian was cut of by Spike's irritated roar of "GET MOVING!"

He spun towards the dragon, glaring at him and making a slicing motion through the air. Once the dragon calmed down slightly, he dipped his muzzle to the dragonness sleeping quietly in his arms. "She's been sleeping peacefully for probably the first time in days. Could you turn it down just a little bit?"

"I hate having to walk."

Time to kill two birds with one stone. "Why don't you go back to Canterlot? I need you to find the oldest or smartest ponies of any breed and bring them back. Gently, if possible."

"I don't trust you alone. I've only ever known you as a killer." He paused, before his resolve broke. "But I have a feeling you reincarnating at the same time that demon vanished are connected, so I'll go. Pull one little trick, and I'll be eating your tail before sunset."

"Understood." He backed away, giving the massive dragon space to take off. He did, lifting slowly before catching a thermal and gliding up through the ashy blanket, which was slowly disappaiting.

The draconequus knew there had been a pony behind Spike, waiting for him to finish. She trotted up beside him, matching his pace. When he glanced down, curious at who the mare was, he saw the blankflanked filly, the lively mare Ponyville had once known, and the old, fragile elder she had become. When she looked up though, the only thing that showed in her eyes was a constant reflection of Celestia's death - or what Obsidian assumed to be Celestia, from the books he had read - and the pure devastation in her memory made him turn away.

"You can see it, can't you." She muttered, stating the fact instead of questioning him. "I used to know your father... wow, that sounded corny... but before all of this, before any of this, he was the second true villian me and my friends beat. He broke us, and tried to destroy everything we loved, but we won." Obsidian suddenly knew where the conversation was heading. "And I guess, in his own twisted, cosmic way, he finally succeeded. My home, my mentor, my library..."

"The library is fine. Spike has it."

"So, that's all you're going to defend? The books?"

"I didn't mean to do that. Burn... this. I lived here too. It was my home. It still is. And... this hurts me as much as it hurts you."

"It can't. Did you ever know what it looked like before?"

He made a casual glance over his shoulder, the battlefield splintering into pastel houses, whitewashed tents, burned rubble, and barren stone, and before all of that, a rolling, green meadow, with a few primitive ponies grazing.

"I do. And you do." Feeling Sunrise roll over, he shifted her around in his arms, holding her like a foal.

"You know, she never let me cuddle her. I could be close to her, I could hug her, but once she wanted to go to sleep I had to get out." She made a little smile, the kind a pony makes right before they start crying. "And I can't help but think she's a great judge of character. If she trusts you..."

The two had stopped walking, while the uninjured led the ponies further away. Twilight Sparkle put her hoof on Obsidian's claw.

"...then I trust you."

Obsidian had always been intrigued by the quick bonds they formed with others they had met only for a short friend. If someone got hurt, ponies who only knew them by the casual greeting exchanged during shopping would be showing up, concerned. This Unicorn... she had to think about trusting him?

And that made him want her trust even more.

"Thank you." He smiled, before releasing a small teleportation spell so she wouldn't have to canter to catch up.

Resonance

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"How much further?"

"As far as we can. The second anypony can't go on, we rest."

Sunrise kept her eyes closed, feeling the warmth radiating from the fur around her. She didn't want it to end, but she had seen... it had to be a dream. She didn't want to wake up.

"Most of us are strong enough to walk on our own... should we carry the others who can't?"

"Your strength needs rest as well. We will be safe for the time being. Use your judgement."

There was the sound of wings spreading, and a soft gust blew over Sunrise as the Pegasus flew off.

She opened her eyes, seeing Rainbow Dark gliding back towards the front of the group. Even more shocking than the fact that the Pegasus seemed uninjured, the dragonness realized she was still being held by a draconequus.

About to snarl at him - some sad part of her mind resigning to the fact that this had to be Discord - his paw moved so that he was petting the spikes along the back of her neck. She looked up, and instead of seeing Discord's teasing smirk, she saw a gentle smile.

"Did you have a good sleep?"

Not even wanting to answer, she rolled over, pressing her side into his warm fur.

"I'll take that as a yes."

I can't tell her what I have to do. Not now.

Somewhere in the underground of Equestria, something crawled. It was not crawling by choice, it enjoyed stalking much more, but the tunnel it was currently in restricted movement down to almost nothing. If this creature had been anything else, this would have been unpassable, but this was not any other creature.

Fulmen snarled, her pupils turning momentarily yellow as she turned her head to look back down the way she had come. The light cast from her eyes at least told her she had made progress - the dark stone had paled to a natural gray. She was nearing the surface.

And this time, if Faenum dared oppose her, then the sparkly wolf would get her ears sliced.

Needless to say, the goddess of lightning was not in a good mood.

Would you be, after trekking through solid darkness for three days and being unable to turn around to move backwards? I didn't think so.

So, despite the sound of the stone overhead moaning under the weight of some body of water, the tigress plodded on

The time had come. The Seventh Element, the Turning Point, had entered his dimensional form. The fabric of time and space was now under extreme pressure, which would only be removed by the Turning Point's death or a tear opening. And Fulmen, after being surrounded by darkness eternal, had trained herself to see without light, to shroud herself in complete shadow and see through it, and with time, could create wisps of ghoulish light, and one of these was floating in front of her at the moment, colours shifting between red and green.

The Turning Point.

This final being wasn't new, or known in legend. It had existed before Chaos and Void, the two first Objects, and was said to be their creator. The body of the Turning Point made no difference, other than the fact it had to be a grandchild of the Firstborn, in turn the great-grandchild of something and nothing, and before that, the great-great-grandchild of Chaos and Void. So, in four generations after being destroyed, Turning Point would return.

He was the maker of time. Before him, if there was even a before, there was no Void, no such thing as something or nothing, and somehow Turning Point had come to be. His true name was cursed, but Fulmen enjoyed saying it anyway. She could not be killed.

Kha'dighreel.

The language was only used by the named himself. It was simply too complicated for any mortal or immortal mouth to grasp.

Kha, however, was beyond immortal. If the land died and something and nothing along with it, and Chaos and Void fell under some massive onslaught, Kha would simply return, in his solid, insubstantial greatness, and blanket the damaged lands in the absence of both types of matter, until the unemptiness spawned new lands.

He had seen many species, in this way. Giant lizards, with spikes of bone and jaws of daggers. Strange, two-legged creatures who built massive cities, before being eliminated in one fell swoop. And now, among thousands of other eras, there were four-legged mammals as sentenients. Ponies, to be exact.

And this was also the era of something, nothing and the Firstborn. The era in which Kha would take form in order to realign time.

This was Fulmen's chance to break free from her sister's powerful hold. If she made it out before Kha reverted time, she would be able to see the sun and feel the wind, and that would be enough.

With this single, pathetic hope, Fulmen surged forward, breaking through a layer of dirt and sending it tumbling down the passage behind her, before narrowing her eyes as the bright light and struggling onto the surface, her little ghostlight wavering before going out completely.

The tigress almost wished she was back underground as another presence entered her senses.

"Well, you make this so much harder than it needs to be, sister." The golden wolf hissed. "Why can't you just stay in your grave?"

"Why must you keep pushing me back in?" Fulmen sighed, rolling her eyes before sidestepping away from the hole. "And Fae, I know you felt it."

"What? Oh, yes, Kha. His power hasn't improved yet. Her form is still weak." The wolf sighed and looked out towards the sunset. "And if you're going to call me Fae, I'm going to call you Fufu."

"I hate that name." She snarled, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws. "And I felt the power surge. You said she. I though it was Obsidian."

"How did you know he existed?"

"News travels fast in the underground." She smirked,

"Anyway, I checked him when he was born. Nothing but the regular draconequus powers."

Fulmen had to bite her tongue to keep from blurting out something she would regret. Normal draconequus powers. Nothing's powers. Draconequus were powerless without that brief possesion. None of the others knew that Discord's powers came from his grandfather. They weren't supposed to. So... regular draconequus powers... did that mean he was heading down the same dark road as his father?

"When you said she... there is another? I know of Crimsonleaf and Obsidian, and Crimsonleaf is disqualified for not having two godly parents. Ali and I were the only ones to have children... unless..." She trailed off, before smiling demonically and prancing in a circle around her sister. "Oooh you had a kiiiiidddd! Who's the daddy?"

Faenum blushed heavily and looked around, trying to find anything she could focus on that wasn't her sister. "C'mon Fulmen, be a little mature about this..."

"I'm the one not being mature? You never told anyone." She rolled onto her back and looked up at Faenum. "Tellmetellmetellme! Or I'll tell Mommy~"

"You tell her and I'll kill you. No hesitation." Faenum glared down at her obnoxious sibling.

"So who's daddy? Does he know?"

"It wasn't as long ago as either of you, and she doesn't have powers or a powerful form... she's just a Pegasus. She was easy to hide in Equestria. I brainwashed her... you know, mildly... and told her her name and sent her off to do whatever she wished."

"Don't those memory spells have side effects?"

Faenum laughed. "Yes, they do. But when I say later than the others, I mean one-hundred years, tops. She's the same age as the surviving Element Bearers."

Fulmen let out a low whistle. "She doesn't know who her mom is? Or dad? Speaking of which, you seem to be avoiding answering my question? Was it Maaaris?"

Faenum blushed and looked away again. "Come on, Fulmen, you know he's not bound like Corona..."

"Aw, Cori's such a spoilsport. Up until he got viciously dulled, he would have been great."

"Don't think like that! Alititudo married him, so he's beyond you!"

"You're a spoilsport too." Fulmen crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. After Fae's distasteful reaction, the tigress bounced to her paws and sauntered off. "So, what's the name you gave her? And her daughter?"

"The child's original name was Grayscale. She was born when her mother still remembered me. She was an Alicorn... and like all of them, she was resistant to aging. I wouldn't be surprised if she still looks the same as she did a hundred years ago..." The wolf sighed, waving a paw dismissively. "The daughter still knows her name, so if you go to see her, use that. Her mother told me to hide her under a spell blanket when she was born... you see, she knew about my plan to hide her... so I did. I made her look like a normal Pegasus filly..."

Fulmen had been planning to hear the new Kha's name as she vanished into the shadows, but Faenum's rant had failed that illusion and left her standing grumpily out of the Firstborn's vision, tail flicking. "Get on with it! I'd like to leave."

Faenum sighed. She really wished that her sibling hadn't been a twin. "My daughter's name is Ditzy Doo."

Ashes, Ashes

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When you were born, did you ever dream? Was it possible for you to see fantasies and hopes when you had not yet known their names or their reasons? Did hope even exist to you, or was it simply that you came to the conclusion that you had a purpose as you grew up? Did you end up aging, believing that in some fateful way, you would find your purpose and be remembered forever? It doesn't work like that. It has never worked like that. Since the dawn began being, not only in the multitude of solar systems in your universe, but in all the universes in an onmiverse, and all the omniverses beyond that, in every single heart, soul and being of every single life form that has ever looked up towards their sun and their moon and their stars and told themselves they would find their purpose, they have all been wrong.

You do not grow into your purpose, just as you do not begin dreaming when you learn words and sights and smells. In the womb you begin dreaming, closing your infantile eyes against the warm blackness and dreaming in colour and sounds and smells, dreaming of trees and meadows, of rainbows and birds, before being born. And after you are born, you realize all the things you dreamed about, in your puerile hopes and thoughts of nameless things which you cannot describe and cannot name, all those beautiful gifts Gaia has bestowed have been replaced by stone and metal and oil, by smog and pollution and orderly rows of chemically grown crops, by airplanes and submaries and cars, by wars and death and famine, and upon noticing your dreams are nothing more than that, you are stunned.

Upon birth, your knowledge of your purpose is eliminated with that sight of industrial spires in the place of towering pines, there is no surprise that you are stunned. In this shocking revelation. you lose everything that Gaia bred into you while you were unborn, and again you must learn her teachings, of speech, art, song, and these take longer to learn amid ironworks and stone fortresses, and so, in time that passes faster every day, you learn. And maybe, with a flash of hope and those colourful, vibrant dreams of your blind, deaf, mute life, as you lie on your deathbed you will remember even a single sliver of one of those indescribable dreams, and will remember how the earth looked before it was mined and corrupted, and in that last breath you take, of stale, empty, worthless air, you will taste the fresh hint of spring grass that used to be, and as that breath fades back out of your body, and your eyes close, as the tears begin falling, as the blood stills in your veins, you will remember your purpose, and you will realize that you have lived up to it or have not, and those who have will feel glory and joy in their final, fading moments, and maybe even those that did not know that because they failed, someone out there succeeded.

And so you do not grow into your purpose, as many believe. You do not begin dreaming only after you see. If we did not dream until we could look around at the populous ruin our earth has become, then our dreams would be filled with gray haze, and our purpose would be hidden in the same.

This was the unforgiving reality Kha'dighreel had been born into. Through some flaw in the unchanging network of time, he had been created. He was not without form, as many believed, of those who knew of his being, which were few in their entirety. He had form, but it was not that found in mortal or immortal. Even the planets could not create a match for his form. They had attempted replicas, yes, and these replicas varied en masse, but they all shared one feature.

Dreams.

Kha'dighreel did not choose to be above immortality. Sometimes he wished he was mortal, for then his suffering could end.

How can a being that not only symbolizes but is the eternal overlord have sadness?

The feeling of sadness exists in levels varying from pain to agony, and between these is devastation, which is loss of material possesion. These are categorized, from mildest to strongest, as pain, painful devastation, devestating pain, devestation, devastating agony, agonizing devastation, agony. Mortals can feel from pain to painful devasation, from losing family or material possesions, not nessecarily in that order. Immortals can feel from pain to devastating agony, from seeing gemerations lost as age slips past, until eventually they have distanced themselves from anything else and age endlessly alone and broken until they disolve into dust under the weight of their own sadness.

Kha'dighreel existed alone in the plane of agony. Pure, unmarked agony. It is simply impossible for any mortal or immortal to feel sadness on this level. It is not because their troubles are less, but because they cannot understand the grief under the feeling of knowing that now, as your eyes scan this page, someone has died, possibly surrounded by family, possibly alone, and in some omniverse, an entire civilation has been destroyed by simply moving too close to the sun, while another perishes by drifting away. You cannot comprehend knowing that while even immortals fall and are reborn anew, that you have not changed, that you cannot intervene, that you cannot warn of that traitor with the blade, or that snake with the fangs, or that water with the whirlpool, and instead must watch as millions fall. And then you blink an eye, trying to hold back the death that has been assulting your mind, only to see it projected on the inside of your lids, and when you open your eyes you are again surrounded by the dense colourless fog that makes up your universe, while death and destruction ravage your mind and eat away at your soul and purpose, and that unstoppable carnage once again begins, waiting for you to blink again so it can show itself in full ravaging detail until your eyes open once more.

You cannot sleep for these pictures. Your dreams of sunshine and hope and beauty have fallen under swords and guns and bombs long ago, and when you do sleep, the only peace you can wish for is a gruesome stalemate in some war, for a few blissful moments of precious silence, before the guns are loaded again and the shots ring out in their deadly cacophony.

You do not understand even now, as moments forgotten are written in words that simply cannot describe even a single one of these moments, for the words themselves have lost their meanings through translation, as only eyes can see, and words cannot live up to the senses you have been gifted with. Look around you right now, take a break from this text. You do not have to move from where you are, just simply lift your head and look around, and find something to describe. Think of a few aquedate words, and say them out loud. Red? Scarlet? Crimson? These simply do not show the difference between the brilliant orange-red-pink-yellow-light of a sunset or the dark, pooling black-red of blood, simply because there are no words, no alignment of letters in any written or spoken language, that mean these colours or scents or sounds, and these missing words cannot be filled in because no mere letter can write them and picture them clearly.

You cannot tell another of your dreams because of this. Whether it be a nightmare or a blissful, sleeping heaven, noone else will feel the same fear or happiness that you felt, because words like fear and happiness simply do not begin to explain, and not amount of adjectives will aid in that glorious lack of description.

And there is a reason words like that have not been invented.

It is because one day, Kha'dighreel's eyes will open again after blinking, and instead of endless gray fog, they will see ashes and fire and blood - blood from the earthen form he now has - and dappled light and he will smell fear and hate and death, and will hear laughing and metal creaking and muffled cries, and he will not be able to describe them in a personal fear that words simply will not do.

So he does not speak.

Splendor

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Obsidian, or the being that had once been him and was now sharing flsh with that of legend, could feel the dragonness against his flank breathing as she slept.

Why are you still with them?

He almost jumped up, before recognizing the subtle lack of audible sound and sighing. I've told you already, I'm not leaving them behind.

It will be faster to finish this if you leave them behind.

You're starting to sound like your grandson, you know that? Leave them, and all will be perfect.

I am sorry. I did not mean it like that. Do you wish to sleep?

No, I'll be fine. I never sleep anyways.

Oh.

The persistent questioning voice of Kha muted for a few moments. Obsidian resisted the urge to ask him if he was alright. The eternal being would speak up again soon enough.

Have you ever met a Firstborn?

That's an odd question, don't you think?

I meant it as in do you know what you're looking for. Not to be a disturbance.

Isn't you being in this timeline disruptive enough already?

The spirit's laughter filled his body, not with sound but with an indescribable feeling of joy and humor. You make me laugh, you little freak of nature.

Obsidian forced a hurt tone into his mindspeech. That was harsh...

I'm sorry! I didn't mean- The voice trailed off as Obsidian attempted to muffle his laughter in the back of his paw. That was mean. I meant it, you little breedless scale...feather...furball thing!

Obsidian calmed down and rolled onto his back, looking up at the ashy blanket covering his sky. With a small flick of a talon, he sent the smoke hurrying away, revealing pinpricks of light sown into the dark sky.

It's beautiful.

You've never seen the stars?

The stars I see are those on bloodied flags. Not the kind that truly show freedom.

It was Obsidian's turn to fall silent. Together, through the same eyes, one misfortunate draconequus and one equally misfortunate ethereal being lay quietly, warm breeze ruffling their shared coat, and looked up at the stars, both wondering if anything would ever be the same again.

Halfway across Equestria, in the center of Canterlot, one extremely confused Pegasus and her Unicorn daughter paused in front of a massive statue. Dinky looked up, seeing the frame of Celestia's stonewraught mane blocking most of the sun's rays.

"Momma, why are we here?"

The Pegasus aligned her eyes. "Dinky, I need you to remember something for me. I have to go somewhere, and I need to know if you'll be okay."

"You mean like our address?"

The Pegasus sighed, her worried expression softening. "No, I know you can find home." The Unicorn beamed at this, looking up at her mother with a wide smile on her face. "Do you remember your middle name?"

"I know it all, Mommy! Dinky Grayscale Doo! Am I right am I right am I right?!"

"Yes, you're right." Once again, Ditzy sighed, picking her daughter up in her hooves as she lifted into the air, her eyes rolling as she watched for collision courses. "Do you remember Grandma or Daddy?"

"No..." The Unicorn sighed, happiness deflating. "I don't ever think I met Daddy. But I met Gramma once, right? She was a doggy?"

There was no use in correcting her. "Yes. You remember Ponyville?"

"Uhhuh! Where Sweetie and Scooty and Apple lived?"

"Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, yes. I'm bringing you back there, and I need you to find them and stay close to them, okay? And if you can't find them, there'll be a draconequus there, a young one. Go to him."

The foal's jaw dropped. "Like in my COLORING BOOKS?! They're REAL?!"

"Yes, honey, they are..." Ditzy sighed, moments in her mind replaying that she didn't need. "Yes, they exist."

"Woooooowwwwwww..." Dinky trailed off, dumbstruck. "Mommy, why aren't you going to Ponyville too?"

"I'm needed somewhere else, sweetheart." The Pegasus alighted on a cloud, looking off towards the inky blackness tinting the horizon. Smoke. Kha. "I need you to take off your sparkly coat now, okay? And fly back home, to our address."

"I get to use my wings again? Cooool~" With a flash of what looked like regular Unicorn magic, Dinky's fur peeled off in a semitransparent layer, sparkling as it lifted before being enveloped into her horn. She fluffed out her gray wings and hopped down onto the cloud, kicking up fluff and laughing. "Mommy, when you're done doing whatever you're doing, will you come see me?"

"Yes. Now go." She nudged the filly to the edge of the cloud, towards the dim ash coating of Ponyville. "And whatever you see, I want you to know that it's just a nightmare. It'll go back to normal if you stay with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom or the draconequus. Promise you won't get scared?"

The Alicorn that had once been a Unicorn rubbed her desaturated coat against her mother's foreleg. "I promise~"

"Then fly to the sun, Dinky, and go home." With these gentle words, mother and daughter parted, each flying in a different direction. One bounced happily, singing a quiet little adventure song, and the other withholding tears.

I'll miss you, my baby. But this battle is far too strong for you to join me. She audibly sighed, before hovering and staring down at the rocky earth thousands of feet below. And I will miss you. I'll watch over you...

Her wings folded, and she began falling, the fabric of her essence tearing apart from her skin as she plummeted. Thousands of feet, hundreds, tens...

...forever

Altitudo's eyes snapped open and she jerked her head up. Something had entered her Dreamscape, her perfect little paradise. Shifting to look at the abnormal energy, she met the eyes of a pale blue-grey Pegasus, scuffing a hoof - a thick, substantial hoof - against the lazurite stone forming the floating platform.

"Ah, welcome." The dragonness moved to make space, her concentration breaking on her meditation and the false ceiling of clouds over the platform shivered before fading away. "Ditzy, I have to say I don't enjoy seeing you here. Something's gone worse since Luna joined the summerland, am I right?"

"Kha's returned."

"You left Grayscale alone with Kha's spirit!?"

"No. I left her alone to go find it." The distraught Pegasus shook her head. "She's not the only one, Alei! There's another."

"I have heard of Luna's son..."

"I saw him, Alei. You know what I mean."

The Firstborn sighed, a plume of steam rushing from her nostrils. "Your spirit eye?"

She nodded. "He's drawn Kha's essence."

"And you can't destroy him, because he reminds you of his father." Altitudo's tone was soft, but Ditzy almost broke into tears.

"The only reason I know you exist is because I got caught up in the residue of one of Twilight's memory spells from a hundred years ago! It brought back... everything... including why I've been a young mare for over two hundred years! I remember Celestia as a foal, and who knows how long ago that was?"

"Two thousand four hundred years, fifteen days, seven hours, five minutes and twenty seconds. Twenty-one. Twenty-two..." Altitudo interjected.

"Exactly!" Ditzy stomped her hoof on the stone, not recieving any dramatic auditory feedback other than a pathetic 'clink'. "I've been alive since forever, and now Dinky-"

"Grayscale."

"-is going to be living the same way? She's been watching her friends grow up and old around her! That's why I moved her out of Ponyville in the first place. That's why we have to keep moving. If she ever noticed that her friends aged and she didn't... what about when the time comes that one of them dies?! How am I going to explain..."

"Look, Ditzy, for starters, you could just fly here. You don't need to perform suicide stunts. Second, and on topic, I' sure she'll be fine. Celestia and Luna could do it, you did it, for Equestria's sake even Discord handled it... you know, in the way only Discord can handle things... but I know you, and that means Grayscale will be fine. She'll be just as strong as you."

"I've never been strong!" Ditzy yelled, stomping again and getting a much more effective ringing thrum, and a few splinters. "If I was strong, Dinky wouldn't have been born!"

"Don't talk like that."

"I'm just as much a Goddess as Celestia and Luna were! I'm going to talk however I want to talk!"

The dragonness's dark eyes lit up with opal fire, and she got to her feet, towering over the Pegasus. "You're not even half the pony she was!"

Ditzy glared back, golden eyes blazing. "Which one of them, Alei? Which one can I not live up to?"

The dragonness shut her mouth, teeth hitting with a series of snaps, and she took a deep breath. "Go back home, Ditzy."

"I am home."

"Hey, what's with the tyke?"

"Whaddaya mean, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom stopped her paced trot, looking up to the spot Scootaloo was pointing a hoof at. "Ah don't see anythin'."

"No, you're looking in the wrong place." The orange Pegasus grabbed the sides of Apple Bloom's head and jerked it up and sideways, sending her gaze off towards Canterlot. "See? Right there. There's a foal."

"You're goin' insane, sugar cube." Apple Bloom responded. "There's nothin' there."

"No, she's right." A deeper voice responded. It was one of the nomads, finally emerging from the crowd. It was the Unicorn, his eyes focused on the distant point while his ears lay flat against his neck. "It's a foal. Scootaloo, she looks tired. Maybe you should go get her. What do you think, Rapture?"

There was a snort, and the named Pegasus trotted out of the stream of disheveled Ponyvillians. He shrugged, lifting into the air in a preparation for leaving to get the foal on his own.

"Hey, bud, stay here. Don't want you getting hurt."

Lamplight glowered. "He's not mentally retarded. He's not going to go flying into a tree or anything." Rapture glared at him, the silence streching before he lifted a hoof and boxed his ears. The Unicorn winced and glared at his friend, who was wearing a smug grin. "Plus, somepony's already beat you to the punch."

Tigerjay narrowed his eyes against the ash burning his eyes and throat. Steadying himself with his tail, he did a wide loop, dropping his speed so he flew up alongside the Pegasus foal. A filly, with an entirely gray coat, mane, tail and even eyes, drifting through the dark skies. As he lined up the last bit of his flight, he noticed the little gray nub of a horn parting her mane.

"Hey!" She jerked her head up, seeming to lock up when she saw the Griffon. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I can't talk t-to strangers!" She yelled back, tumbling as a stronger gust of smokey wind nailed her flank.

"Look, it's too dangerous for a filly to be up here! The wind is too strong!"

"I have to keep going! Momma told me to find Ponyville!"

There was a mild disturbance in the space surrounding them. "Hey, Tigerjay, what are you do-" Obsidian trailed off as he noticed the bouncing Alicorn. "Whoa, that's new."

Her eyes brightened, and she plowed into him, wrapping her hooves around his neck. "Yay~ I found a draconequus! Momma's gonna be proud of me for finding you! Where's Sweetie and Apple and Scooti? She said I'd get a ride on her scooter, you know! And where's Sugar Cube Corner? And Pinkie Pie?"

Under Tigerjay's quizzical stare, all that Obsidian could do was shrug apologetically. "Trust me, I don't know her either."

"Oh YEAH I almost forgot! Silly me! Now that I've found you I can put my sparkly dress on!" The magical web quickly spread over her body, masking her wings and transforming her into a seemingly ordinary Unicorn filly.

"Whoa." Obsidian repeated, stunned at the apperantly new filly hanging from his neck.

"HEAR THAT, MOMMA?" She yelled. "I FOUND HIM, JUST LIKE YOU SAID!"

The echoes from her yell bounced around the feiry sky, fading along with the mild hum of a teleportation spell, as all present returned home.

Wandering, burning home.

Stormfront

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Obsidian gently lay Sunrise down at her father's claws. In his sleep, Spike swept the dragonness closer, up against his chest. Sighing, Obsidian carefully walked away, waiting until he was far enough away to fly.

No, he was lying to himslf. He wanted to see how far he could get before Sunrise noticed he was gone and came with him. Once he was beyond the ring of sleeping ponies, he was past return. If she woke up, and got over to him before his claws touched the other side of that invisible barrier...

Somepony stirred behind him. There was the unmistakable scuff of claws on dirt, and Obsidian found his breath had decided to stick in the back of his throat.

"Hey, where are you planning on going?"

The draconequus sighed. A few octaves off to be Sunrise. "I need to set all of this right."

"You've done enough." Tigerjay walked up beside him, rearing onto his hind legs to stand level with the bearer of Kha. "You've fought everything against you every step of the way."

"Exactly. I can finish this. Once and for all. There'll be no more fighting, ever. Life will go back to the way it was."

"Boring and repetetive? Hate to break it to you, but it wasn't that great before."

"Worse than it is now?"

"Ha ha ha." Tigerjay groaned. "You wouldn't understand, but more than half of us enjoy this excitement! After the initial shock, we came to terms with the lack of material possesion. We're all alive. We're all together."

"I guess." Obsidian pouted. Downside to being powerful, he realized: having the stupid things pointed out to you.

"If we wanted to give up on this fight, we would have gone to Canterlot or something a long time ago." The Griffon placed a talon on Obsidian's shoulder. "When this war really starts, I'll be on your side."

"Thanks, but I don't need help."

"Oh, buzz off." Tigerjay laughed, elbowing his superior. "Go prance along on your merry way, and be sure to get me a snowglobe to remember your travels by!" He widened his eyes and blinked innocently, holding his talons under his chin. "And when you get beat up by a cyborg, I'll catch you like you would catch Sunrise~"

"H-hey!" Obsidian pounced at the Griffon, shoving him into the dirt. "I'll soak your feathers with so much chocolate rain you'll be sticky for weeks!"

"Unfair! Unfair advantage!" He squealed, whimpering like a schoolfilly and struggling to get free. "That is so not allowed!"

Obsidian summonded one of the now-common puffy pink clouds, holding it over Tigerjay's head and smiling deviously. "Take it back."

"Okay! I'll drop you instead!"

Laughing, Obsidian backed up, letting Tigerjay get to his feline-avian feet. Swiping the cloud into a candy-cane patterned cone, he handed it to Tigerjay before floating into the air. "No hard feelings?"

The Griffon saluted and watched as a dim flicker of light briefly shone, before the matter inside it vanished and the shine followed suit.

"You know, buddy?" He yelled into the empty sky. "You keep living like this, and one day I'll be chronicling your suicide missions instead of the other way around. Stay alive out there!"

When no response came, he turned slowly, walking back towards the ring of ponies and up beside his mother. No others had woken up, or even stirred. In the stalking, surprising way that only sleep can come, it swallowed Tigerjay in a deep, welcoming blackness, giving him a few blissful hours of unconciousness before the sun would rise and he would be the new leader of the end of Ponyville.

An Alicorn stood silently against the dark mountian. He would have been invisible in the dark if not for the embers blowing from his mane or the dim ring of light around his Mark. Still soundless, he lept up the rocky cliffside, hooves barely touching the stone before kicking off again, his one wing holding healing feathers until they healed, the other folded as well for balance.

He stopped again at the peak of the mountain, backlit by the glorious silhoette of the unmarked moon. Lifting one hoof, he locked his jaw. This was not a pleasant task, but the magma was threatening to flow without his control.

The lifted hoof slammed into the thick black stone, and a spiderweb of cracks spiralled out around him. Massive chunks of stone fell inwards, swallowed in the seething red haze beginning to show through.

Anypony awake in the village below that looked up in that one fractured moment would have seen a great plume of smoke and fire rising from the normally friendly mountian, the black shadow of an Alicorn standing at the peak before rearing up and falling backwards into the liquid flame.

And after that, there would be nopony watching, for the houses were covered by cooling lava, and the screams had never broken in the first place.

Falling through molten metal, the God felt the bones in his wing remending, the feathers straightening and regaining their heathy scarlet glow. He sighed. The sun would be rising soon, and he had to regain control over this orb of fire slowly, the way he had tamed her in the first place, until she bent to his command and then to the other, with a good chance of not doing so until the sky itself folded under the weight of time.

Corona knew that Kha was seeking him, needed him and his power, and was distorting space as he travelled even at this moment, his new, once-mortal form flapping serenely powerful wings through time itself.

And Corona took nothing's place.

He simply waited.

<You will never understand!> The bird struck out with one clawed foot, catching his Alicorn sister across the cheek and sending her flying backwards, tumbling through the ungravitational plane.

"Then... why don't... you... tell... me?" She screeched, holding one hoof against her bleeding face. "Just tell me!"

The metal bird simply roared, shooting forwards through the empty space as magic pooled around his head.

The resulting red beam lanced through the air, burning a clean, bloodless hole through something's wing and stunning her. Without her wings...

<You're useless!> He growled, swatting her aside with one tail. <You'll never beat me!>

"I'm not trying to beat you!" Her hooves kicked out, as if searching for some invisble ground, hoping for leverage. "I don't want to hurt you!"

<Well you're doing a pretty bad job!> He shot forward again, locking the battered creature in his talon and hovering. <You have no idea what it's like!> He realeased his visegrip, flinging her across the groundless void. <There was nothing!> His rage deflated, the words seeming to hang in the air like ashes borne on the wind. <I... I am nothing...>

This is not my home... this is not my home...

I don't have a home... I don't have a home...

Amethyst

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The quill swung easily over the surface of the paper, back and forth, back and forth, with a rhythm that sang of practice and sadness and abandonment. Not that the writer was being abandoned, but that he was doing the abandoning in a cruel twist of fate. Left behind by his mother, and now leaving everything else behind.

Karma had a sick sense of humor.

I wish I could stay. But I can't. I can't put you in any more danger than I already have. Keep moving, keep running, never stop until everything's back to normal. You'll know when the time comes what I mean. Just... stay safe. All of you. And don't wait for me. Never wait for me. I'm not... The quill paused, hovering over the last few words and threatening to drip ink over the clean script. ...I need to explain how hard it it for me to write this. Every part of me screams that I should stay, and protect you, I'm not calling anyone weak, but none of you, no matter how strong, will ever be able to stand a chance against what I will have to face. I will think of you all of the time when I am gone. And I am writing this so you will move on. Do not hope of my return because it will not happen. I'm not coming back.

This time, the quill lifted only for a moment, before scrawling a signature and dropping to the dusty ground. The claw once holding said dropped item gently rolled up the paper, before the holder of both the paper and claw exhaled a soft breath of green flame. The meager light flickered over the rolled paper and floated away on a nonexistent breeze.

There was a sigh, and Obsidian looked up from the burned-out shell of a building. It had started raining, and his energy had been depleted greatly by the long teleportation, but this place, this stone-flooded town, seemingly obliterated by the nearby power of the mountian, and the magical healing energy eminating from that spot had a sheen Obsidian had only seen on his father's strongest spells.

A Godly sheen.

Yes, this place was the last known spot where a being similar to him hed been standing. A Firstborn.

A creature that, even at the best of times, couldn't even begin to challenge him, and instead, feared him.

Kha had grown surrounded by fear, in the devilish things seen in his mind, and did not care about the presence of more. Obsidian, however, was ethically shaken.

Obsidian did not like fear.

Spike jolted upright, some forgein material having decided his throat was extremly comfortable and was clumping in a massive wad in said organ. As he coughed and gagged on the clump, the numb tingle running through his mouth detected magic, something he was used to dealing with when he was young. Of course, the magic Celestia used had been a lot less stubborn.

With a louder cough, the green flame drooled miserably out of his jaws, congealing into an unsealed scroll. Running one claw over his throat to clear it, he examined the letter itself, half-expecting it to begin with 'Dear Twilight Sparkle,'. Sadly, as we readers know, this was not the case.

Spike's pupils grew smaller with every further word, only lifting from the paper to check and see if this was just a joke, if the young draconequus was just kidding, but there was powerful magic around, and not from the delivery or the burning carcass of a town.

Gently rolling the paper back up, Spike sighed and clicked his claws together nervously. Something stirred below him, but he was staring off into the distance, lost in thought. He was snapped out of his thoughts with a sentence of common, friendly words.

"Spike, take a letter."

The elder dragon facetaloned and begrudgingly pulled both a blank scroll and inked quill out of seemingly nowhere, sighing as he crouched to write.

Obsidian sat up against the shell of the house, waiting for dawn of some sort. His tail was wrapped around his feet, and he had pulled his knees up to his chest. His wings were folded neatly at his sides, and his hands locked in front of his legs and held them in place.

He couldn't rock. It was not the way he was sitting, but Kha, mentally embarrassed at his host, had disabled all further non-vital motor functions. And the draconequus hadn't even noticed, just continued to stare into space and breathe slightly faster than usual.

Kha sighed again, huffing leftover magic smoke from his host's mouth, and waking him up from his stupor.

"Hm?" His eyes brightened, and he glanced around, moving his head and everything. "What do you want?"

Needed to make sure you were still alive.

"Ha ha." Obsidian growled, releasing his numb grip and streching his stiff legs. "How long was I sitting like that?"

There was a psychic shrug. I don't exist in time, remember? And whatever you were staring at, I didn't want to disturb you from.

"Well, you disturbed me. Ugh, my head hurts." He rubbed his forehead with his paw. "Did I blink at all?"

No, I disabled that. You didn't need to blink to live.

"It sure helps!" Obsidian shouted, before instantly regretting the soundwave hitting his ears. "Dear sweet Equestria that hurts." He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the side of his head with his hands. "Ugh."

I feel magic.

"We're surrounded by it, idiot." Obsidian winced, opening one eye. "Oh. That." He swung a claw, hooking the floating green ball of flame and congealing it in his palm. "I don't want to reeeeaaaaad." He whined.

Fine. I'll read it. Kha huffed. Obsidian felt the lack of control resume, and the pain in his head subsided. The new being unrolled the still-flickering scroll. After scanning a few lines, the being tore his eyes away and rolled it back up, mentally turning to Obsidian. "I kinda think you should be reading this, not me."

"Why? It's just from Spike." Obsidian realized he was in control again.

There's a second scroll, magickally affixed. It was added after the initial sending. Ever heard of email? Where the newer message shows up first?

"I understand the message part. What's an email?"

Forget I said that. It's not from your omniverse.

"Ah." Obsidian shook his hands a few times to make sure there were no numb muscles, and slowly opened the double scroll. Just as Kha had said, there was another sheet in front, smaller than Spike's and with much looser writing.

Dear Obsidian...

Magic is Sunshine

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Obsidian finally got up from where he was sitting, tears still streaming down his face as he crumpled the smaller of the two scrolls in his claw.

What about the other... the other scroll? The insistent voice, although being silent for a long time, always returned. I know it has much less value to you, but I believe it is worth reading as well.

"It was a decoy. I know Sunrise's powers. She was... is... fully capable of intercepting the sent message before it came. She would read it, find Spike, read my message, write her own and send it along, secretly. I have full assurance that the message she sent wasn't read by anyone else. Just...us..."

No. Kha insisted. I do not know what other interaction you have had with overnatural beings, but I am not like them. I have not looked at that paper other than the first accidental lines, and I do not intend to read more. That was between you and Sunrise, and I believe you deserve to keep it that way.

"Oh... thank you." Obsidian wiped the tears from his cheeks, standing up and taking a few deep breaths. Tilting his chin up and pushing out his chest to look stronger, it was all he could do to keep from crying again.

Just read the other scroll. Is it not worth reading how the rest of the ponies feel?

"Nah, he wouldn't have woken anyone else up. But Twilight's magic is attuned to messaging, and she would have found it and told him to write a reply. Being that he has scribe training and all."

Go on, read it. Go on go on go on.

"You sound like an overexcited foal! Fine, I'll read it." He could feel Kha's concious huddled playfully in the front of his mind, almost giggling with excitement. "Anticipating much?"

OPEN IT!!

Obsidian laughed and unrolled it, scanning over the words. "Oh, Twilight must have told him what to write."

Obsidian,

I know you must be having conflicting emotions about all this. All of this...well, everything. Spike, did you write that? Spike! The pause and everything? Stop writing! Ugh, you got sarcastic in your old age. Fine, whatever,

I heard a quote once, 'It's a cruel and random world, but the chaos is all so beautiful.' I thought it applied to you. Good luck, Obsidian. Good luck with everything. If all else fails, I'll welcome you back with open arms. We all will.

You don't have to be a worldsaver to be loved.

~Twilight Sparkle

(and her ever-present and loyal dragon scribe, who is awesomely awesome and extremely handsome, Spike.)

You did not just write that!

"Well?"

I LIKE PONYVILLE PONIES! AND DRAGONS!

Obsidian laughed at his mental friend and realized that not only had his breathing steadied, but that he felt happy. Happy.

Running his paws along the ash-caked wall, Obsidian cheered and pranced outside. Happy.

Sunrise pouted as Twilight hooked her by her tail and swung her onto her back. "It takes practice, but your father was much harder to catch."

The yellow dragonness climbed up Twilight's mane, setting her chin gently on the mare's forehead. "Why do I have to stay?"

The Unicorn paused, one hoof in the air, and for a second Sunrise thought she had broken her. "Um, Twilight? You okay?"

"SpikekeepgoingaheadIneedtotalktoSunrise."

"H'okay, whatever." The large dragon picked up speed until he was jogging, bouncing ahead to the front of the group.

Twilight began walking again, albeit much slower. "Look, when I was a filly,"

"Not again."

"Oh, be queit and listen to your elder. Fine, I'll shorten it. When I was little, and the Element of Magic was at it's most active, there were a lot of dangerous things around Equestria."

"What does this have to do with me?"

Twilight continued without listening. "There was Nightmare Moon, when, against whatever Celestia had said about my safety, I went after her. With five other ponies, we found and rediscovered the Elements. And unknown to anyone, we received the memories of all the previous Bearers."

"Again, what does this have to do with me?"

"And now, I'm going to pass the Element on to you. Sunrise." She looked back over her shoulder, grinning in a slightly disturbing way. "May the wind speed your wings, and the stars heed your calls. Although there is no material object I can give you, I want you to have the Element." It will come when you need it.

Checking to make sure everypony had moved on, Twilight slid Sunrise off of her head and waited for her to scarmble onto her hind legs. Twilight's horn lit, and for a few brief moments, a spectral silhoette of a crown graced her forehead in varying hues of violet, before she touched the tip of her magic force to Sunrise's head.

The light grew brighter and darker at the same time, as it simmered to a purple hue and lit the surrounding area. Sunrise tried to close her eyes, but they were fixed open, and Twilight's as well.

It went dark again, suddenly, and both creatures stumbled back. Twilight looked worn from the ordeal, while Sunrise was glowing. Literally.

Her scales were edged in a mystical purple fire, while the once-red crests along her head, cheeks and tail had morphed into a pale lilac color. When she opened her eyes, or at least focused them, the once-pink irises had taken on the color Twilight's used to be, and while the slitted pupils remained the same, their color had turned purple as well, darker than that of the iris. Her once-yellow scales had not turned purple, for overuse of the colour, and instead an orange-pink. The skin on her wings had only changed breifly from scarlet, and were a deep orange. The thicker scales on her belly were a deep blue.

Twilight laughed. "Me and my friends were born into the Elements, there was nopony to pass them down to us... I never knew your color changed."

"Think of how Tigerjay could look!" The now-violet dragonness giggled. "All pink!"

"I don't know about that." Twilight added. "We've been using the Elements without Pinkie and Fluttershy, but they haven't done anything major since we split up..." Her pupils shrank. "Spike, you're the new Rainbow Dash!" She exclaimed.

"Have you gone off your rocker?"

"No! I figured out what's going on! IT'S PINKIE PIE AND FLUTTERSHY! That's what's been missing! That's why we can't do anything big with the Elements! Like Spike activated the Elements before with Discord, but it wasn't strong enough!"

"I am not understanding."

Twilight turned to Sunrise, grinning. "No, you go find Obsidian. You should still be able to tap into his teleport. I have to go find Kindness and Laughter."

"I've never done magic before!"

"You're Element has. Trust it, and you'll be fine. Separate your future from our past. Good luck."

Twilight teleported away, leaving a decidely smaller flash of light than normal, and left Sunrise alone.

A forgien feeling ran through her scales. Magic. Ancient magic. With a brief smile, she reached out to Obsidian's magic, and burrowed into it. following his path.

"Good luck to you too."

Return to Sin

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"I've been waiting long enough for you to show your face."

"Ha ha." The Alicorn almost-growled. "You're Kha, and I know it."

Don't take him up on any bets. Kha warned.

NOT a good time for random comments. "I am, surprisingly, fully aware of this."

"I bet you don't know what he's done in the past." Corona snickered. "Fifty bits an I'll say what he hasn't told you."

"No thanks."

The vibrant red Firstborn laughed. "You just as penny-pinching as I am?"

"I have no money."

"You came to talk to me without any cash on you? I could probably sell some of your fur, or feathers... ah, those claws look good for letter openers..."

"Quit it! I don't sell my body!" Obsidian emitted a sudden blush as Kha snickered away in his mind. "Parts to weirdos!" He added.

That didn't help

Shut up.

The numb feeling quickly filled his limbs and head. Hey! Stop it!

Relax, I need to talk buisiness.

"Corona, I can give you as much gold as you could ever have if you help us."

"The knucklehead already said he didn't have money."

"I do." Kha waved Obsidian's paw, materilizing a handful of small golden coins. A few fell to the ground, and Corona swept them closer with his magic, drooling slightly. "Ah ah ah. No touching." The entity hissed, lifting them back into his hand.

"What do you want me to do? I'll do anything!"

"Tell me where Maris is, and forget I was ever here. In that order, and when I ask you."

"Maris is in the southern seas! On the Griffon side!"

Wow, he's not very smart.

"Good. The second I teleport, forget I was ever here, or this gold will turn to dust and ashes. Understood?"

"Yesyesyes!"

Kha stepped back from Corona, dropping his pawful of golden coins. He stepped into the previous teleport and altered the strands of magic inside so his travel didn't end at this place. Without a word, he vanished in the altered magic, without noticing the other presence sharing his newly changed route.

How did you know that?

Not hard. Your friends are Magic, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty and Laughter, as well as the Seventh, which I am not permitted to tell you. The Firstborn are Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Sloth, Pride, Envy and Anger. Two of these belong to something and nothing, as you will soon determine which. Corona is Greed, and has been satisfied. All we need to do is settle the others. Each Harmony is affixed to a Cacophony. As long as the Harmony has a Bearer, the Cacophony can be settled. Make note of our first match: Greed to Generosity.

And why do they need to be 'settled'?

It is one of the conditions for my return.

Ah.

The pink earth pony sank to the ground, clutching a small object in her hooves. Shivering against the cold of the wind rushing through the alley, she pressed up against the wall, trying to hold back tears that would only be a waste of fluid. None of the ponies trotting by saw her, and if they did, they just turned their muzzles up in disgust and continued on. None had stopped, ever. None ever would.

It wasn't Canterlot, some little city in the middle of nowhere, Forelockington or some stupid name.

But it was somewhere where nopony would know her name, would recognize her face.

She curled up tighter, her coat dull and her mane straight. Holding the item in her hooves where she could see it, she hiccuped back another sob.

The photograph was old, but hadn't faded. Six ponies, each a different pastel color, looking happy an free and young despite the confines of the brown frame. It must have been taken by someone else... probably Spike or Bonbon or something.

Her friends.

Pinkie hid the photo back in her mane and stood up.

There was no use in hiding any longer. She needed a friend. Word on the street - literally - was that something big was happening in Ponyville, and that Celestia and Luna had both passed away. Through living in Ponyville and her twitching ear, something BIG was about to happen. And she was going to help fix it.

Who's next?

Maris, now that we have confirmed his location.

Which... Cacophony? ... is he?

There was a mental laugh. I can feel another presence on this line. A Harmony. When she arrives with us at Maris's palace, I'll affix the magic that lets us breathe to her as well, and Maris's shell will soon peel to his Cacophonic nature.

The blinding whiteness suddenly tore away, and Sunrise found herself surrounded by thousands of pounds of pressure, and unable to breathe in.

An invisible, bodiless voice whispered through, She has arrived. And suddenly her body filled to it's normal density and the pressure subsided.

"Wha? Where am I?"

"Sunrise?! She was the one-" She was the one following me?!

Well yes. And she will be quite excited about-

"Obsidian!? Twilight gave me her Element! See? I can do magic now! How cool is that?!"

He caught the dragonness as she lauched herself into his arms. "You're heavy! Oh, nice scales there."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about them. But I missed you so much... I thought I'd never see you again..."

"I know. I got your letter." Obsidian sighed, hugging her close. "I missed you too."

She had grown with the essence of Magic. A few years of growth had been rapidly established, and if Obsidian had been quadruped, they would have been the same size. The darker, hidden parts of Obsidian's mind filled with ideas.

As if coming to the same conclusion, she straightened up on her hind legs - much more comfortable with her longer tail and neck - and continued holding his shoulders, despite her hind claws still comfortably settled on the ground. Obsidian's surprise faded quickly as she lifted the surface of her muzzle into his chin. Laughing and blushing, her wrapped his arms around her shoulders, noticing the strengthened muscles along her wing structure. Locking his claws together after setting his arms even lower, under her wing membranes, he did something he rather wished Kha hadn't snickered at later.

He kissed her.

It took her a few moments to respond, but she wasn't thoughly shocked, or - luckily - disgusted. She just came to her senses, and kissed back.

It was a while before he pulled back, but neither of them was blushing, and Sunrise was smiling at Obsidian.

"Whatever happens, Obsidian, I'm with you."

He smirked. "Maybe we can bring you along."

Red as Blood

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"We reallly should be getting going. You know, your mission and all?"

Obsidian had truly forgotten about what he was doing over ten thousand miles underwater and only breathing and staying uncrushed through the magic of a priorly-unknown eternal over-god.

"Ah. Yes. Maris." As always, his brain was taking unsteady clicks to turn on all of the switches. "Yes, the quest. Let's get started on that." He paused, looking around the dark abyss surrounding them. "Um... where are we starting?"

Ah, sorry. Just say Corona sent you.

He glanced off into the darkness, aware of Sunrise beginning to freak out and pressing into his side, the light from their shared teleport fading away.

"Um... Corona sent me?"

The surrounding area suddenly lit up in pale blue light, in spaced out watery orbs floating along the now-visible rock face. The sand underneath was still settling from the newly-arrived beings, and bubbles rose from those beings... gills?

"Wooo... that's weird." Obsidian played with the large flaps of skin now slightly raised from his neck. "I was in no way expecting that."

Sunrise was in the same state of shock, but over the little orbs of light. She had managed to remove one from the wall, and was passing it from hand to hand to figure out what type of magic it was made of.

The water stirred, and a massive head emerged from the darkness at the end of the lights. As little as either knew about the Firstborn, this was not one of them.

This was a massive underbite, lined with narrow, long fangs arcing back over the flattened nose and avoiding the eyes sitting liquidly on the sides of the flabby jaw. This was a set of bladed fins flickering in and out of the darkness as the thing bearing them waited. This was so titanic it could barely fit in the chasm. This was massive enough to hold all of Ponyville in it's mouth alone. This was a monster.

"Sunrise, get away."

She didn't move, simply stared at the monstrous enemy. Her grip tightened around the ball of light in her palm.

Obsidian looked up, seeing the slight movement. His voice changed from a warning to a command. "Sunrise, get away."

She kicked away from the wall, opening her wings to propel through the water. The fish-thing jerked back at the sudden movement before charging. Sunrise spun, throwing the orb at the peak of her speed before flapping backwards and out of the way. The ball of magic exploded on the fish's face, sending what looked like lightning and acid spraying into it's eyes and mouth.

Blinded, the monster kept charging, missing Obsidian by hairs and plowing into the darkness on the other side. A silence of both sound and movement following, stilling eerily.

"O-Obsidian?" Sunrise whispered, lost without her ball of light.

"I'm fine. Can you see? Can you get back into the light?"

"Maybe... I can see you a bit..."

A steady thrum began pulsing through the water. An odd tingling feeling not unlike Kha's control began to creep over Obsidian's skin. "It's sensing us! We won't be able to hide!"

Sunrise came plowing out of the darkness, grabbing more of the little orbs along the way. Obsidian kickstarted into action, doing the same. When the fish returned, blood drifting from it's face in a dim red fog, it was met with more of the offensive magic, scoring hits along it's face and it' blubbery, slimy flank. Sunrise even managed to blow a hole through one of it's fins.

There was a downside to this that neither of them rationalized. It was getting darker.

Sunrise launched the last orb she was carring, and although it managed to explode directly on top of the creature's eye, the light went comletely out, plunging them all into the darkness the fish could easily navigate.

"Sunrise!" Obsidian called out, hoping she would be able to find him. Within moments, she had pressed up against his side, chin on his shoulder, gills moving eerily against his shoulder.

"I'm scared."

"You aren't going to go all helpless on me, are you?"

"No."

Kha, you have to find some way to get us to Maris.

Get eaten.

"What?!?"

"Huh?"

Are you crazy?!?!

You dying is not something I'd hope for. You have to trust me.

"Sunrise, can you trust me?"

"Yes. Why?"

He grabbed her shoulders and held her close, flapping his wings to float up to the middle of the now-dark chasm. Still keeping her still, the sensing pulse resumed.

"What are you doing? Obsidian, it's going to kill us!"

As the bulk of the monster fish surged forward, Obsidian turned Sunrise and kissed her again, and they stayed together until the gaping, fanged jaws of the fish closed over them.

Tigerjay landed in front of the group, nodding for them to find a place to rest. Slowly, the herd seemed to glide across the ground, vanishing in shadows and leaving hoofprints that only dented the thick grass. Tigerjay took a head count before flying ahead to scout a trail. After leaving the tired group behind, a watchful side of Tigerjay began to emerge as he slipped intp his primal instincts, dropping to the ground and weaving silently, paws quiet and and talons barely brushing the ground.

There was something eerie about the nightly silence in the Deep Everfree, and it turned into a sense of home and belonging once one could meet that level of quiet. Any sudden noises were easily locatable.

Which is why the yell of "Hi there!" nearly killed Tigerjay.

He lifted himself into a normal standing position and glared at the pink pony that had just appeared. She was grinning widely, which was unnerving, and her mane and tail looked like they would eat any nearby brush. From his angle, her cutie mark seemed to be... balloons?

"Um... hi?"

"It's been forever since I was in Ponyville last, and I haven't seen you before, which means you're new, so I have to throw you a party-" She cut herself off, and her rapid speech slowed. "I guess it's me who's new. You guys will be the ones throwing the party..."

"Slow down." Tigerjay interrupted, sitting down. "I have no idea who you are... or how you managed to sneak up on me."

"Oh, I only snuck up on you because of that tree." She shot a hoof out sideways, into the forest, and continued talking before Tigerjay could question her further. "And I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"Pinkie... Pie? The Element of Laughter? And formerly best partier in Ponyville?"

"Yep, that's me! I'll have you know that I perfected the piñata while I was gone! How cool is that? Not as cool as glaciers or dry ice, but pretty cool."

"What are you talking about?"

"Where's Dashie? She around at all? Or is she in the Wonderbolts?"

Tigerjay actually understood this, and remembered the rumors circulating Ponyville until Twilight set them all straight. "Rainbow Dash... she died a long time ago. She was practicing a new trick, and... and she went out of control and crashed in Sweet Apple Acres..." He didn't mention the last part of Twilight's angry explaination, before she had burst into tears; ...and there wasn't enough of her left to bury...

"Can I see... the grave?"

Tigerjay looked up from his claws, and realized that, not only had the pony's pink coat gone dull, but her tangled mane had gone flat and perfectly straight. "It burned down... there's nothing left..."

Of course there's nothing left of the graveyard... there's nothing left at all...

"How do you burn down a graveyard?" She sighed. "I guess my Pinkie Sense was right again."

"Hm?"

"I've had a numb hoof for a few months. It meant something was going to attack Ponyville."

"And you didn't tell anyone?!"

She stood up, looming surprisingly taller than he thought. "I loved Ponyville with all my heart, all my soul. When I left, I kept it a pretty little pastel paradise in my head, because it was all that kept me sane for the last one hundred years! Do you even begin to understand how much it meant to me that my home was still happy when I wasn't? Do you?"

Tigerjay flinched at her words. "I bet Twilight wants to see you." He growled. "And Rarity and Applejack."

"I came here for only one thing, Tigerjay." Dipping her head quickly, she touched her chin to his forehead, and a flash of rose light echoed through the trees.

When the spots faded from Tigerjay's eyes, he realized the pony was gone. Just like before, he had heard and seen nothing. And, before contemplating that, he saw something red in the bottom of his vision, and looked down.

He was BRIGHT RED. Fire red. Cherry red. Blood red, even. A happier ideal came to mind. Icing red. He was icing red.

And for some indescriable, cosmically flawed reason, he was happy about it.

Belly of the Beast

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"Obsidian...?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we dead?"

He grunted, feeling a rush of pain spear through his leg. "It doesn't hurt when you're dead, does it?"

"Um, I don't think so."

"Then I'm not dead. And you're here, so you're not dead."

It occured to him that they were on solid ground, that was hard and seemed to be slippery. Water? It was dark, and the ground was firm and slimy, and they were alive, and they had just been eaten by a massive monster fish.

A dim glow flickered into being, spreading over Sunrise in an organic, gentle way and illumintating her forehead, wings, and a thin line down her back with amazingly bright pale purple light. The material they were standing on looked colourless, a dull grey, and had to be some kind of metal.

Obsidian shivered. Metal meant danger.

"Hey, a-are you o-o-okay?"

He pushed himself up by his arms, finding one leg virtually impossible to move. "Just dandy, can't you tell?"

"Your l-leg is-is-is b-b-b-bleeding." Sunrise squeaked, pointing with one claw. "T-there's blood all o-o-over the f-floor..."

"Well that's just great. Perfect. How could my day possibly get better?" He rolled onto his back, holding the injury and squinting at it. Massive gashed had torn through the furry skin, and as Sunrise had pointed out, there was a suitable amount of gore spilling from it. "Great. Amazing. Splendid. Not only are we a bazillion miles away from anything, now my leg has decided it wishes to be amputated. Ugh."

Dropping the soaked limb, he struggled to get up on his other leg.

"Can't you hover?"

"Can't focus. Have enough energy, but this subtle pain in my lower half is attempting to tear me apart." He winced and collapsed back onto the floor, feeling the sticky coating smear over his cheek and neck. "This has to be here for a reason. It's a machine. Go ahead and try to find help."

No! Don't let her out of your sight!

"I'm scared."

He glared up at her, eyes reflecting yellow against her light. "I didn't let you come just so you could chicken out! Go and get help."

Obsidian... Kha'dighreel growled. Listen to me.

"Fine. I'll go. Try... try not to die, okay?"

"Not planning on it."

Sunrise dropped back to all fours, bounding off into the distance, light fading from Obsidian and vanishing in the metal maw of the fish. Obsidian stopped struggling to stand, collapsing on his back and ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of his fur soaking.

You imbecile!

Oh, shut up. You're the one who told me to get eaten, anyway. Stop digging on me.

Not that, letting her go!

Oh, it's much better letting her sit here while I bleed to death.

Kha mentally facepalmed. It's not that...

Sunrise had gotten too far to see or hear Obsidian, and it was worrying her. Panic set in, and she resisted the impulse to run back to him. There was an end to the mouth, and she had found it, running alongside to look for some kind of entrance. The metal was dull and unchanging, and she would have thought she was on a treadmill if not for the trail she was leaving.

Bloody prints continued out of her light range.

Something was building inside her, painlessly and powerful. It was filling her limbs and making her head pound, increasing the light her scales were expelling, and she thought she saw her eyes reflected an spectral white in one of the blood pools she had left.

Stumbling, she rolled a few times before skidding to a stop and attempting to stand. She was instantly level to what looked like a... power cord? Grabbing it in her teeth, she began instinctively releasing magic, sending powerful energry through the cord.

It wasn't long before she wasn't the only source of light.

Small bulbs flickered to life along the roof and walls in the same spacing they had before. The ground seemed to glow as well, light appearing from the metal. It didn't seem healthy, though, sickly and geometric. The sight of it almost made Sunrise retch.

And then, defying the solid gray of the wall, it split in two vertically, lifting into the roof of the jaw and sinking into the bottom as well. A large, metal ball rolled out of the newly opened wall. As Sunrise watched, slightly astonished, the ball rolled up, looking at her with some kind of laser. It split apart, small bars hidden under the shell crunching and reforming until it formed a dragon-like structure, one laser eye still regarding her curiously.

<Excuse me, but how did you get in here? This isn't dragon magic tuned.> The robot frowned, at least, tried to, and it's radio voice lowered in an almost-threatening way.

"My friend, he's hurt. The teeth caught his leg."

"Shut up. My friend needs help."

The machine's head clinked off the ground, sparks flying from the collision. Sunrise spun, kicking the body of the robot back into the opened corridor.

"Well, here goes nothing." Dropping back to all fours, she ran off into the centroid of the mechanism.

"Tigerjay, what's with the dye job?"

The Griffon in question smiled and looked up at Spike. "I like it! It makes me look like a firework or something sparkly! I like sparkly things! Do you have an over with you? I'd like to make some cupcakes."

Spike lifted one eyebrow before looking at his back, and the purple unicorn sleeping on it. "Hey. Hey, Twilight. I think Tigerjay's on something."

She lifted her head, wiping sleep away with one hoof. "Huh? What do you mean?" Seeing Tigerjay's new saturation, she jumped up. "Did you happen to meet a pink pony?"

"What are you both smoking?" Spike muttered.

"Yeah, she was really nice and she made me red and I like red!"

"Did she say what her name was?"

"She knew my name and I never told her what it was, it was weird! And she said I was new, and then she got sad because she was new, and then everything went bright and pink, and then she was gone!"

"Her name?"

"Oh yeah! Pinkie Pie!"

Spike glanced at Twilight nervously. "What does he mean, 'went all pink'?"

Twilight looked up at the dragon that had once been her scribe. "He means that two of the six Elements have changed Bearers."

There was a few moments of tense, heavy silence, before Tigerjay burst out laughing.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON!!"

Something not unlike a massive set of gears had rusted beyond recognition, deep in the bottom of Canterlot. A being was beside them, watching as a series of smaller, once-pastel cogs had begun turning. Two, counting the one that had just started. One purple and one pink.There was still a white, a yellow, a blue and an orange, at least, they were the only smaller ones. But from just the two spinning, a third of the wall had begun spinning, banshee screams of machinery echoing around. The complex lock behind the door had begun shifting towards opening. In front, however, all that could be seen were six pegs, against a blue wall, and the faded insignia of a golden sun embellishing the center.

The being tapped the moving pegs, waiting for the magic to undo it's ancient oath.

Four more, and Balance could be restored.

"Hey," Tigerjay glanced up at Twilight. "Has anyone seen Discord?"

Chromatic and Metallic

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"Uh, no. I don't know where Discord is." Twilight looked around, trying not to look at Tigerjay's luminous feathers. "I could have sworn he was here before... but I haven't seen any trace of chaos..."

Spike snorted and lay his head back on his paws. "Just imagine how much trouble he might have caused by now."

"Shut up, Spike."

And the pegs spun silently.

Another one of the machines rolled up, taking the same form. It seemed to be made of a different metal, with a blue sheen.

"My friend, he's in the... mouth... and he's hurt. One of the teeth must have gotten him. The stupid machine was being agrrivating."

"You aren't... programmed to repeat things?"

The robot let out a whirring laugh. <Oh, those are still prototypes, so they don't have speech microchips. Until they recieve a command from one of us - I mean, higher level Officers - and we disable them and take care of the intruder. Until Maris works on the programming, they're only meant to slow intruders. Most who enter are here on purpose, and unviolent. They are taken care of quickly. And you?>

"Here for Maris."

The blue machine waved a paw for her to come forward. <Aren't you all? I'll get a Nurse to your friend, and she'll meet up with you at Maris's palace.>

"Thank you." Sunrise sighed. "Wait... she?"

This time, it was not an Earth Pony who was hiding, nor was she in an alley. She was underground, in a cave, lit by fire and rabbit-hole skylights. There had been noises above, loud noises, voices and hooves, and her animals had scurried above ground and away, leaving the pony alone in her expansive tunnel system.

The roof did not bother her as much as it should have. Her wings were weak even when she was young, and getting older had not done them justice. She was just as much an Earth Pony as one born without wings. At least, until she had heard the cracking voice of a Unicorn, and her wings twitched.

Muscles that had been dormant for fifty years regained power. Flapping silently, the grounded Pegasus began to rise. Nearing the roof, she began scraping at one of the skylights, debris raining down onto the ground. There was nothing left for her in the animals, not since Angel passed away. Now, now she was ready. Now, she was coming home.

As a large clump of earth fell with a thud, the Pegasus climbed out of the hole, covered in mud and animal dung. Standing on the ground with the wind back in her long, knotted mane. she closed her eyes.

"Fluttershy?"

The Pegasus bit her tongue, trying to find words. She had planned this so many times, when she would finally reveal herself to Twilight Sparkle. And now, all the planned scenarios in her head vanished.

She felt her back being touched moments before she was pulled into a dirty, stinking hug. "Fluttershy, where have you been? I was so worried! Were you underground this whole time? What did you eat? How did you survive?"

"I...uh...I ate grass... sometimes..."

The Unicorn looked at her friend, tears running down her cheeks. "It's unhealthy, being out of the sun! How are you feeling?"

"Fine... if that's okay..."

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up. You look like you were raised in a pigsty!"

"NO!" Fluttershy tore away from Twilight's grasp, glaring at her. "Stop assuming I need your help all the time! I'm strong now!"

"Fluttershy, I didn't mean-"

"You never mean it! That doesn't make it easier!" She grimaced and turned to face the waking crowd. Leaning in, she spotted a zebra, grabbing her by the shoulders and slamming their foreheads together. When the yellow light diminished, everyone was staring at Fluttershy, ignoring the changes beginning to overtake Chibi.

The Pegasus backed up to the enlarged hole she had climbed from. She looked through everyone, to the zebra.

"Take care of the Element. I couldn't." And she reared back, falling down into the blackness of the tunnels.

Twilight lunged forward, stopping almost as fast when a loud groan echoed from under her feet. Cracks began to spread from the rabbit holes. Spike grabbed Twilight and opened his wings, soaring above the trees and diving down to capture more ponies.

"Fluttershy! Fluttershy, wait!" Twilight screamed, trying to throw herself off of Spike's claw. "Wait!"

As the ground began collapsing inwards, there were no ponies left on the surface. All of the remainders clustered on Spike's broad shoulders.

Fluttershy heard Twilight crying, and thought about turning around.

"No." She whispered to herself. "I'm happy. She'll be fine."

Still muttering, she trotted off down the branching tunnel and away from the blocked exit, the massive chunks of earth blocking the sky for the final time.

She looked back, and realized that she was bleeding, a large chunk of skin ripped away from her ankle. She had been oblivious to the injury, and realized the shadows in the corners of her eyes had grown larger, and her mind was getting fuzzy.

Somehow, she smiled. "Good luck, everypony."

And everything went black.

Obsidian opened his eyes, seeing what looked to be a pink draconequus leaning over him. It glanced up with the customary laser eye, and his eyes flickered shut again.

The robot stood aside, letting Sunrise enter the chamber. It was a high dome, looking like it had a lot of flying room, and was filled with gray synthetic clouds and supported by shimmering copper columns. There was a fountian off to the side, and assorted cushions, chairs, perches and blankets littered the ground, with equally assorted species on top of them.

There were only ten. There were two Griffons, both female, judging by the small-tufted tails. There was one dragon, a slim blue who was casually sipping water from a wine glass. Surprisingly, there was a pheniox, one of the more intellectual ones that could hold up a conversation. There was one of each type of pony, a red-coated-green-maned Earth mare, a purple-coated-white-maned Pegasus mare, and a dull orange-coated-equally-orange-maned Unicorn mare. There was a zebra mare as well, and beside her an extravagantly emerald-feathered winged serpent. Leaning up against a pillar was a tan Diamond Dog, who Sunrise assumed to be female, from the trend.

As she walked in, she realized that smaller robots were hovering around, bringing food from slots in the walls and giving it to the circle of animals.

Only the serpent looked up as she approached. "You too?"

Sunrise pulled up a pillow, sitting down on it and looking at the faces of the others. They all looked stressed, or worn, or tired, or all of the three, and they were all her age.

"What do you mean?"

The zebra glared at the snake. "This is a stressful situation, I'm sure she wants an explaination. My name is Zuta, newcomer dragon; this annoying reptile is Flaytenemon."

"Call me Tene, please." The oddity added.

"I'm Cureheart." The Unicorn continued. "The Pegasus is Skybreaker and the Earth is Songscript."

The dog looked up and shuffled over to join the group. "Helia." She grunted.

"The name's Spear, friend." The other dragonness said.

"I'm Spring, and this is Summer." One of the Griffons contributed.

Extending a wing, the pheniox smiled. "Hythenz."

"I'm Sunrise."

The snake from before grinned, exposing needle-like teeth. "So, you got here by chance? With no prior knowledge of who, what, why, where, when or how?"

Sunrise nodded.

"Well, it may look good now, but it's not. You're lucky you're new. How is up to you to remember, we all have our ways. I'll have you know none of us are here by choice. When? Still unknown. Can't have a calender, and none of the guards will tell you. Where? Underwater in a giant mechanical fish. Why? Another unknown. Some of us think it's Him tempering with magic and reality to bring us here, but noone knows. What? Well, it's sort of a massive... um... prison? Prison sounds good. And who? Who is Maris, otherwise known as Him. Note the capital, somehow the guards can tell if you speak it or not. So yeah. Understood?"

"Enough."

"Enough is good." The blue dragonness sighed. "Hey, minion, get the new kid some food."

A nearby 'minion' sped off towards the wall, clicking and whirring.

The snake made sure noone else was going to talk before starting again. "Anyone with you? Normally we show up in pairs. The Griffons, me and Zuta, the phenoix with the Unicorn, the Pegasus and the Earth, the dragon and the Dog. You're alone, which is pretty odd, considering."

Sunrise shook her head. "No, my friend got hurt. The teeth cut his leg."

"You came in through the mouth? With a guy, no less?" This was the dragonness again, and she walked over to Sunrise, tilting her head to look at her gills. "Never seen Maris take a guy in, and this is strong magic for a dragon. How'd you know to come in?"

Sunrise avoided denying the 'dragon' concept. "My friend-"

"Boyfriend." Tene.interrupted.

"-told me I would be safe."

"Man, if he let you come in here, he's got a pretty mutated version of safe." The robot arrived with a plate of flawed gemstones, which Sunrise took and put down in front of her, listening to Spear. "If he's with a nurse, let's hope he can act as a girl pretty well. Maris doesn't take kindly to males."

Banshee's Lament

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~I hate, no, despise sounding needy or egotistical in any sense, but I have noticed that a lot of people are both viewing and tracking this story. I really want to get back on the Featured, but the rating is .4 stars too low. I would like to encourage anypony who enjoys reading this story to uprate, and I thank you all for looking at this story at all. Oh, and this story will have two parts. Part one will be coming to a close soon. Sorry about my odd update times, Ice~

Obsidian woke up surrounded by pale light, with the pink draconequus he had assumed was a mirage leaning over his chest. As his vision focused, he was relieved to find it was made of plastic-y panels and metal gears. It looked up as he shifted.

<Oh, good, you're awake. Is your leg hurting?>

"Not as much." He sat up, looking down at his hoof, and seeing it was covered in hardened plaster and a layer of goo. "Where's Sunrise?"

<You're friend is with the other girls in the main chamber. If you're feeling up to it, I can bring you there now.>

Obsidian sat up, turning sideways before hopping off the cot. Pain shot up his bandaged limb, but he held back the spots clouding his vision and put a claw on the cot.

"I'm... fine..." He panted, still resisting the overwhelming urge to pass out. "Which... way are... we going?"

The robot walked up, grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him to lean against it's pink shell.

He nodded, teeth gritted, before limping off alongside the unnatural rosy Nurse.

Sunrise lifted her head from the pillow, where she had been flicking a tassle. She had no idea how much time had passed, but all of the animals, including Helia, had attempted to make her talk, only met by her continued stare into some infinite point in space.

The doors had slid open almost silently, with a short sniff of air, before sliding shut again.

"Hey, new kid." Tene whispered, poking her with a wing. "Is that your boyfriend?"

Spear snorted. "That's not even a dragon!"

The pheniox glared at her counterparts. "Hush! Obviously your disdainful comments are not helping! Let the girl speak, and him as well. It may be true that he is no dragon, but that does not mean we should treat either of them differently."

"It is not a dragon that is now among us, I believe it's a draconequus." Zuta added.

Sunrise jumped to her feet, bounding over and knocking Obsidian from the Nurse's arms in a hug. She was almost crying.

"Hey, get off me, you're heavy. I was coming over, you know." He attempted to push her off, and she nosed his hand aside.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too..."

A navy wing opened between the two. "Hey!" Spear growled, almost whispering. "The Nurse is still here. The slave drones won't care, but she will. Get a room."

"Ahaha... yeah..." Sunrise blushed and backed up quickly, leaving a stunned Obsidian flat-out on the ground. As he got up, Sunrise subtley pushed the Nurse towards the door. "Yeah, we'll take care of him. Run along now." With a final shove, the robot was pushed outside, and the doors slid shut.

Spear opened a near-invisible panel, revealing a keypad, and pressed a few of the buttons. The room got darker, but a loud clicking emitted from the door. "I locked it. We're on a lower supply of magic now, but only Maris can come in. The drones are stuck outside." She looked over at Obsidian, who had, through the supporting shoulders of Sunrise and Skybreaker, made it to the circle of creatures.

As she pulled up a new blanket, Sunrise leaned up against Obsidian. He purred and nuzzled the top of her head. Silently, Skybreaker made a gagging face at Cureheart, and the Unicorn was having trouble keeping from laughing. When they realized that there was a suddenly awkward silence, Obsidian smiled.

"So... they think I'm a girl?"

Tene nodded, laughing slightly. "I guess. Otherwise there's no way you'd have your leg fixed."

"That must be a blow to your ego." Spear added, tilting her head. "Or those 'bots really are blind."

Sunrise made an exaggerated snarl. "He's mine. Back off."

Spear stood up and swung her hips. "Oh, keep your attitude to yourself. You know he wants me."

Both dragonnesses turned to Obsidian, who had shoved his face into the nearest pillow. His wings were sticking straight up from his back.

"Obsidian!" Sunrise yelled, glaring at him. "Stop that!"

"I can't help it!" Was the muffled reply. "I'm sorry!"

"Aw man, we should have gotten a guy in here sooner!" Spear laughed, poking Sunrise. "This will never get old!"

Sunrise smiled devilishly. "Defend yourself!"

The yell was little warning. By the time Spear had tilted her head in confusion, the Elemental dragonness had landed on her, rolling across the ground with a squeal. The two settled on an all-out catfight, swinging their paws at random and far enough away that no serious damage could even possibly be dealt. Obsidian was still blushing thouroghly, but the others were laughing at the dragons, and he was able to throw a blanket over his back.

The attention now turned to the unwilling recipent of Fluttershy's light. Her color had changed completely, leaving her stunned and slightly embarrased. All the stripes on her body had turned pink, while the rest of her coat was a nice soft yellow. Her mane was strips of pink and purple, and the few golden bands hanging loosely around her neck and hooves had changed to silver.

"Well," Chibi sighed. "This is awkward."

The being woke from his temporary nap as another soft scream filled the air. It was not as loud and disturbing as the other two, more like a song than an exclaimation of terror, but still a scream none-the-less. He fixed his eyes on the new turner. This time, it was the yellow peg, swiveling in sync with the purple and the pink. More gears had begun to shift, and he could have sworn he saw a spark of magic flash in the keyhole.

Half of the pegs were spinning, the rythymic ticking from the hidden machinery beating out a ceaseless, noteless tune.

"Come on come on come on!" The being whispered to the otherwise unoccupied room. "Time is of the essence! Hurry up!"

He resisted slamming his fists against the metal. All it had done before was sent a moderately powerful surge of electricity through his veins, which had happily vaporized half of his bloodflow.

Now, all he could do was wait.

Kha had seen a place once, a distant blue-green dot in the orbit of a star he had lovingly nicknamed Sol. It was a pretty place, and he had even visited it once, but after he did not want to return. It was crowded, and filled with stone and steel, spires of mineral that exuded power, that in turn made you feel insignifigant underneath them. Despite these, the beings traveled mercilessly, cursing at sloth and eating with gluttony. And this was when he had come to the realization that while half of the lively dots in orbit of places like Sol had Harmony and Peace, there were others like this one that were the breathing embodiments of Cacophony and Chaos.

And after arriving on Sol's only bright planet, the pictures flared in his mind, the pictures of war and death and bloodshed, all in vain, all under the higher powers that set no foot in the fight and called it off on a whim. The pictures had not left his closed eyes since, haunted his dreams in nightmares, waited in the shadows, beckoning endlessly for one more blink, so that his temporary innocence could never be spared slaughter.

He missed the dreams of plants and towering trees and icy beauty of winter and soft breeze of summer, of calm and gentle and natural and harmonic in the way they were created, but these dreams, in their essence of fragility, had broken and dispelled under the morallic weight of the pictures.

So when his host laughed and loved and lived, it hurt Kha in a way that could never be described as anything but envy, for this creature who could survive in innocence and flowers and happiness, surrounded by family and friends, and not know the pictures, and who could breathe and smell and see and move and feel, could feel anything other than silence and mourning, could dream. This simple act of peaceful unconscienceness tore Kha's soul to the core.

But as he had always done while in pain, he slipped away, letting the chaotic hurt of another take the place of his, and distanced himself further from the feelings he had come to realize were his.

Wasting Away

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Kha jabbed the back of Obsidian's mind, waking him up from a priorly calm sleep and also inducing a sudden muscle spasm in his wounded leg. Hey! It's getting harder for me to talk to you. Something's wrong! I need you to find Maris!

Is there any way you could be a little more painful?!

Get up get up get up! He poked the nerve repeatedly, until Obsidian was almost crying. I know you can't feel it, but something's wrong. Hello? Hey, listen! Don't you dare go back to sleep! UP!

Obsidian growled into the empty air and grudgingly pushed the blanket aside. One of the servant robots whirred up curiously, the laser-pointer eye shining against Obsidian's face.

"Uh... can I talk to Maris?"

The robot quickly flaoted away, stopping to make sure Obsidian was following. Without the aid of a living crutch, he had abandoned his pride and was limping along on all fours.

It wasn't long before Obsidian was standing in front of a massive door. It was decorated with copper and gold swirls, mimicking ocean waves, and two massive sapphires were laid in the 'sky'. They seemed to be glowing, a little more naturally than the lights around.

The drone tapped one metal hand against the door, waiting patiently for a response. The waves rose up from the ground, splitting in half at the gemstones and retracting into the wall. With a loud grind, the silver wall behind broke into thousands of tiny spirals, spinning entracingly into the frame and leaving no trace they had ever been there. Behind them was a long hallway, with another door at the other end. Obsidian limped past, wincing as the door closed again behind him.

"Here goes nothing."

"Squishy, I need to have a word with you. Alone." Rarity levitated her daughter out of the crowd, ignoring her sarcastic remark and trotting away wih her. "Look, I'm getting old, and I know I can't have much time left."

"Don't say that! You're going to live forever."

"Heart, please." Rarity sighed, looking down into her eyes. "Even the Goddesses didn't live forever. Just listen."

Squishy, realizing the weight of the situation in the use of her middle name, nodded.

"You've seen me use my Element before, remember? To help cast out that big meanie hydra that came into town?"

"Yeah momma, I remember."

"And I can't use it anymore. We've seen Tigerjay become the Bearer of Laughter, and Chibi is a Bearer of Kindness. Twilight told me that she gave Sunrise the Element of Magic. There are three others, whose locations we have. There's my Element, Generosity, Applejack's Honesty, and Rainbow Dark's Loyalty. We've talked about it, and decided our new Bearers." The white Unicorn set her daughter down, walking up and touching their horns together. "Squishy, I give to you the Element of Generosity."

The following flash was filled with tiny sparkles, glittering to the ground before fading out of existence. Rarity stepped back, worn from the lack of her sustaining Element, and smiled at her daughter.

There was no massive change, but her coat, which had once been pale purple, was now a flawless white, more than enough of a change to an Element.

She jumped forwards, hugging her mother. "Thank you. I'll make you proud."

The second door didn't require any wait, simply moving aside as Obsidian approached. It was also a lot less dramatic, just swishing back into the wall. The inside was lit, by natural magic, like the orbs in the outside, small glowing spheres lining the walls.

Of course, some of them were hard to see through the snake staring at him. The reptile had his head tilted curiously, tongue flicking as he reviewed the draconequus. Despite the dim light, the edges of his silhoette shimmered with an oily sheen.

"And why are you here? I ssssswore I told thossssse sssssstupid robotsssss not to let any guysssss in." His inlit eyes rolled, and the lights brightened. "Sssssso, you are?"

"Kha."

"Imposssssible! I know who Kha hassss possssssesssssed and it issssss not you. It isssss an Alicorn, no?"

"Uh, no."

"Fulmen told me it wasssss the daughter of a Pegassssusssss, who wasssssss Faenum'sssss daughter. Your father certainly got around. I envy him for that. An Alicorn? About," he held his tail a few inches above the ground, "yay big? Apperantly gray? Anything?"

"Still no. I've met her, she's the cutest filly in the world, but I assure you that she is not Kha, because I am."

"Cute, you sssssay? Oh, too young. Maybe later." He shook his head to clear his Cacophony's influence. "Ah ha... and why ssshould I believe you when you ssssay you are Kha?"

"You never seen a draconequus before?" Obsidian snarled, fanning his wings. "I assure you, this is not natural."

"Your mother wassssss an Alicorn. Ssssshe hassss Pegassssussss blood, of coursssse. Your wingssss would be bigger."

Chill, Obsidian. I got this one.

"Hey! Hey, n-"

"Maris, ask me something only Kha would know."

"Um... why are you here?"

"Why must I deal with such peabrains? Because all hell is breaking loose, and you've become Lust. Now please just listen to me so we can move on?"

"True... true..." Maris backed up. "Here, come in. More than enough room."

"Thank you."

"Ssssso, you are Kha? Really?"

"I'm in the bottom of the ocean, I let myself get eaten by a giant fish, and I'm surprisingly sane while talking to a giant rainbow snake. Is it smart to continue doubting me?"

"Well, yeah, I guesssss sssssso." Maris, realizing he was lacking shoulders, tilited his head. "Sssssso... now what?"

"I don't know. Normally something just... happens. Do you feel any different?"

"May...be?" The snake head-shrugged again. "Uhhhh.... no. Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh."

"Positive?"

"Only foolssssss are possssitive."

"Okay... still nothing?"

"How many timesssss mussst I sssay it?"

Kha flapped Obsidian's wings and flew up in front of Maris's face. "Maybe we have to talk about your problem?"

"According to you, it ssssshould all fix itssssself."

Kha smacked Maris's nose.

For a few seconds the snake looked stunned. "What wasss that fo-"

And then the entire room plunged into darkness, save for a small light flashing over the door.

"Oh, crap."

"What does that light mean?"

"Powersssss' cut." Maris hissed, voice wavering. "And oxygen will ssssstop production."

"So...?"

The snake sighed. "We're going to start suffocating in about half-an-hour."

"...and everyone on the fish will?"

"Die."

"And you aren't going to do anything?"

"Of course-" His glowing eyes suddenly widened. "I have to. I've done wrong my whole life, and this is my chance to repent before I die... DID I JUST SAY THAT OUT LOUD?!?"

"Honesty! You've been Balanced!"

"Okay...?"

"HAHAHA! ANOTHER ONE!" Discord cheered, pressing his eye up to the keyhole. "So close... two more..." He backed up, reclining on some invisble hammock. "Loyalty and Honesty. How fitting."

"Tick tock tick tock..."

Toasters

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I thought... that I would be given another chance here... that maybe part of me could saved... I can't be evil... I can't be deviod... I can't...

Can I?

Maris simply titled his head, and a circle of the magic orbs appeared both around his neck and Obsidian's. Another tilt, and the rest of the captives appeared in the room.

Sunrise bounded over to Obsidian, hugging him, and the rest of them backed up, fearful of the snake.

He sighed. "I've done wrong, I know. I've changed. And... I have sssssomething to tell you. There'sssss an enchantment on thisssss sssssship. It'sssss felt like lesssssss than a year, hasssssn't it."

Tene was the first to regain her senses. "Yes...?"

"Actually..." Hythenz piped up. "As a phenoix, I have a natural clockwork mind, so-"

"It's actually been a hundred yearssss sssssince mossssst of you came." Maris finished. "And... I'm ssssso ssssssorry... but mossssst of your family will have passssssssed away..."

"No... no... NO!" Tene yelled. Abandoning all caution, she threw herself at Maris. "My mother, she was sick! Dying! I wanted to be with her until she left! I wanted her to be happy! My brother, he... he... I needed to be with him! I NEEDED TO PROTECT HIM! YOU MONSTER!" The anger drained out of her, and she would have smashed on the floor if Skybreaker hadn't gotten in the way. The young snake wrapped her tail around the Pegasus. "You... m-m-monster..."

"It's been a t-thousand years, you say? How much of our lives have faded away?"

"None. You have been presssssserved. You will live your normal lifesssssspan from here on."

"You took me away from my family." Helia growled. "You kidnapped all of us. You rrraped us, and brrrroke us, killed all but our bodies. You've finally taken away all that we love. And you expect us to forrrgive you."

Spear backed away further, pressing up against the wall, eyes wide in fear. "You... can't do... do that..."

Sunrise turned around. "You okay?"

The second dragoness was glancing around, pupils narrowing further and further. "Things... are knotting... time is... losing control..."

Sunrise barely noticed Obsidian had left her side. "Time?"

When the draconequus's soft paw touched Spear's shoulder, she looked up, meeting his eyes. "You... you..."

"It's hard to accept. I know. I can see them too."

"I'm not the... only one? There's... others?"

Obsidian smiled. "You'll get used to it. Come on, stand up."

"O...okay..."

"There's a lot of knots. They happen all the time. And I'll fix them, don't worry."

The dragonness nodded, stumbling back to Sunrise, who was still looking confused.

There was a loud groan, and an odd bubbling sound reverberated from beneath the floor. "Sssssshit!" Maris hissed, opening the door and pushing the others towards it. "The magic hasssss been keeping thisssss sssship from imploding sssssince I made it! We have to get out, or we'll all be crussssshed. Go on ahead, follow the emergency lightsssss. I'll try to buy usssss more time."

Spring skidded to a stop. "We'll drown!"

Maris looked towards Obsidian. "Can you take care of that?" Obsidian nodded. "Good. Now go. Get assss far away asssss you can from the ssssship. There will be debrisssss, electricty and runoff magic. I would teleport you out, but magic usssssed inssssside the ssssship can only work in the sssssship. Once you get free of the mouth, you will be able to teleport anywhere."

A small leak began spraying from the roof. "I've wasssted enough time already. Go!"

The pack of twelve started running, or flying, while Obsidian was both limping and struggling to contain his magic into a single spell. All around them, the dead lights were sapping his energy, lighting up along their run.

That was about when the roof behind them fell in.

They were lucky Kha was able to take control in such a tight time constraint. In the seconds it took for the frothing wall of water to hit them, they were all able to breathe.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Just dandy." Skybreaker huffed, pumping her wings. "There's a lot of force keeping us here."

Spear sighed. "That means that there's two areas where water has gotten through. Come on, let's go."

And they swam away, the only noise being the muted, distorted roar of the metal around them bending.

"Applesauce, I ain't gonna give you no special ceremony or nothin', understand?"

"Yes, Granny."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Ah'm Honesty, and now, you are."

With a simple forehead touch, an orange light filled the trees. When it dimmed, absolutely nothing had changed, other than the aging that seemed to have taken further toll on Applejack.

"Look'ee here, Sauce. You take on step outta line, and Ah'll give you the lecture of your little life, understand?"

"Yes Granny. Ah understand."

Applejack couldn't help but smile. "Now run along, or your friends are gonna leave you behind."

"Jeez, it's like waiting for toast." Discord growled. "No matter how long you look at it, it only pops up when you turn away." Annoyed, he leaned back and settled in for a nap.

And in the way that only a toaster or a massively intricate and equally ancient magic door can do, the second his eyes closed, the fifth peg squealed horribly.

And like before, and anyone who's ever made toast, Discord jumped.

Kha finally piped up from his abnormally silent state. Hey, we have to hurry.

Well yes, of course we do. Have you not noticed we might die?

I'm better at sarcasm than you, so stop trying so hard. Anyway, that's not what I meant. I meant almost all seven Elements are activated. And we've only cured two Firstborn. Even a foal could realize that seven and two aren't the same number.

One. Seven and one. I don't think we cured Corona. We just gave him money.

Ah yes, I almost forgot. I was supposed to turn that into dust a while ago. There was an echoing sound not unlike a snap through Obsidian's brain. Better late than never.

Corona stared down at the small mound of rust. His eyes were watering slightly.

"Well, I guess that finishes that." He poked it gently, and the fragments crumbled even further before the wind caught them and blew them into the sky.

Something inside of him shifted. If one could ever possibly see through skin, they would see a black, slimy, oozing mass quiver, before cocealing into a single ball, dropping off of the surface and interior of Corona's heart, travel past the rest of his organs, follow the bone down his leg, seep numbingly from the bottom of his hoof, and vanish into the ground.

But one cannot see through the skin, can they?

Coruscant

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And the same thought found itself again in Obsidian's mind.

It was oddly beautiful.

And it was in the same kind of graceful, desolate destruction that he found this treasured thought. It was on this that he found he had stopped swimming, stopped feeling altogether. And he should have been scared. He had teleported everyone back to Ponyville. They would be safe there. Even Maris's ship had not blocked the full extent of a power beyind celestial in teleporting the kidnapper as well.

And the explosion had happened.

The very molecules of Obsidian's body were moving apart from the blast. The water was filled with a red smoke, and when he looked down, it was not coming from anywhere but his entire surface, leaking through scales and through fur and feathers, and dark and red and draining.

But it was oddly beautiful.

He could feel Kha drawing on the power, absorbing it in his core, simply leaching everything in the water back towards Obsidian, keeping his blood in an almost perfect sphere around him.

He couldn't see. The fog was thick, almost more of the blood than water, burning at his skin and seeping back through his pores.

And somewhere, the first time he had ever seen Kha, a set of eyes opened, black on white, large and dark and deep, and it was all still, everywhere, for a few moments.

And then that stillness broke, and in a sudden rush of what seemed to be glass, everything that had once been was reset, falling back into place. Molecules snapped elastically back in place, blood, in streams as thin and dark as black lightning, surged back into his body, the static hum in the air vanished, and the gills along his neck reopened, thin gills extending from the slits and spreading out to collect more oxygen.

For another moment, Obsidian saw Kha, eyes closing and falling sideways, collapsing with exhaustion on some mental plane, and then he opened his eyes again.

It was still beautiful.

And without Kha's magic reserves, Obsidian snapped his claws, and vanished.

"Is he...?" Sunrise whispered, voice seemingly thunderous in the stunned silence.

"There isss virtually no way he could have ssssurvived a blasssst of that magnitude." The snake replied. "Wassss he really Kha?"

"I still am."

All around turned to look behind Maris, including Maris himssssself, trying to see. And there was Obsidian, covered in blood, still dripping with water, but standing, and very much alive.

"I couldn't have left you guys alone, could I?"

Maris coughed nervously. "Ssssssso... about me not believing you?"

"Whatever." Obsidian went to wave dismissivly, but winced. "It's in the past now."

"So? Should we save him some time and go to him?"

"Nah, he'll come soon enough." Altitudo replied, rolling onto her back. "There's no reason for us to go anywhere."

"I wish I was that strong." Fulmen growled, pricking her claws on the cloud above. "That much power..."

"I have that much power already, sister." Faenum smirked. "I'm stronger than any of you."

"No, we can stop this without him. I... we... should have all the fame." Something added, casting a sideways glance at nothing, who was magic-bound.

<Can't we just kill them all already? Those pitiful Elements make me so->

"Mad?" Corona finished. "Exactly! Don't you realize that we could all fix this? If we go, we'll be back to normal! To... to the way things used to be. Don't any of you want that? When we were all willing to adventure, equal in power, equal in obscurity, and calm? I'm not greedy anymore. Maris isn't... well, you know... anymore. Why can't you let yourselves be changed?" The powerful Alicorn was almost crying. "Why can't you do this?" He paused another plan forming.

This was a semi-complicated spell. Each listener heard something differently. Anyone else would have heard Corona's original words of 'get your butts in gear'.

Altitudo: Once you go, you'll never have to go anywhere again.

Fulmen: You'll have all the power you could want once you're cured.

Faenum: Go, and you'll be the only one. Think about how much you could brag about being so special!

Something: Imagine how famous you'll be once you're the only to be cured!

Nothing: It'll only make them angry if you go. What fights you could have!

And all the recievers of the spell immediantly made up some excuse for having to leave and teleported away.

Corona pumped a hoof in the air. "Yes!"

"Hey Sunrise, don't hug so tight."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean-" He felt her stiffen in hs arms, her head jerking on his shoulder.

"What? Were you expecting me to kiss you? That can be arranged." When she didn't respond, he poked her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Obsidian... look behind you."

He twisted his neck - quite painfully - to see what she was so scared by. His initial response was the same as Sunrise's. In all honesty, they were surrounded by carnivores in the middle of the Everfree. Who wouldn't be scared?

Looking back to make sure Maris was close enough to attack if nessecary, and knowing Kha was still exhausted, Obsidian unhooked Sunrise's claws from his shoulder and limped up.

One dragon, at least triple his size, with an even greater - folded - wingspan, deep blue scales that seemed to be glittering, and black eyes. Two elegant crests ran down her spine from the back of her head to the tip of her tail, where they fanned out majestically. She was looking off into the trees, tapping a claw in boredom.

One tiger, about his size, with black claw-tipped bat wings and oversized talons and fangs. She seemed to be sizing him up as well.

One wolf, with golden fur and bird's wings - each feather green-tipped, was standing tall, chin up and chest pushed out, tail high in pride. For some obscene reason, Obsidian thought she seemed familiar.

One Alicorn, silver fur and golden mane, who Obsidian knew was the embodiment of something.

Beside her, seemingly invisibly restrianed, nothing was glaring at them through tiny bulbs of light, metallic mass quivering in anger. Why? Who knows.

"Uh... hi?"

Corona popped into existence beside Obsidian. His voice little more than a whisper, he explained. "The Elements are faster than you. I brought the rest of us so you could finish this up quickly.

"Thanks, but-" Something stirred in his mind with a yawn. "-thanks."

Ugh. Maybe I shouldn't have used that much energy.

Hate to shove this on you right now, but is there any way you could look around right now?

There was a few seconds of silence. "What's going on with your eye, it's-"

Corona went quiet as the individually moving object fixed on him, focusing once before moving back to it's original position.

Well, this isn't what I was planning on, but whatever.

With no further words, once again something changed. The air itself seemed lighter all of a sudden, and the Cacophonic creatures in front of them seemed brighter, stronger... clearer.

And strangely, nothing still looked like he wanted to rip the heads off of all present.

Rainbow Dark suddenly stopped. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot."

Scootaloo, who was hovering nearby looked up, before remembering that, although Dark's voice was almost the same as Dash's, that her idol was still dead. "Hm?"

"Get over here, kid."

"I am older than you, you know."

"Look, I know I haven't been much of a replacement for my mom. You're a better flier than me anyway. I want you to know that there was something she told me to do even as she was dying." The blue Pegasus tilted her head forward, black mane with a few genetic red streaks brushing Scootaloo's own mane. "She told me... to make you... to make you know... that she loved you like a daughter... and to give you... the most precious gift of all." Dark was trying so hard to keep speaking, tears running down her face and clumping in her throat. "She wanted you to have... Loyalty."

Their foreheads touched. A dazzling rainbow light sparked around, a loud noise following. A Rainboom.

Scootaloo blinked away the last spots from her eyes and turned to look at her back, for any visible changes. And what she saw made her jaw drop.

Her tail... her mane...

They were rainbow.

"HAHAHA! YES!" She flew a happy loop before squeezing Dark in a tight hug. "This is the best gift ever."

Now nothing could think straight.

And in some horrible twist of fate, this clearing of his once-violent mind would ultimately destroy him.

"The final... lock..." Discord whispered. "I can't believe it."

The entire door was turning into small panels rearranging and flipping to different colors. Each color had once been a regular section of wall, now emerging as a cube and twisting, twirling, changing. Where a solid set of six basic colors had rested, there was living mechanics.

There was a quick set of clicks, and the panels settled again. It was a faintly pixelated mural of six creatures, each different.

A red Griffon, with the necklace of Laughter.

An orange Earth Pony, with the necklace of Honesty.

A yellow-pink Zebra with the necklace of Kindness.

A white Unicorn with the necklace of Generosity.

An orange Pegasus with the necklace of Loyalty.

A pink dragoness with the crown of Magic.

Before Discord's stunned eyes, the panels began moving in snyc, the images coming to life, flying and running, playing and silently laughing, the background constantly changing - from Ponyville, to charred wrekage, to the Dome, to the Everfree, to Canterlot... and yet, no matter the situation, they were still smiling, confident in their seemingly helpless lives. And then, slowly, panel by panel, another creature emerged, a draconequus, with a glorious glow emenating from him in thin streaks of white, lancing through the background, until there was nothing but the glorious whiteness. And then, around his neck, a black pendant began to form, an opal gemstone in the shape of a puzzle piece shining and it's spectric surface ever-changing.

And then the pictures stilled, before the door spilt in two and slid away into the wall.

The room inside was small, but the same type of tiles slid along the wall, an endless, happy circle, blocked only by a waist-height diamond pedestal. On the platform surface there were six necklaces, and one crown. Slightly fearing for his mortal flesh, Discord touched the surface of one of the gemstones. Nothing happened.

"Have I changed that much?" He whispered, wiping away the smudge he had made with the back of his paw. Gathering the Elements in his magic, he sighed. He looked at the pictures, saw something he hadn't noticed before. On the tiny, distant balcony of Canterlot Castle, he could see the two princesses. And himself. He was beside Celestia, her head on his shoulder, his arm around hers.

"I miss you, Tia. I really do. I'm sorry. For... for everything."

And he snapped his fingers, and was gone.

Gone home.

Cessation

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~ www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o45SCnPXmY - a good soundtrack~

Obsidian flinched as his father appeared in front of him, before stumbling on some object and faceplanting in front of the seven most powerful beings in the world. Obsidian facepalmed.

Discord peeled his face out of the dirt. "Oh, good. You're here." He turned, waving to the Firstborn - who surprisingly, all looked mutual, except for Faenum, who rolled her eyes and glared at her sister - and smiled. "Hi there!"

"Daaaad come on." Obsidian hoisted him back onto his feet. "I'm having a dramatic moment here!"

"Oh, so that's what this is all about. Sorry." His eyes widened. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Look what I found~"

"I swear, if it's another Poison Joke, I'll stab you."

"No! Better!" From seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out the six elements. "Ha!"

"How are you even holding those?"

Discord shrugged, even rubbing one of the necklaces over his arm for good measure. "I don't know. I'm just special, I guess."

"Hey! How did you even get those?" Sunrise interrupted. Turning to the seven creators, she smiled sheepishly. "One second."

"I have been waiting for a while for that stupid door to open, I'll have you know. I knew where those were simply because... ah, well... to put it simply, Celestia was not the only one with a set of Elements... no, not me, but Luna... oh never mind. You get the picture."

"Sunrise, would you mind getting the others? You know, the Elements? Obviously he has to have some reason why he found them."

"Yes, my lord, I am your humble servant. Let me be joyful in doing your bidding." She growled, walking away with her tail flicking angrily.

Obsidian jumped as his dad suddenly appeared beside him. "She's pissed."

"Go away."

"Spoilsport." Discord laughed, hovering a few feet off the ground and turning a nearby tree into a frying pan. "I've been doing this for you."

"Me?"

"Who brought the Elements together? Who kept space-time from ripping apart? Who is now the Seventh and-even-more-mysterious-and-powerful-than-Magic Element? You~"

"Look, you've got something seriously wrong if you think I'm the seventh Element. There. Are. SIX."

"Guys! Break it up!" Sunrise interrupted again, pushing the two apart. "The slave has returned, with friends."

The second Discord had stepped away from Obsidian, he was tackled from behind.

"You didn't call me! Two thousand years and you've never called!"

"Mom, please. I'm an adult now. Please get off?"

Fulmen snorted and remained hunched over his back. "Not until you tell me you love me."

"Hey! That is not fair."

"Have we met? I'm the mother of the spirit of chaos and disharmony? Hello~?"

Discord levitated the Elements in front of him, catching the dimming light in the gemstones and reflecting a small dot of white light on the ground beside him.

The effect was instantaneous. Fulmen's pupils widened to almost her entire eye's worth, and she started purring, jumping off of Discord's back and playfully batting at the dot.

Disocrd shot towards his son, holding his mouth closed. "Speak of this to anyone and I will turn you to stone. Understand?"

"But it's hilarious!"

"Understand?"

"Yes...wait, no."

"Can we please please please get back on track here? I'm getting old waiting." Faenum snapped.

"We're almost done!" Sunrise growled. "If you haven't noticed, we can't catch Tigerjay."

The Griffon was backing up a tree, speeding up whenever someone got close. "No! I'm not wearing jewellery! No no no no!"

"We are trying to do something important! Get down here and put on the stupid necklace!"

"No!"

"TIGERJAY!!"

No... I must be free... this world... I need to be something other than nothing... this is my chance...

The Elements lined up in front of the Firstborn, and nopony there wasn't wondering what was going to happen. Somehow they moved into a battle position. Sunrise, covered in the air by Laughter and Loyalty, flanked by Honesty and Kindness, and followed closely by Generosity. The second Squishy's last hoof fell into place, a massive magick turbulence kicked up, spinning in a wide circle and bending over all the trees in the area. The other ponies, prevouisly out of sight, were now filled with fear. And from that fear... something breathed.

Obsidian's head suddenly filled with a roaring, unbelieveable pressure. He doubled over, claws digging up the ground, breathing only barely. Discord had hovered over, was tryign to help... and remembered the last nacklace. As his son began to truly suffocate, he slammed the final necklace on his back.

The turbulence increased tenfold. The entire Everfree was in danger of destruction. A blinding light erupted from the six Elements, and each one floated into the air as their inner power was channeled. Obsidian found his lungs, the pain in his head stronger with eveyr passing second. And when he forced his eyes open, and turned back to face the Elements, there was a rainbow split into parts flying towards him.

His father had told him being turned to stone was unbearable. But now... he knew he couldn't escape. It was him. He was the bad thing. He should have known that Kha would kill him. The Elements had weakened him, and the Firstborn's will to destroy Kha once again had surfaced. And this normally hopeful and brilliant spectrum was here to finish what he had started.

So when he closed his eyes, braced himself for pain, and nothing came, he opened his eyes again.

And there was something standing in front of him.

It was standing on four legs, that seemed to end in hooves like that of the ponies, even if they were smaller and delicate-looking. It would almost look like a deer, other than the fact that it had no markings on it's perfectly oblong skull other than two almond-shaped black eyes. It's tail was not small and fluffy either, but a dangerous-looking whip tipped with a triangluar flap of skin.

And instead of being injured by the Elements, the light seemed to be bending around it, wrapping around it's body and splitting into shards of glass. These shards - amid the constant turbulance and rainbow wreath - rearanged on it's shoulders to form a set of blilliant, sprkling wings. As the peices fell into place, markings lit up along the creatures' sides, and although they shouldn't have been very bright against the pure white skin, but they were.

And then the Elements stopped. Their Bearers fell to the ground, and the creature moved.

Thank you, Obsidian.

The creature dipped it's head and turned towards the Firstborn.

It is time.

With that, the turbulence kicked up again. Kha reared up, letting loose a piercing wail before charging forwards. His wings snapped open. Nobody moved. Nobody could.

And when Kha connected with the Creators, his wings broke into thousands of tiny little glittering peices, digging into their skin. And then they all vanished.

There was silence. None of the Elements moved, other than Obsidian, who was still trembling in pain.

"What happens now? Did... we win?"

"Ah don't know..."

KH-THMMMMMMM

"What was that?"

KH-THMMMMMMM

The sky exploded. Where it had once been turning to night, there was color. The enitre sky swirled and crumbled.

I can't stay... trapped...

KH-THMMMMMMM

"Well... I think I know what we're doing next." Obsidian muttered.

Intermission

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This chapter is for anyone who's been reading this all in one sitting to go and get a snack. Also, a chapter for character review and art :3

In other words, this is what will be going on while I work on the next chapter.
Basic Character Refresher List Thingy With A Lot Of Capitals:

There may be unfinished sentences. Just a warning.

Ancient Powers
Shard: Between an existance and an idea. The Shard is a conscience that takes wants and twists them to their darkest form, example: leadership - greed and power, revenge - bloodlust and violence. It took over Luna (NMM) once and smaller peices of it consumed certian ponies, creating the New Lunar Republic. Has power capable of destroying worlds.
Chaos: The balancing power to Void. Existed simply to balance Void. Was destroyed by their creations, something and nothing.
Void: The balancing power to Chaos. Existed simply to balance Chaos. Was destroyed by their creations, something and nothing.
Something - Commonly seen as Alicorn: Destroyed Chaos and Void with the help of nothing. Used the space left over to create worlds. Something was the power that made matter and shaped worlds. When corrupted, holds the characteristic of
Nothing - Commonly seen as wingless Raven with nine dragon's tails: Destroyed Chaos and Void with the help of something. Used the space left over to create worlds. Nothing was the power that shaped something's matter and filled her worlds. When corrupted, holds the characteristic of

Firstborn
Faenum - Bird-winged Wolf: Spirit of love, earth and life. Sister to Fulmen. Mothered Ditzy Doo/Derpy Hooves. When corrupted, holds the characteristic of
Fulmen - Bat-winged Tiger Spirit of hate, storms and death. Sister to Faenum. Mothered Discord. When corrupted, holds the characteristic of
Maris - Snake Spirit of water, snow, and ice. Fathered Discord and Ditzy Doo/Derpy Hooves. When corrupted, holds the characteristic of Lust.
Corona - Alicorn: Spirit of fire and the Sun. Fathered Celestia and Luna. When corrupted, holds the characteristic of Greed.
Altitudo - Dragon: Spirit of space and the Moon. Mothered Celestia and Luna. When corrupted, holds the characteristic of

Main Powers
Kha'dighreel (Skychaser) - Unknown Species (Pegasus ancestor): The first creature to ever be attacked by the Shard. Went from a calm navy Pegasus to killing his entire species in a delusion that they were fighting for his power. Was trapped in a pyschological state until given form again by the Elements of Harmony.
Celestia - Alicorn: One of two Princesses that ruled Equestria. She mainly controls the sun, but has enough power to control the moon and stars as well. After being killed by nothing, she was reanimated by Obsidian. White coat, pink-green-blue mane, sun Mark.
Luna - Alicorn: The second Princess that ruled Equestria. She rules over the night and the moon. She can control the sun with difficulty. Was captured and used by Discord when she freed him, and mothered Obsidian. Navy coat, dark blue starry mane, moon against black Mark.
Discord - Draconequus: Once controlled Equestria in a state of chaos before being imprisoned in stone by the Elements of Harmony. Broke out due to three fillies fighting, and was imprisoned again. Released a final time by Luna when she lost her sister. Used Luna and fathered Obsidian. Equine head, right deer antler, left blue twisted Unicorn horn, mismatched Ursa eyes, crimson body, salmon dragon tail, right tan lion paw, left yellow eagle talon, left brown buffalo hoof, right green dragon claw, right purple bat wing, left blue Pegasus wing.

Elements Of Harmony:
Sunrise - Dragon: A young dragoness, daughter of Spike, mother currently unknown. She used to be yellow with red highlights, but her color scheme changed when she became the Bearer of Magic. She is in love with Obsidian.
Tigerjay - Griffon: A boy Griffon, son of Gilda, father also unknown. He was a bluejay-tiger combination before Bearing Laughter and turning his bird half into a cardinal. Used to have a crush on Sunrise until Obsidian almost kicked him out of the sky without breaking a sweat.
Chibi - Zebra: Zercora's daughter, who only speaks in ryhme when her mother can hear. Otherwise, she talks normally. She is now yellow with pink stripes as the Bearer of Kindness.
Applesauce - Earth Pony: Applejack's granddaughter. Looks exactly like her, and therefore there was no change when she received the Element of Honesty.
Scootaloo - Pegasus: Secretly was an orphan through her entire childhood, idolized Rainbow Dash until her accident killed her and took care of Rainbow Dark - Dash's daughter - afterwards. She gained the Rainbow tail and mane when she became Loyalty.
Squishy Heart - Unicorn: Rarity's daughter. Her father was a fashion designer who was - sadly - stabbed by the giant decorative needle on top of his shop. Squishy's coat turned pure white when her mother passed on Generosity.
Obsidian - Draconequus: The 'surprise' son of Luna and Discord. He was the embodiment of Kha'dighreel - the eternal and undestroyable constant spirit of everything - until the spirit took form through the Element's power and destroyed the Firstborn, releasing Chaos and Void from their imprisonment. Kha could also speak to Obsidian in his mind. Obsidian is in love with Sunrise, and the Seventh Element, Unity.

Essentially Background Ponies:
Crimsonleaf - Alicorn: Son of Celestia and Big Macintosh. Would have been next in line for king if Discord hadn't... paired... with Luna and taken the title through age. His powers aren't strong enough to move the Sun or the Moon yet. Red coat with orange mane, yellow eyes. Red maple leaf Mark.
Grayscale (commonly disguised as Dinky Doo) - Alicorn (Unicorn): Daughter of Ditzy Doo and Discord. Because of this, she was one of the two creatures alive that could become Kha's carrier. Her grandparents are Faenum and Maris. Assorted grays for coat, mane and eyes. Blanched color wheel for a Mark.
Rapture - Pegasus: A mute gypsy with a dark brown coat and paler mane. His Mark is an old golden pocket watch. Peircing scarlet eyes.
Rainbow Dark - Pegasus: Rainbow Dash's daughter. Secretly jealous that her mother gave Loyalty to Scootaloo instead of her. Blue coat, spectrum mane, broken cloud Mark. Rose eyes.
Lamplight - Unicorn: Another nomad, with a lime green coat and slightly darker mane. Oddly long ears, purple eyes, oil lamp Mark. Enjoys arguing with Sunrise.
Sweetie Belle - Unicorn: Taking after her mother as a seamstress, her main job is patching all kinds of clothing for low prices to prevent poorer ponies from having to buy all-new outfits. Half of her store is actually all donated clothing going for free to ponies in need. New mark is a strung needle.
Apple Bloom - Earth Pony: The former Cutie Mark Crusader has settled down - at least, as much as possible. Her job as a florist may seem low matinence, but she takes it to the extreme by travelling - sometimes into dangerous territory - in search of new flowers. Part time scientist. New mark is a purple flower.
Bomber - Earth Pony: The gruffest nomad, also the oldest. Hates cold, hot, bright, dark, and everything in between. Doesn't talk much, even when complaining. Dark blue coat, paler mane, green eyes, lit bomb Mark.
Thumper - Earth Pony: Youngest of the gypsies, showed up in their camp freezing to death. Since then, it seems he's made a habit of it, almost dying on various occasions. Dull teal coat, light teal mane, blue eyes, wave Mark.
Starlight - Werepony: Scarlet coat, grey mane, orange-bordered-yellow-star Mark. Has a small crush on Scootaloo and is prone to passing out after turning into a wolf. Because of this, he doesn't like going back to places he's already been - too many questions - and vanishes for long periods of time.

Prisoners of Maris
Spring - Griffon: Sister of Summer. Despite looking alike, Summer is one year - exactly - older. Spring is the bouncier one, and her attitude became a lot more... dreary... while in Maris's confinment. She has perked up with exposure to the sun.
Summer - Griffon: Older sister of Spring, more shaken by the time enchantment. She doesn't talk much, and has a more grounded outlook on life.
Helia - Diamond Dog: Tan-bronze dog, doesn't talk unless she has something really important to say. Not afraid to fight for her right to speak.
Tene (pronounced Ten-ay) - Quetzocoatl: Green with yellow feather-tips. Talks lots, normally happy and bouncy. Realizes her sick mother is surely dead and that her brother is all alone. Is infuriated and depressed on this thought.
Spear - Dragon: Navy dragoness, about two years older than Sunrise, enjoys this authority. Pretends to have a crush on Obsidian. Sassy and sarcastic. Also, can see timestrands and is deeply disturbed by the massive quantities of knots.

...Meh, I'll finish this later. Time for Part Two!

Timelit

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SUMMER (ONE YEAR LATER)

"C'mon, Obsidian! You're such a slowpoke!"

"That hardly seems fair!" He replied, pouncing on Sunrise's back. "After all, I am superior to you in every way!"

"Go soak your head." She laughed. Rolling out from under him, she stayed on her back, looking up at the clear sky - well, as clear as tyedye could get - and falling silent.

"What's up?" He asked, gently sliding a wing under her back as he lay down as well. "Was it something I did?"

"Huh? Oh no, nothing about you. Just... I don't know."

"No, tell me. I won't laugh. Promise."

Sunrise sighed. "It just seems like what we did was all for nothing. We were never in immediate danger before, and we still aren't. But things are still going wrong. Albeit the fact that Ponyville has been restored to it's former glory... oh, never mind."

"You think we were just wasting time. Time, effort, etcetera. I can understand that. Nothing new's been done, no danger... no excitement, really. Just boring, everyday life." Obsidian glanced over at her. "What? A guy can't have insightful thoughts once in a while?"

"No, not at all. Just that you... nailed what I was thinking."

"Ah. I was wondering why I was suddenly seeing myself as sexy." He smiled and flexed one arm. He stopped when Sunrise glared at him. "Ah... haha... yeah, not funny. I agree. Kinda. Anyway, we could go for a walk or something. Visist Canterlot. Or Appleloosa. Or... oh, I don't care. Wherever, I guess."

"I appreciate your... input, however useless it may be." Sunrise sighed. "I just... well, I was thinking..."

"What?"

She blushed and muttered something under her breath.

"I can't hear you. Speak up a little."

"I... like you..."

"Is that it?"

She shook her head. "No... I like you... and... will..."

Obsidian had to keep himself from asking her to hurry up. A blush this deep had to mean something.

"Will..." She paused, and seemed to lose her resolve. "Oh... never mind."

"Wait. I think I know where this is going. Crap, I thought I was going to beat you to the punch. Ah, well. Late than never," Sunrise tilted her head as he sat up and began shuffling through spacetime. After all, it was a good place to store stuff. He grinned and pulled something out, closing his hand quickly and hiding whatever it was behind his back.

"Let's go for a walk." He added. "Right now."

"Um... okay?" Sunrise awkwardly got up, following him into the Everfree edge - only just beginning to recover from the strong magic that had destroyed all of it. After a little while of silence, he turned and headed deeper, looking back occasionally to make sure she was following.

The trees thinned even further, revealing a meadow with a crystal clear pond. Hearing Sunrise's gasp, he walked up to the edge of the pond and sat down. "I didn't want to show you this until I was sure."

Sunrise sat down beside him. "Sure of what?"

Obsidian looked over and smiled, finally moving his paw to where she could see it. "I was waiting to be sure..." He crouched down in front of her, hooking his claws into whatever was in his hand and opening it. "...Sunrise... will you marry me?"

Her mouth opened and closed a few times. "O-O-Obsidian..."

"Oh... I'm sorry..." He closed his talons again. "We can stay friends?"

"Yes."

"That's good. I'm okay with being friends... I guess."

"No... I'll marry you." She smiled.

Obsidian blushed and reopened the case, slipping the shimmering ring on Sunrise's claw. The second he moved his hand away, Sunrise grabbed him in a hug and kissed him.

Kha's eye twitched. Emotions were flooding his system. Friggin' emotions. He closed his eyes, shaking his head, trying to dislodge the pressure.

"Hrrrnnngh!" He groaned, pain beginning to take place of annoyance. "Obsidian... I could have sworn I broke our connection... damn..."

A fresh wave of love and pleasure slammed into him, crumpling him to his knees. "HEY! WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, STOP IT! For... your own... good..."

Another crushing pulse. "The... PICTURES!" Kha screamed. "You IDIOT! If you don't stop, you'll see ALL OF THEM! CAN YOU HEAR ME? ...Idiot... I can't even friggin' get away."

The same rythmic surge flattened him further, shearing away power and resolve. Tiny nicks growing ever closer to splitting. Ever so close...

Obsidian lifted his chest from Sunrise's. "Something feels weird."

"What else is new?"

"No, just... wait. Be quiet for a second." He lifted his head, looking around.

After a few moments, "Is someone coming?"

"I don't think so... must have been hearing thi-" His sentence cut off as he fell sideways, paws pressed against his head, tiny trails of blood beginning to drip from his ears. His mouth opened and closed silently as the rets of him writhed, back claw digging into the ground.

"Obsidian! What's wrong?! Obsidian! Obsidi..."

Then his senses folded shut.

What was this?! There was blood all over his feet, metal shards whipped through the air, bodies of things that reminded him of himself falling down, screaming and clutching at their bleeding chests, allies turning away to do the same to the enemy...

The ground was dry, crackled under his feet, while spindly, leafless excuses for trees provided meager shade for thousands of people thin as his wrists...

Water surged through the fragile houses, ripping them out of the ground and slamming them into other houses, trees...

A massive storm tore through a seaside town, throwing anything in it's path aside. The air went still for a moment as the eye hit, and every single deathly remnant became crystal clear...

"Obsidian! Talk to me! What's wrong?" Sunrise had magicked him to the ground, keeping him from flailing. His eyes were still shut, and the crimson flow has increased dramatically.

And then everything just... stopped. Obsidian froze. There were a few moments of silence with the lack of agonized moans before Obsidian's eyes slowly opened again.

But they didn't look like his eyes. They looked... soulless. There was nothing in them to pull away from the illusion of an endless pit, and seemed to even command that falling effect. His coat slowly turned pristine white, emitting a thick fog of the same colour.

Sunrise backed away, fearing for his life over hers. The smoke can terrifyingly close, brushing up around her ankles. She fell forward as the joints mentioned went numb, and struggled to keep her head free.

She was fighting a losing battle.

"Obsidian! I love you!"

The smoke coiled around her neck and head like a snake, coating all of her senses in a sticky, static white before moving into her mind as well.

And it kept going.

Kha cried, clawless hooves dragging across the ground. The ground he had killed.

Wake

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"Hmm? ...What the heck?" Discord's eyes opened against a white pony's. The creature whinnied shrilly and cantered off into the... fog? "What's going on?"

The world seemed to be stuck in a perpetual cloudiness. The pony that had run off was already out of sight, uneven - limping? - hoofbeats following the same path. A quicker pace appeared quickly, bolting through his bubble of vision. The pony's eyes were wide with terror, seemingly blind to his presence before vanishing again, nickering in fear.

The first pony... was one that Discord didn't recognize. And that was odd. After all, he had been forced to learn everypony's name by mane - Tigerjay was as stubborn as a mule - and nopony new had moved to the town lately. Pure white... he contemplated. It had... black eyes. Pure black eyes.

Sitting up, he looked around the clear bubble of air around him. Another pony ran past, looking up at him before sceaming in terror and bolting off. Discord streched out his arms, cracking his knuckles as he did so. "Well," he muttered, "I have to start somewhere."

Flapping his wings a few times, it wasn't long before he was overhead the fleeing mare, his shadow vanishing in the thin layer of mist between them. Smiling devilishly, he plunged downward, catching the pony in one claw before gliding back into the air, feeling the earth pony slowly stop struggling.

"D-D-D-Discord? Did you kill them?"

"Kill who?"

"The ghosts. The ones chasing me. Did you kill them?"

"I didn't see any ghosts. You were alone."

"Most of them ran away. A big one chased me until you caught me. Then it vanished. Thank you. For getting rid of it."

Discord stopped flying. "Oh, we're in some deep crap now."

"What?"

The draconequus smiled. "Sorry, Peach Bushel, I have to go take care of some business." He swooped close to the ground, dropping the pony on the pale grass and trying to find his bearings.

"There you are, Sunrise." He muttered, before teleporting away.

The dragonness woke up in a red-furred embrace. "Oh thank Celestia, Obsidian. It was just a nightmare."

A set of talons gripped her tail and lifted her away. "Don't get all lovey with me. I don't think your precious boyfriend would ever forgive me."

"Discord!?" Sunrise screeched, backing away from the senior draconequus. "Ohmygosh I'm so sorry!"

"No problem. My fault entirly. Soooo... something tells me this has to do with Obsidian."

"Yeah. At least, I think... yes. Yes it was."

"Anything else I should know before I have to go save the world again?"

"Um... weeeeeell..."

"Hurry up."

"We're kinda engaged."

"Great." Discord panned. "I'll celebrate once all this chaos is under control. Man, I never thought I would say that."

As he prepared to take off again, Sunrise leaped up onto his shoulders. "I'm coming with you!" She growled. "And you're not stopping me."

"Ugh."

Obsidian paced around the edge of the sludgy black pool. Each time he put a claw down, another mass moved under the surface.

Come. He muttered, warily eying the surface. Come.

Obeying his command, a shivering, ooze-dripping thing pulled itself out of the pool to a gelatin heap in front of him. Slowly, the siquid's surface cooled to a white velvet, and the thing uncoiled to it's feet.

It was vaguely a pony. A Unicorn in it's crudest form. Missing all mane and most of it's tail, with one longer leg, ending in talons, while the pale skin looked slick as a seal's. The creature rose it's head from the ground, the twisted hornon it's brow carefully moved to avoid brushing it's master. Slowly, two eyes opened, deep and dark as molasses.

The two stood facing each other for a few moments, before Obsidian snarled and reared up. Go. Worthless one.

Dipping it's head in shame, the thing loped away, vanishing into the madness of the fog.

Obsidian resumed his pacing, whispering his command into the unearthly bog beside him. Come. Come. Come. Come. Come.

This one was larger, stronger. The mass eyched it's features in quickly, rising to it's hooves and able to look the standing draconequus in the eye with ease. The smaller deatail were completed before the horn even began expanding, a spire of pale 'bone'. The skeleton of the beast began pushing against the slimy skin, enveloping it and leaving the exposed bone as an outer shell, mere glimpses of the skin between laced marrow. With a drying slowness, a set of naked, boney wings slipped limply along it's body, a few thin feathers shafting between the bone with a deathly chill. It blinked open intelligent, grey eyes, darker pupils flitting around as it sized both it's creator and the few measly creatures Obsidian had chosen to keep up.

Obsidian tilted his head towards the other 'kept' creatures. Well. What will you do?

The Alicorn - for, although disfigured and unnatural, was one of that rare breed - took a few graceful steps past it's master, keeping it's calculating gaze on him, while it's skeletal hooves clicked on shattered shards of older creations. Glaring down at the smaller minions, it turned a quizzical ear to Obsidian.

Whatever you wish. He added. Do whatever you wish.

With a banshee wail, the creature reared up, slamming a bone-shod hoof down onto the summoned skull of one of the minions. It's twin horns broke off, and it fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The royal minion turned a feiry gaze on the other drones, which bowed quickly, trembling in fear.

Obsidian turned a disgusted eye to the broken creature quivering on the ground. Ask'gedir Grotto Surf. He snarled, releasing the stolen soul back into limbo while the body dissolved back into black gruel.

Celestia. He crooned. The creature glared back at him, unbridled fury contained in it's dead form. The pretty precious Princess. I need a ruler, to take care of my troops, however meager they may be. I trust you to follow my orders. After all, go ahead and try to disobey. A small butterfly, still surprisingly alive, lighted on the grass between them. How fitting. He continued. Impeccable timing. Now, Tia, kill it.

The Alicorn stood still, the bones visibly locking. Instantly, the enchantment took hold, sending lance after lance of electric pain over the wet skin. Celestia's new, twisted body dropped to it's knees, her eyes locking desperately on the small, beautiful insect she had been order to kill.

Slowly, she extended a painridden, trembling hoof, and, after a moment of silent resistance, brought the appendage down with a sickening, tiny crunch. The Alicorn looked like she was going to throw up through her sharp clenched teeth.

Not so hard, is it? It was just a butterfly, after all. One symbol of happiness. Something in the new overlord clicked. There's nothing happy anymore, is there?! He roared, shoving Celestia to the ground, setting his claw down on her horn and pressing down angrily. There's nothing frickin' happy in this entire blasted world!

There was a loud crack, and Celestia opened her mouth in a soundless scream of pain. Obsidian snapped back to calm and collected almost as fast as he had left it, looking down at the useless bone spire pinned under his talons. Rrrrrrgh! He yelled in exasperation, lifting the Alicorn's head and slamming the horn back into painful place, the sheer power behind the impact reverting the surroundign bone to sludge and moulding around the newly-returning channeler.

He turned his back on the sobbing Alicorn and her underlings. Not hard at all.

Empty Answers

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Obsidian teleported away from his creations, leaving the lower ones to bear the brunt of Celestia's spectral fury. Gently alighting on a cloud above the fog layer, he watched the shadows of ponies run on the edge of madness, a single misstep able to send them plunging into it... forever.

Except that he knew he was not the only one immune to the smoke. His father, for one. And there would be others, but none as strong.

Sighing, he looked up towards the stationary, dim orb in the sky that had become the dying shell of a celestial body in the past few hours. The moon beside it looked just as expired, craters visibly crumbling from even the ground.

No night. No day. Dim. He concluded, the weight of the pictures pressing on his mind. It is... dim. Twilight.

Sighing again, he looked back down, easily finding the breach that contained his father. And on his back, glancing around almost as wildly as he was, there was a dragon.

An inner twitch made Obsidian's corrupt heart skip a beat. What? He looked down at his chest, prodding the white fur. What's wrong with me?

Kha lifted his head slightly from the ground that was now premantently imprinted with his body. It's love, Obsidian. It's love.

Discord shifted the dragonness on his shoulders. "Claws!" He reminded her.

"Sorry. I'm stressed." She blushed, quickly unhooking her talons. "Any sign of him?"

"Because I can see so much better than you can."

"Oh, I don't know. Can't you use some special draconequus powers or something?"

He frowned. "I almost dropped you there. Maybe you should use special dragon powers. In other words, I don't have any hidden powers." As he shrugged, something began to appear beneath them, flashing through the mist in a way that would have been faster if it was going straight.

"What is that?" Sunrise whispered.

In response, Discord sped up, hoping to get away from this stealthy shadow. It just matched his pace. "What in Equstri-AHH!"

The creature shot upwards with a single beat of shed wings, tackling him from below with a set of jagged hooves. The draconequus slowed, looking dumbly down at the deep wounds across his belly. Sunrise was quiet for about .5 seconds before she started screaming.

In direct reaction to her panic and fear, the Element of Magic materialized on her forehead, pale white magic shooting out in a deadly lance, spearing the attacker and carrying it to the ground. The fog consumed whatever happened next, while Sunrise shook the white glow from her eyes. The gash on Discord's body sealed up, soft new fur covering the scar.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a few moments. "Where was I? Oh yes, I remember. What in Equestria was that?"

"Hopefully, dead." Sunrise growled. "Or we're up against something near-immortal."

Cautiously, Discord spiralled closer to the ground, almost crashing into the upright, sparkling bolt that Sunrise had conjured. Luckily, whatever had attacked them was speared right through the middle, still as stone.

As Discord moved the bubble of air around the body, Sunrise jumped down, padding to it's side and feeling for a pulse.

One black globe of an eye opened on the creature's face, rolling slowly to look at the dragon. Opening it's mouth slowly, it let out a drawn-out moan, kicking weakly at the magic.

"Oh my god." Sunrise whispered. "It's still alive."

She was surprised to be moved aside by a bird's talon as Discord took her place, running his other paw along the creature's flank, outlining the bolt. "Are you ready?" He muttered. The creature moaned again. Gritting his teeth, Discord grabbed the bolt and jerked it out, moving his paw to block the blood flow immediatley after.

Tossing the bolt aside, he leaned on the open wound. "Hey, magicbutt, I need some help."

"Oh, sorry!" Sunrise yelped, pressing her paws over Discord's.

He glared at her, dissatisfiededly frowning. "Magic, imbecile."

Stammering and blushing, Sunrise once more lit the stores inside her, and the black ooze creeping out from between Discord's fingers slowed and cooled back to white. The thing lay still for a few moments, eyes blinking slowly, before it's wing lashed out and knocked the two aside. Quickly righting itself, the creature flared out it's wings, crouching close to the ground.

"Well, if this is how it has to be." Discord growled, a yellow magic beginning to glow around his fingers. "I'll fight."

Sunrise stepped in front of him, as far as the bubble of air would allow, crouching down in front of the creature, which had backed up as she came forward.

"Shh, shh, shh... it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry for attacking you." The creature looked back at it's side in confusion, before meeting her gaze again and making a tiny mewl. "I know. I hurt you. But it's better now, right?"

"Huh. Maybe Chibi should've gotten Magic instead." Discord commented.

She reached out, not slowing when the beast winced. "It's okay."

Leaning back on an invisble pillow, Discord watched over Sunrise's shoulder. "Huh. Odd, I could have sworn I've seen this guy before. Yeah, he woke me up. Kinda creepily. Soooo... what is it?"

"I don't know. It looks like a Pegasus. In a haunting, abstract way. Do you think that...?"

"No, I think it was all Celestia's fault." Discord drawled, putting his paws on his hips as the creature scrambled to it's feet and cantered away. "Of course it was Obsidian."

--~*~---

Obsidian slammed his talon down onto his father's chest. You're going to wish you died sooner!

"I do." Discord whispered, looking up through a black-ringed eye. "I miss you."

I NEVER MISSED YOU!

Disjointed

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"Can't these things-" Tigerjay huffed, "-buck off? I mean-" He kicked his legs out again. "-this can't be a-" Again. "-pleasant experience!"

Fanning his wings to cool himself down, he spun around, nailing his tail into the cheek of one of the deformed monsters. The bubble around him was a private prison, surrounded by the ghostly white ponies who continously threw themselves towards him, ignoring any injuries they were recieving to lauch back into the fray.

Extending his back claws, the next kick send razor-sharp talons over the deformed pony's eyes. Opening it's mouth in a slimy, silent scream, the creature reared up, falling onto it's back. It's legs kicked once before it went still, and only a few moments passed before the herd came surging over the body with crooked hooves.

"Well." Tigerjay grimaced at the black goop dripping from his back talons. "One mystery solved: how to kill a... whatever these things are."

But it would be so... easy~ to give in, would it not?

"Whoever you are, help me!"

A tall stick of an Alicorn stepped out of the mist. It's delicate, wiry features were marred only by a massive underbite, lined with massive fangs, dripping green slime. It's wings were simple rods of bone streching in a cemented arch over it's back, joints fused together. The creature smiled a grotesque, mutant crocodile grin. I must admit, I almost just finished you off with my army. Alas, it seems you instead must die by my hooves. Such a pity. What a waste of a good, young life on such trivialities as a war. It leaned in, serrated teeth inches from Tigerjay's beak. I wish I could have known you under better circumstances.

Tigerjay scruched up his face and pushed the monster's muzzle away from his. "Your breath reeks."

The Alicorn's smirk turned into a scowl, and it's glassy eyes narrowed. Prepare to die, insolent scum!

Tigerjay smiled happily. "We'll see. We'll see. In fact, I have a little something for you to see."

Of course you do. You may follow through with your final act. The regal creature waved a passive hoof.

The Griffon searched for something behind his back for several moments, before spinning and sending an explosive cloud of confetti and sparkles into the attacker's face. As the Alicorn sputtered, Tigerjay laughed. "Party popper!"

I. Will. END YOU!

"Good luck!" Tigerjay laughed.

"When there's something strange~

Hunting you down~

And you know it's there~

'Cause your heart starts to pound~"

That doesn't even ryhme.

"Who you gonna call?~"

Why are you singing anyway?

"THE POLICE!" Tigerjay yelled, leaping over the confused Alicorn's head and planting his claws on the merged shoulder blades, hooking them in the near-invisble seam between the wing and the leg, and p u l l i n g.

What? What are you doing? The Alicorn sputtered, swinging it's head to try and reach Tigerjay with either it's fangs or it's horn. Tigerjay yelped as a nauseatingly victorius crkksshthmp echoed in the sudden silence. On bony wing hung limply on the ground, exposing the entire left flank and shoulder.

The creature's voice gasped in pain, devoid of the ability to scream. I feel like I'm going to hurl. It stated, falling forward onto it's knees. Fine! You've beaten me. Show some level of mercy in that killing soul of yours and end my suffering!

"You don't even deserve to die. There is no heaven or hell bad enough to house a creature like you."

And what makes me any more different from you? You fought back. You killed. And even if I live, I'll be permantently wounded. Which one of us is better?

Tigerjay looked at the limp carcass from the disfigured Herd. "Neither of us deserves death. The one who made this even happen is the one that deserves death." He paused.

"Death so painful that not even a soul will be left to judge."

"Hey, do you ever think about what's going to happen after we die?"

"Nothing. Complete and utter blackness. Or whiteness. Depending on how full the glass is."

Sunrise frowned. "That's kind of depressing."

"Death's kind of depressing." Discord replied. "And I'd prefer not to think about it."

"Well, I've been trying to find out how old you are."

"Good luck."

"You've been in stone for over a thousand - Luna's banishment - and one-hundred - we have living record - years. And you were an adult when you were imprisoned at first."

"The first calculation would be two-thousand, five-hundred and twenty-three years, also two hours, ten minutes and thirty-two seconds."

"Ah, thank you - you counted?!"

"I had nothing else to do except look out of these tiny little carved eyeholes for entertainment. And being suspended in limbo is excruciantingly painful with a full bladder."

"Ugh. No need for any more information. So, two-thousand-six-hundred-and-twenty-three years in imprisonment."

"Yes."

"So how old were you when you first got stoned?"

Discord glared at her. "I'm taking that offensively."

"Oh, how else should I word it?"

"Twenty-five." He growled pointendly. "I wasn't even that powerful. Now, when I came back, hoho, I was strong then! I was the king of the world~!"

"You are two-thousand, six-hundred and fifty, because it's been two years since you were set free. You're old."

"Actually, you don't age in limbo. I'm twenty-seven. Not so old at all, am I?"

"You're as annoying as a schoolfilly though!"

"Hurtful!" Discord exclaimed. "Dear Equestria, I'll be depressed for the rest of my young life! Woe is me!"

"Shut up, Discord."

Ignoring the dragonness, he started ranting. "And would you believe her nerve to imprison me on my birthday?! And I saw Luna knitting me a pair of socks!"

"That's just great."

"And so when she got out these pretty stones, it was kind of surprising, because she kind of hated me at the time, and I was thinking how expensive they must have been, and then Luna walked in with my present and looked all shocked. I thought I wasn't supposed to see these gems until they were wrapped, but then Luna dropped the present and walked over beside Celestia, and man I thought they were going to start singing - you know how ponies are, songs for everything - and then the stones started sparkling, so I instantly thought disco, and started singing hilariously operatically, and next thing I knew I was stuck in stone, in that embarrasing pose! Not the best birthday ever. Nowhere close. Being let out on my birthday was much better. I never got around to thanking those fillies."

"Please be quiet."

"Damn. I just realized I was a father at twenty-six. Not the future I planned. It involved many more castles, my dream. Ooh, and an Equestria-wide five-bar wifi connection! And anarchy. Well, except for me, because I'd be king, but everyone else could be below me in anarchy. Yes, that would work. Quite nicely. And Celestia and Luna could be my servants, in embarrasing maid outfits. Hah! I have such a brilliant mind~"

"Oh. My. Sweet. Equestria. Can't you make a mute button first?!"

"Nah. Where was I? Birthdays. We were talking about birthdays. What was your favourite birthday?"

"They're all the same. Dragons can't give presents. Greed complex and all. So it was maybe and extra burned opal waffle at breakfast or something."

"Huh." Discord went quiet for a few precious moments. "I never suspected Spike of being a good cook anyway."

Sunrise facepalmed.

Vilify

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"Mom! Mom, I've found you!" Tigerjay purred, butting his head into his sleeping mother's flank. "Mom! Wake up! I'll get us out of here, and we'll save everyone!" He lifted his head, picking up her splayed wing in his beak and moving it to a more relaxed position on her flank. "I agree, you should sleep for a little while longer. You've been through a lot."

He started grooming her wing, careful not to look back at the gaping wound covering half of her face. It wasn't there. She was sleeping, and he was keeping her safe, and her face was perfect.

His pupils shrank slightly. Everything was perfect. Just perfect.

Obsidian tapped a claw against the cold stone. He had flown up to the higer reaches of the Everrise, the large mountian that had been known to house sleeping dragons and greedy ones. He had found the cave with ease, but it had been cleared out long ago, either by the previous owner or magpies.

The bleached draconequus didn't care for the riches, but for the minerals in the walls. Dragon smoke, when trapped in a single area, eventually cools and hardens into a black stone that looks somewhat like ice. When used as a weapon, it explodes on impact, and is very hard to mold into arrowheads and the like because of that. When ground carefully, it can be used as a medicine that heals even the worst diseases in seconds. But, due to the rapid migration and extinction of the dragon species, this rare stone was becoming harder and harder to find.

It's Har'threin to them. The dragons. Ponies can't say Har'threin. I can. Obsidian was mildly proud of this fact, in the primitive state his mind had shrunk to.

And this was when his even grimmer side came out. Har'threin's base element, the smoke's essence, had the magic of the dragon bearer. It only cooled once the dragon had died. Which made it even rarer. In fact, the rock was warm to the touch for millenia after it's owner's death, while the smoke layer holding the stone in place stayed hellfire hot.

With a forgein touch, all of it would shatter, impaling the harvesters and bystanders. It was a last-second protection for the dead dragon's hoard, as any non-dragon or well-educated pony would avoid the precious stone in choice of the hoard. Anything else would go for the rock first, because no matter what a dragon hoarded, the stone was thousands of times more expensive. And they would touch it, and it would kill them.

Dragons were truly greedy creatures.

H'rhanath! Obsidian yelled back out of the doorway. H'rhanath, Red Blossom!

The twisted Pegasus in question stumbled on her back hooves into the cave, front hooves ending in mantis-like claws that were too fragile to put weight on. She fluttered her surprisingly intact wings and looked at him, waiting for further command.

Looking over the battle-ready scythe hands of his most loyal underling, he sighed and rolled his eyes. Summon Reed Blower. I'm not killing you.

The pony nodded enthusiastically and flapped her wings, slowly lifting herself towards the entrance once again. On one of her upbeats, a single white feather came loose, floating merrily up and brushing against the shining ceiling.

A spiderweb of fracture lines spread out quicky, small shards already beginning to shake loose. Red Blossom had cleared the cave entrance, leaving Obsidian under the largest ceiling of Har'threin in Equestria.

He lowered his eyebrows in a deadpan glare, matching it with a disapproving scowl. Damn.

Red Blossom, oblivious of what had happened, returned shortly with a smaller, weaker Alicorn; pitifully weak, actually. Seeing the cave entrance closed by massive shards of black glass, she galloped ahead, trying to push the massive panes aside with brute strength, even trying to slice them with her claws.

The tiny Alicorn chuffed, silently reminding her of this missions... explosive properties... and how their leader was quite strong - a firm nod - and that he could have survived this, but probably not a contained nuclear-level fireball.

Red Blossom fearfully stepped away from the glassy stone.

With a tiny, sickly green halo of magic, the Alicorn expended a massive effort, sweating and trembling. The stone shifted, and he collapsed to the ground, hyperventilating in exhaustion. Red Blossom looked at the pebble of glass he had moved, no bigger than the tip of her claw.

Her quizzical, sarcastic glare was cut off by the glassy barrier trembling, eruptive edges grinding dangerously together. The Pegasus leaped behind Reed Blower, holding him up in front of her, and impaling him through the chest - twice - with her bladed arms.

A sudden red bubble of magic appeared around her, definately not from the dying Reed Blower, that coincidied with the massive explsoion perfectly, deflecting all debris and hellfire shrapnel. As soon as the fiery chaos was over, the bubble flickered before disappaiting, the thick black smoke rushing away from the mountain in a whirlwind of magic. As the Pegasus lowered her spasming sheild, her gaze locked onto her creator, standing in the entrance of the cave, not a single mark on him. Instead, he padded past the two, ignoring Reed's pain, and scowling down at the last few explosions down the side of the mountian as the shrapnel collided with ancient stone.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep from getting too angry.

Splendid mess. That was our armoury you just destroyed. Not to mention our bank to take over financially run countries. He tore his eyes away from the devastation of his safety deposits, to fix them angrily on his minions. It's now your job to personally search for gemstones and gold in the Everfree, you worthless hunks of glue! His voice raised in volume as his constricted anger grew. Get out there and don't come back unless you've replaced that entire value, or your limp carcass is being dragged by a deranged manticore! Understand?!

Red Blossom backed up, hanging her head in shame. "I understand, master." Reed Blower nodded, not having been blessed with a throat, mouth or vocal chords.

Get out of my sight! And make sure nopony else comes up here unless they have GOOD NEWS!

He slammed his hoof down, splintering off a large section of stone and sending it plummeting downwards, the two ponies clinging to the top. The conversation ended, Obsidian leaned back in an invisble hammock, putting two of his claws to his temples.

I'm surrounded by such imbeciles...

Storks

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Kha trembled, realizing that he must have been bleeding without realizing it. His front hooves were a cheery crimson colour. When he moved to rub it off, it caught in a dip in his normally smooth muzzle.

"What the heck?" It took his brain a few moments to catch up. He just spoke. Out loud. With a mouth.

"Jeezus!" He yelled jumping up. He almost fell back down, and only manged to catch himself with a lightning-fast hoof. "Oh no no no no no. No no no. This can't be happening." He glanced around at his normally long tail. It was... stubby, to say the least. In fact, a set of glossy, electric-blue strands poked through the pale skin. The bright red on his front paws was dulling, darkening to a navy color as shock set in and Kha fell back on his haunches. "I was certainly not expecting this." He muttered to himself.

He looked down at the dark blue hooves again, much thicker than they were before. Getting back to his feet - hard, considering his short tail messed up his center of balance - and tried walking. Three steps before he knew he couldn't go further. His muscles returning was eating away at his energy. And... he had a mouth now. Did that mean he had to... eat?"

"No... at least, not yet. I can't wait until I get my wings back." He looked up at the sky, despite the fact that it was the same empty white at his feet. "And then I can finally get out of this hellhole and punch Obsidian until he gets his facts straight."

"Hey, Discord? Discord? DISCORD!"

He jumped up from the ground, wide awake. He glared at Sunrise's rude awakenings and attempted to smooth down his on-end fur. "What?!"

"Have you ever thought about having another kid?"

"Uh-uh. Nope. Nada. Nix. Nine. No way, no how."

"Not with me, idiot!"

Discord let out a sigh. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

Sunrise made a gagging face. "Fine with me."

"Anyway, no. I think Obsidian is problem enough."

"How about a... grandchild?"

"Nah... wait... WHAT?!"

Sunrise blushed with a tiny smile. "Surprise?"

"I'll be right back, Mom! Just going to go find some food! Oh yeah, you can't stay alone, the fog will make you hurt more."

You're pathetic.

"Huh? Who's there! Don't hurt Mom!"

Because I could cause her so much pain. She's dead, idiot.

"No! She's sleeping! Right Mom? You're sleeping!"

Let me give you a biology lesson - nothing can live while missing half it's head.

"Did you make Mom so tired?"

SHE'S NOT SLEEPING! SHE'S DEAD! DEAD AS A ROCK! GONE! FOREVER! SHE'S NOT EVER FRIGGIN' WAKING UP!

Tigerjay started sobbing, hugging the cold corpse of Gilda. "Y-y-y-you're sle-sle-sleeping, r-right M-M-M-Mom?"

She's not sleeping! Get over it!

"You're just like that mean Alicorn! Stop being so mean!"

That... Alicorn? Oh yes, him. He's dead too.

"You... killed him?"

Of course. A useless pony is a dead pony, to me.

But it's not... Obsidian's quivering concience whispered. It's not the same... Some different part of him split the fog with a talon, landing the draconequus in the bubble of air.

He scowled down at the cowering Griffon and it's dead parent. Lifting the talon once again; Sa'arbinath.

Gilda's body slowly melted, Tigerjay stepping away in fear, turning into a puddle of black gruel. Hy'ther.

The goo reformed, tendrils snakily climbing a rapidly solidifying skeleton. Skin reformed as a white paste. The Griffon stood up on dead paws, rearing up and roaring with a jaw full of dagger-teeth. Her wings were bare of feathers, instead being excessivley coated in long spikes. Tigerjay backed further away from his reincarnated mother, coming to a stop again sonething tall and solid. That had claws on it.

He looked up, seeing Obsidian's disapproving scowl glaring back. The overlord lifted his talon, shaking the Element of Laughter free. Oh, she won't hurt you. At least, not until I tell her to.

Tigerjay let out a wail that matched the emotion and volume of a banshee before running away, his personal air bubble vanishing in the thick fog.

I think that went well. What about you, Gilda?

She turned dark black orbs at him and glared, baring her sharp teeth.

Oh yes, I forgot I didn't let you talk. Probably for the better.

Far away from this sad, sad scene, a creature was standing. It was massive, easily able to curl around it's perch - Everrise - twice. It's body shone with pale purple scales, while it's belly was a sea of dark green panels. It unfolded it's great wings, shifting them to a more comfortable position. Two giant cat's pupils looked over the sea of mist below, the sight spurring black talons to dig into the mountainside.

Spike growled. "If Sunrise is hurt, you little rat, I'll hurt you until you wish you were dead.

"Sunrise, I'm so sorry... I destroyed... everything."

Tears rn down the dragonness's cheeks, but she tried desperately to hide them. "Don't speak. You're going to be okay."

"I admire... your determindness."

"I'm not sure if that's a real word."

Obsidian laughed, spurring a fresh wave of crimson to slide from his mouth. "Sunrise... whatever happens next... I love you."

"Don't talk like that! You're going to live. You have to live."

"I don't have to do... hhrk... anything."

"Just... don't go."

"I can't help... dying, Sunrise. I'll... meet you..." he smiled, a crooked, broken thing, "...where the page... proclaims... the end."

Itch

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The pale Earth Pony barely shivered against Obsidian's newest onslaught. The fiery projectiles impacted the stallion's skin with a black ripple, cratering the pasty suface. On top of that were the words, the scalding words that dug deeper than any weapon.

I hate you! I despise your race, your ethics, your kingdom, your land! I hate you so, so much!

The Mist Lord - as he had taken to calling himself - paced angrily, only keeping one claw steady, the claw that was firing continous shards of fire.

I hate you enough to suspend Windigoes in your soul and Hydras in your gut!

He grabbed the pony in one claw, slowly closing his furry paw around the deviation's neck. The creature didn't even bother to struggle.

Rrrrrngh... I just hate you.

His voiceless shout dropped to nothing louder than a sigh, with a dangerous lowness. He uncoiled his claws, letting the creature slump to the ground. Letting a pair of Unicorns move the wounded creature to a safer range, Obsidian's fuming was cut short as another being entered the area.

The Alicorn's bone-clad hooves still outshone any of his other creations. Such a pity it was Celestia's soul inside it.

What is it? And no bad news. I am not in a good mood.

She cleared her enchanted throat. I hate to disrupt whatever volatile expression of violence you've decided to temper your anger against.

Of course you do.

She glared at him, a twin row of spikes sliding out of her neck in place of an angrily jagged pastel mane. And because I know you won't kill me, no matter what I decide is worth telling you, I want to inform you that the two idiots that you sent out to find gemstones have returned, with nothing to show for their missing limbs. On top of that, we've had record minion losses... at least a hundred from my division, she snorted angrily, The Griffon has been mowing down our ranks, while your father has done nothing to aid us or hinder us. Your wife is at the same mutuality. Is there any way you wish to affect their desicion?

They can do whatever the buck they want. I don't care.

Imbecile, I want to remind you that I hate having to give you good ideas, but they may recollect the Elements in order to defeat you, and return the prior glory of Equestria.

I already said I didn't care! Get out of my sight! Maybe... maybe they will find the Elements... maybe this can all be over...

Kha spun, scuffing his new hooves against the ground. White scraped up like peeling skin, revealing dirt and grass and water. The once-white being had darkened considerably, only a few patches of ivory left on his flanks.

Laughing happily, he re-planned the mental map he had of his home, rubbing his side up against a solid wall that slowly revealed itself as a tree. Something like an eplosion shook the ground, and the navy Pegasus paused, eyes closed.

A second later, something small and wet spalshed on his back. He shook it off, but it was quickly followed by many more. Slowly, he opened one eye, seeing a rushing torrent of blissfully clear rain pouring from a graying sky.

"Color!" He yelled, rearing up on his hind hooves. "It's freakin' color!"

Seeing a puddle forming nearby, he cantered over, dipping his muzzle in. After a long drink, he lifted his head up, looking into the rippling surface.

A pair of black eyes looked back.

Sighing, the stallion closed them, letting the rain run down his face. With a small flicker of hope, he reopened one.

This time, a black... red-irised pupil looked back.

"We'll just keep trying," Tigejay hummed in the foggy silence, "'til we run out of cake."

You again? Haven't you... oh, I don't know... thrown yourself off of a high precipice or something by now?

"Why would I? There's no sense in crying over every mistake~"

My god! Please... please don't sing. Obsidian's ivory form materialized through his thick blanket of mist. Did you really buy that whole 'True Manticore' crap? Because I think I really pushed that too hard.

"Well... what hurt Mom?"

"IDIOT!" Obsidian roared, the sound echoing around the silence while he regained his composure. Think about it, featherbutt. I'm like the freaking god right now. Anything that can kill right now is pretty much under my control. Let's see that chicken brain of yours in action.

"Um... you killed her?"

Yes. Thank Equestria, I thought I'd have to explain myself over again. With pictures or something.

"So, why are you here, Mister Scary-Pants?"

My name is not scarypants. Obsidian hissed. You've known me since I was born. At least, your memory span should be that long.

Tigerjay stuck his tongue out. "I don't care what you say."

I hate you so much right now.

As Sunrise slept peacefully against his warm flank, Discord lay with his head on his hands, trying to remember what really made he banish him.

It was getting on his nerves.

Discord - much younger - lay on his back in the crimson throne, toying at one of the loose threads with a claw.

"Stop doing that!" A tiny voice squeaked.

Dropping the string, Discord rolled over, looking across the empty courtroom. A small Alicorn stood there, navy hooves sliding slightly on the smooth stone. She cantered up, skidding to a stop with her tiny wings flared.

"Come on! You know daddy hates it when you do that."

"He's not my dad." Discord grumbled.

"Corona's trying his best." A second female voice hissed as a slightly older Alicorn waltzed in, pink mane limp around her neck. "Which is more than I can say for you."

"Great, you're here. I needed a pony princess to help me solve my thread picking issues." Discord drawled, glaring at the white filly.

"Please don't fight again." Luna whispered. "I don't want daddy to throw the sun into Equestria."

"Puh-leeze, Luna," the draconequus growled, "he's just scaring you into behaving. If he had the power to move a billion tons of burning gas and flame into a collision course with the planet, he would have done it a long time ago."

Celestia took the chance. "Like when you were born?"

Discord's yellow eyes filled with rage. With a voiceless roar, he kicked away from the cushion, the impact lauching the golden throne backwards as he jumped forward. There was a single moment where time seemed to stop as Discord hung in midair, eyes locked on Celestia's purple ones. Then he was falling, landing on her fleeing back and rolling her onto the ground, lion paw raised, claws outstreched in a killing stance, the white filly beneath him staring up in terror, limp under his weight.

And then he was thrown aside, wings barely missing being speared by the new fighter's sharp horn. The scarlet Alicorn lit his mane in ethreal golden flames, standing over his daughter with hatred in his eyes. He was quite imposing to Discord's young eyes. A coat that seemed to glow with embers, a flaming mane edged with charcoal-black patterns, golden eyes burning, magic braced and ready to fire, wings spread imposingly, feathers shimmering with Alicorn magic.

"D-daddy, he-"

"I know what he did." Corona interrupted his eldest. "He attempted to assasinate the future Queen."

"Pssh, she can't even order a bunch of ants around." The draconequus snarled, holding his quickly-bruising side. "If she's going to lead Equestria, I'm taking it over."

Discord quietly stared off into his memories. Nopony took any notice to what he had said. Did they ever wish they did? Did they even remember?

Corona stared daggers at the child, who glared back with equal ferocity. Something changed then, some deeper spark of fire in Discord's eyes, that made Corona flinch and back up. The young draconequus growled, the noise suddenly much more ferocious than it had been before. A pale yellow aura lit up around his claws, startling everyone in the marble room.

"Go home, you little misfit. Equestria is no place for the likes of you." Corona hissed, shutting his wings and pulling Celestia off to the side, leaving room for the 'assasin' to pass. Discord didn't move, just silently, subtlely checked where his magic had centered. His claws.

"I think Equestria is just perfect for me, actually." The power seemed to change him then, aging him in centuries, letting his patchwork form tower over the Alicorns thousands of years before it should. Celestia stared up, wide-eyed in terror, while Corona tried his hardest to keep from running.

"D-D-Discord?" A small, terrified voice asked. Something was... hugging his leg, hooves only reaching a quarter-way around. He looked down, so much more powerful than he had been before, horns scraping massive ditches into the ceiling.

Luna's tear-filled eyes met his giant ones, and some mental dam broke, the rage-fueled power rushing out of him. He shrank, watching as the fear in Celestia and Corona's eyes turned to shock, and then to hate. The filly didn't let go through the entire transformation, her tiny hooves clinging to his scaly leg.

"What have you done?" Corona growled.

"I didn't mean-"

"I know exactly what you meant!" The first Alicorn snarled. "You were going to kill all of us so you could rule Equestria!"

Discord lifted one eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? Why is everything about your friggin' kingdom? Little sunflower-butt there could rule over this stupid hunk of land for as long as she wants to, and I'll be pleased as long as you're dead when she does."

"Guards!" Corona yelled, almost immediatly flanked by two blue-maned Pegasus. "Throw him in the dungeon. As far away from the outside as possible."

They trotted up, restraining Discord's childish body easily, holding him up against a white face. "Yes, sir."

And it was there, surrounded by criminals and rogue myths, that Discord learned to channel his powers, yellow eyes lit up by a golden light.

Discord rubbed his eyes with a paw, not surprised when he put it back down soaked with tears.

Delirium

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Scootaloo flew around the seemingly endless tunnel, avoiding the bat-like creatures around her. There were so, so many. They weren't attacking her, but the constant foggy drifts obscured them until they were almost on top of her. She could see others running along the ground, without wings, and some even fired acid at her! It was pretty sparkly acid, more like magic, and she couldn't understand why the only finite surface was the ground. She could fly up, left, right, forward, backward... and never hit a wall. They just kept moving.

Obsidian's illusions were falling apart at the seams.

He had been kind of distracted of late.

So, did any of the ranged patrols bring back anything? At all?

Celestia looked up from where she had been kicking a twig in circles. Oh, I'm supposed to know all of this? Why don't you get off your lazy butt and go ask them?

Obsidian glared down at her from his cloud hammock. You're my minion. He paused, before continuing with a much lower tone. Now go.

The Alicorn got to her hooves, glaring one last time at Obsidian before vanishing into the fog with a flap of her scantily feathered wings.

He cleared the fog above him, looking up to the eternally suspended sun dying in space. It was kind of depressing, but he needed to check on it. After all, since the Nightmare hadn't escaped when Celestia died, maybe when the sun itself dying would work. And there was always the factor of travel time. But soon enough, Obsidian would have something closer to his own power to work with.

Yes, the Nightmare would make a good ally.

But, as Celestia sauntered back into the clearing, three Pegasus in tow - two pulling a curious chariot that looked expensive - and a scowl on her muzzle, Obsidian realized that he had to work with what he had.

Unless you want one of my old chariots, she swung a hoof towards the last two Pegasus, which blushed and glanced down at the loose metal chains hooking them onto the golden bowl, they've got nothing. Surprising, actually. They did go to Canterlot, after all. There's lots there they could have stolen... ahem, borrowed.

Whatever. Melt the chariot down into tooth fillings, for all I care. The Pegasus left quickly, not wanting to unintentioanlly anger the draconequus. Celestia shuffled her mutant hooves. What is it? You look like you're about to bite off your tongue.

No, I just hate telling you things. But I can't help it because of your faith spell.

It's a doozy, isn't it? Obsidian let out a weak laugh.

Anyway, you've been kind of... out of it, lately. Like your mind is somewhere else.

It is.

And you look really weak. Is that why you sent me after your minions? Have you been eating?

Obsidian just lay back for a few seconds, folding his claws over his chest. Yes, no, and why do you care?

This time it was Celestia's turn to be contemplative. Because... because you haven't hurt any real ponies. Well, there was the one Griffon, but... well, you've created half-life from death, and you're either nice to them or you kill them... I mean, release their souls. I just think that somewhere in there, you're still nice. You're still good. Don't die. There are still ponies... well, not exactly ponies, but you get the point... ponies that love you.

Are you one of them?

Of the ones that love you?

Yes.

Yeah, I guess I am.

Sunrise leaned on Discord as she emptied her previous lunch into the bushes. He sighed, leaving his paw on her back as she backed up, scales pale.

"That's what you get for getting pregnant. It's completely your fault."

She smiled slightly. "It'll... be worth it."

"That's a matter of opinion." Discord continued. "What if the little runt grows up to destroy the world?"

"Then he'll be just like his father." The dragonness sighed.

Tigerjay swayed on his claws. So much to take in.

His trembling form started convulsing, hitting the ground limply - strange, there was no pain - claws streching into the open air. The fog had finally penetrated his air bubble, digging pale daggers into his sides, trailing down his throat like a hazy snake.

"Tigerjay?!"

So, this is how it ends... the Griffon thought, holding onto his concious mind for a few precious moments.

"Discord! Help him!"

"On it."

The draconequus and his precious cargo broke through the fog, casting a faint shadow over the fallen Element. One unfocused green eye opened, trying desperately to igure out what these newcomers were. Dragon he smelled dragon dragons hunt Griffons he could be hunted eaten even gotta get away gotta get away dragon gonna eat me gotta get away-

"Discord! Hold him down or something, before he hurts himself!"

The God snarled. "I told you, I'm on it!"

-no no trapped can't run stuck stuck is bad dragon gonna eat me no no no no can't get eaten eaten bad eaten very bad gotta run go go go go legs go go go wings I have wings gotta fly c'mon fly fly fly on the ground can't be on the ground gotta go go go c'mon go go dragon gonna eat me other one gonna eat me buffalo pony griffon bird bat lion snake dragon gonna eat me gotta run gotta go dragons go go run run run not running not running-

Discord's talons - sheathed in a thick yellow haze - held the struggling Griffon to the ground, withstanding every kick, bite, and scratch, a small part of him beginning to believe they had been too late. Madness. This fog caused nightmares and madness.

-run run run run... run... run... ru... ru... rrr...-

"He's coming back around!" Sunrise squealed, hanging over Discord's shoulder. "See his eyes?!"

"Yes! I see them! Now pleeaaase stop yelling in my ear!"

Broken Moonbeams

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Kha sighed. He knew his name, the name he used to be. The name he had lived the life of once. Was it really going to be the same, with no family or friends left to support his newfound dilemma. He had to get out.

Last time, he was pulled through a - very small - leyline, and slammed into a companion bond with some unfortunate creature on the fringe of death. This time, he was going to have to crawl through the same connection. Without an immortal body. Who was now nowhere near asflexible as he had been.

This was not going to be like last time.

Kha shifted his hooves awkwardly, feeling for the magical channels. His eyes dilated as his hoof struck home, dipping into a wormhole. "Heh... I knew I could find it."

He glanced down into the tiny vortex, looking around for any type of moral support. The only thing that looked abnormal was the set of symmetrical smears on his sides, hiding the two patches of skin he realley wished he had.

His wings.

Gritting his teeth, he stepped a single hoof into the vortex. Something on the other end wrapped a telekinetic tentacle around his leg, to his surprise, and it was barely a breath before it had pulled him through and the vortex had closed.

Celestia focused on the wormhole. He twisted horn wasn't strong enough to enter completely, but she knew that Kha was in there. She was lucky he had entered that hole.

The Pegasus was pulled forcefully from the hole, seemingly not startled by the mutant and sitting down to shake residual magic off of his feet. "That was... graceful." He muttered.

Oh, sorry. I'm not as strong as I used to be, so I had to cut off certian... luxeries.

"Like the bag of peanuts and comfortable seating?"

She glared at him.

Kha smirked back.

Ugh, never mind. You've been infected before. How do you get rid of it?

"Wait! My question first. How on Earth did you find me?!"

I'm the freakin' leader of Equestria! I can pick up every single fragment of magic - from simple telekinesis to Luna moving the moon - and I have a flawless track record of picking up wormholes and other space-time ... slips. Knowing your magic by searching the scene of your fight -

"You mean my death? My grand finale? My explosion? There?"

- I could trace your trail into this wormhole. I'm just lucky you went through here and not another.

"And it's not an infection. It is a moment of fatigue in the mind that lets dark things in. You should know. There was one in Luna, but you put her in solitary confinement to keep her safe. Harmony - otherwise known as Balance - cured her, right? And released me after attacking Obsidian. Unfortunately, to keep from exploding in a much more spectacular manner, I absorbed their power and used it to my advantage. This kept a veeeery small piece of me in Obsidian's mind. Also on fate's bad side was the fact this kept a hidden connection between our minds, and his happiness broke through, and our current thoughts traded. Mine were... quite nightmarish, and it's no surprise that they tore deeper into his mind and awoke the Shard."

Shard?

"The Nightmare in Nightmare Moon. What would have, had it infected you, been nicknamed the Nightmare Flare. Not as catchy, but sounds pretty cool."

So what was it when it infected you?

"We didn't know what it was. We, my family, my friends... we were ponies long before you. Before Chaos, Void, something, nothing, Faenum, Fulmen, Altitudo, Corona, Maris, you, Luna, Discord... we existed in a small group on the border of waking and dreaming. When it attacked me... I killed them all. Unlike Obsidian - who is surprisingly not rampaging - I fell into the wayside category of madness over control. I... I killed all of them. And for a long time, I did nothing else. Just killed and cried and screamed. In the end, I broke through for a while, made a plan. Took their essence. And with it... with that aura, made Chaos and Void to be eternal balance. They were there to temper my phsycopathism -"

I don't think that's a word.

" - and I resumed control over myself. And to rid my existance of their bloody faces, I took my entire life... and simply dropped in in bleach. Everything was hidden in a layer of pure white. In time, so was I. And when Chaos and Void spawned something and nothing as a new counterbalance, I hid myself in the furthest corners of sanity and stayed there. And I thought I would be there forever. I've seen so many horrible things..." Kha'dighreel paused, sighing. "I still do. But I see the beautiful things too."

Celestia didn't mention that he hadn't answered her question.

As if reading her mind, he continued. "It was nameless. I made my own name for it, once it attacked me. Kha'dighreel. In fact, it means... what was it again? Umm... ah, yes. Madness's Casket."

Really?

"With a few unrepeatable words." Kha admitted. "My name used to be Galadar." With a boyish smile he stood up, holding one hoof to his chest in exagerrated dignity. "But you can call me Sky Dancer. Sky for short."

Lying in a cloud hammock and surrounded by minions, Obsidian opened his mouth on purpose for the first time in days. "There has to be something I'm missing."

One of the Unicorns uselessly milling around, or at least, one of them blessed with a voice, gave him a quizzical look. "What was that, master?"

"Stuff that master crap up your arse." He growled, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. "And you heard me the first time."

"Ah, yes mas-... yes. What do you mean?"

"I meant..." Obsidian opened one eye, mentally clearing a whirlwind of fog, "...I have everything I could ever want. I could kill all of you, right now, with ease, and I wouldn't care. Nothing would be better, or worse. Indifferent. And... I'm so powerful, but it seems something's off. I'm just not..."

"Happy?"

The overlord fell silent, closing his eyes against the dying silhoette of the moon. With a heavy sigh, his head tilted back again. "I'm dangerously close."

The Unicorn winced, curiousity overtaking caution. "To what?"

"To tipping," he lifted his paw, walking his talons across until they plummeted off the furry edge, "over into the deep."

"Is that, bad, sir?"

"Kind of." Obsidian muttered. "But if I do fall... you won't have much time to contemplate how bad it is."

"Ah."

"I'm just missing something. One thing." He mused, folding his paws back on his chest. "And I just can't put my finger on it."

Do you have any idea on how to lure him into fighting with the Elements?

"Well... after I went mental, I just wanted my crush back. So-o if he's married now, he'll feel empty."

What are you suggesting?

"We use Sunrise as bait."

Safe and Sound

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There was a sudden epiphany of silence in all of the worlds, shared over millions of individual moments and millions of sentenient beings. And it was broken in one place, in a catastrophic explosion that spun the cloudy mist into itself and released the bound minds of thousands of creatures, all turning their eyes to the sky in search of some revelation. And there was one.

NO!

Obsidian's voice rang loud and clear over all of Equestria and the surrounding lands.

It's still mine! You're... you're all mine!

"Sir...?"

"Snkt - Celestia! Shut the hell up... wait, when did you get a mouth?!"

The Alicorn in question lifted her sparking horn. "When I decided that you've gone too far."

"Hey, stick to the plan!" Sky chided, trotting out from behind her thorned tail. "Ah, Obsidian, long time no see! You've certianly changed."

"Who the heck are you?"

The wingless Pegasus stepped back, gasping. "You don't remember me?! Well... I guess I do look a little different. Hooves. Oh, and fur. Okay, a lot different." With a quick run-start, Sky Dancer jumped up into Obsidian's hammock, silently hoping his hooves were still cloud-bearing. They were. "Three guesses."

"Get away from me."

"Uh, I can't say that's my name."

A spark lit up in Obsidian's dark eyes. "A clue?"

"We spent a lot of time together...?"

"Uh... Sunrise in a detailed costume?"

"Wrong again. Do I look like a dragon to you? Although, I am quite sexy. So is she."

Celestia facehoofed in the background.

"KHA!? What the hay are you doing here?!"

"I prefer Sky to Kha. Just saying."

"But... you died."

Sky leaned up against Obsidian's pale side, unknowingly opening fresh wounds in the draconequus's heart. "Just left for a little while. Had to find myself."

"Oh my god." Obsidian breathed, falling back on his haunches. "What... what have I done?" His black eyes surveyed the white ground, spotted with an occansional patch of unwavering green. The sky, clear of fog, spun in a cosmic rainbow.

Sky smiled, trotting in place. "I can fix this, no problem."

"No..." The draconequus was still fixated on the sky. "I could fix the ground... in seconds... but I can't fix..." He lifted one talon, his black pupils shrinking to reveal wide blue irises. "...I can't fix that."

The dead shells of the sun and the moon plummeted to the earth that used to hold the powers controlling them.

The Mist Lord jumped to the ground, spires of stone erupting from the ground around the small group, small enough to see through but thick and interwoven enough to block shrapnel.

"Uh, hey, 'Sid..."

"What?!"

Sky's eyes traveled past the draconequus, out into the glaringly bright world. "Sunrise and Discord are out there."

Obsidian's eyes narrowed and he shot out of the top of the spires, sealing the top and walls as he darted off into pure, untamed power.

"There's no shelter!" Sunrise cried, folding her wings from her high-speed charge. One claw wrapped protectively over her belly. "We can't get away."

"I know Obsidian!" Discord snarled. "There is no way he would let an entire world die. No way in hell."

There was a moment of silence between the two as Discord looked up at the rapidly approaching ball of spacial fire.

"No way in hell." He repeated, planting his feet on the rapidly-drying ground. "He's not leaving us."

The Shard was quick. From the moment the sun began plummeting, it had torn itself away from the weakened magic binds and clung on until the right moment.

With the force of shadows, it lauched away, an invisible black plume, slicing through the atmosphere in silent tears, and meeting it's target.

Obsidian's visoin jarred as something hit the back of his head with a painless tingling sensation. His wings went limp, vision blurry, and began to spiral towards the ground. With what little power he had left in control, he reached down into his grandmother's soul, and pulled on her power, turning the surface of a dying planet into a series of jagged, wide chasms. In less than a minute, he sealed the wounds shut, trapping whoever had been lucky enough to fall in underground. Dark, cool, unaffected underground.

He knew Kha, Celestia and a few of his minions had surely made it, along with his father and wife. The rest was up to luck.

And his entire nervous system failed as he rolled onto his back, the silence behind his faltered heartbeat rang in his ears as the last few moments of feeling ravaged his body with an intense, burning heat and the unbearable light of the sun itself.

The surface of the planet exploded in light and heat, plumes of fire tunneling out into exposed space, atmosphere blown to bits. The moon hit a few seconds later, following the sun, and coated the hellish suface in a peaceful, cold layer of dust.

And the omniverse was once again silent.

Shard

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Discord shot open one wing, corkscrewing down into the blackness with the presicion that could only come from years of repetitive practice. However, he was pretty sure none of the other ponies falling knew the twisted entrnace tunnels like he did. A few Pegasi had regained flight control, banking hard to pull up behind him. The Unicorns were channeling their magic into self-leviation and - for the more powerful - wings. It was the Earth Ponies that he was worried about.

"Hey! Past here, there's a sharp left before a straight down plummet. Keep going 'til you see light. Understand? Grab anypony who seems like they won't make it!"

His voice thundered down the narrow passage, alerting all falling through it. Almost instantly, the Earth Ponies were caught by hoof and magic, pulled off into the side tunnel. Discord slowed as they passed, waiting until the screams and wingbeats faded from hearing.

"Where are you?" He muttered, lifting his ears. Slowly, he activated the stored magic in the walls, illuminating the tunnel. He knew it was spreading out behind him, too, lighting a clear path for the rescued. But at the moment, he wasn't looking or them.

Trying not to look too hard at the few bodies that had hit the sides in concussive speed, he searched for his draconic companion.

"DISCORD!"

He jerked around at the scream, instantly seeing Sunrise clinging to the tunnel edge below, unused wings fluttering helplessly. Her claws were dangerously close to sliding off the polished edge. The tears streaming from her face as her back claws skidded over the stone weren't helping her grip.

"H-h-help me!"

With a burst of adrenaline, he surged upwards, wings streched as wide as they could possibly go. He really hated how Fulmen had enchanted the walls to his magic alone.

To keep you from running away. She had said. I'm your mother, and I know best. Now, go to bed.

She hadn't bothered to remove the bonds when he moved out. Or was turned to stone. Or she died.

The dragonness's claws finally slipped, sending her rocketing down the tunnel. The fall wasn't far as Discord matched her speed below her, dropping his speed slowly so she wouldn't be hurt when they hit. Flipping onto his back, he grabbed the orange blur and pulled up quickly, ignoring the claws fearfully jabbing into his skin. Following the ponies at high speed, he swerved through the tunnel, plunging down, slowly extinguishing the tunnel's light so he would know when to slow down.

The cold dust on the surface of a once-beautiful planet impossibly stirred. A creature sat up amid a cloud of lunar soot, coughing a few times to clear his lungs before realizing the air had vanished. Grumbling angrily, he mentally reminded himself of his origins, and switched to the magic way of breathing without lungs. Standing up in a puff of dust, he looked around.

The Shard is a curious thing. It is not a living creature, nor a lifeless object. It was neither shapeless nor fixed in a single form, and had no thoughts of it's own despite being of high sentenience. It simply should not have existed. But though dark thoughts and lies of precosmical matter, it had been spurned. And had directly enflamed the small wounds of the thing that would become the omniverse.

Through some twisted hand of fate, almost all of the Shard had embedded itself in Sky, and had manisfested into Kha'dighreel. The small part left had divided over the closest unfortunate planet - which contained a young Equestria. Lying dormant in the minds of thousands, it watched the goings-on for a long time. When the country was at it's weakest point, during a war with the neighboring Zebra tribe, the largest Shard dominated the childish mind of Luna, creating the Nightmare. The smaller peices reacted to this, creating the New Lunar Republic.

From then on was history.

In the end, while on the moon, the members of the Republic died, their short lives no match for a thousand years. The smaller Shard peices joined the largest, growing the Nightmare's powers. When the thousand was over, the Nightmare was more than powerful enough to shroud the world in darkness. And when it was beaten, it exploded into armor-like peices. The ponies and Alicorns had left. Under the cover of the next night, the armor dissolved into pale black smoke, rushing away as fast as it could into the Everfree.

Celestia's magic traps were set off the second the smoke left the castle, sending the rogue shadow into the sun with amazing force. And her powerful magic had held it there for a hundred years, and Luna's for a year more. But death considerably weakened one's power, and the Shard had clung on, waiting for the right moment.

One top of that, there had only been one other creature that could hold the Shard that had melted away from Sky. It had drained into Obsidian, slowly, subtley. And with the final missing peice, the jigsaw was complete.

The Shard had once again become whole.

The creature standing on the flat, dead planet was no longer Obsidian.

The draconequus's wings folded back to his side. Sunrise crawled out of his arms, planting all feet firmly on the ground and reassuring herself that it wasn't going to move - simoutaneously trying not to vomit.

"Let's see here..." Discord muttered, looking around the dim cavern. "Turn up the lights, calm everyone down," he paused with a frown, "get someone to scrape pony off the tunnel walls."

He tried to remember his childhood. Did Fulmen have any slaves? Minions? Golems? He couldn't remember any, but... heck, it was worth a try.

Clearing his throat, he tried to remember what 'come' was in Animalian, the language Fulmen had tried to teach him so he could talk to animals. He had gotten bored twenty minutes in, but she used it all the time, so...

He sighed and straightened up, letting off a series of uncharacteristic growls and clicks. The awkward noise echoed around the dark for a while, fading out gently. In the following awkward silence, Discord began to doubt his faded memories even further.

And then something small and furry ran over his toes.

Rolling his eyes, he once again accesed the only magic available to him at the time, lighting the massive cavern that he knew contained entrances to all the passages under the entire planet. For a creature with wings, they were easy to access. Maybe the Pegasi could explore later. But at the moment, the tunnels were full to maximum.

The upper tunnels, including the ones on the roof, were suddenly spurting bats, thousands of bats that clung to every vertical or overhead surface. From the single row of tunnels on the ground came creatures that were quite different - cats. And kittens.

"She just had to be genetically loyal." He snorted, watching as the animals lined up in military-straight rows, staring at him with glinting, nightly eyes. He felt Sunrise nervously lean against his side. The ponies were surprisingly calm - from shock or knowledge of biological intelllegence, he couldn't tell.

"Umm... heh... could you guys clean up? There's going to be a mess in the..." he trailed off at the dagger-filled glare from Sunrise. "I meant, there's dust in the tunnels. And clean up your chambers, we have guests."

The point must have gotten across, because the rows left orderly, vanishing through the tunnels. Two animals were left.

One was a giant tomcat. Not fat, just... massive. Two times larger than it should have been, claws showing through ginger-tabby fur. The other was an equally-sized bat, which flapped awkwardly down from the roof to land gracefully on the cat's shoulders.

There was a tense moment of silence between Discord and the large animals, in which the pair never moved their shining eyes from his.

"Dismissed."

The cat bowed before jogging off into a tunnel, the bat still perched on his shoulders.

The rescues were silent, in a surpringly awkward way. Discord sighed.

"There will be losses. Thousands, millions... we will be affected. But Obsidian took what control he had and saved us. Understand? There's food down here, water, housing... in fact, in a cavern like this, there's an entire, abandoned kingdom, castle included. Something tells me any help we'll get is from two specific mamilia, so make yourselves at home. We're safe here, safer than you ever were on the surface. Tomorrow, I'll find everything else that came down here and bring them to the castle.

"We aren't the only creatures down here. These opened all over the world, bringing species from all origins to safety. I don't know how many will have lived, but there are magic cushions on the ground floor activated when something plummets from a distance. Like bats. The only reason we had to save each other is because the tunnel we were taking went somewhere not so nice.

"So anyway, you may see different things from us. Not like the zebras or the buffalo are different. You might see dragons, sphinx, harpies, leviathans, pheonixi, Dogs, Quetzacoatl, Griffons, Ursas, Scorpios, Capricorns... they will be different. But they are just as lost and confused as we are. If they mean harm, alert me through magic or Animalic - for those who can speak it - and I will take care of the problem."

He waited until the ponies had huddled into confused groups and lay down for a good night's - i it could be called - sleep. Discord fell back on his haunches, leaning up against the wall and absentmindedly stroking Sunrise's back as she drifted off to sleep.

He looked up as a bat flew down from a roof tunnel, something grapsed in it's tiny mouth. The noctural creature landed gracefully on the side of Discord's claw, spitting out what looked like a scroll.

"Spike..."

Discord, I have a feeling this relates to your son. What happened? Is Sunrise okay? What about Twilight?

Flipping it over, he found that a black quill had been jabbed through the corner.

I'll talk to you tomorrow. Sunrise is fine. I can see Twilight too. Get your rest.

Wrapping the quill back up in the faded parchment, he set it back in the little creatures' mouth, watching it flutter away before dimming the glow of the stone and settling off to sleep himself.

Morning Light

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"RISE AND SHINE, EVERYPONY!" Discord yelled, one hand holding a small red foghorn. "DON'T MAKE ME USE THIS!"

Sunrise looked at him through a half-closed eye. "I thought your magic didn't work down here."

"It didn't. But I found the lock and opened it. Chaotic as ever, people! Full power, once again!" Turning the glowing stones to a daylight-ish level, he conjured up a larger foghorn, which hit the ground with a titanic thud. Spinning like a carosel, he happily kicked down with his hoof, setting off the thundering noise and practically vibrating the teeth out of all in the cavern.

Sunrise bucked the offending item out from under him, sending it into the wall with an echoing clang. Discord pouted before disappaiting both horns.

"So, now that we're all awake, I'm teleporting us somewhere a bit more comfortable. I needed you all to be conscious to prevent any side effects; missing limbs, trading wings, internal bleeding, external bleeding, soft hoof, slipperfoot, etc." He paused for a second, before adding; "Just thought you should know." He flicked his talons, and all present vanished in a brilliant white flash.

The Shard dug deeper into Obsidian, tearing away painlessly at his body, while he drew away from it, into his mind, his sane sanctuary.

The Shard had no motivation of it's own. It took the reasons of others and distorted them. Sky had wanted to lead his tribe. Obsidian... Obsidian wanted to be with Sunrise.

This was not the kind of thing the Shard wanted.

The light died back down in a massive cavern. The floor seemed to be lit with a warm orange glow, emenating from somewhere below the stone.

But on the surface, made of gleaming gemstones, was an entire city, an underground Canterlot. The underfloor glow was reflected millions of times, lighting every inch of the castle, and the town around it.

"Discord... why is this here?" Sunrise looked up at him, trying not to form theories.

He rolled his eyes. "My mother always wanted to take over the world. She couldn't. So she stole people's cats and disrupted the number of mosquitoes and built a kingdom for her alone. I think she was one apple short of a bushel."

"And the floor is glowing why?"

"Because that's the core of the earth." He sauntered off into the town, leaving Sunrise kind of stunned. "Is anyone coming? These things haven't been lived in since forever. There might be some cleaning needed."

Nothing? Nothing? You want nothing?

Well you won't leave, so yeah. Nothing.

Sad. Should want. Want is good.

Screw off.

Somewhere dark and quiet - at least, as far as she could tell - Scootaloo lifted her newly-rainbow-maned head. She felt woozy, but couldn't tell if her vision was blurred at all, something Rainbow had taught her meant a concussion. Years of stunt flying eventually pounded a bit of knowledge into her thick skull. She knew her name, how old she was, the names of close friends...

And had no idea where the buck she was.

Something moved invisibly in the shadows beside her, with a sound like a cloud hitting ground.

Something brushed her tail. She jumped, falling on her knees.

Something touched her nose.

Something stifled her screams as it smothered her face.

Sunrise found Discord floating near the top of the cavern, a thick conjured mist hanging disconcertingly around him. She flew through the confusing fog, landing with a soft thump on his cloud. He didn't bother to take his eyes off his feet.

"Hi."

He sighed. "I miss him."

"So do I."

He shifted suddenly, his arms pulling Sunrise into an unexpected hug. The draconequus's muzzle shuddered on her shoulders as he cried. "He's going to die, I know it. He's dead, and he died alone. I never said goodbye. I never..." he trailed off to sniffle, "I never told him his mother's last words."

"I didn't know you were there... when it happened."

His voice became distant, and Sunrise could almost picture his eyes glazing over. "I was, though.

"She was just lying there. And despite... what had happened... between us... I was by her side. I rarely wasn't. But, the day she opened her eyes, she saw herself, all black and frozen, and the drips, and then she saw me... it was like she couldn't scream. It was barely a hiss of air as her mouth opened, as she threw herself against the headboard, struggling against all her bandages to get away. It was...

"Heartbreaking.

"I couldn't believe she was that scared of me. I couldn't believe what I had done. What part I had played in making it happen. It was a big part.

"And when the nurse rushed in, explained, calmed her down... it took three needles, Sunrise, three... then she could look at me. I didn't miss her shiver. The nurse did. She just smiled and left. What in Equestria was she thinking? Leaving the unlikely child-owning couple who may or may not hate each other alone in the room? Nurse's training should be more in-depth.

"And when she looked at me, the hate and fear in her eyes was overwhelming. Even I couldn't bay emotions that strong. I had to look away. She saw, with those burning eyes, she saw. She understood I knew what I had done was wrong, but...

"Why... how could you do this?" Her voice was barely a whisper, almost vanishing under the electrical hum of the equipment. "To me... and to my sister?"

"I... didn't think..."

"You never think, Discord. You never have." Luna's voice still managed to spear through any emotional wall, despite the frailty of the speaker. "You never thought that this was a problem. You were born through this method. You would not see it as wrong."

"I was never taught..."

"Respect? Caution? Grade Eight Health?"

"I know what I..."

"No. You don't know. That's the problem. If you knew, none of this would have happened. How old are you, Discord?"

"Twenty...ish..."

"I was supposed to die at close to two-thousand years. Not two-hundred."

"Don't say that."

She sat up, wincing in pain, but remaining upright. "I am going to say whatever I want, Discord, because I'm the Queen now that Celestia's dead. You... are nothing. Until I die, you are nothing. And it should have been that you would stay nothing after my death, that Crimsonleaf - who has been straining to learn the Celestial Magic - would be King. Have you not realized what you've changed?" She was crying, silver tears running down her cheeks, splashing with small glittering puffs onto the sheets. "You're going to be King now."

"I don't..."

"Just like you've always wanted."

Discord was speechless, leaning back in an odd mix of shock and what looked like casual smugness. Luna comprehended the latter.

"You insolent oaf! You've endangered all of Equestria! And there's nothing I can do about it."

Discord really wished that Luna's voice was stronger, that the Nurse could hear the verbal pummeling and put an end to it. But he was speechless, not to mention scared to leave.

"Celestia... she was stronger than me. She always has been. If it had been her that night, and if I was the dead one, she would have put you back in stone. But I'm not that strong. I've never been strong enough to correct my mistakes."

"Luna, please..."

"I'm not Luna, Discord. I'm not the one you used to play with in the garden." The anger in her eyes faded, and she closed them, lying back down slowly. "I'm not the Princess you used to know."

"You are." He didn't know how he was talking, his mind was still reeling. "You are the steadfast, stubborn, quick-witted strong filly-become-mare you are. No time can ever take that away. There is no change."

She opened one eye, fixing him with a gentle, sad stare. "There is, though. The Discord I used to know was a lie. You told me. You did this to Celestia too. You... your gentle, friendly, playful, sensitive side, the side that was more imp than demon... it is gone. It never was. There is change."

Discord looked back, closing his eyes slowly before looking outside at the darkening sky, thinking about Crimsonleaf's power. He stood up slowly, pushing the chair back into place, before walking to the doorway. He looked over his shoulder, moving one claw out to the switch.

"Goodnight, Luna."

He flicked the lights off, leaving the Alicorn's glowing gaze. The only way Luna knew that he left was the soft click of the outer door closing.

"...but she didn't let it go."

Sunrise let him hold her, feeling a draconian flame that matched her own burning in Discord's chest. "I understand." She whispered. "I understand."

"But you don't." He pushed away from her, walking away and lying down on his side against the far side of the cloud. "My mother... the reasons she had me were all wrong. And... I thought I loved Celestia. Nopony told me about the difference between a crush and love. But Luna...

"A thousand-plus years with nothing to do give you a lot of time to think, Sunrise. And I thought about Luna... a lot. And I realized... I really did love her. And now, with Obsidian long past gone...

"I have nothing left."

Space

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"What is the meaning of this!?"

"Saywhatnow?" Discord yelled, jumping up from his cloud. Standing in front of him was a very aggravated Pegasus, staring at him from inches away.

"What in Equestria is going on? I want to know what happened yesterday!"

He moaned, sitting back down and giving the newcomer a sideways glare. That sounded way too much like Celestia... "What about yesterday?"

"The world blew up!"

"Thank you for specifying."

An angry hoof punched through the cloud. "Tell. Me."

"Geez, calm down. You basically just explained it yourself."

"I know you know more."

Discord shrugged, identifying the huffy creature. "The world blew up, lightning-butt. The end."

Storm snorted. "You're good at insulting those who ask uncomfortable questions."

The spirit stopped mid-breath, turning slowly and glaring at the smug Pegasus. "You have no right to say that."

"I have just as much right as anypony el-"

She was cut off as Discord flexed his claws, an invisible hold tightening around her neck. "You have no right." He repeated. "You wouldn't say things like that to Luna or Celestia, and you cannot say them to me."

"Okay." She squeaked, hooves scraping at her neck. "Okay!"

He let her struggle for a few more seconds before releasing his grip, claw by claw. The limp Pegasus slid down on the cloud, coughing and weakly pushing at her neck.

"I am King." He growled. Truth be told, even he didn't believe himself. "You treat me with as much respect as you would the Princesses."

"Yes, King Discord." The Pegasus instantly bowed, trembling.

Discord lifted one eyebrow, examining the mare's quick submission. "Are you kidding me? All this time I've been treated like dirt, and all I had to do was call myself one pitiful word? Really?"

Storm Catcher opened one eye, glancing up at the chaos deity. "Does it displease you, King?"

"Stuff it, lightning-butt. I'm the same draconequus you were insulting."

Slowly, Storm stood back up, trying not to flinch away from Discord's cynical stare. "Sorry. I didn't-"

"Didn't know I hated power? Not the only one." Before she could leave, he continued. "And about yesterday? This all happened... because I couldn't handle responsibility."

The Pegasus raised an eyebrow before spreading her wings and plummeting back down to the ground.

Discord sighed and rolled onto his back.

Sunrise lifted her muzzle, opening her mouth to draw in any trace of scent. The tunnel was small, and dark, and the floor was suspiciously slimy, but that didn't matter.

Bat post had returned a letter, and given it to her when Discord was absent. From her father, asking when Discord would be coming around.

He had been preoccupied.

Which was why Sunrise was crawling through a tunnel meant to fit cats and young draconequi, and leaving a trail of magic light on the roof.

Slowing down for a few moments, she looked around for any branching tunnels, for some kind of light that would guide her to the next chamber. Instead, the glow from her eyes landed upon a larger space up ahead, and something collapsed inside of it.

Starting to panic, Sunrise slid through the mush, stopping beside what seemed to be a pony and checking to see if it was breathing. Almost. Almost breathing. Her lungs were working, her pulse was racing... but there was no exhale other than Sunrise's own.

Moving to the pony's head, Sunrise found the problem. It looked like a massive hulk of mud, slowly expanding higher on her face, currently around her ears. She hissed, partially in shock, and the mud actually lifted itself up from the limp pony and turned what might have been a head towards Sunrise. This drew the mud away from the pony's head, and for a few seconds, a panicked purple iris cloud be seen searching for any sign of help.

Their eyes locked, and a nauseating horror filled Sunrise's throat. Scootaloo.

With a magical burst, Sunrise flooded the cavern with light, watching as the mud - actually a scarlet mess, swirled with black - drew away with what might have been a hiss, and disappeared into a side tunnel.

The dragon pulled Scootaloo to her feet, holding her up as she coughed. "Thank... you..." Scootaloo panted. "I thought... I was going... to die."

"All in a day's work. How did you end up here?"

"I was flying... and all of a sudden, I wasn't. The ground just opened up under me, and I was pulled in, and then... nothing. No... I hit my head on something... then... I woke up... in the dark... and that thing... climbed over my face... and then the dark, oh, the dark..."

"It's okay. You're safe now. But we have to keep going. Stay close behind me."

Scootaloo nodded, ducking to follow Sunrise deeper into the tunnel complex.

"What do you mean, she's gone?!" Discord roared, landing with a tyrannosaurus-esque thud. "I told you to keep an eye on her!"

Twilight flinched back. "I turned around for one second! I promise!"

"You should have been keeping a better eye on her!" He growled, tail flicking impatiently over the dusty ground. "She could be anywhere!"

"You said we were safe."

He stiffened, the muscles in his shoulders tensing. "In the caverns, you're safe for long enough. The tunnels... the tunnels aren't safe. And this cave is special. Fulmen enchanted this one long ago. Nothing can enter here without permission. That's why I want to retrieve as many creatures as possible as fast as possible. Sunrise's gone looking for her father, and he's a long way away."

"What's in the tunnels?"

"Let's just leave it at the fact that even I could get killed if I went there with my magic restricted. My mother... saw many of her servants die from what lurks in there. And you can't get away, they're too narrow."

"Then why the buck are we down here?!?"

Discord's eyes filled with golden fire. "Because my SON just sacrificed himself to save all of us, that's why! And because the only thing I HAVE LEFT OF HIM is carrying their child! And because I THINK that I HAVE some responsibility in TAKING CARE OF MY CHILDREN, THAT'S WHY!"

Twilight's ears had gone from laid back in anger to drooping in what could have been called mistaken anger, if anypony around wasn't too shocked to speak. Small squeaks wheezed from her throat whenever he raised his voice.

Out of breath and motivation, the draconequus slumped, tail dropping flat to the ground, head and neck bowed. He sighed, before continuing in a much quieter, deeper voice.

"If you don't mind, I'll be going."

Eons

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"Everyone stay close to me!" Spike roared, the small group he had been dropped with instantly squirming for shelter between his claws. The dragon glared menacingly at one of the tunnels, as if daring whatever was causing such a scuffle inside to come out.

It did, on trembling, muddy, pink-orange claws.

Spike quickly swallowed the flame in his throat, ignoring the scalding burns in his throat. "Sunrise?"

"Dad!" The dragonness ran to her father, wrapping her arms around one of his legs. She looked up, judging the distance between his hunched back and the ceiling. "Cramped?"

"Kinda."

Silently and subtly, Scootaloo crawled out of the tunnel, glancing back into the darkness with a shiver before lying down to clean the mud from her feathers.

"Why are you here?" Spike growled, a reprimanding tone overruling fatherly caution. "It's not safe in the tunnels."

"I had to come find you." Sunrise whispered. "I didn't know what happened to you."

A collective d'aww rose from the creatures that were beginning to spread around the cavern again.

One stood out, a dark green snake, marked with vibrant orange spots along his back feathers and plume. He looked to be adolescent, with a short muzzle and small crest.

Sunrise broke away from Spike. "Excuse me!"

He turned, lifting the front half of his body off the ground by pushing the knuckles of his wings down. Sunrise winced at how unnatural the position looked. "Are you talking to me?"

The deep hiss, paired with a egotistical swagger, took Sunrise by surprise. "Uh, yes... do you have a sister?"

"Used to." The creature's voice wavered, curiosity breaking through. "But she ran away a long time ago. Haven't seen scale or feather of her since."

"What happened? When she ran away?"

The growl deepened again. "She was taking care of mother. I was barely beyond blindness. When she left, it wasn't long before mother died... starvation or infection, I couldn't tell. And I couldn't go anywhere, feather's hadn't grown in and wasn't strong enough to slither... so I hid. And I could see her when she was eaten by a pack of Lindwyrms, I. Assure. You."

"I'm so sorry..."

"You asked about it. Not your fault."

"And... I... your sister... it wasn't her fault she had to leave."

"I won't believe that until you breathe feathers, chickie."

Spike snorted, offended by the snake's crude language.

Sunrise flicked him with her tail to keep him from doing anything he would regret, and nodded gently. "I met her. Somewhere," an eye twitched as she remembered one not-very-pleasant description of what the hostages had gone through, courtesy of a raging blizzard and a round of truth or dare, "not many things would have been pleased to be in. When she figured out what was going on... she almost went insane. The first things she mourned over were her mother and you. She was positive you had died... there's a grave-less tombstone in Ponyville for you. Well, there used to be."

The creature's expression had remained surprisingly neutral through Sunrise's speech, and the only emotion broke through the odd tremble in his voice. "Did she tell you her name?"

"Yeah, it was... Tene."

"Her whole name?"

"Flaytenemon."

He snorted, still in that odd, upright position. "Quetzalcoatl have a very strict code of honor. A name ranks very high on that list."

Sunrise narrowed her eyes. "Some things are more important than honor." She stuck out a claw towards the pessimistic snake. "I'm Sunrise."

He eyed her warily, dark pupils flicking between her cautious smile and her spread claws. Dropping from his stand, he stretched out a wing, placing the knuckle of the folded limb in her claw. "Invielabra. Call me Viel, if it's easier."

"There is not much left for us here."

In some odd, invisible way, the two sets of eyes met.

Nothing turned away, looking back down at the ravaged planet. <This place is like the others now, you know.>

"It has hope, though." Something replied.

Something sighed, insubstantially leaning into her brother. "Small things become big." She looked down at the planet, it's burned and scarred surface, and for once couldn't see the future of the sorrowful place. "And big things change the world."

Nothing was doubtfully silent, before resting a materialless chin on his sister's head. <Whatever you say.>

Invisible to all of them, the balance in the universe shifted as the two reigning beings found harmony. A small sliver of Shard hissed in fury, fizzling away into the air, unable to think, or connect to fellow Shards. The fragments around watched in an odd kind of bemused horror before slithering over the place it had left exposed.

In some subconscious plain, Obsidian sat peacefully, looking out over a gently rolling landscape. The air was soft and gentle on his fur, and his claws twitched slightly at it's cooler nip. He closed his eyes, jolted away from his paradise for a few short moments and seeing the dark twisted world his body existed in, and opened them again.

"I miss you, Sunrise." He muttered, not wanting to relent back to the pull of reality. "I miss you a lot. How're you doing? How about Discord? Spike? Any trouble?"

His words echoed around his empty meadow, a metallic quality ringing through them the longer they repeated.

He sighed, rejuvenated slightly, and closed his eyes, returning to the battle for his soul.

Still

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Twilight lit the small fireplace, burning a few of the larger dust mats she had found. The small room was looking almost good as new, except for the massive... thing... lying on the bed. It looked shapeless, but whenever Twilight walked past it, she could feel it's glare as it hissed. Whatever it was, she was not going to touch it.

So, as karmic intervention always does, the teleporting draconequus basically landed on top of it.

The purple Unicorn looked on in amused surprise, barely able to see past the draconequus's writhing tail. When the leftover dust settled, Discord was sitting on what looked to be a black beanbag.

Twilight Sparkle lifted an eyebrow towards the thing, and Discord gave her a sarcastic smirk in return, eventually giving in to her half-glare and turning the thing back, with the exception of it flying through the air out he window as he did so. As the angry bay of the creature faded, Discord turned his attention back to Twilight. "Anyway, have you seen Sunrise since she left?"

"Have you gone looking for her?"

"Do you REALLY think I would sit her and tap my claws until a carcass drags itself back? Of course I've been looking!"

"No, she hasn't shown up."

Discord frowned. "I haven't been able to contact Spike again, either. Hope they're okay..."

Spike looked down at the smashed ink vial on the ground, and back at the dry quill in his claw. "Damn."

"I'm sure they're fine. Spike's strong."

"What have you been doing while I've been trying to save my daughter-in-law?"

The Unicorn growled at the offhand insult before taking a deep breath and returning to her cleaning. "I've been getting the dust out of the castle for you. I'm almost done."

He took to the air, floating above her head. "Woman's work?"

"You. Did. NOT. Just. Go. There." She snarled, grabbing her duster with her magic. "You little rat."

"You know it's tru-ue~"

With a playful roar, Twilight launched herself at the draconequus, rubbing the duster all over his belly and causing him to erupt with giggles. Twilight was caught in the sudden mirth, and started laughing as well.

Both of them noticed what they were doing with a sudden jolt, and Twilight got off Discord's belly almost as fast as he scurried away from her.

He eyed the blush on her cheeks. "Sparkle-butt, do you like me~"

"No!" She shouted, pink cheeks turning red. "No!"

He lifted a sadistic eyebrow, but leaned in with a smirk. "You shouldn't lie to yourself~"

When the Unicorn didn't reply, he backed up, watching as she scuffed a hoof on the ground and tried her hardest not to meet his eyes.

"Oh. Oh-kay. Awkward." He turned away, looking out the window to give Twilight some time to sort out her words.

"I guess... I do like you... a little."

"You attacked me with a duster."

"It was just... for a second... you reminded me of Sunrise. That's how I used to tease her for messing up my books."

It dawned on him then. "Twilight... have you noticed anything... different... about Sunrise lately?"

"She's married..."

"Anything else?"

"She's smiling a lot. And looks healthy. Glowing with..." Her voice trailed off. "...Glowing."

Discord simply nodded.

"She's pregnant." Twilight monotoned.

"Secrety-secret. Can't tell anypony. That's why I'm so bucking worried."

"What...?"

"I don't know how the types of magic... mesh. Not only draconequus and dragon, but chaos and old magic, and on top of that, the minor Shard in him to her purity." He took a deep breath. "I don't know if her or her kid will live."

Obsidian threw himself against the Shard's wall, hoping that it would at least relent. Or move. The almost-electronic pulse raced across the surface again though, and decimated his efforts by launching him through the air. A ripple of pain surged through his subconscious as he slammed into the ground, spikes seemingly jabbed into his spine.

"Oh, come on! That's dirty."

"You do not want." The voice echoed around him. "You are punished."

"I'm letting you possess my body."

The entity laughed. "Like you could fight back."

Obsidian cracked a smile, channeling some of the power he had received into regaining his sight. The familiar lines of time surrounded him, a tangled web of silver. With a few sharps twists, a spire of stone shot out of the ground, slamming the eternal being's body into the air and dropping drastically to enlarge the fall. After a few earthly attacks, he felt the Shard shift off his surface, withdrawing so his injuries would be his alone.

With a mad laugh, he snapped his wings open, shooting up and away from the ground and letting the stones settle again. The Shard roared daggers inside his mind for such disobedience as he restrained it under thick temporal chains.

"Now, to go find Sunrise."

There is a very thin line between waking and dreaming. On one side is outlandish horrors and graphic chaos. On the other, there are dreams, wondrous and blooming, spirals of color glowing like miniature stars, landscapes of clouds and flowers forming the world.

This line, where time has no meaning, where minutes can seem like hours and vice-versa, is a very dangerous place to tread.

Nighttime

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Above it all, above the chaos and the darkness and the shadow, the sky was bright with stars. It seemed like there was no longer space between them, like the heavens had decided to spotlight this ending dance. The sky alive with light and the ground dark and lifeless, it was not hard to imagine that everything had simply flipped, that the burning lights of Canterlot were against a grounded night sky.

It was hard to define if it was nothing more than a dream.

Or a nightmare.

Time continued around him, a cast shadow between reality and dreaming. This thin, dark, dangerous line, was the location of a draconequus's hurried footprints. This place, hidden in the dusk, was not where one would meet travellers. So he walked alone, down the border, a being that did not fit in anywhere.

He did, however, accept this. He knew what he was going to end up ebing, what was going to happen.

He was going to die.

He did not know how. He did not know when. He simply knew he would.

He was ready.

Each step he took seemed to hurt more, both physically and mentally. He was growing weaker. His once untapped power was running out, drained by physical strain and consumed by the Shard.

He did not know when he would give, only that he would.

The Shard was stronger than he had believed it was going to be. Before, when it was not completed, he could control it with ease.

But now, even wih time itself suffocating his mind, it was slowly tearing him apart. Every time he looked down, he could have sworn he was fading away. And not just because he was on the borderline of chaos, but because he was. He was leaving, faster than he could predict.

He hoped he could get to her in time.

He was not leaving her again.

Sky snorted and stood up, still adjusting to his new center of balance. He glared at the stubborn white film on his shoulders and cursed it multiple times.

If Obsidian has the Shard, why do you still bear marks?

"If I knew, I'd have gotten rid of it."

You're still fully in control?

"Yeah...?"

Try using it to your advantage. If you can hold this much... try reverting to your other form.

Pictures of thousands of bloody bodies, blood in his mouth, on his skin, in his eyes, the feeling of warmth, of power, feeling so proud of being the only one left-

"No. I can't."

I don't know what you went through before. But you might be able to stop it from happening again.

He looked up at Celestia's conjured form, seeing reassurance somewhere in her dark eyes. I'll fight it if it gets out of control.

"Oh...okay..." He could see Obsidian, a dark fire around him, laughing, the blood on his fur, the shining madness in his eyes, the despair beneath... no. No other would ever have to suffer through that. "Okay."

He closed his eyes against the faint glow of Celestia's weak magic and fell into darkness. He let the shadows sweep ovr his skin, let it remember his sins and his triumph. For a brief moment, he saw his own face reflected in blood, and it was gone, whisked into black. He let out a choked scream as pain flooded every nerve ending in his body. He felt his bones crack, felt them move, felt his form changing, his fur burning as it melted into skin, his eyes stinging like daggers in his skull.

And it was done. He slowly opened his eyes, felt the difference of them, saw deeper than his companion's light. He could see two of his once-hooves, which now ending in almost-invisible toes, the small claws on them the same colour as his skin.

Are you okay? Talk if you are. If you don't talk, I'll attack you.

"I'm fine."

Spike squinted against the light, growling quietly.

"By the stars above, I never thought I'd find you! Do you have any idea how many tunnels I've gotten stuck in today to save your rumps?"

"Discord?" Sunrise asked, sticking her head out from behind her father's leg.

"No, I'm the mailmare." He frowned, looking around the cavern. "I think I can teleport you all at once. Actually... CAN ANYONE IN HERE USE MAGIC?"

A few Unicorns and Sunrise stepped out, the Unicorns looking at Discord with a burning fear.

"Oh, yeah. I'm the bad guy." He looked at each of them, as if trying to figure out where they were from. "It's been a year. You should know the Princesses are dead?" They nodded. "And Luna released me?" More nods. "Um... we had a son?" Hesitant nods. "Well, I'm the good guy. You're safe here. Ignore anything you might have heard about me. All rumors. I swear. Except for the chaos thing. That's true." He paused, shaking his head. "Never mind." He lit his claws, sending a couple of sparks into the air. The tiny flickers began etching a pattern in the air. "You are right about... here." Discord reached up to the lines, leaving a pulsing red dot. You need to get to... there." He placed another dot in the center of a massive circle.

"Think you can handle getting there?"

Sunrise and two of the Unicorns nodded, but the final shook his head and backed into the group. "Sunrise, you go first. Try to pull along as many ponies as you can. I'll handle your father the lardlump."

"The what?" Spike growled, lowering his head until it was level with Discord's.

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

"I think I'm okay." Sky muttered. "I'm in control."

Sure?

"Ugh... I was just getting used to my old form." He tried to frown, but realized he couldn't. So he shrugged. "I feel okay. I don't want to kill anything."

That's good... right?

"Supreme, actually." Sky streched out, popping the bones in his back and rolling his ankles. "Ow. Okay, I think I have enough magic to get us out of here. Oww... shoulder. Ow."

Celestia smiled.

Sapphires

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Are the shadows back? Oh, they are, they are, get them away, get them AWAY-

Are you alright?

Kha jumped to his feet, the claws scrabbling on stone. "What? What's going on!?"

Nothing. You were crying in your sleep... you okay?

"Fine..." The screaming, terrified faces of his family flashed across his vision, he saw her face, crying, screaming for him to stop, that he could change. The same tears were soon on his muzzle, bathed in blood, his mouth, still existing, filled with jagged fangs and her flesh...

He turned around and swallowed hard, holding back vomit. "Not okay... not okay at all."

It was an oddly warm touch that graced his back. He glanced backwards, seeing Celestia's concerned eyes over his back. Are you sure? You look kind of sick...

"Fine." He choked out. "Nothing wrong here."

Reaaallly?

"Okay... not okay... not fine."

It's okay... you'll be okay...

Kha accepted the slow embrace of Celestia's front hooves, leaning into her skeleton and sobbing quietly. His paws latched around her shoulders, and she silently comforted him.

You'll be okay...

Twilight realized she had been staring into space again. She shook her head, patting the few frazzled hairs in her mane back into place. She had never understood how her emotions changed the state of her mane, but the opposite was also true. If she straightened her mane, she calmed down. It was certainly welcome at times.

"I can't think of him like this." She sighed. "I'm... I'm a nice pony. I had straight A+'s all through school, led the Elements of Harmony, was the Queen's student... I can't feel like this about Discord, of all ponies..."

"I'm actually surprised." Obsidian muttered, looking around. "I expected the end of the world to have a lot more OC's running around."

Okay, I'm seriously sorry. This chapter is an extremely short filler while I sort out writer's block. I considered skipping forward a few seasons and just wrote the ending now.
So, on the other hoof, I'd like to thank all trackers, fav'ers, watchers, readers and raters. You guys kept this story going. A brohoof to all of you. I'll have a complete chapter up as soon as I can figure out what'll happen to get from point A to point B. Sorry for the wait, and try to bear with me.

Eyes

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"Do you think he's coming back?" Sunrise whispered.

Discord snapped out of his almost-trance, looking away from the window. "Hm?"

"Obsidian. Do you think he'll come b-back...?" He saw her eyes filling with tears and stepped forward, hugging her close.

"I know you miss him." He muttered, patting the back of her head. These moments were getting more and more... difficult, with her expanding girth. "But I don't want to give you false hope. He may never come back. But no matter what, he'll always be in here." He placed his claw on her chest, before smiling a devilish grin and moving down to her stomach. "And technically, in here."

"Oh, you always have ways to make me feel better." She laughed weakly.

"And if you want to get a little dirty about it," Discord stepped back, twirling his tail in one claw, "he's also in-"

"Ahem!" The dragonness squealed, folding her claws over her belly. "Young ears present!"

"Oh, I forgot." He drawled, leaning against the wall. "Speaking of which, felt any movement?"

"I thought these were awkward questions for guys." Sunrise observed.

"Look, hon, I am awkward. I am the awkward. It comes quite naturally. Now, the question?"

"Nothing." She took his place at the window, sighing. "Oh, Discord..."

He walked up beside her, draping a paw over her shoulders. With his other claw, he snapped a brilliant night sky into the ceiling of the dome, a few gemstones sparkling inside the navy rock. "You want to put any touches on it?"

"What the... you've never done that before."

"Been practicing. Now, go on."

She squinted, her forehead crest glowing white. Within seconds, the 'stars' had doubled, and a pale sphere of magic hovered a few meters away from the ceiling. Discord patted her shoulder in approval.

"Luna would have been proud."

He had slipped.

For one brief second, Obsidian had thought about how much he wanted to be surrounded by real things.

The Shard existed for these moments. Quickly and painlessly, Obsidian was swept out of control, as the Shard worked his claws, focusing the vast amounts of magic left in the world.

"What's happening?!" Discord yelled as Sunrise tipped limply forward onto the window ledge. "Are you okay?!"

"So much life." It muttered, realizing it had focused on a single, potent source first. "Strange."

"Sunrise, speak to me!" Discord had her propped up against the wall, lifting her eyelids with his claw. "Respond!"

Her eyes rolled back into her head.

Obsidian kicked and fought against the barrier, the solid wall growing stronger as the Shard collected magic. With a frustrated growl, he yelled into the darkness, "Where are you getting this from?!"

Realization dawned as the wall started to turn a pale purple.

"Wake up!" Discord shouted, holding her close, completely powerless. "You're all I have left..."

"LET HER GO!" Obsidian screeched. He could see flashes through his own eyes, of the ground dipping and waving, mountains tearing out of the earth and dust flying into what used to be a brilliant blue sky.

Things other than earth alone were now exploding around him, a strange set of hues replacing what used to be. The dirty-brown clouds became a mottled gauze blocking the sky. Something that resembled grass and miniature undergrowth spread in leaps and bounds, melting away from the bottom as it launched and creating hills haphazardly painted with blue and pink. Clouds seemed to puff from the 'grass' in evenly spaced tufts of orange, floating into the sky. One of the clouds shuddered, and a crash of thunder rolled across the new land; with it, a single navy bolt of lightning and a downpour of brown rain. Suddenly, Obsidian felt a tingling in his chest.

Oxygen. His lungs were working again.

Sunrise stopped panting.

Discord held her at arm's length, shaking her, yelling, peeling back her eyelids... but there was nothing.

Slowly,

the

world

changed...

and

everything

went

Symbalance

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A huge chunk of stone fell inwards from the ceiling, bouncing off the thick roof of the castle and plunging into the city. Shards and dust exploded, screams cut short. Discord swallowed the bile in his throat, hoisting Sunrise's limp body into his arms and dashing out of the window.

A quick spell to distort the space around him, and he shot straight up through the roof, a golden trail of magic billowing behind him. A sudden tug told him another magical being had clamped onto his spell and was following it. He dared a glance back, seeing a purple blur with a distinct unicornian form. As if she had been among company, other spells hitchhiked on, varying from power matching his to the faint glow of an Earth pony. He surged the power of the spell, the golden trail spreading like spiderwebs, thin but solid, pushing the rock away, weaving through atoms and forcing space in both him and the stone, molecules sliding neatly between each other, until...

...he ran out of rock. Suddenly, he was actually flying, hovering a few meters above the ground. He descended slowly, looking around as dozens of other creatures snapped into reality, the first being Twilight. And for the heck of beans, she looked pissed.

"Discord! So many ponies... look how many we lost!" She swung a hoof to the group, a couple hundreds in the place of thousands.

Almost completely ignoring her, he scanned the landscape, taking in the twisted colors and odd horizon.

Even Twilight stopped yelling as something landed in front of them, a single raised eyebrow showing the annoyance the creature was exuding.

"I thought I'd killed you all already. I didn't want to dirty my claws twice."

No! Let me go! I love them!

He could see the Shard buckling the ground, throwing ponies left and right, Discord arcing into the air. His father's body snapped forward as he changed direction, plowing into him - without pain; the Shard flinched - and shoved him into the ground.

"Wake up! Wake up, dammit!" Discord shouted, slamming Obsidian into the ground over and over. Obsidian could see something in his arms, through a blurred, purple sheen. A tail, or something like it, wings, a... dragon?

His dragon.

The Shard kicked Discord back at the same moment Obsidian seized control. A hesitant hoof brushed the edge of Discord's leg as Obsidian ground the attack to a halt.

"O-O-Obsidian?"

"Let me..."

"What?"

"Let me see her..."

Discord winced, carefully setting the limp dragonness down onto his son's lap. "I'm sorry..." he muttered, taking a few steps backwards. "There was nothing I could do..."

Obsidian had already tuned him out, running his paw over Sunrise's forehead, barely sitting, holding her body as carefully as he could. "My girl..." He muttered, eyes tearing up. "M-my girl..." He looked up, towards his father. "It wasn't s-supposed to be like this..."

"I know, but there's nothing-"

"There's always something we can do!" Obsidian shouted. "There has to be... there has t-to..."

He turned away, watching the landscape the Shard had created.

"We will not decay."

A pure light seemed to shine from the sky, a tiny ball of faint energy solidifying above the clouds. It slowly brightened, until what would have been a sun, under other circumstances, burned brightly above the destruction. Obsidian stood up abruptly, surveying the few survivors.

"I'm so, so sorry..." his voice seemed to echo as the sun grew brighter. "Everything you ever... everything you ever made, or dreamed... I destroyed all of it. I'm so, so sorry... please... let me set this right..."

The air around him twisted, a sudden panic breaking out as the ground dissolved into white particles that shimmered in the sunlight. Ponies on the ground found their hooves vanishing in the same manner, and Pegasi fell from the sky as their delicate feathers exploded into prismatic dust. Screams echoed into the dying landscape. Discord met the eyes of his son, and simply smiled as his own body dissolved into the shimmering light.

Within minutes, Obsidian was alone, Sunrise's body still wrapped in his arms. "Goodbye, my sweet." He whispered into the void. "I'll meet you again someday. But I'm never gone. I'm never gone."

I'm never gone.

Sunrise's body dissolved as well. He stood up straight, looked up to the pale white sun, and smiled. The Shard burned into his veins, was well along the path to tearing him apart. He started to shimmer, a different glow than those of the ponies, a burning, colorless light. He felt the Shard screaming in pain, bit back his own cries, saw time rewinding, saw things from everywhere and nowhere, from everyone and no-one, until all he could see was a small town, pastel houses happily sitting along straight roads, a couple of foals playing in the street, a Griffon and a dragonness among them, and an Alicorn. Three Alicorns, two beautiful creatures filled with ancient power. One of them is my mom... The darker one, a navy grace, beside an older creature, of shimmering white... My aunt... Celestia... Luna, my mom... I love you, mom...

Time shimmered and changed, suddenly, Ponyville's weather suffered into a raging storm, rain pelting windows, wind blowing shingles off into the distance. The dragonness was sitting in a window, the magnificent tree library, staring out into the distance, crying... she was Magic, she remembered. A claw rubbed over her belly, her own, a bubble underneath looking so full of wonder...

Again, this time long in the future, the dragonness much older, scales dull, body long and powerful, sitting on a cliff. He knew that cliff, he had been there... he had seen the view... she looked off into the sky, it was nighttime, he realized, so far in the future... the stars were moving because of her, she was so powerful, tempered by thousands of years...

The stars settled into their message, he could feel the magic weakening already...

I love you...

Obsidian let out a tiny laugh, and gave himself up.

His body wove into time itself, separated paths, created new ones, replaced events that already happened...

There was a final flash of time;

He saw his mother, standing with a relieved air about her, and smiling weakly...

His dad was there too, an arm looped around his mother's shoulders... - he smiled, they made up... how much had Discord remembered? How much had he explained?... that was for another moment...

Spike massive eye glowed through a window, the room was far too small for his head, let alone the rest of him...

In the center of it all. Sunrise, sweating but smiling, holding two little bundles of cloth in her arms as she lay back...

A nurse, he hadn't noticed her, spoke up with a smile akin to those of the others,

"Twins. A girl and a boy."

Obsidian smiled as the last fragments of his being drifted into nothingness.

This was it. He was dying.

But everyone else, they were living...

A tear ran down his face, shimmering over a weak smile.

"I love you..."

FIN