Chaos Reborn: The Corruption of Harmony

Chapter 9: Guess who’s back.....sort of.

Twilight and the Doctor combed over various books and scrolls in the normally sealed “Dark Magic” wing in the Canterlot archives. The entire city was abandoned so they had no trouble gaining access. She searched frantically for anything that could either explain the situation or offer a solution.
“Prophecies of Horsetradamus? No. The Four Ponies of the Apocalypse? No.” Twilight tossed the books aside as she reached for new ones.

“How about the Necroclopicon?” Whooves held up a book bound in leather that eerily resembled a pony’s face.

“No.” Twilight waved for him to take it away.

He gazed down at it for a moment and the book winked at him, causing him to drop it in fright.

“I can’t believe there’s nothing here that explains what’s going on!” Twilight pulled her at her mane in frustration.

“Look, Twilight, I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” Whooves assured her.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of movement outside the window.
“What’s this now?” He said peaking outside.
“Twilight, come here.” Whooves whispered to her and motioned for her to join him.
Looking down from the window they could see the Canterlot Sculpture Garden

Trollestia and the girls were below setting up their party decorations around the statue of Discord. The princess sat back and barked orders while everypony else worked. Pinkamina was setting up the snack table with Lil’ Miss Rarity, while the Cutie Mark Crusaders hung up the banners and streamers. Scootaloo looked cautiously over her shoulder as Futashy hovered near by, watching her.

"Hey Applejack" the princess called out to the orange pony who had snuck off under a tree and was shoving an impossible quantity of apples into he mouth.

"It's Jappleack" she called back

"Yeah, whatever. Nobody cares" Trollestia dismissed her remark as she motioned over to a half table next to where Rainbow Dash’s stuffed corpse was hung up like a piñata by a noose.
"Get to work."

"Well fuck you too..." Jappleack muttered under her breath as she walked over, picked up a table leg, and did as was expected of her.

“Look at that.” Twilight whispered and pointed at the statue.
There was a crack coming from the top of its head where dark magic seemed to be escaping and its eyes were overflowing with some mysterious, thick black liquid.

“What in Celestia's name could they be up to?” Whooves stroked his chin and continued to watch.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure that no good will come of it.” Twilight replied.

Trollestia sighed loudly and looked into the sky. The sun instantly eclipsed and dark clouds began circling around the garden. Thunder rumbled but oddly, there was no rain.
“Are you ready girls?” Trollestia called to them as she got up and walked to a pedestal in front of the statue. On top of it sat the box that housed the Elements of Harmony. She lifted the first one out, and the five mares stepped forward.
“Pinkamina, you represent the Element of Madness.”
She said and placed the Element of Laughter around her neck. On contact, it began to change. The pristine golden necklace turned to onyx, and the cutie mark jewel at the center, cracked.
“Rarity, you are the Element of Vanity.”
As she placed the Element of Generosity around her neck, and it too, changed and became corrupted.

Twilight gasped as she watched the ceremony and saw one by one, each of the elements were transformed, all except her element.

Lastly, Trollestia turned to Dash’s strung up body and lifted the Element of Loyalty in front of her.
“And Rainbow Dash…” She paused for a moment, as if looking for something profound to say.
“Eh, there you go.” Trollestia said hastily placing the element on the body, before lifting the last element.
As the ceremony came to a close, Trollestia placed the tiara representing the Element of Magic on top of the Discord statue, then knelt down before it.
“You five girls represent a portion of the Elements of Chaos, originally tied to the draconequus known as Discord. I was born from the magic you see escaping from his stone prison, a construct of his submissions. The seal that Twilight Sparkle and her friends used to defeat Discord was not strong enough to completely seal his power, and I have brought you here today to release said power over all of Equestria. I’ve had a lot of fun with you girls, but in order to bring forth the final element, I’m afraid, I’m going to have to say goodbye.”
Trollestia signaled to the cutie mark crusaders.

They stepped forward as Apple Bloom pulled out a knife, running it over her hoof to test the sharpness

“Girls before I go, one last thing.”
Trollestia smiled weakly as they all looked at her.

Everypony at the ceremony leaned in closer waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Good luck...”

The girls stood confused as to what she meant, but quickly forgot about about what was said as Trollestia allowed Apple Bloom slit open her throat. Blood sprayed over the base of the statue and the alicorn collapsed over the alter, gurgling, and trying to laugh through the blood as she lay there, spilling out till her body was motionless save for the occasional twitch.

The entire area shook, and the ground opened up, creating fissures that glowed with an eerie pink light. The corrupted elements around the necks of each mare shone with a purple and black energy. The girls were magically lifted to face the Element of Magic, except for the corpse of Dash, who was already suspended by a rope. Blood from the sacrificed princess ran up the statue as the black liquid pouring from its eyes began to flow profusely from Discord’s mouth and ears as well. The thick, red gore reached the glowing crack at the top of the head and plugged it.
For a moment, all was calm. Then the tiara upon the statues head began to melt and shift, becoming a black, jagged crown. Multiple bolts of lightning hit the statue all at once, creating a cloud of smoke and throwing debris in all directions. The girls landed hard and they coughed as the haze cleared. They all looked up in awe, as there, in place of the statue, floated the living embodiment of the Element of Dark Magic. A purple unicorn was suspended in a shadowy and pulsating violet energy. She opened her eyes. They were illumined bright white, but as she gained consciousness, the light focused itself into a small dot in the center of each eye, and a sea of black filled in the rest. She floated down on her hooves. The magic around her shifted to her back and formed the shape of bat like wings, which she folded away to her sides.
The newly created copy of Twilight looked down at the Apple Bloom and friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Bot were staring back, but Apple Bloom was busy, attempting to cut a strip of flesh from the princess’s cheek to sample. She smiled at them, then turned to the body of Rainbow Dash, still hung up and swaying in the breeze.
“Well, this won’t do.” She said, shaking her head.
“Crusaders, can you help me out with something?”

Apple Bloom stopped what she was doing and looked up.

“How can we be of assistance to you, Twilight Sparkle?” Sweetie Bot inquired, awaiting further orders.

“Girls come here for a second. I need something from you.”

Scootaloo stepped forward with enthusiasm.
“Sure Twilight, what do you need?”

“Oh nothing big, girls. I just need…your lives!”
The purple unicorn’s wings sprung open and a bolt of magic shot from her horn, destroying the three little fillies and suspending their life energy. She then funneled that life force to the stuffed corpse of Rainbow Dash.

The other four watched in amazement as the rainbow maned pegasus opened her dull foggy eyes. Immediately, Dash began to panic as she reached for the noose tightened against her throat. Her bones cracked and popped as she flapped her wings and struggled to get free.

“Pinkamina, do you mind?” The purple unicorn motioned to over to the flailing living corpse.

Pinkamina nodded and threw a knife, cutting the rope as it zipped by.

Dash fell to the ground with a thud. She pulled herself up slowly, and looked around. All eyes were on her.
“What’s going on? How am I still-”

“Alive?” Twilight’s copy stepped down.
“You live only because I will it, and you will do as I command without question. All of you will...if you wish to stay that way.” She turned to the face the rest of the girls.
“Or you will be destroyed. Is that understood?”

The rest of them nodded their heads in fear.

“So what do we do now, Twilight?” Pinkamina asked.

“Today is my birthday, and I’m here with my new best 'friends' in the world.”
She looked up to the tower where Twilight and Whooves watched, making eye contact to let them know she was aware of their presence.

“And a few uninvited guests…”

The Doctor ducked down and pulled Twilight way from the window.

“Oh no, she saw us!” He whispered loudly
“We need to get the out of here.”

Twilight motioned in agreement and they both got up to flee the castle.

Down below, the dark unicorn smirked as the other girls looked up to see what caught her eye.

“Want me to go up there and welcome them to the party, Twilight?” Jappleack ripped a leg off off the table she just assembled and tapped it menacingly into her hoof.

“No Jappleack, let’s be sporting and give them a head start before we hunt them down. And don’t call me ‘Twilight’. I am Discordia, the second incarnation of the Tree of Chaos."
She looked at the group, eying them up, assessing their abilities, and making plans for each of them.
“Now then, I’m starving. What do we have to eat?”

Pinkamina’s eyes sparked with excitement.
“Oh oh oh! How about some cupcakes? We made them just for you.”
She said excitedly, pointing to the snack table.

Discordia turned to and looked upon the bounty of food.
“Awe girls, you shouldn’t have. My favorite…rainbow flavor.”
She licked her lips and began to dig in.

The rest of them jumped in soon after and the feeding frenzy began…all except Dash who just stood and cringed as the others ate the baked treats forged from her counterpart.