Fall of Harmony

The train from Canterlot arrived in Ponyville and the girls and Spike quickly dismounted and headed to Twilight’s library. They arrived and Twilight quickly began searching through all the books her magic could reach.

“Twi what ya lookin’ for” Applejack asked

“the birth of the Elements of Harmony, Darquesse said that’s where he put them but I’ve never read about a birth place for them”. Twilight speed through another book and then threw it away. Spike watched as dozens of books landed on his position.

“Twilight the only book you have on the Elements of Harmony says nothing about a birth place”. Twilight looked at her friends and sighed. Nothing in her books could help her; Darquesse must have known the birth place of the Elements and he sent her to failure.

“Darling, where did you get this beautiful crystal rose from” Rarity asked making Twilight turn and look. What greeted her eyes was a bright red crystal rose that seemed too glistened in the light. Tied around the stalk of the rose was a note. Twilight grabbed it with her magic and quickly read it.

“My dear beloved Twilight I think I was to unspecific when I told you where to find the elements. I meant ‘the place where you birthed them’ hopefully this will help I’d hate to read you froze in the snow because of me being unclear.

Good luck Twilly

Darquesse xx”

Twilight reread the note and instantly knew where Darquesse had hid the elements.

“Darquesse didn’t mean the actual birthplace of the Elements but the birthplace of where we became the spirits of the elements, The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters”.

After a ten minute preparation and change from their dresses the girls were ready to head out. Twilight ran to the door and opened it with her magic and was instantly met with a painful gust of ice cold wind and snow.

“What! There’s no snow scheduled for weeks it shouldn’t even be cold enough for snow” said Rainbow Dash with a confused expression shared by the others. Twilight took two steps into the cold just in time to see a green ball of fire arrive and turn into Darquesse. All the girls instantly hardened and became tense at the sight of the creature that stood before them.

“Do you like it? I did it for you specifically. I knew you worked out where the elements are due to my rose, did you like that I made it myself for you my dear”. Twilight stood her ground for a few seconds before loosening up and trotted forward with a stern face.

“If you like a little snow or this mental image can stop us you’re sorely mistaken”. Her friends joined her by her side as Darquesse looked unsurprised.

“Well you definitely are powerful if you can tell I’m an image not even my sister could do that”. Darquesse looked at the group before grabbing his hat and bowing before melting into the snow.

“Come on girls we need to get moving” Twilight stated while trotting away quickly followed by the girls and Spike “right behind ya Twilight”.

It was a slow and painfully journey due to the weather that Darquesse had summoned. After three blizzards, two typhoons and even a sharknado the group finally arrived at the old castle. Twilight smiled as the castle greeted her eyes like an old friend. Twilight didn’t waste time and quickly ran up the stairs and entered only to be met by Darquesse lying on the rocks with a pony skull in his hands.

“Well it looks the girls and Spikey have finally arrived what should I do?” He placed the skull near his ear as he shifted his body to look at Twilight and the others who had caught up.

“Yes that could work but what if they… oh, oh that’s dark and so much fun” he moved the skull from his ear to look into its eye sockets.

“You really are a vicious mother bucker McCarthy, I’m glad you’re dead”. He dropped the skull in front of him and then kicked over the wall before looking at the girls.

“Now you’re obviously here for the Elements well they are in the castle but I’m not telling you where they are so you’ll have to search for them in my, drum roll please” just then a drum roll could be heard from nowhere in particular “my castle of… of… bugger I can’t think of a name. Oh well happens when half of your brain is always creating new ponies as their being conceived it’s hard to think of useless comedic names for castles you don’t own”. Twilight sighed at Darquesse saying he was creating Ponies. She didn’t believe that he was the devil or that he created ponies.

“You can stop lying about creating other ponies, I’m not falling for your lie” Twilight stated making Darquesse gasp in mock shock.

“Twilly, oh my, you don’t believe what Celestia told you about me. Ha, it turns out you can create an opinion that goes against Sun Butt”. Before Twilight could say anything else Darquesse teleported past her and into the group.

“Pinkie, how’s it going my fav party queen” Darquesse asked while even brohoofing her.

“Fine thanks” Pinkie answered without a care for who she was talking too.

“Tell me something Pinkie, did your mother ever forgive you?” as Darquesse asked Pinkie’s smile went and her mane and tail seemed to lose some of its volume.

“I don’t know what you mean” Pinkie replied but the pain and shock was evident on her face.

“Let me tell you a secret, she never did”. With that Pinkie’s mane and tail lost all volume and became straight and flat. Darquesse smiled and chuckled but before he could say another word Rainbow Dash flew into his face.

“Hey leave her alone you creep!” Darquesse took a step back in surprise but his smile quickly returned.

“Oh did I upset you and Pinkie, why don’t you go cry to your father about it? Oh wait that’s right”. Rainbow’s face turned from anger to shock as even her wings seemed to stop in surprise. Just then a purple beam of magic shot at Darquesse but he teleported out of the way and back in front of them all.

“Leave them alone Darquesse” ordered Twilight but Darquesse looked uninterested.

“You ruffian, how dare you treat Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash like that” Darquesse laughed at Rarity’s comments.

“A man can do whatever he wishes with his creations”

“we are not your creation Darquesse, you did not make us!” yelled Twilight in a defiant tone which only caused Darquesse to laugh.

“You know nothing all of you so small: The Student so scared of command.”

“The Animal Lover haunted by the eyes of her peers.”

“The Pegasus, still running from daddy.”

“The little one so scared of his greed.”

“The Little girl who lied.”

“The Filly-fooler.”

“And the Generous mare so far outside of her comfort. The valiant pony, who will die in battle so very soon.”

The entire group looked at Twilight hoping for an explanation.

“Twilight, what does he mean?” asked Rarity, fear evident in her voice.

“Don’t listen to him” Twilight tried to assure her friend but panic was obvious evident.

“What does it mean?” Rarity asked even more panicked then before.

“You will die, and I will rule everything”. As Darquesse spoke black clouds of dust swarmed him and he turned to dust too. The dust cloud made the girls fall back in surprise as the dust then flew into the castle.

It took a few seconds for the girls and Spike to adjust themselves. Twilight looked to where Darquesse, but was met with only clear ground.

“Come on girls, every second we waste is another second Darquesse wreaks more destruction on Canterlot” Twilight said as she began moving towards the entrance to the rest of the castle.

“What did he mean though, Twilight?” Rarity asked again making Twilight turn with a determined look.

“He meant nothing; he was simply trying to drive us apart, like Discord before him. He knows that we see through his lie of being our creator, and he also knows that, together, we can overcome anything he throws at us. As long as we don’t lose focus we can retrieve the elements, stop Darquesse from destroying Canterlot and then…”.

Before Twilight said another word Darquesse appeared behind Twilight and then grabbed her and they both then disappeared in a white light, leaving a group of scared mares behind.

Twilight opened her eyes to find herself in the chamber where she found the elements of harmony the first time. Twilight walked up to the elements podium and looked past to see a stone table with two chairs next to it. One chair was occupied by Darquesse.

“Hello Twilight, I chose this location for you to make you more comfortable”.

“Where are my friends?” Twilight asked making Darquesse chuckle.

“Like you they are going through a challenge that will reward them with their element, this is yours”. With those last words a chess set appeared on the table. Twilight trotted up to the table and then looked at Darquesse, who was wearing his most innocent look.

“It’s simple, play and win to get your element”. Twilight thought for a few moments, she had never lost in chess before not even to Celestia but against Darquesse it simply felt like a diversion but she had to get her element. She sighed before finally sitting on the chair. Darquesse smiled and clicked his fingers covering Twilight in a black fur coat and himself in a white version. “Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold, you move first simply say the move and piece”.

Twilight thought for a beat before making her move “ pawn from E2 to E4”

“pawn from C7 to C5” Darquesse said without missing a beat

“knight from G1 to F3” Twilight said after a moment to think but Darquesse countered with a beat miss “knight from B8 to C6”.

Twilight was surprised at how quickly Darquesse was making his moves and decided to at least try to learn about her opponent.

“So if this is what you and I are doing, what is happening with my friends? Pawn from D2 to D4”.

“That information doesn’t concern you right now; you should concentrate on the game to avoid losing. Pawn from C5 to D4 taking pawn”. Twilight looked at the board in shock; she’d never lost a piece first in a game of chess ever, not even to Celestia. Twilight looked at Darquesse to see his evil grin on his face that made her very annoyed.

“Knight from F3 to D4 taking pawn, well then if you won’t talk about that then how about back when you ruled Equestria”. Darquesse looked at her in surprise.

“I thought you didn’t believe in the idea of me being a god, pawn from G7 to G6”

“I don’t, but I enjoy learning about mystic stories and fiction just as much as facts and non-fiction. Bishop from C1 to E3”.

Darquesse smiled at Twilight’s remark before looking at the board. “Well it depends on how far you wanna go back. Bishop from F8 to G7”.

“As far back as you go. Pawn from C2 to C4”. Darquesse thought for a second before smiling.

“Thousands of years ago a species of creatures lived across a land miles from here, they were dying due to the females inability to become pregnant. The female ruler became pregnant with two fillies. This was considered a miracle in the people’s eyes. That miracle ended when my sister was born followed by myself three minutes later. Knight from G8 to F5”.

“Knight from B1 to C3”.

“It was quickly determined that these two weird creatures, with wings and horns, were created with the influence of magic. It didn’t take long for the few remaining members of my parents race to die. My sister and I roamed the lands for years looking for other life but found nothing. Years on years of cold nights and forgetting the feeling of eating food.”

Twilight couldn’t help but feel slightly sorry for Darquesse, his life sounded horrible.

“Forty years of starvation and cold later, my sister attempted to create food but actually managed to create another creature with a horn. My sister and I quickly learned how to create more of our kind. This process was refined to creating more ponies during their mother’s pregnancy. Knight from F5 to G4”.

Twilight didn’t know what to think. On one hoof, this creature was lying through his teeth, like she thought. On the other hoof, she could hear the pain of him and his sister’s ordeals in their life. Her opinion was changing with every word that Darquesse said.

“My friends will find the Elements, Darquesse. Queen from D1 to G4 taking knight” she said changing the subject to save the headache of Darquesse past.

“You think so but I know the truth, that your ‘friends’ are simply pieces in this game and for every piece I take I get one step closer to victory, knight from C6 to D4 taking knight”.

Just then a scream ringed through the halls of the old castle, a scream Twilight recognised immediately.

“Fluttershy! What have you done?”

“Did you really think I’d just let them go galloping through the castle unopposed? I thought you were smarter than that, Twilight”.

Twilight threw her coat off and began to head to the source.

“If you leave you forfeit the game you’ll never get your precious elements.”

Twilight didn’t stop, her friends were too important to her.

“If you leave, then I’ll kill them all”. Twilight stopped in her tracks and turned to see Darquesse poised to knock her king over with an unsettling look of calmness on his face.

“You wouldn’t”

“try me, Twilight”. Twilight knew by the tone in his voice that he wasn’t joking and would kill them if she didn’t return.

“Your friend’s fate is tied to how you do in this game. Win and they succeed but if you lose then they die!” Twilight walked back and sat at her seat and used her magic to place the coat back on her.

“Queen from G4 to D1” Twilight gave Darquesse a death glare as she said her move.

“Knight from D4 to E6”

“queen from D1 to D2”

“pawn from D7 to D6”.

“What have you done with my friends?” she asked while a light chill penetrated her coat and licked her skin.

“I don’t believe you’d wish to know, you may try and save them” was all Darquesse said. Darquesse cracked his neck and took a pipe out and began to smoke the pipe. “I do believe it’s your move”.

Twilight looked at the board with a new sense of dread. Not only was her element at risk but so where her friends safety.

“Bishop from F1 to E2”

“bishop from C8 to D7”

Twilight was starting to wonder if Darquesse knew what he was doing. His moves were too quick to be calculated moves, he was simply ‘winging it’ and winning through luck alone.

“You don’t even know what you’re doing, do you? King from E1 to G1 via castle”

“Eh, your way of playing is to plan a few moves ahead and guess where you’d go from there. My method of play is say a random move and then see what I can make of it. More fun that way, King from E8 to G8 via castle, or I copy”.

Darquesse winked at Twilight making her shiver with disgust… or pleasure she couldn’t tell. She shook her head lightly at the sudden thought that crossed her mind.

“Rook from A1 to D1”

“bishop from D7 to C6”

“knight from C3 to D5”

“rook from F8 to E8”.

Twilight looked at Darquesse for signs of…anything. She could usually see her opponent’s confidents in their faces. Darquesse however was monotone. No slight smile like Luna, no slight hum like Rarity or boastful ‘yes’ like Rainbow. It was quiet unnerving.

“Pawn from F2 to F4”

“knight from E6 to C7”

“pawn from F4 to F5”

“knight from C7 to A6”

Twilight frowned in concentration as a puff of smoke hit her in the face, causing her to cough. She looked at Darquesse who was looking away with a halo above his head glowing brightly. Twilight sighed in annoyance; she thought she’d be free of such behaviour when Discord was turned into stone again.

“Bishop from E2 to G4”

“knight from A6 to C5”.

“I’m not worried Darquesse. I know you’re powerful in magic but I know my friends will defeat whatever you send their way, pawn from F5 to G6 taking pawn”.

“You play the part of a star pupil and residential genius of Ponyville but you lack the ability to look outside your own knowledge. It doesn’t matter what your friends do in their challenges. It all matters on how you do here, pawn from H7 to G6 taking pawn”.

As he took the pawn another scream could be heard from within the castle, it was Pinkie Pie.

“And you didn’t do very well then did you”.

Twilight looked toward the source and silently cursed at her over-confidence.

“Queen from D2 to F2”

“rook from E8 to F8”

“pawn from E4 to E5”

“bishop from G7 to E5 taking pawn”.

Twilight stopped for a second to try and hear one of her friends but sighed in relief when she didn’t hear anything.

“Relieved?” Twilight looked at the smirking Darquesse who was puffing his pipe. “I can tell you are, I can taste how much you care in your aura”.

“What would you now about caring?” Darquesse looked at Twilight with shock clear in his face “all I’ve seen you do is hurt and damage, nothing to do with caring”.

Darquesse was genuinely shocked by this outburst. His knowledge of Twilight didn’t tell him of her giving such an outburst. Well given how he’d beaten her mentor and was now torturing her friends with *blank* and *blank* and Applejack with *blank*. He looked at the audience and shook a finger.

“Believe me Twilight when your 3,564,234 and four months you pick up on a few things, even the ones you don’t understand”

“how old did you sa…”

“your move!”

Knowing she wasn’t going to get any more information out of what she’d just heard she returned her focus to the game in front of her.

“Queen from F2 to H4”

“bishop from C6 to D5 taking knight”

As he took the piece another two screams rung out through the halls, Rarity and Spike.

“Not doing spectacular are we Twilight?” Twilight closed her eyes and forced back the tears that were forming due to her regret.

“Rook from D1 to D5 taking bishop” she said in a low reluctant voice.

“Oh cheer up misery guts. It’s a lovely night in a delightful location, what more do you want? Knight from C5 to E6”.

Twilight didn’t look at Darquesse and just keep her attention on the board.

“Rook from F1 to F3”

“bishop from E5 to F6”

“queen from H4 to H6”

“bishop from F6 to G7”.

Twilight breathed deeply and exhaled loudly, causing Darquesse to chuckle lowly. Twilight was beginning to sweat with nerves, she’d not lost her queen yet but she was beginning to run out of options with what to do. Even this though didn’t break her spirit because of one fact; Applejack. As long as Applejack was still out there then she knew that she could rally her friends and get them through any of Darquesse traps.

“Queen from H6 to G6”

“bishop F7 to G6 taking queen”

Even as Darquesse was saying his move Twilight knew what was coming.

“No!!!”

Twilight looked out to the source of Applejack’s scream and simply hung her head in dread.

“Sounds like you’ve lost your most valuable piece. Poor Applejack, I don’t think she’ll be rallying your friends any time soon”. Darquesse breathed deeply and looked around the room. “I like this castle, out of the way and cold to the touch. Good place to stay hidden and hard to find”.

Darquesse emptied his pipe on the table and stood and began to leave with the thought that he’d won. He was so confident he began to sing ‘Oh I just can’t wait to be king’.

“Bishop from G4 to E6 taking knight, check” Darquesse stopped walking and turned to see Twilight standing near the chess table.

“The game is over Twilight, might wanna go help your precious princess”

“you haven’t won if that’s what you’re thinking”. Darquesse clicked his tongue at Twilight’s statement. “King from G8 to H7”.

“Rook from F3 to H3, check”. Darquesse snarled at this, nopony has ever put him in check.

“If you are the god you claim to be then I don’t think you should be in check”

Darquesse swallowed hard at the taunt. “Bishop from G7 to H6”

“Bishop from E6 to H6 taking bishop”. Darquesse hated this; he never lost chess or one of his challenges. And the fact that Twilight turned his fast paced choice’s method on him further fanned the fires of rage inside him.

“Rook from F8 to F5. You’re getting a little big for your boots. Better step down before you hurt yourself”.

“As long as one of my friends is still in play then I won’t. Rook from D5 to F5 taking rook”.

“Pawn from G6 to F5 taking rook” as he spoke Rainbow Dash’s scream echoed around them. “You were saying?”

“An unfortunate sacrifice. You spoke of this castle being good for staying unfindable, well that’s changed. Bishop from E6 to F7”.

Darquesse licked his lips as Twilight walked up to him and seemed to be squaring off with him.

“What do you mean by that? Queen from D8 to B6.”

“When I replaced my coat on I cast another magical spell as well as the telekinesis spell. King from G1 to H1”.

“Impossible! Only Alicorns can do that. Queen from B6 to B2 taking knight pawn”. Twilight smiled slightly and looked Darquesse in the eye.

“I’m not simply Celestia’s star pupil for nothing”. That surprised Darquesse, Twilight was supposed to be modest not a boaster.

“The other spell that I used was a locator spell, giving directions to my location to anypony in the castle. My friends.” Darquesse exhaled in frustration at what Twilight was saying.

“Of course I intended to have my friends find he before being hurt but when you took Fluttershy I knew that wouldn’t be doable so I change my plan. I knew you’d take my friends out in your challenges. Your skills at chess gave you the advantage and ability to do this. Now all I had to do was wait for you to beat them all, making them angry at you. As I speak my friend are coming this way and while I don’t know what you did the appearance of perspiration on your forehead means you didn’t want them to find you so quickly.”

Just then multiple voices could be heard in the adjacent corridor and Darquesse knew who they belonged to and that he was in trouble.

“Bishop from H6 to F8. Check and subsequent, mate.” Darquesse looked at Twilight in horror as both her friends entered and the defeat of the game hit him.

Twilight stole a look at her friends and instantly felt upset. Fluttershy’s mane was torn and chunks of her coat were missing. Pinkie Pie’s mane was flat and her coat was darker. She also had mud caked hooves and her tail was filled with bits of rock. Rarity’s mane was also straight and had three scratches on her cheek that were dangerously close to her eye. Spike looked okay and unhurt, thankfully. Applejack was red eyed and was still crying while her hooves bleed slightly. Rainbow Dash looked okay but her back legs were slightly raised, indicating she’d really hurt her spine or thighs.

Twilight looked at Darquesse with complete disgust as he refilled his pipe and placed it in his mouth.

“When our business here is concluded here, it’s important you should know. I will endeavour to find the most creative of endings for Celestia. And the mare you love”.

Twilight’s eyes widen in horror as Darquesse lights his pipe and smiles. Darquesse blinked as Twilight’s horn began to glow and Darquesse went to punch her...