The Epic of Twilight

Forbid me, loving Gods, from this new tale
which speaks of that great evil from the past
that fought sage Twilight and her closest friends.
The Monster God, draconequus, the King
of Chaos, Discord, beast of Eris’ vein.
His many Names betray his utter power.
For though the Bearers fought most valiantly,
they failed. Discord beat them for a time.
It pains me to so be inspired, but
this story I must tell. Fair Epic Verse,
give me the strength to tell it. Lead my words
and let the story lay as you have willed.

Upon Celestia’s birth, the King did rule
Equestria, and burdened all who lived
with madness that could come from none but him.
But she, the Princess, took upon herself
the power of the Elements, and turned
the King to Stone. He slept for many years
within that statue gray, but once the Six
took mastery o’er that Harmonic power,
the Seal lost its strength, and soon he worked
to mold the ponies who beside it walked.
Chaotic hearts but fueled his escape.
In time, the Statue vanished, to return
King Discord to his true form, and he laid
his evil plan to action. First was this:
he formed a storm of clouds made not of rain
but food and drink, and sent them into town.
The pegasi could not control the clouds,
as sticky as they were, nor end their rain.
Wherever touched the rain of Discord, grew
yet more confusion there. The trees began
to twist in shape. Their fruit began to grow,
till they were forced to buckle to the weight.
And still the madness grew. The animals,
full hungry, ate the fruit, and so transformed
into fell mockeries of their old forms,
with legs as long as pillars, and with snouts
like trumpets. So they walked, and where they trod
more chaos grew, and none could stop its course.
So one by one, the Bearers thought to try
and end the scourge of chaos, but they failed.
And even Twilight, mage of wonders, with
her failsafe spell, could not bequell the dark.
But then, as one, they worked. Swift Rainbow Dash
and Applejack collected all the clouds
of chaos, bringing them towards the ground.
Next, Fluttershy requested of her friends,
the animals, to eat the food-like clouds
and so remove the source of all the change.
And Pinkie Pie assisted them, for she
enjoyed the sweetness of those rosy clouds
that brought the chaos. Twilight led the team,
so proving that, through friendship, nothing can
defeat the Elements of Harmony.

When this had been completed, stalwart Spike
received a letter from the Princess, which
requested them to come to Canterlot
with greatest haste. And so they ran at once
to that great city, resting on the mount
that pierces sky and heavens. There they went
to see the Princess in her hallowed hall.
She told them of the beast that had escaped
and how the storms of chaos were his work.
She asked of them, “You must equip at once
the Elements of Harmony, and face
the monster! Only you can stop his rule!”
She opened up the sacred Vault, and took
the Chest which held the Elements. But soft!
The Chest was empty! How could this thing be?
No pony could step within the Vault save she
or Luna. Then a voice was heard, a laugh,
a howl, a threat, an echoing of hate.
It spoke to them, and every word it said
seemed poised to shake their sanity of mind.
“Hello, dear ponies. It’s so good to be back.
Don’t worry, princess, for those Elements you lack.”
“What have you done?” the princess cried. “Where have
you taken them?” At once, a window changed.
The image of the Mad King seemed to move
and writhe as though in life. And Discord spoke:
“Fear not, little princess, they’re safe and sound.
They’re waiting, yes, waiting, to be finally found.”
“We do not fear your lies!” said Rainbow Dash.
And swiftly did she fly to face the beast.
The window changed. No beast was there for her
to contact. Discord spoke once more with glee:
“Nice try, Loyal Rainbow Dash, but you’ve not enough strength,
You claim you’re resilient. I’ll disprove that, at length.”
“If you won’t tell us where the jewels lie,
there is no point in talking with you, beast,”
said Rarity. But Discord knew her, too,
and so continued his mind-breaking speech.
“Rarity, so Generous, no less.
You’ll bend, along with Fluttershy’s Kindness.
Twilight, Magic Bearer, will be quite tough.
I can break you with my powers, soon enough.
Applejack, both Honest and brave, will fall,
and Pinkie, though she’s my favorite of all,
will lose her Laughter and weep, sorry and blue.
This all I predict will happen to all of you.”
“I’ll play no games!” the princess said, “If you
will tell us where the Elements remain,
then do so!” Thus he ceased his movement, and
began his final message. So he said:
“To retrieve your missing Elements,
just make sense of this change of events.
Twists and turns are my master plan,
then find the Elements back where you began.”
And so he vanished. All the moving shapes
returned to normal, leaving them alone.
Then Twilight, ever thinking, sought to find
the answer to the phrasing he had used.
The “twists and turns” were all she could divine;
confident that this was but the maze
that rested in the Gardens, she began
the first mistake of many that would sharp
unravel their close friendship. So they went.

The Labyrinth had but one entrance. They,
the six, had gathered there to start their quest.
Sharp Rainbow Dash, most clever, thought to fly
o’er all the maze to see where Discord lay.
But as she flew, her wings dissolved away.
They vanished in a puff of light. So too
did Fluttershy’s, along with horns.
And lo, appeared the King in flesh and blood
to taunt them, ere they entered in his maze.
“My game, should you play, will be simple as sin.
You play, you lose, you fall and I win!
You get no magic, no flight and no cheer.
And everyone plays, or I end it here.”
He vanished once again. The six stood forth
before the maze’s entrance to begin.
At once the six were split, their paths removed
from one another. Undeterred, they fought
and soldiered on. The Elements were near,
and they could not have fear. They must be strong.

The first to find a test was Applejack,
who saw upon the ground three apples which
seemed much like her cutie mark. She sought
them as they led her to a grove of trees,
of apple trees, and soon the fruit could talk,
and so it said to her, in maskéd voice:
“We are the keepers of the Grove of Truth,
Wise are we, and sweet to tooth.
You may ask us one question, of past, future, or present.
But be warned that the truth is not always so pleasant.”
So Applejack requested of them thus,
“Will we see victory upon our quest?
How shall it end?” And so they pointed toward
the scrying pool, where answers were revealed.
She saw a vision in that tiny pond:
the six were gray as ash, and spoke with hate.
“I hate you!” “You should die!” “Let me away!”
They walked away, and never spoke again.
“How can this be?” cried Applejack. “It can’t!
We love each other far too much to hate!”
The keepers smiled their awful grin, and said,
“You asked for truth; do you now regret
the honesty you value so much yet?
When all the truth does is make your heart ache,
SOMETIMES A LIE IS EASIER TO TAKE!”
Thus Applejack succumbed to sick Deceit,
and valued lies more than the healing truth.
She spoke in only lies, and shunned the truth
which had been proven to her only hurt.

The next to fall was Pinkie Pie, who waltzed
amid a party filled with pink and blue
balloons, though they did wear a face
of evil. Grins macabre did they display,
though Pinkie did not notice it. She sang
and whistled happy thoughts amid the sight.
But Discord grabbed a tail of a balloon
and tripped her, pushing her into the mud.
Among her, the balloons did naught but laugh
at her misfortune. Saddened, she cried out:

“Why is laughter in your voice?

Do you mock me, here in pain?

I am hurt, I have no choice.

If I stand, I’ll fall again.

None of you will help me rise?

All you do is laugh at me!

I can see hate in your eyes.

That hurts me more than you see.”
Then Discord asked her with both charm and hate,
“I thought you liked it if your friends would laugh,
do you think they would stand on your behalf?”
He added to the throng of hateful jeers
the voices of her friends, the other five.
They mocked her, laughed at her, and made her feel
like nothing even mattered. So she said,

“Take your hateful laughter far away!

Let me rot in sadness, I implore.

Laughter is a curse. So I will say

Never will I hear it anymore!”
The monster Discord knew he’d won, and said,
“If Laughter isn’t your cup of tea,
THEN ANGER IS ALL YOU’LL EVER BE!”
So Pinkie fell to Discord’s hateful ploy.
Her heart, bereft of laughter, turned against
all those who mocked her, show’ring them with Rage.
She fell to sadness, but she hated all
who aided her or loved her. Thus the queen
of happiness and laughter lost her joy.

Amid another section of the maze,
the lovely Rarity was hard at work
determining a path to meet her friends.
She came to a dead end, but in the wall
appeared three diamonds, like her cutie mark.
She saw them there, and envied their bright shine.
Then Discord, in the image, showed himself,
and spoke to her a tantalizing hook.
“Oh Rarity, with eyes of blue,
a gift I give to the beauteous you.
This gem is yours, and for you alone,
a gem for a queen, for a noble throne.
All you must do is abandon your quest,
for but a moment, then you’ll join the rest!”
She knew she must forego the gem, at first,
but soon its siren song called her to work.
She mined it slowly, picking with her hooves.
But as she worked, the words of Discord seeped
into her consciousness and turned her thoughts.
“This gem is yours alone,” the beast had said.
“Of course!” she thought, “I am the one who worked
so hard for this! Why would I think to share?
What are the others doing? Lost, no doubt!
They’ve never understood the work I do!
I slave away at dresses, like this gem,
so beautiful and pure! What do they do
to thank me? Steal my work, and leave me with
a fraction of what I deserve!” And so,
the king of falsehood, Discord, spoke once more:
“You claim to be Generous, but that’s only a lie,
YOU’LL ALWAYS BE GREEDY, UNTIL THE DAY YOU DIE!”
She knew it to be true. Deep down inside,
she oft embraced her Greed, and now she felt
a deeper need to hold it, live it full.
She let it take her, fill her, teach her to
resent all those who took advantage of
her charity. She took the gem (which turned
out to be but one) and carried it,
resenting all assistance, seeing it
as an attempt to take it as their own.

The quiet Fluttershy was lost and scared.
Without her friends, she balked at every turn.
But so she walked along, until she spied
a tiny swarm of butterflies. She jumped
at once to see a safer creature here.
She followed it into an open spot
and saw them lying hurt within the field.
A group of lizards, bearing Discord’s face,
surrounded the poor creatures, and they seemed
about to eat the butterflies. She jumped
at once to save them. Then the lizards spoke,
“Why do you save them? They soon shall die.
Let us but eat them, and off we’ll fly!”
But Fluttershy replied, “But they are hurt!
And if I help them, they might yet be healed.”
But then the lizards voiced their own concerns,
“But we’re hungry, my dear. Please, let us eat!
If we don’t, we’ll die, as though you did the deed!
Can you be Kind to both us and them?
One side you’ll save. The other, condemn.”
Fluttershy began to softly cry,
for she was greatly torn between the two.
At length, she had decided. She could not
allow the wounded butterflies to die.
She shooed the lizards off, and went to see
if they, the butterflies, could be restored.
But quick as light, she felt a sudden pain!
They were not butterflies, but rather bees
that stung her quickly with their painful tail.
She cried yet more, and Discord told her thus:
“You’ve done no Kindness, only ill.
Your Kindness led you to another kill!
And how were you paid, for service and time?
They stung you! Had you committed a crime?
And yet you claim you can be Kind to all.
BE CRUEL, AND YOU WILL NEVER FALL!”
And in those words, poor Fluttershy heard truth.
Her heart had torn, and now she could not feel.
And somewhere deep inside, she knew that she
could not love everyone with equal force.
Her Kindness was repaid with ill intent,
so why should she be Kind to anyone?
And so, she brought her Cruelty to life.
If she could not love everyone, then she
would love no one. She would only be mean.
She laughed at misery, and mocked the kind,
for she now saw the error of their ways.

As Twilight found them one by one, she thought
it odd that they were now so strange and grey.
They acted quite unlike their normal selves;
instead they hurt their friends, or stood alone.
Brave Applejack spoke Lies, and Pinkie screamed
her Anger at her friends. And Rarity
was even stranger. All she bore
was a large boulder, claiming it a gem.
But worst of all was Fluttershy, the Brute,
who lashed her hurtful words at anyone
who looked at her at all. Poor Twilight watched
and wondered why her friends had broken so.
She hoped to soon find Rainbow Dash, and then
the six could work together as a team.

Swift Rainbow Dash was chasing thunderclouds
which brought forth lightning bolts of every hue.
They lead her to a clearing, where he lay,
Draconequus, King Discord, on a cloud.
Before she could attack him, he began
a simple speech, a prophecy, for her:
“A weighty choice is yours to make,
the right selection or a big mistake.
If the wrong choice you choose to pursue,
the foundations of home will crumble without you.”
A spinning cloud provided Dash her clue.
She watched her home, Cloudsdale, fall apart,
and all its dwellers run about in fear.
How could she let them suffer? How could she
in conscience giv’n, let Cloudsdale fall and die?
Then Discord held aloft her stolen wings,
and carefully, with words duplicitous,
he gave her but one choice to make anon:
“Take your wings and escape from my maze,
or fruitlessly run around, lost in a daze.”
Poor Rainbow Dash could not believe her eyes.
Would Cloudsdale fall if she did not abscond
at once to its defense? Afraid and torn,
she did not see the meaning laced beneath
his subtle words. The city would be wrecked,
but only if she left, not if she stayed.
She nodded to the King, and took her wings.
As she flew off, he cackled out to her,
“You may save your city, but your friends are through,
BETRAYAL IS EASY WHEN IT’S THEM VERSUS YOU!”
But Rainbow Dash thought not of her old friends.
She knew full well what she had done to them.
She was a Traitor. She’d promis'd to give aid
to Twilight and the Princess, and she’d failed.
But she cared not. Was Twilight not a sage?
She’d figure it all out, with or without
the brazen mare. As she flew off to home,
the rest saw her, and knew that hope was lost.

At once, the labyrinth began to fall.
He, Discord, showed himself, to all of them,
and told them, under no uncertain terms,
“One of you has left the game.
She used her wings! Oh, for shame!
She’s broken both my little rules!
Discord is champion! Celestia drools!
My gift is soon coming, to every of you.
Be ready, chaos’s about to ensue!”

So all but Twilight listened to the dark
that waited in their hearts and let it win.
They turned to Anger, Cruelty, and Lies,
Greed and Betrayal vested in their souls.
And Twilight? She will soon be lost as well.
The Magic of her Friendship will be lost
to Loneliness. And then, all hope will fade.
Or will it? I will tell when next I write.